One Big Holiday - A Scarman Journeyman Career

G'day all! As I mentioned in my Ruggell thread, I needed a break from that save. So after a day of not playing, I decided on a journeyman career

I have no real goals for this save, other than just to have fun. However, if I get the chance, I will manage Brisbane Roar to A-League and Asian Champions League success, and manage Australia to Asian Cup success (and maybe World Cup, who really knows how the future will pan out? ). Also, I wouldn't turn down a chance to manage in the MLS, I really want to have a go in that system.

So without further ado, here is my set up for the save

Leagues

Unless stated otherwise, all leagues are loaded.

* denotes editor file

Africa - Cameroon*, Egypt*, South Africa

Asia - Australia, China, Japan (J1 & J2)*, South Korea, UAE*

Europe - Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales

North America - Mexico, USA

Oceania - New Zealand*

South America - Argentina, Brazil

Player Count - 114,000

So a lot of leagues, but I want to play a fun game where I can go anywhere I want.

So yeah, here we go

[center]Scarman Career

[b]Club[/b]

| Season  |    Team   | Nation |   League    | Position | Accomplishments |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2011/12 | Al-Urooba |  UAE   | Divison One |   1st    | Promotion       |
| 2012/13 | Al-Urooba |  UAE   | Pro-League  |   9th    | Survived        |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[b]International[/b]

| Year | Nation | Team |     Achievments     |
----------------------------------------------
| 2013 |  UAE   | U23s | Gulf Cup Runners up |
----------------------------------------------[/center]

Career Stats

Teams Managed - 1

Nations Managed - 1

Games Played - 59

Games Won - 20

Games Drawn - 22

Games Lost - 17

Win Percentage - 33%

Goals Scored - 97

Goals Conceded - 72

For/Against - +25

Trophy Cabinet

Al-Urooba

UAE Division 1 Group A Winners x1 (2012)

UAE U23's

U23 Gulf Cup Runner's Up x1 (2013)

Manager Awards

N/A

So I sent out my CV with nothing of note, and let the clubs do the work for me. I turned down approaches from Tsukuba University and Juntendo University from Japan, as they didn't play in the major leagues. This was followed by an offer from Cameroon -

It was an interesting offer, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to start my career in Africa. So I delayed for a week.

A few days later, I received another offer -

Delemont from Switzerland. That was a seriously interesting offer, but at the same time, I was on a holiday from Switzerland. So I delayed for a week to see if anything better would come up.

Then an offer came through I wouldn't turn down.

Al-Urooba from the UAE. What a transfer budget! They played in the 2nd tier, are professional and are simply a great offer to start a career.

Hey Scarman as you know I fell in love with your Ruggel save, it's a pity to know your leaving it for a while, but I'm looking forwrd to this as well! I'm curious how many job offers are you going to get from all those options. Would enjoy seeing you coaching a Portuguese side sometime, although North-African football always made me curious - I have jerseys of some of them - so Egypt would be interesting too!

I'll be following this

just saw your update - I would go for Cameroon one! I once played in an African 2nd Division (Angola) and it was fun

Hey Scarman as you know I fell in love with your Ruggel save, it's a pity to know your leaving it for a while, but I'm looking forwrd to this as well! I'm curious how many job offers are you going to get from all those options. Would enjoy seeing you coaching a Portuguese side sometime, although North-African football always made me curious - I have jerseys of some of them - so Egypt would be interesting too!

I'll be following this

just saw your update - I would go for Cameroon one! I once played in an African 2nd Division (Angola) and it was fun

Cheers mate! Unfortunately, I had already chosen Al-Urooba I posted all this simply because that budget was too good to turn down. Portugal and North Africa are on my list though I hope this save is as enjoyable as my Ruggell one was for you

Good Luck with this. Maybe you can get a Zimmerman-like player in the UAE?

Good Luck with this. Maybe you can get a Zimmerman-like player in the UAE?

Cheers! That would be a great start for this save

Before the Ruggell save, I generally favoured more wide, expansive tactic. Now I know that when you have a club that will probably struggle for a few season, narrow formations can help out a lot. Basically, this tactic aims to be solid defensively while being able to get forward in attack.

The crux of this formation is in the midfield, where I have 1 ball winning midfield and 2 box-to-box mids. I aim t have a workaholic centre of my formation, that are willing to get forward and back to help out where they are needed. One of them will probably end up being a bit more attack minded, but this is what is needed for the moment.\

The front three, consisting of an advanced play maker, a deep-lying striker (take out the target man, I forgot to do this haha), and a poacher/advanced striker (haven't decided yet) will be the source of creativity, as the midfield won't have the flair and tenacity in attack.

The back four will hopefully remain steady throughout the match, with the two full backs filling in as makeshift wingers at times, though the will hopefully remain smart and hopefully get forward when necessary.

Generally the way I want my tactic's to work doesn't end up happening. I haven't played any friendlies yet, so it will be good to actually get on the field and see how the team works. First I'll have to sign players though.

The first three signings of my reign have all been for free. Two of them will be first team regulars, while the other will be one that will come off the bench and fill in for players.

Paul Quasten - The Czech full back was offered to me by his agent when I joined the club. He is a decent looking player, and at 26, has his best days ahead.

Tapha Ba - At 21, he has the attribtues to play in a holding midfield role quite effectively. Just hoping that his age doesn't hurt him too much.

Ricardo - The 35 year old Brazilian isn't what I'm looking for in a first team player, but has the workman-like attitude and technical attributes to fill in and play effeectively when necessary.

Finally, as a sign that I intend to stamp my authority right on this club, I got the board to agree to expand the youth facilities. I also recruited a large back room of staff.

So I've been in charge for 11 days, and the club is starting to take shape. Slow and steady!

Good luck with this.

Good luck with this.

Cheers mate!

Media Prediction - 5th out of 8 teams.

Board Expectation - Stay clear of relegation.

My Expectation - Mid table finish.

Decent preseason, with 2 wins and 3 losses. Our first win was against a Pro-League side who had finished 2nd last season. Mostly, we played well. Aiming for a mid table finish, as though I feel we have the ability to play in the Pro-League, we don't have the depth or the cohesion as a unit yet to effectively challenge for promotion. Expecting a tough first few months before settling down.

We only had one player when we started out, so it was imperative that I sign players. A lot of midfielders and centre backs, though I'm still to find depth for my full backs (and in fact a good right back). Not sure about up front either, but it's not as great of a worry as my full backs.

Key Signings

Mladen Jovancic - A smart Serbian mid who I feel will become very productive in the midfield. Potentially a good play-maker, though I'll have to experiment some more.

Maurice Bassole - This attacking mid is lightning quick and has the ability to finish and create.

Jurandir da Silva - A late signing, he has tons of ability and should thrive as a creative force and as a striker.

Ismael Alassane - A very solid centre back I signed for 130k, rated as the best player in the squad by some distance.

Squad - As you can see, it's a very diverse squad. Lucky there are no foreign restrictions in the UAE (or at least in this editor file), as almost all the UAE players available to me are really bad.

Those are my first three games, starting off with a President's Cup match to Pro-League side Ajman. That game will be a good test, as they were promoted to the Pro-League from our division last season. The other two games of the month will help us see where we are in relation to the rest of the league. Exciting times ahead, looking forward to season's start.

Good luck in the UAE,hope you can find success there!

Loved the other career and will definitely follow this. Interesting that you got to basically build your entire squad! It's like managing an expansion team

Now lets see if this all new team is much good.

All the best mate (but secretly hoping you get bored of this save and have cravings for Ruggell )

Good luck in the UAE,hope you can find success there!

Cheers BWG! I hope so too, but I think it'll be difficult with the amount of money the clubs have!

Loved the other career and will definitely follow this. Interesting that you got to basically build your entire squad! It's like managing an expansion team

Cheers mate Yeah, with 2.4mil to spend all up, it was really interesting building a squad from scratch - it basically meant I could mould the team to how I wanted it straight away (minus some positions)

Now lets see if this all new team is much good.

Early signs indicate good signs

All the best mate (but secretly hoping you get bored of this save and have cravings for Ruggell )

Cheers! I'll probably will be back there eventually, just need a break

Monthly Results

League Standings

Pretty decent start by the team. The 3-3 draw in the President's cup was a bit of a poor game. We should have won, but they got two (TWO!) penalties in a minute. The first one my keeper saved, but on the rebound one of their players got fouled again and they converted the second one. Basically, my team sucks at penalties! The league games were really strong showings though, and the team looks like it's coming together nicely.

Player of the Month - Maurice Bassole

Bassole set up 4 goals in the two league games, and is already showing he has the ability to be a competent playmaker.

Looking Ahead

Three games next month. It's still a bit early to judge which teams will be the tough ones, but I'm hoping for wins over Masafi and Dibba Al-Fujairah, and a draw with Al-Ittihad.

So I've decided on a monthly update, because I generally play games pretty slowly. Transfers and scouting take up a lot of my games normally, but without that in my Ruggell game, I flew through the seasons there. Stealing cerud's update layout, hope you you don't mind

Good work so far! and best of luck in this new save

Good work so far! and best of luck in this new save

Cheers cswalk!

Monthly Results

League Standings

The Al-Ittihad game was a terrible start to the month! Don't know how that result happened, we had more possession and shots on goal, but we couldn't get the result. The other games were a lot better, with a 6-3 win and a 3-1 win. So some questions on our defence, but at least I know Jurandir da Silva is going to be a great signing!

Player of the Month - Jurandir da Silva

Could not have been anyone else, scored 6 and set up a goal as well. All six of his goals came in the first half of the Dibba Al-Fujairah game, so I guess it's a disappointment he didn't score more, but still he was the stand out of the month.

Looking Ahead

We play top spot to kick off November, which will be a tough game. I'm hoping for wins in our other games though.

This is why managing in the UAE is worth it!

Crap, Jurandir da Silva just broke his collar bone and is out for 4 months. Along with that, two of my other strikers are injured and I only have 1 fit forward!. Time to sign a another striker as a replacement.

Meet Mauricio - The new Brazilian up front!

Good luck with this Scarman. You have started quite nicely .

Good start to the season, mauricio looks good for that league.

Going well so far,hope you can clinch top spot.Looks like Mauricio could be useful for you.

The money should help compete quite far.

Great Start

They like to splash the cash out there! Always helps! Good start!

Looking fun in UAE. Good luck.

Stealing cerud's update layout, hope you you don't mind

I expect risiduals! But no worries, steal away!

I've never seen a message like the "more money" one Not bad.

Good luck with this Scarman. You have started quite nicely.

Cheers SRL!

Good start to the season, mauricio looks good for that league.

Going well so far,hope you can clinch top spot.Looks like Mauricio could be useful for you.

Cheers! I had been tracking him since the start of the season, but I was reluctant to by because I thought we had enough strikers. Injuries forced my hand and he's started pretty well

Great Start

Cheers TheGreatTraveler!

The money should help compete quite far.

They like to splash the cash out there! Always helps! Good start!

Cheers fellas! The money is really something that drew me to the club Always good to have an ambitious chairman!

Looking fun in UAE. Good luck.

It really is fun! So much money!

I expect risiduals! But no worries, steal away!

I've never seen a message like the "more money" one Not bad.

Neither have I, but I don't think I've ever had an extremely rich owner

Monthly Results

League Standings

A pretty good month. Jurandir da Silva got injured in the first game, which was a shame as he was the one who propelled to the top of the table. Mauricio came in and scored 2 from 2, so hopefully he'll just keep getting better! Don't know how I didn't win the last game, they had 2 shots the entire game compared to our 19, and we had close to 70% possession.

Player of the Month - Mauricio

Signed this month and scored 2 goals from 2 games, a pretty good start to his career here. No real stand outs this month though.

Looking Ahead

December promises to be a tough month, with us playing Al-Ittihad again. Hopefully we can reverse that 4-0 thrashing they gave us a few months back, but mainly I'll be hoping for 7 points all up. Only 21 games in a season (each team plays each other 3 times) so this will be the halfway point.

Monthly Results

League Standings

Not the best month, made worse with another loss to Al-Ittihad. The draw with Dibba was pretty poor as well, we should have won that game. We're still in a pretty good position going into the and half of the season though, promotion is definitely a possibility.

Player of the Month - Issa Mohammed

In a moth where no one really stood out, he scored a goal and set two up, making him our best performer.

Looking Ahead

A pretty good month ahead, 2 lower ranked teams in Masafi and Al-Khaleej, and a team I beat 3-0 earlier in Al-Dhafra, though they are currently top. If we win that, I'd say we should get promoted, but nothing really is certain in a league this small.

Going well so far, hope you can keep the form up

Going well so far, hope you can keep the form up

Cheers Jack! We returned to pretty good form in January, particularly our last game.

Before I write the January update, a news item popped up in my inbox about my 15th game in charge -

Scored more the double the goals than games played, good signs in the UAE. A lot of news items saying I won't resign at the end of the season. At this stage, it ill take a good offer for me to move. I don't see that offer coming at this stage of the career, so I'll most likely resign.

Monthly Results

League Standings

The month started pretty poorly with a draw with bottom placed Masafi, but it picked up from there. A 1-0 win over then top placed Al-Dhafra, than Jurandir da Silva returned and him and Mauricio linked up for the first time at Al-Urooba, and we won 4-1! Good signs ahead.

Player of the Month - Ismael Alassane

A lot of stand-outs in the last game, but Ismael has been consistent throughout all the season, and really is the difference between a win and a loss.

Looking Ahead

Next month sees as play relegation threatened Al-Sha'ab, and then Al-Ittihad for the last time. Hopefully we can finally get something from that game.

Very close in the league,hope you can come out on top.

Good chance to get the advantage.

Should achieve promotion at this point, you have 6 points over Al-Ittihaad and just 7 games to go.

Cleaning up this league pretty good! How many matches do you play in ths league? Also, what level of their pyramid are you in?

Very close in the league,hope you can come out on top.

Good chance to get the advantage.

Should achieve promotion at this point, you have 6 points over Al-Ittihaad and just 7 games to go.

Cheers fellas! It really should come down to February, if we can pick up the points from Al-Ittihad we should have an unassailable lead for promotion, we definitely have done better than expected this season!

Cleaning up this league pretty good! How many matches do you play in ths league? Also, what level of their pyramid are you in?

Cheers mate! 21 games all up, each team plays each other 3 times. We are in the 2nd tier, so if we get promoted I can start thinking abut continental football, if we can break down the extremely rich clubs at the top (including the 18th richest club in the world, Al-Jazira)

Hosts - Equatorial Guinea / Gabon

Holders - Egypt

Group Stage

Group A - Mali (6); Tunisia (6); Gabon (3); Ghana (3).

Group B - Ivory Coast (7); Mozambique (6); Burkina Faso (2); Algeria (1).

Group C - South Africa (9); Nigeria (6); Equatorial Guinea (3); Botswana (0).

Group D - Cameroon (6); Angola (6); Egypt (6); Zambia (0).

Quarter Final

Nigeria 1 - 3e South Africa

Mali 2 - 0 Mozambique

Tunisia 0 - 2 Cameroon

Ivory Coast 2 - 0 Angola

Semi Final

South Africa 0 - 2 Cameroon

Ivory Coast 3 - 1 Mali

Third Place Play-off

Mali 1 - 0 South Africa

Final

Ivory Coast p0 - 0 Cameroon

Awards

Best Player - Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)

Golden Boot - Didier Ya Konan; 4 Goals (Ivory Coast)

Best Goalkeeper - Stephan Loboue (Ivory Coast)

Fair Play Award - Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast)

The 2012 ACON ends in an Ivory Coast triumph, and as such they sweep out the awards. Interesting to see neither Ghana or Egypt make it out of their groups. I'd say the end of an era for the Ivory Coast though, Didier Drogba retired from international football after this tournament, and their better players are getting on in years.

[center]African Cup of Nations

|  Year  |           Hosts           |   Winners   |  Runners-Up  |  Third Place  |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  2012  | Equatorial Guinea / Gabon | Ivory Coast |   Cameroon   |     Mali      |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

Monthly Results

League Standings

Brilliant month! Those two games have all but assured us of promotion. At this stage of the season, I think it will be hard for the chasing pack to take over us. Top spot will still be a tight battle, but with a better for and against, and a better record against Al-Dhafra, we'll have to drop a few games. Finally got revenge on Al-Ittihad as well, with a 4-0 thrashing that could have been 5 if Mauricio didn't miss a penalty.

Player of the Month - Reginald Faria

Hasn't gotten many games this season, but with a goal and an assist against Al-Ittihad, Faria has really staked his claim for a first team place.

Looking Ahead

This is it. A win over 3rd and 4th will secure promotion for us. March should also mean Youth Intake, though I'm expecting some shocking youths this season as the club still has minimal everything pretty much. 5 games to go until the end of the season!

NOW you only need a few more points

NOW you only need a few more points

Just a few more needed now!

Monthly Results

League Standings

I needed two wins this month, but only got one. Really should have gotten something against Dibba Al-Fujairah, but we just didn't turn up for that game. The other match went pretty well though.

Player of the Month - Reginald Faria

After his great performance against Al-Ittihad, I started him again this month. Scored a hat trick against Al-Fujairah. Couldn't do much against Dibba, unfortunately.

Looking Ahead

Just the one game next month, against relegated Masafi. We should pick up the win needed for promotion in this game. Also, no Youth Intake this month. Looked up the regen creation date for the UAE, and it's not until August apparently. Should probably get through the rest of the season fairly quickly!

Monthly Results

League Standings

Only the one game, against Masafi. We won 2-1, though it wasn't thoroughly convincing. Still, a win's a win, and that's all we needed for promotion!

Player of the Month - Mauricio

Scored both goals against Masafi, so it was really a no-brainer making him player of the month.

Looking Ahead

Two games to go this season, only one win is needed to secure top spot. Hoping to finish the season on a high and get both wins. Pretty happy with promotion, seriously didn't expect to do so well this season.

The chairman was ever so kind to make more money available, now we have close to 8mil in the bank.

He followed that donation up with a one year extension to my contract. I did the only thing I could do at this stage...

and accept it! I didn't see a reason to move, and no other clubs are interested in me, so I'll take another year and see what I can do in the Pro-League along the like of Al-Jazira and Al-Ain!

Well done on promotion. Go get a win and top spot.

Well done on promotion. Go get a win and top spot.

Cheers Rancer! Thought it might slip away from me just then, but managed it in the end. Won't post the final update tonight because I'm going to be busy, but I did finish 1st!

Also, the Youth Intake month was May, here is the lot.

Essentially a load of no hoper's. Oh well, maybe after a few upgrades something will come along!

Speaking of which - Upgrades, upgrades everywhere.

Wow, best chairman I've seen.

Great work in the league, shame about the youth intake!

Congrats on promotion,shame about the poor youth intake but wow at the generosity of your chairman,definitely one of the best I've seen.

Your Chairman is like a grandpa spoiling his grandkids Take it!! Congrats on promotion too