You take the blue pill, the story ends...you take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland (FM14)

A Jozef Prochazka story...

So after last year's incredible successes with Rennes, Roma, Barcelona and the like, detailed here, in which he quickly rose to become the Czech Republic's leading managerial light before absconding from Barcelona when at his peak, Jozef finally resurfaces, looking as beautiful as ever... Drug problems, issues with the Norwegian Mafia and gambling debts are all circulated as possible reasons for his absence, but as with José's prodigal return, the world is watching.

For those of you who missed last year's outings, meet Jozef Prochazka. A veteran of the Sunday League scene in his hometown of Prague, the high point of his footballing career came when he scored 16 goals in a season for his club jedovatým hlemýždi Prahy. He lived and breathed his football, you know the type. He was the man who brought the whiteboard and tactics icons along to the big matches with rivals mocný kachny, wrote the blog on his side sýrové lasičky and later on would coach the youth team for Útok z ustupujících neviditelných krav. Unfortunately, the ravages of time eventually caught up with him, and he hung up his boots.

He never forgot his dream however, and hearing the story of Vugar Huseynzade, he started putting in some job applications for managerial positions far and wide. His friends initially smirked, but we'll see who's laughing come the end! Last year, he managed eight Champions League titles as well as League championships in Italy, France and Spain.

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With a twist...

This time however, he has a challenger to his crown. Young upstart Lubomir Borowski hails from Poland, with the highlight of his career so far being a 45 minute sub appearance for Legia U17s in their game against Jankes Bazgroły dandysem. He then played a bit-part role for the well-named niedobór karzeł but found he just didn't fit. Eventually, he gave in and went the managerial route, professing a love of attacking, fluid football and throwing money at problems. One of those philosophies tends to disappear rather quicker than the other... And yes, he always looks that happy...

Photos courtesy of WH

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[u]Leagues loaded:[/u]
[list]
[*]Brazil - Brasileirao, Serie B
[*]Croatia - 1. HNL, 2. HNL
[*]Czech Republic - Gambrinus Liga*
[*]England - Premier League, Championship, League 1, League 2
[*]France - Ligue 1*
[*]Germany - Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga
[*]Greece - Superleague, Football League
[*]Italy - Serie A, Serie B*
[*]Netherlands - Eredivisie, Jupiler League
[*]Russia - Prem'er Liga*
[*]Portugal - Liga ZON Sagres, Liga Revolucao
[*]Serbia - Jelen SuperLiga*
[*]Spain - La Liga, Liga Adelante
[/list]* denotes view only for the time being

Fewer leagues this time as we're starting out higher, and hopefully we'll retain people's interests, as we head to the top tier of a well-known league...

Same as last year, this time with one list for Jozef and one for Lubomir:

Career Aims - Jozef Prochazka

• Homecoming: Lift a title with one of the Prague clubs
  
• The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of: Win a National Cup - completed Feb 2018 with Man Utd
  
• The Di Matteo: Win a Continental Trophy (sacking optional) - completed May 2016 with Man Utd
  
• The Neil Warnock: Gain promotion (being a **** optional)
  
• The Crystal Palace Award: Win a playoff competition
  
• The Roy Hodgson: (lovely man) Survive in a relegation battle - completed May 2014 with Cardiff City
  
• Give ‘Em A Chance!: Have a Youth Product become Club Captain
  
• The Invincibles: Go a whole season without losing a league game
  
• For Queen and Country: Win a top division title with a single nationality team
  
• The Dream: Manage Manchester United (Prochazka is a typically local United fan) - completed December 2015
  
• The Winston Bogarde: Become a millionaire - completed in 2015
  
• The Alan Sugar: Become a multi (20m) millionaire
  
• The Arsene Wenger: Sell a Youth Product for > £30m
  
• The Steve Bruce: Sign a relative (Prochazka’s a fairly common name)
  
• Give Me More: Manage a club with a tycoon
  
• The Graham Carr: Pluck a star from obscurity (less than £50k, becoming over £10m)
  
• The Incomprehensible: Manage Charlton
  
• The Schteve McClaren: Go on an unprecedented European run (brolly not mandatory)
  
• Black Market: Buy a Czech talent for a top European club
  
• The Pretentious: Win a game playing a 4-6-0 formation
  
• Headline Writer: Sign a player who 'may upset the dressing room'
  
• The 'He's played Football Manager before': Sign a player who is basically only famous because of this game.
  
• Solve the Recession: Sell a Greek player for over £10m
  
• The Paul Lambert/Nigel Adkins: Win back-to-back promotions
  
• The Bébé: Sign a player without knowing all of their attributes and give him at least ten starts - Fabio - signed
  
• The Class One Eggs challenge: Win the Champions League with three different clubs in three different countries - #1 in England - in 2017/18 with Man Utd
  
• Globetrotter: Win the Championship in the seven major European nations: England in 2019/20, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal and Spain
  
• The R Kelly:
  
  
• One-upsmanship: Beat a side coached by Lubomir Borowski - completed Feb 2015 with Cardiff City
  
• Humiliation: Thrash a side coached by Lubomir Borowski - completed May 2017 with Man Utd (4-1 away win)
  
• Domination: Win ten matches against Lubomir Borowski
  

Progress so far: 9/31

Career Aims - Lubomir Borowski

• Homecoming: Lift a title with a Polish side
  
• The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of: Win a National Cup - won The Carling Cup in 2014-15 with Southampton
  
• The Di Matteo: Win a Continental Trophy (sacking optional) - won the Champions League in 2014-15 with Southampton
  
• The Neil Warnock: Gain promotion (being a **** optional)
  
• The Crystal Palace Award: Win a playoff competition
  
• The Roy Hodgson: (lovely man) Survive in a relegation battle
  
• Give ‘Em A Chance!: Have a Youth Product become Club Captain
  
• The Invincibles: Go a whole season without losing a league game
  
• For Queen and Country: Win a top division title with a single nationality team
  
• The Dream: Manage Arsenal (As football's very own Paris Hilton, all that gold Wenger is hoarding is a prime target for Lubo)
  
• The Winston Bogarde: Become a millionaire - completed in 2015
  
• The Alan Sugar: Become a multi (20m) millionaire
  
• The Arsene Wenger: Sell a Youth Product for > £30m
  
• The Steve Bruce: Sign a relative (Borowski’s a fairly common name)
  
• Give Me More: Manage a club with a tycoon
  
• The Graham Carr: Pluck a star from obscurity (less than £50k, becoming over £10m)
  
• The Incomprehensible: Manage Leyton Orient
  
• The Schteve McClaren: Go on an unprecedented European run (brolly not mandatory) - won the Champions League in 2014-15 with Southampton
  
• Black Market: Buy a Polish talent for a top European club - completed Summer 2017 with the purchase of Janusz Jelen
  
• The Pretentious: Win a game playing a 4-6-0 formation - completed July 2020 with Fluminense
  
• Headline Writer: Sign a player who 'may upset the dressing room'
  
• The 'He's played Football Manager before': Sign a player who is basically only famous because of this game.
  
• Solve the Recession: Sell a Greek player for over £10m
  
• The Paul Lambert/Nigel Adkins: Win back-to-back promotions
  
• The Bébé: Sign a player without knowing all of their attributes and give him at least ten starts
  
• The Class One Eggs challenge: Win the Champions League with three different clubs in three different countries - #1 with Southampton in 2014-15
  
• Globetrotter: Win the Championship in the seven major European nations: England - in 2016-2017 with Southampton, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal and Spain
  
• The R Kelly:
  
  
• One-upsmanship: Beat a side coached by Jozef Prochazka - Completed in September 2013 with Southampton
  
• Humiliation: Thrash a side coached by Jozef Prochazka - Completed in December 2015 (4-0 win over Man Utd at St Mary's)
  
• Domination: Win ten matches against Jozef Prochazka
  

Progress so far: 8/31

So, in terms of how this will work, each month will see a short update for each manager. They won't always stay in the same league, but Cardiff and Soton are two of the sides that I think have made the most interesting summer transfer business this year, and it'll kick-start things nicely. For head-to-head games, both will set up Match plans and then let the computer play it out to ensure fairness. Each season will also see a Manager of the Season award between the two of them, based on relative success rather than just league positions.

There's probably more, but I'll add it later. Anyway, with the introductions done, I'll have to leave it for a few days due to work. Should be fun though!

Let me know any thoughts, good or bad - post away!

A very interesting concept

Although, I would imagine this will be quite time consuming, having two careers on the go.

In my experience it is a lot of effort to keep this up so hope this can work.

Very interesting approach,best of luck with Cardiff and Southampton!

Best wishes. Looks like it could be fun!!

Agreed that it will be very time consuming but certainly has the potential for an interesting read.

I could imagine one career becoming more interesting than the other & one of the managers gets dropped.

Good luck with it all.

Thanks all - it will take a bit of effort but hopefully should be a lot of fun.

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - Summer 2013/14

Summer signings were certainly necessary, and there was a bit of deadwood to shift too in South Wales. Craig Noone departed for a Palace side that were throwing money at anything that moved, whilst Connolly also left for Hull, and the money was re-invested in three decent signings. Holding mid Franco Zuculini was the first to join on a free transfer - a good addition in an area that needed improvement, whilst Agustin Allione will provide competition for Odemwingie on the right wing. The big money signing though was with strong centre forward Mitrovic, who looks to have the quality to lead the line until Cornelius recovers from injury. Craig Bellamy's departure may come as a surprise, but his big wages were something that needed to be looked at.

I'm not sure I understand this correctly having (being new to FMCU), I didn't see you're thread last year.

Please correct me if I have the wrong impression

You are going to have 2 managers in the same save, but let the computer play the games (in other words holiday the games) and then make updates on them. You will be doing the transfers etc for them.

It sounds really interesting, but like I say I don't fully understand it

Almost - I will manage all the matches, but let the computer manage when it's Cardiff vs Southampton

Lubomir Borowski - Southampton FC - Summer 2013/14

Just the one move in, but it's a biggie, with Éder Balanta joining from River, who played hard-ball on the deal. We needed a good partner for Lovren (practically the only place that really needed strengthening), so I don't mind paying a bit over here. We tried to shift players on, too, but nobody wanted our deadwood, unlike the rubbish Cardiff managed to shift... grrr...

Then again...

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - August 2013

Well, well, well. Who saw this coming?! The tactics were spot on for the Arsenal game, cueing Hansen et al praising the stifling defensive display that shut down Cazorla and Ozil, who suffered the ignominy of being substituted halfway through. Salt was rubbed into the wound when substitute Allione darted past his marker and slotted past the keeper to give Cardiff all three points. Going to the Etihad was always going to be a Herculean task, and it proved even too much for Prochazka - David Silva grabbing all three goals in a flawless performance. The Bluebirds were still suffering against Crewe, going 2-0 down in the first half - partly due to a hopeful stab at a 4-2-2-2 formation. A few substitutions did the trick, with Mitrovic and youngster Mason securing passage into the third round. Finally, Newcastle tried to shut up shop, and try as we might, no goal was coming. Until Odemwingie popped up 2 minutes into added time, giving us a hitherto improbable 6 points from 9!

A strong start for the Saints, grinding out a few key results. The 1-1 draw away at Fulham was a fair result. They were better in the first half, but a poacher's goal from Osvaldo saw the South coast side in 1-0 up. Annoyingly, everyone left Hangeland alone to level from a corner 4 minutes after the break, and whilst there were a few more sights of goal, 1-1 was about right. Then came a stunning home performance in which Spurs were totally nullified. Another goal from a corner was their only riposte to two fantastic first half headers from Ramirez then Osvaldo. Finally, a late, late strike from that man Osvaldo saw Borowski's men through in the Carling Cup.

Good so far!

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - September 2013

Another decent month started with a gritty 0-0 draw away at West Ham. Against Borowski's Southampton, luck just wasn't with the Welsh outfit, missing 5 clear chances, hitting the woodwork 4 times, before falling to the Saints first real opportunity. This gave them confidence though, with Cornelius sending them through in the Cup at Fulham with a neat volley, before tearing Hull apart in the first half to grab a strong victory.

A drubbing at United wasn't a great way to open the month, and there was still a sense of lethargy in the Sunderland match, which was a drab affair. Against Cardiff, Southampton really got away with it, but they were three vital points. Then came the painful Capital One Cup exit at home to a poor Charlton side, before an Osvaldo header saw off a resilient Norwich. Effective, but hardly setting the world alight.

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - October 2013

Against Villa, everything went perfectly; lots of chances were created and Mason (on for an injured Allione - out for four months) volleyed home after just 7 minutes. Replacement striker Cornelius opened his account with a neat header and bar a late consolation, it was plain sailing. Fulham then visited, and shut up shop. We just couldn't break them down. A lovely Mitrovic strike from the edge of the area put us 1-0 up at Anfield, but a mistake from Zuculini let in Sturridge to equalise on half time. They were dominant in the second half and fully deserved the win.

Ugh. A horrible month which witnessed us play a part in Swansea's keep-ball session, a game we should have won through a late Lambert chance, a gutting capitulation against West Brom, and a complete no-show against Stoke. The first 45 minutes at the Hawthorns was the best we have played all season, with Osvaldo grabbing two well-taken strikes, but a 92nd minute rebound goal from Brunt saw them steal a point. The less said about the Stoke match, the better. So far, this is a team that just hasn't clicked.

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - November 2013

A hideous start to the month saw us leave with 0 out of 6. It wasn't actually as bad as it seems against Spurs - all three goals came from set pieces. Guess how that made me feel... United were simply a class apart, with RVP nodding home, again from a set play, before Rooney made sure. Against Norwich we showed what we can do when we're playing teams we have a chance against, with Mitrovic grabbing a classy hat-trick in a peerless performance. He also nicked a late equaliser in a poor performance on Wearside to leave us with a decent take from a tough month.

Whilst Cardiff's month was tough, this was much worse. We were on fire against Everton, with excellent team play resulting in an early goal from Osvaldo before Ramírez finished a penalty at the third attempt. Then we went to Stamford Bridge, and faced up to the usual Chelsea 'luck'. Mata fired in from the edge of the box out of nothing to put them 1-0 up, but Ramírez equalised on half time with a lovely dink over the keeper. In the second half though, a ludicrous penalty was given for an invisible handball. Boruc saved the penalty, but it fell right back to their player, who smashed in (karma, you might say, for our pen against Everton). To add a bitter taste, David Luiz nodded in from a corner to make it an undeserved 3-1. We created a number of good chances, and there's certainly signs of promise there. Then came City, who proved much the same. We created less, but Osvaldo put us 1-0 up with a great strike. 5 minutes after telling our LB to tight mark Nasri though, he promptly watched him get passed the ball, then let him walk past to slot home (Beta ). A Kompany header and a tap in from a scramble summed that up nicely. Finally, another Osvaldo strike - after a silly back-pass from their CM - gave us the lead against Arsenal, although Giroud nodded in from a free-kick to level. We hung on nicely though, and 4 points from that lot isn't actually too bad!

Things to learn:

• How to defend set pieces
  
• How to hold a lead...
  

Very tight between you still!

Yep! Cardiff are starting to wobble though

Quality thread mate. Interesting that they're so close, excited to see how these separate careers develop.

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - December 2013

Eight fixtures in a month is tough on any side, let alone my struggling Cardiff outfit. The fixtures themselves were horror-shows too. Against Palace we just didn't create enough, but Mitrovic stuck one away to nab a point - where would we be without him?! At Swansea we were passed to death and although Medel got one back, we never threatened them. Stoke scored two from set plays, as did Millwall in the low point of the season so far... they even had 10 men for half the game. Lukaku fired three past us, one classy, one a debatable pen and the other? From a corner, naturally! West Brom are flying high this season, and we actually did pretty well, but Chris Brunt scored early to take it away from us. Chelsea also struck in the first 5 minutes, and whilst we did well to hold it there, we barely threatened. Against City, we shut up shop early on, but Samir Nasri, of all people, scored from another @%&"£ing corner. With one of our rare forays into their half though, a half-crippled Mitrovic nodded in off the bar, and we managed to hold on for a point that felt like a trophy! The bad news? Mitrovic out for a month. It never rains, but it sure as hell pours!

By contrast, it's all starting to come together for Southampton. I'm having my troubles with the tactics (as detailed here), but it's getting a lot better. Osvaldo again has proved the main man this month, and I'd quite like someone else to start scoring a bit more, if I'm honest! His penalty against Newcastle was all we needed from a game we dominated, and away at West Ham we played brilliantly for 25 minutes, then forgot everything for the next 20 - a draw was probably fair. We dominated Hull but created little until our two substitutes Lambert and Rodriguez combined to give us the winner. Ramírez then got in on the act away at Villa, but a Benteke header from... you guessed it... a corner... levelled things. We destroyed Palace, scoring an outstanding team goal (see below) before fortuitously beating a Liverpool side who played much better than us. So, things are going pretty well on the South Coast!

Quality thread mate. Interesting that they're so close, excited to see how these separate careers develop.

Cheers pal - quite differently, it would seem!

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - January 2014

For a side blighted by an injury to their one goalscorer, a trip to Dagenham and Redbridge was a welcome break, and whilst it took a while to put it to bed, we fully deserved the win. With confidence high after that win and the draw at home to City, we faced a brutal few games, away to Arsenal and 4th placed Newcastle. Against Arsenal we defended heroically, sitting deep and frustrating them, before breaking on the counter. They took the lead through Giroud from a corner, but Allione's half volley pegged them back. A Giroud free-kick put them 2-1 up, but Ben Turner, who was having a pretty poor game, equalised from a corner of our own. A delightful chip from an otherwise rubbish Ozil looked to give them the points, but up popped sub Fraizer Campbell to give us a draw with a late strike from nothing. Thoroughly deserved in my opinion! We took that spirit into the game on Tyneside, but in spite of battling and creating some good opportunities, we lacked a cutting edge and fell, again, to a goal from a corner. That would make three in three games... A similar story, but without the goal, against Charlton, before we finally got Mitrovic back for the West Ham game, and with it, a 2-1 win (our first in over two months!) against a side embroiled in the relegation scrap. Come on Cardiff!

We lost the return game with Spurs by virtue of two crosses from Andros Townsend, both nodded in by Adebayor. And the obligatory corner goal. We were poor though and clearly need a different approach for tough away ties. Sheffield Wednesday gave us an opportunity to rest the first teamers, with Chambers getting us off to a spectacular start, before Lambert and Osvaldo finished things before half time. We promptly destroyed Fulham at home, but couldn't see them off, until up popped Clyne at the death to give us the points. United were a tough prospect, but we let them have possession in order to carve through them on the break. Ward-Prowse got his first of the season with a neat finish from the edge of the area, before Lallana reacted quickest to prod home a free-kick. They grabbed one back (guess how?) but we held firm for a great win. Against Spurs in the Cup we just didn't show up, before eking out a draw at a surprisingly strong Sunderland side, who belied their 19th place. Had Osvaldo not had an off day though, we'd have surely left with all three points.

Looking good for Borowski, but Prochazka is starting to feel the heat, in spite of a better month.

Next match, Cardiff vs. Southampton!

Very interesting so far with both starting really well, but Cardiff dropping and dropping, whilst Southampton just maintain.

My bet for the Cardiff Southampton game is...

Cardiff 2 - 1 Southampton

Very, very close Nostradamus! Full match report coming up.

El Ultimoclasicó!

Prochazka vs. Borowski

I figured I should probably make a little more out of these matches, so here we go with live coverage of Prochazka vs. Borowski round two. Last time, Southampton edged a close match 1-0, although Cardiff will have been aggrieved that they couldn't finish their chances. Since then though, the two sides have followed very different trajectories, with the Saints rising to 6th in the table, whilst Cardiff dropped like a stone, before recovering somewhat in the last month. Either way, there'll be no love lost here.

Ahead of the match, the pundits are predicting the key tactical battle as the midfield showdown between Adam Lallana and Franco Zuculini. Can the tough Argentine stop Saints' creative dynamo from flourishing. Additionally, the return of talismanic young striker Alexandar Mitrovic will be something Southampton need to deal with - he's grabbed 13 goals so far this season, can Dejan Lovren and Eder Balanta keep him from scoring today?

[u]Past meetings:[/u]
September 2013: Southampton (LB) 1-0 Cardiff (JP)

Lubomir Borowski: 1
Jozef Prochazka: 0
Draws: 0

Match Report:

5 mins - Cardiff have started the quicker, forcing a couple of early corners. Nothing coming though, with Boruc claiming one, and Lovren smashing into Row AA...

12 mins - Should be 1-0! A few minutes after Ward-Prowse fires just wide from a free-kick, a quick move sees Saints break quickly, with the ball moving through Lallana and Osvaldo to Ramírez, who plays in Clyne behind the defence... but he slides it past the post.

15 mins - Still looking pretty even. Ward-Prowse has a long ranger blocked, before RW Allione breaks past Clyne to force another Cardiff corner.

18 mins - Cardiff now with a chance! A long header from Caulker sees Clyne caught upfield and Mitrovic slips in behind, but Boruc is equal to his shot. Simmering nicely, this match...

22 mins - Another intricate move down the right puts Clyne free and although his deep cross is nodded away by Caulker, Ward-Prowse puts it back into the danger area, but Lallana can only prod it into Marshall's gut. Saints won't believe it's still 0-0.

24 mins - End to end stuff this, with a Whittingham corner glanced wide by Kim.

31 mins - A cross-field ball from Théophile-Catherine finds Kim in a bit of space. He plays the ball back to Whittingham, who fires in a shot that Mitrovic cleverly nods past Boruc. 1-0 Cardiff!

35 mins - Saints are looking to strike back quickly, and the influential Ward-Prowse smashes a free-kick into the top of the wall. This is a great game.

42 mins - Southampton on the attack again and Lallana slips a beautiful ball into Osvaldo, but his strike flies into the top of the side netting.

Half Time

49 mins - Another corner for Cardiff, and they continue to press even after it's cleared. Zuculini works it neatly to Allione, who bursts past Luke Shaw and puts in a teaser. Boruc comes for it, but Mitrovic is quicker and nods it home. 2-0 Cardiff!

52 mins - Mitrovic is almost in again after a lovely through ball from Zuculini, but he rushes his shot.

57 mins - Southampton really pushing now, and Clyne gets to the byline, smashing in a low cross from which Lallana forces an excellent save from Marshall low down. From the corner, Cardiff never really clear their lines, and the second cross in from Ward-Prowse leads to a bit of a scramble and Gaston fires into the top corner. 2-1 Cardiff!

62 mins - Allione's at it again, and Luke Shaw's struggling to contain him this afternoon. The Argentine dances past him and stands up a great cross, but this time Boruc is equal to Mitrovic's header.

66 mins - Once more Allione bursts to the byline and actually injures himself pulling the ball back. Again, Mitrovic is on the end of it and forces Boruc into action again with a powerful half-volley. Sadly, Allione departs, replaced by Peter Odemwingie... Poor Cardiff.

71 mins - An odd free-kick from Ramírez, passing back to the centre back from 35 yards out fools everyone. The defence rushes out and Balanta picks out Luke Shaw, arrowing in to the left hand corner of the box. Shaw steadies himself and fires low into the bottom corner from 18 yards. 2-2!

80 mins - Young Spaniard Óliver (Cardiff - forgot to mention I signed him for £6m in August), on for Whittingham, plays a defence splitting pass for Kim to fire home!! But the flag's up, and Cardiff's dreams are dashed.

92 mins - One final surge from Cardiff and Odemwingie races to the byline, smashing in a low cross, which Lovren inadvertently heads towards his own goal... but it rolls just wide. Final whistle - Cardiff 2-2 Southampton!

Yeah, one of those matches where both guys would be happy: Prochazka because his team actually looked dangerous on the counter, and scored a couple of opportunistic goals, and Borowski because Southampton are just playing brilliantly at the moment, even if they can never win by more than one goal...

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - August 2013

Well, well, well. Who saw this coming?! The tactics were spot on for the Arsenal game, cueing Hansen et al praising the stifling defensive display that shut down Cazorla and Ozil, who suffered the ignominy of being substituted halfway through. Salt was rubbed into the wound when substitute Allione darted past his marker and slotted past the keeper to give Cardiff all three points. Going to the Etihad was always going to be a Herculean task, and it proved even too much for Prochazka - David Silva grabbing all three goals in a flawless performance. The Bluebirds were still suffering against Crewe, going 2-0 down in the first half - partly due to a hopeful stab at a 4-2-2-2 formation. A few substitutions did the trick, with Mitrovic and youngster Mason securing passage into the third round. Finally, Newcastle tried to shut up shop, and try as we might, no goal was coming. Until Odemwingie popped up 2 minutes into added time, giving us a hitherto improbable 6 points from 9!

Lubomir Borowski - Southampton FC - August 2013

A strong start for the Saints, grinding out a few key results. The 1-1 draw away at Fulham was a fair result. They were better in the first half, but a poacher's goal from Osvaldo saw the South coast side in 1-0 up. Annoyingly, everyone left Hangeland alone to level from a corner 4 minutes after the break, and whilst there were a few more sights of goal, 1-1 was about right. Then came a stunning home performance in which Spurs were totally nullified. Another goal from a corner was their only riposte to two fantastic first half headers from Ramirez then Osvaldo. Finally, a late, late strike from that man Osvaldo saw Borowski's men through in the Carling Cup.

Good so far!

League Table - August 2013:

Very interesting concept chap. Will be reading for sure. One question though, is the image back an old one as alot of badges are not up to date etc...Cardiff, Everton etc on league table.

Thats my only frustration every year with FM and its why I always wait until Xmas to purchase FM as I like to have all the face packs, kit packs etc up to date (as well as all major bugs removed via patches) before I start my usual 1 or 2 long term saves.

Look forward to reading your next update

Very interesting concept chap. Will be reading for sure. One question though, is the image back an old one as alot of badges are not up to date etc...Cardiff, Everton etc on league table.

Thats my only frustration every year with FM and its why I always wait until Xmas to purchase FM as I like to have all the face packs, kit packs etc up to date (as well as all major bugs removed via patches) before I start my usual 1 or 2 long term saves.

Look forward to reading your next update

Glad you're enjoying it! The badge for the update is the real Cardiff one, but I just copied over my old graphics folder for the game, so the in-game one is their old, blue version. I do plan to update it shortly as it bugs me too . In terms of bugs, this version is much, much better than last year's early game, so I'd recommend giving it a go

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - February 2014

In the aftermath of the Southampton match, we somehow contrived to lose out to Charlton after a long ball was chipped in by Sordell. What followed though was spectacular. First Hull, thanks to a Mitrovic penalty and a great strike from the D from Whittingham, then Villa, with a long shot from Zuculini credited as an own goal and a Mitrovic snapshot, fell to our rejuvenated side. Then came the performance of the season from either side, with excellent, precise football leading to a 3-0 humbling of Liverpool, who just created very little. Mitrovic scored first with another powerful effort from just inside the area, before Allione wrapped things up with a volley from 6 yards near the end. To add icing to the cake, centre back Turner scored a great header from a corner at the death - about deserved for all of those that we've conceded from this season!

A near flawless month from Southampton, and boss Borowski finally gets a win by more than 1 goal! The Cardiff match was a stern test, and that was followed up by a win over Norwich thanks to a Gaston Ramírez wonder goal, a half volley from nigh on 30 yards rocketing into the top corner. Against Swansea, their possession game came back to haunt them, with Osvaldo intercepting a backpass to open the scoring before doubling it from a Lallana throughball. In the final match of the month, Stoke did their usual and battered us for much of the game, but we kept our heads to carve out two chances to win the match. A fantastic month.

Hard to say which manager had the better month, but I'd be tempted to give it to Prochazka. Bringing Cardiff up to 13th - above Liverpool and one point off Arsenal - marks an outstanding transformation from where they were a few months back, and means that they're almost, almost safe.

Superb, the feedback seems fairly positive. May well take your advice and take the plunge

Great February for both teams!

Art imitating life at Southampton.

Wanyama was right!

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - March 2014

A bit of a nearly month, but there were a lot of tough fixtures here. We went behind very early at Fulham, but Allione clawed us level with a superb strike. They then nicked two from a penalty and a nice Berba finish before Taylor grabbed one back. Away at United, we defended heroically, but conceded at the death to an RVP rebound... gutting. Spurs were much better than us and controlled things throughout, but we bounced back with a thumping win over Sunderland led by that man Mitrovic. We then saw out the month with a draw against Norwich. We took the lead in the 44th minute but they equalised from the restart to send us into half time still level. They then took the lead from a free-kick rebound - ugh - but Medel's volley from the edge of the area in the 92nd minute earned us the point we deserved and probably, just, secures safety, a month earlier than I'd have thought possible.

Southampton however, started with a smashing of West Brom in which James Ward-Prowse showed his excellent potential by creating one and scoring two. Then came a tough fixture at Everton. Osvaldo started things off by crashing in a powerful shot, and we held firm before Lambert tied things up with a late finish. Then came the horrible run without star CB Lovren - against Chelsea we were impotent, at Arsenal we came close but didn't quite cut it and at home to City, who hacked us to pieces injuring Lallana, Schneiderlin and Osvaldo, we conceded a late header from Zabaleta to leave us with nothing from three and a tricky match away at St James' Park to negotiate next up.

Amidst all of this, we had the Youth Intakes. Only one player stands out and he belongs to Cardiff - lucky Jozef! Looks a really good prospect, too.

Superb, the feedback seems fairly positive. May well take your advice and take the plunge

Good stuff - it's a bit of a steep learning curve but well worth it for me.

Great February for both teams!

Agreed!

Art imitating life at Southampton.

Haha, we're a few months ahead though!

Wanyama was right!

Not sure I follow :confused:

Wickens does look like he'll be good.

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - April 2014

This month was all about the 93rd minute. We had Palace under the pump for the entire game but it looked like being a shutout. That is, until their keeper came for a deep cross and only punched as far as Allione, who lobbed the ball home from 20 yards for a vital three points. The return derby with Swansea was much the same as the first: we played really well but lost out to a frustrating goal, this time a rebound from a Michu freekick. The 4-0 against Stoke was harsh to say the least. They scored all their goals in the second 45, including twice from corners (once with a low ball to Walters, who had time to turn, take two touches, then fire in from 3 yards... come on Match Engine!). We had our chances and it was actually a pretty even game which deserved 1 goal in it, certainly not 4! Pleasingly though, we went to Everton with the same mindset. They scored first through Lukaku, but Ben Turner equalised from a corner. Then came the best end to the match I've seen. With 92 mins on the clock, and just two mins added on, Everton attacked - with me screaming at the laptop for full time. They shot, and Caulker cleared off the line! The ball found Mitrovic, who released Allione... Suddenly, I'm urging him to take on Baines and praying the ref doesn't blow. He skips past him and Mitrovic volleys in from 6 yards. Game over!

Saints though had three brilliant performances and one shocker. After a tough March, it got no easier with a trip to Newcastle, but Rickie Lambert put in an outstanding performance to give us the points. We then powered past West Ham thanks to Gaston's best performance this season. Hull took the lead with a fluke Robbie Brady freekick from 40 yards, but had a man sent off after 40 minutes. We hammered down the door and thanks to sub Chambers and a late Ramírez strike, took all three points. Then we crumpled against a Villa side who only had three shots on target, yet scored them all. We defended poorly though and deserved what we got, in spite of coming from 2-0 down to level. Annoyingly, Ward-Prowse is now out for a few weeks.

Brilliant read so far, doing well with both sides

Good read

Jozef Prochazka - Cardiff City - May 2014

With nothing really to play for this month, it was pleasing that the side still dug in. West Brom gave us a taste of our own medicine by scoring in the 92nd minute to equalise Mitrovic's millionth goal of the season. He then pounced again against Chelsea before setting up Allione for a cracking finish into the top corner in what was an immense victory. This also delighted manager Prochazka as it ensured that the title went back to Old Trafford in spite of United's home loss to Newcastle.

We raced into a 3-0 lead away at Palace - all through Pablo of course, but conceded two sloppy goals to make it look far closer than it actually was. In a tough final fixture at Anfield, we needed to match Stoke's result to secure third. We drew, but so did they, and it was perfectly scripted that club hero Rickie Lambert scored the goal that did it.

For the in-game awards, Lubomir Borowski secured the Manager of the Year, whilst Pablo Osvaldo won the Golden Boot. Nathaniel Clyne also came runner up in the Young Player of the Year award.

End of Year Round-Up

Manager of the Season: Lubomir Borowski.

Both did fantastic jobs, but you can't fault finishing third with the Saints, beating off Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs to a Champions League spot.

Player of the Season: Alexandar Mitrovic (Honourable mention: Pablo Osvaldo)

22 goals in his 34 Premiership appearances says it all - incredible for a new signing for a team predicted to finish 18th! His goals were crucial to Cardiff's season

Match of the Season: Arsenal 3-3 Cardiff

Whilst there were a number of high profile wins, this comeback was simply stunning, with Fraizer Campbell's only goal of the season securing a point with Cardiff's backs against the wall.

Result of the Season: Cardiff 2-0 Chelsea(Honourable mention: Southampton 2-1 Man Utd)

With Chelsea going for the title and needing a win to secure it and Cardiff having nothing to play for, you would have expected the London side to win this easily. Instead, they ran into the performance of the season, with Cardiff sitting back and attacking ruthlessly on the counter, with Mitrovic and Allione scoring excellent goals to decide the fate of the League.

Breakthrough Season: Eder Alvarez Balanta (Honourable mention: Agustin Allione)

Balanta was an absolute rock at the heart of a miserly Saints defence and he is looking a steal at £8m. Allione, at a far cheaper £3m, proved a dynamic and incisive winger at the heart of much of Cardiff's good play.

Expecting their P45s...: Kim Bo-Kyung and Artur Boruc

In fairness, Boruc hasn't been that bad... he's just old. Kim, however, was atrocious - didn't create much, didn't score and was completely outshone by Allione.

1-0 to the young upstart unfortunately.

Wanyama was right!

Not sure I follow :confused:

When Wanyama left Celtic for Southampton in the summer, to much ridicule, he was quoted as saying that the he couldn't see any reason why the Saints couldn't qualify for the Champions League.

He got it spot on

When Wanyama left Celtic for Southampton in the summer, to much ridicule, he was quoted as saying that the he couldn't see any reason why the Saints couldn't qualify for the Champions League.

He got it spot on

Aha - yeah they're a class side on FM. Amazingly I don't think I have to do much strengthening in the summer. I was close to pulling the trigger on a £34m deal for Stephan El Shaarawy but decided that money spent on three players was probably a better idea!

1-0 to the young upstart unfortunately.

Don't you worry, Prochazka will get there! 12th with Cardiff was pretty good from him to be fair...

I noticed you had regen faces for the managers. Is there a thread to download these in the Skinning forum as I can't seem to find it?

Yep, if you click on the WH link in the first post you'll see where I got them

Excellent season with getting Southampton in the Champions League,hopefully you'll be able to get the right signings to help push Cardiff up the table.