Mason Bradshaw | Mega Project | #3
Last time we checked in on Mason Bradshaw, we learnt all the teams that were interested in Mason. Lets catch up with the man who shocked the world of football…Take a read through the teams that are interested in Mason, and you’ll notice that most of the teams interested are abroad. You may be wondering why are all the teams so far away from him? We spoke to Mason about this, and here’s what he had to say:
“I wanted to get away” said the 24-year-old. “I’ve lived in England all my life, and never been travelling, as I didn’t take a gap year,. That is one of my biggest regrets, so quite early on, I decided I wanted to start my career abroad.”
Because of his answer, we asked Mason, why Grimsby are interested in his services. He replied “No idea, but I’ll tell you right here that they can stop being interested now. I’m not staying in England for my first job. That’s confirmed from the horse’s mouth.” We then asked Mason where his preferred destination is, “I don’t really mind to be honest. A job is a job. However, Stirling sounds a good challenge. One day I’m up for managing in the Japanese League.”
We were intrigued now, could Mason Bradshaw spend all his career abroad? There was a firm and quick answer. “No. Don’t be so stupid! The Premier League is the best league in the world. One day I’d love to manage there”. We told him about the rumours that he could head to America to manage Seattle in the MLS. He quashed this, but didn’t rule out a MLS manager role in the future. I do have a lot of family in the New York tri-state area. I’d like to manage a New York based side one day.”
When speaking with Mason Bradshaw about the reasons behind choosing the jobs we could already tell that he means business. As mentioned in above, Mason is trying to avoid a job in England as he wants to go traveling. We are going to look further in to this, and give you an insight of Mason’s short-term dreams.
If you haven’t heard of Mason Bradshaw by now, you soon will. A university graduate looking at his first job in Football Management has taken the media by storm. Media outlets from up and down the country wants to get ‘exclusive interviews’. Mason has recently informed the world via Twitter that he will be setting an ‘update blog’ up. He will look to address questions that many are asking.
MASON BRADSHAW’S BLOG
His first post on this blog is answering one simple question ‘Why have you chosen these jobs?’
“Hi Guys, it’s Mason Bradshaw. I wanted to create this update blog and keep you up to date with some of the goings on in my life. My phone hasn’t stop ringing regarding interviews about the same situations.
I want to answer them all in one, rather than giving my answer to five different sources.
The topic of this update is regarding the clubs in which I have chosen to make my application public. These clubs are as follows: Cardiff Met University, Stirling Albion, Sibir, Grimsby Town, Kashima Antlers, Galway United, Seattle Sounders, Montreal Impact, Sanfreece Hiroshima.
I won’t go into too much detail about Montreal Impact and Seattle Sounders but I have always wanted to visit America, the league is growing and some of the players the clubs are attracting are of a caliber in which I strive to be at.
Cardiff Met is a funny one, they are the only amateur team in the Welsh Premier League, but it would be a gateway to European football if I were to be successful with them.
Could Mason Bradshaw move to Ireland?
With regards to Galway United, I wasn’t 100% sure whether this would be viable but it was definitely a club which caught my eye for some reason.
Kashima Antlers, Sanfreece Hiroshima and Sibir are all clubs that I wasn’t too familiar with but I was keen to get to know more about – please don’t be offended.
Although I said I wouldn’t manage my first job in England, Grimsby are a club in which I could see myself. In a league which really opens many doors for me, as a manager.
Last but not least, Stirling Albion, a club that really caught my eye for all the right reasons. It’s far enough from Brighton, but still close enough to home if anything serious happened.
I hope you enjoyed this little insight on the clubs I have made publicly aware of my application.”
So there we have it, Mason’s first blog update. What are your thoughts on his reasons to choose these clubs?
Obviously Mason has family and friends to consider when making a decision on his first steps into football. However his recent twitter activity suggests he’s considering both:
Whether he settles for a balance of distance in his first job remains to be seen.
Personally, I don’t think Mason will head to America as a first job. The MLS rules are very complex and new managers don’t often like to have extra challenges when starting out. A simple league somewhere close to home would be ideal.
Bookies are suggesting the Grimsby and Stirling jobs are pretty hot right now, with Mason and a few others being linked with the vacancies. Both jobs would suit Bradshaw’s level of experience and ambition to succeed. Grimsby have risen well through the English footballing leagues in recent years, whilst Stirling’s stability means a good season could give them an easy promotion.
MASON BRADSHAW INTERVIEW
Speaking with the young manager, he claimed that he enjoyed his interview with Sibir, which was held over Skype, and appreciates the time they took to get him on board. Unfortunately, he had to decline the offer.
Let’s go back to the man it’s all about as we catch up on his life recently…
Interviewer – So we are here with Mason Bradshaw catching up with him on how he has been and we will hopefully receive updates on the interviews he had been offered. So Mason, how have you been?
Mason – I’ve been thinking about where I see my future, there are 9 interviews I have had, 9 clubs who have given me the chance to put myself over.
Interviewer – Could we have some insight into the interview process?
Mason – I cannot go into too much detail, confidentiality and all that. I’m sure you understand, but I can let you know how they were in general.
Interviewer – So the first interview you had was with Cardiff Metropolitan University, normally known as Cardiff Met FC of the Dafabet Welsh Premier League. How was that?
Mason – Well the club understood that I was merely considering my options when they saw the previous articles regarding the last updates I gave regarding my journey. I felt it would have been an interesting job to take, given their promotion and it would have been great to help them fight relegation. We had the interview take place at the university, I had the time to travel down and I wanted to consider the Cardiff Met job for a possible first position in football.
Interviewer – That’s great, were there any problems with any of the interviews?
Mason – Well, due to a plane strike, I couldn’t make it to Sibir for the appointment, so I managed to reach an agreement where the interview would take place on Skype. Apart from a few audio issues on Skype, I felt the interview went well. I felt there would have been a language barrier, but luckily the club had hired a translator, so no issues there. I also wasn’t able to pay for the plane tickets to fly to Japan, so both Kashima and Sanfreece Hiroshima sent ambassadors to England where we met up at the local cafe to have those interviews, at different times of course. It seemed like both Ambassadors were a bit confused by their surroundings haha.
Interviewer – That’s a great insight to those interviews. You also had some interviews close to home, such as the posts at Stirling Albion and Galway united. How did you find them?
Mason – To get to the Stirling interview, I took a trip to London Gatwick, got a flight to Edinburgh then caught a train to Stirling. I needed some help to find the Forthbank stadium, even though it was right in front of me, but I felt the interview was fine. Therefore I got a non-stop flight to Shannon, County Clare from Gatwick, then I got a lift up to Galway. I felt welcomed in Galway, the people were pretty friendly, they helped me find my way to the stadium and I even received some support regarding some potential interview questions. It was a great experience.
Mega Project is a unique Football Manager experience. Mega Project features Mason Bradshaw, a rookie manager who never played professionally, who attempts to climb the football leader from the first job to becoming a world class manager. This is something that’s never been done before as we look from all angles, from Mason himself, the clubs, his family and friends, colleagues, the world of football and more.
Previous Mason Bradshaw stories