sherm Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 As Nicholas Simpson headed down the black and white painted corridor of St. James’ Park, in a newly brushed and pressed suit, he was growing more and more nervous about his new job. Despite having played nearly 400 games in a career that spanned from 1980 to 1995, before he left his second club, Leeds, to finish his UEFA ‘A’ Pro Licence. The massive framed pictures on the wall saw the likes of Jackie Milburn, Jimmy Lawrence and Albert Stubbins all in action, their records and achievements underneath their photographs on a gold plaque. It was an impressive and imposing scenario, especially for a man about to take his first managerial role. However, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the surroundings at St. James Park, having been a coach since 1997, but Bobby Robson’s illness had forced him to retire. Simpson, rather than expecting a promotion, had been expecting to be dismissed when the new boss brought in his own staff, but when Freddie Shepherd had called him into his office, and offered the managerial role of Newcastle United to him, he was gobsmacked. They were a prestigious club, one that deserved and craved success, and to be given the responsibility of that was a huge honour. The Press Conference went well, as he conducted himself with decorum and answered the questions well, but it was his one on one meeting with the chairman that was more important to him “Nick, I won’t lie to you, we haven’t got millions to spend endlessly. I can give you £12 million, and a decent wage budget, and I also promise whatever funds you acquire, you can have to strengthen the team” “That’s very generous Freddie, more than I expected if I’m honest. And with the squad, what are you expecting in terms of results?” “Simple really. Finish in a respectable position in the Premiership, and by that I mean 6th to 12th. That would be perfect, and allow us to attract players of the right calibre to progress” “OK. And signing players will be solely my responsibility? I don’t want to have people above me interfering in that department, that’s all I ask” “And it won’t happen. You’re the manager, and you are in sole charge of signings and contracts, and anything to do with the team” In all reality, the Newcastle Squad to start the 2000/01 season with was, at best, average. Stand out players like Alan Shearer, Shay Given and Diego Gavilan were the talented few amongst the average players, so to bring in the right sort of players to progress would take some work from Simpson and his team --- Authors Note – game played on CM 00/01, a version I am still very much in love with, and England, Spain and Italy are the playable leagues. I’m a fair way through the game, as it’s quite pacey on the computer, but I won’t be writing at that pace. I hope you enjoy the tale Sherm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 My first full day in charge was jam packed, with a training session with the players, a meeting with my backroom staff (who I had no ideas of changing), as well as arranging a few pre-season games to get us up and running before the start of the campaign. This was first priority as I walked into my newly furnished office at just before nine that morning, and within two hours I had arranged a four game tour to Georgia, which would see us get some good publicity over there, and some good practice before the real business The training session, which started at 12, went rather well. I had sat the players down before they kicked a ball and explained to them my methods and tactics I planned to play, which I felt was important to get the players on my side “Right lads. You all know me, and if you don’t, then count yourself fortunate. I’m not a useless lump, but I like to think I know what I’m talking about. I know you’re used to Bobby’s 4-4-2, but I play a bit different, with just the one up top and three behind, two in the central midfield, and a back four. At home, we attack, with solid defence, while away from home, we defend from the front and attack from the back. Now, I will give you all a chance, but I will be bringing in new faces, so if you have any problems or concerns, come to me, and I don’t want to see it in the media first. Are we all clear?” Having got my message across, and making my mark amongst the players who were new to the club, I started my first official training session. It was weird not looking on from the side, and being involved right in the middle, but I could get used to it. When the training finished, I made my way to my office with my assistant, and we sat down with the squad list for nigh on four hours, finally whittling the first team squad down to a decent 15 players who could play at the necessary level, but I knew we needed a fair few players to compete with the best -- I did have targets, and players I wanted to come into St. James’ Park, but the first bit of business I did was to sell 23 year old Des Hamilton to Leicester for £1.3 million, which I felt was a decent price for a player I had no intention of playing in any game. I was starting to panic a bit, with just 48 hours till we left for Cyprus, and I was getting the impression I would need to stay in the North East to strengthen the squad, while the backroom staff travelled with the players to Georgia. I looked at the clock, and with the time reading 12.34, I picked up the phone and started to make enquiries Come the end of that day, which was almost 6 o’clock, I had managed to agree fees with two clubs for their players, while also negotiating a contract with a player from the free transfer list. That player was young Portuguese left-back Ricardo Costa, who, at 19, was talented and could only get better with time and patience. He was asking for a mere £1,300 per week, which I was more than happy to give to him, and he was quick to agree a 4 year deal, and would fly to Newcastle for his medical the next day. I had also arranged to travel down to Chesterfield too, as I was keen on defender Steve Woods. He was 23, and a big, pacey, powerful player who could play anywhere across the back, and a £120,000 fee seemed small change for a versatile player. Being a defender myself, I knew how important versatility was, and I was sure he would prove to be a decent acquisition. The other player I had agreed a fee for was a little more expensive, at £2 million, and though I knew very little about him, he was recommended very highly. Magne Hoseth was a Norwegian international, with 3 caps to his name, and though his club, Molde, rated him very highly, they were short of money, and the £2 million I offered was too much for them to turn down. He was a midfielder, who could play on the left or behind the strikers, and he would become a useful player, as he was still very young, and I was looking forward to meeting him and discussing a contract. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavrenwick Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Im a Newcastle fan, make us proud! Good start mate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Cheers Gav - I hope you passionate Geordies don't hate me --- The team left for Georgia the next day, minus me, and I saw them off before heading down to Chesterfield. Steve was a very pleasant and intellectual young man, and he was smart enough to realise that I wouldn’t be playing him in every game. After all, a three League step-up is a big one, but at 23, I was convinced he had enough natural ability to succeed at the highest level. Within an hour, he had settled on a four year, £1,200 per week contract (more than treble what he earnt at Chesterfield) and had completed his medical with flying colours. He arranged to get to the ground for the Friday morning training session, an agreement that I was happy with, and I left the town of the crooked spire a very happy man. That happiness was further enhanced when Magne Hoseth signed his contract, again passing the medical easily, but I was a little surprised when he stated he had arranged for the remainder of his baggage to be dropped off at his hotel, and he would pitch up there from now. The club had promised him a house, and they were just waiting for it to be furnished, but Magne was, or at least I found, a very likeable young men, and when he saw Alan Shearer he was like a kid in a sweet shop, shaking hands with his hero and asking for an autograph. Alan, being the bloke he is, willingly obliged, before welcoming the Norwegian to the club and saying a few words. --- “Boss, you gotta see this” Steve Clarke could hardly contain his excitement as he ran into my office, DVD disc in hand “What is it Clarkey?” “DVD I’ve been sent off an agent. Lads called Pablo Zegarra – looks awesome” “You know my view on agents…” “I know but I reckon this one is genuine. Look at it” He popped the disc in, and in the five or so minutes of footage, I saw a small but nimble midfielder, who was clearly a tough tackler and wasn’t afraid to put a foot in, but who also had the ability to go forward and chip in with 6 or 7 goals a season. Although normally sceptical about agents video packages, I was taken aback by this particular one, and I asked Clarkey to check his progress and make a report on the lad That night, I was filled in on the first pre-season game in an e-mail from the first team coach who had travelled up with the squad. It was only short, but the basics were there. A 1-0 defeat to Georgian side Universitat, although it was a game we dominated, with Diego Gavilan a particular stand out performer. Carl Cort missed three good second half chances (further enforcing my view that we needed another striker, and quickly), but Anthony’s goal on 72 minutes sent us to defeat. I wasn’t all too concerned, as results at pre-season never mattered. I had seen teams lose every pre-season game then win their first four, or win all pre-season games and lose their opening three, so I knew it was just a matter of gelling the players together. The squad I had sent out there was a mixture of first team and reserve team players, as was the squad here, but they would be getting the games too, with reserve team pre-season matches Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goofus Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Why do story titles nowadays have so many cultural references? Anyway, good start Sherm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Cheers Goofus - I must be honest, I'm useless at the Story titles, always have been --- With three days until the second game, I managed to make a few more waves in the transfer market. Midfielder Christian Bassedas made a £6.5 million switch to Celtic, citing the need for European football, while goalkeeper John Karelse moved to Arsenal for £2.5 million. While giving me another £9 million in the coffers, it meant I was struggling for ‘keepers, with just Shay Given and youngster Jonathan Brain, so when Steve Clarke mentioned Mallorca’s German Burgos was available, I moved quickly. The Argentinian had Spanish nationality, so would not require a work permit, and within just six hours of making the bid, the ‘keeper had agreed a four year, £2.7 million deal and would join up with the squad in Georgia the next day. I was delighted to have an international class shot stopper for less than three million quid, and I knew he would be a fabulous addition to my squad. I had been also been looking at applicants for the vacant coaching position at the club, and while there were several good people applying, for me the one man who was the most qualified was Don Howe. He had bags of experience, was available on a free, and I was expecting to learn a lot from him. I rang up Don, offered him the job, and he was quick to accept his new role, and I was delighted to have him on board. I had been busy, and had agreed a fee with Partick Thistle for their young midfielder Wille Howie. He’s a player I knew of, as he was part of the Scottish F.A’s centre of excellence when I did my badges up there, so when his side demanded £725,000, I felt it was a bargain price for a man I was sure could become a star of the future, and he had agreed to fly up to Newcastle to meet me, watch the team’s pre-season game (on NUTV, of course) and discuss terms True to his word, the 5’4 Scotsman did just that, and we had a good old chinwag before the match. His confidence shone through, and his basic statement was simple – I’m not going to turn a club like Newcastle down, where’s the contract? Once the formalities were agreed, we settled to down to watch the team play Kutaisi. It was a much different result to the first game, as a dominant performance resulted in a 3-0 win, with the goals coming from Carl Cort, with a thunderous header on 12 minutes, a sublime Gavilan free-kick on 29 minutes, before around 12 chances were wasted, and substitute Daniel Cordone scored a third on 83 minutes, sealing a comfortable and impressive win against the 12 time Georgian Champions, and a side that’s been in the Champions League --- I was soon taken aback from all the managerial work with the first bit of criticism in my reign, as a local fanzine, True Faith, started to accost my signings thus far Is Simpson taking the **** or what? That's the question on many Newcastle fans lips today, as he completed the signing of yet another unknown player. Of the five he's signed, which has set the club back over £5 million, I have heard of German Burgos - the rest of them are unknown. We have a lot of respect for Nick, for his playing achievements and his coaching achievements, but it's looking likely that management is one step too high for him. I mean, £2 million on a 19 year old Norwegian. That will really scare defences, and Gary Neville and Lee Dixon will be quaking in their right back positions. Also, he sells Bassedas, a quality central midfielder, for £6.5 million. OK, fine, sometimes players need to go, but instead of spending that money on a world class replacement, he spends £700,000 on some Scotch kid from Partick Thistle. Do us all a favour eh? Simpson, the fans have a message. We don't expect you to be sacked (well, not yet anyway) but if you get us in the bottom set of the table, we'll be forcing you out. You have a fair whack of cash, and Shepherd's promised you more for a world class player, so make sure you go and get one. This club needs European football, and within two years. If not - it's yours, and Shepherd's, heads on the chopping block... I was understandably taken aback by the abuse - I knew they were passionate down in Newcastle but didn't realise how much so. I decided to call it a day and when home to relax with a couple of glasses of wine and a bit of music, trying to take the thoughts from my head Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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