Diary Of A European Journeyman Chapter 1 - Introduction
After the crash of the FM Base site and all the data getting lost, it's time to kick off another new save so that I can create a new story from the beginning. Luckily, I wasn't too far into my previous save and not too much time was wasted! For anyone that was following me before the site crash, you'll know I was doing a European Journeyman save and had been at Cobh Ramblers in Ireland for about 9 or 10 games!
That save was one I was just starting to get into, so I am going to run with the same idea for this new save. It will be a traditional journeyman save in the sense that I will start the game with no coaching badges to my name and only experience as a Sunday league footballer. Basically, starting from the very bottom and working my way up! Geographically, my entire focus will be on Europe...mainly because I know absolutely nothing about rest of world football, but also because the best and biggest leagues are in Europe!
However, those kind of leagues and clubs are just a pipe dream at the moment, and right now it's about finding a job....any job....just to get me started! And for that, I'll need to go to some of the lesser known leagues, so my game begins with the following countries loaded; Belarus, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Poland, Serbia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Wales! I will play through my save with attribute masking on to give the game more authenticity and encourage proper use of scouting systems to find players, just as is required in real life!
Here's me...Chris Ball. Unheard of and an absolute nobody in the world of football management. Will my name one day be up in lights alongside the greats of the modern game, will I gain the respect of the likes of Guardiola, Klopp and Mourinho?! Well, that's the plan so let's get the show on the road!
My first day on the job hunts and there are a few vacancies available. My most realistic option is going for the lowest rated club available...that'll be Conwy in the Welsh 2nd tier.
So in goes my CV!
And within days I'm interviewing for the position!
And a couple more days go by and I'm offered my first job in football management! Going into this with total disregard for Conwy's obvious desperation to offer the job to anyone, I gladly accept and am successfully on the first step of the ladder!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 2 - Conwy Borough Football Club
The announcement is officially made that I've arrived in Wales and I'm the new manager of Conwy Borough Football Club!
Conwy are a relatively young football club, only formed in 1977, but have already had their share of success! They have 8 trophies to their name; 4x Welsh Alliance League Division One, 1x Cymru Alliance League Cup, 2x FAW Trophy and 1x Gwynedd League! The club has pretty poor facilities all round, as expected at this level!
Conwy Borough were an established Premier League side back in the 1990s but haven't played top flight football for 19 years!
Conwy Borough play their home games at Y Morfa stadium, which has a capacity of 3,000 with 1,000 seats. I'll be surprised if we're getting more than a couple of hundred fans turning up for games though!
I'll be completely honest and say I don't plan on sticking around here for 5 years, but we'll take a look at the club's vision anyway! They have absolutely no aspirations other than fighting against relegation this season and then just staying in the division for the next 4 seasons after that!
At this level, it's something for a club to have their finances even in the black and at least Conwy have that. That wage budget did make me laugh...£14 a week!!
As I take a look at my squad for the first time, I have a young side made up almost entirely of Welsh players (apart from 1). Although the current ability of most of my team is pretty poor, they seem to have plenty of potential according to my assistant manager. This isn't going to help me right now though and I will surely need to add some quality to the team before the season kicks off if I want us to be competitive!
One of the areas I am strongest is up front and striker, Corrig McGonigle, is definitely one of my best players. He's a decent dribbler and can finish and with decent jumping reach, he should be able to get up and compete for headers too.
Englishman Rob Jones is my only non Welsh player in the squad and he is one of the best players at my disposal! A central midfielder with decent passing and tackling ability could be like gold dust in this division. He can also crack off a decent long shot and against poor keepers, we could utilise that weapon this year!
Back to that striking area again and another player worth noting is Cory Williams. He'll be my front man with some pace to run onto those long balls over the top, which we are bound to be playing at this level! His finishing could be better, but I'm sure his pace will likely earn him enough opportunities to score some goals.
As for the dynamics, it's good to see I have no issues with the squad at present. However, as someone with absolutely no reputation at all in the game, it surprises me that I apparently still have a better reputation than my players....how bad are this team?!
The development centre shows that we don't have any youngsters worth getting too excited about and certainly nobody in the U19 squad that is worth promoting up to the first team!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 3 – Saturday 24th August 2019
I have decided on the club's code of conduct and made it clear to all the lads that missing training or going AWOL is simply not acceptable!
It seems that my first competitive game in charge will be in the Welsh Cup and we'll take on Buckley Town!
The tactic I've come up with for my crop of pretty awful players is one of the most basic! It's route one style all the way...win the ball, get it forward as quick as possible and get shots on goal! Simple!
I had the opportunity to get 4 friendlies done and out of the way before my first competitive game in charge. The team seems to be responding well to my tactic and style of play, picking up 3 wins including a decent result over Blackburn’s youth team, who on paper are still miles better than us! Coventry outclassed us but that was to be expected!
Welsh League Cup – 1st Round
Conwy Borough vs Buckley Town
Formation; 4-4-2, Menatality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, N.Williams, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, R.Jones, D.Jones, G.Hughes (S.Hogan 67), C.McGonigle (L.Morris 67), C.Williams
My first competitive game in charge ends in a narrow victory over the side that are predicted to struggle alongside us in the league! It’s great to get off to a winning start and progress to the 2nd round of the cup. A decent introduction to football management for me and a decent impression made on the Conwy fans. Man of the Match; Iolo Hughes (Conwy Borough)
We will now go away to Bala Town in the 2nd round of the Welsh League Cup. Much tougher opposition from the division above, who are predicted to finish in the top 3 as well!
Welsh League Cup – 2nd Round
Bala Town vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Menatality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, N.Williams, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard (S.Hogan 90), C.Whelan, R.Jones, D.Jones, G.Hughes, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
Wow! What a win that is for little old Conwy Borough. Bala Town are one of the best teams in the country and we came into this game as 12/1 outsiders, but we’ve only gone and knocked them out of the cup in the early stages! This is a massive statement from me and my team here and I’m sure everyone in our division will be standing up and taking notice after this result! Man of the Match; Nathan Williams (Conwy Borough)
Bangor City are the favourites to win our division this year and we’ll play them away from home in the 3rd round of the Welsh League Cup! Surely we have nothing to fear now after defeating Bala in the last round though right?!
The bookies have us down to finish rock bottom in the JD Cymru North division this season and have us and Buckley Town nailed on to be miles behind the rest! Bangor City are odds on to win the league, although the odds are very tight for most of the teams in the division and it looks set to be a competitive league.
I give the captain’s armband to my first choice keeper, Ben Heald. He was the natural choice with a rating of 15 for leadership! Striker, Corrig McGonigle, is attracting some interest from other clubs and I’ve given him a position of responsibility in the hope it will encourage him to stay!
We round off pre season with a 3-1 loss to Hereford in our final friendly!
The season preview (just before the league kicks off) is interesting. I don’t know if it’s because of our lack of activity so far in the transfer window, but our odds have gone all the way out to 200-1 to win the league!! Also, our cup win over Buckley must have made them rethink our placings as they now have us to finish above them at the bottom. I honestly didn’t expect to have any players in the media dream 11 so it’s no surprise that I haven’t! Bangor City dominate that with 6 players!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 1
Colwyn Bay vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, N.Williams, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, R.Jones, D.Jones, G.Hughes, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (L.Morris 64)
Colwyn Bay are one of the best teams in this division so it’s not the end of the world that we kicked off our league campaign with defeat! We gave them a good game and were competitive throughout so there were plenty of positive signs that we won’t be battered every week in this league! Man of the Match; Craig Whelan (Conwy Borough)
Outgoing Transfer; My only recognised right back, Nathan Williams, has left the club after being approached by Rhostyllen. He has chosen to play at a lower level despite being my first choice in his position…strange.
JD Cymru North – Matchday 2
Conwy Borough vs Ruthin Town
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S. Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (H.Galeotti 35), R.Jones, D.Jones, G.Hughes, C.McGonigle (L.Morris 68), C.Williams
Our first home game of the season and we’re able to give our fans a win to celebrate! It was a close game, but I’d say we just edged it and were fully deserving of all 3 points! Nice to chalk up an early win in the season and that’ll be a massive confidence boost for the lads! Man of the Match; Corrig McGonigle (Conwy Borough)
Two games into our league campaign and we already have an important win on the board! We have a game in hand over most teams in the league and are sitting mid table. Obviously early days, but it’s a nice enough start!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 4 – Saturday 28th September 2019
JD Cymru North – Matchday 3
Llanrhaeadr vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S. Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (H.Galeotti 80), R.Jones, D.Jones, G.Hughes, C.McGonigle (L.Morris 67), C.Williams
We picked up our first point away from home, but in all honesty it really should have been 3! Dafydd Jones missed a golden opportunity in the 87th minute to win us the game, firing wide from point blank range when he was unmarked in the box! I was up and off the bench with my arms in the air as he struck it, before falling to my knees with my head in my hands in disbelief that he’d missed it! Man of the Match; Cory Williams (Conwy Borough)
Incoming Transfer; After Nathan Williams left the club, it left me without a recognised right back in the team. That was something that needed rectifying quickly and I have made my first signing for the club with the acquisition of Ben Jones. The 21 year old Welshman comes in on a free transfer from Cwmbran Celtic who play in the JD Cymbru South. He has signed a pay as you play deal with a £70 appearance fee. Unfortunately, he will miss the next few games as he is carrying an injury for the next 3-5 weeks.
JD Cymru North – Matchday 4
Conwy Borough vs Corwen
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, R.Jones (C.Howard 69), D.Jones, G.Hughes, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
A wonderful second half comeback ensures we make it 2 wins from 2 home games! We were awful in the first half and Corwen absolutely battered us. Luckily, we only went into the break a goal down and after a kick in at half time from me, the lads performed much better in the second period! My strikers are clearly going to be absolutely key to any success we have this season! Man of the Match; Craig Whelan (Conwy Borough)
JD Cymru North – Matchday 5
CPD Porthmadog FC vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (H.Galeotti 68), R.Jones (C.Howard 68), D.Jones, L.Watkins, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 86)
We were on the back foot for large periods in this game, but we defended well and managed to limit our opponents to a single goal! Our strikers were bang on form again and both got on the scoresheet for the second game in a row! Man of the Match; Jay Gibbs (Porthmadog)
I handed a debut to 16 year old winger, Lewis Watkins, against Porthmadog, and the youngster had a decent enough game!
And Watkins became our youngest ever player as well!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 6
Conwy Borough vs Prestatyn Town FC
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (H.Galeotti 86), R.Jones (C.Howard 65), D.Jones, G.Hughes, C.McGonigle (L.Morris 65), C.Williams
Without a doubt the most boring game in my short managerial career to date, as both sides struggled to muster up any decent chances and play out a 0-0 draw! Man of the Match; Oliver Morgan (Prestatyn Town FC)
JD Cymru North – Matchday 7
Conwy Borough vs Penrhyncoch
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (H.Galeotti 67), C.Howard, D.Jones (R.Jones 67), G.Hughes, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
Despite our sheer dominance in this game and the fact that our opponents were down to ten men before half time, we still couldn’t manage to find the goal to break the deadlock and have to settle for a disappointing draw! Man of the Match; Antonio Corbisiero (Penrhyncoch)
Outgoing Transfer; The man I pinpointed as my best player when I got here has now left the club! Rob Jones has been poached by Gateshead although I tried to keep him here, I couldn’t get anywhere near the £425 p/w that he’s been offered to join the National League North club. Absolutely gutted to lose him though!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 8
Llangefni Town vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones (D.Hughes 64), L.Watkins (G.Hughes 64), C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 64)
A tidy finish from my centre back Tom Clarke put us in front just after the quarter of an hour mark, as the ball fell at his feet from an indirect free kick. However, Llangefni hit back with a couple of goals and led at the break, although it had been a really boring first half with both sides only managing 3 shots on goal each! The second half was just as dull and with neither team adding anymore goals, it meant we suffered our first defeat in 7 games! Man of the Match; Mitchell Foulkes (Llangefni Town)
Outgoing Transfer; We’re starting to lose our players left, right and centre as we just can’t offer any form of salaries to keep them here! Guto Hughes, who has been prominent on the left wing so far this season, is the latest to leave and he joins Cefn Albion in the lower leagues.
Welsh League Cup – 3rd Round
Bangor City FC vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, L.Watkins, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Galeotti 63)
Back to cup action here and another game where the bookies were offering 12/1 on us winning the game! It’s easy to see why as Bangor are top of our division and yet to lose so far this season! However, we have enjoyed defying the odds all season so far, and this was no different as we did it again, inflicting Bangor’s first defeat on them and knocking them out of the cup! Simply awesome from my lads! Man of the Match; Piero Cauterucci (Bangor City)
Another away draw in the Quarter Final as we go to Welsh Premier League side, Caernarfon Town, who sit 10th in the top tier! After our run to this stage though, we have no need to fear anyone and will fancy our chances of another upset!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 9
Bangor City FC vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones (S.Parry 68), T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones (S.Howells 68), L.Watkins, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
After beating Bangor in the cup only days earlier, the bookies gave us a little more respect for the league game and we were only 7/1 to repeat the feat! However, Bangor were out to set the record straight and they put us right in our place with a thumping! A horrible debut for Ben Jones at right back who really struggled and was torn apart down their left wing! Man of the Match; Emmanuel Agyemang (Bangor City)
There was one thing to smile about from the Bangor game and that was 18 year old Sean Howells scoring on his debut for the club!
Nine games into the season and we still sit in the top half of the table! We weren’t tipped to be competitive in this league at all this year and so far we’ve shown that we can mix it with most teams in the division and definitely hold our own! Let’s hope we can keep up this level of form and continue to defy the odds!
Diary of a European Journeyman
Chapter 5 – Saturday 2nd November 2019
The first round of the Welsh Cup is drawn and we’ll be at home to lower league Llangollen.
JD Cymru North – Matchday 10
Conwy Borough vs Rhyl FC
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (H.Galeotti 87), C.Howard, D.Jones, L.Watkins (K.Limbert 45), C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 45)
With them going down to ten men just before half time, it gave us the upper hand for the second half and we capitalised on it to grab a massive win! Bangor City were the only side that had been able to beat Rhyl prior to this game, so this was a huge result for us and we deserve every bit of credit for the victory! Great to see Ben Jones put a poor debut behind him with a quality performance here as well! Man of the Match; Ben Jones (Conwy Borough)
I broke the youngest player record again by giving a debut to 16 year old winger, Kai Limbert, in the game against Rhyl as well!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 11
Conwy Borough vs Llandudno
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, L.Watkins, C.Howard, D.Jones (S.Howells 64), K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 64)
A professional job done at home to 15th placed Llandudno and another win on the board! We really are showing everyone what we’re made of this year, when we were considered to be the pushovers of the division! Lowest budget, weakest squad, most inexperienced players…don’t worry about that…we’re having it! Man of the Match; Corrig McGonigle (Conwy Borough)
Outgoing Transfer; Another player has deserted us and left to join a team in the lower ranks. Harry Galeotti who’d made 6 appearances for me so far this season is the latest to leave and joins Caldicot.
Player Released; Yet another player leaves the club, this time released from their contract and numbers are getting very thin on the ground in my squad now! Liam Morris has struggled to get much game time ahead of my two star strikers this year and started to get the ump! After a couple of conversations, it was decided all round that the best thing was for him to leave the club!
Despite that fact that we seem to be losing players on an almost weekly basis at the moment, we still managed to record another massive away win! And this was a big win against a Guilsfield side that are doing well this season and sit 4th in the table! Man of the Match; Craig Whelan (Conwy Borough)
Welsh Cup – 1st Round
Conwy Borough vs Llangollen Town
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; S.Williams, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (L.Watkins 66), C.Howard, S.Howells, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle (C.Williams 66), H.Parkes-Smith
It’s not very often this season that we have been favourites to win a game, but for this one the bookies had us 1/20 odds on!! It was a different type of pressure for my players to cope with and cope with it we did! A comfortable enough win sees us into the 2nd round, which means I’ve met the board’s target for this competition. The scoreline doesn’t reflect a comfortable win, but their goals were bangers in all fairness and we were on top for majority of the game! Harry Parkes-Smith grabbed his first goal of the season to round off the scoring here, with a tidy finish into the bottom corner from 10 yards out. Man of the Match; Harry Parkes-Smith (Conwy Borough)
It will be lower league opposition again for us in the 2nd round of the Welsh Cup as we are drawn away to Llangedwyn.
JD Cymru North – Matchday 13
Flint Town United vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, L.Watkins, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 60)
Flint Town were sitting 8th at kick off and 4 points behind us in the league. However, with this win, we have opened up an incredible 7 point gap back to them…putting that in perspective, we are putting pretty hefty point gaps between us and mid table sides….what an impressive first season in football management this is turning out to be for the unknown Chris Ball eh?! Surely it’s not going to be long before some bigger clubs start to take notice! Man of the Match; Corrig McGonigle (Conwy Borough)
Welsh League Cup – Quarter Final
Caernarfon Town vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, S.Parry, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
Get in there lads!! Another Premier League scalp taken in this competition and we absolutely battered them as well! This was, without a doubt, the best performance my team has given me since I took over and I walk away a very proud manager today! Our defending was top class, our build up play was fantastic and we finished off our chances superbly!! Man of the Match; Corrig McGonigle (Conwy Borough)
It still hasn’t quite sunk in that we’ll be playing in a cup semi final this season, but we are! The draw for the Welsh League Cup will see us play the team that is currently 2nd in the JD Cymru South, Afan Lido! A Premier League team will be waiting for one of us in the final!
Corrig McGonigle has been in great goalscoring form of late and 5 goals in his last 4 games is enough to win him the Player of the Month award for October!
And for the first time in my career, I lift a Manager of the Month award! A proud moment and something I didn’t expect to achieve so quickly!
Gresford were tipped for relegation at the start of the season, but for now they are defying the odds and came into this game in 12th position. However, we’re on a very strong run ourselves and had far too much for them to deal with today as we record our 7th straight victory in all competitions! Parkes-Smith scored the pick of the goals from the bench, when he combined with Kai Limbert for a wonderful one-two before coolly slotting his shot into the corner of the goal. Man of the Match; Kai Limbert (Conwy Borough)
Title challenge anyone?? As we approach the half way point of the season, that’s the situation we find ourselves in. Third in the league and with only three defeats to our name, we have been absolutely outstanding! We won’t get ahead of ourselves just yet with regards to winning divisions, but at least we can say that relegation is almost out of the question for us now! Amazing stuff!
Apart from a gift of a penalty which gave them a consolation goal, Llangedwyn failed to create a single chance on our goal during the entire game and this was a much easier win than the scoreline suggested! We march on to the 3rd round and bag ourselves another £1,000 in prize money, which might not sound like a lot, but to our tiny little club it’s massive! Man of the Match; Corrig McGonigle (Conwy Borough)
We will now play fellow JD Cymru North side, Buckley Town, in the 3rd round of the Welsh Cup.
Twenty games into my career and I’m receiving plenty of recognition in the media, after guiding Conwy Borough to 14 wins already!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 15
Buckley Town vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
Buckley Town were the other team expected to really struggle in this division and were nailed on for relegation according to all the pre season predictions. However, just like us, they are proving everyone wrong and sit 10th in the league at this stage! Now all in all, this was a pretty boring game for both sets of fans with chances few and far between! The only goal of the game went our way though after Cory Williams shot cannoned off the post, hit the Buckley keeper and went in for an own goal. Another 3 points in the bag and we march on! Man of the Match; Ben Jones (Conwy Borough)
Incoming Transfer; I make another permanent signing as centre back, Ieuan Hewitt, on a free transfer. He was playing for Llandudno last season, but was released at the end of the year and had failed to pick up another club! He’s a decent addition to our back line and provides cover for my two first choice centre backs, as up until now I haven’t really had a backup for them at all!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 16
Conwy Borough vs Llanfair United
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke (I.Hewitt 76), I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
For the first time in my career, one of my players scores a hat trick! Cory Williams was absolutely brilliant today and took all 3 goals very well to secure us yet another victory! Man of the Match; Cory Williams (Conwy Borough)
For the 2nd month in a row, one of my players lifts the Player of the Month award! This time, it’s my other striker, Cory Williams!
Welsh Cup – 3rd Round
Buckley Town vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones (S.Parry 92), I.Hewitt, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 87)
Only 2 games ago, we beat Buckley 1-0 in the league, courtesy of an own goal! That was a tight game and this one in the cup was no different as it went all the way to a penalty shootout! It was a truly awful shootout as only 3 pens were scored from 9 attempts and it’s Buckley who progress to the next round. Man of the Match; Callum Humphries (Buckley Town)
A sneak peak of the youth intake coming through shows that we apparently have an ‘excellent’ crop of players! I will look forward to seeing what I get!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 17
Conwy Borough vs Colwyn Bay
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes (I.Hewitt 77), A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert (L.Watkins 58), C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 68)
Colwyn came into this game at the top of the league and 5 points ahead of us! By the end of the game, they’d extended that lead to 8 points though! Just as it looked like we had earned a big point, they scored with one of the final kicks of the game to pinch all 3! A good effort from my lads though and we have nothing to be ashamed of here! Man of the Match; Tom McCready (Colwyn Bay)
I’m getting my first qualification on the coaching ladder as the club agree to pay for my National C Licence and by the end of the season I should have completed my studies!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 18
Ruthin Town vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
Back to back defeats, but again this was a tough game against a team that are now level on points with us. Our strikers had a rare ‘off day’ here and on another day we’d have gotten something from this game. Man of the Match; Ashley Simm (Ruthin Town)
JD Cymru North – Matchday 19
Corwen vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hewitt, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert (Sent Off 58), C.McGonigle (L.Watkins 58), C.Williams
Done by another really late goal and that’s now 3 defeats on the bounce. Are the wheels starting to come off? In all fairness, no I don’t think so…I think we’ve just had a run of tough games and some rough luck! Or at least I hope that’s all it is! Man of the Match; Dean Hoggins (Corwen)
Incoming Transfer; New signing Graeme Sutcliffe is 38 years old and is not going to offer much to the team apart from some essential cover. He can play both centre back and central midfield and will most likely be a bench warmer for the rest of this season, but could come in very handy should we pick up any injuries or tiredness.
JD Cymru North – Matchday 20
Conwy Borough vs Llanrhaeadr
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones (S.Parry 69), T.Clarke, I.Hewitt, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones (S.Howells 69), L.Watkins, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
I’m absolutely livid with my team after this one. We worked really hard in that first half to build a 2-0 lead against a side sitting just above us in the league, only to come out in the 2nd half and completely throw it all away! No excuses for that and it’s simply not good enough! Man of the Match; Lucas Gallagher (Llanrhaeadr)
We’ve taken a big dip in form and with our current run of 4 straight defeats in the league, we have dropped down to 6th in the table! We’re still massively overachieving though and it would take a complete disaster for us to become involved in the relegation battle from here, but we do need to focus on turning our form back around to get back up the league to finish as high as we possibly can!
Looks like you coaching qualification has lead to a mini blip! Lets hope that's all it is, that being said you're already proving the media very wrong as they had you as one of the bottom two clubs. KIU!!!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 7 – Saturday 7th March 2020
Welsh League Cup – Semi Final
Conwy Borough vs Afan Lido
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, I.Hughes, T.Clarke, I.Hewitt, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams
We did it!!! I was a little worried coming into this game as we were really struggling for form, but the lads put a real shift in here and we’ve made a cup final in my first ever season! To say I’m over the moon with this achievement would be an understatement! We were well on top even before the sending off in the game, but after that we just exerted our dominance more and more and were finally rewarded when Cory Williams netted an injury time winner! Man of the Match; Adam Pritchard (Conwy Borough)
We will now play The New Saints FC in the final of the Welsh League Cup! They’re currently 1st in the Welsh Premier Football League and are also the most successful team to ever play in this competition, so it’s going to a real toughie for us!
Our game against Porthmadog was postponed, which means our next game will be that cup final!!
According to the media, we face the impossible against The New Saints, but we’ve been here several times before this season and already defied the odds against big teams from the top division! We can go into this game with full belief that we can get something from it, despite being 12/1 to get a result!
Welsh League Cup – Final
The New Saints FC vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, I.Hughes, T.Clarke, I.Hewitt, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (L.Watkins 62), C.Howard (S.Howells 83), D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 62)
Goalkeeper, Ben Heald saved his best performance of the season for our biggest game of the season! He was truly fantastic between the sticks and despite our opponents having 21 shots and a penalty in 90 minutes, he ensured we saw it through to extra time with some top class keeping! Our best moment in normal time came in the 87th minute when we could have nicked the win…McGonigle heading wide from 5 yards after finding himself completely free and unmarked in the box! We were made to regret that miss as The New Saints went on to grab a winner in extra time and save a dreaded penalty shootout, but I can’t be too downhearted and this has been a fantastic journey in the cup and to get to play in a final in my first season was amazing and totally unexpected by us and every other media outlet and pundit in the Welsh game! Man of the Match; Matt Blake (The New Saints FC)
£5,000 is a huge sum of money for our tiny little club for reaching the final!
It’s no surprise to see the media name us as the biggest overachievers in the Welsh League Cup this year!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 21
Conwy Borough vs Porthmadog
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, G.Sutcliffe (C.Howard 71), D.Jones, K.Limbert, C.McGonigle, C.Williams (H.Parkes-Smith 71)
A bore draw against mid table Porthmadog. Both teams could have nicked it late, but good chances were missed. Man of the Match; Ben Heald (Conwy Borough)
Outgoing Transfer; Absolute disaster for me as my top goalscorer and possibly best player, Corrig McGonigle, has left the club to join Premier League side, Gap Connah’s Quay! He has been approached by maybe 20 clubs this season and we managed to hold onto the player who has scored an incredible 73 goals in 79 games for us, but it seems this offer was too tempting for him and he has chosen to leave! I’m devastated right about now!
Incoming Transfer; Please welcome McGonigle’s replacement, Aaron Bowen! I snapped him up on a free from one of our divisional rivals, Ruthin Town, for whom he has scored 7 goals this season so far! He is another target man like striker and is a like for like replacement. Let’s hope he can score as regularly as McGonigle did!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 22
Prestatyn Town FC vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, G.Sutcliffe, D.Jones, K.Limbert (L.Watkins 71), A.Bowen, C.Williams
Prestatyn came into this one full of confidence after 5 straight wins and sitting 3rd in the league! It was a debut goal for new boy, Aaron Bowen, totally against the run of play that put us in front towards the end of the first half though! We were being dominated though and I went to a more defensive approach for the second half in the hope we could hang on to our lead…not something I usually do! But it worked and we managed to defend for our lives throughout that second half and return home with all 3 points! Man of the Match; Aaron Bowen (Conwy Borough)
Incoming Transfer; I’ve not had cover for Adam Pritchard at left back all season, until now…. On transfer deadline day, Robert McGill signs from Guilsfield to provide that cover! He’s not amazing, but at least I do now have 2 recognised left backs in the squad for the first time!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 23
Conwy Borough vs Llangefni Town
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes (I.Hewitt 45), A.Pritchard, C.Whelan (L.Watkins 42), C.Howard, D.Jones (J.Whitfield 55), K.Limbert, A.Bowen, C.Williams
We were definitely the better side out there and created the better chances too! However, failing to put the ball in the back of the net cost us today and we suffer a narrow defeat in a game we should have won! Man of the Match; Eilir Barber (Llangefni Town)
JD Cymru North – Matchday 24
Penrhyncoch vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, J.Whitfield, K.Limbert, A.Bowen, C.Williams
With our opponents lumbering in the relegation places, I took a much more attacking approach to this game and the lads responded well as we comfortably won this game and it could have been by a much bigger scoreline if we’d have put our chances away better! Man of the Match; Aaron Bowen (Conwy Borough)
JD Cymru North – Matchday 25
Conwy Borough vs Bangor City FC
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, J.Whitfield, K.Limbert, A.Bowen, C.Williams
Bangor thrashed us 5-1 last time we played them, so I decided it was sh*t or bust for us here and to stick with the attacking mentality, rather than sit back and invite them onto us! And it only went and bl**dy worked as we beat the side who are 2nd in the league, with Cory Williams netting a late winner with his 15th goal of the season! Man of the Match; Cory Williams (Conwy Borough)
Guilsfield came into this game on the back of a 3 match winning streak, where they had won 3-1, 6-1 and 4-1! Not only that, but they had already beaten us 2-1 earlier in the season as well! It looked like they might repeat that scoreline right up until the final seconds of the game, when Craig Whelan fired home an equalizer for us to share the spoils! Man of the Match; Cory Williams (Conwy Borough)
With just 6 games of the season remaining, it’s all about just finishing as strongly as we possibly can now! We’re all but guaranteed to finish in the top half now, which is a huge achievement already for us, considering we were odds on to go down at the start of the campaign! If we could make 50 points, that would be a magnificent accomplishment for us I think, so that’s the personal target I’m setting us!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 8 – Monday 27th April 2020
JD Cymru North – Matchday 27
Rhyl FC vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, A.Pritchard, C.Whelan, C.Howard, J.Whitfield, K.Limbert, A.Bowen, C.Williams
We beat Rhyl 2-0 at home earlier in the season, and managed to complete the double over them here as we earn a quick 3 points towards my target of 50 in the league! Man of the Match; Luke Wiltshire (Rhyl FC)
I’m under no illusions and there is no way we are going to win the league, but to even be in these sorts of media publications at this stage of the season is amazing for us!
Llandudo had the better of the first half, but once we changed our approach at half time to a more cautious counter attacking style, all the chances came our way! We were able to convert a couple of them and grab the win that takes us to my 50 point target! Man of the Match; Aaron Bowen (Conwy Borough)
JD Cymru North – Matchday 29
Conwy Borough vs Flint Town United
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, R.McGill, C.Whelan, C.Howard, J.Whitfield, K.Limbert, A.Bowen, C.Williams
Another win and we were good value for this one too as we dominated the already relegated Flint Town United! Man of the Match; Jac Whitfield (Conwy Borough)
My 2nd Manager of the Month award!
The youth intake is a potential ‘golden generation’….not bad for my first one in football management when virtually every single player has 4 star potential!
Pacey striker Jake Marriott is one of the most promising players from the intake and he looks like he has the potential to become a real gem for us!
With a high work rate and brilliant teamwork, David Davies could become a very good player in the centre of the park as well. His passing is already very good and he’ll also add a bit of aggression to the midfield as well!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 30
Conwy Borough vs Buckley Town
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, R.McGill, C.Whelan, C.Howard, J.Whitfield (D.Davies 45), K.Limbert, A.Bowen (J.Marriott 45), C.Williams
Fair play to Buckley Town who were odds on favourites alongside us to get relegated before the season started, but like us they have had a great season and came into this game in 9th position! We had already beaten them 1-0 in the league and they had already knocked us out of the Welsh Cup on penalties in two very tightly contested games! This one wasn’t quite so close though as we recorded a pretty easy win over them! My two most promising youngsters from the intake both got 45 minutes of football here and neither looked out of place in the first team as well! Man of the Match; Cory Williams (Conwy Borough)
For the 3rd time this season, the club’s youngest ever player record is broken, this time by David Davies!
Ever since Corrig McGonigle left the club, it’s fair to say that Cory Williams has stepped up and been simply awesome over the past few games and he bagged himself another couple of goals here to take him to 22 for the season! This defeat for Gresford confirms their relegation! Man of the Match; Cory Williams (Conwy Borough)
I officially have my first coaching badge, the National C Licence!
JD Cymru North – Matchday 32
Llanfair United vs Conwy Borough
Formation; 4-4-2, Mentality; Attacking
Lineup; B.Heald, B.Jones, T.Clarke, I.Hughes, R.McGill, C.Whelan, C.Howard, J.Whitfield, K.Limbert, J.Marriott, C.Williams
Our final game of the season ends in a rather dull 1-1 draw. Not many chances created by either side and it seems both teams were already on their holidays with nothing to really play for here! Man of the Match; Sion Wyn Jones (Llanfair United)
The final league table makes for very pretty reading from our point of view! A strong finish to the season ensures we reach a total 60 points which is enough for 3rd place in the table! An absolutely amazing achievement for us considering our pre season predictions! I’m well chuffed! Colwyn Bay are crowned champions on the final day of the season, beating Bangor City by a single point!
It’s been a good year for my U19s as well as they win the Welsh Premier Development League!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 9 – End of 2019/20 Season
Competition Winners;
Welsh Premier League; The New Saints FC
JD Cymru North; Colwyn Bay
JD Cymru South; Llantwit Major
Welsh Cup; The New Saints FC
Welsh League Cup; The New Saints FC
Overall, it’s been a pretty amazing season for us! 3rd in the league and a cup final – I’m sure the fans are very happy!
Have to say I am very proud of myself right about now after winning the Manager of the Year for our division in my first season in football management!
My boss’s couldn’t be happier with me either!
Talking of the board, they take the opportunity to send me a little reminder of the club’s vision. We’re aiming for a mid table finish at least next season!
Cory Williams finished runner up in the Top Goalscorer for the league with 19 goals!
And his 22 goals in all competitions is a new club record!
Whilst left back, Adam Pritchard, broke the record for the most assists in a season!
Finally, Ben Heald’s 17 clean sheets is also a new club record!
At the annual awards evening, Cory Williams absolutely smashes the fan’s vote for their player of the season. However, I think he would have been pushed tight by Corrig McGonigle if he’d have stayed at the club! Williams also takes the young player of the season and scored our goal of the season as well! Signing of the season went to McGonigle’s replacement Aaron Bowen…a decent accomplishment for him as he played only a handful of games!
Looking over the squad, it’s no surprise to see that most of the players struggled with their overall average ratings for the season, but I think that’s just because they are really bad players (don’t tell them I said that). Looking through most of the teams in the league, they also had poor average ratings across the board! The most impressive players were our strikers. Cory Williams and Corrig McGonigle formed a formidable partnership throughout the season and between them scored over 40 goals and once McGonigle left, Aaron Bowen signed and he managed a goal every other game too! I think the defence did really well to keep 17 clean sheets this season at this level where games can become absolute goal fests. The assists were very spread amongst the whole team but 16 of them came from Pritchard and Limbert down that left wing and that seemed to be our most effective area of the pitch for attacking the opposition!
My Player of the Season; Cory Williams My Young Player of the Season (U23); Ben Jones
Most Disappointing Player; Dafydd Jones Could Do Better; Callum Howard
Next year’s budgets are announced by the board and the wage has seen a pretty hefty increase from £14 to £85 p/w!
At the end of my first season, my career stats read as follows;
Dates
Club
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Win Percentage
04/07/19 - Present
Conwy Borough
41
25
6
10
60%
Season
Club
Division
Predicted
Finished
Cups
Awards
2019/20
Conwy Borough (Wales)
JD Cymbru North
17th
3rd
Welsh Cup (3rd round), Welsh League Cup (runners up)
2x Manager of Month, 1x Manager of Year
Plans for next season; It’s been a fantastic year with Conwy Borough! I’ll be forever grateful to the club for getting me on the management ladder, but I feel I’ve proven myself to get a job at a slightly bigger club although I’m under no illusion that any club of any real stature will entertain me still! However, a coaching badge to my name and a fantastic season under my belt, I will not be accepting a renewed contract offer from Conwy and will instead look to progress my managerial career, keeping an eye on the available jobs throughout the Summer….watch this space!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 10 – Job Hunting Proves More Difficult Than Expected
Arbroath have just been relegated from the Scottish Championship and I quite fancied the job there, thinking that they will probably be one of the favourites to gain promotion from League One next year.
However, I don’t even make the shortlist for that one and maybe making a jump from a ½ star club to a 2 star reputation club is too much of a jump at such an early stage of my career still!
So maybe Scottish League Two side, Queen’s Park (with 1 star reputation), will consider my application?
But to my complete horror, even they don’t even shortlist me for interview?!
Maybe Slovenian club Dekani will take me seriously?
Or even Serbian side, Smederevo?
Before I do potentially leave the club, Conwy do agree to put me through another coaching badge! Considering I am currently refusing to sign a new contract and my current deal has just over a month remaining on it, they’re being really good to me!
Although I might not be going anywhere just yet as both the Eastern European clubs reject my application based on the fact they have no idea who I am!!
With that in mind, I decided to make a change to my playable leagues! Adding in Ireland and England and removing Slovakia, Slovenia and Belarus!
Turning my attentions back to a country where I am known and I am proven, maybe Welsh Premier League side, Gap Connah’s Quay will grant me the courtesy of at least an interview!
Yes….Yes they do! Finally, a club that recognises what I’ve actually achieved in my limited time in management! The interview seems to go very well and I walk away excited about the potential opportunity and am actually a little excited at the prospect of continuing the early part of my career in Wales.
But my excitement is short lived as apparently they feel I’m not the right man for the job!!
So I turn my attention to England and my CV goes over to Kidderminster Harriers!
And then another job comes up in the Welsh Premier League with Aberystwyth Town!
I didn’t even make the shortlist for the Kidderminster job and I have to admit I’m starting to feel pretty deflated at this point!
Then an interesting job comes up with a club in the same division as me and although it’s not a stop up in leagues, it appeals as the role is with Cefn Druids who are a club with a pretty rich history in Wales and who only got relegated from the Premier League last season, so will likely be one of the favourites to win our division this year!
But before I hear back from them, Aberystwyth Town, who remain a Premier League club, offer me an interview! Are things looking up?
The media attempt to dash my hopes of getting the job before I even hear back from the club! It seems my reputation even in Wales is not as good as I feel it should be!
With the media speculating about my next job, Cefn Druids also come in and offer me an interview!
It doesn’t take Cefn long to reject me as well though!
But it doesn’t matter as after 2 long months I have finally been offered a new job and I am off to the Welsh Premier League with Aberystwyth Town!! It’s been a long haul to get here but I’ve finally made a step forward in my managerial career!
Diary of a European Journeyman Chapter 11 – Aberystwyth Town FC
The media outlets confirm my appointment as the new manager of Aberystwyth Town and it seems to be regarded as a good move all round!
The club have no less than 17 trophies to their name during their 136 year history, including 1x Welsh Cup, 9x Mid Wales Football League Division 1, 5x FAW Trophy and 2x Aberystwyth League Division Two! They have better facilities than my previous club, although a slightly smaller stadium.
Aberystwyth play their home games at Park Avenue, which has a capacity of 2,502, of which just over 1,000 is seated!
My new club’s vision maps out that they’d like to predominantly focus on maintaining out position in the Welsh Premier League over the next 5 years. For this upcoming season, we’re looking for a top half finish and to make the quarter finals of the Welsh Cup.
All of the club’s recent league history is in the Welsh Premier League, and they are firmly established as a mid table side generally tending to finish between 6th and 10th nearly every season! They’ve never finished as winners or runners up!
The club’s finances are in a very strong position with well over £100k in the bank and I even have my first ever transfer funds to spend, albeit only £13,000! The wage budget is nearly £3k p/w and we are currently spending well under that so I should have some movement to bring in some decent players!
First job on the agenda will be to hire my backroom staff as there is literally nobody to assist me on my first day on the job! Adverts are quickly put out for every available role!
Which means I have no advice from anyone with regards to my squad’s current and potential ability! All I will say for now is that I have players to cover most positions although we look a little light up front! All but four players are Welsh and this is a much more experienced side than I had at Conwy!
One of my non Welsh players is central midfielder, Pavel Vieira, and he’s from Guinea Bissau! He’s definitely one of my best players in the squad too and with a good eye for a decent pass, I’m not sure I’ll be playing hoof ball and bypassing the midfield with this team when I set up my tactics!
After having decent strikers at Conwy, I’m really pleased to see I have another decent one here! Luke Busumbru has pace, composure and a decent shot and he looks like he’ll score goals, despite his pretty poor record of only 4 in 29 appearances for the club so far! I’ll be looking to bring out the best in him!
The final player I’ll mention as one of my 3 best is centre back, Glyndwr Davies! Nice to have a defender with some pace about him and he’s a good tackler of the ball! At this level, those two attributes should combine nicely to ensure he does a good job for us at the back!
Squad dynamics look good with a decent dressing room atmosphere and the players seem happy enough to have me at the club!
Finally, a look at the development centre again shows there is nothing to get excited about, as was the case when I took my first job at Conwy! However, as we saw last season, a decent youth intake can change everything!
Congrats on the new role my friend! A big step up for you and your chance to carry on the good work from last season. Anyone from Conwy that you think would be worth bringing with you? Staff or players
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