[FM14] Dave Duncan's Tour of Obscurity - The Ali Dia of Management

(Taken from the wonderful Straightenout regens thread)

Intro

Dave Duncan is by no means a household name. Yet he's never forgotten by those who meet him. Dave is a lovely bloke who just has a bit of a temper, according to the man himself. Ask others and you'd probably get a four letter word that begins with c - and it's certainly stronger than crap! After burning more bridges than he cares to remember in local Sunday football and the odd Non-League coaching role, Dave has put his career in the hands of friend and "agent" Shady McCoy. Shady is, well, a bit shady.

Dave will be leaving his humble abode in Dudley to travel the world, or at least he hopes, in search of footballing nirvana. Little does Dave know that the trick up Shady's sleeve is that Duncan is the nephew of a rather famous football manager called Sir Alex Ferguson. And you thought Ali Dia was pushing his luck! Where this will take him only Shady knows. Let the journey begin!

Setup

This will be my first game of any description on FM14 so hopefully it'll be a fairly smooth transition from the older games. I have played FM Handheld 2014 but it's not deep enough or challenging enough for me so the PC version has again come calling. I suspect this will be a bumpy journey but that will hopefully make it all the more interesting. I have loaded the following countries to begin with:

Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, England, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Israel, Poland, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey.

That has given me 33 leagues with 51,000 players on a large database. I've deliberately missed out some of the bigger nations as I'd like to experience some countries I've never managed in before. I'll of course be starting unemployed with Sunday League reputation. I'm looking forward to see which club will be my first vict, ermm, beneficiary!

Career So Far

Clubs

June 13, 2013 - September 21, 2013 - (Icelandic First Division) - P12, W1, D4, L7 - Resigned

November 9, 2013 - April 15, 2015 - (Chinese First Division) - P49, W24, D4, L21 - Resigned

December 31, 2015 - May 7, 2018 - (English Skrill Premier/League Two) - P124, W52, D36, L36 - Resigned

June 4, 2018 - January 31, 2022 - (Belgian Jupiler Pro League) - P232, W109, D51, L62 - Sacked

May 21, 2023 - April 13, 2024 - (English Football League Championship) - P49, W35, D5, L9 - Sacked

June 16, 2024 - Present - (German Bundesliga) - P331, W195, D56, L80

Countries

July 21, 2030 - Present - - P9, W8, D1, L0

Total Record - P798, W426, D157, L215

Achievements

Chinese FA Cup Runner Up - 2014

Skrill Premier Play-Off Winners - 2015-16

Cofidis Cup Runner Up - 2019-20, 2020-21

Jupiler Pro League Runner Up - 2021-22

Football League Championship Winners - 2023-24

Bundesliga Winners - 2030-31

DFB-Pokal Winners - 2027-28, 2028-29

DFL-Supercup Winners - 2028-29, 2029-30, 2031-32

Copa America Winners - 2031

Volsungur

Icelandic First Division 2013-14

So after sending out a few e-mails and making a couple of calls, Shady McCoy had set Dave up with a couple of interviews. Both were vacancies in Iceland as Premier Division Fram and First Division Volsungur showed interest. "Isn't it cold over there?" asked Dave, before conducting both interviews on Skype. It probably would have been easier for him to fly over than try and work a computer. Fram, as expected, decided to go in a different direction before Volsungur offered Dave the job, which he gladly accepted.

Their ground looks, ermmm, interesting:

Apparently 3,000 can fit inside if they fancy sitting on the grass banks!

Wage: £400 p/w

Contract Expiry: October 31, 2014

League Expectations: Not started

Transfer Budget: £2,000

Wage Budget: £825

Philosophies: Sign youngsters for the first team; play direct football

I've taken the job with ten games gone in the league, with Volsungur currently sitting 7th out of 12 teams having won three, drawn four and lost three. I was appointed on a Saturday morning and have a game a few hours later! Off to Iceland we go...

Volsungur

Icelandic First Division 2013-14

Results

We started so well! Maybe not, but at least we showed signs of promise. When the first win came, I really thought we'd kick on but that ended up being our only victory since Dave's arrival. Too many sloppy goals conceded and not enough scored equals a poor side. To be fair, we had a lot of bad luck and we must have hit the woodwork at least once a match but alas, it still wasn't good enough. We needed to win against second place Prottur on the last day of the season to stay up and despite hitting the bar twice, we couldn't score which led to...

Just the seven points in 12 games means that Volsungur have been relegated. I think coming in half way through the season really killed me since I had no previous FM14 experience. Dave has handed in his resignation and Shady is back on the phones trying to get him another job. Hopefully the next one will give us some time to prepare and be a bit more successful!

Chongqing Lifan

Chinese First Division 2014-15

As they say, it's best to get back on the horse as soon as possible. After a couple of interviews that didn't go too well, Dave was rewarded with a job in China. Chongqing have just finished their season, ending 8th out of 16 teams with a decent enough squad. The pre-season will give me chance to bring in some players, staff and really have a good go at it this time unlike the Icelandic debacle!

Their ground looks much better than the grassy banks of Volsungur:

The stadium is very pleasing on the eye and holds 20,000 can fit inside if they wish to see Dave Duncan's fantastic football in the flesh!

Wage: £875 p/w

Contract Expiry: December 31, 2014

League Expectations: Not started

Transfer Budget: £325,000

Wage Budget: £17.5k

Philosophies: Sign youngsters for the first team

Think I've been very lucky to get a club as good as Chongqing. Never managed in China before so it should be interesting but it's a challenge I'm really looking forward to. Onwards and upwards!

China can be fun if you can attract the better Chinese players, IIRC they have an annoying quota on how many foreigners you can have and with the quality of Chinese footballers being not very high it could be abit of a bumpy ride in the beginning. Good luck though, Chongqing are a decent side and with abit of work could challenge the likes of Guangzhou.

China can be fun if you can attract the better Chinese players, IIRC they have an annoying quota on how many foreigners you can have and with the quality of Chinese footballers being not very high it could be abit of a bumpy ride in the beginning. Good luck though, Chongqing are a decent side and with abit of work could challenge the likes of Guangzhou.

Asian leagues normally do. I've just checked and in the Chinese First Division as well as the Super League, you're not allowed a foreign goalkeeper in your squad. What kind of rule is that?! In the First Division there isn't a limit on foreigners, with four allowed in your starting XI in the Super League.

Oops, look like I misread! Only three foreigners are allowed to be registered. D'oh!

you're not allowed a foreign goalkeeper in your squad. What kind of rule is that?!

This is exactly why I don't manage in China, its really going to be hell in the ACL when you realise every Chinese goalkeeper (the ones you can afford anyway and are not regens) is practically the second coming of Massimo Taibi. Oh the horror.

Oops, look like I misread! Only three foreigners are allowed to be registered. D'oh!

How far over that are you?

How far over that are you?

Well stupidly I didn't check the rules until after making my signings! I had signed six (including a South Korean). I subsequently shipped out two of them but still have three plus the South Korean (who are considered 'foreign' I believe). I am, however, playing with all four in my squad. The first time I have seen a warning is in the Chinese FA Cup which is strictly three only.

So even though on the league rules page it says 'maximum of three foreign players registered', it seems you can get away with more in the league but not cup. Come to think of it, I wasn't asked to register a squad or anything anyway... very strange!

Don't even start me on the player quotas you are allowed to bring in during transfer windows!

Well stupidly I didn't check the rules until after making my signings! I had signed six (including a South Korean). I subsequently shipped out two of them but still have three plus the South Korean (who are considered 'foreign' I believe). I am, however, playing with all four in my squad. The first time I have seen a warning is in the Chinese FA Cup which is strictly three only.

So even though on the league rules page it says 'maximum of three foreign players registered', it seems you can get away with more in the league but not cup. Come to think of it, I wasn't asked to register a squad or anything anyway... very strange!

Don't even start me on the player quotas you are allowed to bring in during transfer windows!

WELCOME TO CHINA. Seriously, this is exactly the headache you have to endure managing a Chinese club. But if you are willing to give it a few seasons, once the regens start coming its gets better.

WELCOME TO CHINA. Seriously, this is exactly the headache you have to endure managing a Chinese club. But if you are willing to give it a few seasons, once the regens start coming its gets better.

Must have been because I signed them all at once. I just tried to sign a Korean on loan half way through the season and it wouldn't allow me because I'm not allowed over three (despite already having four!).

The transfer window rules are ridiculous as well. In the mid-season transfer window, it says you're allowed to sign just two players over the age of 21. I've signed the two but even when I try and sign other players 21 and under, it won't let them go through until the end of the season! It's so frustrating yet strangely enjoyable!

Chongqing Lifan

Mid-Season Update

CFA Jia League 2014-15

Results

(Board Expectations: Win promotion; My Expectations: Challenge for promotion)

So after my brief voyage in Iceland, it was a move to China. I landed a pretty sweet gig with Chongqing with a pretty decent squad to work with and a pre-season! Unfortunately we lost the top scorer from last season who returned to Corinthians following a loan spell - he didn't want to sign permanently. Despite knowing Asian leagues normally deploy silly transfer rules and regulations, I went about my business and signed a decent crop of players. Unfortunately I later learnt that you're only allowed three foreigners in the squad and can only sign five over-21s. After getting rid of a couple of players who had only just joined, I turned to the loan market. Fortunately, you're allowed as many loan players as possible and I currently have seven! Although only four play a key role...

As you can see, we started poorly in the league and after the second defeat I tweaked the tactics to go more attacking. To be honest, at that stage I had already consigned myself to another sacking... However, we turned it around and started scoring bucket loads. We'll just forget all the ones we concede... The defence has been poor and that will be the main thing I strengthen for next season, regardless of division.

I don't like draws. We've conceded more than second bottom Zhongji but are top scorers and the loan forwards are really destroying the league. A lot of the goals we concede are just poor defending or errors rather than being torn apart. Hopefully once I improve the back line we'll be fine. The top two go up so I'm just three points off that. I don't think we'll go up with the leaky defence but I'm just hoping the board afford me another season!

All quality players which is the reason we're scoring loads. The only problem is that they're all on loan... I'm playing 4-2-3-1, Wei is a fantastic target man at 6'7'' with Senwen and Zhilin feeding him to great effect.

The finances of the club are not great. We're currently in £200k's worth of debt due to overspending from the old regime (I'm more than half under budget due to the loans). Unfortunately the Chinese FA Cup doesn't give out much in terms of prize money but every little counts and all that!

We just about saw off league rivals Yanbian after conceding two late goals. The game goes straight to penalties at full time if there's a draw which I wasn't aware of! We then had two fantastic results away at two Super League sides. It's given me a lot of confidence should we get promoted this year. In the quarters we're on the road again to take on another club in our league, Yiteng. The semis would be a great achievement and having experienced the bizarre rules of Chinese football, I wouldn't be surprised if it's played over three legs!

China's Peter Crouch? This could get interesting

China's Peter Crouch? This could get interesting

Being a Birmingham fan, he reminds me a lot of Nikola Zigic. Lanky but frustratingly awful in the air. He's stopped scoring as well

Chongqing Lifan

July-August 2014 Update

CFA Jia League

Just when it looked like we'd learnt how to defend we begin to revert to our 'Kevin Keegan' style of football. It's not just been the results that have been disappointing but the manner of the results. Twice leading against Shenhua and beating Qingdao 3-0 before going down to ten men and bottling it. That result has really made me question whether China is right for me. This team is full of bottlers and if there's one thing I don't suffer gladly, it's that. The completely bizarre transfer rules are a massive pain too so I think this could be one and done for me in China but we'll see.

If that Qingdao result didn't anger me enough, our semi-final first leg in the FA Cup certainly did. Winning 2-0 and flying, I was already phoning the dry cleaners to book in my suit. Then my side bottled it. Again. Three disgraceful goals conceded and the tie is in Xiangtao's favour. These capitulations have been soul destroying for me and the players just don't seem to react to my team talks at all. Suppose that's the Dudley twang confusing them. So far the only words I've needed to learn in Chinese are 'bottlers', 'defend' and 'you're dropped'.

Still got a decent chance in the tie anyway.

Still got a decent chance in the tie anyway.

True, was just very angry with the way we threw it away. Tbh, I think the cup is the only reason I didn't resign after that awful result against Qingdao. I may as well see out the season though and if we don't improve our league position, I'll most likely get sacked anyway.

So your players can go from scoring 7 goals to scoring absolutely none in the space of 10 days? Impressive inconsistency, Nani would be proud

So your players can go from scoring 7 goals to scoring absolutely none in the space of 10 days? Impressive inconsistency, Nani would be proud

I like to think we're consistently inconsistent at the very least!

I'm getting sick of agents offering me good foreign players. Don't they realise China has such stupid, moronic, nonsensical, backwards, terribly annoying transfer rules?!

Chongqing Lifan

September 2014 Update

CFA Jia League

A relatively decent run of form after some shocking results that had me on the edge of resigning. Xiangtao once again got the better of us and after that game I tweaked the tactics somewhat. We're now playing less tippy tappy stuff and more direct. In other words we smash the ball up to our Chinese Peter Crouch and hope for the best... But it seems to be working as we signed off the month with six points and we're back in the promotion hunt.

I have no idea what happened. Domination from start to finish and we easily made it into the final 7-4 on aggregate. I guess we're a side better suited for the cup. On our day we're lethal but lack any consistency. Unfortunately we'll be massive underdogs for the final as we take on the giants of Chinese football...

He's 6ft 7in, JR of 19 and Heading of 17, I'd say bin the tiki-taka and start playing from the Tony Pulis/Sam Allardyce book of tactics. LUMP IT

He's 6ft 7in, JR of 19 and Heading of 17, I'd say bin the tiki-taka and start playing from the Tony Pulis/Sam Allardyce book of tactics. LUMP IT

He definitely seems to be winning more headers now! As Mike Bassett once famously said: 'It's on me 'ead son, not off me 'ead son!'

Chongqing Lifan

October/November 2014 Update

CFA Jia League

In the end we just left ourselves too much to do. Even a win on the last day wouldn't have sent us up. It was a disappointing defeat but we played a majority of the game with ten men and conceded the winner right at the death. Luckily it didn't matter! Overall I'm a bit disappointed with the campaign. Considering we played so poorly at times, we only missed out on promotion by four points so if I stay, a league title wouldn't be the most ambitious thing to aim for next season.

The biggest game of Dave Duncan's career as an angry man from Dudley takes on one of Italy's finest ever managers in Marcello Lippi. A two-legged Cup final; even more reason that Chinese football makes little to no sense. We were huge underdogs against Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou. We couldn't have started any better as my centre-half sliced one into his own net... We played well but were outclassed with Elkeson tearing us apart. Still, a late goal gave us a glimmer of hope.

But it wasn't to be. Elkeson again showing his class and with us going pretty much gung-ho (is that Chinese?!), they saw us off 6-3 on aggregate. A decent effort from the team and to be fair, the margin of defeat over the two legs doesn't do us justice. It was nice to go up against a manager like Lippi who no doubt must have learnt a thing or two from myself! Despite the defeat we got some good news after the game that might persuade me to stay with the club should they want me to stick around...

So as The Clash once sang; should I stay or should I go?

If Guangzhou can do that to you, you'll need some massive reinforcements to compete in the AFC CL. The Korean teams are quite strong and lets not forget those money printing Arabian teams. Good luck surviving

If Guangzhou can do that to you, you'll need some massive reinforcements to compete in the AFC CL. The Korean teams are quite strong and lets not forget those money printing Arabian teams. Good luck surviving

Yep, don't think we'll be challenging for the trophy, that's for sure! I decided to stay for another season and see what happens. I don't see why we can't go up with a bit more consistency and the AFC CL should be interesting to play in at the very least.

Plus the Chinese Peter Crouch is back on loan! *does the Robot*

So this is our draw. Not really sure what to make of it! Central Coast were runners up in the A-League while Jeonbuk have won the K-League two seasons running and are a team I've always kept an eye on after playing as them on FIFA a few years back. It's going to be very, very tough as a first division side but we'll give it a good go. As the news item said, we have a bit of a debt problem...

We've been given £50k for competing in the AFC CL but it hasn't done much for our finances. Despite being well under budget since I came to the club (including this season after my wage budget was almost halved!) we're losing money hand over fist. Why? Probably some bizarre reason seeing as I'm in China... And seeing as I'm still at the club it's clear to see I've signed a new one year deal. The board expect me to win the league and I don't see that being too unreasonable. Now if we can avoid conceding three a game we might have a chance...

Chongqing Lifan

Pre-Season 2015 Update

Board Expectations

CFA Jia League: Winners

AFC Champions League: Be competitive

Media League Prediction: 4th

Transfers In/Out

Pretty much the same amount in as out. I think overall we have more quality than last season but I guess time will tell. Posavec should add a bit of flair behind the front man and after losing a few of our loan players from last season, I needed to address that. Jung-Ho looks like a quality right-back so that improves our weakest position last year and the back line looks much more solid. Mamat Ali and Ge Wei will be fighting it out for the lone striker role with just a whole foot in height the difference! In terms of outgoings, Lapic was solid but I thought he was a waste as one of our three foreign players and got a decent fee for him. Not really too bothered about losing any of the others.

Team

Think those star ratings are a bit harsh but there you go. If anything, we may be a bit weaker up front but it's not as if a few less goals will make much difference. If we can concede, say, 20 less than last season we should be in a fantastic position regardless of how many we score! We kick off our campaign with a home game against Central Coast in the AFC CL. Will be interesting to gauge where we stand after this one...

Chongqing Lifan

February/March/April 2015 Update

CFA Jia League

Great start to the season as we won our first two without much fuss. Then in our third, with us leading 2-1 with minutes to spare, I concede a goal that had me testing out my Chinese swear words. Long punt up field, my centre-half controls it, then runs away from the ball! Being last man, the opposition striker walked in, took the ball and scored. We then lost three in a row and I didn't see any way back.

As expected, we did pretty poorly. At least we got the one win in Japan which was a proud moment for me. Jeonbuk tore us apart but I was disappointed we didn't do better against Central Coast. Of those 16 goals conceded, at least half must have been from set-pieces which was very, very frustrating.

After the Central Coast defeat I tendered my resignation to the board. The finances at the club were getting worse despite me being well under budget and I didn't think I could improve the squad much. We were getting worse every week and I think the AFC CL in a way was the last straw. It killed our morale and I didn't have the patience or willingness to stick it out. Good luck Chongqing but Dave's packing his bags.

I ended up with a record of P49, W24, D4, L21. While not fantastic, it was much better than my time at Volsungur! I'll be applying for a few jobs and seeing where I could possibly go. I won't be jumping into a new job though and hopefully my patience will be rewarded with a decent club. I hope Shady has some spare minuted on his phone contract...

So maybe leaving Chongqing wasn't the smartest of moves. I've spent a year on holiday since then and despite having a cracking tan, no job has come my way. I've had about four interviews and two offers in that time but they've all been from the Chinese First Division and from clubs smaller than Chongqing.

I really don't want to stay in China, or at least not in the First Division but it seems overseas clubs aren't interested despite me having 'National' reputation and after winning a Champions League game! Only the Asian Champions League, granted. And I lost every other game but let's not get too in-depth here...

I see other people have complained about how hard it is to get a job on journeyman saves and it seems the same fate has struck Dave Duncan. But alas, I shall keep trying!

Hereford United

Skrill Premier 2015-16

And I'm back in the game! Originally I didn't have England loaded as I was hoping not to manage there for a while. A majority of my games are in England but I couldn't escape it. With no offers forthcoming, I reloaded my game from the day I resigned at Chongqing and added in England and Scotland. I had to wait about six months but a flurry of interviews came. Boston United, Forest Green, Salisbury and Kidderminster all interviewed me but Hereford were quickest to offer me a job and I couldn't turn it down. It beats shopping on a Saturday afternoon...

Edgar Street may not be too easy on the eye but having visited, it's a proper old English ground and one I like:

Wage: £525 p/w

Contract Expiry: June 30, 2017

League Expectations: Not started

Transfer Budget: £0

Wage Budget: £5.1k (Currently spending £6k)

Philosophies: Sign youngsters for the first team, play direct football

Not a great situation to inherit but you rarely walk into a club that's doing well. Hopefully we can stay up this season and then progress in the summer. There's a lot of deadwood at the club but some decent youngsters who I'll be giving chances to. Seeing as I'm back in England, I'll be referring to the Mike Bassett formation of "Four-four-f******- two".

The squad isn't great but should be strong enough to keep us up ahead of what should be a very busy summer. I won't be missing those stupid Chinese transfer rules!

Rob Purdie gets about a bit... He's also our fitness coach so he's a busy man!

Rob Purdie, ultimate utility man. On last count he's your best player in 10 positions Eat your heart out, John O'Shea

Rob Purdie, ultimate utility man. On last count he's your best player in 10 positions Eat your heart out, John O'Shea

If we're definitely safe come the last day of the season, I'll be very tempted to try him in goal! He's our highest earner (and rightly so!) so it might be his last game in Hereford colours. What better way to sign off?

Hereford United

2015-16 End Of Season Update

Skrill Premier

I was going to do monthly updates but I was so frustrated after most of the games that I didn't think it was worth my time. I'm not having a great relationship with FM14 so far and just can't seem to work out how to get my teams to defend. Having to watch your defenders and keeper act like complete and utter morons on the average match engine is quite painful at times. But I digress... We did just about enough to survive in the end but it was clear the squad just wasn't up to scratch and far too big. As you can see, you can take the manager out of China, but you can't take the China out of the man (ermm....). Lots of stupidly high results again but I'm hoping that'll improve next year when I bring my own guys in. Up front, Jason Scott got most of our goals. He was already at the club on loan from York and scored loads despite having terrible stats and being rated as half a star by my assistant! The fact he was my only striker helped him get game time!

I had my youth intake and it wasn't too shabby at all. The two that stand out are below. Astley made a couple of starts towards the end of the season and they may see a decent amount of playing time next season.

I've already released 75% of the squad. The only two I was disappointed about losing were Graham and Purdie. Purdie wanted too much to stay with us and was slowly getting worse while Graham just wanted to move on and to be fair, he probably deserves better.

Financially we're not looking great so I think we'll be relying a lot on loans which is why I ditched York as our parent club and instead signed up with Wolves. Hopefully they can send a few promising youngsters our way to pad out the squad.

Next year is going to be tough. The squad will be mostly new and young so as long as we stay up, I'll be happy. Hopefully the board will be too!

Hereford United

Pre-Season 2016-17 Update

Board Expectations

Skrill Premier: Respectable league position

FA Cup: First round

FA Trophy: Fourth round

Media League Prediction: 8th

Transfers In/Out

As I said at the end of last season, a complete revamp was needed. I got a lot of my business done early which was pleasing and I'm quietly confident with the squad I've put together. I'm a tad over the wage budget (OK, about £1.5k!) but I really feel that was needed to ensure the squad was big enough. I've also added a few of the youth products from last season into the squad as they look promising, especially Astley. All areas of the pitch seem to be covered as well which will allow me to rotate, especially if we have a decent cup run which is badly needed. In terms of friendlies, we lost seven and drew one. I organised quite a few home games against Premier League/Championship opposition and it has really helped the finances. No wins might come back to haunt me on the morale front though...

As you can see, nobody in this season's starting XI was a starter last season. Cambridge was a young keeper I signed from Ireland and was back-up last season. He's only 18 but I have confidence in his ability to step up. Cummins was another youngtser I grabbed from Ireland and one that will get ample opportunity to show his quality. Unfortunately Wolves didn't give me any loan players which was disappointing but I've brought in four pretty decent loanees to boost the squad. In terms of key signings, I think these two stand out:

Signed from Australia, I think Wright will be our creative spark this season just behind the striker. Unfortunately he's injured for the first couple of weeks of the new season but I'm looking forward to seeing him in action. I'm expecting big things as he is our joint top earner.

Signed from Coventry, Dyer will hopefully be the man to fire me to glory. If Jason Scott could score as many as he did last year, Dyer should be able to nick quite a few as he's much better.

I start the season with home games against newly promoted Solihull Moors, recently relegated Oxford United and Chester. Let's hope Dave Duncan can finally enjoy some success!

A fairly positive start with Hereford.

Thanks delta!

Hereford United

August/September 2016 Update

Skrill Premier

The fixture generator threw up a weird run of fixtures where we played on the road four times in a row but the first third of the season or so was quite kind to us. After the first day loss, I was thinking 'here we go again!' but in all truth, we should have won. Amazingly, we've only lost once since then and that was another game we should have won. I must have hit the woodwork at least ten times so far this season.. the game dislikes me! The defence has shored up somewhat but I'd still like to see improvements. We're scoring enough goals to win games but we've not been as clinical as I would like. If we can start putting more of our chances away and keep up the improvements at the back, we've got a chance.

Very decent start for us. We were around mid-table for the majority of the first six-eight games and we just drew too many. In that run of four straight away games, how we only picked up three points is a mystery but that's football I guess. I don't expect us to finish this high come the end of the season and we've had a reasonably easy run of games so far but it's been promising to say the least.

As you may have seen from the results, a Mr Josh Morris is banging in the goals. With Dyer injured to start the season, Morris grabbed his opportunity and hasn't been out of the side since. He's been clinical and I really can't fault him.

Much better than last season, Red Bull gives you wings eh?

Hereford United

October/November/December 2016 Update

Skrill Premier

Our results were pretty consistent with the first batch which maybe surprised me a little. There were a couple of away games we just didn't turn up for (Newport and Tamworth especially) but it's hard to criticise the lads too much. We've got a young side and a pretty small budget so we're performing pretty well if I do say so myself. It was nice to see some other guys chip in with goals as Morris has slowed down a bit but that was always going to happen. Interesting to note that we have the best defence in the league. How? I'm not really sure! Still plenty of silly errors and room for improvement which is a positive I guess!

I was hoping for a decent Cup run to boost the coffers a bit but unfortunately it wasn't to be. Knocked out of both the Cup and Trophy at home which was hard to take, especially as both were decent draws for us. Gloucester was a terrible performance with us 2-0 down after five minutes. Fair play to them though as even though they are a division below, they held on. The positive is that we can now focus on the league and with a lot of the younger/fringe players out on loan, our squad isn't massive.

We were just about to hit the busiest time of the year with the festive games but our Boxing Day game was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. A few days before, the Luton job came up and I was linked. They're 23rd in League Two but just a point off safety after drawing a ton of games (even more than us!). They offered me an interview which I attended and then that led to...

Very torn on what to do. I like Hereford and the side I have assembled. I don't realistically think we're promotion candidates and if we did go up, I think we'd struggle to compete financially. I feel a sense of attachment to the club seeing as they offered me a job when nobody would but it's always difficult to get attached to clubs, especially on FM! Luton are the far bigger club and the potential is there to build something long-term. A war chest of £450,000 for the January sales is also very appealing but I think I'm going to have to sleep on this one...

Had a long, hard think about Luton and was on the verge of accepting it before having a change of mind. Just had a good feeling about Hereford and what we're building here. Plenty of youth players to watch grow and a side that's playing well. I'd also rather join a club at the end of a season to give me some extra time to bring in my own players. Let's just hope I don't live to regret it!

Hereford United

January/February 2016 Update

Skrill Premier

We've had some really terrific results and some that can only be described as bizarre. Our three defeats have all come at home and two of them to teams near the bottom. Not really sure of the reasons; maybe my young side lack the experience to see games out? We were beating Dagenham and Bath both 2-0 and ended up losing them both. However, away from home we've been terrific. Our last game of this update (yes it was in March and the first two were in December, sue me ) was just brilliant as we thrashed promotion rivals Nuneaton. The best performance of the lot, though, has to be the Lincoln win. Drawing 1-1, we go down to ten men with half an hour left and then concede. However, we fight back to get an equaliser then grab two more. I'm not ashamed to say I felt a great sense of pride after that one. An honourable mention must also go to Chester's Jordan Grace who I still need to send a cheque to...

Barnet have slowed down a bit recently but still have a pretty safe cushion with nine games left to play. It would take quite the collapse for them to be caught now. Similarly, I think our play-off spot is pretty safe. We've beaten both Lincoln and Nuneaton recently so there's no fear there although Bath taught us a bit of a lesson. I suppose we should make sure we're in them before discussing who we want to face!

Good choice staying it seems.

Thanks, seems that way so far delta!

Hereford United

March/April 2016 Update

Skrill Premier

Pretty special result to kick off the update as we outplayed an out of sorts Barnet side who were beginning to wobble. However, we then went on a run of four games without a win that shelved any ideas I had of sneaking the title. We somewhat stumbled into the play-offs with our home form really struggling. The pitch is in terrible condition and with us playing a quick passing game, I think it's really hindered us (yes, excuses!). We were matched with Hayes & Yeading in the play-offs and did fantastically well to win the away leg 3-0. I fancy us more away from home at the moment so that win was key and after Hayes got an early sending off in the return leg, we sat back and let the game run its course. Good news is that we'll face Nuneaton in the final instead of Lincoln who just missed out on the title.

The bad news is that we're struggling with injuries. Morris is fighting to be fit, Batchelor our anchor man is out and so is O'Sullivan our left winger. Nuneaton will be full of confidence but so are we after two great performances against Hayes. I just hope we've got the away dressing room at Wembley! I'm off to get my suit cleaned...

Hereford United

Play-off 2016 Update

Skrill Premier Play-off Final

Get the bubbly, we've only gone and done it! I'd be lying if I said it was never in doubt and we went and did it the Hereford/Chongqing/Dave Duncan way. Morris put Cummins through early on to give us a dream start and we then doubled that lead as Wright finished beautifully five minutes before half time. Just as I was peeling my half-time orange, Nuneaton grabbed one from a corner to my great anguish. And then they did it again with 20 minutes left. With us now on the back foot, I was looking forward (not really) to extra time when towards the end, young 17-year-old Kyle Astley, who was only playing due to O'Sullivans injury, leapt like a salmon to head through to Morris who calmly finished. Hereford are back in the Football League!

Predicted eighth by the media and with the board only wanting a mid-table finish, we did brilliantly. Never did I expect us to go up with a squad made up mostly of players from the Scottish lower leagues, Skrill North/South and the youth team. Add that to the fact that the whole team was basically signed in the summer and it's hard to be impressed by how the lads performed. League Two will be a struggle but the top of the Conference is normally stronger than a lot of League Two so who knows?

Congratulations to Josh who at the start of the season wasn't even going to be playing! Rohan Dyer just didn't take his chances when coming back from injury and ended the season farmed out on loan at Colwyn Bay. To score 31 goals in his first season in England was fantastic and hopefully he can make the step up next season.

I'm not going to be making the wholesale changes I needed to make last summer but I expect to sign five or six to replace those who will be let go. Here's to my first bit of silverware!

Yesss, great going up from a late winner!

Yesss, great going up from a late winner!

Certainly is! Not that it was ever in doubt

On a side note, does anybody know how to get loan players from your parent club? My arrangement with Wolves so far has been pretty barren. Got none on loan last year and have been offered none so far this summer. Do they not offer you a few to pick from like old FMs or do you have to manually make an offer?

Hereford United

Pre-Season 2017-18 Update

Board Expectations

League Two: Avoid relegation

FA Cup: First round

Capital One Cup: Be competitive

Johnstones Paint Trophy: Be competitive

Media League Prediction: 23rd

Transfers In/Out

Made more signings that I initially intended to but we did need to add quality and depth as we let quite a few players leave and the budget was increased considerably. I was a bit disappointed that we missed out on three defenders I thought would make us really solid. Unfortunately two opted for Rotherham and one for Tranmere, both in League Two with us. I did strengthen the back line though, and also brought in two new keepers. Three of our back four from last season were on loan so that's why I had to bring in as many as I did. Seven of the 12 signings were either defensive midfielders, defenders of keepers! I was really glad to be able to bring O'Sullivan in on a free after he played so well on loan for us last year.

As you can see, most of the work has been done on the defence as I felt that was our weakest point. Perntreou is a good young Albanian keeper and will hopefully be able to marshall a pretty young back four. Wise and Edwards both look very solid signings. Towards the other end of the pitch, we're mainly sticking with the players from last year. Wright and Cummins are out injured but should feature when they return.

After missing out on two full-backs, I managed to find this guy. He has pretty solid stats and hopefully that will transpire in to good performances.

I wasn't particularly looking to add any forwards but Nuttall looks very good and we did need a bit of depth. Yet another young player and the oldest in the squad is 26-year-old Ray Chattoe, our second string right-back. Lack of experience may be a bit of a problem but when you've got no transfer budget, you've not got much choice!

I start the season with a home game against recently relegated Walsall before travelling to Championship Crystal Palace in the Capital One Cup. Joe Wright and Mark Cummins are both out for the start of the campaign which isn't ideal. In terms of targets, as long as we stay up I'll be a happy man.

Hereford United

August-Octoberish 2017 Update

League Two

A pretty mixed bag of results but I can't say I didn't expect it with such a young squad. To be fair to them, they've battled well and we've not been outclassed by anybody yet which is good to see. Still improvements to be made but it's not a bad start from us at all. We're nine points clear of the relegation places and our first aim is to make sure we're not a Non-League side again next season. Our defensive record is very good but it's just frustrating that the majority of goals we do concede seem to be from set-pieces or individual errors. The Edgar Street pitch is in terrible condition which also isn't helping our playing style but the board have agreed to relay the pitch at the end of the season. There's also been rumblings of a possible takeover...

It's almost as if my apathy for the cup competitions has somehow leaked to the players... In the Capital One Cup we put up a good fight but were eventually undone by a far better Crystal Palace side. We went out 11-10 on penalties at Exeter in the Johnstone's Paint (how can you take this competition seriously?!) with our substitute keeper missing in sudden death! The less said about our gutless defeat at Skrill Premier Chester in the FA Cup the better. I gave some fringe players chances and they didn't produce. No doubt they'll be knocking on my office door in a few weeks when they're warming the bench! At least the early exits will allow our smallish squad to focus on the league.

So I just received some good news. Will hopefully improve our youngsters after last year's very disappointing youth intake that yielded not one notable player.

This I'm not too sure about. The current chairman has been good to me and has more than backed me financially. I'm not sure what I could do with more money to be honest apart from improve the infrastructure and I've heard stories on new owners being a bit... moronic. Ah well, only time will tell!

Interesting. Looks as if the takeover is going through and the buyer is a local businessman so hopefully he'll have the club at heart and keep me on.

However, this did interest me...

I respectfully declined but it's nice to see clubs in other countries noticing the job I'm doing. Ross County are second bottom of the Scottish Championship and it looked like a decent opportunity. Just not the right time for it.

I'm not sure how much longer I'll stay at Hereford and I've decided my next job will definitely not be in England. I wanted to steer away from playing in England for quite a while but after my Volsungur/Chongqing 'experience', they were the only ones who wanted me!

EDIT: It would seem Shady's been putting the feelers out north of the border as I've just been invited to another interview, this time League One club Brechin City!

Hereford United

November/December 2017 Update

League Two

Can't help but be pleased by this set of results. Many expected us to go on a bad run and slip back down into a relegation battle but we've certainly not done that. Josh Morris is firing on all cylinders and we're still defending pretty well for the most part. Five wins on the bounce really put us into contention for the play-offs and it was just a shame that we managed to get absolutely humbled by Bristol Rovers. We were favourites, hit the bar twice early on and went in 1-0 down at half-time. Then Football Manager went into one of its 'YOLO' moods and we lost 6-0... Positive news is that it hasn't really affected us and the win at Walsall to kick off 2018 has put us into the play-off positions for the first time this season. Can we keep it up? No idea!

Takeover completed. He hasn't really changed much yet which is a good thing so hopefully we'll get along just fine...