Ok so after a chat with Glenn T in the chat room earlier I have decided to start a story based on a new save I have started on FM15. I have been a huge fan of FM for a few years now and also reguarly lurk on this forum reading everyone's stories here so thought I would once again try turning my hand at writing my own.

This story will be an unemployment challenge of sorts (unless I become too attached to a certain club) I will be starting with a National C licence and experience as a Sunday league footballer. Without giving too much away the first club I take charge at is fairly obscure but in a league I came to love in last year’s FM so I am pretty happy to be back there. If you can bare the initial obscurity the bigger and more interesting challenges come later. Providing I do well of course… I could be in line for early retirement. :p
I will be playing the game as myself, partly because I like to see my name gaining the plaudits for success and also partly due to me not being as creative as some of you guys when it comes to character stories ha!
My overall goals in this save are to:

1. 1- Build my reputation as a manager and eventually manage a club in one of the main leagues in Europe
2. 2- Win as many domestic trophies along the way as possible in a few different countries
3. 3- Win any of the 5 continents champions leagues (or all 5 if I last long enough)
4. 4- Earn myself a place in the managers hall of fame

Now there is a lot of ambition here but hopefully I have enough about me to be able to progress and make these goals a reality. I really hope you guys enjoy this journey I am about to embark on as it is going to be a long and hard one for me

First update will probably be uploaded tomorrow evening once I decide how I want to lay my story out, but wanted to get the ball rolling and lay out my plans for what I want to try to achieve.

Wish me luck

Yet another story who is inspired by Glenn. Best of luck mate!

“I could bloody well do better than that!” I shouted, a lump forming in my throat as I fought back the tears. A grown man crying over football. Grow up. I thought to myself. How could I feel so broken? As if the world had fallen from my feet and I was a weightless mass in an empty void in space. I had just witnessed my beloved Leyton Orient lose to Rotherham in the League One Play Off Final at Wembley from my sofa, because apparently once we reached the final thousands of Orient fans appeared out of nowhere resulting in me not being able to grab a ticket. Although I was relieved somewhat the long journey back to East London after that penalty shoot-out.

“Why don’t you then?” I heard my friend question, being so wrapped up in my thoughts I almost forgot he was there. “You got your National C Licence last year didn’t you? The last time you said you could do better but never stuck at it after you didn’t get the first job you applied for!” His tone was a mix of mockery and irritation, I couldn’t blame him though, I’ve always banged on about how much better I would be as a manager whenever I was witness to our bad results, especially losses as painful as this one.

Orient were 2-0 up at half time and we looked as if we were cruising our way to victory and into the Championship. Oh how quickly things can take a turn for the worse. A poor show of defending and resolve in the second half allowed Rotherham striker and ex Orient player Alex Revell to score a brace and level the score line. Extra time was tense but uneventful which led us to the lottery of penalties. Mathew Baudry (one of Orients top performers of the season) rapidly turned hero to villain as he hit a weak spot kick which was then easily saved by the Rotherham keeper to send them into the Championship, heart breaking.

http://i57.tinypic.com/2wdr3uo.jpg
Baudry walking back towards his teammates after missing his penalty kick.

“Right then, I will! You don’t believe me do you? Just you see!” I blurted. I was still emotional from the defeat but wasn’t going to have someone mock me for my shortcomings as a person, even if we are best mates there are limits as to how far you go when taking the piss. I opened up my laptop right then and searched for ‘Football management jobs’ and found a website that listed all the vacant manager positions at football clubs all around the globe, with links to the application forms provided as well. Well this is very convenient. I thought, marveling at the simple way every management job available was all in one place. Now, with this new found determination to prove myself as a football manager, and to prove my friend wrong more than anything else, I made the rash decision to apply for every available job there was.

A few days later I received a glut of emails informing me that my applications to various clubs had been rejected and in some cases outright laughed off, insulting. However, fast forward another week and I receive an email of a slightly different nature. I had been invited to a job interview! Amidst my initial excitement I almost missed the fact that the club was from Iceland. Iceland! Bloody Iceland! I thought about not attending but my mind wandered back to my friend’s comments and I immediately put that thought away. I couldn’t afford to fly there just for an interview that may not lead to a job so I arranged to have it over Skype the next day. The club agreed.

So excited of a job prospect I also realised I knew nothing about this football club or indeed about football in Iceland whatsoever. Don’t they have that one team that has amazing goal celebrations? My aim now was to research everything I could about the club and the Icelandic football league system, with one question burning in my mind.

Who are they?

Really, really good start. Think I'm going to keep up with this one

great start man, keep it up!

Thanks guys, I'll try to keep a consistent quality up (y)

gunna try and get some banners and whatnot made up to dress it up and make it sparkle a bit more.

No shame of crying over football

Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm screeched as I fumbled around to shut it off. Reluctantly I started to open my eyes, heavy as if someone had tied tiny concrete blocks to the bottom of my eyelids. I grabbed my phone to check the time, because who owns a clock or a watch in the age of smartphones right? 9:30am it read. Holy crap! Half an hour until the interview. I jumped out of bed flinging my duvet off unaware of my cat Eevee sleeping next to me as I sent her flying through the air, the hiss she let out both frightened and amused me. Reeling my thoughts back in to the human world I ran to the bathroom to rush through the three S’s, I don’t have to explain what they are do I? Coming out of the bathroom I tried to find my phone to see what the time was, I couldn’t find it, cursing myself for not owning a clock; everyone should own a clock surely? I finally gave up and switched on my laptop, 9:53am. Rushing around frantically at such speed I’m sure I could have given The Flash himself a run for his money, I put on a shirt and tie but before I could find my trousers my Skype started to ring out. I don’t need trousers right? My legs will be under the desk anyway. So sat at my desk in a creased shirt, a tie that was far too wide for my tastes and no trousers, I clicked answer and prepared myself for the imminent failure that would be my job interview.

“Ah, hell… I mean… góðan daginn” I stuttered, I thought learning at least how to say good morning in Icelandic would impress them somewhat, had I not just messed up the pronunciation.

“góðan daginn to you Mr Fairbairn, did I say that right?“ He didn‘t. “Anyway my name is Sigurjón Sigurðsson and I am the chairman of this fine sports club here in Iceland.“

He didn't waste any time with small talk and got straight down to business. It didn't bother me so much that he pronounced my name wrong as I had just butchered his language from the start and what was his name again? He asked a lot of questions, mainly as to why he should hire someone with zero experience and who could quite obviously not speak the language, I was sweating from nerves and I answered as best and confidently as a 25 year old guy on Skype in his pants could. A huge struggle considering this interview was one camera slip away from a chat roulette horror story.

After what seemed like an eternity fighting my nerves and an accidental panty flash, Sigurjón brought proceedings to a close and informed me that he'd be in touch once he had made a decision and reviewed other possible candidates. The tone of his voice throughout and his reactions, or lack of should I say, to my feeble attempts at lighthearted humour and boasting that I would be the man to take his beloved club to the top of Icelandic football told me all I needed to know, I wasn‘t going to get the job. Somehow I doubt my story of how I led my local pub team to glory in a cup competition absolutley no one in the world cared about was enough to seal the deal.

Fast forward to the next day, sitting on my sofa finishing off a corned beef sandwich and watching Jeremy Kyle berate another spotty lowlife, my phone started ringing. I picked up.
"Hello?“ I answered.

"Greetings Mr Fairbairn, hope you are well today. This is Sigurjón Sigurðsson, I have an offer for you.“

"Oh. Erm. Hey Mr Sigurðsson I hadn‘t expected to hear back so soon.“ I replied, I was genuinely shocked, I really thought I‘d failed the interview yesterday. Well, either I got the job or he saw my pants and wanted to offer me a job as a catalog underwear model, which I highly doubted.

"Yes well, it is tough times for the club at the moment and desperate times call for desperate measures. We are currently on course for relegation this season with only a handful of games left. We are prepared to offer you the management position on a temporary basis until the end of the current season. If, and only if, you can keep us up we will talk about keeping you on a more permanent basis. You will of course have to fly over immediately so you can take control of our game on Sunday. Is this acceptable Mr Fairbairn?“

"Bloody brilliant!“ I exclaimed as I simultaneously fist pumped! I had just got my chance in football management! "I will make the arrangements and be there later this evening.“

"Great to hear. Send me an email with your flight details and I will have someone pick you up from the airport.“

Click. Then just like that he hung up. I once more fist pumped with excitement and rushed around like a madman once again to sort out my flights and arrange for someone to look after Eevee whilst I was gone. I would keep my flat just incase I was back in a months time. Such thoughts didn‘t stall my excitement though, I was on my way to Iceland to start my journey in football management, and most importantly, to prove my friend wrong!

Ooohhhh Iceland, possibly the best place on earth, trust me - You'll love managing there!

So I've been playing the game and getting really into it. So much so I haven't made time to write up the next update but it will come tonight with the big reveal of what team I'll be managing in Iceland

The Club the City the Country

http://i58.tinypic.com/era3ck.jpg

As the plane was flying into the city of Kópavogur I couldn’t help but admire the sights, at least at night this city looked beautiful. I’m going to like it here. It was huge compared to how I had pictured it, I guess I’ve never really thought of Iceland as a country that had much in the way of cities, I was so untraveled and really only used to the comforts back home in London. This was going to be a challenge in more ways than one.

As I collected what little luggage I had brought with me and made my way through customs through to the other side, with surprisingly little trouble, the standard questions and nothing else. I saw a large man in a suit holding up a sign that had my name misspelled on it. I wandered up to him and introduced myself. He didn’t speak much, only beckoned me to follow him to the car waiting outside. A black Range Rover was the vehicle that was waiting, the man, who I could only assume was the driver, opened the door and uttered two words. Get in.

There was already a man inside the back of the car. The chairman Sigurjón Sigurðsson decided that we would have our first meeting in the back of a Range Rover as I was being driven to an apartment that he had arranged for me to live in for the duration of my stay. However long that would be. He also informed me that there would be no press conference or extensive introductions, as their next game was only two days away and he wanted me to focus on working with the team as he kept reminding me that the club was taking a big risk in hiring me. However he told me that before I had even landed that evening, my name was already over the back pages of the local news, and handed me a copy. I couldn't help but smile.

http://i62.tinypic.com/24e6zd5.jpg

The recent success of their handball team is something I would like to try and replicate here and make them a decent team consistently competing for trophies and titles, if I stick around long enough that is. Ideally I will want to move on to a bigger club and a higher reputation league but hopefully I can make my mark before that happens.

Located in Kópavogur, the second largest municipality in Iceland by population, HK is in a good location to attract people and players to the club. The city also houses Iceland’s tallest building the Smáratorg tower. A good opportunity to make a name for ourselves and be put on the list of things tourists like to do, like when people visit Barcelona for the Nou Camp!

I had done my research on this city and football club. Knowledge is power as they say. So that is the summary of the club but my main ambitions are much higher than here, but I will always be thankful that I was given the chance. So as long as I can show my worth as a manager and do well eventually I will be able to move up the ladder and manage in a top league in a big footballing nation. We all have to start somewhere.

Best of luck, let's hope for massive success!

Interesting place to choose, considering the only real city is Reykjavík

@Jer: thanks mate, hoping for success too, it may even come early, but we shall see

@Tallery: I was researching it and it interested me for sure. The club has potential if it can garner some regular income. The youth facilities are pretty good as well considering the stature of the club currently. So I'm confident of getting them competitive if I stay long enough that is heh!

The Team and the Tactics!

http://i60.tinypic.com/29vavy1.jpg

We need a player or 2 to cover the wings, another MC to cover suspension or injury. The squad looks decent enough to be doing better than it currently is so at least three players incoming to provide added cover for my tactic. Unfortunately though there is no time to get anyone in so hopefully I can avoid relegation and bolster my squad in the transfer window.

My tactic of choice is going to be a 4-2-3-1. This tactic will be the style of football I want to play for the most part. An attacking formation, with focus on fast play and taking the game to the opposition. The idea being that we get the ball out wide for the inside forwards to cut in and look for the killer pass or shoot and score themselves, with the striker poaching inside the box looking to receive the ball or pounce on rebounds and blocked shots. The defenders will be set to limited because I like to keep a structured backline as to not take too many risks and leak goals.

Looking at some of the players stats I believe the team is more than capable of playing this style of football.

http://i59.tinypic.com/140kqki.jpg

Here is a look at the results so far in HK's season. At a glance it is easy to see how the previous manager found himself out of the dugout and into the dole office queue. Terrible results. Now it is up to me to turn things around and build for next season. I am quietly confident in my abilities even though this is my first job in management, but I believe I can do something special here and make some history. That will all start in a days time when I take charge of the team for the first time against Víkingur Ó.