Career Unemployed Career - Looking for work!

[Massey127]

12 minutes ago, Sousa_XI said:

great career mate .. keep it up 

Thank you very much my friend, I will keep it going!

[samhardy]

Nicely written mate and going well with Stoke, don't see any problem at all with buying regens myself, the game couldn't continue without them after all!

[Massey127]

1 hour ago, samhardy said:

Nicely written mate and going well with Stoke, don't see any problem at all with buying regens myself, the game couldn't continue without them after all!

Thank you very much for your feedback mate!

 

[Archie Graveluth]

Of course I'll follow. It was just a comment. Personally, I only start getting regens after the 10th season.

[Massey127]

8 minutes ago, Archie Graveluth said:

Of course I'll follow. It was just a comment. Personally, I only start getting regens after the 10th season.

Happy to still have you onboard mate!

[Real_Random]

Great season mate. Just caught up with all the updates and those regens are looking like gods, KIU

[Massey127]

7 hours ago, Real_Random said:

Great season mate. Just caught up with all the updates and those regens are looking like gods, KIU

Thanks mate. Going to be another interesting season that's for sure!

[Pogba]

This save is pure inspiration for beginners/New comers you have shown that you don't have to start at a top side to gain success. I love this save keep up the good work m8. 

[Massey127]

2 hours ago, Pogba said:

This save is pure inspiration for beginners/New comers you have shown that you don't have to start at a top side to gain success. I love this save keep up the good work m8. 

Wow thank you very much my friend for your kind words.  Inspiration works both ways and comments like that inspire me to keep going and spending the time to share this! Thank You!

[Massey127]

Preparing for Chamions League Football!

This season we are again preparing to face the Unknown! 

We are of course preparing to face Champions League football.

Our goals for this season are to secure Champions League football again for next season by establishing Stoke as a top 4 club and going as far as we can in the Champions League and domestic cups.  It would be great to add another piece of Silverware and a season that sees us finish top 4, reach knockout phase of the Champions League and perhaps reach a final of a domestic cup, I would consider a very good season.

Analysing last season and preparing for this season I felt the need to reduce the squad by a couple of members rather than add to it.  That might sound counter intuitive to some of you but I have good reason.  For the past two seasons I have tried hard to keep morale up and give everyone their chance, by doing so I feel we dropped a few points and those could make all the difference this season so I feel by letting go of an IF and a Striker, we might actually be a little more consistent than last season.

We also said goodbye to Glenn Johnson who was an absolute rock for us and although Adam Smith replaced him as first choice at RB he will need replaced as his absence will be felt.  His contract expired and he was now 35 years old.  I searched long and hard for the right replacement and please welcome to the club Callum Chambers!

Callum has been signed as at 24 he brings youth and quality that will compete hard with Adam Smith for the starting position at RB.  He will be our only signing and at £15m I consider him a bargain, especially in a season that seen Kane move to Man City for £106m!!!

So which striker and IF will we offload?

Well there were only two I was prepared to let go off.  Our Striker was Alario who we signed for £8.25m and sold him to Fiorentina for £15.75m almost doubling our return.  Alario was 4th choice behind Chavez, Keita and Diouf.

Our IF we let go was Sarmiento.  This wasn't an easy decision as Sarmiento was a fantastic player for us and has performed very well for us.  He was now 29 though and entering the last year of his contract and we have 4 very strong IF's already.  We were offered £5m for him which is more than treble the £1.6m we paid for him two years ago so I felt the timing was right to let him move on.

With our transfer budget now at £82m and a healthy wage bill we will be looking to add this all to wages in the hope of boosting our transfer kitty for next season as I feel right now the squad is ok for our goals and will be better spent next year.

Here we go, into pasteurs new and we will give it everything we have!

[PabloPaton]

Excellent post mate. Really good read.

[Massey127]

9 hours ago, PabloPaton said:

Excellent post mate. Really good read.

Thanks mate, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[Taff]

Dude this is one of the most captivating saves I have ever come across the way it's written just pulls you in and hooks you

Keep up the fantastic work

[Massey127]

1 hour ago, Taff said:

Dude this is one of the most captivating saves I have ever come across the way it's written just pulls you in and hooks you

Keep up the fantastic work

Hi Taff, long time no speak my friend.  Thank you very much for your words mate and it definitely keeps me motivated to continue.

PS - if you don't remember me, I had the Whitehawk save "Crossing the Irish Sea" for FMM2016

[Taff]

15 minutes ago, Massey127 said:

Hi Taff, long time no speak my friend.  Thank you very much for your words mate and it definitely keeps me motivated to continue.

PS - if you don't remember me, I had the Whitehawk save "Crossing the Irish Sea" for FMM2016

I remember dude, you have become the Shakespeare of the Vibe world keep up the good work and the enthralling saves

[Massey127]

1 hour ago, Taff said:

I remember dude, you have become the Shakespeare of the Vibe world keep up the good work and the enthralling saves

High praise indeed from such a seasoned veteran as yourself!

Thanks mate

[Fish18ish]

This is the best career I've read here. Keep up the amazing work, it's rare that the writing style and gameplay enjoyment are equally good on a career thread. Are you looking to move clubs in the future?

[Massey127]

14 minutes ago, Fish18ish said:

This is the best career I've read here. Keep up the amazing work, it's rare that the writing style and gameplay enjoyment are equally good on a career thread. Are you looking to move clubs in the future?

Many thanks mate for your feedback, I really appreciate it.  

To be honest i would like to stay at Stoke for as long as they want me.  I wouldn't mind trying to get my son promoted in Stoke which could be a goal for us?

Perhaps see if we can take Stoke to the top and see what the feedback is like from you guys on whether we stay or try another country.

Next update will be out tomorrow.

[Massey127]

Playing with the big boys! - Season 4 (Champions League year)!

As is tradition now, I feel it useful to give you an update on how we are doing once we reach the mid season point.

As a quick reminder, we came off the back off a great season in which we finished 3rd (qualifying for the Champions League) and winning the Europa League.  Chavez was on fire for us and finished as Player of the Year and Top scorer in both the Premiership and Europa League!

So how are we doing, considering we shipped out more players than we brought in?

We started the season well beating (albeit luckily) Real Madrid in the European Super Cup 1-0! Real Madrid are the biggest Foreign football club Stoke city have faced and this was a major coup for all linked to the club.

Things got scary fairly quickly after this game and we experienced 7 injuries in a 3 week period which tested our squad depth to the max.  Chavez was one of these casualties and has been out since late Aug and only returned now in Dec! This was a huge blow and we struggled to score goals without him and Keita (also injured)!

We soon found form however and started scraping together wins, once we did that our morale and confidence grew and coupled with the return of key players we really started to impress and pull in the crowds!

Playing in the Champions League we welcomed Paris SG, Fenerbache and APOEL to the Bet365 stadium and each game was a sell out!  Paris had arrived at the Bet365 in fine form, unbeaten in their league and boasting some of the worlds finest players.  They failed to do their homework however and see the strength that lies within little Stoke City.  We beat them well, 2-0 at the Bet365 stadium sending our fans ecstatic with euphoria! We had now slayed both Real Madrid and PSG!  We went on to win our group comfortably drawing the return fixture in Paris.

We were also cruelly put out of the League Cup at the third round on penalties by Man City.  Whilst disappointing to exit so soon it did free up our calendar for the more important games.

At the mid point of the season we sit 5 points clear at the top of the Premiership!

let me just say that again..... WE SIT 5 POINTS CLEAR AT THE TOP OF THE PREMIERSHIP!

I have enjoyed the best Christmas period of my life as 3 and a half years into my managerial career as a football manager I sit top of the Premier League! Man that doesn't get old hearing that!

Our strong belief in a solid defensive unit appears to be reaping rewards but can we hold it together?

Whilst I admit to still being in dreamland and all this seeming like a dream, I do now feel I can stand shoulder to shoulder with Mr Mourinho, Guardiola, Conte and the like without feeling like I don't belong here.  This assurance seems to have rubbed off on my players and they now no longer see themselves as outcasts or inferior!

Will we be crucified further by injuries and the hectic post Xmas calendar? Will we crumble under the pressure? Will the big boys put us in our place? or now that we have tasted blood from the mighty, are we hungry for more?  Have we got the killer instinct that is required to see this through?....................

Edited January 5, 2017 by Massey127

[Pogba]

Wonderful stuff bro . This Save is really getting interesting along with your prolific literature skills. Btw with your management skills and your players determination and talent I think stock will top England and Europe . 

Edited January 5, 2017 by Pogba

[Massey127]

1 hour ago, Pogba said:

Wonderful stuff bro . This Save is really getting interesting along with your prolific literature skills. Btw with your management skills and your players determination and talent I think stock will top England and Europe . 

Thank you very much for your support mate, I really appreciate it!

[BatiGoal]

Looking good so far, mate!

Have you set any goals for yourself in this career? Things you want to achieve? Clubs you'd like to manage? Or just playing along as you go and see out the 30 years of management? Well, if that fails you can always return to your previous career as a food technologist.

[Massey127]

On 5 January 2017 at 23:59, BatiGoal said:

Looking good so far, mate!

Have you set any goals for yourself in this career? Things you want to achieve? Clubs you'd like to manage? Or just playing along as you go and see out the 30 years of management? Well, if that fails you can always return to your previous career as a food technologist.

Hi Mate, my goal was simply to provide for my family by doing the thing I love!

However as things have progressed, I have of course started to look around and think about just how far I can go.  I have never been motivated by jumping ship or moving around as loyalty is something I value (hence Grimsby being a difficult decision).  I have had some absolute horror bosses in my previous career as a Food Technologist and the relationship I now have with Peter Coates is again something I value.  He has been true to his word throughout my time at Stoke and has made possible my wildest dreams for my family and myself!

That being said my goal is to become not only the greatest manager Stoke City have ever seen but the greatest the Premier League has ever seen and I want that accolade to belong to Stoke City! 

I will bend over backwards and leave no stone unturned as I look to exceed the achievements of the great Sir Alex Ferguson.

This goal will include not only building multiple title winning sides but incorporating youth and allowing Stoke to be recognised as one of the greatest clubs a young player could join!

[Massey127]

Returning from War! Season 4 conclusion

Having finished third in the league last season and winning the Europa League I was nervous for my players this season as I had already started to pick up an undertone from the "Big 6" that we didn't belong with them and that nobody wanted little Stoke to be "Stealing a European place from the Big 6"!

My fears were realised when opposing managers were getting more and more frosty with me and refusing to shake my hand after the games! Players were receiving the same on the pitch too!

There was a real vibe that things were changing and we were no longer welcome!

I could have sat around and cried myself to sleep but make no mistake about it, I am here to do a very specific mission for both my family and Chairman! I am here to build a legacy and turn Stoke City into the English Super power without the riches!

We have assembled our Army with only £26m over 3 seasons now and all the rest of the "Big 6" have spent many times more than this on a single player many times over during the 3 seasons I have been at Stoke!

We are underdogs, there is no doubt about that! Our squad is worth a fraction of the competition.  Some of the opposing midfield are worth more than our entire team!  Not only that but we must now battle against foreign enemy too in the fiercest of all the battlefields, the UEFA Champions League!

Given the task at hand I had to deliver a very clear message to the lads before we tackled this season.  I called everyone linked to the club to a huge conference room and had giant screens behind me play through some of the fiercest and bloodiest scenes that our country has endured in recent conflicts!

I told the lads to be crystal clear about the task at hand and to leave no doubt that we are going to war!  "We are going up against some of the most determined and revered enemy that we will ever face, an enemy that think we don't belong here! An enemy that is determined to "put us in our place"! Whether foreign or domestic the threat remains as lethal!".  I went on to deliver the following speech:-

"The media and opposition say we are going beyond our depths.  They say we are going into Hell!  We are going to where home was always supposed to be! We are walking into the valley of the shadow of death!  Look around you gentlemen, at this club we have men from Argentina, Ivory Coast, England, Germany, Holland, Spain amongst many others!  We are going to war gentlemen, where you will watch the back of the man next to you as he will yours.  You won't care what colour his skin is or by what name he calls God! For us now, all that is gone! I promise you all this, that I will be the first to step foot onto the field and I will be the last to step off! I can't promise none of you won't get hurt along the way but this I swear, I will leave no man behind!  Injured or fit, we will all come home together!".

To war we went and the lads give it absolutely everything they had, they left nothing out there on the battlefield and in a season that saw us suffer 17 injuries, 6 red cards and all my players to start the last match of the season under 85% fit, I can ask no more! I will forever remember this team, I will forever take inspiration from this band of brothers who delivered 3 pieces of silverware, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Euro Super Cup on top of reaching the quarter finals of the Champions League where we were bravely defeated by the finest Germany could throw at us 2-1 on both legs!

The war was fierce and the margin for error so slim, had Spurs beaten us rather than draw, with just a few games remaining then just like that, another battle we would have lost! We didn't win every battle, of course we didn't but we gingerly and bravely return home to our families having won the war!

[veerus]

Some clutch performances to win the league there in the last month!  Solid stuff.  Lucky FA Cup win too but history will remember the WIN and not how.

And i've never seen that TV revenue message before.. is that new in this version?

Well done.

[Taff]

Absolutely blown away dude this is like a well crafted novel that has me hooked

amazing season and all brought about by a speech worthy of Winston Churchil himself

[Pogba]

simply brilliant, this save is legendary. you must be getting annoyed of my comments but you deserve all the praising my friend. keep up the great work

[Massey127]

4 hours ago, veerus said:

Some clutch performances to win the league there in the last month!  Solid stuff.  Lucky FA Cup win too but history will remember the WIN and not how.

And i've never seen that TV revenue message before.. is that new in this version?

Well done.

It's the first I seen that message too mate. We were extremely lucky in the FA cup! 

Thanks for your support mate.

2 hours ago, Taff said:

Absolutely blown away dude this is like a well crafted novel that has me hooked

amazing season and all brought about by a speech worthy of Winston Churchil himself

Wow thank you very much mate, I genuinely appreciate those comments and love that you are enjoying it!

 

9 minutes ago, Pogba said:

simply brilliant, this save is legendary. you must be getting annoyed of my comments but you deserve all the praising my friend. keep up the great work

I could never get fed up with your comments mate.  It's comments like these that encourage me to keep going and I appreciate all the support!

There is much more to come!

[Fish18ish]

I get excited about every installment of this career, I'm running out of compliments but keep it up!

[Massey127]

22 minutes ago, Fish18ish said:

I get excited about every installment of this career, I'm running out of compliments but keep it up!

Thank you very much my friend! It's great to hear you look forward to the updates and definitely keeps me excited to continue it! Thank you!