Zero 2 Hero - The Only Way is Up!

Beautiful, aint he? This is Sam JH a badge less and pretty much useless manager about to take his first step into football management. The goal you may ask? its simple, do whatever necessary to become the biggest and most successful manager to ever grace the planet.




As for locations we will be sticking to European teams only because i said so, many options to still choose from in a rather brave database ive gone for.








So with the basics done and dusted we gazed our eyes to a rather interesting list of available jobs at the start of pre-season.





Someone will give me a job, right?





Just a quick shout out and shameless plug to my Twitch channel which i shall be streaming this whole save from start to finish for anyone interested in catching any of the action live, feel free to drop me a follow to know when i go live - https://www.twitch.tv/samjhlive

2018-12-01 16:59#252972 Justice : That is a magnificent coat.

Thank you kind sir, it sure is something!



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Well after applying for jobs it became clear i was not going to be spoilt for choice on picking my first club, it dwindled down very quick between Albion Rovers in the bottom tier of Scottish football or Danish outfit HIK. After an interview for both luckily one of the two offered me the job.... how could i say no!?




So we take over at "The Wee Rovers" after being unemployed for only a few days shy of 1 week, doing not bad for myself eh? well no... not at all actually.


It very quickly sinked in we are not going to be experiencing many fun times here if any actually!







So the media think we are favourites to have back to back relegations which is really inspiring me on the first day of the job. Luckily though the board have set the same level of ambition because they too do not expect much of a winning season ahead, But just when you think the drive for success couldn't get any worse here i held my first ever team meeting on my first day and told the lads we could avoid relegation and well... lets just say these part timers do not agree.





After about 20 minutes of regret and thoughts of resigning already i plucked up the courage to finally look at the team and what sort of standards im working with compared to the rest of the league.





And its safe to say i now fully understand why we are predicted for automatic relegation with very little if any players standing out as key players. Although having said that i shall show who is regarded are our best player and by far at that!




Last but not least we have a quick look at the current state of the club and honestly i was expecting worse... i was expecting it to be in the red if im honest.





I also decided to try convince the club to look for an affiliate we can snatch loan players from since anything is better that Albion Rovers (sorry rovers fans) and after there initial answer of no i basically told them i want this request granted or im leaving already! okay i didn't say that but they did agree after some master negotiations! okay it wasnt very masterful it was basically me begging like a little boy, but yes means yes!




I will add we ended up agreeing on Dundee as senior affiliate and then soon after realised that League 2 of Scottish football can only have 4 players in the team on loan at one time and we already have 4 so this agreement was useless and our efforts of crying to the board was for nothing! wait i mean the master negotiations.



So we have had a little chat with the team and they made it clear how shite they think (know) they are, went over our squad and found out very quickly that every position could be doing with improvements... we also learned if we shout at the board enough they sort of listen i suppose? oh and also i tried for a coaching course but the board basically told me to fuck off and not be a greedy cunt, okay they didn't say that but they did say no way jose. But on the bright side (if there even is one) we are getting a tidy £350 a week!

2018-12-02 10:43#253007 mgriffin2012 : This will be an interesting read mate, looking forward to it!

Although slightly surprised you didnt get the Real Madrid job

I know right! a little offended i wasn't considered for it, at least Rovers aint a huge step down... oh wait.


--------------------------------------------------------






Well life as Albion Rovers boss has been... something? We are 5 games into our League 2 campaign and also played our Betfred Cup group matches. Transfer market on the other hand hasn't gone so well, seemingly impossible to sell anyone and with loan signings pretty much out the window we had to try and rely on free transfers and lets just say its probably my worst ever effort at a summer transfer, fitting though right? worst transfer period for the worst team ever?



So the transfers were rather underwhelming, there was no massive moves made that will change our season from relegation battle to promotion playoffs, 4 came in and an impressive 0 left the club.




Pick of the bunch being Celtic youngster McKay who should join up well in central midfield with our main man Fisher, as for the rest.. nothing worthy of gracing our eyes with.





So the results so far you may ask? well its been... i mean its going.... you know what lets just start with the Betfred cup finishing table.





Look at it this way, the board wanted me to be competitive and they were pleased! a very surprising 3-1 win in there against Clyde who are predicted to finish 2nd! they did outclass us easily though we just got super lucky with 3 shots and 3 goals.... more luck like that please !?








So a rather poor start but as expected, after losing to Elgin who were predicted to finish 8th (or 9th?) i KNEW we had to change something because Queens Park is the only realistic team we can beat and if we lose to both Elgin and Queens Park we were going to be in big trouble. So a few tweaks and formation change and we actually beat them and kept a clean sheet! and then to keep the momentum ball rolling we then drew with 2nd place Berwick! Might be too early to blow my own trumpet but tactical masterclass? i think so.

Well after a rather 50/50 first few games in charge we now fast forward through to the beginning of January 19 games deep into the League 2 season and after drilling our tactic into the teams rather questionable brain of football knowledge and skill we seem to be playing better as a team and not really getting overrun every game, but still its for sure not been a pleasant ride so far.








So a positive to take away from this is the fact we sit very comfy in 8th with a huge gap between ourselves and the bottom 2 thanks to our little run of 10 points from a possible 12, so really the goal is just to try and pull ourselves as high up the table as possible now our tactic has sinked in with the players and we have the opportunity to bring in some faces so add more depth, id be chuffed to end the season around the same amount of points as the likes of 7th and 6th and really close the gap. As for the board they are more than content with our current work done.



The players also seem to really have my back, as for the atmosphere and understanding between the players, well... no comment.




With the season now halfway through im fairly happy so far with the work done, we did ask for a coaching course again and the board said no so ill be disappointing to leave after this season and not take anything away from it. Anyway here is a little screenshot of our tactic since i know you tactical freaks out there will enjoy all that...

2018-12-03 22:59#253076 Justice : Well clear of relegation at the minute, hopefully a late promotion charge can be made!

Amen to that, brother!

2018-12-03 23:21#253083 ScottT : Not the most consistent of teams, but it's enough to keep you away from potential relegation. I think this season could be one for consolidation, then next season is the year to push on - whether that be with Albion or not.

Yeah the more momentum on my back the better! was a little worried about the dreaded 10th spot so the further away from that the better.

2018-12-04 21:33#253117 mgriffin2012 : Staying up considering your managerial background would be an excellent achievement

I know right!? the best looking and tactical genius helping Albion survive! the scenes...


---------------------------------------------------------------







So we shoot ahead to 30 games done in League 2 along with our January transfer work and the youth intake. Only thing i can really say about Albion Rovers so far is consistency really is key, no really.... it is.




Now i could go over the transfers player by player and speak on all there strong points and what attracted me to them etc etc blah blah. Honestly most of these guys were brought in to replace the ones i got rid off, in return we have slightly better replacements being paid less money... gosh i love saving money! every little helps!!! (asda price)




Given we lose around 5-10k per month this wont make a slight difference but to see it go from -£500 to now in the green is making me feel real good about myself, so go me i suppose.




So yeah is not going to smoothly, i did ask for a 3rd time to get my first coaching badge and rather than saying "we need you at training" they now suggested they couldn't afford it. At least they are mixing up there excuses a little.... pricks.


It's about time we had some good news and something that was a first for me on fm.... GOLDEN GENERATION! damn i love all caps for dramatic effect, but yeah my first ever golden generation on fm and its such a shame it came with Albion Rovers, why is the world so cruel?








So they all seem rather underwhelming considering i was screaming and cheering on stream at my inbox, one player does however go straight into the senior squad and will most likely feature as a backup for the time being, Shaun Gibson. I shall be sure to update you if any others also get the nod but as of right now they really arent worthy of a shout out trust me on this one.






Last but not least we recap on my first ever season in management with only 6 games left, like i said at the start consistency really is key.... and an absolute pain in the arse.



A few noticeable mentions like the crazy 5-2 win away to 1st place Edinburgh City only to lose 1 week later to last place LOL! the wins over Clyde and Cowdenbeath are honorable victories given the gap in class.... and the table!! Our formation is sunk into the cabbage brains of the players well, we seem to play "well" in most games but the quality in the final 3rd between ourselves and the top 7 is just so huge it has an effect every game. Three games in there at 3-2 losses! i feel if we had to play from the start of the season now we would do much better but we cant complain so much given how much of a difference the team is now compared to day 1. Sadly though its very unlikely we stay another year because we really need those coaching badges and its looking like Albion isnt the place to receive them and we need to think about ourselves rather than them... im a heartless bastard i know!

We have finally hit the end of our first ever season in football management with the mighty, amazing and down right fantastic Albion Rovers, okay well not really but the season overall wasn't so bad given the quality and resources we obviously had to work with.









So with a rather 50/50 end to the season we finish in 7th place and get acknowledged as the biggest overachievers which was a nice touch, i thought we played up to standards overall and throughout the middle of the season we really had a nice stint of 10 games or so and played well. The league itself is a strange one with key players for certain teams being the reason for success rather than the whole squad because most teams really do not have much in terms of quality at all.



Moving on ill show a quick recap of the squad and some of there ratings as well since i know all you stats freaks love that shit.



My Top 3

1. Ronan Kearney - Obvious choice, top goalscorer and stayed rather consistent throughout the season.

2. David McKay - The youngster played well alongside Fisher in the centre, real shame he is only here on loan as he had a solid debut season.

3. Jamie Watson - Out of all our wingers Watson was the only one not to prove completely useless, so props for that for what its worth lol.





Crazy to think we managed 3rd for most goals in the entire league AND had top goalscorer, makes me think where did it go wrong to finish higher?




So overall our time at Albion has been rather underwhelming considering how "well" we did to overachieve with such a poor side, but we received no badges here or even any reputation boost or momentum from this first season. So with 2 weeks left on my contract i decided to try and snatch my first coaching course as i literally had nothing to lose and to my complete surprise the board granted it!





Now after getting my badge, i thought back at the season and how we improved over those games from 1st till the 36th and well.... fake it till you make it! or some stupid phrase like that?

2018-12-07 22:15#253233 mgriffin2012 : A steady season to say the least but for your first season in management, nothing to be scoffed at!

I agree! it could of gone much much worse. Gives us a decent platform to build on this season.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Well just like that season 2 kicks underway with Albion after i was really expecting to be on the job hunt but i just love those coaching badges too much. This season rather than just being content with anything other than relegation im really hoping to push on and get top 4 otherwise why would i of stayed!? This is super ambitious and a little unrealistic given we are still one of the worst teams on paper in the league and really not improved much with our players brought in, i do feel the team is gelled well and we have great understanding of the tactics so im hoping our form at the back end of last season is taken into this season. As for the ambitions from the board they are still happy for us to just avoid relegation so we will shoot on through this season with literally no pressure and see what damage we can cause in league 2.





Nothing to out of the ordinary with only 1 new team joining us in league 2 this season, Stenhousemuir. The biggest surprise is Elgin City and Queens Park are not expected to be in a dog fight to avoid relegation with me, At least we aint expected dead last like last season.... so kind.


As for transfers we were a little underwhelming just like last season, we did however promote 2 players from the reserves who are apart of the golden generation from last seasons intake. We also managed to keep our key player and captain Fisher after he refused to sign a new deal and his contract actually ran out, but to my surprise nobody came in and offered him a contract so eventually he wanted to not only stay but we managed to drop his wages from £300 per week to around £160!! what a steal. David McKay also makes a return from Celtic on another year long loan which is great news for us to keep him and Fisher in the middle. A handful of useless players left on free deals and all our In's this season have been free deals so far as i just cant seem to attract slightly better players in on loan.... its a hard life.






Basically 1 new GK comes in alongside 3 defenders and one striker to vary it up top, the thinking behind the summer window was to try and largely leave the midfield and attack untouched and do all my focus on defence because we managed to score the 3rd highest league goals last season so its fairly obvious our defence is the letdown.... if only you saw some of the goals we conceded... oh my god. I dont have any screenshots(of the players) as i just forgot to take them in advance and if im honest i cant be bothered getting them ready now im writing this up, but they honestly arent that exciting i promise.


And last but not least we run through the Betfred Cup which was more of a pain than anything as i wanted to just kick on into the league and with good opponents here i knew keeping morale high going into the opening game of the season was the main mission.





We managed 3rd which was amazing honestly, a narrow loss to Championship side Hamilton and a huge win against Clyde who are favourite to get promoted in league 2! also a convincing win against a Stranrear side that avoided relegation to league 2 last year through the playoffs, but rather than keeping morale high for this we ended up grabbing some solid wins giving me a lot of confidence to try and push into top half come the end of the season, i do feel though the main mission will be morale... keep morale high and that will keep us high in the league.


Round 2 begins...