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

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - September - December 2017

Managers Thoughts

There's not much I can say about this period than superb. Never in a million years did I think we'd be comfortably in the top 5 at this point let alone close to the top spot. I think Debrecen will eventually pull away but i'd be happy if we can make Europe via the league.

I know I said I didn't want to sign a goalkeeper early due to all the other changes but when Hubert was offered there was just no way I could resist and it seems I right to take the risk as the goals against column has improved considerably since he joined.

We are progressing well in the cups but have Debrecen in a 2 legged tie with them in between both ties of the league cup quarter final against Honved as soon as the season restarts so that will be a tough week for us and could make or break or season straight away but i'm strangely looking forward to seeing how we do

[deltablue]

Storming start with some excellent signings.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers, we are lacking strength in depth at the back, in fact I think the back 4 needs an upgrade but from the DM's up to the striker we do have a good collection of players which has helped us out on numerous occasions when the back line have let us down.

There's only 3 games of the season left to play, no spoilers as yet but it will make or break the season.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - February - May 2018

Managers Thoughts

The season went a lot better than expected at the start so I am very happy with it, kind of disappointed to have finished 4th in the table after being in the title hunt before the winter break but Debrecen are the best side in the league so finishing 4th or 2nd is no difference really as it is still only a Europa spot. Part of the reason I feel we faded a little though was the participation in the cups meaning we were playing 3 times a week for most of the restart and it killed our rhythm a little. The league cup I didn't realise offers no European spot so this season I won't be taking it seriously at all and will field a full reserve side (in all honesty if we are still in Europe then i'll have no choice anyway and i'd have to treat the cup the same way too even if it is a passage in to Europe).

Bogado and Savecivic were the key men in an attacking sense and bailed us out of trouble on numerous occasions so the focus over the summer was a CB and a full back for either side of which i've managed 2 which isn't bad.

Obviously the aim is to finish above last seasons position, how easy that will be though i'm not sure.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

A good year overall with some decent jumps up, hopefully we will see more of this as time goes on.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £6.25M and finished 7th again, I expected a big improvement when I seen how much they spent last season and this tbh.

CS U Craiova - Didn't spend anything last season but got promoted and early signs this season are they are going to spend this summer though.

FK Ibar Rozaje - Were relegated last season and only spent £40k or so. Tipped to go straight back up.

This happened in pre season, the second club in the Czech top flight to have a tycoon takeover, should be interesting to see if they can do better than Bohemians.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - July - August 2018

Managers Thoughts

I'm not sure what happened at all in the defeats we've had so far, we absolutely dominated each game in terms of possession and shots but couldn't score Pleased obviously that we made the Europa group but as you can see it wasn't the hardest set of games we could have had and the group isn't the worst in the world either with CFR Cluj, FC Twente and Galatasaray in there so there is a chance of progression looking at it. If it was a tougher group i'd have probably fielded reserve sides but i'd be stupid to not try and get out of this group as it gives us the chance to make money and hopefully help jump the league up a few places in the rankings, that's not saying we will get out of it but this is probably the easiest ever group stage i've had when taking a team in to Europe from a league like this so we have to go for it.

Pretty happy with the signings, would have liked a right back but finding them hard to come by for our budget but it is something that i'll be trying to get done.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - September - December 2018

Managers Thoughts

I don't where to start in all honesty It has been a strange season for us. I started off with a 3-4-3 formation to accommodate the new signings that worked against Debrecen in the Supercup and in Europe but as soon as the league games came around it went pear shaped. I reverted to an attacking 4-2-3-1 which was inconsistent at best in the league but has been superb in Europe. This start to the season is all my own doing if i'm honest and I should have played last seasons formation a long time ago when things weren't going right as proved in the final Europa game at Twente which was a fabulous result and when we restart the season i'll be going back to it as I think 3rd (or 4th depending if the cup winner is in Europe via league) isn't out of reach. I've really got to aim for that otherwise it undoes all that hard work of last season.

In a way i'm glad we've had a start like this because it is a bit of a reality check for me as I thought with last seasons performances we were better than we probably are and as a result i've set out thinking I can play any old formation I like and we'd steam roller most teams which was naive of me and something the side is paying the price for as even in those defeats we've had lots of the ball but don't do much with it and as I said that is down to my bad management rather than the players.

The Europa knockout sees us against Metalist which isn't easy by any means, if we get through that then one of Zenit or Mlada Boleslav will be next. These are tricky ties but by no means the worst we could have had given that all these sides are currently struggling in their divisions too.

[deltablue]

Good in Europe but as you say, a bit of a reality check in the league. Which season is closer to your 'true level'?

[Dexter_Morgan]

Good in Europe but as you say, a bit of a reality check in the league. Which season is closer to your 'true level'?

It's the level we shown in Europe and last season in the league without a doubt. I have nobody but myself to blame for the league form for going out and being over adventurous when the back four bar one is probably not good enough at this moment to cope. As I said, i'll be reverting to the dm's and last seasons tactic to try and turn it around, I just hope a) I haven't left it too late and b) the change back goes to plan

It'll be a big challenge for the rest of the season but i'm looking forward to seeing how it goes, I do kind of have a plan B for next season if we fail to get in Europe but would depend on players getting disgruntled or not (providing I don't get sacked that is )

[Dexter_Morgan]

Not going to do a full update until i've played the last game but this is what we are playing for going in to the last game (and we have a league cup final just before it which adds a dilemma to the side I should put out as it is against Upjest who we played 2 days before this final. Part of me says go win it and the other says keep the first 11 fresh knowing the AI will put out the best side and hope they tire out for the league game 3 days later In all honesty as I've typed this i've decided to risk the cup as it doesn't offer a passage in to Europe and just hope we get lucky for the Saturday.

The report on whatever happens will be up later at some point

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - February - May 2019

Final Day Results

Managers Thoughts

Amazing is the only way to describe the 2nd part of the season. I had hoped to get in to the top 3/4 in the winter as I previously said but to win the league was beyond my expectations and it was only when we beat Ujpest in the penultimate game did I think we stood a chance of it. What makes it better is we had quite a few injuries to deal with in this time and with the League cup and Europa to contend with every game I had to do a lot of thinking in terms of selection.

The league cup was the last priority in all honesty and my selections were the fringe players for the majority of it so that was quite surprising. Getting to the Europa semi to me whilst looks good on paper was nowhere as difficult as is it could have been, I really can't recall an easier draw all the way through and even losing to Anzhi I was a little disappointed, but Spurs would have hammered us so not too downbeat about not making it as we were nowhere near the favourites to start with and at the start of the season i'd have took the 1st knockout round if offered to me.

The league really is the highlight, we were in 10th with 12 games to go, which as I said was my fault being too brave and thinking because it was going well in pre season and the early games it'd come right eventually in the league. This title goes down as my best ever on any FM and I am chuffed to bits with it and hope to build on it next season. Avato and Hubert agreed deals with other clubs over renewing with us in the winter so they will need to be replaced (hopefully in the next few minutes those deals will be done) and I want to improve on back up at right back and CB, again those targets have been identified, bar that I doubt there'll major changes as this is a pretty young side still and I want to see them grow.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

Seems to have been a backwards step this year, the good news is the 6 place jump for Hungary though.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent less than last year (£1.88M) and finished 7th

CS U Craiova - Spent £1.7M and finished13th which wasn't bad for their return to the top flight.

FK Ibar Rozaje - They have to be disappointed finishing 5th in the 2nd tier after spending £175k and bring quite a few players in on frees which at level is a lot.

Jihlava - Only spent £119k and finished 8th , this year the spending is a lot more though (over £8M in early July) so there could be an improvement.

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - Relegated

FBK Kaunas Finished 2nd last season, 2 points off the top and would have won it on GD but struggling this year bottom of the division (2 games in hand though and 2 wins would pull them clear)

[AK22]

Quite a recovery in the league there!

I really thought that the additional European fixtures were putting a strain on the squad, and you'd do well to finish in the top six. Shows what I know

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers mate

It wasn't Europe that was the problem it was me I was too stubborn to admit that at first 3 at the back and then 2 CM's instead of DM's wasn't working, there's probably only 4 of my best 11 that can't handle 2 games a week when we were in the Europa because it was usually play league game Saturday and then no game until Thursday which was more than enough of a rest, come the Sunday there may have been changes for league games after Europe but once I went back to the original tactic it hardly mattered what side I and attack put out because we have so much of the ball and being attacking at the same time it just needed that cover back there to stop us being open. There was a league game we lost 4-0 in a 4-2-3-1 and we 73% of the ball in that game but we got picked off because there was nobody back if a move broke down and we got picked off Soon as I went back to DM's it stopped straight away.

The CL will be different in terms of the sides I put out in the league though because obviously the games are a bit sooner, I won't make radical changes but I know pretty much those whose fitness isn't great and they'll be rested if there is a fully fit squad.

[deltablue]

Wow, you definitely turned it around and no mistake!

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - July - Septmeber 2019

Managers Thoughts

We've had a great start to this season with plenty of goals scored and making the group stage of the Champions League at our first attempt. Granted the opposition wasn't great but we still had to get there. We face Real Madrid, PSV and CSKA Moscow there which is a tricky group if i'm honest but we'll give it our best go.

I made a few more signings than I planned to in the summer but with a £4M budget it was pretty hard not to resist. Mihayov looks the ideal replacement for Hubert in goal and we actually look a bit more solid with him in the side.

Wow, you definitely turned it around and no mistake!

Cheers mate Still in shock over it a couple of days later in all honesty Never had a turnaround like that on FM so delighted with it.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - Septmeber - December 2019

Managers Thoughts

It's been an impressive spell for us considering the amount of fixtures we have had to play, Pedersen, Bogado, Wrolbleski, Savecivic and Rosselli are all in double figures for the season and all bar Wrolbleski are in double figures for assists too so that shows where our main strengths lie.

It wasn't what i'd call a huge shock getting out of our CL group as bar Real the other 2 sides in the group could have been a lot worse with French, German and Spanish sides being 3rd seeds but it was still a tricky one and we did well to get out of it I felt. The highlight was the draw in Madrid coming from behind twice to get that point though in all honesty it probably wasn't deserved in that game it made up for us coming away with nothing from the home side where we certainly did deserve something from it.

Dortmund are next up in the CL so that is a really tough test for us but we'll give it our best shot.

[deltablue]

Wow, well done qualifying from the CL group.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - February - May 2020

Managers Thoughts

This was a lot more comfortable in terms of our league form than last year and we headed the table pretty much all season which was pleasing considering the amount of games we play, the additions in the summer meant that we didn't have to worry too much about making changes to cover for certain games/injuries and I think that played a big part. The big disappointment was throwing away a big lead in the 2nd leg of the League Cup, everything just seemed to go wrong in that game and it cost us a domestic clean up but these things happen from time to time so can't complain too much.

It was a shame we went out like we did to Dortmund, we certainly deserved to win the first leg but with better players they just picked us off at the right time, Dortmund weren't much better in the 2nd leg either but again it was the same story, overall though I can't complain with the players efforts.

That CL run has helped us a lot in terms of building the club, we are on our 2nd lot of facilities upgrades, 3rd junior coaching boost and I also managed to get the youth recruitment network up earlier in the year so the club is heading in the right direction.

In terms of signings over the summer there may be one if I can agree a deal with Monaco for the player but i'm not intending on making many as I want to leave the money there for the next manager of the club. The reason I say that is because there are a few interesting jobs that are insecure or worse that I would consider, that doesn't mean i'll certainly leave especially as I would like to stay and make sure the club make the CL group again at worst just to help keep us financially ahead of the division but I do feel that past that it's going to take a while to see our ambitions go beyond the group stages and maybe a knockout round or 2 if I stay.

I have said from the beginning of the career I want to get through as many nations as I can and i've set myself a 5 year limit at each club (this will be my fourth year) so this is the sort of time frame I need to start looking forward and if I am to leave this season then I can be happy with what i've done in Hungary, since i've taken charge i've managed to win each trophy twice, make the Europa semis, knockout of the CL, helped boost the country's rep to 26th in the rankings and earn it a 2nd CL spot and in personal terms I have continental rep now so there is a lot of positives to take from my time here.

Wow, well done qualifying from the CL group.

Cheers mate, shame we couldn't get past Dortmund in the next round considering we were the better side really but happy with how things went in the competition overall.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

Some good rises this year including Hungary who will see a 2nd side in the CL next season which is great progress, also sides in the Europa will start a round later.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - A slightly improved 5th place for them this season after spending £4.8M

CS U Craiova - Should be doing better than 8th after spending £13.4M, they did make the cup final though and lost on penalties.

FK Ibar Rozaje - Spent £185k which was enough to see them promoted in 2nd place

Jihlava - Another 8th place finish for them after spending £4.75M.

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - Finished 9th in the 2nd tier.

FBK Kaunas - Finished 6th after their poor start last season but they're doing much better so far this season sitting in 3rd place.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - July - August 2020

Managers Thoughts

Happy with the start to the season considering there has been a lot of changes in each game to try and get players match fit ready for the busy period we will have from September until Christmas. Rodrigues was the only signing on a free, i'm happy with just the one addition really because signing even one of my other targets would have used up the whole kitty. There was a DM Benfica who was surprisingly available and would have improved us massively but at this stage £13M and £25k a week was just too much to be paying out for one player, if he becomes available at a cheaper price then I will look at getting him in the future.

The CL draw wasn't very kind this year seeing us up against PSG, Shalke and Shaktar but after 2 easier groups in previous years I guess we were due one like that

[P O\'D]

Tough CL group but your doing great. You could pip Shalke and Shaktar.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Tough CL group but your doing great. You could pip Shalke and Shaktar.

Cheers mate It was PSG and Shalke that missed out and we topped the group No idea about the draw yet as i've only just finished the last group game now, i'll probably get a report done tomorrow

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - September - December 2020

Future Transfers

Managers Thoughts

We are going well on all fronts so far so i'm very pleased with how the 1st half of the season has gone. Even I didn't expect to get out of that CL group let alone win it so whatever happens from here is a bonus but as a taster i'll tell you now that we we drew Barca in the knockout stage and despite being down to 10 men for 50 minutes and trailing 1-0 we came away from the Camp Nou with a 2-1 victory

This has been my busiest transfer window since the first one at the club, with offers of over £3M coming in for some of my players from big clubs in some cases I know that even if I stay another season it is going to be hard for the club to keep hold of some of them. For the minute i've been able to keep them happy with new contracts but i'm realistic enough to know that I won't be able to do that forever so i've acted now so that no matter where I am at the start of the new season the club will still be in a strong position for the future and in 3 (the wingers and striker) of those players it's an improvement straight away anyway without costing a penny.

[deltablue]

Wow, very tight group, and some very exciting young players coming on. Good luck holding on against Barcelona.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers delta With the signings I felt that even though my 4/5 year max rule is closing in (granted there's a possibility I will do the full 5 years) that i've invested so much effort in this club it'd be a shame to see the AI let it go to waste after initially thinking that i'd save the transfer kitty for the new manager I decided it'd be a shame to see all that go to waste so getting the best talent I can on the cheap now to help keep the club ticking over. They may never turn out to be world class but quite a few look like they may be able to compete at CL level and as i've grown attached to the club pretty easily at least I know i'll be leaving it in a solid state when I do go.

If I knew 100% I could improve immediately on the defence and DM positions without crippling the club i'd say i'd see the 5 years out right now and maybe do an extra year if I felt the CL was close but the problem is that our facilities ect were so poor to start with, the division was about 40th in the rankings when I took the job that it was a case of firstly getting players good enough to win the league early as possible no matter what the age at first, then invest in youth the next season that was potentially better than what we had and spend on facilities, 3rd season spend on facilities again which obviously costs money.

Thankfully with the nation rising in that time and us making the knockouts in Europe in the last 2 seasons i've been able to get better players this year but there's a lot of background work still that needs to be done on top of actually getting more players in to get anywhere a CL winning side so my thinking is get the potential in now, get the board to improve a few more things before the end of the season and hopefully go to side that has more in place in the summer (doesn't have to be a higher nation, just better facilities than I started off with here so all the cash goes on the team building)

[AK22]

Well done on some great European results. That result at the Nou Camp really was something

[Dexter_Morgan]

Szombathelyi Haladás - February - May 2021

Managers Thoughts

My first domestic clean sweep in what has been a brilliant season for us is something i'm really pleased with along with going a round further in the CL. I'm not even disappointed by the Bayern result as in all honesty when we were drawn against Barca the results we got in the Bayern game were what I expected from that tie.

I have to be realistic and say this side has come a long way quickly but anywhere near winning the CL? No. I think that was reflected in my previous update with the amount of young players I have secured for the club to try and give it a base for the future, if anything some of those players linked (and another signed since) are better than what we currently have so there is a long way to go. Under my management I think this current side can get out of the group stages and have the odd result like the Barca tie and get a bit further but even under me it's probably another 4 or so year job to get near that certain trophy but with Hungarian sides tending to play a 3-4-3 system under the AI i'm not sure how this team will do in the future.

This doesn't automatically mean i'm leaving, in my last few posts I think I was getting a little bored of FM in general rather than what I thought at the time of just being bored of this side, so i've had almost a week away from anything to do with FM and finished this season off today and have actually enjoyed it so it will take a really tempting job for me not to do another year at least because this new look side could be really exciting and doing 1 or 2 more seasons here to bed the new players in could be good for the division in the longer term. Granted Hungary has now got the 2nd CL spot but only Ujpest made it the Europa group out of the other sides in Europe last year which shows how weak the division is without me in it and Ujpest for the time being. This isn't necessarily the other sides fault for being poor because prize money isn't really going up a great deal even with the rankings increase so how can they really compete against a human manager like myself who is notorious for being very careful with money in the transfer market and thinking long and hard about players i'll take a risk on

[Dexter_Morgan]

Well done on some great European results. That result at the Nou Camp really was something

cheers mate Shame we couldn't shock Bayern in the round after but if offered before kickoff in the Barca tie the choice of getting through that knowing i'd be hammered next or pot luck how things would go i'd have taken the Barca win and then a hammering every time

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

Top 20 for Hungary and a side straight in the CL group is massive news for the division as a whole, i'm surprised how easy getting there has been really considering there hasn't been much of note from the other clubs in the division but still pleasing. Also pleasing is the rise in the other Iron Curtain nations, loads of improvements and the biggest being the Czech Republic getting back to the standard it was 4/5 years ago, that really is a big leap in one season.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £2.1M and went backwards in the league dropping to 11th

CS U Craiova - Spent £14M and are champions as a result, the first top flight side to win the division under a tycoon.

FK Ibar Rozaje - Stayed in the division thanks to a playoff win

Jihlava - Spent just under a million and finished 7th

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - Promoted back to the top flight as champions

FBK Kaunas - Finished 3rd last season, struggling a little in 7th so far this but they are 8 points clear of relegation.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Real life has got in the way over recent weeks which hasn't helped my enthusiasm to play FM much but i'm hoping to have a good go tomorrow I will say on the odd occasion I have had a bit of time and played I have since moved clubs and it is a side I really am excited about being at

[Dexter_Morgan]

Chapter IV: Red Star Belgrade

Apologies in advance for the long post but obviously a new club means this will happen from time to time, especially as I played a few months before getting round to making this post.

I really couldn't turn this chance up, as i've mentioned in the past I am trying not to stay at a club for more than 5 seasons and with me about to enter my 5th at Haladas I knew there was no chance of challenging for Europe this season with them. Red Star had a few players better than the majority of my squad in Hungary and with facilities being better here I felt with the budget I had I could go this season and only have to worry about adding to the squad knowing I have a few years to challenge for Europe. The club finished 3rd last season which obviously isn't good enough and I aiming for the title straight away.

I'll start off with some of the best players already at the club before my signing.

My signings

I started off concentrating in the DM and AM area as you can see with 4 of those signings as it was the weakest area of the squad in all honesty, Rosselli wasn't a planned signing when I 1st looked at the squad as the wide areas were probably decent enough for this season but when he came up in a scout report for that price after knowing how well he did for me in Hungary I felt he would be a good addition and possibly gives me the chance to move Miguel to LB to solve an area that does need improving long term.

Managers Thoughts

Pretty happy with the start we have made considering there has been quite a few new arrivals and a complete change in formation for the players to get used to. In reality I expect it will be after Christmas before the side starts to gel properly so for now getting as many points on the board as possible is the only aim.

In terms of what I want to do with the club I am not sure, this could be a one season stop gap to get Serbia ticked off my list or it could be a long term project depending on how the season goes. I don't really want to get caught in the habit of going back to sides I managed on last years save but Red Star are the only club in Serbia I would manage and the only club I knew if the chance came i'd go to no matter what.

[P O\'D]

good move to a great club. I love to see guys in charge of the great European clubs who have kinda faded since the money came into football.

[withnail316]

I've been tempted by the two Belgrade clubs in the past, so can't blame you for moving. Very handy budget there, too. Best of luck at Red Star

[Dexter_Morgan]

good move to a great club. I love to see guys in charge of the great European clubs who have kinda faded since the money came into football.

Always had a soft spot for Red Star as I think i've mentioned on here' date=' I was lucky enough to see them in the European Super Cup final in 1991 against United at Old Trafford, they battered us but we beat them 1-0 somehow I obviously knew about our connection after the Munich disaster but at aged 11 they were the best side I had ever seen in the flesh at the time and I was in awe of them, especially Savicevic who was immense, so I try and have a go as them every FM If it wasn't for the lure of Italy ect; that side could have been great for a few seasons after in all honesty.

I've been tempted by the two Belgrade clubs in the past, so can't blame you for moving. Very handy budget there, too. Best of luck at Red Star

Cheers mate. For the reasons i've just said I am firmly in the Red Star camp But can see the lure of Partizan too, just like with my time here on FM 13 they have lost a few handy players (maybe not quite the standard of last year in game) which made the budget as big as it is.

Youth intake day is coming (though I won't be back on until tomorrow now) so i'm hoping we produce a few good ones there which will make things a lot easier as i'm struggling to bring youth in from elsewhere. I lost out on 7 targets in January out of 8 which was disappointing, though with us not being Champions it did make things harder.

Usually I would have done a report in December/January time but the internet was down at the time so with me being at the end of March now I will just do a full season report tomorrow hopefully.

[deltablue]

Already got a pretty good core of players to build on.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade 2021/22 Review

Managers Thoughts

There was a stage just after the winter break where I thought we had blown our chances of winning the title, injuries and suspensions meant we didn't win for 4 consecutive games which is obviously a lot of points to be dropping if you are a title contender, thankfully our form picked up and we went on a superb run to claim the championship.

Getting to the Europa final was pleasing and we were obviously beaten by the better side on the day but things could have been a lot different as my former side Haladas were a minute away from going to the final themselves instead of Arsenal. That would have in all honesty have been a dream final to me but obviously it wasn't meant to be.

Overall i'm pleased how the season went, the new players slotted in well and particularly in the 2nd part of the season they started to show their worth to the team. There is some work to be done with this side, mostly in defence but I would also like to get a more consistent striker in, both forwards got a decent amount of goals each but both seemed to get them patches rather than go on a good run of form so it is something I will look at too if I get the chance.

Already got a pretty good core of players to build on.

I was pleased with what I had for this level but I felt it was important to get better anywhere I can, or like the board wishes to get youngsters in who will fit in eventually. I already have a few youngsters for next season but i'll post them at the September update along with anyone else that might be signed.

[deltablue]

Especially good from mid-March onwards, pity you couldn't quite add the Europa to the league.

[b101]

Great to see you back at Red Star this time around - fingers crossed you can repeat the success you had last time around.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

Some really good rises here but it is a shame about a few drops. We now have 7 nations in the top 20 which I am sure hasn't happened so far in this save. It has kind of made my mind up to stay at Red Star for a while longer and hopefully crack the top 10 and leave foundations for the club to continually be successful, you will see when I post my transfers that this has started already in both the first team and players for the future.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £3M and improved on last seasons 11th by finishing 6th so that is a good rise in all honesty

CS U Craiova - Spent just over £10M and retained their title

FK Ibar Rozaje - Finished 8th after spending £60k, they have spent 4 times that over the summer though so looking forward to seeing how this year goes as it would be nice to get a country like Montenegro up in the rankings

Jihlava - Spent about £2M and finished a much improved 2nd ahead of the big Prague clubs

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - A comfortable 8th place finish in their 1st season back in the top flight

FBK Kaunas - Finished 4th after a tricky start, currently lying in 3rd this season

[Dexter_Morgan]

Especially good from mid-March onwards, pity you couldn't quite add the Europa to the league.

Cheers, if we had played Haldas I would have fancied our chances but Arsenal are obviously a better side so in all honesty I was glad to keep the score respectable, with the moves i've made in the transfer window so far and some more potential signings for the future though I think I could get this side consistently in the CL knockouts after this season (I doubt our seeding will be too great if we get in the group this year tbh)

Great to see you back at Red Star this time around - fingers crossed you can repeat the success you had last time around.

Cheers My aim isn't so much trying to win the CL with Red Star this time in all honesty but more getting the division in the top 10 and laying the foundations to keep the division there through what I do at the club. Ideally I want to do this season and next and then move on but if I feel we are close to winning it I may go beyond that though I really want to get to Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria and Slovenia as I failed miserably in 2 countries and didn't get round to playing in the other 2. If I can do all 4 that should take me to around the 2035 (ish) season but that isn't set in stone yet as it'll be good to do a few of the extended nations like Georgia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Latvia is also appealing to me for some reason

Speaking of Georgia, it had this takeover in January

I was wondering peoples thoughts of me adding a 2nd manager and see what I could do with them?

I've got 2 ideas for this, one is to stay at this club for 10 years and retire no matter what happens or the 2nd idea is if there is a tycoon takeover in a country like this I add a manager, play for 5 years with a tycoon club like this and retire and then add a manager to another lowly ranked tycoon side and repeat this in 5 season cycles just to get these sides going a little.

I do have a few concerns with this though.

1) I have never played against myself before so I am concerned about transfer targets conflicting especially as Dexter Morgan will still be the main manager in the save and ultimately I want "my sides" to be the best they can be.

2) If I do well with these tycoon sides in the 5 year spells then it could be argued that these sides aren't progressing naturally through hard work because with Dexter I don't really have an interest in a tycoon side to be honest as in a main save I find that it gets boring quickly, though having said that because of the standard of side I will be taking on as a 2nd manager and knowing it is only for a few seasons with each side and with a clear goal just to do well and build for the future before leaving I feel I could do it as a side project within the game.

I would like peoples thoughts on this, it is mostly the natural progression of these sides that concern me because obviously it is easier to do under human management and as we've seen with the other tycoon sides the only natural progression has been with CS U Craiova who have only really got it right because they are throwing £10M+ a season at it in a league where there isn't much money (Dinamo Bucharest even got relegated the season just gone which is a fairly big shock)

[AK22]

A really good first season with Red Star. Great job getting to the Europa League final

The second manager idea could work, but, I would imagine it would take a lot more time to get through the seasons.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade - July - August 2022

Managers Thoughts

That is probably the longest amount of time I have ever spent in a pre season in all honesty Plenty of targets were willing to join the club but unfortunately most clubs wanted to sting me in terms of prices, there were 3 targets from Barcelona who seem potential stars but nowhere near consistent 1st team level and not a single one were available under £10M which I found far too much to justify with the relatively small kitty I have. A Croatian keeper from Spurs who has never played in their first team but would have been good enough for mine wasn't available under £10M when he is in the last year of his contract. I will be keeping an eye out on him though and hopefully get him on a pre contract in January. A lad at Sporting also in his final year without playing in the 1st team wasn't available under £7M, PSG wanted £18M for a 17 year old full back who is nowhere near a starter for me let alone them, Hajduk Split wouldn't let a 16 year old go even after a £8M bid (though there is rivalry between the sides it is still far too much and i'm convinced if I was at any other club i'd have got him for no more than £2.5M), so it has been a frustrating time, the prices really have been ridiculous even by FM standards this summer.

The signings I have managed though I am pleased with, it's a mix of for now and potential with 3 going straight in to the first team and the other 2 being time to develop. Benda was actually playing in his former sides first team last last season which is remarkable given his age but in all honesty he is nowhere near mine this season so i'm getting him tutored and may possibly send him out on loan in the winter.

The 2 forwards i'm really excited about, Miljkovic actually came through our academy before United snapped him up and he has really impressed so far for me and I will certainly be looking to take advantage of the future fee clause if possible (we are actually due to get 30% of the profit if he moves, would that apply if I re signed him? ) Milinovic was a bit of a shock move really, it took a lot of hard work to get him and a huge wage packet but as I said in my end of season report we needed more firepower and with this front 2 it has already made a big difference to the side.

It wasn't just playing staff that took up the pre season, I made a major overhaul in the background with improvements in the coaching staff at both senior and youth levels, usually I would have done this when I taken over but after not really playing this save for the last few weeks before this I wanted to get back in to the game itself rather than be messing with things like that but i've corrected it to a much better standard now so i'm happy with everything behind the scenes.

On to the pitch and we've done well so far, easily got to the CL knockouts (reserve sides were put out in the 2nd legs of games) and have had a decent start in the league so I am happy with that. The CL group is a tough one, City are obviously favourites to go through and Haladas still have quite a few of the players I left behind so that won't be easy at all (though I am looking forward to playing a former side for the first time). Bochum are a bit of an unknown quantity really for me, they finished 21 points behind champions Dortmund and 9 behind 2nd placed Bayern but have started the season well so they aren't to be underestimated, saying that though it certainlly could have been a worse group so I would hope to at least be 3rd in it.

A really good first season with Red Star. Great job getting to the Europa League final

The second manager idea could work, but, I would imagine it would take a lot more time to get through the seasons.

Cheers mate, was a bit of a tough spell around winter but we got our act together thankfully As for the 2nd manager, i'm still not sure and as you say things will take longer and I don't really have the same sort of time that I had last year to be playing, it's rare that I have managed to do as much as I have in the last few days really so it is another factor to take in.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade - September - December 2022

Managers Thoughts

Pretty happy with the first part of campaign but we should really be leading the table but some silly draws have cost us. I was delighted to have got out of the CL group and we face Dortmund in the next round which will obviously be tough but after seeing Legia take 4 points off them in the group not impossible.

Just as in the summer bringing players in has proved tough, Aytekin adds to the attack superbly but I really do need a DM, CB and keeper before we can consider being CL contenders, even bringing in youth is pretty tough at the moment for reasonable prices but I will stick at it. There is a right back coming in July from Juventus that will improve us in that area so even though I have spent a lot of time trying to get more players in we have a start.

The obvious aim is to do as well as possible in the CL, the league itself I want to win as well but 2nd will get us in the CL so I won't lose too much sleep as long as we are in the top 2.

[deltablue]

Things were pretty comfortable over Haladas in the end.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Things were pretty comfortable over Haladas in the end.

I was a bit shocked at how easy it was against them tbh, bit of weird group campaign for us because we beat them twice and City at home obviously but we were the only side not to have taken 6 from 6 against Bochum.

This hasn't been updated for a few days but as a teaser I will say we overcame Dortmund albeit on the away goals rule and then we put in the best performance from any of sides in this save to beat Arsenal 4-0 at home and held them 0-0 at the Emirates to gain some kind of revenge for last seasons Europa final There will be at least 1 side from the Iron Curtain in this years CL final for the first time in the save as we face Dinamo Zagreb in the semi

[Dexter_Morgan]

Red Star Belgrade - January - May 2023

Managers Thoughts

Another brilliant season for us as we took our 2nd title in a row. Getting to the CL final was a great achievement and if injuries and suspensions hadn't occurred we may have won it, that said we did play well in the final but missing a few of our better players cost us dearly, I do think we overachieved a little in getting to the final though but over the summer I have strengthened in every position and one superstar is possibly on his way to the club (i'll post transfers once I know if he is going to sign or not)

The aim for this season now with the strength i've brought in is to give the CL a real go, once we made the final I decided that this will be more than likely my last season at the club, I do enjoy playing as Red Star but there is a lot of challenges i'd like to do in this save and with the quality of players already brought in to the club it should be able to cope without me in charge. I will continue to improve the side where possible as I expect a few of our better players to leave once I go, but obviously I won't go silly with it in case certain players are available to my possible new side

[deltablue]

Third time lucky in a European final next time?

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

A few small rises and a few small drops but not really much difference from last year, it is looking like yet again it will be hard to get a nation to break in to the top 5 just as it was in last years thread, i'm not quite sure what the best approach to get a few in the top 10 even is yet let alone the top 5 but it something I am thinking hard about. The possibility of adding Belgium and Holland to the save in the hope of improving the quality of regens there is a possibility and hope to get players in from there to my sides could be an idea but that would only be effective if I was at a club being of a decent size to attract them in the first place.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £1.75M and moved up a place on last year to 5th and also won the Czech Cup

CS U Craiova - Spent just under £6M and finished 2nd and were cup runners up.

FK Ibar Rozaje - Spent £660k and finished 4th which is a decent jump but really expected a bit more for that kind of money.

Jihlava - Spent about £2M as they did last season and finished 2nd again

WIT - Georgia - Spent just over a million and finished 4th

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - Finished 10th

FBK Kaunas - Finished 4th again and are currently in 3rd this season

Haladas - Champions again and won the cup

[Dexter_Morgan]

Third time lucky in a European final next time?

This brings me on to my summer signings

I am very pleased with the quality we have brought in over the summer and also the fact I have managed to do it and make a profit on top. With doubts in my mind over staying beyond the season I went away from potential this window and went for now knowing there is youngsters in the background for the future. It goes without saying Driussi would be a magnificent capture for the very best teams so to have managed to bring him to Serbia is possibly the best transfer coup that I have pulled off in any FM I am still shocked we managed to get him but delighted to have managed it, going forward now this side is without a doubt a huge threat to any team in Europe let alone the division.

Taking away Driussi's signing and I think every signing brought in with maybe the exception of Emilo who was a seen as a longer term signing is an improvement to a starting 11 that has made 2 European finals in a row. Of course bringing the amount of players we have in is a risk because there will be gelling issues but i'm confident enough that even if the performances aren't great straight away there will be enough to get us over the first months while the team gets used to each other.