neilhoskins77 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Belfast, 1st July 2015 At the Dub Pavilion, in Northern Ireland's capital city, Denis Clarke holds a hastily arranged and suitably brief press conference. The 65 year old had seen through the majority of the summer off-season, and had failed to make good of his optimistic plans to appoint a big name manager to his football club. Even if he'd tried to get around that on a technicality, and claimed he'd meant a big name in relevant stature to his club, he'd still be deemed to be failing miserably. Clarke clearly has big plans for the club, but has little in the way of ideas in how to implement those plans into an effective plan for the future. No 'big name manager' worth the wages would contemplate showing up at Dub Pavilion. That's where I come in. I'm Neil Hoskins, or as the press in Northern Ireland are now labelling me, 'not a big name manager in any way shape or form'. They're not wrong either, though I always thought the point of a nick name to a certain degree was to try and shorten the name graced upon you by your parents. I'd spent a fair part of the last few months in Belfast on a UEFA approved coaching course, where I was attempting to earn a Continental B Licence. I'd just completed, and passed this exam, when I was contacted by Clarke. He had, so I'm led to believe, been passed my details by one of my colleagues on the course. Finally tumbling to the fact that a big name manager was not going to happen, he hired me instead, a 37 year old Welshman who had been about to pack his bags and head home. Needless to say, the loyal supporters of his club were somewhat short of impressed. His club, are Queen's University Belfast AFC, now 105 years old, and members of the third tier of football in Northern Ireland, or to give it the official name, The Belfast Telegraph NIFL Championship 2. The club have never progressed past that level of football, in fact, the only trophy they have ever laid their hands on is the Collingwood Cup, a trophy competed for by University affiliated clubs across both Northern Ireland, and the Republic south of the border. QUB have won that particular trophy thirteen times. But the wind of time has been sent across the club by Clarke, and the Chairman is now keen to see a new era brought in, one which he hopes will propel his club into the upper echelons of the game in Ulster. For one, I will be the first manager in the clubs history who will not be constrained by the long held rule that only current and former students of QUB are eligible to play for the side. It's been decided that particular obstacle will now been removed. Clarke isn't expecting miracles this season, in fact, he will settle for a top half finish, with the after thought that we pay particular attention to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, a club QUB now hold a rivalry with, built mainly on an eight year tenancy at PSNI's ground in Newforge Lane while the Dub Pavillion was being renovated and reconstructed. It was 2011 when QUB moved back to their Upper Malone home, a 2,000 capacity ground with 300 seats that boasts some of Ulster's best training facilities. The return back to our own ground has not served to dampen this particular rivalry so I'm led to believe. With five tournaments for us to participate in during the 2015/16 season, Clarke wastes no time in setting out what he expects if my one year, £300 per week contract is to have any chance of being extended. Top half finish in the League, at least Round Five of the Northern Irish FA Cup, and at least the Second Round of the Northern Irish League Cup. He declares himself not in the slightest bothered about either the Northern Irish Intermediate Cup, or the Northern Irish Steel & Sons Cup. Whether his goals are achievable or not, time will tell, but I'm excited about the prospect of being QUB's new man at the helm....even if no one else seems remotely excited to have me there. This could be a tough crowd, but for an aspiring manager in his first position, it would certainly an interesting proposition. ---------------------- *Welcome to my first shot at FM'16, which is being played via the Touch platform for iPad, purchased for a bargain 50% discount over the weekend. For those of you who have played via this platform, you'll know this offers an opportunity to bypass many of the features and detail that traditionally make the game more immersive. This save will be played at a reasonably quick pace, and the updates in this story will feature less detail and filler than the usual story you see from me. Match reports will be considerably more snappy and brief. The iPad version allows only three nations to be loaded, so as well as the three tiers of Northern Ireland, also included in the save are Scotland's four tiers, and England from Premier League down to Vanarama Conference North/South. There will be no use of purchasable add-on's in this save whatsoever, and I will limit myself to only being able to sign players who are known to the club(s) I manage through scouting to add a realistic Lower League management feel to the save. I hope you enjoy this account of my game, feedback and comments are of course welcome as always. Thanks.* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 With the opening pre-season fixture of the schedule just ten days away, there was much work to do. The squad that I had already at my disposal needed to be assessed, and it wasn't such a bad bunch of players, though it was lacking in depth at both centre back and centre midfield, and a new back up keeper would be required. Before I could go searching for players to fill the gaps, there were gaps in the backroom staff that needed to be filled. The most important one, considering that I am limiting myself to only signing players known to the scouting network, would be to find a Chief Scout. A Head Physio would also be required. Adverts were placed for both roles, and within four days, I had some applicants to take a look at. Within 24 hours of being offered their respective roles, 38 year old Gary McKee was appointed to a one year contract as the clubs new Chief Scout, a role which pays £20 a week, while 27 year old Colin Murray was appointed Head Physio on a similar deal. I learned a lot in the opening days at the club. I found out that there was considerable interest in my players from other clubs across Northern Ireland. I also learned that none of the players at the club were paid a wage, despite the club being semi professional. Instead, the players were always signed to one year deals, and would be paid in bonuses, consisting mainly of appearance, goal and clean sheet incentives. These would count against the clubs wage budget, which was allocated for the season at £654 per week. I also learned, very quickly, that if the fans of Queens are not happy with a signing, they'll make sure you know about it. A week into the job, and I've already managed to annoy a section of the fan base. Their issue was with the identidy of my first signing, or rather, the identidy of his former club. Robert Knox is a 6'3 lump of a striker, but the 28 year old has spent the last three seasons turning out for rivals, Police Service of Northern Ireland. The target man had been at the club a matter of hours when I summoned from the relative discomfort of my office and told there were fans who wanted to discuss this piece of business. In my head, it was a scene remeniscent of the day Kevin Keegan sold Andy Cole to Manchester United and was forced to explain himself to a baying crowd on the steps of St. James' Park. In reality however, it was a considerably smaller group of about five fans who'd spent their Friday afternoon in the boozer and were annoyed at the new boy who clearly had 'no understanding of the culture' at the club. 'You had better get used to it lads, things are going to change around here, and I won't apologise for trying to build a winning side. Knox is going to be a squad player who will get us goals, and you'll have your minds changed within a few months I'd wager.' They left, complaining bitterly still that a player from PSNI would never be accepted in a white QUB jersey at Dub Pavillion. The fact that the PSNI fans seemed fairly content that Knox had left their club really didn't help me with winning over our fans, and I would really need Knox to find the net and make this signing a positive one. It was a shame they felt that way, because I wasn't going to be told how to manage the club. I hadn't put myself through the hours of studying for the Continental B Licence, to then be told who I could and couldn't sign by a bunch of supporters, regardless of whether they were our supporters or not. I missed out on a left back who would have been a very good signing for us, beaten to the signature by division rivals Banbridge Town. Undettered and with the words of the irate supporters ringing in my ears, I made a move that would annoy them still further, going back to PSNI and making an offer to another of their squad. But before that came to a head, I'd have my first game in charge, as our pre season schedule started..... ---------------------------------- Saturday 11th July 2015 - Pre Season Friendly The Dub Pavillion, Belfast Queen's University Belfast v Knockbreda FC Facing a rival Belfast side who would spend the upcoming season playing a Division higher than us, the QUB side gave a decent account of themselves. We didn't quite have enough bodies to fill all the allocated spots on the bench, and after a goalless first half, we found ourselves a goal down when Curtis Dempster found the net from close range early in the second half. They wouldn't manage to see out the win though, as in the 77th minute, substitute left winger Aaron Dalzell arrived at the far post to power home an equaliser and earn us a draw in a match where plenty put their hands up to show they could play a bit better than I'd been lead to believe. Fan favourite James Lavery offers a different option to Robert Knox up front, while sub right back Paul McGuickin stole the man of the match award by supplying the cross for Dalzell's equaliser. Queen's University Belfast (0) 1 - (Aaron Dalzell 77) Knockbreda FC (0) 1 - (Curtis Dempster 48) (4-4-1-1) :- Declan Brown; Daniel Culbert (Paul McGuickin 65), Paul McDonald (Matt McManus 65), Daniel Hanna, Philip Prenter; Michael Allison (Ciaran O'Hare 45), Kevin Hagan (capt - Anthony Abladey 57), James Ferrin (Owain Beggs 72), Sean Walsh (Aaron Dalzell 45); Connor Mulholland (Mark Prenter 45); Robert Knox (James Lavery 45). Attendance :- 33. Man of the Match :- Paul McGuickin (QUB). ------------------------------- First game under a new rookie manager, not enough players to fill out the bench, and sharpness somewhere around the level of a plastic spoon. All things considered, that wasn't a bad run out at all, and I had yet to set up any instructions for player or team, or set piece routines. I'd decided to use the pre season to slowly introduce more in depth tactics and set ups, giving the players time to find their feet naturally, and I guess the same would apply to me too. Divsion rivals, Tobermore United, had seen enough of our right back Daniel Culbert to decide they would prefer to see him in their colours than our. Culbert is a very adept right back, and is versatile enough to be effective on the left as well. There's no denying he could do with some work on his attacking game to make him the perfect candidate for where I want the team to be, but he's good enough for me to quickly offer him a new deal. Also offered a deal, and signing it, would be our new playmaking midfielder. And no, the fans wouldn't like him either. You'd have thought I'd have learned a lesson after the Knox debacle, but that wouldn't be the case. When the scouting report for 26 year old Ryan Berry landed on my desk, I was on the phone within 15 minutes asking for more information on the PSNI centre midfielder. There would be no opportunity to see Berry in action anytime soon, he's out for three weeks with a groin strain. I put his scouting card to the side, and looked through some others. When I absently mindedly found myself comparing those other players with Berry, as opposed to my own limited centre midfield options that I already had in my squad, I realised I'd already made my mind up. Director of Football at the club, Gareth Edgar, was called in, and told to get Berry signed, giving the player what he needed, though asked to try and leave some cash in the pot too. He got the job done, with Berry signing the day after the draw with Knockbreda, his appearance fee is taking up nearly 25% of the budget, which shows how important I believe his signing could be for the club. The cherry on top of this particular cake, was the PSNI fans fury that Berry had been allowed to leave, and almost disgust that the club hadn't fought to keep him, and prevent him signing at The Dub Pavillion. That didn't grant him acceptance with our fans right away though, and my first two signings were both controversial ones in the eyes of the fans. As far as they were concerned, I'd better get this right on the park, because off it I had so far done nothing but dismay them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 With the Ryan Berry deal done, my Chief Scout was asked to focus his attentions on our defence, and come up with some centre backs for me to try and bring into the club. Meanwhile, one of my current centre backs was a target for Championship 1 side, Lisburn Distillery. I was quick to offer Daniel Hanna ever so slightly improved contract terms, and he quickly decided to stay with us, Daniel Culbert also rejected offers from elsewhere to remain at The Dub. Before we could play our next match, our current Club Vice-Captain and combative midfielder, Kevin Hagan, had received offers from Armagh City and Ballyclare Comrades, both one level above us. By the time we had reached Saturday, and the day of our next pre season Friendly, he had signed a new contract with us instead. Our next Friendly would see us travel to a club regarded as a fierce rival, mostly from the old days of the Collingwood Cup. We would take the trip to face University of Ulster Coleraine on a warm Saturday afternoon in mid-July. ----------------------- Saturday 18th July 2015 - Pre-Season Friendly University Campus, Coleraine University of Ulster Coleraine v Queen's University Belfast This was a match that most clubs would like to have as a final tune up before going into the start of the competitive season. The amateur club struggled to match us for long periods of the game, and it was only a shock that we didn't score more goals. Needless to say, I was delighted to see Robert Knox open his QUB account just 8 minutes in, a defensive error allowing Michael Allison to find him with a cross, and Knox swept the ball home. Our finishing in the remaining of the half was poor, and at the break, James Lavery came on to replace Knox, and took over the match. He had been on a little over five minutes when he created the second, sending the ball across the face of the goal from the right channel, and Stephen Campbell put it into his own net. Lavery notched the games final goal on the hour, gambling by going to the far post when Philip Prenter sent in a cross from the deep left position, the ball drifting beyond everyone else, and Lavery netted from close range. University of Ulster Coleraine (0) 0 Queen's University Belfast (1) 3 - (Robert Knox 8, Stephen Campbell 51 og, James Lavery 60) (4-4-1-1) :- Declan Brown; Daniel Culbert (Paul McGuickin 65), Paul McDonald, Daniel Hanna (Robbie Budden 65); Michael Allison (Ciaran O'Hare 45), Kevin Hagan (capt - Anthony Abladey 45), James Ferrin (Matt McManus 55), Sean Walsh (Aaron Dalzell 45); Connor Mulholland (Owain Beggs 45); Robert Knox (James Lavery 45). Attendance :- 37. Man of the Match :- Michael Allison (QUB). ------------------ Ok, so that wasn't a particularly tough test, and we should have scored more goals than we did. But we got the ball in the net a few times, and dominated proceedings, and that would do the players the world of good. As far as tactical progress went, this week saw me set up my set piece takers, the players now having a order of preference for free kick, corner, penalty and throw in takers. I did say that I would slowly introduce such things, but you didn't think it would be this slow, did you? There was nothing major to report following those changes, I do like both my corners and free kicks to be 'inswinging', so left footers take from the right side, and vice versa. James Lavery is expected to be our go to guy with free kicks, while Ryan Berry will be expected to be a threat from corners when he is fit. I like my corners to be sent into the near post area, where a player will be stationed, and another will make his way there when the delivery is sent in to cause some more mayhem. Another player will mark the keeper, and there will be another body making his way into the centre, while one more will lurk at the far post for scraps, and another will take his place at the edge of the box to try and benefit from any half clearances. That setup will be worked on ready for the coming week, and will be implemented ready for the next match. The free kicks will have less structure, as I simply want the ball sent inswinging to the centre, where my striker, attacking mifdielder and centre backs will attempt to get on the end of it. My full backs and ball winning midfielder will be asked to cover the back line in case of a counter attack attempt. The new week arrived, and brought two defenders with it. Monday saw us steal 21 year old Ryan Coulter from Annagh United on a Free Transfer. He's 6'2, and brings a bit of pace to our rearguard, though I was quite surprised to learn the rest of my backroom staff didn't rate him as highly my Scout did. At £20 per appearance, I personally think he'll prove to be a good bit of business, and for a change, the fans agree with me as well, their spokesman stating that they were looking forward to seeing his career progress at The Dub. He's joined by what I consider to be another bargain of the season contender, as 23 year old William Kempton arrives on a Free from Ballinamallard United of the Danske Bank Premier League. The 6'4 centre back is getting double the money that Coulter will earn, but the fans are delighted with the ambition shown is snaring a player who served his aprenticeship at a top tier club, and believe he is a quality signing. I agree with them, and I think our back line certainly looks a lot better with these two signings. As the week draws to a close, and our next match approaches, Wakehurst make a bid for our right back Paul McGuickin, which would be doomed for failiure. In far more exciting news, the draw is made for the First Round of the Northern Irish League Cup, where we are handed a home tie with a club we've already played in the very early stages of this season, as Knockbreda FC are paired with us. So it's a match up with a club a Division above us, but we know we have nothing to fear from them, and we certainly have a shot at making it into Round Two and meeting our first Board target of the season early on. We'll play them three days after opening our League season at home to Police Service of Northern Ireland in mid-August. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 As our the day of our penultimate pre season match dawned, Sky Bet opened their book on the Belfast Telegraph NIFL Championship 2 for season 2015/16. We were made joint fourth favourites for the Title, the winners being promoted into Championship 1, while the runners-up would face a Playoff against the 11th placed club from the League they were trying to get promoted to. The bottom five clubs in our fourteen team Division would be relegated into local football oblivion. 5/1 favourites - Dundela 6/1 - Police Service of Northern Ireland 10/1 - Limavady United 12/1 - Queen's University Belfast, Tobermore United 16/1 - Dollingstown The bookmakers noted in their preview of the League that some strong signings, and good results against the other clubs deemed to be in the hunt for promotion could well see us as a surprise package when the Titles were handed out next Spring. While I didn't voice an opinion myself, feeling it better to wait at least a few more weeks before I made a fool of myself in the press, I was quietly confident that if our new signings could find their feet fairly quickly, we might just be in with a shot at going up. ------------------------ Saturday 25th July 2015 - Pre Season Friendly Portaferry Football Fields Portaferry Rovers v Queen's University Belfast For the second successive weekend, we travel to face an amateur side, but this one proved considerably more difficult opposition. Undoubetdly, we needed to take some accountability, particularly after a goalless first half, when on numerous occassions, good build up play was ruined either by a poor final pass, or some wayward shooting. Just as we'd seen last weekend, Club Captain, and darling of the QUB fans, James Lavery came on and made everything alright, combining with fellow sub Ciaran O'Hara in the 62nd minute, who got to the byline on the right, and cut the ball back, Lavery sidefooting into the net. Another sub promptly ruined that work seven minutes later, as Mark Prenter launched himself into a totally unnecessary two footed tackle on the edge of the oppositions box, and was shown a straight red card. That put us on the back foot, and left Lavery pretty isolated up front. With two minutes to go, we didn't do a great job of clearing a free kick, and Ryan Montgomery prodded home a late equaliser. Portaferry Rovers (0) 1 - (Ryan Montgomery 88) Queen's University Belfast (0) 1 - (James Lavery 62) (4-4-1-1) :- Declan Brown; Daniel Culbert (Paul McGuickin 45), Paul McDonald (William Kempton 45), Daniel Hanna (Ryan Coulter 45), Philip Prenter (Robbie Budden 45); Michael Allison (Ciaran O'Hare 45), Kevin Hagan (capt - Matt McManus 45), James Ferrin (Anthony Abladey 45), Sean Walsh (Aaron Dalzell 45); Conor Mulholland (Mark Prenter 45); Robert Knox (James Lavery 45). Attendance :- 23. Man of the Match :- Ryan Montgomery (Portaferry). ------------------ That wasn't such a good outing, but hopefully it will bring the players back down to earth a bit as we approach our final run out before the competitive action starts. The passing is coming along nicely, and the players seem to have settled into the tactics fairly well. I'd hope things will step up a notch when match sharpness increases, and also when we have an actual playmaker in the midfield, as my system relies on that to a certain degree. Ryan Berry resumes training for the first time with the club on the Tuesday after this match. That gives him just shy of a week to intergrate himself into the squad and get himself involved. Berry would be on the bench for our Monday evening home match with Championship 1 club, Institute. Before that match, their fellow second tier club, Ballyclare Comrades made another offer for one of our players, this time the focus of their attention was left winger Sean Walsh. I spoke to the 26 year old, and told him that I wanted him to stay at the club, offering him a new deal, but at the same terms, very much a gesture. ------------------------ Monday 3rd August 2015 - Pre Season Friendly The Dub Pavillion, Belfast Queen's University Belfast v Institute Our final match of the pre season is without doubt the toughest. In 2013/14, Institute won the Championship 1 Title, and spent last season in the top tier level of the Danske Bank Premier, eventually getting relegated. They are one of the favourites to go back up this season, and bring a strong squad to The Dub. In a tight contest, both clubs resorted to largely shooting from range or half chances. We only managed one chance on target in the entire game ourselves, while our visitors created three clear cut chances, failing to convert any of them. It was us who had the lions share of the possession though, and I was very pleased to see that. Ryan Berry came on at the break, and settled into the team nicely right away. I didn't ask too much of him today, as he was told to keep his passes short, and quarterback the team from the centre circle. Over the coming weeks, as he regains his fitness and sharpness, he'll be given more freedom. For today, this is a decent result for us. Queen's University Belfast (0) 0 Institute (0) 0 (4-4-1-1) :- Declan Brown; Daniel Culbert (Paul McGuickin 45), Paul McDonald (Matt McManus 45), Daniel Hanna (Ryan Coulter 45), Philip Prenter (Robbie Budden 45); Michael Allison (Ciaran O'Hare 45), Kevin Hagan (capt - Anthony Abladey 45), James Ferrin (Ryan Berry 45), Sean Walsh (Aaron Dalzell 45); Conor Mulholland (Owain Beggs 45); Robert Knox (James Lavery 45). Attendance :- 31. Man of the Match :- Graham Crown (Institute). ----------------- With the start of the season now just days away, I have my Scout focussing on finding me a new backup keeper. He sent me a file of keepers who are free agents, but there was nothing of interest, so he started hitting the loan market to see what he could find me. He sent me two options, and the younger of the two appeared to be the better option. Coleraine had a 17 year old by the name of Jack Gault on a Youth contract. He already looked a very good prospect, and even more so when I compared him to Cliftonville's 19 year old Joseph Conway. It appeared as though Gault was already ahead of Conway, and was scouted to get better and better. A loan offer went in for the 17 year old, and I was delighted when he accepted. He'd stay for the season, and we wouldn't be paying anything for him. It was a relief to get what I was pretty sure would be the last piece in place before we got underway in the League, as the current understudy for Declan Brown was not a lad you wanted to throw into a competitive match. Sean Walsh accepted his new deal too. We were just about set to get the season underway for real now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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