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I'd been waiting around for an offer. Having just earned my coaching qualifications I wasn't worried mind and what's more, I knew I'd have to start small. Somewhere in the Conference South/North sounded about right. The wages would be absolute pittance, so much so that I'd have to get another job on the side more than likely but I didn't care all too much. I was confident I had what it took as a manager and with patience, would be earning some real dough somewhere down the line.
That was when I heard about FM Idol - as crazy a concept as you might expect it to be. This American fella, Randy Lerner, had taken over Aston Villa. He was a big fan of Pop Idol and all that. And so, with O'Learly out of the door, he decided to stage his own version of a talent competition - only this one sought the world's best undiscovered football manager as opposed to a singer. What he offered to the winner was a one year contract as boss of Villa, which could of course be extended should the FM Idol winner do a good job.
Oh it was crazy alright. But I entered anyway. I thought pretty highly of myself as a manager and an intelligent one at that. Getting in was simple, you had to fill in a ten question questionnaire which asked for your responses to particular scenarios. I jotted down some very detailed stuff and was actually pretty pleased with the result. I was convinced I had to be in the final 100 and I was. Several other elimination processes followed while the show (oh yes, it was all on TV) featured a whole lot of emotional spiel about how for everyone this was there chance and what tough lives everyone had endured. Christ, I was a bit embarrassed to be involved in it all. But I stuck through, I proved myself a model contestant and then there were three. The players got to choose the boss and after some waiting and several advertisement breaks, as the producers milked the thing for all it was worth, they picked me. Just like that, I was manager of a club in the Premier League.
It was actually a really good place to be, Villa. The club had itself a great history and of late, had tailed off a bit. The 2005/06 season was a pretty poor one where Villa were concerned. It saw them finish just above the relegation zone. And now this Randy Lerner had arrived and was willing to splash some cash to help restore the club to former glories - not Abramavich style or anything but the point is there was some money to be spent. And there was already a decent team in place. It needed work, that much was certain, but there was some promising talent doing the rounds at Villa Park.
On my first official day in charge, I had a meeting with Randy, who by now I'd gotten to know a bit. He was an alright chap as it happened and easy to get along with. Over breakfast (ordered at his expensive despite my new lucrative salary) we had our meeting. 'You'll probably be wanting to know how much you have to spend, right? Well I can offer you twenty million to start with. I think that will do.'
'It's a reasonable amount Randy, it is, but the club needs work. It needs a rather large overhaul if I'm honest and twenty million doesn't give me much to work with.' I was more than pleased with twenty million to be honest, you don't expect to have that sort of spending power at a club like Villa but I wanted to see if I could ride my luck a bit, see how he'd react to asking for more. Surprisingly well, it transpired. 'Well, I suppose it's a little on the short side. How's about forty million?' Forty million I told him would do just fine.
We didn't talk about much else. I already knew his ambitions - they being not all too high given that of late, Villa hadn't been doing all too well. He wasn't asking me to win the league in one season, nor five. He just wanted to talk about the short term and fully recognized that I'd have some work on my hands. When I asked what sort of position we should be aiming for in his eyes, he told me I should merely look to invest in new players and rebuild the squad. The fans however he claimed sought a top half finish and with forty million in the bank, I saw where they were coming from. If I couldn't finish in the top half of the table, at least, then I truly wasn't the right man for the job.
It didn't seem like a lot for long. The squad was pretty weak and it wasn't like I was after just a player or two to plug the gaps. The money would have to be spread out on several players, I'd have to make each penny count. And I did so. To start with, Sorenson was a good enough keeper but I wanted someone better. Having a class shot stopper was a high priority for me. So my first purchase was Craig Gordon of Hearts, a very talented goalie who, what with being only young and all, had a lengthy career ahead of him and time for improvement also. Six million he set us back.
My second signing I was quite proud of. I felt we needed an attacking midfielder, someone creative and dangerous and just as it happened, there was someone out there who fit the bill - Brazilian international Alex of Fenerbahce. He'd spent two seasons in Turkey and hadn't shown any sign of wanting to renew a contract which was due to expire in a season's time. He was a bit good for us but none of the top clubs were interested, it seemed, and the English Premier League was of a much higher standard than the Turkish equivalent, which I guess played a part in his decision to join our ranks. He cost only five million. It would have been more but what with there not being long left to run on his contract and all, Fenerbahce were looking to get anything they could.
My biggest coup perhaps though was Andres Guardado. I wanted more attacking options on my wings and so decided I'd have Barry play in the center and bring in someone who could play in a more advanced wing role supporting the strikers more. Guardado was only nineteen but a more than capable player - he'd been capped several times already for his country and considering his age, had all the potential to go on to be a smashing player. Two and a half million was the price Atlas put on his head and I was more than happy to meet it.
Continuing in the theme of roping in young and talented prospects - my next three buys were all eighteen or under - Micah Richards, Carlos Vela and Aaron Niguez. Micah was the only one of the three I expected to break into the first team from the off. The other two, both seventeen, had bundles of potential however, Vela in particular. I guess what with the striking competition already at Arsenal, that's why Wenger let me have him. He wasn't cheap mind you. Indeed, there was some skepticism in regard to whether he'd be worth the whole ten million I'd shelled out for him. I was whole heartedly confident he would be and then some. Niguez was also a striker albeit one that was easier to sign. He had yet to agree a professional contract with Valencia and so we were able to talk to the player straight away. He was a great little talent and at nine hundred thousand, we couldn't have gone wrong. Richards, like Vela, had also set us back £10M.
And with that my business was almost done. We required someone to provide back up for Alex though, a similar player of lesser ability, who I easily found in old Middlesbrough legend Juninho. Now thirty three he'd lost a lot of his pace but was still a good enough player to do a job otherwise. I was only looking for him to provide cover after all. One and a half million and he was ours. Then it was really done. I'd pretty much emptied the transfer budget but was delighted with the players I'd bought in. Things were looking up for Villa, they really were. I was building something special and these new additions were the first pieces in the puzzle.
Diary of a Villain 
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