A topical game I have devised. Very similar to fantasy football but instead of choosing players, you choose actions. Ordinarily you would be able to select a character and their associated experiences and resources but in this instance, I'd like you to help me with a quandary I'm having with my own character. Let me give you some background and pertinent data so that you are best equipped to provide some advice: You have pedigree in banking and particular expertise in the sport sector A billionaire purchased an ailing football club on your advice but refused to do so unless you took complete control of the project The project was (and remains) a long term one You recognised that stability, at every level in the club, was and remains key to its ongoing success Part one of the project was to return top flight football to the club within five years (2014) A significant (though undisclosed) war-chest was and remains available to you You sanctioned the biggest fee ever paid for a player to come in to the third tier of English Football You sanctioned one of the single largest investments into academy football that the game has ever seen and this into an already highly regarded set up You are quick to recognise that your first appointment as manager does not share your vision of how the club should progress Your second appointment as manager proves to be highly astute as he galvanises both the team and the fans, winning back to back promotions and fulfilling part one of the project two years ahead of schedule During these consecutive promotions, the investment in the club is converted to equity, making your club fiscally self-sufficient and the envy of many The promotions were not only ahead of schedule but also delivered significantly under budget You are therefore in a position where in addition to the excess cash unused in the promotions, you also have at your disposal an additional two years' of Premier League TV revenue unaccounted for in the original plans (approximately £130M) You break the club's transfer fee twice prior to the start of the new season The season does not start well at all The club has the worst defensive start to a Premier League campaign on record The media, both social and journalistic begins to talk of pressure mounting on your manager despite the ridiculous sporting and financial success he has delivered You analyse the issues logically and realise that individual error is the primary reason for the club's position You do not like or pander to the media You do not accept failure You truly desire stability You can easily afford to buy your way out of trouble I'm definitely swaying towards backing my manager unequivocally and then buying him a whole new back four for Christmas but I'm interested in how you would play it?
Would actually make for a good free online or phone based game, something a little different. But yeah I would back him without a doubt! Great post by the way, surprised nobody else has replied.
I didn't think anybody had replied! Regardless, I thought I'd just pop it back up for a couple of reasons. 1. The support given to McDermott by Reading. I'm with those who see that as genuine backing in order to put to bed any rumours. I'm pretty sure it's happened behind the scenes at Saints but do you think a public statement would have been better? 2. Four points from six since I posted this and the ever fickle media are now focusing on Hughes instead of Adkins but has that much changed? QPR was our first full 90 minute performance but in both matches, individual errors have cost us goals (and arguably could have cost us a couple more). 3. Since posting this, the support for Nigel from the fans and players has been overwhelming. How would that change (or not) your thinking if you were at the helm? I've changed my position already. I don't think we need a new back four. I think I'd still be getting my cheque book out for a central defender or two but I think I'd also be looking to provide some cover/competition for Cork/Morgan as we didn't realise how much we missed Cork until he came back.
I didn't spot this before, great post HB! To reply to your second post: 1. The thing about Nicola is that however frantic we, that is the fans and the media, are for news about NC's thoughts, the last 3 years should have taught us that we are not ever going to find out anything, not a sausage. His mind just doesn't work in the same way as most people's in football in that he just doesn't care what the media say about him, and unfortunately that extends to keeping the supporters in the dark as well, apart from those lucky enough to go to his occasional dinners. If I were the chairman I would have probably weakened by now and said something glowing in support of Nigel Adkins but of course, as we are seeing with the reaction to the Brian McDermott vote of confidence, that doesn't relieve the pressure on a manager anyway, so what'd the point? 2. The elimination of careless, points-losing errors has been top of the agenda for the last couple of weeks at least, and will continue to be for the forseeable future, I would imagine. 3. If I were Nicola, the fans' support of Nigel wouldn't make any difference whatever to my support for him, because I don't react like a normal human being! If it was me in charge, I would buy Nigel a Ferrari and present it to him on the pitch on Sunday. On your other points, we definitely need a decent CB (with pace, naturally). Midfield I'm not sure about, as JWP deserves a bit more time on the pitch soon. I would guess that once Luke Shaw is playing a full 90 minutes regularly we will see a bit more of JWP coming on as a sub.
