My European journeyman story starts here. With a number of lower profile leagues from all over Europe loaded up to start the game, I can only hope that there is a team out there stupid enough to take a chance on this man with no coaching experience, no playing experience (other than a kickabout over the park) and ultimately no idea! Here we go! (Hopefully, if I ever get a reputation good enough, I will swap out some of these leagues in the game for more prestigious ones as time goes on).
As mentioned above, I offer nothing to the world of football. With a lowly National C License to my name which I paid some fella down the market for, I'm looking to enter the world of football management. My attributes leave a lot to be desired and it'll be a miracle if anyone out there thinks I'm worth a punt!
We started our journey at the beginning of July and it wasn't until 2 months later that I finally bagged myself a job! After applying for around 25 jobs across Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Belarus, I was given the opportunity to interview for a number of different roles with clubs I'd never heard of. After a few rejections, finally someone was willing to give me my shot. That team is Arameiska-Syrianska Botkyrka IF, quite the mouthful I know! I'm moving to Sweden and I'll be paid a whopping £450 per week.
Syrianska FC was founded in 1980 and are based in Botkyrka, a suburb of Stockholm. They currently play their football in the Swedish Second Division South Svealand, which is the 4th tier of Swesish football. However, they have played up in the First Division as recently as 2018, although they have struggled since dropping back down to this level. They have won this division twice though in 2007 and 2016, so expectations will be high amongst the supporters that I can spark a revival at the club and move us back up the leagues.
My first home in football management is a rather underwhelming one. We have one stand with a capacity of 1,000 supporters and generally play our games with the local athletics club practicing on the track beside us.
The finances of my new club are not the greatest, although they're not in the red which is a positive! With a wage budget of less than £500 per week, it's safe to say I haven't hit the big league just yet!
The squad I've inherited is of a decent enough size, but severely lacking in quality. Based on current ability, we're not too shabby in attack, but our defence and midfield is pretty shocking and most players are viewed as not up to this level, although there is apparently plenty of potential for them in the future! Unfortunately, that doesn't help me in the here and now though!
22 year old Aziz Ada is the club's best player. The young Swede leads the way for goals and assists so far this season and is clearly the front man we need to try to play through.
One of our other better players is striker, Bachir Katourgi. Although goals have been hard to come by for him so far this season, I'll be looking to shape things so we can get the best out of him up top.
Defensively, my best player is Artin Borsali. The right back can add an attacking dynamic down the right side of the pitch and again is another player that I think has been underperforming so far this season and needs to improve.
With regards to the club's current league situation, it's pretty precarious with us sitting deep inside the relegation zone and 6 points from safety! I have 11 games to save the club from the dreaded drop and make an early name for myself in the world of Swedish 4th tier football management.
After a little playing around and looking at the strengths of my team, this is the formation I have come up with to start. Our best play is in attack and this formation should focus on getting the ball forward to the front 3 as quickly as possible. The anchorman should provide extra cover for the weak defence and I'll be focusing on everyone regrouping into position when we are out of possession as to not get caught on the break too much.
My first game in charge would be against fellow strugglers, Tyreso FF, who hadn't won a single game all season! Surely, I had to be getting off to a decent start right?!
Yes, yes I did! By no means were we impressive, but we got the job done and I get off to a winning start and put a massive 3 points on the board!
Our next game was against Trosa who sat in mid table. Bachir Katourgi was the star of the show as his hat trick ensured we sealed back to back victories in the league for the first time this season!
My third game in charge was going to present an entirely different proposition as we took on the team at the top of the division, clear by no less than 8 points! Nobody expected us to get a result against the champions in waiting.
And as expected, I experience losing for the first time. At half time when we went in 4-1 down, I feared the worst and thought the scoreline might end up an embarrassing one. However, the lads did me proud by going out and winning the second half, but the damage was unfortunately already done.
The defeat seemed to spark a run of bad form as our heads had dropped again. Picking up two points throughout the whole of October leaves us in a very dangerous position with relegation looming! Am I not cut out to be a football manager or was this club just a lost cause from where I took over...these are the questions going round in my head about now!
Going into the last 3 games, it doesn't look good as we have the hardest run in by far with our remaining fixtures all being against teams in the top 6!
We actually did ourselves proud and put up a very decent effort against the 5th and 2nd placed teams in the division, but failure to pick up more than a point, ensures relegation for the club and I wasn't able to be the saviour I wanted to be.
And it means that my first job in the world of football management ends with a sacking after just 10 games and 75 days in charge.
But hey, this is the beauty of a European Journeyman save that it isn't over there and with plenty of jobs to apply for, I'm sure I'll be back in work in no time. After all, I have experience now!
Despite applying for every job available, only a couple were willing to give me an interview. The first was Spartaks who had just finished 5th in the Latvian division (although there are only 7 teams in that league!). They quickly rejected me following our meeting though.
With opportunities few and far between, it was becoming obvious that I was going to have to take a potential step back in my career to move forward, but what could be lower than the 4th tier of Swedish football? Well, it turns out that the 2nd tier of Welsh football is, as that's the only place I could find a club who was willing to give me a job! I'm moving back to the UK after 33 days without a job to take over as the manager of Risca United on a measley £65 per week!!
Risca is a Welsh semi professional football club, established in 1946 and currently playing their football in the JD Cymru South. It's the highest level they've played it in their recent history having being promoted last season.
'The Cuckoos' as they're nicknamed have an empty trophy cabinet though having never actually won a competition.
The club's finances are in a stable position at the moment, although we are overspending on our wage budget by £55 per week. Doesn't sound a lot but incredibly, it's about 15-20% over where it should be (forgive me for not working out the exact maths).
The squad is massive, but in all honesty, it's absolute dog ****! With only 2 or 3 players rated of any worth whatsoever, this is going to be a lot tougher than I even expected!
Of the players that are even worth a mention, the best is clearly Lewis Ellis. The midfielder is far better than anyone else at the club and everything we do should be played through him!
Gary Meredith is a striker with a decent finish on him, but his work rate means he probably never gets into positions to even have a shot at goal! Lacking strength, pace and any sort of passing ability at all, is this really the best I have to work with up front?!
The only other player worth showing you is our keeper...at least we have a half decent one of them eh! Although his current average rating of 6.49 for the season suggests he isn't exactly great!
Somehow, and I don't know how, with this squad, the club is floating above the relegation zone at present as we have just passed the half way stage of the campaign. The aim from the board is simple...keep us up!
My first game managing in Wales was set to be a tough one as we took on 3rd placed Carmarthen, away from home!
And this was the tactic I'll be starting with. Due to us being a pretty weak side with a serious lack of quality, we will focus on keeping things tight at the back with 3 centre backs. The aim will be to move the pitch forward as quickly as possible to a front 3 that can hopefully overload the opposition defence. We won't be looking to pass the ball around and play around with it in the middle of the park...instead shifting it from the back 3 to the front 3 in as sharp a movement as possible.
We did struggle and were largely outclassed for most of my opening game in charge. This is going to be a tough ask to keep this team in the division!
It's obvious I will need reinforcements to strengthen the side. Sam Williams is the first to join as he comes in on loan from Connah's Quay. He's not brilliant but does immediately become one of my best options in midfield and he can play several roles which is a bonus.
His teammate Paulo Mendes quickly follows on another loan deal as well. These two in the centre of our midfield could make a huge difference to our fortunes this season!
Barry Morris comes in on a free transfer and even though he is 38 years old, he is my best option down the left wing and his crossing ability can hopefully create opportunities.
The three newbies all went straight into the starting lineup against Cwmbran Celtic, but were unable to make an instant impact as we fell to defeat again.
Although the stats suggested we should have got something out of the game.
Time to add some more faces to the squad and both these two make us a little better in defence and midfield. Declan Evans comes in on loan from Briton Ferry, whilst Sam Jones is a loanee from Cambrian & Clydach. The question was could they guide us to a first victory for Risca under my management?
The answer was no!
Our next game was a massive one. We took on 15th placed Afan Lido and if we are to stay up this year, this had to be seen as a must win game!
And win we did! And in emphatic style too! At the 4th time of asking, I have my first victory as Risca manager.
And that win leaves us 3 points safe of the drop zone with 9 games to go. Briton Ferry are up next in a very tough fixture for us that we'll do well to get anything out of.
Briton Ferry are well in the race to win the league this year, so to go to their place and get a point is a very good result!
And then a late goal helped us to another good point against mid table Pontypridd. Every point will prove valuable come the end of the season and these are decent draws.
There was no 3rd draw in a row, but instead a win as we take all 3 points away at Goytre United after a fantastic 2nd half comeback! This is massive and we're now unbeaten in 4 games!
38 year old Barry Morris has been a revelation and has 4 goals in his 6 games for us so far. The left winger is single handedly carrying us across the safety line at the moment!
Cambrian & Clydach were riding high in 4th place in the league, but we are in great form and full of confidence so it might not have come as much of a shock to some people to see us come out on top and bag another victory!
So with only 5 games left, we're now 8 points clear of relegation! A win over Llantwit Major in our next game would secure our place in the position for next season for sure!
With us flying at the moment, I thought there was no better time to ask the board to fund a new coaching course for me. They agreed and in 4 months I'll have a National B License.
I thanked them by making it 3 wins on the bounce and all but guaranteeing we will be playing football at this level next season!
Another draw against another side in the top 4 and the board are falling over themselves to put a new contract my way, which I gladly sign as it puts another £5 per week in my pocket - I won't quite be getting off the beans on toast for dinner just yet though.
With it confirmed I'll be here next season, I quickly go out and get myself a solid keeper as it's one of the areas we need to improve. Gabriele Brino comes in on a free, but he won't be able to play in our remaining 4 games this year as he can't be registered.
And the future looks bright with no less than 11 players listed as elite talents in what is described as an excellent youth intake.
Danny Russell looks like he'll challenge our new star keeper for his position at some point in the future.
Whilst Iwan Pascoe doesn't look far off challenging our strikers for a place in the first team already!! His work rate is better than that of any of the strikers we have in the team at the moment.
We finished the season taking 7 points from our last 3 games! It actually means that we put together an incredible 10 match unbeaten streak, during which we kept 6 clean sheets!!
Iwan Pascoe's goal off the bench against Taffs Well makes him the youngest ever goalscorer not just for the club, but in the division. This kid could have a big future!
When I came here, I said it would be a tough job to keep Risca in the division. However, because of our strong finish, we actually ended up in the top half of the table!!
It was actually a club record high!
Considering the form we are in and the position we finished, I thought the board might be a little happier.
The players I brought in can take a lot of credit for keeping us up as they're performances were nothing short of excellent!
If I can keep my best players at the club for next season and bring in some reinforcements to replace the weaker ones, we have every reason to believe we can have a good campaign next year.
Gary Meredith finished this season as the club's top scorer but only actually got 8, and only 5 in the league. We'll need a better front man next year.
Although it won't be easy to bring new players in, as we are currently over £100 per week over the wage bill.
It means Lewis Ellis might be released from the club this Summer. He's officially our best player and had a good season, but he's taking up about 40% of our wage budget!!
The board want a mid table finish this year as we look to build on our strong finish to last season.
To be fair, it's in line with where the bookies feel we are at.
Worth making a note of this kid. I know we are playing at a low level here, but Carlos Naylor is only 15 years old and the striker from Llanelli Town has made the media dream 11!
A whole host of players did leave this Summer and Lewis Ellis (who was taking up £170 of our wage budget) was among them.
Last year's top scorer, Gary Meredith, also sealed a move as he was snapped up by Kidderminster.
He was quickly replaced with my first Summer signing though as Dylan Summers-Jones comes into the club on a free. Now apparently this lad scored 31 goals in 8 games back in 2019/20 for Bangor 1876...we'll have some of that please!
Next up is centre back Morgan Weaver who made 16 appearances for Llanelli Town (on loan) last season to help them finish 5th in this division. He is a good acquisition for us!
Sam Jones did OK for us on loan last season, so I moved to make the winger's deal a permanent one.
He'll be pressed for his place in the team by Toby Jones who also joins the club this Summer. The battle of the Jones's.
Central midfielder, Brandon Burrows is the next one through the door. His attributes don't set the world alight, but he's solid enough and should do OK for us at this level.
A bit of experience added to the side as 26 year old Harri Clarke comes in on a free. The centre back will likely slot straight into my starting lineup and should be a key figure at the back.
I was looking for another central midfielder with a decent work rate and determination to drive us forward through the middle and the man that fills that void is Anthony Finselbach who comes in on a free.
Our first four friendlies ended with 3 wins and a draw as the newbies all seem to be gelling together nicely.
It wasn't all plain sailing though as one of our best players from last season, Barry Morris, picked up a pre season injury that will keep him out for a couple of months.
I completed my B license which increases my attributes a little.
In between our pre season friendlies, we had our first competitive game of the season as we ventured into the Nathaniel MG Cup for the first time under my management (we were out by the time I joined the club last year). It resulted in a very comfortable win over Cambrian & Clydach, one of the other teams in our division.
Another friendly followed before we were back at it in the cup again, smashing home another 5 goals to advance to the 3rd round. Two competitive games played before the league campaign kicks off and 10 goals scored...can't be bad!
Winger Phil Giles is only 16 years old and a product of our own youth academy. He came on for his debut against Denbigh and the youngster bagged himself 2 goals!
We carried our good cup form into the league campaign, kicking things off with a win. Although we were largely helped out by our opponents going down to 10 men in the first half, but we made the advantage count in the 2nd half and that's all I can ask of the lads.
Four more games followed and another 8 points as we maintained an unbeaten start to the campgaign through 5 games.
Youngster Phil Giles stepped up to make another impressive performance in our most recent game as he scored his first two league goals for the club.
And we are now 15 games unbeaten in the league!! What an incredible achievement that could never have been expected when I took over!
Four more games, four more undefeated! We have started this season in excellent fashion and emerged as one of the leading clubs in the division in the early stages.
Which is backed up by our current 2nd place in the league.
In 'the battle of the Jones's' it is Toby that's currently coming out on top. However, these two are currently the two best players in the league at the moment!!
Another league game and another 3 points on the board.
We only had 3 days between that league game and the third round of the Nathaniel MG Cup, so with necessary squad rotation, we were a lot weaker. And it showed as were outclassed for large periods of the game, but we still managed to take Llantwit to a penalty shootout, which is a great demonstration of our resolve. Unfortunately, our best penalty taker only had 5/20 for this attribute so I didn't hold out much hope we might win the shootout, and we didn't and crash out. Decent effort under all circumstances though!
We quickly bounced back from the disappointment of going out of the cup, but taking 10 points from a possible 12 in our next 4 league games!
Which moves us to the top of the table as we approach the half way stage of the campaign.
Our 2nd cup competition of the year is the main one in Wales and we get through the first round with ease against lower league opposition. Leon Thomas was handed a rare start up front and celebrated it with 4 goals!
5th placed Camrbian & Clydach were up next in the league and this couldn't have been a more comfortable win for us. We absolutely battered them for 90 minutes and could have got 5 or 6 in all honesty!
It looks like age is catching up with 38 year old Barry Morris though as the winger picks up his second big injury of the season which will keep him out for 2 more months. His contributions this season haven't been great though so we might not miss him too much.
We weren't at our best against Llantwit Major, but we got the 3 points regardless. We have our keeper to thank for his penalty save which kept us in the game on 48 minutes.
Gabriele Brino has been one of the best additions to the squad this year and he is only behind the Goytre keeper for clean sheets this season.
Another lacklustre performance in the league followed, but another 3 points nonetheless! Real champions win the games even when they don't play well and that's exactly what we are doing at the moment.
And winning 5 games in a row has seen us open up a 6 point lead at the top of the division now. We're the team to catch with 13 games to go!
For the 2nd month in a row, I win the Manager of the Month award. My reputation is growing stronger every day...at least in the lower leagues of Welsh football.
With lower league opposition in front of us again in the Welsh Cup, it was no surprise to anyone to see us cruise through to the next round. Leon Thomas was again handed a start up top and again returned a couple of cup goals.
There is a couple of months break from the league now, so our next game was also in the Welsh Cup as we played our 3rd round tie and again we'd been lucky enough to draw lower league opposition. And again, we got through to the next round comfortably.
What the break did give me was the perfect opportunity to start my next coaching course.
Now apparently, we have an excellent youth intake to look forward to again later this season. I think that exellent intakes are more common down at this level as the standard of players is so much lower and it's easier for youngsters to break through and outshine them...just a theory.
As January came around, the transfer window was open again. We've been lucky with injuries so far this season in our attacking midfield roles but if we do pick one up, we don't really have cover. So I brought in Jordan Cotterill on a free transfer and he is a really good addition to the squad who will definitely improve us for the 2nd half of the campaign.
Cotterill came off the bench to make his debut as we kicked off league action for the first time in 2 months with a win over relegation threatened, Pontypridd.
And we followed that up with another win against bottom of the league, Caerau Ely. We weren't great here but got the job done.
We now have 10 straight wins in all competitions and that has sparked interest from another Welsh side, Gresford Athletic. Not sure what makes them think I'd give up 1st place in the South division to take over a team 13th in the North one. I respectfully decline their approach.
My players celebrated my loyalty to the club by seeing us through to the next round of the Welsh Cup. A good win over Airbus who are currently leading the way in the JD Cymru North.
And another win in the league ensured I took home my 3rd straight Manager of the Month award.
With 10 games remaining, we are 10 points clear at the top! Is an undefeated league campaign on the cards?
Right, I start this update on the verge of a meltdown. A large number of our players are on pay as you play deals and being that I had already maxed out our weekly wage budget, I was unable to get any of them to sign new terms with me, to fend off the interest from other clubs. Now it seems that with the transfer window coming to close at the beginning of Feb, a lot of other teams were approaching all my players and a few have left with immediate effect on free transfers. In one hit, we have lost Morgan Weaver (Cefn Druids), Dylan Summers-Jones (Conwy), Sam Jones (Colwyn Bay) and Brandon Burrows (Swansea Uni). All of these have been first 11 regulars for me this year and have played huge parts in our success so far.
We are very likely to miss Summers-Jones's goals as he'd hit 13 in 19 games for us this season!
And in Sam Jones we have lost one of our key creators as he had 7 assists for the club!
And Morgan Weaver had been the rock at the centre of our defence, holding everything together at the back!
And with all the absentees, combined with a red card and giving away a penalty, we lose our first game of the season, beaten easily by our nearest rivals! A bad day at the office all round!
Although the stats suggest the scoreline was a little unfair on us.
So with that, our 30 game unbeaten run comes to an end! What a ride it was though and something nobody could have possibly predicted when I took over.
Reinforcements were desperately required, but with the window now shut, our options were extremely limited to just loans and out of contract players. I did manage to pick up Jordan Meaney who will bolster the central defence positions and offer some much needed experience at the back at the age of 30.
I then added midfield playmaker, Dylan Downs, to the squad. He joins on loan from Premier League side, Newtown and can hopefully bring some creativity back to the team.
The new recruits went straight into the starting lineup and immediately helped us back to winning ways. This was a big result for us against the side in 4th place trying hard to chase us down.
We followed that up with another win against struggling Abertillery. Our attack has won us so many games this season, but this game was all down to a very solid defensive performance, especially after going down to 10 men so early in the game.
With Swansea losing, it meant that our 10 point lead was restored with just 7 games to go. Surely the title was coming our way...surely!
And our focus will be entirely on winning that league title now after we went out of the Welsh Cup at the quarter final stage. A really brave effort from my lads here though against a Connah's Quay side that are challenging for the Premier League title (currently 2nd).
Proof that we can mix it with the big boys in the league above was enough for Premier League side, Barry Town, to come in with an offer of an interview. However, I'm determined to see out the rest of the season with Risca and really want to try to guide them to their first ever league title, so I decline the opportunity to sit in front of the Barry board.
Our next league game resulted in our 2nd defeat of the season as we went down narrowly to 3rd placed Goytre. Swansea picked up the win which means our lead at the top of the table is cut to 7 points with 6 games left.
Port Talbot came into our match in 10th place and although they're clear of the relegation fight, they're still a team we should be beating if we want to lift this title! And we did, with relative ease.
We backed that up with another victory in a narrow 1-0 win over Undy. Swansea are now in a position with 4 games to go that they cannot afford to drop any points or they will hand us the title. Surely it's just a matter of time before we wrap things up now!
Another win for both ourselves and Swansea means that the title is so, so close, but not quite ours just yet!
The club's youth intake came through and was another excellent one with a whole host of players who will likely develop into future first teamers.
And there is one player who actually becomes one of our very best options in central midfield already, despite being only 15 years old! Dan Wilkes looks like an incredible prospect for us!
We went into the game with Cwmbran Celtic knowing that we only needed a single point to confirm our status as champions! Instead, we did things in style, taking all 3 points to seal the club's first ever league title win!
Making us champions, despite our huge pre season odds of 50/1!
And it was enough to cement me as a club favourite!
My status not only improves with my first trophy, but also with another coaching badge as my National A License is complete, which in turn boosts my attributes.
And the Risca board immediately agree to fund my Continental C License badge.
With the board backing me, it would have been rude of me not to accept their new contract offer. It's a 1 year extension and a pay rise to £95 per week.
We took another 4 points from our final two games of the season, finishing with a 5 goal flourish in front of our own fans to round up the campaign.
The final league table shows us winning the title by a clear 10 points. To show just how well we did this year, it was Carmarthen who lifted this trophy last season with just 58 points! We were incredible all year!
As a unit, we were absolutely solid, controlling more average possession than any other team in the league and thus conceding the least amount of chances against us.
To add to that, we conceded the least goals and kept the most clean sheets as our defence shone throughout the campaign.
In the battle of the Jones's, it was Toby who came out on top as both of them finished in the top 3 in the league for highest average rating.
Dylan Summers-Jones may have finished as top goalscorer had he not left the club when he did.
But after he left, 19 year old Leon Thomas really stepped up and actually finished the season in double figures with the best minutes per goal ratio in the entire division.
It's fair to say that the whole squad did their bit though! An excellent season all round, and that includes the disloyal b***ards who left us after 20 games.
It was proven by the fact that no less than 6 of our players made the team of the season. Effectively, it was 7 with Brandon Burrows thrown in there as well.
Toby Jones was the one that really stands out though and he cleaned up on awards night as well.
I have to say I'd have been disappointed if I hadn't landed the Manager of the Season too.
As we look to next season, we'll have to rent a different stadium to meet Premier League requirements. I have to admit that it seems crazy though as our current capacity is 1,000 and our average attendance was just over 100!
The board's expectations for the upcoming season are simple. Fight as hard as we possibly can to stay in the Premier League.
Although we might have an impossible task ahead of us, if the bookies predictions are anything to go by.
It's easy to see why TNS are such hot favourites. This is the first time I've ever seen an entire media dream 11 made up of players from a single team and TNS should be p1ss1ng this league.
As we start to build a team that can compete in the Premier League, my first signings join the club. Both Tom Dix and Chris Gregory have been on my radar for the past 6 months and I am delighted to finally land them both. They will add some real quality to our midfield.
Ieuan Hewitt also comes in on a free and will likely play a big part at the heart of our defence.
Now although I have a pretty awesome first choice keeper already, it never does any harm to have a decent backup to push your first choice. That is a void that is now filled with the arrival of Osian Goulding who joins on a free.
Another boost to the central defence is Ivan Stojanovic who played a whole season at this level for Carmarthen last year. He recorded an average rating of 6.84 which isn't too bad and if he can replicate that for us, it will be decent enough.
A new striker was needed as I finished the season last year with only one recognised in the first team. Marc Williams is the guy who comes in. At 34 years old, he has a host of experience he can bring to the table and with a decent work rate and good finishing, he should be able to carve out some opportunities and score some goals this year. Plus, he can also drop back into an attacking midfield role if required too.
As far as my own personal development goes, I have another coaching badge in the bag and increased attributes with it.
But in fear of losing me to a bigger club, the board have halted my progress there for now.
On with the squad rebuild and the next player through the door is Joe Jones. The right back role is another where I was lacking depth so desperately needed to add another player for that position and Jones was available and looks like a good addition.
My final moves for now were to bring two young wingers to the club to boost our options out wide. These two look like they can have an impact on my squad and although they don't stand out as exceptional, they should both be good enough to compete for a first team spot.
do you have any leagues in England loaded? Feel like it's made managing in Wales a lot easier for me because I can pick up players that have been released by English clubs pretty easily. Good luck with the upcoming season!
