FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[Lenzar]

Annan Adventure In Scotland - Season 3 - 2014/15

Despite being new to the Scottish First Division, Annan have yet again exceeded expectations. Below is the season analysis as written by manager Mark Schueler.

League (1st)

Once again we blew the opposition away in the league, this time losing only to 2nd place Dunfermline.

Challenge Cup (Winners)

As a team in SFL1, I had high hopes. The boys did not let me down, though the fact that we played SFL3 sides most of the way helped a great deal. Ninos Gouriye was excellent in this cup.

League Cup (3rd Round)

Nothing much to say here. Easy win against SFL3 Arbroath, followed by a 2-1 win over Hamilton. Beaten by Celtic at Galabank.

Winners: Hearts

Scottish Cup (Winners)

Wow. I do not know what to say. Excellent against Celtic, winning 4-0 after a replay. We then went on to beat Hibs and Hearts in the next two rounds, then won the final 2-0 against Rangers, despite going down to 10 men.

(No fixture lists because I can't seem to filter by competition anymore).

Transfers

Key players this year were Loris Karius, who has become a fairly solid Goalkeeper, new defender Lloyd Bowler, midfielder Lucas Trecarichi and strikers Ninos Gouyire and Ciaran Kilduff

Squad

Progress

| Year   | Division | Position | Achievements                     |
| 2012-13|   SFL3   |     1st  | Promoted as champions            |
| 2013-14|   SFL2   |     1st  | Promoted as champions            |
| 2014-15|   SFL1   |     1st  | Promoted, Scottish Cup Winners |

[minisav]

minisav - 2016/17 - Wuppertaler SV Borussia (Wuppertal) - German 1st Division

I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BUT I JUST WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. No intention of actually winning it but we've gone and done it. More on that in the appropriate section. We also retained the league title with 5 games to go and won the German Cup for the 3rd time. However, I did suffer Wuppertal's biggest ever loss. We rested players for CL Semi when we were away to Dortmund. 7-0

League:

So we absolutely dominated this. Just a few slip ups especially that Dortmund game at the end.

Table - Graph - Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2

Cups:

German Super Cup

Early in the day again but we had a pretty solid team so I was confident. I was right to be, dominated Bayern.

Wuppertal 3 - 1 Bayern

German Cup

So after 3 finals in a row the expectations were the same, 3rd Round minimum. In the first round we got the usual away trip to a non-league side. Reserve side won 4-0. Easy enough.

Followed that with a much tougher game against Stuttgart away. 1-0 saw us progress to the 3rd round.

Next up was Dortmund, the tie of the round. We went 2-0 up easily enough but they got one back on the brink of half time. We scored a 3rd early into the second half, so at 3-1 we were comfortable. We were still comfortable up until the 84th minute. They got 1 back before finishing off the comeback in the 90th minute. Nothing happened in extra time so penalties beckoned.

We stepped up first, Rossi stuck it down the middle but the goalie didn't move and saved it. However, they stepped up and Ter Stegen saved. 0-0. Sigurdsson was next. He put it away. Hummels then hit the post! 1-0 us. Bernardo left the goalkeeper standing still as he nailed it into the bottom left corner. Ter Stegen then saved again to put us 2-0 up! Medojevic was left with the deciding penalty and made no mistake as he buried it for the 3-0 win!

Dortmund 3 - 3 Wuppertal (0-3) on penalties.

After that I was hoping for a much easier draw. Hannover should have been that but we of course made it difficult. Despite them getting a red card in 54th minute we couldn't find away through. We made the extra man count in extra time though where we grabbed 2 goals for a 2-0 win.

We had a tough game in the semi final too which was 2-2 after 90 mins. We once again snatched 2 goals to go to our 4th consecutive final with a 4-2 win.

In the final we met Hoffenheim who had finished 4th in the league. They had however been serious title contenders earlier in the year so were a tough team. Rossi scored in the 42nd minute in what was a dreadful first half. I gave the boys some encouragement and Rossi took it very well. He got a 2nd in the 74th minute before rounding off his hat-trick with a penalty in the 88th minute.

Fixtures - Final v Hoffenheim

Europe:

Groups

We were thrust straight into the group stages. We were 3rd seeds, with Austria Wien below us in the rankings with CSKA and Real Madrid ahead of us. It started off well with a 2-2 away to Real Madrid. We had gone 2 goals up but it was still a point earned. We pulled off our own comeback at home to CSKA. We were 2-0 down at half time but we got one midway through the half and then 2 more in the last 10 minutes of the game for a 3-2 win. 3-0 at home and 2-1 away against Austria Wien meant we had already qualified for the knockout rounds. However, we were top on head to head with Real Madrid with 2 games to go and first would give us an easier game after the groups. However, Coelho didn't read the script and after going 1-0 up at home to Real Madrid, he scored 2 own goals, to give them a 2-1 win. We then lost 4-2 to CSKA but that result didn't matter.

Group Overview

Knockout Rounds

So we were drawn against Barcelona. I didn't exactly have high hopes. We drew 1-1 at home. A Valdes own goal had put us ahead but they equalised for a well earned draw. The press considered it a poor result for Barcelona. As I've shown before we went through with a sensational 5-2 win at the Nou Camp with a very strange tactic.

1st Leg - 2nd Leg

Next up was Real Madrid. Typical. At least it was an opponent I knew I could cause problems for. A mad first half in the home leg saw us go 1-0 down before finishing it 3-1 up courtesy of a Rossi hat-trick. However, we shipped 2 goals in the second half for a 3-3 draw. We like letting 2 goal leads slip against them

They scored in the 5th minute of the first leg, so we returned the favour by scoring in the 5th minute of the 2nd leg. A rare N'Zonzi goal had put us in the driving seat. Holtby grabbed us another in the 44th minute. We had a 2 goal lead which I knew was dangerous going by our past games vs RM. However, 2 minutes into the 2nd half, former World Player of the Year winner Lucas Leiva got himself sent off. This meant we were a lot more comfortable. Higuain sneaked a goal in the 88th minute which set up a nervy end but we held on.

1st Leg - 2nd Leg

In the semis we were drawn against a 3rd Spanish side in a row, Malaga. I wasn't sure what to make of them as they had some recognisable players but they'd not really made waves in Europe before. My nerves were put aside when we played the first leg at home. A mad first 10 mins put us 3-0 up. Nothing much more happened after this in what became an evenly contested match. We finished 3-0. After this I rested the entire team which led to the 7-0 loss to Dortmund. However, it was for the best as in the 2nd leg we won 2-1. We went ahead but conceded very soon after. However, they still needed 4 goals to win as I had the away goal. With 10 minutes to go I knew I had it in the bag and that was confirmed in the 81st minute when a 2nd own goal of the match was scored in my favour to run out 5-1 winners on aggregate.

1st Leg - 2nd Leg

Chelsea were to be my final opponents after edging past Benfica on away goals in their semi. 6 days before the final Ter Stegen injured himself for 2 months so I was to be without my top goal keeper against the top scorer in the tournament, Torres, who had 10 goals.

We started off well and this was helped when John Terry smashed it into his own net in the 14th minute. I got even more excited when a goalmouth scramble was prodded home by Ben Arfa in the 38th minute. This was shortlived as Torres got one back 2 minutes later. A poor second half was compounded when Torres grabbed a 2nd and got it back to 2-2 in the 69th minute. I made some changes including taking Rossi off. Himchinschi went on in his place. 90 minutes were soon up. A poor extra time from both sides meant it looked like penalties until Guillou went on a fantastic run down the right wing from the half way line all the way to the byline before squaring it for Himchinschi to put the Wuppertal fans into raptures in the 121st minute. Mental scenes!

Fixtures - Final v Chelsea

Team:

Squad - Tactics - Transfers - Information.

So here's the team:

Underline means main back up player

Bold means first choice

Anything else means youngster or 3rd/4th choice

Goalkeepers:

Rubinho - Backup goalkeeper but he did very well when he did play. Especially in the Champions League final where he had to deputise suddenly. I was impressed but lack of first team opportunity means he is leaving at the end

Marc-Andre ter Stegen - A beast. Feel so confident with him between the sticks. Made great saves against the biggest teams. Legend

Defenders:

Centre Backs

Loic Nestor - Monster. Signed for 5m at the start of the season he was immense, bargain too. Chucked at left back on a couple of occasions but made that CB spot his own. Notched up 4 goals too which was nice.

Rui Coelho - Even bigger bargain. 1m from Wolfsburg and this young guy was a rock. Him and Nestor had a very solid partnership but he also worked well with Medojevic. 5 man of the match performances, 8 goals and 3 assists is pretty tidy return for a centre back.

Slobodan Medojevic - Great other option. Played a lot of games as he was able to fill in at defensive mid and at centre back

Full Backs

Diego Contento - Been ever present at left back since I signed him in January of my first season in the Bundesliga. Continues to prove me wrong as I was wanting to replace him with somebody better but I was just as well off sticking with him. A tad injury prone though.

Matthias Zimmerman - Essentially a right sided Contento. Solid performances all round. Weird having a left footed right back but he did cut in and cause problems although the stats don't indicate that. Very pleased with him.

Midfield:

Centre Midfield

Gylfi Sigurdsson - Man I love this guy. Spent ages trying to sign him and eventually got him in the January of last season. He was pretty impressive for the half season but he was even better for this full season. Somehow only got 1 man of the match despite controlling the majority of them. His 1 man of the match performance however came in the 5-2 destruction of Barcelona where he grabbed 50% of his total goals (2), and 2 assists in a genuinely sublime showing. 20 assists over the course of the season was just amazing. What a guy.

Steven N'Zonzi - A surprise package but I needed someone to play alongside Gylfi against the big teams as Holtby was too attacking. A cheap signing at 3 million he was pretty solid. Noticed him breaking up a lot of attacks before laying the ball off to others. Managed to stride forward a lot too grabbing an important early goal vs Real Madrid in the 2nd leg.

Lewis Holtby - A solid player but had fallen down the pecking order due to Gylfi. However, he often filled in for Gylfi when we had a busy schedule and also played alongside him in the games against weaker opponents. He also appeared at AML too. Was very good when he played grabbing himself 4 goals and assisting 11 more. Pleased with that return.

Wingers

Hatem Ben Arfa - Still at a loss as to why he was let go on a free. Not quite as prolific as last season but he did play a lot less games and struggled to get into his rhythm. Still, 2 goals and 10 assists are always welcomed.

Xerdan Shaqiri - Another puzzling freebie. Bayern didn't want him despite him being a lot better than the ageing Robben and Ribery. I signed him on a pre-contract the January before this season. Very glad I did because he dominated that right wing. Utterly devastating to other teams when he cut inside scoring quite a few screamers. Also scored a 35 yard free kick in off the bar. 9 goals, 8 assists is nice. Like Ben Arfa, fitness was an issue and I often had to replace them after an hour or so which was annoying.

Bernardo - This versatile guy could play right across the midfield in the attacking areas so was utilised everywhere. Mostly played at AML to give Ben Arfa a rest, he was a pretty darn good signing for 5 million. Grabbed himself a few goals and was a very competent back up. This depth was very necessary as we played a lot of matches and I wanted to keep fitness.

Strikers:

Giuseppe Rossi - Still the number one guy. Attracted interest from Barcelona but it didn't unsettle him and we never received a bid. I'm glad as he was amazing again. Started as my main, advanced forward but dropped to the deep lying forward in January when Guillou came in. Was just as effective in both places and notched 29 goals, 9 assists and 10 man of the match awards. Brilliant player.

Jordane Guillou - I went to try and buy M'Vila from Stade Rennes. They wouldn't budge and I noticed this gem instead. 21 and already a deadly finisher with a lot of pace too. Caused problems all over the place, especially in the league. Opened up his account with a hat-trick on his debut. Went on to get 9 goals and an assist in his 12 league appearances. Ousted Himchinschi from the team upon his signing in January, also demoting Rossi to the secondary striker position. Assisted the vital winning Champions League final goal and was all round brilliant.

Fabian Himchinschi - Started off as the secondary striker to Rossi and picked up from where he left off from the season before. Very solid season reaching double figures which only he, Rossi & Guillou managed. Very strong season from him and was even providing a good job on the bench after the Guillou signing. Came on as a sub in the Champions League final and scored the very vital and amazing goal that won us the tie.

Adam Szalai - Dropping even further down the pecking order this season, making most of his starts when I played my 'reserves' before big European matches or against low opponents in the cup. Never grumbled though and scored 9 goals in his limited showings which was nice.

  Season   |    Division    |  Position  |   Comments
--------------------------------------------------------
2012/2013  |  3rd Division  |    1st     | League Winners
2013/2014  |  2nd Dvision   |    1st     | League Winnners, German Cup Winners & Euro League Qualification
2014/2015  |  1st Division  |    8th     | German Cup Runners Up & Europa League Qualification
2015/2016  |  1st Divison   |    1st     | League Winners, German Cup Winners, Champions League Qualification
2016/2017  |  1st Division  |    1st     | League Winners, German Cup Winners, Champions League Winners
-----------------------------C H A L L E N G E----COMPLETED----------------------------------

[rlipscombe]

Minisav - not sure. In January and made it through to knockout rounds but got Barcelona now…… As for you, wow congrats!! What domination! And a way to win it too…. Got a great team too – congrats mate! You have inspired me more now!

JamesAshton - welcome and good luck with East Stirlingshire… My favourite Scottish team…

Killiekev - will do. Will try and put it up tomorrow.

Lenzar - congrats on the cup win. Enjoy the European adventure next season!

Iacovone - cheers! Pretty dominant in Germany now. Europe is a case of Quarters nearly every season though have got to Semis too. Not made the breakthrough yet. Good to see you in here….

[ashton321]

Minisav - Brilliant win there mate well done.

Cheers for all the messages lads, I think I am the true illustration of second season syndrome. I have been sacked as I entered the second season with East Stirling, I had not won any of my first 8 games getting beat heavily along the way. (1st season review was on its way today)

I have now tried this and Gundo challenge and been sacked on season 2 at least 5 times its a nightmare, I am clearly doing something wrong.

[aldojags]

Congrats on the completion minisav- you dont' waste anytime!

[marty78]

James Ashton- Hard luck getting sacked, maybe check the squads of the teams your taking over to give yourself the best possible start.

Minisav- I can't believe you have completed already, pretty astonishing so well done.

Lenzar- Great season for you as well. Good luck in SPL and Europe.

[ashton321]

Hi lads, I have finally managed to get my old account details so I am using my old account now and waiting for my new account to be shut down (jamesashton430).

Well I have been having some issues on this version so I have decided to go back to my first love. They finally got promoted to the German Leageus after a while of loading.

I had so much fun with this lot on Jose Challenge on FM08 I am hoping to restart it this year, joking aside I went to watch them play in Germany and sing you will never walk alone (this is their anthem as well as being the anthem of my team Liverpool, so that was a nice surprise.) and I am sure it is partly responsible for me starting my German degree (although not totally responsible.)

(Screenies to follow later)

(Just on a side note the good folks at the SI Forums have now merged my two accounts.)

[aldojags]

Here is this years youth intake, nothing much to report. Few 2.5 players may make decent squad members;

Yacine Haddad - Algerian striker, looks ok.

Oumar Malikit - French/Malian keeper, whose best position is "sweeper keeper", don't think I've ever had one of those!

Ibrehima Diop - Another French/Malian, this time a striker. Nothing much to report.

After last seasons appearance in CL final, and my heavy investment this year, I was hoping to complete the challenge. Well there goes that plan, an average Juve put me out 3-2 on aggregate in 1st KO round, so annoyed, completely winnable tie just didn't perform well in both legs. Absolutely wrecking everyone in Ligue 1, a few wins away from 8 in a row, but totally blew the CL. Infuriatingly frustrated!

Getting really fed up of this now, for first time since about CM 01/02, I'm moving my matches onto commentary only, just for speed, I want to wrap up this season ASAP and get right back on it!

[marty78]

2016/2017 SEASON UPDATE

LIGA BBVA

After some major squad rebuilding we had a decent start and sat mid-table at the halfway mark. A poor run of results in the second half of the season had us slowly dropping down the table but we managed to pick our results up and went on to clinch a 10th place finish. For our first season in La Liga that is excellent and I am very pleased. It remains to be seen whether or not we can improve on that next year but I am aiming for a top eight finish.

Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

SPANISH CUP

Only managed to reach the fifth round as we crashed out 3-1 AET to Osasuna. We were lucky to get to extra time to be honest as we were completely dominated.

TRANSFERS

We had to make a lot of signings this year but they settled really well with the only problem being that Barennetxea , who I had signed for free in the summer, had his release clause met by Barcelona. Still a tidy profit was made and he is certainly replaceable although I didn't replace in January and will do so over the summer. I will mention some of the better signings in the squad section as the first team was pretty much all new signings.

SQUAD

Starting XI:

GK: Jamelao

RB: Zdravko Lazarevic

LB: Lefteris Sakkelariou

CB: Stefan Cicmil

CB: Fernando D'Ettorre

DM: Stipe Klaric

CM: Mauricio Moriera

AML: Silvio Musetti

AMC: Tony Trindade de Vilhena

AMR: Miodrag Stantic

ST: Thibaut Vion

UNDER 19's

Still little quality in the youth squad but with La Liga football secured I will be looking to invest heavily on facilities over the next few seasons.

FINANCES

One season in the top flight has pumped some money into the club (although I expected more) and, with safety secure, should really allow us to push on. Our facilities our still poor for our level but will be looking to invest on sprucing the club and a stadium expansion is already under way.

[ashton321]

Decent result there Marty before you know it you will be repeating your success that you had in France.

Aldojags what are your facilities at now?

[rlipscombe]

marty78 - solid 1st La Liga season there. good foundations to build on.

[aldojags]

Ashton, got highest possible everything except youth recruitment, which is "well established". Haven't been able to get that increased for years.

I am ranked 6th in Europe in terms of clubs, so I can't think of anything else I can do, I had perhaps thought I had to be a top 10 club or something to get "extensive" youth recruitment, but it's not been available for so long now I'm just destined to never increase it!

[minisav]

Cheers guys. I think I'll start the challenge again but in my home country of Scotland. Seeing as that'll be more challenging and should give me a longer game. Should see me out until the new one.

[ashton321]

SV Eintracht Trier 05

I have returned to Trier the oldest city in Germany to my favourite club to see if I can bring about some success, I last played this challenge on FM 08 with these. I think that was the first year the challenge was about (Rlip was at Como, I know someone else was with Bayreuth (Babe Ruth) and it was just before LLR began keeping the Fafe) I took them up after three years and then stop posting in here but I had about 10 years of Division 2 football but loved it.

Since then I have been to see them play in Germany and followed them very with great interest. It is good to be back.

Club Info

Me

Aims

1. Stay Up

2. Add some youth to my squad

3. Enjoy it

[wardog]

Im starting up in Scotland now will have screenshots very shortly currently doing the holiday bit. Never done well with attribute masking so going to be a new experiance for me. I know the Scottish leagues fairly well so will be looking at using that experiance to help me out.

[ashton321]

Good luck Wardog

[wardog]

Wasnt sure on the exact date, so i just holidayed until the same date in 2012. 21st June. Was kind of hoping for Berwick Rangers (my localish side) or East Stirling. However it appears ive got Clyde.

I struggled to know what screenshots where required so posted some extra ones.

Starting with last years league table. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/405/leaguestarting.png/

Now for me. Ive used Sunday League Footballer as i thought that one was the correct one. If not i appoligise. I also wasn't sure what the personal screen was so I just posted 3 screenshots, they should be right.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/259/managerprofile.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/managerinfo.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/593/managerhome.png/

And the club.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/39/overviewclub.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/254/clubinfo.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/833/currentsquad.png/

Really look forward to this, Cylde clearly on a downward spiral finnish bottom of all SFL leagues within the last 4 seasons. Kinda brutal. Much needed turnaround is required and im going to spend the next hour or so trying to bring in free agents on trial, and assessing who is good enough and who isn't. Media are predicting 9th for me this season and i'm not going to aim much higher, i suspect i will be in SFL3 for a couple of seasons while i re-build a squad ready for a challenge in SFL2.

[wardog]

One thing i've noticed straight away is Clyde are a professional club with everyone on expensive Full time contracts. Considering selling most of the higher earners even if they are "key players" just to get them off the books, the club has no money and the wage bill is way too high. Considering attempting to go part time to counter this issue. Not sure if thats even possible though. If anyone else has been Clyde would mind offering advice on this stage as i really feel the budget is out of control before i've even touched the club.

[wardog]

Clyde - Wardog - Update (will get a logo ASAP)

So far i've brought in about 50 players on trial. Very few have made the grade. I promoted a lad from the Reserves and another lad from the under 19s. Both look pretty handy. So far my transfers look like:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/27/earlytransfers.png/

Selling Jason Marr was a big desision, easily the best player we had, but simply lots of interest and high wages made that desision up for me. Don't think i got a good price for him, but i'll take what i can at the moment. Jim Hamilton arrived on higher wages than i'd have liked, but a very capable striker. Also to note it seems the previous manager signed a completely worthless keeper and got rid of a few decent players just before i came. The keeper he signed is appauling, will never play under me, will be looking to offload him as soon as possible.

I've also got one peice of buiness i'll assess here. I decided a decent soarce of income was to get a parent club, would also allow for some young stars to come without having to pay wages. The board at first disageed, but it let me mention the financial state the club was in, so that convinced them. I was given 3 choices, i picked the best on or so i felt.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/parentclub.png/

Dreading this, as simply no one looks up to standard, been so long since i've managed in this division. Just hope my signings or any of the current trialists are good enough. I have a points target self set of around 40 this season, which would be a decent improvement on last seasons performance.

I've also managed to bring in the french national teams physio (Jeoffery Martin) not sure why or how but i just made a bid and he said he wanted £0 a week. Umm yeah ok bid, he accepted sacked my other physio.

[Troy Damage]

I've been intending to attempt a tough challenge like this for a while now, so I figured I would combine that intention with my intention to at some point have a go managing in Germany for the first time, hence:

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/7049/profileiu.png

Previously unknown English-Scottish manager Ed Turner has taken over at SV Eintracht Trier 05

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5919/triere.png

As you can see from the club background http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/148/backgroundiks.png it is a club that has never played in the Bundesliga or won a major trophy, yet....

[PRDH]

minisav - Wow, great season, and really rapid completion. Very, very impressive.

aldo - Bad luck, I know how annoying searching for that CL win can be. I'm sure it's in the pipeline though. Keep your head up and go again next season.

I've not cranked up the game for a while, I've finished a season and I try not to move on until I have written up the season report, otherwise I never get round to it. Fingers crossed I get the motivation for that and crack on with completing Cardoso's career. He's what's motivating me to carry on at the moment.

[rlipscombe]

Minisav - look forward to seeing you conquer Scotland too…

Wardog - good luck in Scotland with Clyde. Some tough decisions have been made but I think you probably did the right thing.

Ashton321 - oh the good old days of Como….. J Good luck with Trier – look forward to seeing how you get on.

Troy Damage - another starting in Germany. Good luck with Trier for you too!

[Drake44444]

I started this challenge a ways back, but did not finish it and lost track. I am going to give it another go.

[aldojags]

welcome to all the new guys, been a few days since I signed on but nice to see some new blood!

[ghostwriter]

good luck with Trier, ashton. I think I was around this thread in 08 so undoubtedly I mentioned at the time that I live about 30 minutes away so I might as well mention it again! I was actually in Trier last Sunday. never watched a match there though. might try and change that this season.

[Lenzar]

wardog Virtually every player is crap in SFL3. Just find a half decent tactic and a pair of decent players. Can you get Loris Karius? He's a gem of a keeper at your level. He's still my keeper in my Annan game, and I'm now in the SPL.

Good luck!

Minisav Well done on the completion. Good luck in Scotland.

[ashton321]

good luck with Trier, ashton. I think I was around this thread in 08 so undoubtedly I mentioned at the time that I live about 30 minutes away so I might as well mention it again! I was actually in Trier last Sunday. never watched a match there though. might try and change that this season.

Good stuff mate, I went to watch Trier a couple of years ago.

Update on the season. I am bringing a lot of youth players in. The squad was fairly old when I began here so i have tried to add some youth. Results so far have been a little hit and miss. I have had some very strong performances but then the very next game I get whacked 6-0. Just before Christmas and the table looks like I should be safe, I am about mid table but the teams in the drop zone are a way off so I think they will stay there.

[marty78]

ashton321, Wardog and Troy Damage - Good luck in your respective countries guys.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Wow, sooo much action since I last caught up in here, I am going to have to read the last 2 ¹/₂ pages and catch up. Welcome aboard to all the new comers and Congrats to Minisav on a completion, I believe we have now passed FM11 in terms of completions, the thread is also the most popular it has been since FM09. Now as we hit the middle of August I know people start planning towards the start of FM13, so before everyone gets on that bandwagon I think we should look back at the season that has gone, so as we have quite a large thread again this year I think we should do another awards ceremony.

So if everyone is onboard, the first step is to build a series of awards, I will link to the FM09 Awards so you can get some ideas, if you have anymore or think some should be removed, just pop them into the thread andwe will decide on a list of awards to use. After that will be a nomination phase, and then there will be a team I ask to assist me with Shortlisting, I am looking at you Rlips, PRDH, and possibly others.

FM09 Thread's Awards List

[minisav]

Awesome. Although going by the previous winners there, my players have no chance. Max 3 seasons I've had my players. Although I could get Biggest Loss!

[rlipscombe]

Wow, sooo much action since I last caught up in here, I am going to have to read the last 2 ¹/₂ pages and catch up. Welcome aboard to all the new comers and Congrats to Minisav on a completion, I believe we have now passed FM11 in terms of completions, the thread is also the most popular it has been since FM09. Now as we hit the middle of August I know people start planning towards the start of FM13, so before everyone gets on that bandwagon I think we should look back at the season that has gone, so as we have quite a large thread again this year I think we should do another awards ceremony.

So if everyone is onboard, the first step is to build a series of awards, I will link to the FM09 Awards so you can get some ideas, if you have anymore or think some should be removed, just pop them into the thread andwe will decide on a list of awards to use. After that will be a nomination phase, and then there will be a team I ask to assist me with Shortlisting, I am looking at you Rlips, PRDH, and possibly others.

FM09 Thread's Awards List

Think it's a good idea mate... was nice when we did that a couple of years ago - think it undoubtedly helped towards building the great atmosphere we have had in the thread these last few years. Good to recognise things that have come and gone and celebrate success (and maybe failure??)

i will be happy to help where i can in terms of shortlisting etc.

[aldojags]

Thats a great idea, although the impending arrival of fm13 scares me, i feel so close to a completion but so far! For my money, most of those awards can only go to one man...cardoso!

[wardog]

ty all and ty for the advice Lenzar. I think my expectiations of players was maybe slightly too high. Last time i managed here was with a created side and it was mostly created mates i had in the game. Ill have a look for that keeper but as present i can't at the moment about to explain why in this post.

Sorry for a lack of updates, my power pack in my pc blew up not long after my last one when i switched it on. Not sure what caused that to happen but should hopefully get it replaced and back playing over the weekend.

[marty78]

2018/2019 SEASON UPDATE

LIGA BBVA

Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

We were consistent in the league with very few poor runs of form and spent the entire season in the top six. We never challenged the top three but after a tense finish we managed to clinch 4th place and a place in the Champions League qualifiers. The top three, Valencia, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are going to take some catching with the money they spend on transfers and wages but I think we should be able to challenge for that 4th spot and the reward of CL football.

SPANISH CUP

A superb run in the cup saw knock out Valencia and Real Madrid before facing Barcelona in our first Spanish Cup final. Despite Barcelona being slightly the better side and looking on control for large spells, we managed to score twice to secure a 2-0 win and our first real trophy. A fantastic effort considering the quality of teams we faced along the way.

TRANSFERS

Berry Stam - Considered signing of the season for La Liga and exceeded my expectations in his first season. 16 La Liga goals for an outlay of £1.5m is a great return.

Antnio Oliviera - One of two expensive CB signings, this lad is superb in the air and is an immediate first choice since his arrival in January.

Mao - The other expensive CB arrived in the summer and has had a decent first season. Not as good aerially as Oliviera but a better all rounder.

Ramiro Cantoni - Solid if unspectacular DM/CM arrived in the summer for £3m.

Santos - Brazilian LB is another solid signing and for just £1m. A bargain buy but he performs well and is definite first choice.

SQUAD

Silvio Musetti - Another terrific season and is still easily the most consistent player at the club. Fans player of the year again.

Zdravko Lazarevic - Solid right back is quick and gets about well but lacks any real quality. Still my number RB though.

Elliot Kebbie - Right winger continued to play well and is performing above his level. One of the areas I'm looking for improvement over the summer.

Jamelo - First choice goalkeeper could do with some more competition but he gets the job done.

Mauricio Moreirra - Another solid centre midfielder but nothing to write home about. reliable enough though.

Stavros Arkoudas - Youngster but is starting to break into the team and has done okay. the fact he can play in a number of midfield roles means he can expect more game time next season.

Thibaut Vion - Started the season as first choice in my mind but was overtaken by Stam. Will be sold in the summer as I can easily replace for cheaper having identified a number of targets.

UNDER 19's

This year youth intake was slightly better but still poor and there are no players likely to make any first team appearances any time soon.

FINANCES

We are financially stable but could really do with the extra money from European football to allow us to further improve the facilities, which are still quite disappointing. We are further upgrading our stadium but again it is pretty poor compared to the opposition.

[rlipscombe]

marty78 - congrats on 4th and the CL qualifiers... a debut Copa del Rey is something to enjoy as well. good luck getting into the CL group stage and the reaping of that cash.

[aldojags]

Well done marty on a Great season. Like the look of santos, and a great season from stam also.

[wardog]

First Transfer window review.

After a disappointing pre-season i looked forward to Albion in the cup, same league, good chance to see how good we really are. We got thumped, although i feel like we should have won, lots of positives. After that we has St. Johnstone in the other cup. No chance i decided to rush arrange a friendly with a non-league side away between that and the first league game for confidence issues. That back fired. The league has seen positives. The Berwick game inparticular im pleased with. They are simply a far better side and where unbeaten before this game, 100% record. 3-0 down at half time, the lads can be proud of their second half. Full results: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/255/resultst.png/

On the transfer front, i'm not sure i've got this one right to be honest. Signed a couple of players for the same posision in my system, bit of a mistake that. Getting David Low on loan seems to have added to the midfield, Really has helped. I still have one player on trial but unlikley to pursue that further. I've done mostly trailing rather than scouting to try and save money although Low (loanee) was scouted after being offered him. Scout rekoned he was too good, and so far hes proving that, my midfield isn't fit to tie his laces. Really could use a transfer budget to make this pernament, although thats just not going to happen. Full transfers: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/440/transfersf.png/

My overall squad im not happy with. It really needs investment which the club doesn't have. Even the players i've signed im not sure on. Hannah and Hamilton both experianced players, but i worry that their age will be a bigger issue. They are basically there to help steady a sinking ship, but i don't thnk i've taken the right approch here. Full squad: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/707/squadh.png/

I rekon unless i can turn it around soon ill be sacked by January. This is definatley my biggest ever FM challenge. Glad the board expectations are low.

Edit: I'm now 100% sure ive got this wrong. Not decided if i'll restart yet.

[wardog]

I decided in the end not to quit when i loaded up this morning i looked at the whole club once again. One thing i completely missed previously was the state of the backroom staff. When i loaded i was about 8 games in and had 1 point. I had 2 youth coaches neither where any good. 1 goalkeeping coach (who had an overall of training keepers of 3) 1 assistant manager, and one scout who was terrible. I'd previously changed the physio which i mentioned previous and i'm happy with the lad whos in, on the month to month contract.

Stage one of fixing this seen me sack everyone bar the assistant manager who remains the same. I got a new scout on a month to month contract. Then i appointed a goalkeeping coach. The i got an attacking coach and a defensive coach. Looked to get a fitness coach for my other slot but none would accept so got a coach with a good fitness rating to come in and hes doing a good job. Backroom staff is now as follows. Spending more on wages here than i'd like to but i feel that it was required. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/859/staffij.png/

The changes in staff have made a real differeance on the pitch, but more so the scout with the playing staff. His abilty to find a player has been amazing for us. As a result alot of free agents have came in straight into the first team, and players have got released to make way for them. One thing that wasn't ideal was number one keeper callum summerville hitting 1 match away from a quadruple pay rise. Id released the keeper the previous manager signed and if i can't play him i have just one keeper. I spoke with the scout and he recommended former Crewe keeper Alan Martin. His wages are less than what the pay rise was going to be, although just for one season. I released Summerville as the release fee was going to cost less than accidently playing him. Full up to date signings list: http://imageshack.us/f/692/transferst.png/

As a result of that the squad now has some flavour to it. One i believe has potential in the league. Unfortunetly its too late for this season and confidence has been destroyed until recently. Squad: http://imageshack.us/f/341/squadln.png/

Results have been hard to come by. During an international break i tried another friendly for confidence boosting. Once again we failed to win so didn't work. However I had faith with some of the lads now playing in the team and performances where getting better. But i knew we had to face another team low in confidence before we could actually go anywhere. It took till December but that finally happened. Albion Rovers on a small bad run themselves away. When we scored i just knew it was our game. The lads looked great. However i had to make a half time sub, 55mins the sub got injured i had to change the way we played to cope with that. on 72 mins my other sub got injured. No more subs left. So to do it and do it with 10 men really felt pleaseing. Results to date: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/837/resultsandfictures.png/

I really have faith i can turn this around. My job is deemed safe somehow, but i think performances and results are improving. The win over Albion will hopefully boost the lads a bit because they just had no belief. I couldn't do anything to sort it. Tried the team meetings and everything. However positives are comming now and just in time. The next game has us at the league leaders. The game after that at Peterhead whos just above us in the league. Hopefully we can manage to dodge a major beat at East Fife and keep confidence for the Peterhead game. Will give us a chance. League Table: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/9/leagueafter14games.png/

End of January Update

Decided to add this to here since no one posted since. Things really have taken a massive turn for us. I haven't changed to many things this month. One player hit a wage increase that i didn't notice so i had to release him, we couldn't afford those wages for a player who was only on the bench. However as proof that this month took a turn, i took down manager of the month for the first time. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/motmx.png/

We've had no incommings apart from a trialist keeper looking at next season, Martin was only on a one year deal and getting him to re-sign is being a nightmare hoping he might re-sign later would be willing to have him on higher wages than normal as he is a keeper who would be ready for higher divisions. On the plus side i got Matthew Paterson to sign a new deal a few more players need re-signed but i rekon we could be looking at midtable with this side now the coaching is correct and the team is performing with confidence. Next season will be a push for the playoffs or automatic promotion if i can keep our better players and bring in some new faces over the deadwood. I released a few of the higher earners who weren't playing including a couple of my own signings. Updated transfer window transfers: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/transfersq.png/

This has left the squad a little thin of back-ups so i shall be looking to try get a couple of those on loan I know January has ended but i'm pretty sure if their under 20 i dont need to register them anyways. Since its loan listed players i don't suspect that to be an issue. Squad: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/801/squadl.png/

The league table is looking much more comfortable. We're finally off the bottom with a win over 10th now. Just 10 points shy of last seasons points tally although 24 points over my personal target, although thankfully i couldn't tell the board that as i think 24 points in the last 15 games might be a hard ask. Although i believe we have the talent to do that but 8 wins from 15 might be a little much to ask. Table: http://imageshack.us/f/405/leaguetableg.png/

[rlipscombe]

wardog - a tough start there but keep the faith. i am sure that once your team gel you'll start to get some results and pick up.

[wardog]

Thanks Rlipscombe really feel like i've got it turning for me now.

Small update

Im going to start this off by sharing my youth candidates level. I saved this previous but didn't want it to have a thread to its-self. As a result added it here. I've still got all these lads on trial but their going soon. Signed 3 of them. One of the CBs is almost good enough for the first team, the other 2 are no where near ready for the first team but come highly recommended for the future. Already got them onto training in important areas. Summary: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/youthintakes2013.png/

The turn around continues, as i've set the second record this season. The previous was for most games without a win, at 17. Not all of those where mine but a fair few where. Now i've set the record for most games without losing. Strange season. I've also claimed manager of the month for march. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/38/marchmotm.png/ Some very interesting games in there. Queens Park was quite interesting at the time the 9th and 10th place clubs, Queens took the lead i equalised and in the second half agagain Queens took the lead only for a 92nd minute goal from Paterson saving the day. The Peterhead game Paterson was just on a different planet explaining why i've got him as my highest earning player. 4 Goals, only a small differance lol.

The League table looks much more comfortable. I'm really looking forward to next season, we're going to lose alot of players, but i have faith that a large number of better ones are comming in. Already got some comming on pre-contracts, using my scout to find players of better quality than those leaving. David Low is going to be a massive loss, but got one massive signing comming in, instead. Will deal with that in my end of season review though. I attempted to bring in 2 SPL under 19's wingers in for a loan, clubs accepted but players rejected. That was disappointing but still getting results. If we had this form all season we'd be challengeing for the title. League table: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/840/marchleaguetable.png/ - baring in mind i had 1 point just 4 months ago.

Glad i've stuck with this, the coaching changes have made a massive differance. One thing ijust to confirm theres been no ins or outs since. Oh on a another positive note, i've managed to get Alan Martin to agree to a 5 year deal. He does have a release clause but the price of that i'd be accepting anyways. I need a back up keeper for next season and when scouting its saying players im looking at are slightly worse, but would be a leading goalkeeper for most first division clubs. Glad i've got him tied down now.

[wardog]

Clyde - Wardog - First Season update

Transfers

Overall im slightly disappointed in how long it took me to get used to whos going to be good enough and who isn't. However i feel eventually i got this correct, unfortunetly that cost my already dept ridden club even more moneys, that we don't exactly have. All transfers for this season. (I have already sorted out some for next season but will deal with that in my pre-season update).

http://imageshack.us/content_round.php?page=done&l=img12/1948/fulltransferlistfirstse.png

On a signing by signing basis. Jim Hamilton and David Hannah obviously where mistakes being released without even seeing a year out. Zander Cowie also goes into this category but he wasn't my signing. One the other end, Alan Martin, David Low, Marcus McMillian and Matthew Paterson where fantastic signings. Will be disappointed to lose David Low next season when he returns to Ross County but i think i have a good midfielder comming in to replace him on a free. The latter signings all became very important and i think my early signings where problems. Most where signed on one year deals apart from the young ones. The good ones have been re-newed.

Edit: i've had to update this screenshot and the information given is incorrect slightly. The free transfers that have arrived probably won't show on next seasons list in pre-season as i thought it would. Also the last signing i managed to get him for a 20% sell on and a friendly.

The League

My personal target was 40 points. Despite only having one point at the start of December i managed to make this target. As you can see i also targetted for 9th but finnished 7th only goal differance behind 6th. Considering our very slow start to this season and the improvements to the playing staff arriving next season, i have full faith we can challenge for promotion.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/finalleaguetable.png/

Very positive second half to the season. Shame about the slow start but please with the overall.

The Squad

Despite the wage issue which will hopefully be sorted within the next 3 years the squad is looking extremely good. Most of the good players have min release clauses in their contracts, fortunetly these are to values i would probably accept anyways. I feel we have made massive improvements within the last 12 months in this department. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/squada.png/

While on this issue im going to address the backroom team again. I don't think i ever expected the team that we have to be as sucsessful and improve our players, however they have and a couple of them will likley stay with me right through to the end. Should they wish to. I won't post another screenshot of this as i already have done previous and theres been no change.

I dont think theres much change to the squad information so i'll just post that in here too. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/84/informationnf.png/

Me - the manager

I believe i've improved my own reputation, i haven't been very active with the media, but to be honest i don;t think an SFL manager really is that active with the media. I do comment from time to time, but tried to keep this realistic. As stated i feel disappointed in my early signings being massive flops. However im now used to this level of football and im signing players capable of playing higher. Most are young aswell. I managed to gain two manager of the month awards that i noticed along the way.

Manager Profile: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/managerprofile.png/

Manager Information(since is personal right?): http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/27/managerpersonal.png/

Overall im disappointed in the start but lots of positives from this season, i basically hit all my season targets in the 2nd half of the season, im keeping the core of this team and bringing in new players around them. Confidence for next season is ripe.

[wardog]

Clyde - Wardog - Pre-season evaluation and new season expectations

Firstly just incase i got manager page wrong this one seems to make more sense. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/historyj.png/

Pre-season

Pre-seasons i decided to have 2 home matches then a 4 game tour of the Scottish Borders. These where to be for confidence before the new season. 2 of those got cancelled though due to cup matches. As a result im a little disappointed only to have got 4 friendlies. However i am pleased with the schedule i guess. Carlisle at home, then Aberdeen before Peebles and Kelso United. I wasn't expecting much from the home games, apart for good income. However pre-season went sensational. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/809/preseasonsresults.png/

New Season

Despite reducing the wages last season by about 1/3rd i done this mainly by releasing players which increased the dept. Not clever. As a result the board reduced my budget again. Meaning im still over it and although i feel the need for 1 more new face i just cant have it, unless they'll accept £25 a week. I feel the squad has improved, and i recieved an enquiry for Alan Martin. Hes on a long term contract so i said i wouldn't accept less than his release fee. Killie withdrew quickly and Alan hasn't moaned. . I had to rush loan any old striker or we where going to be left with just last seasons 2 and a rush signing. As a result im kind of hoping for no injuries to Paterson or White as that would be a killer for our chances. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/squad2ndseason.png/

Expectations. I told the board i'll be targeting a mid table finnish. There was no differance in wage bill offered between that and the higher options so i felt just go for that and i have room for error. My personal targets looking at last season would be at least the play-offs. I'm not 100% sure but i think if we based last season from January onwards we'd have been close contenders for automatic promotion and this season i think we're stronger. The league obviously has some changes and now looks like: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/20/leaguekg.png/

Signings other than the trial of Robbie Crawford who i'd love to make pernament but the board just can't let me, apparently. I haven't done much since the last screenshot. I've just noticed this is showing everything from June 1st which helps seperate last seasons and this seasons. Had to release a few of the lads i got on youth contracts last season, Crabbe did look like he had potential but he isn't going to get games this season so lowering the wage bill was important. I've promoted the 3 youth players i signed from the candidates. Only one looks ready to challenge the first team but the other 2 will offer cheap back up. Transfers: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/411/transfersn.png/

Im hoping to maybe get on or two players on loan to support this, i don't have alot of cover in the wing areas which i want to address ASAP. But looking for a very positive season.

[aldojags]

Season Review 2029/30

Going to run a more streamlined update, don't have the time to do a big update!

Domestic

Ligue 1 | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2 | Champions Trophy | Coupe de la Ligue | French Cup

Won league quite comfortably. Didn't do much else domestically, but so dominant for a while now (8 in a row) in league.

Europe

Fixtures

Should have beaten Juve comfortably, really disappointed to go out so early following such heavy investment in squad, I was going all out for completion.

Squad

Only going to profile starting 11, and maybe one or 2 transfers that you won't have seen in previous updates.

GK: Pavol Skrobak - good keeper but deteriorated physically, maybe a position I need to look at soon.

RB: Angel San Martin - Spanish International full back is a solid player.

CB: Bert Van der Weg - won POTY, solid pro.

CB: Damian Linka - solid season.

LB: Wycliff Jockey - English International.

DM: Ali Jelassi - one of my long term players who asked for a transfer after they'd "achieved all they can at club", he was told no, and seemed to accept it.

MCR: Pituca - still produces the goods in his 30's.

MCL: Luciano Anselmo - fantastic technically, still needs to improve physically.

AM: Daniel Michel - not his best season, still an important player.

STR: Ilan Roger - rocked the club when the homegrown striker wanted away following interest from Real Madrid and saying he'd "achieved all he can". Like Ali Jelassi, he was told no, and seems to have accepted it. Had a good season and I'm desperate to keep him.

STL: Stojan Neskovic - signed for £10m, ok first season, will be looking for more.

Transfers

Lawrence Motale - stunning lookin player, showed shades of brilliance, but need it more consistently. But he looks the part.

Viera - like Motale, needs a bit more consistently.

Alessandra Germano - think he'll be a star one day.

Martin Schroder - great looking forward, but has had 2 spells away due to homesickness. I let him go both times as I was out of Europe and walking the league, but I'll be needing more from him.

Club Info

Forgot to take facilities and finances screenies, I am sitting with about £10m in bank, after board spent tens of millions on outright buying new stadium. Will be ready in a year. I sell out every home game 20,870. My new stadium has 31,000. All other facilities are top notch, apart from youth recruitment which is well established.

Past Seasons
Season     Division        Pos    French Cup      League Cup         Europe        Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7705369&viewfull=1#post7705369"]2012/13[/url]     National      4th      8th round        N/A                            Survived Relegation
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7713320&viewfull=1#post7713320"]2013/14[/url]     National      8th      7th round        N/A                            N/A
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7722456&viewfull=1#post7722456"]2014/15[/url]     National      1st      8th round        N/A                            Champions
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7734045&viewfull=1#post7734045"]2015/16[/url]     Ligue 2       6th      7th round        2nd round                      Consolidated
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7741822&viewfull=1#post7741822"]2016/17[/url]     Ligue 2       2nd      11th round       4th round                      Promotion
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7757976&viewfull=1#post7757976"]2017/18[/url]     Ligue 1       10th     Runners Up       4th round                      Survived
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7778883&viewfull=1#post7778883"]2018/19[/url]     Ligue 1       6th      11th Round       2nd round                      Consolidated    
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7795399&viewfull=1#post7795399"]2019/20[/url]     Ligue 1       3rd      11th Round       3rd Round                      Qualified for Champ League            
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7831196&viewfull=1#post7831196"]2020/21[/url]     Ligue 1       3rd      11th Round       4th Round         EL QF        Qualified for Champ League                        
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7848172&viewfull=1#post7848172"]2021/22[/url]     Ligue 1       4th      11th Round       Semi's       CL Group Stages   Qualified for Europa League
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7869045&viewfull=1#post7869045"]2022/23[/url]     Ligue 1       1st      11th Round       Semi's       EL 2nd KO Round   Champions
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7880932&viewfull=1#post7880932"]2023/24[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       9th Round       Quarters     CL Group Stages   Champions 
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7917651&viewfull=1#post7917651"]2024/25[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       9th Round       Quarters     CL Group Stage, & EL Semi's     
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7942158&viewfull=1#post7942158"]2025/26[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       Quarters        Winners      CL QF             Domestic Double
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7956034&viewfull=1#post7956034"]2026/27[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       10th Round      Quarters     1st KO Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7973808&viewfull=1#post7973808"]2027/28[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       10th Round      4th Round    Quarters
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=8003757&viewfull=1#post8003757"]2028/29[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       Winners         Winners      Runners-Up        Domestic Treble & CL Runners-up
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=8033287&viewfull=1#post8033287"]2029/30[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       Quarters        4th Round    1st KO Round

Season     Ligue 1         French Cup        Coupe de la Ligue                Champions Lg             Europa           World Cup/Euros         
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12    PSG             PSG                      OM                         Barcelona               Roma            Euros-Germany
2012/13    Lyon            Toulouse                 Lyon                       Inter                   Liverpool
2013/14    Lyon            PSG                      Toulouse                   Barcelona               Porto            WC-Argentina
2014/15    Lyon            Toulouse                 Lyon                       Man Utd                 Stuttgart
2015/16    PSG             Lorient                  Lyon                       Juventus                Man United       Euros-Germany
2016/17    PSG             Sochaux                  PSG                        Benfica                 Arsenal
2017/18    OM              Lorient                  OM                         PSG                     Arsenal          WC- Belgium
2018/19    OM              OM                       RC Lens                    Man Utd                 Barcelona
2019/20    PSG             St Ettiene               Sedan                      Valencia                Hamburg         Euros-Belgium
2020/21    PSG             Valenciennes             OM                         PSG                     Benfica
2021/22    OM              Lyon                     Lyon                       Arsenal                 Fiorentina       WC-England
2022/23    Viry-Chatillon  Lyon                     OM		               Barcelona	       Leverkusen
2023/24    Viry-Chatillon  FC Rouen                 OM                         Barcelona               Rubin Kazan       Euros - Spain
2024/25    Viry-Chatillon  Bordeux                  FC Rouen                   Real Madrid             Sporting Lisbon
2025/26    Viry-Chatillon  OM                       Viry-Chatillon             Barcelona               Man United        WC - England
2026/27    Viry-Chatillon  OM                       RC Lens                    Man City                Zenit
2027/28    Viry-Chatillon  Sochaux                  PSG                        Barcelona               Juventus         Euros - Italy
2028/29    Viry-Chatillon  Viry-Chatillon           Viry-Chatillon             Real Madrid             Hamburg
2029/30    Viry-Chatillon  OM                       St-Ettiene                 Atletico Madrid         Valencia         WC - Holland

[Troy Damage]

Overall

League Table: http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9184/tableqp.png

Past Positions: http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2313/pastpos.png

For a season which appeared as if it would be of the long and hard variety, my first season with Trier turned out be throughly enjoyable. We became masters of the art of the draw, racking up 15, the most in the league, and confounded the dastardly media by finishing sixth rather than the predicted 20th. We began poorly, winning just 2 of our opening 15, before picking up just before the winter break so that by January we looked as if relegation shoudn't trouble us. In the second half of the season we played some great football, and were rewarded by not tasting defeat until mid April, overall losing only twice in our final 18 games. I was very happy to eventually finish sixth and only 4 points off a playoff place given that we were operating on by far the lowest budget in the league, and with the youngest squad.

Transfers

Ins and Outs: http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7437/transfers1.png http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9716/transfers2.png

We were ludicrously busy in the transfer market. Within about 2 minutes of taking over I decided to ship out as many of the squad which I inherited as possible, they were all either old, overpaid, or hopeless, and more often than not all three, I was delighted that we were able to pick up transfer fees for a few, and that we were able to rid ourselves of so many, we ended up having to keep only a few. We paid out transfer fees for 3 players, more on that in a minute, but on the whole looked to secure youngsters on low wages and free transfers. My decision to hire a Portugese scout proved paticularly fruitful, as we picked up a number of youngsters realesed by Portugese clubs.

A combination of factors led us to be equally as busy in the transfer market during the January window. Firstly the financial situation; despite operating on the lowest budget in the division we were losing money at an alarming rate and were all set to be firmly in the red by the end of the season. Secondly my scouts had done a fine job in identifying a number of promising youngsters willing to come in on lower wages than players of similar or worse ability. Therefore we ended up selling pretty much anyone who could command a tranfer fee. I was willing to risk the potential hit to squad harmony that major January changes could bring as I felt we were safe from relegation but had no chance of toubling the promotion spots, in the end we raised about 200k in fees and reduced the wage bill by around 4k a week, a job well done in my book.

Finances

Balance: http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/6591/financesn.png

Salary per Annum: http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/146/salaryperannum.png

As I said the financial sitaution was worrying, as even with a very low wage bill we were losing around 150k a month in the first half of the season which was completely unsustainable. My tranfer action in January allowed us to end the season narrowly still in the black, but I feel we are going to continue to struggle as long as we remain at this level, the only way we can hope to break even currently is by selling players in pretty much every window. It does make me wonder how other teams in the divison are coping, as you can see we have substantially the smallest wage bill, and its not like we get much smaller attendances than everyone else we are around the division average on 4,500.

Squad: http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9514/squadg.png

Key Players:

Kamil Bilinski: http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3962/bilinski.png

We splashed out 20K on Bilinski, somehow a recent Poland cap. I must say I hesitated on this because there were strikers available on frees, but his miniscule wage demands of £500 a week swayed me, other teams at this level pay the main forwards around 4k a week. Its safe to say I'm over the moon I opted to sign the Pole, he was our star man and comfertably the leagues top scorer after emphatically finding his shooting boots in the second half of the season he found the net 26 times overall

Marijan Antolovic: http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/210/antolovic.png

Another of the players we payed a fee for, and I have to say another decision I'm well pleased with, he was a bargain at 40K. He is a top draw keeper at this level, and I think the average rating system was a little harsh on him because for my money he was our stand out player aside from the goal machine Bilinski barely putting a foot wrong all season.

Vaclav Dvorak: http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8633/dvorak.png

One of the January arrivals, I've picked him out not because he was neccesarily a star man this season, although he was no slouch, but because before I signed him my scouts rated him as having the potential to become a good Bundesliga player, which aside from sounding very exciting makes him the only player I've signed who they felt was better than having the potential to be a good player in our current divison. While I've no doubt the scouts are getting a little ahead of themselves in their predicitons I still have high hopes for the man from the Czech Republic.

Next Year: Having come sixth this year the obvious expection for next year is a promotion push, and given the second half of the season form I'm optimistic, but I do feel it might be a little early and two years is a more realistic target for promotion, but if we get a good start you never know. As far as the transfer market goes the only two players remaining from the squad I inherited have their contracts expiring so will be gladly shown the door, and will free up about 2K on the wage budget, otherwise I would like to keep the squad settled but financial pressure may mean I have to look to see what I can get for a few players, but Dvorak, Antolovic, and Bilinski will all stay barring any clossal bids, which are unlikely. We'll see what happens.

[aldojags]

Great first season troy, excellent purchase in Billinski, but as you say I'm surprised he has a Poland cap, but as long as he does the business for you who cares!

[rlipscombe]

solid first seasons there wardog and Troy Damage. good luck next season.

aldojags - keep chipping away mate. sure the CL win will come soon...

[wardog]

Small early season update.

Results

To be honest i didn't expect much in the cups after the draw. The challenge cup i draw the current holders, and in the league cup i drew the challenge cup runners up. Nice draw. However took them both to extra time, beat morton on penalties and Partick in extra time outright. Dundee where next up in the challenge cup and again i expected to exit. We won in normal time. A fantastic performance from the lads. We then got Forfar the lowest leagued team we've draw and still their a league above us. In this game i felt we looked like the best team in this game. In the league cup we drew SPL side St. Mirren. We played extremely well and a 2-1 defeat was a little harsh on us i felt. In the league im disappointed to not be unbeaten. Queens Park did deserve a draw but the defeat to East Stirling i'm still not sure how that came around. Full results to date: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/140/earlyseasonresults.png/

League Standing.

We currently top the league by one point. Stranraer look a very strong side aswell. I think our team is strong enough but with any more injuries its going to be tough. We've already survived one injury crisis but a similar one would cripple us. The league follows: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/leaguetableh.png/

Players and Transfers

I'll start with our current crop of lads. I didn't realise that Paterson was only on a one year extension. Given this stat: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/62/topscorerse.png/ you can imagine i can't afford to lose him on a free transfer. However he was on a £400 a week contract. Nearly double Alan Martin who was second highest earner with £225 p/w. I offered him a new contract at the start of the season and he wanted an increase. However after a couple of wins this season i decided i'd do it with the intention of selling as soon as possible. However when i entered negotiations he stated he wanted £160 p/w a reduction in all his bonus' except his min release clause which he wanted raised. Even i wasn't brave enough to try negotiate that saving and snapped it off, although i asked him to take a two year extension which he snapped off.

New arrivals

Only one change since my last update. Ryan Hutchinson hasn't had much game time due to injuries. Due to this i only had 2 comfortable center mids. I rush signed Jonathan Crawford. Good job to as McInnes also suffered an injury. This signing was done without too much thought. I had to sign anyone who would be competitive and would accept £25 p/w at the time. Until Paterson accepted the pay reduction i was over my slashed wage budget to board wasn't happy. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/69/transfersrq.png/

Overall im extremely please with the start of this season, after last seasons start getting to the semis of the challenge cup, round 2 of the league cup and leading the division seemed like a distant pipe dream, but with Paterson now on a long term contract, a good midfield and Martin in goal i have full faith in this side. I wouldn't expect many ins and outs anytime soon.

[marty78]

Troy Damage - Good season, I am sure you can get promoted next year if you can add a few more goals.

Aldojags- Keep plugging away and that elusive CL win will come. 8 titles in a row is really impressive and it is hard to believe you are yet to conquer Europe.

Wardog- Solid first season but could you change the way you post your screenshots as they are hard to read. If you use the direct url they will be better to view. Also if you highlight a word you can put your screenie into that word as a link.

On a personal note the CL proved a bit too much for me this season and finished 3rd in the group despite a 6-2 win against Bayern Munich in the final group game. Europa league here we come.

[wardog]

whats the coding for adding the link to a work mate, makes alot of sense Marty. Ty.

[DodgeeD]

Finally, my MA thesis is done and I'm back on FM for the first time in months.

Just loaded up my Keçiörengücü game to see where I left off and it seems that was midway through the 2028/29 season about to take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League 1st Knockout Round.

Here goes the final push!