[FM 16] Trying to save the Oldest Club in Spain

Jesus Guiterrez, a 51 year old ex-footballer from Spain, was reading the football articles on BBC Sports and came across an article that brought memories crashing down on him. Can this be true, the giant killers, the team that showed us that just one time, any side can win, the oldest club in Spain, no, they are on the brink of disappearing?

The side that started it all in his homeland may be no more. Recreativo de Huelva was started in 1889 by two Brits who wanted a side for overseas workers in the Rio Tinto mines. Yes, this tiny club that is struggling for survival was started 10 years before Barcelona and 13 years before powerhouse Real Madrid. But now, Recreativo is the one struggling to survive.

The stadium can hold over 19,000 but barely gets 5,000 for home matches now.

Jesus remembers one of the greatest moments in the storied history of Recreativo, the stunning 3-0 victory at Real Madrid in December 2006. Yes, he had gone to the match expecting to see Madrid walk all over Recreativo, this was the Madrid with Ronaldo, Rabinho and David Beckham, they shouldn't have had to break a sweat in this cake-walk victory, but Recreativo showed that at the end of the day, anything is possible. Jesus was a convert, from that moment on he was a fan. He followed Recreativo over the years, but he, like the side, had fallen on harder times. Jesus had made it to the national stage in Spain and had even gotten his Continental A coaching license, but had left football in his late 30s when he had lost the passion for the game, it was work and not fun anymore he said in his final press conference. He followed his other passion and became a high school history teacher and moved to London.

But this article, it lit the fires and stirred the passion once again. So he sat his wife down and explained why he had to do this, why once again they may have to move. He picked up the phone and placed the call to the chairman, Pablo Comas, less than 24 hours later he was on the plane back to Spain, was sitting in Pablo's office and talking to the clubs most famous alum, Santi Carzola, on the phone explaining why he was the best man for the job, and within 4 hours had taken the hot seat job as he tried to save the oldest football club in Spain...

I want to explain why this team and why like this.

I was reading the football stories on the BBC Sports App this morning and came across this story about Recreativo de Huelva and its struggles. I called to my wife, we are both teachers and on Spring Break this week, and told her to read this, I think I just found a challenge for FM. She readily agreed. So here I am. I made some changes to make this a little more realistic, I am my actual age (51) and I selected the team instead of starting out unemployed. I also had the game give me coaching badges and experience based off of the level of the team, so I have a Continental A license and a national professional player. This is going to be a lot different for me because of that. I will follow all of the other rules I have though, play all matches and no save and replay. I let the chips fall the way they do.

The background info I have came from the BBC article I did not add some of the particulars from the article (don't have the editor) that would have made it even more challenging. According to the article, they owe 20 million Euros in back taxes so no one has been paid for 8 months. They also turned down a purchase bid last week which angered the fans. There are only 14 players in the 1st team as well.

According to the game, the financials are okay and they have sold over 11,000 season tickets. So that part of the story is not going to be something I will have to deal with.

But lets see if I can take this side back to the top where its history says it should be...

I think I read this on BBC Sport today too. Good luck with this.

I have made some changes in the coaching staff. I just don't see having a Fitness Coach who is rated as a 6 in Fitness. The board was not happy with the number of physios we had so I terminated the contract of one. I also hired a new fitness coach and a defensive coach. The rest of the staff looks pretty good, but remember I am looking at this with the mindset of a manager in the county leagues in England.

Also, the side looks pretty good as well. The only glaring need I see on paper is left midfielder/attacking midfielder, but I need to keep an eye on him to see how they play.

We were above the wage budget so I moved some money from the transfer budget to the payroll budget to give myself a 500 budget cushion. I still have 89K for transfers this season.

So as of now the finances are in the black. The media predictions are for us to finish 3rd and the players want to make it to the playoffs.

A couple of things I am learning from this, first, I had to register the team to play and can only make changes if there is a major injury. Also, there is a limit of 16 players on the side over 23, so this keeps the side from loading up on older players who were dropped from top tier teams. I like that rule.

After playing the friendly against the B side I have 6 friendlies scheduled. There are only 2 competitions I will be competing in, the Spanish Cup and the league so shouldn't press the side too much.

There are times I look at this and get feeling overwhelmed, but this is something I can press forward with and it is completely out of my comfort zone, aint it great!

Have been looking at doing this myself haha, looks like it could be an interesting save and wishing you the best of luck with it