Gundo's FM15 European Adventure Challenge™

[JuulDK]

Gundo's European Adventure Challenge

AB Taarnby

2016/17 Season Review

League Position: 8th

First up I wanna mention that somehow I ended up in the 2nd Division East this year. But as mentioned in the 15/16 review I wanted to finish in the Top 10, and that also ended up being the Board's expectations. And I did just that by finishing in 8th position, and had I won the last match of the season against Vendsyssel I could've fnished 5th, but Vendsyssel was too strong and with the win they got they went from 3rd to 2nd and got the promotion. I started the season well and got my highest position of the season as I went to 6th place, but then had a bit of a rough patch for a couple of months. Had my best period from the ending of April to the start of June, as I went unbeaten for eight matches and won seven of them. All in all, the Board and myself are happy with the season.

DBU Pokalen

The Board's expectation were to get to 2nd Round, and I did just that by beating Kolding IF from 2nd Division. Unfortunately I got knocked out in the 2nd Round, and I personally wasn't satisfied with that because last season we got knocked out by a Superliga team, but this season a fellow 2nd Division team knocked us out.

Top Three Players

1. Peter Weslund

This year Westlund took the 1st place on this list, switching places with Foged. The reason being is that Westlund contributed with seven goals and nine assists, and ended with an average rating of 7,02. Perhaps not THAT great of an average rating, but still the highest this year for us.

2. Morten Foged

In the 15/16 review I mentioned that I were going to lose last season's MVP and 2nd Division Top Goalscorer as he wouldn't sign a new contract. But that changed, and I managed to keep him on a 2-year deal. Foged didn't have as great of a season as he did last season, but still contributed with elleven goals and five assists.

3. Lasse Lindbjerg

The former FC Copenhagen youth team player had his first season last year and did okay, and this season he played the same amount of games but did better. Not only did he get his first goal for us, but he scored two more. He also delivered two assists, and finished the season with an average rating of 6,96. He was an important part of not only the defense but the whole team.

Biggest Transfer On Paper

Well, I only signed two players and they actually did quite well both of them, so I'm gonna mention both of them. First, I was in need of a good left back and I got just that when I signed Alexander Dige from Søllerød-Vedbæk on a free transfer. Dige played 31 of 32 matches this season, and made two assists which is okay since I'm not playing with attacking backs. With a pass ratio of 75 %, 5,08 tackles won per game and an average rating of 6,79, I think he had an okay first season. Next up, I also needed a better right back so I picked up former Viborg player who debuted in the Superliga last season, Anders Nielsen. Nielsen only played nineteen games for us this season as he got injured and also got banned after being sent off, but he did well in the games he played. One assist and a pass ratio of 73 %, and finished with an average rating of 6,79 as well as Dige.

Proved To Be The Biggest Signing

As I just mentioned I only signed two players this season, and as they both ended up with an average rating of 6,79 it's kind of difficult to choose between them. But I have to say Alexander Dige, becase he played the most matches.

Next Season

I guess it depends on if I stay in 2nd Division East or go back to West, but either way I would personally like to finish a little higher next season. Not that I won't be fine with finishing 8th, or even 9th or 10th, but I would definitely like to get higher up and the dream is of course to fight for promotion, even though I don't know if we're quite there yet. Of course it also depends on if I loose players or who I'll possible sign. If I get the chance to sign a stronger keeper, I'll do it. Not that I'm unhappy with Christian Kier, but a better and younger keeper would be good. And Niclas Rønne will be leaving when his contract expires on June 30th, which I'm fine with, so I'll be in need of a right attacking midfielder/right wing with first team qualities.

[Andrew Haines]

Oulun Palloseura

2021

Overview

The start of the season was a disappointment as injuries accrued in the league cup cost us but we were on a good run by early May. 1 defeat in 16 games saw us in second place and hot on the heals of top placed Mypa by the end of July. Four defeats in four games in the first half of August cost us dear and we dropped to sixth place. A switch in line up ensued with star midfielder Tuomo Koski moving to anchor the midfield while right midfielder Diego Nieto who had been bench warming moved to convert to play in a central role. Wins followed including a back to back 8-2 and 5-3 victories away and home against Mypa who still lead the league. This brought us back into contention for the title but it was too little too late. We won 9 out of 9 games in the run in including those two fantastic victories over the champions but it was not enough. It promises well for next season. I could do with a decent right sided midfielder but once the three out of position players converting to new positions have aclimatised, I think I have a decent side now.

The Team

GK - Finnish Keeper signed from Monaco four seasons ago.

WB

CB - 18 year old centre-back signed from Pallohonka last season. Hopefully one for the future.

CB

FB - Left winger converting to play in defence. Cost £300k when signed from Sweden three years ago.

WM

AP - Winger converting to the attacking role in central midfield where his dribbling makes him dangerous.

DLP

W - Bulgarian left winger arrived in July from Southampton on expiracy of his contract.

AF

DLF - The 23 year old had his best season since arriving from HJK four years ago. Is a regular in the Finnish national side.

Year		League Pos.	Champ.L	Uefa	Cup	LigaCup	Achievement
2015	Ykkonen		1st	NA	NA	5thRnd	NA	Promoted
2016	Veikkausliga	10th	NA	NA	6thRnd	GrpStg	Survival
2017	Veikkausliga	1st	NA	NA	QtrFnl	Winner	Champions, Liga Cup winner
2018	Veikkausliga	5th	2ndQlf	NA	Winner	QtrFnl	Cup Winner
2019	Veikkausliga	5th	NA	3rdQlf	QtrFnl	QtrFnl	
2020	Veikkausliga	2nd	NA	NA	Semi	Final	
2021	Veikkausliga	2nd	NA	2ndQlf	QtrFnl	Grp Stg	

[legenary1]

Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs 2017 Season

Competitions

League - Upper League Cup - Icelandic Cup - Europa League

Key Players

Emil Atlason - P34, 20 Goals, 15 Assists. In his third season for the club, I felt Emil really started to make that position upfront his own; exactly what I was hoping he would do at the start of the season. Big game player and still only 24.

Gabríel Ingi Agnarsson - P36, 8 Goals, 14 Assists. A huge signing for us, Gabríel was the key this season, not just in his performances but because it allowed us to move hugely influential playmaker, Gudjónsson from the Advanced Playmaker central position (which is where Agnarsson now plays) to right back. Going forward, we now have that extra option which we didn't have. Only 20 years of age too.

Ingimundur Níels Óskarsson - P31, 18 Goals, 8 Assists. In his second season for the club, Oskarsson hit the ground running with 5 goals in the Upper League Cup and maintained a brilliant level of performance throughout the season.

Exciting Youth Prospects

Rúnar Eiriksson - After breaking into the first team last year, he was an ever-present this, cementing his place as our Deep-Lying Playmaker. Absolutely solid, no fuss, moves the ball well doesn't score many or make many mistakes, does a great job for the team. 18 years old and I like to think he could be playing for HK for a long time.

Einar Karl Júlíusson - Came through our youth setup last season and I liked the look of him, so I asked Oskarsson to tutor him and that seems to have worked wonders (I've done the same with all other prospects). At 31, Oskarsson won't be in the team for much longer so by the time he retires, I anticipate Júlíusson will be ready for regular first team football.

Porvaldur Sigurdsson - I really like the look of this lad, came through our youth setup in August so has only been at the club for a couple of months but he looks sharp whenever he comes on and plays the False Nine role well. Double figures for Heading, Aggression, Composure, Finishing, Dribbling, Decisions, Determination, Off The Ball, Jumping Reach and Strength, amongst others, means he has huge potential to lead the line for us in future.

Overview

An awesome season. I was quietly confident we would mount a title challenge, particularly because the other teams just aren't strong enough. KR won the league back-to-back and they have a tiny squad with sporadic quality. We were top for the majority of the season, only being replaced when we had fixtures rearranged. After being eliminated from the Upper League Cup, we played 30 matches in 19 weeks, averaging a match approximately every four days. I felt we rotated the squad well and always had a decent youth player to step in and do a job for the team.

Our European adventure got off to a perfect start, racing into a 4-0 lead at HT, away against Slovenian side Celje, only for us to be pegged back to 4-2 (I have to confess a poorly judged teamtalk didn't help). We then lost the return leg 1-0 at home but the match was almost a formality. We then faced Maccabi Tel-Aviv, who I've met a few times in previous FMs and they've always been one of the better sides in the early qualifying rounds so knew we would be in for a tough match. In the home tie, we were winning 2-1 only for them to score just before HT and then again after the break. I thought a 3-2 loss was respectable. In Tel-Aviv, no doubt with a hostile home crowd, we lost 2-0 and kissed goodbye to the European dream. I was happy with that first outing though, the club probably make somewhere between £100k - £200k, which is a lot of money considering last years turnover was just shy of £1m.

Our Icelandic Cup run was a bit ropey, we saw off non-league Kári, before needing penalties to beat Fjolnir. Then we narrowly beat Njardvik before, again, edging past Tindastóll, a Div 1 side. We faced major rivals and, annoyingly, a huge bogey team for me but beat them 1-0 in the final with a scrappy goal from a corner. What do they say about the best sides finding a way to win!? I looked through and we scored 9 goals to win the cup, with not one player scoring more than one goal each!

Next Season

Win the Upper League Cup, Icelandic Cup and Úrvalsdeild, make as much money from CL and keep bringing youngsters through.

Career Overview

Season  Division          Position  Upper League Cup  Icelandic Cup Europa League Champions League  Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014    1. Deild Karla    3rd       Semi-Final        3rd Rnd       N/A           N/A               Consolidated
2015    1. Deild Karla    1st       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Promotion
2016    Úrvalsdeild       4th       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Qualified for Europe!
2017    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Quarter-Final     Winners       2nd Quali     N/A               League & Cup double, qualified for CL!

[bg0123]

I'm out, I've decided to give up on doing this challenge in Israel. I was getting frustrated by the non activity in the the transfer market. In 2025, second season playing in the Europa and getting to the first knockout stage after finishing second in the group stage I never once had anyone interested in any of my players. I was never able to sell anyone. All of the money received from winning games in Europa was always offset by very high travel costs so we've been in the red for years. I just couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and wasn't enjoying this save anymore. Good luck to everyone!

[Gundo]

I'm out, I've decided to give up on doing this challenge in Israel. I was getting frustrated by the non activity in the the transfer market. In 2025, second season playing in the Europa and getting to the first knockout stage after finishing second in the group stage I never once had anyone interested in any of my players. I was never able to sell anyone. All of the money received from winning games in Europa was always offset by very high travel costs so we've been in the red for years. I just couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and wasn't enjoying this save anymore. Good luck to everyone!

Sorry to hear this. You had made giant strides too, although I can see why it became frustrating. Thanks for contributing.

[bg0123]

Sorry to hear this. You had made giant strides too, although I can see why it became frustrating. Thanks for contributing.

Looks like what I was experiencing was a bug that is now fixed in the new patch:

- Increased transfer activity in Israel

Oh well, I have moved on...

[Andrew Haines]

I decided I wanted a change. Enjoying my save in Finland but my interest waned a bit. I've decided to have a go as RFC Liege in Belgium. The plan is to actually complete the challenge, the higher stature of the Belgian league should help. I've been doing this challenge every year for 3-4 years and always lose interest before I get the European success. Not this time! Assuming I don't get sacked...

profile

[ReclaimTheKop]

Just reached the champions league final with livadia Dzerzhinsk in belarus in 2029. Got 15 seasons worth of screenshots to post haha. Will try and post them at the weekend. Got bayern in the final. Got a couple of questions for everyone. Our best player was valued at £2.1m for about 2 years. Then the league rep went up half a star and all of a sudden everyone is worth 10x as much as what they was. The values now are truer to real life though. A couple of seasons ago we reached the CL semi final only to lose to PSG. Our 24 year old Paraguayan striker finished top scorer in the comp but was still only worth £1.4m. When the values went up he was then worth £9.5m which is a better reflection to real life in my eyes. Has anyone else had anything like this?Also out team colours on the home screen have always been black background with yellow writing. This season it's black background with silver writing. I've never seen anything like this before and was wondering if anyone else has? Cheers

[ReclaimTheKop]

Lost in the final by the way. Injury time winner for them. I'm devastated.

[Cabaye]

Hello, I've just started in Finland!

I have taken over Mikkelin Palloilijat, who appear to have had a good pedigree but dropped out of the league structure in 2010.

I am also trying to do this as a Youth Academy challenge too.

The reset date is 25th November Gundo.

[legenary1]

Just received an offer I couldn't refuse. Shame as he had so so much potential. Agnarsson's Profile

[Joe.]

I have recently failed at someone else's challenge, so figured I'd give this one a go.. and I'll take on the one I don't think anyone has succeeded with yet, Isreal.

Hapoel Ironi Marmorek Rehovot F.C

Isreali National League ~ Season 2015/16 ~ Media Prediction 15th/16

Marmorek Wikipedia Page

Cartwright takes Marmorek hot seat - Marmorek: a background

Manager Profile - Personal Information - Nationalities

So I ended up with Marmorek. I could've gone for a couple of other, potentially better teams but I felt more comfortable with Marmorek. I like their colours, and they at least have enough players to make up a squad's worth. Their stadium is woeful and the facilities will certainly need some work but for now, it is all about survival!

My aim is to sign as few players as I can possibly get away with whilst building the team up slowly. I tend to struggle beyond a second season in these kind of challenges, but I've never managed in Isreal so this might just be the one to get me going!

You'll see that in my nationalities screen, it states I can speak Spanish. This isn't entirely untrue, though if there were an option of making it basic level, I would've selected that. I've been with my Colombian girlfriend for three years now, so I've picked up a fair amount of the language (though I did stop short of making it my second nationality)

Wish me luck! I'll try and keep you posted as much as I can - though I do have a 'real life' that can occasionally get in the way.

Season Target: It's all about survival in season one

[Cabaye]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=399162150

Our first international call up. This kid was here when I arrived. I got a feeling he's going to be an important part of the team. He's already my 3rd best striker.

[Gundo]

The reset date is 25th November Gundo.

Cheers, amended.

[legenary1]

Guys, would really appreciate your advice. I've been made another brilliant offer for one of my players: OFFER

Júlíusson: Profile

It's a great offer and we would have him until the end of next season but he's come through our youth system and I think he has the potential to stay in the first team for the next ten years at least, maybe even his whole career. But £2m isn't a sum to be sniffed at.

What should I do?

EDIT: FINANCIAL POSITION

[Gundo]

Guys, would really appreciate your advice. I've been made another brilliant offer for one of my players: OFFER

Júlíusson: Profile

It's a great offer and we would have him until the end of next season but he's come through our youth system and I think he has the potential to stay in the first team for the next ten years at least, maybe even his whole career. But £2m isn't a sum to be sniffed at.

What should I do?

EDIT: FINANCIAL POSITION

What do you feel you need more at present, the player or the money?

[legenary1]

The player. Financially we're pretty secure and the CL/EL money this year has been a big boost. Think I'll keep him. Have got quite attached to him!

[Gundo]

The player. Financially we're pretty secure and the CL/EL money this year has been a big boost. Think I'll keep him. Have got quite attached to him!

Yeah I find it very difficult to part with a player you get attached too, ones that you've watched come through the youth set-up and progress to the first team. Money isn't everything.

[legenary1]

Yeah I find it very difficult to part with a player you get attached too, ones that you've watched come through the youth set-up and progress to the first team. Money isn't everything.

Exactly that. I had to sell Agnarsson as he wouldn't sign a contract but Júlíusson will be with us for a long time I feel!

[legenary1]

Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs 2018 Season

Competitions

League - Upper League Cup - Icelandic Cup - Champions Cup - Champions League - Europa League

Key Players

Hafsteinn Briem - Moved back into the Adv. PM position and thrived as I knew he would, after Agnarsson leaving. 9 goals, 9 assists from 33 matches.

Arnar Már Gudjónsson - Solid season from our attacking RB, contributing a staggering 15 assists and 6 goals from 35 matches.

Einar Karl Júlísson - A huge season for Júlíusson in which he converted his potential into real substance, aiding the cause with 15 goals and 13 assists from 34 matches. We rejected a £2m bid for him from Rosenborg.

Exciting Youth Prospects

Valdemar Kamban - Signed Kamban for £45k in July, and he notched 5 goals in his first 12 matches. Very excited to see how Kamban will progress. Atlason hasn't been consistent enough this season so next year Kamban will feature heavily.

Einar Magnússon - This lad came through our youth setup (which we're pouring good money into!) and I'm very optimistic about him. Good mental stats and a possible candidate for our next attacking full back after Gudjónsson retires.

Freyr Pórdarson - Another young striker that has great potential.

Others

Rúnar Eiriksson is ticking along nicely, playing lots of matches but not setting the world alight. Solid progress.

Porvaldur Sigurdsson has been hampered by injuries, hopefully he can kick on next season.

Overview

On paper a brilliant season, we won three of four domestic competitions, missing out only on the Icelandic Cup.

We scored one less point than last season in the league but it felt like we just did enough in lots of the matches, not playing well but getting the results; a sign of a top team?

We lost the Icelandic Cup final in frustrating circumstances. Breidablik had six days rest before the match and we only had three due to success in other competitions, which was disappointing as we could only field half of our first team.

Winning the Upper League Cup in extra-time of the final was a relief if nothing else. The one domestic competition that seemed to keep evading us, it was nice to get it under our belt.

Our European adventures this season reaped lots of financial rewards. We were drawn again FC Midtjylland in the second Qualifier of the CL and managed to beat them 2-1 away from home, then drawing 1-1 at home just doing enough to progress through to the next round. In the third Qualifier, we faced a strong BATE Borisov side and somehow managed to beat them 1-0 at home before doubling our first leg lead in the second leg, going 2-0 up on aggregate after just 12 minutes of the second tie. Unfortunately, after withstanding attack after attack, we conceded three goals and were eliminated from our first Champions League campaign. I felt more than happy with the way we played, definitely not embarrassing ourselves.

We were then drawn in the Europa League Playoff against Bayer Leverkusen of all teams. As soon as I saw the draw I knew it was going to be a damage limitation task; they were simply streets ahead of us. We lost the first leg 4-1 away from home and went into the second looking to give a good account of ourselves. With fifteen minutes of the tie remaining, we found ourselves 6-1 down on aggregate and not showing much fight. Three late goals and one from Leverkusen meant we finished the second leg tied 3-3 and 7-4 down on aggregate; again not embarrassing ourselves.

We sold Gabriel Ingi Agnarsson to IFK Goteborg for £1.2m + 50% of his next transfer, which I'm hoping will bring in a few million when one of the big boys picks him up, no doubt they will.

To conclude, a great season, we did well in Europe, maintained our good work domestically and have picked up a few more exciting youth prospects. Of the 26 players in the first team squad, half are 20 or younger. Bodes very well for the future.

Finances

A hugely successful season, financially. The sale of Agnarsson combined with our European run effectively paid for the stadium extension and the £850k we've spent on the Youth Setup!

Next Season

Same as last season: Win the Upper League Cup, Icelandic Cup and Úrvalsdeild, make as much money from CL and keep bringing youngsters through.

Career Overview

Season  Division          Position  Upper League Cup  Icelandic Cup Europa League Champions League  Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014    1. Deild Karla    3rd       Semi-Final        3rd Rnd       N/A           N/A               Consolidated
2015    1. Deild Karla    1st       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Promotion
2016    Úrvalsdeild       4th       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Qualified for Europe!
2017    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Quarter-Final     Winners       2nd Quali     N/A               League & Cup double, qualified for CL!
2018    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Winners           Finalists     Playoff       3rd Quali         League, UL Cup and Champs Cup treble!

[La Furia Roja]

Just holidaying through Belgium, never know might end up on a plane again

[Gundo]

Just holidaying through Belgium, never know might end up on a plane again

Welcome back, yeah hopefully another memorable save in the offing.

[Andrew Haines]

RFC Liege

2015/16

Belgian Third Division A -

12th

Overview

A reasonable start. Form improved as I was able to bring in players of a higher standard and I'm hopeful that next season we can have a shot at the top end of the table.

Year		League		Pos.	Champ.L	Uefa	Cup	Achievement
2015/16	`	3rdDiv A	12th	NA	NA	6thRnd	NA	

[Cabaye]

Mikkelin Palloilijat - 2014-2015 Finish First Division

A very solid first season, my lads did well. Unfortunately Torres and Udah want out, and no attacking players came through my academy. I've got them til the end of 2016, unless they have a change of heart and sign a contract...

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=400991087 : Table

The Future

Kai http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26231770910518705/F941BA64FF37C30D92A497E8E25EBE318453D5AD/ Attracting the attention of HJK already, and has already expressed his intention to play in the Champions league. I dropped him to the u19s for a bit and managed to get him to extend his contract, but I'm sure he wont be here long.

Konsta (the monsta) http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=400991718

New in this year

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=400883782 Galin: Will retrain as a striker as I play a 4-2-2-2 narrow due to limited stock of wide players.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=400883752 Eetu: Needed a left back, will lsot straight in my squad

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=400883554 Harri: I'm pretty strong at the back but I'm sure he'll be welcome in the long run

Year		League		Pos.	Champ.L	Uefa	Cup	      Achievement
2015/16	`	1st Division 	5th	NA	NA	  4th Round	  NA	

[legenary1]

HK Season 6 Spoiler

[legenary1]

Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs 2019 Season

Competitions

Table - Upper League Cup - Icelandic Cup - Champions Cup - Champions League

Key Players

Einar Karl Júlísson - Another great season, 21 goals and 13 assists in 36 matches including 9 goals in the Champions League. This season was a big one for Júlíusson, when we needed him most he stood up. Great season.

Emil Atlason - I'm still not convinced Emil is the man to take us forward but he always posts a great return. 24 goals and 12 assists from 35 matches can't be argued with.

Exciting Youth Prospects

Valdemar Kamban - We have a lot of exciting youth players but by far the most exciting is Valdemar. 7 goals and 8 assists from 14 starts (15 sub apps) is a great return. Kamban always does a job when he comes into the team.

Others

Rúnar Eiriksson has cemented his place as our deep lying playmaker. Solid, unspectacular and tidy. Recycles possession nicely and rarely puts a foot wrong.

Overview

Another brilliant season, we won three of four domestic competitions, missing out only on the Icelandic Cup again.

In the league we were unstoppable, posting a record 53 points from just 22 matches. We usually dropped points in between European fixtures, which is understandable now that we travel to Italy, England and Russia(!).

To me the Upper League Cup feels like the League Cup to Jose Mourinho; it's the first competition you have the chance to win and it really sets the tone for the season. We won it for the second time this season, which really installs that winning mentality into the group.

Our Icelandic Cup run ended very prematurely this year, frustrating as I don't believe any team in Iceland is fit to clean our boots, such is the gulf in class.

Champions League

With the league as good as tied up (we needed one point from our last four matches), we started the Group Stage in good spirits. My only aspiration for the Group Stage was to give a respectable account of ourselves, score a couple of goals and not get beaten too heavily. Third place would be a miracle.

I wasn't aware of this before but our U19s play in a youth replica of the tournament, which is very exciting for me as I believe the best way to improve players in FM and IRL is game time, so we'd be playing at least six matches against top quality young players.

Matchday 1 v Man Utd (H)

Manchester United were the first team to visit us at "home" (we play our CL matches at Fram's 15,182 capacity stadium Laugardalsvöllur). 9,522 people showed up for the historic match. Tactically, I didn't want to change anything for the first game, I went with my strongest XI and played exactly how we would against any other team. The first half was as you would expect: us pinned in our half, attempted to restrict them to long shots. It went according to plan too. I was very happy with 0-0 at half time, they didn't really have a great deal of chances either. Unfortunately, the second half was a different story, Danny Welbeck scored in the 48th, 71st and 93rd minute to give United a deserved 3-0 win. A fair scoreline and confirmation of the gulf in class at this level.

Youth result: 1-2. Ásgeir Rúnarsson with our goal.

Matchday 2 v Roma (A)

After losing 3-0 to Man Utd, I wanted to change our style of play so I told the team to drop deeper and play narrower whilst altering the mentality from 'standard' to 'counter'. 37,331 people attended (just over half full) the Stade Olimpico in Rome and the vast majority of the crowd would've gone to get their half time pie (pizza?) and pint frustrated. 0-0 at half-time. We were solid, much like the Man Utd match, hardworking, difficult to breakdown and looking good in possession, when we would wrestle it away from them that was. Unfortunately, again, we conceded an early goal in the second half, this time Antoine Griezmann snaking his way past Magnússon at left back before goosing G.Júlíusson at centre back and firing in from the angle. A phenomenal strike from a phenomenal player. We stuck to the game plan knowing that Roma hadn't really had much with me thinking that if we could get to 80 minutes with it still 1-0, we'd have a good go in the last 10 minutes. And then it happened. Every manager worth his salt will know a good chance when he sees it. We broke from a Roma free-kick in the 80th minute, Pétursson alert as ever with a good long ball to Sigurdsson on the left wing who nodded it down to Eiriksson in the middle of the park, who fed sub striker Pórdarson who in turn played Sigurdsson back in down the left wing. Years of playing FM and watching football had heightened my Chanceometer. A flat out race between Sigurdsson, a 23-year-old nippy winger with 16 acceleration, versus Argentinian international Enzo Beloso with 15 accleration. Sigurdsson did enough to get there first and won the race. He was in. Sigurdsson raced into the area with no-one for support, he was but one Icelandic man stranded abroad in a cauldron in Rome and then he hits it near post. Always go across the keeper you're told, make him work, get the ball on target and get a corner out of it worst case scenario. But Icelandic men don't play the percentages, Magnús Pór Sigurdsson has ice in his veins, as do all his compatriots. He thunders it near post, beating Asmir Begovic before clattering off the post and back into the arms of the grateful Bosnian. And just like that, our honeymoon in Rome was over. Thoroughly happy with that, though stealing a point in Rome would've been cause for a trip to the local for a bottle of Southern Comfort. Never mind, we move on.

Youth results: 2-1! Ásgeir Rúnarsson with both goals.

Matchday 3 v Zenit (H)

I didn't pay any attention to either of the three teams squads but, at a first glance I would've said Zenit were the weakest, yet still far too strong for us. When the third matchday came around I thought we'd have a go at Zenit, buoyed from our near-miss in Rome. And then it happened. Arnarson, Júlíusson and Hauksson are moving the ball well in the Zenit half before Júlíusson plays the ball to Hauksson who knows exactly where Júlíusson is going; in behind the full back. He doesn't even have to look, he instinctively knows and slides the ball through, perfectly weighted. Júlíusson is in behind with just the keeper to beat, he takes a touch and laces the ball across the keeper and into the back of the net. 1-0 and the crowd are going mental. Unfortunately the lead lasted all of three minutes before Oleg Shatov scored. Once more, we went in at half-time level and we had even managed to score! Also once more, however, we conceded straight after the restart with Oleg Shatov scoring his second and what turned out to be the winning goal in the 46th minute. We had a couple of half chances but nothing of note. Another stellar performance from the Icelandic underdogs.

Youth result: 1-1. Ásgeir Rúnarsson with his (and our) fourth goal of the Group Stage.

Halfway Report

Happy with the first team's performance in the three matches, certainly not disgraced ourselves and really given it a good go.

The U19s have been brilliant and find themselves in second place with four points. Man Utd top the group with seven, Zenit in third with three points and Roma bottom with just one point.

Matchday 4 v Zenit (A)

After taking the lead in the Home fixture, I thought we would be able to give Zenit a game in Russia but this wasn't the case. After a cagey opening 25 minutes, they scored two goals in 10 minutes leaving us 2-0 down with 35 minutes on the clock. Our right winger Júlíusson pulled one back with a trademark bullet from the edge of the box going across the keeper (I can't tell you how many times he's done that). Half time oranges were eaten 2-1 down. Not bad. I subbed off both full backs to give them a rest and put young striker Kamban upfront but to no avail. Zenit scored again to finish us off 3-1 and that officially meant we were eliminated. Luckily, though, Roma only have 3 points so, as unlikely as it is, third place is not out of the question and the Italians won't fancy coming to Iceland I can tell you that for sure.

Youth result: 0-2.

Matchday 5 v Man Utd (A)

With three weeks between fixtures and the ever-presents in the first team spent at the end of their regular season, I gave the first team a week off of training hoping that would freshen them up a little. The emphatic 5-1 scoreline suggests it did the opposite. Apart from Hafsteinn Briem burying a 25 yard volley, we offered little else and it could have been so many more had United converted more of their 31 shots. Conceding two goals from set pieces was particularly hard to take.

Youth result: 0-2.

Matchday 6 v Roma (H)

I was slightly despondent going after the United result. I felt we had let ourselves down a little in the way we lost that match. As I didn't know when we were next going to be featuring in the Group Stage and with literally nothing to lose (Roma drew with Zenit in matchday 5 so we would finish bottom regardless), I decided to give the team a rousing team talk, tell them to hassle the opposition and to get stuck in and that's exactly what they did. Valdemar Kamban was playing left wing for me today and pounced on a rebound in the 39th minute to give us a well-earned lead. Very happy with that, nothing less than we deserved after a half full of us attacking and Roma defending(!). With a minute to play of the half, we had a throw in deep into the Roma half and, when Eiriksson swung the ball to the back post, Matarr Jobe was on hand to volley home. 2-0 up against Roma at half time! I couldn't quite believe it.

Half time came and I had to make the two important decisions. Firstly - tell the team I'm pleased or warn against complacency. Heart says pleased, head says complacent. Complacent it is, and it worked. All focused. Secondly, stick or twist? We knew Roma would come at us in the second half, they're a team full of internationals. Fortune favours the brave so we stuck as we were.

Second half came and to my absolute delight, Kamban put us three up from a position similar to Sigurdsson's chance against Roma in the reverse tie. Pandemonium on the sidelines with the HK bench going wild. Thirty minutes left, surely Roma would throw the kitchen sink at us now. They had nothing or, more accurately, we gave them nothing. Roma ended the match with 0 shots on target. Staggering performance from HK and, had it not been for Roma snatching a draw against Zenit, we would've finished third. Outstanding stuff.

Youth result: 3-1 Ásgeir Rúnarsson bagged one and Gylfi Örn Öfjord got two but it wasn't enough, we finished third level on points with Zenit.

U19s Group

Finances

Reaching the Champions League Group Stage is a game changer. £7m plus all of the added benefits of six fixtures against world class sides means we made a huge profit, enough to keep us going for a long time.

Next Season

Domestically, the aim will always be to win every competition. In Europe we over-achieved massively. I will be ecstatic to make the group stages of the CL again, though I certainly am not expecting to.

Miscellaneous

After reaching the CL group stage, the board granted my request to go full time from the start of next season, as well as upgrading everything! Stadium, training facilities, youth facilities the lot.

Career Overview

Season  Division          Position  Upper League Cup  Icelandic Cup Europa League Champions League  Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014    1. Deild Karla    3rd       Semi-Final        3rd Rnd       N/A           N/A               Consolidated
2015    1. Deild Karla    1st       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Promotion
2016    Úrvalsdeild       4th       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Qualified for Europe!
2017    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Quarter-Final     Winners       2nd Quali     N/A               League & Cup double, qualified for CL!
2018    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Winners           Finalists     Playoff       3rd Quali         League, UL Cup and Champs Cup treble!
2019    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Winners           Qtr-Final     N/A           Group Stage       League, UL Cup and Champs Cup treble

[legenary1]

Also, what I think will make next year very interesting, domestically, is that the rest of the league played their last game on 29th September and we played our last match on 10th December so nowhere near as long time laying on a beach...

[legenary1]

Also of the 8 teams that finished bottom in the Group Stage, only 3 got more points than us, therefore we were the 28th best team in Europe! Not bad considering we were ranked 385th at the start of the season.

[Cabaye]

Mikkelin Palloilijat - 2015-2016 Finish First Division - 2nd

We came pretty close this year. We were one dodgy period away from promotion, and Torres getting injured during the run in ended our title hopes. We played Ilves with 5 games to go and we were only 4 points behind. Sadly the best we could muster was a 3-3 draw, not quite enough to stop them racing away.

I managed to hire a dedicated fitness coach after pestering the board, so finally my players have stopped moaning. Torres signed a new contract which is great news, even if he was very poor during the first half of the season.

By Just missing out on promotion it looks like Udah and Popovich are not going to sign on with me. They are easily my two best midfielders, so it will suck to see them go, but there isn't much I can do to keep them here.

Table

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095146/433007B58F864CF5CE23DC245BC45B9F8AA4EBEA/ - Graph

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095017/A0702DA0A8F7A06716F9D88C0DBFE23E60DF1999/- Overview

The Present

Kai - Plagued by injury after injury Kai couldn't get going. HJK are still after him though so it looks like he'll be off soon anyway. He's easily the best forward we've produced since the start of the game, and this season's intake is lacking a striker so I'll be gutted when he does leave. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095869/0FCC68F432D875572A3184A1CD6B036D97FE19AA/

Konsta - Much the same as Kai, spent most of the season injured allowing others to step up... http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095707/CDE9E3A7B815CF1109A9EF1E9BCBEF302A70D430/

Eetu - Became my first team left back, and was called up to the U19s. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095400/AA9AFF0BBD2C4CF0BCE14CAD0E0F2A779004F4DA/

Koisinen - Solid as a rock. Promoted from U18s as star rating dictated he was ready. Didn't let me down.http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095578/D796893C1B4649D92E1A12844EC7FEA498DD0576/

Iro The other Koisinen was very impressive too. Came on massively this season. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774095274/9700A17B0716DE583ED45F2F93D52BB454EE4B09/

Galin and Harri didn't quite make it to the first team, so i'll keep any eye on them next season to see if they deserve promotion.

The Future

Ari Lindholm - I don't play wingers so Ari will either be retrained as a AMC or RB. Both sets of stats are looking distinctly unfavourable though. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774094714/0C5FD7FCDA05B2BB1E1CF7A0BC8EFAD0B3477954/

Jukka - Hey look another centre back. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774094571/1FD637050FB6C22D6095AFD67C8D752D6623B8C2/

Appo - Lauri Dalla Valle's spiritual brother (FM legend). Plays in a much needed position, though that determination stat is appalling! http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774094384/67146EBEFD95DDE51FBBE7E72FFAAA7058A96BF1/

Marku - A rightback. Much needed backup. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774094384/67146EBEFD95DDE51FBBE7E72FFAAA7058A96BF1/

Ben Carter - The English invasion begins! Looks like he'll be a star too. I'll need to work on those physical stats a bit however. http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774093967/468E609BC9EA47C4B11B0157367A6D70D1726CED/

Tuomo - Left back cover. Sweet! http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/26232054774093626/3EEF3292B30DEEA571654E45DE98AFF35C3F9C45/

All in all a really good intake. I'd kill for a GK and striker next year. My poor 40 year old keeper can't keep going forever. I've got 2 or 3 2-3* potential GK's who will be filling the gaps until the SI gods let me have a decent regen haha!

Other info

* Popovic won goal of the season with a 30 yard screamer

* I won manager of the year

* The bank balance remains exceedingly healthy

Goals

Minimise the loss of Popovic and Udah

Blood some of the youngsters

Keep hold of my star players

Year League          Pos.CL Uefa Cup Achievement
2015/16 1st Division 5th NA NA 4th Round  NA	
2016/17 1st Division 2nd NA NA 5th Round  NA

Edit: My GK has stated his intention to retire I've begged him to reconsider. Uh-oh.

[legenary1]

Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs 2020 Season

Competitions

Table - Upper League Cup - Icelandic Cup - Champions Cup - Champions League

As cliché as this might sound, this season was absolutely crucial. For the past six seasons we had always overachieved with young players on a tight budget. Yes, we had borrowed a bit of money but we were solvent. This season, after turning professional and sextupling, anything other than success was unacceptable. The budget went from £10k p/w to £60k p/w, with nearly all of the squad and staff moving onto full time contracts and adding a fair amount of new faces, including far too many non-EU nationals (you're only allowed 3 per matchday squad).

Upper League Cup

After first winning this in 2018 then retaining it last year, I do not want to relinquish our deathgrip on it. It's the first domestic competition and will always be taken seriously by HK as long as I'm in charge! Seven wins out of seven in the group stage with 25 goals scored and just 2 conceded suggests the players took it equally as seriously. Fram were seen off in the quarters, while Valur (promoted last year as our feeder club) took us to penalties, though I was confident especially as our fifth penalty taker was Hafsteinn Briem (all hail!). I've likened my approach to Mourinho's before and the final was another typical example of that; a 2-0 win, nothing silly, get the job done give them nothing and bring the trophy home.

Champions Cup

Nothing to note, 3-1 win against First Division Selfoss. Two cups out of two.

League Campaign

We have started both of the last two league campaigns on fire both wobbling a little and then powering on to win the title. In 2018 we started with seven consecutive wins and in 2019 we started with nine. This season we started with eight consecutive wins before slipping up in the match three days before we started our Champions League campaign (shock). We went onto win the league by 13 points (same as last year), with 52 points.

Champions League

After our heroics in reaching the group stage last year, we again begun our campaign in the second qualifying round against Hibernians of Malta. Our record win (6-0) was broken in the first leg as we put seven past the bewildered Maltese in their own backyard before breaking our record for a third time in less than five weeks by beating them 8-0 at home. 15-0 on aggregate wasn't flattering, only ever one side in it.

As expected, the first leg of the third qualifying round was a lot tighter and in Dinamo of Croatia, we came up against much tougher opposition. The first leg at home was frustrating, especially as we created a number of good chances but couldn't convert any of them. In total, both teams mustered 26 shots with just two hitting the target. Our first stalemate for over 16 months. On a positive note, we didn't concede an away goal so if we score first in Croatia, we'll be in the driving seat.

Between the two most crucial fixtures of our season so far, was the small matter of an Icelandic Cup semi-final. We rested the whole XI and thankfully won 4-0.

As you would expect, the first half was as cagey a match as I've seen with less than a handful of shots and the deadlock wasn't broken until the 53rd minute when cultured centre half Júlíusson volleyed home from 12 yards out! This really opened the game up but proved to be the only goal, with us going through 1-0 on aggregate. Before the game I felt whoever scored first would win this tie and I'm so pleased to be proven right!

Due to our lowly status, we weren't seeded for the Playoff draw, meaning we would face Basel, BATE Borisov, Rosenborg, Rangers or Helsingborg. I was hoping for Helsingborg, though we did overcome Rosenborg last year. We were drawn against Rosenborg with the first leg at home four days after the Icelandic Cup final.

After successfully negotiating the Icelandic Cup final, we faced Rosenborg in the first leg of our pivotal Playoff tie. The first half went perfectly according to plan; we were solid and Lopez in midfield was running the show, which meant we went in 2-0 up at HT. Whether it was my team talk or something the players ate, I don't know but within ten minutes of the second half we had been pegged back to 2-2 before Pórdarson put us ahead again a few minutes later. Not long after that, Rosenborg equalised again and that was how it would end. 3-3 at home. Not happy with conceding three away goals but we're still in the tie.

Again, we had a domestic fixture between European matches and negotiated that by resting the whole XI. Our season really does pivot around whether we get into the group stages, so this match was crucial. I felt that the first goal of the second leg would be crucial, as it so often is. We drew first blood in the 13th minute with Freyr Pórdarson nodding in from a corner and, remarkably, that was the only goal of the game. Into the group stage! I really can't stress how important this achievement is. Obviously, last year was fantastic but this year we had the added pressure of a wage budget of £60k as opposed to a mere £10k. Financially, it would've been very damaging to miss out on the group stage this year, particularly because the board have, rightly, invested so much of last years money into the infrastructure of the club.

The Group Stage drew us against holders Man City, Bayern Munich and Benfica. Ha! We'll take fourth again.

Finances

Although reaching the Group Stage of the CL last year was big, this year was bigger as we had the added pressure of having invested most of the money in the infrastructure as well as sextupling our budget (£10k p/w to £60k p/w). Our expenses are relatively low compared to the prize money the CL brings. If we can continue making the Group Stages, we can really push on from there.

Next Season

Same again: dominate domestically, reach the Group Stage again.

Career Overview

Season  Division          Position  Upper League Cup  Icelandic Cup Europa League Champions League  Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014    1. Deild Karla    3rd       Semi-Final        3rd Rnd       N/A           N/A               Consolidated
2015    1. Deild Karla    1st       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Promotion
2016    Úrvalsdeild       4th       Quarter-Final     Qtr-Final     N/A           N/A               Qualified for Europe!
2017    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Quarter-Final     Winners       2nd Quali     N/A               League & Cup double, qualified for CL!
2018    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Winners           Finalists     Playoff       3rd Quali         League, UL Cup and Champs Cup treble!
2019    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Winners           Qtr-Final     N/A           Group Stage       League, UL Cup and Champs Cup treble
2020    Úrvalsdeild       1st       Winners           Winners       N/A           Group Stage       Domestic Quadruple!

[Brucehum]

So I've got FM2015 at last. Played a few hours (I have maybe 9 steam achievements unlocked, so haven't played that much) and decided to look for a challenge... was doubting between Dafuge's, Big Euro and finally I decided to go for this.

It is quite the opposite of my usual save: journeyman, jumping from team to team, different countries, etc. So, it will be a challenge to stay at one club.

I have chosen Scotland. Brora Rangers came up easily, winning 2-1 at home and drawing 1-1.

BRORA RANGERS

Manager - Team Profile - Team Info

facilities - Stadium photo - Players - Squad Depth

2015, Scottish League 2, odds

board: mid table

press: expected to fight for relegation

Scottish cup: 3rd round

Objectives

Strengthen squad

Be combative

[Brucehum]

BRORA RANGERS

2015 Season

Biker has improved as manager, he studied during the year and got National License C.

League:

League Table

League Positions (in green)

Playoff semifinal Better in both games

Playoff final Better in 2-2 home draw. Away game we won on penalties, literally... we scored 1 during regular time, 1 during extra time and the 5 of the penalty shootout.

Fixtures 1

Fixtures 2

Great unexpected result. We won promotion in penalties. I expect not to have to do that again!! Too tense as it was a very even game.

The turning point in the league, almost for bad, was during the 4th and last leg. We where fighting for 1st and won with a thumping 5-0 vs direct rivals Annan. That was our undoing, as Annan injured 7 of our players (and got no cards whatsoever for that!!!). 5 of those players where injured for a month or more (but they where all back for promotion playoffs). I almost thought of dropping from the challenge right then, half your team injured in one game with no referee intervention is not too normal. We only got 2 points in the whole month after that.

Players

Transfers. I brought in 12 players. Some quite successful, some not so.

Connor Scully. Young striker I brought into the team, beloved by the fans. I'll have to think of some tactic with 2 strikers to have someone give him company, as my 3 tactics are lone striker.

Grant Munro, veteran central defender who decided from day one that he was too good for our team and was not renewing his contract, not even when we went up.

Scott Graham, versatile attacking midfielder who can play almost anywhere in midfield to striker. He was a pleasure to see play.

Lewis Turner, untiring winger who played almost every single game the team has played. Played mostly as midfield winger, but also in defence when injuries dictated it.

Cup

In the cup competitions we did as expected, getting eliminated by stronger teams, playing very well those games.

Challenge Cup 1st round: we lost away 2-3 against SC side Alba

League Cup 1st round: we lost home 1-0 against SP side Hibernian (demoted this year to SC)

Scottish Cup. Won 2nd round against small BSC Glasgow 2-0 and lost in 3rd round home 3-4 against SL1 side (promoted to SC) Ayr.

Finances

The team did ok this season, as can be seen in finances

Objectives

Strengthen the team.

Consolidate in SL1.

We are seen as candidates to go down, 1000/1.

Improve as Manager (get national B)

The team has turned professional, and the scouting range has improved to UK & Ireland.

Season  |   League   | Position  |    Cup     |   Europe    | Top Scorer (Lge)        | Ave. Attendance | Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
2015    |   2nd Div  |    4th    |  3rd Rnd   |      -      | Connor Scully (18)      | ---             | Promoted in playoffs 
2016    |   1st Div  |           |            |      -      |                         |                 |

[legenary1]

Solid first season, brucehum

[larxus]

Season 2019 Review

FC Djursland

Season Review: We performed better than expected, though honestly, we could have performed a lot better. We were 3rd for quite a while, till injuries and drop of form brought us down to 8th, but good thing we managed to pick ourselves up to fight for 6th position.

Board expectations:

Superliga: Stay clear of relegation

Media prediction: 12th

Danish Cup: Fourth Round

Results:

Superliga: 6th | League Table | Player Stats

Danish Cup: Semi-Final

Season Summary:

Transfers

Finances

Key Performers:

Kevin Stoyle: Our drop in form coincided with his injury which lasted for 3 months. While his technical stats are not that impressive, his mental and physical stats compensate for them We probably could have done better if he wasn't sidelined for so long.

Paul Fairclough: Had a really strong partnership with Kevin, so when Kevin was out, he wasn't performing well for that period. Nonetheless, was shortlisted for the 2019/2020 Danish Superliga Spring Player of the Year and broke the club record for goals scored in a season.

Sebastian Insaurralde: Got him on a free transfer, so definitely a bargain. Quite solid at the back, though aerial balls are his bane.

Youth Prospect:

Allan Bonde | Year 1: Gonna pay special attention to him. Seems like a keeper.

Year   Division          Position   Danish Cup      Notes
2015   Second Division      5th     Second Round       -
2016   Second Division      1st     Third Round     Promoted
2017   First Division       4th     Second Round       -
2018   First Division       2nd     Second ROund    Promoted
2019   Superliga            6th     Semi-Finals        -

[Gundo]

Same old Professional / Semi-Pro division split in the Norwegian first division!

[Gundo]

Randaberg IL - 2021 - Norwegian Adeccoligaen

League table

Much better than last term with regards to the league finish and again it has become a Professional v Semi issue again, with the exception of Lyn. Special mention to Mathias Paulsen our goalie who is the record appearance holder with 239, most of which have been made under my management:cool:.

Squad

Star players

Leif Rondesveit - Top scorer yet again and hit a great tally of 23 goals in the league.

Arent Emil Hauge - Wasn't as good as last season (I'm blaming the update) but still did well.

The Next Martin Ødegaard's...

Aleksander Sivertsen - Dominant again and is by far the best defender at the club. Progressed some more and mixed it up in the Norwegian U21's (7caps).

No decent players through the youth, still not being allowed to upgrade facilities.

Next season...

Challenge the professional clubs and a cup run!

Season  |   League   | Position  |    Cup     |   Europe    | Top Scorer (Lge)        | Ave. Attendance | Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
2015    | 2nd Div |      7th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Christer Håland (15)         | 203       | None 
2016    | 2nd Div |      7th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Mathias Perttamo (11)        | 154       | None
2017    | 2nd Div |      4th     | 2nd Rnd   |      -      | Martin Hummervoll (8)        | 187       | None
2018    | 2nd Div |     11th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Hummervoll/Petersen (5)      | 150       | None
2019    | 2nd Div |      1st     | 2nd Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (13)              | 250       | Promotion!
2020    | 1st Div |      11th    | 3rd Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (13)              | 311       | None
2021    | 1st Div |      9th     | 3rd Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (23)              | 470       | None

[Brucehum]

Not being allowed to upgrade facilities, same here. Sad. But you seem to be doing fairly well, stood up there. Now to improve.

[Brucehum]

BRORA RANGERS

2016 Season

This year Biker got National License B

League:

League Table

League Positions

Friendlies. Mostly money making ones. Tried to see what happens when you play Celtic, the best team in Scotland, in a free flowing attacking and careless way.

Fixtures 1 Horrendous first games.

Fixtures 2 Horrible last 6 games!

Horrible start, with 5 points in our first quarter (9 games). Made me change my tactics from last year to more aggressive ones (3-4-3, etc) which worked marvellously well during the second quarter of the league. At one moment we managed to have 8 players in the best team of the week (and we where playing 3-4-3, not 4-4-2 which could have been 9 or 10). But then other teams seemed to get on us, and our third quarter was decent and the fourth was horrible, with 3 victories and 6 almost consecutive defeats in the last games. This had us very near relegation (3 points) when before we had been fighting for 5th, with maybe chances to get playoff at 4th, for most of the league (when we fixed our horrendous start)

Players

Fairly happy with my transfers this year. Only 4. I'm trying to keep a good reign of finances.

Paul Sludden. Top scorer in the league with 22 goals. Towards the end of the league, I put him as number 1 penalty kicker, as he was our second best, and a midfielder was shooting those kicks. He would have bagged 4-5 more otherwise.

Jordan Lowdon, the winger per excellence. Can play in any winger position in the field, from his natural D(L) to AML to DR to AMR.

Martin Maclean Well rounded midfielder who created some good plays for us.

Steven Swinglehurst, slow, but solid defender. A Newcomer this year who did fairly well.

Last year top player, Connor Scully, was also our 4th best player. Did not score much, but was our captain. Beloved by the fans, my coaches keep saying he is no good for us. Even so, he put a very good performance and I can not remove him from the team or the fans will get angry.

Youth intake

2-3 decent youth players.

Ben Moore, promising midfielder. Tempted to start him in some games to see if he evolves faster as DM.

David Stevenson. GK, lets see how he evolves.

Cup

In the cup competitions we did slightly better than expected, winning our first game and losing the next in all cup competitions.

Challenge Cup 2nd round.

League Cup 2nd round.

Scottish Cup 4th round.

Finances

The team did also ok this season: finances. Mainly thanks to the friendlies.

Objectives

Strengthen the team.

Try to reach playoffs in SL1.

Improve as Manager (get national A)

Edit

We have the lowest attendance of Scottish division soccer. Lowest average attendance for a SL2 team was 320.

For the 2016 season we had 12.000 to spend in wages, for 2017 we have 20.000. Nice increase there, will allow me to get 3-4 decent players (one hopes)

Season  |   League   | Position  |    Cup     |   Europe    | Top Scorer (Lge)        | Ave. Attendance | Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
2015    |   2nd Div  |   4th     |  3rd Rnd   |      -      | Connor Scully (18)      | 115*            | Promoted in playoffs 
2016    |   1st Div  |   8th     |  4th Rnd   |      -      | Paul Sludden (22)       | 217             | stayed clear of relegation (barely)

[Gundo]

Not being allowed to upgrade facilities, same here. Sad. But you seem to be doing fairly well, stood up there. Now to improve.

Yeah I don't know what is bugging me more at the moment; the lack of progression facilites wise or not being able to turn professional to allow us to compete. Likely outcome is we will spend many more seasons in this division.

Good job on surviving and ouch on the Celtic loss. I find the ME really punishes you for going over the top against better teams, it seems much more favourable to a patient approach.

[Gundo]

Youth Upgrade!!!

[Brucehum]

Youth Upgrade!!!

So there is hope! Now you only need professional. (I was lucky to get that when I went up to SL1)

[Gundo]

So there is hope! Now you only need professional. (I was lucky to get that when I went up to SL1)

Yeah long overdue though and I think finances again don't seem too bad in Norway this year, professional status won't come until promotion I reckon.

[ReclaimTheKop]

Finally I have completed one of these challenges. I was Livadia in Belarus. This was the 2nd time we reached the final only this time the out come was a lot better. I've literally got 18 years worth of screenshots to upload one day.

image uploading site

[ReclaimTheKop]

For some reason it says I've won it before even though I haven't. It also used to say I had won the europa league even though I hadn't. Is that a bug?

[Gundo]

For some reason it says I've won it before even though I haven't. It also used to say I had won the europa league even though I hadn't. Is that a bug?

Well mate, super achievement. Sounds like a bug to to me, maybe raise it or see if it's been raised in bugs forum.

[Gundo]

Day off today! Only means one thing... Most of the day spent playing FM and trying to turn my Randaberg team into world beaters.

[Gundo]

Randaberg IL - 2022 - Norwegian Adeccoligaen

League table

Much the same story that played out last term; Professional team dominance. We managed to finish ahead of one pro team (Ulf/Kisa) and we got closer to the play-offs this time too, without ever really threatening to break in to them. Too many draws this year too, as we struggled break down some of the poorer sides at times. Very dissapointing cup exit in the first round away to Egersund despite dominating.

Squad

Star players

Leif Rondesveit - Top scorer again with 13 goals, missed a few games with injuries this time.

Aleksander Sivertsen - Captain and had another great year.

The Next Martin Ødegaard's...

Still struggling for decent youth even after being allowed to upgrade facilities, now rated just below average.

Next season...

Challenge the professional clubs, break into to play-offs and a cup run!

Season  |   League   | Position  |    Cup     |   Europe    | Top Scorer (Lge)        | Ave. Attendance | Achievements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
2015    | 2nd Div |      7th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Christer Håland (15)         | 203       | None 
2016    | 2nd Div |      7th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Mathias Perttamo (11)        | 154       | None
2017    | 2nd Div |      4th     | 2nd Rnd   |      -      | Martin Hummervoll (8)        | 187       | None
2018    | 2nd Div |     11th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Hummervoll/Petersen (5)      | 150       | None
2019    | 2nd Div |      1st     | 2nd Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (13)              | 250       | Promotion!
2020    | 1st Div |      11th    | 3rd Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (13)              | 311       | None
2021    | 1st Div |      9th     | 3rd Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (23)              | 470       | None
2021    | 1st Div |      7th     | 1st Rnd   |      -      | Rondesveit (13)              | 473       | None

[patrikholm]

Mladost Zdralovi (Druga Hrvatska Liga) - Challenge Start

My Profile - Personal information - Nationalities

New computer and first time for me in the challenges-forum here on Sigames. I'm a Swedish guy who loves to travel and absolutely fell in love with Croatia when I was in Split a couple of years ago. I do have the "Susie Real Name Fixes" loaded. Don't know if it's okay but I can't stand the "Champions Cup" so I loaded it anyway since it only changes the names. Don't know anything about the team or "city". According to Wikipedia Zdralovi is a village (with a population of approx. 1500...) near the city of Bjelovar (approx 40 000.)

12 players, a chairman, an under 19s manager, a head of youth development and me. Let the fun begin!

[Gundo]

Mladost Zdralovi (Druga Hrvatska Liga) - Challenge StartMy Profile - Personal information - Nationalities

New computer and first time for me in the challenges-forum here on Sigames. I'm a Swedish guy who loves to travel and absolutely fell in love with Croatia when I was in Split a couple of years ago. I do have the "Susie Real Name Fixes" loaded. Don't know if it's okay but I can't stand the "Champions Cup" so I loaded it anyway since it only changes the names. Don't know anything about the team or "city". According to Wikipedia Zdralovi is a village (with a population of approx. 1500...) near the city of Bjelovar (approx 40 000.)12 players, a chairman, an under 19s manager, a head of youth development and me. Let the fun begin!

Welcome and best of luck.The real name fix is fine. Cool badge.

[pole475]

Looking forward to trying this in Iceland.