The Immaculate Conception

Having lurked around in this section of the forum reading the great careers of others I have decided to give Gundo's challenge a go and see where I end up. Inspired by dafuge's FM12 save in N.Ireland I have decided to start there with a newly promoted team in the 2nd season with the ultimate aim of establishing domestic dominance and champions league success.

If I achieve that then I'll look to try to qualify for the World Cup with the Reggae Boys as my manager profile has a 2nd nationality of Jamaican. I have played ahead quite a few seasons (up to season 2023/2024) so there will be gaps with some of the screenshots but once I've caught up it should be done with full screenshots and updates (I wanted to ensure that there would be something to report before I started the thread).

After much reloading at the reset date I ended up with the team Immaculata F.C.

Nothing much to tell about the club really. Founded in 1944, this is the first time they have ventured into the top 3 divisions. They have no cup success and have only been eligible for the N.Irish cup since season 2011/2012.

They have had a bit of a meteoric rise in the non-playable divisions rising from level 6 to level 4 in the N.Irish pyramid in subsequent years. I chose them because they are from Belfast which means potentially they have access to the largest fanbase in N.Ireland and because after checking in the editor they have an expansion capacity for their stadium of 800 which means that hopefully I won't be hanging on forever to get a new stadium built once I've had a bit of success.

Club - Very small club which has massive potential for improvement

Facilities - The club rents the stadium and has no youth recruitment which can be a mixed blessing as it saves me a ton of money on ground maintenance and youth setup but means I won't be getting any good regens for quite some time

Squad - Not much of note here....maybe one or two can make the grade but there is going to be a lot of work needed to bring this squad up to scratch.

Finances - At least I'm in the black but it won't last

Game setup:

I have loaded only the N.Irish league system (as stipulated by the challenge) with a large database and all current international players. Started with no coaching qualifications and lowest reputation possible.

Tactics:

I have decided to go with a bog standard flat 4-4-2 to start (which I come to see doesn't really work for me which I'll highlight later). I like the shape and the defensive stability that it offers.

The idea was that I would have a flat back four with the full backs when appropriate offering width in the midfield. The left midfielder would be my passer for the wide positions with a box to box midfielder next to him making off the ball runs for him to pass to. I then would have my holding central midfielder hanging back and recycling possession with a view of allowing the winger to bomb forward without fear that he would not be covered.

On the right midfield I have a winger which I would hope would stretch the pitch and run into the space to put in crosses for either my Advanced Forward, Box to Box midfielder or Wide midfielder to attack. Failing that I would hope that my Deep Lying Forward would offer himself for simple passes dropping deep enough almost to behave like an attacking midfielder with him having acres of space to do so.

I've gone standard with everything in order to fine tune how it's working with the only exception being that my GK has been instructed to play less risky passes and distribute to the full backs as I can't stand to see my GK pumping it long to nobody and my Advanced Forward set to close down more as I want him to constantly harass the central defenders which should be the least competent and confident on the ball so that they just belt it clear giving us a better opportunity of regaining possession.

League Reputations:

I think I'll be monitoring this as I feel it can best give an indication of how I'm doing. If I become successful I hope to see these soar.

NIFL Championship 2 - 351st

NIFL Championship 1 - 242nd

Danske Bank Premiership - 78th

Club watch:

I'll be keeping an eye on Linfield and Cliftonville. If either of these clubs turn professional it's going to make life a lot harder for me to become dominant domestically. They are currently both semi-professional.

Season expectations:

For the first season I just want to establish myself and stay clear of the relegation battle which shouldn't be too hard as there is only one relegation spot.

Pre-Season expectations

Avoid relegation at an absolute minimum and hopefully build a squad capable of challenging near the top of the league in subsequent seasons.

The Season

Final League Table - A pretty interesting season overall, had a great start with 4 wins out of my first 5 games but then I had a terrible wobble with only 1 draw from the next 5 games as I tried to bed in all the new players and familiarize the tactic with my players. There was a slight improvement but inconsistency cost us greatly losing to the teams above us in the table. We had a great ending to the season though winning 3 and drawing 2 of the last 5 games.

Irish Cup - Not too bad for a first attempt, a bit disappointed to lose to a team who only narrowly avoided relegation from our league though

League Cup - Brought a good fight to the team from a division above us but ultimately couldn't better them

Steel & Sons Cup - Lost to a non-league team is all that has to be said really. Couldn't care less about this competition if I'm being honest

Intermediate Cup - Another meaningless cup adding fixtures which I could probably do without. Done a little better with this one.

Squad - Don't have a screenshot for this one as didn't take one at the time. I'll be a lot more detailed with my squad info when I've caught up

Transfers - As you can see basically a whole load of players came in with some unacceptably poor players leaving. Tried to go with the old but gold approach with a few talented youngsters

Finances - No screenshot but had already sunk into the negative, going forward it doesn't look good

Key players

Will have this for future seasons

League reputations

On the decline

Club watch

Both Linfield and Cliftonville still semi-pro so no worries there. Linfield won the title so another year of Champions League money for them and Clifonville finished 2nd.

Next Seasons Expectations

Have to be looking at the least making the Promotion Playoff. If I can be a little more consistent that should definitely be a realistic expectation.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][/table]

Pre-Season expectations

Try to at the minimum get into the promotion picture and start my ascent up the leagues

The Season

Final League Table - Can't say I was too thrilled by this performance in the league. So inconsistent throughout the whole season losing game after game. Newry City came up from non-league and blasted their way to promotion so it is definitely possible to be successful, it may just take another season and some new players to get there.

Irish Cup - What is it about Moyola Park that seems to get us losing to them again in a cup. Of all the cup competitions this one is my absolute priority as it holds a path to Europe. Must try to do better in this.

League Cup - No complaints from me about this one with us losing to a much better Coleraine side. The fact that we were able to match them and didn't get hammered gives me reasons to be optimistic

Steel & Sons Cup - Fun while it lasted I suppose. Didn't much like getting knocked out by a non-league team though.

Intermediate Cup - The most fruitful of the cups I was in and almost made the final but not really important and will put out a reserve side in this competition if other more important fixtures are around the ties.

Squad - Don't have a screenshot for this one as didn't take one at the time. I'll be a lot more detailed with my squad info when I've caught up

Transfers - My 2nd major overhaul of the squad in subsequent seasons. Not an awful lot to write home about except maybe that the squad I have assembled should be decent going forwards.

Finances - Not great and doesn't look like improving anytime soon with us slowly heading toward the abyss. No screenshot but at this point it was more than £100K in the red.

Key players

Will have this for future seasons

League reputations

On the decline if only slightly

Club watch

Well the challenge has just gotten much harder as Linfield have turned professional at the end of the season while retaining their title with a whopping 88 points with Cliftonville trailing them by 6 points. Thankfully Cliftonville didn't turn pro but a chasm seems to have opened between the top 2 and the rest with 3rd finishing on 57 points.

Next Seasons Expectations

We need promotion or we are just going to wilt and die. Our finances are dire and the board keeps cutting my wage budget so we need to get out of this league.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][/table]

Pre-Season expectations

This needs to be our year or we could really struggle to make any progress in this career

The Season

Final League Table - Yes, Yes and more Yes....At last we start to climb. P.S.N.I gave us a bit of scare but we persevered to get a much needed championship.

Irish Cup - Bleh....nothing of note here...moving on

League Cup - Happy with the fact that we managed to keep one of the better teams of the top flight honest with them only narrowly beating us in our over half filled tiny stadium

Steel & Sons Cup - Didn't have to face an away tie but in the end probably deserved to go no further

Intermediate Cup - In this one the exact inverse of the Steel & Sons Cup where we had to play all ties away. Didn't get as far as last season but won't be losing sleep

Squad - Don't have a screenshot for this one as didn't take one at the time. I'll be a lot more detailed with my squad info when I've caught up

Transfers - Still building and trying to get better players in

Finances - Now over £200K in the hole. This could get ugly.

Key players

Will have this for future seasons

League reputations

On the decline again

Club watch

Linfield won their 3rd consecutive title blitzing the rest of the league ending up with 90 points this time around. Suprisingly Cliftonville miss out on 2nd which was claimed comfortably by Portadown with Cliftonville in 3rd on 78 points. May need to start watching Portadown if this becomes a trend. A huge gap of 20 points between 3rd and 4th which is ominous and probably means that when we get to the top flight we are going to really struggle to qualify for Europe for a while.

Next Seasons Expectations

I just want to stay up next year and consolidate if possible. I wouldn't want all the good work done to be erased and also there are 2 potential slots for relegation next year so want to avoid that like the plague.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][/table]

Pre-Season expectations

Consolidation is the name of the game here. Stablize first then continue climbing.

The Season

Final League Table - More than happy with that finish. Looked good for large portions of the season and very nearly upset the order and finished in the promotion playoff places was unlucky to just miss out.

Irish Cup - Well that was a short adventure and to lose to Wakehurst of all teams, well disappointing doesn't even begin to describe it

League Cup - I'm beginning to despise Moyola Park

Steel & Sons Cup - Not a bad showing in this cup losing only narrowly in the Quarters

Intermediate Cup - Not the best to be losing to a local rival but gave some much needed game time for the reserves

Squad - Don't have a screenshot for this one as didn't take one at the time. I'll be a lot more detailed with my squad info when I've caught up

Transfers - The squad needed a bit of an overhaul to cope with the new level and the signings proved to be quite useful

Finances - Going down to nearly £300K in the hole now. This is really becoming quite worrying but on the plus side the chairman looks like he wants to leave so perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Key players

Will have this for future seasons

League reputations

Going down

Club watch

Linfield claim their 5th title in a row (if you count from the start of the game) equalling last seasons points total. Perhaps more concerning is the whopping great 20 point lead they finished the season with over 2nd place Clifonville. As a side note Newry City got promoted last year and have been rising like a shot but came back to ground with a thump this year being relegated from the top flight with 27 points from 38 games.

Next Seasons Expectations

I would like to put in a challenge for the title but with the way the finances are and the constant cutting of my wage budget that may prove a problem. I keep getting messages that the board would like to see funds raised from the sale of my players....yeah right...like anybody is going to give money for my players . If I can have another season of consolidation I'd be happy with a serious title challenge being made the season after next.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][/table]

Pre-Season expectations

If we can run then we'll run. If we can't then we'll just have to walk. I don't mind another season of consolidation but if we could get into the promotion picture that would be great.

The Season

Final League Table - Great stuff here. Managed to scrape through into 3rd place and claim a spot in the promotion playoff, it was really touch and go throughout the season though. I think had we had a better start we probably would have gone up automatically. It was a bit of a sandwich really, terribly inconsistent early on, then a great mid season then a return to inconsistency for the later part of the season.

Promotion Playoff Semi-Final - This tie was an absolutely gut wrenching affair. As I knew we had already finished in 3rd before the last matchday I decided to rest my first team squad for that matchday knowing the playoff would follow 3 days later and that Warrenpoint Town would still be feeling the ill effects of having played at the weekend. And that's exactly how it came to pass, on the matchday a lot of their players they had were tired so I thought if I could win convincingly at their ground then I could rest players for the home leg and be better prepared for Glenavon (one of the most difficult teams we could have hoped for) in the final. We won but only narrowly 3-2 which made me have to rethink resting players.

Second leg starts at home they go up in the 17th minute, I have to respond and we draw level in the 19th. They then retake the lead in the 24th minute...at this point I think my players are going to bottle it and the 1st half ends 1-2. The second half starts...we need a goal so I attack but it proves fruitless as they look to be holding. Knowing the situation is desperate and the game is approaching 70 minutes I then change my approach and become more defensive. It works we score in the 75th and 79th minute to take a 3-2 lead in the tie and be 6-4 up overall on aggregate. I start getting complacent thinking the tie is over...wrong...they score in the 82nd...making it 6-5 on aggregate. I then just say DEFEND for your lives...we hold out but those last 8 or so minutes were extremely tense with them really making us sweat. To the final we go.

Promotion Playoff Final - This was suprisingly a far less tense tie with us holding them in the first leg at home 1-1. Away goals count so I know we need to score at least once to bring us back into the tie. We score on the 45th minute to go up 2-1 overall and I think we've done it...only for an insta-highlight for them to come up which they score from. The half time whistle blows...that's when I have the brainwave...I know we only need a goal and the game is essentially over, with that in mind I change my wide players to wingers and change my front 2 to a poacher and an advanced forward...I need players in the box and the deep lying forward isn't cutting it and I want to play on the counter and exploit the wings as I know they are going to throw everything they have at me. It works and we score in the 65th minute. They have no answer and we see it out to gain promotion to the top flight . Although it was during this game that I realised that the Deep Lying Forward role wasn't going to work for me going forward.

Irish Cup - This was a total embarrassment. They just parked the bus and didn't even try to attack us. We just couldn't break them down and they aptly delivered a nasty sucker punch to put us out.

League Cup - Not too bad at all. Coleraine were just too strong though

Steel & Sons Cup - Made it to the quarter finals but I hope this is the last time in which my 1st team enters the competition. If I'm ever to win it, it's going to be my reserves that do it.

Intermediate Cup - Same as the Steel & Sons Cup. Made it to the quarter finals but won't be winning it with my first team.

Squad - Don't have a screenshot for this one as didn't take one at the time. I'll be a lot more detailed with my squad info when I've caught up

Transfers - Once again a few transfers. You will notice that I have yet again raided a couple of Brantwood players, for some reason they seem to have some really good players even though they are non-league.

Finances - For once not a tale of woe. We got taken over in March by what I consider to be the best type of takeover and that is from a consortium who constantly pump money in to keep you in the black. A tycoon wouldn't be welcome as that would make the game too easy. They did take out a loan to cover the debt which had spiralled to over £500K but they have basically rescued us from oblivion. Onwards and upwards...hopefully I can reward their faith in me .

Key players

Will have this for future seasons

League reputations

Going down (will be better shortly)...I may add club reputation also..

Club watch

Linfield win their 6th title in a row showing that they are well and truly top dogs in N.Ireland. It's going to be really hard to topple them. They finished on a whopping 95 points again 20 points clear of 2nd placed Cliftonville. Unfortunately for us all the N.Irish teams are as useful in Europe as a chocolate teapot meaning the rankings are just sinking like a stone.

Next Seasons Expectations

Stay up. That's all I care about at this point with maybe a good cup run to boot would be nice. I definitely think we are better than the bottom feeders of the top flight...but how much better?

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][/table]

Tactics:

As I alluded to earlier the 4-4-2 which I was playing wasn't working as I anticipated. It was constantly struggling to create many chances and the ratings of the deep lying forward tended to be poor.

The reasons for this I think are as follows:

1) The Deep Lying Forward wasn't dropping deep and was often inline with the Advanced Forward. In addition I feel it would be very difficult for me at this level of football to find really good creative strikers. I won't abandon the idea of a 4-4-2 completely but I probably need to wait until we are professional and we have enough reputation to attract the type of striker we need. We'd probably play a complete forward on support once we get to this point.

2) The link up play between the midfielders was too inconsistent. At times you would see some beautiful Barcelona style Tika-Taka leading to a goal then there would be games where we couldn't string two passes together. I think this is probably a result of playing an off the ball runner in the centre midfield alongside a holding player leaving at times huge gaps between them making ball retention nigh on impossible. I thought the use of the wide midfielder would help negate this but it didn't. I feel I would either need to play two roaming central midfielders with disciplined wide players flanking them or 2 disciplined central midfielders flanked by wingers which in itself can be problematic.

Taking this into consideration I have now adopted a 4-4-1-1 and changed some of the roles.

Even though it's basic it feels a lot more stable and is much better at ball retention and chance creation and some of the interplay that I have seen between the front 2 has been a joy to behold. I opted for the generic roles rather than any specialist ones as I wanted to remain unpredictable and difficult for opposition teams to figure out (I also don't think we have the players for now to pull off any of the specialist roles for a 4-4-2).

I've also removed the close down more instruction from the Advanced Forward as I don't feel he needs it and trimmed it down to bare bones. I like my teams to play creative passing football with the freedom given to them to express themselves with their individual interpretation of the roles they are playing. I feel the shape and the roles helps to achieve this, less is more and it seems to be working out just fine right now.

As before the full backs will step up to support the midfield with the attacking wide midfielders given license to either drive to the wings or cut inside making them much more difficult to mark as the opposition full backs have no idea what they are going to do. The central midfielders form a staggered triangle between them making for constant passing options in a dangerous area of the pitch especially when coming up against a 2 man central midfield. The Advanced Forward runs the channels and creates space for the onrushing attacking midfielder which in turn attracts the defenders to him disrupting the defence and making space for the Advanced Forward to receive the killer pass.

I've avoided the use of any playmakers as I want my team to win as a team rather than depend on a special player to see them through each match which brings in potential issues such as if he is being marked out of the game or having a bad day. I don't want to take that risk and have a conductor for my orchestra, I'd rather have a improvisational jazz type rhythm to my play meaning that anyone can be the creator. I have also opted to have no team instructions to bias my play in any way. It will be interesting to see how this develops with time and I'm sure the tactic will evolve as the quality of the team evolves, as of now though it's 4-4-1-1 for me.

Pre-Season expectations

Stay clear of the relegation dogfight and consolidate in the league. Preseason media prediction of 12th and board expectation of avoid automatic relegation not exactly inspiring confidence but I feel we can pull it off.

The Season

Final League Table - This was an almighty struggle to be honest. We started well enough with a win and draw in our first two games but boy aren't I thankful for P.S.N.I. as that proved to be a false dawn. We then lost the next 8 games in a row even succumbing to P.S.N.I. I thought that we could never recover from that but I wasn't overly dismayed as the manner of our defeats wasn't bad. We lost 5 of those 8 by the odd goal so I remained optimistic that with a bit of luck we might start picking up some points. We then won the next two which repaired some of the terrible morale. By the time the split came after 33 games it looked as if we might just finish in 10th and stay out of the relegation picture altogether. Unfortunately then came another damaging morale sapping sequence of 4 losses out of the final five games. Thankfully we won the last game giving a slight boost to morale going into the relegation playoff. I think there are turning points in a career and this proved to be one of them as it set us up with a two legged tie against Loughgall, I think had it been a more difficult team (such as Glenavon) the morale would have meant we probably would have gone down.

Relegation Playoff - This actually proved to be a quite straightforward tie. We battered them 3-0 at their ground in the 1st leg taking all the pressure off the 2nd leg which we drew 2-2 retaining our place in the top flight for another season.

Irish Cup - As our league status was in serious doubt I didn't pay as much attention to this as I should have although I was pleased that we only lost 1-0 to Linfield in the end

League Cup - Losing to Carrick early season was unpleasant but we had bigger fish to fry

Co. Antrim Shield - Losing to Glentoran on penalties was a bit of a kick in the teeth but was pleased to see the sell out home attendance and having taking them to the wire

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - Our reserves didn't really make much of an impact here but it doesn't really matter. I don't understand why I'm not in the Reserve league though.

Squad - Don't have a screenshot for this one as didn't take one at the time. I'll be a lot more detailed with my squad info when I've caught up

Transfers - Needed desperately to strengthen the squad with the majority of my players considered only good enough for the level below. I raided Knockbreda as they had a few good players but could only really sign players trying to make a name for themselves rather than the finished article so opted for a lot of youngsters which I hope will come good in time.

Finances - This doesn't appear to be an issue anymore as they keep pumping money in. I really hope the board stick around for some time as without them we would be completely....(I'll leave the blank to your imagination). We are certainly not self sustaining with our paltry revenue streams so this is essential.

Key players

Will have this for future seasons

League reputations

Going down again

Club reputation

On the rise...still only regional though...0.5*

Average attendances

159...Which is great when your stadium only holds 300...we have exactly what we need at the moment

Facilities watch

Decided to be bold and ask the board for a youth system which they thankfully agreed to. I now instead of having no youth recruitment and junior coaching have the lowest level of both. Which meant regen day ...Unfortunately and I don't know what they did but the quality of player in that intake was so appalling that it's not even worth noting it down. They must have just gone to a school and asked a bunch of lads "Do you like football?" to which they replied "Yes" and offered them a trial without any regard to whether they could kick a ball or not....Utterly useless...I fear it's going to be a looooong time before anyone decent shows up .

Club watch

Linfield are just invincible right now winning yet another title. The goal difference they ended the season with is terrifying with the closest challenge coming from the Crusaders with Cliftonville finishing a disappointing 4th.

Next Seasons Expectations

I would like to at the least push on and secure our place in the league a lot earlier. I'm glad to stay up but the team needs a lot of work if we are to even qualify for Europe.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][/table]

Pre-Season expectations

Consolidate but ensure our place in the league is guaranteed a lot earlier. I really wouldn't want to go through the dreaded relegation playoff again. According to the media prediction they have me down as finishing in 10th. I'd like to do quite a bit better than that to be honest as that would be quite a poor season and not much of an improvement. I see that we are better than last year so that prediction should be blown out of the water.

The Season

Final League Table - Chuffed with that finish. Top half while never really threatening to gain a European place. We started the season poorly losing our first 3 and then drawing the next 2. With 2 points after 5 games I was beginning to despair that I was going to be in for another relegation scrap but I needn't have worried as we picked up and made the top 6. We had a terrible time against Cliftonville losing all 4 times we played them but I was encouraged by the fact we beat Linfield 1-0 away and battered them 4-0 at home. I think we probably would have challenged for a European place had we not dropped so many points against the likes of Dungannon and Glentoran who we drew 3 times against. Overall though I'm pleased with the progress made this season.

Irish Cup - This wasn't a very good year for us in the cup with us being knocked out by Crusaders in the 6th round. I think we are going to need the luck of the draw if we are to fight for the cup as I feel that on our day we could get the better of some of the best teams in N. Ireland but it's still rather inconsistent. Our time will come in this tournament but not yet.

League Cup - This is what I mean by the luck of the draw summed up. We only had to face one top flight side in Crusaders and the rest were from the leagues below. Some might say that cheapens the achievement as I didn't have to beat any hard teams to win the title. They may have a point but at the end of the day it's not my fault that they were knocked out before the later stages and I can only play the teams who I get drawn against. This was a nice surprise for me and gives the club it's first cup of what I hope is many.

Co. Antrim Shield - I took this tournament rather seriously so it was a shame to be knocked out by Crusaders again and not play Linfield in the final but it's the furthest we have been yet so I'm pleased. I think this cup will probably be a good indicator of the type of season we are likely to have as it comes early and pits us against the best in league, if we could win it I think that would be a great omen for the rest of the season...maybe next year.

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - My reserves practically did the same as last year although I was pleased they beat Bangor. Still no reserve league but have seen in the next season that the fixtures have been scheduled so I'm not quite sure why they weren't scheduled when we got promoted to the top flight. I didn't decline the invitation...there was none.

Squad - I think the squad is the best we have had but one aspect of it troubles me greatly and when strengthening I will be concentrating my efforts on getting rid of that weakness. For some reason and I'm not entirely sure why there appears to be a real lack of talent down the left flank. I have found it nigh on impossible to recruit either a LB or LM who is decent enough to match the level of my team. As I can only scout N.Ireland this is a great source of frustration but I'm hoping that I might be able to steal a couple of good players whose contracts expire at the end of the year. Redman the Portadown legend would be an idea even though he is 33 as he could fill the gap as my main LB while my 20 year old backup Tim Young develops. I also have my eye on the Crusaders left winger Andy Campbell whose average rating last year was 7.13 and 7.12 the year before that playing 71 games in that period. If I could pull it off I would not only be getting a very talented 19 year old but severely weakening one of my main rivals.

Transfers - I needed to strengthen from last year and I duly did picking up some great young players who my coaches think could be top players in the division. I'm especially pleased with my acquisition of Stuart Barr who I plucked from Limavady United.

Finances - This really isn't an issue anymore as the board regularly pump in money to keep us ticking over. I'm glad for the fact that under owner status it has "Ian Hunter is enjoying times at the club and intends on being around for a long time". I feel it's during these times of plenty that I need to accelerate my building of the club for the eventual time when he leaves and we aren't self sustaining. The only way to do this is Europe...plain and simple.

Key players

The Top 2

Liam Nolan - Has been an absolute rock in the centre of the pitch and has made the CM(D) role in the tactic his own often putting in sound performances. I consider him among the 2 most important players in my squad because he is pivot between the defence and midfield that makes everything possible. He's a great tackler who's positioning is very sound and he isn't wasteful with the ball, I couldn't ask for much more than that.

Stuart Barr - I think I robbed Limavady when I grabbed this striker from their team. Whilst he isn't the top scorer in the team his goal per game ratio is excellent and he's only 22 years old so has room for improvement although to be fair his attributes are quite good as it is. He may just become my main striker next year as any time I called on him he delivered.

The Bottom 2

Tim Young - This is what happens when you are forced to play someone who at best is a backup player as a first team player because you can't get anyone better. He really was a poor performer and as soon as I can get someone better in he will be relegated to the bench and hopefully over time relegated out of the squad completely.

Jamie Todd - This may appear to be quite a shock when you look at his attributes but that's exactly why it makes the most sense. According to the scout reports he is supposedly as good at 18 years old as my first team AMC Conall Burns who is 22 years old. My problem is that he is so inconsistent and isn't really pressuring Conall Burns for his spot. I expect much more from him in the coming year although Linfield appear to be interested in acquiring his services.

Two to watch

Dean Braniff - A born leader at the centre of our defense. Over time I think I can develop him into being one of the very best central defenders in the country. Being only 19 years old and with defenders peaking later he has time on his side and with the right support can become something special.

Colin Parkes - This guy I think over the next few years will become the replacement for Liam Nolan and eventually surpass him. He is a great passer of the ball, if I can work on his tackling to go with his dives into tackles PPM I think I can mould him into a very good player indeed.

Youth team

How's the youth team you ask....well not good...not good at all...Youth Squad

They got knocked out of the 1st round of the U18 Cup but didn't embarass themselves and finished 12th/16th in the league.

League reputations

Danske Bank Premier 92nd

NIFL Championship 1 261st

NIFL Championship 2 387th

Club reputation

National 0.5 stars - This is good and I think that the League Cup victory may have helped this. On a European scale we don't even register.

Average attendances

175 up 16 from last year

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities

As you can see nothing has changed but I'm pestering the board for improvements to junior coaching...hasn't worked so far.

Club watch

Linfield are just in a world of their own. I thought Cliftonville would have been their main challenger initially but that mantle seems to be have been taken by Crusaders with Portadown just behind them. I sense weakness though and will take them down one by one with Linfield probably taking the longest.

Next Seasons Expectations

Try my very hardest to finish in a European qualification place. Whether that is by winning the Irish Cup or getting it through the league I don't care. I sense that Cliftonville are on the wane and I might be able to finish in 4th which might give us a place.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table]

Great carrer, I enjoy this kind of LLM.

One question, how do you find good possible signings while in the NIFL C2 or C1? Most of the players the scout find are worse than mine, and searching is not really helping. I end up just keeping my squad or using youth.

Great carrer, I enjoy this kind of LLM.

One question, how do you find good possible signings while in the NIFL C2 or C1? Most of the players the scout find are worse than mine, and searching is not really helping. I end up just keeping my squad or using youth.

Thanks for the response.

As for your question I can only say what I did to find players.

As I had no junior coaching or youth squad initially I couldn't depend on that for players so I had to ensure that I had the best possible scouts I could get which unfortunately are pretty abysmal at that level but that's not that important as I used my own personal judgement to determine whether or not the player is what I want when they come in on trial.

To find players I hired three scouts (1 chief and 2 standard) and made sure that I set the assignments for the scouts. I then set my chief scout (my best scout) to do the next opposition reports, one of the scouts I had scouting for hot prospects and the other first team players both on an ongoing basis. Ensure that you set £200M as the maximum fee as it starts automatic which usually means £0 transfer budget at this level meaning you may miss a few players.

Once I set that up then in the player search I select a position I'm looking for then scout all the players in the list offering trials to those I think can make the grade. The scouts at this point are just there to filter the worst players out so that you can offer trials to the rest. It's important for you to trial them for 4 weeks in order to get a feel for the attributes and the type of player they are. I've had players which my scout think are rubbish but once they arrive on trial they are 4* current ability players.

I also tend to look at non-league sides squads to see if they have any gems (which some of them do). You could also look at the reserve squads and youth squads of teams in the top flight to see if there are any players there.

Pre-Season expectations

Compete for European qualification either through the league or the Irish Cup.

The Season

Final League Table - Europe here we come!!! It was a bit of a strange season to be honest. At one point it looked like we might put in a title challenge then we just faded away hovering between 4th and 5th place. Thankfully we finished in 4th which meant that because of the Irish Cup final between Crusaders and Linfield we were granted a berth into the Europa League 1st qualifying round. It came as a great shock to see Linfield bested by Crusaders especially when they started the season with an 8-0 victory but gives reasons to be optimistic as Crusaders are still a semi-pro side. If they can do it...why can't we?

Irish Cup - The manner of this defeat to a NIFL C1 side had me absolutely fuming with my side. It wasn't for the fact they had 5 shots and we had 21 shots. It wasn't even for the fact that one of my former players scored the winner from a corner. What had me raging was that they matched us and made us look distinctly average. I really tried in this competition as I wanted to have the security of getting Europe even if we failed in the league but we fell at the first hurdle. Our luck must change at some point in this cup.

League Cup - This was a very respectable attempt to retain the only cup we've won in our history and while I'm disappointed not to have reached the final, I understand why we lost to Linfield.

Co. Antrim Shield - Cliftonville were the better team on the day and deserved their victory.

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - All I can say is well done to the reserves for bringing home the second cup in our history with the Steel & Sons Cup. They also won the Reserves league at the first time of asking which was pretty good. The Intermediate Cup wasn't as impressive.

Squad - The squad is stronger but the left back position is still proving to be a tricky problem to solve. Ross Redman is declining rapidly and my backup Tim Young isn't improving. This is going to be my Achilles heel unless I can spot some talented regen somewhere who could step up to the plate. Elsewhere I'm happy and will make only minor changes, I'm thinking to maybe axe my right back Jake Richardson and replace him with the talented Sean Neill from Portadown but that is very much dependent on whether he signs a new contract with them or not.

Transfers - Got rid of a lot of deadwood that was either not good enough or simply not playing enough and starting to create disharmony. Of my transfers in, I would say Redman is beginning to look knackered and will probably leave, T. Todd proved a decent backup GK, Brennan was a good choice as my new 1st team GK, Mallon and Campbell looked decent on the wings and Glendinning proved to be a useful utility player for the full back positions.

Finances - Not much to see here really. I've given up pestering them for stuff as until I get a decent balance there isn't much point. At the least if we can make a couple of rounds in Europe this should give the finances a boost, at that point I may ask for improved junior coaching.

Key players

The Top 2

Jamie Todd - After being in last seasons Bottom 2 this was his final chance to show me he had what it takes to own the AMC slot in my team. He had a brilliant season finishing with average rating of 7.72 and winning the Young player of the year. He gained 11 Player of the matches and had an impressive 79% pass completion which is great for an AMC. Linfield are still interested but unless they offer a bucket load of money he's going absolutely nowhere. If we challenge for the title next year he could be the difference so I'm not selling to a rival.

Tim Thompson - He has flown a bit under the radar in previous seasons but he certainly came to prominence this year gaining an impressive 7.84 average rating and chipping in with 14 goals in 21 appearances which is good for a wide midfielder. At 24 years old he's probably not going to develop much further but that 15 for acceleration he has is certainly giving him an edge.

The Bottom 2

Ryan McDowell - I'm not sure what to make of this guy. If you look at his average rating of 7.06 you may think that he actually had a good season but I'm not so sure. His job was to deputize for Dean Braniff who by far is my best central defender so when he got injured for 2 months (while on international duty - how annoying can you get!!) I thought that it would be the perfect time for him to step up to the plate and show me that he could challenge for his spot. Unfortunately his introduction to the team led to a precipitous drop off in form which led me to think that he played a major role in what led to the downfall. I like some of his strong attributes but I'm a bit on the fence as to whether he has a future here.

Ross Redman - I thought that maybe he could be a stopgap fix to the left back issue and that I could perhaps get a couple of seasons out of him but I don't think that's going to happen. He had a pretty bad season and is just declining, what makes it worse is that his mental attributes aren't that exceptional and my coaches seem to think that he is now only decent for the top flight. It's only going to get worse from here so I think as soon as his contract is up at the end of the season he will be leaving.

Two to watch

Aaron Allen - He had a stellar year getting a very nice 7.26 average rating. I feel that he has developed quite well and I'm liking all the green (10-15) I'm seeing on his attributes. While he isn't my best central midfielder he is certainly upsetting the order and it's proving to be quite hard to ignore how well he has been playing when given the opportunity. I think the coming year will be make or break for him as to whether he can establish himself as a 1st team player.

James Mallon - He has been improving quite well and is certainly staking a claim for the RM position. If he can continue his progression he could very well challenge the experienced Winchester and George for their places in the first team.

Youth Intake & Squad

Here you can see the youth intake

Well...certainly won't be finding the next George Best among that motley crew. I understand that my junior coaching is terrible but the quality of these regens is becoming a joke. They don't even look good enough to be prospects for non-league never mind the premier league. More worrying is that my best player in the U18s has current ability of 2.5* (silver), they are never going to make it. Well at least I don't have to pay all their wages as I get a youth grant.

On a more positive note, they made the Quarter Finals of the U18s Cup losing narrowly to Carrick's youth team and improved one place in their group to finish in 11th place.

League reputations

Here is how the league reputation developed. As you can see we are just falling...hopefully now I'm in Europe I can help this.

Club reputation

National 1 star - Up half a star which is good. Hopefully once we have finished our first season in Europe I can add that to the reputation list also.

Average attendances

164 down 11 from last year...Bit puzzled with this one

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities

No changes but will be making requests provided we get a decent balance of around say £200K which might be achievable after our European adventure. I'm hoping we play all our games at Windsor Park as our stadium isn't really suitable to host any European matches and the revenue would be quite paltry.

Club watch

Crusaders taking the title came as a great shock with Linfield left floundering. The bigger shock came at the bottom end of the table though with Glentoran getting relegated. Not great times here in N. Ireland and looks like we will be losing the Big 2 derby which can only hurt the league in the long run. Hopefully their absence isn't for too long. On the plus side Glenavon are coming back into the top flight, while Newry City get relegated again into NIFL C2.

Next Seasons Expectations

It may be ambitious and maybe a bit foolhardy but I want to at least be challenging for the title next year. The sooner we can get into the Champions League the better. I'd settle for another season in the Europa League and would like to do better in the Irish Cup which has been a source of great disappointment up to this point. If we can break into the top 3 that would be good progress. I await the media prediction for the coming season as this past year they thought we'd finish 5th and we surpassed that so who knows.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][/table]

Making good progress.

Making good progress.

Thanks . Things appear to be progressing quite well and I'm hoping slow and steady is the way forward. I hope to turn pro within the next 5 years...if we can do that then we can really put our foot down and start to motor.

One thing I have come to see is that in N. Ireland squad depth is king. If I were to go all the way just for the domestic fixtures alone I'm looking at 38 fixtures for the league + 5 for the Irish Cup (+ replays) + 5 for the League Cup + 4 for the Co. Antrim Shield so that gives a minimum of 52 fixtures per year without even taking into consideration Europe where we are starting at the first possible round. If we were to go all the way in the Europa League that's another 8 for the qualifying + 6 for the group + 9 for the knockout stages giving an additional 23 games. So if we become really successful we are looking at 75 fixtures in one season....yikes!

I had a read of your career. Shame about your time in Singapore as it seemed pretty relentless but hopefully things will pick up now that you've moved to Hong Kong. Will be monitoring.

Thanks for the response.

As for your question I can only say what I did to find players.

As I had no junior coaching or youth squad initially I couldn't depend on that for players so I had to ensure that I had the best possible scouts I could get which unfortunately are pretty abysmal at that level but that's not that important as I used my own personal judgement to determine whether or not the player is what I want when they come in on trial.

To find players I hired three scouts (1 chief and 2 standard) and made sure that I set the assignments for the scouts. I then set my chief scout (my best scout) to do the next opposition reports, one of the scouts I had scouting for hot prospects and the other first team players both on an ongoing basis. Ensure that you set £200M as the maximum fee as it starts automatic which usually means £0 transfer budget at this level meaning you may miss a few players.

Once I set that up then in the player search I select a position I'm looking for then scout all the players in the list offering trials to those I think can make the grade. The scouts at this point are just there to filter the worst players out so that you can offer trials to the rest. It's important for you to trial them for 4 weeks in order to get a feel for the attributes and the type of player they are. I've had players which my scout think are rubbish but once they arrive on trial they are 4* current ability players.

I also tend to look at non-league sides squads to see if they have any gems (which some of them do). You could also look at the reserve squads and youth squads of teams in the top flight to see if there are any players there.

Seems like a solid strategy, probably going to try it. Thanks!

Now things get more interesting with the qualification for the Europa League. Given enough luck you could win the money to reach a new level.

Seems like a solid strategy, probably going to try it. Thanks!

Now things get more interesting with the qualification for the Europa League. Given enough luck you could win the money to reach a new level.

The money came in handy from my run in the Europa League and I was able to upgrade my junior coaching, couldn't really afford anything else.

I think I'm looking at the Champions League if I'm going to step up to the next level though because getting through to the Europa League group stage is practically impossible when starting in the 1st qualifying round as all teams in N.Ireland do at the moment.

All I have to do in the Champions League qualifiers is win a couple of rounds and I'm in the Europa League group stage at the least. The quality of team I have to face is also much harder in the Europa League qualifiers, I'll persevere though and see how far into the qualifiers I can go.

Immaculate progress.

Pre-Season expectations

The media think we'll finish 5th but I think we are a lot better than that. Qualifying again for Europe I would consider to be a minimum and if we could challenge for the title that would be seen as good progress. Linfield surely can't be as bad as last year, can they?

The Season

Final League Table - What happens when you wake a hibernating bear? They maul you!!...Well that's the story of Linfield this season where they showed just how unhappy they were to miss out on the title last year by destroying the record points total and scoring 100 goals with an outstanding season. It was a funny thing because up until about November we were matching them blow for blow. They were winning but so were we and quite rightly were snapping at their heels but then we suffered a month long injury to Jamie Todd my star AMC and we started dropping points while they just kept destroying all before them and before I knew it a 3 point lead had become a 7 point one and then a 14 point one and by the time we were singing Auld Lang Syne it was over. I'm not disappointed though as it's our best finish yet and we are getting stronger. I think we are the best of the rest...now begins the challenge to become the best of the best in N.Ireland...we're coming for you Linfield.

UEFA Europa League - A reasonable if not spectacular debut season in Europe. I thought after the 3-2 defeat against Litex that the 2 away goals might just give us a chance of going through and when we took the lead at home to them I started to dream of the next round and the potential glamour tie with Everton but my dreams were shattered as they roared back to beat us 3-1. It's going to be hard going getting success in the Europa League but hey a couple of decent draws here and there and you never know.

Irish Cup - I'm pleased to have made the Quarter Finals but there was no way I was going to beat Linfield to progress further. By this point of the season they were almost on automatic win mode so I was happy just to keep the scoreline respectable...there's always next year.

League Cup - If we have genuine ambitions of doing well in this cup then in future we might want to avoid giving the opposition a 3-0 lead within the first 21 minutes, that always helps.

Co. Antrim Shield - I said this cup would prove to be a good indicator of how the season might unfold...well it certainly proved that this season. I was content to lose narrowly but I think that it could be the start of a trend for the next few seasons with us getting knocked out of everything by Linfield...I hope not but only time will tell.

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - No repeat of last years cup heroics for my Reserves but they are quite a bit weaker than they were last season. They also finished 4th in the Reserve league

Squad - I finally cracked it and solved my LB issue with the acquisition of former Linfield player Conor Egan. I had to make him my highest paid player with some outrageous clauses (30% yearly wage increase) but I got him. I think if you can turn your weaknesses into strengths then success is sure to follow. Getting a bit concerned on the flanks though because even though Paul George on the right has been one of the players of the season for me he is only ranked now at 2* ability and considered only good for the top flight. The wings have also become quite aged and I may need to invest in some young talented players to freshen up the flanks.

Transfers - Not much activity but what I needed I got. Conor Egan was a gem and Sean Neill offered a much needed addition for the right back position. William Miller was a youngster who by his attributes was the best I could get for a 16 year old but on arrival found out he was nowhere near good enough. To be fair to him he has improved quite a bit but he still won't get anywhere near the 1st team.

Finances - Not the best and is also why I couldn't ask for anything more than an increase to junior coaching there just wouldn't have been the money for it come the end of the season when the facilities are actually built and the money comes out. I also think that due to my outstanding loan that they wouldn't borrow to upgrade my facilities either.

Key players

The Top 2

Jamie Todd - My best player by a mile this year whose presence was sorely missed when he got injured. He is still developing nicely and if I can improve his long shots to work with his PPM then I would have a very talented youngster on my books. I am a little surprised that he hasn't been given much of an opportunity to show his ability for the N.Irish national team or U21s but I'm sure he won't have too much longer to wait to be recognized.

Paul George - I have to say I didn't think he would be capable of performing like he did all season but he was brilliant. I think he may have entered the Indian summer of his career being 31 and need replacing sooner rather than later but for as long as he keeps putting in the sort of performances that led him to assisting 19 times and scoring 11 he will have a place in the team.

The Bottom 2

Dean Braniff - This may come as a shock to some but I feel entirely justified. I named him captain this year because he has exceptional leadership and plays at the heart of the defence which I think is where you need to have your strongest characters. On naming him captain the rest of the squad reacted positively and were all glad he was given the position but he thought that he was too young and reacted negatively and it really showed ending the season with a low 6.93 average rating. I hope that it's a blip and doesn't hurt his development but if he doesn't think he's good enough to be captain then maybe I've misjudged him and he won't develop into the player I thought he could be.

Daniel Hughes - A pretty mediocre season from the right back and when called upon never failed to disappoint. Just isn't really cut out to help us on our journey and may find himself leaving soon.

Two to watch

Conor Egan - While I didn't really see the best of him this year as he signed in January so he didn't get much time to gel into the side I think he is a very capable left back. I'm expecting to see him perform in the coming season to justify his status as the highest earner in the team.

Peter Carson - A very dependable striker who finished top scorer. If you look at my other strikers Peter Barr and Mark Smith you could make the argument that they have better attributes and are the better strikers but this hasn't proved to be the case and Peter Carson has comfortably kept them out of the team. If he carries on as he has been then he could very well have a very special year next season.

Youth Intake & Squad

Here you can see the youth intake

I don't really think much can be said at this point but at least I had one with potential ability 1*....

The youth team finished 11th in their league and were knocked out in the 1st round of the U18s Cup by Glentoran on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

League reputations

Here is how the league reputation developed. I'm glad for the upward movement and hope to continue the trend.

Club reputation

National 1 star - Not much movement but I am a little surprised to see Linfield not considered top dogs after the belting season they had with Crusaders remaining top with a 0.5* advantage.

Here is where we rank overall in Europe - Yeah won't be getting out the fireworks for just sneaking into the top 500. I can see it now...going to a German and asking them what they know about us and them responding "Immacu whata?"

Average attendances

The average league attendance was 169 which will be what I'm using from now on having qualified for Europe as that distorts the average attendance figure listed in the history section.

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities

Well we have basic junior coaching now rather than minimal junior coaching other than that nothing changed. Hopefully I can upgrade that again with a bit of progress in the Europa League.

Club watch

Linfield rocked, Glentoran flopped and Cliftonville & Crusaders dropped behind us who I hope are heading for the top.

Next Seasons Expectations

I'll try for the title but I don't think it's really in our hands. If Linfield perform as they did this season we are going to really struggle to catch them. A repeat of this year with perhaps some further progress in Europe and in the domestic cups would be very welcome.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][/table]

Immaculate progress.

Cheers Nobby

Knocking Linfield off their perch will be a big challenge, but far from impossible. Of course the better you can do in Europe and improve your finances that way, the bigger are your chances of challenging for the title. Great work so far!

Knocking Linfield off their perch will be a big challenge, but far from impossible. Of course the better you can do in Europe and improve your finances that way, the bigger are your chances of challenging for the title. Great work so far!

Thanks dllu, actually wrestling the title from Linfield didn't prove to be as big a challenge as I first thought. The reason being that (owing to a bit of an epic fail from me by not noticing) they reverted back to semi-professional status at the end of the 2023/2024 season. They probably performed so brilliantly in the 2024/2025 season as they still had some players on professional deals that hadn't expired but in the season I'm going to post about they were much much weaker and we benefited from that weakness greatly

Pre-Season expectations

Media still thinks we'll finish 5th but I had much higher goals in mind and thought that a title challenge would be seen as the absolute minimum that would be acceptable. I actually went into the season with a bit of foreboding as I contemplated exactly how I was going to overturn a resurgent and overpowering Linfield. I needn't have been concerned though as without my knowledge they were already in decline. Could we take advantage?

The Season

Final League Table - Wooo....and hoooooo.....What can't speak can't lie and this was very much deserved. It's been a struggle but finally after nearly a decade of play we can say we are the best team in N. Ireland which gives me great satisfaction. I think perhaps the 8 point lead which we had over 2nd placed Crusaders flatters us somewhat as it really was a battle with us only gaining control of the title race at the start of the championship split on the 33rd matchday.

We started the season with a rather underwhelming loss 2-0 away to Crusaders which had me thinking that perhaps we weren't as good as I thought we were losing to what turned out to be out main competitor for the title. This prompted me to invest in the transfer market which helped us greatly. We then went on an unbeaten run and by the 11th matchday were top. Then we had another wobble and November turned into a nightmare for us with us gaining only 6 points out of a possible 12 which handed the momentum in the title race to Crusaders and Linfield. At that point I was dreading the idea that it may just be a repeat of last year with us starting well then throwing in the towel before the fight had even begun but this season was different.

This season we were resolute and determined to grind out results which we did in spades. In fact at one point you could have taken the "Boring, Boring, Arsenal" slur and applied it to us. We were boring but we were efficient and won 11 of our games 1-0 and kept 23 clean sheets through the season. By the time of the split and with our destiny in our own hands I beat Dungannon and Glenavon to set up a showdown with Crusaders away for the title with us 3 points clear with only a marginal edge on goal difference. If we win we can print the name on the trophy, if we draw then we retain control but need to at least win one of the final 2 games against Cliftonville or Linfield, if we lose we go into a dead heat. What ensued in that game was one of the most dramatic and entertaining games of football in the career so far.

We started the game well and took the lead from a great counter attack after 3 minutes with a goal from Lee Uprichard, great start, I'm thinking the title is coming home. Then they equalize on the 37th minute, a bit of a blow but I'm not overly concerned especially when Uprichard steps up in 1st half injury time to score another well crafted counter attack and give us the lead at half time. Half time comes, my team is relaxed and everything seems under control. With our defensive record being so good a 2-1 lead usually means a win so things appear to be comfortable. That's the way the 2nd half progressed up until the 73rd minute with us controlling the game well and Crusaders looking increasingly desperate. Then they equalize in the 74th minute and for the first time in the game I see nervous body language all over the place...I'm worried...we aren't playing well anymore and Crusaders look to be in the ascendancy. All of a sudden we can't get out of our half or string passes together, facing wave after wave of Crusaders attack.

Even though they are putting us under tremendous pressure we seem to be holding them and then it happens. Allen has a brainstorm and pushes their midfielder down in the box...penalty in the 88th minute...I was livid. They duly dispatch it and we are behind 3-2...I'm devastated as I think we have just thrown it all away. Then something miraculous happens...we get an insta-highlight and we score!!...Uprichard completes his hat-trick and within one minute we go from absolute despair to delight!!...I think to myself at this point...a draw I'll take, we can win this another day....obviously Uprichard keen to get the party started A.S.A.P. had other ideas!!...91st minute Hoare pumps a cross from deep into their box which Uprichard meets by bulldozing through their central defenders and blasts into the net...4-3 and he's scored the lot.....we are all but Champions!!!....That result killed Crusaders morale while sending ours in the stratosphere. They play their next matchday before us so if they don't win the title is ours....they don't and we win the title without having to kick a ball....wonderful...Now for the Champions League.

UEFA Europa League - This was just awful....I really dislike having to play these games so early in the season as the majority of my players were tired going into the 1st leg which completely ruined our chances of making progress. We performed better in the 2nd leg as my players weren't as tired but by then the damage had already been done. I hope that I never have to enter this competition at this stage again because unless I draw a really poor side there is no way we can adequately be ready for these early season ties. At least with the Champions League qualifiers next season I enter in the 2nd round so I have a bit of time to prepare.

Irish Cup - When the avalanche starts there is no stopping it. We've gone from poor performers in this competition to winners...Fantastic...even sweeter for beating Linfield in the final.

League Cup - Was going well until we had to rest players when we faced Linfield because of international callups the week leading up to the game. Well we got thrashed so not much more to say about that. I will however start to have a word in the ear of the N. Irish national team managers as I'm rather unhappy with the condition of my players when they return from international duty. I have had so many players return injured with some so tired they can't play for a week after they return, they need to start working with me rather than against me.

Co. Antrim Shield - Another cup, another win. The screenshot just encapsulates exactly what we were all about this year. When we beat Linfield in the semis we knew it was going to be a good year for us.

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - Good performance for my Reserves in the Steel & Sons again this year only narrowly missing out on the cup. The Intermediate Cup again proving to be a far harder nut to crack for them. Not a bad season in the league for them by finishing 3rd.

Squad - It is clear to me now that it's only when you start to get in real quality can you see just how lacking you really are. All the signings this season proved to be a revelation playing a major part in helping us to the title. Unfortunately now that the bar is that much higher I can begin to see the cracks and where needs to be worked on next, central midfield and central defence being cause for particular concern. It's going to be a busy summer I think and I have identified a number of targets which I feel will strengthen us.

Transfers - I wasn't afraid to spend a bit of money to get the squad depth which I felt we needed. The free transfers proved to be the signings of the season though especially Uprichard who was great.

Finances - Not very good at all and this is the reason why I have stalled in asking for any improvements as we really can't afford it. I'm hoping that with a decent injection of cash from the champions league that will act like a great shot in the arm but I may not spend any of it as I want to get to professional status in 5 years. I'm a little concerned with our owner status degrading to 'happy to stay at the club' though as he has been the catalyst for our improvement and without his constant pumping in money to keep us afloat I feel we would be in a terrible state. I'm hoping he sticks around for a little while longer so that we can get in some good prize money and become a bit more self sustaining before he eventually leaves.

Key players

The Top 2

Stefan Stewart - Came into the club in September as a temporary replacement for Jamie Todd who suffered a terrible 3 month injury. Once he was up to speed fitness wise he was brilliant getting an average rating of 7.76. He is so good in fact that even when Jamie returned he couldn't break back into the squad. Being only 19 I think he is destined for great things at this club.

Liam Hoare - My first signing of the season and what a signing, scoring 13 and assisting 13 times from the right wing and ending the season with an average rating of 7.65. It wasn't only the amount of goals and assists but the fact that he tended to assist and score in the big games which impressed me the most. I have a big game player in him and that is a great asset to have.

The Bottom 2

Peter Carson - Last seasons one to watch becomes this seasons flop. Just didn't perform when given the opportunity and couldn't seem to find the net with anything remotely resembling last seasons performances. I think his time at the club may be coming to an end.

Tim Young - Given his squad status as a backup player, this could be seen as harsh but I feel there is a difference between a backup which you know can put a performance in when needed and one which you are desperately hoping you never have to depend on. I just don't think he is up to that job and I don't trust that he can put in a good performance for me if needed. That left back position has been a constant source of irritation for me but going forward, for what I'm trying to build he simply isn't good enough. Will be hunting high and low seeking a replacement.

Two to watch

Lee Uprichard - Came into the squad and nailed it. Has become my first team striker with a very impressive average rating of 7.57. I'm a bit miffed with his PPMs which kind of work against one another but I certainly think the future is bright for this youngster and the Champions League will be a great platform for him to announce himself on the continental stage, I'm really looking forward to seeing what he is capable of.

Stephen Gordon - Nabbed him from my rivals Crusaders for what I thought was a steal. With an average rating of 7.15 he has been consistent and reliable throughout his time here. He gets capped regularly for the N. Ireland U21s and could become a real force in my defence in the coming year.

Youth Intake & Squad

Here you can see the youth intake - I think I'll have to settle for this dross for quite some time to come. Maybe once we turn pro we can start to invest in this area but for now we are just going to have to deal with this sort of intake. Although I am surprised that while these players are garbage for me sometimes the odd lower league team will ask to loan one of them out...maybe they see something I don't...who knows.

They did alright in the league finishing 7th and did quite well in the U18s Cup reaching the Quarter finals (incidentally beating the Linfield youth team on the way) but Loughgall were too strong and knocked them out 3-0.

League reputations

Here is how the league reputation developed. Still moving up so pleased with that.

Club reputation

National 1 star - This is a bit strange as we have gone up to 2nd behind Linfield who didn't really achieve anything of note this year while we won a treble. I also don't understand why they have a down arrow when they have actually gone up in the National reputation standing...maybe a bug?

Here is where we rank overall in Europe - Not much improvement but I didn't expect it after our poor showing in the Europa League.

Average attendances

172 an increase of 3. Maybe now we've won the title this will start to rise.

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities - As you can see no changes but I was rather pleased when the chairman came to me with the suggestion that we buy the stadium. I gratefully agreed and here is the message confirming it. I think it's a good move which will probably entail him taking out a further loan but it means the season after next we can begin to expand our stadium (if required) and max it out, then over time try to get a new one built hopefully with my name (even though I'm currently only seen as 'favoured personnel' - what have I got to do?).

Club watch

Linfield are on the decline at the moment which is great as I feel that they won't be for long so in this time we need to become dominant. Crusaders continue to overachieve with their resources, surely that can't continue indefinitely and Cliftonville are a shadow of their former self. The Big 2 derby returns next season with Glentoran being promoted as champions of NIFL C1.

Next Seasons Expectations

We can't rest on our laurels and we need to strengthen to give us the best chance of retaining the title, not only to deny Linfield or anyone else the Champions League money but to keep ourselves on track with our 5 year plan. The champions league money can make all the difference when it comes to playing in N. Ireland as the money gained domestically is poor. Now that I got the hoodoo of not winning some of the domestic trophies off my back I can focus all my energies on the league and the Champions League as they are no longer that important to me. We must keep building and cement our place at the top of the N. Irish game, so anything other than the title will be considered a backwards step.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table]

and kept 23 clean sheets through the season

"Sounds like the defending was

(•_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

Immaculate."

YEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

Congrats!

Quite the fall from grace for Linfield, even if for the reasons you mentioned...

"Sounds like the defending was

(•_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

Immaculate."

YEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

It was pretty sweet ...don't think I have ever played a season with that many 1-0 scores but I'm not complaining . If our defence could be that miserly in Europe then this could be the start of something special (although I seriously doubt it will...I can see us getting poleaxed in the first round we enter).

Congrats!

Quite the fall from grace for Linfield, even if for the reasons you mentioned...

Thanks...I didn't really expect Linfield to decline that much but if the quest for domestic dominance is a boxing match between us and them I'd say we're in about round 3. I've landed a few good punches and they are slightly dazed but still very dangerous. I think if we can retain the title for a couple of seasons we might just land the killer blow and knock them out.

I think as the next few seasons could become quite similar (if we dominate) what I'll do is add some in depth analysis of the European games I play as these games are the most important of the season. I think I'll do this until we make a European group stage (so could be a quite a few seasons).

Expectations

For me I'm just glad to be here and playing against some of the finest club sides in the world. I'd be more than content with just putting in good performances and not embarrassing ourselves for the time being. We start in the 2nd Qualifying Round and while it'd be great to adhere to the boards minimum expectation of reaching the 3rd qualifying round (which seems almost foolishly optimistic) and get an extra 2 ties to bring in some good revenue I can't see how we can possibly make it considering some of the seeded teams in our section.

The Draw

So...down to business...first season in the champions league qualifiers and I'm hoping that I get a decent draw. All potential draws are going to be a challenge but I feel that if I can get a team which is in the lower part of the seeded draw and which has some grey players I might have a chance to be at least competitive. Of all the seeded teams in the draw I'd have been happy to get Ludogorets, FH, Ferencvaros, Sheriff, Slovan Bratislava or Maribor. The seeded teams I wanted to avoid were Glasgow Celtic, Red Bull Salzburg, Ajax (Yes I know...Ajax are in the Champions 2nd round qualifiers), FC Copenhagen or Partizan.

So who did I draw?

...The hardest possible draw I could have got...I was crushed as I knew there was no chance of us progressing. This was really harsh as they had a ridiculously high coefficient of 60.670 which when compared with all the other teams in the draw is the highest by far. 2nd placed is Ajax with a coefficient of 46.479, not only that the coefficient they have is higher than 4 teams which were seeded for the group stage of the Champions League...Ah well...we'll give it our best shot. Just to give an idea of the tremendous gulf in quality between the two sides.

Our squad

Their squad

We are literally worlds apart so anything other than a total battering would be a great achievement.

2nd Qualifying Round 1st Leg

So...to the first leg away at Celtic Park. In this situation some players might say given the massive gulf between the two teams that I should change my tactic and just stick as many players behind the ball as I can but I see no benefit in doing that and could mean we play even worse as the familiarity takes a hit. I play a 4-4-1-1 domestically and that's what I'm going to play in Europe also. If we're going down, we're going down on our terms and also trying to play the way we know best. What I may do is change certain roles / duties in my formation if I spot any weaknesses in my opponents formation and adjust my strategy if they make changes in the game.

Here is how the two teams lined up:

Immediately I can spot a weakness. If I have the ball on the flanks their wide attacking midfielders aren't going to be tracking back as much so if I can get pace running at the full backs I may get a bit of joy by creating some one on ones which could prove pretty effective especially if their full backs bomb forward. So I change my Wide Midfielders on attack to Wingers on attack. Other than that I play my standard 4-4-1-1.

Final Score

Glasgow Celtic 3 Immaculata 0 Stats

We got dominated and couldn't really do much to stem the tide. I'm pleased with the result though. It took 45 minutes for them to break us down and even that goal only happened after they countered us from a free kick which we had deep in their half. Their 2nd goal was a soft penalty after a corner on 52 minutes and their 3rd goal came when I switched to attacking in a attempt to grab an away goal in the 83rd minute. Overall though I'm not disappointed, even less so when I look around at the other results in the 2nd qualifying round 1st leg and see that St. Pats a team comparable with ours suffered a 7-0 trashing at home to Ajax.

2nd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg

Here is how the two teams lined up:

Same formation as in the last game so I retain the same changes I made for the 1st leg.

Final Score

Immaculata 0 Glasgow Celtic 3 Stats

Glasgow Celtic win 6-0 on aggregate

Similar sort of game as the 1st leg even though they were slightly less dominant.

Final Analysis

We were never going to beat a team of the quality of Celtic in our first champions league adventure so I'm not unhappy that we were knocked out in the 2nd qualifying round. Next season if we retain the title it would be nice not to draw the hardest possible team in the pot and then we can start to perhaps make some progress in this tournament. I am however very happy with our bank balance which now stands at over £500K.

Pre-Season expectations

The media predicted that I should finish top of the pile so I was hoping to be able to prove them right. This season was all about maintaining our position as the best team in N. Ireland, progress in Europe would be nice but not essential at this point. Time for the slow build, if we could pick up a domestic cup or two that wouldn't be unwelcome.

The Season

Final League Table - What a season this was!!...I seriously thought for a while during the season that we had blown it after a nightmarish November and December where we only gained 12/27 possible points. It was at the turn of the year after the 23rd matchday seeing ourselves sitting in 4th and 10 points behind the leaders Linfield I seriously thought we'd have to settle for just the Europa League but then we blasted our way back right into the title race.

Noticing our terrible lowly position I decided in the new year to bring about a tactical revolution. I retained my 4-4-1-1 but I started to think differently about the games knowing that a one size fits all approach wasn't working so needed to change. I started to think more about the opposition formation and where the spaces were that I could exploit. I decided therefore when playing against teams which had only one player on the flanks I would change my wide midfielders (attack) to wingers (attack), when coming up against teams playing without a defensive midfielder I'd change my attacking midfielder (attack) to an advanced playmaker (support). I also was very keen to keep an eye on the opposition formation to look for changes to either a more attacking or defensive stance. If they went more defensive I would shift my mentality down to counter, if they went more attacking I'd shift my mentality up to control. Well the net result was a run of form which was just exceptional.

From the turn of the year we never lost again and won 13/15 of the games. This form put us right back into the title race and by the time the split came about we were 4 points behind the leaders Linfield and 3 points behind Crusaders and sitting in 3rd. We then had Coleraine and Dungannon before a double header away at Linfield and Crusaders. We won both games coming into the vital title deciders and by this point both teams were slipping up drawing us level on points with top placed Linfield. We then went to both grounds and won comfortably and with a draw in the final game we were champions again. I really wouldn't want to go through such a tight race again next season and now that I have altered my way of playing I hope that will be enough to see us clear.

UEFA Champions League - All I can hope for is that next season we don't get drawn against such a difficult opponent in the first round we enter. Success in this competition is imperative to our future.

Irish Cup - The less said about this humiliation to Cliftonville the better

League Cup - I was glad to make the final but Linfield decided to play rough injuring 3 of our players making their victory easier

Co. Antrim Shield - Once again Clitonville getting the better of us

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - Not much progress for our reserves in the cups but they won the Reserve League so not all bad.

Squad - Last year I highlighted the weakness as being the centre of the park both in defence and midfield. I was able to strengthen well in the central midfield getting Burns and Carson but I'm still lacking in central defence. I think I need to be searching high and low next year for a new central defender. Unfortunately, right midfielder Dean Gracey broke his leg in February and is out for 4 months and on the decline so I may also need to look for a decent backup for Liam Hoare.

Transfers - The vast majority of the free transfers out were youth players that were too old to play in the U18s. The free transfers in were great and Eddie Donaghy was a bit of a disappointment but I'm happy that we strengthened well. Next season I'll be strengthening again but I think I'm reaching the upper limit to how good a player I can get while still remaining at the semi-professional status we need to make progress in this area which means success in Europe.

Finances - This is the reason why we aren't really progressing as we burned through £500K in a season, there is no money to really invest in anything. The board have decided that they are fed up with pumping in cash non stop so are leaving and we are in the middle of a takeover. Thankfully, it seems that another consortium wants to buy us with the promise of investing money although I won't be counting my chickens before they hatch on that one. We became further indebted this season as we purchased our stadium which required a loan of £180K which is not a kings ransom but brings our total loans outstanding up to £404K.

Key players

The Top 2

Stefan Stewart - Came 3rd in the player of the year and had a great season. Finishing with a great average rating of 8.15 and 12 man of the matches he made a great contribution easily alternating between the attacking midfielder and advanced playmaker roles. My coaches feel that his form has been nothing short of sensational and I tend to agree with them.

Liam Hoare - The player of the year finished with an average rating of 8.14 and scored 23 times which is unbelievable for a right midfielder. 15 assists and 13 man of the matches are really showing that he is full of quality which has attracted the attention of the international team for which he gained his first full international cap for Ireland.

The Bottom 2

Eddie Donaghy - Bit of an expensive flop managing only a 6.34 as an average rating. I expected far more from the left full back but it seems that filling that position on the pitch with quality is going to continue giving me problems.

William Rodgers - Just not a very good performer when asked to step in. Only considered a decent player will probably mean that when I strengthen the central defence he more than likely will be leaving.

Two to watch

Kevin McGee - A wonderful acquisition who was good enough to displace Lee Uprichard as my main striker which tells you how good he really is. Finishing top scorer with an average rating of 7.56 I can see him developing into a great player. Part of the Ireland national team setup and with brilliant finishing and composure he could go to the very top.

Michael Burns - Needed to strengthen the central midfield and this guy filled the breach superbly. The Young Player of the year impressed with an average rating of 7.80 and is a current N. Ireland international. Next season could be a great year for him especially if he can impress in our European campaign.

Youth Intake & Squad

Here you can see the youth intake - Moving on

The youth team however finished 8th in the youth league and were knocked out in the 2nd round of the U18s Cup.

League reputations

Here is how the league reputation developed. Nearly into the top 75 leagues in Europe, if we can continue with the upward momentum it would be great.

Club reputation

National 1.5 star - To the top of N. Ireland we go which is great. I'm surprised by Linfield and their 4th place though as they won a cup treble this year by winning the Irish Cup, League Cup and Co. Antrim Shield.

Here is where we rank overall in Europe - Nearly in the top 400 but hopefully our ascent can be supercharged with some success in Europe next season.

Average attendances

210 so an increase of 38 from last year.

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities - We now own our stadium but other than that nothing changes.

Club watch

Linfield are stronger than we thought and along with Crusaders caused us much trouble in trying to retain our title. Glentoran stayed up which is good and Cliftonville are improving. The Top 4 seem to have broken off from the rest of the pack, now we need to break off from them.

Next Seasons Expectations

Retain the title and do well in Europe as a minimum with anything else seen as a bonus. Will be interesting to see what the new board are like and whether they can help us to achieve our ambitions. Really would like to secure the title earlier to take the pressure off the later parts of the season which could help us in the cups.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table]

Expectations

The new board much like the old still feels that the minimum that they would accept would be for us to reach the 3rd Qualifying Round. I'm not so sure I share their optimism but if we could pull that off it would at least give us a few more games in Europe to build up the bank balance in our quest for professional status. I would like to reach the 3rd Qualifying Round but whether we have a chance of doing so will depend on the draw we get.

The Draw

Again hoping for a decent draw which gives us a chance of progressing. Of the teams in the the draw I'd probably want to avoid Olympiakos, Celtic, FC Copenhagen, Malmo, Viktoria Plzen, Partizan and Legia. Of the seeded teams I wouldn't mind drawing Ludogorets, Maribor, Qarabag, Ferencvaros, Sheriff, Trencin, Levadia, HJK, Staebek or Dinamo Minsk.

So who did I draw?

Hmmm...Still a very difficult draw but a much less daunting challenge than last year when we drew Celtic. I think we can at least be competitive against them and not be blown away like last season but I am very aware of their rich pedigree and history in Europe so I know on their day they could beat us convincingly but we'll give it our best shot.

Our squad

Their squad

I see a few reasons to think we can at least be competitive, they have a number of greyed out players and their star GK will be injured for the two legs so maybe we can do something against them.

2nd Qualifying Round 1st Leg

First leg away to them at Stadion FK Partizan. I'll be going with my usual 4-4-1-1 and hoping for the best.

Here is how the two teams lined up:

Well first thing I can spot with their formation is that they have only one wide player so my wide midfielders (attack) will become wingers (attack). I also detect the absence of a defensive midfielder in their formation so I change my attacking midfielder (attack) to an advanced playmaker (support). Everything else remains the same and I start the game on standard.

Final Score

FK Partizan Beograd 3 Immaculata 2 Stats

I'm absolutely ecstatic with that result and even though the stats would indicate we were dominated by them, which no doubt we were, we were clinical with the chances we created. Our chances were quality chances and we bagged two goals. They had a lot more chances but the majority of them were half chances at best (with the exception of the goals). I can now look forward to the 2nd leg knowing that we are still very much in the tie. A 1-0 victory gets us through to the next round and that is more than I could have asked for at this point. Roll on the next leg.

2nd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg

Here is how the two teams lined up:

I was rather intrigued when I saw them play this formation as it indicated to me that they were looking to hold what they had which I found a bit odd as they had the lead and they should view us as much inferior opposition so I would have thought they would have been attacking to kill off the tie. Given the lack of any real weaknesses I rolled with my 4-4-1-1 with wide midfielders and attacking midfielder.

Final Score

Immaculata 1 FK Partizan Beograd 0 Stats

Immaculata win on away goals after a 3-3 draw on aggregate

Wow....We took the lead in the 15th minute and never looked back, creating an impenetrable defence to hold them. I noticed in around the 80th minute they changed to an attacking style in a desperate attempt to equalize to which I replied with my switch up to control and we held them. Again they dominate but had no clear cut chances and that's what made all the difference.

I guess what makes this sweeter now is that because they had a high seeding, by beating them I'm seeded for the 3rd qualifying round which has set us up with a tie against FC Levadia Tallinn which is brilliant for us because they only have 2 non-grey players and the non-grey players aren't good enough to make my team. I think we have a great chance of making a group stage at the second time of asking as I expect to beat them and make the playoff which will be a remarkable achievement and most likely give us professional status before our target of 5 years....I think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself...let's just focus on beating them and then see what happens..exciting times though

Cracking stuff!

Cracking stuff!

As if this wasn't enough something really strange has just happened in my game. My main striker Kevin McGee has been receiving non-stop offers to buy from clubs (mainly from the U.S.A.). As I see him as a vital part of my team when I saw the offers of £25K...£35K...I decided to try and fend them off by putting the price up to £2.5M and clicking suggest terms to which they all replied by breaking off negotiations. Then I got an offer from Western Sydney Wanderers for the same low amount (I think it was £40K they offered)...wanting to fend them off also I then done the same and put the price up to £2.5M and then clicked suggest terms. They made the bid!!!...I was absolutely floored by it...if he agrees to contract terms I'll sell a player with a value of £28K for £2.5M...seems a bit buggy but incredible at the same time!!....in addition they offer a 20% of profit of next sale (which most likely won't yield anything) and a friendly...I think it's fair to say professional status is coming next season...

The Draw

So who did I draw?

An easier game in Europe I will never play at semi-professional status so I want to grasp this opportunity with both hands.

Our squad

Their squad

If we don't beat them I'll be shocked. We should advance comfortably.

3rd Qualifying Round 1st Leg

First leg away to them at Kadriorg. I'll be going with my usual 4-4-1-1.

Here is how the two teams lined up:

Looking at the formation they are playing all I'm sensing from them is that they are only looking to do one thing and that is DEFEND, DEFEND and DEFEND. They only have one person on each flank so again my WM(A) become Wingers(A).

Final Score

FC Levadia Tallinn 0 Immaculata 5 Stats

A thoroughly professional performance which has now given me the luxury of playing my 2nd team for the 2nd leg so that I can have my players fresh for the start of the league season which begins on the Saturday after.

3rd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg

Here is how the two teams lined up:

Again they line up with only one wide player so WM(A) --> W(A) and they have no player in DM so my AM(A) becomes an AP(S).

Final Score

Immaculata 2 FC Levadia Tallinn 0 Stats

Immaculata win 7-0 on aggregate

Another dominant performance which means that we will be playing European group stage football. We will be unseeded for the playoff but at this point I don't really mind who we get as the money is secure.

I think this inbox message shows just how crazy things have become:

Jesus, that's a game changer.

The Draw

So who did I draw?

Yeah...I think it's fair to say we're on a hiding to nothing. Olympiakos are seasoned group stage participants so I can't see us even getting a result against them. I'm just happy to collect the money and look forward to the Europa League Group Stage.

Our squad

Their squad

We aren't going to win the tie but at the least lets not embarrass ourselves.

Playoff Round 1st Leg

First leg away to them at Georgios Karaiskakis. As usual I'll play my 4-4-1-1.

Here is how the two teams lined up:

Well there must be something good about the 4-4-1-1 as they're using it too. No defensive midfielder so my AM(A) -> AP(S)

Final Score

Olympiakos 5 Immaculata 0 Stats

They just did to us what we did to Levadia in the previous round. To be honest I was happy to keep it down to 5 as they absolutely battered us throughout the game. I think we are at least 4 or 5 seasons away from being competitive against a team of such quality. Hopefully the 2nd leg won't be as punishing.

Playoff Round 2nd Leg

Here is how the two teams lined up:

They play the same so I played the same also.

Final Score

Immaculata 0 Olympiakos 3 Stats

Olympiakos win 8-0 on aggregate

So we lost....yeah...but we're into the group stage of the Europa League. I'm also happy as we started the season broke with the new chairman having to pump money in to keep us in the black but now when I look at my finances and see over £6M there I just . My chairman has agreed to turn the club pro at the end of the season and upgrade both training and youth facilities. I've asked for a stadium expansion and got it but I can't ask for increased junior coaching for some reason. Things are really starting to take off it seems.

I think this will be the last of my European updates as I'll stick to the end of season ones. We drew AS Roma, Malmo FF & FC Zurich in our group and as I can't see us getting a point out of any of them I'll spare myself reporting it and just put it in the end of season update. When I look at the AS Roma squad it just shows how far we have left to travel on this journey....we're getting there though.

Doing great Pheelf.

Pre-Season expectations

We were 1-2 favourites to win the title with the media and that is exactly where I thought we should finish the season. If we could win the title a bit more convincingly than last season it would be great. As for Europe, trying to win in the 2nd qualifying round would be great, if we manage that then anything else is a bonus. I'm not overly fussed about the domestic cups but if we can win any it would be nice.

The Season

Final League Table - I'm not really sure that my players quite understand the concept of winning the title comfortably as yet again they put me through the ringer. We started the season with 3 wins which had me optimistic that winning the title was going to be a breeze. We then lost to rivals Linfield at home 2-1 which unsettled that notion. We picked up by beating Ards 2-0 but then went on to lose to both Crusaders and Ballymena United at home. After losing to both of my main rivals at home I thought that perhaps I was in for a long hard struggle like last year for the title. Thankfully, we picked it up and went on a 14 match unbeaten run winning 10 games putting us right back into the frame.

By the time mid-December came around we were right on the tail of the leaders Crusaders. Then the festive period happened!!...I don't know what happened to my players but from the 18/12 - 12/1 we only gained 3 points out of a possible 12 causing us to plummet to 4th place and handing the momentum in the title race over to Linfield, Crusaders and surprisingly Cliftonville. We were in deep trouble so I knew that to have any chance of winning the title we had to be perfect. Thankfully, we were. We went on another 11 match unbeaten run winning 9 games this time and that seemed to finish off the title race as the other teams dropped points against each other. The table looks closer than it was because once we had all but secured the title we slackened off a little.

UEFA Champions League – I think the only word that can do justice to the teams performance is monumental. They were outclassed by Olympiakos but sensational against Partizan. We also got listed as the biggest overachievers in the Champions League which is no surprise considering that we are semi-professional and really had no right to go as far as we did.

UEFA Europa League - This was just a fun adventure for us which I had no real hopes for. I'm delighted that we were able to get a win away at Zurich which was the highlight but looking at the results gives me reasons to be hopeful. We were never really taken apart by any team and kept the scorelines very respectable. If we can do this as a semi-pro team it give me great confidence that as a pro team we can perform even better.

Irish Cup - Payback's a b****, ain't it? Right back at ya Cliftonville!!...I was glad to pick up the trophy and give ourselves a nice (if somewhat small) reputation boost.

League Cup - Losing on penalties to Crusaders was bitter but I think that this season may signal the end of my first team playing in this competition. I think I'll emulate the bigger clubs in the English Premier League from here and use this competition to blood youngsters and give backup players a chance to impress.

Co. Antrim Shield - Not the best to lose to Cliftonville in extra time but this cup will become a reserves cup also. It unfortunately is often scheduled during international breaks and at a time of the season where if I make a European group stage I have a lot of fixtures. The reputation boost from winning it is also minimal. It has lost it's importance for me as a way of seeing where we are compared to the other top teams in the league, we know that we should be better now.

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup – Not a great year in the cups for my reserves but I have a feeling their luck will be changing before too long. They did well in the Reserve league though finishing 2nd narrowly behind Glenavon Reserves.

Squad – They performed way beyond what could reasonably be asked of them so I'm very happy with them. I have already offered new full time contracts to those players that I wish to retain who I see can take a step up if they are able to train full-time. I feel it's also important to keep a good core of young N.Irish players to help me meet the selection criteria for Europe. I also know that to make progress the squad will be changing dramatically in the next season.

I've been given a £80Kp/w wage budget to spend with a £2.5M transfer budget and I fully intend on using it to best effect. I would like to create a similar situation at this club as exists at club like Southampton. We are not self sustaining so need to be a selling club for the time being. I intend to sign talented youngsters, give them an opportunity to play which will develop them and hopefully turn them into top players. By doing this I can then sell them at a profit (or good clauses) which I can use to develop my training and youth facilities, although I'm a bit perturbed that my youth coaching can't be upgraded for some reason. The ultimate aim is to build a club like Barcelona but for now I feel we just need to build a squad which makes close title battles like we endured this season a thing of the past.

Transfers – With the exception of the bizarre £2.5M we took for Kevin McGee, there was not much activity (all the free transfers out were youth/reserve players whose contracts expired). Paddy Whelan was a good replacement for McGee and Trevor Scott on the left wing was a player I had my eye on for a while which finally decided to join us. Expect a massive influx next season though as I can scout the world and will be looking all over to find the very best I can get.

Finances – Things will never be the same again. Although I think the game hasn't quite caught up with our new professional status. We were being paid £1.81K per year for a sponsorship deal and the new offer came in raising that to £2.6K per year. I think that shows just how poor the revenue I can generate is which means that I am going to need to be very cautious about how I spend the money as if not I could burn through these millions in no time. In the whole season the domestic prize money we generated was only around £60K. The youth and training facilities upgrade cost £725K and I know that to increase the level further the price will only rise and we have a lot of levels to climb.

Key players

The Top 2

Liam Hoare - Brilliant winger who seems to get better every year. Now a fully fledged Ireland international that would have been going to the Euros had he not picked up an injury. With an average rating of 7.87 and 15 player of the match awards it comes as no surprise that he is coveted by both Cardiff City and NY City. It will take another astronomical offer to buy him though as I no longer need the money and he is a vital player for us.

Michael Burns – Last years player to watch becomes this years player of the year with an excellent average rating of 7.41. A brilliant N. Ireland international who I was keen to retain with a full-time contract. He is still developing and I can see him attracting the attention of other clubs in the near future. Unfortunately for potential suitors, he is another player that would require a bid offering silly money for me to even consider selling.

The Bottom 2

Paul McCarthy – The truth is, he's not very good. I can't see him developing any further even at 22 years old and I can't see him being able to offer us anything that others can't do much better, as a result he will be leaving.

William Rodgers – Another soon to be ex-Immaculata player who is only considered decent for us. Unfortunately decent is not good enough for a team that seeks to be dominant domestically and competitive in Europe. He will have clubs interested as he didn't perform terribly when he played but isn't going to work for us anymore.

Two to watch

Stefan Stewart – Another great season for him getting an average rating of 7.68. I am a little concerned however with the fact that my coaches seem to think he has peaked as his attributes aren't that great. I've offered him a new full time contract but will be monitoring him next season to see if they are right and he needs replacing.

Lee Uprichard – Came back into the fold after the sale of McGee and did very well becoming my top scorer with 21 goals. Whether 21 goals is sufficient for a season which has 38 games is questionable though and is why I'll be monitoring to see how well he starts next season. I know I can get a much better striker attribute wise so he has to prove to me that he can be as prolific as I need him to be. I need a striker who can get at the least a goal a game ratio, if he can't provide it then I'll have to find someone who can.

Youth Intake & Squad

Here you can see the youth intake – Nothing again but I hope that the upgrade to the youth facilities may help the players in the youth team to develop a bit better. It would be nice to be able to produce some good youngsters who I could send to the lower leagues. I may need to look into getting an affiliate.

They had their best season which was encouraging as they finished 6th in the youth league and reached the semi-finals of the U18s Cup only losing narrowly after an extra time defeat to Glenavon U18s.

League reputations

Here is how the league reputation developed. That's what I like to see, a nice sharp rise in the reputation. If we can make the top 50 soon we may start to get better sponsorship and attract better players to the league. We have to just keep trying to get as far in Europe as we can to make up for the poor performances from the rest of the N. Irish teams.

Club reputation

National 1.5 star – Top again and we should have no problems keeping it that way.

Here is where we rank overall in Europe - Very nice, into the top 300. Still not very high but definitely going in the right direction at an accelerated pace.

Average attendances

231 up 21 from last year. I hope this can increase at a slightly higher rate in future.

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities – No changes apparent on the screenshot but we are getting both the training and youth facilities upgraded. It's a shame but the council blocked planning permission for my stadium to be expanded but then I suppose we don't have 90% average attendance so I can understand the reluctance. Curiously though the expansion capacity seems to have jumped from the 800 at the start of the game specified by the editor to 2,300 given in the rejection inbox message.

Club watch

Still getting strife from all the Belfast clubs with increased annoyance being supplied by Cliftonville. However seeing Linfield when they were professional gives me reason to suspect that the challenge will diminish greatly next season.

Next Seasons Expectations

Win the title and go as far in Europe as we can. Rebuilding the squad will be a priority as I start to prepare the team to challenge for the Champions League. Next season may be too early to get into the group stage of the Champions League but I would like to lay the foundation so that in the season after next we could be pushing for it.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table]

Doing great Pheelf.

Thanks Nobby

There's a new big dog in Norn Iron.

There's a new big dog in Norn Iron.

It certainly looks that way now . I think that the domestic challenge is well and truly over...now for the long battle to try and become top dogs in Europe.

Pity you had to endure a Greek Tragedy.

Wow, nice one. Keep moving forward and soon you'll be at the UCL Group Stage.

Cheers,

Bitner

Pre-Season expectations

Use our new professional status to rebuild the squad and win the title convincingly. Try as hard as we can to be successful in Europe and see whether we can't pick up a domestic trophy or two.

The Season

Final League Table - Well that is about as emphatic a statement to the rest of the league as we could have hoped for. Absolute domination with an unbeaten season and a smashing of the record points total and goal difference. The only way to improve now would be to have the perfect season and win every game. I think it's fair to say that unless another team becomes professional the domestic challenge has gone for a Burton.

UEFA Champions League – I was quite disappointed to draw Partizan again as it handed them the opportunity to seek their revenge on us which they did. I attribute the reasons behind the loss being that we were in the middle of the squad rebuild. A lot of the new players were unfit and my tactic familiarity took a huge hit which led us to perform terribly in the first leg and after that heavy defeat there was no way we could recover. I'm hoping for next seasons campaign that having a settled squad with perhaps only a few new signings will make all the difference and help us to get past this round which has now become quite essential owing to our increased expenditures, we cannot afford to miss out on our only guaranteed major source of income again.

Irish Cup - Was going quite swimmingly until we decided to have an off day against Dungannon. My board still values this competition (as do I) so would like to win it next season if possible.

League Cup - The manner of this defeat was rather disappointing actually. The loss of the penalty shootout was unfortunate, the scoring of two own goals was infuriating.

Co. Antrim Shield - Well at least we won a cup this year. A pretty convincing performance throughout the tournament.

Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup – With the victory in the Intermediate Cup that now completes the domestic set. I have now at some point during this career held every title there is to win in N. Ireland (with the exception of the youth cup and league and NIFL C1). I'm not surprised it look so long to win the Intermediate Cup though as it requires the defeat of 7 teams to win it. They also did very well in the Reserves league by lifting the title again.

Squad – It took some time to get there but we have built a side which I feel is only going to get better. With the exception of Mikkelsen who is unhappy and looks like leaving at the end of the season and Sean Donnelly who will be leaving for £2.5M to Spurs (used the same jedi mind trick as with Kevin McGee) this is pretty much the side which I will be hoping can help us make progress in Europe. I like the blend at the moment with young talented players mixed in with some experience, the fact that we have a good amount of N. Irish talent in our ranks also makes me feel that the squad registration rules in Europe should be a breeze.

Transfers - I think I'll go through each transfer in individually.

Gavin Skinner : LB : Took to the league like a duck to water and has shown great improvement this year, it appears the LB issue is a thing of the past and he could easily play for us for many years

Stephen Dixon : CB : A solid if somewhat unspectacular signing who was reliable at the back and chipped in with a few goals upfront

Mark Atkinson : GK : A goalkeeper who turned out to be my backup who was solid when called upon

Craig O'Reilly : GK : On paper a good player who my scouts think will be a top draw goalkeeper. Unfortunately he didn't have the best of seasons but as GK's peak later perhaps it's just a blip

Sean Mulcahy : CM : Very good central midfielder who could become part of the spine of the team for many years to come

Vicente Garcia : LM : To some his wage may seem a bit exorbitant but he is worth every penny. A great performer who has locked down that left wing slot for as long as he wants it

Martin Mikkelsen : RM : Perhaps a victim of Liam Hoare and his unbelievable season. He is a very good player so it will be a shame when he leaves at the end of the season which is looking likely

Jamie Harney : CB : Needed some experience in the team and he was exactly that. I thought he would be better than he ended up being so that high wage will need cutting or he will be leaving

Oscar Ortega : AMC : Spent big to get him but entirely justified. He has been fantastic and comfortably is my best player. May want a little more assists from him next season though

Luke Kelly : CB : Another good central defender but will need to break through and prove himself if he is to stand out from the crowd for his position as all my central defenders are of similar ability

Amath Gueye : CB : Plucked from absolute obscurity for an almost insultingly low transfer fee, I'm delighted with this signing. He's young and if he continues his good development he could become a great defender

Gunnar Magnusson : ST : A great rotation striker who scored regularly for us when my other two strikers when injured. Maybe I can turn him into a Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, an impact player to bring on late in games

Simo Leppanen : LB : Brought in as a backup left back he has been ok for the few games he has played but is nowhere near competing with Skinner for his place

Oliver Andersen : LM : Keeping with the Scandanvian theme, I bought him as a backup for Garcia after Trevor Scott decided he wanted to leave for Brentford. Has been good when rotated in

Kristoffer Neilsen : CM : Also bought in as a backup to replace Micheal Burns who left for Rangers. Not the best but is decent enough to play some games against much poorer opposition

Of the players that left, Burns and Scott are the most important with all others being youth players whose contracts expired. I'm happy enough with my business and will be looking for a decent backup right midfielder and top draw central midfielder to fill the gaps which are going to be left.

Finances – This is why we need success in Europe. The domestic prize money has increased to £50K for winning the title but that is nowhere near enough to cover our expenses. This is the reason why it's also imperative for us to become a selling club, until we can build the league up and start commanding some decent amounts of money for our players we are going to struggle. We also need to get into a situation where we can invest in our facilities so need spare money for this over what our wage bill costs us. I think we have taken the first steps into making that a reality. If we can bang out a multi-million transfer every year we should be ok. I'm actually thinking whether perhaps £2.5M is undervalued actually as teams seem so willing to offer it, maybe next time I'll ask for £4M and see what happens. It's very difficult to know, as the market value of the players is so low in N. Ireland it's impossible to know what the player would be worth in a better league and price accordingly.

Key players

The Top 2

Liam Hoare - What a wonderful player he truly is. The player of the year got an average rating of 8.39 and assisted 39 times which is magnificent. Now a regular Ireland international I can only imagine that some bigger clubs will be sniffing around come the start of the transfer window. They are going to need to offer me an astronomical sum though as a player like this is not only a once in a generation type player coming out of a team like Institute but is absolutely vital for my team. I just hope I can fend them off when the vultures start circling or that I can get such a huge sum that we can use the funds to begin upgrading the infrastructure of the club again.

Stefan Stewart – Another player that I'm concerned about losing, he rotated seamlessly with Ortega and never looked out of place when he played. He got a smashing 8.47 average rating and actually got more assists than Ortega, I hope he sticks around for a little while longer.

The Bottom 2

Craig O’Reilly – I was kind of disappointed with my new No1 actually. He ended the season with a lowly 6.97 which although is to be expected as he hardly faced any hard tests is a bit underwhelming. His overall play wasn't that great, often blundering which gave the opposition team unnecessary goals. I hope next year he can keep more clean sheets and be a little more consistent, if he can do that then I see no reason why he can't become a leading light in my team in the future. I think the Champions League will show what he is really made of.

Simo Leppanen – Not much to say about him really. A backup player who doesn't seem to exert any pressure on Skinner for his place in the team. I'm not a fan of that and want my players to feel that pressure to avoid them becoming complacent. He needs to step it up or he will be stepping out.

Two to watch

Oscar Ortega – Another brilliant midfielder who I feel could be vital to our European campaign next season given his 8.06 average rating this season. I am a little bit disappointed with the amount of assists he got though. As a player who clearly is a fantastic playmaker and has great attributes which support that I would expect to see more from him next season so that we reduce our dependence on Liam Hoare.

Lee Uprichard – Another solid season for the striker with him bagging 24 goals. I've come to see that he isn't going to be the kind of goalscorer that I need and his attributes perhaps tell the story as to why. He also suffers from having poor PPMs which I think he is probably too old to unlearn now. I think he could be a great supporting target man as when I was forced to play a 4-4-2 due to injuries he did well so I will keep him around but I will keep searching for my goal a game striker.

Youth Intake & Squad

Here you can see the youth intake – Still nothing to see here. Thankfully, I was granted another upgrade to my junior coaching so I’m hoping that the quality of youngster being fed into the system improves and I will be looking for continual improvement in this area. Our youth recruitment however doesn’t have the option to improve so while I can improve the CA of my youth intake I think I’ll be stuck with low PA players for a while.

They seem to be improving well on the pitch though and finished 2nd in the youth league. They did slightly worse in the U18s Cup by getting knocked out by Ards Youth team 1-0 in the quarter finals.

Danske Banke Premier Reputation development

Here is how the league reputation developed. Steady as she goes will suit me down to the ground. The league is improving but there could be a little dip next season to take account of a poor season in Europe from us. The league is nearly in the top 50 which from where we were is no mean feat and that should be celebrated.

Club reputations

National 1.5 star – Not much movement here but I'm hoping that as the league is now 2* that on winning the title we can make a clean breakaway from the rest and become 2* also.

Here is where we rank overall in Europe - We seemed to crawl up this season after a poor season in Europe but hopefully next season we can be better and head into the top 200.

Average league attendance

261 up 30 from last year. I think we are perhaps one year away from the council being co-operative and granting us an expansion to the stadium. We are 9 away from a 90% average attendance in the league and if the attendances increase as they have done over the last few years we will be selling out many games next season.

Facilities watch

Here is our facilities – Both training and youth facilities upgraded and the junior coaching got a boost. Once again the council being the visionaries they are blocked planning permission for an expansion. Hopefully next year they can be a little more amenable considering we most probably will sell out practically every game. The same thing happened again this season with the potential expansion capacity going up to 3800 this time, won't be of much use though if the council keeps blocking planning permission. As I don't have the funds at the moment the youth and training facilities will have to remain as they are, which is quite painful as my training facilities are only 1*.

Club watch

I think I may shift my focus away from the domestic teams unless one of them becomes professional (which looks unlikely for the near future). I may start to look at some of the teams seeded for the 2nd Qualifying Round of the Champions league so that I can get a feel for the type of teams I could face and want to avoid. We have a seeding for the next season of 6.050 which puts us on the cusp of being seeded for the 2nd Qualifying Round as there are only 14 teams with worse coefficients seeded for the 2nd round and 34 teams which participate in the round in total. I desperately want to avoid Steaua, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dinamo, Basel, Malmo, Viktoria Plzen, Legia and Partizan (again). Anybody else in the seeded section of 17 teams I'd be happy with, given the law of probabilities we are marginally more likely to get a team that we want than to get a team which we don't want.

Next Seasons Expectations

European progress is the name of the game given that the domestic challenge is over. I just hope that we can get a decent draw as progress in Europe is absolutely vital for out continued development. Our season at the moment hinges around the 2nd Qualifying Round so we need to be ready.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Manager of the Year and Reserves won the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][/table]

Pity you had to endure a Greek Tragedy.

They were in the 2nd Qualifying Round as well...glad I didn't draw them then!!...

Wow, nice one. Keep moving forward and soon you'll be at the UCL Group Stage.

Cheers,

Bitner

Thanks , I hope it won't take the team too long as making the UCL Group Stage would again take us to the next level.

Pre-Season expectations

Continue to dominate domestically and make progress in Europe by trying to make a group stage.

The Season

Final League Table - Gathering as many points as there were dalmatians, I have to say that I am content with our performance. Was a shame to lose narrowly to Linfield to break our unbeaten streak but I feel there is still plenty of time for us to gain the perfect season before the other teams improve enough to become a problem.

UEFA Champions League – This was a season of pleasant surprises in Europe. The first surprise came in the draw for the 2nd Qualifying Round. I had expected us to be unseeded and therefore face a difficult team in the round, to my surprise we just sneaked into the seeded pot. As a result we drew Stjarnan who are a semi-professional side from Iceland. I was delighted with this as it would mean that we would at least have 2 more European ties which would be beneficial for our money situation as we were easily the better team. We easily beat them and drew a much more challenging tie against Dinamo.

I was optimistic about our game against Dinamo and thought we could beat them over two legs. I like the first leg to be drawn away as it can set the tone for the whole tie if we can score and put the opposition on the back foot where as if we have the first leg at home I think my players will always have it in the back of their minds that keeping a clean sheet is most important as any goals they concede count double which can often make the players perform more nervously when they are expected by the home fans to come out and attack. I was therefore thrilled to leave Maksimir with two away goals and a win which meant we only needed to hold them at home which we did.

Entering into the Playoff I was pretty much happy to drop into the Europa League as we drew Olympiakos again so wasn't expecting miracles, after all, the last time we played them we got annihilated. Then came my second surprise as we drew 2-2 away at Georgios Karaiskakis with them scoring an own goal in injury time at the end of the game to give us the equalizer. This was great as it meant that we didn't even have to beat them at home provided we could stop them scoring twice. We did it and held them to a 1-1 draw at home which gave me my third surprise of the European campaign as we would be playing in the Champions League group stage.

I knew that we were out of our depth now and that the group stage could become a case of being whipping boys for the rest of the teams. I was hoping for a decent group but when I saw the draw and the teams we got my heart sank, Barcelona, Ajax and Manchester City...yeah...a group of death if there ever was one. Then to my great shock we held Ajax at home in our first game and were competitive against them. We weren't under siege for the 90 minutes and got lucky, we battled with them toe to toe and deserved our draw against them. That result had my head turned all around as I thought that maybe we were a lot better than I had anticipated, away at the Nou Camp would prove it either way. Well...we got pasted which put us right back in our place and from there on we just weren't competitive even suffering a 5-0 hammering to Ajax in the return fixture.

Overall though it was a great European campaign and marks our emergence as a force in Europe. Given our great performance it also makes it a lot easier next season to make a group stage as I know that we are guaranteed to be seeded for the 2nd Qualifying Round. It's going to take a few seasons for our team to become a major player in Europe but we are already way ahead of where I expected us to be.

Irish Cup - A clean run which culminated in a nice 1-0 win over Linfield in the final

League Cup - Another cup win with a trashing of Linfield in the final

Co. Antrim Shield - A nice cup win

Reserves, Intermediate Cup and Steel & Sons Cup - Pretty poor in the cup but won the reserves league again. They were dreadful in the U19s Champions League finishing rock bottom of their group (although for some reason even when the box is ticked the fixtures won't show up).

Squad – The team looks stronger than ever although a few of the experienced players may need to move on as they don't look quite the players they were when they joined. I think that next year is going to be a struggle to hold on to some of my talented youngsters but nobody is indispensable and if the money is right I'll take it and use it to invest in the clubs infrastructure.

Transfers - I'll give an overview of my ins and outs

In

David : RM : A great player in the making who should Hoare leave could step in to the breach

Gerald Walker : CM : A good signing for the midfield but I feel that perhaps not the solution I'm looking for

Glenn Doyle : ST : A great striker who could prove to be an astute signing

Thiaguinho : CD : The second of my Brazilian contingent is probably the weakest of them but provides good cover for the central defence

Cristiano : CM : A top draw defensive midfielder who has already locked down his place in the center of midfield

Darren Smith : RB : When I first signed him it appeared that he would compete with Gordon for his place but he's declined so greatly that I will be going into the market again to find a replacement

Alexander Kvist : RM : What a player he could be if he gets enough games. He is also one of the reasons why I'm not too concerned if Hoare should leave

Andy Wright : CM : More of a squad player but he provided depth and will help with the squad registration rules in Europe

Out

All released on 30/06 were youth players

Sean Donnelly : CM : Another inflated price for a player who while being 18 and having great potential wasn't irreplaceable, since going to Spurs he has barely played a game

Kristoffer Neilsen : CM : I thought that he would be best served by going on loan to develop him until he suffered a serious month long injury while there that hindered his progress

All other loans out were youth players

Finances – The money from the group stage has made us comfortable enough that we could invest in upgrades to both the youth and training facilities. We have also invested in increasing the junior coaching and improving our scouting network while boosting our coaching. The sponsorship we receive when compared to the prize money we get from European success pales into insignificance so we are going to need to continue to improve in Europe to keep the club solvent.

Key players

The Top 2

Liam Hoare - Another barnstorming season from the player with the highest average rating in the side of 8.60. My only real criticism of the player would be that he is now 25 and isn't going to improve anymore. As a result, if he wishes to leave for one of the many interested clubs, now that I have adequate replacements he can get his big money move.

Oscar Ortega – A great season from the attacking midfielder who upped his assist rate and made a bigger contribution to the team. I think he is probably going to be my main attacking midfielder for a couple more years yet.

The Bottom 2

Amath George – Hasn't really begun to fulfill his potential yet which has been a source of great frustration for me. Rarely looked like dislodging my other central defenders for a place in the side. Perhaps I need to play him more and maybe next season once Harney leaves it will give him the chance to impress and develop.

Mark Atkinson –. Another player which perhaps is a victim of having a much better first choice ahead of him. Again though I must reiterate that I don't like to have my players feeling that they are guaranteed a place in the side and in order for that to not be the case the backup must be applying pressure by performing well. He didn't really perform when he was called upon so I have a giant question mark as to whether he has a future here. As my main GK is wanted by so many bigger clubs perhaps he will leave and Atkinson may get his opportunity but my concern remains as to whether he is good enough to step into the number one slot. I may need to invest in a new goalkeeper in the event that O'Reilly leaves.

Future Prospects

David – The youngster full of Brazilian flair had a great season getting an average rating of 8.06. I am a little concerned about the fact that my coaches think he has peaked at 21 but time will have to tell on that score.

Oliver Andersen - A player who has come on leaps and bounds. He is actually as good at 20 as Garcia is at 24 so I expect great things from the Dane. I don't like his personality though as I feel if he believed in himself more that he could develop even quicker and perhaps have surpassed Garcia already. If he could work on his dribbling more he could easily become a brilliant winger on the left.

Youth Team

Youth Intake – I get disappointed every time I see it but it's going to be like this for a few more years to come. I would really like to upgrade my youth recruitment but the option is not there even though we could easily afford it as it just entails looking slightly further afield for talented youngsters. I had hoped that perhaps when things had developed well that I might hire a Jamaican HOYD so that I could get some players come through to help me with the second phase of my career but if I am to be eternally restricted to the local area then that will not be possible. I'm glad that other smaller teams have started to ask for loans with more regularity as it means we are making some progress.

League and Cup Results – A poor year in the league by finishing 9th and an even worse one in the cup with them getting knocked out in the 1st round they entered.

Danske Banke Premier Reputation development

League reputation – A marginal improvement which is fine as I thought it would drop after last years terrible performance in Europe. Next season should hopefully see a sharper increase as we head towards a 2.5* reputation.

Club reputations

Domestic Reputation - Not much changes really, I'm a little confused as to why we aren't a 2* team though as we have just won a 2* league

European Reputation - A really nice shooting up the rankings being a result of our appearance in the Champions League group stage. If we could repeat our success next season and break into the top 100 I'd be more than happy with that

Average league attendance

274 up 13 from last year. Again the expansion was scrapped...I don't know....maybe we need to sell out every game before the council gets that we desperately need to expand.

Club Infrastructure

Facilities – Both youth and training facilities are being improved at a cost of £1.4M which was largely paid for by the TV money from the Champions League. Junior coaching was also improved. I'm slightly annoyed the council once again scrapped our plans for a stadium expansion although it seems that the potential expansion capacity is just going up and up. This year the potential expansion capacity has risen to 5,300. I'm not really sure what is going on here but one thing I do know and that is we are in desperate need of improvement, whether that be a move to a new ground or expansion we are going to need this to be sorted sooner rather than later.

Club watch

As we have improved so that we are seeded in the 2nd Qualifying Round I'll return to domestic matters. Linfield are semi-professional but they are amassing quite a lot of money and I feel that perhaps at the end of next season they will become professional again. Disappointingly, Glentoran once again were relegated which means that the Big 2 derby will have to wait at least a season to return.

Next Seasons Expectations

Dominate domestically and repeat this seasons success in Europe. If we can do that we may be able to accelerate the growth of this club.

Career Overview

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table]

You're flying, both on the pitch and in a speed sense.

You're flying, both on the pitch and in a speed sense.

Thanks...it's pretty quick actually. With only one country open and playing games in only commentary for the domestic fixtures I'm finding that the seasons just fly by. If anything, the part which takes longest is the season reviews so I'll be streamlining those from now on. Besides, I think the next few seasons could be quite dull as it's just a slow grind to get up to a level where we are competitive in Europe (although the performance in Europe for my next season review seems quite encouraging).

The Immaculate Conception

Season 2030/2031

Continue our domestic domination and build up our competitiveness in Europe.

League Table - Dropped perhaps a few more points than I would have liked but dominant as usual

UEFA Champions League – I thought that this was a great season in Europe for us. We looked like we might have to settle for the Europa League group stage after a 1-0 defeat in the 1st leg of the playoff to Dinamo but roared back to an impressive 3-0 win in the 2nd leg. On making the Champions League group stage I thought after drawing Arsenal, Bayern and Celtic we would do well to keep the scorelines respectable. We did much more than that and actually pulled off a pretty impressive win in the Allianz Arena. The gap that has to be made up to be competitive seems to have shrunk and we suddenly look more comfortable in the group stage. Maybe next year, if we make it, we can aim for the Europa League knockouts to continue our development.

Domestic Cups - Won it all and never really looked threatened throughout

Reserves – No joy in any of the cups but won the league again convincingly

U18s – Did well in the cup and won it but poor in the league and finished in a lowly 11th

Squad – The team looks very strong but I'll always look for ways in which I can make it stronger. I'll be looking for a LB next season and perhaps another CD and CM depending on whether bigger teams come in for my players. Overall though I'm pleased that this team is still developing and will only get better with time.

Transfers – After both Hoare and Cristiano wanted to move I decided to let them leave with some nice profit clauses for the future potential sales. I decided to splash the cash a bit to acquire a quality right back in Vicente. The remaining free transfers in were a mix of great potential youngsters and high ability players in their mid 20s.

PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Vicente Garcia – Average Rating : 8.24

Had a great season by finishing the season my top scorer (22), also chipped in with the most assists (19). He is at the very peak of his ability according to my coaches but this season was definitely his moment in the sun, I think next season will see Oliver Andersen putting a lot of pressure on him for his place though.

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Oliver Andersen – Average Rating : 8.13

The 21 year old won the young player of the season in N. Ireland and it was well deserved. He put in a string of excellent performances while being rotated with Garcia, getting 14 goals and 15 assists. His development during the season really impressed me and he has started to attract the interest of some bigger clubs.

Finances – The big loss in the current month being a result of the investment in both youth and training facilities. I'd say we have created a fairly comfortable situation where we don't necessarily need to qualify for the Champions League group stage for a couple of seasons and we would still be ok. The wage budget has been creeping up though and will need to be monitored.

Facilities – I have to say I'm getting a little frustrated with the council now as they yet again scrapped our stadium expansion which now can potentially be to 6,800. I then tried to ask for a new stadium but my board didn't think that there would be a fan base big enough to support it. I just have to keep plugging on but we are now at 96% average attendance so what do we need to do to justify expansion? I also upgraded the youth and training facilities with hopes of upgrading the junior coaching shortly.

Youth Intake – Terrible

Average League Attendance - 289, the council really need to stop blocking our expansions

League Reputation – A slight improvement, I'd say the top 40 is our next target as leagues above that have 2.5* reputation

Club Domestic Reputation - I'm happy to reach 2* but our success is distorting the league now with nearly half the teams in the top flight only having regional reputation

Club European Reputation - Nearly in the top 100 and in some impressive company. I'm also quite pleased with our coefficient as it might prove enough to be seeded for both the 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds in the Champions League but we will have to wait and see.

[table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table]

Just read this all the way through. Brilliant. Am very impressed with your progress!

Just read this all the way through. Brilliant. Am very impressed with your progress!

Thanks , it's been quite a journey. I'm hoping that I can keep improving but I think going from where we are now to European champions will be the hardest part of the challenge in this career.

I'll keep at it though and with a bit of luck might be able to win the Champions League and complete Gundo's challenge.