"You'll make us all proud."

[Greyfriars Bobby]

My search for an ideal place to combine two of my favorite hobbies--playing Football Manager and writing--has brought me back here, to FM Stories.  This time, my character will begin at a randomly selected club, set in a game that includes extended English and Scottish databases.  Much of what will happen will be driven by in-game events; we'll all see how it turns out.

I'm playing FM 14, with "fake names."

 

April 2013

"Now's the time, lad.  If you don't do it now, you never will."

The older man smiled softly, his eyes twinkling.  "You're what, Charlie?  Twenty-eight? Twenty-nine?  Soon you'll need to put down some roots, if you ever plan on it."

Charlie O'Callahan nodded.  His grandfather was, as usual, right.  As he approached his thirtieth birthday, Charlie had never found any real satisfaction in any job he'd ever had, unless it had something to do with football.  He had enjoyed being a teacher, but he wasn't sure he'd have liked it nearly as much if he hadn't been able to coach the school XI. When a slumping economy, declining attendance, and an alarming case of financial mismanagement on the part of the school's administrators cost him his position, Charlie had gone back home to the outskirts of Liverpool and moved in with his grandfather.  

Tom O'Callahan, now nearly eighty, got around well enough, but having his only grandson around made things much easier.  A series of good investments made Tom a fairly wealthy man, but the death of his beloved wife Lyla left him lonely and sad until Charlie moved in.  The arrangement worked perfectly for Charlie, too.  He could do some free-lance writing and, even better, he could volunteer his services as a coach with St Helens, an amateur club in the North West Counties Football League.  Charlie loved every moment he spent at the grounds, and his dedication and talent impressed the club's manager, Tony Hart.  It was Tony who had first suggested to Charlie that he look for a coaching position that could put a few pounds in his pocket.

"You've got a good head for the game," Tony told him.  "The lads listen to you, and that says a lot.  Unless you've got your heart set on something else, why not give it a go?"

Why not, indeed?

Charlie took a long sip of tea.  "Most of these jobs don't pay enough to live on."

Tom shook his head.  "Don't worry about that.  I'll help you out until you're able to make ends meet."

"I can't do that.  You've been too generous already, letting me live here, rent-free..."

The older man cut Charlie off in mid-sentence.  "I can well afford it.  What good is having money if I can't use it to help my family?"

Charlie smiled.  "It is what I really want to do, Papa."  He reached for Tom's hand and clasped it firmly.  "Thank you."

Tom's eyes filled with tears.  "You'll make us proud, Charlie."  

Then Tom looked over at the photograph that sat on his mantel.  It showed a man, perhaps a few years older than Charlie, with one arm around a pretty brunette woman.  Both of them rested a hand on the shoulder of a young boy, perhaps five years old, with curly dark hair.  

Now Tom squeezed the hand of the man that young boy had become.  "You'll make us all proud." 

 

 

[Greyfriars Bobby]

2 July 2013

Once he'd made up his mind, Charlie pursued with determination the task of finding a job in football.  He'd earned his coaching badges already, and he was willing to relocate--even for a job that paid little or nothing.  And relocate he did, traveling about four hours north, across the Scottish border, to take the reins of one of the oldest football clubs in Britain.

The area between Loch Lomond and the River Clyde is known as the Vale of Leven.  The football club that took its name from the region was founded in 1873 in the town of Alexandria, and had once been one of Scotland's proudest clubs.  Now, Vale played in the eighth level of Scottish football, in the Strathclyde Amateur Combination.  Their chairman, an affable gent called Craig Allan, decided he had nothing to lose and offered Charlie the chance to manage the club.

"Some of the old timers might not take to well to a manager who's not a Scot," Craig told him, and he was at least half-serious.

"I'm Scottish on my mum's side," Charlie replied.  

"Win a trophy or two, and nobody will mind too much."

Then it was time for Charlie to find a place to live and, hopefully, something to do with his time when he wasn't at the grounds.  The players trained only two days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Again, Craig Allan turned out to be very helpful.  He arranged an interview for Charlie for a part-time position at a tourist information centre across the Clyde in Balloch.  Craig also knew of a couple in their seventies, the Buchanans, who had an apartment in their spacious old house in Alexandria where Charlie could live.  John Buchanan refused to take any money from Charlie, insisting that the assistance Charlie could give him and his wife, Eliza, would be fair compensation.  Besides, John and Eliza enjoyed Charlie's company, and he theirs.

Vale of Leven played and trained at Millburn Park, which was close enough to the Buchanans' home for Charlie to ride his bicycle there if he so chose.  He arrived there shortly after 10 am on his first day, much of which he spent with his assistant manager, Willie Stevenson, and the club's head of youth development, Andrew Quinn.  The three of them discussed the state of the team, which needed shoring up in only a few spots.

"We could use a better goalkeeper, and we're thin in the central midfield," Willie pointed out, an assessment Charlie agreed with.  His right-hand man seemed to have a decent eye for talent, and he ran a fairly tight ship as far as discipline was concerned.  

Vale of Leven's first league match was a little over a month away, and there was much do to.

[tenthreeleader]

Welcome back!  Glad to have you posting again.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

On 8/22/2016 at 21:51, tenthreeleader said:

Welcome back!  Glad to have you posting again.

Thanks, 10-3.  It's good to be back.

 

8 August 2013

Charlie had been at Vale long enough to run a rule over the squad, and what he saw was a very typical amateur club.

Both of the incumbent goalkeepers could do a few things decently, and both also had real holes in their game.  Charlie wasn't comfortable with either of them as his first choice, so he brought in Ruaridh French, who was willing to move down from Aberdeen in order to grasp the number one shirt he couldn't get at Lads Club.  Ruaridh was big and athletic, with good hands, and he had the mental toughness Charlie liked to see in the man between the posts.

A former defender himself, Charlie wanted to create a team that was solid in the back.  There were only five natural defenders in the team, and Charlie wanted to bring in some reinforcement sooner rather than later.  The center halves at his disposal had either size or pace, but not both.  Darian Cameron, who fit the latter description, had established himself as the surest bet for a starting role.  Two big lads, Michael McKenna and Rhys Millar, would compete for the spot beside Cameron.  McKenna's ability to make simple passes out of defense--a crucial component of the style Charlie wanted to play--gave him a slight edge.

Industrious James Maxwell was the right back.  He had an almost complete aversion to moving forward, perhaps because he knew he lacked the speed to race back quickly if the opponent countered.  George Milne, a teenager with impressive size and strength and even less pace than Maxwell, would probably start at left back, even though Charlie wished he could let the lad develop in a reserve role for now.

The new manager wanted to completely refurbish the team's midfield.  He wanted to play a simple 4-4-2, but only one of the midfielders he inherited seemed ready to be a regular starter.

That player was the club captain, Connor McWhirter.  Connor was best suited to play directly in front of the defense in a holding role.  He wasn't fast, but his positioning was good enough to compensate and he gave his all for his team the way a captain should.  

The best choice on the left wing was vice captain Steven Davidson, who had pace and athleticism on his side--but he shied away from the tackle and couldn't pass at all.  Paul Murphy was just as fast as Davidson, but was very rough technically; it turned out he was fairly new to football, having concentrated on athletics as a schoolboy.  Sean Hay, another wide man, impressed his manager with some well-placed crosses in training, but that alone wasn't enough to earn him a spot in the first eleven.

Fortunately, Charlie was able to persuade two players to relocate and join the club.  Chris Morrison came over from Chirnside, while Ryan Anthony arrived from Blackburn.  Morrison stood 6'5", weighed nearly 15 stone, and played with a hard edge.  He was more than a destroyer, however, because his deceptively good technique allowed him to play a more creative role.  Anthony was an even more exciting acquisition.  His positioning could use some work, but otherwise he was a very well-rounded player for this level.  Both Chris and Ryan fit best in the middle of the park, but Charlie thought Chris could be trained to play on the wing.  

Within a few days of the new manager's arrival, he had to say goodbye to forward Tommy Thomson, who signed for Arniston of Lowland Alliance Three.  The bigger club could pay Tommy £55/week, so Charlie could hardly blame the striker for moving on. With the help of his scout, an affable fellow called Kris Wood, Charlie brought in two new forwards.

Jamie Gibson impressed the Vale staff with his pace and his ability to create excitement in the box.  He was willing to move from East Kilbride, his home town, because he'd just broken up with his girlfriend and wanted a fresh start.  Such was the reasoning of the amateur footballer, whose movement from club to club was often driven by everything other than what happened on the pitch.  The other new man, Derek Kelly, formerly with Blairgowrie, was an old-fashioned, strapping center forward who was good in the air and strong on the ball.  O'Callahan thought he'd pair well with Gibson, Jamie dropping a bit deeper while Derek played on the shoulder of the last defender.  

Their arrival would probably force Jamie Lindsay to the bench, although Lindsay's pace, composure, and lethal left foot would earn him some playing time.  Not surprisingly, other teams began to flirt with Lindsay, and Charlie wasn't sure how long he'd remain.

Two days remained before the Strathclyde Combination season kicked off, and Charlie had to admit he was unsure about his club's prospects. 

"The media seem to like us," he pointed out.  "They've made us second favorites.  Between us, that might look a bit ambitious right now.  We have to discover how well the new men will fit in.  They're talented, but we're taking a while to get on the same page."

Charlie still wanted to find a defender or two to fill out the squad, and he wasn't completely satisfied with either wide midfielder.  A few more pages might have to be turned before all the Vale of Leithen players found themselves at the same place. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oche balboa]

This looks good 

 

what database are you using?