[FM10] Champions of Asia? No Fukien chance!

[Raware]

Game : Football Manager 2010 (PC)
Version : Official SI 10.1 patch
Database size : Large

Leagues loaded : All available Asian and Oceanic leagues :

• China (First Division and above)
• Hong Kong (China PR) (First Division only)
• India (National Football League only)
• Indonesia (Premier Division and above)
• Malaysia (Premier League and above)
• Singapore (S-League only)
• South Korea (N-League and above)
• Australia (Hyundai A-League only)

I’ll be trying to play this game along side rancer’s Asian challenge, with the only exception being the addition of extra leagues to allow myself some longevity within my save. The challenge looks a difficult, but interesting one and whether or not I manage to complete the challenge remains to be seen. What I do know though is that it’ll be an interesting save both to play and to read. As I said, whilst I’ll be aiming to play along side rancers challenge rules, if I do receive an offer which is too good to turn down, I may take it even if I haven’t completed the challenge.

I hope you enjoy my journey. Comments are welcome, good or bad.

[Raware]

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners 
2014/15  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  League Cup runners-up
			                   		  Senior Sheild winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2015/16  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup runners-up
2016/17  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
			                   		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2017/18  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
                                           		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Senior Sheild runners-up
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2018/19  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  FA Cup winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					   		  Senior Sheild winners
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019	 FC Seoul  	South Korean K-League     7th     FA Cup winners
2020     FC Seoul	South Korean K-League     1st     K-League winners
							  League Cup runners-up
2021	 FC Seoul	South Korean K-League     1st     K-League winners
							  FA Cup runners-up 
							  Asian Champions League winners
							  Pan Pacific Championship winners

International Career Summary

Year      Country       	     Competition              Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2021      South Korea under 20's     Under 20's World Cup     Runners-up

Trophy room

Asian Champions League - 2021

Asian Confederation Cup - 2014/15, 2016/17, 2017/18

Pan Pacific Championship - 2021

South Korean K-League - 2020, 2021

South Korean FA Cup - 2019

Hong Kong 1st Division - 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Hong Kong FA Cup - 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Hong Kong League Cup - 2013/14, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Hong Kong Senior Shield - 2013/14, 2014/15, 2018/19

*All stats up to date to current season

[Raware]

So it begins…

I holidayed through a year and chose to start my managerial career in Hong Kong (as I live here). The first available previously unplayable team in the Hong Kong First Division was Fukien…so on August 1st 2010 I took charge where I have been given a 2 year contract on £275 p/w.

Initial Manager Profile

[Raware]

Fukien Athletic Club are a semi-professional club in Hong Kong who were formed in 1925. They have only a few notable honours in their history, those being Hong Kong Second Division champions in 2002 and Hong Kong Third A Division champions in 1999. They play their home games at MongKok Stadium which is shared by the majority of teams in Hong Kong and it has a capacity of 8,200.

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2010/11

Media Prediction : 10th
Board Expectations : Attempt to avoid relegation

With this season being the clubs first season in Hong Kong’s top division, it was all about survival which the media, the board and I all agreed upon on.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : A steady start which transpired to be the theme of our season…steady. I can have no complaints about it as we easily completed the seasons objective of avoiding relegation, finishing 4th in the league…the clubs highest ever league position.

FA Cup : With our focus clearly on the league this year, this wasn’t our priority and we went out in the 1st round.

League Cup : Again, our focus was primarily the league and we didn’t progress past the group stage.

Senior Shield : Needless to say we wasn’t aiming to win this cup due to our need to survive in the league. It was nice to reach the Quarters but it was again, Tai Po who seemed to be the bane of our cup competitions this year, who ended our run.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £30k/Wage budget : £1.99k p/w. With the squad looking very thin when I took over, getting players in of sufficient calibre to keep us up whilst keeping to the budgets I was given was of the utmost importance. My scouts were sent off to East Asia and they came back with some real bargains, most notably Bae Chun-Suk who finished the season as the clubs top scorer, netting 11 goals in 23 appearances. Along with the new faces that arrived, a lot of the dead wood that was already at the club was released, which eased the clubs finances slightly.

Squad : As I said, the squad was looking very thin when I arrived of both players and of quality. I’m delighted with the players we got in and am happy with shape and quality of the squad now. For us to build on this year though we have to strengthen it a little more, namely with some more quality home grown players.

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -

[DodgeeD]

Good luck with the new thread Raware (and great title ). I'm sure it will be a cracking read as always.

If you go all the way with Fukien, would you then start at the bottom again in another league or see where the job offers take you?

[Raware]

Cheers DodgeeD, glad to have you aboard and I hope you enjoy it. (Glad you like the thread title too )

If, and it's a big if, I manage to go all the way with Fukien then i'm not entirely sure what i'd do. Whether i'd go to a bigger club or start again, I really don't know. I suppose it would depend on 1) how long it would take me to try and complete the challenge, 2) what job offers I get and if I fancy managing in another country and 3) whether I could be bothered to start from the bottom again. Who knows. I'll just see where it takes me, i'm happy with my league selection though.

Any plans for your FM10 thread appearing in here anytime soon?

[Tweedster]

Good luck with the second season! I live in Hong Kong as well so I'm pretty familiar with this club.

[rancer890]

Nice to see you back Raware. Thanks for the bit of free advertising.

Good luck with this. Don't forget the international element of the challenge!

[Raware]

Good luck with the second season! I live in Hong Kong as well so I'm pretty familiar with this club.

Good to see another HK resident here! Do you follow HK football?

Nice to see you back Raware. Thanks for the bit of free advertising.

Good luck with this. Don't forget the international element of the challenge!

Cheers rancer, I wanted to do your challenge last year but as you know, 09 just frustrated the hell out of me and I ended up going back to 08. I hope 10 is better this year As for the international element of the challenge...i'm not even sure i'll be able to complete the basic challenge! To win the league let alone the ACL is going to be really tough! I'll give it a good go though.

Cheers for the comments though lads.

[hamilton162]

Glad to see your new career on FM10 Raware Fantastic thread title as well

[rancer890]

It is possible Raware. It just takes a while.

I don't remember anyone playing in HK completing my challenge (although I think someone won the ACL and CWC with a HK team, either rinso or Sazchu...), but there's a first for everything!

[coldkohmew]

HK is fun!

[DodgeeD]

Any plans for your FM10 thread appearing in here anytime soon?

I have to take my Portuguese team to Champions League glory for the Big Euro Nation challenge first. Then comes the hard part: persuading my wife to let me use the much more powerful desktop computer to get plenty of leagues running for my career thread.

[Raware]

Glad to see your new career on FM10 RawareFantastic thread title as well

Cheers hamilton. Glad to have you following. I'd love it if I managed to find an Asian Bernard Brennan!

It is possible Raware. It just takes a while.

I don't remember anyone playing in HK completing my challenge (although I think someone won the ACL and CWC with a HK team, either rinso or Sazchu...), but there's a first for everything!

It may take a while! I did manage to win the ACL and CWC in FM08 but that was with Happy Valley, so unfortunately it didn't qualify for your challenge.

HK is fun!

It is indeed! I had a great save in HK on FM08 which I really enjoyed.

I have to take my Portuguese team to Champions League glory for the Big Euro Nation challenge first. Then comes the hard part: persuading my wife to let me use the much more powerful desktop computer to get plenty of leagues running for my career thread.

Just tell the missus how it is...like I tell mine!

[WH]

Nice steady job first season

I'm sure it wont be long before we see you dominating the HK league again.

Nice to see you back with the new installment. I'll be following.

[Raware]

Nice steady job first season

I'm sure it wont be long before we see you dominating the HK league again.

Nice to see you back with the new installment. I'll be following.

Thanks WH. I hope you're right about the domination thing Although I have a feeling it'll be a little harder on FM10 than FM08. Glad to have you following

[hamilton162]

Cheers hamilton. Glad to have you following. I'd love it if I managed to find an Asian Bernard Brennan!

Now that would be legendary, although his goal tally (If you managed to keep hold of him) would probably be Smylie-esque

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2011/12

Media Prediction : 9th
Board Expectations : Avoid relegation

Despite our superb season in the HK First Division last year which saw us finish 4th, the media were still tipping us as favourites to go down this year. The board also felt relegation was a real possibility, so on the back of this I chose the seasons objective of avoiding relegation, knowing that we could still suffer from the dreaded second season syndrome.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : We flew out of the blocks and made a great start to the season which at the halfway point saw us sat 2nd in the league. However, our lack of depth and quality showed as we fell off the pace and eventually finished in 5th place, one place and one point lower than last year. Still, an excellent season though in which we again, completed the season’s objective of avoiding relegation.

FA Cup : Once again, our priority this season was the league so it was no surprise that we went out of this cup. We managed to make it to the Quarters though which was pleasing.

League Cup : Once again we failed to make it past the group stage but we put in some impressive displays despite the losses.

Senior Shield : We received a bye straight into the Quarters this season but that’s as far as we went thanks to some awful refereeing decisions which saw two of our perfectly legitimate goals wiped out while Happy Valley scored from the spot after a dubious decision to award them a penalty, which replays showed after, wasn’t.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £0k/ Wage budget : £2.6k p/w. Again, we had no money to spend and our wage budget was almost at it’s limit. We desperately needed some home grown talent in the squad due to the foreigner rule so I sent my scouts out and about around Hong Kong. They came back with a few decent finds, but I was more pleased about getting rid of the deadwood.

Squad : While I’m satisfied with the look of the squad, we still lack the depth and quality needed to really push on in this league. Yes we managed to get some home grown talent in but the majority of them are still young and need first team experience, so I’ll still be on the look out for native players who are ready to play now. On the plus side Bae Chun-Suk has agreed to a two year contract extension which will see him stay with us until at least 2017. He was again our top scorer this season as he netted 10 goals in 22 appearances.

Career Summary

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -

*Just to let you guys know...i've decided to give FM10 another go (withdrawal symptoms ) that's why the previous comments about giving up have been removed (as if it never happened! ). I'll try and keep some patience this time to avoid deleting any more comments! *

[WH]

Well done on another good season.

Hope your scouts can find the standard of players you need to push on. Do South China still have the unfair advantage when it comes to Nationality of Home grown players?

Glad your sticking with it

[DodgeeD]

And he's back!

Good to see this going again Raware. I see Tai Po came 2nd this season - fat chance of that happening in my game

[rancer890]

Raware, you're back!

HK seems to be my bogey league , but good luck to you next season.

[Raware]

Well done on another good season.

Hope your scouts can find the standard of players you need to push on. Do South China still have the unfair advantage when it comes to Nationality of Home grown players?

Glad your sticking with it

Cheers WH. I was pleased with another good season, even if we did finish a point and one place worse off than last year. At least we managed to stay up and show that we can hold our own in this league now.

My scouts have been out and about and have found a few decent signings, nothing worth shouting about though . It's really difficult as 1) we have no transfer budget 2) we have a small wage budget and 3) we're a part time club which makes it difficult to attract players.

By unfair advantage do mean that South China can have Chinese players that count as home grown players? If so, i'm not sure if they can. I know Dongguan a few years ago could but i'm not sure about South China.

And he's back!

Good to see this going again Raware. I see Tai Po came 2nd this season - fat chance of that happening in my game

Thanks DodgeeD. Yeah, i thought i'd give it another go as I was getting withdrawal symptoms.

I was also surprised at Tai Po finishing 2nd last season. It seems as if the HK teams are blowing hot and cold each year. Tai Po have finished 4th, 1st and 2nd the past 3 years but this season they're flirting with relegation. Happy Valley, probably one of the strongest teams in HK, were relegated a couple of seasons ago too. Maybe I could give you a few tips from what Tai Po have done for your save

Raware, you're back!

HK seems to be my bogey league, but good luck to you next season.

Cheers rancer. I thought you were doing quite well in your HK game. Haven't you taken the Police from the 3rd division to the 1st division in 2 years? The step up to the 1st division is a big step up though and can be difficult...especially with part time clubs.

Hope you stick with it...I know how frustrating it can be!

Cheers for the welcome back guys

[rancer890]

Cheers rancer. I thought you were doing quite well in your HK game. Haven't you taken the Police from the 3rd division to the 1st division in 2 years? The step up to the 1st division is a big step up though and can be difficult...especially with part time clubs.

Hope you stick with it...I know how frustrating it can be!

Cheers for the welcome back guys

I had a little bit of withdrawal syndrome from that save...

I'll definitely have another go at it though. If you can do it, I hope I can too. I just need a win first.

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2012/13

Media Prediction : 8th
Board Expectations : Avoid relegation

Again, on the back of a good season last year, the media were still not convinced of our ability to hold our own in this division and promptly placed us amongst the favourites to battle it out in a relegation dog fight. I however, was feeling quietly confident of at least matching last years final position but I still chose the season’s objective of avoiding relegation to avoid putting any unnecessary pressure on us.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : We made a good start to our season which saw us lose only 1 game out of our first 5. From there we seemed to gain momentum and couldn’t stop winning as we went on a record 7 match winning streak which by the half way mark of the season saw us sat proudly at the top of the league. I was expecting us to fade away in the second half of the season but we managed to keep up our form which left the title to be decided on the last day of the season. With ourselves and South China sat level on 37 points going into the last game, we had to hope South China would lose (as the league sorting rules go on results between teams rather than goal difference and we hadn’t beat South China in the league), while we picked up at least a point. South China lost…but so did we thanks to a 40 yarder from Happy Valley’s defensive midfielder. Nevertheless, a truly outstanding season for us and one which has qualified us for next year’s Asian Confederation Cup for the first time in the clubs history.

FA Cup : For the second successive year we made it to the Quarters which was pleasing but having drawn South China it was always going to be difficult to progress.

League Cup : Our usual poor performance in this competition as we again, failed to make it past the group stage. At least we won a game though!

Senior Shield : We reached the Quarters in this cup too which was pleasing but for the second successive season, some shocking refereeing decisions cost us dearly.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £0k/ Wage budget : £3.1k p/w. I’m getting used to having no transfer funds at all now as my scouts were sent out to look for bargains again. They came back with some decent finds but nothing to shout about…until after xmas that is. Bian Peng, Yang Jianhui, Ju Yingzhi and Chen Jianlong all look like good players and I have high hopes for them for next season. I was also pleased with the players we got rid of. None of them figured in my long term plans and although £47k isn’t a lot…it’s eased our financial woes as we now sit in the black!

Squad : The squad is really starting to take shape now. I’m pleased with the strength and depth of it, although it could still do with strengthening slightly at the back and a few more home grown players wouldn’t hurt us. We’ve managed to tie our star South Koreans down to 5 year contracts now after they again impressed this season, in particularly Seo Young-Duk who hit 13 goals in 23 appearances to become the clubs top scorer for the season and Yoo Wook-Jin who claimed the Hong Kong Fans Player of the Year.

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up

[Jason the Yank]

Next season, the title.

Regardless, nicely done to get into a continental competition.

[Purefun]

What are you back?

[Raware]

Next season, the title.

Regardless, nicely done to get into a continental competition.

I hope you're right! Although I know i'm going to get hammered in the ACC next season as i'm only allowed 3 foreigners.

What are you back?

Yep, I thought i'd give it another go. Although my initial frustrations with the game cost me the title on the last day of the season as Happy Valley's defensive midfielder smashed in a 40 yarder.

[WH]

By unfair advantage do mean that South China can have Chinese players that count as home grown players? If so, I'm not sure if they can. I know Dongguan a few years ago could but I'm not sure about South China.

Maybe I'm getting my teams muddled up. I remember in your old save one of your rivals had an advantage when it came to the players they could sign, they were not classed a foreigners if i recall. Maybe i am muddling up with something else i have read.

[wandsfan93]

Maybe Lucky Mile, who had all of their players English/Hong Kong nationality.

[Raware]

Yeah, HKFC, Lucky Mile and Club Colts are allowed English players to count as home grown players and Dongguan in the past were allowed Chinese players as home nationals. I'm not aware of anyone else allowed foreign players to count as home nationals...but I could be wrong.

[coldkohmew]

yup,these 2 clubs can help you buy cheap foregineers...

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2013/14

Media Prediction : 4th
Board Expectations : Safe mid-table finish

Finally, after 3 seasons of holding our own within the league, the media were no longer associating relegation with us and predicted us to finish 4th. The board were also convinced of our ability now to stay in the division and expected a safe-mid table finish.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : Once again, we made a good start to our season, which was the foundation on what we built our season on. We racked up some impressive wins and managed to go on a run of 10 games unbeaten which propelled us to the top of the table at the halfway mark. With our momentum in full swing, we took this form into the second half of the season where, thanks to a superb win over rivals South China, helped us on our way to claiming the title for the first time in the clubs history.

FA Cup : We made it to the Quarter-finals again this year but that’s where our journey ended after a poor performance against Citizen cost us.

League Cup : With us failing to make it past the group stages in the past 3 years, I wasn’t expecting anything different this year. But to my delight, and a little help with the draws in which we avoided the ‘big’ teams, we amazingly went all the way and claimed the League Cup for the first time in the clubs history.

Senior Shield : I wasn’t expecting anything in this cup either but once again, the cup draw was lucky to us and we avoided the ‘big’ teams to go on and claim this trophy for the first time in the clubs history.

Asian Confederation Cup : I was expecting nothing other than gaining some invaluable experience in our debut season in this competition, so for us to finish top of our group and make it to the Quarter-finals is an amazing achievement for us and one that I’m happy with.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £12k/ Wage budget : £4.5k p/w. We had a bit of money to spend this year but that didn’t tempt me into a spending frenzy (all £12k of it!). This year was about quality, not quantity and I was delighted with the faces we brought in. After Citizen’s relegation in the 2011/12 season, several of their players handed in transfer requests and I was quick to answer their calls as I managed to get Brazilians Henrique and William in on free transfers. Both look quality and had already been in Hong Kong for 2 years so that’ll help in them gaining citizenship quicker. Wei Zhonghu, despite being 30 years old, was a snip at £4k as his experience was a great asset throughout the season, as was Godfred Karikari who netted 7 goals for us after being released by South China. The other signing was a young Spaniard, who after much praise from my scouts, failed to live up to expectations. Whether he stays or not will be up for debate.

Squad : After adding a bit of much needed quality to the squad this year, it showed as the group of players went on to claim 3 trophies this year. I’m pleased with the strength and depth we now have and the competitiveness we can now show. However, we have 12 foreigners in the squad and only 5 can be fielded in the starting 11 (8 in the match squad) so we’ll need a couple more quality home grown players if we’re going to continue our push for success. Again, that man Bae Chun-Suk was our star player as he bagged 26 goals in 29 games to claim the clubs top scorer award in a season. At 24 years old now, he’s starting to show what he can do and has his best years ahead of him…hopefully with us as we tied him down until 2018.

One other point to note this year was the Hong Kong Manager of the Year award which was awarded to me after guiding Fukien to their first ever 1st Division title!

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners

[DodgeeD]

Congrats on doing the treble Raware. (Oh, what a dream to not have to face South China in the cups!) And good progress in the Confederation Cup too. Who do you face in the semis?

I see Tai Po were rock bottom in the league but with 10 points better than Fukien on my save so far.

[rancer890]

Great work on winning the league Raware.

Big D, Raware got eliminated in the Quarter-finals, so I don't think he'll be facing anyone in the semis.

[Raware]

Congrats on doing the treble Raware. (Oh, what a dream to not have to face South China in the cups!) And good progress in the Confederation Cup too. Who do you face in the semis?

I see Tai Po were rock bottom in the league but with 10 points better than Fukien on my save so far.

Cheers DodgeeD, it definitely helped avoiding South China and the fact that they sold Carrijo who always seemed to score against me helped towards their 'poor' season in which they only won the FA Cup!

Big D, Raware got eliminated in the Quarter-finals, so I don't think he'll be facing anyone in the semis.

Yep, I won't be playing anyone in the semis as rancer kindly pointed out!

Great work on winning the league Raware.

Big D, Raware got eliminated in the Quarter-finals, so I don't think he'll be facing anyone in the semis.

Thanks rancer. That's one box ticked on your challenge...now for the ACL and the CWC. I have a feeling it may be a while before that though! I've gotta win the ACC first but even before that, I have to turn professional if i've any chance of attracting better players. 4 years and we're still semi-pro

Oh, and Kim Pan-Gon has just been sacked as HK national coach. I applied for the job but unfortunately didn't get it...maybe next time.

[rancer890]

What's your finances? My Police officers turned pro when they got promoted to the top flight, even though we barely had any money. But I think you probably needs millions to turn pro...

[Raware]

Our finances are pretty stable and we're actually making a profit now. For me to have any chance of progressing we have to turn pro soon or I may well have to look for a new club.

Finances

[rancer890]

Are you being linked to any jobs though? I wouldn't leave unless I get offered a better job, and not going with the resignation route.

[WH]

Well done mate, after steady inprovement for a few seasons you have reached the top. If past installments are anything to go by, World domination is coming! Well, Hong Kong domination anyway.

[Raware]

Are you being linked to any jobs though? I wouldn't leave unless I get offered a better job, and not going with the resignation route.

No, i've not been linked with anyone...yet. Oh no, I won't leave by resigning, only if I get offered a job too good to turn down will I leave.

Well done mate, after steady inprovement for a few seasons you have reached the top. If past installments are anything to go by, World domination is coming! Well, Hong Kong domination anyway.

Cheers mate. I'm pleased with the progress we've made over the past 4 seasons...like you say, steady improvement. At the minute I reckon we could start dominating HK with the squad we have but for us to kick on, we need that extra calibre of player...and that'll only come if we turn pro.

[DodgeeD]

Big D, Raware got eliminated in the Quarter-finals, so I don't think he'll be facing anyone in the semis.

Whoops! I read the 2nd leg score back to front.

[hamilton162]

A good season there Raware

[Raware]

A good season there Raware

Cheers hamilton, I was really pleased at how our season went. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come!

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2014/15

Media Prediction : 3rd
Board Expectations : Title challenge

On the back of last year’s success, both the media and the board were expecting us to make a push to retain our title this year.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : For us to retain our title this year, a good start was of the utmost importance; and this is exactly what we had as we won all of our first 5 games. This form carried on throughout the rest of the season which led to us achieving an unbeaten season and completing the season’s objective of retaining our title with a 3-0 win over rivals South China with a game to go. There was nothing more satisfying than claiming the title in front of the South China fans!

FA Cup : If I’m honest, I’m getting pretty sick and tired of poor refereeing decisions costing us in the cups as once again some awful decisions resulted in our exit. With 2 clear cut penalties denied, Sha Tin equalised in the dying minutes and then went on to beat us on penalties.

League Cup : As defending champions we were out to defend our title this year. Although we lost to South China in the final, I was still pleased at how far we went in this cup…unlike the fans, who were distraught at losing in the final.

Senior Shield : Another cup in which we were out to defend our title. If last year we were lucky in the teams we were drawn against, this year was a total opposite as we were drawn against arguably the best teams in Hong Kong. With an impressive performance against South China and some nerves of steel in the other 2 games, we went on to claim this cup for the 2nd successive year.

Asian Confederation Cup : This competition was again all about gaining some invaluable experience and if we could match last year’s achievements I would have been more than happy. Needless to say, I’m amazed at how we performed against some of Asia’s biggest teams and for us to go on and win the ACC in only our 2nd season in the competition is truly an amazing feat. Neither the board, the fans or myself were expecting anything like this and it just goes to show how far Hong Kong football is progressing as South China narrowly missed out on meeting us in the final as they succumbed to Al-Arabi in the semi’s.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £44k/ Wage budget : £5k p/w. We blew the transfer budget this year as we brought in Dai Qinhua for £26k and youngster Wong Wai Hung for £18k. Dai Qinhua already has Hong Kong citizenship which was a real help for us and Wong Wai Hung is said to be held in very high regard and is touted as a star for the future. We also managed to bring in 5 other players on free transfers with Brazilians Cahe and Ricardinho turning out to be excellent buys.

Squad : The squad is looking very strong now and I’m pleased with the depth we’ve got. A few players have also claimed citizenship (Yang Junhui, Chen Jianlong and reserve keeper Bian Peng) and a few more only have a couple more years to wait which has helped us massively this year in fielding a consistently strong side with the foreigner rule in place. The stand out player for us once again has been Bae Chun-Suk who netted an impressive 36 goals in 33 games to claim both the Hong Kong top goal scorer award and the Hong Kong Footballer of the Year award. He ripped the league apart this year and without a doubt, without him, we would have really struggled this year. Several South Korean clubs have expressed an interest in him recently but he’s just agreed an extension on his contract which will see him extend his stay with us until 2020 so he’s not going anywhere!

One other award worth a mention is the Hong Kong Manager of the Year award which I claimed for the 2nd consecutive year.

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners 
2014/15  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  League Cup runners-up
			                   		  Senior Sheild winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners

[Jason the Yank]

Well done on another treble (of sorts )

(I'm guessing the Senior Shield is not a high-profile competition)

[TheMister]

Transfer budget : £44k/ Wage budget : £5k p/w. We blew the transfer budget this year

I couldn't help but laugh at you saying 'we blew' the £44k transfer kitty as if you went mental with millions, Real Madrid style - who would lose £44k down the back of the sofa!! Sorry my friend, it's late and I just found it funny

[DodgeeD]

Congratulations on a great season, especially the ACC win! Does that mean both Fukien and South China get into the ACL qualifiers next season?

The fan feedback is annoying at times. I've had tham 'devastated' by a loss in the cup final, 'disappointed' by a narrow defeat in the league and 'pleased by our effort' by a quite heavy semi final defeat in another cup - all to South China as well :roleyes:

Good luck in the ACL.

[Raware]

Well done on another treble (of sorts)

(I'm guessing the Senior Shield is not a high-profile competition)

Thanks JTY. Yep, you're right in that the Senior Shield is the Mickey Mouse cup in HK. Still, nice to win a trophy though...even if it's total carp!

I couldn't help but laugh at you saying 'we blew' the £44k transfer kitty as if you went mental with millions, Real Madrid style - who would lose £44k down the back of the sofa!! Sorry my friend, it's late and I just found it funny

Ha ha, I know. £44k...a shocking transfer budget for champions of a league! I think I may have spent next year's transfer budget in that too!

Congratulations on a great season, especially the ACC win! Does that mean both Fukien and South China get into the ACL qualifiers next season?

The fan feedback is annoying at times. I've had tham 'devastated' by a loss in the cup final, 'disappointed' by a narrow defeat in the league and 'pleased by our effort' by a quite heavy semi final defeat in another cup - all to South China as well :roleyes:

Good luck in the ACL.

Cheers DodgeeD. I was amazed that we managed to win the ACC in such a short time span . If memory serves me right, winning that should put us in the ACL next year and with that, bigger prize money and higher gate receipts so hopefully we can think about turning professional soon. I'm not sure that South China will qualify for the ACL though as they only reached the semi's...similar to real life this year where they lost to Al-Kuwait 3-1 on agg in the semi's (I actually went to the game).

[WH]

Well done again, Blew them away in the league.

Obviously its a high prestige competition but Is the ACL a big money competition like the Champions league for europe?

[Raware]

Well done again, Blew them away in the league.

Obviously its a high prestige competition but Is the ACL a big money competition like the Champions league for europe?

Ta WH Yeah, we dominated the league thanks to Bae Chun-Suk who ripped everyone apart, bagging 25 in 17! I think what also helped us was South China losing a few key players, namely Leandro Carrijo, who they're missing badly up front.

Yeah, the Asian Confederation Cup (ACC or AFC Cup as it's known) is like the UEFA Cup/Europa League and the ACL (Asian Champions League) is similar to the UEFA Champions League. I don't think they offer as much prize money as the UEFA equivalents but it's still a decent prize kitty IIRC.

[hamilton162]

Another fantastic season Raware What are your aims for the ACL?

[Raware]

Another fantastic season Raware What are your aims for the ACL?

Thanks hamilton My aim is to first, qualify from the preliminary rounds to the group stage and then not get tanked in the ACL groups! As long as we keep it respectable and make the groups, i'll be more than happy.

[Saxonaitor]

You'll be pleased to know I plan to manage in Asia in my career Raware!

Got Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan loaded.

And on your game...

Domination as usual.

[Raware]

You'll be pleased to know I plan to manage in Asia in my career Raware!

Got Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan loaded.

And on your game...

Domination as usual.

Good to hear Sax. Look forward to reading it

As for my save, I wouldn't say domination...not just yet anyway!

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2015/16

Media Prediction : 2nd
Board Expectations : Title challenge

After claiming back to back titles in the last couple of years, everyone was expecting us to claim our 3rd in succession this year.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : We flew out of the blocks and won our first 7 games which set us up nicely for the second half of the season. However, we struggled during the middle of the season and at one point looked as if we were going to give up our dominant position at the top after some poor performances, lack of form and unfortunate injuries. Thankfully though, the players showed they were made of sterner stuff and finished the season strongly as we managed to go on and retain the league title for the 3rd successive year.

FA Cup : This cup still eludes us we went all the way this year only for us to fall at the last hurdle. We put up a spirited fight but ultimately lost to a better side on the day, even if they did score their winner 3 minutes from time.

League Cup : A shocking performance in this cup which left me seething as I wanted to make up for last years disappointment in the final.

Senior Shield : Our performance in this cup made it a clean sweep of disappointment in the cups this year. I was very disappointed in the way we went out against fierce rivals Rangers (HKG) as we had more than enough chances to win the game.

Asian Champions League : All I wanted from this competition was to qualify for the group stage and to gain some invaluable experience and we managed to do that. I’m pleased with how our debut season in the ACL went and despite a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Suwon at home, we managed to keep the score lines respectable. We even managed to win a game!

Transfers : Transfer budget : £118k/ Wage budget : £6.6k p/w. In comparison to previous seasons, we had a ‘massive’ transfer budget this year of £118k. Unfortunately though, my scouts failed to find any players of real worth to sign during the season, just the one who looks a decent prospect for the future. However, they did manage to find 2 players at the end of the season who look like good finds. Lakic is a veteran in the HK leagues and has been here for 7 years, plying his trade with Happy Valley previously, so already has HK citizenship and once again I raided Citizen of their star Brazilian as Felipe looks a very exciting prospect indeed and £50k looks like a snip. The exit door was a lot busier for us as 7 players left the club, raking in a total of £77k.

Squad : The squad hasn’t changed at all from last year and at times we were stretched in fielding a competitive side. While it seemed strong last year, I think a mix of complacency and lack of competition was our downfall in the long run this year. We definitely need to look at strengthening the side next year as our apparent lack of depth and quality showed as we failed to make any kind of impact in the cups. Whether we can find the players needed is another matter! It was Bae Chun-Suk and Choi Jin-Su who stood out for us this season as the former continued his impressive scoring rate, knocking in 23 goals in 34 games and the latter claiming the Hong Kong Fans Player of the Year.

Again, I claimed the Hong Kong Manager of the Year award which now makes it 3 in a row. Still no sign of turning professional though and while I’d like to stay at Fukien, it’s difficult to make any kind of progression while we’re still a semi-pro club.

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners 
2014/15  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  League Cup runners-up
			                   		  Senior Sheild winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2015/16  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup runners-up

[Jason the Yank]

Well done. Any possibility of you moving on to a fully professional club, or are you staying until you finally win the FA Cup?

[Raware]

Well done. Any possibility of you moving on to a fully professional club, or are you staying until you finally win the FA Cup?

Thanks JTY . My original plan was to stay with Fukien until I completed rancer's challenge but i'm not sure i'll be able to complete it as it's just too difficult with a semi pro Hong Kong team. I'm also, surprisingly, starting to get itchy feet but I'll keep trying to finish the challenge. If a big club comes in for me though, i'm not sure if i'll be able to turn it down Hopefully I can win the damn FA Cup before/if I leave!

[Raware]

Finally...We turn professional!

And after last year's title win...Legend status

[Saxonaitor]

But your 2nd in the League...

Tut, tut tut Raware

[Raware]

But your 2nd in the League...

Tut, tut tut Raware

The season hasn't started yet, so i'm in 2nd on alphabetical order

[WH]

That colour really suits you.

[LCFC]

Great season (and career to date) and congratulations on going pro, hopefully it will allow you to push on and improve further.

I've never managed this far afield but all these threads make me want to give it a try at some point.

[Raware]

That colour really suits you.

You mean the pink? If so...they say, only real men can wear pink!

Great season (and career to date) and congratulations on going pro, hopefully it will allow you to push on and improve further.

I've never managed this far afield but all these threads make me want to give it a try at some point.

Cheers LCFC. I hope you're right, it's definitely the next step we need.

You should try a game out of your comfort zone. It's good fun and you get to know the rules about different leagues.

[DodgeeD]

Congrats on yet another title Raware. My trophy cabinet is looking pretty spacious by comparison!

How have you found the domestic players and regens so far? One disappointment for me has been the local players as I've signed a few who are regulars in the national team or were previously at South China and when they join the club, the coaches rate them at just 1 or 2 stars! The supply of Chinese players has dried up as most of their clubs set high asking prices..

Have you had your facilites improved yet? What level are they at?

Oh and one more thing: in your game does the pitch get in a terrible state halfway through every season? Mine has been relaid 4 times already and I'm only in my 4th season!

[Raware]

Congrats on yet another title Raware. My trophy cabinet is looking pretty spacious by comparison!

How have you found the domestic players and regens so far? One disappointment for me has been the local players as I've signed a few who are regulars in the national team or were previously at South China and when they join the club, the coaches rate them at just 1 or 2 stars! The supply of Chinese players has dried up as most of their clubs set high asking prices..

Have you had your facilites improved yet? What level are they at?

Oh and one more thing: in your game does the pitch get in a terrible state halfway through every season? Mine has been relaid 4 times already and I'm only in my 4th season!

Thanks DodgeeD. We're starting to put our stamp on the league now but we're still struggling with the cups, in particularly the FA Cup. Still, 7 trophies in 6 years isn't too bad so I can't complain .

There are a lack of good HK regens coming through in my save too, maybe because of the poor league ranking the HK First division has, i'm not sure. My scouts have only found 3 or 4 young HK regens worth signing and they're only rated at 2 stars max. I'm currently swiping players from teams who have been relegated, namely Kitchee, Citizen and Happy Valley who have a much broader scouting scope than us (Brazil, Spain, Argentina) so they're doing all the hard work and then we stroll in and nab them when they go down . They also have players who are near to gaining citizenship so that helps us out with the foreigner rule.

I've not found a problem with Chinese regens and find there are quite a good few decent players out there...they just wouldn't sign for us though as we were only part time. Maybe that'll change now we've turned pro.

Our training facilities are classed as basic and youth facilities are minimal but we've just had our first training ground improvements which cost us £180k, so hopefully that'll make a difference.

My pitch hasn't been relayed once yet but it's stated as being just ok so may need to be relayed soon. Maybe yours is being relayed so often because you play on your own ground and don't ground share? Our home ground is MongKok stadium and is shared by others so maybe that has something to do with it? Not sure.

[hamilton162]

Nice job Raware Your trophy cabinet must be massive! When do you reckon you're going to move away from Fukien, if you do decide to move at all?

[MeLikeFM]

Nice job Raware Your trophy cabinet must be massive! When do you reckon you're going to move away from Fukien, if you do decide to move at all?

After he completes Rancer's challenge

[rancer890]

After he completes Rancer's challenge

If Raware wants to manage HK national team as well, it might take a while to finish...

Great work on reaching the Champions League. Just a little problem for next season...I think you're going back to the Confederations Cup..since the two finalists from the the previous year will be taken your spot. The other countries are hardcoded into the game for Champions League qualifying round.

[Raware]

Nice job Raware Your trophy cabinet must be massive! When do you reckon you're going to move away from Fukien, if you do decide to move at all?

Cheers hamilton. Hopefully i'll need to expand it further in the next few years!

I'm hoping I can stay at Fukien for a while, hopefully finishing rancer's challenge, but I won't rule out a move to a big club should one come along.

After he completes Rancer's challenge

If Raware wants to manage HK national team as well, it might take a while to finish...

Great work on reaching the Champions League. Just a little problem for next season...I think you're going back to the Confederations Cup..since the two finalists from the the previous year will be taken your spot. The other countries are hardcoded into the game for Champions League qualifying round.

Erm, yeah, I think i'll never complete the international part of your challenge! Not unless I start from the bottom again in a stronger country - China/Australia.

I was wondering about this, the draws for the ACC and the ACL haven't been made yet but on my home page on the competitions summary, it says i'm in the ACL preliminary round. I too thought i'd being going back into the ACC due to last years finalists taking my ACL place.
(South China lost in the semi's of the ACC again for the 2nd year )

[Raware]

As we originally thought rancer, i've been entered back into the Confederations Cup this year due to last years Confederation Cup finalists taking my ACL place. Oh well, i'll just have to win the Confederations Cup again to qualify for the ACL .

[uncle ron]

As we originally thought rancer, i've been entered back into the Confederations Cup this year due to last years Confederation Cup finalists taking my ACL place. Oh well, i'll just have to win the Confederations Cup again to qualify for the ACL .

It looks like a good result for your first win in the ACL groups considering you were beaten three nil away

So does this mean you will only be able to play in the ACL every 2 seasons on the assumption that you win the Confederations Cup? Or will the Hong Kong rating improve to give you the automatic place in the ACL?

[Raware]

It looks like a good result for your first win in the ACL groups considering you were beaten three nil away

So does this mean you will only be able to play in the ACL every 2 seasons on the assumption that you win the Confederations Cup? Or will the Hong Kong rating improve to give you the automatic place in the ACL?

I was surprised we managed to win that game in the ACL to be honest. At least with that result we wasn't white washed in the competition!

I presume that'll be the case, in which case I don't think i'll be playing in the ACL again any time soon . It was luck more than anything that won us the ACC the first time around and I can't see us winning it again this season. I know there was a thread in GD some time ago about dynamic league reputations but I don't think just us and South China appearing in the ACC every year will be enough to boost the Hong Kong league's reputation into the top 10 Asian leagues . (The qualifiers for the ACL are determined by the AFC's rating of nations and only teams from the top 10 countries in Asia qualify...and the ACC finalists of course).

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2016/17

Media Prediction : 1st
Board Expectations : Win the league

League titles are now becoming synonymous with us and both the board and the media were expecting nothing less than a 4th consecutive title this year…just a bit of pressure then!

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : We made a good start to the league campaign and picked up 4 wins in the first 5 games, but it wasn’t enough to go top as South China showed their intentions this year as they destroyed anyone who came their way, including ourselves as they dispensed of us in our first meeting of the season, 3-1. We had a couple of disappointing results throughout the rest of the season but we picked it back up and by the end of the season it had turned into a 2 horse race. At one point South China didn’t look as if they were going to lose to anyone and we trailed behind them for much of the season…until the last 2 games that is. Whether nerves got the better of them I don’t know, but what I do know is that we took full advantage of that and sneaked into top spot with 2 games to go which led to us claiming our 4th consecutive title.

FA Cup : We finally managed to claim this cup this year, with a little help in the draw which saw us avoid South China. We faced a scare in the semis but I’m delighted to have finally captured this trophy which completes my ‘collection’ of Hong Kong silverware. .

League Cup : We made up for last year’s dismal performance in this competition as we won this cup for the 2nd time in the clubs history thanks to a great win against South China.

Senior Shield : The only piece of domestic silverware that was missing this year as we just failed to turn up against a very strong South China side.

Asian Confederation Cup : After our brief stint in the ACL, we were back in this cup this year and looking to claim our 2nd ACC trophy. The board just wanted to learn from the experience but I felt we had more than enough quality to at least make the knockout out stages. We produced some great performances which surprisingly carried us all the way to the final where we faced…yep, South China. The final was pretty much a one sided affair and I was surprised at how poor our fellow Hong Kongers were. It goes to show though just how far Hong Kong football has come and can now boast 2 top continental teams who can mix it with the biggest of Asian teams.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £30k/ Wage budget : £12.8k p/w. I sacrificed a lot of the transfer budget into the wage budget this year due to us turning professional at the end of last season. This had to be done because all of our players needed to go on to full time contracts, therefore expecting better pay deals. I was still pleased at the players we managed to bring in though, namely Indonesian Heru Budiman and Namibian Kyle Dlamini who came in on frees from Indonesian clubs, Cheng Kwok Wai who has duel Japanese and HK nationality, Spaniard Josu Otero who was released by Kitchee at the end of last year and veteran Ma Shuai who’s been around the HK scene for a while now, picking up HK citizenship along the way. Out of the door saw a lot of the youth players go as none were deemed good enough to remain at the club. I’m not sure why some players appear on the list though (Baslev, Brix, Stadsgaard, Dalgaard, Drost). None of them were at the club. I think it maybe a bug.

Squad : The squad is looking very strong now and if it wasn’t for South China strengthening their squad this year, we would have run away with the league. Lim Jong-Eun, Yoon Bit-Garam, Choi Jin-Su, Yoo Wook-Jin, Bae Chun-Suk and Seo Young-Duk are all close to gaining citizenship which should makes things a bit easier for us next year. Bae Chun-Suk was once again the stand out performer for us this year as he bagged 16 goals in 28 games, quite poor for his standards, but still a decent return.

One more award which came our way was the Hong Kong Manager of the Year award which was awarded to me for the 4th time. I could get used to all of these managerial awards!

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners 
2014/15  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  League Cup runners-up
			                   		  Senior Sheild winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2015/16  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup runners-up
2016/17  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
			                   		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners

[Raware]

While I still want to try and complete rancer's challenge (as difficult as it's going to be), as I said in my opening post, I won't rule out a move to another club before the challenge is complete should an offer turn up which is too good to turn down. So, having won every trophy in Hong Kong and the Asian Confederation Cup now, when the Beijing job became available, I thought i'd hand in my application . Unfortunately, this is the response I got. My board reaction was that they hoped I would stay at Fukien but understood my decision to want to move to a bigger club. I guess i'll still be aiming to complete rancer's challenge in the foreseeable future...unless another job opens up that I like the look of .

[WH]

11 trophies in 7 season is one hell of a good haul.

I assume with the recent unsuccessful job aplication your feet are as itchy as ever

[Raware]

11 trophies in 7 season is one hell of a good haul.

I assume with the recent unsuccessful job aplication your feet are as itchy as ever

Thanks WH. I'm surprised at how quickly the trophies have come to be honest. Considering how poor Fukien were when I took over, it was pleasing that it only took 3 years for us to claim our first trophy. I'm just glad that the trophies have continued to come our way .

Yep, my feet are starting to itch a little . I really want to try and complete rancer's challenge though but if a job comes up that I like the look of, i'll definitley have to think about moving. Talking about itchy feet, I just received this offer from Gwangju but decided to rejected it as they have no transfer money, a relatively small wage budget and I feel Fukien are in a better position, so it would be a step back. Nice to know that i'm being considered for jobs though .

[rancer890]

When you have the itch to move Raware, it probably means you're moving in the next couple seasons.

Hope you either find a better job in another country, or at least finish up what you started in HK.

[Raware]

When you have the itch to move Raware, it probably means you're moving in the next couple seasons.

Hope you either find a better job in another country, or at least finish up what you started in HK.

Cheers rancer. Hopefully I can finish the latter before moving on . It'll be tough though, especially as without winning the ACL I won't be entered into it, thus going back into the ACC. So really I only have a chance of completing your challenge every 2 years...providing I can win the ACC!

[hamilton162]

An extremely impressive season Raware, 4 out of 5 competitions won is very good going

[DodgeeD]

That South China just keep showing up all over the place, don't they? Congrats on a great season and 'retaining' your ACC crown (seeing as it was your first chance to defend it). Best of luck for the ACL next year.

EDIT: I've just secured Ma Shaui's signature for next season in my game as well.

[Raware]

An extremely impressive season Raware, 4 out of 5 competitions won is very good going

Thanks hamilton. Shame we couldn't have had the clean sweep . But i'm not complaining at 4

That South China just keep showing up all over the place, don't they? Congrats on a great season and 'retaining' your ACC crown (seeing as it was your first chance to defend it). Best of luck for the ACL next year.

EDIT: I've just secured Ma Shaui's signature for next season in my game as well.

I know, there's just no getting rid of them!

Cheers DodgeeD, i'm surprised we managed to win this trophy again. There's seems to be a huge gap in quality between ACL teams and ACC teams; that was proven as we won the ACC yet struggled to win a game in the ACL . Hopefully we can do a bit better next time.

Ma Shuai is a great signing and is doing the business for me and he's 32 now! He should put away a few goals for you as he's still in his prime in 2013.

[Raware]

After handing in my application for the Beijing job and being rejected, it seems some chairman are starting to sit up and take note of my managerial 'skills' as I was approached by Gwangju of the South Korean K-League. I decided to turn it down though as I wasn't offered much in terms of transfer and wage budget and the squad looked quite poor. Nice to know i'm being considered though!

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2017/18

Media Prediction : 1st
Board Expectations : Win the league

While I expected us to be in amongst the silverware this year, I couldn’t rule out the threat South China posed and hoped the board would also see it this way. Unfortunately they didn’t and they expected success on all domestic fronts this season.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : We made a solid start to the season but it wasn’t enough to keep up with early pace setters, South China and Kitchee. By the halfway mark though we picked it up a little and were sat in 2nd, just behind South China. From there, we climbed to the summit of the table briefly but some poor performances saw us drop back down into 2nd which is where we stayed until the last game of the season, where we faced…South China in a title decider! We were a point behind them on 40 points and anything less than a win would see Shaolin Temple halt our ambitions in claiming our 5th consecutive title. Luckily though, we managed to hold our nerve (or was it South China losing their nerve?! ) as we grabbed the title with 4 minutes to go thanks to a goal from the spot from fans favourite and vice captain Choi Jin-Su which saw us win 1-0.

FA Cup : After struggling in this cup for years we’ve now managed to win it 2 years on the bounce as we saw off all of our opponents with minimum fuss.

League Cup : We managed back to back triumphs in this competition too which saw us claim our 3rd League Cup. It wasn’t as straight forward as last year though as it went all the way to penalties; fortunately we held our nerve and won 5-4, Felipe netting the winning spot kick.

Senior Shield : I wanted to make up for last years semi final disappointment, but again this trophy eluded us as we lost on pens to TM Progoal, which foiled our attempts in claiming all domestic trophies.

Asian Champions League : With us claiming our 2nd Confederation Cup last year, we were entered into the ACL for only the 2nd time ever. But it was a short lived journey as we lost in extra time to Indonesian outfit, Persik Kediri.

Asian Confederation Cup : With our loss in the ACL, we were placed in the ACC and out to defend our crown. We managed to qualify from a tricky group, which included fellow Hong Kongers, TM Progoal (there was actually 4 teams from Hong Kong competing in this years ACC! which hopefully means the reputation of the HK league is climbing). We were quite lucky in the knock out rounds as we were pitted against probably the weakest teams left in the competition and that showed as we brushed them all aside and made it to the final where we were drawn against Persik Kediri…the team that knocked us out of this year’s Asian Champions League! I feared the worse and had recurring nightmares of a repeat of our ACL clash…but it was a somehow poetic final as we comfortably beat them 3-0 to wash away any bad memories of our previous meeting and claim our 3rd Asian Confederation Cup title.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £168k/ Wage budget : £16k p/w. We spent quite big this year (well, big for us ) as we brought in 9 players, those being : Japanese left back with duel Hong Kong nationality Chiu Ka Wai from South China and Argentine Lucas Trecarichi and Brazilian Claudinho from Kitchee, who are both only a year or so away from claiming HK citizenship. Our main coups this year though were our scouts in which we brought in 3 of, 1 from Nigeria, 1 from Paraguay and 1 from Japan and that helped us enormously in scouting further field which allowed us to bring in Japanese internationals Tomoya Kasahara from Niigata Unicorn and Ryo Odagiri from Okayama, Nigerian international Louis Babatunde from Heartland, Togan international Felix Valade from ASKO and Uzbeki youth player Aziz Hasanov from Neftchi Farg’ona. Although we’re £2k p/w over on the wage budget, I felt it was necessary as all of the new signings (so I’m told) have great potential.

Squad/Reserves: I’m very happy with the squad now especially after Lim Jong-Eun, Yoon Bit-Garam, Choi Jin-Su, Yoo Wook-Jin, Bae Chun-Suk and Seo Young-Duk claimed HK citizenship and international caps for HK (excluding Yoo Wook-Jin) as it made our home grown section of the team very strong, allowing us to bring in more quality foreigners. The foreigners are looking equally as strong and make up a squad capable of performing against everybody in the league. A few more players are a year or so away from claiming HK citizenship which will make things even easier for us in fielding a consistently strong side full of home nationals. As usual, Bae Chun-Suk was our star performer as he smashed in 37 goals in 35 games, claimed the Hong Kong First Division top scorer award, the Hong Kong Footballer of the Year award and broke his own record for number of goals in a season for us, which incidentally included his 100th league goal for us! (He now has 170 goals in 228 appearances for us).

Again, I claimed the Hong Kong Manager of the Year award but more promising news is the fact that our youth facilities are to be upgraded which will hopefully mean some quality youth players starting to come through the ranks (I hope anyway!).

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners 
2014/15  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  League Cup runners-up
			                   		  Senior Sheild winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2015/16  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup runners-up
2016/17  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
			                   		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2017/18  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
                                           		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Senior Sheild runners-up
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners

[Saxonaitor]

It's hard to say its not complete domination now Raware

How does the season work in Hong Kong anyway? 18 games is a bit short.

[Raware]

It's hard to say its not complete domination now Raware

How does the season work in Hong Kong anyway? 18 games is a bit short.

Not quite yet Sax, but hopefully soon! . South China are still pretty strong and are signing great players left, right and centre. I just don't know where they're finding them! I'm still yet to have a season where we've won every competition we've entered into but the last 2 have been close. Hopefully it'll be 3rd time lucky next season!

The HK league is quite a short one with 10 teams playing each other twice, so yeah, 18 games. But then you've got 3 cup competitions (FA Cup, League Cup and Senior Shield) and then the continental cups. Still, you can whizz through seasons at a fair pace and that's one of the reasons why I like playing in this league. As much as I love England and English football, sometimes 46 games plus cups can seem to drag on forever!

[Saxonaitor]

Tell me about it

Prehaps you may see another Hong Kong manager? Or at least one with fewer games!

[Raware]

Tell me about it

Prehaps you may see another Hong Kong manager? Or at least one with fewer games!

Get yourself to HK! It's always good to manage in a country you're not familiar with. I did it with Sarmiento de Junin on FM08 and learnt things I didn't even know about the Argentina leagues. IMO, playing a league with fewer games makes it easier to sustain the save as I don't find myself getting stale with the game. I always used to play the same old leagues (England/Spain/Italy, etc) and became a bit bored after a while as the season just seemed to drag...of course this is in FM; RL I love the length of the English season...what would we do without the football season?!

[Saxonaitor]

Since Fm09 I have always wanted to manage the Australian A-League but never quite had the reputation. Will think about Hong Kong though. Want to stayin Wales for the rest of this season at least, if not 2 seasons.

I propose a new forum exclusively for HK managers

[Raware]

Since Fm09 I have always wanted to manage the Australian A-League but never quite had the reputation. Will think about Hong Kong though. Want to stayin Wales for the rest of this season at least, if not 2 seasons.

I propose a new forum exclusively for HK managers

I have the Hyundai League loaded on this save so hopefully i'll make a move there in the future. I've never managed there so it'll be an interesting move for me (if I get one).

I've been following your save and have to say things have seemed to take a turn for the worse with a players revolt! Hope you can turn it around though

At the rate of new HK managers at the minute, we could well do with one!

[Saxonaitor]

Me thinks it's the magic mushrooms, half of them said sorry in the next 3 days.

[Raware]

Fukien - Hong Kong First Division - 2018/19

Media Prediction : 1st
Board Expectations : Win the league

We were now clear favourites to win the league and the board expected a 6th straight league win.

League Table/League Progress/League Fixtures : We started really well and that’s how we carried on for pretty much the rest of the season as South China faded away to leave us to claim our 6th straight title with 2 games to go.

FA Cup : We had quite an easy route on our way to claiming our 3rd straight FA Cup. Although at times we came close to being our own worst enemy and almost crashed out due to complacency.

League Cup : Another cup win which makes it 3 in a row now. We had quite a tough route (on paper) but we surprisingly beat all of the opposing teams pretty comfortably, including South China in the final.

Senior Shield : After failing to win this trophy in the past 3 years, we finally made amends as we beat arch rivals HK Rangers in the final which completed the domestic quadruple for the first time ever.

Asian Champions League : I wanted us to make the group stages this year after our disappointment last year in the preliminary rounds, but when we drew Persik Kediri (again!) in the preliminary round final I thought our journey could be cut short again. We produced a breath taking display though and trounced them 5-0 at their place to set the record straight and make the groups for only the 2nd time. The group stage was all about experience and we got that which included 2 wins and 2 draws as we finished 3rd and narrowly missed out on qualification.

Transfers : Transfer budget : £128k/ Wage budget : £16.7k p/w. Not much really happened this year. We got rid of a few of the old legs to rake in £69k and brought in a couple of young prospects from China. Again, I don’t know why some players appear on the transfer list (Khalid Mohath Fabricius, Salvatory Rahbek, Wisdom Bendixen). None were at the club, it must be a bug.

Squad/Reserves: The squad stayed the same this year as I felt it didn’t really need strengthening, plus we were at our wage budget limit. A few more players (Bian Peng, William, Henrique and Claudinho) have taken Hong Kong citizenship and claimed caps for the HK national team which has helped us with our home grown player status. A couple more are due to claim citizenship in the next few months (Lucas Trecarichi and Juan Maria) which will help us even more and we could well look at getting a few more quality foreigners in next season. It goes without saying now that Bae Chun-Suk was our star player as he bagged 25 goals in 38 games to take him to 195 goals for the club now . One other stand out player was Felix Valade who netted 20 goals in 20 games in his first full season with us and if he continues like that then he’ll make a great partnership upfront with Bae Chun-Suk.

2 more awards which came our way were the Hong Kong Manager of the Year award which I claimed for the 6th successive year and the Hong Kong Fans Player of the Year award which was awarded to Felipe.

Career Summary

Season   Team		League			Position  Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/11  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    4th     -       
2011/12  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    5th     -     
2012/13  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    2nd     1st Div runners-up
2013/14  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					                  Senior Shield winners 
2014/15  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  League Cup runners-up
			                   		  Senior Sheild winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2015/16  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup runners-up
2016/17  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
			                   		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2017/18  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
			                   		  FA Cup winners
                                           		  League Cup winners
			                   		  Senior Sheild runners-up
			                   		  Asian Confederation Cup winners
2018/19  Fukien		Hong Kong 1st Division    1st     1st Div winners
					   		  FA Cup winners
					   		  League Cup winners
					   		  Senior Sheild winners

[ericsrule]

I live in Hong Kong

[Thistles * player]

We want 200 Fukien goals from you Bae Chun Suk!

[rancer890]

Another normal Fukien season there Raware. How are the HK national team doing with those naturalized players?

[Saxonaitor]

We want 200 Fukien goals from you Bae Chun Suk!

I want 3000 to be honest but each to their own

[wandsfan93]

How are the Fukien training and youth facilities? improving them could help in the long run towards ACL success. Keep at it.

[iacovone]

These 'Fukien' puns (whether intentional or not) are making me laugh

[DodgeeD]

Great stuff Raware. The ACL knockout rounds must be the only target left for you now!

Speaking of short/long seasons, Hong Kong seasons have whizzed by for me after my seasons in Mexico on FM09 - one season there I had about 85 club games (after taking the Mexico job, it got nearer to 100!) I got up to 2023 in that save but had I played the same amount of time on a nother save, I would have been up to 2035 at least.

[wandsfan93]

Shouldn't be long before the national team come knocking.