FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[DodgeeD]

After my earlier aborted attempt, I will now post my end of season report again...

Keçiorengücü 2027/28 Season Review



Quick Overview
Premier Division: 1st
Championship Group: Winners!!
(qualified for next season’s Champions League Group Stage)
Turkish Cup: Winners!!
Super Cup: Winners!!
Champions League: 1st Knockout Round

Premier Division
We lost a couple of games this season but still managed to top the table by some distance.
Final Table

Championship Group
Once the points were halved, we still had an eight-point lead. Wins in our first three matches brought the title home rendering this season’s Championship Group somewhat meaningless…
Final standings

Super Cup
Quite an exciting game this season as the lead changed hands several times in a 4-4 draw with Galatasaray. We then won the penalty shoot-out 4-2.

Turkish Cup
We had a straightforward run to the final, playing lower division sides or teams from the bottom half of the Premier league all the way. The final against Göztepe was as easy as the cup run as we won 4-1.

Champions League
Despite now being one of the second seeds, we ended up with a tough group containing Inter, CSKA Moscow and Bayern Munich. Inter got their revenge for last season when we beat them home and away by beating us home and away as they stormed to the top of the group. We did the double over CSKA and a home win over Bayern meant it all went down to the final game in Germany. We turned in one of our best performances of the season to win 2-1 and snatch second in the group.
Final Group Table

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got as we once again came unstuck in the 1st Knockout Round. The damage was done when we lost the home leg 2-1. A 1-1 draw in Portugal was not enough as we lost 3-2 on aggregate.

The Squad: Transfers
Again, there were major departures this year as I got rid of a couple of players who were spreading discord in the squad about contracts. The biggest loss and the biggest incoming fee came from the sale of Brazilian centre back Renato Gaucho, who joined Real Madrid in a 61 million TL deal. We also lost Jean-Baptiste Kalimunda, the young French goalkeeper who only signed a year ago. That really infuriated me as he started demanding a new contract asking for ten times his existing wage (he wanted to go up from 20k p/w to 200k p/w!) and refused to negotiate. He then started missing training so was dropped and then sold in January for 18.5 million TL (needless to say, he signed for a mere 38k p/w with his new side ).

That meant my two major purchases in January were a new Brazilian centre-back Rui Pereira and a new cheap but good goalkeeper Pablo Orduna. Another new arrival in January who I have high hopes for is Bosnian right winger Boris Brkovic.

The Squad: Key Players
Fırat Pak (DR) – again excelled when in the first team and is well on his way to becoming one of our established homegrown stars.
Ariel Domini (DC) – Solid and consistent at the back. Now an established Argentina international as well.
Kadir Alagöz (DC) – Another fine season saw Kadir become the first Keçiörengücü plaer ever to be named in the World Team of the Year.
Şahin Kaya (DM) – Not guaranteed a starting berth these days but still a highly consistent performer and now holds the club record for most league appearances.
Atahan Şen (AML) – Turned in some great performances out on the wing and became the fifth Keçiörengücü youth product to win an international cap as well.
Kaan Uygun (AML) – More of the same on the left side of our attack, providing 20 assists in all competitions.
Erman Ergin (ST) - in and out of the first team due to injuries this season (the worst of which, a broken foot, kept him out for 3 months) but played well when fit. He was named amongst the subs in the World Team of the Year as well.
Emrah Özkan (ST) - ended up being our top scorer in the league this season and has now taken Ergin’s place in the national side.
Alexandre Tavares (ST) – My coaches don’t rate this guy that highly since his comeback from injury but he still scored consistently when called upon. In doing so he became the club’s all-time top scorer in the league and won the Cup Player of the Year award following his hat-trick in the final.


The Season Ahead…
15 seasons in and it’s starting to feel like a bit of a slog – we are now at that ‘plateau’ stage where finances are secure, facilities are top-class and there is little challenge at domestic level but still a lot of work to do it Europe (part of the reason I have updated much recently). I have several players like Ergin, Alagöz, Özkan, Dragut and Domini signed to long-term deals so hopefully we can make some progress as they reach their professional peak.

Europe will be our main focus this season. I’m hoping for a return to the glory days of the 2023-24 season…

The Story So Far…

Season  | Division    | Position | Play-Offs | Turkish Cup | Europe       | Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 | 2nd (Grp B) | 5th      | QF        | 1st Round   | N/A          | N/A
2013-14 | 2nd (Grp B) | 1st      | N/A       | 3rd Round   | N/A          | Promoted!
2014-15 | First       | 1st      | N/A       | 3rd Round   | N/A          | Promoted!
2015-16 | Premier     | 10th     | N/A       | 4th Round   | N/A          | Stayed up
2016-17 | Premier     | 6th      | Won in R3 | 4th Round   | N/A          | Qualified for Europa League
2017-18 | Premier     | 2nd      | 3rd       | 4th Round   | EL 4th QR    | Qualified for Europa League
2018-19 | Premier     | 2nd      | 2nd       | Semi-final  | EL Group     | Qualified for Champions League
2019-20 | Premier     | 3rd      | 2nd       | 5th Round   | EL 1st KO    | Qualified for Champions League
2020-21 | Premier     | 3rd      | 2nd       | 5th Round   | EL 2nd KO    | Qualified for Champions League
2021-22 | Premier     | 2nd      | Winners   | 4th Round   | CL Quarters  | League Champions!
2022-23 | Premier     | 2nd      | Winners   | Winners     | EL Finalists | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners
2023-24 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | 5th Round   | CL Semis     | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2024-25 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Finalists   | CL Quarters  | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2025-26 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Quarters    | EL Quarters  | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2026-27 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Winners     | CL 1st KO    | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners
2027-28 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Winners     | CL 1st KO    | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners

[ri916]

Just recorded my first win in Ligue 2!- 16 games into the season! I'm still 10 points adrift of safety, but I think we might have a chance now.

[PRDH]

berty - Great progress and congratulations on the Europa win, I don't remember seeing anyone else crack that one so far. Got to be hoping for a Ligue 1 victory soon, you've been so close for a few seasons.
DodgeeD - Great dominance domestically, should have Turkey sewn up now, just need that breakthrough in Europe. That was an unlucky group draw, hopefully that's the hardest your groups will ever be now, and you've shown you can negotiate it. Your youth product defenders are fantastic as well. Pak is 18! Eighteen!! That's absurd. He's going to be phenomenal!

[DodgeeD]

Thanks PRDH. This year's group draw has been much kinder - we are still second seeds but this time our opponents are Arsenal (tough), Standard Liege (easy) and Maribor (play the youth team and win ).

And you are right to highlight the youth - with Pak and Şen now joining Kaya, Ergin, Alagöz and Özkan in the squad I have 6 regular starters from my youth system. That's never happened to me on any FM before!

[berty1978]

Well done domestically DodgeeD, and good luck in this seasons knockout stage, assuming you get through that group of course.

Thanks PRDH, it's been a while since I've played this game, almost forgotten how good my side was, should really be completing this challenge but it's tough.

My star player is Daniele Reali, and when I've got his value set at £60m and he is wanted by the two biggest club sides he must be good.

There's been a bit of a manager merry go round during the close season, Laurent Blanc finally got sacked by France after a poor World Cup, I got linked to the England job, Blanc was given the position of England manager in the end, the Monaco manager got the France job and I was linked to Monaco, who gave the job to their Youth Coach... one Christopher Samba. Also I got offered the Chile and USA jobs, wow.

Into the next season, few matches in and I've won two competitions already. Good start to his managerial career from Samba in the Champions trophy. And did Juventus really win last seasons Champions league in the Super cup.

[aldojags]

Love when you do your updates dodgeed your youths are stunning.

That's fantastic getting your players in team of the year I've never had that!

Well done on Europa berty! That's excellent. How is your version of Ligue 1? Do Marseille Lyon + PSG spend tonnes every year? PSG have a ridiculous squad in my game, they are so erratic though, one season they scored 113 league goals but still didn't win the league!! Do you have a bogey team? It seems no matter how big the gulf in the teams, I always lose to Lorient, can't beat them to save myself! I've actually got a solid record against the big 3, beat them more than they've beaten me. Can't believe Monaco are top of your league, they are pretty much a guarenteed 6 points in my save, they must have a sugar daddy in yours? Weird seeing PSG so far down in your league!

[berty1978]

Well done Europa berty! That's excellent. How is your version of Ligue 1? Do Marseille Lyon + PSG spend tonnes every year? PSG have a ridiculous squad in my game, they are so erratic though, one season they scored 113 league goals but still didn't win the league!! Do you have a bogey team? It seems no matter how big the gulf in the teams, I always lose to Lorient, can't beat them to save myself! I've actually got a solid record against the big 3, beat them more than they've beaten me. Can't believe Monaco are top of your league, they are pretty much a gaurenteed 6 points in my save, they must have a sugar daddy in yours? Weird seeing PSG so far down in your league!

I don't remember seeing Monaco getting a sugar daddy, and checking their transfer history they mostly have got more money in than spent, so they've just had an exceptional manager and bought very well. Lyon and Marseille are still big clubs, though Paris SG are no longer oil rich and have struggled recently, IIRC last season they spent a while in the bottom 3. The latest club who had mega money takeover talks were Sochaux, who finished 5th last season. My bogey team until now (apart from Monaco) have been Stade Brestois, don't know what it is about them but struggle to beat them.

[siLKEAPE]

Season 2018/2019 – End of season report

Serie A: The team played very well in the league and I feel like we know every team and their threats.
Milan played very well for a long time, but just like last year we finished in superb form and snagged the title. Also, for our second season in a row we are unbeaten at home. Hopefully the run will continue with the relocation to “Lippi Stadium” this summer.

Coppa Italia: We did well to come to the final and I was optimistic, considering we beat Inter in what was the “Final” of the league only 3 weeks earlier. However we were completely outplayed and didn’t even deserve a draw.

Champions League: Managed to win our two last matches, but that was not enough to qualify. Overall it was a nice experience for my young squad to play good foreign teams like Lyon.
Europa League here we come!

Europa League: We played way better than I was expecting us to do against the physically strong English sides. Really proud of the team and how they sent Chelsea out in the 2. Knock out round.
Our continental adventure ended in the quarters to Tottenham, who deserved the win.

Key Players/Serie A team of the year

GK: Sergio- Has the most league apps for the club with his 167, and he is gaining his Italian citizenship in 7 days. Another solid season from the Spaniard and he is a major reason to why we conceded the least goals in the league this year.

DC: Jaroslav Tichy- Our best defender this year, played well both in our 3-man and 4-man defense.

MC: Pavel Georgiev- Solid deep-lying playmaker. He tends to pick up a few injuries but played most of the season in style nonetheless.

AMR: Uche Opara- Had a good season down the right, but he can do even better I believe.

ST: Alessandro Pieroni- Our topscorer and most important player. Almost all of my squad are “honored to be in the same club as Pieroni” and we are a different team when he’s not playing.


After a year of no signings we are looking very good financially and are even described as “rich”.
Facilities are being upgraded and a few Italian players will be joining us this summer in an attempt to further Italianize the squad. If I sometime in the future wins the Champions League I want it to be with as many Italians in the squad as possible.

[PRDH]

Thanks PRDH. This year's group draw has been much kinder - we are still second seeds but this time our opponents are Arsenal (tough), Standard Liege (easy) and Maribor (play the youth team and win ).

And you are right to highlight the youth - with Pak and Şen now joining Kaya, Ergin, Alagöz and Özkan in the squad I have 6 regular starters from my youth system. That's never happened to me on any FM before!

Yeah, I've found the youth system has produced way more players worthy of a squad place for me too. I mean I'm only two left wingers away from a totally home-produced squad.

That is an easy group. Hopefully you'll void a brutal knockout draw (I'm working on the assumption you'll smash the group).

[PRDH]

ST: Alessandro Pieroni- Our topscorer and most important player. Almost all of my squad are “honored to be in the same club as Pieroni” and we are a different team when he’s not playing.

I can see why they're honoured, he's a cracking player!

[aldojags]

well done on the title silkeape, really young looking squad there, future is bright for a completion in 5-8 years when those players hit their peak!

[siLKEAPE]

I can see why they're honoured, he's a cracking player!

He is indeed a cracking player. I believe cracking is also a suitable description to his new partner upfront, Mariano Battiaglia!

aldojags: Yes, hopefully some of them will turn into club legends

[aldojags]

Battiaglia looks phenomenal, if he doesn't hit 20-30 goals a season I'll be amazed.

[aldojags]

berty-what is your ave attendance and how many season ticket holders do you have? A few of the other members of forum have tens of thousands, I average around 8k per week now, but for years in Ligue 1 I couldn't get more than 4k, and even after 2 titles in a row, I've only got like 1100 season tickets. My club is based on suburbs of Paris so not like it's the middle of nowhere, I thought it would've picked up a bit by now! I suppose PSG is too much competition, they have sell outs most home games.

[ghostwriter]

Lyon Duchère Association Sportive – Championnat National – 2014-2015

As per my post from a while back we hit Christmas in 2^nd place with a game in hand and in the 9^th round of the Cup via an upset at L2 leagues Montpellier.

Well, that euphoria did not last long as our 12 match unbeaten run in the league was ended by Le Mans and then we crashed out of the Cup to a CFA team (after 2 postponements). 2 wins in 3 helped but then things went considerably downhill – we were dire in 2 draws before relegation threaten Orleans came to our place and won 4-0. Oh dear . We did win the next match but promptly lost the next 3. Leaders Metz were sailing off into the distance but despite this form we were still in 3^rd.

Despite a win in the next match, things did not get much better as following a loss we hit 4^th. We then decided that, instead of losing we would start drawing. After each one we drifted further away from promotion. So, with 6 games left, we were 6^th and 8 points behind 3^rd. All over, you would think? Nope, we then started winning and everyone else copied our previous form. 2 wins for us and 2 defeats each for 3^rd-5^th and we were suddenly 2 points behind the last promotion spot and 2^nd was not exactly miles ahead either. Then Marques went crazy – after 3 in the 2 previous wins he promptly got all 4 as we won at Cherbourg! 2 of the others won but when we beat 2^nd placed Le Mans, the other 2 did not and suddenly we were 3^rd, and only 1 point behind Le Mans.

When we took the lead at Paris in the next match I started to get excited, however they pegged us back and eventually won 3-2. That dropped us to 4^th, 2 points behind Le Mans and Grenoble. By my calculations, on our head-to-head records, we needed to obviously win and for Le Mans not to win or Grenoble to lose if we to go up. Unfortunately, we were up against champions Metz. Fortunately we were at home and they hardly cared about this match. We attacked like crazy but they refused to concede (we even missed a penalty) so no promotion for us. Both Grenoble and Le Mans lost, so out of nowhere, Nimes actually got a promotion place at the expense of the latter who can hardly complain given that they got 4 points from their last 6 games.

So 5^th place is where we ended up which ignoring our early season blip is around where we spent most of our time. Hmm, I’d have taken 5^th at the beginning of the season, I’d have hardly believed it after 4 games but I can only be disappointed with that. To miss out on promotion by 1 point (maybe 2 as I have literally NO idea where we'd have finished if all 4 of us had ended with the same number of points) is a bit galling. The main difference was that we chucked it away twice (Feb / Mar and the final 2 games ) whilst the other 3 teams only did it once.

Final Squad
Finances – if losing less counts as getting better then they are getting better, cutting down our wages considerably helped a lot
Transfers – a lot less, mixed success, Siani was not great, Were did quite well, Muller and the loanee were good, the 3 Africans also and they will only get better, as will Almeida who is going to be very good indeed

Our more successful players

Best GKs – Benoît Aureille + Marcel Ngouadjio – Aureille continued his 100% appearance rate until Ngouadjio arrived from Africa in December and immediately played, apart from an injury he continued until the end of the season and did OK, as he is better, has a lot more potential and will hopefully be more settled he will be no.1 next season and as Aureille is too expensive to be a backup he will leave, which is a shame as he is good player for this level
Best Defenders – Mourad Benhamida + Patrick Amadou – 3^rd good season in a row for the former, very quietly goes about his job without much bother, also accepted a large paycut, wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the same part of the report next year, Amadou is another of the Africans who arrived in December, as good as his partner Galimberti and has more potential and his LD career has got off to a good start, hopefully he will get even better next season
Best Loanee – Luciano Conca – parent-club Rennes lent him to us just after Christmas and although I had several DMC at the club he became the best (which is a bit depressing given that he is only 17!), played nearly every game after his arrival and did pretty well, if they want to give him to me for another season, I certainly won’t complain but if not, then I have a couple of youngsters who aren’t far a million miles behind in ability and potential
Best Wingers – Achène Ouahchia + Dominik Muller – the former replaced Tribeau, he arrived last Spring and was pretty solid last season, given that he has L1 potential and is getting better, I shall do my best to hang on to him and he shall remain 1^st choice, Muller came in from Germany in the Autumn and was in U19s apart from injury crises, when one of these crises hit ML in the Spring he came in and did so well that he kept the position until the end of the season, unless somebody better comes in he might keep it as well
Best Midfielder – Rafik Bouderbal – the usual, our best player and one of the best AMCs in the division (in team of the year), loads of assists and although a few more goals would not go amiss, I shan’t complain, some back-up would be nice as we are nowhere near the same team when he is out and he was a little injury-prone last season, like Benhamida he is one of the only original players still here
Most Prolific Striker – Frédérique Marques – the worst of our strikers on paper but far from it on the field, started off as back-up but when Siani never got going he came in and started scoring a bit, exact same story when Touré arrived from Africa, by March he was back in the side and then he went insane, 12 goals in 7 games insane, unfortunately he was the one who missed the penalty in our last match which cost us promotion, but given that it was really only because of him that we were in that position, I shan’t blame him much, he was going to be leaving at the end of the season but after that run he got himself another year’s contact, in the divisional team of the year as well
Best Striker – Christian Pathinvo – replaced the youngster Kouadio in the team and apart from his form going a bit downhill at the end of the season, he did well, is getting better and having the potential to be a star in L2, he will be around for a while

Notes:
England beat Northern Ireland in the final of the 2014 World Cup. Seriously WTF?!?
Instead of having several matches postponed for a waterlogged pitch this season, we just had the same match postponed twice
We have still not sold a player, 3 times I have accepted offers and 3 times the players have turned down the contracts offered, which is in one way good but in another way makes me think we pay too much!

This Season’s Aims
Thin out the squad and cut down the wage bill – YES – more players left than arrived and our wage bill is £4k lower
Better away form – YES - 9-4-6 is 4 more wins and 4 less defeats better
Finish higher than 10^th – YES – a 5^th that should have been higher

Next Season’s Aims
Sort out the left side of the team – I am not over-the-moon about either DL nor ML so a couple of new arrivals would be nice
Concede fewer goals – we conceded the same as last season when we finished 10^th, a fewer less and we’d have gone up
Promotion! – I was going to say Champions but that is being a bit overly optimistic, however, given that we missed it by 1 point (or 2), we have to aim for it this time

12/13 – National – 10^th
13/14 – National – 10^th
14/15 – National – 5^th

Team I Would Like To Play Every Week – Cherbourg (16^th) (H4-0, A4-2)
Team I Would Not Like To Play Every Week – Metz (Champions) (A1-4, H0-0) – biggest defeat and denying us promotion means no contest, also no team did the double over us

Best 11
Overall Best 11

[rlipscombe]

Marty78 - Welcome to the challenge and good luck with cannes. No shame in picking a ‘bigger’ team so to speak – to be honest more often than not I tend to do the same…
G-Wiz - that’s tough going mate… shame to see things like that happen. I always accept transfer requests for players also. Best not letting them spread their unhappiness through the squad. More often than not they change their mind as they know what’s best for them!!
Berty1978 - no shame on winning the Europa League. I personally would be delighted if I did that with Mannheim (though hopefully I won’t play in it ever again…) Daniele Reali looks a great defender too.
DodgeeD - great dominance of Turkey there… agree that seems you can almost focus on CL now. Looks a good group too.
silKEAPE - congrats on winning the title. Agree that Pieroni is a great player.
Ghostwriter - glad to see you have picked up again and are heading back in the right direction.

[aldojags]

Got my youth intake, nothing jumps out the screen at me, pretty average. I need to get my youth recruitment upped! But it's stuck on "above average" I've not been able to increase it for years.
I've featured the players who've been signed.
8 players with a PA of half a star! So they are all obviously chopped!

1 player with a PA of 1 star.

2 with a PA of 1.5
Franck Lembi - a young French/Congan attacking midfielder. Despite his projected 1.5 ability, I thought he looked like there was something to work with so I signed him.

1 with a PA of 2:
Steeve Verdier - young left back. Like most of the defenders to come through my ranks in past few years, is actually got a "competent" for other defensive positions, so I've signed him for his versatility if he ever fulfils his potential.

3 with a PA of 2.5:
Robert Fulton - young Scottish "sweeper keeper", got some decent stats already, but I'd have thought someone suited to sweeper keeper would have a better first touch than 5! Touted the next Allan McGregor (current Rangers and Scotland keeper), and plus being from my country, I was always going to sign him! Thats 2 Scots have come through the ranks since I arrived. The other (Jimmy "The Traitor" Donaldson) has been capped 20 odd times at u21 level for France, deciding to play for his adopted homeland instead of his country of birth, so I hope Fulton goes on to fulfil my wanting to develop a Scottish International player ambition!
Vincent Renucci - right winger with some decent technical stats, see how he goes. I don't use wingers so may retrain, or just see how he develops and sell him.
Anthony Tiero - a French/Ghanian attacking midfielder, could be a good squad player but doubt he'll ever be good enough to be considered a replacement for Oneil Tatlot at the tip of my midfield diamond.

1 with a PA of 3.
Guillaume Prost - a young right back/right midfielder. Looks to have good potential, fairly hopeful this kid could be a first team player in a few years. Already got Recep Alici, a young French-Turkish right back featuring for the first team, so this guy will hopefully provide good competition/back up in a few years when Alici is first choice!

[jimbowmanuk]

Lanzarote - 2014/15 - Season 3 - jimbowmanuk

Media Prediction: 12th
Actual Finish: 2nd
Season Tickets: 965(+7)

Transfers
Signed some players to improve the squad, the best one being Belgian Forward Kurt Wuets a free transfer from Heist and he turned out to be a right steal, scoring 40 league goals in the season.

League - Graph
After last seasons shocking placing the media had predicted us to only finish 12th, but I knew that we were better than that, the season started great remaining unbeaten for the 1st 9 games with 8 of those being wins, and we looked good for winning the league but we lost the crucial matches against teams near the top. Meaning 2nd place was the best we could do. Managed to break our own record by scoring 103 league goals. Defence still a bit suspect though shipping 62 goals.
So onto the play-offs again and I was more than confident of promotion this time. However Denia had other ideas, in a crazy match the 1st leg finished 7-5 to them, but I was hopeful of bringing them to my home ground but we could only win 3-2 in a game we dominated where we also had a goal disallowed so out 9-8 on aggregate and another season in Secunda B4
Fixtures 1
Fixtures 2

Spanish Cup
We were not entered in the cup this year, must be due to the league finish last season

Federation Cup
Not entered in this cup either, again must be due to previous league season

The Squad Stats
Finances - Chairman keeps putting money in to help with running costs

Youth Player came through the ranks with 5* PA called Marcos, came off the bench twice and scored on his debut.

Next Seasons goals
Promotion is the key one, I don't think I can handle anymore seasons in the B4

Season	| League	| Position	|Spanish Cup	| Federation Cup	| Europe	| Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A			| N/A		| Lost in Play-offs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14	| Secunda B4	| 11th		| 2nd Round	| Quarter-finals	| N/A		|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A			| N/A		| Lost in Play-offs

[berty1978]

berty-what is your ave attendance and how many season ticket holders do you have? A few of the other members of forum have tens of thousands, I average around 8k per week now, but for years in Ligue 1 I couldn't get more than 4k, and even after 2 titles in a row, I've only got like 1100 season tickets. My club is based on suburbs of Paris so not like it's the middle of nowhere, I thought it would've picked up a bit by now! I suppose PSG is too much competition, they have sell outs most home games.

We got a brand new stadium a few seasons ago that holds 17,000. The average attendances have slowly increased, peaked in 24/25 at 11,703 and decreased last season but half way through the current season I am averaging 14,391, IIRC we had around 3k season ticket holders. I'm the biggest club in our area now, with Rennes a mid to lower Ligue 1 side, we ground shared with Stade Lavallois while the new stadium was being built, they're now in the CFA.

[berty1978]

Well done in the league siLKEAPE, can see you completing the challenge soon.
Unlucky ghostwriter, that's harsh losing out in the last couple of matches.
That's really unfortunate jimbowmanuk, I've never found it easy to get out of the Segunda B when I've played there, it really is a lottery.

Cursing my luck a bit, finished top of my CL group (ahead of Real Madrid ). The teams I could have got in the first knockout round include Shakhtar, Besiktas, Sporting Lisbon, Rosenborg , but I got AC Milan, excellent.

[rlipscombe]

jimbowmanuk - that was a crazy game!! unlucky not making it up though mate - that was tough. hopefully you can make it next season.

[jimbowmanuk]

rlipscombe - tell me about it, couldn't believe the lack of defence in the game
berty1978 -Thats a harsh draw to get after finishing above Madrid
ghostwriter - Thats a bit unfortunate to miss out by 1pt, I'm sure you'll go up next season
siLKEAPE - Well done on the title, shame you couldn't do the double.

[PRDH]

jimbowmanuk - So unlucky! If you score 5 goals away from home you've got to hope it's gone well! I'm sure you'll be back stronger next season.

[marty78]

AS Cannes Season 2012/13

NATIONAL

I was expected to gain promotion but our consistent failure to break teams down at home meant we missed out on the last day. We had the best defence in the league and lost the fewest games but failed to take advantage of that and drew far too many matches. The biggest problem was perhaps when opposing managers picked out our strikers as dangermen and their morale plummeted although morale was a problem in general which was compounded by the fact I probably made too many transfers. In spite of expecting promotion the board confidence says they are very happy to finish in a respectable league position. I find that a bit strange but am relieved it didn't put my job at risk. As far as the cups are concerned I rested players in all cup matches as I would rather concentrate on the league for the time being.

Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

TRANSFERS

Lots of transfers as I was like a kiddy in a sweet shop. With a number players leaving before the season even started and most of the rest leaving at the end of the season there was plenty of space in the squad. I didn't spend any money on transfer fees but my scouts highlighted plenty of free transfers so I didn't really need to.

THE SQUAD

Overall the squad has proved that, with a bit of added flair to help us score goals, they are very capable of a promotion push next year. I will be looking to improve the wide men and strikers in the summer as the defence is pretty solid although I will need a new RB. I'm not going to list too many players at this stage as most will have quite short stays at the club.

Idrissa Sylla - Struggled when targetted by opposing managers but still top scorer and very dangerous on his day.
Julien Berthomier - Solid RB was on loan but has agreed a contract and will re-join us next year as our own player.
Mexer - Good CB signed in January. Has done well so far.
Sidi Keita - Hard working and protects the defence well.

YOUTH CANDIDATES

Jean-Christhophe Sansoni - Overview | Report: The only player I'm going to mention as I doubt the others will be good enough as by the time they reach a decent level I expect to be at least in Ligue 2.

FINANCES

I am very lucky to have an ambitous board as we lost a small fortune over the season and despite missing out on promotion the board pumped in about £4m pound to put us back in the black.[CODE]

[jimbowmanuk]

marty78 - unlucky on missing out on promotion there, those 0-0 draws at the end of the season look to have cost you.

[marty78]

marty78 - unlucky on missing out on promotion there, those 0-0 draws at the end of the season look to have cost you.

Yeah I know, morale was very poor going into the last game and if we won we were promoted as we had a better goal difference but our strikers were "playing without confidence" and we wasted our chances. Oh well there is always next year.

EDIT - Unbelievably a tycoon has just taken over a team in my league and that teams just happens to be a new team to the league Evreux FC 27, whose town is twinned with where I live in the UK. I wish I had been sacked as they would have been elegible for the challenge and I definately would of picked them. Apparently he is going to make £24m pounds available for players.

[rlipscombe]

marty78 - definately the draws that cost you there. with a few more goals i am certain you'll gain promotion next season. good luck

[ri916]

Marty- Unlucky to not get promotion on your first attempt. I'm very impressed that you didnt spend any money in the transfer window as I went a bit made with my budget!

[G-Wiz]

G-Wiz - that’s tough going mate… shame to see things like that happen. I always accept transfer requests for players also. Best not letting them spread their unhappiness through the squad. More often than not they change their mind as they know what’s best for them!!

yeah generally in my experience thats what happened...the odd thing is his status said he was determined to prove his worth to the team, yet at the same time he requested a mutual termination of his contract on a few occasions. The only plus to come from it is that i already have a ready-made replacement in the squad who has now found himself prematurely in the first team, and starting to flourish - Kevin Krieger

[aldojags]

I'm sure a few of you may have had a lower league team occasionally get into domestic cup finals, and even sometimes winning them. But FC Rouen in my game, a pretty mediocre club who spend most their time yo-yoing between the National and Ligue 2, have, for the 2nd season in a row, beaten Marseille in the Final of a domestic cup. Last year, they beat the odds by beating Marseille in the final of the French Cup. This year, it's the Coupe de la Ligue, with Marseille again being the victims of a sensational giant killing. 2 major trophies for such a small club, makes me embarrassed I've never won either of them!

[DodgeeD]

Well done domestically DodgeeD, and good luck in this seasons knockout stage, assuming you get through that group of course.

Cheers berty. We did indeed make it and now face Atletico Madrid in the 1st Konckout Round.

Love when you do your updates dodgeed your youths are stunning.

That's fantastic getting your players in team of the year I've never had that!

I was surprised and impressed by that too - and he's just repeated the feat by getting in the 2028 World XI as well

DodgeeD - great dominance of Turkey there… agree that seems you can almost focus on CL now. Looks a good group too.

Thanks rlipscombe. Champions League is definitely the focus (although we do seem to keep getting big league matches against our title rivals just before or after our European fixtures...)

[DodgeeD]

silKEAPE - Congrats on winning the title and best of luck for the Champions League!

ghostwriter - gutting to miss out on promotion but still good progress. You'll come back stronger next season.

jimbowmanuk - 7-5?!? So much for teams playing it cautiously in the play-offs. Good luck for next season!

marty78 - Very close to promotion also! Next season is the season

[aldojags]

Wouldn't worry about missing promotion marty the first season is usually a write-off anyway just to clear the squad out etc you'll get there next year

[rlipscombe]

SV Waldhof Mannheim – German Bundesliga – Season 2024/25

Season Review

League Finish: 1^st Graph Club Overview Club Information

The League

So after last season’s debut title triumph I was hopeful of retaining the title. After a steady start we quickly began to find our form and we found ourselves in the top 3. After ten games we found ourselves in the top 2 behind Bayern Munich and we kept on their coat tails through the winter. A slight wobble in January saw us lose a little ground but we steadied and found our form to close them down and take the top spot. We then eased away from the pack over the last eight games to retain our title by 10 points. We again had the tightest defence and although I would have preferred us to have scored a few more goals we did enough to retain the title.


German Super Cup

This season’s super cup saw us pitted against cup winners Koln who are a bit of a bogey team of ours. We settled quickly and raced into a 3-0 lead before they scored on the stroke of half-time. A second in the second half had us rattled but we hung on to retain our Super Cup title.

German Cup

This year’s edition of the German Cup saw us start away at feeder club Ingolstadt. The reserves came away with a 2-1 victory which saw us into the second round and a home tie against Bochum. A comfortable 3-0 win saw us face lower league opposition in Oberhausen who we beat 2-0 away. Victory saw us into the Quarter finals where we would face Freiburg away. The reserves were given another run out and despite a 1^st minute goal from de Graaff we disappointed and lost 3-1.



Champions League

After winning the German title we were entered straight into the group stages of the Champions League. We were drawn against Manchester United, Porto and Zrinjski. I felt it was a tough draw and it proved that way as we lost 1-0 away at Porto and 1-0 at home to Manchester United. Two 3-0 victories against Zrinjski saw us back on track as Porto came to town. We found our form and smashed them 5-1 with a hattrick from Freitas seeing us to victory. Our final game saw us visit Old Trafford and we put up a great fight before eventually losing 4-3. The Porto result saw us finish 2^nd in Group G.

The 1^st knockout round saw us drawn against Manchester opposition with City visiting the Carl-Benz Stadion. A close fought game saw us victorious 2-1 but a crucial away goal was conceded. The Manchester game was even tighter and we managed to progress with a 1-1 draw which ranked amongst our greatest European performances to date.

The win saw us into the quarter finals of the Champions League where we faced Italian giants AC Milan. We lost 1-0 at home however and then followed this with a 2-1 away defeat and our European adventure was over for the season.


The Players


Time to have a look at those players that earnt their first German winners medal with Mannheim…

Transfers

Squad 1 Squad 2

Goalkeepers


1. David Carroll - David started the season and did a decent job as ever. However when our form started to wobble a little I decided to give Dimitrov a go and he did well, keeping the No.1 shirt for the rest of the season.
30. Kostadin Dimitrov - Kostadin was initially selected for the German Cup games where he did well. Got a chance over the winter and after performing well he kept the shirt.


Full Backs

14. Migen Toma - Migen had another good season at RB and has settled into the position effortlessly. A great club servant.
51. Ronaldo - Young Ronaldo had to make do with a season of mainly being a squad player. Given run-outs on occasion he did well and established himself as the backup to Toma.
2. Victor Escobar - Victor slipped further down the pecking order after the arrival of Ronaldo and he is likely to be sold this summer.
3. Rafael - Rafael had another season of rotation, playing at times at LB, at times at CB and at times on the bench. What you call a versatile player.
20. Jonathan Lago - Lago had a kixed season and found himself relegated to a squad player after the emergence of Dasovic.
31. Slobodan Dasovic - Slobodan became unsettled early in the season through a lack of first team football so, like Solosin a couple of years ago, I gave him more game time. He responded by playing well and he pretty much kept his place from there on in. Developing into a highly promising player.


Centre Backs

6. Everton - Another good season for the Brazilian, he is a key part in our tight defence.
15. Vasilis Baxevanidis - Vasilis is beginning to decline a bit as a player and so became a reserve during the season. May well be sold this summer.
35. Aidar Solosin - Aidar, like Everton had another good season and performed well at the heart of our defence. Delighted I kept him and gave him a chance a few years ago when I could have sold him due to his unhappiness.
32. Bojan Filipovic - The young Serb got a few games this season and did ok but is becoming unsettled. I have a decision to be made this summer over his future.


Midfielders

4. Andres Yanez - Andres came in as a potential star but disappointed me a bit as he struggled to find his form. Will likely give him another go next season.
8. Roland de Jong - Roland was once more a star for the club and became the clubs highest paid player on £59k p/w in January when he decided to stay rather than leave the club for nearly £20 million.
11. Pirulito - Pirultio had a good season once more and confirmed his position as one of our better players. HOWEVER his contract expires in 12 months and he wants more than £60k p/w wages. I am loathe to pay it so I may try and cash in this summer with the continued development of Delcroix and Hamberger.
17. Andres Diaz - Andres played second fiddle to Clovis again and continues to bide his time. May give him more game time next season.
18. Simon Vennemann - Simon lost out to Teunis for the large part of the season this time round but delivered when called upon.
22. Philipp Hamberger - Philipp had a season mainly spent on the bench but did pretty well when he played. Need to try and get him more game time next season.
24. Mario Teunis - ‘Wonderkid’ Mario was given a lot more game time this season and did pretty well overall. Still developing, he could in time become the replacement to De Jong should he leave the club.
26. Clovis - another good season for the winger – MAY just be on the decline a little though. May lose out a bit next season depending on how well Diaz develops.
28. Constant Delcroix - Constant got more game time and delivered more often than not. His development is leading me to consider selling Pirulito.
44. Branko Loncar - Branko got a few games this season and did pretty well. May send him out on loan next season to get match experience.
61. Mikica Djokovic - Mikica seemed happier to be a squad player this season though he did become unsettled towards the end of the season. I have a decision to make on him. Maybe a loan season might be good for him??

Strikers

7. Timothy Veldman - Veldman dropped out of favour this season and he will depart in the summer.
9. Dimitri Delcroix - Dimitri enjoyed his first full season and he fully justified my decision to spend £7.5 million in January 2024. 18 goals in all competitions saw him become Freitas’ partner.
10. Theo de Graaff - Theo once more played a number of games although many were from the bench. Weighed in with a few goals too. Still developing.
16. Roman Le Gal - Roman played a couple of games but struggled with injuries. I may give him some football on loan next season.
19. Ricardo Freitas - Ricardo returned to form with 18 goals in the league which were instrumental in us retaining our title. Key player for us right now.
29. Petr Ptacek - Petr played a few games over the winter when we struggled with injuries and did a decent job.
40. Javier Fahrasmane - Javier got a few appearances in his debut season and did ok.
66. Godfrey Mofokeng - Godfrey continued his yo-yo seasons this time having a disappointing season. Delcroix’s arrival has put him in the shad a little.


Finances

Our European progression saw us make a profit again but this is restricted somewhat by the monthly losses we make largely due to wages. Still I am comfortable with this as long as we continue in this form.

The Future

After retaining our title we are slowly establishing ourselves as a force in German football. I am also pleased with our progression in the Champions League although the performances against Milan were a little disappointing. The board are adding seats to the stadium which whilst not increasing the capacity means that more will be able to watch our European adventures. Crowds are also on the increase which is encouraging. Next season is now about trying to make it a hattrick of German titles and reaching at least the quarter finals of the Champions League again.

[toonbalmy87]

May have to get my russian save back up and running

[ri916]

rlipscombe- Well done on winning the league again mate. Your team seems to have something in them when it comes to closing out a season. You played the kids in the cup, so that can be discounted. You also had a very solid performance in the champions league, maybe you could even go a couple of steps further next season- it seems you can beat anyone on your day. How large is your stadium? and what sort of attendances are you getting? that's probably the reason for you losing money as your wage budget is most likely better than most of the top german clubs.

[Andy Sava]

So we are doing well in the Second Division sitting in 8th place. But i am doomed. I don't have the money to offer my players new contracts. More than half of my players contracts expire this season. FML.

EDIT: I won't give up on this save even if i lose all my players. I will fight for this even if if i will have to play with my youth squad!!!

[siLKEAPE]

2019/2020 – preseason

After winning two league titles in a row, I am now trying to further “Italianize” my squad. As last year, all of my staff is from Italy. 13 out of 24 players in the first team have an Italian passport aswell.

Serie A
Predicted: 4^th
We have to consider us a title candidate now, and the least I expect is to finish within the top 4.

Champions League
I am aiming at qualifying from the group stages for the first time.
With this group, I think we have a fair chance of doing so.

As we lost to Inter in last years Coppa Italia final, it was good to get some sort of revenge in the first match to be played at our new stadium.
Hopefully we can get to the final this year aswell.

Signings (All Italians/Italian second nationality)

GK - Sascha Hubner – Free: I have my doubts he will ever become better than Sergio, but it is good to finally have an italian keeper in the squad.
DC – Giuseppe Morano- 2m£: Finally arrived from Udinese after being chased by me for a couple of seasons. Towering centreback that will be dangerous on set-pieces.
DC – Corrado Poli- Free: Arrived with a serious injury, hopefully it won’t stall his development.
DL – Cristian Scurto – Free: Solid left back that arrived from Sampdoria. Dubbed the new Dario Dainelli, and he already has a full Serie A season under his belt.
DR – Fabian Dominguez – 4m£: Arrived from Banfield in Argentina. Became a wonderkid as soon as he set his foot in Pontedera, and all of my coaches went crazy when I asked for his report. Great expectations.
ST – Mariano Battaglia – 11m£: Arrived from Zurich after I cashed out on his release fee. Will rotate him with Pieroni in the beginning, but might be forced to create a formation where they both can be utilized.

I also brought in two French youngsters for our youth team.

[DodgeeD]

Good title defence rlipscombe and a nice run in the Champions League too.

[G-Wiz]

well done on the league title rlipscombe. Im sure that in the coming years with domination of Germany, the european glory cant be too far behind

in Ac Viseu news, last years star man Per Kjaersgaard has, with 8 league games remaining, already broken his own club record for goals scored in a season. It has been an incredible season by all accounts, which sees us sitting 2nd, just 4 points behind Porto. With 8 games left its all to play for. Wish me luck!!

EDIT: In more less-exciting news, the chairman has decided to go above my head and accept an offer of 1.1 million from Sao Paulo for my first choice GK Souza...having improved significantly this season, losing him will be a major blow

[PRDH]

rlipscombe - Congrats on retaining the title . Hopefully this symbolises the start of your total dominance as you crush Bayern into dust beneath the juggernaut that is Mannheim. Love the look of your squad, Diaz and particularly Teunis look to be brilliant youngsters, and I love how much pace there is throughout your squad, your boys could outrace mine all day long!
Andy Sava - Sorry I can't remember. Is this Second Division in Portugal? Because I remember the wage budget issues from my seasons down there, it was brutal, but it is possible to build a decent squad, it's just a case of fighting for every player and accepting that occasionally you will lose that fault. Good luck, plough on, it's those moments that make the success even sweeter when it comes!
G-Wiz - So frustrating when the board decide to be idiots. You'll just have to enter the market and pull an even better player out of the bag. Hope you manage it!

[marty78]

AS Cannes Season 2013/14

NATIONAL

Finished as champions and also winning manager of the year and we finished the season with a 23 game unbeaten run although we did have a fair few draws. A somewhat mixed start to the season, mainly due to a number of summer signings, eventually levelled out and we were easy league winners at the end. It was once again our defence which was the foundation for our performances and, try as we might, we struggled to really get the goals flowing as I would of liked. As solid as we are it is clearly a midfield problem as the service to strikers has been disappointing and against very defensive sides we have struggled to open them up and very rarely scored more than two goals in a match. I'm hoping to improve this area of the squad over the summer and will need to with the step-up in quality.

Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2

TRANSFERS

Only free transfers again and one loanee but we did manage to get a £120k fee for an unwanted player. Most are just squad players but there is a couple of good performers.

Alvin Arrondel - Good young CB who plays as a cover defender.
Pierrick Cros - Another young CB who plays as stopper.
Valentin Eysseric - An attacking midfielder with some potential who also provides cover wide left.
Guy Gnabouyou - A young striker with a bit of pace. Mixed performances so far but he did join half way through the season.

THE SQUAD

A couple of key players and top performers.

Idrissa Sylla - A few niggling injuries meant he started just half the games but when he plays he is always a threat.
Julien Berthomier - First choice right back joined permanently in the summer after spending the first year on loan and he continued his good performances.
Mexer - Assured defender can play stopper or cover depending on where I need him. Always look better when he is in the team.
Landry Banafoi - First choice keeper is solid and consistant although perhaps helped by the solid back four in front. 21 clean sheets in 35 league games.

YOUTH TEAM

This years candidates were pretty ordinary and I released most and with the best youth teamers predicted to be "good League 2" players, I'm hoping they will never be good enough for the first team as I'm hoping to get out of this league in a few years.

FINANCES

Once again we spent way too much money but once again the board pumped in over £4m keeping us in the black. I am hoping that promotion will improve attendances and increase turnover but there is still quite a gap between income and expenditure that is unsustainable without continued investment.

[rlipscombe]

Ri916 - cheers. In terms of the stadium the capacity is just under 30,000. We’re regularly getting mid-20,000s now which is helping but we’re A LONG WAY behing Bayern and Dortmund… think our wage budget is about 5^th in the rankings now.
Andy Sava - that’s tough going. Can you try and sell a few to generate the money to offer contracts?
DodgeeD & G-Wiz - Cheers guys.
PRDH - cheers mate. Teunis is developing really well and Diaz is getting more game time. I do like the pace in my squad. Watching the matches sometimes it really shows how much it helps us.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well I am not sure what went wrong with Viterbese in the second half of the season, but we dropped from 7th to 16th, and have to go through the relegation playouts...not looking forward to this.

Well I thought I had just been relegated, we won 2:0 away, and then lost 3:1 at home, assuming away goals I ws gone, but Highest Seed wins in these playoffs...PHEW! We go into the second round, now need to win this to survive...

Well that was crazy, we had a 3:3 draw at our place, then away it was 0:0 through 90 mins and we went to extra time, and then it ended 1:1 meaning Penalties, we went down 3-1 and were in trouble, though it was 3:3 when their final guy stepped up, and when he scored we were relegated, this meant my first season with Viterbese was my last as we were relegated to unplayable leagues.

And Sacked before the relegation forced it :P

Time to find a new team lol

[Andy Sava]

PRDH & rlipscombe - It's in Germany. I am to blame for this happening because of the way i handle expiring contracts. Because i am always looking to improve the squad and i am at a stage where each season we can get better transfers in, i don't offer new contracts until six months before they expire. Usually i am ok because i make it a point not to go over budget with my wages but this time i screwed things up and went 10k over. Tried to sell some players i don't use to often but i had no luck.

I still have a few games left this season and i want to finish as high as i can so we get more money. As for the next season, i already got my eyes on some youth players that will star in the team while i rebuild the squad. Stupid mistake was stupid but i won't give up on Kiel just yet. I'll just have to move on and learn from this. Nothing i can do about what's already happened.

[Andy Sava]

Season is done, we finished 13th. If it's ok with you guys i won't do any big update just some thoughts on this season and things to come since nothing interesting happened and no players stood out.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's
Penalva do Castelo

Another New Club
Segunda Divisão Sul 2012/13
June 29th 2012

Fresh Beginnings

Well following the disaster of relegation in Italy, Des Tiny has made the trip west to Portugal. A quick trip in the Tardis saw him back on June 29th 2012, he headed up into the mountains and back to an area he knows. Des Tiny has been hired as the manager of Penalva do Castelo in the Portuguese Segunda Divisão Sul for 2012/13.

Profile (Manager)
Personal Page (Manager)
Overview Screen (Club)
League Positions (Club)
Information (Club)
Facilities (Club)
Finances (Club)

In Short

Predicted: 13th
My Aim: Avoid Relegation
Expectations: Avoid Relegation
Current Wages: €1,390
Wage Budget: €3,007

The Team

Full Squad

Captain: Sergio (DRLC)
Most Caps: Paulo Listra (AM/MC) - He already has 203 caps for Penalva, he will be looking to get more.
My Fav: Oliveira (ST) - I would say the Brazilian will be my starting striker, but nothing is guaranteed.

So I have headed back to a club I used in FM11, even if I was only there for 1 season, I have a small connection to the place.

[ri916]

Marty- Well done on promotion mate! Some good signings as well and hopefully you can start life in Ligue 2 better than I have! I've caught a nasty strain of man flu so I dont imagine I'll much to do today other than play fm (I am genuinely ill ) Hopefully I can close out season 2 and get the update up.

LLR- Unlucky to get relegated. It must have been even more gutting going down in a one off match. Good luck with Penalva and my only tip to you about managing in portugal in fm 12 is to get a very pacey striker.

[PRDH]

LLR - To me you will always be managing in Portugal no matter where you are, so it makes sense to me that you're back. Good luck with Penalva!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Thanks Guys, and PRDH​, I am always trying to put my Portuguese style out and about, and it feels like home, so it is good to be back. Building a team of old men at the moment as I hope to climb the table quickly.

[ri916]

Finally managed to get out of the relegation zone with Cannes! 30 games into the season and we're out of it for the first time! Hopefully we can stay out of it for the last eight games.

edit: Out of those 30 games we spent at least 20 of them bottom of the table.

[marty78]

ri916 - Sounds like a good time for a little run of form leaving your rivals no time to recover.

[ri916]

We had every chance to stay up with teams losing around us. We went into the final game 2 points clear of the relegation zone with the other sides in terrible form (we should have pulled away long before). Of course, they sides in the relegation zone decided to win and we lost so... AS Cannes were relegated. However I was still upbeat. I decided I would stay on and bring Cannes back up to Ligue 2 but that descision was taken out of my hands. I will reload and pop up somewhere else but I'm not sure where yet. Expect a new club update later today though. Oh, I will be starting a new save. It feels messy to start at a new club in the same save.

[jimbowmanuk]

ri916 - thats a harsh decision from the board after you took them up
LLR - Hopefully you'll have better luck back in Portugal

Well I'm approaching the last few games of the season and the play-offs are no certainty yet, but looks like I'll need to get promoted as the vultures are circling round my best players and I'll have to sell if I don't go up

[rlipscombe]

Andy Sava - like you say each season is about developing and improving the squad so maybe it won’t be the worst thing in the long run…
LLR - that’s some second half of the season collapse… Good to see you back in Portugal though – good luck

[Andy Sava]

Holstein Kiel - 2015/2016
Table | Squad | Transfers | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2 | Manager Profile

Season Overview

League Finish - 13th
Media Prediction - 18th

It's been a very bad season. Even if we managed to avoid relegation we didn't play well at all. We started alot of games badly and had to come back from behind. We had some really poor finishin from out attacking players that really showed in the results we got. After all of this came the mega extra huge mistake that i did regarding my expiring contracts (about which i talked in my previous posts) and i managed to lose like 70% of my first team.

Transfers

1. Jean-Jacques Monin

2. Giorgio Bovo

3. Richard Ayala

Next season

What a season lies ahead of us. It will be the biggest challenge so far. We will have to stay up with an almost 100% new squad and probably with a bunch of kids in the first team. To be completely honest i am quite excited about the next season. Time to get started!!!

Club History

Season             League                         Position                     Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/2013          German Third Division          14th                         Avoided Relegation
2013/2014          German Third Division          9th                          N/A
2014/2015          German Third Division          1st                          Promotion & Third Division Winners
2015/2016          German Second Division         13th                         Avoided Relegation

[Andy Sava]

Oh god yes. The best thing happened. The board gave me some extra wage money and i managed to hold on to some of my key players! I am so happy now!!!

EDIT: A takeover took place in the start of the new season and we now have a new leader.

EDIT 2: Screw this new president. We just got an offer for Bovo and he decided to accept it...

[rlipscombe]

Andy Sava - congrats on survival and the new contracts. i think you'll actually end up in the top 10 at the end of the season... good luck

[Andy Sava]

rlipscombe - Thanks. That's what i actually set as my season objective with the board after i managed to hold on to my players, top half finish. I still lack some depth in some positions but my youth players that i brought in are doing well.

[jimbowmanuk]

Lanzarote - 2015/16 - Season 4 - jimbowmanuk

Media Prediction: 8th
Actual Finish: 2nd
Season Tickets: 1020(+55)

Transfers
Only signed 2 players as I felt the squad was good enough, released players wanting too money and when offered £120k for Lupeta I couldn't really turn it down due to the financial state of the club.

League - Graph
The improvement last season had me firmly in the belief that we could not only gain promotion but win the league, and looking comfortable for most of the season we lost a few points in vital matches coupled with the eventual winners not dropping many in the last few games meant we had to settle for 2nd place again. Into the play-offs again and we were drawn against Lorca. A 2-2 draw away from home in the 1st leg had me confidently believing we would win at home, however we had 3 suspended players and 1 injured from the first team so we were 2nd best in the 2nd leg losing 4-2, 6-4 on aggregate. So I'm consigned to a 5th season in the dreaded B4
Fixtures 1
Fixtures 2

Spanish Cup
Back in the Spanish cup and we were given a fairly easy tie to start winning 2-1 and advancing to meet Celta from the division above. It was a close affair but they just edged it 1-0

Federation Cup
My finest glory to date, we dispatched of Jumilla 10-2 over 2 legs, before meeting fellow B4 team Puertollano and again easily winning 6-3 over the tie. Onto the quarter-finals where we met Logrones winning 3-1 away before losing 3-2 at home so through to the semi's 5-4. Leganes stood between us and the final. A tight affair with us winning 3-2 at home and the scoreline was reversed away forcing extra-time, both teams scored again but we had the vital extra away goal so on to the final where we would play Real Madrid "B" side Castilla. The contest was over after the 1st leg and we had romped to a 7-1 victory, a 2-1 win in the 2nd leg meant we had won 9-2 overall and I had won my 1st piece of silverware
Squad Stats - Marcos the youngster shows real potential scoring 33 goals during the season
Finances - The club had a takeover during the season and the new chairman decided to take out a £500k bank loan on the 1st day


Next Seasons goals
Promotion, Promotion, Promotion

Season	| League	| Position	|Spanish Cup	| Federation Cup	| Europe	| Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A			| N/A		| Lost in Play-offs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14	| Secunda B4	| 11th		| 2nd Round	| Quarter-finals	| N/A		|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A			| N/A		| Lost in Play-offs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| 2nd Round	| Winners		| N/A		| Lost in play-offs, Federation cup winners

[Andy Sava]

jimbowmanuk - Solid season there. To bad you lost in the play-offs again.

[G-Wiz]

Ac. Viseu - 2017/2018 - End of Season Review

Manager Profile
Team Information
Transfers

Predicted Position: 12th
Actual Position: 2nd
Average Attendance: 7833
Season Ticket Holders: 1390

Taca de Portugal:

A good run saw us defeat Operario Acores, Braga, Oliveirense and Leixoes on our way to the semi final against Benfica. Unfortunately, they proved too strong for us, and despite winning the home leg 2-1, we were hammered 4-0 in the return, bringing to an end our hopes in that tournament for another year.

Portuguese League Cup:

Unfortunately we finished 2nd behind Porto in our group which saw us crash out of the League Cup early on.

League

A tremendous season saw us challenge for european places from an early stage and hold on to finish 2nd in the league and qualify for Best Placed Third Qualifying Round. Sure to a test for our squad but exciting times at Ac Viseu!

A brief look at the main players of the season:

GK

Souza - vastly improved this season, only conceding 35 goals in the league opposed to 63 the year before. Sadly leaving for Sao Paulo so finding a replacement will be job number one on my agenda next season

DEF

Alisson - not quite as influential as last season but still a permanent fixture at RB

Marvin Grundei - useful at CB and RB, proved an able partner for Tavares at CB for most of the season

Leonel Jakson - edged out by Grundei but a handy backup

Ricardo Tavares - another consistent season for the main man at the back, although the position could probably do with some investment for next season

Raphael Simon - still not really living up to my expectations, but solid enough. position may be under threat if Casadei continues to improve

Omar Casadei - the next Federico Balzaretti. brought in as cover for the LB position due to Simons ongoing fitness issues, useful coming off the bench

MID

Dionatan Teixeira - now the only player remaining to be a regular in the first team since my first season in charge, and continues to pop up with some vital goals, scoring 10 this season. A cult hero for me

Ruud Jacobs - one of the stars of the season. bossed the midfield on many occasions. 20 assists and 7 goals from CM is pretty special. shame he's on his way out, but proved difficult to keep happy from day one. will be missed

Boris Nkoa - used as cover for the DM position, not going to improve any but useful enough squad player

Ramzi Loucif - another who could step into Jacobs shoes

Kevin Krieger - hopefully the player to cushion the blow of losing Jacobs, became a part of the first team as the season progressed and showed enough for me to have faith he can continue to impress

ATT

Mohamed Kante - was on the edge of things all season, but never really able to break the formidable front 3 unless covering for injuries/substitute. scored a few vital goals though and could continue to push for a start next season

Nene - the left side of my front 3, with 18 goals and 18 assists, was a vital part of the teams success this season. attracting a bit of attention from other clubs, so hopefully we can keep hold of him

Ahmed Sayed - another great season for Sayed, contributing 22 goals and 9 assists from the right side of my front 3. Great start to his international career as well, scoring 5 in 5 apps for Egypt

Per Kjaersgaard - what a season yet again for the main man up front. eclipsed last seasons goal tally with ease and in doing so became the clubs top league goalscorer of all time, surpassing Jean Silvas 47 league goals in just 2 seasons! My player of the season no doubt, the top scorer in the Premier League, the League Forward of The Year, and recently called up for the first time by the Danish national team.


Top Scorer - Per Kjaersgaard - 33 goals
Highest Average Rating - Per Kjaersgaard - 7.72
Fans Player of The Year - Per Kjaersgaard

Portuguese Premier League Top Scorer - Kjaersgaard - 1st, Sayed - 3rd
Portuguese Premier League Most Assists - Jacobs - 2nd, Nene - 3rd
Portuguese Premier League Forward of The Year - Kjaersgaard - 1st, Sayed - 3rd
Portuguese Premier League Manager of The Year - Garry Maltman - 1st
Portuguese Premier League Team of The Year - Kjaersgaard
Portuguese Most Improved Team of The Year - Ac. Viseu

Moving forward, these are exciting times for Ac Viseu. Our first foray into European football will no doubt be a challenge, and one im not expecting much from. In league terms im not sure how easy it will be to replicate the success of this season, but i feel that with a few new faces and hopefully some funding to do so, we can continue to at least challenge for european places. The one thing im not sure about is whether we can close the gap ability wise on Porto, as they were the only team to beat us in every encounter last season. This could be the most difficult part of the challenge for us. Time will tell

Season          Division                                 Position       Achievements
2012/2013       Portuguese Second Division - Central      7th	        Safety          
2013/2014       Portuguese Second Division - Central      1st           Champions, Promoted Through Playoffs
2014/2015       Portuguese Second League                  7th		Safety       
2015/2016       Portuguese Second League                  1st           Champions, promoted to top flight   
2016/2017       Portuguese Premier League                 7th           Consolidation    
2017/2018       Portuguese Premier League                 2nd           European Qualification

[Andy Sava]

Solid season G-Wiz! Good luck in the Champions League.

EDIT: After what went on in my last season i was so excited for the next one that i kept on playing with only a sleep break last night. I am currently 8 games away from the season finish and i am fighting for promotion!!! I love this game, one season you are down and expect the worse and the next you are fighting for glory.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist’s 2033/34 End of Season Ejea Report

Season             League            Pos           Cups                      Europe     Award			Notes

East Stirlingshire
2012/13            Sc Div 3          1st           No comment                n/a        Manager of the Year
2013/14            Sc Div 2          1st           Challenge Cup Finalists   n/a        Manager of the Year
2014/15            Sc Div 1          3rd           CC Winners & SC Final     qual       None
2015/16            Sc Div 1          2nd           CC & SC Winners, LC R/U   EC 3Q      Manager of the Year
2016/17            Sc Div 1          1st           Challenge Cup Winners     EC 4Q      Manager of the Year
2017/18            Sc Prem           5th           LC Final                  qual       None
2018/19            Sc Prem           7th           LC Winners                EC R2      Manager of the Year 
2019/20            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners, LC R/U        n/a        Manager of the Year
2020/21            Sc Prem           1st           SC & LC Winners           EC Winners Manager of the Year
2021/22            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners                cc Q/F     Manager of the Year
2022/23            Sc Prem           1st           LC R/U                    CC R1      Manager of the Year 
2023/24            Sc Prem           1st           LC R/U, SC Winners        CC R1      Manager of the Year
2024/25            Sc Prem           1st           SC R/U                    CC Q/F     Manager of the Year
2025/26            Sc Prem           1st           SC, LC                    CC Q/F     None
2026/27            Sc Prem           1st           SC, LC                    CC Q/F     Manager of the Year
2027/28            Sc Prem           1st           LC                        CC Q/F     None
2028/29            Sc Prem           1st           LC                        CC Q/F     Manager of the Year
2029/30            Sc Prem           1st           LC, SC                    CC Final   Manager of the Year
2030/31            Sc Prem           1st           LC, SC                    Winners    Manager of the Year
2031/32            Sc Prem           1st           ESC, WCC, LC, sc          Winners    (Unbelievably) Nothing
Ejea
2032/33            Spanish 2B        12th          None                      n/a        None   
2033/34            Spanish 2B        1st           Spanish Confederation Cup n/a        None			Lost in Playoffs

Forgot to screenprint the squad at the end of the season
Transfers

We won the league, (Second Division B2), and the Confederation Cup for 2B2 teams and below, but unfortunately finishing top just gives you a better chance in the playoffs. We were drawn in the playoff semifinal against Villarreal B, who had won a strong 2B division 3 very comfortably). I was fairly confident though. After all, we had won the Cup, not them. We had almost no injuries. Perhaps that was the problem. I picked the wrong team. We drew the first leg at home 1-1, and then lost 3-1 away. Getting to the final would have given us promotion.

But never mind. We would just have to do it the hard way. Losers get another chance in the Second Phase playoffs, where we played Vecindario. The beat us 3-0 in the first leg away. Back at home, we dominated the match, but could only manage a 2-0 victory, and we were out.

Most players are on one year contracts, so I’ve had a clear out and this season we should completely dominate. The trouble is that you’re limited to a squad of 22 senior players, and a few injuries can really mess up your season. In any case the squad is a bit thin. However, it should still be a wee bit of a cakewalk, (famous last words).

I’m also the manager of Scotland, and that was full of drama, but I’ll keep it brief as it doesn’t pertain to the challenge. In fact, maybe I shouldn’t be managing a national team while doing the challenge for the second time, but I have a huge reputation advantage from my time with East Stirlingshire anyway.

Anyway, we got off to a terrible start in the qualification for the World Cup. 8 points from the first 6 games, and that includes 2 wins against the two whipping boys of the group. We were behind our competitors for second place; northern Ireland and Finland! In the middle of that we lost all three games in the Four Association Tournament. It was not going well. It all started to turn around when we beat Spain in a friendly. We won 3 of the 4 remaining games, only losing as expected to Portugal. Even so we needed about 6 separate results to all go our way, including Spain losing at home to Ukraine in another group, to ensure not only second place, but also that we didn’t finish bottom of the Second Place teams table.

Then we drew by far the easiest draw of the playoffs against Serbia. We won 3-0 at home and then scored an early away goal in the second leg, which made us fairly safe, as they would have to score 5.

So Serbia scored 5 goals, but luckily for us, and indeed the computer screen, we then scored another goal, and went through on away goals.

For the World Cup, the top seeds in our group were the hosts; Australia. Colombia and Congo were the other teams, but with a win, loss and draw we failed to progress on goal difference. We’re really not very good, but hey. There’s some good young players coming through because of the whole dynamic league reputation and East Stirlingshire’s youth development. I just need to not get sacked in the meantime.

[Andy Sava]

Holstein Kiel - 2016/2017
Table | Squad | Transfers | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2 | Manager Profile

Season Overview

League Finish - 2nd
Media Prediction - 15th
Average Attendance - 9649
Fans Player of the Year - Fuat Zeybek

After what went on last season this is what i was least expecting to happen. We played exceptionally and we got rewarded for it in the end.

Transfers

Carlos Caceres (Position - DM/M C, Games Played - 38, Assists - 5, MoM - 2, Average Rating - 7.06) - Managed to snap him up after he got released by San Lorenzo and he was a key player for us featuring in every match this season.

Fuat Zeybek (Position - AM RL/ST, Games Played - 21, Goals - 18, Assists - 3, MoM - 4, Average Rating - 7.40) - He was recommended by one of our new signed scouts (love this new feature btw). He did very well despite some injury problems during the season which kept him away.

Marco Damiani (Position - DL, Games Played - 14, Average Rating - 7.02) - I brought him to strengthen our defense since my new chairman decided to sell Giorgio Bovo without consulting me. Played him more in the second part of the season and did well.

Robert McKeown (Position - GK, Games Played - 15, Average Rating - 6.85) - After i transfered him he started complaining that he can't settle to life in Germany. I gave him a leave of absence but that didn't solve his issues and he started complaining again making me a little mad so i told him to get real and get on with his play. No need to say that his morale dropped and wanted to leave the club but after a while it was all fine again so he got to play in our last few games. First time this worked for me with an unsettled player

German Second Division

Graph

After a disspointing first season in the Second Division we were not expecting much from this, at most a top half finish. And we sure finished in the top half of the table

We started of the season with a 5 games unbeaten run which put as at the top of the table. The 1-3 defeat against Nurnberg didn't stop us and we went on a 6 games unbeaten run. The first part of the season didn't end really well as we had 5 games without a win and it seemed like we won't have a say in the promotion battle after all.

Fortunately the team managed to go back to a good form and slowly but surely we climbed back in the rankings only losing 2 games and geting one draw in the final match. In the end we finished second and we got a well deserved promotion after a sensational season.

One wierd thing happened in our last few games this season. We had to play at home against Osnabruck and then travel to play the next day away at Furth. This would never happened IRL and it was really annoying. However my boys gave their lives on the field and won both games.

German Cup

First Round - (vs. Sondershausen) We got handed a really easy opponent for the first round but we only won the game 2-0.

Second Round - (vs. Stuttgart) The draw was not as kind with us as in the first round and gave us Stuttgart. They were having a really bad time when we played them and we came out with a surprising 3-1 win.

Third Round - (vs. St. Pauli) Again we got a little bit lucky with the draw and we won the game 3-1.

Quarter Finals - (vs. FC Bayern) All our luck went bye bye and we had to play FC Bayern for a place in the Semi-Finals. The players tried but it's hard to hold your own against Bayern without a very strong squad.

Geting to the quarter finals stage in the cup was really unexpected and it got us some extra cash.

Key Players

Frederic Maciel (Position - ST, Games Played - 25, Goals - 16, Assists - 6, MoM - 6, Average Rating - 7.52) - In a season where he was torn apart by injuries Maciel managed to score 16 goals in 25 games, i would say that is really good.

Tim Hofmann (Position - DC, Games Played - 34, Goals - 12, Assists - 3, MoM - 6, Average Rating - 7.35) - The mountain in my defense had another impressive season.

Richard Ayala (Position - M/AM C, Games Played - 29, Goals - 2, Assists - 11, MoM - 3, Average Rating - 7.17) - After a not so good start in his first season here, he got used with his role and had a good season.

Jelle Maes (Position - M/AM C, Games Played - 24, Goals - 4, Assists - 7, MoM - 2, Average Rating - 7.13) - An overall good season for the young midfielder.

Paulo Ferreira (Position - DC, Games Played - 36, Assists -2, Average Rating - 6.99) - I had some offers for him during the season but i didn't want to sell him and the chairman managed to stay out of this one.

Youth Players

Luigi Tessaro (Position - DM/D/WB R, Games Played - 24, Average Rating - 6.77) - For his age he played very well during the first part of the season when i had to use him. He should have a good future at the club.

Andre Simon (Position - AMC/AML, Games Played - 27, Goals - 1, Assists - 2, Average Rating - 6.64) - He became the youngest goalscorer in the Second Division history.

Next season

So the journey to Bundesliga is finally over. Now we will have to build a team capable of challenging for the title. The hard part starts now and i am very excited for the future, anything can happen. We already have 2 players joining us in july, Gonçalo Silva and José Ferreira.

Club History

Season             League                         Position                     Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/2013          German Third Division          14th                         Avoided Relegation
2013/2014          German Third Division          9th                          N/A
2014/2015          German Third Division          1st                          Promotion & Third Division Winners
2015/2016          German Second Division         13th                         Avoided Relegation
2016/2017          German Second Division         2nd                          Promotion

[aldojags]

Well done on promotion there andy sava, impressive goals return from Hoffman there. i have never had a happy conclusion with an unsettled player, they always end up leaving, so well done with McKeown!

Well done on a fantastic season g-wiz you've got to the Champ League in super quick time.

well done on the title vikeologist, the lord of the shire strikes again!

I need to drive my good lady to work in the next hour, so I'll type my next season update later tonight during the England game.

[Andy Sava]

Thanks aldojags, waiting to see how you finished your season

In other news i now have 6 portuguese players. Guess who i fancy for winning Euro 2012 :P

[rlipscombe]

Jimbowmanuk - seriously feel for you missing out on promotion AGAIN!! Hope the first piece of silverware made up for it a little bit. Looking at the table it looks like it might be the defence that’s the key.
G-Wiz - great season there – congrats on making the CL qualifying rounds! Look like you have a really good attacking three there. Hope you can go one further and nick the title next season.
Vikeologist - looks like the curse of the Spanish play-offs kicked in again there for you too!
Andy Sava - that was a quick season! Thought you might do well but promotion?? Well done mate. Like the look of Zeybet too. Good luck in the Bundesliga

[aldojags]

Season Review 2024/25

Ligue 1

Media Prediction 4th | Finished 1st | Table | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

3 in a row-A fantastic comeback having trailed by 9 points in January, we didn't lose a game in the 2nd half of the season, having lost 4 in the first half.

I forgot to take a picture of my graph to show everyone, but was off the top spot until last day of season, Marseille were top by 2 points, we were 2nd. Guess who we were playing at home on the last day...correct, Marseille. We won 1-0 with a goal after 10 minutes, and hung on to record our 3rd consecutive title. If you only look at one screenie, look at fixtures 2, stunning end to the season, 15 consecutive wins. Don't know what changed. Same players same tactics as I had in poor first half, but we just clicked and were unstoppable after January.

Tony Champion was the main man this year, phenomenal form, along with Oneil Tatlot. Ilan Roger missed first few months of season having broken his foot at Euro 2024, but when he came back he more than contributed.

Delighted to have won it, it's not a sure thing this Ligue, Marseille and PSG spent so much money every year so I'm delighted to hold them all off for another season!

Valenciennes were the surprise package this year, involved in the title race this year up until last few weeks.

Relegated are Bastia, Grenoble, Auxerre. Replacing them are Guingamp, Stade Malherbe Caen, and Rodez Aveyron, a club who also started this save in the bottom tier of French football, so a great achievement for them.

Good year for Ligue 1 in general, as we gained an extra Champions League spot.

Champions Trophy

Fixtures

We won the seasons opener against last seasons giant killing minnows FC Rouen. I posted this earlier in the thread - FC Rouen yo-yo between 2nd and 3rd tier, yet last season they won the French Cup, and this season they won the Coupe de la Ligue, remarkable achievement for a small squad.

Coupe de la Ligue

Fixtures

Out in the quarters away to PSG.

French Cup

Fixtures

My poor domestic cup record continues, going out at the first attempt at home to Valenciennes.

Champions League

Table | Fixtures

Very unlucky to go out in Group Stage on head to head record. 10 points was not enough.

Europa League

Fixtures

Done well to get to the Semi's, before losing out to eventual winners Sporting Lisbon.

Squad
First choice players in bold, and youth academy players will be marked with a *star*.

Goalkeepers

Pavol Skrobak - got this keeper on a free from Apoel, and he had a fantastic season, keeping Jimmy Lynch rooted to the bench for most of the year.

Jimmy Lynch - long serving keeper dislodged by Skrobak, and we've since released him on a free.

*Amar Ben Haddou*- young keeper played a few games here and there, coaches fancy him as 3.5 potential which would put him similar to Skrobak's current level of ability, so I'll persist with him and play him when I can.

Defenders

Viv Cable - Welsh right back had a good season.

Bart van der Weg - young Belgian is now rated as a wonderkid, and it's not hard to see why. He dislodged long time favourite Nathan Chalobah.

Karl Thorpe - been with us for years and is solid as ever.

Cedric Hue - now features more often for French national team, not the best left back in the world but I like him.

Mahmoud Rabie - young Egyptian featured quite a lot, will take over when Thorpe retires/leaves.

Peter Mohammed - plays quite a lot at left back when I rest Cedric Hue.

*Jimmy Donaldson* - our versatile young defender continues to be a steady utility man.

*Recep Alici* - young right back saw some first team football and continues to develop well.

Nathan Chalobah - has been a great servant, but has fallen behind Van der Weg and Rabie in the centre of defence, so I've since sold him to Blackburn Rovers for £4.4m, he was a fantastic player for us though.

*Maxime Reset* - the youngster has ok attributes, and is good to have as back-up. Is competent anywhere across the back.

Midfield

John Larsson - anchor man is solid, and so he should be with the wage he is on!

Pituca - solid season again, this guy is regularly courted by Barcelona/Inter but the £100m asking price scares them off.

Ali Jelassi - fantastic player, can't believe he's still only 25, feel like I've had him for 10 years!

Oneil Tatlot - after last seasons injury ravaged campaign, it was a spectactular return to form for our trequarista, he's been voted player of the year for Ligue 1.

Raul Gil - good player and has been retrained for right back, but he's on a hefty wage for a back up player, may move him on....

Pablo Roig - Argentine international is a good player.

Daniel Michel - the French international was brough in on a free from Marseille, as back up to Tatlot. Didn't perform well, and wanted away as he was wanting more games, so spent 2nd half of season on loan to Valencia. Hoping for more in the coming campaign.

Ugo Potenza - Italian international done ok in AM or upfront, but decided to move him on so have sold him for £4m to Udinese.

*Charles Modeste* - young DM taking shape as his physical stats improve I can see he'll hopefully be a good player for us.

Sevki Gurdal - didn't feature much, but a reliable back for us.

Andy McMahon - didn't feature much, but solid player to have on the bench. Think he could be sold in the summer depending on what happens.

*Alexandre Pruvot* - young midfielder improved a bit, featured a couple of times. Hopefully he'll come good.

Forwards

Tony Champion - stunning. Phenomenal. Unstoppable. Best season yet from the Englishman, how he hasn't got a cap I'll never know. Won European Golden Boot, along with Ligue 1 top scorer award obviously.

*Ilan Roger* - struggled with injury, but when he returned he played well, hoping for a good run of games this year.

Brayan Gutierez - Colombian forward played when Roger was injured and done ok.

Vladimir Kralik - scored the goal on the last day of the season that won us the league! Really talented player, and French squad regular.

Mattia Panagelli - has struggled to hit the heights of 2 seasons ago, so was sold at end of season to Parma.

*Patrice Caron* - scored a few goals domestically and in Europe, and looks like he'd be decent back-up/squad player. Need some improvement though before I'll make my mind up.

*Gregory Michel* - injury ruined his season.

Club Info

Finances - Champions League money keeps us healthy. Still got rubbish gate receipts, although the average attendance broke the 10,000 barrier this year, so that's progress! But I have no idea why my club has not got more fans now, given I've won 3 leagues in a row.

Transfers - not many in, few out, and a few more have been sold since this was taken.

Team of the season - Champion and Tatlot included.

Next Season

I want to get beyond Group Stages!!

And I want to retain league, and win a domestic cup, as my record in cups is awful. Got to 1 final a few years back, other than that I usually get knocked out pretty early.

Signed these players on pre-contracts...

Yann M'Villa - yes this is the same player who is currently playing in Euros for France. He's been at Rennes his whole career, and I've just taken him in to tutor the likes of Charles Modeste, and to give solid experience. Got him on a 1 year deal. Think he'll be a good player for us.

Dario Cavallero - great looking striker, from Espanyol. 31 years old, so only offerred 2 year deal. But like M'Villa, will provide great experience to tutor the kids.

Bartlomeij Onyskzko - Polish striker from Genk cost me £2.1m.

Dusan Ivkovic - great looking keeper from Cardiff. Will give good competition to Skrobak.

Kamal Sekyere - Chelsea youth, brought in for free. Is English but currently in Ghana squad. Looks to be a good squad player.

My history. I'm in the hall of fame now.

Past Seasons
Season     Division        Pos    French Cup      League Cup         Europe        Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13     National      4th      8th round        N/A                            Survived Relegation
2013/14     National      8th      7th round        N/A                            N/A
2014/15     National      1st      8th round        N/A                            Champions
2015/16     Ligue 2       6th      7th round        2nd round                      Consolidated
2016/17     Ligue 2       2nd      11th round       4th round                      Promotion
2017/18     Ligue 1       10th     Runners Up       4th round                      Survived
2018/19     Ligue 1       6th      11th Round       2nd round                      Consolidated    
2019/20     Ligue 1       3rd      11th Round       3rd Round                      Qualified for Champ League            
2020/21     Ligue 1       3rd      11th Round       4th Round         EL QF        Qualified for Champ League                        
2021/22     Ligue 1       4th      11th Round       Semi's       CL Group Stages   Qualified for Europa League
2022/23     Ligue 1       1st      11th Round       Semi's       EL 2nd KO Round   Champions
2023/24     Ligue 1       1st       9th Round       Quarters     CL Group Stages   Champions 
2024/25     Ligue 1       1st       9th Round       Quarters     CL Group Stage, & EL Semi's

Season     Ligue 1         French Cup        Coupe de la Ligue                Champions Lg             Europa           World Cup/Euros         
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12    PSG             PSG                      OM                         Barcelona               Roma            Euros-Germany
2012/13    Lyon            Toulouse                 Lyon                       Inter                   Liverpool
2013/14    Lyon            PSG                      Toulouse                   Barcelona               Porto            WC-Argentina
2014/15    Lyon            Toulouse                 Lyon                       Man Utd                 Stuttgart
2015/16    PSG             Lorient                  Lyon                       Juventus                Man United       Euros-Germany
2016/17    PSG             Sochaux                  PSG                        Benfica                 Arsenal
2017/18    OM              Lorient                  OM                         PSG                     Arsenal          WC- Belgium
2018/19    OM              OM                       RC Lens                    Man Utd                 Barcelona
2019/20    PSG             St Ettiene               Sedan                      Valencia                Hamburg         Euros-Belgium
2020/21    PSG             Valenciennes             OM                         PSG                     Benfica
2021/22    OM              Lyon                     Lyon                       Arsenal                 Fiorentina       WC-England
2022/23    Viry-Chatillon  Lyon                     OM		               Barcelona	       Leverkusen
2023/24    Viry-Chatillon  FC Rouen                 OM                         Barcelona               Rubin Kazan       Euros - Spain
2024/25    Viry-Chatillon  Bordeux                  FC Rouen                   Real Madrid             Sporting Lisbon

[aldojags]

Anyone ever saw flares in the crowd? First time I've ever seen it, away to Sporting Lisbon

[Andy Sava]

Congrats aldojags on your solid season. The quality of your players is so nice, can i have some of them ? I really can't pick my favorite

EDIT: So Mali just offered me their manager job. To bad i can't take it lol.

[PRDH]

Great season aldo. The flares seem to be a Portugal thing. We get one in almost every game.

[aldojags]

EDIT: So Mali just offered me their manager job. To bad i can't take it lol.

I've had a few random job offers from African countries, Nigeria being the most recent. Was heartbreaking as a few seasons ago, I had to reject the Scotland job, was tough to do say no!

[marty78]

aldojags Tony Champion is awesome and living up to his name I see. Your league table is after 37 games and your still second.

[aldojags]

aldojags Tony Champion is awesome and living up to his name I see. Your league table is after 37 games and your still second.

Oops! I took that so I could show how close it was should I go on to win the league, let me fix that...

edit: fixed...

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I have a new favourite challenge eligible club...Sporting Ideal (Of Azores, Portugal)

[PRDH]

I have a new favourite challenge eligible club...Sporting Ideal (Of Azores, Portugal)

Only one team in the Azores LLR!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Of course PRDH, what was I thinking, just loved the name when I saw it in the Cup draw.

[rlipscombe]

Aldojags - congrats on the hattrick mate. Champion looks like a cracking player now. Surely an England call-up must be coming soon?? Unlucky in the CL – hopefully you can make a breakthrough next season.

[aldojags]

rlipscombe - I was delighted with Champion's form, he's been threatening it for 4-5 years, his attributes have always been impressive, but some seasons he was so inconsistent, but this year it clicked and there were not many games where he didn't find the net. The CL is a toughie, I don't see any quick fix - will still be in 3rd seedings, be difficult to get out group, after that, anything can happen. Going to make it my number 1 priority this season, and if league suffers then so be it. Aslong as I finish in the CL spots, the board will be happy, and that's now top 4, I reckon I could do that with my eyes closed, so CL is going to get full attention this year. Watch this, I'll bomb out 4th in Group Stages!

[PRDH]

LLR - It is an excellent name. If Lusitania weren't my favourite Azorean team, they'd have a shot!

[aldojags]

Tony Champion has just been called up for an International...for France! I forgot he was nationalised last season, ah well England have lost out on a gem! Quite a few players in French squad are from elsewhere but have 2nd nationality status from playing in country for 5 years.

With the signing of 35 yr old Yann M'Villa, I now have 6 players in France squad - M'Villa, Champion, Jelassi, Roger, Tatlot, Hue. Struggling to see where the next one will come from right enough...

[Dr Poods]

Hi All, long time lurker but now it's time to get involved!

Time to fire up the steam and have a go with France!!

Will post when loaded.

[Dr Poods]

USL Dunkerque - French National - June 2012

Starting the challenge with Dunkerque in the French National. According to wikipedia, they are nicknamed The Doves, but FM claims The Blue and Whites!

Anyway, here are the screenies.

Sunday League Rep
Struan Robertson

Dr Poods unveiled as the new manager of Dunkerque, what does the media think?
Not much, obviously

Club Overview
USL Dunkerque Club Overview

General Information
Information Screen
As you can see, prediction is 18th, no challenge then.....

Facilities
The fabulous Dunkerque facilities
A 4,200 seater stadium with 1500 seats in a poor condition with rented youth facilities

Another update to follow later. Need to get started n'ecst pas?

[marty78]

Dr Poods- Good luck mate.

[Dr Poods]

Got an increase to the youth budget and managed to bring in some players to (hopefully) implement the 4-3-3 I want to play. An excellent preseason completed...now the fun begins on the coast!!

[Dr Poods]

Great preseason!

Even had more possession and shots than Bordeaux and Metz (Rnd 1)...Just lack a cutting edge

[PRDH]

Welcome aboard Dr Poods! Good luck in Dunkerque.

[marty78]

Great preseason!

Even had more possession and shots than Bordeaux and Metz (Rnd 1)...Just lack a cutting edge

Nice one but am I the only one that never plays friendlies? Assman has to earn his money somehow and his teamtalks are crap.

[Dr Poods]

Nice one but am I the only one that never plays friendlies? Assman has to earn his money somehow and his teamtalks are crap.

I get the assman to do them. Its only because they seemed very familiar with 4-4-2 and I wanted them to play 4-3-3, when I set it up the players were so unfamiliar with it I wanted loads of friendlies to improve their efficiency

[G-Wiz]

Good luck in france Dr Poods

[marty78]

AS CANNES - SEASON 2014/15

LIGUE 2

Our newly promoted side was a surprise promotion package until right at the end of the season when one win in the final six games put paid to our ambitions. After getting so close it was a massive disappointment to end the season like that.

Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

The cups were better this year and we beat a couple of League 1 teams. We were particularly strong in the French Cup losing the Semi final 0-2 vs Stade Malherbe Caen. A tight match which could of gone either way but we couldn't finish our chances.

The Copa de la Ligue saw us lose out to Lille 4-2 AET in the fourth round. We deserved to lose that one and were lucky to reach extra time in truth.

TRANSFERS

Davide Petrucci - The only transfer fee I spent and was £30k well spent. A creative player with a good passing range and currently playing as a CM in a flat 4-4-2. Was concerned he wouldn't fit this role but he soon put them fears to bed.
Danny Helmund - Young CB who is good in the air, strong and brave and plays mostly as stopper.
Dialo Guidileye - Petrucci's CM partner and responsible for the defensive side of the midfield. Breaks up play and plays simple balls to the more creative players.
Emiliano Sala - A player with talent but goes missing and frustrates and reacts poorly when criticised. We fell out about his form during the run which cost us promotion so I transfer listed him and he is moving to Brescia for £350k. A nice profit on a free transfer.
Gerhard Kern - My favorite summer capture. Still young and a bit raw but with talent and he made the LM spot his own.
Kristian Beck - Young Dane was the last summer signing and due to wage budget I took a chance on him. He only had two stars PA when he joined but was still first choice RM which was a concern. He did well though although he did struggle to settle a little. I remedied this by bringing in a countryman for him in January. He now has 3.5* CA and has improved no end.

Due to injuries I found myself with just two fit strikers at the start of January and, because of our budgets getting adjusted had enough wages to bring in two youngsters. I decided on the two players above others because of their nationalities and the fact they have countrymen already at the club.

Mads Neilsen - Brought in as he has potential and is Danish along with Beck. Yet to score and only started two games but has a future with us.
Darren Carroll - Another young striker with potential but this ones played a couple more games and scored a couple. Adds to the German contingent in the squad.

SQUAD

With most of the key players new transfers last summer, there is little to add here but I will give our top scorer Guy Gnabouyou a mention. Quick and scores fairly consistently although, of course, I would like more. Not going to improve much more but good enough for as long as were in Ligue 2.

UNDER 19's

A few players with potential Ligue 2 potential in the youth squad but also have one with potential Ligue 1 quality. Rayan Tran has high determination and has improved well so far and could have a real future.


FINANCES

Once again the board put an investment in at the end of the season although finances were much better this year after our French Cup run. Still an investment of £3m means we have a transfer budget of £2.4m for the new season.

[PRDH]

Lusitânia Açores - Youth intake - 2043

Introduction

Afternoon everybody, it's that part of the season again. Time to see what our careful scouring of players from Angra do Heroísmo, the island of Terceira as a whole, the rest of the Azores of course as well as the Portuguese mainland and the world has unearthed for the team this year. With the successful adaptation of last year's Pereira into a decent left winger there are very few desperate needs in the squad at the moment.

It's not all roses though, there are areas we would like to strengthen. We are short in the goalkeeping department following Martins exit at the end of last season and another playmaking forward would be nice.

The New Youth Class

Enough of this wishful thinking though, it's time to see what we've actually got. In total we got 16 players from the academy, 12 of which were half-star players. A further two had potential of one and a half. One more had two-star potential, and finally a player with four star potential. I am looking to sign a couple of the half-star potentials on a sheer punt that they have decent stats, obviously I'm not expecting much and so will only bring them up down the line if they do anything of note. Other than that it's the usual aims. Let's start at the bottom.

Américo Ferreira - b. Angra do Heroísmo - Striker - 1.5 star potential - I don't expect anything from this lad, but he has some potential and could add some last resort depth, as well as adding strength to the U-19 squad. Don't expect to hear much more about him.

Mauro Joaquim - b. Porto Santo (island near Madeira) - WB(R) - 1.5 star potential - Another I don't really expect anything from, I'm wavering on offering him any sort of deal and will probably leave the decision up to the assistant. If he recommends him for depth then I will take him on, otherwise I'm happy to see the back of him. I don't play wing backs and he doesn't have the talent to make it worth training him to play further back or forward.

Dalvinder Davies - b. Southend-on-Sea - GK - 2 star potential - A half star jump and a player who adds depth to our batch of keepers means this guy could jump up to number three keeper straight away next season. Although again, that's more of a statement on the quality of out back up keepers than this guys phenomenal talents. Dias doesn't have much to worry about here.

Hugo Medeiros - b. Angra do Heroísmo - AM(R) - 4 star potential - A potential star in the making. Not a position we have a great need for. Rodrigues is young and we've got others buzzing around, but he is definitely an upgrade. Comes blessed with decent pace and dribbling skills but needs to work on the mental side of his game. Although he's nice and determined so hopefully he will fulfil the early promise and add some nice competition. He could spell the beginning of the end for loyal servant Alvaro Pinto though.

Verdict

Didn't really address many of our needs. Davies isn't going to put pressure on the number 1 jersey and is only ever going to be slightly sub-par back up. The 1.5ers likewise don't look particularly promising and could have long apprenticeships in the U-19s to serve and prove their abilities. Other than that there are a few from the rest who will be given youth contracts because of vaguely decent stats, like Alnwick or (more likely) interesting nationalities - there's a guy from Lebanon to add to my Mongolian youth - who have been signed up.

Not our finest year of talents, but then, you can't have everything - potentially asking for a great player in a position of need was asking too much!

[marty78]

PRDH- Hugo Medeiros looks like he could be excellent in a few years time.

[Dr Poods]

PRDHSome nice talent there!

marty78 Good season. Quite unlucky... next season beckons

[Dr Poods]

USL Dunkerque - French National - October 2012
A fine start to the lads. After being predicted to come 18th and no wins from our first 3 games (2D, 1L), we have strung some good results together. Good performances from LeClerc in particular and we sit in 3rd after 10 games

Third

Players

Results

[corinthiano]

Wow, gone a couple of weeks and lots of updates and newcomers!! Will see if I can sit down tonight and review what I have missed. Best of luck to everyone!

[Andy Sava]

Wow. The first season in Bundesliga is proving to be tougher than i expected. I am actually worried i may drop back in the second division. The team just can't seem to focus in the last 15 minutes of a game.

EDIT: 11 games lost in a row...so sad.

EDIT 2: So the anger got the better of me and made me go 25k over budget on my wages. Bye bye financial security, hopefully it was worth it and we will manage to stay in Bundesliga.

EDIT 3: I got a goalkeeper that is labeled to be the next Dida.

[aldojags]

Welcome, and good start Dr Poods. I got out the National and Ligue 2 with 433, it's a crackin system for those leagues but I when I hit Ligue 1 was too open defensively, so I changed to a 41212 diamond.

marty good season there for your first time in Ligue 2, some real solid foundations. I especially like the look of Guidileye and Kern. Guideleye would make a solid DC.

PRDH I love the weird nationalities your youths throw up! The right winger is another star, thats you sorted in that position for 15 years! And he's a local boy too. How is that striker from last year the four star guy? I haven't had anything above 3 stars since I got 4 star Roger 4-5 seasons ago! He's just scored his first goal for France in his 8th cap.

[marty78]

aldojags- Guidileye plays as a CM with defend duty and although he could retrain at CB, I like him where he is as he can also play a bit.

First league game of the season and he scored a 35 yard scorcher to remind he is a midfielder and earn us a draw against a relegated Ligue 1 side.

EDIT - Chairman just sold Kristien Beck for £2.5m.