[FM17] The Hart Chronicles - Volume II: Adam Hart is 'Yes Man'!

[PaulHartman71]

This story will follow the managerial career of Adam Hart, who was my son from my FM15 Alphabet Challenge Journeyman save. That thread can be found here: 

PH71's FM15 Alphabet Career

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2017 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

Prologue

 

I wrote a small (4,500 word ) backstory linking my FM15 save to this one. If you followed my last save and posted regularly, perhaps you can find a subtle reference to yourself in the story! 

Do not consider it compulsory reading at all, but I've left the very last bit out of the spoiler-tag as it links massively to the type of career Adam will be taking part in as a manager. 

 

Spoiler

Adam smiled as he walked towards his seat on the other side of the room. Everybody who was anybody was here.

There was Theo Walcott, who at 73 years old, had swapped his dazzling pace for a pacemaker. Also on the Arsenal table was Kieran Gibbs, who despite being on his 2^nd hip replacement, was surely thankful he could still at least walk, which was more than could be said for the now wheelchair bound Jack Wilshere alongside him – who had Mesut Ozil to assist in pushing him around if necessary.

The Ipswich table were in a joyous mood as they looked back with fond memories at their double winning success, with the likes of David Deronjic, Richairo Zivkovic, Nathan Ake, Karlton Flitton and Chris Lester all still celebrated as cult heroes and legends back in Suffolk.

There was a very large table that combined both the French and Juventus sides that Adam’s father had managed, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Kingsley Coman and Jeremy Bertrand-Demanes having featured in both sides, with other big stars like Antoine Griezmann, Tinguinha, Allan Petit, Jan Michal, Stavros Aronis, Fabio Vinicius and Jeremy Michaud all there too.

The Everton table was in disarray as Saido Berahino, Dries Mertens and Grant Grant were all vehemently arguing with Wayne Rooney about which position at the table he should be sitting at. Pablo Sarabia and Kiko Casilla seemed very bemused watching over from the Getafe table.

Oriol Gomez sat at the head of the Manchester United table, which featured other United legends, like Lorenzo Fedele, Oliviera, Tim Hart, Mick Egan and Dean Charles.

The Toulouse table featured many local legends, with celebrated greats such as Stefen Maletic, Ettore Tonelli, Justin Nabab, Patrick Smirnov, Sergio Checa, Ludovico Mapelli and Kamal Celik all no doubt glad to be back at the stadium named after their former boss.

Ewen Bourhis spear fronted the Villarreal table, with other brilliant players, including big names like Francis Pierre, Pascual and Ross Scott also eagerly awaiting the after-dinner speeches and awards.

Finally, was the Wolfsburg table, which was filled with a fair few players that were arguably still in their prime and hosted former World Player of the Year winners like Wolf Bruneel, Ivan Talajic and Maurice Guitzeit – as well as other great players in their own right, such as Vincenzo Vardel, Ruud Kant, Julien Clement, Sam Lawrence and Paul Diallo.

Adam took his place at the grand table, which was exclusively for close friends and family.  He was pleasantly surprised to find himself sat next to a man he admired greatly – Paterne Kabongo, known to close friends just as “Pat”.

“Alright, Pat. How’s it going at Tranmere? League 2 life treating you well?”

“**** off Adam. You still getting paid to “scout” now your dad’s retired?”

“Nah, well… Zenit let me go after he left. I was sort of glad to be gone though it was a bit cold in Russia”

“Still gotta be better than ****ing Tranmere. You don’t fancy a job working for me do ya? Could do with a familiar face around to pass the time”

“I think I’ll pass. Dad offered me a job at York when he was down there, like I was gonna give up my cushy job scouting in Greece to go work for a lower league side!”

“You always were spoilt mate, especially for a player with absolutely no talent who only got to play for the best clubs because his dad was the manager. No offence of course”

“None taken. I just don’t know how you can bring yourself to do it”

“Do what?”

“You know. Manage all of these poverty clubs. You had it all. World Player of the Year. Champions League. Premier League. World Cup. Now you just waste away in the lower leagues. What’s the point?”

“You know what the point is, Adam? I want to prove everyone wrong. Every club that I get sacked at damages my legacy in football. Every time it’s just the club over-reacting and the media sticking their nose in. It’s not fair! I can’t let them win! I know that one of these days I will prove everyone wrong and work my way back up to the top flight”

“You really think you can do that?”

“Of course I can. I know I can. Come join me at Tranmere, Adam. I know you’ve never been given a coaching role before, nobody’s trusted you with it, but I trust you mate. I’ll teach you how to be a good coach and together we can rise up to the leagues, back to the top, on our own terms!”

“Well that’s quite the pitch Pat, but I don’t know I-

“Have a sleep on it mate. But trust me. We’ve got something real good going on down there, you should come and be part of it”

 

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #  # # # # # # #  # # # # #

 

1 Hour later…

 

Adam looked on at the stage, which was now filled with ex-players that his father had deemed worthy of being in his “Hart XI”.

There was Timo Gottel, the German keeper from his run at Toulouse. Jeremy Bertrand-Demanes, a fine French right back who had played in the World Cup winning French side and the Serie A and Champions League winning Juventus side. Jan Michal and Fabio Vinicius, also from that famous Juventus side, had also been selected, whilst the other defensive position went to Sergio Checa, a Spanish central defender who had played for both the Villarreal and Wolfsburg sides.

Justin Nabab, a resilient Frenchman who his father had used at Toulouse, Villarreal and Wolfsburg was chosen as the defensive midfielder. There was a strong Wolfsburg presence as both Wolf Bruneel and Vincenzo Vardel had been chosen for midfield positions, with Lorenzo Fedele and Oriol Gomez, both from the Premier League winning Manchester United side, also already up on stage.

Adam noticed Pat was on the edge of his seat for his father’s final pick. He would name the greatest striker that he ever managed. He’d managed a whole host of fantastic strikers in his career, with great players like Daniel Sturridge, Richairo Zivkovic, Stefan Maletic, Erwin Roa and Patrick Smirnov all scoring vital goals to secure big trophies. But everyone knew that this pick basically boiled down to Paterne Kabongo or Ivan Talajic.

Kabongo or Talajic?

Adam wondered who his father would have chosen. He only managed Kabongo for one season, but it was a crazy season where Kabongo scored an amount of goals that had been unheard of in top flight football since Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had hung up their boots. Talajic had been fantastic for him at Wolfsburg though, and he’d won the World Player of the Year several times there too.

“The striker I’ve chosen is… IVAN TALAJIC!!”

Kabongo looked up knowingly. It looked like he’d expected Talajic to get the nod instead of him.

“Don’t suppose you fancy a fag, Adam?”  

Adam didn’t smoke, but looking by the expression on Pat’s face, it wasn’t just a cigarette that his friend wanted. He clearly hadn’t taken the snub well.

……

 

It had been quite easy for them to sneak off, they’d got through the crowds of ex-players relatively unnoticed due to the commotion happening on stage. They reached one of the entrances on the back side of the stadium after a few minutes of walking. Adam recognized the man on the door, Francis, who had been one of his father’s loyal security guards throughout the latter stage of his career.

“You want to go outside and have cigarette?” he asked.

“Yes mate, we won’t be too long” Pat said.

They walked outside into the pitch black night.  

“I know I shouldn’t get annoyed by something so trivial Adam…and I know Ivan Talajic is up there with the best strikers of modern times, but I don’t know. I can’t help but think, you know…”

“What?”

“I can’t help but think my time as a manager has tarnished my legacy as a player. If I’d retired or was still managing top flight clubs, I think I’d still be regarded as one of the best ever”

“You still are-

“Look mate I know people still rate me, but getting sacked so many times has definitely damaged me. It’s not fair! People always said nobody would ever beat Rooney’s goal scoring records for England or United, but I smashed them! Now look at me!”

“I thought you said you were confident you could turn things around at Tranmere?”

“Oh I don’t know anymore. Sometimes I think I should just retire. Maybe I should just give up managing”

Adam didn’t know what to say to this so stood there silently. Kabongo pulled himself up to the nearest wall and sat on it. Adam lifted himself up and sat next to him. They looked away from the stadium, staring vacantly into the distance. Adam thought for a moment he could see some figures in the dark, but put it down to the alcohol. But then he saw movement again. There was definitely some people out there in the moonlight.

“Is it me or-

“No, Pat – I can see them too”

They carefully jumped down from the wall and moved further away from the stadium to get a closer look. It took them a while but eventually they managed to get within hearing distance of what appeared to be a large group of men…

“So we’re clear then lads? We all know what our roles tonight are, yeah?” said a man in an Essex accent.

“We go in and we FRY THAT ****ER!!!!”

“Nie Jem! Mate! What have I told you?! We’re not frying nobody. We’re going in, kidnapping that thief and getting the money that he owes all of us, especially me!” the first man shouted angrily.

“We’re not frying anybody? Damn it. I knew I should have just washed my hair tonight” said another man.

“Shut up Nobby. Now on a serious note are we all sure we know what we’re doing lads?”

“I’m clear Wavel, but maybe you should run through again, if most of the others can’t bet well, who knows if they can follow instructions well” asserted a man with a thick Russian accent.

“Good point, Koetzer. Okay so Chris, SJ, Mark, Jim and Murray – you will go to the east side of the building with Noikee and wait for the signal... Andy, Nobby, Flumpy, Carninho, Goktu – you will go with Dodgee to the west side of the – wait. Where the heck has Dodgee gone?! For god sake man. Fine. Lenzar, you lead the west side team. Make sure nobody gets out through that main exit – and I mean nobody! Me, Koetzer and Chivers will lead the initial attack. Nie Jem, Pilgrim, Sherwin and Maw will join us shortly afterwards through the adjacent entrance. The others will then burst in from the roof and BINGO – we got him. You remember why we’re doing this lads?”

“FOR MONEY! POWER! GLORY!” shouted an excited figure.

“That’s right Maw, that’s right. LET’S DO THIS!!!”

 

Adam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He looked at Pat in absolute horror.

“They’re going to try and kidnap my dad. Quick. We’ve got to warn him!”

They turned to run back towards the exit, but from out of nowhere, a frightening looking man dressed as a pirate had appeared – and he was wielding a very real and very sharp looking sword.

“Look what we have here…the catch of the day. Sir Paul’s bastard son himself. Why…if I grabbed you right now, it would save us the trouble of assaulting the whole building to grab your dad. We could ‘old you as a hostage instead!”

Adam didn’t say anything. He was still looking at the pirate’s sword, just to double check that it was actually real. It looked very much like a real sword.

“You’re not taking Adam or his dad you pirate scum!” Kabongo snarled.

“Oh is that so, matey? You is wrong on this one. His dad is the real pirate. Back home on Cove Bay, they call me Dodgee D. But I’m nothing compared to that crook! Now…you will both surrender yaselfs to me or there will be trouble!”

“You’re not taking me or Adam without a fight!” Pat spat.

“Pat. Maybe we should do as he-

Before Adam could finish his sentence, Pat had feinted a punch on the pirate, then dodged out of the way of the oncoming sword in his direction.

“RUN BACK ADAM! WARN THE OTHERS! SAVE YOUR DAD” Pat screamed.

Adam was reluctant to leave his friend in such a hostile situation. Maybe the two of them together could take him.

“GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!” Pat screamed again as he used his clever footwork to dodge yet another strike from the pirate.

This time Adam followed Pat’s orders and made a run for it. He sprinted as fast as he could back to the exit door, just as he got to the door and almost out of eyeshot of Kabongo and the pirate, he heard a chilling scream that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

He turned back around and saw in the distance, clear as day, the long sword sticking out through the back of Kabongo’s chest. The pirate then quickly removed his blade from Pat’s body and with that, the former World Player of the Year slumped to his knees, before lifelessly falling face-down onto the now blood soaked pavement. Paterne Kabongo was dead.

 

“That was quick cigarette-

“There’s no time! Call the police! Kabongo’s dead! My Dad’s in danger!” he shouted towards the French security guard before running back into the building the way he came.

Adam flew through the corridor, if he’d ran this quickly during his career he may well have justified some of the appearances he made for his father. He hurtled along and eventually flung open the door back into the main room, where many of the Hart XI were still standing around speaking on the stage. He quickly ran down the main walkway and found his father. He pulled him aside and whispered in his ear.

“Dad! We’ve got to get out of here! Now!” he pleaded.

“You what? But this is my retirement do. I’m not leaving now it’s only 11! I know I’m old but I can still drink into the early hours of the morning, son!” he said adamantly.

“Pat’s dead! There’s some men outside that are coming for you. They’re trying to kidnap you and hold you for a ransom!”

“You what?! Oh ****! Oh ****! I feared this day might come. Come with me boy, to my office, there’s something I have to show you. Now! We must hurry!” 

They made a move to quietly leave through the stage exit, when suddenly they heard a loud smashing of glass. Four masked men quickly descended from the roof of the building on ropes they’d dropped down.

“DELTA SQUADRON! LINE ON ME!!!” shouted a man dressed entirely in blue as the others landed and lined up next to him. They aimed their guns at the shocked guests.  

“Where the hell is everybody else?” said one of the men to the others, in what Adam thought was a Norwegian accent.

“I must’ve got my calculations wrong lads! I thought this was the time we were supposed to break in. I usually always get this stuff bang on!” another man in a Leeds accent said.

“Ah you can’t win anything with kids” said another one of the attackers, who for some reason was wearing a fake moustache over his mask.

“Where’s the target? We’ve lost the target! Dammit!” shouted the blue man, as he noticed, far too late, that both Adam and his father had indeed left the room.

 

…………………..

 

Adam could hardly breathe by the time they’d got to the relative safe haven of his father’s office.

“I don’t get what’s going on dad. Why are these guys after you?!”

“I’m sorry son. I should have told you sooner”

“Told me what?!”

“The truth”

“The truth about what?!”

“Did you ever notice anything strange about my managerial career? The moves that I made?”

“Well the move to York City was a bit strange and Liverpool to United after already managing Everton was pretty mental but-

“I went from A…to Z. I started at Arsenal and ended at Zenit. Every move in-between was another step in the alphabet!”

“Oh…errr… I do remember seeing a few conspiracy theory stories about that. But I always thought it was bollocks. I mean, everyone knows that Holland would technically count as “N” – and there’s other things that don’t add up, like Spain in Spanish would be an “E…and Xanthi is debatably an “S” cause they’re called Skoda Xanthi… I mean, you’re not really saying that was all deliberate?”

“Yes it was”

“But why? Why would anyone deliberately have a managerial career that went from A-Z?”

“It all started when I was at Dinamo Moscow. A rich Russian oligarch came to me one night. He said him and some of his other mega rich cronies had noticed how having moved from Arsenal to Borussia Dortmund to Cameroon to Dinamo Moscow, I’d inadvertently managed teams in alphabetical order from the start of the alphabet. He suggested a secret betting ring, for the world’s wealthiest men, to see who could correctly guess the next moves I made in my career – all on the condition that I continued my career moving from club to club or club to nation, nation to club etc all in alphabetical order”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard”

“It’s all true. I swear it. They set up rules, like each better was capped at ten million pounds to start with, but the more money they won the more they could bet. It seemed like a great little earner for me, so BET-PH71 was born. I made millions from those men. It was great, because they decided they’d collect their big winnings at the end, after my final move”

“But if you paid them all their winnings, then why do they want to kidnap you?”

“That’s the thing, son. I didn’t pay out”

“You didn’t? But. But. Why? How much do you owe?”

“Oh I don’t know. A billion or so?”

“A billion pounds?!”

“Yeah I know, crazy right?”

“Do you even have that sort of money to pay them back?”

“Nah, son. I spent it”

“You spent a billion pounds?! On what?! Why would you spend it all, surely you’d know they’d come after you with everything they’ve got to get that money back?!”

“I’m not stupid, son. Of course I knew they’d want it back. Trouble is, they won’t get it. I’ve got an escape plan. A get out of jail free card, if you like”

“What is it? What could possibly get you out of this much ****?!

“This”

Adam watched as his father entered a code into a switch on the wall. The wall opened inwards to reveal a Bugatti Veyron, quite the vintage car in 2063.

“I don’t get it. This is just a car. A nice car, but I still don’t-

“Take a look on the inside, son”

As he looked inside the car, a look of utter astonishment swept over Adam’s face. He couldn’t believe it. 

“Is that?! It can’t be?!”

His father nodded as a big grin lit up his face.

It was a flux capacitor.

 

# # # # # # #

 

 

 

“So you’re just going to drop everything and go to the future?!”

“No, son, don’t be silly. I’m one of the most famous managers of all time. I can’t go to the future, people would recognize me there. I’m going back in time”

“Back in time? To where?”

“To a much simpler time. Almost 50 years ago to be exact. 2016”

“2016?!”

“Yes, son. And you should join me. Come with me. I’ll start a whole new management career. You can be my assistant manager. Together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Maybe we can even reunite with Keano!”

“But dad, you’re in your seventies. How could you start a new management career?”

“Don’t worry about that son. I’ve got this special potion I bought from the same person I got the flux capacitor from. First of its kind. For every drop of it you drink, you become 5 years younger. A little swig of this and we’ll be 30 again. Both the same age, imagine that!”

Adam shuddered at the thought of it, but he was interested in joining his father back in time. It wasn’t like he had too much going for him – and maybe the men that his father owed millions would come after him instead if his father vanished.

“Now son, are you with me? They might find us any minute. We should leave now”

“Er…okay dad. Okay. Let’s do it”

Suddenly the door crashed open with a loud thud and a load of armed men in masks flooded the room. They pointed the guns at Adam and his father.

“ON THE FLOOR!! SURRENDER YOURSELFS!!” came a shout in a Russian accent.

“You won’t be getting your money. This is futile” said the elder of the two Harts.

The Russian man paused for a moment, as he turned to his left and looked at one of the other masked men.

“Wavel, what do you say?” asked the Russian.

“Frytek” the man begun…

“FRY THAT ****ER!!” he shouted.

Suddenly, another one of the masked men unleashed an array of bullets that struck Adam’s father in the chest. He fell backwards with a thud and lay motionless on the office floor. He had been struck down in the very stadium that had been made in his name. Adam was so struck with grief and shock that he froze in fear.

“Now, Adam. Don’t worry, we won’t be killing you. Now that your father is dead, all of his estate and wealth will be passed down to you. You will hand over every last penny and acre of land that is left to you, to us. We want every last penny that your father owes us, and we know that he still has it hidden away”

“You’re wrong. He spent it. You won’t get that money back”

“Should we fry him too?” asked the Russian, with Frytek looking on eagerly.

Wavel thought for a moment, pondering their options. He then raised his hand, as if he was making some kind of secret code message to the others. Suddenly they all pointed their guns firmly towards Adam. He closed his eyes. This was the end. He braced himself and wondered what it felt like to die. He hoped it would be quick and pain-free.

“FOR MONEY…POWER…GLORY!!!!” they all shouted.

The sound of the initial flurry of gunshots was deafening. He felt no pain and didn’t even feel himself fall or collapse following the gunshots. He must have died instantly. After a few moments his ears were still ringing, but it sounded like the gunshots had subsided.

Was this it? Was this what dying felt like? Was there really an afterlife?

Adam opened his eyes and to his massive surprise…he was still in his father’s office.

In-fact… he was still standing exactly where he had been standing before he had shut his eyes and heard the gunfire. The only difference was that the walls were now covered in blood and the floor was filled with the dead bodies of all of the men who had been aiming their rifles at him.

He couldn’t believe it. He looked towards the door and that was when he saw him. There was another masked man with a rifle of his own. Had this masked man killed the others to save him? It seemed to be the only logical explanation.  

The masked man put his rifle down carefully onto the floor, before taking it off to reveal a warm and friendly smile.

“Hello! Do not be alarmed, Mr Hart! My name is Sherwin Riga. I was part of this mission to kidnap your father, but I never wanted to kill him or you! When I saw the others kill your father and then try to kill you, I had to kill them to save you!”

“Oh er… err thank you. Thank you! But but- why?”

“Why did I save you? Why do you think I saved you Mr Hart? I have so many unanswered questions that need answers!”

“Wh-what?” Adam said, but before he could muster up a response the crazed man had already produced an A4 journal that seemed to be filled to the brim.

“Who will be the new head coach at Tranmere now that Kabongo has been murdered by pirate?”

“Er-

“How is Zenit getting on? Who is their new manager? Are you still a scout for them?”

“Er-

“Who was new York City manager after your father left? How is Oxford doing after they sacked Kabongo? Who did they replace him with?

“Er I don-

“Now that your father is dead will you still be going back to 2016? If you go back, does this mean you will go back to the original time-line of the FM15 game that PaulHartman71 was playing, because that would mean PaulHartman71 playing another save game on FM15 again, or is this whole convoluted back-story thing a prelude to his FM17 save game, in which case this weird crazy time travel thing doesn’t really make sense in the canon of the story as it would mean you were going back to a new timeline where your father never existed, even though he was managing Borussia Dortmund in 2016 in the real timeline that we are in right now? Why all the different timelines? What do you think this is, ****ing X-Men?”

“I don’t know what-

“If this is a prelude to PaulHartman71’s FM17 save game what will you be doing in this new save game? Will you be doing another A-Z career, maybe start at small clubs this time? Or maybe Z-A this time? Also what about the other various plot-holes that you would have to deal with if you really went back in time? How would you get manager’s job if nobody knew who you was? How would you have money or be able to get qualifications? How would you get passport, bank account etc without sufficient documents to prove when you were born and such forth?”

All of a sudden, there was yet another deafening gunshot and in an instance, the man asking all of the questions dropped to the floor in a heap.

“I thought he’d never shut up” gasped a voice that Adam recognized instantly.

“Dad! You survived!” he shouted in shock as he looked over to see his father, who was still on the floor. It was only then that Adam noticed just how blood soaked Sir Paul’s body really was.

“Yes, son…but I’m as good as dead. I don’t have long left…”

“Come with me! I’ll take the time machine to the future, they’ll be able to fix you up. Then we can go back to 2016 like you said!”

 ...

 

“No, son. My time is over. I had a good run. But it’s not too late for you. You can go back in time, carve your own managerial legacy”

“But how? I’m no manager. I was barely even a player!”

“I believe in you, son. Pat believed in you too. You have my blood. You can do it, I know you can. Just promise me one thing…”

“Anything”

“Learn from my mistakes. The A-Z journey. I restricted myself so much. Do you know how many times I got offered the Real Madrid job but had to turn it down? Don’t do what I did. When opportunity presents itself, you should never say no…” and with that, Sir Paul Hart breathed for the very last time… as he died in his son’s arms.

Edited November 8, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

The idea of this save is that Adam, not being the smartest or most intelligent man in the world, has interpreted his father's dying wish slightly incorrectly. He has taken the words "you should never say no" a bit too seriously. 

In this save, whenever I am offered a job*, by any club or nation, I must accept it and take it straight away. 

This should lead to quite the interesting career - and who knows whether I can actually progress up the leagues or build my reputation up by constantly taking on new challenges. Perhaps I will be just about to win promotion with a club and then get offered a job by another club who are well off the playoff places - I'd have to accept it. Perhaps I will be a few weeks away from a Champions League or World Cup final and get offered a job by a club in a relegation battle - I'd have to accept it. Perhaps I will be offered the Tottenham job - I'd have to accept it

I will be starting the game unemployed with Sunday League reputation and no qualifications. The lowest league I have loaded is the English 9th tier set-up, so I expect to take a job of some sort at County level first and (hopefully) work my way up.

If I am ever sacked I will wait 365 days to be offered a job, if I do not get offered a job after that time then I will start applying for jobs at random until I get one. I think this should only be a problem if I'm sacked early on in my career though. 

* - You don't actually get offered jobs anymore, rather you get offered an interview. Whenever I am offered an interview I will take it and do my best to pass the interview and get the job. If I am offered multiple jobs on the same day I will use a random number generator to decide which one to go to.

 

 

Game Set-Up:

England (down to the English County Leagues - 9th tier), Scotland (down to League 2), N.Ireland (down to Premier Intermediate), Wales (Premier League), France (down to National), Germany (down to 3rd Division), Holland (down to Jupiler League), Italy (down to Serie C), Portugal (down to Championship), Spain (down to 2nd Division B), Turkey (down to 2. League). 

My Laptop can't really handle much more than that, but to try and include as much variety as possible, each season I will add a completely random playable league (it will only last for 1 year if I don't get offered a job there, if not, a new one will be added), so there will always be the small chance I could head off absolutely anywhere. 

[PaulHartman71]

Meet Adam in FM17 form:

 

 

 

 

Those clothes were fashionable in the time period Adam just came from...probably.

[BoxToBox]

Interesting idea for a save.

[PaulHartman71]

The big question then was where to start?

In theory I only get the chance to pick one club (and hope they give me an interview and the job!) to manage in this entire save, so I thought I better make it count. 

There was a hell of a lot of low level jobs available, with many possibilities to choose from. 

 

Abbey Rangers or Ashford United as a nod to the A-Z? 

Biggleswade United for the Balague connection? 

FC Romania for something a bit different?

Leicester Nirvana for the cool name? 

Moneyfields for the money themed puns? 

Stansted for the great transport links? 

 

These were all fine options. There were plenty plenty more...but one club stood out more than the others.

 

Adam Hart was born in Ipswich. He came through the Ipswich Town Academy. His dad completed a magnificent Premier League and FA Cup double with Ipswich. 

 

So Adam Hart, begins his managerial career...in Ipswich!

 

 

 

[ITFC_Blue]

Ipswich! My place of birth and where I currently still live. Have a Town season ticket as well. Really looking forward to this story, good luck!

[PaulHartman71]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The board are aiming for a top half finish this season, with the media predicting us to finish 10th (which would be top half in this 21 team division). 

 

They've given me a £220 p/w contract, not bad for a first job this low down, fingers crossed we can meet the board's expectations this season! 

 

I haven't been given a huge amount of a wage budget, so aside from the odd free signing, it looks like we may have to get some loan players in to give us a good squad to compete in this division. 

 

My first match in charge will be an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round match at home to Hollands & Blair - they're a side from the Southern East Counties League PL, which is the same level as us, so I'm expecting something of a competitive match. 

Edited November 9, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

Let's introduce you to my wonderful Ipswich Wanderers side, including the transfers I have made this summer so far.

 

 
 

John Wescott is a 37 year old winger, who his something of a journeyman, having spent the last 15 years milling around the lower leagues for clubs like Horsham, Tonbridge and Redhill. Matt Cunnington is a 21 year old right back, who can also cover at left back, he's recently been released by AFC Wimbledon and was a great pickup for a club like us. Michael Hilton is a 26 year old keeper who has been with various non league clubs over the years, but never seems to have been given a shot at first team football - he will get that with us and let's hope he does well. Tevahn Tyrell is a 17 year old Bermudan striker who joins us on loan from Ilkeston, we have also signed Matty Kingston on loan from Clethorpes - Kingston is a 21 year old left winger who can hopefully provide a whole host of assists this season. 

Other key players who were already in the squad include: Paul Duffy, who is a 20 year old CAM/ST; John Maher, who is a solid CB who can also fill in at either full back position and 17 year old left winger, Lewis Chapple, who can also play at CAM or CM, it is the latter where he will most likely end up playing. 

 

I've gone for a simple 4-4-2 tactic as I don't want to over-complicate things at too low a division. We'll see how it goes 

[Wavelberry]

Where's my money you *****?

 

 

 

 

Nah, not really. Love the idea for the save. Should be a good 'un.

[deltablue]

Looks a lot like Freddy from Scooby Doo

[PaulHartman71]

2 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Looks a lot like Freddy from Scooby Doo

 

He's actually molded on Russell Howard after the FM facial software didn't like the regen photo of Adam from FM15

[PaulHartman71]

The scene was set. I was up and ready to start my first ever match in this save. 159 paying fans (all home fans, no away fans traveled) had forked out to watch our first home game of the season, an FA Cup Extra Prelim match with Hollands & Blair. I get ready to start the match and...

 

 

 

Well... you can't fault his honesty

Edited November 9, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

 

Wow! What a start to Adam's managerial career! I went in quite worried and expecting a really close match, but we absolutely trounced them and looked like we were playing a side 1 or 2 tiers below us. Perhaps this lower league stuff isn't so hard after all?

[Maw74]

Quote

“FOR MONEY! POWER! GLORY!” shouted an excited figure.

“That’s right Maw, that’s right. LET’S DO THIS!!!”

This should be interesting.

Good Luck!

[PaulHartman71]

August

 

Following our 5-0 win over Hollands & Blair, I got an email informing me that the season ticket purchases for the season were in...

 

 

Fair play to the 5 ultra loyal fans we have

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised that the club have coughed up £600 to let me go on a coaching course to try and get a National C Licence. Thanks lads! 

 

 

We were drawn away in the next round of the FA Cup to Eccleshill, who are actually in the Northern Counties East Division 1, which is 1 tier lower than we are, so to lose 3-1 was pretty poor really. We did have a league game 3 days before in mid-week, but even so, we really could've done with getting past them and getting a bit more money from the FA Cup. 

 

 

We've had a very positive start to the league. In my first league match of my managerial career, we beat Godmanchester 3-0 in front of a capacity crowd of 37 people. We then traveled to Gorleston and came out on top of a ding-dong battle, with a 4-3 win, we had 2 away fans make the trip and I bet they had an absolutely cracking time! Following that we put in a pitiful performance against Thetford, as we lost 4-1 to The Brecklanders. Just 1 of our fans made the trip to the sunny seaside in Great Yarmouth, what a time they would've had as we pulled off a hard fought 1-0 win, through a Paul Duffy strike. 

 

 

We currently sit in 10th place, but we do have 1 or in a few cases, 2 games in hand on the sides above us. Only 1 team gets promoted from this division so it will be a hard fought race for the title, I don't expect us to be in the race, but it certainly looks like Clacton and Felixstowe could be up there.

 

[Deisler26]

I loved the backstory. Along with the DodgeeD reference.

[deltablue]

4 hours ago, PaulHartman71 said:

 

He's actually molded on Russell Howard after the FM facial software didn't like the regen photo of Adam from FM15

I don't quite see it, which is a shame because my own avatar looks surprisingly accurate.

[PaulHartman71]

September

 

 

We kicked off our FA Vase campaign with a 3-1 win at Arundel, with Paul Duffy grabbing a brace and Tevahn Tyrell getting on the score-sheet too. I thought I recognized Arundel at first, but I think I just know the name from it being the same or similar name that Frozen is set

 

 

We started the month off with a positive 2-1 away win at Brantham, before struggling to a 1-1 draw in-front of 45 members of the Wanderers faithful. We did manage to go to Long Melford and pick up a big 4-2 win, which was really great to see as we came from 2-1 down to get that result. We also picked up a good 3-0 win against Mildenhall, who at the time were top of the table, so we leapfrogged them to go top ourselves. We ended the month with a bit of a disappointment, as we lost 3-1 at home to Felixstowe.

 

 

All in all I can't really complain too much as we end September top of the league!!

[Carninho]

I love this new idea. I'd never do it in a million years, but I look forward to reading how it goes

[The Silence Of The Allams]

Enjoyed the previous thread and this looks like a great idea so far. 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Going well so far Sam.

[PaulHartman71]

October

 

 

We managed to progress in the FA Vase, we faced Hartley Wintney who are a side on the same level as us, so not an easy tie. I wasn't too pleased it went to a replay, but we at least made sure we won it, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. 

 

 

We had just two games this month in the league, we lost both of them. Neither of them were particularly easy games as they were both away against reasonably decent sides, but that now makes it 3 losses in a row in the league, which is never a good sign. 

 

 

We've dropped from 1st to 7th, with the league as wide open as it is, this is quite worrying given our form. At the top of the table, Hadleigh are, for now, the kings of the castle. 

 

Shout out to anyone who gets that reference, extra bonus points for anyone who has had a jolly up camping there as a teenager too  

[PaulHartman71]

November

 

 

Another replay in the FA Vase, yet again we managed to win in the return match. I was very pleased with how much ease we put Ashington away, it was a really good display. 

 

 

Just two league games again this month, with slightly better results this time. A pleasing  victory at home to Safron Walden and a decent display away to Hadleigh, especially given their early season form. 

 

 

We remain in 7th place, we do have a game in hand on a few of the teams above and below us though, so we're looking a bit better than last month.

[PaulHartman71]

December

 

 

From what I gather Consett are a side roughly of the same sort of standings as us in the County Leagues, so to lose to them away isn't a terrible loss. 

 

 

 

A busy month with pretty mixed results. A few good wins against Stanway and Ely, some hard fought draws against Walsham, Fakenham and Newmarket, but also two disappointing losses against Wivenhoe and Haverhill. 

 

 

We end 2016 lingering in 8th place. Plenty of time for us to rise back up, but also plenty of time for us to drop down. 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 09/11/2016 at 13:59, PaulHartman71 said:

John Wescott is a 37 year old winger, who his something of a journeyman,

He actually looks decent, but I think he is one poorly timed challenge away from a zimmer frame. 

[PaulHartman71]

58 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

He actually looks decent, but I think he is one poorly timed challenge away from a zimmer frame. 

 

He's actually done pretty well and has been one of the most regularly featured players so far! 

 

 

I'm pleased to have gained my National C Licence so early into my career. I thought I'd be cheeky and ask them to start the next coaching course but they said no  

Edited November 13, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

January

 

 

A big 3-0 victory against Long Melford in the Eastern Counties League Cup. This puts us into the Semi Final! 

 

 

An unbeaten month in the league, which included a decent away victory to Thetford. We did struggle against Great Yarmouth and Gorleston though. 

Edited November 14, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[Nobby_McDonald]

Still in touch Paul.

[PaulHartman71]

February

 

 

Delighted to have made the final of the Eastern Counties League Cup. We came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 and book our place in the final, which will take place next month - with Fakenham to be our opponents. 

 

 

We were really inconsistent in the league this month. 3 wins. 3 losses. We were actually 2-1 up against Felixstowe at one point, which meant the loss against the now top of the table side was hard to take. We did bounce back from it to beat both Swaffham and Brantham, but then lost to Long Melford at home, which considering they're flirting with relegation, is really not great. 

 

 

With 10 games to go we are in 6th place, although it is very very tight below us. 

 

[PaulHartman71]

We've recently had our Youth Intake. Whilst I have no idea how long I'll be here and whether or not I'll be able to see through his development, we have got a decent player come through in Simon Read. He does have some very noticeable flaws in his poor passing, off the ball and composure, as well as his awful lack of determination, but he does have promising stats in his teamwork, flair, aggression, decisions and natural fitness. He's certainly a bit rough around the edges but I think he's a decent player at this level already and could go on to be a real star of the County Leagues in the future.

[PaulHartman71]

March

 

 

A really mediocre month in the league. Just 1 win from 6, with 3 draws and 2 losses too. I was really put out by the 3-0 loss to Fakenham, since we had them in the Eastern Counties League Cup final at the end of the month. 

 

 

We're now down to 10th in the league, with just 4 games remaining. The board wanted top half so 10th should be okay, but I'd like to get higher if we can. 

 

 

 

An unbelievable game. Went 1-0 down quite early on in the first half and it looked like they might tonk us again. But they had a player stupidly sent off on the half hour mark, which put us right back in it. Even with the extra man advantage it looked like we weren't going to get back into the game, I had us an all out attack desperately trying to get back into it, which paid off when Paul Duffy equalised with an unbelievable 35 yard rocket right at the death on the 89th minute. I really didn't want it to go to penalties and Tevahn Tyrell's 108th minute strike meant that it didn't. My first trophy as a manager in my first season!  

 

 

[PaulHartman71]

April

 

 

A relatively strong end to the season, which saw us win twice and draw twice. 

 

 

We end the season in 8th place, which is the top half finish that the board wanted. It is also Ipswich Wanderer's highest ever season, as before this the best they'd done was 15th. 

[PaulHartman71]

Season 1: Ipswich Wanderers

 

 

 

I'm overall quite pleased with how this season has gone for us. The board expected to finish in the top half of the table, which we did. We could have gone further in the FA Cup, as well as the FA Vase, but having won the Eastern Counties League Cup I'm very pleased with our performances in the cups overall too. 

 

Squad pt 1, pt 2

 

The squad has quite a few good players for this division in it. Our strikeforce of Paul Duffy and loanee Tevahn Tyrell was the highlight of the season, with the pair of them netting 25 and 26 goals each, with both also getting a reasonable amount of assists, with 16 and 15 each. Tyrell actually ended up with the most assists in the entire league. John Maher was a very solid defender this season and I'm really hoping we can hang onto him for next season. 37 year old right winger, John Wescott, also did well this season with 8 assists and 12 goals (albeit 6 penalties) to his name.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season     Club                 Division                          Position      Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17    Ipswich Wanderers    Eastern Counties Premier League    8th          Eastern Counties League Cup Winners
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Trophy Cabinet

Eastern Counties League Cup  x1 - 2016/17 (Ipswich Wanderers) 

 

Edited November 16, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

Despite winning the Eastern Counties League Cup, which had them very pleased, the board actually dragged out offering me a new deal for quite some time. It was only a week after the end of the season that they finally offered me a new contract. 

 

 

I'll be on the same wage as before, with another 1 year contract - could do with a bit more job security, but can't complain I guess! 

I'm not sure if this new contract will put off any other sides offering me the job over the summer, we shall have to wait and see. I have already been linked with both the Basildon and the Barking job, so watch this space...

[nie jem frytek]

I've just read opening post and now I'm wondering whether the part about FRYING was purely coincidental or not.

[Keano16]

Following! Didn't see you're last career but man that intro was amazing! Guess I'll be Keano,

Bit of an inconsistent season but there were some positives for sure. 

[PaulHartman71]

I've navigated through pre-season without any job offers, which means I will at least get to start another season with Ipswich Wanderers. I'm quite pleased really as I'm hoping to build upon the reasonably successful season we just had. We've got a decent core squad and I will now have the chance to clear out some dead wood, which will give me some wage budget to get a few more players in. I've failed to get Tevahn Tyrell on loan again this season, he'll be a loss for sure, but hopefully I can get another striker in to score just as many goals.

 

 

Very encouraging signs at the club!   

 

Edited November 16, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

Summer Transfers

 

 

A fair few incoming signings this summer. 

 

Danny Smy has signed from Felixstowe with the intention of being our replacement for Tevahn Tyrell. Ben Payne is a new central defender who will slot straight into the first team.  Ryan Quirke is a reasonable winger who can also slot in at central midfield if needed. Richard Greenfield is a right winger mainly signed as backup. Matt Lench is a central midfielder who should see a whole load of first team action this season. Stephen McDaid is another decent winger who will add depth and challenge for a first team slot. Charles Stone is a versatile winger who will mainly be used as back up. Lee Robson is another striker, he's been brought in on loan to add competition and it also helps that he's a real leader too. Mark Knee is a left back brought in as back-up, with Alex Dale being a defender capable of playing anywhere and thus also adds even more backup. Casey Logan is a young striker who will add backup to the attacking side of the team. 

[PaulHartman71]

August

 

 

We got our season off to a pretty terrible start. We faced Verwood in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. The home leg was a dull affair and a bore draw, which meant we had to suffer a replay at their place 3 days later. It started really well when Lee Robson put us up within 2 minutes, but they equalised in the second half and took it to extra-time. They went 2-1 up in the first half of extra-time, and for a very long time it didn't look like we'd get back in it. But a minute from time, Lee Robson popped up once again with an important equaliser to take it to the dreaded penalties. We lost 5-4 and went out. A really gutting way to go out of a competition we could've done with going further in for the financial benefits (and for the fans ) 

 

 

We've not started too badly in the league though, with a 1-0 home win against Wivenhoe, followed by a 4-1 beating of Tower Hamlets, and then a 1-1 draw against Saffron Walden. 

 

 

The table doesn't say too much yet due to so many teams having played a different amount of games. Walsham-le-Willows have had a good start though. 

[PaulHartman71]

September

 

 

We entered the FA Vase this month and after annoying taking it an away replay, Paul Duffy came up with the goods to put us through. 

 

 

We started the month in the league incredibly well, with a 3-0 away win over the then league leaders, Walsham-le-Willows. Unfortunately, Paul Duffy got injured in this match and his absence proved just how invaluable he is to us. We lost all of our next three matches 1-0, only managing to end this run with a 0-0 draw at Mildenhall, which meant we went 4 games without scoring! Paul Duffy thankfully returned at the end of the month and his brace saw us return to winning ways against Brantham. 

 

 

I'm actually pleasantly surprised we've managed to stay as high as 7th after that horrific lapse in form. 

[PaulHartman71]

October

 

 

Paul Duffy put in another match winning performance to secure our place in the 2nd Round of the FA Vase. 

 

 

It was his striker-partner, Lee Robson, who found the match winning goal to put us through in the Eastern Counties League Cup. Fingers crossed we can retain our title! 

 

 

We didn't have many matches in the league this month. The Thetford game was disgraceful. We were 3-0 up on the 70th minute, yet we somehow managed to blow it and only end up with a point. I was tearing my hair out. We then lost 3-1 to Stanway after taking an early 1-0 lead to cap off a pretty terrible month in the league at least. 

 

 

We're now down to 11th place. We really need to pick up our form and quickly because this division is very tight. 

[PaulHartman71]

November

 

 

A poor performance saw Pickering put us out of the FA Vase. 

 

 

A bore draw at Gorleston continued our fairly dismal form. 

 

 

 

 

This was a really annoying match, as we went into half-time 2-0 up at Yarmouth. They clawed back into the game though and took it to penalties, where we lost and were subsequently eliminated from the Eastern Counties League Cup. 

Funnily enough, for reasons that will soon become apparent, that actually ended up being my final match as Ipswich Wanderers manager. I'm not sure if I was pleased or not to be leaving, we were in a bad run and didn't look like the side we were last season, but I believed we could turn it around and at least equal what I did last season. But I guess we will never know...

Edited November 17, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

Overall I did quite enjoy my time at Ipswich Wanderers. I had a much better time of it in my first season, which of course included the Eastern Counties League Cup win, which will forever be my first trophy. Tevahn Tyrell and Paul Duffy's strike partnership is probably what I will most remember about my time with the side, but the likes of John Westcott, Josh Capocci and John Maher played important roles too. I wish the club well in the future and I feel bad having left them just as I've eliminated them from every cup competition available to them   

 

Career History

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season     Club                 Division                          Position      Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17    Ipswich Wanderers    Eastern Counties Premier League     8th         Eastern Counties League Cup Winners
2017/18    Ipswich Wanderers    Eastern Counties Premier League    11th         Left in November
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Trophy Cabinet

Eastern Counties League Cup  x1 - 2016/17 (Ipswich Wanderers) 

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[PaulHartman71]

So, where am I off to now? 

Did that Eastern Counties League Cup win make a team in the Regional First Divisions take notice and bring me up to the 8th tier? Perhaps even a team in the Regional Premier Leagues thought they'd take a chance on me? 

Well, err, not quite...

 

 

Coventry Sphinx, a fellow 9th tier side, of the Midland Football Premier League, have decided that I'd be the perfect man to hire. 

 

 

The cheeky bastards have offered me a one year contract (which in reality is more like a 7 month contract) and I'm earning £40 a week less than I was at Ipswich Wanderers, with the added insult to injury of having to live in Coventry! 

 

Here goes nothing...

[PaulHartman71]

 

 

A sideways move on the map and believe me it is very much a sideways move in every other aspect. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They currently sit in 12th place, which further demonstrates how much of a sideways step this is. Their previous manager was sacked though, which indicates that they'd probably like to be doing a bit better than they are currently doing. In a bit of a coincidence, they finished 8th last season, just like I did at Ipswich, so it seems an upper midtable finish is what they're after. They surely won't be happy to see their fierce rivals, Coventry United, top of the table either. 

 

 

My predecessor did a good job of eliminating them from every cup competition, which means I won't have to worry about getting eliminated from them myself

Edited November 17, 2016 by PaulHartman71

[Nobby_McDonald]

Let's see if you get to play Coventry City in the league in future years.

[andychar]

....erm....well...erm....at least the ground sells Carling

[PaulHartman71]

Nov in Cov

 

Not too much to report this month as there were no matches after I arrived. I will instead give a brief squad summary.

 

George West is my main hope, he's a young striker on loan from Stockport County, whilst he only has 5 goals in 15 games so far, I believe he can do better than that and take us up the table. Akeal Rehman in midfield is another highlight, with Tom O'Regan less of a standout and more the best of a bad bunch. I do have a bit of a wage budget so I'll be looking to bring in a few decent players on free transfer sooner rather than later.

[PaulHartman71]

December

 

 

It's certainly been an interesting start to life in Coventry.

In my first game we were 2-0 up away to Sporting Khalsa at half-time, before eventually blowing the lead and gifting them a point. We then faced Wulfranians at home, not a great side, and a side that I expected to at least draw with - so you can imagine my disappointment when we lost it 2-0 without getting much of a look in. We then had Boldmere, who for all intensive purposes, look a decent side based on their points total - but after a massive ding-dong battle we managed to secure a heroic 4-3 win, with George West grabbing a last gasp winner. 

Shepshed was up next and we lost 4-1 to the side who are currently top of the league. Tividale are currently upper mid-table so I didn't expect to win there, but we managed to win 3-2 and were even leading 3-0 at one point. Kimberley Miners Welfare were next on our list, they're one of the worst sides in the league so I expected a win, we did secure that win but only after surrendering a 2-0 lead before eventually grabbing another last gasp winner to sneak all 3 points. We ended the month with a 1-0 loss to 3rd place Westfields. 

 

 

All in all not a terrible first month in charge, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. The board seem happy with mid-table but would also like it a bit if we were to finish upper mid-table. The table is incredibly tight, perhaps even tighter than in the Eastern Counties, so every point and every win is extremely important in the coming months.

 

Unfortunately, this won't help things...

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by PaulHartman71