Managing Dreams - My Journey Into the World of Football

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DreamTempest

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Hi everyone I am new around here and decided there is no better way to introduce myself than to make a virtual copy of me in FM 15 and trow it into the cold unforgiving world of managing. Enjoy.


Managing Dreams Chapter I: Madness
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As I wander down the streets of Coimbra I stop thinking "What the **** am I doing?!". Had I really just dropped all my other dreams and ambitions to stupidly to become a football manager?! Did I really believe having played once for an amateur team many years ago would help me achieve anything? Did I really think any club would just hire a 23 years old nobody from Brazil just because he asked nicely?

"Of course not...but..." I muttered to myself

Thing is once I got the idea on my mind I just couldn't abandon it no matter how insane it seemed. And besides now I already have this damned license so might as well TRY to do something with it I guess....

Oh well so begins the job hunt, it is still June and not many spots are open but by the end of the year some opportunities are sure to arise...

Alright got an interview with Fatima FC from the Portuguese National Championship (3rd tier) would be a fine start I suppose but I can't but be less than thrilled at staying at the religious heart of the country and a huge pilgrimage site at that. I mean most portuguese even the devout ones are pretty tolerant of non-religious people like myself but...well we will see.
My first interview fails miserably and I remain jobless living off the money I get from my parents. Elsewhere...I am even less succesful getting no interviews at all. I suppose I will have to wait...


My wait goes on until September where several managers worldwide are being fired. Not missing a second I started sending job applications left and right every time a new spot opened. Managed to get interviews with Khabarovsk and Antwerp both promising for a nobody like me.

Sadly nothing came out of these as expected but thankfully even more opportunities emerged at Visé (Belgium Third Division B) Aldershot (Vanarama Conference) Coruxo (Segunda Division B) Bristol Rovers (Vanarama Conference) and Wrexham (also V Conf).

Much to my surprise all these teams agreed to hire me and I was left torn between them ultimately however...

I set off for Wales, The Dragons awaited me...
 
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Managing Dreams Chapter II: High Expectations



Well...I've just arrived and yet the pressure is already mind-blowing. The club has endless history behind it and yet finds itself on the rock bottom position of the Conference on its 150th anniversary. The third oldest proffessional football team in the world had an absolutely atrocious season so far and now looks to anyone or in this case me for salvation...Me! A boy with no real managing experience and who didn't even know Wrexham existed before I heard about the job!

*Takes a deep breath* Alright let me have a look at the team

Not bad actually, I mean our midfield ain't that great and we don't have a single natural DM but it could've been a **** of a lot worse considering we are a Conference team. The previous manager must've screwed badly somehow, probably got into a fight with the players from what I've heard. I hope I fare much better, thankfully the vast majority of team happens to be even younger than I am so maybe insubordination won't be that bad...I can't help but think I look just like one of them though and not some authority figure.


Our real saving grace though is this goalkeeper with great potential here on loan from Stoke. Because of him I actually feel a little confident about our defence.
YES!!! An absolutely stunning victory on my first game! There couldn't be a better way to start things up. With this victory alone we are almost out of relegation. The team showed great spirit in this match especially Louis Moult who was absolutely flawless, I can only hope he keeps playing like that through the season. Our fans were also jubilant with the result something extremely important for the safety of my job considering the team is owned by the Wrexham Supporters Trust.

Next we face Braintree (what a weird weird name!) on the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round
 
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Another very nice victory! And this time against a much stronger opponent. Braintree fought for it all the time but ultimately we scored and they didn't. Sadly enough I am starting to realize discipline is a major issue with our team they are extremely agressive and couldn't care less about the effects of their actions. After the game ended Wrexham was fined for our excessive agression. I will do what I can to teach them discipline without turning them against me.
 
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Halifax! A very tough match against the 4th team in the table. Can't complain about this first draw as they dominated 85 minutes of the game. But had the game lasted 3 more minutes we would have won as things had completely turned around. Connor Jennings led a late game charge against the winning team and we completely anihilated their defences. This still means we aren't out of relegation though.
 
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Not an impossible match but a victory is extremely unlikely against an opponent two tiers above our own especially since we are still threatened by relegation. At least the pressure is over now that we have achieve our expectations for the FA Cup.

That was really special! I totally did not expect it and yet we won. Its strange how our players performance seems to shift dramatically from game to game, they're REALLY not very consistent. When the team plays like it did today however I feel confident in our success. Next match will be against the lower league Harrogate so we should got at least one step further before having to stop.
 
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Nice start mate, KIU!

Love the title btw, managing dreams, that's what its all about isn't it. ;)
 
The bot detection system is throwing a tantrum. I will update this as soon as I am allowed, right now its not even letting reply to your posts using quotes.
 
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A horrible, horrible match...what should have been a tremendously easy victory turned into a war with our players commiting what I can only classify as atrocities on the field. I don't think even Argentinean classic matches see this kind of brutality and that most of it was coming from my team was devastating. We won, but I can't find any joy in it, we lost two players for the next match because of their own stupidity. *Sigh* I hope I can change this...

At least we are out of relegation for now and could climb several positions with a small number of victories.
 
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CantGetEnoughOfJelavic said:
Keep it up, some nice results for yourself there.
Click to expand...

Thanks! The team isn't bad for the Conference (could even have some success in League 2) but they have SERIOUS psychological issues. I need to shout all the time to keep them in line


Lippo255 said:
Nice start mate, KIU!

Love the title btw, managing dreams, that's what its all about isn't it. ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks Lippo,
It sure is :) glad you liked it
 
Great first team! I find these 'journeyman' saves more exciting..starting from the bottom rather than jumping straight to the big team.

Great start, keep it up man :)
 

We meet Braintree again (on the Conference now) and are victorious once more. But once again I cannot be happy with the game as the team played using extreme brutality. We will have to pay fines for excessive violence once more...if this keeps going I am the one who is gonna snap one of these days.

Yes! A dominating victory against 2nd place Altrincham. They were no match for and we cornered them from the start. Even more surprising was that the vast majority of our players behaved extremely well, it seems they are finally starting to respect my authority and behave as I told them. Overall a fantastic result.



I sign a fellow brazilian playing at a portuguese amateur team. Decent player much better than the ones around here. I am however very skeptical of his chances of getting a work permit...still it doesn't hurts to try as it was a free transfer and the wage budget is fine at the moment.

We are finally getting to mid table! I am quite confident we can go farther however if nothing terrible happens. Lincoln on the FA Cup should also be a very easy match considering how completely smashed them last time.

Disappointing but positive result against 3rd place Kidderminster. Our lack of ability to score cost us the match, we repeatedly failed over and over again...time for some training perhaps ? At least we still moved up again to 13th place.



Two new signings, none of them are fantastic but both are still better than most of the players I have availiable. And I really need them as injuries are frequent enough to be a worry.

A tight victory but a victory nonetheless against the weakest team of the Conference. Jennings and Moult were accepatble but not as good as usual and Kieran Fenton disappointed throughout the entire game with terrible perfomances and discipline. I gave him a harsh reprimand. With this win we find ourselves exactly at the middle of the table in 12th place.


My first award...it had been such a complicated month that I hadn't even thought about it...It feels great to have something besides my unimpressive National C License. And of course to see that people recognise the good work I am doing here. Sometimes I felt becoming a manager was madness, sometimes I still feel like that but this makes me believe I was right to choose this path.
 
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Disclaimer89 said:
Great first team! I find these 'journeyman' saves more exciting..starting from the bottom rather than jumping straight to the big team.

Great start, keep it up man :)
Click to expand...

Thanks pal! I also enjoy it better this way even though I do enjoy all sorts of FM games.
Its feels great to pull them out of relegation, Wrexham deserves better :)
 
A tight victory against of the teams I almost ended up managing. And once again the boys discipline almost brings us down. I swear its gonna bring me a bitter defeat one of these days. The game should have been SO much easier. Still...I'll take the 3 points...and we have kept our unbeaten run going.


Whalley complains about the lack of first team football and I decide I am just gonna sell him as his performance is even worse than that of our mediocre team. Besides I have better backups who are happy enough with their football.


We beat Lincoln again this time on the FA Cup and on their turf, once again things could have been easier but our shots are just terrible. Now let us hope for kind draw for the next round...


Welsh legend Mickey Thomas praised my work! Mickey has been very present in Wrexham and the Racecourse through the season but we have never have enough time to talk. It feels great to be recognised by one of the giants of football.





All right...this is were we leave the FA Cup. I really have absolutely no hope to stand against Bournemouth even while playing at the Racecourse Ground. Our victory against Bradford was a small miracle but to win against Bournemouth would require God himself to come down from Heaven and play for our side. It was a good run though we two rounds further than the board expected and everyone will be happy.



Dover has been one of the consistently worse teams of the season and despite the home advantage we crushed them easily. I am very glad with this victory despite the fact our shots were once again mediocre. 3 more points.


8th place! We are doing great and the atmosphere here in Wrexham feels so much better than when I arrived. There is no longer that tension in the air, there are smiles and hope for a strong season. Some even dare whisper about our odds of promotion and I can't help but feel radiant. Our hard work has turned things around, we are no longer the underdogs, we are the unbeaten Dragon of the Conference that can knock out teams like Bradford.







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Another day in Wrexham. I woke up early as usual, just after sunrise and left for work. I walked my way to the Racecourse Ground every day as I had no car or even a drivers license...I never had time for that and now as manager every time I needed to be sent elsewhere the board would provide transportation for me along with the entire team.

I didn't care however. The streets were all familiar to me now, as familiar as the streets of Coimbra, those old crumbling serpentine pathways. I looked around as I walked and saw familiar faces, those of our fans at the stadium, those of people I met every day in the town. And where once they looked to me with curiosity and doubt most now smiled and waved kindly.

Its a curious thing this ability to adapt, this need for survival that makes us do our best to blend in and do well wherever we are. Back in Portugal my portuguese had become this mix of brazilian and portuguese accents, and now I found myself unconciously speaking english with a welsh accent and even learning a few unique welsh words too. Similarly they expressions and customs were becoming as natural to me as breathing the fresh air around me.



And as these thoughts crossed my mind I arrived at my destination, home of our team and the rugby boys the North Wales Crusaders who sometimes I found myself watching with interest. The Racecourse welcomed for another day of hard work. Though it was the largest stadium in North Wales it was a humble thing when compared to the many colossi of world football.

Whatever happened to me in the future, I knew I would never forget this place and would be forever changed by it and its people. This place was home, even if only for a time...


(I thought it would be nice to work on the story a little. What do you guys think?)
 
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The FA Trophy begins and its a mess. We scored a lot they scored a lot. Don't really know what to say our defence was atrocious and our attack strong. Its still a big win I suppose but as usual things never go smoothly here in Wrexham and you have to take what you can get. I really shouldn't complain so much, we are winning repeatedly its just...*sighs* Nevermind.


Lincoln on my first day, Lincoln on the Cup and now Lincoln again on the Trophy?! These guys better start getting used to being beaten by us. Its probably the only opponent we've faced so far that gives us no challenge at all. Its better this way I suppose, increases our odds of going further in the competition.


Nottingham Forest will soon have Kieran Fenton back from loan as they refused to renew it. We can manage however as long we can keep some of the other loaned players.

This was supposed to be a simple game and yet somehow it became a complicated orgy of violence and even our captain Kyle Storer was sent away. Aside from that we completely dominated the game and yet failed to turn that domination into goals. A disappointing victory once again.


Cardiff boy Thomas James will be staying with us for a while longer. He is flexible and talented but with a lethal flaw that often costs us...he panics at the first sight of trouble and sometimes even for no reason at all. And yet he is still more capable than our defenders when calm so I really have no choice...





Another 3 points for us in what should've been a far more comfortable victory. *Sighs* We really have TERRIBLE accuracy look at those shots. Moult hit a pidgeon today while trying to score...and Jennings fared just as bad but at least he didn't kill some poor lost bird. *Takes a deep breath* 3 points we got it and that is all that matters right?...


The Board loves me now, and finances are doing okay the only complaint they have is that I haven't signed enough young players...Sure I can do that as soon as they increase the transfer budget. But I really don't see that happening anytime soon. Shouldn't matter though as I really don't see anyone getting mad over that with the sort of results we're having lately.


Eddie Howe, Bournemouth manager says we are an easy match and sadly I can only agree with that. I just hope we can put up a decent fight before we go down.

I couldn't believe my eyes...WE actually started leading the game, then they scored and then WE SCORED AGAIN. Yes we lost eventually but IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MATCH. The team behaved perfectly well and played some amazing football that I never ever thought they could be capable of.

In fact I am starting to believe they play better when everyone expects us to lose like in our first game with Lincoln. It was the first defeat of my career and yet one of the happiest days of my life. I even met Howe briefly after the game and he shook my hand and said we were no easy match and fought tremendously well.


Being a manager may be very complicated but it sure is something special and looking back now I don't regret making this choice.
 
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"a complicated orgy of violence" best match description ever!!! :)
 
Nice start mate, Wrexham are my local team so this will be fun to follow, nice results and well written!
 
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