[FM18] I never realised that to become a jockey you needed to be a horse first!

[smp20]

I never realised that to become a jockey you needed to be a horse first!

A quote from the legendary Arrigo Sacchi no less, a hero of mine. It stems from him being questioned about whether he could manage a professional side having never played the game above amateur level. Something that myself and Sacchi have in common; you can add Carlos Alberto Parreira (World Cup winning manager), Bill Struth (Scotland's first treble winner), Avram Grant (Champions League finalist) and Andre Vilas-Boas to that list too. Playing local youth football and Sunday League football counts as amateur, right?

This career aims to emulate a realistic pathway within my real life experience and abilities. I do have a head-start in the fact that I actually have real life coaching experience and qualifications. My playing ability may be a hindrance when starting a career in English Men's football, so I am aiming to start abroad in unfamiliar footballing territories to build a reputation in the hope that my CV will win over those in my home country. Armed with a sought after English Teaching qualification, I will be able to gain a VISA as a teacher and coach amateur and semi-pro sides abroad. Well, that's the plan.

Experience

• 2006-2009 Junior Coach for Tier 9 Club
• 2009-2012 U18 and Junior Coach for Tier 5 Club
• 2011-2013 Junior Coach for Tier 2 Club
• 2013-2015 Junior Coach for Tier 4 Club
• 2016 Assistant Manager / First Team Coach for Tier 10 Club

Qualifications

• UEFA B Coaching Licence
• Sports Coaching Degree
• CELTA (English Teaching)

Manager Profile

So here I am, in all my glory. as realistic as I feel I could set myself within the parameters. The attributes you can't see are Technical (3), Mental (7) and Working with Youngsters (16).

Loaded Nations

A long list of nations, complete with the majority of South-East Asia and a host of English Speaking countries such as New Zealand, USA, Australia where football isn't the number one sport. Here we go!

 

[BoxToBox]

This should be a lot of fun, best of luck, not that you'll need it!

[smp20]

First Managerial Job: Football Federation Cambodia Academy

I looked through numerous vacancies across Southeast Asia and two stood out for me as good starting points. FFC Academy (U19s) of the Cambodian Second League and Northern Mariana Islands U18s of their top flight. I applied for both jobs and hopped on a flight to Cambodia, via Guangzhou, full of optimism. Thankfully the job interview for both jobs came through just a couple of days after I landed in Phnom Penh. I attended the FFCA interview in person while having the NMI u18 one via skype in the same afternoon. I had pretty much already made my decision of where I preferred to go and luckily I was offered the role at both clubs. I delayed the job offer while I sought a teaching job and therefore a longer VISA, and fortunately I found a nice school in Phnom Penh. Business VISAs are only 6 months in Cambodia, so I may need to visit here a few times (they weren't too fussed about renting me a motorbike without a licence either):

FFC Academy at first glance

I'm not starting with much here, but as a first job I wasn't expecting much. We're an u19s club set up by the Federation so it will be all about developing youngsters that can move on to a higher level of football. Sam Veasna is labelled as our key player and I suppose he isn't terrible. We're rock bottom of the 2nd tier with just two games left to play. Our first game isn't for another 45 days so I'm going on a mini-holiday, just for a week, to have a look round Cambodia and adjust to my new culture. Before I do so, I'm putting out some job adverts and the only staff here are the Manager and Chairman! I think the minimal facilities might be a bit harsh by the way:

Doesn't look so bad to me! 4 pitches, including one artificial. I'm living in the capital Phnom Penh, just a short walk from the school I'm working at and an hour motorbike ride away from the football ground.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Looking forward to seeing how this goes.

[Galeg]

I'll be following this.

[Sheriff7]

Good luck....

[noikeee]

So how does this work, are you actually limited by the game to hiring U19s at most? Or will you try to enforce that yourself? Or just not care about the age thing. 

Good luck.

[BoxToBox]

6 minutes ago, noikeee said:

So how does this work, are you actually limited by the game to hiring U19s at most? Or will you try to enforce that yourself? Or just not care about the age thing. 

Good luck.

If it's listed on that Transfers Policy panel, it'll be locked by the game, like Athletic Club's Basques and Chivas' Mexicans.

[noikeee]

Just now, BoxToBox said:

If it's listed on that Transfers Policy panel, it'll be locked by the game, like Athletic Club's Basques and Chivas' Mexicans.

Yeah I've seen that before as in the Belarrussian 2nd division you get that too, only allowed to hire Belarrussians.

A relevant thing to mention as of course everyone has played in the Belarrussian 2nd division and can relate. 

[BoxToBox]

6 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Yeah I've seen that before as in the Belarrussian 2nd division you get that too, only allowed to hire Belarrussians.

A relevant thing to mention as of course everyone has played in the Belarrussian 2nd division and can relate. 

Only didn't mention it as I thought it went without saying.

[smp20]

18 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

This should be a lot of fun, best of luck, not that you'll need it!

 

18 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Looking forward to seeing how this goes.

 

16 hours ago, Galeg said:

I'll be following this.

 

16 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

Good luck....

Cheers guys

[smp20]

15 hours ago, noikeee said:

So how does this work, are you actually limited by the game to hiring U19s at most? Or will you try to enforce that yourself? Or just not care about the age thing. 

Good luck.

 

15 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

If it's listed on that Transfers Policy panel, it'll be locked by the game, like Athletic Club's Basques and Chivas' Mexicans.

 

15 hours ago, noikeee said:

Yeah I've seen that before as in the Belarrussian 2nd division you get that too, only allowed to hire Belarrussians.

A relevant thing to mention as of course everyone has played in the Belarrussian 2nd division and can relate. 

Yes it's in the transfers policy panel and I am duly reminded every time I attempt to sign an oldie or a foreigner

Even I haven't managed in the Belarussian second division

[andychar]

This should be a lot of fun. Good luck!

[noikeee]

18 minutes ago, smp20 said:

 

 

Yes it's in the transfers policy panel and I am duly reminded every time I attempt to sign an oldie or a foreigner

Even I haven't managed in the Belarussian second division

I'm just surprised that's locked in, because Cambodia's an edited league, right? So either SI locked that for an unplayable side, or whoever edited in the league (Claassen?) took the time to set that up. I'm impressed either way. 

[smp20]

14 minutes ago, noikeee said:

I'm just surprised that's locked in, because Cambodia's an edited league, right? So either SI locked that for an unplayable side, or whoever edited in the league (Claassen?) took the time to set that up. I'm impressed either way. 

I think the team had to be added in to the database by @claassen so he must have added it. Impressive level of detail!

[smp20]

2 hours ago, andychar said:

This should be a lot of fun. Good luck!

Cheers Andy

[smp20]

Staff

My first task as manager was to bring in my own backroom staff. After the chairman failed to find any suitable staff for us in his search I decided to put a few adverts in shop windows and in the newspapers. Some of my school students helped me with the Khmer version, which I'm sure was a bit ropey, but it got the message across and I had a few phone calls. 6/7 people applied for each position apart from the assistant role with just 2. Although none with any great quality,  or any coaching experience, they seemed a willing bunch. It's my job to guide them and ensure they get a few qualifications along the way.

Team

Once we'd got a few staff members in I had people to bounce opinions back off. This is how my assistant saw the squad, rating our keeper among the best:

Results

Here are the results this season. Not great huh? The highlighted ones are where I came in. 4 friendlies without a win, but a win and a draw in the league. I think that's pretty good going considering what I to work with and having no knowledge of the other teams.

Table

Despite the 4 points we picked up, we still finished rock bottom of the league. Role on next season!

Tactics

We're keeping it very simple. I want to play positive, attacking football allowing a bit of freedom and a short passing game to help develop these youngsters into more rounded footballers. Only player instructions are for the keeper to roll it out to the full backs and shoot less for outfield players.

Youth Intake

The chairman showing a bit of a split personality allowing a recruitment upgrade but not junior coaching. The request was made after our two competitive matches...

A reasonable intake, but hardly a golden generation. Om Vesna looks like a decent keeper while Chan Heang is the best of the outfield players, albeit a slow full-back. Unlike a normal intake, this group went straight into the first team on amateur contracts rather than trials.

What Next?

We've got a long, long time until the new season so I will be spending my time working with the scouts to find some good U18 'talent' across Cambodia. Hopefully we can build a competitive side for next season. Note to self; renew my VISA in January!

 

[smp20]

17 players in, which means i need to have a full squad review and a significant cull!

[smp20]

Erm, oh dear. That really wasn't what I wanted...After declaring interest in the Australian Academy equivalent (and being laughed off by the way) I had the following conversation with the chairman.

Maybe not the best approach to take considering the chairman had already been icy with me when I went in for requests.

I've gained an enemy, a new favourite formation and an unbeaten record in 5 months of management...shame it was just two games.

[BoxToBox]

"Has not spoken directly to any of his players recently."

I guess it didn't go much further than "Allo lads... bye lads!"

[smp20]

10 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

"Has not spoken directly to any of his players recently."

I guess it didn't go much further than "Allo lads... bye lads!"

Pretty much - the players didn't really seem to have much to say at training. Must have been the language barrier 

[smp20]

A month in the wilderness and I'm back in a job. From Cambodia to Guam to take over a side who are sitting behind their reserve team in the league...Let's hope I'm around for longer here! I'm here on a 90 day VISA waiver so let's hope I get off to a good start.

 

[pezza96]

Beercelona

[mjaferrie]

Some amazing team names in that league  

Are Strykers II your B team?  Weird that they're in the same league.

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

Who thought that it'd be cooler to name the club Strykers as opposed to Strikers?

EDIT: Read the rest of the teams, because I'm more confused I'm no longer confused.

[Mikado911]

Waouh, the Guam league is amazing. Sidekicks ?!?

 

By the way, what kind of job did you talked about to get fired?

[Muttley84]

That moment when the second team is higher in the table...

[akura]

Some amazing  team names there, "Anderson bombers", "family" and let's not forget "disasters". 

[danmcconnell1]

Beercelona, my new 5-a-side football team name. Brilliant!

[tajj7]

I hope Quality Distributors are good at passing 

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

1 hour ago, tajj7 said:

I hope Quality Distributors are good at passing 

Well Beercelona keeps their finances healthy

[ITFC_Blue]

Born in Ipswich, my hometown!

Good luck in Guam! 

[smp20]

18 hours ago, pezza96 said:

Beercelona

16 hours ago, mjaferrie said:

Some amazing team names in that league  

Are Strykers II your B team?  Weird that they're in the same league.

There certainly are! And yes they are my B team which I have control over too. In Guam there's just one 17 team

11 hours ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Who thought that it'd be cooler to name the club Strykers as opposed to Strikers?

EDIT: Read the rest of the teams, because I'm more confused I'm no longer confused.

Yup, it seems most of the team names were created whilst under the influence...

10 hours ago, Mikado911 said:

Waouh, the Guam league is amazing. Sidekicks ?!?

 

By the way, what kind of job did you talked about to get fired?

I declared my interest in the Football Federation of Australia Centre of Excellence (FFA COE), basically the Australian equivalent of the FFC Academy. It was a bad move, clearly. I was laughed off....

7 hours ago, Muttley84 said:

That moment when the second team is higher in the table...

Just, how???

6 hours ago, akura said:

Some amazing  team names there, "Anderson bombers", "family" and let's not forget "disasters". 

Anderson bombers from Anderson air base of course. The names are more akin to Sunday League pub football...

5 hours ago, danmcconnell1 said:

Beercelona, my new 5-a-side football team name. Brilliant!

...or your Friday night 5-a-side leagues

4 hours ago, tajj7 said:

I hope Quality Distributors are good at passing 

Yeah they should be top of the possession and pass completed charts you'd hope.

2 hours ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Well Beercelona keeps their finances healthy

Plenty of dutch courage and well lubricated players...

2 hours ago, ITFC_Blue said:

Born in Ipswich, my hometown!

Good luck in Guam! 

You'll be disappointed to know that I now live in Norfolk. Cheers  

[BoxToBox]

Bobcat Rovers is an underrated gem of a name.

[enigmatic]

You know you're managing at Sunday League level when your rivals are called Beercelona and Disasters. Think this one might be a step down from your actual Step 10 experience 

[smp20]

4 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

Bobcat Rovers is an underrated gem of a name.

Oh yes, overlooked for the more ridiculous ones....

4 hours ago, enigmatic said:

You know you're managing at Sunday League level when your rivals are called Beercelona and Disasters. Think this one might be a step down from your actual Step 10 experience 

 you may be right! I'd love to set up a friendly between Strykers and the club I coached last year.

[Rikulec]

What a great thread this could shape up to be. Best of luck with this.

On a side note, would you mind sharing some more detail about your coaching experience? This was the part that especially caught my attention now that I've recently completed my Grassroots C course and started coaching a U-13 side myself. Can be PM if you like.

[smp20]

Results

7 competitive games played, 7 competitive games won. I managed to win my first silverware as manager by winning the Guam FA Cup.

League Table

In the 3 games I had in charge we managed to leapfrog our 2nd team to save the embarrassment of finishing behind them in the league. 

Youth Intake

Justin Guerrero is a very exciting young player and made an instant impact in the first team. He was MOTM in his first two games.

Shenanigans

So, two days before the cup final, the team decided to come to me to say that I'd lost their support. All of them. The bastards. We're playing good football and we're winning games, what's your problem! I bit my lip and proceeded to manage the side in the cup final. We won, but still the players showed very poor managerial support. I don't need this rubbish as an unpaid coach. There's only one ending for this.

After winning seven games straight and winning the club's first silverware, I should have the support of my players. If they don't support me then, what on earth will they be like if we lost a game or two? Spineless bunch. I'm finding a new team and it certainly won't be on this island.

[smp20]

11 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

What a great thread this could shape up to be. Best of luck with this.

On a side note, would you mind sharing some more detail about your coaching experience? This was the part that especially caught my attention now that I've recently completed my Grassroots C course and started coaching a U-13 side myself. Can be PM if you like.

Cheers Rikulec and welcoming to the world of RL coaching. Great age to coach that! I will PM you

[BoxToBox]

Jesus!

[enigmatic]

tbh with 7 wins in 7 games as someone with probably more reputation than necessary to take the job, I'd file a bug report. Think they're judging you on the aptitude of your predecessor that was struggling to catch up with the reserve team

Then again, maybe your attempts at doing a team talk in Chamorro were just too cringeworthy. Or you just spent too much time on these beaches...

[smp20]

I had been offered another job in Guam, but I turned it down and also delayed a 3rd tier job in Singapore. Whilst in Singapore I applied for the Young Lions and I was very surprised to be offered the job! This is a big step up from my previous two roles. Young Lions were setup by the Singapore FA to give their promising U23s top flight football. In this way, it is very similar to FFC Academy. I aim to develop as many players through the club that go on to represent Singapore.

We're only expected to finish bottom of the league and there's no relegation. So this season is a safe one to experiment and adapt to football and life in Singapore.

[BoxToBox]

Nice step up!

[The_Gato_In_Goal]

Young Lions may be a step up, but they're certainly not Quality Distributors or Beercelona levels.

[smp20]

45 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

Jesus!

Yup... 

39 minutes ago, enigmatic said:

tbh with 7 wins in 7 games as someone with probably more reputation than necessary to take the job, I'd file a bug report. Think they're judging you on the aptitude of your predecessor that was struggling to catch up with the reserve team

Then again, maybe your attempts at doing a team talk in Chamorro were just too cringeworthy. Or you just spent too much time on these beaches...

It might be the top one - seems pretty buggy to me! Though I'm going to convince myself that it's the second option - I said something deeply offensive in Chamorro by mistake and now they hate me no matter what. Oh I only coached 2 evenings a week so I had plenty of time to enjoy those beaches 

[smp20]

27 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

Nice step up!

Yeah I was surprised i got offered the job.

25 minutes ago, The_Gato_In_Goal said:

Young Lions may be a step up, but they're certainly not Quality Distributors or Beercelona levels.

Maybe one day I will return to Guam and merge the two clubs to create the ultimate Guamanian tiki-taka.

[mjaferrie]

Jobs 3, matches 7... By your 18th job you'll have managed a whole season!

[smp20]

11 minutes ago, mjaferrie said:

Jobs 3, matches 7... By your 18th job you'll have managed a whole season!

I'm hoping I will settle somewhere soon 

[smp20]

When your team haven't quite worked out how to play out from the back yet 

[Johnny-Trotter]

10 hours ago, smp20 said:

Maybe one day I will return to Guam and merge the two clubs to create the ultimate Guamanian tiki-taka.

Quality Beer Distributors? 

 

This is an enjoyable thread - lots of unknown unknowns taking place.