PH71's Journey - featuring The Alphabet Challenge

[deltablue]

Can only think of 2 places right now, one in Holland and one (not Galatasaray) among a few possibilities I can't spell in Turkey. Either of those nations right?

[PaulHartman71]

Think a bit more to the west of Turkey...

[TheGreatTraveler]

is it Granada?

[PaulHartman71]

bit more east of Granada/Spain

[rancer890]

I would say Grenoble 38 but I think they would be unplayable in your game.

[PaulHartman71]

They are playable as they're currently in Ligue 1 but sadly it is not them, it is a country with borders with France though.

[rancer890]

They are playable as they're currently in Ligue 1 but sadly it is not them, it is a country with borders with France though.

Gubbio or Grosseto? I'm giving up guessing if it's not either one of them.

[deltablue]

Grosseto, Gela or Giulianova? Won't be Genoa probably. Unlikely to be Genk, Germinal Beerschot would be an outside chance. I reckon in Italy.

[PaulHartman71]

rancer and delta have guessed right with the Italian theme, not quite the club I have gone to yet. Gela technically the closest as they're in the same division in the save atm. I didn't actually realise until I just googled the club, but would've been a big ask for anyone to guess them as the club went bankrupt in July 2010 irl

[deltablue]

Gallipoli? Or Gavorrano.

[PaulHartman71]

[cerud]

Looks like "G" is taken care of

[deltablue]

Yes!!!! Took a bit of creative googling.

[PaulHartman71]

Yes!!!! Took a bit of creative googling.

what did you google? can't imagine it was too easy to find

The Gallipoli board are expecting promotion this season, which is presumably why they sacked the manager before me. The team that I inherited wasn't exactly great, definitely not good enough for promotion in my opinion. I'll be looking to bring players in on frees and get some loans in if possible. I have 24 games to steer Gallipoli clear of relegation/mid-table and towards the play-off positions. Despite currently only being 5 points off the play-off's, the team really is not good enough to be competing and I am hoping to rebuild the side throughout the season and push for a league win/promotion next season. A playoff place this season would be a bonus/over-achievement in my view at the moment.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Good luck with Gallipoli, didn't know the club had gone bankrupt though. Seems that there is a new club called Gallipoli, but they are way down the ladder. Hopefully you can run the books better :P

[corinthiano]

Awesome career so far Paul, nice to see a lot of variation in the leagues you have gone to, guess that is the whole point of the challenge! Best of luck with Gallipoli, just a question, are they in Serie C1 or C2?

[deltablue]

what did you google? can't imagine it was too easy to find

'Italian club bankrupt 2010', though had to add 'football', july' and a few '+' and found a blog regarding a number of clubs being thrown out of the league in one go, thankfully looking for 'G' narrowed it considerably, and wiki-ing Gallipoli being in Puglia made it the most likely (though not the only) option. Almost can't believe I did it but I find your 'guess the club' games too fun and addictive.

[Mark Heath]

great career, good luck with Gallipoli and looking forward to seeing where you go next

[corinthiano]

'Italian club bankrupt 2010', though had to add 'football', july' and a few '+' and found a blog regarding a number of clubs being thrown out of the league in one go, thankfully looking for 'G' narrowed it considerably, and wiki-ing Gallipoli being in Puglia made it the most likely (though not the only) option. Almost can't believe I did it but I find your 'guess the club' games too fun and addictive.

That is an epic effort!

[Nobby_McDonald]

I would have just waited myself.

[PaulHartman71]

Good luck with Gallipoli, didn't know the club had gone bankrupt though. Seems that there is a new club called Gallipoli, but they are way down the ladder. Hopefully you can run the books better :P

cheers LLR. Yeah I think they have one of those fan re-made clubs in the 7th or 8th tier, hoping not to cause too many financial difficulties

Awesome career so far Paul, nice to see a lot of variation in the leagues you have gone to, guess that is the whole point of the challenge! Best of luck with Gallipoli, just a question, are they in Serie C1 or C2?

thanks corinthiano, not seen you in a while, it was you that did that scouting sign up on CSE a while ago wasn't it? was probably one of the best sign ups I was signed up to whilst it was going on! When I first signed I thought they were in C1 but sadly they're in C2

great career, good luck with Gallipoli and looking forward to seeing where you go next

thanks Mark

'Italian club bankrupt 2010', though had to add 'football', july' and a few '+' and found a blog regarding a number of clubs being thrown out of the league in one go, thankfully looking for 'G' narrowed it considerably, and wiki-ing Gallipoli being in Puglia made it the most likely (though not the only) option. Almost can't believe I did it but I find your 'guess the club' games too fun and addictive.

have to echo corinthiano and Nobby, great effort delta

[corinthiano]

thanks corinthiano, not seen you in a while, it was you that did that scouting sign up on CSE a while ago wasn't it? was probably one of the best sign ups I was signed up to whilst it was going on! When I first signed I thought they were in C1 but sadly they're in C2

Yep, that was me yes, glad you remember

Shame they are in Serie C2, guess it is up to you to get them to C!

[SRL88]

Another letter ticked .

[PaulHartman71]

10 points from 15 has seen us rise to 7th place which makes for good reading and will certainly give some fans hope that we can at least make the play-offs. I'm still concerned that it could just be the new manager run/effect in the first few games, hopefully we can continue the decent form though. Also, not looking to good for Cecina is it?!

[rancer890]

thanks corinthiano, not seen you in a while, it was you that did that scouting sign up on CSE a while ago wasn't it? was probably one of the best sign ups I was signed up to whilst it was going on! When I first signed I thought they were in C1 but sadly they're in C2

Was that the agent signup a while (while, while!) back?

Good start with your new club so far.

[TheGreatTraveler]

Poor Cecina

But goos start to the seaosn PH!

[nie jem frytek]

Nocerina is your feeder club? Promotion not so far at the moment. :P

[deltablue]

Comfortably moving away from trouble.

[corinthiano]

Was that the agent signup a while (while, while!) back?

Good start with your new club so far.

Yes, I remember you were in it as well We actually had a really good group of people in that sign-up!

EDIT: Good start there Paul! The leagu looks relatively tight, so I hope you mamange to maintain the good form and get into the playoff

[cerud]

Nocerina is your feeder club? Promotion not so far at the moment. :P

You're allowed to be in the same league as your feeder club?

[cswalk08]

Nice turnaround so far!

[deltablue]

You're allowed to be in the same league as your feeder club?

I had Triestina in Serie A with me last season. While being in the same league usually means the 'feeder-parent' link is broken off, clearly not always.

[PaulHartman71]

Not been the best 11 games, inconsistency seems to have cost us a play-off place, can still technically make it but with 8 games to go it's not looking likely. Nocerina are the feeder club, not sure why the link wasn't cut but our reputation is seemingly a lot higher as we were in C1 last season and Serie B around 5 seasons ago.

[nie jem frytek]

Bad luck in recent fixtures. Cecina is funny and pathethic at the same time.

[deltablue]

I'd go for funny. Pity about recent form but at least you're well clear of trouble.

[Scarman]

Wow, Cecina are dreadful

[SRL88]

A team worse than Derby? .

[DanielCalter]

Whoever drew with Cecina must be kicking themselves!

[rancer890]

Heck, whoever let them score those 4 whole goals all season should be ashamed.

[cerud]

Ouch! A single point...I'd hate to be the club that gave them that.

[PaulHartman71]

Oddly enough the point that they did get was in a televised home game against top of the table Messina. If 1st place comes down to a couple of points or goal difference, imagine how gutted you'd be if you were a Messina player/manager/fan and ended up in the play-offs and ultimately missed out on promotion because of that draw

[Nobby_McDonald]

I had Triestina in Serie A with me last season. While being in the same league usually means the 'feeder-parent' link is broken off, clearly not always.

I thought it was allowed in Italy.

[PaulHartman71]

couldn't quite make up the ground and ultimately missed out on the play-offs, not surprising though really considering the lack of depth in the squad. I'm hoping with a gutting of the squad over summer I can bring in some new players and challenge for the play-offs/title next season. Also great to see Cecina get a win, coming at home to Siracusa, who must be kicking themselves as if they'd won that game wouldn't have been in a relegation play-off.

[PaulHartman71]

G is for Gallipoli

After taking over in October following several years in Norway, the goal for Gallipoli was to first steer them clear of the relegation zone. This proved to be relatively simple and was done almost immediately, the board did also want to see the club promoted, pre-season the media had tipped them to finish 1st. A clear amount of damage had been done to the squad, presumably by whoever was in charge before me, so throughout the season I gutted the squad which lead to it being a bit of a transitional season. Next season should see the team properly challenge for a league title win which they would've been able to achieve this season, had it not been for poor management by the previous manager. 8th place was ultimately an acceptable finish under the circumstances for the board. I've stuck to my principles of only bringing in players on frees as tight control of finances is always important at this level. The finances at the club appear okay, until you see the hideous loan debts the club have, it's no wonder the club went under in real life!

The squad has a decent back-bone for a title challenging side, but will ultimately need a good amount of gutting/strengthening in the summer for next season. Arguably one of the best players at the club is academy graduate Giuseppe Giusti who is a midfielder that can contribute quite a few assists, his passing percent ratio does leave a lot to be desired though. Alberto Caputi is the club captain and another key part of the midfield, he however no longer wishes to play at this level and will be leaving on a bosman at the end of the season, which will at least free up a grand and a half of our wage budget. Andrea Grillo is a pretty decent left back and had a relatively good season. Luca Casale was top scorer and despite on paper not being that great did produce the goods when needed. The squad does need improvement and I am definitely looking forward to bringing in some more quality players, maybe even a few Scandinavians!


History

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season     Club                   League                  Position     Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div           9th        Joined in July   
2010/11    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div           11th       Screwed over by the board and sacked in April
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North         19th       Joined in June 
2012/13    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North         9th        None
2013/14    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North         5th        Promoted via play-offs
2014/15    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square Premier       1st        Promoted as Champions, resigned in June
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16    Casa Pia A.C           Portuguese 2nd Div S      8th        Joined in November
2016/17    Casa Pia A.C           Portuguese 2nd Div C      1st        Champions, Promoted via playoff, resigned in June
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18    Distillery             N.Irish 1st Div           10th       Joined in November
2018/19    Distillery             N.Irish 1st Div           10th       Sacked in January
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20    East Fife              Scottish 3rd Div          10th       Joined in May
2020/21    East Fife              Scottish 3rd Div          3rd        Lost in playoff semi final
2021/22    East Fife              Scottish 3rd Div          1st        Promoted as Champions
2022/23    East Fife              Scottish 2nd Div          1st        Promoted as Champions
2023/24    East Fife              Scottish 1st Div          5th        Resigned in June
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024       Fana Idrettslag        Norwegian 2nd Div 3       7th        Joined in July
2025       Fana Idrettslag        Norwegian 2nd Div 3       4th        None
2026       Fana Idrettslag        Norwegian 2nd Div 3       1st        Promoted as Champions, Resigned in October
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026/27    Gallipoli Calcio       Italian Serie C2/C        8th        Joined in October

Trophy Cabinet

Bradford Park Avenue 
- Blue Square Premier x1 - 2014/15

Casa Pia
- Portuguese 2nd Div C x1 - 2016/17

East Fife
- Scottish 3rd Div x1 - 2021/22
- Scottish 2nd Div x1 - 2022/23

Fana Idrettslag 
- Norwegian 2nd Div 3 x1 - 2026

[DodgeeD]

Hey PH71!

Very varied and interesting career so far. It's fun to see a career like this get beyond the first few letters for a change.

Hope you have some success along the way.

[PaulHartman71]

Hey PH71!

Very varied and interesting career so far. It's fun to see a career like this get beyond the first few letters for a change.

Hope you have some success along the way.

thanks Big D

       World Cup  European Champs  Copa America  African Nations  Asian Cup     Gold Cup 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010   Argentina                                   Cameroon
2011                                 Brazil                        Japan         Jamaica
2012                 France                        Nigeria
2013                                                                             Canada
2014   Ivory Coast                                 Togo
2015                                 Argentina                    South Korea    Mexico
2016                 France                        Nigeria
2017                                                                             USA
2018   Spain                                       Egypt
2019                                 Argentina                     Japan         USA
2020                 England                       Ivory Coast
2021                                                                             Mexico
2022   Holland                                     Tunisia
2023                                 Mexico                        Japan         Mexico
2024                 England                       Nigeria
2025                                                                             USA
2026   England                                     Senegal
2027                                 Brazil                        China         Mexico

          CL Winners       CL Runner Up     EL Winners     EL Runner Up  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10   Barcelona        Real Madrid      Liverpool      At.Madrid
2010/11   Real Madrid      Barcelona        Inter          Valencia
2011/12   Juventus         Real Madrid      Bayern         Fenerbache
2012/13   Inter Milan      Bayern           Schalke        Dortmund
2013/14   Bayern           Barcelona        Porto          Valencia
2014/15   Liverpool        Real Madrid      Man Utd        West Ham
2015/16   Liverpool        Man City         Everton        Bordeaux 
2016/17   Man City         Real Madrid      Chelsea         Schalke
2017/18   Barcelona        West Brom        Hoffenheim     Benfica
2018/19   Real Madrid      Genoa            Benfica        At.Madrid
2019/20   Real Madrid      Bayern           Benfica        Bordeaux 
2020/21   Real Madrid      Valencia         Schalke        At.Madrid
2021/22   AC Milan         Juventus         Man City       Valencia
2022/23   Juventus         Lyon             Tottenham      Fenerbache
2023/24   AC Milan         Man City         Hull City      Napoli
2024/25   Inter Milan      At.Madrid        Man City       Genoa
2025/26   Juventus         Man City         West Ham       Lyon
2026/27   West Ham         AC Milan         Hoffenheim     Braga

         England    Spain       Italy      Germany     France   Holland  Russia     Turkey      Portugal   Scotland  Norway   N.Ireland      
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10  Man City   Barcelona   Juventus   Bayern      Monaco   Ajax     Amkar      Fenerbache  Benfica    Celtic    Brann    Linfield       
2010/11  Chelsea    Barcelona   Juventus   Werder      Lyon     Ajax     Zenit      Besiktas    Benfica    Rangers   Sogndal  Portadown      
2011/12  Liverpool  Barcelona   Juventus   Wolfsburg   PSG      Ajax     Sp.Moscow  Fenerbache  Sporting   Hearts    Odd      Ballymena Utd  
2012/13  Liverpool  R.Madrid    Lazio      Bayern      Lyon     PSV      Sp.Moscow  Besiktas    Benfica    Celtic    Odd      Linfield
2013/14  Liverpool  Barcelona   Genoa      Koln        Lyon     PSV      CSKA Mos.  Galatasaray Benfica    Celtic    Odd      Portadown
2014/15  Man City   Barcelona   Inter      Bayern      Lyon     Ajax     Sp.Moscow  Fenerbache  Sporting   Celtic  Valerenga  Linfield
2015/16  Liverpool  Barcelona   Juventus   Bayern     Bordeaux  AZ       Sp.Moscow  Besiktas    Sporting   Rangers Sandefjord Glenavon
2016/17  Man Utd    Barcelona   Juventus   Bayern     Toulouse  Ajax     CSKA Mos.  Besiktas    Benfica    Rangers  Stabaek   Linfield
2017/18  Man City   R.Madrid    AC Milan   Koln       Bordeaux  AZ       CSKA Mos.  Bursaspor   Benfica    Celtic   Stabaek   Linfield
2018/19  Man City   R.Madrid    AC Milan   Bayern      Lyon     PSV      Sp.Moscow  Besiktas    Benfica    Rangers  Brann     Linfield
2019/20  Liverpool  Barcelona   AC Milan   Bayern     Toulouse  PSV      Sp.Moscow  Besiktas    Benfica    Celtic    Brann    Linfield
2020/21  Chelsea    R.Madrid    AC Milan   HSV        Bordeaux  Ajax     FC Moscow  Galatasaray Benfica    Rangers  Valarenga Linfield
2021/22  Man City   Barcelona   AC Milan   Frankfurt  Marseille PSV      Zenit      Besiktas    Benfica    Celtic   Brann     Linfield
2022/23  West Brom  R.Madrid    AC Milan   Hoffenheim Bordeaux  PSV      Zenit      Galatasaray Benfica    Hibernian  Brann   Linfield 
2023/24  Man Utd    Barcelona   AC Milan   Schalke     Lyon     PSV      Sp.Moscow  Galatasaray Benfica    Hibernian  Brann   Linfield
2024/25  Man City   R.Madrid    AC Milan   Schalke   St.Rennais Ajax     FC Moscow  Gazianteps. Benfica    Celtic   Fredrikst Linfield  
2025/26  West Brom  Barcelona   AC Milan   FC Bayern  Bordeaux  Ajax     Sp.Moscow  Besiktas    Benfica    Hibernian  Viking  Linfield  
2026/27  Man City   R.Madrid    Inter      Hoffenheim Bordeaux  Ajax     Zenit      Galatasaray Benfica    Hearts   Stromsgod Glenavon

          World Player      Europe Player       Europe GK        Europe DF           Europe MF      Europe ST           Europe Golden Boot
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10   Lionel Messi      Lionel Messi        Iker Casillas    Dmytro Chygrynskyi  Lionel Messi   Sergio Aguero       Carlos Tevez
2010/11   Lionel Messi      Zlatan Ibrahimovic  Pepe Reina       Gerard Pique        Frank Lampard  Zlatan Ibrahimovic  Gabby Agbonlahor
2011/12   Lionel Messi      Lionel Messi        Iker Casillas    Giorgio Chiellini   Lionel Messi   Sergio Aguero       Roberto Soldado
2012/13   Lionel Messi      Lionel Messi        Iker Casillas    Yury Zhirkov        Lionel Messi   Carloz Tevez        David Villa
2013/14   Lionel Messi      Lionel Messi        Iker Casillas    Cristian Ansaldi    Lionel Messi   David Villa         David Villa
2014/15   Kaka              Kaka                Marco Amelia     Giorgio Chiellini   Kaka           David Villa         David Villa
2015/16   Lionel Messi      Lindomar*           Iker Casillas    Miguel Veloso       Mesut Ozil     Lindomar*           Alberto Paloschi
2016/17   Lionel Messi      Lionel Messi        Pepe Reina       Miguel Veloso       Lionel Messi   Pavel Novotny*      Alberto Paloschi
2017/18   Yoann Gourcuff    Yoann Gourcuff      Iker Casillas    Ivan Lorenzo*      Yoann Gourcuff  Karim Benzema       Alberto Paloschi
2018/19   Sergio Aguero     Aykan Yigit*        Alphonse Areola  Mauro Pugliese*    Yoann Gourcuff  Aykan Yigit*        Gonzalo Higuain 
2019/20   Americo Pedroso*  Americo Pedroso*    Alphonse Areola  Ivan Lorenzo*    Americo Pedroso*  Aykan Yigit*        Sergio Aguero
2020/21   Americo Pedroso*  Americo Pedroso*    Guillermo Ochoa  Mauro Pugliese*  Americo Pedroso*  Lindomar*           Milan Djuric
2021/22   Aykan Yigit*      Aykan Yigit*        Alphonse Areola  Ivan Lorenzo*      Enzo Varas      Aykan Yigit*        Nelson Oliveira
2022/23   Americo Pedroso*  Americo Pedroso*    Alphonse Areola  Luis Ramos*      Americo Pedroso*  Aykan Yigit*        Enric*
2023/24   Enric*            Nabil Ben Ayad*     Alphonse Areola  Mauro Pugliese*   Nabil Ben Ayad*  Aykan Yigit*        Esteban Simon*
2024/25   Enric*            Aykan Yigit*        Alphonse Areola  Mauro Pugliese*   Americo Pedroso* Aykan Yigit*        Robert Spielmann*
2025/26   Aykan Yigit*      Americo Pedroso*    Antonin Evrard*  Ivan Lorenzo*   Americo Pedroso*   Aykan Yigit*        Rudolf Sandor*
2026/27   Aykan Yigit*      Aykan Yigit*        Leo Rodriguez*   Ivan Lorenzo*     Wesley Oosting*  Aykan Yigit*        Evaristo Gandara*
* - denotes regens

----------------------------
Most Time Winner
----------------------------
World Player     - Lionel Messi x7
European Player  - Lionel Messi x5
European GK      - Iker Casillas & Alphonse Areola x6
European DF      - Ivan Lorenzo* x5
European MF      - Lionel Messi & Americo Pedroso* x5
European ST      - Aykan Yigit* x8
European GB      - David Villa & Alberto Paloschi x3

[deltablue]

West Ham, CL winners!

[PaulHartman71]

Rio Ferdinand's certainly gone down as a West Ham legend now! I'm sure the tycoon owner Ralph Gold (Ann Summers entrepreneur apparently ) will be highly regarded at the now 40,500 seater Upton Park as well!

[cerud]

Yea, kind of odd to see West Ham in European championships, let alone winning the CL!

[PaulHartman71]

Pretty decent budget for the new season...

[corinthiano]

That is actually not bad for Serie C2, hope you can do it with a full season in charge

[deltablue]

Looks alright, should be able to go up eventually.

[PaulHartman71]

Anything less than promotion would be a disappointing season with the squad and resources I have available imo

[PaulHartman71]

Thought I'd cash in on an over-rated young left back, fans weren't happy, but somehow I wasn't blamed

[Dave.]

Rio Ferdinand's certainly gone down as a West Ham legend now! I'm sure the tycoon owner Ralph Gold (Ann Summers entrepreneur apparently ) will be highly regarded at the now 40,500 seater Upton Park as well!

He's David Gold's brother I think, talk about keeping it in the family! Good luck for the season, reckon you should be able to win it.

[PaulHartman71]

A pretty confident start to the season...

[cerud]

Great start so far, PaulHartman71!

[deltablue]

Thought I'd cash in on an over-rated young left back, fans weren't happy, but somehow I wasn't blamed

Makes a nice change from being blamed for chairman interferance. Good start to the season.

[PaulHartman71]

A nice gap is beginning to form...

[deltablue]

Looking like getting that promotion you wanted.

[nie jem frytek]

It's still plenty of time, but I believe in Gallipoli and their manager.

[PaulHartman71]

cheers guys, have now extended the 5 point lead to a 9 point lead, it will be quite hard for us to lose it but the ability to bottle it is of course still there...

[TheGreatTraveler]

Great season so far!!

[PaulHartman71]

Hopefully this isn't the start of a bottle job!

[TheGreatTraveler]

Hopefully morale didn;t drop to much

[deltablue]

Hopefully this isn't the start of a bottle job!

You'd have to lose an entire wine cellar to blow it I think.

[PaulHartman71]

We've picked up just 10 points from 6 games, however somehow only dropped 2 points to 2nd place.

[cerud]

With your point difference this late in the season, a league title should be attainable. Here's to a solid finish!

[PaulHartman71]

Hopefully we can find some good form soon, at the moment our form is completely awful!

[PaulHartman71]

4 straight wins and very poor form from our title challengers makes it seem like the title is all but won...

[cerud]

Wow! That was a change between those to posts! Looking good!

[deltablue]

Going up!!!!

[TheGreatTraveler]

Great season it seems!! Don't Bottle it!

[noikeee]

Just read the whole thread. This sounds loads of fun altho I also imagine the restrictions you've placed yourself in terms of clubs to be frustrating sometimes. But you get to travel the world a lot. Very nicely done on the jobs for most of your career too.

I've been known to get myself way too carried away when writing, but your rundown of the various domestic scenes was taking the p*ss with those seas of text. You play fairly quickly tho, 19 seasons in 3 months is remarkable! But it'll take a few more seasons to reach Z.

[PaulHartman71]

Thanks guys, it does seem like we're all but officially promoted as champions now!

Just read the whole thread. This sounds loads of fun altho I also imagine the restrictions you've placed yourself in terms of clubs to be frustrating sometimes. But you get to travel the world a lot. Very nicely done on the jobs for most of your career too.

I've been known to get myself way too carried away when writing, but your rundown of the various domestic scenes was taking the p*ss with those seas of text. You play fairly quickly tho, 19 seasons in 3 months is remarkable! But it'll take a few more seasons to reach Z.

Yeah it can be very frustrating waiting to find a new job sometimes, you can't holiday and apply for all jobs because 95 percent of the time the club accepting you isn't the right letter. Just a case of constantly continuing and checking the job centre which can get tiresome, definitely not looking forward to the X and Z part! I did get pretty carried away with the write-ups, I didn't realise how much I'd wrote for most of them until I posted them Yeah I raced through the first 10 seasons or so, been taking it a bit slower since around East Fife as haven't had as much time on my hands. Yeah, I definitely have a long go before I reach Z!

[PaulHartman71]

They think it's all over... it is now!

[corinthiano]

Excellent achievement Paul, another country, another league title

Will you be staying at Gallipoli or leaving and looking for the "H" club?

[PaulHartman71]

thanks corinthiano, I think I will leave Gallipoli and look to move onto 'H', but first I have the opportunity to achieve my first ever league/cup double as we compete in the 'Serie C2 Cup' - which puts the winners of the other 2 'C2' divisions against us in a 2 game tournament.

[noikeee]

Bit early to go for Hearts, Hibernian or Heerenveen, no? Hibs maybe? Honvéd in Hungary? (see what I did there )

[deltablue]

Whatever the H club is you need to be pretty successful as 'I' clubs will be thin on the ground, aside from the obvious two.

[noikeee]

Inverness, IFK Goteborg, Iraklis. Not that difficult.

[deltablue]

Inverness, IFK Goteborg, Iraklis. Not that difficult.

That's me told, though I sort of think of Goteborg as a 'G' as 'IFK' is like 'F.C.' or similar. It's a bit of a grey area. Can't remember if it's come up on this thread, but I remember (on AK22's thread I think), someone disputed whether (Bayer) Leverkusen counted as an 'L', and it does depend on what they're commonly known as since 'Bayern Munich' would definitely be a 'B', but Leverkusen are generally called just that, which does make things less clear.

I wasn't exactly thinking for ages trying to find as many as possible. Still not that many (Istanbulspor as well, and probably at least one other club from that city), and if he's still managing at such a low level he won't be able to get most of them. That's why a bit more success would go a long way to making some of those (and I was thinking of Ipswich and Ingolstadt) possible destinations.

[noikeee]

When he gets to P it'd be a good idea to load the Indonesian league.

[PaulHartman71]

The double has been done!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done Paul.

[deltablue]

Going to move on?

[PaulHartman71]

G is for Gallipoli

As I had hoped at the start of the season, a league win for Gallipoli! This was no doubt due to our impeccable Man City-esque home form, only dropping points twice with two draws. We achieved more points at home than the side that finished 10th did in total which shows just how good we were at home. The past positions also hint at our dominance, we first reached 1st after 6 games and didn't slip for the rest of the year. The squad didn't have major depth but it didn't really need to have that much depth as we still won the league quite comfortably. I splashed out on transfers, spending 6.5k this year, a record for me as a manager! The club's finances read to be okay but the loan debt means we get no money back from transfers and ultimately it's not great and I can see why they went bankrupt in real life. It was also nice to win the C2 Super Cup.

Julius Stark was my number one in goal and he did well, achieving 23 clean sheets in total out of 40 games. Ruben Rodriguez Martin was first choice right back and was decent. Menno Verbeek on loan from Ajax was our main left back and he did a good job, I would've liked to bring him in on a permanent basis but with the club's financial problems that's not happening. Luciano Muto played in the middle of defence and did alright, his partner Andrea Dahm was considerably better. Our main right midfielder was the club's own Giuseppe Giusti who did great, getting 6 goals and 16 assists throughout the season. Olivier Colonna did pretty well on the left, scoring 4 goals and getting 5 assists. Erik Lundgren had a decent season in the middle of our midfield with 1 goal and 4 assists, Marco Ruggiero had a better season getting a goal and 12 assists as well as having a slightly better passing ratio than the Swede. Matteo Viola had a decent season as 3rd choice striker scoring 15 goals, most off of the bench. Aziz Znagui did well scoring 14 goals and getting 11 assists, with top scorer and key man, Norwegian striker, Kenneth Mittet who ended up with 20 goals and 8 assists. Giueseppe Giusti won player of the year for the league and I won manager of the year. I've resigned from Gallipoli as with the financial implications I feel I have achieved all I can at the club.


History

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Season     Club                   League                  Position     Achievements
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2009/10    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div           9th        Joined in July   
2010/11    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div           11th       Screwed over by the board and sacked in April
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2011/12    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North         19th       Joined in June 
2012/13    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North         9th        None
2013/14    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North         5th        Promoted via play-offs
2014/15    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square Premier       1st        Promoted as Champions, resigned in June
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16    Casa Pia A.C           Portuguese 2nd Div S      8th        Joined in November
2016/17    Casa Pia A.C           Portuguese 2nd Div C      1st        Champions, Promoted via playoff, resigned in June
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18    Distillery             N.Irish 1st Div           10th       Joined in November
2018/19    Distillery             N.Irish 1st Div           10th       Sacked in January
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20    East Fife              Scottish 3rd Div          10th       Joined in May
2020/21    East Fife              Scottish 3rd Div          3rd        Lost in playoff semi final
2021/22    East Fife              Scottish 3rd Div          1st        Promoted as Champions
2022/23    East Fife              Scottish 2nd Div          1st        Promoted as Champions
2023/24    East Fife              Scottish 1st Div          5th        Resigned in June
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024       Fana Idrettslag        Norwegian 2nd Div 3       7th        Joined in July
2025       Fana Idrettslag        Norwegian 2nd Div 3       4th        None
2026       Fana Idrettslag        Norwegian 2nd Div 3       1st        Promoted as Champions, Resigned in October
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026/27    Gallipoli Calcio       Italian Serie C2/C        8th        Joined in October
2027/28    Gallipoli Calcio       Italian Serie C2/C        1st        Promoted as Champions, Serie C2 Super Cup winner, Resigned in June

Trophy Cabinet

Bradford Park Avenue 
- Blue Square Premier x1 - 2014/15

Casa Pia
- Portuguese 2nd Div C x1 - 2016/17

East Fife
- Scottish 3rd Div x1 - 2021/22
- Scottish 2nd Div x1 - 2022/23

Fana Idrettslag 
- Norwegian 2nd Div 3 x1 - 2026

Gallipoli Calcio
- Italian Serie C2/C x1 - 2027/28
- Italian Serie C2 Super Cup x1 - 2027/28

[PaulHartman71]

The question now is...

Where the H​ell am I off to next?

[nie jem frytek]

Maybe Heracles or Hercules?

[PaulHartman71]

Maybe Heracles or Hercules?

Maybe...







I have also declared interest in the very insecure post at Houston Dynamos, as well as the insecure post at Haarlem and I have applied for the vacant Holland national team job.

Which of these (if any of them) will I end up at?!

[rancer890]

Guess you won't be going to Hacettepe (Turkey).

[PaulHartman71]

No, the chances of me going to Hacettepe are very slim

[PaulHartman71]

[cerud]

Houston! Love to see another MLS career

[AK22]

Fantastic final season in Italy! Germany awaits?

[PaulHartman71]

I am looking forward to managing in the MLS at some point, I can't remember ever properly managing there and added it in the save so I could try it all out at some point. And thanks AK, perhaps Germany does wait, perhaps it doesn't...

[PaulHartman71]

Ok so maybe I am not heading to Germany...

[deltablue]

First clue please

[PaulHartman71]

I have never managed in the country of the club I am going to...

(limits it to a H club in one of France, Germany, Holland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the USA)

[deltablue]

Haarlem maybe?