2014-09-14 19:15#194108 AaronHJFT96 : Tough challenge there, but I think we all know nothings too much for you in this gameThanks for the comment Aaron, I'll certainly need all the luck I can get!Good luck man!
Ryan Ferguson - The Path To Power
Ryan Ferguson is back; but everything has changed!
Plot twist: he fails the interview, and, in a bout of depression following rejection, gives up on football management and becomes an accountant. The end. 
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2014-09-15 01:15#194148 Neal : Plot twist: he fails the interview, and, in a bout of depression following rejection, gives up on football management and becomes an accountant. The end.Perhaps
A Nervous Meeting
The day of my interview with Nyköpings BIS' director Lars Wessman had arrived. A knot of anxiety had found its way in to my stomach and I spent the night before turning and shaking in bed, unable to cope with the pressure of the interview which lay ahead of me. Nerves crept in to my body and I was unable to be rid of them as the clock ran down to my scheduled Skype video interview which would decide my future. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead and on to the much-worn shirt and tie which I had chosen to wear. It might have seemed obscene to don such formal clothing for a Skype call but I wanted to make the best impression I could as I had nothing else to show for.
Three minutes before mid-day, my laptop screen burst in to light and the eerie tone of an incoming Skype video call blared from the speakers. It was time to make my future. I took two large gulps of water and picked at my tie before answering the Skype call. A video feed appeared on my screen and the live image of a middle-aged Swedish man frightened me. Lars Wessman was a stern-looking, ageing man with string blonde hair and a rough stubble. His soul-crushing stare was partially hidden behind a pair of tinted, round spectacles which completed the look of a money-hungry, power-abusing chairperson. He was not going to be impressed easily.
Lars Wessman: "You are Ryan Ferguson from Liverpool, correct?"
Ryan Ferguson: "Yes I am, sir."
Lars Wessman: "Good. Now, I would ideally hire a Swedish-speaking manager but if you can impress me enough then you might be in contention for the job."
Ryan Ferguson: "Well, it was difficult to find much information on Nyköpings, to be perfectly honest sir, but I do believe that once given the time to settle in to my new surroundings, I can begin assess the squad and the staff and begin to create a project which I believe would help the club reach the top division in Sweden in given time."
Lars Wessman: "Do you think that you could do this within five seasons?"
Ryan Ferguson: "Five seasons?! That would be an extremely difficult task for any man to accomplish, sir. I do believe that I could accomplish this within perhaps ten sea-"
It was too late. Lars Wessman had almost certainly hung up on me, unimpressed with what I had to say. His expectation for reaching the pinnacle of Swedish football was unrealistic and my first rejection was probably for the best, truth be told. After a half-hour of contemplating what I had said wrong, I figured that Wessman was the problem and I re-continued my search for a managerial vacancy which caught my eye.
Previous Post: The Job Hunt
Next Post: Hungary For A Job
unlucky with the interview, but i'm sure there'll be a suitable job soon - nothing wrong with some realistic expectation
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Hungary For A Job
After my interview with Lars Wessman turned in to shambles, I spent several weeks searching for another opportunity to impress a chairman, in the hope of having a successful second interview. I spent my nights working as a bouncer in a local strip club, which had plenty of perks, as you could imagine. My day time activities were all used on my laptop, searching for managerial vacancy. Anywhere would work for me, at this point. I did not wish to spend any more time slaving in front of a laptop screen where I got turned down by clubs one after the other.
I was beginning to lose hope when on one summer evening, I got an e-mail from a Hungarian named Balint Révész. I had never heard of or seen Balint's name before but I opened the e-mail expecting to be shot down by yet another greedy chairman. After all, who wanted an inexperienced Scouser managing their team!
What I had read next left me in stitches laughing, in joyous triumph. Balint Révész had not contacted me to further harm my already-shattered ego but to give me my second chance at an interview. My most-coveted second opportunity had arrived and I was determined to earn my first job as a football manager. The scheduled Skype video interview was in just over a week's time, allowing me an adequate amount of days to research Révész's team. Just like before, information via the internet was scarce. However, I did have one other research tool, and that is Football Manager. I loaded up the much-played game and scoured the database for every little detail regarding the club and the division it was competing in.
Suited up once more, I approached this interview with more confidence than the last. Balint seemed like a reasonable man and his expectations themselves were well within any decent manager's capabilities. He wanted his club to fight for promotion from the Hungarian Division II and the players which the club at it's disposal were up to the mark to make a challenge for one of the top spots in the league. There were plenty of other competent clubs in the league, however, and promotion would never be straight-forward.
I described what I had planned for the club, if I were to get the managerial role. I wanted to create a strong, united team unit which kept the players motivated and working for each other. One whole team is greater than the sum of the individuals, I professed to Balint. He wished for young players to brought in to the first team to give the team a good vibe for the future, which agreed with my philosophy of using youth. 'A young side is a healthy side', I said and we discussed many more topics on my possible role at the club, agreeing with most of, if not all of, them.
Balint most have been extremely impressed with my ideas as he cut me short once to offer me a one-season contract on a wage of what translated to £750. I did not need to think twice before accepting his offer. This was my breakthrough and The Path To Power had finally begun! I became Ryan Ferguson, manager of Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC.
Previous Post: A Nervous Meeting
Next Post: Season One: The Unveiling
excellent news! Also liked the inferred focus on youth; love a good youth-based story!
good luck at your new club
good luck at your new club
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Path to Power take 3: We've had Vauxhall Motors. We've had Luton Town. And now we have... Nya... Nyi... Ny... ah, to hell with it.
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2014-09-16 07:31#194219 TVDLC123 : £750!!!! Wow, step in the right direction
And I've nearly gotten into the UCL
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TodayAtTomorrow, yes youth is a big part of my philosophy
The 510 Series, I just call them Spartacus
TVDLC123, I myself was quite surprised with the wage too
Walter, Oriental small club
ConcertoVerde, the Zoltans shall rise again!
Neal, not good enough mate
The 510 Series, I just call them Spartacus
TVDLC123, I myself was quite surprised with the wage too
Walter, Oriental small club
ConcertoVerde, the Zoltans shall rise again!
Neal, not good enough mate
Season One: The Unveiling
Balint Révész allowed me to have one final week in England to pack my things and say my goodbyes before I departed for my new home in the city of Nyíregyháza, in north-east Hungary. Nyíregyháza is the seventh most populated area in Hungary, with just under 120,000 residents. Having lived in Liverpool and London all my life, the town seemed dead to me. I walked the streets for days and never once found myself crowded out by people or sound like I used to at home. The foreign language helped to perplex me further, or maybe I was the foreign one now.
Despite my difficulties with my new surroundings, I knew that I would adjust to my new home given time and I would soon be able to strike some sort of conversation with the Hungarian beauties which wandered the streets, eyeing me up as I passed. The club and my neighbours were very helping when it came to me adjusting to the club, although the reporters were having none of it and I was eaten alive during my presentation press-conference....
Bálint Révész: "Welcome to this press-conference, everybody! As you all know, today we are presenting Ryan Ferguson, our new manager, to the world. He will answer any question you have to ask him but be nice, this is his first ever managerial job!"
Bálint sat down away from the one microphone which occupied the room, if you could call it that. The press-conference took place in the community centre in a room which was currently under serious repair after last winter's disastrous weather conditions. The reporters sat on fold-out chairs which creaked as they moved around in their seats and the lights hanging from the ceiling flickered from time to time, as if to present the press' confidence in my capabilities. With the combined glare of all my critics resting firmly on me, I stood up slowly and approached the microphone, alongside my translator who was to help me understand the Hungarian questions.
Reporter One: "Ryan, you have no previous experience before this job. You have no idea of how rigorous a role of being a manager is. Do you think you can prove your critics wrong and avoid bringing Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC down in to nothing?"
Ryan Ferguson: "Wow, you're really not taking any prisoners today! Listen, I know that I don't have any experience at all and I know that I will be put down time and time again by the press before I even manage my first competitive game but Bálint showed great faith in me to bring me over to Hungary, all the way from England, and I have faith in my own ability. I will never give less than 100% to Spartacus and I will certainly never give up. I've been given the opportunity of a lifetime here and I want to prove to everybody that I have what it takes to be successful."
Reporter Two: "You don't speak Hungarian. How difficult has it been for you to settle in here in Nyíregyháza? Do you ever feel alone and afraid because you don't speak Hungarian?"
Ryan Ferguson: "Look, it's been difficult so far and I know that not being able to speak Hungarian is a major disadvantage for me right now but I'm always positive and I will learn your language, given time. As for the rest of your question, it's ridiculous and it doesn't merit an answer."
Reporter Three: "You come from a country who's international performances have been rather humiliating in recent years. Do you plan to bring the same, pathetic philosophy to Hungary to rui-"
Bálint jumped out of his seat and cut off the reporter.
Bálint Révész: "Okay, stop right there. I invited you all here today to talk about the positive future of my football club. Yet, you come here to scrutinize a decision which was made by myself and the board; a decision which was long drawn out and we feel was correct. Yes, Ryan doesn't speak Hungarian and this is his first managerial job but that does not mean you guys can come in here and treat him like muck. This press-conference is over and I will be writing to all your editors explaining how unprofessional you were all acting."
One by one, the reporters got up and left with proud smirks painted across their faces. They had come to destroy my confidence before I could begin, all for the sake of an article in their newspapers. Was this a sign of things to come?
Previous Update: Hungary For A Job
Next Update: Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC: Club Overview
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