PH71's Journey - featuring The Alphabet Challenge

**PaulHartman71** · 05-02-2012 23:32

Hoping you guys enjoy the Jackson 5's song that's both very catchy and very relevant to this thread, obviously MJ had a few haters because of some nasty rumours about being a paedophile, but that's not really relevant to this thread (although I do at some point manage a Portuguese side named after a children's charity that's most famous for a massive child sex abuse scandal) - it was quite awkward to find that out when I was doing some research on the club! But aside from that and a few rather 'unpleasant' experiences in Northern Ireland, it's been an interesting save game so far. I'm writing this whilst on 'E' (East Fife, not Ecstasy) so I am not yet sure what will happen in the other letters, hopefully it's more to write home about and update this post with at some point!

-

I'm looking to complete the alphabet challenge during this save game, something nobody in the history of the forums has done before. The basic aim is to manage clubs based on the alphabet going from A-Z, this also includes international teams. The aim is to start with Sunday League reputation at an 'A' club then after spending at least 365 days at the club, then move onto 'B' and so on. I usually like to stick around at one club and get quite attached but in this career I am hoping to travel around Europe managing numerous clubs as well as an international team at some point.

North America

USA - MLS

Europe

England - down to Blue Square South/North
France - down to National
Germany - down to Third Division
Holland - Jupiler League
Italy - down to Serie C
Northern Ireland - down to Second Division
Norway - Second Division
Portugal - down to Third Division
Russia - down to First Division
Scotland - down to Third Division
Spain - down to LIGA adelante
Turkey - down to Second Division

**PaulHartman71** · 12-02-2012 16:38

I am beginning my journey in the lowly North Irish Second Division with the only 'A' team in the division - Annagh United. I have a two year contract worth £170 per week. I'm aiming to see out this contract and hope to have at least challenged for promotion in one of the two seasons, in order to increase my reputation in order to get a job at my next club.

**SRL88** · 13-02-2012 08:52

Good luck in N.Ireland mate

.

**B.W.G** · 13-02-2012 11:59

Interesting rules,can't say I would ever have thought of going from A-Z.Good luck in Northern Ireland

**Nobby_McDonald** · 13-02-2012 18:07

So this save will last at least 26 season then.

Can't be many choices for X. Xanthi is the only one that springs to mind but you haven't picked Greece.

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 13-02-2012 20:03

There's Xerez in Spain too.

**PaulHartman71** · 13-02-2012 21:29

with X it is basically a case of Xerez being the only option

unless the Dutch side Xerxes DZB get promoted to the Jupiler League at some point, but I'm not sure if they're in the right division for this to ever be possible. I have just finished my first season so an update will be out later.

**sniell** · 14-02-2012 00:03

Thats gunna be a touch challenge with some of the letters! Gotta just hope the right jobs are available at the right times...Best of luck mate!

**PaulHartman71** · 14-02-2012 02:05

Season 1 - A is for Annagh United

I had a terrible start to the season and for a few months it looked like relegation was a real possibility, which would have been pretty embarrassing in my first season. The club seemed very tight on how much I could go over wages, I remember at one point I was about £80 over and tried getting in a Goalkeeper, something the club desperately desperately needed as the one we had was terrible, the new signing would've been on about £40 a week but the board blocked in based on it breaking the wage budget, something I've never seen in the game before. Eventually I decided to release a few players including our only Goalkeeper in order to get a new Goalkeeper in which I eventually did, and since we signed the new Goalkeeper we started winning on a regular basis and at one point was just two points of 4th place. We finished the season in 9th, which although is Annagh United's worst ever finish, was still better than the media prediction of 11th. The squad wasn't great, I took my scouts word for it on most of the signings I made, as you can see from the transfers I had to release a lot of players for there to be a decent wage budget to bring new players in. The finances are not great at all and I can't see how the club is going to randomly start making a profit, could get very messy in a few seasons, hopefully I wont be around for that. This was the Best XI at the end of the season. Despite being linked with a couple of Scottish Third Division and Blue Square South/North jobs, no 'B' sides have become available as of yet so I'm looking to see out my contract and stay at Annagh another year unless a 'B' club that wants me become available.

History

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Season     Club                League               Position      Achievements
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2008/09    Annagh United       N.Irish 2nd Div      9th           None

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**PaulHartman71** · 15-02-2012 13:38

Season 2 - A is for Annagh United

What can I say about these ********? My target was to finish in pretty much the same position as I did last year, and with very limited funding (about 100p/w less wage budget than last season, and when your total is about 600p/w that's not much) - I was set to do so. I was sacked when 11th, but I had a game in hand which I probably would've won because we were in decent form and we were at home against already relegated Chimney Corner. Now, I had rejected a contract renewal at the start of the season, and I was tempted to resign several times during the season just because I was finding it very hard to bring in new players which were desperately needed for the team to stay at the level it was at last year. However I thought I might as well stick it out till the end of the season as I would have felt bad resigning in the middle of the season. Then, in a shocking move, they sacked me with 4 games to go. I have no idea why they would do this. But it was a conspiracy as the guy who they hired after sacking me, Johnny Law, had been constantly making statements in the media that he wanted my job, and the chairman had been saying how he had to admit it would be hard to overlook a man of his calibre or something. Whilst this was very disrespectful to me, I assumed they'd have the decency to at least wait until my contract run out in June. There was never any media stuff saying I was under any pressure to lose my job at all. At first I thought that I'd already played the Chimney and had been slaughtered or something, but I looked and it wasn't until the next day. Surely if they were that desperate to get Law in then they should have offered me the chance to resign instead of sacking me. But nope. They sacked me. Jeremy Hart? More like Bret Hart tbh.

History

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Season     Club                League               Position      Achievements
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2008/09    Annagh United       N.Irish 2nd Div      9th           None    
2009/10    Annagh United       N.Irish 2nd Div      11th          Screwed over by the board and sacked in April

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**PaulHartman71** · 17-02-2012 14:13

Season 3 - B is for Bradford Park Avenue

In my first season in English football, I took over at newly promoted Bradford Park Avenue. It truly was a case of starting with nothing, as we started the season with virtually no players of any decent quality and no staff aside from the chairman. Scoring goals wasn't really something that came naturally to the team and without the goals from P.A. Bruce and Darren Gribben we would have stood no chance of survival. After a long struggle, we survived by 2 points on the final day of the season finishing 19th. It has to be said that without Workington going into administration a few weeks before the end of the season, we probably wouldn't have stayed up, so we got pretty lucky there, but I'll take my first relegation battle victory. The final squad looked like this. Transfers part 1 and part 2. A lot of players joined and left throughout the season, they'd come in with 5 star CA/PA and within a few months would be 1 and a half star CA/PA, I managed to replace my assistant for a better one around half-way in the season which lead to this being somewhat better, but it was still an annoying problem. The finances are not looking pretty at all. Since my contract runs out next season and there's been no 'C' jobs available as of yet, I will stay with the club until my contract runs out, taking a 'C' job if one becomes available throughout the season. Let's hope I'm not screwed over by the board and unfairly dismissed again before my contract runs out this time.

History

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Season     Club                   League               Position      Achievements
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2009/10    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div      9th           None    
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          None

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**PaulHartman71** · 21-02-2012 01:23

Season 4 - B is for Bradford Park Avenue

A much better second season in Bradford for me this time. We finished in 9th place the seasons 7 points adrift of the play-offs, at one point it looked like we were going to qualify for them but injuries to the squad, especially one to main man Jason Walker lead to a poor run of form near the end of the season. I was fairly busy in the transfer market but not as busy as I was last season. The finances have decreased again, but the loss we made of 70K is a significant improvement to the 250K last season. It was still a strong improvement compared to our relegation battle last season though. As I said earlier, key man was without doubt, Jason Walker - scoring 21 goals in 28 league games. I got offered the chance to renew my contract in May, I decided that I will spend one more season at the club in the hope of getting promoted next season as I could do with the reputation increase I'd gain from doing so. Overall best XI.

History

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Season     Club                   League               Position      Achievements
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2009/10    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div      9th           None    
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          None 
2012/13    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North    9th           None

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**PaulHartman71** · 25-02-2012 01:35

Season 5 - B is for Bradford Park Avenue

In my third and potentially final season at Bradford Park Avenue the race for promotion was on, however before we get into that let's take a look at the first cup run we've had in my three seasons here. After beating Durham 1-0 in the 2nd Qualifying Round, we upset Darlington 2-1 to progress to the 4th Qualifying round. After a 2-2 draw at home with Accrington, we won the away replay on penalties to get into the first round proper. We drew non-league Aveley and subsequently defeated them 2-0 to get into the 2nd Round with Newport County. It was quite disappointing to go out to Newport, after two 0-0 games we lost on penalties which was quite depressing, although we only drew a league 2 team in the third round so it wasn't like we missed out on an away trip to Old Trafford or something. As you can see here this did wonders for the finances of the club. Due to the horrendous finances before this season our wage budget was heavily knocked down from the previous year, meaning we spent basically the whole season £500p/w over our budget which wasn't great. This meant I couldn't bring anyone in at all, with takeovers constantly happening or not happening we were also transfer embargoed numerous times which lead to me not being able to get loan signings either.

This is a look at the squad we had for most of the season. It's the same squad as last season and is still a competitive squad at this level and was good enough to achieve the 5th place that it did if you hadn't already noticed from the previous screen-shots. The stand out players were central midfielder Emmet Templeton, and the two strikers - Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, who bagged 24 goals and 17 assists in 52 games, and Jason Walker, who scored 30 goals and 12 assists in 49 games. It was only a 2-0 win against other promotion candidates Tamworth on the last day of the season that got us into the play-offs, that was arguably the biggest game of the season and thus a great win for the team. We met Darlington in the semi final of the play-offs, we'd already knocked them out of the FA Cup so I was relatively confident we could beat them over the two legs. Ultimately we won 3-2 on aggregate to progress to the final. For the second time in two weeks our biggest game of the season would come against Tamworth, we kept a clean sheet for the second time and did one better than we did in the league and trumped them 3-0 in an impressive display to win promotion.

This is the league table and the play-off tree. As you can see we were pretty lucky to go up really considering the likes of Darlington finished with 20 points more than us. Ultimately it has been a fantastic season capped off with a great display in the play-offs. At the start of the season I aimed to gain promotion with the possible intention of leaving Bradford Park Avenue in hope of finding a 'C' club, but I've come to the conclusion that I might as well at least spend one season managing in the Blue Square Premier as I think that will boost my reputation a bit and help me when it comes to looking for a job in the future. I'm also getting a bit attached to the side and the players which isn't a good sign, I think next season will definitely be my last at the club though. Overall Best XI.

History

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Season     Club                   League               Position      Achievements
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2009/10    Annagh United          N.Irish 2nd Div      9th           None    
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          None 
2012/13    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North    9th           None
2013/14    Bradford Park Avenue   Blue Square North    5th           Promoted via play-offs

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**PaulHartman71** · 14-02-2012 14:47

World Cup 2010 Round Up

Group A

1. Paraguay
2. Serbia
3. Italy
4. Tunisia

Pretty surprising stuff as outside favourites Paraguay win the group after winning all 3 of their 3 games. Tunisia were whipping boys losing every single game, but it was Serbia who went through at the expense of one of the tournament favourites after beating Italy on the final day.

Group B

1. Portugal
2. Holland
3. South Korea
4. Algeria

Despite some tipping them to upset the two European favourites, South Korea failed to qualify to the knockout stages picking up only 2 points, one more than African whipping boys Algeria.

Group C

1. Saudi Arabia
2. England
3. Switzerland
4. Gabon

Switzerland had been tipped to qualify with heavy favourites England, with African side Gabon being tipped to have a chance of qualification, but nobody saw Saudi Arabia qualifying, especially by winning all 3 of their games. England only qualified at Switzerland's expense by 1 point, finishing with 4.

Group D

1. U.S.A
2. Germany
3. Ghana
4. Slovakia

This was a relatively open group, Germany obviously are always going to be favourites to qualify, but U.S.A, Ghana and to an extent even Slovakia had a realistic chance of joining them in the next round. U.S.A topped the group unbeaten winning against Ghana and Slovakia and drawing the Germans. Germany qualified also unbeaten, winning against Slovakia and drawing with the two other sides. Ghana were pretty unlucky not to qualify, missing out by just one point.

Group E

1. Argentina
2. France
3. Honduras
4. North Korea

Messi and co steam-roller'd their way through the group winning every game. North Korea were expected whipping boys losing every game. Despite occasionally choking at big tournaments, France secured their place in the next round by beating Honduras in the last game day.

Group F

1. Chile
2. Mexico
3. Croatia
4. South Africa

In a group with no clear favourites to qualify, the hosts became whipping boys losing every single game. The European side Croatia would have hoped to qualify but after only managing a draw with Chile on the last day and having already lost to Mexico, they finished third with Chile and Mexico progressing.

Group G

1. Greece
2. Ivory Coast
3. Spain
4. Japan

Spain managed to choke on the big stage, failing to win a single game after drawing with Japan and Greece, and were sensationally dumped out when Ivory Coast beat them on the last day. Japan also failed to win a game, with that draw with Spain being their only point. This lead to Ivory Coast and dark horses Greece qualifying.

Group H

1. Russia
2. Australia
3. Brazil
4. Costa Rica

A dark day in the Brazilian history books, as they shockingly failed to even make the knock-out stages. Costa Rica lost every game, with Russia finishing unbeaten after drawing with Australia and beating Brazil and Costa Rica. Australia needed just a point against Brazil on the final day to qualify having already drawn with Russia and beaten Costa Rica, and in sensational style they drew 1-1 after a late Tim Cahill penalty.

Second Knockout Round

Paraguay 1-0 Holland
Serbia (p) 0-0 Portugal
Germany 0-1 Saudi Arabia
U.S.A 1-1 (p) England
Mexico 2-2 (p) Argentina
Chile 1-4 France
Australia 1-0 Greece
Russia 2-1 Ivory Coast

Paraguay upset Holland and the bookies by winning 1-0 in a tight game. Serbia surprised Portugal as they progressed via the penalty shootout after a very dull game. There was revenge from 2002 for Saudi Arabia as they beat the side who embarrassed them by slotting 8 against them in Japan/South Korea, a dark day for Germany. England surprised all by winning a penalty shoot-out, in a hotly contested match against the Americans. Argentina needed penalties to get past Mexico after a relatively open 2-2 draw. France comfortably disposed of Chile by winning 4-1. Australia managed to get past Greece by wining 1-0, a great day for the Australian's. Russia knocked the only remaining African side, Ivory Coast, out after winning 2-1.

Quarter Final

Paraguay 2-2 (p) England
Serbia 1-2 Saudi Arabia
Argentina (e) 3-2 Russia
France 0-0 (p) Australia

In a shocking display, England won yet another penalty shoot-out after drawing 2-2 with Paraguay in normal time. Saudi Arabia made history as they beat Serbia to qualify for the semi finals, the only game of the round that didn't go to extra time. Argentina managed to get past Russia after a late goal from Messi in the additional 30 minutes. Australia proved to be ultimate under-dogs yet again, knocking the French out on penalties.

Semi Final

England 4-0 Australia
Saudi Arabia 1-3 Argentina

The under-dogs of Australia and Saudi Arabia were finally knocked out in the semi's, with both sides taking relatively heavy beatings from the two favourites England and Argentina, setting up the ultimate grudge match final.

3rd Place

Australia (p) 1-1 Saudi Arabia

After a close game in normal time between the tournament under-dogs, Australia won their second penalty shoot-out of the competition to finish with a bronze medal, which I'm sure the Australians back home were extremely proud of.

Final

England 0-1 (e) Argentina

In one of the biggest grudge match finals in World Cup history, it took a 119th minute winner from who else but Lionel Messi to ultimately break English hearts. Sergio Aguero ended up winning the player of the tournament, as well as the top scorer, scoring an impressive 8 goals in 6 games. The dream team was made up of all Argentinian and French players aside from Frank Lampard. Malik Mouath of Saudi Arabia deserves a mention as well, the German based striker scored 6 goals in 7 games to give his country a fantastic tournament display.

**Dejay** · 14-02-2012 16:25

Good luck with this

**PaulHartman71** · 14-02-2012 17:08

Just as I am past my 365 days in charge of Annagh United, a job offer comes through...

One letter away ffs!

**Deisler26** · 15-02-2012 14:43

Yeesh. Harsh, man!

**Nobby_McDonald** · 15-02-2012 17:46

Getting screwed by the board only ever ends one way.

**PaulHartman71** · 16-02-2012 15:40

Boom.

**SRL88** · 16-02-2012 15:42

Good luck in the B's

. Love the challenge you have set yourself.

**Deisler26** · 16-02-2012 15:48

Nice work on getting Bradford PA. Let's hope you can make it up.

**deltablue** · 16-02-2012 15:57

Plenty of letters to go if you can't.

**Nobby_McDonald** · 16-02-2012 17:53

Bloody hell, you're even going in order.

You might be staying at the W club for a while if you're waiting for one club to become vacant.

**PaulHartman71** · 16-02-2012 18:27

yeah Xerex are still in the Liga Adelante, I'm hoping they'll become a yo-yo club getting promoted and relegated from La Liga a lot which should lead to them sacking the manager every few years.

**PaulHartman71** · 16-02-2012 19:22

not bitter at all

**SRL88** · 17-02-2012 15:00

Solid efforts still with Bradford. Hopefully you can bring in a few players of quality at least.

**PaulHartman71** · 17-02-2012 17:47

Euro 2012 Round Up

Group A

1. Denmark
2. Italy
3. Sweden
4. Poland

Italy were always going to be favourites and the average fan would have expected at least one of the Scandinavian sides to join them in the next round. Denmark did so, going through with 6 points as opposed to Italy's 5. Italy remained unbeaten. Sweden narrowly missed out with just 4 points. A poor show from the hosts Poland.

Group B

1. Ukraine
2. Russia
3. Holland
4. Croatia

It was the two Eastern sides that qualified from the group, despite it being a difficult group, one of the pre-tournament favourites Holland will be very disappointed to go out this early on. Croatia were the whipping boys picking up just one point out of their 3 games. A great showing from the host side Ukraine though.

Group C

1. Germany
2. France
3. Belgium
4. England
In a very tough group, Europe's best side at the World Cup, England, struggled only managing to draw against Belgium. Germany and France are both strong teams though to be fair. Belgium managed a win and a draw which was pretty impressive for a side tipped to lose every game when the group was drawn.

Group D

1. Ireland
2. Spain
3. Greece
4. Portugal

A tough group on paper for the Irish, yet they managed to top the group finishing unbeaten in the process, beating Greece and drawing Spain and Portugal. Spain beat Portugal and them managed to draw against Greece and Ireland ensuring qualification. Greece and unlikely bottom side Portugal, both ended up with just 2 points.

Quarter Finals

Russia 2-2 (p) Denmark
Ukraine 3-1 Italy
Germany 2-3 Spain
France 2-0 Ireland

A penalty shoot-out victory for Denmark in a tight game with slight favourites Russia, Arshavin scored both of Russia's goals. The host side Ukraine were in impressive form, smashing Italy 3-1 which the Italians certainly didn't see coming. There was slight controversy as two of Ukraine and Artem Milevskyi's 3 goals were penalties. Germany were 2-0 up at half-time and few could have expected the triumphant Spanish fight back with saw a Chelsea/Barcelona-esque late winner from Andres Iniesta. France bettered Ireland who had performed so well in the group stages, there was no handballs in this game as Benzema scored two fine goals in an impressive French victory.

Semi Finals

Denmark 0-2 France
Ukraine (p) 2-2 Spain

France knocked out another side that had done better than expected in the plucky Danish side, another brace from Benzema saw the French through, although it has to be said Denmark had 10 men for 40 minutes of the game after a controversial Poulsen red card. In an exciting game, the hosts Ukraine shocked all as they knocked the favourites Spain out on penalties. In a game that finished 1-1 in normal time, Ukraine thought they'd won it after Yarmolenko's goal in the second minute of the 30 additional minutes. But in late fashion yet again, David Villa popped up in the 122nd minute to equalise for Spain and send it to penalties. Ukraine kept calm under pressure and slotted home all 5 of their penalties, Iniesta missed for Spain which meant the Spanish went out.

Final

France (p) 2-2 Ukraine

In the end it was the French who won the tournament. They were 2-0 up in the first half but after a second half comeback from the hosts, it was all to play for. It ended up going to penalties which saw France score all 5, Ukraine missed one, it was captain Thierry Henry who slotted home the wining penalty.

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       World Cup  European Champs  Copa America  Cup of Nations   
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2010   Argentina                                  Cameroon
2011                                Brazil           
2012                 France                       Nigeria

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          CL Winners       CL Runner Up     EL Winners     EL Runner Up  
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2009/10   Barcelona        Real Madrid      Liverpool      At.Madrid
2010/11   Real Madrid      Barcelona        Inter          Valencia
2011/12   Juventus         Real Madrid      FC Bayern      Fenerbache

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         England    Spain       Italy      Germany     France   Holland  Russia     Turkey      Portugal   Scotland  Norway   N.Ireland      
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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

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          World Player      Europe Player       Europe GK        Europe DF           Europe MF      Europe ST           Europe Golden Boot
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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

credit to City2000 for the fantastic code set-up

**PaulHartman71** · 21-02-2012 15:54

Code:

          CL Winners       CL Runner Up     EL Winners     EL Runner Up  
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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

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         England    Spain       Italy      Germany     France   Holland  Russia     Turkey      Portugal   Scotland  Norway   N.Ireland      
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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

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          World Player      Europe Player       Europe GK        Europe DF           Europe MF      Europe ST           Europe Golden Boot
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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

**PaulHartman71** · 25-02-2012 13:35

2014 World Cup Round up

Group A

1. Argentina
2. Poland
3. South Korea
4. New Zealand

The favorites to win the group were always going to be Argentina, they didn't disappoint as they won all 3 of their games. Poland were the best of the rest, despite finishing on level points with South Korea they went through on superior goal difference. New Zealand were whipping boys, losing every one of their games.

Group B

1. USA
2. Russia
3. Chile
4. Nigeria

The two super-powers of America and Russia run away with the group, both winning two games to qualify with 6 points each. Nigeria would have hoped to have done a little better being one of the strongest African sides, whereas Chile did quite decently to finish with 3 points in a tough group.

Group C

1. Croatia
2. England
3. Japan
4. Algeria

There were remnants of the past when England lost their opening game to Croatia, with Japan being decent themselves it looked like England could face going out at the group stage. However England came back and beat both Japan and Algeria to qualify. Croatia ended up unbeaten winning two and drawing with Japan. Algeria finished with nothing.

Group D

1. Turkey
2. Ecuador
3. Switzerland
4. Iran

In one of, if not the weakest of all the groups, pretty much anyone had a chance - even rank outsiders Iran, at least on paper anyway. Iran failed to win a game, only managing a draw with eventual group winners Turkey. Turkey finished unbeaten, winning against the Swiss and Ecuador after their slip up to Iran. Switzerland were slight favourites over Ecuador to qualify, but Ecuador defeated both the Swiss and Iran to qualify with 6 points. The Swiss ended up with just 3 points after a win over Iran.

Group E

1. Mexico
2. Brazil
3. Holland
4. Cameroon

In what was easily the group of death, it was Brazil and Mexico who made it out. Mexico finished unbeaten winning twice and drawing once, Brazil also finished unbeaten drawing twice and winning once. Cameroon were unlucky to draw such a difficult group and lost every game. Holland were unlucky not to qualify after beating Cameroon and managing a draw with Brazil, they lost the all important last game against Mexico to go out in third place.

Group F

1. Portugal
2. Uruguay
3. Slovakia
4. Tunisia

Portugal were pre-tournament favourites to win their group and they did so without a struggle, winning all 3 of their games without even conceding a goal. Uruguay joined them after beating Slovakia and drawing with Tunisia. Slovakia were unlucky not to qualify and their game with Uruguay pretty much decided who would finish second. Tunisia only managed one point in total.

Group G

1. Germany
2. Spain
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Paraguay

Saudi Arabia, last year's surprise semi-finalists had another decent showing despite not making it out of a tough group. They only conceding twice and the only loss they did have was a close 1-0 against Spain. A draw with the Saudi's was Germany's only slip up as they won the other 2 games with relative ease. Spain won against Saudi Arabia and Paraguay to ensure qualification, with Paraguay finishing with 0 points.

Group H

1. France
2. Ivory Coast
3. Ukraine
4. Canada

France and Ivory Coast were favourites to qualify from the group and did so in decent fashion. France won twice and drew once to finish the group unbeaten. Ukraine also finished unbeaten but all of their games resulted in draws which meant they only ended up with 3 points. If they could have beaten Canada in their last game they would have qualified at the expense of Ivory Coast, Canada though hung on to earn their only point.

Second Round

Argentina 3-0 Russia
Poland 2-2 (p) USA
Ecuador 1-2 Croatia
England 0-0 (p) Turkey
Mexico 0-0 (p) Uruguay
Portugal 2-1 Brazil
Germany 1-2 Ivory Coast
Spain 0-4 France

The holders Argentina didn't disappoint fans as they smashed Russia 3-0 to progress. Poland and the USA was a tight game with the Americans only progressing through penalties. Croatia knocked out Ecuador 2-1, coming from behind to win. England, despite doing so well in the last World Cup went back to their old ways as they went out via penalties to Turkey after a 0-0 draw. Uruguay only managed to get through a difficult tie against Mexico with penalties. In arguably the most anticipated tie of the round, Portugal knocked out Brazil on home soil which would have caused heart-break throughout the country. Ivory Coast trumped the German's 2-1 to qualify, being the only African side to do so. France destroyed Spain 4-0 which would've come to a surprise to most.

Quarter Final

Argentina 2-0 Turkey
USA 0-1 Croatia
Uruguay 1-0 France
Portugal 0-1 Ivory Coast

Argentina continued their impressive showing of winning every game, still only having conceded once, by knocking the Turkish out 2-0. Croatia knocked out the USA 1-0 after a late Modric goal. Uruguay, who of course won the last World Cup that was hosted by Brazil, proved Europe weren't the only super-power in international football as they beat hotly tipped France, to join Argentina in the semi final. Another upset for Europe as the only African side left in the competition won 1-0 to knock out Portugal. This meant that only Croatia would represent Europe in the semi final.

Semi Final

Argentina 0-1 Ivory Coast
Croatia 2-0 Uruguay

With two teams in the semi final, South Americans would have been forgiven for thinking there would at least be one side in the Brazilian hosted tournament. However, the Ivory Coast upset holders and favourites Argentina to make it to the final, being the first African side to ever do so. Uruguay were taken down 2-0 by Croatia, a first final appearance for them, meaning there would be a first ever winner this year.

3rd Place

Argentina 3-0 Uruguay

In an all South American affair, Argentina showed that they are the dominant side in South America by winning 3-0 to claim third place. Sergio Aguero ended up top scorer for the second time in two tournaments, scoring 8 goals like he did in the last one.

Final

Ivory Coast 4-1 Croatia

In a first ever final for Africa, the Ivory Coast did not disappoint their continent and the whole of Africa, especially the Ivory Coast were celebrating as they impressively won 4-1 against Croatia to win the tournament.

Code:

       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

Code:

          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

Code:

         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

Code:

          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

**PaulHartman71** · 01-03-2012 13:22

Code:

       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

Code:

          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

Code:

         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

Code:

          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

**PaulHartman71** · 04-03-2012 12:38

Euro 2016 Round Up

Group A

1. England
2. Sweden
3. Portugal
4. Greece

Group B

1. Scotland
2. Italy
3. Norway
4. Holland

Group C

1. France
2. Poland
3. Spain
4. Russia

Group D

1. Germany
2. Croatia
3. Ukraine
4. Czech Rep

Quarter Final

Italy 0-1 England
Sweden 1-1 (p) Scotland
Croatia 2-2 (p) France
Poland 2-4 Germany

Semi Final

England 2-0 Germany
Scotland 1-2 France

Final

England 0-2 France

Code:

       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

Code:

          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

Code:

         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

Code:

          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
* - denotes regens

Annagh United

Code:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season       League               Position      
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10      N.Irish 2nd Div      9th           
2010/11      N.Irish 2nd Div      11th     
2011/12      N.Irish 2nd Div      10th
2012/13      N.Irish 2nd Div      6th
2013/14      N.Irish 2nd Div      10th
2014/15      N.Irish 2nd Div      4th
2015/16      N.Irish 2nd Div      7th

Bradford Park Avenue

Code:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season       League               Position      
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10      -          
2010/11      -    
2011/12      Blue Square North    19th
2012/13      Blue Square North    9th
2013/14      Blue Square North    5th
2014/15      Blue Square Prem     1st
2015/16      League 2             20th

**SRL88** · 22-02-2012 14:11

Much better season. Hopefully you can push on up the table.

**deltablue** · 22-02-2012 17:04

Taking strong steps up. Maybe you can have a playoff push next time.

**Nobby_McDonald** · 22-02-2012 20:52

Nice improvement.

**Taunton** · 25-02-2012 08:59

Really like your challenge. Will follow this thread closely. Good luck managing your way through the alphabet.

**deltablue** · 25-02-2012 11:16

Should have lots of options for a while.

**Nobby_McDonald** · 25-02-2012 18:27

Well done on winning promotion. Might a move to C be on the cards after that?

**PaulHartman71** · 25-02-2012 19:34

I've been given a pretty tasty wage budget for a BSP campaign and after first month things are going quite well, so I am looking to see out the season and my contract and then probably look into resigning and getting a C side.

**PaulHartman71** · 27-02-2012 22:45

Season 6 - B is for Bradford Park Avenue (Mid-Season Update)

Yeah so have decided to do more than just one update per season as it is quite hard to cram it all into just the one update. Due to our cup run last year and the promotion our finances increased significantly giving me a good amount of wage budget free. I brought in a lot of players on free transfers to boost the squad.

Tam Gemmill has since been released. Adam Griffin is a backup utility man that can play on the left of defence and midfield. Bryn Hindley is our #1 Goalkeeper. Nathan Smith is our first choice left back. Chris Williams, a loan signing from Wigan, is one of our first choice strikers. Lewis Montrose is rotational midfielder, he was injured for a large part of the season so far so hasn't got as many games as you would expect. Stephen Dawson is one of our first choice central midfielders. Lawrie Wilson is our first choice right back. Joe Webb is a fringe/backup player for the two sides of defence. Steven Wilkinson is one of our first choice central defenders. Gary Wood is another of our first choice strikers, who is currently top scorer. Richard Dean is a utility man that's been playing all around midfield. Mitchell Hanson is a recently recruited central defender who is looking he will become first choice. A lot of naff players or players on ridiculously high wages have been released.

The entire squad can be found here. A quick round up of the players who were already here from last season: Michael Lee has been playing primarily in the middle of defence, as has Luke Prosser. Kai Edwards is back up for that position. Adem Atay has been a useful utility man filling in around midfield and defence as well as being a good impact substitute. Kris Gate has been a rotated central midfielder, he's another guy who doesn't usually disappoint if I bring him on from the bench. Emmet Templeton is another central midfielder who's rotated, he's seen more game time as Gate and is another reliable player most of the time. My two first choice strikers from last season, Jean-Lous Akpa-Akpro and Jason Walker, have now become back up and rotation respectively. Both are quite reliable and I have often brought Akpa-Akpro on to play on the left side of midfield where he's done a decent job.

We reached the second round of the FA Cup for the second time in a row, this time we saw a more glamorous away tie at Selhurst Park, against League 1's Crystal Palace. In a decent display we lost 3-0 which was a bit disappointing, but understandable really considering their squad compared to ours. It didn't do as much for the finances as I'd hoped though. Elsewhere in the FA Trophy we have qualified for the 2nd round where we will face Accrington Stanley.

So far so good, thanks to the players I was able to bring in with the wages that were freed up, and with the additional back up of decent players from last season, we have been able to push for promotion so far. I am hoping that we can continue our good run of form and push to stay in the play-off's as I know now that the ability is there. I would have been very happy with mid-table at the start of the season but as this is potentially my last season at the club it would be nice to go out with a bang.

**SRL88** · 29-02-2012 14:21

Going very well in the league so far.

**AK22** · 29-02-2012 18:18

A really interesting concept

KUTGW with BPA!

**deltablue** · 29-02-2012 18:24

Hope you can go up.

**SRL88** · 01-03-2012 09:00

Excellent work getting promoted

.

**Taunton** · 01-03-2012 09:09

Great achivement with Bradford PA. So you are not tempted to stay there for a longer time?

As I said before, really like this challenge, and if you want a bonus challenge when you have reached Z,you can jump to the letters Ø and Å in the norwegian alphabet.

There should be a couple of clubs to manage starting with these letters as well. KUTGW

**PaulHartman71** · 01-03-2012 13:08

Originally Posted by Taunton

Great achivement with Bradford PA. So you are not tempted to stay there for a longer time?

As I said before, really like this challenge, and if you want a bonus challenge when you have reached Z,you can jump to the letters Ø and Å in the norwegian alphabet.

There should be a couple of clubs to manage starting with these letters as well. KUTGW

Thanks Taunton. It was tempting to stay and see what I could do with them in League 2, but ultimately the challenge is to go from A-Z - after 4 years at the club, winning the league/promotion seemed like a fitting moment to leave Bradford Park Avenue on a high. I'm not sure about jumping onto letters in other languages, I think 26 in the English one is quite enough for one career

**Taunton** · 01-03-2012 13:26

Originally Posted by PaulHartman71

Thanks Taunton. It was tempting to stay and see what I could do with them in League 2, but ultimately the challenge is to go from A-Z - after 4 years at the club, winning the league/promotion seemed like a fitting moment to leave Bradford Park Avenue on a high. I'm not sure about jumping onto letters in other languages, I think 26 in the English one is quite enough for one career

He he. I see.
Let's hope you get to manage some really great teams along the way. I would like to see the faces of the Arsenal, Barcelona or Bayern Munich boards when they approach you with their multi-million dollar contracts, just to see you turn them down and trying to explain for them:
- Well, sorry guys, but I am not managing clubs in that part of the alphabet at the moment.

Looking forward to see what your next club will be.

**PaulHartman71** · 01-03-2012 13:45

Originally Posted by Taunton

He he. I see.
Let's hope you get to manage some really great teams along the way. I would like to see the faces of the Arsenal, Barcelona or Bayern Munich boards when they approach you with their multi-million dollar contracts, just to see you turn them down and trying to explain for them:
- Well, sorry guys, but I am not managing clubs in that part of the alphabet at the moment.

Looking forward to see what your next club will be.

I'm in the process of looking for a new club at the moment, currently in late August, Macclesfield and Tranmere have already suffered that fate of rejection! I got turned down by Scottish 2nd Division side Cowdenbeath which was pretty depressing, two Serie C Italian sides have also rejected me, however Chimney Corner, Crawley, Cheltenham and Chester are currently insecure and when I suggested interested in them, the chairman all said they'd be foolish not to consider hiring me if they did sack their manager.

**deltablue** · 01-03-2012 15:15

Probably getting a solid english job then.

**PaulHartman71** · 01-03-2012 15:59

It's late Novemeber, and I have finally been offered a job at a 'C' club, it's a pretty surprising one and not one I was expecting at all. Casa Pia, who currently sit 13th in the Portuguese Second Division South. I was more than happy to drop back down to the BSS or the BSN and continue to manage in my native England, however the chance to manage abroad was far too tempting to turn down (that and the fact it's the first 'C' offer I have had since resigning at Bradford Park Avenue). The squad is terrible to be fair but with a 180K transfer budget, which is around 180K more than any transfer budget I have had before, it should be be an interesting task to turn the fortunes of the clubs season around. There's only 30 games though so it's important I turn their fortunes around sooner rather than later.

**deltablue** · 01-03-2012 17:12

Thankfully they're not too deep in trouble.

**Taunton** · 01-03-2012 20:43

Portugal. Not bad. Good luck with the C-team.

**PaulHartman71** · 02-03-2012 23:23

Who are Casa Pia?

I've not got much of the season left, but had a quick google of Casa Pia as I knew that I recognized it from somewhere and the first thing that comes up is that horrific child sex abuse scandal from a few years ago in Portugal, basically Casa Pia is a state-run institution that supports education for poor orphans and there was a scandal that discovered over 100 boys and girls, some of them deaf and/or mute, had been sexually abused over the last few decades. It was a pretty interesting read but does go to show that there are some sick sick people in the world. This confused me as I assumed Casa Pia to be a town, village or city but it's actually a club based in Lisbon that was named after that institution when formed in 1920, the stadium 'Estadio Pina Manique' was named after the original organiser of the charity - Pina Manique, who was a Portuguese magistrate in the 1700's. The club itself has a reasonably interesting history, despite seemingly never achieved any real domestic success, they had 4 players in the first ever Portuguese international game, including the captain - Candido de Oliveira.

**Raware** · 03-03-2012 08:07

Progressing nicely and a nice idea for a challenge

. Probably not the first thing you want to be associated with at your new club so maybe a few titles to build up a rivalry with Sporting Lisbon?

**PaulHartman71** · 03-03-2012 19:23

Originally Posted by Raware

Progressing nicely and a nice idea for a challenge

. Probably not the first thing you want to be associated with at your new club so maybe a few titles to build up a rivalry with Sporting Lisbon?

I don't think I'll be around long enough to form a rivalry with Sporting Lisbon, but I would like to get them promoted to the 2nd tier

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

GL in Portugal. They look massive budgets for the division. I had about 4 seasons in 2nd Division North and didn't have a penny to spend. Should get some very good players with the finances you have available there

I did think it was a pretty big budget considering they were only 3rd tier in Portugal. I was so surprised when I looked and saw there was over 100K transfer budget, was expecting about 10K maximum!

Originally Posted by CityAndColour

Great concept, but a couple of questions:

1) If you're only at a club for six months and a team with the next letter approaches you, do you have to turn them down until you've done your 12 months?

2) Are you going to accept international offers while still getting from A-Z and, if so, do they need to be in alphabetical order?

1. Yeah, minimum requirement of 365 days at each letter. If I get sacked I'll take over at another club at that letter, but can combine the days together so the second club I wont need 365 days if you know what I mean.

2. International sides will count as a letter, so for example if I was at Arsenal and had spent at least 365 days there, and Botswana came calling for me to be their new manager, then 365 days as Botswana manager would count as my 'B' side.

**ShyBaldBuddhist** · 03-03-2012 09:40

GL in Portugal. They look massive budgets for the division. I had about 4 seasons in 2nd Division North and didn't have a penny to spend. Should get some very good players with the finances you have available there

**CityAndColour** · 03-03-2012 10:15

Great concept, but a couple of questions:

1) If you're only at a club for six months and a team with the next letter approaches you, do you have to turn them down until you've done your 12 months?

2) Are you going to accept international offers while still getting from A-Z and, if so, do they need to be in alphabetical order?

**Nobby_McDonald** · 05-03-2012 19:32

Great work with Park Avenue.

Have you met Gary Glitter yet in Lisbon?

**PaulHartman71** · 06-03-2012 02:04

not quite, although my physio who is a regen looks quite creepy and all of his stats are terrible aside from physiotherapy and working with youngsters, seems a little fishy!

**PaulHartman71** · 06-03-2012 23:55

Middle/Pre-End of Season Update

It's been an eventful season so far in my first and potentially last full season at Casa Pia. My aim for this season has always been to challenge for promotion because I know the squad is definitely capable of doing so, after the impressive run of form at the end of last season. I didn't make any drastic changes to the squad in the transfer market but I did make a few signings and releases, but I'll cover those in more depth in the final update of the season. I'll talk about our short run in the Portuguese Cup first. We drew Joane in the first round, a non-league side who we battered 6-0 at home. In the next round we faced Sporting Pombal, I can't remember if they were at the same level us we are or not but we beat them 3-0 regardless. Then we were drawn against Fafa, a side I am vaguely familiar with as I remember one of the guys in the small club big euro nation challenge turning them into world beaters, they were at the same level us we are in a different regional league, it was tough playing away to them and we ultimately lost 1-0 which was quite disappointing. But let's look at the league as that is the most important competition. In a really confusing move that I didn't even notice until the last few games of the season, we've actually been moved to the Portuguese 2nd Div 'Central' regional league rather than the 'South' league we were in last year. Anyway, the league we are in at times is a ridiculously open one and half-way through the season it looked like any one of the top 11 sides could win the division, with a mere 10 point gap separating 11 sides -

I was relatively happy with third at this stage in the season as all we needed to do was to go on a good run of form and we could easily top the league, however there's always the fear you'll draw a few games and lose one and then you could be as low as 10th before you know it. It was important to make sure we didn't get complacent and I am pleased to say that my side had the best defensive record amongst anyone else in the league. As the season went on a number of teams drifted away from being in with a chance of winning the league, Juventude de Evora are a clear example of this, they seemed to be like the marathon runner who sets the pace for the first half of the race but then ends up falling behind the pack and not even coming in the top 3. Below is a screenshot of what the league looks like with just one game remaining. Before I show you I will just say that the winner of the league qualifies for a 4 game play-off group with the two other regional league winners, the two teams that end up with the most points out of these 4 games than receive promotion to the Liga Vitalis.

As you can see it is ridiculously close going into the last game of the season. Despite being ahead of Marinhense by basis of head-to-head results, AC.Viseu are also still in with a chance if the two of us lose our last game and they win their one. It is essentially between us and Marinhense though. We have a home game against 7th place Oriental, as opposed to Marinhense who face B.C Branco away, B.C Branco currently sit in 14th place and have to win if they are to stay up. AC Viseu face 8th place Caldas SC at home. I'm quite nervous as I know Oriental are a decent side, in theory we have to win as you wouldn't bet against Marinhense losing to a relegation candidate, although since they are playing for survival they will have to go all out for a win which could come in very handy. I don't want to write off AC Viseu either as they could very easily win their game and in the unlikely circumstance both us and Marinhense lose then they could go up themselves. It's definitely going to be a game full of nail-biting!

**deltablue** · 07-03-2012 17:41

Wow, epic final day in store.

**PaulHartman71** · 07-03-2012 18:55

A very disappointing game saw us ultimately lose to Oriental...

Still the champions though!!

**deltablue** · 07-03-2012 19:13

Phew, close one.

**rancer890** · 07-03-2012 19:28

Gratz on the title win! Good luck with a 'D' club in the future.

**Nobby_McDonald** · 09-03-2012 17:57

Well done Paul.

**PaulHartman71** · 11-03-2012 15:57

currently waiting on my computer to be serviced, so it could be a week or two before another update.

**ManUTactician247** · 21-03-2012 19:45

Darlington?

**rancer890** · 21-03-2012 20:11

Dag & Red?

**PaulHartman71** · 21-03-2012 21:18

Back in Northern Ireland to prove myself as I didn't really achieve anything last time at Annagh. Slight controversy with the name, however Distillery appear as Distillery in the job centre and despite technically now being 'Lisburn' Distillery, i'm taking them as my 'D' side. It's November 23rd, 10 games in with 16 left, interesting fact, I joined on the same date in November as I joined Casa Pia two years ago. Finances look horrible, bottom of the 1st Division and it's a small world after all - Emmet Templeton, an old player from my time at Bradford Park Avenue currently players for Distillery. After a poor time at Annagh, I've since rectified my reputation by turning relegation candidates in the English conference and Portuguese third tier into league winners, earning three promotions in the process, can it be achieved at Distillery?

**deltablue** · 21-03-2012 21:20

If the game refers to them as 'Distillery' like it does there, that definitely counts.

**Flamers** · 21-03-2012 23:42

I would go for in game names

KUTGW!

**cerud** · 21-03-2012 23:55

A to Z! Interesting to follow this. Possibly a finish with Zenit? Good read so far, will definitely follow

**Flamers** · 22-03-2012 07:47

Zenit <3 Best club in Russia

**PaulHartman71** · 22-03-2012 07:54

I'll probably do what I've been doing so far and just go for the first club available, but Zenit are the most attractive 'Z' option at this point, only other teams iirc are Zaragoza, a couple of third tier Spanish sides and a second tier Turkish side. In other news, Emmet Templeton just secured the club's first league win of the year with a late penalty for it to finish 1-0!

**Nobby_McDonald** · 23-03-2012 00:55

Well done with Casa Pia Paul.

I would say Lisburn Distillery is L myself.

**PaulHartman71** · 23-03-2012 15:26

It is debatable, but i'm just going to go based on the letter that the job centre has the clubs at, which in this case is 'D'.

**deltablue** · 25-03-2012 11:56

West Brom? Blimey.

**PaulHartman71** · 25-03-2012 17:38

It turns out in 2011 they had a tycoon takeover, hired Darren Ferguson, lost twice in play-off's before winning the Championship in 2012/13. They finished 15th in 2013/14 and since then have floated in and around the top 10, finishing 4th in 2016/17 thus qualifying for the Champions League. It looks like the Champions League run took its toll on them as they only finished 11th. It should be interesting to see if the Champions League money can launch them into a top four club in the long run though!

**Nobby_McDonald** · 25-03-2012 23:36

L is for Lisburn Distillery.

**cerud** · 26-03-2012 00:19

Wow, you're really moving through the alphabet at a decent pace so far! Looking good for what you want to achieve

**deltablue** · 27-03-2012 10:09

Originally Posted by cerud

Wow, you're really moving through the alphabet at a decent pace so far! Looking good for what you want to achieve

Even quicker now, at least that ends the arguements about whether they're a 'D' or an 'L'.

**SRL88** · 26-03-2012 09:06

West Brom

.

**PaulHartman71** · 26-03-2012 23:06

So it's January 2019 and...

**cerud** · 26-03-2012 23:58

Bring on E

**Adriano Rossi** · 27-03-2012 21:04

Goodluck finding an 'E' club, last time you left Northern Ireland you went to England, are there any jobs looking to become available, like Ebbsfleet?

**PaulHartman71** · 27-03-2012 21:52

It is looking like it will be England or maybe back to Portugal as there aren't any 'E' sides in Northern Ireland. The majority of 'E' clubs in the lower leagues in England are stable or secure, and have been for some time, the only exception being Eastbourne Boro, who have become incredibly annoying as they've been on and off between insecure and very insecure for around 6 months now. I've genuinely lost count of the amount of times I have expressed interest in the job only to be dubbed at having an 'outside' chance at getting the job.

**PaulHartman71** · 27-03-2012 22:49

FINALLY... after spending over a year in-game time and what seems like hours of real time (I've probably spent more time looking for a job in this save game in the last 24 hours than the average unemployed person has spent looking for a real job) I have finally got my 'E' side. I was so relieved about actually getting a job after the boredom of constantly scrolling down the job centre hoping to find 'E' sides insecure, that it didn't matter to me that the team is so poor that taking over at the club is actually the equivalent of starting one of the 'small club to big club' challenges. This process has genuinely made me sympathise with an unemployed person looking for a job on-line in a really really picky manner.

**PaulHartman71** · 28-03-2012 08:52

E is for....

**Flamers** · 28-03-2012 10:21

Good choice!

**deltablue** · 28-03-2012 13:54

Sure they're not really an 'F'?

**Nobby_McDonald** · 28-03-2012 20:44

Definately an E.

**SRL88** · 29-03-2012 09:53

I have every bit of confidence that you can take this club forward

.

**PaulHartman71** · 31-03-2012 23:03

With a 100 percent record in play-off's so far in my career, can I lead East Fife to promotion in my third play-off experience?

**Flamers** · 31-03-2012 23:44

Good luck!

**PaulHartman71** · 01-04-2012 01:57

Well this was really unexpected, but I am now sorted for an 'F' club!

**PaulHartman71** · 01-04-2012 11:25

still quite can't believe the Fulham offer, do you all think I was right to leave East Fife?

**deltablue** · 01-04-2012 11:32

That was quick. Good to be moving up a level at last though. I must admit that just before a playoff (if you hadn't played tem yet) wouldn't be a time when I personally would accept any offer to go elsewhere.

**SRL88** · 01-04-2012 12:50

Wow. That is a huge move.

**rancer890** · 01-04-2012 15:04

Big, big move. You're moving on up in the footballing world.

**PaulHartman71** · 01-04-2012 18:38

F is for...Fooled.

I didn't get offered a job at Fulham, it was merely an April Fool's prank for you guys...

**rancer890** · 01-04-2012 18:51

Originally Posted by PaulHartman71

F is for...Fooled.

I didn't get offered a job at Fulham, it was merely an April Fool's prank for you guys...

Well done. Luckily this was only the first April Fools prank I fell for all day (so far).

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Thread: PH71's Journey - featuring The Alphabet Challenge

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