[FM12] Canadian travelling with a oddly checkered ball [journeyman FM12]

Well, I couldn't stay away. After my career saves of FM11 and the enjoyment of them, I couldn't wait. So without further ado, here is Cerud's new journey!

FM 12.04 with large database

No league edits except proper league and tournament names

Leagues:

South Africa, China, United States, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal (view only), Ireland, Russia, Slovakia, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine (view only), Serbia (view only), Australia (view only), Argentina, Brazil

All leagues loaded in each nation.

Starting Date: July 2011

Name: Cerud

Nationality: Canadian, with 2nd American (since Canadian and American sports are integrated anyways, makes for better reality)

Languages: English, French (love how FM thinks all Canadians speak French ), and Spanish

Past Experience: Sunday League Footballer

Alright, now going for a job.

Summary

Year        Country          Team                     League              Position   Other

2011-2012   South Africa     Dynamos FC               1st Divsion           3rd      Promoted via Playoffs
2012-2013   South Africa     Dynamos FC               ABSA Premiership     14th      ---
2013-2014   South Africa     Dynamos FC	              ABSA Premiership      4th      ---
2014-2015   South Africa     Dynamos FC               ABSA Premiership      1st      League Champions
2015-2016   Czech Republic   Sezimovo Ústí            Druhá Liga            ---      Resigned
2015-2016   England          Preston North End        nPower League 2       3rd      Promoted
2016-2017   England          Dag & Red                nPower League 1       1st      League Champions, Promoted
2017-2018   England          Southampton FC           nPower Championship   ---      Resigned
2018        Canada/USA       Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Major League Soccer   1st      MLS Cup, Canadian Championship, Supporter's Shield
2019        Canada/USA       Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Major League Soccer   2nd      MLS Cup

Cup Summary

• 2012-2013 - South Africa - Telkom Knockout Cup Champions
  
• 2014-2015 - South Africa - ABSA Premiersship League Title
  
• 2016-2017 - England - Johnstone's Paint Trophy Champions
  
• 2016-2017 - England - nPower Football League One League Title
  
• 2018 - Canada - Nutrilite Canadian Championship
  
• 2018 - Canada/USA - MLS Supporter's Shield
  
• 2018 - Canada/USA - MLS Cup
  
• 2018-2019 - Canada - CONCACAF Champions League Cup
  
• 2019 - Canada/USA - MLS Cup
  

Personal Awards

• 2011-2012 - South African 1st Division Manager of the Year - 1st Place
  
• 2012-2013 - South African Manager of the Season - 1st Place
  
• 2013-2014 - South African Manager of the Season - 2nd Place
  
• 2014-2015 - South African Manager of the Season - 1st Place
  
• 2016-2017 - England nPower League One Manager of the Season - 1st Place
  
• 2018 - MLS Coach of the Year - 1st Place
  
• 2019 - MLS Coach of the Year - 1st Place
  

Summary

Year    Country    Achievements
2019    Nigeria    ---

So here's what I got offered in the first week of job hunting...looks like South Africa likes me

South Africa - MP Black Aces

• 2 year contract @ $92 000
  
• Transfer Budget: $145 000
  
• Wage Budget: $925K
  
• Currently Spending: $1.26M...would need serious wage cuts...
  

South Africa - Dynamos

• 2 year contract @ $100 000
  
• Transfer Budget: $36 000
  
• Wage Budget: $1.2M
  
• Currently Spending: $1.49M...would need serious wage cuts...
  

Basically both clubs need wage controls. Black Aces are predicted for 2nd while the Dynamos are predicted for 11th. Both have had Premier League experience recently and should be able to make it back.

Any thoughts?

That's a tough decision due to both teams being over budget but with media prediction's I'd go with Dynamos as there will hopefully be less pressure with having a lower prediction

That's a tough decision due to both teams being over budget but with media prediction's I'd go with Dynamos as there will hopefully be less pressure with having a lower prediction

Plus they'll pay me more! ... actually maybe that's not good given their salary issues

Still will be a smaller difference than if you took the Black Aces job

Neither, I dont like South African football

Dynamos imo. I'll take bigger wage budget over bigger transfer budget.

Alright, lets start this!

Dynamos FC - National First Division

I've signed a two year, $110 000 contract, not bad for a first time manager! I've got about a month and half to get into the team. Apparently, there are a fe new rules for the South African 1st Division level this year, including amalgamating the Coastal and Inland leagues into one league and some squad restrictions over international players. Should be interesting.

A quick background...

Founded 1997, Dynamos FC are a South African professional club currently playing in the National First Division. The club play their home games at Giyani and possess adequate training facilities and basic youth facilities. The club also has fairly basic youth coaching and an average youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as Ri Khomeni Ri Nga Peli.

Having enjoyed success as recently as 2002, Ri Khomani Ri Nga Peli are a club with a growing history. Dynamos won the Telkom Knockout in 1991, and won the South African 2nd tier in 2002 and finished runners-up two times.

The immediate concern will be to lower the wage budget as we are over $300K over.

Giyani Stadium is not the nicest of places, but it has a 15 000 capactiy (10 000 seated).

Neither, I dont like South African football

Fair enough but not a choice.

Dynamos imo. I'll take bigger wage budget over bigger transfer budget.

Welcome rancer! My thoughts exactly.

National First Division: Achieve a safe mid-table position

Nedbank Cup: 1st Round

South African National First Division Cup: Not regarded as important

Media Prediction: 11th of 16

Sky Bet Promotion Odds: 33-1

Wage Budget: $1 193 504

Transfer Budget: $36 000

Kit Sponsorship: $121 000

Youth Intake: None for me this year as it was already done by the time I got here.

Good luck with Dynamos Cerud, and good to see you back with another another thread . In my experience with Dynamos they already have a squad that can challenge for promotion.

Rantjie and Ngobese are quality players

It seems South Africa's a common starting point for those who've loaded it. Interesting to see what you can build there.

Just to repeat what rancer said, good to see you back with another thread .

Interesting club to start with. I've also had a save in South Africa and found it quite a tough league to crack especially with the likes of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. Good luck there though, you've got a solid base with Dynamos to start things off with.

Another one who couldn't resist the urge of FM12?!

Good luck with Dynamos, hopefully they turn out to be a good side to start your adventure with

Good luck with Dynamos Cerud, and good to see you back with another another thread . In my experience with Dynamos they already have a squad that can challenge for promotion.

Rantjie and Ngobese are quality players

It seems South Africa's a common starting point for those who've loaded it. Interesting to see what you can build there.

Just to repeat what rancer said, good to see you back with another thread .

Interesting club to start with. I've also had a save in South Africa and found it quite a tough league to crack especially with the likes of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. Good luck there though, you've got a solid base with Dynamos to start things off with.

Another one who couldn't resist the urge of FM12?!

Good luck with Dynamos, hopefully they turn out to be a good side to start your adventure with

Thank you all! I've had some success before in South Africa in FM11. I had a save where I took the African Warriors through promotion and into playing for the CAF Champions League and even finishing 3rd in the Club World Cup. Hopefully, I have similar good fortune with the Dynamos.

Good to see your new thread up and running.

Good luck in South Africa!

Good to see your new thread up and running.

Good luck in South Africa!

Cheers, Adelaidean! Always nice to have comments from a new face

Transfers - I wasn' going to be able to bring in much for players given that I was over $300K over my wage budget. I've brought this down so far to just over $75K, but there's still a couple players I'm hoping will leave...don't want to pay them out

Players of Note - I have brought in some loan signings though since there doesn't seem to be any match restrictions when it comes to loans.

Brent Lawler - D RC - Much needs, as my only right back is rated at 1.5 stars. Will play most matches.

Wandisile Letlabika - D C - Good cover with my other centre backs, now with decent depth at the position.

Jabulani Shongwe - M RC - Initially planned as a centre midfielder, Shongwe's been used in the right winger position for now as my main guy, Richard Rantjie is injured for a month and a half.

Didn't have much time for a pre-season as the 1st Division Cup begins before league play starts up, but was able to get in 4 games. Not enough to be really competent in our tactic just yet, so the first few matches of the season may be ...interesting...

South Africa - Dundee XI Experience - won 7-1

South Africa - Rygersdal Football Club - won 7-0

South Africa - Knysna Bafana - won 7-1

South Africa - Welkom Eagles - won 3-0

So...no problem scoring goals! Hopefully we can transfer this into the actual season coming up!

Standings | Past Positions | Fixtures - A much better season than expected! We were predicted to finish in 11th, but have been in a three-way battle for 1st with Tuks and the Black Aces for the entire season so far. Our form has taken a hit as of late, but this is mainly dure to my top left and right wingers both being injured for 3+ months...ouch. Rantjie on right wing should be back soon though, so hoping that solidifies our position.

Players of Note...

Godfrey Nobula - D C - Consistent defender that's also starting to convert a few goals on the corner. He's a loan signing, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep him for next year.

Michael Bulaya - ST - Hasn't played as much as I'd like due to an injury early in the season, but he's come back, fresh and ready to so. He's one of our highest paid players though, on contract before I arrived...might need to get rid of him for someone cheaper and more representative of thier skills.

Rudzani Ramudzuli - AM RL, ST - Ramudzuli wins the award for best player so far this season. Intended only as a supporting target man, he leads the team in both assists and goals. He's also second in the league in goals too. Quality player at this level. Might be able to make a jump up to the ABSA Premiership...not sure yet.

Good luck with Dynamos Cerud, Loved your 2011 thread so hopefully this will be the same

Good luck with Dynamos Cerud, Loved your 2011 thread so hopefully this will be the same

Cheers iHeadhunta! I had some good fortune with my FM11 career as most places I moved to did rather well. Hoping for another progression in this career as my FM11 one! Nardo FK to Everton...not bad

Looking good so far,nice to see your exceeding expectations as well

Hit the ground running then Hope you can recapture your early form for the second half of the season.

Good start to the season

It's a shame Rantjie got injured, he was a cracking player for me!

Looking good so far,nice to see your exceeding expectations as well

Thanks, BWG. The Board's expectations were fairly low at 11th out of 16, so I knew surpassing them wouldn't be difficult. But still always nice to be excelling!

Hit the ground running then Hope you can recapture your early form for the second half of the season.

Thanks, AK22. Form's been recaptured but still a dog fight! With 5 games left to go, we just retook 1st place, but only by a single point. Tuks is right behind us and then a few more points back is Thanda Royal Zulu, Vasco (RSA), and the MP Black Aces, the other team that wanted to hire me. Should be a photo finish!

Good start to the season

It's a shame Rantjie got injured, he was a cracking player for me!

Good to hear from you, roganp! Rantjie's back healthy and playing well. Actually, the whole team is healthy for the final push *knock on wood*

Youth Candidates

My assistant manager is loving Dingaan Mkhwanazi, a right back rated at 1* CA, 4.5* PA, whom he believes is one of the more gifted players ever to come through our own ranks.

Others that could have potential include...

Sandile Shongwe - D C - Rated 4.5 silver * CA, 3* PA

Giovanni Powell - M/AM C - Rated 1* CA, 4* PA

And now...time for a rant!

I made the playoffs. Good achievement, but our team died off instead of playing until the finish. Fine. We win the semi finals and go to the finals and win the first leg.

Here's the rant. the 1st leg took place on 30 May 2012. All my loan signees leave on 31 May 2012. The 2nd leg, for some reason...is not until the 20 June 2012...3 weeks away?!

So, as my loan signees leave...I'm left with a squad that doesn't have enough decent players for a starting XI. On top of this, after league play finished, my players took off on holiday for 3 weeks before the playoffs even started. If this had been removed, I could have finished the playoffs (with odd 3 week finals hiatus included...) and still had my loan signings...

Whoever's in charge of scheduling needs to look at a calendar once in a while...

Okay, Cheers. Rant over

cerud

Standings | Past Positions | Fixtures - We began the season on fire, racking up huge wins against all kinds of competition. However, there were a couple of other teams doing the same which meant that we were headed towards a dog fight at the end. After 25 matches, we had finally regained 1st place. However, two things then happened. First, I believe my squad thought we were done and just...stopped playing. Second, we averaged 2 long term injuries a match, leaving up badly depleted. We held on for 3rd place and even though that was much higher than we were expected for, I am disappointed that we didn't hold onto the top spot as I believe it was completely possible. Anyways, we qualified for the playoffs and left me hoping for a turn of fortunes for my squad.

ABSA Premiership Playoff Semi Final Leg 1 - The first match was a home. I had taken care of Thanda Royal Zulu all season, so I was optimistic of a home win at start with. However, I was not expecting to have to wait until the 94 minutes for it to happen! Thankfully, we got the win and took the series to Thanda Royal Zulu's Hammersdale Stadium.

The Playoffs...

ABSA Premiership Playoff Semi Final Leg 2 - This was more like it! We played an attractive, attacking game and held the opposition at bay the entire match. Easily dealt with, the finals were next against Golden Arrows, the team that finished bottom of the ABSA Premiership.

ABSA Premiership Playoff Final Leg 1 - We held Golde Arrows to only long shots in this match, with only one actually hitting the net. Our two goals gave us a huge advantage, especially since we were now heading to Golden Arrows' Moses Mabhida Stadium.

ABSA Premiership Playoff Final Leg 2 - If you read my "rant" previous to this, you will understand my apprehension going into this match. Apparently, Golden Arrows also understood my plight and decided to score my first two goals for me! I never asked for the help but I'm not one to turn away help, no matter where it comes from We held onto a 3-3 tie and took promotion on aggregate!

The Cups...

South African 1st Division Cup - Our very first match of the season, just before league play started. Kind of left me with a bad feeling in my stomach, but at least league play was better. I hate losing; I hate even more the matches we don't even show up for.

Nedbank Cup - Like the FA Cup in other national leagues. We had a good run, getting into the quater finals with all Premier level teams. Our 1-2 loss was a good match and could have gone either way.

Transfers - The main goal of the year was to unload frivilous contracts. We done that, so hopefully I can begin to build an effective squad for the ABSA Premiership this coming season.

Players of Note...

Given that we had a large amount of loan signings this year, there weren't many of our own to highlight. Only really one player shone above the rest.

Rudzani Ramudzuli - AM RL, ST - Our top goalscorer and assisting player. Hit the 20 goal mark in league play in our final playoff match.

Finances - Finances took a hit due to the squad bonus payouts, but hopefully a higher league will help with the financial situation. However, the gare receipts from the playoffs helped as we sold out both of our home matches.

Facilities - No changes. We were selling about 70% of our seats, so we might need an expansion to our stadium sometime soon if we're able to remain in the ASBA Premiership.

Fans Player of the Year - Rudzani Ramudzuli

Awards

• South African 1st Division Manager of the Year - Cerud
  

Next Year...

Let's see what the ASBA Premiership is like! No plans to leave yet, but this is the final year of my 2-year contract. Probably no interest elsewhere in a manager like me...yet

Gratz on promotion cerud! Best of luck in the top flight.

Gratz on promotion cerud! Best of luck in the top flight.

Thanks, rancer! Here's hoping!

ABSA Premiership: Stay clear of relegation

Telkom Knockout: Learn from the Experience

Nedbank Cup: 1st Round

Media Prediction: 16th of 16

Sky Bet Promotion Odds: 2000-1

Wage Budget: $1 351 834, an increase of $158 220 (currently spending $1 265 056)

Transfer Budget: $4 170, a decrease of $31 830 (likely a reflection of my finances...)

Kit Sponsorship: $121 000

You always got to love it when your chairman just gives you something without asking

Not much, but I'll take it.

Well done on the promotion even with such a weakened squad in the final second leg . At least now you're in the top flight next season, you shouldn't encounter any more play-offs...unless of course you're relegated back to the First Division

Shame to see FC Cape Town relegated. They're one of those clubs which I now 'kind of' follow thanks to FM after my FM10 thread. Thought I'd link my old thread in case you wanted any tips from the South African league structure.

No pressure then.

Cograts on winning the playoff.Good luck in the Premiership

Well done on getting promoted

Good luck in the top flight

Well done on Promotion Cerud

Well done on the promotion even with such a weakened squad in the final second leg . At least now you're in the top flight next season, you shouldn't encounter any more play-offs...unless of course you're relegated back to the First Division

Shame to see FC Cape Town relegated. They're one of those clubs which I now 'kind of' follow thanks to FM after my FM10 thread. Thought I'd link my old thread in case you wanted any tips from the South African league structure.

Cheers, Raware! I'll definitely take a look. Thankfully no more playoffs and I have a bit more of a wage budget to build a squad, so not as much of a need for loan signings.

No pressure then.

None indeed!

Cograts on winning the playoff.Good luck in the Premiership

Well done on getting promoted

Good luck in the top flight

Well done on Promotion Cerud

Thank you all! First priority will be survival. Hopefully after a season, I can begin solidifying my position and begin to move up the table into some African continental play!

Group A: Germany, Ukraine, France, Northern Ireland

Group B: Poland, Italy, Greece, Ireland

Group C: Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Montenegro

Group D: Netherlands, Scotland, Russia, England

Quarter Finals

Germany 3e - 2 Italy

Poland 0 - 1 Ukraine

Scotland 0 - 2e Spain

Netherlands 0 - 3 Portugal

Semi Finals

Germany 2 - 1 Portugal

Ukraine 1 - 0 Spain

Final

Germany 0 - 1 Ukraine

Ukraine takes the Euros, bating some much higher nations. Surprising to see England to so bad, winning only their single match against group leaders Netherlands.

Sounds about right for England.

Sounds about right for England.

And Scotland get home after the postcards, for the first time in their history!

I guess this proves FM still has some way to go to be truly realistic

Well done on the promotion, even though the 'FM Gods' were severely convening against you. I'm sure that 3 week break between the two legs of the final was just an 'oversight' by the SA FA

Nice to see the home nation winning the Euros too

Great work on promotion.

Sounds about right for England.

Yeah, England does have a tendancy to think big

And Scotland get home after the postcards, for the first time in their history!

I guess this proves FM still has some way to go to be truly realistic

Welcome, DazRTaylor! Always nice to have a new poster. Guess Scotland got lucky, it can happen...sometimes

Well done on the promotion, even though the 'FM Gods' were severely convening against you. I'm sure that 3 week break between the two legs of the final was just an 'oversight' by the SA FA

Nice to see the home nation winning the Euros too

Great work on promotion.

Thanks, AK22 and Adelaidean. The 'FM Gods' did conspire, but mere mortals are always given a way out, even if it is the other team scoring own goals...twice For me, it doesn't matter how the win happens, just that it does.

And a hone nation winning any competition is alway nice to see, although it was humourous that Ukraine had to beat Poland, the other home nation to do it!

Not bad now hopefully I can make some decent transfers in order to use it.