Gundo's FM08 Small club from a small nation European adventure challenge

[daemonic]

Originally posted by kccircle:

It seems when playing cup competitions in Northern Ireland I'm better at playing against league teams. As soon as I get a non-league team I get knocked out!

btw - do you get any bonuses for progressing in any of the N Ireland cup competitions. I know in the early rounds you don't but not having progressed very far in any cup I don't know about the latter rounds.

Could do with any assistance on my finances. I'm only £30k in debt, but thats a lot of money in this league. Losing £4-5k per month too. Always a case of selling your best player each summer to sort out your finances before getting the debt back through the course of the season.

No

Prize money even for winning them is less than 10k. You will get a few thousand for reaching later rounds but I usually find this just balances out the squad bonus.

The All Ireland Cup is the promised land. 125k just for taking part and another 175k if you win it

Even winning the Premier is only worth about 12k as i recall, so prize money in N.I. is pretty much non-existant.

[kccircle]

2009/10 Season Update - Cookstown Olympic - Northern Ireland

This was a season of what could have been - I'm sure we've all had many!

We started off relatively poorly which made me think the step up from Div 2 was going to be tough. It wasn't in the end but unfortunately we left too much to do.

The cup games remain my nemesis and I really struggle in them. I seem to get knocked out by some really random teams.

My main worries are the finances.

Last season we were £40k in debt so sold a key player for £26k. I think I might have to now sell my star striker Lee Wells. He has once again been great for me scoring at nearly a goal a game. In the January window I had countless requests from clubs to name a price. I replied with £100k to some of them but received no takers. I think I might offer him out on a reasonable fee with plenty of add-ons. In this league he is the dogs nuts.

He has been assisted this season by my two attacking wingers, Mark Clegg and Darren McClarnon. These three have been a joy to watch.

My defence on the other hand is where I need to improve. We score on average 2 a game and concede almost the same (1.7 ish)

I have managed to offer contracts to the players I wanted to keep at reduced terms which should help me.

Other Screenies

League Table

League Graph

Profile Overview

My aim for next season is obviously promotion. In addition I need to sort out my finances and get back in the black.

I need a new contract though and my weak board are dragging their feet at the moment

[kccircle]

Originally posted by daemonic:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by kccircle:

It seems when playing cup competitions in Northern Ireland I'm better at playing against league teams. As soon as I get a non-league team I get knocked out!

btw - do you get any bonuses for progressing in any of the N Ireland cup competitions. I know in the early rounds you don't but not having progressed very far in any cup I don't know about the latter rounds.

Could do with any assistance on my finances. I'm only £30k in debt, but thats a lot of money in this league. Losing £4-5k per month too. Always a case of selling your best player each summer to sort out your finances before getting the debt back through the course of the season.

No

Prize money even for winning them is less than 10k. You will get a few thousand for reaching later rounds but I usually find this just balances out the squad bonus.

The All Ireland Cup is the promised land. 125k just for taking part and another 175k if you win it

Even winning the Premier is only worth about 12k as i recall, so prize money in N.I. is pretty much non-existant. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for that - how do you gain entry for the All-Ireland cup?

[daemonic]

Win the N.I. Cup or top 3 in the league I think.

[cookie15]

Pomorie have at last amassed a backroom staff!

I've managed to get an Ass Man, 2 Coaches and 2 Scouts. All the guys are Bulagarian, however one of my scouts aparently has good knowledge of Nigeria!!!

I've also secured Levski as a parent club, and tey have sent me 2 17 year olds on loan, both of whom seem quite useful.

As for the media's expectation, they reckon we've got no chance of anything apart from relegation as our odds are 80-1 We'll show em

Pre-season has been and gone(some success) and the season is four games old. So far it's been 1 win, 2 draws and a loss; all in all not a bad start.

I'll post screenies of my main players especially my young striker who i have high hopes of, but we'll wait and see!!

[Jimbokav1971]

Thanks for that - how do you gain entry for the All-Ireland cup?

Spot 1. Previous seasons Premiership champions.

Spot 2. Previous seasons Premiership runners-up.

Spot 3. Previous seasons N.Irish Cup winners.

Spot 3. Current seasons League Cup winners.

[Gundo]

Gundo's FM08 Small club from a small nation European adventure challenge Table

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

(Nat) League Year Club Username Achievements

______________________________________________________________________________________________

*(Pol) First 2017/18 Hetman Zamosc pjtopor 2 Champions League (2018,2019)

9 Domestic Titles

1 Uefa Cup (2017)

*(Nor) Premier 2020 Skjetten cookie15 1 Champions League (2020)

4 Domestic Titles

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Aus) First 2008/09 SV Grodig Gilbster -

(Blr) Premier 2012 Livadia RecliamTheKop -

(Blr) First 2008 Molodenchno Reverand&Makers -

(Bel) Premier 2029/30 Meldert CoachFlu 12 Domestic Titles

(Bel) Second 2009/10 KSK Hasselt saab693 -

(Bel) Third 2008/09 SW Harelbeke aqnfiqw -

(Bel) Third 2008/09 SW Harelbeke minisav -

(Bel) Third 2008/09 KSK Hasselt ridleys -

(Bel) Third 2008/09 RC Gent Razer82 -

(Bul) Western B 2008/09 Pomorie cookie15 -

(Cro) Premier 2023/24 Slovanja iacovone 9 Domestic Titles

(Cro) Premier 2013/14 NK Lokomotiva Zagreb Konquest -

(Cro) First 2008/09 NK Cakovec Spagbol -

(Cze) First 2012/13 Chmel Blasney DodgeeD -

(Cze) First 2009/10 Blasny glennuk -

(Cze) First 2008/09 Slavoj Vysehrad chopo -

(Den) Premier 2011/12 birkerød Alurny -

(Den) Second 2008 Svendborg Icelander83 -

(Fin) Premier 2012 Rakuunat Bluejacket -

(Gre) National 2008/09 Rodos corinthiano -

(Gre) National 2008/09 Niki V neilez2 -

(Hün) Second 2008/09 Nagykata J Mo -

(Hün) Second 2008/09 Komloi max1994 -

(Hün) Second 2008/09 Szeged Yastian -

(Ice) First 2008 Víðir Garði aqnfiqw -

(Ice) First 2008 KS/Leitfer max1994 -

(Ire) Premier 2014 Sporting Fingal The_shocker7 1 Domestic Title

(N.I) Premier 2033/34 Knockbreda NepentheZ 23 Domestic Titles

(N.I) Premier 2024/25 Downpatrick Gilbster 13 Domestic Titles

(N.I) Premier 2018/19 Sirocco Works dafuge 8 Domestic Titles

(N.I) Premier 2015/16 Lisbon Rangers gaijin 3 Domestic TitleS

(N.I) Premier 2015/16 Mosside Jimbokav1971 1 Domestic Title

(N.I) Premier 2010/11 Coleraine Crusaders gers51 -

(N.I) Premier 2039/40 Tandragee NepentheZ -

(N.I) Premier 2017/18 Portglenone Icelander83 4 Domestic Titles

(N.I) Premier 2018/19 Rasharkin ridleys 7 Domestic Titles

(N.I) First 2011/12 Killyleagh AztecCrute -

(N.I) First 2008/09 Killyleagh PoopyPants -

(N.I) Second 2008/09 Cookstown Olympic sergent21 -

(N.I) Second 2008/09 Dollingstown jameslowe -

(N.I) Second 2008/09 Rasharkin Linfield Fc -

(N.I) Second 2008/09 Mosside foost -

(N.I) Premier 2011/12 Killyleagh chambers -

(N.I) First 2009/10 Cookstown Olympic kccircle -

(Nor) Premier 2014 Randaberg IL Gundo -

(Nor) First 2014 Orn Horten jamieslowe -

(Nor) First 2010 FKUM Oslo rlipscombe -

(Nor) First 2012 KIL/Hemne CoatesyWins -

(Pol) Second 2011/12 TKP Torun Supermas2 -

(Rom) Second 2008/09 Lotus Luceafãrul 442to445 -

(Rom) Second 2008/09 CSM Sebes rfcabd -

(Rom) First 2009/10 Juventus Bucharest Razer82 -

(Rom) First 2009/10 Juventus Bucharest max1994 -

(Rus) Premier 2015 Amur Blagoveschensk johnnyquest409 1 Domestic Title

(Ser) Super 2010/11 Obilic Belgrade dave safc -

(Ser) First 2008/09 Macva Des Tiny -

(Slk) Second 2009/10 FK Raca catesy2021 -

(Slk) Chall. 2009/10 Baden mocko666 -

(Slo) First 2009/10 Sencur spotg -

(Swe) Premier 2017 Gestrike-Hammarby IF Scab 2 Domestic Titles

(Swe) Premier 2010 Limhamns IF Truegunner -

(Swe) First 2010 Limhamns IF pl-fikander -

(Swe) First 2010 Gauthiod Suma -

(Swe) First 2010 Gantofta IF padmore_001 -

(Swe) Second 2009 VMA IK Gilbster -

(Swe) Second 2009 FBK Balkan Storzy -

(Swe) Second 2008 Boo FF Mike_Cardinal -

(Swi) Premier 2012/13 FC Baulmes Jazza -

(Swi) Premier 2017/18 SC YF Juventus Annihilator666 -

(Swi) Chall. 2020/21 FC UGS ghostwriter -

(Swi) Chall. 2008/09 FC Bex Flashman's S' D' -

(Swi) Chall. 2008/09 GC Biaschesi happy slappy -

(Tur) Second 2008/09 Tokatspor Robot (SMFC) -

(Wal) Premier 2010/11 Afan Lido dlnwba86 -

(Wal) Premier 2011/12 Newport YMCA KLH84 - </pre>

[iacovone]

I'm BACK!!!!!!

There we go,

Dramatic entrance? Check.

Renewed enthusiasm? Check.

SLAVONIJA?!?!?! Check!

Right that's that. I'm back with my beloved Slavonija - winner of 9 Croatian Titles and Runners Up in the CL. Now it's time to press on and finish the job I started - time to get Slavonija that crucial CL trophy

So...can anybody roughly update me on the goings-on in this thread?? Who are the current seasonal reports to look out for!?

I'm going to post my most recent season update just so people can get a taste of life in Slavonija, then I'll go and complete my current season (4 games to go)

Mon. \o/

[iacovone]

Ok for those interested, this is my most recent end of season update (including near-CL success):

Originally posted by iacovone:

Slavonija End of Season Update - 23/24 (Season 16)

League - 1st

Croatian Cup - 2nd Round (out on pens)

Croatian Super Cup - Winners

Champions League - Runners Up

Bit of disappointment in the Croatian Cup this year, losing on penalties in just the 2nd round. The league was wrapped up easily, still a shame we haven't had an unbeaten season yet . But we did score the most goals ever in one season (103) and pick up the most points (89) . Dinamo Zagreb failed to get promotion and languished mid table of the 2nd division .

Europe really was an adventure this season and we became the team to beat. Our reputation will surely rise after coming so close. For those that missed the drama, or have been living under a rock for the last day, we got to the final knocking out Inter (the holders) and Liverpool (amongst others) before falling to Sporting Lisbon .

Sinisa Lucic was the top goalscorer this year, with Hrvoje Dumancic getting the most assists in the league (15). Dumancic also picked up the Young Player of the Year award. Lucic was the winner of Croatian Player of the Year .

Club News

The stadium is now a 39307 all seater.

Club Info

Interestingly we still don't have a 'continental' reputation, despite getting to the final of the Champions League .

Post-season movements:

Dragan Brcic and Sebastjan Obal, 2 centre backs have left the club after wanting out. It's a blow to lose Obal but we bought a great replacement in Christian Janke. We also bought Valery Tarasov(or Mr Versatile). The only problem these signings bring is that they are foreigners. This means a lot of rotation will have to be done in the league.

Fans and My Player of the Year & Top Goalscorer - Sinisa Lucic - his best season for us and it shows he is not willing to be left behind as the quality of this squad is constantly improved.

Special Mention - Sahin Murat - Lucic's latest partner, replacing Panayotov. He had a great first season with us and with his pace, is always a threat.

Team of the Season - Fair.

Overall Best 11 - No new inductees.

Gundo - for you:

9 domestic titles

Uefa Coeff - 9th - 116.541 (up 4 places)

Nation Coeff - 12th - 31.950 (down 1 place )

Another one will be here later today

[Gundo]

Welcome back iacovone, nice quite entrance then.

I'm enjoying ghostwriter's reports alot and his game is just about to get really interesting as his team has just turned Pro.

[Gundo]

*or even quiet

[iacovone]

Thank you Gundo - I felt it best to amble back in quietly

I'll keep a look out for ghostwriters reports and read back on some of them

Is CoachFlu still going with Meldert? Hope so, enjoyed his journey

[aaberdeenn]

Welcome back mate, all the best in your quest to put Croation football on the map.

[Gundo]

Originally posted by iacovone:

Thank you Gundo - I felt it best to amble back in quietly

I'll keep a look out for ghostwriters reports and read back on some of them

Is CoachFlu still going with Meldert? Hope so, enjoyed his journey

He's not updated in a while, I can't remember if he was giving it a break for a while or not?

[rlipscombe]

good to see you picking Slavonija up again iacovone... i have my fingers crossed you'll make it.

[happy slappy]

15 minutes then I leave work and finally get to start my game in Switzerland, I've been caught up in my career game at the moment but will try get into this one more.

[iacovone]

15 minutes then I leave work and finally get to start my game in Switzerland, I've been caught up in my career game at the moment but will try get into this one more.

Are you following me happy??

[Mike_Cardinal]

Gundo, for your table I think there is a mistake. I was looking at the other games in Sweden to see how other people were getting on, and I noticed that Truegunner had reached the Premier Division in only 2 seasons which is impossible! Looking at his posts, I see the problem. He said he was going up to the Elite league which you may have taken to be the Premier, when in fact it is the First Division Elite. The order of the division from bottom to top is Second Division (There are lots of different parallel regions, about 6 iirc e.g. Second North, Second Division South East etc.), then the First Division (North and South on a parallel), then the First Division ELITE (Standalone league), and then finally the Premier Division. Hope this was helpful and didn't just make me seem like a total sad perfectionist!

[happy slappy]

Originally posted by iacovone:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">15 minutes then I leave work and finally get to start my game in Switzerland, I've been caught up in my career game at the moment but will try get into this one more.

Are you following me happy?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Looks like it.

[iacovone]

Slavonija End of Season Update - 24/25 (Season 17)

League - 1st

Croatian Cup - Runners Up - Leg 1 & Leg 2

Croatian Super Cup - Winners

Champions League - Lost to Liverpool 4-3 on agg in First Knockout Round

Ok a lot of this will be done out of my ailing memory...

Firstly time to pay tribute: Our first ever unbeaten league season

After last years disappointment in the Croatian Cup (2nd round defeat) I really wanted to go for it and win the cup. We stormed to the final but were undone by an away goal in the first leg that proved crucial .

The Champions League was documented back on page 41/42(IIRC). This was the year I'd hoped we'd repeat our final appearance of the season before but we were cut down by a Liverpool side looking for revenge. In the end we lost 4-3 on aggregate, bit of a shame as it was the First Knockout Round but Liverpool are very strong. The plan is to keep getting to the First Knockout Round and then just hope we find form

Top goalscorer was Sahin Murat who has since left for pastures new . A shame but he is a special player and I'm not suprised to see him only here for 2 years. He also broke the Slavonija record for goals in a season - Here

Club News

We paid out £12.25m to shareholders this year

Per Wind, Sahin Murat, Matei Tamas and Vladislav Radev have all been transferred on. 4 big players have left for bigger clubs and it is going to be a struggle to replace them in time for a Champions League challenge this year. We're going to need a few years (I think) to get near the final again. A period of rebuilding begins here.

The board are looking to increase the stadium capacity once again

My awards

Most Valuable - Sinisa Lucic - quality contribution from the legend. Also picked up fans player of the year

Special Mention - Salvatore Milano - most assists in the squad and an all round great season for the Italian.

My Player of the Season - Sahin Murat - he'll be missed around here

Hot Prospect - Ivan Tokic - has shown glimpses of real ability. Came through the academy and a very exciting prospect.

Under 19s

New section here to keep tabs on the stars of Slavonija's future

This year the U19s won the league for the 8th consecutive year, staying unbeaten throughout. Top scorer was Goran Sakota who may just last here as a squad player. Most assists came from Vladimir Obradovic and special mention to forward Miroslav Topalovic who has potential.

Season XI

Overall XI - Niko Friscic the one addition.

Gundo - for you:

10 domestic titles

Uefa Coeff - 11th - 105.086 (down 2 places)

Nation Coeff - 12th - 31.950 (same)

[happy slappy]

Might as well take my name off again, I just can't get into this game at all, I think I'll concentrate on my career game until FM09 comes out.

[Mike_Cardinal]

I wasn't going to use it anyway, but I just thought I'd check this. I assume that usage of the corner bug on the 8.0.2 patch is banned because it gives an unfair disadvantage to those playing earlier patches and as it makes the game unrealistic? I think having my CB nab 30 a season is silly anyway.

[happy slappy]

But then again, I may start afresh (if I was given £10 every time I say this I'll be rich) but I don't know which country to manage in, looks like it's up to you guys, any ideas?

[max1994]

switzerland romania iceland sweden

[iacovone]

Croatia!!!

[Supermas2]

Gundo - For your table (little mistake ): Im in the 2012/13 season in the Polish First Division (top tier)

[happy slappy]

No to Switzerland, it's impossible there.

No to Romania, doesn't appeal to me.

No to Iceland, I've heard all about Iceland.

Maybe to Sweden, my FM07 save was in Sweden with Rynninge, my best save ever!.

Maybe Croatia, iacovone's quest has inspired me.

I may give Denmark a go, never managed there before.

[foost]

@ Ridleys: would you mind if I use your career code in my updates? Love them

[Gundo]

Originally posted by Supermas2:

Gundo - For your table (little mistake ): Im in the 2012/13 season in the Polish First Division (top tier)

So many mistakes I'm making, I must of been half asleep when I was editing it last.

All should be correct next time it's posted Supermas2.

[Ridleys]

Originally posted by foost:

@ Ridleys: would you mind if I use your career code in my updates? Love them

Feel free to use them

Thanks for asking as well

[cookie15]

Iacavone - Good to see you back, i've been awaya while myself and have left Skjetten and trying my hand in Bulagria instead! I'm hoping i'll find the new Berbatov

[cookie15]

As promised, here is a screeny of my young striker who i think will fire me to promotion.

Let me know what you think!

Alesandrov

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by cookie15:

As promised, here is a screeny of my young striker who i think will fire me to promotion.

Let me know what you think!

Alesandrov

Get his jumping up and he will be the ticket .

[cookie15]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cookie15:

As promised, here is a screeny of my young striker who i think will fire me to promotion.

Let me know what you think!

Alesandrov

Get his jumping up and he will be the ticket . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm working on it

[iacovone]

Cheers cookie, its good to be back! Nice to see you're still going strong, and this time in Bulgaria - very nice change.

Like the look of Alesandrov KUTGW

[kccircle]

Once again the curse of the non-league club strikes!

Cookstown Olympic lost to Rosario despite battering them in possession and attempts.

Am I the only one who suffers from this?

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by kccircle:

Once again the curse of the non-league club strikes!

Cookstown Olympic lost to Rosario despite battering them in possession and attempts.

Am I the only one who suffers from this?

in a word...... NO

[daemonic]

Originally posted by kccircle:

Once again the curse of the non-league club strikes!

Cookstown Olympic lost to Rosario despite battering them in possession and attempts.

Am I the only one who suffers from this?

I tend to do alright against them and most grey teams, rarely if ever losing but never winning by the margin the pre-match odds suggest. I always go with an "I expect a win" teamtalk for these games and it works.

[iacovone]

Slavonija Champions League Update - 2025/26

Aris (a)

A really poor start to the champions league campaign as we succumbed to a 1-0 defeat. It reflected our questionable start to the domestic campaign in which we'd already lost to Hadjuk. So not a good start.

Chelsea (h)

A very tricky tie against the strongest opponents in our group. It was at the Slavonija Stadium however so we held hope. Striker Ivan Bule got us off to a flier but Chelsea hit back right on half time. That was how the match stayed - 1-1. Not a bad result but we needed to get something in the next game.

Lazio (a)

So we had a tough trip to Rome and really had to come away with at least a point to stand a good chance of qualifying from this group. Things started badly and we were lucky not to fall behind. Then the momentum changed, Lazio scored an own goal and we were flying. 2 more followed before half time courtesy of Ivan Bule and we had a 3-0 lead. The second half was tougher and although Lazio pulled 2 back we held on to record a 3-2 victory

So with 3 games gone, we are in 3rd level on points with Aris. We need to beat them and Lazio at home to progress.

[cookie15]

Originally posted by cookie15:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cookie15:

As promised, here is a screeny of my young striker who i think will fire me to promotion.

Let me know what you think!

Alesandrov

Get his jumping up and he will be the ticket . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm working on it </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

So much that it has risen from 9 to 13 already

[foost]

Club: Mosside

Coach: Joost Nijhof (foost)

League: Northern Irish Second Division

Season: 1 (08/09)

WHAT/WHO/WHERE:

Northern Irish Second Division: 4th.

Irish Cup: 2nd Rnd.

Intermediate League Cup: Finished 6th in Group 4.

Antrim Cup: 1st Rnd.

Antrim Trophy: Qtr Final.

Intermediate cup: 3rd Rnd.

Club info

- Profile

- Club Information

- The Staff

- Players

- Transfers in/out

- Finances Summary

Overall Career

League

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Year Division Position Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D Pts

08/09 Northern Irish Second Division 4th 22 9 7 6 34 27 +7 34

</pre>

p.s next time with text

[CCFC 4 life]

decide to give this challenge a go, starting in wales as Afan Lido

here is my manager profile http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/263/gundoschallengemanagerpdk2.jpg

[Gundo]

Best of luck CCFC 4 life, there's not too many playing in Wales.

[CCFC 4 life]

Originally posted by Gundo:

Best of luck CCFC 4 life, there's not too many playing in Wales.

thanks mate, i think i have got my work cut out, started with 1 player in the first team and 7 or 8 in the youth team. I got one coach and 2 scouts.

so i have a long season a head of me

[DodgeeD]

Got through another season with Blsany and it went very well, even though we didn't win anything! (I'll post a full report once PhotoBucket is working again).

But now, I feel like I've reached a difficult stage: a good run in Europe and establishment in the top flight seems to have alerted scouts from bigger clubs to my better players. At the same time, my club's rep doesn't seem to have increased enough to bring in quality replacements - I have to scout around for youngsters again and I feel like I've been set back a few years...

I see from other posts that this happens in quite a few games. What do you guys do? Hang on to unhappy players? Or wait patiently for new youngsters to come through?

[Mike_Cardinal]

I've just got 3 games to go now, so a full season report will be coming soon. Hopefully those last games go well, as it will change the level of happiness about the report completely.

[spotg]

Sencur End Of Season Review 2009/10 - Slovenian Second Division

Media Prediction: 5th

Board Demands: Respectable Position

I promise: Respectable Position

Players Interested: 1236 (up from 837 the previous season)

We were on a high from last season's second place finish, make no bones about it, and with careful loaning and judicious signings from the free transfer market (still no sign of a transfer budget, but what can you expect when your ground capacity is 800?) I was quietly confident of at least matching second, and depending on the performance of relegated Livar, possibly win the whole thing.

We raid Maribor for a couple of players, one of whom was planned to be our starting striker, and who instantly justified his signing with five goals in his first three games, as we flew out of the blocks. And then of course, he gets injured, and is out until after the winter break.

Nonetheless we are getting our wish. Livar are starting badly, and promotion could easily be up for grabs. And Mura are really going for it. Matching us stride for stride at the top, until, at the winter break we are dead level. Same points, same goal difference, seven points clear of Livar in third.

Meanwhile in the cup, the draw is again kind to us, and we reach the quarter finals without having to face anyone of note. Then our old play-off friends from last season Rudar (V) show again why we failed to promote last season. 4-1 is a thumping I didn't want to see repeated. And was disgusted when it was bettered in our next league match. 0-4 at mid-table Triglav.

Clearly some work is needed, and the return of our injured loanee striker is part one. We loan in a keeper from Maribor who is many many times better than my incumbent, and then I chance my arm. Sandro Vinko is released by Nafta. He has absolutely no interest in coming to the club, but an offer of 220 p/w on a part time deal is offered, and he accepts! A "leading first division" player!

Three games after the winter break, and Mura have fallen to bits. We win three, they lose three, and suddenly we are 9 points clear with only seven games remaining. It was a formality tbh.

Slovenian Second Division 1st

Slovenian Cup - Quarter Final

End Of Season Awards

Danilo Spotgic - Another new 2 year contract accepted at the end of the season

Best Eleven

Transfers

Elsewhere in Slovenia

Don't know whether this bodes well or not, but Maribor made it to the CL group stages. One point from six games is a terrible return, but it might help the co-efficient.

Also means they are now bloody loaded and set to rule the league from here to eternity

Hopes for next season - Erm. Stay up of course. We've turned professional! And the stadium is due to expand by a mighty 197 seats, so we can almost get 1000 people in! Yeah. Stay up.

2008-09 Slovenian Second Division 2nd (play-off loss)

2009-10 Slovenian Second Division CHAMPIONS!

[DodgeeD]

Chmel Blsany, 2013/14 Season Review

A great league campaign saw us finish 2nd last time so this time there was more expectation on the team as the media predicted 3rd and the board wouldn't settle for anything less than a top-half finish.

Transfers

I had the usual departures of players feeling they had 'achieved all they can' at the club. First out the door was Mathieu Delmas, a right winger I'd nutured from 17 years old who had only just broke into the first team. It was disappointing that he considered divisional Slovacko to be the bigger club he wanted to go to. I also reluctantly let Martin Zeman go but his form was suffering as a result of his unhappiness and a 1mil + 40% sell-on from Hearts was good enough. I also lost one of my (many ) Serbians, a leftback Lisevic, who returned to Serbia. Red Star made a pathetic bid, I said I wanted 1.8mil + clauses to put them off but they surprisingly accepted and my board intervened. Not much of note from the players in - Romain Morias was a good capture as the French AMC wanted to leave Slavia Prague for a bigger club and came to us (he's got more sense than Delmas at least ). Andreas Nilsson, a Swedish striker I snapped up on a Bosman, looked promising but would need some time to develop. I still felt I lacked a proven goalscorer and I would be hoping for one of my young strikers to step up.

UEFA Cup

We were back in Europe for the second year in a row, this time hoping to make the group stage. A straightforward first qualifying round was followed by a daunting tie with Dinamo Kiev. We lost the first leg away but an injury time goal from my Serb striker Dabic gave us a vital away goal. A 1-0 win back at Blsany put us through on away goals, 2-2 on aggregate. For the second year running, we faced Swiss opposition in the first round proper as we faced Basel. The tie was wrapped up in the first game as we won 3-0 away! A 1-1 draw at home gave us a 4-1 aggregate win.

Onto the group stages then and the group looked tough but I felt we had a chance. Atletico Madrid away was the toughest match and we went down to 2 goals from Reyes. Our performance gave me hope though. The next game, at home to Dortmund was one we couldn't afford to lose. ıt finished 1-1 but we were unlucky not to win. Next up, French side Toulouse away. A controlled performance earned us a 1-0 win and we were suddenly in with a great chance of qualifying. All we needed was a point at home to Besiktas. It was a nail-biting match as we fell behind, went 2-1 up, conceded with 3 mins to go and then bagged the winner in injury time as Besiktas overstretched themselves looking for the equaliser. 3-2 and we were through!

Final Group Table

The first knockout round brought up a tough tie against Roma. The first leg at home came before the Czech league had returned from the winter break and it showed as my players were run off the pitch and lost 3-1. The return leg was another thriller as we nearly levelled the match. My young Czech starlet Barta scored with 2 mins left to put us 2-1 up. We went all out for the goal that would level the match and even hit the post. In the end, Roma got a break and equalised with the last kick of the game meaning we went out 5-3 on aggregate.

Overall, a great season in Europe. In fact, for the first time for me as an FM manager, my team was the most improved side in Europe. The only problem was that it caused a lot of interest in some of my players, particularly in January. I nearly lost my star stiker Dabic as my chairman accepted offers. Luckily, he decided to stay.

Czech FA Cup

This time the board wanted the club to reach the semis, which we managed beating form sides Sparta Prague and Slovacko on the way. I was disappointed to lose to Bohemians 1905 as they were battling relegation but happy enough to match the board's expectations. (And yet, in one of those annoying FM moments, the board kept going on about the loss for months afterwards in the confidence reports!)

Czech 1st Division

We spent the first half of the season swopping top spot and second with Sparta Prague. We were turning the draws of last season into wins, mainly thanks to Dabic, who was coming of age up front as I'd hoped he would. Unfortunately, we couldn't sustain our form in the second half of the season. We got back nto the bad habit of drawing too many games, at one point 5 draws in a row, and lost touch with the leaders. Injuries to Dabic along with my other main striker, Becker, going 16 hours without a goal didn't help. A good run in the last 5 games saw us regain some ground and we eventually finished 3rd, meaning we would have to settle for the Intertoto cup next season.

Czech 1st Division Final Table

2013/14 Best XI - Marias was the main man in midfield and Dabic was in good form up front. had both of them stayed fit all season, we could have done much better. Marko Nikolic was also immense in defence - he's still just 22 years old so I hope I can hold on to him.

Overall Best XI - good to see Dabic in there. ıt could be a while before Sivakov is replaced though.

Other news

Financially, the club is doing wel, mainly thanks to all the transfers out and the UEFA Cup run. We finished the club nearly 4mil in the black. The board made 3.5mil available for transfers but I was wary of spending it as our total loan debt was 3.6mil. I left it largely untouched, hoping the board would restructure the debt come the end of the season. I realised that may not happen when I saw this message on the confidence screen - never seen that one before! Indeed, come the summer, the board announced further expansion plans and took out another loan to finance it. We will, however, have a 13,500 all seatr stadium at the end of it. My main concern for next year is that if we don't get through the Intertoto Cup, we won't be able to generate as much revenue as last season.

The board are very happy with me but they still played hardball over a new contract. They offered a two year deal and I tried to negotiate longer. They curtly replied that two years was all they would offer so I accepted rather than run the risk of not being offered anything.

The key players and rising stars

I figured it's about time I posted screenies of some of my players:

Predrag Dabic - I got this Serb for free when he was 18 and he has developed into a really good player. 25 goals including 12 in Europe and he would have got many more had he stayed fit all season. Fully deserved his awards as fan's player of the year and Czech League Foreign Player of the Year. I was highly impressed with his decision to sign a new deal even when there were bids from other clubs.

Romain Marias - I was pleasantly surprised to be able to sign him from Slavia Prague and he more than made up for losing Marie and Zeman in te AMC role. If he stays fit all season this time, he'll do even better.

Darko Djokic - I was forced to start playing this Montenegran goalie when he was just 19 due to lack of options but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he is now one of the leading stars of the league.

And a couple of rising stars:

Jaroslav Barta - he really started to perform in the latter part of the season once I had retrained him to play as an AMC. He is seen as one of the best midfielders at the club by my coaches and has the potential to improve. I'm expecting a lot from him and Marias this time.

Ian Brown - not the former frontman of The Stone Roses (showing my age here) but a Botswanan regen I managed to get to the club on trial 2 seasons back. He started to force his way into the first team last season and will be my first choice right back this time.

And to finish, the coefficients:

Club Coefficient: 16.826 (147th)

Nation Coefficient: 17.667 (20th)

Number of domestic titles: 0

Wow! That must be one of the longest posts I've ever done. Time to get back to Blsany

[cookie15]

Pomorie season review 2008/09

League

Expectations weren't great. We were given extremely long shots of 80-1 and everyone was anticipating a relegation battle. With the league being broken by a Christmas break, the 26 matches were split into 2 batches. We were surprisingly sat in 5th after the first 13 games. Could Pomorie continue in this way?

During this window i bought in a couple of experienced players on frees, hopefully to guide us up the table. They certainly did

We were playing some entertaining football, and even the media suggested that we had adopted the Brasilian attitude of "we'll score one more than you!"

Who cares, the boys played superbly well in the closing stages of the League. In Bulgaria only the first placed team gets promoted and then there is a play-off between the second placed teams in the Western and Eastern "B" leagues.

In the final game of the domeestic league season we were lying in second We just needed to secure a victory to take us to the play-offs. A 3-1 victory at home saw to that.

Another unusual aspect of Bulgarian leagues is that it is not based on goal difference, it goes on games won. We were on the same amount of points as another team, goal difference was much worse, but hey we had won more games

The play-off it was then. We were drawn against Spartak Varna. This was an amazing game, we fought back from 2 behind to be drawing 2-2, then conceded 2 more , i bring on another ST wew score 2 and into penalties we go

The boys held their nerves and progressed 5-3 on penalties

All of this means is that Pomorie will be playing in the "A" league next season!

Finances

These are shot to pieces

Thre has been no Transfer budget, and a good job too. Even with the monies for the new season we are £0K in debt. The board are happy about my ability to keep the wages low, but we just can't seem to raise sufficient funds. My linkn with Levski Sofia has been terminated because we are in the same league.

My biggest concern is that the manager will end up selling my good players,especially Aleksandrov

Let's see what the new season brings

Players

Without doubt my key players last season were my two Strikers. The defence wasn't much to write home about and i've tried to rectify that by signing a couple of players and the Bulgarian U19 GK too.

Rumen Aleksandrov He was the main player for me without a doubt. Bagged 20 goals, 15 assists and was voted fans player of the year. A good little prospect if i can keep hold of him.

Vladimirov My captain, who even though he is getting on a bit, performed well and formed a good strike paqrtnership with Aleksandrov.

Tsvetkov My MC who has improved dramatically through the course of the season. Has the potential to do well in the next league too.

Robert Petrov I picked this guy up in the mid season break and he proved more than useful. He is also still representing Macedonia too.

My best 2 signings for this season are:

Pavel Vidinov My new GK, he ain't great but he's alot better than my last one!!

Slavko Maric I have high hopes for this guy down my left hand side. His stats are pretty good and i can't believe i picked him up for free.

So the new season beckons..................

Good luck one and all, Cookie is most definitely back

[cookie15]

Well i guess they think we won't win the League this season!!!