Gundo's FM12 European Adventure Challenge™

[Gundo]

Which leads into a question for Gundo, and others. How will the challenge have to be adjusted for the new Classic mode? Any thoughts and ideas yet?

Think the sensible thing to do will be to wait and see what the major differences are between the two game modes and take it from there. The pre-release of the game announced today two weeks prior to full game release, will be the perfect opportunity to check things out.

[XaW]

Ok, I'm half way in the winter break and after a turbulent start we managed to get a couple of wins. We are now in 8th place, just above the relegation zone. Our main problem is that we are conceding way to many goals, we've shipped 44 in 18 games so far this season, but we've atleast scored a couple of goals. Hopefully we will survive this season, and I have faith we'll manage.

[XaW]

Finished my first season. Final league position was 8th place, but as you can see, if you compare with the screen shot in my former post, I only managed 3 points from our last 9 games. We lost the last 8 games and were lucky the two teams below us didn't manage one more point as that would relegate us on goal difference.

The only player worth mentioning is our striker, Denis Krasovc, who scored his fair share of goals. This summer I need to get rid of a lot of dead weight and bring in some fresh faces if we are to survive next season.

[XaW]

XaW - Bistrica - 2013/14 - Slovenian Second League

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Finances

We actually managed to win the league this season. I've very surprised by that, but I'm also excited. As you can see from the transfer page we purged the squad quite a bit during the summer. Most of the players who was at the club when I joined left then, while many others joined us. Most notably we got a young striker, Matjaz Trop, who became top scorer and was instrumental throughout the season with his amazing 37 goals. Another great signing was our foreign player, Marlon Tordoya. His scout suggested him to me, so I gave him a trial and signed him quite quickly after that.

Financially we took a nosedive after the season as we had to rebuild our stadium to cope with league regulations. Sportni Park won't be ready before march next season, but we are going to share stadium with Maribor so attendances should rise quite a lot.

I really look forward to the next season where we can try to prove ourselves at the highest tier of Slovenian football.

Season  |      League     |  Position   |     Cup      |   Achievement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13 |  Second League  |     8th     |      -       |    Survival!   
2013/14 |  Second League  |     1st     |   1st rnd    |    Promotion!   

[johnnyquest409]

Great work XaW, good luck in the big league! 37 goals is insane! I just looked back at our seasons in the Second League, our whole team only scored 44 in the season we were promoted

[johnnyquest409]

johnnyquest409 - NK Jadran Dekani - 2018/19

Division - Slovenian First League

Media Prediction - 8th out of 10

Transfers - Four signings this season. Nafta were relegated last season and for some reason let me take their best striker off their hands yet keep paying his wages. Valasek is another Czech, an CM/AMC, Strukelj's an DL and Zulic is a young ST, won't play much this season.

So this was our first season in Europe. 3rd place in the league had earned us a place in the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League, meaning we hosted Viking of Norway first up. We played well and dominated the home leg, but only took a 1-0 lead to Norway to protect. Fortunately we held out in the 2nd leg, drew 0-0 and went through to a tie with Hearts. The first leg in Scotland felt quite even, except for the difference in finishing. A 4-1 defeat left us with too much to do, and despite a 1-0 victory at home, our first European adventure was over. Still, nice little earner to kick off the season.

The league was quite similar to last season, except that this time there were two teams clear at the top (Maribor and Rudar Velenje) and the rest of us were fighting for 3rd. Fortunately we won that battle, finishing 3rd again and securing another crack at EL qualification.

League Table - In the end Maribor won it at a canter, and also had a great season in Europe. They amazingly came through a CL group of Barcelona, AC Milan and Dortmund in 2nd place before going out to Bayern in the 1st knockout round. They're getting richer and pulling away really from the rest of us, but they dragged Slovenia's coefficient up meaning we now get two CL places next season.

Speaking of the CL, I hadn't really been paying attention who was winning each year as it was pretty irrelevant to us, but I just checked. Lyon have just won it for the third time in a row, their fifth title since the start of the game! Laurent Blanc is currently their manager and clearly working miracles over there.

We reached the QF of the cup this year, going out to Maribor 1-0 on aggregate. Better, and I feel if we can avoid Maribor we'll have a decent chance of making a final soon.

Squad stats

Key players

AMR/ST - Vit Cervenka - Good season for Cervenka, playing out on the right wing for quite a bit of it but still getting involved in the goals. Capped for Czech Republic and still improving. Fans' Player Of The Year.

ST - Nusmir Fajic - Loan signing from Nafta, and our top-scorer this season. His stats are pretty ordinary, but I guess he's just all-round decent, and that's good enough. Nafta have let him go, and although he is getting on a bit, I've signed him up for another season.

International watch - Fajic was already capped for Bosnia and still plays bit parts for them. Vejvoda (DM) became our 4th Czech international.

Finances - Profitable season overall, thanks to EL money and sponsorship.

Season  |      League     |  Position   |     Cup      |   Europe    |  Achievement   | Top Scorer (Lge)      | FPOTY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    
2012/13 |  Second League  |     8th     |       -      |             |    Survival!   | Marko Drljic (6)      | Etien Huskic
2013/14 |  Second League  |     7th     |      SF      |             |     -----      | Marko Vukelic (5)     | Admir Krsic
2014/15 |  Second League  |     7th     |   1st round  |             |     -----      | Marko Vukelic (6)     | Jerney Schwarzmann
2015/16 |  Second League  |     2nd     |   1st round  |             |   Promotion!   | Rok Smid (10)         | Jerney Schwarzmann
|		  |		|	       |             |   Turned pro   |  		      |	
2016/17 |   First League  |     8th     |   2nd round  |             |                | Dominik Ozbolt (7)    | Miha Barbic
2017/18	|   First League  |     3rd     |   2nd round  |             |EL qualification| Dominik Ozbolt (11)   | Jerney Schwarzmann
2018/19 |   First League  |     3rd     |      QF      |    EL3Q     |		      | Nusmir Fajic (15)     | Vit Cervenka

This summer for the first time we've had to sell a first-team player. GK Ladislav Fikejz has been whinging for a couple of seasons about moving on, so I've finally let him. £950k + 40% future sale to Bursaspor (Maribor had offered £1M but I wasn't letting them have him). Hertelendi will step in but I'm looking for a young replacement now too. A number of other players are grumbling about moving on (mostly the Czechs), we'll see how long I can hold on before having to cash in on them too.

[XaW]

Great work XaW, good luck in the big league! 37 goals is insane! I just looked back at our seasons in the Second League, our whole team only scored 44 in the season we were promoted

Thanks! I know it's insane, but to be honest he is way to good for Slovenian second tier.

Looks like you had a good season in Slovenia as well. Getting to Europe for the second season in a row must help both your reputation and finances. Hopefully you can make the group stage soon, that's when the big bucks start rolling in!

[johnnyquest409]

We made it to the fourth qualifying round this season, but fell just short of reaching the group stage. Stadion Ivana Gregorica appears to be an absolute fortress when it comes to Europe though, five games played now and just one goal conceded.

[Neutronen]

I would love to participate in a challenge like this but I always load too many players. I simply don't having grey players for major teams and medium sized national teams.

[XaW]

XaW - Bistrica - 2014/15 - Slovenian First League

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

A surprisingly good season. In the league we started out very poorly as we lost 5 of the first 7 games and only won once. After the initial problems we got some good matches, but soon we were back to losing matches. Going into the winter break we just around the relegation zone, but as we played some easy training matches during the break to increase the morale. That seemed to do the trick as we got a great run during the spring as we won 10 of our last 16 matches flying up the table finishing 2nd. Although Maribor ran away early on we fought bravely all the way to clinch European football at Sportni Park next season! In the Slovenian Cup we had quite some easy matches beating Dravograd, Malecnik and Sencur up to the semi finals were we met the mighty Maribor. In the first leg, away, we narrowly lost 2-1 after a late goal from the home team, but we managed to beat them 2-0 at home in the second leg to progress to the final. The day before the final we got some horrible news, as our star player Matjaz Trop got injured and couldn't play and to further our doom our playmaker Garcia Ndingha injured himself as well. The replacements couldn't match up to their skill as we lost 2-0. But runners up in the cup and second place in the First League is way better than I hoped for before the season.

Financially we are on a steady path downwards. Although we are increasing our attendances, we still don't make enough money to pay the bills. I though we were going to get some money for losing the cup final, and when I saw what we got I almost cried. A WHOPPING £71! Yes, that's correct, 71 quid. No, it does not lack a 'k' or anything, just £71. When the squad bonus we payed out was around £50k that wasn't very profitable. I can only hope we get a couple of matches in Europe next season so we might make some money of it.

Season  |      League     |  Position   |     Cup      |   Achievement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13 |  Second League  |     8th     |      -       |    Survival!   
2013/14 |  Second League  |     1st     |   1st rnd    |    Promotion!   
2014/15 |  First League   |     2nd     |  Runner up   |    Qualified for EL 

[midgetram]

Wow you're flying through the seasons XaW, and that prize money from the cup is just fantastic Do you think you can challenge Maribor in the near future at all?

johnny, congrats on getting Europe again for a 2nd year in a row. Cervenka looks like he could be a cracking player too if you can hold onto him.

[johnnyquest409]

Great work XaW, you've already done better than me in both league and cup! Once again, Matjaz Trop is just insane!

Thanks midgetram, unfortunately it looks like quite a few of my Czech cohort could be on their way at the end of the season. Cervenka, Urbanek and Vejvoda all have just one year left, and all have the same agent whose relationship with me is described as 'hatred'. None of them are interested in talking about contract extensions.

[johnnyquest409]

Hmmm, the option to sell Ladislav Fikejz's future transfer clause has come up, which would bring in £1.73m. Should I go for it, or wait it out in the hope that Bursaspor sell him for big money at some point... Decisions, decisions.

[XaW]

Wow you're flying through the seasons XaW, and that prize money from the cup is just fantastic Do you think you can challenge Maribor in the near future at all?

Thanks midgetram, I was really excited about that prize! I dunno if I can challenge then just yet. They have a far bigger squad than me, and while I might beat them in a match a whole season might be hard. Hopefully we can get some cash in from competing in Europe to better the squad.

Great work XaW, you've already done better than me in both league and cup! Once again, Matjaz Trop is just insane!

Thanks johnnyquest409, I did far better than expected this season and I hope I can keep it up this season. Matjaz Trop is amazing, but I fear I'll lose him soon. His contract is up after this season and his agent refuses to discuss a contract. He has also expressed a desire to join a bigger club, so it's looking bleak. I've gotten in another young striker who might be as good as him, but he is far from it at the moment.

[Gundo]

Is anyone planning on switching to the new 'classic' mode or sticking with career in fm13?

I think I'll be on career mode myself.

[XaW]

Is anyone planning on switching to the new 'classic' mode or sticking with career in fm13?

I think I'll be on career mode myself.

I think I'm gonna test both, but most likely it's gonna be career mode.

[XaW]

Well, my European adventure is over. I got a couple of easy matches and made it as far as the 4th qualification round where I met Newcastle Utd and lost. One thing surprised me though; I've had some injury problems and this led to one of my youth players got to fill up the bench. A tired striker forced me to sub him in and this is how he did. Great, huh? Problem is Blaz Kobal is a very poor player whom I doubt have a feature at the club. I still kinda want to hang on to him because of this game. Anyone get any players like this? Players you want to keep because they have done something special, but really aren't good enough?

[johnnyquest409]

I'll probably have a quick look/play around with Classic, but I expect when I start a long-term game I'll want it to be with the full version.

[Gundo]

Also does anyone plan to pre-order and start a long term save on the early beta release?

[johnnyquest409]

I have pre-ordered, and will have a play around with the beta, but I don't think I'll start a long term save with it - I imagine there'll be a fair few bugs in it.

[AlexLightsaber]

Also does anyone plan to pre-order and start a long term save on the early beta release?

Is the FM13 version of this challenge going to be up on the Beta release day?

[johnnyquest409]

Good news: Jadran Dekani will appear in their first Slovenian Cup final in the club's 82 year history when they play NK Maribor!

Bad news: Czech Republic and Bosnia both qualified for Euro 2020 and ten of my players have just left to join their squads, two days before the final

[Gundo]

Is the FM13 version of this challenge going to be up on the Beta release day?

Hopefully yes, I'm working on the opening post as we speak.

[Taunton]

I will do career mode in the old fashioned way.

Will it be possible to do the challenge in classic as well?

Really thinking hard about which country to choose. Probably going for Norway yet again. Are there any countries you would recommend fellow challengers?

[johnnyquest409]

Today's video blog has got me thinking about what effect the inclusion of tax rates into wages will have on this challenge. Looking at income tax rates on wikipedia, it could make the challenge even harder than it currently is in Scandanavian countries (income tax around 50-55%) but potentially quite a bit easier in Eastern European countries (10% in Bulgaria, 13% in Russia etc.). Anyway, just a thought, it'll be interesting to see how big an effect it actually has.

[johnnyquest409]

johnnyquest409 - NK Jadran Dekani - 2019/20

Division - Slovenian First League

Media Prediction - 6th out of 10

Transfers - Quite a few new faces at the club this season. I've signed Fajic permanently - he's getting on a bit but should still be useful this season. Most of the others are young players to bulk up the squad, which was looking uncomfortably thin.

Our European adventure began with a trip to Leotar in Bosnia, in the EL 2nd qualifying round. A 1-0 away win was followed by a nervy 0-0 draw at home to see us through to face Sweden's Djurgarden. A 2-1 defeat away in the first leg was made up for with one of our most dominant performances in any competition in the home leg. It finished 1-0, it should probably have been about 5 or 6, but it was just enough to sneak into the 4th qualifying round, where we were rewarded with a trip to Fiorentina. We defended solidly in the away leg, but eventually fell to a 1-0 defeat. In the home leg, we took the lead early on and doubled it with 20 minutes to go. For a brief 10 minutes it looked like we might be going through, but Adam Ljajic crushed our dreams for another season at least. Full-time a 2-1 win, but out on away goals.

League Table - Maribor's efforts in the Champions League a couple of seasons ago mean we have them to thank for there being an extra CL spot available this season. We found ourselves in 2nd by the winter break, and managed to stretch our cushion over Rudar Velenje as the season came to a close to secure a crack at CL qualification next season.

As I mentioned in my last report, Lyon had just won their 3rd CL title in a row. Well, they've now made it four. Remarkable.

Cup - As I mentioned last time, if we could avoid Maribor, I felt we could probably make a decent go of the cup. We did avoid them, until the final, where, despite taking the lead twice, we fell to a 5-2 defeat. I'm not too disappointed, we were missing a lot of players and CL qualification was already secured anyway. Still, some silverwear would have been nice...

Squad stats

Key players

AML - Martin Tesarik - One of our many Czechs, really useful left winger when he manages to avoid injury.

AMR/ST - Vit Cervenka - Another good season, particularly with assists. I've also just smashed our maximum wage to convince to stay for a few more years.

AMR - Angel Borisov - Signed over the winter break, but made an immediate impact. I haven't really had an out-and-out right winger on the books in the last couple of seasons, but Borisov has quickly made himself undroppable.

International watch - Janousek and Jurcik both capped for Czech Republic

Finances - A healthy profit thanks to the sale of Fikejz and some Euro money. The board have just agreed to upgrade our stadium and training facilities, and let us scout worldwide

Season  |      League     |  Position   |     Cup      |   Europe    |  Achievement   | Top Scorer (Lge)      | FPOTY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    
2012/13 |  Second League  |     8th     |       -      |             |    Survival!   | Marko Drljic (6)      | Etien Huskic
2013/14 |  Second League  |     7th     |      SF      |             |     -----      | Marko Vukelic (5)     | Admir Krsic
2014/15 |  Second League  |     7th     |   1st round  |             |     -----      | Marko Vukelic (6)     | Jerney Schwarzmann
2015/16 |  Second League  |     2nd     |   1st round  |             |   Promotion!   | Rok Smid (10)         | Jerney Schwarzmann
|		  |		|	       |             |   Turned pro   |  		      |	
2016/17 |   First League  |     8th     |   2nd round  |             |                | Dominik Ozbolt (7)    | Miha Barbic
2017/18	|   First League  |     3rd     |   2nd round  |             |EL qualification| Dominik Ozbolt (11)   | Jerney Schwarzmann
2018/19 |   First League  |     3rd     |      QF      |    EL3Q     |		      | Nusmir Fajic (15)     | Vit Cervenka
2019/20 |   First League  |     2nd     |     Final    |    EL4Q     |CL qualification| Vit Cervenka (7)      | Ludek Urbanek

So, Champions League qualification! In reality it means we have two cracks at qualifying for the Europa League group stage, but should at least earn us a bit of money.

Urbanek (FPOTY) has left on a free, refusing to talk about a new contract, and I've sold Helja who had one year left and had a 'match highest earner' clause which I couldn't allow to keep going. Cervenka has signed on though which is great news, and Vejvoda is hanging around despite his contract expiring, very surprised no-one has taken him. He'll now talk contracts with me but is still demanding too much.

I think we're getting closer to Maribor, they seem to be having to rebuild each season more than I do as their better players get poached, but they've got plenty of money to do so. They've spent over £8m this summer which, for a Slovenian club, is ridiculous.

Anyway, onwards we go!

[midgetram]

Congrats on finally getting CL johnny hopefully you can get your club reputation up a fair bit so you can at least negotiate a bit more with your star players, it's always a pain when your best players won't even enter contract talks at all.

And good luck in the CL, I'm guessing the draw won't be the kindest if you're in the best-placed side rather than the champions route.

[johnnyquest409]

We were drawn against Ajax, and were completely outplayed, losing 3-0 away then 2-0 at home. That shunted us into the EL 4th qualifying round, where fortunately we fared a little better...

[XaW]

Kinda god bored in Slovenia, but I can't quite expain why. Still gonna play some more and I've started again, this time in my home country Norway.

So, here is XaW, the new manager of Brodd! I chose this club, because it's a club I know nothing about and I even had to check up to see where it's located! Wikipedia has this to say about the club:

Idrettslaget Brodd is a Norwegian sports club from Stavanger. It has sections for football, handball, badminton and floorball.

The club was founded on 25 April 1913 as BK Brodd. It participated in competitions for the first time in 1915, and reached the inaugural League of Norway in 1937–38. In 1940 it merged with the former AIF club Arbeidernes TIL and took the name IL Brodd. After the Second World War, the club had sections for football, athletics, boxing, cycling, skiing and handball.[2] Most sports disappeared, with football being left standing, but after 2003 the sports handball, badminton and floorball were added.[3]

The men's football team currently resides in the Third Division (fourth tier), where its current stint began in 2008.

So, this is an old club with no honors. This could be interesting.

[Taunton]

Kinda god bored in Slovenia, but I can't quite expain why. Still gonna play some more and I've started again, this time in my home country Norway.

So, here is XaW, the new manager of Brodd! I chose this club, because it's a club I know nothing about and I even had to check up to see where it's located! Wikipedia has this to say about the club:

So, this is an old club with no honors. This could be interesting.

It was a very pleasant surprise to manage a team in Norway. So good luck to you. I am sure it will be fun.

And when you get to Tippeligaen you can hope for some economic support from the oil rich companies in Stavanger.

[XaW]

It was a very pleasant surprise to manage a team in Norway. So good luck to you. I am sure it will be fun.

And when you get to Tippeligaen you can hope for some economic support from the oil rich companies in Stavanger.

Yeah, I'm enjoying myself so far. Even though the squad I started with was horrible! The best one had one star while most only had half a star. Gotten in quite a number of good players, but a little short on defensive players. The main problem is now my wage bill as the (useless) players I stared with have a 2 year contract and way to high salaries compared to their abilities. I'll try to offload them as soon as possible, but I have doubts that another club would want them. I might release them, but I don't think the club has the finances. Anyway, so far I've beaten another 2nd division club out of the first preliminary round of the cup and played one match in the leage where I beat Vålerenga 2 away. Looking good so far.

[johnnyquest409]

Shame to hear you've left Slovenia XaW, I was enjoying the company

Having a good season so far with Jadran, Stadion Ivana Gregorica is still proving to be a horrible place for foreign clubs to visit Maribor are putting up a very good fight in the CL group stage too, they just beat Bayern Munich away from home and have a reasonable chance of some post-Christmas European football. It's looking like being a good season for Slovenia in terms of our co-efficient.

[Gundo]

I will do career mode in the old fashioned way.

Will it be possible to do the challenge in classic as well?

Really thinking hard about which country to choose. Probably going for Norway yet again. Are there any countries you would recommend fellow challengers?

Undecided on this, guess we'll just see what the general consensus is.

[Gundo]

Kinda god bored in Slovenia, but I can't quite expain why. Still gonna play some more and I've started again, this time in my home country Norway.

So, here is XaW, the new manager of Brodd! I chose this club, because it's a club I know nothing about and I even had to check up to see where it's located! Wikipedia has this to say about the club:

So, this is an old club with no honors. This could be interesting.

It's a great club to manage, spent time at Brodd myself in the past doing this challenge. Good luck in Stavanger.

[XaW]

Shame to hear you've left Slovenia XaW, I was enjoying the company

Having a good season so far with Jadran, Stadion Ivana Gregorica is still proving to be a horrible place for foreign clubs to visit Maribor are putting up a very good fight in the CL group stage too, they just beat Bayern Munich away from home and have a reasonable chance of some post-Christmas European football. It's looking like being a good season for Slovenia in terms of our co-efficient.

Sorry for leaving you all alone there, but I kinda lost the good feeling in Slovenia. Hopefully you can challenge Maribor and claim the Slovenian throne before conquering Europe.

It's a great club to manage, spent time at Brodd myself in the past doing this challenge. Good luck in Stavanger.

Thanks, enjoying it so far even though we are struggling.

[XaW]

XaW - IL Brodd - 2012 - Norwegian 2nd Division Group 2

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

This was an oddity of a season. We started out very slowly losing 6 of our first 10 league matches while only managing 2 wins. After that we seemed to find our form and went the remaining 16 league matches of the season unbeaten! Because of our slow start we didn't manage to regain the lost ground to fight at the top, but we gained enough ground to finish a comfortable mid table position. The main problem this season have been our goalkeeper. The ones I started with only managed half a star, but I struggled to find a capable goalie. In the end I found one, but he was only barely better than the ones I had. By then I had spent most of my wage budget so I was reluctant to spend the last on a keeper I'm unsure of. The best players this season has been the offensive players in our strikers Røsten Håkon(database error? Håkon as a last name?), who was initially a backup for Stian Stenehjem who injured himself, and Thomas Andersen. Our wingers, Ole-Martin Skagevang and Martin Balsvik, were also instrumental this season. I have to feel sorry for Stjørdals-Blink this season, they only managed 3 point through the whole season and that was in the last match! Yes, they lost 25 matches in a row to get relegated! I managed to get a double against Stavanger this season winning both matches in adition to them getting relegated. Looks like I'm the 3rd best club in the region after Viking and Sandnes Ulf (unless there are other clubs in the area that I'm unaware of). EDIT: That should be atleast 4th as Bryne comes to mind...

In the Norwegian Cup we managed to get past the Preliminary round as well as the Preliminary final before losing 1-3 in the 1st round against Løv-Ham from Adeccoligaen.

The problem with my budget is that the players who started out here have contract through the 2013-season so I must hang on to most of them yet another season before I can offload them. This has also made a huge impact on our finances this season as we lost loads of cash. The wage budget is stretched to the limit while we left our transfer budget alone. On the positive side we are the team in our division with the highest average attendance this season. Our board even had a fan day to increase it, and they were smart about it as well! They picked Stjørdals-Blink as the opponent and we beat them easily 3-0.

My hopes for the next season is continuing the good form as long as possible and maybe press for competing in the top if we get in a better goalkeeper. I also hope to get a bit further in the cup.

Season	 Division	Position     Cup	Top scorer	      Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012	2nd Div Grp 2	  6th	    1st rnd	Røsten Håkon(14)      Mid table

[XaW]

XaW - IL Brodd - 2013 - Norwegian 2nd Division Group 3

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

For some reason we were moved from Group 2 to Group 3 this season, which meant we were up against a whole bunch of new teams. We started the season strong, but couldn't shake Vindbjart as they followed us throughout the season. We were lucky a couple of times when we lost or drew as Vindbjart also lost points against easy opposition. In the end we managed to end top of the table and gaining promotion. I've swapped out many players this season as evident from the screenshot of our transfers, but for the most part we strengthened well throughout. Our strikers really showed their worth this season, but Thomas Andersen must be the cream of the crop this season. A vital player at both defensive and offensive set pieces pared with an ability to be at the right place at the right time gave him loads of goals this season. At the start of the season I was unsure whether to play him or not as he is quite old and slow, but pared with Røsten Håkon up top he played his heart out for us. One of our main challenges last season were our goalkeeper, but I managed to find a great one in Gard Aarvik. Aarvik, along with defenders Ståle Tveit and Aleksander Bakken, have managed to keep the conceded goals to a minimum. Our central midfielder have bossed most matches thanks to the passing of Jørgen Løken and Deniz Payasli. This season my heart goes out to Kopervik who didn't manage a single victory the whole season, but still got a point more than Stjørdals-Blink did last season.

In the Norwegian Cup we started out in the 1st round this season and managed to beat Mjøndalen before losing 0-2 to Tippeliga outfit Stabæk in the 2nd round.

Financially it might seem like we are crashing down. Well, we are, but that's the board fault as they decided to install under-soil heating at our stadium. It comes at the hefty price of about £750k and put us severely in debt. Hopefully we'll get some of it back for playing in Adeccoligaen next season. I've managed to get rid of a couple of players from our reserves, but some are still hanging out there. Most of their contract runs out before the next season starts, so that should help out nicely. Still, that might only even out to the wage bumps most of the players get from promotion.

My hopes for the next season is simple; survival!

Season	 Division	Position     Cup	Top scorer	      Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012	2nd Div Grp 2	  6th	    1st rnd	Røsten Håkon(14)      Mid table
2013	2nd Div Grp 3	  1st	    2nd rnd	Thomas Andersen(26)   Promotion

[Taunton]

I like the name Røsten Håkon. Maybe he is related to King Haakon?

[XaW]

I like the name Røsten Håkon. Maybe he is related to King Haakon?

More like Håkon Håkonsen? Heheh, I think it's a database error as the name Håkon Røsten seems more correct to me.

[XaW]

XaW - IL Brodd - 2014 - Adeccoligaen

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

A truly great season for us. I were only hoping for survival when the season started, but when we started out with 4 wins I started to hope for something more. Fredrikstad kept around us and soon overtook us for the top of the table. We tried our best to keep up, but with Brann at our heels we were struggling. As the season progressed we managed to stay in the contest for promotion, but it was a very close race. If one would look at the final table, it would seem as though we had it under control for quite some time since we ended 9 points ahead of 2nd placed Fredrikstad. But the truth is that we were 3rd only with only 7 games left. At that point I thought we were gonna lose out since we had gone 5 matches without a win. A quick team meeting sorted that out and we won our next 6 matches while Fredrikstad and Brann lost their form. As last year, our best player have to be our veteran striker, Thomas Andersen. This season he has been greatly assisted by winger Samuel Isaksen and midfielder Ove Nielsen. Defensively, we've seen some great performances from Steinar Strømnes and Chris Gombessa amongst others.

In the Norwegian Cup we started out in the 1st round this season and managed to beat Vindbjart, Træff, Strømmen, Lillestrøm and Sogndal on our way to the semi finals were we were up against Molde. We did our best, but they proved to much for us as we lost 3-0.

Financially we are much better than the previous seasons thanks to our cup run and our win in Adeccoligaen. We made money almost every month and the reason we aren't higher is because our board once again decided to do something with our stadium. This time we are gonna increase the capacity with 2775 seats. While it's building we are gonna play at Vikings stadium.

My hopes for the next season is even simpler than last season; try to survive!

Season	 Division	Position     Cup	Top scorer	      Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012	2nd Div Grp 2	  6th	    1st rnd	Røsten Håkon(14)      Mid table
2013	2nd Div Grp 3	  1st	    2nd rnd	Thomas Andersen(26)   Promotion
2014	Adeccoligaen	  1st	    Semis	Thomas Andersen(29)   Promotion

[Taunton]

XaW - IL Brodd - 2014 - Adeccoligaen

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

A truly great season for us. I were only hoping for survival when the season started, but when we started out with 4 wins I started to hope for something more. Fredrikstad kept around us and soon overtook us for the top of the table. We tried our best to keep up, but with Brann at our heels we were struggling. As the season progressed we managed to stay in the contest for promotion, but it was a very close race. If one would look at the final table, it would seem as though we had it under control for quite some time since we ended 9 points ahead of 2nd placed Fredrikstad. But the truth is that we were 3rd only with only 7 games left. At that point I thought we were gonna lose out since we had gone 5 matches without a win. A quick team meeting sorted that out and we won our next 6 matches while Fredrikstad and Brann lost their form. As last year, our best player have to be our veteran striker, Thomas Andersen. This season he has been greatly assisted by winger Samuel Isaksen and midfielder Ove Nielsen. Defensively, we've seen some great performances from Steinar Strømnes and Chris Gombessa amongst others.

In the Norwegian Cup we started out in the 1st round this season and managed to beat Vindbjart, Træff, Strømmen, Lillestrøm and Sogndal on our way to the semi finals were we were up against Molde. We did our best, but they proved to much for us as we lost 3-0.

Financially we are much better than the previous seasons thanks to our cup run and our win in Adeccoligaen. We made money almost every month and the reason we aren't higher is because our board once again decided to do something with our stadium. This time we are gonna increase the capacity with 2775 seats. While it's building we are gonna play at Vikings stadium.

My hopes for the next season is even simpler than last season; try to survive!

Season     Division    Position     Cup    Top scorer          Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012    2nd Div Grp 2      6th        1st rnd    Røsten Håkon(14)      Mid table
2013    2nd Div Grp 3      1st        2nd rnd    Thomas Andersen(26)   Promotion
2014    Adeccoligaen      1st        Semis    Thomas Andersen(29)   Promotion

What a season! Congrats with that. Crossing fingers that you will do well in the Tippeligaen. You have had an amazing run with Brodd I have to say.

I have actually played against Samuel Isaksen. He is from the same town as me. Good player.

[XaW]

What a season! Congrats with that. Crossing fingers that you will do well in the Tippeligaen. You have had an amazing run with Brodd I have to say.

I have actually played against Samuel Isaksen. He is from the same town as me. Good player.

Thanks! I'm very surprised that we did so well, but I'm not complaining! Still, the promotion might be a bit early for us, since the board STILL don't want to make us professional! Yes, we are playing as semi-professional in Tippeligaen this year! My total wage budget this season is a wooping £10.5K! Gonna be tough to stay up and I almost expect us to be relegated this season.

Funny you played against him, I had to let him go before this season as he demanded way to high a wage for his ability. Is he this greedy in RL aswell? The only top player I ever played against is Daniel Braathen and he was impossible to stop.

[Taunton]

Thanks! I'm very surprised that we did so well, but I'm not complaining! Still, the promotion might be a bit early for us, since the board STILL don't want to make us professional! Yes, we are playing as semi-professional in Tippeligaen this year! My total wage budget this season is a wooping £10.5K! Gonna be tough to stay up and I almost expect us to be relegated this season.

Funny you played against him, I had to let him go before this season as he demanded way to high a wage for his ability. Is he this greedy in RL aswell? The only top player I ever played against is Daniel Braathen and he was impossible to stop.

It will be a major achievement if you manage to stay up. looking forward to your next update.

Daniel Braathen was immense yesterday against Switzerland, cool that you have played against him. I don't think Samuel Isaksen is very demanding IRL, he is religious and a humble person. FM gets out the worst of him:D

[XaW]

It will be a major achievement if you manage to stay up. looking forward to your next update.

Daniel Braathen was immense yesterday against Switzerland, cool that you have played against him. I don't think Samuel Isaksen is very demanding IRL, he is religious and a humble person. FM gets out the worst of him:D

I'll try my best, but it will be tough! Just played a couple of matches so far and doing better than expected, but the condition of my players is horrible! Most of the team finished matches at about 40-50% and not fit for the next match.

Doesn't FM get out the worst of everyone?

[Taunton]

Doesn't FM get out the worst of everyone?

That's what my wife thinks, I'm sure.

[djclark boy30]

decided to give this another shot thill new game comes out so here i amDavid Clark new manager of Yverdon-Sport FC

[johnnyquest409]

johnnyquest409 - NK Jadran Dekani - 2020/21

Division - Slovenian First League

Media Prediction - 3rd out of 10

League

For the first time since arriving in the top flight, the media are predicting a top-half finish for us, behind only Maribor and Rudar Velenje. I was confident we could finish above the second of those, but it might still be some time 'til we catch Maribor. They again sold a lot of players in the summer, but have replaced them with a number of very impressive looking French youngsters - they look as strong as ever.

We started the season fantastically, unbeaten in the first 11 games until we travelled to Maribor. We kept pace with them through to Christmas, but after the break they stormed away to another title. We held off Domzale to secure back-to-back 2nd places, though this time it's only enough for Europa League qualification.

League Table

Cup

Finally, after 9 seasons, we have our first piece of silverwear of any kind! Beating Domzale, Aluminij and Maribor on the way to the final, we edged past Bela Krajina 1-0 in the final, thanks to a late Lukas Malina goal.

Europe

Now for the real highlight of the season. Europe didn't start well this year, with a tough draw against Ajax in the CL qualifying. They completely outclassed us, winning 5-0 on aggregate without breaking a sweat. That defeat shunted us into the Europa League 4th qualifying round, where we travelled to Russia to face Lokomotiv Moscow. We fell to a late goal in Moscow, but stunned our opponents when we brought them back to Stadion Ivana Gregorica, thanks in principle to Angel Borisov's hattrick.

That put us in the group stage for the first time, where we were drawn alongside Tottenham, HSV and AZ Alkmaar. We won our first match, at home to AZ, but then lost away to Spurs and HSV, before somehow coming up with this result at home to HSV. We then came from behind twice to stun AZ away.

Three wins from the first five games left us 2nd behind Spurs going into the last game, just a point ahead of HSV. HSV were playing AZ at home, so it looked like we'd need to be Spurs to go through. A draw would leave us with 10 points but if HSV won, it wouldn't be enough.

We kept things tight early on against Spurs, but with the score at 0-0 and the game heading towards half-time, our full-back Jan Janousek hacked down his Czech compatriot Vaclav Kadlec to receive a straight red. Restricted to counter-attacks to find a goal, Spurs pushed on in the 2nd half but couldn't create that one chance to kill us off. Then with 10 minutes to play, we created the one chance we needed, and unlike Spurs, we took it. A counter down the right broke to Vit Cervenka, who, with the keeper closing him down, squared to the unmarked David Prokes, to slot into the open goal. We clung on to win 1-0, and astonishingly finish top of the group.

Our European adventure was stopped abruptly by Porto after Christmas (5-1 on aggregate) but obviously this still goes down as a huge success.

Squad stats

Transfers

Key players

ST - Vit Cervenka - Most goals, most assists, most MOMs. We clung on to Cervenka by doubling our maximum wage at the end of the season, and he's repaid us instantly. He was phenomenal before Christmas in particular, and finished as top scorer in the league. He's also won First League Player of the Season, the first non-Maribor player to do so for 6 years.

AMR - Angel Borisov - His first full season. He assisted a lot of Cervenka's goals, and scored quite a few himself, including two hat-tricks. He missed the last two months of the season with injury, hopefully he'll come back fit and fighting.

International watch - We have our first Slovenian international in Jernej Schwarzmann, who gets his first cap at the age of 26. Delighted for him, he's been with us longer than anyone and has played more games for us than anyone else.

Finances - Looking pretty good here, thanks to Europe and the sale of Vejvoda. He's a big loss, but wasn't interested in staying.

Season  |      League     |  Position   |     Cup      |   Europe    |  Achievement   | Top Scorer (Lge)      | FPOTY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    
2012/13 |  Second League  |     8th     |       -      |             |    Survival!   | Marko Drljic (6)      | Etien Huskic
2013/14 |  Second League  |     7th     |      SF      |             |     -----      | Marko Vukelic (5)     | Admir Krsic
2014/15 |  Second League  |     7th     |   1st round  |             |     -----      | Marko Vukelic (6)     | Jerney Schwarzmann
2015/16 |  Second League  |     2nd     |   1st round  |             |   Promotion!   | Rok Smid (10)         | Jerney Schwarzmann
|		  |		|	       |             |   Turned pro   |  		      |	
2016/17 |   First League  |     8th     |   2nd round  |             |                | Dominik Ozbolt (7)    | Miha Barbic
2017/18	|   First League  |     3rd     |   2nd round  |             |EL qualification| Dominik Ozbolt (11)   | Jerney Schwarzmann
2018/19 |   First League  |     3rd     |      QF      |    EL3Q     |		      | Nusmir Fajic (15)     | Vit Cervenka
2019/20 |   First League  |     2nd     |     Final    |    EL4Q     |CL qualification| Vit Cervenka (7)      | Ludek Urbanek
2020/21 |   First League  |     2nd     |    Winners   |  EL 1st KO  |    A trophy!   | Vit Cervenka (22)     | Vit Cervenka

We look like losing a couple of more players in the summer, winger Martin Tesarik and full-back Jan Janousek. Both have contracts expiring and neither want to talk to me.

Our stadium is now a massive 3,750 all-seater beauty, and our training and youth facilities are being upgraded.

We've managed to get Gorica as a feeder club, which is helping us give some younger players some game time. As far as I can tell there's no restriction on the number of loans so we'll probably ship quite a few out to them next season.

Oh and XaW, you'll be pleased to note that winning the cup doesn't bring in much money either. A whopping £247!

[XaW]

Grats on a great season johnnyquest409! 2nd place behind Maribor is great, considering how dominant they are. Winning the cup will hopefully increase you rep as well as your great run in Europe. Great payout for the cup win! But your European stint should help out financially, I would assume?

You think you might challenge Maribor for the league next season? Or are they too far ahead?

[XaW]

XaW - IL Brodd - 2015 - Tippeligaen

Table | Past Positions | Transfers | Squad | Finances

Before the season started I was pretty sure we were going to be relegated since we still are semi-professionals in a league of professional teams. Turns out, I was wrong. We played pretty much as well or better than most teams, but our achilles heel was the condition of our players. I frequently had to start with player who were far from fit, but all in all the players have been tremendous throughout the whole season. We started well enough, but hit a couple of slumps in form evident of our past positions. In the end, though, we managed to hang on to the top and finish in an amazing 3rd place. This means we are going into Europe next season. I've tried asking the board several times this season to go professional, but they still claim we don't have the finances to do it. Still, with over a million pounds in the bank we should consider it. The board have decided to expand our stadium again this winter to get 750 more seats. They also agreed to improve our youth facilities, but they will not be finished by the 2017 season. In other news, Stabæk have had a takeover by a consortium who claims the will invest heavy into the club. They haven't done anything yet, but it's gonna be interesting to see what they are planning.

In the Norwegian Cup we managed to beat Kopervik, Rosseland, Ørn Horten and Brann on our way to the quarter finals were we were up against Vålerenga. We almost did it, but lost 4-3 in the end.

Our starting 11 this season:

GK: Muralha - Solid season, but concedes a couple of goals he shouldn't.

DR: Olav Fretland - One of our weak spots. Considering swapping him out before next season.

DC: Felipe Montes - Mr. Consistency. Never a bad game, but not many outstanding performances either.

DC: Steinar Strømnes - Great season. Kept our defense together.

DL: Raul Tisza - Our best defender. Ran up and down his side all season long.

MR: Joseph Ngalle - Goes from very good to very poor. Still popped up and scored some crucial goals to secure a couple of wins.

MC: Federico Arduini - The defensive motor in the midfield. Did his job great and even assisted some goals

MC: Ólafur Frímannsson - The playmaker of our team. Struggled a bit at first, but gained momentum towards the end of the season.

ML: Marek Svec - Not a traditional winger, but essential to the team. A very good season.

SC: Olivier Mbemba - Our top scorer this season, but I was hoping for more goals from him.

SC: Igor Tadejevic - Came in halfway through the season to replace our aging striker Thomas Andersen and delivered in style!

We've also gotten a couple of interesting youngsters through our own ranks. Two of them have already gotten matches and I'm very excited for them. Atle Tveit (YP1) came trough last season, but were forced into the squad this season because of our lack of right wingers. Did well enough, but I'm unsure if he have what it takes. Just before the season ended we got our new youth intake and two players excite me. Most of all Rune Hole (YP2). He also got a couple of matches as most of our strikers were out injured. He didn't have a huge impact, but I have high hopes for him. Our other talent is Runar Sand (YP3). I'm not sure of him either, but he was the best of the rest.

Financially we quite solid now. We are making loads of money since we aren't going professional yet. Gonna keep pestering the board about that.

My hopes for the next season is a midt table placement and enjoy our stint in Europe. Also, become professional!

Season	 Division	Position     Cup	Top scorer	      Achievements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012	2nd Div Grp 2	  6th	    1st rnd	Røsten Håkon(14)      Mid table
2013	2nd Div Grp 3	  1st	    2nd rnd	Thomas Andersen(26)   Promotion
2014	Adeccoligaen	  1st	    Semis	Thomas Andersen(29)   Promotion
2015	Tippeligaen	  3rd	    Quarter	Olivier Mbemba(13)    Qualified for Europa League

[kingjericho]

I have a suggestion to include in the game setup instructions.

An alternative way to see what teams have been promoted to the bottom playable league is to check the nation overview screen and check the promoted teams to the bottom division.