Now You Do Not Punish Someone, English Or Otherwise, For Being Rubbish At FM...

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 25-11-2011 08:20

Sahin is a bargain at £1.5m. He's only 31 so not like he's on his last legs. Tainha looks like he should really good, expecting a lot of goals from him

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 15:55

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

Sahin is a bargain at £1.5m. He's only 31 so not like he's on his last legs. Tainha looks like he should really good, expecting a lot of goals from him

The funny thing is I nearly didn't buy him since I was planning on a hard-working centre midfield pairing to counterbalance the four attackers in my 4-2-3-1, but I'm so glad I did, he is just a different class.

Check out his goal in this match - absolutely wonderful strike. He hit some gorgeous passes in it too, shame none of them resulted in a goal.

**HotChocolate** · 25-11-2011 19:01

Cracking goal by Sahin! You play some nice football, was their goal an own goal by your keeper? Where it comes back off the post and back off the back of him? Thats what it looked liked!

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 19:05

Yeah it was! So annoying, I was hoping for a 5-0 to fully avenge what they did to us last season.

**HotChocolate** · 25-11-2011 19:12

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Yeah it was! So annoying, I was hoping for a 5-0 to fully avenge what they did to us last season.

They are the type of goals you hate conceding! I'm sure you'll thrash them 5-0 at some stage, if you stay long enough that is!

**AK22** · 25-11-2011 20:36

Blimey, are you crapping money?! That's an impressive bank balance

Surprising they only gave you £7m to spend. I would have thought you'd be looking at something in the £20m+ region.

England beating Germany, France and Spain in a major tournament isn't very realistic though

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 20:41

Originally Posted by AK22

Blimey, are you crapping money?! That's an impressive bank balance

Surprising they only gave you £7m to spend. I would have thought you'd be looking at something in the £20m+ region.

England beating Germany, France and Spain in a major tournament isn't very realistic though

The board must be very concerned at our huge stadium loan (and so they should be, £886k per month for 29 years works out at £616m to borrow £172m - absolutely terrible deal), as by any other measure our finances are in rude health.

I know, England have been far too successful. It's quite upsetting!

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 20:55

Gah, why couldn't this have been available 12 months ago?

I think I'd probably get it if I applied. I'm having too much fun at Werder though.

**deltablue** · 25-11-2011 20:56

Definitely plenty to stay for.

**ManUTactician247** · 25-11-2011 22:13

You certainly have quite a selection of Turkish talent at Werder. Sahin, Eryilmaz, Derdiyok (Swiss national team but really Turkish) and Ekici all playing for you!

**deltablue** · 25-11-2011 22:14

Not telling us what their names mean?

**DazRTaylor** · 25-11-2011 22:16

Originally Posted by ManUTactician247

You certainly have quite a selection of Turkish talent at Werder. Sahin, Eryilmaz, Derdiyok (Swiss national team but really Turkish) and Ekici all playing for you!

Derdiyok was borne in Basel and raised in Switzerland. How is he really Turkish?

**deltablue** · 25-11-2011 22:17

By being from a Turkish family. Lots of Turkish players are German born, ditto for Poles though most of them choose to be German.

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 22:21

Originally Posted by ManUTactician247

You certainly have quite a selection of Turkish talent at Werder. Sahin, Eryilmaz, Derdiyok (Swiss national team but really Turkish) and Ekici all playing for you!

Yeah I think we have more Turks than Germans! Although Ekici and Sahin are both German-born.

Originally Posted by deltablue

By being from a Turkish family. Lots of Turkish players are German born, ditto for Poles though most of them choose to be German.

Like Klose and Podolski for two - although they were even born in Poland.

**ManUTactician247** · 25-11-2011 22:40

Originally Posted by deltablue

Not telling us what their names mean?

CBA, typing everything with a broken finger so not worth the trouble.

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 22:50

Originally Posted by ManUTactician247

CBA, typing everything with a broken finger so not worth the trouble.

I'd be interested to know if you wouldn't mind once your finger is healed

**ManUTactician247** · 25-11-2011 22:56

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

I'd be interested to know if you wouldn't mind once your finger is healed

If you want, I could do it now, I didn't know my services were in demand :P, gimme a sec.

**ManUTactician247** · 25-11-2011 22:58

Ekici - Planter
Sahin - Hawk

The other names don't mean anything.

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 23:10

Season 9: Halfway House Update

The season kicked off with the DFL-Supercup, which was the inaugural match at our new Werder Bremen Stadium. The opponents were league champions Leverkusen, who we'd beaten a couple of times last year but who had also delivered some thrashings our way. A slightly lucky 2-1 win was good enough for me as I checked off a second, albeit slightly rubbish, trophy at Bremen.

From there it all went briefly pear-shaped. We started the league with a couple of draws that had all the hallmarks of us at our worst last season - sterile attacks that broke down as soon as they looked like they might go somewhere, weak shooting, and last-minute concessions. We then compounded this by managing to go out of the DFB-Pokal on penalties to a 2. Bundesliga side at the first hurdle. Brilliant.

To compound that, our third match in the league saw us gift Hoffenheim a 3 goal headstart, which, surprisingly enough, we couldn't quite recover from. I almost ditched my new, more expansive tactics right then and there, but I'm so very glad I didn't.

First a 4-0 win over Oberhausen to bust us out of our funk, then successive wins over Bayern (A), Dortmund (H), and Leverkusen (A) saw our confidence and mine skyrocket!

6 more league wins on the trot followed, before we finally succumbed to a draw away at Schalke. We hopped back on the winning trail straight after though, with successive wins over Koln and Stuttgart, before closing the year out with a rollicking 5-1 victory at home to Furth, leaving us 8 points clear at the top - an absolute chasm even at this relatively early stage.

In Europe we drew Lech Poznan in the qualifying round, which we sailed through 7-1 on aggregate despite it falling in the middle of our start-of-season travails. We were rewarded with the easiest group I've ever seen. Serie A bottom-half side Torino were the trickiest foes, with Crvena Zvezda a shadow of their early 90's golden age, and the group completed by, bizarrely, Ligue 2 side Creteil-Lusitanos, who had somehow won the Coupe de France last season despite nearly getting relegated to the National.

Unsurprisingly, not much resistance was encountered, with a 1-1 draw away in Turin despite creating 6 clear cut chances to their 0 the only blot on our copy book. We'll play Feyenoord in the next round, and then the winner of West Ham v Vitesse should we progress.

The Good

Top of the table by miles
All the new signings have bedded in nicely and the football is magic at times
Comfortable passage in Europe

The Bad

The DFB-Pokal debacle
Ekici has missed most of the season so far
Although we have a huge buffer in terms of our healthy balance, we're losing around £5m a month which is worrying

Results - League Table - Squad

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 23:10

Originally Posted by ManUTactician247

Ekici - Planter
Sahin - Hawk

The other names don't mean anything.

That just makes Sahin even more badass than he already was! Didn't think it was possible...

**SnakeXe** · 25-11-2011 23:13

And yes, Hannover really are 5th having scored and conceded just 11 goals each. It's not a glitch.

**noikeee** · 26-11-2011 01:32

Just keeping up now after missing the last few days of updates, well done to win the german cup, crucial in getting that european spot. But I'm disappointed you only put 8 past Lusitanos in the games against them.

I think Deisler (the guy from the Catennacio thread) needs to take some tips from the Hannover manager, that's some thrilling football there.

**HotChocolate** · 26-11-2011 08:37

You're flying in the league

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 26-11-2011 09:07

Slow start but things seemed to turn around after the Hoffenheim result. Was that a tweak of tactics or just bedding in period? Nice return from Tainha so far

**SnakeXe** · 26-11-2011 10:36

Originally Posted by noikeee

Just keeping up now after missing the last few days of updates, well done to win the german cup, crucial in getting that european spot. But I'm disappointed you only put 8 past Lusitanos in the games against them.

I think Deisler (the guy from the Catennacio thread) needs to take some tips from the Hannover manager, that's some thrilling football there.

Well I did play a shadow 11 in both matches against them, I dread to think what the scoreline would have ended up as had Tainha played! Haha yeah he's rubbish, scores far too many goals

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

You're flying in the league

Well hopefully we've built up a decent buffer to the perils of re-ranking anyway. It's weird how it seems to happen like a lightswitch around halfway through. Shouldn't be too bad for us though as we were still predicted 6th.

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

Slow start but things seemed to turn around after the Hoffenheim result. Was that a tweak of tactics or just bedding in period? Nice return from Tainha so far

Probably a bedding in period more than anything, but I did tweak a few things.

To begin with I had Tainha as a false-nine, the AMC looking to run beyond him, both wingers moving into channels, both fullbacks getting forward, and Sahin as a DLP alongside Ignjovski as a ball winning midfielder.

I changed it slightly to have Tainha as an advanced forward with the AMC looking to feed balls through to him, only the left winger moving into channels whilst the right hugged the touchline, and only the left back getting forward to provide width on that side, whilst both central midfielders had the normal central midfielder duty, with Ignjovski given a defensive role and Sahin the support role but told to stay deeper.

Basically it allows Ignjovski and Sahin to play as a double-pivot but slightly higher up the pitch than normal. This takes advantage of the fact that my defenders are good on the ball and can still find them regularly even though they're slightly further away. The high double-pivot also provides a big advantage in terms of winning the ball back high up the pitch if it's lost with a wayward cross or someone gets a clearance in, since the ball usually falls in their area. It also allows Sahin to really spray the passes round to the four attackers, with the AMC constantly searching for space and playing cute through balls when given the opportunity (like the one for the opening goal in the video I posted).

The AML moving into channels means he'll sometimes go wide and sometimes cut inside, which adds variety to our play, and we've scored a lot of goals from him coming inside, playing a ball inbetween fullback and centreback for the right winger, and him either shooting or crossing for an on-rushing Tainha. That's why I decided to have the AMR stay wide rather than do the same, as it keeps the width high up the pitch and encourages this sort of move.

I love it when a plan comes together!

**Azeryk`** · 26-11-2011 11:54

Amazing run of games without defeat you had there - keep up the good work

**AK22** · 26-11-2011 12:24

Looking very comfortable at the top of the Bundesliga. Your tactical tweaks have really made the difference

Are Bayern still the dominant force in German football? Or are things more even now? It certainly looks a bit of a sea-change now anyway.

**SnakeXe** · 26-11-2011 15:11

Originally Posted by AK22

Looking very comfortable at the top of the Bundesliga. Your tactical tweaks have really made the difference

Are Bayern still the dominant force in German football? Or are things more even now? It certainly looks a bit of a sea-change now anyway.

Bayern have won more titles than anyone else since the beginning of the save (5), so they're still overall the team to beat (although they have even dropped out of the Champions League spots on a couple of occasions). Dortmund took two, Leverkusen the most recent, and even Freiburg managed one in 2014. If we can keep our lead it'd be Werder's first title since 2004, which would be very nice!

**Braundjoh** · 26-11-2011 16:05

Just read this whole thread (the joys of procrastinating a Latin essay), great read and a great career so far. Brilliant season as well

**Nobby_McDonald** · 26-11-2011 17:46

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Sorry Nobby, he's right

Bollocks.

Good start with Bremen though.

**SnakeXe** · 27-11-2011 23:26

**noikeee** · 27-11-2011 23:34

Rest in peace Gary Speed.

Your tactical setup seems interesting, I liked the explanation, everything makes sense and must be entertaining to watch.

**SnakeXe** · 28-11-2011 09:09

Well since I'm finally at a team where I can basically pick and choose my players (within reason), I thought I'd push the boat out a bit tactically! I've used quite a few different shapes so far in my career, but largely stuck with a rigid 4-5-1 which was basically "get the ball to my winger who is vastly more talented than anyone else in the league and tell him to run until he sees chalk in front of him". Obviously I had to change that a bit when I was an underdog in my last seasons at Southend and Wigan, but it worked out pretty well the rest of the time.

**SnakeXe** · 28-11-2011 14:53

SnakeXe's Career - Season 9 - 2020/21

Story of the Season:
1. Bundesliga - 1st
With an 8 point lead through the winter break I was anticipating a leisurely stroll to the title. When the wins kept coming I thought it'd be sewn up with weeks to spare. However, Leverkusen were like a particularly tenacious leech, and were sucking on our arse with all their might. When a 2-0 loss to Dortmund finally ended our unbeaten run that had lasted since matchday 4, they snuck back to 7 points behind. We reestablished our lead in the next match, beating them at home, but that defeat at Dortmund gave the players a small case of the yips, and we lost the next two away matches as well. Couple that with imperious Leverkusen form and a 4 point lead suddenly looked much less commanding.

Fortunately, despite coming as close as 1 point behind, their form dithered just as ours improved, and we secured the title with a home win over Stuttgart in the penultimate match - a final day win over Furth just putting the gloss on it.

DFB-Pokal - 1st Round (lost v Essen)The less said about this the better.

DFL-Supercup - Winners
A hard-fought win over Leverkusen set the tone for the season.

Europa League - Semi-final (lost v Everton)
Feyenoord didn't put up much fight in the first round, and neither did West Ham in the second. The quarter finals saw us take on PSV, where a 5-0 win in the home leg did the damage. Everton did much the same to us in the semi, with a 4-0 win in the first leg, which we were unable to overturn despite giving it a very good go.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Squad

Transfers - £36M spent
Pretty much all my transfers worked out to at least some degree this year - makes a nice change!

Finances
Quite healthy, although how we managed to only barely make a profit this season despite winning the Bundesliga with the 7th highest wage total I don't know. Hopefully the Champions League money will make a difference.

5 Most Important Players:
5. Nuri Sahin - DM/MC - Had he kept up his early season form he may have topped this list. Definitely needs a deputy for next season.
4. Alan Baena - ML/AMRLC - Some crucial goals as well as a few assists. If they kept records for secondary assists (i.e. assisting the assister) I'd wager he got a fair few of them.
3. Danny Wilson - DLC - A rock at the back - a model of fitness as well.
2. Mustafa Eryilmaz - M/AMRC - Great season from the speed-merchant, scoring and assisting in equal measure.
1. Tainha - ST - So that's what a top striker could do in this team. Adamczyk, hang your head in shame.

History:

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League                | Country      | Position | Notes                                          |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                         |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                     |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                                |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March            |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                           |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                       |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners    |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      | 15th     | Left in December                               |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners |
| 2020/21 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | 1. Bundesliga Champions, EL Semi-Finalists     |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:
Improve the squad depth, retain the Bundesliga, and see what happens in the Champions League - all very exciting!

**SnakeXe** · 28-11-2011 15:15

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

More mediocrity.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -
2020/21   Blue Square South       14th      -

NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Nearly a double relegation - that would have been a disaster!

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   League Two              20th      -

Southend United:

Great season for The Shrimpers.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -
2020/21   Championship            12th      FA Cup 5th Round

Wigan Athletic:

Amazingly managed to win the League Cup! And then get relegated. Well done, Tony Coton. That's what you get for not using the excellent players I left you.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)
2020/21   Premier League          18th      League Cup Winners, Relegated

**deltablue** · 28-11-2011 15:34

Much like what happened to Norwich in the mid 80's I believe.

**City2000** · 28-11-2011 16:01

Great title winning season there, nice run in the Europa League aswell. Always exciting to get into the Champions League, good luck

**arinceo** · 28-11-2011 16:04

Excellent season in terms of results, but the finances may be of concern if you are planning to strengthen the team for Champions League football.

**HotChocolate** · 28-11-2011 16:16

As City said, a great title winning season! Will be interesting to see you in the Champions League

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 28-11-2011 16:19

Great season. Think your players are up to challenge of CL next year?

**SnakeXe** · 28-11-2011 18:04

Thanks all

As for our capabilities in the Champions League, we're probably a couple of first teamers away from a side that could win it, but the overall quality of the squad is probably far too low to successfully challenge for both the Champions League and Bundesliga title. Even this season I basically had to decide between the league and Europa League after the quarter final, because we were in danger of slipping behind Leverkusen domestically.

That said, it looks like we can beat mostly anyone on our day. We did the double over Leverkusen and they got to the Champions League semi, so who knows?

**AK22** · 28-11-2011 18:11

Well done, an excellent first full season for you, but I'm surprised how terrible Bayern were.

Good to see that Wigan will be in next year's Europa League, and, er, The Championship too

**Nobby_McDonald** · 28-11-2011 21:26

Bah, you could have won the Premier League with Stoke instead.

**SnakeXe** · 28-11-2011 22:12

Originally Posted by AK22

Well done, an excellent first full season for you, but I'm surprised how terrible Bayern were.

Good to see that Wigan will be in next year's Europa League, and, er, The Championship too

Bayern have Oliver Kahn in charge, and like most former legendary players returning as manager he's been rubbish. Considering they've won half of the league titles since the start of the game, and no other side have won more than two, it's quite a fall from grace.

Originally Posted by Nobby_McDonald

Bah, you could have won the Premier League with Stoke instead.

I might be decent at this management lark (cue relegation next season), but I don't think I'm that good, Nobby.

**SnakeXe** · 29-11-2011 13:03

SnakeXe's Career - Season 10 Preview - Werder Bremen

Board Expectations:
1. Bundesliga - Title challenge (Predicted 1st out of 18)
DFB-Pokal - Final
Champions League - First knockout round
DFL-Supercup - Unimportant

My Expectations:
1. Bundesliga - I won't be too gutted if we don't retain it, but only if that's due to a deep Champions League run
DFB-Pokal - Anything better than last year's debacle
Champions League - I'll agree with the board and say getting past the group stages would be enough this time
DFL-Supercup - Not too bothered this year, but it'd be nice to win

Budgets:
Transfer: £0 (£0 remaining)
Wages: £862,471/week (£723,216/week currently)
Balance: £34,419,033 (-£21,679,514 since last season)

Squad:
A fair few high earners shipped out (or retired in the case of Marin and Derdiyok) and plenty of young potential. Not that I had much choice with that measly budget.

Key Men:
Goalkeeper/Defence
Luis Guilherme - GK - For 80% of last season he shored up our defence very well. Has competition this year in the form of former Stuttgart keeper Bernd Leno.

Midfield
Mustafa Eryilmaz - M/AMRC - If he can be as devastating against Champions League defences as against Bundesliga ones we're always going to have a chance.
Careca - M/AMC - With Ekici utterly failing in the attacking midfield role due to injury and terrible form, the young Brazil U20 star has a big chance (following me failing to get Ozil back to Bremen, after his utterly outlandish wage demands).

Strikers
Tainha - AMC/ST - Hopefully Reiß and Kacar can ease the scoring burden on him a little this year - I have a feeling he'll do even better with a rest once in a while.

**Azeryk`** · 29-11-2011 21:42

Congratz on a good title win

**ArsenalMetro** · 30-11-2011 00:57

Great title win! Good luck in the Champions League this season.

**SnakeXe** · 30-11-2011 17:45

First and second in goal of the month

**deltablue** · 30-11-2011 17:47

Well done on that.

**Pangaea** · 01-12-2011 17:31

I haven't bought FM12 so hopefully impressions from highlight skew the image somewhat. But from highlights I've seen from countless matches now, it seems like defence is pretty poor. Not particularly in those two shots as they are cracking longshots (though the goalie should be questioned), but quite often I'm seeing defenders not bother running back, pressing poorly, reacting to throughballs way too late, strikers easily gliding through defences - that kinda stuff. How do you rate the match engine now, does it feel fairly realistic or "good" when you are playing 'live'?

**SnakeXe** · 01-12-2011 18:40

If you're just watching highlights then presumably that's just the goals, and a common source of goals is defensive mistakes.

To me it seems just as realistic as the previous couple of editions, a well set up defense will defend well, and I've been able to implement both deep, rigid defenses and high, pressing, relatively fluid defenses to good effect.

**Pangaea** · 01-12-2011 22:31

That's a valid point of course, but the type of goals being conceded/scored all over the place has worried me.

Won't be able to witness it myself though, as I've made the decision to not get this year's game. Here's hoping FM13 brings good news.

**SnakeXe** · 02-12-2011 14:07

Just noticed my first bug!

Home-grown in nation (0-21) players don't show up in the European squad selection as home grown in nation. Irritating, as I bought in a few players (like Cisse and Reiß) on the strength of them giving a boost to that quota.

**AK22** · 02-12-2011 19:40

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Just noticed my first bug!

Home-grown in nation (0-21) players don't show up in the European squad selection as home grown in nation. Irritating, as I bought in a few players (like Cisse and Reiß) on the strength of them giving a boost to that quota.

Unfortunately, something like this happened last year too. You could see from your main squad screen that they had home-grown status, but when it came to selecting European squads, their selection did not register as one of the eight HG player allocation. It is somewhat irksome, especially if you're signing players for this specific benefit.

**Deisler26** · 02-12-2011 20:27

Originally Posted by Pangaea

That's a valid point of course, but the type of goals being conceded/scored all over the place has worried me.

Won't be able to witness it myself though, as I've made the decision to not get this year's game. Here's hoping FM13 brings good news.

I disagree in that I'm playing defensive football and we seem to do OK

**SnakeXe** · 03-12-2011 00:13

Originally Posted by AK22

Unfortunately, something like this happened last year too. You could see from your main squad screen that they had home-grown status, but when it came to selecting European squads, their selection did not register as one of the eight HG player allocation. It is somewhat irksome, especially if you're signing players for this specific benefit.

I seem to remember that was something to do with patching between 11.2 and 11.3 that messed that up. Same problem though, yeah.

**SnakeXe** · 03-12-2011 19:49

Season 10: Halfway House Update

The DFL-Supercup again offered us an early season opportunity for silverware, and we didn't disappoint, seeing off DFB-Pokal holders Wolfsburg 1-0, with usual suspect Tainha proving the difference.

We had a difficult start to contend with in the league, with away games against all three of our title rivals within the first six games. Unfortunately, we lost all three despite proving a match for the opposition in all three games. A rare injury for Tainha definitely didn't help, especially as he had previously scored 6 in two starts and one substitute appearance. Fortunately, we won the other three games in that opening six, so there was no hint of a crisis.

Home draws against Hoffenheim and Mainz were actually of more concern, as we were back to our old profligate ways, but a return to a settled team and, more importantly, defence, saw us collect maximum points from all the other games this year, a run of 7 consecutive clean sheets in all competitions showing our prowess - we've scored 22 times since the last opposition goal against us. Considering our record is really very good, it's a little galling to be sat in 4th at this stage of the season. Unbeaten Leverkusen are out in front with a 7 point advantage over us, whilst Dortmund and Bayern are tied on a point above.

In the DFB-Pokal there were no repeats of last year's disaster as we've sailed through all three rounds played so far, Koblenz and Rostock from 2. Bundesliga and St. Pauli from the top-flight the limited opposition.

In Europe we had a tough-ish group, with Real Madrid, Zenit and FC Kobenhavn to get past. No way to start like one of the toughest fixtures in European football, and we gave a decent enough account of ourselves in 1-0 defeat in the Bernebeu. A 3-0 home win over Zenit got the ball rolling, with a 4-0 over Kobenhavn following. Unfortunately Kobenhavn held firm in Denmark in grabbing a spawny 0-0 to end our realistic hopes of winning the group, but we were still in the position that a win in either remaining game would see us through.

We got that with an immensely satisfying 2-0 home win over Real, before finally getting my first away Champions League win in St. Petersburg through a Serkan Aydin brace.

French-Qataris Paris Saint-Germain are our intimidating opposition in the next round. I'd be gutted about not taking the group win (which we would have done with a victory away in Denmark), but Real are up against holders Arsenal so they don't have it much easier.

The Good

Progression in Europe
Alan Baena has been remarkable - more goals and more assists than anyone else in the squad - 14 and 12 in 20 starts respectively
The backup strikers I brought in already have twice as many goals as the ones last season managed in the whole campaign

The Bad

Leverkusen look pretty unstoppable
PSG will be very difficult to get past
The finances don't look like allowing me much room to push past our current level

Results - League Table - Squad

**Nordan** · 03-12-2011 20:06

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

[*]Leverkusen look pretty unstoppable[*]PSG will be very difficult to get past[*]The finances don't look like allowing me much room to push past our current level

Good first half of the season really,just 04 having a stormer.

Do I sense "maybe it's time to move on" in there somewhere?

**SnakeXe** · 03-12-2011 23:18

The only situation I'd consider moving on at the end of this season would be if we won the lot (which is very unlikely I think!).

Because we have a good number of young players in the squad, with some potentially world class guys like Careca just a couple of years from being at a really high level, I think it's worth staying even if I can't splash the cash. The squad can mature even without investment.

Out of interest what would people like to see as my next move? Should I stay in Germany and take on another club without the millstone of a stadium loan, or go to another country - perhaps reacquaint myself with Italy? Back home to England to prove myself at the highest level there? Or even head to another continent?

**Nordan** · 04-12-2011 00:57

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Out of interest what would people like to see as my next move? Should I stay in Germany and take on another club without the millstone of a stadium loan, or go to another country - perhaps reacquaint myself with Italy? Back home to England to prove myself at the highest level there? Or even head to another continent?

Bremen is a big club so moving to another German club seems a bit pointless,better to possibly return there at some point...
a fallen giant in Italy or Spain maybe?

But more to the point,anywhere is interesting when it's well played and well written.It's always nice to learn about leagues off the beaten path too,for me that would be leagues like Mexico,Chile,all of Africa and Asia and Eastern Europe.

I got carried away,I will read no matter where you decide to go

**deadfncat** · 04-12-2011 01:57

Scotland! or Finland

**SRL88** · 04-12-2011 06:31

Just caught up on this. Nice move to Germany, I love this league (Hoffenheim

). The finances in Germany are very annoying. You will continue to make a loss each month as there is no income until the end of the season. Check the rules out just to see how much you get for finishing 5th

, its cool. Champions League money helps a lot as well!!!!

**AK22** · 04-12-2011 11:40

You're on a exceptional run of form at the moment, 17 unbeaten, 7 without conceding

Can't see Leverkusen maintaining their streak for too much longer, you just need to be close enough to take advantage of any slip up.

I think a South America adventure would be quite interesting, but I'd probably stay another season or two with Werder to establish them as the best club in Germany.

**SnakeXe** · 04-12-2011 11:43

Originally Posted by Nordan

Bremen is a big club so moving to another German club seems a bit pointless,better to possibly return there at some point...
a fallen giant in Italy or Spain maybe?

But more to the point,anywhere is interesting when it's well played and well written.It's always nice to learn about leagues off the beaten path too,for me that would be leagues like Mexico,Chile,all of Africa and Asia and Eastern Europe.

I got carried away,I will read no matter where you decide to go

Yeah I'm enjoying managing in a league I've not managed in before, so perhaps I should continue that trend? I've maybe done 3 seasons in France ever on CM/FM so that'd be a good one to go for. Maybe if I took on Lille or someone similar and tried to challenge the financial might of PSG that'd be interesting. Portugal is another option, I think I did one season with Porto ages ago and that's it.

Originally Posted by deadfncat

Scotland! or Finland

Why would I want to go to a backward European cess-pit of footballing awfulness? Or Finland?

Originally Posted by SRL88

Just caught up on this. Nice move to Germany, I love this league (Hoffenheim

). The finances in Germany are very annoying. You will continue to make a loss each month as there is no income until the end of the season. Check the rules out just to see how much you get for finishing 5th, its cool. Champions League money helps a lot as well!!!!

Yeah the league prize money and season tickets seem to form a sort of buffer that you just chew away on over the rest of the season! There's a decent wedge to be made in the latter stages of the cup as well.

As I set most of my transfer spending in that first summer off over 48 months, I've got to be fairly careful until that's paid off. The payments would probably only fail to be sustainable for the club if we were relegated, which isn't a huge concern, so I'm happy with the risk. I don't want to be laying too much more on that though, so future transfers will probably have to be up front using the CL money (since that's going to be pretty much pure profit I hope).

**SnakeXe** · 04-12-2011 11:48

Originally Posted by AK22

You're on a exceptional run of form at the moment, 17 unbeaten, 7 without conceding

Can't see Leverkusen maintaining their streak for too much longer, you just need to be close enough to take advantage of any slip up.

I think a South America adventure would be quite interesting, but I'd probably stay another season or two with Werder to establish them as the best club in Germany.

Yeah just a case of clinging to the coat tails, much as they did with us last season. Hopefully we'll take full advantage of a slip-up, which they just about failed to do.

I'm very happy at Werder both with enjoying the game and it being good for my in-game career prospects. I'm wondering whether I should establish myself as a top-class manager in Europe and then head out to other continents, or whether I should head off on a bit of a world tour soon and then come back to Europe - maybe even England, maybe even Newcastle - to finish the job? The latter is definitey appealing to my sense of sentimentality and occasion...

**HotChocolate** · 04-12-2011 12:25

Thats the joy of the German league, there are so many teams that can actually challenge for the title but I'm sure you'll be able to peg Leverkusen back!

**City2000** · 04-12-2011 22:22

Cracking form from Leverkusen, going to be tough to better that over the second half of the season but you have not exactly been in bad form yourself of late so you never know.

Great progress in Europe aswell, nice win over Real

**SRL88** · 05-12-2011 00:41

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Yeah the league prize money and season tickets seem to form a sort of buffer that you just chew away on over the rest of the season! There's a decent wedge to be made in the latter stages of the cup as well.

As I set most of my transfer spending in that first summer off over 48 months, I've got to be fairly careful until that's paid off. The payments would probably only fail to be sustainable for the club if we were relegated, which isn't a huge concern, so I'm happy with the risk. I don't want to be laying too much more on that though, so future transfers will probably have to be up front using the CL money (since that's going to be pretty much pure profit I hope).

On my Hoffe save I constantly run at a loss each month due to the 48 month payments on transfers to. Luckily, 90% of mine are now paid off (until the summer anyway). I would say that I have roughly a £20-30m loss per season, depending on how much I have spent and wages etc, but when I win the league (10 in a row

), that gives me £20m, plus how well we perform in Europe which gives me another £20m, and like you say, the latter stages of the German Cup pays nicely to, you tend to make a nice little profit at the end of the season.

**SnakeXe** · 05-12-2011 21:58

SnakeXe's Career - Season 10 - 2021/22

Story of the Season:
1. Bundesliga - 2nd
We did pretty much exactly what Leverkusen did last season in clinging on for dear life, catching up when they had a slip up, and then bottling it when the opportunity actually came to actually getting a grip on the race. We were just 1 point behind with 3 remaining - in one of which they had to face Dortmund away, so we still had a great chance. Unfortunately Eryilmaz decided to cap an awful season for himself and get sent off with seconds on the clock of our third to last game against Schalke and rob us of any chance to put some pressure on. Dortmund naturally capitulated to hand them the title with a game to spare.

DFB-Pokal - Semi-final (lost v Schalke)
HSV were summarily destroyed in the quarter-final before a shocking performance in front of goal saw us lose to rivals Schalke in the semi.

DFL-Supercup - Winners
Retained our title with a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Champions League - Semi-final (lost v Fiorentina)
A 3-2 win over PSG in the first leg was a good result, the 2-0 win in Paris even better. Celtic were the plum draw of the Quarter-Finals, and we made short work of them, with a 2-0 home win and a 2-1 loss at Parkhead. Fiorentina, conquerors of Tottenham, were the last team in our path before a possible all-German final with Dortmund, who took on Arsenal.

A 0-0 in the Artemio Franchi was a good result, going 2-0 down to their first 3 shots on goal in the home leg was not. We utterly battered them, taking it back to 2-1 before Ekici "did an Eryilmaz" and missed a penalty. I'm not pleased with my Turks this year.

Dortmund went on to win the final.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Squad

Transfers - £5.5M spent
A quiet season on this front with mostly youthful promise replacing tired old hands. Gil was a noteable and successful exception.

Finances
The Champions League TV money made a nice difference this year - basically doubling our revenue from couch potatoes.

5 Most Important Players:
If you're wondering about the missing presence of Tainha and Eryilmaz, they were both shudderingly awful for large parts of this season.
5. Matthias Zimmermann - DRLC/WBR/DM/MC - The versatile German has been a revalation since conversion to left back - 10 assists speak for themselves.
4. Careca - M/AMC - Decent enough season, did plenty to suggest he'll one day make that attacking midfield role his own.
3. Gil - DC - Only played half the season due to injury but was incredible when he did.
2. Alexander Reiß - ST - Surpassed all expectations to outscore and outperform Tainha.
1. Alan Baena - ML/AMRLC - Leading scorer and assist maker. Amazing.

History:

Code:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League                | Country      |  Position | Notes                                                 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      |  2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                                |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      |  3rd      | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      |  14th     | 15th on arrival in October                            |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      |  2nd      | Playoff Winners                                       |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      |  16th     | Resigned in January                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      |  21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March                   |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      |  1st      | League Two Champions                                  |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      |  2nd      | Promoted                                              |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      |  17th     | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      |  4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners           |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      |  15th     | Left in December                                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      |  8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners        |
| 2020/21 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      |  1st      | B'liga Champions, Supercup Winners, EL Semi-Finalists |
| 2021/22 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      |  2nd      | Supercup Winners, CL & DFB-Pokal Semi-Finalists       |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:
So close to so much, but in a way it's nice that it hasn't come too easily. I think the aim has to be to win something slightly more prestigious than the DFL-Supercup. Slightly gutting that Dortmund picked up a Champions League and DFB-Pokal double and Leverkusen the Bundesliga and Europa League whilst we're left empty handed. Especially as Dortmund capitulated to hand Leverkusen the title. It's all a bit incestuous if you ask me.

I think I'm getting a Sir Alex style persecution complex.

**SnakeXe** · 05-12-2011 22:04

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

Only stayed in the playable leagues because of Farnborough entering administration. Dark times for the Terras.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -
2020/21   Blue Square South       14th      -
2021/22   Blue Square South       19th      -

NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Much better for Darlo, unluckily losing in the playoff semi-finals.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   League Two              20th      -
2021/22   League Two              6th       FA Cup 4th Round, Playoff Semifinalists

Southend United:

Really steady progress here - delighted for them.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -
2020/21   Championship            12th      FA Cup 5th Round
2021/22   Championship            9th       -

Wigan Athletic:

Thankfully managed to win a rapid re-promotion - their squad is easily Premier League mid-table so anything less would have been a disaster. Dropped out of the Europa League at the group stage, finishing 3rd behind Ajax and PAOK.

Code:

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)
2020/21   Premier League          18th      League Cup Winners, Relegated
2021/22   Championship            2nd       Promoted, League Cup Quarter-finalists

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 10:24

Couldn't wangle a rise, but it'll do.

**deltablue** · 06-12-2011 10:40

Must have been rubbish just missing out this time.

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 10:46

2022 FIFA World Cup
Hosts: Qatar
Holders: Ghana

Group Stage:
Group A

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Egypt       |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 8     | 2     | +6    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Ecuador     |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 3     | +3    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Switzerland |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 5     | -1    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Qatar       |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 9     | -8    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Brazil      |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 3     | +2    | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Belgium     |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 3     | +2    | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Mexico      |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 4     | 0     | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | South Korea |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 2     | 6     | -4    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Argentina     |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 4     | +3    | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Turkey        |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 4     | 3     | +1    | 5     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | United States |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 4     | +1    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Uzbekistan    |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 6     | -5    | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Morocco |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 2     | +2    | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Canada  |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 2     | +3    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Spain   |       | 3     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th   |       | Sweden  |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 6     | -5    | 1     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Italy   |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 12    | 2     | +10   | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Croatia |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6     | 6     | 0     | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Nigeria |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 7     | -5    | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | China   |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 6     | -5    | 1     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | France   |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 3     | +3    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Serbia   |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 8     | 5     | +3    | 6     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Ghana    |       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 2     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Honduras |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 4     | -4    | 1     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group G

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | England  |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 6     | 0     | +6    | 9     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Colombia |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 1     | +2    | 4     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Iran     |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 6     | -4    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Germany  |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 5     | -4    | 1     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group H

Code:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Algeria     |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 3     | +2    | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Netherlands |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 2     | +2    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Austria     |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Chile       |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Knockout Stage:
Second Round:
Egypt 4 v 0 Belgium
Brazil 4 v 0 Ecuador
Argentina 3 v 3p Canada
Morocco 1 v 3 Turkey
Italy 0 v 2 Serbia
Croatia 0 v 2 France
Netherlands 2 v 2p England
Colombia 1 v 0 Algeria

Quarter Final:
Egypt 1 v 0 Turkey
Brazil 2 v 0 Canada
Serbia 2 v 0 Colombia
France 2 v 1 England

Semi Final:
Egypt 2 v 0 France
Brazil 1 v 0 Serbia

Third Place Playoff:
Serbia 0 v 1 France

Final:
Brazil 2 v 1 Egypt

Heartbreak for Egypt as they fall just short of becoming the second African World Cup winners, after Ghana's achievement in Russia.

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 06-12-2011 11:08

The Fiorentina result must have been hard to take, should have won it by a couple of goals. Better luck next year

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 11:22

World Club Football... 10 Years On

Okay I'm aware that it's 11 years on because I holidayed the first season, but it's 10 years into my career and I'm the protagonist of this thread! Basically I'm just going to list the title winners and how often they've won it from each country and then for each of the continental championships and Club World Cup.

Argentina
Boca Juniors x10
Independiente, Velez x4
Belgrano, Estudiantes (LP) x1

Australia
Melbourne Victory x3
Adelaide United, Sydney FC x2
Perth Glory, Newcastle United Jets, Central Coast Mariners, Brisbane Roar x1

Brazil
Corinthians, Santos x4
Flamengo, Palmeiras x1

China
Beijing x4
Guangzhou x3
Fuli x2
Tianjin x1

England
Manchester United x8
Tottenham Hotspur x2
Manchester City x1

France
Olympique Lyonnais x9
Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain x1

Germany
FC Bayern x5
Dortmund, Leverkusen x2
Freiburg, Werder Bremen x1

India
Mohun Bagan x5
Pune FC, Salgaocar x2
Churchill Bros, Dempo x1

Ireland
Shamrock Rovers x9
Sligo Rovers x1

Italy
AC Milan x4
Fiorentina x3
Inter, Juventus x2

Mexico
Chivas x5
Pachuca, Pumas, Monterrey x3
America (MEX), Morelia x2
Xolos Tijuana, Atlante, Tigres x1

Netherlands
Ajax, PSV x4
Vitess x2
FC Twente x1

Northern Ireland
Linfield x8
Crusaders x3

Portugal
Benfica x6
Porto, Sporting CP x2
Braga x1

Russia
CSKA Moscow x10
Spartak Moscow x1

Scotland
Celtic x8
Rangers x2
Dundee x1

South Africa
Orlando Pirates x4
Kaizer Chiefs, Ajax CT x2
Sundowns, SuperSport Utd, FS Stars x1

South Korea
Suwon x5
Seoul x3
Seongnam, Sangju x1

Spain
Barcelona, Real Madrid x5
Valencia x1

USA
Los Angeles x3
DC United x2
Toronto FC, Houston, New York, Colorado, Chivas USA x1

Wales
Llanelli x5
Aberystwyth x3
Neath x2
Haverfordwest x1

-----

Africa (CAF Champions League)
ES Tunis (Tunisia), Al-Ahly (Egypt) x4
Club Africain (Tunisia) CS Sfax (Tunisia) x1

Asia (AFC Champions League)
Al-Ittihad (KSA) (Saudi Arabia), Al-Ahli (KSA) (Saudi Arabia) x2
Nagoya Stolz (Japan), Suwon (South Korea), Al-Hilal (KSA) (Saudi Arabia), Seoul (South Korea), Sepahan (Iran), Fuli (China) x1

Europe (UEFA Champions League)
Manchester United (England), Real Madrid (Spain) x2
Barcelona (Spain), Chelsea (England), Liverpool (England), AC Milan (Italy), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Arsenal (England), Dortmund (Germany) x1

North America (CONCACAF Champions League)
Chivas (Mexico) x3
Pumas (Mexico), Cruz Azul (Mexico) x2
Monterrey (Mexico), Los Angeles (USA), Atlante (Mexico), America (MEX) (Mexico) x1

Oceania (OFC Champions League - Unplayable)
Auckland City (New Zealand) x7
Waitakere United (New Zealand) x4

South America (Copa Libertadores)
Corinthians (Brazil), Boca Juniors (Argentina), Flamengo (Brazil), Santos (Brazil) x2
Colo Colo (Chile), Monterrey (Mexico) x1

Club World Cup
Pumas (Mexico), Chivas (Mexico) x2
Santos (Brazil), Barcelona (Spain), Chelsea (England), Liverpool (England), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Arsenal (England) x1

**City2000** · 06-12-2011 11:33

Exciting season, bad luck on just missing out on the league and thats a real tough one to take in the CL semi's. Still, looks like you have put together a good squad

And Group A looked a cracker at the World Cup!

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 06-12-2011 11:34

Great to see Dundee split up the Old Firm.

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 12:25

SnakeXe's Career - Season 11 Preview - Werder Bremen

Board Expectations:
1. Bundesliga - Title challenge (Predicted 4th out of 18)
DFB-Pokal - Final
Champions League - First knockout round

My Expectations:
1. Bundesliga - I'd very much like to regain the title this year
DFB-Pokal - Have a go at winning it, but I'll be playing my backups until the semi-finals
Champions League - Quarter-finals should be the target - a group win would be good as well

Budgets:
Transfer: £8,266,309 (£7,080,000 remaining)
Wages: £862,309/week (£764,112/week currently)
Balance: £47,350,953 (£12,931,920 since last season)

Squad:
Just one high profile addition in the form of Turmus, with Coentrao retiring and Boulanger no longer required after Cubukcu's rapid progress.

Key Men:
Goalkeeper/Defence
Gil - DC - If he stays fit this season we have a world-class player.

Midfield
Bora Turmus - AMRL/ST - If he's as good as he looks then Eryilmaz will have nowhere to hide if he doesn't recapture his form.
Careca - M/AMC - Good progress last season, let's hope he can rise another level this one.

Strikers
Tainha - AMC/ST - He was either unplayable or unbearable last season, facing the ignominy of being outscored by both his backup and our inside left. We need him back to his best if we're to collect a trophy this year.

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 12:55

Originally Posted by deltablue

Must have been rubbish just missing out this time.

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

The Fiorentina result must have been hard to take, should have won it by a couple of goals. Better luck next year

Originally Posted by City2000

Exciting season, bad luck on just missing out on the league and thats a real tough one to take in the CL semi's. Still, looks like you have put together a good squad

And Group A looked a cracker at the World Cup!

Thanks all! Yeah Group A was top-quality action, haha. Although we shouldn't be too snooty as Egypt did make it to the final...

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

Great to see Dundee split up the Old Firm.

Yeah they finally managed it last season! Interesting to see which leagues and tournaments have a hegemony over them (the Tunisian clubs in the African Champions League for example) and which are more open.

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 12:56

A nice little landmark against a team from outside the playable leagues.

**deltablue** · 06-12-2011 15:24

Should have a bit of a party then.

**abulezz** · 06-12-2011 15:28

Turmus is pure class! Congrats on the impressive landmark!

**SnakeXe** · 06-12-2011 17:49

Originally Posted by deltablue

Should have a bit of a party then.

6-0 was a fitting tribute to my awesomeness I think

Originally Posted by abulezz

Turmus is pure class! Congrats on the impressive landmark!

Cheers! Let's hope he has the impact his ability suggests...

**AK22** · 06-12-2011 20:26

Shame you didn't win one of the major trophies, but not a bad season overall.

You've certainly got some players capable of winning silverware next season, whether that's Bundesliga, Champions League, or both.

Football in Russia looks pretty boring if you don't live in Moscow

**HotChocolate** · 07-12-2011 09:01

Unlucky last season, good luck this season

**SRL88** · 07-12-2011 11:46

Unlucky on missing out on the title...but thats the fun of managing in Germany. So many teams can actually win it!!!! Get yourself to Hoffenheim though & sort that club out will you

.

**Nobby_McDonald** · 07-12-2011 23:57

Canada and Egypt had a fabulous World Cup.

**SnakeXe** · 08-12-2011 09:59

Originally Posted by AK22

Shame you didn't win one of the major trophies, but not a bad season overall.

You've certainly got some players capable of winning silverware next season, whether that's Bundesliga, Champions League, or both.

Football in Russia looks pretty boring if you don't live in Moscow

And Spartak only recently broke the monotony! I'll have to have a closer look at what happened to Zenit, Lokomotiv and Anzhi.

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

Unlucky last season, good luck this season

Cheers!

Originally Posted by SRL88

Unlucky on missing out on the title...but thats the fun of managing in Germany. So many teams can actually win it!!!! Get yourself to Hoffenheim though & sort that club out will you

.

Haha maybe one day!

Originally Posted by Nobby_McDonald

Canada and Egypt had a fabulous World Cup.

Canada actually offered me the job after the World Cup, I was quite tempted, but I didn't think it was commutable so would have had to resign from Werder to take it.

**SnakeXe** · 08-12-2011 11:10

Just had a real humdinger of a group match against Lyon! We opened the scoring with a great little turn in the box by Baena before conceding twice from crosses to go behind. Subsequently we carved them open repeatedly and couldn't finish but somehow managed two wondergoals through Serkan and Baena!

**Deisler26** · 08-12-2011 11:22

Oof! What a game!

**SnakeXe** · 11-12-2011 22:08

Season 11: Halfway House Update

Two solid opening wins over HSV and Hannover were spoiled by a galling 2-1 defeat at Frankfurt. Four more wins made me forget about that, the pick being a 3-1 win away in Dortmund, where I'd never won before, but then a run of three 0-0 draws in five games was capped off by a shocking 1-0 home defeat against rivals Schalke where we spurned no less than 8 clear cut chances.

After a good, healthy, cathartic, spittle-flecked, hairdrier of a rant at the players, they got the message and responded with four wins on the trot to see us two points clear at the top over the winter break.

The DFB-Pokal was simple enough, a 6-0 win over Solingen, a side from outside the playable leagues, saw us through to face newly promoted Aachen. A solid 3-1 win in that match set us up for a trickier date away at Stuttgart. Having nicked a 3-2 win in the equivalent league fixture just a week previously, we had the psychological edge. Bora Turmus' wondergoal for the opener was definitely the highlight of his thus-far mediocre career in Germany, but it was rapidly cancelled out. Despite creating plenty of chances, the game went to extra time, where we missed a load more to see it go to penalties. Andreas Soder eventually capped a good day for him, as he grabbed the winning penalty for us after making his debut from the bench.

The Champions League saw us pitted in a very tough group thanks to us remaining in the second pot despite two European semi-finals in the last two years. Both English and French champions in Spurs and Lyon, plus Anderlecht, who were no mugs despite their league's lower status. The plan was simple, win our home games and avoid losing the away ones. We followed the plan to perfection - three wins at home, three draws away, and top spot thanks to everyone else falling over each other. Lyon joined us in the draw for the next phase, in which we'll renew hostilities with PSV.

The Good

On course in all three competitions
We're doing well without any individuals performing particularly outstandingly
Dogan Cubukcu has made some remarkable progress

The Bad

If any one individual player was playing particularly well we'd be a lot further ahead in the league
Serkan Aydin getting badly injured just when he was looking the part
Gil's injury woes continue

Results - League Table - Squad

**SRL88** · 11-12-2011 22:37

I think the league is upside down!!!!

**Pangaea** · 12-12-2011 00:09

Looks splendid so far.

You sure know how to write too

**deadfncat** · 12-12-2011 01:53

After a good, healthy, cathartic, spittle-flecked, hairdrier of a rant at the players,

too many adjectives fyi........terrible

**SnakeXe** · 12-12-2011 12:01

Originally Posted by SRL88

I think the league is upside down!!!!

You would

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Looks splendid so far.

You sure know how to write too

Thanks, I do try and inject a bit of wordsmithery - often I read it back and it sounds like the ramblings of a maniac, but at least it's a well-meaning maniac who just wants to play some Football Manager before his telephone is finished cooking in the microwave.

Originally Posted by deadfncat

After a good, healthy, cathartic, spittle-flecked, hairdrier of a rant at the players,

too many adjectives fyi........terrible

Sorry mate, didn't hear that, was in the dunny - had too many shrimps off the barbie.

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 12-12-2011 12:02

Looking good so far. Did well to top a tough looking CL group

**HotChocolate** · 12-12-2011 12:22

Unbeaten in the Champions League is a great achievement with that group

**City2000** · 12-12-2011 12:30

Looking great at the halfway stage, good luck for the second half of the season!

**sheeshy** · 12-12-2011 12:59

Greatest thread title ever.

**Pangaea** · 12-12-2011 13:06

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Thanks, I do try and inject a bit of wordsmithery - often I read it back and it sounds like the ramblings of a maniac, but at least it's a well-meaning maniac who just wants to play some Football Manager before his telephone is finished cooking in the microwave.

Think you may have played a little too much Football Manager if that's your dinner

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