Pontus Fem

After two and a bit seasons undertaking my normal game style, I decided to try something different and add a truly amateur manager to my game and see what would happen. I loaded up a who host of new leagues to me, and waited to see what would come his way.

I decided to go with a Swedish manager called Pontus Fem. Pontus means “sea bridge”, which feels fitting for a man who will make a career of travelling the world, and “Fem” is Swedish for “five”. After a huge wait, I finally managed to get an interview and a job offer from…

South China Athletic Association of Hong Kong. Turns out they might just be of the most successful teams in Hong Kong having won the First Division 40 times in their history. It's been 12 years since the FA rearranged the top flight in Hong Kong, and South China haven't won the new iteration of the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League. We've won the Challenge Shield a record 30 times, and the FA Cup 10 times. But our aim is to do something that has never been done…win the AFC Champions League.

My first request is for the board to agree to fund a coaching badge for me. It's a hard no, and I'm too scared to argue in case it costs me a job I've waited months for. I have a one year contract, and I don't want to give the board any excuse to turn it into a ten minute deal. The club is a blank slate, as there are just two members of staff on the books…me, and the chairman. It's a squeeze in our joint office, but I'm hoping we'll get on well. I have just six days from starting at the club before our first league game, and a huge amount of work to do.

The first team squad is…a squad. I make my first addition in the form of Luke Mitchel on trial. Beyond that, I might need some investment.

Luckily for me, the chairman has given me a little bit of money to spend. £460k feels like a good budget for the league, and an extra £2.5k a week in wages to play with. 

Ideally, I need to hire a whole backroom staff, and sign a couple of decent players to ensure we mount a challenge for the league. Anything other than the title means no AFC Champions League football. That being said, a second or third placed finish would mean a go at the AFC Cup…and the challenge of adding both of the continental competitions on my way around the world is a little appealing. I plan on trying to ensure I use as many local players as possible, so let's see what happens. I immediately throw out job adverts for coaches, an assistant manager, scouts, physios, tea ladies, a dog…anyone I can get my hands on really. 

Thankfully, my first game in charge ends up being a 4-1 victory over North District FC (who are predicted to finish 11th out of 12 teams) gets us off to a good start. I'm not Guardiola, so I play safe with a formation I've used for over a decade in game (obviously the 4-2-3-1) and it works well enough.

I think I might make Au Man Lok the captain and sign him wherever I go, because it might just be the best name I've seen in game since Yaya Banana.

I complete Luke Mitchel on a free transfer, and he instantly becomes the best player at the club. A dual nationality player, holding both New Zealand and Hong Kong passports, so I'm happy enough to consider him one of our own already. 

He did demand a £34,500 release clause in his contract…so I am a little concerned about what might happen. But, future Fem can worry about that. Back to the drawing board, and back to focusing on building the club from nothing.

Fem, out (for now).

Challenge One - Staffing

As mentioned, I am currently the sole member of staff at the club. I'm running around sorting training, washing the kits, giving the players a rub down, and sorting the coach travel for the next game. It's a ghost town here.

The biggest issue I have is that trying to trawl through the transfer market is difficult because I can't filter my search by those who are unrealistic targets. I know not to approach a certain caliber of player, but I'm being rejected by almost everyone I look at. Even Hong Kong physios who are unemployed aren't interested. I'm beginning to wonder whether I need to change my toothpaste…

Throw in the other big issue around training and player development. Really I need to build the squad up, and without enough staff training is ineffective, and without a medical team injuries will be an issue.

Challenge Two - Youth Squad

I have no issue with the youth team here. That is to say, I have no issues as I have no players. I need to find time between now (late August 2026) and October 5th 2026 to add some quality to my first team AND try to find a few decent young prospects I can sign up to build a youth team up. All of a sudden that transfer budget feels like it might be a little tight. I'd originally planned on trying to put most of the budget into the wages, and sign up some free transfers. Instead, I'm going to have to free up wages from the squad by getting rid of deadwood (which always feels harder when you need to do it) and hope I can pull some bunnies our of the proverbial hat.

September Arrives

As the days roll into weeks, South China remains largely a lonely place. We win game two against Woofoo Tai Po thanks to a loan goal from Shiu Tsz Long midway through the first half, and find ourselves in third place. We are predicted to finish 8th in the league, and a 150-1 shot to win the title. Apparently, I'm not allowed to bet my entire transfer budget on us winning it, even when I point out what the £6m could do for the club. I begin to feel like Jack Torrence sat around in my office on my own talking to myself, and decide to act before I go mad.

Desperate to get staff in place, I feel like I've approached almost every person I can find. The adverts placed for staff draw little interest. Not one applicant for the coaching or fitness coaching jobs is disappointing. An offer is made to a Head of Youth development until the end of the season, and an offer is extended to add a Sports Scientist to the medical team. 

I do stumble across a candidate for the Assistant Manager job in Lau Chun Chung. He's got a few reasonable skills, especially when compared to some of the assistant managers across the league. He'll do until the end of the season.

Now the canteen has a few more faces in it, I can begin to think about recruitment. I still need more staff, but as the club has decided to run both a reserve and an Under 18 team, and I have just one player on the books for both, I do need to try and find a few players to bolster those squads. I begin by looking in the free agent market. There really are so few Hong Kong players available on free deals, so before I start looking to dust off the club credit card, I begin to search for other nations in the region who might have some players. A quick call around leads me to the doorstep of the Supreme Leader, and a small batch of unattached North Korean players. Trials are offered, and accepted. Now, I just need some staff to help me evaluate them. A further seven trials are offered to some Hong Kong players on amateur contracts, but all are rejected. I even try to approach a real life friend to sign for us…sadly, it ends our friendship when he rejects me.

We make an offer to add a goalkeeping coach to the staff, and before we find out if he accepts or not, we face Southern District Recreation & Sports Association in game week three. The bookies favourite for the title, Kitchee, find themselves in 6th place and face current league leaders Hong Kong FC. We take an early lead when Cheung Lik Hang scores in the 14th minute, before Leung Chong Yip adds a second just three minutes later. Things do take a turn around the half hour mark when Cheung Wai Fung picks up his second yellow of the game. This doesn't hold us back, and almost instantly we make it 3-0 when my right back comes out of nowhere to smash it home from the edge of the area. As I discuss with the one other person on the bench about what we should do, we pick up our fourth yellow of the game inside 35 minutes. I remind the AssMan to warn to players to calm down, and we decide to make a slight change to the tactics. We are pegged back just after the hour and a consolation goal is scored in the 91st minute to make it 3-2, but it isn't enough and we jump up to second in the league behind Hong Kong FC (who have beaten Kitchee). 

Obviously we have some talent in the squad, but we lack quality and depth. A better quality striker is an urgent need, and some steel in defense is something we need to consider. We are allowed up to six foreign players in the match day squad, so it might be time to look at what is out there and who might be interested in signing for us. Whether you consider it frugal or sensible is a subjective choice, but loans and free agents are the preferred choice. I can't help but feel a chunk of the transfer budget will be needed to increase our wages on offer, and we might still need to replace a significant number of players. 

We have just two days until we play our fourth league game. A quick glance across the transfer screen, and I pick a few players to throw bids in for players who all look like they can replace their count parts in my team. Eastern District have a Brazilian defender called Victor Balduino, Happy Valley have a veteran defender called Brian Fok, and Hong Kong FC have an English fullback called Rory Lonergan. Fok is offered a trial, whereas Balduino and Lonergan are offered contracts on free transfers. A defensive midfielder called Amadou Parfait is offered a trial, and a contract is offered to Sint Maarten striker Jean-Jacques Craane. 

Will these players add the required depth to make a challenge for the title? Or will they struggle to find their form? Only time will tell. 

For now, Fem out.

Club Development

After a busy few days, the plans for the club seem to be developing. Thanks to the arrival of my new right-hand man searching for staff and players has become a huge amount easier. Which is great news for us. Offers are thrown out left, right and center in the hopes of adding more depth to the club and more faces around the training ground. Fairly soon the staff team has grown again, and I have added the following faces to my backroom team:

Perhaps most impressively there's enough of us for a monthly staff meeting! I can't believe I have got excited at that prospect…

Anyway, we have our first big challenge on the horizon. The arrival of arguably the biggest team in the league and the favourites for the title, Kitchee. They've won 10 of the last 15 league titles, but find themselves out of form and in mid-table with 4 points from 3 games. If ever the verb FMed was appropriate, it is for a game like this.

Thankfully for us, we are able to complete the signing of Jean-Jacques Craane in time to register him for the game. The squad desperately needed some quality upfront if we were to mount an assault on the top of the league, and hopefully Craane might just be able to kick on for us. He won't start against Kitchee, but he will feature at some point.

We make one (enforced) change due to the red card in the previous game, and head into game week four knowing a win will keep us level on points with Hong Kong FC at the top of the table. 

It's a very close first half, with not much between the two sides. Our striker takes a knock early on in the half, but we continue with him as we want to ease Craane in. There are some tired bodies out there, and changes will be made at the break. But, just before half-time, a clearance from the Kitchee keeper is launched towards the half-way line, and headed into the path of Leung Chong Yip on the wing by Mitchell…Yip carries it forward ten yards and unleashes a shot with the outside of his right foot…which flies into the top corner! And we go in ahead by one! And after a fairly balanced second half, South China are able to hold onto the single goal lead and take all three points. Craane does make his debut, but fails to impress getting a 6.4 match rating. Hopefully we will see more from him soon. 

Wake Me Up When September Ends

The month of September continues to bring much change to South China. More new faces come through the door players joining the club as we look to add quality to the team. It will be a new look back-four having added a new goalkeeper in the form of Chin Siu Sum, fullback Rory Lonergan, and central defenders Victor Balduino and Jordan Doherty, as well as a hugely talented Mexican midfielder Alberto Rodriguez. 

Game week five sees a trip to Lee Man on the cards, and we hand out three full debuts and a first start for Craane. It becomes a very long day for the team that find themselves in 12th place as our unbeaten march continues with a 5-0 win, extending our run to five wins in a row. 

Game week six sees a battle at the top, as 2nd played 3rd place, with us hosting Hong Kong FC. New signing Amadou Parfait is ruled out as is left back Shiu Tsz Long. It's a difficult start for South China, as HKFC are awarded a penalty in the 11th minute and we find ourselves behind for the first time this season. But, on the stroke of half-time, we strike back. A great free kick routine as Hara plays it short to Craane on the edge of the box who curls one into the top corner from 18 yards out. Craane doubles the lead in the 52nd minute, with a real poachers effort, but it doesn't take long for HKFC to equalise after a mazy run and clipped cross is headed home. It ends 2-2 in a fairly balanced game, and we remain a point behind Biu Chun Rangers, but with a game in hand. 

As the month comes it's penultimate week, the board allow us to appoint a new scout and another fitness coach, and then disaster strikes. Our star winger, Kenta Hara, is ruled out for between 6 and 7 weeks with a hernia. We have twelve days before the window closes, and might be forced to delve into the market for a replacement. There's one match left in September (a Sapling Cup Group B game against Kitchee), before a run of four games in seventeen days. Amadou Parfait has taken another minor knock and is unlikely to face Kitchee either as the injury list grows. 

With October looming, a decent run of form in the league, and now two further competitions and opportunities for success, decisions need to be made. Success in the cup tournaments will mean some prize money and (more importantly) padding out my CV, which will give me more bargaining power with the board and hopefully the ability to request a coaching badge. But a good league run is essential to qualification for the AFC Continental competitions.

A Wild Run

Twenty-nine days. Six games. Three competitions. A real make it or break it period for us, especially with the transfer window closing in a matter of days.

Game One - South China vs. Kitchee (Sapling Cup Group B)

The first of our games and a number of enforced changes. The competition requires three Under 22 players in the starting XI at all times. Throw in the injuries we are facing, and we are forced to make four changes. Kitchee remain one of the biggest clubs in Hong Kong, and the first half of the game is tight and ends 0-0. However, in the second half, the floodgates open and our dominance pays off. The game finishes 4-0, with Luke Mitchell getting his first two goals for the club. A really unexpected win, and a dominant performance. Just what we need!

Back to the drawing board as we continue preparations. We desperately need competition at right back, and one of our scouts suggests Yeung Hin Lok. The report claims he's better than our current starting right back, and worlds ahead of our next best. What's more, he knows the club having come through the ranks at South China. We decide it's time to bring him home, and throw down a bid of £9.5k for him, which is promptly accepted by his club. The contract is signed, sealed, delivered, and he joins the club. We make offers on several more players in our scramble to add depth and quality in depth to the team, including a really bright looking Brazilian attacker. We add a versatile Hong Kong midfielder and winger, and can finally move some of the deadwood out of the first team. And we also see Craane named player of the month, and three of our lads picked for the team of the month too. We complete the final few transfers for the targets we identify, and welcome to the Shaolin Temple Brazilian attacker Joabe Brito, who looks like he could go on to become a very tasty player for us. And with that, the transfer window slams shut.

Game Two - South China vs. Wofoo Tai Po (Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield First Round)

On the eve of this game one of our young central defenders gets injured in a reserve game, and will be out for around 3 weeks, which is not ideal 24 hours after the window closes. Alas, we move on. We need to ring the changes to prevent further injuries, so we make four changes (including two full debuts) to the XI and give Craane a rest. Whilst we wait for Lonergan to learn some Cantonese, we can only field 11 subs out of 12 due to the restrictions on foreign players. The assistant manager suggests going for the jugular, and I am only too happy to oblige. After 22 minutes we are awarded a penalty, and Rodriguez converts to give us the lead with his first ever goal for us. And, in first-half stoppage time, Wofoo fail to clear a corner properly, and the ball is squared to Tasaka who finishes first-time from the edge of the box to give us a 2-0 lead into half-time. The bullet of a volley is a welcome sight! We make three changes to provide further rests to important players, and then give further minutes to players returning from injury. Brito has a goal disallowed after being flagged for offside just before the hour and, despite our dominance, the game ends just 2-0. One of our debutants also picks up a knock that might keep him our for two weeks, and I head back to my office to scream into a cushion.