Peter Schmeichel - Catching Management

Good luck at Shrewsbury

@pompeyblue - Thanks mate!

THE FIRST DAY

What a turn of events, I was almost a breaking point before I was offered this job, however after doing some research, Shrewsbury aren't the 'best' of teams in League 1, so it's going to be a struggle to keep them up.

Roland Wycherley, the Shrewsbury chairman wanted me to go to New Meadow, Shrewsbury's ground and do a number of things:

1. Meet the staff
He would like me to meet all the staff members, see what they do and how they can assist me this season. He would also like me to assess the staff and possibly terminate a staff members contract if they are not needed.

2. Meet the players
Roland again would like me to meet some people, but this time it's the players. He wants me to address the players on their expectations this season, and speak to the Captain/Vice Captain about their views for the upcoming season.

3. Meet the media
Finally for my first week, Roland wants me to meet the media and answer some questions to give the fans an opinion on my appointment, no doubt they'll ask about the Sheffield United job and Nigel Clough...

I've also assessed some of the key players for the season, Shrewsbury have no depth whatsoever so I'll need to bring in some players who can help add to the depth.

KEY PLAYERS

Very vital player for this upcoming season, this young winger has a lot of pace to burn and is exceptionally good at dribbling and putting in crosses. He's got bags of potential and hopefully will be a revelation for us.

Like Jon Taylor, a very pacey player but he plays as a forward, probably our best striker but he'll need a good partner. He's got bags of potential and hopefully will stay with us for a long time.

Former Manchester United player Peter Schmeichel has been appointed as the new manager for Shrewsbury Town, who are currently in League 1.
Schmeichel, 50, has always wanted to go into management, and is finally getting his chance at it as this is his first managerial job.

Reports suggested that he was going to take the job at Sheffield United, but a misunderstanding between him and the chairman broke the deal, with Nigel Clough taking that job.

Schmeichel will have a huge task at hand to keep Shrewsbury in League 1, as they have not got a lot of depth in their squad and according to some fans, some of the players 'just aren't good enough.'

STAFF MEETING

It was time to meet all the staff here at Shrewsbury, see what they do and how they can help me.
I've arranged a meeting to take place in a few minutes, I have no idea how many members there are at this club, but we'll soon see when the meeting starts.

I've also been looking at some transfer targets, we'll really need some new players, we don't even have a right back!

- A few minutes pass and I head to the meeting room -

We'll the meetings scheduled to start right now, so, I guess we have no staff members...?
The door opens and a few men come wandering in.

"Hello?" I said to them, puzzled.
"Hi Peter, you've arranged a meeting right now correct?" A man said, stood in-front of the others.
"Yes, that's correct. and you are?" I replied.
"John Trewick sir, your assistant manager." He said, shaking my hand.
"Hello John, glad to meet you!" I told him, smiling.

A few others followed him in, I noted down some information on the people in here, such as their role and their experience, and I have the following staff members:


After looking at my notes, I had some questions I wanted to ask my staff.
"So guys, How'd do you feel about the upcoming season?"
"Well we need a right back!" Chief Scout John Rudge said.
"Okay, I'll note that down" I replied to him, writing down his suggestion.
"I believe we'll need to play a 4-4-2." John Trewick added.
"Yeah, I agree." I replied.
"Anything else? We'll do some training courses for the players tomorrow." I said to them all.
The room was silent.
"I take that as a no, see you all tomorrow." I told them, as they flooded out the door.

Man, was that awkward...

MEETING THE PLAYERS

After meeting the staff, I decided that my next task would be talking to the players, seeing how they believe they are progressing and how they feel about the upcoming season.
I asked my assistant to tell the players to meet in the changing rooms as I'll be waiting in there to discuss this seasons objectives.


A short while later, the door opened and John Trewick entered first followed by the whole team.
"Hey everyone, please sit down and get comfortable." I said, pointing to the benches.
I watched the lads sit down and they all turned their attention to me.

"It's nice to meet you all, I know this last week has been hectic, but we can now settle down and get on with usual service." I told them, with some nodding in agreement.
"So, lets begin, first off, how do you all feel about this season?" I asked them.

"Gaffer, It'll be a struggle, but I reckon we can survive relegation this season." Vice Captain Dave Winfield said which sparked some reaction from the others.
"I agree with Dave, it'll be tough but if we work hard we can stay up." Jon Taylor added.

"Okay, anyone else have some ideas about this season?" I asked them, looking at some who haven't answered any questions.
"Well boss, I think we can achieve more than that, a safe mid-table position." Captain Tamika Mkandawire said, which caused some smiles and cheers among the players.

"I don't see why we can achieve that, if we all give 110% it's possible." I added.

"Okay lads, what about training? How do you feel about your workload? I asked them, looking puzzled.
"I believe the majority of our workload is fine" Tom Bradshaw said, which some others agreed with. "However, I know a couple of lads aren't putting in the shift they need to." Bradshaw added.

Silence filled the changing room.

"Who...?" I asked Bradshaw.
"Sorry Boss, I don't really want to snitch." Tom replied, shying away.
I glared around the changing rooms and looked at the faces of every player sat down.
I passed each player and they showed no emotion at all, I knew these lads were putting in the right shift.
I looked at Graham Burke, a loan signing from Aston Villa, who looked very guilty, I could see it in his eyes.
"Graham, stand." I demanded. Graham stood up. "Your the culprit, aren't you." I said, looking stern. "Ye.... Yes Gaffer..." He replied, looking at the ground.
"Well Graham, in my team, EVERYONE puts in the correct shift and tries 100%. You don't do that and your out. Understood?" I said, raising my voice.
"Yes Gaffer." He replied quickly and went to sit back down.

"Okay lads, now that's sorted, you are free to go." I told them, as they walked out laughing and smiling. Graham stayed behind.

"Graham, aren't you leaving?" I asked him. "Gaffer, I'm sorry. I know I haven't been trying my best and I'll prove to you that I'm trying my best." He replied, looking confident.
"Okay Graham, Thank you." I said, shaking his hand and patting him on the back, he walked out of the door.


"Wow Peter, you sure know how to sort them lads out." John Trewick said.
"Haha, yeah. Fancy a drink?" I asked him, putting on my coat.
"Why the hell not!" He replied, as we walked out the changing rooms towards my car.

I know I've only had this story for a short while but I'm not enjoying managing Shrewsbury so this story will stop. I will have a break and think about a new story that I'll enjoy and stick to for a while. Sorry.