The Soul of the Devil

Prologue




“Are you out of your fucking mind?!”, blurted Ed Woodward, the Executive Vice-Chairman of Manchester United. He and his boss Avram Glazer had been drinking in a bar in New York, when Avram excused himself to go to the washroom. He returned after forty five minutes, and although Ed had half a mind to go look for him, both of them were pretty drunk and Ed had no intentions of leaving the comforts of their personal booth. When Avram returned, he was sweating profusely. “Its all gone wrong Ed, I fucked up, I fucked up big time”, said Avram dabbing the sweat beads on his forehead. Ed looked at him confused and concerned and asked his boss what had happened. Before answering Ed’s question, Avram picked up his glass to have another sip of Chivas Regal’s Royal Salute. Ed stopped him and asked him again, “Boss I think you have had enough for a day, and please I would like to know why you are looking so tensed?”. “I fired him, I fired Jose”, said Avram with a grave expression on his face. “Hah, you got me there boss, for a second I thought you were serious”, chuckled Ed. “I AM SERIOUS”, said Avram, his voice raising, “I’ve fired him on a video call and I have sent an official email about it confirming the news to every possible person”.


“Why? Have you thought of the repercussions? And who will manage the club now?”, asked Ed worriedly. Avram was getting increasingly irritated with what he had done and he was barely controlling his anger, “Of course I haven’t thought of the repercussions or else I would’ve never done something so stupid. As far as managing the club goes, I’ve already appointed someone for that”. Ed looked puzzled, “Please don’t tell me you met Van Gaal here and you have reappointed him, the fans would skewer us and roast us like a turkey on thanksgiving”. “No its not Van Gaal, its not anyone I know, I met this guy in the washroom, we got talking, and the next thing I know I called up Jose and fired him”.


“Are you out of your fucking mind?!”, blurted Ed Woodward, the Executive Vice-Chairman of Manchester United. “Sorry for being so direct boss, but you cannot just hire some random stranger as the manager of one of the best clubs in the history of the sport, our shares will drop immensely, the board will crucify us and don’t even get me started with the fans”.
“I know, I know what’s going to happen to us and the worst part is I don’t remember half of our conversation. God what have I done?” Avram drank the scotch in one sip, but he knew that was not enough to make him forget what had happened.


“Anyways, what’s done is done. We will have to do a bit of damage control now. Don’t worry boss we got through hiring Moyes, we will get through this as well. By the way, what is the name of this mystery manager?”, asked Ed. With a voice hung low, Avram replied, “Some Indian guy named Gaurav Vaidya”.

Great start man!!

Good way to introduce the story! Looking forward to the next update

Dramatic start but love it!

thanks a ton for the replies guys

Breaking News

In a shock move Manchester United have sacked manager Jose Mourinho, after just 12 months of services. Even though the special one’s United career was not exceptional, many have considered it to be a rash move by the American bosses. When asked about this sudden decision, Avram Glazer said, “It felt like the right thing to do, we were not happy with the way the club was going and we had made that clear to Jose”.

The Portuguese manager however was nothing short of miffed by his sacking, and in a heated interview he quoted, “Screw United and screw English football, I’ve had enough of it”.

Fans and players are visibly worried by the recent developments in the world of English football. Many are concerned that after Claudio Ranieri’s sacking by Leicester and Jose Mourinho’s sacking by Manchester United, this might become a new norm in the Premier League.

What’s more interesting is that, Manchester United have appointed a virtually unknown player from India as their new Manager. Gaurav Vaidya has represented his country 78 times as an attacking midfielder and he has scored 12 goals in his international career. The Indian spent his entire club career in boyhood club Mohun Bagan, where he went on to make 300 appearances scoring 63 goals. After a horrendous injury, the then 24 year old had to quit his career and was never heard of up until now. Even though he has qualifications to manage a club, people are concerned that managing an illustrious club like Manchester United might prove to be too much of a challenge for the Indian.

The 27 year old will be having an official press conference in three days and it will be interesting to see how he he responds to his new role. Till then all we can do is hope that Manchester United don’t have to look for another Sir Alex Ferguson replacement in the coming months.

-Garry Richardson, BBC Sportsweek

First Day at the Office


Finally the dream has come true. I still can’t believe that I will be managing the club that I have been supporting since 2003, but this is not the time to savor this moment. As a United fan it is my duty to bring back the one thing that has been lacking at this club ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left. The Soul of Manchester United.

The plan is simple. My targets during my tenure here would be:
1. Make use of the youth academy and help our hot prospects reach stardom
2. Bring back the beautiful counter attacking play of the 2007/08 season
3. Not to overspend on transfers

Today let’s start with target number two. The first thing that I want is to set up the formation so that I can asses, where we need to buy/sell players.
I will be using the classic 4-4-2 formation, which may seem a bit outdated for the modern game, but I will be tweaking it to make sure we have a solid game plan.

Goalkeeper: This one is a no brainer, David De Gea will be my first choice, and I would want him to sit between the sticks, stop shots and give long passes to initiate counter attacks. Sergio Romero would do as a back up keeper for now, but I will need to look for a young goalkeeper who can be a long term replacement for De Gea.

Right Back: This is one position for which I will have to look for a new player. I want a Gary Neville type of a player, who would sit in the defense and stop attacking plays. I want my right back to go forward very rarely and in that sense Antonio Valencia will do no good, as no matter how good his physical stats are, he is a winger. Matteo Darmian is good, but that’s the problem, he is just good.

Central Defenders: Eric Bailly will be my Vidic, he will make tackles and pass the ball on to the nearest free player. Smalling would be more like Rio Ferdinand, who will stop opposition and then spread out passes. Rojo and Jones would be my second choices and Ro Shaun Williams will play cup ties as well as he will fill in if other players are injured.

Left Back: Luke shaw will be my main left back, but apart from him I don’t really have other players who can defend as well as go forward. I might play Rojo in the second team or Daley Blind, but blind is slow so he will not be able to effectively attack as luke shaw would. This is one more area that I will have to look into.

Central Midfielders: I like to play with a Ball Winning Midfielder like Roy Keane and a Box to Box midfielder. For the latter I have Paul Pogba as a first team choice and Fellaini as a second choice, but the for the former I don’t have any player that would fit the role. Carrick and Bastian will not be able to keep up with opposition’s attacking midfielders and Blind is a decent choice for the position, but he does not have the strength to hold it.

Right Midfielder: Henrikh Mikhitaryan will be my right midfielder/winger. He will go forward and spray out passes for my strikers and other attacking players. Antonio Valencia will be my second choice to play in this position.

Left Winger: Juan Mata will be playing in the left wing but his main role would be of an advanced playmaker. I have a very talented young winger in Jesse Lingard who will be the perfect backup for Mata

Strikers: To recreate the Rooney Tevez partnership, I need two strikers who will have free roles. Depending on situation, they should be able to switch between target men, poachers, etc. and for that, I will be playing Rooney as a Complete Forward in support duty and Zlatan Imbrahimovic as a Complete Forward in attack duty. Rashford and Marial will be my second team pair, with Rashford taking up Rooney’s role and Martial being the more attacking option of the two. I also have James Wilson who can play in cup matches.

As far as the tactics and instructions are concerned, they will be something like this:






Now I just have to look for a ball winning midfielder, a young goalkeeper, a right back and a left back.

Transfers

Transfers In:

With a budget of 70mil pounds, I have more than enough to strengthen my squad. There are some weak areas that need to be taken care of immediately, but I hope I can find some good youngsters in the process as well.

Alban Lafont: From Toulouse FC for 22.5mil



The Toulouse stopper is just 17 and he is already making headlines. He will be the perfect replacement for De Gea, and the age gap between them is also perfect. In his first season with the Ligue 1 side, he made 24 appearances and kept 8 clean sheets. Those are some amazing stats for a 17 year old, especially while playing in a top league.

Franck Kessie: From Atlanta for 35.5mil



We made a bid for Ruben Neves, but Porto were hellbent to keep their central midfielder. So our scouts scurried a bit more and we found this absolute beast of a player. His physical stats are amazing, he is brave, determined, ambitious and he is pacy enough to keep up with the attacking midfielders. And he is just 19.

Edoardo Goldaniga: From Palermo for 15mil



Our scouts recommended the Full Back highly. He can defend and has a good mentality to read the game. It would be interesting to see how this 22yr old Italian develops.

Giuseppe Pezella: From Palermo for 8mil



Another import from Palermo, the resilient Italian is just 18 and has excellent pace. He can be trained to be a player like Shaw, who can go forward and provide crosses for more attacking players.

Ruben Neves: From Porto for 25.5mil



After our first bid was rejected, he was unsettled at Porto. He made it very clear that he wanted to join us. You don’t think twice when a player of his caliber comes knocking at the door.

Shaqir Tafa: From Palermo for 3.3mil



Yet another defender from Palermo, the 6 feet 3 inches tall 17yr old Albanian was hard to miss. Along with Neves, he joined us on the deadline day. Although in the initial stages he will be playing in with the academy, I predict him to be ready for the first team by he turns 20.


Transfers Out:

Ashley Young: To Sunderland for 3.4mil



The ageing winger had very little to offer and it was the right time to find a new club for him.

Matteo Darmian: To Leicester for 13mil



The Italian full back is good enough to be a second choice player, but I’m sure that is not where he would see himself and I don’t really want to stagnate his career.

Matthew Willock: To Exeter on Loan



Willock is one youth prospect who I believe can develop into a good player. He needs training and game time, and so a loan move seemed ideal for him.

Josh Harrop: To Crawley on Loan



Another reserves player who needs game time to develop. He has the ability to play in the first team in the future, and so I will keep loaning him out for at least another season or two.

Joel Pereira: To Sheffield United on Loan



After De Gea and Lafont I need a third choice Goalkeeper. Pereira looks promising and we will be doing our best to help him reach his potential.

Got some real good players there!

thanks

I am especially excited about Kessie, he seems like a beast

First Tem Meeting, First Challenge


Finally it was time to meet my team. All these years I have admired them from the stands, followed their every game. I have seen them fall and I have seen them rise up again. Today, I will be meeting them as their boss. I can’t put it in words what I am feeling right now. But I have to make sure not to get overwhelmed by the occasion. I must not forget that this is my biggest chance to establish my image.

The meeting starts, it’s good to know that all the players have reported to training and that too before time. They are all looking at me quizzically, sizing me up to see why exactly was I appointed for this role. I think I will start with my introduction. I’ve got to keep in mind not to drift away and babble.

I calm my nerves and start talking, “Hi team, My name is Gaurav Vaidya. Majority of you may have not heard about me, and unless you are a fan of Indian Football, I don’t blame you”. I smile, the team looks at me puzzled. I make a mental note, not to crack such jokes again. “Before we start discussing about our game plans for the coming season, let me tell you guys a bit about myself. I use to play for Mohun Bagan, which one of the best clubs in India and I have also had the pleasure for representing my country on many occasions. Due to a devastating injury I had to cut short my playing career. You guys may have read these details in the newspapers recently. What the press did not cover though is that why exactly am I here. They tried getting that scoop, but I wanted to share my vision with you guys first”.

They look at me keenly, “I am a die hard Red Devil”. With that I remove my t shirt and I reveal the Manchester United logo tattooed on my left chest. “Ever since I’ve started understanding this beautiful game, I have supported Man Utd. I’ve supported the team, when we were dominating the Premier League and winning Champions League, I have also supported the team when they were playing with players like Eric Djemba-Djemba, Quinton Fortune and Kieron Richardson. And the reason for that was always simple. I have always believed in this club. We create superstars, we never stay down, we win. And that is exactly what I am here to do.”

Rooney intervenes and asks, “I respect your feelings boss, but what we really want to know is how are you planning to get us to the top again”.

I put my t-shirt back on, “Wayne please call me Gaurav, I will be sharing my tactical plans with you guys and the coaching team soon, but my biggest priority will be to let you guys play with creative freedom. We will not concentrate more on possession, but rather we will play a more direct counter attacking game. We will be competing in the Premier League, Euro Cup, EFL Cup and the FA Cup. Majority of the time we will be playing two matches a week. To make sure that all of my players stay fit and get enough game time, I will be playing with two teams. And let me make one thing absolutely crystal clear, none of these two teams would have a priority over the other. We will rotate a lot, we have a tremendous squad at our disposal and we will be making full use of it.” Players like Fellaini, Herrera and Blind give each other unsure looks, I sense their anxiety and try to reiterate what I said earlier, But Zlatan cuts me off and says, “Zlatan does not play in B teams, put me in one and Zlatan will leave”. I give him a sharp look, “I have already made it very clear to everyone including you Zlatan that I will not have ‘Team A’ and ‘Team B’. We will rotate to make sure we are sharp and effective on every front. If you are ready to contribute to the team, you will find your place, or else you are very much free to leave”. Zlatan gruntles and sits down, I sense the tension in the room, maybe I overdid it.

“Okay and don’t forget that most of all I want you guys to enjoy your game time and play with freedom, the structure will come but I want you guys to show what you all can really do. And most importantly I will be making full use of our academy, so if any young player impresses me much, they might get a chance in the first team immediately. I have a few names in mind who will be contributing to the first team starting from this season itself. All in all, I want to promise you guys that we all will have one heck of a time together”. We continue the meeting for a few more minutes and we conclude with general instructions for the training session.

Pre Season



The pre season kicked off well. We were playing against minnows but still the team gelled well and they are adapting to the tactic perfectly. The highlight for me was James Wilson’s double hattrick against D. Coloane. The only time we slipped up during the pre season was when we drew against Cherno More, but that's okay, it is better to do that in these early stages than during our competitive matches.

Tactics wise I have instructed my players to not close down the opponents, so that we can maintain a structured formation. We are doing a horrible job with possession, but that was expected. As of now we are doing a good job at breaking plays and creating counter attacking chances.


Match Reports:

I like that you've laid down the law early man! Don't like seeing United do well (typical liverpool fan) but this has the early makings of a really good story; keep it up!

thanks a ton dude

It means a lot coming from a Reds fan. Respect to Gerrard though.

A Good Start



The Premier League has kicked off and the 20 teams participating in the top tier of English football have show real intent in its first month. Today we will be looking at how all the teams have fared this month.

First off, we will start with the winners of this year’s Community Shield, Manchester United. The Red Devils have won their 21st community shield, with experts suggesting that it was one of their best performances in recent times. The clash was highly anticipated as fans from around the world wanted to see how Leicester City, winners of last year’s Premier Division, would be performing this year. The fans were disappointed as their team lost 3-0 in a match that was dominated by United from kick off.

United opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a debut goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Wayne Rooney added to the tally in the 41st minute with a perfectly executed finish. Henrikh Mikhitaryan rounded off the scoring with his debut goal in the 69th minute. United fans were very pleased with the attacking soccer their team played, which saw them take 19 shots on goal, of which 12 were on target. Experts have praised new manager Gaurav Vaidya’s tactics, claiming it to be a reminiscence of United’s fast paced counter attacking play of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era. Although they have made it very clear that it is too early to say if the Indian manager can achieve the success expected from him at the club.

Vaidya on the other hand has been very composed, and has shown his eagerness to turn around the club’s performances from the past few years with wins over Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough.

Despite the positives, United lost 1-3 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which left the fans devastated. In a post match conference Vaidya said, “Of course it was a bad performance from the team and I have made it very clear to them. We have a lot of work to do, but we are not surprised by it. This was expected since the beginning of the season and we will be working our asses off to make sure something like this is not repeated”.

Our sources have informed us that the head coach delivered a very heated speech to his team after the match and has intensified their training schedule for the coming weeks. The team has taken Vaidya’s approach positively and are determined to prove themselves to their new coach.
Next off we take a look at the dominating performances of Tottenham Hotspurs, who experts are claiming can go on to win the league………`