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A New Place To Call Home?
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It was that time of the season, the period where no manager is safe. A bad run of form could spell the end, and those who were already trudging through the troughs in their season were questioning their job security. Usually for a manager, this would be hell. For me it was a gift from god, as I awaited a second opportunity to showcase my talent.
With the Liga2 Cabovisão's demise fast approaching, many of the managers from that league were quickly losing security over their respective jobs and I felt that I may have a chance to maybe take the reins of a club destined for the drop, preparing for life in the third tier.
As the season wore on stable jobs became insecure, and some even dropped to a lowly very insecure level according to many betting agencies. Some chairmen felt their respective managers deserved until the season's end, which did not bother me as maybe I could arrive int he offseason, but others were happy to pull the trigger. In the end, I sounded out three jobs that I felt were achievable for myself and who would happily interview me at the very least.
To begin with,
Leixões are a Portuguese club based in Matosinhos of northern Portugal and until recently were a top half Primeira Liga side, finishing 6th in the 2008-09 season and thus only narrowly missing out on Europa League qualification. That just illustrates the team's sharp decline since then. Now under the tutelage of Manuel Monteiro, the club are lying deep in relegation trouble and many feel that they are all but certain to go down.
Secondly,
Oriental are a team based only a few kilometres from my beloved Sporting's home ground. Returning to Lisbon, or at least to the south of Portugal is my preference and Oriental would fit that perfectly. The club were promoted only two seasons ago and under João Barbosa have managed to make a name for themselves in the second tier. However, that honeymoon period seems to be ending now, as they lie towards the bottom of the table. The manager's job security is rated as insecure, but it remains to be seen whether he will be removed immediately or at the season's end, if at all.
Finally, based in the Vila do Conde area of northern Portugal,
Varzim are a club that were seemingly on the rise. Until this season. Quim Berto clings onto his job by the skin of his teeth, as the club have continued to sink towards the lower reaches of the table - clearly not good enough for chairman Pedro Faria. The club certainly have the resources to bounce back up if they do go down, but will I be the manager in charge?
Apart from those jobs, there had been multiple sackings and departures within the Campeonato Nacional's current crop of teams that I, myself, had been linked with. These included
Oliveira do Hospital, whose manager was sacked. Not a job I was interested in doing, seeing as though the club were well below my Tirsense side at the time.
However, I did not get the job - I didn't even get offered an interview and nor did I express interest in the job. The manager who took it was Carlos Gaminha, manager of
Sertanense FC. Ironically, I was considered the favourite for that job, too. Nonetheless, I decided to stick it out with Tirsense - a decision I still stick with despite tendering my resignation.
The jobs I am mainly interested in are the three listed before. There are other jobs out there which I consider above my reputation and I would rather not experience the humiliation of not even being offered an interview. My plan of action is to wait for the moment and hope that managers are given until the end of the season. That way I can assume a squad from the very beginning of preseason and make the necessary preparations and adjustments.
