FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[rlipscombe]

It is a bit lonely in Holland at the mo!

I am starting to enjoy the challenge now. It is really difficult to attract players but that's part of the fun too. My stadium can't be expanded so I am always going to be a selling club.

i think almost all teams in the challenge will be a selling club to an extent.... It's all about finding bargains and youth stars and developing them as best before cashing in on some for huge fees. this way you can finance a push to the top. Even more so if you are restricted by ground size etc.

[gargatouf]

Hi all,

I want to try the challenge. I've holidayed a season, retired then while creating a new profile, I can't select sunday league player as my past experience. Any idea why? What do I have to do to be able to change that?

Thanks

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hi all,

I want to try the challenge. I've holidayed a season, retired then while creating a new profile, I can't select sunday league player as my past experience. Any idea why? What do I have to do to be able to change that?

Thanks

It depends what nation you are in, some of them don't allow Sunday league...If you can't pick it choose Automatic.

[rlipscombe]

Venezia - Serie B - End of Season 2015/16


Media Prediction: 14th
Final Position: 9th Graph

So our second season in Serie B eventually saw us finish in 9th again. For a while it looked like we minght make a play-off push but a run of seven games without a win saw us slip out of contention.

Squad 1 Squad 2
Transfers 1 Transfers 2

The key players:

Guarna - Another solid season for the goalkeeper. Still very much number one.
Stoyanov - \the Bulgarian originally came as a CB, but after deputising at LB he never lost his place in the team.
Vollborn - Austrian RB had another solid season.
Alcibiade - Another solid season from Raffaele. Still heavily courted.
Kostadinov - The Bulgarian had a good debut season and pushed Miguel out of the starting line up.
Gaucho - Brazilian RM came in on loan and pushed Lloyd Sam out of the team. Doubt we’ll be able to keep him permanently.
Sam - Lost his first team place but still did well when called upon.
Camolese - Club captain had another good season with plenty of assists.
Koke - Our Spanish midfielder bossed the midfield again and did well. Hopefully he’ll stay with us for many more years.
Saumel - The experienced Austrian midfielder came in and did a good job. Earned a new two year contract as a result.
Schmitt - What a season from the Belgian. Top Scored with 35 league goals and became the clubs leading goalscorer. Keeping him is a must.
Orosz - Janos stepeed in and became Schmitts strike partner. Not as prolific but a good season.
Bartkowiak - A January signing for £55k, Lukasz did a decent job as support striker. Bit of a gamble signing.

Finances

After the decisioin to build a new ground plunged us into debt, I spent most of the season trying to prevent more debt. A number of players were sold, many for a tidy profit which saw us record a good profit for the season. I wait to see how much I’ll get next season. As for the ground, it’s opening has been delayed three months to September.

As for the coming season, my targets are:

- Keep hold of our stars. Hopefully the chairman doesn't go seeling our stars again.
- Improve on 9th. I am wanting a play-off place as minimum next season.
- Improve on our Coppa Italia record.

Onto the new season we go.....

FORZA LAGUNARI!!!!!

Career History

Season   League      Pos.  Serie C Cup  Cup       Europe         Achievements
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2010/11  Serie C2/A  2nd   group stage  N/A       N/A             Lost in play-off semis
2011/12  Serie C2/A  3rd   group stage  N/A. N/A                  Promotion in playoffs
2012/13  Serie C1/A  8th   N/A             2nd Qual. N/A            None
2013/14  Serie C1/A  1st   Winners        3rd Qual. N/A            Serie C1/A Champions, Serie C Cup, Serie C Super Cup
2014/15  Serie B      9th    N/A              3rd Qual. N/A            None
2015/16  Serie B      9th     N/A             2nd Qual   N/A           None

[Welsh Wizard]

Can't load game

I've got to start using rolling save

[The Art of Drowning]

Elgin City - Scottish Premier League - 1st - Champions/League Cup Winners/Scottish Cup Winners

league Table

league Cup

Scottish Cup

Completley dominant in all domestic competitions, won the league with ease. In Europe it was different as we came 3rd in our group because of our results against Sporting. We actually had the same points and a better goal difference than them.


The Team

Keepers

Silvio Still only young, cost lest than £2m about 3 years ago and looks like a bargain.

JMichal Chovanec 18 year old promising backup.

Defenders

Adriano Attacking right back/wing back.

Alexandr Malishev Only 22, and he is brilliant at centre back

James Gutierrez bargain 18 year old American left back

Ezequiel Ramirez Another bargain defender from Argentina, big clubs are after him for a reason

Marcao Our other brazilian young attacking right back


Luis Mansilla Spent silly money on this guy, he is brilliant but a moaner. Wants to leave but I wont let him go unless I get a big offer so i'm happy to let him rot.


martin Toman Spent £350k on him as a 16 year old and he's been amazing from day 1


max Marshall Don't have many scots in the side so was delighted to pick up this young attacking left back from Falkirk


Midfield

marco Bertelli Young free transfer a couple of years ago is an able backup Left Winger

oscar Guity Had been lacking some real aggresion and solidity in midfield so this was £10m well spent

paulinho A great year for 1 of our many Brazilian, got a touch of the samba to Elgin with several Brazlian coaches and a couple of physios also with us

Josh McEachran We can spend all we want but this free transfer from back in the day always seems to be our star player

Carlos Araque Similar player to McEachran but capable of playing alongside him and has scored a few goals

Gaucho Only cost £1.5m and is another brazilian, the right winger got our fans player of the year award

Gutierrez Our other right winger, only cost £1.6m and is great in the SPL

Alejandro Romagnoli Absolutley awesome Left Winger, probably too good for us

Chico It's Chico time, scored quite a lot from the left wing

Dan Ramsay Also fills in at left back, our longest serving player having come through our youth system back in the 2nd Division. Want him to be here forever but he dislikes McEachran

Strikers

Alejandro Fernandez Was pretty cheap and a good backup, already been sold for a tidy profit.

Ariel Casas Lacks in pace but is great at this level.

leonel Zunino Only young and was our 3rd Argentine striker, can go on to be amazing..

Oliviera Our best player going by his stats, just amazing signing in Jan






Transfers




Big money in and out for that year, just getting annoying now though because whenever we get a player good enough the big clubs come in and unsettle them so they want to leave. The same has happened yet again leaving the entire squad with awful harmony. Makes me think this challenge just wont be possible with a team like Elgin. Not sure what to do, all I've decided is that we will make a profit in transfers next year.

[iacovone]

*slips in through the backdoor*

Hello there chaps! I'm back! Fired up the Castillo file and realised I have a fair amount of unfinished business to do

After a quick recap myself, here is the quick rundown of where we are:

Castillo CF, of the Canary Islands have been led to the Liga BBVA in Spain in their 11th season of league football. We are 11 games into the BBVA season and have found it understandably tough. Goals are being conceded freely but for now the attackers are finding the net to keep us afloat. We are 3rd from bottom at the moment. Key men? Well I have a 37 year old Andres Iniesta in midfield, Lukasz Fabianski in goal and our all-time top goalscorer Alberto Merola (>100 goals to date) up front.

There's a nice £6m in the bank and a stadium that holds 9150 (6000 seats). The facilities have been improved regularly over the last 2/3 years and now stand as 'average'. That's all you need to know for now. I'll be easing myself back in gradually, but there is definitely a challenge to complete over here

[rlipscombe]

*slips in through the backdoor*

Hello there chaps! I'm back! Fired up the Castillo file and realised I have a fair amount of unfinished business to do

After a quick recap myself, here is the quick rundown of where we are:

Castillo CF, of the Canary Islands have been led to the Liga BBVA in Spain in their 11th season of league football. We are 11 games into the BBVA season and have found it understandably tough. Goals are being conceded freely but for now the attackers are finding the net to keep us afloat. We are 3rd from bottom at the moment. Key men? Well I have a 37 year old Andres Iniesta in midfield, Lukasz Fabianski in goal and our all-time top goalscorer Alberto Merola (>100 goals to date) up front.

There's a nice £6m in the bank and a stadium that holds 9150 (6000 seats). The facilities have been improved regularly over the last 2/3 years and now stand as 'average'. That's all you need to know for now. I'll be easing myself back in gradually, but there is definitely a challenge to complete over here

(falls off seat...) Flipping heck, he's back!! beginning to think you were the knew JoseRR.... Welcome back mate.

[iacovone]

(falls off seat...) Flipping heck, he's back!! beginning to think you were the knew JoseRR.... Welcome back mate.

Cheers mate! I couldn't leave forever could I? First game back is away at Barcelona

[Ohanzee]

rlipscombe - Have to say I'm impressed at how much you get out of your players. Schmitt especially, he doesn't look amazing, lacking quite a bit in the mental department. So getting him 35 goals in Serie B is really good. I guess you're utilizing his height? How do you play him if you don't mind saying?

Where's all the Italian players in your team? In my games the Italian top teams seem to release anything that's below wonderkid most of the time. Maybe they changed it in the latest patch, I haven't played lower level in Europe since then. Good luck next year, I expect a promotion! (Oh and your finances screen shot is a bit buggy, bottom half is gone and top is showing twice).

The Art of Drowning - Great season again, next year one step further in Europe. That's quite a world team you got there. Is there no rules against non-eu players in Scotland? Got me a bit interested now. Looks a bit like Holland, big talent factory. Sort of a European waiting room for foreign talent.

Personally I wouldn't worry to much about players wanting to leave. Give them 5-6 year contracts when you sign them and if anyone bids on them ask for 3x their value or some crazy amount. If they get unhappy I just ignore it and they still play well. My best performer the last 2 seasons in Uruguay have been unhappy at not being sold. Keeping the same team together for 4-5 years seem to be the key to huge success.

iacovone - Nice to see you back!!

There's so much action here compared to South America, I might put that on hold and do one here. Choices choices.

[The Art of Drowning]

Most of the guys either have a European 2nd nationality or got in via appeal so it's the same rules as England as far as I can tell. Will try and keep them all together for as long as I can.

[rlipscombe]

Cheers mate! I couldn't leave forever could I? First game back is away at Barcelona

an easy game to ease yourself back in then.....

[rlipscombe]

rlipscombe - Have to say I'm impressed at how much you get out of your players. Schmitt especially, he doesn't look amazing, lacking quite a bit in the mental department. So getting him 35 goals in Serie B is really good. I guess you're utilizing his height? How do you play him if you don't mind saying?

Where's all the Italian players in your team? In my games the Italian top teams seem to release anything that's below wonderkid most of the time. Maybe they changed it in the latest patch, I haven't played lower level in Europe since then. Good luck next year, I expect a promotion! (Oh and your finances screen shot is a bit buggy, bottom half is gone and top is showing twice).

Cheers. I do seem to get a lot out of some players who don't seem to have the quality - i do agree. I think the same is case with Alcibiade. As for Schmitt, i do play him as standard "deep lying forward" and set him as target man, to head. Seems to do the trick. I just need to find a way to get my other striker scoring more goals to compliment now.

As for Italians, if i could get them i would do. unfortunately those that are good cost FAR too much money at the moment and expect a lot in wages. I do scout the players released by the top Italian teams and they don't often compare to my current players in most occasions. Just signed a couple who have promise, but time will tell if they make it. If i could have a team made up of mostly Italians i would do. Hopefully when i settle a little financially i can work towards that.

[iacovone]

an easy game to ease yourself back in then.....

Indeed. And as expected we got played off the park, losing 4-0 with 10 men for 60 minutes

We did follow it up with a convincing 2-0 win over Betis at home though to record our first win in 4 games.

[yababo]

Woonwagenkamp Emmen End of season update 2013/2014

League Table

A much improved season. We were brilliant in patches of 4/5 games throughout the season. We recorded our first win ober one of the big three with a workmanlike 1-0 win over PSV. We lost in semis of the Dutch Cup to Twente having been 1-0 up Simeon Jackson was sent off and we conceded a penalty, eventually losing in extra time 2-1.

The goal for next season is to consolidate and continue to build a squad so the board can sell it from under me. Which has happened twice now.

League        Year       Pos           Achievements
  Jupiler       2012       8th            Promoted via playoffs
  Eredivisie   2013      15th          Survived!
  Eredivisie   2014      10th          Reached semis of cup

Is it possible to ask the board to build a new stadium? As we cannot extend our 2500 capacity trailer park.

[daemonic]

Is it possible to ask the board to build a new stadium? As we cannot extend our 2500 capacity trailer park.

You can just ask for them to expand it and if the money and attendances are right they'll build a new one but you can't request it directly. I'm not sure asking makes any difference anyway, I don't bother with the request anymore and I got a new stadium. I do still ask for the facilities to be upgraded.

[rlipscombe]

some good progress there yabobo - good to get your first win over the top 3 too i bet. Good luck for the new season.

iacovone - good to see you got a quick win again. fancy your chances of keeping the club up?

[iacovone]

To be honest rlips, it'll be touch and go all the way. We're just about keeping our heads above water. Its so hard to attract players to the club as we're still so small. Seriously, anyone that would improve the squad is either too expensive, but more often than not, wants about treble the wages we can offer

I found an AMR from Argentina who I signed for £1.6m this January who I deemed useful enough to play on the wing. The fans 'slammed' me for wasting money .

What do they know anyway!?

[gargatouf]

It depends what nation you are in, some of them don't allow Sunday league...If you can't pick it choose Automatic.

I'm playing in France. I saved the game just before adding a new manager, so will carry on tonight and pick automatic.

Thanks for that.

Will keep you guys updated

[rlipscombe]

To be honest rlips, it'll be touch and go all the way. We're just about keeping our heads above water. Its so hard to attract players to the club as we're still so small. Seriously, anyone that would improve the squad is either too expensive, but more often than not, wants about treble the wages we can offer

I found an AMR from Argentina who I signed for £1.6m this January who I deemed useful enough to play on the wing. The fans 'slammed' me for wasting money .

What do they know anyway!?

how can the fans question your abilities!! good luck with the fight. i know what you mean about the wages - having same problem myself. if you can stay up and reap the cash rewards you'll be better set for sure.

good luck

[The Art of Drowning]

Won the league again with Elgin, cant be bothered with a full update because it was a standard league win and we were rubbish in europe. A few of the unhappy players have been sold over my head and pretty much everyone else is unsettled and wont sign new deals. Losing enthusiasm now tbh

[daemonic]

Won the league again with Elgin, cant be bothered with a full update because it was a standard league win and we were rubbish in europe. A few of the unhappy players have been sold over my head and pretty much everyone else is unsettled and wont sign new deals. Losing enthusiasm now tbh

Unlucky on not making progress in Europe and the players all wanting out. It's one of the reasons I only tend to play in the countries with big reputations. Too frustrating losing players just as you get a team together.
Best of luck next season.

[The Art of Drowning]

Unlucky on not making progress in Europe and the players all wanting out. It's one of the reasons I only tend to play in the countries with big reputations. Too frustrating losing players just as you get a team together.
Best of luck next season.

I'm putting the game on hold for a bit, too frustrated right now. Not sure if starting a game in Austria is the best way to get over my frustrations though

[iacovone]

It was always going to be tough in Scotland TAOD. I remember Gilbster (where did she go to!?) put in about 40 seasons in Scotland to no avail.

[The Art of Drowning]

It was always going to be tough in Scotland TAOD. I remember Gilbster (where did she go to!?) put in about 40 seasons in Scotland to no avail.

Christ, I enjoyed reading back on all of them posts too but I just dont have it in me to go that far and just not progress. Would literally leave me building a new team to get really good and then selling them all and trying again the next year constantly.

[rlipscombe]

And so it begins again..... Chairman has accepted a £1.7 million bid for LB Stoyanov.... He isn't interested in a new contract, so i have offered him a 500% pay rise and crossed my fingers. Also offered him out for £2 million to try and up the price.....

EDIT: And he's gone to Sion for £2 million + 30% next transfer fee. Sad to see him go but a decent profit on £425k a year ago. Best find a replacement now.

[minisav]

Gilbster was starting Gundo's challenge last I saw.

[rlipscombe]

at last a decent transfer budget to spend.... £6 million. Wage budget is only £56k p/w, £4k above what currently spend so will need to adjust budget, but A LOT better than last year....

[iacovone]

Good news rlips. Guess that comes with the back to back solid seasons in Serie B. Now go and spend it wisely and DON'T blow half your budget on an average Argentinian winger otherwise those fans will turn!! Trust me

[daemonic]

Good news rlips. Guess that comes with the back to back solid seasons in Serie B. Now go and spend it wisely and DON'T blow half your budget on an average Argentinian winger otherwise those fans will turn!! Trust me

Fans know NOTHING

I spent 22m on a GK at the start of my current season and the fans were up in arms at the squandering of our budget...it's now April and they think he's a great signing for the club

[rlipscombe]

Good news rlips. Guess that comes with the back to back solid seasons in Serie B. Now go and spend it wisely and DON'T blow half your budget on an average Argentinian winger otherwise those fans will turn!! Trust me

i'll try my best! i've adjusted the budget to give me some wage budget but still have just under 5 million to spend. am in two minds as to what to do with it. either;

- sign a couple of quality players who might make the difference and push us towards promotion, or
- try and sign some promising Italian youngsters with an eye on the future.

i have signed an Italian U21 LB already for 300k, as well as a couple of midfielders on frees, as we were lacking in that area at the back end of last season.

Guess i have some difficult decisions to make tonight. it'll be fun though!!

[iacovone]

Ok fellas I've decided now is the time for me to take a step back, appreciate my time on the Canary Islands, but to ultimately realise my annual ambition of taking a small Italian club to Champions League glory (a la Savona circa '09)

So I'm holidaying as I type

[iacovone]

Savona's Dino Ferretti goes back in time to take over U.S. Angri Calcio



Yes that's right. I have found a team in Italy called Angri . They play here:


which has a beautiful mountainous backdrop. Angri is situated on the west coast of the Italian mainland about halfway down the 'boot' so to speak. It is the home of Al Capone's mother too! There are estimated to be just over 30,000 inhabitants - all of whom I intend to show European football

That's it for now, I hope to do a pre-season summary at some point. Good to be back!!

[iacovone]

Oh and I actually applied for the job rather than add myself in

[rlipscombe]

good to see you going home iacovone.... Feel a bit of pressure to get to Serie A now!! you're on my tail.....

[yababo]

WoonwagenKamp Emmen End of season report 2014/2015

League Table

A season of progress, 2 positions higher and 5 points better off this year.

The off-season will be a busy one. Alot of experienced players such as Hedwiges Maduro won't sign new deals so will be off-loaded. We have good youngsters to come in but we will be looking to get in some more experience. Really need a couple of strikers as Aruna Dindane has not got the legs anymore.

Will aim for consolidation but crave European football, we'll see.

League        Year       Pos           Achievements
  Jupiler       2012       8th            Promoted via playoffs
  Eredivisie   2013      15th          Survived!
  Eredivisie   2014      10th          Reached semis of cup
  Eredivisie   2015      8th            Lost in Euro Places Playoff

[Ohanzee]

Good luck iacovone! I think G-Wiz managed the same team until his game crashed.
Nice progress yababo

[rlipscombe]

So i've spent the majority of my transfer budget now.... a few gambles it's fair to say but we shall see. i'll introduce them at the end of pre-season.....

[Willy Wonka]

SV Stuttgarter Kickers - German Bundesliga - 2017/18 Season
Table

No progress report for some reason. But as you can imagine we were top throughout. Going unbeaten was ridiculous, as I didn't feel we were able to dominate teams as much as usual, but an incredible defence was the main reason we were so tough to beat.
Squad

Predominately German now, which is a good thing. Still no one over 30 which means the side is still improving. The absoloute standout player this year was Clive White, my English centre back who scored over a 7 in every match this season. He scored crucial goals and was solid as a rock. Up front Tarik was great as usual, scoring more than 20 goals for the fifth season in a row, he also became the clubs top goalscorer. One major let down was Acampora, someone who I had such high hopes for, and paid my record transfer fee for. Still, I've have an offer of £29m which I'll accept.
Transfers

Little activity, the squad is good enough. Gibson was a straight swap for Cox. Great to get 6 mil for Soner, who was way past it.

Champions League

Final

At last. After last years final loss, we beat another English club to win it. Not a great final, but to win in extra time, when I was convinced I'd lose on penalties, was nice.


Fallen completely out of love with the save. Took me a month before I actually played the Champs Final. Felt nothing when we won. Will be my last season for a long time on this save.


http://img706.imageshack.us/i/fmgermanhistory.jpg/

http://img705.imageshack.us/i/fmgermanfinances1.jpg/

http://img696.imageshack.us/i/fmgermanfacilities.jpg/

http://img186.imageshack.us/i/fmgermanprofile.jpg/

Some screenshots I can't be bothered to name.

     Season     League   Position   Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11  Division 3    3rd       Promoted through play offs.
2011/12  Division 2    2nd       Promoted, Lost in German Cup 1st Round
2012/13  Bundesliga    5th       Qualified for Euro Cup.
2013/14  Bundesliga    9th       Won the German Cup, Euro Cup 1/4 Finals. 
2014/15  Bundesliga    2nd       Won Euro Cup, German Cup Semis, CL qualification
2015/16  Bundesliga    1st       Won German Cup, Super Cup, League, CL 1/4 finals.
2016/17  Bundesliga    1st       Won German League, CL Finalists.
2017/18  Bundesliga    1st       Won League, Champions League, Semis of German Cup

Challenge complete.

[minisav]

Congrats Will

You did one better and got the unbeaten season

[iacovone]

nice will, I missed the journey but congrats regardless

[rlipscombe]

yeah, congrats on completing the challenge Will.....

[daemonic]

Congrats Will...added you to the Hall of Fame

[PaulHartman71]

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, 2024-25, Ligue 1

League Position - 15th: Past Positions

Squad

Transfers

Summary

For the first half of the season it looked as if we were going to be suffering from second season syndrome, we were playing poorly and found it very hard to win games. The second half of the season seemed to change things a bit, I bought in a new striker Alberto, who although didn't score many goals, his creativity definitely improved our attacking play. Another notable transfer was the departure of Zakaria Bathily, who really was nothing more than a rotational midfield player, somehow he managed to attract 5M offers from a few clubs, which was way way way too much to turn down. At the beginning of the season I asked the board if they'd improve the youth and training facilities, they said yes at the time and I wasn't expecting them to actually go through with it, but they have and the new facilities should be up and running around August. My target for next season is to stay up and somewhat improve, I'd like to avoid another relegation battle to be frank.

Onze de départ

GK: Phillippe Brun, 30, Ivory Coast - He had an okay season. If I can get someone better in for a good price then I wont hesitate to do so.

DR: Edgardo Flores, 30, Honduras - He was rotated back to the right side of defence this season and did a decent job.

DL: Matias, 26, Spain - My left back problem has continued this season as this guy was my main left back, he's crap and not good enough so I need to get a new guy in.

DC: Alexandr Mit'kin, 29, Ukraine - He had another good season at the center of defence, easily the best defender at the club.

DC: Mournir El Mrini, 27, Morrocco - He's decent enough to play in the middle of defence, I do want to get someone better in though.

MR: Jérôme Hebert, 23, Français - Another good season for the homegrown hero.

ML: Gianmarco Gigli, 28, Italy - He's decent but leaving at the end of the season. He kept moaning about this that and the other and wanted too much money, so I've let him leave on a bosman.

MC: Sergio Marbus, 32, Netherlands - The captain had a reasonable season, I'm not sure how long he will remain good enough to be first choice though.

MC: Matthieu Causse, 28, Français - He had a much better season this year, his attacking play was very good, supplying 10 assists and scoring 3 times.

ST: Alberto, 31, Spain - He was signed in January and had a really good impact on the attacking play. His stats might not show this, but his play was generally quite good.

ST: Razvan Ionica, 27, Romania - He regained his place as the '4th' highest scorer in the league, which for a club like us is very impressive.

-

Official Fans Player of the Year - Jerome Hebert

Unofficial Young Player of the Year - Jerome Herbert

Career Overview

Season     League   Position   Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11  National    4th       None
2011/12  National    5th       None
2012/13  National    7th       None
2013/14  National    2nd       Promoted 
2014/15  Ligue 2    18th       Relegated
2015/16  National    3rd       Promotion
2016/17  Ligue 2    13th       None
2017/18  Ligue 2    12th       None
2018/19  Ligue 2     7th       None
2019/20  Ligue 2     6th       None
2020/21  Ligue 2     1st       Promoted as Champions
2021/22  Ligue 1     18th      Relegated
2022/23  Ligue 2     1st       Promoted as Champions
2023/24  Ligue 1     13th      None
2024/25  Ligue 1     15th      None


Trophies won:

Ligue 2 (x2) - 2020/21 & 2022/23

[daemonic]

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila - Italian Serie A 2018/19

Transfers - Smashed the clubs transfer record as I brought in a new GK for 22m and that was about it really.

Europe
Champions League - Winners | Final
We cruised through the Group Stage with 5 wins and a draw to setup a 1st Knockout Round tie with Galatasaray. A thrilling 3-2 win in Istanbul gave us the advantage and we sealed the victory with a 1-0 home win.
Next up were Inter Milan who after a 0-0 at the San Siro gave us a scare at home by going 2-0 up within 11 minutes. We pulled it back to 2-2 by half time but Inter looked to be going through on away goals before Gadjiev headed a winner in the 91st minute.
Spanish giants Barcelona stood between us and the final. A tight 1-1 in the home leg left us needing a result at Camp Nou and what a game it was. Barcelona took the lead 4 times but we pegged them back every time finally capping a great victory with a 90th minute winner to win 5-4 on the night and 6-5 on aggregate.
The final against Benfica was always going to struggle to match the excitement of the semi-final and in the end it was decided by a single goal. Despite the lack of goals it did have a fairy-tale element to it though as the winner was scored by Paolo Negroni, who has been with us since Serie C1/A.

Italian Serie A
Predicted: 4th | Final Position: Winners | Graph
Absolutely stormed it. AC Milan tried to keep up and were the only team to beat us all season.

Italian Cup - Winners | Final

Other News
Finances - Very healthy as prize money, TV money and our 32k stadium contributed to profits of a few million every month.

Club Records

Awards
Serie A Defender of the Year - 1st Sergey Gadjiev
Serie A Top Goalscorer - 1st Peio Eizmendi

Stars
Most Assists: Ezequiel - 28
Most Goals: Peio Eizmendi - 32
Most MoM: Peio Eizmendi - 8
Highest Avg Rating: Sergey Gadjiev - 7.39
Fans Player of the Year: Peio Eizmendi

Best Eleven: Season | Overall

European Co-efficients
Montevarchi Calcio Aquila - 93.537 (26th up from 42nd)

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila Trophy Room
Champions League x 1 - 2018/19
Serie A x 2 - 2017/18, 2018/19
Italian Cup x 1 - 2018/19
Serie B x 1 - 2014/15
Serie C1/A x 1 - 2012/13
Serie C Cup x 1 - 2012/13
Serie C2/B x 1 - 2010/11
Italian C1 Super Cup x 1 - 2012/13
Italian C2 Super Cup x 1 - 2010/11

Career History

Season   League      Pos.  Serie C Cup  Cup       Europe         Achievements
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2010/11  Serie C2/B  1st   2nd Rnd      N/A       N/A            Serie C2/B Champions, C2 Super Cup
2011/12  Serie C1/A  7th   2nd Rnd      1st Qual. N/A            None
2012/13  Serie C1/A  1st   Winners      4th Qual. N/A            Serie C1/A Champions, Serie C Cup,
                                                                 Italian C1 Super Cup
2013/14  Serie B     3rd   N/A          3rd Qual. N/A            None
2014/15  Serie B     1st   N/A          4th Qual. N/A            Serie B Champions
2015/16  Serie A     13th  N/A          4th Qual. N/A
2016/17  Serie A     5th   N/A          Qtr-Final N/A
2017/18  Serie A     1st   N/A          1st Rnd   EL Runner-Up   Serie A Champions
2018/19  Serie A     1st   N/A          Winners   CL Winners     CL Winners, Serie A Champions, 
                                                                 Italian Cup
*********************************** Challenge Complete *******************************************

[iacovone]

daemonic

[rlipscombe]

it's all about completed challenges tonight!!

[Willy Wonka]

cheers guys. Well done to you Daemonic

[Ohanzee]

Congrats WillCarruthers and daemonic. Well done!!
PaulHartman71 well done on staying up again and congrats on new facilities. Always nice to see the board do their part to get progress.

[daemonic]

Thanks everyone for the congrats and for reading my Italian adventures. I'm off to try a different challenge but I'll be reading regularly so good luck to all, I look forward to adding plenty more to the Hall of Fame

[rlipscombe]

Good news rlips. Guess that comes with the back to back solid seasons in Serie B. Now go and spend it wisely and DON'T blow half your budget on an average Argentinian winger otherwise those fans will turn!! Trust me

iacovone, that comment about spending money on Argentinian wingers.... Guess what i've signed......

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Oh Rlips you are nothing but trouble...

Congrats to Will & Daemonic for their completions in Germany and Italy. Hopefully we have more on the way

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Liga Sagres – 2015/2016

Liga Sagres – Media Prediction – 10th – Actual – 4th
Portuguese Cup – Semi Final – Lost 3-1 to Sporting
Portuguese League Cup – 2nd place – 3rd Round Group A

Team Stats
Transfers

Top Scorer: Alberto (25)
Top Assists: Jose Maria (16)


After a wonderful debut season in Liga Sagres, I was sort of hoping for more of the same this year but we didn’t start well. We took 3 games to register a win and then we were hit by the curse of the big teams. Not being able to get past the big sides is certainly going to be a problem.

We seem to be able to deal with the teams at our level with relative ease which is very much the reason why we’re able to push ourselves towards the top of the table. Its just going to take a very long time to break into the top 3.

The league cup ended at the group stage as it always seems to do, but once again it’s the big sides that are holding us back in this respect. Once we’re able to avoid them in our group we could progress to the Semi finals & take home some more prize money.

Our run in the Portuguese Cup was our best yet. Wins over lower league opposition were sandwiched around a win of Nacional da Madeira before a comfortable 3-1 win in the 6th round sent us into our first semi-finals. A goalless draw in the first leg with Sporting gave me hopes of maybe stealing our way into the final but of course, the curse of the big teams struck. A 3-1 defeat ended our superb cup run.


Our fantastic league finish will see Fafe in the Euro Cup next season.

[G-Wiz]

Savona's Dino Ferretti goes back in time to take over U.S. Angri Calcio



Yes that's right. I have found a team in Italy called Angri . They play here:


which has a beautiful mountainous backdrop. Angri is situated on the west coast of the Italian mainland about halfway down the 'boot' so to speak. It is the home of Al Capone's mother too! There are estimated to be just over 30,000 inhabitants - all of whom I intend to show European football

That's it for now, I hope to do a pre-season summary at some point. Good to be back!!

good luck, i had a lot of fun with Angri until my save corrupted when my comp crashed mid-save...

ill be keen to see how you get on

[psg9hoarau]

what a beautiful stadium backdrop, wouldn't you just love to play 19:45 kick-offs in August there.....

[daemonic]

what a beautiful stadium backdrop, wouldn't you just love to play 19:45 kick-offs in August there.....

A cunning ploy indeed...let the opposition get lost in admiration of the view while you roll the ball into an unguarded net....it might just be crazy enough to work

[iacovone]

It really is beautiful isn't it? I think its Brescia who play with a similar backdrop too

[psg9hoarau]

It really is beautiful isn't it? I think its Brescia who play with a similar backdrop too

Liechtenstein's national stadium isn't in too shabby a location either. Competing against our Angri friends. Checked out the Brescia backdrop, not bad but Angri and Liechtenstein win. Mind you Ajaccio have the Mediterranean sea as a background to their ground.

Sorry to devle off topic with which ground has the most beautiful locational backdrop

[G-Wiz]

not happy, chairman just accepted a measly 1.2 million from Bayern Munich for my star player, Luca Caldirola i mean, i signed him on a free so from a business point of view its a good turn, but he was the rock in my defence, italian u-21 captain, big future ahead of him...just not at Lubeck i guess lol

[rlipscombe]

Just christened the opening of Collauto Park with a 1-0 win over Piacenza. Nearly 13,000 turned up to see it to....

Unlucky losing Caldirola G-Wiz. Sounds like a big loss

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Liga Sagres – 2016/2017

Liga Sagres – Media Prediction – 7th – Actual – 4th
Portuguese Cup – 6th Round – Lost 5-3 on penalties to Vit Guimaraes
Portuguese League Cup – Semi Final – Lost 3-0 to Porto
Euro Cup – Group Stage – 4th in Group G

Team Stats
Transfers

Top Scorer: Alberto (22)
Top Assists: Adrian Vaquero (18)

The highlight of this season was always going to be our participation in the Euro Cup but I had to make sure that this didn’t have any effect on our domestic form.

We started the league well with 3 wins before coming up against Sporting & a heavy defeat. This would end up being the tale of our league season, good runs of wins brought to a halt by a run in with one of the big sides. With 2 games to go we had a chance of taking 3rd place, but our next opponents would champions Benfica, who did the job hammering us 5-0 to allow Porto to leap frog us for 3rd.

I would be annoyed about that if 3rd place secured a Champions League spot but as its still Euro Cup 4th place is still good enough.

The Euro Cup saw us enter in the 4th Qualifying Round against Wisla of Poland. A narrow 3-2 home win secured our progression into the Group Stage with an aggregate score of 4-3. The group stage itself turned into a wreck, Valencia, Everton & Steaua. Avoiding embarrassment would be a good result when it was all over. 2 draws & 4th place was all that we could manage. Still, we played a part & made some money.

As always we managed to ease our way through the first few rounds of Portuguese Cup but were not able to get ourselves past Vit Guimaraes, a side that we’d managed to beat twice in the league, swept past us on penalties.

The League Cup was a better experience as being in the Euro Cup placed us straight into the 3rd round Group Stage. This still didn't help us avoid one of the bigger sides, we had Sporting this time around. After beating the other two teams in the group we needed a draw with Sporting to progress, we managed to hold on for a 1-1 draw & progress was secured.

The semis were not a pretty affair, Porto our opponents, 3-0 the result.

Another European experience was secured this season, fingers crossed that we'll be able to do a bit better than this year.

[yababo]

Good progress Razer there is a much bigger gap between you and 5th compared to last season.

[rlipscombe]

yeah good season Razer - As LLR found breaking into the top 3 is the hardest thing in Portugal. Fingers crossed you can break the monopoly next season....

[rlipscombe]

Venezia - Serie B - Pre-Season 2016/17

So the 2016/17 season is promising to be an historic one for Venezia as we finally move into our new 15,000 capacity "Collauto Park" in September. With this and the £6 million 'warchest' the chairman gave me, i feel that this could almost be as good a chance as any to date we have had in order to reach Serie A. As a result, i have splashed the cash on a number of new recruits in an attempt to help us reach the holy grail of Serie A.

Transfers

Here's a first glance at some of the key new signings:

Ricci - Italian U21 left back brought in from Crotone to replace Stoyanov. Good potential, he will compete with Herzog for the LB slot.
Lopez Martin - 17 year old Spanish import with bags of potential. Just had to sign him up from Villarreal.
Gangolf - Austrian LM i've been following for a few years. Finally able to sign him after his release by Palermo. A signing which excited the fans. High hopes for him.
Cannone - Argentine winger signed for £1.2 million. Good potential. Hopefully they prefer my Argentine than they did yours iacovone.....
Pablo - Another young Spaniard with bags of potential. Another 'must buy'.
Dimas - experienced Spaniard signed on pre-contract last winter to add competition to our midfield. Highly rated.
Dupuy - Another to add competition to the midfield. good player. We shall see how much game time he gets.
Danilo - My biggest outlay at £2.5 million. A bit of a gamble with the cash but rated as having potential of a good Serie A striker, so got the pedigree. One to watch i think.
Maresca - Italian striker signed for £1.7 million from brescia. highly rated and once i saw the stats, i couldn't resist signing him. a good player for his age.

I'm really happy with the squad i have now as it has plenty of depth to it. We have cover for every position. Hopefully the cover is enough to help us reach our objectives. The league started slowly with two defeats but we're off and running now a bit. Schmitt only has 1 goal in 8 games () so he needs to find his form from last season and then we'll have a great chance.

FORZA LAGUNARI!!

[deltablue]

Sorry I haven't been updating for a couple of weeks. Have had quite a few other things to do, and I haven't been playing FM that much, having only managed one main save season and a bit on the 'change of pace' save since my update a few weeks back. Plus I won't bore you with specifics but I've been finding myself lacking direction in terms of what I want to do on FM recently. I'll probably put the challenge to one side for a while and maybe return to it some other time. Nothing against the challenge itself as despite the fact things were looking bleak (formwise, financially and with losing) it's still been a very interesting experience, I think I just want to restore my focus on my main games.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Here it is guys, it arrived today all the way from Portugal. Here is the first of many photos of me in an AD Fafe Jersey.

And the Logo blown up for those who cannot see it...

[iacovone]

Oh that is so freaking excellent I want to hi-5 you right now!!! Suprisingly Des, you look almost exactly how I imagined you to look (minus the glasses). What a fantastic purchase that is, I wonder if you'll ever get anyone in NZ comment/recognise the top

I think its safe to say if I bumped into anyone in London wearing a Fafe shirt I'd just shout out 'Des' or 'Lower Leagues Ruuuuuule'!! Top work

[rlipscombe]

marvellous Des!!!! That's taking enjoying this challenge to a whole new level!! Great stuff.

[PaulHartman71]

that is pretty epic

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Thanks guys, so delighted with it myself And yeah not sure if anyone will recognise me because of it, but its unlikely I will see someone else wearing the same top

[rlipscombe]

You'll be a trend setter in NZ now....

[rlipscombe]

Venezia - Serie B - End of Season 2015/16

Schmitt - What a season from the Belgian. Top Scored with 35 league goals and became the clubs leading goalscorer. Keeping him is a must.

What a difference a season makes.... 18 games into the season and he's scored 3 goals!! No idea why it's gone wrong for him - nothing has changed at all.... Luckily my other strikers are trying to make up for it.....

[PaulHartman71]

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, 2025-26, Ligue 1

League Position - 7th: Past Positions

Squad

Transfers

Summary

Well, I'm not quite sure how that happened. In the summer I sold Neizinho (CB), Gigli (ML), Brun (GK) and Olivieira (CB) for a combined total of 7.6M (admittedly Gigli was on a BOSMAN, but he's still a notable inclusion). I replaced these players with Stephen Sharp (ML) from St Pats Athetlic for less than 300K, Erik Vorm (GK) for 1.3M, Kosic (CB) for 1.4M as well as bright prospect Kalkan Ayatc (LB) for 1.9M. As it turned out Kosic turned out to be a homesick cretin, so I sold him in January for 1.3M (a 100k loss!) and replaced him with Vladimir Stokic for 2.5M. That signing would have been necessary regardless as I also sold want-away star CB Alexandr Mit'kin for a very good price of 6.5M. The league this season was sensationally close, only 16 points seperating 1st and 10th, 10 games ago this was only 11 points! A 7th place finish though is an incredible achievement, we were only 2 places and 2 points off of European football!

Onze de départ

GK: Erik Vorm, 24, Holland- The new man who replaced Brun. He's actually significantly better than Brun so Brun's departure turned out to benefit the team after all.

DR: Bart Theis, 24, Belgium - He had a reasonable season at right back. He's one of the guys that if I can find someone significantly better than him, I will replace him.

DL: Aytac Kalkan, 22, Turkey - The young Turk had a decent first season for the club. His current ability is not very good for this division, but he has the potential to be a good player so I thought it wouldn't hurt to make him 1st choice and see him improve.

DC: Vladimir Stokic, 23, Serbia - He was signed in January as a replacement for players who had left. He struggled to settle at first but he's got good ability so hopefully next season he will have improved.

DC: Mateo Lacroix, 21, France - He's a good player and had a pretty decent season. I hope as time goes on he will become better and more experienced, it's always nice to be able to play French players.

MR: Jérôme Hebert, 24, France - Another good season for the homegrown hero.

ML: Stephen Sharp, 21, Scotland - A complete bargain at less than 300K. His on-field performances may not have been amazing but until I can find a quality ML he'll definitely be sufficient enogh.

MC: Martin Leitner, 25, Austria - He got a run in the team this year due to Sergio Marbus being injured a lot. He had his chance to impress me but I still think Marbus brings more to the table. If I can bring someone in to replace Marbus when he eventually retires/gets crap, then I will rather than use Leitner.

MC: Matthieu Causse, 29, France - With captain Sergio Marbus plagued with injuries this season, Causse became the main man in the center of midfield. He made 10 assists and scored 6 goals, a great contribution!

ST: Alberto, 32, Spain - The experienced Spanish striker did very well in his first full season, scoring 13 goals.

ST: Razvan Ionica, 28, Romania - Another good season for the Romanian striker, his goals were crucial in our fantastic league performances. He was joint 4th top scorer yet again in Ligue 1.

-

Official Fans Player of the Year - Erik Vorm

Unofficial Young Player of the Year - Mateo Lacroix

Career Overview

Season     League   Position   Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11  National    4th       None
2011/12  National    5th       None
2012/13  National    7th       None
2013/14  National    2nd       Promoted 
2014/15  Ligue 2    18th       Relegated
2015/16  National    3rd       Promotion
2016/17  Ligue 2    13th       None
2017/18  Ligue 2    12th       None
2018/19  Ligue 2     7th       None
2019/20  Ligue 2     6th       None
2020/21  Ligue 2     1st       Promoted as Champions
2021/22  Ligue 1     18th      Relegated
2022/23  Ligue 2     1st       Promoted as Champions
2023/24  Ligue 1     13th      None
2024/25  Ligue 1     15th      None
2025/26  Ligue 1     7th       None

Trophies won:

Ligue 2 (x2) - 2020/21 & 2022/23

[Lower Leagues Rule]

An excellent season there Paul, hopefully you can improve on it heading into the next season.

[rlipscombe]

yeah, great progress Paul. Feeling confident you'll be in Europe season after next.....

[iacovone]

What a difference a season makes.... 18 games into the season and he's scored 3 goals!! No idea why it's gone wrong for him - nothing has changed at all.... Luckily my other strikers are trying to make up for it.....

Similar thing happened at Castillo for me. Axel Elgh scored almost a goal a game in his first year, picking up signing of the season. IIRC he scored 1 goal in ~30 appearances! No idea what happened.

[rlipscombe]

Similar thing happened at Castillo for me. Axel Elgh scored almost a goal a game in his first year, picking up signing of the season. IIRC he scored 1 goal in ~30 appearances! No idea what happened.

it's really frustrating. it's not like last season was his first good one. He's had a few good seasons and is clubs all-time top scorer. now he can't score for toffee!!

[PaulHartman71]

when I was down in the National and Ligue 2 I had a similar problem with inconsistent scorers, one season someone would score 15 the other they'd score 4. It was a problem, luckily I found consistent scorers once I got promoted to Ligue 1.

[Izzet7]

I'm in, and looks like I'm Elgin as well.

http://i50.tinypic.com/11t0g3s.jpg

[rlipscombe]

welcome izzet... good luck with Elgin.

[rlipscombe]

where have all the updates and players gone????

As for Venezia, season almost complete. update up tomorrow hopefully.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I have no idea Rlips, I am very slow at the moment. I now have a week off work, so I am hoping to get some FM time in. As for the rest I am not sure it just sort of fell off.

[rlipscombe]

I have no idea Rlips, I am very slow at the moment. I now have a week off work, so I am hoping to get some FM time in. As for the rest I am not sure it just sort of fell off.

it's a shame. we have some good interest and games going.... Come back people!!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Maybe I should jump back in with Evora instead of screwing around on my other games (Al-Ramms, Arsenal, Phoenix)...Hmmm very tempting.

[rlipscombe]

you know you want to.........

[PaulHartman71]

I'm very lonely in France, is there even anyone else playing in France?

[minisav]

Sorry guys, just haven't been playing FM lately. Maybe I should go back to Darmstadt as I haven't enjoyed FM since that save ended

Saw the legend Lichsteiner playing for Lazio tonight :*)

[Lower Leagues Rule]

So just come back to Evora, and remembered I had tumbled down the Liga Vitalis this season, but first game back we saw the Gomis Show...He put in all 4 goals for Evora.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well after 11 games we were 16th & Last in the Liga Vitalis, yet in the end we missed out on Promotion in the 76th minute of the final game. We drew our final game 2:2 and a win would've taken us up to the Liga Sagres, a gutting end after a shocking start to the season. Update to come.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Lusitano de Evora


End of Season
2015/16 Liga Vitalis

The Current Season

A very short quick update of 2015/16 before I return to my normal effort for the 2016/17 season.

The Quick Reference

Predicted: 8th
Actual: 4th
Portuguese Cup: 4th Round
League Cup: 3rd Round - 3rd Group B

The Club's History

League Records

|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|
|  Season  |  League  | Final Pos | Playoffs | Achievements |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    |    6th    |          |     None     |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    |    1st    |    2nd   |   Promoted   |
|  2012/13 |    LV    |    8th    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2013/14 |    LV    |    3rd    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2014/15 |    LV    |    3rd    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2015/16 |    LV    |    4th    |    N/A   |     None     |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|

Goals Home & Away

|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
|  Season  |  League  |  Home   |  Away   | Total |
|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    |  36-15  |  18-29  | 54-44 |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    |  39-10  |  31-20  | 70-30 |
|  2012/13 |    LV    |  33-22  |  20-25  | 53-47 |
|  2013/14 |    LV    |  27-17  |  26-19  | 53-36 |
|  2014/15 |    LV    |  34-16  |  25-21  | 59-37 |

|  2015/16 |    LV    |  41-14  |  20-22  | 61-35 |
 |----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|

Win-Draw-Loss Records

|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  Season  |  League  |   Home   |  Away    | Total    |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    | 10-03-02 | 05-01-09 | 15-04-11 |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    | 13-03-01 | 07-06-04 | 20-10-05 |
|  2012/13 |    LV    | 09-01-05 | 03-07-05 | 12-08-10 |
|  2013/14 |    LV    | 07-06-02 | 08-04-03 | 15-10-05 |
|  2014/15 |    LV    | 11-04-00 | 07-03-05 | 18-07-05 |
|  2015/16 |    LV    | 11-02-02 | 04-03-08 | 15-05-10 |
 |----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|

The Players

The Squad

Gregorio
Fernandez
Motta
Ouaddou
Kaiser
Leao
Jehl
Koster
Lopes
Semprini
Rodriguez
Taouil
Saracino
Manuel
Federici
Perez Rojo
Abraham
Afonso
Visentin
Galiano
Willian
Franjic

The Awards

Fans PotY: Guilherme Afonso

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Liga Sagres – 2017/2018

Liga Sagres – Media Prediction – 6th – Actual – 2nd
Portuguese Cup – Semi Final – Lost 7-2 on agg to Benfica
Portuguese League Cup – Semi Final – Lost 4-1 to Benfica
Euro Cup – 1st Knockout Round – Lost 5-4 on agg to Lokomotiv Moscow

Team Stats
Transfers

Top Scorer: Alberto (26)
Top Assists: Adrian Vaquero (30)

We started the league season with a fantastic run of 13 games unbeaten, including taking a 1-1 away to Porto. The run was brought to an end by back to back defeats to Benfica & Sporting. We were able to get back to our best form after the two defeats and continued the rest of the season with only one more defeat, again to Benfica. This was still not enough to guarantee us Champions League football.

We were 2 points ahead of Sporting with two games to go, the first was away to Sporting. A thrilling 2-2 draw followed & our fate was in our own hands. A win at home to Naval would do & with Sporting playing Benfica I was hopeful we’d be able to hold onto second. We managed to hold up our end of the deal winning 2-1 so Sporting’s 2-1 win was irrelevant. Fafe were heading into the Champions League.

This seasons cup runs saw us making it to the Semi finals in both competitions, where we would unfortunately come up against Benfica – the one team we’ve never beaten. A straight 4-1 defeat in the League Cup & then a 7-2 agg defeat ended our Portuguese Cup run. Until we can get past Benfica, I don’t see us ever winning either of these competitions.

Our Euro Cup run nearly came to end at the first hurdle when we needed penalties to get past Maccabi Haifa. This put us into a group with AEK, IFK Goteborg & Juventus. Two losses to Juventus were pretty much certain from the outset we would have to take things from the other two sides to have a chance of qualifying.

A win & a draw against both AEK & IFK allowed us to take second place in the group & secure progression to the Knockout Round. A narrow 2-1 defeat to Lokomotiv in the home leg meant that we weren’t quite out of things yet. We managed to get ourselves into a winning position holding a 3-2 lead on the night & being in the winning position on away goals. With 10 minutes to go, an equalising goal ended our European hopes for this season.

With Champions League football secured for next season, things are very much on the up for Fafe, some squad improvement will be needed in order to make some progress in the competition & to also help our chances of getting past the bigger domestic sides.

[rlipscombe]

Venezia - Serie B - Season Review 2016-17

Media Prediction: 13th
League Finish: 2nd Graph

So, as you may have gathered, this was the season we made it into Serie A, at the third attempt. The season saw us consistently in the top 7 or 8, and most of that was in the top 6. The league was always close and we regularly swapped positions between us. However, in the final third of the season we hit some form and ended up going 11 games unbeaten at the end of the season. A 5-2 home win over Ascoli clinched promotion on the penultimate day and the fans went wild in the Collauto Park as Venezia reached the holy grail of Serie A.

Transfers
Squad 1 squad 2

Time to have a look at some of the players who drove us on to promotion:

Goalkeepers

Guarna - The experienced Italian again dominated the Gk jersey, and played consistently well. Kept us in a number of matches with some superb saves.

Full Backs

Vollborn - Austrian RB pretty much secured the RB slot, despite some competition from Vanaschan. Did well, we shall see if he can handle the step up.
Herzog - Following the departure of Stoyanov, i was a little concerned about the LB spot, but i needent have been as the young German put in some great appearances. Lost his spot late on to injury and the form of Martin.
Lopez Martin - The young Spaniard came into the team late on and gave us some great performances.

Centre Backs

Kostadinov - The Bulgarian was unhappy at not being able to leave in the summer and refuses to sign a new deal. Some great performances though, i am hoping he will sign a new contract after promotion, or he'll be on his way this summer.
Alcibiade - Some ill-discipline affected him this season and he found his place under serious threat. May not make the step up.
Leinonen - I decided in the winter i needed cover at Cb, so i signed this Finn. Turned out to be a great signing as we were nearly watertight with him in the line up.
Aramayo - Also got a run in the team this season, the young Spaniard impressing at times.

Wingers

Cannone - My risky Argentine with the dual nationality passport was my player of the season. Foe one so young he settled inimmediately and contributed regularly with goals and assists. Unfortunately his head has been turned and he wants to leave.
Camolese - Club captain just about kept his place this season despite threat from Gangolf. Serie A might be tough for him thouh.
Gangolf - Played well at times but a little inconsistent.

Midfielders

Koke - Our best player - simple as that. To have a chance in Serie A we need to keep him.
Saumel - Experienced Austrian found his place threatened by the young spaniards. Will probably need his experience next season.
Pablo - formed a great partnership with Koke in the run in. Showed his potential.

Strikers

Schmitt - Had a well documented poor season by his standards, he at least upped his game after Christmas
Orosz - Club top scorer this season. Most of his goals were scored before Christmas however.
Maresca - Took a long time to settle, but once he did he put in some great performances. interested to see how he gets on in Serie A

Finances

Financially we made a loss this season mainly due to the transfer spend. Hopefully Serie A football will set us up ifnancially.

The coming Season

A quick look at last seasons Serie A shows AC Milan as champions. Interestingly Inter, Roma and Juventus failed to make the CL places. Genoa have been there for a few seasons now, so they ar the dark horse. Based on this season, i'm going to need to win a third of my games - a tall order

Targets

SURVIVE - simple as that. going to be really tough though.

FORZA LAGUNARI!!!!

Career History

Season   League      Pos.  Serie C Cup  Cup       Europe         Achievements
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2010/11  Serie C2/A  2nd   group stage  N/A       N/A             Lost in play-off semis
2011/12  Serie C2/A  3rd    group stage  N/A.      N/A            Promotion in playoffs
2012/13  Serie C1/A  8th   N/A             2nd Qual. N/A            None
2013/14  Serie C1/A  1st   Winners      3rd Qual.  N/A            Serie C1/A Champions, Serie C Cup, Serie C Super Cup
2014/15  Serie B     9th    N/A              3rd Qual. N/A            None
2015/16  Serie B     9th     N/A             2nd Qual   N/A            None
2016/17  Serie B     2nd     N/A             3rd Qaul.  N/A            Promotion

[rlipscombe]

Razer - congrats on Cl football. great achievement. that's some season by Benfica too.

Des - that was some turn around in form - unlucky not quite making it to promotion. Next season shortly.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Razer - A great season there from the Fafeful good to see them back at the top of the leagues, good luck in the new season.
Rlipscombe - Congrats on making it to the top league, and my latest season update is about an hour away, I just need to put it together. We were 16th after 11 games, and missed 2nd by a single point.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Lusitano de Evora


End of Season
2016/17 Liga Vitalis

The Current Season

The Quick Reference

Predicted: 8th
Actual: 3rd
Portuguese Cup: 4th Round vs Espinho
League Cup: 1st Round vs Santa Clara - Leg 1 - Leg 2
Finances: 1.5M (21st Por)
Season Tickets: 381
The Squad: Squad 1 & 2
Transfers: 2015/16 & 2016/17

The Season in General

Well financially the only thing keeping us up was the board continuously injecting money, our team is in financial hell and it as always in Portugal is impossible to make money at this point. I will try to change that, but most likely it will keep going down until I get into Liga Sagres. The transfers as always continued, we do have a few in and out each season, but I really hope that I can keep a more continuous line-up this season.

The League

As the Position Graph shows, we started very poorly, had a small improvement in September, but then plummeted to be last after the first 11 games of the season. I knew if this continued we would be out of the league, and I would lose my job. I decided to remove all pressure from my team and that made a huge difference as the turn around began, because it was still close we actually still had a chance at promotion. In the second half a few changes led us up the table and the hunt was on, with 5 games to go we were 7pts back and April MoM for 5 straight wins made all the difference. with 3 games to go it was 5pts and then we defeated Gil Vicente to make the gap 2pts with 2 games left, it was the same as we entered the final game. Though a gutting 75th minute equaliser from the opposition meant we would miss out and spend another season in Liga Vitalis.

Player Stats

The Cups

We were very disappointing in both cups this season, although we did make an appearance on bother Players Stats pages which was a little bit of a shock.

Player Stats League Cup
Player Stats Portuguese Cup

The Club's History

League Records

|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|
|  Season  |  League  | Final Pos | Playoffs | Achievements |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    |    6th    |          |     None     |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    |    1st    |    2nd   |   Promoted   |
|  2012/13 |    LV    |    8th    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2013/14 |    LV    |    3rd    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2014/15 |    LV    |    3rd    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2015/16 |    LV    |    4th    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2016/17 |    LV    |    3rd    |    N/A   |     None     |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|

Goals Home & Away

|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
|  Season  |  League  |  Home   |  Away   | Total |
|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    |  36-15  |  18-29  | 54-44 |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    |  39-10  |  31-20  | 70-30 |
|  2012/13 |    LV    |  33-22  |  20-25  | 53-47 |
|  2013/14 |    LV    |  27-17  |  26-19  | 53-36 |
|  2014/15 |    LV    |  34-16  |  25-21  | 59-37 |
|  2015/16 |    LV    |  41-14  |  20-22  | 61-36 |
|  2016/17 |    LV    |  39-14  |  23-21  | 62-35 |
|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|

|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  Season  |  League  |   Home   |  Away    | Total    |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    | 10-03-02 | 05-01-09 | 15-04-11 |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    | 13-03-01 | 07-06-04 | 20-10-05 |
|  2012/13 |    LV    | 09-01-05 | 03-07-05 | 12-08-10 |
|  2013/14 |    LV    | 07-06-02 | 08-04-03 | 15-10-05 |
|  2014/15 |    LV    | 11-04-00 | 07-03-05 | 18-07-05 |
|  2015/16 |    LV    | 11-02-02 | 04-03-08 | 15-05-10 |
|  2016/17 |    LV    | 11-01-03 | 05-04-06 | 16-05-09 |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|

1st Half vs 2nd Half

|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  Season  |  League  |   Open   |  Close   | Total    |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  2016/17 |    LV    | 06-02-07 | 10-03-02 | 16-05-09 |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|

Club Records & Competition History

New Records: Top Goalscorer: Gomis 29, Most Goals in Match: Gomis 4, Most Assists: Afonso 21, Most Career League Appearances: Manuel 143, Most Career League Goals: Afonso 43, Highest Transfer Paid: 16k (Popo), Highest Fee Received: 100k (Kaiser).
All Records: Part 1 & 2.
Competition History: 2nd Division South - Winners 2012, Liga Vitalis - 3rd 2014,2015,2017, Reserves Group 3 - 3rd 2017

The Players

The Squad

Current Teams Stats: This Season & Evora Career.

Goalkeepers

31. Mohamed Taouil - The young goalkeeper stepped into the starting role this season, he had a poor start as we conceded a lot. In January the difference was clear as we won 10 of the final 15 games and his effort in goal was an amazing part of that. He looks to improve in 2017.

30. David - He was brought in as the number one option, but really never got a shot. Heading off in July.

Right Backs

36. Ander Suarez Rodriguez - The top star of my back line for a few years has now been dropped to the bench, but when he makes an appearance whether at DR or DC he shows his class and I cannot dispute him being a part of the side.

63. Oier Torres - Without a doubt my best January signing, Torres came in and showed what having a top class Right Back could do for a side, his skill at the back was a major reason why we did so well in the second half of the season. If we can hold onto him it will be a huge step towards promotion next season. At only 21 he is clearly going a long way as well.

62. David Borrego - A rather disappointing signing, he was supposed to be as good as Torres and better than Rodriguez, but he was useless. Only featured in a couple of games and will be leaving in July.

Left Backs

17. Gabriele Federici - One of the best left backs in the league, he is only 24 and already showing great skill all around the park. As the second most capped Evora player he is sure to have many years ahead of him, hopefully we can hold onto him for Evora, he will form part of the core of the team.

26. Alberto Domenech - The back up to Federici is solid, but nothing more. He was good enough when he came off the bench, but really he is not good enough for this team, there are two more left full backs coming in July, and clearly I cannot fit 4 of them in my team, either move to DC or leave.

Centre Backs

7. Sebastian Visentin - He dropped to 5th best in the centre backs list this season and barely made the team, he is likely to leave in July if I can find a better replacement.

6. Diego Galiano - His age is holding him back now, and as such he is also looking for greener pastures in the new season, but losing both my back-ups means I need some more cover.

5. Alberto Fernandez Gonzalez - The 20 year old was a great find and he stepped into the starting line-up to great effect. A champion central defender, he managed to team up well and a rating over 7 is always a good sign.

3. Darko Franjic - The other guy to step into the starting line-up in the new season, Franjic took over Galiano's role and took a few headers from corners. At 24 the Croatian looks like a good chance to cement a spot at the back, but we need some back-ups for the new year.

Right Wings

47. Matteo Jehl - He missed 9 total weeks this season with 4 seperate injuries, but in the 22 games he played in he backed up my support of him. The 23 year old Frenchman has got a lot of skill on the right wing, if he can stay fit we will have a superior advantage down the right side of the park.

41. Pablo Santiago - The youngster came in as a possible replacement to Jehl, but he was never up to standard, and will leave in July as I hope to bring in a replacement, or Popo will cover.

Left Wings

99. Jose Saiz - He joined the club in January and stepped straight onto the left wing, he was better than what we had, but he did only have an acceptable season with a 6.91 rating, he needs to pick that up if we are going to gain promotion next season.

74. El Mehdi Ouaddou - He started the season in control of the left wing slot, he lost that spot to Saiz in January, but he will most likely stick around and be given a few chances as his quality is still clear.

Centre Mids

43. Raphael Lopes - He actually was a super sub this season, and he cracked 100 appearances for Evora during the year. He played more on the left than in the middle, but he is able to cover right across which is what keeps him in the line-up over others who could do better in one position or another. He will be leaving in July though.

23. Jose Manuel - Without a doubt the star of the team, Manuel is solid through the middle, good on defense, great on attack, he takes free kicks, and gives some great assistance to the strikers. At 24 he is looking to further his career elsewhere and will not re-sign a contract. I am hoping I can get him back onboard for at least another season as he will be the building point of my squad I believe.

13. Carlos Perez Rojo - Number 13 continues to play as a great cover in the middle, he is completely solid and no one can question his skills. He will keep his place in the team as long as he wants it.

44. Koen Koster - As the 5th or 6th best central midfielder he really got only a few chances this season, but he may end up getting more next season as a couple of contracts are about to expire. I am hoping to keep my whole group, but who knows.

55. Andre Leao - He may be 31, but he just keeps getting better. Featuring in 31 games alongside the younger Manuel he got 6 goals and 9 assists. Named as Man of the Match on 2 occasions. He is completely in control of the midfield and will hopefully keep his skill levels up as we head towards promotion.

22. Popo - He is a super-sub, can play right wing or through the middle, he is very solid at 29, I am in desperate need of a younger replacement for him and Leao, but until that time these two will keep us solid through the middle.

Strikers

88. Arsenio Bernard - He joined the club in july, but he was always going to be the third striker in the squad and just called up if Afonso or Gomes suffered injuries, he did very well as cover in his few appearances. A very solid back-up.

77. Marcel Gomis - The star signing of 2016, I pulled him to the club on a free in July and he showed exactly how to do it as the 29 year old Senegalese Striker scored 29 goals in 34 games to lead the team, a huge effort, and he also got his first call-up, but remained uncapped for his national side. Definitely staying for a while longer.

10. Guilherme Afonso - His goal-scoring dropped off a little bit this season, but he took the record for most career Evora Goals, and he continues to be great in combination with Gomis. These two will combine once more heading into 2017, and hopefully we will see more goals upfront.

The Best of the Best


The 100 Club



Jose Manuel 179, Gabriele Federici 167,Deigo Galiano 151,Raphael Lopes 146, Sebastian Visentin 144, Carlos Perez Rojo 136, Guilherme Afonso 114, Jose Maria 113.

The Awards

Liga Vitalis

Player of Year: Manuel 2nd
Young PotY: Jehl 2nd.
Team of the Year: Franjic, Gomis, Manuel.
Top Goalscorer: Gomis (20)
Most MoM: Gomis 2nd (6)
Most Assists: Afonso 2nd (16)
Highest Avg Rating: Darko Franjic 7.35 (29 apps)
Signing of the Season: Marcel Gomis (free)
Manager of Month - Sept: Des Tiny 1st, Dec: Des Tiny 2nd, Apr: Des Tiny 1st.
Player of Month - Sept: Afonso 1st, Nov: Gomis 2nd, Dec: Manuel 2nd, Feb: Gomis 2nd, Apr: Leao 2nd.
Goal of Month - Sept: Afonso 3rd, Dec: Leao 1st, Manuel 3rd, Apr: Leao 2nd.

Portuguese Cup

Goal of Year: Gomis 2nd
Top Goalscorer: Gomis 3rd (6)
Most MoM: Afonso 3rd (2)

Evora

Fans PotY: Marcel Gomis
Best XI: Taouil, Rodriguez, Federici, Gonzalez, Franjic, Jehl, Lopes, Leao, Manuel, Gomies, Afonso.
Subs: David, Perez Rojo, Popo, Santiago, Saiz, Torres, Bernard.
Overall XI: Martins, Visentin, Federici, Galiano, Franjic, Jehl, Lopes, Perez Rojo, Manuel, Afonso, Wesllem.
Subs: Saracino, Maria, Leao, Ouaddou, Rodriguez, Semprini, Willian.

Where are they now?

Evora: Visentin, Federici, Galiano, Franjic, Jehl, Lopes, Perez Rojo, Manuel, Afonso, Leao, Ouaddou, Rodriguez, Semprini.
Other Clubs: Martins (Boavista), Wesllem (Santa Clara), Saracino (Catania), Maria (Estoril), Willian (Aves).

The Next Season

Aims

New Season
1. Promotion
2. Make SFs of Cup
3. Make 3rd Round League Cup
4. Actual aim for points (60)
5. Break LV Goals Record (62)

Rest of the report to be updated soon. Thanks all.

[MeLikeFM]

I must say LLR, those updates are monsters. KUTGW!.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I must say LLR, those updates are monsters. KUTGW!.

Only 70 or so screenshots and a couple of hours to make them. And that one above had three sections removed from it because I wasn't following that stuff so much any more.

[rlipscombe]

so close again Des - has to be next season. that's some record for Gomis.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

It really has to be next season, Four season that close to it is just gutting. I am improving my team every season, and now most are rated as good players for Liga Sagres, so hopefully a long time here will make the step-up a little easier

And a 3 year Contract extension takes me through to 2020 with the club.

[rlipscombe]

Sounds like everything is in place and that all you need is a good start and a bit of luck.

As for me, i'm working my way through pre-season trying to strengthen for our debut Serie A season. been a few in and quite a few out so far as i try to improve the quality. Going to be tough mind.