French Connection

My first foray into the world of publishing my Football Manager antics for the world to see. My hope is to learn and improve my skill of playing this wonderful game, and to take my manager to the heights of Legendary. I will attempt to write this as first hand experience from the manager with side stories built in to add some interest. I look forward to your feedback and to (hopefully) entertaining you.

As you can see by my title there is a french connection to my game, all will be explained in the upcoming posts. However, I am not french. I am English and live in Australia and have been playing FM since the 2009 series having dabbled in CM before.

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An unexpected call…

I was woken up this morning at 5am. My phone was ringing. Who would be calling me this early?
He was straightforward, blunt, even a little rude. He didn’t waste time with any small talk. Introduced himself and started telling me why he was calling…

…He offered me a job. But they still had a manager. I had questions but he told me to fly over and we would chat then.

They wanted ME?? Why? He seemed to suggest they wanted a big name manager to revive the team and make a challenge to become a top four club. He mentioned my assault charge and told me that it didn’t matter.

Could I return to that league as a manager, face my beloved club? Could I cope with the pressures? This club is big, not as big as it could be in reputation, but the supporters are known for being die-hard. It’s a very interesting proposition.

I fly out today to chat face to face. Already booked on the next flight, he was obviously hopeful of convincing me. Apparently by that time they will be manager less. What will the press think? Obviously they will bring up my past.

Newcastle United owner and chairman Mike Ashley has sacked Alan Pardew.

Mike Ashley has released a statement saying,

“Alan is a great friend of mine but we needed a new approach. I have decided to start with a bigger name, the sort of name that will attract real talent. I want the fans to know that things will be different now, we will move forward with a new manager and renewed focus.”

Mike Ashley and all members of the club were unavailable for comment. It seems the failures of last season after Yohan Cabaye was sold were unacceptable and Pardews reign has come to an abrupt end. Known more for his touchline controversies than the results on the pitch, Newcastle fans must be hoping for someone without the temper.

Alan Pardew released a statement via his agent a short while later,

“My time here at Newcastle has been fantastic, the supporters, while hard on me and the club, have been incredible. I want to thank the players and the fans for everything.
But to Mike Ashley…screw you! Clubs need stability not changing anytime something doesn’t quite go right. There was hope for this club. We had something. Not anymore. Screw you!”

Alan Pardews agent refused to take any questions. It was clear to see in his agents face that this was not a good time. Alan is expected to take a short break before seeking new employment.



With no statement released as to who will be taking over at Newcastle, rumors are flying around as to who this ‘Big Name’ could be. Antonio Conte, Roberto Mancini and Fabio Capello are thought to be the front-runners. David Moyes could be a great addition to the club despite his Manchester United failure. A big name manager at Newcastle United would be a great boost for the North East club. Who it will be remains to be seen.

Newcastle United fans have again gathered and are calling for Ashley to sell the club after this latest development. A spokesperson for the official supporters group said “we don’t want Ashley, and we don’t want Pardew. Give us Middle Eastern money and Mourinho or Pep and we’ll be happy.”

Alan Shearer rules himself out of the vacant managers role at Newcastle United stating, “I am enjoying my role as a pundit and presenter, right now I have no desire to enter back into management. I wish Newcastle all the best in their pursuit of a new manager.”
Telegraph.co.uk (subscription)

Fabio Capello the current National coach of Russia has refused to comment on reports linking him with the Magpies. Rumors of his unhappiness with the Russian FA’s handling of his contract and his salary have been flying around all week.
The Mirror

Man City look set to continue their spending spree with a bid of $62m placed last night for Edison Cavani.
The Guardian

Napoli look set to table another bid for Newcastle United Shot Stopper Tim Krul. After his impressive performance at the world cup during the penalty shoot outs, he has sparked a frenzy of interest in him. Newcastle have already reportedly turned down a bid worth $15m.
Assorted


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This whole thing has flown by. Last night I wasn't even thinking about getting into club management and now I'm on the brink of signing! What the heck!?

The club doesn’t look like it’s a top 6 contender. The players and staff are fantastic but they are lacking the boardroom backing.

I’m not sure what I can do with them to be honest, but I can’t wait to get started. If I last 6 months in the job then it will be have been a great experience. I need to get in there quick and assert myself. I need to keep the top players.

The youth academy has some decent prospects coming through and I’m looking forward to pushing the team as far as they can go. Pre season needs to be a good one. They’re the sort of club that struggle to get out of a bad patch when it starts.

I have a challenge ahead of me that's for sure.

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Today I signed on the dotted line. I am now a manager.

I used to be called the King. Right now I feel like the baby of the group. As if I will let anyone know that. I must uphold my reputation.

Tomorrow the world finds out and then we start. The long road to getting this squad fit and ready for a long season. What’s possible..? I don’t know yet. The players a capable, could be about keeping them happy. Not looking forward to pandering to their requests for more money.

Time to read all the scout reports and meet my backroom. Here we go…

Eric Cantona has signed a one year deal to manage Newcastle United.



He reportedly put pen to paper late last night agreeing to a one year deal with extension clauses in place should Newcastle wish to exercise them.

Cantona has been away from the limelight for a little while now. After finishing up as a player he took up some minor footballing positions while pursuing a career as an actor.

It remains to be seen if his acting skills will enable him to become a top premier league manager.

More to follow...

"We are all a bit shocked here in the studio. Newcastle are about to have a press conference after the announcement that Eric Cantona will take the reigns at Newcastle. We'll get your feedback gentlemen very shortly but first let's go live over to the Sky Sports News Press Conference"


Q. (Daily Mail) This has all taken us by surprise Eric. How do you feel? Can you tell us how this came about?


Q. (Daily Mail) Eric, you don't have the sort of experience that comes with a club of Newcastle's reputation. How will you cope with the pressures of management?




Q. (Independant) But surely you have to ask yourself is this really a big name manager? He hasn't managed a club like this and was known more for his goals and on field assaults then anything else. Do you think he has the ability to take Newcastle to the next level?


Q. (The Mirror) Ok...moving on from that. Eric, what are your expectations and initial plans? Any transfers you can tell us about?


Back to the studio....

"Well, we will get more reactions and answers from this press conference. Quite fiery from Mike Ashley there. Very defensive. Not sure the supporters will be best pleased. We will have to see if Cantona can bring success to Newcastle or not. He was calm and clear. It looks like he is ready and we should here news from the newcastle camp soon."

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£6.7m What the hell was I supposed to do with that? Getting criticised by fans and the board for not investing. Spare change does not get you championship quality players, let alone world class.

Nevertheless we did some scouting and got some free players in. I didn't want to spend money unless we had thoroughly scouted the players first. I have my eye on some areas where we can improve. But for now, I wanted to strengthen. Newcastle has a good youth academy with some great prospects coming through.

Coming in...



I'm happy with these three players. Lugano provides some experience and back up. Stevanovich brings depth to those positions. I wasn't sold on the Ayoze, Riviere, Obertan, Ameobi, Gouffran, Cabella combination being able to last the whole season without a serious injury hitting them. He was free and means we can sell him if it doesn't work out and make profit. Amos is better cover than Elliot. Released for free by Manchester United, it was an easy decision.

Leaving us...



No one. They are all loans out to get first team experience. Not worried about any of them. If they show some progress they may get a look in next year.

When I arrived the club had already loaned out these three notable players that I thought could be good enough for the squad at the moment. Others had better ideas apparently.


Hatem Ben Arfa to Hull
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to Roma
Slyvain Marveaux to EA Guingamp

Happy with who I have and looking forward to getting Davide Santon, Ryan Taylor, Papiss Cisse and Siem De Jong back from injury however. These guys could give us the push we need when we need it.

Hopefully some extra money will come my way and then we can really trim the fat and bring in some muscle.

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Expected results against the under 21's and Port Vale with Ameobi impressing me and scoring 3 goals in 2 games.

Drawing to Dresden was ridiculous. I blame the players not being used to the tactics. Extremely frustrating, but then losing to Hamburg definitely dented the players morale. Trying to convince them it didn't matter was not easy.

A runaway victory against Viktoria Koln with a hatrick from Remy Cabella. They went out and were a goal down inside the opening minute. So to pull it back by half time was absolutely necessary. Scoring 5 goals in the second half was unexpected but a great showing.

Beating Oldham was a formality. Finishing with a draw against Schalke and a loss to Bremen was a poor end to pre-season for me. The players were tired but had at least gotten more used to playing together.

Heading into our first league matches against Liverpool (H), Southampton (A) and Crystal Palace (A). Hopefully we can take 6 points from those matches.

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We knew we would have it tough after our pre season and the injury list we have. Still can't quite believe the board have given me minimal transfer budget. Anyways.

We started with Liverpool. Could have had an easier match than that to start, but here we are. Fixtures are decided long in advance. With the players I have at my disposal I decided that a 4-2-3-1 formation would serve us best. With Tiote and Anita holding the midfield for us and dropping back when defending, I thought we could possibly come away with draw or narrow loss.



We took a great draw against Liverpool and then drew against Southampton. I was reasonably happy with that start. We then played our first Capital One Cup match against Barnsley and secured our entry into the next round with a 2-0 win thanks to a brace by Ayoze.

And then to Crystal Palace. "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much" Definitely lots of memories here at Selhurst Park. The media tried to bring it up and ignore the football match. Whatever, We won.Great team display to come back from 1-0 down to be equal going into the second half. Really needed that first league win. Great to win at home in from of the great support.


4 games to come in September.
EPL - Man Utd (A)
EPL - West Ham (H)
CAP - Burnley (H)
EPL - Aston Villa (A)