FM11 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[ToMexico!!]

This is feeling a very long season. Five games left and the team already seem to have been running on empty for the last five games. Half the team are at 50% condition by halftime. Real blood and guts time, showing some character. But need to keep on fighting.

I'm at the same stage of tiredness with my players but i'm only in March. My midfield quartet are ending games with about 40% condition. However it doesn't seem to be stopping them, as we've just beaten Hamburg 7-1. Got back Inter back to back in the Champions League next.

[el sid]

End of Season Update - 2010/2011 - Racing Club de Ferrol

League:

Media Prediction - 13th

Actual Prediction - 2nd

We clearly exceeded expectations in the league, scoring the most goals and being the most entertaining team to watch in the league. We beat Castilla twice and Atletico B team once, no mean tasks, as they featured the likes of Gago, Drenthe etc. Delighted with the league finish, just couldn't catch up to Salamanca soon enough after a poor March. We also lost twice to them

Playoffs

Revenge! We turned Villarreal B easily enough, with a 4-2 away and 1-1 draw at home. Next up were Murcia, tougher opposition. We eked out a 1-0 win away and held on to a 1-1 at home. Last up were my bogey team, Salamanca. With 4 of my starting 11 out through suspension or injury, we did well to hold them to a 2-2 draw at home. With the injured players back, we trounced them 3-0 at their place to complete my revenge and book my place in Liga Adelante next season.

Transfers - Released a lot of deadwood that half of them don't appear on the screen!

Key Players:

Victor Vazquez - The former Barcelona man arrived on a free and made the right wing his own, contributing goals and assists. Immense season

Ignacio Camacho - Club Captain. Was released from Atletico Madrid and we snapped him up. Provided steel in midfield, and although his stats don't look overly great, he was way too good for this league.

Nei - My costliest signing so far at £500. Was injured for around 3 months, and we missed him during our driest run in the league. Contributed goals and assists.

Nacho Quirino - Was at the club when I arrived, and proved to be a very good goalscorer at this level, finishing as top scorer.

Aims for next season:

• Survive in Liga Adelante!
  
• Improve the finances - we made a lot of losses this season inspite of being under the wage budget.
  
• Tie down Camacho and Vazquez to the club for a longer time
  

  Season  |  Club        |   League  		      |  Position  |  Comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/2011 | Ferrol S.A.D | Spanish Second Division B1 |    2nd     | Promoted via Playoffs!

[PRDH]

Great job getting out of the Second Division at the first attempt el sid took me at least three seasons. Good luck for next season.

Meanwhile, I'm into the final game of the season, it's away at Barcelona, fortunately nothing's riding on it, so I don't have to worry about the fact I'm losing.

[el sid]

Thanks PRDH

Chairman looking to step aside \o/

[PRDH]

End of Season Update - U.D. Pajara Playas de Jandia - 2021/22

"The continued adventure of the challenge's sunshine team."

Transfer Budget: £7,729,571

Wage Budget: £320,230 p/w

Finances: £2,996,647

Transfers | 9 In (£12,250,000) and 25 Out (£14,750,000)

Busy transfer period all round. Quite a few familiar faces left including Koke, Martin Angha and Kenny de Zeeuw, the bonus was it freed up transfer funds for new players to come in and add new depth, and in particular this season exciting prospects, who I'll detail later.

All together I think my squad went into this season in a better position than last season, and we look to have good system, with some good youngsters in place now to grow.

League | 4th | Graph

Well, I think the league position and graph show the story well, the team proved itself capable of mixing it with the big boys in the division. This was especially noticeable in a 20-game unbeaten run in the league in the middle of the season including home wins over Barcelona and eventual winners Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately the team lost fitness and in their tiredness we slipped up against some of the lesser teams towards the end of the season meaning Barcelona were able to keep their 3rd place. Still, I'm happy to be competing in the Champions' League next season, hopefully it will helps secure my finances a bit.

Main aim is to get to the group stages obviously and use it to make some money, I'm not going to win it, so I'll use it to raise the profile, income and hopefully get some top players in.

Cup | 5th Round

We went out at the same time as last season, again on away goals, to Valencia this time. I'd like a good run. I think I'm getting close to being able to challenge for this trophy. And that matters, remember, I am yet to win ANYTHING, been promoted both times through the playoffs so not even got a lower league title!

Europe | Quarter-Final

A good run, ended in another familiar exit. We went out to Rangers again! It was a good fun run in the competition though. We finished second behind Porto in the group to get through to a tie with CSKA Moscow, where we recovered from 3-0 down after 50 minutes of the first, home, leg to win 7-4 on aggregate. We then had another high-scoring tie as we knocked Celtic out 6-4 on aggregate before finally losing 6-1 overall to Rangers.

Squad | Players

A reminder, italics mean a young player I am excited about, and bold means a the first choice in that position.

Goalkeepers | Once again, Schettino was the daddy, he made 56 appearances and get everyone else out of his jersey.

Lorenzo Schettino - Still concedes a few goals, if you see the league we scored a lot, and also conceded a lot, he's definitely the best we've got though.

Tony Carey - Happily sat on the bench all season, which is what I wanted him to do.

Charles Mohammed - Decent, unspectacular 3rd choice goalkeeper.

Defenders | A few players to comment on here, Babin and Mathis had excellent seasons in the centre of defence, Isa stepped up to the plate to replace an injured Casini, but I'm most excited about Schaap, Caceres and Molina all of whom look like excellent players in the making.

Casper Schaap - I am really excited by this guy. He's only young, he's an excellent tackler, he's massive, and I'm seriously considering throwing him into the first team next season.

Cesar Garcia - Continuing to improve, he's a very good player, though he is prone to unfitness. Which is an issue towards the end of the season.

Anthony Babin - A really classy defender, he is definitely the calibre of player that can take us further.

Oriol Molina - Another exciting young defender, not quite of the class of Schaap, but still I think he can become an excellent defender.

Georges Mathis - At 27 I'm not sure whether he can make the step up to the Champions League, which is why I'm considering selling him and chucking Schaap in.

Carlos Caceres - yet another exciting young defender, he played most time as a midfielder this season due to injuries, but if he can improve his tackling with experience he can go onto big things.

Fabio Casini - Started the season as 1st choice, but suffered a nasty injury which ruled him out until the penultimate game of the season.

Mark Isa - Stepped up to replace Casini and was excellent in a team that was on the unbeaten run.

Steve Davids - Average back-up, trying to sell him, but all bids are over 48 months, which is not ideal for a team that needs up front cash to stay in the black.

Midfielders | The midfield stayed basically the same, Sidibe replace Koke until a serious injury ruled him out of most of the season, at which point on loan Marino stepped up and performed well.

Mauro Martino - Came in on loan from Inter and played the second half of the season after Sidibe's injury. He was solid if unspectacular as the engine room of the team, I have a clause to buy him, but for £5million I think I can find better.

Ousmana Sidibe - Took his chance at first team action and, as a whole, played well before injury struck him down, still, i don't think he's a Champions' League standard defensive midfielder, so I'll be on the lookout for a first team player for him to deputise for.

Juan Francisco - Came in as back-up for Sarabia, made lots of appearance off the bench as Sarabia tired. Looks to be a decent player, likes to cut in onto his right foot.

Leandro Pimenta - Appears to be on the way down, I'm going to try to cash in this season and look for a replacement who can add some more youth and exuberance. He did clock up his 300th appearance this season which would be a nice point to end on.

Josep Cruz - Quite an expensive back up in the end, bought to be first choice right wing as I moved Galan into the centre, it didn't end up like that though as Galan excelled out there and the centre performed well too meaning he was restricted to rotation and substitute appearances.

Jesus Galan - Really turning into a class act in all of his positions, I think he should get a call up to the Spain team, I think he can do an excellent job for them.

Pablo Sarabia - Yet again he was first choice on the left side of midfield and performed generally well, another to suffer from fatigue towards the end of the season though.

Nikica Mlinar - Seems harsh to not call him first choice as he played a lot of games in the middle of the season, and actually did really very well, I think he might be a temporary solution when I sell Pimenta.

Facundo Ortega - His progress has really stalled so I think it's probably time to cash in on him, will look to sell him.

Strikers | The strike force was the real difference this season, both Holm and Sacko broke 30 goals for the season, Sacko scored more in the league, but Holm was excellent in Europe.

Morten Larsen - Played fewer games as the front two established a lethal partnership, but still played well when called upon.

Mateusz Podolski - Another exciting player who has arrived, he's a little grumpy but I think he can be a good player, so I'm putting up with him for now.

Mark Holm - Lethal, set up and scored goals aplenty finished as top scorer for the team overall thanks to a very good record in Europe.

Badji Sacko - Really came of age this season. At 24 he was the second highest scorer in the league, Holm was third and he also managed to become Pajara Playas's all time top league goalscorer.

Gift Kolawole - Continues to progress, I think he has a role to play.

Aims for this season were

1/ Qualify for the Champions League - Yes

2/ Add depth to the squad - I like to think so

3/ Improve facilities - Well they've agreed, but will I have the finances to complete my academy

Aims for next season

1/ Get to the Champions' League Group Stage

2/ Consolidate top 4 position

Story so far

Season		League				Position			Achievements/Wins
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12		Second Division B4		13th				Avoided Relegation
2012/13		Second Division B4		4th				Promoted via Playoffs
2013/14		LIGA adelante			17th				Survival
2014/15		LIGA adelante			13th				Consolidated
2015/16		LIGA adelante			8th				Narrowly missed playoffs
2016/17		LIGA adelante			10th				Backwards step
2017/18		LIGA adelante			6th				Promoted via Playoffs!
2018/19		LIGA BBVA			16th				Survival
2019/20		LIGA BBVA			7th				Qualified for EC!
2020/21		LIGA BBVA			6th				Slight improvement
2021/22		LIGA BBVA			4th				Qualifed for ECC!!

Previous Updates

11/12

12/13

13/14

14/15

16/17

18/19

19/20

20/21

[PRDH]

Was that a piece of tumbleweed I just saw blow across here? It is very quiet...

Anyway, I've just played my qualifying round for the Champions' League, a 1-1 home draw against Spartak Moscow meant a tricky return to Russia. Fortunately Badji Sacko was in great form scoring 4 and laying on 2 more for Holm in a 6-2 win on the night and 7-3 on aggregate.

Groups have been drawn, I've got a tough one. It's me, Chelsea, Zenit, and CSKA Sofia - I think I'm playing CSKA for 3rd place if I'm being realistic.

[Almondo]

Tough group there PRDH. reminds me slightly of my first CL group with Chelsea in there

[The_shocker7]

a little late but in!!

[danger_mouse]

Ok so im gonna start this now hope i get keep this save going and do well

Manager Profile

[PRDH]

Welcome aboard The_shocker and danger_mouse good luck to both of you.

Back to Fuerteventura, I think I may need a change of tactics, I think the opposition have figured me out. I've played three drawn three in the league and just lost 7-1 in St Petersburg to Zenit.

Might to be time to move to my Romorantin tactics of last season.

[edit] - Without wishing to blow my own trumpet - I AM A TACTICAL GENIUS - the change worked, first win in the league, a 4-1 victory over Getafe, including a lovely goal, an example of the short passing this tactic calls for.

[Wavelberry]

Gonna get involved with this but in a "Give the Kids a chance" styley. Heading for Deutschland.

[rlipscombe]

welcome to the newcomers - hope you enjoy the challenge and that you all experience success!!

[el sid]

Mid season changing of season expectations ftw. Board have given me 325k as transfer budget in January \o/ There is a transfer embargo at present though, because of an impending takeover, hoping that gets resolved soon

[PRDH]

I don't know what's happening! I can't get a string of even semi-decent results at the moment. I'm in 16th!

[el sid]

PROMOTED \o/

Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu, here we come

[The_shocker7]

Season 1 - Queens Park - Scottish 3rd Divison

won first 5 games, lost next 7 and basically had hot and cold streaks throughout and finished 5th which is one place of the playoffs

really struggling with the whole amateur status every good signing i make has stolen off me!

Best Player - Sbissuio Zuma, South African although now old (36) contributed double figures in goals and assists

Worst Player - Franny Jeffers, coming from the english championship and only 30, i thought he would rip the league apart - 6 goals in only 21 games is not what i expected!!

[PRDH]

Congrats el sid. I can't lie, I won't be thrilled if you beat me to completion. It is however looking likely as I continue to struggle this season. Not fun, or indeed fair, I thought I'd strengthened the squad. It appears I did precisely the opposite!

The_shocker - just outside the playoffs is a great first season. Excellent springboard for next season.

[el sid]

Congrats el sid. I can't lie, I won't be thrilled if you beat me to completion. It is however looking likely as I continue to struggle this season. Not fun, or indeed fair, I thought I'd strengthened the squad. It appears I did precisely the opposite!

.

No worries PRDH, I'm sure you'll complete the challenge before me. My holidays end today, so can't smash through at this rate anymore

[el sid]

End of Season Update - 2012/2013 - Racing Club de Ferrol

League:

Media Prediction - 22nd

Actual Position - 2nd - Graph

It's not very often that a single change produces a marvellous result, but that is exactly what happened in our season. After 8 games into the league, we were 17th, facing a relegation battle. Our next game was against Cartegena, and we had 3 of our 4 strikers either suspended or injured. So, I had to resort to throw Victor Vazquez, who had untill that point scored 1 goal and contributed 1 assist in 8 games, as my other striker.

He did this.

He also scored in his next two games, and made the striker position his own. Scored and assisted in plenty and formed a deadly partnership with regen striker Andrezinho. We never looked back after that Cartegena game, and steadily rose up in the table, and by the end, we had secured 2nd position and automatic promotion to the Liga BBVA.

Transfers - No money spent

Key Players:

Victor Vazquez - WOW. 1 goal and 1 asssist after 8 games, and finish with so many goals and assists is just unbelievable. The league's second highest rated player and won the most MoM awards. Also signed a contract upto 2015.

Andrezinho - Regen striker on a 2 year loan from Botafogo. Could register him only in December, as his deal was confirmed only on transfer deadline day. Formed a lethal partnership with Vazquez, and also did well leading the team when Vazquez was injured for 2 months.

Lucas Rimoldi - Massively improved season for the Argentine. I allowed him a little more freedom in the final third of the pitch, and he paid back my trust scoring vital goals from midfield. Was also my preferred penalty taker, and converted all of his attempted penalties. Sadly, Lucas will now be leaving the club on a free this season.

Ignacio Camacho - Another steady season for the captain, he clearly showed he was not out of his depth in the league. Signed a new contract upto 2015.

Nabil el Zhar - The Moroccan was signed as backup to Vazquez, but with the Spaniard moving to striker, made the right wing position his own. Ran up and down the wing all day with determined effort (12.1 km per game), and provided quality crosses from the wing.

Sebastian Alberto Battaglia - A similar performance to el Zhar, but on the left wing.

Previous Season Aims:

• Survive in Liga Adelante! - Check
  
• Improve the finances - we made a lot of losses this season inspite of being under the wage budget - Check
  
• Tie down Camacho and Vazquez to the club for a longer time - Check
  

Next Season Aims:

• Fight bravely against relegation
  
• Improve the overall quality of the team
  
• Keep important members of the team
  

  Season  |  Club        |   League  		      |  Position  |  Comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/2012 | Ferrol S.A.D | Spanish Second Division B1 |    2nd     | Promoted via Playoffs!
2012/2013 | Ferrol S.A.D | Liga Adelante	      |	   2nd     | Promoted!

[danger_mouse]

A very good season el sid, lets hope u stay in the La Liga.

I think you may have a type-o on the year at the top of your post

[el sid]

Good spot danger mouse

[el sid]

Pre season odds of 5000-1

[ToMexico!!]

2023/24 - Hallescher FC - German First Division

Transfers - 4 IN for 20m & 16 OUT for 600k

First player in was a new striker, Thomas Zobel, a German who was released by Manchester United, long term replacement for Vuckic. My next player was supposed to be back-up for RM, Carlos Vallejos who I signed from Newell's in Argentina for 8.5m. I then signed transfer listed Igor Pavlovskiy from Barcelona as replacement to the out going David Nogueira who went on loan to Getafe with the option to move for 11.5m at the end of the season, as he was unhappy and wanted out. The last player to arrive was Tiago Pires, a RB who I noticed in the Portugal U21 squad when I took over. He signed for 7m from Partizan.

League - 1st

Another league title, the fifth consecutive. This season we clicked, we dominated the league throughout and by half way had amassed a big lead. We won the title with 5 games to spare and ended a big 12 points clear, after I decided to play a few reserve players once the title was one. Resting vital players for the key games to come.

German Cup - Winners

Non league Osterholz were pummeled 10-1, Mainz mauled 2-0, Werder Bremen blitzed 4-0, Freiburg frazzled 3-0 and Bayern Munich brushed aside 2-1. We met Hamburg in the final and we won 3-1. Final

Champions League - Winners

Our second Champions League win in my career. We were drawn against Dynamo Kiev, Galatasaray and Napoli in the group stages. We won all but one game, of which we drew that. We scored 15 goals and conceded just 3. We cruised past Valencia in the first KO round 6-3 on aggregate, the 4-1 away win setting up the result. We then played Inter in the quarter final, another surprising away performance, this time a 1-0 win put us in the driving seat. Back at home Inter took the lead very early on but somehow we managed to not concede again and a very very very late equaliser sent us through 2-1 on aggregate. The semi-finals saw us match up against English heavy-weights Arsenal, we drew 0-0 at The Emirates, before going back to Germany for a comfortable 2-0 win, the out of form Gokay Kok and defensive sumpremo Juan Jose scoring the goals. Sending us to the final, where we would get to play Manchester United. It was a boring game for goals but there were plenty of chances and it went all the way to penalties where we triumphed 4-3 in the shoot-out. Final

Squad

Top Scorer - Zobel, 30

Most Assists - Vuckic, 21

Most MOMs - Jacobs, 7

Ave Rating - Schmidt, 7.55

Other Notable Players - Baytar

Finances - Same as ever, huge income through League and Champions League prize money. The stadium is a month away from completion and we shall reap the rewards with no doubt, I am looking forward to it.

Season  | League          | Pos  | Cup           | Europe            | Other Achievements
11/12   | 3rd Division    | 2nd  | n/a           | n/a               | Promoted
12/13   | 2nd Division    | 10th | 1st Rnd       | n/a               | Consolidation
13/14   | 2nd Division    | 3rd  | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | Lost in Play-Off Final
14/15   | 2nd Division    | 2nd  | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | Promoted 
15/16   | 1st Division    | 11th | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | Survival
16/17   | 1st Division    | 5th  | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | European Qualification
17/18   | 1st Division    | 3rd  | Qtr Final     | Europa 1st KO     | Champions League Qualification
18/19   | 1st Division    | 2nd  | 2nd Round     | CL Qtr Final      | So close! 
19/20   | 1st Division    | 1st  | 2nd Round     | Semi's of EL      | Champions
20/21   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Qtr Final     | CL Semi Final     | Champions
21/22   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Winners       | Winners           | Treble!
Challenge Completed
22/23   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Qtr Final     | CL Qtr Final      | Super Cup & CWC Winners; New Stadium 
23/24   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Winners       | Winners           | Treble

[PRDH]

Oops! I've just noticed I have no physios. God knows how long that's been the case, but at least half a season! Not my finest managerial moment!!

[edit] - Come to think of it, I noticed that I stopped getting reports on how long players would be out for at least last season, if not before. This may well be why my teams are so unfit!

[edit 2] - Just been looking back, turns out I've not had a physio since 2018. It's now 2023!!

[ToMexico!!]

Just finished my first International tournament and was not disgraced. After easily qualifying for the European Championships being held in England I was given a group of Russia, Ireland and Ukraine. I drew against Russia, beat Ireland 2-0 and also beat Ukraine 3-0. We were then paired against Russia in the 2nd Round. We managed a 1-0 win to send us into the quarter finals. We then shocked the world with a convincing 4-1 win over one of the pre-tournament favourites Italy. The semi-finals were one step too far as we lost 1-0 in a close match against France. France went on to lose the final against Spain.

Year | Nation            | Competition | Finished   | Other
2024 | Portugal          | Euro Champs | Semi-Final | - 

I will decide in the next few games weeks whether to stay on as Portugal manager if I am not relieved of my duties or to move on to another nation from around the world.

[rlipscombe]

PRDH - that's some oversight!!! best get one quick

el sid - great season there. If only El Zhar had been so good for me!! good luck in La Liga.

ToMexico - congrats on another dominant season. love the loock of Zobel

[brettney1980]

Good luck to the newstarters ... Some nice improvements PRDH strange you didn't notice you had no physio around the place ... You'd think your ass man would tell you!? ... Wait you have got one of them right!?

Sweet couple of seasons El Sid

[PRDH]

Thanks everyone! I've now got two Physios. It's amazing. My players are getting treatment, it's amazing. I think they'll catch on!

[el sid]

Thanks rlipscombe and brettney

[brettney1980]

Brettneys Russian Adventure Season 11 - 2021!

I'll start with Europe, Milan put us out of the 20/21 Euro cup 4-1 on Agg. We beat Heerenveen (6-0 on Agg.) and Palermo (4-2) to make the Champions League Group stage (Excellent, we need the cash already had the board cancel our proposed Youth Facilities expansion (back on now). A group with Inter, Real Madrid and Youing Boys of Berne saw us finish 3rd, but the big surprise was we managed draws Home and Away vs Real as well as a Draw away to Inter which saw us finish on the same points as Real so we nearly made the Champions League K.O for the first time in our History.

We started off a little poorly in the League but soon picked up and switched to 2 up front at Home to go for goals. We took the Title out of the grubby Moscow hands of CSKA and lets see if we can keep it longer than a year this time!

Transfers - Finances

Confidence

Table - Graph.

Squad Stats;

Typical Chita Lineup;

GK, Nigmatullin.

RB, Jorgensen.

CB, Sidnei-Fans Player of the Season.

CB, Chazika.

LB, Troyan.

DMC, Livramento.

CM, Panin.

CM, Chianello.

AMC, Gatagov.

CF, Leandro.

CF, Piazon.

Season      Division            Position   Trophys      Acheivements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011        First Division      14th       None
2012        First Division      11th       None
2013        First Division      3rd        None      Manager of Year 3rd.
2014        First Division   Champions, 1st Div Title  Manager of Year!.
2015         Premier Div.       5th        None       Qualified 4 Euro Cup.
2016         Premier Div.       4th        None       Won vs CSKA Moscow
2017         Premier Div.       4th        None       Euro Cup 4th Qual. RD
2018         Premier Div.       1st!     Premier Div. Russian Champions!.
2019         Premier Div.       2nd     Russian Cup   28 Game unbeaten run.
2020         Premier Div.       2nd     Super Cup + Reserves
2021         Premier Div.    Champions   League       Draws home and Away vs Real.

[el sid]

Immense result, first day of the season, at Nou Camp, and we hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw They hit the bar 4 times

[brettney1980]

Immense result, first day of the season, at Nou Camp, and we hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw They hit the bar 4 times

It's awesome when you gt a result like that .. The sweet sound of the final whistle after barely hanging on ...

[el sid]

It's awesome when you gt a result like that .. The sweet sound of the final whistle after barely hanging on ...

I play with sounds off

[brettney1980]

I play with sounds off

Well you'll just have to take my word for it then!!

[el sid]

Haha

First Win \o/ 3-0 at home over Valladolid, with only 2 shots on target

[el sid]

3 consecutive 1-0 losses, and then this happens

I'm lost for words.

[Benjaminoo]

Going to start this challenge in Germany, with SSV Reutlingen 05

Here's my Profile

Bit of Club Information for you.

Start with a pretty decent team, and have made quite a few nice transfers already. Each season will take a while mind, my computer is possibly the worst computer ever

Wish me luck!

EDIT: Just found this fella iin my U19's - looks amazing!

[el sid]

That regen looks fb Benjaminoo

[rlipscombe]

some decent results already there el sid, especially Real Madrid!! making Spain look easy there!

Benjaminoo - welcome and good luck in Germany. that kid looks pretty decent....

[ToMexico!!]

Congratulations el sid on your back to back promotions and good start to life in la Liga.

Welcome Benjaminoo good luck in Germany.

Just spent 1.6m on some new coaches as i'm allowed 26 now...brought in former coach Eamon Mulvey, Philip Lahm, Martin Keown, Stefan Kiesling, Sami Khedira and Cacau. Looking to bring in another centre midfielder in January as my midfield pairing are really struggling to keep fitness, so need someone to rotate with them.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Messina - Season 15 - 2025/26

Story of the Season:

Serie A - 4th, Qualified for Champions League

A tricky opening set of fixtures meant it took us until the 4th game of the season to register our first win. We played catchup pretty much all season, and it was a very stressful one as we threatened to throw a pretty serious spanner in the works by missing out on the Champions League. We snuck into 4th by the winter break though, so I thought that we'd turned the corner, especially with reinforcements coming in.

It wasn't the case, as we fell down the league again, ropey result after ropey result exacerbated by our complete inability to find the net. A brilliant result in the Champions League sparked a mini-revival as we won 7 games in 8 in all competitions, but then a setback in the Italian Cup precipitated a 6 game winless run.

This left us with 2 games left to secure a Champions League space from 3 points behind the incumbents. We managed to win the next game, drawing us level on points, but ahead on head-to-heads, and a 2-0 win away at rivals Catania was good enough to save us. Hopefully that'll be the catalyst that makes us sort ourselves out next season, because we've regressed horribly from the 3rd place finish 2 seasons ago.

Coppa Italia - Semi Final

Easy games against Siena and Udinese led us into a tricky semi-final with Palermo. I didn't expect much from it, so put out a bit of a shadow side in the first leg. An early lead and Palermo going down to 10 men meant I was pleasantly surprised to begin with, then tearing my hair out as the ten men turned it around to win 2-1.

We played well in the return, but could only draw 1-1, meaning we missed out on a 3rd successive final.

Champions League - Semi Final

We had a qualifier to negotiate this year, Portuguese side Braga definitely a potential banana-skin. A 3-1 win in the away leg put us in charge, and we were never really in trouble in the home leg, despite a weakened team losing 1-0.

For once we didn't have an English club in our group, and actually it was one that looked like we could win - Valencia, Dortmund, and Porto were all beatable for us. A last minute equaliser for Dortmund in our opening game dented our spirits, then a last minute winner for Porto away in the next game were annoying, but a 2-0 win over Valencia finally got us going. Another last-minute goal denied us any points in Spain, before wins over Dortmund and Porto ensured we qualified for the next phase - in 2nd place again though.

Spanish giants Barcelona lay in wait - a mighty challenge indeed! We made incredibly light work of it to begin with, racing to a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes - amazing considering how poorly we were doing in the league! It couldn't last though, and we conceded twice to hand the advantage squarely to Barca with the second leg at the Nou Camp.

The stage was set for a hero though - could we do it? We dug deep and held on throughout the opening onslaught, before edging further forward to offer our own threat. Half time came and went and we were still level, then Walter Aguero popped up to smash home a goal on the 67th minute! We lined up the two banks of four and got ready to defend - but the onslaught never came. We hung on easily to claim quite possibly the most famous result in the club's history!

Our reward was a Quarter Final against familiar opposition in Lyon - we beat them 4-3 on aggregate in the group stage last year, so I was actually quite confident for a change. A fantastic 2-1 win in the away leg meant we just had to be sensible in the home leg, and a 0-0 was plenty to see us through.

Perennial winners Real Madrid were our Semi Final challengers - and unfortunately it followed a similar path to our previous attempt at a European Semi Final back in the Europa League against Zenit. We shipped 3 goals early in the home leg to basically end the tie before a quarter of it was gone. We stopped the rot, and only lost 1-0 in Madrid, but we were out of Europe in ignominious fashion considering what had gone before.

At least we lost to the eventual winners, as they beat Man Utd 3-1 in the final.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad

Transfers - £25m Loss

Did most of our business in January this time, Arguelles was probably the pick of the bunch, a creative forward from Barcelona. Not much going on with the outs again.

5 Most Important Players:

5. Jose Alberto Loureiro - DR - Another solid season

4. Jon Pagola - AMLC - Wasn't quite as influential from the left wing, but still one of our best players.

3. Filippo Vitone - AMRC - Got onto the scoresheet consistently well for a midfielder.

2. Rene Kooiman - DC - Was our best player for most of the season.

1. Walter Aguero - ST - Finally came into his own in the second half of the season - we've been waiting long enough!

History:

Season    League                  Position  Achievements                   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12   Serie C2/C              2nd       Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists
2012/13   Serie C2/C              1st       Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted
2013/14   Serie C1/B              5th       Playoff Semi-Finalists
2014/15   Serie C1/B              2nd       Playoff Winners, Promoted
2015/15   Serie B                 12th      
2016/17   Serie B                 2nd       Promoted
2017/18   Serie A                 20th      Relegated
2018/19   Serie B                 2nd       Promoted
2019/20   Serie A                 7th       Qualified for Europa League
2020/21   Serie A                 6th       Qualified for Europa League
2021/22   Serie A                 9th
2022/23   Serie A                 5th       Qualified for Europa League
2023/24   Serie A                 3rd       Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2024/25   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up
2025/26   Serie A                 4th       Qualified for Champions League

Messina 100 Club:

A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management.

Name                Pos        Era                    Apps   Goals     AvR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abel Petrillo       ST         2016-Present            327     142    7.13
Victor Amoruso      MC         2018-Present            321      29    6.98
Rene Kooiman        DC         2019-Present            283      16    7.06
Mauro Quiroga       DM/MC      2019-Present            260      14    6.98
Filippo Vitone      AMRC       2018-Present            253      49    7.08
Jon Pagola          AMLC       2019-Present            240      52    7.25
Mauro Vigorito      GK         2011-2023               217       0    6.82
Stefano Tulino      D/DM/MRC   2019-Present            217      13    7.14
Patxi Rodriguez     DM/MC      2017-Present            203      14    6.87
Jose A. Loureiro    DR         2020-Present            199       0    7.10
Nenad Lukic         MLC        2021-Present            188      23    6.98
Walter Aguero       ST         2021-Present            187      61    6.96
Nicolas Amodio      DM/MC      2012-2018               183      12    6.93
Remi Thouvenin      DL         2021-Present            181       0    7.06
Mauricio Martin     D/DM/MC    2020-Present            181       9    6.96
Antonio Marino      DLC        2013-2021               180       5    6.88
Adem Ljajic         AMRLC      2019-Present            170      26    6.91
Mario Ortiz         DM/MC      2013-2021               169       5    6.83
Nicola Ravaglia     GK         2018-2025               164       0    6.90
Enzo Scorza         ST         2012-2018               159      82    7.24
Nicolas             D/DM/MC    2015-2022               159       5    6.85
Juan Jose Godoy     GK         2023-Present            158       0    6.96
Rosario Licata      D/WB/ML    2011-2016               146       3    6.92
Francesc Alcalde    AMLC/ST    2014-2020               145      45    6.98
Luca Tedeschi       DC         2012-2018               139       8    7.09
Mogi                DRC        2017-2022               134       0    6.76
Diego Farias        AMRLC      2015-2019               126      19    6.90
Gonzalo Valdez      ST         2022-Present            126      34    6.87
Davide Testa        AM/ST      2011-2015               121      40    7.04
Ruben               AML        2015-2019               103       7    6.86
Fausto Rossi        AML        2016-2021               102      18    6.97

Next Season:

We need to do something because our heroics in Europe aside, this was a serious regression, and if there were more than 2 competent teams in the league we wouldn't have made Champions League qualification. New players are a must, as well as a new style of play. I still can't find a system I'm happy with, so I need to work that out before I start buying players for it. I think at this stage we should be mounting a title challenge, as well as going deep into the Champions League - Quarter Finals minimum.

Forza Messina!

[ToMexico!!]

Good season domestically and unlucky in the Champions League SnakeXe Looking at your squad you are playing a flat 4-4-2...have you tried playing with AM/Wingers as inside forwards. Set your MCs as one ball winning and the other either box to box as support. I play big man little man combo up top with advanced forward and poacher settings.

[yababo]

RB Leipzig Season 1 2011/2012 Update

League Table

We managed to stay in touch all season and it came down to the final day we just needed to match or better the Sandhausen result to gain promotion. We drew 2-2 with Regensburg and they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Unter haching. Leipzig in only there third year in existence were in the second division.

We have lost a few players on a Bosman but I am confident we can hold our in the second division.

Well done on all the progress chaps.

[brettney1980]

Good season SnakeXe hopefully a better start will see you challenge for the Serie A title. Unlucky against Real.

[SnakeXe]

Thanks brett, yeah we definitely need to hit the ground running, it's very tricky to try and come from behind cause people start getting concerned about the club underachieving after only 7 or 8 games - ridiculous.

Good season domestically and unlucky in the Champions League SnakeXe Looking at your squad you are playing a flat 4-4-2...have you tried playing with AM/Wingers as inside forwards. Set your MCs as one ball winning and the other either box to box as support. I play big man little man combo up top with advanced forward and poacher settings.

I used that system fairly often on FM10, but I admit I don't really play around with the roles of the MCs. The flat 4-4-2 was working ok in the end, it was injuries that derailed us really, but I'll definitely give some of those changes a go, thanks

[ToMexico!!]

2024/25 - Hallescher FC - German First Division

Transfers - 5 IN for 14m & 12 OUT for Zero

Just 5 players in this season, 3 for the first team squad and two youngsters. Parejo and Ayhan Caliskan the youngsters, with the latter having my high hopes on him. Pablo Basavilbaso was the first first team player to join from Banfield for 6.5m, he looks set to have a decent future, used as back up for my strikers. Andre Almeida was another striker who came in, this time for just 4m from Benfica and he got the best chance when Zobel broke his leg, and boy did he take it. The last player in was the ageing Toni Kroos, at 35 he signed til the end of the season as back up to Jacobs and Knijnenburg, but he did manage 13 appearances.

European Super Cup - Winners

We travelled to Monaco for our second appearance in the Super Cup, this time we were up against Scottish "giants" Rangers. We put them to the sword easily and won 3-0, a debut goal for Basavilbaso included.

League - 1st

The double hat-trick, 6 of the best form Hallescher and this one was by far the best. We steam-rollered to the title win, beating Bayern by 14 points. We blitzed teams with the amount of goals we scored and the least amount of goals we conceded. A +60 GD is pretty astonishing. We shared the goals around too this season which pleases me, but again we didn't have the top goalscorer in the league. Something I want to address.

Club World Championship - Winners

Demolition job on Moroccan side Raja Casablanca saw us into the final again. The 9-0 win was supplemented by hat-tricks for Jean Schmidt and Andre Almeida. A much tighter affair in the final, we played a gifted Boca side who fought us all the way but we prevailed as 1-0 winners in the Stade du Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat. Club Icon Haris Vuckic with the solitary goal on 24mins. Final

German Cup - Winners

Cruised to another domestic cup win. We beat Osnabruck, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Wolfsburg and Nurnberg on the way to the final against Dortmund. In front of a packed house we were quickly 2-0 up before former player Paulo pulled one back. Just after half time Baytar slotted home to kill the tie off and crown us winners for the 3rd time. Final

Champions League - Winners

Drawn against Rangers, Red Star and Feyenoord. 5 wins and a draw saw us top our group again, this time scoring 17 goals and conceding just 3. We were handed a tough draw in the first KO round, but we managed to beat Man City, 3-2 at home after a 0-0 draw back in Manchester. We then had to play English opposition in the quarter finals, this time is was Arsenal. We managed not to concede at home in a 1-0 to give us some advantage in the away leg.

At the Emirates, we were extremely lucky. Arsenal took the lead on 6mins and should have extended it from the spot on 17mins, but missed. We then scored our own penalty through the reliable-ish Jacobs to make it 1-1. Arsenal then missed their second penalty 3 mins later. We managed to hold on and Arsenal had a player sent off in the second half to ease our concerns and see us through. We were then drawn against European heavy weights and past winners Lyon. Again at home in the first leg we scrapped a 1-0 win. In France we started brightly and scored early through Almeida. Lyon pulled one back in the early parts of the second half and late on Baytar scored to secure the win. We were into the final again.

We were matched up against Valencia, again past winners of this competition. We travelled to Istanbul for what would turn out to be a very tight game. We fell behind early on again, but rallied and Andre Luiz equalised. There were plenty of chances for both sides to take the lead but the game looked to be going to extra time, but then in came the winner to shock the crowd and stun Valencia. Almeida rifled in a rasping shot from the edge of the box to win us the game in injury time. Final

Squad

Top Scorer - Almeida, 26

Most Assists - Baytar, 21

Most MOMs - Three Players; Baytar, Bolanos, Schmidt all got 8

Ave Rating - Baytar, 7.56

Other Notable Players - Knijnenburg | Vuckic | Andre Luiz

Finances - Have tipped the scales and gone over 100million for the first time, with shareholder benefits yet to be paid but the new season sponsorship of 27m to replace it I fully expect to have a 40+ million transfer budget for the new season.

Season  | League          | Pos  | Cup           | Europe            | Other Achievements
11/12   | 3rd Division    | 2nd  | n/a           | n/a               | Promoted
12/13   | 2nd Division    | 10th | 1st Rnd       | n/a               | Consolidation
13/14   | 2nd Division    | 3rd  | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | Lost in Play-Off Final
14/15   | 2nd Division    | 2nd  | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | Promoted 
15/16   | 1st Division    | 11th | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | Survival
16/17   | 1st Division    | 5th  | 2nd Rnd       | n/a               | European Qualification
17/18   | 1st Division    | 3rd  | Qtr Final     | Europa 1st KO     | Champions League Qualification
18/19   | 1st Division    | 2nd  | 2nd Round     | CL Qtr Final      | So close! 
19/20   | 1st Division    | 1st  | 2nd Round     | Semi's of EL      | Champions
20/21   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Qtr Final     | CL Semi Final     | Champions
21/22   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Winners       | Winners           | Treble!
Challenge Completed
22/23   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Qtr Final     | CL Qtr Final      | Super Cup & CWC Winners; New Stadium 
23/24   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Winners       | Winners           | Treble
24/25   | 1st Division    | 1st  | Winners       | Winners           | Super Cup & CWC Winners; Quintuple

[rlipscombe]

fantastic season ToMexico - not much more to say than that!!

[ToMexico!!]

fantastic season ToMexico - not much more to say than that!!

Thanks, the board have decided to add another 11000 seats and improve the youth facilities again, costing a total 15m. I'm undecided now whether to continue this save now I have dominated in every competition or move on to maybe dafuges challenge for the first time in a couple of games. If my club could churn out some decent talent i'd be more than happy to stay for another 5 seasons or so, to develop them.

[Ohanzee]

Finally had time to read through all that I've been missing. So much progress, really good to see.

Almondo - Big congrats on finishing the challenge! Well done!!

SnakeXe - Very consistent in the league now. Hope you can take the step up and get that domestic title next season. Amazing run in the ECC! Really well done. One better next season?

Sloppyderek - Good safe first season. Good luck in the promotion hunt!

d-machine - Good job turning things around after a tough start. Good luck next season!

brettney1980 - Looking very consistent. Congrats on another league win. Good job fighting off CSKA again. And some great results in the ECC there. Who did you draw for the KO stages of the EC this time?

Lower Leagues Rule - Meh. Think that covers that. Look to the future. Is the squad strong enough to bounce right back up?

ToMexico!! - Congrats on winning the World Club Cup! And congrats on the Treble and Quintuple! And the new stadium! Looks like the club is growing to become one of the biggest around. Well done. And glad to see someone continue after finishing the challenge.

PRDH - Couple of good solid season there. Champions Cup now, that's gonna help those finances of yours ALOT. Good luck! Good job not hiring physios, I'm sure it helps the finances, but is it really the right way? Hehe. Not that I should talk, I've gone a whole season without any myself at lower levels without noticing. (Btw, I dunno if it's just me, but that yellow text of yours is totally unreadable for me unless I mark the text.)

el sid - Good to see you here, and two brilliant seasons. Congrats, and good luck.

yababo - Congrats on the promotion and good luck next season.

To everyone (especially all the new challengers and anyone I may have missed) - Good luck!

Merry Christmas!

[brettney1980]

brettney1980 - Looking very consistent. Congrats on another league win. Good job fighting off CSKA again. And some great results in the ECC there. Who did you draw for the KO stages of the EC this time?

Marseille were the ... Victims beat them 3-0 Home and Away. Who have we got second ko round i hear you ask!? Valencia again.