A Tiny Campaign Behind the Iron Curtain

The Database Set-up

Nations (Playable): Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Rep, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine. (All Playable leagues loaded)

Nations (View Only): England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain (Just top Divisions)

Players Based in all Soviet Union & Eastern Bloc nations loaded as well

I am hoping that this set-up will enable me to play several seasons into the future, and also a great game in the Eastern parts of Europe.

My Aims

My eventual aim is to win the Champions League with a club from behind the Iron Curtain, and then go on to win the World Cup & Euros with a nation from behind the curtain as well. I have loaded the top leagues of Europe as well to add myself some competition, if I take a German or Finnish job, it must be from a club based on the Soviet side.

The History

The Iron Curtain - The Iron Curtain symbolised the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On either side of the Iron Curtain, states developed their own international economic and military alliances. Physically, the Iron Curtain took the shape of border defenses between the countries of Europe in the middle of the continent. The most notable border was marked by the Berlin Wall, which served as a symbol of the Curtain as a whole. The events that demolished the Iron Curtain started with discontent in Poland, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania.

Football - Only two clubs from behind the Iron Curtain have won the Champions League, FC Steaua Bucharest of Romania defeated Barcelona in 1986, while Red Star Belgrade of Serbia defeated Olympique de Marseille in 1991. While the World Cup has never been won by anyone from Eastern Europe, and the Euros have only had two eastern winners, the USSR in 1960 & Czechoslovakia in 1976, and neither of these nations exists any more. Slowly strength has been appearing back in the east as Russia now has a lot of money and is slowly starting to grow their league, other Eastern European nations are slowly growing, and in the next twenty years there may slowly be a flow of results towards these nations, though it could take much longer.

The Start

Well I am starting unemployed, in June, so it is the middle of the season for a few leagues, but there are 11 available jobs, and I have applied for all of them. Almost immediately I receive responses from 8 clubs who wish to have Des Tiny as their manager, I am going to decide between these clubs and start in immediately.

The first club thrown out is Pori (Finland) as they are not a club from behind the Iron Curtain.

|------------------|----------|------------|-----------|-----------|------------|---------|
| The Clubs        | Country  | Division   | Wage Bdgt | Transfers | Wage Total | Stadium |
|------------------|----------|------------|-----------|-----------|------------|---------|
| Krymteplytsya    | Ukraine  | 1st League |   €5,250  |   €1,200  |   €5,560   |   5700  |
| Dorostol 2003    | Bulgaria | East B Grp |     €375  |       €0  |     €750   |   7000  |
| Bela krajlna     | Slovenia | 2nd League |   €2,300  |  €50,000  |   €1,740   |   1517  |
| NK HASK          | Croatia  | 2nd Div    |   €4,100  |   €3,000  |   €4,040   |   2000  |
| Marsonia 1909    | Croatia  | 2nd Div    |   €2,600  |       €0  |   €2,980   |   1800  |
| Szeged 2011      | Hungary  | Div 2 East |  €18,250  |  €13,000  |   €3,930   |   8000  |
| Nizhniy Novgorod | Russia   | 1st Div    |  €30,500  |       €0  |  €30,760   |   3180  |
|------------------|----------|------------|-----------|-----------|------------|---------|

I am not a fan of taking over a club spending over their budget, so that would take out Krymtepltsya, Dorostal, Marsonia & HASK is a bit close to it for me. Novgorod is currently overachieving in the league sitting in 5th, so I am put off there which means my decision will be down to Hungary & Szeged or Slovenia & Bela krajlna. My next post will follow my decision and give an overview of whichever club I have chosen.

The Full Career History

|---------|---------------|------------------|---------|----------|----------------|---------------------|
| Season  | Club          | League           | Nation  | Position | Cup Results    | Other Achievements  |
|---------|---------------|------------------|---------|----------|----------------|---------------------|
| 2011/12 | Szeged 2011   | Division II East | Hungary |   1st    | Quarter Finals | Promotion as Champs |
| 2012/13 | Szeged 2011   | Division I       | Hungary |   2nd    | 4th Round      | Qual Europa League  |
|---------|---------------|------------------|---------|----------|----------------|---------------------|

|---------|------|-------|--------|-------|------|-----|-----|
|         | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals | Agst | GPG | GAA |
|---------|------|-------|--------|-------|------|-----|-----|
|   1-100 |  66  |   9   |   25   |  241  |  140 | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| 101-200 |  ??  |  ??   |   ??   |   ??  |   ?? |  ?  |  ?  |
|---------|------|-------|--------|-------|------|-----|-----|

I would probably go to Hungary.

I would probably go to Hungary.

Thanks SRL, I am torn and deciding between those two clubs now, but I am leaning towards Hungary because of the large space under their wage budget. But also coming into play is the fact Hungary can have 3 Non-EU players in the team, Slovenia can only have 1, I want to try and bring in Eastern European players if possible.

Szeged definitely look more tempting.

Sounds good I will be following

I like the idea of this challenge Will be following.

ThanksTiger.Robin & Cerud, I am enjoying the start of this career already. I had this idea of wanting to play purely behind the Iron Curtain before, but I never really got going at it.

With just 63 days remaining to the start of the Division II East, the Hungarian Football Post is looking into Szeged's Players. They believe loan signing Krisztian Folmer will be a key figure, his scoring touch could play an important role for our club. Imre Toth is currently our best centre back and he will also have to make the step up defensively, will be good to see him in early form and making a difference at the back.

The Signings

Nice Idea for a career. Balogh looks like he will fill the GK spot very well and add vital experience.

Good Luck with this, interesting Idea!

Thanks GreatTraveler, and WelshWizard, really looking forward to this, and I think Balogh was the perfect GK to bring in, older and a solid player, I am worried about his injury history, but it will also mean the youngsters may get a chance to step in. Working on filling the Central Defenders and Midfielders out now, also have a Striker coming on trial, who may replace all my current strikers.

Surprised that any of Finland was Soviet.

Good luck. Will follow this with interest

Sounds good. Will be following

Surprised that any of Finland was Soviet.

Deltablue - It is only the parts that the Soviet Union took over during WWII and the Cold War era, parts of the country that is now Finland were held by the Soviets during the Cold War era.

HC_AFC & ron6632 - ​Thanks guys, glad to have some following along, hope you enjoy my posts and career.

With just 50 days until the start of the season a lot of news is starting to come out, first up was the season's promotion odds, while the club is predicted to come 13th (of 16) by the Media, the bookies seem to see us as closer to contention, with odds of 25-1 seeing us ranked 4th= by the bookies and feeling is that we have a chance if we can push the top sides.

The Signings

Well after 16 days in charge there have been a few more signings, Des Tiny is attempting to fill his requirements before the start of the season.

György Cséke (DC) [Wiki] - He is very good in the air, but he can be a bit slow, will be a clear starter under the current squad.

Péter Pandur (DC) - A partner for Cséke, the only issue being that he is also a bit slow, and also great in the air.

Sándor Károlyi (AML) - He has a very high skill level, but he is a bit slow, he should be able to get the ball down the wing well though.

GÁbor Szöllősi (MC) - A very good support role Central Midfielder, looks to battle for a spot in the squad from day 1.

Dávid Bálint (DM/MC) - A young back-up for my midfield, I am looking to try and add some young depth to assist in building a squad.

Adam Horvath (AMC) - A young Trequartista, he is better than Reyes, but will battle in a very deep group for the attacking mid role.

Imre Lesko (AML) - Lesko gives us another option on the left, he looks slightly behind Karolyi, gets a shot due to injury.

Kichi (AMR) - A new Right Winger, Kichi is pretty fast, and agile, and has an eye for the goal as well, a very good addition

Wage Budget: 5,692,887 Ft

Current Wages: 2,435,400 Ft

We still have a lot of space under our wage budget, I may end up using this to bring in a superstar, or to see where we are at in November and make some big January signings.

The Friendlies

Most of our friendlies were organised before I joined, but I added some more in later July.

19.06.11 - at Csákvár 3:1

Toth (35), Reyes (79), Brinszky (87)

I was pleased with this first up, Reyes played well, but Toth was good at the back and when he got forward and scored from a corner. This game did lead to a few tweaks to my tactic, my defenders now have longer passing, and the front half have shorter passing, and a re-alignment of Mentality for each of the positions as well. (I will give a quick screenshot of my Tactic at the end of July)

29.06.11 - vs Dun. Streda 4:1

Folmer (8), Koplarovics (58), Brinszky (65), Gahwagi (72)

Koplarovics was in on trial and has earned himself a contract following a stunning effort in this game, no-one else really stood out from the bunch, but the new tactic seemed to work better than the previous one.

From Here

Now there are still a few holes to fill in the team, we have 5 trialists in at the moment looking for contracts, I am still looking to improve my midfielders. I need another left back, and maybe some further depth. The starting line-up is starting to take shape, but there could be a few more signings if someone comes up.

Well with a lack of decision on what role I wanted my attacking midfielder to play, and also not noticing that Márk Orosz actually isn't leaving til July 2012 it means I have signed a large number of Attacking Midfielders for a single role, I also ended up with a bit of a glut upfront, I have a lot of players for the centre of midfield, but only really three of any consequence...I will update more on these positions after I get home tonight, starting to work through completing my squad and finalising who will play where going into this season.

The Players Involved

Attacking Midfield - Trequartista

There are 5 players in contention for what is likely to only be one position in behind my sole striker.

Adam Horvath - The 22 year old is a reasonable prospect, he is a good option as a supporting attacking midfielder or trequarista and is hence likely to be on the bench whichever player starts. He is a pretty fast player, he can make some bad decisions and is lacking in composure, but he will build on that.

Gabor Dudas - His skill is shown by his dribbling, finishing and first touch, Dudas looks like a pretty good Trequartista, but I will watch through the rest of the month and see if it is a better tactic than using a Attacking Midfielder. He may even get a shot in the other tactic to see if he can do that as well, he has 2 goals in 2 friendlies so far, so he is looking good.

Tamas Kulacsik - He is as quick as lightning, and has a brilliant pass, but he knows he is in a complete battle to make it into the squad. His complete lack of flair is probably his biggest downside given how I like my attacking midfielders to play, but he is definitely in the battle. His sensible side could end up being the reason he gets selected.

Fabricio Reyes - The young Honduran is looking for his chance to break through, and it may come from the decision to make this a more supportive role. He is a bit of a leader in the field if it becomes a support role, when it comes to attack he is not far behind. He is naturally fit, has a good work rate and also does it for the team.

Mark Orosz - He is the weakest of the 5 options we have, but he is also leaving in a years time with the transfer already arranged. It makes it terribly hard for me to advocate using him, and I think he may just sit out the season barring injuries.

I am a bit torn on what to do, so at the moment I am trying to cycle the players through and see who performs the best, I quite like Dudas myself, but the others all could do a job as well.

I would go with Dudas too, if I play with only one striker I prefer having a good trequartista playing behind them.

Now only 19 days to go and the work is coming quick and fast, we had a few injuries pile up, especially on the right wing. Looks like we should be okay, especially with the depth that has been built in the squad. The season ticket sales have been mediocre given we are based in the third largest city in Hungary, only 250 fans have signed on for the season, this leaves us with 170,035 members of the population that we need to attract. We are aiming to attract fans across Hungary and as such we have signed an affiliate deal with Integral-DAC, a lower division team from Gyor, in the North-West of the country.

The Signings

With 47 days in charge on the clock, I have started to make some serious changes to the squad, in the first 16 days there were 8 signings. Through the month of July, there have been an additional 9 signings:

Béla Koplárovics (ST) [Wiki] - I wasn't really looking for a striker, but Bela came through in my hunt for a left wing, and I really couldn't turn down what I thought he was going to do for the team, his flair is going to be a huge benefit.

Gábor Dudás (AMC) - I have never used a Trequartista before, but I wanted to give it a shot and Dudas looks the real deal, he may not have quite the flair, but he is a solid player for this level and will sit in behind Koplarovics well.

Róbert Molnár (DC) - A need of depth at centre back saw Molnar signed, he will rotate through the central roles along with the other two. He looks very good in the air and solid at the back.

Sándor Ambrus (DR) - A very good right back signed to strengthen the back line, I hope that with his crossing he can get forward a little as well. His main skill is going to be his work at the back though.

Boris Miličić (MC) [Wiki] - The Serb will play the more defensive midfield role, but he can get the ball forward pretty well too. I will be looking to use his experience to my advantage as well.

Gábor Kerényi (DL) - He will be the starting left back, hopefully he can play as a bit of a two way player, he has the crossing and acceleration to make it viable, my only worry is a slight lack of stamina.

Jean-Pierre Zabundu (MC) - The Congolese midfielder has been in Hungary for a while, I have brought him into the squad as cover for the other two central midfielders. He is clearly third in the pecking order, but he will get some game time.

Nenad Jovanovic (MC) - The 21 year old will be the junior partner in the midfield, his role will be two-way as he can play forward and back, his first touch and passing is going to be epic for the team, I am hoping to see him put some killer passes in.

Franciss Daddy (AMR) - The injuries to my right wingers meant I had to get another one in, the Nigerian was a late signing, but he looks like he will do an admirable job, and Africans are considered EU in Hungary, while my Serbs are not.

Wage Budget: 5,692,887 Ft

Current Wages: 3,491,067 Ft

Well there is still 2M under the wage budget, and we have 4M in the transfer kitty, so overall it looks like we are in a good position if this doesn't work out.

The Friendlies

Most of our friendlies were organised before I joined, but I added some more in later July.

03.07.11 - vs Mladost 1:1

Varga (82)

We were the better team in this game, but we just couldn't crack them. Their defense was awesome, I was glad when we finally got the goal, a loss here would've hurt.

06.07.11 - at Beograd 0:4

Nomel (3), Kulacsik (41), Dudas (72,84)

The boys kept creating chances in this game, and we had a great start and got a second just before half time, but the true result was shown by the fact that after half time we didn't let it go. The boys carried on pushing and Dudas scoring a late brace made it a rout.

08.07.11 - vs Ruch Chorzow 1:0

Lesko (90)

This game was always going to be a tough one, but we had a team from the top Polish league come to town. My aim was to hold them, and we did that well. The defence held, the boys held them out all game long and then Lesko stepped up in the dying minutes to slot a goal home and win it for us.

15.07.11 - vs Mako 5:0

Karolyi (8), Koplarovics (35,58), Zabundu (55), Podonyi (82)

We started the game well and managed to get on top early with Karolyi's goal, but then Kerenyi got sent off and we had to move the team around to cover left back. I was worried that this would let Mako back in, but when Koplarovics stepped up ten minutes late and scored I had no worry. We added two more goals before we lost Kichi to strained ligaments for a couple of months, while the injury will hurt, the win was just delightful.

22.07.11 - vs Bekes 4:0

Koplarovics (1), Karolyi (19), Reyes (62,87)

An incredible start here by Koplarovics scoring immediately and the boys just took it from there, when Koplarovics went down I thought we were going to have a bad injury as well, but he will be back for the start of the season.

29.07.11 - vs Gyomaendrod 4:0

Dudas (23), Karolyi (31,51), OG (46)

Well this has to be one of the best results, we got a complete domination going and never looked back, a great finish to July, the boys are starting to click as a team now.

From Here

Well I believe I have filled out my squad now, there may be some more signings if someone great comes along, but it is unlikely. So here is the top XI for my team, and barring injury (like the one to Kichi) will start the season for us.

GK: Zoltan Balogh

DR: Sandor Ambrus

DC: Gyorgy Cseke

DC: Peter Pandur

DL: Gabor Kerenyi

MC: Boris Milicic

MC: Nenad Jonanovic

AMR: Kichi

AMC: Gabor Dudas

AML: Sandor Karolyi

ST: Bela Koplarovics

Well after all that effort to have Jonanovic as my starting midfielder he has been called up for Military Service, meaning he is Unavailable until December...Looks like Zabundu will be in the team.

And it seems that Military service is bugged, he is unable to play in the Cup or League, but my reserves (U19s) have friendlies organised and he can feature in those....

Promising start with the friendlies. Glad I don't have to type out all those Hungarian names - it must take forever

Looks like your squad is developing nicely

I have most of them copied from Wiki or other pages, going to save a Text file with the names of my squad once finalised.

Wasn't until the first game of the season I realised I needed 2 U21 Hungarians in the squad for every match, so I brought in two late transfers both U21 to sit on my bench, but one of them is on a Global ban until June 2012 (Yeah I need to learn to look at things). So now in my squad I have 1 player on Military Service, and 1 who is banned for 12 months. Great.

Csaba Ponczók - The player I have signed, according to transfermarket he has been banned by the Sports court til August 2012, can anyone help me know what happened as I am struggling to find anything confirming the reason. I love finding out obscure news about football, something I love about this game.

Sounds like he was allegedly fixing/trying to matches, according to a Hungarian website. The translation is a little muddled but...

According to recent information from the National Sports leading soccer were added to the list of suspects - three football, four judges - the end of June broke betting fraud case.

In the days Videotontól deterring, on loan from Iron Spring hustlers Fri futballozó Csaba crime of bribery, perjury or criminal acts of crime, such as suspected instigators of the Central Investigation Chief Prosecutor's Office. The player is still denied.

In the days Videotontól deterring, on loan from Iron Spring hustlers Fri futballozó Csaba crime of bribery, perjury or criminal acts of crime, such as suspected instigators of the Central Investigation Chief Prosecutor's Office. The player is still denied.

From http://www.xn--sportbrze-57a.hu/hir/poncz%C3%B3k-csab%C3%A1t-letart%C3%B3ztatj%C3%A1k-bunda-miatt

The Signings

Zoltán Csák (AM/ST) - The first signing to cover my U21 slots, he is a solid player who will be behind Koplarovics upfront, but it means we don't have to rely on the loan signing (Folmer) to provide cover upfront.

Csaba Ponczók (AM/MC) - I signed him as he would mean great cover through the middle of the park alongside Csak, and provide more cover with less players. Then I found out about his suspension, his contract means I have him next season as well, and he seems to have a lot of skill so he will be a good prospect next year.

Wage Budget: 5,692,887 Ft

Current Wages: 3,730,609 Ft

Transfer Remaining: 3,990,000 Ft

The Friendlies

07.08.11 - vs Újszász 2:1

Folmer (6,59)

The team played well, but we were very poor infront of goal, the resting of Dudas & Koplarovics really showed. I was glad to escape with a 2:1 victory in a game that we were terrible up front, the attacking reserves need some work.

The Cup

Second Round

17.08.11 - at Bátaszék 5:0

Koplarovics (6), Zabundu (23), Dudas (51,84), Ambrus (71)

Our first competitive game saw a huge scoreline, the boys upfront were connecting all game long, Zabundu actually stepped in when I found out Jovanovic was on Military Service and managed to score a goal. The star of the game was Dudas with 2 goals and an assist from the Trequartista role, he is going to be a gem.

The Cup will continue with the Third Round seeing us drawn against First Division side ZTE, I can see this one being unwinnable and as such we are not going to meet the board's expectation of making the fourth round.

The League

20.08.11 - at REAC 4:1

Koplarovics (19), Dudas (67), Karolyi (75), Daddy (81)

We were the pre-game underdogs by a long way, we looked to try and dominate the play, but it was actually pretty tight right through the first half. REAC would've been disappointed to go in behind and afterwards they came out fired up and took the game to us to score their goal. After that goal I wanted the boys to show me what they could do, I made now tactical changes as I thought we were dominating where the game mattered and it showed we got forward and Dudas scored a great goal. Then we finished off the game with a goal from each winger to show our domination.

27.08.11 - vs Cegléd 2:1

Daddy (54), Dudas (77)

This game had an extremely tense first half, I was a bit worried when our top left winger went down injured early on, but we improved from there. It took us a while to show our domination in a game we were pre-match favourites, when Daddy scored I thought it would open the match up and give us an improvement, instead they got a red card and opened up scoring to tie the game. After that I moved Koplarovics to the left wing, and he provided a beauty ball in to Dudas who finished the game off with his fourth goal in three games.

My Player of the Month: Dudas

The Table

From Here

Carrying on from here with the same form would be excellent.

Sounds like he was allegedly fixing/trying to matches, according to a Hungarian website. The translation is a little muddled but..

Thanks ron, always good to find things out, oh well I will deal with the ban and use him next season.

very good start to the season, hopefully you can find some success in Hungary!

Thanks Paul, I am very pleased with the start, and also enjoying Hungary already. Good players, some new knowledge, I didn't know there was a match-fixing scandal in Hungary, and a 16 team league, has a lot of things I like.

Playing the same teams in the league cup group stage each year isn't something you'll like too much.

Playing the same teams in the league cup group stage each year isn't something you'll like too much.

That does sound a bit ewww, is that because it is done by region? Or is it just an FM error?

The Cup

Third Round

21.09.11 - vs ZTE 2:1

Koplarovics (67), Karolyi (84)

What a GAME! It started how I expected the whole game to go, they scored after only seven minutes, but from that moment on we took over. It took us an hour before we cracked their defence, but once we scored it looked like we could win this game. As the clock started to tick down I thought we were going to have extra time, but a late goal from our left winger saw the game over and us having eliminated one of the 1st Division sides and into the 4th round and last 32.

The Cup will continue with the Fourth Round, we have been drawn against Cegléd, who defeated in the league already, this is a very winnable game and would see us into the Fifth Round which is a two-legged match and will give us a shot at the Quarterfinals.

The League

04.09.11 - at Vac 1:1

Karolyi (22)

I am not 100% sure what went wrong here, but we couldn't score like we had in the previous month. So we were working hard all game and not finishing the job, at least we got a draw and didn't lose the match.

10.09.11 - vs Szolnok 3:0

Koplarovics (49,74), Zabundu (55)

I was very happy with our domination in this game, though after the first half I thought it was going to be the same as the last game as we struggled to score a goal. I needn't have worried as just four minutes into the 2nd half Koplarovics stepped up and got us on the board, we followed that with a couple more goals to confirm our victory.

18.09.11 - at Vecses 4:0

Dudas (13,31,68), Koplarovics (23)

Hattrick Hero Dudas, a big step up here as Dudas ran rings around the opposition. I think what is pleasing me most is that even our defenders are completing their passes, the difference in percentage through the middle is not much. Gabor Dudas is running the field, he is everywhere, pops up in defence to help get the ball forward and then is on the end as the ball comes back into the box, a well deserved man of the match especially as he grabbed the assist on the Koplarovics goal as well.

24.09.11 - vs Ujpest II 4:1

Kichi (32) Koplarovics (38,55,74)

Not to be outdone by the Dudas effort Koplarovics also had to get involved, a huge hattrick in this game saw him score his 7th, 8th & 9th goals of the season in only his 8th game. We were up two nil when Pandur accepted his second yellow and left the field, but the play of our midfield when down a player (Midfielder replaced by defender to ensure a tight defence) was incredible as they kept the pressure on and dominated the opposition.

My Player of the Month: Bela Koplarovics - 5 Apps, 7 Goals

The Table

From Here

Well first thing for me is to defeat Cegled in the Hungarian Cup to make it further in that competition. Second is preparing for the time when we do lose a match, so that morale doesn't fall apart and we continue to stay on the current high that the club is on. At one fifth of the way through the season already we are keeping pace at 3 goals per game, and we are conceding less than 1 per game, I honestly didn't think the squad was good enough to beat the league like this, so I am waiting for the team to have some issues.

Super start to the league campaign. I'm guessing with so few fans coming through the gate this is going to be challenging financially?

Oh financially we have lost 40M Ft already this season, balance is -50M, we are going to lose a LOT of money, hence why I am not spending my wage or transfer budget. We have also just suffered our first loss, our #1 keeper got injured and is going to miss 2 months, my back-up is not so good and we went down 3-2 (Also having our top two DCs out, one injured, one suspended hurt).

The Cup

Fourth Round

25.10.11 - vs Cegled 3:1

OG (5), Milicic (pen 26), Koplarovics (87)

This game was never really in doubt, I got a little bit worried when they came back to make it 2:1, but overall we were always in control and as such the finishing touch was just a matter of time when Koplarovics got up and finished the game.

The Cup will continue with the Fifth Round, run over two legs on November 23rd & December 10th, which will be our last game of 2011 before we play again on February 26th 2012. We have drawn Videoton of the 1st Division (1 of only 7 1st Div teams left in the competition), if we manage to win we will face the winner of Debrecen or Vasas (Both Div 1) in the Quarterfinals.

The League

01.10.11 - at Nyiregyhaza 2:3

Karolyi (6), Milicic (30)

This match had an excellent start for our squad with the quickest goal we have scored so far, but after we scored our second goal something went seriously wrong and we managed to collapse as we conceded 3 goals during the remaining hour to result in our first loss of the season. Admittedly we were playing with our reserve goalkeeper and it was before our new signing made it into the squad.

08.10.11 - vs Kazincbarcika 1:3

Koplarovics (35)

This game was tough, it was Horvath's first game in goal, and we went down early, with Koplarovic's goal we managed to come back into the game and be tied at halftime. The second half started terribly as we conceded in the 46th minute, and that signalled the end of our resistance, we did get a lot of shots off, but not enough on target, a disappointing result that had some positives. We held a team meeting after this, I was hoping to stop heads dropping, but captain set me right and said they were doing their best, I agreed with him, it got the boys happy before our next match.

15.10.11 - vs Balmazujvaros 1:0

Kichi (33)

The perfect game to overcome a down period, it was a tough battle from the beginning, but Kichi stepped up and put the ball into the net. This goal was enough for us and the team was truly led from the back by Peter Pandur's man of the match performance. A great effort by all the players and it at least put a smile on my face as we climbed back to the top of the table.

22.10.11 - at DVSC II 2:1

OG (33) Koplarovics (84)

We were predicted to win this one easily, we got an own goal early on and then they equalised, it looked like this was going to be another tough game like the previous one, and it really was, we struggled for a lot of the game, but the final result was a fair reflection. We were the better team, it just took a late goal from Koplarovics to finish the deal.

29.10.11 - at Bekescsaba 2:1

Karolyi (50), Dudas (89)

This game was probably the weirdest one of the whole month, we were completely dominated in the first half, but managed to hold onto it until half time and we went in at 0-0. I sent the boys out with a bit of encouragement, and it seemed to have paid off as we made it into the lead with a Karolyi goal in the 50th minute. Though I was about to have to pull all my hair out, I had a bit of fitness issues, we also had the opposition score on 72 minutes, this made it tough. Then Ambrus got sent off, a slight rejig saw us use the last of our subs, but then it went even further down hill as Kichi was injured in the 77th minute and we were left with 9 players and pushing all the way up the field. A very good goal from Dudas finished it off and we managed to put right the month with a 3rd league win in the month.

My Player of the Month: Gabor Kerenyi - 6 Apps, 2 Assists

The Table

From Here

We managed to defeat Cgeled in the cup and got to the fifth round, though we now have to face the top league teams, it is going to be tough to make the Quarters, but we would most likely get a game against the biggest club in Hungary, so will still push for that. As for the league we have now made it to eleven games played and we have won 8 of them, if we can keep up this form I cannot see us dropping to far back. I have set the perfect platform for the team to move forward, now the aim has to be to make it to the winter break still on top of the league.

The Cup

Fifth Round

23.11.11 - vs Videoton 7:1

Csak (29,33,57), Pandur (40,53), Dudas (45), Milicic (90+1)

Oh My GOSH! This game was just insane, I was quite disappointed when we allowed them to score an away goal after only eight minutes, though they are from the 1st Division, so maybe this would be the way of the game. Then Csak equalised after 29 minutes, and put us ahead just four minutes later, at this point I was happy, a small win would satisfy my aims. The boys were not finished as Pandur & Dudas both added goals before half time. I just told them I was happy and at 4:1 how could I not be? Well that ended up setting them off again as Pandur got his second and Csak made it his night scoring a beautiful hattrick goal.

The fifth round will continue as we now head to Videoton's home ground needing to ensure we don't get hammered, if we can manage that then we will get a chance in the Quarter-Finals. Honestly I cannot think we could've had a better result than that. And of course that is the clubs biggest ever win, what a way to do it, also the biggest ever win in the Hungarian Cup.

The League

05.11.11 - vs Orshaza 2:1

Cask (17), Pandur (27)

Was always going to be a talking point, could Cask step in and replace Koplarovics and score some goals, the injury to our number one striker was the biggest news of the week. It surpassed a local magazine story about Des Tiny's great start in football management, and in the end Tiny spent a lot more time discussing replacements. This meant when Cask put the ball into the net after only 17 minutes that Tiny was jumping up and down in celebration on the sideline. A very good first half saw Szeged hold 70% possession, they only managed half the ball in the second half, but once Orshaza lost two players to injuries it became a matter of holding on and taking a 4 point buffer at the top of the league.

13.11.11 - at Mezokovesd 2:5

Pandur (37), Csak (84)

It seems even though we got pummelled that my worries about our goalscoring are not an issue as Pandur & Csak both score for the second game running. I am pretty happy even with this loss, we were down early and never recovered, but there were good signs still and we remained top of the table.

19.11.11 - vs Honved II 5:0

Kichi (5), Karolyi (17,pen 31), Zabundu (68), Pandur (73)

Well it is always good to meet a relegation bound team after a loss, and this one was no different, from the start we were completely dominant, the defense though was very much key in this game as they shut down all attempts by the opposition to get going and Karolyi's goalscoring was good.

26.11.11 - vs Eger 5:1

Csak (31), Karolyi (pen 37,51), Pandur (42,73)

And that play was exactly how we wanted to go into the winter break, with 10 goals in the last two league games, and 17 goals in our last three games overall we are blitzing the opposition at the moment. Hopefully we can ride our form through the break and come back in February raring to go. Csak has broken his arm, but should be back not long after our first game in February, Koplarovics should be back for the return leg of our cup tie though.

My Player of the Month: I couldn't decide this month, 3 players really stood out, so here they are -:

Boris Milicic - 5 apps, 1 goal, 8 assists

Peter Pandur - 5 apps, 7 goals, 1 assist

Zoltan Csak - 5 apps, 6 goals, 1 assist

Goal of the Month:

[video=youtube;-JbAW5axHKw]

The Table

From Here

Well the great start by Tiny's men needs to continue, but we have a large break before we get back into the league. Does anyone have tips for the Winter Break as I have never really dealt with it before.

Good read and great start. Good luck for the rest of the campaign!

Made a great start so far,hopefully you can keep that sort of form up.As for the Winter Break,maybe set up some friendlies to keep match fitness up.

Brilliant start .

That Videoton result was quite amazing.

Nice start to the save - you've not failed to score yet either

Good read and great start. Good luck for the rest of the campaign!

Thanks Mikal, really enjoying this one already. Glad you enjoyed the read so far, I will try to keep the quality up as long as I can.

Made a great start so far,hopefully you can keep that sort of form up.As for the Winter Break,maybe set up some friendlies to keep match fitness up.

I let them have December off (Bar our return leg cup game - Bad loss, but we still went through), and booked 4 games in January to get fitness back, going to maybe play 1-2 games in Feb before we start the Cup again on 21st.

Brilliant start .

Thanks SRL, I am delighted with the way the team is performing, completely unexpected to be up there in the league.

That Videoton result was quite amazing.

I know, absolutely had me going crazy, a huge result, we did lose the second leg (I think 5:1), but we still went through and will face Vasas in the Quarter Final after they knocked out Debrecen. And the Seven First Division teams in the last 16, became 3 First Division teams in the Last 8, personally thinking I could put together a very nice cup run here.

Nice start to the save - you've not failed to score yet either

Thanks Ron, hadn't actually noticed that I had scored in every game, I definitely don't have to worry about my attack, Dudas/Koplarovics are excellent, and they have great supporting characters as well. Any January Transfers will be targetted at bolsterng our defensive line.

István Ladóczki (MC/AML) [Wiki] - I am planning on him as a Left wing option, but he also provides more utility for my midfield, he will be joining the club in June.

Yusuf Mohammed (DR) [Wiki] - He will be my starting right back next season, another position I really wanted to bolster in January, but I can wait til July for this guy given the money some bigger teams were throwing towards him.

The Friendlies

We had a few friendlies, didn't quite go to plan, but they were alright as a fitness builder which was my main reason for them.

The Cup

Fifth Round

10.12.11 - at Videoton 1:5 (8:6)

Dudas (69)

Now this was what I expected from my first game against a top league team, but in the end we managed to hold onto our first leg lead, I really needed that away goal to make sure that we wouldn't lose because of their one at our place. Very glad to make it into the quarter-finals. I was very disappointed to have two players sent off in this game, but we were chasing it from the start.

Sixth Round

21.02.12 - vs Vasas 1:2

Zabundu (75)

We were doing so well, but we conceded the penalty, and then we really never looked back from there. The opposition just took over and we weren't in the game. I was very glad when Zabundu scored and gave us a shot at the draw, but it was never going to be enough, now we will have to chase the game at their place.

The League

26.02.12 - at Cegled 2:3

Dudas (44), Koplarovics (75)

The opposition had the first chances, and I thought it could end badly, but then we scored in the last minutes before halftime, so I was reasonably happy with the boys then. The second half was really tight, and both teams had chances, they scored two and then we got our second. Upfront they always seemed in the lead and it showed when they scored in the 82nd minute to kill off the game.

The Table

From Here

We have to get some of our form back, in this month we face REAC (15th), Vac (13th), Szolnok (7th) & Vecses (9th), with 3 home games we need to take advantage and ensure that at the 2/3rds point of the season we are still leading the league. We really need to try and stop conceding goals cause it is hurting the overall look of our season, we didn't score in our friendly in January, but we have scored a goal in every single competitive game this season, currently 22 games scored in a row.

Well it turns out I cursed us, we went on to not score against REAC as we had 7 blocked shots, and they beat us with a penalty, it looked dodgy, I called it as such in the Press Conference and the FA was silent...yup ripped off. Thinking about time for a team meeting, but might wait til after the cup game...

Bosko Milenkovic (GK) - The future of our goalkeeping position, I have signed a couple of chances and hopefully at least one of them will pay off for next season.

Nedzad Serdarevic (AMLC) - I needed to improve at left wing, especially as Karolyi keeps going down with injuries. This way I have a better player and some better cover for the attacking half of my team as well.

Tomas Tujvel (GK) - Another young keeper, just hoping for a player to step up here.

The Cup

Quarter-Final

21.02.12 - at Vasas 1:2

Koplarovics (43)

This match was always going to be tough, they were a better team, we were away from home, and they were dominating the possession, but then we got a goal just before halftime. The whole game changed, now it was tied and we were only behind on away goals, a terrible result as they scored two late to make sure we left at this stage.

The League

03.03.12 - vs REAC 0:1

WOW! We completely dominated this match, 61% possession, and 13 shots, somehow 8 of those were blocked and ans 1 hit the woodwork, left us dead and buried when a dodgy penalty call was awarded and let us down as the converted and we lost.

10.03.12 - vs Vac 5:3

Koplarovics (9,17,45), OG (42), Lesko (90+1)

This game was completely one-sided for a very long time, we were up 4:1 at halftime and it looked like we were about to romp it, they did make a small come back and had me worried for a while, but the boys managed to hold on and we moved back to the top of the table. Koplarovics added three more goals, he is really starting to connect with a touch that will lead him to more goals.

17.03.12 - at Szolnok 1:4

Cseke (45+2)

I have no idea what went wrong, but we were down by two within the first ten minutes and after that we never even got close. Walloped off the park even before the boys were ready. We got a goal just before halftime and I thought we could build that into a comeback, but the second half just saw them close us down, need to turn around, the biggest difference is that the second placed team also lost leaving us top.

24.03.12 - vs Vecses 1:0

Dudas (42)

After we lost Koplarovics in the last match I was worried that we had no chance of scoring goals, and given our recent defensive record we would be in serious trouble, but somehow the boys stepped up, we conceded nothing and Dudas put a goal in the net to ensure the victory. Szeged are back in the lead of the Championship, though as the last day of March was a Saturday the opposition played and we didn't so a win is needed for us to get the lead back.

The Table

From Here

The first job is a win at Ujpest II, that will put us back at the top of the table, and then if we can continue to win the title will be ours, at the end of April there will be 5 games remaining in the title hunt, and who knows what could happen from there.

Good luck with a close race.

The League

01.04.12 - at Ujpest II 2:1

OG (8), Csak (45+2)

We dominated possession, but upfront we were impotent, and were lucky to manage to hold on and win this game in the end. I was very happy with Csak, and his attacking skill is giving my team a chance to stay in the title hunt even with the injuries to Dudas & Koplarovics.

07.04.12 - vs Nyiregyhaza 4:1

Koplarovics (8,76), Kichi (83,86)

This game was a bit a strange, we were even in almost everything, both teams could hold the ball, both teams could get shots off, but we just managed to get one very early. Their only goal came ten minutes later and it was a very tough battle from there. Then Koplarovics got a second and Kichi knocked two more in to make the scoreboard very one-sided in a tight battle.

15.04.12 - at Kazincbarcika 1:3

Csak (54)

We did well upfront even though we had very little possession, but that huge effort from Csak didn't even matter as the opposition were all over us. Down two nil at halftime I had written us out of the game, but we were lucky enough to get a goal, their third though made sure they would defeat us.

21.04.12 - vs DVSC II 2:0

Kichi (17,27)

We had even possession throughout the game, but our team was better with what they did with the ball they actually had, a huge win here saw us back to the top in the title race. Kichi is being talked about a lot by the media, especially because our entire central midfield is currently missing time with injuries.

28.04.12 - at Balmazujvaros 3:0

Koplarovics (22,35,64)

Our second game against a title contender this month, and we were completely dominant. The opposition had the same amount of ball, but we kept them shut down and they could do nothing with it. We were hoping to retain our lead, but Oroshava were in a tight match against Kazincbarcika which was all tied up at 1:1 as we finished our game, this would see us push out to a 3 point lead, but a huge injury time goal for Komlosi at 90+6 saw them go down and give us a 4 point lead with just 5 games remaining, one against Oroshava themselves. So 12pts from the remaining 5 games will see us win the title.

My Players of the Month: Kichi, Zoltan Csak & Bela Koplarovics

All three of these guys have done well this month, 4 games apiece and some good goals and good assists from each of them, Csak has played as a striker and in behind Koplarovics this month following an injury to Dudas. This attack force is a massive part of the way we play.

The Table

From Here

With 4 games in the month ahead I have a chance to clinch the title, the result at Oroshava is likely to decide the hunt, if we can win at their place then they would be down by 7 points with only 3 games left, that would be the perfect position for us to be in. That game is also the reason why the current 4 point lead is so important as it means even if we lost we still have the lead by a single point. The other teams are ranked 5th, 7th & 16th, I need to keep the pressure on and we have a good shot at a title this year.