76. Farewell EDC

My tenure at EDC had come to an abrupt end and in one of the worse ways possible. My interfering new chairman, Sann Veasna sold, or gave away one of best players, Men Samnang to our bitter rivals, Khemera without telling anybody else and it only came to light on the morning of a televised match against Phnom Penh Crown. This was a clear breach of trust between manager and chairman, one that is essential for the successful running of a football club on and off the field. I had not known Sann Veasna long, but it was clear to me by his actions how this was going to play out and it was something I did not want to be part of any more.. His interfering ways in recruitment, training and with some of the players themselves had affected everybody from the cleaning ladies to me the manager. There was an underlying reason also and that was an acceptance that while we remained semi-professional, we would always be the bridesmaids in the C-League, finishing around 5th each season. Thirdly this is The Ultimate World FM Game and I've only been to one country so far!!

So, where did we leave off last time..??

Yes I'm in a fit of anger after leaving EDC and driving home. As I was doing this, I got a call from Nen Borey.

I parked up at the side of the road 

"Jonathan, What's happened?"

"I've quit Nen.."

"Ohh Jonathan.."

"I'm fed up of his BS"

I was aware that Nen Borey may have his eyes on taking over, as he had been building up his coaching badges and had already been linked to both the Vishaka and Svay Rieng jobs. As far as I'm concerned he was welcome to it.. 

"I'm done with EDC Nen, I'm going elsewhere."

"Are you leaving Cambodia?"

"Probably.."

"Jonathan it won't be the same without you. Please reconsider."

"No Nen. My mind is I'm done with EDC and with Cambodia. It's been great working with you Nen, but its time to move on to pastures new."

The conversation ended and I continued on my way home. 

When I arrived home I messaged Charlotte, who was at the hospital to tell her the deed was done, but I'd give her more details later. I made a cup of tea and then fell asleep for a while. I should be taking training now.. then having a scouting meeting.. well I won't be missing the latter.. but I missed the lads, the banter, developing young players into better ones, that kind of thing. Our next game was a very winnable away match against Build Bright United and we would be doing our Chance Creation and conversion routines which was always a favourite.. 

Later on, Charlotte stopped by to cheer me up and I told her of the parting conversation I'd had with my now ex-boss, Sann Veasna. She was shocked at how dismissive he'd been. The big elephant in the room though was where would we go next? Would we stay in Cambodia, or leave for pastures new? My managerial stock was pretty high in this country and could probably get whatever job I wanted. Nagaworld, Boeung Ket and Phnom Penh Crown had at one time or another offered me the job, but each time I had turned them down, believing I could win the title with part-time EDC. It turned out Charlotte and I both wanted to leave Cambodia for different reasons. Me for footballing reason, in that I wanted to challenge myself in (no disrespect) a bigger and more developed football nation than Cambodia. My partner on the other hand had too many bad memories of Phnom Penh, living in poverty for a time with her mother and after her death going through a low period in her life which led her to the much documented series of failed relationships. She also wanted an adventure somewhere else. A fresh start.

Part of me wanted to get the country generator out again and go somewhere completely different, but waiting for those leagues to load and new jobs to become available would take too long and I had to think of Charlotte as well. It would have to be somewhere she was happy to relocate to as well. Taking Charlotte to manage a team in the high Arctic, or on a desert island wouldn't perhaps be the best idea for the long term future of our relationship!

We agreed on either Thailand or Malaysia, Indonesia or Australia. The latter was notoriously difficult to access politically and as there were only about ten teams in the A-League, not many managerial vacancies, even though a new life there would of course be amazing! 

I updated my Management CV and looked at the special Football Management Job Centre page in the sky to see which clubs had vacancies. There were numerous Thai clubs, mainly in the amateur leagues, but I would need to at least sign for a semi-pro outfit so I could earn a wage. I needed to earn money, I couldn't just do this for fun. There were no jobs going in Malaysia or Indonesia at this point, just Thailand and some in the other leagues loaded, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, but neither of us fancied going there.

The next day...

Inevitably news of my departure had travelled fast to the pages of the Khmer Times, with a picture of me leaving The Electricity Stadium.. I'm not sure when the picture was taken, but it certainly wasn't yesterday.. Anyway the news had reached the fans and Sann Veasna had wasted no time in slagging me off on social media. He'd obviously got one of his henchmen to tweet the below...

 “Rudd was absolutely robbing a living at EDC, so glad he’s gone.” Charming!

The press rang me up for an interview which I duly obliged and with all the bluntness of my Yorkshire roots, told them how it bloody was. The chairman had sold one of my best players, Men Samnang to Khemera without telling me, rendering my position as manager untenable and that while I bore no grudge with the player himself, I was more than upset with the chairman for forcing him out of the club to one of our rivals. He had done this so his signing, Jefri Henri Bisai, who again I bore no grudge with and was a good player, could play instead and that if Veasna had any ounce of footballing brain would have realised that I was playing both in a 4-3-3 formation and because Men Samnang could also play as a left inverted winger and the Indonesian was a central midfielder I could if I so desired play them in the same eleven in a 4-4-2 formation as well if required... 

A few days later.....  

It's fair to say I was moping around my apartment, missing the lads and missing the preparations for a big match.

The only bright spark of the day was a visit from Charlotte after her hospital shift. She had promised a meal out that evening to cheer me up. I'd best get ready I suppose..

She arrived at 5pm, looking as resplendent as usual. Boy I loved her..

We got in the taxi and headed towards the centre of Phnom Penh. Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear throughout the journey... What was she up to? She was hatching another one of her schemes again, I could tell...

The taxi pulled up in Sisworth Quay. I momentarily looked over at the spot where I had nervously waited for Charlotte on that balmy evening around one year ago. We had come such a long way since then. I had back then been secure in my job and the team was doing well. 

She led me into a bar, again the same one where we had officially got together on that night after she had explained about her previous relations with my now ex-chairman Hem Vutha. 

Upon entering the bar I noticed that an area of it had been roped off for a party. It was full of people and my first thoughts were whether or not we could get a seat and that it may take a while for us to get served. 

Suddenly all the people in the bar stood up and started clapping and cheering. A few chants of "Jonny Rudd's Electric Army," rang out... The bar was full of EDC fans...? I looked closer.. Nen Borey came over and shook my hand.. There was Chan Vannak my Head of Youth Development and... Sok Oeun Pidor!..... Taboula... Nhem,,.. Ratana... all stood applauding.. Raymond Etim!.. Tuy Oudom,... Chea Samnang.. Leap Bo... Um Makara... Min Rattanak.... Men Samnang (of all people)... Maol Daravon,, oh my god,, He was there,,, Keo Udom.... Anderson Gbayoro.. Mat Noron....  All the lads were there and coaching staff. Then Hem Vutha, the ex-chairman stepped forward and quietened the crowd...

"Jonathan.. we just wanted to say thankyou thankyou thankyou for being our manager... Electricitie Du Cambodge and all the success you brought our team, for winning the Hun Sen Cup and The Kings Cup and establishing EDC as a strong C-League Club and improving football in this country as a whole.

"We are very sorry you are leaving and things ended the way that they did with that ba***rd Sann Veasna! I wish I had never sold the club to him! But.. tonight is not about him, but about this amazing Englishman who managed our team with such distinction and honour.. " Well at least you can go to Malaysia now Jonathan without having to face me when you get back! Hahaha"

"You must thank the lovely Charlotte here for arranging everything at such short notice, but we could not miss this opportunity to say thankyou for all you have done for us..."

The whole room cheered and raised their glasses.

Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear.

"Jonathan a few words??"

I was completely unprepared for this..

"Well... This is such a surprise... I thought Charlotte here was just taking me out for a meal and I've ended up here with you lot.. Those in the team I hope you remember that you have an important game Saturday!

Cue a few laughs..

"But seriously I came to EDC not knowing what to expect.... how I would manage to train a team without speaking Khmer.. How I would manage against opponents I'd never even heard of? You guys all helped me through that and did yourselves proud both as people and footballers. It has been the most amazing experience of my life to be the EDC manager and has been an honour to bring two trophies into your cabinet. Charlotte, thankyou so much for organising this and getting everybody together. Up the EDC!!"

I then spent the best night of my life, chatting to all who had come to celebrate, reminiscing about old matches, the time we helped two fishermen pull a fish out the Mekong River on the way back from a cup tie against Mondul Kiri, the trip to Angkor Wat before the first Hun Sen Cup Final, signing "The Cambodian Pele" and of course winning the cup. All brilliant memories from this wonderful little football club... 

I managed to catch a word with Men Samnang and turned out that he had been practically manhandled out of the club on the morning of the Phnom Penh Crown game by a couple of Veasna's heavies.. He'd turned up at the ground on the morning of the game as normal, looking forward to taking on The Crown live on television, but was told at the door that he had been "sold" to Khemera..  and that if he contacted me about it then they would do more than just manhandle him into a taxi.... 

While the night in general had cheered me up, hearing this story from a talented young footballer, who was just 19 years old made me fear what the future may hold for all the staff at Electricitie Du Cambodge FC with Sann Veasna in charge.. 

The End........ (of Part 1 at least)

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