To Hull and Back...

[sherm]

Driving across the Humber Bridge, Hector Manuel Caldas couldn't believe what he was seeing. The 36 year old, a native of Madrid in Spain, had been assured it was Summer in Britain - yet here he was driving through the rain in the middle of June. Despite the weather, he still couldn't find his spirits dampened. He was preparing for his first managerial role in football, after almost 20 years in the game.

It had been three weeks before, on a trip to England to visit his brother-in-law, that the job had come about. His sister, Amelia, had moved to England four years ago, and met her husband Adam there, before marrying him over a year ago. They had invited Hector to live over in Hull with them, but at the time he was finishing his coaching badges, his UEFA 'A' and UEFA 'Pro' Licences, while at Spanish club Terrassa, where he was also occupying a playing role too. He had finished his badges, retired from playing, his 35 year old legs having had enough, before becoming Assistant at Terrassa. On a visit to see Amelia, he had discussed football with Adam, and it turned out that he owned a football club - Hull City. They were in the Third Division, having moved to a new 25,000 capacity stadium, and he was am ambitious man. He also needed a manager, which was where Hector came in...

--

"Hector, I'm desperate here. The season starts in three weeks, I need a man with talent"

"Adam, I've never had a managerial role before - I've got no experience"

"Well you can get it with Hull - I know you have what it takes, I know you. Come on Hector, do it for me. No, actually, do it for Amelia"

"Adam, are you sure?"

"Positive - I need a manager, you're the man I want, and the manager we need"

"Fine. I'll do it. Since you're my friend, and brother-in-law, I'll do it"

And that was that - Hector Manuel Caldas became the new manager of Hull City. He made one more trip to Spain, spent a week getting himself sorted, before flying into Gatwick. He met Adam and Amelia there, and they enjoyed a pleasant drive (weather aside) down to Yorkshire. Amelia drove, while Hector and Adam discussed business, and come the end of the journey, he was looking forward to taking up his new role

---

Hull Daily Mail

Spanish flavour down at KC Stadium

The entire city of Hull is in shock today following the appointment of the clubs new manager - Spaniard Hector Manuel Caldas. At 36, this is his first managerial position, and many fans and pundits alike feel it may be too much too soon

He started his career at 17, making his debut for Valencia in a league game against Real Betis, and spent seven years at the Mestalla. As an explosive striker, he knew where the net was, and notched up 94 goals in 184 appearances, before earning a £250,000 move to Barcelona in 1991. There, he played for six years in the Johan Cruyff 'Dream Team', making 169 appearances alongside the likes of Guardiola, Hagi, Romario and Koeman, scoring 109 goals.

Having become a legend at Barca, he fell out of favour when a young Brazilian by the name of Ronaldo joined the club, and in 1997, he joined Terrassa on a free transfer. There, he started his coaching badge courses, which limited him to just 76 appearances, but you never lose your touch, and he scored 69 goals for the club. Eventually, he took up the Assistant manager's role, and now, just 12 months later, he is Hull City manager

For a club with ambitions of promotion, it is a bold move to employ an unkown quantity, and the general consensus is that he will not be the right man for the job. That remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain - Candas will have to bring his reputation as a player into his managerial career if he wants to experience any type of success

--

*N.B - Game played on CM 03/04, a game I hadn't played in a while since last week. There's no updates, it's straight from the box, and I have English Leagues (up to Division 3), Scottish, Spanish and Italian (Premier Division only)

[JoeCFC]

Nice start. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[sherm]

Cheers Joe

---

Hector sat in his new office, shiny new plaque on the door and everything in place, leant back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. After five minutes smiling to himsefl, he felt it was prudent that he got on down to work, and started to do his job

He had officially been introduced, signed the contract and been given his targets, and on his desk lay the financial aspects of the club, such things as Transfer and Wage Budgets, while another, much thicker folder, contained the player profiles for the first team and reserve team squads. Hector had asked his assistant, Irishman Colin Murphy, to join him and help to run through the squad list. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, to which a swift 'come in' was administered

Colin Murphy placed two cups of tea on the table, before sitting opposite his new boss and pulling the player file towards him

"Shall we get started boss?"

"Please do Colin. Start from between the sticks first"

"OK. Stand-out choice is Alan Fettis. Premiership experience, international experience with Northern Ireland and at 32 he's a good age for a goalkeeper. The only problem we have is that his contract expires in the summer, so we might have a problem renewing it. If that is the case, we might need re-inforcements, as young Daniel Harvey isn't really up to standard"

"OK. So a new 'keeper then? Hows the defence?

"To be honest, I think we're generally fine at the back. We've got decent cover in terms of full-backs, with Carl Regan, a good solid defender who doesn't venture forward much the main choice for the right hand side. Should he fail to live up to standards however, we've got another player with Premiership experience in Alton Thelwell, so I don't envisage a problem. Same goes for the left hand side too, with three options there. For me, I'd have to plump for Steve Burton, just for the fact he has more pace than the others, but it's a tough call between him and Andy Holt. There's also the option of Andy Dawson too, but he looks more plausible an option for the left hand side of midfield"

"OK, and what about centre backs?"

"Ah, well here we may be in trouble. Obvious option is Irishman Damien Delaney, a man who can really become a good player with the right training and enough games, but next to him, we have a hole to fill. Justin Whittle has the experience, but at 32, his powers are not what they used to be, so I wouldn't imagine he's complete a 40 odd game season. Then we have Marc Joseph. Solid defender, does what he is there to do, but is prone to mistakes and not really a regular first team possibility. That honour should go to Richard Hinds if it was up to me, but again, we may need to strengthen the area a little bit"

"Hmm. Midfield?

"Opposite to the defence, in that the central positions are fine, while on the wings, we might struggle. We have no out-and-out wingers for the left, and just two on the right. Young Ryan France is a player I like, a lot. He's 22, got talent in abundance, skill to match and can fly up and down that wing like anything. However, should we lose him, for any circumstances, then Stuart Green can quite happily fill in for him. As I said, we haven't got left wingers as such, but in the middle, we are full of talent. Jason Price would provide the creative flair, and aswell as that he has a dynamite long range shot. If we play Jason, we should fit him in alongside Dean Keates, who is a more defensive player, and one of the solid players in the team. Should they be struggling, we could always use club captain Ian Ashbee, another solid, more defensive player, or there's John Anderson. If I'm honest, John much prefers being at the back, but we should be fine I think"

"Good. Finally, what do we have up-front?"

"Ah. Here's where we could do with some more strength in depth. Stuart Elliott, Northern Ireland international, is probably the best option we have, but other than him, I'm not sure we have the firepower. Aussie Danny Allsopp is another option, but I'm not a fan of the former Man City man. We have got another Irishman in the ranks, big Ben Burgess, but again, he's nothing more than a fringe player. The oldest of the four strikers is Jamie Forrester. He's an injury prone player, but I think although he can finish, he can easily be replaced"

[sherm]

Hector had written notes as Colin was talking, so he had a fair idea of which players were in his plans and which ones weren't, and he also had enlisted his scouts onto their missions, scouting round the free and loan lists to find some good players who he could add to the squad. Hector had also had a browse through the finance file, which gave him the clear indication of his transfer and wage budgets. £500,000 for transfers, while a wage budget of £100,000 wasn't that great - but Adam had given him the leeway to go over if he needed to

With his contacts in the footballing world, he felt that he could bring in a couple of players himself, and his first port of call was his old club Terrassa. They had some good players in the ranks who were more than good enough for the level of football that Hull were playing at. He managed to make notes on all his former club's players, and after several hours, he felt that full back David Sanchez was a man who he could use in the team. However, that said, he felt that he should consult with his assistant first before making any official offers

With six pre-season games as a warm-up for the season, there was enough time to get the players to a suitable fitness level, and get them playing together as a team. Hector was used to being in the pre-season mode, contemplating signings and formations, but he had never done it as a manager before - now it was his big chance

---

"No, you know that isn't what I mean"

The three men stood together in a dark corner of the restaurant, their voices low but deep in conversation

"Look, what do you want me to do? It's my livelihood"

"You think I care about that? When you agreed to help me 12 months ago, you agreed to help me for good"

"What if I can't?"

"Well Adam, I'm sure it won't come to that. However, if it should, then you shall have a visit from my 'friends', as such"

"Alright, alright. Just promise you'll leave Amelia out of it?"

"It's a done deal Adam"

Adam Pearson walked away from the meeting, his head hung and tears welling up. He hadn't known what sort of business he was getting into a year ago, but he was damn sure regretting it now. He had a wife, he couldn't afford to get into anything illegal. He stepped into his car, revved it up and shot off towards the ground

--

He was sat in his office, contemplating what he had just agreed to, when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and Hector popped his head round the door

"Adam, sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if I could have a quick word?"

"Sure. Come in Hector"

The Spaniard sat opposite his boss, arms folded and his left leg resting on his right knee, and he couldn't help but think that his boss looked a little pale

"What can I do for you Hector?"

"Just wondered if I was OK to make an offer for a player?"

"Oh, yeah you can. Who is it?"

"David Sanchez, full back from my old club. It'll take £75,000 to get him"

"That's fine Hector. Speak to Jayne and she'll fax the bid off"

"OK, thanks Adam..."

As he opened the door to leave, he turned back round to look at his brother-in-law

"Are you OK?"

"Wha..? Oh I'm fine, just eaten something off I think"

But Adam Pearson was far from fine - and it wasn't down to food either