The Gagné Chronicles Episode I: The Rise of the Little Reds

Intro:
Well here we go! My name is Marc-André Gagné the twin brother of Marc-Édouard. In May I retired from football as a player and I want to get into coaching. Like my brother I started out with RC Strasbourg but unlike him I ended up playing for a different club. In the summer of 2006 I signed with Stade Malherbe Caen where I spent the rest of my Career.

Don't get me wrong I love it in France but right now coaching in the lower leagues is just now desirable for me. I could coach Strasbourg but I want something else. Hopefully one day I can coach Lyon or my old club Caen. I want to become the best French born manager in the sport. Wenger, Jacquet, Le Geun and Deschamps are all the mangers I look up to and want to become as well known as them.


AFC Liverpool 2013-

Looking forward to this mate!

It was a beautiful summer afternoon in Normandy, France for footballer Marc-André Gagné as he was taking a jog around town. The 29 year old just retired from football and was ready for the next chapter of life.

That evening in the summer of 2014 was one of if not the most important day of his life. His post playing career started to take shape. Even though at the moment he was just chillen.

Around 6pm he was getting ready for a date that same evening. As he started to get in the shower and adjust the knob to start it off the phone rang. "ring, ring, ring," quickly drying off he answers it just in time.

"Hello, is this Marc-André Gagné?" said the voice. 'Well yes it is." "My name is Chris Stirrup the chairman of AFC Liverpool." At this time Marc-André had no clue who Chris or AFC Liverpool were. He quickly went to his laptop to see if they were real. As soon as he verified they were he said "ok go ahead sir!" "Well I can't really talk to you about it now but can you please meet me at the team office so we can talk?" " Uh you know I am in France right now," said Marc-André. "Yes can you fly out to Liverpool tomorrow?" "Sure can!" "You will need to pay for yourself."

After a few minutes later I hang up and start to pack.

I was so excited that I almost forgot about the date later in the evening. The date went well but there was no instant connection and it seemed like it was a waste of time. As they said good night he looked at his $500 Citizen Echo-Drive watch and the clock read 11:30 pm. He needed to get to bed soon for the big day. 30 minutes later he returned home and was getting ready for bed.

Really looking forward to this! Great updates so far, but then again I would expect that of you xD

nice updates and I will be following

That story title. Total rip off.

Great start to the story though. And a bit of story writing advice. Stick to one tense, you seem to be going backwards and forwards between past and present tense.

2014-04-01 09:45#166904 a_esbech : That story title. Total rip off.

Great start to the story though. And a bit of story writing advice. Stick to one tense, you seem to be going backwards and forwards between past and present tense.

Yeah a ripoff of my other story and thanks for the tip.

12:15am-5:05am
Normandy,France:

All night long I could not sleep since many things were going through my head. This was because of not knowing what was going on the next day. At one point I got up and watched infomercials on the television. It was three a.m. and I need to get to sleep.

A few hours pass by quickly and I have to head to the airport. My flight is at 7:15. While waiting for the plane I start reading about this club. Their basis is very interesting. I find it cool that their fans broke off due to the prices of Premier League matches. At least the split was not in bad taste like the FC United one.

1:45pm
Prescot,England

As I entered the building a weird feeling came over me. I ask myself why am I doing this? My English is good but being French I will have a target on my back. From what I was reading AFC Liverpool is a semi-pro side in the ninth level of the English Football System. It will be cool to start out this low but it could be a struggle. I am way ahead of myself here, I don't even have a job yet.

Was this a set up I say to myself? Their offices are pretty small and you can tell they are a semi pro club. I tell the lady behind the desk that I am to see Chris.

A few minutes later I get to meet with Mr.Stirrup. He seems like a nice person and offers me a beverage. Soon we get down to business and he tells me that the club was founded in 2008 by a bunch of Liverpool fans who were priced out of Premier League matches.

I talk about my career and visions for the club. The one thing I did not say is that I wanted this club to become a team in the higher divisions. From what he says the club is happy the way they are. For me that is not good enough. Hopefully in 10 years we are in the top four leagues in England. I want to be the team that makes Liverpool and Everton look silly. We are coming for you all!

4:14pm:

After the interview was over I was given a contract. This was a full time contract for me even though we are part time. Odd if you ask me but whatever I will still get paid. My contract is £26,500 a year that is about €31,000. Not bad if you ask me. So with that I have to head back to Normandy and move. On the way home I realize I don't need to move since I do have a ton of money. I'll just keep this as my offseason place. The first person I call is my brother Marc-Édouard.....

Things are starting to move along. Another lower league story, I have some competition now I'll be watching this

2014-04-01 10:53#166908 Mr. Shjanzey : Things are starting to move along. Another lower league story, I have some competition now I'll be watching this

Thanks man

I am now the new manager for AFC Liverpool. So far I really like it and the logo is pretty bad ass looking. Going from player to manager is going to be really hard especially since I am in a different country. The adjustment shouldn't take too much time as I need to add a few players and get ready for preseason.

One person who has been really helpful in this move is my brother. After I got the job he was the first person I called. With that I offered him a job to be my assistant. At first he was very hesitant then figured out it would be a good move. RC Strasbourg are going nowhere and his career was pretty much over so it was time.

The players so far seem receptive of me. During our first meeting they were very excited to get the season underway. I told them promotion and an FA Vase victory are the top priorities.

We are ready for the preseason!!

The 2013 preseason has finally finished. New manager Marc-André Gagné had a pretty busy schedule with six matches plus an intrasquad friendly. "It was a pretty good preseason and I am glad we preformed well. The two losses are nothing we should worry about since the scoreline was close," said Gagné during an episode of AFCL TV.

The squad is set with about a month left in the transfer window. The Little Reds are looking for more talent to come in. Here are the newest players to join the squad. Each of these players have been signed to one year semi-pro contracts.

Finally the 2013/14 Northwest Counties Football League season is about to get underway. The month of August is filled with five matches (Colne, Bootle, AFC Liverpool, Runcorn Linnets and Abby Hey). The Little Reds will have their home opener on the 10th of August against Bootle. FA Vase and FA Cup matches might be included in the month. Visit this website or the facebook page for more up to date information.

Marc-André achieved his first ever win in management earlier today after a 2-1 victory over Coline.

Francis Jeffers gave us the lead with a deftly executed finish from long range in the 14th. Colne's Andrew Andrew Harrington then equalized. He scored a nice effort from 12 yards out in the 54th. Ronnie Morgan would get the game winner in the 88th minute.

"What a great victory for the club. Even though it is early I see good things in the future."-Marc-André Gagné

With that the Little Reds gain their first three points of the season. The next match is set for 3:00pm on the 10th against Bootle.

Way to start strong!

You were right about their logo. It seems so very Russian to me, I can't help to think you will dominate your enemies and celebrate afterwards with a hefty portions of Borscht and Vodka.

The Little Reds were ready for the season. For manager Marc-André Gagné he was assessing all the possible lineups and had trouble figuring out who the main striker would be. At this point 27 year old Steve Jones was the top choice. So Marc-André decided to go into the Big Book of Free Agents and see who was available. This "book" was in PFD format. He found a 32 year old Francis Jeffers.

Born in 1981 the 32 year old is a veteran of the sport. He previously played for clubs such as Everton, Arsenal, Charlton and most recently Accrington. He has made over 200 appearances and has over forty goals scored. Since 2010 he played for five different teams.

"Hello is this Mr. Francis Jeffers?" 'Yes who am I speaking to?""Well my name is Marc-André Gagné and I would like to see if you are still wanting to play football?" "Uh I am not sure I have been all over the place and want to settle down with one club." After several minutes the two finally came to an agreement. Gagné finally got his man.

In the month of August Jeffers was the key man. In his five appearance with the club he scored a total 10 goals. The most impressive display came in the FA Cup against Heath Hays scoring 5 goals in that match. He was very happy and so was his coach. In the young history of AFC Liverpool Francis is becoming one of the best players.

August was pretty good for AFC Liverpool. They won 2 league matches and drew twice. Currently they are in 5th place in the North West Counties Football League. Unlike league leaders Barnoldswick (13pts) the Little Reds are one match behind in games played.