Barnet F.C. Application

Dear Mr Kleanthous,

I'd like to offer my application for the currently vacant managerial position at Barnet F.C.

Experience

Currently have no actual managerial experience outside of the realm of Championship Manager 01-02. But am confident that the skills I have acquired from this computer game will translate into the real world.

As a demonstration of my skills I have played the entire 2010-11 season with Barnet F.C. and following is the detail of how I got on:

Board Expectations:

So, a relegation battle is on the cards. Sounds a bit negative to me, I’m going to push for the playoffs.

Backroom staff:

I arrived with an Assistant Manager (Gary Breen) and two first team coaches (Paul Fairclough & Scott Barrett) at the club.

I was happy with these guys but wanted to supplement them with 3 more first team coaches, so I bought in Glen Thomas, Stuart Delaney & Andy Awford.

Such was the quality of Stuart’s coaching that in December Newcastle offered him a contract which obviously I couldn’t match, so he left for a nominal compensatory figure. In his place I brought in Kevin Hannon.

The other staff appointment was physiotherapist Bob Ward to bring the physio team up to full strength.

Playing Squad:

I inherited a small squad, but a youthful one - probably about 5 years away from maturing to its peak.

Danny Leach was deemed surplus to requirements and was transfer-listed.

Transfers:

After analysing the playing staff I decided we were short two right backs, two left backs, two left wingers, a central midfielder and one striker. In total 8 players – meaning the existing squad was pretty threadbare.

However, there were no funds for transfers, so I would have to look for players on loan. In Championship Manager 01-02 the game will only allow two loans at once (unrealistic I know), so I prioritised a right back and a left back.

Morcambe’s Henry McStay was brought in immediately to cover right back, but failed to make an impact and was replaced after a couple of months by Southport’s Kevin Lee. Kevin’s loan deal expired just before the end of season loan deadline, so he in turn was replaced by young Pole Filip Modelski from West Ham.

It took me until the end of December to find a suitable loan to cover left back; eventually Carl Jenkinson from Charlton was brought in until the end of the season.

In summary:

0 permanent signings.

0 players sold.

Rejected offers from other clubs:

None.

The Season:

Cup runs

League Cup

1^st round – 3-1 home drubbing of Morcambe.

2nd round – Outclassed 4-0 at home to top-flight Birmingham

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

South 1^st round – 2-0 home loss to Bristol Rovers.

FA Cup

1^st round – lost in a 3-2 thriller away to Burton Albion, after a 1-1 stalemate at home.

Summary:

Pretty disappointing, a good cup run could have brought in some money for much-needed reinforcements to the squad.

Derby Games

Honours even, drew home and away with Stevenage.

The League

We started well; an unbeaten run in the first seven games saw us rise to the summit of League 2. Unfortunately this didn’t last as the squad’s lack of strength in depth began to show with injuries and suspensions. Our form slowly dropped us out of the playoffs altogether.

League table as at 1st January 2011 (the day the club parted with Mark Stimson in the real world):

13 places higher than an in the real world.

7 points off the playoffs.

Note that 4 more fixtures have been played – the simulated weather in Championship Manager has been quite mild.

For the rest of the season the team carried on the form they showed at the end of 2010. We never threatened either playoffs or relegation zone. A slight upturn in fortunes in the last couple of months showed some promise, but only proved to consolidate our mid-table obscurity.

The 2010/11 League 2 Final League Table:

Roll of honour:

Praised in the local media:

Steve Kabba

Darren Dennehy

Club Most Appearances:

Darren Dennehy 51

Club Most Man of the Match:

Steve Kabba                    7

Club Most Assists:

Mark Hughes                 13

Club Top Goalscorer:

Steve Kabba                  30

League 2 Players Team of the Year:

Steve Kabba

League 2 top scorer:

3^rd         Steve Kabba      28

Fans player of the year:

Steve Kabba

International Callups:

Danny Kelly       Ireland U21

Clovis Kamdjo    Cameroon U21

League 2 Manager of the Month:

James Rees                  August

Attendances:

Lowest:               655    vs. Bristol Rovers           Johnstone’s Paint Trophy 1^st Round

Highest:            5,473    vs. Birmingham              League Cup 2^nd Round

Average:          3,322

Finances

Nothing was spent on transfer fees, and wages were kept within the club’s wage structure.

The club’s poor performance in the cups meant that there was hardly any revenue generated there.

Our mediocre league finish meant a mediocre sum of prize money.

This lead to an overall loss of £300K, Leaving the club slightly less than this in the red.

However it must be noted that league survival was achieved. Relegation would have cost the club hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Future

In the summer I will attempt to strengthen the squad again, however I doubt any further transfer funds will be available.

I will again be looking to recruit two right backs, two left backs, two left wingers, a central midfielder and one striker. In total eight players, once again concentrating on the wing-backs as a priority.

My young squad will be one season wiser, so I’d expect to build on our tenth place and reach for the playoffs.

I will change tack in the coming season and recruit a quality scout to find out of contract young talent to supplement the squad. This is something I should have perhaps done in the season just gone.

I’m happy with my current backroom staff, but changes may occur if stand-out coaching talent becomes available.

Summary

A mediocre season, but to be expected due to zero financial resource.

League 2 consolidation.

A small financial loss made.

When you compare the above to the original board expectations, then the board should be happy. I’d be surprised if the board expectation changed for the 2011-12 season.

As you can see, I would be a great addition to Barnet as my vast experience on Championship Manager has helped me learn a lot about man management, tactics & how to work with a limited budget. All of these could be translated into a real-world environment.

I think I would fit into the town of Barnet itself, I used to live in Tufnell Park on the Northern Line & always wanted to go the mythical terminus “High Barnet”. Also there are many people born or from the area that I admire; Emma Bunton, Amy Winehouse and Jerry Springer to name but a few. Oh and I also like bees.

I assure you that my knowledge is invaluable and you will not find a better (virtual) manager anywhere else.

Stockport County F.C. - Application

Dear Ms Gibbons,

I'd like to offer my application for the currently vacant managerial position at Stockport County F.C.

Experience

Currently have no actual managerial experience outside of the realm of Championship Manager 01-02. But am confident that the skills I have acquired from this computer game will translate into the real world.

As a demonstration of my skills I have played the entire 2010-11 season with Stockport County F.C. and following is the detail of how I got on:

Board Expectations:

So, somewhere in the top half of League 2. Sounds a bit conservative, I’m going to push for the playoffs at least & a return to League 1.

Backroom staff:

I arrived with an Assistant Manager (Peter Ward) and four first team coaches (Ben Cooper, Rob Clare, Alan Lord & David Felgate) at the club.

However there were better coaches out there which I wanted to bring to the club. Alan & David left by mutual consent & I brought in Richard Johnson, Malcolm Beard & Paul Turner as replacement.

Assistant Manager Peter Ward was kept on as he’s a quality coach (but not as good as me).

The other staff appointments were physiotherapists Bob Ward & John Watson to bring the physio team up to full strength.

Playing Squad:

I inherited an incredibly young but small squad, probably about 4 years away from maturing to its peak.

Sean Williams, Lloyd Rigby & Jordan Rose were all deemed surplus to requirements and were transfer-listed.

Transfers:

After analysing the playing staff I decided we were short two right backs, a left back, a centre back, a left winger, a holding midfielder and two strikers. In total 8 players.

However, there were no funds for transfers, so I would have to look for players on loan. In Championship Manager 01-02 the game will only allow two loans at once (unrealistic I know), so I prioritised a right back and a striker.

Versatile Welsh defender Christian Ribeiro was brought in season-long loan from Bristol City almost immediately.

I tried for months to get a striker on loan, but dozens of offers were rejected by the parent clubs. Eventually in January, I secured young Paraguayan striker Julio Santa Cruz from Blackburn until the end of the season.

Transfer-listed trio Sean Williams, Lloyd Rigby & Jordan Rose were all sold to Leyton Orient, Sheffield United & MK Dons respectively.

In summary:

0 permanent signings.

3 players sold for £100K

Rejected offers from other clubs:

The following player was deemed too important to sell, so the bid was declined:

Reiss Lee                      £35K                 Charlton

The Season:

Cup runs

League Cup

1^st round – 1-0 away loss to MK Dons.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

North 1^st round – 2-0 home victory over non-league Kettering.

North 2^nd round – a golden goal extra time (didn’t know they still did that) loss away to Tranmere 3-2.

FA Cup

1^st round – 3-0 away loss to Southampton.

Summary:

Pretty disappointing, but we lost every time away to a team in the division above us.

Derby Games

OK, honours even with Bury. Beat Macclesfield at home and drew away. But local rivalries aren’t that important to us as we are the friendly club.

The League

We started poorly, just above the relegation zone after 10 games, but a 16 game unbeaten streak brought us right to the top of the league.

League table as at 5^th January 2011 (the day after the club parted with Paul Simpson in the real world):

19 places higher than an in the real world.

2 points above the playoffs.

Note that 4 more fixtures have been played – the weather in Championship Manager has been quite mild.

For the run-in the team consolidated their place in the top 3, although a run of 5 games without scoring in a row in March and April threatened to drop us out of the playoffs altogether. We then showed some bouncebackability and won 3 games in a row.

So with the last game to be played, we had guaranteed our playoff place and were a point off the automatic spots.

The 2010/11 League 2 Final League Table:

We drew our last game but the teams in 2^nd and 3^rd both lost, so we leapfrogged them both and went up on goal difference, incidentally by five goals.

Roll of honour:

League 2 Young Player of the Month:

Reiss Lee                      October

Jake Simpson                February

League 2 Player of the Month:

Mansour Assoumani      November

International Callups:

Mansour Assoumani      Mali

League 2 Players Team of the Year:

Owain fon Williams

Mansour Assoumani

Club Top Goalscorer:

Barry Conlon                 17

Fans player of the year:

Mansour Assoumani

League 2 Manager of the Month:

James Rees                  November

Attendances:

Lowest:            2,467    vs. Kettering      Johnstone’s Paint Trophy 1^st Round

Highest:           6,981    vs. Southend     League 2

Average:          5,453

Finances

Stockport knows better than most clubs that finances must be kept under control.

Nothing was spent on transfer fees, and wages were kept within the club’s wage structure.

The club’s poor performance in the cups meant that there was hardly any revenue generated from that.

However our final league position generated some great prize money.

This lead to an overall profit of £250K, However the club was still in the red.

Future

In the summer I will attempt to strengthen the squad for a step up in division. I should have around £1M to spend with the increase in income from TV money.

I will be looking to recruit two right backs, a left back, a centre back, a left winger, a holding midfielder and three strikers. In total nine players, so there’ll be plenty of wheeling and dealing going on.

The current squad will be reviewed to see whether they can step-up for League 1 football. I’m confident in my young team that all of them will remain with the club.

I’m happy with my current backroom staff, but changes may occur if stand-out coaching talent becomes available.

At the end of the season some players were requesting new contracts, maybe because they know that there’s a more money available for them. We should give improved deals to all players who request them as long as we don’t break the club’s wage structure.

Summary

An entirely successful season, borne from no financial resource.

League 2 promotion at the first attempt.

A financial profit made.

I doubt the board could have expected much more.

As you can see, I would be a great addition to Stockport as my vast experience on Championship Manager has helped me learn a lot about man management, tactics & how to work with a limited budget. All of these could be translated into a real-world environment.

I think I would fit into the town of Stockport itself. I like hats and lacrosse, and I used to work with a funny bloke called Gary who was from the area. I am also fans of Stepfordians Yvette Fielding, David Dickinson and that guy who played Captain Darling in Blackadder goes Forth.

I assure you that my knowledge is invaluable and you will not find a better (virtual) manager anywhere else.

A.F.C. Bournemouth - Application

Dear Mr Mitchell,

I'd like to offer my application for the currently vacant managerial position at A.F.C Bournemouth


Experience 

Currently have no actual managerial experience outside of the realm of Championship Manager 01-02. But am confident that the skills I have acquired from this computer game will translate into the real world.

As a demonstration of my skills I have played the entire 2010-11 season with A.F.C. Bournemouth and following is the detail of how I got on:

Board Expectations:

So just stay in League 1. I think that’s pretty reasonable considering we were newly promoted to that division this season

Backroom staff:

I arrived with a Player/Assistant Manager (Jason Tindall) and four first team coaches (Matty Holmes, Marcus Browning, Joe Roach & Ken Walton) at the club.

However there were better coaches out there which I wanted to bring to the club. So the entire coaching staff was replaced

I found five quality coaches for Bournemouth; namely Trevor Steven, Bob Latchford, Mike Ellis (who I’ve worked with before), Mike Lyons & Peter Cawley.

Player/Assistant Manager Jason Tindall was asked to concentrate on his playing duties & Paul Brush was swept in as his full time replacement.

Jason Tindall ended up making over 30 playing appearances in the season, so I think I made the right decision, who’s to say he may return to coaching at the club once his playing days are over.

The other staff appointment was physiotherapist Jim Walker to bring the physio team up to full strength.

Playing Squad:

The playing squad I inherited was of high quality and reasonably large for a League 1 club.

It’s also a relatively young squad that is probably a couple of years from reaching its peak.

After looking at the squad; no members of the squad needed to be transfer listed.

Transfers:

After analysing the playing staff I decided we were only short a left back, a left winger and a striker. However, there were little funds for transfers. I would have to look for players out of contract or available for loan.

Left back Joe Jacobsen was brought in immediately on season-loan from Oldham. However in January he was subject to a permanent deal from Carlisle, which I tried to match, but couldn’t. So Marcus Holness was brought in on loan as a replacement from Rochdale.

I tried for months to get a winger or striker on loan, but dozens of offers were rejected by the parent clubs.

Gradually money became available for new players, and young Welsh international Owain Tudor-Jones was brought in from Norwich for only £80K.

Then a significant sum of money became available after a cup run, so Italian American Mike Grella was purchased for £550K. I know that is one of the highest fees ever spent by the Cherries, but I think you’ll agree he was worth it.

Joe Partington was sent out on loan to Stevenage, but when he returned hadn’t improved, so was sold to Shrewsbury at the end of the season.

Finally, the only other transfer activity was a short term loan of Ole Soderberg as goalkeeping cover. However, he was red-carded in his second game, so with his suspension looming, it was pointless keeping him at the club, so the loan was terminated early.

In summary

2 permanent signings for 50K

1 player sold for £625K

Rejected offers from other clubs:

The following players were deemed too important to sell, so their respective bids were declined:

Jason Pearce                £1.2M   Leicester

Shwan Jalal                   £325K   Derby

Warren Cummings         £110K   MK Dons

Marvin Bartley                £180K   Cardiff

The Season:

Cup runs

League Cup

1^st round – Disappointing 2-1 away loss to Notts County.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

South 1^st round – 3-0 home victory over Cheltenham.

South 2^nd round – victory on penalties after a 1-1 draw away to Swindon.

South quarter final – 1-0 win at home to Gillingham.

South semi-final – 2-0 defeat of Burton Albion at home.

South final – 3-2 aggregate win over Charlton.

Final – 1-0 loss to Huddersfield in an evenly matched game.

FA Cup

1^st round – Beat non-league Safford 4-0 away in a replay after a nervy 1-1 draw at home.

2^nd round – Again took two legs to beat minnows Chelmsford, this time won 1-0 away after a 2-2 draw at home.

3^rd round – Slayed Premier league Aston Villa 1-0 game in a game we deserved to win.

4^th round – Outclassed but not embarrassed 2-0 away to Arsenal.

Summary:

Disappointing league cup performance, but more than happy with how we fared in the other two competitions.

Should have really won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy but at least we got to the final (at the Millennium Stadium?!) in front of 50,000+ fans.

Brilliant FA Cup run, beating one top flight team at a packed Dean Court before the chance to play again in front of over 50,000 at the Emirates. The revenue from our FA Cup run transformed our season.

Derby Games

Good. Beat Southampton home and away.

The League

We started off strongly, reaching the top of the league by September and staying near the summit throughout 2010. The squad were getting used to the tactics I employ & the new coaches’ hard work was starting to show.

League table as at 14^th January 2011 (the day the club parted with Eddie Howe in the real world):

2 places higher than an in the real world.

4 points above the playoffs.

Note that 3 more fixtures have been played – the weather in Championship Manager has been quite mild.

For the run-in the team were unstoppable, winning 16 out of 19 games. New signing Mike Grella was a goal-machine.

The 2010/11 League 1 Final League Table:

Obviously with a run like that we not only won the league, but dominated it. The title was achieved with games to spare & we went on to score 101 points, a joint record for 3^rd tier football. We were 11 points clear of second and 17 ahead of the playoffs.

Roll of honour:

Praised in the local media:

Steve Lovell

Ryan Garry

Marc Pugh

League 1 Player of the Month:

Mike Grella                    March

Mike Grella                    April

International Callups:

Rhoys Wiggins              Wales

Shwan Jalal                   Iraq

Josh McQoid                 Northern Ireland U21

Joe Partington               Wales U21

League 1 Players Team of the Year:

Shwan Jalal

Ryan Garry

Marc Pugh

Club Top Goalscorer:

Mike Grella                    24

This astonishingly came from only 21 games.

Fans player of the year:

Marc Pugh

League 1 Manager of the Month:

James Rees                  September

James Rees                  October

James Rees                  January

James Rees                  February

James Rees                  March

League 1 Manager of the Year:

James Rees

Attendances:

Lowest:            1,995          vs. Burton Albion         Johnstone’s Paint Trophy semi-final

Highest:          11,926          vs. Southampton         League 1

Average:          7,262

Finances

Bournemouth know better than most that finances must be kept under control.

Little was spent on transfer fees, and wages were kept within the club’s wage structure.

One major purchase was made in a player, but this was well worth as it turned out to be effectively buying an extra goal per game.

The club’s FA Cup runs final league position meant that a large amount of prize money and gate receipts.

This lead to an overall profit of £800K, almost unheard of for a League 1 club. This will stand the club in good stead for the coming seasons.

Future

In the summer I will attempt to strengthen the squad for a step up in division. I should have around £5M to spend with the increase in income from TV money; however I’m not going to overhaul this young talented squad.

The only position I will definitely be signing will be a left back. Further signings may be necessary if any of the first team squad are not deemed of sufficient quality for Championship football. I’m confident in my team that nearly all of them will remain with the club.

I’m happy with my current backroom staff, but changes may occur if stand-out coaching talent becomes available.

At the end of the season many players were requesting new contracts, maybe because they know that there’s a lot more money available for them. We should give improved deals to all players who request them as long as we don’t break the club’s wage structure.

I will also press the board to improve the training facilities, which are adequate, but need to be improved to match other Championship clubs.

Summary

An entirely successful season, borne from little financial resource.

League 1 champions & back to back promotions.

A large financial profit made.

I doubt the board could have expected more.

As you can see, I would be a great addition to Bournemouth as my vast experience on Championship Manager has helped me learn a lot about man management, tactics & how to work with a limited budget. All of these could be translated into a real-world environment.

I think I would fit into the town of Bournemouth itself. I’ve been there twice before and it’s a really nice seaside town. I also really like cherries & old people.

I assure you that my knowledge is invaluable and you will not find a better (virtual) manager anywhere else.