If you had asked a footballer a few years ago what the most important aspect of the beautiful game was they may have said "The Fans" or "The Glory"... Unfortunately, today it seems to just be all about the Money. Which is something I could really do with right about now!
I will therefore be taking on this modern day philosophy as I will be aspire to climb up through the divisions and become the highest paid manager in the World.
It's funny how so much can change in such a short period of time. Two weeks ago I was just your ordinary plumber from Leicester and now i'm sat on the train heading down to the South coast to start my managerial career.
Within just a week of aimlessly applying for jobs across the world, Eastleigh made the crazy decision to sign me on a one year contract...
I had to agree to a couple of philosophies in order to keep the board happy, but to be honest I would have said anything to ensure I landed the £800 p/w paycheck!
To make my appointment even more bizarre, I have been put in charge of a side which are predicted to finish 3rd in the league! I was expecting to be slung in at some side battling relegation as a bit of a Hail Mary.
A quick look at the squad shows that there is some decent talent lurking within. There are a wealth of wise, old heads throughout the squad, accompanied by a number of young loanee prospects. On the whole it looks a well balanced squad that reflects the predicted 3rd place finish in the league.
Pre-season gives me a chance to play around with formations and personal in time for the start of the Vanarama National. However, a lack of wide midfielders means that I will most likely be adopting a 4-1-3-2 Narrow formation, making full use of of strengths in the centre of the park.
Perhaps regretting their ludicrous managerial appointment the board have sent me on a course to attain my first coaching qualification before the season has even started...
The end of pre-season has probably left the majority of the board and fans with heads in hands, wondering why I was appointed manager. The failure to beat two non professional sides in Banbury and Wimborne has done little to boost my popularity.
I have also discovered that in my haste to win over the board in my interview I ended up telling them that I do not require any additional backroom staff. Unfortunately this means that I have no scouts and am unable to hire any... Player recruitment is therefore very unlikely this season!
I have also just realised that my assistant manager is earning £400 p/w more than me...
So my first foray into non-competitive football has been a little bit of a disaster. Let's just hope I can turn things around come the start of the season!
There was a nervy atmosphere surrounding the club come the start of the season, following the appointment of a completely unqualified, unknown manager and an abysmal pre-season.
But in the end I don't know what all the worry was about...
Having ironed out our pre-season problems, I managed to guide the club to an unbeaten August. This in turn earned my my first personal accolade, as I was awarded the Manager of the Month Award...
Our unbeaten start has propelled us up to the top of the table, trailing Sutton Utd on goal difference. This is a position that I am highly expected to finish come the end of the season.
My unbeaten start in management lasted an incredible 9 matches before Forest Green pipped us in the dying minutes of the game. This loss was followed up by an emphatic *** whooping from Macclesfield, as they smashed 5 unanswered goals past us!
In response to our dire performance the players did gracefully refund our travelling supporters... My wallet however remained tightly closed!
With 8 points dropped throughout September we now find ourselves clinging on to the last playoff place. Hopefully we can break this spell of bad form quickly before we slide to far down the table!