Jonathan Sayer thought it would be straightforward when he opted to put aside his life as a stage writer and actor to take over the ownership and running of his boyhood football club, seventh-tier Ashton United.
Yet before his first season as an owner in England’s Northern Premier League was a month old, he had been rudely awoken to the harsh realities of life in the world of semi-professional football.
Sayer is better known as the co-writer and star of the West End hit show ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ and its subsequent BBC adaptations.
The title might have been a better fit for his first year at the helm at Ashton, the club he bought in 2019 in partnership with his dad but which quickly presented far greater challenges than either of them imagined.
Those struggles are the subject of Sayer’s book ‘Nowhere to Run’ which is published on Thursday, an at times comical but mostly revealing look at the realities of balancing a tight budget in the trenches of non-league while striving to keep supporters happy.
Sayer and his dad bought Ashton immediately following relegation after a single season in the National League North, the promised land of the sixth tier that the club had ultimately not been cut out to survive in.
At a meeting to introduce himself to fans, in a rash move he would quickly come to regret, he promised supporters instant promotion. The die was cast for a turbulent campaign.
“The year we were relegated I was filming a TV show in (nearby) Manchester so I was around to go to games on Saturdays a bit more,” Sayer told the PA news agency. “There was a tweet that said the club needed help, so my involvement began like that. I did not at that stage say ‘I’ll buy the club’.
“I’ve had a lot of luck in life and this felt like a way to put back into my community. They had a gap with the wages which I now realise is just an ongoing thing in non-league football.
“I thought it would be a really fun thing to do, particularly for me and my dad to have a project together. I thought it would be easy – put a bit of funding in, be really organised, and it’ll be great.”
The book charts the progress of the pair’s first season in charge, the 2019-20 campaign that was curtailed at non-league level by the Covid-19 pandemic and ultimately expunged from the records.
The season was not a successful one. Despite significantly increasing the playing budget and taking the risk of putting all players on contracts – highly unusual for a club in the seventh tier – in a bid to secure promotion, the team soon became mired in a relegation fight.
Rivals caustically dubbed them ‘Cashton United’, and despite Sayer’s involvement raising the profile of the club locally, the squad failed to gel and results failed to arrive. Despite the investment, there never seemed to be enough money to pay the bills.
There was also farce. After an internal falling out, a club member whom Sayer calls “part of the old guard” absconded with the only keys to the stadium dressing rooms.
A TV expensively installed for the manager to go over footage of matches with the squad stubbornly refused to work even a year later, and an outdoor bar built to raise matchday revenue was shuttered after the council pointed out they had never granted planning permission.
But it was on the pitch where Sayer’s worst nightmares became realised.
“I thought ‘we’ve been relegated, we’ve increased the budget, therefore we’ll go back up’,” he says. “There was all this momentum. But the reality was so hard. The first three or four months we lost a lot of matches.
“I feel like I’m personally letting everyone down when we lose. It’s a robust feedback environment, football. It can be brutal. I’m a sensitive soul and I feel things very acutely.
“Theatre can be similar. You get harsh reviews, people either laugh or they don’t. The difference is that on a show day I can affect things, I can rewrite things and I can rehearse, and all the energy goes into performing.
“With this, you can’t do anything. You have to stand there like an absolute tool. You can clap and cheer, or you can go for the Sven (Goran Eriksson) emotionless approach.”
It is four years since Ashton were relegated to the Northern Premier League. Sayer and his dad are still awaiting the elusive promotion they promised fans in 2019.
Yet this remains a long-term project. After 14th-place finishes in each of their full seasons (Covid also saw the 2020-21 campaign abandoned), there is optimism that lessons have been learnt to finally put the club on track for the step up.
“For me football is just like a play,” says Sayer. “I don’t understand how you can like theatre and not like football.
“It’s exactly the same – it’s people coming together and having shared moments of catharsis and emotion and watching a story with characters play out.”
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
Martino resigns as Inter Miami coach after early playoff exit
Gerardo Martino has resigned as Inter Miami's head coach due to personal reasons, the MLS side have confirmed.
The Argentine ends his 17-month stint in charge of the Herons following their MLS Cup exit just under a fortnight ago.
Martino, who oversaw Miami's Leagues Cup triumph soon after his arrival last season, guided the franchise to this year's Supporters' Shield with a regular-season record tally of 74 points.
However, they were eliminated by his former side Atlanta United in round one of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Miami opened their best-of-three series against Atlanta with a 2-1 win, only to lose by the same scoreline in Game 2 before falling to a dramatic 3-2 defeat in the decider.
“It has been an honour to work at such a special club, and to lead such a special team," Martino said.
"I’ve enjoyed my stay at Inter Miami and will treasure the memories made and relationships forged here for the rest of my life.
"I depart with nothing but gratitude for my time here and would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone that made it possible."
Fonseca: Milan have 'respect' but 'are not afraid' of Juventus
Paulo Fonseca said Milan have plenty of "respect" for Juventus, but his side "are not afraid" of their rivals ahead of their Serie A clash on Saturday.
After a slow start to the season, Milan are six points adrift of Juventus in the table, but only a place behind them, as they aim to make up the ground on the top six.
The Rossoneri have played a game less than Thiago Motta's side, and could catapult themselves back into the Scudetto picture with a win this weekend.
Milan return to the San Siro for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Napoli at the end of October, and could register two consecutive home defeats in Serie A for the first time since between October and November in 2023.
"It is not decisive, but it is important, like all of them," Fonseca told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
"I can't say that the game against Juve is more important than the next one against Empoli because we need consecutive victories.
"It's a different game, but I always think positively. We are Milan, we have a lot of respect for the 'Bianconeri', but we are not afraid. We are here ready to win."
A boost for Milan is that Juventus will be without top scorer Dusan Vlahovic for Saturday's clash after returning from international duty with a muscle problem.
Despite the Serbian's absence, Fonseca was aware of the danger his probable replacement, Timothy Weah, would pose, having managed him during his time at Lille.
"Juve knows how to adapt very well. I don't know if Weah will play," Fonseca said.
"Weah is very fast and attacks deep, not like Vlahovic. It will not be the same thing of course.
"We will have to pay attention to movements in depth and less to support work, because he is a player who does less of this job."
While Fonseca has endured a stuttering start to his tenure at the San Siro, Milan have shown they have the ability to match the very best.
They beat rivals Inter in October before stunning Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their last Champions League encounter, keeping their play-off hopes alive.
"I believe it's a matter of motivation and not pressure," Fonseca said.
"Against Inter, Juve and Real it is easy to be motivated, it's more difficult to go to Cagliari and have the same motivation.
"Pressure is always with us, every day. If we don't want to have pressure, then we shouldn't be here."
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