FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[cookie15]

Second leg - Champions League Semi-Final

13 minutes - Gallardo breaks free and finds the back of the net 1-0!
19 minutes - Dekker finds space in the area, 2-0!

Half Time Bayern 0-2 Pisa

92 minutes - MIcah Richards pulls dow Lahm in the box - Penalty
Lahm gets up and dusts himself off and buries the penalty 2-1!


Final whistle blows

PISA HAVE MADE THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL 4-1 AGGREGATE SCORE!

Final opposition to be confirmed .........

[minisav]

\o/ Final here you come!

Lost 2-1 away to West Ham. A double from Ashton!

Well played Cookie

[cookie15]

21 May 2016 see Pisa take on Barcelona in the Champions League Final!

Probably play this tomorrow now, and things are going well in Serie A too. Can Cookie15 complete the challenge by the end of the 2015/16 season? We'll see tomorrow folks

[minisav]

Oooo the tension!

8 point lead in the league

[cookie15]

\o/ Final here you come!

Lost 2-1 away to West Ham. A double from Ashton!

Well played Cookie

Cheers mate, bad luck with Ashton scoring a brace. He doesn't even play anymore IRL

[DodgeeD]

Congrats on reaching the final cookie.

I'm now in January and Ledesma is ready to come back from injury and make his 2nd apperance for the club BUT a Chilean striker my scouts spotted at the U20 World Cup just made his debut and... gets a torn claf muscle - 3 months out!

[cookie15]

Congrats on reaching the final cookie.

I'm now in January and Ledesma is ready to come back from injury and make his 2nd apperance for the club BUT a Chilean striker my scouts spotted at the U20 World Cup just made his debut and... gets a torn claf muscle - 3 months out!

Couldn't believe your bad luck with him getting injured so early on for you. Seems the bad luck hasn't left you either!

On another note, is your 10 year Career Challenge still up and running? Quite fancy a career next up!

[minisav]

Here we go with the 2nd leg. 2-1 down but an away goal helping us.

13th minute - Mantorras of West Ham scores 0-1 (1-3)
30th minute - Daud of Darmstadt scores 1-1 (2-3)
40th minute - Daud again! 2-1 (3-3)

Half-time 2-1 (3-3)

65th minute - Ransford Osei of Darmstadt scores! 3-1 (4-3)
74th minute - Nooo. Juan own goal 3-2 (4-4)
85th minute - Merida! That man is king! 4-2 (5-4)
87th minute - Dentinho! 5-2 (6-4)

Surely that's it?!

Yas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FT 5-2 (6-4)

[cookie15]

minisav - It's tight at half time!

Great fight back mate, congrats

[DodgeeD]

Couldn't believe your bad luck with him getting injured so early on for you. Seems the bad luck hasn't left you either!

On another note, is your 10 year Career Challenge still up and running? Quite fancy a career next up!

Bad luck with injuries and chairman interference this season.

We're 3rd in the league at the halfway stage though and we've just beaten Benfica for the first time ever to give ourselves a chance of making the Carlsberg Cup semis.

The 10-year Challenge? Hadn't thought about it to be honest. Nobody got close to finshinh it last year but I may set it up just for you.

[cookie15]

The 10-year Challenge? Hadn't thought about it to be honest. Nobody got close to finshinh it last year but I may set it up just for you.

Hadn't seen it up there, but wondered if it was still around! If you do set it up again i'm ni for the duration this time round! I have unfinished business at Cortiba (Sp)

[DodgeeD]

But as the point was to try at finish the career at the 2018 World Cup, this time it would either have to be the 9-year challenge or the 11-year challenge finshing at Euro 2020

[minisav]

It turns out those were Ashton's only goals in the tournament. He got injured in the 3rd min of the 2nd leg. And Mantorras got injured in the 54th. Justice!

Mantorras out with a calf muscle tear. 4-5 months. Ha!

[cookie15]

But as the point was to try at finish the career at the 2018 World Cup, this time it would either have to be the 9-year challenge or the 11-year challenge finshing at Euro 2020

Aah fair point! Hadn't remembered that, might have to think of a challenge myself along the lines of a career!

[DodgeeD]

Aah fair point! Hadn't remembered that, might have to think of a challenge myself along the lines of a career!

It could become to 10(+1) Challenge.

You'v got me thinking about it now - might include Portugal too this time as I'm having fun there.

[minisav]

Darmstadt 2 - 0 Rubin

Mon. 2nd leg will still be nervy!

9 points ahead with 8 games to go!

[minisav]

And we go 2-0 up away to seal it despite them pegging 2 back.

4-2

Lost our first game of the season and about 34 games after 27 matches this season. Down to 6 point lead

[DodgeeD]

B.C. Branco January 2018 Update

Got some good playing time in today and so thought I'd give an update on the first half of the season. Injuries and crooked chairman aside, we've had a good season so far, currently sitting 3rd:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Porto               |       | 16    | 12    | 2     | 2     | 38    | 10    | +28   | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Benfica             |       | 16    | 12    | 2     | 2     | 31    | 14    | +17   | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | B. C. Branco        |       | 16    | 10    | 3     | 3     | 30    | 17    | +13   | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Sporting CP         |       | 16    | 8     | 5     | 3     | 31    | 16    | +15   | 29    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Braga               |       | 16    | 7     | 6     | 3     | 25    | 20    | +5    | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Nacional da Madeira |       | 16    | 7     | 6     | 3     | 23    | 18    | +5    | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Leixões             |       | 16    | 7     | 5     | 4     | 21    | 14    | +7    | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Trofense            |       | 16    | 6     | 7     | 3     | 25    | 21    | +4    | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Rio Ave             |       | 16    | 4     | 5     | 7     | 24    | 25    | -1    | 17    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Beira-Mar           |       | 16    | 4     | 4     | 8     | 8     | 15    | -7    | 16    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Olhanense           |       | 16    | 3     | 6     | 7     | 19    | 26    | -7    | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Vit. Setúbal        |       | 16    | 4     | 3     | 9     | 13    | 23    | -10   | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Marítimo            |       | 16    | 3     | 5     | 8     | 18    | 27    | -9    | 14    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Naval               |       | 16    | 3     | 5     | 8     | 15    | 27    | -12   | 14    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Penafiel            |       | 16    | 1     | 4     | 11    | 16    | 38    | -22   | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Leiria              |       | 16    | 1     | 4     | 11    | 14    | 40    | -26   | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

We were briefly top but faced Porto that same weekend and lost...

Still in both cups but my runs there may be coming to an end. In the Portuguese Cup quarters, we play Benfica and in the League Cup semis we have a trip to Sporting.

The following players have been key so far:

Ricardo Lopez Jiminez - showing maturity beyond his years at the centre of defence. Attracting interest from some big clubs but has moved to quash the speculation himself.

David Pons - took a little while to settle but is now in fine form, creating chances and taking them with great efficiency.

Ernesto - our topscorer in the league.

Medeiros - our topscorer in all competitions with a fondess for powerful strikes and well-measured lobs.

I managed to make a couple of signings in the transfer window:

Fredson (DRC) - my scouts spotted him at the U20 World Cup and I made a move for him after the chairman flogged my first choice right back for 3.3mil. I bought Fredson for 3.3mil so what was the point?

Jimmy Orellana (ST) - another find from the U20 World Cup, unfortunately injuured on his league debut and out until April.

Due to Orellana's ijury and the fact that I didn't trust my chairman to resist bids for Medeiros, I arranged the loan signing of Renato Russo from Boca Juniors with a 3mil future fee clause inserted in the deal.

Aim for the rest of the season - stay in the European qualifying places.

[minisav]

Good stuff

Into the Euro Cup semi-final. Beat Bayern 5-2 on agg in the Quarters. Genoa at home next

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Liga Vitalis – 2012/2013

Liga Vitalis – Media Prediction – 16th – Actual - 8th
Portuguese Cup – 3rd Round – Lost 5-3 to Vit. Guimaraes
Portuguese League Cup – 1st Round – Lost 4-1 on penalties to Oliveirense after a 2-2 draw.

Team Stats
Transfers

Top Scorer: Geufer (15)
Top Assists: Delfim (15)


After surviving last season, a few new players were signed to try to strengthen the squad for the impending relegation battle that we would face this year.

The season didn’t start well either, as we fell at the first hurdle in the League Cup after not being able to put Oliiveirense away. Still, at least this could help us concentrate on the league.

The league season was one of erratic form; we were never able to string together more than 3 wins all year. The wins that we were able to get proved enough and we eventually secured a top half finish which is pretty good for a media prediction of dead last.

The Portuguese Cup was also a non event this year, a comfortable win over lower league opposition then saw us hammered by Vit Guimaraes.

We managed to achieve two of our aims from last season, avoiding relegation and with the improved league finish, improved the squad. Finances were pretty much the same, which isn’t really a bad thing.

Aims for Next Season
Challenge for a top 5 finish – Seeing as we’ve made solid progress each year since we were promoted, a top 5 finish may not be out of the question.
Improve the Squad – Continuing to improve the squad again this season will of course hopefully see us pushing further up the table.
Turn Pro - I think this is wishful thinking, but it would be nice. I don't know what needs to happen on FM10 to trigger it.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

A Table is updated (Page 31)

And we have passed over 3000 posts. Great work guys. This time last year we had 1493 posts and the last thing said was:

well done Lordmeister - great improvement on previous season, and the first half of season for that matter... hopefully you can keep it up into next season.

Des - you always like a difficult ride don't you... personally, i'd rename it "JoseRR's let's play the same game as rlipscombe' European Challenge"...

|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| User       | Club        | Nation    | League    | C. Season | Last Pos. |
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| El sid     | Munster     | Germany   | 1st Div   |  2018/19  |    1st    | Completed 2018/19
| Ohanzee    | SD Noja     | Spain     | Liga BBVA |  2019/20  |    1st    | Completed 2019/20
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| ElDani     | Farense     | Portugal  | Sagres    |  2016/17  |    1st    |1
| PRDH       | SO Romo     | France    | Ligue 1   |  2021/22  |    1st    |1
| WillCarr   | Stuttgarter | Germany   | 1st Div   |  2017/18  |    1st    |1
| Gilbster   | Elgin       | Scotland  | Premier   |  2032/33  |    3rd    |1
| Cookie15   | Pisa        | Italy     | Serie A   |  2015/16  |    3rd    |1
| ToMexico   | Elgin       | Scotland  | Premier   |  2016/17  |    6th    |1
| Minisav    | Darmstadt   | Germany   | 1st Div   |  2013/14  |    6th    |1
| UffeJohan  | Casa Pia    | Portugal  | Sagres    |  2020/21  |    7th    |1
| DodgeeD    | Bc Branco   | Portugal  | Sagres    |  2017/18  |    7th    |1
| iseemonster| Racing Club | France    | Ligue 1   |  2014/15  |   12th    |1
| Daemonic   | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie A   |  2016/17  |   13th    |1
| StellaF1   | Hospitalet  | Spain     | Liga BBVA |  2017/18  |   14th    |1
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Cadley X   | Kirikkale   | Turkey    | Premier   |  2013/14  |    1st    |1
| Iacovone   | Castillo    | Spain     | Liga BBVA |  2021/22  |    2nd    |1
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Paul Hart  | FC Libourne | France    | Ligue 1   |  2021/22  |   18th    |2
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| LLR        | Evora       | Portugal  | Vitalis   |  2014/15  |    3rd    |2
| Dave.      | Ostuni spt  | Italy     | Serie B   |  2017/18  |    5th    |2
| Berty1978  | Lorca       | Spain     | Adelente  |  2013/14  |    6th    |2
| Sazchu     | Stranraer   | Scotland  | 1st Div   |  2016/17  |    7th    |2
| G-Wiz      | Angri       | Italy     | Serie B   |  2015/16  |    8th    |2
| Rlipscombe | Venezia     | Italy     | Serie B   |  2015/16  |    9th    |2
| Polar Bear | Magdeburg   | Germany   | 2nd Div   |  2015/16  |   10th    |2
| Razer82    | Fafe        | Portugal  | Vitalis   |  2012/13  |   11th    |2
| TanO       | Pajara      | Spain     | Adelente  |  2015/16  |   13th    |2
| Gareth K   | Velez CF    | Spain     | Adelente  |  2019/20  |   14th    |2
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Quackje    | Saarbrucken | Germany   | 2nd Div   |  2012/13  |    1st    |2
| Jobnik     | Merida UD   | Spain     | Adelente  |  2012/13  |    1st    |2
| Thistles*  | Martigues   | France    | Ligue 2   |  2015/16  |    1st    |2
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Twellman   | Algeciras   | Spain     | 2 Div B2  |  2015/16  |    3rd    |3
| Benjaminoo | Farense     | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2011/12  |    4th    |3
| Liverbird  | Casa Pia    | Portugal  | 2 Div C   |  2012/13  |    5th    |3
| Deltablue  | RW Essen    | Germany   | Third Div |  2011/12  |    5th    |3
| TaylorB    | Infesta     | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2011/12  |   10th    |3
| Kabajingai | Saarbrucken | Germany   | Third Div |  2011/12  |   11th    |3
| Brambleten | Mannheim    | Germany   | Third Div |  2011/12  |   12th    |3
| Flashman   | Portugalete | Spain     | 2 Div B3  |  2011/12  |   16th    |3
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| sydneyTili | Albion      | Scotland  | 2nd Div   |  2011/12  |    1st    |3
| AdamFitz   | Elgin       | Scotland  | 2nd Div   |  2011/12  |    2nd    |3
| Ghostwriter| Renato Curi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2013/14  |    2nd    |3
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| JacknoCoke | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2014/15  |   16th    |4
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Heat02     | Elgin       | Scotland  | Third Div |  2011/12  |    8th    |4
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Rancer     | Sannois SG  | France    | National  |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Tomsmith   | Pau FC      | France    | National  |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Tharros    | RW Essen    | Germany   | Third Div |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Saab693    | Famalicao   | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| CharlesB   | Fafe        | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| XXXtreme   | Leca        | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Bednar     | Farense     | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| 5ergio     | Maltepespor | Turkey    | 2nd Div   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Robert 296 | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| Bjoggi     | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| Dougeh     | Venezia     | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| OccamsRazor| Venezia     | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| LtPS       | Annan       | Scotland  | Third Div |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| Gers15     | Annan       | Scotland  | Third Div |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|

So there you have it a few changes since the last table.

[DodgeeD]

Great work on the table LLR. Seeing my name up there got me back to Portugal.

Good prgress in the Liga Vitalis Razer. Not sure if this is universal but B.C. Branco finally went pro after promotion to Liga Sagres.

[rlipscombe]

some good progress guys. congrats on the Cl final cookie. unlucky in relegation Paul, but i konw you'll be back stronger soon. and Dodgee and Razer - good seasons there.

[cookie15]

Pisa Season Review 2015/2016 Serie A and Champions League

The aim of the Season was to push on from last year's impressive top three finish and launch a title challenge. I was given quite a hefty transfer kitty and bought in Dekker (ST) and Ivanov (DC) to strengthen the team. This meant that we were pretty complete all over the pitch and, if the team stayed relatively fit, we could really push on.

The season started well an we managed to head toward the top of the table and by Christmas Pisa were leading by 2 points from Genoa. We continued in the same form and even though a string of draws toward the end of the season we managed to secure the Serie A title

League Table - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/League-1.jpg

Evan Cook is a Legend - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/legend.jpg

So Part one of the challenge complete, could we go and complete it?

As you may have seen Pisa defeated Arsenal, Valencia and Bayern Munich on their way to the final where they would meet the mighty Barcelona. This meant another trip to Spain, as the final was being played at the Mestalla.

The only positive note for me, was the fact the Iniesta was out injured which i was hoping would prove to be crucial.

The game got underway and the first half saw very few chances an Pereda (GK) wasn't really challenged as Barcelona were kept to long range efforts. So we went into half time all square, 0-0. The game resumed and it saw Pisa have the majority of possession, Gallardo broke free of the last defender and cannoned a shot off the crossbar!
In the 63rd minute the ball broke lose in a tackle and Matic found his midfield compatriot Mariga. He's known for his fierce shot and let fire from 25 yards. The ball fizzed toward the net and nestled in the bottom left corner of the net. Pisa had taken the lead 1-0. The question was could they hold on as Barcelona pushed for the equaliser?
Due to a training injury, Dekker my top scorer was on the bench, which gave a rare starting opportunity for Salamanca. It was him who hit them on the counter and coolly sotted past the stranded keeper to give us a 2-0 lead. This was shortlived as Bojan scored a super individual effort in the 86th minute. This meant that it was a frantic final 4 minutes, plus injury.

But, hey, these boys know how to play and were crowned 2016 Champions of Europe!!

Pisa v Barcelona final Score - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...eaguefinal.jpg

Champions League Dream Team saw 7 Pisa players included - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o.../Dreamteam.jpg

European player of the Year. Well this to me proves this guy is a legend in my eyes. Picked for free from obscurity and has been with Pisa all the way from C2 to Serie A, he tops it off with this award. He is of course Ignacio Gallardo - http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...EuroPlayer.jpg

Players

Here are the main guys who helped achieve the Double!

GK - Pereda http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/Pereda-1.jpg
DR - Richards http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/Richards.jpg
DL - Saavedra http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/saavedra.jpg
DR/DL - Ansaldi http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...08/ansaldi.jpg
DC - Forlin http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/forlin.jpg
DC - Ivanov http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/ivanov.jpg
MC - Mariga http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/mariga-1.jpg
MC - Matic http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...2008/Matic.jpg
MC - Marcio http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/Marcio.jpg
AMR - Keko http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/Keko-1.jpg
AMR/L - Angius http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/Angius.jpg
AML - Di Maria http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o.../DiMaria-1.jpg
ST - Dekker http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...008/Dekker.jpg
ST - Galardo http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...Gallardo-4.jpg

So here it is challenge complete.........Good luck everyone, keep the good times going!

[DodgeeD]

Congrats cookie. 2016? That was fast especially as Italy has 4 tiers to negotiate. Great achievement.

[rlipscombe]

fantastic cookie - knew you were going to do it. great stuff too. 2016? i'm in this season now and i'm still in Serie B.....

[ghostwriter]

Congratulations cookie. That is ridiculously quick, at the very best I will have made it to Serie B by that stage.

In other news, the takeover has finally been completed as some shady Mexican with previous "business links to Italy" has taken over. So far, he has cancelled some club links, improved youth facilities and given us the mighty sum of £22k. Gee, thanks . He says he will consider my position soon, I presume I will keep the job but you never know. Anyway this leaves me just over a week to make any signings before the window closes.

Also, say hello to Sorin Baba, the new Serie A superstar, his record so far is pretty impressive. Hats off to Inter's scouts who must have found him the moment he came up thru the Craiova youth system.


EDIT: in fact, I was wrong, the transfer embargo was not lifted straight away, only on the 29th when the new chairman also said I could stay. So just 2 days to make any transfers before the deadline. Fantastic.

[DodgeeD]

fantastic cookie - knew you were going to do it. great stuff too. 2016? i'm in this season now and i'm still in Serie B.....

Just looking through the history on my B.C. Branco save and for me the 2015/16 season was the first time I got a transfer budget and paid money to sign a player.

[daemonic]

Congrats cookie, added you the the Hall of Fame

[DodgeeD]

Crunch time in the hunt for European places. With 2 games of the 2017/18 season to go, the top of the table looks like this:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | C     | Porto               |       | 28    | 21    | 5     | 2     | 67    | 18    | +49   | 68    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Benfica             |       | 28    | 18    | 7     | 3     | 51    | 23    | +28   | 61    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | B. C. Branco        |       | 28    | 19    | 4     | 5     | 65    | 33    | +32   | 61    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Sporting CP         |       | 28    | 17    | 7     | 4     | 54    | 26    | +28   | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Top 2 go into the champions league but we'll have a tough time passing Benfica as our penultimate game is Porto away. Sporting and Benfica play each ohter on the last day though so 2nd is very much up for grabs.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Congrats on the completion Cookie, a great season there. Best of luck Dodgee in the hunt towards the end of the season, hopefully you cn pull off Champions League Entry. Good to see you have at least cemented yourself in the top 4 of Portugal, that was the toughest part for me in my Fafe game last year.

[rlipscombe]

good luck in the hunt for a CL place Dodgee - would be a great achievement.

[cookie15]

Cheers for all the positive comments guys. Just to make you jealous i've been given a transfer kitty for this season of £68 million!

Might put this game on the shelf for a bit and start a new challenge. All the best guys!

[DodgeeD]

Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco – 2017/18 Season Review

Liga Sagres – 3rd | Final Table
Portuguese Cup – Quarter-final | Results
League Cup – Semi-final | 2nd Round Group Table | 3rd Round Group Table | Results

A top half finsihed was expected but it was clear from early in the season that we could do better. Through September and October, we were unbeaten notching up 7 wins in a row and sitting just behind Porto in the table. We even took the lead at one point but a loss to Porto the following week saw us drop back down. Porto and Benfica started to break away at the top but we were sitting tight in 3rd, helped by the fact that Sporting were having a poor season, by their standards at least.

Our good form carried over to the cups as well as we reached the latter stages of both competitions. The League Cup was a particular highlight as we beat Benfica for the first time ever in the 3rd Round group phase and took the best runners-up spot to reach the semis. It looked like we would get the better of Benfica in the Portuguese Cup as well as we outplayed them for large parts of the game and took the lead but they equalised in tha last ten minutes and then took the win 2-1 in extra time. Days later, we played Sporting in the League Cup semi again ran them close, losing in controversial circumstances. 1-0 down with ten minutes left my AMC Pons was clearly fouled in the box. Not only did we not get the penalty but Sporting did not live up to their name and launched a counter attack with my player down injured and scored. I let rip in the press conference with no FA punishment vindicating me.

Back to the league, Sporting started to close the gap in the new year but we responded with another unbeaten run starting in March and lasting until the end of the season. That enabled us to close the gap on Benfica in 2nd, behind them only by virtue of head-to-head results with 2 games to go. We then went to Porto and somehow got a 0-0 despite being played off the park. Benfica also dropped points drawing 0-0 to lowly Olhanense and, as they were away to Sporting in the last game, we had a great chance to grab the scond Champions League spot. We did our part with a 4-1 win over Trofense and it looked like Sporting would do us a favour as they were holding Benfica 1-1 but it was not to be. Benfica went 2-1 up late on and got the win, meaning we missed out on Champions League qualification on head-to-head results.


Key Players:
Carlo Mazzoni (DC) – another great season by our most consistent player. It’s no coincidence that our worst run of results in the league came December to January when he was injured.
Ricardo Lopez Jiminez (DC) – came of age this year with some great performances in defence.
Guiseppe Ferraro (DR) – performed consistently well as he has done since our days in the 2nd Division.
Massimo Galli (DL) – a great return to form after a couple of indifferent seasons. Solid in defence and deadly from the penalty spot too.
Vincenzo Anotonelli (MC) – back-up at the start of the season but soon forced his way into the side with some mpressive performances and provided more assists than anyone else in the team.
Cedric Cathala (MC) – a surprise package as he broke out of the reserves and into the first team, turning in high quality performances. Our most improved player of the season.
Medeiros (ST) – after a full season at the club, settled in and started to score for fun, breaking the club record for goals in a season in the process.
Ernesto (ST) – broke the club record for league goals in a season as he formed a lethal partnership with Medeiros. Unfortunately, started to express his desire to move on towards the end of the season and it may be difficult to hang on to him.



Awards:
Fans’ Player of the Year – Carlo Mazzoni (3rd Year in Succession)
Most Improved Team of the Year – B.C. Branco (2nd)
Liga Sagres Team of the Year – Massimo Galli, Carlo Mazzoni & Ernesto
Liga Sagres Topscorer – Ernesto (1st), Medeiros (2nd)
Liga Sagres Most Man of the Match – Ernesto (1st)
Liga Sagres Quickest Goal of the Year – Medeiros (1st)
Liga Sagres Young Player of the Year – Cédric Cathala (1st), David Pons (2nd)
Liga Sagres Forward of the Year – Ernesto (2nd), Medeiros (3rd)
November 2017 Liga Sagres Manager of the Month – David Dodgson (1st)
April 2018 Liga Sagres Manager of the Month – David Dodgson (1st)
April 2018 Liga Sagres Player of the Month – Medeiros (1st), Massimo Galli (2nd), Carlo Mazzoni (3rd)
League Cup Topscorer – Medeiros (1st)
League Cup Most Man of the Match – Medeiros (1st)

The Season Ahead:
Again, the board approved improvements to training and youth facilites (so they should as we have ₤8m+ in the bank following the chairman’s transfer dealings). They want European qualification through the league again, which we can deliver. In Europe, we’ll just see how far we can go – would the knockout rounds be over-optimistic?

Short-term aim – hold my squad together over the summer. This may be difficult because: a) nearly all of my first team players are wanted by a club somehwere in Europe and b) my chairman has an annoying habit of accepting bids over my head. Already, Ernesto has demanded a move following interest from elsewhere; Medeiros has denied he wants a move but is refusing to negotiate a new deal; and Mazzoni and Jiminez have spoken of the ‘honour’ of being linked with various clubs.

I hope the prospect of European football will tempt them to stay and allow me to bring in some new faces too. So far, I’ve got one deal set-up:
Vinicius (MC) – a bit pricey at ₤4m but, if my scouts are to be believed, he has great potential.

Bring on Europe!



The Story So Far:

Season   Division     Pos.  Cup   L.Cup  Europe  Other
2010-11  2nd(Central) 1st   3rdR  N/A    N/A     3rd in promotion play-off
2011-12  2nd(North)   2nd   2ndR  N/A    N/A     -
2012-13  2nd(North)   3rd   3rdR  N/A    N/A     -
2013-14  2nd(North)   1st   1stR  N/A    N/A     Promoted via play-offs
2014-15  Liga Vitalis 2nd   4thR  2ndR   N/A     Promoted
2015-16  Liga Sagres  12th  4thR  3rdR   N/A     Survived
2016-17  Liga Sagres  7th   SF    3rdR   N/A     -
2017-18  Liga Sagres  3rd   QF    SF     N/A     Qualified for Europa League

[Benjaminoo]

Cookie, amazing mate!
You going to continue with the save?

DodgeeD, well done on a 3rd place finish and the Europa League spot, KUTGW mate

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well it turns out the -500k balance I have is now affecting me completely, yes I am over wage budget, but the finances now mean I cannot sign new players at all, I am restricted to 50 pounds for a key player, and shockingly the length of contracts is down to 3 years as well, this is going to be hard, currently 3rd in the Liga Vitalis with 4 games to go, desperately need promotion if I want to stay in the hunt.

Edit: Well after looking at my upcoming fixtures I have realised that a victory over Naval on the final day would put us level on points so long as I don't lose to Fatima and I would go up on Results between teams. Of course I would like to see them or Gil Vicente falter before that, but its sooo close 3 teams for 2 promotion spots.

[DodgeeD]

Quite an interesting World Cup just passed (2018 edition, hosted by Russia).

Shocks as Brazil, Italy and Spain go out in the first round, Hungary and Montenegro (extra shocks that they even qualified!) make the knockout stages, Paraguay make the semis and Uruguay are runners-up only losing on penalties to France. I was offered the Nigeria and South Korea jobs afterwards (refused, of coursei due to challnege rules).

In B.C. Branco news, Ernesto has gone with Olympiakos coughing up the 3.5mil asking rice and agreeing to the clauses (500k after 10 goal, 500k after 20 games, 1mil on his international debut and 35% of next sale). I'm activating the 3mil future fee from Russo's loan deal as a result. Apart from that, my scouts don't seem to be turning much up this summer. Oh, and for the 5th year in a row, nobody from the youth intake stands out...

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well two players sent off while we were tied 1:1 and I was pushing forward for the win wrapped it up, we lost 2:1 and will spend another season in the Liga Vitalis. Full update to come.

[DodgeeD]

The chairamn does it again! Medeiros has gone to Shakhtar for a measly 3mil. We have 5.5mil in the bank as well - what's he playing at?

[PaulHartman71]

My chairman is strange concerning that. In my season prior to my Ligue 1 debut, he accepted a 1M bid for someone, which at the time (and still is) a lot of money for a club like us, and I would have accepted it myself. However the next season in Ligue 1, I get an offer of 3.5M for my striker in January (he was nowhere near worth that, I would have accepted 1M) and the chairman didn't automatically accept it.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Lusitano de Evora


End of Season
2014/15 Liga Vitalis

The Current Season

The Quick Reference

Predicted: 9th
Odds: 9th (25-1)
Actual: 3rd
Portuguese Cup: Quarterfinal vs Vit Guimaraes
League Cup: 2nd Round - 2nd Group A
Finances: 1.5M (20th Por)
The Squad: Squad
Transfers: 2013/14

The Season in General

Well I had only a few spots to fill in the side and then I should have the team needed to gain promotion, the most important offseason signing was Afonso and he showed it all season as he finished with 24 goals, 20 assists, 14 Man of the Match awards. The finances are still in freefall and there seems to be nothing I can do as we have passed 600k in debt.

The League

The league started well this season, but it was always going to be a very tight battle between us Gil Vicente & Naval, in the end we finished 3rd and I was very disappointed as at the halfway point we had been leading, and with 7 games to go it was ours to lose. A few stumbles at the end saw us drop the ball again and miss promotion once more.

Player Stats

The Cups

Well we got knocked out of both cups by Vit Guimaraes this season, I have to say I was completely delighted with the players efforts though, and the 3:2 loss in the Portuguese Cup was only a last minute thing, it really came down to a little bit of luck for them with their shot at 83mins or so to win it.

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     |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|

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 |
|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|

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 |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|

Club Records & Competition History

New Records: Highest Gate 14k, Avg Attendance 2173, Biggest Win 8:1, Biggest Defeat 1:7, Winning Streak 7, Most Assists: Afonso 20, Most MoM: Afonso 14, Youngest Player: Pinheiro 17y 5d, Fee Received 20k Braun, Transfer Income 28k,
All Records: Part 1 & 2.
Competition History: 2nd Division South Winners 2012, Liga Vitalis 3rd 2014,2015.

The Players

The Squad

Current Teams Stats: This Season & Evora Career.

Goalkeepers

30.Andre Martins - The last season number 1 has fallen on harder times, but he still made 7 appearances as he conceded 10 goals while covering for Dimas.

33. Dimas - The new keeper was better than the rest and it showed as he started 32 games conceding 41 goals, he can get better and is supposedly a decent Liga Sagres keeper.

Right Backs

39.Fabio Semprini - Becoming a sub this season, he played a few games with injuries plaguing the team, but he never really got going. Hopefully I can find a replacement in the new year.

36.Ander Suarez Rodriguez - He played in a great 29 matches this season, he didn't get on the scoresheet at all, but he was very solid in defense and really that is what his job is too.

Left Backs

53.Lorenzo Semioli - He got unhappy this season as he never managed to crack the top team. Federici was completely on top of the position and he led the way leaving Semioli on the bench.

17.Gabriele Federici - The unquestioned number 1 left back, along with Visentin, Galiano & Rodriguez they provided a very solid back four. With a huge number of games, and some great work in all of them, I know left back is solid.

Centre Backs

7.Sebastian Visentin - Very solid in his new role as Vice-Captain, he played 33 games for a rating over 7, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MoM. A very good solid season at the back.

6.Diego Galiano - Captain fantastic managed to get his 100th cap for the team this season and join an elite group of four. He led the way from the back with 6 goals, a huge achievement for a centre back.

5.Miguel Serodio - Only a handful of games this season, he is clearly not good enough for our squad, I need a replacement though.

Right Wings

37.Christophe Lacroix - Mr Super-sub himself was always there behind Jehl this season, and he managed to assist a fair few times on goals, as well as scoring one of the winners late in the season.

47.Matteo Jehl - He stepped in as the starter this season and he showed some absolute class as he led the way, he got a few assists, and a goal as well.

Left Wings

73.Revy Rosalia - Revy was absolute class this season, and he scored 10 assists as he lead the way down the right wing, he is getting on a bit so hopefully the others can step up heading into the new season.

74.El Mehdi Ouaddou - Well the new signing from Morroco showed some class in replacing Rosalia, he didn't do anything amazing though and only 2 assists was very disappointing given his skill level.

Centre Mids

43.Raphael Lopes - He was completely unable to crack the starting line-up this season. He did make his milestone 100th appearance for the club though, probably leave in the offseason.

23.Jose Manuel - With over 100 apps, with 10 goals & 10 assists this season Manuel started to show why he was one of the best players in our midfield this season. A new leader did surprise me as at the beginning he was going to be a back-up.

13.Carlos Perez Rojo - 38 games, 2 goals & 9 assists. Once he cracked the starting line-up and started playing in Combo with Manuel we looked really good through the middle, just a few lapses let us down.

15.Victor Manuel Uria - With most of his 14 games being on defense he looks pretty good, but really he cannot break into the starting line-up at any position right now.

44. Koen Koster - Newly signed into the club, he played a few games, but once he lost his place to Rojo he never really stepped back in. Overall it was a disappointing season from him.

22.Diederik van Dijk - Another New signing, but he didn't even manage to really make it at all, with Rojo & Manuel on fire he was relegated to the reserves.

9.Pedro Alexandre Pinheiro - My first Academy Project to actually make the starting line-up, he only played a single game, but he was solid.

Strikers

11.Wesllem - Dropping to 4th saw him only get two games, but he did score a goal this season.

77.Elia Motta - Well a solid season behind the starters, 11 bench appearances for 3 goals, he scored when it mattered.

1.Willian - He was one half of the goal scoring machine this season as he put in 25 goals, 9 helpers and 7 MoM's in a stellar season, he got better as the season went on and in combo with Afonso he was on fire.

10.Guilherme Afonso - What can I say? 24 goals, 20 assists, 14 man of the Match awards, one Player of the Month, he was stellar all year long. No matter what the rest of the league think I could not have asked for more from my Swiss striker.

The Best of the Best


The 100 Club



Jose Maria 113, Raphael Lopes 102, Jose Manuel 110, Deigo Galiano 107.

The Awards

Portugal

Most Improved: Evora 3rd (well we missed the hattrick, but got an award in this category again)

Liga Vitalis

Young PotY: Jose Manuel
Most MoM: Afonso 10
Most Assists: Afonso 14
Team of the Year: Afonso
Goal of the Year: Manuel 3rd (Oct goal)
PotM: April - Afonso 3rd, December - Afonso 1st, Sept - Willian 3rd.
Manager of Mont: April - Des Tiny 2nd, December - Des Tiny 2nd, November - Des Tiny 3rd, Sept - Des Tiny 3rd.
GoM: Nov - Willian 1st, Perez Rojo 3rd, Oct - Manuel 1st, Sept - Manuel 3rd.
Signing of the Season: Guilherme Afonso (free)

Portuguese Cup

League Cup

Most MoM: Afonso 3
Golden Boot: Afonso 7

Evora

Fans PotY: Guilherme Afonso
Best XI: Dimas, Rodriguez, Federici, Visentin, Galiano, Jehl, Rosalia, Manuel, Rojo, Afonso, Willian.
Subs: Martins, Koster, Lacroix, Ouaddou, Semprini, Uria, Motta.
Overall XI: Martins, Visentin, Federici, Galiano, Mauro, Inzaghi, Lopes, Rojo, Manuel, Wesllem, Willian.
Subs: Dimas, Maria, Rosalia, Menga, Semprini, Silva, Afonso.

Where are they now?

Evora: Galiano, Rojo, Manuel, Federici, Martins, Visentin, Lopes, Wesllem, Willian, Motta, Dimas, Rosalia, Semprini, Afonso.
Other Clubs: Maria (Varzim), Inzaghi (AEL), Menga (Sanjoanense), Edson (Gondomar), Festas (Moscavide), Costa & Alves (Tourizense).
Retired: Mauro, Silva (MGR).

The Next Season

Evora Youth Project
In this section I will basically be following the career of the best player through my academy, and also if I buy a star youth their career as well. (A) Players are through my academy & (B) Players are bought.

Player A1: Pedro Alexandre Pinheiro (MC)
Starting Profile (June 2014)
June 2015

|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
|  Season  | Games | Goal | Asst | MoM | AvgR |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
| 2014/15  |  0(1) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 6.70 |
| 2015/16  |  0(0) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 0.00 |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|

Player A2: Francisco Gregorio (FC)
Starting Profile (June 2015)

|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
|  Season  | Games | Goal | Asst | MoM | AvgR |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
| 2015/16  |  0(0) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 0.00 |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|

Player B0: Elia Motta (ST)
June 2014
June 2015

|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
|  Season  | Games | Goal | Asst | MoM | AvgR |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
| 2013/14  | 16(9) |   9  |   6  |  2  | 7.00 |
| 2014/15  |  0(11)|   3  |   1  |  0  | 6.86 |
| 2015/16  |  0(0) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 0.00 |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|

Player B1: Simone Saracino (GK)
June 2015

|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
|  Season  | Games | Goal | Asst | MoM | AvgR |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
| 2015/16  |  0(0) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 0.00 |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|

Aims

Last Season

1. Promotion (Failed)
2. Get some better players (in particular DR, GK & DM) - (Achieved)
3. Make QFs of Cup - (Achieved)
4. Make 2nd round of League Cup (Achieved)
5. Stop losing money - (Failed)
6. Actual aim for points is to get more than 60. (Achieved 61pts)

New Season
1. Promotion
2. Stop the losses
3. Make SFs of Cup
4. Make 3rd Round League Cup
5. Actual aim for points (65)

Once more I have become untouchable, cannot ask for more at the end of each season.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Lusitano de Evora


The New Season
Evora Special Report

The New Signings

I tried to make some solid signings at the start of the new season to fill the team, with Willian turning 31 I was looking for a new Striker as well as a new player in the midfield. So two senior players were brought in to fill those gaps, and I also brought in a large number of juniors to run the bench.

Simone Saracino
Alessandro Costanzo
Pablo Fernandez
Andre Leao
Mohamed Taouil
Antonio Lupo
Paulo Monteiro
Abraham
Joao Ricardo Filipe

So there is a good list of my new signings. I also have a few youth players currently in that I am hoping can help in covering the team into the championship this season.

[DodgeeD]

Unlucky there LLR. If Afonso keeps his form up, you'll make the step up next season.

I had Rosalia through my 2nd Division and Liga Vitalis days as well. A shame he was past his best by the time we got to Liga Sagres.

I'll have a transfer update and news on B.C. Branco's first European adventure up soon.

[DodgeeD]

B.C. Branco Summer 2018 Update

A busy summer as we prepared for our first season in Europe.

Transfers
Early in the summer, I arranged a deal for Ernesto to leave the club. He was demanding a move and, although he was out topscorer in the league last season, I knew I had replacements lined up with Spanish teenager Rafael coming through the ranks, Ollerado back from injury and Russo completing a permanent move following his loan from Boca. One of those could partner Medeiros up front. However, despite the money raised from this sale (4.5mil), my chairman got greedy again and decided to sell Medeiros as well, letting him go for 3.2mil (I'd say he was worth at least 5mil ). He wasn't finished there, later selling central midfielder Alejandro Oviedo for 3mil. Aside from that, I let some youth players go, sold/released some fringe players and sent two youngsters out to feeder club Camacha for some first team experience.

As for players in, the following arrived at the club:

Andrea Ferretti (DM) - released by AC Milan despite 15 first team appearances last year. Will provide Ledesma with competition for the DM slot.

Elvis (DC) - Recommended by Brazilian U20 team mate Vinicuis. Looks like he could do a job in defence straight away, even though he's only 18. Jumping aside, 'The King's' stats look good.

Marcos (DM) - one for the future but looks like a good prospect.

Renato Russo (ST) - he didn't score for the first team in his loan spell last season but he showed enough promise for me to activate the future fee clause. With Ernesto and Medeiros now gone, we'll be relying on him much earlier than expected.

We also have a deal arranged for a 17 year-old Brazilian, who will arrive in the January transfer window:

Franque (AML/ST) - he had most of Europe chasing him but opted for us for a bargain 2mil.
Transfer Summary:

Players In
| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Vinícius           | Fluminense         | £4.9M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Russo, Renato      | Boca               | £3.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Marcos             | Racing             | £375K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.7.2018           | Ferretti, Andrea   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.8.2018          | Elvis              | Cruzeiro           | £2.4M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £11.25M            | 
    
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Players Out
| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Braafheid, Jeroen  | ADO Den Haag       | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Santos, Valdemar   | Beira-Mar          | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Melis, Mirko       | Chievo             | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2018           | Ernesto            | Olympiakos         | £4.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2018          | Andrés, Enrique    | Palencia           | £55K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.8.2018           | Cruz, Juan         | Camacha            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.8.2018           | Seifert, Florian   | Camacha            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.8.2018           | Medeiros*          | Shakhtar           | £3.2M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.8.2018          | Oviedo, Alejandro* | Grenoble Foot 38   | £3M                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.8.2018          | Nuzzolese, Luca    | Club Brugge        | £1.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £12.25M            | 
*Sold by chairman

Europa League
We entered the contest in the 4th and final qualifying round. We were unseeded though so we can count ourselves lucky that we drew Dinamo Zagreb and not Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, who were also in the draw.

I felt Dinamo were beatable as long as my players weren't overawed by their first foray into Europe. Unfortunately, they were a bit nervy in the first leg and we fell behind to a soft goal. We rallied in the 2nd half to level the scores 1-1 but our opponents ahd the advantage with the away goal. In Zagreb, I told my players to go for it and they did as we pulled off a remarkable 3-0 win to reach the group stage.

For the group draw, we were bottom seeds but I think we have a chance of 2nd in this group:

Chelsea will be tough of course but I think/hope we can beat Salzburg and APOEL. It could have been worse as Dortmund were among the third seeds and Besiktas, Wolfsburg and Dinamo Kiev were 2nd seeds.

[daemonic]

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila - Italian Serie A 2016/17

Transfers - A change in tactics meant a bit of an overhaul.

Italian Serie B
Predicted: 18th | Final Position: 5th | Graph
Victory in the opening 2 games against Inter and Juventus and we were challengers. 7 games later when we registered our next win we'd slipped to mid-table mediocracy. More bad results and dead last in the form table were the catalyst for a tactics change. After that results picked up and the 40pts milestone was passed with 11 games to go.
As the team got used to the new system we climbed the table and with the end of the season in sight we'd climbed into the European qualification spots. A 3-2 win away to Roma in the penultimate game secured at least 5th and left us within 2pts of Lazio in the final Champions League spot. We did what we had to beating Sampdoria 1-0 but Lazio managed a 2-2 draw so we finished 5th. A fantastic season.

Italian Cup - Quarter Final - Was glad to go out at this stage because the repeated extra-time games were knackering the players for the next games and league results were suffering.

Other News
Finances - TV money, prize money and player sales made it a very profitable season.

Club Records

Stars
Most Assists: Ezequiel - 9
Most Goals: Paolo Negroni - 14
Most MoM: Herman Bann - 8
Highest Avg Rating: Herman Bann - 7.36
Fan Player of the Year: Herman Bann

Best Eleven: Season | Overall

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila Trophy Room
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

Next Season... More of the same.

[Benjaminoo]

5 games left and this is the table.

Going to be a tight end of season..

[DodgeeD]

Good season daemonic. Good luck in the Europa League.

Looks tight at the top for you Banjaminoo! What's your run-in like? Any games against Alcains?

[Benjaminoo]

Just had one then, comfortable win but I've taken top spot as Espinho drew away to Varzim \o/ 3 games left..

EDIT: There's the hard part done..

Now it's just the play-offs!

EDIT #2 - Promotion

[Benjaminoo]

Sporting Clube Farense - Second Division North - End of Season Two Update - 2011/2012

PROMOTION!

Tough season, somehow we got past Espinho, and they were unbeaten!

League Table|League Graph

Promotion Play Off Table - Got through it pretty easy, though we did lose 5-1 to Oriental once we were already promoted!

Portugese Cup - Knocked out in 1st round.

Key Players

Loanees -
Alessio Spada
Ishmael Yartey - Second Division Player of The Year
These two were fantastic in the middle together, won us games single handedly on a number of occasions.
---------------------
Carlos Andre - Was a revelation at the back, bounced back after a pretty poor year last year - Fans Player of The Year.
Fernando - Amazing first season, may have to get rid as he takes so much of our wage bill up, and we're in debt.
Ricardo Gomes - Top scorer. We really lacked depth after Wellington Silva (Another loan signing - 7 goals in 8 games while he was here) got injured for 6 months with a hip injury and had to be sent back, but he proved to be pretty good once again.
Stevan Kovacevic - Was amazing, even though for most of the season he played out of position upfront when we had a few injuries there, will definetley help me out next year.
Tiago - Very Solid season at left back.
Ruben - Very Solid season at right back.

Squad

Also, I won Manager of the Year

Aims for Next Season
-Stay Up
-Sort out Financial Problems

Should be an interesting season!

[rlipscombe]

some good progress once more:

Des - unlucky missing out on promotion mate. next season for sure!!
DodgeeD - congrats on european qualification - 3rd is a great achuievement. your chairman sounds like a pain in the arse but seem to have handled it pretty well.
Benjaminoo - congrats on promotion mate. well done.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I was a little disappointed with the ending, but with the transfers I should have a good shot, of course in saying that I have had a shocking start and am already 8 points behind Beira-Mar who seem to be running the show this season.

[DodgeeD]

DodgeeD - congrats on european qualification - 3rd is a great achuievement. your chairman sounds like a pain in the arse but seem to have handled it pretty well.

Thanks rlipscombe. Bit of a Catch-22 with the chairman as I buy to replace what he sells but that brings the balance down and makes him accept bids again.

Without last season's Liga Sagres Topscorers (36 league goals between them) we've struggled to score in the early games with lots of 1-0, 1-1 and 0-0 scorelines. We have found the goals in Europe though as shown by this surprise result.

And congrats on promotion Benjaminoo. Make sure you hang on to Kovacevic!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

We have found the goals in Europe though as shown by this surprise result.

Hey that there reminds me of my preseason game which I won 4:3 over Sporting. Excellent result Dodgee, maybe you can use that to get into the next round.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Gutted with the Penalty that just happened...Ouaddou just stepped up to complete his hattrick, instead of my normal penalty taker Galiano, who needs one more goal to reach 25 career league goals for the club. Boooo!
With Jose Manuel adding a Hattrick, and a single goal from Afonso we managed to defeat Aves 7:1 for a new Liga Vitalis record, the biggest win is ours, still 9pts back in 5th.

and the funniest story yet: "Afonso thinks club is underachieving" - In a talk with the club newspaper he has said that he believes the club is below where it should be and he would lift his performances. This coming the day after a 7:1 victory. He also stressed that he has no desire to leave the club.

So now I play Varzim in my 2nd League Cup group match, in the first we dispatched P.Ferreira, so a win here will see us through with ease, though we go in as underdogs against the relegated team from last season.

A stunning strike from Motta provides the 1:0 victory and confirms us as the first qualifier into the third round.

Now after that result Motta has the same news story as Afonso, but he also does not want to leave and is going to try and up his level of play. Add Galiano to the list, it also gives them a SLT concern, but doesn't drop their morale.

[deltablue]

Wow, challenge completion, european qualification and big wins all round, shame it doesn't look like I'll have much to add.

Deltablue- RW Essen- Third Division- 2011/2012- Predicted: 10th (Part 1)

It was a relatively quiet summer, with a much better side there was no raiding of the trialists like last time and only 2 players, both dutch, arrived before the opener, for the right wing and up front respectively. However I did now have a front pairing of Pekhart and Rigters which was bound to serve me well. Despite going behind, the 1st game away at Heidenheim was a comfortable 3-1 win. However there was no repeat of last year’s run as I forgot to put my new DC in for the visit of Unterhatching and paid for it with a defeat that could have been much worse than 1-0. However things didn’t improve when he was put in for what was the 3rd match in a week, in the cup against parent club Oberhausen. We pushed them close for a while, equalizing twice, before they prevailed. Even a week’s rest didn’t help as Wuppertal tore us apart 6-1 in the 3rd league game. There were 2 wins in the next 2 games and there were signs of creeping back up but ground was lost with 2 defeats in the next 3. However the team (which in theory is a pretty strong one) finally got their act together with 4 wins on the bounce, followed by rescuing a point from being 2-0 down to Dresden. However while the gap to the top 3 had been slashed considerably (just 2 points having opened into high single figures very quickly), again a large section of the top half were very tight and we were still only 7th after all that (after 14 games), clearly there was a lot of work to be done. The run came to an end in the next game, and despite hitting back next the next game was against St Pauli, who easily won as expected to open up a 10 point lead at the top, and a game against bottom club Paderborn was wasted in a 4-4 draw (club and division record for high scoring game) before a comfortable win over Aalen put us back in 7th, 3 points from Aue in 3rd at the half way point.

[ghostwriter]

Renato Curi Angolana - Serie C1/B - Christmas 2013

Thanks to the takeover nearly all buying activity had to be delayed until the last 3 days of August. I managed to pick up a very good looking 19yo DC released from Fiorentina before the embargo but then I had to wait. And wait. And wait. Finally on August 29th I could restart siging players. First in, surprisingly, was an 18yo Brazilian ST on loan from Benfica. Was not expecting both them and him to agree to that. Another free young Italian DC was followed by a very good Portuguese MC who had been without a club for a year. I then made a purchase as I noticed a 19yo Swiss GK on my shortlist was listed so I snapped him up for £2k from St Gallen, potential to be much better than Gardette. The one big necessity of the Summer was a better MR and after a good look thru my shortlist I found one, he joined from Bari (reserves) for £500. Finally a Belgian D/WB/M L freshly released from Standard Liege joined. 3 days, 6 people.

On the way out were the first batch of youth products at the end of their contracts and my backup MR. Then came a couple of sales as the one youth freebie from last September who was not great, left for £10k along with my backup ML who I managed to make a small profit on. Another left sided player departed as Vicentini, a D/WB/M L who played well in the first 2 seasons but would not be needed left for £20k (to Venezia where he is averaging 7.68. Yikes!). Then the Kazakh I got in January who had proved to be pretty dire left for the same figure. And finally, 2 of my promising youths went to Pro Vasto on loan.

The season started with a thrashing by Rimini in the Coppa Italia. Serie C1/B started with the visit of the only team to finish above us last year; Celano. This being the sort of match we would have to win to have ideas about staying up. 2 goals around h/t and that was achieved with ease. We lost at Potenza before we conceded a late equaliser to Bassano. Another draw and win later and we had got off to a very good start. And there followed, what I presumed to be, the first of several heavy defeats as we embarrassed ourselves at Grosseto. We somehow grabbed a point from nowhere against Ternana via a 93 minute equaliser before we gifted Portosummaga their first win of the season. An equally bad away defeat then followed.

This run was halted with a lucky win before we put in our best performance of the season beating Varese 3-0. And then it went a bit wrong; Virtus Lanciano, the leaders, were quite fortunate to beat us before we suffered our first home defeat of the season to SPAL. Another defeat and a dodgy away draw later and we were in the playout positions. 2 home matches closed out 2013; 2 late goals took out Rimini before we totally and utterly thrashed promotion chasing Crotone (unbeaten in 6) 5-1 ; first goal after 17 seconds, 3-0 after 25 minutes, my ST made it 4 goals in 2 games. No idea where that performance came from.

So we are currently 13th. This is only 1 position above the playouts but that does not tell the whole story at all; we are 4 points above 14th and the playouts but equally we are only 4 points below 5th and the playoffs! This division is very tight; there are only 12 points from the playoffs to the bottom club. Who knows what is going to happen?!

The main problem so far is our away record; 2 points from 8 games is very very very bad (2nd worst in division), we have played well in quite a few away games but either their GK or our total inability to hit the target has so far halted us. Meanwhile at home, we have suffered only 1 defeat and have the 2nd best record. Napoli has been great and Quintero has been scoring more regularly than last season as well. Most of the new signings have been doing well, especially the 19yo DC and the new MR. Exceptions to this after the Belgian DC who signed right at the end of last season and will be sold in January after bad performances and moaning and the Brazilian ST on loan from Benfica who has proved to be pretty rubbish so far.

Obviously the objective is still relegation avoidance and if our away form could be improved that should not be a problem. Given we are only 4 points from the playoffs, that cannot be totally out of the question either but I will only start paying attention to the top of the table if we stay close for a few more games...

[daemonic]

Being a fan of buying young players I was a bit wary of splashing 8m on a 28yr old ST. Amorim's league debut has put my mind at rest somewhat.

[minisav]

Darmstadt - Minisav - German 1st Division - 2013/14

Table - Graph - Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2
German Cup Final - Fixtures
Euro Cup Final - Fixtures
Transfers
Finances


Woah. That was just incredible. Almost went unbeaten. If we hadn't slipped up against Wolfsburg we would have tied up the league so much earlier. Played a weakened side against Bayern because the Euro Final was 4 days after. Spent big and it worked. Just need to get some European defenders in as the ones I have aren't too great. Oh and a back-up defensive mid as we came unstuck when Hernanes, Medel and Lazzeri (who is rubbish) were all injured.

Aim for next season? Complete the challenge

Stadium is getting expanded. Well, we currently have 26000 (6100 seated) so we are getting 3900 seats.

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11		    Third Division		  1st			    Automatic Promotion
2011/12             Second Division               1st                       Automatic Promotion
2012/13             First Division                6th                       German Cup Winners
2013/14             First Division                1st            Champions, German Cup Winners, Euro Cup Winners

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well I may have dropped out of the League Cup in the 3rd round, but two record breaking home games against Maritimo & Benfica, both losses have made my team 167k profit so far in January, helps a little bit, but we need a lot more money. We lost 2:0 to Benfica & 2:1 to Maritimo with crowds of 10k & 5k respectively, a huge series of games for the club, we also defeated Boavista 3:1 in our only away match, a great showing as the only Liga Vitalis team to make this round. Hopefully I can do something in the league as we are currently not looking good back in 5th spot well off the pace with 14 games left.

[DodgeeD]

B.C. Branco January 2019 Update

We're just past the halfway stage in the league and with the transfer window closed, it's time for an update.

In the league, we are in a tight group of 6 teams seperated by just 6 points. Porto are clear at the top but they did have this slip up, much to our delight. A big improvement this season has been our performances against the Big 3. As well as the win over Porto, we've beaten Benfica and drawn with Sporting. However, we've dropped points against teams we were beating last season like Leixões and Rio Ave. That means we are 5th at present but well placed to move up the table.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Porto               |       | 17    | 13    | 2     | 2     | 47    | 14    | +33   | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Benfica             |       | 17    | 11    | 3     | 3     | 31    | 10    | +21   | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Leixões             |       | 17    | 10    | 3     | 4     | 27    | 15    | +12   | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Sporting CP         |       | 17    | 9     | 5     | 3     | 29    | 17    | +12   | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | B. C. Branco        |       | 17    | 9     | 5     | 3     | 32    | 14    | +18   | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Nacional da Madeira |       | 17    | 9     | 5     | 3     | 25    | 13    | +12   | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Rio Ave             |       | 17    | 9     | 3     | 5     | 31    | 21    | +10   | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Braga               |       | 17    | 8     | 3     | 6     | 22    | 21    | +1    | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Belenenses          |       | 17    | 7     | 4     | 6     | 24    | 26    | -2    | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Vit. Setúbal        |       | 17    | 5     | 4     | 8     | 20    | 25    | -5    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Trofense            |       | 17    | 3     | 5     | 9     | 19    | 29    | -10   | 14    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Olhanense           |       | 17    | 3     | 4     | 10    | 17    | 32    | -15   | 13    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Fátima              |       | 17    | 2     | 6     | 9     | 18    | 37    | -19   | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Beira-Mar           |       | 17    | 1     | 7     | 9     | 8     | 26    | -18   | 10    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Naval               |       | 17    | 2     | 4     | 11    | 10    | 33    | -23   | 10    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Penafiel            |       | 17    | 2     | 3     | 12    | 12    | 39    | -27   | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

In the cup, we have reached the quarter final and we will face Boavista, the only non-Liga Sagres side left, at home so we have a good chance of making the semis. In the League Cup, we got a bye to the third round group stage and picked up 7 points from our three games including a win away to Sporting. In the semis, we will face Sporting again as they qualified as the best runners-up. Porto and Benfica were eliminated in their groups though so, if we can beat Sporting again, we have a good chance of winning.

In Europe, we finished runners-up in our group after taking 4 points off Salzburg, winning home and away against APOEL and beating Chelsea at home. We were outclassed at Stamford Bridge but qualificaiton was already assured by that point. We face Galatasaray in the 1st knockout round.

Star of the season so far has been David Pons. He's really excelled since I tweaked my tactics to give the AMC more freedom and is averaging nearly a goal a game.

Also worth noting: Vicinius has only featured on rotation so far but he is now described as a 'wonderkid'.

One bonus of being in Europe is that we have turned in a profit every month through gate receipts and TV revenue. That meant I was able to spend a bit in January without too much fear of the chairman selling to make up for it. The following three arrived:

Franque (ST) - only 18 and rated as the club's top striker already.

Roberto Dominguez (DC) - only 16 but looks like a star of the future. A bargain at 1.5mil too!

Iñaki Aurtenetxe (AMC) - I had no decent back-up for Pons so I got this guy. If Pons' form continues, he may be no more than a bench warmer though.

On with the rest of the season. A cup win would be nice but I have to focus on the league as Portugal has only 2 Champions League and 3 Europa League spots for next season.

[G-Wiz]

3 games to go, damn its tight at the top League Table

wish me luck!!


omg!! Serie A here i come...full season report coming soon!!!

[deltablue]

Deltablue- RW Essen- Third Division- 2011/2012- Predicted: 10th –Finished: 15th- German cup: 1st round (Part 2)

The remaining games of the year were a win and a defeat, which actually took us up to 5th but now 6 points adrift. In the first game after the return, a late equalizer prevented revenge being taken against Wuppertal (though there isn’t much that properly avenges that humiliation), which pretty much set the tone for the end of winter as that was the first of 7 games during which we only got 1 more point, by which point we had dropped to 10th. Injuries to a few players (not least Rigters in the Wuppertal game) didn’t help matters. That run of 8 games without a win (including the last game before the break) set a club record. Rigters returned for the game against Jena which broke that poor run in style, for despite going a man down after only 8 minutes, we won 4-0. This took us back up to 9th but being 10 points and 6 places adrift with 10 games to go we weren’t going to be going anywhere fast this year, as opposed to St Pauli who with a 16 point lead at the top were definitely going up very fast. The only other joy to be had was 2 games later with the wonders of a ‘no pressure’ half time talk saw a 2-1 deficit against Trier turn into a 4-2 victory. After that it was a record-breaking 6 defeats in a row. Having already put on a 16-yr old with a PA still measured in silver stars at right back during a game (you should see how bad the regular guy was doing), with Pekhart injured for the penultimate game against already relegated Paderborn and Aalen I put in a 15yr old forward just for the sake of trying something different. That didn’t do much either though a 1-0 win was scraped once I took him off, though a defeat against just-as-doomed Aalen meant the season ended on as poor a note as it had been heading for a while.

While probably not quite my worst half of a season ever it wasn’t far off. And the news gets worse, while there was a small monthly profit last season, this season featured much larger losses, though most of the spring saw them considerably smaller. Some players would be lost on a free in the summer (which would at least create the possibility of having a smaller squad and wage bill if I decided to gamble on that), including Pekhart who would otherwise be one of my more saleable assets. Squad morale and board confidence had dropped considerably (though at least the latter wasn’t that low). Tough times ahead.


League
Transfers
Squad
Finances

[Terra21]

Hey folks, first time I've done a challenge like this, hoping it goes well as I don't have much experience with LLM.

Anyways, my team

.: SSC Venezia :.

I love Venice and when I saw this team come up from Serie D I knew I had to take them to glory. Since this is my first time doing a LLM game I probably wont get this done quick, but I'll try my hardest

[minisav]

Popular team this year. Didn't expect there to be one due to the amount of choice unlike Dafuge's where you get AFC Wimbledon, FC United, Truro etc.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Its Rlipscombe I tell you. Last season he was Real Oviedo and it was the Fav club, the season before he was Como and lots played as them.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well another season bites the dust and we dropped to 4th on the final day this season, very disappointing as next season will be our 5th season in the Liga Vitalis. Disappointing, but hopefully we can crack it going forward, Manuel & Afonso both signed on again, now I just need to try my best to build a team around them as the rest of my team are not as good as I think I need now. My full season report will be up between 24 & 48 hours from now.

[rlipscombe]

Its Rlipscombe I tell you. Last season he was Real Oviedo and it was the Fav club, the season before he was Como and lots played as them.

well what can i say??? i'm a trendsetter.....

Good luck Terra - just don't do better than i'm doing....

[rlipscombe]

Well another season bites the dust and we dropped to 4th on the final day this season, very disappointing as next season will be our 5th season in the Liga Vitalis. Disappointing, but hopefully we can crack it going forward, Manuel & Afonso both signed on again, now I just need to try my best to build a team around them as the rest of my team are not as good as I think I need now. My full season report will be up between 24 & 48 hours from now.

Unlucky mate - fingers crossed you can boost the quality over the summer and get that promotion next time out...

[Benjaminoo]

Little update, currently 3rd in the league with 10ish games left, not doing too badly!

[minisav]

Just about to start the season. Brought in Adrien of Sporting CP and Sakho

Hopefully we can win the league again plus get a good showing in the CL

Being helped on our way to our 3rd consecutive German Cup win. We got 3rd division side Ahlen in the first round. 5-0. Now we face 2nd division side St Pauli who we beat 2-0 in the first round last year. The less 1st division sides the better!

[G-Wiz]

Angri - 2015/2016 - End of Season Review

Predicted Position: 15th
Actual Position: 4th (Promoted through playoffs)
Average Attendance: 4358
Season Ticket Holders: 1146

All my hopes for the team came true this season in Serie B, which i think was in part to there not being many major changes in terms of personnel. Certainly i did bring in a few guys throughout the course of the season, but nobody who majorly affected the team or how i played, more to provide better cover in case of injuries etc. Practically everybody i brought in was free, the only exception being Francisco Maldonado, whom i paid 8k to Athletico Madrid for. turned out to be a decent move, as he's now attracting major interest from my Serie A rivals and valued at 1.7million!

As for the games themselves, i knew that if i could squeeze a few more wins out than the previous year, i would stand a really good chance of getting into at least a promotion place. And thats what happened! My playoff journey started with the semi final against Vicenza, which admittedly went better than expected, winning both legs with relative comfort - Leg 1/Leg 2. Then on to the Final, and 2 matches against Chievo, a really worry. After the first leg, i will admit i thought my chances were fairly slim, but i knew if i could get a good start in the 2nd leg id be in with a shout, as my away form had been surprisingly good this term, whether down to a slight altering of tactics or even the team talk i dont know, but however, i managed to come through the 2nd match with flying colours, winning 3-0 and taking the Final 4-2 on agg!! The Serie A dream had just become a reality!!

Notable players for this season were:

Francisco Javier Flores - chipped in with his fair share of goals this year (21 in 35 appearances), seems to be the perfect foil for the main man Ripamonti

Farid Lemaire - ever present in midfield, and yet again one of the stars of the season, scoring 10 goals and an Av. rating of 7.07

Sebastian Mila - think his experience helped the side through a few tricky situations this year, and can hit a mean free kick from time to time! however, with some new faces arriving for the new season his chances may be limited this coming year

Pierre Lamothe - new GK picked up following the sale of Manuel Bender by the chairman last january, eventually took over from Andrea Conti as first choice and may remain there for the new season

Zlatan Muslimovic - another of the older generation who, when called upon, did his job very well...from 18 appearances, he scored 11 league goals and 9 assists, a real impact player when something was missing in the dying minutes of the game. Chances may be further limited by recent activity in the coming season, but i'll get to that

Marko Nikolic - again the rock at the heart of the defence, led the line pretty well and was consistent in his performance all season. Not sure whether he'll be able to make the step up to Serie A level, but time will tell

Nicolai Skjerve - another solid season from the winger, with a return of 15 assists and 4 goals...another player who's position may be under threat this year...

and last but not least...

Diego Ripamonti - the star performer...has grown and grown since i first signed him, and continued that growth with a record breaking season in Serie B. From breaking the clubs league goals record and the record number of assists in a season, to being named top scorer in Serie B, and Fans Player of The Year, the season really couldn't have gone much better for him...still only 19, i feel the world is his oyster lets hope he sees his future with Angri now we've hit the top flight!


As for the board, they have finally agreed with me that both the training and youth facilities are in serious need of an upgrade, and are working on both at the moment. The pitch has also been relayed, but as yet still no sign of them budging on the expansion of my stadium, which still sits with a capacity of 4500 whether this will change remains to be seen, tho i guess survival will maybe be enough to persuade them its a worthwhile investment!!

for the forthcoming season ive been trying my best to bring in some players with top level experience to help out my newly promoted team, and so far have managed to bring in Pablo Osvaldo, Brede Hangeland and Zlatko Dedic to bolster the ranks, but hopefully i can do a bit more business before the window closes...i shall update when that time comes!!


onwards and upwards!!!

Season          Division        Position       Achievements
2010/2011       Serie C2/C      14th           Avoided relegation in Playout
2011/2012       Serie C2/C      5th            Promoted via Playoff
2012/2013       Serie C1/B      6th             
2013/2014       Serie C1/B      1st            Champions, Serie C Cup Winner, Italian C1 Super Cup
2014/2015       Serie B		8th	      
2015/2016	Serie B		4th	       Promoted via Playoff

[minisav]

Well done

Just beat Juventus 2-1 in the Super Cup. Let's make it 3 European trophies this year!

18-1 are our odds. I fancy them!

[The Art of Drowning]

Having a little break from my Truro game on Dafuges challenge to give it a go in Portugal, the side I have gone for is Lusitano Ginasio Clube. Replaced everyone in the side and have signed loads of players to put us way over budget and a good £40k in debt. Got a massive squad now.

Here I am: http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/4130/portugale.jpg

[minisav]

Haha, guessed you were doing this challenge from your post in the OTF thread. Good luck

Just beat Lens away 7-1

2 wins and 1 defeat from my first 3 CL group games. The loss was 4-3 at Camp Nou so I reckon we could be going through

[iacovone]

Bloody hell, hadn't dropped in here for a while and cookie's only gone and completed the challenge in 6 years . I didn't even know that was possible! Well done mate

[minisav]

Well I could potentially top him by doing it in 5

[The Art of Drowning]

Haha, guessed you were doing this challenge from your post in the OTF thread. Good luck

Just beat Lens away 7-1

2 wins and 1 defeat from my first 3 CL group games. The loss was 4-3 at Camp Nou so I reckon we could be going through

As I said in there I dont think it will last long, i'll bankrupt the club before too long at this rate We're losing money fast but performing ok so far.

Edit: in fact i'm losing money so fast it will be impossible to recover, going to start this challenge again tomrrow and try and be more sensible with transfers.

[Willy Wonka]

no doubt you will sav...

[minisav]

Not sure what to say to that...

Got a big week here. Bayern then Benfica. A point in both games sets me up perfectly. Although as I'm at home I'm hoping for a win in the first match.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Welcome to Evora Drowning, thats my club as well. I am currently heading into my 7th season and am sitting 650k in debt, but the board keep us afloat, and a few good cup match-ups have helped a little...

[G-Wiz]

got a new ass man Alessandro Nesta

[PRDH]

Sorry, I'm being so absent at the moment, I'm still playing, but haven't had enough time to get round to writing updates. I think I've missed a couple. Just to let you know. The first of them I won the league again, but did nothing in the Champions League. The second I won my first Coupe de la Ligue, but only cam 3rd in the league and despite a 3-2 win against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, didn't make it past the group stages of the the champions league, and then fell out of the EURO Cup in a terrible display against Werder Bremen. I've got all the screenshots taken, so expect a monster few updates when I get some more time.

I notice I ought to congratulate Cookie for an astonishingly quick completion.

[Benjaminoo]

Promotion

We've won the League!

Full update to come either tonight or tomorrow sometime!

[minisav]

Can't complete the challenge this year

Out of the Champions League in the 1st Knockout round. Beat Man Utd 3-1 at home but lost 2-0 away so out on away goals. Got the German Cup Final to look forward to plus we are 2 points ahead going into the last 3 game sin the league now.

[Benjaminoo]

Sporting Clube Farense Season 2012/2013 - Liga Vitalis

Promotion!

Two straight promotions, exceeded my expectations by miles.

Liga Vitalis - 1st|League Graph
Portugese Cup - 5th round (1-2 vs. Braga)
Portugese League Cup - First Round (1-3 agg. vs. Gil Vicente)

Squad

Key Players

Stevan Kovacevic - Was amazing again.
Alessio Spada - Had him again this season, was really good.
Wellington - Amazing loan season, brilliant on the wing.
Kristijan Brcic - Hardly played last season, but was brilliant this season.
Edgar Costa - Had an absolutely brilliant season after two seasons of injuries.
Marcel Gomis - Wasn't spectacular, but won Liga Vitalis Player of the Year

Aims for next season - STAY UP!!

[minisav]

Won the league again

[rlipscombe]

look at the show offs.... "i won the league...." congratulations guys.

[minisav]

Meh, went to the wire. Could do with less strain on my heart tbh.

[ghostwriter]

Renato Curi Angolana - Serie C1/B - 2013/14

Equidistant between the 2 playoffs at Christmas

There was a little bit of activity during the January transfer window. I broke our transfer record (only £40k to be fair) on a multi purpose 18yo Spanish defender / midfielder from Espanyol, he is more of a defender and already our best DC. Also, after the failure of the 18yo Brazilian ST from Benfica, I had a second attempt at the loaning of a supposedly good South American teenage ST as an 18yo Argentinian came into from Chievo for the rest of the season. On the way out was my 3rd choice GK and the Belgian DC who was deeply unhappy in Italy. I also loaned out a 3rd player (young DC) to Pro Vasto.

We started off with a visit to Bassano where we somehow escaped with a 2-2 draw before Potenza visited. We battered them for 75 minutes and then they went down to 10 men so we upped the battering even further until finally in the 89th minute Cuenca scored a stunner. Of course, we then went and conceded an equaliser in the 93rd minute . Another lucky 2-2 away draw (91st minute equaliser) was followed by yet another draw as we edged dangerously close to the playouts. Despite that we were still only 5 points from the playoffs. Then finally not only did we win a match but an away match . A walloping of Cavese gave us our first win outside of Citta Sant'Angelo this season. And then we got a home win to make it 9 games unbeaten.

Unfortunately our next 2 matches were away against the top 2. And both resulted in defeat. And when we embarrassingly lost at home to a really-not-very-good Portosummaga side we were suddenly only 1 point above the playouts. We then really struggled at home against an equally bad Siracusa side, it needed 2 very late goals to seal a 4-2 win. We then reverted to our previous win-home, lose-away form. Varese beat us, we surprisingly thrashed Virtus Lanciano before we lost 2 more away games. 3 games left, 3 points ahead of the playouts. Thankfully we had Alghero at home and a Napoli hat-trick put us 4-0 after 30 minutes, we obviously conceded 2 but managed to hold on. Our final home match was against Mantova and when we went behind early on I was worried but for once we turned the match around and the win sealed our Serie C1 position next season. We closed out the season with our 2nd away victory of the season against Rimini who are in the playoffs but had nothing to play for.

That final win took us to the unexpected and undeserved heights of 8th place which is the highest position we have been in since September. We had a fantastic home record (2nd best in division) but our big problem was away from home (4th worst!). In fact, they are directly opposite: H - W11, D4, L2, A - W2, D4, L11. As were our records in the first and second halves of the season: 2013 - W6 D4, L7, 2014 - W7, D4, L6. Rather bemusingly we scored 10 more goals than we did in winning promotion last season, unfortunately we conceded twice as many!

One thing to note is how dirty we are; 56 yellows and 6 reds was the worst in the whole division which given how clean we were in Serie C2 is slightly surprising

Squad
Summary
Finances - and again consistant losses which were mildly compensated by the previous summer, unless we get an investment from the new chairman or sell someone for loads we will continue to lose money
Transfers - discounting the loans who were dire, it was pretty successful, Antonelli and Stella were awesome, Martins and Remy good, Sguera and Recker and the 2 late September teenagers have promise whilst Agudo is already important, the 3 Pro Vasto loanees did well, especially Mainini (GK), saved them relegation in any case

The better players this season were:

Best GK - Fabian Remy - was backup to begin with until Gardette injured himself and I noticed that all my staff rated him better than the Frenchman, hence he kept his place until the end of the season, good player, very few mistakes and some cracking saves, too many goals conceded though, his one issue is through-balls, he rarely comes for them and several chances (and goals) have been caused by this, will probably be 1st choice again next season
Best Defender - Francesco Antonelli - quite simply brilliant, a Fiorentina youth product who joined last Summer, was already our best DC and has improved loads during the season, solid as rock no matter who has been partnering him (which has been every other DC at the club at least once!), only problem so far is that he is a little card friendly, if he keeps on improving and playing this well then keeping him won't be easy
Best Midfielder - Isaac Cuenca - exactly the same as last season, was not first choice until the new year and then was brilliant once he cemented his place, a few great goals and our top assister, again will start next season on the bench as Martins and Della Rocca are (at the moment) first choice but don't be too surprised to see him in this section again next Summer
Best Winger - Francesco Stella - best £500 I have probably ever spent, such an improvement on Melinte, many storming runs down the wing, many goals and although a few more assists would be nice, he contributed to many more goals than that, more of the same would be very nice
Best Strikers - Aiman Napoli and Alberto Quintero - exactly the same as last season, Napoli got more goals and the Player of the Year award, Quintero was more consistant, they relished the higher division, 34 goals between them (50% more than last season), a fantastic partnership with a great understanding and although I suspect there are better players out there willing to join I am not certain I want to break them up, we shall see what is available
Best January Purchase - Marcos Agudo - £40k from Espanyol and so far very much worth it, he is an equal to Antonelli at DC but so far has mainly played at DR, very consistant performer who will be partnering Antonelli next season in central defence, hopefully with more experience here and learning the language he can make it a very successful DC team
Worst Loanees - Chiquinho and Ivan Vicedomini - as bad as each other although the latter was slightly unlucky in as much as he arrived just as Quintero (who he would have replaced) found some fantastic form and could not be dropped, that said, he did not take any of the chances I gave him, both seem better on paper than my strikeforce but a return of 14 league appearances and no goals is not good, if Vicedomini is available again next season I would have no qualms about getting him as I think he could be fantastic in this division as long as I can integrate him into the team in pre-season

Optimistically, given a few improvements, I reckon we could end up not that far from the playoffs next season but ending in 8th again but having at least flirted with the playoffs would probably keep me happy. Avoiding any flirtation with the playouts would be nice as well. Obviously for any of that to happen we will have to sort out our away form, will have a fiddle in the Summer to try to work out a suitable tactic.

I already have an experienced DM/M C and a cracking young Dutch AML coming in frees. The only other position I will actively be looking to replace is DR as I reckon there are better than Kipré out there who are willing to come. On the way out will be several fringe players as some of those youths I highlighted last year have improved enough to be close to the 1st team squad at the very least.

Oh, and the board have rather surprisingly announced plans for a new stadium, it will seat 11282 which is a distinct improvement but our average attendance last season was only just over 2000 and we can seat 3000 in our current home it is not really needed yet. That said, I suppose I should appreciate the forward planning, it won't be finished for 2 years and by that time I would hope to be in Serie B whilst the loans and grants will hopefully not destroy our finances too much. Not too sure what Carlo Luisi contributed to the club to have the new stadium named after him.


Best 11
Overall Best 11

10/11 - Serie C2/B - 7th
11/12 - Serie C2/B - 13th
12/13 - Serie C2/B - 2nd (promoted via playoffs)
13/14 - Serie C1/B - 8th


Team I Would Like To Play Every Week - Cavese - H3-0, A3-0 (last)
Team I Would Not Like To Play Every Week - Spal - A0-2, H1-3 (6th)

[minisav]

Darmstadt - Minisav - German 1st Division - 2013/14

Table - Graph - Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2
German Cup Final - Fixtures
Champions Cup 1st Knockout Round Leg 1 - Leg 2 - Fixtures
Euro Super Cup
Transfers
Finances


Another great season. Proud of them how well we did in the Champions League. It is a big step up so well played to them. Another League and Cup double is always good. Ideally next season I'd love to win the CL but I'm not sure if it's realistic. Lichsteiner is getting on a bit so I could do with a replacement. Also could do with a world class partner for Sakho or a great LB. Also, the league went to the wire. I was 2 points ahead going into the last match. We had Leverkusen at home. The winner would win the league although I could still draw. We won 3-0 to seal it

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11		    Third Division		  1st			    Automatic Promotion
2011/12             Second Division               1st                       Automatic Promotion
2012/13             First Division                6th                       German Cup Winners
2013/14             First Division                1st            Champions, German Cup Winners, Euro Cup Winners
2014/15             First Division                1st            Champions, German Cup Winners, Euro Super Cup Winners

[Willy Wonka]

Greast season. Don't take my comment to heart I was just ****ed off you're doing better than me.

[minisav]

Ah, k. Thought it was a dig as I have been very successful.

Cheers

[DodgeeD]

Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco – 2018/19 Season Review

Liga Sagres – 5th | Final Table

Portuguese Cup – Semi-final | Results

League Cup – WINNERS! | 3rd Round Group Table | Results | Final

Europa League – 1st Knockout Round | Group Table | Results

We made a step forward in the league this year as we earned out first wins over the big three, beating Porto and Benfica at home and drawing both games with Sporting. However, the likes of Rio Ave and Nacional de Madeira were stronger this year and points dropped to them proved crucial as we finsihed 5th.

The cups brought some joy though as we picked up our first ever League Cup win. Our participation in Europe meant we were seeded into the 3rd round and we topped our group, beating Sporting in the process. We had to face Sporting again in the semis and a shoot-out saw us through to the final. It looked like we would fall at the last hurdle as Galli was sent off in the first half. Pons had other ideas however as he ran the show, scoring all 4 goals as we secured a 4-2 extra time win. In the Portuguese Cup, we made the semis again and had a great chance to make the final as we went 2 goals up against Braga in the 1st leg only to concede an away goal deep into stoppgae time. That proved crucial as Braga won toe return leg 1-0 to progress at our expense.

Our first European campaign went well as we beat Dinamo Zagreb to make the group stage. We came second in the group with Pons in great goalscoring form again, only losing away to Chelsea and setting up a clash with Galatasaray. We took an early lead in the home leg but a rash challenge by centre-back Marrotta left us with ten men and our opponents capitalised to win 2-1. We gave them a good game in Istanbul but we could only manage a 1-1 draw meaning we crashed out 3-2 on aggregate. Still, a good first attempt!


Key Players:
Frederico Crespin (GK) – after a few seaosns of careful nuturing, the Argentine keeper finally claimed the #1 jersey this season and performed well.
Carlo Mazzoni (DC) – struggled with injuries this year but was a key part of the side when fit.
Paulo Marotta (DC) – solid at the back despite a couple of red cards. It may be difficult to hold onto him though with a ot of inetrest from around the continent.
Pablo (DL) – ousted Galli from the first team tis year with some great performances making him one of the most sought after defenders in Europe.
Vincenzo Anotonelli (MC) – another solid season from the club captain with a large number of assists.
David Pons (AMC) – an amazing season as he scored freely and single-handedly won the club many games including the League Cup final. Not bad when you consider pre-season he learned the PPM 'looks for pass rather than shot'.
Jimmy Orellana (ST) – went off the boil a little towards the end of the season but was in great form early on, earning him a call up to the senior Chilean squad.
Rafael (ST) – a slow start to the season but eventually showed why so many top European mangers like him. Refuted all speculation and signed a new deal though.

Wonderkid watch:
Three of my youngsters (all Brazilian) were touted as wonderkids during the season.
Elvis (DC) – spent most of the early part of the season on the bench but featured regualrly towards the end of the season.
Vinicuis (MC) – gave some commanding performances im mdifield, especially in Europe and on our cup runs. With the likes of Man U, Arsenal and Barcelona interested, keeping him at the club may be an issue.
Franque (ST) – hasn’t really settled yet but is tipped for big things next season.


Awards:
Fans’ Player of the Year – David Pons
Liga Sagres Team of the Year – Rafael
Liga Sagres Player of the Year – Rafael (3rd)
Liga Sagres Topscorer – David Pons (2nd)
Liga Sagres Young Player of the Year – Jimmy Orellana (1st), Vinicuis (3rd)
Liga Sagres Best Goalkeeper – Fredrico Crespin (2nd)
Liga Sagres Forward of the Year – Rafael (1st)
Liga Sagres Manager of the Year – David Dodgson (2nd)
March 2019 Liga Sagres Manager of the Month – David Dodgson (1st)
League Cup Topscorer – David Pons (1st)


The Season Ahead:
The usual summer of trying to improve the squad while keeping my best players awaits. A good early sign from my chairman though – he injected ₤2.7mil into the club even thog we had a balance of ₤3mil+. Could his days of selling be over?

Facilities are being improved again with furhter improvements already approved. Still absolute rubbish coming out of my youth set-up though.

I’m hoing we can push for a Champion League spot this season as my players get a year older. Another cup run and progression in Europe would be nice, although we’ll have to start in the early qualifying rounds this season.

The Story So Far:

Season   Division     Pos.  Cup   L.Cup   Europe        Other

2010-11  2nd(Central) 1st   3rdR  N/A     N/A           3rd in promotion play-off
2011-12  2nd(North)   2nd   2ndR  N/A     N/A           -
2012-13  2nd(North)   3rd   3rdR  N/A     N/A           -
2013-14  2nd(North)   1st   1stR  N/A     N/A           Promoted via play-offs
2014-15  Liga Vitalis 2nd   4thR  2ndR    N/A           Promoted
2015-16  Liga Sagres  12th  4thR  3rdR    N/A           Survived
2016-17  Liga Sagres  7th   SF    3rdR    N/A           -
2017-18  Liga Sagres  3rd   QF    SF      N/A           Qualified for Europa League
2018-19  Liga Sagres  5th   SF    Winners Europa League -
                                          1st KO 

[minisav]

Great season there

[The Art of Drowning]

Started a game I hope I can stick with, gone with Elgin City in the Scottish 3rd Division.

Completley changed our side and I think we've made some good signings for this level. Was a bit late with the screeshot for my profile but I hope that's alright:

My Profile

Transfers

[PaulHartman71]

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, 2022-23, Ligue 2

League Position - 1st: Past Positions

Squad

Transfers

Summary

After relegation from Ligue 1 the aim was to bounce back. With a team of players where the majority were either good, or too good for the division, it wasn't that difficult at all. Razvan Ionica had an incredible goal scoring record, and was very key in our title victory. I didn't bring many players in, because I only wanted to bring players in that were better than what we had, and since we were in Ligue 2, nobody really wanted to come to us. Jerome Hebert had another good season on the right, scoring 10 goals. Chakib Saber, another striker, scored 23 and assited 12, which is a very good record for a second striker. Causse and Marbus had another glorious season together in the centre of midfield.

Onze de départ

GK: Matthieu Dreyer, 34, Français - The long term Goalkeeper had a good season, conceding 40 in 43 games. It's probably time to cash in on him and sign a better, younger replacement though, and I'll do that next season.

DR: Edgardo Flores, 28, Honduras - With the Bulgarian Tsvetkov sold somebody else had to play at DR, Flores, who primarily played in the centre of midfield last season was the man who stepped up.

DL: Kevin Gomis, 34, Senegalese - Another player who has been at the club for a while, Gomis played at DL mainly because I couldn't bring anyone that good in. He definitely wont be my first choice left back next season.

DC: Mournir El Mrini, 25, Morrocco - The Morroccan that was signed last season was chosen as first choice center back this season. He did an alright job.

DC: Mickael Nelsen, 33, Francais - Another player who was only really first choice because I couldn't bring anyone that much better in.

MR: Jérôme Hebert, 21, Français - The home grown hero continued his goal scoring form by netting a tidy 10 goals, as well as assisting 7. It's worth noting Hebert now as 10 goals in 22 games for France U21 team.

ML: Gianmarco Gigli, 26, Italien - The Italian left midfielder had a pretty good season on the left flank, helping the team with a nifty 16 assists.

MC: Sergio Marbus, 30, Néerlandais - The 30 year old Dutch captain recaptured his great form of the past, scoring 6 and assisting 14.

MC: Matthieu Causse, 26, Français - The Frenchman had another good season in the middle of midfield, scoring 10 and assiting 11.

ST: Chakib Saber, 26, Morroccan - The Morroccan was the second best striker at the club, btu that's not to say his tally of 23 goals and 12 assists wasn't impressive.

ST: Razvan Ionica, 25, Roumain - 41 games, 40 goals, 14 assists, 13 MOTM's. Enough said.

-

Official Fans Player of the Year - Razvan Ionica

Unofficial Young Player of the Year - Jérôme 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



Trophies won:

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

[The Art of Drowning]

Well done on promotion, looks like you have the screenshots wrong though.

You've put Tsvetkov where Flores should be and then looking down the next 3 are wrong too, I guess they're all muddled.

[PaulHartman71]

I've edited it, should be all right now.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Congrats on promotion Paul, hopefully this time you are stronger and can manage to stay up.

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Liga Vitalis – 2013/2014

Liga Vitalis – Media Prediction – 14th – Actual – 1st - Champions
Portuguese Cup – 5th Round – Lost 2-0 to Rio Ave
Portuguese League Cup – 3rd place – 3rd Round Group A

Team Stats
Transfers

Top Scorer: Jussane (26)
Top Assists: Jose Maria (23)

After the disappointing showing in the league cup last season, we played much better this time around. We snuck past Oliveirense on penalties in the first round. A stunning 2-1 win away to Academica saw us take top spot in the second round group. Two defeats in the third round group ended our chances of making any further progress.

Easy draws in the first couple of rounds saw us make our back into the 5th round but Liga Sagres side Rio Ave proved too strong for us. As a matter of revenge, the very next game was also against Rio Ave and saw us secure our only win in the 3rd round of the League Cup.

When it comes to the league, all I can say is that things clicked from the outset. 3 wins from out first 3 games put us into 1st place & that where we stayed for the rest of the season. We never went more that 1 game without recording a win which goes a long way to explaining how we recorded a massive 25 league wins for the year.

Our players dominated the league awards for the year as we managed to pick up:
Top Goalscorer
Most Assists
Player of the Year
Manager of the Year
6 players in Team of the Year

I just hope that the players are able to make the step up following promotion.

Promotion did allow me to achieve one of my aims from last season – we’ve turned pro!
The fantastic difference in our media prediction to our final place also gave us the Most Improved Team award.

Aims for next season
Avoid Relegation - Anything else is a bonus.