What is it like to coach the Wellington Phoenix? A Football Manager diary - part 4

stuff.co.nz:

What would it be like to coach the Wellington Phoenix? Simulation video game Football Manager 22 gives you a chance to find out. Stuff reporter Ben Strang charts his time in the hot seat.

OPINION: And so began the injury crisis.

By the mid-season mark, the team had gone on a 10-match unbeaten run including seven wins and three draws, and were top with 27 points.

We were in stunning form, sweeping everyone aside.

That’s when my skipper, Tim Payne, pulled his quad during the next match, and was out two months. David Ball returned from injury but immediately hurt himself again, and was gone for three months. An illness then ravaged the side, and I had a meeting with the doctor, Matthew Connor.

* What is it like to coach the Wellington Phoenix? A Football Manager diary - part 3 * What is it like to coach the Wellington Phoenix? A Football Manager diary - part 2 * What is it like to coach the Wellington Phoenix? A Football Manager diary - part 1

“Have you heard of Omicron?” he asked in muffled tones, through a heavy-duty face mask.

“Is he that Paraguayan winger City are thinking of signing,” I asked, trying to remember how many points behind us they were on the table.

“No, no, it’s a new variant of Covid-19, and it’s far more transmissible.”

I was honestly relieved. The last thing I wanted to hear was that City were set to strengthen.

“We should send the team home, right now, for a couple of days to stop the spread of the virus,” he continued. “Three days off training now, or possibly weeks upon weeks of disruptions. It’s your call.”

I sent the lads home.

On their return, Louis Fenton and Clayton Lewis remained fit, after our earlier talks, and helped get us through a tricky patch, still unbeaten.

The run stretched to 17