Mookham(?) A Football Manager 14 AAR

KyzBP · January 02, 2014, 05:47:09 PM

I've decided to post an AAR showcasing the rise (hopefully) of Mookham FC.

Mookham is a fictional town on the south coast of England. It's inhabitants have always wanted their own club to support. Hans Gessner, the Mookham born son of an English mother and German father, has decided to return to Football. Gessner was a local sensation in his youth. He moved up through Southampton's Youth Academy but was signed by Frankfurt Eintracht when he turned 18. In Frankfurt he had a solid but unremarkable career. Gessner was then bought by Southampton and was able to finish out his playing career on the pitch at St. Mary's. He stuck around the Saints as a Youth Coach but grew tired of the "win at all costs" mentality and left the team and football...until now.

As anyone who has ever coached will tell you, you'll miss it when you're gone. So Gessner decided to bring Semi-Professional Football to his beloved town of Mookham. Gessner convinced some of his old teammates to invest in his new club...Mookham FC.

Hans had one stipulation though, he didn't want to be the Head Coach or be part of the Board even. He wanted to hide in the shadows as the Assistant Coach and have fun again. Let everyone else worry about the business side.

The first person he needed to hire had to be someone he knew he could trust. Someone he could manipulate when he needed to and would listen to him when he offered advice. That someone was me, Max Saturn. Hans and I spent our first 18 years as the best of friends. Hans moved on in his soccer career and I joined the Army. When Hans decided to restart his coaching career he asked me to be the Head Coach of his new FC.

"Seriously Hans? I, um, don't know the first thing about coaching. I can stack cones and occasionally kick a ball in the direction I want it to go. I wouldn't say those are qualifications for a Cub Scout Badge let alone a coaching badge".

"That's exactly why you'd be perfect" said Hans. "You don't really need to know much. I'll guide you along until you get the hang of it and no one will be the wiser" he explained. "We'll hire some scouts to find players and some real coaches who know what they're doing. Come on, it'll be like old times."

"Ok, I'm in" I told him "but you better not throw me under the bus when this thing goes pear shaped"

"What could go wrong?" said Hans as he turned his back and walked away. What could go wrong indeed.

Day One at Mookham FC

KyzBP · January 02, 2014, 05:56:21 PM

Here is what I'm doing:

I've created an empty, fictional team and placed them in the Skrill South. The team is completely empty except for the Assistant Coach, Hans.

I have 4 days before our first friendly to get some players in on trial. We'll have to fill the coaching staff positions, Scout positions, get a Physio, and try to arrange a few friendlies to help our money situation.

I will only use the known player list until the first Scout is hired. I'll then only use the scout reports to find players.

I'll delegate many of the more tedious duties to Hans such as Press Conferences and coaching the friendlies. I'll handle all the team signings.

Due to my work schedule this may go slow at times but I'll stay with it until I either reach the Premiership or get relegated out of the Conference South. Wish me luck.

Bison · January 02, 2014, 07:07:29 PM

Good luck!

KyzBP · January 03, 2014, 06:47:04 PM

Day 10 at Mookham

"Have you seen all these guys, Hans?" I asked while looking out onto the training ground. There had to be no less than 30 guys of all shapes, sizes, ages, and nationalities.
"Yep. What do you think?" Hans replied.
" I think we're screwed. I'd say there are about 2 guys out there that can play."
"Nah, you watch." said Hans confidently "We'll turn some of these guys into a team. We're not keeping everyone. We just have to be patient."
"What about our Keeper? The guy has to be about 50."
Hans looked truly confused. "No. All the Keepers we're looking at are in their early 20's"
"Nope" I said "He introduced himself as Gus, said he was our Keeper. He seems to take this stuff pretty serious too. He started asking me about pitch width and length."
Grinning and slowly shaking his head Hans replied. "Gus is our Groundskeeper."

The players listed in green are players on trail with the team. The ones in white are who we've signed so far. Since we signed our 2 Scouts already, I'm limiting myself to only the players that they find. Unfortunately, at this level, your scouts aren't all that good and you only get 2 of them.

We did win our first friendly 4-1. So far we're undefeated! I should just get out while I'm on top.

KyzBP · January 04, 2014, 06:44:09 PM

"God I'm glad that's over!" I said. I was completely relieved that the pre-season had come to a close.
"The fun is just beginning. We did good but the competition was weak. We performed up to expectations. You can't ask for much more than that." said Hans confidently.
"So do you think we have a chance?" I blurted out just like a child would ask his dad if their favorite sports team could achieve the impossible.
"Of course we have a chance." said Hans with his annoying little grin. "We have a chance to get promoted, a chance to be relegated, and a chance to be doing this all over again next season. What we have to do is make sure we take advantage of EVERY chance we get". Hans' demeanor had suddenly become very businesslike. It was almost reassuring to know that he possessed a serious side. I think we'll need this side Hans if we intend to get anything out of the season.

We managed to win all but our last friendly. The competition was nothing to get excited about but we did better than I thought we would. I had tried to arrange some home friendlies with every team in both the Premier and Championship leagues to no avail. Our reputation is just ~~too low~~ non existent. It used to be that if you could get some of the big clubs to play friendlies (exhibition games) against you at your venue you'd pick up a good chunk of cash through gate receipts. It seems as if they've addressed that and now you can only pick up about 25% of what you received before. At this point though, it would still help.

BanzaiCat · January 04, 2014, 06:48:47 PM

I'm keeping an eye on this. I want to see more about how this game plays.

KyzBP · January 04, 2014, 07:51:03 PM

@ Bison- Thanks, I think we'll need it.

@Banzai- This is my first AAR so hopefully I can keep informative, educational, and entertaining.

KyzBP · January 05, 2014, 09:22:37 AM

"Where the heck have you been Hans? Everybody is already out on the pitch. This is it, the last practice before the season starts."
Hans grinned in his usual, cocky sort of way. "I went to secure next season's payroll...and a little something extra for me." His grin returned the instant his mouth stopped moving.
"Putting the cart a little in front of the horse aren't you?" I said. "Don't you think it's a bit early to think about next season considering we haven't even played a game this season?"
"You didn't see Sky Bet's Season Preview Show this morning did you?" said Hans with a touch of seriousness. "2000-1! The Bookies couldn't take my money fast enough. I just hope they pay up with as much gusto." It was almost as if Hans was already counting the money in his head.
"Do I dare ask how much you bet?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.
"10,000 quid(pounds?)! That should cover our payroll for next year AND give me a nice little vacation before we start preparing for the Skrill Premier."
All I could do is stare, mouth open, and slowly shake my head. "There's probably a reason they have us at 2000-1." But Hans never heard my comment as he was already half way to the pitch.

Clearly the Odds Makers don't give us any chance to achieve promotion. They don't even give us a chance to stay in the league. I'm hoping we assembled a reasonably decent team. I have to admit though, only using scouting reports to find players is making this very difficult. There's a diminished pool to choose from and, frankly, my scouts suck.

Next up: The start of the season.

KyzBP · January 05, 2014, 11:34:54 AM

Before we kick off our, hopefully, successful campaign, let me introduce the two most important non-players in our organization:

Hans Gessner.

Hans' attributes are clearly better than we deserve at this level. I used the editor to lock him into the club for awhile. I think the narrative part of the story gives
one of the only explanations as to why Hans would even be seen at a club of our low stature.

Johnny McCrystal.

McCrystal is our crusty Head of Scouting. At this level it puts him in charge of exactly ONE other scout. Not much of a resume builder. McCrystal's attributes put him
more as a keepers coach than a scout but he was the best I could find. He was also the best scout willing accept a job at our club. If we can get out of the Skrill South
he will probably be one of the first casualties.

KyzBP · January 05, 2014, 12:38:03 PM

"How can you just sit there, feet on the desk, shoveling that salad into your mouth like a cow with thumbs? Aren't you the least bit nervous?" I had just exited the Staff Restroom for the third time. There was no way there could be anything left for a fourth trip.
"Just relax Max. I'll take care of the first game. Just watch, listen, and every once in awhile repeat something I say. We'll be fine. The boys are ready." Mouth full of greens and all, I got Hans' point. He was taking care of our opener. I just had to make sure I didn't get in the way.

I wasn't going to do anything crazy. I had Hans select the Starting Eleven for this match. I'd take over the following games and not use Hans for that again...I hope.
You may have noticed that we are deep at both Strikers and Defense but sparse in the middle. That was not by design and will have to be addressed quickly. Oh, and being deep at a position doesn't necessarily mean you have anyone good in that position just that you have a lot of players. :-\

We need to set the tone for the season here. We are playing in front of our fans(supporters). If we put on a good show we may be able to fill the stands, and in turn our coffer.

Here we go!

BanzaiCat · January 05, 2014, 12:40:02 PM

Good luck! Premier League or bust! 8)

KyzBP · January 05, 2014, 01:38:49 PM

"That was awesome!!!" I couldn't contain my excitement. I'm sure my post match speech could only be understood by Red Bull fueled teens.
"That was a good win, no doubt but we can't get complacent just yet." Hans seemed no less happy but far less excited.
"I wish I would've went to the Bookie with you. Surely we're the team to beat." It may have been my most confident statement in the last month.
"That was just one win. We need a bunch more if we are going to get out of the South and into the Premiership...any Premiership." Hans had suddenly went all businesslike again.
"Are you ready to take the reigns now?" Hans asked as he stared straight through me. "I'm going to be in the press box next match.
Everyone needs to see you on the sidelines by yourself. Everyone needs to know you're the Man down there. Are you ready for that?" Hans waited patiently for my reply. He didn't have to wait long.
"Are you kidding? I say we play the match tomorrow! I'm ready, the boys are ready. I just hope the Pub next door is ready. Come on Hans, I'm buying."

A good result considering we selected our players by using the spaghetti against the wall method. We played a clean game and made the most of
our chances. Our Polish Keeper was just a few seconds from recording a clean sheet(shutout). I'm sure we're going to be long time fixtures at the top
of the table. What could go wrong...

undercovergeek · January 05, 2014, 02:30:17 PM

Awesome.... well done and long may it continue

KyzBP · January 05, 2014, 02:37:11 PM

Quote from: undercovergeek on January 05, 2014, 02:30:17 PM
Awesome.... well done and long may it continue

Thanks UCG!

Since this is my first AAR I'm open to suggestions and criticism. Thanks to everyone for reading this.

KyzBP · January 05, 2014, 04:17:13 PM

"I don't get it Hans. You made it look so easy. I'm seriously considering turning this over to you. I've suffered enough embarrassment for the month." I really didn't know what to say or do. We would have lost 5-0 to Concord if Hans hadn't come out of the press box to take control of the game. It wasn't as close as the 3-2 score would indicate.
"You'll get this Max. I don't want control of the team. I enjoy being the man behind the curtain." Hans didn't look like someone who was enjoying much of anything right now.
"That was only one month of a NINE month season." Hans continued, "We got a win under our belts and more will come. Lets not panic just yet." Surprisingly panic wasn't one of the emotions I was feeling right now. Embarrassment, check, despair, check, that feeling where you find something revolting but you can't help but stare at it, check, but not panic.
"Hans, we just lost 6-1. Our Stirkers couldn't hit the side of a barn from the inside and the defense was playing dodgeball or something but certainly not soccer." I honestly didn't know what to do from here.
"I'll give you two more games to see if you can right the ship on your own. If things don't go better I'll step in for a bit. How does that sound?" Hans sounded as if he already had something up his sleeve but wasn't going to let me in on it just yet. I really hope he has something up his sleeve.
"Well it's not like I have much of a choice." I'm sure the resignation in my voice betrayed any confidence I was trying to show.
"Good. Let's go next door and grab a pint." Hans had returned to his normal, confident self.
"Um, we can't. They won't serve us again until win. Sorry."

The Concord game looked like a potential blowout. It was 3-0 at half before Striker Steven Bourne tapped in a pair of goals. We only managed 3 shots on goal the entire game.
The Bishop's Strotford game should have been a draw at least. We dominated and they even went down to 10 men at 61 minutes. A long distance shot from one of their defenders ended our chances at getting any points.
The Bromley game was just a forgettable debacle. I've never seen a defense play so poorly. It was plain brutal.

Time to make some adjustments and regroup.