[FM16] - The Ultimate Makoto Nakamura Effect [A-Z of Football Manager]

Cardiovascular · January 19, 2016

Some of you may recall my thread based on a thread last year where I attempted to duplicate Makoto Nakamura's fantastic career (which is still well worth a read). Unfortunately my FM playing time was cut down and thus I couldn't write about my save which was incredibly fun. I only made it as far as Austria but it was by far my favourite save of FM15. And so, struggling to find a save, I return to this challenge... only this time, I'm making it much, MUCH harder by including claassen's World League pack which gives us a frankly ridiculous amount of leagues to conquer.

It will be long and probably impossible to conquer, but I plan on dedicating alot, if not all, of the FM time I have to this save. Of course, it means a few re-jigs of rules and what not since there is a load of countries to conquer. Firstly, my manager will be of a professional past playing experience and have a continental pro licence. This is due to the fact the career will be starting in Albania and not Argentina, and Albania just won't propel me to the heights that Argentina could.

I think that may be the only re-jig really. The principle still remains - I need to win every league and top division cup in the country before leaving that country. Only three countries loaded at a time, and once a country is completed, it is removed with the next alphabetical country coming in. Finally, I'll be randomising the teams until the first team from the Albanian second division pops up. However, I do have two main concerns:

- Not enough rep to jump to the Argentinian league

- leagues from claassen's pack not working

I think these are simply problems we must overcome should they arise. I have about five countries to go through before Argentina so there will at least be some action in the thread before we face that concern.

Anyway, the first team I have been given by the Gods of FM are Besa. They've had a bit of a fall from grace having once been in the Albanian Premier Division and having won the Albanian Cup twice, most recently in 2010. Currently, they're predicted to finish 8th in league of ten so this could prove to be trickier than first thought.

And we're off!

***

Trophy Cabinet

2015/16 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10694395&viewfull=1#post10694395]Albanian First Category[/url] - KS Besa
2016/17 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10702260&viewfull=1#post10702260]Albanian Superleague & Albanian Cup[/url] - Skenderbeu
2017/18 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10704077&viewfull=1#post10704077]Albanian Super Cup[/url] - Skenderbeu

[b]**Albania Complete**[/b]

2018/19 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10720755&viewfull=1#post10720755]Algerian League 2 [/url]- - USM Bel Abbes
2020/21 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10743654&viewfull=1#post10743654]Algerian Cup[/url] | [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10743772&viewfull=1#post10743772]Algerian League 1[/url] - USM Bel Abbes
2021/22 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10752492&viewfull=1#post10752492]African Confederations Cup[/url] | [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10762432&viewfull=1#post10762432]African Super Cup[/url] | [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10764471&viewfull=1#post10764471]Algerian League 1[/url] | [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10764471&viewfull=1#post10764471]Algerian Cup[/url] - USM Bel Abbes
2022/23 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10768270&viewfull=1#post10768270]Algerian Super Cup[/url] - USM Bel Abbes

[b]**Algeria Complete**[/b]

2023/24 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10773507&viewfull=1#post10773507]Andorran Second Division[/url] - C.E Jenlai
2024/25 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10776895&viewfull=1#post10776895]Andorran First Division[/url] | [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10780904&viewfull=1#post10780904]Andorran Cup[/url] - C.E Jenlai
2025/26 - [url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450228-FM16-The-Ultimate-Makoto-Nakamura-Effect-A-Z-of-Football-Manager?p=10782488&viewfull=1#post10782488]Andorran Super Cup[/url] - C.E Jenlai

[b]**Andorra Complete**[/b]

Makoto Nakamura · January 19, 2016

Oooo I will be following with interest although you should have started in Afghanistan Best of luck with Besa though

Cardiovascular · January 20, 2016

Thanks! No Afghan league in this world pack I'm afraid.

Torres.Goal · January 20, 2016

Good luck with this! A quick word of warning though, I am currently doing something similar but not to the huge extent of your challenge and I started with TNS in Wales. In season one I won the league and looked to move on to the next country. I found that even though I had the highest manager reputation and coaching badges FM allows you to start with, I could not get another job for love nor money! I wasn't even getting considered for interviews at bottom of the league teams in Belarus! I just worry you are going to win the league and cup in Albania then have no luck getting a job in Argentina due to the big jump up in the league reputation. Hope it all works out! I will look forward to your updates.

Cardiovascular · January 20, 2016

Good luck with this! A quick word of warning though, I am currently doing something similar but not to the huge extent of your challenge and I started with TNS in Wales. In season one I won the league and looked to move on to the next country. I found that even though I had the highest manager reputation and coaching badges FM allows you to start with, I could not get another job for love nor money! I wasn't even getting considered for interviews at bottom of the league teams in Belarus! I just worry you are going to win the league and cup in Albania then have no luck getting a job in Argentina due to the big jump up in the league reputation. Hope it all works out! I will look forward to your updates.

Thanks! Ugh, that doesn't bode well. I maybe should have started in Argentina, got my rep up then doubled back. We'll have to see if this works out I guess. Fingers crossed.

Cardiovascular · January 20, 2016

KS Besa - Albanian First Category Group A - Pre-season

So despite my coaching badges and rep, I'm still labelled virtually unknown. Off to good a start at least, although I guess I should've expected given I'm essentially only well known in England. Anyway, onto Besa. They have a core group of about 9 solid players and the rest are not great. There will definitely need to be some depth added, but first things first is staff. We started with an assistant manager who quickly moved onto another club as manager. I replaced him with someone terrible. We had two coaches who moved onto other clubs. I replaced them with someone terrible. We had no physio or scouts: I rectified this by signing some more terrible staff. Overall, not a good start.

Needs work is an understatement. Apparently everyone is brilliant, so this league should be easy, right? Key areas to strengthen are the centre backs, right wing and defensive mid. Could probably do with a back up striker, but the former three are priorities. Whilst I did grumble about scouts, they would end up being pivotal in our search for people who can kick a ball. They produced some good finds, more to come on that later.

This lad is pointed out as our key player, and it's not hard to see why. Has some really good looking attributes for this level (I think) but is not willing to sign a new contract. So it could be a case of one season wonder from him.

Some of these players are excellent and some are signed merely so we have some players who are not 16 and 17 year olds as backups. Overall, I'm pleased with our dealings. And yes, annoyingly, Gers Delia was only a part of our squad for six days officially before signing for Sopoti. Traitor. Some of the key signings are listed below.

Rigers Hysko | Nentor Dujaka | Elseid Hysa

Some really positive signings, particularly the first two. Hysa is not as highly rated by the coaches but is ten times better than what we had before. Both Hysko and Dujaka have been abroad for most of their careers. Both of them have also a tiny amount of international youth experience. Whether that means anything is yet to be determined.

Loads of friendlies because of the two month gap from game start to season start. It must be said, only losing to one team is a huge boost. Especially given they are a Serbian Premier League team. I feel like I'm being set up for this season to crap all over me, but only time will tell.

Torres.Goal · January 20, 2016

No problem, it may be that you have to start in a country with a reasonable reputation then as you start winning titles in well known leagues everyone else will want you. This is what I am doing currently as I look to win all top division leagues across the 51 nations pre loaded on FM16. I will be starting my thread soon. Fingers crossed for you, as I say you can still accomplish your task but may not be in the alphabetical order you'd hoped.

Cardiovascular · January 20, 2016

No problem, it may be that you have to start in a country with a reasonable reputation then as you start winning titles in well known leagues everyone else will want you. This is what I am doing currently as I look to win all top division leagues across the 51 nations pre loaded on FM16. I will be starting my thread soon. Fingers crossed for you, as I say you can still accomplish your task but may not be in the alphabetical order you'd hoped.

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for your thread!

Cardiovascular · January 20, 2016

September and October 2015 - Besu - Albanian First Category Group A

Well then. I'd be lying if I said I thought it was going to be this much of a stroll in the park at this stage of the season. We remain unbeaten in the league and cup, having first put out Group B team Lushnja with the help of extra time, and then dumping Superleague side Terbuni Puke (yep, that is their name) out as well in a thumping win. We've drawn Partizani who are currently bottom of the Superleague, although there are three teams on similar points as them. To be honest, I'm not sure if we've strengthened really well or if the teams we're facing are just really awful. To be honest, I'm not fussed because from the results, it looks like we're going to cross off the first league on our list of hundreds.

Right?

Wrong. Beselidhja have been just as relentless. Their only dropped points have come against us. Meanwhile, we drew with the third place side Kastrioti and allowed top spot to slip from our grasp as October came to a conclusion. It will be sickening if we do so well only to have it snatched away from us because other teams are better than us.

Cardiovascular · January 21, 2016

KS Besa - November and December - Albanian First Category Group A

We suffer our first defeat against a mediocre side who sink us with two late goals. It's disappointing to lose the eleven game unbeaten run like so but the saving grace is that Beselidhja have dropped more points by picking up two more draws. Then, the unthinkable happened. After losing two-nil the week before, I didn't fancy our chances against the second placed side. But we won. We didn't just win; we annihilated them from start to finish. It was an absolute incredible display and one of the best I've ever had on FM. Then, in even better news, they were still rattled and lost again! And a three point gap emerged. A three point gap that lasted a total of one week as we dropped points to Ada and allowed them to jump right back in it.

I'm not sure if this is right, but my fixture schedule says there are just three games left for us to cling on to top spot. I think if we do come top, we go into a playoff but I'm not 100% sure. Actually, league rules say we get promoted if we're top! We've been too good to through it all away now.

Ballon D'or

James Rodriguez breaks the Messi-Ronaldo dominance!

Nobby_McDonald · January 21, 2016

Besa luck.

Cardiovascular · January 26, 2016

Thanks Nobby!

March 2016 - KS Besa - Albanian First Category Group A

So it turns out that there were more than three games left and we faced the league one more time through. I had a feeling this was the case but I've no idea what the schedule was playing at not organising them until very late. We faced the Superleague side Partizani firstly in the cup, but we couldn't continue our fine cup run unfortunately as we crashed out by a single goal. This shaky exit continued onto the restart of our league games as we drew one and lost one to give our title hopes a dent. We did manage to recover well with four wins out of four for the remaining games up until the end of March including beating title rivals Beselidhja in what would turn out to be a key game.

Lady luck was shining down upon us, or possibly more accurately, she stepped away from Beselidhja as they lost two games and dropped points in a further one to leave us four points clear with six games to go. Is the league title on the cards?

Cardiovascular · January 28, 2016

End of Season - KS Besa - Albanian First Category Group A

Well, the end of the season is upon us, and it was certainly one for the neutrals. But would we suffer a glorious end of season or bottling heartbreak?

We were four points clear. Four whole points. And then we lost two and drew two in the biggest bottling I've seen in a longtime. It didn't do good for my heart or my anger. We finished strongly against the 8th and 9th team respectively but the question was... had we done it? We dropped ten points - would that be enough to see second or even third above us?

We just, and no more than just, made it over finish line in front by a gnat's hair. With two games remaining, we were third believe it or not as Kastrioti had closed the gap of seven points. And even worse, if our run continued, we risked dropping to fourth! Monstrous finish from Adriatiku. When we beat Burreli by a single goal, both Beselidhja and Kastrioti lost to send us top. It was just a matter of business as usual (or what it used to be) against Korabi, and what a thrashing we delivered to secure top spot. Champions!

Or so I thought...

Turns out, to win the First Category overall, we'd have to beat the group B winners. It makes sense and I've no idea why it didn't pop into my head beforehand, but I started to get that sinking feeling given our recent form and my fears were that I'd have to return to the First Category if we lost, despite winning the league.

I had nothing to worry about. For 54 minutes until Azizi picked up a second yellow, and then I was terrified. We clung on though, eventually ending the game with a 5-1-3 formation which was ugly enough, but if ugly wins you the league, who is complaining?

Reaction

Happy days! Surprised to see myself in the Hall of Fame but I'll assume that's down to the lack of Albanian's on the game rather than me being awesome.

Key Players

A good, core bunch of players. Also managed to extend Ramdanaj's contract for three years when he just had six weeks remaining, which may be my signing of the season. It does, however, look like we will lose Bajaziti which is a real blow.

Cardiovascular · January 28, 2016

Pastures New...?

Yes, I am on the move. I've won the first league in my quest and now an opportunity has arisen I can't turn down. Skenderbeu, who finished second in the Superleague, sacked their manager because they didn't win... no pressure. But they have nice facilities, nice finances, European football and really, it was a no brainer. It is with a heavy heart I leave Besa, but needs must.

Only worth £6k? Pfft

No strangers to success. Runners up in the Albanian Cup this year past as well, exciting times here!

Hamdi Salihi is an incredible player for this level I think. Some set of attributes, getting on a bit now but will still be key if I can keep hold of him. Fingers crossed.

Makoto Nakamura · January 28, 2016

Funnily enough the Skenderbeu manager was sacked in my game as well for leading them to a 5th placed finish, I won't apply for that job though, best of luck with them! :thup:

Cardiovascular · January 30, 2016

Thanks!

Skenderbeu - Albanian Superleague - End of October 2016

Bit of a monster update here as I have played on a bit, and may or may not have forgotten to update this thread. :rolleyes:

Transfers

Had to bring in some backup faces as we needed some depth, only expecting Hodo, Buljan, Akram and Shameti to be starters. Akram, who has 135 caps for Iraq, is a bit of a coup for the club as he is a terrific player.

Key Signings

Experienced heads who will hopefully guide us to the top of the table.

Friendlies

Solid preseason, including a great nil-nil draw with Bulgarian side Levski. Not alot of friendlies, which accounts for the fact we had a small European run which acted as a bit of match experience for the new season.

A European Adventure

We breezed by the side from San Marino easily in the first round and were expected to be up against it against H. Be'er-Sheva from Israel. However, when we visited them, we absolutely pasted them and stuck four by them without reply. This left is in a great position for the home leg, and we moved by them into the next round despite the one-nil loss. Up against Sporting of Spain and my hopes weren't high, but once again I was surprised as we drew one-all in Spain and won 3-1 in Albania to move by them. St. Ettiene were now the only team standing in our way of the group stages but sadly, despite a fantastic 2-2 draw in France, we were thoroughly outclassed in Albania. Still, a fantastic run that boosted the finances and led too..

Nice increase in the junior coaching.

Will probably try the youth facilities towards the end of the season.

Superleague/Albanian Cup

Strong start to Superleague life as we've only lost two games, drawn two and won the rest. Some admittedly poor results, such as conceding three in the second half against Besa to draw 3-3 or being thumed 3-0 by KF Tirana. But overall, I'm pleased with this start we've had.

5 point lead at the top, pleasing stuff!

Cardiovascular · February 1, 2016

Skenderbeu - Albanian Superleague - November and December 2015

Another good month on paper, especially keeping clean sheets in all of our wins over the two months. However there are still careless defeats to Laci and Vllazia. Laci are bottom of the league so it was a bit of a shock to lose to them, but Vllaznia are our closest contenders so it was possibly even worse to be thumped by them.

Fortunatly, they too were inconsistent and we pulled through the blip to finish the year ten points clear at the top. So can't complain really.

Ballon d'Or

Aguero cruelly overlooked for second again despite being miles better than Ronaldo. No sign of Neuer in team of the year which is surprising.

Cardiovascular · February 2, 2016

Skenderbeu - Albanian Superleague - January and February 2017

Well, another good month in truth but it was a lucky one for sure. Two 91st minute goals won us a couple of games and a superb 14 minute hattrick from our left midfielder is the sole reason we advanced in the cup really. We drew a lot more games, including scraping from behind in the match against Kukesi that ended the month. Also lost to Partizani who also happen to be the team we are facing the Albanian Cup semi-final. That said, we still sit top and we are still in the cup. Albania is on track to be completed soon. Was also great to have Hamdi Salihi back after a couple of injuries had meant he had missed the last four months or so.

The gap drops from ten to eight and if we continue to perform semi-poorly, we could find ourselves in deep trouble in our bid for the league title.

Transfers

No incomings in the January window but we sold four players. Mustafa and Esquerdinha were back up AMCs who I was happy to let go for the right price, whilst youngster Doda, who is not especially promising, left for our title rivals. Finally, first choice left back Renato Arapi departed for the Ukranian Premier League due to moaning about wanting to move to a bigger club. I have an adequate replacement in him thanks to summer signing Blerim Kotobelli who will now have his chance to shine as we push for the title.

Cardiovascular · February 3, 2016

Skenderbeu - End of Season 2016/17 - Albanian Superleague

The end is upon and questionssuch as "Will we win the league?" and "Will we win the cup?" were answered. It was now or never really.

Talk about a bottlejob. Everything seemed to go wrong after we knocked Partizani out of the Albanian Cup and made the final. We failed to score in the final five and picked up just three points out of fifteen. And to cap it all off, we lost to Vllaznia on the final day to complete our miserable end to the season.

Well, miserable in terms of results. Fortunately, Vllaznia suffered a similar run of simply terrible form and finished second by three points. Meaning Albania is partly completed! Now, what about the other part?

We just managed to overcome our slump in form and beat First Category A side Adriataku. And I mean just - we came from two-nil down and won the game thanks to Osmani having nerves of steel to thump home a winning penalty.

All that remains now is the Super Cup which takes place early next season. So I'll make some signings to strengthen the squad, fingers crossed win the Super Cup and leave with my head held high.

Review

Key Players

Cardiovascular · February 4, 2016

Skenderbeu - Early Season 2017/18 - Albanian Superleague

I was confident enough in my team's ability to win the Super Cup, our last trophy, when the season ended which meant I'd hopefully be gone from Albania pretty sharpish. Nonetheless, I didn't want to leave the team completely dead in the water so I strengthened where it was required in the hope they'd continue to prosper when I was gone. That is, assuming we won...

Key Signings

Sosa, who top scored in the Superleague last year, was somewhat of a coup as he arrived on a free from Vllaznia having let his contract run down. Bicaj arrives as our best centre back in terms of quality, meanwhile Batha is replacing Lilaj on the right wing who departed for Belgium for £425,000. Youngster Paulo Moreira cost the grand total of £15 and shows some good promise.

Pre-season/Europe

We strolled quite simply past Shamrock Rovers in a 6-1 aggregate thumping but we met our match against Maribor, but were possibly unlucky to lose by so much. We were helped in the first leg by the defensive midfielder receiving an early red. This put us into the Europa League playoff against Lazio of all teams, but it takes place after the Super Cup which means I may not see it. Speaking of the Super Cup... was it written in the stars that I'd end up facing Lazio?

In the end, it was simple. And just like that, Albania is complete!

Topping the hall of fame. And since we're removing this league, I think this record may stand forever.

Heading for pastures new. In Algeria, hopefully.

Makoto Nakamura · February 4, 2016

Great job getting Albania over and done with so quickly! Best of luck with finding a job in Algeria

Cardiovascular · February 5, 2016

Thanks Makoto! Landed quite nicely...

ASM Oran - 4th in League 2

Landed very squarely on my feet in Algeria as I take the reigns at ASM Oran, whose previous manager left for a mid-table League 1 side. They boast a reasonably healthy bank account but I wouldn't go out on a limb and call us rich. With that said, I've been given a £35,000 transfer budget and a £13,000 wage budget, of which currently only £6,000 is being used. So it's not too bad for a League 2 side. I think.

Background

Nothing. A fresh slate and a trophy cabinet which is hopefully just waiting to be filled to the brim.

Expectations

I think these are pretty fair having looked at the squad, we really should b pushing for the title.

Team Report

Great on paper but there doesn't seem to be that much depth which could haunt us in the event of an injury crisis.

Key Player

Really good looking DM! Quite the ball winner

Cardiovascular · February 6, 2016

ASM Oran - Algerian League 2 - November & December 2017

We had a really poor start against MSP Batna who were sat at 9th in the time in what was a disappointing beginning to my Algerian adventure. However, we bounced back strongly and went unbeaten for the rest of the month. Clearly not shy about conceding or scoring a goal or two. We also advanced in the Algerian Cup with two sneaky penalty wins, including a good win against Belouizdad when we were reduced to ten men late on. Hopefully we can keep this up.

Top by goal difference. Hopefully we can pull away in the next couple of months.

Ballon d'Or

Will Messi ever be beaten?

Cardiovascular · February 8, 2016

January and February 2018 - ASM Oran - Algerian League 2

Transfers

Only two incomers this month, Boulaiche arrives to be first choice left back and Djeziri first choice on the left wing. However..

We lost Moussa Zerouki who is a youngster with fantastic potential and was our top scorer under my reign. Oncea bid was made for him, he became unsettled and I had no choice but to let him leave.

Fixtures

A nice amount of wins there which is pleasing but we did struggle with a couple of matches. Two defeats, and they were two particularly crucial ones against JS Saoura and CA Batna who are in with a shout of the title against us this year. I know the saying is you can't win them all, but of all the matches we could've lost this month, it had to be against our title challengers we would lose.

Progressed in the Algerian Cup as well, onto the quarter finals where we face top side ES Sétif. I really can't see us winning that one, but we're televised so it will be a nice experience.

Two points clear now but only four points seperate us from fourth. It's looking likely to be a remarkably tight end of season.

Youth Intake

First time in three years I've had an intake worthy of posting about.

Sid Ahmed Daham | Mohamed Yeklef | Aziz Mazari

Cardiovascular · February 8, 2016

ASM Oran - End of Season 2017/18 - Algerian League 2

As is becoming all too familiar (see Besa and Skenderbeu for similar collapses), we spluttered our way to the end of the season with two losses, two draws and two wins. Although it should be noted that one of those losses was to ES Sétif who are light years ahead of us in terms of size and talent. A 1-0 loss was a very respectable result to earn, and we played well. Unlike our collapses in Albania, this one would end up being very costly.

We let the title slip right out of our grasp on the final day of the season and therefore I will be finding myself looking for a job in League 2 again next year. It is bitterly disappointing to be so close and yet so far but such is life. All I can do is pick myself up and try again next season.

Normally a message people are delighted to see, I am deeply unimpressed with this.

Season Review & Awards

Probably a little unfair of Mohammed Lahmar but he did tail off towards the end of the season. Still a key player though.

Key Players

The Future

As you'd expect. Since I didn't win the league it means I have to spend another year at least trying to win it. Fingers crossed a club will pick me up soon and we can make next year count.

Cardiovascular · February 9, 2016

USM Belle Abes

I was employed for just shy of two weeks before finding the team for my next crack at League 2. It was underachievers USM Belle Abes who would give me the chance to claim the title with them. They finished 7th in the most recent League 2 campaign and were well off the pace, despite a pre-season prediction of 2nd. They don't seem to be a bad club thoughand have a healthy bank balance at hand as well. The squad is getting on a bit though so there may need to be some massive revamps this coming summer.

Background

Not much to see here, an Algerian Cup the highlight of their history waaay back in the 90s. Although, Wikipedia seems to suggest they have won League 2 alot more than FM is letting on.

Team Report

Like I touched on previously, not a bad team here at all but alot of aging bodies in here as well. Probably going to try and improve on the AMC and GK spots in the off season as well as some younger bodies in too.

Key Player

Looks great for this level. As you can tell by his stats, he was a standout player in this side that flopped so poorly last year.

Cardiovascular · February 9, 2016

World Cup 2018 - Russia

The World Cup was upon us during pre-season and Algeria made it which was nice to see! Groups A and B brought no real surprises, except perhaps DR Congo's 1-0 win over USA although that is down to one's opinion really. Group C saw more of a shocking result as Portugal finished bottom behind Ecuador who actually scored a 2-1 win over them. Ecuador themselves were only denied entry to the second round by a Javier Hernandez hattrick in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Mexico.

In Group D, Spain continued a miserable run in the World Cup as they picked up just the one win and one draw to finish third in the group behind shock winners Turkey and Uruguay. Honduras, as expected, were whipping boys and endured a thumping 7-0 loss against Uruguay. Group E saw our home nation at the moment Algeria competing and they were inches away from qualifying. They shocked the world with a 1-0 victory over Italy but could only manage a goalless draw against Iran which saw the Italians sneaking through on the final group day. So close for Algeria, yet so far. No surprises in Group F either although England will be disappointed not to have topped the group.

Denmark put in a super performance in Group G to top the group ahead of Argentina - they were favourites for second but their impressive 1-0 victory over the South Americans ensured top spot. Group H did spring a surprise as Chile failed to qualify from a relatively easy group behind South Korea and Greece, the former of which they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with (although probably not thrilling for any fans of Chile as it sent them packing.)

With some big names missing, other nations had a chance to shine and indeed it was Denmark who stole the show as they went on a fantastic run to the final, including an extra time win over Italy. However they were no match for ze Germans, despite the fact they had only just snuck past England and Uruguay in the previous two rounds. Still, a performance they can be proud of.

dllu · February 10, 2016

Denmark in a World Cup final? Ha - more proof of how wildly unrealistic FM is!

And yes, as you may be able to tell by now, I have the same relationship with my own national team that most Brits have with the Eurovision: I sarcastically hate it because we suck at it...

Cardiovascular · February 10, 2016

I still don't understand how we didn't win that year!

Cardiovascular · February 10, 2016

Pre-season - USM Bel Abbes - Algerian League 2

Expectations & Budgets

Algerian League 2: Win Promotion

Algeria Cup: Reach 4th Round

Transfer Budget: £158k

Wage Budget: £9,885

Transfers

Key Signings

I'm pleased with these purchases in particular, the only other signing was a backup right back who is mediocre at best. Did not manage to pick up an AMC unfortunately and clumsily let a good youth player leave on loan for the season. Think that leaves me with a 34 year old linking up the play between midfield and attack so I'm not sure how that will pan out. Will probably recall the youth player when he can be registered again.

Friendlies

Solid pre-season! No matches which were really difficult but I think we are as ready as we'll ever be to tackle League 2.

dllu · February 10, 2016

I still don't understand how we didn't win that year!

Please don't make me bring up Engelbert Humperdinck or Botox Tyler. Oh, wait. I just did...

Cardiovascular · February 11, 2016

USM Belle Abes - End of October 2018 - Algerian League 2

It has been a solid but unspectacular start to life with USMBA. We've drawn too many games IMO which has left us in a title race when we could've been way out in front. There were some positives for sure, like the 3-0 and 5-2 victories, but we've only won most of the others by the odd goal which is a bit concerning. Nonetheless, we have a nice league position going into November.

It's tight at the top for sure!

Other News

A new chairman came in to the club near the end of October and immediately handed me extra money to spend! Which was a pleasant surprise. Might chance my luck and see if we can get some upgrades as well.

Cardiovascular · February 12, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - End of December 2018 - Algerian League 2

As was outlined in the previous post, I was going to try and get the new board to upgrade our junior coaching. I tried and was successful!

Too many reds here. We slipped to some poor defeats against teams lower than us and consequently, we have slipped down the table. The silver lining of the month, if you can call it that, is our progression in the Algerian Cup where we knocked out top league side CABB Arréridj in a thumping 5-1 thrashing which saw our 17 year old right winger score a hattrick in only his third start, superb stuff there.

As mentioned, we have slipped down the table due to our losses. 6th is not good enough but there is a bright side - we are only five points off the top. A good run should see us back in the mix.

Transfers

We lost our star strike Abdelkader Amer Yahia for £24k to ES Sétif in the First Division which was a blow, but we have replaced him with Yassine Boukhari who can hopefully fill his boots. Also brought in quite an expensive left winger to replace our current 34 year old we have there. The other two are backup centre midfielders.

Ballon d'Or

That Messi fella is not bad you know. No sign of Ronny this year, but he does make an appearance in Team of the Year.

Cardiovascular · February 15, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - Algerian League 2 - End of February 2019

Much, much better as we go on a much needed unbeaten run. Extremely disappointing end to the month though as we lose to an amateur side in the Algerian Cup, but I'd taken the good run of league form over the Algerian Cup every day of the week and more if I could.

Puts us in a really good position coming to the business end of the season as we sit four points clear at the top.

Other News

Big thanks to the board here.

Cardiovascular · February 16, 2016

Youth Intake 2019

A couple of promising prospects for sure.

Other News

Signed a one year extension for now, quite settled here.

Cardiovascular · February 16, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - End of 2018/19 Season - Algerian League 2

4 wins and 2 losses... meh. We should be doing better as we challenge for the title. They are narrow defeats but I think we led in both of them at one point so to lose them both is a bit disappointing. It would be a hell of a lot more if it actually cost us the league title, but it didn't thankfully. In fact, the league title was wrapped up the Friday after our 4-3 defeat as 2nd place lost. Champions!

In the end, we were miles ahead. Smooth work all round really.

Not only did the last day of the season bring us a thumping 4-0 win to round off a great season, it also brought us an absolutely massive crowd which smashed both our own record (which was 35K) and the Algerian League 2 record... by fifteen thousand. Incredible. What a bunch of glory hunters!

Review and Awards

The exclusion of our January signing on the left wing, Salim Belaroui, from our Team of the Season is absolutely atrocious because he cemented himself as a key player straight from the off.

Key Players

Next Season

I think - unless a massive job comes up - I'll probably be sticking with USM Bel Abbes. The team has money in the bank to spend and good potential so I'm happy for now.

Makoto Nakamura · February 16, 2016

Well done on winning the title! Scoring 23 more goals than anyone else as well! How did ASM Oran do in the top flight?

Cardiovascular · February 16, 2016

Thanks! I think our two January signings who made the key players list really helped propel us towards the title. ASM Oran finished 11th and beat the drop quite comfortably. 8 points clear in fact.

Cardiovascular · February 17, 2016

Congrats- always enjoy a big win on the last day of the season as well!

Agreed! Especially in front of a bumper crowd

Cardiovascular · February 17, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - Pre-season - Algerian League 1

Expectations

The bookies think we will be in a relegation struggle for the season and the board agree somewhat, though they do expect us to avoid the drop. They've given me a hefty transfer budget but how much of it I will be able to utilize is a different matter altogether.

Friendlies

Some thumping wins and a draw. Most important thing to come from this is no goals conceded which means our new defence is holding up nicely. Probably didn't have enough friendlies arranged before the season starts though, hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt us.

Transfers

No real major transfers out as we let go of some pretty rubbish players. The real business was our incomings as we signed two centre backs (we lost Haddou, a star last season, as he returned from a two year loan.) We also picked up a striker since we only really had one good one in Boukhari, and even then he's getting on a bit. Finally, a backup keeper arrived. He's very average and I'm not expecting to play him much. Hopefully.

abulezz · February 17, 2016

Great start to the season - this is an awesome challenge save!

Cardiovascular · February 18, 2016

Thanks abulezz! As is yours.

Cardiovascular · February 18, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - End of October 2019 - Algerian League 1

We've started life in League 1 just as the bookies expected as we struggle to pick up points originally. However, given the minimal improvements made to the team that won League 2, I'm quite pleased with our start. Particularly pleasing was the win over ES Sétif on TV as we gain revenge for them knocking us out the cup the season prior. The 5-2 loss looks quite bad but Daouadji (does he need anymore vowels?) decided to get himself sent off not long after scoring. Normally, I'd be annoyed but I'm willing to put it down to a lapse in concentration since he has started fairly well here.

It's not bad, but it's not great. The game in hand could be a big one to move us clear of the relegation zone. I'm confident we can finish mid-table or so.

Cardiovascular · February 18, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - End of December 2019 - Algerian League 1

We have done extraordinarily well here. We missed alot of our key players during the majority of these cames - RB Yagnhi and new striker Daouadji picked up six week injuries and we lost goalkeeper Abdouni and left winger Belaroui to the U23 African Cup of Nations. Our lack of squad depth was exposed and we often only had 4 or 5 subtitutes to rely on in our times of need. We performed extremely well given these circumstances, and thank goodness there were a few cup games that I could rest our key players in. Wonderful period of the season, possibly one of my best in this save!

Mid-table. Comfortably away from the relegation zone and not too far off top half at all. It's a promising position to be in.

Transfer News

Big news as silly old me had a howler. Had set Belaroui, our star on the left, to have reject all bids set to him and subsequently didn't notice when his release clause was met. He left before I had a chance to realise what a terrible mistake I made.

So I'm on the hunt for a new left winger. Meanwhile, we've had two incomers:

Liri has incredible pace and comes in as our best striker. Been waiting for him to arrive for a year now.

Cost a hefty £240k but he looks promising for a young lad.

Ballon d'Or

Messi STILL going strong. Even at 32.

abulezz · February 19, 2016

Its always interesting to see who owns football after Messi and Ronaldo - for me, I had a long stretch of Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Monaco). He even led Portugal to 3 straight World Cup Finals, losing every time.

dllu · February 22, 2016

Its always interesting to see who owns football after Messi and Ronaldo

It is!

In my last looong-term save (on FM13), it was Eden Hazard for several seasons before the regens took over...

Cardiovascular · February 23, 2016

Its always interesting to see who owns football after Messi and Ronaldo - for me, I had a long stretch of Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Monaco). He even led Portugal to 3 straight World Cup Finals, losing every time.

It is!
In my last looong-term save (on FM13), it was Eden Hazard for several seasons before the regens took over...

Could not agree more. Great to see who breaks the Messi/Ronaldo (well, just the former really) duo but I find it equally interesting when regens start making Team of the Year and the Ballon d'Or list!

Cardiovascular · February 23, 2016

USM Bel Abbes - January & February 2020 - Algerian League 1

Signings

As we are at the current limit of foreign players, Coulibaly heads straight into the U21s for some development.

Mentioned needing a left winger in the last update, he's not great but he'll do as a stopgap until the end of the season.

Fixtures

A month break in between competitive fixtures came at the wrong time for us and saw us lose some of our good form that had been building up over recent months. We did breeze by some the youngsters of some of Europe's top clubs which was pleasing, after which we scraped past Bejaia in the Algerian Cup in a game which saw us down to 9 by the end of it thanks to second bookable offences on both occasions during extra time. 2 losses and a win follow that, slightly disappointing but really we've had a brilliant season so far and I can only hope we end strongly.

Not that far away really! Top spot is most certainly gone and I imagine second is too, but 3rd is still a real possibility which would be a huge achievement for us.

Cardiovascular · February 25, 2016

End of Season - USM Bel Abbes - Algerian League 2

What a great update to bring as we went unbeaten in the league. We suffered an expected loss against eventual winners USM Alger but it was as narrow a loss as they come. We thrashed amateur team ESM Koléa 7-0 prior to that with young winger Coulibaly getting himself a hattrick and making his name know around the club in a fairly noticeable manner. Despite the fine form, we narrowly - and I mean narrowly - missed out on top spot by a point. If we hadn't drawn that penultimate match... things would've panned out differently. In fact, we were down to 9 men after an hour in that match so if those too idiots hadn't got themselves sent off.. who knows? While we're on the subject of discipline:

We were really bad and I have no idea how to control it. In the last three games, we picked up 9 yellows and 4 reds and this was with no opposition instructions and 'stay on feet' instructions applied. No idea how to control it after that, hopefully it was just a one off.

So close yet so far, but our first year up was fantastic and 3rd place is a massive boost. Hopefully, with the right signings next year, top spot can be ours!

African football too.. exciting times ahead.

Awards and Reviews

Very harsh on Liri that he doesn't make our team of the season but I suppose that must be down to him arriving mid-season rather than being from the start. Which is stupid, but well well.

Key Players

Liri is by far and away one of my favourite players thus far, a joy to watch and I have no doubt that if we had him from the beginning of the season we would have won the league. Rouabah was solid at the back and chipped in with a good few assists, meanwhile Anane ran the show from the centre of the park. Great season for these guys.

Other News

I'm probably in it for the long haul in Algeria with this bunch, I've grown quite fond of the club since I joined.

Tried to get youth facilities too but the board were having none of it.

Makoto Nakamura · February 25, 2016

Great first season in the top league! Any inklings on how well you could do in the African Confederations Cup?

Sign In

[FM16] - The Ultimate Makoto Nakamura Effect [A-Z of Football Manager]

Recommended Posts

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post

Share on other sites

Link to post