Ongi Etorri Euskal Herria

[CFuller]

10 July 2022. 10:30pm, Central European Summer Time.

Spain have just beaten Italy 3-2 in Doha to win the FIFA World Cup for the third time in their history. It's a result that stirs up emotions right across the country.

Tensions run particularly high in Eibar - a small city in the Gipuzkoa province of the Basque Country. Celebrations there turn ugly when Basque nationalists, who have fervently campaigned for independence in recent months, clash with Spanish unionists. Although no one is killed, dozens of people are either hospitalised or arrested.

Only a few miles to the east of Eibar, I watched the violence live on television in the Txarriduna hotel in Elgoibar. I wasn't in Spain as just another British holidaymaker, though.

It had been four months since I left my position as manager of Romford Football Club. I had been at the helm for nearly ten full seasons, and transformed my local team from a mid-table team in the Isthmian League Division 1 North to mainstays in the Conference South.

After leaving Romford, I wondered where my next job in professional football would be. Then, in mid-June, I attended a coaching course at St George's Park in Burton-upon-Trent that changed the direction of my career.

The course brought about a chance encounter between me and a young Spanish coach by the name of Andoni Muguerza. We got along quite well and shared our experiences. I told Andoni about my achievements at Romford, and he then mentioned that he was a director, and former player, at a Spanish third-tier club called Elgoibar. He also happened to be the son-in-law of the club's president - José Maria Barranco.

I didn't know anything about Elgoibar before meeting Andoni, although I now found this little club incredibly fascinating. When the course was over, I exchanged phone numbers with my new Spanish friend and promised to keep in touch. I didn't expect him to ring me as quickly as he did.

About a week later, I got a phone call from Andoni, who I could tell from the tone of his voice was clearly distressed. The elderly head coach of Elgoibar, who had just guided them to promotion from the fourth tier, had died of a heart attack while undergoing prostate surgery. The club needed a new coach, and Andoni asked me if I would consider applying for the job.

I mulled things over for a few days later, and eventually, I told myself, "Why the hell not? After all, what have I got to lose?"

Despite my speaking very little Spanish (excluding some basic words), and having never been to Spain before, I flew in from Heathrow to Bilbao Airport on World Cup Final day. After watching the big game and spending my first night in the hotel, I visited Elgoibar's stadium on Monday.

The Mintxeta is not too dissimilar to my old stomping ground at Ship Lane in some ways. It has a capacity of 4,000 (with 1,500 seats) and structurally looks pretty good for a lower-league stadium, even if the pitch has seen better days. The big difference, though, is that pitch - an old, hard, synthetic pitch that is rare in England, and not particularly commonplace in Spain.

I returned to the Mintxeta on Tuesday for my interview with the president. Although I was far from fluent with the Spanish language, and my knowledge of Basque was almost non-existent, I was fortunate that Senor Barranco could speak reasonably good English.

Elgoibar had just turned professional following their promotion to the Segunda División B, and Senor Barranco wanted to find someone who could keep the club in the pro ranks. He was impressed by my track record with Romford, and also by my 'five-year plan' to get Elgoibar into the next level up - the Segunda División. In fact, he liked what he'd heard so much that he offered me the job straight away!

So, "Ongi etorri Euskal Herria" - welcome to the Basque Country, my new home.

[CFuller]

Welcome to the third story based on my FM13 career save. If you missed the previous two installments, they can be found here:

• Welcome to Romford (Romford: 2012-2022)
  
• Another Night In Istanbul (A short story covering the UEFA Euro 2020 Final)
  

In terms of leagues, I started this save game with England (including Level 8, courtesy of FMUpdates), France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Scotland, Spain and Wales all playable. Since then, I have added leagues from Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as Spain's third tier, which hadn't been playable at the start. I will gradually add the remaining European leagues over the next few seasons.

After leaving Romford, my manager has ended up with a job in Spain - a country that I have never properly managed in before in either CM or FM. I'd previously applied for jobs at Boreham Wood, Caersws, and Alanyaspor in the Turkish second tier without success, but Elgoibar were the first club to formally approach me, so that's why I'm here!

How long will I last at Elgoibar? 10 years, like at Romford? Shorter than that? Longer than that? Well, there's only way to find out, and that is by reading on...

Enjoy - or, as they say in the Basque Country, gozatu!

Christopher Fuller (CFuller)

9 November 2015

[edtheguy]

Awesome! I was a big fan of your Romford days, can't wait to see how you get on in Spain!

[jdoyle9293]

Love this continuity, CFuller. Got a reader here.

[CFuller]

Awesome! I was a big fan of your Romford days, can't wait to see how you get on in Spain!

Love this continuity, CFuller. Got a reader here.

Glad to have you two on board. It's the first time I've heard from you, Ed, so thanks for the comments.

[CFuller]

In all honesty, Elgoibar is not the most glamorous of Spanish towns. Located in the northern province of Gipuzkoa, it is very much an industrial town, and much of its economy comes from the manufacture of machine tools. It is also a strong Basque nationalist area, where the Basque language is more widely spoken than Spanish.

Former Spain midfielder Joseba Etxeberria was born in Elgoibar, while Xabi Alonso and Asier Illarramendi also hail from Gipuzkoa. Other sportspeople from the province include golfer José María Olazábal and cyclist Abraham Olano.

Club Deportivo Elgoibar do not have an illustrious history comparable to that of local rivals Real Sociedad, who are located 25 miles east. Founded in 1917, Elgoibar have never graced La Liga or the Segunda División - the top two levels of Spanish football. Indeed, before this season, they hadn't even been as high as the third tier since 1997/1998.

The Segunda División B is split into four groups of 20 teams - imaginatively named Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4. We have been allocated to Group 2, with other teams located in northern Spain.

Winning promotion from the SDB would not be a piece of cake. The top four teams in each group progress into the promotion play-offs, which are somewhat complicated and finish with four sides getting promoted. In contrast, it is much easier to get relegated. The bottom four are all automatically relegated, and the 16th-placed team must win a two-legged play-off to avoid going down as well!

There are two significant knockout competitions in Spanish football. Firstly, there's the prestigious Copa del Rey, which we didn't qualify for this season. There is also the lower-league Copa Federación, which we, er, also didn't qualify for. That sucks.

My first press conference as Elgoibar manager took place in a small building just yards away from the Mintxeta. There were only a couple of journalists in attendance. One was a local newspaper reporter called Catalina, and the other was - rather strangely - a Norwegian bloke called Erik. He claimed to be writing for a website that specifically covers lower-level European football leagues, but to be honest, he looked more out of place than Martin Keown on a fashion show catwalk.

The reporters were quick to ask questions. Erik asked his in English, though I needed a translator for Catalina's Basque questions:

"Ongi Elgoibar, Señor Fuller. ¿Lehenik eta behin, zer konbentzitu nahi Espainiara etorri?"

"Welcome to Elgoibar, Senor Fuller. First of all, what made you come to Spain?"

"I came here for a new challenge. I was managing at semi-professional level in England, and that was great, but when I got the opportunity to come here, it was one I could not turn down. This is one of the greatest footballing countries in the world, and I'm excited about the prospect of managing here."

"Can you tell us a bit about your history, and your biggest achievements prior to coming here?"

"I started out managing my local club Romford ten years ago. We were in the eighth division back then, but I got them up to the sixth division, and very nearly to the fifth. I also got to the Semi Final of the FA Trophy, which in England is like... the FA Cup for semi-professional teams.

"I'm very proud of what I achieved with Romford. I took them to new heights, and I hope to do the same here with Elgoibar."

"¿Zein dira zure helburuak Elgoibar, bai epe laburrean eta epe luzean?"

"What are your aims for Elgoibar, both in the short term and in the long term?"

"The aim this season is very simple. We need to avoid relegation. It's our first season back up in the division, and it would be a shame if we didn't get another.

"As for long-term ambitions, I've got a five-year plan that I hope to put in place. Survival will, of course, be our target in the first season. By the third season, we should be challenging for promotion to the Segunda División, and by the fifth, we should be in the Segunda División."

"What tactical approach will you take at Elgoibar?"

"I'm a great fan of exciting, attacking football, and I know the Spanish love that as well. I'll give them that, plus a bit of good old English grit. Back home, I got a reputation for playing an aggressive pressing game, and I will be bringing that over here."

"Azkenik, Señor Fuller, badakit ezin duzu gaztelaniaz egiten duten. ¿Zaude hori arazo bat izan daiteke kezkatuta duzu?"

"Finally, Senor Fuller, I understand that you cannot speak Spanish or Basque. Are you worried that this could be a problem?"

"I can assure you that I've started learning Spanish, so language will not be a problem for very long."

I finished the press conference with a couple of basic Spanish words for the journalists. "Gracias. ¡Muchas gracias!" Then it was straight to work.

[CFuller]

I was surprised to find upon my arrival at Elgoibar that we hardly had any backroom staff. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it did at least give me the platform to appoint my own staff.

I contacted some of my old colleagues at Romford, asking if they would be interested in moving to Spain with me. My former number 2, Wayne Daniel, jumped at the chance to link up with me again, and he became Elgoibar's new assistant manager. Boro icon Nicky Reynolds also came over to head our scouting operation.

Another Englishman arrived at the Mintxeta after Lee Barnes was hired as physio. I also appointed a couple of Spaniards - Jorge Luque and Manu Moreira - to complete the coaching staff.

As for the squad I inherited, all of the players were local Basques on part-time contracts. In fact, they were all, bar one, born in Elgoibar!

GOALKEEPERS: Rubén Bastida (age 25), Mikel Izurza (age 25)

DEFENDERS: Igor De Pedro (age 24), Koldo López (age 25), Igor Pérez (age 22), Rubén Salinas (age 26), Ricardo Vélez (age 27)

MIDFIELDERS: David Artabe (age 26), Álvaro Artola (age 22), Xabier Delgado (age 19), Yon García (age 24), Óscar Larrera (age 25), Javier Olaizola (age 27), Ínigo Román (age 22)

FORWARDS: Antonio Rodríguez Fernández (age 24), Iakes Sierra (age 27), Ander Villalba (age 27)

Those were the players that won promotion last season, but President Barranco was not afraid to admit that hardly any of them were good enough for professional football. Without reinforcements, we would in all likelihood get slaughtered in the SDB.

The president gave me a weekly wage budget of over €8,500, and I set Nicky the task of finding some new recruits to sign on professional contracts. Paying those players wouldn't be too much of a problem, as the current crop were only earning around €1,500 per week between them.

My first week in charge was enormously frustrating, as we failed to bring in a single player. By the second week, though, we were making substantial progress.

25-year-old attacking midfielder Lorenzo Valencia was the first of several free agents to sign professional forms for the club. He was swiftly joined by another player who used to feature for Athletic Bilbao's B team - centre-back Roberto Calvo.

On the left side of our defence, we added David Garcés - a 28-year-old with plenty of stamina. On the right flank would be my first non-Basque signing. Full-back Eduardo Tapia, who was born in the Canary Islands to Chilean parents, previously played on the books of Las Palmas, as did my most high-profile acquisition.

At his peak, versatile midfielder Nauzet Alemán played in La Liga for Real Valladolid and his beloved Las Palmas. Even now, at the age of 37, Nauzet had lost little of his talent, and his experience would help us out greatly in our first season up. He would also combine his playing duties with a backroom role as our Head of Youth Development.

Four other players signed on to help our cause. Goalkeeper Fran García (known simply as Fran), defensive midfielder Abel Almendros, right-winger Inigo Urretxo, and target man Daniel Mateo all added further quality to our ranks.

Inevitably, some of our existing players would have to make way, and two were moved on before the end of July. Centre-back Ricardo Vélez signed for Constancia, and striker Iakes Sierra was snapped up by Atlético Monzón.

My squad had been assembled, so all that remained was for me to meet my players for the first time.

[edtheguy]

Good to see Wayne and Nicky back! Aleman could be a good capture, I love it when I can get the cagey veteran on the field and fill a staff role as well!

[CFuller]

Good to see Wayne and Nicky back! Aleman could be a good capture, I love it when I can get the cagey veteran on the field and fill a staff role as well!

It's great that I was able to bring some of my Romford backroom to my new club. I wanted to sign up pretty much all of my old staff, but a few didn't even want to open negotiations.

Alemán has been playing non-league football for the last few years, but his technical stats are still very impressive for the third division. Being a central midfielder, his low physical stats shouldn't hinder him too much. It also helps that he can play AND be part of my backroom as my HoYD, thus saving me from paying a non-player to fill that particular staff role.

[CFuller]

For some reason, pre-season at Elgoibar did not get underway until 1 August. I would have preferred the team to have resumed training much earlier, but that's just the way it was.

It wasn't long before I suffered my first setback. Right-winger Óscar Larrera sprained his ankle on the second day, putting him out for the whole of pre-season.

Worse still, we had barely even warmed up by the time our first friendly came around. On just the third day of pre-season, we travelled east to Bilbao, where I made my debut as Elgoibar manager against non-league Santutxu.

This new challenge would also see a fresh start for me tactically. Although I preferred the standard 4-4-2 formation at Romford, I learned during my time there that you should ideally build your tactics around your team, and not vice versa. In the presence of two very capable defensive and attacking midfielders, and in the absence of any quick wingers, I tried out a narrow 4-4-2 diamond for my first game.

3 August 2022: Santutxu vs Elgoibar

Santutxu had the game's first shot in the first minute, but Miguel Ángel Vargas' wasteful volley was not a sign of things to come. Nauzet Alemán's 6th-minute shot was, though, the first of many missed opportunities from us. Another Elgoibar new boy, Daniel Mateo, had a header caught by home keeper Alfredo Rubio on 17 minutes. Lorenzo Valencia and Eduardo Tapia then missed the target before midfielder David Artabe was booked in the 23rd minute for pushing Santutxu counterpart José María Vela. Then came a string of near-misses from Alemán. One of Nauzet's free-kicks was caught by Rubio in the 26th minute, and another hit the bar two minutes later. He almost struck the woodwork again after 32 minutes, when he curled a long-ranger over. Elgoibar keeper Fran was called into action five minutes from time, as he caught a header from Vargas. Although the half-time score remained 0-0, there was no doubting that we were the better side.

Alemán missed another shot in the 47th minute, and two minutes after that, Santutxu hit us on the counter-attack. An excellent pass from Vargas provided Vela with a simple tap-in, and the non-league minnows were leading 1-0. That was not the ideal start to my coaching career in Spain. A minute after going behind, Abel Almendros almost drew us level with a swerver that clipped the bar and went out. We went close again in the 53rd minute, when Mateo's strike was parried by Rubio. Santutxu's number 1 made another great save after 58 minutes to thwart Antonio Rodríguez Fernández. Canosa got to the loose ball first, but Álvaro Artola knocked it away from him and found Mateo in the six-yard box. Daniel tucked it away, and we were level! Our confidence grew from that point on. Rubio had to block Alemán's low shot in the 63rd minute to stop us from taking the lead. That only delayed the knockout blow from Elgoibar, as although Nauzet didn't have his shooting boots on, Mateo most certainly did. With 11 minutes remaining, Ínigo Román played a free-kick short to Artola, whose shot deflected off Santutxu midfielder Cristo and into the area. Ander Villalba was first to the ball, and he played it first-time to Mateo, who drilled in his second goal of the evening! Daniel missed a golden opportunity to claim a hat-trick in the last few seconds of normal time, but I didn't mind too much. Although we had a total of 24 shots and arguably should've beaten Santutxu by more than 2-1, I was very happy to get off to a winning start.

Santutxu - 1 (Vela 49)

Elgoibar - 2 (Mateo 58,79)

Friendly, Attendance 177

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran (Izurza), Tapia (Pérez), Calvo (López), Salinas, Garcés (De Pedro), Almendros, Artabe (Urretxo), Alemán (Román), Valencia (Artola), Mateo, Rodríguez Fernández (Villalba). BOOKED: Artabe.

A few players impressed me in that opening match, but David Artabe didn't. After seeing him put in a disappointing performance, I felt that the midfielder no longer had a future at the club. I therefore allowed him to join Atlético Monzón on a free transfer.

I found another midfielder to take Artabe's place, but he wouldn't join us until after our first home friendly. That was against Real Sociedad's B team, who were relegated from Segunda División B Group 2 last season.

6 August 2022: Elgoibar vs Real Sociedad B

Real Sociedad's reserves made a very bright start to this match. Inaki Martínez pulled a shot wide in the 2nd minute, but Rubén Izaguirre provided more of a threat early on. The forward's efforts in the 6th and 9th minutes forced Elgoibar goalkeeper Mikel Izurza into making a couple of fine saves. We also showed glimpses of what we could do going forward. After 16 minutes, Ander Villalba drilled a shot that was comfortably caught by Sociedad's 17-year-old goalkeeper Igor Santisteban. That was as good as it got for Ander, who a minute later picked up a knock that hampered him for the rest of this match. Izaguirre registered yet another shot on target in the 28th minute, and Izurza confidently kicked it away. Real Sociedad eventually went in front after 40 minutes, following a weak interception from Elgoibar full-back David Garcés. Ignacio Santamaría took full advantage, cutting it back for Joaquín Guillermo Cantres to fire into the far corner of Izurza's net. 'El Sanse' were 1-0 in front, and our only chance to level before the break was a wild 44th-minute shot from Lorenzo Valencia.

The second half began encouragingly for us, as we won a corner in the opening minute. Nauzet Aleman curled it in to Koldo López, whose header was caught by the diving Santisteban. A better opportunity came our way on 48 minutes. Sociedad defender Ibai Agirre could only head Álvaro Artola's cross as far as Xabier Delgado, and the teen winger smashed home for 1-1! The hundreds of home fans that gathered at the Mintxeta were delighted! They almost became ecstatic in the 53rd minute, but we were denied the lead after Artola's header was hacked off the line by Santisteban. Artola then went down hurt, having collided with Pedro Pablo Zabalza while heading towards goal. Álvaro was okay, but it would be a while before we again went close to going ahead. Indeed, we would have to wait until the 80th minute, when Alemán's free-kick struck the post. Having failed to move in front, we later had to stop Sociedad from scoring a late winner. Ricardo made us sweat for a while before he missed the target on 88 minutes. Three minutes later, in the first minute of normal time, Martínez went for glory from around 30 yards. Our substitute keeper Fran made light work of it, and we claimed a very satisfying draw against strong opposition.

Elgoibar - 1 (Delgado 48)

Real Sociedad B - 1 (Cantres 41)

Friendly, Attendance 707

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Izurza (Fran), Pérez (Tapia), Calvo (Salinas), López, Garcés (De Pedro), Almendros (Alemán), Valencia, Delgado (García), Román (Mateo), Olaizola (Artola), Villalba (Rodríguez Fernández). BOOKED: Olaizola.

That draw was followed by the news that we had completed the signing of 20-year-old midfielder Luciano Cabrera. The tall Majorcan has a high work rate, which is an attribute I always look for when recruiting players.

Cabrera made his debut for Elgoibar when we travelled to the coastal town of Zarautz, where we took on the local non-league team.

10 August 2022: Zarautz vs Elgoibar

It was a wet and windy evening on the coast, and we struggled to get shots on target in the bad conditions. Nauzet Alemán's long-range shooting was particularly suspect, as he missed two attempted piledrivers in the opening ten minutes. Zarautz midfielder Adán Martín fared slightly better after 13 minutes, when his free-kick flew towards the target before being caught by Fran. Inigo Urretxo should've put us ahead a minute later, but he got a terrible connection to Álvaro Artola's cross and volleyed it off target. My frustration could've grown even more in the 19th minute. Fortunately, Miguel Angel spurned a sitter for Zarautz, and the scoreline remained 0-0. That hadn't changed by half-time, as we again failed to convert chances into goals. The hosts' goalkeeping captain Patxi Echeverria thwarted us twice, making saves from Daniel Mateo and Antonio Rodríguez Fernández in the 28th and 37th minute. Another case of 'what if' came in added-on time, when Urretxo's cross was blown against the crossbar.

The wind had slowed down in time for the second half, and that allowed us to finally hit our stride. On 49 minutes, a sublime long ball from Abel Almendros was half-volleyed into the Zarautz target by Rodríguez Fernández. That made it 1-0 Elgoibar, and a terrible pass by Roberto Lucas six minutes later led to us doubling our advantage. Roberto Calvo cut out the errant ball and played it forward to Artola, whose weighted pass was hammered home by Lorenzo Valencia. We wouldn't have long to celebrate our 2-0 lead, though. In the 59th minute, Roberto Lucas atoned for his earlier error by scoring from a Fernando Manuel corner that Valencia had not quite been able to clear from our box. Zarautz were hopeful of continuing their fightback three minutes later, but Kike could only fire the ball into Fran's hands. After frustrating the hosts even more by keeping hold of possession, we looked to restore a two-goal cushion. Ander Villalba picked out Javier Olaizola with a fine pass in the 74th minute, and Olaizola's perfectly-timed run allowed him to make it 3-1. Javier demonstrated more of his talents when he intercepted a terrible throw from Zarautz full-back Nelson on 76 minutes. Olaizola cut inside from the left flank to the edge of the 'D', where he bulleted the ball right into the bottom corner of the net. We were now three goals up and well out of sight. Zarautz's second half from hell got worse in the 78th minute, when midfielder Óscar Lamas picked up an injury in a tackle from our excellent centre-half Koldo López. A few chances for goal number 5 then passed by before we eventually declared at 4-1.

Zarautz - 1 (Roberto Lucas 58)

Elgoibar - 4 (Rodríguez Fernández 49, Valencia 55, Olaizola 74,76)

Friendly, Attendance 205

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran (Bastida), Tapia (Pérez), López, Salinas (Calvo), De Pedro (Garcés), Urretxo (Delgado), Cabrera (Almendros), Alemán (Román), Artola (Olaizola), Mateo (Valencia), Rodríguez Fernández (Villalba). BOOKED: Salinas.

That second-half performance was by far the best I had yet seen from my new team. The players were showing signs that they were steadily beginning to gel together, and with three more friendlies remaining, we were still unbeaten.

[Cheesey1975]

following this story with eagerness

[CFuller]

We played back-to-back home friendlies in mid-August, and the first was likely to be a difficult encounter against Racing Santander. Los Racinguistas, who were relegated to Segunda División B Group 1 last season, are currently being managed by former Brighton & Hove Albion defender Ínigo Calderón.

13 August 2022: Elgoibar vs Racing Santander

A difficult task was made even more so after just two minutes. Our talented playmaker Lorenzo Valencia was hacked down by veteran Racing midfielder Vicente and was subsequently stretchered off. It would not be the last time Vicente made our home fans miserable. Two minutes later, he received a great pass from Brazilian team-mate Juniór and duly poked it into the net. Racing Santander had the early lead, and they should've built on it in the fifth minute, but Perica Jelic's header was caught by Fran. Our goalkeeper saved us again by shoving away a 6th-minute strike from Ibon Bilbao. Racing then had several shots off target before we got our first on target midway through the half. Lorenzo's replacement Ínigo Román took it in the 22nd minute, but it headed straight towards the visitors' Danish goalkeeper Jakob Busk. Normal service swiftly resumed, with Los Racinguistas dominating until half-time. They couldn't build on their 1-0 lead, though, as Fran caught a header from Mickael Robert after 32 minutes, and a volley from Jelic in added-on time. By then, our midfield had already taken another huge hit with the loss of Abel Almendros to a hamstring injury after 44 minutes. The severity of Abel's injury would become clear later on.

Yet another Elgoibar midfielder was hurt in the 48th minute, when winger Xabier Delgado went down clutching his leg. Thankfully, Xabier wasn't as seriously injured as either Valencia or Almendros, but he still came off as a precaution. Seven minutes later, goalkeeper Mikel Izurza - who replaced Fran at the break - had a moment to forget. Izurza somehow let Alberto Perea's left-footed cross float over his head and land in the net, giving Racing Santander the comfort of a 2-0 lead. The goalie was in much better form in the 60th minute, when he caught Julián Luque's header towards his right-hand post. That was followed moments later by a rare Elgoibar chance that Daniel Mateo could only drag across Racing's goalmouth. The final half-hour saw a host of opportunities for Racing Santander to move further clear, and they were helped by some shoddy passing on our part. Perea couldn't quite score from another stunner in the 66th minute, but Los Racinguistas' advantage was further increased four minutes later. Former Spain Under-21s international Luque dribbled serenely past Elgoibar full-back Eduardo Tapia and then slipped the ball beyond Izurza for 3-0. A fourth goal would've followed in the 77th minute had the post not thwarted Vicente. I was resigned to my first defeat as Elgoibar boss, although I never gave up hope of us getting a consolation goal. Sadly, it was not to be, as Mateo was twice denied by Racing's substitute keeper Sergio López Perianes after 83 and 86 minutes. Those were only our 3rd and 4th shots at goal in the game, while Racing Santander finished with 27 - that's right, TWENTY-SEVEN! On another night, we could easily have lost by a double-digit score!

Elgoibar - 0

Racing Santander - 3 (Vicente 4, Perea 55, Luque 70)

Friendly, Attendance 964

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran (Izurza), Pérez (Tapia), Calvo (López), Salinas, Garcés (De Pedro), Cabrera (Urretxo), Almendros (Alemán), Delgado (García), Valencia (Román (Villalba)), Olaizola (Artola), Rodríguez Fernández (Mateo). BOOKED: López.

That was a shattering defeat, and it was coupled by horrific injuries to our two best midfielders. Lorenzo Valencia would be out for three weeks with a gashed leg, and Abel Almendros was looking at a three-month absence with a torn hamstring.

Losing Lorenzo and Abel left us very short on midfield options, so I would have to stick with 4-4-2 for the foreseeable future. Just three days after our heavy loss to Racing Santander, we faced our last home friendly against Alavés B.

16 August 2022: Elgoibar vs Alavés B

Alavés were quick out of the blocks, with Roberto García having a shot after only 16 seconds. Elgoibar keeper Mikel Izurza wasn't caught off guard this time, making a very comfortable catch. Two minutes later, Daniel Mateo fired our first effort just over the crossbar. In the 10th minute, Javier Olaizola tried to pick out Mateo with a long lob into Alavés territory. Babazorros defender Jon León blocked the pass but could only knock it into the path of Ander Villalba, who raced through and slotted in our opening goal! Our advantage was briefly under threat on 14 minutes, when Porifirio Ortiz curled an Alavés free-kick over Izurza's target. The action then died down until Mateo had a tame shot caught by Francisco Eduardo Isierte in the 27th minute. In the 34th, Elgoibar defender Koldo López made a crucial block to stop Ione Fueyo from equalising. Within less than a minute, Koldo went from preventing a goal to scoring one! López defied several Alavés defenders to slide Nauzet Alemán's free-kick across the goal line and put us in control. Another Elgoibar goal would follow just seconds into injury time. Mateo sent us three goals clear from the rebound after Villalba had hit the post.

From 3-0 up, victory should've been straightforward... but Alavés weren't that easy to finish off. After García and Porifirio Ortiz both miscued headers early in the second half, Los Babazorros were thrown a lifeline in the 57th minute. Elgoibar left-back David Garcés gifted it to them with a dreadful throw that Ismael Ortiz intercepted easily. The winger dribbled to the byline and drilled in a cross that teenage striker Álex Barkero finished from. Our nerves would only grow as the second half continued. On 64 minutes, Izurza dived to push away a free-kick from Ismael Ortiz, who curled another effort wide a minute later. Izurza was later replaced by Rubén Bastida, who in the 73rd minute caught a fierce strike from Ismael's namesake Porifirio. Alavés continued to ratchet up the pressure, and their persistence was rewarded after 84 minutes. Barkero rounded off a string of Alavés passes with his and Los Babazorros' second goal, taken from the edge of our area. I was now sweating profusely, and worrying that the away team could pull us back completely to 3-3. They didn't in the end, and Antonio Rodríguez Fernández could've settled my nerves had he put us 4-2 up in the 88th minute, but I wasn't exactly relieved when the final whistle blew. I was annoyed that a three-goal advantage had almost been frittered away by complacent defending.

Elgoibar - 3 (Villalba 10, López 35, Mateo 45)

Alavés B - 2 (Barkero 57,84)

Friendly, Attendance 707

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Izurza (Bastida), Tapia (Pérez), Calvo, López (Salinas), De Pedro (Garcés), Urretxo (Delgado), Román (Cabrera), Alemán (García), Olaizola (Artola), Mateo (Rodríguez Fernández), Villalba. BOOKED: Román, Alemán, Garcés.

Pre-season concluded with one more friendly in Tolosa - not to be confused with former N-Dubz 'singer' and X Factor 'judge' Tulisa. Our opponents were briefly coached in the 1980s by Miguel Ángel Alonso, whose son Xabi went on to have a pretty decent career in football.

We would be without right-winger Xabier Delgado for this game after he strained his wrist during weight training. A two-week stint on the sidelines beckoned for the teenager.

21 August 2022: Tolosa vs Elgoibar

After five minutes, Tolosa midfielder Víctor Gómez Lasa headed wide a cross from winger Oier Villalba. Oier is not related to our striker Ander Villalba, who wasted an opportunity to give us the lead a minute later. Peio Uranga then headed over for Tolosa in the 8th minute. The quality of shooting at both ends did not get any better until the 26th minute, when José Luis Irízar forced Elgoibar goalie Fran into making a difficult save. The lower-league team were looking more likely to open the scoring than us, although that began to change after 35 minutes. Álvaro Artola's cross found its way to Daniel Mateo, whose header was only kept out by an acrobatic save from Alejandro Del Olmo. Tolosa's goalkeeper was beaten by another header from Ander in the 43rd minute... but Villalba was offside when he flicked Luciano Cabrera's cross into the net. A minute and a half later, Tolosa found our net in a similar fashion. Oier Angulo curled the ball to Gómez Lasa, whose header made it 1-0 to the hosts at half-time. Typical.

My furious team talk fired up the Elgoibar boys for the second half, and they had a chance to level within half a minute. Although Mateo's strike was comfortable for Del Olmo, it was encouraging at least. Less promising were Daniel's next efforts in the 56th and 58th minute, which both failed to test the keeper. On 61 minutes, Nauzet Alemán unleashed a half-volley from distance, and his shooting once again left me unimpressed. I was getting very frustrated, but after 67 minutes, we finally got somewhere. Antonio Rodríguez Fernandez leapt above a couple of Tolosa defenders to nod Igor Pérez's right-wing delivery into the net and restore parity! The home team then tried to get back to where they were. Gómez Lasa fired a tame shot wide in the 69th minute, while José Luis Cia went much closer four minutes later. His close-range header was tipped against the bar by our substitute keeper Mikel Izurza, and defender Rubén Salinas booted it behind for a corner. Another heart-in-mouth moment came after 86 minutes, when Mikel pushed behind another header - this time from Lander Blanco. That save was the last significant moment of a low-quality game that deserved to finish in a draw.

Tolosa - 1 (Gómez Lasa 44)

Elgoibar - 1 (Rodríguez Fernández 67)

Friendly, Attendance 217

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran (Izurza), Tapia (Pérez), Salinas, López (Calvo), De Pedro (Garcés), Urretxo (García), Cabrera, Román (Alemán), Artola (Olaizola), Mateo, Villalba (Rodríguez Fernández).

After six friendlies, the jury was perhaps still out. We may have only lost one game, but we failed to keep a clean sheet, and we often found it difficult to keep hold of possession.

I now had to finalise my 22-man squad for the Segunda División B season. We had 24 players, so I trimmed the squad down by cutting three from the line-up. Ruben Bastida, Yon García, and Óscar Larrera (who didn't play in pre-season due to injury) were all released from their contracts.

Those three departures left me with, er, 21 players. Who was number 22 going to be, then? Well, I hoped to complete my squad with another midfielder, but my main target chose to sign for Lealtad in the Tercera División instead. That's not promising...

Having registered my players and given them all squad numbers, I had one final decision to make - who would be my captain? After mulling it over, I chose to give the armband to centre-back Roberto Calvo. It was a decision that went down well with the other players - but with two notable exceptions.

Vice-captain David Garcés was upset that he hadn't been made skipper, while striker Antonio Rodríguez Fernández kicked up a real fuss, and furiously argued that Roberto didn't merit the captaincy. Considering that Antonio was the only player in my team who could speak English fluently, upsetting him was not a particularly clever move.

With less than a week until the season began, I found myself with two unhappy campers, and a team that was neither tactically solid nor operating as a unit. What could possibly go wrong?

[CFuller]

(All ages correct as of 1 August 2022)

GOALKEEPERS

1. Fran (age 29, Spanish)

Fran looks to me like a consistent and agile keeper who won't concede too many goals this season.

13. Mikel Izurza (age 25, Spanish/Basque)

Although Mikel is not as flexible as Fran, he will make for a decent backup on the bench.

DEFENDERS

2. Eduardo Tapia (age 24, Spanish)

Eduardo is very small at 5ft 4in, but he is a dependable right-back who works hard all the time.

3. David Garcés (age 28, Spanish/Basque)

Vice-captain David is fairly quick out of the blocks, although his form does tend to fluctuate.

4. Roberto Calvo (age 23, Spanish/Basque)

I appointed Roberto as my captain because of his never-say-die attitude and his teamwork skills.

5. Koldo López (age 25, Spanish/Basque)

Aggressive centre-half Koldo impressed me in pre-season, and he has good man-marking skills.

15. Rubén Salinas (age 26, Spanish/Basque)

Though Rubén lacks composure, you can never accuse the centre-back of ever giving up.

18. Igor De Pedro (age 24, Spanish/Basque)

Igor is a fine tackler, but I seriously doubt whether he has the mental toughness for this division.

19. Igor Pérez (age 22, Spanish/Basque)

Solid right-back Igor has plenty of stamina, and he has steadily improved over pre-season.

MIDFIELDERS

6. Abel Almendros (age 24, Spanish)

I am gutted that burly anchor man Abel will be out until the autumn with a torn hamstring.

7. Inigo Urretxo (age 23, Spanish/Basque)

Inigo boasts good technical ability and can accelerate pretty quickly on the right wing.

8. Lorenzo Valencia (age 25, Spanish/Basque)

Our best midfield asset, Lorenzo can be used as an attacking midfielder or a number 10.

11. Álvaro Artola (age 22, Spanish/Basque)

Álvaro's decision-making is questionable, but he is otherwise a half-decent left-winger.

12. Luciano Cabrera (age 20, Spanish)

6ft 4in Luciano is a strong deep-lying midfielder and arguably our biggest aerial presence.

14. Nauzet Alemán (age 37, Spanish)

The very experienced Nauzet would be invaluable to us - if he could stop shooting from long range!

17. Javier Olaizola (age 27, Spanish/Basque)

Skilful winger Javier surprised me with a couple of impressive goals in a pre-season friendly.

20. Ínigo Román (age 22, Spanish/Basque)

Ínigo is at best an average attacking midfielder who can also do a job on either wing.

21. Xabier Delgado (age 19, Spanish/Basque)

Xabier has great flair and is incredibly fit, so our youngest player could be one to watch.

FORWARDS

9. Ander Villalba (age 27, Spanish/Basque)

Ander scored one goal and assisted for three in pre-season, so he is in good nick at the moment.

10. Daniel Mateo (age 22, Spanish/Basque)

With his work ethic and his finishing, target man Daniel is a vital component of our attack.

16. Antonio Rodríguez Fernández (age 24, Spanish/Basque)

Antonio is a spirited striker, and he speaks fluent English, so he's really helped me to settle.

BACKROOM STAFF

Manager: Christopher Fuller

Assistant Manager: Wayne Daniel

Coaches: Jorge Luque, Manu Moreira

Head of Youth Development: Nauzet Alemán

Physio: Lee Barnes

Scout: Nicky Reynolds

[CFuller]

In Spain, league games usually kick off on a Sunday, and it was on the last Sunday of August that I took charge of my first competitive match as Elgoibar manager.

We were taking on highly-fancied Palencia at our Mintxeta home. Los Morados have been in or around the top half of Group 2 for nearly a decade, but have never quite done enough to win promotion.

28 August 2022: Elgoibar vs Palencia

Palencia defender Víctor made a firm challenge on Ander Villalba after eight minutes. Although Víctor came off worse, he played on after receiving some treatment. Six minutes later, Palencia had their first chance of the game, and it was one that Francisco Sierra really should've scored. Sierra's miss was followed in the 17th minute by another poor attempt from long range by Elgoibar winger Inigo Urretxo. Things hardly got better for us, as our visitors slowly gained control of proceedings. After 26 minutes, Fran had to block a shot from Palencia forward Héctor Savall. Three minutes later, Alfredo Aller's chipped ball into the Elgoibar was flicked on by Savall to Sierra. We were let off the hook once again, as Sierra scuffed a diving header wide for his second missed sitter of the evening. We could've edged in front on 34 minutes, but Luciano Cabrera's header was cleared off the Palencia goal line by Roberto Carlos (no, not THAT one). That would be a key moment, because Palencia finally went in front three minutes before time. Savall's cross found Sierra, whose third attempt was the one that at last got Los Morados up and running.

I brought on Nauzet Alemán to replace Ínigo Román during the break, but our veteran midfielder's impact would be very limited. Nauzet wasn't helped by a twisted ankle that he sustained barely five minutes after coming on. Palencia attacked again in the 61st minute, as Roberto Carlos (a right-winger, as opposed to a left-back) headed against the bar. Four minutes later, Alemán defied his ankle injury to hit a fierce long-ranger that didn't trouble away keeper Martín Cobos a great deal. Another four minutes went by, and then Palencia moved two goals clear. Fernando's long throw found Roberto Carlos, and his cross was fired in at the far post by Víctor. We then pushed forward in a desperate bid to claw back some pride, but all we got was a 3-0 deficit after 79 minutes. Like many defences in the 1990s and early 2000s, we were undone by a free-kick from Roberto Carlos. It hit the bar, and then deflected over the line off the back of Fran's left glove! I shook my head in disbelief, and did so again seconds before full-time. Daniel Mateo could've scored a consolation in the final minute of injury time, but his close-range half-volley was rifled wide. We therefore started the new league season at the bottom of the table. Ay, ay, ay...

Elgoibar - 0

Palencia - 3 (Sierra 42, Víctor 69, Fran og79)

Segunda División B Group 2, Attendance 2,323 - POSITIONS: Elgoibar 20th, Palencia 2nd

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran, Tapia (Salinas), López, Calvo, De Pedro, Urretxo, Cabrera, Román (Alemán), Artola, Mateo, Villalba (Rodríguez Fernández).

Our terrible opening-day defeat was made worse by that twisted ankle for Nauzet Alemán, who would miss the next five weeks.

With Nauzet out, my need to sign another midfielder was dire. Three days later, on the morning of transfer deadline day, I finally got one. 22-year-old Braulio played for Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División last season, and he will wear the number 22 shirt for us.

Braulio made his Elgoibar debut later that afternoon against Athletic Bilbao's B team, who like us lost their opening match of the season.

31 August 2022: Athletic Bilbao B vs Elgoibar

We seemed to start quite well, as Daniel Mateo had a shot parried by Athletic goalkeeper Iker Murillo in the fifth minute. Two minutes later, though, came a sign that the hosts were about to dominate. Jon Agirrezabala crossed from the right wing to Urko Nieto, who volleyed at goal from close-range. Our goalkeeper Fran desperately pushed it away before centre-back Koldo López headed behind. Xabier García floated the ball into our area, and Ion Ander Serrano nodded it off target. Elgoibar striker Ander Villalba hit a powerful shot in the 15th minute, and Murillo parried it away. Fran then made a comfortable save on 21 minutes from Nieto's next effort. Four minutes later, Cristian Olabe's cross for Bilbao was met by a header from Elgoibar captain Roberto Calvo that went to Agirrezabala. The 20-year-old right-winger turned past Braulio and entered the six-yard box, where he easily beat Fran with a tap-in. After conceding the first goal, we fell apart completely. Olabe's 29th-minute lob sent Nieto clean through, and he duly made it 2-0 with a powerful low strike. Five minutes after that, Nieto scored his second and Athletic's third goal. After Agirrezabala's cross was blocked by Elgoibar right-back Igor Pérez, Nieto had his initial shot parried by Fran before he buried the follow-up. Braulio then fired over Athletic's bar in the 39th minute as a terrible first half lurched from bad to worse to even worse. It ended with a fourth goal for Bilbao in the dying seconds of normal time. Some terrible defending gifted Nieto his hat-trick, and to the delight of many at the Santa María de Lazama, the home team were 4-0 up.

Instead of ranting and raving in the dressing room, I simply told my shellshocked players that they knew what they had to do in the second half. They looked more relaxed after the break, and that lent itself to a much better defensive performance. Athletic's attack took a big blow in the 51st minute, when midfielder Antonio was forced off injured following a clash with Braulio. Four minutes after that, substitute Antonio Rodríguez Fernández almost pulled a goal back for us with a header that was brilliantly pushed aside by Murillo. For the final half-hour, I switched to a narrow diamond to try and end Bilbao's dominance of the midfield. That worked to some extent, but our attack continued to struggle. Matters weren't helped when Mateo twisted his knee in the 75th minute. His strike partner Rodríguez Fernández went one-on-one with Murillo after 81 minutes, but Antonio could only knock the ball into the keeper's hands. Two minutes later, Mateo was played through on goal by Braulio. Daniel was badly hampered by his knee injury, though, and he fired a weak shot past the post. By the final whistle, we'd mustered 13 shots on goal to Bilbao's 10, yet we were on the wrong end of a four-goal thrashing! How humiliating.

Athletic Bilbao B - 4 (Agirrezabala 25, Nieto 29,34,45)

Elgoibar - 0

Segunda División B Group 2, Attendance 2,177 - POSITIONS: Athletic Bilbao B 13th, Elgoibar 20th

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran, Pérez, López (Salinas), Calvo, Garcés, Tapia, Cabrera, Braulio, Olaizola (Román), Mateo, Villalba (Rodríguez Fernández). BOOKED: Cabrera.

"At least we drew the second half!" I said to my assistant Wayne Daniel at the final whistle, half-laughing in embarrassment. I actually felt like kicking something out of anger.

We're two games into the Segunda División B season, and we are rock-bottom of our division with no points, no goals scored, and seven conceded. To make matters worse, our star striker Daniel Mateo will be out for the next three weeks with a twisted knee.

What the hell have I let myself in for?!

[edtheguy]

Um - *gulp* - that..... could have gone better.....

Hopefully they got that out of their system - nowhere to go but up - right???

[Cheesey1975]

no swearing in english ....u have one player who can understand

[CFuller]

You know you're really struggling when one star player recovers from an injury, only for another to get hurt. That's what happened to us at the start of September.

Attacking midfielder Lorenzo Valencia was back in full training following his leg injury, but someone else would soon be heading for the physio room. David Garcés was involved in a clash of heads with striker Ander Villalba, and the left-back came off second-best. David would miss up to a fortnight with a gashed head.

Our tough start was unlikely to get any easier in our next game, which was away to 3rd-placed Barakaldo. The yellow-and-black-striped perils have been a consistent presence in Group 2 since the 2012/2013 season.

4 September 2022: Barakaldo vs Elgoibar

After 15 uninspiring minutes, the match burst into life with Barakaldo's attacking midfielder Roberto Hermoso winning a corner off Roberto Calvo. Our captain headed Paco Alfonso's corner out of our area, but the danger wasn't gone. Moments later, Alfonso fired a shot that was parried by Fran into the path of Juan Ántonio, who gave Barakaldo a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute. A minute later, home goalkeeper Matías caught Javier Olaiziola's attempt to quickly draw us level from a free-kick. After that, it was all Barakaldo. Hermoso's vicious volley on 21 minutes was beaten away by Fran, who then watched Alfonso miss a headed sitter seven minutes later. Alfonso and Hermoso each wasted further opportunities before El Baraka consolidated their lead two minutes from time. Jon Ander Garrido's free-kick was flicked by Juan Ántonio to the far post, where Alfonso scored the hosts' second goal. We were once again sinking without trace.

Our desperation grew very early in the second half, as Antonio Rodríguez Fernández struck a terrible shot from distance in the 47th minute. Four minutes later, Barakaldo midfielder Aitor Ochoa found his captain Asier Bengoetxea in the box. Bengoetxea evaded a sliding challenge from Elgoibar defender Koldo López and blasted a lightning-quick shot beyond Fran. We were 3-0 down - again. With El Baraka pretty much home and dry, it was anybody's guess as to how many goals they would finish with. Number 4 could have beckoned in the 57th minute, when Alfonso's cross was diverted by our right-back Igor Pérez to Bengoetxea. We were very fortunate that the 21-year-old's finishing touch eluded him that time. It did so again in the 68th minute, as Bengoetxea failed to turn his single goal into a brace. El Baraka could not turn their trinity into a quartet, so we got off relatively lightly in what was still a heavy defeat. Meanwhile, our wait for our first league goal stretched into a fourth match after Ander Villalba and Ínigo Román both wasted late chances.

Barakaldo - 3 (Juan Ántonio 16, Alfonso 43, Bengoetxea 51)

Elgoibar - 0

Segunda División B Group 2, Attendance 1,804 - POSITIONS: Barakaldo 4th, Elgoibar 20th

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran, Pérez, López, Calvo (Salinas), De Pedro, Cabrera, Román, Delgado, Valencia (Braulio), Olaizola, Rodríguez Fernández (Villalba).

We were now the only team in Group 2 without a point to our name.

The next week saw us work really hard on our tactics, and I felt a bit more confident when Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa came to visit us. They were only in 13th place, so this was a fantastic chance to score our first point... or, at the very least, our first goal!

11 September 2022: Elgoibar vs Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa

Cultural Leonesa once brought out a kit that looked like a tuxedo, and I put on my best suit for their visit to the Mintxeta. It didn't take long for my pristine white shirt to get covered in sweat. In the 10th minute, Ismael blasted over an opening shot for Los Culturalistas. That was the first of three chances the visitors had in as many minutes. The second was headed by Francisco into the hands of Mikel Izurza, who replaced Fran in the Elgoibar goal. It would be third time lucky for Cultural Leonesa, though, after Ismael somehow beat Izurza with a header from a ridiculously tight angle! Mikel was embarrassed, but he wouldn't be fooled by another header - from Francisco - in the 14th minute. On 19 minutes, Antonio Rodríguez Fernández made a bid to end our goal drought, only to be denied by a great stoppage from Alejandro Remiro. The next 15 minutes would be rather dirty, as two Cultural Leonesa players were booked alongside Antonio for Elgoibar. A third Culturalista - midfielder Sínai - was booked after 40 minutes for committing a foul on Lorenzo Valencia. Braulio lofted the resulting free-kick forward to Rodríguez Fernández, who did the unthinkable! He scored our first league goal of the season!! The roar from the home fans was the loudest I had heard at the Mintxeta, and it gave us renewed belief ahead of the second half.

Half-time substitute Ínigo Román had a great opportunity to give us a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute. Alas, Ínigo could only curl it over the crossbar. Two minutes later, it was 2-1... to Cultural Leonesa. Juan Carlos Martí floated in a corner, and Vicente was on hand to nod it into the net. The Culturalistas' advantage would only be restored for a couple of minutes, though. A quickfire Elgoibar counter-attack resulted in Valencia finding an unmarked Román in space, and Ínigo applied a cool finish for 2-2! The match then became rather cagey until the 74th minute, when Román's cross was headed wide by Álvaro Artola. Five minutes later, Lorenzo had a crack from 25 yards, and the midfielder failed miserably. We continued trying to attack right until the end... but that strategy came at the expense of an already weak defence. In the penultimate minute of normal time, Andrés Cuevas broke our hearts with a fine run into our area and a calm low shot that rustled into the corner of Izurza's net. We'd been on the verge of winning our first league point of this campaign, and Cultural Leonesa had evilly taken it away almost at the death!

Elgoibar - 2 (Rodríguez Fernández 41, Román 53)

Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa - 3 (Ismael 12, Vicente 51, Cuevas 89)

Segunda División B Group 2, Attendance 1,804 - POSITIONS: Elgoibar 20th, Cultural Leonesa 10th

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Izurza, Tapia (Calvo), López, Salinas, De Pedro, Cabrera, Braulio, Delgado (Artola), Valencia, Olaizola (Román), Rodríguez Fernández. BOOKED: Rodríguez Fernandez.

By the final whistle, I resembled a man who'd taken the Ice Bucket Challenge whilst dressed as Richard Bucket. What I said to my players afterwards would have made Hyacinth Bucket faint in shock, as I refused to keep up appearances.

I gave my Elgoibar players their first real rollicking, consisting of a mixture of English and Spanish profanity, and they knew that another would be coming if results didn't improve quickly.

We'd now played four league matches, and lost all four. The only way I could've made a worse start to my tenure at Elgoibar would've been if I had run over the president's wife.

Speaking of the president, he wasn't too pleased when I met him in his office on Monday...

[CFuller]

Um - *gulp* - that..... could have gone better.....

Hopefully they got that out of their system - nowhere to go but up - right???

I wish I could say the same thing as yourself and

, but I feel more like

now.

no swearing in english ....u have one player who can understand

Too late. I already have...

[Cheesey1975]

I wish I could say the same thing as yourself and

, but I feel more like

now.

Too late. I already have...

ooopssss lol

[CFuller]

After four consecutive league defeats, José Maria Barranco wanted me to explain why we were already lagging behind the other teams in Segunda División B Group 2. When I told the club president that our players weren't good enough, he fumed, "A lot of them are your players! You should have signed better ones!"

Senor Barranco then warned me that he would have to think about hiring a new coach if our losing streak continued. I couldn't believe what he said. I'd barely been at Elgoibar for two months, yet my job was seemingly on the line!

On the other hand, I could see where Senor Barranco was coming from. He'd taken a massive gamble in hiring an unknown Brit who could hardly speak Spanish, and the language barrier was certainly having an adverse effect on the team.

Later that week, I told Wayne Daniel, "I think I might have to go back home. This situation isn't working for any of us."

Wayne suggested that I should stick it out at Elgoibar and try to turn things around, but my thoughts were soon turning back to England.

I was browsing the internet in my office on the morning of our next game when an article on the BBC Sport website caught my eye:

Dagenham & Redbridge sack manager Johnnie Jackson

17 September 2022

Dagenham & Redbridge have parted company with manager Johnnie Jackson following Saturday's 3-0 home defeat to Eastleigh.

The result leaves the Daggers 8th in the Conference Premier, having won five of their opening 11 matches.

Jackson, 40, had been in charge at Victoria Road for less than twelve months, and oversaw Dagenham's relegation from the Football League last season.

Assistant manager Wayne Burnett has been placed in caretaker charge until a permanent manager is found.

The club's managing director, Angelo Bosco, said in a statement: "We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Johnnie for the hard work he has put in during a very stressful period for the football club.

"However, our form at the start of the Conference Premier season has not been satisfactory, and we now feel that a new approach is needed in order to take this club back into the Football League."

Dagenham & Redbridge was a club that was fairly close to my heart. Dagenham is just a few miles away from my hometown of Romford, and I always looked out for the Daggers' results during my teenage years.

I couldn't really turn down the opportunity to manage Dagenham & Redbridge, so I emailed my CV to the club... and hoped that my current boss wouldn't find out.

That afternoon, I led Elgoibar out at our home game against mid-table Zamora, hoping that we could finally stop the rot.

18 September 2022: Elgoibar vs Zamora

Zamora made a quick start, with midfielder Salva Sancet registering their first shot at goal after only 16 seconds. It missed the target, as did Lorenzo Valencia's poor long-ranger for Elgoibar in the 15th minute. About half a minute later, Zamora's Brazilian striker Café had a pop from around 30 yards out. Fran got down to catch it and keep the scoreline goalless. It was unlikely to remain that way, as Los Zamoranos grabbed a hold of proceedings midway through the first half. Midfielder Josu Jiménez headed over for them in the 25th minute, while Café hit the post from close range three minutes later. We had a fine opportunity to open the scoring on 35 minutes, but defender Rubén Salinas couldn't direct his header from Ínigo Román's corner on target. Two minutes from half-time, our other centre-half had a moment he would rather forget. It was a shocking mistake from captain Roberto Calvo, who diverted Manuel's low cross into his own net! We were, rather ominously, 1-0 behind yet again.

Zamora midfielder Carmelo couldn't quite make it 2-0 in the 49th minute, but another 21-year-old did precisely that three minutes later. Café hammered in a piledriver after Salinas inexplicably brought down his Elgoibar team-mate David Garcés - just as David was about to clear the ball away from the Brazilian forward! I was absolutely livid with Rubén, and I later hauled him off... but not before Zamora scored their third goal. Arturo Candela all but condemned us to a fifth straight defeat when his low bullet beat Fran at the goalkeeper's near post. That was followed within three minutes by Zamora's fourth strike. Café turned provider for Carmelo, who added his name to the scoresheet. By that point, I was laughing almost uncontrollably, much to the disdain of those around me. I just could not believe how farcical this 'team' had become! We weren't utterly clueless, though, as we pulled one goal back in the 78th minute. Garcés floated the ball into the six-yard box, where Valencia scored from an unmissable position. Although there was no prospect of us scoring three more within the final 12 minutes, it did give us at least something to cling onto. Manuel could've rounded the game off with a Maradona-esque solo goal for Zamora after 89 minutes, but his dribble was followed by a shot more befitting of the Fawlty Towers waiter with whom he shares his name. The final whistle brought the curtain down on yet another very faulty display from Elgoibar. Don't mention the final score.

Elgoibar - 1 (Valencia 78)

Zamora - 4 (Calvo og43, Café 52, Candela 65, Carmelo 68)

Segunda División B Group 2, Attendance 2,047 - POSITIONS: Elgoibar 20th, Zamora 10th

ELGOIBAR LINE-UP: Fran, Pérez, Calvo, Salinas (López), Garcés, Cabrera, Braulio, Delgado, Valencia, Román (Olaizola), Rodríguez Fernández (Villalba).

With five games gone, we were still as pointless as a BBC quiz show hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman.

President Barranco was apoplectic, and he called me back into his office the following morning. However, he wasn't just going to discuss our latest defeat.

"I heard that you want to go back to England," he said to me as soon as I sat down. I felt horrified, and wondered where he could've got that information from.

I glanced to Barranco's right, where Andoni was sitting stoney-faced. I then recalled that he had visited me in my office the previous morning, and that he must have spotted me reading about the Dagenham & Redbridge vacancy.

"Doni," I growled in disgust. "Hijo de puta." You don't need to translate that phrase.

"This is completely disrespectful!" Barranco barked. "You do not care about Elgoibar! You are using us to build your reputation!

"I will give you two options. One - you apologise to me and try to make things work between us. Two - you admit that you do not want to be here, and resign immediately."

My mind was already made up. "President Barranco," I said, "I had a vision for this football club. I thought I could get this club into the Segunda División within five years, but to be honest, even Don Quixote would have said that was too fanciful!

"To tell you the truth, I'd need about 25 years to get Elgoibar where I want them to be. Right now, this is a professional football club that is being run by complete and utter amateurs!

"You, Senor, can take my job, and give it to some other fool who doesn't know better. I resign."

And so, just 68 days after arriving at Elgoibar, I left the Mintxeta for the final time. My brief reign in Spain was stained, and mainly full of pain.

[CFuller]

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Real Unión             5     4     1     0     13    3     +10   13
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2.          Barakaldo              5     4     1     0     14    5     +9    13
3.          Segoviana              5     4     0     1     8     5     +3    12
4.          Logrones               5     3     1     1     9     5     +4    10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.          Amorebieta             5     3     0     2     9     7     +2    9
6.          Palencia               5     3     0     2     9     5     +4    9
7.          Gimnástica             5     3     0     2     7     6     +1    9
8.          Mirandés               5     2     2     1     9     6     +3    8
9.          Valladolid B           5     2     1     2     8     8     0     7
10.         Zamora                 5     2     1     2     7     5     +2    7
11.         Eibar                  5     2     1     2     10    9     +1    7
12.         Athletic Bilbao B      5     2     0     3     8     11    -3    6
13.         Cultural Leonesa       5     2     0     3     5     9     -4    6
14.         Tudelano               5     2     0     3     6     7     -1    6
15.         Lemona                 5     1     2     2     6     6     0     5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16.         Pena Sport             5     1     2     2     3     4     -1    5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17.         Haro                   5     1     2     2     8     11    -3    5
18.         Arandina               5     1     1     3     8     12    -4    4
19.         Gernika                5     0     1     4     7     16    -9    1
[color="#FF0000"]20.         Elgoibar               5     0     0     5     3     17    -14   0[/color]

[edtheguy]

Wow... that escalated quickly....

One of the things that I love - and hate - about FM is how quickly things can go sideways. It definitely can keep the game... um... interesting. (Although I sometimes wondered if it only happened to me - but now I see that isn't the case)

Good luck on the job hunt!

[CFuller]

Wow... that escalated quickly....

One of the things that I love - and hate - about FM is how quickly things can go sideways. It definitely can keep the game... um... interesting. (Although I sometimes wondered if it only happened to me - but now I see that isn't the case)

Good luck on the job hunt!

I was in over my head at Elgoibar, and as soon as the chairman gave me an ultimatum after I applied for the Dagenham job, I knew I wasn't going to stay.

You'll be pleased to know that it didn't take me long to find a new job. I'll bring this story to its swift conclusion shortly, and then I'll begin the next chapter sometime before the New Year - probably next week, if time allows.

[CFuller]

I was in my first football management job - at Romford - for nearly ten years. In my second job at Elgoibar, I didn't even last ten weeks.

I came to the Basque Country with high hopes, but my time at Elgoibar was disastrous almost from start to finish.

I will admit to making some big mistakes, particularly from a tactical point of view. The 4-4-2 formation simply does not work well in Spanish football, which is so midfield-dominated. That said, I often had little choice but to adopt that formation, because my midfielders kept getting injured.

A lot of my signings were bad ones. I brought in full-backs who turned out to have zero concentration, centre-halves who badly lacked height or strength, and midfielders who were more fragile than roses. Also, my failure to sign more than one striker left us badly lacking in the attacking department. In hindsight, I should've delegated the responsibility of recruiting players to someone with a much broader knowledge of Spanish lower-league football.

There are some failings, though, that were not my fault. For example, you can't really blame me for the fact that our original players (the ones who won promotion last season) were so... mierda. Some of the players I inherited were barely deserving of amateur contracts, let alone part-time ones!

Then there's the farce that was pre-season. If I had known on 13 July that the team wouldn't return to training until four weeks before the opening league game, I would NEVER have taken the job. Four weeks is nowhere near enough time to work on tactics - you need six weeks at the very least!

My stressful time at Elgoibar badly damaged my friendships with my long-time colleagues Wayne Daniel and Nicky Reynolds. After I left the club, Wayne and Nicky both decided to stay put.

Wayne took caretaker charge of Elgoibar for their next two matches. They lost the first of those games 4-0 at Gimnástica de Torrelavega after goalkeeper Fran was injured and his substitute Mikel Izurza was sent off. They barely improved in the next match and were beaten 2-0 at Amorebieta.

We are now seven games into the Segunda División B season, and my old team have... you've guessed it, NO points out of a possible 21. If they avoid relegation at the end of this season, I will return to Elgoibar and run through the town stark naked.

I hoped to follow in the footsteps of other British football coaches who made their names in Spain, such as Bobby Robson, John Toshack, and Terry Venables. I did leave a footprint, but not in the way I would have liked. I will probably go down as one of the worst managers in the history of Spanish league football!

I'm not going to wallow in my failure and drown in self-pity, though. It's time to say adios to Spain and return home to Essex - and hopefully to my next job!

[CFuller]

Statistics (competitive fixtures only)

Played: 5. Won: 0. Drawn: 0. Lost: 5. Goals For: 3. Goals Against: 17. Win Ratio: 0%.

Records (Team)

Biggest Win: Erm... there wasn't one! Biggest Defeat: 0-4 vs Athletic Bilbao B (31 August 2022).

Highest-Scoring Game: 2-3 vs Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa (11 September 2022).

Highest Attendance: 2,323 vs Palencia (28 August 2022). Lowest Attendance: 2,047 vs Zamora (18 September 2022)

Records (Players)

Most Appearances: Luciano Cabrera, Roberto Calvo, Antonio Rodríguez Fernandez, Ínigo Román, Rubén Salinas - 5.

Most Goals: Antonio Rodríguez Fernandez, Ínigo Román, Lorenzo Valencia - 1.

Fastest Goal: Antonio Rodríguez Fernandez - 40 minutes 1 second vs Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa (11 September 2022).

Youngest Player: Xabier Delgado - 19 years 243 days vs Barakaldo (4 September 2022).

Oldest Player: Nauzet Alemán - 37 years 184 days vs Palencia (28 August 2022).

[Cheesey1975]

wow that changed very quickly,,,cant wait to read your next update

[jdoyle9293]

I'm going to gloss over the poor results at Elgoibar by saying this: you're proving to me again why you're in my favourite writers on this board. Overall, it is fantastic and in-depth work which flows well, a little shock to the system with the change in job coming so close to the start but it only improves the story.

[CFuller]

wow that changed very quickly,,,cant wait to read your next update

I'm going to gloss over the poor results at Elgoibar by saying this: you're proving to me again why you're in my favourite writers on this board. Overall, it is fantastic and in-depth work which flows well, a little shock to the system with the change in job coming so close to the start but it only improves the story.

Thanks once again for the comments, and thanks for reading.

'Ongi Etorri Euskal Herria' has now finished, as I am obviously no longer managing Elgoibar. Think of this short story as an interlude between 'Welcome to Romford' and my next major work, which I can assure you will be much longer than this.

Barring any mishaps, the next chapter will begin on Monday.

[displaced_seagull]

This is excellent - looking forward to the next chapter.

[mark wilson27]

Thanks once again for the comments, and thanks for reading.

'Ongi Etorri Euskal Herria' has now finished, as I am obviously no longer managing Elgoibar. Think of this short story as an interlude between 'Welcome to Romford' and my next major work, which I can assure you will be much longer than this.

Barring any mishaps, the next chapter will begin on Monday.

I'll place this in the archives then as a short story.....shame they didn't give you much time to sort out the team....Looking forward to the next chapter

[CFuller]

This is excellent - looking forward to the next chapter.

Thanks, sir, and great to see one of the true FMS stalwarts back here.

I'll place this in the archives then as a short story.....shame they didn't give you much time to sort out the team....Looking forward to the next chapter

Pre-season was a real killer. If we had more time to prepare, things may have turned out differently.

I've received your PM, Mark, and I'll reply to it shortly.

[mark wilson27]

At the request of CFuller I have closed this story, Another Night In Istanbul and Welcome to Romford