HeyyImRyan Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 We all know the drill. It seems like ever-more youngsters are jetting off to 'find themselves' in some corner of Asia which now seems to have more English teenagers in flip-flops running around than actual locals. As pretty as sights may be, they all have to come home and find a job or a degree eventually. This is the tale of my alternate life, the one where I stormed out of uni as Polanyi's predictions of the future economy was no longer of interest, the one where I bought a ticket on the cheapest flight out of Gatwick I could find, the one where I decided to take a step towards the unknown - as a football manager. This is the story of my footballing gap year. Leagues Loaded Vietnam: V-League 2 and above Thailand: Division 2 and above U.A.E.: First Division and above Malaysia: Premier League and above Singapore: S-League China: First Division and above Hong Kong: Premier League Malta: First Division and above England: League Two and above (2016/17 onwards) Future leagues to add will include MLS, Hungary and Montenegro. Aims and Objectives Generally have fun and not impose too many restrictions Win titles in at least three countries Gradually build up my reputation and eventually get a job in England Once I reach England, take a team to glory If possible, win three different continental competitions (AFC/UCL/NACL) Updates will be a mixture of bi-annual and season long, depending on how long I have between updates. Some seasons are very short in the Asian leagues, so monthly posts may be silly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 'Nam. That was it. Ha Noi to be precise. With just one suitcase I strolled out of Noi Bai International to begin my new life abroad. I'd somehow managed to blag a job as the manager of a new football club in the nation's capital, Ha Noi FC. Formed only in 2011, they were the 'B' team to one of the city's greats Hanoi T&T, until 2013 when they were liberalised and began their independent journey. After a 6th place finish in their debut season (two places above relegation), they'd decided to take a chance on me. As I sat in my studio apartment, which doubled up as my office when the couch/bed thing was put away, I wondered whether this was a bold life decision or an act of pure insanity. Ha Noi FC 2014/15 Board Expectations V-League 2: Above mid-table Vietnamese Cup: Be competitive My Expectations V-League 2: Challenge for the title Vietnamese Cup: Not lose to VL2 clubs Finances Balance: Unsure (no screenshot, sorry!) Transfer Budget: £11,000 Wages: £3,400 p/w Wages Spent: £3,300 p/w Transfers Only three in, the best of these has to be Dao Ngoc Phouc who joins to solidify my 4-3-3 up front. For this level he is certainly above average and will hopefully be rather vital to our success. Pre-Season A very promising start. The December friendlies were arranged by my Assistant Manager and I proved I have some clue as to what I'm doing, putting in some very promising results against teams in the division above. Dao Ngoc Phouc showed he was a good signing already, and Pham Tien Dung proved why he was the highest paid player in the squad. The following three in February were organised by me, against considerably weakened opposition. They did exactly as I anticipated - gave my players a chance to score a few goals and get used to winning ways - Dao even netted 4 in one particularly epic performance by my new squad as they ran out 8-0 winners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Like the idea of the thread, looking forward to it developing! Do you think Hanoi will let you go for your C License? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Ha Noi FC 2014/15 Vietnamese Cup After a fantastic win against division rivals An Giang in the opening round, we lost out to Khanh Hoa despite a strong performance. We went behind early on, but the team stunned the 9,000 strong crowd with a quick double to take the lead at 2-1. Unfortunately, Khanh Hoa's experience showed as they came back with three after the break to take the tie away from us. V-League 2 A brilliant start to my managerial career! A completely undefeated season saw us top the league with a gap of ten points come the end of the 14th game. The board were stunned, and I certainly was too. Despite going undefeated, it wasn't all plain sailing - coming back from 3-0 down against Dak Lak was actually the best game of the season for us. Still at 3-1 with less than ten minutes left, Vu Van Hoc stepped up to give us a sense of hope, before the back bone of the team Pham Tien Dung rocketed home the equaliser from 25 yards in the 90th minute. In the end, no one could get a hold on us - a 4-0 smashing of Phu Yen on the last day of the season (courtesy of Vu Quoc Thinh's hat-trick) meant I was still undefeated in the league as manager of Ha Noi...and that I was signing a new contract. Players of the Season: Nguyen Minh Tuan | Stats Honourable Mentions: Pham Tien Dung, the glue that binds this squad together. He managed 12 goals and 7 assists in 12 appearances this season, and also netted 9 goals in 7 appearances for the Vietnamese national team; & Vu Quoc Thinh, our top goalscorer. Was surprised he didn't win player of the season himself, maybe next year. Young Player of the Season: Has to be Troung Thanh Phoung, 17 and a permanent fixture in our squad. He also thoroughly deserved his call up to the Vietnam U22s where he has made 8 appearances this year, definitely a star in the making. U21 Watch Though this won't be a regular addition (unless they keep winning!) I was delighted with the youth team managing to perform so brilliantly and surpass even the senior team's achievements this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Like the idea of the thread, looking forward to it developing! Do you think Hanoi will let you go for your C License? Thank you! I've already played the first season and they wouldn't then - hopefully now we're up with the big boys they may have a change of heart. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamoudiLFC Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Will be following this for sure - cant wait until you possibly manage in the UAE! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDR Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 The Footballing Gap Year...or How To Fall Into An Accidental Career. Nice idea, so I'll follow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Quite a good idea for a career, I'll definitely follow this. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Some how that pitch doesn't match the scenery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Some how that pitch doesn't match the scenery. Imagination, a footy manager's best friend! Solid first season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 The Footballing Gap Year...or How To Fall Into An Accidental Career. Nice idea, so I'll follow. Will be following this for sure - cant wait until you possibly manage in the UAE! Quite a good idea for a career, I'll definitely follow this. Good luck. Some how that pitch doesn't match the scenery. Imagination, a footy manager's best friend! Solid first season. Thanks guys! UAE is likely happen at some point, will wait and see how their league develops over the coming seasons! It's definitely the same as the scenery, what're you talking about? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ha Noi FC 2015/16 Board Expectations V-League 1: Fight bravely against relegation Vietnamese Cup: Second Round My Expectations V-League 1: Survive. Vietnamese Cup: Not lose to VL2 clubs Finances Balance: £32,650 Transfer Budget: £0 Wages: £9,242 p/w Wages Spent: £4,200 p/w Transfers A second year where we profit in the window - as I shall aim to do most seasons. Starting with the outgoing, two fringe players left the club on free transfers. Ronald Montero, a Brazilian I took a chance on when I was offered him by an agent last pre-season, leaves the club for the third tier for a £500 profit. Finally, Phan Huu Nghia, our first choice keeper last season, left for £2.5k to third tier Saigon. Incoming, Doan Nguyen Trung brings us a bit of experience at the back, and promising youngster Ro Van Loi joins us on loan from Hai Phong U21s to replace Phan Huu Nghia. Pre-Season Another very good preseason ends with a narrow defeat to last year's champions. Though the game was mainly for financial purposes, it was a huge positive to see how well we played against last year's #1 in Vietnam. We started out with a great win, and followed it up with a disappointing draw against third tier opposition. The rest were relatively simple except our encounter with Hai Phong - where we led 2-1 but were unable to finish them off. Pham Tien Dung was particularly impressive - racking up 6 goals and 2 assists in his 4 preseason appearances. Youth Prospects I have no intake screenshot for season one, I apologise! I do however have four players that I am charting the development of, those these screenshots are taken midway through our second season. Nguyen Trung Tin | Nguyen Duc Kien | Nguyen Chi Thanh | Phan Anh Tuan Our opening game of the season comes at home against Quang Nam, who finished 7th last season... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ha Noi FC 2015/16 Mid-Season Post What a fantastic start to V-League 1 life we have had. After a winning debut on home soil we took a step backwards with subsequent defeats against SLNA and Gia Lai. The Gia Lai game was particularly frustrating as we lead 2-0 before their comeback. After a stern talking to about the importance of putting to bed games where you have a 2-0 lead, we went on our best run of the season so far: snatching massive wins at Hai Phong, Khanh Hoa and our former parents Hanoi T&T, with a point at Thanh Hoa too. We were quickly brought back down to earth with a defeat away at Da Nang, but a 7-2 thrashing of title contenders DT Long An followed. Since then form has been hard to come by, but with more wins than losses in the opening half of the season I am very proud of how things are going. There is no doubt that Pham Tien Dung has been central to our success, leading the league goalscoring charts with 14 goals so far. 5th place is certainly nothing to frown about in our first season - the board are delighted and I just hope we can keep things up in what will undoubtedly be a tougher second half. League Table | League Stats Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 Ha Noi FC 2015/16 Mid-Season Transfers No incoming players, but four leave. One of my youth starlets heads off to join Dak Lak (of V-League 2) until the end of the season. He joins them as a key player and I'm happy he will be getting a lot of competitive games under his belt. The biggest deal for us was the departure of Nguyen Kim Hoang to league rivals Gia Lai for £9.75k with the potential to reach £24,000 pending appearances and monthly contributions. Whilst I usually wouldn't sell to other clubs in our league through choice, he was never really going to be a success with us and has already dropped into Gia Lai's U21s. Other departures were fringe players Nguyen Cong Luan and Phan Ngoc Thanh, who leave for An Giang of V-League 2 and Sai Gon United of the third tier, respectively. Youth Candidates Some definite potential in here, though I was hoping for a quality goalkeeper to come through the ranks. I'm unlikely to put much effort into the candidates outside of my main four hopefuls, but a couple of others may be able to break into the squad as contingency players. For me the most exciting prospect is Nguyen Van Hung. He has some really promising stats, my only concern is his height and jumping ability. I actually may well try and mould him into a defensive midfielder due to new developments in the Ha Noi camp [to come below]. Tran Minh Chien is also looking okay - though he will most likely develop into a striker as I have no use for an attacking midfielder in my standard formations. Le Huu Hanh is certainly no winger with his inability to cross a ball, but could feature as a central midfielder, as could Chau Quang Sang. Nguyen Van Hung | Tran Minh Chien | Le Huu Hanh | Chau Quang Sang Unfortunate Departure Sadly, youngster and key player Truong Thanh Phuong will depart the club at the end of the season. He had his head turned by a number of the bigger Vietnamese sides after the lure of continental football, and came to me asking for a move. I did everything I could to get him to stay, but in the end had to promise him that if an offer came and it was good enough then I would let him go. He leaves for Hai Phong, for an initial fee of £31,000 but the potential for a final deal of £40,500 pending club and international appearances. A big shame, given he had a very bright future at our club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 How do you impress your new boss and convince him to give you a contract? Probably by doing something like this... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyyImRyan Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Ha Noi FC 2014/15 Vietnamese Cup A brilliant showing in the Vietnamese Cup this year saw us storm through the rounds and surprise a lot of fans by making the final. Highlight of the tournament had to be recovering from 2-1 down against Can Tho with goals in the 85th and 89th minute to take the tie. Quang Nam fell much easier thanks to early strikes from Pham Tien Dung and Bui Duy Hai, and Dong Nai didn't really trouble us. We walked out to a capacity crowd of 30,000 at Vinh stadium, and before we knew what had hit us were 2-0 down thanks to a direct free kick and a penalty all in the opening 20 minutes. Dao Ngoc Phuoc snatched one back on the hour mark, but as we pushed for an equaliser we left gaps in our defence - and Da Nang capitalised on this to win the second Vietnamese Cup title in their history. V-League 1 Another hit and miss half to end our season. Particular highlights were the 6-0 wins against SLNA and Hanoi T&T, with Pham Tien Dung managing hat-tricks in both. POur 3-2 win over Can Tho courtesy of a 91st minute winner sent be leaping into the air, and we actually looked rather comfortable for most of these games. Defeats to DT Long An and Da Nang were understandable, but it was pleasing to beat eventual champions Binh Dong 2-0. The victory over SLNA meant we had already cemented 4th in our debut V-League 1 season, but I had hoped for a positive end to the season away at Quang Nam. Unfortunately we never really got going, and sunk to a poor defeat to end the season with a pretty impressive 44 points. Players of the Season: Pham Tien Dung | Stats Unsurprising really, he lead the team and managed an incredible 28 league goals from 26 appearances, also cracking in 9 assists. Absolutely incredible player that I have been lucky to hold on to after being forced to promise I would let him go if a team came up with an offer. Honourable Mentions: Vu Quoc Thinh had another very good year, he scored 10 in 24 appearances, but also managed 16 assists to keep us in the top half of the table for most of the season. Nguyen Minh Tuan was also on form - grabbing an average rating of 7.55 from 24 league appearances. Young Player of the Season: Troung Thanh Phoung manages this award yet again. Still only 18 and signing off on his Hanoi FC career with a great season. Due to injury he only managed 20 league appearances for us this season, but was an absolute rock sitting between our centrebacks and midfield, and he will be sorely missed. His talent hasn't gone unnoticed domestically or internationally - making three appearances for the Vietnam senior team. Youth Team Player of the Season: Has to be young talent Nguyen Duc Kien. One of my youth prospects from 2015, he made 20 appearances for the U21s (despite being 16) this season and pulled off 11 goals and 11 assists. Definitely warranting a start in some friendly games this pre-season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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