bigmattb28 - Comments

That's a kind of downer on my time in Portugal, I genuinely thought after every interview that I'd get the job but it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe in the future I go back but we'll see.



Yeah it's very interesting mate, am looking forward to it, not expecting it to be a walk over in the league however, and there's going to be players leaving so kind of a semi rebuild job on my hands

I'd go with that, a mid size club I'd say, hopefully this next season I can impress here and who knows what may happen. Promotion is the aim in the short term.

A good November culminating in that 9-0 victory, gotta be pleased with that mate!

Love s good British & Irish steel challenge, never completed it myself though, best of luck.

Oh man, just 1 win away from the top, heartbreaking stuff. But that form must've had you thinking you were going to win something this season, unlucky not to win anything but a damn fine season all around I'd say.

What's your plans next then, are you staying to build on this or are you looking to see what else is out there?

What a strange turn of events form the players, kicking off with you, sounds very fickle to me mate you've only lost 1 league game and they're moaning about it! They need to buck their ideas up really

The phone rings. An unfamiliar voice on the other end speaks.

‘Manuel, I’m sorry, I just don’t think you’re ready for the challenge of taking over at a top level team. Maybe go and gain experience of another country, another league where the expectations aren’t so high, you overachieved at Oleiros but coming to Guimaraes right now is not the right move, we want to challenge for the Europa league places and I just don’t think you can help us achieve that right now’.



‘Thanks for the feedback, I guess’ I hang up the phone. So I overachieved at Olerios but I’m not the right man for a team looking to overachieve?!? I’ll show them, I’ll show Santa Clara, Penafiel and bloody Boavista! I’ll show them all.

Sometimes you have to go down to go up. Sometimes you have to take 2 steps back to be in a position to take 4 steps forward. It’s always been an ambition to manage in other countries, and there just so happens to be an opportunity I can’t not explore.



The phone rings 2 days later. This time I recognise the voice and the strong Polish accent, it’s Jacek Kruszewski on the other end, and he says 3 words, 3 words in broken Portuguese that are like music to my ears....

‘Manuel, save us’



Going down to go up. This is a club that has just been relegated to the first division, and favourites to go straight back up. The challenge here lies in keeping expectations to an acceptable level. I’ve gone 1,962 miles away from Oleiros to Plock in Poland. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to prove all those teams that rejected me wrong, and prove that I am a good manager.







First and foremost promotion is the aim, whether that is as champions or not, promotion is mission objective number 1.





As I step into the training room I’m greeted by 6 first team players demanding to leave. Okay not to worry, you got the club into this mess but aren’t willing to help rectify your wrongs, that’s fine you can all leave, well apart from 1 player I encourage to stay, full back and influential player Stefan Vico.





So here I am, in Poland, at a relegated club looking to bounce back. I'll give absolutely everything I have to get this club back in to the top division, and after that, who knows. All I know is that all those doubters at Boavista, Santa Clara and the other teams that approached me, got my hopes up just to reject me, they'll see just how adaptable I am and how Oleiros wasn't a fluke and that I can change any teams fortunes.

Onwards and upwards. We're favourites this season for a reason, and it's up to me to make sure we live up that tag.

Pójdziemy do Wisły Płock

Cheers man, you're definitely right about leaving at the right time. 1 wrong move can destroy your rep on journeyman saves.

We start off with an all too familiar result. Nacional de Madeira add to the list of other clubs to turn Manuel Vargas down. I’m not too disheartened really, firstly they’re a top division team that just avoided relegation, also I wasn’t their first choice so I guess I was interviewed just to make up the numbers.



With that said I decide that this will indeed be my last season here in Oleiros. I’ve enjoyed my time here however as I have turned this club around and they are in such a better position now than they were when I took over, I can leave on a positive and with my head held high.







So the first of my final 5 games here in Oleiros ended with a disappointing defeat to Fafe before putting 5 past Leixoes who turned me down recently. Wonder how they will fare at the end of the season.





Our away game at Chaves ends in another defeat however our final home game of the season sees us take on Covilha and I am hoping for a good send off as this is the last time I lead the team out at Estadio Municipal de Olerios





We certainly did go out with a bang. Very bittersweet for me as this was a great result and we absolutely dominated this game, 2-0 flattered Covilha but this is the last time I will manage this team at home.



Last game of the season saw us go down 3-1 away to Moreirense which in turn helped them lift the league title. Also confirmed was the relegation of Boavista, and I'm surprised it went right down to the last game of the season, as well as Penafiel who chose Jaap Stam over me they are also playing football at a lower level next season.







Right before my final days at Oleiros the player awards were made and Bruno Carvalho won player of the year award, not sure I agree as he was a rotation player at best.








With that done my time here in Oleiros has finished. I took over the team in the third division with aspirations just to stay in that league, and took them further then they could’ve dreamed off in 3 short years. My decision to leave is beaed on 2 things, firstly the interest in me whether serious or not I have had no less than 8 job interviews with teams in Portugal, all of which are a higher rep than Oleiros. Second is that old saying in football, I’ve taken them as far as I can. I think that is true as I can’t see us getting players in that can take this team to the next level, or even top 6 in the league never mind promotion. Already first team players have rejected contract offers so my back is against the wall before next season even started. I leave on a high and with my reputation increased slightly, who knows where I’ll end up next however I am keeping an open mind. We’ll see what happens.

Wow 10 wins in the league to get you're season well and truly underway! You only lost 1-0 to the leaders who knows the next time you play them the result may just be in your favour. I can't remember if the away goals rule is in effect in the Indonesian cup but at least you go into the second round second leg all square.

It's definitely a win win for you, even with his bad physicals if he can get into some good positions and use his mental skills to being the right place at the right time I've no doubt he'll turn into an inspired signing! Can't wait to see he gets on for you.

What a coup getting Forlan! Hopefully gets you some much needed goals to get those average points up! What a weird structure having a league game, then loads of friendlies then another league game then more friendlies, hopefully your squads fitness levels are high though.

Hahah yes I know all too well the inner workings of FM when it tests your every last nerve! However I'm sure you can beat them this time around!

Good to get a lot of wins in friendlies, especially with a big squad like you've got there mate! Barring Perth Glory, who by all accounts are a big team you did well in pre season. The main thing now is keeping all the influential players happy and not kick up a fuss if / when they don't play. Press on from here and you could definitely give the top of the league a good go!

Disappointing to lost those 2 games but 5 wins in all comps is a good start, hopefully a sign of things to come! Keep the faith against Vendsyssel, they're bottom for a reason mate!

Has your report been acknowledged? They're usually pretty quick to respond to bug reports.

Been playing since CM00 and I genuinely think this is the best FM. I couldn't get on with 18, 17 for me was epic but 19 is just that much better.



Before they patched the beta to full version I saw penalties literally every game I played and most of them were for me very few against.

Not the worse start though mate. All being well stay unbeaten for the foreseeable and you should qualify.

Not sure I agree with you on all your points. The GK issue I've yet to see, my current GK isn't the best but not seeing in school boy stuff. The training bit is a bit much to get your head around st first but what I did was leave it to my assistant at first and then had a play around with it, now I'm comfortable with it.

Haven;t seen your issue with screen panels, scores though, that sounds like a skin issue are you using a custom skin? If not I'd say go and report it as a bug over on the SI bug thread.

For what it's worth I always see that journeyman saves typically / generally all start unemployed and no badges, however if we go down the 'it's your game' route then it's upto you. I guess with challenges that specifically say no badges / experience then it may be classed as cheating but for your won game if you are creating yourself as true to life then no I wouldn't say it's cheating.

Haha yes hopefully, however I'm not getting my hopes up, I just think as much as I like Oleiros, I can't see them being in a position for me to challengeing for trophies any time soon. Who knows what will happen though.

Hopefully get Baroka out the way and the games up to Kaiser Chiefs will get you in some good form.

Good finish to the season there, mad how you were only 1 win away from qualifying for continental competition. Am sure with the right signings you can take that extra step and push on towards the top of the league.

Good idea to do periodic updates mate, may take that stance on my own thread.

I'm sure there are better performances to come, hopefully the team can rally round and get what's needed to stay up.

Epic result getting the cup final in the bag @r96Skinner !! Surely the games against Baroka, Bloemfontein, Black Leopards & Highlands Park in the league must be same as definite wins & should put some pressure on the other teams at the top.

So that’s now Boavista twice, Santa Clara and Leixoes who have said no to Manuel taking over. He wonders what it is going to take for someone to take a chance on him. That being said it’s not going to distract him from what’s important right now, and that is continuing on as ARC Oleiros manager and trying to get some form of consistency going.

First game up after the news of yet another rejection we were at home to Famalicoa who gave us a pretty even game all things considered. We made the break through when Duspara hit a well struck shot late in the game and we held on for the win.



However that good result didn’t carry over to our next game away to AC Viseu who ran out 2-0 winners. Both goals coming right on half time and we never recovered.



Back at home and we were looking like going down 2-1 until deep into injury time Pinto buried a chance and it was no more than we deserved as we just about edged this game, or so from my point of view we did



Here we go again then, another interview request this time at Penafiel who are a couple of points above the relegation zone. I didn’t even realise they had sacked their manager but I attend the interview and wait and see what the outcome is.





Our away game with Gil Vicente didn’t bring any surprises really and we went down 1-0 in a drab game. Hardly any decent chances from either side however they took their chance to kill the game



Our next set of game saw us get our own 1-0 victory at home over Mafra and a routine 2-0 away loss to Cova da Piedade before Natan Costa was piping up in the press regarding our form. This had me scratching my head like who even is this guy?!? Turns out he is who I replaced when I took over ARC Oleiros, oh well screams sour grapes to me!









My hero Jorge Jesus has managed to turn Sporting’s fortunes around as he records 8 wins, a draw and a loss in his first 10 games back in charge. Keep up the good work boss!



So another rejection this time in favour of Jaap Stam. Oh well I move on.



A poor loss Porto’s B team 3-1. Not only that but thank God I didn’t get the Boavista job, they went down 6-0 to fellow relegation candidates Santa Clara. Could this be back to back relegations for them?





We managed a 0-0 away to Penafiel, I won’t lie I was hoping we were going to stuff this team but it wasn’t meant to be and a draw is a fair result really considering we’ve just come off 2 defeats.



Time to face Santa Clara now, a team that rejected me after interviewing me and who just thumped Boavista for 6. Oh well those 6 goals might have helped their goal difference last week however this week they shipped 4 to us! Awesome result and just goes to show maybe me not going there is a blessing in disguise.



Our goal difference was helped with that 4-0 win over Santa Clara however we also leaked 4 goals this time to Benfica B. Not good, not good at all.



Youth intake time and wow, just wow. Look at this guy. Contract offered straight away, moved to the first team and put in a mentoring group with our other goalies.





Last 2 games of this update sees us get 1 over Boavista, winning 1-0 just as we did the last time we played them. This would usually be seen as a good result but it seems everyone is beating them this season but it also confirmed we’re staying in this league next year, which really isn’t in doubt as Boavista and Santa Clara are seemingly doing everything they can to go down.





A 2-0 home loss to Leiria followed, maybe the team took for granted the fact we’ve survived and didn’t turn up to this one.



Closing out this update is confirmation my hero Jorge Jesus has really turned Sporting around. Good work boss, the future is bright!



Finally I’m once again invited to another job interviews this time at Liga NOS side Nacional de Madeira. This would be a good move as they’re in the top division and whilst they do have 1 eye on relegation they should survive as all the teams they have to play are currently below them in the league. I give it my all in the interview and hopefully Madeira see something in me that other teams don’t.





As Manuel waits the outcome of what seems like the 50th interview he thinks to himself, maybe I’m just not good enough and Olieros is the level I’m destined to be at. Why not stay and build a dynasty? Why not get this team promoted however long it takes? These are the questions that keep running though his mind, but not so deep down he knows Oleiros aren’t in a position to challenge for promotion any time soon, and it will take a lot to get them there. Maybe if the Madeira interview doesn’t come off, at the end of this season is when he leaves, not just Oleiros but Portugal altogether……

Some decent looking signings there, hopefully they can not only improve on last seasons finish but push you higher up the league and dare I say challenge the teams at the top...

For sure mate leagues like this for me at usually a one and done, I spend a season, 2 at most and move on. Can see you definitely qualifying from the group tho despite you're side not being the best am sure they're better than the other teams in your group.

I hate when the players say the don't like me, I'm manager you should be respecting me! With a couple of wins they'll be on your side though.

Yeah hopefully mate who knows, I do know that I'll be challenging every red card I can from now on though!

Great result getting to the final, hopefully a win there would set in motion some good form for the other competitions you're in

Kept your head above water in the end mate. Hopefully this season sees you stay clear of relegation as early sa possible. Fingers crossed it all works out for you in Denmark.

We start off with the last game in August away to Mafra which we didn't even turn up to and lost 2-0. The scoreline could've be worse and the worst thing is our left back Sergio Akieme picked up an injury so all in all a bad day at the office all around.





I've been keeping an eye on Boavista as I'm still disappointed at not getting that job but my oh my they've not adjusted well to this division at all, playing 5 and losing all 5.



Portugal cup draw sees us drawn away to lower league side GRAP. A game I'm confident we can win.



Before the Allianz cup game agasint Benfica we laboured to a 0-0 draw at home Cova da Piedade. A pretty even game all around so a draw isn't that bad a result really.



Not sure where the media are getting their info from, Charles only moaned about not getting much game time, plus he's just got back from injury. But we've got cover at left back and I've already accepted that he's probably off before long anyway.





So the first game of our Allianz cup group stage saw us take on Benfica, and get battered from pillar to post. Whilst we were 2 down after 25 minutes the red card didn't really help and it was uphill from there. Also we were never going to get anything from this game in any case.



The Portugal cup game with Grap saw a better result a we edged them 2-1 to advance to the next round where we'll play Liga NOS side Feirense.





Boavista watch time now and September saw them pick up 1 win out of 4, losing the other 3.



Our own next 2 fixtures saw 2 draws with Porto's B team and Penafiel which means we've now gone 6 league games without a win and the media have picked up on that fact.









The cup game came and brought with it another poor performance and a 3-0 loss to Feirense so we're out of that cup now.



We do pick up a vital win away to bottom of the league Santa Clara (more on them later) but the result could've been different as Hugo Obama saw a straight red card for a terrible tackle early in the second half, still a win is a win.





Our next league game saw us draw with Benfica B then a loss in the Allianz cup to Estoril means we are knocked out of that cup too.









Next up are Boavista, and a la Kevin Keegan I would love it, LOVE it if we beat them.



And beat them we did! Happy that I was able to show them just why not going with me was a mistake!



Our first 2 games of November saw us lose away to Leiria and then beat Fafe 3-1 at home before a double sacking took place







First the Santa Clara manager got the boot as they are bottom of the league, and then would you believe Boavista finally had enough and sacked the guy they picked over me, Petit with both interested in me.







I'm asked about the Santa Clara link to which i say it's nice to be recognised however I won't be actively seeking an interview





Our next game is against Leixoes and it's a milestone for me as I reach 100 games in this career.



The team made sure I'd remember my 100th game as we produced an epic performance to win 4-0



Boavista got their second win of the season after sacking their manager, quite ironic really.



We ended up losing 3-1 at home to Chaves before I was invited to not 1 but 2 interviews









Part of me didn't want to go to the Boavista interview but I thought why not and Santa Clara is another tough choice as they are rock bottom of the league. If I got either of these jobs staying up will definitely be an achievement.

Back to league action and we went down 1-0 away to Covilha before grabbing a hard earned 1-0 home win over Moreirenese.





Confirmation that I was unsuccessful in the Santa Clara interview. Not too disheartened as they are on a hiding and looking like going down.



Once again me to Boavista just isn't meant to be right now as they choose Jorge Costa over me so I thought to hell with it I'll declare my interest in the team he just left (and we just beat) Leixoes.







Our final game in the Allianz cup saw us draw with Guimaraes. A decent result considering we're out of the cup already.



Another interview comes and it's with Leixoes. I attend and await the outcome.





During all of this Jorge Jesus was sacked as manager of Schalke after a poor run of form



At the same time Sporting Lisbon sacked their manager Jose Peseiro (you know where this is going!) after a poor league season so far







Welcome home boss, welcome home!









Last part of this update and it's not a deal I wanted to do but Vilmar has agreed a deal to go back to Brazil. He hadn't played recently and when he had didn't really do much but he was my main man for the last 2 seasons. In a private chat he kind of demanded to go so my hands were tied. All the best big man, silver lining is that the deal doesn't go through until our season is over.



So after the first half of the season we're sitting 8th in the league.



I've been interviewed and rejected by teams currently lower than us in the league although I'm happy with how things have gone. Part of me is saying I am going to leave at the end of this season and ideally experience another country, but the other part of me wants to try and take this team further.

Manuel is also absolutely thrilled with the news that his idol Jorge Jesus has gone back to his favourite club Sporting Lisbon. Hopefully this is the spark they need to topple Benfica. We'll see what the future holds.

Thanks for reading!