For this edition of Champ Man & Me, I am joined by two very special guests. Paul & Olvier Collyer (MBEs) are responsible for the creation of the Championship Manager series, after founding Sports Interactive in 1992. The first Championship Manager game soon followed, and the rest is history. CM9798 fans may also know them as “Dobs” and “Ov” from the default Hall of Fame, and of course the pair are still heavily involved in the Football Manager series to this day.

They’ve taken some time out of their busy schedules to take a walk down memory lane with me.

Thanks for talking to me, gents. When this all began back in the early 90’s, did you ever imagine the game would still be going stronger than ever over 20 years later?

Oliver: To be honest it wasn’t in our mind how long it would last; it was just exciting seeing it published. I still remember seeing the first tiny preview screenshot of the game in Amiga Format while walking around the supermarket. I doubt it would have been possible to have wiped the smile off my face! If someone had said to me that we’d make careers out of writing the game and it would still be going strong 20 years later then it would probably have seemed pretty hard to believe. But in all honesty, we just weren’t really thinking that way – our focus was very much on making the game as good as we could.

What are you memories of the 97/98 game in particular?

Paul: I think this this is one of the releases that people look back on as a favourite for some reason. I believe it was an update to CM2. It was often the updates that were the best ones as they had been polished as opposed to re-written. I am fairly sure I myself had an epic game on 97-98 as Burnley, where I started in the bottom division, had a horrendous first season but managed to turn it around by basically parking the bus, getting a few clean sheets and building from there. Ended up in the Premier League, of course, but it felt earned. I always want any success in our games to feel earned.

Something that often gets brought up when Everton do well on the blog save is that you and Oliver are Everton fans. Surely it’s just a coincidence!?

Oliver: That old chestnut! We are indeed blues but hand on heart we’ve never deliberately rated Everton players any higher than we should have done. Of course these days the research is a huge operation which we aren’t directly involved in but back in the day any bias towards Everton would have been very much the result of sub-conscious if it existed at all – lets call it an innocent case of “blue tinted spectacles” rather than anything more nefarious…

I played through the CM series in a set of blogs for The Higher Tempo Press, one thing that struck me was that in 96/97 there were goals galore and the goalkeepers were pretty poor, whereas in 9798 the goalkeepers are magnificent – was that a planned move?

Paul: I should imagine we fixed a bug for 97/98. In fact probably over fixed it and started the whole “super keeper” legend. We are better at planning these days………

CM9798 had no CD-protection so it could be played (once installed) without the CD. Was this to hook us all before the CM3 phenomenon? Did it have the desired effect for CM3?

Paul: I have no idea. Probably an Eidos thing. I think it was likely unintentional in terms of effect but at the time you wanted people playing the game by hook or crook so it worked out well.

Since I started this blog in January, over 1500 views have come from people searching the web for cm9798 – does that surprise you, given the game is 18 years old?

Oliver: Well we know that CM97/98 is acknowledged to be many peoples’ favourite version of the game. I think this is for a few reasons – firstly it was a very well-tuned version, having had a few iterations of the broad same codebase so we’d had a chance to iron out the glitches and tune it as well as we could. It just played really really well. Secondly I suspect the people looking for it are remembering the days when they played it – perhaps they have found the more recent games a little more complicated and they remember back to when things were simpler (this is also the reason we introduced Football Manager Classic – now known as Football Manager Touch)

Do you get much chance to play the game or is it all work and no play?

Oliver: I only tend to play Football Manager Touch these days since my role is one of overseeing the development of this version. I’m personally far less hands-on these days however, preferring to give some guidance but no longer coding.

Paul: I hardly have any time to play it these days sadly. Not just because of work but also two young kids, plus other interests etc and I have finally managed to get the work/life balance right in recent years. Although I do sit for hours watching AI matches play out as part of my job which is AI coder for the match engine. If I were to play it more I would go for the Touch version on tablet. And never as Everton. I find it hard to play as any team where I have too many preconceptions. Last long game I had was a couple of years ago with Las Palmas, which was great fun!

Do you have a favourite version of the CM or FM series? Either from a creative point of view or to play?

Paul: My Burnley game will always be my favourite, although some friends and I did have a spectacular hotseat game going in 93-94. I can’t exactly remember who was who but I know my friend Tim was Barnsley and had a centre half called John Cox. The man was an animal. Practically a red card every other week. Like a modern day Norman Hunter I suppose. You always remember these players. I think he was a fictional player too! In terms of my own role I am always obsessed with ( hopefully ) making each Match Engine iteration better than the last, and I am quite proud of the latest one.

FM16 is upon us – how has your role changed in developing the game now compared to when things started up?

Paul: Well I now work in a team as opposed to my own little match engine bubble. This is a good thing, mainly because my team are ace! Also in the early days I had more areas of responsibility, eg transfers, finance etc. Being able to focus on the match in recent years has been very good and also allowed me to avoid working 16 hour days year round and actually have a life outside the studio. Which is also a good thing, although it was fun back in the day!

There’s a massive FM community with some great content – it must give you great heart to see the game used for things like tactical analysis in the ‘real world’?

Oliver: The way Football Manager has begun to encroach into the real football world is really something remarkable – if we couldn’t have imagined the game itself going strong 20 years later, then we certainly couldn’t have imagined that it would become a sort of cultural reference point for football in the real world. Of course, some of this is driven by us but the fact it is taken seriously is testimony to the quality of the game and the reputation it has built up over the years.

CM & FM have made heroes out of players who in some cases cannot live up to their billing, have any such players ever spoken to you about it?

Paul: Not me personally but I am sure Miles has had these conversations

On that note, you must have been fairly excited when Ibrahima Bakayoko signed for Everton…

Paul: Weren’t we just! Such a shame he was a bit average. It happens. More success stories on the data front than not, by some distance!

Finally, where do you see the FM series heading next? Do you think there will ever be another change of the same magnitude as when CM3 was launched?

Paul: We will never undertake a complete rewrite again. We don’t need to anymore luckily, we can just replace or rework a given module. The rewrites – CM2, CM3, CM4 – all had something in common. Let’s just say they were difficult releases……

Thanks again to both of you for joining me and for providing us with hours of entertainment over the years!

Paul: You are welcome!

If you’re a fan of the series, take a look at my new book The World According to CM9798 available for purchase now!

Season 14 has taken me down a strange old path. I gave up the glitz and glamour of the Champions League to try and get Norwich promoted back to the Premier League – I don’t really have a justification for that, but it’s going reasonably well. It is not going as well for some other managers though, as I’ll explain…

Firstly though, we’ve got local bragging rights after this derby victory

Ipswich sacked Dave Basset shortly after this, I can’t say I’m all that surprised.

Somebody else out of work is my former player Graeme Tomlinson, who has lasted 5 months in management before being shown the door.

To be fair, he’s somehow made Tottenham even worse and deserves to go.

A man named Carlo Willis has taken over and “improved” them to 20th, so well done him.

We’ve sadly bowed out of the pointless cup after a decent showing at Arsenal.

We’ve faired slightly better in the FA Cup, though I credit this man for that

Yep, he’s the Batistuta re-gen. A snip at £800k. I’ve learned from the twitter advice and made him available for an extorniate price, so hopefully we can get promoted with him. The FA Cup run has seen us come up against Barmby’s Chelsea

We dominate the game at Carrow Road but can’t force a goal. The replay is a nervy affair

Zidane missing a pen aged 38 is infuriating. Damn! Chelsea are out anyway, the semi final line-up has a strange look to it.

Roy Evans will see his new club Derby take on Liverpool, who he won titles with back in the day.

The pointless cup final is set too

Well fancy that, it’s Roy vs Liverpool again. Man City blew that badly.

Palace sack Harford so there’s more managerial movement

Daish somehow gets himself another Prem job, despite Sunderland sitting in the bottom half of Division 2

Another former player moves into management! I must have taught them well.

It was all going so well but the damn big club release clause strikes again

He hardly got a game, it’s annoying. But not nearly as annoying as this on deadline day

Curse you, Bryan Robson.

£9m is a lot but why couldn’t he wait until we were promoted?

We’re looking set for the playoffs at least

With Rotchen we could have pushed for top 2 but I think that is unlikely now. Never say never though!

Over in Spain, Sevilla aren’t missing me at all

They’re on course to retain the Champions League trophy too

Semi final draw is kind for them, really.

And finally in the Premier League, Brian Little is proving to be a more than adequate replacement for David Unsworth at Liverpool

Not much between 4th and 12th it has to be said but Darlington should be way higher than 9th, and might still be.

Waddle looks set to be relegated with Burnley, maybe they’ll sack him? Wimbledon have been up and down an awful lot, whilst Leeds continue to struggle under Alvin Martin.

The remaining months of the season are set up very nicely indeed, with promotion still to play for we’ll hope to get over the loss of a star man. There’s £43m in the bank so who knows, if we do go up we could spend ourselves daft. Bye for now.

The World According to CM9798 is available to buy on Amazon now

After the excitement of Summer 2010, the 2010/11 season kicks off with managerial vacancies all over the shop. I don’t know what I want, so we’ll just see. I could end up absolutely anywhere. So what happened? Let’s find out.

After quitting Spain, I wasted no time in leaving Sevilla too

Alex Ferguson has also decided enough is enough, so the Everton job is available

The Spain job is decided really quickly, but I didn’t expect this

Well I never. The champions need a new manager. Merseyside has two vacancies. I want neither, even though I am offered both. Liverpool have to settle for poaching Brian Little off Leeds.

When you aren’t a manager, the game skips on before you can take screenshots, which is really annoying. Anyway, Leeds want me now

I’ve managed Leeds in the first blog save and I have no desire to do it again. Move along.

Everton move for one of Fergie’s former…friends?

Great times. What’s left for me? When Delia calls…

It’s a left field move, being honest the job I really want is second Division Newcastle but it’s not available and this is where I am now. They’ve just been relegated and have started this season very averagely, as you can see.

Kidderminster…

Anyway, the real world has still been going on in spite of all this. The Charity Shield kicks us off, as ever.

We get off to a winning start in the league cup, coming from behind.

I set about putting my own stamp on things, some freebies new and old

Zidane wants a meesly £700 a week which is probably a sign of what I am getting.

We’ve negotiated another round of the League Cup but the last 16 draw is harsh

So that’ll end our time in the competition I imagine.

In the league, well, we’ve actually not moved at all.

We have just beaten Gillingham 1-0 at Carrow Road though so that’s promising. Playoffs are the target.

Some more managerial silliness – the other half of my Division 3 partnership is now in the business too

Meanwhile, Roy Evans is sacked at Villa

Something possesses them to appoint Joe Kinnear

So Derby appoint Evans, the old swaperoo

Over in Spain, Sevilla have the Champions League group from hell

Tough going. They’re doing ok in the league too

Real Madrid are, somewhat hilariously, 16th, just one spot above the relegation zone. Oh my.

So to finish, here’s the Premier League. Brian Little is doing a grand job at Liverpool

David Unsworth has built an incredible side it seems. Meanwhile at the bottom…

Amazing for Swansea to make it to the Premier League from Division 3, that’d never happen in real life. Oh wait. Waddle is in bother with Burnley and Alvin Martin has ruined Leeds. Ho hum.

So join me next time where I’ll continue to tread water with Norwich and MAYBE MORE. But probably not. Bye for now.

Our first book ‘The World According to CM9798’ is out this week – for more information check out the Book tab

My time at Sevilla is coming to a close, although I haven’t told anybody that yet. I had low targets this season – win the European Super Cup & The World Club Cup, just to complete the set. As a bonus, I’ve landed the Spain job just before Argentina 2010, and the Spanish FA have arranged a series of low profile friendlies to fire us up for the fierce competition ahead. How am I getting on? Let’s have a look…

First thing on the menu was to complete qualification from my Champions League group. We have absolutely pissed it, for want of a better word. It’s a near perfect record:

A 0-0 draw with Brann in the final game is the only blemish on our record, though to be fair we had already qualified and my second string couldn’t find a way through in Norway. Oh well. The Quarter Final draw has a strange look to it

Napoli, as the Italian Champions, are a big threat, whilst Wolves are struggling to back up their success of being last season’s Premier League winners. Bayern Munich is a tough draw for me. Or is it?

We concede our first goal of the tournament but it is a mere consolation for the Germans who are brushed aside. Napoli & Wolves both go out, and Inter, who are 14th in Serie A, stand between me and another final

Things have been nowhere near as good on the domestic front, I think my team are a bit bored by it. Plus, Barcelona have returned to form in big style and I can’t get near them – they knocked us out of the Copa del Rey on away goals too.

But none of that matters – I got what I came for.

An entertaining Super Cup anyway, and the trophies are in the bag. I’ll be leaving Sevilla in the summer with the gift of the re-generation of Perez Munoz Alfonso, at least

Now that I also have International teams to worry about, it seems wise to be broken in gently with a huge game against the Faroe Islands, which is a dead rubber as we’re already qualified, a sin that cost Capello his job.

Take that. It’s a very average squad, to be quite honest, but there’s some reasons to be cheerful. The re-gen of Luis Enrique, who is still at Darlington, has a cruciate injury but will be back in April.

We should get out of our group, if nothing else.

The run up to the World Cup has seen us play Denmark and Israel, but the England game should be a better indicator of how we’ll do this summer

Back over in England, Liverpool are really going places under David Unsworth, they’ve got a league cup final to look forward to

…and an FA Cup Semi final.

Special note against to Steve Gritt who just loves the FA Cup, this is his and Hull’s 3rd consecutive FA Cup semi final as he looks to back up the famous Southport win many moons ago.

As you can see though, Liverpool are the dominant force all of a sudden, so soon after being relegated from the Premier League

Chris Waddle’s Burnley flying high too. Gerry Francis has done a really bad job at Darlington this season, it’s been a bad hangover from the end of last season. They’ll be lucky to be in Europe at all next season.

Nicky Barmby hasn’t exactly revived Chelsea in the year he has been in charge, whilst Joe Kinnear has been in charge of Derby for over 10 years now and looks in danger of a second relegation in that time. Dave Bassett is Watford manager, so their position is less of a surprise.

Finally, North East fans will be shocked to see Sunderland sacking their manager

After a playoff final defeat last season, they’ve struggled badly this time around and sit bottom of Division 1, looking odds on to join Newcastle in Division 2. Liam Daish is the man tasked with turning it around

So join us next time for the World Cup and of course the culmination to another great season. Can Sevilla retain the Champions League? Will I add the World Cup to my list of honours? Join me again soon!

This week we are joined by Ally Bain, creator of the Coach Bain Mused podcast and website. Ally is a qualified coach and currently works for Portland Phoenix, developing the players of tomorrow. We asked him what CM means to him and what part it has played in his passion for coaching.

Thanks for joining us Ally. For those who aren’t familiar with your podcast, can you sum it up for us?

In 2013 I started a football blog called “Coach Bain Mused.” Each summer I had found writing articles to be particularly tough, so this past summer I decided to get together with all the terrific individuals I had come across during my career. I interview people from all parts of the game & differing backgrounds, ranging from a Journalist based in Germany to the captain of a Canadian Professional Team. Each Podcast discusses football at length & hopefully provides the listeners with some additional insight & stimulating debate.

When did you decide to go into coaching? Was it always something that interested you or did it become more of a passion the more experience you got?

I stumbled into coaching to be really honest. In my last year of high school a group of coaches from the local FA came to run a coach education class & in all honesty I nearly left & went home. For some reason I was still adamant that a club was out there waiting to swoop in & sign me! I stayed however & finished the class, which was to prove far more beneficial than waiting for an agent to call me. The whole experience really opened my eyes to the world of football development & even helped me to become a stronger player myself. The more I got into coaching the more I started taking it seriously & would start to breakdown gameplay & individual technique to an almost forensic detail. I started out working in the community scheme programs which gave me a great grounding, but even today coaching elite youth & adult players I still carry that same desire to get better every day. I’d say coaching actually gets harder the more you do it versus easier, purely because I strive to be better & raise the standard of my work.

Where does CM fit in? Did that help with the coaching or was it just a coincidence?

Lots of people ask me this & I think in most cases CM wouldn’t help, but in my world it certainly helped me. First of all CM has been a huge part of my life, such has been the time I have dedicated to playing it, talking about it & reading forums about it. I think a large % of people that play CM do so in what I’d call “arcade” mode, looking for the age old super tactic & then just signing the best players they can & run a very linear experience. I was always fascinated what different tactics did through the match engine, such as why say a 3 man defence conceded lots of crosses if too disconnected from the midfield & why 3 striker systems gave my team more chances of keeping possession longer. For the first 2-3 weeks of any new game I’d just have a play about & see what the match stats told me & go from there. I remember building my own forward press patterns on CM01/02 as it gave you a new function of who the specific player could man mark when defending & you could assign where the team positioned themselves when out of possession. This helped me massively in my coaching at the time, as I could see which players were getting success & why those with poorer attributes couldnt.

We’re obviously big fans of CM97/98, do you have any memories of this version of the game?

This was the first copy of the game that I owned, having played the 1st installment of CM2 at my friends house the summer prior to 97/98 release. I can honestly say I played the game every day between the day I got it & October of 1999, as this was the day my family upgraded to a new computer which co-incided with me buying the 99/00 version of CM3. I was absolutely obsessed with CM97/98 & still regard it as a really important part of my football upbringing. I loved researching players & with my team Rangers signing lots of foreigners at the time, I already knew them from the game, so in my head I already knew them! I’d walk around school giving it, “Yeah he’s class at dribbling”….purely on the basis of his CM rating. I remember watching world Cup 98 & writing down all the unknown players & scouring the game for them in the hope of unearthing a gem. It was in the days when I didnt have the internet, so I had to get creative on finding new players to sign!

Do you have a favourite version of CM/FM?

I’m torn on this one as CM97/98 holds the most memories, but as a game I feel CM01/02 has such amazing functionality & such an iconic look. Going back to play them both now I’d say I enjoy 01/02 more, as you feel more in control of your destiny. The training function, hiring staff & advanced match engine make for an amazing game experience.

Everybody has at least one CM/FM story – what’s yours?

In my first few years of playing CM I developed what could be considered a maniacal level of OCD when playing the game. Here it is in all its glory:

– I only ever managed Rangers in the old CM versions, so I had to wear that seasons Home jersey for home games & subsequent away jersey for away games. If one was in the wash I wouldn’t play the game until it was ready & even on occasion would wear the kit while soaking wet as it was a big game.

– No one was allowed to talk to me during game play, I think I even barked out once “No-one bothers Walter Smith during games, so leave me alone!” Genuinely mental

– I had to fold my arms during games as this is what Walter Smith did at the time & strangely so did Dick Advocaat. To pause the game I had to bump the mouse with my elbow as this would mean unfolding my arms……seriously mental.

– If the team ever got to a cup final I’d stand up so I could jump around like a lunatic if they scored. In theory this was a cool idea, but it also gave me additional leverage in which to destroy objects near the computer should things not quite go our way!

How did the move to America transpire? You’ve worked at a few British clubs so this must have been a bit of a change?

Much like my transition into coaching I fell into the move to America, with no real master plan as to how it would all work out. I interviewed with a training company from New Jersey in 2007, with the view to giving it a try for a summer & during that experience I really felt I could make a career for myself. The youth development structure is so far removed from anything I knew in Britain that it certainly took some getting used to, however after finding my feet I made the move to work for my current club Global Premier Soccer. The club’s Head Quarters are based near Boston with much of their youth programming starting in that area, however I joined to help them start a satellite club in the neighboring state of Maine. Fast forward 6 years & the club has now become one of the largest youth organizations in America, stretching across 12 states.

Is ‘Soccer’ still gaining popularity in the States? The MLS has more coverage than ever here in Britain…

America is such a vast land mass that trying to govern football in this country is a extremely tough ask. That said its popularity is at an all time high, with it being the most popular youth sport in the country. It’s viewership grows annually with our major sports network covering all English Premier League games live & it’s reach now moving to other European leagues. The MLS is a much discussed competition & is the butt of many jokes amongst football commentators. Personally I think for a league that has been in existence only 20 years it would be a mammoth task for it to attempt to compete with any European competition, however it’s main task is to provide a quality developmental tool for the US National team, which it continues to strive to achieve.

Tell us about Portland Phoenix, the team you are currently working with

The club I run has a franchise contract with the USL, which is the 2nd tier of professional football in America. There is no promotion or relegation in US Soccer, therefore we are a small club of modest means that operates at a regional level. We are all extremely proud of the work that has been achieved at the club & it continues to astound me the level of player we are able to set forward in the game. Our mandate is to produce as many top level players as we can, with over 25 players graduating from our ranks to go onto the International & European stage.

From your podcast and articles you’re clearly very passionate about the coaching aspect of the game, can you sum up your philosophy towards the game as a coach?

This is a terrific question & one that I’d probably take up half a website answering. The short answer is that many view philosophy as a rigid, concrete or solidified concept.  I tend to challenge this view point and see philosophy as a more transient commodity, one that must adapt to its surroundings and live inherently in the present.  For example, part of my role within GPS Portland Phoenix is to manage our youth academy.  Our philosophy within that department is based heavily upon skill development, which will allow players to move fluently across the field.  Ultimately this department is in it for the long haul, so we have more time to exercise this philosophy.  Our men’s team which operates as a different beast all together as our philosophy predicates maximizing our preparation for the next match.  Our playing style is much more protective and counter attacking based, mainly because we have 90 minutes each week to validate our team development.

What’s your view on the state of British coaching at the moment?

There are some magnificent coaches in Britain, many of whom we will never hear about. Unfortunately the opportunities afforded to me in the US are in complete contrast to those in the UK, such is the complete apathy from Clubs to invest in full time coaches. In my eyes a coach could have a UEFA pro license, but if they are only running 2 sessions a week & coaching a game on the weekend they wont actually develop. There is so much money in UK football that is squandered in areas that dont relate to the clubs main function or indeed those who are working toward the first team, that I feel many of the UK’s top trainers will have no option but to find a job that allows them a living salary.

Am I talking to the future Scotland manager!?

I’m not sure my wife & daughter could handle living back in Scotland, they both struggle to understand my accent never mind a country full of people like me! I am a very passionate supporter of Scottish football however & would jump at the chance to ever move back & coach there.

Once again thanks to Ally for taking time out to speak to us about all things football in his career so far. You can learn more about Ally here or follow him on twitter for more regular updates

Last time out I made the move from Real Madrid to Sevilla, opening up a whole world of play on words for the word severe. Aside from that though, it gave me the opportunity to bring success to a club very much on the up, but just how far can this squad go? Let’s find out.

Typically, the Copa del Rey has drawn the top two in La Liga together at a very early stage. I of course played it down, my priorities are elsewhere etc, and this continued when I lost the home leg 2-1. 1-0 down at half time in the return leg I was preparing my “focus on the league” speech but that all went out the window as my buddy Weiser turned the game in an instant.

Lethal from the spot! Our form has soared from here really, and the semi final lineup looks strong.

It’ll take something special to win from here, but beating the big two in back to back weekends announces our arrival as serious contenders.

So serious in fact that we’ve opened up a 12 point gap…

So unless I’m going to be the Spanish Keegan, it should be 3 titles in 3 years with 3 different clubs.

We’re still in the Champions League too! The dullest group ever ends with us progressing unbeaten.

The quarter finals see some big ties but we see off Dortmund, whilst Gerry Francis knocks out Real Madrid.

I know how good Darlington are so I’d like to avoid them if possible, though Milan is not a nice game…

Disgusting really that Francis managed Milan to 10th and 11th placed finishes in Serie A and got the Darlington gig off the back of that.

Whilst I’m having fun in Spain, there’s still bad decisions over in England. Liam Daish has been sacked

Daish leaves with a UEFA Cup runners up medal. Villa have to dig deep to bring somebody in

Fresh from getting Liverpool relegated, Roy’s done nothing at Piacenza to warrant this but here we are. Bad news for Steve Bruce too

I mentioned Liverpool’s relegation, well the man who brought them back to the Prem (before being discarded) is back in the game

It ends the managerial merry go round before it can even get going.

The pointless cup is full of goals – Gerry at it again.

Mark Hateley is the Wolves manager, who managed Hull right back in the Division 3 days. Wolves have emerged as Darlo’s main rivals this season, and they’ll meet again in an FA Cup replay

David Unsworth has done remarkable work at Liverpool, they sit 5th with an FA Cup semi final to come. Steve Gritt is at it again with Hull, they lost in the final last year and of course Gritt remarkably won the cup with Southport, so he obviously bloody loves the FA Cup.

The top of the table is close between the top 2, but it looks like a very dull day out at Wolves.

You must fancy Gerry to win it again, what I’ve created at Darlington scares me a little bit now that they are managed by the mullet king. It’s so tight between 3rd and 9th, if Milne can win a game in hand they could climb 6 places.

Barmby has his work cut out to keep Chelsea up, and somehow Dave Jones is still clinging on to his job at Southampton. Forest are managed by Neville Southall, who had a brief flirtation with winning the league years ago in his West Ham days but that’s a world away now.

So with the 08/09 season coming to a close, what will happen when an immovable object meets the unstoppable force? And which one is Sevilla in that metaphor? We’ll find out next time, so you’ll need to join us for that

The 2008/09 season has seen me in the market for a new job – I walked out of Real Madrid after winning La Liga and the Champions League, but where am I heading? Let’s find out…

Remarkably, Sevilla’s manager Sebastian Chano retired in the summer, leaving La Liga’s top 2 managerless. With £50m in the bank and a potential Champions League campaign to come, I’m not out of work for long as Sevilla are happy to have me. Let’s see that squad!

Ruben Baraja, good grief. The stars are Jepson, England’s Number 2; Weiser, a German forward wanted by most of Europe and Higuera, a Spanish International.

The reputation of the club isn’t great so I’m struggling to spend that £50m, but that’s ok. We’ll bide our time. First things first – let’s qualify for the Champions League!

That’s a nice way to start. The return leg is a procession, but that’s fine. The group we’re given isn’t bad either.

I’m confident we’ll get through that. The transfer window closes at the end of September, I’m moved the squad around a bit so it’s lie this:

The best addition there is Pinha, who is Luis Figo’s re-gen. I’ve got my eye on the Batistuta re-gen when the window re-opens in January. These boys have been outstanding though, take a look at these ratings:

Higuera is a hero. He’s a Spanish defender/midfielder centre, he re-generated in 2001 so answers on a tweet for who that is. Hierro maybe?

Barcelona and Real Madrid are struggling. Van Gaal is still at Barca but I don’t know how, 6th last season and now this. We, however, are absolutely flying

The Champions League group has been a massive struggle – for everybody. all of my new signings are ineligible and I shipped out some of the squad members, which has actually left us a little bit short. It’s in hand though, with 2 home games to finish

Back over in England, the Charity Shield once again opened the season – Palace vs. Darlington.

Good to see Steve Haslam climbing the famous stairs to pick up the Shield.

Somebody who is immediately under pressure is Nick Barmby, who apparently runs out of favour for bringing Liverpool back to the Premier League.

Having appointed a former Everton player, they’d be stupid to go down that road again

Yeah great, have him play and manage. Can’t wait to see how that pans out.

There’s bad news for game 1 legend Colin Todd too

He’s been in charge since day 1 but now his time is up.

Will that help?

Darlington are still the force in England, and will be for years to come thanks to the team I built for them. However Gerry sells a striker to a big rival

I’ve also taken Kolev off them, but then he is Stoichkov’s re-gen.

It’s Leeds who top the table, Brian Little working his magic again.

It’s very early days though, Man Utd have fallen away drastically. If you’re wondering why Barmby was sacked…

Oh dear. David Unsworth has his work cut out. Steve Bruce’s Chelsea are in bother, whilst remarkably Dave Jones is still Southampton manager.

So the season is nicely poised, both in Spain and England. It’ll be interesting to see if Van Gaal and Milne keep their respective jobs, who knows, maybe LVG will make the move to Man Utd ahead of schedule? Join us again to find out, thanks for reading