forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final Preview So here we are, at the Europa League final. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this one doesn't really matter, with a lot of teams hating the very idea of having to participate in such a competition. However, for little Lincoln of Gibraltar, you'll hear nothing of the sort. For the first time in their history, they are in a major European final, where they'll face seasoned pros Roma. The side from Gibraltar have already played twenty matches on their European journey, having gone through three Champions League qualifying rounds, and a group stage before being beaten to a second place by a final day defeat to Leverkusen. Their journey to the final hasn't been easy, but it certainly has been lengthy. They will play their 21st European game of the season tonight, having started out in mid-July in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League. They haven't let the legs tire though, and Koln, Real Betis and Gladbach all fell, along with Lyon, whose stadium we find ourselves in tonight. And it's a stadium that is not expected to be full. It's anyone's guess as to why, but there are a massive number of Lincoln fans taking up at least a third of the stadium. A fantastic travelling support up from the tiny country, and no wonder. This is an historic occasion, with it being the clubs first European final in their 87 year history. They'll be desperate for their side to upset the odds, but they have a massive task on their hands. Roma on the other hand took the more traditional route through the Europa League, remaining unbeaten through their group, and only losing in their semi final second leg once the tie was all but won. They will be the massive favourites for this final, but we have said that before, and Lincoln have surprised the World. The big story for Lincoln is undoubtedly the absence from the starting line-up of Henrique Ferreira. He is thought of by many as the team's best player, but a torn calf muscle three months ago, just before their first knockout round first leg tie against Lyon has meant that he is only fit enough for a spot on the bench tonight. He will be a big miss, but the Angolan striker Simao will be an able deputy. The rest of the team is as expected, and manager Max Harvey will have to make sure that the occasion does not overawe his team. For Roma, their manager has already said that he expects a comfortable victory, but will that put more pressure on his side than it takes off? Max Harvey thinks so, smiling wryly in the pre-match press conference and claiming that it's just what he wanted to hear. Lincoln are a dangerous side when they're at their best, and Roma will have to be aware of this. It's a fine Spring evening here in Lyon, and we're expecting a wonderful game of football. Team Comparison Comparing the teams, this really shouldn't even be a contest. Roma are by far the favourites here, but you would have probably said that Lyon, Koln, Gladbach and Betis were all favourites going into their matches with Lincoln. Knockout football has a habit of springing strange results, and in a one-off match like this, it could be one of those nights. The big stats to look at are the financials. Roma's squad has an average player value that is over 5500% larger than Lincoln's. Their average wage is over 300% larger. Team News Roma are expected to line up in a narrow 4-2-3-1 formation, but will be without both Konstantinos Savva and Cristian Fernandez due to flu and a bruised rib respectively. The attacking four of Burgos, Bustamente, Giannicchi and Kaiser are the clear danger-men. Lincoln are expected to line up in their traditional 4-1-2-2-1 formation. Brett Pritchard is suspended, but the only other thing to think about for manager Max Harvey is Henrique Ferreira. He played in the defeat to Lions Pilots at the weekend, and so far no-one in the Lincoln camp has hinted whether or not they will be without their star striker. And we have just received the teams as we approach kick-off, and there is only one notable absence... Yes, Henrique Ferreira is not in the starting line-up, but he has taken his place on the bench. Could he prove crucial as the minutes tick by? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final First Half 00:00 Lincoln kick off, and they'll no doubt be desperate to keep this tight for the first few minutes. Wignall picks it up and tries to play a dangerous ball into Simao, but it's gathered by D'Anna. 01:43 Another attack is snuffed out by Roma, and the ball slides out to Bicanic. Bustamenete slips into Kaiser, then onto Burgos who forces a smart save from bickers. The resulting corner is cleared, and Horan finds Wignall. It's a wonderful cross-field ball to Simao, and he's in here! It's a delicate touch past the keeper...but it's just wide. A big chance for Lincoln there. 18:12 King finds Flatebo on the left flank, who slips it inside to Walker. They exchange a few passes before the ball is moved backwards towards Burton. Lincoln are looking very comfortable in possession here. Alvarado receives it, but we spoke too soon. His pass is easily cut out by Reyes, and now Roma can break. They slow things down, but eventually find Burgos in space. Now he can run at the defence. He finds Gianicchi, but he holds it up, and finds the full-back Antonio Jose out on the right. Kaiser receives the ball and rifles in a shot...and Bickers saves. King tries to clear, but Roma force a corner here. It's fired in from the left, but Roma commit a foul and that'll be a free-kick to Lincoln. 36:08 Roma play some neat stuff until they get to the edge of the box, but then Giannicchi fires far wide. Roma need to start taking some of these chances, as Lincoln could be very dangerous on the break. 45:19 A free-kick to Lincoln just right of center in the D. Flatebo stands over it. This could be the last action of the first half. Oooh, and it's just over the bar. Inches over, and that could be a big moment in this match. And that was indeed the last action, and we go in at half-time goalless. Lincoln will definitely be the happier of the two sides to be level, but Roma will no doubt come out firing in the second half, as it's their game to lose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final Second Half 45:00 Roma kick-off. THey'll have to be much better this time around, and the longer the match goes on, the more Lincoln will grow in confidence you feel. They try to go straight for it from the kick-off, but Antonio Jose is found offside after a series of short passes. He really should have done better there. 55:25 Roma pressure here, Bicanic charging down the left. You feel they need to become a little more direct. Bustamente tries just that and gets to the edge of the box. He slips in a square ball to Kaiser, who is unmaaaarked...what a save from Bickers! He saved that from behind the line, but importantly, the ball remained in front and was tipped wide. Wonderful save, and could be so important. But it's still in, and the ball is flashed across the face of goal. No-one gets a touch though, and King smashes clear. Roma on top in this second half. 65:39 Another corner for Roma, Kaiser to take it. It's flicked clear, but Burgos slips it into space for Kaiser for a short corner. The cross finds Bustamente, but once again the header goes well wide. Roma's frustration builds. 69:00 Roma work another opening, moving dangerously across the edge of the Lincoln box. Seven men in red and black back in the box, but Burgos is slipped in...but he fires over. 76:22 The Lincoln supporters are rising to their feet, and a wall of noise signifies one thing. Here comes Henrique Ferreira...the man who they said would never make the final is on, hoping to be the hero on the night. Will his calf muscle stand up to this game though? Especially if we end up going to extra time. He picks it up in mid-field and plays a poor pass, straight at Antonio Jose. He plays it to Reyes, who kills the pace and slows the game right down. You feel that suits the men from Gibraltar more. They build the pressure slowly, and it pays off as they shoot across Bickers, but he's up to the challenge again, turning the save around the post for a corner. It goes to the far past, and Sturing can only head into the side netting. Into the last fifteen minutes. 78:58 Pool in acres of space in midfield. Lincoln happy to stand off at the moment, but they'll need to be careful. He finds Burgos, and then Giannicchi, but Burton makes a fantastic tackle. It goes straight to Burgos though, who spreads it wide to Jose. The cross is floated in, but Alvarado heads away. Backs to the wall at the moment. Roma come again, and Bustamente finds himself free on the edge of the box...but his shot is routine for Bickers! Another huge chance missed! 88:37 King takes a throw-in deep in Roma's half. Can they grab a late, late winner in this one? They've done so well to keep it to 0-0 so far. Deans slips the ball into Walker, and it's first time onto Wignall...and he's offside. Only just though, and his shot floated just wide anyway. More time eaten up. 91:56 Bustamente stands over a free-kick. This must be the last chance. If this goes in, Roma will surely be the Europa League winners. But it's fired well over, and we will surely have extra-time now. And we do. That's full time, and with the score at 0-0, we will face another thirty minutes of absorbing football. Full-time Roma 0 - 0 Lincoln Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final First Half Extra Time 90:00 So here we go, another thirty minutes to try and find a winner here. Surely the game can't go on at the frenetic pace it has already. Roma have been by far the better side, but Lincoln have hung on in there, and have had their chances. It'll only take one, and you'd back them to close out the game if they went ahead. Already though, the pace seems to have left this game, with Roma happy to play the ball between themselves. 100:52 Extra-time has been a lot slower than the previous 90, but you can imagine why. These players have given everything, especially the men in red and black. They've worked so hard to stay level, and Roma have thrown everything at them. In extra-time, as in normal time, it's Roma who dominate. They spray the ball wide to Bicanic. What does either side have left now? Long ball forward, and Burton is caught horribly underneath it. Moro could break through here. But he stumbles on his first touch, and doesn't have the pace to break through the now amassed ranks of Lincoln players. Four men around him, and he's forced to pass back. Jose eventually gets a cross in, and it's taken in by Burgos. He must! NO! He shoots straight at Bickers from point blank range, and it's cleared! Best chance yet! Is this destined to be Lincoln's night?! Jose tries to take it down, but he can't, and can Lincoln break here? Do they have the legs? King finds Flatebo, and if he can get his head up, Lincoln have men over! But he wastes the chance by taking far too long. Roma get men back, make the tackle, and the chance is gone. 105:10 And the referee blows promptly for half-time. We'll have a quick change-over, and we'll go again. Fifteen minutes left before the drama of penalties. Half-time in Extra-time Roma 0 - 0 Lincoln Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final Second Half Extra Time 105:00 Roma kick off this second half of extra time, and it's starting to look like we may be heading for penalties. Fifteen minutes for either side to stop that happening. Roma pass it around, but there's no urgency here, they look very leggy, and almost resigned to this ending 0-0. I can't say Lincoln would be too bothered if that happened - they're holding firm, but not really showing any intention to go forward. Hugo Ferreira is still trudging away though. 107:51 Roma with a throw over on the right hand side, in line with the eighteen yard box. Jose finds Burgos. Can he get a cross in here? He finds Jose, who crosses deep towards Moro - off the line! It's a corner to Roma again, Alfano to take. But Burton clears again, and that's a throw! Roma have picked it up in the past few minutes. Bicanic gets it in, but Horan clears convincingly. Ferreira to take it away, but he's tackled, and Roma come again. Horan tackles fantastically, and a roar erupts from the Lincoln end, but but they cannot clear their lines! Moro out-muscles Horen and drives for the by-line, but his cross is blocked again. Ball cleared, and some respite for Lincoln. Alvarado goes to receive on the half-way line, but Sturing is just too quick for him! Roma attacking in numbers here, and it's with Balzani, who slips it through to Morooooooooooooooooooooo - GOAL FOR ROMA! LATE DRAMA HERE IN LYON, AND ROMA HAVE SURELY SECURED THE TROPHY! You have to feel sorry for these Lincoln players here. A few are berating the referee and his assistant, they're sure that Moro was offside when the ball was played. Replays show...that he was onside. They might feel aggrieved, but they shouldn't do. They've just finally succumbed to the better team. There's just eight minutes to go, and most Lincoln players are struggling to even get to their feet. But they have to, and they absolutely must go for it here! 117:21 Just minutes to go now, and Roma are strangling this game. They've successfully kept Lincoln at bay for the past ten minutes, and now they have a free-kick in a good position. Bustamente over it, and he will take every available second over it. I'm surprised he isn't aiming this for the corner to be honest, but maybe they want to seal this with a flourish. He steps up...but it's straight at Bickers. He can only parry though, and it's another corner. Can they clinch it? Pool floats it in, but Reyes can only glance a header wide. Bickers needs to get this up the field, and quickly, but he plays short to King. Shahini hesitates, and it's back to Bickers. This is not what they need, and the Lincoln fans know it with their whistling. They are demanding the ball forward. Bickers does as they ask and fires it forward. Flatebo rises highest on the clearance, and nods on to Alvarado. Safe ball into substitute Barrow, and now Lincoln can drive forward. This could be their last chance. He tries to pass it on to Flatebo, but it's intercepted and directed back towards the keeper. But Ferreira chases, and he gets to the ball ahead of Reyes. The fans are on their feet! He charges on, into the box, but he doesn't have the legs to get past the defender. He shapes to cross but Reyes dives in...PENALTY! PENALTY TO LINCOLN! Oh what drama here. And would you believe it, Hugo Ferreira has picked himself up, dusted himself off, and he is going to take this one. Shades of Asamoah Gyan in World Cup 2010 here. If he scores, Lincoln will surely take this match to penalties. If he misses...well that doesn't bear thinking about. GOAL FOR LINCOLN! FERREIRA SMASHES IT TO THE KEEPERS RIGHT, AND ALTHOUGH HE GETS A HAND ON IT, HE CAN'T STOP IT! IT NESTLES INTO THE CORNER OF THE NET, AND WE ARE GOING TO PENALTIES! 119:47 Roma look absolutely shell-shocked here. They've dominated this game, but all those missed chances have added up to us being level at this point.. I don't think they'll believe they're still playing here. But they have a kick-off, and the referee indicates that there will 1 minute of added time. You can almost hear the sharp intake of breath from the Lincoln fans here. Roma kick off - is there more late drama to come? A long ball thumped forward, and Bickers will grab that gratefully. He'll hold onto this one for as long as possible, and he will surely already be preparing himself for penalties. He clears long upfield, but Lincoln can't keep it, and Roma come again. Well-worked, into Burgos, who slips it in to Balzani, surely not.....NO! Bickers dives low to his left and saves the shot! Even more drama here, and Roma should have won it there. They have another corner, their 15th. It's low to the front post, and Bickers fumbles! But King is there to belt it away, and the whistles are being heard from the Lincoln fans. They're terrified of losing this here, and they've every right to be. Roma won it once, and had two chances to wrest control back. But they've failed on both counts, and that's it! The referee calls a halt, and we'll have a penalty shootout. Full in Extra-time Roma 1 - 1 Lincoln Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final Penalty Shootout Roma have won the toss, and they're electing to take first. We'll be shooting into the end containing the Roma fans, so maximum pressure now on the underdogs. Penalty 1 Roma Moro Moro will take the first penalty. The man who thought he had won the Europa League for his team. A powerful penalty driven just to the keeper's right, low and hard. No way Bickers was going to save that. And Roma have the advantage early in the shootout. - Lincoln - Roma - O Penalty 2 Lincoln Barrow The young man from Gibraltar steps up for Lincoln's first. Big pressure on his young shoulders. Oh, what a penalty! D'Anna moved slightly in the run-up, but Barrow lashed his penalty into the right corner, while D'Anna dived to the left. We're level here. O - Lincoln - Roma - O Penalty 3 Roma Pool Roma to take the initiative here again. And another good penalty. Bickers almost got to it, but it was so low and so hard that it was by him by the time he got down. O - Lincoln - Roma - OO Penalty 4 Lincoln Alvarado Pulido Alvarado has barely put a foot wrong all game, but the pressure is all on his shoulders now. But he needn't have worried. A wonderful penalty low into the right hand corner. D'Anna guessed right this time, but there was no stopping that. OO - Lincoln - Roma - OO Penalty 5 Roma Alfano He looks confident as he strides up...BUT NO! IT'S SAVED BY BICKERS! The Englishman leaps to his feet and raises one arm in the air in celebration. He enjoyed that one! He moved slightly as Alfano took his run-up, but it was laterally, and the referee saw no problem with it. Perfect height for the keeper, and far too close to him. And now for the first time tonight, Lincoln are ahead! OO - Lincoln - Roma - OOX Penalty 6 Lincoln Ferreira What a night it has been for Ferreira. He was told he wouldn't start, and the rumour was that he wouldn't even make the bench. He came on, and has done pretty much nothing. He isn't fit, he's looked leggy, and in most cases, would have been hauled off. But with one touch of his left foot, he forced Reyes to dive in and bring him down, and he brought his side level in the final minute of extra-time. Now he has the chance to cement their advantage following Alfano's miss...AND HE DOES! Not the best penalty, but it was too low for D'Anna to get to in time. Lincoln move 3-2 ahead in the shootout. OOO - Lincoln - Roma - OOX Penalty 7 Roma Bustamente Bustamente really must score here. If he doesn't, Lincoln can win it on their next penalty. And he does, rattling it hard past Bickers into the top left-hand corner. A wonderful, wonderful penalty, and Roma are still in this by the skin of their teeth. OOO - Lincoln - Roma - OOXO Penalty 8 Lincoln Flatebo The first penalty to be taken left-footed in this shootout, and if it's a good one, then Roma will have to score, otherwise it is all over...D'Anna guesses right, but there was no stopping that one. Flatebo strikes it across body into the bottom corner, and now comes an absolute mountain of pressure on Reyes, who will take Roma's fifth. OOOO - Lincoln - Roma - OOXO Penalty 9 Roma Reyes A penny for Reyes' thoughts. Just twenty minutes ago, Roma were heading towards a win fairly comfortably. One rash tackle later, and Lincoln were level, and now they are one kick away from losing it completely. They will not quite believe they are still in a game here - they should have been well and truly out of sight by half-time. He strikes right footed, and that's a textbook penalty. Reyes raises one arm in the air for the Roma fans, but he knows that the job is only half done. Lincoln still only one penalty away from history. OOOO - Lincoln - Roma - OOXOO Penalty 10 Lincoln Burton Danny Burton will take this 5th and possibly final penalty for Lincoln, and now the pressure is well and truly on him. If he misses, it isn't the end of the world, but try telling him there's no pressure when he could make history for his side. It's a long, long walk to the penalty spot, and he takes a look up at the baying mob of Roma fans behind the goal. They will do everything they can to put him off. He picks up the ball, whispers a quiet few words to it. Max Harvey can't watch on the sidelines as he places the ball down. He takes a few steps back... OOOOO - Lincoln - Roma - OOXOO Full Time Roma 1 - 1 Lincoln (Lincoln win 5-4 on penalties) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final Speechless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUFCspeni Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Absolutely mental achievement! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTHerringbone Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 That is frankly astonishing! Congratulations! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waitsfornone Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Glad Bickers got MotM... it sure seems like he saved the team on more than one occasion. And then to save an early penalty... woooo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzrab Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Excellent result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Loved the way you've done this, exciting read. Well done, great achievement! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamoudiLFC Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Congrats mate!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Wow, what an effort! Magnificent to have done this with a lowly Gibraltar team Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Absolutely mental achievement! That is frankly astonishing! Congratulations! Glad Bickers got MotM... it sure seems like he saved the team on more than one occasion. And then to save an early penalty... woooo. Excellent result. Loved the way you've done this, exciting read. Well done, great achievement! Congrats mate!! Wow, what an effort! Magnificent to have done this with a lowly Gibraltar team Thank you to you all. It was certainly a tense game, not sure how we did it, but we're now the proud holders of a European trophy, and although it's not the one we wanted, it'll certainly do for now! I've played on a few more seasons, and I'll be hopefully updating that tonight or tomorrow. Big things happening again. But longer term, I've got a big decision to make. My manager is now in his late 70s, and you'd expect that retirement would be on the cards. I don't think that retiring now would be the best option, and would be a bit of a waste of all the seasons I've gotten through. But then I think it'd be a bit odd if my manager reaches 100, and I continue to play on for more seasons. I'm also pretty much ready to move onto a new challenge. So I'm thinking ahead, past Max Harvey and on to the next manager. I contemplated having Harvey step down and be replaced by a son, but then he wouldn't have the same reputation clout behind him, or have too much. I think I might make myself a target of achieving everything I want to achieve, and if I don't manage it, then I retire anyway and move on. Whether I'll be able to do that or not, I'm not sure. I've put a lot of time into this manager, and it would feel odd to leave without winning the Champions League at least once. There is also the prospect of a new stadium still hiding just over the horizon. It's unlikely, but still a slight possibility. I said this back at the end of the 2051/52 season... Our performance in Europe was fantastic, but ultimately not good enough. We need to aim for that third spot in the group, or even higher than that. I'm going to set myself targets - within 5 years, we should have appeared in the Europa League knockouts or better at least twice, and within ten years, we should be appearing in the Champions League knockouts regularly. Within fifteen years, we should be Champions. Fighting talk, of course, but I don't think it's wildly unrealistic. We've now reached the end of the 2066 season. I've woefully missed out on my fifteen year plan. It took me seven years to make the Europa League knockouts, but we did then manage four straight years of appearing there. We then managed to reach the Champions League knockouts twice in three years, then won the Europa League in the fifteenth year. You know what? Max Harvey is going to retire at the end of the season where he turns 90. How's that for a bit of pressure? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Amazing achievement!! What is the ref doing just standing in the box? Seems depressed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2066/67 Pre-season So how do you follow last season? Well...that...that would do it. I am not sure how it happened, but we've gone from having no TV deal last season, to having an absolutely huge one this time around. I'm not sure what the deal is in the Premiership in my save, but this must rival it. Clubs that were sitting at semi-professional, scraping money together to compete now have more money than they know what to do with. This could be a huge game-changer in Gibraltar. Hell, there's no "could" about it, things are about to change, big-style. Transfers Jorge Sousa - I can think of worse players to pick up on a free transfer. A wonderful signing for us, and he'll slot straight in at right-back. Simon Hore - Although his technical stats probably aren't the best, his mental and especially physical stats make up for it. Another pretty flexible option, and could be employed as a sweeper if I decide to go all Inverting the Pyramid. David Lally - A no-nonsense center back. Not the greatest quality, but he can be a capable backup for anyone. Serhat Gulen - I'm not sure how he's English either. I assume it's residency, but I did pick him up from a Turkish club, and he has an extremely Turkish name. But him being British is just wonderful - he doesn't fill up a valuable foreigner slot that way. His mental stats are fantastic, and - unfortunately for Henrique Ferreira, and the other strikers - he'll be my number one striker right away. Declan Jones - A bit of youth brought in to give our midfield some depth. If he can work on his tackling, he could end up a wonderful defensive midfielder in the formation we play. Ivan Heredia - We brought in Sousa for the right flank, and now Heredia for the left. He's a good young prospect, but has the quality to slot straight in. We had to pay quite a bit for him, but I'm hoping he's going to be worth it. Ange Bamba - I'm hoping it's a case of "feed the strikers, and they shall score". Bamba should be able to get some decent crosses in, so glad to have him as an option on the right. Youth Intake After last years great intake, we're back to normal. Philip Sharples and Nigel Pugh the only arrivals. Results We opened our season with an amazing result, beating Champions League winners Napoli in the European Super Cup. I'll be honest, I expected to get absolutely dominated, and we probably did in the end. But a three minute flurry from new signing Serhat Gulen brought another new trophy into the cabinet. Wonderful scenes. So our first season begins as Europa League Champions, and we move through the qualifying for the Champions League with ease. A bit of a hairy match with KR though in the first leg, as they held us to a thrilling 3-3 draw. We closed it out back on the rock though. LOSC were probably the best we could have hoped for in the 4th pot, but Celano are a bit of an unknown. We haven't met before, and that's something I'm always wary of. Still, they'll be who we're targetting to finish above - assuming LOSC don't pose any problems. Chelsea are pretty much a foregone conclusion. Oh deary me... It wasn't quite the performance we hoped for following our European heroics last year. We started by getting ragged by Chelsea and then had a terrible draw against LOSC. A defeat to Celano rounded off the first three fixtures, and never mind 2nd, we were looking at finishing 4th. In the second half, we had to get something from every match to have a chance of finishing second, and obviously we'd have to beat both Celano and LOSC convincingly to overcome the head-to-head. A draw with Celano in the 4th match pretty much ended our hopes, but another draw, this time with Chelsea gave us hope. We now had a huge match against LOSC, with the winner going into the Europa League, and the loser getting nothing. A great first-half performance saw us through, and once again we'll be in the Europa League. Could it happen again? Our journey began in Turkey, at Fenerbahce. You may remember that last year, we faced Lyon in this round, at the stadium where the final would take place. This time around, we didn't quite visit the venue of the final, but we are in the same city, with the final scheduled to be in Besiktas' stadium. Could that be an omen? Whatever it was, we dispatched Fener fairly handily. A 2-1 win in Turkey eased the nerves, and we followed it up with a similar scoreline in Gibraltar. Job done. You want an omen? How about facing Lyon again? An away goal in France from Simao put us in a good position for the 2nd leg, but the tie was all level and heading for extra-time as we moved into the final five minutes. Then Thomas Deans stepped up and smashed in the winner. We held on, and into the quarter finals we go. Once again we squeezed past Italian opposition as AC Milan couldn't quite end our run. And once again, just like last year, we win our quarter final on away goals. Milan will feel aggrieved, just like Betis last year. And the train rolls on... The Old Lady can't stop this train! It's going to be another appearance in the Europa League final - the second in two years - and we're off to Turkey. In a season full of omens, we'll face an old foe in Granada, a team we have never beaten. Got to start somewhere, don't we? It took a 120th minute goal from Gulen in the Cup Final to wrest control away from Lions Pilots, but we did it, just. You know what? I think we've finally found our rivals... Misplaced the table, but of course we won the league again. Lions Pilots really are improving though, thanks to the new TV deal. Could be in for some interesting seasons in future. End of Season Confidence Looking to the Future The board tried and then promptly failed to find us a feeder club to give our reserves a chance to play, but I'll keep trying. Of course, given we still have one more match to play this season, this isn't a true end-of-season update...it's onwards to Turkey, where we'll see whether we can upset the stacked odds against us and win another trophy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final 2067 Preview This time last year, Lincoln of Gibraltar were preparing for the biggest match of their history against Roma. Many thought that we were witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event, a David and Goliath battle truer than the Bible itself. They all said that they would be beaten. And heavily. And you would be hard pressed to find a lot of people who thought that the tiny club had much of a chance. One-hundred-and-twenty-minutes-plus later, Lincoln were the winners, and Europe woke up wondering whether a new dawn had arrived. Now, one year on, we are in Istanbul, ready to witness twice-in-a-lifetime, as Lincoln prepare to meet Granada of Spain. It's been another marathon journey for Lincoln, with tonight their 21st European match of the season. They reached the Champions League group stages fairly easily, but even though many thought that this would be the year they announced themselves in the competition, and possibly made the latter stages, they struggled. When we watched Chelsea dismantle them with a 6-0 defeat in the opening game, it looked like it might be a lean year. But after fighting back to grab 3rd, it has been another fantastic spring in Europe. Once again, they visited the country of the final in the first knockout round, dispatching Fenerbahce. Then they beat Lyon for the second time in two years, and then added AC Milan and Juventus to their list of scalps. They are ready for this match. Granada, like Roma before them, took a more traditional route. They played one qualifying round for the Europa League before managing to progress from their group. They didn't have it all their own way though, drawing three of their six matches. In the knockout stages, they have only one four of their eight matches, with two draws and two defeats. However, they made it through each round, beating Zenit, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Arsenal on the way. It was the night two weeks ago where everything turned, as Lincoln manage to overturn Juventus, and Granada shocked Arsenal. You would have received long odds on this being the final, but neither side will care too much about that. So going into the match, will Granada make the same mistake as Roma did and underestimate their opponents. They know that they will have to take their chances, otherwise they shouldn't be surprised to find themselves on the end of another shock. History is absolutely on their side though. The two sides have met four times before, with all matches occurring in this competition. Back in 2039, almost thirty years ago, they met in the play-off round for a place in the Group Stages. A 0-0 draw in the second leg, having already been heavily beaten in the first, remains the only hand Lincoln have laid on Granada. Six years ago, they met again in the quarter finals of this competition. That day, they triumphed 6-0 on aggregate, and then went on to win the tournament. One thing is for sure, if they win today, they will do exactly that, but it is certainly a far different team they face today. Team News In terms of team news, Granada will be at close to full strength, with only a few fringe players out of the match. Lincoln have, for the most part, managed to avoid the dilemma that faced them last year with whether to pick Hugo Ferreira. This time around, he is most definitely out with a broken leg sustained earlier in the season. They will also be without Jorge Sousa, and that is a worry for Max Harvey. Horan, one of the heroes of last year, was forced into an early retirement, which raises selection problems for the match. Apart from that though, Lincoln can name a full strength team. And as we approach kick-off, the teams have been announced. It's as expected for Granada, but Max Harvey has had to change things in defence. Burton comes in to the contested right-back position. It's a first-choice center-back pairing to play alongside him, but right-back is definitely not Burton's favoured position. Could he be the weak link? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final 2067 First Half 00:00 And Granada kick off to a roar of appreciation in this wonderful stadium. Lincoln have brought another strong support, but it's clearly the Spaniards who have the majority in here. The ball is worked down the left, and an early ball towards the box is cut out, and Lincoln charge forward with FLatebo. Into Heredia, the left back. He thinks about a cross, but turns back, finding Walker on the edge of the box...ooh, and a good shot, but it's not too tough for Sanchez to save. First shot of the match goes to Lincoln though, only 34 seconds into the game. 01:04 Acevedo stands over a free kick, right out on the left flank, around half-way inside the Lincoln half. The delivery is good, but it's headed away by Alvarado. Bamba will chase this and take it on just outside his own box. He clears well towards the center but Lincoln get caught in possession. They want a free-kick, but they won't get it, and Acevedo is on the ball here, charging towards the box. He slips it in to Sinan Gunes...and that's a wonderful saving tackle from veteran Shahini. Out for a corner...it's swung in, right on top of the keeper...but Bickers gathers wonderfully. Is he in for another man of the match performance? 08:41 Throw-in to Granada, over on the left. So far they've had most of the game, but they'll be wary of counter-attacks. It looks like that's exactly how Lincoln are set up. Neat passing play, but that's too neat, and the pass hits Edstrom - he didn't know much about that - Walker slides in, and Lincoln can counter. Gulen, waits for his moment and then slips it into Bamba. Walker is charging up-field, and Bamba finds him. Wonderful first touch pass into Gulen...AND IT'S IN! BUT NO! Offside has been given, and Granada breathe a sigh of relief. It looks like the correct decision, but Lincoln can take heart in their potent counter-attack. 19:20 Granada try to play some neat passes in the center circle, but that's wayward, and Deans steals in. Gulen, switched to Flatebo to his left. He takes his time, and then finds Deans in-field. He passes it on to Alvarado in space just inside the Granada half. Lincoln looking very comfortable here. Walker picks it up, waits for the run of Bamba, who bursts into the box, his one-touch pass to Gulen...ooh, that's a bad miss. He had Sanchez scrambling towards him, and a lot of the goal to aim for, but he found the keeper. Big chance for Lincoln. 21:04 Granada take a free kick in their own half. They're still trying to pass their way through Lincoln, but as they reach the box, they encounter a wall of red, and they're really struggling to break through. Another pass goes astray, and Lincoln try and break. Granada win it back, and they come again. Gunes, and this time they manage to break through, but the wingers shot is well wide. Should have done better. 27:04 Lincoln try and apply some pressure. Bamba picks it up, but he's tackled, and now Granada can break. But their move breaks down in mid-field, and Lincoln take it away once more. Granada not having a good game at all out there. Bamba picks it up, drives at the defence and shooots...flashes just wide. Another let-off for the Spaniards. 29:54 Approaching the half-hour mark, and you'd say that Lincoln will be the happier side. Minane with a throw on the half-way line. Celik takes it for a walk down the right flank, waiting or an opening. He plays it backwards and in-field to Andrews, but his first time return is cut out by Heredia. Deans switches the play to the right. The balls a bit behind Bamba, but he picks it up, and looks to start another attack. He passes it short to Walker, who looks up and plays a wonderful pass over the line of defence towards Gulen - they've got their hands up, but the flag stays down. Great take...AND HE SCORES! A CALM CHIP OVER THE ADVANCING KEEPER, AND LINCOLN ARE AHEAD IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL! 37:10 What can Granada do now? THey'll have to chase this game obviously, and that will only leave more gaps at the back. Lincoln have played things perfectly here. They have a free-kick, which Walker lofts into the box. It's headed away, and now Celik can maybe start something. THe ball goes wide to Acevedo, and he has got the legs on right back Burton, but his cross isn't good enough, and Hore just rises nonchalantly to head away. Granada have it back though and they work it out to Celik on the other flank. He cuts inside and unleashes a shot, which is wonderfully saved by Bickers! That was travelling at pace, and he rose up to tip it just around the post. Wonderful stuff. But the linesman was flagging anyway - the shot wouldn't have counted had it gone in. What a psychological boost for Bickers though, as if he needed one. 38:21 Approaching half-time here, and it's a goal-kick to Lincoln. A bit of head-tennis, but Granada come away with it. Celik moves to power away from Heredia, who dives in...and he's already been booked! He caught Celik there, and as he gets to his feet, I think he knows what's coming...YES, A RED CARD FOR HEREDIA, AND LINCOLN ARE DOWN TO TEN MEN! The talk before the match was of trouble at right back, but it's the left-back who is off here. Big blow for Lincoln. The resulting free-kick comes in, but Bickets grabs it out of the air. They'll have to rearrange now. 41:40 Flatebo has just come off, and David Lally is on. That's a center back to come on at left-back to try and hold onto this lead. They've sacrificed an attacking outlet, but will it be enough to keep Granada at bay? Edstrom finds Acevedo, and the ball is launched into the box, but sub Lally is there to turn it away. Corner. But it's poor, and doesn't even make it onto the pitch. 46:02 And that's half-time. Lincoln have hung on for now, but can they do it for another forty-five minutes? Half Time Score: Lincoln (GIB) 1 - 0 Granada C.F. S.A.D. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final 2067 Second Half 45:00 Lincoln kick off, and this is a huge 45 minutes of football for them. They've coped well with the sending off just before half-time, but in immediately sacrificing Flatebo, they've blunted a potent attacking outlet. It looks like they'll be hanging on for this 45 minutes and playing for the 1-0. 62:15 So far Lincoln have stood firm, and you can see the frustration on the faces of the Granada players here. They have a corner though, Acevedo over it. Cleared by Deans, out towards Edstrom who nods it back to Joao Paulo, the only outfield player back for Granada. He drills it to Echeverria in space, who takes a look up...and drives a shot straight into the waiting arms of Bickers. He will surely hold onto this for as long as possible now. 63:09 A free-kick for Lincoln, out on the left of their defence. Bickers will take it, and the Lincoln line is very deep here. They are not committing men forward, and it's clear to see why. Ball chipped forward, and Jones wins the header well. Deans has two ahead of them if he can find them. He does, Gulen spinning on the ball, and he's spotted the run of Walker, straight through the huge gap in the defence! He steadies himself, takes a touch...AND THEN RIFLES A SHOT PAST SANCHEZ! LINCOLN ARE IN DREAMLAND HERE! THE TEN MEN FROM GIBRALTAR ARE NOW 2-0 UP IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL! 64:36 You have to say, that's such a simple goal for Granada to concede. From the moment it left Bickers boot, there was very little pressure on the ball, and six touches later, it was in the back of the net. Not particularly pretty, but scarily effective, and Granada are in trouble now. 25 minutes to save this match. They work a good opportunity for Gunes, but his shot from a standing position is wild and wide, and that just about sums up their night. Barry Wignall is coming on for Lincoln, and it looks like he'll be taking the captain's armband for the rest of the game. Could he be lifting his second Europa League trophy in half an hours time? 73:09 All Granada at the moment, but no cutting edge. Marini has a wild shot which hits the 5th official on the line. Not sure he meant that. 74:29 Another attack, and they try and pass it through the amassed ranks of red and black shirts. Marini makes a good run, but his shot is tame, and Bickers gathers. 76:11 Admittedly pretty passing shapes by Granada, but Lincoln are just exerting the least amount of pressure when necessary to keep the ball moving. But they'll need to be careful here, Marini finds sub Agustoni in space. He sets himself...but his shot is close enough to Bickers for the big Englishman to get a meaty hand on it. It's turned round the post for a corner. Again though it's wasted, as the floated ball is headed clear by Alvarado. Nine men plus Bickers back, against only seven Granada players. They're lapping every ball up. 79:11 Time ticking in, just over ten minutes left to play. Shahini over a freekick just inside the Lincoln half. He'll get this as far towards the corner as possible I Imagine. But no, he passes it wide to veteran Wignall, who keeps the ball fantastically well, and lays it off to Burton. Lincoln just look so comfortable here. The ball goes all the way back to Bickers, who leathers it long, but now Granada can get some possession. A long ball from Marini, and that's easy for Bickers to gather. I think they've run out of ideas here. More passing, probing along the amassed lines. Joao Paulo receives it on the right, in a bit of space. Is he going to hit it? He does! And it strikes the bar! Bickers for the first time tonight beaten all ends up, and it bounces away for a throw-in. Is that the moment that this game turns? Or is it the moment that Granada realise it isn't to be? 82:37 Minutes ticking down, Joao Paulo with a throw. Agustoni picks it up on the byline, needs a good cross. It's pretty good, and three Lincoln players just about fall over each other to get it clear! Somehow it avoids all the Granada players waiting, and Jones thumps it clear. Big moment. Gulen can't win the header, and now Granada come again. A goaol now would make things interesting. Minane, into Andrews, then Marini...and the shot is well saved by Bickers. 84:54 More probing down the right, but it's almost cut-out. Granada receover, but then another wild shot into the crowd. The Lincoln fans greet it like a goal - they think this ones over, but the players on the pitch clearly do not. Captain Barry Wignall came on in the 64th minute, and has harried and harassed in equal measure ever since. He is driving his team onwards, and they look so focused, and yet so comfortable. Granada have absolutely not turned up. 91:05 The sound you hear is the sound of tens of thousands of Gibraltarians singing for their heroes. Gulen stands over a free-kick in an attacking position, and we're in stoppage time. It would take an absolute miracle for Granada to get back into this, but they'll want to keep a clean-sheet. Could they add another here? It's good...but not good enough, it doesn't dip in time, and I think Sanchez had it covered anyway. But it's out for a goal-kick, and that wastes time they don't have. Ninety seconds to go. Granada try and move forward, but it's tentative and slow, and Lincoln are back in numbers. Acevedo shows too much, and Burton slides in wonderfully to take the ball. He has covered himself in glory tonight with a rare start at right back. He can be very proud. He gets his head up, and plays a simple pass under pressure to Walker, and that tells you all you need to know about tonight. Gulen receives the ball and is tripped...the referee takes a long old look, and it's a free kick to Lincoln. Perhaps a little gamesmanship there from Gulen, he went down very easily, but you have to say his legs are probably shot after the performance he has put in. He has worked so hard tonight, and it is going to take the mother of all comebacks for him not to be getting his reward in a few minutes time. The subs and staff are on the touchline, ready to invade the pitch...seconds to go. Jones over the free-kick, he plays it short, AND THE REFEREE BLOWS FOR FULL TIME! LINCOLN HAVE ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE! THEY HAVE RETAINED THE EUROPA LEAGUE! Full Time Score: Lincoln (GIB) 2 - 0 Granada C.F. S.A.D. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashton321 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Congrats on the just daft achievement here pal, well done. Hope you stay on a get that Champions League Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Europa League Final 2067 Reaction We now have the chance to talk to Harry Bickers, who was named man of the match in the Europa League Final for the second year running...Harry, how does it feel?Absolutely amazing, as you can imagine, but I don't want to single myself out. Last year we probably got lucky. Roma battered us for one-hundred-and-twenty minutes, and if we played the match a hundred times, we'd probably lose each one. But tonight, we showed exactly what we were capable of. The team performance was just massive. Granada are a fantastic team, and they'll continue to be a fantastic team, but we made them look ordinary today to be honest. Your personal performance was something to behold, especially your save from the shot in the first half which ended up being called offside. Did you hear the whistle? No, I didn't actually! The boss said at half-time that I'd just given one for the cameras, but I genuinely thought it was in! Two man-of-the-match awards are bound to interest other clubs...do you think you'll leave this club in the summer? Absolutely not. If the time comes that I've outlived my usefulness to this team, then I'll start to think about moving on, but I am very happy at the club, and I can think of nowhere else I'd rather be. And it now looks like your manager is going to talk to us...Max, what a night....are you in a state of shock? I don't want to sound like I had no belief in my players, because I absolutely do, but yeah, you could say I am. I know exactly what this team are capable of, and I fully believe that on our day we can beat anyone. Tonight you saw our day, and we were just magnificent. The man beside you got man-of-the-match, what did you think of his performance? I don't want him to get too big for his boots here, of course, but yeah, you have to say it was the perfect performance. But I don't want to single out one player, and I'm sure Harry will absolutely agree. Tonight was a team effort, from Gulen opening the scoring and working so hard, back to our wingers stretching the play, to our midfielders and defenders working in tandem to give Granada no time in dangerous positions. Everyone, to a man, was fantastic tonight. You went down to ten-men late in the first half. Do you think that was the right decision, and did you start to think that it might not be your day at that point? Ivan knows he did wrong, and it's hard to argue with the decision. It was a rash tackle, but for me, it just shows he was willing to put his body on the line to get us the win. He played his part while he was on, and it's unfortunate he got sent off, but no-one is more disappointed than he is to miss the rest of the game. I don't blame him, and I wouldn't have, even if we had lost. We're a team here. After the sending off, the period up to half-time was crucial. When we went in at half-time still 1-0 up...we believed, put it that way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2067/68 Pre-season A bit of news on the youth recruitment front as I persuaded the board to increase it. Whether it'll make any difference to quality I'm not sure, but it's something. This was annoying, but then not too much, as the announcement before sort of eclipsed it... We've done it. We're getting our new stadium, and it'll be named after me. Beezer. It's not the biggest, but it's double the size of our European stadium currently, and four times as big as our league stadium. Very excited about this. Transfers Ansi Duro Michael Grice Liam Edge Aidan Liddle Richard Morgan The big story in the transfer window though was how utterly mental a lot of clubs have gone thanks to the new TV deal. Here's the big transfers from the country, and Lions Pilots have clearly gone mad. We still have the biggest transfers, but then we have decades of European football backing us. If the TV deal disappears as quickly as it appeared, we could have quite the crash on our hands. Youth Intake Craig Munns, Mark Bowler and Vic Atkins join us. Results We couldn't double up on the European Super Cup by beating European Cup winners Napoli again, and they showed their class in the end. A match to forget, but we're glad to be there. We seem to have a few problems with Israel, as we lost again in the first leg of our play-off match. We recovered though, and booked yet another group stage appearance. And that is more like it. After a disappointing season last time out, we recovered to grab ten points from sixteen. You would have thought that our six points would have been dropped to Napoli, but you'd be wrong. A shock 2-0 defeat against Shakhtar almost derailed the entire group stage for us, but we recovered in style by beating Napoli in the final match of the group to clinch second place, and an appearance in the knockout stages. But that's where the journey ended. Once again we fail to make it past the first knockout round, but it was to be expected. Man Utd had just too much for us, but unfortunately for us, it was pretty close. We're left thinking of what might have been. Lions Pilots are really proving a tough opposition for us. This time it's the League Cup they've stolen for us, but we did manage to win the Rock Cup after extra-time yet again. Henrique Ferreira, who will leave us at the end of the season, said the perfect goodbye with his 94th minute goal. Job done. Although looking at the table... Only eight points separate us and Lions Pilots. If we had lost the match we won against them, that gap would've been three. They're coming for us... End of Season Confidence European Performance 2065/66 Europa League 1st Qualifying Round Manchester 62 vs HB (agg 2-1) Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Manchester 62 vs Viking (agg 0-6) Glacis United vs Slovan Bratislava (agg 0-8) Lions Pilots vs Vit. Guimaraes (agg 0-6) 2066/67 Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Red Imps vs Pandurrii (agg 0-5) Glacis United vs Senica (agg 0-7) Lions Pilots vs Estoril (agg 1-2) 2067/68 Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Lynx FC vs Vojvodina (agg 0-4) Leo Parrilla vs AA Gent (agg 2-11) Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round Lions Pilots vs Murcia (agg 1-3) A bumper update, and please, do not adjust your sets, a side from Gibraltar has won a Europa League match. Sure it was the first round, but Manchester 62 made it to the second round in 2066, before being roundly dumped out. They should be proud. Otherwise, it's as you were, although things will get more interesting now that the co-efficients have changed. Looking to the Future Well it's been quite a year, not in terms of success, but in terms of facilities. In two years time, we'll move into our new stadium, and that will be a huge moment for us. Will it be the making of us? Historic Stats A bumper update of historic stats to fill in the couple of seasons that were missed. The main highlights are our burgeoning value and finances as we break the £100 million mark. The 23rd best club side in Europe...we've come a long way. The other big change is in the co-efficients. Gibraltar will boast two sides in the Champions League from next season, as well as three in the Europa League. We will also enter one stage later. That's massive news for the country, just massive. If we can keep that up, it should be a snowball effect as the TV money makes our sides better. |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| Season | League Rep | Club Rep | Value | Balance | Ticket | Season | Tickets | League | League Cup | Rock Cup | C. League | E. League | |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| 2013/14 | 208th | - | | £50,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2014/15 | 208th | - | | £400,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2015/16 | 218th | 773rd | £900,000 | £610,000 | £6 | £30 | 67 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2016/17 | 204th | 478th | £875,000 | £800,000 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Quarters | 1st Qual. | - || 2017/18 | 215th | 442nd | £1,200,000 | £1,616,269 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2018/19 | 204th | 390th | £1,500,000 | £1,439,979 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2019/20 | 177th | 318th | £1,800,000 | £1,785,076 | £6 | £30 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2020/21 | 178th | 303rd | £725,000 | £671,576 | £6 | £32 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2021/22 | 185th | 305th | £1,200,000 | £1,130,766 | £6 | £33 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Group Stage | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2022/23 | 195th | 283rd | £1,000,000 | £816,454 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2023/24 | 209th | 287th | £1,500,000 | £1,260,895 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2024/25 | 251st | 287th | £1,800,000 | £1,612,489 | £5 | £30 | 72 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 2nd Qual. | - || 2025/26 | 249th | 286th | £2,700,000 | £2,453,908 | £5 | £30 | 75 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2026/27 | 202nd | 274th | £2,800,000 | £2,538,846 | £6 | £33 | 77 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2027/28 | 173rd | 273rd | £2,900,000 | £2,693,189 | £6 | £33 | 79 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2028/29 | 127th | 284th | £2,200,000 | £2,032,905 | £7 | £36 | 80 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2029/30 | 129th | 281st | £1,100,000 | £948,588 | £7 | £40 | 84 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2030/31 | 176th | 282nd | £800,000 | £567,483 | £7 | £37 | 88 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2031/32 | 208th | 307th | £650,000 | £463,657 | £7 | £37 | 96 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2032/33 | 225th | 311th | £500,000 | £320,088 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2033/34 | 206th | 333rd | £750,000 | £502,304 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2034/35 | 185th | 339th | £3,900,000 | £3,715,594 | £7 | £37 | 110 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2035/36 | 135th | 234th | £3,200,000 | £2,977,575 | £7 | £40 | 114 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2036/37 | 116th | 236th | £1,900,000 | £1,698,560 | £7 | £40 | 118 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2037/38 | 161st | 241st | £4,100,000 | £3,941,362 | £7 | £39 | 122 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2038/39 | 192nd | 213th | £5,250,000 | £4,997,978 | £7 | £39 | 125 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2039/40 | 203rd | 195th | £6,500,000 | £5,756,063 | £7 | £40 | 131 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2040/41 | 202nd | 235th | £5,500,000 | £4,912,031 | £8 | £42 | 135 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2041/42 | 177th | 220th | £3,700,000 | £2,956,190 | £8 | £42 | 142 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2042/43 | 175th | 225th | £10,250,000 | £9,492,009 | £8 | £42 | 126 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 4th in Group | - || 2043/44 | 116th | 178th | £12,250,000 | £11,173,660 | £9 | £47 | 149 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2044/45 | 135th | 183rd | £9,500,000 | £8,103,140 | £8 | £46 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2045/46 | 171st | 183rd | £5,000,000 | £3,853,103 | £8 | £47 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2046/47 | 176th | 188th | £4,300,000 | £3,853,103 | £9 | £49 | 166 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2047/48 | 214th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £10,533,973 | £8 | £46 | 169 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2048/49 | 220th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £8,431,124 | £8 | £47 | 170 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2049/50 | 192nd | 191st | £14,250,000 | £11,651,607 | £9 | £51 | 176 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2050/51 | 156th | 157th | £20,000,000 | £17,319,187 | £10 | £54 | 179 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2051/52 | 118th | 154th | £22,000,000 | £18,109,846 | £10 | £56 | 182 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2052/53 | 107th | 87th | £21,500,000 | £17,168,167 | £11 | £59 | 185 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2053/54 | 97th | 84th | £19,500,000 | £13,243,551 | £11 | £63 | 187 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2054/55 | 90th | 73rd | £23,500,000 | £16,919,799 | £12 | £65 | 193 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2055/56 | 85th | 75th | £24,500,000 | £18,116,106 | £12 | £67 | 199 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2056/57 | 85th | 76th | £23,500,000 | £16,542,451 | £12 | £67 | 204 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2057/58 | 81st | 76th | £25,000,000 | £19,122,856 | £12 | £67 | 209 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 4th in Group | - || 2058/59 | 76th | 65th | £24,000,000 | £18,974,460 | £12 | £69 | 223 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2059/60 | 70th | 49th | £25,000,000 | £17,435,346 | £13 | £74 | 233 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2060/61 | 64th | 38th | £29,000,000 | £24,272,313 | £14 | £81 | 253 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2061/62 | 54th | 32nd | £64,000,000 | £54,528,774 | £16 | £90 | 261 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | Semi Finals || 2062/63 | 50th | 25th | £43,000,000 | £33,087,373 | £17 | £97 | 269 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2063/64 | 42nd | 21st | £53,000,000 | £42,898,842 | £18 | £101 | 279 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2064/65 | 35th | 26th | £67,000,000 | £59,997,993 | £20 | £110 | 290 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2065/66 | 30th | 27th | £89,000,000 | £65,362,666 | £21 | £117 | 320 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2066/67 | 25th | 23rd | £130,000,000 | £96,851,861 | £27 | £200 | 431 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2067/68 | 22nd | 23rd | £164,000,000 | £103,049,418 | £29 | £218 | 487 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - ||---------|-------------|----------|-------------|-------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------| |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| Season | Stadium | Capacity | Corporate | Training | Youth | Junior Coaching | Youth Recruitment ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| 2013/14 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2014/15 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2015/16 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2016/17 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2017/18 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2018/19 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2019/20 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2020/21 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Adequate | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2021/22 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2022/23 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2023/24 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2024/25 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2025/26 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2026/27 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2027/28 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2028/29 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2029/30 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2030/31 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2031/32 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2032/33 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2033/34 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2034/35 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2035/36 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2036/37 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2037/38 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2038/39 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2039/40 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2040/41 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2041/42 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2042/43 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2043/44 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2044/45 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2045/46 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2046/47 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2047/48 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2048/49 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2049/50 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2050/51 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2051/52 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2052/53 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2053/54 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2054/55 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2055/56 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2056/57 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2057/58 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2058/59 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2059/60 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2060/61 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2061/62 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2062/63 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2063/64 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2064/65 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2065/66 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2066/67 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2067/68 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |---------------------------------------------------|| Season | CL | Rounds | EL | Rounds | Coefficient ||---------------------------------------------------|| 2014/15 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2015/16 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2016/17 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2017/18 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2018/19 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2019/20 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2020/21 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2021/22 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2022/23 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2023/24 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2024/25 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2025/26 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2026/27 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2027/28 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2028/29 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 46th || 2029/30 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2030/31 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2031/32 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2032/33 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2034/35 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2035/36 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2036/37 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2037/38 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 44th || 2038/39 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2039/40 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2040/41 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2041/42 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2042/43 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2043/44 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 45th || 2044/45 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2045/46 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2046/47 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2047/48 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2048/49 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2049/50 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2050/51 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2051/52 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 36th || 2052/53 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2053/54 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2054/55 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 32nd || 2055/56 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2056/57 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2057/58 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2058/59 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2059/60 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2060/61 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 30th || 2061/62 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 26th || 2062/63 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 23rd || 2063/64 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 19th || 2064/65 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 20th || 2065/66 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 22nd || 2066/67 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2067/68 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2068/69 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th ||----------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2068/69 Pre-season Jeeeesus... This is getting silly. I'm not complaining, but...just...wow. Confirmation of our most attractive players from a merchandising stand-point. No surprise that Chris Walker is there, although I'm surprised Harry Bickers doesn't appear. I suppose 'keepers are less likely to have shirts bought? In other news, the European Under 21 Championship happened, and when the dream team was announced, two names jumped out. Michael Grice joined us last season, and McDonnough will join us in the summer - more on him in the transfers section. Transfers Dane Bown Marcus Deakin Anthony Murray Latrell McDonnough Greg Donald I talked about McDonnough earlier, but you probably thought it was a free transfer. Oh no...this was the year where Max Harvey turned to a "Go Big or Go Home" mindset. Over £60 million spent, half of it on Latrell. I think he's worth it, and with our large number of European games, if we buy players who will play from the moment they join us, they should improve enough to reach their potential. In other news, the FM AI has finally become self-aware and realised how ridiculous media questioning is. Youth Intake Craig Munns, Mark Bowler and Vic Atkins join us. Results We joined one round later this year, and had little trouble in reaching the groups. Another tough group stage ended with us squeezing through into 2nd thanks to our point against Roma in the opening game. Once again we faced Manchester United, and once again we came up short. It was a bit closer this time, with an epic 2-2 draw at the Europa. We couldn't pick ourselves up when we travelled to Old Trafford though, and we were out at the first hurdle again. Congratulations to the Lions Pilots as they dump us out of another cup competition. We beat them in the League Cup Final, and they got the Rock Cup, so I'll call that even. The results look extremely positive, but take a look at the table. Lions Pilots are getting closer and closer to us, with just five points separating us. We're still unbeaten, a run stretching to over 250 games, and almost 17 years. Next season could be very interesting. End of Season Confidence European Performance 2068/69 Champions League Best Placed Third Qualifying Round Lions Pilots v PSV (agg 1-5) Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Leo Parrilla vs SV Ried (agg 0-6) Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round Glacis United vs Slovan Bratislava (agg 0-5) Europa League Playoff Round Lynx FC vs Ajax (agg 0-6) The first season of the new era of co-efficient dominance began with predictable mediocrity. No ties won, but to be fair, the teams faced some absolute giants. Lions Pilots managed a 1-1 draw against PSV in the first leg before collapsing in Holland, whereas Lynx FC were pummelled by Ajax. With the money coming in though, I can see us having better results in years to come. Looking to the Future One year to go until we move into the Harvey Arena...I would love to celebrate that by getting further in the Champions League. I would absolutely not like to celebrate that by watching Lions Pilots take our title...big season coming up. Historic Stats |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| Season | League Rep | Club Rep | Value | Balance | Ticket | Season | Tickets | League | League Cup | Rock Cup | C. League | E. League | |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| 2013/14 | 208th | - | | £50,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2014/15 | 208th | - | | £400,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2015/16 | 218th | 773rd | £900,000 | £610,000 | £6 | £30 | 67 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2016/17 | 204th | 478th | £875,000 | £800,000 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Quarters | 1st Qual. | - || 2017/18 | 215th | 442nd | £1,200,000 | £1,616,269 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2018/19 | 204th | 390th | £1,500,000 | £1,439,979 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2019/20 | 177th | 318th | £1,800,000 | £1,785,076 | £6 | £30 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2020/21 | 178th | 303rd | £725,000 | £671,576 | £6 | £32 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2021/22 | 185th | 305th | £1,200,000 | £1,130,766 | £6 | £33 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Group Stage | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2022/23 | 195th | 283rd | £1,000,000 | £816,454 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2023/24 | 209th | 287th | £1,500,000 | £1,260,895 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2024/25 | 251st | 287th | £1,800,000 | £1,612,489 | £5 | £30 | 72 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 2nd Qual. | - || 2025/26 | 249th | 286th | £2,700,000 | £2,453,908 | £5 | £30 | 75 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2026/27 | 202nd | 274th | £2,800,000 | £2,538,846 | £6 | £33 | 77 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2027/28 | 173rd | 273rd | £2,900,000 | £2,693,189 | £6 | £33 | 79 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2028/29 | 127th | 284th | £2,200,000 | £2,032,905 | £7 | £36 | 80 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2029/30 | 129th | 281st | £1,100,000 | £948,588 | £7 | £40 | 84 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2030/31 | 176th | 282nd | £800,000 | £567,483 | £7 | £37 | 88 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2031/32 | 208th | 307th | £650,000 | £463,657 | £7 | £37 | 96 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2032/33 | 225th | 311th | £500,000 | £320,088 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2033/34 | 206th | 333rd | £750,000 | £502,304 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2034/35 | 185th | 339th | £3,900,000 | £3,715,594 | £7 | £37 | 110 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2035/36 | 135th | 234th | £3,200,000 | £2,977,575 | £7 | £40 | 114 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2036/37 | 116th | 236th | £1,900,000 | £1,698,560 | £7 | £40 | 118 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2037/38 | 161st | 241st | £4,100,000 | £3,941,362 | £7 | £39 | 122 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2038/39 | 192nd | 213th | £5,250,000 | £4,997,978 | £7 | £39 | 125 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2039/40 | 203rd | 195th | £6,500,000 | £5,756,063 | £7 | £40 | 131 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2040/41 | 202nd | 235th | £5,500,000 | £4,912,031 | £8 | £42 | 135 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2041/42 | 177th | 220th | £3,700,000 | £2,956,190 | £8 | £42 | 142 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2042/43 | 175th | 225th | £10,250,000 | £9,492,009 | £8 | £42 | 126 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 4th in Group | - || 2043/44 | 116th | 178th | £12,250,000 | £11,173,660 | £9 | £47 | 149 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2044/45 | 135th | 183rd | £9,500,000 | £8,103,140 | £8 | £46 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2045/46 | 171st | 183rd | £5,000,000 | £3,853,103 | £8 | £47 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2046/47 | 176th | 188th | £4,300,000 | £3,853,103 | £9 | £49 | 166 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2047/48 | 214th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £10,533,973 | £8 | £46 | 169 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2048/49 | 220th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £8,431,124 | £8 | £47 | 170 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2049/50 | 192nd | 191st | £14,250,000 | £11,651,607 | £9 | £51 | 176 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2050/51 | 156th | 157th | £20,000,000 | £17,319,187 | £10 | £54 | 179 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2051/52 | 118th | 154th | £22,000,000 | £18,109,846 | £10 | £56 | 182 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2052/53 | 107th | 87th | £21,500,000 | £17,168,167 | £11 | £59 | 185 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2053/54 | 97th | 84th | £19,500,000 | £13,243,551 | £11 | £63 | 187 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2054/55 | 90th | 73rd | £23,500,000 | £16,919,799 | £12 | £65 | 193 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2055/56 | 85th | 75th | £24,500,000 | £18,116,106 | £12 | £67 | 199 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2056/57 | 85th | 76th | £23,500,000 | £16,542,451 | £12 | £67 | 204 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2057/58 | 81st | 76th | £25,000,000 | £19,122,856 | £12 | £67 | 209 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 4th in Group | - || 2058/59 | 76th | 65th | £24,000,000 | £18,974,460 | £12 | £69 | 223 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2059/60 | 70th | 49th | £25,000,000 | £17,435,346 | £13 | £74 | 233 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2060/61 | 64th | 38th | £29,000,000 | £24,272,313 | £14 | £81 | 253 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2061/62 | 54th | 32nd | £64,000,000 | £54,528,774 | £16 | £90 | 261 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | Semi Finals || 2062/63 | 50th | 25th | £43,000,000 | £33,087,373 | £17 | £97 | 269 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2063/64 | 42nd | 21st | £53,000,000 | £42,898,842 | £18 | £101 | 279 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2064/65 | 35th | 26th | £67,000,000 | £59,997,993 | £20 | £110 | 290 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2065/66 | 30th | 27th | £89,000,000 | £65,362,666 | £21 | £117 | 320 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2066/67 | 25th | 23rd | £130,000,000 | £96,851,861 | £27 | £200 | 431 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2067/68 | 22nd | 23rd | £164,000,000 | £103,049,418 | £29 | £218 | 487 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2068/69 | 18th | 23rd | £138,000,000 | £21,022,499 | £29 | £218 | 512 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 1st KO Rnd | - ||---------|-------------|----------|-------------|-------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------| |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| Season | Stadium | Capacity | Corporate | Training | Youth | Junior Coaching | Youth Recruitment ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| 2013/14 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2014/15 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2015/16 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2016/17 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2017/18 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2018/19 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2019/20 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2020/21 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Adequate | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2021/22 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2022/23 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2023/24 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2024/25 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2025/26 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2026/27 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2027/28 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2028/29 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2029/30 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2030/31 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2031/32 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2032/33 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2033/34 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2034/35 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2035/36 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2036/37 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2037/38 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2038/39 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2039/40 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2040/41 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2041/42 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2042/43 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2043/44 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2044/45 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2045/46 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2046/47 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2047/48 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2048/49 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2049/50 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2050/51 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2051/52 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2052/53 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2053/54 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2054/55 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2055/56 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2056/57 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2057/58 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2058/59 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2059/60 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2060/61 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2061/62 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2062/63 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2063/64 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2064/65 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2065/66 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2066/67 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2067/68 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2068/69 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Excellent | Exceptional | Established ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |---------------------------------------------------|| Season | CL | Rounds | EL | Rounds | Coefficient ||---------------------------------------------------|| 2014/15 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2015/16 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2016/17 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2017/18 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2018/19 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2019/20 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2020/21 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2021/22 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2022/23 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2023/24 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2024/25 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2025/26 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2026/27 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2027/28 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2028/29 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 46th || 2029/30 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2030/31 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2031/32 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2032/33 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2034/35 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2035/36 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2036/37 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2037/38 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 44th || 2038/39 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2039/40 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2040/41 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2041/42 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2042/43 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2043/44 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 45th || 2044/45 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2045/46 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2046/47 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2047/48 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2048/49 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2049/50 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2050/51 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2051/52 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 36th || 2052/53 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2053/54 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2054/55 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 32nd || 2055/56 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2056/57 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2057/58 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2058/59 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2059/60 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2060/61 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 30th || 2061/62 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 26th || 2062/63 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 23rd || 2063/64 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 19th || 2064/65 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 20th || 2065/66 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 22nd || 2066/67 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2067/68 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2068/69 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2069/70 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th ||----------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More 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john1 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Where are you playing your Champions League matches? As your current stadium only fill 5K? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taleron Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Goodness gracious those TV deals. Either Gibraltar football has become popular worldwide, or each person on Gibraltar pays a million dollars for TV subscriptions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Where are you playing your Champions League matches? As your current stadium only fill 5K? We play them here, at the Europa Point Stadium. It's ready (in real life) in 2016, and will host all the national team's fixtures. They're currently playing in the Estadio de Algarve in Portugal. The edit seems to be a bit erratic - most "big" European games were at the Europa, but some remained at the Victoria Stadium, so were limited to 2000 seated fans, as the rest is standing. Goodness gracious those TV deals. Either Gibraltar football has become popular worldwide, or each person on Gibraltar pays a million dollars for TV subscriptions. That's a good point actually. If it's a domestic TV deal, at current population levels, every single man, woman and child in Gibraltar is paying £3333 a year to watch the league. Madness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Just worked my way through this. Wow. Just wow!! Well played so far mate! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2069/70 Transfers Gary Weir Jack Bentley Djellalli Wissam Olcay Esmer Youth Intake Damian Taylor and Stefan Ruiz join us. Results We start off with our domestic results this year for a change. Our season opener with Lions Pilots ended in predictable fashion given the Pilots upsurge. It was a tight battle, with six goals, but we eventually won through on penalties. In the league cup, we weren't so lucky, with the Pilots taking the trophy after a good 2-0 win in the final. Our third cup meeting went our way, again on penalties, in the Rock Cup. Once they were out of the way, we thumped Hound Dogs to take the trophy home. It's happened. After 16 seasons, 6367 days and 248 games, we have finally been beaten in the league. It's disappointing, but to be honest, we had bigger issues this season in the league. Lions Pilots have been closing the ground on us fast, and with only 14 games in the season, a single slip-up could lose us the league. Going into the second match against the Pilots, we were three points behind with a game in hand. A win for the Pilots would probably hand them the title, but a win for us would swing the momentum our way. We produced a wonderful performance to blow them away at home, and we started to dream of another title. But then Leo Parrilla came to town, and gave us that shock defeat in the penultimate game of the season. With the way fixtures are organised in Gibraltar, the Pilots played their last league game well before us. The picture was clear after that - our superior goal difference meant that a win would secure us the title. But anything less than that, and we would finish second, and face a longer journey into the Champions League. Not disastrous, but certainly not what we want to do. We got into a 2-0 lead, but got a bit complacent towards the end. Lynx got a goal back, but we held on to grab the title. On goal difference. Only two rounds of qualifying, and we negotiated them with little trouble. The Legia tie was a little worrying though. With the scores locked at 0-0 after the first leg, we knew that an away goal would probably kill off the Poles. It took until the 65th minute to manage it though. After that we looked a lot more comfortable. Once again, we did it the hard way. We got nothing from Southampton, as expected, but I really did think we'd do much better against Fenerbahce and Frankfurt. As it was, we only managed four points against each of them. Going into the final game, we knew a win would secure us 2nd place, and we did just that, with our best performance of the competition so far. I really wish we'd just win comfortably earlier though... When the draw was made, I looked at all the group winners we could face, and knew that there was going to be no such thing as an easy game. We drew Dortmund, and I expected another exit. But Chris Walker's sole goal at home meant we headed to Dortmund protecting a lead. If we scored the first goal, we'd be massive favourites for progressing, but obviously that would prove very tough. Dortmund scored early on, but we held firm to take the tie to extra-time. Then substitute Latrell McDonnough popped up to score a huge away goal five minutes into extra-time, and our travelling fans went wild. Dortmund needed two, and then it was just one as they slid in to finish. We held on to progress on away goals, and for the first time ever, we're in the Champions League quarter finals. Now that the draw is more open, we got a draw which seemed a little easier on paper. We've beaten Leverkusen before, and we were now in an odd position of fancying our chances of making a European semi-final. I expected a tight game, but instead we went mental. A 4-2 win in the first leg was absolutely more than I expected. We went in 2-1 down at half-time, but turned that around to 3-2 within four minutes of the restart. When we added a 4th, we were in dreamland. It finished that way, and that put us in an odd position - we held a two goal lead, but they still had two away goals, and would now be driven by revenge... But revenge sometimes isn't enough. Leverkusen raced into a 2-0 lead within fifteen minutes, and then added a third 10 minutes later. Suddenly our two goal lead had evaporated, and we needed two more to go back ahead. However, if we did get those two, we would draw level on away goals, and possibly take the tie to extra-time if Leverkusen found another. A minute after their third goal, Esmer scored at the other end. Suddenly things were remarkably tense, and stayed that way until the stroke of half-time, when three crazy minutes led to the score being 4-2. They scored their fourth before Esmer scored his second with the last kick of the half. We went from absolutely down and out to levelling the tie. I would have said extra-time looked likely, but I'd be lieing. There was no way the goals were finished. And so it proved. Anthony Murray struck eight minutes into the second half to score a crucial third away goal. Leverkusen now needed two to go ahead, but finally we were ahead on the night. We held on, and somehow, some way, we were in a Champions League semi-final. Where we would face Man Utd. The team that has put us out twice in recent years in the first knockout round, and the team who will probably put us out again. Probably? This was a tale of a battling home performance, underpinned by a masterclass at Old Trafford. After that 0-0, we went to Manchester chasing an away goal. Within half an hour, we had two, and suddenly found ourselves facing a possible Champions League Final. If the players were worried, they didn't show it, even when United got a goal back late on. They needed two more, but they just couldn't find them, and as the minutes ticked down, fans everywhere were booking trips to Barcelona. As the final whistle blew, the stage was set - we would head to the Nou Camp for a Champions League Final. Scenes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzrab Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 You are having an absolutely crazy time of it in Gibraltar. Fingers crossed that you can finally beat Man Unt in the most important of games. I dont suposse there is any chance of you uploading this save is there? I completely understand if you want to keep this game world to yourself but i would be interested to play in it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career UEFA Champions Leage Final 2069/70 Preview The Nou Camp. The spiritual home of Barcelona Football Club. They claim to be "mes que un club", and it's hard to argue with them. They have won the Europa League and the Cup Winners Cup four times each, the Club World Championship eight times, and eleven Champions League and Super Cup titles each. Domestically, they've won forty-five La Liga titles, forty-four Copa del Rey titles and thirty Spanish Super Cups. Put simply, they are one of the World's greatest clubs, and arguably the best. So you'd imagine that any club going up against the juggernaut would be daunted. You'd be right. But if you're Lincoln of Gibraltar, you would think that you'd be more than daunted. I'd be willing to bet you're wrong though. The tiny club from Gibraltar has grown massively under the stewardship of Max Harvey, going from first qualifying round also-rans, to group stage regulars, to Europa League winners, and now, finally, Champions League finalists. The growth has been massive, helped by a wealthy benefactor taking over some time ago, but they're still widely regarded as underdogs. And it's easy to see why. Their opponents tonight have an estimated club value of £1.15 billion, where Lincoln's is a more modest £151 million. All across the board, Barcelona are a side whose resources dwarf Lincoln's, so is this going to be a foregone conclusion? Talking to a lot of people, you would say yes. Despite reaching the final, Lincoln have cut it pretty close on many occasions. They required a win in their final group game to make it to the knockout stages, and although they managed to convincingly beat Frankfurt, many said that they would fall at the very next hurdle. It turns out that many people were wrong. Three wonderful ties later, and Lincoln are in the final. They beat Dortmund. They beat Leverkusen. Then they beat old foes Manchester United. They deserve to be here for their knockout stage performances alone. Their opponents however, had little trouble negotiating their way to this stage. The highlight of course would be the 11-2 aggregate demolition of Spartak Moscow in the first knockout round, but they have looked good throughout the campaign. The one question mark that remains though is the number of draws they've had. They were unbeaten in their group, but that did include three draws. Is there a chink to their armour that their opponents can exploit? The stadium is starting to fill up nicely, but it's clear to see that the majority inside this famous stadium are supporting Barcelona. And that is no surprise. Despite this match going down in the history books as being played in a neutral venue, you'd be hard pressed to describe it as such tonight. One possible glimmer of hope for Lincoln shines through when you look at the history books though. Thirteen years ago, Barcelona stepped out onto their own pitch, and then lost a Champions League final on penalties to Spanish rivals Real Betis. Will lightning strike twice here? Team News Barcelona remain without Jaja and Francesco de Michele due to long term injuries, but otherwise they can name a full-strength squad. They're expected to line up in a 4-4-2, but don't be surprised if they throw a curve-ball and change this. Lincoln only have one player out, but it's a big miss. Michael Grice, English under-21s star has not recovered from his damaged elbow in time, and he will miss this game. Bentley is expected to deputise at right back, with a familiar side around him. And with kick-off fast approaching, the teams are now in... It's as expected for both sides, with no surprises, and we should be in for quite a match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career UEFA Champions Leage Final 2069/70 First Half 00:00 A roar erupts from the crowd as Lincoln get the final of the 2069/70 Champions League underway. They've admirably stuck to their guns and not changed their approach, but this is going to be an even bigger challenge than their two Europa League finals were. Possession is going to be key in this match - they're unlikely to get a massive amount, so any they do get needs to be made the most of. They start with a bit of the ball here though, Wissam receiving it in the midfield. He plays a longer ball to Murray, but his first time pass goes straight to a Barcelona player. It's already looking like it might be a long night for anyone from Gibraltar. 01:56 Corner to Barcelona, and it's fired in flat, straight to Marceloooo...oh that's a close one. His header strikes the post and comes out, and Heredia boots it clear. An early let-off. 05:21 Vidas with the throw-in deep in his own half, but it's wasted, and Bentley can get Lincoln moving here. Wissam picks it up in midfield. Slips it into Walker, who tries a chipped pass through to Duro...but it's cut out by Maurinho, and that'll fall easily into Picchetti's hands. The goal kick eventually makes its way to Rodriguez, neat passing sending him free down the left wing. Good run, tieing Bentley up in knots, then slips it into Mario...shot blocked well, and Lincoln survive again. 11:54 Misztal has a throw-in right next to the corner flag. Taken long, and partially cleared, but Barcelona have it back. Crisp one-touch passing, and Misztal has a shot...ooo it cracks against the angle between post and crossbar. Another let-off. 14:52 Throw-in on the left. Barcelona keep it well, and are causing havoc down Lincoln's right flank. Another chance fashioned, and Rodriguez fires just over the bar. 17:57 Corner for Barcelona, and their dominance continues. It's another low one to the front post, and Misztal gets to it...another chance missed as it falls wide of the post. That was another big, big chance. But the referee's signalling another corner. Far post this time, and Hore gets up to head it away. Rodriguez races to keep it in, and finds Stiepermann on the edge of the box. Shot fired in, but Bickers is equal to it. He throws out smartly, and Lincoln can break here. They charge forward, and find Olcay Esmer. He drives for the byline, and cuts the ball back towards Duro. Ball cleared, but only as far as Walker...fired just over. Big chance for Lincoln against the run of play. 24:24 Bickers has a goal kick, and a chance for the men in red and black to take a breather. He plays it short, and they take the opportunity to have some possession. But it's in a dangerous area. But that's wonderful football, finding Olcay Esmer out on the right. He chips a ball towards Murray, who gets a head on it, but it trickles harmlessly through to the keeper. Barcelona try and break, but all their pretty passing comes to nothing as they fire another shot wide of the mark. Lincoln will be happy with their performance so far, but that could always change if they concede. 34:01 Bentley with a throw-in on the right, deep in Barcelona's half. It's long, but no Lincoln head gets on it. Bentley retrieves it, plays a quick pass into Walker, who finds Duro over on the far side, just inside the box, big chance here! But Maurinho gets to him quickly and blocks the shot. That'll be a corner. It's fired in, and Barcelona struggle to clear their lines. Can Lincoln get it back in? Walker picks up the ball, but that's another wonderful tackle from Maurinho, and Barcelona breathe again. 37:59 Both sides trade spells of possession here, but neither can find a breakthrough. Lincoln come closest, but their final through ball is easily intercepted. Mario then charges up-field, looking for a pass. There's nothing on, so he has a shot...but that's wide too. Not enough shots going on target here, and they'll have to be good ones to beat Bickers. 39:29 Walker stands over a free-kick in a central position, just a yard away from the D. He can certainly hit them from this distance, will we see the opening goal? He usually hits it with power, but this one is dinked...and straight into Richetti's waiting arms. A bit of a waste there. Barcelona respond with some good possession, which results in Rodriguez sent clear down the left. His cross should be cleared...but no! Ceci tries to shoot, but it's blocked! Mario gets one away, but it's clawed away by Bickers! But only as far as Ceci...and another great save from Bickers! This time he gathers, and he'll be glad to get that one under control. 41:42 Barcelona are careless in possession, and their low drive forward is intercepted by Walker. Break on here. He drives into space, then slips the ball on to Esmer. He finds Wissam in space, but he's not quick enough, and Vidas gets to it first, clearing the ball effectively. Max Harvey shakes his head on the bench, and looks like he knows that was a good chance of a break. Barcelona lump it clear, and Ceci is free here! In behind the line of defence...but his shot is wide again. Both sides wasting chances here. 45:20 Rapidly approaching half-time here, and there's certainly one side that will be more happy with the current result. Barcelona have a free-kick though - can they find a goal here at the perfect time. No-one gets on the ball, and Bickers collects easily. He waits, and then throws the ball left to Heredia. Neat one-touch passing, and this is good stuff. Walker's pass is almost cut out, but Esmer nicks it straight off the feet of Vidas! He can charge at the defence here! He gets into the box, and Vidas has chased him back...IT'S A PENALTY! BIG MOMENT IN THIS FINAL! VIDAS DIVED IN NEEDLESSLY, AND THEY HAVE A PENALTY ON THE STROKE OF HALF-TIME! 46:14 Chris Walker has been made to wait to take this one, but now he steps up...PERFECT PENALTY! 1-0 LINCOLN! 46:31 And that's half-time. Barcelona don't have a chance to take another touch in this half, and what an ending. Lincoln are ahead going in at half-time, and that's something no-one ever thought they would be saying. Barcelona have dominated the game, but as is so often the case in Europe with Lincoln, they're still ahead. Half-time Score: Lincoln (GIB) 1 - 0 FC Barcelona Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career UEFA Champions Leage Final 2069/70 Second Half 45:00 Barcelona kick off this second half, and they have quite a task on to save this game. They've had the chances, but years ago we watched as Lincoln frustrated Granada again and again before adding a second. Will history repeat itself? 53:55 Bickers with a free-kick half-way into the Lincoln half. They work their way from it to the Barcelona box, but their final ball is still not good enough. Triguero goes to move away. Another lovely move from Barcelona, and Marcelo finds himself with a shooting chance...just over the bar. 55:24 Frustration creeping in here. It's supposed to be a neutral ground, but there is a clear bias to Barcelona, as you can imagine. And there are definitely nerves in the air. Another cross fired in, high and dipping, and right on top of Bickers. He turns it behind for a corner. It's cleared, and then another ball is too, and then another. Barcelona really turning the screw here. Next goal is going to be crucial. 57:50 Bickers finds Bentley out on the right. His long ball is cut out, but Heredia brings it forward. Duro, Wissam, and then a simple ball into Walker's feet. Could this be a chance? Walker tackled cleanly from behind, but the ball screws forward towards Murray...great first touch! Vidas completely bamboozled, and Murray is clean through! Can he do it? GOAL FOR LINCOLN! OOOOH IT'S DREAMLAND FOR LINCOLN AS MURRAY SMASHES IN THEIR SECOND! UNBELIEVABLE STUFF! 64:22 Barcelona are now in deep trouble. It's like the Europa League Final a few years ago when Lincoln played it perfectly, stopping Granada from playing. They haven't quite done that today, but with twenty-five minutes to go, Barcelona are looking nowhere near level. They must score soon. If they do, I can see them getting back into it, but the fans are getting more frustrated by the minute in the stands. Corner to Barcelona. It's a good one, and Sambou flicks it on...saved by Bickers! Ball ricochets out, and another shot...blocked! And another! Lincoln living dangerously here! 71:08 Barcelona corner - their 14th of the game. And once again Bickers flies across goal to claw the shot away! Mario collects it, and plays it back to Ceci...WHAT A SHOT! IT FLIES PAST BICKERS, AND IT'S 2-1! BICKERS NEVER EVEN SAW IT! 80:48 Free-kick for Lincoln. They've brought on Flatebo and McDonnough to try and eat up some time. Remember, the Barcelona manager identified Flatebo as the weak link in the squad. He stands over this free-kick - can he get some measure of revenge and restore the two-goal lead? No he can't, and it flashes over the bar. 82:07 Lincoln now look nervous. They have a free-kick right in their own corner. It's cleared across the pitch, but straight into Barcelona possession. Terrible ball, and if they're not careful, they'll lose another goal here! They fashion crossing chances, but Lincoln players are flying in, putting their bodies on the line to block every ball. Marcelo gets a shooting chance, but he can only flash the shot wide. Time running out for an equaliser. 85:15 Ceci wastes a good shooting chance on the angle, firing well wide. The groans from the stands are audible. 87:51 Maurinho, finds Marcelo just inside the box. He flashes a shot in...and what an absolutely wonderful save from Bickers! He flew at full-stretch and tipped the shot wide, and as he gets to his feet his players are all around him! He's not having any of it, he knows they still have to close this out! Max Harvey calls over sub McDonnough, and he's telling him to get the side to sit even deeper. They're closing up for the night here, with just minutes to go. 88:01 Corner to Barcelona. They need a goal here. It's headed away twice, but Ceci picks it up. His shot is chipped in...and it strikes the cross-bar before going over. Bickers beaten all ends up, but I don't think it was ever going in. 89:18 Two minutes will be added on, and Lincoln are two and a half minutes from glory. But they're struggling to get the ball, and Barcelona come again. Mario looks for the ball, and finds it, but surely that was offside! The flag stays down, and Mario shoots! SAVED BY BICKERS! Another fantastic save from Lincoln's star! 90:42 Just over a minute left, and another Barcelona corner. Burton flies in and heads it back over the bar for another corner! Fever pitch reached in the stands! Can they do it? Fired in, but Burton equal to it again! It's headed away for a throw, and it's just thirty seconds left! The throw is flicked on to Stiepermann, just inside the Lincoln box, Walker careful not to dive in. Marcelo gets the ball and strikes it first time...Bickers pushes over! Another corner, but we're just about out of time, twenty seconds to go. Burton heads away the ball again, and it's a throw-in! Time is now up! All eyes on the referee! Another ball launched into the box, but it's aimless, and Bentley heads away strongly! That has to be it! Smith holds on to the ball, and needs to be careful not to lose it! BUT THAT'S IT! THE BARCELONA PLAYERS SINK TO THE TURF, AND THEY WILL NOT QUITE BELIEVE THEY HAVE LOST THIS! THE LINCOLN FANS ARE GOING CRAZY IN THE STANDS, BUT NOT QUITE AS CRAZY AS THE PLAYERS ON THE PITCH! THIS HAS JUST BEEN UNBELIEVABLE! Full-time Score: Lincoln (GIB) 2 - 1 FC Barcelona Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career UEFA Champions Leage Final 2069/70 Post-match Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truegunner Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Great achievement, that is one long career though nearly 60 seasons! must commend you for the dedication and the Champions league trophy is definitely a good reward for that dedication and time put in good stuff! although I do dare to think if this happened in real life with the amount of new fans they'd attract they would probably have to find another rock for the population to live on to accommodate the extra fans. On another note that TV money is just ridiculous as that's 1/10 of Gibraltars GPD! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2069/70 While I lose the plot over that last achievement, here's the conclusion of the update for the season, with all the round-ups. European Performance 2069/70 Champions League Best Placed Third Qualifying Round Lions Pilots v Galatasaray (agg 0-4) Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Lynx FC vs Viktoria Plzen (agg 0-3) Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round Glacis United vs Nurnberg (agg 0-6) Europa League Playoff Round Red Imps vs Real Sociedad (agg 2-5) They didn't reach the heights we did, but there's two teams in particular who I think can be proud of progress this year. Lions Pilots got another nightmare draw, so to only go down 4-0 is a good result in my book. Even better was the fight that the Imps put up against Spanish giants Real Sociedad. 5-2 looks like a rout, but it was only 2-1/3-1 defeat. They can be proud too. Our coefficient should keep us in these positions for next season, but once they're recalculated for the season after, who knows where we'll be? Looking to the Future A bit of a blow, but it doesn't stop the Champions League party. It would have been nice to have moved in straight away, but as long as it doesn't get cancelled, I'm happy. I think we can spare a few quid to get these back up to scratch... Historic Stats |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| Season | League Rep | Club Rep | Value | Balance | Ticket | Season | Tickets | League | League Cup | Rock Cup | C. League | E. League | |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| 2013/14 | 208th | - | | £50,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2014/15 | 208th | - | | £400,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2015/16 | 218th | 773rd | £900,000 | £610,000 | £6 | £30 | 67 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2016/17 | 204th | 478th | £875,000 | £800,000 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Quarters | 1st Qual. | - || 2017/18 | 215th | 442nd | £1,200,000 | £1,616,269 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2018/19 | 204th | 390th | £1,500,000 | £1,439,979 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2019/20 | 177th | 318th | £1,800,000 | £1,785,076 | £6 | £30 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2020/21 | 178th | 303rd | £725,000 | £671,576 | £6 | £32 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2021/22 | 185th | 305th | £1,200,000 | £1,130,766 | £6 | £33 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Group Stage | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2022/23 | 195th | 283rd | £1,000,000 | £816,454 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2023/24 | 209th | 287th | £1,500,000 | £1,260,895 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2024/25 | 251st | 287th | £1,800,000 | £1,612,489 | £5 | £30 | 72 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 2nd Qual. | - || 2025/26 | 249th | 286th | £2,700,000 | £2,453,908 | £5 | £30 | 75 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2026/27 | 202nd | 274th | £2,800,000 | £2,538,846 | £6 | £33 | 77 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2027/28 | 173rd | 273rd | £2,900,000 | £2,693,189 | £6 | £33 | 79 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2028/29 | 127th | 284th | £2,200,000 | £2,032,905 | £7 | £36 | 80 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2029/30 | 129th | 281st | £1,100,000 | £948,588 | £7 | £40 | 84 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2030/31 | 176th | 282nd | £800,000 | £567,483 | £7 | £37 | 88 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2031/32 | 208th | 307th | £650,000 | £463,657 | £7 | £37 | 96 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2032/33 | 225th | 311th | £500,000 | £320,088 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2033/34 | 206th | 333rd | £750,000 | £502,304 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2034/35 | 185th | 339th | £3,900,000 | £3,715,594 | £7 | £37 | 110 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2035/36 | 135th | 234th | £3,200,000 | £2,977,575 | £7 | £40 | 114 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2036/37 | 116th | 236th | £1,900,000 | £1,698,560 | £7 | £40 | 118 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2037/38 | 161st | 241st | £4,100,000 | £3,941,362 | £7 | £39 | 122 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2038/39 | 192nd | 213th | £5,250,000 | £4,997,978 | £7 | £39 | 125 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2039/40 | 203rd | 195th | £6,500,000 | £5,756,063 | £7 | £40 | 131 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2040/41 | 202nd | 235th | £5,500,000 | £4,912,031 | £8 | £42 | 135 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2041/42 | 177th | 220th | £3,700,000 | £2,956,190 | £8 | £42 | 142 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2042/43 | 175th | 225th | £10,250,000 | £9,492,009 | £8 | £42 | 126 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 4th in Group | - || 2043/44 | 116th | 178th | £12,250,000 | £11,173,660 | £9 | £47 | 149 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2044/45 | 135th | 183rd | £9,500,000 | £8,103,140 | £8 | £46 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2045/46 | 171st | 183rd | £5,000,000 | £3,853,103 | £8 | £47 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2046/47 | 176th | 188th | £4,300,000 | £3,853,103 | £9 | £49 | 166 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2047/48 | 214th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £10,533,973 | £8 | £46 | 169 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2048/49 | 220th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £8,431,124 | £8 | £47 | 170 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2049/50 | 192nd | 191st | £14,250,000 | £11,651,607 | £9 | £51 | 176 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2050/51 | 156th | 157th | £20,000,000 | £17,319,187 | £10 | £54 | 179 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2051/52 | 118th | 154th | £22,000,000 | £18,109,846 | £10 | £56 | 182 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2052/53 | 107th | 87th | £21,500,000 | £17,168,167 | £11 | £59 | 185 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2053/54 | 97th | 84th | £19,500,000 | £13,243,551 | £11 | £63 | 187 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2054/55 | 90th | 73rd | £23,500,000 | £16,919,799 | £12 | £65 | 193 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2055/56 | 85th | 75th | £24,500,000 | £18,116,106 | £12 | £67 | 199 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2056/57 | 85th | 76th | £23,500,000 | £16,542,451 | £12 | £67 | 204 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2057/58 | 81st | 76th | £25,000,000 | £19,122,856 | £12 | £67 | 209 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 4th in Group | - || 2058/59 | 76th | 65th | £24,000,000 | £18,974,460 | £12 | £69 | 223 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2059/60 | 70th | 49th | £25,000,000 | £17,435,346 | £13 | £74 | 233 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2060/61 | 64th | 38th | £29,000,000 | £24,272,313 | £14 | £81 | 253 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2061/62 | 54th | 32nd | £64,000,000 | £54,528,774 | £16 | £90 | 261 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | Semi Finals || 2062/63 | 50th | 25th | £43,000,000 | £33,087,373 | £17 | £97 | 269 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2063/64 | 42nd | 21st | £53,000,000 | £42,898,842 | £18 | £101 | 279 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2064/65 | 35th | 26th | £67,000,000 | £59,997,993 | £20 | £110 | 290 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2065/66 | 30th | 27th | £89,000,000 | £65,362,666 | £21 | £117 | 320 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2066/67 | 25th | 23rd | £130,000,000 | £96,851,861 | £27 | £200 | 431 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2067/68 | 22nd | 23rd | £164,000,000 | £103,049,418 | £29 | £218 | 487 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2068/69 | 18th | 23rd | £138,000,000 | £21,022,499 | £29 | £218 | 512 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2069/70 | 17th | 19th | £141,000,000 | £64,426,487 | £30 | £222 | 542 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | WINNERS | - ||---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------| |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| Season | Stadium | Capacity | Corporate | Training | Youth | Junior Coaching | Youth Recruitment ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| 2013/14 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2014/15 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2015/16 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2016/17 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2017/18 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2018/19 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2019/20 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2020/21 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Adequate | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2021/22 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2022/23 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2023/24 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2024/25 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2025/26 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2026/27 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2027/28 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2028/29 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2029/30 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2030/31 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2031/32 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2032/33 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2033/34 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2034/35 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2035/36 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2036/37 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2037/38 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2038/39 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2039/40 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2040/41 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2041/42 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2042/43 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2043/44 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2044/45 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2045/46 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2046/47 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2047/48 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2048/49 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2049/50 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2050/51 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2051/52 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2052/53 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2053/54 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2054/55 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2055/56 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2056/57 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2057/58 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2058/59 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2059/60 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2060/61 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2061/62 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2062/63 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2063/64 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2064/65 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2065/66 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2066/67 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2067/68 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2068/69 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Excellent | Exceptional | Established || 2069/70 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Established ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |---------------------------------------------------|| Season | CL | Rounds | EL | Rounds | Coefficient ||---------------------------------------------------|| 2014/15 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2015/16 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2016/17 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2017/18 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2018/19 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2019/20 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2020/21 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2021/22 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2022/23 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2023/24 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2024/25 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2025/26 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2026/27 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2027/28 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2028/29 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 46th || 2029/30 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2030/31 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2031/32 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2032/33 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2034/35 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2035/36 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2036/37 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2037/38 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 44th || 2038/39 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2039/40 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2040/41 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2041/42 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2042/43 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2043/44 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 45th || 2044/45 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2045/46 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2046/47 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2047/48 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2048/49 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2049/50 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2050/51 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2051/52 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 36th || 2052/53 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2053/54 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2054/55 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 32nd || 2055/56 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2056/57 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2057/58 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2058/59 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2059/60 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2060/61 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 30th || 2061/62 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 26th || 2062/63 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 23rd || 2063/64 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 19th || 2064/65 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 20th || 2065/66 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 22nd || 2066/67 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2067/68 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2068/69 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2069/70 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2070/71 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th ||----------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpastore Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Great thread just read through the first Europa League final was ridiculous had me on the edge of my seat, good luck in the final ! Edit: Guess it took me so long to read it you already done another update, great achievement winning the champions league, can only wish I was anywhere near the level of player you are I can only seem to get about 3 seasons in at most before I start a new save Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taleron Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Unreal! It's a shame (but understandable) that you have an end date in mind; would be curious if 1) The TV money stayed high and 2) if that propelled other Gibraltar clubs to become European major players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Unreal!It's a shame (but understandable) that you have an end date in mind; would be curious if 1) The TV money stayed high and 2) if that propelled other Gibraltar clubs to become European major players. The end date is not truly an end date. It will just be the time I retire Max Harvey. I intend to add another manager in the same save, so I'll still be able to keep an eye on the changes in other leagues. I may even end up back at Lincoln at some point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Congrats on a champs league win mate! Beating Barca is a hell of an achievement! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelaidean Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Just read through this whole thread, simply fantastic! Congratulations on your achievements so far Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Congrats on a champs league win mate! Beating Barca is a hell of an achievement! Just read through this whole thread, simply fantastic! Congratulations on your achievements so far Cheers both of you. Barcelona aren't quite the all-conquering side that they used to be, but they're still a mighty scalp. In fact, I'm quite surprised we won so "easily" in the end. It was a bit harem-scarem towards the end of the match, but to go 2-0 up in the final was fantastic. New update to come... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2070/71 Pre-season I'll start with this, and show you exactly where our problems have been over the past few seasons. Basically, the update file, as it stands, does not have reserve leagues included. Whether that's an oversight, or whether there are genuinely no reserve leagues in Gibraltar (I suspect it's the former) doesn't really matter. The reality is that once players come into the club, it's either play in the first team, or don't play at all. Now, that's not entirely a problem - I can put together a squad of 25 that will be rotated around no problem. However, for European competition, that 25 needs to include 8 home-grown players. As you can see, I only have one now. This is because as soon as players come into the club on youth contracts - that is, the ones that weren't considered just too terrible to join us - they're likely never to play for us. They're obviously not happy with this, so they leave the club. That's completely understandable, but it means we're pretty much screwed for our home-grown quota. There is just no way we can fill it. A few years back I tried bringing in young players, then loaning them out, but no-one ended up wanting them on loan. The bottom line is that we're ending up having to put forward a squad of 17 for the Champions League, meaning that a lot of our first team players will miss out. And that is starting to bite us this season, as I don't think we quite have enough in our squad to be able to do that come the end of the season when injuries start to mount up. One option is to start signing under 21 players who can make an instant impact, but obviously the ones that are both good and British enough (due to stringent foreigner rules) are far too expensive. This budget will help though. The board continue to back me in the market, and I'm sure our success last season helped out. It's probably our most important season now - we will play in eight competitions this season, or nine if we end up in the Europa League. We'll need to use every inch of our squad. And fanfare please... It's finally happened. After a delay, we finally moved into our new stadium in the middle of October. This could really be the making of this club, as I expect gate receipts to at least double immediately, and that's a conservative estimate. If we fill out our stadium each week in the league, profits could quadruple. Season tickets are up, but only by 200 or so. Bear in mind though, this was before we actually moved in. Next year they should be up even further. Transfers David Williams Norman Canas - First example of a player issuing a come and get me plea for us to sign him. That Champions League win has shot us up in the World. Jamie Nardiello David Revuelta Youth Intake Absolutely no-one was good enough to join us. Seriously, when they came in the assistant said "No-one stands out this year". This is from the guy who gets excited by a 1.5* PA guy coming in. Terrible. Results We win a third Super Cup trophy, and comfortably so. Betis have had their way with us in the past, but like Granada and Barcelona before them, we put the Spaniards to the sword. We went straight in at the group stage this year as Defending champions, and I'd like to say that that was the reason for our insipid display. We limped out as holders, missing out on second spot by a couple of points. The real surprise of the group were bottom seeds Giulianova. In our final European match at our old stadium, we raced into a 2-0 lead, and it looked like we would win comfortably. But then we absolutely collapsed, and ended up drawing. That set the tone for the rest of the group to be honest. A 7-0 win away in Istanbul was wonderful, but absolutely overshadowed as the almost capacity crowd in the new Harvey Arena witnessed an absolute mauling. What a way to open your stadium... We had to go to Celtic Park and win to stand a chance of second, but we couldn't do that, leaving us to have a play-off with Galatasaray for 3rd spot. We won that, thankfully, and we will be in the Europa League come February. It's not where we wanted to be though... There was one more competition I wanted to win, and now we've got it. We are World Champions. As is always the way though, this often feels like a formality after the Champions League. Given how disappointing a group stage we had though, I went into this intending to make absolutely sure we came back from India with the trophy. It was very comfortable in the end, and that's a treble so far - still five trophies to go for this season remember. And that's three in the bag. A couple of tight, tense moments in finals as the Pepe Reyes and League Cups went to the wire. We showed our class in the Rock Cup Final though, as another show-down with Lions Pilots ended in a comfortable win. You wait sixteen years for a defeat, and then the total goes to three... We're lucky that the Pilots had a bit of a wobble too, otherwise we might have lost the title. As it was, we had been awarded the league prior to our defeat to Red Imps. Trophy number six, with the Rock Cup added the week after. But there was one more still to go.... We showed our growing class with a wonderful win away in Monaco, but then let our foot well and truly off the gas as our opponents matched our three away goals early on in the second leg. We got two back, and seemed to have weathered the storm, but then the nightmare scenario happened. Monaco got a 4th away goal, meaning that one more would put us out. It was time to stick or twist, and we chose to twist. Simon Hore's bullet header in the final few minutes eased the nerves inside the Harvey Arena, and we marched on. This was a lot more routine as we returned to France. A pair of 2-0 wins, and that's thank you very much. As we closed out the second leg, I took a look at the other scores. It was clear that there was one side I didn't want - AC Milan, who were now six goals clear in their tie. Guess who we got? Milan! But still they couldn't stop us. What a tie though. Our 1-1 draw in the first leg was cagey, but that away goal for them looked to be crucial. The second leg was a little less cagey, but really not by much. We came from behind once to level the tie, but then a second Milan goal lookedto have sent us home. We headed into injury time, and up came Bickers as Chris Walker stood over a free kick. He whipped it in, and as Bickers caused chaos, McDonnough ghosted in and nodded the ball home. Cue pandemonium in the travelling support, and 100,000 Italians ready to riot. What a finish. But the dream had to die sometime. Celano absolutely deserve to go onto the final, and we didn't really turn up in either leg. Dreams of an 8th trophy this season die, but to get 7 is pretty good in my opinion. End of Season Confidence Player Stats European Performance 2070/71 Champions League Best Placed Third Qualifying Round Red Imps v Spartak Moscow (agg 0-3) Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round Lynx FC vs Zeljeznicar (agg 5-0) Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round Lynx FC vs Slovan Bratislava (agg 0-3) Glacis United vs Vit. Guimaraes (agg 4-3) Europa League Playoff Round Lions Pilots vs Besiktas (agg 0-4) Glacis United vs Olympique Lyonnais (agg 0-5) Red Imps vs Zenit St Petersburg (agg 1-2) Leo Parrilla vs FC Twente (agg 4-2) Europa League Group Stages Leo Parrilla - 3rd - W1/D1/L4 - Arsenal, Fenerbahce, Maccabi Tel Aviv For the first season since I started doing this, I actually have something big to talk about in this section. I'll start with the Imps. They were very unlucky to go out against Moscow. 3-0 is by no means an embarrassment after one of the toughest away trips in Europe. Then we go to Lynx FC, in the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League. And they absolutely romped home. 5-0 over two legs, and they move onto the third. Unfortunately, their journey ended at the hands of Slovan Bratislava. A shame, but they're now in a small group of sides from Gibraltar who have actually won a tie in Europe. That group grew by one when Glacis United went to Portugal and came back with a 4-3 aggregate win. Unbelievable stuff from the underdogs. All that meant that we had an unprecedented four sides just one step away from the Europa League group stages. Unfortunately, despite valiant efforts, three of them fell. The Pilots and Glacis got horrible draws, and were soundly beaten. The Imps were rewarded with another trip to Russia, and again were only narrowly beaten after a 1-1 draw back in Gibraltar in the second leg. But then we come to Leo Parrilla. They beat FC Twente 4-2. Four. Two. Unbelievable. They lost 1-0 in Holland, and after a performance like that, you'd expect a hiding in the second. You wouldn't have expected it to be dished out to Twente though. 4-1 in the Europa Point stadium. After that, they could just go out into the Europa League group stages and enjoy themselves. And enjoy they did, taking four points off of Tel Aviv. It was too much to ask for them to take points against either Arsenal or Fenerbahce, but they can be very proud of themselves. I actually think that within ten years, we could end up having all-Gibraltar knockout rounds in the Europa League... Looking to the Future This season felt like a bit of an odd one. We won seven trophies. Now we're a side that regularly win four each season, with the odd cup defeat thrown in on off seasons, but seven is still an amazing achievement. But after the Champions League win last time, it seems like a bit of an anti-climax, especially by how weakly we defended our title. I definitely think we're approaching the end-game in the career of Max Harvey. I've won every trophy I wanted to win, and I'm now 83-years-old. I talked about staying until I was 90 as a round number, and I will probably still honour that, but I could see myself going earlier than that. The next few seasons are going to be very important in that regard. Historic Stats |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| Season | League Rep | Club Rep | Value | Balance | Ticket | Season | Tickets | League | League Cup | Rock Cup | C. League | E. League | |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| 2013/14 | 208th | - | | £50,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2014/15 | 208th | - | | £400,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2015/16 | 218th | 773rd | £900,000 | £610,000 | £6 | £30 | 67 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2016/17 | 204th | 478th | £875,000 | £800,000 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Quarters | 1st Qual. | - || 2017/18 | 215th | 442nd | £1,200,000 | £1,616,269 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2018/19 | 204th | 390th | £1,500,000 | £1,439,979 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2019/20 | 177th | 318th | £1,800,000 | £1,785,076 | £6 | £30 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2020/21 | 178th | 303rd | £725,000 | £671,576 | £6 | £32 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2021/22 | 185th | 305th | £1,200,000 | £1,130,766 | £6 | £33 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Group Stage | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2022/23 | 195th | 283rd | £1,000,000 | £816,454 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2023/24 | 209th | 287th | £1,500,000 | £1,260,895 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2024/25 | 251st | 287th | £1,800,000 | £1,612,489 | £5 | £30 | 72 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 2nd Qual. | - || 2025/26 | 249th | 286th | £2,700,000 | £2,453,908 | £5 | £30 | 75 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2026/27 | 202nd | 274th | £2,800,000 | £2,538,846 | £6 | £33 | 77 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2027/28 | 173rd | 273rd | £2,900,000 | £2,693,189 | £6 | £33 | 79 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2028/29 | 127th | 284th | £2,200,000 | £2,032,905 | £7 | £36 | 80 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2029/30 | 129th | 281st | £1,100,000 | £948,588 | £7 | £40 | 84 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2030/31 | 176th | 282nd | £800,000 | £567,483 | £7 | £37 | 88 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2031/32 | 208th | 307th | £650,000 | £463,657 | £7 | £37 | 96 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2032/33 | 225th | 311th | £500,000 | £320,088 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2033/34 | 206th | 333rd | £750,000 | £502,304 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2034/35 | 185th | 339th | £3,900,000 | £3,715,594 | £7 | £37 | 110 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2035/36 | 135th | 234th | £3,200,000 | £2,977,575 | £7 | £40 | 114 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2036/37 | 116th | 236th | £1,900,000 | £1,698,560 | £7 | £40 | 118 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2037/38 | 161st | 241st | £4,100,000 | £3,941,362 | £7 | £39 | 122 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2038/39 | 192nd | 213th | £5,250,000 | £4,997,978 | £7 | £39 | 125 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2039/40 | 203rd | 195th | £6,500,000 | £5,756,063 | £7 | £40 | 131 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2040/41 | 202nd | 235th | £5,500,000 | £4,912,031 | £8 | £42 | 135 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2041/42 | 177th | 220th | £3,700,000 | £2,956,190 | £8 | £42 | 142 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2042/43 | 175th | 225th | £10,250,000 | £9,492,009 | £8 | £42 | 126 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 4th in Group | - || 2043/44 | 116th | 178th | £12,250,000 | £11,173,660 | £9 | £47 | 149 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2044/45 | 135th | 183rd | £9,500,000 | £8,103,140 | £8 | £46 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2045/46 | 171st | 183rd | £5,000,000 | £3,853,103 | £8 | £47 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2046/47 | 176th | 188th | £4,300,000 | £3,853,103 | £9 | £49 | 166 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2047/48 | 214th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £10,533,973 | £8 | £46 | 169 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2048/49 | 220th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £8,431,124 | £8 | £47 | 170 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2049/50 | 192nd | 191st | £14,250,000 | £11,651,607 | £9 | £51 | 176 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2050/51 | 156th | 157th | £20,000,000 | £17,319,187 | £10 | £54 | 179 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2051/52 | 118th | 154th | £22,000,000 | £18,109,846 | £10 | £56 | 182 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2052/53 | 107th | 87th | £21,500,000 | £17,168,167 | £11 | £59 | 185 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2053/54 | 97th | 84th | £19,500,000 | £13,243,551 | £11 | £63 | 187 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2054/55 | 90th | 73rd | £23,500,000 | £16,919,799 | £12 | £65 | 193 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2055/56 | 85th | 75th | £24,500,000 | £18,116,106 | £12 | £67 | 199 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2056/57 | 85th | 76th | £23,500,000 | £16,542,451 | £12 | £67 | 204 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2057/58 | 81st | 76th | £25,000,000 | £19,122,856 | £12 | £67 | 209 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 4th in Group | - || 2058/59 | 76th | 65th | £24,000,000 | £18,974,460 | £12 | £69 | 223 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2059/60 | 70th | 49th | £25,000,000 | £17,435,346 | £13 | £74 | 233 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2060/61 | 64th | 38th | £29,000,000 | £24,272,313 | £14 | £81 | 253 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2061/62 | 54th | 32nd | £64,000,000 | £54,528,774 | £16 | £90 | 261 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | Semi Finals || 2062/63 | 50th | 25th | £43,000,000 | £33,087,373 | £17 | £97 | 269 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2063/64 | 42nd | 21st | £53,000,000 | £42,898,842 | £18 | £101 | 279 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2064/65 | 35th | 26th | £67,000,000 | £59,997,993 | £20 | £110 | 290 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2065/66 | 30th | 27th | £89,000,000 | £65,362,666 | £21 | £117 | 320 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2066/67 | 25th | 23rd | £130,000,000 | £96,851,861 | £27 | £200 | 431 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2067/68 | 22nd | 23rd | £164,000,000 | £103,049,418 | £29 | £218 | 487 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2068/69 | 18th | 23rd | £138,000,000 | £21,022,499 | £29 | £218 | 512 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2069/70 | 17th | 19th | £141,000,000 | £64,426,487 | £30 | £222 | 542 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | WINNERS | - || 2070/71 | 17th | 15th | £165,000,000 | £43,390,981 | £33 | £250 | 779 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - ||---------|-------------|----------|-------------|-------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------| |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| Season | Stadium | Capacity | Corporate | Training | Youth | Junior Coaching | Youth Recruitment ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| 2013/14 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2014/15 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2015/16 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2016/17 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2017/18 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2018/19 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2019/20 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2020/21 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Adequate | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2021/22 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2022/23 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2023/24 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2024/25 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2025/26 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2026/27 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2027/28 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2028/29 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2029/30 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2030/31 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2031/32 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2032/33 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2033/34 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2034/35 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2035/36 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2036/37 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2037/38 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2038/39 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2039/40 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2040/41 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2041/42 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2042/43 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2043/44 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2044/45 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2045/46 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2046/47 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2047/48 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2048/49 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2049/50 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2050/51 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2051/52 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2052/53 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2053/54 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2054/55 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2055/56 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2056/57 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2057/58 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2058/59 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2059/60 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2060/61 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2061/62 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2062/63 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2063/64 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2064/65 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2065/66 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2066/67 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2067/68 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2068/69 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Excellent | Exceptional | Established || 2069/70 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Established || 2070/71 | Harvey Arena | 20000 all seater | Good | Excellent | Top | Exceptional | Established ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |---------------------------------------------------|| Season | CL | Rounds | EL | Rounds | Coefficient ||---------------------------------------------------|| 2014/15 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2015/16 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2016/17 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2017/18 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2018/19 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2019/20 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2020/21 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2021/22 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2022/23 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2023/24 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2024/25 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2025/26 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2026/27 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2027/28 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2028/29 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 46th || 2029/30 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2030/31 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2031/32 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2032/33 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2034/35 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2035/36 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2036/37 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2037/38 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 44th || 2038/39 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2039/40 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2040/41 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2041/42 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2042/43 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2043/44 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 45th || 2044/45 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2045/46 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2046/47 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2047/48 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2048/49 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2049/50 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2050/51 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2051/52 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 36th || 2052/53 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2053/54 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2054/55 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 32nd || 2055/56 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2056/57 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2057/58 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2058/59 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2059/60 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2060/61 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 30th || 2061/62 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 26th || 2062/63 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 23rd || 2063/64 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 19th || 2064/65 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 20th || 2065/66 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 22nd || 2066/67 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2067/68 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2068/69 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2069/70 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2070/71 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2071/72 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 15th ||----------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 7 trophies in a season? Blimey! In my current save I've won 1 (the critically aclaimed Basque to basics, update coming as soon as I've got the pesky last 2 games out of the way ). Really enjoying this read and very tempted to go for Gibralter in my next save (umming and erring between there and Andorra). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 7 trophies in a season? Blimey! In my current save I've won 1 (the critically aclaimed Basque to basics, update coming as soon as I've got the pesky last 2 games out of the way ). Really enjoying this read and very tempted to go for Gibralter in my next save (umming and erring between there and Andorra). Cheers! You can probably class that as 3 in a season, perhaps 4. I don't count the domestic cups really, as they matter even less than domestic cups do in big countries. The league still takes some doing though, and the two European and one World trophy were fantastic to get. Just annoying that I couldn't add the Europa or Champions League trophies to the total that season. I'd recommend Gibraltar to be honest - I was just about ready to give up on FM for this version (OK, fine, I probably wouldn't have, but by heart wasn't in it) but this save has kept my attention well. It might just be because it suits my short attention span and need to race forward in FM time, but I've loved it. I would make a few changes to the editor file before I started if I did it again though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career People of the thread... Apologies, not an update this time, well at least not an official one. This one is more about finding out what you lovely people think. Basically, as you know, my manager is now weeeeell old. He started out as a fresh-faced Scotsman embarking on a brave new project in Gibraltar, but that was 67 years ago now. Where I am at this very moment (1.5 seasons ahead of the current update), Max Harvey is 85-years-old. I've had a look around for the record for the oldest employed manager (in real life currently), and all I can find is a news story about 93-year-old Ivor Powell, who retired back in 2010 after over 70 years in the Sport as a player, then manager. As an aside, go check out his story, it's amazing. So I guess what I'm asking is - what next? I did originally say that I would carry on until Harvey was 90, then retire him and move in a new manager, but in a way I'm reluctant to do that. I'd say half of me wants to just retire him now, and the other half never wants to stop. My new target could end up being 94, which would win me a World Record as the oldest manager, and give me eight more seasons to strut my stuff. However, what is there for me to stay around for? I'm watching Gibraltar rise as a footballing nation in the past few years. The national team are still cack of course, but with the money in the game, all sides are getting closer to each other in terms of quality. They're even advancing in Europe. That's nice to be involved in, but there's no real next step for me to rise up to. We've won every trophy we can. I absolutely want to win the Champions League at least once more, and then go for the full set the next season to prove that we can. My question to you guys, what targets would you set, and how long would you carry on? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Try to make Lincoln the most reputable team in the world, then move on to another side in Gibraltar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2071/72 Transfers Paul McCabe Richard Streete Lee Senior David Clough Ian McMullan Jim Tyler Tom John Tomasz Jagielka Zach Harvey Probably the biggest summer in terms of squad rebuild as we let go a number of players. The biggest one is Harry Bickers. For some reason he decided that he would not be renewing his contract, and so he leaves on a free transfer following seven glorious seasons at our club. Two man of the match performances in two European finals will be his lasting legacy, I'm just disappointed that he decided not to try and add to that. So it was time to bring in some new keepers. Unfortunately, after agreeing to sign Streete and Senior on free transfers, a bug told me that the transfers had been cancelled. So I want out and got an even better one in Ian McMullan. Of course, their contracts ended, and now I have three keepers who will probably want first team football. It's an absolute cast iron certainty that McMullan will have the jersey while he's fit, so looks like both Streete and Senior are going to be annoyed... Then my penchant for signing strikers continued. I used up some spare budget to bring in Tomasz Jagielka from Celtic to play either up front or out wide, but thanks to Ian Murray becoming a natural out on the left, his play-time might be limited. What did I do to solve a problem like that? Brought in Zach Harvey for a king's ransom in January. Never give me a transfer budget. Seriously. Youth Intake Reis Baker Paul Dunmore Mark Davidson Richie Proctor Bradley Taylor Chris Langford Reis Baker is undoubtedly the prospect of the group, but I brought in a few more to bolster numbers. Ironically, their best chance of football lies in the Champions League, as our squad will be filled up with Under 21s given our terrible home grown numbers. Results Qualifiers really are too easy for us nowadays, but will we ever get the coefficient high enough that we don't have to worry about them? Our aim to beat both Sparta Prague and Anderlecht in the four games fell flat, and we went on to take four points from each instead. Man Utd thumped us both times. However, we did sneak into 2nd place, thanks to Sparta and Anderlecht getting points off of each other. It is that dreaded second place though, and we would go on to face group winners Newcastle in the first knockout round. A textbook knockout performance there over two legs. A 2-0 win at home meant that a goal in the away leg would put us in a commanding position. We got that through an own goal, and despite a late consolation, we sailed through into the quarter finals. Could this be our year again? Nope! It's always a tough match when it's English opposition in Europe, and Arsenal - a side we have never ever faced interestingly - proved just too much for us to handle. We were never really in it, and all we can do is count the money we've got as part of our run. It's not much of a consolation nowadays though. For the first time since the 2021/22 season, we've failed to get out of the group stage of the League Cup. Quite frankly, that's embarrassing for a club like us, and we should be doing much, much better. We did take the Pepe Reyes and Rock Cups though, both against Lions Pilots, who must be sick of the sight of us by now. That's more like it. We've started coming under pressure in the league recently, but an unbeaten season takes some of that away, at least for a season. 66 league titles in a row now. End of Season Confidence Player Stats European Performance 2071/72 Champions League Best Placed Third Qualifying Round Galatasaray 1 - 2 Lions Pilots Champions League Best Placed Playoff Lions Pilots 4 - 6 Olympique Lyonnais Europa League Second Qualifying Round Leo Parrilla 2 - 4 FC Wacker Innsbruck Europa League Third Qualifying Round Red Imps 3 - 1 Debrecen Europa League Playoff Round Man City 4 - 0 Glacis United Espanyol 2 - 1 Red Imps Europa League Group Stage Lions Pilots - 1st - W3/D2/L1 (Benfica, Norwich, Marseille) Europa League First Knockout Round Dynamo Moscow 1 - 2 Lions Pilots Europa League Second Knockout Round Espanyol 2 - 0 Lions Pilots I remember when we used to struggle through the first qualifying round... Lions Pilots show that they are clearly the second best team in the country as they get to the heady heights of the 2nd knockout round before Espanyol - who had also dispatched of the Red Imps - took them out. But what a run. They were very close to making it to the Champions League too, just left rueing a poor first leg performance against Lyon that they couldn't recover from. Who knows, within a couple of seasons, we might be seeing the Pilots get to a Europa League final... Looking to the Future As Max Harvey's career ticks slowly to a conclusion, there's only one thing on his mind - more European glory. A second Champions League trophy is an absolute must. Historic Stats |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| Season | League Rep | Club Rep | Value | Balance | Ticket | Season | Tickets | League | League Cup | Rock Cup | C. League | E. League | |---------|-------------|----------|--------------|--------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|| 2013/14 | 208th | - | | £50,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2014/15 | 208th | - | | £400,000 | £6 | £30 | - | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st Qual. | - || 2015/16 | 218th | 773rd | £900,000 | £610,000 | £6 | £30 | 67 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2016/17 | 204th | 478th | £875,000 | £800,000 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Quarters | 1st Qual. | - || 2017/18 | 215th | 442nd | £1,200,000 | £1,616,269 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2018/19 | 204th | 390th | £1,500,000 | £1,439,979 | £6 | £30 | 69 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2019/20 | 177th | 318th | £1,800,000 | £1,785,076 | £6 | £30 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2020/21 | 178th | 303rd | £725,000 | £671,576 | £6 | £32 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2021/22 | 185th | 305th | £1,200,000 | £1,130,766 | £6 | £33 | 70 | CHAMPIONS | Group Stage | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2022/23 | 195th | 283rd | £1,000,000 | £816,454 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2023/24 | 209th | 287th | £1,500,000 | £1,260,895 | £6 | £33 | 71 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2024/25 | 251st | 287th | £1,800,000 | £1,612,489 | £5 | £30 | 72 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 2nd Qual. | - || 2025/26 | 249th | 286th | £2,700,000 | £2,453,908 | £5 | £30 | 75 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Quarters | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2026/27 | 202nd | 274th | £2,800,000 | £2,538,846 | £6 | £33 | 77 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2027/28 | 173rd | 273rd | £2,900,000 | £2,693,189 | £6 | £33 | 79 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 2nd Qual. | - || 2028/29 | 127th | 284th | £2,200,000 | £2,032,905 | £7 | £36 | 80 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2029/30 | 129th | 281st | £1,100,000 | £948,588 | £7 | £40 | 84 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2030/31 | 176th | 282nd | £800,000 | £567,483 | £7 | £37 | 88 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2031/32 | 208th | 307th | £650,000 | £463,657 | £7 | £37 | 96 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2032/33 | 225th | 311th | £500,000 | £320,088 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2033/34 | 206th | 333rd | £750,000 | £502,304 | £6 | £34 | 103 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 2nd Qual. | - || 2034/35 | 185th | 339th | £3,900,000 | £3,715,594 | £7 | £37 | 110 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2035/36 | 135th | 234th | £3,200,000 | £2,977,575 | £7 | £40 | 114 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2036/37 | 116th | 236th | £1,900,000 | £1,698,560 | £7 | £40 | 118 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 2nd Qual. | - || 2037/38 | 161st | 241st | £4,100,000 | £3,941,362 | £7 | £39 | 122 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2038/39 | 192nd | 213th | £5,250,000 | £4,997,978 | £7 | £39 | 125 | CHAMPIONS | Semis | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2039/40 | 203rd | 195th | £6,500,000 | £5,756,063 | £7 | £40 | 131 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2040/41 | 202nd | 235th | £5,500,000 | £4,912,031 | £8 | £42 | 135 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2041/42 | 177th | 220th | £3,700,000 | £2,956,190 | £8 | £42 | 142 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 2nd Qual. | - || 2042/43 | 175th | 225th | £10,250,000 | £9,492,009 | £8 | £42 | 126 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | Semis | 4th in Group | - || 2043/44 | 116th | 178th | £12,250,000 | £11,173,660 | £9 | £47 | 149 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | 2nd Round | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2044/45 | 135th | 183rd | £9,500,000 | £8,103,140 | £8 | £46 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2045/46 | 171st | 183rd | £5,000,000 | £3,853,103 | £8 | £47 | 156 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | Playoff || 2046/47 | 176th | 188th | £4,300,000 | £3,853,103 | £9 | £49 | 166 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd Qual. | 4th in Group || 2047/48 | 214th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £10,533,973 | £8 | £46 | 169 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2048/49 | 220th | 183rd | £12,250,000 | £8,431,124 | £8 | £47 | 170 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | Playoff | 4th in Group || 2049/50 | 192nd | 191st | £14,250,000 | £11,651,607 | £9 | £51 | 176 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2050/51 | 156th | 157th | £20,000,000 | £17,319,187 | £10 | £54 | 179 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2051/52 | 118th | 154th | £22,000,000 | £18,109,846 | £10 | £56 | 182 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2052/53 | 107th | 87th | £21,500,000 | £17,168,167 | £11 | £59 | 185 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2053/54 | 97th | 84th | £19,500,000 | £13,243,551 | £11 | £63 | 187 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2054/55 | 90th | 73rd | £23,500,000 | £16,919,799 | £12 | £65 | 193 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2055/56 | 85th | 75th | £24,500,000 | £18,116,106 | £12 | £67 | 199 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2056/57 | 85th | 76th | £23,500,000 | £16,542,451 | £12 | £67 | 204 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2057/58 | 81st | 76th | £25,000,000 | £19,122,856 | £12 | £67 | 209 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Runners-up | 4th in Group | - || 2058/59 | 76th | 65th | £24,000,000 | £18,974,460 | £12 | £69 | 223 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2059/60 | 70th | 49th | £25,000,000 | £17,435,346 | £13 | £74 | 233 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2060/61 | 64th | 38th | £29,000,000 | £24,272,313 | £14 | £81 | 253 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | 1/4 Finals || 2061/62 | 54th | 32nd | £64,000,000 | £54,528,774 | £16 | £90 | 261 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | Semi Finals || 2062/63 | 50th | 25th | £43,000,000 | £33,087,373 | £17 | £97 | 269 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2063/64 | 42nd | 21st | £53,000,000 | £42,898,842 | £18 | £101 | 279 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 4th in Group | - || 2064/65 | 35th | 26th | £67,000,000 | £59,997,993 | £20 | £110 | 290 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2065/66 | 30th | 27th | £89,000,000 | £65,362,666 | £21 | £117 | 320 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2066/67 | 25th | 23rd | £130,000,000 | £96,851,861 | £27 | £200 | 431 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | WINNERS || 2067/68 | 22nd | 23rd | £164,000,000 | £103,049,418 | £29 | £218 | 487 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2068/69 | 18th | 23rd | £138,000,000 | £21,022,499 | £29 | £218 | 512 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | Semis | 1st KO Rnd | - || 2069/70 | 17th | 19th | £141,000,000 | £64,426,487 | £30 | £222 | 542 | CHAMPIONS | Runners-Up | WINNERS | WINNERS | - || 2070/71 | 17th | 15th | £165,000,000 | £43,390,981 | £33 | £250 | 779 | CHAMPIONS | WINNERS | WINNERS | 3rd in Group | Semi Finals || 2071/72 | 20th | 15th | £226,000,000 | £79,458,169 | £33 | £246 | 867 | CHAMPIONS | Group Stage | WINNERS | 1/4 Finals | - ||---------|-------------|----------|-------------|-------------|--------|--------|---------|-------------|--------------|------------|--------------|--------------| |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| Season | Stadium | Capacity | Corporate | Training | Youth | Junior Coaching | Youth Recruitment ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| 2013/14 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2014/15 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2015/16 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Average | Fairly Basic || 2016/17 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2017/18 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Below Average | Good | Fairly Basic || 2018/19 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2019/20 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Poor | Adequate | Good | Fairly Basic || 2020/21 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Adequate | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2021/22 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Basic | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2022/23 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2023/24 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2024/25 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2025/26 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2026/27 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2027/28 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Average | Excellent | Fairly Basic || 2028/29 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2029/30 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2030/31 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2031/32 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2032/33 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2033/34 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2034/35 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2035/36 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2036/37 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2037/38 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2038/39 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Below Average | Adequate | Exceptional | Fairly Basic || 2039/40 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2040/41 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2041/42 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2042/43 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Adequate | Good | Exceptional | Average || 2043/44 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2044/45 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2045/46 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Average | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2046/47 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2047/48 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2048/49 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Good | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2049/50 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2050/51 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Great | Great | Exceptional | Average || 2051/52 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2052/53 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2053/54 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2054/55 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2055/56 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2056/57 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2057/58 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2058/59 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2059/60 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2060/61 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Superb | Superb | Exceptional | Average || 2061/62 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2062/63 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2063/64 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2064/65 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2065/66 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Exceptional | Average || 2066/67 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2067/68 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Above Average || 2068/69 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Excellent | Exceptional | Established || 2069/70 | Victoria Stadium | 5000 (2000 seated) | Basic | Top | Top | Exceptional | Established || 2070/71 | Harvey Arena | 20000 all seater | Good | Excellent | Top | Exceptional | Established || 2071/72 | Harvey Arena | 20000 all seater | Good | Excellent | Top | Exceptional | Established ||-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |---------------------------------------------------|| Season | CL | Rounds | EL | Rounds | Coefficient ||---------------------------------------------------|| 2014/15 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2015/16 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2016/17 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2017/18 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2018/19 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2019/20 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2020/21 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2021/22 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2022/23 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2023/24 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2024/25 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2025/26 | 1 | 1st | 1 | 1st | 54th || 2026/27 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 51st || 2027/28 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2028/29 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 46th || 2029/30 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2030/31 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2031/32 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 49th || 2032/33 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2034/35 | 1 | 1st | 2 | 1st | 52nd || 2035/36 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 50th || 2036/37 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2037/38 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 44th || 2038/39 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2039/40 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2040/41 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 48th || 2041/42 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2042/43 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2043/44 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 45th || 2044/45 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2045/46 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2046/47 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2047/48 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 43rd || 2048/49 | 1 | 1st | 3 | 1st | 47th || 2049/50 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2050/51 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 41st || 2051/52 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 36th || 2052/53 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2053/54 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2054/55 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 32nd || 2055/56 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2056/57 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 31st || 2057/58 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1st | 33rd || 2058/59 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2059/60 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 32nd || 2060/61 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 30th || 2061/62 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 26th || 2062/63 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 23rd || 2063/64 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 19th || 2064/65 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 20th || 2065/66 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd/1st | 22nd || 2066/67 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2067/68 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2nd | 21st || 2068/69 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2069/70 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2070/71 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 14th || 2071/72 | 2 | BP/3rd | 3 | PO/3/2 | 15th || 2072/73 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 3rd/2nd | 17th ||----------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Season 2070/71 Pre-season The sponsorship just keeps rolling in, along with merchandise. Chris Walker has finally been toppled as king of the replica shirts by Anthony Murray. He was been wonderful out on the left wing. I usually prefer to play with out and out wingers, but after finding myself short on them and well and truly long on forwards, I've been playing with Murray on the left and Esmer on the right in a half-and-half system. He's been fantastic, so good to see him recognised by the fans. Our non-domestic total is creeping up too, so good to know people outside Gibraltar are interested in us. What's is curious though is the figure for Gibraltar itself. £6.73 million in sales in Gibraltar. Assuming a 10000 surge in population, so we now have 40,000 living on the rock, that means every man, woman and child is spending £168.25 on merchandise for our club. Something tells me their figures are out of control... Transfers I brought in a lot of players last year, but this year, I decided to just spend similar amounts on less players instead. Chris Wallis was a free transfer, but we dropped £31.5 million on young Barry Hartis. Is he worth it? Well with stats like his, and only 22, I absolutely think so. He joins what is becoming a youthful squad, and I'm confident he'll do well. If Hartis was expensive, Steve Presthus was an absolute steal in both transfer and wages. It'll be him and Walker in the middle of our midfield, and I can't wait to get them both playing. Youth Intake This happened, but still, we only got David Richardson, Danny Grace and Joe Pratt in the door. None will really set the world on fire. Results Easy. Easy. Easy. A date with destiny as we face Barcelona again for the first time since we humbled them in the Champions League final. And maybe destiny is the right word... For the first time ever, we managed three straight wins in the Champions League to top the table at the half-way point. We were clear favourites then to top the group, provided we didn't completely throw it away in the next three games. So what did we do? Proceed to almost completely throw it away. Barcelona got some measure of revenge, absolutely smashing us in the Nou Camp. That wasn't too much of a problem, because they had already dropped points to PSV and to Fenerbahce. We stayed on top going into the trip to Turkey, and confidence was high. But then we got battered again. Absolutely did not deserve anything from the game, and suddenly from sitting pretty, we were close to the edge. Barcelona would surely win at PSV, leaving us needing a win at home in the final game to be sure of our spot in the next round. But...what's that? Barcelona drew? Happy days! We sealed the win in the final game while Barcelona played out yet another draw, meaning that we topped the group for the first time in our history. I tell you, destiny. And yes, you're reading right. Barcelona were eliminated after drawing 4 of their 6 games. If we'd put up more of a fight in the Nou Camp like the other two sides did, there would have been a risk of them finishing bottom. How the might have fallen. FC Bayern was not the draw I wanted to reward our finishing top of the group, but we just about got through it. An extremely cagey affair was settled with a Latrell McDonnough goal in the second half of the second league. Touch and go though, and even though we managed to keep two clean sheets - something we often struggle with - Bayern had their chances. We move on though, and after a result like that, I'm confident in our chances. A better draw for the quarters, and an emphatic way to underline that. Sides from Gibraltar always seem to have a bit of trouble going to Mother Russia, and so it proved with quite a battle in the first leg. Once again though, Latrell McDonnough popped up to score the second equaliser and, crucially, that second away goal. We would then go back home to the Harvey Arena and know that we were favourites. Favourites didn't quite cover it though as we absolutely thumped Zenit 6-1. Five of the goals came from our rampaging front three, and we really seem to be clicking into gear at the right time. As the semi-finals were drawn, we were embroiled in quite a battle domestically for once. In the cup, we lost the Pepe Reyes Cup, and then wobbled in the League Cup in our first game. Luckily we recovered, and won the competition convincingly in the end. We progressed well in the Rock Cup too, and we face old foes Lions Pilots in the final. But it wasn't the cups where we had our problems this season... With two games to go, we were three points behind with a game in hand. if we won that, we would go into the final game level on points with Glacis United. Bear in mind, if we don't win the title, we will not be in the Champions League unless we win it. That would be disastrous for our club. Once before it went down to the final game, but that time everything was in our hands. This time, if Glacis win their final match, we will have to effect a six goal swing to take them over. But first, we had to face our one-time B side, Red Imps. Job number one done. When we went 2-0 up, I told the players to get forward and press home the advantage, so it's disappointing that we didn't add any more to the tally. If we'd managed two more, we would've drawn level with Glacis. As it is, we'll go into our final game knowing what we need to do, because Glacis play before us. Interestingly though, they face Lynx FC. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, it's the best chance we have of Glacis slipping up, but on the other hand, a win for them will still mean we need to win our final game. In the mean-time, we had the small matter of a Champions League semi-final to get through. If the Bayern match was cagey, then I'm not sure what this was. The only round McDonnough failed to score in, but luckily Chelsea drew a blank too. Not one for the purists by any means, but it was enough for us. Chelsea missed their third and fourth penalties, leaving Latrell McDonnough with the honour of stroking in our fourth and sending us into the final in Lisbon. The dream is alive. And the next day, our objective in the league was sealed. And Lynx do it. Heartbreak for Glacis as they let the lead slip at the final hurdle. Lynx leapfrog both sides to the top of the table, and guarantee themselves at least second place. Our job is now simple - win or bust. If we draw, we'll take second place, and if we lose, we'll remain in 3rd. Both those outcomes mean the Europa League. There should be no complacency, and no mercy as we go to face bottom of the table Gibraltar Pheonix... Shades of Chelsea when they thumped Wigan 9-0, but this was even more dominant. Murray threw his hat into the ring for a Champions League final place by scoring a 16 minute hat-trick. He then decided that, despite being a regular starter, he needed to do more. So he added a second hat-trick in the next fourteen minutes. Absolutely unbelievable stuff. I brought him off at half-time to rest him up and threw a few fringe players into the action, but we understandably eased off. With a cup and Champions League final to come, and the league emphatically ours, there's no use rubbing more salt in Pheonix wounds. Still, nine goals for our front four, with Jagielka contributing one from the bench. Will they do that come the final? Champions again, and I can honestly say that was the toughest one yet. It wasn't a vintage performance, but it was good enough as we secured another Rock Cup win. We could have been forgiven for losing this one with our minds elsewhere, but with a whole two weeks between this match and our appointment in Lisbon, I named a full strength side. It was far too good for the Pilots on the day. European Performance 2072/73 Europa League Second Qualifying Round Red Imps 8 - 0 Valur LASK Linz 3 - 2 Glacis United Europa League Third Qualifying Round Red Imps 1 - 1 Vitesse (Vitesse advance on away goals) Lions Pilots 7 - 0 Levadia Europa League Playoff Round Slovan Bratislava 1 - 6 Lions Pilots Europa League Group Stage Lions Pilots - 1st - W2/D4/L0 (Real Sociedad, Austria Wien, Bursaspor) Europa League First Knockout Round Sporting 1 - 2 Lions Pilots Europa League Second Knockout Round Lazio 4 - 1 Lions Pilots Another good season for us in Europe as Lions Pilots and Red Imps dished out some absolute hidings in the qualifiers. It was the Pilots though that went the furthest yet again, unfortunately falling at the second knockout round for a second year running. Lazio beat them convincingly in the end. However, that's two years running that they have managed to top a group in Europe. Wonderful achievement. Looking to the Future There's only one thing in the future for me - a date in the Estadio de Luz in Lisbon, for the Champions League final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameuss Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Can't Stop the Rock: The Birth of a Football Nation a forameuss career Champions League Final 2073 This time three years ago, a team of rank outsiders from the tiny country of Gibraltar stood waiting in the tunnel of one of the most revered stadiums in Europe. They stood shoulder to shoulder with a side who were on home ground, and were clear favourites to win a twelfth European Champions League trophy. You'd expect this kind of tale in a Disney sporting fairytale, but those things just don't happen in real life, do they? Fast forward ninety minutes plus, and those on the pitch in the famous red and blue of Barcelona were on their backs, most of them in tears. The fans in the crowd were in shocked disbelief. Those in white, however, were celebrating an unlikely victory, of David and Goliath terms. That side was Lincoln of Gibraltar, and after a few years dining out on that win, they're back for more. It's a wonderful evening here inside the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. The fans of both Lincoln and Guilianova have been out in force in the city, and have been largely enjoying each others company, but all that will be forgotten now. We're almost at capacity with just minutes to kick-off, and the atmosphere is building nicely. But what kind of match do we have in store tonight? Well, the bookies are predicting a landslide of sorts. The best price you can find for a Lincoln win is 10-1, with the Italians at 1-6. Most pundits are saying that the side led by Max Harvey has no chance, but it's all just a little familiar. They said exactly the same before that match in the Nou Camp, and they were proved wrong. They will be going out here with one objective - not to just stay competitive, but to bring back only their second Champions League trophy. But will their star striker be unsettled? After Lincoln beat them on penalties in the semi-final, an approach was made for the young striker by the London club. It was quickly dismissed, but you have to wonder whether the bid will be on his mind when he's out there tonight. History between these two sides points towards the Italians, but it's a small sample size. Three matches have been played, all recently in the Champions League. Two have been drawn, with the other going the way of Giulianova. In a one-off game however, the form book has a habit of going missing. Team News Giulianova will be without Turkish star Ercan Ankan with a calf strain, but apart from that there are no new injury problems. It is a big miss though, and his experience would have been vital in the center of defence. They're expected to line up with an orthodox 4-4-2, so it will be interesting to see how they cope when Lincoln flood the middle of the pitch with their three. Paul McCabe is definitely out for Lincoln, but he would not have been a starter unless there were further injury problems. They're expected to name an unchanged team for the third game running, in which they've scored thirteen and conceded none. They are in form, but their opponents today will certainly be a step up. And we've just received the confirmed teams. It's as expected, and as the atmosphere reaches a crescendo, we're just about ready to go here in Lisbon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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