(FM12) Stop The Clocks - A journeyman career

After struggling to get to grips with FM 09's tactic creator I had a look at previous FM's and decided on FM 12. There's no aim to begin with but as the years go on I plan to take over underachieving/relegated big sides and rebuild them. I have loaded all divisions in the following countries and with the add/remove option available on FM 12 I may use it at a later time if I fancy a move to somewhere not loaded at the minute but for the minute these are the leagues I fancy especially in the bigger nations as i've had a tendency to stick to lower nations in the past few FM's and I fancy a change at some point.

I've given myself a professional rep too rather than the usual Sunday League

I couldn't decide who to start off as and wanted to get straight in to a club rather than start unemployed so used the "pick a club" option and was quite happy with the side that popped up as it is a side i've always fancied a go at but never got round to, also it luckily fitted in with the underachieving philosophy I aimed for with no title since 2008.

Happy with the start so far, Moraes' goals have certainly been a big help as there doesn't really seem to be much of a threat from the midfield 3 who are more defencive minded.

Transfers are at a minimum this year as finances don't really allow for us to do much so it will be case of grabbing youngsters cheap and developing them. One advantage of managing in Bulgaria is it only takes 3 years for non EU's to become citizens so if I do get overloaded with non EU's the plan is to either rotate or loan them out, though I am getting a little ahead of myself there

In the Europa league we were unlucky to have drawn Palermo but I think having the advantage of starting the season before Italy helped a lot as our players were fit and in a bit of form. The draw for the group stage isn't a bad one at all, any of the 4 sides stand a chance of going through and it could have certainly been a lot worse, if we are decent at home then we should really be close to getting out of the group.

reserved

Could be some competition in Scotland for a change

Delighted with the way the season has gone so far, a few tweaks has meant that we aren't just relying on Moraes for the goals (though his 31 so far is handy) and generally we are very solid at the back.

The Europa league has been a good competition so far for us, though the teams we've faced are middle of the road sides they still are decent enough to beat us on any day so to top the group was really good going and with Metalist next it is another tie we have a chance with.

Two signings in the winter, Sassa comes in for £275k and is probably going to be Moraes replacement and Hajji who I got for free and is potentially a really good right winger

Moraes replacement?

I managed to offer him a new contract and get rid of his release clause which gives me a bit of bargaining power for the inevitable of him wanting to leave but Sassa was signed just in case he does leave in the summer

Though I am happy with the league and cup win I felt we started to lose our way towards the end of the season, 2 of the 3 defeats were to the sides in the bottom 2 at the time we played them which is disappointing seeing as we had always had enough to beat sides earlier on in the season even when not our best. To our credit we did well to get to the Europa quarters and deserved the away goal win against Lyon (we missed a penalty in the home leg too) but Marseille were a step too far for us and the eventual winners deserved their win.

It had been my intention to do a few years at CSKA but then a job offer came along that was too good to turn down....

It was a tough decision to leave Sofia as it was my intention to do 3/4 years there and build them up but this was a move too good to turn down, as you know the facilities are top notch which would have swayed it for me anyway but the budget for a side that only finished 6th last season in a nation such as Belgium was really impressive.

The squad had around 100 players stockpiled (including youth prospects) so my first task was to reduce that as much as possible and at the moment i've got it down to 65 with 3 senior players due to leave in January and i'll let a lot of contracts run down so they leave in the summer. The main problem is there is quite a bit of potential in the youth side so i'm in a situation where obviously all won't develop and some might just fall short for a club with our quality but could still command a decent fee in a year or 2 so obviously i'm a bit reluctant to let them all go, unfortunately the ones that could grow to a decent level were unwilling to go to the sides who put loan offers in which is frustrating, especially as I spent nearly all my playing time last night sorting the squad out rather than actually playing games

I want to try and keep the same philosophies that Standard have where they snap up talent and sell on and also develop players through their own system, this was also another reason for me to go to Belgium as it fits perfectly with the way I try and play the game, hopefully this will be a club I stay at for a few seasons as I also want to get Standard back to a dominant force and secure from top to bottom including a larger stadium and a big bank balance before I leave

At least you've not short of options. Belcin looks like he could be pretty good.

Pretty Standard in the Liege so far.

At least you've not short of options. Belcin looks like he could be pretty good.

This is true, i've pretty much narrowed down my 23 for the first team so it is just a case of getting rid of the rest now, the youth and reserves are where the hard work needs doing still because as i've mentioned some might turn out decent players that I can get a good fee for but obviously they need to be playing somewhere too.

I've done well with all 3 transfers I feel, a bit of potential but also the ability to start quite a few games, for the amount I spent I don't think it is too much of a gamble.

Pretty Standard in the Liege so far.

I see what you did there

A good start for us bar one of the defeats but we have a bit of a cushion and hopefully we can extend that a bit so we have a bit of a lead before the championship group starts. In general the performances have been good but I feel we are lacking a bit of firepower and seem to miss a lot of chances which is something I hope to address in the next part of the season.

Still a very good deal for Obasi.

I should be pleased with a cup double but our form in the last 7 games was terrible and it has put a bit of a dampener on the season. Bi was outstanding when fit averaging almost a goal per game but injuries to him and Michy Batshuayi are a bit concerning and I don't feel Jonathan Pereira is a candidate to play there either so again it will be the attacking 3 that I will look to improve on over the summer and hopefully being in Europe now we will be able to attract a higher caliber of player.

The expansion isn't what I wanted really, I was pushing for a move to a new stadium and feel £11M for only a 8.5k increase is a bit of a waste of money but it is done now so i'll have to put up with it.

Still a very good deal for Obasi.

It's taken him a while to settle in but his performances in the last few games have improved, hopefully he'll kick on next season

Not a busy summer in terms of players coming in or out, only the agreed one came in and a few out of contract went out as I couldn't find anyone suitable in all honesty. Things will be different over the coming months though as Bolat at least won't sign a new contract so i'll be looking to sell him rather than let him go for free and it will be the same with a few others if they haven't signed by the end of November so i'm expecting a busy January.

On the pitch and we've started ok, we seem to be scoring at a higher rate so far and keeping a tight defence still. The CL group is a tough one but i'd hope we'd be 3rd at least.

Very pleased with the season so far, I had expected us to maybe drop a few more points in the league with Europe being a distraction for us but the squad has handled it really well. The home form in the CL was the catalyst for us qualifying from a tough group and setting us up with a winnable game against Lyon in the knockout stages.

We've had problems with players wanting to leave since the summer and some are out of contract soon but i'm hoping nobody snaps them up and we'll be able to talk to them at some point. One that wasn't having any of it was Bolat so I offered him out in October for £5M and Lokomotive Moscow came in and bid what we wanted so we did get a good deal there I feel. His replacement is Luis Guilherme who a lot of people may remember from a couple of FM's as being a wonderkid, I paid £7.5M for him and he's not far off Bolat's ability as it is so adding the extra £2.5M was a no brainer really

One other in is Mulai De Carvalho who at 18 is looking impressive already and with him being out of contract in the summer I managed to grab him for a bargain £100k

I'll probably not be signing any more players in the window as i'm not sure i'll be here after the season ends, i've already turned down FC Twente, Bolton, Sunderland, Real Sociedad, Anderlecht, Hertha Berlin and Lens amongst others in recent months as well as being linked with AC Milan and Man Utd though they didn't come in for me. I wouldn't mind going to England for a change and not necessarily at a top club either (these would be limited anyway because as a Man Utd supporter there are teams I couldn't bear to be ) Sheffield Wednesday or Forest would be the type of side I wouldn't mind. Also a trip to Scotland and breaking the Old Firm would be of interest to me and i've also loaded up Northern Ireland, Republic and Wales as bar a Welsh save on the last FM i've never managed in those 4. To compensate for that i've removed Belarus, Poland and Israel as they just don't interest me at this moment in time, in fact I may actually get rid of most East European nations and swap them for another continent as obviously I still have my main FM15 save that covers those.

It was so close to being an unbelievable season for us and it should have been as we dominated one of the most unlikeliest CL's finals ever FC København to their credit beat Arsenal, Bayern, Malaga and won 4-0 in Turin on their way to the final so they hardly had an easy ride either.

Highlights of our campaign were wins against Lyon home and away, Spurs and Barca and drawing 3-3 at Barca going 3-0 up which was when I made 3 substitutions which seemed to let them back in the game.

Domestically I was happy enough with the campaign, the signing of Luis Guilherme made a lot of difference to the backline as Bolat's performances from the moment he spat his dummy out were nowhere near the standard of the previous season.

I knew this upcoming season would be a tough one in terms of keeping hold of players just as it was last year and as I had hinted earlier it is something I just couldn't be bothered with for another season and I also fancied a new challenge anyway. The new manager will have at least £14M plus any income from future sales plus 7 or 8 decent talents in the youth side so I feel i've left the club in a strong position for the future.

I'm not sure where I will end up but Northern and the Republic of Ireland have been added along with Wales and i've added down to the Conference North and South in England as these are the areas I would prefer to do for a change, i've particularly got my eye on Crewe who are in the conference but seeing as I live in between them Basingstoke and Salisbury would tempt me as i've never touched a local side despite living here for 15 years

Copenhagen vs Standard Liege final? Only in FM

Despite the defeat it was a cracking season

Not the move I had planned but this job was too tempting in all honesty, they finished 14th last season which isn't good enough for a club this size and with the players at it's disposal still.

I could have done with a right back but Cesar Azpilicueta was out of reach, Gorka Iraizoz is a more than competent keeper but at 33 his best years are probably behind him so Ruffier at that price and slightly better was a good deal I felt. The rest of the signings were made for the future obviously and with the 16 and under loophole it is something that i'll keep looking to take advantage of if the opportunity arises.

In reality I only fancy a season here as I do want to get over towards the British Isles but nothing at this moment takes my fancy, i'll be keeping an eye out at the job center every few weeks though and if it does then i'll have no hesitation in leaving San Mames early.

Copenhagen vs Standard Liege final? Only in FM

Despite the defeat it was a cracking season

Cheers

I wouldn't have been so shocked if it was a bit later than 2014 tbh Is a disappointment to have them in a final and not win it but as I said they did beat some decent sides too so it wasn't as big a shock as you'd think in terms of the result.

I'm happy with our league position but not our points tally, I feel we should have at least another 5 on the board, that said, Llorente is out for a few months, Iturrapse is out for the season so we are really light on numbers at the moment, a deal for Asier Illarramendi from Celta Vigo has been done to not only boost numbers but improve our midfield slightly. Inigo Martínez is another target but probably out of our reach this window.

It would be a pity not to star at Bilbao for a while.

If our form carries on I might not have a choice in the matter We are suffering from the dreaded "turning FM off when on a run" syndrome We've won 5 out of 15 games since I loaded up and 3 of those were in the cup

Absolute disaster of a period in all honesty We are just lucky that the teams around us can't pull away otherwise the season would be over already. Fuming about the form is really putting it lightly as our general play seems good but we just don't create the chances and it something that needs to change.

Ibon Garcia looks a really good prospect and hailed as potentially the greatest player of his generation so no pressure there

Interesting tycoon takeover in England with Gillingham being the benefactors and with that job insecure it could tempt me

Good luck in the cup final - who are your opponents?

I am disappointed with the season tbh, with the start we made and the quality in midfield and attack we should have been pushing for that top 4 space, stupid lapses of concentration in defence is what cost us and in reality without getting in to the CL being able to attract the players to sort that out isn't going to happen easily as we'd have to rely on regens to do that.

In the players defence though it was an 8 place jump on last season and 6 places higher than the predicted finish so things weren't all bad and winning the cup shows there is potential for the side to do well but unfortunately not with me, looking at Barca's dominance i'd say it was at least a 5 year project to overtake them and that's providing Real and other sides don't step up either so i'll possibly look at returning to Spain at some point to do it but probably with a club in a division below or even the secunda that I can build up with a bit less pressure.

I didn't hate my season in Bilbao, it was good to manage a relatively decent size club for a change with some really good players already at the club but in reality I knew I wanted to go to the UK or Ireland and go to a nation I don't really touch.

I'll reveal where I have gone in the next post......

Quite a change from Bilbao but one that I am really looking forward to, we have 16 games to get out of trouble and looking at the squad I think we are capable of it. We are still in the cup which gives us an incentive not to just survive but look at doing well there and hopefully take something from this season still, of course that isn't guaranteed but I want to go for it as it i've managed a trophy at every club so far and don't want to let that record go without a fight.

Having this news come through days after I signed for the club and without asking is a huge boost, especially with the transfer window around the corner but in reality with our finances i'll probably be trying to get some of the players scouts have already recommended in the short term and give the scouts until the end of the season to see if we can pick any gems.

One good thing about the ROI is apparently the work permit laws are a bit more relaxed than England, Scotland, Wales and NI so hopefully I can take advantage of that too.

I haven't set myself any time limits here but I do want to improve all the facilities, make the finances stable again and get in to the group stage of a European competition at least once...well that's the plan anyway because there's always a chance a job too hard to turn down comes up, but for a league i've never managed in before I would like to think i'd stay for a few years and see how far I can push the club and the division

Bilbao to Shelorne, can't imagine there was a direct flight there. Good luck!

Not regretting the move as such, did want to get over to the UK/Ireland but it's certainly more difficult than I thought it would be, the finances are so poor which isn't helping as we can sign some decent players for this level but can't afford it Things on the pitch are improving now after a difficult start so there are positives and a top 5 finish isn't out of the question if we can keep a run going.

Good luck at Shelbourne mate! UK >>>>>>>>>>>> Spain

Cheers, was feeling a little frustrated yesterday but in reality I could have gone to either Arsenal or Chelsea when I left Spain as both offered the jobs to me but refused both because I wanted a challenge and Shelborne is just that We have a quarter final against lower league opposition too so there is still a chance of Europe for us

After a start that had me frustrated things, by luck improved considerably. I'd been playing the same 4-3-3 I had at Standard and Sofia and it just wasn't working, then we had 2 injuries in midfield that left us seriously lacking in numbers and so I had a look in the u19's and found Jon Collins who was transfer listed by the previous manager so i'd never even thought of looking at him when I took over but he was the only midfielder in there, it came as a shock that he was pretty much as good as anyone in the first XI with lots of room to grow so god knows what the previous manager was thinking :confused: That made me change to a 4-2-3-1 to accommodate him and from that moment on we just started flying.

The finances are a major stumbling block for us, I doubt with this squad we can compete for the league even with the promising couple of months we have had. I would love to improve this squad over the pre season but I doubt we'll get more than one or two in, we really need a new chairman (currently happy to stay so it might not be too far off) to at least get a loan in and get us back in the black so I can work from there, even 2/3 rounds in the Europa preliminary rounds won't knock much of a dent in the finances at this rate so selling is our only hope and pick up freebies and even then with us only getting 10% to spend out of any outgoings it'll take a clear out before we can even start getting a few in. Even with the finances though I do think if I can stay for 2 more seasons without getting too frustrated by it then I could turn this round, the cup win should help our rep a little and hopefully bring more people through the gates which will certainly be a big help if we can improve on that each year.

Good to see you back mate quite an interesting set of teams so far.

Bloody hell FM12 Cracking journey so far Good luck with Shelbourne.

Good to see you back mate quite an interesting set of teams so far.

Cheers mate, i'd have probably started in Ireland if I had thought about it and worked my up that way but I didn't add some nations at the beginning so working up from Bulgaria seemed a good place to start. Shelborne is probably going to be the most interesting part of this save as we are financially stuffed and the only way I see us getting out of it is via a takeover, certainly in the short term

Bloody hell FM12 Cracking journey so far Good luck with Shelbourne.

Cheers mate A few people have been doing FM 11, 13 and 14 after getting bored of 15 so decided to go back too and wanted one that is different to the others

To me the season so far has been a bit of a mixed bag but that isn't necessarily the players fault I take part responsibility too as I made some mistakes during pre season. I had tried to sign 5 players to replace a few that we couldn't afford to keep as the budgets were set too late. When I offered the 5 players contracts I was able to offer all the money they wanted but only 3 actually signed. I went to go for the 2nd choice targets for the 2 positions we missed out on only to discover that we couldn't offer any more than £75 even for a key player which if I had known then only Mitchell out of the 3 we did sign would I have gone for first as we are lacking more in central midfield and right wing than at CB and LB and that in hindsight was a big mistake.

The players have had a loaded schedule so far this season, progressing in the cups but that was is no excuse for being 3-2 with 10 minutes to go, 1-0 up at half time and collapsing to a 5-1 defeat either among other games where we've dropped silly points. That said, considering the amount of games we've played and the thinness of the squad they've done well to get themselves in the position they are in at roughly the half way stage.

Financially we've gone from from £670k to £550k in the red over the last few weeks thanks to prize money in the main and with a couple of cup games and Europe to come hopefully that will look even better within the next 2 months, especially as we are in the process of a takeover. Hopefully this will go through without any delays and we can get players in ASAP, because now most other leagues are in pre season and will have a bit of cash there will be competition for a lot of my targets I imagine.

Harkin looks like he could be a decent player for the division in a few years stats in all the right places.

Harkin would be playing every game if he wasn't forever picking up knocks

I'm probably going to do a August update rather than wait until the end of season as we are at the end of July already and quite a bit has happened so probably for the best I do an update once I finish the month off rather than try and remember it all later

So many positives even though we have had a lot of work to do in the league. Firstly a consortium bid failed, usually this would have been bad news but just after it failed the revised budgets came in which allowed us to sign 2 new players we desperate needed, then the finances from the Europa allowed us to increase our junior coaching.

Going to the Ukraine and beating Volyn was really superb, as soon as I seen the draw I expected us to go out at the first hurdle, I do think match fitness helped quite a bit but even so it was probably the best result of the career so far. Obviously we went and finished the job off in the 2nd leg but the 1st was my favourite result.

Secondly came Omonia, it on paper is still a tricky tie considering we are 119th in the competition list but was still an easier tie than the previous one and a professional job seen us get through that.

PSV unfortunately was where the journey ended but we gave them a fright in Dublin going 2-1 up but as you expect they were too strong for us.

Domestically we have suffered with the European games but we do have the games in hand to claw that back, thankfully we've had enough in the cups to keep our chances of more silverware going and in all honesty if we don't manage to reclaim top spot I won't be too disheartened as long as we make the Europa again next season because I think our best chances of financial security are in the Europa at the moment as this run has shown.

There's a lot of speculation with Connor Lynch and a possible move to Scotland, as important as he to us if a bid of the rumoured £500k came in i'd find that impossible to refuse.

My aim for the season is to try and claw the points back in the league, but i'd be happy with a cup double and a Europa spot, in all honesty I didn't expect us to do as well as we have considering the squad is weaker than last season even though the first XI is better, I do hope finances (I know I keep on about ) improve and the board takeover happens soon though as we are very close to having a strong side for this level, but we just need that bit extra money to make the push as the ability to attract better players is certainly there.

Good effort in Europe, a shame you ran into PSV.

Interesting move.

Fantastic effort in Europe, you must have been in dreamland when you were 2-1 up against PSV

Good effort in Europe, a shame you ran into PSV.

Cheers, tbh at that stage I expected a big side and in all honesty with Volyn as the first round we went 2 rounds better than we should have so not disheartened by it

Interesting move.

Is odd I went there from Bilbao I admit and Scotland (bar Rangers and Celtic) would have been my first choice but i've always fancied a few years in either the Republic or Northern Ireland too so still happy with the move and Shelbourne were a decent side domestically in early to mid 2000's so bringing that back would be a good challenge for me, just need that bloody takeover now and some money coming in

Fantastic effort in Europe, you must have been in dreamland when you were 2-1 up against PSV

Thanks, yeah for a minute or 2 I kidded myself we had a chance Even though it has been a struggle i've really got in to my time at Shelbourne now, found myself celebrating certain goals more than I have at the other clubs in the save so unless Man Utd or FC United come calling then i'm staying here for a few seasons

We may have done a clean sweep but it is very obvious watching and with some patchy form there is still a lot of improvement needed with this squad. The European Championships didn't help as that meant a months worth of fixtures had to be fitted in (though that was the same for everyone) but having 20 extra fixtures with the cups and Europe could have really messed up the season for us and we really do need to invest in the squad to maintain our challenge next season.

We've finally had the takeover at last and there has been some investment which is pleasing, it is a consortium so not sure how much they will put in over the years but it is certainly better than having a local businessman in charge.

Clean sweep? I'm sure you went out to PSV of the Europa League

I was sure I wrote "domestic clean sweep at the time"

The Hertha Berlin job is available after they were relegated to the 3rd tier, if it had been a year a later i'd seriously would have considered that ffs

Congrats on the clean sweep mate!

Shelborne FC September - December 2016

Managers Thoughts

We may have done a clean sweep but it is very obvious watching and with some patchy form there is still a lot of improvement needed with this squad. The European Championships didn't help as that meant a months worth of fixtures had to be fitted in (though that was the same for everyone) but having 20 extra fixtures with the cups and Europe could have really messed up the season for us and we really do need to invest in the squad to maintain our challenge next season.

We've finally had the takeover at last and there has been some investment which is pleasing, it is a consortium so not sure how much they will put in over the years but it is certainly better than having a local businessman in charge.

At least you've stopped losing money, which should help the club take the next steps forward. Fingers crossed the new regime find some money under the sofa!

At least you've stopped losing money, which should help the club take the next steps forward. Fingers crossed the new regime find some money under the sofa!

We do lose money still but it is more manageable now, a lot of it is to down to me though as I've upgraded the junior coaching 3 times and it costs us £100k or so a month, thankfully the worst in the red we've been all year is £230k.

Reasonably happy with both the transfer dealings and the start, to the season. We are still lacking at right back and left winger short term but our central midfield and right wing were 2 areas we needed improving so thankfully we did that, Kosut was out for 9 months after barely playing a game which explains the amount of CM's we brought in but with a potentially big season again I decided to sign one extra to cover that. As it turned out we lost in the EA cup early on which was a blessing tbh but I wasn't to know that at the time given the record we've had in cups since I joined.

Yet again it is Lynch and Collins who are our outstanding performers, i've got a few more seasons of them both as it stands but with interest getting really high in both now (not that any actual bids have come in) it probably won't be long before they do want to leave so even though the youth coaching is costing us a lot we were getting decent prospects the previous 2 years with only one upgrade, now the coaching is excellent thanks to another 2 upgrades in the past year with any luck we'll get even better prospects come through.

July will see our European campaign start, I said last year that the Europa league is probably our best bet of progression in Europe and I probably stand by that still though one thing we do have in our favour is in the CL we will be playing against nations that aren't overly strong, the Europa is a bit of lottery as you are capable of getting sides from England, Spain, Germany ect; i'll be happy getting through the 2nd qualifying round and knocked out in the 3rd as that gives us a Europa tie too which will do wonders for our finances again.