If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
Il start off with the usual stuff. FM2005 5.0.2, no editor modifications of my own. England top to bottom, players loaded from Spain, Germany, Scotland, Holland, Ireland, N.Ireland, Portugal, France and Italy with a huge db. No idea why that many countries . Any people or places named are made up and any connection to real people/places is coinsidence (except for players and staff etc). My other story will be continueing for any people following that
Sam woke up to the sound of his alarm buzzing in his ear. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stumbled to the bathroom where he performed the morning rituals. After a refreshing shower he felt awake as he reached the bottom of the stairs the letterbox rattled, the local paper dropped onto the mat. Picking it up he turned instantly to the back page to see the news that his team, Burnley, had a new manager. Stan Ternant had left the club in May after not having his contract renewed, Burnley had only just survived a relegation battle. The favourite to succeed him was Chris Cotterill but he had taken up a better offer elsewhere. Sam was surprised at the choice of new manager, it would certainly be a talking point later on.
John Robinson was halfway through his second cup of coffee when his paper came through the door. Turning straight to the sports section he saw the headline declaring him as Burnley’s new manager. He had signed the contract yesterday and today he would be having a press conference something he wasn’t looking forward to. It was daunting he was a relatively unknown quantity, only fans and local journalists will probably know who he was. An uneventful playing career and some good work with local teams earned him a job with the coaching set up at Turf Moor. Personally he felt his appointment as first team manager was a cost effective solution for the chairman. Burnley after all were a club in financial turmoil and needed to sort that out immediately.
Arriving on site Sam noticed he was one of the first to arrive only Rob and Phil had gotten there before him. He was a bricky and was currently working on a new housing estate on the edge of town. All the lads on site were Burnley fans so there will be great interest and gossip going round the site today. Getting out of his car he noticed Phil and Rob looking through the story in the local paper.
Sam: What do you make of this then (waving paper in front of him)
Rob: Thank **** you’re here
Sam: Nice to see you too, what’s so special about me being here?
Phil: You’ve got keys to the hut haven’t you?
Sam: Yeah why?
Phil: We want to listen to the radio see what they have to say
Sam: So why don’t you listen to it in his car?
Rob: Cos my radio is knackered
Sam: Well it’s a good thing Andy trusts me with the keys then isn’t it.
By lunch time everyone was dying to get to the pub for a pint and a pie but also to see if sky had any developments. Sam and his friends pilled into their cars and went down to their local where they knew Ted the landlord would be glued to the TV. There was to be a press conference at 3pm but also a fans forum at the stadium tonight from 8pm. They would certainly be going to that. Sam was a prominent figure in the Burnley supporters association as well as a vociferous one. The authorities may consider Sam and his friends as hooligans, they consider themselves as die hard supporters.
John had just finished his first ever press conference and his hands were a little shaky. He was a little dazed from all the flashes from the newspaper photographers. All the questions that had been bombarded at him made his head spin. This he managed to hide from prying eyes as he confidently strode out of the conference room at Turf Moor. He was followed out by Barry Kilby club chairman and they walked to his office which looked out onto the Turf Moor pitch.
Barry: Now then John how was that?
John: A little unnerving but I’ll survive.
Barry: Good good, now we have gone through it at the contract negotiations and just now at the press conference but let me just go over what I want from you. I’m not expecting miracles nor do I expect failure all I ask is for you to stabilise this club. I want to be secure in this division, both in terms of league position and financially. At the moment we are failing in both aspects. Now I can’t offer you any transfer funds and if possible I would like you to trim £10k off the wage budget. I know the squad is small but you will have to manage. Are you ok with this?
John: Yes I understand the predicament and I am up to turning it around.
Barry: That’s what I like to hear now down to business, tomorrow will be your first training session with the players. Before that you have a fans forum to deal with tonight. That will be tough, but it’s necessary we need them on our side from the beginning.
John: I agree the fans are the most important part of this club and they reassuring about my instalment. I intend to let my team do the talking on the pitch.
Sam finished work for the day and headed home to get cleaned up. Making himself a quick sandwich he began eating it as he was halfway out the front door. He headed for The Crown, his local, for a couple of pints before heading to the ground for the forum. The pub was heaving locals all talking about the new manager, he pushed his way to the bar where Phil and Rob were waiting with a pint. It wasn’t far from the ground and they strolled over and got themselves prime seats for the forum. Sitting with a table full of drinks their smoke filling the already smoky room they started the applause as John Robinson and Barry Kilby entered the room.
Barry: Ok everybody this is Mr John Robinson your new manager. Mr Robinson will say a few words then we will open up the floor for some questions, John.
John: Thanks Barry, hello, I know my appointment will have been a surprise to you all. I have played and worked for this club and it is my boyhood club and I like you want this club to be playing at the highest level.
Barry: Mr Harrison would you like to kick us off
Sam: Thank you Barry, firstly I would like to say congratulations to you Mr Robinson…
John: Please all of you call me John..
Sam: Ok John, what are your plans and ambitions for the club?
John: As I have no doubt you are all aware of the status this club is in, I would be lying if I said it is easily fixed. Firstly I aim to stabilise the club, get us to the point where we aren’t looking over our shoulder but looking forward. It will take time but I am confident we can do it. My long term ambition is to get the club rooted in the premiership.
Fan: What about the financial security of the club and how will that effect you?
Barry: I’ll field this one, you all know fine well the club is struggling financially and we all at the club are trying to turn that around. We need to secure the clubs financial future before we can really move forward. Therefore I am sad to say there are no transfer funds available except for a little we may get from player sales. The financial side is the boards side of things and will only effect John as to how much money he has to spend.
Fan 2: So what are your plans for altering the team this season then?
John: Well I will be limited to players I can get in on loan and possible free transfers. I also aim to take advantage of the clubs youth system, they are the players of tomorrow and I intend to get them ready for that.
Rob: So realistically what do you expect from this season?
John: I expect the clubs championship status secure and a good couple of cup runs. They will be vitally important as the money generated from them could save the club.
The questions went on for a good two hours and by the end of it John was exhausted. He had been warned about Sam Harrison but from what he saw he was just a passionate supporter who wanted the club to do well. There was no doubt about it, this was a challenge. He couldn’t afford to hire anybody new, players or staff. What he had was all he was going to get. Tomorrow he would meet with the players and his staff, the people that would get him through this hard task.
Sam finished his cigarette and stepped inside his house. It had been a long day and he was tired, he had a lie in tomorrow. He didn’t work weekends and he wanted a lie in before he went to observe the training session. Burnley football club was his life, its all he was bothered about. He sat down with the carton of chips he picked up on the way home and a can of stella he got from the fridge. Lighting up another cigarette he pressed play on the remote and proceeded to watch his favourite Burnley tape.
They made their way to Gawthorpe Hall, Burnley’s training ground. The five men Sam, Rob, Phil and two other mates Steve and Dave were all life long Burnley fans and travelled to every game including pre season games where ever they may be. Burnley’s pre season games had been arranged before John Robinson had been appointed as manager. They were to face Scunthorpe, Crusaders (N.Ireland), Hayes and Colchester away. At home they would play two games against Dundee United and Galatasaray, the later would be an amazing fixture. Sam and his friends had all already got their tickets for these games and just needed travel arrangements to be made.
When they arrived at Gawthorpe Hall the team had just come out after lunch for their afternoon training session. As expected it was assistant manager David Kevin who was leading the session with new manager John Robinson just over seeing. Senior player Mark Yeates was also a coach at the club, noticing that Sam had turned up he came to the side to talk to the voice of the supporters association.
Mark: Sam nice to see you here again
Sam: You know me Mark I have claret running through my veins, you couldn’t keep me away
Mark: That’s true have you got your tickets sorted for the games?
Sam: Yes we’ll be there on Tuesday at Scunthorpe cheering you lot on. How’s he getting on?
Mark: John? He’s getting on fine, staying in the background for the minute letting us get on with it. This early on its all about fitness rather than tactics.
John saw Mark and Sam having the little chat and walked over and introduced himself to Sam properly. He needed Sam as he would be his main connection to the supporters. Discussing the state of the team John and Sam drew the same conclusions that the side needed more wide players and at least another striker. The only way that was going to happen was through loan signings.
Originally posted by virtex:
Good start btw and are you coming to Deepdale on Saturday?
hmmmm I don't know if you are being sarcastic or not. But I'm a Newcastle fan and this is a story. So no I wont be going to Deepdale on Saturday. Keep tuned to the story though
It was now early August and the new season was about to get underway. Sam was working away on a blistering hot building site. He had just come back from seeing the team play their last pre season game against Colchester. Burnley had done quite well pre season and everyone in the town were hoping it would continue into the season. The first match, against Scunthorpe, was basically a game to get the players used to playing again. It ended up 0-0 followed up by an inevitable defeat at home to Galatasary. They had played very well against the European heavyweights and it was a night to remember. Dundee United were dispatched 3-1 followed by a victory over Crusaders by 2-0. Hayes were thrashed 5-0 and Colchester were beaten 2-1. So all in all from six pre season games they won four, drew one and lost one. Scoring 12 and conceding only 3 keeping three clean sheets. Not bad at all for a side tipped to be battling relegation.
As the pre season wore on John involved himself more and more into the training sessions. By the time the last two weeks were upon them he had them knuckling down on the tactics he wanted to employ. He also knew his best 11 that he wanted to field as often as possible. Fortunately the results had gone their way so the fans hadn’t yet got on his back despite the fact the season was yet to get going. The players liked John he was a nice guy and was someone they wanted to work hard for. He was quiet but held their respect and despite what some would say a lack of qualifications for the job he was very adept at organising the team and telling them exactly what he wanted.
After work Sam and co went to the pub for a cold beer to refresh them. They were discussing what they had seen over the past month or so. What had pleased them was the way the team played, flowing yet direct football which seemed to be paying dividends. Also that goals were coming from all areas of the pitch, the main strikers Moore and Blake had five between them. The wingers Valois and Branch had three between them, Hyde and Chaplow the central midfielders chipping in three as well. Defender Lee Roche also got on the score sheet. Sinclair, Hyde, Chaplow, Blake and Moore looked on top notch form which was a good sign. Phil looked round for a paper, non of them had seen one today as the paper boy was on strike. Turning to the back page they saw an article confirming the loan signing of Aaron Lennon from Leeds. Also a quote from the manager saying that he wouldn’t be getting any more players as he felt what he had was sufficient. Sam was shocked and arranged an emergency meeting with the chairman and the manager.
Barry entered the conference room followed by John and saw that Sam was sitting patiently. After inquiring what this was all about his answer was the newspaper slapped down on the desk. Sam wanted to know why this had been allowed to be printed. Before Barry could utter a word John decided to answer the question. He told Sam that he wouldn’t be able to get any more players as everybody knows Burnley have no money. Sam tried to argue that people may know but they don’t want to hear the fact that they can’t get anybody. John assured him that he will still be trying for loan signings but he said the article was a boost for the players they had. The fact that John had publicly said he wouldn’t need anybody new had invigorated their confidence. Sam couldn’t argue with that and he was learning that his new manager was a smart man.
The turf is always greener on the moor 
. Any people or places named are made up and any connection to real people/places is coinsidence (except for players and staff etc). My other story will be continueing for any people following that 
Linear Mode
