Forgione plans to succeed at Houghton, not leave at first chance

Although it is no secret that ambitious Luke Forgione wants to manage higher, he’s in “no rush” to grab the next Toolstation Northern Counties East League managerial vacancy which comes available.

The new Houghton Main chief is seen as hot property by some because of his potential as a manager, but Forgione is determined to make a success of his first number one opportunity in the dugout – a moment that for some time has been prepared for.

Forgione, 34, mainly spent his playing career with Worsbrough Bridge and Pontefract Collieries. He’s one of Chris Hilton’s Worsbrough invincibles who went the entire 2012/13 Division One season unbeaten at home. The midfielder then won promotion from the same Division with Pontefract in 2015 under Duncan Bray and Nick Handley.

Upon his playing retirement in 2016, UEFA-B coach Forgione threw himself in coaching. He coached at Sheffield United’s academy, whilst also becoming a member of the local football spectator circuit in Barnsley and beyond to further enhance his contacts base and knowledge of the levels and players.

He acted as performance coach for Stocksbridge Park Steels under Hilton during the winter of 2018 and he was Russ Eagle’s assistant at Handsworth for most of last season’s aborted campaign.

Away from Non League Football he is the head of football for Barnsley College and many of his fledglings have played for local sides – Worsbrough to name one.

The wide-ranging experiences on the playing and coaching front have slowly prepared himself for the jump into manager’s hot-seat and Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior League Premier Division side Houghton are the first to make his dream come true.

“It is massive for me and I want to make my way into Non League management, I’ve not hidden that from anyone.” Forgione told Non League Yorkshire.

“I have aspirations to work higher up the leagues, but I’m not in any rush to do that. I think there’s a few rumours gesticulating around that ‘Fudge won’t be there (at Houghton Main) for long’.

“I have this management opportunity and I want to do well and the club is a good one. The facilities are great for this level.

“A lot of people have asked me if I would find it hard to turn down an NCEL club if they came in for me this season and I don’t think I would. I’m trying to create something at Houghton Main and do well and I don’t want to jump ship.

“The chairman says I’ve signed a year’s contract. I haven’t, but we have an agreement in place.

“It is not any good for players if they think the manager is going to leave. Yes I do want to move up and it has to be the right club and right for me, my family and my job. 

“It is not hidden from Houghton (that I want to manage higher). The secretary of Houghton, Carl (Brennan), said to Nathan (Simms) when he said he wanted to bring me in ‘yeah, get him in, he’s only going to help us if he’s here for a short or long period of time’.

“You know may me as well and I was probably too loyal during my playing days.”

Originally Forgione was joint manager with Nathan Simms. Simms has since stepped down because of work commitments, but he too must have seen the potential Forgione has a manager.

Forgione has tried and failed to land two managerial vacancies in the NCEL and his decision to drop into Step 7 are parallel with the early days of Craig Elliott’s management career. Elliott was turned down by Glasshoughton Welfare because of a lack of experience almost 12 months before he was eventually handed the job in July 2010. 

Instead he had to settle for managing Kellingley Welfare in Division One of the West Yorkshire League – to great success as they won the treble. 

Elliott is the ultimate role model for ambitious young managers in the lower reaches of Non League Football due to his meteoric rise from Step 7 to the brink of the National League via Kellingley, Glasshoughton, Ossett Town, Shaw Lane Aquaforce and Boston United inside just 11 years.

“He’s someone I look up to having played under him for a bit (at Glasshoughton) and I’d like to follow in his footsteps,” he says.

“He shows there is a roadmap from Step 7 (and up the pyramid) and it is like building blocks. I’ve applied for a manager role at a club last year and I was turned down due to lack of experience.

“It was something I didn’t agree with at the time, but I took it on board and hopefully people can see that I am willing to learn my trade and drop into Step 7.

“I did apply to another NCEL club last year, but there was no interview process to that and this year I did apply to Pontefract (Collieries).

“It was a bit optimistic with having no management experience, but having played there in the past and the qualifications I’ve got I thought I’d give it a go. The feedback I got CV-wise was really good.

“I do understand that they say you have to learn your trade. From a qualification point of view and my background in coaching with football day in, day out with the College programme and previously working at Sheffield United, I feel I am experienced in coaching. 

“Some people will say you have to learn your trade in men’s football and I could understand if people turn round and say ‘he’s not got much experience in the men’s game’.

“That may have hindered me in the past. I have learnt in the last few weeks that things are different in the men’s game. But football is football, it is 11 v 11. The game is the same, no matter what age the players are, it is just how you manage people.

“Working with adults you might get more confrontation. That’s the side what you need to learn and how to dealing with different personalities.

“Having to deal with someone dropping out of a Saturday game on a Friday night is another aspect of men’s football and at Step 7 you know it might happen.”

In theory finding players should not be a problem to Forgione and that’s a second parallel with Elliott.

Some would see it as basics, but one of the key aspects of Elliott’s early success was his willingness to watch seven games a week, given the opportunity.

He watched anything from Sunday morning football on the local parks in Chequerfield or Whitwood to Thursday night Central Midlands League matches and many of his early squads contained many players from various scouting missions.

His contacts book was already bulging by the time Glasshoughton appointed him and within two years he guided the Leeds Road-club to promotion.

Forgione has gone to similar lengths for several years and even during his time with Handsworth he was out two-or-three times a week watching matches.

“I think my missus can relate to it (watching games multiple times a week) more because she always says ‘you’re out again’,” he says.

“On Sunday I was at the Sunday Cup final at Houghton Main watching Westville who have a number of NCEL players.

“On Friday I watched the Worsbrough versus Athersley from the bridge. I didn’t tell my missus I was going so when I finished working for my business I sneaked off there. When the photographer appeared and started taking photos I was bobbing down to make sure the missus didn’t see me on social media.

“I was at Wombwell Town against Dodworth on Saturday, watching from a bridge as well. 

“I’ve been at nearly every local game there’s been (since games restarted), either inside the ground if you’re allowed inside or I’ve watched from outside from round corners or somewhere.

“Last year I spent a lot of time watching games and I was also involved at Handsworth so I know know what’s going on on the circuit in the NCEL. I did watch a couple of games in the County Senior so I do feel I know a number of different players for the level.

“I’ve got a book with lists of players and I’ve got more on my phone. The lists are starting to increase in numbers so I may need to start transferring them on to a database or computer spreadsheet. 

“I feel I know what’s about. Being involved at the college and education system I also know what’s about there. I have my ear to the ground down different avenues which will help with recruitment.”

Even as a well-qualified coach, Forgione agrees his continuous networking and his knowledge of players are far important tools to Non League clubs than the qualifications on his CV.

“The contacts book is more important than the coaching badges,” he says.

“There is no right or wrong way to manage. I’ve done my coaching qualifications because personally I wanted to know more about the game and they’ve helped me personally as a coach and tactically. I reckon they will be more important to me during my management career if I move up the leagues.

“At this level there’s a number of managers who have been successful and not done their coaching qualifications. Because you’ve done your coaching qualifications doesn’t mean you’re going to be a successful manager.

“The phone is more important and it never stops. I’ve had a conversation with one lad for maybe four or five weeks to try and get him on board and that’s the stuff people don’t see from looking from outside.”

The Non League game has evolved in the past ten years from common-place five-a-side game at Thursday night training sessions. More clubs have UEFA qualified coaches in their dugouts and technically-strong players formerly academies are more prevalent across the lower end of the game.

But the fact most players arrive at training straight from work remains the norm means attempts to implement a college football style training sessions at Houghton would be a fairly barnpot idea.

Forgione doesn’t disagree and the philosophy he hopes to imprint on his Houghton players will be based around the successful Non League sides he has either seen or personally been around.

“Coaching has changed from ten or 15 years from things like phases of play and stop and stand still and walk through patten stuff,” he says.

“A lot of my methods, I teach through games anyway. I’ll design sessions that are game-related with different practices inside to try and work on things. They’re hidden really. 

“I might do phases of player or patten play at college level because of the contact time, but all the training I’ve done at Houghton has been game-related.

“The feedback has been good, they say they love it so far. Lads in Non League Football want to play football. The last thing they want you to do is having them standing around for five or ten minutes.

“At this level it is difficult because you don’t get the contact time. At Houghton Main I maybe see them once a week at training and then at the weekend game. At this level some don’t even train.

“At college level we’re training three times a week. How I go about my college work is totally different to what I do at Houghton Main. We had a game the other week at Denaby and we lost 4-0.

“I have a certain style of football I’d like to play and it was difficult to do that in that game.

“I was reflecting back on it and I thought I may need to make it more simplistic for the lads at this level because of the contact time.

“I also looked back at Ponte when we got promoted (in 2015), at Penistone Church and the success Ian (Richards) has had up there and at when I was at Worsbrough Bridge when we went unbeaten at home one season under Hilts.

“I tried to reflect on them and work out why they were successful and see if there were any recurring themes. I think there is and I’m taking that onboard and using them as a blueprint to try and be successful.

“Worsbrough had a good changing room and Hilts was a good manager and has good man-management skills. The style of play was also successful as we had a system and everyone knew their jobs and it was effective. Hilts built up a good team spirit and I suppose the social aspect as well played a part.

“When I was originally at Ponte (in 2010), Simon (Houghton), who I enjoyed playing under, was building a young side with lads who wanted to go and do well. When I was at Ponte under Duncan (Bray) and Nick (Handley) and we got promoted, we had a style of play which was effective. 

“We were drilled and organised and once you start picking results up sometimes it breeds confidence and before you know it, because if you have a strong team spirit or chemistry, which we had, you end winning games you probably shouldn’t do.

“It is understanding that you’re not going to have that time with the players and it is about creating the right environment for players to go and perform. When I look about those times, I enjoyed it and that’s a massive part of playing your football.

“I’ve spoken to (Penistone Church manager) Ian (Richards) and he’s massive on culture at a club and that’s something I’m with him on. He’s not gone in-depth on it, but he’s been there a long time and he’s set standards I imagine. That club has grown and he’s done a fantastic job.”

Forgione could face a long wait to put a real stamp on his Houghton team. The Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior League campaign has been delayed for at least two weeks and is currently scheduled to begin on September 19th and no really knows what will happen.

All he can do is prepare the team to be as successful as they can be.

“The aspirations are to do better than what we did last year and that’s not slagging anyone off because it is natural that you want to improve on last year’s performance,” he says.

“Secondly, it is to be competitive and like anyone we want to do well and we have our own little targets and we want to be in the top half of the table ideally. We’ll assess that after five to ten games.

“When you go into a new club you have those who have been there a while and you have to try and get them on side and make them believe I’m not going to change everything.

“It is about building trust in them and about bringing in some new faces who I know who I think can add that bit of extra quality to strengthen the team so we can hopefully do alright in the league.

“I’ve targeted a number of players, young lads, experienced lads and we’re looking at lads who may have been in the NCEL, but may have been injured and need time on the field.

“I feel we have a good group of bodies at the moment, 60% from last season and 40% are new lads. I’ve brought in a few up-and-coming lads from College and I’ve brought in a coach who knows what’s going with the Barnsley Football Club shadow scholarship.

“We have our eye on the ball with regards youth talent coming through. As a college we may also look to use Houghton Main’s facilities sometimes. There’s so much potential up there and I’m happy to be up there.”

Time will tell if Forgione will create success for Houghton and whether he gets his shot at emulating former Shaw Lane manager Elliott in the long-term future. 

One thing is for sure, he’s well aware that his managerial career could easily be over within a flash.

“I do have a ten to 15 year goal, but I’m not stupid and I know it is a results business and if you don’t get results then opportunities won’t arise,” he adds.

“I also know if I move up (from Houghton Main) and it is the wrong club, I may never get an opportunity again.”