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So, this is my first attempt at a CM or FM story and I’ve not done any creative writing in a while but that’s one of the reasons I’m doing it – a creative outlet – so it really doesn’t matter if people don’t love it, but if a few people want to follow me on this little journey then so be it.
Some background info that I should provide is that this story begins about a season and a half into a career game (March/April 2006) on FM2005 with only the 5.0.3 patch installed and no updates. I started unemployed with Scotland (all leagues), England (EPL to Nat. Conference) and Italy (Serie A and B only).
My name is James MacGregor. I am the manager of Greenock Morton in the Scottish First Division. This is my story.
Also I tend to be overly verbose, and I know that people don’t really want to spend a year reading stories online so I’ll try to keep the exposition to a minimum outside the opening few posts – just so I can set the scene etc.
Hope you enjoy.
NB: Names etc. belong to the real people involved. I am not affiliated with Greenock Morton FC or any club named herein. I’ve also used creative licence to give myself a wife and children on the premise that I’m a 31 year old football manager – These people are not real…I think I needed to tell myself that as much as anything.
The Manager’s Diary – Introduced by Gavin Hamilton
As regular readers know, we here at World Soccer like to stay ahead of the game and as such we’ve decided to offer something slightly different from our usual fare. It was suggested at a recent joint ESM meeting that it might be interesting for readers to follow the travails of a young manager in each of our respective regions throughout the ups and downs of their careers, and allow our followers to get a managerial perspective of the football world from the other side of the tracks.
After scouring Britain for a suitable and willing candidate, we’re pleased to announce that rookie manager James MacGregor of Greenock Morton in the Scottish First Division will be writing a monthly journal of life at Cappielow Park and wherever his career takes him.
So good luck James, everyone enjoy the new feature & as always welcome your feedback.
March 25th, 2006
Welcome everyone to the life of a football manager, well from next month at least – this month is more of a get to know you session.
Firstly, although I was extremely honoured to be approached by such a prestigious magazine, I was understandably surprised when they approached me to write this journal, as I’m sure many of you are – asking questions like: Shouldn’t they be focussing a top level manager?” or “Are they really this short of ideas?”
I’d also assume that many people will be typing my name into Google as we speak to see if this is a joke (I assure you, its not), so let me ease your mind and give you a not-so-brief explanation of my life before football management and my experiences since taking reigns at Cappielow Park on a warm July afternoon nearly two years ago.
Born 15th August 1974, living most of my early life in Derby, I graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in History in 1992, and later that year began training as a lawyer. From this I had the great fortune of developing a career in sporting law – a move that enabled me to work with the both the English & Scottish F.A.’s during the late 1990’s as the ramifications of Bosman set in.
After leaving the practice of law early in 2000 in order to travel, I found myself in Italy, and while there I met my wife, Donata, who has given me two fantastic children (twins no less), Isabel-Anne & Tommaso (or Tom). We settled just outside Milan after our marriage in 2001.
Although I thought that life in Italy was for me; spending my time at home working as a legal advisor for the Italian football authorities, and spending summers at my father-in-law’s vineyard in Tuscany, I began to get an itch for something more.
This itch wasn’t satisfied until the summer of 2004 whilst we were taking a break in Glasgow visiting my parents (who moved back to Scotland after retirement), and I was having lunch with a few friends from the SFA admin staff. In the midst of a conversation about my desire to change my “quasi-gentleman of leisure” status, one of them joked that I should apply for a vacant managerial job in football since I had taken the time to gain my coaching badges whilst in Italy in anticipation of coaching Tom’s football teams as he grew up. This turned out not to be as stupid an idea as my friend thought.
That night, the date escapes me but it was late June, I talked it over with Donata and decided that since the children were still young and she spoke the language fluently, we could move if I was really serious about it and if it was for something concrete. I had to show her it was.
At the time there were only two jobs available in either England or Scotland that I could go for, Exeter and Greenock Morton, so I applied for them both – unashamedly utilizing my links both north and south of the border to nudge the respective clubs into taking my CV seriously.
It was Morton that called first and I was asked to meet Chairman Douglas Rae on the 5th of July. He was clearly a good man, who cared about the club, but just wanted someone to stabilize it and move it forward. The ground itself wasn’t totally modern by any stretch of the imagination but with an 11,000 or so capacity and about half of that seated, it was something to build upon. The training facilities were also of a higher standard than I’d expected of a Scottish 2nd Division club so on the whole I was really impressed. He didn’t seem to mind about my lack of direct involvement in the game (which was lucky!) and seemed pleased that I was looking to come into football management “fresh” as it were. Sure, there were a couple of moments during the interview when he laughed off the occasional puzzled look on my face as he was talking to me – I mean my father’s accent is broad but Dougie’s accent is…well, the best way to put it is “pure” – but overall we got on well. A day later Exeter also called, so I flew down and met the Chairman, a Mr. Ian Huxham, but even though he seemed nice enough Morton were still my first choice.
Two weeks passed and I was still waiting on a call from the two clubs, both of whom were still interviewing candidates even though the season was right around the corner. Donata had gone back to Italy to see her parents and the kids in Tuscany. At this point I was beyond frustrated. I had moved into a state of mind where football management was the only thing I absolutely wanted to do with my life, so when the phone rang on July 19th, I snatched at it. It was Mr. Huxham from Exeter. He offered me the job of manager and the opportunity to work with Director of Football Steve Perryman with the mandate of pushing Exeter towards promotion to the football league – and I said no.
I don’t know if it was the idea of working with a Director of Football, or the distance from my family who were now based in Scotland, but something wasn’t right, and despite my state of mind, I just had this feeling about Morton – and luckily I was proved right. Mr. Rae called later that day, and with my parents and Donata (who had flown back from Italy) watching in the Cappielow Park board room, I signed a contract with Greenock Morton on the 21st of July 2004.
SO that’s how I got my foot in the door. Its been quite the ride so far with promotion coming sooner that could have been expected at the end of my first season, although poor form meant that we slipped from 1st to 2nd in the final weeks of the season to allow Brechin to steal the title. However, “the table doesn’t lie” as they say, and we suffered a dip in form at the wrong time to allow Dick Campbell’s men to take it. The fact that they’ve managed to maintain their form this season and make themselves odds on for promotion (they currently lie 7 points ahead of my guys in the table with six games left to play) is testament to Campbell’s managerial ability and I’m sure he’ll go on to better things soon enough.
Anyway, thanks for hanging in there with me, the real insight will begin to show next month (hopefully!). On the next page of this illustrious publication (I think I love them too much at this present time) is a profile of the members of my squad, just so you can get to know the key characters in this little play from Greenock.
Name: James MacGregor (SCO)
Age: 31
Profile:
Arrived at Greenock Morton July 2004 and as had an immediate impact despite his inexperience. Promotion at the end of the 2004/2005 season saw Greenock Morton in the Scottish First Division, where they currently sit in second position with six rounds left.
Record (All Competitions): P: 76, W: 40, D: 14, L: 22, F: 126, A: 76.
Goalkeepers
Name: William Bald (SCO)
Age: 22
Profile: Joined Morton from Stranraer at the end of the 2004/2005 season and quickly established himself as number one, displacing John Stark. Remarkably assured character despite his age.
Name: John Stark (SCO)
Age: 19
Profile: Near ever-present in the league during Morton’s recent promotion campaign but has rarely featured this term. Very young though, and still has a career in the game assuming he continues developing. An ambitious young man, Stark is rumoured to be looking for a loan deal at the end of the season to gain experience.
Others:
Craig Coyle (25), backup keeper.
Defenders
Name: Dean Keenan (SCO)
Age: 20
Profile: Reserve right-back who has shown good form when called on. Reliable squad player.
Name: Stuart Sangster (SCO)
Age: 20
Profile: A determined character, Sangster was signed up on a free at the end of the 2004/2005 season after being released by Kilmarnock as MacGregor prepared his squad for life in the Scottish First Division. Has proved to be an astute purchase.
Name: Stewart Greacen (SCO)
Age: 23
Profile: One of the most coveted Scottish youngsters outside the SPL. Imposing central defender who is almost unbeatable in the air.
Name: Alexandre Jeannin (FRA)
Age: 28
Profile: Has rarely featured since his move from Exeter. Purely a backup defender capable of filling in as a centre-back or left-back. Started his career with Troyes.
Name: Stuart McClusky (SCO)
Age: 28
Profile: Morton’s captain leads by example and has been near ever-present under MacGregor’s tenure. Reliable figure and clearly influential as one of the older members of Morton’s young squad. Spent the first eight years of his career at St. Johnstone.
Name: Marc McCulloch (SCO)
Age: 26
Profile: Reserve left-back who could have been first choice had it not been for long-term injuries and the form of Jamie McQuilken.
Name: Jamie McQuilken (SCO)
Age: 31
Profile: Signed from St. Johnstone at the beginning of 2005, McQuilken’s experience has proved to be invaluable to this young Morton team.
Name: David McGregor (SCO)
Age: 24
Profile: Capable of playing in defence or midfield, the young Scot tends to fill in only when injuries or suspensions take their toll. This former Morton youth team member is a perennial substitute due to his versatility.
Others:
Derek Collins (37), veteran defender who has spent all but two years of his career at Morton. Seldom used this year because of his age but was named in the Scottish Second Division Team of the Year during Morton’s promotion year.
From Cappielow Park and Beyond... 
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