DanW19's Journeyman Adventure

Thanks Zan! Its great to finally have the promotion we were searching for and upsetting the odds as we have!

Thanks BOWC! Fantastic season for us!

Cheers Johno!

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Two years on to date from when I started and finally we have earned promotion from the Derde Klasse B league. Despite being predicted eleventh both seasons I've guided the team to a third place finish where we had lost out in the playoffs before guiding them to the top spot in the 2013/2014 season. We had been fantastic and now with promotion under our belts this is what the summer brings.


This is fantastic news for the club. The amateur club that should soon be turning professional are set to build a new stadium and through selling the old one it has become possible. Additional funding such as a loan has also been agreed which is going to dampen the clubs seeming there isn't a lot of money in the club at this present time. However it is a step forward for the club anyway.


Then came my resignation. This was a shock to every player, fan and the board as well as you people reading this. Why would I resign after promotion? Exactly two years to date on from taking the job I am now jobless again. However I will explain my reasoning for this.


Due to only being an amateur club and only being able to offer amateur contracts we are set to lose the core of our team with no less than seven players already being snapped up and they will go through in a few days. We also made five deals last season who will join us this year, however they won't be good enough for the step up in divisions so will be waste of time. So instead of having a punishing season, I've decided to go a different way.


Here is my current tally two years into the journeyman adventure. Over the last 726 days we've faced 79 competitive games, claiming forty eight wins, 10 draws and 21 defeats giving us a win percentage of 60%. We've netted 125 goals whilst conceding 84 giving us a nice goal difference over two seasons of +41. With one league win and promotion under the belt, its time to search for our next adventure.

So we now head into the summer in search of a vacancy to come up...

Cracking read so far man, keep it up!!

Ooh ouch, hate it when the players get snatched up. Heading for another country?

Thanks Kevo! Nice to see you are still monitoring over this one!

It would of been a long hard season for us BOWC so it was best that we jumped ship early. However who knows where I am going to be now?

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So once again I found myself back on the dole and looking for a job. Luckily it wasn't for too long as I went hunting for the job and immediately found one to suit my needs. Hopefully a place where I can build for a long term future and increase my reputation. Here is what happened over the last few days.


With the end of the season now upon us many teams began the sacking process and this was great news for me. There were a few jobs that caught my eye but only two I applied for. One in Austria, Tipp3-Bundesliga side SC Wiener Neustadt as well as looking into returning home for my first ever job in England as I applied for Blue Square Bet North side Guiseley. Both sides I had never managed before.


Unfortunately I didn't hear anything back from SC Wiener so an adventure in Austria is still avoiding me to date, however a trip to England looks to be on the cards. Guiseley had obviously heard of the work I've done over in Belgium and were flattered with my application. They went on to offer me a one year contract on £525 per week. I went into negotiations with the English club.


I settled for a one year deal as for now that will do me. I know very little about Guiseley so it will be a building block for me to find out what is what. However I am fond of the English lower leagues so hopefully we can have a good period here. I also reduced my wage packet to just £500 per week.


Finally done deal! I was on the plane over to England almost immediately as I look to start my reign in England with Guiseley. Who knows what the future holds for the club and myself but it certainly is a building block. So over the next few days I will assess the squad that I have at my disposal and sort the finances out before heading into pre season and then updating after pre season.

you still have that Belgian job application from the first post!!

But England definitely is a good place to go to! Good luck! Hope my (bad) luck doesn't rub off on you

Making good progress so far buddy. What league are Guiseley in?

I think he mentioned that it was a Blue Square North side!

Haha you are correct squire (god-damn work PC's are a heap of shit so it doesn't always display in an easyt to read format)

Only cowards resign from their respective jobs.

'tis a shame you resigned as manager of Bleid-Molenbeek, especially after winning the league and the board deciding to build your good self a new stadium.

You say you were an amateur side? Was this always going to be the case and can't go to semi-pro and then eventually pro? I wish you the best of luck at Guiseley and I'm sure you will do a terrible, err, I mean good job.

Good luck at Guiseley Dan

Thanks BOWC, i've changed that now! Should be a good run in England I hope!

Yes Charlie it is the blue square north, thanks pal

Shedender its called a journeyman save for a reason, I can't get attatched to a team and who knows, I may well return to Bleik one day in the near future! You will just have to keep watching won't you.

Thanks George!

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So life in England has begun and I've taken Guiseley through pre season preparing them for the new Blue Square Bet North season. The side are predicted to finish eighth, last season they were predicted third but finished low in the table. I will run down the players, finances and the pre season fixtures before we can finally get my first season of management in England under way.


Firstly I had to get rid of players to reduce the wage bill which was already being over spent. I didn't make any money on the transfers as I released most of the players. They were mainly waste of spacers who were in the reserves or under eighteens and had no future in football what so ever and shouldn't even consider giving up their day jobs. Eleven players left without any new signings this summer.


This is the team I have been left with this season. Its not the best, thats for sure and there are areas to improve on, especially upfront but on a tight budget I can't do a lot at the moment. Its a strong enough side to finish at least its predicted eighth this season. Our defence and midfield both look fantastic and we have a mediocre goalkeeper. I may look for a loaned striker.


The finances at the club are completely shocked and it seems like leaving Belgium could of cost me. In Belgium we were in the black for finances and building a new stadium. Here we are in trouble, in almost half a million pounds worth of debt as well as over spending just under three hundred pounds on wages and I only have a small squad as it is, so there is little room to maneuver here.


The team definitely struggled to find any constant form throughout the whole of pre season and the fact we came away from three games without scoring a goal is a little worrying and the fact we only kept two clean sheets from nine games prove we may be overrated this season. Four defeats, two draws and just three wins from nine games this summer sees the team continue to struggle to get to grips with my formations.

Good luck with this dude, shame you didn't get the job in Austria, but I think the club's name would have made me chuckle every time I read one of your updates!

St. Louis-Hamilton... Are SI Games big F1 fans?

Still Dan, I thought you would’ve spent at least one more season with them before moving on.But of course, it’s a journeyman career and you’ll be a success at your new club…eventually.

Impressive defense and midfield!! What I have seen from lower leagues is that one good striker can just rip apart the league and big debts are always a pain in the ass.

Maybe blow the wage budget to get a promotion on the opening season lest the declining finances decrease the wage budget next season and dampen your chances further!

Read this from the start and I'm enjoying it. Interesting league choices too, why did you choose only three? Either way I'll be reading

Hahaa it would of been funny Willz! But I would of loved to go Austria, and maybe they are F1 fans!

No afraid not Shedender! I will return to Bleik one day! I will be an instant success here! Your mind games won't work sonner!

Yer our squad is quite strong BOWC, its just a shame we don't have one decent striker however Dobie can play there so I will be rotating to find out the best squad we can play.

Thanks hitman! Just didn't want to overload the leagues and have the game running slow, I may add a few more leagues come the end of the season.

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Coompetitive life in England has began and as I take charge of my first handful of games in charge of Guiseley in the Blue Square Bet North, its fair to say the opening five games have been far from inspiring for us. We've struggled to find some solid form and this has cost us a decent start.


The season began at home as we welcomed Hyde and gave our fans a great start to view. It was a quiet game but one that was enough for us. Holland popped up with just eight minutes to go to slot home from close range to ensure we got off to a winning start.

The second game of the season saw us travel to Hinckley and a close game almost swung back round to us. We fell behind early on and remained one down at the break. Second half Hinckley were reduced to ten men but still went on to add a second. However the team rallied together and Dobie netted with just under half an hour to go before Walshaw pulled us back level to earn a point.

Next on the agenda, returning back home to welcome Altrincham who had made a rocky start to the season. However there was no rocky performance from them today as they recorded a two nil win over us. We were poor and found ourselves one down at the break. The away side added a second in the second half and could of had more, we were uninspiring once again.

And the story was exactly the same as we traveled to high flying Nuneaton. Once again we were awful and conceded twice in the opening half hour as we feared the worst. Luckily for us we improved slightly and throughout the second half were a little better but failed to find the net.

We improved come the end of August to record only our second win from five games as we traveled to a favored side of mine FC United. We grabbed two goals before the break as Walshaw put us one up with five minutes to go before the break before Sirrell doubled our lead on the stroke of half time. Second half we conceded one as FC United looked to find a comeback. Luckily we held on and Sirrell added a second late on to ensure a three one win was ours.


So we are predicted eighth but I feel we coudl edge a playoff spot come the end of the season, well that was the thoughts before this month anyway. We've struggled to find any constant form this month as the team continue to adjust to the tactics. Two wins, two defeats and a draw sees us down in fourteenth this season but with only five games played its very tight so far.

Loves a Dan career.

Not a BAD start to the league season I guess. Soon as they get used to you and the formation you'll be playing better I predict!

Thanks Charlie! Hoping it will piece together soon enough.

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September has been and a good showing this month has really left us running on a high. six more games have been played and we looked for a turn in our league form. We faced five league games this month along with our first appearance of the season in the FA Cup qualifiers as we looked to go on a startling run...well thats the plan anyway.


The month of September continued as rocky as last month was. We struggled as we returned home welcoming Brackley and lost out two one. A narrow game saw us go behind after just ten minutes and three minutes before the break we conceded a penalty to find ourselves two behind. Second half we tried to carve a comeback as Walshaw found the net but it wasn't enough.

A change of tactics then saw us win four on the bounce. The first win of the month came as we traveled to Stafford. A very confident performance saw Rowe put us infront after just four minutes. Twenty minutes into the game we were two up as Walshaw found his first of the game.Second half Walshaw put the game beyond doubt as he added our third and his second of the game.

We returned home to welcome Colwyn Bay and recorded a second win on the bounce and second clean sheet. It was a quiet game as we scored the only goal of the game in the opening ten minutes. David Thompson was the man to find the net from a free kick after just eight minutes.

We then began our FA Cup run and the second qualifying round drew us at home against non league side Vauxhall. Our formation seemed to be coming together as we advanced to the next round. Walshaw found the net after just half an hour and second half we went on to add a late second through Dobie.

A fourth win on the bounce was recorded as we welcomed Worksop. Walshaw put us infront once again early on before Worksop leveled by the break. Second half we went on to realise what was at stake and put in a confident performance with Thompson putting us back in the lead before Walshaw grabbed his second.

We ended the month as we started it, on a sour note with an away defeat against Redditch. A poor performance which we should of really won saw us conceded two sloppy second half goals to slip to a two nil defeat and crash out the winning run we were on.


Ten league games in and we are sitting a little prettier in the league table now as we sit up in seventh in the table. Now one position above our expected finish our new formation seems to be piecing together nicely as we recorded four wins on the bounce now. Walshaw is beginning to look a great striker for us in this division and his single role is brilliant. Just six points off the top.

Your league table picture seems to be the same one you used in the previous post!

Walshaw looking good there for you despite the assistant report!

Thanks BOWC! Changed that now!

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October was another huge month for us to deal with as we faced seven games spread out in just four weeks and shared amongst two different competitions. We faced just four league games and three FA Cup qualifiers but trying to find some solid form when your basically playing twice a week with a small squad is near impossible.


We began the month in the FA Cup third qualifying round facing league opposition Southport. A narrow game saw neither side bite the bullet and the game ended level. In the replay we welcomed them and edged a narrow win to head into the fourth qualifying round. Dominic Rowe was the hero as he netted with just ten minutes left on the clock to push us through.

As we returned to league action we faced low sitting Hednesford and a shocking performance from us saw us lose heavily. We fell behind early on before Rowe brought us back level and then Walshaw put us infront. Before the break we had conceded again and went in level. Second half we were a complete mess and conceded twice through defensive errors which left us on the wrong end of a four two defeat.

Yet as we faced second place Kettering we were able to record a win. Form is crazy right now but we will take the surprise three points thats for sure. At home we did look better though with our fans behind us and we won through a single goal coming through Luke Dobie in the last twenty minutes.

Then our FA Cup run came to an end in the fourth qualifying round. We traveled to high flying Blue Square Bet Premier side Macclesfield who put us to bed. A strong performance from them saw them net either side of the break and do enough to put them in the first proper round and kill our hopes of a cup run.

Our cup exit seemed to hit in the league as well as we traveled to Solihull Moors and yet again failed to win. We made chances but failed to take them and as they hit us on a counter attack they did enough to not only score but earn all three points to.

We ended the month by welcoming Histon and produced a brilliant second half performance to earn all three points. Goalless at the break the team talk rallied the troops and a goal from Walshaw gave us hope before Rowe continued his fine month netting our second just fifteen minutes from the end.


The league table come the end of October is looking okay for us now as once again we move up the table. Now fourteen league games down and we are up to sixth as we edge closer to a spot in the playoffs. Still no constant form and Nuneaton are running away with it a little at the top of the table. However just six points off second place Altrincham leaves us with hope this season

A really tight league apart from poor old Stafford

Hopefully you push on now.

Promising start. Could do better though.

how tight is your league :O

Your not too far off the pace at all here mate. A good push and you could find yourselves right up in the promotion spots.

It certainly is close Robbie! Hopefully we can push on as you say and find constant form now!

Well I don't want to make it too easy, like some that I won't mention shedender

Ummm a little Dodds! A little! its good because we are just off the playoffs, however not far outside a huge relegation battle!

We certainly are nearing it Charlie! We are certainly starting to piece it together now.

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Yet again we faced a hectic month with no less than seven games for us to try and compete in, it was too hard to keep the squad motivated and fit at all times. However with just three league games and four cup games this month, we had to priorities the league games to search for a playoff spot.


November began on the road as we traveled to Harrogate who were struggling in the league. A return to an old formation saw us pull out a great performance. Three up within half an hour as Rowe put us ahead after just eleven minutes and then seven minutes later Meynell netted his first of the season. Walshaw managed to add our third before the break. Second half Harrogate grabbed one back but we were dominant.

Next came the FA Trophy third and final qualifying round. Which ended up going into a replay. The original game saw us welcome Histon, we conceded early on before the break but luckily produced a final surge to grab a replay. Dominic Rowe once again finding the net nine minutes from time.

The replay was better for us, we took the lead after just nine minutes when Sirrell netted from close range. Histon leveled before the break to bring the game all square once again. It looked like it was heading to a replay but luckily Walshaw stood up to be counted for and nodded us into the next round with a well placed header seven minutes from time.

Returning to league action we welcomed third place Worcester. Once again we took the lead, Meynell netted after twenty three minutes however just six minutes later Worcester managed to pull back level. Second half the game was rather even yet with seven minutes to go it looked like we had won the game as Rowe netted. But a minute later Worcestor had leveled and we settled for a hard earned point.

The first round of the FA Trophy saw us travel to lowly placed Harrogate, fully expecting a win we failed to do that and either side broke the deadlock, meaning once again we were heading for a playoff. The playoff went against us, Harrogate got off to a flyer netting twice in the opening half an hour, second half Thompson brought us level four minutes after the restart but we failed to progress as another cup came to an end.

We ended the month with our third league game from the last seven fixtures. We traveled to Droylsden where we picked up a win to end an unbeaten month in the league. Louis Cross netted with his head from a corner to gift us the lead at the break. And second half we went on to wrap up the win as Dominic Rowe once again found the net with just eleven minutes left on the clock.


Our form continues to raise slightly and for us it looks fantastic for us as we continue to sit sixth just outside the playoffs. We have one game in hand and two on some teams which we need to take maximum points from and could propel us into the playoffs. Kettering now go top and are pulling away from us, already eleven points clear from us yet we have two games in hand on them.

The table is really close in both directions, so the next few games will change the face of the table quite significantly. Good luck Dan, any team stringing a sequence of results will certainly move up the table substantially, and we're all hoping it's Guiseley!

Keep it going mate very close around the play-offs

Willz the table is certainly tight, we could just do with a little push in the right direction now if we want to progress anywhere this season!

Thanks George! Hope we can push into the playoffs soon!

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Another month down and another big one. Six games for us to compete with in the league saw us continued to get over run in the games. We are struggling for form, morale and fitness and there is little for us to do now. Another busy month with three at home and three away.


We began the month in fantastic form as we welcomed Gainsborough and recorded a comfortable three nil victory. Rowe put us ahead ten minutes before the break and after the restart Thompson netted with forty five seconds to double our lead. We went on to wrap up the win as Walshaw found the net five minutes from the end.

However form dipped again as we traveled to Stalybridge. A poor performance from us in the first forty five minutes saw us go into the break two down and already out. Second half we barely made an impact, the defence tightened up but nothing more happened.

And as we returned home to welcome low sitting Boston we continue to struggle. Neither side made the break through and come the end it was the same as it started, level at nil nil.

Then came a trip to Hyde, also sitting lower than us in the table but once again we were awful! Not a brave performance as we conceded goals either side of the break and went three on the bounce without a win and a goal! Things were getting sour...again.

However traveling to Southport we finally found the net and picked up three points again. David Thompson put in a brave second half performance to claim the three points. He put us ahead three minutes after the restart before netting with eighteen minutes to go to claim a brace and secure the win.

We ended the month with a single point at home as we welcomed Hinckley. A tough game was always going to be close and as we fell behind on the twentieth minute I feared for us. Luckily we pulled it back together in the second half as Walshaw secured us a point.


The league continues to look the same as it did last month. We are still sitting sixth however have played our game in hand that we did have. Another mediocre month saw us pick up eight points from a possible eighteen yet we are still sitting sixth. Two points outside the playoffs but we are still hanging in and around the right area.


The news popped up in my inbox that Portsmouth have had enough of their short term manager Andy Scott after his side lost four of their last five games in League two. However they are sitting high in the table up in third and I went and applied for the job just to put my name out there. I would like to manage a higher league team and Portsmouth is a team that I wouldn't mind spending a spell at.

You haven't been at Guiseley, have you? I'd stay tbh what is Pompey's finances like?