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An American in Scotland...

A young man's journey as a football manager
Started on 5 June 2013 by Barrak
Latest Reply on 10 June 2013 by Barrak
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13 July 2014

Anthony "Tony" Ford sat behind the enormous mahogany desk, tapping his fingers on the sheet of paper in front of him. He was not happy. The board was not happy either, and had let their displeasure be known to him. At least their row hadn't made the news yet.

After a few moments, there was a knock on the door. "Enter", Tony said.

Head Coach Barrak stepped into the room. He had no real idea on why he was called into the office. He closed the door quietly behind him. No sense in giving everyone a free show. Closed door meetings with the boss weren't generally a good thing!

"John, have you seen this?" Tony pushed the paper across the desk. John picked it up, and let out a low whistle. "Jesus.... 8 to 1? Really?"

"Coach, it would appear that our chances of promotion are ... not good. What have you to say about this?"

John thought for a moment. "We've a good team, sir. I believe that we will do better this year than last, and we were just two points from the second spot. If it were me, I would put some money on our chances. I rather like the 8-1 odds!"

"You ARE a cheeky bastard..I'll give you that! I have no clue why I would hire an obnoxious Yank, to begin with!"

John smiled, and turned to leave. Ford called out to him, as he approached the door. "John, is there any truth at all to the rumor that you've been looking at better positions?" The owner's expression turned serious.

John thought carefully, and decided that telling the truth was the best thing to do. "Tony, a man should always explore his options. With that said, I have not applied for a new position, nor do I dwell on the potential. My focus is on this team, and on helping the Shire to achieve their goals."

"Fair enough. Thanks John."
I went from 17 points clear of second, with 57, second was 41..and I lost the last seven games, and came second in the table.

To use a terrific English phrase, I'm gutted. Makes no sense.
Wow, that sucks. Hopefully promotion is still on the cards though!
1
OK...life is good, but Houston, we have a problem.

I DID get promoted to Scottish Division 2. I got two achievements, "You're UP", and "Steel Wall." Dunno what steel wall was, but I won the two playoff games (the finals) by a score of 3-0 and 4-0.

So...I went looking for a new job, and applied for one in England. A better league. Blue something..not the north/south, but the one up from there.

My team fired me the next day. Then I didn't get the job. Then I applied for every head coach position that came along, didn't get ANY of them.

I had been with my first team for about three years. Overall losing record, but I had gotten 56 and 59 points on consecutive seasons, and my goal differential was down to -17, for the three years combined. My squad was set up for the season, but I would have had issues staying up, I think. I had signed a hell of a lot of players to longer term contracts, and they were marginal players, at best, at the next higher league.

So..several days went by, and out of nowhere, I was offered a position as HC in the Irish Premier League. A very good team!

But...here's the problem. I have no staff. No one wants to be hired. Even the dead worst scout, with a 4/4 for scouting current and potential ability, even the physio who got his training in Botswana, with a "1" in physio. NONE Of them.

So...I struggle on to the first friendly, with no scouting the opposing team, or even MY team, and I see I have to make every single decision myself.

Here's the question. How the hell am I expected to staff my ... staff??

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