What is it like to coach the Wellington Phoenix? A Football Manager diary - part 5

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: It’s the last game of the season.

We faced 12th place Macarthur away, while Melbourne Victory played 8th placed Brisbane at home. One point separated us.

I still felt sick after Chris Greenacre’s comments two weeks earlier. “We’re the champs” he said, after the win over Victory. I thought about demoting him to a role in the academy after the loss to Adelaide, but talked myself out of it.

Ahead of the game, I had a lengthy meeting with the coaching staff. They told me they don't think Louis Fenton should be taking throw-ins, which seemed a bit irrelevant to me given he won't be starting. They told me to drop Ben Old for the more experienced Clayton Lewis. They asked me to set up defensively, have a lower line of defensive engagement, and ditch our high-tempo passing in favour of something more controlled and patient.

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

I took none of that advice on board.

Instead, I instructed the team to play at an even higher tempo, back their skills, and to attack from the outset. If we were going to fall short of the title, we’d do it playing our way, and with positive intent.

Or so I thought.

What followed was one of the most tense, and most boring, 90 minutes of football you’d ever see.

Both sides scored early, but the goals looked like flukes. Everyone looked nervous. The weight of the