FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[bjoggi33]

Psst bjoggi - from the Magdeburg (my team) Wikipedia page...

"Magdeburg have fan rivalries with Hallescher FC and SG Dynamo Dresden. The rivalry with Hallescher FC centers around the question of being no. 1 in Saxony-Anhalt"

We are the best Saxons

Best of luck Gilbster - last time I played in Scotland I was Dunfermline. We won the UEFA Cup, but couldn't break into the top 2. I'm backing you to do better!

By the way, this is a fun site about German football, if anyone wants to delve

No we are the best Saxons

[minisav]

Going for Germany too. Decided that I would go Darmstadt.

[Gilbster]

Elgin 3-1 Red Star

Hmm, have we improved or something? Anyways I'd be happy Polar Bear if I could win the UEFA Cup at least. Don;t recall winning a European trophy on any version of cm/fm before.

[berty1978]

Good luck in Germany bjoggi and Minisav. Also good luck in the Euro Group Gilbster.

To be honest if I fail with this team then I'll change my location to 'officially the worst FM manager in history'.
Reason: Wage budget, £48k pw.
Here is one of my better players.

[minisav]

Oh and I have a stadium that holds 26000 apparently. Although on 6100 seated. No staff Good target man I have though

[berty1978]

Just signed Lloyd Sam (ex Charlton legend) to solve my right wing problems.

[bjoggi33]

My first friendly against Werder Bremen 0-2 Quite happy with the outcome to be honest

[Gilbster]

Bohemians 2-2 Elgin City

Our league form has gone downhill though this season.

[bjoggi33]

Great! My striker got injured with a torn groin muscle, out for 3 month

[rlipscombe]

welcome bjoggi, minisav and berty - good luck to you all in Germany!! looking forward to this Saxon battle!!

time to get a few hours of the Lagunari in....

[Gilbster]

Elgin 4-0 Bohemians

Not quite confirmed as qualified, but I imagine 1 more point guarantees it.

[minisav]

Good luck Gilbster. Thanks rlipscombe

I won the inter squad friendly which is a first from my 3 saves on FM10 so far

Looking to make some signings. A few good players to be taken from the reserves of the top clubs luckily.

[Thistles * player]

Looks like i'm gonna have to find a new team...

[Uffe Johansson]

I´m having a great Cup run. Casa Pia has made it to the Quarter final where we will face Gil Vicente who are currently last in Liga Sagres. We are doing well in the league as well, 9 points clear with 17 games played.

Please hold your fingers crossed so that we can make the playoffs!

[rlipscombe]

Looks like i'm gonna have to find a new team...

unlucky Thistles... why do you think it went wrong?

will you be trying again in a new country??

[minisav]

Unlucky Thistles

Good luck Uffe

Got a great DC and an AMR/FC in so far. Needing a new goalkeeper, another DC and an MC to be ready imo. Although I could sign more but they are the priorities.

[rlipscombe]

I´m having a great Cup run. Casa Pia has made it to the Quarter final where we will face Gil Vicente who are currently last in Liga Sagres. We are doing well in the league as well, 9 points clear with 17 games played.

Please hold your fingers crossed so that we can make the playoffs!

fingers crossed for the league and cup runs....

[Thistles * player]

I think it went wrong with my youth only policy in the first two seasons. My squad got very poor in quality and I didn't have time to improve it.

Am I right in thinking you can take a new club that gets promoted from the same save?

[Polar Bear]

Good to see another one in Germany minisav. Good luck Uffe.

Hard luck Thistles, but I hold the ignominy of first one sacked in this challenge

Edit - you can take a newly promoted club if they satisfy the original rules i.e. they haven't been at a playable level for the duration of the game. That's what I did after Stuttgarter Kickers sacked me.

[Uffe Johansson]

Good luck Uffe

fingers crossed for the league and cup runs....

Thanks guys!

[Thistles * player]

Damn! Still holding out for the first one sacked twice!

EDIT - okay I'll do that

[minisav]

Cheers Polar Bear. Well it turns out a new, good MC was ready to sign as I posted that last post. No luck on a free goalkeeper so far though

[Gilbster]

Elgin 2-1 Bordeaux

Fantastic result gives us qualification from the group with a game to spare. Delighted with this improvement from last year already!

[minisav]

Go Elgin \o/

[Thistles * player]

Here I go again...

Glibster, that's well good, european glory for Elgin!

[minisav]

Good luck

Just had a news report that a physio wants to join my club. Need one so signed him. Saves me searching for one tbh.

[Uffe Johansson]

We played really well against Gil Vicente but lost 2-1. We had som chances to equalise but missed. Well I´m very pleased with playing so well against a team from Liga Sagres. Now it´s time to win Second Division!

[Gilbster]

Red Star 0-5 Elgin City

Final Group Table

Now thats one impressive group table. I doubt I will be that lucky in future years with the draw, let alone the results.

edit: Lazio in the first knockout round. Well it was a nice run!

[rlipscombe]

Red Star 0-5 Elgin City

Final Group Table

Now thats one impressive group table. I doubt I will be that lucky in future years with the draw, let alone the results.

edit: Lazio in the first knockout round. Well it was a nice run!

great results again.... Lazio? i reckon Elgin can beat them..... you never know.

[Uffe Johansson]

Well done Gilbster.

I won against 2nd placed Feirense with 3-2 away and are now 12 points clear with 9 games left. It certainly looks promising. Good luck everyone!

Im off to bed because I have to work early tomorrow morning

[Gilbster]

First Leg: Lazio 3-0 Elgin City, they were in a class of their own. And without a single away goal, I have no hope in the second leg.

Second Leg: Elgin 2-3 Lazio - well I suppose it could have been a lot worse. Can't believe we only got a crowd of 6000 to watch the game, thats 3000 less than capacity at Borough Briggs. What does it take to get supporters to go to the match?

[rlipscombe]

unlucky Gilbster.... still it was a good run.

Next up at the Pierluigi Penzo..... Como.

EDIT: a boring 0-0 draw against my beloved Como..... an ok result.

[Gilbster]

Gilbster - 2023/24 - Elgin City - Premier Divison - End of Season Update

Table | Positions | Squad | Transfers | Alejandro - Star Goalie for many seasons | Diego Camilli - new singing and good player | Acaymo - top striker, and record holder for goals in a season for Elgin

Well our rep from last seasons European adventure must have gone up, as instead of 300k TV money, I got 825k this year. We also made some great new signings that have really helped the team.

Our early season form though was dodgy to say the least. I was really worried that getting 4th wouldnt be in our grasp, but by the time we were finished for the winter in Europe, we remembered how to play and were flying. With 6 games to go, we knew we were only going to finish between 1-4. With 3 games left it had gone to 1-3, and then by our last match we were on top. However Celtic, had 2 games in hand over us (due to their run to the EURO Cup semis). They won the first putting them equal on points with us. I could barely bare to see the result of their last game. It was Rangers vs Celtic, and I knew that I needed a favour from Rangers to get us the title.

Well it finished Rangers 2-0 Celtic!!!! Elgin City have been confirmed as Scottish Premier Divsion Champions, on goal difference, obviously for the first time ever. What a result, wonder, if we get straight to group stages or if we have a qualifying round first, of the Champions Cup.

Our domestic cups were a waste of effort and we were knocked out by Hearts in both. In fact Heats beat us far too many times over the course of the season.

Our European adventure has been updated earlier in this thread, but basically we beat Cibalia and Hannover to get to the group stages, went undefeated in a group containing Red Star, Bordeaux and Bohemians, and then lost 6-2 on aggregate against Lazio in the first knockout round.

Lazio were just too strong for us, which to be honest is to be expected.

I have already persuaded the board to upgrade both training and youth facilities so those will go ahead during the early part of the new season. I hope on the back of this sucess that my £184k p/a sponsorship deal that expires this summer, gets dramatically improved.

Aims
Finish in top 2 again
Don't be embarassed in Champions League, as competion in it will be stronger
Replace my 2 departing backup goalies leaving on bosmans - and possibly my first choice who wants a new challenge
Get at least 1 new striker, since my strike force need shaking up a bit for competition for places and some of them are starting to get a bit older

Career So Far

Season    Division           Position    Points     Achievements
2010/11   Third Division     3rd         59         Lost in playoff semi final
2011/12   Third Division     1st         77         Winner
2012/13   Second Division    4th         56         Promoted from Playoffs
2013/14   First Division     1st         72         Winner. Challenge Cup Winner
2014/15   Premier Division   12th        34         Relegated
2015/16   First Division     2nd         67
2016/17   First Division     2nd         60
2017/18   First Division     1st         67         Winner
2018/19   Premier Division   7th         49         
2019/20   Premier Division   7th         47
2020/21   Premier Division   8th         47
2021/22   Premier Division   7th         54         Scottish Cup Winner
2022/23   Premier Division   4th         69         Scottish Cup Runners Up. Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2023/24   Premier Division   1st         75         Champions!  Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.

[ToMexico!!]

2012/13 - Elgin City - Scottish 1st Division

Media Precition: 10th
Finished: 6th

Challenge Cup: 1st Round
League Cup: 2nd Round
Scottish Cup: 4th Round

Transfers - We needed to strengthen further more into the new season, after signing a number of players in the back end of last season. No household names but players that would be useful back-ups. Around a dozen players left to free up the space in the squad.

League - A decent season overall, we achieved our main aim of avoiding relegation back to division two. We started poorly which was to be expected. However we did pick up points here and there, but only at home. I thought as long as we maintained some sort of home form then we would stay up. Mid way through the season we did manage to have form home and away wish pushed on up from 8th to 6th. That particular seven game unbeaten run was more than welcoming.

Squad - We still had the ageing squad, something that would have hampered our form slightly I would imagine, we shipped far too many goals, but having a back four with an average age of around 34 during the season it was to be expected. Scoring goals was also important, we had five forwards to choose from but I never settled with a front pairing. My domestic bias is appalling and will only get worse.

Finances - A fantastic 200k profit for the season. Hopefully the finances will reach a healthy amount so that Elgin can turn Professional. I think semi-pro will hamper my chances of progression, through low reputation.

Next Season?

• Improve domestic player bias
• Consolidation in 1st Division.

Season|Division      |Finished|Achivements
10/11 |3rd Division  |1st     |Champions
11/12 |2nd Division  |1st     |Champions
12/13 |1st Division  |6th     |-

[Gilbster]

Good season there ToMexico. The first division is the toughest to get out of, however it seemed to be an automatic switch to professional when I got to the Premier Division if it helps.

[ToMexico!!]

Fantastic season Gilbster. Can I ask in what season did you turn professional and how much did you have in the bank?

[ToMexico!!]

Good season there ToMexico. The first division is the toughest to get out of, however it seemed to be an automatic switch to professional when I got to the Premier Division if it helps.

Ha thanks, should have refreshed a bit sooner.

[Ohanzee]

Good luck to the new guys in Germany!
Unlcuky Thistles * player. Glad to see you jump right back into it!
Gilbster that's awesome!! Congrats and well done! Do you go straight into the groups of Champions League? I can't see your screen shot of Acaymo for some reason?
Well done staying up ToMexico!

I just played my last game of the season as well. Gonna type up the season update now, but nothing exciting happened I can tell you that much.

[Gilbster]

Thanks guys, it looks like Celtic went straight to group stage last season, when they were champs, so I should do. If thats the case then my aim has to be to not finish last in the group!

I have edited so hopefully the Acaymo pic should now work.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Wow Gilbster....Congrats! Halfway to completion, now you just have to rock through the Champs League and victory is yours...Best of Luck

[Ohanzee]

S.D Noja Season Review 2016/17

12th in LIGA BBVA (pred: 16th) | Transfers | Finances | Graph

The League
Nothing much to say. We got 2 points less than last year but ended in the same place. We won some big games again and lost some we should win. I've been looking at some of the bottom teams in the league and I came to the conclusion that I expect to much. To win against any team in this league is actually well done by my current players. Everyone have some stars, we have lots of talent, but no big stars, yet.

Best results : Real Madrid (h) | Valencia (a) | Valencia (h)

The Cup
More fun this year. We got all the way to the Semi Final where At. Madrid got to strong. Our matches against At. Madrid are really weird. They have so much better players than us they should win by 3-4 each time we meet really, but so far we have a 3-1-2 record against them. This year they beat the crap out of us at our ground with a 5-1 win (Agüero scoring 3), but we managed a 1-1 draw away (in the league).

The players
Here's the team stats (whole squad minus Hugo Viana who didn't play at all). If you wanna see a screen of anyone in particular just poke me.

My picks would have to be Giulio Rossi who's improved a lot and gave us more than 1 assist every 2 games. And Filippo Ferri who scored 22 goals. We don't seem to miss Zlatan at all. Ramon also stepped up a notch, you can see him in my Ramon watch under.

In the winter transfer window two of last years signings left. Ratschnig who never impressed left for Salzburg for £1,7M and Pereira went to Benfica for £3,9M. I would have liked to see Pereira stay but he wanted to talk to Benfica and the offer was really to good to refuse for the player who only cost us £100K a year before. I brought in Rosen Shalamanov as a new defender (he's been decent and I hope he can get better). And Hans Saavedra came on a free transfer. I was really excited about him, but he got a Hip Injury before he could play a game. Out for 2 months seeing a specialist. Looking at his injury history I should probably never have signed him. 15 injuries in 7 years, but if he can stay fit he should be helpful.

The Finances
Our balance is fine, but the only reason for that is player sales. Without them we'd be £4M or so in red. That's fine though, if we can keep picking up free players and selling a year or two later that's fine with me. Eventually we'll have to either make a couple of big sales though, or get our attendance up.

Really disappointed with attendance this year. We went up just 28 from last year to 6,542. Our current wage budget is way to high compared to the income from gate receipts.

The Future
Barcelona and Real Madrid are back to being almost unbeatable, and are now joined by Valencia.Finances worry me a bit, seeing as we need to sell to keep up. We have to keep snapping up players on a free, and on that note we made 3 deals in January on players who's contracts are running out. Paul Clayton, very promising defender. Daniel Massaro, left winger who has Italian passport. Daniele Pardini, central midfielder, good passer. Hopefully those 3 can help us improve a bit next year and maybe we can find some more in the summer.

Ramón watch (profile)
He really stepped up a notch this year and was one of the most consisted preformers. I'm considering offering him a long term contract as a "first team player" as right now he's just a "hot prospect". Interest is bound to start coming in him soon.

Pedro Calzado watch (profile)
He did well for his first season. I think I played him a bit to much. Juventus wanted to buy him in January, but I just told them off asking for at least £20M. He gained nothing at all from Venitucci tutoring him. His Concentration have gone slightly up, but I'm pretty sure that's just age. Ramons concentration is up to and he has not been tutored. The determination is still the same to. I guess I need a better player to tutor him?

SEASON	LEAGUE	POS	S-CUP		NOTES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/11	2D-B1	15th	-		Almost relegated
11/12	2D-B1	11th	-
12/13	2D-B1	2nd	-		Promotion!
13/14	LIGAa	10th	3rd rnd		Stayed up
14/15	LIGAa	1st	2nd rnd		Promoted!!
15/16	LBBVA	12th	4th rnd		Stayed up!
16/17	LBBVA	12th	Semi Final	Nothing exciting
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2D-B1 = Second Division B1 | F-CUP = Federation Cup | S-CUP = Spanish Cup
LIGAa = LIGA adelante | LBBVA = LIGA BBVA

[DodgeeD]

Congrats on the title Gilbster and best of luck with the Champions League.

Another good season Ohanzee. Hopefully, you'll start getting more fans in soon. Like the look of your new signings, especially Massaro. With that combination of crossing, dribbling, fitness and pace, he should be a force down the left.

[DodgeeD]

B.C. Branco Mini-update: January 2012

Just past the halfway point in the season and the 2nd Division North looks like this. It looks like the title and the play-off spot is going to come down to one of three teams and our next game is a huge one: home to Boavista!

There are still a few days of the transfer window left but I'm confident I've done all my January sales for now. I released a lot of the older squad players who had faded into the background this season to free up some wage budget and brought in (mainly) younger replacements, with my scouts in Italy once again producing the goods:

Andrea Gramaglia - with Paim constantly on the treatment table, I hope this guy can produce the goods on the right and stay fit!

Federico Leone - will provide much needed cover on the left.

Daniele Orsini - will provide some cover for midfield and should develop as we (hopefully) move up the divisions.

Maurizio Ciaramitaro - with Migual Vaz approaching his 40th birthday, this guy is set to become my new deep-lying playmaker.

Rafael Tizamo - one for the future. Signed as backup in goal for now but has the potential to play at the top level if my scouts are to be believed.

EDIT: Lost to Boavista 1-0. Played quite well and had 6 shots on target and hit the woodwork twice late on but it wasn't to be... Now 3rd, two points behind 1st and 2nd. We have an easy run of matches in February against teams in the bottom half so hopefully we can make up the ground.

[el sid]

That's a brilliant result Gilbster Hope you continue your good work next season

I have spent money on 14 new players in the summer transfer window, 10 of which form a part of my starting 11. Any guesses as to how much money I've spent?
I think it's safe to say I've made maximum use of the 48 month transfer deal.

[rlipscombe]

great result Gilbster!!!! i honestly thought it'd take longer than that... well done!! good luck in the CL next season

[Lower Leagues Rule]

WOOOHOOOO And we are going to the World Cup!!! Oh sorry guys I just got home from watch NZ qualify for the world cup...Brilliant!

[bjoggi33]

WOOOHOOOO And we are going to the World Cup!!! Oh sorry guys I just got home from watch NZ qualify for the world cup...Brilliant!

Congrats

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I have never been in a stadium when it has gone off like that before. The first time NZ has made it to the world cup since I was born... (We last made the world cup the year of my birth), stunning result and Man of the Match to Mark Paston as he saves a penalty that would've sent the opposition through... woooo

[el sid]

wp NZL

[Gilbster]

Chairman is expecting a title win again and gave me an extra 3k p/w in the wage budget and a transfer budget of £1.4 million. What he obviously hasnt noticed is large amounts of back up players and the depth to my squad all left at the end of may due to refusing to sign new contracts and leaving on bosmans, so I have to rebuild a title winning squad with less wage budget or transfer than last season!

[el sid]

SC Preußen Münster

Predicted finish : 18th
Actual Position : 12th - League Table

Our first season in the top flight was much like Hull City campaign last season in the EPL. We started the season off with a bang, winning 3 of our first 4 games, before losing the next 4. We were playing out of our skins some days, like the away draw at Bayern, and other days we just didn't turn up. Inconsistency marked the whole season
That said, I'm pleased with our final position. Onwards and Upwards


German Cup - Lost in the third round.


Transfers 1
Transfers 2


It was also a season of breaking a few records; 12th was the highest first division league finish in our history. Iker Muniain also became the clubs all time top scorer of the club

German goal of the season

Key Players
Wagner
Eugene Seleznyov
Iker Muniain
Tom de Mul

[Gilbster]

Champions League Group Draw - how on earth am I meant to get out of that group?

[Ohanzee]

Well done staying up el sid! You have some very good players already.

I just got an offer I simply can't refuse. Real Madrid are looking for a Sergio Ramos replacement, and made an enquiry. He's one of my biggest talents and his free kicks gave us 8 goals last year. So I told them I want £14M over 18 months. One day later they are back with a bid of just that

Interestingly my board didn't just accept the offer for being to good, but I'm gonna accept it myself, cause it really is to good. Would give us an incredible boost financially for the next 18 months.

(edti) Meanwhile my chairman does accept a bid for Oliveira for £4M. Half my team are wanted, and bids are flying around atm. This could be a busy summer.

[berty1978]

Wow, Gilbster, well done on winning the league, good luck in the CL now. Also ToMexico doing well with Elgin too.
Good season again Ohanzee, with a bit of luck you'll improve on your league position.
Good start in Germany el sid.

I've been having real problems with my computer freezing, I thought it may be my video driver but now think it's overheating though I don't know why, too much FM probably. Done a fresh windows install and hopefully get my Lorca game up and going this evening.

[Gilbster]

Lyon 4-3 Elgin City

Well thats the first result and it could have been a lot worse.

[berty1978]

Scoring 3 at Lyon is an achievement itself, shame you were the losing team though, was it an even game?

[el sid]

You should've seen the group I got in FM09 AC Milan, Barcelona and Marseille iirc

[DodgeeD]

el sid - well done on staying up. Hopefully the comparsion with Hull won't continue into the next season!

Gilbster - I'd say 3rd is achievable in that group. In my FM experience, unless the Turkish league is active, Fenerbahçe usually bottle in the groups (true to life in many ways )

Ohanzee - a shame you had to sell but hopefully the money will lead to more quality players, more seats in the stadium and better facilities. The springboard to the next level perhaps?

LLR - congrats on the real-life footballing success. I just hope NZ can put in a better showing than at the Confederations Cup

[Gilbster]

Elgin 0-3 Bayern Munich

We have no defence, and our squad is weaker than last season. This is going to be tough.

Fenehbache 2-1 Elgin

They scored an own goal, so that was equally pathetic.

Elgin 1-0 Fenerbahce

Yay we actually got a win. Bayern are also on only 3 points in the group, so if we can beat them in Germany, we may be able to scrape 3rd place.

Elgin 1-1 Lyon

Maybe the squad is starting to gel a bit more now. A draw or a win in Germany will secure 3rd place. Lyon and Fenerbahce are the qualified teams already.

[DodgeeD]

Good luck against Bayern Gilbster

Just dropped crucial points in a 1-1 draw with 2nd placed Lousada. That leaves me 6 points behind Boavista with 5 games to go.... Looks like we could be in the 2nd Division for another year.

[Gilbster]

Bayern 2-1 Elgin

They scored an injury time winner. Oh well we can focus on trying to get back there next season. Not positive we can do at the moment though.

[G-Wiz]

new to this challenge, thrown myself right in at the deep end tho lol

Manager Profile
Team Info
Squad

Founded in 1927, Angri are a professional Italian club currently playing in the Italian Serie C2/C. They play their home games at Pasquale Novi and possess fairly basic training facilities and a basic youth setup.

With no real competition history of note, Angri are a club with a trophy cabinet waiting to be filled. Angri finished runners-up in the Italian 5th tier for the only time in 2007.


this should be fun lol

[Ohanzee]

Good performance in a very tough group Gilbster!
Good luck DodgeeD, crossing fingers for a Boavista slip up.
Good luck with Angri G-Wiz!

Summer transfer window is over and it got busy. Here's all the transfers. Massaro, Clayton and Pardini you already seen at the end of my season review (deals made in January as their contracts ran out).

Before Real Madrid came with their crazy bid on Smid we only signed one player. Another goalkeeper prospect, German/Italian kid called Filippo Albertini.

After the Smid and Oliveira transfers went through and lots of other offers was in place for my players, I could for once spend a bit of money. Paulo Barbosa was brought in from Deportivo to replace Smid. He looks very good. Deportivo are still struggling to get out of liga Adelante.

We also brought in Rodrigo Napolitano from Boca, a left back, since Remzi Avci have completely failed to impress. He's gone on loan to Racing for the season. Ryan Henderson also joined us on a free. He can play DC/DMC/MC, good squad player to have.

With Di Costanzo and Oliveira gone I wanted another centerback as well. Milan Acimovic looks very good. Sadly he's a non-EU player, so I had to take ageing Alexander Sanchez out of the registered squad until he becomes a Spanis international (he's been here 2 years and is applying for his passport atm).

We decided to let Belcastro leave when a couple of bids came for him. He's not improved at all since we moved up to the top division. Instead we brought in Zdenek Vlcek who was transfer listed by Villarreal. My scouts think he can become a leading player in the LIGA BBVA. Very happy with my strike force now.

We're in red financially now, but that's just because I like paying for my transfers up front. Most of the sales we did are over 18-30 months, so I predict we'll be well in positive balance by the end of the season.

We're predicted to finish 15th. I'm gonna try playing a more offensive tactic at home this season. Had my groundsman expand our home field to hopefully make a wider more attacking formation play better. I don't really expect to finish higher than last year, maybe even lower. Many new players in the squad, will probably mean some time to gel. But I'm excited about the squad.

[Gilbster]

Gilbster - Elgin End of Seaon Update - 2024/25

Table

Apologies in advance for the shortness of this update.

I am not happy. A large portiion of my squad decided not to renew their contracts at the end last season and left. Due to the contract renewal date being 30th May, and the season renew date being 20th June, the fact that it looked to the board that I was under wage budget meant they only increased it to 3k of what was currently being spent. Most of my players are on at least that a week, so I had no real wage budget and only £1.4 mill to replace lots of players. O

Of course this was always going to be an impossible task to get in the quality required to get a championship winning team again. And of course at the end of this season looks like I'm losing my remaining good couple of players. If I don't get a decent quantity of funds, or by end of the new transfer window a squad that looks like it can compete, I may have to switch countries, as I cant play and enjoy under these conditions.

I have around £11 mill in the bank, but all the players that my scouts find are worth loads more or have extremely high wages and those that I can afford aren't rated that well for the Premier Division.

Really not sure what to do, but its not the first time this save that I've had a mass exodus of players and no funds to rebuild properly. Doesnt help that I was expected to win the title again this season, despite last seaosns only being a fluke.

And to give some idea, I didnt win a single match against the other teams once we split for the top 6 playoff bit, in fact I lost the last 5 games of the season, and we could barely beat the worse teams in the league this year.

edit: New Stadium Expansions announced - so I'm guessing we wont get much transfer budget again! We had some great crowds this year, as people flocked to see the reigning champion, but in Europe we didnt get close to a sellout. Really not convinced I want a bigger stadium, when I need more players of good quality.

OOooh, looks like we are getting European football again next season. Scotland got drawn for the fair play thing and Elgin have been given the extra spot.

Career So Far

Season    Division           Position    Points     Achievements
2010/11   Third Division     3rd         59         Lost in playoff semi final
2011/12   Third Division     1st         77         Winner
2012/13   Second Division    4th         56         Promoted from Playoffs
2013/14   First Division     1st         72         Winner. Challenge Cup Winner
2014/15   Premier Division   12th        34         Relegated
2015/16   First Division     2nd         67
2016/17   First Division     2nd         60
2017/18   First Division     1st         67         Winner
2018/19   Premier Division   7th         49         
2019/20   Premier Division   7th         47
2020/21   Premier Division   8th         47
2021/22   Premier Division   7th         54         Scottish Cup Winner
2022/23   Premier Division   4th         69         Scottish Cup Runners Up. Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2023/24   Premier Division   1st         75         Champions!  Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2024/25   Premier Divison    6th         52

[DodgeeD]

Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco – 2011/12 Season Review

2nd Division North – 2nd
Portuguese Cup – 2nd Round

My pre-season expectations were thrown off a bit as the team was relocated from the Portuguese 2nd Division Central to the North group, where we were given longer odds and now had to contend with Boavista. We started off well in the league and a smash and grab late win away to the fallen giants gave us hope. Towards the end of the year we were top but a few dropped points allowed Boavista and Lousada to catch us. The turning point came in late January as we lost a tight game 1-0 at home to Boavista, who never looked back from there as they remained unbeaten until the very last day of the season, by which time it was too late for us.

The cup isn’t even worth mentioning as we folded far too easily at Fafe in the 2nd round.

Overall, a decent season but I feel we could have done better with the players we have. At least nobody wanted to leave over the summer and I’ve got most of my players to sign new deals. A lot of them are insisting on non-promotion release clauses now, however. We really need to get promoted soon as the club is now in debt to the tune of ₤150k.

Best match of the season: Boavista 1,B.C. Branco 2 – just as we seemed to be heading for defeat, sub Neto worked some magic to score two goals in 5 minutes and give us an unexpected win.

Turning Point of the Season: B.C. Branco 0, Boavista 1 – this was the last chance we had to overtake Boavista. Had we won, the rest of the season could have all payed out differently.

Key Players:
Samir (DR) – another solid, consistent season mssing only one game.
Vilaça (DC) – great in the first half of the season but struggled with injuries a little after January and was missed.
Guiseppe Ferraro (DC) – use sparingly at first but won a first team spot and kept it towards the end of the season. A good one for the future.
Massimo Galli (DL) – became a key part of the side very quickly and laid on 17 goals (2nd highest in the division) from corners and deep crosses. Just signed a new 4-year deal.
Revy Rosalia (ML) – scored and provided from the left and said to be the best player at the club, as far as the backroom staff are concerned.
Adriano (ST) – injured at the start of the season and took a while to recover form on his return but once he did, the goals started flowing.

Awards:
Fans’ Player of the Year – Adriano
Portuguese 2nd Division Player of the Month (October) - Marquinho
Portuguese 2nd Division Player of the Month (February) – Guiseppe Ferraro
Portuguese 2nd Division Manager of the Month (October) – David Dodgson
Portuguese 2nd Division Manager of the Month (December) – David Dodgson
Portuguese 2nd Division Team of the Year – Vilaça & Massimo Galli


Big Three Watch:
Benfica and Sporting shared the trophies this year, with Porto faltering slightly. Europe was a disaster for the Portuguese teams though as Benfica lost in the Champions League qualifiers and Sporting came 3rd in their group. The Europa League wasn’t much better as Porto didn’t get out of their group and the other two lost in the 1st Knockout Round.
Liga Sagres - Benfica
Super Cup - Benfica
League Cup – Sporting CP
Cup Final – Sporting CP
European Coefficients – poor performances in Europe sees Portugal slip down from 9th to 11th, losing a Europa league spot in the process.


The Season Ahead (Aims):

• Promotion.
• A cup run.
• Promotion.
• Improve finances.

• Promotion!

The Story So Far...

Season   Division     Pos.  Cup   L.Cup  Europe  Other
2010-11  2nd(Central) 1st   3rdR  N/A    N/A     3rd in promotion play-off
2011-12  2nd(North)   2nd   2ndR  N/A    N/A     -

[el sid]

Here are my transfers for the new season.

Every transfer in was using the 48 months payment option. Every transfer out, except Kompany's, was straight upfront.

[Gilbster]

Well with my surprise inclusion in this season's EURO Cup, I should probably give a quick update on progress.

First up in pre-season I have only bought in 2 new players, which may be a gamble, but have changed my formation and I'm hoping I can make it to the end of the season in a better position last season. Btw sorry for rant in my last update, but nothing of note actually happened that season anyway!

Euro Cup Qualifying

1st qualifying roud vs Avenir Beggen (Lux)

Leg 1 (a) 0-5
Leg 2 (h) 9-1

2nd Qualifying Round vs Bangor (Wales)

Leg 1 (h) 7-0
Leg 2 (a) 0-1

3rd Qualifying Round vs Indijia (Serbia)

Leg 1 (h) 7-0
Leg 2 (a) 0-0

4th Qualfiying round vs Smederevo (Serbia)

Leg 1 (a) 0-3
Leg 2 (h) 3-3

Which puts us into the EURO Cup group stage, where we have been seeded 2nd for the draw. Not entirely sure what to make of the group, but hopefully we will get through it.

[DodgeeD]

Well done on reaching the group stage Gilbster. Do you welcome the chance to get some extra cash or do you take the Bolton view that the games will be an unwelcome distraction from the league?

Got this one from my save - looks like the Euro 2012 final was quite a dramatic game!

[Gilbster]

Providing I dont pick up injuries in the group games I'm happy with it. I'd rather be competing in Europe and the League, since Hearts have knocked me out of every domestic cup for the past 2-3 years!

Elgin 0-1 Partizan
OB 1-0 Elgin
Elgin 0-3 Spartak Moscow - clearly this group is harder than I thought
Spartak Moscow 1-3 Elgin

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Dodgee - If we don't get games against the top teams we do have no chance to improve haha, but this is huge for NZL, we haven't been at the world cup in 28 years. I just want us to get a point, something we have never achieved in a World Cup haha, but the competition itself will be great for us.

[rlipscombe]

yeah, congrats for NZ LLR... saw the last 10 minutes this morning... the world cup will be tough mind....

[berty1978]

Came across a couple of stumbling blocks when choosing squad numbers:
1. We had 2 non-EU players already there and despite listing them they're not wanted, between them they earn £6k pw, thats money down the drain.
2. Only have 2 under 23 players, so had to put a few youth teamers in there, hopefully we won't be hit with injuries.
Now a question to anybody managing in Spain:
Can I sign some U-23s and register them in January for the remainder of the season?

[rlipscombe]

oh this Venezia game frustrates me so much!!!! why am i so inconsistent??? Aargh!!

[Gilbster]

Partizan 1-1 Elgin, not happy with the result as they had a player sent off in the first minute, and we couldnt capitalize on it.

rlipscombe - I know how you are feeling. Elgin are being really inconsistent for the past season and a bit.

[DodgeeD]

Dodgee - If we don't get games against the top teams we do have no chance to improve haha, but this is huge for NZL, we haven't been at the world cup in 28 years. I just want us to get a point, something we have never achieved in a World Cup haha, but the competition itself will be great for us.

Rest assured, I'll be rooting for the all whites in that 'love the underdog' way Brits seem to go for.

So, ultimately, I guess we can say New Zealand were the real benefactors from Australia's decision to join the AFC!

[iacovone]

After quite a few reloads in Spain I've accepted that it's highly unlikely I'll get Andorra. Also confused by the fact that there are 2 clubs called Marino and I wanted the one based in Tenerife but the other one kept coming up. Anyway, after all that I've been boring and gone for Lorca, the team who have always been there and predicted to finish 9th, the thing is I went for a bigger team last time and we all know what happened. I have played a friendly against my 'B' team so far and won 9-0 so that's better than last time when I drew 1-1.

My profile
Location

Best of luck berty. Getting out of the 2nd Division B is proving to be impossible for me

Just picked my team, the mighty Hallescher FC God i cant even prounounce it ! first i have too get an assisant manager and some coaches

Manager Profile

Good luck bjoggi

iacovone I'm sure you will get yourself promoted eventually. It just takes some patience. And once you are up, since it will have taken a while you may be able to stay up a bit easier.

Cracking league win Gilbster, bad luck in the follow up year (similar thing happened with my Savona save last year - won the title and finished 9th the next year, and scraped into Europe!)

I hope you're right about promotion. I will stick to my party line of slow and steady building...

Looks like i'm gonna have to find a new team...

Bad luck Thistles

WOOOHOOOO And we are going to the World Cup!!! Oh sorry guys I just got home from watch NZ qualify for the world cup...Brilliant!

\o/

oh this Venezia game frustrates me so much!!!! why am i so inconsistent??? Aargh!!

Welcome to my world buddy....

[Gilbster]

Elgin 3-2 OB - No Europe for February. Oh well really does give us more time to figure out how on earth we are ever going to qualify for Europe again.

[PRDH]

Right I've been away for a bit. I must admit I've only skim read a lot of the last bit.

Glibster - great progress as ever!

Ohanzee - that 16-year-old is a cracker of a player.

Iacovone - How's "Big Dom" getting along.

Right I've a season report to do. I finished in 10th last season eventually. I'm already half-way through the next season, so I might do a double whammy soon.

[iacovone]

Big Dom isn't doing great to be honest. Its weird I like him for some unknown reason!! He doesn't score, doesn't get any chances and doesn't play well but he's a threat (in my mind) so I'm sticking by him

EDIT: And he just scored!!! Breaks a 13 hour goal drought

EDIT2: And AGAIN!! Haha he's back! My faith is repayed!

EDIT3: Ahahaha AGAIN!!! He has 2 crackers away at Guadalajara.

BIG DOM is back!!

[rlipscombe]

Big Dom isn't doing great to be honest. Its weird I like him for some unknown reason!! He doesn't score, doesn't get any chances and doesn't play well but he's a threat (in my mind) so I'm sticking by him

EDIT: And he just scored!!! Breaks a 13 hour goal drought

\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/

[Flashman\'s School Days]

I have decided to give this year's challenge a go, I am heading to a part of Europe that I don't think I have ever managed to complete a full season, but I shall be gunning for European glory and not giving up lightly.

So without further ado:

Say hello to the new manager of Pau FC in France.

The club are quite well equipped; they seem to possess a few decent players already and have a stadium capacity of almost 14,000 on top of adequate training + youth facilities.

I am really looking forward to the challenge this year.

[DodgeeD]

An early blow as we have a man sent off after just 4 minutes.... we did alright after that though

[iacovone]

Welcome FSD . Good luck.

Won 4-0 away at Guadalajara thanks to Big Dom's genius. That's 6 in 24 now

[PRDH]

I tihnk my favourite thing about Romorantin is that their name begins with SO. It gives all of the commentary a slightly more casual tone.

"SO Romorantin score"

[iacovone]

Haha love it PRDH

[PRDH]

I don't have the consistency to get out of this league at the moment. I can go on a good run, but I then go on a run of terrible form.

[Gilbster]

I'm stuck on the wrong half of the split this season, and feel like I have actually gone backwards completely with my progress. Will finish this season, but may be looking at different countries in the morning, as I need a break from Elgin.

[iacovone]

Oh Gilbster don't say that!! After 14 seasons of hard work it'd be sad to see you leave Elgin. There is unfinished business!!

[Gilbster]

Really hard to find the motivation at the moment. Having just lost to Falkirk in the semis of the Scottish Cup, and they beat me on penalties in final of league cup this season, I have no chance at all of Europe. I don't even have a tactic that worked last or this season. Really not sure what has happened, but I'm not sure I can see a way out.

[ToMexico!!]

Pedro has started like a house on fire this season, 14goals in 11games so far. Sitting 2nd in the league. Just about to play Aberdeen at home in one of the cups.

Gilbster your save has inspired me more to get to the level your are at. Would be a shame if you have to give it up but can fully understand your point of view. Good Luck whatever.

EDIT: Lost 2-0 but gained 65k from the game. And they were unbeaten in their last 5 at least.

[iacovone]

3 games from the end of my season and we look dead set to finish 10th, smack bang in the middle. Its been a much improved season though so I'm reasonably pleased. Report to come soon.

[Gilbster]

Gilbster - 2025/26 Elgin City - Scottish Premier Division - End of Season Update

Table | Positions | Squad | Transfers | EURO Cup results


Well its another season, and we are definitely going backwards. We don't have any balance in the team, I can't find a formation that is working, it feels like the AI is definitely out to get me.

We flew in Europe up until we hit the group stage where we had our worst group performance to date but it was a tough group.

League cup we made our first final, but lost on penalties to Falkirk. Falkirk then went on to knock us out of the Scottish Cup semis and then got themselves relegated, which just hurts, because I know we are a better side than that.

We got a stadium expansion, which has been completed and we now have just over 14,000 capacity.

I don;t know if I'm using my scouts wrong, following the wrong backroom advice, or whether FM just hates me at the moment, but I have no clue how we are going to be able to progress for the next few seasons.

The squad is extremely unsettled, and the goalie we have had for years, is wanting to move away, and is also now 31, so will be getting worse slowly not better! Dread to think how many players are leaving on bosmans this season.

In terms of whether I continue, I'm thinking that I have no plans tomorrow and seem to be able to do 2 seasons a day when I'm home, so will play at least 2 more seasons, but I want to see some progress in them. Problem is I can't think of any other country that has a pull over me at the moment!

Aims

Get an AMC or MR
Get a formation that works
Find some consistency
Stop giving away 3 goal leads
Do better
Qualify for Europe

Career So Far

Season    Division           Position    Points     Achievements
2010/11   Third Division     3rd         59         Lost in playoff semi final
2011/12   Third Division     1st         77         Winner
2012/13   Second Division    4th         56         Promoted from Playoffs
2013/14   First Division     1st         72         Winner. Challenge Cup Winner
2014/15   Premier Division   12th        34         Relegated
2015/16   First Division     2nd         67
2016/17   First Division     2nd         60
2017/18   First Division     1st         67         Winner
2018/19   Premier Division   7th         49         
2019/20   Premier Division   7th         47
2020/21   Premier Division   8th         47
2021/22   Premier Division   7th         54         Scottish Cup Winner
2022/23   Premier Division   4th         69         Scottish Cup Runners Up. Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2023/24   Premier Division   1st         75         Champions!  Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2024/25   Premier Divison    6th         52         
2025/26   Premier Division   7th         53         League Cup Runners Up

[Thistles * player]

I know what you mean about FM being out to get you, in my latest attempt at this challenge we are bottom of the table and in my last game their keeper scored a free kick from inside their own half.

It wasn't even a Paul Robinson bounce over the keeper either, it just went straight in

[StellaF1]

Small Mid-Season Update for Pisa in their first season in Serie B.

After a pre-season of several new players coming in to add quality to the newly promoted team we were away with the new season in Serie B.

We got off to a marvelous start winning 4 of the first 5 games which put us top of the table. we then gradually fell down the table as we were beaten by better teams. We are still mid-table which is better than what i was originally aiming for.

League Table ¦ Graph ¦ Transfers

Looking at the previous seasons it would appear that getting more than 48 points would avoid both automatic relegation and a relegation playoff. Therefore a halfway points haul of 29 points is good in my book!

[StellaF1]

Now i'm not happy!!!!!
Away at heavily favoured Ascoli we go down 1-0 to fight back to 2-1 in front then end up being 3-2 up going into injury time.
3 minutes of injury time results in a 94:50 goal for Ascoli to equalise!!!!
No Goals or subs for additional Fergie Time!

And now I'm 2-1 up against fierce rivals Livorno with half an hour to go and i bring on my hot young CB prospect as a replacement for an injured player.
He gives away a penalty in the 83rd minute to make it 2-2 and then gives another one away to make it 3-2 in the 94th minute!

[iacovone]

Juan Baldomero's...

Castillo C.F 2014/15 End of Season Review
Second Division B1

The "take a step forward again" Edition

10th|Graph
Predicted Finish: 16th (down from 12th)

Finances - Sitting very pretty at the moment.
Transfers - Lot of out of contract players left on frees. Bruno Lobo was sold by the chairman for a hefty fee.
Season Ticket Holders - 43 (2 less than last year)
Estimated Value - £625k (up by £175k)

The Generalities...

A definite improvement on last seasons debacle. The squad is far more settled and the tactical battle I'm having with FM appears to be over for the moment. The difficulty I now have is finding better players than what we have. Even with our sizable bank balance we can't really spend it because there isn't a worthy recipient of our cash! This is the bottom line for why we are struggling still. Would love to go pro, but can't see that happening until we get promoted.

The Players...

Carlo Amodio is our best defender and played the vast majority of games, ending with our 3rd best average rating.

Jeffrey Vlug followed up last season's rise to prominence with another excellent year in the AMR role. Gets goals and assists, can't argue with that.

Ricardo Malafaia is reaching veteran status here now but is not losing any of his ability as of yet. He gets a good number of goals from central midfield and is a good role model for the youngsters.

Finally we come to Big Dom, arguably one of the worst 'number 1' forwards in the challenge. He has a few redeeming features - his height, speed and strength, but for a forward he isn't composed, has wayward finishing and is mentally weak. Despite all this, I love him! 10 goals isn't too bad for essentially the Emile Heskey of Castillo.

Average Attendance: 649(last year 478)
Fans Player of the Year: Jeffrey Vlug
My Player of the Year: Jeffrey Vlug

The League Campaign...

A good year, plenty of improvement. We still struggle to get anything against the top 4/5 teams but have become more efficient at dealing with the sides in the bottom half of the table.

There were too many narrow defeats that if we can convert into draws will give us a much stronger chance of climbing the league next year. I'm happy to report that both Alaves and Ferrol will be moving up and out of the league. They are too strong for the division!

Other Stuff....

There have been no improvements to facilities or stadia at the club.

Club Info - no change

Best XI
Overall Best XI

The Plan...

Well we came back strong from last year's disappointment. We have a couple of Italian youngsters coming in and realistically they look like the way out of this division. I hope we can snap up a few more bargains, despite my love for Big Dom I'd still like another striker. A new right back is required too.

Signed a new 3 year contract with the club, which means this challenge will go on!

Progress so far...

Season   Division          Position     Achievements
2010/11  2nd Division B1   15th         N/A
2011/12  2nd Division B1   12th         N/A
2012/13  2nd Division B1   8th          N/A
2013/14  2nd Division B1   13th         N/A
2014/15  2nd Division B1   10th         N/A

[iacovone]

Urgh. First game of the season at home to Burgos. The hopes of an island resting on the shoulders of these petty excuses for footballers. Choked. 1-0 loss. Grrr.

[berty1978]

Unlucky Gilbster, you managed to get up there in the first place so you must be doing something right, maybe a bit of tweaking here and there.
iacovone - keep going, it will be worth it in the end, unless you get sacked

I am also finding it very difficult to get into the tactical side of the game, very indifferent start in the league with Lorca (with the team we have I should find it easy). I've lost the last two home games 1-0 with goals in the last 10 minutes, very very frustrating. Our away form is just about keeping us in the running though, including a respectable 2-2 draw at leaders Marbella after going 2-0 down inside 10 minutes.

Edit: This is quite unbelievable, next home game we're 1-0 down and a man down at half time, to say I was angry is an understatement and we go and win 3-1, could be a turning point. That's 2 wins in a row, then I get told a bad result in the next game could see me sacked. Pressure, not much.
If nothing else this is getting interesting, I won the next game 3-0 and after the game their manager got sacked, who's the favourite for the job... me.

[rlipscombe]

Gilbster - i can understand your frustration. it must be so hard seeing yourself going backwards. hopefully you can make the breakthrough in these next two seasons.

iacovone - good to see progress, albeit steady progress. hopefully that continues this season.

StellaF1 - good debut season by the sounds of it in Serie B. hopefully you can maintain your mid-table position.

Thistles - that is a SERIOUSLY unlucky way to concede a goal.....

[Gilbster]

Is there a tactic that would work, where I can play with all strikers up front and not much else? Because I can get quality strikers, its just all other positions I am struggling with.