MichaelHarconi
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Chapter One: One Conversation
Michael Harconi had spent plenty of time telling professional football managers what they were doing wrong.
From the comfort of a sofa, it had always seemed relatively straightforward.
Why make that substitution?
Why play that formation?
Why leave that player on the bench?
The fact that Michael had never managed a football club, coached professionally or earned a single coaching badge had rarely stopped him having an opinion.
After all, he had played the game.
Well, sort of.
For five years, Michael had played Sunday League football, primarily on the right-hand side of midfield. There had been muddy pitches, questionable refereeing decisions and plenty of post-match conversations about what should have happened.
There had also been one particular moment that his former teammates were unlikely to let him forget.
A pass back from the halfway line.
An own goal.
From that distance.
It was not the moment that would earn Michael a professional contract.
Not that one had ever been expected.
By 2024, at the age of 31, Michael had decided to step away from Sunday League football altogether. His playing career had been about enjoyment, friendship and the occasional reminder that football was considerably more difficult when you were actually the one expected to kick the ball.
Management had never been part of the plan.
Then came a conversation in a pub.
The Conversation
It began as most football conversations do.
A disagreement.
Michael had found himself talking to a man named Darren Phillips. Neither had expected the evening to lead anywhere particularly significant.
Football was discussed.
Managers were criticised.
Tactics were questioned.
Michael, naturally, had a few opinions.
As the conversation continued, Darren mentioned something that caught Michael's attention. He was unhappy with the situation surrounding his football club and was considering making a change in the dugout.
By this point, Michael had been drinking.
And as the evening continued, his confidence in his own footballing knowledge appeared to increase at roughly the same rate as his alcohol consumption.
Eventually, Michael made a joke.
The problem was that Darren Phillips was not simply another football supporter enjoying an evening in the pub.
He was the chairperson of Mullion AFC.
And apparently, he was listening.
Somewhere between the football discussion, the drinks and Michael becoming increasingly convinced that he could manage a football club, a joke began to turn into something considerably more serious.
Michael Harconi had a job.
His first job in football management.
The two arranged to meet the following morning to discuss Mullion's vision, expectations and the future of the club.
Michael went home.
And, unfortunately, woke up the following morning with considerably less confidence than he had possessed the night before.
The Morning After
Michael woke up hungover.
His head hurt.
His mouth was dry.
And for several minutes, he had absolutely no recollection of agreeing to anything particularly important.
Then he checked his phone.
There was a message waiting.
Darren Phillips:
Meeting?
Michael stared at the message.
Then, slowly, the events of the previous evening began to return.
The conversation.
The football club.
The drinks.
The joke.
The job.
The fact that he was now, somehow, the manager of Mullion AFC.
And, less than twenty-four hours into his managerial career, he had already missed his first meeting with the chairperson.
It was perhaps not the ideal start.
Still, there were plenty of football managers who had started their careers with less-than-perfect opening days.
Probably.
The Seagulls
Mullion AFC were not a club regularly discussed on national television.
There were no famous former players.
No major rivals.
No wealthy owners promising to transform the club overnight.
Mullion were an amateur football club with an obscure reputation, playing their football in the St Piran League Premier Division West.
Their home was Clifden Park.
Capacity: 1,000.
Seated capacity: 50.
The club had been founded in 1912 and had spent more than a century representing its community.
Now, in July 2025, a 32-year-old former Sunday League footballer with no coaching badges and no management experience had somehow been given the opportunity to take charge.
Chairperson Darren Phillips was not demanding miracles.
The expectation was simple.
A mid-table finish.
Mullion were predicted to finish eighth.
On paper, there was enough to work with.
The squad contained 22 first-team players, alongside four Under-21 players and seven Under-18 players. The centre of the pitch looked strong. There were options in attack.
The defence, however, was another question entirely.
Young.
Promising.
But inexperienced.
For a first-time manager who intended to play attacking football, it was hardly the most reassuring place to find the squad's biggest weakness.
The Harconi Way?
Michael did not arrive at Mullion with a folder full of coaching qualifications.
There was no carefully developed tactical philosophy built during years of coaching.
There was simply an idea of how football should be played.
Attack.
Use the width.
Take the game to the opposition.
Michael's preferred system would be a 4-3-2-1, with attacking football and wing play forming the basis of his plans.
Whether those plans would actually work was another matter.
After all, having an opinion about professional football managers from the sofa was one thing.
Being responsible for the team yourself was something entirely different.
Michael would now have to pick the players.
Choose the tactics.
Make the substitutions.
Explain the defeats.
And, hopefully, celebrate the victories.
Fortunately, Michael had already developed one management technique he was confident would work.
After a win, he would buy the pints.
Whether that was enough to inspire an amateur football team remained to be seen.
From Coast to Cup
Mullion was the beginning.
But the dream was bigger.
Cornwall has a proud footballing culture, with clubs, communities and supporters spread throughout the county. Yet when English football is discussed on the national stage, Cornwall rarely finds itself at the centre of the conversation.
Could that change?
Could one small amateur football club begin a journey through the English football pyramid?
Could Mullion AFC become something bigger than anyone currently expected?
Michael Harconi certainly had no idea how far the journey would go.
At this point, he was simply trying to survive his first week as a football manager.
But every journey has to start somewhere.
For Mullion AFC, it started at Clifden Park.
For Michael Harconi, it started with a conversation in a pub.
And somewhere between the Cornish coast and the biggest stages in English football, there was a very long road ahead.
The journey had begun.
Game: Football Manager 2026
Club: Mullion AFC
Starting League: St Piran League Premier Division West
Start Date: 7 July 2025
Manager: Michael Harconi
Database: DanFMDatabases E20 - England to Level 11
Club Status: Amateur
Club Reputation: Obscure
Predicted Finish: 8th
Board Expectation: Mid-table
Club: Mullion AFC
Starting League: St Piran League Premier Division West
Start Date: 7 July 2025
Manager: Michael Harconi
Database: DanFMDatabases E20 - England to Level 11
Club Status: Amateur
Club Reputation: Obscure
Predicted Finish: 8th
Board Expectation: Mid-table
Luca Mareus — Goalkeeper
David Horgan — Striker
Josh Sutton — Left-Back
Adam Heaton — Right-Back / Defensive Cover
MULLION AFC 4-1 POLPERRO 
RNAS Culdrose
Saltash United Reserves