A Change of Career

FM24 - Unemployed - Tier 10

Introduction

This will be almost a roleplay style diary in the sense of there's a backstory to the manager as opposed to just managing clubs. I am simming the game forward to the date of this first post (22nd November 2023) and will look to see what jobs are available. I won't necessarily apply for any job as it may not suit logistically.

Background

Living on the Isle of Wight and being stuck in an IT job for the past 7 years, at the age of 32 I've finally decided to try my hand at something else, in particular becoming a Football Manager. I currently work at home in my full time job so relocating isn't a massive deal, however it would be more beneficial at this stage to stay in and around the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area. I intend certainly at the beginning to keep working as normal, whilst I'm ready to leave the world of IT my job is flexible and my employers are happy for me to juggle my hours around, so depending on where I end up I can finish earlier on a training night or start later the next day after training or midweek fixture etc. If and when I start earning enough money from managing then I can start to reduce my hours, and eventually quit my full time job to focus on football.

Available Jobs

OOC - I have simmed through to November 22nd 2023 and below are the current jobs available to apply for. I have filtered these down to only Level 10 jobs, and jobs closer to home as there were 40/50 jobs available, as with no experience playing senior football or any coaching badges I absolutely shouldn't be getting any jobs above this level (probably shouldn't even get a level 10 job but we can't go any lower!) I managed to filter it down to 10 clubs, not venturing past London (Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex)

So my initial thoughts is to try and get a job in the Wessex League Division One. The league currently has both East Cowes Vics and Newport in the division, both based on the Isle of Wight, meaning there's fixtures I won't need to catch a ferry for! Fleetlands is a possibility being based on the main road between Fareham and Gosport (managed by Steve Claridge in real life!) Verwood Town is a bit further away but AFC Aldermaston is Basingstoke way which is even further!

I could also look to try a team in the Southern Combination League Division One. Selsey is south of Chichester so not too far away. Just as a side note if you don't know, to begin with I will be continuing to be based on the Isle of Wight and have acquired sponsorship from both local ferry companies, meaning I can catch the car ferry to Southampton (1 hour trip) or Portsmouth (40 min trip) free of charge to training sessions and games.

Geographically my top 3 options are Fleetlands (20 mins from Portsmouth ferry terminal), Selsey (40 mins from Portsmouth terminal) or Verwood Town (40 mins from Southampton terminal). If I have the luxury Selsey will come in as 3rd choice due to the extra travel required for the other league games.

Applications

So I was unable to apply for the Fleetlands job, possibly too late, and Selsey instantly declined my application as they have already completed their interview process. This leaves Verwood Town as the only viable option at present, who have received my application but are giving their caretaker manager a chance first.

Verwood Town Job Interview - 8th December 2023

16 days have passed since my application and I've been invited to a job interview. No other viable jobs have become available since then so I'm hedging my bets on this post.

Verwood Town job offer - 12th December 2023

Christmas came early for me as I've been offered the job at Verwood Town. £110 a week is absolutely fine to get started! I couldn't accept the offer quickly enough.

Coming Up…

An introduction to Verwood Town, the board targets and a first look at our squad.

Verwood Town - Introduction

Wessex League Division 1 - Tier 10

So our career is beginning at Verwood Town, who currently lie in 7th place in the Wessex League Division One, and presently just 4 points out of a playoff place.

The Squad

Below is the current squad:

All of the players are on part-time contracts ranging from £4-£25 per week. We have a current wage budget of £572 p/w and are spending £564, so not much wiggle room at present. Luckily being this far down the pyramid there's no real transfer window so we are free to try and move players on straight away so we can fill up the squad with some quality. The club itself is currently £17,263 in debt so this is something else I need to be wary of.

Current Star Players and Tactic

I'm not going to mess around with staff or anything until the summer apart from bringing in an assistant manager so based on my reports my best 3 players are AMR Gary Houston, DM Matthew Delaney and AML Jordan Beauchamp

Unfortunately Beauchamp is currently injured for up to 3 weeks.

Based on my 3 best players I've decided to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with 2 DM's.

Matt York who is with us on loan is a natural DLP in CM so hopefully training him to be a DM shouldn't cause too many issues. I will first look to offload a couple of players to make some room for some fresh faces. Ideally I would like to bring in a RB, CB, DM and AMC to come in as starters straight away, past that it will be a case of if I have the luxury to improve the depth of the squad as it's quite poor past what we see here!

Fixtures

We will start life in charge away to Downton (4th) before facing Whitchurch United (2nd) at home. Our last game of 2023 sees us travel to Clanfield (21st). A tough first 2 games in charge against 4th and 2nd, it will really show me where we are against some of the bigger teams in the league. Where possible on fixture reviews I will add some images of the clubs and grounds we are going to.

December 2023 & January 2024

So we started off life in charge just days after joining with an away trip to 4th place Downton.

We travelled up to Wiltshire and honestly had no idea how the game would go, but we ended up with a credible 1-1 draw. We went behind after 10 minutes before 16 year old substitute Mani Felipe equalised with about 25 minutes to go.

4 days later we were back in action again, this time taking on now league leaders Whitchurch United. Sadly we conceded two goals in the first 6 minutes to put the result beyond much doubt, however Gary Houston got a goal back just before the hour mark. We pushed hard but sadly couldn't get back into the game.

Our last game before Christmas was an away trip to Clanfield. 

For the first 50 minutes we absolutely battered them, Gary Houston scoring after 5 minutes and striker Josh Greenleaf completing a hatrick within 9 minutes either side of half time. We made the mistake of making 3 changes to get some gametime in for other players and shockingly almost cost us. Clanfield scored 3 goals in the last half hour to really make us worry for the result. Matters were made worse with Houston having to leave the game injured, meaning we had a nervy 10 minutes with only 10 men on the pitch but held on for a 4-3 win.

After the Christmas break we welcomed East Cowes Vics from the Isle of Wight. I made sure to make the game early so I wasn't sat on the ferry with the opposition! A comfortable 2-0 victory for us here with Josh Greenleaf on the scoresheet again and young attacking midfielder Nick Rudge also finding the back of the net. 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from the first 4 games was absolutely fine.

With the fixture congestion easing and now being able to start bringing players into the club and travelled to Totton & Eling for our next game, which we won 3-1.

We went behind and trailed 1-0 at half time before another 2 goals from Josh Greenleaf and an own goal sealed the 3 points for us. This result moved us up into 4th place and in the playoff spots.

Out final game of January saw us away to Cove.

Despite struggling down in 17th we struggled in this one. Josh Greenleaf continued his impeccable scoring form before Cove equalised just before half time. New signing Freddie Gard (more on the signings later) made it 2-1 to us before we conceded in the 71st and 80th to leave us 3-2 down towards the end. Regis Kabeya managed to scramble us a point in the 83rd minute as we dropped out of the playoff places as quickly as we entered them.

League Table

I'm happy with us in 6th for now, we should be pushing for a promotion place now I've had a chance to work out the squad and bring in a few players. We sit just outside the playoffs in 6th, trailing Frimley Green by 2 points, however we do have a game in hand.

Transfers

In the 6 weeks or so since taking charge I've managed to bring in 4 players.

Attacking Midfielder Freddie Gard has had a good start to life with us, only playing the two games so far but has collected 1 goal and 1 assist.

Ellis Jones has come in and is already considered the best player in the division. I'm training him to hopefully join Matthew Delaney in defensive midfield but for now he slots right into CB for us.

Warren Kayembe was actually brought in to be our main target man up front however due to Josh Greenleaf scoring every game and some injuries on the wing he's been out wide since joining, claiming an assist from 2 sub appearances so far.

Kerran Birch is the last player we've brought in so far and slotted into right back, he only came in last week so has the one game under his belt.

Departures

We have moved on some players as well to allow us to strengthen.

The only notable departure was left back Jeremiah Obeng who was our starting left back. He wanted to leave after the offer came in and can't blame in, Holmesdale are one level above us in the pyramid. Matt York was recalled from his loan by his parent club unfortunately.

Squad

Here is the first team squad at present. We must of said something to Greenleaf as in his past 5 games he has 7 goals and 2 assists after 4 goals in his first 14 games and currently leads the team with 11 goals. Houston is second with 10 goals. Assist wise Beauchamp has 5, Ainley has 4.

Coming Up

Next up we will play through February and partway through March, I tend to post updates every couple of months played however doing so would only leave the last 4 games in April.

Verwood Town - 3rd Feb to 16th Mar 2024

The push for the playoffs continue

We have 7 fixtures to review as we make a push for the playoffs. There is an outside chance of the league title but at this stage of the season and with not having much of a chance to stamp my authority on the team I'd settle for the playoffs. Would like to get promoted of course as to be fair the team needs gutting out anyways and might as well do it in the Wessex League Premier!

3rd Feb - Andover Town (H) 3-1

We started off the month well with a 3-1 home victory over Andover Town. Youngster Nick Rudge scored in the 34th minute and just a few minutes later Gary Houston made it 2-0. Matthew Delaney made it 3-0 not long after the restart. Sadly we couldn't keep a clean sheet and conceded in the 90th minute.

10th Feb - New Milton (A) 1-0

We continued our march towards the top of the league with a 1-0 victory away to New Milton. We got off to a flier with Regis Kabeya striking just 2 minutes in. Both teams had chances throughout the game but no further goals to report of.

17th Feb - Romsey Town (H) 2-0

3 wins from 3 during February as we beat Romsey Town 2-0 at home. Another fast start saw new boy Ellis Jones open his account for us after 2 minutes. Another new boy, front man Warren Kayembe also got his first goal for the club on the stroke of half time, to give us our second consecutive clean sheet.

24th Feb - Fawley (A) 1-1

Our most difficult game in February saw us travel to league leaders Fawley. We took the lead after 10 minutes with Warren Kayembe scoring again. It was a cagey affair and after Fawley equalised just before half time they continued to pressure us, but we managed to hold on. A point gained rather than 2 points lost to the league leaders.

2nd Mar - Newport IOW (H) 3-4

A local derby for myself as we hosted Newport with both teams in the playoff places. In a crazy game we went behind after 11 minutes and were 2-0 down after 25 minutes. Gary Houston cut the lead in half just before the half hour mark before Newport added a further two goals in 4 minutes to take a commanding 4-1 lead. Just a couple of minutes later Warren Kayembe scored in his third straight game as we trailed 4-2 at half time. Ellis Jones added a third with 20 minutes to go and despite plenty of chances we were unable to get back into the game, marking just our 2nd defeat in 11 games in charge.

9th Mar - Ash United (A) 2-2

A bumper crowd of 101 (that is a record attendance we've played in front of this season!) witnessed a 2-2 draw at Ash United. We raced into a 2-0 lead with Warren Kayembe scoring yet again, this time from the spot and Gary Houston adding to his tally for the season. We looked good at 2-0 at half time, however a 2nd half wobble saw Ash score twice in 10 minutes to rescue a point for them.

16th Mar - AFC Aldermaston (H) 4-3

The final game in this set saw us back at home to AFC Aldermaston in another crazy 7 goal thriller. Luckily this time we prevailed 4-3. We fell behind in the opening minutes before Ellis Jones equalised. Gary Houston struck just before half time to give us a 2-1 lead. Matthew Delaney then scored from the penalty spot to increase our lead. Aldermaston pulled a goal back before Josh Greenleaf made it 4-2, getting back on the scoresheet after a bit of a baron spell. Aldermaston pegged us back to 4-3 and we managed to hold on.

14 points out of a possible 21 wasn't bad going. With 6 games to go in the season let's see where we are in the league:

League Table

So we sit in 4th place. The 3 game stretch without a win pushed us away from the top 3, keeping us ground in a 4-5 team battle alongside Downton, Frimley Green and Ash United for the final two playoff places.

Squad

We added just the one player since our last update, with Gavin McCallum coming in to replaced departing Jeremiah Obeng as our starting left back.

We've had some injuries during this run, with Houston, Beauchamp and Greenleaf all missing time through injury. Houston is back in front as our leading goal scorer from right wing with 14 goals, with Greenleaf in second with 12. Kayembe has started well scoring 4 goals and adding 1 assist in 9 appearances.

Coming Up…

We have our final 6 games of the season upcoming:

Most of our games are against teams in mid table, however we have a couple of big fixtures, first against fellow playoff contenders Frimley Green. That is followed by a trip to 8th place Folland Sports.

Hopefully we can do enough to stay in the playoff places. If things go our way we still in theory have a chance to win the league but likewise we could crash out of the playoffs, let's see how we get on!