[FM13]40 Years of Management and I End Up In Bloody Crewe

[DazRTaylor]

Ouch!!!!

[noikeee]

That's an extraordinary injury crisis indeed. Doing well considering it then, will be a bit of a miracle if you hang on and still qualify for the Libertadores again.

[Mike7077]

You've done a magnificent job at Chapecoense. I wonder how much further you can take them.

[snootyjim]

Brilliant work, very impressive across the board until those injuries struck. Not much you can do really but hang on and hope it doesn't harm you too much.

Robertinho does look like a top prospect - would you really sell him even if he was happy at the club?

[AcidBurn]

Ouch!!!!

My thoughts exactly.

That's an extraordinary injury crisis indeed. Doing well considering it then, will be a bit of a miracle if you hang on and still qualify for the Libertadores again.

I am not confident we will finisher any higher than 6th or 7th.

You've done a magnificent job at Chapecoense. I wonder how much further you can take them.

Thanks, I think we are about as far as it is possible to take them. If I fail to get into the Libertadores this year and cannot get there next season either then I'll look to move on.

Brilliant work, very impressive across the board until those injuries struck. Not much you can do really but hang on and hope it doesn't harm you too much.

Robertinho does look like a top prospect - would you really sell him even if he was happy at the club?

Thanks dude, I think I might have peaked with Chapecoense the financial difference is too much to make up. I would sell Robertinho if the offer was good enough, we're talking upwards of £20 million. As things are if I want to have any transfer budget then I need to sell a player a season for a decent profit.

[AcidBurn]

First Division

A disappointing season overall given our finishing positions over the past few seasons the injury crisis played a big part in it but it can't be totally to blame. The last 5 matches really nailed us on to finish in a lower position than we have for a few seasons. We only managed to get into form for 3 matches with 3-1, 3-1 and 3-0 wins but that was against sides we should be expecting to beat as easily as we did. Robertinho was decent as was Sablich once he recovered from his injury and he is a player I'd like to bring back for next season. There's not much more to say really.

Brazilian Cup

This is getting predictable now, we lost against Goias but we came back to win the home leg comfortably 3-0 with Gege a player I have come to really appreciate scoring twice to set us off. Internacional who beat us in the final a couple of years a go were easily beaten by us over both legs in what was two of my best victories in all my time with Chapecoense. Next up after drawing 0-0 against Itabaiana I thought it would be a struggle but we won 1-0 to go through in a match that we dominated. We then faced in the final Flamengo who we knocked out in the semi-finals a couple of seasons a go. I was quietly confident and Robertinho put us in front after only three minutes but it was not to be as they equalised meaning we had to win at their place. We failed despite playing well and crashed to our three successive Brazilian Cup final defeat. It's just not meant to be is it?

Best 11

I was happy with my strike force of Sablich we was pretty brilliant in the States but only decent in the First Division. Robertinho played loads of games and although this might burn out some players he has progressed quite a lot in his first full season here. As you can see from the number of games some players played we had to overcome some serious issues with injuries and a lack of rotational options.

Is the end approaching?

Well for this coming season we have been given a pathetic £400,000 to spend and we sit only £14,000 under our wage budget. I have decided to sell one of my top youngsters Silva for £8.25 million to Sevilla this gives me £4 million to improve the side. I am pretty sure that next season will be my last as Chapecoense boss as I am starting to feel I have taken them as far as I can. I feel like I need a change as the constant changing of my side and lack of any funding despite us having a bank balance of £14 million is starting to annoy me. I will however consider staying if I somehow manage to get into the Copa Libertadores but that is unlikely.

[JackJCFC]

Hows your club rep doing in Brazil so far?

[AcidBurn]

Hows your club rep doing in Brazil so far?

We are three stars and have the 7th highest reputation in Brazil but that has no effect as we don't have any money. The most worrying thing is the league reputation has dropped from three stars to two and half, this has seen the TV money fall from £5.9 million a season all the way to £3.3 million for my side and any of the others who have no individual TV deal. For example Flamengo and Santos both get around £48 million a season in TV money.

[JackJCFC]

Is there no way for you to get TV deals or is that just not incorporated in the game to happen?

[AcidBurn]

Doesn't happen I could win the league for the next 50 seasons back to back and still only get the small amount of money all the littler clubs get.

[JackJCFC]

Kind of ruins the whole aspect of managing in Brazil a bit. Shame.

[AcidBurn]

Players Out

We are in desperate need of money so it was time to move out Silva for £8.25 million, he is the best defender that has ever played for Chapecoense and I'm sure he'll become world class but we need a bunch of players in so he had to go. Feijao kicked up a fuss about wanting a new challenge so he was shipped out for £2.5 million bit of a shame as he notched up 210 matches and 30 goals for Chapecoense and was also a product of the youth academy. Gege was getting too old at 32 and wanted a pay rise to sign on for an extra year so I got rid for a decent £1 million. The trouble is the board being as tight as they are only gave me 40% of my sales to fund rebuilding the team.

Transfers In

Nicolas Sablich

Signed again on loan I really liked having him partnered with Robertinho up front but couldn't afford to sign him on a permanent deal.

Marcia

Little bit slow but very strong mentally another loan deal I think he could be a decent signing.

Luis Valdiva

Nothing special just a back up GK as we only had one at the club, free transfer but won't play much at all.

Andres Lopez

More to make up the numbers than anything and gives me the chance to rest the better CB's when we play the weak sides in the State Championships.

Antonio Alvarez

Lacks pace but is pretty good everywhere else should challenge the established CB's for a starting place.

Dramane Samabaly

Can play a number of positions which is always useful for a team like us.

Elias

Not the greatest but will challenge for a place in central midfield, will also help having him around for games against lower level opposition.

Flavio

I needed a winger in case I decided to go with wide men this season so I grabbed Flavio on loan.

Jose Augusto

Very fast which is useful at AMC if set up right, worth a risk on a loan deal paying only a small part of his wage.

Lopes

Bit of a targetman as back up to Sablich.

State Championships First Phase

Breezed the first phase goals flying in from everywhere and reasonably good at the back. Only Figueirense and Avai made any real trouble for us as Figuierense snatched a draw at our place, the Avai game was close as we trailed 2-1 at home until two late strikes from Flavio helped us retain our unbeaten record. In the semi-final we faced surprise package Metropolitano(SC) who we beat easily but the final was probably the most pleasing State match I have ever taken charge of a complete domination and spanking of Avai in truth it could have been even more than it was.

State Championships Second Phase and Final

We scored a lot once against and we were reasonable in defence for most of the season. Joinville played even better than us during the league fixtures beating us 1-0 in a tight game and after we dispatched of Figuierense in the semi-final it was Joinville who beat us in the 2nd phase final. Despite them having the upper hand in the last two fixtures when things really counted in the final we came through relatively easy with a 4-1 aggregate win.

Disappointingly the defeat against Joinville ended our impressive streak in this competition, despite playing a lot of easy matches our team never seem to overlook any opponent and don't become complacent.

First Division

Well it's gone better than I thought it would and we somehow find ourselves sitting in second position. Our only losses have come early on in the season and everything has clicked. My only concern is we are currently experiencing an injury crisis not as bad as last seasons but not far off. To be honest the last 10 matches we have been extremely lucky not to lose them some late goals have given us victories or draws against Vitoria, Vasco, Guarani and Araguaina. I'm not sure how much longer we can ride our luck but hopefully we can until the end of the season! Fatigue is catching up and I think we'll be lucky to finish in the top 6 but who knows. The 7-2 spanking of Internacional was splendid to see especially considering we had two goals ruled out and we could have scored 10.

Why couldn't it have been a tycoon?

[DazRTaylor]

Terrific stuff mate.

[snootyjim]

I'm a bit ahead of the updates I guess, but what a match! Must've been a heck of a rollercoaster.

[AcidBurn]

I'm a bit ahead of the updates I guess, but what a match! Must've been a heck of a rollercoaster.

It sure was, the most annoying thing was we were losing 6-5 and would have gone through on away goals but they scored in the 90th minute knocking us out. It'll be posted up tomorrow anyway.

[b101]

great progress there Acidburn - nice to see you can get such quality in on loan . Best of luck in the second half of the season

[AcidBurn]

great progress there Acidburn - nice to see you can get such quality in on loan . Best of luck in the second half of the season

Cheers dude, there's plenty of quality on loan trouble is they play well then we can't afford to buy them.

[deltablue]

Very good stuff in the league!

[B.W.G]

Shame about the financial side of things but cracking start you've made,very impressive win over Internacional.

[AcidBurn]

Terrific stuff mate.

Cheers dude.

Very good stuff in the league!

Thanks but my next update may not be as good.

Shame about the financial side of things but cracking start you've made,very impressive win over Internacional.

I've moaned about it a lot but the finances are really annoying.

[AcidBurn]

First Division

Fatigue caught up with us again and we slid down the table to finish where we finished last season. Some terrible defeats 5-2 against Botafogo, 4-1 against Fluminense who are a great side 3-1 at home against Guarani who aren't a great side and very little in the way of good wins. It was nice to do the double over Internacional but all a bit pointless really as we never made it into the Copa Libertadores again. I am extremely disappointed that my gamble of selling Silva to fund buying a better all round side didn't really pay off.

Brazilian Cup

Well at least we didn't have the heartbreak of losing in another final. For some reason there was no return leg against Avai maybe they just gave up after we destroyed them in their own backyard. Fernando finished off the next opponents in both legs as I rested important players for that match and the matches against Aguia de Maraba. Next up was Gremio who we thrashed at their place 5-2 in one of the only high points of the season. Palmeiras however really stuck it to us beating us at home and then really beating us at their place.

Copa Sudamericana

We only just squeezed past fellow Brazilians Sport Recife in the 2nd prelim round then faced Ecuadorian side Barcelona(ECU) they were easily put out by the now main man Robertinho. Then came what must have been brilliant viewing for the neutral we somehow beat Boca at our place 2-1 then came a stupidly high scoring match. The scoring went 2-0 to them after 3 minutes, 2-1, 3-1, Boca missed a penalty, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 6-5 and then in the 90th minute they scored to make it 7-5 and to send them through, if we'd have held on we would have gone through on away goals damn it!

Best 11

Sablich and Robertinho were the main men this season and both really stood out from the rest. Jose Augusto and both Fernandos were pretty good as well but most of the loan players look impossible to sign. As you can see from the number of games the main players played rotation is not really possible at this club. 34 goals from the teenager was great to see with his strike partner for most of the season Sablich grabbing 27. Defensively we were okay at least average rating wise but there are many areas that will need to be improved to challenge for the top five again.

End of an Era

So after 910 games at Chapecoense I have decided to resign. I am proud of what I achieved at Chapecoense winning a few State Championships and taking the club from the 3rd Division to having the 7th highest reputation in all of Brazil. I am disappointed I couldn't bring home one of the Brazilian Cups and losing in three finals in a row was and is hard to take. I am ready for a change and a new challenge. The budget for the upcoming season was pitiful again and with the Brazilian First Division reputation dwindling for unknown reasons this has led to the TV money dropping. I just feel I peaked as manager of this club when we broke into the Copa Libertadores places, I am tired of rebuilding the team every season. I have kept a save in case I return but managing Chapecoense had become less enjoyable due to the financial issues, lack of ambition from the board and we struggle to draw a crowd of over 10,000.

A 50 percent win ratio is not bad considering the relegation season and the only just staying in the First Division seasons. Worryingly I've paid nearly £6,000,000 to those greedy agents over the years and spent £16,000,000 in total but recouped that and more by selling players worth £19,500,000 worth most of it from Silva to Sevilla. Conceding over 1,000 goals in 910 games is not that impressive and that Cup wins section should have at least a 1 in it but never mind.

What's Next?

Ideally I'd like to venture to the MLS as I enjoyed it on previous FM's but I'll settle for a couple of seasons at a big Brazilian club before moving to another country.

[b101]

Great effort at Chapecoense Acidburn, don't blame you at all for leaving given the TV money situation. Interested to see where you end up

[AcidBurn]

Great effort at Chapecoense Acidburn, don't blame you at all for leaving given the TV money situation. Interested to see where you end up

Thanks, we could only compete by selling a player every season for a decent amount of money, I just got fed up of it all to be honest.

[AcidBurn]

So the next step in my managerial career is as boss of Flamengo and look at all that cash! I don't see this being a long stop no more than 2 or 3 seasons as I wait for something in the MLS to come up that interests me. As you can see this is the sort of financial power I had to compete with as manager of Chapecoense. Just the one sponsorship deal is more than all Chapecoense's entire yearly income not to mention to huge TV deal. Despite all the money the highest Flamengo have finished is 3rd since the start of the game.

Robertinho

One of the first things I did upon getting the job was to go straight to Chapecoense and spend £23 million on Robertinho who as you can see is progressing nicely. I'm not sure if they will spend the money wisely but I really hope the new manager is given a good chunk of it to help with their survival.

[Mike7077]

14 years at one club. A rarity in this day and age, but especially in Brazil. Fantastic work at Chapecoense. You built a club.

Interesting move. Flamengo operate on a whole different level.

[AcidBurn]

Thanks I enjoyed my time at Chapecoense but felt a change was needed. Flamengo are a huge side and the board want Copa Libertadores qualification and I'll want to challenge for the title. I'll post some pictures of the squads best players tomorrow some time, there are some top class player but I'd say there are 3 or 4 sides mainly Santos and Fluminense who are much better.

I'm also proud of the fact that I am the only legend in the history of Chapecoense.

[snootyjim]

I was about to ask if you were planning to buy Robertinho

You didn't wait around on that one!

[AcidBurn]

I was about to ask if you were planning to buy Robertinho

You didn't wait around on that one!

I made sure I moved to a club that could afford him lol. After a bit of negotiating he was a Flamengo player 9 days into Flamengo career.

[Shrewnaldo]

Hope you don't get homesick for the old club!! I often find it difficult to leave, particularly within the same save, when I've had a really long term game like that.

Looking forward to what you can do with Flamengo though! Have you looked at the fixtures to see when you play Chapecoense? Hope you don't send them down on the last day of the season...

[psychonaut]

Great work with the Chaps! Flamengo look like a class side, enjoy the challenge - wish I had a projected balance of £96M at my club.

[Mike7077]

Ant - I assume you already know how it went at Flamengo? You're still ahead in your actual gameplay, right?

[AcidBurn]

Ant - I assume you already know how it went at Flamengo? You're still ahead in your actual gameplay, right?

I've completed one full season as Flamengo boss I'm not sure I'll be here long it doesn't feel right. Why do you ask?

[Mike7077]

Just wondered. I don't feel right asking you about how you feel about something if it's well in the past and you already know how things panned out.

[AcidBurn]

I know what you mean, I like to stay half a season ahead, at one point I was too far ahead so I switched to only two or three updates a season.

[JackJCFC]

Good luck at Flamengo, 23million must be a record for domestic transfers in Brazil?

[AcidBurn]

Good luck at Flamengo, 23million must be a record for domestic transfers in Brazil?

Cheers, it's the highest a Brazilian side has ever paid for a player, Internacional signed a Brazilian striker from Rennes for £17.75 million apart from that there's not been many big transfers.

[JojoVillaHursty]

Great going at Chapecoense AcidBurn, when you do finally make the jump to the MLS Philadelphia is my recommendation

[b101]

Robertinho looks excellent - and the money's certainly a lot better. Will be interesting to see the MLS when you do move there, haven't ever seen a North American save before

[AcidBurn]

Great going at Chapecoense AcidBurn, when you do finally make the jump to the MLS Philadelphia is my recommendation

Robertinho looks excellent - and the money's certainly a lot better. Will be interesting to see the MLS when you do move there, haven't ever seen a North American save before

I'm determined to make it to the MLS as soon as I can there's quite a few clubs listed as rich in the MLS although due to the way the transfer work out it's not a huge advantage.

[AcidBurn]

Best Players

Renato

A quite brilliant player great technique, tackling and passing surely makes a very very good deep play maker.

Oscar Olivera

Not the best physically but his other attributes more than make up for it, if I was staying long term he'd need replacing soon due to age.

Felipe

The star of the show at this club a brilliant player attribute wise but is quite injury prone and has an awful strike rate for Brazil, how can someone manage a guy with attributes like this and make him score once in 22 matches?

Zulu

A great youngster and one I expect will earn plenty of international caps, great attributes and still only 21. Has the potential to be a real class player at Flamengo for years to come.

Carlos Eduardo

Bit slow but he's the main man at the back and has been for a few years. Hopefully he can carry on the form he's shown for the the last couple of seasons and he'll be an important player for us.

Adriano

He's not the best player out there and is 30 years old but seems to have a natural goal scoring knack about him seems to score in bursts.

Transfers In

Silva

Young and full of potential he arrives for £6,000,000 from Gremio I think he'll develop well and become a solid first team player.

Robertinho

Already posted about him the guys brilliant simple as that.

Ivan Shitrit

Bit of a strange name decent youngster only signed on loan to cover during the State and rotate in the league if needed.

Rio State Championships Opening Stage

Similar to the State Championships I played at Chapecoense but split into two groups with the top two from each going through to a play-off, then like the other States the winner of the opening and closing stage play-off's compete for the overall winner of the State. From what I can tell the opening stage means we play every side once in our group and in the closing stage we play every side from the other group once.

I joined after the draw with Duque de Caxias and my start wasn't that impressive against Madureira but then things clicked and we scored plenty of goals to make sure we got into the top two for a play-off place. There we faced Fluminense who we beat in a very close game before facing Vasco in the Open Final, another close game that we managed to just about win.

Rio State Championships Closing Stage and Final

A record to match and better rivals Fluminense during the league anyway, goals flying in from everywhere and hardly conceding but then we had to go up against them and couldn't repeat what we'd achieved in the opening stage semi, they were just too good for us. After we squeezed past Botafogo on penalties we were ripped apart three times by our closest rivals. I think this might mean winning the league from them will be hard to achieve. I'm surprised that Adriano has played better than Felipe and struck up a good partnership with Robertinho in a potent poacher and deep forward pairing.

First Division

A strange start, we've only lost a couple of matches one against Itabaiana without sounding arrogant that's a team we should be looking to beat most of the time. Apart from the Bahia match we really struggled for goals for the first few matches and then boom a 5-1 win over Corinthians saw everything click and the goals started to flow allowing us to catch right up with Fluminense who we now only trail by a single point. If we can keep scoring this many goals and being reasonably tight at the back I see no reason why we can't challenge for the title. I was delighted we beat Fluminense 3-1 at our place. I faced Chapecoense at our place and easily beat them despite the fact that they took the lead very early on. Robertinho scoring twice against his former club to ensure our victory.

First Division and a feeling of guilt over the relegation of Chapecoense

We gave it our best shot but winning the last 8 games in a row was not enough to stop Fluminense from winning another league title. We had a cracking game with them a 4-4 draw and I am happy with our effort but too many draws are what cost us in the end. I returned to Chapecoense to slaughter them 5-0 when they really needed a win. I think we need to strengthen in a few areas for next season but it's hard to tell exactly where we were decent enough at the back and up front we scored more than any other side in the league.

Although we didn't officially relegate Chapecoense our 5-0 beating of them meant that they needed to overturn a huge goal difference to stay up and this is the table after our result against them. Believe it or not at one point I contemplated throwing the match to give them at least a chance of surviving. I couldn't really throw the game because we were still in with a slight chance of winning the title, if I'd have been 7 points behind I would have fixed the match. They are however in good shape financially since I left the side has been ripped apart and they've sold £40 million worth of players so if somehow they can get promoted again they'll be in a healthy position.

The End Already?

It's hard to explain I'm not really feeling it at Flamengo and not totally enjoying the experience, I think I really need a change. So I've decided to see out the Copa Libertadores campaign next season which will mostly play out during the Rio State Championships then I will resign. I know it'll mean a short spell at the club but I really need a change of country and to take on a new project rather than taking charge of a club that's already there so to speak.

[deltablue]

Well, you had a good run at Chap-whatever.

[AcidBurn]

Well, you had a good run at Chap-whatever.

Thanks, that's exactly how I spelt it when I first took them over.

[B.W.G]

Good first season at Flamengo and it's also good to see that you signed Robertinho.As for Chapecoense,they should of matched your ambition!

[JojoVillaHursty]

Guessing Robertinho will be staying in Brazil when/if you move to the Mls considering the amount of money available, unless he gets listed/released of course?

[AcidBurn]

Good first season at Flamengo and it's also good to see that you signed Robertinho.As for Chapecoense,they should of matched your ambition!

The lack of financial backing during my time was frustrating and now they're relegated.

Guessing Robertinho will be staying in Brazil when/if you move to the Mls considering the amount of money available, unless he gets listed/released of course?

No MLS club could afford him unless his contract runs out and even persuading him to leave Brazil for the MLS would be hard work.

[AcidBurn]

We had a few players makes it into the team of the year I was surprised at Shitrits inclusion as I think he's just been okay and nothing that special. Carlos Eduardo was solid at the back for us all season and scored four goals as well. Olivera gets into the right back position after a decent season. Robertinho makes it so spending £23 million was pretty justified really.

Within our best 11 everything was pretty great really some high averages for the season. Three players hitting over 20 goals each is a good sign for any side and 35 year old Carlinhos also bagged 16 goals not bad for an old man. This shows it's a bit hard to know where to strengthen the side as every position played great over the season. It'd be a case of bring in some youngsters and a few players for rotational purposes.

Robertinho claims the top goals scorer award with 22 goals, you'd think with all the brilliant players playing up front in various sides that 22 goals wouldn't be enough to become the top scorer but it was.

Felipe got the best player award, I didn't realise he'd played that many games as he seemed to be injured quite a bit here and there.

Dimba also picked up player of the year and obviously if you're young and you win the player of the year you'll end up also winning the young player of the year as well. I think he was the surprise performer of the season because he doesn't really have much about him apart from a lot of pace.

[AcidBurn]

Rio State Championships First Phase

Couldn't have gone better we destroyed nearly every team put in front of us during the league phase. Goals galore and another signing from Chapecoense Chagas also made a decent impact for a teenager especially in the match against lowly Bonsucesso. We even managed a 1-0 win over Fluminense in the league and after a narrow win over Vasco we could repeat our league form and crashed out in the phase final 2-1 against Fluminense.

The match against Fluminense in the league phase also smashed the record attendance for the Rio State. With such huge crowds it's no wonder Flamengo have such a huge bank balance.

Rio State Championships Second Phase

Disappointing second half to the season including a draw with Madureira and a loss against Vasco. We found some form at times but especially the thrashing of Botafogo but it all meant nothing when we couldn't put away Vasco in the semi-final and crashed out on penalties.

Rio State Championships Second Phase

Two draws at the end meant it was a nervous ending to the group stage but we managed to sneak through. Colo Colo actually have some quality players a striker I tried to sign but they wanted £40 million for! I faced Boca again and lost at their place but got revenge in great style as we demolished them 7-3 at our place with Robertinho leading the way. We drew Pachuca in the 2nd round and it was all practically over after the home leg. We them went on to play fellow Brazilians Internacional who we beat 4-0 at home but got a bit of a beating at their place 3-1. Then came the matches against Fluminense and the inevitable loss that usually follows against them in the bigger matches, after a 0-0 bore draw at home I had a good feeling that we would go out and we did with a 3-1 loss.

So I stayed for the Copa Libertadores campaign and now comes my time to leave, I wasn't really feeling it here and as such decided it was time for a big change. I may come back to Brazil at some point in the future but being here for so long the State Championships have become a real chore rather than something I enjoy. It annoyed me more so in my Chapecoense time that you finish the domestic division and then would have to play another 20 matches before you can follow up on the previous season.

[AcidBurn]

I waited only a month before finding a job that interested me, I turned down Reading, Sunderland, Stoke and Everton before deciding to take the job as Philadelphia Union manager. I felt the time wasn't right to go to England although the Sunderland offer did tempt me due to me supporting them in real life. Philly are one of six team listed as rich in the MLS, they have a Russian tycoon in charge who won't let the bank balance drop below £34,000,000. But a tycoon in the MLS is only really there to ensure the club doesn't go bust, build up the facilities and enable big wages to be offered for designated players.

[JackJCFC]

Good luck in the MLS, shame the tycoon cant do much but it cant hurt!

[deltablue]

Good luck in Philly.