By 15 May 23:27
The season is over. We’ve beaten the odds to stay in the division; the chairman has sold up; and I’m almost within the wage budget. All things considered, I’ve had an incredibly successful first managerial appointment.
But no one knows if I’ve done enough to stick around.
I was the long shot, the unknown, the experiment. I’m delighted with the outcome but given my spectacular lack of experience, I can’t be sure if our turnaround in form was down to my decisions, or if we just fluked it.
Have I done enough to keep my job?
23:41
My player liaison officer thinks that now would be a good time to share with the players what I hope to achieve next season.
We have to think bigger, that’s for sure. We showed in the run in that we have what it takes to compete against the bigger clubs. Top half of the table has to be the goal, at least.
23:42
Oooooo, maybe not. The only option I have to begin the meeting is to explain the financial realities of football, and that there will be changes to the squad between now and the start of next season.
I’ll deal with that one later…
23:45
I take a sneaky peek at what’s going on in the big leagues around the world, and I can see that my two favourite clubs – Spurs and Brighton – are both embroiled in a relegation battle. Typical.
23:50
But further research shows that I can now speak Dutch.
That’s not a bad outcome for a six month work placement.
16 May 00:13
The first eleven have now built some great relationships on the pitch, which should bode well for next season.
00:16
And now the ‘golden generation’ has arrived in the youth intake. The future for Mandel United could be bright, but will I be here to see it?
I put my own future to one side and sign up a few of the brightest prospects to youth contracts
00:42
It’s taking a looooong time to progress through to the end of the season. The four-team promotion and relegation mini-leagues are really drawing things out. Even my players are getting bored – their morale has nose dived as they’re still training with no matches to play for months. Why aren’t we on holiday already?
00:45
Oh, more cash provided by the chairman to help with the club’s running costs. Does that mean transfer funds might be available for next season…?
00:50
When I signed Guerde I inadvertently promised him I would look to improve the coaching team, and now he’s upset that I haven’t done so. Unfortunately, our wage budget has been far too challenging to invest in coaching staff. I think I need to set the record straight
00:55
Oh dear, I told him it wasn’t my fault. He didn’t take that well.
01:06
Gutted for Carre – he came third in the poll for First Amateur Division Young Player of the Year.
01:09
This is it! It’s officially the end of my first season in FM21!
I’m particularly delighted with their view on the club’s finances – that our success on the field helped to improve them:
01:17
The chairman wants to discuss expectations for next season already. He knows I’m out of contract in seven weeks, right?
01:21
We close off the season by agreeing our team vision for next year, and how times have changed.
When I joined Mandel, all those months ago, the players didn’t believe a word I said. They had resigned themselves to relegation. Now, after a 10th placed finish, they’re on board with aiming for a mid table finish next year.
Secretly, I hope we can do even better.
But I still have no idea if the chairman will ask me to stay.
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