Chris Ball - The European Journeyman

[FM_TNSSO]

To everyone following this story, just wanted to say a huge thanks....I appreciate your support and time you take to keep up with my adventure! Just to let you all know that my writing style will change very slightly moving forward as I am finding it extremely time consuming to provide a match report for every single game and some of what I write, I fear may become repetitive. So the one change I'm going to make is to group together some match reports etc....rather than reporting on every single game. Naturally, some games will still get special attention. What this also means is that my posts won't necessarily be on a month by month basis either and will instead, just have a date stamp on them as the title of each post. Hope this is OK with everyone following this and doesn't put you off continuing to read.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

1st June - 1st August 2024

The board announced their expectations for the upcoming season and naturally, they only expect me to keep us in the division after coming up last year. We will take part in the Allianz Cup this year, but are only expected to be competitive, but they do expect a bit of a run in the Taca de Portugal Placard, which might depend on who we draw in the early rounds.

A couple of players that had featured heavily over the past couple of years depart the club. Maga wasn’t interested in signing a new deal as he felt he needed a new challenge, whilst striker Marius Mouandilmadji copped the ump after a lack of first team football and was moved on. A few youngsters have gone out on loan to assist with their development. Joao Silva has been a massive part of my defensive line over the past 2 years, but couldn’t be persuaded to sign a new deal either and he left the club at the end of his contract.

Now the first thing I needed to do on the incoming transfers side, was to keep hold of the players that had been brilliant for me on loan last year. Unfortunately though, Danilo Luis and Renato Matos weren’t interested in playing another season for us and felt they were good enough to compete for a place at their own clubs. On the plus side though, I did manage to renew loan deals for both Martim Tavares and Rui Correia.

Incoming Loan; Rodrigo Correia (GK)
Signed From; Sporting, Monthly Fee; £0, Salary Contribution; £0

Also joining us on loan for the season is young keeper, Rodrigo Correia, who comes in from senior affiliate, Sporting! He will fill the number 1 slot between the sticks this season. I had tried to bring back Antonio Lima from Benfica on loan, but they weren’t willing to let him come to us (even though he seems to be their 3rd or 4th choice keeper!

Incoming Loan; German Meneses (CB)
Signed From; SC Braga, Monthly Fee; £0, Salary Contribution; £2.8k p/w

The next thing I needed to address was the signing of a key centre back and German Meneses is the man who comes in the fill the void left by the departure of Joao Silva. He’s costing us a fair wedge in wages, but should be well worth it in this division with the attributes he has to offer! Meneses actually played 28 times in the Liga NOS last year on loan for Belenenses SAD, so has plenty of experience at a higher level and is a massive coup for us!

Unfortunately, Edgar Davids leaves us after just one season on the coaching staff, as he is offered an Assistant Manager role with Nurnberg. We did get a nice £52k compensation package for him though!

On the plus side, the club managed to tie me down for another couple of years, with a pay rise to nearly £4k p/w for me. My earnings have improved significantly since the £400 p/w I started on at Brechin.

We drew another team from the Portuguese second tier in the first phase of the Allianz Cup.

And in preparation for that, we had 4 friendlies which went pretty well, with a well earned draw against La Liga side, UD Las Palmas, being the highlight.

The first phase of the Allianz Cup gave us an opportunity to test ourselves against another team in the same division as us and the game went to pens after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes!

It was 5-4 to them after 9 perfect penalties and time for Almeida to step up to keep us in the tie...

Which he did as he slotted past the keeper with confidence to take us to sudden death. Five more penalties were tucked away before Yuri Adorjan missed his, striking straight down the middle at their keeper.

The pressure got to the youngster who at the age of 16, can’t be blamed, as he was only playing due to a shortage of defenders available to me for this game. He had to come off the bench as Pedro Pinto picked up an injury during the 2nd half.

In all fairness, the match should never have even reach penalties when you look at these stats. It’s actually quite hard to believe we are out of the competition after such a dominant showing…

To help me get over our cup exit, I signed the club's new best player!

I snapped up Papou Mendes who immediately becomes the highest paid player! He is a central midfielder who was released by Lille in the Summer (so joins us on a free) and he has to be seen as an immense signing for us and could control the middle of the park in games for us this season! And if he turns out to be a flop, we can at least make half a million quid on him I reckon!​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

2nd August – 16th September 2024

I still didn’t have a recognised right back in the squad, with the season just around the corner, so I quickly added two to the team.

Goncalo Tavares comes in from Cova de Piedade for a fee of £105k as I spend majority of my transfer budget. He looks decent enough though and should prove to be worth the outlay! Meanwhile, Miguel Bandarra comes in on a free after being released by CD Tondela in the Summer and he can definitely push tavares for his spot in the starting eleven. Just like that, I’ve sorted the main problem position I had on the field.

I was offered the opportunity to join Estoril, taking over a side in the top tier of Portuguese football.

But what’s this…

I contemplated it for a long time, weighing up my options but decided the timing just wasn’t right. I’d have to go straight in and play my first game on my first day in charge, no time to get my squad to gel or used to my tactics and with a side that are predicted to struggle and finish plum last in the division, I didn’t fancy it. They only offered me a very small increase on my current salary too. I think if I can make a have a good first few months of the new season with Vilafranquense, then with my new coaching badge as well, I feel like there will be bigger opportunities than this one later this season.

Season ticket sales have doubled on last year with our promotion!

Let’s have a look at this season’s preview. Despite only being promoted last year, we are still predicted to finish in the top half of the table this season and are only 16/1 to win back to back titles. On loan centre back, Rui Correia is once again in the media dream 11!

Our first league game in the 2nd tier ends in a bore draw against a side predicted to finish just above us in the division. Not a bad way to start the season I guess.

Although it was a shocking result when you consider how much we dominated the game!

Three wins and a draw followed including a massive 5-1 victory over one of our fiercest rivals, Alverca, which will have sent the fans home happy!

The fans aren’t the only ones that are happy after our positive start to the new campaign.

Transfer deadline day had arrived and I still only had one real striker in the first team in Martim Tavares. I was off hunting for a new front man to bring in!

The man I turned to was 22 year old, Andre Liberal, who joins for a fee of £58k from Liga NOS side, GD Chaves. He played 15 times for them in the top tier last year, scoring 3 goals, and I’m hoping he can produce a few more down in the 2nd tier as hopefully he’ll find this more his level.

We draw lower league opposition in Lank FC Vilaverdense in the Taca de Portugal Placard, and it should be an easy path through to the 3rd round.

Next up we played the side that were apparently 1-91 on to win this league….must be a glitch in the game that!

But we made light work of them!

Which leaves us top of the league after a 6 game unbeaten start! Best attack and best defence in the league so far.

Martim Tavares has taken to this league like a duck to water with 5 goals in 6 games!

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[FM_TNSSO]

17th September – 2nd December 2024

Another league win followed by progression in the cup after a comfortable win over our lower league opponents.

Which came even after making 8 changes to the starting lineup as I rotated the squad.

A tough draw for us against Liga NOS opposition in the next round, although we do have home advantage so we’ll fancy ourselves to give them a game!

Then the unthinkable happened…

Yep, our 48 game unbeaten run in all competitive competitions since 1st October 2023, comes to an end at the hands of UD Oliveirense!

We had 15 days before our cup tie with Rio Ave to get over that feeling of defeat! And in a cup game where everyone though we’d get trounced, we actually did ourselves proud taking the top tier side all the way to penalties. We lost the shootout but there was no shame in this performance!

Stoke City are currently struggling in the English Championship and have recently parted ways with manager, Paul Clement. I threw my hat in the ring, not expecting an interview, but the board have agreed to give me the opportunity to speak to them.

I also take a short trip over to Spain for an interview for the vacant managerial role at CD Tenerife who are currently lying 17th in the La Liga Smartbank (Segunda Division).

The Stoke job went to Eddie Howe!

Whilst I didn’t get the Tenerife job either! Ah I remember that sweet old smell of rejection.

In all honesty though, I’m not desperate to leave my current role and am enjoying life at Vilafranquense, but I will keep an eye on jobs of interest that might give me a significant step up. And now I have a Continental B License, I might be taken a little more seriously too.

And I immediately get to work on my A license, after convincing the board to fund it for me. It’ll be a whole year until I’ve completed this one though.

The Huddersfield job comes up which is also of interest, so I throw over my CV. Within only hours I’m requested to attend an interview.

The urgency around the situation has drawn some interest from the media, although I’m apparently only an outsider for the job.

But the fans want me!

And it appears the board do too as I am offered the job, which would more than double my current salary!

In amongst all those interviews, it’s worth noting that I had recorded another 3 wins and a draw in the league.

Which means that if I take the Huddersfield job, I’d be leaving Vilafranquense top of the Portuguese Second Division.

I say ‘if I take the Huddersfield job’….well of course I’m going to take the job. It gives me the opportunity to go from a club with an estimated value of £2.28 million, to a club worth over £95 million! That’s a significant step up in anyone’s book!

Upon leaving Vilafranquense, I reflect on what has been a happy time in Portugal. A 68% win percentage with only 7 losses In 73 games is one of the most successful spells I’ve ever had anywhere on any version of FM. I delivered a league title and promotion with it for the club and I’m sure the fans and board alike won’t begrudge me going on to bigger and better things.

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[FM_TNSSO]

New Club; Huddersfield

So the situation I find myself in is a 19th placed Huddersfield with 19 points in the Championship. Only 2 points above the relegation places and 11 off the playoff spots.

The club were playing Premier League football back in 2017/18 and 2018/19, but since their return to the Championship, it’s been pretty poor with the club even being relegated to League One, although they did manage to return at the first time of asking last season.

It was, in fact, a double winning season last year as the club won the Papa John’s Trophy as well. Other than that though, trophies have been few and far between in the club’s history. Right now, the focus has to be on re-establishing ourselves in the Championship and ultimately getting back to playing Premier League football.

I take over the reigns from Robbie Fowler. The board here are going through managers like I go through Gregg’s sausage rolls! I’m their 5th permanent manager in the past 4 ½ years, with two managers managing to last less than 200 days!!

I can't help but feel like I’ve hit the big time a little bit, as I join a club with some excellent facilities, over 11,000 season ticket holders and a value of nearly £100 million!

Talking of money, there is nearly £10 million in the bank, and nearly £4 million for me to spend in the January transfer window. However, we are currently over spending on the wage budget by a massive £29k per week, so this will need addressing before anything else.

So let’s see what I’m working with. The squad doesn’t look too shabby on first impressions, although it’s clear to see that most players aren’t reaching their full potential this season with only Jacob Sorensen maintaining an average rating about 7.0. There is a serious concern about the right back position for me and this will need addressing ASAP, and I’d like to improve my attacking options when possible too.

I’m not working with a bunch of players in complete disarray either as there is a half decent dressing room atmosphere about the place and my support from my new players isn’t anywhere near as negative as it was when I took over at Vilafranquense.

That might have something to do with the fact the boy’s have won 2 of their last 3 games though.

Looking over my top 3 players at the club, Jacob Sorensen definitely stands out. As I look to implement the same style of play that was so successful for me in Portugal, Sorensen is going to be playing my DM heartbeat of the team role and is going to be so important for me!

Another midfielder that looks to be one of my key players is Juninho Bacuna, especially as he can play through the middle, or down either flank.

The other player worth mentioning is Jack Walton. I do like having a solid keeper between the sticks and he seems to be doing a good enough job at the moment. Not sure about his ability for the long term, but for now he is one of the better players in the side for sure.

The message from the board is loud and clear….STAY UP!

I’d be stupid not to start things off with the tactic I created that produced a 48 game unbeaten run in Portugal right? As I did with Vilafranquense, player roles are adapted to different players strengths and weaknesses, whilst the opposition instructions will also be adjusted game by game depending on our opponents and what they have to offer in their attacking arsenal.

I’ve got 5 days to work with the lads in training before we invite Bristol City to The John Smith’s Stadium for my first game in charge.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

3rd December 2024 – 3rd January 2025

My first taste of the English FA Cup will be against Leicester City.

A great way to start my reign at Huddersfield as we beat Bristol City in my first game in charge. It was a pretty even one, but we took our chances and they didn’t and that was the difference on the day.

I gave right back, TJ Eyoma, jis debut against Bristol City and he turned in a decent performance and bagged an assist. New boss having an impact already?

Two more wins in quick succession followed meaning we’d taken maximum points from my opening 3 games in charge.

After that Barnsley game, it seems I’m making my first enemy in the game in the form of John Coleman. He was giving it ‘the biggen’ before the game and after as well, so I simply told him to ‘shut his mouth’ as the press so kindly put it.

Now looking at the preview of the youth coming through, it would suggest that we have plenty to be excited about. I’m always sceptical about these things though so I won’t hold my breath!

Finally, my Assistant Manager, Physio and Fitness Coach that I wanted to bring with me from Vilafranquense have their work permits approved and join the club.

I gave Angelo Oliveira his first job in coaching and my right hand man was by my side through that 48 game unbeaten run, so it was important for me to bring him to England with me.

I also tried to raid my old club for two players….Paulo Estrela and Andre Ceitil and had transfer fees agreed with the club, only for both players to have their work permits rejected ☹

Next up in the league was Preston and a certain TJ Eyoma got his first goal for the club…

…in a 4-2 win over the side now managed by David Moyes.

This kid doesn’t have the greatest attributes and my assistant only rates him 2 stars. But he is fast growing on me I’ve got to say and after my first 4 games in charge, he is top of the form table!

As always, I asked the board to go find me an affiliate when I joined and they have delivered….we now have Liverpool as a senior partner and I’ll be looking to their youngsters in January to see if there is anyone worth bringing here on loan for the rest of the season!

The Christmas period wasn’t the greatest, suffering our first defeat under my management, before only getting a point against Fulham. We then quickly put that behind us as we kick started the New Year with an excellent win over playoff chasing West Brom.

We’ve shot up the table since my arrival and now sit 12th, just 6 points off the playoffs, with 20 games remaining. Not expecting us to get into the top 6, but at least we have something to go for!

The January transfer window is now open and it’s time for me to get to work trying to improve my team. As part of a mini clearout I’ll be looking to have, Michael Duffy is the first player to leave the club as he joins Shamrock Rovers for £44k.

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[MidKnightDreary]

Just don't stay away forever...