tappspeed

I've played a number of very successful years with my Chelsea club and now a handful of my players are reaching retirement age. I'm looking to see how many of them I can get to become staff members once they retire.

First of all, here's how I operate: once a player reaches age 30 (when they start listing their long-term plans), on the first of every month, I suggest to the player that they would make a good manager/coach/scout. Most of the time, this seems to "move them up a ladder rung", as it were, on the long-term planning (i.e. going from "considering" to "seriously thinking" to "definitely staying").

So here's where they stand now:
[player (age) - long-term plans]
Cudicini (age 38) - definitely staying in the game (manager)
Ballack (35) - definitely staying in the game (coach - looking into management)
Drogba (34) - definitely staying (manager)
Lampard (31) - definitely staying (coach - looking into management)
Terry (30) - definitely staying (coach - looking into management)
A. Cole (30) - seriously thinking about management
J. Cole (30) - considering taking up coaching
S. Wright-Phillips - would prefer a coaching role

Cudicini should be ending his playing career anytime now (though he's still wanted by some lower league Italian team) and Ballack is pretty much useless as a Premiership player (slow as hell and won't stop whining about not being played - at least Cudicini doesn't whine). Drogba is on a serious decline and Lampard is just starting to go.

Results will be forthcoming. Does anybody have any predictions? (Will they follow through with their plans? Will they have decent stats as coaches/managers?)

nh08

I can't imagine for a minute that Cashley would make a decent coach... No one would pay him enough.

You would think Terry would probably be the pick of the bunch out of that lot, at least in terms of motivation. I've got a sneaky feeling Lampard might be good too.

Kong

Cool. I would like to see the chances of them converting to staff after retirement. Does it affect their possible roles when you try to convince them to be a manager/coach/scout?

Would like to see Lampard and Terry become coaching staff. Keep us posted on the results.

Cheers.

tappspeed

Cudicini has now retired at age 38 at the end of the 2012 season. Despite saying that he was definitely staying in the game, he is not available as a potential staff member. I saved right before his retirement date and asked him to reconsider his retirement, but that didn't result any differently.

In the news release for his retirement, it says under his picture that he's a Chairman (same thing happened when Makelele retired) -- as far as I can tell, he's not with any club though. You can't exactly do a database search of chairmen or directors. Any ideas / theories / similar lamentations that players like to lie about their future plans?

Boskovic

you may see them both taking over clubs in the future as part of a contingent

Kong

Bought back Ronald de Boer and Richard Witschge in my Ajax game with a view to converting them to coaching staff. It worked for both. Currently trying my bit with Edgar Davids.

Kong

Just in... Davids has decided to retire at the end of the season.

Staff profile is showing

Gandelf The White

If you want to sign players as staff members you should indicate this too them when they get nearer their retirement dates.
did that with Beckham in 06 and i was notified when he had acheived all is badges. Too bad he was terrible

tappspeed

Do you mean that you offered them a contract as a staff member? And did you do this before or after they had set a retirement date?

Kong

If they are 'definitely staying in the game', their staff profile will be available once they announce a retirement date.

My current Ajax youth team is all coached by former players:
Aron Winter
Frank de Boer
Ronald de Boer
Richard Witschge
Edgar Davids

Keeping an eye on some other players:
van der Sar
Seedorf