Around The World - C-Mon's MegaGame

Ok, so following this thread: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/290949-...so-what-happens-exactly-if...?p=7389674

...I've decided to post career updates from my MegaGame (FM 2011). It features all the leagues in all the countries, which also means that the DB contains a whopping 169 000 people.

The goal is to make career decisions based on what I would do in real life, thus putting a major emphasis on simulation and immersion. I won't use scouting tools or editors, and I won't quit & load upon unfortunate results. I have started the game as an unemployed former Amateur, and applied for every vacany in the world.

This update can end in three different ways:

1) The save eventually crashes, which I hear is likely when it comes to a database of such magnitude.

2) I get bored, which is less likely, cause' who the hell can ever really quit Football Manager?

3) I finally cement my place as the greatest manager of all time, which is even less likely, considering the crash dumps and the difficulty of such a task.

Is that all? I think so...

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Update #1!

Right, so firstly, delivering 83 job applications is apparently a bloody chore, even in Football Manager. With the rather sluggish loading and everything, I'm sure I spent a good 15 minutes just right-clicking and tapping "Apply For Job".

Anyroads, those interested replied almost instantly; a whole bunch of Indonesian clubs and three Portuguese clubs on the fringes of the Portuguese league system. Now, to everyone out there who's potentially an Indonesian, I mean no offense by the following; but the Indonesian leagues are really scaring the hell out of me. How can 80 % of the clubs be named Pers-something? Why do half of every lower league club have the same, blue home jerseys and the same, white away jerseys? Are you like those aliens from South Park that use "Marklar" as a valid noun for everything?

Okay, so that MAY be a little over the top, but seriously: Persebi, Persida, Persidi, Persik Kendal, Persika, Persinab, Persipon, Persires, Perssin, Perst - that is some messed up naming you've got there, and that's only all the names in one group of a league system that I can't even begin to get my head around! What is wrong with you? Where does this love for everything Pers originate?

Alright, so as you probably understand, I saw fit to politely reject the contract offers from Indonesia. Not only because of the naming issue, but because the pay in Portugal is twice as good. Yeah, I suppose the living costs might be lower in Indonesia, but no, go away, you intimidate me.

In the end, I got all my other job applications rejected and packed my bags for Portugal. My choice fell on União Desportiva da Serra, mostly because they seemed slightly less hopeless than the other two candidates. They're still crap, mind you, but atleast their wage budget lies above 1k per week. Also, they are tipped to end up in 13th place in the Portuguese Second Division - Central, which would actually be the best placed out of all the four teams that go down! Wow!

Good luck with this, just something to note, you can click on your name at the top, click on jobs and there should be an apply for all button. That should save you a lot of time next time .

Update 2!

Location: Santa Catarina da Serra, Portugal

Founded: 1976

Division: Portuguese Second Division - Central

Grounds: Estádio da Portela, capacity of 2000 (200 seated)

Estimated Value: £70k

Current Squad: Pretty shoddy

Previous Notable Records: Finished Runners-Up in the Portuguese Second Division C in 2009 before the system got reorganized (I'm unsure on the details here.) Apparently, they've also recently played a friendly match against India and lost 3-1, which in terms of bragging rights is up there with saying "I got knocked out cold by this huge guy last Saturday night, but I managed to spit on his shoes first."

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"Simon Erasmus arrives at U.D. Serra, having put pen to paper on a one-year deal worth £275 per week, which, considering the relatively cheap life in Portugal, is actually pretty decent."

Okay, so the first thing I notice is that the wage budget is stretched pretty thin. In fact, it's so thin that it could burst any second now; the limit is set at £1,2k per week, but the current payout is at 1,4k. After a quick investigation, I discover that one unremarkable player is cashing in an unbelievable £425 per week, which equals to almost a third of the entire wage expenditure, and not only that; I also discover that he's on loan from one of U.D. Serra's fiercest rivals! I've unveiled your clever ploy, Centro Desportivo de Fátima, but you're not going to beat us like this! Here, you can have him back and then you can learn to pay your own damn wages.

The second thing I notice is that there's a distinct lack of backroom staff here. The only guy I'm presented with is an Assistant Manager, who's only skillful area is working with youngsters, so I suppose he should aspire to become a kindergarten teacher instead, but right now I can't really afford to terminate the contracts of anyone. After using my newly acquired financial leeway to hire a couple more minions that, if I am to say so myself, are hardly incompetent, I set out to inspect my team.

This in turn brought me to the realization that I only really have two good players:

Bruno Matias

Nélson Sousa

The rest are either unimpressive or just plain bad. The first choice goalkeeper is okay, I guess, but has a bit of a disadvantage in term of his high eccentricity. The two best centre backs are both slow veterans, and the only real left back in the squad is one of those cases where you can just tell that the team had a surplus in terms of wingers, so they put the worst one where he couldn't do much harm. That said, the team has really good coverage out wide with much to choose from. Aside from Bruno Matias there, the central midfield is nothing to brag about but a-okay.

What worries me the most is the strikeforce. I'm not even sure the strikers in the squad have the skill necessary to hit an elephant if their preferred foot was lodged inside it's arse along with the ball. After the first friendly where I lost 0-3 I was proven right. So, yes, that's going to be a priority. I'd better stay valiant during the trial days and keep searching for free talent, because we're obviously not gonna stay clear of the drop zone if we can't score goals.

Good luck with this, just something to note, you can click on your name at the top, click on jobs and there should be an apply for all button. That should save you a lot of time next time .

Thanks, it's always nice to realize you've wasted 15 minutes of your life

Interesting. I started a Journeyman save and started in Portugal. But the team was dire, in fact the whole club was dire, so I resigned 4 months in and now I'm working in Indonesia.

I look forward to seeing your progress though!

Good luck. Can be a challenge getting promoted from that league. Not only do you have to win the league you then have to qualify from the promotion play-off too. Took me a few seasons in my save but really enjoyable. Finances are really bad and you don't appear to have much to play with. £1.4k p/w is awful decent players want around £100 p/w and good ones can be double that. Thought I had it tough at Vianense when I had £2.4-3k p/w for wages.

Good luck with this massive save!

Update 3!

Alright, so I feel I've managed to scrape together a surprisingly adept band of misfits with what little budget I had. I tried getting rid of some deadwood, but only really managed to pass on a couple of shin-guarded turds to some unfortunate souls in other clubs, and their wages only made up fractions. Still, I feel rather happy with the players I picked up along the way:

Paulo Silva, GK

Ok, so I'm well aware that this guy looks like an old fart, but believe me, compared to what I had to contend with in the goalkeeper department, this guy is friggin' Superman or something. I got him for free from some non-league team and while he initially wanted £50 a week, I managed to push it all the way down to £35. He might prove to be something of a guardian angel in the coming season. At least I hope so.

Diogo Luís, LB

Jesus Christ's underpants, how did I actually get this guy? Initially I weren't actually putting priority on strengthening the defense, but when my new scout (atta boy) came to me in a Backroom Advice Meeting with this recommendation, I just had to go for it. He wanted a meagre £110 a week, which, honestly, I couldn't afford. I were afraid to alienate him with my counter offer, so I took a fat chance with £80, which he immediately accepted without question. No doubt he is my best player ATM, along with Supergoalie up there...and, well, my secret weapon, which you will soon see.

Márcio Sampaio, MC

Alright, let me just clarify first that I do feel I'm paying this guy too much, in the sense that he's not really a whole lot better than the midfielders I already have, and still gets paid twice as much. I...I just...I was in a bad place, okay?! I was desperate for coverage in the middle and this guy was my first signing, before I realized I could get players that actually knew how to play football. If nothing else, he provides something defensive to a mostly technical and offensive midfield.

Nuno Pintassilgo, MC

Another addition to the depth in midfield, thankfully, I had enough brainwave to limit the amount of money I offered this guy. He's old, but he's far from useless and could be good to have as a direct set-piece taker. Additionally, he might not be a hopeless choice as a playmaker. I'll see how he turns out in the remaining friendlies.

António Alves, ST

So I threw a little tantrum back in the last update about how grossly incompetent my strikers where. I brought this guy in to solve the problem. He cost me a fair bit of the wage budget but I'm hoping he'll be worth it, and although he hasn't really put out in his three first friendlies, I like to think that's mostly due to his teammates inability to feed him balls (ew, bad euphemism). Also, I figure it will all work out once my secret weapon is properly drilled into action:

Gonçalo, CB(lol!)

Aight, so you might have noticed how I've laid these out in order depending on where on the pitch they're playing, yet, this guy is a centre back, I hear you say. (No he bloody well isn't!) Anyone who's been playing FM for long enough to authistically memorize ideal dot-chart shapes for the various positions will know that this guy is a rather rubbish defender, but would be a beast of a target striker! Seriously, I don't know what kind of brain tumor his former manager (or, for that matter, the scouts that implemented him into the game) had, but not using this guy up front is a crime against humanity, atleast in the local area where he plays. I've no idea WHY he's a CB and has no experience playing as a striker, but I'm going to make him one.

Aside from that, I've also played three more matches; 1-3, 1-1, and 5-1 in that order, so atleast I'm progressing. It should be said however that the latter was against a non-league team, and a knucklehead in their backline decided it would be a fantastic idea to get himself sendt off early on, but still, it was an invaluable game for morale. I was afraid they'd all start dying their hair black and wearing Nine Inch Nails shirts any day now.

The general outlook? Positive, for now.

Interesting. I started a Journeyman save and started in Portugal. But the team was dire, in fact the whole club was dire, so I resigned 4 months in and now I'm working in Indonesia.

I look forward to seeing your progress though!

I'm hoping I'll atleast manage to endure the duration of my inital contract, atleast ;]

Good luck. Can be a challenge getting promoted from that league. Not only do you have to win the league you then have to qualify from the promotion play-off too. Took me a few seasons in my save but really enjoyable. Finances are really bad and you don't appear to have much to play with. £1.4k p/w is awful decent players want around £100 p/w and good ones can be double that. Thought I had it tough at Vianense when I had £2.4-3k p/w for wages.

Well, with that in mind I feel kind of accomplished, considering the level of the players I brought in.

Good luck with this massive save!

Thank you!

Good luck in Portugal

Good luck in Portugal

Obrigado

You are absolutely right about Goncalo - how is that guy a DC? Either they got the position wrong, or the attributes wrong, because that just doesnt make any sense!

Managed to bring some very decent looking players in there. Goncalo is a target man, no mistake. Be interesting to see how he does. You going to retrain him or just shove him up there and tell him to deal with it?

You are absolutely right about Goncalo - how is that guy a DC? Either they got the position wrong, or the attributes wrong, because that just doesnt make any sense!

I know, right? I mean, it's POSSIBLE that he's one of those cases where they filled in his attributes, but just plain forgot about his position, so the game assigned him to CB at random.

Managed to bring some very decent looking players in there. Goncalo is a target man, no mistake. Be interesting to see how he does. You going to retrain him or just shove him up there and tell him to deal with it?

Both. Shove him up there AND retrain him. Hopefully it'll work out.

Update coming soon, btw.

Update 4!

So the team is unlikely to be rewarded any points for consistency, that's for sure. The last games of the incredibly lengthy off-season have gone as such: 4-1, 5-0, 7-0, 1-1, 0-2 and 1-3. It should be noted that these are all pretty samey teams so a skip from 7-0 to 1-3 wasn't very justified.

Well, there is one justification: Couple of weeks ago, both Supergoalie and Backup Whatshisname got themselves injured for little over a month. And you know what? That sucks. Now I have to use this U19 goalkeeper, who, despite being better than the OTHER U19 goalkeeper, is still one of the most terrible players I've ever fielded in all my years of playing Football Manager. I feel sort of bad blaming the results on him, cause' he's obviously not cut out for this level, but...seriously, a training cone would do a better job than him. Sadly, that would probably be against regulations.

So, naturally, I was handed a tricky draw in the cup away against Eléctrico, a team, while still weak, were notably better than me. Still, I figured as long as I could keep the opposition out of shooting range, I'd stand a chance.

But you know? That just wasn't going to happen. U. Serra was demolished and lost the game with five goals to nil. You see, when Mr. Training Cone is between the bars, "shooting range" is pretty much anywhere they want as long as it's our half of the pitch. True, we did deserve to lose the match, as Eléctrico was in complete control throughout, but they still only had 6 shots on goal. Five of those slipped past the goalkeeper, and the only one he saved was an impotent long-range effort that just happened to fly straight at him, and even then he only managed to tip it out of the way, BARELY avoiding a goal.

I really needed my functional goalkeepers back, especially now that the team was getting depressed and mopey again. My first league match was against a fellow relegation candidate, but I couldn't trust one of the kids in goal, even if I was playing Team Bland Portuguesa. Supergoalie was returning from his achilles injury, and although he wasn't really in match shape, I figured he'd be better than one of the other lampposts and put him on, hoping that it wouldn't worsen his injury situation.

In the end we conceded a draw, largely thanks to a headless tackle from one of my defenders that resulted in a penalty and a direct red card. 2-2 left the players with some morale left, and now that Supergoalie is back in the game, perhaps the first half of the season will be manageable. We can only wait and see...

Ouch. Harsh.

How is the pc holding up

How is the pc holding up

Fine, so far. It's virtually impossible to interrupt the processing between days, but aside from that, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. I should probably start cycling between saves though, lest I get a nasty surprise one day.

Update 5!

Alright, so with a good quarter of the season gone, I thought I'd let y'all know how things have been going:

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U.Serra | 1-1 | Esmoriz

Gonçalo with his debut goal early in the match. We stave them off for the entire first half and most of the second half, until we concede from a set piece in the 89th minute. Sour grapes.

U.Serra | 0-2 | Gondomar SC

The match itself was pretty even, but our finishing was poor throughout. Conceded a goal from a ricocheted deep cross that a quick striker latched onto before my defenders, and one from a corner.

Boavista | 4-1 | U.Serra

A straight-up rape by the former ZON Sagres side. Two of their goals come from crosses, one from a long shot, and the last one is due to the defence not being able to keep up with a striker. Our sympathy goal was a fighter's effort by Gonçalo.

U.Serra | 3-2 | Espinho

This game was won largely thanks to the deadly finishing of António Alves, who netted a hat-trick. For each goal they scored, he immediately replied, and as a final taunt, he finished a long solo run with a shot to the top corner. Winning this did wonders for their confidence.

Cearense | 2-3 | U.Serra

The team is clearly spirited from the last match and they score two quick goals, but are then hit by Cearense. Then, just before the end of the first half, Nélson Sousa gets himself a direct red card for a "professional foul" (which seemed silly to me, as he was both ahead of his opponent and not the last man). After using this chance to score a fluke goal, I prepare for slaughter in the second half. Surprisingly, António Alves hits them on the counter attack and we manage to defensively grind out a result.

U.Serra | 2-1 | Sertanense

We're very lucky to get three points out of this game, as Sertanense seemed edgier throughout. However, thanks to a fumbling goalkeeper, an effective counter attack and an uncharacteristically steady defense, U.Serra wins this game.

Coimbrões | 1-0 | U.Serra

This loss stings a little extra because the pundits kept talking us up as big favourites, even though we're very obviously not big favourites for anything in this league. The game itself was bland and their goal came in the form of a ridiculous diving header from outside of the box.

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All in all I'd say I'm doing about as well as I'd have dared hope. A big point of worry is my defence, as most goals against us is either from crosses or strikers simply outrunning their markers, which indicates that my CB's are both poor in the air and slow. Otherwise, the good news is that the attack is working out fine. António Alves is a hard worker, a good finisher and fast with the ball at his feet, and although he seems to be a bit of an individualist, I think both Gonçalo and the players around them benefit from having him at the spearhead. It also helps me mold a successful tactic based on counter-attacking, despite having a relatively hazardous backline.

In other news, financial issues are growing, as I'm a tiny bit above the wage budget and the income is around zero. After all, who is gonna finance the club? All 37 of their fans? I went to the board and suggested that a parent club might be in order, and they (meaning that one guy that's on "the board of directors") agreed with me that having money isn't all that bad, so he set out to look for someone to pair up with. Soon after, I was informed that he was looking to relinquish control of the club, so perhaps the whole affliates deal wasn't going very well.

Another money sink I've discovered is the youngsters. Each of them earns £20 a week, and while that certainly is a pittance, atleast for me, it's still like throwing money out the window. As they are all gradually turning 17, I'm trying to give them shorter, cheaper contracts without sign-on fees to further limit long-term expenditure. Right now I'm slightly above budget, and that's not good for my future reputation.

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QUARTER-SEASON AWARDS

Most Important Player: António Alves, no contest. He's scored 6 league goals and is in the runners-up spot on the top scorers chart for the league.

Biggest Surprise: Nélson Brites. Okay, so he's not been playing that well, but I swear, I've never seen anyone progress this fast in a small club. Each of his attributes were at least one notch down at the start of the season, and even when injured, he's progressing! Looks like I should let this guy have some more playtime.

Worst Player: Ricardo Parracho. Oh boy. You know, there's "bad" and then there's just plain "sad". This guy has been a wandering disaster area in my backline, which is why he's just not playing, atleast as long as I can help it.

Biggest Disappointment: Nélson Sousa. What the hell, man? I thought you were solid, and then it shows out that your only virtue is the speed of which you can go from "playing nervously" to "looking complacent". Jeez.

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...now to see if some rich bugger takes over the club. Although that's probably too much to hope for, isn't it?

Okay, I know there's a slim chance someone might reply to this but I'll say it anyways: I think there's something wrong with my database:

http://i.imgur.com/R7AAZ.jpg

First Gonçalo and now that guy. He's very obviously NOT a RB, but rather some kind of playmaker/trequartista/inside forward kind of guy, and a good one at that. Why is he a right defender? Why is he on the very outskirts of the Portuguese League System???

Perhaps he just modeled his game on Cafu . Does look very good as winger/inside forward type player. You signing him?

Perhaps he just modeled his game on Cafu . Does look very good as winger/inside forward type player. You signing him?

Well, seeing as Gonçalo works quite well even when played "out of position", I'm gonna try. However, he's going to cost me atleast £400, (yes, that's JUST £400), and I can't quite afford that x)

I'm sure he'll be worth it. How many players are you ever going to find who could defend a goal, and also score one soon after? I'd kill for him!

I'm sure he'll be worth it. How many players are you ever going to find who could defend a goal, and also score one soon after? I'd kill for him!

Hahaha, well, I'm sure I would place him at AMC or one of the flanks rather than at the RB, but yes, I feel like commiting a couple of crimes just to get him.

But it's not just that it's "pricey", I just don't have any money whatsoever to spare. He's playing for relegation candidates, so I should really just trail him for the rest of the season and then look to pick him up afterwards, especially if they go down.

Update coming later today.

Alright, so I'm gonna try and shorten the updates a little as I feel them dragging on is one of the main reasons behind the lack of responses.

Update 6!

We've passed half-season and things are looking relatively good:

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The defence seems to be doing a lot better, especially now that I've tried having Nélson Sousa as a CB instead of a fullback, which seems to provide some pace for his partner. (Though I'm nowhere near satisfied with his contribution yet.) I'm happy with the way the table is turning out for us, and our effectiveness up front, largely thanks to António Alves who's leading the top scorers chart in the league with 14 goals in 15 appearances. The way it is now, we might even be able to fight our way up to 5th, but I doubt we'll get any higher than that. On the bottom end of the table, I'm hoping Aliados Lordero will drop out, as that would make it far easier for me to sign Márcio.

In other news, the club has been taken over by a new 'chairman' (I might aswell call him "boardman" since he represents the entire "board"), who brought an astonishing personal fortune of £45k. This helped clear out the debt I had amassed and adjust the wage budget slightly, but I still don't have any significantly increased amount of financial firepower. More positively though, he did help me find a useful parent club, Rio Ave of the Liga ZON Sagres. I was hoping to loan some of their talent, but they weren't inclined. Maybe next season, if I'm still around.

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QUARTER SEASON AWARDS

Most Important Player: I WANT to say Gonçalo, because scoring 10 goals in 17 matches while being played out of position is quite astonishing, but I'm afraid I have to say António Alves again. Sorry Gonzo.

Biggest Surprise: Marco Aurélio, a centre back that's actually been a steady performer lately, and as such, has brought some security to an otherwise shaky defence.

Worst Player AND Biggest Disappointment: Nélson Sousa, again. Poor Nellie. Not only is his manager starting to dislike him, but he's also incapable of performing no matter where I place him. Whilst a bit more regular in his performances than earlier in the season, he's still at fault for about half of the goals we concede. Boo.

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Stuff Happening Elsewhere

Top 5 Transfers, 2010:

1) £17M, Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen -> Manchester City)

2) £11,5M, Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan -> Liverpool)

3) £11M, Andriy Yarmolenko (Dinamo Kyiv -> Arsenal)

4) £8M, Jefferson Farfán (Schalke -> Manchester City)

5) £7,75M, Vitali Rodionov (BATE -> Newcastle)

World Player of The Year Award:

1st: Lionel Messi, Barcelona

2nd: Xavi, Barcelona

3rd: Cesc Fàbregas, Arsenal

World Golden Ball:

1st: Lionel Messi, Barcelona

2nd: Xavi, Barcelona

3rd: David Villa, Barcelona

Other facts can be provided upon request

With the finances and the players available I'd say you were doing a good job. Sousa looks like he should be brilliant at that level might not want to play for a manager who hates him

I like the idea behind the whole of it so good luck!

With the two guys you found, who obviously shoudln't be in the positions that are listed, what are their histories like? Anything abnormal like they have just come out of the blue?

I like the idea behind the whole of it so good luck!

With the two guys you found, who obviously shoudln't be in the positions that are listed, what are their histories like? Anything abnormal like they have just come out of the blue?

Thank you!

Well, I guess you could say it's abnormal in the way that neither of them really have extensive histories. They've both played 6-7 years for various obscure sides, and before that, there's no record of them playing anywhere. This is especially odd for Márcio, who's an international. I know Andorra isn't exactly a huge nation, but I'd at least expect them to know what their current players have been doing. Or did he decide at 24: "I want to be a footballer instead of a sous chef" and join his local side?

Great update! How do you know your new chairman's personal fortune?

Great update! How do you know your new chairman's personal fortune?

I was given a news item where the main candidate for the takeover was "thought to have a personal fortune of around £45k" (and was a devoted fan).

'fortune' is a bit of a stretch.

'fortune' is a bit of a stretch.

Well, the current club value is a mere £70k (with a debt of £50k, guess that's partially my fault, whoops), so I can see how local newspapers tout him to have some impact xD

Update 7!

Well over three quarters of the season is gone and there's just another 6 matches remaining before the big round-up:

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SIGNINGS:

Sandro Gaúcho, DM. I found this guy on a free during the January transfer window and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Even though he's 36 years old he's easily looking the best player in my squad, and might be responsible for the elevated level of success. I had to actively try to offload some squad players in order to balance the wage budget, but in the end, his "massive" £140 p/w wage proved manageable, and with only the league to think about, lack of backup players isn't really a worry, the way I see it.

All in all, everything is going much better than planned. I've never managed a side who's proven this strong on the counter attack, a fact that was most evident in the surprising 2-1 away win against then-league-leaders Gondomar SC. Even more absurd however was the 3-1 rollout against league favourites Boavista, which was completely deserved and led to their manager getting fired. I stuck in 5th for a prolonged amount of time until my fine performance record got a nasty dent when facing off against relegation candidates Padroense.

Looking at the table I'd say anything above 5th is impossible, since the top 4 have been quarreling about 1st place since the start of the season. (And before Sertanense pulled ahead, it was completely open-ended.) The only thing I'm puzzling is the fact that the team regularly outperforms sides on the upper half of the table, yet occasionally get warred down by sides on the lower half. Maybe a different approach is needed in the motivation part, I don't know.

Interest is rising in several of my players, and that's good. I've decided that I'm pretty much open to selling anyone for the right price, as I've long since proven that I'm capable of strengthening the squad considerably in singular positions. I'm still not sure if I'm going to sign an extension come the end of the season, I guess I'll make that decision once the last match has been played, but still, preparing for season 2 is not a bad thing.

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QUARTER SEASON AWARDS

Most Important Player: António Alves. I know it's not as much fun seeing the same guy being awarded time and time again, but really, all the other candidates just fade by comparison. He's up to 20 league goals now in 23 appearances, comfortably ahead of the second highest league scorer. He's the only real consistent performer in the team, and being hailed by the media only seems to improve his confidence.

Biggest Surprise: Pedro Santos. After selling the guy I mainly used in the wide right position (he was fairly consistent), this bloke stepped right up and made himself an undisputed regular. He's made something like 5 assists in the last six or seven matches, and has scored a couple of goals aswell. Almost makes me feel bad that I'm planning to let his contract expire at the end of the season...

Worst Player: André Fontes. Okay, let it first be said that I don't expect a guy who only comes off the bench to reinvent the wheel or something, I'm not that strict. However, when you're FAIRLY competent and get something like six or seven off-the-bench opportunities to show your skills after some of your competitors have been shipped off elsewhere, I expect you to show me something. André Fontes has been so bland, so unremarkable that he would have been a less disappointment had he performed terribly.

Biggest Disappointment: Nuno Pintassilgo. When I brought Nuno in I expected him to be a fairly decent player with perhaps two alright seasons ahead of him. Sadly, his rapidly deteriorating physical stats have put him completely out of the first team, and with the arrival of Sandro Gaúcho, I'll be looking to off him in the summer window.

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...six games to go then. I guess I should aim high and go for 5th!

Update 8!

Season one is over for the new manager. Here's how it ended:

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U.Serra was estimated to end up in 13th place; that is, in a relegation position. After some savvy transfers and some heavy duty defensive drilling on the training pitch, the entire team pulled through and ended up in a VERY respectable 5th place, at the head of all the mid-farers. And yes, the midfield was unimpressive at times, and the defence outright sloppy, but thanks to a brilliant António Alves and a trusty Gonçalo, we kept on scoring. The season itself was rounded off with a loss against Tourizense, which wasn't the ideal ending but, we still kept our 5th place and I'm happy with that. I could also mention that U. Serra is one of the teams with the lowest average number of spectators for the home games, with only 60 season tickets sold. I imagine that will improve next season.

As to why we managed to get that far, I have a basic idea. Come the end of the season, the average age of the first team I was fielding was 30 years old. That's quite a lot of routine. By comparison, the average age for the division is 24, by no means all children, but probably a great deal of youngsters here and there. For now, I don't know if I'll stay. I probably will, unless I get a significant offer somewhere else. We will see.

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SEASONAL AWARDS

Top Scorer: António Alves, 23 goals in 28 matches.

Assist King: Pedro Santos, 7 assists in 24 matches.

Badger Award: Badger of the year is Luís Lagoa, who stepped right up as Nélson Sousa got progressively worse in his performances, and held on to the Right-Back with a string of solid, unwavering performances.

Flop Of The Season: It should come as no surprise that Nélson Sousa gets this one. Even though he was bearable once I had started using him as a CB (but only because those I could have used in his stead were even worse), this has still been a very disappointing season for what was allegedly my best initial player. Also, he doesn't seem to like me much, as he reacts adversely to criticism. And praise. And, well, mentioning his name.

Overall Player Of The Season: António Alves!!! League top scorer with 23 goals, most of which were solo efforts. Also very useful for the players around him, as he freed up aerial space for his bigger partner, Gonçalo, in particular. A big round of applause for "Afiada Arma"!

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Congratulations for 1) Finishing the season and 2) Not getting relegated.

Role on next season to promotion, eh?

Looks pretty good so far.

Congratulations for 1) Finishing the season and 2) Not getting relegated.

Role on next season to promotion, eh?

1) Thanks, and 2) Double-thanks.

And yes, that's the plan. First of all they doubled my wage and gave me another 1-year deal. Second of all, I don't feel right leaving the team like this. It feels like I've only done "half" a job, seeing as the first team has a couple of good players but still some pretty weak links. I'm going to see what budget they give me and try to further reshape the squad with new free transfers.

Various Facts From The World: Chelsea, Barcelona, OM, FC Bayern and Inter won their respective leagues, and the latter also won the Champions League after beating Arsenal in the final. In other news, Roy Keane is managing Melbourne Heart FC, Diego Maradona is managing Argentinos, and to the horror of myself, Claudio Marchisio joined Manchester City in the January window.

(As usual, various other information can be given by request )

Who's on your radar for next season

Good season overall. Just need some defenders who can defend

Who's on your radar for next season

Hard to say, really. The most definitive one was Márcio, but after some heavy praising and unsettling him enough to force Aliados Lordelo to part with him in exchange for a friendly, he still refused to enter contract negotiations, despite being quite vocal about wanting the move. Admittedly I got a bit bummed about this, as his absurd level of creativity might have gotten real in handy at this level. Really though, he is still 32 years old with deteriorating physical stats, so perhaps it's for the better: lets me focus on bringing in more long-term solutions.

The reason I can't really put my finger on anything that's going on in the transfer market for me now is because it's damn difficult to find players. For some reason my reputation seems to have dropped, despite making a pretty good finish last season, and the pundits figure I'll end up in 14th place, one notch DOWN from the expectations of last season. This also means that a lot of players aren't really inclined to move to U.Serra, including a couple of prospects from my parent club Rio Ave that I really think could have done the squad some good. Those that are inclined (and good enough) are either well into their 30's or demanding wages that cause me to have an internal haemorrhage.

I have made two signings so far. Well, one, the first one technically doesn't count:

Caveira is a young LB/LM who was on loan at some Club Bland Portuguesa last season. Didn't really notice him as I'd simply assumed that whichever loan players were loaned out from me were automatically sh*te, but he looks quite decent. Problem is, one of my best players has made the LB position his own, so I'll probably look to use him in the wide midfielder position, as he looks cut out for that too.

Licíno is an addition I signed in order to have some options in the attack. While his finishing is pretty bad, his composure is quite good and his first touch even better, so I imagine him to have the quality to score some goals from "non-chances". Additionally, he looks like he's quite the workhorse, and it'll be interesting to try and play with a defensive striker alá Tevez at Man Utd...

Other targets I'm currently looking at includes:

Ricardo Martins, Free Loan from Rio Ave in order to provide depth for a midfield with few decent rotation players. Hoping he won't turn me down.

Vinícius, offered a relatively cheap contract, and looks like the kind of player I can knock around between positions a bit, so hopefully a handy guy to have in rotation. Additionally, I've grown a knack for retraining players to new positions, so I figure I can use Diogo Luís as a defender if things get critical at the back.

Diogo. Trying to sign this guy using a friendly, as I quite desperately need new CB's. He's not much, but he's better than the ones I already have (save for Nélson Sousa, on paper, but paper is a treacherous thing that goes transparent if you rub grease on it). I figure if I can sign him and another defender (preferably a right back or another CB), I'm good to go in that department.

Otherwise, I'm searching for a good alternative for wide right midfielder now that the whole Márcio deal kicked the bucket, but I'm struggling to find anyone. Free-transfer season is year-round however, and I just have to be patient and keep looking regularly. Problem is, even though the new chairman has apparently gone mental in terms of fundraising and raised the wage budget with £300 per week, I'm still gonna need to offload some deadweight, and that's gonna be hard outside of the transfer windows.

Update 9!

Alright, so I figure I've been wheelin' and dealin' for long enough now and I've actually gotten a considerably better team out of it. None of the targets I aimed for since my last post were successful: Ricardo Martins felt U.Serra was too small a club, I lost the bidding round for Diogo and he went to the Liga Orangina instead, and Vinícius would rather retire at the age of 26 than play for anything less than £300 a week. Anyhow, these are the new additions:

Some Random Just-In-Case Backup Goalkeeper Nobody Cares About: Since Paulo Silva MIGHT get injured, (actually not that unlikely seeing as he's 40 years old now), I figured I needed a crisis alternative. I sent the other keeper away and loaned some guy that craves £10 less per week and no appearance fee. Neat-o. Anyways, let's talk about the REAL players:

Caveira, LB/LM: Already mentioned and described. Seems more useful as a wide left midfielder, is specialized at the left back, so I guess he's equally competent at both. He's not fantastic, but decent, and he's young so maybe he'll improve in time.

Bruno Resende, CB: He is, honest to God, the best centre-back I could afford. He's slightly better than last years best stopper Marco Aurelio, which is to say, not much, but I'm hoping he can form a solid pair with Nélson Sousa, and help him perform to his full potential.

Ângelo, RB: Yes. Yes! Man this guy looks good. He's currently my best paid player, but I suspect it will be worth it in the end. I feel a little sorry for Luís Lagoa as he worked hard and performed admirably in his position, despite looking terrible on paper, but this guy just brings a new kind of class to the defence.

Róbson, AM/M RLC: So I complained earlier about the lack of suitable players for the right wing. In the end I decided to F my assistants unrealistic targets advice and set some filters of my own, and up came this guy. Astonishingly, he's a new regen from this very in game year (at 20 years old, nonetheless) and has no previous clubs under his belt. I'm a little worried by his personality, as he's dubbed "temperamental" with a "volatile, media-friendly and confrontational" press handling style, but as for his stats, he's looking good!

Licínio, ST: See description from former post.

So all in all, this haul might be slightly better than last season! Perhaps I should set eyes on promotion. One thing is for sure, I'm going to stop playing on the counter attack and start using the ball better...

First Team:

Relevant player images are found in this thread. Hint: Ctrl+F.

*Position pretty much split between him and Gonçalo.

Well, looks like the fun's over for now.

None of the saves want to load anymore, as attempting to do so will instantly freeze my entire computer. No corruption error, no anything, just plain freezing. The other games still work though, so I take it it has something to do with the secluded database for that game. I doubt I'll start another, as I think my girlfriend has gotten me FM12 for Christmas (yes, she does indeed have terrible judgement when it comes to what benefits our relationship).

For the record, the last game of U. Serra under S. Erasmus ended 5-1. What a way to say goodbye!

Owww, that's a shame. I enjoyed your thread. Maybe a new one on FM12?

FYI on the girf getting you FM12 for Christmas, mine let me buy it, a decision she has since regretted.

Oh well.

Owww, that's a shame. I enjoyed your thread. Maybe a new one on FM12?

FYI on the girf getting you FM12 for Christmas, mine let me buy it, a decision she has since regretted.

Oh well.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of me making a similar thread on FM12

To everyone that found this thread enjoyable and/or somewhat entertaining, thanks for following, and have a very nice Christmas!