He’s managing in the FA Cup and all his friends are puking in an alley behind a bar.
James Phillips is set to make history on Saturday, becoming the youngest manager in the history of the 143-year history of the FA Cup. Phillips will manage Wessex Division One side Romsey Town against Fareham Town in the preliminary rounds of the tournament.
So while his friends are at university, puking in alleys behind bars and doing general, stupid 22-year-old things, Phillips will be hoping to lead his team through a tournament that could see him on the touchline in some of England’s biggest stadiums.
Phillips’s first coaching job came at Lyndhurst Football Club when he was 16 years old. He got his FA Level One badge and was assistant reserve-team manager at Romsey Town last season, but they gave him the head job in April. And it’s all thanks to video games.
“I was one of those sad people after school who was sat there for hours playing Championship Manager,” he said. “I always used to try and take a really small club up through the leagues.
“From a really young age that got my interest going.”
Well, he is at a really at a small club. Romsey Town is in the ninth division. But it’s the 21st century — if he can do it in a video game, he can do it in real life.
