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

[deltablue]

Triumph of the Eastern Europeans!

[rodesire]

Our comrades will be so proud of this magnificent achievement! I am really surprised Baltic clubs have done that well, they are rarely even in qualy play-offs on my games.

Back on to the present and for the first time in the save the Iron Curtain clubs outnumber the west in the knockout stage of the CL.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Our comrades will be so proud of this magnificent achievement! I am really surprised Baltic clubs have done that well, they are rarely even in qualy play-offs on my games.

I am 99.9% sure it didn't happen on last years thread and I got to about 2043 on that and it could end up an all Eastern quarter final draw which certainly didn't happen, but that depends on the 2nd legs of the Dortmund - Steaua game (Steaua 3-2 up in first leg) and the Spurs - Debcreren game (0-0) so it certainly is rare. The Eastern sides usually have been doing well in the Europa and not so great bar the odd exception in the CL, this year the West is dominating the Europa and struggling in the CL.

Will be interesting to see next see next seasons CL knockouts to see if this is the beginning of a big change in power for the east or just a one off.

[Dexter_Morgan]

FC Shakhtar Donetsk - February - May 2031

Managers Thoughts

If last season was entertaining then this one topped it by a million miles, comebacks galore, 5-4's, 4-3's ect either way, there was never a dull moment watching the side this season but to actually win a Champions League the we way we did was really rewarding, certainly the best in this save by a long way. 8 players managed double figures for us this season which makes it even more remarkable considering nobody even managed to get to 20 in all comps, which shows just how much of a team effort it has been as well rather than having to rely on a single poacher, which kind of makes me even more happy when I think about how this tactic works and with the change I am going to experiment with next year we could really cause a lot more problems if it works out like I think it should in my head.

I was considering towards the end of last season leaving if we were to win the CL but I have 4 players coming in next year that will improve the starting XI and a 19 year old goalkeeper (to add to one of those players) who isn't a million miles off being good enough to start every week himself and will certainly be a long term number 1.

With an average of over 3 goals per game this season I obviously have a target to beat that, or at least beat the league tally. I am hoping another years experience for the pretty young defence and a new keeper will keep the goals down tally a bit but i'd be happy to win 5-4 every week in all honesty as this side was always an experiment, i've just been fortunate it is one that has exceeded my expectations.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

I thought i'd post the full co effs as well this year to show just how how close Russia are to making not only the top 5 but possibly the top 3. This is getting to a really important stage of my aim now as the East has never been as close to breaking the top 5 as this. Portugal have had a bad few years so ourselves and Serbia could overtake them next year or so. Looking at a long term plan, if Russia get to in to the top 5 they are likely to stay there for a while so maybe see how things pan out after another season or 2 here and then look at either Romania or Croatia. This isn't set in stone but things are looking good for the best 5 nations currently in the east and I have got to look at weakening Portugal firstly with Shaktar and then my following club as I just don't see any chance of getting rid of the others from the west in my career (though I am thinking about adding a new manager once Dexter retires if it looks worth doing)

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £3.3M and finished 2nd

CS U Craiova - Won the title and the 3rd Europa in a row after spending £34M

FK Ibar Rozaje - Spent £526K and finished 4th also finished runners up in the cup

Jihlava - Spent £460k to finish 4th

WIT - Georgia - Finished 4th spending £1.3M, won the again cup too.

Lokomotiv 1926 (Plovdiv) - 3rd after spending £1.6M and won on penalties in the cup final after losing that way last season.

Rubin Kazan - £15M spent and finished 3rd

Petrzalka - £1.22M spent and got to the cup final again and finished 8th

Senica - £2.9M and won the title

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - 3rd in the 2nd tier

FBK Kaunas - Champions, 2nd this year so far

Haladas - Champions after a few bad seasons

Red Star Belgrade - Won the league and cup again and as you know were beaten by us in the CL final

Granit - Finished 9th, 6th so far this year

Siroki Brijeg - Better season this year finishing 2nd

[DavidBeckham]

Brilliant brilliant season KUTGW mate!

[Dexter_Morgan]

FC Shakhtar Donetsk - July - August 2031

Managers Thoughts

There was been quite a few changes over the summer which I think is playing a part in the slightly reduced number of goals and general quality of our play so far but it is early yet so not overly bothered at the moment as it isn't a drastic drop and on paper the squad does have more quality than last season.

Happy with the CL group this year it is certainly a lot easier than last years even though they are all tricky sides again.

Brilliant brilliant season KUTGW mate!

Cheers mate, really enjoyed that season, by far the best of the save so far in terms of goals and general excitement.

[deltablue]

Is it still 'max 7 foreign players on the pitch' in this version?

[Dexter_Morgan]

Yes it is, but unless this is something that was on previous FM's that I didn't know about players can become eligible for the Ukraine after spending 5 years there which means they count as nationals/non foreign. It only seems to be happening though if they don't represent another nation at senior level, otherwise there is no thing about becoming nationals after 5 years in the player profiles.

[Dexter_Morgan]

FC Shakhtar Donetsk - September - December 2031

Managers Thoughts

Stiil not ha happy with the way we have been playing, I think partly it is down to gelling and also partly down to the fact we probably have a player too many in most positions so i'm trying to keep them happy by rotating too much I think. This problem will be solved in the winter though as I will look to get rid of at least one player from every position.

The CL has shown our 1st choice XI is good enough to get the victories we need though so there is some encouragement that the performances are just a blip. We face Dinamo Zagreb in the next round.

[DavidBeckham]

Great start, flawless group stage in the Champions League as well

[rodesire]

Excellent stuff in Europe, very solid in the league but terrible in the CCC! What happened there, only one goal scored?

Just saw your free signings and they are real quality, well done!

[Jolanthustrel]

Interesting career, been a good read.

Though when ever I see a screen shot with a takeover saying [team] count the money. I keep thinking "It's Count du Monet!"

[Dexter_Morgan]

Excellent stuff in Europe, very solid in the league but terrible in the CCC! What happened there, only one goal scored?

Just saw your free signings and they are real quality, well done!

Thanks TBH this is a season of transition, the new signings have come in as you've you've seen plus a few have left and few youth players have been promoted so the players are getting used to the tactic, i'm not so sure I will do another season here as I found myself getting bored of the save and only went back to it last night and to be honest it has felt a chore. A new club should get me back in to it

Interesting career, been a good read.

Though when ever I see a screen shot with a takeover saying [team] count the money. I keep thinking "It's Count du Monet!"

Cheers, i've been trying to move on every few years to keep it interesting for everyone, obviously a few things haven't worked out but that is part of the fun to me, it'd be boring if I cleaned up everywhere I go This has actually been a tougher save than last years attempt, especially in Europe where I probably had 4 more CL's to my name than at the same stage on this.

[Dexter_Morgan]

FC Shakhtar Donetsk - February - May 2032

Managers Thoughts

Things did improve in terms of performances in the main towards the end of the season so that is encouraging for if I decide to do one more year (pre season will determine that), hopefully with a year together the new players will start off a bit quicker off the blocks and get us back to something like the free scoring side we were last season.

Happy about getting the treble, the amount of games pushed the squad to the limit as we kept seeming to have players picking up knocks for important games but we managed to get through those spells pretty well.

I have no idea what I want to do for next season so the only players that will come in to the squad that I bring in will be promotions from the youth team only, that way any new manager has at least £68M to play with.

[deltablue]

Congrats on retaining the CL (with the same score against the same opponents even!), expected a more dominant league win though (I know it was an 8 point margin but it's still a lot of points dropped).

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers Delta and I agree with what you said about not dominating like we should have.

I will do the coefficients in a while but I have left Shaktar and have a choice of 3 jobs so i'll list them and say what appeals me to them, but would like other people's inputs.

1) Dinamo Zagreb - Low transfer budget (£1.5M) and the squad seems mis balanced with only 2 central/defensive midfielders in the squad yet 5 right wingers. There are a few 30 year olds in the squad too so it could be a fun rebuilding job (signing players 21 and under) and still probably having the quality to compete for titles as I do it. I also have a shortlist of players I had when at Shaktar that I have to fall back on straight away.

2) Lokomotiv Moscow - Bit of a better budget (£4M) to finish top half with. The current squad could make a Europa spot by the look of it but just like Dinamo top heavy with wingers/forwards and not enough in midfield so got room to get a few faces if I sell.

3) Anji Makhachkala - The manager took my job at Shaktar, this is the easiest of the 3 with a squad good enough to win the league really but disappointed last year and finished 5th. No major weaknesses by the look of it and have £50M to spend. This side should be title challengers this season and looking to do well in the Europa, probably 2 big signings and i'd not be far away from competing for the later CL rounds if we get in the competition next season.

[withnail316]

Cheers Delta and I agree with what you said about not dominating like we should have.

I will do the coefficients in a while but I have left Shaktar and have a choice of 3 jobs so i'll list them and say what appeals me to them, but would like other people's inputs.

1) Dinamo Zagreb - Low transfer budget (£1.5M) and the squad seems mis balanced with only 2 central/defensive midfielders in the squad yet 5 right wingers. There are a few 30 year olds in the squad too so it could be a fun rebuilding job (signing players 21 and under) and still probably having the quality to compete for titles as I do it. I also have a shortlist of players I had when at Shaktar that I have to fall back on straight away.

2) Lokomotiv Moscow - Bit of a better budget (£4M) to finish top half with. The current squad could make a Europa spot by the look of it but just like Dinamo top heavy with wingers/forwards and not enough in midfield so got room to get a few faces if I sell.

3) Anji Makhachkala - The manager took my job at Shaktar, this is the easiest of the 3 with a squad good enough to win the league really but disappointed last year and finished 5th. No major weaknesses by the look of it and have £50M to spend. This side should be title challengers this season and looking to do well in the Europa, probably 2 big signings and i'd not be far away from competing for the later CL rounds if we get in the competition next season.

Just caught up with this for the first time in a while, great work Dexter.

I'd be heading to Moscow. Good club, decent league and a challenge both at home and abroad.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Just caught up with this for the first time in a while, great work Dexter.

I'd be heading to Moscow. Good club, decent league and a challenge both at home and abroad.

Cheers mate, Moscow was the one I started leaning to more after I typed that last post out actually and decided to go for it. It's the toughest of the 3 jobs I feel, especially in a country as competitive as Russia but if I succeed then hopefully I can help get the nation in to the top 5.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

Some good little rises outside the top 10 but as ever it is proving hard for anyone to make any leap once inside there, i'm hoping my time in Russia works out and we start to make dents in to it.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £500k and won the league

CS U Craiova - Won the title and the cup after spending just short of £34M

FK Ibar Rozaje - The usual 4th

Jihlava - Spent £240K and finished 10th, chairman looking to leave.

WIT - Georgia - Finished 4th spending £1.1M, runners up in the cup.

Lokomotiv 1926 (Plovdiv) - Champions after spending £1.88M.

Rubin Kazan - They spent nothing and finished top and made the cup final

Petrzalka - £768K spent and finished 6th

Senica - £5.7M and won the title

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - Promoted

FBK Kaunas - Champions, 2nd this year so far (same as this stage last year)

Haladas - Champions and league cup winners

Red Star Belgrade - Won the league and cup again and as you know were beaten by us in the CL final like last year

Granit - Finished 2nd a point off winning it, 6th so far this year

Siroki Brijeg - Champions

[deltablue]

Definitely agree with your choice, better challenge domestically.

[rodesire]

What is the landscape of Russian football these days: challengers, meddling mid-tablers, sleeping giants, etc.?

[Dexter_Morgan]

Definitely agree with your choice, better challenge domestically.

If it was a weaker league i'd have probably gone for a top 3 side but the more I thought about it the more it made sense to manage a mid table side when this division is so strong as it gives me a challenge to break the top 3 first and then see what I can do in Europe with them after that, this is probably the hardest job i've taken since Granit so it was about time I took a side that aren't expected to do much again.

What is the landscape of Russian football these days: challengers, meddling mid-tablers, sleeping giants, etc.?

The top 5 for 6 of the last 10 years has been Zenit, Anji, Krasnodar, CSKA and Rubin with Spartak occasionally breaking it up. Mid table is usually the same few sides like ourselves, Alania and Kuban. Not a sleeping giant as such but Dinamo Moscow went from regulars in Europe until 2026/27 to 10th two years in a row and then relegated twice since 2030.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Chapter VIII: Lokomotiv Moscow - July - September 2032

The pick of the signings is this lad, at only 18 years age he looks to have a great future ahead of him, he would have been a Shaktar player but with the league restrictions and already being quite full in midfield I never made the move for him, glad I didn't now but it was very tempting at the time.

The best 2 of the current squad, Evanilson looks good enough for the time being but obviously age means i'll have to look at younger options (in fact i've already got one signed in January), Euller looks like he'll be a useful player for us and has started the season well with 3 goals and 2 assists in 6 games.

These are probably the best two prospects at the club, Konstantin Kalashnikov is already in the first team and i'm hoping he'll be a big player for us. Vasja Krcic has a long way to go but he's being tutored at the moment and then hopefully I can get him out on loan in the winter to fast track him a bit.

Managers Thoughts

The squad is roughly what a mid table side usually looks like, mid table players with a few stand outs, with that in mind youth will be my best option in the main to replace any foreign players at the club so we can at least build from there. I have reverted to the 4-2-3-1 for the time being as there isn't the personnel to play the formation I used at Shaktar for one but also it worked well against bigger sides in my previous clubs and seems to be doing a decent enough job in this division. Hopefully we can grab a Europa spot this year but a CL spot isn't out of the question if we keep this form up. Zenit look to be immense this year so if we were to aim for a CL spot it is pretty safe to say already we'll be fighting for one of the two remaining spots.

[deltablue]

Looks like a decent base to build on.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Lokomotiv Moscow - October - December 2032

Managers Thoughts

Pretty happy with the way things are going so far, obviously there is room for improvement but in terms of positioning in the league we are still in with a shot at a European place and not a billion miles away from the top 3.

Financially we are losing about £3M per month which is a bit of a worry, especially as only £1.5M a month is going out on wages. It seems a part of the reason for this is we are paying monthly instalments on transfer fees which is about £1M a month so i'm going to have to look seriously at balancing the books somehow as we are down to £20M ish now and with no games for 3 months I am expecting the losses to be bigger over that period.

[DavidBeckham]

Good luck at Lokomotiv Moscow mate! decent start there as well

[rodesire]

The financial situation looks real dire :/ Hope you can get some money spinning friendlies rolling over the winter

[Dexter_Morgan]

Good luck at Lokomotiv Moscow mate! decent start there as well

Cheers this should be a nice little challenge

The financial situation looks real dire :/ Hope you can get some money spinning friendlies rolling over the winter

It is a pain and not helped by the fact there was no friendlies worth our while tbh. Hopefully I can get to the end of the season and start looking at cutting some costs.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Lokomotiv Moscow - March - May 2033

Bargain £2.3M signing from Inter Milan

Managers Thoughts

I thought after a great run of victories we had ruined the hard work towards the end of the season but thankfully we managed to beat 4th placed (at the time) Kuban to snatch 3rd place and a spot in the CL for next season. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done and with money draining from the club like there's no tomorrow it isn't going to be an easy task to even try and get close to a title winning side, especially given the strength of the league. There was an all Russian Europa league final and 3 of the 4 CL finalists were Russian for the first time ever where Spartak managed to beat Red Star 1-0 which was a huge upset, especially given their league form this year.

This is a bit of a strange takeover but one that could be good for Latvia if they can challenge Sheriff (need promotion first)

This could be a good takeover though giving Croatia possibly a 3rd team to help boost the rankings.

[Rikulec]

Did Spartak win the Champions League?

[rodesire]

Mate, Sheriff is in Moldova. You must be thinking Ventspils or Skonto in Latvia.. Great effort to finish third in the first season in Russia!

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

The only bad thing about the previous year is the top 5 still hasn't been broken in to but with Spain struggling now (2 CL places ) and Russia becoming the 1st Iron curtain side to get 4 automatic CL spots it surely only has to be a matter of time and with that in mind if a job I like the look of becomes available I feel that I don't actually need to be in Russia if I am honest, there is also the fact that for whatever reason I have kind of enjoyed being in Russia and helping give an underdog a place in Europe but it hasn't really felt 100% to me so if anything comes up that seems more suitable then I will probably leave.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £1.5M and won the league

CS U Craiova - Won the title and the cup after spending £28.5M

FK Ibar Rozaje - The usual 4th

Jihlava - No longer tycoon owned.

WIT - Georgia - Finished 4th spending £570k

Lokomotiv 1926 (Plovdiv) - Spent £3.2M and finished 3rd

Rubin Kazan - Finished 2nd and made the cup final spending £8.75M

Petrzalka - £2.86M spent and finished 4th

Senica - £4.47M and won the double

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - Decent 6th place for their first season back in the top flight.

FBK Kaunas - 2nd and 2nd this year so far

Haladas - 2nd

Red Star Belgrade - Won the league and beaten in the CL final.

Granit - 4th, walking away with the division so far this season

Siroki Brijeg - Champions and made the CL group which is massive for them.

Shaktar Donetsk - Champions, Super Cup and CWC winners, cup finalists

[Dexter_Morgan]

Did Spartak win the Champions League?

Yes beat Red Star 1-0 in the final.

Mate, Sheriff is in Moldova. You must be thinking Ventspils or Skonto in Latvia.. Great effort to finish third in the first season in Russia!

I've had Sheriff in my head this morning because i'm dying to get a chance of taking them over so that's where that mistake came from :o (shouldn't have made it really because I have wanted the Skonto job all the way through this save too )

[Dexter_Morgan]

I was just wondering how Draskic was developing (and i'm sure a few others would be interested too) and here is aged 25

Absolute monster Red Star let him go for £11M

[Brucehum]

Nice signings indeed.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Lokomotiv Moscow - July - August 2033

Managers Thoughts

As you can see it was a busy summer as we brought in quite a few new players (all free) to boost our squad ready for Europe, we have too many foreigners really but there wasn't really a better way of getting some strength in so domestically i'll have a lot of juggling about to do to keep people happy.

The start to the season has been pretty positive making the CL group and being towards the top of the table. The cup defeat was a reserve side as I felt we cant juggle 3 competitions at this moment in time so to lose did me a huge favour.

I am reasonably happy with the CL draw, neither City or Dortmund have been overly impressive in Europe over the last 10 years or so, obviously they are still good sides but both are beatable if we turn up on the day I feel.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Lokomotiv Moscow - September - November 2033

Managers Thoughts

I have been delighted with the way things have gone with us looking pretty good in the league but also in Europe but there is a reason I did the update in November rather than wait until the winter break......

I just couldn't turn this job down for some reason, Legia missed out on the title last season and as you can see are struggling this year and especially with Russia being in a strong position I just couldn't resist the challenge of rebuilding Legia. There are some good players at the club (i'll link those up later) and they are massively underachieving. I have 3 league games to try and make up a 4 point gap to make the championship group but that could be narrowed to 1 if I win the 1st league game and there is also a possibility of getting out of the Europa group (which is my first game).

Close inspection shows that the squad is very thin with no full backs and not much cover in certain other positions which explains the side struggling as the attacking players are pretty strong so is the CB area which means i'm going to have to use the £11M budget wisely, especially as there are only 2 non EU players in the squad.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Chapter IX: Legia Warsaw - November - December 2033

Prospects

Agreed Transfers

Managers Thoughts

I am really looking forward to the rebuilding with this side. There isn't a lot wrong with the squad domestically bar lack of full backs and a bit of strength in depth but I want to make it a more youthful and attacking side that can go and and be as big as Red Star and Shaktar have become, so with that in mind this is possibly a 5 year project. Everything is in place at the club to become one of the biggest in Europe, the facilities are great and a stadium more than big enough to suit or needs for the time being.

I was under the impression that the league would split after 20 games or so but it seems it happens after 30 which gives us more than enough time to try and sort our position in the table out. As I said earlier one of the biggest problems was no full backs and only 3 CB's but the signings confirmed already have lifted that problem immediately so all we desperately need now is cover for those 2 and then work on other positions ready for next year.

[rodesire]

Ah, coming to Poland! Have fun in Warsaw, the stadium looks real good, so a lot of potential for huge powerful squad!

[withnail316]

I've had lots of fun in Poland, but Legia have always been my biggest rivals, so I'll have to resist the urge to celebrate your defeats!

Seriously, best of luck fella.

[Rikulec]

You could have chosen a better side, like Lech for example.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Ah, coming to Poland! Have fun in Warsaw, the stadium looks real good, so a lot of potential for huge powerful squad!

Cheers, there is definitely potential here. Even with 2 bad seasons we are getting 44k+ and almost sold out every European game so we should be close to selling out domestically again if we have a good year or 2.

I've had lots of fun in Poland, but Legia have always been my biggest rivals, so I'll have to resist the urge to celebrate your defeats!

Seriously, best of luck fella.

You could have chosen a better side, like Lech for example.

Cheers

Tbh it could have been either one of these, Lech (which would have been fun as they haven't won the league for years), Wisla, Widzew or Cracovia and i'd have took the job as i've never been any of those sides, I never got the chance to pay Jagiellonia back for my unfair sacking in last years save so Poland was always a place i'd wanted to get to in this one.

[deltablue]

Surprising to see you leave Russia so soon. Got a good base to build on at Legia.

[Dexter_Morgan]

For some reason Lokomotiv didn't feel right even though things were going pretty good on the pitch, then the 4th CL spot for Russia came along and from that moment I felt in terms of the country being able to break in to the top 5 it should be able to maintain that with or without me there so I kind of made my mind up from that point that if a good challenge came along it wouldn't really matter if I left. Maybe if Russia starts to struggle or doesn't make that top 5 spot i'll go back at a later stage but for the time being I think I made the best choice in terms of building up other nations

[Dexter_Morgan]

Legia Warsaw - February - May - 2024

Murphy was bought in January for £3.25M from Man Utd and looks a fantastic prospect.

The best of this years intake

Managers Thoughts

It says something about our form that I started the job with us in 12th place and ended up being disappointed that we didn't end up winning the the title It was a fantastic effort (granted the points cut at the end of the regular season helped us catch up to an extent but even then we were still 8 points behind in the championship group at the start) but we ran out of steam in the final 2 games and just could push ourselves that little further.

I guess in the end though from the position we were in when I took charge to the position we finished it shows just what I immediately thought about the squad, the thing that set the club back was mismanagement by the AI in not getting any full backs in the side and not enough cover in certain other positions. Even with just a few full backs in the squad they would have never been in the position they were in when I took charge.

The aim for next season has to be the title, we were very close after a disastrous start so with a full summer to address those problems and improve in other positions we should be looking at doing that at the very worst. Finishing 2nd gave us CL football so obviously I want to try and do well in that too, certainly make the group stage at worst.

[Dexter_Morgan]

I'll do the coefficients tomorrow but there is some bigger than expected rises that could turn the whole game world on it's head

[Dexter_Morgan]

Co-efficients

Most of the drops in there are only by an odd place or 2 but the big news is Russia overtaking Spain (now 5th) and France (down to 7th) to be the 1st nation from anywhere in Europe let alone the Iron Curtain to break in to the top 5 and with the way Serbia keeps getting sides in the latter stages of Europe I can't see them being too far behind from making it now.

Another landmark is for the first time we have 5 nations in the top 10, this was always something I hoped would happen but with France getting weaker (if it wasn't for PSG and Monaco they'd have dropped out of the top 5 a long time ago) there is some hope that we could get 6 in there a few years down the line.

Of course seeing the Ekstraklasa drop wasn't ideal but hopefully that will turn around just like I managed to help with Ukraine and Serbia.

Tycoon Watch

Bohemians 1905 - Spent £2.1M and finished 4th

CS U Craiova - Won the title and the cup after spending £6.9M

FK Ibar Rozaje - The usual 4th

WIT - Georgia - Finished 4th spending nothing and also made the cup final

Lokomotiv 1926 (Plovdiv) - Spent £5M and finished 2nd

Rubin Kazan - Finished top spending £10M

Petrzalka - £2.69M spent and finished 8th

Senica - £5.8M and won the league and made the cup final

Jekabpils - Spent nothing in the few months of being tycoon owned last season and finished 11th, currently in 4th 12 games in to this season again spending nothing.

Istra 1961 - Spent £19.65M and finished 7th (though it was a tight table and 3 more points would have seen them in the top 4) managed to win the cup though.

Former Club Watch

KS Elbasani - 6th again.

FBK Kaunas - 4th and cup winners. 2nd this year so far

Haladas - A poor 8th

Red Star Belgrade - Double winners

Granit - Blew the league by 3 points losing a 12 point cushion, did win the cup though. Having a bad time of things in 10th this year

Siroki Brijeg - 3rd, they were however one of the biggest shocks in the CL so far in this save beating Hannover and Chelsea to 2nd place in their group to make the knockout stage

Shaktar Donetsk - Champions, CL winners

Lokomotiv Moscow - 3rd

[Dexter_Morgan]

Legia Warsaw - July - August - 2024

Managers Thoughts

The start to the season couldn't really have gone much better. We have added some quality in key positions and also promoted a few youngsters who were out on loan last year to help keep the squad fresh. There is a lot more work I need to do to this side but when in a mid ranking league you have to accept that you need to build gradually and we are certainly doing that.

I am looking forward to getting the CL group stage under way, we were seeded 2nd but it is still a bit of a tough group with City looking the favourites to get out and Metalist won't be easy ties either, the Czech league has gone in the opposite direction of last years save so I should be beating them in both games.

Pre season seen St Ettiene sell one of our former players for £31M and we received almost £8M of that which is probably the highest sell on fee i've ever inherited which was a nice bonus as the player had never played for me That allowed our signings as before that the wage and transfer budgets were poor and I would have only been able to bring 2 in at most but thanks to that we got all 4 of my targets and also a talented 17 year old left winger from BATE who although is Portuguese (2nd nationality Belarussian) can't leave Belarus until he is 18. I will link him up when he joins but he really does look a fantastic prospect.

[deltablue]

Brighton!