The Hayden Chronicles

[Rawhide]

1 - The Resignation

Legendary Southend manager stuns world with sudden exit

ROME, 27.05.28 - Moments after his Southend side had lost their bid for a third consecutive Champions League title, Jack Hayden shocked the world with his resignation.

"There is nothing left for me to achieve at Roots Hall anymore," Hayden said. "It's been an incredible journey, but now it's time for me to seek new challenges. I feel mentally drained after putting in so much for so long."

The news comes after another outstandingly successful season in Southend's history. A fifth Premier League title, a 40-game unbeaten stretch, and just three losses. The only blemish on the season were the last two games of the season; a 2-1 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup final, and a 4-2 loss to the same foes in the just-concluded Champions League final.

Hayden joined Southend back in 2013 when the side was in League One. Investment from the club's foreign owners, along with inventive tactics and movement in the free transfer market, saw the club - for many years a backwater of English football - accelerate into the Premier League for the first time in 2019. The upstarts soon made the Premier League their playground, finishing ninth in their first season and securing an unlikely title the following year.

Hayden made his reputation with relentless attacking football; Southend became synonymous with scoring, and fans of the blue and whites were lucky to have many outstanding goal-poachers up front in the 4-3-2-1 tactic. There were possibly none better than Ruben Borras, the 27 year-old Argentinian voted best player in the world for the second successive season. Having finished his second full season at Southend, Borras set a record of 86 goals in all competitions, breaking his previous record of 72 goals established last year.

Captain Jonathan Forde, the last surviving player from a time when Southend was not in the Premier League, paid tribute this evening to Hayden, saying that he had been a colossal titan of English football. It was a compliment that Hayden was not keen to take as an epitah, saying he thought he still had a lot to offer.

"I think Southend are set up for quite a few years now. The quality of junior players coming through is outstanding, the club is in a position of superior financial strength. I don't think it can be said that I left the club in a position worse than when I found it."



Jack Hayden - A History

League Competitions
2013/14 - 3rd in League Two (promoted)
2014/15 - 19th in League One
2015/16 - 1st in League One (champions; promoted)
2016/17 - 20th in Championship
2017/18 - 15th in Championship
2018/19 - 1st in Championship (champions; promoted)
2019/20 - 9th in Premier League
2020/21 - 1st in Premier League (champions)
2021/22 - 2nd in Premier League
2022/23 - 1st in Premier League (champions)
2023/24 - 1st in Premier League (champions)
2024/25 - 4th in Premier League
2025/26 - 1st in Premier League (champions)
2026/27 - 2nd in Premier League
2027/28 - 1st in Premier League (champions)

Champions League Campaigns
2021/22 - Semi Finalists
2022/23 - Eliminated in First Round
2023/24 - Runners-up
2024/25 - Eliminated in First Round
2025/26 - Champions
2026/27 - Champions
2027/28 - Runners-up

FA Cup
Winners - 2022, 2027
Runners-up - 2024, 2026, 2028

League Cup
Winners - 2023, 2025, 2028
Runners-up - Nil

Community Shield
Winners - 2021, 2022, 2023, 2027
Runners-up - 2024, 2026

Euro Super Cup
Winners - 2027
Runners-up - 2026

Club World Championship
Winners - 2026, 2027

League Titles - 7
Cup Titles - 14

Games Managed - 830
Games Won - 475
Games Drawn - 179
Games Lost - 176
Goals Scored - 1592
Goals Conceded - 832

[Rawhide]

2 - The Interregnum

I had become desensitized to winning.

The goals rained like confetti at Southend. Defensive structures bended but never broke. The fans - most of whom were but mere children when I took my first training session back in 2013 - demanded more, more, more all the time.

Football had ceased to be fun. Football had ceased to have meaning.

We bussed from ground to ground, from city to city, and flew from country to country. I had imagined that I would love the lifestyle of a Premier League manager, back in those simple days of 2013. How wrong I was. The days blended into weeks which blended into months. One day I would be at Burnley, the next at Barcelona, and by 2028 it dawned upon me; I no longer cared.

In a way, the exit from Southend was a blessing in disguise. The perfect season was ruined, first by a shock loss at Ipswich which meant we wouldn't go undefeated in the Premier League. We then lost twice in a week to Manchester United. The fans were outraged. Never mind the fact that ten years ago we had never even been in the same division as the legendary Red Devils; never mind the fact that we were aiming for a third successive Champions League title.

The two losses were a release. A glorious, emotional release.

I drove myself back to the ground on the morning after the Champions League loss; the stadium rose out of the humble surrounds of Southend-on-Sea like an alien spaceship. A cold monolith of concrete standing like a tribute to concrete and never-ending ambition. In time the ground would bear my name, but for now it wore the name of the main sponsors; whatever tradition Southend had prior to my arrival had been sold to the highest bidder.

I packed up my office and left without much fanfare and took my family for a holiday to Australia.

Within a month I had felt the batteries recharged. I no longer felt confined by the grey boundaries that I had helped construct at Southend. I wanted to reach out again and give myself to whatever club would have me. There was one small, unspoken condition; I would not be parachuted back into the Premier League. As far as possible, I prefered the quite life of the lower leagues.

My call came on June 27, a month after the Champions League final, and my career was relaunched.

[Rawhide]

3 - The Emergence



Exeter City would be my new home.

Founded in 1904, the club had never participated in the Championship, much less the Premier League, so I was under no illusions about the size of the challenge that would come my way.

Gone were the gargantuan transfer budgets and wage bills; in their place, a humble squad of journeymen and also-rans, mixed with a few up-and-coming prospects.

Exeter itself was a marvellous change of scenery from the confines of Southend-on-Sea. Located close to the English Channel in Devon, it was 2 hours and 30 minutes by train from London, or another hour if you chose to negotiate the roads.



There was such a wonderfully relaxed vibe about the town, and the locals didn't seem to care that their new manager was one who was fresh off winning five Premier League titles in eight seasons. That's the way I liked it.

League
A great start to the season underlined by a 3-1 home win against West Brom, who were in first position at the time. We were undefeated until early October; by then we were on top of the league. We had the best scoring attack but our defence was quite shifty. After the new year we went into somewhat of a decline, and relinquished the league lead to Hull. We went on an eight-game winless streak at the pointy end of the season which put our automatic promotion into doubt. The advantage was regained with a 3-0 win against Crewe, and promotion was secured on the last day of the season, with a come-from-behind 3-2 win against Burton.

P 46 W 28 D 10 L 8 – F: 106 A: 63 – 2nd in League One

Players of the Year – MC Gareth Hoyte (7.85), S Connor Moore (7.84), MC Mitch Bennett (7.62)

Transfers In – 5 players ($2.52m)
Transfers Out – 1 player ($5.2m)

FA Cup
We caused a monumental upset in the third round, knocking out Manchester United 2-1. We levelled with a goal in the 55th minute, and then the winner in injury time, sending the home town into raptures. The win was also enormously satisfying personally, given they denied me an FA Cup last year, not to mention a Champions League title.

We then drew Southend, in a scriptwriter’s dream, at home in the fourth round. Lightning did not strike twice and we were thrown out 1-5.

W 5-1 @ Cambridge – Second Round
W 2-1 v Manchester United – Third Round
L 1-5 v Southend – Fourth Round

League Cup
A couple of soft home wins against League Two opponents before we are tipped out in the third round against Premier League side Southampton 0-2. The loss is also my first in charge of Exeter.

W 1-0 v Crawley – First Round
W 5-0 @ Burton – Second Round
L 0-2 v Southampton – Third Round

JP Trophy
Bundled out by Millwall in the Southern Section Quarter Final. This competition is not a priority for me.

W 3-0 v Aldershot – First Round
W 3-0 v Forest Green – Second Round
L 1-3 @ Millwall – Third Round

Knock Knock
On December 8, Liverpool offered me the position of manager. Given we were flying high in the league at the time, and still had a home game against Manchester United in the FA Cup coming up – and not to mention that I wanted to re-enter the Premier League on my own terms – I refused the offer.

Two months later, Manchester United also came calling, cap in hand. They were rejected out of hand.

[Rawhide]

4 - The False Dawn



I didn't mean for it to end like this.

Two weeks before Christmas, I received an opportunity to jump back into the Premier League, with a side that had been treading water for much of my time at Southend, but never seemed able to make the leap to the next level.

Even though we were on the verge of a playoff spot in the Championship, I was doubtful that the directors at Exeter City shared my vision for the future. They were forever entrenched in the old ways of thinking; we don't want to rise too far above our station, lest we get knocked down again.

I was disappointed with this attitude. We were building a solid program. In particular, I was happy with one of the few signings I splashed money on - forward Connor Moore from Wales, who had knocked in 48 goals in 65 apperances during my time at the club. Bought for $20,000, Moore was now worth $3.4 million.

Exeter City had been marvellous to me, but I was looking for the next challenge. And as soon as I accepted the offer from my next club, I wrote out my letter of resignation at Exeter, took the 3:15pm service out of town and never looked back.

League
Exeter City's first season in the Championship began in fine style, with a 3-0 defeat of local rivals Bristol City, then a home opener against Hull. We lead the league at the end of September but had fallen to just outside the playoff positions by the time of my resignation.

P 21 W 11 D 3 L 7 - F: 39 A: 26 - Currently 7th in Championship

Players of the Year – S Connor Moore (7.85), MC Rob O'Brien (7.66), MC Mitch Bennett (7.52)

Transfers In – 5 players ($7.9m)
Transfers Out – 4 players ($208k)

FA Cup
Exeter City were drawn to play West Ham away in the third round at the time of my resignation.

League Cup
A short campaign, tipped out in the second round.

W 2-1 @ Eastbourne - 1st Round
L 1-2 v Crystal Palace - 2nd Round

[Rawhide]

5 - The Spilling of Claret

My new employers would be the Burnley Football Club.



When I took over, the club was mired in a relegation battle in the Premier League, sitting one point above safety. The Clarets, as they were known to their dedicated supporters, had been in the Premier League since 2020 and were looking to stay up. I felt sure I could assist with that goal in the short term; I had far bigger plans beyond the 2029-30 season however.

Immediately we got a bounce with a 2-0 win away at Birmingham, and a fighting 0-0 draw at home to Manchester City. We might be able to keep our heads above water after all.

With the new year we were able to place bids for two Spanish wingers who together would add a formidable edge to my attack in the new season. I also placed a sentimental bid for a junior back at Southend who wasn't getting a fair go under the new boss. One more signing in the transfer window saw Argentinian midfielder Miguel Godoy sign on for Burnley. We paid significant overs to ensure that no other club went near him.

A bad 6-2 loss to Watford - the first game of 2030 - reinforced the magnitude of the task before me but I was determined to put Burnley back on the right trajectory. My approach to tactics and training might have rubbed some of the players off the wrong way, but I was supremely vindicated at the end of January with a 1-0 upset at Chelsea, then a 1-1 draw at Man City. The Hayden magic was back.

Nothing could prepare the club for what came next. The defending champions, Arsenal, came up for what they presumed were a safe three points as they chased down Southend. An early goal to the visitors seemed to underline their self-belief; at halftime however it was the Burnley faithful on their feet, with the locals leading 5-1!

That win took us up to seventh position, and European qualification seemed to be a realistic aim, never mind survival in the Premier League.

We found ourselves in eighth as I travelled back to Southend for the first time since my resignation at the end of 2028, nearly two years ago. The Blue and Whites were back on top of the Premier League, after a dip last year, and a win would take them to a ten point gap over Arsenal. We threw a spanner in the works with a converted penalty, which we took to the halftime lead. A second penalty was immediately pegged back by Southend, and we took a 2-1 lead into the dying moments. With the crowd baying for a goal, we took advantage and sealed the win in the dying moments. I had bested my former club, and Burnley were triumphant, 3-1.

The rest of the season was a blur as we consolidated our place in the top half of the ladder. Not even a 3-1 loss at Liverpool on the final day could disguise the fans' relief at how the season had turned out.

League Overall
P 38 W 17 D 7 L 14 - F: 57 A: 48 - 7th in the Premier League

League since I joined Burnley
P 21 W 12 D 3 L 6 - F: 42 A: 25

Players of the Year – MC Miguel Godoy (8.14), AMR Marco Baptista (7.81), FC Darren Wright (7.58)

Transfers In – 8 players ($31.03m)
Transfers Out – 8 players ($8.85m)

FA Cup
A very tough draw as we were bounced out by defending champions Man City.

L 1-4 @ Manchester City - 3rd Round

League Cup
Burnley had been turfed out before my arrival.

Premier League Top Seven
1 - Southend (85)
2 - Manchester United (81)
3 - Chelsea (81)
4 - Manchester City (65)
5 - Tottenham (64)
6 - Arsenal (59)
7 - Burnley (58)

Exeter City - 13th in the Championship

[bbgunn]

I'm following.

[mrtourette]

Instant success at both teams, nice work.

[Rawhide]

Cheers for the support. Updates will be a bit spluttery for a while. I suspect I have found something of a bug on this program; if I go all-out attack I will win far more games than I lose. Mind you, it isn't an invincible tactic given I could never win more than two competitions in a given season (pointless 'super cup' games aside). I think we are headed for another top six finish in the next season, but we'll see.

[Rawhide]

6 - The Rising



My first full season at Burnley was one of the most satisfying yet.

The season began with a hail of goals; we were unbeaten in our first seven Premier League fixtures, and altogether in the 2030/31 campaign we knocked in four or more goals in a game on no less than ten seperate occasions.

A challenge for the Premier League title was snuffed out with a dreadful run of league fixtures between late December and early March, with just a single competition point earned. That's not to say that our form was dreadful; we were having a terrific run of success in the League Cup and FA Cup. Including replays, we would play an extra 14 fixtures on top of the 38 league games.

We had a charmed run right through to the League Cup semi finals, brushing aside our lower-league competition. There, we took on Tottenham and after drawing 2-2 on the road, we blasted our way into the final 4-1. There we took on my old friends Southend, who scored three late goals to best us in the final 4-1. It was the first ever League Cup final for Burnley.

The FA Cup was full of magic. A late 1-0 win against Charlton Athletic and a replay against Bristol City set up a tough fixture against Championship leaders Leeds. We won 2-0 on the back of two late penalties. Chelsea awaited in the quarter-finals. We drew 1-1 at home and then seemed set for an exit in the replay at Stamford Bridge. We turned the tables however and got up 3-1.

Stoke were easily beaten in the semi-final at Wembley 4-1. That meant we were headed to the final for the first time since 1961/62, and looking for possibly just the second-ever win in club history.

We were facing Liverpool, who were looking for their first trophy in over thirty years. Not quite as long a drought at 115 years, but long enough for their loyal fans. The Reds struck first but we took no time at all in our reply. Seven minutes before the main break, Liverpool edged ahead again. Our wonder striker Bradley Williamson - signed from Brighton on a Bosman - hit his 45th and final goal of the season to level the scores before the halftime break.

The goals dried up throughout the second half and the game headed into extra time. We turned down the clamps and denied any last minute thrusts for glory. Thus it headed to penalties. The critical moment came when Liverpool's striker blasted their second shot over the posts, giving us an advantage we would not surrender.

It was a most satisfying end to the best season in living memory for Burnley. Sixth in the Premier League, a trophy in our keeping, European qualification assured. We even had an influence on the top of the Premier League ladder, taking six points off Southend and denying Manchester City two of the three points they needed on the final day to win the competition.

Chelsea would win the day but we had their position in our sights.

League Overall
P 38 W 18 D 6 L 14 - F: 65 A: 52 - 6th in the Premier League

Players of the Year – AML Marco Baptista (7.79), FC Bradley Williamson (7.72), AMR Nermin Barata (7.58), MC Reece Talbot (7.34)

Transfers In – 5 players ($0m)
Transfers Out – 1 player ($35.5m) - A Norwegian defender who didn't fit my tactics, went to AC Milan for a massive sum of money.

FA Cup
W 1-0 v Charlton - 3rd Round
D 0-0 @ Bristol City - 4th Round
W 3-0 v Bristol City - 4th Round Replay
W 2-0 @ Leeds - 5th Round
D 1-1 v Chelsea - Quarter Final
W 3-1 @ Chelsea - Quarter Final Replay
W 4-1 v Stoke - Semi Final
D 2-2 v Liverpool (won 5-3 on penalties) - Final

League Cup
W 3-1 v Nottingham Forest - 3rd Round
W 4-0 v Bolton - 4th Round
W 3-0 @ Brentford - Quarter Final
D 2-2 @ Tottenham - Semi Final 1st Leg
W 4-1 v Tottenham - Sem Final 2nd Leg
L 1-4 v Southend - Final

Premier League Top Seven
1 - Chelsea (74)
2 - Manchester City (73)
3 - Southend (71)
4 - Manchester United (70)
5 - Arsenal (65)
6 - Burnley (60)
7 - Liverpool (56)

Exeter City - 18th in the Championship

[Rawhide]

7 - The Power and The Glory



At the end of last season most pundits thought Burnley's season was the crowning pinnacle for a group of battlers from England's north. It turns out it was just the preview for what was to come.

The season began with a 3-2 win over Chelsea in the pre-season Community Shield, which we qualified for by virtue of winning the FA Cup. It's only one game, said those who know. You can't possibly predict a 38-game league season on the basis of one (possibly fluky) result.

The season got underway and we tore shreds off newly-promoted Newcastle 4-0. A draw and a home win later had us up with the Big Five (Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Southend).

An embarrassing loss to lowly Aldershot in the League Cup gave the knockers some justification for discounting our chances this year, but privately I was pleased; it was the least important cup competition by far and it would be better if we did not waste time on those fixtures.

Burnley then went on a three month undefeated stretch; 17 games in total, in both the Premier League and the Europa League, and 15 wins during that time. By the time the dust had settled (with a 0-1 loss to Watford, who were having a great start to the season themselves) we were leading the Premier League by an impressive ten points.

When we crushed Manchester United 4-1 on Boxing Day, it was all but certain in my mind that we would take out the crown. My sixth personal Premier League title, and only the third in Burnley's history (of course, their previous two titles came well before the heady days of the EPL).

Tottenham knocked us out of the FA Cup in late February, allowing us to focus on consolidating our position in the Premier League, as well as negotiating the tricky task of the Europa League knockout stages, which were two-legged affairs. We were never quite dominant in this competition, relying on late goals in the second legs to get past Fenerbache, Gladbach, and Paris Saint-Germain.

In the semi-finals we faced Manchester City, whom we would play three times in a week. The first of the games was a 2-0 win in the first leg of the semis; the second game was a 3-1 win that finally put us beyond reach in the Premier League, sealing the title with three games remaining. The third game was much more difficult for our fans, seeing City race out to a 3-0 lead (and 3-2 overall). However, as often happened, we snuck home a late equaliser, and although we lost the game 3-1, we won the tie on away goals.

In the Europa League final in Madrid, we faced one of the giants of Italian football, Inter Milan. The game was unlike any we had played all year, with scoring shots at an absolute premium. Luckily our defense was up to the task, shutting down our opponents at every available opportunity.

The game eventually went to penalties, with each team scoring on their first four shots. The title was ultimately decided when our wonder striker, Bradley Williamson - who had scored 56 goals in 52 games throughout the season - failed for once to make a shot count. Inter won the title, their first piece of European silverware since 2024/25.

I was confident our time would yet come in Europe. For now though, it was a time to stand back and be satisfied with the great achievements of the present.

League Overall
P 38 W 26 D 7 L 5 - F: 86 A: 31 - 1st in the Premier League

Players of the Year – FC Bradley Williamson (8.01), AM Marco Baptista (8.00), MC Reece Talbot (7.72), MC Jonathan Stephens (7.63), MC Luke West (7.61)

Transfers In – 1 player ($7.4m) - Luke West, a Southend prodigy left on the scrapheap.
Transfers Out – 2 player ($38.3m) - Miguel Godoy, an Argentinian midfielder whose mega-money transfer to Liverpool started the chain of events that got us Luke West.

FA Cup
W 6-0 @ Gillingham - 3rd Round
D 2-2 @ Manchester United - 4th Round
W 3-0 v Manchester United - 4th Round Replay
L 0-3 @ Tottenham - 5th Round

League Cup
L 1-2 @ Aldershot - 2nd Round

Europa League
W 1-0 v Zenit St Petersburg (Group F)
W 2-0 @ FK Austria Wien (Group F)
W 4-0 @ Ekranas (Group F)
W 4-0 @ Zenit St Petersburg (Group F)
W 5-0 v FK Austria Wien (Group F)
W 9-0 v Ekranas (Group F)
D 0-0 @ Fenerbache (1st Round Leg 1)
W 2-0 v Fenerbache (1st Round Leg 2)
D 0-0 @ Gladbach (2nd Round Leg 1)
W 1-0 v Gladbach (2nd Round Leg 2)
D 3-3 @ Paris Saint-Germain (Quarter Final Leg 1)
W 1-0 v Paris Saint-Germain (Quarter Final Leg 2)
W 2-0 v Manchester City (Semi Final Leg 1)
L 1-3 @ Manchester City (Semi Final Leg 2; won on away goals)
D 0-0 v Inter Milan (Final; lost 4-5 on penalties)

Premier League Top Seven
1 - Burnley (85)
2 - Southend (77)
3 - Tottenham (70)
4 - Chelsea (69)
5 - Manchester United (60)
6 - Derby County (59)
7 - Arsenal (57)

Exeter City - 21st in the Championship

[Rawhide]

8 - The Coronation

Last year we were the hunters. Now we were the hunted.

I was rather happy with the standard of the squad and made no changes to the overall personnel, although I did press the board for an expansion in the training facilities and the stadium. Fortunately they agreed to both.

One opportunity which I didn't foresee coming my way was the offer to manage the French national team as they tried to qualify for the 2034 World Cup. I took a while to consider their offer, before finally accepting. It would make this season a little challenging, balancing dual roles in the EPL and with France.

2032/33 would be the first year of Burnley in the Champions League, and we drew one of the hardest groups possible: Barcelona, Celtic and FC Porto. I was confident that we would be equal to the challenge, but not even I could see us sweeping the group stage, including a 4-3 triumph at Nou Camp on my 60th birthday.

Unfortunately the dual challenges of playing in the Champions League and Premier League simultaneously wore the squad down, and we started dropping the odd point or three points here and there; a late-season loss to Sheffield United particularly hurt us badly as it put us out of contention to repeat as champions. That came hot on the heels of successive losses to Manchester City, which knocked us out of the FA Cup.

The crowning moment of Burnley's season however would be the run of form that took the cup to the final in Copenhagen. A stomping of Bayern Munich at home, followed by a 6-2 tie win over Inter Milan saw us sweep into the final, to take on Chelsea, who had just won the Premier League.

The game started in brilliant circumstances with wonderstriker Bradley Williamson putting us on the board early. Chelsea seized the advantage moments later and led just before the break. Williamson would level on his own initiative and the halftime saw the two English clubs tied 2-2. Baptista would convert a penalty given to us, which in turn broke the shackles, with Williamson and Luke West providing the icing on the cake!

Burnley - Champions of Europe!



After the game I announced my retirement from club management, saying that I had achieved everything possible with Burnley in the past two seasons and the club looked to be in good stead for the future.

The 2033/34 season would see me focus exclusively on the French tilt for the World Cup, with results so far all but guaranteeing that they would be one of the last 32 in Italy in 2034.

League Overall
P 38 W 25 D 5 L 8 - F: 78 A: 38 - 3rd in the Premier League

Players of the Year –AM Marco Baptista (8.05), S Bradley Williamson (8.01), DC Thierry Kamdem (7.67), MC Luke West (7.61), MC Reece Talbot (7.50)

Transfers In – 1 player ($32m) - Thierry Kamdem, a French defender from Lyon
Transfers Out – 2 players ($17.8m)

FA Cup
W 7-0 @ Mansfield - 3rd Round
W 10-0 v Bournemouth - 4th Round
W 1-0 v MK Dons - 5th Round
W 4-2 @ Liverpool - Quarter Final
L 0-2 v Manchester City - Semi Final

League Cup
W 5-2 v Ipswich - 3rd Round
L 2-3 v Arsenal - 4th Round

Champions League
W 2-0 v FC Porto (Group E)
W 2-0 @ Celtic (Group E)
W 4-3 @ Barcelona (Group E)
W 1-0 @ FC Porto (Group E)
W 5-0 v Celtic (Group E)
W 2-0 v Barcelona (Group E)
D 0-0 @ Leverkusen (1st Round Leg 1)
W 3-0 v Leverkusen (1st Round Leg 2)
D 2-2 @ Bayern Munich (Quarter Final Leg 1)
W 3-0 v Bayern Munich (Quarter Final Leg 2)
W 3-2 @ Inter Milan (Semi Final Leg 1)
W 3-0 v Inter Milan (Semi Final Leg 2)
W 5-2 v Chelsea (Final)

Premier League Top Seven
1 - Chelsea (84)
2 - Manchester City (82)
3 - Burnley (80)
4 - Southend (73)
5 - Arsenal (69)
6 - Liverpool (66)
7 - Manchester United (65)

Exeter City - 20th in the Championship

France - World Cup Qualifying
W 8-0 v Latvia (Group 6)
W 3-2 v Finland (Group 6)
W 5-0 @ Azerbaijan (Group 6)
W 1-0 v Slovenia (Group 6)
W 4-0 @ Latvia (Group 6)
W 6-0 @ China (Friendly)
D 0-0 @ Portugal (Friendly)
W 3-2 v Denmark (Group 6)

Group 6 Standings
1 - France (18)
2 - Denmark (15)
3 - Finland (10)
4 - Latvia (6)
5 - Slovenia (4)
6 - Azerbaijan (0)

[Rawhide]

9 - L'effondrement

The French national side virtually ran itself.

We skirted through the group stage with barely a problem. The only blemish on my international managing record prior to the start of the World Cup was a 0-1 hiccup against Serbia. Not to worry, as we lined up on the field in Milan to take on the Brazilians in our first pool game. We surrendered the lead just before halftime, but took it back through our English-born winger Nathan Thomas. A disallowed goal denied us a 3-1 lead, before the Brazilians clawed a valuable goal back. One point each in the opening game of the pool.

On to Rome for the important game against Portugal. A win here would put us in the box seat for the second round. We dominated possession and shots at goal, but the honours were shared at halftime with no score on the board. Disaster struck with the Portuguese claiming a goal against the run of play and they grimly defended to the end.

The scenario for us was grim in our last game; we had to beat New Zealand and Portugal had to beat Brazil. That alone would not be enough; the combined margins in our two games had to be four goals, therefore we would squeak ahead of Brazil on points difference. Halftime did not hold any great promise for us, as Brazil was leading Portugal, rendering our 1-0 advantage over the All Whites moot. In the 58th minute we doubled our advantage, but the Brazilians were proving to be a hard nut for Portugal to crack.

We would win 3-0, and I resigned as manager before the French FA could fire me.