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3 seasons completed and thought id post how i have got on. Finding it much harder than years previous which is good as in my mind it is now a lot more realistic. Anyway my story so far.
Season 1:
Braintree are predicted by the media to struggle and after looking at the squad i can see why. Its wafer thin in terms of quality and quite bloated in terms of crap players!!
I send my scout off to find some players, hopefully free as i have no money, and get a report on the team from my ass manager. He says we lack cohesion and the squad will need improving if we are to survive. Two weeks later he gets an offer from Cardiff and jumps ship. This leaves me and the physio. Not a good start.
Adverts in the job centre allow me to employ a new assistant and also a coach taking me up to the maximum staff allowed by Braintree. My scout throws up an ok looking centre forward who is free and willing to join. Things are looking up!!
Then the games start... 5 friendlies and 5 defeats later see morale very low. 4 injuries in these games mean 3 of my youth team are now starting. The average age of my squad is 20 with the only experience coming from my veteran centre half.
Onto the season itself and its very up and down. We hover around the relegation zone for much of the year. My new signing at centre forward shows promise but his morale is all over the place. He hardly ever thinks we can win a game and feels pressured. Things start to turn around february as we go on a 7 match unbeaten run and ultimately we end up in 11th.
I got nowhere in any of the cups losing to Sutton in the FA Trophy and Cambridge City in the FA cup.
At the end of the season i make the decision to jettison some players as i am now 50k in debt and losing money each week. With 24 players out of contract it proves easier than i thought to get the numbers down. My scout finds 6 players on frees that i sign (all below 20) making my squad stronger although still very young. My veteran centre half also leaves as he wanted a new challenge.
Season 2
Wow what a nail biter. First a bit of background. Three new sides promoted into the conference south were all taken over. They then all started splashing the cash.
The season started amazingly well. My young team got off to a flier beating Cambridge and never really looked back. We were never out of the top 4 all season. The only problem was the three promoted sides (Tiverton, Carshalton and AFC Wimbledon) were all up there with me. My young side defied all the odds to stick with them right to the end despite these sides signing league mercenaries for high wages!!.
It all came down to the last game of the season with the top 4 all capable of winning the league. Carshalton (1st with 86 points) were away to AFC Wimbledon (3rd with 83 points). We (2nd 85 pts) were away to Tiverton (4th 83 pts) We won 1-0 and hoped for the dons to come through but alas Carshalton also won to take the title.
The playoffs were a tense affair. We beat Tiverton on penalties and face Gravesend who had upset Wimbledon. A 3-1 victory at roots hall saw us promoted.
Thats when it all started to go wrong.
season 3
Contract escalators kicked in on securing promotion sending us over our wage limit. The board stated we had no money for new signings (They have never given me any so why change now) and i had to reduce the wage bill. This meant sacrificing a lot of out of contract young players.
The season started with 10 players out and none in. I had to hope my young team could cope with the stronger teams in the conference. Early indications were not good. We lost the first 4 games. We did start to settle though and actually went 7 games without conceding. We only scored 3 goals ourselves in those 7 games but those three wins got us to 17th. We were around this position until the end when we ultimately finished 19th.
We also reached the FA Cup 2nd round this year only to go out to Chester after a replay. This coupled with increased attendances meant Braintree are in profit for the first time since i took over.
My two young central midfielders are now attracting bids from league clubs of 40k each so i doubt i can hang onto them. I can only hope i get a little money to spend to improve the squad. I feel a strong loyalty to my players as most of them have come from the youth setup and have taken me this far but with a few additions i feel we can make a push up the conference table.
No money to spend again despite the clubs finances looking healthy. Add to this my three best players are all out of contract and decide to accept better paid offers from "bigger" clubs leaves my squad looking wafer thin. My hands are really tied now and i cant see any way we can survive but battle on we must.
The season starts not too bad and we sit in 14th when the bad luck starts. 7 First teamers go down with injury leaving my starting lineup in one game including 8 youth team players. We go 3 months without a win and find ourselves in the bottom 4.
As the season goes on we remain 4th bottom keeping in touch with Altrincham in 5th bottom. The bottom 3 are long gone so come february its a two way battle to avoid relegation between ourselves and Altrincham. A nervy encounter sees us beat Altrincham 4 games from the end of the season bringing us level on points with a superior goal difference.
So it all goes to the last game and we need to match Altrinchams result. We lose 1-0 at Grays but Altrincham lose as well so we survive.
Then comes the summer. We now have over 100k in the bank but once again the board says there is no money available. They have also reduced the wage budget. I swear Scrooge has been reincarnated as my chairman. In addition said chairman states he was disappointed with last seasons league finish and expects a mid table finish this year. My assistant manager says there is no way we can avoid relegation unless the squad is improved. I have to agree.
It appears i wont get the chance to see however as after one game of season 5 (a 3-0 away defeat at Grays) i am sacked. Personally i am shocked and saddened. To get Braintree up and keep them there with no money to spend was an achievement in my eyes. Most of the players had me as favoured personnel and we punched above our weight in each season.
Oh well on to my next club. Who that will be time will tell. Hopefully some club with a chairman who doesn't expect miracles!!
One side note my replacement at Braintree has so far spent 10k on players. I guess the chairman just didnt like or trust me enough to give me his cash...
Just been offered the post of C.D Huracon Z in the Spanish Secunda division B2. Just wanted to make sure before accepting that it fits in with the guidelines. They are certainly lower league but im not sure how realistic it is for a non league UK manager to get a job in the lower leagues of spain.
Hmmm well have not been able to play as much recently due to being mad busy so have not finished that season yet therefore no update.
Just to stop your suspense i did accept as there were no other jobs available but it looks like my stay will be a short one. Way adrift in the relegation zone as nearly every team are 10 x stronger than my own. Most notable result so far is a 10-0 thrashing by zaragoza who have been relegated each year.
Braintree Town- My LLM experience 
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