It is who you know...not what you know..

[lionwing73]

*****

"It will be nice to have you around, have a regular life.."....that;s what my wife said to me three months ago when I arrived home shortly after leaving my last job by "mutual consent" at Wrexham aka The Dragons.  

I could write several paragraphs about the term "mutual consent" and how my departure from a very successful spell at Wrexham came to an end but that is another story.  Suffice to say I left with a decent reputation, Wrexham in the Premier League but perhaps not the infrastructure to stay there nor the best of relationships with the Chairman.

Anyway...we move on.  During my break we decided to take a family holiday to Sicily.  Well..a holiday that would also include a evenings work as a speaker at a Sports Conference Dinner which my agent had neatly setup for me.  Sicily has been on my "todo" list for a long time.  From it's rugged terrain, deep history, it's fascinating people and also it's connections to the darker elements of life so our trip there would certainly create some great memories.

The Sports Conference was a three day affair with my slot on the third and final evening with a speech titled "Building the Dream...Harnessing the Passion" or if you want that in more a businesslike way.."Resource Management and Managing Expectation.  I think I prefer the former.  Now you might wonder how is a Englishman who has managed a Welsh Club for six years going to communicate with a room full of Sicilian's.   Well it is easy if you know that for the last two years my No2 at Wrexham (and now the manager) was Italian and helped me learn enough of the language to get by.  Family life also has a Italian influence with our home help heralding from Amalfi region.  So as a family we would often have conversations in Italian to keep the mind working!

So a few days into our break and several practise runs of my speech I was as prepared as I could be for the thirty minute speech I was booked to deliver after dinner.  My agent was also in attendance having flown out earlier that day.  The speech started well enough as I "broke the ice" with few light-hearted anecdotes about my early days in football management including the one about the fans forum and the West Highland Terrier.  I moved onto more serious topics from understanding not only the culture and history of a club but of the area and the people who support it.  By forging that connection you can see a bond emerge between the player and club that goes beyond financial reward.  With that bond in place the wins mean so much more while the losses can motivate the squad to dig deep and find that extra effort when you really need it.  

When you see the flicker of passion in a players eyes you can then start to build a dream for them, the club and ultimately the fans.  Now that dream might simply be winning two on the bounce or a far grander aspiration. as it became with Wrexham to move up the leagues.  When a core group of players share the dream it makes the managers job a little easier as their passion and ambition extend until it envelops the squad.  Having a stable core as we did for many seasons at Wrexham allowed us to achieve what we did - play in the world's most demanding league and hold our own against our peers. 

Bringing the topic of the speech around to everyday realities I explain to my audience that footballers must remain humble and grounded.  It's the foundation, in my view, of mental strength.   Are we ever more humble than when we admit to making a mistake?  

Taking responsibility for our actions is a fading trait in the modern world.  I would always ask my players to be nothing less than honest if they made a mistake on the pitch or in their personal lives.  We all sleep better at night if we know we have done right by ourselves and other people that day - don't we?   I never protected my players from the consequences of those mistakes but would support them in dealing with the "fallout" as best I could. 

My themes of passion, dreams, ambition and mental strength earned a polite ripple of applause as is customary at such events when I concluded my speech.  On reflection, my agent told me later, it boarded on standing on a "soapbox" but was well received.  In the minutes following my speech I circulated the room with introductions to many people including the current President of Palermo FC who via my agent invited me for a tour of the club later that week.

Many handshakes later I sat in the passenger seat of my agents hire car as he drove me back to my hotel.  There was a silence but one I had heard before and would be broken by one word from him..."Well.."...he said.  I looked across as the motorway lights zipped past.  

"What?" I replied.

"You know they are thinking about getting a new manager in don't you?"

I knew enough about the current league position of the club, the Presidents habit of moving managers when things were not going right but the one fact that stood out to me was his commitment to the club.  I hadn't been naive enough not to do a little research into Palermo FC before coming on holiday.  A little habit of mine was to also understand what football clubs close by a holiday spot much to the frustration of my family  on more than one occasion when I mysteriously appeared with a handful of tickets for some obscure match or another.

"There is more to it than that." I said.  "Much more..for one they have a manager and the family is settled in Wales with school and all."

"Interesting..."...just a single word of reply.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..you didn't say no and already thinking of the barriers to saying yes and no doubt working out how to get over them."

"You've known me a long time Frank.  You know how my mind works.  Let me enjoy the next few days of holiday, bounce this off Jo and have chat before we go down to the club on Sunday?".

"Sure.  Listen I have to head back to England in the morning  but will get a flight back here on Saturday.  Let's get together on Saturday evening.  In the meantime do you want me to gather some info on the club so we are not completely blind?"

"Yeah...no harm in it.."

*****

To be continued.

 

 

[tenthreeleader]

Welcome! Great to have you writing, and it looks as though you have a main character who will bear some watching as well. Carry on!

[lionwing73]

It had been a day well spent I felt.

For the majority of the Sunday afternoon we had enjoyed a tour of both the ground and stadium of Palermo.  A few of the squad, those that hadn't travelled to the away game, were around with brief introductions offered.  It became clear early in the day that both parties were "feeling each other out" about the prospect of me taking the vacancy.  At that stage nobody would make the first move for fear of embarrassment should the other party reject the idea.

The team certainly needed some guidance at this stage.  With a handful of games played and only two points to show a decision was needed by the clubs owners as to how the club should move forward.

I had rolled the prospect around my mind over the last few days with the last pieces of information, gleaned from the visit earlier today, that if offered I would certainly like the job.  Yeah...there would be the fine detail of the contract and what areas I would control to be resolved but that's what my agent was for and he knew what I would expect.

My thoughts came back to the "here and now".  Behind me, in the hotel suite, the light of the TV flickered as the kids move around the channels with my wife resting on the bed flicking through a magazine.  A "home" magazine no less.  You know the sort, pictures of renovated homes, gorgeous furniture etc...it told me a lot about her state of mind regarding the potential of her agreeing to move out her.  Truth be told it would do her good.  The UK climate wasn't doing her much good.  She would frequently complain of feeling cold.  I often joked she should try Boundary Park on a wet Tuesday night in January!

My phone rang.  The screen told me it was "FV"...my nickname for my agent.  I accepted the call with a "Hello"..

"Yo..listen.  They want you".

"Cool..so what happens next".

"They sent me a email with the contract details etc..we chew it over and get back to them".

"Excellent..what's the headlines on the contract?".

Frank ran through various details, numbers, bonuses, areas of control etc..

"Seems fine to me I said,"...in truth the basic was more than I had finished on at Wrexham by someway and with a bit of success I'd be doing quite nicely.  I glanced over at my wife who had joined my on the veranda.  There was a subtle nod from her which meant she was onboard and we would make this work as a family.  Not just us four but the extended family also.

"Frank, " I said, " do what you need to do with the contract to make everyone happy and let's get going."

"Sure.  I'ill get back to you soon."  The call ended.

My wife handed me the ipad.  I glanced at the screen and saw a game logo.."Football Manager"..I said.

"Yes," she replied, "apparently a lot of clubs use its database to help find players."

"Really..wow."  I heard of clubs using it but hadn't given it much more thought myself.

"I thought it might give you a head start on getting to know your new squad."

"Thanks...I'm sure it will."

To be continued.

 

[lionwing73]

Wow...the life of a virtual football manager is a busy one!  I had a plan to return to this thread with updates! 

Where do I start...five seasons with Palermo.  A Serie A Title, CL quarter final  along with a couple of cup wins!

 

Grazie ... è stato fantastico! Ho incontrato grandi persone, hanno lavorato con alcuni giocatori incredibili ... 

in avanti verso FM18.