[FM11] If there's a fork in the road...take it...iacovone's "Around The World" Career

[iacovone]

Jinxed it. 4 straight defeats has left us 5th and 8 points off the top two places after 8 games. This is quite worrying - the defence is porous compared to last year and my hope up top Kadi has only scored twice! Next two games are away against two teams around me - Blackburn and Cape Town FC. If they go badly, I'll seriously consider walking away from this job...

[iacovone]

A narrow 3-2 win over bottom of the table Blackburn was followed by a humiliating 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Cape Town FC. The fans were traumatised, I was furious and the player's morale hit rock bottom. It was time to leave.

Jimmy Blixt resigns from African Warriors job

[iacovone]

Blixt moves to Italy!!

Well it was just over a month out of the game before this offer reared its head. It was the first offer I received and to be honest I was pretty pleased with it. The media described my appointment as a 'surprise' - fair enough. Still, I'm on a 6 month contract with the target of keeping Carpi in the division. The league table looks like this. We're not in a terrible position but for a club expected to come 7th I can see why they removed the last manager.

So who are Carpi? Wikipedia says this about them:

The club was founded in the summer of 1909 by local student Adolfo Fanconi as Jucunditas (Latin for "gaiety"), and changed their denomination to Associazione Calcio Carpi a few years later. Starting from the 1930s, they mostly played between Serie C and Serie D. Carpi achieved their best result in 1997, a third place under coach Luigi De Canio which allowed them to play the Serie B promotion playoffs then lost to Monza.

The club was cancelled in 2000 following relegation to Serie D and subsequent bankruptcy; a new club, named Calcio Carpi, was therefore admitted to Eccellenza. The club assumed the current denomination in 2002, following promotion to Serie D.

So not much history and the finances are 'insecure' so it will be a struggle. My first game in charge is away to top of the table Giulianova which isn't ideal but we'll have to get by and try and scrape a result. From there on - who knows? The squad aren't blessed but should have enough about them to survive. There is decent room in the wage budget to find a few bargains in January - always good news.

Our facilities are decent too. The Sandro Cabassi Stadium holds 2860 and is an all seater and we have a youth academy. Not too shabby then. Lets see what Blixt can do here

This is the stadium btw:

[Gundo]

Seems like a decent little club, best of luck with them.

[iacovone]

Thanks Gundo. If only it were only luck we needed. I massively overestimated my squad. They were absolutely appalling. And despite making additions where possible I've managed to lose my first 6 in charge!! This could be a very quick end to my time in Italy

[rancer890]

Good luck iacovone. Hope you don't have a Carpi ending even though you lost your first 6 games.

[iacovone]

And just like that we've won in game 7 of my reign! No Carpi ending just yet

[SnakeXe]

Come on iacovone, you have to keep them up and have a long career with them - just think of the pun-potential!

[AK22]

Sounds like Carpi in name, carp(i) in nature...

Hope you can turn things around

[iacovone]

Oh the puns, the puns

Its actually going ok now. Only lost once in our last 4 (1 draw and 2 wins) so we look set to just creep out of the relegation playoff spots. I've put the club in even worse financial difficulty but the chairman will just have to deal with that if he wants survival/success! Full rundown of the season will include the new signings - a couple look useful even in the league above us. Not as Carp as the original squad anyway

[ShanghaiNugget]

Doesn't sound like it's your year at all! Let's hope things turn around otherwise you could be begging African Warriors for your job back.

Edit: Just read the update, oops! Getting better.

[iacovone]

End of Season teaser

We are heading to the relegation playoffs....nerve wracking times.

I have somehow managed to get a contract extension for next season too. No idea how the chairman came to that conclusion considering we're in exactly the same position as when I joined. I kind of have to accept it just to remain in a job (and its a pay rise) but its safe to say my first venture to Italy has not been fun...

[iacovone]

What a load of Carp

Link speaks for itself

[iacovone]

Season 2012/13 Update

Following the South African washout and the Italian failure, my next job offer sprung an opportunity no 27 year old obscure Swedish manager could turn down.

I'm off to South London!

Hayes Lane, Bromley FC

They have just been promoted to the Blue Square Premier (5th tier) from the unplayable Blue Square Conference South and are expected to finish 23rd! Tough ask again.

I've not had a chance to analyse the squad just yet but what I do know is that there's no money to spend and a tiny budget. I'm going to have to find some free transfers just for a change. I suppose having an entire pre season and summer to build a squad is a good thing and hopefully it will give me a chance to avoid relegation. I don't want to do an Avram Grant with back to back relegations

[iacovone]

Oh and strangely my chairman is Craig Slater. I presume (hope) it isn't the Sky Sports News presenter though...

[Nobby_McDonald]

You did crap at Carpi.

Good luck at Bromley.

[iacovone]

Cheers Nobby! I did indeed do crap at Carpi

For those interested in the international tournaments - Euro 2012

Belarus!! Slovakia!! Great work from Eastern Europe.

[iacovone]

The squad I've inherited here are beyond crap. Absolutely appalling. Its taken me two weeks just to get an assistant manager in. Now I need to make fast work of assembling something like a team. This could go badly guys....

[rancer890]

Good luck iacovone...I think you'll need it again.

[SnakeXe]

Poor old carpi Carpi

Good luck with Bromley!

[jackripper]

unlucky so far in your career. Hopefully england offers you more luck.

[iacovone]

I'm quite enjoying it tbh! Forging a reputation for being utterly dross at management! I could find myself at a number of lower league clubs before getting anywhere near the top tiers!

Told the Bromley press conference that I wasn't happy to be taking the job but someone has to do it. Something along those lines anyway

[aaberdeenn]

I'd say good luck in the new job but it sounds like it won't last long!

[iacovone]

I'd say good luck in the new job but it sounds like it won't last long!

I'll be stunned if I survive the season there

The squad is absolute tripe. I'll try and post a screenshot of the best player I had when I joined the club tonight. Basically the game populated the club with newgen players as they weren't playable until they came up to the BSP. I've no idea how the CA of these newgens is determined but it certainly isn't anything to do with the standard of the league they're going into!

[cookie15]

Iacovone - A great read mate, good luck in your new post. I'm sure a man of calibre will see them through.

[rlipscombe]

well quite a lot has gone on since i was here last!! think you made right decision in South Africa, but Italy went balls up big time! sounds like it's going to be tough with Bromley but good luck anyway.

[iacovone]

Thanks for the confidence guys

Rob Bent is deemed a 5 star goalkeeper at this level. I'm concerned.

[SnakeXe]

He looks excellent, don't know what you're on about!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Bent by name, bent back by nature.

[AJ (Manager)]

Iacovone, good reading so far. Heres hoping you have a slightly longer stay in Bromley.

Slightly off topic, but could I ask what spec your PC is to be running the amount of leagues you currently are.

[iacovone]

This is fast turning into another nightmare

I swear I used to be good at this game...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Is Bent out with an injured back yet?

[iacovone]

Finally a chance to update you all. I know you're itching to hear how I've been getting on

Well. Its gone from bad to worse. I am surely a contender for least successful career thread ever. After 11 losses, a draw and a win at Bromley I did the honourable thing and handed in my 3rd letter of resignation in as many years in management. The straw that broke the camel's back was a 6-0 away loss to the team one place above us (Southport). It was an embarrassing stay in England.

So where too next? It took a while but my first offer came from Valenzona in the 4th tier of Italian football. Clearly someone hadn't given them the memo that I didn't do too well at Carpi...

Anyway, I decided I didn't want to go back to Italy just yet so I rejected them and held out til January 2013. Then this rather odd offer came to me - Newly promoted Chinese 2nd Division side Sichuan approached me to take them into the 2nd tier. I had nothing else on the table so thought it'd be a good idea! Hmmm.

[AJ (Manager)]

Iacovone, good reading so far. Heres hoping you have a slightly longer stay in Bromley.

Slightly off topic, but could I ask what spec your PC is to be running the amount of leagues you currently are.

Shame about your stay in Bromley, the new challenge looks interesting...Any comment on the above?

Thanks.

[iacovone]

Shame about your stay in Bromley, the new challenge looks interesting...Any comment on the above?

Thanks.

You have a PM

[iacovone]

So after moving to Sichuan, I had a generous budget of £120k but little to no discernible interest from any half decent player (shock). I'm starting to wonder if its partly down to my reputation, or lack therof, within football.

So I battled through Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 to try and put together a decent squad. I had what I thought were the makings of at least a slightly competent outfit. Friendlies went ok, new tactics appeared to be understood and we were ready to embark on the 30 game season to stay up.

6 games in and I'd taken 1 point. The writing was already on the wall. If I'm going to sacrifice part of my career to move to China, I at least expect the players to make sacrifices and actually learn to play football. They didn't. I didn't like what was coming, so I jumped before I was pushed.

So where next on this ever more embarrassing journey?

[iacovone]

Blixt moves back to Italy

Gubbio Calcio

Having not learnt the mistake Carpi made, Gubbio chairman Marco Fioriti offered me a return to Europe in the form of his club Gubbio Calcio. They are of course in the 4th tier, and of course struggling. The situation is not ideal. We're one spot above the relegation places with 4 games remaining. 3 of these will be at home. Matera are the team below us (but on the same points). I have been hired to keep Gubbio in the Italian football pyramid. The fools

There isn't a great deal I can do transfer wise as we're at the end of April. I'm going to play the 4 games and give a seasonal roundup afterwards. If (and its a huge IF) we stay up, I could be at a decent club to make career progress. In season 1 they were in C1B - the 3rd tier. So with any luck the club will have a few gems...

[rancer890]

Did you learn some Chinese before you left at least?

Maybe if you loaded all the Swedish tiers you would get some offers because if you have a Swedish manager. If even you suck in the first few managerial jobs you can always go home..

Hope you find something decent and you can make a career of it.

[iacovone]

Did you learn some Chinese before you left at least?

Maybe if you loaded all the Swedish tiers you would get some offers because if you have a Swedish manager. If even you suck in the first few managerial jobs you can always go home..

Hope you find something decent and you can make a career of it.

So do I rancer...so do I

EDIT: And no, no Chinese was picked up. In fact I've not learnt any Italian either

[iacovone]

28th April 2013

Vigor Lamezia (h) - 2-1 win

First game was against 3rd placed Vigor Lamezia and on paper it looked a tough start. However the players fitted in nicely to my 4-2-3-1 formation and we ground out a win with a late penalty sealing it. This ended the club's 11 game run without a win and moved us up a position to 12th. Results didn't really go our way though as Matera won as well, keeping us on the same points. However we both leapfrogged Grottaglie.

5th May 2013

Gela (h) - 2-0 win

Its easy this management business! Despite accumulating a number of injuries before the game, the team I put out did more than enough. Magnani's goal was a pretty special lob. We probably should have won by more to be honest (especially factoring in the penalty). All in all, a solid win, and one that more or less keeps us up!

With two to play the table looks like this:

With bottom of the table Messina away from home up next, I think we may even do it with a game to go. Have I found a home at last!?

[iacovone]

12th May 2013

Messina (a) - 3-0 loss

Well. Didn't see that coming. Bottom of the table Messina battered us. I've helped them escape the bottom of the table, so they can be thankful for that and it doesn't look as though it will effect our chances of survival. Annoying to lose to 18th in table but 6 points from 9 is fine by me.

19th May 2011

Rimini (h) - 3-1 loss

Well well well. 1-0 down. Brought it back to 1-1 and whilst checking the other scores, Rimini went and made it 2-1. "No bother" I thought...

Yes that's right. I'm in another relegation playout for my job. FFS .

Amazingly results conspired against us to send us south by 2 places. Matera only lost by the one goal so seeing as we had drawn both games against them early in the year (results vs opponent), goal difference came into it. Our results against Grottaglie meant we dropped beneath them as well. Disastrous. I had a front 8 (bank of 4 and bank of 4) up front trying for the goal we needed for safety. Alas, we conceded a 3rd.

So we're up against Messina in the playout (yes, the team we just lost 3-0 too ). Fortunately we have the slight advantage that if scores remain level after both legs we will stay up by virtue of being the best of the 4 playout sides.

Urgh. Here we go again.

[pezza1]

Good luck Iacovone. If you stay up this could be your chance to re-build your reputation. You'll be able to stamp your mark on the club over the summer and make the team your own. Then hopefully you can get the team promoted in one or 2 years and move on to bigger things!!

[iacovone]

Relegation Playouts May 2013

Messina (a) - 2-1 win

Oh thank God. So long as we avoid defeat by 2 goals or more in the home leg, we will be safe from relegation. Typing as the game processes so forgive the present tense narration!

Messina (h) - 1-0 win

We're staying up!! I've finally achieved something in my 3rd season as a manager . At least I think that counts as an achievement :confused:

Anyway, onto a summer of building and shedding. Lets see what I can do with a full year at Gubbio

[rancer890]

Good work iacovone. Hope you have some progress with Gubbio next season.

[iacovone]

Season Summary 2012/13

Where to start?

Bromley FC

I began the year in South London with newly promoted Bromley. This was a similar challenge to that of Carpi the season before. In truth, I should have probably known better than to take on another team with little to no hope of staying up. Clearly I'm not the man for that particular job.

Despite doing my best to round up some semblance of a team, it became patently clear that we were on the highway to relegation town. It took just 13 games for me to see all I needed to know. 11 losses, a draw and a solitary win already made the task of staying up nigh on impossible. Fortunately I've developed a knack for abandoning a sinking ship before the good Jimmy Blixt name gets dragged through the mud. So I quit.

Sichuan

It took a month or two of applications to get my next offer. I think I made the mistake in a past career of heading to East Asia - something about the place just doesn't agree with me! Still, another newly promoted side I could attempt to dig out of the mire.

I had the entire pre season to build up a decent squad, and again I thought I had done. However 6 games in and 1 point, led me to the same conclusions as at Bromley. It was time to get out - we were no hopers! Once more I handed in my notice, and was off for pastures new.

Gubbio Calcio

A great opportunity. 4 games to deal with, safety required. Pressure yes, but I hadn't got them into this situation, so in my head it was acceptable to fail. BUT I didn't this time. Sure, it took a relegation playout against Messina to ensure safety, but the important thing is I'd done what was asked of me.

I'm going to have a complete overhaul of the squad in the summer. We are nearly half a million in debt, which for a club this small is some achievement! So first off, I'm going to let everyone who's contract is expiring leave. I've mutually sacked the below par staff members - my own guys are on their way in as I type.

Hopefully with a bit of breathing room in the wage budget I'll be able to acquire some good freebies. I've got quite high hopes at Gubbio. I have a fairly sound foundation to work from - good club, some good players and a decent youth team. If I tweak the right areas, dare I say it, we could go places.

A summary of the career so far...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| YEAR  |      CLUB      |   NATION   |  LEAGUE  | TIER | FINISH | ACHIEVEMENTS |      NOTES    |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|--------------|---------------|
|2010/11|African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   3rd  | NFD Cup R/Up |               |
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|--------------|---------------|
|       |African Warriors|South Africa|  NFD/CS  |  2nd |   N/A  |      N/A     |Resigned in Nov|
|2011/12|                |            |          |      |        |              |               |
|       |    Carpi FC    |    Italy   | Serie C2B|  4th |   16th |   Relegated  |Resigned E.O.S.|
|-------|----------------|------------|----------|------|--------|--------------|---------------|
|       |   Bromley FC   |   England  |    BSP   |  5th |   N/A  |      N/A     |Resigned in Oct|
|2012/13|    Sichuan     |    China   |Jia League|  2nd |   N/A  |      N/A     |Resigned in Apr|
|       |  Gubbio Calcio |    Italy   | Serie C2C|  4th |   14th |  Won Playout |   Survived!   |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: Since this post, the board have announced an affiliation with Lausanne in Switzerland. Hopefully they'll send a few young players over to bulk up the squad! ALSO - for those that remember my Savona save from CSE - I've just noticed that we have a national partnership in place with them

[SnakeXe]

Good luck with Gubbio, although of course I can't condone sending Messina down

Hopefully you can take them to where they are in my save - Champions League qualification challengers!

[iacovone]

Good luck with Gubbio, although of course I can't condone sending Messina down

Hopefully you can take them to where they are in my save - Champions League qualification challengers!

Not sure I'm planning on staying for 10 years + unless something goes remarkably well! Sorry for the Messina relegation

[iacovone]

Gubbio - Summer Transfers

Just a quick glance at the key players that arrived over the summer months. I'm quietly confident.

Damian - looks a real player for the AMC role. High hopes.

Ephraim O'Neal - Not the quickest but his technical skills more than make up for that.

Leonardo Nunzella - solid full back who is unfortunately out for a while before he can make his debut.

Diogo Tavares - Portuguese striker who I hope will lead the line solo well.

Alberto Almici - essential to have a top class CM and at this level Almici should fulfill that.

Onwards!

[Nobby_McDonald]

I'd call you Tommy Docherty, but he stayed in England.

[iacovone]

I'd call you Tommy Docherty, but he stayed in England.

Wikipedia tells me he stopped in Portugal and Australia soooooo...