A Nigerian's Journey. - An FM19 Story

  • Thread starter Michael Onwuegbu
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Kidderminster have offered me the job, stay or go?

  • Stay

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Go

    Votes: 2 100.0%

  • Total voters
    2
  • Poll closed .
Looks like the finances are making it difficult. Thats the problem in those lower leagues. Not really clued up about Amateur contracts etc so not able to help in that respect. Lets hope Henderson can step up!
 
Hey man, I'm loving the story! Keep it up.
Managing clubs with players on Amateur contracts is tough. I had this when managing Cobh Ramblers in the Irish 2nd division a few years back. The dream is for the club to become professional so you can sign players on proper contracts!

Good luck, I'll be following :)
 
Thanks a lot guys! The Chairman actually provided a 35,000 cash injection and I decided to try my luck and ask him about turning professional but he doesn't think it's a good idea now.
 
Thanks a lot guys! The Chairman actually provided a 35,000 cash injection and I decided to try my luck and ask him about turning professional but he doesn't think it's a good idea now.

Unlucky dude! Good about the cash injection though!
 
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It's the final stretch of the season. 10 games standing between us and promotion. We didn't have the best of luck last month but I fully expect us to put it behind us and make a statement of our intent. But today it came to my attention we have a child slavery scheme in place as our youth intake came in and these "youth" players are on 1 pound a week. Great to see UNICEF don't care about semi-pro Northern Irish football clubs. But here is the latest Derg crop.
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I'm really excited about Gerard Dickinson, Noel Kerr and Conor Maron. Maron may become our No.1 next year as McFrederick is retiring to focus on being a goalkeeping coach for us. But I believe these guys may be the future of this club.
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Now it's time for us to get back to football. The first game of the second half of the season. At home against Larne who are currently top, so if we win we close the gap down to four points. I'm hopeful we can give a good account of ourselves, up the Derg!
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WHO ON EARTH IS THIS KID?! Paul Henderson grabs a hattrick in his first start at Darragh Park! His first ever goals for the club! We are absolutely buzzing for the lad! Great Stuff!
 
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Today I got carried away with the playing so we are going to have February AND March as we try to get Dergview promoted to the Premiership.
FEBRUARY/MARCH
In the last post we saw Paul Henderson get himself off to the best possible start in a Dergview shirt, but now we are going to need to show consistency if we are going to have something to celebrate come the end of the season. I've played through the games, now let's see the results.
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That's... grim. We are now enduring a run of only 1 win in the last 5 games while conceding six. I mean, there have been a lot of positives from the quality of our play, we just leak goals at the back. We now have just four games left and that loss to Larne meant that the title is going to either them or Portadown, leaving us and Ballyclare to fight for 3rd place which is the final playoff spot. Henderson actually managed to score 4 more goals even though we haven't been able to come away with too many wins. I don't want to mess with the team going into these final 4 league games but I think we need a way to strengthen our backline a bit. I think that we might need more firepower so I have made a signing that will come through next season. He is currently the top scorer in the division below us so I hope he can take some pressure off Henderson's shoulders. I'll post a screenshot when he arrives. My anti-football approach has been leaking in goals, which makes me question the point of taking such an approach in the first place. But I'm getting ready for next month's games. I've been watching hours of footage. No I haven't been scouting my opponents. Don't be ridiculous. I've been watching Braveheart and the Damned United. I DARE you to come at me.
 

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Just wanted to put out a quick thank you to everyone who has been following my story. I really appreciate it. I'm not really experienced in writing on here and the response I've gotten so far means a lot to me. And please I'm always open to constructive criticism.
 
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Alright we're here. It's April. 4 games left in the season. My plan is very simple. Deliver a promotion to the Dergview faithful in exchange for my second coaching badge. Here we go. If we fail, then this is the last month of our season. But we know we can't fail. No surely not. We did NOT get this far only to stumble at the final hurdle. It's time for the first of four games at home to Ballyclare who are 2 points behind us let's go out there and DO this.
DERGVIEW VS BALLYCLARE
We kick off and look the more threatening team creating 4 chances in the opening 5 minutes. The boys are really taking the game to them. But with 19 minutes on the clock a ball is whipped in from a corner and the ball is headed down and smashed past McFrederick. 1-0 to Ballyclare. We are getting ripped apart at the moment. But now the ball has been played over the top for Henderson to chase. It's headed into his path by their centre back. Hendo one on one, he drags it wide. You just feel it's one of those games. No matter what we did, we just couldn't break them down. And it wasn't long before they added a second due to our sloppy defending. Then it would be another set-piece to give them a 3rd. Why even try at this point?
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That result sees us drop out of the top 3 meaning we have 3 games to get back into the playoffs. We are currently 2 points away from Ballyclare who just overtook us. This match shows that there is a lot of work to be done but only a little time to do it. But I have faith in the lads so onwards and upwards!
KNOCKBREDA VS DERGVIEW
Right this is it. Our chance to bounce back from a disappointing run of results. Knockbreda have nothing left to play for in the final 3 games of the season and I hope we can come
away with a win to mark out our promotion credentials.
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At this point I'm all out of faith. The only positive is that Ballyclare lost to Larne meaning the situation remains the same. But I will not feel safe without six points out of six next up are Loughall and Portadown. If we beat Portadown it might be the game that sees them win or lose the title. But it might be the game where we secure playoffs. Here are the games.....
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PLAYOFFS!!!!!
We caused Portadown to lose the title on the final day and they will now meet us in the playoffs to decide who will go on to face 2nd bottom from the premiership.
LEG 1
We are playing at home in the first leg and we need a great result to put us into pole position coming into the second leg. I've stuck with my tried and tested formula and hopefully it will be enough. I had a meeting with the team about our promotion chances and a majority of the squad think we're not ready for promotion, and they don't want me "pressuring" them. Ugh I just hope they don't embarrass me in case a bigger club is watching. Now it's time UP THE DERG!
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CRACKING first leg result! We can't take anything for granted though as we have lost by 3 goals in the past. Fitting how it was my first ever signing James Georgaklis to open the scoring in one of the most important games of our season. But now we must switch our focus to the next leg.
LEG 2
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WE ARE THROUGH TO THE FINALS!!!!!
We are going to play Institute in the Final over 2 legs but we are heavy underdogs and no one fancies us to win. Well no one except me of course. I fully expect us to finish what we've
started. Now we just need to go out there and DO IT.
PLAYOFF FINAL LEG 1
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Not ideal as they already have two away goals going into the second leg we are going to need a HUGE performance if we are going to see this through.

PLAYOFF FINAL LEG 2
Woo. This game is huge. I've never been in such a huge match in my short managerial career. I want the boys to know that whatever happens I am proud of them. No one expected
us to get this far. We were the favourites to get relegated and now look where we are. 90 minutes away from the top flight. I believe in these boys. COME ON!
Kick off and we are threatening them. The lads are starting to believe in what I've been saying all year. They WANT to win this match as much as I do. And 27 minutes in Adam Dougherty cuts in from the left, he breaks into the box, shoots and SCORES! 1-0 to the Derg! It's still a very tense affair and both teams are creating chances. Then, in the 70th minute, a horror tackle from the Institute right back sees him get sent off! We now need to hold onto this result against 10 men. Come on boys. Okay it looks like we'll see this through, it's the 91st minute of 91. Uh-oh. A free kick from the halfway line. They whip it into the box and... they've scored. My ecstasy is dissolved into tears. I'm on my knees then suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up and see Gary Mortland pointing to the linesman. His flag,... is UP! WE HAVE BEEN PROMOTED!

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Who would have thought that just one year in the job I would have gotten Dergview promoted to the Premiership. We were predicted to finish ROCK BOTTOM. But here we are. Promoted and joyous. I have now wrapped up my second coaching badge and it is clear I am on the up. Whether or not to stick with Dergview is still being contemplated but I haven't seen any appealing jobs I have an actual chance of getting. I think I'll just begin the season and see what happens. I mean don't get me wrong I have enjoyed being at Dergview, but the cons outweigh the pros here. I mean heavy limited financially, incompetent backroom staff, lack of professional player, I could go on. Leyton Orient have sacked their boss so I think I'll send them a copy of my CV (including that time I won the Champions League on FM 09) and see what happens. But right now I don't think I'm like the other managers in Northern Ireland. So please don't call me arrogant but I'm playoff winner; I'm the special one.
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Who would have thought that just one year in the job I would have gotten Dergview promoted to the Premiership. We were predicted to finish ROCK BOTTOM. But here we are. Promoted and joyous. I have now wrapped up my second coaching badge and it is clear I am on the up. Whether or not to stick with Dergview is still being contemplated but I haven't seen any appealing jobs I have an actual chance of getting. I think I'll just begin the season and see what happens. I mean don't get me wrong I have enjoyed being at Dergview, but the cons outweigh the pros here. I mean heavy limited financially, incompetent backroom staff, lack of professional player, I could go on. Leyton Orient have sacked their boss so I think I'll send them a copy of my CV (including that time I won the Champions League on FM 09) and see what happens. But right now I don't think I'm like the other managers in Northern Ireland. So please don't call me arrogant but I'm playoff winner; I'm the special one.View attachment 499207

Well done mate, that is absolutely amazing result! Well done mate! Surely you'll be on the radar of other clubs now?! Will you be looking elsewhere or be staying put?

Keep it up bro! Loving this story and the detail.
 
Well done mate, that is absolutely amazing result! Well done mate! Surely you'll be on the radar of other clubs now?! Will you be looking elsewhere or be staying put?

Keep it up bro! Loving this story and the detail.
Thanks a lot. I'm not sure if I'll leave but Leyton Orient didn't shortlist me so I'll keep thinking about it.
 
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PRESEASON 19/20
As you may have seen in my last update I applied for the Leyton Orient job but unfortunately they didn't shortlist me so I will begin the 19/20 season here at Dergview. Over the summer most of our amateur players were given part-time contracts which means they can no longer be poached. My Director of Football made some signings and arranged the friendlies so let's get into the transfers.....

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Garth Falconer was at the club at the beginning of the save but he left the club before I arrived. He is already the best player in our squad according to my staff which really doesn't mean much but I have faith that he can step up when we need something special.
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I knew I wanted a centre-mid to replace last season's player of the year Matthew Kirk who rejected a part-time contract and went back to Coleraine and I think I've found the perfect replacement for him. He has good passing and technique so I can imagine him being the more creative midfielder for us.
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I actually made this signing last season but he couldn't arrive until now. He needs work, but with his finishing and pace he could be deadly.
All the other signings where made by the DoF for the reserves.
Now it's time for me to let Gary manage the friendlies.....
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It really seems like the new signings have improved the squad a lot. But it's just pre-season so we don't need to get too excited yet. We may have had that magical season last year but this time around I well and truly expect us to be fighting relegation all year but I expect us to give it a good go. The board expect me to "fight bravely" against relegation and when I spoke to the boys about it they all said they think we have NO chance of staying up. Honestly if I end the season here I'll be surprised.
 
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AUGUST UPDATE
So now I'm beginning my second season in management. I was feeling confident in us starting strong and keeping ourselves off the bottom spot in the league. If we hit the ground
running, then I see no reason that we can't stay up. I wouldn't even mind if we had to play in the playoffs. But let's just see how we start off....
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Absolutely DREADFUL. The only game we've one was in the cup and while I had hoped we'd tear up this league, the only thing we've torn up is the defending handbook. The only positive is that we're not bottom of the league with that. The bottom team are Ards and they actually have Simon McGlynn in up top. Karma eh? If we beat them and they go down it will be justice well served. In other news Kidderminster are looking for a new manager, and although they are currently letting their interim boss attempt to prove himself, they are offering me an interview.
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I am ready to leave if I get offered the job as working in England will be a significant step up as well as them being a fully Professional club. But they did inform me that it might take a while before they make their decision about whether to go with a new manager or to give it to the caretaker. But I think this would be a great oppurtunity for me to prove myself in a new country.
 
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It is time for what could potentially be the end of my career at Dergview. I have played through to the end of and Kidderminster have still not made their decision. But it is time for a league update.....
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
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It's disappointing the way we have played so far and if we are to stay up then we need to improve. As you saw we failed to win in the relegation six-pointer against Ards where Simon McGlynn missed a late chance that would have won it for them. I know it was intentional; he still loves us. The board feel we're doing fine actually and my backroom staff feel our squad just isn't good enough for this level. I think I'll try and shake up the tactics a bit as I feel what we were doing last year just won't cut it this time.
EDIT: I apologise for showing the September league table instead of the October one. I'll try to fix that as soon as possible.
 
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Dont know what your team is like but I am having great sucess playing 3 cbs, 2 wing backs with 2 sitting in centre mid thena cam in behind 2 strikers. On veritcal tiki taka works well when underdog I have found out
 
Dont know what your team is like but I am having great sucess playing 3 cbs, 2 wing backs with 2 sitting in centre mid thena cam in behind 2 strikers. On veritcal tiki taka works well when underdog I have found out
You know I've been thinking of experimenting with a 532 any specific player role instructions in it?
 
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