The Sammarinese Challenge.

[mrmurphster]

Unlucky mrmurphster. Any progress at all is still progress in this challenge. Your players will be another season older and another season more experienced. I got relegated in my challenge and didn't come bsck up in my save and it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It meant that I was that much stronger when i eventually did.

Considering I had 6 loan players I reckon it's a good thing I didn't get promoted. This season I'm, scaling back on loans and throwing the kids to the lions.. Have 4 potential stars that I'm going to blood with a view to 2-3 seasons time. By then I hope to be strong enough in my own right to get promoted. Be a tough time I reckon.

[mrmurphster]

Not doing too badly at all:

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee128/mrmurphster/SanMarino/currentLeaguePos-5.png

But shoudl be so much better because of an injury crisis

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee128/mrmurphster/currentLeaguePos.png

[leonavich]

Thanks mate. It was you who inspired me to this before so thanks. Surprised to not see you back actually.

I had intentions of coming back, but have not really had the time nor dedication and did not want to start something I would not finish. I may start one with far less detail shortly though. FM14 hasnt been run much in this household yet, and I do need to get my mitts dirty.

[SoloTitano]

Strong support to anyone taking part in this challenge!

I'm here for any doubt or critics about San Marino data (hope to solve them for FM2015)

Cheers!

(San Marino HR)

[mrmurphster]

Bahhhh!!!! Knocked out in semi-final of play-offs, Bologna equalising with 5 minutes to go and go through as the higher seeded team....

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee128/mrmurphster/SanMarino/currentLeaguePos-6.png

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee128/mrmurphster/currentLeaguePos-1.png

[Jimbokav1971]

Bahhhh!!!! Knocked out in semi-final of play-offs, Bologna equalising with 5 minutes to go and go through as the higher seeded team....

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee128/mrmurphster/SanMarino/currentLeaguePos-6.png

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee128/mrmurphster/currentLeaguePos-1.png

I feel your pain.

That happened to me in the 2017/18 Serie B Playoff Final against Latina.

I didn't know anything about it working like that and I thought I went through extra time and then when I was waiting for penalties it just said game over. I might have that wrong though. Maybe I was waiting for extra time to start instead. Either way, they were in Serie A and we weren't.

Same season, different team I note.

If it's any consolation, I won the Playoffs the following season.

Good luck.

[SanMarino]

As you can tell by my username, I always do this challenge. Qualified for the CL at the end of the 2019-20 season, and got ZIdane as my new ass man

[Jimbokav1971]

I felt obliged to give Andy Selva the job when he retired, but he was rubbish so I replaced him with Nigel De Jong.

My U19 Assistant Manager is Xavi.

Would need Pele to beat bloomin Zizou though.

[Jimbokav1971]

As you can tell by my username, I always do this challenge. Qualified for the CL at the end of the 2019-20 season, and got ZIdane as my new ass man

So are you going to give us a more detailed update of how your save is getting along? Maybe some pics?

[SanMarino]

So are you going to give us a more detailed update of how your save is getting along? Maybe some pics?

I will when I have more time, bit bogged down with uni work at the minute Just needed to share it with my fellow San Marino fanatics.

[Jimbokav1971]

I will when I have more time, bit bogged down with uni work at the minute Just needed to share it with my fellow San Marino fanatics.

Woop woop!. lol

You're certainly doing better than me. It's 2022/23 here and I am in the EURO Cup for the 2nd season, (but only because I have been Runners Up in the Cup Final twice. I have never finished higher than 10th in Serie A.

Let's not even mention my efforts with the NT. lol

How are you getting on with the NT? Any progress?

[Jimbokav1971]

Part 1.

Serie A.

We were great. We really did exceed expectations, but at the end of the day there is only so much you can do. We were predicted to finish 14th, but in the end the best we could manage was 8th, (so we missed out on Europe by 1 place). We needed to win our last 3 games and hope that Sampdoria and Lazio slipped up. Lazio did indeed slip up and we won the 1st 2 games, but the fatigue of a busy European schedule meant that we just came up short at the end and couldn't put Genoa away in the last game of the season. In any case, it wouldn't have mattered as Sampdoria won so we wouldn't have caught them anyway.

Italian Cup.

Well after making the Final of the Italian Cup for the last 2 years, (and losing), we didn't even make the Final this season. AC Milan demolished us in the Semi, (4-2 away and 2-0 at home). It wasn't even as close as all that. In recent years we have scraped by as a result of teams underestimating us. Alas no more. AC Milan gave us a right doing.

The worst thing wasn't even not getting to the Final. It was knowing that we had to finish 7th in Serie A to qualify for Europe and that was going to be a tall order.

EURO Cup.

3rd Qual Rnd. 1st Leg. Sarajevo (BIH) 0 - 2 San Marino. Att 9,082.

Di Santo (2015)

Saucedo (ARG)

3rd Qual Rnd. 2nd Leg. San Marino 2 - 1 Sarajevo (BIH). Att 7.664.

Becker (BEL)

OG

EURO Cup Playoff. Leg 1. San Marino 0 - 1 Molde (NOR). Att 9,187.

EURO Cup Playoff. Leg 2. Molde (NOR) 1 - 4 San Marino. Att 10,800.

OG.

Frediani

Nsingi (BEL/COD)

Visentini (SMR) (2001)

Group L Game 1. SK Rapid Wien (AUT) 3 - 5 San Marino. Att 24,436.

Nsingi (BEL/COD)

Saucedo (ARG)

Sbaboda (CZE) pen

Ivancevic (BEL)

Frediani.

Group L Game 2. San Marino 2 - 1 Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP). Att 9,187.

Camps (ESP)

Amici (SMR/ITA) (2018)

Group L Game 3. B Jerusalem (ISR) 2 - 3 San Marino. Att 13,308.

Becker

OG

OG

Group L Game 4. San Marino 3 - 0 B. Jerusalem (ISR). Att 8,831.

Frediani

OG

Ivancevic (BEL)

Group L Game 5. San Marino 2 - 2 SK Rapid Wien (AUT), Att 9,187.

Saucedo (ARG)

Wellbeck (GHA)

Group L game 6. Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP) 2 -2 San Marino. Att 39,922.

Ayala (ARG)

Svaboda (CZE)

1st Knockout Rnd. Leg 1. Levski (Bul) 1 - 1 San Marino. Att 16,347.

OG

1st Knockout Rnd. Leg 2. San Marino 4 - 1 Levski (BUL). Att 8,782,

Bianchi (SMR) (2014) (2)

Muller (FRA)

OG

2nd Knockout Rnd. Leg 1. CSKA Moscow (RUS) 0 - 1 San Marino. Att 20,146.

Gaye (BEL)

2nd Knockout Rnd. Leg 2. San Marino 3 - 0 CSKA Moscow (RUS). Att 9,187.

Frediani (2)

Visentini (SMR) (2021)

Qtr Final. Leg 1. San Marino 3-0 Braga (POR). Att 9,187.

Ayala (ARG)

Becker (BEL) (2)

Qtr Final. Leg 2. Braga (POR) 3 - 3 San Marino. Att 16,518.

Ayala (ARG) (2)

Wellbeck (GHA)

Semi Final. Leg 1. San Marino 1 - 1 Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP). Att 9,187.

Becker (BEL)

Semi Final. Leg 2. Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP) 3 - 5 San Marino. Att 51,347.

Camps (ESP) (2)

Ayala (ARG) (2, 1 pen)

Gaye (BEL)

EURO Cup Final. Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi Turk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey.

Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 1 - 0 San Marino. Att. 52,695.

The journey to the Final was brilliant. Even the Final itself was brilliant, (rubbish game). Part of me is delighted that I have lost the 2 Italian Cup Finals and now The EURO Cup Final. I just know that when and if I ever do win something big, it is going to be a real accomplishment. When I lost the previous Cup Finals, the real reward was the promise of European football the following season, (and what a reward that is). I have a huge squad at the moment, (approaching 100 players all in), and I desperately need European football to keep everyone fit and happy. To come so close on 2 fronts and not get there is a big blow. I haven't really decided what I will do with the squad at the moment. Do I just loan a lot of players out in the hope that we will make Europe the following year? Decisions decisions decisions. Anyway, we didn't finish 7th and we didn't win the Final so that's that. (I suppose I was just spiled with 2 years of Europe earlier than I was expecting.

There were a few little things that pleased me along the way.

Academy product Di Santo (2015) scored our 1st goal in Europe.

Visentini (SMR) (2001) became the 1st goal-scorer actually born in San Marino.

Amici (SMR/ITA) (2018) got in on the act.

Biachi (SMR) (2014) scored 2 goals in the same match.

No less than 6 Sammarinese players played in the competition.

[leonavich]

I felt obliged to give Andy Selva the job when he retired, but he was rubbish so I replaced him with Nigel De Jong.

My U19 Assistant Manager is Xavi.

Would need Pele to beat bloomin Zizou though.

I had Andrea Pirlo, Lionel Messi and Roberto Baggio in FM13... The three men to push San Marino into the top 10 internationally

[Jimbokav1971]

We have had a number of players promoted through the youth system now and I think it't time to have a bit of a recap.

Bianchi (SMR) (2014)

He was capped at U21 level for ITA but he was never going to be good enough and sure enough he changed his mind. He is influential to me as a playmaker behind a lone striker.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread.

Di Santo (2015)

He has been capped by ITA at U19 U20 and U23 level but was never capped at U21 which was a shame. He has been my skipper for years now. He looks like he might have developed as far as he is going to, so we might need to replace him in the Summer. Will probably keep him on as back-up because his performances have still been excellent. If only he was Sammarinese.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread.

Pellizzari (SMR) (2016)

I made the mistake of loaning him out when I should have kept him at home and as a result he is NOT classed as home-grown at club. That is soooo annoying as he would have played a lot this season. To try and balance it up I actually registered him anyway and he played in the early European rounds, (but didn't score), and also didn't score when I then gave him a few limited oppertunities in the league. He did however score his 1st Senior INT goal, (to go with the 10 he has scored for the U21's).

You can follow his year on year development in this thread,

Chiaruzzi (SMR) (2017)

He is another one who was loaned out when he should have been at home so I think he too will not be classed as home-grown at club. (Ridiculous!) He's been out on loan in Serie D this season, but to be honest that's too low. I should have loaned him to Serie C or just kept him. He hasn't featured for the senior NT because I just didn't want to rush him. As soon as he is too old for the U21's he will be in though.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread,

Amici (SMR/ITA) (2018)

He spent last season on loan in Serie A at Roma, and did well so there was no way he was going out again this season, (and of course I have now learned my lesson about home-grown rules). To be honest I have a feeling I have missed the boat with him too. lol He is a bit confused himself actually as he still thinks he is Italian. I keep telling him "no no no you're Sammarinese", but I haven't won him round yet. He hasn't been capped by ITA U21's which is strange. I can inly hope he will see the light. (To say we are DESPERATE, for a centre-half like him is an understatement).

You can follow his year on year development in this thread,

Bosso (2019)

He has had a slow start to his career, but he proved his use this season as a utility player in Europe. The only problem being a utility player in Italy though is that we get 12 sub slots in the league and I still don't put a GK on the bench. I can pick a whole new team and have 2 spares without a GK so I'm not in that much need of a utility man. San Marino NT are of course, but unfortunately he's Italian and knows it.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread,

Pezzi (2020)

He looked rubbish when he started and still looks pretty rubbish now. If he was from SMR it would be different, but he is just another Italian, At the moment he is only at the club because of the numbers after his name. If I can off-load him in the Summer I probably will.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread,

Visentini (SMR) (2021)

Yes this man might only be 18, but he really came of age this season. He scored on his debut in the league at the age of 16 and I had an idea he might be special. This season he added another league goal, a cup goal, 2 goals in Europe and his first 2 senior INT goals. I'm delighted with him, (especially when he is often asked to play on the flank). He is a lefty so at the moment I am teaching him to play over there.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread,

Luca (SMR) (2022)

The scout report I got on this guy was amazing when he came through, but he has started with a whisper rather than a bang. He hasn't scored in the league, (but that's no problem), but hasn't scored anywhere apart from the U19's which is a bit worrying. No league goals, no cup goals, no European goals, no U21 goals & no INT goals. Not a great record for a goal-scorer.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread.

Pier (SMR) (2023)

I am refusing to get excited about this bloke on the basis that I got all excited about Luca (SMR) (2022) and so far all he has done is bore me. He did score om his debut off the bench in the league though, and his stats look pretty damn fine for a 16 year old. To be honest though, I didn't want another SC, (that's 3 in a row now). Give me a Sammarinese GK please or a centre-half. They don't have to be great. a Serie B GK would do me fine in the NT right now.

You can follow his year on year development in this thread.

While I am at it I am going to show you assorted other players.

Ayala (ARG) is my 1st choice striker.

Latorre (ESP) is my 1st choice GK.

El-Amrani "Baresi" (ITA/MAR) is the brightest rates prospect at the club. Dubbed the next Franco Baresi, my scouts keep telling me he has the potential to be a World Class centre-half in the future. I signed him for just £57k from Foggia.

Nicola Cristofaro came through the youth system this year. He's not as good as Pier (SMR) (2023), (and of course he is Italian), but he looks good and seems to have good potential. The lack of pace is a worry, so we will have to see what we can do about that.

(Will update all the pics and links over the weekend guys. If there is anything you want to see, let me know).

[Jimbokav1971]

Serie A.

Despite failing to meet my own personal target and finish 7th, (and qualify for Europe again), we missed out by 1 place but 6 points behind Lazio. We lost focus a little with the Cup Final, but even without that I think we might have come up short. We were in decent form as it is.

Italian Cup.

I had decided that our focus was going to be on finishing 7th this season, but I guess we just got a bit carried away with things. We played Serie A teams all the way through, (so it was no walk in the park), but we still made it to the Final for the 3rd time in 4 years. After losing the last 2, (and then the Euro Final last season), I will admit that I wasn't too confident, but as our opponents in the Final, (Napoli), had already qualified for Europe, it effectively meant that so had we.

Italian Cup 1st Round. San Marino 3 - 2 Chievo. Att 8,973.

Frediani (2)

Pandoni.

We weren't great and after building a 2 goal lead in the 1st half, we found ourself level with 5 minutes to go only to sneak through at the death. It was Pandoni's only goal of the season and it was a complete fluke.

Italian Cup Quarter Final. Inter 0 - 1 San Marino. Att 69,872.

OG.

The league was our priority so I was resting players and playing a slightly rotated team, but we won again, (this tiime relying on an own goal to get us through).

Italian Cup Semi Final Leg 1. San Marino 4 - 1 Juve. Att 9,187.

Camps (ESP) (3)

Ayala (ARG)

I picked a strong starting XI and a weak bench. The idea was that if it went pear-shaped I would just throw the kids on and not worry about it. As it is we absolutely hammered them. Camps (ESP) scored 2 goals from long throws, (yes really), decided he was taking the penalty for the 3rd, (he's not nominated), and then Ayala (ARG) returned our 3 goal lead late on after we let a late one in. Surely even Juve couldn't stick 3 past us in the 2nd leg?

Italian Cup Semi Final Leg 2. Juve 1 - 0 San Marino. Att 60,976.

They didn't score their consolation until about 15 minutes to go, and by then I was already in party mode. I knew then that we would be in Europe because both teams in the other Semi, (Napoli and someone), were nailed on to qualify for Europe via the league. That was all I wanted. The Cup Final itself was like a freeby extra.

Italian Cup Final. San Marino 2 - 2 Napoli. Att 59,186.

Becker (BEL)

Visentini (SMR) (2021)

Penalty shoot out.

Becker (BEL) scored.

Svboboda (CZE) scored.

Monroy (USA) scored.

El Amrani "Barese" (ITA/MAR) scored.

[video=youtube;1LGWhjIhQBc]

To say they hammered us in the 1st half would be an understatement. We did have a shot, because I can remember being surprised when I saw it in the stats at half-time. How we were only 2-0 down was a miracle. Latorre (ESP), our superstar GK had injured himself a few days earlier and was only able to play after a course of injections. It's a good job because my next keeper was a 17yo danish kid. So I shouted at them at half time and threw a bit of a strop and sent them out with all 3 subs made. I wasn't bothered so much about losing, (I'm used to it by now), but losing in that manner was not ok. It seemed to work and we were soon flying into tacckles and Napoli didn't like it at all, (especially when their influential winger got carried off after a particularly heavy challenge). Becker (BEL) intercepted some shoddy distribution by the keeper and then advanced and cooly converted the 1v1 chance, (I just like saying it), bnut although we were much improved, it didn't look like it was going to happen for us and I had just about given up. In fully the 4th minute of 3 minutes of injury time, one of only 2 San Marino Nationals on the pitch, Visentini (SMR) (2021) fires home to leave me leaping about like an eegit. I was going mental and for a minute I thought I had won, only to quickly remember that now we had extra-time. This passed without much event at all. I think we had knocked the stuffing out of them and they were not the same team anyway without that classy winger.

So it went to pens and I didn't even pick who took them. The whole thing was one big Brucey bonus. For a start we were not meant to be in the Cup Final. We were concentrating on the league remember, and then the ref had been over-due to blow his whistle before we scored. You couldn't make it up.

Bianchi (SMR) (2014)

Di Santo (2015)

Pellizzari (SMR) (2016)

Chiaruzzi (SMR) (2017)

Amici (SMR/ITA) (2018)

Boddo (2019)

Pezzi (2020)

Visentini (SMR) (2021)

Luca (SMR) (2022)

Pier (SMR) (2023)

Volp (SMR) (2024)

Assorted others.

Latorre (ESP)

Ayala (ARG)

Becker (BEL)

El Amrani "Baresi" (ITA/SMR)

Other news.

Plans have been announced for a new 22,500 stadium. It's brilliant, but I question building a brand spanking new stadium and then making it only that big. How long until we grow out of it? It has to last for 20 years! The cost will be covered by a £29M loan repayable over 20 years. That all sounds great until you realise we will pay £17M in interest over that period. On the plus side, we have done a sponsorship deal with the stadium and that will bring in £13.4M over 10 years. I'm hoping if I can flog some players and build up some cash reserves then they will choose to repay the loan early.

Although we were granted planning permission for the stadium, multiple upgrades for both youth and training facilities are still at the planning stage for some reason. I'm not sure if this is money related or bug-related, but irrespective I will press on. In that respect though, I will be trying to generate some cash to try and build up the clubs cash reserves. Lots of our players are very..... average I would call them, and I should be able to replace them with similar ability players on the cheap. It's the next step where the big bucks is required and we are simply not there yet. The problem is that it is not as easy to sell players on FM14 as it was on old issues. This has been explained by a small number of clubs chasing a large number of players, (makes sense to me), but it doesn't make it any easier.

Close season.

As mentioned above, we were having problems selling players, (something my large squad style is built on), so I am really desperate to sell some players even just for nominal amounts just to keep things ticking over.

Latorre (ESP) went for £7.5M (a club record), and the only reason we didn't get more was because I had somehow agreed to a minimum fee release clause. (Idiot!)

23yo (ITA) SC went for £575k.

22yo (CRC) DM went for £675k

25yo rubbish (ITA) SC went for £275k.

25yo (SWE) SC (that I just signed to make some cash), went out on loan for £200k.

24yo (ESP) AMR went out for £675k, (which sounds ok until I tell you that for some ridiculous reason I actually paid £4.2M for him.

29yo (GHA) MC went for £475k.

28yo (BIH) MC went for £725k.

We have 27 players out on loan, but the biggest issue this season is that we have lost our #1 GK Latorre, I had already agreed to let our #2 GK Savvidis (GRE) go out on loan, so we are left with 17yo Casper (DEN) who finished the season off for us after Lattore got injured.

After a long time of being refused a new feeder club, (I was asking for the wrong reason or something like that), we were finally given an option of a few and I opted for Partizan Belgrade simply because they had some real young players and they were in the Champs Cup. I immediately loaned them 5 youngsters, but it wasn't enough to see them through qualifying against Basel, so instead they drop into the EURO Cup Playoff where they meet..... Ajax.

[Twellman24]

Alrighty, I'm trying this!

The Manager

I'll let you know how it goes!

T24

[dan_lcfc]

Ive been doing this challenge for a few seasons now. Really enjoying it.

2013/21014 http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieC1_A_OverviewStages_zpseb005f53.png

2014/2015 http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieC1_B_OverviewStages_zpsa770dd7e.png

2015/2016 http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieC1_B_OverviewStages-2_zps9717c117.png

2016/2017 http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieC1_B_OverviewStages-3_zps0ac97f96.png

You definatly did well to get promoted first season! Losing money fast aswell and the wage budget is now down to £23kp/w. Solid start to season 4 though!

[dan_lcfc]

Season 2016/2017 Mid season Update

A very solid start to the season with only one defeat. 1-0 away at Prato (who only had 2 shots in the whole match grrrrr)

I have to say Ive never seen a team go so long without drawing a game (see Pisa)

I have hot and cold streaks where sometimes Im scoring for fun and others, Im just scrapping for 1-0 wins. Rather frustrating atm, but thats what you get without a real top striker.

On the national front (Im not managing them yet) I have produced a young lad who my AM says will be a decent Serie A DM in the future

He is dual nationality but wont ever have a chance of playing for Italy so we can hope he realises sooner rather than later!

[dan_lcfc]

2016/2017 End of Season Review

CHAMPIONS!

Serie B here we come!! A very strange League winners cup scenario up next though? Bizzare.

[Jimbokav1971]

Hi guys.

Sorry I haven't been about much. When I last looked in there was nobody else posting so I wasn't in a rush to hurry back.

I have a mega-update to come.

[dan_lcfc]

Ditto. Ive got another few seasons to write up!

[dan_lcfc]

Okay where do we begin. A three season tale of devastation!

Season 2017/1018

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieB_OverviewStages_zps683bf9b1.png

We did brilliantly well over the season, the second half of the season we had a massive drop off, but still had enough to secure a 4th placed finish.

The play offs didnt go well and our fantastic season came to an end with a 5-2 agg defeat to Varese

Season 2018/2019

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieB_OverviewStages-2_zps156eccf2.png

Another solid start to the season - but the post Christmas collapse of last season bit us again - we scraped into the playoffs on the last day of the season.

This time, a 1-1 draw with hight seeded Catania in the Qtr Final saw us go out to the higher seed rule. Very frustrating but such is life.

Season 2019/2020

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/ItalianSerieB_OverviewStages-3_zpseb04e244.png

Surely this time around we could curb the Christmas curse. After losing the first 3 games of the season we went on to amass 40 points at the halfway stage.

Que the curse. with only 28 points in the second half of the season - we only won back to back games twice in the second set of 21 games - not good enough. We managed to go the last 5 games of the season undefeated to secure a third consecutive playoff campaign.

Again though, we didnt turn up. In the qtr finals we faced Varese again. A 2-0 defeat followed despite us being the higher seed and having the home tie! We didnt fashion a chance untill the 83rd minute. Although their goals came from a corner and a DFK, it was just not good enough

Looking ahead

Davide Ceccoli has come on leaps and bounds from the photo above

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/DavideCeccoli_OverviewProfile-3_zps8db5de1a.png

He finally decided to play for SM and despite handing in a transfer request for a move to a bigger club, he withdrew it a few weeks later. He still has 3 years on his contract!

Michele Raschi

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/MicheleRaschi_OverviewProfile_zps7556c51a.png

A new lad from this years intake. Looks fairly solid, got POM on his debut due to injuries. Should serve the NT well eventually!

A very special mention. Super Robbie Keane.

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/RobbieKeane_OverviewProfile_zpsff2cc921.png

39 years old and still got 20 goals in him. Superb!

And thats where we catch up. Onwards and upwards!

[Jimbokav1971]

pmsl

You have a pace 4 Robbie scoring your goals. lol Quality!

Unlucky with the Playoffs. I can't remember exactly long it took me but I have a feeling I was pretty lucky. I lost out once on the higher ranking thing, (to Latina), and of course got relegated once too, but other than that it was pretty steady progress.

Ceccoli looks great. I didn't have a player like him until about.... 2years ago which was 2029. I do have some stars now and plan on doing the update right now while I am in the mood.

[Jimbokav1971]

Landmarks.

2013 Jul. Hired me.

2014 May. Finished 1st in Serie C1/A.

2014 May. Serie C1/A Champions.

2014 May. Promotion to Serie B.

2014 May. Serie C1 Cup Winners.

2014 May. I sign new 1 year contract.

-

2014 Nov. Youth facilities upgraded.

2015 Apr. Relegation from Serie B.

2015 May. Finished 22nd in Serie B.

-

2015 Jul. I sign a new 2 year contract.

2016 May. Finished 6th in Serie C1/B

-

2016 Nov. New President takes over club. (Consortium).

2016 Dec. I sign a new 1 year contract.

2017 Apr. Finished 1st in Serie C1/B.

2017 Apr. Serie C/1B Champions.

2017 Apr. Promotion to Serie B.

-

2017 Nov. I sign a new 2 year contract.

2018 May. Finished 4th in Serie B.

-

2019 May. Finished 3rd in Serie B.

2019 Jun. Promotion to Serie A.

2019 Jun. I sign a new 2 year contract.

-

2019 Dec. Training facilities upgraded.

2020 May. Finished 13th in Serie A.

-

2020 Jul. I sign new 3 year contract.

2021 Feb. Stadium capacity increased to 7,813.

2021 May. Finished 13th in Serie A.

2021 May. 1st place in Serie A Best Club of the Year.

2021 May. Italian Cup runners up.

-

2021 Aug. Italian Super Cup winners.

2021 Sep. Stadium capacity increased to 9,187.

2021 May. Finished 10th in Serie A.

2022 May. Italian Cup runners up.

2022 May. 1st place in Serie A Best Club of the Year.

-

Continued from last update.

-

2022 Aug. Italian Super Cup runners up.

2023 May. 1st place in Serie A Best Club of the Year.

2023 May. EURO Cup Runners up.

2023 May. Finished 8th in Serie A.

-

2024 Jan. I sign a new 3 year contract.

2024 May. Italian Cup winners.

2024 May. Finished 8th in Serie A.

-

2024 Aug. Italian Super Cup Winners.

2025 May. Italian Cup Runners up.

2025 May. Finished 5th in Serie A.

-

2025 Dec. I sign a new 4 year contract.

2026 May. Finished 5th in Serie A.

2026 Jun. Move to San Marino Stadium completed.

-

2027 May Finished 7th in Serie A.

-

2027 May. Italian Cup Runners up.

2028 Mar. President Alfonso Corna leaves.

2028 Mar. New President Hannu Makela (Finnish) takes over (Consortium).

2028 Apr. Italian Cup Runners up.

2028 May. EURO Cup Runners up.

2028 May. Finished 6th in Serie A.

-

2028 Jul. Training facilities upgraded.

2028 Jul. Youth facilities upgraded.

2029 May. EURO Cup winners.

2029 May. 1st place in Serie A Best Club of the Year.

2029 May Italian Cup winners.

2029 May. Finished 2nd in Serie A.

-

2029 Jul. I sign a new 4 year contract.

2029 Aug. Italian Super Cup winners.

2029 Aug. European Super Cup Runners up.

2029 Oct. Training facilities upgraded.

2030 May. Italian Cup winners.

2030 May. Serie A Champions.

-

2030 Aug. Italian Super Cup winners.

2031 May. Serie A Champions.

2031 May. European Champions Cup winners.

Even after all these years only 5 Sammarinese players make my Senior squad at the start of the season, (and Bianchi is struggling now). It's not that I don't have other Sammarinese players who will feature throughout the season. It's just that I have better foreigners. I have basically been rotating 2 different teams in order to compete on both the domestic and European front, and while we have done well in Cups over the years, (at least up until the Finals), it has always taken it's toll on our league form. By having 2 completely different teams who can play in the same week. it's starting to become less of an issue. last season I concentrated on the Champions League, (having not won it before and having won Serie A the season before), and only both Juve and Napoli imploding allowed us to sneak in at the death after we had a horrible January.

Club Overview.

We have made steady progress and where you see a little drop off in league performances, that is me prioritising the Cup in an effort to gain European football the following season. This was easier than it might have been because even when you get to Serie A, it takes a whilr for your reputation to catch up and for a while the big guns really underestimate you. (It's just a shame that the smaller teams don't too).

Boardroom Overview.

Despite me having loads of surplus cash, you will see that there was a Training Facilities upgrade cancelled as recently as 3 seasons ago. This happened because the decision as to whether you can afford it or not comes just at the part of the season where you have paid everything out and just before it start to comes rolling in again. A month or so later and I was rolling in cash, but when I needed it I was short so it got cancelled. I have had issues with developing the facilities, and what i do now is just build it into contract extensions and every time someone offers me an interview.

Boardroom Confidence.

It's the very start of the season so that's why a lot of the bars are at 50%. The reason the job status is so low is because it would be cheap to terminate my contract. It's always like that I think so either it's broken or they aren't paying me enough.

Boardroom Finances Summary.

I've just spent about £40M on a selection of youngsters who caught my scouts eye, and I am really only on the lookout for a right winger now.

Boardroom Finances Expenditure.

Boardroom Finances Salary.

A £2M wage budget is very nice, It's even nicer when you can go and splash £120M+ without digging into it.

Scouting Overview.

Scouting Knowledge.

Earlier on the save I used to manually scout places, (certainly South America), but I seemed to get such poor results that for about a decade now I have just let the Chief Scout get on with it. I just look at the reports and where they go is up to him.

Information General.

I became a Legend after winning Serie A for the 1st time, (I think), and I have been joined by my best centre-half and my best striker over the last few years. Sadly neither of them is Sammarinese. Bianchi (SMR) (2014) is listed as an Icon and Becker (BEL), Di Santo (2015) & Ceccoli (SMR/ITA) (2026) are all on the Favoured Personnel list.

Information Facilities.

Our nice little 21,150 capacity all-seater is being expanded by 5,017 seats and has been reduced in size while the work is done. Great Training facilities is pretty good, but only Average Youth facilities is a little frustrating. I will admit that even after reading Cleon's Ajax thread I don't understand fully how it works but my Junior coaching is exceptional, (it's been like that for a while now), but youth recruitment is only at above average.

How I understand it is...

Youth Recruitment = Potential Ability.

Junior Coaching = Current Ability.

Youth Facilities = Rate of development.

If that's correct then I really need to get the recruitment up a few levels as soon as possible, (and have no idea how).

History Overview.

History Competitions Domestic Leagues.

Bianchi (SMR) (2014)

Bianchi (SMR) (2014) History 1.

Bianchi (SMR) (2014) History 2

Bianchi was the best player who came through the system that 1st season and he has done brilliantly for me. As well as all hos goals and assists, I actually created my initial tactic around him, (to use with the NT), and he rewarded me 10 times over. He even gave the club a cash injection when we most needed it by being bought by Latina and then coming back to us for not much more a few years later when we had the cash to splash. The only negative with him at all was that despite arriving at the club in 2014, he refused to play for the NT until 2022, (wasting 8 valuable years while we tolied without him). In his defence he had played for the U21's so I can see why he waited, but it was never going to happen.

Di Santo (2015).

Di Santo (2015) History 1. (Missing pic)

Di Santo (2015) History 2.

This bloke was mental good. Forget how poor he looks. It is completely irrelevant. He was my captain for about a decade and as he is a Model Pro that impacted on the rest of the team. If he had been Sammarinese God only knows what I might have been able to do with the NT by now. I was desperate to turn him into a coach or an Ass Man but he just doesn't seem interested.

Pellizzari (SMR) (2016).

Pellizzari (SMR) (2016) History 1.

Pellizzari (SMR) (2016) History 2.

I never really liked this bloke but when he is one of your best players, (as he was in the early days), there is not much you can do about it. He never really performed at club level, (although I admit I didn't give him much of a chance), but on the International stage he has been brilliant and consistantly performed above expectations. Playing mainly from the right wing, he has scored 12 goals in 60 appearances. For any International team that decent. For San Marino that's stupendous.

Chiaruzzi (SMR) (2017).

Chiaruzzi (SMR) (2017) History 1.

Chiaruzzi (SMR) (2017) History 2.

I was desperate for a Sammarinese centre-half when I first started and I thought this guy might be the answer. He wasn't.

Amici (SMR) (2018).

Amici (SMR) (2018) History 1.

Amici (SMR) (2018) History 2.

Amici on the other hand was just what the Dr ordered and has been 1st choice centre-half for the NT from as soon as he realised that he was never going to play for Italy, (he was about 22 by then), where as everyone else has just got thrown in at the deep and as novice teenagers. In the end though I was just glad he agreed to change his mind because it wasn't funny conceding goals all over the place. His partner at the back was the only decent (SMR) player that I didn't produce at club level. Manuel Conti, (who started off at Fiorentio). He retired with 116 caps and 1 NT goal to his name and despite the fact that he wasn't brilliant, (and was small for a centre-half), was vital in the development of the NT.

The biggest thing about Conti however is not related to his playing performances, (at least not directly anyway). San Marino start the game with no players who have a high enough reputation so that future players might be "dubbed the next" or "touted as the next" whoever. Conti broke the barrier on this and I have had a short utility defender, (I just class him as a right back despite the fact that he is a natural at centre-half), who was "dubbed/touted" as the next Manuel Conti.

Bosso (2019).

Bosso (2019) History 1.

Bosso (2019) History 2.

I liked this bloke, but he never seemed to do the business and I ended up flogging him to Roma. Every time I play against him he does well and Roma have improved since he joined them. In hindsight, I don't think I gave him enough early career game-time to aid his development.

Ragini (SMR).

Ragini (SMR) History 1.

Ragini (SMR) History 2.

Ragini wasn't the pick of the players who were promoted from the Academy in 2020, but he is certainly the most influential. Defending was always an issue for the NT and even more so with no recognised reasonable standard GK and only 2 decent centre-backs, (one of whom is very short). Ragini has performed way above his ability for the NT, to such an extent that I no longer consider him a weak link, (even though he very much is looking at his attributes). Covering up and protecting both full-backs, (the other is even poorer), is probably the tiny little bit of the game that I am most pleased with in this save. Full backs like that shouldn't be able to compete with decent teams.

Visentini (SMR) (2021).

Visentini (SMR) (2021) History 1.

Visentini (SMR) (2021) History 2.

Where as I didn't like Pellizzari at all, I really liked Visentini and as a result he got more game-time. For a while in 2026/27 he even came close to becoming 1st choice on the left flank, (well 14 goals in 23(7) appearances from the wing is bloomin good!), and that season he also scored 6 NT goals in 10 appearances. Now if I was managing Italy or Brazil then that would be decent. For him to do it in a team like San Marino it's just mental. He was the guy who just used to come up with a goal when we most needed it. He's no longer at the club bit is still a vital part of the NT squad.

Luca (SMR) (2022).

Luca (SMR) (2022) History.

I had really high hoped for Luca, but it just never really happened for him. He was usurped by Pier from the following years Academy in the NT and as we only play 1 up front he had to play 2nd fiddle. 24 goals in 99 appearances at club level may not be special (although he has scored another 17 Cup/European goal), but he has also scored 18 NT goals in 49 apprearances, (many from the bench), and again, this is playing for lowly San Marino.

Pier (SMR) (2023).

Pier (SMR) (2023) History.

This was the 1st real quality player that our academy produced. Yeah some of the others were decent, but this bloke was better. The problem was that by this stage I was tearing my hair out waiting for a GK to come through the system. I had produced a couple of average one's, (and that's all I wanted), but they didn't even have (SMR) as a 2nd Nationality so it was a waste. I now had a striker playing on each flank, a creative flair player playing in the hole and now I had a 2nd striker. :-( I was just desperate for anything defensive by this time. A GK, anything across the back 4 or even a holding midfielder. In fact I think I would have settled for just a grafting midfielder. I have a feeling that about this time I sacked my HoYD in an attempt to flow of attacking players and instead produce someone with some defensive ability. That wasn't the only problem where Pier was concerned. Oh no. It didn't matter that he scored on his debut as a sub and then the following season scored on his NT debut too. He was causing problems in the NT, (because now I had been forced to drop Luca, but despite banging in the goals Per just wouldn't sign a new contract. he eventually left on a free to join Stuttgart. I was not best pleased. I ended up spending £38M to bring him back, via a little sojourn in Portugal, but to be honest I have more money than I know what to do with so it was money well spent. Next season he will be 1st choice starting striker for the first time anywhere in his career. Last season he featured mostly as a WTM as I lost both my right wingers and needed someone and something to fill the gap.

Volp (SMR) (2024).

Volp (SMR) (2024) History.

Volp was just what I was looking for. If I can't have had a GK or a defender then someone to sit in front was the next best option. I really focussed on his playing time in the early seasons and his development responded accordingly. So far he is the best player that I have produced. I didn't get his personality modified as much as I would like, but it's a damn sight better than it was, (can't remember what it was now but it wasn't good). He has 49 caps to his name at the age of 22 and is one of the 1st names on the team-sheet for both club and country.

Mazza (SMR).

Mazza (SMR) History.

Haleflippinlujah. Mazza is not brilliant and he is never going to be brilliant. But what he is is a reasonable GK who is eligible to play for (SMR). He went straight into the NT as a kid, hence why he already has 48 caps. He has actually performed brilliantly on occasion and although I know he is never going to be good enough for the club side, I now have absolutely no worries about him in the NT. I have a 2nd (SMR) GK who had dual nationality and still wants to play for Italy. I don't care. Mazza will do me fine thanks. (The only problem comes when he is injured).

Ceccoli (SMR/ITA) (2026).

Ceccoli (SMR/ITA) (2026) History.

I mentioned dual Nationality (SMR/ITA) players and this is another example. He has already taken the Italian NT by storm and was instrumental in them ending an awful period by winning the recent 2030 World Cup. He's just signed a new long-term contract and I was starting to get concerned that I would lose him. His performances suffered while he was fighting over a new contract so now that is done and dusted I expect him to be on fire.

Sam (SMR) (2027).

Sam (SMR) (2027) History.

This was a pretty good year for the Academy but so far they have failed to deliver. The best 2 had DN and are still holding out for Italy and even Sam dug his heels in to start with. He has improved over the last season or so with more 1st team football, but needs to kick on really/

Graziano (2028).

Graziano (2028) History.

No Sammarinese blood again so a bit of a let-down. I would have loved to pick him for (SMR) but alas it's not to be.

Volpinari (SMR) (2029).

Volpinari (SMR) (2029) History.

He is the ready made replacement for Bianchi and he is looking good so far, (he just needs more games). I will be making sure he gets them.

Gabi (SMR) (2030).

Gabi (SMR) (2030) History.

Gabi looks to have decent if unspectacular PA. doesn't really look like a winger though so I need to have a little think about how I'm going to get the best out of him.

Calogeri "Rossi" (2031).

Calogeri "Rossi" (2031) History

Named after Paolo, this kid looks fantastic. Ticks all the boxes with the exception that he has no Sammarinese links at all. Absolutely gutted. My scouts suggest that he has the potential to be World Class. He is certainly the best that I have produces. Unfortunately it;s a complete waste because he will be playing for Italy. :-(

[Edit]

There is 1 more thing that I need to mention before I even get onto the NT, but that will have to wait I'm afraid.

[MADA]

great read. will try this challenge after i finish the youth one.

[Jimbokav1971]

Player Personality.

Something that has become increasingly important to me over the course of this save is player personality. At the start I really didn't pay much attention and as a result Bianchi (SMR) (2014) is still Balanced, (huge mistake). Where as I used to look for certain attributes to jump out at me in a young player, now what really attracts me is personality.

I soon learnt from this mistake though and it was really down to the performances, (and significantly influence while he was captain), of Di Santo (2015) who made me look at this in greater detail. Di Santo (2015) is a Model Pro and even though he was never much to look at, the team performed significantly better when he played. I noticed that if I rested him and Becker (BEL), (who was also a Model Pro but is now a Leader), then no matter how string a team I fielded we just would not perform as well.

When EL Amrani (ITA/MOR) started to become an influence and also became a Model Pro, with tutoring from Di Santo (2015), it became less of an issue just so long as one of them was there. To not play any of them however was just asking to get beat. It didn't matter who we played or how strong our team was. If at least one of these 3 didn't play then we simply didn't win.

With me getting a bit anal about tutoring, I now find myself with 8 Model Pro's at the club, 8 more who are Professional and a further 25 who are Fairly Professional. When you add 2 Leaders, (who both used to be Model Pro's I think), and 9 more who are Resolute, things are progressing nicely. I regularly check my shortlist and toggle players by personality. I'm desperate for a Model Citizen, but so far no luck.

It's got to the stage where although I only really look to buy young players, I am seriously looking at splashing the cash on players specifically to use them as Tutors. GK is an area where I particularly need this. What I am doing at the moment is looking at my shortlist, making sure I can see Personality type, Age and Reputation and then adding the Personality type to the nickname of any players that interest me and then scouting them again. It's a shame that you can't filter by personality, but that would make it too easy I suppose. The thing about signing these Model Pro's in a non-playing capacity is that because of the very nature of their personality, they are less likely to kick up a fuss when they don't play. Win-win.

[dan_lcfc]

pmsl

You have a pace 4 Robbie scoring your goals. lol Quality!

Unlucky with the Playoffs. I can't remember exactly long it took me but I have a feeling I was pretty lucky. I lost out once on the higher ranking thing, (to Latina), and of course got relegated once too, but other than that it was pretty steady progress.

Ceccoli looks great. I didn't have a player like him until about.... 2years ago which was 2029. I do have some stars now and plan on doing the update right now while I am in the mood.

He doesnt need to run anywhere though! Thats why he was fit enough to play every game lol

Ceccoli is the only player of real quality Ive had, some of the others made a few appearences from the bench but never been able to hold a regular starting position.

Well untill Raschi and Valentini this season

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag7/danarlow90/MicheleValentini_OverviewProfile_zps00d77bb4.png

Hopefully Those two will choose SM as both are Dual Nat.

Raschi is 'Fairly Loyal' and Valentini is 'Ambitious'

The best tutors I have are 'Fairly Professional' both for RB and CD.

[dan_lcfc]

Hmmmm, I think Im ready to take on the NT but Manzaroli isnt showing any sign of leaving. Im not sure weather to add a manager and retire him straight away so the job becomes available.

Saying that, Im not sure my rep is high enough to get the job if there was no manager ......

[Jimbokav1971]

There is no rush. It's such a hard slog in the early years that if I had my time again I probably wouldn't do it.

We beat Faroe Islands 1-0 in 2014, beat Belarus 2-0 in 2015 and then didn't win another competitive game until 2027. Now that is hard graft!

[Jimbokav1971]

Management of the NT has been bloody hard work and if I had my time again I probably would choose not to manage both club and Country right from the start. There was simply so little to work with early on that just keeping the score down was an achievement, (that I often got nowhere near). As well as being really frustrating though, it's also FAR more rewarding than winning with the club side. It's hard to explain and unless you have managed a team like San Marino and gone literally...... (I've just checked and it's 11 full years), without a competitive win, then you won't fully grasp what it's like when you eventually do win.

Here is the story so far.

World Cup 2014 was held in Brazil, (as I'm sure you know). It was won by Spain. Colombia were the Runners Up and USA finished 3rd.

I inherited a squad who had already beaten Moldova and I managed 0 points to that as we finished bottom of the group, (behind even Moldova).

EURO 2016 was held in France. It was won by Germany and Turkey were Runners Up.

We opened with a nice little 1-0 win over Faroe Islands, (gotta love a clean sheet for the NT), and followed that up with an ever better 2-0 over Belarus, (yay! another clean sheet), but alas 6 points were still not enough to move us off the bottom of the group. On the plus side, we had finished only 1 point behind Belarus and Faroe Islands.

World Cup 2018 was held in Russia. It was won by Italy, Denmark were Runners Up and Argentina finished 3rd.

We drew the opening game of the campaign 0-0, (I love a clean sheet, especially in the NT), but that was our solitary point as we finished 9 points behind 2nd bottom. There is a long way to go it seems.

EURO 2020 was held in Turkey. It was won by Germany and Belgium were Runners Up.

What a disaster this campaign was. We only scored 2 goals and shipped a whopping 49 goals in 8 games at a rate of 6.125 goals per game. I think the less said about this the better.

World Cup 2022 was held in Qatar, (bribing so and so's). It was won by England, Brazil were the Runners Up and Croatia came 3rd.

Another campaign with not much return came and went and our single point was garnered as a result of a 2-2 draw away to Estonia.

EURO 2024 was held in Spain. Romania were the winners and Portugal were the Runners Up.

A second consecutive qualifying campaign with 0 points. On the plus side, we scored double the amount of goals, (from 2 to 4), and conceded 13 fewer goals, (from 49 to 36). In a demoralising caompaign such as this, you have to take the positives where you can find them.

World Cup 2026 was held in Mexico. Ukraine were the surprise winners, hosts Mexico were the Runners Up and Germany came 3rd.

Again it was just 1 point collected, this time from an away fraw to N.Ireland. We were gettin g better, but we were still a fair way off beating teams. We scored against Albania, (in each game), and Hungary and then went and stuck 2 past N.Ireland, Croatia and Cyprus so things were certainly improving in front of goal. We just kept conceding, (although for the first time there was no battering in this campaign). We still finished a whopping 11 points behind Cyprus and N.Ireland and we still seemed a million miles away from even the feintest glimmer of qualification.

EURO 2028 was held in Sweden. Portugal were the winners and France were Runners Up.

After the last couple of EURO campaigns, I looked at the draw of Greece, Portugal, Belgium & Finland and my heart sank.

The opening games went as expected as we were on the end of a hiding from both Greece and Portugal. In reality the performances were nowhere near as bad as the scoreline suggests, but in the Greece game they seemed to score every time the ball went anywhere near their World Class striker, (literally), and we kept it close against Portugal and the scoreline was only skewed by some late goals.

We started with a quite astonishing 2-0 win over Belgium. We absolutely played them off the pitch, and every little thing that I had been trying to do tactically seemed to work. We just clicked. Our Advanced Playmaker bossed it and a fairer reflection on the game would have been 4 or even 5 nil. I was ecstatic. We were on a high and went in to the Greece game full of confidence only to be robbed. Seriously! We were brilliant and after keeping it tight early on, got the break-through, only to see a late hat-trick from their World Class striker give them all 3 points. I was really gutted. We were playing so well but we struggled late on in every game. I was asking too much of the players, and when they got tired the subs were just not up to it.

Next up was a double-header against Finland, Portugal at home and the return against Belgium. We dispatched Finland both home and away, battled to a huge 0-0 draw at home to Portugal, (have I mentioned I love clean sheets?) and then as if that wasn't enough we topped the whole thing off by drawing away to Belgium, (0-0 again).

I was so excited by the individual results that I had never even taken a moment to look at the overall picture, and when I realsied that we had finshed 3rd, (and just missed out on 2nd by a single point), I was ecstatic.

This was nothing compared to my mood when I saw that we would be involved in a Playoff for the European Championship Finals. We had a two-legged tie against Romania between us and the 2028 European Championship Finals in Sweden.

Of course we didn't win. (We were never going to win), but this was huge. Not only had we beaten decent, (even good), teams, we had importantly finished above them in the league and made the huge step of getting as far as the Playoffs. After recent EURO qualifying campaigns, this was beyond my wildest dreams and seemed to have happened very quickly, (after so little happening for so long_.

World Cup 2030 was held in Italy and it was won by the hosts. Belgium were Runners Up and Brazil came 3rd.

We started well, (2-0 away win over Azerbaijan) and losses against Spain (0-2) and Sweden (1-3), didn't dampen my spirits when we then beat N.Ireland 2-1 away. We had only played 4 games and already we had 6 pts. We beat Azerbaijan in a 7 goal belter but then let ourselves down as N.Ireland easily beat us 2-0 and we had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Sweden to pick up our spirits. We were nowhere near qualifying, but we had at least finished above both Azerbaijan and N.Ireland in the table.

[Jimbokav1971]

The EURO 2032 Finals have not been played yet, although our qualifying campaign has now ended.

When I saw that we would be up against Italy and Holland I wasn't overly bothered, but what excited me was that the 4 games against Andorra and Moldova were eminently winnable, and what would probably decide 3rd place in the group were the games between ourselves and Israel. I say that quite matter of factly, but I can't stress to you how hard it has been to get to the stage where first of all we would have weaker teams in the group, but secondly that we would be confidant of actually beating them. Israel are a decent team, (not brilliant), but it was a realistic target to finish above them in the group and after that it was just a question of how our record would compare with the teams who finished 3rd in other groups. I couldn't worry too much about that. What I had to do was make sure I finished 3rd.

It didn't start off great as Holland gave us a right doing, (despite not being a good team in my opinion). They were 4-0 up within half an hour and I have a feeling I screwed up on the tactics.

We weren't expected to get anything out of the game and 0-1 or 1-6 still gets you "nil points" as they say in Eurovision.

We returned to winning ways with a convincing 5-0 win away to Andorra, but the bad news was that Israel had somehow drawn 2-2 away to Italy. grrrr

Israel seemed to have awakened the beast within Italy and they bounced back in spectacular style absolutely hammering us 7-0.

We again bounced back with an away win over Moldova, but it was a less than convincing performance and we were hanging on at the end.

Defeat against Israel was a huge knock to our hopes of finishing 3rd, (our 3rd home loss on the bounce), and more than the loss it was a really poor performance. It made me completely rip up my home tactic and start again. It just wasn't working and it had just about cost us this qualifying campaign. This was a big blow.

Our fortunes seemed to turn however and a brilliant 0-0 away to Holland, (with only 36% by our possession), showed that there was certainly nothing wrong with my away tactic. Almost as pleasing were the 2 points dropped by our big rivals Israel away to Andorra. They had gained 1 point with the draw against Italy, 3 more by beating us, but had then lost 2 points here. That was a net + of +2 for them. We were sitting at +1, (in my little World), by virtue of our draw in Holland. Unless Israel slipped up against Moldova, we were going to have to beat them in the last qualifying game.

With my home tactic deleted, I started again with something really conservative and just tried to do the basics against Andorra. It was enough and we won 1-0. It wasn't the tactic that I wanted, but it was a start, (and improved during the game as I saw previously unforseen errors).

The new and improved tactic was much better against Moldova and a convincing 5-0 win, (could and should have been more), put a big smile on my face. Israel almost wiped it off by nearly snatching a draw against Holland, but the Dutch hung on.

The Italy game was absolutely mental. They absolutely battered us. I mean properly battered us. It felt like there was just highlight after highlight of them attacking us, but each highlight actually showed us defending well. We got to HT at 0-0 and I was loving it. We were defending brilliantly and towards the end of the half had even started to show the first glimpses of an ability to hit on the counter. I opted to change to my old club tactic, (exploit the counter), but make the HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE mistake of forgetting to re-do the opposition instructions after HT. By the time I realised what was wrong, (it took a while), we had conceded and that was that. I changed again looking for a late draw and we conceded a 2nd, but in all my hours playing FM14, this was one of my most enjoyable games. We probably wouldn't have managed a 0-0 even if I hadn't forgotten then opposition instruction, but I guess I will never know now. There was severe danger of me streaking had that game ended up at 0-0, (so maybe it's just as well).

It all came down to Israel away. All they had to do was draw to finish 3rd while we had to beat a higher ranked team away. We started on fire and with half an hour gone we led 4-0. I was ecstatic but it was to be short-lived as the ref awarded not 1 but 2 penalties against us. At Ht it was 2-4 and I had to decide whether to stick or twist. I opted for twist and we continued as we were but the next goal went to them and shook me to my core. It was 4-3 now and with half an hour to play a goal for them would see them back into 3rd. I needn't have worried though as we really took the game to them late on and scored a 5th and a 6th. We had previously scored 5 against Andorra and Moldova, and 4 against Azerbaijan and even Finland, but 6 was a new high for us, (and against a decent team too).

We had acheived our target of finishing 3rd, and this would again see us rise in the rankings and make future qualifying all that much easier.

It just remained to be seen how our 3rd compared to the other teams who had finished 3rd.

We missed out on goal difference. It was a big margin though, (9 goals), so not really close at all. What had cost us was the home defeat against Israel, (well that and the 12 goals conceded at home to Italy and Holland). The only explanation I have is drunk management when I attempted to "fix" my home tactic and then forgot. :-( Oh well.

We may not have made the playoffs, but we hit our target of finishing 3rd, (above Israel), and added a creditable 0-0 away draw with Holland to my resume, (even if the Italy game was the one that got away). I really enjoyed this campaign. It was a struggle with injuries & suspensions from time to time, but that's just the way of it.

As a result of a decent campaign, we have also risen in the World Rankings to 69th. We have been as high as 53rd, (back in Oct 2027 after that brilliant EURO qualifying campaign that took us to the playoffs), but I'm happy with 69th and I expect it to continue on an upwards curve. We did well to get to 53rd before, but we weren't capable of sustaining that when injuries and suspensions hit. Although we still struggle in that respect, the depth is improving with the passing of every season.

I know we didn't qualify and we didn't even make the Playoffs, but I'm still well chuffed with that. When we made the Playoffs it was as a result of us significantly over-performing and those sort of performances could not have been sustained back then. With even a couple of injuries we were in trouble, (and this might have had an impact on the poor start to this campaign as I have a feeling that our 1 decent GK was out injured). We now have some very good players and while we are still lacking a bit of quality at the back, we are a real threat going forwards.

[dan_lcfc]

Thats pretty incredible really. I thought at the start getting to the top 100 would be an acheivment.

Ive had an FM free weekend, time away with the missus and the baby so Ive not really made much progress. P8, W3 D3 L2 into the 2020/2021 season

A question though, do your NT play at the Olimpico still or at your new stadium?

[Jimbokav1971]

Thats pretty incredible really. I thought at the start getting to the top 100 would be an acheivment.

To be honest, I was doing so poorly at the start that I didn't used to take any notice. All it takes is a few decent results, (even draws against a decent team), and it rockets up.

I beat Faroe Islands in 2014 and lost the others and it was up to 178th.

I beat Belarus in 2015 and lost the others and it was up to 156th.

I drew with Wales in 2016 and lost the others and it was up to 159th.

I then drew 1 and won 0 games in the next 8 years so it plumeted. The only thing that kept it reasonable, (and started to slowly drive it up again). was that I realised that friendlies count towards World Ranking. I'm not 100% sure how it works and I think there is weighting involved so obviously a World Cup Final is worth more than a qualifier and a Euro qualifier is worth more than a friendly. I've even got a sneaking suspicion that margin of defeat/victory plays a part. Really not sure.

Bloody hell it's a formulae.

P = M x I x T x C x 100

The following codes and conditions apply to the calculation of points:

M: Points for a victory (3 points), a draw (1 point) or a defeat (0 points)

In a penalty shoot-out the winning team gains 2 points, the losing team 1 point.

I: Importance of a match with the following weighting:

Friendly match (including small tournaments): I = 1.0

World Cup qualifier and continental qualifier: I = 2.5

Continental final competition and FIFA Confederations Cup: I = 3.0

World Cup final competition: I = 4.0

T: Strength of opposition calculated according to the following formula:

[200 – ranking position of opposition] ÷ 100

Only the team at the top of the ranking is assigned the value 2.00 (teams ranked 150th and below are

assigned the minimum weighting of 0.50).

The ranking position is taken from the opposition’s ranking in the most recently published FIFA World

Ranking.

C: The strength of a confederation. When calculating intercontinental matches, the mean value of the

confederations to which the two competing teams belong is used. The strength of a confederation is

calculated on the basis of the number of victories by confederation at the last three FIFA World Cup™

competitions. Their values are as follows.

[/Quote]

So the gist of it is that a World Cup game is weighted x4 over a friendly and a qualifier is weighted at x2.5 over a friendly.

When all I could win was friendlies, I had to make the most of them. I just played teams on the bottom list who would travel.

[Jimbokav1971]

A question though, do your NT play at the Olimpico still or at your new stadium?

Yeah. It's a real shame actually.

It's still a 9,187 all-seater stadium.

[dan_lcfc]

Season 2020/2021 Mid Season Review

Its the halfway stage and we are sitting pretty. 1 more point than the previous season. We are yet to lose consecutive games.

Repeating the results would see me promoted automatically 5 of the past 7 sesaons - 2 of which as champions.

Can deter the post christmas collapse and finally get promotion?

[dan_lcfc]

Grrrr, Won 3 of the next 4 (1-2,4-0,5-0,3-0) and my game corrupted.

Luckily I use fortnightly autosaves - unfortunatly the only result that saved was the 2-1 defeat

Those results had put me top, but what is more dissapointing is losing the performances of my new CM.

Untill now my record transfer spent was 12.5k - 2 years ago. I spent 160k in the summer on a solid CB - Joao Pedro. I spent 650k on this CM in the January transfer window - also named Joao Pedro (confusing) he had 3 goals and 2 assists in 2 games, pulling in a 9.5 and an 8.5

[dan_lcfc]

Last day of the season!!

Permutations.

B win, they win the league

SM win, they are promoted.

B draw/lose & SM win, SM Promoted as champions by virtue of a better head to head (2 wins)

SM draw & P win, SM promoted by virtue of better H2H (2 wins)

SM lose & P win, P are promoted

So it all comes down to this, the last day of the season, the day of reckoning. Standing on the verge of promotion, a chance to become heroes and play with Italys elite.

SM must do it without the inspired January signing of Joao Pedro (the midfielder) who picked up his 4th booking of the campaign in the 4-1 win at home to Bari. His 10 goals (including a debut hattrick) have propelled SM on. SM will also be without young full back Moussa Ndiaye - another January signing on a free transfer following his release from French Giants PSG - who is with the France U20 squad for the French Youth Invitational.

They are however hopeful of seeing Aaron Leya Iseka following his recovery from a stubbed toe - the forward has 12 league goals and 15 assists in the league

Wish me luck!

[dan_lcfc]

So heres the play by play.

2 mins - Brescia and Padova both go into a 1-0 lead. As it stands

Brescia

San Marino

Padova

25 mins - Verona equalise at home to make it Verona 1-1 Brescia. AIS

B

SM

P

45 mins - Padova double their lead with an own goal. AIS

B

SM

P

45+2 - SAN MARINO LEAD - a corner whipped into the box is headed out, but only as far as Michele Valentini - the 17 year old SM born defender - who strokes home a left foot half volley into the topleft hand corner. The Olimpico erupts and as it stands - we would be champions.

SM

B

P

73 mins - Chance for Avelino, Sam Johnstone the SM keeper pulls off a tremendous save to his right to keep SM in front. It is becoming edgy at the Olimpico, many fans using their super fast 5G (there must be 5G by 2021 right) mobiles to keep up with scores elswhere. AIS

SM

B

P

78 mins - Sam Johnstone produces another save - Avelino fighting for their place in the Serie B wont give this game up without a fight. Elswhere Padova extend their lead further to make it 3-0. San Marino must hold onto this lead to gain promotion. AIS

SM

B

P

86 mins - Padova wrap up the 3 points with a 4th goal. San Marino have regained a measure of control in the game and are passing the ball well. AIS

SM

B

P

Full Time. San Marino see out their 1-0. They know they are promoted. They wait for the Full time whistle at Verona - and it comes. SAN MARINO ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE SERIE B

[Jimbokav1971]

Weh hey!

Congrats.

[dan_lcfc]

I thought we would be ready for promotion. I was wrong - at least to start with.

We had a miserable start to the season. I blame myself, I signed 8 players in the summer - mostly as replacementsfor players leaving whilst trying to add a bit of quality but I was tired and didnt research them properly.

But Ive tweaked up my tactic a little, and weve pushed on in the last few games - as you can see in the last result :eek::eek:

Around 35 points generally stays up, but I realistically would like 40. If we play as we have been recently we will have no problem staying up!

[Jimbokav1971]

Good improvement Dan.

Remember though. All you have to do is avoid relegation.

If I was to give you a hint tactics wise.... I played a counter style to great effect during the early portion of my save. Even though you have been promoted now, your reputation will still be low and the big clubs, (Inter for example), will really underestimate you. If you can keep things decent at the back you should be able to cause them no end of trouble at the other end.

The smaller clubs are harder work though because they won't underestimate you at all.

Bloomin hell! I've just noticed that Cagliari won Serie A in your game.

[dan_lcfc]

Yeah it was abit random. They finished 13th the seasons either side (They have finished 4th before though)

Ive had this really strange bug I think

It doesnt show the previous seasons graph on any club. All of the players history is still ok (so its not the 1900 bug) and I can still manually go back and see the previous seasons from the league screen, just not that graph. Im gonna wait till the end of the season to see if it comes back....

[dan_lcfc]

End of the season review coming up - big note for next season. Sign a back up goalkeeper

[dan_lcfc]

Season 2021/2022 end of season review

OK, so we managed to stay up and it was fairly comfortable in the end.

However, I lost my backup keeper over the summer and chose to just have my youth keeper as back up. Hes the SM NT keeper but he isnt brilliant. He had to play 8 games through injury to my main keeper. He conceded 38 goals. It was partly my fault. Due to him being so poor I went alot more aggressive in a 'score 1 more than you' mission. It failed with 5-6 and 4-5 defeats. We did have a bad run of games in that time with AC, Juve and holders Sampdoria but it was really bad

We got back to winning ways at the end of the season winning 5 of the last 6 to finish 14 points clear in the end. A solid first season.

The board did agree to my request of a new stadium and they are currently in the planning stage. Hopefully Something will come of it.

[dan_lcfc]

Just an update. Im moving house so for about a month im staying at my girlfriends dads house while we wait for the paperwork. Problem is that he doesnt have the internet. I can post on my phone but it doesn't paragraph properly. I will be continuing with the save and when I get the net at my new house ill do an update!

[Jimbokav1971]

I have never used a (SMR) GK for the club side. I have 2 now that are reasonable(ish). One of them plays for the NT and he's great, (compared to what we had), and the other one is better but is still hoping to play for Italy. Neither one of then is anywhere near as good as my actual GK though.

[Jimbokav1971]

Club Overview.

Boardroom.

You can see that I'm still having issues with the facilities development bug. I'm not really sure what to do now.

Boardroom Confidence.

Boardroom Finances Summary.

Boardroom Finances Expenditure.

Boardroom Finances Salary.

Scouting Overview.

Scouting was up as high as 52%, (I was trying something in GD), but I have sort of forgotten about it and it has fallen back now.

Scouting Knowledge.

Information General.

Information Facilities.

Again, as mentioned in the boardroom section, we have issues with a huge difference between the quality of our Training facilities and the quality of both our Youth facilities and importantly, Youth Recruitment. I'm guessing that I can't improve on Youth Recruitment until the Youth facilities are higher. Nothing I do seems to work.

History Overview.

History Competitions Domestic Leagues.

Serie A Table.

Super Cup Final.

EURO Super Cup Final.

Club World Championship Final.

Italian Cup Final.

Champions League Cup Final.

A real error on my part here. Because I had gone so long without losing, (from the opening day of the season to the last day of the season), I got complacent and despite only drawing with Juve at home the previous week, I opted to go with my attacking formation and despensed with the Regista. Huge mistake. HUGE. A whopping 3 goals conceded was my punishment. We conceded 2 goals in a match once in October and again in November, (after a Champions League Group game on each occasion), but the Champions league Final was the only time this season that we conceded more than 2 goals in a match.

Summary. So it was another big season for us. We retained the Serie A title, (making it 3 wins in succession), and we also added the Italian Super Cup, European Super Cup, World Club Championship and Italian Cup to the trophy cabinet. Unfortunately the big one got away as we were demolished 3-0 in the Champions League Final by Juve. The reason that we lost was simply because after going so long undefeated, I had become blase and decided to opt for my attacking home tactic, (which in hindsight was never going to work). A lesson learned and all that In suppose, (albeit an expensive one).

We lost our opening league game of the season, (against Inter), and then remained undefeated for the rest of the season until the very last day of the season, (where we lost the Champions League Final). As the run went on and on I was sure that the next defeat was just round the corner, and my focus on clean-sheets, (and the National Team), allowed me to largely ignore how many points we were ahead in the league and how long our unbeaten run was. First I was trying to keep goals conceded to single fugures. Then it was under 10. Then I was determined to concede less than 20. To play a whole Serie A season and only concede 18 goals is pretty decent by anyone's standards. When you consider that I didn't have what i would class a suitable right back, it's even more impressive.

A run of 13 consecutive wins is great, (even if I would settle for a few draws if it meant we didn't conceded), but we then went and extended that late in the season as we went on another bug run, this time 16 consecutive wins).

Goals for the season.

1. Keep 10 clean sheets in a row, (I think 8 was the record last season).

2. Clean sweep of senior trophies, (not overly bothered but it's something to aim at).

3. Concede fewer than 15 goals in the league. (I'm not sure how realistic that is with right-back still an issue and while trying to blood young Sammarinese players).

4. Sell some of the non-Sammarinese squad players. I need to off-load some of the squad players as they get ignored in favour of Sammarinese youngsters anyway).

5. Get another Feeder Club. (It's been a while since the last one. really need to keep on the board about this).

6. Get the youth facilities upgraded. (Didn't work on 12th October again. I tried to holiday the last few days leading up to 12th Oct, but still no luck).

7. Keep more than 37 clean sheets. (Last seasons total).

8. Concede fewer than 29 goals in all competitions. (Last seasons total).

9. Compete for the U19's title. (We finished 7th this season).

10. Get to the Semi's of the U19's Cup. (We lost in 4th Round to Bologna this season).

11. Progress out of Group stages of U19's Champions League. (We finished bottom with 5 points this season).

12. Progress to Semi-Finals of Italian Youth Club Invitational. (We wer eknocked out in the 2nd Round by Napoli this season).

You can see by the above that although we have had quite good seasons recently, (even if we lost the Champions League this season), there is plenty of scope for improvement. I have never gone more than 8 games without conceding and that personally really frustrates me. I'm aware that this is a balancing act between playing a strong team and blooding Sammarinese youngsters, but at the same time I feel we should be able to keep clean sheets even if we maybe don't win games at the other end. Would happily accept 0-0's just so long as we don't concede.

With regards to the performance of the U19's squad in various competitions, I don't plan on managing them in all these games, (too time-consuming). I just think that i need to "manage" the squad a little better. We won the U19's Cup in 2029, (with me managing, and I plan on doing so again next season), but i don't plan on managing their league games or even the Champions League games). I always love the U19 Cup for some reason, (no idea why), but obviously my priority will be the senior team and in particular the defensive side of things. I will be keeping more of an eye on who is in what squad and available for what team though. I am obviously keen to blood youngsters early, but I need to look at when this is and ensure that it doesn't coincide with U19 Cup or Champions Cup fixtures, (or if it does then that they at least have adequate cover).

[Edit]We lost the 1st U19 Champions Cup game 3-2 to Valencia and then only drew the 2nd game 2-2 away to Genk. I was a little worried about not getting out of the group so took charge of the 3rd game myself. What I noticed was that although I had some very decent players in the Youth squad, I was lacking in the middle of the pitch, and also quite a few players I had expected to be playing were actually over-age, (only just, but still), so were unavailable. I promoted these players to the Reserves and dropped a couple of young players from the senior squad to help out. Although we conceded the opening goal against Monaco, we then proceeded ro tun riot as we scored the next 8 goals to win the game 8-2. Maybe squad management is the issue here. I will let the AI manage the next game but keep an eye on how he does. WIth the attacking players at his disposal, he should be ablt to take on just about anyone.

[dan_lcfc]

Oooo I love technology, managed to wifi hotspot from my phone to get the web up! - Except photobucket wont work properly so i cant upload any pictures, Im going back to my old house at the weekend to move the sofas so ill just take my laptop with me - the missus will be chuffed lol

1 defeat in a league season is something to be proud of no matter what. 18 goals conceded is ridiculous.

I still have the bug where my league history graph isnt showing which is a bit annoying.

We built on our solid first season in the Serie A by finishing a very respectable 8th. We missed out on EURO qualification on the last day of the season - succombing to a 4-0 defeat to champions Napoli whilst Udinese won 2-0 to grab 7th spot. Im glad in a way - the board still only want me to avoid relegation which eases alot of pressure. PLus I dont think the squad would cope currently.

We dont need to add to much to the squad in the summer. A new top quality BBM is the first priority, whilst we added a very promising 22 year old CD on a free transfer. Im always on the lookout for the striker that will fire us to the next level though. If we can keep the squad together we should have another succsesful season.

We have announced a new stadium is being built - a 22250 capacity stadium, creativly named The San Marino Stadium and the youth facilities are again being upgraded. The board however wont upgrade my training facilities which is frustrating.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Verona, 30 games without a win and they beat Lazio

[Jimbokav1971]

Nice progress Dan. Don't worry about pics for a bit if it's a struggle. As you can see I did a mega mega mega update all in one go before. With a challenge like this, a single season is really just a blink of the eye. I have to thing longer term in such things as hiring/firing HoYD with the producing certain positions in mind. (I seem to have an issue at centre-back and it's holding me back). I have some great one's so it's not an issue at club level, but it's very much an issue at NT level.

I have 3 U21's out of 4 DC's in the senior squad and Amici (2018), (the other DC), is 30 now so is not going to be around for much longer.

[ryanlion28]

I'm in my 4th season with San Marino and this is my first time in Serie A after getting promoted last season, the prediction is of course relegation, and after losing my first game away to bologna we managed to pull of a 1-0 home win v Inter. I thought maybe Olimpico was going to be a fortress, but since that great win i've gone 7 games in a row getting hammered, most noticeably 6-1 v Juventus away, 6-3 v Fiorentina at home and 3-0 v Livorno at home .. morale is poor and i'm the sort of manager who sticks with a tactic but have tweaked things here and there to be better defensively but nothing's worked, i feel we're not cut out for the level.

Annoyingly my best players are in the attacking third and i want to utilise them as much as i can but feel this makes me suffer defensively