FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[Sazchu]

Stranraer - Season 6 2015/2016 - Scottish First Division

Competition
Scottish First Division: 7th
Challenge Cup: 3rd Round (v Morton)
League Cup: 2nd Round (v Dundee)
Scottish Cup: 4th Round (v Ross County)

League
We started the season poorly and quickly took over the bottom place, almost halfway through the season we began to change our ways and slowly started to rise out of the relegation spots, with seven games left we decided to change our tactics a little bit which resulted in five wins in the last seven games to take us into 7th place of the league, a good end to a bad start.

League Cup
We met Queen of the South in the 1st round of the League Cup and after being 1-1 after full time we needed extra time to slot home two more goals to secure our win and go to the next round where we met Dundee in a game they had in their pocket from start to finish which saw a final scoreline of 2-4 for Dundee.


Challenge Cup
In the 1st round we met Third Division team Albion Rovers and we drove through them in a game which saw us score three goals, we met another Third Division team in the 2nd round, this time it was Annan who battled bravely to force the game into penalties despite our dominance, we managed to grab the win in penalties to go on to the 3rd round where we would meet Morton.
Morton dominated the first half getting up four goals which proved to be too much for us as we only scored one goal ourselfs in the second half to end the game with a score of 1-4 and we were out of the Challenge Cup.



Scottish Cup
Second Division team Livingston were our first opponents in the Scottish Cup and as expected we got a comfortable 3-0 win to go to the 4th round, there we met Ross County which at that time were leading the First Division, Ross County were the better team in the game but with great defensive work we managed to force the game into a 0-0 draw to force a replay which saw both teams take the lead at one point or another but after Full Time and Extra Time the score was 3-3 which meant that the game went to penalties where Ross County took their win.


Transfers
Transfers

Only a couple of players in two of which from spain which increased the number of spanish players in our squad to a total of 5, this season's transfers also saw Allan Jenkins return so Stranraer after being away for 10 years from his home as he started his career in 1997 at Stranraer.

Player Achievements
None.



Other
The board has started work on upgrading the Training Facilities, here's hoping it will help alot in the coming season.
Also signed a new 3 year contract

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11		   Third Division		10th				     None
2011/12            Third Division               4th                    Promotion Through Playoffs
2012/13           Second Division               9th                                  None
2013/14           Second Division               2nd                                  None
2014/15           Second Division               1st                                Champions
2015/16            First division               7th                                  None

[minisav]

Good first season in the First Division there

Still need strikers

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish Second Division B4- 2011-2012 Season



Season review: We had a much more comfortable and consistent year aided by several key summer signings as well as the kid, Victor Herranz, who led the lines with 17 goals. I thoguht we might threaten the playoff positions at one point but we settled for 7th place, which is more or less where we stood all year. With a few more additions this summer I think playoff will be well within reach next season.

League Table
Graph

Squad
Transfers
Finances

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None

[Dougeh]

Minorly shameless plug of http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=181008

I had fully intended to carry out this challenge, but due to a loan signing mistake without scouting ability its invalid as far as the rules are I guess so I am going to update progress outside of this thread! (but still following others progress in it!) I picked Venezia (http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8875/overvieww.jpg) and have really enjoyed it so far. Thumbs up regardless - really enjoyed the italian lower leagues. A bit more flair and class than the English lower leagues that I struggle with!

Besides, Italian regens are just so much more interesting!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well after a hiatus, and the beginning of my own Sign-up based in Fafe, I have decided to come back to the place where it all began. Des Tiny is returning to Portugal for a new game in 2010, after failings in Scotland with the bug, and annoyance in Turkey I have decided that I love Portugal enough to give it another go. So I currently have a game on Holiday, all players from Portugal & Top Level Clubs in Europe loaded with a large database. This gave me 14000 players and a Computer Performance of 2 stars, with Expected Speed of 3 stars. So here we go Des Tiny is BACK!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Lusitano de Evora

Well the date is June 30th 2010, and Des Tiny has stepped back into the Big Euro Challenge as the new Manager of Lusitano de Evora (Lusitano Ginasio Clube) in the 2nd Division South. With the media predicting us to finish 7th, and the board wanting a top half finish, Tiny has decided to agree with them. The club is in a 58 year drought having last won a title in 1952 when they took out the 2nd Tier (Segunda Divisao), hopefully Tiny can take them back to this historic result.

The Club
Information
Background
Squad
Predicted: 7th
Expectations: Top Half

I will be running this on alternating days with my Fafeful sign-up, but I am glad to be back, and I absolutely love these jerseys.

[Uffe Johansson]

Ahhh. Des back in Portugal. Now all is good

Btw Casa Pia is still undefeated after 17 matches in Liga Sagres. To bad Sporting CP so far only has lost against us which means they are 5 points ahead.

[Cadley X]

A good season there Sazchu, hope my first season in Division One goes as well.

I tried a game in Spain a few years ago and the promotion rules drove me insane. I managed to win my division two years running and still not get promoted. Are there still no automatic promotion places?

2011/12 - Season Two Report - Kirikkalespor

Media Prediction - 10th (out of 18)

We were drawn in Group B this season, and as a consequence were up against an almost completely different set of teams this year, which added interest and was a tiny consolation for not getting promoted last year.

The board expected a top half finish with a lower wage budget, and with increasing debt I decided to go for broke this season and went well above it. The key player was still Abdullah Benli who had been at the club when I arrived, but the rest of the team were now completely mine. I made my first major mistake in signing Kiladze, as I'd assumed that because he was scoutable he had Turkish nationality, but he was actually Georgian and could not play in the Second Division, which taught me to look more carefully in future!

In the end we took the title at a canter, with the new signings gelling well with the players kept from last season. Mehmet Sedef, who had a poor first season on the left wing, came into his own this year, but bizarrely refused to sign a new contract after promotion. Ozden Ongun took the #1 Jersey and kept 15 clean sheets and was the only ever-present.

Annoyingly, we weren't entered into the Turkish Cup for some reason, cutting off a potential revenue stream, but our finances should adjust now we've been promoted.

League Table
Graph

[daemonic]

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila - Italian Serie C1/A 2011/12

Transfers - Another complete rebuild as I released a lot of players who were at the club when I arrived. Again loans were required to add quality and keep the wage bill down.

Italian Serie C1/A
Predicted: 17th | Final Position: 7th | Graph
5 draws and a loss from the first 6 games saw us in the relegation playout spots but the team finally started to settle and we began to climb the table. By the mid-point of the season we were in the last playoff spot on GD but still only 9 points above the playout spots.
The main aim of the season, avoiding relegation, was achieved with 6 games to play at which point we'd fallen back one place and found ourselves stranded in 6th, 4 pts behind Cremonese in the last playoff spot of 5th and 9 pts ahead of 7th placed Lumezzane. After that, rather than push on for the last playoff spot we collapsed completely only getting 4 pts in the final 6 games allowing Lumezzane to take 6th on the final day.

Italian Cup - 1st Qualifying Rnd

Serie C Cup - 2nd Round - 2 poor performances.

Other News
Finances - Had to use all of the wage bill plus a bit more which meant a loss for the season.

Club Records

Awards
N/A

Stars
Most Assists: Riccardo Riccitelli - 7
Most Goals: Paolo Negroni - 10
Most MoM: Jorge - 4
Highest Avg Rating: Jorge - 7.04
Fan Player of the Year: Zvonimir Mostarlic

Best Eleven: Season | Overall

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila Trophy Room
Serie C2/B x 1 - 2010/11
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

Next Season...Less draws, more goals..

[rlipscombe]

Flashman - i might be mistaken, but when playing as Portugalete last year, didn't you maintain a Spanish only policy with them?? i know they're a Basque team. did you not consider a Basque only policy, before going for Spanish only?? will you do that again???

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish Second Division B4- 2012-2013 Season



Season review: A disappoint year saw us take a step back. I felt the playoffs and even promotion would be a realistic target but we had a dreadful start to the season failed to recover from it. We were entered into the Spanish Cup for the first time and had a great run. We reached the 4th round where we lost to Valencia, which was a great pay day. I also sold my starting goalkeeper for £500k+ clauses so my finances are currently in great shape.

League Table
Graph

Squad
Transfers
Finances

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None
2012/13    Spanish Second Division B4      9th              None

[el sid]

How in the world can you finish a season so fast Gareth?

[Cadley X]

You've got some cash to throw at a promotion push now

[rlipscombe]

\o/ Des Tiny is back in Portugal.... \o/ loving the kits also Des.

i think were all envious of Gareths ability to finish seasons.....

[yababo]

I absolutely give up with Holland. I battled all season o reach the play-offs and we made it then all my loan players left before the end of the season even though they were on loan until the end of the season. We then put in some magical gritty prformances and get promoted. We then get given our TV money which was 1.6mil, unfortunately it never showed up in our finances, so we have nothing to spend. Gutted!

I am going to restart in another country.

[Cadley X]

Doesn't TV money come spread over the course of the season?

[yababo]

Can't tell you if you are right as I have already deleted my file in in a hissy fit

[Gareth Keenan]

Just had a takeover. New owners are upgrading the training facilities for £1.2m and pumping a massive £24k into the balance. Still, better than nothing.

[Occam's Razor]

Algeciras C.F '10-'11

Segunda División B: 12th(45pts)

This was the year when my young promotion pushers turned into relegation fighters.

We started badly, and that trend generally continued throughout the season.
Our form came in streaks, we had a long period of general rubishness in the early part of the season, this was followed by a 6 game winning streak, with 13 games without a win following soon after.
Too be honest I'm surprised we stayed up, and I'm sill blaming my chairman for selling my star player from last season.

Goals: Chus López(13)
Assists: Antonio Cordiero(9)
Avg Rating: Israel(7.17)

Transfers: Yes we had some of those.

Star Player:

Pedro Jose Barrancos:
My Spanish star, on loan last season where he impressed, he was brought in on a permanent free and he gave us more of the same.

Special mention goes to Giuseppe Vantaggiato, who despite being as far as I can tell, completely rubbish managed to grab himself 7 in 14.

[Flashman\'s School Days]

Flashman - i might be mistaken, but when playing as Portugalete last year, didn't you maintain a Spanish only policy with them?? i know they're a Basque team. did you not consider a Basque only policy, before going for Spanish only?? will you do that again???

Well when I started I did want it to be all basque but the better youngsters coming through weren't basque, so went to a spanish policy and it really was difficult so I had a core of spanish players and all youngsters I signed were spanish. Ultimatly it was too hard and had to sign foreigners, once I got into La Liga I struggled for years, iirc i got to 2024 and the only good year I had was finishing 10th and my striker who was from Panama got the golden boot for the league, he was then sold by my chairman to Arsenal for £15.75m. That was the story behind the whole thing, money, I couldn't afford big wages at all and made a loss every season, meaning that I had to bring in cheap foreigners or spanish youngsters from lower league.

So this time around I don't think I will be able to stick to a policy like that (I've already signed foreigners ). Mainly because my squad consisted of 2 players that were anywhere near the quality of the league and needed a lot of quick transfers in and still not doing well in the early stages of the season.

[rlipscombe]

Well when I started I did want it to be all basque but the better youngsters coming through weren't basque, so went to a spanish policy and it really was difficult so I had a core of spanish players and all youngsters I signed were spanish. Ultimatly it was too hard and had to sign foreigners, once I got into La Liga I struggled for years, iirc i got to 2024 and the only good year I had was finishing 10th and my striker who was from Panama got the golden boot for the league, he was then sold by my chairman to Arsenal for £15.75m. That was the story behind the whole thing, money, I couldn't afford big wages at all and made a loss every season, meaning that I had to bring in cheap foreigners or spanish youngsters from lower league.

So this time around I don't think I will be able to stick to a policy like that (I've already signed foreigners ). Mainly because my squad consisted of 2 players that were anywhere near the quality of the league and needed a lot of quick transfers in and still not doing well in the early stages of the season.

i thought i remembered right!! i can't blame you to be honest - whilst it would be good to do you can't ignore foreign talent in this gaem, especially it seems in FM10. good luck with Portugalete this time

[minisav]

Got beat 2-0 away to Wolfsburg in the German Cup first round. Dzeko put them 1 up with 15 mins to go and as I pushed on they caught us in the 90th minute

Ah well, I now have strikers!

[el sid]

I don't think I ever won the German Cup

[minisav]

Annoyingly I normally do well in cups. The upset was not there for us this year though

[AdamFitz]

Got relegated, no-one would sign for me, will stick up a summary when I console myself

[minisav]

Shame Adam

Darmstadt must be a hell hole. Just had my 4th new signing who is struggling to settle in the area

[PaulHartman71]

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, 2016-17, Ligue 2

League Position - 13th: Past Positions

Squad

Transfers

Summary

Thankfully our board hadn't invested anymore we didn't have into the stadium, or thrown money down the sink in any other way. I had around 1M to spend in the transfer window and I feel I spent it wisely, strengthening the squad with some good signings. The squad handled the step up this season a lot better than 2 years ago, as we didn't really look like we were in a relegation battle for most of the season. I also brought in a young Czech striker in an uncharacteristic signing of a hot young prospect, rather than an experienced player. I'm not sure if we are in a position to improve next season or not, we seem to have around 1M in the bank, but who knows what the board will decide to do with it?!?!

Key Players

Omar Rizki - The Moroccan striker still on loan from FC Nantes had a good season in Ligue 2, averaging around a goal every other game.

Sergio Marbus - The Dutchman was a key part of our midfield.

U21 Player of the Year

Martin Obermajer - The 17 year old Czech striker showed some promising signs in the few games he did play in, scoring 5 goals in 7 starts.

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




Trophies won:

[Occam's Razor]

I'm just playing through my first ever play-offs on any FM, and unless we come up against Villarreal 'B' I have a real chance of getting out of this hellish division.

[rlipscombe]

good luck Occam's Razor - they are a bit of a nightmare to get out of!!

Paul - congrats on staying up. i'm sure you'll improve further next season.

[yababo]

FC Saarbrucken Season 1 Report

After losing my rag in Holland I decided to relocate to Germany and took up the post in the coal mining hub that is Saarbrucken.

Manager Profile

After building a squad through the pre-season we embarked on an epic campaign. We started slowly but gained momentum as the season progressed. An 8 game winning streak put us into the playoffs where we faced Oberhausen. We won the first leg at home 2-0 with some help from the referee (2 penalty shouts turned down). We then went for the 2nd leg with the most negative tactics I could muster. We drew 1-1 and were promoted.

Squad
League Table
Transfers

Loan signing Laurie Dalle Valle from Liverpool was our hero and went goal crazy after Christmas.

The aim for next season is to stay in the second division and start building for the future.

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish Second Division B4- 2013-2014 Season



Season review: After last years disappointment we took a big step forward this season. We still conceded too many goals, more goals than last year in fact but our strikers did a much better job as we scored 72 goals, which was 2nd in the league. The playoffs were my goal and that's what we got after finishing 4th. We got through the first playoff round beating Alicante 6-4 on aggregate. We then drew the B4 champions Granada in the 2nd round and lost on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw.

League Table
Graph

Squad
Transfers
Finances

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None
2012/13    Spanish Second Division B4      9th              None
2013/14    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's

Lusitano de Evora

After checking out the Squad, I decided I really needed to bring in some replacements, so that is what the month of July was about. I brought in a whole squad of players and then some, with a total of 31 players joining the club and all bar one of the current crop have been sent packing. Below is a rundown on my entire new squad. I would like some help in what people think of them as I may send some more packing and bring in others.

The Bring-ins
Zito (ML)
Vitor Almeida (ST)
Russo (MR)
Ruben Caetano (MC)
Setubal (DRC,DM)
Roberto Carlos (DC)
Ricardo Campos (GK)
Ribas (DL)
Quaresma (D/ML)
Pedro Ganhao (MC)
Paulo Renato (DM)
Nilton (ST)
Mota (ST)
Miguel (GK)
Mauro (DC)
Mauro (MR)
Mario Silva (DL)
Mamede (DM)
Magno (ST)
Jose Manuel (GK)
Jorge Gueifao (DR)
Hugo Carvalho (DM)
Hernani (AM)
Helder Ferreira (DC)
Helder Costa (ML)
Gerson (DC)
Franco (DC)
Fabio Domingos (DC/DM)
Djibril (ST)
Daniel (DM)
Calu (DLC)
Antonio Alves (ST)
Amilcar Baia (DL)

Well there is a run down of the current 32 players in my club. Hopefully people have some tips, my friendlies have been poor, I have had 1 draw and 2 losses straight up against teams about my own level. Now I need to decide on who is going to be together and then I will start playing away.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well our 4th Friendly was against Maia and score at halftime is 6:0 to us, Djibril has scored a Double Hattrick in the first half. I have basically selected my own top XI as follows - Manuel, Gueifao, Silva, Mauro, Franco, Mauro, Costa, Mamede, Caetano, Alves & Djibril. And they have been stunning.

I subbed off the entire team at halftime as they were a bit worn out, but the second half saw us score 3 more, Magno added 2 & Quaresma scored the final goal for our huge 9:0 victory. Djibril took out the Man of the Match with a 10.0 rating. His goals at 2, 3, 10, 25, 37 & 40.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Lusitano de Evora's 1st XI

I have decided on my starting XI, but with such a huge squad and being over wage budget I am probably going to have to try and get rid of some fringe players. So here we go:

GK: Jose Manuel - He was the best of our 3 goalies, has to start.
DR: Jorge Gueifao - The weakest player in our line-up, but not many DR's around.
DL: Mario Silva - He will be the Kipulo of Evora's team.
DC: Franco - He will captain the side from the back, the best defender we have.
DC: Mauro - An injury left him out early, but he will be back.
MR: Mauro - Without a doubt he will be one of the stars of this squad.
ML: Helder Costa - He looks very good down the left and impressed in friendlies.
MC: Jose Maria - The 32nd signing for the club, he looks solid.
MC: Ruben Caetano - He doesn't look as good as some of our Mids, but he has been good.
ST: Djibril - The youngster looks great, and he has been called up to the International squad
ST: Antonio Alves - He will be the one who backs up my young number 1.

I like the look of my side at this point, but I can still improve on it. I will see who comes along as we go. I have just completed our first match, a home Cup tie, and we won 2:1, Alves & Maria scored the goals, with Maria assisting on Alves one and grabbing man of the match. The goal against came from a penalty given away by Franco, he showed a much better performance after halftime. Djibril will be playing for the Guinea-Bissau National Team in the coming weeks.

[Cadley X]

Unlucky Gareth, hopefully you can get out of that hell hole next season.

I use the same approach in my first season LLR, if you can find your first choice quickly it works quite well if you don't screw yourself financially.

[cookie15]

2012 Season Review - C1/B (2nd season in charge)

Following the surprising success of Pisa under my first season of management, i was hoping that the club weren't expecting miracles. I decided to recruit quite heavily, but hardly spent a penny really. My main focus was attracting players on frees, whilst grabbing a couple of youngsters on loan from Roma.
As the season commenced my squad for the season was assembled and the media expected us to finish mid-table. I thought that this was a fair estimate of our ability. Let's see how the season unfolded!

League - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/btitle.jpg
C1 Super Cup - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...c1supercup.jpg
C1 Cup- http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...08/CCupWin.jpg

So let's recap, 3 tournaments entered - 3 tournaments won

Man what a season

It now means we'll be competing in Serie B next season following Back to Back promotions. Not sure it will be possible to surpass this season's achievements, but i'll give it a go!

Players

Here are the guys that rocked C1 in all competitions:

Buijs - A new MR and Captain for Pisa. He had a very solid season, and i would have expected his value to be much higher given his stats, but what do i know! http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...2008/Buijs.jpg

Wilker - A Brazilian AMC who proved to have a sharp eye for goal, in fact he led the teams scoring in the league. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/wilker.jpg

Kleizen- ST who ended up partnering Gallardo up front. A solid season, but probably won't cut it in Serie B. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...08/Kleizen.jpg

Shea - A young American i picked up on a free and he proved he was more than capable at this level. He ended up holding down the ML position for the majority of teh season.http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/brekshea.jpg

Bouzid - An International DC who almost single handedly held the back tight and proved the rock in the defence. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/bouzid.jpg

and here is the guy who is fast developing into a star, well Eusebio thinks so! http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...Galltipped.jpg

Gallardo -Well he continued to prove to be the star of Pisa. His goals and assists certainly led him to become a thorn in everyone's side. Keeping him is going to prove to be more difficult now that he has shown he can score goals in 2 successive seasons. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...Gallardo-1.jpg

Let's see who i manage to bring in before the season begins?

[Occam's Razor]

I've never really seen the point of cups before so I've always fielded a second string team to concentrate on the league, but my home loss to Sevilla in the Spanish Cup fourth round just netted me a sweet 85K in a single match, which is more than my entire profit last year, Algeciras C.F may be Semi-Pro no longer.

[minisav]

6-1 win away to bottom side Sandhausen.

[rlipscombe]

cookie that's very impressive!! i managed to win those three last season also. currently just completed the transfer window and have built a squad i HOPE will be good enough for Serie B. i shall introduce the gang at some point soon.....

[Cadley X]

Just had a mass protest from my players after fining my Captain, he'd been sent off for the second time this season. Any idea how long before this will die down? Fortunately we only have one more game before the winter break.

[rlipscombe]

Just had a mass protest from my players after fining my Captain, he'd been sent off for the second time this season. Any idea how long before this will die down? Fortunately we only have one more game before the winter break.

never seen that before so can't help you personally......

[daemonic]

Good luck cookie & rlipscombe in Serie B. Be interested to hear if its a big step up from Serie C1.

[Cadley X]

All the players apologised within a fortnight. Weird.

[cookie15]

cookie that's very impressive!! i managed to win those three last season also. currently just completed the transfer window and have built a squad i HOPE will be good enough for Serie B. i shall introduce the gang at some point soon.....

How much did you have in a kitty? I've managed to bring in quite a few guys on free and the only player i paid for was Maycon a DMC. I've picked up Bouzid's Algerian international mate Ghezzal up front on a free and he's worth £2.2 mil!

Rlipscombe - Who's you predicting to have a good season for yo in Serie B?

[rlipscombe]

i got £1.2 million in transfers and £60k p/w in wages. hit wage budget but have £1.6 million in transfers fees now!! sold players who didn't want new contracts etc., and bought mainly frees. i'll get a guide to my new signings up for tomorrow, but if i tip one based on early season, it will be Koke....

[cookie15]

If Koke is the DMC/MC at Napoli he looks pretty good to be fair. In my game he's currently on loan at Empoli. MIght look to get him in myself

[minisav]

i got £1.2 million in transfers and £60k p/w in wages. hit wage budget but have £1.6 million in transfers fees now!! sold players who didn't want new contracts etc., and bought mainly frees. i'll get a guide to my new signings up for tomorrow, but if i tip one based on early season, it will be Koke....

Everybody seems to be getting similar amounts in the 2nd division of their country!

Got 400K left out of my 1.2m although I did make a couple of sales. Can't really get anybody that good as I have a transfer happening in January. A much needed left back.

Still, I could do with a clinical striker.

[Willy Wonka]

SV Stuttgarter Kickers - German Second Division 2011/12

After an easy season last time out, I guess it got serious here.

Table - http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/353...rmantable1.jpg

Progress - http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4894/fmgermanprogress1.jpg

As you can see, I ended up comfortably in second place, which in the end felt like a failure. We barely hung onto wins in matches during the early stages of the season, and were yo yoing up and down the table, but, largely thanks to my wonderful strikers, we managed to gain some consistency and we sweeping teams aside. Both free transfers, they tore the opposition apart. Going in to the last day, a win would've given us the title, but our opponents got an 80th minute equaliser and we slipped back into second.

Squad - http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/671...mansquad1s.jpg Defensively we were a bit thin, and none the back four are really good enough for the Bundeslige. Midfield we have depth in the middle of the park but out wide we lack any good back ups. Up front is the same story really, I think Fomin should cut it in the top league. He has big clubs sniffing around though, so to hold onto him will be a challenge.

Transfers - http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/769...transfers1.jpg All in for free. It was basically a new first 11, who took a while to gel but were great when they did. The 2.1m received for Milwhatshisname was welcome; he was soemone signed before I arrived, and the money kept us afloat financially through the year.

Aims - To stay up really. I've only been given 3.2m to spend next year, but the Bundesliga isn't a particularly strong division.

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

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish Second Division B4- 2014-2015 Season



Season review: This is a difficult league to get promoted from. We had a horrible start to the season and we languished around mid table for what seemed like ages, but fortunately our form turned around in the second half of the season. By the end of the year we managed to wrap up our 2nd straight 4th place finish, and with it, another crack at the playoffs. Unfortunately we drew Osasuna in the first playoff round, and they rather comfortably beat us.

League Table
Graph

Squad
Transfers
Finances

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None
2012/13    Spanish Second Division B4      9th              None
2013/14    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2014/15    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None

[iacovone]

Ha! I hadn't checked in here for a few days and saw GK had posted. Tried to guess how many seasons he'd done by now. I guessed 4. 1 off . Looks like you're having as much difficulty as I had with Castillo there . Its a bloody tough league to escape from imo

[iacovone]

Quick scan informs me that I need to deal out congrats to Paul for staying up, Cookie for winning 3 trophies in one season! and Des for returning to where it all began! I also love those kits too

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Second round of the Cup and we match-up against yet another lower league team, we are clear favourites and our 121 season ticket holders will be there loud and proud.

A good solid 2:0 victory with Jose Maria given the MoM, Alves & Djibril both scoring.
That also exceeds expectations, as the board wanted us to make the 2nd round.

Our third competitive match sees us facing Vieira in the 2nd Division South, they are predicted 14th and its a home game for us. Think we should have a good shot, I am aiming for a top half finish this season and hopefully building into a victory next year, even the winners are not guaranteed promotion in this league, three sub-divisions only two teams promoted, so the three winners playoff for the spots.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Lusitano de Evora


October 1st Update

Some News

3rd Round Cup Draw sees us face Liga Vitalis side Vit Setubal (Relegated last season), and we are away so I see no chance. Also in the third round Porto will face Sporting in a top club clash.


The Matches

CUP: Evora vs Aliados Lordelo 2:1
Alves (19), Maria (53)
MoM: Maria
Solid game, but we should've won by more.

CUP: Evora vs Pescadores 2:0
Alves (17), Djibril (33)
MoM: Maria
Another great game in the middle for Maria, he is showing his skill already.

2DS: Evora vs Vieira 4:0
Zambujo (34), Djibril (38), da Silva (52), Costa (62)
MoM: Mauro (RW) - Middle name Zambujo henceforth known as Mauro Zambujo. (Mauro DC is Mauro da Silva)
We dominated this game from the start, and eventually romped home. Disappointingly Alves has strained his groin and will miss 4 weeks.

2DS: U.Madeira vs Evora 3:0
A very bad start and we never recovered. With the opposition predicted to win the game and also the league really an away game was never much chance.

2DS: Evora vs Tourizense 5:2
Djibril (46), Nilton (50,pen56), da Silva (69), Mota (71)
MoM: Nilton
Well we go in as favourites, with them predicted to be relegated we actually have a pretty good chance. Well a poor first half was turned around quickly after halftime, the opponents went attacking and we punished them three times in that early second half. A stunning 30 yarder brought them back into it late. With a goal from a headed free kick we made it back to 3 goals and I was happy. Mota got an easy breakaway to seal it completely. This game was a fan day and saw 583 fans in attendance, and they were delighted with the experience and should build our crowds going forward.

2DS: Pontassolense vs Evora 0:0
This was a poor match really. We should've won, but never did any good.

My Player of the Month

It has to be Jose Maria who scored 1 goal, 6 assists and 2 Man of the matches in his 5 games.

Player Stats
League Table

Well I had screenshots, but nothing is working to upload them so for now here it is without.

[rlipscombe]

If Koke is the DMC/MC at Napoli he looks pretty good to be fair. In my game he's currently on loan at Empoli. MIght look to get him in myself

might well be. i signed him for free from At Madrid at start of season. it probably will be the same one

[minisav]

Eventually scouts are doing their job. Picking up a new DC and a new striker for free who are better than what I currently have

Italians ftw!

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish Second Division B4- 2015-2016 Season



Season review: We're getting closer. We didn't quite manage promotion this season after losing to Albacete in the 2nd round of the playoffs, but we achieved our best league finish of 3rd. We had a disappointing 1st round exit of both the Fed Cup and Spanish Cup.

League Table

Squad
Transfers
Finances

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None
2012/13    Spanish Second Division B4      9th              None
2013/14    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2014/15    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2015/16    Spanish Second Division B4      3rd              None

[minisav]

Good luck next season Gareth

[Cadley X]

How the hell do you get through a season so quickly? Good luck, seven is a lucky number so maybe you'll go up this time

[Occam's Razor]

Truly demoralised from my ill fated attempts with Algeciras C.F, I decided to get on the next plane to Italy and begin again with...

F.B.C Unione Venezia

The leoni alati, or winged lions, have experienced success in the past, but this past is far behind. After winning the Coppa Italia in '41, they declared bankruptcy twice between 2005, before reforming as an entirely new club in the Seria D.

Winning promotion during my holidayed I took over as their new manager, and began another long road to victory.

[minisav]

Good luck

Mad results for me in this season. I did have two 6-1 win games in a row but it crashed after the 2nd one. Won 3-1 with my misfiring striker grabbing his first goal. And hat-trick.

Then we beat fellow relegation battlers 7-2

[rlipscombe]

good luck with Venezia Occam - best not do better than me!

[cookie15]

Best of luck Occam, you've got Rlipscombe rattled

[iacovone]

GK - if you don't go up this season you'll have done worse than I did with Castillo . Took me 7 years to escape IIRC. Hope this is the one for you

[rlipscombe]

F.B.C Unione Venezia - Serie B - Season 2014-15

Pre-Season

So, as mentioned previously following promotion to Serie B i was given £1.2 million to spend with an increased wage budget of £60k p/w. My signings were a sfollows:

Transfers 1
Transfers 2

Here's a sneek peek at the main signings:

Guarna - Having decided to seel Ahn due to his refusal to sign a new deal with 1 year left, i needed a goalkeeper so signed this guy. highly rated by my scouts, he is my No. 1 straight away.

Vollborn - Austrian full-back brought in on a free. he is my No. 1 RB for now and has started steadily
Silveira - Uruguayan LB brought in for competition. jas taken starting spot from Crotti for now
Vanaschen - young Belgian to offer competition at RB

Kerem Seras - Turkish DM brought in on loan from Atalanta to add experience to the midfield. Good player for this level.
Koke - My tip as the possible best of the newbies. Signed for nothing from At. Madrid, he is quite highly rated and has slipped straight into the starting line-up with some good performances
Morisse - Went a bit mad for defensive midfielders this summer - this French U-21 came on a free after his release by Lyon.
Miguel - Attacking midfielder again signed on a free transfer. Although we don't play currently with AMC as such, he was too good a player to miss out on.
Quincy - ex-Arsenal Ghanaian winger signed on a free (again) to provide competition on the Left. still waiting to see best from him
Debey - a rare cash signing, £140k from Belgium, he provides further cover on the left. good prospect.
Marchionni - with Lloyd Sam out injured for 4 months, i had to move quick for a replacement and brought in the experienced Italian for £180k on 1-year contract

Sebo - Slovakian striker signed on a free. highly rated by scouts, he will battle with Paponi, Perelli and Schmitt for a starting place
Juninho - Brazilian striker brought in on loan from Roma. will add strength in depth to the squad.

In addition to these, i have found a good loophole and managed to bring in a number of South Americans on loan for the season to add depth to the squad. there is a limit of 1 non-EU player a season in Italy, but htis allows more to be signed A couple are quite good, and it gives me the chance to look at them before maybe putting in a bid.

Of the departures, the main ones were Ahn, Goikoextea, Borbely, Angel, Agyei, Garcia Diaz and Strasser. All had one year on their contracts and most were unlikely to feature in the starting line-up, so i sold them to make some cash. Also with the limit on over-21s in Italy, i needed to reduce the number of players of this age, so these were the casualties.

So that's it. in the league, at the end of September we sit 17th. We started well but have had a recent slump, losing our last 3 games. it's tough this league, but i believe we can stay up. this will be crucial i think.

FORZA LAGUNARI!!

[cookie15]

Rlipscombe - Looks like you've amassed a reasonable squad with those signings. Best of luck for the season.
I'm 32 games into my first voyage into Serie B and we're going OK at the moment, but won't finish it tonight, maybe tomorrow if i'm lucky.

[rlipscombe]

Rlipscombe - Looks like you've amassed a reasonable squad with those signings. Best of luck for the season.
I'm 32 games into my first voyage into Serie B and we're going OK at the moment, but won't finish it tonight, maybe tomorrow if i'm lucky.

32 games!! wish i was that far in.... played about 10 games so far. Marchionni, my cover for Sam has just broken his leg and is out for 6 months!! only got 1 RM now....

[ghostwriter]

Renato Curi Angolana - Serie C2/B - Christmas 2011

There was a lot more movement that I expected during the Summer. I immediately sorted out the MC issue with 3 new promising signings. This was followed by 4 loanees coming in; however, all are fullbacks, a position I was perfectly happy with. That said, they are better than what I had so I should not complain. My main defensive issue was in the centre so I attempted to resolve that with a £7k purchase from Bari and an 18yo from Tenerife. The final signing was a Romanian ex-U21 international MR from Palermo for £10k.
This meant there were a few departures, namely most of the rest of the original squad who remained along with some of the elderly from last season who hardly played. I then managed to raise £30k from selling some of the players who would probably be playing very little this year.
So, overall I was quite happy with that although with 7 newcomers in the 1st team I was expecting maybe a slow start.

We did OK in the Serie C Cup, only going out of the group stage on GD. First up in the league was a bore draw at newly promoted Melfi. This was followed by an impressive win over newly relegated Juve Stabia and a respectable defeat against newly relegated Cisco. 2 good wins later and we were in our stride.

Against Cassino we were dreadful for 70 minutes then scored 2 to totally undeservedly take the lead before conceding a careless equaliser in the final minutes. It was a similar story in our next match except this time we were 0-2 down, brought it back to 2-2 but then conceded a winner in the last minute of injury time . And against Pro Vasto we needed a late equaliser to squeeze a 2-2 draw. Defensively we were going thru a dodgy spell.

Thankfully next up were the worst team in the division so we finally got a win and a clean sheet. And promptly followed that with a great 2-0 win over the then-unbeaten league leaders. We then got our best DC sent off after 10 minutes at Olbia and all attempts to grind out a 0-0 failed. A surprisinlg bad Barletta should have been thrashed; instead we thru away a 2-0 h-t lead to gain only 1 point.

Then we got a good away victory and good away draw. We were in the top 7, lurking outside the playoffs and with 3 home games (2 against freshly promoted, relegation threatened teams) to follow I was confident of a few points and a good finish to the year. We got 1 point and we were lucky to get that, 2 horrible defeats closed off 2011 .

So that means we have dropped to 12th place. And for the first time this season I am suddenly looking down instead of up; we are only 3 points above the playouts. If those games had gone the way I hoped / expected they would have gone we would be up in 6th or 7th. I don't really know what happened in those games but hopefully that kind of thing won't happen in the New Year. In any case, we are only 7 points behind the playoffs so all is not lost. We should be better than 12th but whether we are good enough to close the gap to 5th is another thing and I have to make sure we don't get dragged down into a fight for the playouts.

On the performance side of things, Bongiovanni is simply fantastic whilst before those last 2 matches our defense was playing very well. The MCs have been good as well. The new MR is OK but he, along with the ML, have been awful for the last month...

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Right I have added the screenshots to my extra update

[cookie15]

32 games!! wish i was that far in.... played about 10 games so far. Marchionni, my cover for Sam has just broken his leg and is out for 6 months!! only got 1 RM now....

Hope he stays fit until the January transfer window, that way you'll be able to get someone in, even if it is on loan.

[rlipscombe]

Hope he stays fit until the January transfer window, that way you'll be able to get someone in, even if it is on loan.

thankfully just as it happened Lloyd Sam has returned to full fitness so just about got away with it.... shame though as he'd been one of our better players. after 10 games we are 4-1-5.....

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish Second Division B4- 2016-2017 Season



Season review: We had a good start to the season and played well all year giving me hope of finally getting promoted. We finished 3rd for the 2nd straight season and drew Palencia in the 1st round of the playoffs. We beat Palencia 4-3 on aggregate sending us through to the 2nd round where we faced Lugo. We beat Lugo 3-2 on aggregate which sen us through to the playoff final where we faced Aguilas. We destroyed Aguilas in the first leg, away from home, by a scoreline of 7-0 almost guaranteeing our place in Liga Adelante. In the 2nd leg we lost 4-0, but it was still food enough for promotion.

League Table
Graph

Squad
Transfers
Finances

New stadium was also announced, a 11,362 all-seater. A great improvement from my 1300 seater.

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None
2012/13    Spanish Second Division B4      9th              None
2013/14    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2014/15    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2015/16    Spanish Second Division B4      3rd              None
2016/17    Spanish Second Division B4      3rd              Promoted, playoffs

[cookie15]

Cracking season GK, you don't half fly through the seasons!

[minisav]

Congrats Gareth

Soriano, who I got on a free at the start of the season is on his way out.

10 goals in 15 appearances has led to Sampdoria offering 2.4m + Clauses for him.

Tidy profit

Oh and we beat First Division Köln in a friendly 5-3

[iacovone]

Excellent work GK . Made it up in the same amount of time it took me. That was back in my FM10 tactical nightmare stage

[rlipscombe]

congrats GK - little and often is possibly the best way....

[cookie15]

Big report coming for Pisa, but not enough time tonight to write it!
And no, we didn't win the Serie B title

[Willy Wonka]

To anyone playing in Germany, what is the allocation of Champo/Europa League places?

[minisav]

El Sid will help you with that.

Just lost my first game in about 15

5th place, 4 points behind top

10 games left

[rlipscombe]

Big report coming for Pisa, but not enough time tonight to write it!
And no, we didn't win the Serie B title

looking forward to it!! am i glad you didn't win the league?? a little maybe....

[Cadley X]

To anyone playing in Germany, what is the allocation of Champo/Europa League places?

3 CL and 4 EL

Well done GK, I would've lost my rag with that long ago

[Cadley X]

2012/13 - Season Three Report - Kirikkalespor

Media Prediction - 14th (out of 18)

Being in Division One allowed us to sign two u23 foreign players (woo!), so I brought in a Slovenian AMC and a Croatian ST on loan along with a lot of Turkish loan players from the top teams, giving us a strong squad. In truth the average quality of teams in the First Division is not much better than the Second, or much worse than the bottom half of the Premier League, which explains the unusually high number of teams that had been promoted or relegated twice in the three seasons the game had been running so far.

Left-Winger Mehmet Sedef left on a free during the summer after I refused to meet his wage demands, but I managed to retain my other key players.

We started strongly and by the halfway stage we were in a very similar situation to our first season in Division Two, near the top by virtue of other teams' inconsistency with a good attack but leaky defence.

We won a Turkish Cup match for the first time, beating Kirsehirespor of Division Two 3-1 at home. Kind draws at home to Etimesgut Sekerspor (2-0) and away to non-league Denizli Bld (also 2-0) earned us a place in the lucrative group stage.

In the group stage we Samsunspor at home before an excellent backs-against-the-wall draw away at Premier League Adanaspor. Galatasary stuffed us 4-0 at home but we beat Division One strugglers Mersin I. Y. 3-1 to move second. We needed already-qualified Galatasary to beat Adanaspor away for us to progress, and they did quite comfortably. Another good chunk of cash was awarded for reaching the Quarter Final. We drew Besiktas, and missed good chances to beat them in the home leg before getting hammered in the return, but I was pleased with how far we had got after two seasons of nothing.

Back in the league, we came back strongly after the winter break and briefly went top. Away at mid-table Adana Demirspor we were 2-2 at half time, they scored shortly after the break and I went all-out for the equaliser, but they hit us on the break four more times to humble us 7-2. Our confidence vanished and we lost the next home game narrowly, and the next away game 5-1, and I envisioned a collapse comparable to the end of our first season. Fortunately our next game was against doomed Karabukspor and stuffing them 4-0 on TV seemed to revitalise us.

In spite of our leaky defence, we kept pace with the promotion contenders; no-one could establish a lead or hold their form for very long. With two games left the table looked like this. We scraped a 1-0 home win against Antalyaspor, one of the rare times our defence has impressed me. Our final game against Kayseri Erciyesspor was a day before the final day, and a 5-1 away win sent us top. We could only wait until the next day to see the results of Diyarbakirspor and Caykur Rizespor to find our whether we would be Champions, Promoted or entered into the playoffs.

Final Table

Both teams drew, giving us the title and sending Caykur into the playoffs, where they failed to register a single victory. It was a massive surprise and we were only promoted because of the inadequacies of other sides - I've never conceded 7 goals in a game in a season where I've also won the league!

It will be a struggle to compete next season because of the 5000 capacity stadium and we wont be able to get loan players free anymore, although there is a glimmer of hope now that we can have 6 foreign players. My target from the board is to attempt to avoid relegation, so at least it wont be an issue if we come straight back down.

# - Year - Division - Position - Achievements
1   10/11   2a         11th       None
2   11/12   2b         1st        Champions; Promoted
3   12/13   1          1st        Champions; Promoted; Turkish Cup Quarter Final

[el sid]

To anyone playing in Germany, what is the allocation of Champo/Europa League places?

3 to UCL, but not sure about Europa League, might be 3 or 4

[Cadley X]

In the Turkish Premier League there appears to be a 125k prize pot for every single match. Do any other leagues operate this way?

[Gareth Keenan]

G. Keenan's Velez C.F.- Spanish LIGA adelante- 2017-2018 Season



Season review: For our first year in LIGA adelante my only goal was to survive. We had a decent amount of money to spend but I was not able to attract many high profile players to the team. I was able to bring David N'Gog in, however, and a strike force comprising of N'Gog and Herranz was enough to save me from the drop as we finished 15th. Our defense was very bad as we conceded 77 goals, which tied for joint fourth worst in the league and that is where I am going to look to improve the most this offseason.

League Table
Graph

Squad
Transfers
Finances

Managerial History:

Season     League                        League Finish    Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11    Spanish Second Division B4      11th             None
2011/12    Spanish Second Division B4      7th              None
2012/13    Spanish Second Division B4      9th              None
2013/14    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2014/15    Spanish Second Division B4      4th              None
2015/16    Spanish Second Division B4      3rd              None
2016/17    Spanish Second Division B4      3rd              Promoted, playoffs
2017/18    LIGA adelante                   15th             None

[daemonic]

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila - Italian Serie C1/A 2012/13

Transfers - I made an effort to avoid wholesale changes this season, just replacing players if someone a good deal better came along.

Italian Serie C1/A
Predicted: 12th | Final Position: Winners | Graph
We raced out of the blocks winning our first 5 games and remaining unbeaten until the 14th game. With half the season gone we were 5 points clear at the top and 18 clear of 6th so at least a playoff spot looked certain. It all looked even rosier as the teams below us had a post-Christmas blip allowing us to open a 12 pts gap to 2nd with just 10 games to play.
Then the wheels came off as we only managed a single win in the next 8 games. We stayed top of the table but at one point we were 16th in the form table. Stupid thing is, it was only the league the players seemed determined to mess up as they managed to win both legs of the Serie C Cup Final in the midst of this miserable run.
So, with 2 games to go our lead at the top was down to 4 points. Another dismal performance against lowly Foggia in the next game secured just a single point and with Modena winning our lead was now just 2 points. A GD of +7 more than theirs meant a draw in the last game should be enough and that's all we managed.
Mid season we were running away with it but 1 win, 8 draws and 2 losses in the final 11 games meant we were Champions, just. The end of season form has made me very pessimistic about next year.

Italian Cup - 4th Qualifying Round - Excellent performance as we took 2 Serie B scalps finally falling to parent club Fiorentina.

Serie C Cup - Winners | Final 1st Leg | Final 2nd Leg

Italian C1 Super Cup - Winners | Final 1st Leg | Final 2nd Leg

Other News
Finances - Another break even season.

Club Records

Awards
Serie C1/A Top Goalscorer - 1st Paolo Negroni

Stars
Most Assists: Zvonimir Mostarlic - 17
Most Goals: Paolo Negroni - 26
Most MoM: Domenico Oliveri - 6
Highest Avg Rating: Domenico Oliveri - 7.16
Fan Player of the Year: Paolo Negroni

Best Eleven: Season | Overall

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila Trophy Room
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

Next Season...Survive...

[Willy Wonka]

ooof, drawn with Roma, Ajax and Aberdeen in the Europa League.

Season 3 report later.

[minisav]

Mon' Dons

Nah, good luck

[cookie15]

Season Review - 2013 Serie B

Following Pisa's incredible 2012 Season all i wanted was to ensure we remained in Serie B and had a reasonable Cup run. I felt that we had some reasonable players, but there were areas that needed strengthening. We certainly needed a stronger ST to partner Gallardo, and i managed to persuade Ghezzal, an Algerian International, to join us on a free. Pisa were crying out for a new Gk and i got in 2 on frees, Vid Belec and Victor.
I was also able to bring in a couple of new left sided players, Jeremy Helan (DL) and Pedro Botelho (ML), both of whom would challenge for starting berths. THe only other players that i bought in at this stage was a DMC (Maycon for £500K from Internacional) and an AMC (Mila a Polish International)

So here's how the league unfolded:

Serie B - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/League.jpg
Pisa Promoted? - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...saPromoted.jpg

The cup run was non existent as we got beaten in the first round by Serie A outfit Ascoli 2-1. Oh well!

So that's 3 successive promotions and into Serie A we go. We will need a number of reinforcements if we are going to keep our place in the league.

Players

Ignacio Gallardo - He continues to be a real asset for the club and led the scoring for the clubs. Interest for him has faded a little, but i'm sure he won't stay indefinitely and 've recruited a couple of young ST's who could replace him in the future. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...Gallardo-2.jpg

Ghezzal - Had an impressive first season for Pisa. I certainly hope he can continue to find the back of the net next season. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...08/Ghezzal.jpg

Mila - An impressive first season and he proved to be a pretty good player. Not sure whether he's strong enough for next season, but we'll see. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o..._2008/Mila.jpg

Buijs - Pisa's Captain proved to be a very stable MR, but he rarely finished a game due to fitness. This will prove a problem for next season, but his stats suggest he would be better than he is! http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...08/Buijs-1.jpg

Pedro Botelho - The new acquisition on the left of midfield had a super first season for Pisa. He got better and better, and as he's still only 22 i'm hoping he will improve still further. http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...08/Botelho.jpg

Aims for next season - Obvious..........Stay in Serie A!!!

[PaulHartman71]

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, 2017-18, Ligue 2

League Position - 12th: Past Positions

Squad

Transfers

Summary

After surviving in this division last year, this season we were an established side, and didn't really have to worry about relegation. I had about 2M to spend, I didn't spend much of it because my scouts didn't really find a player that was worth spending a significant sum on. I brought Vivaldy Joaquim, a striker, on loan from Monaco. He was actually a youth product of ours who left for Monaco and Ligue 1, when we were relegated back to the French National. Nestor Gutierrez was 17 when I signed him, my scouts seemed to think he could turn into a decent player. He scored 5 goals in 14 starts and 4 sub appearances, he's still just 18. Umberto Raimundo was brought in as backup and was decent in defence. Lossemy Karaboue was fairly expensive at 400K, the deal for the midfielder probably wasn't worth that as he isn't the best player I have ever signed, but it seems for a decent player in the division you need to spend that kind of money. It was a decent season and I think a 12th place finish was a good indication of the quality of our side.

Key Players

Vivaldy Joaquim - The young striker did well in his return to his home club, scoring 16 goals in 37 games, contributing 13 assists as well.

Francesco Di Dio - The Italian left midfielder had a good season, providing 5 assists and 11 goals.

Sergio Marbus - The Dutch central midfielder was an ever present this season, scoring 6 and assisting 6.

U21 Player of the Year

Jérôme Hebert - The 16 year old D/MR is a fantastic prospect and had a more than decent first season at the club. Who did I poach him off? Nobody, he's another graduate from our academy!

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





Trophies won:

[rlipscombe]

cookie - i had a feeling you'd got promoted..... amazing success mate - going to be tricky next season though. you're putting us all to shame!!

[cookie15]

cookie - i had a feeling you'd got promoted..... amazing success mate - going to be tricky next season though. you're putting us all to shame!!

It was very tight! My goal difference wasn't as good as the other teams, but by the fact that i beat them both and drew we got promoted. I think that has to be my luckiest season ever in management.

So far i've bought in a few players:

Lima - Young Brazilian ST who my scouts raved about.
Sepsi - Romanian International LB for free.
Keko - AMRC from Shaktar, but he's actually spanish. Looks very tidy
Gharib Ahmed - AMR from Al-Ahly, looks like he'll develop nicely.
Sukuta-Pasu- A Congolese German young ST who was available for free and looks like a good back up to Gallardo

and that's it folks! Hope they come good.

Good luck Rlipscombe

[rlipscombe]

Oh this is so frustrating!! we can beat the top teams but always lose to the bottom teams!! Oh for some consistency.....

[minisav]

2nd top \o/

7 games to go.

Let's push for promotion!

[rlipscombe]

good luck mate...

[minisav]

Well a 4-0 win puts us top. One team can go on the same points but that win makes our goal difference much better. They have to top the result

Throwing it away /o\

We lost 2-0 so we go from 4 points ahead with 2 to play to 1 ahead with 1 to play.

Hannover up next. I need a win I reckon. Rostock are in sensational form

They're at home to the team that just beat me.

Rostock don't matter. It is Nürnberg who have 6th placed 1860 München...

Please?!

[minisav]

Darmstadt - Minisav - German 2nd Division - 2011/12



Well after a cracking first season we hoped to just survive. I made a lot of signings and my budget of 1.2m disappeared quite quickly. However, we sold somebody for 700K at the start and another for 2.4m in January so that helped us immensely.

We won \o/ We surpassed my greatest expectations. I'm so chuffed. Nailbiting stuff. I won 4-1 in the last game. Other teams bottled so I win by 3 points

In the cup we went out to Wolfsburg in the first round. Dzeko

Table
Transfers
Squad Part 1
Squad Part 2
Profile

Key Players:

Hans-Jörg Butt - May be old but was still a bargain and saves us so many times
Francisco Merida - Absolutely controlled whether he played AMC or ML. Shame for Dos Santos as Merida pretty much kept him out of the side. A contribution like that for no wages makes him such a good guy.

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11		    Third Division		  1st			    Automatic Promotion
2011/12             Second Division               1st                       Automatic Promotion

[cookie15]

Minisav - Great season there mate. I always think the tight ones at the end are the best seasons, really fulfilling. All the best next season, you certainly have a couple of talented players in Merida and Butt, hope for your sake that you can keep hold of them!

I've played 4 games in Serie A and so far have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 1. If i can continue like this i'll be delighted, especially as we beat Roma in our first ever game in the league.

[minisav]

Unfortunately Merida was only on loan. Although we didn't have to pay wages is why he was so awesome. And the fact he scored 9 goals and got 9 assists.

[rlipscombe]

cookie - great start again... surely not 3 promotions and the the title in 4 seasons???

i've reached the haf way point in 11th. can't grumble too much, though we're not safe from relegation but are too far short imo for promotion. still, i'd take it come May!

[el sid]

well done minisav