Jump to content

Tomtuck's First FM Career Adventure


tomtuck01

Recommended Posts

After reading a great thread by my friend SRL88 (his thread is here), I have been inspired to start my own save, and indeed thread, of a similarr, (ok then, the same), ilk.

Before I dive in further though, I would like to apologise to SRL88 for taking such vast inspiration in terms of post layout from his thread - I'm sorry!!!!

Introduction

Before beginning my save I had the painstaking task of deciding which countries and leagues to upload. My laptop is not quite as powerful as some, so I wans't able to load up vast numbers of countries and divisions for my save. I feel though I have more than enough to make this a great save.

Countries/Leagues

(The lowest league available is listed next to the country)

Brazil - Serie B

England - Blue Square Bet N/S

France - Championnat National

Germany - 3. Liga

Italy - Serie B

South Korea - K-League

Spain - Liga Adelante

Switzerland - Challenge League

USA - MLS

For my save I have used a Large Database, and around about 50,000 players have been loaded.

Aims And Ambitions

I don't really have any aims in my save, except that I want to have a fun save.

I have never in my history on Football Manager had a long career save, (I have had long saves, but always with just one club), so I really just want to have an enjoyable save, maybe jumping from club to club, and bettering my own position. Over the years on FM I feel I have developed my skills, and hope that I could be relatively successful no matter what country or league I play in.

If not, then it could be an even more enjyable in a slightly perverse way!

I hope that you, (if there are any of you), enjoy following my journey.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2.5k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I have started my career as myself; Thomas Lewis. I have recently turned 34, having been born on June 20th 1977. For my save I have not added a "Favourite Team". My previous experience is that of a Sunday League Player.

To kick things off I had a look at what jobs were available and immediately applied for them all.

Things were underway, and all I had to do was wait.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Very soon after applying for all the available jobs, a host (well, four) of them were offered to me;

criciuma.png

vilanova.png

The two sides above are both in Barzil's Serie B and are nine games into the league season. Criciuma are in 7th spot just two points off the top four, whereas Vila Nova are just two places and one point above the relegation zone.

chunnam.png

seoul.png

The two sides above are both in South Korea's J-League. Eighteen games into the season and Chunnam are currently 15th in the sixteen team league, (there is no relegation), but were predicted to finish 8th!! Seoul are in 6th place, six points ff top spot. (The top six sides go into play-offs at the end of the season).

------------------------------------------------

Anybody got any thoughts? Personally I'm leaning towards Seoul, and that is purely for the money available!!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would personally take one of the jobs in Korea. Seoul looks the most promising, but you will need to get that wage budget down if you are to buy anyone.

Nice to see that you have finally started a career save Tom. Looking forward to your quality writing :thup:.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks alot for the kind words guys. I have decided to take on your advice.

------------------------------------------------

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Name: FC Seoul

Nickname: -

Year Founded: 1983 (As Lucky-Goldstar FC)

Stadium: Seoul Wolrd Cup Stadium (66,080 all-seater)

Status: Professional

abackground.png

My first job then is with South Korean K-League side FC Seoul, and my contract is until December 2012. (I adjusted this from December 2013 before signing). I join the side 18 games into the season, and we currently sit in 6th place with a media prediction of 5th in the sixteen team league. With me joining at this stage of the season, the board don't have any expectations of me in this campaign;

expectationsk.png

My job upon arriving is not to do anything radical to the traning or even assess the squad. It is in fact to play a match. That's right, on the first day of my new job, we have a game against fierce rivals Suwon Samsung Blue Wings in the Peace Cup semi-final!

------------------------------------------

Nothing like being thrown in at the deep end!

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Career - FC Seoul - Season 2011

Well my first game with FC Seoul against rivals Suwon in the Peace Cup semi-final couldn't have gone much better;

firstgame.png

Heading into the game Suwon were strong favourites, and the media man predicted them to win comfortably. My team and I had other plans though. One game played and I'm already into a cup final. Not a bad start to my career!

Time for the serious stuff to start now. I have to make my assessment of the squad so I can decided on players I want rid of and what areas to stregthen. This won't be easy in the middle of the season and with just 22 days of the transfer window to go.

------------------------------------------

A proper update of things will come later tonight or tomorrow evening. I just wanted to share this first game with everyone!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice win. :thup:
Excellent way to kick things off Tom :applause:.

Cheers guys.

Making it into a cup final on your first day? I can't wait to see what the rest of your career will bring then!
Very impressive win in a semi-final on your first game in charge....well played :D

Well I can't say it was down to me really! But as I said, I couldn't have wished for a better start!

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - FC Seoul - Season 2011

Above it would normally say "Seaon 2011 Preview", but I join the club in July 2011, eighteen games into the K-League season. Here is how the table currently stands;

leaguetableupontakingov.png

As you can see we are not all in a bad position, and we should without a doubt be looking to finish in the top six and take a playoff spot.

Board Expectations

At the start of season the minimum expecatations were outlined to the previous management. Having joined mid-season I however will not be judged on how the team performs. I will though run through the boards initial expectations at the start of the campaign.

K-League: Compete alongside the top teams

AFC Champions League: Learn from the experience

KFA Cup: Semi-finals

Peace Cup: Semi-finals

Personal Expectations

K-League: Qualify for the championship playoff final

AFC Champions League: Reach the semi-finals (The team is already into the quarter-finals)

KFA Cup: Reach the final (The team is already into the quarter-finals)

Peace Cup: Lift the trophy (The team were already in the semi-finals, and we won that game against Suwon)

Budget

Transfer: £1,103,752

Wages: £72,203

Balance: £3,247,026

A good budget then, and some room for manoeuvring with having a good transfer budget - something I will need to do as I am ever so slightly over my wage budget.

Squad

seoulsquadjuly2011.png

A new right back is desperately needed. And certainly need a new back-up goalkeeper. Better options at DMC and MC wouldn't go a miss either.

As for key players in the squad, they are as follows;

Mauricio Molina

Dejan Damjanovic

Choi Tae-Wook

With these three I have very good players to hurt teams. The only problem is there ages - Damjanovic is the youngest at 29 and will turn 30 before the month is out. Hopefully they will remain good performers in my time at the club and not decline too much, especially Molina.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Should be able to make the top 6. Molina and Damjanovic have some good stats as well.

Yes I quite agree. As for Molina and Damjanovic, they will definitely be first names on the team sheet.

Great start.
Great start to your career. Good luck dude.

Thanks alot guys, much appreciated. :thup:

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - FC Seoul - Season 2011

Formation And Philosophy

After the great win over Suwon on my first day in charge I settled on the formation, (atleast for home games), that served us so well in that game.

tactics1.png

I have used this tactic with other teams in the past, and I hope it will work well in South Korea. Usually with this tactic chances are created by the bucket load, so I just hope my forwards are good enough to finish them off!

I hope I will be able to keep the pilosophy set to fluid. This relies alot on player fitness, so if I notice that my players are getting knackered I will probably have to change that.

------------------------------------------

I'll update you on transfers once the transfer window shuts on July 26th.

For now it's time to crack on, the games are coming thick and fast this month. As I said before; nothing like being thrown in at the deep end!

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - FC Seoul - Season 2011

Peace Cup Final

How We Got To The Final

As Seoul were K-League champions in 2010 they, along with the league runners up, qualified automatically for the quarter finals of the Peace Cup. The team therefore only had to play two games to get to the final, only one of which I was in charge for. Prior to the quarter finals there is a group stage with two grups of six.

peacecupfixtures2011.png

The Final

vs.Pohang

peacecupfinal2011.png

What a great game it was! I employed my 4-2-3-1 system, and as expected we created alot of chances but allowed the opposition a few aswell. At halftime I was fuming, trailing 2-0 despite creating alot of good opportunities. My lone striker, Dejan Damjanovic, was having a shocker and was replaced by Lee Seung-Ryul and that seemed to do the trick. We got back to 2-2, and then went 4-2 ahead in extra time, with Seung-Ryul getting two of them. Pohang pulled a goal back, and then we missed a penalty to seal it. But in the end we held on, and in just my third game in charge, a trophy had been won.

------------------------------------------

Time to actually get on with my first month in charge. No more cup finals to come this month, so hopefully a July update, (and a transfer window update), will come tonight or tomorrow!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Congratulations on lifting winning a Cup Final in just your 2nd game in charge :lol:.

Looks like it was an entertaining encounter.

Well, third game - I did play a league game inbetween the semi-final and final. Of course yu'll here about that in my end of the mnth update though!

Link to post
Share on other sites

You know you got Seoul. Just getting it out of the way early. Hope your league games have been just as good.
An entertaining start to your career. Nothing like winning silverware in your 3rd game to show that you mean business!

Thanks alot guys. :thup:

In all honesty I'm still in shock that they hired a manager who's past experience was "Sunday League Player".

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - FC Seoul - Season 2011

Transfer Window Update

In late July the transfer window closed, but before it did I got a little bit of business doen that will hopefully help my side along this season.

transfersjuly2011window.png

All of my budget spent then, but I did need the players I brought in. Thankfully I was able to get the prive down a little for Seul-Ki by exchanging a reserve team player.

Here are the players brought in;

Lee Beom-Soo

Lee Seul-Ki

Lee Young-Pyo

Fair enough I over spent a bit much on Beom-Soo, but my other back-up/young goalkeepers really are awful. He's not great, but he is ten times better than my now third choice.

I hope Seul-Ki won't be as his name suggests, (sulky, if you didn't get that!), and will add some much needed creativity and passing ability to the Deep Lying Play makier roles. As for Lee Young-Pyo, he is a bit of a Korean legend. He has nly joined as a back-up, but I'm sure he'll get games in either fullback spot.

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - July 2011 - FC Seoul

K-League

leaguefixturesjuly2011.png

tablejuly2011.png

A couple of great wins to start my career with in the K-League. The victory over Ulsan looks better than it probably was as Lee Seung-Ryul got both his goals after the 90 minute mark. He followed it up though in the next game with a start and another brace.

Korean FA Cup - Quarter Finals

kfacupjuly2011.png

We progressed to the semi-finals with a bit of a sticky performance. After the form in the league, I expected a bigger win against a side not in the K-League than we managed here.

Peace Cup

Those of you have read the thread so far will know two of my first three games with Seoul were in the Peace Cup; the semi-final and the final. Victory was achieved in both games, and after three games I had won a trophy!

------------------------------------------

A great start to life with FC Seoul in South Korea then. Five wins out of five, a trophy won, and a place in a cup semi final acheieved. Not bad after 24 days in football management.

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - August 2011 - FC Seoul

K-League

leaguefixturesaugust201.png

tableaugust2011.png

An excellent month in the K-League as we kept up our 100% record since I took over. The last result againat Seongnam was excellent - they were strong favourites for the game, but we were outstanding thrughout. The result took us top on goal difference after Suwon could only draw 0-0 at Gwangju

Korean FA Cup - Semi Final

kfacupaugust2011.png

Very disappointing to go out against Sangju, a midtable team in the K-League. But if I was miffed about the result then I couldn't be about the performance. We battered them, just couldn't find a goal. Disappointed, but not disheartened.

Asian Champions League

The Asian Champions League kicks off again later this month, and in the quarter finals we have been drawn against Japanese side Gamba Osaka, with the first leg away from home. If we get through the tie, then we will face either Al-Wahada or Al-Hilal.

------------------------------------------

Couldn't be more delighted really with how we have done so far. Nine wins from ten, a load of goals scored, and some great performances against rival sides. Top of the league now, and I hope we can stay there because if we do then we get an automatic place in the championship playoff final and don't have to go through any of the qualifying games. (Strange how the playoffs work I know).

Link to post
Share on other sites

200px-Emblem_of_FC_Seoul.svg.png

Thomas Lewis' Management Career - September 2011 - FC Seoul

K-League

leaguefixturesseptember.png

tableseptember2011.png

A poor month, but one that I take responsible for. I got complacent after hitting top spot in August, and with the Asian Champions League (ACL) quarter finals coming up this month I rested players. The 3-3 draw with Daegu was very annoying as we were 3-1 up before going down to ten men, then we just fell apart. The Suwon game was sandwiched inbetween the ACL quart final games against Gamaba Osaka, and I had to rest a few players as they were tired after the first leg. Again, the game against Pohang was annying aswell. We trailed at halftime but came back to take the lead with just seven minutes to go, but then conceded an equaliser.

Still, we're in a much better position from when I took over, and even if we finish second we'd go straight into to semi-finals of the playoffs.

Asian Champions League

asianchampsleagueqtrfin.png

What can I say, unreal! I was expecting a really tough test, but we just took them apart. Choi Tae-Wook was great over both legs, and even though striker Lee Seung-Ryul didn't get a goal in either tie, he did assist three times. He really has got himself ahead of Dejan Damjanovic in the pecking order. 7-2 on aggregate, I couldn't believe it.

In the semi-finals we face Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, who beat Al-Wahada 4-1 in the quarters.

------------------------------------------

That's it for today I'm afraid, as I'm now heading down to London. Expect an October update tomorrw evening though.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...