[FM15] From Antwerp across Europe

[LilSaint]

Welcome to my journey save career thread.

Been a while since I've done a journey save, let alone create a career thread about it.

Thanks for reading & please feel free to contribute!

The Idea |

Like all great adventures, this one started with an idea. A spark of desire for something new.

I took my time getting accustomed to this new FM by starting a save with my beloved Standard, but now the full game has been released, it's time for something fresh.

I'll be starting the game unemployed, without any coaching badges and with sunday footballer reputation. I want to make this career as realistic as possible.

I only feel like managing in Europe, as I don't have a real sense of connection with teams outside of Europe and it's always hard for me to get into managing teams outside the EU.

The DB |

Here's the leagues I've loaded:

Starting profile

Overall goals |

I'm starting this save with just a few general goals and ideas, I'll adopt some new goals for every club I manage.

• Win the champions league
  
• Manage Belgium
  
• Win a world cup
  
• Get promoted
  
• Manage a team from a top league
  
• Have a self-developped youngster win player of the year
  

Tondella goals

• Get promoted
  
• Promote a youngster from new intake
  
• Win the first division
  
• Win the Champions League
  
• Win the domestic double
  
• Win the cup
  

Career history |

  Year  |        Team        |      League    |     Cup      |    Europe    |  Other  
--------|--------------------|----------------|--------------|--------------|------------------
2014-15 |    Tondela    

[LilSaint]

Three jobs available at the start of the game: Colombiers in France, Berchem in Belgium and Tondela in Portugal.

Applied for all three of them, but Berchem and Tondela have my preference as Berchem is close to home & I've never managed in Portugal before.

Ultimately Tondela were the first to offer me the job, so ..

Off to Portugal!

[LilSaint]

These facilities are actually better than I'd anticipated. I'll aim to develop own youth as much as possible throughout this save, so this is a bonus.

Other than that, there's ample room in the trophy cabinet.

The media expect us to finish 12th, the board seem to share that view.

Expectations seem to be fairly low/realistic. On to checking out what I'll be working with..

The team:

On the upside, there's enough choice to imply whatever tactic I want. On the downside, this is a pretty big squad & I'll have to keep control over these wages.

As far as tactics go, I've always played 3 at the back and relied heavily on wing backs so far. For this team though, I feel like I have to try to play a little safer.

I've opted for a 451/433 as I've predominantly used this formation in previous FMs. Going to a new club, new country is enough for now, I need something familiar

I'll try to play a possession based tactic, with shorter passing & exploiting the middle.

[LilSaint]

Friendlies 2014

The friendlies went reasonabily well, two big wins and two draws. I won't read into these results too much, the team is very unfamiliar with the tactic I've made them play, so I just want to get their tactical familiarity up asap.

Getting a few nice wins are a nice bonus though!

August 2014

Getting the show on the road in this second division!

Two frustrating games for us, losing 3-2 in the cup and league. We've played well though, hope the results will improve over time.

We turned things around after the 3-3 against Aves and have been undefeated for the remainder of August. Some incredibly frustrating games though, Aves included, we seem to score easily, but concede a lot as well. We're having trouble holding on to leads, with Aves as a fine example, we blew a 0-3 lead. Inexcusable.

On the upside: we managed a record 7-1 win in the cup. Both a club and cup record, that.

September 2014

Decent month for the league, getting 7/9.

[LilSaint]

October 2014

Mixed bag this. Sadly we couldn't turn around the 2-1 defeat against Arouca in the league cup. A 4-2 defeat at their ground sent us packing home.

Thankfully the board only expected us to 'be competitive' and don't seem unhappy about us going out in the second round.

We're doing better than expected in the league so far, but we really have to do something about conceding so many goals & being unable to hold on to leads, it's becoming a huge point of frustration.

[LilSaint]

November 2014

Dreadful month, 6 games without a win.

What's really starting to worry me here is the amount of goals we concede. 17 goals against us in 6 games is just inexcusable. I've noticed most teams in this division play 4-2-4 and so far, we haven't found a defensive solution to that. Really frustrating because we score a decent amount of goals ourselves, but we won't win many games if we continue to be so poor defensively.

We dropped a few places in the table, right to 12th where the board & media think we belong.

The only positive thing about this month is the fans/board are pleased with our ranking & overall performance. Even when we blew a 3-1 lead, we apparantly faced a higher rep opponent, because the fans would still be jubilant. I guess it's just frustrating for me then.

December 2014

Well, I guess we just don't like winter. Another horrid month, still in search of a win.

Frustrating because we generally play well, in midfield especially. Our defense though seems to be full of holes as if they're emulating Swiss cheese.

Another worrying observation is we're now no longer putting away our chances. I assume the poor form is getting in my strikers heads.

I'm thinking of switching tactics, the 451/433 is just not working against that cursed 4-2-4.

We've dropped to 17th now, if we don't turn this around we can find ourselves fighting relegation soon.

As an example, I'll take the Maritimo game:

We dominate possession and get 15 shots, but only a shocking 3 were actually on target.

We're unlucky to hit the woodwork twice but still, we need to improve our shooting drastically.

On the other end, the only 3 shots on target they had all went in. It's going to be hard winning games with performances like these.

Hopefully the new year can be the turning point we so desperately need.

[LilSaint]

January 2015

A new year, a fresh start?

I got rid of the 451 formation we used before and switched to a 4-2-3-1. In spite of being one of my favourite systems, I've never got it to work before so I was a bit apprehensive at first.

Thankfully, it seems to be just what we needed. We managed to 'only' concede 3 goals and score 7 in 3 games.

January has also been marked by the return of Andre Carvalhas who was injured. Clearly we've missed him as he bagged a hattrick in his second game.

We're still sitting 17th, but things are finally looking up.

[Jason the Yank]

Glad to see someone gave Colombiers a miss.

[LilSaint]

Haha, yeah I'd seen them in a few career threads on here and I preferred going to sunny Portugal anyway

[SRL88]

Glad to see someone gave Colombiers a miss.

Haha yes, this .

[megadan777]

Glad to see someone gave Colombiers a miss.

Agreed, good to see a different club for a change

[LilSaint]

Reading back I only just noticed that the Tondela board urged me to keep the DoF at the club. Never seen that before, he must be quite afraid of his position to have that added to the expectations list

[deltablue]

That's really not gone well of late.

[JD nawrat]

LilSaint

Shame how things have gone. Genuine contention for promotion after a while and now slumming it out at the bottom. I believe in you, though

[LilSaint]

LilSaint

Shame how things have gone. Genuine contention for promotion after a while and now slumming it out at the bottom. I believe in you, though

Cheers mate! Yeah, terrible 2 months we had. Should've probably switched to another formation sooner. Strange that most teams in this league play a 4-2-4, hadn't come across that in Belgian leagues so far.

Part of the appeal going abroad!

That's really not gone well of late.

Tell me about it

[LilSaint]

February 2015

Some mixed results, but after the horrible november/december I'm pretty pleased with these results all in all.

We're conceding fewer goals these days, even kept the 0 a few times which is encouraging.

I have a better idea how to cope tactically these days. Playing 4-2-3-1 against teams that play 4-2-4, and using a 4-5-1 against flat 4-4-2 seems to work so far. Fingers crossed.

March 2015

A good month, in spite of kicking off with a loss.

A draw against the leaders isn't a bad result by any means. And then there was the Beira Mar game.

Completely dominated by Andre Carvalhas, who by now has deserved a proper presentation. He bagged 5 goals, breaking a club and league record and got a perfect 10 rating for his game. The next game against Oriental he racked up 2 assists as well.

Our current form allowed us to climb a few places in the table. The promotion ship has long sailed, but I'm still hoping to finish as high as possible.

Unexpectedly, Tondela offered me a new 1year contract which shows they have confidence in me. I wasn't that happy with my/our performance so it's nice to see the boards confidence.

The league cup review came in as well, and I was pleasantly surprised to see our inform player mentionned a few times, in particular for most assists and most times player of the match. Pretty special, given our early exit.

League report

MoTM

Our youth intake is pretty saddening. Don't think any of these kids have what it takes to make the squad (let alone be playing football at all)

[Dexter_Morgan]

Good midtable position there, hopefully you can get a few faces in and improve on it next year

[LilSaint]

Good midtable position there, hopefully you can get a few faces in and improve on it next year

Thanks! I used the first season to assess the squad. A lot of contracts are running out now, so it's a great chance to rebuild the team.

[LilSaint]

Season Review 2014/15 - Tondela

Second League

April results - May results

Board expectations: mid-table | Media prediction: 12th Achieved

In the end we finished pretty much where we were expected to and came in 11th. We've played good football at times and I hope we can build on that next year if we manage to pull off some new signings.

Will have to wait and see what's possible financially.

League Cup

Board expectations: Be competitive Achieved

Saying we met the boards expectations is true, but we were still knocked out in the second round - so for me personally, I'm not too happy with that as a result.

Taça de Portugal

Board expectations: Reach fourth round Achieved

Again, we met the board expectations - but nothing more.

Knocked out by Arouca, just as in the League Cup. They've become something of a nemesis to us.

Players of the season

3. Rafael Batatinha - Our right winger was very influential. An average rating of 7.27 in 37 games, 12 goals & sixteen assists. 4 times MoTM. Sadly he didn't want to extend his contract & signed for a Romanian first league club. Good luck Rafa!

2. Tozé Marreco - Our main striker got an average rating of 7.37 over 44 games. Bagged 27 goals and got 14 assists, 5 time MoTM winner. Named as fan player of the year.

1. André Carvalhas - Wasn't included by fans, probably because he only played 25 games - he was out injured a few times. But this guy has arguably been our standout performer. 19 goals, 12 assists & 5 times MoTM. Impressive average rating of 7.52

Next season

I'm hoping to build on our performance this season and try for promotion next year. We met expectations this year but it was still a pretty average performance overall. We had some good performances, but some terrible ones as well and were simply too inconsistent. Hoping to bring in some extra quality. Given that we only have one scout, I'll be having a lot of players on trials.

Tried studying for a coaching badge twice last year, but the board said there wasn't financial room. Hopefully I can develop my coaching skills next year.

[LilSaint]

Preseason 2015/16 - Tondela

Friendlies

I've selected some local teams as opponents to try and gain confidence, hopefully we can recreate these performances in the league.

Most notable performance was in the 10-0 against Santacombadense, Ruben Silvestre didn't just score 4 - he also got 4 assists. I had him transfer listed but may decide to keep him after that!

Transfers

• João Ferreira - Snapped up on a free transfer, looks promissing.
  
• Yann - Had to pay a bit more in wages than I'd wanted to, but my scouts & staff think highly of him.
  
• Steve Lawson - I've been looking for a new right back and this guy is the best I could find. His pace & work rate are great and he can tackle. I'll train his crossing ability, as I tend to play with an offensive RB.
  
• Just Berends - The thread title says from Antwerp and this guy is just that. Signed from Antwerp on a free to add some depth at CB.
  

[ScottishManager]

I have started a similar journey with Tondela and my first season is pretty much exactly the same as your one. Started off slow then went on a great run to be within the top 5 of the division. Then came the crash, the most frustrating crash ever just conceding goals left right and centre before levelling off and achieving mid=table obscurity. Had some decent cup runs though getting through the group stage of the Taco and getting to Round 5 of the other cup losing to Porto.

[LilSaint]

I have started a similar journey with Tondela and my first season is pretty much exactly the same as your one. Started off slow then went on a great run to be within the top 5 of the division. Then came the crash, the most frustrating crash ever just conceding goals left right and centre before levelling off and achieving mid=table obscurity. Had some decent cup runs though getting through the group stage of the Taco and getting to Round 5 of the other cup losing to Porto.

Hm, so far my second season seems to go as you described. Hope I can avoid the crash then

Haven't had much luck in the Taça or the league cup. We do well against second league sides, but first league teams are too much for us so far.

[LilSaint]

2015/16 - Tondela

August - September - October

We've had a very good first months. October wasn't as good as I'd hoped though. Benfica B is always a tough game, but we really should've won from Guimaraes.

This is what the table looks like in October.

We're doing better than expected (media predicts an 8th place for us) Hoping we can keep this up and maybe have an outside chance at promotion.

League Cup

Group stage

We did well in the group stage (though sadly we won those games 5-0 & 4-0, but then my laptop died & I hadn't saved ;( )

Smashed Oriental in the next round 3-1

For the next round we drew Boavista. At home we somehow won 1-0, but we lost 2-0 away. A shame we didn't take our chances there, we could've done better.

Going back to Belgium?

I got a number of job interviews, all from Belgian clubs in second & third division. Apparantly I forgot to screenshot all of them, since there were at least 5.

I don't feel like leaving Tondela midseason though, want to see how far we can go first - unless it's a really really tempting offer

RC Mechelen

Tubize

White Star Bruxelles

The takeover

Takeover talks

I got this news item and didn't know if I should be excited or afraid. I've been fired after a takeover before, but maybe some tycoon wants to take us over?

Takeover complete

So, no tycoon then No extra money either apparantly

Right after the takeover was completed, I got this message.

Very reassuring that the new board immediately offers me a new deal.

Now, back to the training ground!

To compensate the sale of Nuno Santos, I brought in Bacar Baldé. Like Santos, he can play across the entire left flank.

I've sold/released a few players in an attempt to control finances, so with our smaller squad his versatility should prove useful.

[Deisler26]

The WS Bruxelles job would have had me at hello

[LilSaint]

Yeah, doubted to accept that one, they're currently third in second division.

It's just that I don't feel like leaving Tondela just yet, we're doing quite well atm.

They ended up signing Olivier Deschacht as manager. Bit strange they'd approach me (sunday leaguer) before an Anderlecht icon with a few international caps to his name.

[Deisler26]

Yeah, doubted to accept that one, they're currently third in second division.

It's just that I don't feel like leaving Tondela just yet, we're doing quite well atm.

They ended up signing Olivier Deschacht as manager. Bit strange they'd approach me (sunday leaguer) before an Anderlecht icon with a few international caps to his name.

Well, clearly, they hate Anderlecht lol

[LilSaint]

2015/16 - Tondela

November

Who said we don't like winter? A perfect month! This has been so satisfying.

Not just winning all our games, but keeping 4 clean sheets as well.

We ended this historical month with a 3-1 win over FC Porto B who are the league leaders.

I got an award for this month (and rightfully so, dammit!)

Manager of the month

December

Why stop with one perfect month when you can get two?

We're doing amazingly well atm and at this point we even have a shot at promotion. The board offered me the possibility to change our season expectations from top-half finish to promotion, but I'm not eager to invite extra pressure - especially not for a budget increase of 50k.

As i said earlier, I've offloaded a few players to try and attain a healthy financial situation at the club.

We've been plagued by injuries since then though and on more occasion than one I went into a game with just 2 or 3 subs. Not an ideal situation so I looked to sign someone new, for as low a wage as possible.

I came across Nelson Bustamante, who seems to be better than Piojo (our main left winger) at least on paper. What sweetened the deal for me is he agreed to a rotation status and a 400€ wage. Very happy with this signing.

We moved up to third place, hoping we can keep this up - but the road ahead is still a long one.

Quite happy I didn't take another job at this point.

[Jason the Yank]

We're doing amazingly well atm and at this point we even have a shot at promotion. The board offered me the possibility to change our season expectations from top-half finish to promotion, but I'm not eager to invite extra pressure - especially not for a budget increase of 50k.

"Underpromise, overdeliver." That's my motto.

[LilSaint]

"Underpromise, overdeliver." That's my motto.

Exactly! I'll aim for promotion without the board breathing down my neck, thank you very much

[LilSaint]

2015/16 - Tondela

January

Not too bad, still on an undefeated run & 3 more clean sheets. We're finally looking a bit more solid at the back, which has been an issue for some time.

Tozé Marreco finding the goal with his eyes closed these days

The Nuno Santos departure unhappiness seems to be resolved as well. Marreco realises Baldé is a good replacement.

February

A good start of the month where we continued our form and won 3 games by 2-0.

Our unbeaten run (which set a new Second League record) came to a brutal stop at Oliveirense. We were 0-3 behind, still managed to pull 2 back but that was all we could salvage.

March

Back to being undefeated this month then. Some key results against our direct competitors Aves & Chaves.

Ruben Silvestre was unhappy with his game time, so I told him he didn't impress in previous showings (he had an incredibly long goal drought). He agreed but wanted a chance to prove himself. As if the devil had something to do with it, Tozé Marreco picked up a 2 week injury after that conversation.

So I started Ruben & told him I expected a performance. He's still not converting most of his chances, but he has scored 3 times this month. Good for the kids confidence.

Our youth intake was like last year, terrible. Signed 4 or 5 of them, but they lack quality to be anything more than backups (at best) I'm afraid.

Here's what the table looks like after March. 6 points ahead of Chaves, we're unlucky that Fc Porto B just keep winning.

We were ahead for a moment, but they got right back the minute we lost 2 games in a row. Their form is incredible.

Promotion is slowly becoming tangible though.

[deltablue]

Looks like your earlier form will see you through alright.

[LilSaint]

I certainly hope so, it's still two months though - a lot can happen still.

We're still facing FC Porto B away, will probably be a decisive game. Hope they stop winning fgs, they're unreal.

Does anyone know btw, what happens if FCP B finish first? Do they get promoted? Is it allowed for a first team / B team to play in the same league? Never came across this situation before

[Dexter_Morgan]

As the table stands you'll be going up, the B-teams can't play in the same division as the main side so keep your form up and you'll be fine

[BrightLad5]

£5 says he takes the title!

[JD nawrat]

I certainly hope so, it's still two months though - a lot can happen still.

We're still facing FC Porto B away, will probably be a decisive game. Hope they stop winning fgs, they're unreal.

Does anyone know btw, what happens if FCP B finish first? Do they get promoted? Is it allowed for a first team / B team to play in the same league? Never came across this situation before

They get the title of Champions but they don't get the perks of Champions (ie, promotion).

Using your own image from #23 as an example - Porto in second means 3rd place get promotion. Usually only two promotion spots. With Porto at the top, it becomes what seems to be three promotions, except not really as 1st doesn't get anything bar the title.

[LilSaint]

Cheers guys, I ended up finishing second and did get promotion We were in front of FCP B a few times, but they always came back as soon as we slipped up. They're rightfully crowned champions imo. Says something about the strenght of Porto, their first team won the premier division & their B team won the second league. powerhouses fgs.

Write up to follow

[LilSaint]

End of season review 2015/16 - Tondela

April results - May results

Final table:

We managed to pull it off in the end and finished second! Much to the shock of board/media who predicted an 8th place for us.

We were certain of promotion 3 games before the end of the season, which was visible in the performance right after we got that news item. My players were already thinking about their holidays I think, because they put in a dreadful performance against Trofense & Penafiel. Eitherway,

!

Our second place finish was a new club record.

Tozé Marreco managed to be crowned league top scorer, which largely contributed to the fans electing him player of the year for the second time running.

Looking ahead

Our first ever run in the premier division is going to be tough. We're in dire financial waters so I won't be able to strengthen the squad much, if at all.

The board doesn't expect much apparantly, they just want us to put on a brave relegation fight. Media predict us to finish last.

This isn't going to be a very fun season I don't think.. Although comparing our team to the others in the league, we don't seem to have the weakest team in any department. My obvious goal will be to stay up. Which reminds me, I can tick off getting promoted from my original set of goals!

[tyler16]

Awesome job so far

[LilSaint]

2016/17 - Tondela

Friendlies

I took a lot of free agents on trial in preseason, but virtually none of them wanted to sign a permanent deal with us.

The ones that did wanted the kind of money we just don't have. So in the end I ended up seeing a lot of players that could've improved us a lot, but ended up with none.

August

Am actually very happy with these results. Our first game was away at Fc Porto, where I fully expect us to get torn a new one.

Didn't really happen though, we were even drawing 1-1. Then the ref awarded Porto a penalty that clearly wasn't one and that broke our spirit. In the end, we put in an admirable performance imo.

The next game against Setubal was unexpected. The first game in the top division for our home crowd clearly made my players want to prove something.

We freewheeled to a 3-0 performance and got our first vital 3 points in the bag.

Away at Gil Vicente we didn't play bad, game could've gone either way. Sadly we didn't clear a ball well and they put that chance away.

So, 3 out of 9. No reason for celebration, but still encouraging. If we can keep this up we might stay up this year.

Finances should improve imo, our season ticket holders went from 200 to 1800. Gate receipts should be considerably higher than last year.

Brought in two guys cause I really needed a defensive CM and some depth

• Modeste M'bami - some very welcome international experience should be vital to pull us through this season
  
• Lode Vertonghen - Brother of Jan, I've actually played against Lode in a tournament last year. We beat them, but I know he's a good defender He can also play at DM or out right, so there's the versatility we needed.
  

[LilSaint]

Awesome job so far

Cheers fella !

[Misterjokerboy]

Nice job