[FM10] Palm Trees in Russia? Count me in...

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2010 – Preview

It’s been a while since I’ve had a good long-term game going, so I’m hoping this will keep me entertained for a while. I've decided to give Gundo's Challenge a go in Russia, a country close to my heart as I study its language and will soon be spending a year living there. Thanks to their great name, magnificent orange kit and 15000-seater stadium, Zhemchuzhina Sochi, roughly translated as the Pearl of Sochi, will be the subjects of my management.

My first task was to fill out the squad – I had about 10 players on the books and no staff, so upping the body count was the order of the day. I play an attacking 4-2-3-1 tactic, so plenty of pacey, creative players were in order – not something normally associated with this league! I tried to keep my transfers as Russian as possible due to the foreign player restrictions, and the results are here.

Unsurprisingly I’m predicted by bookmakers and media alike to go straight back down, but I reckon I’ve assembled a good squad of players down by the Black Sea. My assistant seems to share my confidence, and I’m aiming for a season of consolidation.

In the long run? Financial stability has to be a must with the finances only just in the black, and with any luck my youth system will allow me to blood a few local lads into the side. In 2014, Sochi will host the Winter Olympics – my aim is that the resort will have a Premier football team to boast about as well.

This will be played on FM10.1 (patch issues, and I find the game perfectly playable) with both Russian leagues loaded as per the challenge rules. I'll be updating before, during and after every season at semi-regular intervals. Feel free to ask anything about the save and enjoy!

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2010 – Midseason

With the season taking a break for the World Cup, it seems like a good time for a brief update of events down at Central.

To my surprise, we flew out of the blocks, netting 20 goals in our opening 6 games and actually holding top spot after a 5-1 comeback win over fellow promotees Nosta. Unfortunately the goals then dried up a bit, and we started to drop points. A defeat to Sibir in the tenth game saw us struggle to get any sort of consistency, and two successive games saw us have to fight back from two goals down just to claim a point.

Still, with the top two going up we’re still well in the hunt for promotion, and that would be a huge achievement in my first season. If I can find one more quality attacking midfielder and a clinical striker, I think we can do it with a bit of luck.

The best players so far have been Uzbek international Bikmaev and captain Zuev. Both play behind my lone striker, and everything positive flows through one or both of them. Bikmaev is off to South Africa with the Uzbek national side (!), so I’m hoping he comes back injury-free and raring to go.

Revised aim: top half finish is a minimum now. We’re safe from the relegation fight now and whilst promotion would be incredible, I’m not sure we’ve got the depth to go up this year.

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2010 – Review

So, our debut season is over and as you can see from the table we carried on our first-half form to secure a solid 7th place finish. We played well enough but in the end a failure to get any sort of winning streak going cost us a shot at promotion, which in hindsight was always going to be a step too far so early on in my career.

Also notable was our brief cup run, as we came within seconds of taking the capital side to extra time. That said, our win over Lokomotiv was thanks in no small part to a 10th-minute dismissal for their centre-back, which gave my attacking quartet the freedom to create chances aplenty.

On the awards front I was surprisingly given third place in Manager of the Year, whilst one of Kuznetsov's many long-rangers was named the best of the season. The central midfielder also made the Team of the Year, and would be my personal choice for MVP – 12 goals (of which 9 were from outside the box) and 9 assists speak for themselves. Honourable mention goes to Kozlov, who barely featured until his conversion to a central position. Afterwards his stats couldn’t recover, but he chipped in at key moments and was hugely important after Zuev suffered a five-month layoff.

All in all then, we managed a good debut season with plenty of room for improvement. Yashin in goal is some way from his illustrious namesake, and we conceded far too many from corners. Left-back Mikadze gave away a frustrating number of penalties, and up front Yarkin bagged 17 but wasted countless opportunities. Plug the gaps, improve our depth, and we should be looking at pushing on next season.

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2011 – Preview

Here we go again, and I’m fairly apprehensive about the coming season. We were fairly quiet on the transfer front and turned a tidy little profit, and did indeed manage to pick up players in my highlighted positions – left-back, centre-back and striker. That said, we were unable to add to our depth and every one of my many loan offers was knocked back by the player. Clearly our reputation needs some work.

Also a worry is our financial situation. When I joined the club we were comfortable, but we’ve been haemorrhaging cash and as such are going to have to cash in on some of our better players before long – Yarkin and Zuev have just signed new deals on the same money, but Bikmaev is refusing to negotiate after I rejected an approach from Khimki. He’d be a tough one to replace without splashing out, but I might be forced into it.

The aim for the season has to be to improve on last season’s finish. Progress is the name of the game, and with a theoretically stronger squad we should be able to push on. It’ll be tough to seal promotion with six or seven sides fighting for just two spots, but we have the potential to be one of them.

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2011 - Midseason

We’ve played everybody once, so it must be time for a look at the midseason standings.

As you can see, it’s a similar story to last season. No one side is dominating at the top, and even though we’re 7 points back there’s an outside chance we can push for promotion. Last year we were free-scoring with a leaky backline, but this time (with minimal changes) we’re a lot tighter at the back but struggling to rack up the goals.

Promotion is probably beyond us again, so I’ll just be looking to push on up the league. We’ve been given an exciting cup tie against Zenit after knocking out Anzhi, so I’m hoping for a good performance to boost morale and the finances.

Speaking of which, they’ve started to have an effect on my transfers. Bikmaev and third-choice striker Dyadyun will both head to Luch for a combined 425k, but even then we’ll still be in deep trouble. We’re being described as such in all the match previews, and I’m beginning to wonder if administration is around the corner.

Revised aim: Finish as close to the top two as we can and try and earn some money for the fringe players in the squad. I’m operating within budget but we’re clearly not sustainable, so the club’s survival is paramount.

Apologies for the rather poor updates so far, I'm a fair bit ahead of myself so eventually they'll become a bit more detailed. Later tonight I'll wrap up the second campaign and preview the third providing I get the time, so updates will be forthcoming!

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2011 - Review

Well, that went to plan. Or not. The final standings shows that we only won 7 games in the second half of the season, and completely scuppered any chance we had of promotion. A run of 2 points from a possible 21 ended our season, and we actually finished four points worse off than last year despite keeping our defence tighter thanks to our somewhat misfiring frontline.

Our cup adventure was also ended prematurely, but don’t let the scoreline against Zenit fool you into thinking it was a close game – with five minutes to go we were staring at a 1-4 humiliation, and on another day it could have reached double figures.

Unsurprisingly we were largely passed over on the awards front this year, although another scorcher from Kuznetsov was again the best goal of the year. He’s attracting interest from the Premier Division, and if he does go then we’re really go to miss him. My personal MVP goes to Yarkin almost by default, as he was the only one to break double figures in the goal tally and provided a decent focal point to our attacks.

Looking to the future, I have to be worried. The board injected 160k but we remain over half a million in the red, and that’s before the long off-season without match revenue. Some of our better players are attracting interest, so I have a choice to make. On the one hand, I’m operating well within my budgets and so have every right to keep hold of my men and look to improve the side. On the other, doing so may jeopardise the club’s long-term future.

Ultimately it’s likely to be a combination of the two, but next year is going to be tough either way. Promotion looks unlikely at this early stage, so another year of consolidation and scrapping around midtable appears to be on the cards. Here’s hoping to a gem or three from the youth system!

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2012 – Preview

The new season is upon us, and after a long winter break we’re back and raring to go. Transfers were fairly kind to us this time round as I embarked on a bit of a rebuilding job – Baltika clearly needed reinforcement after their shock promotion last year, and we were happy to take their cash. On the incoming side, keener eyes may notice one Quincy Owusu-Abeyie in the ranks, and we’ll be looking to him to inject a bit of pace into our attack.

Tactically I’ve also made a few tweaks – the formation will remain, but I’ve ordered the groundsman to make our pitch as small as possible. With our own lack of width this will hopefully remove a possible exploit from our opposition, and as such we will look to channel our own attacks through our more creative centre.

Off the field, there is exciting news. After my big transfer profit still failed to drag us out of the red, a potential investor emerged. That’s as much as I’ve heard thus far, but if a wealthy buyer did materialise then it could only be good for the club.

That’s about it for the preview then, and I think we could be in for an interesting campaign. We’ve definitely strengthened in attack, but our depth at the back could leave us wanting if hit by suspension and/or injury. Progress is the buzzword once more at Central, and that will be the aim for the year ahead.

[Nobby_McDonald]

You're just doing a recce on the venue of the next Winter Olympics.

[WH]

Shame about the financial situation and I'm surprised it's a foreign investor who is interested. It's a pity you didn't pick a country known for its fossil fuel billionaires

What expectations are the board giving you?

[EvilDave]

Thanks for the comments guys I was fairly surprised at the nationality of our mystery backer - maybe he just wanted a dacha near the new Olympic facilities? As for my expectations thus far - season one was survival, and both 2011 and 2012 saw a demand for a 'respectable league position,' which I think equates to top-half/mid-table.

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2012 – Midseason

Here we go again. Does the table seem familiar to anybody? Nine points off the promotion spots, a goal difference rivalling those at the top yet stuck in midtable due to careless points being thrown away in the easier games? Oh yes, I remember – exactly the same as the last two years! No win until the sixth game of the season followed by ten unbeaten has left the fans feeling confused and uncertain as to our progress.

That could soon be about to change though. Despite rumours of a breakdown, the deal was eventually completed, and although the Greek owner’s priorities can be questioned, there is no question of his financial credentials. The transfer window opens in a couple of weeks, and I won’t be afraid to splash the cash. Obviously a squad rebuild in midseason isn’t ideal and so it won’t be a whole new XI, but my scouting team (now five-strong as opposed to two) is working overtime to identify targets.

Whether or not the money will allow us to rise up the table quick enough remains to be seen – no one side is too far ahead of the others, but we simply have to stop throwing points away. The resources are there, it’s down to me to take advantage of them.

We’ll do without the distractions of the cup. A tough first game against Salyut Belgorod was negotiated before Premier Division Khimki fluked not one but two goals past us in their 2-1 win. Khimki are one of the weaker sides in the top flight, but now we can focus our attentions solely on the league. Simply put, we have to improve.

[RichG]

Exchange Rate

You should play with the Russian currency. I find it makes the game feel better. Funny as well to see the dramatic differences in transfer fees.

[EvilDave]

Funny you should say that Rich - I've tried both this and an Icelandic save in the local currency before, and for some reason I can't deal with it. I think it's because the prices are just too inflated. In September I'm moving out to Russia for a year, if I'm still playing by then I'm sure I'll get used to it!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2012 – Review

Improve we did. On two occasions we strung together five consecutive wins to see us shoot up the table, and going into the final day my hastily-assembled side had the chance for promotion. We faced a tall order, needing a win away at high-flying Anzhi as well as a slip-up from Shinnik. We got the latter, but after conceding early on just had one of those days and ended up just missing out on promotion.

Needless to say, there is a great deal of hope for next season. We picked up 37 points in the latter half of the campaign, and double that over the course of the year would have seen us promoted as champions. There is still plenty of money to spend to strengthen one or two key areas (at defensive midfield and behind the striker), and I intend to do everything I can to bring in the right players.

Next year will be the final chance to meet my self-imposed target of Premier Division football by 2014, so I’ll be taking anything less as a failure. Key players to take forward are this season’s joint-MVPs – Yarkin, who got over a fall-out to bag another 18 goals, and new right-back Yeschenko, who arrived in the August window and subsequently dominated the entire flank. We no longer need to worry about money being thrown at us from other sides, so we should be able to keep hold easily enough.

That’s the aim for next season then: promotion. Seek out the best Russian talent, use our financial muscle to acquire it and then show it off to the rest of the league. I’d love to bring a couple of youth players through into the first team, but with my new boss’ strange priorities and it’s complete lack of talent at the moment, it’s looking unlikely. Still, I’ll settle for the promotion.

[RichG]

Looks like you paid the price for that 1-0 loss

A bit harsh 5 teams going down. Not seen that many before and seems a bit of an odd number. Is it regional leagues below your division?

[EvilDave]

We certainly did Rich, a win would have taken up us. As for relegation, there are 5 (unplayable) regional leagues in the Second Division, the champions of which all come up. I'm not sure how geographically accurate FM is in Russia, but the pool of teams coming into the playable leagues seems to be fairly small.

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2013 – Preview

What a difference a year can make. This time last season I was worrying about having to sell my stars, slash the wage budget and hope for the best, just in order to stay afloat. Enter one wealthy Greek businessman, a transfer budget to rival the top teams in the country and a storming second half of the season, and everyone at Sochi is optimistic about the 2013 campaign.

The board are expecting promotion, the bookies have made us joint favourites, and my assistant reckons we’ve got the players to go up. There’s no doubt our reputation has been advanced by the takeover, but we’ve still got to do it on the pitch. I’ve been fairly busy in the transfer window and have brought in some real quality – Léo in particular looks like being superb for this level, and I’ve got the option to make his move permanent if he impresses.

A few old favourites have moved on, but I don’t think we’ll find ourselves missing them too much. Burziev had lost his place in midfield, Vasiev was unnecessary thanks to Yeschenko’s arrival, and at 31 Zuev was beginning to decline. Most of the free transfers are just the results of a horrible youth system, and so we retain a good size squad.

That’s all there is to say before our first game against Salyut Belgorod, who coincidentally we’ve started all but one of my seasons in charge against. Promotion, not progress, is the only acceptable outcome this time round, and if we don’t achieve it then I fear my attempt at the challenge may be ended somewhat earlier than anticipated.

[RichG]

I see you have had an Uber clear out of youth dead wood for the new intake .

Harsh but necessary

[EvilDave]

Yeah, to be honest the quality of the newgens has been shocking, although I'm putting that down to poor facilities more than anything. Hopefully I can persuade the chairman to change his mind and pay for improvements!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2013 – Midseason

Unsurprisingly, we’re challenging for promotion. In fact, until three games ago we were top of the pile, but two poor home defeats and a draw at Volga NN has seen us slip back a couple of spots. Still, this is definitely our best and most convincing start to a season yet, and I honestly think we have what it takes to go up this year.

However, should we manage it, it’ll take a huge effort to stay there. Looking at my squad's goalscoring stats, it’s clear we have a goalscoring problem. My formation only has space for one up front, but with neither of my main two strikers (Yarkin and Léo) grabbing more than 5 at the halfway stage there’s a definite cause for concern. The midfield needs to keep chipping in, and we definitely need a better return from the men up top.

The transfer window is fast approaching, and once again I’m left with decisions to make. Although we have a tycoon in charge, almost 4m of the original injection has gone, and we’re losing 200k every month thanks to the inflated wage bill. Of course, we can function happily at this level for a few more years, but it’s certainly playing on my mind as I consider my targets – spend big and go for an immediate return? Or look to the long-term and play it safe?

Personally, I can see the board making the decision for me. The plan means that I simply cannot afford to stay in this division another year, and so if there’s an element of risk involved I’m going to have to take it. I’m fairly confident in our ability to finish the job, but adding depth and quality can never hurt! The scouts are out, the money is ready, and we have a league to win…

[WH]

Keep it up mate, Promotion is in sight.

What sort of T.V. deal is there in Russia? Will that cash boost be enough to support the inflated wages the come with promotion? What is your ground and attendance like too as that can cause major financial problems if too low.

[EvilDave]

Thanks WH - the TV deal for First Division sides is only around £60k every year, and I seem to remember from previous FMs that the top flight gives £500k maximum. As for the stadium, Central is a 15000 all-seater which we currently struggle to fill a quarter of, although you'd hope that would increase with success. I think financially we're safe for now as long as I don't go overboard with my spending, and hopefully the chairman won't mind helping out every now and again!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2013 – Review

What a spectacular failure. I don’t think I have seen a more half-hearted attempt to win a competition than the one my players put in during the second half of this season. Don’t get me wrong, the sides going up deserved it - Tom were unstoppable and went 23 games unbeaten to wrap up the title, and Luch put in a great late surge – but we have a better group of players that just decided not to perform. On our day we were fantastic, as evidenced by emphatic victories at home to Rostov (3-0) and away at Luch (3-1), but matches like our 1-2 defeat to relegated SKA Khabarovsk in the middle of a vital run-in cost us our shot at the big time.

The one plus point from this season has been our cup run, which will incredibly carry over to next season. The win over Chernomorets was fairly standard before a superb performance saw us through against Dinamo. Once again we benefited from a red card to the opposition, but we were by far the better team and shouldn’t really have required extra time to clinch the win. Following that was revenge on last season’s conquerors Khimki, and 2014 will see us venture into the last eight with a tie against former parent club Rubin Kazan.

The off-season is going to be a tough one, that’s for sure. I’m planning a tactical overhaul to try and combat the leaky defence, so we’ll be saying goodbye to a couple of our many attacking midfielders. Furthermore, many of this season’s signings are wanting to play at a higher level and want out, so it’ll be difficult to hold on to them for fear of unhappiness and poor morale.

The one player who did really step up was Vorobjov (who I forgot to screenshot, sorry!). Starting the season as a bench option behind Ghanaian youth international Torric, he took advantage of an injury to cement his place in the starting rotation and, providing we can keep him, will be one of the first names on the teamsheet next year. Léo’s poor return of 7 goals has caused me problems – he’d be an expensive purchase at 2.3m, but I feel he’d really benefit from a two-striker system. I’m yet to decide on that one.

In summary, this season has been a huge disappointment. We promised so much and delivered very little, and to be honest I think the cup run has saved my job. I’ve already failed my initial aim of top flight football by 2014, and if we don’t go up next year I shall be asking serious questions of my managerial ability. We simply must get promoted.

[Leto2626]

I just hope you don't get frustrated by the stupid AI buying squads full of foreigners so they have to play with greyed out players or keepers on the pitch. I had to remake the league to make it fun

Good luck in your next season !

[EvilDave]

Thanks for the comment Leto - Sorry to hear you didn't get on with the Russian leagues in your own game, which patch were you playing on? I can't say I've had any problems as of yet, although I imagine the foreign transfers are more of an issue if/when I get promoted. Either way, I'd be interested to see what changes you made to the league...

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2014 – Preview

After the disappointment that was last season, we have to get it right this time round. Once again both the bookmakers and media have made sure favourites to reach the top flight, and the board will see anything less as an abject failure. After injecting another 5m into the club over the off-season, our Greek owner has proven that he has the cash to back his club – I now need to earn the right to manage it.

A sizeable chunk of that 5m was put to immediate use as I splashed out in the transfer market. The decision on Léo was made for me when the Brazilian rejected my approaches, so to fill the void in come Stavpets and Bazhev. With such a big price-tag for this division he’s under pressure to perform, and with a new approach using two up front I’ll be looking to him and Yarkin to find the net with increasingly regularity. The pick of the rest is young Yarkov, who is good enough for a bench spot already and looks to have an incredibly bright future. No doubt he’ll become important as the year goes on.

We also have a new tactical approach this year, designed to sturdy up the back and find the net more often. Of course that’s far too idealistic, but improvement in even one area could well be the difference. The decision to continue playing so narrow was largely practical – I had no desire to go shopping for 4 or 5 quality wingers, so the pressure on our full-backs is fairly large. Still, we have enough quality to make it work and pre-season results, whilst hard to judge by, have been fairly promising.

That’s it then, and after the long Russian winter we’re ready to go again. This time we start at home to newly-promoted Torpedo Vladimir, now starting their third attempt at survival in this division, so we’ve got a real chance to put down a marker and lead from the front. Anything other than promotion, and I could be on my way out.

[RichG]

unlucky on not getting promoted again mate a good CD and you are there i think. Scoring goals but letting to many in

[EvilDave]

Thanks Rich, I was pretty gutted after spending so much (for the division) and having a squad which, on paper at least, should have stormed to the top. Either way, it's going a bit better this time round...

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2014 – Midseason

Once again, we are up there at the top of the table and looking good for promotion. However, that was the case this time last year and the memories of how that ended up are still painful for me and my team. This time, there can be no slip-ups on the way to the top flight.

Without wanting to take too much credit, the change in formation seems to be doing the trick. Whilst we aren’t scoring quite as many goals as I’d have liked, we’ve definitely tightened up at the back and the effects are noticeable. Whereas before I’d go into the last ten minutes of a tied game worrying about conceding a late goal, we’re generally the more likely side to score and that’s a great confidence to have. Yarkin is having his best year yet at the other end, and in the centre of the park Kuznetsov is once again lighting up the league with his long-rangers. I just wish he wouldn’t try them quite so often though!

Off the field, we appear to have weathered the worst of a potentially devastating storm. The keener-eyed of you will have noticed Yarkin’s astronomical new wage, but it was the only thing I could do to stop him walking away at the end of the year. Similar tactics have resulted in Yeschenko, Kurochkin and to a lesser extent Torric all agreeing new deals, but nobody will sign for more than two years. Defensive midfield lynchpin Vorobjov still won’t put pen to paper, but I have confidence that a continued run in the league will see him change his mind.

Finally to the cup, and our trip to Rubin predictably ended last year’s run. We didn’t disgrace ourselves, and the run reassured me that we won’t be hideously outclassed should we get promoted. This season our effort was poor, losing a tough away game at fellow promotion-chasers Shinnik in our first tie, leaving the board and fans disappointed if still understanding. Personally I don’t see it as a priority, but I have wealthy backers to please and a decent run is always appreciated by the fans.

On to the second half of the season then, and all our eyes are on the top prize. After last year it’d be great to go up with a flourish, but I’d happily take second place on goal difference if truth be told. Fingers crossed, it won’t come to that.

Just a little note for anybody following - I'm back at uni next week and have work to catch up with, so this will probably slow down over the coming days once I reach my current point in the game. I intend to continue playing, but game time might drop off a bit as a result

[RichG]

that is tight at the top. What is your record vs the teams around you?

[EvilDave]

It certainly was Rich. Over the course of the season our form against the top sides was very pleasing - whilst we lost at Shinnik and were held at Ural, we beat Anzhi away and won all three of our home games against our fellow contenders.

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian First Division 2014 - Review

We did it! Despite our cup exit and lack of any real reinforcements in the August window we led from the front in some style, never leaving top spot and setting a new record for points in the process. Spare a thought for Irtysh though – not a single win all season and over 100 goals conceded!

We were worthy and fairly unchallenged champions in the end, although the grit and determination we showed in the second half of the season was very welcome. Whereas before we would struggle to get into the game after conceding the first goal, this time we roared back and claimed all three points on a regular basis. With four games to go this fantastic comeback against second-place Anzhi was the one which secured our promotion, and although a lacklustre performance followed it, results elsewhere meant that we were confirmed as champions with three games left to play.

As our league position suggests, the players continued to perform. Yarkin ended up with 20 goals for the campaign, and captain Kuznetsov carried on pulling the strings from midfielder with 11 goals and 8 assists for one of his best seasons yet. Bazhev reached double figures for the year, and budget buy Stravpets recovered from a serious injury in his first appearance to grab 6 important goals of his own. However, our best performers were in defence – Young centre-back Semenov showed maturity beyond his years, and marauding right-back Fabio Henrique drew the plaudits for his consistent performances. One to watch in the future could well be young ‘keeper Ganiev – signed from Alania in the summer and already rated as good as Iljin by my scouts, he performed well in the last three games with the title already wrapped up.

Unsurprisingly we featured strongly in the awards – I was given Manager of the Year, Yarkin and Kuznetsov completed a one-two in the Player awards, our captain took home another Goal of the Year gong and no less than five of our side made the League XI. Still, we have to look to the future, and with Vorobjov unwilling to commit to a new deal there will be a large hole in the defensive midfield role that needs filling before we kick off our debut top-flight campaign.

Looking to next year, survival has to be the priority. After taking five years to make the big time, dropping straight back down at the first time of asking would be nothing short of a disaster. No doubt the owner will give me a sizeable budget to play with, and I think with one or two good signings in key positions we can give ourselves a solid platform on which to build in the Premier League.

[RichG]

grats on going up.

Have you got your brazilian link yet for a feeder club? those rusians like their south american players

[EvilDave]

Cheers Rich, it sure felt good after my previous failures! No sign of a formal club link yet, but as you'll see shortly we've been joining in the Brazilian bargain hunting!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2015 – Preview

It’s our first ever season in the Premier Division, and nobody is giving us a chance. Even with a £9m kitty, our Greek supremo only wants me to stay up, and we were given ridiculous odds by the bookmakers – surely that’s worth a quid or two?

Delusions of grandeur aside, I had the job of building a squad ready for our assault on the big league. I spent a good two-thirds of the budget allocated to me (money which was immediately pumped back into the club with a cash injection – I love my chairman!), trying to find the right blend of Russian experience and young talent from around the globe to keep us up. Time to meet the new faces.

Dmitry Poloz – With Salugin leaving as a complete failure after we spent £500k two years ago we were a man light up front, and Dinamo Moscow are mad to let this guy go so cheaply. Less than £2m for a striker with big numbers in all the right attributes is good value for any side, and he’ll go straight in alongside Yarkin up front.

Artur Yusupov – Another £2m went on this handy-looking midfielder. Capable of playing in any one of the three central midfielder positions, he’ll get plenty of playing time and rotate nicely in all three spots.

Pavlo Stepanets – Dinamo Moscow took more of our cash for this defensive midfield rock. Technically less than brilliant but incredibly difficult to get past, I’ll be using our £375k bargain as one of two replacements for the departed Vorobjov.

Paulinho - The other being Paulinho, who chose Sochi over a number of other destinations on a free transfer. I couldn’t believe it when my scouts picked him up, and he’ll probably go straight into the starting line-up on account of his all-round quality. If he performs, he could easily be signing of the season.

Jose – Adding to our Brazilian contingent is Jose, the full-back whose attributes look like he could just as easily be at home in a creative midfield role than fending off wingers. His pace and versatility make him a valuable asset, and he too will get plenty of game time this season.

Eldar Mamaev – Experience and versatility made the £1m I spent on Mamaev seem like nothing. He can cover all the defensive positions effectively, and will provide valuable backup to the first eleven.

Arthur Numan – Not a player obviously, but with my old assistant simply not good enough I plumped for the former Dutch international to help me out on the training pitch, in the tactics room and of course in the press hall.

So we have new faces, new facilities and a new sense of optimism here at Central. All that remains now is to take on the opposition and find our place in the Premier Division. Survival is obviously the aim, and with the quality of the side I’m fairly confident we can achieve it.

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2015 – Midseason

Well, we’re not doing too badly. A record of 4-7-4 at this stage in the season suggests that we’ve been the epitome of average, which for a first season in the Premier Division isn’t too bad. Seven points clear of the drop zone is reassuring at this stage in the season, and with a couple more wins we could find ourselves shooting up into the top half and the fight for Europa League football in 6th place. To be honest that seems some way away, but I’d be happy with our current position.

The key to our fairly safe position so far has been our toughness to beat. We’ve only actually lost four matches, and we only outclassed in one of them – this loss at Dinamo in which Marquinhos took us apart single-handedly. Overall our sturdy defence has kept us out of trouble (one of CSKA’s two draws was a 0-0 at Central) and compensated for our lack of goalscoring ability – Poloz only has 4 for the year so far, and Yarkin leads the way with a mere 5 in the league. That said, when the plan comes together we’re a very good side, as evidenced by our win at struggling 2012 champions Rubin which announced our arrival on the big stage.

Elsewhere, we also negotiated a tricky cup tie away at rivals and First Division leaders Rostov courtesy of a Yarkin strike in the opening minute, and with struggling Alania at home in the next round a good run in the competition looks possible. The board expect a win to send us to the last eight, but I’ll be looking to better their expectations.

The transfer window is also fast approaching, and my scouts are scouring the continent for reinforcements. The top flight allows six foreigners on the field at any one time (as opposed to three in the First Division), so our search is broader – the only problem we have is encouraging players based abroad to make the move to a side still finding their feet in the Premier Division.

Still, I’ve been very pleased with how the season has progressed so far, and if I can change the squad for the better over August then we stand a very good chance of retaining our position in the league. Hopefully we can maintain our resilience, find a few goals and give ourselves a good platform to build on for next year.

[RichG]

you're in thetop flight already? i thought you were about 4 levels down

Champions league here you come LOL

[EvilDave]

Yep, only two playable leagues in Russia Somehow I get the feeling the Champions League is some way off, but it's a nice thought. One day...

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2015 – Review

Mission accomplished. The final position is actually fairly deceptive after a last-day win bumped up us from 12th, but in the end we ended up closer to the European places than to relegation. We only picked up another four wins, but we were the league’s draw specialists (including five consecutive ties as the season ended), and that was enough to keep us comfortable. Elsewhere CSKA wrapped up their third straight title with an unbeaten season, meaning they’ve gone undefeated in the league since July 2014. They’re so far ahead of the game it’s unreal.

Our cup run was ended rather prematurely following our win over Rostov, as our supposedly winnable tie against Alania descended into farce. We opened the scoring and looked to be dominating until Jose’s silly dismissal, and with Rotenberg going off the visitors had half an hour with two extra men. We held off and even had a goal disallowed before Mamaev’s penalty miss put us out. It was disappointing, but given the circumstances I was powerless to do anything about it.

As a team though, we have to work on our goalscoring. Top scorer for the season was actually central midfield supremo Kuznetsov with a league tally of just 8, with Yarkin and Poloz netting 7 each, Bazhev with 5 and backup Stavpets getting just a single goal. Unsurprisingly it was here I chose to invest, bringing in Marcelo for my only incoming August deal. Hopefully he can find the net a few more times next season and fire us up a bit further up the table.

Defensively though, we were fairly solid, although towards the back end of the season there were a few too many 2-3, 3-3 and 3-2 results for my liking. Our chairman gave me a big worry by selling Fabio Henrique over my head with the transfer window due to close and insufficient time to find a replacement, but £5m was a decent price for the Brazilian and Mamaev filled in admirably. We could definitely do with conceding fewer penalties next season, but generally we’re a solid enough unit in defence.

Individually, Scherbak takes my MVP award for being the only one of several options to really take a grip on the AMC position. Five goals was a good return given our low-scoring year, and he did well to shake off a three-month injury. Kuznetsov was statistically our best performer yet again, averaging 7.22 over the season, and continues to run the team from midfield.

That’s it for another year then, and next season has to be about consolidating our position within the Premier Division. No doubt I’ll have a hefty transfer budget to work with once more so I’ll be looking to make improvements where possible to take Zhemchuzhina to the next level. Realistically? A Top half finish would satisfy me, and I dare say it’d please the board and fans as well.

[RichG]

Mid table is very resectable. Onwards and upwards

[Jason the Yank]

Nice work. I managed in Russia briefly on FM09.

[EvilDave]

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm really pleased with how that first season went, and am thoroughly enjoying playing in Russia. It's a country that's always fascinated me, and the football is no different!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2016 – Preview

With the pre-season friendlies out of the way and the bulk of the expiring contracts sorted (key centre-back Semenov excepted), it’s kick-off time for our second season in the Premier Division, and time for the club to consolidate its positioning the top flight.

However, the transfer market has been fairly frustrating this time round, either in terms of being forced to pay over the odds for our targets or simply being unable to find players that would improve the squad. I can’t help but feel our reputation is in limbo at the moment, and it’s affecting players’ decisions when it comes to joining us. Still, we still managed to spend plenty of money, and with the exception of backup ‘keeper Eduardo, here are the key men:

Vadim Gagloev – We gave Tom a bit too much money for my liking, but like Mamaev last season his versatility will be vital. He’ll go into the centre-back rotation and also cover on the right for the year ahead, and we’ll evaluate his role after that.

Henrich Kocis – The Slovakian was a great find from my scouts, and didn’t break the bank either. He looks to be a good all-rounder with plenty of room to develop, and with the squad a little short at full-back I’m in the process of training him to play on the right as well. Very pleased with this signing.

Alexandr Kabanov – The bulk of our cash went on this youngster, but he looks to be worth every penny. At only 19 he’s already got two seasons of Premier Division football under his belt with Amkar, and has plenty of time to develop even further. At the moment he’ll slot into the midfield rotation, but I think he suits the AMC role better – he’s training accordingly.

The only notable outgoing was former first-choice goalkeeper Iljin, who lost his place to young Ganiev after sustaining an injury midway through last season. At 33 the £2.8m we got for him was a great price, and Ganiev will take over his position with three Brazilians as backup. The fans didn’t like the sale, but I’m not too concerned about the impact his departure will have.

All in all then, a decent if unspectacular off-season down at Central, with a handful of quality additions to the side aimed at pushing on to the next level. The board expect a safe mid-table finish, but personally I’m looking to improve on last year’s somewhat fortuitious 9th-place finish. A spot in the top half would really cement our status as a genuine Premier Division club, and opens the possibility of sneaking into Europe. Progress is once again the buzzword.

[RichG]

kabanov looks fantastic

Gonna be tough to keep him if he has an explosive first season

[WH]

Good job staying clear of any relegation trouble.

Kabanov does look rather useful.

[EvilDave]

Thanks for the comments guys Kabanov certainly looks like a star, although because I'm retraining him to AMC his appearances this year have been limited. Also, there's some interesting stuff in this update relating to Leto mentioned earlier, I just hope it doesn't ruin the save...

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2016 – Midseason

Don’t let the table fool you – we’ve been awful for most of the season, and only three consecutive wins have pushed us up into the middle of the pack. I’m not sure if the ‘bigger’ sides have used the transfer window better than us, but gap seems to have widened and in terms of the challenge that’s bad news. After winning two of our first three games, we then picked up just 4 of the next 27 available points before beating lowly Alania, high-flying Saturn and laughing stock Dinamo to restore our pride.

Dinamo are a strange quirk of the AI. They’ve been a mid-table side since the start of the game, but this winter took the strange step of selling all their senior goalkeepers without buying in a replacement. As such they’ve had no fewer than four different youth and reserve team ‘keepers between the posts and they’ve all been awful, hence their shocking performance so far. We’ve played them once, and although they can still attack it was a decent boost to our goal difference – as you can see

Given the shocking nature of our performances in most matches it’s been hard to pick out an outstanding performer, and really there’s only one man in contention. After a poor debut season Poloz has stepped it up a gear, reaching double figures already and netting a hat-trick inside ten minutes after coming on at the break against Dinamo. He’s replaced Yarkin (one goal) as our key striker, and if he can keep his form up we have a chance of rescuing the season.

Another interesting observation relates to title holders and champions elect CSKA. Russian Premier Division rules state that a maximum of six non-Russians can be on the pitch at any one time. As you can see, the seemingly unstoppable CSKA only actually have six Russians on the books (plus three naturalised), and with one only on loan and three of them plus the naturalised Vagner Love on the wrong side of 30, is it possible that their decline might be sooner rather than later?

Anyway, back to Sochi and the aims for the rest of the season. There were points in the losing streak when I felt like calling it a day, but I’m in this for the long run and the last three wins have given me a bit of confidence. If I can bring in one or two quality players and get my other forwards firing then we stand an outside chance of moving up the table – otherwise holding what we have will have to do. No doubt about it, it’s been a poor year so far, but there’s no chance of us going down and we can still meet expectations. That will be the bare minimum for the rest of the season.

[RichG]

How are they even top of the table then? they must have an awesome reserve team of russian youth prospects

[EvilDave]

At the moment their naturalised players count as well so they're OK, it'll be when the older players retire that they should start to struggle. Will be interesting to see how the AI deals with it.

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2016 – Review

Another year, another title for CSKA. In the end our own season was a story of fits and starts – after the shocking run of one win in ten we managed to string six wins back-to-back before going down to Spartak, and then we picked up only one more victory in the run-in. That hot streak was enough to keep us comfortably safe though, and ultimately we were once again closer to Europe than relegation. Elsewhere, Dinamo decided having a senior goalkeeper was a good idea and picked up two in August, but the damage was already done – they surged back and need a win against us on the final day, but rounded out our 10-10-10 record with a 1-1 draw to condemn them to the lower league.

For only the second time in my tenure, we stay in the cup into the new year. We faced Dinamo before they could reinforce and so the 3-1 was fairly academic. However, I’m not confident about going any further – we’ve drawn CSKA in the quarter finals and thoroughly expect them to teach us a lesson.

Player of the season honours for the Sochi were dominated by one man in my mind, 20-goal Poloz, who showed that we do have the potential to rack up the goals (demonstrated in our demolition of Rubin) with the best of them. When he was off form we struggled, and his eight match goalless run coincided with our poor end-of-season form. Elsewhere, young centre-back Yarkov kept new man Gagloev out of the side with a string of impressive performances which have caught the attentions of Spartak, CSKA and Dinamo Bucharest. He’s tied down until 2020 so he shouldn’t be going anywhere.

I get the impression that this coming season is going to be particularly important to the pace of our progress here at Sochi. I’ll have to deal with four or five fringe players’ contracts expiring, and how we replace them could well determine the outcome for next year. Replace like for like and another midseason campaign is looming. Improve on our current crop and find a couple of gems, and that final European place is well within our reach. I’ve now been granted permission to scout the entire world, so with any luck there will be enough players of sufficient quality who are interested in joining.

That’s the aim then – improvement on 9th place and a shot at continental competition. It’s ambitious but we’ve definitely got the potential (and hopefully the resources) to achieve it, and if we can get a bit of consistency to our form then we can give anyone a game. You’re probably sick of hearing it, but progress is once again the key going forward.

[WH]

Thats some good progress. Being able to scout world wide should open up lots more options for you. Are there any rules about foreign players in the Russian League?

[EvilDave]

Thanks WH, I'm pleased with how the top flight has treated us so far. As far as player regulations go, I'm allowed 6 foreigners on the pitch at any one time (no squad limit), and I'm forced to carry a Russian under-22 in the squad. Which, given the dearth of talent in my youth system could be an issue in future years!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2017 – Preview

Here we go again – this time round the board share my ambitions of a top half finish, whilst the media are backing us to make it a hat-trick of 9th-place finishes. Personally I’d see anything less as a massive disappointment, especially after the stop-start nature of our last campaign, and am looking to make inroads into the upper reaches of the league.

Our start to the season is going to be difficult, opening as we do with a home double-header against champions CSKA in league and cup play. Then we travel to Zenit and Lokomotiv before a slightly easier home game against Terek, which could well see our first points of the campaign. To try and ensure that we won’t get rolled over by the big guns, I’ve made a few changes to the squad. Kozenko is a young Ukrainian goalkeeper who will spend the year in the reserves, Geshev is a back-up Bulgarian centre-back, and Novikov is a young attacking midfielder worth a punt. The other two however, are worth a more detailed look.

Zaur Sadiev is my big signing of the winter, arriving from Lokomotiv for £3m, a fair bit of cash for someone who may only last three seasons. Still, he has international caps for Russia, and will slot straight in behind the strikers while Kabanov continues to learn the position. Hopefully he can contribute a few more goals from the position than we’ve had lately, but his main role will be the feed the two front men and keep the chances coming. I have every confidence he can do it.

Pedro is the other exciting arrival, and is my seemingly routine cheap young Brazilian of the year. Personally I can’t wait to see this kid develop – he can already finish, is good in the air and has a bit of pace about him, so if his can work on his mental toughness we could have one hell of a player on our hands. I doubt he’ll be the next Pele to come of Santos’ academy, but a similar goal return wouldn’t go amiss!

Of course, my big spending wouldn’t be possible without the continuing support of the chairman, and once again he came up trumps for the club with another huge injection. That brings the club balance to a shade under £25m, which is fantastic for our level, but we’re still miles behind the likes of CSKA, Zenit and Spartak, who will happily drop half of that on a single player. If we’re ever going to compete with them financially, we need to start filling out our stadium and backing up our sugar daddy with a few player sales, as without him we’re something of a black hole, losing around £600k every month.

However, for the time being we’re being propped up by our owner’s bottomless pockets, and I intend to make the most of it. Poloz, Torric, Kuznetsov and Ganiev have all agreed new five-year deals to keep them at Central, and with a solid spine at the club it’s time to translate that into on-field success. That mission starts now.

[EvilDave]

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2017 – Midseason

In many ways the first half of this season has been another topsy-turvy ride here at Sochi. We got through our tough opening trio with three points more than we’d expected thanks to a great counter-attacking win at Zenit, but then struggled for form at one point were sitting in 14th, with many of my players concerned about underperformance. However, we’ve found a bit of consistency as of late and now sit in the giddy heights of 7th, with Spartak very much in our sights. The league in general looks to be fairly tight this year, so anything could still happen.

Player-wise, Zadaev has been worth every penny of his £3m transfer fee. He started the year as first-choice AMC, but with only Poloz really making an impression up front, I’ve often used him as the second striker to good effect. Yarkin, Marcelo, Pedro and Bazhev have thus far contributed just four goals between them (3 for Marcelo, 1 for Yarkin), so the importance of our two form men is clear to see. However, I’m not sure signing another striker is going to solve anything – I’ve tried it before, and I think it’ll have to be a tactical tweak as nobody seems to fit into the role.

That said, when we play well, we play very well. I think our willingness to take teams on even as the underdogs has earned us a few points already, and with a trip to CSKA up next I’ll be looking to carry that mentality forward. At the back we’ve been reasonably solid, and I think a change of ‘keeper from Ganiev to Maninho has helped with that – the Brazilian hasn’t been fantastic, but the communication between the back five seems to be better and we’re conceding fewer silly goals as a consequence.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, I don’t think I’ll be making sweeping changes in August unless one of the many teams chasing my players actually comes up with some cash. Torric, Yarkov, Pedro, Marcelo, Sadaev and José are all being wanted but have big price tags thanks to our comfortable financial position, so I have no need to sell. However, if speculation unsettles my side and the prices are met, then I’ll have no difficulty in letting go of any of them, with the possible exception of Sadaev.

As I said before, the table is so tight at the moment that we could finish just about anywhere, so it’s difficult to come up with a definite goal. Europe looks possible if we can stay consistent so I’m going to stick with my preseason goal for now, although another year of midtable mediocrity is equally likely. As long as we don’t slide down the league again I’ll be satisfied, but obviously we’re going all out to move on up. Onwards and upwards!

[RichG]

midway and only 9 points from the top going well this season

[EvilDave]

Cheers Rich, this season was fairly good to us, definite signs of progress

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2017 – Review

I hate to use a cliché, but it really did come down to the wire. On the final day of the season we sat in 5th and faced 8th-place Kuban at home, who would leapfrog us with a win. Elswhere, the two teams between us clashed as Terek hosted Spartak. Quite simply, we couldn’t lose. Both sides looked cagey, and although news of a Spartak lead eased the tension (they could only draw level thanks to us winning more games), the 0-0 was the most nervous game I’ve played in this save. We held on to our position, resulting in Zhemchuzhina’s highest ever league finish and European qualification for next season – a massive step in the right direction for the club.

We accompanied a successful league campaign (which included a momentous first win over CSKA) with continued progression in the cup. My ambitious board announced that they expected us to make the final four, and whilst that will be difficult we’re only a win at Lokomotiv away after dealing with non-league Lada easily. In the previous round First Division Nosta had proved tougher for my second-string side, but in the end our superiority shone through in extra time and we moved on fairly untroubled.

Despite our excellent season, no one player really stood out above the others, with the highest average rating going to young centre-back and captain Semenov, who CSKA want back – we paid just £10k for him as a teenager, and I’ve slapped an £8m price tag on his head. He won’t be going anywhere. A special mention goes to Torric, who in the last six years has gone from volatile First Division want-away to full Ghanaian international and model professional in his central midfield role. He’s still one of the first names on the team-sheet, and unless I find someone spectacular for next year will continue to be so, especially with his newly-taken Russian citizenship opening up another foreigner slot.

As for next season, there are no obvious areas to improve. There are very few Russian players that would improve the side that aren’t already at the top clubs, and I don’t want to fall into the CSKA trap of relying too much on imports. That said, a second prolific striker would be nice, and I have a feeling I’ll be in the market for a left-back after José requested a transfer. Still, I can afford to demand eight figures for him, which should give us plenty of options.

Options which, if taken, should see a strong Sochi side make its European bow midway through 2018. I’m unsure as to which round we enter in but just being there will be fantastic, so the domestic aim for next year is to consolidate our place in the qualifying spots. If the league continues to be as tight as it currently is, then we have every chance of improving on this campaign, which would be a great achievement. Whatever happens, 2018 is going to be an exciting year at Central.

[WH]

Good job getting into Europe. Will be nice to test your side against some strong foreign sides.

How many champions league spots are available in Russia? You might be pushing for one of those in a season or so if you progress continues.

[RichG]

Grats on Europe

£273k? is that for finishing 5th? thats worse than the scots prem for payouts

I though the russian league had a lot of cash floating around as they attract good players from south america

[EvilDave]

Thanks for the support guys, Europe felt like a great achievement There are only 2 CL spots in Russia so it'll be a challenge to make it this season, but that's the aim. As for prize money I was also fairly shocked at the low amount, but it appears that the cash floating around the bigger sides is due to a combination of player sales, sponsorship deals and capacity crowds. As it stands, I only have the first of those!

FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi – Russian Premier Division 2018 – Preview

Just days after breaking CSKA’s hold on the title, Zenit boss Anatoly Davydov decided it was time to bow out at the top. Surprisingly, my work at Sochi has been enough to get me noticed, and I was offered the job on triple my wages, a transfer budget double that on offer at Zhemchuzhina and a wage budget thrice the size. Needless to say, the offer was rejected.

Back to business then, and before I introduce you to the new signings there’s someone I’d like to meet. For the first time in my nine seasons at Sochi, the academy has produced someone with a bit of potential. Sergey Kirillov has the potential to be a leading Premier Division midfielder, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on his development. Our ever-improving facilities (now up to good) should be enough for a year or so, and after that he’ll go on loan to new feeder side Baltika in the First Division.

After the excitement of a youth prospect, it was back to the serious business of the transfer market. After letting a couple of fringe players run down their contracts it was time to shift the malcontents of the squad - £9m was a little less than I hoped to get for José, but the side will benefit from his absence. Bazhev, Geshev and Novikov (£700k to Khimki off-screen) were never going to trouble the starters, so to collect a couple of million for their services was a no-brainer. With a budget inflated by the departures, here are the players I chose to spend it on:

Alexey Averjanov – When Khimki went down they offered this guy around, and he chose us over every other team in the league. He’s no world-beater, but looks to be a no-nonsense solid centre-back who will probably partner Semenov, dropping Yarkov and Gagloev to the bench.

Hugo Cabrera – With José gone we had a shortage at left-back, with only Kocis able to play there effectively. Cabrera was fairly cheap, is as good as José defensively, slightly better going forward, and comes with the bonus of Russian citizenship having spent one year with Sibir, two with Alania and four more with Kuban. Expect him to start most games.

Stig Handeland – Might see game time in the cup, but Stig is purely a prospect for now. Looks to have the potential to be something of an all-rounder up front, and if he can fulfil it then we could have a quality striker on our hands.

Neto – With José gone, we needed at least one Brazilian full-back. Seriously though, he’s our best right-back and cost little over £1m, so the decision to sign him up was easy. Great physical attributes for someone fairly young, and I’m hoping he’ll continue his development and lock down the right side.

Brice Coulibaly – I’m not going to lie, this is profiteering at its finest. Brice looks to be a fine young player, but will never fit into my system due to his position. If he develops on loan at Baltika then there is the possibility of retraining him to a more central role, but a more likely scenario is us selling him on for a sizeable fee. At £35k, we can’t really go wrong.

On the contract front this season has been fairly quiet. Once again some of the bigger teams have been sniffing around my players, and once again they’ve failed to stump up the necessary cash. Of my key players, only Paulinho looks to be a lost cause, refusing to sign a new deal with only a year left. I couldn’t find a replacement in the winter but he may well see the door in August if I can find the right man. All in all, we’ve kept the vast majority of our squad for last year together.

This means we should continue to perform well. The board expect nothing less than Europa League qualification for the second year running, and interestingly the bookies have got us down as mounting a serious title challenge, placing us third behind co-favourites Zenit and CSKA. Whether they know something I don’t is another question entirely, but it leaves no doubt that the confidence is there. We have the potential to continue pushing up the table, and with the right application we should do just that. With a European debut on the horizon as well, this could be the most exciting season in years here at Central.

[EvilDave]

Quick note to anybody following - I'm getting bogged down with work at the moment so just don't have time to play, so this is going on a break for the time being. I'm hoping to carry on with the save at some point though, so I'll be back!

[RichG]

Boooo

come back soon