Barry Town United – Episode 1, An Introduction
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“Oh I do like to be beside the seaside… Oh I do like to be beside the sea…”
Those were the words I tunefully muttered to myself while waiting outside the office of Tom Parry, chairman of Barry Town United.
I was nervous. Even though the building air conditioning was battling against the scorching July heat, I was sweating through my suit.
I’d always imagined myself a suit and tie manager, but if on a match day I’m even half as nervous as this, perhaps that choice requires rethinking.
Tom’s office door swings open and out emerges a short balding Welshman, smile reaching from ear to ear.
“Ian!” he booms.
“I’ve been expecting you. Please do come in, take a seat.” he says.
I take a deep breath and match the attitude I’ve been received with.
“Tom, it’s a pleasure, thank you for taking the time to consider me for this huge role.” I say.
Pleasantries are exchanged for the next few moments before the juicy interview details kick off.
“So Ian, clearly you’ve never managed at a high level, hell you’ve not even kicked a ball at a semi-professional level. Tell me, why should I hire you over this stack of other CVs, all from people with considerably more experience than yourself?” Tom says, before slamming his hand on top of a mountain of paperwork.
This was the moment I’ve been waiting for, I anticipated this question more than any other.
“I’m not going to lie to you, of course I don’t have as much experience as other managers, and yes I probably will make mistakes within the role. However, this club once possessed the greatest team in Wales and that is exactly the goal I intend to reach.
Some may promise you beautiful football week in and week out, but that doesn’t guarantee you results. To paraphrase Ian Holloway, with me in charge some weeks you will leave Jenner Park feeling like you’ve been on a night out looking for a lovely lady. Some weeks we will pull a good looking performance, and some weeks it won’t be the best, but we will get the result.”
Tom pauses for a moment, soaking in the bizarre statement of intent I had just delivered, before cackling out in laughter. The rest of the interview was a breeze from then on…
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Hello all! If you’ve reached this far, thank you for sticking through.
I will be switching up my narrative for the time being while this story starts, sometimes in the first person, and occasionally talking to you wonderful people directly.
Now that I’ve been given the mammoth job as Barry Town United manager, let’s take a look at the club’s current vision:
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Maintaining a domestic presence and fighting in Europe, all under a transfer budget of £0 and a wage budget of £6,805 p/w (currently spending £5,305 p/w) will be a task and a half, but we have much larger long term goals in mind so we have to start somewhere!
Let’s take a quick look at the squad…
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Clearly we have a mix bag. Some top players and some very poor players, very few in the middle. Looks like I’ll be rolling up my sleeves for some good ol’ fashioned wheeling and dealing.
That’s all for now. I’ll catch you guys at the end of pre-season with a wrap up of the changes made.
Any comments you have, either regarding the narrative, or managing in Wales, please comment below!
“Oh I do like to be beside the seaside… Oh I do like to be beside the sea…”
Those were the words I tunefully muttered to myself while waiting outside the office of Tom Parry, chairman of Barry Town United.
I was nervous. Even though the building air conditioning was battling against the scorching July heat, I was sweating through my suit.
I’d always imagined myself a suit and tie manager, but if on a match day I’m even half as nervous as this, perhaps that choice requires rethinking.
Tom’s office door swings open and out emerges a short balding Welshman, smile reaching from ear to ear.
“Ian!” he booms.
“I’ve been expecting you. Please do come in, take a seat.” he says.
I take a deep breath and match the attitude I’ve been received with.
“Tom, it’s a pleasure, thank you for taking the time to consider me for this huge role.” I say.
Pleasantries are exchanged for the next few moments before the juicy interview details kick off.
“So Ian, clearly you’ve never managed at a high level, hell you’ve not even kicked a ball at a semi-professional level. Tell me, why should I hire you over this stack of other CVs, all from people with considerably more experience than yourself?” Tom says, before slamming his hand on top of a mountain of paperwork.
This was the moment I’ve been waiting for, I anticipated this question more than any other.
“I’m not going to lie to you, of course I don’t have as much experience as other managers, and yes I probably will make mistakes within the role. However, this club once possessed the greatest team in Wales and that is exactly the goal I intend to reach.
Some may promise you beautiful football week in and week out, but that doesn’t guarantee you results. To paraphrase Ian Holloway, with me in charge some weeks you will leave Jenner Park feeling like you’ve been on a night out looking for a lovely lady. Some weeks we will pull a good looking performance, and some weeks it won’t be the best, but we will get the result.”
Tom pauses for a moment, soaking in the bizarre statement of intent I had just delivered, before cackling out in laughter. The rest of the interview was a breeze from then on…
Hello all! If you’ve reached this far, thank you for sticking through.
I will be switching up my narrative for the time being while this story starts, sometimes in the first person, and occasionally talking to you wonderful people directly.
Now that I’ve been given the mammoth job as Barry Town United manager, let’s take a look at the club’s current vision:
Maintaining a domestic presence and fighting in Europe, all under a transfer budget of £0 and a wage budget of £6,805 p/w (currently spending £5,305 p/w) will be a task and a half, but we have much larger long term goals in mind so we have to start somewhere!
Let’s take a quick look at the squad…
Clearly we have a mix bag. Some top players and some very poor players, very few in the middle. Looks like I’ll be rolling up my sleeves for some good ol’ fashioned wheeling and dealing.
That’s all for now. I’ll catch you guys at the end of pre-season with a wrap up of the changes made.
Any comments you have, either regarding the narrative, or managing in Wales, please comment below!
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