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

[Gundo]

I'm a little bit jealous by some of those decent looking stadiums, as Randabergs isn't too grand looking? Current.

It's a shame this wasn't included in FM08, Randabergs future home.

[rlipscombe]

still think i win the awards for stadium most in need of repair, and stadium with the biggest number of graves outside!! that looks like it's going to be a good stadium that Gundo. shame you can't use it.

[Gundo]

5 games into our 3rd season and our first season in the First, we finally get our first win. A 5-0 away win against relegation bound Manglerud Star. \o/

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Gundo:

5 games into our 3rd season and our first season in the First, we finally get our first win. A 5-0 away win against relegation bound Manglerud Star. \o/

\o/ - the first of many hopefully...

[Gundo]

Originally posted by rlipscombe:

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

5 games into our 3rd season and our first season in the First, we finally get our first win. A 5-0 away win against relegation bound Manglerud Star. \o/

\o/ - the first of many hopefully... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Indeed.

That result was followed up with a 4-0 win over Bryne, 0-1 defeat after of a late late goal to Fredrikstad (who are favs for the Adecco) and 2-2 draw with Bodø-Glimt after a last gasp equalizer.

Stian Ringstad has 5 goals in just 7 games aslo.

[endtime]

I'll take a wild guess that this is Magni's former stadium, Grenivikurvollur.

Thank God we moved out of that dump

[yababo]

Originally posted by endtime:

I'll take a wild guess that this is Magni's former stadium, Grenivikurvollur.

Thank God we moved out of that dump

Can't view the link

[migwar]

Originally posted by endtime:

I'll take a wild guess that this is Magni's former stadium, Grenivikurvollur.

Thank God we moved out of that dump

Is it just me, or are they girls...?

And it looks like a school playing field. Are you sure this is the right place...?

[CoachFlu]

Meldert, Belgium - December 17th 2017

Mid-season table.

The board want us to challenge for the title, and the media think we'll win it, so I suppose I'm pretty much on schedule. I wouldn't call us the favorites just yet though. We only just now, after MD17, nosed in front of Club Brugge, who look damn near unbeatable. Luckily for me they've been getting a lot of draws, but if their defense maintains their impressive record, it could become a tight race.

But it wouldn't be a disaster if we don't finish top. I'll be pleased with a place in the top three, as that ensures us a UEFA ticket. And we look like we should be able to do that, barring a spectacular drop of form.

Given our busy match schedule (CL group stage matches) I'm quite pleased with our league results so far. And given our CL group stage performances, perhaps a crack at the slightly easier competition in the UEFA Cup next year might not be such a bad thing.

Then again, it wasn't all bad in the Champions League. Group standings.

Two whole points! Heck, that's better than any Belgian team has done in the past ten seasons. (Club Brugge got 1 point, twice.)

We really struggled in the away matches. Not always score-wise, but definitely balance-of-play-wise. In the home matches, however, we were reasonably competitive. Not exactly dominant - the two draws was about as much as we deserved - but still, we didn't totally embarrass ourselves.

This guy was our most productive player in the Champions League (3 important goals in the Qualifiers, 3 in the group stage).

Managed to pick him up after he was released by Barcelona, where he bounced between the A and B squad a lot. He may not have been good enough for Barça, but he'll do just fine for Meldert, thank you very much. Lacks some consistency so far (had a few very poor matches), but I can't really complain about someone who scored 16 times by mid-December.

The Champions League group stage adventure is making this a financially successful season. Our balance now stands at a staggering 8 million euro. We'll start losing money again every month now, but I should still come out way ahead at the end of the season.

The board also found me a commercial feeder club last week. (I had already asked for one last season, but they came up empty then. Figured I'd try again now we were playing in Europe.)

Never had one of those before, so I'm not sure how much that will earn us. Or cost us, actually, because we'll be paying Miami FC almost a million per year. Our merchandising income was only 200k last year, and looked to be heading for 350-ish k this year. So I'll be curious to see if this affiliation will actually be profitable.

Finally, a little oddity: at some point in November, I noticed that I was allowed to scout anywhere in the world. That hadn't been the case yet early in the season. But, heck, great news, so I hire another scout, send him to scout Africa. But now it's back to "can only scout this continent." I guess my chairman is a bit moody.

And while I'm mentioning scouting oddities: one of my scouts has been on a scouting assignment in Eastern Europe since October 2015. He's still creating new reports (though very sporadic lately), and moving about between nations.

I didn't pay enough attention to see if he's going back to nations he already covered though, but I assume he must be. Then again, there are a lot of nations in Eastern Europe these days, heh.

I'd call him back out of sympathy for his wife - the poor lad's been on the road for more than two years now. But I'm curious to see how long he'll keep going.

[Gilbster]

Downpatrick, Northern Ireland - Premier Divsion - 2015/16 End of Season Update

Another title, and complete collection of domestic trophies.

Europe I felt like we had a chance against Salzburg, but I didnt get a replacement goalkeeper registered in time, so we lost the away leg 5-2 and then the home leg was 1-1. However I feel we may if we get a semi decent draw progress in the next season or so.

All Ireland Cup for the first time I beat an Irish side 1-0, so coupled with the double over Portadown in which I annhilated them, I made it to the semi final on goal difference.

The Semi-Final of the All-Ireland cup was close. We went ahead after 77 mins, then they equalised on 80 mins, and then picked up a last minute winner in full time. Was an encouraging performance that we can at least work on.

Downpatrick Info Screen

Transfers

Table

No clubs in Ireland have turned pro yet, but I am positive Downpatrick needs to in order to progress. Dominance on a domestic scale is all very well, but its starting to get a bit boring. Need to start progressing even slightly in Europe.

Coefficients for Gundo -

488th 0.550

N.Ireland 44th 1.667

[endtime]

Originally posted by migwar:

Is it just me, or are they girls...?

I've never been to Iceland, but I presume they allow girls to play on the same field as men

And it looks like a school playing field. Are you sure this is the right place...?

Here is another picture. Looks like the same patch of grass

I wonder if they have a boat ready to fish any long balls out of the ocean.

[Gilbster]

I am starting to get really annoyed with these grey teams in Europe.

Just drew the first leg of my qualifier 1-1 at home, and Skonto had 2 players sent off. Of course they were grey players and thus dont appear to be suspended for the second leg.

[Jazza]

Here's my teams (Kari) stadium, Akranesvollur. Looks like we ground share with IA who are, or were one of the bigger teams in Iceland.

Sunny Iceland

Water views

[rlipscombe]

i quite like seeing all of the grounds... makes it feel like it's a little more real!!

made some progress through pre-season last night. overall the games have gone quite well. we've only lost 1 i think so far and have been scoring a few goals along the way. i've managed to sign a few freebies who've improved the squad, and am looking at bringing in a few loan signings to improve the quality further.

am becoming a little more optimistic as to my chances in the coming season. i just hope that it's not a false dawn....

[Gundo]

cookie How's life at Skjetten?

[cookie15]

Skjetten Fotball Season 2010-11 First Division

Well this was our first attempt in the division and it proved to be a big step up. No surprise that the media predicted us to finish bottom, and to honest i wasn't particularly optimistic

I was relatively pleased to finish the season in a somewhat impressive position of 11th

There was really only 1 player of any note.....Stian Ringstad He was player of the season for Skjetten, which was no surprise when you look at these stats.

Played 26, Goals 35, Assists 7, MoM 9 and an avg rating of 7.85

Not bad for a 19 year old really is it!

I may end up playing him as an AML next season as i've managed to sign a couple of decent Strikers on Frees. Bjorn Hagen and Geir Herrem were released by their respective clubs and i managed to snap them up.

The signing i'm most pleased with however is Thor Jurgen Spurkeland. He is a quality AMC who has the potential to lead my team to promotion. We'll wait and see about that though

I'll attempt to do some screenies a little later, but i'm about to embark on my second attempt at the First Division.

Wish me luck

[Gundo]

Originally posted by cookie15:

Skjetten Fotball Season 2010-11 First Division

Well this was our first attempt in the division and it proved to be a big step up. No surprise that the media predicted us to finish bottom, and to honest i wasn't particularly optimistic

I was relatively pleased to finish the season in a somewhat impressive position of 11th

There was really only 1 player of any note.....Stian Ringstad He was player of the season for Skjetten, which was no surprise when you look at these stats.

Played 26, Goals 35, Assists 7, MoM 9 and an avg rating of 7.85

Not bad for a 19 year old really is it!

I may end up playing him as an AML next season as i've managed to sign a couple of decent Strikers on Frees. Bjorn Hagen and Geir Herrem were released by their respective clubs and i managed to snap them up.

The signing i'm most pleased with however is Thor Jurgen Spurkeland. He is a quality AMC who has the potential to lead my team to promotion. We'll wait and see about that though

I'll attempt to do some screenies a little later, but i'm about to embark on my second attempt at the First Division.

Wish me luck

Good season. You're correct Ringstad is something else, those stats their are very impressive. With me he has 9 goals in 9 games! The boy's awesome! Who needs Burda hey?

Tbh I don't think the First division is of a great quality, but sometimes you just need that one season of consolidation to take you onto the next level.

Best of luck for next season anyway.

[Gundo]

CoachFlu I notice Navarro has not been capped by Spain yet? Has he even made their international squad at all?

[CoachFlu]

Originally posted by Gundo:

CoachFlu I notice Navarro has not been capped by Spain yet? Has he even made their international squad at all?

Nope, Navarro hasn't been called up yet, at least not since he joined Meldert.

Hard to judge whether that's because he's just below the cuff, or because of the regen-reputation-bug-thing.

To be fair, he was with Barcelona, and had a decent half-season for them here and there, but it's not as if he set their world on fire. His career history.

Looking at the current Spain squad, they only play with one striker, and their main pick does look to be a justified choice. (a Barcelona striker who earns about 2.5x my total wage budget. Not a regen, but someone who must've been about 16 at the start of the game)

Almost-34 year old Fernando Torres is also in the squad, still, though not even on the bench anymore, it seems.

[Gundo]

Originally posted by CoachFlu:

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

CoachFlu I notice Navarro has not been capped by Spain yet? Has he even made their international squad at all?

Nope, Navarro hasn't been called up yet, at least not since he joined Meldert.

Hard to judge whether that's because he's just below the cuff, or because of the regen-reputation-bug-thing.

To be fair, he was with Barcelona, and had a decent half-season for them here and there, but it's not as if he set their world on fire. His career history.

Looking at the current Spain squad, they only play with one striker, and their main pick does look to be a justified choice. (a Barcelona striker who earns about 2.5x my total wage budget. Not a regen, but someone who must've been about 16 at the start of the game)

Almost-34 year old Fernando Torres is also in the squad, still, though not even on the bench anymore, it seems. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh I see. I think something people don't take into account here is that of course he my not get picked after just one season of good form. Many teams and the Spanish manager included, would just overlook him as having a one-off good season and just deem it to be 'a flash in the pan'.

I do think the above is the case with some transfers aswel. I mean you can have a player who plays consistently well for two season and you don't have any interest from other clubs. But it's not until he plays well in the third season that makes other clubs stop and think; this lad must be a decent player, at least now that he's consistent.

Or like you said, it could be because of the regen-reputation-bug-thing.

[CoachFlu]

Yep, I agree, if he keeps his current form for another season and a half, he may be entitled to get at least the occasional cap from the bench. Don't think he's quality enough to be Spain's first choice striker, to be honest - especially if they keep playing with only one up front.

At the moment, if I had to pick between "just below the cuff" or "reputation-bug-thing", I'd say it's the first.

If he had the quality to be a certain pick for the Spain squad, he probably would have had a bit more interest in him when I picked him up on free transfer.

[Jimbokav1971]

So after a bid of a torrid time and a game crash in Iceland, I escaped the boredom of another close-season and started again in...... Manchester. (Well Mosside to be precise). That's correct, the rough area of Manchester actually has a team named after it in the N.Irish leagues.

My profile.

You will see from the info screen that Mosside already had a player on the favoured personnel list. Meet 17 yeare old Ryan Boyd.

This is the reason he is on the favoured personnel list, (and probably why they were promoted). Obviously he looks a bit of a beast for 17 and if this was FM07 I would love to have him. Unfortunately as I have been unable to replicate my past success with Target Men, I feel he may be surplus to requirements before too long.

As some of you know I play by quite strict rules that require my scout to find the players that I purchase. The following messages made things a little hard at vthe start of the season.

No scouts 1.

No scouts 2.

No scouts 3.

No scouts 4.

Transfer window closes.

No scouts 5.

Not surprisingly, pre-season didn't go too well with just the remnants of the promoted squad to choose from and a couple of stragglers that were mentioned in the media and joined on trial.

So anyway, enough of the complaining. We started pretty poorly and were soon dumped out of the Intermediate League Cup at the group stage.

We were then knocked out of the Antrim Trophy by 10 men.

We lost our first 3 league games 1-0 before we won our first league game as our new signings seemed to make an impact and things progressed nicely from there.

The league table.

The League Graph. possibly hints at the delusions of grandeur we suffered after about a third of the season.

Squad stats. Surely my top scorer must be a record for a team that was not relegated .

It wouldn't be a Jimbokav update without some GK stats.

The finances screen shows that I have my work cut out for me if I am to keep my head above water. I went slightly over the wage budhet after Christmas, but only barely and I am worried that we are already leaking money like a sieve.

The confidence screen shows the opinion of the board.

I'm hopeful of maybe being in contention for a promotion spot next season, but I will be giving serious attention to the financial situation and looking to save my pennies.

[rlipscombe]

well it's three games into the league season and the form is 0-2-1. the match results and form suggest we're playing well, but we're not putting our chances away. the results have been 0-0, 0-1 and 1-1. my one bright point upfront has been the form of 16 year old Paul Achim:

Paul Achim

hopefully he might be the man to lead the line for years to come!! he's already putting the more 'experienced' strikers in the shade.

(the one bright spot was a 2-0 victory over Progresul Bucharest in my final friendly - a match we were expected to lose... )

[rlipscombe]

i've signed my first 'star' player - may i introduce Dino Eze.....

Dino Eze

he's certainly caused a stir amongst the fans, who are excited to see him play, yet concerned he may affect squad morale. especially after he said that the fans were going to see some real football!! i hope we do!!

[Barca4ever]

New player to this challenge. Tried this last year with Gunnilse from Sweden. This year I decided to do it in my own country Israel. Heres my Profile. The team is Nes Ziona. Very well below the rest of the leauge. I see some long years in this division ahead.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Barca4ever:

New player to this challenge. Tried this last year with Gunnilse from Sweden. This year I decided to do it in my own country Israel. Heres my Profile. The team is Nes Ziona. Very well below the rest of the leauge. I see some long years in this division ahead.

welcome to the challenge Barca4ever.... that's some loan debt you've inherited!! good luck clearing that. and good luck in the challenge....

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by rlipscombe:

i've signed my first 'star' player - may i introduce Dino Eze.....

Dino Eze

he's certainly caused a stir amongst the fans, who are excited to see him play, yet concerned he may affect squad morale. especially after he said that the fans were going to see some real football!! i hope we do!!

i don't learn from my mistakes... as soon as i mention Dino Eze, he goes and fracture ribs next match and is out for between 3 weeks and 2 months.....

[rlipscombe]

forgot to mention as a side issue - my proposed board takeover collapsed. i was thanked for staying on during the 'difficult period.'

it's a pleasure!!

[mocko666]

Started in Slovakia heres my profile

Heres the info screen (it is one game into the season but the profile screen is still at the beginning of the game)Info

My Transfers and finances screen as you can see its looking quite good after just one game

finances

Salaries

The first game of the season went very well and i believe the good strength in depth will lead to a good season though is the 4-0 thrashing of the team that should finish above me (ive forgot the team now).

Though has the first game of the season just given the team false hope or could it really be FK PUCHOVs season.

[Gundo]

Good Luck in Northern Irelend Jimbo. What are your boards long term expectations forthe club? I guessing but I wouldn't think they'd be too ambitious, am I wrong?

[Gundo]

Barca4ever Your screenshots don't appear to be working at all?

mocko666 I can't see your profile screenshot, could you upload it again a little larger this time? Thanks.

Welcome and best of luck to both of you.

[mocko666]

Barca4Ever that loan debts huge i expect that either a board takeover to clear the debt or instant success. Good luck with it though will be a great challenge

[mocko666]

]Profile

[mocko666]

I hate images, sometimes they work for me then sometimes i just completely mess them up

[Gundo]

Originally posted by mocko666:

I hate images, sometimes they work for me then sometimes i just completely mess them up

Cheers mocko666, that's superb.

I think if you use the 'Direct Link' than it should show up the correct size.

[Gilbster]

Downpatrick, Northern Ireland - Premier Divison - 2016/17 End of Season Update

Our European tie left a bad taste in my mouth when the 2 grey players in the first leg that were sent off were still playing in the second leg. We lost overall, and I dont think we should have.

All-Ireland Cup we are finally showing some improvement and lost 1-0 in the final.

Domestically we were as dominant as ever, so not much needs to be said.

We had more minor upgrades to stadium capacity and facilities.

Currently I keep playing each season with the aim of selling my islanders for as much as possible and picking up as many more promising ones as possible to sell in future years.

Table

Transfers

Info

Gundo - if I wanted to put this game on hold and come back to it at a later date, while trying another country, would I be allowed both sets of data in your table? There are a few issues and bugs that I have with this game that are starting to annoy me so wouldnt mind having a break from it for the moment. Would still love to have some European dominance with Downpatrick though.

Also if I did start another country, would I please be able to use a different nationality? I have a feeling its because I am English that I keep finding islanders in my player search and they seem too strong for the divisions we are playing in.

[Gundo]

Originally posted by Gilbster:

Gundo - if I wanted to put this game on hold and come back to it at a later date, while trying another country, would I be allowed both sets of data in your table? There are a few issues and bugs that I have with this game that are starting to annoy me so wouldnt mind having a break from it for the moment. Would still love to have some European dominance with Downpatrick though.

Also if I did start another country, would I please be able to use a different nationality? I have a feeling its because I am English that I keep finding islanders in my player search and they seem too strong for the divisions we are playing in.

That's fine if you want to put it on hold for a while, no problems. I'll include as many games as you wish in the challenge table mate.

Challenge Guidlines:

I understand that choosing your nationality may have an effect later on, but I trust people will be sensible with this, I would expect people to use their own nationalities/second nationalities.

With the nationality I've just quoted the challenge guidlines, I can't really say anymore on that sorry.

[Gundo]

Stian Ringstad is absolutely immense!

His record after 12 games in the first divisjon stands at: 15 goals!

It'll be interesting to see if he can beat cookies record with him which was: 26 games and 36 goals. I reckon it'll be pretty tough but my boy can do it.

[Gilbster]

Originally posted by Gundo:

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

Gundo - if I wanted to put this game on hold and come back to it at a later date, while trying another country, would I be allowed both sets of data in your table? There are a few issues and bugs that I have with this game that are starting to annoy me so wouldnt mind having a break from it for the moment. Would still love to have some European dominance with Downpatrick though.

Also if I did start another country, would I please be able to use a different nationality? I have a feeling its because I am English that I keep finding islanders in my player search and they seem too strong for the divisions we are playing in.

That's fine if you want to put it on hold for a while, no problems. I'll include as many games as you wish in the challenge table

mate.

Challenge Guidlines:

I understand that choosing your nationality may have an effect later on, but I trust people will be sensible with this, I would expect people to use their own nationalities/second nationalities.

With the nationality I've just quoted the challenge guidlines, I can't really say anymore on that sorry. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for letting me know. I suspected that may be your thoughts on the nationality but just thought I would ask anyway. Maybe if I started in a non Commonwealth country, I wont see them even with the English nationality.

I just feel that the Islanders I keep finding and trialling are far better than the same 4 players my scouts keep finding in Northern Ireland, despite them probably not being good enough for Europe. Without being able to scout anywhere else at the moment, I just cant make any progress at the moment without my islander band!

I'll probably make a decision in the next few days about how much longer I can continue happily in Northern Ireland before getting itchy feet.

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by Gundo:

Good Luck in Northern Irelend Jimbo. What are your boards long term expectations forthe club? I guessing but I wouldn't think they'd be too ambitious, am I wrong?

Gundo. The board wants the team to establish itself in the Second Division by the end of the 2 year plan.

At this very moment I am on the opening day of the new season.

The board are very pleased that the team accomplished the long term goals ahead of schedule and wants the team to continue in this manner.

[Gilbster]

Downpatrick, Northern Ireland - European Qualifying Update - 2017/18

1st Qualifying Round vs Pobeda from Macedonia

Leg 1

Leg 2

So for the first time in Downpatrick's history they have made it to the second qualifying round of the Champion's league. Progress!

2nd Qualifying Round vs OB from Denmark

Leg 1

After this first leg was the draw for the third qualifying round which would see the winner of this play against Sampdoria. I figure if we can hold on, we would probably end up in the UEFA Cup after losing to Sampdoria.

Leg 2

4 mins away from a glamour tie. So close, at least I am starting to feel like there is progress being made somewhere with Downpatrick.

Feel my squad is currently weaker than it was last season, so those were some amazing scorelines including my first win in any leg in the qualifiers.

Roll on another season of hopeful domestic dominance to have another go next year. Amazing what a bit of progress can do for someones feeling about their save game!

[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 Gundo:

Good Luck in Northern Irelend Jimbo. What are your boards long term expectations forthe club? I guessing but I wouldn't think they'd be too ambitious, am I wrong?

Gundo. The board wants the team to establish itself in the Second Division by the end of the 2 year plan.

At this very moment I am on the opening day of the new season.

The board are very pleased that the team accomplished the long term goals ahead of schedule and wants the team to continue in this manner. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

KUTGW Jimbo, you're bound to do well

[cookie15]

Originally posted by Gundo:

Stian Ringstad is absolutely immense!

His record after 12 games in the first divisjon stands at: 15 goals!

It'll be interesting to see if he can beat cookies record with him which was: 26 games and 36 goals. I reckon it'll be pretty tough but my boy can do it.

What do you mean your boy?

He really is immense, He's regularly playing for the U21's at the moment. How long 'til he's called up to the full National squad?

Gundo, are you getting a lot of interest in him? I'm worried that if i don't get promotion this year that he may want to leave at the end of the year. I'm turning down offers of around £55K + extras but not sure how long i'll be able to keep hold of him

Best of luck for the remainder of the season......

I'm early days in my next season, so we'll wait and see....

Good luck one and all

[CoachFlu]

Meldert, Belgium - May 19th 2018

Mid-season table

End of season

Well, we had a good season, but Club Brugge turned out to be - literally - unbeatable. They went 14-3-0 in the second half of the season, which is pretty hard to keep up with. We actually did keep up with them for a very long time, but our form plummeted at the end of a long season. We only got two points from the last four matches, which made the gap substantial. But at least we had second place secure by then.

As a comparison, we won the title last season with 65 points, and were 7 points clear. This season we have 7 points more, yet are 10 points behind Brugge. Guess we got a bit lucky last season.

I wasn't too bothered by failing to defend our title. I'm looking forward to having a go at reaching the UEFA Cup group stage next season, and possible survive the winter in Europe.

What I was disappointed about was our loss in the Belgian Cup final. We had a strong run to the final, and with KRC Genk as our last opponent, who we had beaten convincingly twice in the league, I quite fancied our chances. But our drop of form at the end of the season had most of the squad on low morale for the Cup final, and it showed in some abominable misses up front, and two individual errors by defenders to give away easy goals.

So no trophies this season, but still a step forward, I feel. A better-than-expected introduction into Europe, which eased our financial burdens as well. And with the 8 foreigners I signed last summer, I feel we're a significantly stronger team than last year.

The team.

Some of the new signings who played a key part in the team's fine season:

- Spanish striker Navarro (already put his profile up earlier) had a good season, though he did slow down a bit towards the end. The mental aspect of the game doesn't seem to be his strong point, as he started getting severe morale drops whenever I announced that we "should win if we play to our best," which was pretty much every league match.

- Quentin Lucas: our new left back, picked up on a free after he was released by Girodins Bordeaux. Very solid, and his decent pace makes him more useful offensively than our previous left back.

- Bayo: Nigerian DM who had been playing in Belgium for ten seasons, but was surprisingly average in those years, and spent lots of time on the bench. But my scout (and his attributes) indicated that he had more in him than he showed, so I signed him anyway, and don't regret it. He's getting on a bit, but he should have at least one more good season in him.

- Olufayay: (I know that's not his name, but that's what I call him, can't remember his real name, heh). My best earner, right at the top of my upper wage limit, but worth every penny. Very useful right winger. Won this year's Belgian Ebony Boot award, and thanked me for earning his first caps in the African Cup of Nations. Rightly so, I'd say, since he spent the previous 4 seasons at Stade Rennais FC in France, and only got to play twice during that time, so he has a career again now.

As an added bonus, he apparently came from Anderlecht's youth setup, long ago, so he counts as a "home grown" player.

I don't feel that my squad needs strengthening at all at the moment, and would be quite comfortable going into the next season with the exact same squad. Though undoubtedly I'll spot a free transfer bargain here and there and pick up a few players.

The area that does need my attention, however, is the "home grown" aspect.

The foreigner rule is pretty lenient in Belgium - need 6 players in the match squad that are trained in Belgium. I'm just about ok for league games for now, but for Cup games (where I can only select 4 subs instead of 7) I usually have to pick one or two second choices to meet the quota. So I'll have to keep my eyes open for talented Belgians, and try to hold back on signing more foreigners.

I'll probably search for a few talented youngsters as well, since I need two of those in the match squad also, and I'm running low on those.

The "home grown/club" aspect of European competitions is something I can't do much about in the short term. I had to put 4 useless youngsters in the Champions League selection this season, and that won't change soon, I'm guessing.

Luckily, with finances decent for a change, I can finally upgrade my youth facilities now, for the first time. Hopefully they upgrade it quite a chunk in one go, since they're still "basic."

Oh, and my scout did return from Eastern Europe eventually, after pretty much exactly two and a half years. The other scout, who's been in Western Africa since November, hasn't found any players yet so far.

I think that pretty much covers it. Well, perhaps my updated manager profile. The continental reputation came at the start of the season - bit sooner than I expected, but I don't mind.

The limited knowledge of Iceland is a bit odd. Apparently that comes from Ragnar Snorrason, an Icelandic striker who was in my team for several seasons (but was since released and has retired).

My contract is up in 5 weeks, which always makes me a bit nervous, but I assume I'll be offered a new contract at the start of June.

[Jimbokav1971]

This bloke was one of my stars in the early years of the FM07 challenge.

With only 3 subs allowed in N.Ireland his unique ability could prove valuble .

[Jazza]

Kari 2012 Icelandic Premier Division

Table

League Cup

Icelandic Cup Overview

Cracked it big time this season, an unexpected treble. Had a bit of luck though, the top two teams had their CL/Uefa cup qualifiers near the end of the season which they lost heavily, ruining their morale. Due to that they dropped points which we took advantage of moving from third to first place to secure champions league football for the first time next season, well the qualifying rounds at least.

[Annihilator666]

You will see from the info screen that Mosside already had a player on the favoured personnel list. Meet 17 yeare old Ryan Boyd.

Omg, that's my cousin.

Looks like they haven't set his age in the DB though, he's actually 21 (or 22).

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by Annihilator666:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You will see from the info screen that Mosside already had a player on the favoured personnel list. Meet 17 yeare old Ryan Boyd.

Omg, that's my cousin.

Looks like they haven't set his age in the DB though, he's actually 21 (or 22). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cool .

Maybe that's why he's such a lump.

Strangely though, although he is now a year older, both his height and weight remain unchanged.

[Annihilator666]

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 Annihilator666:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You will see from the info screen that Mosside already had a player on the favoured personnel list. Meet 17 yeare old Ryan Boyd.

Omg, that's my cousin.

Looks like they haven't set his age in the DB though, he's actually 21 (or 22). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cool .

Maybe that's why he's such a lump.

Strangely though, although he is now a year older, both his height and weight remain unchanged. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Haha, he's their best player in reality. Dunno if you did any googling when you took over, but check out this article:

http://www.ballymoneytimes.co.uk/ballymena-provincial-l...brilliant.3380943.jp

[Gundo]

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 Gundo:

Stian Ringstad is absolutely immense!

His record after 12 games in the first divisjon stands at: 15 goals!

It'll be interesting to see if he can beat cookies record with him which was: 26 games and 36 goals. I reckon it'll be pretty tough but my boy can do it.

What do you mean your boy?

He really is immense, He's regularly playing for the U21's at the moment. How long 'til he's called up to the full National squad?

Gundo, are you getting a lot of interest in him? I'm worried that if i don't get promotion this year that he may want to leave at the end of the year. I'm turning down offers of around £55K + extras but not sure how long i'll be able to keep hold of him

Best of luck for the remainder of the season......

I'm early days in my next season, so we'll wait and see....

Good luck one and all </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry; Our boy.

Yeah I've got a couple of clubs after him. Not many bids yet, but like you I think we'll need to get promoted pretty soon or risk losing him.