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[FM10] "Maltesers - the lighter way to enjoy football"


iacovone

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390px-Coat_of_arms_of_Malta.svg.png

Malta - To Valletta and Beyond

Welcome to my latest creation and first using the FM10 editor. I've always had a strange fascination with Malta and so decided to take on a challenge there.

Game Setup:

Version: 10.1.0 (now updated to 10.2.0)

Leagues Loaded: Malta down to Division 3A & 3B (4 tiers)

Database: Large

EDITED: Since discovering a ready made (far better) xml file for the Malta league in the editors forum I will be restarting and pursuing the Maltese dream in a more realistic fashion. So without further ado, its time to dive right in and find my team. Whoever is predicted bottom of either of the Third Divisions, I will take over and try to lead to glory. Follow my progress here :thup:

Notes: I will be managing this myself. I will provide end of season reports, along with anything I deem interesting enough sprinkled through the season. From a personal standpoint, obviously my love of small club to big club challenges has sparked this idea and I should say now that the ultimate aim is to take the lowest ranked Maltese side to Champions League glory and then winning the World Cup with Malta. A distant dream I think. Maybe just forever a dream but it will keep me entertained :). Wish me luck! ;)

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Luqa St. Andrews

Profile

Finances - we start with a whopping £37 in the bank :cool:

Facilities - you'll notice our stadium, the Centenary Stadium. This is the same for every club in the division. I've learnt that each division in Malta has a stadium assigned for it for every club. Therefore we pay rent to the FA for this and take nothing through gate receipts. Not sure how this will effect the game in the long run, but I imagine we can still build our own stadiums.

So Luqa St. Andrew's are now my club. We are worth just £1.5k and have very little going for us (expected to finish 10th). However, the journey of 1000 miles does start with 1 step :cool:

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Luqa St Andrew's

Bank of Malta Third Division A

2009/10

The Season Review...

Joined a club with only 5 senior players and no staff. Fortunately the season didn't start til September so I had plenty of time to sign an assistant as well as a backroom team. From there I went mad and signed 8 players on loan because frankly anyone recommended to me at this stage was so poor it wasn't even worth the time to trial and sign them.

The season kicked off with the 2nd and 3rd Division knockout competition. It is set up in Champions League format with just 1 qualifier from each group of 4. We surprisingly started really well and won 2, drawing our final game, to qualify! We did lose in the quarters to a team from the league above but the promise in the squad was evident.

The league also started well and we went unbeaten for the first 8 games. We then struggled to score and dipped our form before I changed tactics to be more attacking. I also completely reduced long shots to rarely on everyone as there was simply no point with the players I had. It paid dividends and we embarked on a great run of winning our final 6 games to pip Marsa to the title \o/.

Notable Players...

Squad

My Player of the Season: Luca Martinelli

Most Valuable: Stephen Scicluna

Special Mention: Paul Psaila

Club News...

Finances

Club Info - I'm favoured personnel already :)

Transfers

Fans Player of the Year: Randolph Penza (DL)

Best XI

Overall Best XI

The Plan...

Try to bring in a couple of the loanees again next year as they really helped this season. I imagine the difference in quality won't be particularly high so we may be able to get by with a similar squad. We have no form of income really as we don't take gate receipts as the stadiums are rented from the FA. I expect us to stay up

|Season   |  Division   |    League Finish    |          Achievements            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|2009/10  |    3A       |         1st         | Champions! Automatic Promotion   |

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Some good news, some bad news.

First the bad: We're expected to get promoted by the board this year. The media are predicting a 3rd placed finish. No idea where this has come from :rolleyes:

The good news is we've in a way gone 'pro'. Not officially of course (we'd be the first team in Malta to do that) but behind the scenes. We have gone from being allowed 2 coaches to 8. 2 scouts to 6. The budget is still £0 but the wage budget is up so it could be a more exciting pre-season :)

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Successive promotions?? I hope you're up to it.

Its going to be tough. I'm hoping the difference in league standard isn't too great in the 2nd Division.

I've secured a couple of loan stars from last season on free transfers this summer which is good news. Just need to find a right winger and a left back before the season starts.

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Cheers crouchy! We're in a shocking rut at the moment. 6 games without a win in the league and also without a single goal! Finding a semi-decent striker is half the challenge in Malta. Scoring double figures is but a distant myth for any team at the moment :rolleyes:

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Luqa St Andrew's

Bank of Malta Second Division

2010/11

The Season Review...

I was instructed to guide Luqa to a 2nd successive promotion this year and it looked a possibility after a strong start. We qualified from our cup group with ease, giving us confidence before the league campaign began. Unfortunately we won just once from our first 5 and this was a theme throughout the year.

We struggled to get going and went through a severe phase of futility, not scoring or winning for 6 games at one point. Conversely we also followed this up with 5 consecutive clean sheets showing how odd this year was.

At one stage we hovered around the promotion spots but ultimately goal scoring was our glass ceiling and we fell away from the promotion spots. The league was a lot tighter than the table insinuates and it was eventually the lack of goals that halted the progress the fans and board expected.

Finding a goalscoring striker is the toughest task in Malta and until I do this I can't promise much success at Luqa.

In the cup we steadily progressed to the final, winning games by the one goal. We met bottom of the league Gharghur in the final but disapointingly lost 2-1 after extra time. We conceded two penalties and had a man sent off to compound a pretty woeful day.

Notable Players...

Squad

My Player of the Season: Christopher Vella - Malta U21 defender had a good year at the back

Most Valuable: Andrew Spiteri

Special Mention: Renato Conceicao - arrived in Jan but can only be registered this next season.

Club News...

Transfers

Finances

Facilities

Club Info

Fans Player of the Year: Benjamin Zammit (SW/DC)

Best XI

Overall Best XI

The Plan...

This summer my desperate struggle for a striker will continue. Fingers crossed we find him in the youth team, but I sincerely doubt that will happen. Therefore I need to send my scouts high and low to unearth that goalscorer.

|Season   |  Division   |    League Finish    |          Achievements            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|2009/10  |    3A       |         1st         | Champions! Automatic Promotion   |
|2010/11  |    2        |         8th         |  Div 2 & 3 Knockout Finalists    |

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I think I've finally found a good striker! He has 6 in 7 as I type this and has ensured a good start to the league campaign (though we didn't qualify for the knockout stage of the cup :mad:).

The man's name is Glenn Barry. He is 33 but appears to be at the peak of his powers at the moment. Coupled with my all out attacking mindset and we're dominating teams now :)

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Luqa St Andrew's

Bank of Malta Second Division

2011/12

The Season Review...

The media reassessed their rather bold prediction of 3rd last year to a more likely 7th this year. Following a very disappointing performance in the 2nd and 3rd division cup their prediction looked fairly likely. However the league began far better as we went 5-0-1 for the first 6 games.

Glenn Barry up front was the inspiration as we embarked on a glorious season in which we never really looked like giving up top spot once we'd attained it. There was the odd disappointing result but our solid defence (we went on a run of 5 games without conceding) meant we were always in with a chance in every game.

The title and promotion was secured with two games to go and all in all we deserved it. This year we were the best team in the league and so we have earnt the right to take on the 1st Division next year. We are now just 1 promotion off the top flight.

We wracked up a record number of goals in the division this year which ultimately meant we blew away the league. New striker Barry was the key to this.

My job security at the moment is untouchable as I am doing an "unbelievable job and putting a smile on the face of every single supporter." Given that we had just 8 season ticket holders this year I think there is real emphasis on the word 'single' :D.

Notable Players...

Squad

My Player of the Season: Glenn Barry - finally found my goalscorer but age has already caught up with him!

Most Valuable: Andrew Spiteri - our rock at the back

Special Mention: Sergio Cappitta - for getting nominated for the Division's player of the year award. Didn't win it though ;)

Club News...

Club Info

Transfers

Finances

Facilities

Fans Player of the Year: Sergio Cappitta (DM/MC)

Best XI

Overall Best XI

The Plan...

Many doors have now opened for us following our 2nd promotion. The quality of interested staff has improved massively and we can now employ up to 8 scouts! Great news as we can now also sign up to 3 foreigners in the squad (1 non-EU player). I've already snapped up a great Croatian goalkeeper on a free so its a case of using the last 2 foreigner spots to really boost the squad. I don't really know what to expect in this next leap in league quality.

The club also announced a new kit sponsorship deal. It is £0.25k less than the last one :thdn:

|Season   |  Division   |    League Finish    |          Achievements            |
|---------|-------------|---------------------|----------------------------------|
|2009/10  |    3A       |         1st         | Champions! Automatic Promotion   |
|2010/11  |    2nd      |         8th         |  Div 2 & 3 Knockout Finalists    |
|2011/12  |    2nd      |         1st         | Champions! Automatic Promotion   |

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European Championships 2012

Hosted by Poland & Ukraine

Group A:

Portugal (Q)

Greece (Q)

Turkey

Poland

Group B:

Serbia (Q)

Ukraine (Q)

France

Denmark

Group C:

Switzerland (Q)

Italy (Q)

England

Sweden

Group D:

Spain (Q)

Germany (Q)

Wales

Bosnia

Quarter Finals

Ukraine 0-3 Portugal

Serbia 1-0 Greece

Switzerland 2-1 Germany

Italy 2-1 Spain

Semi Finals

Portugal 1-2 Italy

Serbia 0-1 Switzerland

Final

Italy 3-0 Switzerland

That means so far Italy have won the World Cup in 2010 and the Euro's in 2012. Next World Cup is in Brazil.

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Great season iacovone :thup: Will be great to see survival for St Andrew's next season.

That's Luqa St. Andrews not St Andrews because they are a wholly different club (and now in the same division as me :D).

Thanks for the well wishes, I fear I may need them as once again the board expect me to get promoted :rolleyes:. I think in Malta the boost of promotion to your reputation is slightly too high! Though it does beg the question - will the difference in quality at the D1 level be noticeable?

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That's Luqa St. Andrews not St Andrews because they are a wholly different club (and now in the same division as me :D).

Thanks for the well wishes, I fear I may need them as once again the board expect me to get promoted :rolleyes:. I think in Malta the boost of promotion to your reputation is slightly too high! Though it does beg the question - will the difference in quality at the D1 level be noticeable?

Yeh, I was just shortening the name slightly knowing it was Luqa St. Andrews, but not knowing there was another team called St. Andrews. Know for next time now. :rolleyes:

Sorry, how many tiers are there in Malta, must have missed this?

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We wracked up a record number of goals in the division this year which ultimately meant we blew away the league. New striker Barry was the key to this.

Hey, wait a minute. You told us you couldn't get decent strikers in Malta! :confused:

You think you can tell us anything because we don't manage there? :D

The club also announced a new kit sponsorship deal. It is £0.25k less than the last one

Haha - that's ridiculous mate.

The top flight beckons! What's the foreigner limits in the top tier?

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Right to address some issues!:

1) There are 4 tiers in Malta. The Prem, Div 1, Div 2 and Div 3A and 3B

2) You can't find strikers in Malta!! I just got really lucky with Barry - take a look at the screeny of him, finishing 5! He's now rated 1 star in Div 1 :rolleyes:

3) Ok so in Div 1 its 3 foreigners with just 1 non-EU in the registered squad.

In the Prem its a maximum of 3 non-EU players and as many EU foreigners as I like :D.

Needless to say I can't wait to take my place in the top tier!!

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What's the bet you get a new sponsorship deal worth even less :eek:

I wouldn't put it past my chairman to negotiate something like that :D

Its also worth noting a curiosity in Malta. From the outset, stadiums are allocated to each division. ie. there are 5 stadiums on the island IIRC and ranging from best to worst they are assigned a league and all the teams within it. So Prem Div teams would start playing at Ta' Qali (the national stadium). Div 1 at Hibernians Stadium. And so on.

Now the problem occurs when teams are relegated and promoted as there is no way in an editor file to assign stadiums to leagues in FM; just to clubs. Therefore we still play at the Centenary Stadium whereas some of our rivals play in the aforementioned stadia. Its not a huge issue, just something to point out for now.

I'm still hoping one day that I'll have a new stadium built for me :D

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February Update:

I was linked with my first ever new job at the fairly big Maltese club Sliema Wanderers. But having a job to do at my beloved Luqa St Andrews I turned down the speculation. The fans and chairman were happy.

Back to the league, the 2nd placed Melita manager said he that we were not good enough to get promoted. Sitting 4th (2 go up) he was probably right but I retorted that confidence was high at the Centenary Stadium and it paid off. We came from a goal behind to win 2-1 and move up to 3rd. With a game in hand over Melita we could go up this year. There are 5 games remaining and we're 2 points off promotion (with a game in hand).

St Patrick have romped to the title already so it really is just a battle for 2nd place now. C'mon!

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Good Luck on trying to achieve 2nd place, though I would imagine not being promoted this season would be disastrous for Luqa St Andrews. Gives you another season to build a squad for the top flight. Depends how you feel about promotion or not though.

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Good Luck on trying to achieve 2nd place, though I would imagine not being promoted this season would be disastrous for Luqa St Andrews. Gives you another season to build a squad for the top flight. Depends how you feel about promotion or not though.

It may not be achievable now actually :rolleyes:. Either way it wouldn't be a disaster if we remained in the 1st Division. The step in quality in this tier is finally evident so I imagine one more promotion would be a real stretch. Though having said that my assistant with JA 13 thinks we have a few players that would be considered 'good' Premiership players.

good luck enjoying the thread. hope barry has been on form this season

If only Barry had been on form. As expected the leap in standard plus his aging body have stopped him scoring :(. In fact I seem to be lacking a goalscorer again :thdn:. I have my eyes on a 17 year old striker in the league above who is going to be dynamite. However he is valued at 130k, about 130k more than I've ever had to spend :D

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Its also worth noting a curiosity in Malta. From the outset, stadiums are allocated to each division. ie. there are 5 stadiums on the island IIRC and ranging from best to worst they are assigned a league and all the teams within it. So Prem Div teams would start playing at Ta' Qali (the national stadium). Div 1 at Hibernians Stadium. And so on.

I've got to be misunderstanding here! So.........teams play at the same stadium all season, and in effect every match in the division is at the same stadium? :confused:

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I've got to be misunderstanding here! So.........teams play at the same stadium all season, and in effect every match in the division is at the same stadium? :confused:

Nope you've got it spot on. I maybe didn't explain it very well though :D

I think it all boils down to the fact that there are only 5 stadiums in Malta!!

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Lived in Malta from '82 to '89. Both my brother and I used to play for 'Luxol St. Andrews' on Saturday's. My brother ended up going to the Gothia Cup in Sweden with them - for which I will be everlastingly jealous and bitter ;-)

Loved the Island - am looking forward to reading your updates...

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I played (alot of bench time if i am being honest) for Hamrun Spartans 4 years ago in the Premier Divison for a season and loved the experience. Luckily got family over there so worked for them in their restaurant as the teams dont pay very well (or barely anything at all) but loving this thread mate keep it going.

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Lived in Malta from '82 to '89. Both my brother and I used to play for 'Luxol St. Andrews' on Saturday's. My brother ended up going to the Gothia Cup in Sweden with them - for which I will be everlastingly jealous and bitter ;-)

Loved the Island - am looking forward to reading your updates...

I played (alot of bench time if i am being honest) for Hamrun Spartans 4 years ago in the Premier Divison for a season and loved the experience. Luckily got family over there so worked for them in their restaurant as the teams dont pay very well (or barely anything at all) but loving this thread mate keep it going.

Wow two actual Maltesers :)

That is awesome, do Luxol St Andrews have any relation to Luqa St Andrews I wonder.

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Luqa St Andrew's

Bank of Malta First Division

2012/13

The Season Review...

I have to be pleased with 4th place, despite the board expecting promotion :rolleyes:. There was a brief period where it looked as though we might take the 2nd promotion spot but our form dipped with 5 to go and we picked up just 7 from 15 points. Its probably for the best though as we can build a little more before our (hopeful) promotion season next year.

Glen Barry unfortunately didn't have a prolific season this year, as age has just about caught up with him. The mere fact that Cappitta was our top scorer shows how if we'd had a good striker, promotion would have been in our hands.

In the cup competitions we had a mixed bag of success. In the First Division Knockout we ended up marauding our way to the final before ending up runners up in a very disappointing fashion. We dominated the game but our end of season form saw us struggle to score and this was the case here. Our 2nd cup final loss :(.

In the FA trophy we lost in the 2nd Round. This competition contains both 1st Division and Premier League sides, so its a good way to measure up our side with the top flight.

Notable Players...

Squad

My Player of the Season: Sergio Cappitta - ended up our top goalscorer from MC which says a lot about him and our team. He had a great year and ended up being voted the Division's player of the season.

Most Valuable: Tino Peric - best goalie in the league perhaps? He is my 1 allowed non-EU player.

Special Mention: Mauro Brincat - for his number of assists from the left wing. Brincat had a very good year.

Hot Prospect of the Year: Martin Farrugia - came through the youth system 2 years ago and due to me not signing a RB in the summer, earnt the starting spot. Did very well over the season, I expect him to build upon this season for the next.

Club News...

Club Info

Transfers

Finances

Facilities

Fans Player of the Year: Sergio Cappitta (DM/MC)

Best XI

Overall Best XI

The Plan...

Ok well we need to sign a striker who can offer guaranteed goals. I'm going to bring in a right winger to give us more balance. The plan is to aim for promotion this season but it wouldn't be the end of the world if we missed out again. Ideally I'd like to sort out our finances as at the moment we are losing money fast. With this in mind, promotion is actually essential :D.

|Season   |  Division   |    League Finish    |          Achievements            |
|---------|-------------|---------------------|----------------------------------|
|2009/10  |    3A       |         1st         | Champions! Automatic Promotion   |
|2010/11  |    2nd      |         8th         |  Div 2 & 3 Knockout Finalists    |
|2011/12  |    2nd      |         1st         | Champions! Automatic Promotion   |
|2012/13  |    1st      |         4th         | Lost in final of First Div KO    |

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The board want me to win the division this year :rolleyes:

We also have a tiny wage budget to work with this year :thdn:

Basically they want more than before but have given me fewer resources to work with. This will be my hardest season in charge at Luqa. Fingers crossed.

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Are there any good loanee strikers at the Maltese PL Sides?

Surely Valletta reserves or somewhere has someone decent?

To be honest, not really. At least not anyone available for loan. However there is a team called Pieta Hotspurs who have just been relegated to my division 1. For some reason they keep getting great (well crap, but great in a Maltese way) youngsters through their system. I've got my eye on a 17 year old striker who is potentially the best Maltese forward since Carmel Busuttil (anyone remember him!?). Unfortunately he's worth 130k so no chance for the time being. Instead I've loaned another 17 year old striker from them.

Should also add that I signed a striker on a free called Glenville Goodlip who has 3 in 4 so far. May have found my goalscorer!

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