"Reviving The Gulls" A different view of Torquay.

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Reviving The Gulls

Chapter 1 - Welcome Charles Bundwick.

“So Mr.Bundwick despite several protests we simply cannot offer you anymore money, the club does not feel that given your unproven and unexperienced manner that you warrant any more money.”

Charles had a distinguished taste for money.
“You could never have enough” he says.

Considering he grew up in what would be considered a run of the mill “middle class” family, his love for money was quite common. He’s a born negotiator, so when the initial amount was offered by the board his first instinct was to counter offer. However he was ultimately unsuccessful.

“The offer is staying put at $10,000 a week Mr.Bundwick, no more no less, take it or leave it”
The room was lifeless; the tick of the clock was thunderous. Charles inhaled and looked to open his mouth to let some words out however all that escaped was a soft cough. The tick of the clock grew larger as time passed. Charles’ dazed look into the abyss was a mark of his clouded mind.

“Ok” he uttered, then paused again and continued his previous state of mind. All eyes were lurched onto Charles; his words were eagerly awaited.

“Okay, alright, go on lets sign it.” That response was welcomed with a chorus of sighs from the board members sitting in on the meeting. Charles was still undecided if he had made the right choice, the sweat smeared across his forehead was clear evidence of this. His thoughts were so dense you could almost hear what he was thinking. Despite this he was never one to overthink but his face was indicating towards the contrary on this occasion.

“That’s great to hear Mr.Bundwick, now comes the easy part of the day; the signing of the papers.”

Charles took out his beloved ball point pen which had "Bundwick" engraved into it. The pen was given to him by his father before he passed away tragically. Charles read over the papers and proceeded to sign on the dotted line. He looked up and gave a cheeky grin to the chairman which epitomised the Charles Bundwick way of life. The smile was a way of projecting a sense of confidence and a feeling that he knows how to get the job done.

“Great to have you on board Mr.Bundwick, we hope your time with us is as much enjoyable as it is successful.”

The standard pleasantries were exchanged before the details of his first day were arranged and announced.

“If possible could we delay the publicising of my signature sir, I would just prefer if I was the one to inform my mother rather than her finding out about it by seeing it on the news or reading about it.” Charles’ request was not a strange one; he has always been family man. There was nothing more important than his family.


Hello ladies and gentlemen, i hope that you all enjoy reading my story. Please try to keep in mind that im not the best of writers and im still learning so any constructive criticism and/or advice will be greatly appreciated. :)
 
Hello lads, dont really know how many of you are actually following this however i plan on having another update out in the next few days. Initially there will be very little FM intergrated into it, gradually however the amount will increase. Stay tuned :)
 
if there is anyone out there following, apologies for the extreme delay, I was waiting for 13.3.0 to be released. More frequent updates to come.

Chapter 2 - Welcome Charles Bundwick - Part II


Charles left Plainmoor with an upright feeling; he knew that his first job in professional football management had been booked. He turned back and looked at the 6000 odd seater that is Plainmoor, took it all in with a deep breath and was off. His 1973 black Chevy Malibu was his form of transportation from Plainmoor to the hotel where he was temporarily accommodated. The hotel had an extraordinarily old and out dated feel about it; on the plus side the accommodation was not expensive.

Charles walked through the front door way and gave a polite nod to the young lady at the front desk. She was surprisingly well dressed in comparison to where she worked. The lack of a functioning elevator was a mark of exactly where Charles was. He was by no means in bad shape but the 5 flights of stairs he was required to walk up was an everyday struggle. He stumbled into his room, placed his keys on the table beside the front door and immediately called his mother.

His mother was, as she always is, supportive of his decision. Charles told her that at the end of the day he would try make her proud and assured her that he was unaware where this journey would lead him to however he promised to always keep his feet planted. Regardless of the money being thrown around.

Take away pizza was the choice of dinner for tonight. Charles sat at his desk with a notepad and a slice of pizza in one hand as he thought out his future tactics and what he was going to do with the club. He would carry a notepad with him where ever he went, it was almost used a diary. He would write down all his thoughts and ideas at any time so there was no chance of forgetting anything.
The pizza oil off his fingers had stained his notepad however Charles was not bothered. He continued for hours to write and draw on his notepad like a scientist trying to find the perfect formula.His beard growth was almost noticeable throughout the hours. In typical Charles Bundwick fashion he wanted everything to be perfect. Admittedly knowing very little about Torquay he researched their history, more out of respect for them than anything. He believed that it would be degrading to the players and staff members if he arrived on his first day unprepared and knowing little to nothing about the club.

His tactical aim was to be as efficient as possible. To score the most and concede the least by using the lowest amount of effort possible. Ultimately he wanted to be champions in the quickest way possible.


 
Chapter 3 - First Day of School.

“Welcome to the club Mr.Bundwick, My name is Shaun Taylor and until you say otherwise I will be your assistant.” A shake of the hand confirmed the new relationship.

“Pleasure to meet you Mr.Taylor and please, I insist you call me Charles.”

Shaun would then show him towards the change rooms, where the players were all waiting eagerly for the arrival of their new manager.

“Alright gentlemen, I would like to firstly introduce myself. My name is Charles Bundwick, I am 26 years old and I was born in the United States of America. I like to score goals and win games and I am sure everyone else here does as well. I hope that we all develop a great relationship, for the sake of the club if not for anything else. I look forward to working with you all and winning championships.”

His voice was the perfect mixture of assertive and gentle. It was a welcoming voice, the players were all happy to hear what the man in the $1000 suit had to say. He continued to speak about himself and his plans for the near future briefly before entering the tactical side of things.

“I like to play an attacking brand of football, not necessarily focused on possession but more on goals. I believe that discipline is key to success. Everyone will need to pull their weight in order for us to succeed.”

Individual roles were explained and discussed thoroughly before they were off to training. Seale-Hayne was a decent surface in ideal conditions; however it was far from ideal, the rain was hammering down. The first pieces of Torquay United gear were out as Charles put on a rain coat and a woollen beanie, in an attempt to combat the atrocious rain. His voice projection was horrid. Even with a strong yell it was a mission hearing his instructions. The drills were very basic to start off with however the difficulty increased as time passed. He wanted to see what he was working with, what they were made of.

Nearing the end of the session the players were lifeless, passes spraying meters away from their targets, touches were so poor they were being mistake for first time passes. Charles had a lot of work ahead of him, particularly if he wanted to beautify this team. Discussions with Shaun Taylor, were constant, the more knowledge he could gain from him the easier it would be for him to work with the players and control the egos around the club.

“And stop there! Bring it in lads. Well done.”
“For the most part, I’m happy with what I saw today, of course the conditions were not the greatest, but that’s just something we will have to work with yeah?”

The lads went into the showers after a few words from Charles and the other coaches. Once inside the club room Charles was informed of the upcoming friendlies that were arranged and his invitation to the England Trial Day.

“Not really sure of the quality that will be playing, but I might as well attend. Can’t do any harm”

 
Liking the start of this, keep it going. I've started a similar story 'it's NOT just a game', where I haven't included any FM yet either, just building up to the present day before letting FM decide on my career.
 

Chapter 4 - It's Game Time.

Charles sat beside Shaun in the cold as the England trial squads battled it out.

“Shaun, that JJ Hooper, looks quite a player for an 18 year old. Sign him up”

JJ Hooper was Charles’ first signing. He believed that the former Newcastle player could provide an alternative upfront. Aside from all else he would add some extra depth. Charles insisted that the greatest weakness in the current squad was the lack of depth.
Charles was working day and night with his staff to find quality players to improve the squad. He knew that the club had very little money to offer so he was forced to come into his own and stretch a dollar.

Wouter Jansen would become the clubs second signing. The 20 year old winger from the Netherlands was a utility signing. He can operate on both the left and the right, and comes with a good level of technical ability for a youngster. Torquay being his first club tells you all you need to know about his experience level.

Jansen was the final signing of the before the start of competitive games; Charles was still on the search for players however the pre-season had come to an end. The first test was easily the hardest they had faced so far, a Capital One Cup clash against Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Charles had conducted thorough research on his opposition and had made his players aware of their strengths and weaknesses. He had genuine belief that Torquay could come away with a win here. Charles had them playing good football and the atmosphere around the club was improving by the day. Their successful pre-season results were a major factor in this. 4 wins out of 5, with the only loss coming against Championship side Crystal Palace was a positive sign for what was to come.

Charles marched into the change rooms, wearing his match day suit and notepad in hand. He looked around and observed the players prepare. He soon begun to walk around and have a laugh with them in an attempt to keep them calm and relaxed. He constantly reassured the players of their ability and talent. He was didn’t want the players to think that he was above them in anyway; he wanted to get down to their level without being condescending or rude.

“Lads, just listen up yeah, whilst you are all getting ready I just want to say a few things. Forget about the opponents, they are irrelevant. As long as we get out there and play how we want to play, I assure you at the end of the day there will only be one winner. We must be switched on from minute one, and for Christ sake no stupid goals scored against us.” He would end his speech by asking the players if they had anything to add before sending them off to battle.

Pre - Season Results.

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if anyone is actually following this I just want to let you know it is greatly appreciated :)


Chapter 5 - The Review.



Sat in deafening silence, Charles was sunk into his lounger as he took sips from his glass half full of whisky. He glared at the T.V and analysed the latest Torquay match. A 3-2 extra time victory against Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Charles was ecstatic that his first win had come in his first game. Being the perfectionist that he is, he quickly assured his players that the performance was a glimpse of how he truly wants to play. The biggest worry in his eyes was the fact that they conceded two goals. They were weak goals, and Charles was not impressed. He constantly watched over the goals to narrow down the problem. Pointing the finger was out of the question, singling out a player was not on. Under Charles, Torquay would get to understand that everything was a team effort.

“Shaun, I look good there don’t I?” Charles laughed and pointed at himself on the projector as the players slowly came into what Charles would call the “Cinema” to collectively watch over the game against Wolves. An hour session in the “Cinema” would be an intense one. Charles had to make sure that the players truly understood the point he was trying to get across. He knew that the transformation process would be an especially long one. For a club that was projected to finish at the lower end of the table by the media, they knew that they were contenders for promotion. At the end of each film session Charles had implemented a customary video of choice. This week it was Al Pacino’s Speech from Any Given Sunday chosen by Charles.

Al Pacino - Any Given Sunday - "Inch By Inch" - YouTube

Film was followed by a light training session. A routine session was followed by Charles announcing the captain for the new season.

“I would like to congratulate Mr Brian Saah for being selected as the Torquay United Captain for the season. The backroom staff and I were unanimous in this decision.” Charles drove home the fact that despite Brian wearing the armband they all must rise as leaders in their own right if they are to achieve anything this season. Routine season preparations continued as the launch of the season arrived. Preparations were complete and Charles knew the lads would get off to a good start providing they stick to the plan.

 
This is brilliant, love it. You are very good story writer. More please. (H)
 
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Chapter 6 - The Interview.

Today we have an exclusive for everyone associated with the club; an interview with new first team manager Charles Bundwick. Charles Bundwick was born on the 7th​ of November 1986 in the United States of America to a Filipino mother and an African- American father. He tells us that from a young age he was interested in football. “Football was originally just a past time between my family, we would always have games around the house or down at the park. It wasn’t until I was about 14 -15 that I realised that I could do this for a job.” He goes on to say that he was never a talented player although his mind would work in a different way. “I would always see the things other people weren’t seeing, but I wasn’t aware that nobody else could see these things. I never thought I was better than anyone I just thought they weren’t showing their talents.”

TUFC – “Welcome to the club Mr.Bundwick, off block let’s start with, what are your initial thoughts of the club, in terms of facilities, staff, players and etc.?

CB – “Thank you, and please call me Charles. I would just like to thank everyone at the club for making my life 10 times easier, they have been exceptionally welcoming and made the “transition” period much easier. As for the facilities, I’m not going to come out and say that they are the best in the league because they aren’t. They are decent but honestly there is room for improvement and that will come with success.

TUFC – “Can you confirm whether or not you have been in discussions with Chairman, Simon Baker in relation to upgrading the facilities?

CB – “Mr Baker and I have had several discussions about the club but I believe it would be disrespectful if I was to reveal the topic of our conversations.”

TUFC – “Fair enough. On to the part of the game that is played on the pitch, how would you describe your overall approach?”

CB – “From day one I wanted to make my approach very clear to everyone. I think it is ignorant to try to emulate Barcelona at a club like this, and I when I say “a club like this” everyone is aware of what I mean. I don’t want any misunderstandings, I like to play good football by all means but just not the way Barcelona does. I want to be successful in the most efficient way possible and I’m sure the fans feel the same.”

TUFC – “Your ventures into the transfer market have captured the club 4 free transfers. All with different respected positions. What is the most important attribute in a player you are looking to buy and can we expect much else from you during this transfer window?

CB – “Yeah you know JJ (Hooper), Wouter (Jansen), Ruben (Garcia Rey) and Joseph (Debayo) are all quality players who have a lot to offer the team. It’s a great credit to all the backroom staff for helping me find these gems. It’s important that at this club that we stretch a dollar. Picking up 4 players on a free was a great success for us. Strength in depth is important at any stage of football, our squad at first sight was looking thin, hence why 4 different players that play in 4 different positions were brought. I wouldn’t expect much else to be honest. We are in a team cohesion stage now, and I don’t want to disrupt the rhythm around the place.”

TUFC – “Okay then we thank you for your time Mr Bundwick, I think I speak for everyone associated with the club when I say good luck and all the best for the season”

CB – “My pleasure, any time you need me I’m up for it”

 
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