[FM17] Something...Something...Something...Journeyman!

[andychar]

22 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

I'm honestly disappointed. So many opportunities for Back to the Future references missed.

No references! I signed a player called Brown and Browning just couldn't find anybody called Emmett. And for the life of me not a single Libyan wanted to come to me!

I will try harder in the future!

2 hours ago, mjaferrie said:

Great job in Niger, look forward to you getting back to the future!

Ok I get it more Back to the Future references! 

Its not my fault I'm getting through this save at a mile a minute at the moment or 88mph to be precise. 

 

[mjaferrie]

If my calculations are correct, if you hit 88mph we're going to see some serious ****.

[ManUtd1]

Just now, mjaferrie said:

If my calculations are correct, if you hit 88mph we're going to see some serious ****.

Where we're going, we don't need roads. 

[andychar]

I searched through my team to see if I had any body called Scott or Johnny but it wasn't great and it was no good.

[andychar]

Chapter 6.5 "Where were going, we don't need wins"

There ya happy!?

Elite (CAY) 1-1 Sunset - The poor league form continued as it was obvious I was going to need a cup win in order to get out of this country at the first attempt. We started quick but weren't able to finish our opponents off and they equalised in the 2nd half. If I am to stay with Elite I really need to sure up the defence. I'm dominating most games but struggling to keep teams out.

Latinos 2-1 Elite (CAY) - With the league all but finished I put all my eggs in one basket and concentrated on the Presidents Cup. I rested 8 out of my 11 first team and it really showed. We actually took a surprise lead thanks to Dwayne but once again our inability to defend cost us as they managed to turn it around and claim the victory. I wasn't going into the 2nd leg of the semi with any confidence at all.

Elite (CAY) 0-1 Bodden Town - I went into this one with a 2-0 aggregate lead and just needed to be strong at the back (ha!) in order to advance. We were doing fine right up until the 70th minute when they finally broke through. What followed was a very nervy 20 minutes. Luckily we managed to hold on and book our place in the final. It wasn't pretty and we look back to that 94th minute penalty as the reason we held on! 

Elite (CAY) 3-0 Cayman Athletic - It was almost as if an impending cup final was a real boost to the club. I don't know if it was because players were working hard to try and force their way into the team but everything clicked in this game. We were 2 up after 15 minutes and never looked back. We were dominant for 90 minutes and added a 3rd in the second half. Too little too late in the league but it was nice to get back to winning ways.

Roma (CAY) 1-4 Elite (CAY) - It was nice to get the obligatory win against Roma (CAY) out the way. The next match was the cup final but I decided against resting players. I didn't want them to get rusty I wanted them to get some momentum. 7 goals in the last 2 games with only 1 conceded was just the momentum shift we needed. All the damage was done in the first half which at least gave me scope to rest certain players in the second half. The next game would be all or nothing I fear.

So 2 wins a draw and a defeat in the league. Sounds about right. This is where we were after 2/3's of the season.

9 points off top, 5 points off second, 5 points clear of 4th. I've made 3rd place my own this season and I'm on track for my worst league performance of this save.

Cup final next. I want to get out of this tropical paradise!

Summary!

Number of Back to the Future references - 1 2

Great Scott's! - 0

Level of expectations of winning the cup - Slim to none

Still to Come!

The final of the Presidents Cup

My slow painful death in the Cayman Islands Premier League

The Start of the Cayman Islands FA Cup

Random Cayman Islands Fact

Bodden Town gets its name from the high level of people who live there with the surname Bodden.

Not kidding that's the best fact I've put on so far!

[andychar]

Chapter 6.6 "Its like I'm in Hell! But I'm in the Cayman Islands. I can't imagine Hell being much worse"

Its safe to say my time in the Cayman Islands hasn't been fantastic but the cup final was a chance to escape!

I just had to beat the League leaders and defending champions. The good news is in 3 previous matches I haven't been beaten by them. The bad news is I've needed back to back late goals just to draw.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Elite (CAY) 2-0 Scholars - As you can see it really wasn't one for the purist but I couldn't give two flying monkeys. We took our chances (which were few and far between). The game was bogged down a lot in midfield which played to our strength. I was nervous at 1-0 but as soon as the 2nd went in I knew we had it. For once we defended well and the minimal shots they had were no bother really. No matter what happens this season I will be leaving and the Cayman Islands will be destroyed.*

Disclaimer* The Cayman Islands will not be destroyed they merely be removed from the save. 

So how did the rest of the month go? I know I couldn't care either.

Scholars 0-1 Elite (CAY) - A brilliant win over the league leaders and the lead was cut to 6 with 6 games to go. It was much like the cup final, not a lot in the way of chances created by either side. We struck mid way through the first half and held on. I say held on we looked pretty comfortable throughout. In 5 matches against Scholars this season we hadn't been beat, no matter what happens I will happily take that.

Tigers (CAY) 0-4 Elite (CAY) - Tigers are a team outside the top division and didn't really put up much of a fight. Back to back wins over Scholars had us buzzing and Tigers caught us on a very good day. 2 goals in each half and another clean sheet. That will do pig. If I win the cup I can leave this season knowing I've won 3 out of the 4 trophies this season. Can't really class that as a bad season! 

Elite (CAY) 2-1 Bodden Town - Scholars lost their next game so all of a sudden a win here and I'm right back in the title race. We started strong and were the better team, but as football often does a goal went in against the run of play and we were 1-0 down. It looked like that's how it was going to finish. We huffed and puffed but just couldn't find a way past Bodden Town. Suddenly the breakthrough with 7 minutes to go. Knowing a point was no good I threw literally everything at Bodden (got sent to the stands for throwing water bottles) and got the rewards in the 90th minute with an Andrew Browning winner. Cue scene of epic proportions. Beers were drunk, shots were thrown back, lambs got slaughtered*...the night got a bit wild.

Disclaimer* No animals were harmed in the writing of this post.

So amazing unbeaten month and a cup win left the table looking like this.

Annoyingly we had a game in hand over everybody (except Academy of course). Amazingly if we won it we would be 3 points off top with 4 games to go. We were 9 points behind not long ago. Suddenly this country doesn't seem so bad after all!

Summary!

Number of cups won - 1

Number of times I rang up the Bodden Town manager and just laughed down the phone - 92

Number of warnings by the police for harassment - 2

Still to Come

Repercussions of the lamb killing and harassment

The gripping finale to the Cayman Islands Premier League

Continuation of the Cayman Islands FA Cup

Random Cayman Island Fact

Despite it's size Cayman Islands boasts 4 airports. I will be sprinting to the nearest one soon.

 

[andychar]

Chapter 6.7 "Gotta love FM!"

So amazingly with 5 games to go I was in the middle of a title race. Something a few months ago that looked impossible.

Elite (CAY) 1-0 Academy (CAY) - Another win and another late goal made sure I was 3 points off the pace with 4 games to go. We were the better side by far and looked more like scoring. It was typical really that the goal came with only 11 minutes to go. I didn't care it was a late one all that mattered was the 3 points. 

Sunset 3-0 Elite (CAY) - Every now and then Football Manager will throw up a game so vile and horrible you were sure they knew just how happy you were at the time and they would stop at nothing to destroy it. My 5 star keeper had to be taken off injured after just 3 minutes. This wouldn't been so bad had my back up keeper not have gone home with a cold just 2 days earlier. A cold! Its April in the Cayman Islands and you have a sodding cold. Luckily I had a AML on my bench with keeper rating of 2 so I would be safe! I was 2-0 down at half time. That wasn't enough for FM oh no! 3 minutes into the second half I was whittled down to 10 men following a straight red (he would later disappear under suspicious circumstances) . Surely that would be enough right? Right!? 2 minutes after making my 3rd and final sub Andrew Browning decides this is the best time to get a hamstring injury. I finish with 9 men and a AML in goal, they slap on a 3rd to run salt in my numerous wounds. Still I have the cup to play for right!

Elite (CAY) 0-0 George Town (CAY) George Town win 5-4 on Penalties - This is what I get for slaughtering those lambs. What a horrible horrible 4 days. The league was pretty much taken away and we crashed out of the cup against a team outside the Premier League. We had a goal disallowed in the 89th minute. I didn't look to see if it was the correct call or not,. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. My under 18 keeper did well producing a few good saves but it just wasn't enough as my make shift striker force decided to aim at people in the crowd rather than the goal.

Elite (CAY) 3-0 Latinos - We were 6 points behind with 2 games to go after this win. We also needed a 7 goal swing. I only stayed at this point because I had a chance of finishing 2nd which would match my previous worst season. I was too busy still bemoaning my luck to even pay attention to this game. It seemed straight forward but my heart wasn't in it.

Cayman Athletic 1-1 Elite (CAY) - The title had already gone by the time I played this game with Scholars recording a win. I needed to win just to keep my hopes of 2nd alive. We started off brightly but all the way through this game I had the feeling all they needed was one shot. Amazingly 1 shot later it was 1-1. We huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the house in. A disappointing ending to a disappointing year. All I can say is thank god for the President's Cup!

Bodden Town won their game in hand meaning I couldn't finish any higher or lower than 3rd heading into the final game of the season. 

I couldn't even bring myself to finish the final game of the season and ran to one of the 4 airports the Cayman Islands has to offer. Scholars would go on to retain their crown.

All season I felt I was in a glass case of emotion. I felt the ultimate highs and the ultimate lows. It won't be a season I will look back on fondly but at least it was a one season wonder!

Summary!

Number of houses burnt for the insurance money - 1

Number of one way tickets the hell out of here purchased - 1

Number of angry hateful letters from Elite (CAY) fans - 28

Still to come!

The drawing of a new country

The start of a new country!

Random Cayman Islands Fact

The average life expectancy is 81 (unless your an Elite (CAY) fan then its considerably less).

 

[andychar]

Chapter 7.1 "Will work for food!"

So it was time to leave the Cayman Islands behind (and never speak of it again!) and draw a new country.

I wasn't potentially going to have to travel to far as the country drawn out was...

Dominican Republic

I had resigned in May and the Dominican Republic league wasn't going to be loaded until January meaning if I was going to get a new job soon it would be in France or Montenegro. 

I applied for numerous jobs in France but didn't manage to attend a single interview. I was perhaps a bit ambitious applying for a few jobs in Ligue 1, although I did apply for a mid table Ligue 2 side and still didn't get an interview. This didn't fill me with confidence. 

After months and months of waiting 2 jobs became free at the same time. I got an interview with both. One club offered me the job but I delayed waiting to see what the other would say. A week went by and still nothing. The other club offered me the job again only this time I was more than happy to take it...

[vossmaj]

The suspense is killing me...

Though it pretty much seems like Montenegro is up next, right?

[andychar]

5 minutes ago, vossmaj said:

The suspense is killing me...

Though it pretty much seems like Montenegro is up next, right?

Oooooo that's part of the suspense...but yes. Yes it is up next.

Chapter 7.2 "Started from the bottom now were...still there"

So what club had taken pity in me and decided to give me a job?

Its OK. I'll give you a few minutes to figure it out. 

Its only FK Iskra. (They play in Montenegro).

Wikipedia defines FK Iskra as...

FK Iskra Danilovgrad is a Montenegrin football club based in the town of Danilovgrad. They were founded in 1919 and play their home games at the Stadion Braće Velašević. They currently compete in the Montenegrin First League.

Long flight. I managed to write "Die Cayman Islands Die" 16000 times on a piece of paper before landing.

I wanted to grab a photo of the stadium that captured both the beauty and splendour of the area I will be calling home.

Nailed it.

Now if you will please contain your excitement and I will show you the state of play.

The team (which I have completely forgotten to take a screenshot of) looks like it shouldn't be performing as badly as it is.

And by badly I mean...

Rock bottom without a win and with 7 draws out of 12. It was the 7 draws that intrigued me. It looked like this team was just that extra little push from turning draws into wins and I was hoping I could be the guy to give them that push. The club were actually on a 19 game losing streak stretching back to last season. 

They had somehow qualified for the Europa League although crashed out in the First Qualifying Round. They had also already been knocked out of the Montenegro Cup. Basically I wasn't going to be escaping this country any time soon so I needed to prepare for a relegation battle.

Summary!

Number of French clubs who have given me an interview whether in the future or not - 0

Amount of stars lost in reputation since I had to restart - 1/2

Number of wins my new teams have managed since the dawn of time - Not many.

Still to come!

The start of my reign of terror 

The Montenegro Transfer Window opens.

Random Montenegro Fact

Montenegro winters are cold, snowy and intolerable. Perfect!

 

 

[andychar]

Chapter 7.3 "Turning a corner"

I was determined to be that man who can turn wins into draws! (You can already guess what happened can't you?)

Iskra 1-1 Buducnost - Montenegrin's everywhere celebrated the fact that we didn't spoil their accumulator as Iskra drew another game! This was actually a good point, Buducnost were 3rd at the start of play and we actually went behind to a first half strike. It was an even game all the way through, the probably edged the first half and we edged the second. Neither had cause for complaints. A good points lets move on and focus on winning the next game.

Sutjeska 1-1 Iskra - Another draw! This one hurt. A away game against the team directly below us. We needed a result badly and we were 4 minutes away from getting it before they equalised. I will take responsibility on this one because I went chasing a second when I should have stuck with one. We were the better side throughout and we have shown enough signs over the first two games that if we can turn a few draws into wins we could survive no problem.

Iskra 2-0 Rudar - A brilliant result against a mid table team. Once again we were the better side and once again we scored first. I will be strengthening this team hopefully in the transfer window but right now if I couldn't bring anybody in I would bet my burnt down Cayman Islands home we would stay up. Once again I didn't learn and went chasing a second instead of being happy with what I had only this time it paid off. Good start to my tenure here.

So 5 points from 9 left the table looking like this.

I've been impressed with what I've seen so far. Lovcen show where we could be if we just turn some of those draws into wins. 

Depending on what happens in the transfer window I'm not just looking at survival but I'm looking at Buducnost in 3rd only 10 points ahead. I still have 12 games left this season and play everybody at least once more.

Just in case your wondering the table is decided first by results against each other then goal difference, hence why I'm still bottom. I was unaware as well and equally as gutted when I found out.

There is a big winter break meaning my next game won't be till February. The average temperature in January is 5 degrees. I'm guessing most Montenegro teams wouldn't be able to do it on a cold rainy Tuesday night in Stoke!

Summary!

Number of defeats - 0

Number of places climbed - 0

Number of games without a win before finally winning - 21!

Still to come

The long winter break in Montenegro including potentially raiding a small Montenegro village

The battle for survive continues.

Random Montenegro Fact

Montenegro gained Independence from Serbia thanks to 55.5% of people voting for it. They needed 55% to gain independence.

[vossmaj]

Absolutely thrilling Stadium! You will (have to) find a way to fill it with heat and passion in the long Montenegro winter. Start casting some decent strikers!

btw: Do you have enough players to scout in your save? I suppose your scouting range is somewhat regionally limited and you have three countries loaded which don't really form a "region". I have the same in my save (Managing in China, scouting range East Asia, leagues loaded in Chile and South Africa which means I can (more or less) only scout Chinese players). That on the other hand might be mainly due to me playing FMT mode where there is no chance to add players from certsin regions into the database.

[andychar]

20 minutes ago, vossmaj said:

Absolutely thrilling Stadium! You will (have to) find a way to fill it with heat and passion in the long Montenegro winter. Start casting some decent strikers!

btw: Do you have enough players to scout in your save? I suppose your scouting range is somewhat regionally limited and you have three countries loaded which don't really form a "region". I have the same in my save (Managing in China, scouting range East Asia, leagues loaded in Chile and South Africa which means I can (more or less) only scout Chinese players). That on the other hand might be mainly due to me playing FMT mode where there is no chance to add players from certsin regions into the database.

The stadium is truly breathtaking and I'm thrilled to be able to call that place home for as long as it takes to win something. (Please get me out of here! I don't dare run the tap!)

I've only been at one professional club so far the rest have been semi professional so my scouting range has never really been further than 3 blocks! In Chile I was able to scout Argentinian players but that was about it. There have always been players to scout but more often than not they are youth players who aren't good enough for the team. I tend to only scout the players older than 21.

[andychar]

Chapter 7.4 "What do you mean I actually have to purchase players with money?! What fresh hell is this?!"

It's my favourite time of the year. I get to go to small villages and nab some new players. But what. What's this? I have a transfer budget? I actually have to buy the rights to these players rather than just take them. What sort of crazy world do we live in?

Well there is a first for everything!

Finances were solid. We had a wage budget of 12,000 but only spending 4,500. That needed to change. I hope my chairman had a good Christmas because his wallet is about to take a hammering!

As I mentioned my squad wasn't bad. I probably needed a few new CM but other than that any other position I could improve was a bonus.

For once I was happy with every single one of my new signings. The RB isn't better than my current RB but will make a good addiction to the squad as we are light in that area. I was very excited about my new 18 year old ST. The CB will slot straight into the team as will both new CM. I have about 5 or 6 3* CM so although we don't have that world class player there (world class in the eyes of a Montenegrin team) we have a good solid base.

I wanted to ideally add a new LB and GK as well but nobody we scouted who actually wanted to come would have been an improvement so I decided to keep some money in the pot. Ready for my survival and the next transfer window.

Now not that I want to be that guy and spoil things but in the last update I mentioned that I was looking at 3rd only being 10 points off....hahahahahahaha don't know what I was smoking!

Summary!

Amount of money I had to folk out for these 5 players - 140k

Number of free transfers - 1 (I couldn't resist)

Number of items bought from IKEA using the Chairmen's credit card - 5 

Still to Come!

Action recommences in Montenegro

As I was already out of all cups...that's it.

Random Montenegro Fact!

Montenegro has only ever won one Olympic medal as an independent nations. A Silver in Handball at the London 2012 games.

 

[andychar]

Chapter 7.5 "I've heard the Dominican Republic is nice this time of year."

So I set us up with 3 friendlies, I wanted to give the new players a chance to gel and keep the fitness levels up. 

 I was in no way bothered about the results.

Yeah suck it Serbia Division 1! And boooo Serbia Super League!

A couple of nice wins against 2 Serbian Division 1 teams. We looked sharp against Jevor and we did what we needed against Tabane 1970. The match against Radnicki was always going to be hard. We were 2-0 down after 7 minutes, 3-0 down at half time and 4-0 down before we even managed a shot on goal. A couple of late goals meant the scoreline was more respectable than it could have been. Truth be told if we had been beaten 6-0 I would have no cause for complaints. The important thing is we were fired up and ready to battle to stay in this league.

We needed a good start after the winter break. (You can already guess the first result can't you).

Lovcen 3-1 Iskra - I really want to tell you we were unlucky here and that the result had no baring on how the game went but my god we were terrible! I don't know if it was because of the long break we had, or the new players hadn't quite gelled or if the players were dumb enough to listen to a deluded managed when he tells them "yeah aim for top 3, piece of cake!" Maybe a combination of the 3 but if we play like this every week there is only one way we are going.

Iskra 2-2 Mornar -  A decent point? No not in the slightest. The first half passed by quickly with neither side threatening. We came out in the second half like our season depended on it and raced into a 2-0 lead. We were looking dominant then FM did what FM does and the game completely turned on its head. Suddenly out of nowhere it was 2-1 and that dominance had disappeared. Suddenly Mornar looked like Barcelona and before I knew what had happened it was 2-2 and 2 points had been thrown away.  I can see now why this team had drawn so many this season. 

So not the comeback I had imagined and it left the table looking like this.

We had lost ground on both survival and the relegation playoff. Sutjeska have found the form we wanted and looked to potentially run away from the relegation battle. 

Still with 10 games to go survival is very much a possibility. We just need to learn to hold onto leads.

Summary!

Number of Mice thrown across the room - 1

Number of times mouse thrown across the room - 4 (the dog thought it was a game)

Chances of survival -  Ask Gloria Gaynor

Still to come!

The anxious battle for survival.

Random Montenegro Fact

At 1300 metres deep, the Grand Canyon of Tara River is actually the deepest canyon in Europe. 2nd biggest is how the Canyon feels between 8th and myself.

[andychar]

Chapter 7.6 "Home's away from home"

Another month and another important set of fixtures.

The stadium...she hates me.

Kom 0-2 Iskra - A huge win this away against the team directly above me. It was a win that lifted me off bottom for the first time since I arrived. The difference between automatic relegation and a playoff could come down to this win. It was a cagey, nervy first half, typical of a relegation 6 pointer. We took control in the second half with 2 quick fire goals. We were the better side and deserved all 3 points. It was just the lift we needed. Shame we had top of the league away next.

Mladost (P) 2-3 Iskra - Top of the league your having a laugh! The first half was end to end football a really good watch. We fell behind after 21 minutes but were level 4 minutes later. It looked like we were going to head into the break even but the home side struck with the last kick of the half. It was a body blow as our play hadn't merited it. We came out even more determined in the 2nd half. We scored straight from kick off and thus resumed the end to end game. Ivan Delic with all the weight on his shoulders calmed slotted the ball home after Kovacevic was brought down. We held on to claim a hugely unexpected win. Queue manic celebrations. That reminds me I must check the drinking laws in Montenegro. 

Iskra 0-0 Decic - This game was as dull as the last one was exciting. Ivan Delic with all the weight on his shoulders absolutely ballooned a penalty over the bar in the second half. Other than that absolutely nothing happened in this game worth mentioning. That being said any point at the moment was handy so beggars can't be choosers. 

Iskra 0-1 Bokelj - They were 2nd in the league but we fancied out chances. It was an evenly dull first half and for the life of me I thought we were heading to another 0-0. I would have killed for a 0-0! Bokelj were the better team in the second half and wasted no chance in asserting their dominance. They were 1-0 up after 55 minutes and could and should have doubled their lead if it hadn't been for a penalty miss. In the end we had few complaints. Back to back away wins followed by back to back games without a win at home. I sense a pattern emerging in my management!

7 points from 12 is brilliant for a team battling relegation. So what had it done to the table?

We had opened up a gap over Kom which meant it was looking increasingly likely we were going to avoid automatic relegation.

We had 6 games left, plenty of time to leapfrog potentially numerous teams...as long as all our remaining fixtures were away from home.

Summary!

Number of points needed to guarantee survival - 18

Number of times I cursed the name Bokelj - 9

How I felt after the Mladost (P) win - 

Still to come!

The exciting finish to the Montenegro Premier League

Random Montenegro Fact

The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18 although there is no minimum age to consume alcohol. Beers for everybody! Come on Youth Candidates don't be shy!

[vossmaj]

Well, looking at that beauftiful stadium of yours I am hardly surprised that your Boys don't quite feel at home...

[andychar]

9 minutes ago, vossmaj said:

Well, looking at that beauftiful stadium of yours I am hardly surprised that your Boys don't quite feel at home...

They seem to spend the whole 90 minutes looking over their shoulder. I don't know why.

Chapter 7.7 "A break from tradition"

I normally like to give month to month updates but this time I'm only going to give you half a month. You'll see why.

Buducnost 0-1 Iskra - A massive win and won that was hard earned. The game could have gone either way to be honest but I think we just about nicked it. We need these sort of performances heading into the home stretch. This would have been a brilliant victory had it not been for Rudar also picking up the win! How Rudar of them!

Iskra 2-0 Sutjeska - Sutjeska have been the inform team since the winter break, they were languishing with me near the bottom before going on a tare and destroying the league, they now stand a chance of 3rd and a Europa League place. It seems their manager nicked my team talk! It made this win even better. The first half flew by, mainly because nothing happened so nothing was being updated. The second half however is when we really took control. We were all over them. When we took the lead I remembered the last minute goal they scored against me in one of my first games so this time I shut up shop. It was obvious that we would grab a second and kill off the game. 

The team was coming up trumps at the most crucial time. It meant with just 4 games to go the table looked like this. 

With Kom all but relegated it was now between us and Rudar for survival. For the first time since I had taken over we had our heads above water. 

Results count before GD so we knew at this point all we needed to do was finish level with Rudar and it would be enough.

I say at this point because...

It just so happens we play the biggest game of the season next. Hence why I wanted this mid month update!

In reality we play 3 out of the current bottom 4 over the next 4 games. I think we could win all 4 games and potentially look at finishing as high as 5th

In reality we play 3 out of the current bottom 3 over the next 4 games. It means we could easily lose all 4 and find ourselves in the relegation playoff.

Delete the above as applicable.

Summary!

Number of games left to save our skin - 4

Number of wins needed to guarantee survival - 4

Number of games I wish we were playing away from home - 4 

Still to come!

The gripping final 4 games of the season

End of season awards

Random Montenegro Fact

Village Crkvice is a place in Montenegro with the highest annual rainfall in Europe. The second highest is Rotherham

 

[vossmaj]

Once again the tension kills me. You play Rudar away, so that should be a piece of cake.

[andychar]

16 hours ago, vossmaj said:

Once again the tension kills me. You play Rudar away, so that should be a piece of cake.

Finally the wait shall my over my friend. Rudar away...a piece of cake...yeah...

Chapter 7.8 "I'm a survivor! I'm not gonna give up!"

Lets face it if you cant quote Destiny's Child in celebration of the massive news that Beyonce is pregnant again...with twins no less...when can you quote them.

Anyway I digress. If I remember correctly I have the small matter of a massive game!

Goddamn it @vossmaj I'm blaming you for this one!

Rudar 3-1 Iskra - Ever play a game of FM and just think "how on Earth did I lose that game"? If you didn't see it and just saw the stats you would think I was robbed. End of the day they took the chances they had and we blew every single one of them. Well not every single one we did actually take an early lead. Honestly I thought that was it, we would get 2 or 3 and the party could begin. Rudar had other ideas. The equalised only 10 minutes later and it was game on again. We were in control, we were dominant, we looked like the only team who was going to score...then they scored and took the lead. I threw everything at them and continued to miss. Their 3rd came in injury time as we bombed forward. A disappointing result to end a disappointing day.

But despite this there was still a silver lining. 

The 3 results against Rudar were 

(a) 1-1

(h) 2-0

(a) 3-1

So if my calculations are correct if we finish level at the end of the season we will indeed be above them thanks to that away goal. Although this is Montenegro and I know nothing about the league so at this point its pure speculation.

Anyway the next game was a massive one against the team who were 4 points clear of us in 7th. We won and suddenly it would be a 3 horse race for 2 survival places.

Iskra 1-0 Lovcen - If stress does indeed take years off your life then FM will be taking me to an early grave. I think I've mentioned how happy I am with my strikers so I was very happy when our CB smashed a 30 yard screamer into the ball of the net. Standard. Think back to when I was manager of Elite (CAY) in the floating hell storm that is the Cayman Islands. I played a game where everything went wrong and it cost me the title. Well it tried again! First I had a player sent off minutes into the second half and an injury just 2 minutes later, luckily I could call a sub on this time. I played 30 minutes with 10 men as they destroyed my goal, the goalkeeper was brilliant saving everything that came at him. Luckily they got a man sent off with 13 minutes to go and the bombardment eased off. We clung on for a massive win.

With 2 games to go it looked like this. (No screenshot just crude text)

7th Lovcen 30 Points

8th Iskra 29 Points

9th Rudar 29 Points

So I was right we still had the head to head advantage but with just 2 games to go this was going to go down to the wire. If I won my next game and Rudar lost I would be safe for another season and able to concentrate on building the team ready for at least a top 3 finish. Defeat on the other hand, well that was unthinkable at this stage.

Summary!

Number of mini heart attacks - 3

Number of games left - 2

Number of points needed to guarantee survival - 6 

Still to come!

The tense final 2 games of the season

End of season summary and Awards

Random Montenegro Fact

FK Sutjeska are the only team in the short history of the Montenegro First League to actually successfully defend their title.

 

 

[nextqprmanager]

Good story-telling thread, funny esp Stadium

Good luck

[andychar]

58 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

Good story-telling thread, funny esp Stadium

Good luck

Cheers mate and thanks for the comment.

Chapter 7.9 "Its now or never!"

Don't know how long I'm going to manage quoting songs for my chapter titles.

So with 2 games to go our fate was in our own hands. Win both games and regardless we were safe.

Mornar 2-4 Iskra - Once again our away form came up trumps and we produced a brilliant performance to claim victory and a massive 3 points. We started strong in the first half and for the first time in a long time we took our chances. We took a 3-0 lead. Mornar struck early in the second half and I started to get a sinking feeling! Luckily we defended well and hit them on the counter to secure all 3 points. They scored a consolation in stoppage time but it wasn't enough to dampen our spirits. 

Was it enough to stay up or were we going to the final day?

The table with one game to go looked like this (again no screenshot. I had other things on my mind!)

7th Iskra 32 Points

8th Lovcen 30 Points

9th Rudar 30 Points

Lovcen were beaten while Rudar picked up a big point. All we needed was a point to secure survival. We were at home (crap) against Kom who were already relegation and therefore were playing without any pressure. It was not a foregone conclusion.

Never in doubt!

Iskra 3-1 Kom - We started slow and nervy and were deservedly 1-0 down at half time. We had lost all the positiveness we showed against Mornar. A quick half time team talk telling them to do it for the fans and we came out a completely difference side. We brought ourselves level 10 minutes into the second half and I faced a dilemma. Hold on for the draw or go for the win. He who dares! I went for the win and got what I wanted with 20 minutes to go. I shut up shop at that point and even though Kom threatened I was never really worried. Survival was assured with 3 minutes to go. Party time!

So the final table looked like this (Screenshot this time!)

The table maybe makes it look easier than it actually was but in the end 5 points said a lot. In my 17 games I had won 8, drawn 6 and lost 3. 

If I can turn just a few of those draws into wins there is no reason why maybe I can challenge for the title. In the end we were only 7 points off European place and only 11 points off top.

I was looking forward to a new season!

Rudar would go onto lose in the Relegation Playoff. 

Only thing left to do was to close the season out with some awards!

If I could keep my better players and strengthen a few areas I was confident I could challenge for at least a top 3 position next season.

I was also looking forward to playing in the Montenegro Cup.

Last season Iskra won it and this season the final was between to Montenegro Second Division teams. Either this was a fluke or maybe the bigger teams don't take it seriously. If they don't it opens the door for me and maybe a quick escape from the country. 

The best thing is I've enjoyed Montenegro so far. I needed too after hating Cayman Islands so much!

I had to close the season with this little gem.

The board were delighted with my leadership and were very happy with the signings I've made except one...Ivan Delic. The same Ivan Delic who was voted signing of the season.

Its kind of like when you produce the greatest essay ever but the professor just can't give you an "A" so he finds the one spelling mistake you did and gives you a sodding "B+".

Summary!

Number of times relegated - 0!

Number of loses in 17 - 3

On a scale of 1-10 the headache I had after celebrated surviving - 11

Still to come!

The build up to the new season

Expectations

Transfers

Random Montenegro Fact!

Montenegro got its name from the dark mountain forests that cover the land. The name breaks down into two words, ‘monte’ and ‘negro’ (black, mountain), and dates back to the 15th century

Honours!

Kosovo 

Kosovo Premier League 2016/17
Kosovo Cup 2016/17
Kosovo Super Cup 2017/18

Chile

Chile First Division B 2018

Niger

Niger Premier League 2021 
Niger Cup 2021

Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands Super Cup 2016/17
Presidents Cup 2016/17

[nextqprmanager]

Re Delic - don`t listen to the Board

Signing of the Season was a waste of money - eeerrr

[vossmaj]

4 hours ago, andychar said:

 

Goddamn it @vossmaj I'm blaming you for this one!

 

All in all: Piece of cake! Told you so...

At least I do believe in you...

[andychar]

5 minutes ago, vossmaj said:

All in all: Piece of cake! Told you so...

At least I do believe in you...

Haha fair enough. I'll take that!

[andychar]

3 hours ago, nextqprmanager said:

Re Delic - don`t listen to the Board

Signing of the Season was a waste of money - eeerrr

The Board also wouldn't let me study for my Continental Pro Licence saying that I would just leave them for a better club...they are 100% right but still!

Chapter 7.10 "We go again!"

Great end to last season but we need to forget about it and move onto the next season.

The board wanted a safe Mid Table position. I'll class that as anything between 5th and 7th. Personally I wanted to challenge the top 3.

The way I see it is...if I can qualify for Europe I may be able to attract a better quality of player to then boost my team and challenge for the title. Its part of a two season plan.

As the Montenegrin Cup was concerned if 2 Second Division teams can reach the final this cup is up for grabs this season. I will be giving it my full attention. Iskra were knocked out before I took over so I have no idea if the Quarter Final is far or if its only game number 2! Either way its in my best interest to at least make the final 8.

Its safe to say nobody expects me to upset the applecart this season. Maybe that's a good thing and it will help me fly under the radar. 

I tried to sign anybody in the key players section in areas I wanted to boost. Nobody wanted to join me, hence the importance of bagging a top 3 finish.

That's not to say I wasn't able to make some transfers however...

Summary!

Position board want me to finish - 6th

Position bookies think I'll finish - 6th

Position I'll be happy with - 3rd

Position I'll probably end up - 7th

Still to come!

New signings

Friendlies

The Start of the Montenegro First Division

Random Montenegro Fact

In area, Montenegro is comparable to the size of Connecticut.

[andychar]

Chapter 7.11 "This money for players crap really isn't going to take off"

So another transfer window where I wasn't allowed to raid a small Montenegro village. 

With that in mind here are the players I've "bought".

Very confused by the lad who at 27 years of age wanted to be a player/director of football. Who was I to get in the way of the young lads dreams!

So for the first time since I took over here is a look at the squad I have at my disposal.

I know what your thinking and the answer is yes. We have to use a lot of cones in training and the line for the bathroom can get ridiculous at times.

My squad is massive but we are still a good 13k under wage budget. In fact I'm not sure what's happening but the board won't allow me to move funds over to the transfer budget so it looks like this is the team we are stuck with baring free transfers.

The squad was good. We didn't really suffer in any position and I was confident of challenging for a top 3 finish this season.

Only thing left to do is show my preseason friendlies.

Some random teams from places I can no longer remember. 

4 wins out of 4 with 3 of them coming away from home (shocker). We looked good and we looked ready to go. Lopicic was the winner of preseason. He only scored 2 in 4 but he created a further 4 meaning he had a hand in over half our goals. He wasn't a first teamer before, he is now. I just hope he repays my faith.

So with a solid team and a good preseason behind our belts we were absolutely confident of starting the season well. I mean our first game of the season was at home against a team who has just been promoted. What could go wrong...

Summary!

Number of new signings - 6

Number of small Montenegro villages raided - 0

Number of disappointing nights wishing I could raid a small Montenegro village - All of them

Still To Come!

The exciting start to the Montenegro First Division

The not so exciting start of the Montenegro Cup

Random Montenegro Fact

There are 4 teams level with the most amount of league titles. They are all on 2 win. Iskra isn't one of them.

[andychar]

Chapter 7.12 "Can we play away every week!"

I was ready, the players were ready the fans were ready. Are you ready!?

Hang on wait I wasn't ready.

Iskra 2-4 Zeta - You probably guess this result from my last post. We were garbage. I went 1-0 down and 2-1 down but seemed to find a way back into the game. 2-2 at half time and I thought we could nick it. I was wrong we were terrible the second half. Zeta won the cup last season so I didn't expect this to be a walkover but I did expect the win. I'm going to put it down to the new signings, they need time to gel, like say, 4 days. Terrible start to the season nonetheless.

Buducnost 0-2 Iskra - Lose 4-2 at home to a newly promoted side, beat the title favourites 2-0 away from home. Go figure. We were brilliant here and I was in heaven when we went 2-0 up within 11 minutes. From then on it was a strange game, they dominated possession without ever really challenging our GK. We held on for a comfortable win. Best way to bounce back following a disappointing start.

Iskra 3-0 Decic - This was more like it. Another strong start and we were looking good. We added a second mid way through a half we were dominating. This is something we struggled to do last season, kill off teams so I was thrilled when we added a 3rd and but the result beyond any doubt. The loss a distant memory as things were looking good. 2 clean sheets and the team playing well.

Early table suggest that anybody could take points off anybody.

Except Mornar...haha losers.

Summary!

Number of home defeats - 1

Number of away defeats - 0

Number of unsuccessful exorcisms performed at stadium - 3

Still To Come!

A bumper month in the league

The start of the cup.

Random Montenegro Fact

Montenegro are yet to qualify for a major tournament as an independent nation

 

[andychar]

Chapter 7.13 "Hold on we play 90 minutes? Somebody better tell my players"

After a decent start I was hoping to really grab the bull by the horns this month. Instead I grabbed the bull by something else!

Jedinstvo (BP) 0-1 Iskra - We made it 3 wins in a row with a away win (obviously) against the second promoted side. Lopicic scored early but from then I thought it was going to be another case of not being able to kill teams off. Luckily we held on for the win but there were too many scary moments for my liking. Still another clean sheet and another 3 points I'll take that. 

Iskra 0-0 Mladost (P) - Now these were a team who were predicted to do well but had found themselves struggling to start. With that in mind its easy to see why I classed this as 2 points dropped rather than a point gained. We needed to turn draws into wins this season that was the key. This was exactly the performance and the result to go with it I've been trying to avoid.

Bokelj 3-2 Iskra - Now we didn't draw this game but we managed to turn it into a loss! We were behind twice in this game but kept roaring back and with the equaliser with 17 minutes left there was only going to be one winner. We conceded in the 92nd minute to turn a hard earned point into a bitter defeat and away from home as well! That's like one of the signs of the apocalypse isn't it?

Sloga (R) 0-3 Iskra - We were able to forget about the league for a second and concentrate on the cup. I made 6 changes but kept Lopicic in because I wanted him to keep up his form and he didn't let me down. Sloga (R) are a non league side so I wasn't expecting any trouble and I didn't really get it. A routine win and into the second round we went where everything turns all two legged, suits me to a tee.

Sutjeska 1-0 Iskra - I'm not one for thinking there is a script in FM I know the AI can't tell the difference between human and CPU so it can't "screw you over" but my god I got screwed! We had a penalty missed (by a player with a 12 rated penalty taking ability, I mean as if!) and then we also had a goal disallowed (which was totally not a foul!). Step up Sutjeska to score in the 93rd minute to steal... yes steal... 3 points. It was one of those you knew was in before it flashed up because that's just how it goes sometimes. Not going to lie I wasn't a happy chappy but we need to pick yourselves up, dust ourselves off and start really working hard...to bribe the referee's as much as possible.

So after my team decided to start the after the game cool down early it left the table looking like this.

 

Not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination. Bokelj had started well being the only unbeaten team and Zeta the newly promoted team living the high life.

We needed to break the little bad run we have found ourselves sooner rather than later.

Summary 

Number of 90+ minute goals conceded - 2

Number of points lost because of 90+ minute goals - 2

Number of holes punched into the wall - 2

Still to come!

The next round of the Montenegro Cup

3 big games in the League

Random Montenegro Fact

The capital Podgorica was once part of Yugoslavia

 

[nextqprmanager]

You can do it

[andychar]

Chapter 7.14 "Wouldn't be fun if it was easy!"

We needed to improve our form and quick otherwise this season could get away from us.

Grbalj 2-1 Iskra - This team was a second division team and I was supposedly gunning for the top 3 in division 1. So imagine my surprise when we found ourselves 2-0 down after 10 minutes! This was foreign territory. We normally started well and faded at the end. We grabbed a goal just before the half and really pushed for the equaliser. It wasn't meant to be and we suffered a shock defeat. Luckily the cup is two legged so this one wasn't over. Away goals count but there is no extra time. I needed just a 1-0 win at home to go through to the quarter final.

Iskra 2-0 Mornar - That's more like it! Sure this team was bottom but it felt good to finally win! We started strong (see told you) and never looked back really. We dominated and I was delighted to grab a second early in the second half. It took the pressure off the rest of the game and allowed me to rest a few players for a big title game.

Lovcen 1-0 Iskra - This one hurt because once again it was a late goal with Lovcen scoring in the 88th minute. Neither side deserved the win, it was a very even game where both teams had their chances. We have dropped a lot of points late on and I'm worried this is going to be a recurring problem. Something needed to change sooner rather than later otherwise a top 3 place will be impossible.

Zeta 1-2 Iskra - It seemed like we had spent so much time away from home. I hope my fish were ok! In fact it was only 2 games in the last 9 at home. This was a massive victory and one just could just be a season kick starter. We took a deserved lead on the 20 minute mark only to be pegged back just 2 minutes later. We lay siege on the Zeta goal, wanting both revenge for the early season defeat and just generally to get our season back on track. We got what we deserved just after the hour and we held on despite a few late Zeta chances. Season back on track?

Iskra 2-0 Grbalj - We started the month as we ended it with a cup game. We only needed a 1-0 win to secure passage into the next round so I wasn't panicked when it was 0-0 at half time despite my utter dominance. 2 goals in 4 minutes completely changed the game and we knew if they scraped a goal it wouldn't knock us out. We walked the line between attack and defence and probably looked more like scoring than our visitors. Job done, quarter final place secured and belief growing that this season is far from over.

Before I show you the table I feel I need to show you this. It was meant to go on the previous update but better late than never!

Our game was bang on even so no complaints. Every single accumulator in Montenegro failed that weekend!

2 win and a loss in the league meant the table looked like this.

As you were really for me with that late loss to Lovcen costing us. Bokelj still unbeaten but are suffering from the same thing we did last season, they can't turn draws into wins (except against us of course).

I'll take being only 3 points off at this stage. Still plenty of football left to play.

45 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

You can do it

Yes I can!

Summary

Last season games lost in 17 games - 3

This season games lost in 10 games - 4

Number of times shook head in disbelief - 52

Still to come!

The last few games before the winter break 

The Quarter Final of the cup

Random Montenegro Fact

Montenegro can boast 5 different languages although Montenegrin is the official language. I only learn Serbian which I need speak fluently!

 

 

[andychar]

Chapter 7.15 "Hmmm I could be here a while...better get a Mortgage" 

We had hardly set the league on fire but yet here we are only 3 points off top and with a real chance at a title challenge. We needed a big month as there wasn't long before the winter break and we all pray to survive the harsh Winter.

Iskra 1-1 Buducnost - Evil! Evil game! Another game I completely dominated but just couldn't get that killer second goal! We scored early on (famous for our strong starts) and continued to pepper the goal but without reward. It looked like it was going to end 1-0 until they decided to score out of nothing with 10 minutes left. We huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the house in and it was another 2 points dropped. These late goals were starting to kick my...

Sutjeska 2-1 Iskra - Of all the late goals this one has hurt the most. They didn't even need a shot to score in the 91st minute instead my defender, not one for subtlety, decided to blast the ball back to the keeper and was shocked when he couldn't keep it out of the net! An own goal to set me back in the cup and I was starting to get a sinking feeling. I wanted to go back to Kosovo. Things were much simpler back then! 

At this stage I was seriously contemplating a return to the French Under 21 team as they were looking for a new manager but thought, I'm already getting enough punishment in my life.

Decic 1-2 Iskra - Big, huge, monstrous win. Sick of being 1-0 up and then throwing it away my opposition decided to give me a 2 goal headstart as we were 2 up after 12 minuets. What happened next can only be described as The Alamo 2: Montenegrin Revenge. They destroyed me! I mean literally every single time something popped up it was them having a shot, creating a chance, shooting from a free kick. They halved the deficit after 59 minutes and I would have bet my house on us not picking up 3 points. 31 minutes and a repossession later we had 3 points and a brilliant result. 

Iskra 4-1 Jedinstvo (BP) - This was just what the doctor ordered. A big win and a big performance. We were very slow to get going (I mean it took us 36 minutes to score!) but we were comfortable. It seemed all the seasons frustration came out here as we were clinical and defended well. When we scored the third the big players were rested as we had an important cup second leg coming up, they grabbed a consolation before Lopicic grabbed his hattrick. I don't even want to think how far behind we would be without his goals this season.

So many last minute frustration coupled with a few good wins left the table looking like this.

The top 3/4 had started to break away from the rest of the league and more importantly we had caught up a point on the leader. We face an uphill battle in the cup to comeback from 2-1 down but the league was very much still a possibility. 

Summary!

Number of people betting on the "Goal between 81-90" in our games - 3400000

Number of winners - 3400000

Number of times I've been warned for betting by the Montenegro FA - 3

Still to come!

The second leg of the cup quarter final

The last few games before the winter break

Random Montenegro Fact

FK Rudar are the most successful team in the Montenegrin Cup winning it 4 times 

[andychar]

Chapter 7.16 "I hope I can leave soon, I'm starting to run out of Random Facts"

A small month before the winter break but an important month nonetheless.

Mladost (P) 2-0 Iskra - Nothing to say about this one really. The better team won. I made a snap judgement really, saw they were hovering around the relegation zone and thought I'd get away with resting a few players ahead of the cup quarter second leg. It back fired spectacularly. I'm big enough to hold my hands up and say I got it wrong. I think I maybe underestimated Mladost because although they are struggling they are still a good side and they showed it.

Iskra 2-1 Sutjeska - The gamble paid off in the end as we managed to claw our way into the semi final! We came out fighting and it seemed Sutjeska were happy to defend the slim 1-0 lead. We deservedly took the lead on the half hour mark, it was at that point the game changed. We were now defending for our lives while they needed the goal. They got the goal just after half time and once again the game swung back to its original state. We once against deservedly took the lead with 25 minutes to go. It was at that point it seemed both teams were happy riding it out and go to penalties (no extra time remember). Nobody wanted to make a costly mistake, us more so because another away goal would have killed us. What happened in the penalty shootout I have no idea! To give you a clear insight, we won it 2-1. They missed 4 out of 5 penalties in a very horrible watch. We were delighted. There was a big gap between now and semi as well giving us time to concentrate on the league. We would play Zeta in another 2 legged affair.

Iskra 2-1 Bokelj - What a way to go into the winter break. Passage into the semi final of the cup and beating a title rival 2-1. It will be a surprise to nobody we came out strong and found ourselves 2 up after 16. They scored pretty soon after to half the deficit but from then on we weren't really troubled. Sure there were a few chances, one of them coming in the 92nd minute I was adamant was going in but we dealt with everything that was thrown at us. A huge 3 points.

So 1 win 1 loss and a 2 month gap now before the next league game. The table would be frozen like this for 2 months.

Wow. Just wow. 4 points separating the top 6. 

3 points separating the top 5.

1 point separating the top 4.

Results against separating the top 2.

It was so close and this was the first time we had actually been top all season. Everything to play for when we return after the winter break but it feels good knowing we go into it top of the pile. 

Summary!

Number of points we lead by - 0

Number of games left - 12

Number of games it took to reach 8 wins last season - 26

Still to come!

The return of the league

Summary of Winter Break including a few friendlies

Random Montenegro Fact

There were a reported 17 murders in the whole of 2012. That's one murder every 21 days. (See what I mean, I'm literally scraping the barrel here!)

[nextqprmanager]

You need to make your own news / history - win the League !

[mjaferrie]

Man that league is so tight!

[andychar]

On 08/02/2017 at 12:24, mjaferrie said:

Man that league is so tight!

Its very close and its frustrating that this week I've only manged to play 2 games! 

I'm hoping to have a massive session this weekend. 

On 08/02/2017 at 10:45, nextqprmanager said:

You need to make your own news / history - win the League !

Those 2 games may not have gone the way I wanted them too!

[ManUtd1]

Just start making up the random facts, disparaging ones about the other managers...or, your chairman.

[andychar]

Chapter 7.17 "I want to go back into hibernation!"

Wow so as epic fails goes this is up there. I've finished the season with Iskra, took all the screenshots and was happy to update everybody, except I forgot to take the actual results screenshot!

Makes these updates awkward so here is a smash and grab run through with the league table at the end of each month. I will try for the life of me to remember what happened.

I remember the first game back after the Winter Break. You wait months and months for a game then get a 0-0 home draw knocking you off top spot!

Yeah!

So the table after 20 out of 27 games played looked like this.

We were in free fall.

The catalyst for this terrible run of results was the home game against Zeta.

We played them back to back in the league and first leg of the cup. The league came first. We were 1-0 up and cruising until my RB decided that one footed tackles were too mainstream so he tried to break somebodies leg with a two footer. I fined him a weeks wages which he accepted. Anyway back to the game 1-0 up and down to 10 men when we somehow doubled our lead. Life was looking good. Then the second half I started to get that sinking feeling...first it was 2-1 then very quickly 2-2. Finally with only 10 minutes to go Zeta completed the comeback and sunk us 3-2. 

The first leg of the semi final was a 1-1 away draw. Good result but an 85 minute penalty cost us a win and makes things just that little bit harder in the second leg.

6 points behind with 7 games to go. Things weren't terrible though. I still had top and 3rd to play so I hadn't given up hope yet.

Lets fast forward a month and see what the table looked like.

Not quite the end of the month but it was 3 wins out of 3 to catapult us back into the title race. 

I've said its not quite the end of the month because the next fixture is Bokelj away. Obvious if I had a screenshot of the fixtures I was going to build it all up.

Instead you get a before and after shot of the table and you have to fill in the blank. You lucky lucky people.

 

We won! Couldn't tell you the result in the slightest but we won!

It meant with 3 games to go and a better record over Bokelj all we needed was 7 points to secure the title.

Now I've enjoyed my time in Montenegro. I will not have anybody tell me the standard of football is terrible or the games are boring.

Maybe I'll give Montenegro Match of the Day a miss tonight.

That exciting weekend meant we still held a 2 point lead with 2 games to go. 

Bokelj lost their next game before I had even played so it was a home game against 9th place Mornar to win the league before the final game of the season. This was important because the final game of the season was away to 3rd place Lovcen who couldn't win the league but were still fighting for runner up spot and a better European Qualification place. 

Winning the league was even more important after we crashed and burned in the second leg of the semi final of the cup. We went into it with a 1-1 away draw so just needed a win or a 0-0 to get through to the final. 

We took a 1-0 lead and was looking comfortable until we gave away the second penalty of the tie. 1-1 at the break and we were heading to penalties. We battered the goal knowing if they scored again it would leave us needing 2. On the hour mark the worst happened and we found ourselves 2-1 down and 3-2 down on aggregate. We tried our best to claw our way back but to no avail. We had been dumped out leaving the league the only form of escape for me.

So could I beat Mornar and lift the league title for the fist time in Iskra's history?

Yes. Yes I could!

In reality all I needed was a point but it was nice to pick up the win and open up that 5 point gap.

It was a 1-0 win although for the length of the game it was when I was going to score not if. That when came in the 74th minute and we held on to lift the clubs maiden title.

I stayed on until the end of the season gaining a credible draw against Lovcen in the final game of the season.

Montenegro was complete and I was able to do the following with my head held high.

I was going to stay and go through the Champions League (and obviously win it) but decided to start the job hunt and make sure I had nothing which a club could use against me. 

I was delighted to get out the country. I had turned a team from bottom facing almost certain relegation to champions of Montenegro. If that doesn't meant PSG don't want me I'm not sure what I can do!

Summary!

Number of vital screenshots missing - 1

Number of Montenegro facts I've saved myself - 4

Number of countries now complete - 5

Number of countries left to complete - A lot

Still to come!

A new country is born (or randomly generated but born sounds so much cooler)

News of a new International Job (oooooooooo)

Random Montenegro Fact

Iskra is by far the best team in Montenegro. 

 

 

 

[nextqprmanager]

Well done, Congrats on winning League - sounds like you had enough, what`s next?

[andychar]

11 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

Well done, Congrats on winning League - sounds like you had enough, what`s next?

Cheers! There were moments I didn't think it was going to happen but then I decided to follow your advice and create my own history! 

This is what's next...

 

Interlude!

So with Montenegro finished it was destroyed (removed from the game) and a new country was born. 

Say hello to

Bangladesh!

I am colour blind with red and green so really can't look at that flag for too long.

I left Iskra in June and the Bangladesh league didn't load up until January meaning I only had France or Dominican Republic to chose from for a good 6 months.

I struggled. I have absolutely no idea if it was a bug or just me but I was having interviews with clubs in the CFA (3rd tier of French football) and I wasn't getting a single job. My reputation is 2 and a half* and the managers getting the job ahead of me were 1 and a half* with less coaching badges.

Truth be told I was getting frustrated with the lack of activity so I did something maybe a little bit drastic. I took an international job.

The last time I dipped my toe into International football I did a terrible job with the French Under 21 side. 

So which International side was I going to take my frustration out on?

Why the Dominican Republic of course!

They had just been knocked out of World Cup Qualifying in the 3rd round. Falling to Curacao over two legs.

My first job was to take control of a friendlies. One against US Virgin Islands.

Dominican Republic 5-2 US Virgin Islands - I had completely changed the formation and style of the team so it wasn't a surprise they weren't brilliant defensively. We were 3-0 up early on and I was beginning to think this was going to be a demolition job. It was 3-0 at HT which no further goals coming. Imagine my surprise when I notice we have a striker who plays for Real Madrid worth 15m! I imagine any potential future success may come through him. Anyway back to the game. US Virgin Islands came out in the second half and started playing first they pulled a goal back to make it 3-1 then put my team under serious pressure to make it 3-2. A few changes later and we were once again in control with 2 quick fire goals. We are going to have to be much much better if we are to even stand a chance of anything. If every game is going to be like this however I should have some fun!

I had at least had something to keep me going while I looked for a new job but things were getting more and more frustrating. It got to November and I figured I might as well wait until January 20th when Bangladesh loads up and see what is free there. 

There was a job available in the Dominican Republic but they were rock bottom with 5 points from 17 games. Nobody gets relegated so I assume they have always been bottom. The job has been available for more than a year...I was desperate...but not that desperate!

While I continued searching for a domestic job the Caribbean Cup started. Teams were drawn into groups of 3 with the top 2 progressing to the second round. It was a strange format but it was nice to play a competitive game after we played a friendly against Madagascar.

Dominican Republic 2-2 Madagascar - Bad result? Well Madagascar not known as a powerful footballing nation are actually ahead of us in the World Rankings. Still a bad result? We were 2-0 down at HT. I'll happily take a draw here, its hard to get players fired up for a friendly but in the end we need to win these games if we are going to stand any chance of shooting up the World Rankings and helping our next World Cup Qualifying Campaign. But as I said we were 2-0 down so the fact we were able to fight back and take a draw filled me with confidence going forward.

The Caribbean Cup saw us drawn against the team who knocked us out of the current World Cup Qualifying Campaign before I took over Curacao and Montserrat. It was clear we needed to beat Montserrat and just hope for the best against Curacao.

 

Dominican Republic 3-0 Montserrat - Montserrat aren't even allowed a World Ranking so its hard to gauge how good they actually are. We took an early lead and never really looked back. We had made it 2-0 before the break and decided to rest a few players for the second hard before our game against Curacao. Even with rested players we were able to make it 3 and practically make progression to the next round secure.  

Curacao beat Montserrat 3-2 in a back and forth game meaning we had both qualified before we played each other. I was going to use the game as a test to see just how far we have come since I took over.

Curacao 1-0 Dominican Republic - They had lost this same fixture 4-0 before I took over so the fact we only lost 1-0 I will take as progress. We were in the game throughout and made a good fist of it. I can't lie they deserved the win but the fact we had run it close made me happy and optimistic for the future. The important thing is we had qualified for the second round.

The second round had the same format. 3 teams in the same group with 1 home and 1 away fixture. Only this time only the top team was guaranteed through, second placed teams would be judged against each other. We were drawn against Aruba and St Lucia meaning we had a good chance of qualifying for the next round.

The hunt for a domestic job continued...

Summary!

Number of international jobs taken - 1

Number of failed interviews - 4

Number of months of isolation - 5

Still to come!

The Caribbean Cup 2nd Round

The search for a domestic job continues.

 

[nextqprmanager]

Bangladesh confused me, I take it the International Job is a stop gap?

[andychar]

5 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

Bangladesh confused me, I take it the International Job is a stop gap?

Bangladesh was the new country that was loaded because Montenegro was removed. I always have 3 countries loaded up to choose from. So at the moment I have Bangladesh, France and Dominican Republic.

I'm guessing because I have the Dominican Republic leagues loaded it gave me access to be the Dominican Republic National manager. Although I took it to fill in the gap between domestic Jobs I'm hoping to stay there until I get knocked out of the next World Cup Qualification Campaign. 

[andychar]

Interlude Part 2

I did a bit of research about the Caribbean Cup and it turns out its actually more important than I originally though. But before I go into that here are the results from the second round.

Dominican Republic 4-2 Aruba - Great start but a weird game of football. Aruba scored with their only 2 shots on target which gave me questions about my goalkeeper. We were already 3-0 up when Aruba first struck and we were 4-1 up when they scored their second so we never really felt in trouble. A comfortable win but still disappointed in conceding a few goals. Overall though good times!

St Lucia 1-2 Dominican Republic - We were already through before this game but we wanted to win to make sure we went through comfortably. It turns out this wasn't a comfortable game. We went 1-0 up quiet early on but the lead only lasted 4 minutes. Both teams struggled to find the target from then on in an even game. We grabbed the breakthrough with 20 minutes to go and held on for the win. We needed to be so much better against bigger teams but at the moment we were winning and we were through to the 3rd round of the Caribbean Cup.

So onto the importance of this cup. The Third Round once again had the same format as the previous two rounds. We drew Aruba again and Jamaica. We will play Jamaica at home and Aruba away which is the way I would have picked it if I could choose. 

The winner of each of the 4 groups will qualify for the Final's tournament of the Caribbean Cup and in turn will Qualify for the North American Gold Cup.

Runners up will be judged against each other and the best runner up will qualify for a Playoff. They playoff will be against a team from the Copa Centroamerica which is a competition for the Central American nations such as Honduras and Nicaragua. 

Basically I'm not expecting to beat Jamaica but I've already beaten Aruba. If I can absolutely thrash Aruba and keep Jamaica to a little loss then I might have a chance at actually qualifying for the North American Gold Cup. That would be brilliant for a small nation such as Dominican Republic.

Anyway back to the job hunt. It was January and Bangladesh was loaded. It turns out that only one job was available and it was the team that had just been promoted and they were favourites to drop straight back down. I decided against it. 

Dominican Republic was still a waste land with the one job available (most stay strong and resist it!).

Luckily we were reaching the end of the French season meaning there were jobs coming free left right and centre. Two intrigued me in the French National league. One of them was Paris FC. They had been relegated the previous season and were sat mid-table but they were a strong team who were under performing. The other was Les Herbiers VF a team who were massively over performing. With three games to go they were sat 3rd (a playoff place) even though they were predicted to be relegated.

I applied for both jobs and attended an interview with both teams.

I didn't get one of them but after nearly a full year out of domestic employment the other came knocking...

Summary

Number of rounds left before potentially qualifying for the North American Gold Cup - 1

Expectation for actually qualifying for the North American Gold Cup - Slim to none!

Number of new domestic jobs - 1

Still to come!

Who have I taken over!?

 

[nextqprmanager]

Paris?, would be good to do better than PSG !

[andychar]

Chapter 8 "Bon Chance!"

So it was obvious I was heading to France but where?

Paris FC or Les Herbiers VF?

Yep Les Herbiers VF or Vendee Herbiers as they are better known on Football Manager.

4 hours ago, nextqprmanager said:

Paris?, would be good to do better than PSG !

Yeah I really wanted the Paris FC job but they turned me down a few days before Vendee gave me the job. 

Hmmm don't know about you but I don't like the look of those roadworks heading through Switzerland. I might take the Paris route instead.

No graffiti. I'll call it an upgrade. 

Wikipedia defines Vendee as...

Les Herbiers Vendée Football is a French football club based in Les Herbiers (Vendée). It was founded in 1919. They play at the Stade Massabielle, which has a capacity of 5,000 people. The colours of the club are red and black.

For the 2015/16 season the club plays in the Championnat National for the first time in its 96-year history.

They had been bouncing from Championnat National and CFA but had had a brilliant season. They were in 3rd when I took over. 3rd place faces the team who finish 3rd bottom in Ligue 2 over two legs. The winner obviously spending next season in Ligue 2.

Truth be told I had a feeling my career was stagnating quickly. I felt this is the only job I could get at the moment so I took it. I don't know what the previous manager was doing because the squad I had should not have been 3rd. It was terrible.

The gap between 3rd and 4th was 3 points, at the end of the season it was nothing. I had finished 3rd but only on goal difference. This was after 2 draws and a loss. It seems that nobody wanted the playoff place.

I faced Strasbourg in the play off. We laboured to a 1-1 draw at home. In the away leg it was 0-0 until the 85th minute when our hearts were broken. Strasbourg survived and we would play another season in the Championnat National. 

It meant that in 5 games since taking over I had managed 3 draws and 2 defeats.

Truth be told I was glad. I would have needed a miracle to survive in Ligue 2. Besides it wasn't my doing. I wanted a full season to see what I was actually capable of. 

The team was average 

I wanted to strengthen pretty much all areas but knew if i couldn't I at least had capable players.

If the team adapts quickly to the new formation and style of playing then I believe we could have a good season. If not I think it will be top 10 finish at best. 

For the first time in my career I was with a team I knew I wasn't going to win anything with. I took a shot in France knowing I could be here quite a few seasons and I could have to work hard just to get a team who stands a chance of something.

Buckle up and get ready for a lot of French facts (not going to lie I'm going to start off with an obvious one). That being said I will be keeping an ear on the ground just in case a job in Dominican Republic or Bangladesh becomes available.

Summary!

Number of wins with new club - 0

Number of promotions - 0 

Number of disappointed fans - All of them

Still to come!

Transfers

Expectations

Start of the new season

Random France fact

The capital of France is Paris (I swear they will get more interesting)...(Ok not that much more interesting).

On a side note I made a decision while watching my Dominican Republic side lose a Friendly 2-1 against Moldova (more on that one later). With any International Side if I win something I have an expectation for I won't have to go into that country domestically. 

For example I have Dominican Republic loaded up and I am the national manager. If I somehow won the Caribbean Cup I would then be able to remove Dominican Republic from the game and replace it with a new country despite the fact I've never managed there Domestically.

Let me know what you think if you agree or disagree with this. I know its my save and I should be free to make up my own mind but I'm interested in what people have to say.

Thanks again for everybody who reads and comments and just generally enjoys this thread. It wouldn't be the same if it was just me rabbiting on to myself.

 

 

[nextqprmanager]

I agree if you manage the National side, you`ll get to know the players` - you don`t want to manage some of them again - it`ll get boring [ for you ]

[ManUtd1]

My two cents: it's your save. If adjusting the approach makes you happy, then do it. It'd be a shame to lose interest in the save, for no reason other than to maintain some kind of purity for our sake.

[danmcconnell1]

Completely agree with the international success thing, if you win something with the DR then tick it off the list and please continue with the hilarity! This is my favourite story on here! 

[andychar]

10 minutes ago, danmcconnell1 said:

Completely agree with the international success thing, if you win something with the DR then tick it off the list and please continue with the hilarity! This is my favourite story on here! 

Thanks for that really appreciate it. I love how this has come from me believing I'm actually going to win something with the Dominican Republic when I cant even beat Moldova at home!

15 hours ago, nextqprmanager said:

I agree if you manage the National side, you`ll get to know the players` - you don`t want to manage some of them again - it`ll get boring [ for you ]

Just thought it would give me the chance to kill two birds in one season...potentially anyway.

5 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

My two cents: it's your save. If adjusting the approach makes you happy, then do it. It'd be a shame to lose interest in the save, for no reason other than to maintain some kind of purity for our sake.

Don't worry I'm not bored of this save yet......I'm just getting started!!!! (Not literally, God I hope I don't have to go back to 2016 again!)

[Akkarin]

Just read through your ups and restarts; brilliant career so far and really enjoyable read. Good luck in France!