This FM story is going to be a little different to the usual ones you find on this site but I hope you guys enjoy it. My main goal in this save is to take Barnet FC from the Vanarama Conference to the English Premier League
Prologue
Who am I?
As far back as I can remember I’ve always loved football, no matter where I was, I’d have a football, or a balloon or even an orange at my feet. My love for the game wasn’t wasted either. I had potential, in fact my uncle, Antonio ‘the tank’ Lopes, a former youth trainee for a small team in Madeira (Portugal) would always say that with a bit of luck I may even turn pro. My uncle was the only one that really took time to help me out. He would take me down to the only 5 aside football pitch we had on the island and we’d train for an hour. We could never really train for longer than that due to the 5aside pitch being probably the most sought after piece of land on the whole island. It was at the start of college that I had to start facing the truths. What little talent and skill I had wasn’t enough… I was dropped by Maritimo when I was 15 for being ‘too small’. The blue clear skies of Madeira turned to dark grey clouds. My life had changed but I wasn’t prepared to give up just yet. I managed to find a semi-professional team after that but by then it was already too late and so university pretty much ended any chance of this small boy from an island becoming anything close to his idols. I left Madeira in search of a new beginning in England. I had family there and so since I wasn’t going to become this big shot footballer it was time I put my head down. “Maybe this is for the best, this is God giving me one last opportunity” I thought to myself as I arrived on the 13th floor where my new home lied. Moving to England was a lot more difficult than I thought. I had to learn the language, make new friends and I remember my uni try outs… I was terrible, slipping and falling with any little nudge; I was ripped and shredded apart It was like putting a rooster up against a pit bull. The path may have been a lonely one but eventually I transition from life in a colourful paradise to a stark land but that wasn’t the only thing I transition from. I went from looking out into the world as a player to opening my eyes to a new path, the chance of playing football professionally was over but the chance to be a part of the football world wasn’t.
So from then on I put my head down, studied and by the age of 25 I had finished my coaching badges and a degree in physiotherapy. After leaving university I found myself back in Portugal where I was hired to work as an interpreter for Matt Jones, a player for Belenenses. Eventually once Matty got the hand of Portuguese I was no longer needed. I was out of work for about 3 months but before too long my old physiotherapy lecturer called me about a job opening at the university and so my first job in football was working as a physio for the University of East London’s football team. I was there for about 8 years, drifting from role to role, I became manage by 30 and took the team to back to back league wins. It was on April the 26th that I became aware of an opportunity that would allow me to delve into the world of professional football…well professional-ish… One of my old students who was currently playing for Barnet FC brought me to the attention of the higher ups who were working there. They attended a few of the university games and… I don’t know how but somehow I did enough to get approached! The interview went well and after the longest month of my entire life I was offered the job. And so my journey into the (semi-)professional world of football began.
My first football manager story so bear with me, also feel free to provide feedback.
Prologue
Who am I?
As far back as I can remember I’ve always loved football, no matter where I was, I’d have a football, or a balloon or even an orange at my feet. My love for the game wasn’t wasted either. I had potential, in fact my uncle, Antonio ‘the tank’ Lopes, a former youth trainee for a small team in Madeira (Portugal) would always say that with a bit of luck I may even turn pro. My uncle was the only one that really took time to help me out. He would take me down to the only 5 aside football pitch we had on the island and we’d train for an hour. We could never really train for longer than that due to the 5aside pitch being probably the most sought after piece of land on the whole island. It was at the start of college that I had to start facing the truths. What little talent and skill I had wasn’t enough… I was dropped by Maritimo when I was 15 for being ‘too small’. The blue clear skies of Madeira turned to dark grey clouds. My life had changed but I wasn’t prepared to give up just yet. I managed to find a semi-professional team after that but by then it was already too late and so university pretty much ended any chance of this small boy from an island becoming anything close to his idols. I left Madeira in search of a new beginning in England. I had family there and so since I wasn’t going to become this big shot footballer it was time I put my head down. “Maybe this is for the best, this is God giving me one last opportunity” I thought to myself as I arrived on the 13th floor where my new home lied. Moving to England was a lot more difficult than I thought. I had to learn the language, make new friends and I remember my uni try outs… I was terrible, slipping and falling with any little nudge; I was ripped and shredded apart It was like putting a rooster up against a pit bull. The path may have been a lonely one but eventually I transition from life in a colourful paradise to a stark land but that wasn’t the only thing I transition from. I went from looking out into the world as a player to opening my eyes to a new path, the chance of playing football professionally was over but the chance to be a part of the football world wasn’t.
So from then on I put my head down, studied and by the age of 25 I had finished my coaching badges and a degree in physiotherapy. After leaving university I found myself back in Portugal where I was hired to work as an interpreter for Matt Jones, a player for Belenenses. Eventually once Matty got the hand of Portuguese I was no longer needed. I was out of work for about 3 months but before too long my old physiotherapy lecturer called me about a job opening at the university and so my first job in football was working as a physio for the University of East London’s football team. I was there for about 8 years, drifting from role to role, I became manage by 30 and took the team to back to back league wins. It was on April the 26th that I became aware of an opportunity that would allow me to delve into the world of professional football…well professional-ish… One of my old students who was currently playing for Barnet FC brought me to the attention of the higher ups who were working there. They attended a few of the university games and… I don’t know how but somehow I did enough to get approached! The interview went well and after the longest month of my entire life I was offered the job. And so my journey into the (semi-)professional world of football began.
My first football manager story so bear with me, also feel free to provide feedback.