Thunderbird Delta: International Footballing Rescue

[B.W.G]

East Anglia making everyone else look bad in the league

[deltablue]

East Anglia making everyone else look bad in the league

It's the footballing hotbed right now

Apr 2064

Bayern 2-1 Ipswich (CL QF)

I was worried about the trip to Bayern in the CL, and it was a very nervous start but Rahimzadeh gave us the lead in the 42nd minute. We actually had a few chances to get another, but then they firmly regained control Alex saved a penalty but they equalized in the 67th minute, and got a winner later. However it wasn’t too bad a position to come back from.

Reading 2-1 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to Reading before the home leg, and clearly weren’t too bothered as a terrible display saw us 2-0 down after 11 minutes. An injury to Topuz and red card for Sivebaek didn’t help matters but we got a goal back from Ingo Meyer in the 62nd minute even if we couldn’t equalize.

Ipswich 4-0 (5-2) Bayern (CL QF)

We thankfully improved against Bayern after an unimpressive start. Tapparello gave us the lead we needed in the 28th minute, followed by Ingo Meyer 5 minutes later. A single goal from them would still take the tie to extra-time but a second Ingo Meyer goal in the 57th minute made it more comfortable and Tapparello even got a 4th goal with a few minutes left.

Ipswich 2-0 Norwich (PRM)

Norwich were now level with us again (though we had the better goal-difference this time) going into the crucial home derby. Julian Mayer had been restored to the team for the Bayern game and given us the lead from a penalty in the 17th minute, then Alex saved one of theirs, which was of questionable legitimacy anyway. Ingo Meyer made it more comfortable just before half-time. We each had a player sent off in the second-half (Norwich having already gone down to 10 men) but there were no more goals.

West Ham 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

The curse of West Ham seemed to return as we had a few chances then went down in the 22nd minute. They had a goal disallowed on the stroke of half-time as it could have been even worse. They were at least our equals for most of the match, to give them their due, but it was frustrating coming so close to equalizing a few times later on, and having a penalty claim rejected. Thankfully Norwich only drew at Villa so missed their chance to go level again.

Ipswich 0-1 Man City (FA SF)

We had two semi-finals coming up, starting in the FA cup against Man City. Unfortunately it wasn’t one of our better games, especially defensively, where it had become worryingly common of late for at least one defender (Walter being the main culprit, Hilton previously) doing badly and costing us, and they took advantage to take the lead in the 10th minute. We eventually sparked into life but couldn’t convert chances into an equalizer, aside from a late disallowed Tapparello goal.

Ipswich 2-1 Dortmund (CL SF)

I hoped we’d do better at home against Dortmund in the CL, especially as I felt the other two semi-finalists, Milan and Lyon, would be beatable opponents in the final. However we had reached 4 Europeans semi-finals before in both competitions and lost them all, in fact we’d lost all 4 matches at this stage in the CL. Unfortunately that record might well continue as Dortmund have some of the strongest players in the world, and one of the few sides I think could be better than us.

I was very worried early on, as we had many chances but couldn’t score, and they had a penalty late on the first-half. Thankfully Alex saved, keeping up a strong streak of saves (I think this makes it 5 in a row or something). Ingo Meyer gave us the lead at last in the 50th minute, but I wasn’t sure a goal would be enough. We had more chances and should have been 2 or even 3 goals ahead, and then they equalized in the 86th minute. Ingo Meyer managed to still give us the win, but it was still just a goal to take to Germany, and they had an away goal. Still, a first leg win was a first leg win, and we still had a decent chance.

Ipswich 3-0 Bolton (PRM)

No matter what distractions we have I expected a win against bottom side Bolton in the league. Thankfully it was as easy as I hoped. Tapparello gave us the lead after 10 minutes, with Ingo Meyer getting a second. Tapparello scored again a few minutes into the second-half to finish off a 3-0 win.

Dortmund 1-1 (2-3) Ipswich (CL SF)

If ever we needed the defence to hold firm, it was at Dortmund. Whoever won would face Lyon in the final. They took the lead in the 13th minute, which as things stood would see them through on away goals. We then had a good spell that we needed to make the most of, and Rahimzadeh equalized after 35 minutes. Not only did it give us the aggregate lead again, but it cancelled out their away goal. If they scored again they’d take it to extra-time, which I didn’t fancy but it meant we’d still be in it. I knew we were unlikely to get another, so it was all about holding out. They didn’t have any particularly strong periods of pressure, but they still had some chances as I looked on very tensely, and when the final whistle blew I celebrated just as much as if we had won the thing outright.

What a climax to the season is in store. We may look fairly comfortable in the league but things are far from certain. We go to Aston Villa and Everton, then are at home to Man Utd on the last day, which isn't good given we're lost our last two league away games against opponents we'd expect to beat. Norwich also go to Everton, then have a trip to Aldershot, and their final day game is at home to QPR, definitely an easier run-in and one that leaves them in a good position to make the most of it if we drop a few points.

Both sides also have a cup final to look forward to. It would have been great to face them in the FA cup final, but they're free to enjoy that while we have a far bigger occasion to look forward to. I was starting to worry that I'd never write this, but Ipswich are in the Champions League final!!!! East Anglia is definitely the place to be for a football fan these days. Lyon have a few seriously dangerous players, so it's definitely going to be as tough as you'd expect from the occasion, but otherwise I think we're at least their equal.

[b101]

Good to see you still going well - also nice to see Civilisation V on the toolbar

[deltablue]

Good to see you still going well - also nice to see Civilisation V on the toolbar

It's been going better than ever. Only played once Civ session since installing it on this laptop, played it quite a bit overall though.

May 2064

Aston Villa 0-1 Ipswich (PRM)

The league run-in started at Aston Villa. Ingo Meyer gave us the lead in the 42nd minute, and despite a strong performance we couldn’t get another. However it was what we needed, and a defeat for Norwich at Everton sealed the title anyway, which did make the end of the league season rather anti-climactic.

Everton 0-4 Ipswich (PRM)

With the pressure off we cruised to a great win at Everton. Rahimzadeh gave us the lead in the second minute, and Ingo Meyer also scored in the 10th. A quick Tapparello brace late on gave us a 4-0 win in the end.

Ipswich 1-0 Man Utd

Man Utd was the last league match, and I was hoping for a winning and to the season. We got it thanks to a goal from Ingo Meyer in the 15th minute, though we also had a goal disallowed from Tapparello.

Ipswich ?-? Lyon (CL Final)

That left the biggest game of all, the CL final against Lyon. Unfortunately after a fairly injury and suspension-free season we lost Collet and Lecaillier to injuries in the final few weeks of the league season. Hill, who was coming in for Collet, then got a knock against Man Utd which meant he wouldn’t be fully fit. I was training Dornebusch to play there but even if he was anywhere near ready he also picked up an injury so there weren’t any alternatives. We lined up with Alex in goal, Diez and Walter at full-back, Sivebaek, Julian Meyer and Rahimzadeh in the centre, Karanja and Soury in midfield, Hill on the wing and Ingo Meyer and Tapparello up front. Aquilanti, Diallo, McMillan, Stein, Santunione, Topuz and Hilton were on the bench.

Lyon had easily topped a group featuring Galatasaray, Valencia and Debrecen, then beaten Man City, Barcelona and Milan in the knockouts. They had also been runaway league winners in France with 97 points, though only had two more titles wins in the previous 12 years. We had a bit of history with them in Europe. When this team was still being built we played them in the CL Semis and lost both games, then in the Europa League quarter-finals where it was our turn to win both games, and finally they did the double over us in the CL group stage a few years back.

The game started rather quietly, and then they started pushing, but on a break Ingo Meyer got the ball, took it past the Lyon keeper and into the net for 1-0, as we suddenly found ourselves in the lead! They still had the Lyon’s share of the chances but just before half-time Walter broke free, had no one near him as he charged through their half and let off a rocket of a shot for 2-0, though Lyon would have felt that the score would be the other way around. Walter may have been a defensive liability at times this year, but all was forgiven for that goal. I was still cautious going into the second-half, but oddly enough only then did we have our first major spell of pressure. There were still a couple of vital saves for Alex to make before we secured it!

Rahimzadeh won ‘Best Player’ of the competition, with Alex, the sadly absent Lecaillier, Diez, the also absent Collet and Ingo Meyer joining him in an Ipswich-majority Dream Team.

Oh yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We did it, we’re European champions. I was worried this day would never come, we’d challenge but keep falling before the final, but I knew we were good enough. We didn’t have an easy ride by any means getting holders Real Madrid in the group stage, as well as Bayern and Dortmund in the Quarters and Semis, and Lyon were never going to be the easiest of opponents in the final either, so we’re very much here on merit! I hope you’re reading this Mattias333, Ipswich rules England and Europe!

I was worried that we’d come close to winning all 4 competitions but not win any of them. We had fallen to a very unlucky defeat to Liverpool in the League cup final, ditto for Man City in the FA Cup semis. The second-half of the league season had been far from impressive so we might well have lost that before Norwich slipped away, and of course the CL isn’t a competition you ‘expect’ to win. Thankfully better depth, disciplinary record and splitting of playing time across the squad (as Diallo, Julian Meyer, and even Ingo early on lost their ‘preferential’ status and had other players often playing instead, so they weren’t burnt out late on) meant we were able to succeed where we had failed before despite such a busy season and claimed the two big trophies!

As someone who’s mainly a European club manager the CL is always going to be my holy grail, and finally I have it I feel a sense of mission accomplished. At this stage of the year with FM14 coming up I was always going to carry on until I won, then do one last season to try and win the CWC (admittedly not that important but there’s still a nice charm in being able to officially consider yourself the best side in the world) and try and go out with a bit more glory at home and abroad. It’s certainly been a long journey, but it’s almost time to end. When next season is over I can retire a very happy manager indeed.

Squad Stats

Star player: This is rather silly but I'm going for all 11 players from the CL final. It's a bit tough on Lecaillier and Collet who couldn't play in that game but I think those that did deserve the all the credit they can get.

[deltablue]

As promised to greekgeorge, here is how Luton have done. Firstly here is their league table from last year.

And their league record from latest seasons first.

And even their best few players...

I trust that'll do you nicely As you can see they returned to the league almost instantly, and have spent a majority of their time in League 1, but with a couple of decent Championship stints as well. No doubt this is much better than you expected. Anyone else want to know how a team has done or what's been happening in a competition?

[greekgeorge]

Congrats on winning the CL!

Thanks for the Luton update, that was much better than I expected. They almost made it to the Premier League in 2055!

Maybe in a few more decades...

[B.W.G]

Congrats on the CL win

[AK22]

Ipswich Town Champions of Europe Brilliant stuff!

[Raware]

Wow! What a season! A throw back to the days of Bobby Robson. Surely you're on the clubs legends list?

[deltablue]

Congrats on winning the CL!

Thanks for the Luton update, that was much better than I expected. They almost made it to the Premier League in 2055!

Maybe in a few more decades...

Congrats on the CL win

Ipswich Town Champions of Europe Brilliant stuff!

Wow! What a season! A throw back to the days of Bobby Robson. Surely you're on the clubs legends list?

Thanks everyone, it's certainly a very sweet feeling. Robson never won the league or European cup, but we're both 'legends'. I don't know when I went on, given how much I've won but with two 'interegnums' and a sacking maybe knocking me down a bit as well. There are also 8 former or present players of mine in the list (Joao Silva, after whom the stadium is named after, Akachar, Julian Meyer, Bailey, Tomada, Sequeira, Alioui and Karanja)11 icons (Rios, Stele, Lavie, Samaniego, Ingo Meyer, Re, Diallo, Bigot, Vellios, Martinez and Teunis) and all 4 'favoured' (Sivebaek, Stein, Cupak and Faisca). Not bad going, a few of those even date back to the days of in the Championship, which really brings home how much of a journey it's been. No doubt some of those names ring a few bells for other people as well.

[withnail316]

Just caught up with this. Mental reading.... well done on the Champions League win!

Lovely stuff.

[deltablue]

Just caught up with this. Mental reading.... well done on the Champions League win!

Lovely stuff.

Thanks, it's been great but it's soon to come to an end.

Aug 2064

Ipswich 2-1 Norwich (CS)

My final season started against Norwich in the community shield with the Olympics denying us a few players along with a couple of injuries. They took the lead in the 3rd minute from their star forward Everett, with a shot that left Alex standing. However it was his 35th minute own-goal that allowed us to equalized, followed a few minutes later by Diallo giving us the lead, as the German hoped to take advantage of an injury to Tapparello to reclaim his spot in the side. Like the last derby it was pretty dirty, Karanja getting sent off before one of their players got a straight red.

Ipswich 2-2 Liverpool (PRM)

The league season started against Liverpool, and against we went behind, after 15 minutes. Diallo equalized, and needed to do so again before the break as they retook the lead. We went on the offensive in the second-half but couldn’t get a winner.

Tottenham 3-1 Ipswich (PRM)

We were clearly starting the season in disappointing fashion and went behind again at Spurs. Diallo equalized early in the second-half but they resumed their pressure and got two goals later on.

Ipswich 2-1 Sevilla (ESC)

I hoped we’d do much better against Sevilla in the European Super Cup. For the first time this season we took the lead, from Diallo in the 17th minute, and he scored again on the stroke of half-time. They scored early in the second-half and dominated the rest of the match but we were able to stop them equalizing. We got a tough CL group with Bayern, a rich Panionios side who had made some big bids for a few players of ours recently, and Benfica.

Sept 2064

Leeds 0-4 Ipswich (PRM)

After just 1 point from the first 2 league games we needed to start getting wins. Diallo (still the only player to have scored for us) gave us the lead in the first minute, and had another before the break. Stein finally gave us a different scorer this season, followed immediately by Diallo completing a hat-trick, giving him 9 of the 11 goals scored this season so far.

Ipswich 2-1 Panionios (CL)

We started the CL campaign against a strong Panionios side, and took a 2-0 lead in the first-half from Stein. They pulled a late goal back, followed by Stein getting sent off, and Walter had a goal disallowed in stoppage time, which would have made a welcome 3rd name on the list of scorers this season.

Grimsby 1-4 Ipswich (PRM)

Stein made up for his sending off by giving us the lead after a couple of minutes at Grimsby, then set up Diallo for 2-0 in the 10th minute. Hill added some much-needed variety to the scorers list less than 10 minutes later. They scored a 64th minute penalty, ending Alex’s run of saves, but Stein finished off a 4-1 win just afterwards.

Norwich 1-2 Ipswich (LC)

We’d play Norwich at least 4 times this season as we went to them in the League Cup. We were easily the better side in the first half and got a deserved lead from Diallo after 35 minutes, however Everett quickly replied for them. They had the upper hand in the second-half but a 77th minute Diallo penalty saw us through.

Ipswich 5-0 Telford (PRM)

Our league revival continued with an easy game against Telford. Diallo gave us the lead in the 4th minute, but it was only in the second-half that we started to shine. Ingo Meyer finally opened his account for the season (benefiting from a Stein injury) with a brace, followed by another from Diallo, and Dornebusch finished off a 5-0 win.

Oct 2064

Bayern 2-2 Ipswich (CL)

We went to Bayern for the toughest CL group game. We had lost to them in the away leg of the quarter-finals earlier this year, and it was no surprise that we were 1-0 down at half-time this time, to a 28th minute goal. The defenders came to the rescue. Lecaillier equalized in the 53rd minute, then McMillan gave us the lead later on. Unfortunately we couldn’t quite hold on to what would have been a fantastic win, as Sivebaek went off injured late on and that snatched an equalizer right at the end, but it was still a good result.

Ipswich 0-1 West Ham (PRM)

We took a bit of a hit in the league against West Ham. Diallo’s form had disappeared horribly but even then we should have got a goal or two. Then they struck an undeserved winner in the 79th minute. I can’t wait to see the back of them.

Aston Villa 1-3 Ipswich (PRM)

I wanted to avoid slipping up again at Villa, and very much got my wish as Ingo Meyer gave us the lead in the 19th minute. Diallo soon got another, and Ingo Meyer made it 3-0 just before half-time. They got a goal back after 50 minutes, but couldn’t get another despite the fact we went down first to 10 men, then 9.

Benfica 3-3 Ipswich (CL)

Things went badly at Benfica as they took the lead in the 23rd minute, then Julian Meyer got sent off. Ingo Meyer equalized in the 54th minute but they resumed their offensive and went 3-1 up. It looked bleak but we managed to snatch a draw thanks to a fight-back and goals from Ingo Meyer and Topuz.

Ipswich 6-0 Man City (PRM)

Man City was a key game in our quest to get back into title contention, and I was amazed how easy it was. It turned into a shooting game between Diallo and Ingo Meyer, with Topuz helpfully supplying the bullets. Diallo struck first, in the 19th minute, but Ingo Meyer immediately followed. Diallo then went on to complete a hat-trick, with Ingo Meyer eventually getting his own with goals either side of half-time, and we could easily have had at least one more after that.

Northampton 1- 4 Ipswich (LC)

We went to Northampton in the League cup and saw them off easily enough. Diallo gave us the lead in the 14th minute and scoring again 8 minutes later, taking his tally to 20 goals in 15 games. Lecaillier added another shortly before the break. They pulled one back early in the second-half but Ingo Meyer finished off a 4-1 win with a couple of minutes left.

It's not been a massively convincing final season so far, but West Ham is our only defeat since Spurs in the second league match so we're not that far off form recently. It's going to be a busy year so we need to work hard to keep it up.

[deltablue]

Nov 2064

Everton 2-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Diallo’s good form continued at Everton as he gave us the lead after 5 minutes, then set up Ingo Meyer. However they looked threatening in the second half, eventually scoring in the 72nd minute, then getting an equalizer.

Ipswich 4-0 Benfica (CL)

We had tricky games coming up, starting against Benfica in the CL. They were actually a lot easier than they were in Lisbon. Hill crossed for Rahimzadeh to head home in the 19th minute, then the winger got one of his own. Diallo and Ingo Meyer joined in the fun late on with a goal each as we won 4-0.

Ipswich 4-0 Arsenal (PRM)

Arsenal were also surprisingly easy. Diallo gave us the lead at the start, and though he soon had another disallowed, he completed a hat-trick late in the first-half. Rahimzadeh added a 4th goal in the 72nd minute.

Ipswich 6-0 Norwich (PRM) :D :D :D

The home derby was our 3rd game against Norwich of the season, but we lost Diallo to injury for a couple of months in the international break just before. Thankfully we managed just fine without him. Topuz gave us the lead in the 20th minute, and Lecaillier extended it 5 minutes later. Ingo Meyer got a 3rd before the break as it was clear we were going to make it 3 wins from 3 over them so far this year. Tapparello eventually made it 4-0 in the 72nd minute, followed by two more Ingo Meyer goals. As far as final league derbies go, it was a pretty sweet one.

Panionios 1-1 Ipswich (CL)

We only needed a draw in Greece to secure qualification for our CL group. Pinga had a very early goal disallowed, and it was frustrating to see them go ahead in the 28th minute. Our attempts at coming back were severely hampered by Ingo Meyer having a severe off-day but Hill gave us the equalizer we needed in the 66th minute.

Aldershot 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Rahimzadeh gave us the lead in the 6th minute at Aldershot, but otherwise it wasn’t one of our better games. They equalized in the 28th minute and we didn’t do a very good job of trying to get a winner.

Ipswich 2-0 Telford (LC QF)

We cruised into the League cup semi-finals against Telford. Tapparello was the star as he gave us the lead in the 20th minute. He had another a few minutes into the second-half and was unlucky to have a late 3rd disallowed.

Ipswich 4-0 Hull (PRM)

Stein gave us the lead with a 6th minute penalty against Hull, followed 20 minutes later by Tapparello. We continued to take them apart after the break, with Topuz and another Stein goal giving is a 4-0 win in the end.

Dec 2064

Ipswich 1-0 Bayern (CL)

We were at home to Bayern in the last CL group game, even though they were guaranteed first and us second, in fact the only thing that could change in the group is Benfica getting the Europa League spot if they beat Panionios by more than 1 goal. We were helped by the fact that they played a few youngsters, though still had most of their most dangerous players, and Stein’s goal in the 19th minute gave us a narrow win. Red Bull wasn’t a bad draw in the next round.

Southampton 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We hadn’t been travelling well at all this season, with just 4 wins in 10 games in all competitions, and Southampton was just the sort of opposition we’d been failing against. Not easy, but still teams we should be beating. The first half was life-less, and just as we looked to be waking up in the second-half they suddenly struck with the only goal of the match as we had yet another mediocre away-day.

Ipswich 2-1 Chelsea (PRM)

We couldn’t afford to waste a game against league leaders Chelsea, though they took the lead after 5 minutes. Ingo Meyer managed to equalize in the 35th minute but they still looked the superior side and we were pushed very hard at the back. Ingo Meyer managed to give us the lead in the second-half but they could have easily had an equalizer or even a winner.

Reading 1-3 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to Reading before heading off to the CWC. They took the lead in the 9th minute and I was dreading another bad away result. However a penalty for Julian Meyer allowed us to equalize in the 22nd minute, and Tapparello gave us the lead before the break. They still caused a lot of trouble until Ingo Meyer managed to make it safe.

Ipswich 8-0 Sakai (CWC SF)

Sakai were our opponents in the Semi-final. It took quite a bit of time and chances before Tapparello gave us the lead in the 32nd minute, but Walter followed up a few minutes later. Tapparello scored each side of half-time to complete a hat-trick, and got a 4th sandwiched between a brace from Hill. Lecaillier volleyed in a corner with a couple of minutes left to finish off an 8-0 win.

Ipswich 2-0 Santos (CWC Final)

Santos were our opponents in the final, and had an early goal disallowed. Ingo Meyer gave us the breakthrough in the 23rd minute, and while they had a few chances, we were definitely on-top and deserved our second goal from Hill with 10 minutes left. Unfortunately we lost both Tapparello and Rahimzadeh to injury for 2-3 months, while Topuz and Hilton got knocks and would be out for up to a couple of weeks, very busy weeks at that.

Ipswich 5-0 Tottenham (PRM)

Ironically being in the CWC gave us a week’s break that we wouldn’t normally have at this stage of the season, before we returned to league action against Spurs. Stein got the ball rolling after 15 minutes, followed by Ingo Meyer before the break. Stein completed a hat-trick by the hour mark and Hill later gave us a 5-0 win.

Stockport 0-3 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to Stockport on New Year’s Eve, which wasn’t a great way to spend it. McMillan obviously couldn’t wait to get started on the Hogmanay drinking and gave us the lead in the 6th minute. Ingo Meyer made it more comfortable in the 33rd minute, and before the break their keeper (who had been the first choice here when I returned 10 years ago) put the ball past himself and we ended up winning 3-0. Best of all, despite still having two extra games left to play we were still above Norwich and just 2 points off top.

The end of year awards saw Rahimdazeh and Diallo starting in the World Team of the Year, with Alex, Lecaillier and the two Meyer’s on the bench.

Jan 2065

Ipswich 2-0 Lincoln (FA)

We had an easy tie against Lincoln in the cup. Ingo Meyer gave us the lead in the 3rd minute, but despite plenty of chances, the only other goal was from Pinga in the 65th minute. However it was comfortable enough for me.

Chelsea 0-2 Ipswich (LC SF)

Far trickier would be two trips in a row to league leaders Chelsea, the first in the League Cup. We took control of the tie early on, with Ingo Meyer giving us a 1st minute lead, and Stein making it 2-0 in the 12th minute. We could easily have had a 3rd but still looked good to reach a 3rd final in a row.

Chelsea 0-3 Ipswich (PRM)

The league game mattered just as much. We were clearly the better side from the start, though it wasn’t until near half-time that Stein gave us the lead. He scored twice more as we got a far easier win than I’d ever hope we’d get. We were now top of goal difference with 3 games in hand over them!

Ipswich 6-0 Leeds (PRM)

Our strong form continued against Leeds, with Ingo Meyer getting us started in the 24th minute, then setting up Stein. McMillan and Collet made it 4-0 at half-time before the two forwards got another goal each in the second-half.

Ipswich 6-0 (8-0) Chelsea (LC SF)

We played Chelsea yet again in the home leg of the League cup semi, looking like we’d go through after a 2-0 away leg win. Ingo Meyer gave us the lead in the 20th minute, and within 5 minutes Stein and Walter had made it 3-0. After an hour, another quickfire double from Ingo Meyer and Topuz made it 5-0 and Ingo Meyer completed a hat-trick and an 8-0 aggregate win at the end.

Ipswich 4-0 Leeds (FA)

We played Leeds again (meaning we played either them or Chelsea in the past 5 games!) in the cup. Having torn them apart just a week ago, it was disappointing to have a goal-less first half, but we soon fixed that. Ingo Meyer gave us the lead in the 49th minute, and a couple of minutes later Stein had a penalty saved but pounced on the rebound to score anyway, and Ingo Meyer got another goal just 5 minutes after his first. Ingo Meyer completed a hat-trick and 4-0 win. We also set a new club record of 12 wins in a row.

Ipswich 5-0 Grimsby (PRM)

Our impressive run continued against Grimsby, with Sivebaek giving us the lead in the 8th minute. Ingo Meyer, Stein and an own-goal made it 4-0 by half-time, and Stein scored once more with 15 minutes left.

Telford 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Surprisingly we were relatively subdued at bottom club Telford, but Ingo Meyer gave us the lead just before half-time, and got another near the end.

I was worried for a while, as we seemed to be stumbling rather badly away, cancelling out some incredible wins. However we soon got over that and now have 14 wins in a row in all competitions. Even better was the size of a lot of those wins, and the strong sides some of them were against. The Norwich win was especially fun. I have at least once finished a season with an even greater goal difference than points total, (though that was a long time ago and with Bayern), and it's amazing seeing the same this here for now, as well as being top with multiple games in hand.

We're competing for 7 trophies this season, and currently have 3, though they are the relatively unimportant ones. I have high hopes of the league and the League cup as Barnsley should be managable opponents in the final. Looks like I'll be finishing the career off on a very good year indeed.

[deltablue]

Nice goals per game ratio! Here's to a stellar finish

Thanks, I was going to have this finished yesterday but I've been without power for almost two days (It's literally only returned in the last 10 minutes).

[elbilly]

Congratulations on another title and the European success you've deserved mate. I did leave a message a few days ago but the backwater shack I was staying in only had internet when the wind was blowing in the right direction, back to normal city life again and I can see that you have had a very nice recovery from that shaky start, Ipswich the world's best team!?!? By 2064 anything is possible

[deltablue]

Congratulations on another title and the European success you've deserved mate. I did leave a message a few days ago but the backwater shack I was staying in only had internet when the wind was blowing in the right direction, back to normal city life again and I can see that you have had a very nice recovery from that shaky start, Ipswich the world's best team!?!? By 2064 anything is possible

Oh yes, I really was worried after the first couple of games, but it's fair to say we really found our groove eventually. I find it odd that you hadn't said anything, especially as I had seen you had been reading, and was especially amazed not to see anything when power returned yesterday evening (there was a massive storm that hit Southern and Eastern England on Sunday night that caused a lot of disruption with trees and power, the lines running down to the house were actually broken!) Can now bring this to a close this evening at last.

Very nice end to the season, congratulations on total domination It looks that amazing form is set to continue as well! Could I request to see how FC Halifax are doing please?

It did continue to 19 wins in a row eventually (I was able to play a little bit on battery power while the power was cut off, even though doing so almost halved the usual battery life). As for Halifax, it's nothing too exciting. Spent a decent bit of time in the BSP (though rarely lasted very long) which is something you might be pleased with, but otherwise been solidly BSN. Indeed this season looks very 'mid-table'.

[B.W.G]

Love the goal scoring record,hopefully your finish to the season will be one to remember!

[deltablue]

Love the goal scoring record,hopefully your finish to the season will be one to remember!

It certainly looks like it!

Feb 2065

West Ham 0-1 Ipswich (PRM)

West Ham were as troublesome as ever in London, not helped by both Ingo Meyer and Diallo being injured. However Stein broke through in the 57th minute to make it 15 consecutive wins now.

Ipswich 1-0 RB Salzburg (CL)

I had high hopes of the home leg against Red Bull in the CL, but we were fairly lifeless in the first half, not helped by Collet being poor and Dornebusch going off injured. We battered them in the second-half, seemingly to no effect but Stein again popped up to give us the win, in the 79th minute.

Ipswich 4-1 Arsenal (FA)

We faced Arsenal for a place in the FA cup quarter-final and too a deserved lead from Stein in the 33rd minute. They levelled it with a penalty shortly before the break but Stein restored the lead at the start of the second-half. We cruised through thanks to later goals from McMillan and Penagos.

Ipswich 1-0 Barnsley (LC Final)

We hoped to make it 3rd time lucky in the League Cup final against Barnsley. Dornebusch gave us the lead in the 6th minute, though unfortunately we couldn’t get at least one more as I hoped, even though we had the chances. It was still more than enough as we got trophy number 4 for the season, and were now on 18 wins in a row.

Ipswich 2-0 Aston Villa (PRM)

We were no longer tearing through teams convincingly but we were still getting the job done. Against Aston Villa we kept knocking on the door but couldn’t find a way in until Ingo Meyer finally found the handle in the 68th minute, with another in added time.

Man City 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

We still had to go to almost all the big clubs, and now faced one of those matches at Man City. I suspected we’d lose our winning run here, and I appeared to be right as they took the lead on the stroke of half-time. Diallo equalized after 55 minutes but with only 10 men (Dornebusch having been sent off) it was about as much as we were going to get.

Mar 2065

RB Salzburg 2-0 (2-1) Ipswich (CL)

We went to Austria hoping to secure our CL passage, but after an even start they suddenly too control and scored twice before the break. I knew an away goal would save us but sadly we looked just as uninspired up front as we were a mess at the back so our CL defence ended in disappointing fashion. Still at least we weren’t Dortmund. They had won their home leg 4-0 against Marseille but ended up losing the second game 5-0.

Ipswich 4-1 Aldershot (FA QF)

Thankfully we cruised through in the FA Cup against Aldershot. Sivebaek gave us the lead after a few minutes, and Hilton had one disallowed just 3 minutes later. Ingo Meyer had a brace late in the half, ending up with a hat-trick. They scored late on but we were easily through.

Ipswich 4-0 West Brom (PRM)

We took another step towards a potential title against West Brom. Diallo gave us the lead through a penalty in the 17th minute, then Ingo Meyer took over again. He scored either side of half-time, then completed another hat-trick in the 74th minute.

Ipswich 3-0 Everton (PRM)

Everton was another notch on our bedpost, with an own-goal giving us the lead just a few minutes in. Unusually Ingo Meyer left the goalscoring to the others, with Diallo making it 2-0 in the 18th minute, and Hill finishing off a 3-0 win after 70 minutes.

Arsenal 0-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We had a tough time at Arsenal, as they took control early on and kept up the pressure for the rest of the match, which just a few occasional chances for us, and under the circumstances 0-0 was a relief.

Ipswich 6-0 Aldershot (PRM)

We easily beat Aldershot for the second time this month, with Hill starting things off in the 8th minute. Diallo scored in the 20th, then just before half-time as we were 3-0 up at the break. Ingo Meyer got a goal in the 55th minute, then provided the second half of a quickfire double with Diallo after 72 minutes as we won 6-0.

It was a pity our CL defence was a bit of a disappointment, but that shouldn't take too much away from what's looking like a fantastic season. We reached 19 wins in a row near the end (see below) and away draws at Man City and Arsenal, along with Norwich traditionally our main competitors (though not always and certainly not now) are the only blips aside from Austria. Interestingly we got to Liverpool next, and if we can avoid defeat we should be looking comfortable, especially as while we'll still have the away derby after that, and both matches against Man Utd, they also have to go to Norwich as well as Man City and Arsenal which balances out the games I'm worried about dropping points in. We won't do the clean sweep but we have 4 down, I'm confident the league will be 5 and we'll see about the FA cup. Just a short sprint to the finish line now...

[deltablue]

Apr 2065

Liverpool 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

The trip to Liverpool was an important one title-wise. Unfortunately they scored in the 28th minute, and managed to keep us quiet for the rest of the match. Ingo Meyer’s frustration got to him as he got sent off for a second yellow card near the end. It was our first league defeat for almost 4 months but it meant they closed to 3 points with 8 games left.

Ipswich 6-0 Stockport (PRM)

Stockport were the unfortunate side that had to face us as we looked to bounce back, and we certainly did in style. Rahimzadeh gave us the lead in the 10th minute, then Hill scored in the 22nd minute. The suspension of Ingo Meyer didn’t inconvenience us one bit as Diallo scored a brace, and even though he went off injured, Sivebaek and Stein made sure we got another 6-0 win in the end.

Man Utd 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to Man Utd (who we hadn’t actually played yet!) hoping not to let Liverpool get any closer. Unlike our other big trips, we made no mistake. Lecaillier was back after a brief injury (replacing Rahimzadeh who had sustained one of his own) and gave us the lead with a 38th minute header. Diallo made it comfortable a few minutes into the second-half but the amazing thing was Liverpool losing at West Ham. Not only were we 6 points clear again but we only had the away derby among the ‘tough’ games left whereas they had the same fixture along with their Arsenal and Man City trips. If it had looked like they were back in the title race after beating us, it was probably slipping away from them now.

Ipswich 1-0 Tottenham (FA SF)

We played Spurs hoping to reach the FA cup final. We didn’t look very alive in the first half, and when we started getting chances, we couldn’t make much use of them. Finally Lecaillier came to the rescue with a 73rd minute goal to send us through.

Norwich 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

We had the away derby not expecting to make it 4 wins out of 4 against them this year, but it would be nice if we could. They had most of the first-half pressure, but we held out until the break. Unfortunately they broke through in the 53rd minute, then though the pressure eased off, no one could rouse themselves to anything more than being decent. It looked like they’d have the last laugh, but Ingo Meyer’s goal deep into stoppage time denied them the satisfaction of winning the last derby.

Hull 1-2 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to Hull looking to put pressure on Liverpool ahead of their trip to Arsenal. Diallo gave us the lead in the 14th minute, but we didn’t look capable of building on it. They eventually equalized in the 76th minute. However Soury soon gave us a winner, and Liverpool lost in any case.

Ipswich 5-0 Reading (PRM)

We had a mathematical chance of winning the title against Reading, but Liverpool had an easy game so I knew we wouldn’t. That didn’t take much away from a performance that showed us at our best again. Diallo gave us the lead in the 19th minute, and had another within 5 minutes. Just a few minutes after that Hill made it 3-0. Ingo Meyer scored in the 35th and 50th minutes as we won 5-0.

May 2065

Ipswich 2-0 Southampton (PRM)

We could secure the title for sure if we beat Southampton. The result was never in doubt. Soury gave us the lead after 15 minutes, and Ingo Meyer scored a record-setting goal before the break. It should have been more but it still did us nicely, especially as Liverpool lost to Norwich so we’d have won whatever we did.

Ipswich 1-2 Man Utd (PRM)

We had nothing to play for against Man Utd, which explains the seriously bad off-day, especially in defence, and they raced into a 2-0 lead with a third disallowed before the break. Ingo Meyer scored just after half-time and we improved to the point that we should have had an equalizer at least.

Ipswich 2-0 Chelsea (FA Final)

The last thing to play for was the FA cup and we faced Chelsea in the final. We were up for it rather a lot more than we were for Man Utd, and deservedly took the lead from Ingo Meyer in the 20th minute. We kept pushing for most of the game, but couldn’t convert chances into a second goal. They had a late equalizer disallowed, after which Ingo Meyer managed to get another to put it beyond them at last. Never mind the 4 games against Norwich, we played Chelsea 5 times this season and won them all!

West Brom 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

The 2,336th and final match of the career was at West Brom. We started slowly, and it took a disallowed West Brom goal after 18 minutes to wake us up. Diallo gave us the lead almost immediately, then made it 2-0 with a penalty. We mostly sat back as they unsuccessfully threatened as I went out with a clean sheet as well as a win. We also managed to surpass our points total with our goal difference, which is no mean achievement.

Well, 6 trophies out of a possible 7 is hardly a bad way to go out. We also succeeded where we failed last time and got a 3rd title in a row, making it 5 in 6 years, which is excellent. Things looked worrying early on in the season but suddenly we clicked and proved that we were a special side indeed. This was success the likes of which I had dreamed about finishing on for a long time, but for most of that time it seemed so far away. I play by the motto of ‘Good things come to those who wait’ (and often I have a lot of waiting to do) and it’s always a great feeling whenever that comes true in a big way like this.

Since the FMCU championship my confidence in my side has grown considerably, and so they’ve repaid that confidence. One thing I love about only buying young players like this is that it gives everyone time to grow together and form a side that can stay together for years to come, even if there are always changes being made of some form or another. I don’t know if such long-term squad familiarity carries any benefits in the game, but it should do. I’m glad I stayed with the career, I’m glad I went back for a 3rd go at Ipswich, and I’m glad I got all those players as they’ve bought about some very happy memories for all.

Long Live Ipswich!

The career finishes with 2,336 games played, 1,128 won (52%), 414 drawn and 704 lost. 4,484 goals were scored, 3,156 conceded for a total goal-difference of 1,328. The career lasted exactly 19,300 in-game days and was just 3 away from a year in real time. Thanks so much to everyone who has followed this very long journey over the past year. I know I'm not the easiest FMCUer to follow but for those that do manage it I hope it's been worthwhile for those who have. It certainly has been for me playing it.

Trophy Cabinet

Nest-Sotra

Second Division: 1 (2017)

Raith

Challenge Cup: 1 (2019)

Ipswich

Europa League: 1 (2033)

League Cup: 3 (2034, 2045, 2065)

Premier League: 6 (2034, 2060, 2061, 2063, 2064, 2065)

Community Shield: 4 (2034, 3061, 2063, 2064)

FA Cup: 3 (2060, 2062, 2065)

Champions League: 1 (2064)

Euro Super Cup: 1 (2064)

Club World Championship: 1 (2064)

Mattersburg

Austrian First Division: 1 (2043)

Austrian Cup: 1 (2044)

Hoffenheim

Second Division: 1 (2053)

Inevitably rather Ipswich dominated, much like Milan last time, but having only joined lower league clubs (aside from both returns to Ipswich) I wasn't going to be swimming in success and whatever did come would be very well earned, which was of course the point of doing something like this. It's good to see something from a few other clubs and nations as well, from the Norwegian Second Division to a national cup in Austria.

[deltablue]

Once again the end us upon us and it’s time to recap…

Worcester

A typically disappointing start, struggled to find much consistency and ability to match top-half expectations so didn’t last the year.

Tollnes

A decent couple of years with a newly promoted team in Norway but there was virtually no money and we were still losing a lot with a skeleton squad so I felt I’d done what I could.

Weymouth

A short lived disaster as I gave us after just a few months with hardly any points.

Nest-Sotra

The first sign of things going well. Got a first promotion but the First Division was far too tough. There may be 4 relegation spots for a 16-team league but we were pretty much bumping near the bottom all year long so it didn’t matter.

Raith

Decent enough with a challenge cup win but I always seem to lose patience pretty quickly if there isn’t much progress made in the Scottish First Division and I was quickly looking elsewhere.

Ipswich (part 1)

Took over with the team struggling in the championship, and managed to bring instant improvement, soon going up despite having to sell players to make ends meet. Aside from one memorably bad season things seemed to go well in the Premier League, aside from Norwich being strong enough to beat us easily every time (more of which later). Managed to briefly touch the top with a league and Europa League win but it wasn’t sustainable, form dropped off the pitch at the same time the money drained away, which influenced my resignation as well as what I did when I returned.

Sirius

I was amazed that only two person made the obvious pun. It was an odd move after Ipswich but it made a nice change, just as I needed, and it worked well for a while. Had a very strong improvement in form when I arrived, went up the following year, and had a very strong top-half year in the First Division Elite. However a soon-to-be-familiar curse struck as we were bottom almost all of my last season. It was a disappointing way to end but that shouldn’t take anything away from what had looked a good move otherwise.

Ecija

Plenty of fun going nowhere is how I’d describe it. Came close to the play-offs in the middle of my three seasons but otherwise it was a frustrating mid-table experience, even with the goals flying in at both ends so I felt I needed to go elsewhere.

Mattersburg

Maybe the best move I made in the entire career, and my first time in Austria. For one thing I got success after the frustration of Spain. I also got another promotion in the first season, and a cup win in the second. An abundance of defenders and lack of wingers also saw the debut of the formation that brought that success and was soon adopted as my regular one, maybe changing out of that to a more balance tactic was what brought on the disappointing form afterwards.

Ipswich (Part 2)

After multiple experiences of failing to sustain a challenge at the top, I decided to go for the youngsters. It eventually worked, but not this time. Despite buying rather a lot of young talent in a short space of time it appeared to pay off but suddenly just as we were gelling the game threw another bad season at me and I was sacked.

Fiorentina

A complete disaster. I was expected to be promoted with a squad that was so far off the standard required that it was stupid. It wasn’t just me, they got through a manager a year, not getting anywhere near promotion for a long time, and it took a couple of trips to Serie C1 before they did.

Hoffenheim

I decided to return to the ‘Mattersburg’ formation with Hoffenheim deep in trouble. We soon climbed out of trouble and set our sights on promotion, coming close before winning the league. We had also reached the cup final but were slaughtered by Leverkusen on the way. There were similarities to Mattersburg in that we did very well in our first year up but struggled afterwards with a lot of brilliant young talent failing to gel which saw a return to Ipswich happily accepted.

Ipswich (part 3)

Third time lucky, as I did what I intended to do the second time, and did it properly. I inherited a strong squad so was able to introduce the youngsters a lot more gradually, though they still eventually took over. Eventually league titles started rolling in, and despite often failing at the Semi-final stage in both European competitions we eventually went all the way at last.

[deltablue]

Top 10 matches

Nest-Sotra 7-3 Honefoss (AL) (2018)

We struggled badly in the First Division, but a fantastic win against a strong Honefoss side still gave us a game to remember. We twice went 2-goals up, they managed to claw it back to 3-3, but then we tore them apart. It was a pity we were nowhere near as good in the rest of the season.

Norwich 0-1 Ipswich (PRM) (2025)

The first derby win against a Norwich side that had already become one of the big boys. It was also our only one in the first 17 league encounters. It was very ‘smash and grab’ but that just made it sweeter.

Real Madrid 2-3 Ipswich (EL SF) (2033)

One of my greatest days. We went to Real Madrid in the first leg of the Europa League semi, which obviously looked very tough indeed, but we found ourselves going ahead twice. 2-2 would still have been an excellent result but at the end, the legendary Akachar gave us a legendary win over perhaps my least-favourite side in the world.

Norwich 1-2 (1-4) Ipswich (CL QF) (2034)

A match-up probably never to be repeated. It was an East Anglian CL tie and we reigned supreme. After winning the first leg 2-0, we went behind early on, opening the tie back up, but we pushed on to get a double victory. Chances are our 100% European record against them will stand forever.

Syrianska 1-4 (3-7) Sirius (Playoff) (2037)

The end of the promotion season in Sweden was very tight, I even summed up the situation during the year as whoever going up being the ‘one-eyed king in the land of the blind’. We ended up getting the playoff place only due to having better goal difference than 3 other teams. We had a 2-goal lead from the first leg and actually went more attacking to accommodate two good forwards. It worked a charm as despite an equalizer we won the away leg embarrassingly easily to go up.

Ecija 5-6 Algeciras (D2B) (2042)

If only all matches could be like this, with me winning of course. It was the 1,300th match of the career and certainly one to remember. We went ahead twice, then after their second equalizer they went on to go 6-2 up. We fought back and after three goals could even had snatched an equalizer!

Mattersburg 3-0 Red Bull Salzburg (AC QF) (2044)

Red Bull have been head and shoulders above everyone else in Austria for a long time, and haven’t been far off the European elite. We drew them in the quarter-finals and I felt that was it as far as our cup run went. However we kept it even for an hour then hit them with three goals! We went on to win, beating a Sturm Graz side in the final who weren’t quite on Red Bull’s level but otherwise still clearly superior to the rest, but this win remains the better achievement.

Ipswich 5-0 CSKA Sofia (CL) (2045)

I didn’t necessarily have the best transfer judgement during my second Ipswich stint, with a lot of players who had a high PA but otherwise should have been obviously nowhere near good enough. However we still had a bunch of players at least as good as the one that went on to be successful, and this game makes it on the list because it was the debut of one of the best, Marcos Vinicios, and he marked it with all 5 goals and a perfect 10 rating.

Furth 0-4 Hoffenheim (GC SF) (2052)

My first full season at Hoffenheim saw us reach the cup final, having despatched a bunch of First Division sides and the Second Division leaders. The semi-final was the most remarkable result of all. They were actually the relatively dominant side, and while it’s not unusual for a team to be clearly inferior and win, doing it 4-0 is something else. My thoughts at the time were ‘WTF!!!!’ and ‘How the blazes did we manage this!’ We got slaughtered 8-0 by Leverkusen in the final but that shouldn’t take anything away from getting there in the first place.

Ipswich 6-0 Chelsea (PRM) (2061)

I described our performance as ‘near perfection’, which may be a slight exaggeration but while underachieving, Chelsea were still a strong side, and we were without a few players, so to take them apart so completely (it was already 5-0 by half-time) was a joy to watch. We had won our first title (just) the previous season, but I was still worried about whether we could keep it up. This game and the season in general (we got 96 points) showed that we were very much a genuine force to be reckoned with.

[deltablue]

There were points where I wasn’t sure about this career, but it ended up aging well, I’ll get on to Ipswich in a bit but there are still many other talking points. My careers always start slowly, and this one was no exception, though Nest Sotra and Raith brought about a promotion and a couple of trophy wins without that agonizingly long a wait. Things took off after leaving Ipswich for the first time with memorable (if short lived) success in both Sweden and Austria, with lots of goals in Spain in between, and while the career suddenly hit a low point after the Ipswich sacking and Fiorentina, Hoffenheim was the perfect way to get over it and enjoy the game once more, with a cup final, promotion races, and a strong showing in the First Division for a bit. Overall it was hardly a ‘one-club wonder’ career as I feared it would be with honours from a variety of places outside Ipswich.

It looked for a while like it would be ‘Ipswich and relatively little else elsewhere’, but aside from the fact that it didn’t quite turn out as badly as that, it ended up giving the career a strong central plot thread. First there was getting to the point where I could join them in the first place. They getting them up into the Premier League and to some success, though as things fell away on and off the pitch that era seemed to be over. Then there was achieving a few things elsewhere before returning, with an idea at how to deliver sustainable success, but that went very badly and I was sacked with my tail between my legs. It took a while before I could earn the right to try again, thankfully Hoffenheim proving to be the ticket, and this time I tried the same thing as the second time, but did it right as we gradually built towards success with a side destined to be winners, and while it took some waiting, we came good in the end, I got to see my CL dream realized after all these years.

Norwich added an extra dimension to it all. It was frustrating getting beaten consistently all the time for a while as they were clearly superior but as we grew stronger it proved to be a great benefit. It would nice to think of them being a mid-table side we’d beat regularly as contenders but once we joined them as challengers it gave the derbies a lot more importance, and we had some cup clashes as well, including in a few finals. Having the derbies remain as games where victory was far from assured and where the result would have a big impact in the title race meant more than beating them comfortably ever would. While I never got my dream of beating them in a CL final, we still did so in the Quarter-finals and I doubt this sort of situation will ever crop up again, so it was a great experience enjoying such a highly competitive rivalry this time.

I guess the career came good eventually, rarely shining for a long time, with lots of patience and endurance required, even for the 3rd Ipswich side to develop. I think it was easily worth it in the end. FM13 hasn’t been one of my favourites, with little wage negotiation from agents, and a tendency to have very bad seasons thrown at you every so often with little logical explanation, red cards often making little difference, and even strong penalty takers missing quite a lot (though like a lot of things people complain about on GD, the last two are things that swing both ways, and definitely started working in my favour a lot more later on) but it still did nicely to fill the past year with the usual entertaining ride though a career.

Deltablue will return in…

Fifty Shades of (Delta)Blue

1.11.13

[Dexter_Morgan]

Brilliant career and i'm glad that after a bit of a struggle in the summer you kept with it as you had a fantastic final spell with Ipswich Looking back on your save I think my favourite part of your career was with Ecija, you had some crazy scores there including the 5-6 you mentioned with Algeciras

Looking forward to this years thread.

[greekgeorge]

Round of applause for a legendary manager

[deltablue]

Brilliant career and i'm glad that after a bit of a struggle in the summer you kept with it as you had a fantastic final spell with Ipswich Looking back on your save I think my favourite part of your career was with Ecija, you had some crazy scores there including the 5-6 you mentioned with Algeciras

Looking forward to this years thread.

Ah yes Ecija, normally it would be considered a few years of dull mid-table mediocrity but not so much with the goals flying in at both ends. It only helped so much and I left at the right time for the right place but it did make those few years interesting.

Round of applause for a legendary manager

'legendary' is perhaps a bit strong but thank you.

Also thanks to everyone who voted me 'best poster'.

[elbilly]

Great way to sign off the last season!

What a fab career!

Norwich being as big and successful as they were made the career (at Ipswich) better that it otherwise would have been, which would have been great anyway, it added that little extra to it. Looking forward to the forthcoming career and congratulations on the award!

[B.W.G]

What a epic career

[withnail316]

Incredible career, DB

[deltablue]

What a epic career

Incredible career, DB

Thanks guys. You can't say I'm short on substance and adventure

Great way to sign off the last season!

What a fab career!

Norwich being as big and successful as they were made the career (at Ipswich) better that it otherwise would have been, which would have been great anyway, it added that little extra to it. Looking forward to the forthcoming career and congratulations on the award!

Well the new save is now set up, and I'm just progressing through pre-season getting adjusted to everything. I'm certainly fascinated with how it looks and works now. Here is a little 'promo' screenshot...

[deltablue]

Fantastic stuff, wish I had been here since the start, but unfortunately I was only here for the end. Brilliant read and was interesting to read the overview of you're entire career without having to read the entire thread

Best of luck with you're FM 14 save, I'll be watching closely

Even those that were there would probably find it hard to follow and remember everything (I know I would if it wasn't my own career), which is why I know the recap is very useful. New thread up now.

[AK22]

What an exciting season to finish on! Shame you couldn't do the clean sweep, though - damn those pesky Austrians!

It's been a brilliant career and a great read too

[deltablue]

What an exciting season to finish on! Shame you couldn't do the clean sweep, though - damn those pesky Austrians!

It's been a brilliant career and a great read too

I know, but while obviously it was one of the ones I least wanted to miss out on we had nothing to prove anymore in Europe. Glad you enjoyed it anyway.

[chile_paul]

Fantastic career deltablue, looking forward to following you in FM14

[deltablue]

Fantastic career deltablue, looking forward to following you in FM14

Be good to have you