Castilla to Real Madrid (hopefully) via England, France Germany and Italy (maybe)

I have always fancied taking charge of a reserve team or youth team and then trying to build a career that way. An adaptation of that is to start as one of the Spanish 'B' teams.

My aim is easy to understand, not so easy to achieve:

* Start as manager of Castilla, currently in Spanish Second Division B1

* Move on to take charge of main teams from a selection of the English, Italian, French, German and Spanish leagues

* Take my rep from 'Sunday League' high enough to be offered the role of manager of Real Madrid

* Win it all with Real Madrid and thus come full circle.

Good luck with Castilla

Good luck with this mate .

Castilla

2011/12

Mid Season

An enjoyable and productive start to my life in Spain. Despite not speaking a word of Spanish my club are currently sitting top of the Spanish Second Division B1 and are into the 2nd Round of the Federation Cup.

In July 2011 i was given a two year contract worth £1,700 p/w. I have signed nobody so far and relied on building a squad with players avaliable to me. Was given some luck on the last day of August when Mr Mourinho decided that 19 year old attacking midfielder Jano had no place in the Real Madrid first team and popped him into my squad.

Jano has been a key player for me making 13 apps so far scoring 5 and assisting in another 4 goals. My star player over the first half of the season has to be lone forward Alvaro Morata. 9 goals in 15 apps with 3 assists has helped us to a three point lead over second place Leganes.

My best result so far was a 3-1 away win to high flying C.D Lugo. Lugo finished last season in first place and started off the best of the twenty teams, leading the league for the first ten games.

My worst result was a 1-0 home defeat to lowly Vecindario. Down in 17th place the vistors came and parked the bus along the goal line and luckily for them me right back Daniel Carvajal headed into his own net.

The expectation for the rest of the season is to keep us this good league form and learn some Spanish! No major plans for the transfer window just hoping Mr Mourinho does not decide to hand pick some of my players!

Good first half to the season .

Hopefully you can maintain your form to clinch the title.

Looking good so far,hope Mourinho keeps his hands off some of your better players

Looking good so far,hope Mourinho keeps his hands off some of your better players

I am hoping Mourinho goes out and signs loads of players in the transfer window and my squad gets filled with Ronaldo, Ramos and Casillas!

I like the thread title

Good luck with your aims.

I like the idea of this, good luck

HotChocolate

I like the thread title

Good luck with your aims.

Dejay

I like the idea of this, good luck

Thanks guys. Mid winter break over and part two here we come!

Well the transfer window came and went with little activity from myself or the Real Madrid first team. Then to my horror my star centre back 22 year old Nacho was plucked from my squad to Mr Mourinho's. Obviously im happy for the player and show what a decent job i am doing but with a squiad of 22 having a defender who can play all across the back is a major advantage. With a formation of 4-2-3-1 my 22 players were made up of 2 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 9 midfielders and ust 3 forwards. Nacho is mainly used as a centre back and to replace him Mourinho dropped down a 22 year old left back Jorge Casado, leaving my 8 defenders with 3 of which are LB!

We exit the Federation Cup in the second round losing 3-2 on agg to Spanish Second Division B2 side S.D Amorebieta but our league form continues to be decent enough to hold onto top spot then my hopes of the title rise when on April 1st Nacho is moved back to my squad following two appearences for Real first team (a 77th minute sub app vs Malaga and 35th min sub vs Villarreal).

Before i get overly excited i wonder if he can play as i have my maximum number of players registered when the next news item tells me Mourinho has taken Alvaro Morata. AWFUL

Morata had scored 19 in 26 games with 5 assists and had missed just two games for me. With only 3 forwards in my squad i was gutted to now only have two for the remainder of the season. His last game was scoring in a defeat, our second on the bounce so i was gutted that we lost the next two after he left both 1-0. No points in 4 games, only 3 goals scored and without my top scorer.

We get over those defeats to win the next two that leads to:

We went into the final three games knowing that one win would give us the title. Our first game was away to Sporting 'B' which led to a 2-0 defeat. Our final home game was against last years winners Lugo and depsite going behind twice we scrape a 2-2 draw thanks to a brace of own goals by Lugo defensive midfielder Carlos Pita. Following a 3-2 win and a 0-0 draw with Leganes earlier in the season the point with Lugo meant we have won the title!!

Nice work on promotion mate .

Nice work on promotion mate .

I guess you, like me, are not familiar with how the lower leagues work in Spain. I fully expected to be promoted but no, i go into a play-off vs the other three league champions so each winner from B1,B2,B3 and B4 fight for a promtion place!

SO i was drew in the semi final, won that over two legs then faced the winner of the other semi. After beating them in the two legged final i find out that both of us are promoted. In each of the 4 leagues the teams who finish 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th fight out a super play-off and of the 16 teams two of them are promoted.

So back to your original post, thanks, i have been promoted, just not as easy as it looks!!

Congrats! I look forward to see how this goes!

Well as discussed realier you can see that we won the title, by 6 points in the end! Fantastic all round but the season was not finished yet.

Next was the draw for the play-offs. Up vs one of the three league winners from the B leagues we win through, a tough away draw followed by an easy home win meant we went into the final against San Roque, the winners of the B4 division. Overall the games dont really matter as both of us were promoted following the semi-final win but we continued our excellent goalscoring by winning 6-1 on agg, 5-0 away from home and a 1-1 home result in the second leg.

In the year i have been here i have not made any signings at all, happy to work with the squad i have although difficult at times with Mourinho swapping players left right and centre.

I begin to think of the future, one year into a two year deal but i want to try my luck in the LIGA adelante depsite knowing i cannot gain promotion to La Liga. I am looking forward to the matches with Barca 'B'. The club offer me a new three year deal, more than doubling my wages from £1,700 to £3,500 p/w and quickly accept. Im going nowhere this year...

Mourinho has delved into my squad already and taken defender Nacho back to the first team along with Jano (12 goals and 13 assists in 30 games last season) but given me a perfect, if not better re-placement in Sergio Canales (a £4.5m signing from Racing in 2011, spent last season on loan at Valencia)

Pre-season will be rather boring as im not going to make any signings but i have a squad of 40 players at the moment that i need to select 22 from.

Congratulations on the promotion! It must be interesting working off the players that Real Madrid give you. Good luck with your next season too

Congratulations on the promotion, & good luck for next season

So far so good.

Congrats on the promotion

Mourinho has delved into my squad already and taken defender Nacho back to the first team along with Jano (12 goals and 13 assists in 30 games last season) but given me a perfect, if not better re-placement in Sergio Canales (a £4.5m signing from Racing in 2011, spent last season on loan at Valencia)

You're not on first name terms with Jose yet?

Congrats on the promotion.

And that was nice of Jose to send you Canales

You can just hear the pen slowly ticking off the achievements.

You're not on first name terms with Jose yet?

I am not even speaking to J**e M******o anymore for two reasons:

1: Following an opening day 5-1 win away from home he plucked 7 of my starters from that game into the Real Madrid squad! Talk about leaving me short...

2: My board love me, cant get enough of me, except i am over spending on wages. I have a weekly budget of just under £40k and were comfortably under that until he pops Jano and Canales into my squad. On £40k p/w between them!

The Special One - more like The Trouble One

Must be tricky as a reserve side, wouldn't ever be a reserve side or international youth side for those reasons on lack of squad control.

Must be tricky as a reserve side, wouldn't ever be a reserve side or international youth side for those reasons on lack of squad control.

To be honest its not too bad. The first season was ok, its hard to take when your better players go but because you have to register 'x' amount of players when you lose a good youngster you get an even better one.

Yes i have to accept i dont have overall control but it means i am spending longer on training and looking at my players attributes as i need to have players that can cope with JM just taking them. I also get pride of a job done well if the players are used in the first team. Altho only a few games into my second season im struggling to come to terms that i am fighting to stay up only, as even if i win all my games i still wont be allowed promotion. Im feeling that i will leave Castilla in the summer.

For this season i have my top scorer back from last year, a great young CB as J**e M******o signed Christopher Samba for stupid money. Keeping my top scorer put tho is a 17 year old regen forward, amazing player so far.

Will post a few screenshots shortly.

Off and running in LIGA adelante and it has been a decent start. A fantastic away win in week one vs Alcorcon (5-1) and away to Deportivo (2-1) but my best result is a 2-0 home win over Barcelona 'B'. A draw with Levante after being 2-0 down and single goal defeat to Cartagena the only blots in first six games. That leaves us nicely placed so far

My squad is looking pretty good and here is a look at three of my better players

My real shame for this year is the attendence. We can only hold 3,000 in our Alfredo Di Stefano stadium and all 3 home games have been a sell out. If only it held more.

As we cannot get promoted i am looking to still have a good season and although the board are happy with survival im really looking for a play-off place. The results we had had so far have been promising so i see no reason why not.

I would love to win the LIGA adelante as Castilla have only won it once back in 1984 and finished third in 1988.

Good start to the new season,liking the look of Morales as well.

Nice start to the new season .

Nice start mate but how come you cant get promoted?

Nice start mate but how come you cant get promoted?

Castilla are basically the Real Madrid reserve side and cannot be in the same league as Real. So unless they get relegated in the same season i win the league. This also goes for the Copa Del Ray so i cannot enter that competiton either.

Thats pointless as Madrid aint going to get relegated ey

It is pointless this season as i have got as far as i can in terms of division but a title on my CV even if it doesnt lead to promotion is always good. Im enjoyong the challenge of this and i have been in charge for 509 days and brought ZERO players! Normally on saves im like Harry Redknapp, wheeling and dealing..

It is pointless this season as i have got as far as i can in terms of division but a title on my CV even if it doesnt lead to promotion is always good. Im enjoyong the challenge of this and i have been in charge for 509 days and brought ZERO players! Normally on saves im like Harry Redknapp, wheeling and dealing..

Well good luck again this year

Castilla are basically the Real Madrid reserve side and cannot be in the same league as Real. So unless they get relegated in the same season i win the league. This also goes for the Copa Del Ray so i cannot enter that competiton either.

Will that be the same rule for Barcelona B then?

Nice players... Thought Varane was in first team =)

Nice players... Thought Varane was in first team =)

Following his £8.5m move from RC Lens, Varane spent the 2011/12 season in the Real Madrid first team making 10 starts and 7 sub apps while also picking up his first two French caps. He was moved to my Castilla squad in July 2012 following the £23m purchase of Christopher Samba.

Will that be the same rule for Barcelona B then?

Yeah its the same for all 'reserve' sides now. Im not sure when this was enforced but it may have something to do with the 1980 final which was won by Real Madrid, against Castilla (or Castilla C.F as they were then known)

This also led to Castilla entering the Cup Winner Cup the following season losing in the first round to West Ham (6-4 on agg i think)

A year ago we were 3 points clear at the top of Spanish Second Division B1. As expected we could not repeat that but following 21 games in LIGA adelante we are sitting second, a point behind Hercules.

After a solid first 6 games we won 4 of the next 8, losing two. It was during these eight games that we lost both of our main forwards, Tomas Morales and last seasons top scorer Alvaro Morata. Morata was out for 7 weeks with a damaged knee cartilage and was then called up to the Real first team. Morales was out for two months with a lower back stress fracture.

Luckily this didn't affect our league performance and as he returned to fitness we embarked on a 6 game winning run which ended with a draw against Osasuna (who have the highest wage budget in the league, £9.31m compared to £2.63m for Castilla).

Highlights have been the early season victory over Barca 'B' and the emergence of Morales as a quailty forward. 9 goals in 13 games during an injury hit spell is not a bad return for a 17 year old playing up front alone.

Hoping to get through the transfer window with minimum fuss and keep my squad together for a title push. On the transfer front my left back Jorge Casado will leave on a free in the summer to join Alcorcon who are currently 13th in the same division.

It always nice to be popular and the board are clearly fans of mine

The only sour note is the constant over spending on wages although there is little i can do. Yeah i dont have to include the players JM drops to my team but would anyone turn down worldie players? Not really.

Overall i am overspent by £10,401 p/w but my squad of 25 features 17 players are on less than £1k p/w, 4 are between £1,300 and £1,800, Joselu is my second highest on £5k p/w and then Sergio Canales is on a huge £27k. So take him out and we are more than ok with wages. In my year and a half here the only contract talks i have had with anyone was my new contract at the end of my first season. Have not spoken to one single playerand neither has my assistant.

[video=youtube;NyEE0qpfeig]

Ha ha ha brilliant! Love it

It has been a fully enjoyable season in LIGA adelante. A good first half of the season was followed by a good, but injury hit second half. As you can see here we went on two good runs and despite having to change the team week in week out the squad gave me everything. Following the 1-0 win away to Rayo at the end of March i decided that i could stay after the end of season. The constant changing of players in my squad was just about easy to handle but being joint top up until the final few weeks added no excitement as i knew i could not get promoted.

The final table shows how things could have been, a second promotion.

So a day after a perfect finish, 2-1 home win with a 90th min winner, my 706 day spell is over.

Off i go to find a new club, country unknown!

Great job with Castilla! Good luck with your new club. I can't wait to see where you end up next

Brilliant job at Castilla

Well done with Castilla and Good luck whatever destination you arrive at next!

Following as spell on the dole of four and a half months (although don't tell the benefit man i rejected two roles with Crawley and Southend) and very much enjoying being back home in Northamptonshire i am back in business.

Never being boring i have been given the managers job at a local, but controversial club

Within 24 hours this has caused major problems for my home life as my AFC Wimbledon supporting neighbour took revenge by cutting two stems from by prozed bonzi tree . Luckily though with my new two year deal i can buy many many more.

Back to stadium:mk and two years of mid table finishes (13th and 10th) look good as i take over a club bottom of League One, five points from safety. A media prediction of 6th is looking very stupid but i have 31 games to turn this around so off i go and after two and a half years as a manager i look set to make my first player purchase!!

Oooooo, controversal.

Booooo

I can't believe your Bonzi was sabotaged. Bastards.

Excellent work with Castilla, looking forward to seeing you in charge of MK Dons.

Booooo

The start i have had it looks very likely i was planted in MK to ruin what they have so far built it. I honestly have managed clubs in BSBP with better squads! All of sudden the jobs at Crawley and Southend look amazing.

After just three and a half months and alienating all AFC Wimbledon fans i have decided to leave MK Dons. Mainly i decided to quit as i could not bring in any new players. Not one player in the Football League would join, permanent or on loan.

A run of just 4 wins from 16 didnt help matters and i felt it best to move on.

Being out of a job fortwo weeks i recieve some welocme news for my wallet

The offers are (in a little more detail):

Paderborn - Currently sitting 19/20 in the German Third Division. The 2011/12 season saw relegation from the Second Division and seems to be a club in decline.

Pontevedra - In a league in know well, Spanish Second Divison B1 they are currently 17/20 with 11 games to go, six points from safety. Relegation into the Spanish Lower Leagues in 2011