[FM10] Hoppin' around Europe

[68_Grandad_99]

CoachFlu: Now either you are not from the UK or your messing around. Thats the problem with reading what someone puts, you can't tell how they are meaning to sound

Grandad: I'm guessing its the one titled, Jellymans thrown a wobbly?

It is indeed, without meaning to sound cliched, i literally didn't want that book to end. Really wanna read Kammy's one aswell, may have to pay a trip to Amazon at some point!

CoachFlu, i'm genuinely a little bit upset you've sold him but i can see your reasoning as to why.

[CoachFlu]

CoachFlu, i'm genuinely a little bit upset you've sold him but i can see your reasoning as to why.

He seems to be the first choice goalie at TeBe Berlin, so I think it was the right thing to let him move and let him get his career on track again. I'll keep an eye on him the next few years though.

Nov. 11, 2020

Watford update:

We're still doing well. We were a bit outclassed in the home match against Man City - who seem to be clear favorites for the title again - and were lucky to finish only one goal down. After that we've been undefeated, though three of the five leage matches were draws.

Middlesbrough and QPR were frustrating scoreless draws which we really should have won, but we couldn't get the ball into the net. The 3-3 at Stoke was slightly frustrating because we were 2-0 up at half time, but we really didn't deserve more than a point there - if that. Stoke are flying high and played very well.

The QPR match was our first match in the Vicarage Stadium with added capacity - 21.846 now. That should result in a little bit more profit from now on, though it looks like we're still selling out each time, so another upgrade soon might be a good idea.

We made it to the League Cup Quarter Final as well, for the first time in recent history. We got there thanks to a great match in the "Zola Arena" (built in 2013), with two goals from Zavon Hines in his best performance for the club so far (he got a few other chances, but has disappointed a bit.) Our 4th round draw was quite favorable, though we needed a lot of chances before we got a goal into the net against Oldham (L1).

We face West Ham (CH) next, so we have a good chance of reaching the Semi Final. Wouldn't mind having a chance to win one of the Cups this year...

[DodgeeD]

'Zola Arena' Better than Chelsea's new stadium in my game - The Terry Arena!

[prayer]

Hence the rubbish choice of currency

[CoachFlu]

DodgeeD - hmm, yep, the Terry Arena sounds weird. Though it's at least a little bit more creative than "Man City Stadium" (the only other new Prem stadium in my game.)

prayer - indeed, and I also use kilograms, kilometers and centimeters.

Nov. 20, 2020

Algeria update:

One more friendly match to finish the calendar year:

Austria - Algeria: 1-2

A visit to my old friends at the Ernst Happel Stadium, to give the Algerian lads a bit more of a challenge. I'm relatively pleased with our performance, as we deserved the win here. We weren't strong enough to dominate the match though - I'd say the Algerian and Austrian squads are of comparable strength - but we had by far the better chances.

Our right back missed the penalty kick, but our two goals came from well executed attacks, while the Austrian goal was a 25 yarder, so I can't be disappointed with the display.

[CoachFlu]

Dec. 21, 2020

Watford mid-season update:

Results:

Mid-season table

A very solid first half of the season. We went 3-3-1 in these last seven league matches, which pretty much sums up our season so far. A few too many draws to really challenge the top of the table, but we have only lost three matches so far. So, for now, we're one of the teams battling for European qualification.

I dare say that we pretty much deserve to be where we are now. There were a few draws early in the season which we really should have won, but these past seven results were all perfectly fair and square. We even fully deserved the point at Old Trafford, though we left it until the 95th minute before John Turner managed to score the equalizer.

Right winger John Turner is again proving to be our most important player, regularly getting goals and assists. The only match he missed this season was the deserved home loss against Villa - there were other factors contributing to our poor play, but Turner's absence was definitely a big one.

The new left winger is certainly an improvement over last season, but not quite the Turner-clone I was hoping for. Then again, he's only been at the club half a season, and he's certainly not doing poorly, so I can't really complain.

I doubt I'll be spending any of the remaining €20M transfer budget in January. We're doing quite well, so there's no need for immediate changes. Better to keep the club's account in the black for now, and hope that the budget keeps going up a bit every season.

I do feel that I deserve a revision of the "financial control" attribute on my manager profile though; it's been stuck at 1 for several years now, while I've shown to be quite capable of handling the Watford finances.

On another note, we managed to get past West Ham with relative ease to make it to the League Cup Semi Final. In that semi we'll be facing Birmingham, who are down in the relegation zone. Which means we have a great opportunity to make it to the Final, where we'd face either Man City or Everton.

While the cups are certainly less important than the league for us this year, I'd very much like to make it to the League Cup final now, and have a go at winning it. Especially since I realized that it's been quite a while since the last trophy (the 2015/16 Liga Vitalis with Feirense, to be exact.) And it's been a long time since Watford has won anything as well - the 1998 League 1 title. We're not there yet though. If we get past Birmingham, either Man City or Everton will be a tough opponent.

But the main goal this season has to be a ticket for Europe next season. A mid-table spot was the goal at the start, and I might not be terribly disappointed if we miss out on a Europe-spot again, but considering where we are now, we have to go for it. Won't be easy though; the table is still quite tight, and there are some great teams behind us.

[rancer890]

You're doing a fantastic job this season. Keep it up and get Watford to Europe!

[SwiftyBlade]

It seems a shame your capacity for the stadium is very small. If the board was clever they would use that £20m!

[CoachFlu]

It seems a shame your capacity for the stadium is very small. If the board was clever they would use that £20m!

Well, the 20 mil is the remaining transfer budget, the actual cash balance is only 9 mil. And euros, not pound - slight difference, heheh. Not to worry though:

Jan. 27, 2021

So it seems likely that there will be another stadium expansion next summer. Looks like the Watford board is suitably ambitious. Which confirms that I made the right decision here:

Leverkusen would be an interesting team to manage. A German almost-top team which never won the title (five times runners-up, five times 3rd). They had to settle for 5th-7th the last few seasons, and are currently struggling just above the relegation zone. But they have great facilities, and some cash, so it could have been an interesting three-season project to bring them to the top again.

But, obviously, this would not be a good time for me to leave Watford, while battling to qualify for Europe. So it didn't take me long to make the decision to reject Leverkusen.

Results:

A bit of a deja-vu fixture list this past month - three times Birmingham, twice Tottenham, twice Liverpool. A bit of a mad month as well, especially the Christmas/Newyear period, with 4 matches in 8 days. But we got through those 8 days very well, with a deserved, if slightly flattering, 4-0 win against Chelsea - the second time we've handed them a heavy loss in two seasons.

A small slip-up against Blackburn, which we really should have won. Then a semi-reserve squad got slightly lucky against Tottenham in the FA Cup, but our full strength squad was very unlucky against them a week later in the league - they got the early corner kick goal, and we were in full control after that but failed to get the ball into the net.

We haven't been doing well against Liverpool this year, they beat us three times now. Some small excuses for those two last matches, as our defense was somewhat dislodged because of injuries, but on the other hand, our attack was a bit below par as well. So we lost two of our last three league matches now, and the next one is against Man City. But hopefully we can bounce back soon to stay in the fight.

Our third place in the league, by the way, is partly because QPR and Liverpool have a game in hand. So let's say 5th, which is still very good. It remains tight behind us though, so just a small drop of form would be enough to see us slide down to 8th or 9th.

For that reason, I'm not too disappointed that Liverpool knocked us out of the FA Cup. December/January was just a bit too congested for comfort. The League Cup, of course, became a goal along the way, so we played our strongest squad in the home leg against Birmingham, and comfortably demolished them.

So we made it to the final, giving Watford a chance at some silverware again for the first time since 1998. We'll be the clear underdogs in the Final though, as we'll be facing league leaders Man City. "Man City haven't lost to Watford in their last 4 meetings," the news item said. But there's a first time for everything...

[rancer890]

3rd!!! Where's Chelsea and Arsenal now?

[CoachFlu]

Yeah, but that 3rd place was a bit deceptive with those games in hand and the table so tight.

Here's the full table after one more match, against Man City (which we lost.)

So if Liverpool, Chelsea and Middlesbrough win their game in hand, we're actually 8th or 9th. Our next few matches will be key, to regain some momentum and stay in it.

[MeLikeFM]

Just read this whole thing , KUTGW

[PaUlHuNtInGtOnLuFcBoY]

Aw poor Leeds ... Still keeping me reading mate. Awesome!

[CoachFlu]

Thanks.

March 15, 2021

We enter the decisive stage of the season. The task: try to qualify for Europe for only the second time in the club's history - the first and only time so far was in the early 1980's. But first, we wrote another small chapter in the club's history:

The Final, however, was a disappointment:

Man City - Watford: 2-0

I didn't give us more than a 10% chance before the start. Man City has been the only team this season which completely outclassed us each time we faced them. Well, we have lost three times to Liverpool as well, but agaist them I still get the feeling that we can beat them on a good day. Against Man City, it's always a case of hoping that our goalie has a superb day, so we don't lose by too big a margin. As you can see below, a few weeks before the final, we failed to achieve that objective.

Despite not losing the League Cup final by a huge margin, this was probably our worst match against them so far. Apart from a few corner kicks, we were unable to create any sort of danger, and their goalkeeper had absolutely nothing to do. I imagine that Sir Elton John had already left Wembley stadium before the final whistle. And I can't blame him.

Results:

Despite the slightly disappointing - but not unexpected - lost League Cup Final, we did quite well this past month and a half. The heavy loss against Man City in the league was a bit painful, but we bounced right back with four confident wins. A small slip up at the end, when we failed to finish it off against Bristol City, but we're still in a very good position to qualify for Europe.

Seven matches to go, and we have a six point gap on the teams behind us. Our final stretch isn't exactly easy, but we should be able to finish in the top six. As long as our form doesn't crash completely, because the teams in 8th, 9th and 10th aren't far behind either.

I'm not particularly bothered about trying to get a Champions League spot. In a way, a EURO Cup spot might be more favorable. But I'll take it as it comes.

[CoachFlu]

March 24, 2021

Algeria update:

We played one more friendly back in February:

Georgia - Algeria: 0-1

A narrow win, but we were slightly fortunate, and we didn't play all that well. Perhaps it was because of the February weather in Tbilisi. Since the 2022 World Cup will be held in Mexico, I'll try not to arrange any more friendlies to be played on a frosty pitch, from now on.

World Cup Qualifying (AFR) Third Round:

Libya - Algeria: 0-2

We started off with trip to our neighbours in the east, and didn't slip up. A confident performance with two goals by our young forward.

Morocco won their match against Guinea, confirming that this will probably be a two horse race.

The next qualifying match will be in June, and then the remaining four matches will be played in September and October. Both matches against Morocco are in that last stretch, so this whole world cup qualifying business is still just a small distraction from the main taks at hand - Watford - at the moment.

[CoachFlu]

May 23, 2021

Watford - English Premier Division - end of season 2020/21

Final results:

We entered the final stretch in 4th place, with a 6 point gap on 5th. The home match against Leeds was our last 'easy' match, and we made sure of the three points, to keep our gap and bring us one step closer to European football.

Some mixed results after that, from mostly tense and very close matches. Some of them could have swung the other way on another day, but I couldn't really complain about any of the results.

On the final matchday we were already certain of European football, but not yet in which of the competitions we'd be entered. The draw against Southampton could have dropped us down to 5th, but Tottenham only managed a draw as well, so we finish a marvelous 4th.

Mid-season table

End of season table

Position graph

We had a very solid, consistent season - always in the top half of the table, and we settled down in the top six around midseason and stayed there.

I'm very pleased with our performances and our 4th place finish, as I think we got as much out of this season as we could have. Well, a win on the last day would have seen us finish 3rd, but I'm not too bothered about that. I'd have been thrilled already with a EURO Cup spot; 4th is better than I expected.

The Cups

For the first time since I joined Watford we went far in one of the Cups, as we reached the final of the League Cup. Our first hurdle was the toughest, a very satisfying 3-2 away win against Chelsea. After that our draws were a bit more favorable - Oldham (L1), West Ham (CH) and Birmingham (PRM relegation zone.) But in the other half of the bracket nobody had managed to knock out Man City, so we were up against it in the final and deservedly lost after a very poor match.

No easy draws in the FA Cup. We got past Tottenham in the 3rd Round, but then went out against Liverpool.

The squad

Watford squad overview

The core of the squad remained the same compared to last season, but a few key positions were significantly strengthened, with the desired results.

Especially our defense was much improved compared to last year. We still conceded 44 goals in the league - ideally I'd like to see that reduced to an average of 1 per match, so around 38ish. But we condeded 67 last season, so that's a significant improvement.

The key players:

Stephan Dompig - GK

Another great season for our young goalie, which saw him voted 3rd best Young Player again, and also saw him pick up his first caps for Holland. His amount of "brilliant" and "fantastic" saves was a bit lower than last season, but that was mainly because our defense was notably better.

So far I'm perfectly happy to continue with young Stephan as our first goalie, though with our second goalie leaving the club soon, I'll be looking for a new quality goalie this summer as backup. Not sure yet whether I'll go for a decent backup, or a "star goalie" which would move Dompig to the bench.

Felipe Santana - DC

Could have picked any of our defenders, really, as they all had comparable, solid seasons. But with Felipe leaving the club soon, I figured I'd pick him again as a tribute to two excellent seasons at the club. Not as many corner kick goals this year, but still very solid at the back. Our coaches feel that he's no longer upto this level of football though, and he's on a serious decline now indeed, so we didn't extend his contract.

John Turner - AMR

For the fourth consecutive season, Turner was our most important player. A few more goals and a few less assists than last year - the latter probably because we strenghtened our left wing, so he no longer had to carry the full weight. Was scouted once or twice by England manager Alan Shearer, but so far no call-ups yet.

Abiola Williams - AML

Our new left winger didn't "feel" quite as dangerous as Turner on the right wing, but his contributions were certainly very valuable. Doesn't score as often - some of his goals were from the penalty spot - but really can't complain about his amount of assists. He was also the only Watford player to make it into the Team of the Year (into the first eleven, at least - Turner and Stahl made it into the subs list.)

Quirin Stahl - ST

Our German striker confirmed that last season wasn't a fluke for him, as he did even better this year, with no long goal droughts that I can remember. With his 24 league goals, he was the 2nd highest goal scorer in the Premier Division this year. Also a notable improvement over last season was his amount of assists. His attributes still don't look nearly as impressive as those of some of the other strikers in this league, but as long as he keeps performing like this, I don't care.

Next season...

Hopefully more of the same, though I don't really see us doing any better than this season. We're still operating on a "lower half of the table" budget, and while I assume that our budget will go up a bit again, after some nice prize money, I hope the board's expectations stay roughly the same.

Realistically, I can see us settling down as a steady "3rd-8th place" team next year, hopefully achieving another ticket for Europe. Third place is possible with a little luck, but not a lot would have to go wrong to drop out of the top six. Obviously I'll be aiming to finish where we finished this year - I just hope the board doesn't expect it just yet. But we shall see.

I don't think there will be any major changes to the squad, beyond an extra DC, and adding some squad depth. If possible, though, I will be looking for a top quality center midfielder. We currently have four center mids of roughly the same quality, and they do well, but I think it's time for a quality boost in that area of the field.

And of course, we'll be playing in Europe as well. No major ambitions there - if we can make it to the group stage I'll be more than pleased already.

As for a new job, I seriously doubt that I'll leave Watford this year. It would have to be a hugely tempting offer. Since my manager reputation recently went up to Continental, I suppose it's not impossible that such an offer comes around at some point, but for now I plan to stay where I am for at least one more season.

[DodgeeD]

Congrats on 4th!! Definitely no second season syndrome for you. Hopefully you'll get an ambitious transfer budgte and a few big name signings to match!

[rancer890]

Great season CoachFlu. Keep improving the squad and have fun in the Champions League next season.

[CoachFlu]

Thanks.

June 9, 2021

Algeria update

World Cup Qualifying Round 3:

Algeria - Guinea: 0-1

An absolutely horrible, lacklustre performance by a bunch of lazy internationals who were already with half a mind on their holiday. Our only chance worthy of the name came at the very end of the match, but was saved by the keeper. Guinea was nowhere either, but they got a corner kick goal, and even that didn't wake us up.

I did some shouting in the dressing room after the match, and was harsh on the lads in the press conference, which seemed to have the desired effect - pity our next competitive match isn't until September, so the shouting probably doesn't matter much.

This big slip-up isn't a total disaster, especially since Morocco lost points at home against Libya as well. It'll put more pressure on us in the matches against Morocco though.

Friendly:

Ivory Coast - Algeria: 1-1

I scheduled a friendly against one of the stronger African sides, as a bit of a test, but after the Guinea match I decided to put most of the regulars on the bench. The subs managed a very respectable performance. We had a slight edge, though a draw was a correct result.

[SwiftyBlade]

Cracking season CoachFlu! Watford in the Champions League? Haha! Love it, this is what Football Manager is all about

[CoachFlu]

Thanks.

Looking forward to Watford in the Champions League, but...

suddenly not so sure anymore that it'll be with me at the helm.

It's the tempting offer I was sort-of afraid of, heheh. And, damn, it is tempting.

70000 all-seater Stade Vélodrome, facilities top notch, finances "Rich". The current French champs (won it 3 of the past 4 years).

The squad looks ready to go, no reinforcements needed. Looks in great shape, in fact.

These are their two star strikers: Jonathan Cristaldo & Jean-Claude Robert.

This should be a no-brainer, but it's not.

There's still progress in Watford. The stadium is being expanded again, the wage budget went up a bit... First appearance in the Champions League... Another season or two of qualifying for Europe and building the finances, and maybe it'll be possible to break through the Manchester domination and challenge for the title.

But I don't know how I can turn down the Marseille offer. If it was the middle of the season and they were in 8th place or whatever, that'd be a different matter. But it's not often that you get a chance to take charge of a top club at the start of the season like this.

I think I'll save the game and sleep on it. But it looks like I might be saying goodbye to The Hornets soon.

[rancer890]

I think you need to take that job...that's my opinion but it's ultimately your decision.

[DSYoungEsq]

Watford have been a good job for you, but you cannot turn down a chance to prove your mettle with a top-class team.

[CoachFlu]

June 28, 2021

Next chapter: the new Raymond Goethals?

The challenge is, indeed, too good to turn down.

For those of you who don't know him: Raymond Goethals was a legendary Belgian manager who was in charge of Olympique de Marseille from 1990 to 1993, during their greatest spell of success. They won the French title each of those seasons, and Raymond also steered the club to European success, winning the European Cup in 1993 (after having lost the final in 1991.) It was the first French club to achieve that, and until recently (in the game), the only French club to achieve that.

"Marseille were later stripped of their 1993 French championship when it emerged that three Valenciennes players had been offered money to underperform in a crucial match against Marseille. The club were not allowed to defend their European title as a result, and were punished with relegation to the French second division." (quote from wiki)

They quickly returned to the top flight, but although they often finished in the top three, amazingly OM did not win the French title again until 2017/18. They since won it twice more, including the previous 2020/21 season.

They haven't been able to repeat their 1993 European success. They reached the Champions League Semi Final in 2013, and had a few more Quarter Final appearances.

The board only expect me to reach the knockout stages, but if I am to progress the club beyond where they are now, Europe is where I'll have to do it.

Other board expectations are to reach the French Cup final, and challenge for the French title, with the media predicting us to finish 1st.

While these are very reasonable expectations, it's clear that the pressure on me to perform is a bit greater here than it was at Watford. But such is the nature of the job.

Obviously I'll be aiming to win the French title, and will consider my season a failure if we don't achieve that.

As I mentioned before accepting the offer, the squad looks in very good shape. There's plenty of squad depth - a bit too much so, for some positions - and I would feel relatively comfortable making no changes at all and starting the season the way we are. Since there is some room in the wage budget, however - and there is some dead wood in the reserves which can cut it even further - I'll be looking to make one or two more signings. If possible, those will be quality, high profile signings which can make an immediate impact.

Obviously some mixed feelings about leaving Watford, but mostly looking forward to this new challenge.

Droit au but!

[SwiftyBlade]

I think you made the right decision mate. Good Luck at Marseille

[CoachFlu]

Thanks.

A quick Watford update. This is the guy who the board have chosen to replace me: O'Neil Thompson

A young and relatively inexperienced chap. He made his managing debut pretty much exactly one year ago, taking charge of relegated West Ham and guiding them back up to the Premier Division. Hopefully Mr. Thompson will be able to build on the firm foundation I provided for him.

Before I left Watford, I already arranged some reinforcements. As it happens, I signed one player who was out of contract at Marseille: Mauricio Neira.

I'll keep an eye on Watford's progress this season. Time to focus on the new task now though.

[DodgeeD]

O'Neil THompson? He was one of my coaches at Toronto FC and was touted as my replacement a couple of times when my contract was nearing its end. However, he jumped ship before I did and went on to manage New York.

Good luck with the new job. Not sure I would have taken it with the Champions League and facility improvements to come at Watford but I trust your judgement.

[CoachFlu]

Yeah, it could backfire, of course. If we make a terrible start I could be out the door by Christmas. But, considering the thread title, I figured it was the correct choice. Hadn't managed in France yet.

Aug. 3, 2021

Marseille pre-season update

I figured the OM squad was pretty much good to go, but I ended up putting more effort than I thought into squad building. Nothing really crucial though. I spent a fair bit of effort trying to make a big signing - someone who would be an immediate added value to the squad - but so far I have failed to do so, for various reasons.

The very few quality players who were actually transfer listed ended up signing for the likes of AC Milan or other Barcelonas. And I've found that trying to buy a player who isn't transfer listed can be a costly affair - and a bit of an unfair affair. Clubs tried to charge me 30-35mil for players worth 6-8 mil, while accepting bids from other clubs for 14-18mil. Frustrating.

I raised a cool 10 mil extra by selling some of the excess baggage, but spent very little. I did spend a good 2 mil on a pair of backup right backs - a veteran and a youngster. But the two signings who are most likely to see some playing time were free transfers.

Sinan Bolat - GK

There already were four goalkeepers at the club, but one was unhappy and wanted to leave - sold him now - and two were in their early twenties and "decent but not great." Which only left the aging Steve Mandada. So I brought in the Turkish international goalie, who was reluctant to sign a new contract at Arsenal after a season on the bench. Not certain yet if I'll start with Bolat or Mandada in goal.

Ahmet Elmas - AMR

Snapped up from Bayern, in need of a new challenge, another Turkish international joins us as cover for the right wing, though there were several players in the squad for that position. But some of them were old, or more suited as strikers, or both, so Ahmet will probably be our nr. 2 right winger this season. Or maybe our nr. 1, since there's not much in it:

Ivan M RL

I also have one Algerian international in the squad (I didn't sign him, he was already here.)

Djamel Chaoui - AML

Djamel got his international debut under my management, as it happens, so at least there's one player here who likes me. He won't be the first choice left winger though. That'll be this guy:

Abdelkader Daoudi - AML

He'll do for now, but the left wing position is one where I'm on the lookout for potential improvement - not necessarilly for this season though.

Striker Jean-Claude Robert seems to be by far the most talented player in the squad.

The defense seems to be the squad's weak point - though that's relative. Still, it will be an area which will require some attention next summer.

One great player in the center of defense though, who should be fine for the next few seasons:

Juarez - DC

The rest of the defense is of roughle the same quality as left back George Isaac - very decent, but not brilliant for this level. Nothing to panic about at the moment though.

The center midfield looks fine, though I did try to find a big name signing, and will keep an eye out to see if I can find one by January perhaps. Mainly as a possible replacement for this guy: Azevedo - AMC

He doesn't look bad at all - good enough to get his chance to prove himself. But he joined the club just days before I did, and was already unhappy when I joined - "worried by rumours about a replacement." Well, I think that'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy, unless he shapes up soon. I don't have a lot of patience for whiners like that.

A few other midfielders look perfectly adequate for this level: Alexandr Kudey and Frankie Vela should both feature prominently in the squad this year.

As always at a new club and in a new league, it'll be a bit of a "wait and see." Curious where we stand within Europe as well.

Despite the result, our first competitive test wasn't too bad.

Champions Trophy:

Stade Rennais FC - OM: 2-2 (Rennais win penalty shootout 5-4)

Disappointed to lose this one by penalties, but we should have finished it off in the 90 minutes. With 4 suspensions and a few injuries, and the board not caring about the result, this was a bit of an improvised squad, but we played very well against last year's cup winners, who finished 2nd in the league. But we hit the woodwork three times, and their goalie had a great day, while our veteran French goalie didn't make a single save.

I would have liked to win a trophy again - even a li'l insignificant one which would have landed in my lap - but I'm not too bothered. We'll just have to make sure to win another trophy this year.

[SwiftyBlade]

Looks like your ready for the new season mate and with a decent squad

Good Luck

[CoachFlu]

Cheers.

As far as inheriting some other manager's squad goes, it was pretty good, yeah. I didn't make enough changes yet to make it my own squad, but there's time for that.

Sept. 8, 2021

Algeria update

I organized one more friendly in August before the important matches in September and October.

Algeria - Belgium: 0-5

I was hoping to test out how we'd handle superior opposition, but a straight red for one of our defenders in the first ten minutes put an end to that.

We actually managed to create some chances of our own, and a goal would have been nice, but we never stood a chance with a man down.

In hindsight, perhaps scheduling a friendly against easier opposition would have been better here, since a few of our players got a serious morale dip as a result of this match. And the next match was a crucial one.

World Cup Qualifying Round Three:

Algeria - Morocco: 3-1

A very satisfying and possibly vital win against our main competitors for the top spot in the group.

We had a clear edge for most of the match, but in the first hour their goalie made a few great saves while ours had very little to do until they scored. Luckily we responded well and ran out deserved winners in the last half hour, though two of our goals came from set piece situations. But, whatever works.

Algeria - Libya: 3-0

One of the "don't slip up" matches. Seeing the Marseille backup left winger get kicked off the field after less than 2 minutes was not a great start, but it turned out to be just a li'l 5-day bruise. And it gave the Libyan offender a straight red, which made our task a bit easier still. I was hoping to score one or two more goals, to get our goal difference up, but three will have to do.

Two matches to go, both away, against Guinea and Morocco.

If we hadn't lost the Guinea match back in June, we could have been as good as certain. Now it'll come down to the away match against Morocco.

[rancer890]

Those Belgians are tough opposition --- from personal experience. And in WCQ you're in a good spot to qualify from that group, as long as you don't lose against Morocco.

You have a good squad with Marseille too. Now get some wins with them!

[CoachFlu]

Sept. 12, 2021

Marseille update

Get some wins with them, right. That was exactly the problem at the start of the season, heheh.

Including the Champions Trophy match, my first four competitive matches in charge of Marseille were draws. Disappointing draws, at that. Well, not so much in Bordeaux, but the two 0-0s were quite frustrating. You wouldn't think we had a world class striker in the squad.

But Jean-Claude Robert finally found his way to the goal again, with two goals against Saint-Etienne and a hattrick against Bastia - enough to finish the month as the league's topscorer.

Well, we haven't lost a match yet, and with three straight wins our form is on the right track again. No slip-ups yet from Lyon and Rennais though - the two teams which the bookies consider our nearest competitors - so we're playing catch-up already. Not an ideal situation, but there's a lot of football to be played.

European football too. The Champions League group matches are just about to start. We've been drawn in a group with Juventus, Shakhtar and Litex.

I expect we'll be able to finish in the top two, though Shakhtar and Juventus are certainly not easy opponents. I'm hoping we get a few early good results, so we can sort-of skate through and I can keep the focus on the league, which is my priority this season.

Watford also made it to the group stage, after narrowly knocking out Salzburg in the playoffs, on away goals. As 4th seeds, they find themselves in a group with Inter, Porto and Feyenoord.

[DSYoungEsq]

With any luck, Libya will take care of Morrocco for you, and you won't have to do anything but mail in the results. Even a draw in that fixture would probably put you in like Flynn. Let us know when, like a volume of Omar Khayyam that you buy in the department store at Christmas time for your cousin Julia you're Morocco bound!

[CoachFlu]

Oct. 14, 2021

Algeria update:

Well, after the last two qualifying matches we did not need a mathematician to know that we aren't going to the World Cup:

Guinea - Algeria: 1-1

Morocco - Algeria: 3-0

Such unbelievably poor performances.

We had already lost to Guinea at home, but at least that one was undeserved. This time our first half wasn't very good, but we were a goal up at half time and Guinea hadn't been dangerous at all, so I wasn't too concerned. But our second half was terrible. I don't think we were near their goal at all, and we were lucky to come away with a point.

It actually didn't change the situation in the group. We still needed a draw against Morocco to qualify (on goal difference). I was confident we could achieve that. But the players completely choked.

Our first half hour wasn't bad - we had control of the ball, just didn't manage to create chances with it. But then Morocco took over, and they waltzed through our sleeping defense twice in a few minutes time, to put us two goals behind before half time.

The second half was just painful to watch. I remember playing better football with RC Mol-Wezel. When one of our defenders got a straight red, I just wanted the match to be over.

We were missing three of our regular defenders because of injury for these two matches, but that's no excuse. We got two shots on target in the two matches combined; that says enough, really.

And so ends another disappointing qualifying campaign. My track record with these mid-level nations isn't too great. Maybe I should go back to managing a tiny nation like Guadeloupe, heh.

I didn't get sacked yet, though my job status is "insecure" now. It's very tempting to resign after these terrible matches, but I think I'll stay on and have a go at the African Nations. My expectations will be low, but it's just three months away. After that I'll step down, no matter the result, and will try to go for a slighty bigger nation after next summer's World Cup.

[rancer890]

Disappointing result CoachFlu. Hope you avoid the sack and can leave on a high note after the African Nations.

[CoachFlu]

The confidence meter is at 42%, so I shouldn't get the sack - unless we do very poorly in the friendly matches before the African Nations, perhaps, heheh.

I'm a bit disillusioned with the Algerian squad though. I don't mind losing if we put up a good fight, but this was just disgraceful.

[prayer]

It would be awesome if there was an ability to drop players (club and international) and tell them why...be it they're playing rubbish, don't fit into your system, their mother wouldn't go out with you etc...

[CoachFlu]

It would be awesome if there was an ability to drop players (club and international) and tell them why...be it they're playing rubbish, don't fit into your system, their mother wouldn't go out with you etc...

Yep, I completely agree. The international management aspect of the game saw some nice improvements already in recent versions of the game, but some more personal interaction would be nice. But that's on the FM11 list - curious to see how that will turn out.

A situation from these last two matches, for instance: had a few defenders out injured, one of them - a very good DLC who normally always plays - was touch and go. He'd definitely not make the first match, and it looked like he could possibly be fit for the second match, but I decided not to risk it.

There was a seperate news item about it - forgot how they go exactly, "fails fitness gamble" or something. Great.

Of course another left back gets a knock in the first match, and I get to pick a replacement. So I check the DLC again - 1 day left on his injury, so he'll probably be around 90% fitness on match day, which is good enough for me under the circumstances. But of course...

Tricky situation to put into coding though. But a bit frustrating nonetheless.

[CoachFlu]

Oct. 27, 2021

Marseille update

Well, after that slightly shaky start of the season, this has been a pretty much perfect set of results. Three wins in the Champions League, and five wins/one draw in the league. The draw was away at Lyon, who seem to be our main title contenders this season. Apart from us, they're the only team which hasn't lost yet this season. We were lucky to get away with a point from that match, so I'll take it.

The other matches have gone relatively smoothly. Only in the last one against Monaco we went a goal behind, but we rectified the situation in the second half, with a "... credits manager talk" news item after the match. I think that may have been my very first one of those in this career. Certainly had several matches where I felt that my half time speech had an impact, but don't remember an item about it.

Of course, despite the great results, we've had the usual little issues - fatigue, injuries and what not. The injuries hit us most in the Champions League squad. For the league we have plenty of squad depth, but with three of the registered center mids out at one point, I had to put a right winger in the center against Juventus.

And that relates to the squad's main problem at the moment: a lack of talented youth. There are a few decent prospects in the U19 squad, but - apart from two kids I picked up in July - there's nobody between 18 and 21 at the club, who can provide squad depth for European matches without taking up a registration spot. I guess that will be my task here for the next few seasons - possibly even in January already, as it looks like we'll survive the CL Group Stage.

[rancer890]

Nice month there. Not too far from Lyon for 1st in Ligue 1, and can't ask for anymore better with 3 wins to start off the Champions League group stage.

[SwiftyBlade]

Brilliant month! Basically what rancer said, 3 wins out of 3 you couldn't ask for more and you can easily catch Lyon!

[CoachFlu]

Thanks.

Not sure about "easily" catching Lyon. Their form has been great, and they hardly dropped any points so far. (10-2-0 in the first 12 matches)

We'll just have to stick as close to them as possible and hope they start slipping up along the way.

Nov. 20, 2021

Algeria update

Two more friendly matches. I was hoping we'd be able to bounce back a bit after a few poor matches, but that didn't quite happen.

Tunisia - Algeria: 1-0

Algeria - Greece: 0-3

Another very poor performance against Tunisia, with no shots on target.

Confidence dropped another 10% after that match, to 32%, so I was worried another poor result against Greece would see me get the sack. But despite the heavy loss, we performed slightly better against Greece - the media called it "Greece strike lucky," though that was being kind to us - so the fans were only a little disappointed about that match.

So it looks like I get to stay on for the Cup of Nations. The group draw:

The FA expects us to reach the semi finals. Considering our current form, I'll probably be happy if we survive the group stage, heh.

[CoachFlu]

Dec. 20, 2021

Marseille mid-season update:

Mid-season table

Another brilliant set of results, apart from the one little blip against mid-table Toulouse where we failed to convert our chances and had to settle for a draw. Our star striker Jean-Claude Robert was injured for that match; with him in the line-up we generally don't have a problem converting chances into goals.

Robert has been in exceptional form so far, with 20 league goals and 10 in the Champions League - five in the 8-0 match against Litex. I'm so glad he still has a contract for the next four and a half years.

We've been undefeated so far, in all competitions, since our penalty shootout Champions Trophy loss back in July, setting a new club record at 25 and counting. I'm sure the streak will end eventually, but so far we've been playing brilliantly - much better than I expected after starting the league with three disappointing draws.

Despite our brilliant form, however, we're still in 2nd place in the league. Olympique Lyonnais has been in equally brilliant form. We're slowly creeping closer, but they don't sliip up often, and haven't lost yet either. It's shaping up to be an interesting title battle - in most other leagues we'd probably be several points clear with a 14-5-0 record.

The Champions League group stage has been surprisingly easy as well - six wins, only two goals conceded, never really in trouble. That means we reached the board's expectations now, but obviously we'll be aiming to get as far as possible. Not sure where we stand against the top teams in Europe, but we'll find out soon enough.

We could have drawn Watford as our opponent in the First Knockout round, as they managed to finish 2nd in their group, but they're up against Barcelona. We get a spanish opponent as well: Atletico Madrid.

There's a link of coincidence about that draw, as we're about to steal away one of their players in the January transfer window. Our Moroccon left winger picked up a nasty injury early in December, and he'll be out for pretty much the rest of the season.

With our second choice for the left wing not all that great, and no real third option, I started scouting the left wingers of the major international squads, prepared to spend big cash if needed. Turned out I didn't have to, as I found out that Spain/Atletico Madrid left winger José Antonio had a €4.2M minimum release clause - pocket change for a player of his quality.

If I remember correctly (been a while since I managed at this level), he'll be ineligible for our Champions League squad, but at least At.Madrid will have to do without him when they face us.

[Jord @S]

Great read Coach, took a couple of days but worth it and your team is on a good streak, now just wait for Lyon to slip up

Also just wondering a few things;

Are you on any of your former clubs favoured personel (I would think so with your success at Watford at least)

Where are Luton in your game ? and

How is your regen (can't remember the name but the one who got snapped up by barca within a week) getting along is his career ?

KUTGW!

[CoachFlu]

Great read Coach, took a couple of days but worth it and your team is on a good streak, now just wait for Lyon to slip up

Also just wondering a few things;

Are you on any of your former clubs favoured personel (I would think so with your success at Watford at least)

Where are Luton in your game ? and

How is your regen (can't remember the name but the one who got snapped up by barca within a week) getting along is his career ?

KUTGW!

Thanksz Jord.

- Nope, I haven't made it onto any club's favorites list yet. I've been a bit too much of a journeyman for that, heheh. The Watford job was my longest spell at a club so far (1359 days - something between 3.5 and 4 years). But, although I took the club a huge step forward, I didn't win anything with them, which is probably why I'm not considered a favorite there.

- Luton Town History - they disappeared out of the leagues for a few years (League 2 is the lowest I'm running in England), but then came back strong, and since then they've been yoyo-ing between L1 and L2 a few times. This season is no different, it seems, currently just outside the L1 relegation zone.

- Vitor Lameiras still looks very good, though I think Barcelona should focus his training on the physical aspect a little. I'm too lazy to look up the old screenshot now, but I don't think his pace/strength etc. evolved much since then.

He made his international debut for Portugal almost two years ago already, but hasn't broken into the Barcelona squad yet. A few cup appearances over the years, but no league match yet.

He has shown his potential while out on loan though. Two years ago at Stade de Reims (French Ligue 1), and last year at Cagliari in the Serie B, finding the net regularly for both those clubs.

Just noticed he has a €8.75M minimum release clause. Hmmm. Not cheap for a backup striker, which he would be as long as we have Robert. But... dunno, I'll have to think about that. Although he might not want to leave Barcelona for Marseille anyway.

[rancer890]

Nice to see you still within striking distance of Lyon for first CoachFlu.

I reckon if you have the money, go get Lameiras! Or wait till you can get on a free if Barca don't renew his contract...he's only 20 and already has 4 caps for Portugal. I think he can help you win Ligue 1 at Marseille.

[CoachFlu]

Nice to see you still within striking distance of Lyon for first CoachFlu.

I reckon if you have the money, go get Lameiras! Or wait till you can get on a free if Barca don't renew his contract...he's only 20 and already has 4 caps for Portugal. I think he can help you win Ligue 1 at Marseille.

One of my scouts had a look at him and rates him at 2/2.5 stars. That's less than I thought... then again, they only rate the really top players at more than 3 stars.

As long as Jean-Claude Robert is in the squad, he's the undisputed nr. 1 striker. He's pretty much at the very top:

Then again, I just rejected a €63M offer from Man Utd for him - maybe at some point they make an offer that the board can't refuse.

And Jonathan Cristaldo, our second striker, is turning 33 soon.

So I think I'll try to get Lameiras after the January transfer window, for next season's second striker spot. Like I said though, don't know if he'll even be interested in leaving Barça, but the scouts seem to think he would be.

[CoachFlu]

Jan. 24, 2022

Africa Cup of Nations 2022 - Hosts: Senegal

The tournament's past winners:

So Algeria had made it to the final twice in the past six editions, but that didn't mean that I had high ambitions. Considering our current form, I'd be glad if we made it through the group stage. After that, with a bit of luck, who knows.

Algeria - Egypt: 1-1

We started against a fierce rival, so a good result was crucial here. It took just over a minute before the Egyptians stung like a bee and put us a goal behind. We managed to hit back immediately though, and after that the match turned into a bore draw, with very few chances on either side. Though we didn't play very well, I was mainly pleased that we didn't lose this match.

South Africa - Algeria: 3-0

A painful, heavy loss. An even and relatively boring first half ended dramatically for us as we hit the woodwork, but a minute later it was South Africa which took the lead. We never recovered in the second half, and South Africa ran out deserved winners.

With just the one point from two matches, it was out of our hands. We had to hope South Africa beat Egypt, and win our own match with heavy numbers to overcome a significant goal difference.

Liberia - Algeria: 1-5

For once, we did what we had to do and turned our domination into a big enough win to put us through if the other result went our way. But it didn't; Egypt held South Africa to a scoreless draw, so we're out.

And so we face another disappointment.

Perhaps if we had started the tournament against Liberia, the morale boost from the big win could have given us a chance. But ultimately, our standard of play against the decent opponents was not good enough.

Amazingly, the FA have not fired me, though they're obviously diappointed. I will resign shortly.

I'd say that this has been my most disappointing international job so far - even more so than the Austria job. When I took the job, I figured we had a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup and going far in the Cup of Nations. But there was too much inconsistency.

Obviously the Algerian squad isn't the most talented in the world, but there were enough decent players to make for a fairly balanced squad which should have been capable of reaching the objectives. What it did miss, perhaps, was one or two star players who could drive the team forward and individually make a difference at rough moments - kind of the opposite problem as at Guadeloupe, where we had a few stars, but not enough squad depth.

So it's time for a new international challenge. I'll see if something interesting comes up at the end of this tournament, but I'll probably leave Africa for the time being and will hold out for one of the jobs that will become available after the next World Cup.

[prayer]

Unlucky with South Africa not beating Egypt, especially after your big win! What sort of country would you like next?

[CoachFlu]

Unlucky with South Africa not beating Egypt, especially after your big win! What sort of country would you like next?

I'm pretty much open to anything.

I usually just keep an eye on whatever becomes available, and if it presents a challenge I'd be interested in, I apply for it. The chance to win an international trophy hasn't really played a part in the decision process - just having a chance to qualify for a tournament can be enough of a goal for me.

That said, trying to win the Caribbean Ch'Ship with Guadeloupe was great fun, and after two somewhat disappointing adventures with mid-level nations, I wouldn't mind playing an actual tournament again with a chance to go far in it. So if something like Mexico/USA/Australia/Japan becomes available, that would be a great change of pace. Probably not an African nation at the moment - I'll return to this continent at a later date. Unless, perhaps, one of the nations which qualified for the World Cup sacks the manager after the Cup of Nations, but that seems unlikely.

It's also quite possible that I end up going for another Euro Ch'Ship qualifying campaign after the World Cup casualties are revealed. Preferably with a nation which stands a better chance of qualifying than Austria though. Something like Belgium or Portugal would be nice.

I'm even open to an U21 or U19 job, but then it would have to be one of the big nations, with a chance to go all the way in one of the youth tournaments.

So, in short, I don't know quite yet.