You're not gonna believe this. He killed 16 Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator IV

I originally did the FM15 version of this last year and got to 2030 but the DB I used was bugged and I also had less time to play back then so that save is lost otherwise i'd have done a continuation of that. As with my aim on previous FM's the goal is to move around the divisions in the Iron Curtain and make them as strong as possible. Previous threads have been very popular and there were some amazing successes and failures along the way, most notably the rebirth of Red Star Belgrade after being relegated to the 2nd tier, Spartak Moscow who some will remember were an amazing side even before I took them over making 2 CL finals in a row before I stepped in added that little to make them a real force and the sacking at Jagiellonia Białystok after a promising 1st season at the club and also an absolute torrid time in Belarus turning champions Granit Mikashevichi in to relegation contenders in less than 6 months.

As previously I don't have to win everything in each nation, it's more a case of exploring new leagues and see how far I get. As previously the aim is to get as many Iron Curtain nations as high in the rankings as possible. Previously Serbia and the Czech Republic have become dominant along with Russia. There's a couple of nations i'd like to have success in as i've never had the chance to build there.

After researching the best Custom DB for this i've gone for Claasen's DB from FM Scout as the one I used in my 1st attempt last year had bugs with Georgia, Albania and Lithuania and probably more but they are the ones I recall whereas this has popped up on a few forums during the research and doesn't seem to have any problems.

These are the loaded leagues

England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain are loaded purely to keep those divisions strong naturally as on my FM13 and 14 attempts I did notice that it seemed easier to overtake when not loaded and I want this to be a fair natural progression if there is any.

I try not to do more than 5 years in a country but if I feel i'm at a club where good progression in Europe is being made then i'll stick around because after all the aim of this is a switch of power to the East!

As always I start unemployed with Sunday rep

In previous incarnations of this thread i've tried to keep readers up to date with the game world in general. This has usually been a report of league rankings at the end of the season, a report on former clubs, World Cup and European Championship updates and any tycoon takeovers which has always been popular especially in obscure nations so i'll be sticking with that again. I'll keep 2 posts free to keep game world details of the major leagues that I won't be playing in, CL and Europa winners, along with the World Cup And European Championships to make things easier to hunt out along with my career path and important events ect;

Season    Club                      Division                    Position  European               Other
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014      FC Kaisar                 Kazakhstan Premier League   9th       N/A                    *Took charge 20 Games in to season
2015      FC Kaisar                 Kazakhstan Premier League   2nd       N/A                    Cup Winners
2016      FC Kaisar                 Kazakhstan Premier League   1st       3rd Europa Group       Cup Winners   
2016/17   Wisla Kraków              Polish First Fivision       1st       N/A                    *Took charge after 23 games
2017/18   Wisla Kraków              Ekstraklasa                 3rd       N/A                    Qualified for Europa League
2018/19   Wisla Kraków              Ekstraklasa                 1st       3rd Europa Group
2019/20   Dukla Praha               Czech First Division        3rd       N/A                    Qualified for Europa League
2020/21   Dukla Praha               Czech First Division        1st       Europa 1st K/O Round   Champions                
2021/22   Dukla Praha               Czech First Division        1st       CL Quarter Final       League and Cup winners
2022/23   Neftçi PFK                Azerbaijan Premier League   5th       N/A                    *Took charge in March, Cup winners
2023/24   Neftçi PFK                Azerbaijan Premier League   1st       Europa Group           Cup Winners
2024/25   Neftçi PFK                Azerbaijan Premier League   1st       CL Group               Cup Winners
2025/26   Lokomotiv Moscow          Russian Premier Division    4th       N/A
2026/27   Lokomotiv Moscow          Russian Premier Division    2nd       Europa 2nd K/O
2027/28   FK Crvena Zvezda          Serbian SuperLeague         2nd       N/A                    Cup winners      

Nation          2014  2015  +/-  2016  +/-  2017  +/-  2018  +/-  2019  +/-  2020  +/-  2021  +/-  2022  +/-  2023  +/-  2024  +/= 2025  +/-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania         65    62    +3   58    +4   55    +3   58    -3   61    -3   71    -1   78    -7   74    +4   78    -4   82    -8   80    +2  
Armenia         88    83    +5   73    +10  77    -4   67    +4   58    +9   61    -3   67    -6   64    +3   75    -11  63    +12  68   -5
Azerbaijan      40    40    0    45    -5   44    +1   50    -4   43    +7   49    -6   45    +4   50    -5   55    -5   47    +8   40    +7
Belarus         22    25    -3   24    +1   30    -6   26    +4   19    +7   17    +2   20    -3   16    +4   19    -3   16    +3   17    -1 
Bosnia & Herz   47    53    -5   54    -1   54    0    62    -8   62    0    63    -1   58    +5   54    +4   53    +1   56    -3   52    +4
Bulgaria        26    23    +3   28    -5   21    +7   20    +1   25    -5   22    +3   21    +1   27    -6   27    0    25    +2   19    +6
Croatia         20    18    +2   20    -2   16    +4   13    +3   11    +2   11    0    12    -1   18    -6   21    -3   17    +4   14    +3
Czech Rep       15    14    +1   14    +2   11    +1   12    -1   13    -1   14    -1   15    -1   12    +4   14    -2   11    +3   11    0
Estonia         90    96    -6   87    +9   82    +5   76    +6   76    0    69    +7   77    -8   70    +7   59    +11  68    -9   75    -7   
FYR Macedonia   67    63    +4   66    -3   72    -6   79    -7   80    -1   81    -1   75    +6   68    +7   62    +6   61    +1   60    +1
Georgia         44    44    0    48    -4   52    -6   54    -2   63    -9   70    -7   76    -6   69    +7   64    +5   65    -1   65    0 
Hungary         30    36    -6   38    -2   45    -7   49    -4   51    -2   42    +9   42    0    40    +2   34    +6   31    +3   23    +8
Kazakhstan      45    47    -2   37    +10  36    +1   31    +6   36    -5   35    +1   34    +1   36    -2   37    -1   37    0    39   -2
Latvia          57    65    -8   74    -9   76    -2   81    -5   81    0    89    -8   92    -3   92    0    89    +3   97    -8   96    +1
Lithuania       66    77    -11  76    +1   67    +11  71    -4   75    -4   73    +2   68    +5   76    -8   79    -3   70    +9   70    0  
Moldova         39    38    +1   39    -1   37    +2   39    -2   40    -1   47    -7   54    -7   60    -6   68    -8   76    -8   81    -5
Montenegro      60    66    -6   67    -1   69    -2   73    -4   70    +3   76    -6   69    +8   72    -3   67    +5   75    -8   73    +2   
Poland          21    20    +1   25    -4   23    +2   21    +2   16    +5   12    +4   13    -1   14    -1   11    +3   12    -1   13    +1
Romania         16    16    0    15    +1   13    +2   16    -3   20    -4   19    +1   16    +3   21    -5   17    +4   14    +3   13    +1   
Russia          7     7     0    7     0    8     -1   8     0    9     -1   10    -1   9     +1   8     +1   7     +1   7     0    6     +1
Serbia          29    29    0    26    +3   24    +2   25    -1   24    +1   26    -2   19    +7   15    +4   12    +3   10    +2   10    0
Slovakia        36    33    +1   33    0    34    -1   34    0    26    +8   33    -7   31    +2   33    -2   36    -3   38    -2   36    +2
Slovenia        35    32    +3   32    0    25    +8   23    +2   23    0    21    +2   26    -5   26    0    26    0    27    -1   30    -3
Ukraine         9     8     +1   8     0    7     +1   7     0    7     0    7     0    7     0    6     +1   5     +1   5     0    5     0

Nation          [b]2014[/b]  2026  +/-  2027  +/-  2028  +/-  2029  +/-  2030  +/-  2031  +/-  2032 +/-  2033   +/-  2034  +/-  2035  +/-  2036  +/-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania         [b]65[/b]    80    0    76    +4   79    -3 
Armenia         [b]88[/b]    70    -2   72    -2   62    +10
Azerbaijan      [b]40[/b]    34    +6   29    +5   26    +3
Belarus         [b]22[/b]    16    +1   16    0    15    +1
Bosnia & Herz   [b]47[/b]    61    -9   57    +4   66    -9
Bulgaria        [b]26[/b]    20    -1   18    +2   16    +2
Croatia         [b]20[/b]    10    +4   10    0    9     +1
Czech Rep       [b]15[/b]    11    0    9     +2   6     +3
Estonia         [b]90[/b]    71    +4   59    +12  58    +1     
FYR Macedonia   [b]67[/b]    52    +8   55    -3   57    -2
Georgia         [b]44[/b]    58    +7   68    -10  67    +1
Hungary         [b]30[/b]    18    +5   17    +1   14    +3
Kazakhstan      [b]45[/b]    41    -2   42    -1   44    -2
Latvia          [b]57[/b]    95    +1   95    0    103   -8
Lithuania       [b]66[/b]    76    -6   73    +3   73    0
Moldova         [b]39[/b]    91    -10  96    -5   88    +8
Montenegro      [b]60[/b]    78    -5   84    -6   92    -8
Poland          [b]21[/b]    12    0    12    0    10    +2
Romania         [b]16[/b]    14    -1   11    +3   13    -2
Russia          [b]7[/b]     6     0    5     +1   2     +3
Serbia          [b]29[/b]    9     +1   13    -4   11    +3
Slovakia        [b]36[/b]    40    -4   37    +3   37    0
Slovenia        [b]35[/b]    31    -1   24    +7   20    +4
Ukraine         [b]9[/b]     5     0    4     +1   3     +1

Champions League History

Season       Winners                  Runners Up
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Bayern Munich            Chelsea
2015/16      Roma                     Porto
2016/17      Bayern Munich            Manchester United
2017/18      Manchester United        Bayern Munich
2018/19      Real Madrid              Bayern Munich
2019/20      Barcelona                Juventus
2020/21      Liverpool                Barcelona
2021/22      Zenit Saint Petersburg   Shakhtar Donetsk
2022/23      Liverpool                Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
2023/24      Bayern Munich            Roma
2024/25      Barcelona                Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
2025/26      Liverpool                Arsenal
2026/27      Manchester City          CSKA Moscow
2027/28      Arsenal                  Lokomotiv Moscow

Europa League History

Season       Winners               Runners Up
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Lille                 Tottenham Hotspur
2015/16      Villarreal            Schalke
2016/17      Juventus              Manchester City
2017/18      Arsenal               Sporting Lisbon
2018/19      Chelsea               Sevilla
2019/20      Newcastle United      Sevilla
2020/21      Shakhtar Donetsk      Everton
2022/23      Bayern Munich         FK Javor Ivanjica
2023/24      Juventus              Paris Saint-Germain
2024/25      Manchester United     Dinamo Moscow
2025/26      Benfica               Wisła Kraków
2026/27      Internazionale        Shakhtar Donetsk
2027/28      Benfica               Basel

World Club Cup History

Year       Winners                 Runners Up
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2014       Real Madrid             Cruz Azul
2015       Bayern Munich           River Plate
2016       Pumas                   Estudiantes
2017       Bayern Munich           Boca Juniors
2018       Manchester United       Estudiantes
2019       River Plate             Cruz Azul
2020       Barcelona               Flamengo
2021       Liverpool               Sao Paulo
2022       Zenit Saint Petersburg  Espérance Sportive de Tunis
2023       Liverpool               Estudiantes
2024       Vélez Sarsfield         Bayern Munich
2025       Barcelona               Vélez Sarsfield                              
2026       C.F. Monterrey          Sao Paulo
2027       Manchester City         Sao Paulo

Top Divisions History (Start Of Game)

England

Season       Winners             Runners Up           Third
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Liverpool           Manchester United    Chelsea
2015/16      Chelsea             Liverpool            Manchester United
2016/17      Manchester United   Liverpool            Chelsea
2017/18      Manchester United   Manchester City      Arsenal
2018/19      Manchester United   Manchester City      Liverpool
2019/20      Manchester United   Liverpool            Chelsea
2020/21      Manchester United   Manchester City      Liverpool
2021/22      Arsenal             Liverpool            Manchester United
2022/23      Liverpool           Chelsea              Manchester United
2023/24      Manchester City     Arsenal              Liverpool
2024/25      Arsenal             Manchester United    Liverpool
2025/26      Manchester United   Manchester City      Arsenal
2026/27      Manchester City     Stoke City           Arsenal
2027/28      Manchester City     Arsenal              Manchester United

France

Season       Winners                Runners Up              Third
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Toulouse 
2015/16      Paris Saint-Germain    Lyon                    Bordeaux
2016/17      Bordeaux               Saint-Ettiene           Paris Saint-Germain
2017/18      Monaco                 Paris Saint-Germain     Saint-Ettiene
2018/19      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Marseille
2019/20      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Marseille
2020/21      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Marseille
2021/22      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Lorient
2022/23      Monaco                 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard  Lyon
2023/24      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
2024/25      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Bordeaux
2025/26      Paris Saint-Germain    Monaco                  Valenciennes
2026/27      Monaco                 Paris Saint-Germain     Valenciennes
2027/28      Monaco                 Paris Saint-Germain     Marseille 

Germany

Season       Winners                    Runners Up            Third
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Borussia Dortmund          Bayer Leverkusen      Bayern Munich
2015/16      Borussia Mönchengladbach   Bayern Munich         Borussia Dortmund
2016/17      Bayer Leverkusen           Bayern Munich         Wolfsburg
2017/18      Bayern Munich              Bayer Leverkusen      Borussia Dortmund
2018/19      Schalke                    Wolfsburg             Bayern Munich
2019/20      Bayern Munich              Schalke               1. FC Köln
2020/21      Wolfsburg                  Schalke               Borussia Dortmund
2021/22      Bayern Munich              Wolfsurg              Schalke  
2022/23      Bayern Munich              Schalke               Bayer Leverkusen
2023/24      Bayern Munich              Schalke               Borussia Dortmund
2024/25      Bayern Munich              1. FC Köln            Bayer Leverkusen
2025/26      Bayern Munich              Schalke               1. FC Köln
2026/27      Bayern Munich              Borussia Dortmund     Bayer Leverkusen
2027/28      1. FC Köln                 Bayern Munich         Schalke 

Italy

Season       Winners           Runners Up           Third
------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Juventus          AC Milan             Roma      
2015/16      Juventus          Roma                 Palermo
2016/17      Juventus          Roma                 Palermo
2017/18      Juventus          Lazio                Palermo
2018/19      Juventus          Napoli               Palermo
2019/20      Juventus          Lazio                Internazionale
2020/21      Roma              Juventus             Lazio
2021/22      Roma              Juventus             Napoli
2022/23      Roma              Napoli               Juventus
2023/24      Roma              Napoli               Internazionale
2024/25      Roma              Napoli               Internazionale
2025/26      Roma              Napoli               Juventus
2026/27      Roma              Napoli               Internazionale
2027/28      Internazionale    Roma                 Catania 

Spain

Season       Winners           Runners Up           Third
------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15      Atletico Madrid   Real Madrid          Barcelona
2015/16      Real Madrid       Atletico Madrid      Barcelona
2016/17      Real Madrid       Barcelona            Atletico Madrid
2017/18      Real Madrid       Barcelona            Valencia
2018/19      Barcelona         Real Madrid          Atletico Madrid
2019/20      Barcelona         Real Madrid          Atletico Madrid
2020/21      Barcelona         Real Madrid          Atletico Madrid
2021/22      Barcelona         Atletico Madrid      Sevilla
2022/23      Real Madrid       Barcelona            Atletico Madrid
2023/24      Barcelona         Real Madrid          Atletico Madrid
2024/25      Real Madrid       Atletico Madrid      Barcelona
2025/26      Real Madrid       Sevilla              Celta Vigo
2026/27      Real Madrid       Sevilla              Atletico Madrid
2027/28      Barcelona         Real Madrid          Mallorca

International Tournament History

World Cup

Year    Host Nation       Winners           Runners Up           Third Place
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018    Russia            Spain             England              Brazil
2022    Qatar             Argentina         Holland              France
2026    U.S.A             Argentina         Brazil               England

European Championships

Year    Host Nation       Winners           Runners Up           
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
2016    France            Italy             Holland
2020    Various           England           Portugal
2024    Spain             Italy             Portugal         
2028    Italy             Czech Republic    England

Chapter I: FC Kaisar

Despite the league position I think i've landed on my feet with this job (Not often you hear people say that about a trip to Kazakhstan ). Granted the league position isn't great but it isn't beyond repair and there seems to be a good foundation to build with and a few handy players and money to spend which was a bonus as is the fact we are a top flight club. I nearly took a job in Bosnia's 2nd tier but held on a few weeks so hopefully that turns out to be a good choice. Kazakhstan was actually one of the places I really wanted to get to at some stage mainly because I watched Long Way Round on Netflix last week and Kazakhstan was one of the countries they went through, in fact watching that gave me the urge to start this save up but obviously I was tied up with the other thread.

Only aim is to survive this season and build, we are allowed to scout Eastern Europe and the UK (doubtful I can pick up anybody from there ) but hopefully our scouts will pick up a few freebies from somewhere. I think making use of the 4 foreign players will be key to this though the 2 i've linked seem decent for this level. The scouts are on the case anyway so hopefully in a few weeks we can pick a few up to boost the numbers

I'm so glad this is back! Best of luck in Borat land!

I'm so glad this is back! Best of luck in Borat land!

Cheers, I have loved these threads over the years and i'd love to finally have the East be the new power one day I think i've made the right choice to start in Kazakhstan, we had a tough start losing 2 and drawing 1 of the 1st 3 games but a few injuries meant I had to switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 and it's seen a turnaround in our form. I did make the mistake of not reading the transfer windows and thought i'd signed 4 players that could come straight in and improve us but apparently even frees aren't allowed outside the window That said we are doing better now and having a few new faces secured for next season is a positive as I fancy at least 2 full seasons here.

I was thinking life in Kazakhstan was getting easy after we started picking up points but didn't realise the league splits in 2 after 22 games so we were in the relegation group That said it is still tight with 4 games left, thankfully we've overturned what could have been a horrible goal difference so that could be a big advantage

FC Kaisar July - November 2014

Even though we had a couple of points to make up and the start and end to the season we struggled it was a decent start to life in Kazakhstan in the end. The forced change in tactics made us that little bit more solid as even from the early games I could tell with Hunt and Juraj Piroska there was plenty of goals in the squad.

The scouting range has been extended to all Europe now which will be handy if we can snap up a few decent options, obviously with the 5 foreigner rule it'll be hard especially as 2 are taken up with names mentioned but ideally forwards and midfield are where I want to use those slots. The board agreed to a youth coaching upgrade which is something I always look at improving with any club but I find it even more important to do it in these Iron Curtain saves as it doesn't take long for bigger clubs to snatch your better players.

Awesome that this is back, I enjoyed the previous chapters of the manic interior decorator. Eastern Europe threads have some sort of special charm.

Seems like quite a spectacular turnaround of form there, very solid start.

Awesome that this is back, I enjoyed the previous chapters of the manic interior decorator. Eastern Europe threads have some sort of special charm.

Seems like quite a spectacular turnaround of form there, very solid start.

Cheers noikeee I've had a fond spot for Eastern European clubs for years, it stemmed from when Man Utd played Red Star in the European Super Cup in 1991, Red Star lost a few players after winning the European cup but still had Darko Pancev, Dejan Savicevic, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Vladimir Jugovic. They battered us 0-1 that night, I don't think i've seen a side play as well against United and lose Obviously keeping track wasn't something you could really do before the internet but it stayed in my head. I keep saying I need to do a few trips to some of these nations and see a few games, hopefully i'll finally get my arse in gear and do it this year

In game i'm making a big effort to chalk off as many of the custom leagues as possible doing probably 3 years maximum at each. There seems to be a bit of money in this division and the outgoings aren't big at all so there's a chance to leave a mark with the club before I move on to the next challenge (Georgia, Estonia or Latvia are my ideal moves)

The start was decent enough, I think we've strengthened really well over the pre season though we did lose Hunt.

Great to see this again, good luck.

Nice - its back! Good luck.

Good luck. I'm glad to see this back.

Best of luck, look forward to following closely.

Great to see this again, good luck.

Nice - its back! Good luck.

Good luck. I'm glad to see this back.

Best of luck, look forward to following closely.

Thanks everyone, i'm looking forward to seeing how it pans it out, i've never managed in some of these countries before and I certainly don't recall anybody spending time in Kazakhstan in this section before so i'm going to in this completely blind

FC Kaisar March - May 2015

Transfers







Fixtures



Table

It was a bit of a mixed bag in the 1st 10 games or so, I was actually getting a little angry during the hammerings we had but once I settled down I realised that in all honesty whilst the scores were high we were in a relegation fight last season and most of our games were against sides on the same level or worse and I was being overly critical of the players, especially as we had a fair few new faces settling in and we had a bit of an injury crisis too. Thankfully we are on a little run now that players are settling in and coming back. Goals for at no stage have been a problem, it's been at the other end we have struggled but that seems to improved in the last month too and it is something we need to continue if we are to make the European half of the split. Thankfully we have a 5 point gap between us and 7th but with 8 games to play i'm not taking that for granted yet.

We've had a nice little run in the cup against lower opposition so far and again we play a side below us in the quarter final, they are the lowest ranked side in it so we got lucky there and one of the bigger sides in Shakter and Akobe will be out once they play in the same round, if we can get through and avoid either then we'll have a great chance of making the final which will be a huge event for the club and a chance to get some early silverware for myself because in all honesty the league this and probably next year is well out of reach with the financial power of the bigger sides.

We only lose around £70k a month and with £4M in grants and £1M in TV money each year it will hardly put a dent in our £7M so once the board offered a new contract I felt asking for the youth facilities to be improved it wouldn't harm our finances as I can't find any players to spend the kitty we have on anyway Having a deal until the end of 2016 is about right at this stage for me, it gives me some time to assess which way the club and division is going before I decide on my next move, currently i'm enjoying this division, there are 1 or 2 poor teams but most are capable of pulling off a shock and there's plenty of goals either end which is a nice change to my previous save with Rhyl where we'd just have to step on to the pitch most weeks and guess how many more than 5 we'd score.

Nation          2014  2015  +/-  2016  +/-  2017  +/-  2018  +/-  2019  +/-  2020  +/-  2021  +/-  2022 +/-  2023  +/-  2024  +/=
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania         65    62    +3
Armenia         88    83    +5   
Azerbaijan      40    40    0
Belarus         22    25    -3
Bosnia & Herz   47    53    -5
Bulgaria        26    23    +3
Croatia         20    18    +2
Czech Rep       15    14    +1
Estonia         90    96    -6
FYR Macedonia   67    63    +4  
Georgia         44    44    0
Hungary         30    36    -6
Kazakhstan      45    47    -2
Latvia          57    65    -8
Lithuania       66    77    -11
Moldova         39    38    +1
Montenegro      60    66    -6
Poland          21    20    +1
Romania         16    16    0
Russia          7     7     0 
Serbia          29    29    0
Slovakia        36    33    +1
Slovenia        35    32    +3
Ukraine         9     8     +1

Risers = 11/24

Fallers = 7/24

No Move = 6

Biggest Rise = Armenia +5 (83)

Biggest Drop = Lithuania -11 (77)

I've done the Coefficient table differently this year as I think doing it this way rather than a 5 yearly update will take less time for me to work out (now i've done the code part as I always struggle with the 1st post on a code whilst getting it all aligned ) and will be easier for the reader.

I am thinking of doing a colour code on the +/- part just to separate the text being all black, how would green for rises, red for drops and bold text for non movers look as once a few more seasons are added i'm worried it may look more cluttered and hard to follow as it is? Or should I keep it as it is?

I'd say it looks good as it is.

Cheers Rikulec i'll keep it as it is for now and maybe change if it becomes hard to follow later on

FC Kaiser June - August 2015

Transfers









Fixtures



Table

That period went better than expected and we have clear daylight between us and 4th placed Shakhter who have surprised me slightly at their form this season (I don't know what i'm basing this on tbh other than I have heard of them before unlike most in the country ). I think considering we are playing the better sides in the final part of the season this year 3rd would be fantastic for the club and after just aiming for the European stage at the start of the reason whilst I see how how the new players do I think 3rd is realistic. We should also be in the Cup final with a 3-0 lead from the 1st leg of the semi so it has gone better than expected.

I think a lot of our form is to do with the quality of foreigners brought in, those 5 in a matchday can make a huge difference in a league like this and our 3 signings in the 2nd window show real intent, Zimmermann has been a fantastic player for me in any save like this on FM and i'm sure he'll make a difference again with us. Foreign players are also key because I like to snap them up cheap/free and sell on to invest in an upgrade whenever possible. It sounds ruthless but most want to leave pretty quickly once other clubs start paying attention so I have to treat the players just as I expect to be treated and always have the next target in mind.

Great to see the latest version of this.

FC Kaisar September - November 2015

Fixtures





Table

Delighted with our position and a cup win in my 1st full season but it could have been so much better had we got any kind of result against Aktobe as this was the table heading in to that game

As the result (0-2) shown though we were outplayed on the day so I can't really have any complaints about it, in fact i'm more than happy with the progress shown in the short period i've been at the club and taken it to it's highest ever league position. At least in the cup final we shown enough to suggest that Aktobe aren't that far ahead of us and we at got some silverware to show for our efforts.

I'm definitely seeing this contract out, i've just refused an extension to 2017 as I want to keep my options open after this current one in 2016 as I want to see how we do in the league and of course play our first ever season in Europe, Kaisar's previous attempts in continental competitions were in 1999 and again in 2000 in the Asian Cup Winners Cup where they didn't make it past the 2nd round so this will be good to see how we do in a stronger competition in the Europa.

We have £10M to spend this window and rather than focus on the foreigners this time my intention is to raid other clubs for the best Kazakhstan talents available as league restrictions are tough, I do have a few targets including bringing one in from Germany if we can get some leverage on his wage demands.

Erik Baltabekov from the youth intake was thrown straight in to the 1st team due to injuries and 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 is a great return from him, I see him more of a winger than midfielder due to dribbling, crossing and pace being higher than most of the players at the club already so he's been training for that and hopefully be more adept by the seasons start.

I managed to persuade the board to send me on my 1st coaching course

Other off the pitch improvements are training for the first and youth team facilities are being upgraded (£1.1M total) and a 2nd junior coaching upgrade was agreed. As with any club in these saves, I start long term visions for the club even though I don't hang about for too long as I want every nation to be as strong as possible and by improving a club i'm at with a long term vision can only help with that.

Great to see the latest version of this.

Cheers Delta, whenever I come to this save I love the unpredictable part of it be it leagues that don't get played often, trying to go from an underdog to a giant ect; Never knowing where i'll end up even when I have ideas of where I wouldn't mind.

FC Kaisar March - May 2016

Transfers

Lots of outs to rid the squad of the deadwood that was never going to be good enough or were overpaid for their ability this allowed me to pay extra in wages for the new faces.

First choice David Loria was a good stop gap for last season in order to keep the homegrown quota up but he was in decline for most of the year, Pokatilov was one of 2 available Kazakhstani keepers who were either a) available or b) better than Loria and with the squad as it is I didn't want to use a foreign spot on a keeper so he was a good choice to take over and judging by the goals against column being better than last year so far I made the right choice bringing him in.

One of my favourite signings of the pre season Bauyrzhan Islamkhan came to my attention in the games against us last season where he gave us problems and scored a couple of goals. This lad was 3rd in the goalscoring charts last season and the leading domestic scorer, he cost a fair amount for a domestic transfer but getting someone of his quality whilst weakening a rival for the title in the process made huge sense. I think of him as our "Robin Van Persie" signing

Willi Evseev was our record signing and to bring him back to Kazakhstan was a temptation too great especially as we had a lot of injuries in midfield last year, his wages are pretty high but as this could be my final season I wanted to go all out for the title and having a strong squad means having players like him in it, especially as we have Europe to deal with in the summer and having someone like him will only help our cause.

This deal was the hardest to complete as we originally targeted him but I was put off by the asking price so we moved on to Dmitrii Shomko from last years champions Aktobe and then Rinat Aljanov from Kairat but neither were that keen to sell (we were quoted £5M for Aljanov ) which meant we came back as the left back position was something I really to fix and just short of £2M was more value for money than £5M of someone of roughly equal ability (granted Aljanov is 5 years younger). We do have the money to bring in Aljanov but I felt keeping some by in case was the sensible thing to do for now, i'll be looking at him again in a few months though as a possible parting gift or if I stay Zimmermann is likely to want to leave so i'd move Engel to his natural RB spot and play Aljanov if I can get him in.

All in i'm happy with the dealings, we've wakened a rival, got a promising young domestic keeper, sorted out or weakest position and have one of the best midfields in the division.

Fixtures

Table

More than happy with the start, the new signings have settled in well, Erik Baltabekov has been sensational for his age and as I thought may be the case having someone with decent pace in this league causes sides problems. We are through to the cup quarter final again and with a decent lead in the table can afford to rotate a little once Europe starts. Being unseeded is no doubt going to mean we have problems and of course having most of Europe loaded means even the small teams have real players and have no doubt been strengthening so qualifying through any round is going to be a bit tougher than i've been used to for a while.

Nation          2014  2015  +/-  2016  +/-  2017  +/-  2018  +/-  2019  +/-  2020  +/-  2021  +/-  2022 +/-  2023  +/-  2024  +/=
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania         65    62    +3   58    +4
Armenia         88    83    +5   73    +10   
Azerbaijan      40    40    0    45    -5  
Belarus         22    25    -3   24    +1
Bosnia & Herz   47    53    -5   54    -1
Bulgaria        26    23    +3   28    -5
Croatia         20    18    +2   20    -2
Czech Rep       15    14    +1   14    +2
Estonia         90    96    -6   87    +9
FYR Macedonia   67    63    +4   66    -3 
Georgia         44    44    0    48    -4    
Hungary         30    36    -6   38    -2
Kazakhstan      45    47    -2   37    +10
Latvia          57    65    -8   74    -9
Lithuania       66    77    -11  76    +1
Moldova         39    38    +1   39    -1
Montenegro      60    66    -6   67    -1
Poland          21    20    +1   25    -4
Romania         16    16    0    15    +1
Russia          7     7     0    7     0
Serbia          29    29    0    26    +3
Slovakia        36    33    +1   33    0
Slovenia        35    32    +3   32    0
Ukraine         9     8     +1   8     0

Risers = 9/24

Fallers = 11/24

No Move = 4

Biggest Rise = Armenia +10 (73), Kazakhstan =10 (37)

Biggest Drop = Latvia -9 (74)

Massive boost for us after a little drop last year with us now in the top 40, as I said there seems to be a bit of money in this division so it'll be interesting to see how the nation does as the years go on.

Really top signings for Kazakhstan league, good luck in Europe. Glad to see Vostok back on the top level (they are from the town where I lived in my childhood).

Really top signings for Kazakhstan league, good luck in Europe. Glad to see Vostok back on the top level (they are from the town where I lived in my childhood).

Cheers Koetzer Do you have any interest in the league then? Vostok should be safe this year as they have about 10 points more than the 2nd bottom side

I've updated the 2nd and 3rd posts with events from the game world which is something I don't usually do due to time and being lazy But as this is also an AI experiment I do try and keep up to date with other events to show the whole story for readers.

Cheers Koetzer Do you have any interest in the league then? Vostok should be safe this year as they have about 10 points more than the 2nd bottom side.

Well, I try to follow the news about league and national team, which is not so hard nowadays Like to see the clubs being more and more successful in European cups.

Well, I try to follow the news about league and national team, which is not so hard nowadays Like to see the clubs being more and more successful in European cups.

One good thing about the internet is the ease of finding details about more obscure leagues.

After a routine win over Dudelange of Luxembourg we were drawn against Standard Liege in the 2nd Europa Preliminary round

That was a result I wasn't expecting at all, I did think going in to the home leg we could it tight as we have improved again with 2 new signings (i'll link in the main update at the end of August) but I didn't think we could beat a side like Standard at this stage, I do think having a fitness advantage plays a slight part when you are half way in to a season compared to sides who haven't started but it is still a shock. The fitness won't be an advantage in the next round though as we face a tricky tie against Dinamo Minsk.

FC Kaiser June - August 2016

Transfers







Europa League











Fixtures



Table

This season has gone a lot better than I had imagined, I knew from last year we'd be in the title race especially as we have improved considerably in terms of players brought in but that win over Standard Liege highlighted just how high of a level this squad is. We are well ahead in the title and it'd be a disaster now if we let a 12 point lead slip with a game in hand over 2nd placed Kairat.

Transfers at the start of the year were about getting a good domestic base in the side, this window was about upgrading in the foreign department, it meant letting Piroska go to enable the changes but he was unhappy, Bauyrzhan Islamkhan has been in good form and the big bid meant that it was the right choice to let Piroska go. Edoardo Goldaniga is a fine replacement at this level for Kpodo and a significant upgrade, as for Sandro Wieser he's a magnificent capture and will certainly be a big player for the club. The fact we can attract players of this ability stands well for the future of not just the club but the nation.

With the title almost in the bag i'm looking forward to seeing how we do in the Europa league, I don't expect much against Malaga but how we do against Legia and Basel will probably make my mind up about my future beyond this season because if we can compete against sides like that then it is going to be really hard to just walk away from a progressing side even though I had originally wanted to leave after this season.

First Tycoon of the save comes in Hungary with Mezőkövesd

An interesting club for this to happen to really in terms of they are expected to be amongst the relegation candidates, it'll be doubtful they make any signings this window as there's barely time for the usual rigmarole of the board not allowing transfers whilst they decide on the future of the manager only to keep their job anyway before the window shuts so it'll be January before any indication of their intent starts to unravel.

I normanlly wouldn't do a seperate post for the youth candidates but as we've had the rare event (for me at least) of 6 potentially good ones I didn't want to cram it all in the end of season report. Andrey Sakenov looks like he can moulded in to a decent midfielder in particular and Sultar Sarsenov has some good physicals giving him the possibility of making a good winger, whether this lot turn out any good is a different matter but they all seem to have good set of physicals and a bit of a base to train them hard in their positions, if only 2 turn out decent players then that is still a good return especially with league rules being so strict

A second tycoon takeover and again it is in Hungary, this time in the 2nd division

Sheriff of Moldova have been linked with a tycoon too, i'm hoping that happens as they are the dominant club in Moldova and that may cause some progress in Europe for them

I think you posted the wrong screenie for the league table last season, it shows you're 1st but there's games to be played.

This looks like typical FM15, tons of goals every match. Recognise a couple of players, too. Pretty sure I managed both Missilou and Islamkhan in my own FM15 career with Compostela. Islamkhan was seriously disappointing for me, but clearly he does much better on his home league!

I think you posted the wrong screenie for the league table last season, it shows you're 1st but there's games to be played.

This looks like typical FM15, tons of goals every match. Recognise a couple of players, too. Pretty sure I managed both Missilou and Islamkhan in my own FM15 career with Compostela. Islamkhan was seriously disappointing for me, but clearly he does much better on his home league!

Didn't even notice about that table, edited now with the final one

There is quite a lot of goals, at first I put it down to having Piroska and a few other decent forwards but not the same quality in defence but once we got in Europe and started getting high scores there too I thought like you said it's more typical of the game as a whole.

Missilou is decent enough for this league but doesn't seem to be coming on too much, Islamkhan though is one of the best forwards in the league, it could be that he is playing at a lower level like you said.

No tycoons in 2 full years and now there's a 3rd in 5 months

The Sheriff one didn't happen as he pulled out, i'd like one of the more obscure to have a takeover in all honesty as they tend to be the more interesting ones.

FC Kaisar September - December 2016

Fixtures





Table

A fine season for us as we complete a double and make better than expected progress in Europe with the highlight being the home win over Malaga.

I've had a good time in Kazakhstan and it's given me the chance to play in a league that i'd not normally go to and not really seen in a thread on here But after a while thinking about whether to stay a season and see how do in the CL or move on and it came down to a few things.

1) Whilst we have some promise with some decent youngsters both of Kazakhstani nationality and foreign would they be good enough to ever compete in Europe?

2) Could I go through a window of our better players wanting to leave which started to happen towards the end of the season? Especially as if I stayed it would only be for another 2 seasons anyway.

3) It was coming close to my 3 year limit for a side that couldn't compete in Europe anyway.

4) What is the standard of the clubs in the division

So after considering those 4 I decided that as things stand maybe a group spot in the CL as we'd only be playing other low ranked champions would be possible but once in the group we'd be getting hidings every game and it probably wouldn't be worth using a year up just to go through that as we seem to be well above other sides in the division already so i'd be going through the motions plus dealing with point 2 just to get 6 hammerings in Europe which seemed a waste of time.

I also took in to consideration what I had done for the club and financially there is £17M in the bank (a sum i'd have no chance of spending in the short term at least), i've had 2 youth and training facility requests granted along with 3 junior coaching and 2 youth recruitment upgrades accepted too along with the 3 trophies and given any of the better players who would stay contracts until 2021 so I feel that I have at least left the club in a much healthier position than when I took charge which is the aim for every club I take charge of for the good of that club and the division I manage in, so with all the main boxes ticked I felt I made the right decision in doing this

I'll go through the process of interviews at other clubs now, I don't really have a clue where i'll end up but ideally i'd like to continue my trade in a lower ranked nation but hopefully in the top flight, not because I think i'm above lower league sides but more due to the time element of things, of course this isn't set in stone either if something interesting turns up then any job is considered.

You had a pretty decent standard of players there.

Declined Job Offers

These are the pick of the offers I declined straight away, obviously Freiburg doesn't fit in the Iron Curtain but it was nice to be linked with a job in one of the big nations.

Kaunas would usually be one i'd be interested in but I managed there on the FM 14 version of this and in all honesty there's only Sparta Prague and Red Star Belgrade out of any clubs i've managed in this series that i'd go back to as I do try and have an annual save with both, I am of course open to offers with clubs in their division (Partizan Belgrade apart )

KF Laci Albania is a country that interests me but I think i'd need a while there to make anything of any club other than SK Tirana or Skënderbeu so for the moment a long stint isn't something that interests me, if either of those turned up then i'd be happy to do a 3-5 year stint in the meantime.

NK Zagreb This was a tempting one but the 1st division in one of the bigger eligible nations isn't something that I just want to jump straight in to as I don't feel i've earnt the right to walk in to that division yet, Croatia is one nation that I have scores to settle after a torrid time with Hajduk on my first ever attempt at this challenge. I will be there at some point to try and put it right.

Poltava As above too high a rank nation at this moment in time, i'd happily take a 2nd division side in the bigger nations and earn a place there but i'm not ready to walk in to a top division yet.

Top 3 Job Offers

Exactly the kind of job that I wanted next, recently relegated from the Superleague, great facilities for the top level let alone 2nd and work needed to be done, a very tempting offer.

I nearly hit accept on the spot with this one, I don't recall any time in Bulgaria in this series and just like Beograd good facilities to work with and without seeing the quality of the players a look at their squad shown a very young side which suits me down to the ground, promotion is out of the picture this season but having a proper look how good these kids are and possibly starting the groundwork for a future good side is hugely tempting and with Litex, Levski and Ludogorets being so strong it would be a good challenge to take them on. The one problem with Bulgaria I do have at this moment in time is that CSKA Sofia are 2nd bottom of the A group, so that leaves me with 2 little dillemas, the first being if they were to go down promotion next season is going to be difficult as in all likeliness there'll only be 1 promotion spot available and without knowing just how good/poor my side is that may be a tough task when I may only want a 3 year spell in the country, the second problem is one of the reasons i've dodged Bulgaria in the past is because i've wanted the CSKA job anyway but it's never been available when i've been ready, the challenge of restoring former glories with them has always been in my mind with CSKA and though they have a title in this save they've not been able to maintain their success so it is something that i'd like to try and do and have a possible 5 year spell with them. That said Pirin is a great little opportunity so CSKA possibilities isn't going to be the deciding factor on this.

As if the other 2 were hard enough to chose from this offer came in. Like Bulgaria I've not really had any time in Poland during the series bar an awful experience with Jagiellonia where I was sacked after less than a year. Just like Pirin this is a young squad with decent enough facilities and a competitive division above with Lech, Legia ect; the slight difference here is that Wisla are only 2 points from top spot which is appealing in itself and i'd be interested to see how good this young squad really is and how they'd do at a higher level.

After writing this out (mostly for my benefit while I weigh up each option properly ) I've narrowed it down to Wisla and Pirin. Beograd on paper is the most attractive with previous top flight experience and usually a safe mid table bet but something doesn't seem right by taking that job, they shouldn't be struggling like they are as unlike the other 2 clubs they have a bit more experience in the squad and without knowing for sure it may take a total revamp of the squad which isn't ideal for 3 season stay so i've decided against them at the moment, if they make it back to the Superleague in the future then i'll look at them if the opportunity arises itself.

That leaves me with 2 clubs that are much alike bar the league position, as i've been writing i've taken any CSKA Sofia possibility out of my mind and based Pirin purely on what I can do with them, another season in the B group isn't a problem and currently standing in 7th place and clear of relegation and no pressure to go up gives me 13 games to experiment with them ready for next year whereas Wisla means I have to keep up their form and get 2nd place at worst which isn't guaranteed, so i'm doing what any normal person would do in this situation and toss a coin My next side will be revealed after a best of 3

You had a pretty decent standard of players there.

I'm hoping they can keep hold of some and keep progressing, there's money and a base of players there plus a couple of off field improvements to keep them going for a while hopefully, if i'd have had another year on the contract i'd have seen it through and leave a few more upgrades and scout a few more home grown players to enable them to dominate but with it expiring when it did I felt it would be a waste of my time spending another year there just to get hammered in Europe. Maybe further down the line i'll go back if things go well enough for the nation.

Really good seasons in Kazakhstan, hope AI won't ruin Kaisar too fast as it sometimes likes to do.

And as for future job - as I remember, Pirin has a really good academy, so you can expect good newgens coming to your club. But Wisla is of course more reputable and strong team.

Really good seasons in Kazakhstan, hope AI won't ruin Kaisar too fast as it sometimes likes to do.

And as for future job - as I remember, Pirin has a really good academy, so you can expect good newgens coming to your club. But Wisla is of course more reputable and strong team.

Cheers Koetzer. I hope the same about Kaisar, I made sure contracts were handed out to whoever possible of any quality before I left but I do expect the foreign players and apart from Engel the better players have stayed so far which is promising but I expect that to change in the summer once everyone gets their budget.

As for choice of club like you say Pirin's are good for their level which was an attractive proposition just as much as Wisla which is why I went on the coin's decision otherwise i'd have been deciding all day

Chapter II: Wisla Krakow

Club Overview









First Team

The first team seems very strong with plenty of 4 and above stars the one thing that worries me is the lack of options up front after Kevin Friesenbichler and unless a freebie comes up there's nothing we can do about it until the summer.

Reserves

I was slightly surprised at the quality here, the players are at a decent age and provide a good back if needed

Under 19's

The best of the bunch here, along with the reserves there seems to be plenty of potential ability knocking on the door which can only be a good thing as money is so tight and as mentioned a forward will have to be the priority with any spare cash.

As soon as the decision to join Wisla was made I went straight to the board to get the youth coaching improved and as it fits with their policy of developing young players from our own ranks there was no problem getting them to agree

This is the table as I step in to my first game in charge, it is very close and with a trip to top placed Rakow after this then it's important to hit the ground running.

The aim of my time at Wisla isn't so much about trying to win titles or do well in Europe as such (obviously I would like to) but more about building a whole club for the future. This or the Pirin job was always going to be about building a lesser side with a decent base up to try and build competition in the division I chose and help the division do well in Europe. Now I know the quality of the squad i'm dealing with Wisla seems to be the best choice out of the 2 as it stands but clubs like Pirin are the type of side I want to take for the immediate future before I start looking at bigger jobs.

Wisła. Not a club I'm fond of, curious to see how Porebski's going to do for you though, he's been a star for me for a while on my FM16 save.

Wisla Krakow March - June 2016/17

Fixtures



Table

To say that it was comfortable is an understatement, so much so that once we beat Rakow in my 2nd game I decided straight away to experiment with the younger players with the knowledge we had a 9 point gap over 3rd place at the time. The reason for that was because I wanted to give these players a fair chance to see what they could do before the upcoming season so I could see where (if anywhere) needed strengthening with the knowledge that if we lost a couple I could always throw more experienced players back in. As it turned out the lads that came in did such a good job that I only changed when there was injuries.

So with this mind and the fact that we aren't going to have lots to spend I am going in to the new season with the only transfer target being a striker unless any leave. As I said in my last post I want to build a side this time rather than delve in to the transfer market and shake it up straight away, there's a good base of young players at the club and feel that even if it is an initial struggle I want to give them a chance. Obviously if needs must (like the striker situation) or a player too good to refuse then I will bring new faces in but i'd like a good, young mostly home grown squad and watch it develop over time.

Elsewhere there's been a 4th tycoon this time in Serbia with relegated Donji Srem

Wisła. Not a club I'm fond of, curious to see how Porebski's going to do for you though, he's been a star for me for a while on my FM16 save.

Political reasons? Tbh I don't know much about the club, I went for them purely on facilities and potential

Not really political as pretty much all Polish clubs are more or less right-wing nowadays, there's a bitter rivarly though between Lech (the team I support) and Wisła, the latter is hated throughout Poland because historically they used to be a militia club before the first free election in Poland in 1989.

Political reasons? Tbh I don't know much about the club, I went for them purely on facilities and potential

They used to have good youths irl. I wanted to be their goalkeeper when young, but wasn't allowed by parents. I was attending their matches back in 90s until I moved cities.

Do you have some special tactics? You seem to be very successful wherever you go... which is kind of boring.

Good luck in Poland - and great job in Kazakhstan!

Nation          2014  2015  +/-  2016  +/-  2017  +/-  2018  +/-  2019  +/-  2020  +/-  2021  +/-  2022 +/-  2023  +/-  2024  +/=
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania         65    62    +3   58    +4   55    +3
Armenia         88    83    +5   73    +10  77    -4   
Azerbaijan      40    40    0    45    -5   44    +1  
Belarus         22    25    -3   24    +1   30    -6
Bosnia & Herz   47    53    -5   54    -1   54    0
Bulgaria        26    23    +3   28    -5   21    +7
Croatia         20    18    +2   20    -2   16    +4
Czech Rep       15    14    +1   14    +2   11    +1
Estonia         90    96    -6   87    +9   82    +5   
FYR Macedonia   67    63    +4   66    -3   72    -6
Georgia         44    44    0    48    -4   52    -6   
Hungary         30    36    -6   38    -2   45    -7
Kazakhstan      45    47    -2   37    +10  36    +1
Latvia          57    65    -8   74    -9   76    -2
Lithuania       66    77    -11  76    +1   67    +11
Moldova         39    38    +1   39    -1   37    +2
Montenegro      60    66    -6   67    -1   69    -2
Poland          21    20    +1   25    -4   23    +2
Romania         16    16    0    15    +1   13    +2
Russia          7     7     0    7     0    8     -1
Serbia          29    29    0    26    +3   24    +2
Slovakia        36    33    +1   33    0    34    -1
Slovenia        35    32    +3   32    0    25    +8
Ukraine         9     8     +1   8     0    7     +1

Risers 14/24

Fallers 9/24

Biggest Rise Lithuania +11 (67)

Biggest Drop Hungary -7 (45)

Mezőkövesdi - Spent £300k (since takeover) Finished 9th (Hungarian Division I)

Szolnoki - Spent £27K (Since takeover) Finished 4th (Hungarian Division II)

Borac - Spent £1.2M (Since takeover) Finished 14th (Serbian Superleague)

Donji Srem - Takeover end of season, no money spent (Serbian Superleague)

They used to have good youths irl. I wanted to be their goalkeeper when young, but wasn't allowed by parents. I was attending their matches back in 90s until I moved cities.

Do you have some special tactics? You seem to be very successful wherever you go... which is kind of boring.

It's a basic 4-3-3 (1 DM 2 inside forwards) with attacking intent. Believe me at some point in this save things will go horribly wrong Apart from when I do these threads I never do journeyman saves because I like developing clubs to build them ready for success but with this save and especially being in Eastern Europe there's little money to be able to do much, certainly in the early stages where money is tight for most divisions and i've got such a short timeline to work in it doesn't always work out IN Kazakhstan I was quite lucky that for that level I inherited a few good players and with wages being so low I basically had enough to buy that title in my final season, the first cup I won there I played 2nd division sides until the semi final and then a relegation candidate from the top flight in that round so even that was down to luck of the draw more than anything else With Wisla you will probably see a different type of side, there's only £100k to spend this summer so i'll have no choice but to make do with the kids in the squad in what will be a big step up so really I could be setting myself for an early fall

Good luck in Poland - and great job in Kazakhstan!

Cheers abulezz. I'm looking forward to this coming season, the last time I managed in Poland I was sacked in less than a year so hoping to do a bit better this time

I'm glad the board are bit more realistic than the media in where we should be this year

Thankfully top half is all that is expected of me by the board, I think that is still a bit too high especially as I don't have the funds to improve but it's still a lot better than aiming for a European spot

I misread our budget for the season as £100k when in fact it was £10K (now up to £60k as I cashed a few clauses in) so I definitely have no choice now but to go with the squad that got us up This was a deal made before I joined the club

So Kevin Friesenbichler will be first choice striker, Zajac second and Tchernykh 3rd choice and back up winger.

22 players I deemed not good enough have left the club as their contracts expired, this should hopefully keep the wage bill down a lot. As i've said this season is about playing kids where possible and see where end up, it is a risk but even if I wanted to do anything else we don't have the money and with only 20% of any fee going back on transfers I would rather not sell unless players become unhappy or it is an offer too good to turn down