[FM12] Now You Do Not Punish Someone, English Or Otherwise, For Being Rubbish At FM...

[SRL88]

Very much a nearly season for you.

Are you planning on staying another year?

[Pangaea]

Still a pretty good season but I understand it is frustrating to be soo close to all three trophies, probably particularly the Libertadores.

[SnakeXe]

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

It looks like a long spell out of the playable leagues for The Terras - they still aren't back for 2028/29.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff Semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -
2020/21   Blue Square South       14th      -
2021/22   Blue Square South       19th      -
2022/23   Blue Square South       18th      -
2023/24   Blue Square South       22nd      Relegated
2024/25   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round
2025/26   N/A                     N/A       -
2026/27   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 3rd Round
2027/28   N/A                     N/A       -


NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Another similar season, unfortunately I expect they're only going one way now.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   League Two              20th      -
2021/22   League Two              6th       FA Cup 4th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2022/23   League Two              9th       JPT North Quarter Final
2023/24   League Two              16th      JPT North Semi Final
2024/25   League Two              11th      -
2025/26   League Two              19th      -
2026/27   League Two              19th      -
2027/28   League Two              18th      -

Southend United:

Compared to the highs of a 9th place finish and two Wembley appearances, survival is a small but significant victory.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -
2020/21   Championship            12th      FA Cup 5th Round
2021/22   Championship            9th       -
2022/23   Championship            15th      -
2023/24   Championship            16th      FA Cup Semi Final
2024/25   Championship            21st      -
2025/26   Championship            19th      -
2026/27   Championship            16th      League Cup Runners up
2027/28   Championship            21st      -

Wigan Athletic:

From the sublime to the ridiculous, relegated with just 21 points on the board.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)
2020/21   Premier League          18th      League Cup Winners, Relegated
2021/22   Championship            2nd       Promoted, League Cup Quarter-finalists
2022/23   Premier League          17th      FA Cup 6th Round
2023/24   Premier League          19th      Relegated
2024/25   Championship            5th       Playoff Semi-finalists
2025/26   Championship            4th       Playoff Winners, FA Cup 6th Round
2026/27   Premier League          5th       FA Cup 6th Round, EL Qualification
2027/28   Premier League          19th      League Cup Quarter-finalists

Werder Bremen:

Better in Europe, with a Europa League semi-final coming after making the Champions League group stage, but there'll be no top-end European football next season after a poor league campaign.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20*  1. Bundesliga           8th       I joined in December, DFB-Pokal Winners
2020/21*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, S'cup Winners; EL Semi-finalists
2021/22*  1. Bundesliga           2nd       S'cup Winners; EL, DFB-P Semi-finalists
2022/23*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, Champs League Winners
2023/24   1. Bundesliga           2nd       CWC, DFB-Pokal Winners
2024/25   1. Bundesliga           4th       Champs League, DFB-Pokal Semi-finalists
2025/26   1. Bundesliga           4th       -
2026/27   1. Bundesliga           3rd       DFB-Pokal Winners
2027/28   1. Bundesliga           5th       Europa League Semi-finalists

Arsenal:

Unbelievable. Maybe I'm just a rubbish manager after all. One game from a quadruple.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24*  Premier League          2nd       CL Semi-finalists, LC Runners up
2024/25*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners, LC Runners Up
2025/26*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners
2026/27   Premier League          1st       PL & CL Winners, FA Cup Semi-finalists
2027/28   Premier League          1st       PL, CL & LC Winners, FA Cup Finalists

[SnakeXe]

Got a bit of rebuilding to do it seems.

The rebuilding has been in progress since I joined the club really. Junior is definitely Neymar's heir, and I've brought in an Argentina international keeper so we're ok. It's just a case of these players getting up to speed and performing as the previous guys did.

Very much a nearly season for you.

Are you planning on staying another year?

I'll stay at the very least until the conclusion of the Libertadores next season. Then I'll have a think.

Still a pretty good season but I understand it is frustrating to be soo close to all three trophies, probably particularly the Libertadores.

It was good, just frustrating to have only really played well in about a third of the games and still come that close. If we even increased that to half we'd probably take the lot. I guess that's where it comes down to me!

[Flamers]

Unbelievable. Maybe I'm just a rubbish manager after all. One game from a quadruple.

Yes you are and check your size formatting, you have then

[SnakeXe]

Where? All looks fine to me.

[abulezz]

Another incredible season - the quadruple will come!

It seems all the other clubs you managed slowly found their way to mediocrity - I think that points out to just how great you are!

[Flamers]

Arsenal:

[ SIZE=3]

[ SIZE=2]Unbelievable. Maybe I'm just a rubbish manager after all. One game from a quadruple.[/size][/size]

There OCD quoting

[SnakeXe]

Another incredible season - the quadruple will come!

It seems all the other clubs you managed slowly found their way to mediocrity - I think that points out to just how great you are!

Haha I guess so. Just the glaring exception of Arsenal pounding the trophies back!

There OCD quoting

Ahh right yeah I have it on the WYSIWYG setting so I don't see that. My seasonal update is probably a right mess by now!

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 17 Preview - Santos

Board Expectations:

Campeonato Petrobras Brasileiro da Serie A - Win it (Minimum of Copa Libertadores qualification, predicted 2nd out of 20)

Campeonato Paulista Serie A1 - Final

Copa Libertadores - Final

My Expectations:

Campeonato Petrobras Brasileiro da Serie A - We should definitely win it, whether or not it's under my management

Campeonato Paulista Serie A1 - Not particularly bothered - the youngsters will handle the league campaign in order to concentrate on the Libertadores

Copa Libertadores - Nothing short of winning it will satisfy me this time

Budgets:

Transfer: £578,000 (£477,000 remaining)

Wages: £564,985/week (£378,046/week currently)

Balance: £21,276,375 (+£4,919,818 since last season)

Squad:

Rafael and Neymar retire, a whole lot of youthful promise comes in to augment the existing youthful promise. In 4 or 5 years time a spine of Seijo - Henrique - Marinho - Alessandro - Júnior would be world-class, but I doubt I'll be here to see it unfortunately.

Key Men:

Goalkeeper/Defence

Eduardo Fernández - DLC - Should be an upgrade on Diogo.

Midfield

China - DM/MC - Still a key cog in the machine.

Ezequiel Viale - M/AMC - We lacked a bit of midfield creativity last year, hopefully he'll step up to his 2027 levels again.

Strikers

Júnior - AML/ST - Just a question of how long we can hang on to him now. He'll be easily one of the best strikers in the world in 5 years.

[Flamers]

Put simply, yes its a mess I write everything in plain text

[SnakeXe]

Put simply, yes its a mess I write everything in plain text

Cleaned it up now! Hopefully that will stop the formatting freaking out whenever I try and update it now

[deltablue]

Ahh right yeah I have it on the WYSIWYG setting so I don't see that. My seasonal update is probably a right mess by now!

The what setting?

[SnakeXe]

WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get

[AK22]

How's your relationship with your chairman? The reason I ask is that they tend to be rather keen to sell off all your best players in Brazil. I suppose it won't be long until a big European side comes in for Junior, so I wonder how long the chairman will keep his nerve before cashing in your star asset.

Good luck winning that Copa Libertadores

[Flamers]

I like to think I am helpful

[SnakeXe]

How's your relationship with your chairman? The reason I ask is that they tend to be rather keen to sell off all your best players in Brazil. I suppose it won't be long until a big European side comes in for Junior, so I wonder how long the chairman will keep his nerve before cashing in your star asset.

Good luck winning that Copa Libertadores

The board have been very agreeable, I think I've managed to convince them to put in upgrades and expansions whenever I've requested them, and I've not had anyone sold from under me. Haven't had a serious bid for anyone though, the highest has been about £4m or so for Fernandez. Lots of interest though, understandably. Man City were looking at Marinho closely for a while, he's definitely developing into a top-class wing-back.

I like to think I am helpful

And I'm happy to let you think that

[Pangaea]

Strikers

Júnior - AML/ST - Just a question of how long we can hang on to him now. He'll be easily one of the best strikers in the world in 5 years.

Wow, I've never seen natural fitness change before. Looks a great prospect too. Chairman doesn't give you much to spend though. Is he afraid you'll spend it on his wife?

[SnakeXe]

Yeah not entirely sure why I've been given such a rubbish transfer budget when we made a profit last year! Plus Neymar and Rafael retiring is nearly £100k per week off the wage bill.

Haha perhaps that's why the players at Arsenal didn't perform for me, they were constantly checking up on their wives

[SnakeXe]

The one good thing about Brazil is you really rack the games up.

[SnakeXe]

Season 17: Halfway House Update

Kicking off as ever with the Paulista, I decided to not take the league phase too seriously this time. We would have to be spectacularly bad to not qualify for the knockout phase, and it would hopefully help to keep key players rested for the latter stages of the Libertadores. So I devised a quintessentially Brazilian 4-2-4 and let the kids have at it. And my how they did.

Just 7 points dropped all season (the obligatory defeat despite dominating to Corinthians), 53 goals scored and only 8 conceded was by far our best performance in the league phase. Indeed a couple of the youngsters - Marinho and Evandro - eventually played their way into the Copa Libertadores team (more on that later), whilst the likes of Barata, Alessandro, Deivid and Xaropinho were highly impressive. Unfortunately Corinthians went one better and dropped just the 6 points, so we had to settle for 7th. Botofago (SP) were blown away in the opening minutes of the quarter-final, being lucky to restrict us to just those two early goals. Again we drew Corinthians in the semi-final, away from home this time. Again we more than matched them. Again we were annihilated for no apparent reason. 0-4 this time, lovely.

The Brasileiro campaign kicked off with us still involved in the Libertadores, so the kids kept their places. Their remit was merely to remain in touch with the leaders by the time we exited continental competition. They did that job to perfection. 5 wins and 3 draws from the 8 games was an excellent record, leaving us just 2 points from top spot with a game in hand. I'll certainly be continuing to blend the kids into the first team, although I'll probably now have to send a few on loan given we're involved in just one competition now.

We were drawn in a similar group to last year in the Copa Libertadores, with two Argentine sides, Vélez and Newell's, supplemented by a whipping boy, Olimpia of Paraguay. After coming away from the toughest fixture with a 2-1 win away at Vélez we never looked back, winning all six group matches. We had to settle for second in the group winners' table though, so we drew Veracruz of Mexico in the next round, the second worst group runners up.

After a tougher-than-expected away leg we brought a 1-1 draw back to the Peixe faithful, and were confident of progression. The Mexicans had other ideas however, racing into a 2-0 lead. I was drafting my resignation letter at this point, but a towering header from Martinez gave us a glimmer of a chance. The young Evandro then took control, two sublime finishes in the middle of the second half turning the tie on its head. We held on for a narrow 4-3 aggregate win.

Another Argentine side lay ahead in the quarter-final, Los Millonarios and heroes of the LLM forum themselves, River Plate. However they appeared to be in a spot of difficulty - registering a record 6-0 loss the match before the first leg in La Plata. We duly obliged and spanked them 4-0, with the home leg finishing a more sedate 2-0. Looks like they need to reorder the letters on their badge.

Remarkably it was an all-Brazilian last four - we faced Cruzeiro whilst the auld enemy Corinthians played Flamengo. We played away in the first leg once more, an absolutely ridiculous game which we dominated and somehow lost 2-1. And they still managed to miss a penalty. Nevertheless, the quality of the performance suggested we could diddle them at home, and we did, 3-0.

All this set up the final we'd been waiting for, Corinthians having grabbed the only goal of the tie in injury time in the second leg like the spawny little critters they are. Once again the away leg was first, and once again we dominated the game. Of course, Corinthians being Corinthians they had to grab the opener against the run of play. With minutes to spare and me already cursing our awful luck against our primary foes once again, China decided enough was enough and leathered in a stunning long-range curler to finally do justice. I'm not ashamed to say I leapt out of my seat and ran around the room.

Hoping to again do the business in the second leg, we approached the game with a relatively offensive strategy. This paid off early on as Silva struck twice to give us a 2-0 lead. However, we were foiled repeatedly in our attempts to kill the game, both by Corinthians defenders and their uncanny knack for goal-line clearances and the referee and his uncanny knack of giving their centreback a yellow card for a professional foul.

When they grabbed a goal back on 76 minutes and Silva went off injured on 80 I was convinced we were done for, but we held on to finally win my first ever Copa Libertadores!

The Good

• Good performance in the Paulista league phase
  
• Unbeaten in the Brasileiro
  
• Oh yeah, WINNING THE LIBERTADORES!!!
  

The Bad

• Another awful capitulation in an even game against Corinthians in the Paulista semi-final
  
• Alex is beginning to show his age
  
• Júnior has been relatively poor
  

Results 1 - Results 2 - Paulista League Table/Knockout Rounds - Brasileiro Table - Copa Libertadores - Squad

[abulezz]

Its a shame that Junior didnt do the job this year, but your team was on fire!

[SnakeXe]

Plan at the moment is to stay to the end of the season so I can have a go at the Club World Cup and see if I can take a second Brasileiro, then consider my options.

[SRL88]

Congratulations on winning the Libertadores .

[SnakeXe]

Thanks

About four seasons worth of games in just over 2 and a half years - I've said it before but it bears repetition, Brazil is ridiculous.

[Pangaea]

Great to see you win the Libertadores, it's not easy. Interesting to see if you move on now, but I suspect you will. Good luck in any case.

[deltablue]

Well done on the milestone.

[SnakeXe]

Great to see you win the Libertadores, it's not easy. Interesting to see if you move on now, but I suspect you will. Good luck in any case.

Yeah it was much harder than I expected. We have the best squad by quite a distance in South America in terms of talent, even if we're a little bit low on experience, so I thought it'd be easy enough. The sheer volume of games to contend with makes it a massive challenge though. I guess I've been lucky in the respect that noone's come in with a massive offer for any of my key men - but then again there aren't many irreplaceable players given the breadth and depth of my squad so that wouldn't have been a huge inconvenience.

As for future movements, I think if we can win the Club World Cup and grab another Brasileiro on the way I've got nothing left to prove with Santos so it'd be the right time to go. On the other hand, if we don't get the Club World Cup then I'm intrigued to see how long I can hold the squad together and actually do it. If we keep the players then in 4 or 5 years we'll have a side as good as any top European one.

Well done on the milestone.

Thanks

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 17 - 2029

Story of the Season:

Campeonato Paulista Série A1 - 2nd/Semi-final (lost v Corinthians)

The kids did great in the league campaign but Corinthians again smashed us in the knockouts.

Campeonato Brasileirao da Série A - 1st

Fantastic campaign, only 3 points off the record points total set back in 2003. We dropped just two points at home all season; I don't need to tell you who that was against.

Copa Libertadores - Winners

Wonderful campaign with wins over Veracruz, River and Cruzeiro culminating in a tight final win over Corinthians.

Club World Cup - Runners Up (lost v Inter)

Egyptian side Zamalek were a big enough side for me to be cautious about the semi-final probably for the first time ever competing in the Club World Cup. I probably gave them a bit too much respect in the end, and they nicked an undeserved 1-1 draw when we could have smashed them. Luckily we prevailed with 6 perfect penalties to face Inter in the final, who had dispatched of Al-Ittihad much more easily.

Having crash-dumped at 0-0 well into the second half and playing well, of course we gifted Inter a 2-0 lead when I replayed it. Deivid got one back after Júnior's freekick hit the bar, but we didn't even manage to create a chance for an equaliser in the remaining 10 minutes.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Squad

Transfers - £300k spent

A whole bunch of youngsters came in for small amounts - Evandro, Xaropinho and Deivid were the pick but the rest should have an impact over the coming seasons.

Finances

Solid.

5 Most Important Players:

5. Xaropinho/Júnior/Thiago Paulista/Rolando Nadal/Alex - AM/ST - Impossible to choose between these five goalscorers who all contributed massively to our success.

4. Mauro Sánchez - D/WBL - Finally had a season without major injury problems and proved his worth.

3. Rolete - D/WBR - Unexpectedly excellent season from the experienced fullback.

2. Evandro - AMR/ST - For just £45k, 17 goals and 13 assists is a great return. Looks to have an exciting future ahead of him.

1. Silva - MC/AMLC - A revelation on the left wing, scored and assisted in buckets, including the brace that won us the Libertadores.

History:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League                | Country      | Position | Notes                                                 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                                |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                            |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                                       |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March                   |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                                  |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                              |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners           |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      | 15th     | Left in December                                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners        |
| 2020/21 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Supercup Winners, EL Semi-Finalists |
| 2021/22 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 2nd      | Supercup Winners, CL & DFB-Pokal Semi-Finalists       |
| 2022/23 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Champions League Winners            |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2023/24 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 2nd      | Champ's League Semi-Finalists, League Cup Finalists   |
| 2024/25 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners, League Cup Finalists          |
| 2025/26 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners                                |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2027    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & Paulista Winners, Libertadores SF       |
| 2028    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 2nd      | Paulista & Copa Libertadores Semi-Finalists           |
| 2029    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & L'dores Winners, CWC RU, Paulista SF    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:

It's a big decision over whether to stay or go. It would be interesting to try and retain the Libertadores, and if that were possible then very interesting to have another crack at the Club World Championship - clearly we're not that far from being good enough to win it. My gut feeling is to stay, but keep an eye out.

[Flamers]

I still am yet to understand Brazil.

[SnakeXe]

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

Still not back for 2029/30! What's happened to their reputation?

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff Semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -
2020/21   Blue Square South       14th      -
2021/22   Blue Square South       19th      -
2022/23   Blue Square South       18th      -
2023/24   Blue Square South       22nd      Relegated
2024/25   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round
2025/26   N/A                     N/A       -
2026/27   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 3rd Round
2027/28   N/A                     N/A       -
2028/29   N/A                     N/A       -


NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Slowly, slowly slipping away.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   League Two              20th      -
2021/22   League Two              6th       FA Cup 4th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2022/23   League Two              9th       JPT North Quarter Final
2023/24   League Two              16th      JPT North Semi Final
2024/25   League Two              11th      -
2025/26   League Two              19th      -
2026/27   League Two              19th      -
2027/28   League Two              18th      -
2028/29   League Two              20th      -

Southend United:

They've finally dropped after a decade of Championship football, so disappointing.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -
2020/21   Championship            12th      FA Cup 5th Round
2021/22   Championship            9th       -
2022/23   Championship            15th      -
2023/24   Championship            16th      FA Cup Semi Final
2024/25   Championship            21st      -
2025/26   Championship            19th      -
2026/27   Championship            16th      League Cup Runners up
2027/28   Championship            21st      -
2028/29   Championship            22nd      Relegated

Wigan Athletic:

Narrowly failed to make it back up, decent cup run.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)
2020/21   Premier League          18th      League Cup Winners, Relegated
2021/22   Championship            2nd       Promoted, League Cup Quarter-finalists
2022/23   Premier League          17th      FA Cup 6th Round
2023/24   Premier League          19th      Relegated
2024/25   Championship            5th       Playoff Semi-finalists
2025/26   Championship            4th       Playoff Winners, FA Cup 6th Round
2026/27   Premier League          5th       FA Cup 6th Round, EL Qualification
2027/28   Premier League          19th      League Cup Quarter-finalists
2028/29   Championship            6th       FA Cup 5th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists

Werder Bremen:

A nearly season - losing out on Champions League qualification on goal difference (Germany are back down to 3 places), and losing in extra-time in the DFB-Pokal final.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20*  1. Bundesliga           8th       I joined in December, DFB-Pokal Winners
2020/21*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, S'cup Winners; EL Semi-finalists
2021/22*  1. Bundesliga           2nd       S'cup Winners; EL, DFB-P Semi-finalists
2022/23*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, Champs League Winners
2023/24   1. Bundesliga           2nd       CWC, DFB-Pokal Winners
2024/25   1. Bundesliga           4th       Champs League, DFB-Pokal Semi-finalists
2025/26   1. Bundesliga           4th       -
2026/27   1. Bundesliga           3rd       DFB-Pokal Winners
2027/28   1. Bundesliga           5th       Europa League Semi-finalists
2028/29   1. Bundesliga           4th       Europa League QF, DFB-Pokal RU

Arsenal:

The new manager, Francisco Arce, couldn't match Ronald de Boer's double Champions League win, or indeed my own double Premier League win.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24*  Premier League          2nd       CL Semi-finalists, LC Runners up
2024/25*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners, LC Runners Up
2025/26*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners
2026/27   Premier League          1st       PL & CL Winners, FA Cup Semi-finalists
2027/28   Premier League          1st       PL, CL, CWC & LC Winners, FA Cup Final
2028/29   Premier League          3rd       League Cup Runners Up, Champ's Lg SF

[SnakeXe]

I still am yet to understand Brazil.

State championship, national league, cup for those not in continental competitions. Make sense?

I've signed a year's contract extension on the same money, be surprised if I see it out but stranger things happen at sea!

[AK22]

What a great season! Well done!

BTW, your Série A league table screenshot shows you finishing second.

[SnakeXe]

What a great season! Well done!

BTW, your Série A league table screenshot shows you finishing second.

Thanks and well spotted, now fixed

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 18 Preview - Santos

Board Expectations:

Campeonato Petrobras Brasileiro da Serie A - Win it (Predicted 2nd out of 20)

Campeonato Paulista Serie A1 - Win it

Copa Libertadores - Final

Recopa Sudamericana - Win it

My Expectations:

Campeonato Petrobras Brasileiro da Serie A - Unless another side seriously strengthens we should walk it

Campeonato Paulista Serie A1 - So long as we don't lose pathetically against Corinthians again I'll be delighted

Copa Libertadores - A successive title would be outstanding but I'd be happy so long as we do ourselves justice

Recopa Sudamericana - No reason why we shouldn't take this

Budgets:

Transfer: £5,550,000 (£6,740,000 remaining)

Wages: £509,258/week (£415,968/week currently)

Balance: £22,666,307 (+£1,589,932 since last season)

Squad:

This really is becoming one of my favourite squads in this save. The only area we're slightly weak in is the fullback positions as we don't really have anyone coming through, but everywhere else there's an abundance of young talent. Alexandre, Alisson, Deivid, Marinho, Alessandro, Espíndola, Evandro, Júnior and Xaropinho could all go on to become world-class in my view.

Key Men:

Goalkeeper/Defence

Eduardo Fernández - DLC - Our key man at the back.

Midfield

Marinho - WBR/DM/MC - The home-grown youngster has come a very long way since I immediately promoted him to the first-team squad upon arrival, and with China on the wane he's got a great chance to cement a first-team role.

Fernando Espíndola - M/AMC - An absolute steal at £2.8m from Independiente, he looks top-class already and still has room to improve according to the scouts. In general I don't really feel like we need to buy in any more talent given the great job the academy is doing, but for a guy who could be worth 5-10 times the amount we paid for him in a very short space of time I had to make an exception.

Strikers

Júnior - AML/ST - Went slightly off the boil last year but hopefully that's just growing pains. Starting to round his stats out nicely now - if he can add another couple of points on his acceleration and dribbling he'll be devastating.

[HotChocolate]

Got a nice chunky balance.

Good luck this season

[SnakeXe]

Got a nice chunky balance.

Good luck this season

Yeah I don't know how there were problems before (they have some big debts being repaid so I'm assuming) we're making a nice profit and still making a net spend on transfers even with the loan repayments. We've spent a decent whack on expanding the stadium and improving the training/youth facilities too. I guess before Ganso retired they'd have had him, Neymar and Rafael on around £50k each, and Diogo was on about the same as well, so the wage bill would have been a little higher.

Tempting, but not yet still I think. Firstly I'm not ready to go back to Europe yet, secondly I don't think I'll be able to tear myself away (unless sacked) if I do take that job.

I'm feeling more and more like Mexico will be my next destination, to take a crack at the CONCACAF Champions League.

[Pangaea]

Your team looks very, very good and you were close to winning the World Club tournament so maybe another crack at that would be interesting. But you did win the Libertadores which is a tough one to grab. Well done. Managing in Mexico would be fun too I'm sure. Good luck deciding what to do

[Deisler26]

That Santos team looks awesome. Congrats. To dominate, or not to dominate is the question..

[jayahr]

If you are interested in my opinion, your reports sound a bit like you are getting more and more bored with Santos. You have lots of games for which you don't field your best team, and don't need to. The only thing which keeps you from winning everything all the time are strange losses against a bogey team and the only thing left to win for you is the WCC, a competition consisting of a paltry two matches, i.e. a crapshoot.

I'd move on.

Of course, this is also self-interest from my side as your erarlier reports were more exciting

[SnakeXe]

Your team looks very, very good and you were close to winning the World Club tournament so maybe another crack at that would be interesting. But you did win the Libertadores which is a tough one to grab. Well done. Managing in Mexico would be fun too I'm sure. Good luck deciding what to do

It's far better than I thought I'd be able to build in South America I have to say, especially in just 3 seasons. Some of the players are starting to finally court interest from the teams that could actually afford to blow us out of the water though financially - Junior in particular. Either way if the next manager has half a brain they're due a massive payday from this generation at worst!

As far as I can tell you can compete in the Libertadores as a Mexican side as well, so two continental championships plus the split league season makes there plenty of titles to compete for at the top end. Plus it's another country I've not managed in before, past one season fiddling with Chivas on FM08.

That Santos team looks awesome. Congrats. To dominate, or not to dominate is the question..

Thanks

Indeed! I think my experience at Arsenal following Werder Bremen is influencing my decision a fair bit here. Having a squad that you feel comfortable with and understand isn't something you get at every team. It helps that they're excellent players of course

[SnakeXe]

If you are interested in my opinion, your reports sound a bit like you are getting more and more bored with Santos. You have lots of games for which you don't field your best team, and don't need to. The only thing which keeps you from winning everything all the time are strange losses against a bogey team and the only thing left to win for you is the WCC, a competition consisting of a paltry two matches, i.e. a crapshoot.

I'd move on.

Of course, this is also self-interest from my side as your erarlier reports were more exciting

Haha fair point! I think as I said I'm reticent to leave behind a squad I get on so well with, but it needs to be done in order to progress my career. I'll keep an eye on the Mexican jobs market whilst continuing with Santos, although it'd have to be the perfect job offer for me to leave before the end of the Libertadores I have to say - retaining a continental title is definitely something I want on my CV.

[SRL88]

Nice to be getting linked still.

[SnakeXe]

Nice to be getting linked still.

I wasn't linked with the Newcastle job, I assume because my rep is still World Class and they're mid-table. I've been linked with the AC Milan, Monterrey, Spurs, Liverpool and Juventus jobs since being at Santos though.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Another very decent season.

[Dejay]

Very good looking squad, and the bank balance is tidy.

[SnakeXe]

Season 18: Halfway House Update

The Paulista league phase went almost perfectly - we dropped just two points in the entire campaign, a frustrating 0-0 at home to Sao Paulo. The only other blot on our copybook came after beating Oeste and Corinthians to reach the final against Palmeiras, when we lost the away leg 1-0. We then produced an absolutely dominating performance at home to win the trophy for the second time under my management.

The Brasileiro started slowly with a pair of away draws against Corinthians and Guarani, before we got things going with three successive wins. Atlético Mineiro's goalkeeper decided that was all far too easy, as he almost single-handedly got them a 1-0 home win over us in the last game before this update. Still, we're just 3 points off top so no great worries yet.

In the Libertadores we drew Velez and Paraguayan side Olimpia again, but this time Mexican side Atlante made up the quartet. With the nominally toughest game in the group up first and ending 4-0 to us away in Argentina, I was feeling pretty comfortable. I shouldn't have. Atlante stunned us 2-1 at home in the next game. We got back up to speed with a brace of wins over Olimpia, before Atlante again made things difficult holding us to a 1-1 draw. Things were tight at this stage and we could actually end up going out if Velez beat us and Atlante beat Olimpia. Fortunately we held our nerve to smash Velez by the same scoreline as in the first game against them and head through to the knockout rounds.

Barcelona (ECU) were the first opponents, and they were quite frankly awful. A 7-1 aggregate scoreline frankly flattered them. Libertad of Paraguay were another soft looking touch in the quarter-final, and it certainly held for the first leg as we blew them away 3-0. I rested a few players for the away leg and suddenly they couldn't stop scoring, putting 4 past my disbelieving keeper. Fortunately we bagged a couple up the other end to make sure we went through, but the players certainly didn't get away with that one hairstyles-intact. Mexican champions Monterrey are up next after the World Cup.

The Good

• Unbeaten in the Paulista league phase
  
• Going well in the Brasileiro and Libertadores
  
• Lucas has recovered from cruciate damage to win both the player and young player of the Paulista, contributing 7 goals and 13 assists so far
  

The Bad

• Rubbish result against Atlético Mineiro
  
• We seem defensively fragile at times
  
• Evandro is suffering second season syndrome like Júnior did
  

Results 1 - Results 2 - Paulista League Table/Knockout Rounds - Brasileiro Table - Copa Libertadores - Squad

[SnakeXe]

Another very decent season.

Very good looking squad, and the bank balance is tidy.

Thanks chaps! The bank balance should be even healthier indeed in a few years time - the stadium has been expanded to 57,488 and one of the loans (the more expensive one) has been paid off.

[Pangaea]

Looks like a very good start.

[SnakeXe]

Looks like a very good start.

Thanks, it has been all quite easy so far, which probably explains the games we've lost - complacency.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens when I leave the club (which will almost certainly be at the end of the season now). Will the club:

A) Keep the squad together

B) Sell them off for massive money

C) Sell them off for a pittance

D) Somewhere between B) and C)

I'm going for D) personally. I think some players will go for huge amounts (Marinho and Júnior certainly), whilst others, perhaps a couple of the defenders and Evandro/Xaropinho will be sold for buttons. That striker who the previous manager had agreed to sell when I joined the club, Ferreira, was as good as those two and was sold for next to nothing. He's worth over £5m now despite having only made a handful of appearances for PSG. In a way I'm tempted to go back to Germany just so I can bring a load of them with me and keep guiding their careers. I guess I have to let them go though.