[FM11] It started with a Droylsden dream [ FM 2011 - Journeyman career ]

[GioGio85]

Sounds very like you truly have moved up in the world of football management ! Let's hope they give you enough time.

How did you first game go ? Let hope for not so close contest.

Haha, hope you really stuff Dordrecht, just to show them what they threw away!

Well it was good news A solid if unspectacular start saw me leave the GN Bouw with a 1-0 victory.

[E.Gray]

Well it was good news A solid if unspectacular start saw me leave the GN Bouw with a 1-0 victory.

Good Good, you hammed them on shots though.

[jackripper]

great move in your career mate. AZ usually produce some great youngsters so hopefully you'll benefit.

[GioGio85]

Good Good, you hammed them on shots though.

Yup, I'm saving all the goals for the home game

great move in your career mate. AZ usually produce some great youngsters so hopefully you'll benefit.

They certainly have a few good-ens. Although Im hopeful of getting a few more through and establishing them in the 1st team.

Last year their former manager has purchased 19 year old Austrian Dirk Weber (who is my favorite) and young Norwegian wingback Lars Meling is also doing well in the first team after I started playing him at left back.

In the youth teams I have a few decent players who look promising, 1 of which is the 17 Spaniad, (AMRC) Alvaro Dorronsoro.

[GioGio85]

What does a man have to do to get a 10 rating?

[SnakeXe]

Haha damn, I had a 10.0 earlier on my Messina career, Enzo Scorza when he got 5. Surely 6 should have done it?!

[GioGio85]

Haha damn, I had a 10.0 earlier on my Messina career, Enzo Scorza when he got 5. Surely 6 should have done it?!

You would have thought so :s maybe he was at fault for one of the 3 goals conceeded. I may have to look back to solve the mystery.

Forgotten World Cup update

I have just realised that completely forgot to update you on the 2026 World Cup where I was manager of Uruguay. Losing a 2-0 lead to draw against the Ivory Coast was a low point but after a good 1-1 draw against France I had qualification in my own hands and just had to win my final game versus Ukraine to go through to the next round. We drew 1-1 with us only scoring in the 90th minute.

After the highs of managing Nigeria to African Nations Cup success, I suffered the lows of going out in the group stages with Uruguay - with just 3 points. I resigned after (probably before I was pushed).

For those interested, France beat Spain in the final to win the World Cup.

My career so far:

2010/11 (Unemployed) - N/A

2010/11 (Droylsden) - 13th in Blue Square North.

2011/12 (Droylsden) - 9th in Blue Square North.

2012/13 (Droylsden) - 1st in Blue Square North (Champions)

2013/14 (Droylsden) - 17th in Blue Square Bet Premier and FA Trophy winners.

2014/15 (Droylsden) - 7th in Blue Square Bet Premier.

2015/16 (Grimsby Town) - 1st in Blue Square Bet Premier (Champions)

2016/17 (Grimsby Town) - 10th in npower League 2.

2017/18 (Grimsby Town) - 17th in npower League 2 (upon leaving the club in December 2017)

2018/19 (Rotherham United) - 24th in League 2 (upon leaving the club after 7 games)

2018/19 (Oldham Athletic) - 2nd in Blue Square Bet Premier (Promoted via the playoffs)

2019/20 (Hartlepool United) - 13th in npower League 2.

2020/21 (Bristol Rovers) - 1st in npower League 2 (Champions)

2021/22 (Bristol Rovers) - 2nd in npower League 1 (promoted as runners up)

2022/23 (Bristol Rovers) - 24th in npower Championship (upon leaving the club in October 2022)

2022/23 (FC Dordrecht) - 1st in Eerste Divisie (Champions)

2023/24 (FC Dordrecht) - 7th in Eredivisie

2024/25 (FC Dordrecht) - 7th in Eredivisie and Dutch Cup win

2025/26 (FC Dordrecht) - 6th in Eredivisie

2026/27 (AZ Alkmaar) - Currently being played

[SnakeXe]

Bad luck with Uruguay, one hell of a tough group there! Least you were undefeated I guess

[GioGio85]

Bad luck with Uruguay, one hell of a tough group there! Least you were undefeated I guess

True, I battered both the Ivory Coast and the Ukraine but was battered myself by the French. I think the Uruguay FA would not be happy though at not reaching the quater finals at least, they had a good team

[SnakeXe]

The World Cup group stages are weird sometimes, on FM10 with Italy I had one of the best teams in the world but had to scrape through with 4 points. Ended up winning it despite playing rubbish the whole tournament - totally the Italian way to do it

[GioGio85]

**Summer transfer update 2026***

Before the trasnfer window shut I signed 3 new players:

- Robert Westerveld (MC) - 5m from FC Dordrecht

My midfield general who excelled for me at FC Dordrecht. I was hoping he could perform to a similar level this season and maybe get capped by Holland.

- Dave Pike (M/AML) - 450k to take on loan from Man Utd

Promosing 21 year old Englishman. His all round ability made him a great bet to oust all of the other ML's that the former manager had signed.

- Sebastiano Di Pietro - (DL) 675k from Inter Milan

Pacey left back with great potential. Hopefully he can fulfil this expectation with a bit of first team football under his belt.

I also got rid of 33 yeard old centre back Dominique Heintz for 700k and Argentine midfielder Matias Perassi went on loan to Gladbach.

[GioGio85]

Winter break 2027- Transfer window update

Nonso Tijani (MC) was released from his contract with Saturn in Russia and I acted quickly to snap him up after his agent sent his details over. He is a real talent who should be able to dominate the centre of any football pitch.

I was under no pressure to get players off the wage bill, but as Tijani was taking up 45k a week and likely to start most games I decided it was a chance to offload the popular, but slightly underperforming, Triston Nedelec (MC).Nedelec went to Fiorentina for 8m, much to the fans dismay.

Due to Di Pietro's strong form I decided to allow wingback Lars Meling to leave on loan for the remainder of the season. Christophe Lafitte also left for Parma on loan for 120k (with a future fee set for 1.2m) after finding it hard to oust my loan star Dave Pike from the left midfield spot

[GioGio85]

2026/27 – AZ Alkmaar (Eredivisie)

Eredivisie – 1st place (Champions)

My first ever top division league win. We lost 2 games all season (Ajax away and ADO Den Haag away) and scored 81 goals in the process.

We led for pretty much the entire season and after a 1-0 home win to 2nd place Ajax we were pretty much certs for the title.

Best performances included a 4-1 victory over PSV at home and a remarkable 4-1 victory away to FC Twente (who admittedly were struggling for once). We also happened to beat Dordrecht 3-0

A 3-1 win to Helmond Sport in our penultimate game of the season saw us lift the title trophy.

Dutch cup – Winners

It was typical really that when managing FC Dordrecht I always drew the big Dutch teams in the cup and now I was 1 of the big teams I ended up avoiding them all.

Nice easy run to the final, with the toughest game being a 2-0 victory over my old team in the Quarter Finals. The media picked up on how happy I was to do this.

I played Heerenveen in the final, who were struggling in 15th, after they pulled off a shock and beat Feyenoord in the Semi finals.

Heerenveen pushed us hard in the final by putting in a brilliant 1st half performance, but after losing 1-0 at half time we managed to rescue the tie when my flamboyant striker Marco Di Gennaro scored an outrageous effort in the 2nd half to take us into extra time.

Renata Grgic then put us ahead in the 101st minute before we were stunned by a Heerenveen equaliser. I feared penalties were the way in which this game would be decided but fortunately for us my attacking/desperate tactics paid off as Di Gennaro beat the last defender to put the ball past the goalkeeper in the 115th minute.

We came out on top with a 3-2 win after a very tough and exciting game to achieve what the board expected.

Euopa league – Out in 1st Knockout Round

I led the club through to the group stages with a 6-1 victory over Arsenal Kyiv over 2 legs.

We drew Spurs (my team ) , Elfsborg and Rapid Wien. I was confident we would go through and this confidence was to prove just as we went through as group leaders, only losing to Elfsborg away after we had already qualified as group winners. A 2-0 victory over Spurs and 6-1 spanking of Rapid Wien were the highlights.

Sadly the draw was not good to us and we drew Roma in the 1st knock out stage. We lost the 1st leg 2-1 away but despite dominating the game we lost 2-1 to Roma at home as we pushed to overturn their fortunate early away goal.

I wanted to go further in the competition but ultimately we had to overcome a problem with eligiblity in our Euro squad , meaning that we could only submit a squad of 19 first team players.

_________________________________

Player review

Player of the season – Leandro (SC)

The confrontational striker was the clubs talisman with 35 goal, with 6 coming against Elfsborg in the Euro Cup. Forged a very good striker partnership with Marco Di Gennaro.

Other key players included:

- Robert Westerveld (MC)

Signed for 5m and settled in well with 5 goals, 12 assists in the season. I still hope he can perform a little better next season and become as influential in the team as he was for me at FC Dordrecht.

- Paulo Sergio (DC)

Strong centre back was solid as a rock all season and chipped in with 7 goals.

- Nonso Tijani (MC)

Joined in January on a free and his immense ability was enough for me to part with the talented and popular Triston Nedelec (MC) for 8m to Fiorentina. He contributed massively in his 14 games with 5 goals, 5 assists and some very strong performances.

- Marco Di Gennaro (SC)

Marco and Leandro were brilliant together as shown with Di Gennaro’s 22 goals and 14 assists.Di Gennaro was also the master of the wonder goal, with about 5 of them being outrageous runs past about 4 or 5 defenders.

_________________________________

Season summary

Amazing 1st season at the club which saw us do the double. Next season I hope to push on, particularly in Europe.

The summer gives me a chance to streamline the squad further as I also have some new young players to blood next year after alread arranging a few signings. Exciting times ahead I hope.

[E.Gray]

wow, now that is a first season in charge !!!!

Congratulations on been League Champions, and even better that you done the double !!!

Onwards and upwards.

[Azeryk-]

Congratulations on the title

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done Gio.

[GioGio85]

Well done Gio.

Congratulations on the title

wow, now that is a first season in charge !!!!

Congratulations on been League Champions, and even better that you done the double !!!

Onwards and upwards.

Thanks all. Yes was a nice season to be part of. Obviously made all the easier by the fact I inherited a great set of players. The Chinese owners are just so wealthy, they just keep giving me money to invest - it's a different job to those that I had at Dordrecht and Droylsden that's for sure!

[SnakeXe]

Fantastic debut season Gio, keep up the domestic dominance and hopefully you'll get a bit more luck in the Europa League next year!

[GioGio85]

Pre-season preview 2027/28 – AZ Alkmaar (Eredivisie)

After a very good 1st season in charge of the club I wanted to push on to ensure it wasn’t a fluke. I hoped that I could take the club further in the Champions Cup but was still concerned that the lack of home grown players could scupper our chances.

The board have announced that a new stadium (the ‘AZ stadium’) would be built and would hold 42500 fans. Very good news for the club but this meant less transfer funds for me this year, not that the team needed too much.

Players and transfers

Despite having less funds to the year before, I still had 10m to invest in players, plus money I could raise myself through sales.

I brought in a new goalkeeper, Argentine Carlos Gonzalez, for 3.9m from GF 38. He would compete with Dutch goalkeeper of the year Sergiu Jurca for number 1 spot.

In defence, I brought in a 24 year old Congalese central defender called Exavery Shenga for 3m from Xerez. He was a strong defender who would replace Papadopoulos and Melvin Vincent.

With Dave Pike returning to his parent club Man United and not interested in a permanent move, I brought in 2 left wingers. 1 was an experienced Serbian winger named Milos Milosevic from Roma for 575k and the other was a talented 20 year old Dutch winger named George Gomes from 1.5m from Athletico Madrid.

My marquee signing was a guy named Eduardo. The Brazilian central midfielder/striker came from Real Madrid for 2.9m (plus his extortionate wages) and I was hoping his undoubted ability could help us in the year ahead.

Left wingers Christophe Laffite and Wilfried Schreiber went to Sheffield United and Hercules for 1m and 4.1m respectively. Central midfielder Guiseppe Piras left for 3.2m to Numancia.

Up front I sold many of the experienced strikers I had that were already on loan last year when I joined the club. I brought in a promising youngster named Savoca for 1.9 from Fluminese. I was expecting him to replace Edu but Edu picked up an injury and it scuppered a 3.5m move back to Brazil.

[AK22]

Really enjoyed reading this. You've certainly earnt the opportunity for a top team. I would imagine that the wealthy owner will start to raise the expectations soon though? Good luck for the Champions League.

[karax268]

Great read so far! And congratulations on the double, though it's a bit seeing Ajax losing the title.I guess I can live with it, with you as their succsesor

Good luck in the CL!

[GioGio85]

Really enjoyed reading this. You've certainly earnt the opportunity for a top team. I would imagine that the wealthy owner will start to raise the expectations soon though? Good luck for the Champions League.

Great read so far! And congratulations on the double, though it's a bit seeing Ajax losing the title.I guess I can live with it, with you as their succsesor Good luck in the CL!

Thanks guys. Expectations are certainly high, the board want domestic success on all fronts and also want me to reach the Quarter finals of the Champions Cup. Thats going to depend on the luck of the draw I feel!

Ajax have had a slow start this year...it's Feyenoord leading the way this season!

[GioGio85]

***Summer 2027 - Transfer window update***

1 more signing to update you on from the summer of 2027. My assistant didnt rate young Italian left back Sebastiano Di Pietro at all so I decided to replace him wih 6m woth of Brazlian left back.

His ability both defensivley and offensively was very good and I felt that despite paying a lot for him, that this deal would end up being worthwhile.

[GioGio85]

***Winter break 2028 - Transfer window update***

At the half way point of the season I sit top of the league by 3 points but the clubs around me have all been be a lot more competitive. PSV and Feyenoord in particular are currently pushing me for the title and Ajax are also still in with a shout of they can put a run together.

Despite this I felt that there was no need to bring in a host of new players. The business I did in the summer gave me a very strong first 11 and despite now having a smaller club I still had some decent players from my youth team to blood in emergencies.

With my 2 Brazilian fullbacks, captain Paulo Sergio, midfielders Eduardo and Anderson and strikers Savoca and Leandro, my team has more Brazilians than a night with Hugh Heffner. I am keen to get some of my Dutch youth team, as well as some of the other young players I have purchased from other areas of the world, playing first team football.

With this stricter transfer policy in place, I decided to only bring in an Italian defensive midfielder on loan from Wigan, as this is 1 area that my youth team couldn’t cover in an emergency. I saw him as nothing more than a backup and didn’t expect him to play much.

With the club still performing well on all fronts, I hoped that a successful season was on the cards....we shall see!

[GioGio85]

Im knackered today at work as I ended up staying up late last night to finish the 2027/28 season with AZ. Football manager really is a hypnotising creature.

[GioGio85]

2027/28 – AZ Alkmaar (Eredivisie)

Super Cup - Winners

A tentative start to the season. I thought we should have won in 90 minutes but my team came through on top after penalty kicks.

Eredivisie – 1st place (Champions)

Compared to last season it was a very competitive domestic campaign this time round.

I found it difficult to pull around from the rest of the chasing pack, with PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord all pushing me heard up until the last 8 games or so.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over 2nd placed Feyenoord with 6 games to go saw me establish a gap between me and them. This win was to prove an important point of the season, as it allowed us to pull away. The other teams seemed to capitulate at this point.

The 3rd to last game of the season saw us play my old team FC Dordrecht at home. Winning this game would see me crowned as champions, something I was relishing. A confident performance, with 2 goals from 20 year old Brazilian striker Savoca, saw us overcome Dordrecht 3-0. Lovely

With the league title sewn up, I still had the cup final and 2 more league games to look forward too. I was motivated to win my final 2 league games so that I could beat last seasons winning tally of 82 points by 1 points. I did this with a 1-0 win over Cambuur away from home and a final day victory over NAC Breda.

Leandro finished the leagues top scorer despite picking up a broken leg in the Dordrecht game.

Dutch cup – Winners

Once again we had a relatively easy to the final by drawing some middle of the road teams, often at home.

As well as picking up the league title with a win over Dordrecht, fate would have it that I was also to face my old team in the Dutch Cup final. It just so happened that this match was my 100th as AZ manager , how apt. A win over them would cap off a great season on a personal level.

I have a pretty decent record in the Dutch Cup in recent seasons but in my previous 2 finals I have always had to come from behind after conceding an early goal. This was to prove the case again.

Dordrecht scored with these first shot on target despite me dominating. It took a half time rollicking for me to get my team back into the game. Eduardo came straight out from the interval and equalised.

Despite mounting pressure the game went to extra time. Here we came into our own and put 3 goals past the Dordrecht keeper to 4-1. Eduardo was outstanding with 2 goals and an assist,.

Champions Cup – Quarter finals

After struggling after easily getting out of the Euro Cup group stages last season I was hoping for a better campaign this time round.

My first time in the Champions Cup was to prove exciting.

We were handed a pretty decent group I thought, with Barcelona, Shakhtar and Basel.

We dealt with this group well and went into the knock out stages after finishing group runners up behind highflying Barcelona.

We drew German Champions Bayern Munchen in the 4th round knockout. We overcame the odds by beating them at home 1-0 and then again away 2-1 to go through 3-1 on aggregate. A great result inspired in both legs by Nigerian midfield general Nonso Tijani.

Having reached the Quarter finals as expected the pressure was now off us a wee bit. We drew last years Champions Cup winners Manchester City in the Quarter Finals.

After a great (and completely underserved) 1-1 draw at the City of Manchester Stadium we then capitulated during a 10 minute spell at home by conceding 3 goals. A spirited comeback brought the score to a more respectable 4-1 defeat, but we left Europe a tad disappointed that we couldn’t make home advantage count.

Player review

Player of the season – Eduardo (MC/SC)

My 2.3m signing from Real Madrid lived up to his star billing and put in a number of virtuoso performances over the season. Unlike Leandro, Eduardo was a big game who scored goals and set up attacks when it really mattered.

His hattrick performance versus Utrecht helped to bring us back to a 4-4 draw when a defeat looked on the cards due to a calamity goalkeeping performance from my number 2. He also won us the Cup final after we failed to finish off Dordrecht in normal time. Well worth the extravagant wages. Finished the year with 17 goals and 18 assists.

Other key players included:

– Leandro (SC)

Once again finished the leagues top scorer with 22 goals, but he performed more in fits and starts than the previous season. Still a gifted player but went missing a bit in the big games.

- Paulo Sergio (DC)

Made captain this season and didn’t disappoint with a series of strong performances all season. Him and my 23 year old centre back Schuster have formed a great understanding at the back. Sergio is now eligible to play for Holland after gaining Dutch citizenship.

- Nonso Tijani (MC)

Big game player performed immensely when he was really needed, especially against Bayern Munich and Feyenoord.

- Savoca (SC)

The young Brazilian I signed for just 1.7m was a great understudy and he grabbed himself a fair few goals when it required of him. I think he is destined for big things in the future. In his first season in Holland he has the 3rd best average rating and finished with 13 goals.

_________________________________

Season summary

Another great season and another double under the belt. My contract is due to expire in June and I have yet to decide if I will resign. Having won everything in holland the only things to win are on the Continent and I think it will take a big slice of luck to win the Champions League with AZ.

However I love the club and have a number of very promising young players who were blooded this season. I have a big decision to make.

[GioGio85]

My career so far:

2010/11 (Unemployed) - N/A

2010/11 (Droylsden) - 13th in Blue Square North.

2011/12 (Droylsden) - 9th in Blue Square North.

2012/13 (Droylsden) - 1st in Blue Square North (Champions)

2013/14 (Droylsden) - 17th in Blue Square Bet Premier and FA Trophy winners.

2014/15 (Droylsden) - 7th in Blue Square Bet Premier.

2015/16 (Grimsby Town) - 1st in Blue Square Bet Premier (Champions)

2016/17 (Grimsby Town) - 10th in npower League 2.

2017/18 (Grimsby Town) - 17th in npower League 2 (upon leaving the club in December 2017)

2018/19 (Rotherham United) - 24th in League 2 (upon leaving the club after 7 games)

2018/19 (Oldham Athletic) - 2nd in Blue Square Bet Premier (Promoted via the playoffs)

2019/20 (Hartlepool United) - 13th in npower League 2.

2020/21 (Bristol Rovers) - 1st in npower League 2 (Champions)

2021/22 (Bristol Rovers) - 2nd in npower League 1 (promoted as runners up)

2022/23 (Bristol Rovers) - 24th in npower Championship (upon leaving the club in October 2022)

2022/23 (FC Dordrecht) - 1st in Eerste Divisie (Champions)

2023/24 (FC Dordrecht) - 7th in Eredivisie

2024/25 (FC Dordrecht) - 7th in Eredivisie and Dutch Cup winners

2025/26 (FC Dordrecht) - 6th in Eredivisie

2026/27 (AZ Alkmaar) - 1st in Eredivisie (Champions) and Dutch Cup winners

2027/28 (AZ Alkmaar) - 1st in Eredivisie (Champions) and Dutch Cup winners

2028/29 - In progress....

International

2023 (Nigeria) - Afican Cup winners

2026 (Uruguay) - Out at group stage of World Cup

[GioGio85]

Im unsure what to do regarding my new contract so have asked for a weeks delay.....do I stay or go. Any thoughts?

I was planning on leaving but I have now sneaked onto the clubs favoured personnel and it has made me reconsider :s

[HunterKiller]

Im unsure what to do regarding my new contract so have asked for a weeks delay.....do I stay or go. Any thoughts?

I was planning on leaving but I have now sneaked onto the clubs favoured personnel and it has made me reconsider :s

Hmmm, tricky. I would say that you have earnt a chance at a bigger club where the Champion's League is still a possibility. However, AZ seem like good solid club with good finances. Personally, I'd go but what do I know?

[E.Gray]

Fantastic Season (again), personally think you should agree a 1 year extension and have one more crack at the Champions League,

If you fail to reach the Semi Finals, then leave and search for a bigger club in a better league.

[SnakeXe]

Another brilliant season, I'd stay with AZ for at least one more year, if not two.

[GioGio85]

After much soul seraching I decided to sign a new 3 year contract. We are due to move into our new stadium and with the improvements to the training facilties due to be completed soon the future of the club looks bright.

I want to move some players on and bring a few more youngsters through. I also want to rise higher in the Dutch Hall of Fame, after crawling up into 10th place with my double win last season.

[GioGio85]

Pre-season preview 2028/29 - AZ Alkmaar (Eredivisie)

As per usual the AZ board wanted me to clean up domestically and also wanted us to match last season achievement of getting to the Champions Cup Quarter Finals.

With the ink on my new contract still drying, I decided to put my plans for the club into action. This entailed offloading a few of my big name players with the hope of giving some of my youngsters a bit more playing time. I want to spend less money on transfer fees in the next 3 years but obviously still want to be competitive.

Transfers in

At the time of writing there are a few days left of the summer transfer window, but I dont envisage any major signings...maybe a new centre back with Wilfrid Samba lookng a good bet to come in from OGC Nice.

I signed 3 players on Bosman free transfers. Young right winger Herve Angan joined from Championship side Peterborough after a promising season last time round. He joined Alex Griffiths in leaving England. Griffiths was a talented 23 year old striker and I hoped he could challenge up front.

Martin Knudsen, who did well on loan with us last season with 5 goals and 11 assists, joined us after his contract with Lyon expired.

2 Argentine youngsters, attacking midfielder Daniel Mendez and defender Ernesto Piccinini joined us for 2.1m and 2.6m respectively. I didnt have much to do with these signings as they had been agreed before I joined the club 2 years ago. Both players looked decent but I personally wouldnt have signed them myself.

1 final signing was Frenchman Mustapha Bah from Bordeoux for 1.8m - a creative central midfielder who could also do a job on the flank.

Total value of players in - 6.5m

Transfers out

Lots of players left us this season as part of my new transfer policy.

Exarey Shengo left for Bologna for 7.25m. Not a bad profit for a player that cost me 3m last season.

My 28 year old Brazlian midfielder Anderson left for Dortmund for 7.75m. Anderson was a good player but he often flattered to deceive.I offloaded him with the expectation that youngster Dirk Weber and new signing Bah could do just as good a job.

Upfront was where we saw the most departures, with Maurizio Di Gennaro joining Napoli for 9.5m. Di gennaro was a greta player in this league but he was a wanted man and I felt youngster Savoca was ready to fill his boots.

Renato Grgic left on loan for 1.3m (with a future fee set for 3.7m) to Valencia, Enrique left for 2.2m to Udinese and Edu went to Numancia.

Goalkeeper Tayfun de Lange and strikers Thijs Aussar and Marco Gerritsen all left onloan but I decided to keep youngsters Hans de Graaf (DMC), Kim Houhka (DR) and Roberto Bonaiuti (SC) in and around the 1st team squad.

Total value of players out - 32.5m

[GioGio85]

2028/29 – AZ Alkmaar (Eredivisie)

After a signing my new contract, moving into the new stadium and experiencing a promising pre-season I was optimistic for a good season.

My teams form was inconsistent. I initially put this down to the sales of some influential older players but looking at my 1st eleven it was only 1 of the striking positions and the right wing spot that had changed since last year.

I still think it had some baring, although my inconsistent league form could also be contributed as being down to lack of form, injuries and suspension...particularly up front where I struggled to pair Leandro and Savoca up front together.

I was linked with the Schalke job when they sacked Polish manager Mateusz Chamera. I admitted I was interested in the job after being asked by the press and applied. The club didn’t like this and asked me to apologise or leave....I quit(Que mass exodus )

Super cup- Winners

A strong performance got us a 2-0 win over Feyenoord. I thought this was a positive start to the season that we could build on.

Eredivisie - 8th upon leaving the club

A real struggle as we battled inconsistency.

I still held high hopes of winning the league, but it would certainly be a tall order, especially after losing 2-0 away to Ajax.

Sadly I just couldn’t get my best players on the pitch and my youngsters seemed to be failing under the high expectations. This was demonstrated with a spate of red cards and poor form.

Dutch Cup - club was in 4th round when I left

I left with the the club still in the cup after beating 2 non-league clubs comprehensively. We hadn't been tested yet but faced in-from FC Dordrecht in next round. Sadly I wouldn’t get to play them, as my record is quite good

Champions Cup – Club still in group stage

Drew last years winners AC Milian, german champions FC Schalke and Israeli league winner M. Haifa.

I left the club after playing 3 games, winning at home to M.Haifa and losing the other 2 away.

I was thought that with a bit of luck we could go through in 2nd spot but secretly favoured 3rd as a run in the Euro Cup was a more realistic route for Continental success.

What next?

Hopefully I was get offered the Schalke job, if not I will be slightly peeved...guess it will be back to the job centre if they spurn my advances!

[E.Gray]

Shame that your reign at the club ended with the club struggling, Good luck whatever job you end up taking !!!!!

P.S If i was you, that transfer policy would be firmly placed in the bin

[GioGio85]

I still think I would have got the results to get back into the Champions Cup positions, the season was still young but I just got a bit bored of the Dutch league. That was my 7th season there and it was a bit monotonous,with only Europe to really look foward to.

I think you could be right about that transfer policy...I just wanted to bring the kids through. In hindsight it was probably a season too soon and a few of them werent good enough. You live and learn!

[E.Gray]

I still think I would have got the results to get back into the Champions Cup positions, the season was still young but I just got a bit bored of the Dutch league. That was my 7th season there and it was a bit monotonous,with only Europe to really look foward to.

I think you could be right about that transfer policy...I just wanted to bring the kids through. In hindsight it was probably a season too soon and a few of them werent good enough. You live and learn!

Yeah, i can completely understand that the Dutch League after 7 season would become a bit dull.

By the way, Congrats on the Schalke job (one of your screen shots reveals it)

[GioGio85]

Season preview 2028/29 -FC Schalke 04 (German first division) -Took over 4 November 2028.

As E.Gray has already deduced, my attempt to land the Schalke manager's job was successful.

I accepted their offer of a 5 year contract and set abour hiring some of my old backroom staff who left when I vacated the managers job at AZ Alkmaar.

The team were sat in a similar position to AZ when I left them. They were sitting in 7th place, 8 points off Bayern Munch who sat in top spot. This could be considered as disappointing after winning the league last season

In the day between me leaving AZ and joining Schalke, Schalke had beaten AZ in the Champions Cup. This meant that it was likely we would be going through to the knock out stages ofthe Champions Cup at AZ and M.Hafia's expense.

Sadly the club were out of the domestic German cup after bowing out to Duisburg.

Players

Looking at the team I had some very good strikers,with Danish striker Jimmi Madsen being the pick. Italian defender Simone De Rosa and central midfielder Fabaricio was a very good creative player, despite wanting out of the club.

The rest of the team could do with improvement but that would have to wait until the window opens again in January.

[E.Gray]

Stepping onto my patch are yah ?...Good Appointment, Schalke look in far better nick then the mess i inherited at HSV, couple of seasons and you could seriously be changeling for the European Cup.

(Wish i had a player like Madsen)

[GioGio85]

Yup I'm following your lead

Madsen is carrying this team at the moment. He also scored 2 goals against me this season when I was AZ manager so I have been on the receiving end of his talents already. Everywhere else needs strengthening. I have 1 right winger and I dont rate him.

I think I have more chance of winning something in Europe with Schalke than I did with a Dutch side.

[GioGio85]

I finished top of my Champions Cup group after an amazing 4-1 win against AC Milian at the San Siro. Sadly Madsen got sent off in our 3-2 win over M.Hafia....so he now misses the next 3 games in Europe!

Disaster! God knows how we will do without out.

[GioGio85]

Ive spent a fair bit of dosh in the January transfer window, with lots of players going in and out. I will update on these when I get home tonight.

Hopefully these changes in the squad will mean I can secure Champions Cup football for next season. I would take this as a bit of an achievement considering where the club was when I took over, so hopefully I can achieve this. Im currently 3rd, 3 point sbehind 2nd after rising from 7th.

Bayern Munich are running away in the league, having not lost yet, so they would have to capitulate for me to have a chance at beating them to the title. Think they have a 9 point lead over me at the time of writing :s

[AK22]

Good luck chasing down Bayern and qualifying for Europe. Will be interesting see how you get on in Germany too (seems lots of people are there at the moment).

[GioGio85]

Cheers mate, yes it appears myself, Dafuge and E.Gray have all migrated over to the wonderful German state at the same time.

I think the German league is a decent progression from the Dutch league. It's the 1st time I have EVER managed in Germany in all my years of playing CM and then FM. Enjoying it so far and I shant leave until I win the Cup and League in Germany. Could be here a while so I'd best get comfy

[GioGio85]

***Winter break 2028/29 - Transfer window update***

Its Feb 2029 and as promised here is an update on Schalke's performance both on the pitch and in the transfer market.

We entered the winter break sitting in 5th place. We were still unbeaten in my 13 games as manager and had won some pretty tough away games. Strangely enough we drew 3 games at home in the VELTINS-Arena despite deserving more, something that had also affected the team before I joined.

The 1st team squad had players like worldclass striker Jimmi Madsen, Italian defensive midfielder Simone De Rosa and attacking midfielder Sebastian Fromm, who all provided equisite quality. Sadly this quality could not be seen in all area of the team. The left back, right midfield and striking positions particularly worried me.

Players in

My 1st signing was Claudio Conti, a 6.5m bid was enough to bring me the strong defender from Lyon. Diego Sosa signed from Inter to support Conti in defence at left back for 7.5m.

Manuel Martinez signed for 2.1m from Real Madrid. I was hoping that the Mexican left winger could re-discover his best form and become a valuable player for us. Japanese midfielder Kei Ishida joined for a cheap and cheerful 90k from Dutch club ADO to provide us with some versatility in midfield.

I brought in 2 strikers. Veteren Marco Di Gregorio joined on loan for the season after an exceptional career at parent club Bordeaux and 19 year old Argentinian Gustavo Montenegro joined from RealMadrid for 4.9m. Montenegro was a talented technical player,albeit a tad slow.

My final signing was to bring creative midfielder Carlao from my old club AZ for a bargain 2.5m after he was left to rot in the reserves by the clubs new manager.

Players out

Lots of players left,mainly due to clearing some of the wage bill.

The biggest deal saw world class Brazilian midfielder Fabricio leave for Napoli for 5.5m. Fabricio was a club favourite but was unhappy and wanted a new challenge. He was a disruptive influence on the club and Napoli met his release clause and took advantage.

Left midfielder Gallas and central midfielder Vitaliy Klonesnyk left on loan for Sporting and Sampdoria respectively, with both having future fees set if they impress.

2 of my impressive youngsters, left midfielder Andre and striker Yohann Colas (who signed from Barca for 5m in the summer) left onloan to get 1st team football.

What next?

In the short term hopefully we can attain a Champions Cup qualifying spot via the league. I would also like to get past Sevilla in the 1st knockout round in the Champions Cup, but that could be a tall order without the suspended Madsen.

As long as we get Europe I would be happy with establishing a settled team with the aim of pushing on next season.

[SnakeXe]

Shame it ended sourly with AZ, but Schalke is a very nice step up in league quality, good luck!

[GioGio85]

Shame it ended sourly with AZ, but Schalke is a very nice step up in league quality, good luck!

I wouldn't say it ended sourly exactly. The board were just peeved after I expressed an interest in leaving - it just got a tad boring in Holland and I wanted a new challenge.

Germany has certainly given me that.

Interestingly, my real life club Spurs sacked their manager about 4 games into my Schalke career and I waslinked with the job. I decided to stay loyal to Schalke.

As luck would have it Spurs had a takeover last month by a multi millionaire oil tycoon....d'oh.

[433tom]

Abu Dhabi City South?

[GioGio85]

Abu Dhabi City South?

Exactly...if I was them Id consider buying one of these 2:

• Guillaume Jaureguiberry
  
• Julien Mahe
  

[433tom]

Exactly...if I was them Id consider buying one of these 2:

• Guillaume Jaureguiberry
  
• Julien Mahe
  

That second player has a nice goal ratio.

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