Interview with oafcmetty

As the lowest ranked team left in the cup in R4, we thought it'd be a good idea to catch up with the manager of Pine Villa - oafcmetty

You acquired Pine Villa in July 2005 and won Div III.13 with them in s49, and you went on to lose the qualification game for your chance to get into Div II (395023219). S49 also saw you reach the semi-final of the English Cup, eventually losing to Low Fogrigg (394316034) . After these disappointments, your club quickly demoted into V and have been below IV ever since. It looks as though you've been more interested in training than on pitch success, so please tell us a bit about this?

That's about right - I felt that I'd taken the squad as far as I could at that point so decided to sell up and try something different. I did a bit of trading, a bit of training different things for the NT/U20 teams, then got some decent players in my YA so decided to have a go at building a team with a homegrown spine. My current keeper is HG, and I trained a group of HG defenders, some of who are now getting PM. Still got a fair amount of cash left too, so should have a pretty decent team when they're trained up to a decent level.

You've been elected as both the U20 coach and NT coach of Japan (s41 and s46) and more recently in s63 as the U20 coach of England. Please tell us a little about these experiences, and how it has enhanced your enjoyment of the game?

Really enjoyed the Japan experience, particularly the U20s. Great community with everyone pulling in the same direction - we got some pretty good results too, all things considered. England was a bit rubbish - there weren't many candidates for the job, and the squad was pretty poor, so all round a bit of a struggle. There's a lot more politics and bitching in England too.

Your manager page tells us that you also had a team in Cameroon called "Falkland Islands F.C." where you won two Cameroon Cup finals and promoted to the Elite League (top division). The team has since folded, so please tell us a little about what happened here?

Yeah - I should have won the league there too - just needed a bit more luck! Main reason behind it was to help complete my flag collection (now done). It was a nice change winning something (!), but as a smaller country, the community was dead, so I knew early on that I would be letting the team go when my subscription ran out.

You are an Oldham Athletic fan. The side is currently 20th in League One, have 1pt from the last 5 games and were knocked out of the FA Cup in R1 by Carlisle. This is a far cry from the FA Cup semi final exploits where Mark Hughes knocked you out in a replay against Manchester United in 1994. Please explain what has been happening at Oldham recently, and what they need to do to start making progress again?

Oh man. We've been rubbish for about 25 years now. All started with us failing to invest the money from the Joe Royle glory years properly, seeing us drop into the third tier only three years after that semi final you mention (it was quite nice seeing the Welsh tosser sacked after a recent Stoke cup game though!). We've been in that league for 20 years solid, mostly bottom half, and generally struggling from a lack of investment. However things may be looking up despite recent results - Wellens seems like a good manager, and a takeover is in progress, just waiting for ratification - we're being taken over by a former agent, and have been signing exotic players like Haiti's goalkeeper, a couple of players from Curacao, etc. I'm sure they've been enjoying the Oldham winter...

Please could you tell us about the last book you read and whether you'd recommend it?

Stuart Maconie's Pies and Prejudice (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pies-Prejudice-search-Stuart-Maconie/dp/0091910234), as I heard he was Britain's answer to Bill Bryson. Only cost me a pound in a charity shop. It was ok - glad I didn't pay full price, mildly diverting.

Do you have a favourite building or architectural design?

I like the new North Stand at Boundary Park - primarily as it's been build so that there's leg room for grown men (http://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/boundary-park-oldham-athletic.html), unlike the Main Stand, where I used to sit (http://www.doof92.co.uk/oldham/06.The%20Main%20Stand.JPG).

Please tell us your thoughts about the new SE engine that has been introduced this season, and which changes you like or dislike about it and why?

No view really, I've not engaged with the recent changes whilst I've been in training mode. I'll probably need to read up on it at some point, or failing that, ask Matt or Ivo what to do.

Please tell us how your significant other feels about your addiction to this game and about him/her and how you met?

She's kind of resigned to it now - I used to be on the site much more than I am now. I've been out for drinks a few times with folks from HT, and even had them over to stay at my place, so it's something she's had to get used to. I think at first there was some curiosity around what it was all about, and why I was chatting to random blokes/girls on a football management forum, but now she doesn't even ask. We met through work back in 2002, married in 2006, and now have two kids - 5 and 8 year old boys.

Please provide us a link to utube or vimeo to one of your favourite of all time tunes, and something you liked from 2017 as well?

All time: (https://vimeo.com/150448197)

2017: (https://soundcloud.com/youngfathers/young-fathers-only-god-knows-ft-leith-congregational-choir) - from the T2 soundtrack.

My kids wanted me to put Despacito or Castle on the Hill. More training required by the look of it...

What are your medium term aspirations for your hattrick team, in terms of achievements and training?

As per the above, I'd quite like to take the current crop of my HG spine as far up the league as I can. After that, who knows?

Is there anything else I should have asked that you'd like to answer?

How many grounds I've visited?

I've done 87 of the 92 with Oldham - all competitive games, all Oldham matches. Hoping that FGR and Barnet go down, then will only have Morecambe, Cambridge and Newport to go. The next challenge is to see us *win* at all 92. Sigh. Could take a while...

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