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

[andychar]

International Interlude

Iran - Asian Cup 2023

After the disappointment with Moca I had the Asian Cup to look forward to. I was drawn in a group with...

Japan

China

Thailand

Obviously Japan would be favourites to top the group but with the top 2 and potentially best 3rd place teams going through I was confident of getting out the group. But first the warm up friendlies.

It may seem completely random two African countries at home before the Asian Cup but there is method in my madness. 

Whenever I arrange friendlies I always arrange them against teams who are just above me in the World Rankings at the time. If I can beat them then I should be higher in the Rankings.

We played well in these games, not the free scoring best you have seen in the past but generally my time in Iran had been successful, and these friendlies gave us the belief just before the tournament.

The board wanted us to reach the Semi Final. If I was going to continue working for Iran you feel I had to at least match that.

Iran 3-1 Thailand - Thailand were potentially the whipping boys here so it was nice to get the first points on the board. We had a strong first half and found ourselves 2-0 up at the break. Thailand came out with a bit of fight in the second half and managed to half the deficit leading to some nervous moments. We were able to pounce when Thailand were pushing for an equaliser and make the win safe.

Iran 3-0 Japan - This was a brilliant result and a brilliant performance. Nobody in the media really gave us a chance before kick off so imagine my surprise when we scored 3 goals in 10 first half minutes. Japan tried to get a foot hold in the game but we kept them at bay. We were never really troubled. In fact our game against Thailand was harder. It meant we had qualified for the Second Round with a game to spare and we could afford to rest a few key players before the knockout rounds began.

China 0-3 Iran - The best thing about resting key players is the fringe players get a chance to show what they can do. My fringe players were hungry and they gave me some difficult decisions to make. China were the hosts but were heading out without a single point. They were clearly second best as we managed to ride the momentum train we had created all the way into the knockout round.

 

2nd Round - Iran 5-0 Jordan - Topping the group gave us an easier draw and we faced one of the best 3rd place teams Jordan. They would have been happy just qualifying for the knockout stages but we made sure they didn't enjoy it with a clinical and impressive 5-0 win. It was 3-0 at half time and some key players were rested for the second half but we came out with the same fire and determination. If we were going to go far in this tournament we were going to do it in style. 5-0 didn't flatter us at all as we ran away with the win.

Quarter Final - Iran 4-0 Oman - Oman were a surprise quarter finalist and we were happy to reap the benefits. We were favourites going into the game and we showed why. Once against we were very clinical going forward and we did it once against rest a few key players. We had had a good run so far and avoided some of the bigger names. You can only beat whose put in front of you however and we did just that. 3-0 once again at half time and we added gloss late on.

We once against avoided one of the big teams in the Semi Final as Iraq shocked South Korea with a penalty win. Those of you who are clued up on Geography know how much of a grudge match Iran v Iraq is and I was looking forward to it.

Semi Final - Iran 2-0 Iraq - We had reached the final of the Asian Cup after only conceding 1 goal in the opening game of the tournament. We were made to wait for the opener here with it coming just before half time. We were the better side in the first half and deserved the lead but Iraq were posing a bigger problem than Jordan and Oman. We doubled the lead and effectively killed off the game just after the hour mark. Iraq kept coming trying to claw their way back into the game but we held firm and booked our place in the showpiece final. 

We didn't avoid a big boy here as we came up against Australia. We had not only matched but exceeded expectation. Could we go that one more step further and lift the trophy.

Final - Iran 0-1 Australia - Alas the final was just one step too far as we were comfortably beaten. Australia were the better team throughout. They actually scored the only goal of the game after 6 minutes but were the more likely to score again. In fact they had a goal disallowed which gave me a lifeline but we couldn't take advantage. No complaints but obviously gutted to get so close!

It had been a great tournament for us. We had some luck with how the draw went but in the end the luck ran out. I'll be back in 4 years hoping to go one step further and win it.

Summary!

Number of goals conceded all tournament - 2

Number of trophies won - 0

Number of finals lost in a row - 2

Still to come!

Back to life with Moca

The start of the Caribbean Club Cup 

USA try and hijack the save once again

[nextqprmanager]

That`s a shame missing out on final hurdles - do you change your tactics for big games?

[andychar]

7 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

That`s a shame missing out on final hurdles - do you change your tactics for big games?

I don't no.

I probably should have done. I mentioned that 9 times out of 10 I'm the favourite with Iran and so I've got an attacking formation. Against Australia it was the 1 out of 10 so probably should have gone defensive.

The Moca one there was no real excuse. We had the team we just didn't turn up. Bad game.

[nextqprmanager]

1 minute ago, andychar said:

I don't no.

I probably should have done. I mentioned that 9 times out of 10 I'm the favourite with Iran and so I've got an attacking formation. Against Australia it was the 1 out of 10 so probably should have gone defensive.

The Moca one there was no real excuse. We had the team we just didn't turn up. Bad game.

I only ask because QPR vs Man Utd / Arsenal, I changed to more defensive, still lost 3-0 !

[andychar]

57 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

I only ask because QPR vs Man Utd / Arsenal, I changed to more defensive, still lost 3-0 !

I think sometimes its just not your night to be honest mate. I very rarely change tactics once I've found one that wins. I've been using the same two or three tactics all the way though this save so far. 

[andychar]

Chapter 9.7 "Here we go again...again."

I like film quotes .

So first up was the Qualifying for the Caribbean Club Cup and once again USA have managed to find themselves in the draw.

I keep plodding along picking up huge wins here and there until finally I reach the final of the Qualifying stage, winner advances to the main draw, loser gets nothing. Low and behold its against the United States of America! 

The day approaches and I'm thinking well at least I reached the final when for some reason the game keeps crashing. I reload it and it crashes again. I reload it once more and try and holiday past the date and once again its crashing.

Finally it hits me. The only time its done this is last season when I was due to play USA. Finally the penny drops. The game doesn't mind when its AI vs AI but as soon as I try and take on USA it says "does not compute" and crashes.

Unfortunately for me I've already restarted my game back to a previous save because it worked last time (only because I didn't draw USA in my group and got knocked out before I could meet them). 

So instead of 5-0 wins and 6-0 wins I have this...

I holidayed up til the 4th Qualifying Round so instead of big wins on paper it looks like I've just limped through.

The problem was on the other side of the draw. I saved it just before USA v Scholars. Winner would play me in the final and the only way I was going to get past this was to somehow fix it for the Scholars to win. 

First thing that pops into my head was the in game editor. I've bought it last year just to mess about with kits so didn't really know what it could actually do. I reduced the USA morale to Abysmal and the Scholars morale to Superb. 

It did nothing. 

USA still won 3-0. I was fearing the worse. I couldn't find anything in the In Game Editor that could help me. 

Then it hit me. Why don't I just take over USA national team put all players up front and have an outfield player in the net. If I thought of that sooner I could have saved myself 4 quid!

So that's what I did. On the first attempt the Scholars won. They won 10-8. USA managed to score 8 times and only concede 10 despite playing a 0-0-10 formation.

And so now the season could get back on track and we could begin...

[ManUtd1]

Excellent progress, all around. Going pro should make all the difference, as your fitness levels will blow everyone else out of the water.

[andychar]

Chapter 9.8 "No more Mr Nice Guy"

Ok so I wasn't exactly Mr Nice Guy before.

Loooooove Meeeeeeee!

The board didn't have any different expectations this season than I didn't have. In fact I expected to reach the final of the League and reach whatever round I draw Cibao in the cup!

I don't think I know anybody who has put any money on anybody other than us or Cibao. Not at 9-4 anyway!

So enough chit chat you came here for results.

Bauger 0-6 Moca - Now that's how you get revenge on a team. I no longer class Bauger as an enemy. I pity them more than anything. It was the perfect way to start the season. We destroyed them and we refused to let up. I wanted to make sure they knew who was boss before I stopped calling them an enemy. 1 win down hopefully 17 more to go!

Moca 3-0 Scholars - Finally got rid of USA and managed to qualify for the Caribbean Club Championship and in style. Scholars put up a bit of a fight but we were 2-0 up at half time and it was a foregone conclusion when we scored early in the second half. Fingers crossed we could improve on our performance from last season and actually qualify for the Semi Final and have a shot of qualifying for the North American Champions League. 

I'll not bore you with the league table. 

In the Caribbean Club Cup we drew 

Tempete

Central (TRI)

Five Islands

We lost against Central (TRI) at this stage last season so we needed to improve on that performance. And I'm not sure how fair it is facing not just one island but five!

I would update the next month on this post but I played 8 games in April. EIGHT!

Don't know about the players but I was knackered.

Just in case you were wondering USA actually won the North American Champions League and therefore qualified for the Club World Cup where they got beat in the Semi Final. Such a shame they couldn't be crowned best Club team in the World.

Summary!

Number of times the USA national side has tried to sabotage this save - 2

Number of wins just to get to the stage I crashed out last season - 5 

Number of times arrested for taunting the Bauger fans - 1

Number of hours community service - 50

Still to come!

The bumper April!

Random Dominican Republic Fact

The capital of the Dominican Republic is Santo Domingo, the oldest city in the New World.

 

[andychar]

11 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Excellent progress, all around. Going pro should make all the difference, as your fitness levels will blow everyone else out of the water.

Too right about that. I wish I had taken a screenshot but on the screen where it compares your coaching staff to the rest of the league I had the best in every single department. I still couldn't convince the best Cibao players to jump ship though.

[ManUtd1]

26 minutes ago, andychar said:

Just in case you were wondering USA actually won the North American Champions League ...

Number of times the USA national side has tried to sabotage this save - 2

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA 

[andychar]

15 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA 

 One day the randomly picked country will be Antigua and Barbuda and I will take part in the Caribbean Club Cup again and see USA have won it 9 times in a row and the North American Champions League 8 times!

[andychar]

Chapter 9.9 "8 games?! In a month!? There's only 18 in the season!"

The start of the league mixed with the Caribbean Club Cup meant I was a busy boy this month! I'll break it down just like DX (old wrestling joke if anybody is confused there).

And for those who did get the DX reference your now singing the entrance music .

We started the month with the Group Stage of the Caribbean Club Cup.

Moca 2-0 Tempete - We started off brilliantly with a comfortable 2-0 win. New signings look to have gelled nicely as we were fluid. We were never really troubled and probably should have had more. Its hard to judge really because I know nothing about any team I am facing in this competition, apart from Central (TRI) and only because they beat us last season. Either way I was more than happy to take the 3 points.

Moca 3-1 Central (TRI) - This was the game I was nervous about so I was delighted to pick up the victory and score some revenge. I thought it was going to be a repeat of last season as Central (TRI) took an early lead but we were able to regroup and respond brilliantly. 2 goals in 10 minutes just before the half completely changed my half time team talk. We came out fighting in the second half and deserved to make it 3-1 mid way through the second half. Central didn't have a response really and we had made it 2 out 2. A point against Five Islands would be enough to secure a Semi Final Place.

Five Islands 0-1 Moca - We didn't just beat one island here, we beat all five of them! It wasn't a pretty game. Five Islands couldn't qualify and all we needed was a point so it was a sluggish game. We got the breakthrough on the half hour mark and really that was it for the game. Neither side really went forward or took their chances and it petered out into a 1-0 win. Not that I was complaining in the slightest!

I'd show you the group table but its fairly obvious I qualified...and I didn't take a screenshot of it. Moving on!

Delfines del Este 0-1 Moca - The home side were no longer classed as the worst team in the league on paper. They were second worst! Still a win is a win and I cant grumble. I played largely a 2nd string side here, fixtures were starting to pile up and I didn't want to risk to many injuries. We had to wait until the 58th minute for the goal and when it came we looked more likely to add to it rather than Delfines del Este equalising. Not the most spectacular game you'll ever see but 3 points in 3 points.

Moca 3-0 Pantoja - The first string did their job well here and racked up 3 goals in a nice comfortable win. 2 goals before the half really put the game beyond any doubt. Pantoja came out fighting a little bit in the second half but we managed to sucker punch them on the counter attack. The game fizzled out as we took our foot off the gas and Pantoja just didn't care anymore. Good start to the season.

Moca 3-0 Atletico Vegal Real - 4 wins out of 4 and 4 cleans sheets. It was another easy 3-0 win but at this stage it was hard to get excited. We dominated the league last season and still came out runners up. It felt this was just a bunch of friendlies before the Final against Cibao. Still not going to complain about another win. The Caribbean Club Cup semi and potential final were next so a few players were rested, not as many as against Delfines del Este which will explain the comfortable 3-0 win. The big games were coming up next though.

We were in 1 semi final and Cibao were actually in the other. Would be typical getting to the Final only to get beat by that pesky Cibao!

Caribbean Club Cup Semi Final - Moca 2-1 Boy's Town - Squeaky bum time at is finest! I dominated the first half here and was 2-0 up at Half Time. I was already looking forward to the Final. Unfortunately for me in the second half...The Boy's were back in town...they rinsed me from the 45th minute to the final whistle. I was holding my own well up until the 80th minute when a defensive mistake give them a lifeline. They peppered the goal but we held firm...until the 91st minute when we gave away a penalty. I would love to praise my goalkeeper here, tell you he made a brilliant save...he didn't. The penalty was ballooned over the bar, I mean that ball is still in orbit. The final whistle blew and we had survived.

Cibao lost in their game which I couldn't decide if I was happy or not about. On one hand I didn't have to face them because lets face it my record in cup competitions against them is shocking. On the other hand the team that could beat them is bound to give me a good game.

Caribbean Club Cup Final - Moca 2-0 Don Bosco - Are you watching USA! Are you watching USA. We had done it! The final was boring compared to the semi final. Once again we came out like a house on fire in the first half and were once again 2-0 up at the break. I had learnt from my mistake so instead of assuming the second half would be the same I changed my tactics and basically parked the bus. It worked although it lead to a really boring half. They tried to break us down but couldn't manage it and only really got off a few long range shots. Defenders weren't troubled, goalkeeper wasn't troubled and we were champions.

It meant a few things.

1) This...

We had qualified for the North American Champions League. If you unaware how it works. Basically there are 8 groups of 3 with teams playing each other home and away until you are left with a quarter final consisting of Mexican's and American's.

The USA National Team were not involved this year. It would have been hilarious if they were and I drew them!

*Disclaimer* Although the In-Game Editor is there I will never use it for my own personal gains. If anybody is aware of how to turn it off Mid Game I would love to know!

2) Because I have won a competition with expectations I am free to leave Moca.

I won't however. The North American Champions League takes place towards the back end of the season and I would love to take part in it. 

After all that excitement I still had two league games to go before April was finished.

Barcelona Athletico 2-5 Moca - Not a bad game this one. Again because games were so close together I chopped and changed a little but I never expected a game like this. I like to think we were toying with them. We went 1-0 up but then they equalised pretty much straight after. We went 2-1 up then they equalised pretty much straight after. We went 3-2 up and decided to stop playing with the mouse and just eat it. 4 then 5 followed and the game was done and dusted. Entertaining and the first goals we had conceded domestically all season.

Cibao 0-2 Moca - That's how you send a message. We were brilliant here but all the way through I was screaming at the laptop "why couldn't you do this in the final!". I was screaming the baby was screaming the wife was screaming we were watching Scream it was messy. Well deserved 3 points though.

I guess now would be a good time to show you the league table. You'll never guess whose top.

6 wins from 6 and already an 8 point gap over 5th. Not that I was worried about not making the playoffs. 

12 games to go before the season properly starts for us and Cibao.

Annnnnnnnnd breath!

Summary!

Number of games played this month - 8

Number of games win this month - 8

Number of trophies - 1

Still to come!

The continuation of the pointless part of the league.

The start of the North American Champions League

Random Dominican Republic Fact

The Dominican Republic is the only country in the world to have an image of the Holy Bible on its national flag.

[andychar]

Chapter 9.10 "I could get used to this"

Just a nice straight forward month this month.

Moca 4-0 San Cristobal FC - The start of a nice home stint and the best possible start. We were coming off a big win against Cibao so it was important to build on it and we did just that. For a change we were terrible the first half but still managed to go into the half with a 1-0 lead. The second half we hit another gear and started finding the back of the net with easy. Simples.

Moca 4-0 Bauger - 2nd 4-0 win in a row but this one was sweeter. I still hold a little begrudging towards Bauger so its always nice to beat them, they are one of only two teams we haven't beat every time. 2 goals in each half shows we were dominant from start to finish. 

Moca 2-0 Universidad O&M - The final game of our mini home stint and it was another win and another clean sheet. We were finding things rather easy this season. We weren't at our fluid best this game but we still came out with a nice 2-0 win. The away side did try and attack but we weren't worried at all.

Atlantico 0-5 Moca - Last season we were winning games but it was 1-0, 2-0, 2-1. This season we are winning games and we are dominating. This wasn't a contest. It was 5-0 at half time. We took our foot off the gas in the second half because the job was done and we were coming off the back of a busy period. If we kept this sort of thing up I couldn't see anybody taking points off us never mind beating us.

Moca 4-1 Barcelona Athletico - Well this was new, we actually conceded a goal! We were 4-0 up at the time so it didn't matter but it nice was having that clean sheet streak. Once again we were dominant with 1 goal before half time and 3 quick goals in the second half. They scored in the 91st minute when the crowd had already left to beat the traffic. Not that the ground was ever really that full!

Universidad O&M 1-3 Moca - This was the hardest game we had faced for a long time and we were actually 1-0 down after 20 minutes. We were dominant but they caught us unaware. It was 1-0 at Half Time and for the first time I broke out "aggressive" manager. It worked and we were 2-1 up before the 55th minute. A 3rd quickly followed and we were safe from what would have been our first dropped points of the season.

The table won't surprise you in the slightest.

Perhaps the most surprising thing was the fact that Cibao had dropped points against somebody other than us. With 6 games to go we had already secured the playoffs but now it was time to complete the 100% league season.

Summary!

Number of wins in a row - 22 (although some of them were holidayed)

Number of wins to go - 6

Still to come!

The final games of the regular season

The start of the North American Champions League

Random Dominican Republic Fact

The country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, making Hispaniola the one island shared by two countries. I'll have to remember this fact so I don't use it when I'm in Haiti!

[andychar]

Chapter 9.11 "Still hunting perfection"

So would I be able to keep hold of this 100% record or is there is another Bauger out there?!

Moca 4-0 Delfines del Este - It was about time I spanked this team. On paper they were one of the worst teams in the league yet all I'd managed so far were cheeky 1-0 or 2-0 wins. Not that there's anything wrong with that mind! 4-0 this time and the train kept rolling with no signs of stopping. 5 wins to go.

Pantoja 2-5 Moca - Make that 4 wins. Now I don't often concede 2 goals in the same game but when I do I make sure I score 5 at the same time. We didn't toy with Pantoja, in fact we can be guilty of being complacent. We were 5-0 up and cruising with 30 minutes to go when they scored twice in 5 minutes to make things slightly nervy. Only slightly mind, we shut up shop instead of looking for more. Teaches me right for being greedy.

Atletico Vegal Real 0-1 Moca - My second string did the job here...only just. They did take the lead early on but the hosts had their fair share of chances to equalise. You'd think in a season where you only play 18 games they could manage without 2 games in the same week! Making me rotate and whatnot! Its outrageous!

Moca 4-0 Cibao - Oh how sweet it is. We did the double over Cibao and now only two teams stood between us and perfection. It also made my tinkering look genius. What can I say other than we really turned up. This was the only game we saw as a problem between now and the end of the season and we weren't going to let them put a stop to this run. We hadn't lost a game all season in all competitions. We weren't going to start now.

I'll not bore you with the table instead I'll not leave you hanging on anymore. Could we achieve perfection?

Your goddamn right we could.

San Cristobal FC 0-3 Moca - Not much a turnover between this game and the Cibao victory but I wasn't about to risk a 100% record with chopping and changing the line up and I'm glad I didn't. We put in a professional job to rack up win number 17 in the league. One more to go. Problem is we had to wait a month for it!

Moca 8-0 Atlantico - And that's how its done. What a brilliant way to end the regular season and bag a 100% league campaign. It was my biggest win with Moca and it set us up perfectly for the North American Champions League which was starting after the season ended. All that was left now was the playoffs. I went in it with the utmost confidence in my players it wouldn't be a repeat of the season before.

So just to confirm...

18 wins out of 18. It also shows the dominance of the top 2 as we were the only teams to register a positive Goal Difference.

Barcelona Atletico also managed to cut themselves off from the rest of the league but were still miles behind us.

We would face Universidad O&M in the Semi Final, a team who had given us two good games. History would not repeat itself.

Summary!

Number of 100% seasons - 1

Number of losses this season - 0

Number of draws this season - 0

Number of ways to tell you I had a 100% season - 4 it seems

Still to come

The Playoffs

The start of the North American Champions League

The start of the Dominican Republic Cup

Random Dominican Republic Fact

Drinking during the day, at night and on Sundays is completely normal. So, you can very much enjoy your drink at anytime during your visit to the country. This had nothing to do with my decision to stay with Moca after winning the Caribbean Club Cup. 

[ManUtd1]

Congrats on the "invincible" season. 

[andychar]

33 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Congrats on the "invincible" season. 

Thanks. It's actually the first time I have ever managed it. Easy when its only 18 games and your the only Pro team in an otherwise Semi Pro league!

Chapter 9.12 "Destiny Awaits"

Only the 4 fixtures this month. The start of the North American Champions League is the first game before the Semi and eventual Final.

I would feel bad about spoiling the fact I got to the final but...come on...did you think I wouldn't make it?

Moca 3-1 Comunicaciones - A brilliant start to the NACL but truth be told this was the most winable game of the group. Both of us will probably be battling to finish behind the Mexicans so it was nice to pick up the win. We were truly brilliant. I knew it could go either way, we would either outclass them or be outclassed ourselves. We we 3-0 before they got a late consolation goal. I wasn't kidding myself getting though was going to be near impossible but it was nice to beat the best of the rest.

Moca 4-0 (agg) Universidad O&M - I haven't spanked this team this season and I didn't here. Just two professional games. In fact we scored 1 goal in all 4 halves of this game. We weren't worried about getting past these but it was nice to do it with 2 clean sheets. 

Surprisingly we would face Cibao in the final and we were one win away from the title.

Words literally fail me.

Cibao 3-2 Moca - I don't know what to say. I was stunned into submission here. The screenshot tells the story. We dominated. They scored 3 goals with their 5 shots. We were 2-0 down after 11 minutes but halved the deficit a minute later. Amazingly it was 3-1 at half time. We against came back into the game but just couldn't find the equaliser. Last season's final defeat hurt but this...this just cut as deep as physically possible. 21 games played 20 wins 1 defeat. We had only lost twice in two seasons in the Dominican Republic, both of them in the Final. I would be leaving the Island never a champion. I would like to think of this as prove I'm not using the In Game Editor!

Hot murderous rage filled me and I didn't take any more screenshots! I just blasted through the season hoping to move on as quickly as possible.

As luck would have it we drew Cibao in the first round of the cup at home.

We beat them 4-0. 4-0!! Why couldn't we do that in the Final! ARGH!

I could lie and say we breezed through the rest of the cup but we didn't. We drew the Semi Final against a non-league team but managed to win 4-3 on penalties.

We won the Final with ease 2-0. We had won the cup but it didn't take the taste of the Playoff Final out of my mouth.

The rest of the North American Champions League went exactly how you would predict. We lost away to Monterrey 4-1. It was 1-1 and we were doing well but as soon as they scored to make it 2-1 our heads dropped and a few more followed.

We beat Comunicaciones 1-0 away to ensure the group went down to the final game. We needed to beat Monterrey 3-0 if we were going to progress. We lost 1-0. It was a good game, we could have snatched it but didn't begrudge them the victory. Not like Cibao! I feel if this wasn't a journeyman staying at Moca would be a good save, trying to break Mexico and USA's stranglehold on the Champions League. 

As soon as we lost against Monterrey I resigned. Dominican Republic was removed from the game and I left the Island looking for employment with my head down and my tail between my legs. 

My only hope is one day being able to face Cibao one last time and knocking at least 10 passed them. They are going to get a strange friendly request from Bayern Munich in 50 years time.

Summary!

Number of words I've spoken since the Cibao loss - 0

Number of domestic losses all season - 1

Number of times I've slowly shook my head since the Cibao loss - Constantly

Still to come!

A new country is drawn

World Cup Qualifying Interlude with Iran

Pastures New

A review of the story so far

Random Dominican Republic Fact

More than 50% of the land of the island is used for agriculture, while 40% is covered by forests. The other 10% is my tears.

 

 

[ManUtd1]

1 friendly in 50 years? Naw. Away friendly, with the first big side you can convince to take the trip!

[Akkarin]

3 hours ago, andychar said:

Thanks. It's actually the first time I have ever managed it. Easy when its only 18 games and your the only Pro team in an otherwise Semi Pro league!

Chapter 9.12 "Destiny Awaits"

Only the 4 fixtures this month. The start of the North American Champions League is the first game before the Semi and eventual Final.

I would feel bad about spoiling the fact I got to the final but...come on...did you think I wouldn't make it?

Moca 3-1 Comunicaciones - A brilliant start to the NACL but truth be told this was the most winable game of the group. Both of us will probably be battling to finish behind the Mexicans so it was nice to pick up the win. We were truly brilliant. I knew it could go either way, we would either outclass them or be outclassed ourselves. We we 3-0 before they got a late consolation goal. I wasn't kidding myself getting though was going to be near impossible but it was nice to beat the best of the rest.

Moca 4-0 (agg) Universidad O&M - I haven't spanked this team this season and I didn't here. Just two professional games. In fact we scored 1 goal in all 4 halves of this game. We weren't worried about getting past these but it was nice to do it with 2 clean sheets. 

Surprisingly we would face Cibao in the final and we were one win away from the title.

Words literally fail me.

Cibao 3-2 Moca - I don't know what to say. I was stunned into submission here. The screenshot tells the story. We dominated. They scored 3 goals with their 5 shots. We were 2-0 down after 11 minutes but halved the deficit a minute later. Amazingly it was 3-1 at half time. We against came back into the game but just couldn't find the equaliser. Last season's final defeat hurt but this...this just cut as deep as physically possible. 21 games played 20 wins 1 defeat. We had only lost twice in two seasons in the Dominican Republic, both of them in the Final. I would be leaving the Island never a champion. I would like to think of this as prove I'm not using the In Game Editor!

Hot murderous rage filled me and I didn't take any more screenshots! I just blasted through the season hoping to move on as quickly as possible.

As luck would have it we drew Cibao in the first round of the cup at home.

We beat them 4-0. 4-0!! Why couldn't we do that in the Final! ARGH!

I could lie and say we breezed through the rest of the cup but we didn't. We drew the Semi Final against a non-league team but managed to win 4-3 on penalties.

We won the Final with ease 2-0. We had won the cup but it didn't take the taste of the Playoff Final out of my mouth.

The rest of the North American Champions League went exactly how you would predict. We lost away to Monterrey 4-1. It was 1-1 and we were doing well but as soon as they scored to make it 2-1 our heads dropped and a few more followed.

We beat Comunicaciones 1-0 away to ensure the group went down to the final game. We needed to beat Monterrey 3-0 if we were going to progress. We lost 1-0. It was a good game, we could have snatched it but didn't begrudge them the victory. Not like Cibao! I feel if this wasn't a journeyman staying at Moca would be a good save, trying to break Mexico and USA's stranglehold on the Champions League. 

As soon as we lost against Monterrey I resigned. Dominican Republic was removed from the game and I left the Island looking for employment with my head down and my tail between my legs. 

My only hope is one day being able to face Cibao one last time and knocking at least 10 passed them. They are going to get a strange friendly request from Bayern Munich in 50 years time.

Summary!

Number of words I've spoken since the Cibao loss - 0

Number of domestic losses all season - 1

Number of times I've slowly shook my head since the Cibao loss - Constantly

Still to come!

A new country is drawn

World Cup Qualifying Interlude with Iran

Pastures New

A review of the story so far

Random Dominican Republic Fact

More than 50% of the land of the island is used for agriculture, while 40% is covered by forests. The other 10% is my tears.

 

 

Oh mate, reading through this I was so sure you' d gone and done it... and all for me keeping my mouth shut - at least it wasn't my fault this time 😬

Well done nonetheless, I guess anything really can happen in that one game

[andychar]

47 minutes ago, Akkarin said:

Oh mate, reading through this I was so sure you' d gone and done it... and all for me keeping my mouth shut - at least it wasn't my fault this time 😬

Well done nonetheless, I guess anything really can happen in that one game

Not going to lie. I would have bet my house on me winning. But like you said anything can happen and that's why we love football...and hate it at the same time! 

[andychar]

A brief history of time

I thought now would be a good idea to go through what I've achieved and not achieved in this save so far.

2016-17 - Parma FC - My very very first attempt at this save I landed in France. I got through about 10 games of this save before the game decided enough was enough. It was loading up but bringing a black screen where I could do nothing. I tried everybody but in the end I had to uninstall and reinstall the game (like a good ICT Technician does). It means I lost the save. I decided that I would start completely from scratch. New countries and everything this lead me too timeline number 2!

2016-17 - Prishtina FC - I started off unemployed and attended about 48 interviews. I settled for Prishtina FC because they were one of the favourites for the league. It was about this time I realised I had made one fundamental error. I hadn't ticked the box saying "Fill in Players for Playable teams". Meaning I had a team full of greys and so did everybody else. This turned out to be a blessing as I romped home and was able to leave the country after one successful season. I even stayed for the start of season 2 just to bag the Kosovo Super Cup which I had lost the previous season.

Honours

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

2018 - San Marcos de Arica - Amazingly winning the double in Kosovo is enough to land you a job in Chile! Albeit in the second tier of Chile Football. Expectations were pretty high and I was touted as being there or thereabouts at the end of the season. It wasn't plain sailing like in Kosovo but after numerous league changes it was us who stood tall at the end of the season. We had won the league winning only 15 out of 30 games. If your going to do, by the skin of your teeth is always the best. Good job because we crashed out at the first hurdle in the cup, against a much much better team mind. Promotion was secure but more importantly a trophy meaning Chile much like Kosovo was going to be a one season wonder.

Honours

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

Chile
First Division B 2018

2019 - France U21 - Now I remember my exact through process when taking this job. "I'll do it because it can't hurt." In the end it bloody hurt! We qualified for the European U21's with ease and had a decent draw. First game and somebody decided that one footed tackles were too mainstream so he decided to lunge in with both feet. The first of many of the "enemy for life list". I've made a point never to sign him...it has nothing to do with never being at a club where he would want to go! We beat Italy but drew against Norway, we finished 2nd in the Group and crashed out. I lost half a star in reputation. Half a star! I didn't know if I would ever recover.

2020 - Urana FC - I disappeared to the most remote place on Earth where nobody would find me...Niger. I took over at Urana FC who were favourites for the drop because...well...basically nobody wanted me. My goal was over 3 seasons slowly build up the team and get them in a position where they would be challenging for the title, or maybe nick a cup in the meantime. I lasted half a season.

2020 - AS FAN - I took over AS FAN because they were in a much better position than Urana FC and were actually competing for 2nd place. The team who were top had blown away the competition every season. In the half the season I was there we had managed to cling onto 2nd spot and therefore qualify for the African Confederation Cup but had bowed out of the cup in the Semi Final.

2021 - AS FAN - This was the big season, we had strengthened enough in the off season to give the league a really good go. We had a go in the African Confederation Cup but were knocked out at the first hurdle. The season started badly as we lost the Super Cup as well. The league was a different matter. Much like in Chile it was a 3 horse race all the way through. There seemed to be a new leader after every game. Luckily we were on top when it matted. The league was ours and the cup followed suit. Niger had been completed and a bit of personal pride had been reinstalled!

Honours

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

Chile
First Division B 2018

Niger
Niger Premier League 2021
Niger Cup 2021

2021 - Oh no. Oh come on. The Cayman Islands were the next randomly drawn country. Except they were nowhere to be found. In my rush to get the save up and running again I had completely forgotten to load any North American country. I was toying with ignoring it but its like 30 countries! The whole point of the save was to go to weird and wonderful countries.

************************************************************************************************************************

2016/17 - Elite (Cay) - So for the 3rd time I started in 2016/17 season. This time I recreated as best as possibly my manager from the previous save. Same languages spoken and same reputation. I still started unemployed but had a few teams knocking on my door. I opened it up to Elite (Cay). I mean come on the clue is in the name they are the Elite! Worse...season...ever. We never got going in the league and finished a lowly 3rd miles behind the eventual winner. It was the lowest I had finished in my career! Luckily though this team turned it on in the cup. We managed to win the Super Cup and the Presidents Cup but fell at the first hurdle in the main Cup. 1 season and gone, 1 season was more than enough!

Honours

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

Chile
First Division B 2018

Niger
Niger Premier League 2021
Niger Cup 2021

Cayman Islands
Caymans Islands Super Cup 2016-17
Presidents Cup 2016-17

[andychar]

A Brief History Of Time 2: A Brief History of Time Harder!

2017/18 - Iskra - Once again I struggled getting a job anywhere. Does the Cayman Islands Presidents Cup not mean anything to anybody anymore? I managed to get a job at bottom of the table Iskra. They hadn't won in 19 and were drawing games left right and centre. I drew the first 3 games before finally grabbing a win. It was a tough season but we managed to do enough to survive the drop and I could focus on preparing the team for the next season. I once again implemented a 3 season plan with the hopes of gentle progression each season.

2018/19 - Iskra - My first full season with Iskra and it was a memorable one. I went for baby step progression but instead got a giant leap for progression kind! We kinda won the league. It was a very enjoyable/stressful season. The aim was to turn draws into wins. Instead the draws were being slowly turned into losses. We picked up just at the right time and went on a massive unbeaten run. It was enough to shock the world (well Montenegro) and lift the league title. We reached the Semi Final of the cup which was so near yet so far, despite this another country was done before I was expecting.

Honours

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

Chile
First Division B 2018

Niger
Niger Premier League 2021
Niger Cup 2021

Cayman Islands
Caymans Islands Super Cup 2016-17
Presidents Cup 2016-17

Montenegro
Montenegro First Division 2018-19

2019-20 - Dominican Republic - After leaving Iskra I decided to once again dip my toe in the water of International Management. I went for a low key job at the Dominican Republic. The aim was to spend 4 years here and try and do my best in qualifying for the next World Cup. I took part in the Caribbean Cup and got to the Semi Final before disappointing defeats against Aruba and Jamaica ended my involvement. My 4 year plan ended when a better job came long.

2020 - Honduras - That better job came in the shape of Honduras. They still had a chance of qualifying for the World Cup. I took control of 2 games before deciding to resign. I was in the middle of a domestic season at the time and saw the games with Honduras as a burden rather than a pleasure. That's what made me decide to resign. I wouldn't go into International Management for a few years (ok 1 year).

2019/20 - Vendee Herbiers - I took over this team with 3 games to go, they were 3rd in the league. I didn't win a single game in those 3 but still managed to finish 3rd and qualify for the Promotion Playoff. I lost 2-1 on aggregate conceding the winning goal on the 82nd minute in the second leg. It was a bitter blow but probably for the best. I would have really struggled in Ligue 2 and wouldn't have had the season I would have next.

2020/21 - Vendee Herbiers - Finished 3rd was a shock last season so nobody really expected the same, it took the pressure off me heading into my first full season. I lost the opening game meaning I had gone 6 games without a win with my new team. What happened next was brilliant. We went on an unbeaten league run which stretched 6 months and gave up an 11 point lead at the top at one stage. We did our best to blow this lead but we held on and claimed a famous title. It would be the first time Vendee Herbiers would play in Ligue 2 but I wouldn't be there to take part in it. France was completed and not in the fashion I was expecting. The less said about the cup the better, we crashed out earlier than we should have done against a team we shouldn't have. Maybe it was the catalyst for the great season!

Honours

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

Chile
First Division B 2018

Niger
Niger Premier League 2021
Niger Cup 2021

Cayman Islands
Caymans Islands Super Cup 2016-17
Presidents Cup 2016-17

Montenegro
Montenegro First Division 2018-19

France
French National League 2020/21

2021- Iran - After leaving Vendee Herbiers I took up another International Job to fill the void, one I'm still in. Iran. They had had a disappointing time of things and it was up to me to turn it around. The first thing I had to do was qualify for the Asian Cup which I did at a canter. The run we had at the Asian Cup was nothing short of brilliant, we fell a the final hurdle against a strong Australia side. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Since I've taken over we have climbed from 91st in the World Rankings to 30th with a view of getting even higher. Next job was to qualify for the World Cup.

You've only just seen Moca and what happened there. I still can't bring myself to talk about it!

Onwards and upwards. This save is still going strong!

 

[andychar]

Chapter 10 "I need to cash in my air miles!"

So a new country was needed. 

So far we have Bangladesh and Latvia.

Say hello too...

Morocco!

It's been a while since we have been to Africa so that is an interesting country to come out.

But that's for another year.

It didn't take long for me to find a new job this time. It helped that the Bangladesh and Latvia seasons coincided with the Dominican Republic season so there was quite a few vacancies available.

One caught my eye. They finished 3rd the previous season despite only predicted 6th (out of 8). They weren't predicted much better this season either but I figured if the CPU can get 3rd...what could I do.

Say hello too...

All I know about this club is they are called FK RFS and they were formed in 1962...oh and they like Lions. Lets see what Wikipedia has to say.

The club was created as part of the Sports Academy RFS and it was mainly Sports Academy students. Rīgas Futbola skola, which was founded in 1962, is now one of the biggest sports academies in Latvia, and finished it many of the outstanding Latvian football players.

Skonto FC did not obtain a license to play in the 2016 Higher League. Skonto appealed the decision, but the appeal was denied. Since 2015 Latvian First League runners-up Valmiera Glass FK/BSS refused from opportunity to be promoted to the Higher League, 3rd placed Rīgas Futbola skola (RFS) was promoted instead.

As always I look super thrilled to be there. 66% win rate helped massively by my time with Moca!

Another brilliant flight with spectacular views and at some point I'm sure I fly past my parents house in England...maybe one day I'll return. Maybe sandwiched between the US Virgin Islands league and Kiribati.

I needed to see my surroundings, what magnificent structure would I be applying my trade.

Look nobody wants to be that guy but come on! It officially hold 500 people. If we ever reach 500 people I will eat my hat!

So I had landed on my feet pretty quickly, but what state was the team in...

Summary!

Number of people who could potential attend our home games - 500

Number pf people probably going to attend our home games - Derek

Still to come!

International Interlude with World Cup Qualifying results.

The Squad

Transfers

Expectations

Random Latvia Fact

Latvia’s internet speeds are among the fastest in the world, averaging 13.8MB/s, compared to 11.6 in the UK, 11.9 in the US, 7.5 in France, 3.4 in Brazil and 1.7 in Egypt. I'll have to remember to take my dongle when I manage in Egypt.

[andychar]

Chapter 10.2 "My Favourite Pastime"

So what was the state of the club I promised to lead to victory!

Well it wasn't the worst teams I've taken over. We have an abundance of strikers with not much in midfield. What do I have to work with in terms of money to bring players in?

Not to shabby but this team had just taken part in the Europa League before I arrived so it explains the decent finances.

I needed new players but I was just going to dip my toe in the water, visit a village and not go crazy.

Whoops.

Who has two thumbs and no willpower.

This guy!

So what did those new signings mean to the predictions for the new season.

Oh.

I tell you what though, some leagues you see 4th out of 20 with odds of 90-1 so it could potentially be a close season. It will be nice to play without that added pressure. Hopefully I can exceed expectations or nick a cup, either or, I'm not bothered.

Speaking of expectations what are mine?

Roughly translated as be as average as you can!

So "transfers" done. Odds released. Expectations acquired. Let's get to it...

Summary!

Number of new players - 8

Predicted finish - 6th/8

Number of f**** the board seem to give - Zero

Still to come!

Friendlies which I totally didn't take charge over

The Latvia Winter Cup

International Interlude

Random Latvia Fact

Latvia produces more female models per capita that almost any country in the world. Only Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania and Denmark rank higher. Can't wait for my stint in Estonia.

 

[nextqprmanager]

Keep your mind on the job - no drinking at bars looking for a model

[andychar]

16 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

Keep your mind on the job - no drinking at bars looking for a model

I...*hic* have no *hic* idea what your *hic* talking *hic* about.

[andychar]

Chapter 10.3 "This place is so cold they have a cup dedicated to Winter!"

Winter in Latvia. I took one step onto the open planed stadium and immediately lost feeling in my face. 

The Winter Cup was simple. 2 groups of 4 play each other once and the two top teams (alteration y'all) face off in the final.

My expectations were as low as they could possibly get!

Always knew I was going to do well. Was never in doubt.

RFS 3-1 Ventspils - Nice way to introduce myself. It was our only home game so we needed a positive result if we were to stand any chance of finishing top. We were behind after 3 minutes and I immediately thought the worst. This was the team favourite for the league. A quick team talk asking them to show me something else in the second half. It took 1 minute for them to show me something else. 1-1 wooooo I'll take a point. Then we had the audacity to take the lead 6 minutes later. I was looking smug as anything on the sidelines...my face was numb it was an accident. Daniels Berenfelds made sure we gotta get through this (I will not apologise for that one) as he added a 3rd. A nice shock win to start the cup.

Llepeja 0-0 RFS - On paper a good point. These are 3rd favourites for the league but in reality we dominated from start to finish. We came out with nothing to lose so I made sure we would leave nothing behind. The only thing we didn't do here was score. I was very proud of the performance even if the result wasn't 100% what we wanted. The main thing was we were still in with a chance of making the final.

Spartaks 0-2 RFS - Spartaks are 2nd favourite to win the league. Yes I managed to draw the best 3 teams in the league. All we needed was a point here and it would have been enough. 3 minutes...that's all it took for us to go down to 10 men. 3 little minutes...I was already writing my post match press conference "we missed a chance here" "what could been" "no officer he never boarded the bus home I don't know what happened to him" you know the usual. Instead what happened was we grew in confidence. We were lucky with the 1st goal, I watched the replay 3 or 4 times and I swear it came off the defenders butt cheek. Daniels Berenfelds made sure he was the one (again no apologies) and doubled our lead. We were on the back foot all second half but were very resilient. Amazingly we held on and booked our place in the final. Good job because it turns out a point wouldn't have been good enough and I'm bad at math.

I didn't think we had a prayer of finishing anything other than bottom of this group but look at this!

And this!

Now Cup Finals and me haven't mixed well recently so I was still fearing the worse.

If somehow I managed to win though it would mean that after only 4 games I would officially be free to RFS. 

Get in you beauty!

RFS 2-1 (AET) Riga FC - What a nerve racking final! We took the lead just past the half hour mark and we were dominating. I was starting to believe we could win it. Then FM did what FM does. In the space of 4 second half minutes we conceded against the run of play then were down to 10 men for the second game in a row. The final was crumbling before my very cold eyes. We held on and Extra Time started. The game was evened up on 93 minutes as Riga FC saw one of their men sent off, 10 v 10. 7 minutes later we grabbed the lead once again. All 20 men left (well maybe not the keepers) were knackered and try and they might Riga FC couldn't get a foothold in the game. We killed the clock and won the cup.

So amazingly 4 games I would be free to leave. I chose not to however. I still had the cup to go and after the Mid Season break I had the Europa League to look forward too thanks to this cup win. If anything I went into the season full of hope and without any pressure whatsoever. I think I was going to enjoy Latvia.

I drew out a new country now thinking it will be added in the summer ready for me finding a new job.

Say hello to

Belarus!!

My plan however backfired. I added Belarus on the 18th February after winning the Latvia Winter Cup. It wouldn't load up until 14th February the following year. I had missed the deadline by 4 days! Oh well. 

So the three countries lying in wait for my next job are Belarus, Bangladesh and Morocco. A nice variety!

Summary!

Number of games played - 4

Number of trophies won - 1

Number of strange player disappearances - 2

Still to come!

The always popular International Interlude

The Start of the Latvia Higher League

The start of the Latvia Cup

Random Latvia Fact

Latvia’s national bird is the white wagtail, so called because it almost constantly wriggles its backside. So basically Latvia has a twerking bird.

[andychar]

Chapter 10.4 "Yes that's right I'm CHOOSING to stay in Latvia"

There was a 3 week gap between the final and the start of the new season so I arranged a few friendlies.

I'd like to tell you how well we did and how we really showed we were ready for the season but I didn't get anywhere near the matches. I was stuck in a Jacuzzi while my Assistant Manager but in a good case for my eventual replacement.

Onto the serious business of the league and an early chance to really get a foothold!

Unbeaten!

RFS 1-1 Spartaks - Can you ever be frustrated with a draw against one of the favourites for the league? You can be if they equalised on the 87th minute! We didn't dominant the game but any means but nobody could argue when we took the league. We had edged the first half and were on our way to edging the second half. Spartaks huffed and puffed but generally we looked relaxed. Then after 87th minute a defensive mistake from a corner left a man open on the penalty spot and he headed home the equaliser. Still a solid point and one I probably would have taken before kick off. 

Rezeknes FA 0-0 RFS - Now this one was more painful because we dominated. Once again we did everything but score. If we were going to challenge for the title this was the sort of game we needed to be winning. 2 draws to start the season and both games we probably really should have won.

I won't bore you with the early table but instead push straight onto April.

Remember when I said I was going to enjoy Latvia...I lied!

RFS 1-1 Jelgava - 3rd straight draw and once again we took the lead only to be pegged back. In the end we were lucky not to lose they were the much better team in the last 3rd of the match and looked the more likely to score. Still I wasn't worried.

Riga FC 3-1 RFS - Ok now I'm starting to get worried. We beat them after extra time in the final and they got their revenge here. I couldn't really argue with the result they were the much better team. It was like watching a completely different team from what I saw in the Winter Cup. We weren't sharp, we weren't taking our chances. Basically it looked like the team were happy they won a cup now they were just going through the motions of the actual season itself. 

Auda 0-3 RFS - We needed this morale boosting win. The Latvia cup is actually split over 2 seasons which is weird but it meant I started at the Quarter Final stage and were only 4 games away from another cup (the semi is two legged). I'd like to tell you we dominated and it could have been 6 or 7 but truth be told I still haven't figured out how we managed to score 3. It was an even game and I feel if we were against any other team other than a Lower Division team we would have been destroyed. But we weren't and we booked our place in the Semi Final of the cup.

Ventspils 3-0 RFS - Probably not the best thing to do following up a nice morale boosting win with an away game against the leaders and favourites. We got spanked and deservedly so. The worst part about this result was the fact we had drawn them in the Semi the day before. If this was a sign of things to come then the two legged affair was going to be painful to watch. We attempted some form of rally when we were 3-0 down but it was too little too late and we succumbed to another loss. We hadn't won in the league yet and I was starting to worry. My finger was hovering over the ejector seat.

RFS 1-2 BFC Daugavpils - You don't want a thread where the person is winning all the time do you? This was a battle of the bottom two teams. A battle we lost. We were actually the better team but they scored 2 first half goals and put us in a really bad spot. We kept attacking but couldn't get past the defence. By the time we finally halved the lead it was too little too late and they held on for the win. 

We hadn't won in the league all season and it left the table looking like this.

Things were looking grim and we needed to start winning games sooner rather than later.

Summary!

Number of league wins - 0

Number of trophies - 1

Number of angry letters - 18...19...20...

Still to come!

More League

The Semi of the Cup

Random Latvia Fact

According to some sources, the inspiration for Crocodile Dundee may have been Arvīds Blūmentāls (or Crocodile Harry). Born in Dundaga in 1925, he moved to Australia in 1951 and spent years hunting crocs in Queensland. That ruins the "You call that a knife" fact when I'm in the A League.

[andychar]

Chapter 10.5 "Hold up we have a Summer break? What's wrong with this backwards country?"

It was the final month before the Summer Break. I needed to start winning games and quick. The month started as the first leg of the cup. I was not looking forward to it in the slightest!

RFS 4-0 Ventspils - I literally have no words. What. A. Result. It literally came out of nowhere, we haven't won in the league all season but we already have one cup and we put one foot in another cup final. We started off brilliantly and forced an early mistake. At 2-0 we were in dreamland. It was only a quarter of the way through the tie so I refused to get excited. We came out in the second half much of the same, we were bright, energetic, basically everybody decided enough was enough. We were 3-0 up and before you knew it was was 4-0! Sure they had scored half our goals for us but I wasn't going to start complaining. The most important thing was closing the door and not giving them a lifeline. Amazing scenes.

Llepaja 2-1 RFS - Normal service quickly resumed, although I was guilty of resting a few players here. It was starting to look like we were never going to get a win in the league. Our 71st minute goal was actually an eqauliser. We were slow in the first half but turned things around in the second half. I would have bet money if there was going to be a winner it was us. Cue the winning goal from the home team, 6 minutes after we had equalised. It was a bitter blow and not one we recovered from. Thoughts quickly turned to the second leg of the cup. All we had to do was not get beat 5-0! At this stage I still was't confident.

Ventspils 3-1 RFS - Nobody was shocked when Ventspils came out fighting here, they needed 5 goals and fancied themselves to do it. They had already beaten us 3-0 on this ground this season. It was quickly 1-0 and 2-0 but we managed to score before the half. We were nervy in the second half and they were battering the goal, honestly I could see us blowing this but we held on brilliantly. They scored their 3rd goal with 20 minutes to go. Away goals counted so all we needed to do was not concede another 3. They peppered the goal to be no avail. Amazingly we had upset the leaders and bagged ourselves a second cup final in the space of 4 months.

Spartaks 1-2 RFS - It was like an impending cup final was a catalyst. We managed to pick up our first win of the season thanks to a second half comeback. It looked like normal service would be resumed as the Spartaks took an early lead. They took that lead into the half but we showed a few signs this game wasn't over. We were able to capitilise on a daft challenge to even up the score. We were the better side although not for the first time we weren't taking our chances. It looked like the game would end 1-1 until we broke from a Spartaks corner. We were quick and playing with an energy we shouldn't have in the 85th minute and for once a chance had the finish at the end. We almost blew it at the end but they ballooned what can be described as a sitter. The first win the league. About time!

RFS 3-1 Rezeknes FA - Another win and another second half comeback. For the second game in a row we found ourselves 1-0 down at half time but unlike last time this was completely against the run of play. We were starting to play like the team that had won the Winter Cup and not the team with only 1 win to their name all season. I told them they were unlucky and they responded amazingly. Chance after chance came and went, I was beginning to think it was going to be one of those games but we finally broke back. From then on there was only going to be one winner and we deservedly grabbed the lead with 13 minutes to go. Instead of sitting back I wanted to secure the points, something we did 8 minutes later. Back to back wins and suddenly there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Jelgava 0-2 RFS - With the cup final looming I had a decision. Rest players and risk losing momentum or play a strong team and risk injuries. I didn't want to go into the cup final on the back of a morale damaging loss so I played a strong team. I was glad I did. Two goals either side of half time completely turned this game from a drab 0-0 to a great 2-0 win. It wasn't a classic but it didn't need to be. We had picked up 3 wins in a row and were heading into the cup final full of confidence. 

If left the league table looking like this heading into the Summer Break.

The world was looking bright again. 3 wins in a row had lifted us off the bottom and we were only 5 points off 2nd place. 

The only thing left before the Summer Break was the Cup Final. We were against bottom of the table so amazingly we would go into it as favourites.

20th Minute - BFC Daugavpils who have been on the back foot for the game have managed to break away. Its a penalty. The referee has given a penalty. Does he have the confidence to score? GOOOAALLL 1-0 to the underdogs.

44th Minute - RFS have been trying their hardest to force an equaliser but have lacked that cutting edge. Until now! A brilliant ball puts the striker clean through on goal....oh he's hit the crossbar! Bad luck.

Half Time BFC Daugavpils 1-0 RFS

59th Minute - That is a horrible challenge surely he will be sent off for that...the referee is heading over to the player and shows him...the yellow card. He has gotten away with that and BFC Daugavpils somehow keep 11 men on the pitch.

73rd Minute - RFS have had the better of the second half but they are still unable to equalise. Maybe they will from this corner. A brilliant header...smashes the bar...but the rebound has fallen straight to the centre back Emmis...GOOOAAALLLL 1-1. Thoroughly deserved.

End of 90 minutes - Much like the Winter Cup this one is going to Extra Time

99th Minute - A clash of heads and that's a terrible. He's going to have to go off and much like the Winter Cup RFS are going to finish this game with 10 men, they are out of substitutions.

117th Minute - Is this it? A free kick from 25 yards out. He runs up, hits it and....off the post and out of play! BFC Daugavpils were inches away from winning this at the death.

End of Extra Time BFC Daugavpils 1-1 RFS. This Cup Final is heading to penalties.

RFS will take the first penalty.

1-0!
1-0! The penalty has been missed!
2-0!
2-1!
3-1!
3-2!
3-2! The penalty has been missed!
3-3!
4-3!
4-4! We go into sudden death, even penalties can't separate them.
5-4!
5-5!
6-5!
6-6!
7-6!
7-7! Will this ever end!
8-7!
8-7! He's missed it. RFS have done it!

Maybe that was a bit long winded but man it felt good!

The league hadn't gone as well as I'd hoped but no matter what happens I'm going to be leaving Latvia with my head held high and 2 trophies at least!

Summary!

Number of matches played - 20

Number of trophies - 2

Number of cares given for rest of the season - Zero

Still to come!

The Europa League starts

The continuation of the league

Random Latvia Fact

You may be surprised to learn that there is a shortage of women in Latvia. They are fit but hard to find! Must hit more bars.

[andychar]

I had to post this screenshot.

I enjoyed my time with Moca in the Dominican Republic and decided to check on them in the Caribbean Cup. They got beat 3-0 in the second round of qualifying. But it was ok because the team who beat them lost in the final round of qualifying in a close 1-0 battle.

I cant wait to head back to the Caribbean!

[andychar]

Chapter 10.6 "Wait. So its possible to play other European teams in what's called the Europa League? What a word we live in!"

I was preparing for my first adventure in European football. Previously the best I had managed was a brief stop in the African Conf Cup and the Caribbean Cup (which USA or Mexico will dominant from now until the end of time).

Before then however I had a few league games to worry about. I had made up my mind no matter what was happening in the league as soon as I exited the Europa League I was resigning. This task is too big to cling onto a very slim chance of winning the league!

We had drawn a team called Cukaricki. Could we beat them? Well they passed the first test, I'd never heard of them.

RFS 2-2 Riga FC - It was always going to be hard to gain momentum again after a month long break. We fell behind quite early on in what was a very even game. We managed to strike just before half time. The second hard we started stronger and I was thinking the high of the cup win was still there, we took the lead 7 minutes into the second half. We were doing well defensive while trying our hardest to seal the win. It was that instinct which cost us, they hit us on the counter and equalised with 10 minutes to go. All in all probably the fair result.

RFS 0-0 Cukaricki - We battered them! We dominated for 90 minutes. We did absolutely everything but score! On paper they were the favourites but we came out like a bat out of hell and put in a performance which deserved a lot more than 0-0! I was actually confident the same performance would see us through. Fola Esch or Videoton were potentially waiting for us in the next round.

RFS 2-2 Vertspils - Another draw. Another 2-2 and another fairly ok result. We hadn't really taken advantage of our 3 game home spell but at least we hadn't been beaten. We took the lead just before the half after a really dull first half. They came out fighting in the second half and had turned the game on its head with 2 goals in 5 minutes. We didn't let our heads drop and we forced the equaliser. Both teams went for the win but neither side really troubled the other. A share of the spoils and once again neither side could argue.

So did we have enough to shock the footballing World (maybe).

Cukaricki 3-2 RFS - So near! Yet so far! We took the lead on the 28th minute and life was good. It was a much closer game than the first leg which surprised me a little bit. Nonetheless we had the lead and I was dreaming of a trip to Hungary...or Luxembourg...but more than likely Hungary. They equalised at the time we had been deadly recently, just before half time. They took the lead just after the half but heads didn't drop, all we needed was a score draw. We equalised just before the hour mark in a game that was looking very unpredictable. Learning from my mistakes I put men behind the ball and tried to hold on. We held on until the 78th minute when we invited to much pressure and the inevitable happened. We tried our best to get the goal that was see us through but it was too late. 

We were out but we could hold our heads up high.

So half a season 2 trophies and 4 years taken off my life...

Iran would be my sole focus...until another job catches my eye.

Summary!

Number of wins after the cup final - 0

Number of fans who travelled in Europe - 8

Number of jobs I've resigned from - ALL OF THEM!

Still to come!

International Interlude

Wilderness Years

Random Latvia Fact

In the world of FM17 RFS have won 3 domestic trophies. I've won 2 of them.

[andychar]

International Interlude

Iran

World Cup Qualifiers 

Its hard to remember I was actually manager of Iran at the same time. In fact I've been with Iran for 3 years now.

We catch up with my International Adventures just after losing the Asian Cup Final.

Bahrain 2-5 Iran - Bahrain picked the wrong time to ask for a friendly. After losing the Asian Cup final we were looking for somebody to destroy. This game was actually 2-2 at one point after Bahrain did well to come back from 2-0 down. This just made me more angry. We took the lead and added more not wanting to go easy on them. It was just what we needed as tonic for the Asian Cup disappointment.

Guam 0-4 Iran - What should be a straight forward group for us kicked off with a straight forward victory in Guam. Every game should be as easy as this one. 2 goals in eac half without really getting out of first gear. 

Iran 2-0 Jordan - Another straight forward victory. My only problem here is that it really should have been more then 2-0. We dominated from start to finish. We got the 2 goals in the opening 20 minutes and I was gearing up for a big scoreline but it seemed the players were happy to declare at 2. I don't think I'd want to give 100% playing in June in Iran either.

Iran 1-1 Cyprus - I had been trying to get a friendly with Cyprus for years but it kept getting cancelled for one thing or another. Finally I got my chance to face them and we were lucky to draw! I have no vendetta against Cyprus, its back when I first took over and Iran were in the 90s for World Ranking and Cyprus were above us. I wanted to prove we were better than them. I proved nothing! We were behind and equalised with 5 minutes to go. They had more attempts, more possession and will be annoyed they didn't hold out for the win. I've not asked for a friendly against Cyprus since.

Lebanon 1-4 Iran - First goal we had conceded in World Cup Qualifying. We were already 4-0 up and let our eye off the ball. Its hard to motivate players for games you know you are going to win. Can only beat who is put in front of you though...unless that somebody is Cyprus obviously.

Iran 5-1 Guam - I was annoyed that Guam scored against us! Another game were we won without really getting out of first gear, I wasn't happy with the habit of scoring needless goals but at the moment I have no cause for complaints. 4 wins out of 4 and we were only 4 points off qualifying for the final round.

Iran 3-0 China - China were probably the most dangerous team in the group but they were no match for us. This round of qualifying was easy and it did wonders to improve my win percentage. One more win would do it although we could probably lose all 3 games and still qualify.

Jordan 0-3 Iran - Not wanting to take the risk we made sure we qualified. 6 wins from 6 and at this point I was thinking it would be cool if we could clean sweep the group. I also had one eye on a big friendly against Mexico. 

Iran 3-1 Mexico - This was a great result. I wanted to test ourselves against a team who were higher than us in the World Rankings and who we could possibly face if we qualify for the World Cup. We started off well scoring after 3 minutes but it was 1-1 10 minutes later. They were the better team in the first half but we defended well. We came out in the second half with something to prove and we proved it well. Two quick fire goals changed the momentum of the game and we never looked like losing. We finished 2023 brilliantly.

Throughout the entire 2023 the only game we lost was the Asian Cup final. Life was looking good as manager of Iran.

Iran 5-1 Lebanon - 7 wins from 7 in the 2nd round of World Cup Qualifying but Lebanon made sure they grabbed another goal against us. The damage was done in the first 17 minutes. From then on we went on cruise control in a match we were rarely troubled. Still annoyed about the goal.

China 1-2 Iran - The hardest game of the group was saved till last and we were lucky to get the win here. We took the lead thanks to a first half penalty. It was 1-1 just before the break and we couldn't argue they didn't deserve it. We looked lacklustre in the second half as we fumbled to try and retake the lead. Luckily a defensive error paved the way for the eventual winner. I don't think we would have earned it ourselves. 

As straight forward as they come. 

There was no hiding the fact that we had been drawn in the wrong group!

Thailand, India and Tajikistan on paper should be an easy 9 points. It should be a slugfest between us Japan and South Korea. The top 2 qualify automatically for the World Cup while both 3rd place teams face each other to decide who plays the 5th placed country from CONNEBOL. Not confusing at all!

Iran 0-0 Ghana - The higher we climbed up the World Rankings the harder our friendlies were going to be. This was a dull game and neither side really did enough to win it. If I had to pick a team I'd say Ghana probably were the better team although it was just barely. 

Iran 1-0 Cape Verde Island - A solitary first half goal was enough to get back to winning ways and ensure the last time we were beaten was the Asian Cup Final (every night I wake up screaming). This was another dull affair and if it hadn't been for an individual moment of magic 0-0 probably would have been the fair result.

Summary!

Number of losses since the Asian Cup Final - 0

Number of times i'll mention losing the Asian Cup Final - Damn wheres the symbol for infinity on the keyboard

Still to come!

Belarus finally loading up

Wilderness years

Final Round of World Cup Qualifying

 

[nextqprmanager]

Well done with Iran - good to get the RFS loss out of your system !

[andychar]

Chapter 11 "A well timed cull"

I had had a nice break with Iran but I was more than ready to take on a new Domestic team. 

The only problem was nothing was standing out, nothing was grabbing me.

Then one day I looked to see if anything else had become available when I saw that nearly every team in the Bangladesh Premier League had sacked there manager. 

I was confused, but I wasn't complaining. I applied for all the jobs that I wanted and waited.

I attended 3 interviews but had my eye on a specific job. That specific job came back to me in no time. I had a new job.

Say hello to...

For those of you who don't know who they are (you really need to spruce up on your club football logos) it is Mohammedan Sporting Club. 

Obviously.

Mohammedan Sporting Club Ltd. (MSC), not to be confused with Mohammedan S.C., is a top sporting club in Bangladesh. MSC Ltd. is headquartered in Dhaka, with local branches throughout the country. Their record attendance for a football game is 45,000.^[1] They won the second edition of the Bangladesh national top-flight league.^[2]

Hang on 45,000 people! I didn't know that many people could be in the same place at the same time!

Why do I get the feeling there is a Cricket Club looking for a new home?

I have actually flown that much over the past decade or so that they are going to let me fly the plane next time.

Rumour has it that I was once photographed smiling. It turned out to be photoshopped.

I was delighted (I just forgot to tell me face) with the new job. I was with a club who should be challenging for the title. Fingers crossed Bangladesh would only be a one season wonder.

Summary!

Number of new jobs - 1

Number of photos that exist of me smiling - It depends on what legend you believe

Number of seasons I hope to be here - 1

Number of seasons I'll probably be here - 4

Still to come!

Expectations

Transfers

The start of one of the cups.

Random Bangladesh Fact

More than half of Bangladesh’s population is composed of farmers. That was until I went village pillaging and they become footballers.

 

[andychar]

On 09/03/2017 at 09:23, nextqprmanager said:

Well done with Iran - good to get the RFS loss out of your system !

Cheers mate. I couldn't really complain with RFS. The league didn't go to plan but I left with 2 trophies!

[andychar]

Chapter 11.2 "I know I don't need them, but I want them!"

The squad was good enough before I took over. They are generally a strong team and always seem to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. Despite this they hadn't won the league for a few seasons. I was hoping to change that.

I didn't necessarily really need to bring any new faces to the club.

Here are the new faces i brought to the club.

I know, only the 6, I'm slowing down in my old age.

Normally I've stuck with the same formation 

GK

RB  CB  CB  LB

DCM

CM  CM  CM 

ST  ST

With this club the players I had at my disposal on the wings couldn't be ignored. Instead I am going with a more attacking...

GK

RB  CB  CB  LB

DCM

CM CM

AMR                 AML

ST

Hopefully the change of formation will be as fruitful as the old one.

My expectations were simple.

Do well or else.

My season would begin with the Bangladeshi Independence Cup then the Bangladeshi Federation Cup finishing with a straight league season.

Basically much like my time with RFS I could have completed Bangladesh before the season even begins...

Summary!

Number of new signings - 6

Number of finals expected to reach - All of them

Level of worry - High!

Still to come!

The Bangladeshi Independence Cup

 Random Bangladesh Fact

Bangladesh is in the eighth place on population in the world (163 654 860 people). Despite this I bet my average attendance will only be 50.

[nextqprmanager]

Promise them cricket after the game!

[ryanlion28]

Absolutely loving following this! Keep up the random facts!

[ManUtd1]

On 3/3/2017 at 00:36, nextqprmanager said:

Keep your mind on the job - no drinking at bars looking for a model

 

On 3/3/2017 at 00:48, andychar said:

I...*hic* have no *hic* idea what your *hic* talking *hic* about.

Sorry, Apples dear...yeah, another long scouting trip in the Czech Republic. No, don't wait up for me.

[andychar]

20 hours ago, nextqprmanager said:

Promise them cricket after the game!

It's Bangladesh, they tried to start a game midway through the first half. The amount of yellow cards for handball is through the roof!

6 hours ago, ryanlion28 said:

Absolutely loving following this! Keep up the random facts!

Thanks for the very kind words. I would recommend this type of save to anybody. I'm not getting on much recently. The child my wife grew has not discovered she doesn't need to be stationary on her back anymore. Take your eyes off her for 1 minute while trying to set up the all important line up and boom shes under the sofa chasing the dog.

6 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

 

Sorry, Apples dear...yeah, another long scouting trip in the Czech Republic. No, don't wait up for me.

I knew you'd eventually drag me down with you! Those Latvian girls though 

[ManUtd1]

5 hours ago, andychar said:

I knew you'd eventually drag me down with you! Those Latvian girls though 

I dated one once. She was nuttier than squirrel ****. 

[noikeee]

Geez, this thread is all over the place these days. Iran. Bangladesh. Latvia. Domenican Republic. Wat?

I must say I found it absolutely hilarious you won 18 matches out of 18 in the Domenican league but then lost the playoff.  Quite the achievement, man. Better days will come. I sense a glorious Bangladeshi title in the near future.

By the way Latvia is on my list of to-do leagues in the future. Always fancied Skonto Riga ever since their giant-killing performance vs Barcelona in the 90s.

[andychar]

22 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Geez, this thread is all over the place these days. Iran. Bangladesh. Latvia. Domenican Republic. Wat?

I must say I found it absolutely hilarious you won 18 matches out of 18 in the Domenican league but then lost the playoff.  Quite the achievement, man. Better days will come. I sense a glorious Bangladeshi title in the near future.

By the way Latvia is on my list of to-do leagues in the future. Always fancied Skonto Riga ever since their giant-killing performance vs Barcelona in the 90s.

I've got more Air Miles than Neil Armstrong! What can I say I like to travel. Plus the stuff I do in each country means I can't stay there for very long...for your know...reasons.

After having time to think about it and let it sink in, it was hilarious I went unbeaten then lost the playoff! At the time I was filled with hot murderous rage but now I can laugh about it...after rocking back and forth for at least an hour sobbing into my Moca scarf. 

I think I would have enjoyed Latvia more had the league been more successful. I probably could have turned the turn around had it been that sort of save. In the end I was glad to see the back end of Latvia...the women though...oh the women!

 

I had finished the first cup in Bangladesh... just forgot to screenshot any of it. 

I've also finished 6/10 games in the Final Stage of World Cup Qualifying...just forgot to screenshot any of it.

Summary!

Number of screenshots - 0

[DazRTaylor]

Loving this thread and your writing style.  KUTGW.  

[andychar]

21 hours ago, DazRTaylor said:

Loving this thread and your writing style.  KUTGW.  

Thank you very much as always I appreciate the kind words.

Chapter 11.3 "Quick cup and I'm out of here"

The season started with the Bangladeshi Independence Cup. Well technically they started with 3 friendlies. I won them all...wooooo. Anyway onto more pressing matters. Winning a cup and guaranteeing my place out of here.

Sheikh Russell KC (R) 1-2 Mohammedan (SC) - A very shaky start to my tenure here but a win nonetheless. We were 1-0 down at half time and deservedly so. I hadn't quite got used to my new attacking formation. I'm used to sitting back and hitting teams on the counter, that wasn't working here but I wanted to persist with it. In the second half it was like watching a different team. I told them that I wanted to see something else, I also said that if they won they could play a game of cricket afterwards. Oh my Gosh my striker came up trumps with 2 good goals. Good turn around and just what we needed. The reserve team beat the first string by 117 runs.

Mohammedan (SC) 4-0 Abahani KC - Remember ages ago I said the team was struggling with my new attacking formation. Well they didn't struggle here. 2 goals in each half but this game was done as a contest as early as the 9th minute. We were dominant from start to finish and I was very happy with the performance. Onwards and upwards.

At this stage I should point out that only the top 2 qualify from the group into a semi final.

Mohammedan (SC) 1-0 Sheikh Jamal - By all means not a classic but 3 points is 3 points and it gave us one foot in the semi final. We had to wait until the 77th minute before Gosh rescued with 3 points for us. Both teams laboured but both struggled to work the keepers. An individual moment of magic from a striker who is only playing because our first choice is injured. Gosh is working his way into my plans!

Abahani KC 0-0 Mohammedan (SC) - It was crazy here, at one point a football game almost broke out. Neither side wanted to lose this so instead of attacking and making sure they didn't both sides stood back and let the other have the ball. Basically all 11 players might as well have stayed in their own halves with the football on the centre circle for 90 minutes like boys and girls and their very first school disco. Next!

Mohammedan 0-0 Wari Club - If you looking for entertainment and goals...I'd stay very clear of this thread. Two 0-0 games in a row but this was so close. I was minutes away...literally seconds away from finishing my Sudoku puzzle. There was some sort of football match on as well I don't know.

So the exciting end to the groups left the final table looking like this.

 

Photobucket is being funny and not letting me upload pictures and the way I'm doing it at the moment sucks.

For those of you who don't have your reading glasses on...I finished top. 3 points clear of 3rd. It wasn't pretty but with only 1 goals conceded...well...that'll do pig.

Arambagh KS 1-4 Mohammedan - Seems like I was saving all my goals for the semi final and I was happy with that. I didn't mean to censor the hat trick hero and as I can't remember who it was it will forever remain a mystery. I wanna say we destroyed them but honestly how we managed to win 4-1 is a mystery. It was quite an even game and I was surprised when we actually started to take our chances. One of those days for the opposition. Oh well, sucks to be them, one game away from a trophy and another stress free season.

I played a team called Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra Dhaka in the final. I know what your thinking...it rolls right off the tongue doesn't it. If I supported that team and somebody asked me I think I'd just say Wari Club, save myself a good couple of minutes.

Any way onto the final.

 

*Cough*

That team 3-2 Mohammedan - What can I say about the game that isn't said on the screen shot. We started off terrible but managed to find our rhythm. We were handed a lifeline in the form of a penalty before Gosh equalised 4 minutes later. I thought our name was on the trophy but instead we once again found ourselves behind. We huffed and puffed but couldn't break through.

It was a close game, we edged it but not enough that I have massive grounds for complaint. Disappointing start but I still had one more cup before the start of the league season. No need to panic just yet.

Summary!

Number of cup finals - 1

Number of cup wins - 0

Number of Sudoku puzzles completed - So very nearly 1!

Still to come!

Bangladesh Federation Cup

Odds for new season

International Interlude

Random Bangladesh Fact

The average Life expectancy is 59. Or if your a football manager 49.

[nextqprmanager]

pity, next time

[andychar]

Chapter 11.4 "Quick cup and I'm outta here 2 - Cup Harder"

Much more straight forward cup this time. 4 groups of 3, play each other once, top two qualify for quarter final. Then its a straight shootout to the trophy. 

Simples.

Seems I didn't quiet fancy taking a screen shot of the actual fixtures so here are the group tables.

Again for those of you without your magnifying glass. We finished top. We won our first game against Wari Club which secured safe passage into the quarter final. We drew the 2nd game despite scoring first in the 84th minute. Still not the end of the world.

Quarter Final - Mohammedan SC 2-0 Police (BAN) - I faced a newly promoted side but didn't have it all my own way. We laboured to a 0-0 half time score and neither side looked capable of scoring. I wasn't happy and made sure my players knew it. We weren't really any better in the second half, the only difference was we took the very few chances we were able to create. We were in the semi final but we would need to be much better if we were to go all the way and avenge the previous cup competition. 

Semi Final - Mohammedan 2-1 Sheikh Jamal - Second time in as many competitions but this time we won. It was another hard game. We took a 2-0 lead and had one foot in the final before they grabbed a goal on the hour mark. It was an uncomfortable last half hour but we were defensively solid and we managed to hold on. 

A second final in a row but this time it will be against a different opponent. The team with the really long name were shocked in the semi final which meant we played Abahani KC. We drew against them 0-0 in the previous cup so it was anybodies game.

*Right eye slowly starts to twitch*

Abahani KC 2-1 Mohammedan SC - I literally have no words. We took the lead in the first half after dominating and all was right with the world. I took my eye off the screen for a second and didn't even realise we went into the break 1-1! I was very confused when I couldn't tell the players things were going well but I knew they were capable of better! The second half was a tight cagey affair. They broke the deadlock with 14 minutes to go and I knew then it wasn't meant to be.

2 cup finals, 2 defeats, I wanna go back to Latvia!

15 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

pity, next time

Maybe next, next time?

The league was my last shot of leaving Bangladesh at the end of the season. No pressure there. I can't remember the last time I actually won the league! 

Summary!

Number of cup final - 2

Number of cup wins - 0

Number of showers before feeling clean again - 13

Still to come

The start of the now very important league season

Odds for the league

International Interlude

Random Bangladesh Fact

Over 98% of Bangladeshis speak the official language of Bengali. English is spoken as a second language. Which means everybody understood when I went full Mike Bassett mode after the second cup final defeat.

[nextqprmanager]

Shoulda gone Mike Bassett at half time !

love that team Police [ ban ]

[andychar]

48 minutes ago, nextqprmanager said:

Shoulda gone Mike Bassett at half time !

love that team Police [ ban ]

I was just too confused by missing their equaliser that I was caught unawares!

Yeah I not sure if it was a good idea beating a team called Police...not with my shady past...

[andychar]

International Interlude

Iran

World Cup Qualifiers Final Stage

We entered the Final Stage with Japan and South Korea in the same group. First thing that was made clear we needed to beat the "little teams" in the group if we were going to stand a chance of qualifying.

Iran 1-0 Thailand - A very shaky start. The Iranian Messi gave us a first half lead but that's really all we had to shout about. We were dominant but we weren't getting many meaningful shots off. Most of them were from outside the box and didn't really trouble the keeper. Thailand threatened on a few occasions but we didn't really have many close calls. A simple win and 3 points.

India 0-3 Iran - Straight forward but once again we were made to work for it. We scored mid way through a first half were we dominated and once again the foot went off the gas. I wanted to send a message to the rest of the group and limping over the line again wasn't going to do that. Luckily we were much more clinical in the second half, creating some good chances and taking 2 of them. 2 out of 2 but nothing we wouldn't have expected!

Iran 3-0 South Korea - A brilliant victory here gave us first blood in the battle between the top 3.  Two first half goals really put South Korea on the back foot. We were able to capitalise on them bombing forward in the second half and caught them on the counter to make it 3. A brilliant performance and a big result which could go a long way to World Cup Qualification even at this early stage.

Tajikistan 0-1 Iran - Another close game against a team we really should have hammered. It seemed all the effort went into beating South Korea. We were lacklustre and waited an hour to break the deadlock. We have been far from perfect so far but yet we have 4 wins from 4. I'll take the results rather than the performance any day.  

Japan 2-0 Iran - The first blip and we didn't show up. Japan (with all those beautiful computer generated players) dominated us for pretty much the entire game. We were second best and we didn't really give a good account of ourselves. Nothing more to say!

I didn't take a screenshot halfway through...because...reasons. It looked like this.

1st Japan 15

2nd Iran - 12

3rd South Korea - 9

The top 2 qualified for the World Cup while the team finishing 3rd would first have to beat the other team finishing 3rd from the other group then face the team who finishes 5th in the South American qualifying. I didn't fancy that so finishing top two was vital.

Iran 3-2 Mexico - Another win over Mexico and another huge performance. We lead 1-0 and 2-1 before finally 3-2 stuck. It was a great end to end game. We were probably the better team and deserved the win. Mexico actually host the World Cup so they are a potential opponent should we get there. This win fills me with confidence.

Iran 5-1 Saudi Arabia - I wanted a big win to end the year and Saudi Arabia were picked as my whipping boys. It was 4-0 before the Saudi's scored. Pure dominance and once again we end the year with only 1 defeat. I could get used to that.

Summary!

Number of games left - 5

Number of wins needed to guarantee - 5

World Ranking - 19th

Still to Come!

International Interlude Part 2

The start of the Bangladesh Season

 

[nextqprmanager]

good luck for the 5 out of 5 !