sherm Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 "You never know what life may hit you with. Stand and face it head on, take it like a man. Eventually, life will have enough and go away" That was Pedro's favourite quote. He always used to say that it wasn't the person dying, it was life, and it was their way of saying it was enough. He was a man of many quotes, and it the years I knew him, I think I must have heard thousands. Some said he was nutty as a fruitcake, others said he was a tad eccentric. Whatever he was, he certainly had a hold over football teams he went to. For years he trowelled around in the lower leagues of France and Portugal, not really hitting the big time, but his big break came in 1998, when he got the Player/Manager job at Lens. He was only 33, but he showed a maturity and knowledge that belied his inexperience. Pedro had always expressed his desire to do well, and he also harboured an ambition to manage in England. After three years with Lens, on a shoestring budget, he got the call, and aged 36, he packed up and headed off to Nottingham, to manage the once great Nottingham Forest. Take it from me, that job does not sound as easy or as glamourous as you'd think. They were £15 million in the red, and had a poor playing squad. I followed Pedro to the club as his assistant less than a week after he got the job, and I was staggered by the impact he had over the place already. The Media had taken a shine to him, his boyish good looks, his sheepskin coat and his slick smile allowing him to wrap the press round his little finger. but the players weren't fooled. He had a nasty, vicious side to his cool demeanour, especially if somebody bad mouthed one of his players. He was fiercely loyal, a proud competitor, and he loathed losing. I've never seen anybody hate losing as much as Pedro. I don't want to spoil the story, but one incident, after his Forest side had just beaten Manchester City, sums up the man. There had been a fracas in the middle of the pitch, and a journalist asked him about it after the game. Pedro came out with a typicallly dry response that I couldn't help but laugh about "The incident in the centre circle. No, no, I couldn't care less. My team have just outplayed the League Leaders for 90 minutes, scored 5 goals, and you want to talk about one incident. What's wrong with you man? Now, any proper questions please?" It was inspired, and the journalist in question shrunk into obscurity and made sure he never asked a silly question again. Typical Pedro! Pedro's story is one with twists and turns along the way, and I just hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed being a part of it. Trust me, you're in for a treat Jean-Marc Adjovi-Boco --- Game played on CM01/02, with English, Portuguese, Scottish, Spanish and Italian Leagues loaded. It won't be an update every day type of story, as I'm working hard on putting more non-football details into it, but hopefully you'll enjoy it Oh, and it's 3.9.68 patch version too... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Nice start sherm - I'll be following. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Cheers Bob, glad to have you along... --- Chapter 1 - Where it All Begins.... I walked into the City Ground knowing the clubs history. Knowing how Brian Clough turned them from nobodies into double European Champions, how they were one of the most successful clubs in English football...but now, they were in massive trouble. Growing debts, shortage of players. And they had chosen me to be the man to take over at the club and guide them back to where they belong. It wouldn't be an easy task... Leaving France had been, well, a relief. Not because of the place, or the job at Lens, but because I had tried and failed in a few relationships, and it felt like time for a fresh start. I was still a pup in terms of management age, at 36, and I felt like I had plenty of time ahead of me. The clubs financial reports made frightening reading, the mis-management leading them to be over £15,000,000 in debt, and though there was a tiny amount of money for transfers, loans and free transfers were going to be the norm... I had been born in Portugal, just outside of Braga, to Julia and Jorge Farinho. My mother was happy to be a housewife, look after me, look after the house, while my father went out and brought home the wages. He was a fisherman by trade, but he also earnt money refereeing football games in the Portuguese third and fourth division at weekends, and it was this that got me into the game. I went to watch him every weekend from the age of 10, and I played as often as I could in the week after school. One Sunday, I was watching my father referee a fourth division game. I think I was around 15 at the time. I had shot up over the previous 12 months, and stood over 6 feet tall and had filled out, so when one of the teams were a player short, I was invited to play. As it turned out, I had a natural talent, scoring twice and setting up another to allow my temporary side to a 3-1 victory, and that led me upon the path to where I am today We were never a rich family, but myself and my younger sister Faria were never left wanting for anything. She always had her music, and her guitar lessons weren't cheap, while my dad always made sure I had football kit and boots so that I could play regularly. I pottered about in the Portuguese lower leagues for eight years, until I was 23, before moving to Amiens, in France.There, I enjoyed moderate success, and I even got into a 6 year relationship, but that ended on a sour note. My career never had anything too special to talk about, but then, having met Jean-Marc Adjovi-Boco in a pre-season game, in 1997/98, he persuaded me to come and join him on the coaching staff, with a part time player role. This was where I flourished, and my coaching knowledge became a massive part of my future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 "When I first met Pedro, I was a little take aback. He looked very suave, he had a charm about him, and I wasn't sure he had the potential to be a manager. Shows what I know. Pedro was never angry, he never raised his voice, but if he was annoyed at you, you knew about it. He had this sense of authority that you didn't want to get in the way of, but deep down, he was a genius" Stern John --- When I first walked into the players lounge, I was greeted by what looked like a real disharmony among the squad. They should all be set together, but there were groups spread here and there. This was something that needed changing, and I was determined to do that quickly. The first training session was the perfect opportunity to introduce myself and Jean-Marc, and I gave them an idea of what I wantede to do with the team, which direction I wanted to take them in. I had always been a firm believer in gelling the team together, making them a unit. This is always how successful teams are. They bond, as a team... The squad I had at my disposal was relatively small, but the main core of players almost picked themselves. I had Darren Ward between the sticks, an easy choice for the number one jersey, but we did need a back-up 'keeper. The full backs looked like another easy choice, with Alan Rogers on the left, and Frenchman Mathieu Louis-Jean on the right hand side. In the middle, it was, from what I could see, a choice of three, with Christian Edwards and Jon Olav-Hjelde just pipping it from Christopher Doig The midfield would compromise of a defensive midfielder, with three men if front of him, one of which would bomb forward to support the strikers. That holding role would go to Riccy Scimeca, a man with plenty of experience in both the Premiership and Division One. In front of him, there were a few choices. Irishman Andy Reid looked a likely candidate for the left hand side role, while captain Chris Bart-Williams made the central place his own. Youngster Gareth Williams was highly rated amongst the staff, and I would be keeping my eye on his progress. The supporting midfielder looked like a choice between two, German Eugen Bopp or young Englishman Jermaine Jenas, but in midfield I had several options to choose from. It was the strikers that were a little light, as I only had Trinidadian Stern John, another man with plenty of experience, and David Johnson as first choice strikers, and they were supported by Marlon Harewood, another highly rated youngster Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Many people ask me why I haven't married. Mainly women, actually. I'm aware of the fact I'm attractive to them, and even from a young age, I loved women. As it is, my career always came first, hence the reason I've had only one serious relationship. This was when I was at Amiens, and it began in 1990. Her name was Christine Grenier, and when I first met her, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She had flowing red hair, dashing blue eyes, and a figure to die for. I had met her at an end of season bash, and for five years, we were happy. However, the final year was anything but happy. I still can't explain why that was the case. It just turned. This is what led to me leaving, and it also led to me being put off anything serious for a while. I decided to focus solely on my career .. Pre-season for 2001/02 was a busy time. Due to the precarious financial situation, we couldn't arrange any warm up games, as we couldn't afford to pay any teams to play us. Before anybody came in to add to the playing squad, five players left. David Prutton joined Portsmouth for £2,500,000, while the South Coast team also bought Keith Foy for £450,000. Stoke strengthened their striking options with the signing of Jack Lester for £575,000, while goalkeeper Barry Roche joined Sunderland, for a £75,000 fee, and Rushden signed Jim Brennan for £650,000. The board were kind enough to allow me some funds for wages, and I managed to use this money to strengthen the squad in some areas. Alejandro was a Spanish goalkeeper, and he would provide an excellent back-up option to first choice 'keeper Darren Ward. French midfielder Bruno Da Rocha also joined the club, advancing our midfield choices, while Barnsley allowed us to take Isaiah Rankin on loan for the season, giving us another experienced Division One player to strengthen our forward line. They all joined in training, but we were struck a blow, as Da Rocha picked up a knee injury and would be out for two months. Also at training, alongside myself and Jean-Marc, was a new addition to the coaching staff. Des Walker knew Forest like the back of his hand, and he would provide an insight into the club that we could use. He had spent several years as a player here, and was firmly a club legend, so it was a good signing to add to the coaching team Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 "I've never seen anybody walk into a club and instantly command respect without having to do anything like Pedro did. It was incredible. The only other man who had that affect was Cloughie. He just walked into training and silence ensued. He was a young man, but it was amazing. That was Pedro, and that was how he worked" Des Walker --- Another new signing followed, and it would turn out to be the final one before the opening game, as Welshman Andy Williams joined on a free transfer. He was a back-up midfielder, but his ability to play across the midfield anywhere was crucial in his capture. The squad was starting to gel together a little bit, but it was fair to say we had a tough opening. However, tough games would come thick and fast, especially in this division. The players had seven days before the opener, and they would need that time to prepare fully for the task ahead. The night before the opening game, I had arranged a meeting with Des Walker and Jean-Marc Adjovi-Boco to discuss the tactics and line-up, as hI still had vague ideas in my head that I needed to clear up. We spent nearly three hours discussing the team, before finally, we announced the starting eleven for the game Ward ; Louis-Jean, Rogers, Edwards, Hjelde ; G.Williams, Bart-Williams ©, Gray, Reid, Bopp ; John It was a side I felt were more than capable of taking all three points in the game, and that would be the perfect start to the season. We parted company that night in the knowledge that we had done all we could to prepare the side for the game, and now it was down to them -- Finally, after weeks of preparation, the opening game was upon us. Millwall were the visitors to the City Ground, and though they were inexperienced at this level, they had some good players. Fortunately for us though, they didn't turn up on the day. We got off to a flying start, as a through ball by Chris Bart-Williams sent Stern John away, and the Trinidadian striker fired home past Tony Warner in the second minute. This should have been a catalyst to push on and score more, but John, Bopp and Gareth Williams all wasted good chances in the first half. Neil Harris missed a couple for his side too, but when half time came, I switched it round, brought on Riccy Scimeca for Eugen Bopp to shore it up, and it worked a treat, as we stifled Millwall's attack and held on for the 1-0 win, and a perfect start to the season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Following the win, we suffered a blow, as Gareth Williams picked up a knock in training, which meant a reshuffle of the side for the next game. This was a trip to the dangerous Coventry City, who were one of the favourites for promotion, thanks mainly to their strikeforce of Lee Hughes and Julian Joachim, who could easily grab 20+ goals a piece. I was delighted that we had 2,354 fans travelling down with us to the game, as I always was keen to bring in support for the players, and the fans that travelled were not disappointed, they were treated to an exhilarating game, in which all four goals came in a 12 minute spell. Lee Hughes opened the scoring, heading home from Thompson's cross, before Jermaine Jenas laid it back for John to smash an equaliser into the roof of the net. Straight from the restart, a mistake from Mathieu Louis-Jean allowed Joachim in, and he slipped in Hughes for a second, but less than two minutes later, it was all square again, Darren Ward's long kick flicked on by Andy Reid, into Stern John's path and he deftly finished with a dink over the goalkeeper. The game kept up the tempo for the remainder, but no more goals came and we left with a terrific point The night after the Coventry game, I sat down in a restaurant to enjoy a meal and a drink with Jean-Marc and Des, just to discuss the previous two games, and it was here that I met somebody that would change my life. Well, at least be a big part of my life. I was coming back from the toilet when I saw her stood at the bar. She was stunning, blonde hair, blue eyes and a terrific figure, and I couldn't help but take a long look at her. She caught me looking, but I quickly flashed a smile and headed back to the table. It was soon my turn for the drinks, and as I headed up to the bar, the young lady quickly approached me. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday... "I should be offended that you were looking at me before you know?" "But you're not?" She then smiled that delicious smile at me "No, I'm not. Suzie Kirkham" I held out my hand to meet hers "Pedro Farinho. Can I buy you a drink?" "Certainly. Vodka and Tonic please" The chat went on for a few more minutes, before eventually I got her number, and promised that I would call her and arrange a date. I got back to the table and took some stick from the lads, but I didn't mind that too much, and we enjoyed the rest of the night before heading home Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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