Jon — SFC: Operation Old Firm

Hello everyone! My name is Jon, and Darren and Johnny have graciously given me the opportunity to write for FootballManagerStory (can I call it FMS?). I’ve been writing a Salisbury City story in the forums for a little over a month now, but have opted to take a new direction for my main page story. After spending a great deal of time deliberating between the Ukrainian and Scottish leagues, I’ve opted to begin a managerial career in the Scottish Second Division. Allow me to introduce you to my new team: 

Stenhousemuir:
Location: Stenhousemuir, Scotland (outside of Falkirk)

Stadium: Ochilview Park (Capacity 3776, 626 seated)
Owned By: Stenhousemuir, currently ground sharing with East Stirlingshire F.C.

Facilities:
-Fairly Basic Corporate
-Average training
-Adequate youth 

Stenhousemuir, or “The Warriors”, are a team that hold a special place in my heart. While I can’t claim any family connection, I’ve followed their progress for quite some time (mainly because I liked their name), and really enjoyed my visit to the town when I lived in the United Kingdom. They’ve spent their entire history languishing in the lower tiers of the Scottish Football system, and their only notable honor was their 1995 Scottish League Challenge Cup victory. They’re expected to finish last in this years Second Division campaign, and I’ll have a challenge on my hands to keep them afloat!

Goals:

I expect the title of the post to be something of a give away, but I have several goals for this club:

1) Gain promotion to the Scottish Premier League. The Warriors have never played Premier League Football, and their highest ever finish was a 1959 3rd place finish in the First Division. I’d like to reward the fans loyalty to the club by taking them to the top of the pyramid.

2) Break up the Old Firm. This is my single greatest goal. The history of Scottish football has been written by two little clubs from Glasgow (Celtic and Rangers), and aside from a few brief periods, no other club has been able to sustainably compete. It’s my goal to add a third team to that mix, and show the Glasgow boys that they aren’t the only game in town.

3) Win the Europa League. Perhaps not the most lofty of goals, but everyone has to begin somewhere! We need to get our feet wet in Europe, and the Europa League is a great place to do it (with the bonus of being a competition we can actually win).

4) Make Scotland’s presence routinely felt in the Champion’s League. This could also be translated as “make the world once again respect Scotland” or more simply “Improve the Scottish League’s reputation”. Regardless, I want Barcelona to be just as terrified of visiting Ochilview Park as we would be of playing in the Nou Camp.

5) Win the Champion’s League. By far the most difficult goal, I’d like to take The Warriors to Champion’s League glory (becoming only the second Scottish club to do so). It’ll be a task several years in the making, but one I feel is ultimately achievable.

Wrap-Up:

I’d like to thank you all for your ongoing support, and I hope you’ll find this story as enjoyable to read as I’m finding it to write! I’ll be posting our preseason moves tomorrow as we gear up for a season focused on Second Division survival.  Our board isn’t expecting much, and I haven’t been given much money to work with:

With an already maxed out wage cap, I’ll be undergoing a comprehensive evaluation of everyone at the club, and the deadwood will be sent on their way. I’m not quite a miracle worker, and I can’t promise you success as rapidly as Johnny and Darren achieve it (I’m just not that good), but we’ll get there in the end!