Stromson — Afan Lido: 2011 Preseason, Redux

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Afan Lido story, round 2! In my last update I let you know about the database bug that I’d encountered, and that I’d decided to rewind and place the story on a fresh save. Unfortunately this means we’ll have to repeat the first season again, but perhaps we’ll do better this time? Read on to find out (written in the same format viewpoint as before)!

June 2nd, 2011

Dear Diary (I need to think of a better name for you, recognizing of course that you’re an inanimate piece of paper that doesn’t really care if it has a proper name or not. I think I’ll call you Fred.),

Here we are, the first day of my new job. I’ve been extended an offer by a team called Afan Lido. I’ll admit to having never heard of them before when I received their phone call, but an emergency Wikipedia search revealed they plied their trade in the Welsh Premier league. At least they would be this season, having just earned promotion from one of the two second division squads. Under normal circumstances I would probably have rejected an offer from such an insignificant club, but after a year of unemployment I’ll take whatever I can get.

June 4th, 2011

Dear Fred,

I’ll admit I’m a little disheartened by what I’ve seen so far (and I’m not even counting my office being roughly equivalent to an oversized coat closet) . The guys are all very nice, and many of them have offered their sympathies and support, apologizing for my accident as if it was their fault. While I appreciate the thought, I have no interest in being reminded of my past, and would rather focus and creating a future. Unfortunately most of these gents don’t have any future with the club, and I’ve already made plans to send the majority of them on their way. Dammit…I’m out of Coke Zero, I’ll be back later.

June 5th, 2011

Alrighty, I’m properly caffeinated, and now I can focus on rebuilding this squad into a contender…or at least a team capable of fending off relegation. The media has no qualms with rating our abilities, and has given us a comical 2000.1  title chance. I’d love to say they’ll be wrong, but as the Lido manager, I’d advise you to put your pounds elsewhere.

My first order of business was to bring my friend Jimmy Hunter onboard as my assistant manager. He was my youth coach years ago, and we’ve kept in close touch ever since. He was one of the first people to come visit me in the hospital after the accident, and I couldn’t imagine leading this club without him. He enthusiastically accepted my job offer, and he showed up in my office on the first day with a stack of papers damn near a foot thick. Evidently he’d gotten excited and had taken the liberty of performing an extensive talent search…this guy is paying off already!

June 14th, 2011

I’ve assigned a member of my staff to permanent «Coke Zero» duty…I’m tired of running out of the damn stuff…it’s my jet fuel.

July 1st, 2011

After consulting with Jimmy for manylong hours, I believe we’ve managed to bring in a squad capable of surviving in this league. I’ve been frustrated along the way, and we’ve lost out on several talented youngsters because of our subpar reputation. Evidently the Welsh league isn’t prestigious enough to attract a player of substantial calibre, and I’d be lying if I said I could blame them. Regardless, here’s who we’ve managed to find:

Not too shabby of a keeper really. Daniel has quite a bit to offer, and I’ve been impressed by his work ethic and unwavering focus on the pitch. We need to work on his speed a little bit, but I don’t see any reason why he can’t develop into a regular starter for us.

I jumped a plane over to Ireland and met with this kid in person. It took some coaxing, but I managed to sell him on my vision for the team, and the role he’d be playing in it. Neil is absolutely chocked full of talent, and I feel comfortable calling him my best player.

Being one of his buddies, Neil strongly recommended I bring this guy along (it may or may not have been a condition for Neil to join us). I met with him while I was over in Ireland, and talk about a sharp kid! Sean is a bright kid, and I think he can develop very nicely…we just need to work on his decision making, as he tends to make some boneheaded moves in practice.

Another one of Jimmy’s targets, I believe Henry will be a competent fullback for us. He’s a fairly athletic lad, and while I don’t forsee him being a long term solution, he’ll be valuable in the short term.

I had to check this guys ID before I believed his age, dude looks like he’s 18! I’m not sure how much room he has left to grow, but he has some experience under his belt, and I’m hoping he proves to be a steadying force on the back line (if not any kind of leader).

Jimmy and I scouted this lad in person, and I was pretty damn impressed! He’s quite undervalued, and I would go so far to describe him as a perennial overachiever. He really shouldn’t be as good as he is, but damned if I’m the one to hold him back!

I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone as determined as Rob. This gent has a singular focus on the pitch, and nothing shy of an oncoming tank could sway him (and even then, I’m not convinced the tank wouldn’t just break in two under his glare). I need guys like Rob if we’re going to get anywhere in this league, and I’m counting on that determination to help hold down the midfield.

At this point I’m pretty convinced I’ve turned this squad into a glorified U-19 side. Andre is yet another youngster with a healthy does of talent. I wouldn’t say any one thing jumps out at me aside from his incredible fitness. He’s been blessed with an above average physique, which I hope he will take full advantage of in his Lido career.

Frank (I refuse to call him Frankie) has arguably the most important position in my system. He’s to be the glue that ties the midfield and attack together, and he’s going to need to be on point if we’re to succeed. Thankfully I believe he has the talent to pull that off (and if he doesn’t, we could be in for a world of hurt).

A pacey young lad with some solid finishing moves, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a worse penalty taker (we’ll need to work on that). He has the strangest talent set of any striker I’ve ever seen, and he’s just as comfortable playing a centerback as he is upfront.

Holy smoke, kid has talent! He actually *wanted* to play for us, and jumped all over my initial offer. He might give Neil a run for his money as my best player, and I can’t wait to see what Matthew can do at this level. I’m anticipating quite the battle to retain his services, and I’ve already seen a few scouts slinking around our practice field (don’t worry, I released the hounds).

July 5th, 2011

Fired my Coke Zero assistant, is it really that hard to maintain a regular supply in my mini fridge!? I’ve put out an advert for a more capable supplier…

July 23rd, 2011

New Coke Zero gal is working out quite nicely! The season starts next week, and I’ll probably take a break until the end of the year (I want to focus on managing in my first season). The squad is looking pretty solid, and they’re starting to show signs of gelling. I’m expecting the early going will be fairly rough; between our youth and inexperience, we’ll have some painful lessons to learn before it’s all said and done. Still, I’m convinced we’re capable of surviving this year, and next year we’ll gear up for a legitimate run!

July 24th, 2011

Insane…just insane:

No video for you this time I’m afraid. It’s been a hectic weekend, and I just haven’t had a chance to record one. :( I’m going to do an abbreviated first season (since we’ve been here once before), and my next post will be a season wrap up. Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed it!