SRL88's FM12 Journeyman Career

[deltablue]

I'm mostly as generous when discussing former clubs, not so much in the last instance though.

[tomtuck01]

I do love the press conferences when you get a new job.

When I took over at Bristol Rovers in my career save I got asked if I thought I was taking a huge step down from FC Seoul! What can I say, "Errr yes of course I am"!

[SRL88]

Cool, when I went to Vitesse I told the press there were things going on behind the scenes that were not right.

I'm mostly as generous when discussing former clubs, not so much in the last instance though.

I do love the press conferences when you get a new job.

When I took over at Bristol Rovers in my career save I got asked if I thought I was taking a huge step down from FC Seoul! What can I say, "Errr yes of course I am"!

I do enjoy the new club press conferences. They offer much more than on any previous FM's.

[Dejay]

So, did you tonk Blackpool?

[SRL88]

So, did you tonk Blackpool?

For your benefit, I will post an update regarding just the Blackpool game .

[SRL88]

Would be funny if I got offered this job just a week after taking the reigns at Villa.

[SRL88]

Aston Villa -v- Blackpool

So we were big favourites going into my first game against my former club who less than a week ago, I resigned as Manager following a few disputes with the Chairman. I was pretty nervous before the game, wondering if I could get my new club off to a flying start and also wondering what my reception would be like from the Blackpool fans.

We went at it with a different formation to what I am used to playing. We went with a back four and an anchor man infront which allowed the front five to do what they wished. I gave Kovacic a free role behind the striker and as my main playmaker.

The game was pretty one sided and we deserved our win, but boy it should have been more. We were all over them and their 4-5-1 formation never really caused much threat to us. It was wave, after wave of Villa attack and our clinicalness infront of goal was the only problem with our performance. Giovani dos Santos gave us an early lead with a neat finish after cutting in from the right hand side. The only time we were under a little pressure was in injury time.

[Dejay]

Haha glad you won and thanks for the update. I do love beating a former club

[deltablue]

Cruel fixture list.

[SRL88]

Haha glad you won and thanks for the update. I do love beating a former club

No problem!!

Cruel fixture list.

For me or them?

[SRL88]

Just thought I would give you a glance at the clubs income and expenditure so you can see where the clubs money is going.

Income
Expenditure

Transfer Clauses

Transfers - 2011/12
Transfers - 2012/13
Transfers - 2013/14
Transfers - 2014/15
Transfers - 2015/16
Transfers - 2016/17
Transfers - 2017/18
Transfers - 2018/19 - Current season, none are my transfers.

Previous Positions per Season

Im going to put it down to overspend without achieving.

[Dejay]

Aside from two seasons they've been mediocre.

[TaoTev]

Surprised to see you got Aston Villa to be honest, but i guess if theres no jobs you gotta take what you can get. Feed the golf habbit and what not

[SRL88]

Aside from two seasons they've been mediocre.

Its the only reason I can come up with for their dire financial position.

Surprised to see you got Aston Villa to be honest, but i guess if theres no jobs you gotta take what you can get. Feed the golf habbit and what not

It was either them, Fulham or unemployed . Fulham were about £100k over their wage budget so I couldnt really go there without selling the team. I didnt realise how bad the finances were at Villa though before I took over.

[Dejay]

Its the only reason I can come up with for their dire financial position.



It was either them, Fulham or unemployed . Fulham were about £100k over their wage budget so I couldnt really go there without selling the team. I didnt realise how bad the finances were at Villa though before I took over.

Think it'll be a short stay?

[SRL88]

Think it'll be a short stay?

I will see how bad the finances are at the end of the season before making my decision. I have already agreed to sell £15.5m worth of fringe players for January so that will help out a little bit. If I can bring in a few loans/free's then we could be ok.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - December 2018 - Aston Villa FC

A pretty frustrating start to my tenure as Aston Villa Manager in more ways than one. The lack of goals frustrates me whilst we have also forgotten the ability to be able to keep a clean sheet. We started well with 1-0 wins over Blackpool (look up on this page) and Huddersfield to get confidence installed back into the camp. Frustrating draws against Sunderland (we were outclassed) and Fulham (battered them) either side of a very hard fought draw at Man City which really pleased me due to us having to play with 10 men for 35 minutes.

Blackburn gave us our first defeat under my management with a late winner before we finally learnt how to score more than one goal against Everton with an impressive win. 2018 was rounded off with a really, really annoying draw against Birmingham. We destroyed them all over the pitch, but out lack of clinicalness infront of goal was punished with them grabbing an equalizer to leave with a 1-1 draw.

[iHeadHunta x]

Good luck at the Villains mate!

[SRL88]

Good luck at the Villains mate!

Cheers .

[Dejay]

Tough month mate, I'm sure things will pick up.

[SRL88]

Tough month mate, I'm sure things will pick up.

Its going to be hard. Especially with me having to sell players to help the club financially.

[B.W.G]

Quite a draw specialist,least you still had more wins then losses

[HotChocolate]

A lot has gone on since I last read, good luck at Villa, hopefully you can turn those draws into wins.

Well, you wouldn't want it to go the other way would you?

[DodgeeD]

A nice varied career so far SRL88.

Best of luck at Villa

[SRL88]

Quite a draw specialist,least you still had more wins then losses

If we are to move up the table we need to sort out the draws.

A lot has gone on since I last read, good luck at Villa, hopefully you can turn those draws into wins.

Well, you wouldn't want it to go the other way would you?

Haha, just a bit of change. Had to leave Blackpool though due to fallouts with the Chairman.

A nice varied career so far SRL88.

Best of luck at Villa

Cheers mate .

[deltablue]

Pretty consistent at least.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - January 2019 - Aston Villa FC

Premier League

We experienced all three possibilities in the Premiership in January. A very tough fixture away to Arsenal resulted in a credible 2-0 defeat as we put in a very solid performance and could easily have come away with a share of the spoils. Heading into the local derby against Wolves we were really in need of a win and it was a game which was frustrating in different ways. We went 2-0 up pretty early on before Brad Guzan saved a penalty and it just seemed that we took our foot off the pedal and let them back into it before half time by conceding two goals. I wasnt happy and let the lads know and it was a different team in the second half. We came out with fire in our eyes and went at Wolves and deservidly took all three points with a 3-2 win. Against Leicester we were pretty average and were lucky to get a 1-1 draw (my favourite result you would think), but a point gained is better than lost so I wont be complaining to much.

FA Cup

The FA Cup Third Round gave us a kind draw against Championship side Wigan. We dominated the game and took an early lead through Samuel Armenteros and despire being all over them we just couldnt score. Luckily, debutant Simon Stephenson, back at the club after a loan spell popped up mid-way through the second half to make it 2-0 and give us a comfortable victory. The Fourth Round was once again kind to us by giving us a home draw against Crawley.

Transfers - In

Alex Olexade-Chamberlain - Loan - A great loan signing with the option to sign perminantly for £3m at the end of the season. Brought in because of a big departure on the right hand side.

Gilvan - £400k - A signing from the previous regime who joined in January, and at 1* with the potential for 4 1/2*, he could be a bargain.

Daniel Hasanbegovic - £1.9m - Another young player who joins on low wages and for a little fee to help out the awful financial position which the club are in. Looks a class act and has started well in his Villa career.

Ugo Hamon - Loan - Young goalkeeper brought in on loan as back-up to Brad Guzan due to two goalkeepers departing during January.

Matthias Jaissle - Loan - Another player brought in on loan to give back-up to those already there.

Oyvind Johansen - Free - A young player with bag fulls of potential. Will be one for the future.

Josip Mrcela - £4m- A solid signing for the left hand side. Will need time to settle but will offer a lot on the left wing.

Transfers - Out

A LOT of players have left during January and it was drastically needed. The biggest departure was Giovani dos Santos for £8.25m. Interest was high in him and during December he echoed concerns of wanting to leave and I finally gave in. At 29yo I feel we got a good deal and his wages are off our bill to. Everyone else who left was either a back-up or not in my plans and also on pretty high wages. I thought it was best to sell them now, bring some money in and spend it elsewhere. January I feel was a very good month for us.

Finances

How much one month can help out. We really needed to sort out the dreadful finances and by selling the amount of players we did and bringing in a lot of money, the finances look better than what they did. If we can keep them around the level we are now, hopefully come the end of the season we will be back in profit.

[SRL88]

Pretty consistent at least.

They hadnt drawn all season until I showed up .

[deltablue]

They hadnt drawn all season until I showed up .

It's always nice giving a club their first

[Dejay]

Results a bit patchy still but great work on lowering the debt! Some shrewd signings too

[AcidBurn]

Nice win against your old club to start with. Ox should be a good signing he out performs his attributes, that's a good price for GDS as well.

[SRL88]

Results a bit patchy still but great work on lowering the debt! Some shrewd signings too

Nice win against your old club to start with. Ox should be a good signing he out performs his attributes, that's a good price for GDS as well.

Cheers lads .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - February 2019 - Aston Villa FC

Premier League

Another mixed month for us but we're finally starting to look like a team and players are starting to gel. Sadly however, we dont have a striker who knows how to consistantly put the ball in the back of the net with the number of chances we create. A hard faught draw opened up our Premier League month before we got a solid win over Stoke at Villa Park. We had a tough game next against Man Utd, but having started poor I let the lads know they needed to perform better in the second half and we played like a different team. We grabbed a goal back through Gutierrez but our second half dominance couldnt bring a second goal and we went down 2-1 to leave us in mid-table.

FA Cup

Two nice wins in the Fourth and Fifth Rounds of the FA Cup see us move into the Quater Final to face Premiership strugglers Stoke. Our classed showed against lower level Crawley and we comfortably won 4-0. In the first half against Fulham we were shocking. They had 13 shots to our one, but yet we somehow found ourselves a goal to the good at the interval. A fluke goal from Jay Rodriguez got them back into it, but that was the last of Fulham as we took charge and a bullet header from defender Senah Mango gave us a huge 2-1 win as our FA Cup hopes stay alive.

[rancer890]

Solid work on the transfers and keep Villa midtable. Good luck in your next FA Cup match too.

[Dejay]

Solid in mid table. Good wins in the FA cup.

[deltablue]

How's the balance?

[HotChocolate]

You never know, a cup run could be in the making.

[SRL88]

Solid work on the transfers and keep Villa midtable. Good luck in your next FA Cup match too.

Solid in mid table. Good wins in the FA cup.

Cheers lads .

How's the balance?

There is a link at the bottom of post #727. It hasnt changed much during February.

You never know, a cup run could be in the making.

Fingers crossed we can get past Stoke.

[AK22]

Decent enough start with Villa. Hopefully you can continue your FA Cup run, which will set you up nicely.

Once you've got everything in order, I'd imagine you should be competing for the top six again

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - March 2019 - Aston Villa FC

Premier League

A pretty good March for us in what wasnt an easy month with three tough away fixtures. We started the month off brightly with a fine win at home to struggling Bolton before a trip to Stamford Bridge. We deservidly went in at the break a goal down, but after a verbal bashing the lads came out and had a go at Chelsea in the second half. We could quite easily have nicked a point with the chances we had, but a late second gave Chelsea a 2-0 win.

We played out a very entertaining 3-3 draw at Anfield in our next encounter. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first half we probably got a bit complacent and allowed Liverpool to get back into it when they drew level early in the second half. It all looked set to go Liverpool's way after that, but we hit them on the break to grab a third and if it wasnt for a late goal we would have took all three points, but we can still hold our heads up high with the performance we put in. We rounded off the month with a thoroughly deserved with against West Ham which should have been more. Their lack of confidence showed as they rarely ventured out of their own half as we dominated procedings. An early goal done it for us as we keep climbing up the table.

FA Cup

An excellent win over Stoke in the Quater-Final see's us move into the Semi-Final where we have quite a promosing draw against Championship side Swansea to give us a great chance of making the Final. The Semi-Final's look pretty open and I think we have a great chance of lifting the trophy come May.

[HotChocolate]

Looking good for the Final of the FA Cup and you might get into Europe if you make it to Wembley for the final.

[deltablue]

Yep, I think you can grab it.

[City2000]

Nice job trying to get the finances down and getting results.

Hopefully you carry on the good cup form.

[SRL88]

Looking good for the Final of the FA Cup and you might get into Europe if you make it to Wembley for the final.

Yep, I think you can grab it.

Cheers lads .

Nice job trying to get the finances down and getting results.

Hopefully you carry on the good cup form.

Its been tough with the finances, but having made the profit I did in January and also getting a lot of the higher earners off the wage bill to bring in younger players has helped a lot. Hopefully come the start of the new season we will be in the black.

[ThePlaya]

should improve next season with some quality signings but I believe in Villa getting a TOP-8 performance!

[SRL88]

should improve next season with some quality signings but I believe in Villa getting a TOP-8 performance!

Hopefully, but it all depends on the finances. I couldnt believe how bad they were when I joined and although they're getting better, they arent in the best shape. It might be another season of selling players for bigger deals and bringing in unknowns from the likes of Scandanavia to help steady the ship.

[abulezz]

Thats a fantastic victory against Bolton and another strong win to end the month on a high note, as well!

[SRL88]

Thats a fantastic victory against Bolton and another strong win to end the month on a high note, as well!

Cheers mate .

I have another update to put up and I am now into May, so nearly the end of the season.

[B.W.G]

A nice little improvement,could still possibly finish 7th.Good luck in the cup against the Swans.

[SRL88]

A nice little improvement,could still possibly finish 7th.Good luck in the cup against the Swans.

Cheers .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - April 2019 - Aston Villa FC

Another mixed month which see's us sat in mid-table, and unable to get ourselves into the possible European places come the end of the season. Shocker that Blackpool got revenge on me on the first time I return to Bloomfield Road since my departure. We really should have won, but it looks like they could survive this season. We started off with a nice win against massive underachievers Spurs before the Blackpool game. Really pleased with how we conducted ourselves through that game and we took complete control. A drap draw against Sunderland followed our trip to Blackpool before a comfortable win against Huddersfield see's us sat in 10th place heading into the final four fixtures of the season.

FA Cup

How on earth we only won this tie 1-0 is beyond me. Dont get me wrong, I am delighted that we're through to the Final, but it took us until late in extra time to beat a side who we battered for the whole game, and they didnt have a shot until the 61st minute, at which point we already had 13 shots at goal. We should have had this game wrapped up by half time to be fair, but taking the positives, we performed really well, created numerous chances and deserved to go through. Our opponents will be the winners from two years ago, Leicester.

[SRL88]

How stupid!!!! The FA Cup Final is on a Wednesday night, with 2 games still to play in the league season....and is three days after I have played Fulham.

[HotChocolate]

How stupid!!!! The FA Cup Final is on a Wednesday night, with 2 games still to play in the league season....and is three days after I have played Fulham.

That is odd, I've had the entire schedule for the last game of the season moved (in League 1) to a Wednesday night, do you know why? Because Wrexham were in the Welsh FA Cup final on the last game of the season, so obviously they move an entire league schedule of games for the Welsh FA Cup final

It's just something you've got to laugh at but you wont be complaining when you win the FA Cup

[SRL88]

FA Cup Final

First Half

The first half was a pretty poor affair which failed to spark into life. Both sides failed to create any chances as it was a defensively dominated half with each side having just one shot each. That was until just past the half hour mark!!! A loose back pass from Leicester left back Lionel Carole was pounced upon by our top scorer Frank Huisman, who smashed the ball passed Leicester goalkeeper Ikililou Sanoussi Akintoye (seriously not making this **** up) to give us a 1-0 lead. This clearly stunned Leicester as just four minutes later Senah Mango rose highest in the box to power a header home to make it 2-0 to us and have the Villa end bouncing. As half time came about and I was preparing myself for my half time team talk, Kyle Bartley headered home a goal to pull one back for Leicester, three minutes into injury time when there was only two minutes to be added on...much to my frustration.

Half Time

Despite them pulling a goal back I was clearly delighted with how we performed. Despite the game not coming alive until past the half hour mark, our defence was fantastic to stop the efforts of their main man Daniel Sturridge from making anything happen. We scored two quick fire goals to stun Leicester and I sent the lads out for the second half, letting them know they already had one hand on the cup...but they needed to ensure they had two come the full time whistle.

Second Half

The second half started slowly, with us seeing what Leicester would throw at us as they searched for an equiliser. After 51 minutes a long ball from Brad Guzan went all the way through and was knocked behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, our towering centre half Johan Martial rose at the near post to flick the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-1 to us with just under 40 minutes still to play. I felt in dream street as it showed how far we had come from our previous meeting with Leicester when we were played off the park. Things got even better when after 66 minutes our main man Frank Huisman ran through on goal, rounded the goalkeeper and made it 4-1 to us and make things even better. We sat back after that and soaked up any pressure from Leicester but they didnt create much, and although they did hit the post 5 minutes from time, it was our day and we marked a historic victory by lifting the FA Cup in my first season in charge!!!

Full Time

Leicester 1-4 Aston Villa

An excellent achievement from us to lift the FA Cup. A result which delighted the board, the fans and also saw us qualify for Europe in the process.

[SRL88]

That is odd, I've had the entire schedule for the last game of the season moved (in League 1) to a Wednesday night, do you know why? Because Wrexham were in the Welsh FA Cup final on the last game of the season, so obviously they move an entire league schedule of games for the Welsh FA Cup final

The Welsh Cup Final takes priority over everything .

[AcidBurn]

Congratulations on the FA Cup win. Hopefully a springboard for further success.

[SnakeXe]

\o/ great job!

[deltablue]

Great final result!

[Dejay]

Great result in the FA cup, nice work mate!

[SRL88]

Congratulations on the FA Cup win. Hopefully a springboard for further success.

\o/ great job!

Great final result!

Great result in the FA cup, nice work mate!

Cheers lads!!! Appreciate the comments .

[SRL88]

Just been offered the opportunity to sign a 29yo Jordan Rhodes from recentley relegated Huddersfield for £3.5m. His wage demands are £82k p/w . If I can get those down do you think he is worth a punt?

[deltablue]

Probably not for how much you'd likely be able to cut off those sums.

[Dejay]

Not unless you are going to be paying under £40k a week.

[DaneBramage]

Congrats on the cup win.

I'd pass on Rhodes, if budgets are currently an issue 80k a week extra won't help at all.

[B.W.G]

Brilliant win in the cup final Also a pleasant surprise seeing Leicester knock out Chelsea!

[AcidBurn]

Just been offered the opportunity to sign a 29yo Jordan Rhodes from recentley relegated Huddersfield for £3.5m. His wage demands are £82k p/w . If I can get those down do you think he is worth a punt?

If you can get it down to 40k he could be worth a go.

[rancer890]

Just been offered the opportunity to sign a 29yo Jordan Rhodes from recentley relegated Huddersfield for £3.5m. His wage demands are £82k p/w . If I can get those down do you think he is worth a punt?

Like the others have said, cut that weekly wage in half...

Gratz on winning the FA Cup too.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - May 2019 - Aston Villa FC

A pretty poor end to the season on our part, but the result that annoyed me the most was the 3-2 defeat to Man City. We were 1-0 up at half time and restricted them to two shots at goal. The fact we went on to lose from that position really annoyed me and I was pretty angry afterwards. A solid win over Fulham followed before the FA Cup Final and I was especially pleased considering I made a number of changes. I think the players had a few to many shandy's before the Blackburn game following our fantastic win over Leicester, and we were just poor against Everton.

FA Cup

A great win in the FA Cup Final, but I wont go on to much about it considering I covered it in a previous post...but ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

[SRL88]

Probably not for how much you'd likely be able to cut off those sums.

Not unless you are going to be paying under £40k a week.

Congrats on the cup win.

I'd pass on Rhodes, if budgets are currently an issue 80k a week extra won't help at all.

Brilliant win in the cup final Also a pleasant surprise seeing Leicester knock out Chelsea!

If you can get it down to 40k he could be worth a go.

Like the others have said, cut that weekly wage in half...

Gratz on winning the FA Cup too.

Chees for the suggestions. If I can get his wage demands down I might take a gamble on him.

[AK22]

What a start! Well done!

[ScottT87]

Congrats on the Cup win. Now to try follow it up with a top 6 league finish next season!

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Season Review - 2018/19 - Aston Villa FC

Premier League - Results 1 - Results 2 (10th - 13th on arrival - Results since I took over)

A pretty good season for us considering. It doesnt look like we done much since I arrived but we made massive changes since my arrival and the fact that the players who arrived in January managed to gel so quickly is something Im pretty happy with. It was more a transition season for the club. There isnt much to say on the league campaign other than next season is the season that I should be judged as Manager of Aston Villa.

FA Cup (Winners)

A fantastic achievement in the FA Cup. I was in charge for all the games and we had a good run in the competition to take us all the way to the Final where we dispatched Leicester without to much trouble. The only real threats we had throughout the competition was away to Fulham and Stoke. Otherwise, we played really well and despite having some favourable draws, we deserved to lift the trophy come May.

League Cup (Knocked out in 2nd Round before my arrival)

The club were knocked out before my arrival by Championship side Bristol City.

Transfers - Finances

A lot of transfer activity at the club this season. The January transfers are the ones from me but it was massively needed. I trimmed the squad, got rid of a lot of the higher earners and brought in a lot of money for the club. I also replaced them with players for small fee's and smaller wages.
The finances are so much better than when I arrived. The fact that we are £22m better off than we were when I took charge gives us a lot of promise for next season.

Squad

The club has a pretty decent squad to build with next season and I am optomistic going forward. Gabby Agbonglahor and captain Nestor Ortigoza are retiring whilst Brad Guzan and a couple of others are leaving when their contracts expire so that will get rid of a few 30+ players who I can replace with younger players on smaller wages.

My Top 3 Players

Senah Mango - Was my third choice centre back until an injury forced me to play him and he was brilliant. From then on he was in the team every game pretty much and all of his goals came since I brought him into the side.
Nestor Ortigoza - Club captain and despite his age he was excellent. Played as an anchor man and he proved how vital he was to the side with his performances. Really sad that he is retiring.
Frank Huisman - Our top scorer this season and we began to rely on his goals. Really thrived upfront on his own as a poacher and will be my main outlet next season.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  Team            | League                  |  Country | League Position |  Notes                                            |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2011/12 |  Kirklareli Spor | Second Division Group A |  Turkey  | 5th             |  Play-Off Quater Finalists                        |
| 2012/13 |  Kirklareli Spor | Second Division Group A |  Turkey  | 3rd             |  Play-Off Semi Finalists                          |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 |  Darlington      | Blue Square Premier     |  England | 4th             |  Play-Off Semi Finalists, FA Trophy Runners-Up,   |
                                                                                       Appointed in October                             |
| 2014/15 |  Darlington      | Blue Square Premier     |  England | 2nd             |  Promoted via Play-Offs, FA Trophy Runners-Up     |
| 2015/16 |  Darlington      | League Two              |  England | 3rd             |  Promoted                                         |
| 2016/17 |  Darlington      | League One              |  England | 5th             |  Promoted via Play-Offs                           |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2017/18 |  Blackpool       | Championship            |  England | 3rd             |  Promoted via Play-Off's                          |
| 2018/19 |  Blackpool       | Premier League          |  England | -               |  Resigned in November                             |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 |  Aston Villa     | Premier League          |  England | 10th            |  Appointed in November, FA Cup Winners            |

Next Season?

Im really looking forward to the prospect of next season. I have the chance to test myself in Europe for the first time which I am really looking forward to and I want to help the club by sorting out the finances. Next season? Bring it on!!!

[SRL88]

How are my Former Clubs Doing?

Kirklareli Spor

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  League                  |  League Position |  Notes                         |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 |  Second Division Group A |  11th            |  -                             |
| 2014/15 |  Second Division Group A |  9th             |  -                             |
| 2015/16 |  Second Division Group A |  5th             |  Lost in Play-Off Semi Final   |
| 2016/17 |  Second Division Group A |  5th             |  Lost in Play-Off Semi Final   |
| 2017/18 |  Second Division Group A |  6th             |  -                             |
| 2018/19 |  Second Division Group A |  6th             |  -                             |

Another season of missing out on the Play-Off's by 1pt.

Darlington FC

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  League            |  League Position |  Notes                         |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2017/18 |  Championship      |  24th            |  Relegated                     |
| 2018/19 |  League One        |  20th            |   -                            |

Survived back to back relegations on goal difference.

Blackpool FC

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  League            |  League Position |  Notes                                            |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 |  Premier League    |  18th            |  Resigned in November, Relegated, Carling Cup SF  |

Relegated on the final day of the season but had a good run in the Carling Cup.

[SRL88]

A Look Around The World

Here I will post the winners of the major competitions in and around the World. Any others, just ask and I can update for you!!!

Club - Domestic

English Premier League

2011/12 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man City
2012/13 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Arsenal 3rd Liverpool
2013/14 - 1st Liverpool 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man Utd
2014/15 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Liverpool 3rd Arsenal
2015/16 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man City
2016/17 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Man City 3rd Liverpool
2017/18 - 1st Arsenal 2nd Liverpool 3rd Chelsea
2018/19 - 1st Arsenal 2nd Man City 3rd Liverpool

FA Cup

2011/12 - Winners Tottenham Runners-Up Everton
2012/13 - Winners West Ham Runners-Up Liverpool
2013/14 - Winners Man Utd Runners-Up Norwich
2014/15 - Winners Wolves Runners-Up Birmingham
2015/16 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Barnsley
2016/17 - Winners Leicester Runners-Up Chelsea
2017/18 - Winners Everton Runners-Up Arsenal
2018/19 - Winners Aston Villa Runners-Up Leicester

League Cup

2011/12 - Winners Fulham Runners-Up Reading
2012/13 - Winners Tottenham Runners-Up West Brom
2013/14 - Winners Wolves Runners-Up Chelsea
2014/15 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Aston Villa
2015/16 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Liverpool
2016/17 - Winners West Brom Runners-Up Man City
2017/18 - Winners Liverpool Runners-Up Man City
2018/19 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Norwich

La Liga

2011/12 - 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd Athletic Club
2012/13 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Villarreal
2013/14 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Athletic Club 3rd Barcelona
2014/15 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia
2015/16 - 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd At. Madrid
2016/17 - 1st At.Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Real Madrid
2017/18 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd At.Madrid
2018/19 - 1st At.Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Malaga

Bundesliga

2011/12 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Werder Bremen 3rd Schalke
2012/13 - 1st Dortmund 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd Schalke
2013/14 - 1st Leverkusen 2nd Dortmund 3rd Bayern Munich
2014/15 - 1st Leverkusen 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd Schalke
2015/16 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Schalke 3rd Leverkusen
2016/17 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Schalke 3rd Leverkusen
2017/18 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Leverkusen 3rd Dortmund
2018/19 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Schalke 3rd Dortmund

Serie A

2011/12 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Napoli 3rd Lazio
2012/13 - 1st Inter 2nd Juventus 3rd Napoli
2013/14 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Inter 3rd Juventus
2014/15 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Inter 3rd Sampdoria
2015/16 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Parma 3rd Palermo
2016/17 - 1st Palermo 2nd AC Milan 3rd Fiorentina
2017/18 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Cagliari 3rd Juventus
2018/19 - 1st AC Milan 2nd Sampdoria 3rd Fiorentina

French Ligue 1

2011/12 - 1st Valenciennes 2nd Bordeaux 3rd Marseille
2012/13 - 1st Lyon 2nd Marseille 3rd Sochaux
2013/14 - 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd RC Lens
2014/15 - 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd Marseille
2015/16 - 1st PSG 2nd Lyon 3rd Marseille
2016/17 - 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd Marseille
2017/18 - 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd Marseille
2018/19 - 1st Marseille 2nd PSG 3rd RC Lens

Club - Europe

Champions League

2011/12 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Man Utd
2012/13 - Winners AC Milan Runners-Up Barcelona
2013/14 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Liverpool
2014/15 - Winners PSG Runners-Up Barcelona
2015/16 - Winners AC Milan Runners-Up At. Madrid
2016/17 - Winners Barcelona Runners-Up Real Madrid
2017/18 - Winners Liverpool Runners-Up Bayern Munich
2018/19 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Arsenal

Europa League

2011/12 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Rubin Kazan
2012/13 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Porto
2013/14 - Winners Chelsea Runners-Up Napoli
2014/15 - Winners Benfica Runners-Up Bayern Munich
2015/16 - Winners Man City Runners-Up Aston Villa
2016/17 - Winners Liverpool Runners-Up Roma
2017/18 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Lyon
2018/19 - Winners Betis Runners-Up Tottenham

International

World Cup

2014 - Winners France Runners-Up Ghana 3rd Place England Hosts Brazil
2018 - Winners France Runners-Up Belgium 3rd Place Spain Hosts Russia

European Championships

2012 - Winners Germany Runners-Up France Hosts Ukraine/Poland
2016 - Winners Spain Runners-Up Belgium Hosts France

[SRL88]

What a start! Well done!

Congrats on the Cup win. Now to try follow it up with a top 6 league finish next season!

Cheers lads .

[SRL88]

I blame the finances, not technology!!!

[Dejay]

I blame the finances, not technology!!!

Hate it when that happens -.-

[SRL88]

Hate it when that happens -.-

Tis frustrating like.

[cragswfc]

hope you get your finances back good

[SRL88]

hope you get your finances back good

I think they will be come the end of next season.

[Parkera]

Congrats on the FA Cup win SRL88, a nice achievement. Looking 4wrd to what you can do with a full season with Villa

[SRL88]

Congrats on the FA Cup win SRL88, a nice achievement. Looking 4wrd to what you can do with a full season with Villa

Cheers fella .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Season Preview - 2019/20 - Aston Villa FC

Board Expectations:
Premier League:- Respectable League Position
Europa League:- Reach the 2nd Knockout Round
FA Cup:- Reach the Quater Finals
League Cup:- Reach the 4th Round
Community Shield:- Not Important

My Expectations:
Premier League:- 8th or higher
Europa League:- At least the knockout rounds
FA Cup:- Would love to retain it
League Cup:- I will be going all out for a domestic double
Community Shield:- Meh

Budgets:
Transfer:- £4.5m
Wage:- £750,516k (Currently spending £681,581k)
Balance:- -£6,450,734 (+£27,966,492 since arrival)

Squad:
Really pleased with the trimming down of the squad I have done and bringing in players on the cheap and on cheaper wages to. The wage bill is down pretty much £200k since my arrival and I have taken the club from -£34m to -£6m in the space of 6 month. I feel we have the squad to be able to compete on all fronts, but we do need a new defensive midfielder and another striker.

Key Player(s):
Mxolisi Mbambo - A player who I discovered in the squad when I took the Blackpool job. By far the best player there and following their relegation I snapped him up for £2.5m.
Jon Kempin - Following the release of Brad Guzan who was sat on £40k p/w, I brought in Kempin for £2.5m and on £8k a week as his replacement. Better than Guzan and cheaper to.
Angel Di Maria - Brought in on a season long loan from Arsenal and at 31yo, has a lot to offer following a so far disappointing stint in England. Adds class to the side.
Frank Huisman - Last seasons top scorer and will most likely be our main man against this season.

[SRL88]

Shows the amount of effort I have put in to turn the finances round.

[Dejay]

Fantastic work clearing the finances up mate. Shrewd signing in Di Maria

[SnakeXe]

Wow good job with the finances! I'd be concerned that without player trading it'd have been a £20m loss though. What's draining the money, silly wages?

[deltablue]

Well done with the finances.

[HotChocolate]

FA Cup (Winners)

I would like to take all credit for this

But goddammit I should have put a bet on it!

[City2000]

Congrats on the FA cup win and a really good job on the finances front.

Looks like some nice signings there, I think Di Maria will bring something to the side this season. Good luck, hopefully a good season is on the cards.

[SRL88]

Fantastic work clearing the finances up mate. Shrewd signing in Di Maria

Cheers Dejay .

Wow good job with the finances! I'd be concerned that without player trading it'd have been a £20m loss though. What's draining the money, silly wages?

Its a mix of that, but mainly the silly spending on players. Post #711 shows the spending prior to my arrival and previous managers went a bit daft.

Well done with the finances.

Cheers mate!!!

I would like to take all credit for this

But goddammit I should have put a bet on it!

Haha. I will get you on board next time so I can place a cheeky 10er myself .

Congrats on the FA cup win and a really good job on the finances front.

Looks like some nice signings there, I think Di Maria will bring something to the side this season. Good luck, hopefully a good season is on the cards.

Cheers mate. I have a lot of optimism for this season.

[SRL88]

Posted this in the Should I Buy or Sell in the GPTG. What do you guys think?

Buying/Selling: Selling
Player Name: Senah Mango
Your Team: Aston Villa
Buyer/Seller: PSG
Player's Value: £4.5m
Offer: £8.25m
Transfer/Wage Budget: Enough
Patch: 12.0
Season: 2019/20

AND

Buying/Selling: Selling
Player Name: Felipe Gutierrez
Your Team: Aston Villa
Buyer/Seller: Man City
Player's Value: £10m
Offer: £23.5m
Transfer/Wage Budget: Enough
Patch: 12.0
Season: 2019/20

[SRL88]

Not the easiest of ties, but could have been worse.

[tomtuck01]

I'd sell both to be honest. You could really do with the funds.

[SRL88]

I'd sell both to be honest. You could really do with the funds.

Ive sold Gutierrez to Real Madrid in the end for £23.5m. Excellent deal as I can now bring in a few players. Im still debating on whether or not to sell Mango because he performed really well for me last season.

[HotChocolate]

It's always a love affair with sc Heerenveen involved.

[burnum]

I'd sell Gutierrez (big money) and keep Mango as it seemed he was vital to your success last season. Don't sell key players unless it's "an offer you can't refuse" (Marlon Brando quote)...

[SRL88]

It's always a love affair with sc Heerenveen involved.

Any reason behind that?

I'd sell Gutierrez (big money) and keep Mango as it seemed he was vital to your success last season. Don't sell key players unless it's "an offer you can't refuse" (Marlon Brando quote)...

I will probably keep him. Since Ive taken over at Villa Park I have made pretty much £60m to get us from £30m in the red to £30m in the black so I dont really need to sell.

[Purefun]

Did you manage any belgian team yet?

[SRL88]

Did you manage any belgian team yet?

No not yet. I will let you know in/when I do so you can take interest in my thread .

[Purefun]

Indeed because its utter bollocks now.

And Belgium being two times runners-up!! I'm sure you are involved in that!