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Having spent the last few years passing my FIFA coaching badges, the summer of 2005 came with me full of trepidation as I started applying for jobs as manager of league football teams. My first application for Peterborough was rejected, so I applied for several other jobs including Northwich Victoria and four second division B sides in Spain. Still unemployed, and with all the other managers preparing for the coming season I wondered if I would get the opportunity to test my skills at all this season.
Rejections came from two of the Spanish jobs, but then lowly Almansa of the Spanish second division B4 phoned with the news I had been waiting for, they wanted me to be their new manager.
The offered £100/week salary, and despite the club being in debt, they offered a transfer kitty of £20,000, with some scope in the wage budget for expansion.
I thought long and hard about this, and did research on the internet about the club but little was forthcoming. After a discussion with the wife, I decided to take the job and try to enhance Spanish minnows Almansa, whilst gaining a good tan to boot.
Walking in on my first day I assessed the situation at the club, it was a bit grim. Debts of over £150,000 saddled the club, the playing staff was sparce at best (only 1 keeper and very few defenders), no assistant manager, no friendlies arranged and with the tag that the club would do well to gain any points in the season.
My ruminations were cut short though by the chairman who dragged me out infront of the press to announce the shock move that I had become the Almansa manager. Much like when David Beckham moved to Spain, I knew no Spanish and even less about what Spanish lower league football was to bring, but I have a drive to succeed and get the club moving forward, bringing professionalism into a side that appears to lack any kind of organisation. The date I was appointed was 10/8/2005, a landmark day in my career.
After the press conference, I went back to my office to look again at the state of the club. I found out that 3 players had already been sold this season, 2 central defenders and a goalkeeper, thus undicating why the playing staff was so sparce in tose areas. I set about looking for players and faxed off contract offers to what seemed like dozens of players. I also offered veteran goalkeeper Jorg Stiel a coaching role at the club.
In the lead up to the first game, a Spanish cup preliminary round game first leg against Algericas of the same division as Almansa, replies to my contract offers came flooding in. They were unanimous 'no thank yous', although Jorg Stiel did agree to come and join the coaching staff.
Things were getting desperate, and when a bid came in for our right winger of £220,000, I had to accept as this would solve the clubs financial problems. Only £50,000 was up front, but it secured Almansa's future and I hoped this would encourage more players to accept contract here.
As there was no Assistant Manager at Almansa and I was feeling the strain of doing everything myself, I decided to advertise for a right hand man. I wanted a Spanish national who knew the territory to help me out, I eagerly awaited any applictions.
As my first match day arrived, I looked at my meagre squad and decided upon a formation and starting XI. The club has 3 right backs, but only one left-back, and there were similar other quandries all over the quad, so some decisions were tough, while some were of neccessity. I decided to opt for a compact formation that would hopefully explode wide when on the break.
There were a few disappointed faces when I announced the team, but everyone was deturmined to go out and prove our critics wrong and start the season off right.
What I then witnessed was a game full of heart, passion and pride from the Almansa boys. We had to hold on grimly for large periods of the game, but managed to run out 2-0 winners away at a hotly tipped side. Defensive midfielder Piombo and on-loan midfielder Eloi got the goals, one in each half to end a supremely satisfying first match in charge.
Surely the rest of the season couldn't be like this?
Between the first and second legs of the Spanish Cup qualifier, I got a few applications for my advert for assistant manager. When I offered them the job however, they all refused the contract offer I had made, so I decided to let the ad run for another week.
More contract offers were faxed off to players in the desperate search for a squad, and each time a rejection came back. I decided to start offering some of the non-contract lads who fill out my U18 squad deals just to fill the massive holes in my squad, but again none of these werre accepted.
The situation was starting to become desperate, so I investigated getting my new coach Jorg Stiel on a playing/coaching contract, but rules forbid the use of foriegners in this league so that idea was foobarred. Still, I redoubled my efforts to find players and desperately hoped I could find a few bodies.
So, my second matchday arrived, the return leg of the Spanish cup preliminary round against Algericas.
My boys were brimming with confidence after our first display, and I sent the same team out for the return.
This game was as nerve jangling as they come though, with almost constant pressure from start to finish from the visiting Algericas team. Amazingly, we held out the first half without conceeding, but not really having had enough posession to have fashioned any opportunities ourselves. Still, 5 minutes work could see us into the first round proper, so there was a big incentive for the boys as I sent them out for the second half.
The secondhalf was almost identical to the first, with our keeper pulling off a series of wonderful saves. We were being battered when a defensive punt from our centre-half found the feet of Javi, one of our strikers who finished with aplomb. More pressure followed, but an amazing rearguard action and poor finishing meant we ran out 1-0 winners on the day, and 3-0 winners on aggregate.
The boys were absolutely delighted, as was I, and we went out for a good feed afterwards and looked forward to the league season ahead.
A tired but very happy squad turned in for training. I have had to revamp all Almansa's training routines, and have stuck the players on a rigorous pre-season schedule. Players in the lower leagues in any country arn't exactly as spritely as Owen, nor do they have as good an engine as Lampard. That said, we could all do with a little bit of hard work to get ourselves into the best shape possible.
The application list from the continuation of my ad for an Assistant Manager came back, and there were a few new names on it. After they rejected contract offers, I decided to give up running the ad and asked coach Miguel if he would be my assistant. He happily accepted and at least I now have the backroom bare bones structure in place.
The playing squad is another matter entirely though, and as the transfer window is about to shut, I am getting increasingly exasperated with my inability to attract anyone at all to Almansa. The existing players though are looking forward to the impending league season however, but are all slightly daunted by the prospect of trying to survive in a league we are given only an outside chance of staying in.
Going into the first league match at home to Jean, the players were excited by the prospect of beginning their league campaign. Jean are hotly tipped to be in the race for promotion, and will provide a stern test for my less illustrious boys. There is very little experience in my squad, but there is a lot of enthusiasm for the task at hand and I am encouraged by this.
The bookmakers see us as a 12-1 bet to win the first game at home to Jean, so that makes us more determined to prove ourselves.
The game started much as we would have expected with Jean firmly on top. The situation wasn't as bad as Algericas in the last game though, and we did look like we had some punch on the break. We contained them nicely early on only to allow a great finish from the Jean striker on 35 minutes. Our first goal conceeded of the season was a blow, but we knuckled down and the game proceeded in much the same vane until half-time.
At the break, I tried to rally the troops with some words of encouragement and a bit of bluster and sent the lads out for a half that would show me a lot about the teams character. They did not disappoint, and although Jean were clearly the better side, we were getting closer to a goal. As the half wore on, Jean started to look like they would settle for a 1-0 win, until the 70th minute when sub striker Carvajal popped up to plant a wonderful header past the Jean keeper. This woke Jean up a bit, but they were finding it difficult to step back up a gear having eased off and the game petered out to a 1-1 draw.
I was delighted with the result, as it proved my lads had a good deal of fighting spirit and I knew they were well prepared for the season they had ahead.
The next game saw us pitted against Algericas, who we knocked out of the Spanish cup only a couple of weeks before. By now, the transfer window had closed, so I was forced to tackle the first half of the season with a very small squad, consisting of only one goalkeeper. Before it did close we were forced to sell striker Gregorio for a measly £1000 as he had a minimum fee release clause in his contract. I looked at the rest of the squad and set about re-negotiating all the contracts to give me a bit of scope for keeping them by getting larger release clases in them. I am still amazed that I could find nobody who would join Almansa, but this made me more determined to make a huge success of the season and confound all of the critics.
The lads were naturally up for the game with Algericas, as we had already registered two wins against them. This made them a little nervous though as in their minds we expected to get a result. The game started brightly though, with us on the upper and we were rewarded with a goal in the 9th minute, a penalty coolly slotted home by centre-half Rumbo.
Algericas clearly weren't going to stand for another defeat to lowly Almansa though, and started to find some form, scoring in the 30th and 44th minute to lead at the break. After half-time, the game was largely even until the 83rd minute when Algericas finished a good move with an emphatic shot that consigned our lads to their first defeat of the season, 3-1.
The lads were rather deflated by this, but I told them to get their chins up and reminded them that nobody could have predicted that out of the first four games of the season, we would have a positive record having won 2, drawn 1 and lost only 1. They went home disappointed and exhausted.
The boys then prepared for our next game against Talavera, weary and disappointed to only have 1 point from 2 games. The lads were still on the punishing fitness training schedule I had designed for them, but we all knew we would reap the rewards later on in the season.
Talaveras visit to Almansa represented the first time that we were given odds of better than 10-1 against, as they were also a relatively lowly side. This gave our lads a bit of hope and optimism going in.
Unfortunately we looked tired when we were playing, and the game was rather a dull affair with the opposition not really looking dominant either. The first half was much of a non-event and ended even at 0-0.
I tried to rally the troops at half-time, but the second half started in much the same vane as the first. On the hour mark, I threw on 3 sets of fresh legs to liven things up. With Talavera making changes also, the game seemed to open up at both ends, and only woeful finishing from both sides prevented a goal. In the 87th minute though, bad marking in our box gifted Talavera one golden opportinity too many, and they took the lead. We couldn't rouse ourselves enough to get an equaliser, so lost the game 1-0.
The precariousness of our position now really hit home. If Almansa are to survive the season, we need to start scoring goals, plain and simple. After the ecstacy of the Spanish Cup preliminary round win, the league had provided us with 1 point from 3 games. I therefore talked it through with my assistant Miguel, and we decided to alter the training schedules to be less punishing on the fitness, and more skills based, lets hope it works.
From acorns do oak trees grow. 
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