mannojunior

Cheers mate! Will keep the updates coming as we progress.

February 2023 I should have just kept quiet shouldn't I? From a near perfect January to a simply awful February. What a change. We started with a trip to Kings Lynn who were sat in 9th and a disappointing display was only saved by a last minute equaliser from the substitute, Tom Hewlett. We then hosted Spennymoor who were sat in 2nd place and despite our best effort after being 2-0 down, we couldn't salvage anything. Then came the real disappointment with a run of three games against teams towards the bottom of the table. We picked up one point. We were frankly embarrassed at home to Boston before some truly uninspiring performances away at Gloucester and Bradford. What has been clear this month is that defensively we are not okay. We cannot keep defending the way we are and that had meant a change in the way we are going to play for the rest of the season. I've switched to the below tactic to try and add some stability at the back and I hope the addition of a DM will allow the defence to function better. I've sacrificed our attacking width to do this and I am hoping the addition of Tom Elliott who has joined from Buxton will allow us to get back on track. Look, I'll be honest, I have no idea how the final two months of the season are going to go. There is an outside chance that we can still sneak a playoff spot, but at the same time, we are only 5 points above the drop zone and we still have 11 games to play. I don't quite know where we are going with this team as it seems to be one step forward and two back but I will do my best to finish as high as possible with this team. The board and supporters are fairly happy with things at the moment which is reassuring but I need to start showing what I'm about if I want to be attractive to bigger clubs moving forward.

January 2023 Well...what a month that was for us! An unbeaten January sees our form turn on its head. We started with a home game against Telford and we were only denied the three points due to us conceding a 92nd minute equaliser. We then comfortably saw off Brackley before a barnstormer of a game against Curzon Ashton. We also managed to beat league leaders Peterborough Sports and finished the month with a very good victory over Fylde. I think it is clear to see that there is a real reason that we've done so well and the answer is Kurt Willoughby. What a man, what a player! He is now the league's top goal scorer with 22 goals in 25 games. It was only right that with just six months left on his contract that we looked to extend that deal. We initially walked away from the contract discussions due to his high wage demands but we went back in and managed to agree a very good deal which sees our top scorer remain with the club for a further year and a half. Is our playoff push back on the cards? With 16 games to go you certainly can't write us out of contention, although it would still be one hell of an effort to get there. I think our aim has to be to break into the top 7 and try and get ourselves a playoff spot. We've just come through a very tough month of fixtures and we did that with flying colours. I don't want to get too excited but the team seems to finally be gelling and we are seeing the results in that. I've finally managed to fill a few problem areas. You saw in my recent post that we brought in central defender Reiss Greenidge and he has been a very good addition at the back, pairing up with young Harry Burke. We've also brought in a new left back in Sam Heal. Heal is a decent addition to the squad and fills a role I have had real problems with since joining the club. He is by no means the best left back in the league but I think he will fill a hole until we can look to rebuild over the summer. Another new signing is left midfielder, Lewis Johnson, who joins on loan until the end of the season from MK Dons. A solid left midfielder and he has slotted straight into the starting eleven. He hasn't lit up the league so far but he has certainly not looked out of place and I hope we can see him flourish throughout the rest of the season.

Is Reiss the man to solve our central defensive issues? On paper he looks like he could be great at this level. I am a little reserved about some of his mental attributes but he will go straight into the side!

December 2022 I don't really need to say a lot but December was a really poor month. Since taking over we have looked like a fairly decent side but throughout December we have looked really vulnerable and we have lost all confidence. A narrow loss at Blyth was followed up by a horrendous performance away at Kidderminster. We were actually 4-0 down before pulling a couple of goals back but that doesn't hide what a poor performance it was. We then managed a really convincing win over Hereford which I thought would spark a turnaround in form. That wasn't the case at all. We then took on Alfreton who were in the bottom four and we really didn't deserve anything from the game. A second half penalty from Willoughby salvaged a point but we were really poor. The worst of the lot though came at Telford. I accept that they are in a decent position in the league but we just looked out of our depth and created virtually nothing all game. A hard month to take given the progress that we have made but we need to keep our heads up and look forward. Hopes of a playoff push are slowly fading away but when you take a step back, the board and fans are just looking for mid table safety this season. Our issue may come if our poor run of form continues as we are only 5 points off the drop zone and we have a difficult run of games in January. This is they system I am currently using. I've settled on a starting eleven, give or take a couple of positions. I am not the biggest fan of the 4-4-2 but given the footballing intelligence at this level I am not sure trying anything more expansive is worth the effort. We are definitely in need of defensive re-enforcement and that is what I will look to do in January. I have offloaded a couple of players from the wage bill to help with this and I am hoping the loan system will also help. I am also in need of a new right midfielder following Adam Thomas breaking his ribs and Garcia has really not impressed out there. Our attacking three of Stephenson, Willoughby and Hewlett have been quite impressive and I am still waiting to see what will come of WIll Baynham.

Thanks mate! Long way to go yet but just kept things very simple to start with. Will see where this season takes us!

November 2022 A very positive November on the whole for us. We started off with a very assured performance away at Farsley with both strikers combining to get on the scoresheet. Then came our big day, the televised FA Cup game against Oxford and you already know from above how that went. A magnificent performance away at Banbury saw us stick 6 past them before a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Leamington. We bounced back with another big win over Bradford Park Avenue before another 1-1 draw, this time away at Scarborough Athletic. We finished the month by entering the FA Trophy in the Second Round and we were no sooner in the competition than we were dumped out of it. No doubt not helped by Adam Thomas getting himself sent off early in the first half but we really didn't look up for the game. I can see why, it's been a busy month and if you look closely, you'll see that it was an unbeaten month on the league. So we are up to 12th in the league and now sit 4 points off of the promotion places. You'd have to be fairly unambitious to discount the chance of a playoff push now this season but I am also well aware that the board and fans are just looking for a mid-table finish. Selfishly, the higher we can finish the better it will be for me in my career and that is exactly what this save is all about. No doubt I'd like to take Chester as far as I possibly can but I need to be progressing and constantly improving. You'll notice that during my time at the club we have been quite reliant on the goals of Kurt WIlloughby and I am conscious that I need to deal with this. Options haven't been aplenty and we have had deals close for various strikers but they have decided to go elsewhere. We have however managed to bring in one striker and I think he will turn out to be a great player for us at this level once he settles in. The young Canadian joins on a free transfer and has gone straight in to the first team squad. I'm not sure he's the finished article but I think at this level he will more than hold his own. Time will tell! Further good news is that the club have agreed to fund my course to study for my National C Licence. Great news for me as I continue to grow as a manager and it's great that the board are able to get behind me and fund this. Hopefully the results I have brought so far is repayment enough.

Enjoyed reading this mate! Looking forward to seeing how you do.

Sadly it wasn't to be for us in the FA Cup first round. We managed to stay in the game during the first half but were outclassed in the second half and the sending off of Burke towards the end of the game just summed up our luck. An excellent effort by the lads but the lack of depth and the gap between the two sides definitely showed. On the plus side, we had a full house and took away £35,000 in TV money. We can now return our focus to our league campaign.

October 2022 So October is done and dusted and we walk away with 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss from our first four games in charge. Absolutely ecstatic to secure a place in the first round of the FA Cup which will bring us some much needed revenue and potentially a fairytale story?! In terms of the league, we secured a good win at home to Kettering before slipping up at home to Gloucester City. A really poor result considering their position in the league but we really didn't look like winning that one. We finished the month with a decent draw at Boston United but again, given their position in the league we really should have been taking three points away with us. This leaves us in the relegation zone going into November but we do have a game in hand over those around us and it is also still very tight in the middle of the pack. Our aim for November has to be to string some wins together and get us clear of that relegation pack. This is the tactic and formation we are currently using. It's fairly basic and I am looking to dominate possession and keep things simple. I am asking the boys to counter on winning the ball back to make use of our quicker attacking players and we've had some decent showings doing so. I am still a little light up top and I may look to bring in another striker to challenge Willoughby who has been fantastic so far for me. I have agreed to bring in a few new lads on non-contract terms to see how they do. And here is our reward for making it to the first round of the FA Cup! A home tie against League One Oxford United. The game is being televised and a sellout crowd is expected. Lets see if we can cause an upset!

Well, we couldn't have asked for a better first game in charge! We travelled to Kidderminster in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup and secured our place in the First Round proper. A fairly poor first half was followed by an exceptional second half that saw lone striker Kurt Willoughby score a two minute brace to turn the game on its head. We were then able to see the game out professionally to secure our place in the next round. It's fair the say that the squad has some quality players but definitely lacks that depth of quality and I have made some initial moves to try and improve that. I've agreed a loan deal for Tow Hewlett who is a young striker at Burton Albion but we face stiff competition to land him. I have also offered a contract to a 19 year old striker called Alex Bonnington who is currently unattached following his release from Sheffield Wednesday. Again, we face competition for his signature so we will see where that goes.

So it has taken until the middle of October but I finally have my first job of my career. We were previously lined up for the Dover Athletic job but they decided to go with another candidate and then I was approached by Chester. It's quite clear that it has been a poor start to the season and the board and fans expect a mid-table finish come the end of the season. We've signed a 9 month contract here at Chester and our job is to at least deliver that mid-table finish at the end of those 9 months.

The Manager So here is the man that is taking on the challenge. As promised, I am starting with no coaching badges and no previous experience. I have started the save early in the English pre-season but I am going to holiday forward slightly to avoid the same jobs popping up at the start. It's time to see where we end up on job one of our journey.

Outdoing Ancelotti Welcome to my first save on the main version of FM23. I have decided to try and document my save and bring you along on my journey. So, what does the title mean? I’m sure some will probably have guessed it, but for those that haven’t, Carlo Ancelotti is the manager who has won the European Champions League on the most occasions. Ancelotti has won the completion a total of four times in his career. My aim, is to overtake Ancelotti and become the manager with the most wins in the competition. Now, it may well be that Ancelotti adds another trophy or two to his collection or another manager her surpasses him, but the aim remains the same. To make the save slightly more realistic, I will be approaching it as a European Journeyman. I will be starting unemployed with no coaching badges and will work my way up the ladder. To complete the challenge I will also become the most successful English manager in the game. So, what are we waiting for? A job! In the next update I will introduce you to myself as the manager and our first club. The Journey so far - July 2022 to present (Nov 2022)