Ren Queenston's Managerial Sunrise

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"I felt on top of the world, not because I had made it to the big leagues, but because I was one step closer to it. I had finally achieved my first license. It might not have been much for many people, although for me it felt like I had achieved something.
All I needed now was a club to start and being in Japan, it would either be a piece of cake or one of the hardest steps of my newly started career."


"It took a while, but finally I was accepted into a club, I had to keep my expectations low as I joined a Japanese side of the 4th Division. MIO Biwako. A club located in Kusatsu which seemed more of a normal peaceful village than exactly a football lovers city.

It wasn't the dream start a manager could dream of...although we all had to start somewhere, at least it was a professional club with secure finances, pretty certain it could be my starting point to greatness.

There wasn't much of a media presence and everything went by rather quiet, from the presentation to the contract signing after meeting the Chairman Kojin Gonda. Seemed like quite a friendly person but an impatient one at that, it struck a little bit of fear onto me as I knew I had to keep the team on track quickly and for a long-term situation in order to keep my job in these parts, fortunatly somewhat, the team didn't have the highest of ambitions but for me the higher the better."

"I was a dreamer, but at the same time I wanted to do the best I could, to improve and bring whatever team I was in to glory and needed to tell myself. This is the beginning, work hard, improve, have determination and you shall prevail."
 
Have yet to see a story about the Japan football league, will definitely be following this.

Good luck man :)
 
Disclaimer89 said:
Have yet to see a story about the Japan football league, will definitely be following this.

Good luck man :)
Click to expand...


Much appreciated! I wanted to do something new, but also something that could make me drift away from my more casual ways of Football Manager as I never played it exactly as it should be played. So i'm hoping to evolve in the story as I evolve in playing as well!
 
The time had finally come, I was about to meet a great portion of the people that would make or break this beginning. The players. I had arrived at the training grounds rather nervously, something was holding me back. How would the players react? Would they cooperate with me? Do I have an able and hard-working group that I can work and apply my philosophies to? These questions and more took over my train of thought, so I just wanted to get them all over with.

Upon getting my way onto the locker rooms the players seemed to be all ready for the introduction, my heart was reacing and the moment didn't help on it, taking a deep breath I simply presented myself to the team and prayed for the best.

"Good morning team, as you may now I will be the new manager for MIO this season. So let me introduce myself and discuss a few of my philosophies that i'm looking to apply, as I want to see this club successful in the short and long run. My name is Ren Queenston, many of you have probably not heard of me but I assure you i'm looking for silverware and development as much as anyone in this locker room and that's what I want to see. I want a dedicated group, I want a fighting group, one that helps eachother through the rough times and one that celebrates with eachother upon victory.

The team seemed quite positive about my vision, a few smiles broke out and a few welcoming voices spoke louder, I couldn't help but to break a little smile as well.

"So, I believe that we can finish in a respectable position, the media expects us to finish in the lower table, but i'm certain we can do better than that."

I said while trying to inspire some morale onto the players and that this moment the group seemed to split in two. One group seemed content and confident they could do so much better and the other thought it was too ambitious, I didn't waste anytime in wanting the players to believe in themselves.

"If we work as a group and work hard, we can achieve more than anyone expects from us!"

A few of the questioning players seemed to think a little better and their eyes now had that glitter, that glow of ambition that I was looking for.
"Very well, now let's get on with training, I want to start seeing you all in action, I can tell you now that everyone that I see fit for a chance, will get a chance. Now go out there and impress me, I want to see who I can count with for the matches."

The players then stormed out, they seemed pumped up, I wasn't expecting such a reaction, it was different than anything I had ever saw, read or heard about.
I was finally stepping in the actual management game and it was now time to get a better knowledge of my players in action.
 

I was happy with the groups fighting spirit, they seemed really hard at work to impress me and cement a spot in the team, it was at this point that I started scanning who would make it and who would not, what positions I needed to reinforce and those who had too many players alongside who the star players were.
The quality obviously wasn't of a world star scale, but it was what I had to work with and the ones who seemed to impress me the most and the ones who had the most quality quickly popped to my eye.


Kim Do-Hoon



View attachment 226568

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The biggest superstar of the team came in the form of the only current foreign player in the team, the South Korean was simply the one who stood out the most, great finishing, decent pace and seemed to bond quite well with the team in the plays, he was the one I needed to score me those oh so important goals.


Kazuhisa Hamaoka

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The veteranjapanese player, being the second oldest (Just behind a player named Shigeki Kishida age 34) it was easy to see he was the one calling the shots in the field, he was a hard worked and didn't seem to mind running that extra mile to produce another play. He's exactly what I needed. The proper playmaker.


Masashi Nito


View attachment 226565
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As much as you score, you won't win any games without a solid defensive work. Nito is what i'm hoping provides just that, despite being a short man he seemed the most able to tackle and contest a ball with his pace and strength.



Then it hit me, my first obstacle to overcome in my manager steps, I was lacking a proper left defender, I simply had nobody at all for that spot, I scanned and scanned through my papers again and again, there was no player in any of the squads that could fit that role.


It seemed like I had to scout out a few players, but finances seemed flimsy on a transfer stand point, having to mostly rely in free transfers in an almost deserted japanese market.
 
Transfers pt. 1

The player seeking began as I wanted to fill up whatever lacked in squad depth, on the looks were a Left Defender, Right Defender, a Right Midfielder and a Central Attacking Midfielder. Upon days of scouting and approaches to sign, a few of the places now have new owners and backups.

Choi Jae-Eun

View attachment 226508
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One of the tougher targets was then secured and I couldn't have been any more pleased to see Choi make his arrival at the club, the team lacked proper full backs and Choi was one of the best on the transfer list. A fair ammount of clubs seemed interested in him but luckily we were quick on the trigger and secured this great signing who is sure to reinforce the right hand side.


Im Kyung-Hoon

View attachment 226507

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Another right back from Korea who's here to provide some decent alternatives in the case Choi happens to be tired or simply injured. I've seen him work and i'm more than certain he's ready for the big games if need be.


The brazilean right mid arrived quickly at the club, but only a few days away from the clubs first friendly against Doshisha Univ. So hopefully he has a quick adaptation at the club as we sure needed a better right midfielder than Ishima. He is nothing too out of the ordinary, but sure to be a quality signing in the league.


The days until the league were getting shorter and shorter and the lack of a proper left back has started to get into my thoughts more and more, it was simply difficult to secure a player on that position but I also didn't want to start the league without someone to play that role, it seemed i'd have to play with a trial player for the next friendly, wishing the team will up to the task in four days...

 
Opening match and transfer.

It was finally time. The first match. It was a friendly but I couldn't say I wasn't nervous, the sweat dripping from my forehead and my heart racing. The teams were ready to play, I felt confident in my group, but nothing in football is given just out of the blue. Nobody ever played football to lose.
Walking up to that locker room, it felt special, it wasn't a breath of fresh air, but it was something new. The adrenaline rushing as I heard my some of my players pumped, ready to go and fight for those spots and some who seemed to just be concentrating, I knew the team was ready.

"This is it boys, the first game of the pre-season. It's a friendly but I don't want sloppy performances, I want you guys to give it your all at all times! There's spots to be decided and I want to be impressed!
Right, the plan is to not overcomplicate things, simple passes, play it slow and limit the mistakes while you try to force theirs, we're the ones who will be going home with a victory today!"

Everyone seemed to be on the same page, shouting out to the tunnels in high spirits. Game time.

The whistle for the end blew

...and it was a sensational win for the team! It was impossible to ask much more from the boys as 23 minutes in Ikeno got a superb header in from Kuwazuru's text book short cross.
In the 49th minute the captain Hamaoka finished in a calm and collected fashion into the top left corner after a good team play provided from a free kick from the left side.
71st minute had a goal by new player Johnny as he put away the ball in the back of the net with his left foot a corner kick taken by Masashi Nito.

In the end the 3-1 happend as in the 91st minute Akira Shoda from Doshisha Univ performed a great free kick just outside the box.

Unfortunatly for every up there is a down as both our starter strikers ended up injured mid-game, although the back ups seemed up to the task. It was a great start to hopefully a great season.


New transfer signing for MIO Biwako

View attachment 226482


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MIO Biwako seems to have solved their problems with left-backs as they have now signed former Brighton and Stevenage player Darragh Ryan. The player has now arrived from a free transfer after his contract ran out at South Springvale. 33 year old Ryan seemed content for the move and said: "I'm going to show i'm not ready to hang my boots yet. MIO Biwako has given me a good chance to maintain my footballing career and with this i'm looking forward to working with the whole team, players and manager."
Manager Ren Queenston seemed more than delighted with the arrival of the Irish player.
"Darragh is a great professional and as loyal as it gets, he'll be a huge asset in-game and in the locker room, i'm extremely pleased we were able to secure his services and wish him the best his Japan journey."




​
 
Pre-Season

I had arrived at the second game with pretty high expectations, a sublime victory last game and the team seemed really on form on the pitch. Although no game is ever easy, our heads were held pretty high and I made sure to transmit this message to the team, I just wanted them to do what they had done in the last 90 minutes.


Our opponent was Veertien a team who seemed highly organized in midfield and one that wanted to hold the ball as long as possible to reveal any weak links in the transition of play. Never the less I was confident on a victory and a top notch performance.


The boys sure did deliver! A crushing game against Veertien as Johnny showed why he was one of the best signings of the JFL this window. One goal and two assists made him the man of the match as his passing quality was made noticeable.
This game also was special to Darragh Ryan, who made his debut for the club, absolute rock he was in this game, nobody went past him in that left hand side and his passing made for quite a few plays and counters. It seemed the Left Back problem was solved in the best way possible.

Although the problems continued, as our second striker in Matsunaga picks up a long injury and joins Kim Do-Hoon in the injury list, which slowly started to become bigger and bigger, the losses were starting to be made noticeable in the training grounds and my concerns for the performance in the pitch were sure.

Up next we had the weaker Laranja.


Once again another very midfield heavy team, which was sure to bring us some issues in terms of getting our game up front and with our striker forces now diminished I wasn't quite sure what to expect, other than hoping the subs were up to the test, as they would most likely need to start on the first couple of games on the league itself.


Shocking. Horrible. Weak. That's how I would describe the teams performance, they seemed lost despite a win, we could never make too many opportunities and we did, we barely made them count as both their first goal and ours were own goals (Despite ours counting for Kuwazuru). The passing was non-existant and the midfield was just a shadow of their former selves. Unhappy with the game, I made sure to transmit. Games like these?! No more!

Would the telling off work as we were to face Technonet Osaka? Only the time and game would tell.

Heavily defensive team for a change as I was caught in the backhand from the change and wanted to attempt a new tactic we were trying to implement during training times. Needing for a change in attitude from the team.

I simply had no words at the end of the game, we were smashed everywhere in the pitch and there was no quality in the play. Although I only had myself to blame in the end game, the tactic wasn't yet fine tuned and it showed clearly.

At the end of the pre-season we did have a positive outcome but I wasn't pleased with the last two performances, it all had to change as the real season was about to begin..
 
Good signings and a positive preseason! Looking forward to the league kicking off.
 
Disclaimer89 said:
Good signings and a positive preseason! Looking forward to the league kicking off.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I was super pleased and surprised to get Ryan in the team. Surprised as in expecting he would ask some monumental ammount of money. Luckily it was manageable and I did need a left back no matter what.

The pre-season despite the results had it's few ups and downs, kicked off extremely well but the team was pretty complacent on the two last ones but there's always a big number of positives to take out of it, what really concerns me is the injury list, my main two strikers and my best center back are all out for at least two months.

Thank you once again for the feedback! I'll post the next update on friday.(As during the week I cannot access my save due to work.).
 
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