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It had been just under a year since i had been forced to retire from playing pro football. Id had a decent enough career, starting out with Leicester city when i was 16, i played at Filbert Street for 10 years, playing under Little, McGhee and Martin O'neil along the way, I played over 300 games for the club, many of which played at centre back along side my good friend Steve Walsh. Sadly in 1999 i broke my leg in several places and was sidelined for 18 months, during this time, my contract expired and then new manager, Peter Taylor decided he didnt want to keep me on the books, this didnt go down to well with me at the time, and i swore vengence ever since.
So, after nearly 2 years out of the game, the july of 2002 i had a phone call from Dario Gradi, advising me he needed some experience in his back line. I played over 70 games for Crewe between July 2002 and July 2005, sadly another serious injury meant my Crewe Career was cut short and i was forced to retire from playing the game.
I had been lucky to play under two of the countries best managers in my time, and i hoped that this would help me when and if i became a manager. I still spoke to Martin and Dario on a regular basis and knew they would be there to offer there advise should i need it.
"What the heck...its 7.15, whose calling me at this time of the morning...and where did i leave my phone?"
"Hello?"
"Barry Osborn?"
"Yeah, a half asleep Barry Osborn, but its me, whose this and what can i do for you?"
"Barry, its Tim Davies here, Managing director of Leicester city...You may of heard that Rob Kelly was removed from his position here last week, well we have drawn up a shortlist of candidates to replace him, and Mr Mandaric has asked if you would be interested in interivew for the vacant role?"
This caught me very much of guard, sure, id got all the right badges and bits of paper to qualify as a manager, but id never ever done it before....i paused for what seemed like an age...
"Mr Davies, Id be happy to interview, Mr Mandaric does know i havent managed a team before though doesnt he?"
"Of course Barry, however, your an ex fox and Mr Mandaric believes thats what the club needs to bring back the passion! So his interviewing you, Simon Grayson and Gary Mills, interviews this afternoon, 2 pm, see you there and good luck Barry"
"See you there Mr Davies"
As i hung up the phone, it dawned on me how serious this was, i had 6 hours to get ready for the interview of my life, whats more i was going up against two old team mates for the role!
Is i pulled upto the Walkers Stadium. I was taken back by the pure size of the ground, Filber Street was never this fancy! I parked up my clamped out Ford Fiesta and climb out of car. At this point my heart was raising 300 to the minute and id broken into a cold sweat.
"Pull yourself together boy" I muttered to myself "You can do this, be yourself"
I brushed down my suit jacket and took in a deep breath and walked into the ground.
As i walked into reception i was taken aback by the picture surrounding the walls, i stopped to scan some of the past legends, then i saw it...there was me, mid volley, scoring against Sputs, that goal was always my favourite, it saved us from going down that season, the party after was wild!
I priced myself away from the picture and made my way to the front desk
"Barry Osborn i presume?" Said the middle aged lady sat behind the desk.
"Sure am love! here to see Mr Mandaric?"
"His expecting you, third door down the hallway, on your left"
Knock knock
"Come in Mr Osborn, grab a seat"
"Thank you Mr Madaric, its a pleasure metting you"
"Yourself too...now down to business"
That interivew was the worst i have ever had, it end with Milan telling me they would be in touch.
"Yeah right" i muttered under my breath as i shut the door and made my way home
It had been a couple of days and i hadnt heard from anyone with in Leicester city with regards to the interview. I presumed that Gary or Simon had got the role. So decided on a trip to my local, i nice cold beer and a game of pool always cheered me up.
"Howdy Baz, how you doing me old chap, any news yet?" Came the shout from the corner of the pub.
"No Bob, not yet, fancy a pint?" Bob was in his 40's, nice guy, married but was always in the pub. I often wondered when he saw his wife and what kind of marriage they had. Bob was a good source of information on everything and anything, and we had quite often sat talking football and rugby for hours on end in that bar.
Indeed, we where deep into another one of our conversation when the phone call happened...
Bring Bring
"Y'ello"
"Mr Osborn? its Penny Hardcastle, Mr Mandaric's PA"
"Oh..ahem....Hello Ms Hardcastle" I cupped the mic on my phone and hushed everyone in the pub...
"What can i do you for Mrs Hardcastle?"
"Its Miss actually Mr Osborn, and Mr Mandaric has asked me to invite you for dinner this evening, he would like to discuss business with you"
"This evening?" fearing id all ready had two or three to many beers..
"Yes, its highly important, are you free?"
"Erm...Yes...What time? and where do i meet"
"A car will pick you up at 8 Mr Osborn, we shall see you then"
With that Miss Hardcastle hung up....
"Alright there old chap?" Bob asked...
"Iam fine, i think iv got the job...bloody hell" I turned to Bob "What time do you make it?"
"Six old chap...time for another?"
Without answering, i rushed out and legged it home, 2 hours to sober up, shower and get ready!
Sure enough, 8 oclock on the dot, a car pulled up outside my flat. I rather smart man stepped out of the car and ushered me into the back..
"Hello Mr Osborn" came a voice from the other back seat...I looked over and there she was, Penny Hardcastle, she was mid to late 20's, shoulder length red hair, bright green eyes and a figure to die for...
"Well...erm...well....HI" I mumbled
"Iam Miss hardcastle, but you can call me Penny"
"Hi Penny, iam Barry!"
"Well i had gathered that, since thats who iam escort to Mr Mandaric's for dinner" She teased "Mr Madaric has invited us to his home to talk business, and he would like you to meet his family"
We pulled into the drive way of Milan's country side home, on the drive way there was two silver mercs parked side by side. The house was huge, Double Garage, 3 acres of land and at least 6 bedrooms.
Penny took my arm, and lead me to the front door "Dont be nervous" she whispered "This is a good business meeting" she winked and then rang the doorbell.
"Welcome, welcome both, come in, let me take you coats" Greeted a rather happy and bubbly Milan "come on through, your right on time, wifey was just ready to dish up"
We where escorted through to a rather grand looking dining room, with football photos and shorts covering the walls.
"Take a seat" Ordered Milan "Il fetch the wine!" With this Milan ran off to the kitchen.
I glanced over at Penny, she smiled and again told me "Dont be nervous, you know his gonna offer you it dont you?"
Before i could answer, Milan and his wife shot through door, "Dinners served" shouted Mrs Mandaric, with a huge bowl full of Serbian Stew, apperently it was Milans mothers recipe, and of course his favourite.
After dinner, which was actually very good, Milan winked to his wife and urged her to leave the room.
"Il leave you three to talk business then"
"Thank you for the meal Mr Mandaric, its was fantastic"
"Its Milan Barry, call me Milan, after all, hopefully we will be working very closey together" He seemed amused by me calling him Mr Mandaric "I hope you dont mind, but i asked Penny to come along tonight and feel she should be here for the business meeting"
"Erm...no problem...of course not" I replied
"Good good, now down to business, after we carried out the interiews Barry, you where the outstanding individual that caught my eye, you where honest and showed the passion that i want here at Leicester City, sure you where a wreck, but il put that down to nerves" He laughed so loud the glasses on the table shock
"Thank you Mr..er... Milan"
"So i would like to offer you the position as full time manager of Leicester city!" he continued "and Penny, i would like you to work as Barry's PA, hows that sound Barry?"
"Well obviously we would need to sort contracts and those details, but providing they meet my needs i would be happy to accept"
"Hows 3.4k a week grab you? Id want you intially to start on a one year contract, then see how we go from there, that sound good to you?"
"Perfect"
On that we shoke hands and sealed the deal, Milan would deal with the media and id start work on the 1st July, Oddly enough, Milan had refused to talk budgets up until this point also. But as this was my first managers job, i didnt want to push my luck..
Nothing much happened in the days leading upto the 1st, the usual stuff in the newspapers about whose taking over the role at City etc...Happy enough i was mentioned a few times by press and fans alike. The day before the 1st Penny had called me to advise me of the days events....
8.30 AM pre press conference briefing with MM and TD (Milan Mandaric and Tim Davies)
9 AM Press conference (All major sports networks, magazines and newspapers will be attending
10 AM Brief interview with the Leicester Mercury
10.30 AM Board meeting to discuss budgets and expectations for the coming season.
11 AM Free time, possible meeting with PH (in this team i wanted to read the files of the current staff and players at the club, so had advised Penny she could take a long break)
2 PM Tour of the Stadium and facilties
4 PM Brief meeting with the staff at the club.
I was suprised by how much had been organised in such a short space of time.
I arrived at the ground at 8am on the 1st, i wanted get a brief look at the staff and player files before meeting the press. As i walked in to my new shiny new office, i heard a tap on the door behind me...
"Morning boss, thought you might want these" Penny was bright and early this morning, she must have been in for at least an hour, she handed me the staff files.
"Thank you Penny, and good morning to you aswell, you do relise your not supposed to start until 8.30 dont you?"
She nodded politly and left me to look over the files. I had been handed ten files, contenting the information on coaches, of which only 3 looked any good, 2 physios, a crap looking scout and my assistant manager. It took me all of 5 minutes to release things where going to change!
The Press conference went well, Milan did most of the talking, with me answering the odd question thrown at me by the media. After that i had my brief interview with the local rag, then the serious stuff, the board meeting!
I sat at the far end of the table facing opposite Milan with the remaining board members flanking the side of the table..
"Morning Gents, and welcome Barry to the club" Milan announced to the room, the board clapped towards me, making me shift in my chair with embarrasment.
"As we know, todays meeting is to outline the boards expectations for the upcoming season and also to make clear on the budgets for the campaign" Milan continued...
"The board met last week Barry to discuss these issues, but we felt it was only right that we where all present to advise yourself"
"Of course Mr Mandaric, that would be expected"
"Okay, the board are under no illusions to the task we face over the next few seasons, long term a premiership return is what we want, however, the forth coming season, we except will be a tough one, this is why we believe that the 1st step is a safe mid table position, minimum!" Advised Milan,
"As for the budget, we have granted you 6.75 million transfer kitty, with the weekly wage limit of 200k" Milan explained.
I wasnt really sure what to say, i had hoped for more, but knew that this wasnt to bad a budget, and the expections where below what i felt we could achieve, so all in all i was fairly pleased. With that the meeting came to an end, i decided i had seen enough of the staff files, and id be due to meet the team tomorrow morning for my 1st training session, so id make my decision on the players when i see them rather then by there files. The tour in the afternoon was nothing to write home about, the stadium was clean and well presented, unlike the satff i meet afterwards.
The first person i meet was my Assistant, Mike Stowell, a cheerful man with a northern accent. I noted from his file that this was his first assistant managers job and that he had been an excellent GK coach prior to that. I liked Mike, so he would stay.
Second up was Ian Millar, a 1st team coach, which i found odd as he seemed excellent working with the youngsters and also had a history as a fitness coach. I decided that i would offer Ian a new contract, one that would be as coach, so i could use him both with the 1st and youth teams.
The next three i meet, Jamal Boetang, Matthew McHale and Jermaine foster where not good enough for this level, i decided id offer then mutual termination as i didnt see them helping or improving the club.
Steve Beaglehole and John Rudkin where my youth team coaches, but both looked very good at there jobs, I decided i wanted to use them more, so will offer them new contracts and full time coaches, of both 1st and youth team.
The two physio where doing a fantastic job, so they would both stay.
Finally, the worst of the lot Lil Fuccilo, the talent scout, when i asked him who he had spotted over the last year or so, he replied Steve Claridge...the man had to go.
All in all, i felt two or three new coaches where needed and maybe 4 new scouts.
After the meeting with the staff, i left the training ground and went home. Waiting for me was nice bottle of JD and a takeaway curry, bliss! I decided on an early night, meeting the players in the morning, need to be fresh and alert!
NOTE from writer..if you are reading this, it would be great to recieve some of your thoughts on the story so far, espacially as this is my first FM story, so constructive comments would be welcome.
That morning, i decided to get to the office early, iam not meeting the players until 10am, but this way i get to organise a couple of things first. I arrive spot on 7.30, and make my way through to the office. As i make my way down the corridor i suddenly release i can hear a voice, a voice singing at the top of there lungs, i stop to work out where its coming from, relising its from my office, i slowly and quietly walk towards my door, through the smoke glass in the window, i can make out a figure, its an unmistakable figure, its Penny, dancing and singing around my office at 7.30AM!
I manage to open the door without her noticing, at this point shes dancing and singing near my window looking away from the door. I stand there for at least 2 minutes until she finishes the song..As she finish the last line, i offer my round of applause....
"Bloody hell, sorry, iam so sorry, i didnt release you where here, i decide to do some dusting for you, and, well i like to sing, sorry"
"Hey, dont worry Penny, you have a great voice by the way" I tried to ease her embarrassment.
"It wont happen again, i promise"
"Knock yourself out, its good to sing, unless you have a voice like mine, then its good NOT to sing" i carried on, and to be honest i dont know where it came from! "Well, since you've dusted my office, how about i take you for breakfast? my treat, we can have the morning meeting i was planning there!"
"Are you sure? what do i need to take with me?"
"Just grab our fixture least, including friendlies and also your note pad" I applied, "Il drive"
Iam not sure what it was, but all through out that breakfast, i couldnt focus on the meeting, i found myself day dreaming, worst still day dreaming into Penny's emerald green eyes, this was not good!
I decided, spur of the moment thing however,
"Penny, as my PA id like you to do some work for me, theres a player over in Belgium i need watching, iam sending you over to Brugge for 2 weeks, you can book your flights as soon as we get back to the office, you can leave tomorrow"
"Belgium, wow really??" Penny took this very very well, launching herself across the table to give my the biggest hug ever. I had decide to send Penny as it would give me two weeks with out her distraction and also i could try and stop the attraction with her! Who knows, it may just work!
We arrived back into the office at 9am, leaving me an hour to send some emails and make some calls. I immediatly got on the phone and called several clubs about friendlies, the previous manager had booked a load of sunday league teams, and i wanted to challenge my boys this pre season, i cancelled all the friendlies booked, and booked Inter milan b side, Real Sociedad, and Northampton as home games. I also left messages for Martin O'neill and Dario to try and book away games at Aston Villa and Crewe. So that was the friendly games being sorted. I placed an advert for 4 new scouts and 4 new coaches. Id decide to let Ian Millar leave the club, he was unhappy coaching the youth and first team, and i needed flexibility.
Just as i was about to leave to go to the training ground, Penny ran through waving a fax in the air
"Barry, look, look what i have, its booked, iam flying tomorrow, thank you again for letting me go, your the best boss" With that she pecked me on the cheek and skipped back to her office.
Trying to get Penny out of my head, i made my way to the training ground, as i arrived Mike Stowell greeted me with a huge smile and an outstretched hand.
"Morning gaffer, how you doing, the boys have just started to arrive and are getting changed"
"thanks Mike, iam gonna let you take training today, i want to observe the lads, iam gonna need your assement overall on them as well, you know them better than myself, we can discuss my observations and your opinions after the session"
"Good plan, I believe Stevey and John have spoke to Milan this morning about there contract renewels, good news iam told" Mike informed me.
"Thats good, so they will take training with you this morning, train ALL the lads together, i want the to watch the whole squad, and Mike, make it tough for them!" This way i could so who can handle the pressure, and who was along for a free ride!
Whimpering foxes healed! 
Wonder who's got the best one... 
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