"You're not gonna believe this. He killed 16 Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator"

[Dexter_Morgan]

We're having a good run in the champions league. As I said earlier we drew Spurs in the first knockout round. In the home legs i've been using the 3-2-5 formation I mentioned earlier to get us goals and it has worked so far.

So after that we get a tough tie against one of the favourites Arsenal, again I went for 3-2-5 at home and 4-2-3-1 away and we held out to get through.

The next tie is against Schalke in a minute away from home, i'm going to try 4-2-3-1 and hope we snatch an away goal or 2 and then go for it in the home leg. This will probably be my easiest chance to ever win the thing. Out went Real Madrid in the quarter final who were hammered 5-0 on aggregate by Roma and also out went Man City who were beaten 2-1 over 2 legs by PSG. Of all the semi finalists we are the only club to lead our domestic table, obviously the other teams are in stronger leagues but if we can overcome Spurs and Arsenal then we should have a big chance.

We've booked a place in the Romanian cup final against Rapid Bucharest, the problem is we have a bit of fixture congestion as it is so if we do make the CL final then god knows when the Romanian final will be played as they are due to be played on the same date. We've got a couple of points lead in the table and 2 games in hand, so only a momentous **** up will stop us winning that now.

[Dexter_Morgan]

After 2 close games we just about edged our way through to the Champions League final where we play Roma.

I was hoping the 2-2 draw at Schalke would mean we didn't have to be worried about losing on away goals at least but that went down the pan when they went 2-1 up. I'm disappointed Penska won't have a part in the final after a ridiculous 2nd booking for diving. That is the third time that has happened with him under my management but he's too good a player to just let go and he has done more good for me both here and Videoton than bad so it is something i'll just have to accept.

[Dexter_Morgan]

2018 UEFA Champions League Final

Road To The Final

Match Statistics

It was another close tie with us grabbing the winner in the last few minutes of extra time to complete part 2 of our quest for the double. Granted we didn't have the worst run in the world to get there but Roma are no mugs seeing off the likes of PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona en route to the final and it's great to have managed the victory with 9 Romanians in the starting XI (Lolo and Luiz the exceptions) so I do think in it's own way that is a big achievement.

I have just the cup final remaining so will reveal my plans and how the rest of the season went after that.

[Dexter_Morgan]

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FC Dinamo București 2017/18 Review

Cup Run - Cup Final

Miscellaneous

Treble - Finances - Balaban - Barbu - Koffie - Mihaila

If last season was a bit hit and miss then this season was anything but. If it wasn't for the fixture congestion towards the end of the year I honestly think we'd have had another 10 points and would have smashed 100 goals.

RNK Split Watch

Split finally won the title after spending a further £8M this season and they seem to have some promising youngsters in the squad now, it will be interesting to see if this is the start of their domination because Hadjuk have really struggled the past 2 years and were bottom of the league back in April, which means only Dinamo are any threat on paper.

Former Club Watch

FC Sevastopol - A better season in the Persha Liha seen them finish with automatic promotion, will be interesting to see if they are going to remain a yo-yo club but they seem to be getting a good batch of regens each year which can only be good for the club.

Videoton FC - Another title win and they made it to the Champions League group stage. They only picked up 1 point there but the money should help them progress even more.

The Iron Curtain Progressing In Europe

Amazingly Liga I Bergenbie dropped a place to 13th this year as the Serbian League overtook the division, Ukraine rose 1 to 11, Czech Republic rose 4 to 14th, but the biggest rises were Croatia up to 20th from 39th, Slovenia up to 25th from 45th and Belarus up to 19th from 33rd.

With the treble in the bag I resigned and am now holidaying until the right job turns up. Ideally I want a mid table or under achieving side next.

[JackJCFC]

Amazing work in Romania, look forward to seeing where you go next.

[B.W.G]

Brilliant work in Romania,congrats on winning the Champions League as well

[deltablue]

Easy all the way

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers lads Still haven't got a job yet, hopefully something will turn up by mid October because I hate the holidaying part

[iHeadHunta x]

Hope an interesting job offer comes up.

[Dexter_Morgan]

So do I. I turned down the Zenit job but nothing else of interest has turned up.

Spartak Nalchik are the third club to be taken over by a tycoon, a bit of a surprising one with them being in the second division.

[Dexter_Morgan]

I can't decide what to do at the minute the Banik Ostrava job has come up (£4.5M to spend too which is decent) but the Slavia Prague is precarious. Wouldn't mind either really as they are pretty close in terms of facilities but Banik Ostrava is probably the tougher team to take on. In all honesty I wanted to wait a while for the Czech Republic but theres no interesting jobs in the nations I really want and seeing as it's mid March now it's a long time to be out of work.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Really struggling to decide which one to take here.

Delayed the decision to the end of the season, but there are some cracking jobs amongst that that.

[manutdfan1999]

are you going to document other tycoon clubs other than split

[Dexter_Morgan]

I'll be doing that at the end of this season, they didn't get a proper report last time because the transfer window had shut when both tycoons took over so it was pointless even looking out for them.

I've taken over the Hajduk Split job in the winter break (2019/20 season) so i'll get to see RNK at first hand. I'm looking forward to this challenge because obviously I have Dinamo to contend with as well as RNK. NK Zadar won the title last season and if i'm honest the quality of our players at the minute isn't too great so this is going to be a decent challenge.

[JackJCFC]

Goodluck with the new job, should be interesting to see how you get on under a tycoon. He could be a mad man!

[Dexter_Morgan]

Goodluck with the new job, should be interesting to see how you get on under a tycoon. He could be a mad man!

That's the other split club with the tycoon mate. I've not had a tycoon save since FM09 unfortunately

[Dexter_Morgan]

Just noticed I could have another cup to my name where most of the hard work is done for me We're the only top flight club left in the cup The title isn't out of the question either.

[JackJCFC]

My bad all the names are so similar i get confused!

[Dexter_Morgan]

That's ok I kept thinking I was at Rapid rather than Dinamo Bucharest for the first 6 months of the job

I didn't realise just how tough this job was going to be when I took it on. They've sold some quality players for rather cheap fees and replaced them with rubbish, also they've sold more than they've spent each year so don't know why the finances are so bad. I've got 4 players in for next year already which should be a start and with only 1 non EU in the squad i'm hoping to tap in to Africa again to give us some stability.

Could do with loading a league or 2 up outside of europe to give me some extra players, does anyone have any suggestions?

[deltablue]

That's ok I kept thinking I was at Rapid rather than Dinamo Bucharest for the first 6 months of the job

It's a wonder you're still alive

[Dexter_Morgan]

In my defence I had a 15 season save with them on FM11 which is where I think the confusion came from

[Dexter_Morgan]

Hajduk Split 2020 Review

Table When Taken Charge

Cup Fixtures - Final 1st Leg - Final 2nd Leg

I'm not too sure what to make of this team so far, very inconstant is certainly one phrase I would use. Looking at the points we've dropped we should have won that league, Dinamo's defeats were to teams in the top 5, whereas bar my first game (2-0 loss at Dinamo) all our defeats were to bottom 5 sides (at least at time of playing) we also let a few stupid equalisers in which cost us. I don't see this club as a long term project, the fact that despite having average players we nearly grabbed the title doesn't give me hope in terms of longivity to the country. Even RNK splashing cash about doesn't attract that much better players and they really should have done better with the resources they've had. Even though I have no intention of being here more than however long it takes to win a title i'm going to try and bring some stability to the club and invest in some talents if money allows, as well as training facilities. I think i've maxed the youth coaching out already but if the option comes up i'll get that done too.

[JackJCFC]

Could load up a league or two from South America? Not sure how many foreign players your allowed but the work permits etc aren't too bad i think.

That youngsters looks class as well, bet you'll get a tonne of money for him in the future if your still at the club. Great first season too

[Dexter_Morgan]

Tycoon Watch

Forgot to do this in my last post.

FC Minsk - When they were taken over by the tycoon at the beginning of the 2018 I didn't notice FC Minsk had just won the title, the 1st season under the tycoon they didn't really spend much and finished 3rd. In 2019 they spent £7M and finished 3rd again, though this time only 2 points off being champions. In this current season they've spent £6M and are sitting in 2nd after 13 games (33 in a season) they seem to have been recruiting young players and from looking at them there has been some really good buys there so if they can keep hold of the youngsters they could become a much bigger club. It's good to see the AI being pretty realistic in the targets a club like that would get for a change to be fair.

Spartak Nalchik As a 2nd division club they weren't really big spenders in 2018 or 19 (£2.75M total over the 2 years) but they have just been promoted as champions and have wasted no time in this summer spending £7M on 3 players with probably more to come.

RNK Split My now city rivals spent £12M in the 2019/20 season and as you have seen finished 3rd thanks to us beating and jumping above them on the final day of the season. It is crazy to think the amount of money they've spent and still haven't got the title, though they like Minsk do have some youngsters on their books.

The strangest tycoon takeover i've seen happen also in Croatia just after the season ended, this picture will show why in the timeline.

They've risen to 14th in Croatia's club rankings and i'm sure it would have been higher if they had stayed in the division. It'll be interesting to see if their rep guarantees promotion at the end of the year.

Former Club Watch

PFC Sevastopol - Relegated again in 2018/19 and finished mid table in 2019/20. The last time they were relegated from the top flight that took 2 season to return, hopefully they can repeat it this year.

Videoton - 2018/19 they finished as champions again. Last season they finished a disappointing 3rd though.

Dinamo Bucharest - I left them as European champions but as expected the better players were snapped up by bigger clubs, Mihaila went to warm Real Madrid's bench for £12.5M, Andy Lolo went to Newcastle for £8M. As a result they finished 3rd in their CL group and knocked straight out of the Europa. Some success did come though with the league, cup and world club cup. In 2019/20 they finished as champions again but more of the squad has been dismantled, though they did get decent fees. Koffie though i'm disappointed about, he went to Barca for £8M and in all honesty they could have got double that for him.

Could load up a league or two from South America? Not sure how many foreign players your allowed but the work permits etc aren't too bad i think.

That youngsters looks class as well, bet you'll get a tonne of money for him in the future if your still at the club. Great first season too

I'm thinking of one of the crapper South American ones myself actually, Brazil and Argentina loaded would probably make the fees a lot higher than they are now even.

[JackJCFC]

Interesting to see all of the tycoon progressing, one of them lasting a day is certainly strange

[cerud]

Not a lot of time with the new club yet, but at least you qualified for Europe.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Interesting to see all of the tycoon progressing, one of them lasting a day is certainly strange

Don't understand why that went through at all I'm going to offer some dross out and hope they come in for them

Not a lot of time with the new club yet, but at least you qualified for Europe.

I've strengthened in just about every position over the summer, we'd have needed it anyway with being in the Europa but I want to try and win the title on this attempt, if not then i'll stick at it for another year.

[Dexter_Morgan]

I had the intention of seeing the season through but for whatever reason I never really felt Hadjuk was the best place to be. Player egos thinking they were better than are was one thing that really wound me up. The fact the players seemed to pick themselves up for big games and then couldn't be bothered in the others has had me tearing my hair out since day 1. If my final league game against Inter Zapresic didn't finish off all hope I had for this team then the absolute toothless display against AC Milan in a 4-0 defeat (could have been 12) did, so it was best for all parties if I left. I hope to return to Croatia at a later date because that is a black mark against me now but it has just never felt right at that club.

[cerud]

Ouch, bit of a harsh reception in Croatia I guess. No worries. Their logo looks like it belongs on a car rather than a sports team

[Dexter_Morgan]

Everything about the club just seems to have been mismanaged from day one, the only thing it has going for it at the minute is the facilities. The chairman was a bit of a tight sod, the players were up themselves, it's just a trainwreck tbh There is a few interesting clubs with managers under pressure so with any luck i'll have a job before christmas, there is one that really catches my eye but I doubt they will struggle for too much longer tbh.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Can The Star Shine Again?

I hate to say I was right but after a poor start to last season they should have offered me the job then. Instead nearly a year later and the club languishing in 10th place in the Prva liga Srbije (that's right, the 2nd tier) I finally get the chance to manage the one club I had always planned to have a shot at when I started this save.

The very first thing I did when I took over was check for talent in the squad, these 3 stood out by a mile and with lots of interest in them I wasted no time in offering new contracts

With fantastic facilities already in place i'm not settling there and got straight to improving everything I possibly could.

I'm absolutely buzzing about this job, rebuilding this team is going to be fun and i'm hopefully going to make it if not an all Serbian team then certainly from all of the former Yugoslavia.

[deltablue]

Odd seeing Red Star down there, makes for an interesting mission though.

[B.W.G]

Unusual to see Red Star so low but it will make for a great challenge in getting them back to their former glory.

[Dexter_Morgan]

It is odd to see them there, as I said I tried and failed to take this job last year and I was surprised to see the manager who took the job manage to keep it after relegating them because at the time they were only 12 points off top with more than half the season to go. Never mind though this is a great challenge for me and the early signs are good after winning my first 4 games

[JackJCFC]

Good luck at Red Star, hope you can bring back some former glory!

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade 2020/21 Winter Break

I'm reasonably happy with the start i've made, I have a very small squad so tactically i'm limited to what I can do at the moment, this is something i've been addressing though with 3 signings already confirmed for the January window

Full backs are my next dilemma, even a pair for short term cover would probably be enough to see me through the season now but i'm struggling to find any that fit in my former Yugoslavian policy, so short term I either need to reconsider this or play 3 CB's sometimes. I'll see how it pans out but CB's are where i'm most loaded so it is a viable option.

When I took over I thought the board was mad to expect me to win the title but now it looks like we have an excellent chance, also beating top flight teams including league leaders Vojvodina in the cup shows just how underachieving the club has been, i'm hoping for a Belgrade Derby somewhere along the way and try and bring some joy back to the supporters.

[Dexter_Morgan]

The latest tycoon takeover, the Czech Republic hasn't really done much in Europe so far despite some good players being produced there over the years. Maybe this will bring a bit of a boost to the nation?

[cerud]

Wow, already making an impact at Red Star. Time to regain some glory for the old club

[noikeee]

Just skimmed past everything, what a cracking career already, won Europa League and CL with Dinamo Bucharest!! And in very little time as in 2 or 3 seasons only. That is phenomenal, I was suprised Hajduk went wrong, looking good now in Serbia.

[manutdfan1999]

is there a quick way to subscribe to lots of clubs

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade 2020/21 Review

Cup Run - Cup Final

Miscellaneous

Finances - Record Attendance - Ivanov - Petricevic

the first

Delighted with the season, the first 5-6 games we weren't at our best but that is probably down to morale and getting used to the new formation, after that we were superb in the main and we are 23 games unbeaten under my control. To have European football secured whilst still in the 2nd division was a superb little bonus for us, the only slight complaint I do have is I wish we could have played Partizan along the way, but still 4 games won against top division sides shows that we shouldn't have any problems this season, especially as i've already got 5 players in to strengthen us.

Only one youngster of note came through the ranks which is a shame as I could have done with 2-3 really, but at least it is in a position that needed filling long term.

Tycoon Watch

RNK Split - Amazingly they finished 7th in the table, a whole 20 points off the champions Dinamo, spending was a bit lower at £4.2M. Each season there's been gradual increases in facilities/youth recruitment and coaching as well which I didn't notice.

FC Minsk - 2020 Champions have spent a lot since the takeover, they've invested another £8.6M this season and are currently joint top for 2021 after 12 games.

Spartak Nalchik - Won the relegation playoff in Russia to survive, they've got a few good youngsters there which I might actually try and take off their hands.

FK Fotbal Trinec - Survived relegation on head to head only. Spent £2M in the window but we should really see their ambition this window. Chairman has already improved facilities and expanded the stadium.

NK Crikvenica - Immediate return to Croatia's 2nd tier for them, didn't really spend much not that it matters anyway because the promotion is down to rep/pot luck.

Former Club Watch

FC Sevastopol - No promotion again for them, finishing in 3rd by a single point.

Videoton - Champions after finishing 3rd the season before (seems to be a pattern here).

Dinamo Bucharest - Chuffed that they are the champions again, this is probably the biggest impact i've made at a club so far, 4th best in the country and struggling financially when I took over they are rich now, have a brilliant youth setup which is producing good players each year now to replace the better players that seem to leave every year. They still underachieve a little in Europe but not by much, there's only been one game where i've left where they've lost by more than 2 goals.

Hadjuk Split - This abomination of a club (in game) somehow finished 2nd.

Wow, already making an impact at Red Star. Time to regain some glory for the old club

Cheers, really enjoying this club so far. Granted I had an easy division to turn it round but the cup win makes me think we'll be having a good go at the title this year.

Just skimmed past everything, what a cracking career already, won Europa League and CL with Dinamo Bucharest!! And in very little time as in 2 or 3 seasons only. That is phenomenal, I was suprised Hajduk went wrong, looking good now in Serbia.

Cheers noikeee, the European runs were very good but it wasn't down to luck there, I had an extensive shortlist of players from Europe/Africa saved from Videoton plus it seemed that period was producing a lot of Romanian talent, couldn't have moved there at a better time really.

is there a quick way to subscribe to lots of clubs

The best way I know so far is what i've posted in the first few replied of the thread i'm afraid.

[deltablue]

Gold star at Red Star

[B.W.G]

Congrats on winning the title,back with the big boys now

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers lads.

Just realised Partizan have equaled our 27 titles, I was already hoping to do 5 years or 2 CL's (bit premature I know as i'm not even in it yet ) here before I move on, looks like i'll certainly be making sure we get to 30 titles at least before I leave voluntarily.

I just as well post my signings now.

Was hoping to get another CB but it seems like there's a lack of decent ones willing to come, bar that i'm happy, a bit of potential in there plus first team players and mostly Serbian too which was a big plus for us.

I know we were only just promoted but I thought these odds were a bit unfair.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade 2021/22 Winter Break

I couldn't have expected a start to the season like we've had this year, slumming it in division 2 last year seems to be the best thing that could have happened to the club, last seasons unbeaten run has carried in to this year (44 games now and counting) and whilst domestically it might not seem a great achievement we did batter Partizan in their own back yard and were seconds away from getting a win at Real Madrid. We've got a very good chance of getting to the Europa quarter finals after we were handed this draw.

The one worry I have is us fitting the games in hand in, thankfully it is only a 30 game season though so it isn't a total disaster to have to play catch up.

[deltablue]

Should get the Europa League easily the way you're going!

[Dexter_Morgan]

I'm hoping someone can knock Real out at the very least because they have a history on a number of FM's of coming back to haunt me I'll be happy to make the quarter finals in all honesty though and that is only because of the draws, my main focus is to try and win that league now we're in a good position. I'm not under pressure to win it but I can't stand the thought of Partizan potentially going ahead of us

[Dexter_Morgan]

Since i'm nearly 10 years in and the game is still running at a decent pace i've decided to add Finland as they've been slipping year on year and it could be a good challenge at some point. I'm struggling to find a definitive map of which clubs would be eligible though so any help would be appreciated

[SRL88]

Brilliant work with Red Star.

[cerud]

The move back up to the top league doesn't seem to have stopped you. Nice job