duffy89 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Unlucky not getting promoted there mate, good luck with the new job! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Typical Malaysia utter madness and randomness, did well to get a 3rd place there although the matches certainly were not under control! :DFiguring out why you qualify for the cups and why you don't is like completing a really complicated Sudoku. The rules don't make sense, spare your brain from it, your brain will thank you. When I managed there I got promoted after finishing midtable in 7th and from my best knowledge the only loophole that would've allowed us to go up was if we had won the cup (yes - winning the cup gives a league promotion). We hadn't, but had reached the final 2 seasons earlier and apparently that was enough. Don't ask.That is completely crazy! Sounds like I'm better off out of that madness, then. Still, with no promotion/relegation in Singapore, I'm imagining life could get boring quite quickly if we turn out to be a mid-to-bottom makeweight team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Unlucky not getting promoted there mate, good luck with the new job! Thanks duffy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc91 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Unlucky in Malaysia, but Singapore sounds at least slightly normal.. and they have better noodles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iHeadHunta x Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Good luck in Singapore mate, sounds like Malaysia is like a very tough puzzle! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Hougang Utd - Pre-Season 2016 It seems that we're not considered among the top teams in this division, and we'll do well to finish inside the top half. I've no real idea yet, but, on paper, it's all-Japanese side, Albirex (S), who seem to be the ones to beat, and will start the forthcoming season as defending champions. The four friendlies organised all went well, and should ensure we start the year with morale high. Media Prediction: 9th Title Odds: 8-1 (9th favourites) Great Eastern-YEO's S.League Expectations: Mid-table Position S.League Cup Expectations: Be Competitive Transfer Budget: £8,000 Wage Budget: £4.3k (spending £2.9k) Season Ticket Sales: 277 (same as last year) As I had eluded to earlier, I inherited a very young squad, a squad with an average age of just under 18. The signings made have brought this up to 19.79, but this is still a big concern to me, as I would prefer a squad with a few more wise heads. That said, the level of potential here is huge, so, if we can develop the players well over the coming months and years, we could have a very good team on our hands. The league regulations stipulate that no more than six foreigners (non-Singaporean) can be registered in the squad, with just four of these being named in the match-day squad. This is another sticky point for me, as all but one of the experienced heads I've signed are counted as foreign, so I won't be able to start them all every game; let's hope the kids step up! Key Players: Shameer Aziq (ST), Mat Saiful Abdullah (DM), Razali Mansor (DL), Haiqal Ashidiq (DC), Kashif Siddiqi (DR), Jahquill Kumari Hill (GK), Wan Azwari Wan Nor (AML), Sabri Sahar (MC), Mohd Azmi Muslim (DL) This is the main tactic I've devised for the opening games of the season; it's not my favoured formation, but it's fairly balanced, and should give us some options going forward. I am hedging my bets somewhat here, though, as I've no real idea on the quality of teams I've going to be coming across. I would imagine most teams are bordering on the abysmal side of poor, but until I've got a bit more experience under my belt, we'll be playing with quite a generic set-up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Unlucky in Malaysia, but Singapore sounds at least slightly normal.. and they have better noodles. Indeed they do. Singapore fried noodles is one of my favourite dishes from the takeaway Good luck in Singapore mate, sounds like Malaysia is like a very tough puzzle! Cheers! I'm hoping it's slightly more straightforward, anyway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Any idea how you're going to spend that budget? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthanM Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 I read that Singapore was granted a spot in the ACL playoffs. Has it been added into FM14 yet? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc91 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 I read that Singapore was granted a spot in the ACL playoffs. Has it been added into FM14 yet? Is that true? Has it been confirmed? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthanM Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Is that true? Has it been confirmed? Yeah it's confirmed. http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3952/asia/2013/11/27/4434686/afc-champions-league-expanded-for-2014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Looks a tidy little ground. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc91 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Yeah it's confirmed.http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3952/asia/2013/11/27/4434686/afc-champions-league-expanded-for-2014 Meant whether it was in the game . Doesn't appear to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 Hougang Utd - Mid-Season Update 2016 This looks familiar, doesn't it? Plenty of goals, and not a clean sheet in sight (for us). Aside from the slightly larger attendances, this could quite easily be another season in Malaysia, as I seem to have developed another team that is unable to defend, even against the worst opposition. We've persisted with the 4-4-2 for the majority of the games so far, but have now come to the conclusion that I'll probably need to develop a tactic with at least one holding midfielder if we're going to tighten up. Offensively, we're not looking too shabby, with the strikeforce of Shameer Aziq and J.P. McCarvel already starting to blossom. It also looks like we're capable of raising our game against the league's top teams, having secured solid home victories over leaders, Albirex (S), and second placed side, Warriors FC. Once again, though, consistency seems to be the main issue, as we're unable to string any kind of run together yet; I suppose this was always likely to be the case which such a young squad, though. Ninth place is probably just about right for us, at the moment, as we're definitely not performing like a side pushing the for a spot near the top of the table. That said, however, with the teams so tightly bunched, there's a strong possibility that we can finish in the top half if we can string a run of results together. That's a big if, though. There's not a lot of quality here in Singapore, proven by the fact that a headed goal won Goal of the Month. [video=youtube;A6U_Tw3GXtk] TZJhhYMu-Mcbg And, here's a fine example of how bad our defence/goalkeeper is Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 Any idea how you're going to spend that budget? It's a tough ask, but I'll give it a go I read that Singapore was granted a spot in the ACL playoffs. Has it been added into FM14 yet? Is that true? Has it been confirmed? Yeah it's confirmed.http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3952/asia/2013/11/27/4434686/afc-champions-league-expanded-for-2014 Meant whether it was in the game .Doesn't appear to be. Yeah, it's not in the game, unfortunately. Basically, no matter how well a team from Singapore does domestically, there's no route into the Asian continental competitions. Looks a tidy little ground. It's not too shabby, is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 I've hit a snag, meaning this career may be over before it's really begun. I can't progress past 27/08/16 without a crash dump causing the game to close. I've reported this in the Bugs Forum, so SI can take a look, but as it's a weekend I don't expect a response before Monday. It may be recoverable, or something that a future patch will resolve, so I'll report back on what they advise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possums Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 I've hit a snag, meaning this career may be over before it's really begun. I can't progress past 27/08/16 without a crash dump causing the game to close. I've reported this in the Bugs Forum, so SI can take a look, but as it's a weekend I don't expect a response before Monday. It may be recoverable, or something that a future patch will resolve, so I'll report back on what they advise. Bummer! Do you use rolling saves? Have you tried going back to a previous? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 I've hit a snag, meaning this career may be over before it's really begun. I can't progress past 27/08/16 without a crash dump causing the game to close. I've reported this in the Bugs Forum, so SI can take a look, but as it's a weekend I don't expect a response before Monday. It may be recoverable, or something that a future patch will resolve, so I'll report back on what they advise. What sorts of things have you tried? I had one on FM10 and didn't want to abandon it (especially as it was featured on a career thread on a forum) I tried ever increasing measures and managed to get past it after resigning, which at least allowed me to keep the career and manager intact though it did mean leaving my beloved Juventus side (one of my all-time favourites) just after having finally won the title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Nicholls Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 I had this problem on a long term save on FM12. I ended up sending the file to Neil Brock (with his permission of course), who was able to advance past the date in question, before sending it back thus saving my game. Have you added any new graphics, facepacks, skins etc? As that was what caused the problem for me. Hope this helps? Regards Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Gutted dude. After all the **** you went through, you can't go on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Good news, chaps! After a lot of playing around, I've managed to get past the crash! The career will continue Thanks for all the suggestions too. In the end, I had to verify my cache, delete all my graphics, and go back to a previous rolling save. This did mean replaying four matches, though, which isn't ideal, but at least I managed to progress past the date that was causing all the problems. My faith in humanity (and SI) has been restored Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycar Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Bloody hell, that was lucky, glad you could recover from that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
b101 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Yay! Now we can see more headers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Good to see you overcome it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Hougang Utd - End of Season 2016 Well, that was quite a turn up for the books. After a less than spectacular start to the season, things started to click into place as we hit the half way stage. No doubt we were helped by a favourable fixture schedule, which saw us play three consecutive home games against teams below us in the table, but a six match winning run is quite an achievement for a team of this relative inexperience. During this exceptional period, we served up three absolute humdingers in the S.League cup, where caution was thrown to the wind by all teams involved, before we came unstuck in the semi final against Tampines. Again, reaching this stage of the competition is quite a feat for a squad with such a young average age. With us sitting fifth when the league split, this meant that we would have five additional fixtures to play against the better teams of the league. This proved a tough task, so I'm delighted that we managed to pick up two home wins and secure our fifth place spot. This is a lot more than was expected by both myself and the Board, as even finishing in the top half was considered a long shot when I took over. That said, we finished with the league's second worst away record, so we'll need to look at how we can improve on the road next year. Shameer Aziq has been such a pivotal player over the past few months, being the main contributor to our success. He's broken a few records too A couple of team have also been broken, thanks to our crazy cup games. The finances aren't looking fantastic at the moment, with the board having to inject cash on more than one occasion. But, as I've quite enjoyed my first season here, I've decided to sign on for another year (with a £25 per week pay rise). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Bloody hell, that was lucky, glad you could recover from that. Yay! Now we can see more headers! Good to see you overcome it. Thanks guys! It was a bit of a scare, to say the least; I've never had anything like that happen in all my years of playing CM/FM. Phew!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Nice recovery AK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 That said, if I was offered it, I would take the Southampton job I am not a Southampton fan in real life, but they are my all time favourite team to manage in Football Manager. You get a conveyor belt of young talent every season and nurturing them and seeing them go all the way is what it is all about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 A pretty good run of form there for a while, shame it slipped away a bit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Hougang Utd - End of Season Review 2016 In summary, it's been an excellent first season in Singapore, with me guiding the club to their highest ever S.League finish. Finishing in the top half was more than I could have expected, as I'm still very much getting to grip with an exceedingly young squad, and the cup run was a nice additional bonus. Great Eastern-YEO's S.League: 5th S.League Cup: Semi Final Average Attendance: 1270 (up 33) Transfer History | Finances As I've eluded several times before, this is a very inexperience squad, with several players under the age of twenty. There's no doubting the potential of these individuals, and, with the regular game-time they are currently receiving, they're bound to go on to achieve great things, but having so many youngsters in the first team does pose it's fair share of problems; most noticeably, inconsistency. Of course, as they grow older, this will improve, but, currently, this does mean they drop the odd ricket every now and again, which inevitably leads to a golden chance at goal for the opposition. For the time being, I'll just have to manage this accordingly, rotating the youngsters to ensure they don't overdo it. I'll also be looking to add some more experienced heads over the summer too. Top Goalscorer: Shameer Aziq (19 goals) Most Assists: Shameer Aziq (11 assists) Highest Average Rating: Zhao Youhe (7.38) Fans Player of the Season: Shameer Aziq Other Notable Contributors: Ismadi Mukhtar (7 assists), Rajat Das (Av R 7.04) Hougang Best Eleven | S.League Team of the Year Season Team League Finish Cups ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2014 Polis DRM Liga Premier 5th Astro Piala First Round 2015 Polis DRM Liga Premier 3rd Astro Piala First Round, Piala Malaysia First Round 2016 Hougang Utd S.League 5th S.League Cup Semi Final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Nice recovery AK. Thanks very much Nobster I am not a Southampton fan in real life, but they are my all time favourite team to manage in Football Manager. You get a conveyor belt of young talent every season and nurturing them and seeing them go all the way is what it is all about. I live on the outskirts of Southampton, so, as they are my local Premier League team, I have a fair bit of interest in them. You're right, though, they consistently get a stream of exceptional talent come through the youth system, which can be immense fun. They're also an extremely well run and set-up club too, with an excellent infrastructure, so that's another big draw. A pretty good run of form there for a while, shame it slipped away a bit Thanks Paul. It was a shame really, as we weren't too far off third in the end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Hougang Utd - Pre-Season 2017 Going into my second season in charge, my main aim is to consolidate on what we achieved last year. We're certainly not among the favourites to challenge for the title, and quite rightly too, so the best I think we can do is ensure we finish in the top half of the table again. We may end up doing a little better, or a little worse, but that's certainly the ball park we should be in come the end of the season. Media Prediction: 6th Title Odds: 6-4 (6th favourites) Great Eastern-YEO's S.League Expectations: Mid-table Position S.League Cup Expectations: Be Competitive Transfer Budget: -£500 Wage Budget: £5.25k (spending £5.16k) Season Ticket Sales: 279 (up 2) With the youngsters all being a year older, I'm hoping that we'll see a bit more consistency from them, and results will improve. I've added a handful of new faces, most with a few years of experience under their belt, so the squad is starting to take shape nicely. In fact, the first choice eleven is now looking very handy, and should be competitive against the majority of opposition we'll face this season; it's the lack of depth that will hurt us, though, if we suffer with injuries. Key Players: Mohd Zaini Omar (DC), Razali Mansor (DL), Rajat Das (DC), Ridhuan Shamsuddin (DC), Sabri Sahar (MC), Haiqal Ashidiq (DC), Mohd Hafis Saperi (ST), Shameer Aziq (ST), Syafiq Siraj (MC), Shahril Faizal Ahmad Sharifuddin (MC), Mat Saiful Abdullah (DM) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P O\'D Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 5th is a great finish even better considering it looked like it might never end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshpmilton Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Can't argue with a record high finish. Good work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 It's always nice achieving something like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
b101 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Great finish there, good luck for the next season in Singapore. P.S. Is this thread named after a massage parlour? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Hougang Utd - Mid-Season Update 2017 Can you tell when the new patch kicked in? We really flew out of the traps this season, serving up a couple of goal-fests in our opening fixtures, breaking the club record for the highest scoring league game in the match against Harimau Muda B. We followed this with an unspectacular victory over Balestier, which sent us top of the table, before the wheels fell off in quite some style. All of a sudden, we looked a completely different team, full of individuals that looked as if they didn't know each other, and performances really started to suffer. Down the table we went. After riding out a tricky few weeks, the tide was turned with a competent victory over DPMM, which put to bed a terrible run of six games without a win. Ideally, I'd like to see a few more goals from our strikers again, as both Saperi and Aziq have the ability to make us one of the most prolific teams in the division; as it stands, we're one of the least. I'll probably need to tweak the tactics to get us firing again. Despite our wobble, we still find ourselves just about where we should be, and right in contention for a top half finish. That said, a lot of teams around us have games in hand, so things could change quite drastically between now and the end of the season. I'm also not fully convinced we're back playing to our best yet, so I'm not ruling out any more shaky periods. We've had a few injury problems recently, but definitely not to the extent that it could be described as a crisis, or used as an excuse for our poor form. It's good to see that I'm being noticed now. That said, Hereford have just been relegated from the Skrill Premier, and are virtually bankrupt. I attended the interview, but they declined making an offer. I certainly wouldn't have accepted it, anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 5th is a great finish even better considering it looked like it might never end. Can't argue with a record high finish. Good work! It's always nice achieving something like that. Thanks all. I'm very happy that we finished fifth last year' date=' although it looks like we may not do quite as well this time around. As long as we're well clear of the bottom, that should keep everyone fairly happy for now. We're still a young team, so our time will come Great finish there, good luck for the next season in Singapore.P.S. Is this thread named after a massage parlour? I'm pleased someone spotted the intentional innuendo! Whatever you do, please don't Google it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Doing well AK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
b101 Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Thanks all. I'm very happy that we finished fifth last year, although it looks like we may not do quite as well this time around. As long as we're well clear of the bottom, that should keep everyone fairly happy for now. We're still a young team, so our time will come I'm pleased someone spotted the intentional innuendo! Whatever you do, please don't Google it! Haha as if there's a chance of that... Copy and paste gets you: 1) Arsenal vs Chelsea 2) A contraceptive patch site with the amazing quote "Can a sticky plaster stuck to your bum really prevent pregnancy?" 3) How to clean and maintain your flute in 14 steps (with pictures)... unfortunately, not innuendo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 3) How to clean and maintain your flute in 14 steps (with pictures)... unfortunately, not innuendo Pity, it sounds... interesting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Hougang Utd - October 2017 With the table looking like this after 23 games... ... I was offered the opportunity to interview for the vacancy at Gateshead. They've had a sloppy start to their Skrill Premier campaign, sitting 20th after 12 games, and have decided that a new manager is required to get their season back on track. In what was quite a demanding interview, the Gateshead chairman quickly returned to me, offering me the opportunity to become manager of the club. It's a brilliant offer, trebling my weekly wage. The wage budget on offer is also a lot bigger than what I have with Hougang, so there's the potential to achieve good things there. That said, performances have improved recently with Hougang, as we comfortably finished in the top half before the table split after 22 games, so I can't say that I'm desperate to leave Singapore. I'm still not convinced we're making any progress, though, but at least we're on track to match last season's achievements. However, when the Hougang chairman came along with a new contract offer, it became ridiculously apparent that if I'm to progress in my career, I should most definitely take the Gateshead job. Back to the Motherland I come! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Doing well AK. Thanks Nobby. Not too bad, but could be better. Haha as if there's a chance of that...Copy and paste gets you: 1) Arsenal vs Chelsea 2) A contraceptive patch site with the amazing quote "Can a sticky plaster stuck to your bum really prevent pregnancy?" 3) How to clean and maintain your flute in 14 steps (with pictures)... unfortunately, not innuendo Pity, it sounds... interesting Both 2 & 3 are quite mind-boggling! If only I had a flute to clean and maintain... The joys of the internet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 Gateshead F.C. Now, this is a major step up in my opinion. Fair enough, it is the fifth tier of English football, but the investment and infrastructure here is significantly higher than anything I've experienced in my career so far. I take over a club that is underachieving, sitting just above the relegation zone, with my task being to restore them back in to the mid-table makeweight they have been in recent seasons. To be honest, we should be aiming to do better than that, especially when you consider we have the fourth highest wage bill in the division. This isn't particular sustainable, though, as the club is losing money hand over fist, at the moment, and running at a considerable loss. The chairman's interest is waning too, so I wouldn't rule out a takeover in the near future, either, so it may be a rocky road ahead for everyone at the club. I do love a challenge, though! Wage: £775 per week Contract Expiry: June 2018 League Expectations: Respectable League Position FA Cup Expectation: First Round FA Trophy Expectation: Third Round Transfer Budget: £0 Wage Budget: £17k per week (currently spending 22k! ) Philosophies: Play direct football. Sign young players for the first team. Develop players using the club's youth system. Board Requests: None agreed Look! Another running track! In all serious, though, it's a handy little stadium for a club of this stature, and will fulfill our needs for quite some time, even if we make it to the Football League at some point in the future. We're only attracting crowds of ~500 for our home fixtures, currently, so there's no worry about selling out the stadium. Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium Capacity: 11800 all-seater Year Built: 1955 Training Facilities: Adequate Youth Facilities: Below Average Youth Setup Category: 4 Junior Coaching: Basic Youth Recruitment: Fairly Basic Nickname: The Tynesiders Year Founded: 1977 Fierce Rivals: Blyth Other Rivals: None Finances: Insecure I've only got two days to get my head around things before we get into action with a home match against Forest Green. They are a side competing near the top of the table, so should provide a good benchmark to measure how good the team really is; if we can beat them, then I'll be confident that we can get ourselves out of the relegation battle we are currently in. Just a note on my career stats, I would say a 45% win ratio is pretty good going so far. And a positive goal difference too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneronaldo Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 A 7000 mile flight back home. Good luck in Gateshead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Interesting move. You have a hard act to follow after SRL88 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.W.G Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Best of luck at Gateshead Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swallow1050 Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Good Luck at Gateshead!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Good luck. SRL88 has had good success with Gateshead, so we know progress is doable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Gateshead - December 2017 Update In all honesty, it was a very lucky start to my career, as we somehow battled to a victory over Forest Green in my first game in change of Gateshead; I guess this is what they call the 'new manager effect', and justifies the chairman's decision to remove my predecessor of his duties. This, however, did set us off on the right foot, despite me not being overly clear who my best players are, and helped to relieve a bit of the pressure on the players' shoulders. A good run followed, bar the defeat against Bristol Rovers, which helped the club to climb the table, and pull away from danger; the squad is far too good to be relegated, so I can't say I was shocked to see an instant improvement. More recently, things have hit a sticky patch again, with only the one victory coming in the month of December. It's been a tough run of fixtures, which has included games against four of the top five, so it's no real surprise that we've dropped so many points. Still, I'm a perfectionist, and like to keep things tight in our home matches, so there's plenty of work to be done if we're to make the Gateshead International Stadium a fortress. Encouragingly, Callum Challinor looks a handy forward for this level, so I'll be hoping to build the team around him. We're now well away from the relegation zone, sitting quite comfortably in mid-table. This is where everyone expects us to be, so I'm quite prepared for the rest of the season to fizzle out into mediocrity. That will do for now, but, ideally, I would like us to push towards the playoff places; we're only seven points behind Newport County, so another good run of results would see us hot on their tails. [video=youtube_share;VxuqHp8LF3k] This is another fine example of the shambolic goalkeeping/defending that litters this version of the game. Thankfully, we still managed to secure the three points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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