[FM18] Uncle Jimbo's Icelandic Sound Explosion, (featuring other Countries, hopefully, if I get lucky, maybe). (You know, if there is an award for the longest thread title I have a sneaking suspicion that I might just be in with a chance of a nomination).

[Jimbokav1971]

13 hours ago, raz4la said:

So you are not even playing finals and those kind of games? Interesting.

Nope. Not playing any games at all.

 

[raz4la]

3 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Nope. Not playing any games at all.

 

I actually think that playstyle is really interesting. How do you make tactical changes? Do you have the same "connection" to the players?

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, raz4la said:

I actually think that playstyle is really interesting. How do you make tactical changes? Do you have the same "connection" to the players?

I don't have the same "connection" to players. I think I have a much deeper connection.

I don't watch matches, but I do look at goal highlights after the event and if I want to make a change tactically, (from one game to the next), then it is a hugely gradual process. It's really a case of changing individual instructions one by one until it has either the desired effect, or you decide that it wasn't the answer and you revert to the original plan and look for an alternative solution. 

In the main though, it's not about winning individual games and all about producing and developing the best players we can.

Edited January 13, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[raz4la]

Sorry for going off topic but I really think that playstyle is interesting!

[Deisler26]

5 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Nope. Not playing any games at all.

 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Astonishing Job Offer. HK. Nov 2023.

This is completely out of the blue. My character in the game isn't even from N.Ireland. 

I am currently on £925 per week and they want to pay me £28,000 per week? Is this a joke or a bug or is it April 1st? 

[Jimbokav1971]

I'm still thinking about it, but I've already done this. 

[Edit]

Thinking about it, there is no way anyone would turn down that sort of money. From the save perspective, it might also boost my rep and see me offered bigger jobs elsewhere and give the save a bit of a kick-start. 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

The Ugly Truth. N.Ireland. Dec 2023.

Finland are a Scandi target for me to aim at, but Lithuania might need watching after a big rise. Cyprus are another rival. 

I know everyone on the list except BPF who is at Leicester so let's have a look at him and hope he is both something special and young...... He's a 27yo GK, playing in the Championship, and has only played 2 seasons in the Premier League

[Jimbokav1971]

The draw for the Qualifying Group stages of the 2026 World Cup, (to be held in..... actually I can't seem to find where it tells me that), has been held. 

That doesn't seem awful.... How bad are we? 

[Edit]

The media tell me that it's a tough group. I'm ecstatic! 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, Deisler26 said:

 

It's not very apt, (because we are not very good), and I'm afraid I used it already. 

[Deisler26]

Just now, Jimbokav1971 said:

It's not very apt, (because we are not very good), and I'm afraid I used it already. 

Booooooo

[Jimbokav1971]

The A Team. HK. Jan 2024.

Hopefully this will see an increase in attention towards me from foreign clubs.

[nie jem frytek]

I have already forgot it's journeyman career and not one club one.

Spoiler

 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Just now, nie jem frytek said:

I have already forgot it's journeyman career and not one club one.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Yeah, it's just not been very "Journeyman" so far because nobody outside Iceland had ever heard of me until I got the N.Ireland job. (Well that's not quite right. All the Managers at European clubs who we have beaten have certainly heard of me!) 

[Jimbokav1971]

N.Ireland. Jan 2024.

Haven't played a game, picked a squad, met the players or even spoken to the press yet but looking good so far. 

[Deisler26]

 

2 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

N.Ireland. Jan 2024.

Haven't played a game, picked a squad, met the players or even spoken to the press yet but looking good so far. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Just now, Deisler26 said:

 

 

Haha. 

I was actually saving that one for when I earned it myself. Well played. 

[Jimbokav1971]

 

Standing Still. N.Ireland. Feb 2024. 

Still haven't even met the players yet.

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Irresistible. HK. Feb 2024.

[Jimbokav1971]

This International Management lark is Easy. N,Ireland. Mar 2024.

I still haven't done anything at all and we have again risen in the rankings. 

If we keep rising at this rate then I estimate that N.Ireland will be the #1 ranked Nation in the World by about October 2026. Put that in your diaries now! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Production Line. HK. Apr 2024.

Only 4 of these 10 players are actually in the Senior Icelandic squad, and even then, only 3 of them came through the academy under my tenure. 

(18b) Daði Björg (Bal) * is my 1st choice GK and is contracted for 4.5 more years. Although he has only made 51 League appearances in 5 full seasons with us, he has actually made 103 competitive appearances and the small number of Icelandic league games is a little misleading. I have a 17yo GK called (23c) Jónas Haflið (Honest) and an 18yo GK called  (22c) Sverrir Ingi (F.Det) who looks to have a similar PA and we will just have to see how they develop. If it looks like they will exceed (18b) Daði Björg (Bal) * then I will look to move him on and give them some more game time. Unfortunately, it's too early to tell at this stage. 

(18c) Harald Skúlason (Amb) * scored twice on his Senior International debut, but isn't very happy that I am not allowing him to move on. (I think the highest bid for him has been approx £1.3M). The way I see it, if he didn't want to stay then he shouldn't have signed a long contract. At the moment I can manage the unhappiness, although if we start to get a lot of players like this then it might be harder. We haven't won the league title yet, (although we have thrown it away), and I can use that as a carrot to dangle for the moment. 26 goals in 60 league appearances for a team that has never won the league is decent, but 64 goals in 117(10) competitive games is better. He's been an absolute star in Europe. Add in 32 assists, (most in the last 2 season), and his influence is clear. I have other striking options to support him, (and believe it or not he is NOT the main strike threat in a 3 up top), but because we play 3 in each game, we really need at least 6 decent strikers and even if I count PA rather than CA, well it would be stretching it to say we had 4 options. We really have 3, and then we just fill in gaps where we can with what we can. As a result, happy or not, he's going nowhere. 

(19b) Dagur Ingi (Bal) * is the 21 yo right back who is now at Goteborg in Sweden. We only got £190,000 for him I think, but I'm also pretty sure that I got a 50% re-sale clause in the deal because his asking price was £200,000. I could have kept him for longer, but we had some options at right back and I think it's good to see players come through and move on to bigger clubs, just as long as it doesn't leave us short. He came through early in the save so I couldn't get him on a REALLY long deal, so I'm afraid it was a case of cashing in while we could. Goteborg don't want to sell, (I don't blame them), but he should fetch a tidy little sum when they do. 

So the question that jumps out at me here is if (18b) and (18c) are in the Senior Icelandic squad, what happened to (18a)?

Similarily, if (19b) is playing for Iceland and has earned his move out of domestic football, where is (19a)?

(18a) Kriss Sævar (Bal) (2018) is a right winger who just hasn't progressed as I would like and I have just sold him. It's possible that his development was stunted by the fact that we had 2 better young right wingers already at the club when the save started, so I found it hard to even give him opportunities from the bench. As if that wasn't bad enough, the new system sees me play with WB's rather that wingers so his opportunities have been even more limited. I also think that the Ass Man just thought he was going to be better than he really was on the day of the initial intake. I soon decided that whatever the Ass Man opinion, he wasn't the one for me and I had better options. He hasn't even been capped at U19/U21 level.

(19a) Kris Sigurður (2019) * is actually a player I really like, but for a few different reasons he has perhaps been on the periphery of the squad, (although I am determined to fix that this season and adamant that he will be my 1st choice starting MC no matter who the DoF brings in). I hope that a whole season playing most games will give his development a bit of a boost, but I wonder how much damage has been done already?

 

[Jimbokav1971]

It doesn't matter. HK. May 2024.

Pre-Season. 

League Cup A. I know that I joke about the League Cup being a Micky Mouse competition, (it really is), however that's not to say that I don't want to win it. The reality however is that we are probably behind both KR and FH as the 3rd best team in the Country, so to beat KR and then lose narrowly to FH in the final, (albeit not that narrowly), is probably a decent performance. Why on Earth I am explaining this to you is simply beyond me however because these games really don't matter. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Of course he is. N.Ireland. Jun 2024.

[Jimbokav1971]

World Rankings. N.Ireland. Jul 2024.

I'm not sure how exactly we have gone up in the rankings, but..... we have.

That's the friendlies out of the way. Now we are on to the European League thingy in which we seem to be in one of the 3rd Tier Leagues. 

Edited January 14, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

On and on and on we go. HK. Jul 2024.

I hate posting stuff like this because it usually means that we will lose the next game. The next game in this instance in a League game against the 2nd best team in the league FH. (KR are the best team). What I am therefore going to do is leave this sitting here but not post it until after the FH game. 

2 clean sheets during the run is causing me to have palpitations though.  

[Edit]

Noooooooooo!  I pressed post and I haven't played the FH game yet! 

[Edit2]

Edited January 14, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Mistaken Identity is the only explanation for this. HK/N.Ireland. Jul 2024.

Maybe there is a bug in the game that I wasn't aware of. I thought it was a bit strange that I got offered the N.Irish job, (my 2nd Nationality in game is Irish rather than N.Irish), and the Sweden jog is a bit much when no Swedish clubs have offered me a job yet, but the Italian job is mental! 

What do I do? 

[Reggiana]

You definitely don't take the Sweden job, cheapskates!

[Jimbokav1971]

Just now, Reggiana said:

You definitely don't take the Sweden job, cheapskates!

I know! Right! 

But the thing is that I would have taken that job all things being equal. Think I will have to take the Italy job now if this isn't a bug. Has anyone else heard of it being a bug?

[Jimbokav1971]

Welcome to Italy. Jul 2024.

 

This is the current state of play. 

This is what we've got coming up. 

The squad looks pretty handy.  I was particularly interested to see the strikers, and they seem VERY nice. 

 

[Reggiana]

28 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I know! Right! 

But the thing is that I would have taken that job all things being equal. Think I will have to take the Italy job now if this isn't a bug. Has anyone else heard of it being a bug?

I haven't heard of it as a bug, but on FM17 I did manage to get the Panama job having previously only managed in the Vanarama North/South (I think I had studied for 2/3 coaching badges and my rep was about 20%, it seemed odd)

[Deisler26]

5 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

It doesn't matter. HK. May 2024.

Pre-Season. 

League Cup A. I know that I joke about the League Cup being a Micky Mouse competition, (it really is), however that's not to say that I don't want to win it. The reality however is that we are probably behind both KR and FH as the 3rd best team in the Country, so to beat KR and then lose narrowly to FH in the final, (albeit not that narrowly), is probably a decent performance. Why on Earth I am explaining this to you is simply beyond me however because these games really don't matter. 

 

 

[DazRTaylor]

My first contribution:

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Not suitable for work. 

Not happy with my Chairman. HK. Jul 2024.

I could protest this, but the fact is we are hemorrhaging money and he probably does need to be sold. We are under our wage budget and we are spending almost nothing on new signings, bit we are still in financial trouble. I think the "silly" chairman was lulled into a false sense of security by us qualifying for the Group Stages of the Europa League for 2 consecutive seasons and then we made a big loss last season when we didn't make it, and there is no guarantee that we will make it again this season. 

If I thought we were selling him for £500,000 + 50% of re-sale value then I wouldn't complain, but I seriously doubt it, (in fact I have just checked and it's a straight flat £550,000 with no add-ons at all). That's ridiculous! 

[Edit]

I have managed to get the deal cancelled, but now I need to sell him for a proper amount before someone else comes in again. 

I'm going to start at £1,000,000 + 50% + friendly and see how we go. 

Edited January 14, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

I need to make a decision. HK. Jul 2024

We are unbeaten in the league after 9 games and this could be a real opportunity to win our 1st league title. FH, (the best team in the league), have already lost 3 times and it was us who beat KR so we only have to play them once more. Even if they beat us, we will still likely be ahead of then on goal difference. That is assuming that we keep (18c) Harald Skúlason (Amb) *. He has played in 8 of our 9 league games and has scored 6 goals and created 5 assists with an average of 8.07 in these 8 league games. He's not the main goal-scorer, but he plays a very particular TM role on the right of a front 3 and I don't really have an able deputy. If I sell him then I might also be selling the title.

We are also coming to the nitty gritty  in terms of Europa League groups stage qualification. He could be the difference between making it and not.

Decisions decisons. 

Edited January 14, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

New man. HK. Aug 2024.

My Chairman might be an eegit, but at least the DoF seems to be on the ball. Out of nowhere he has suddenly arranged a new arrival at the club. Now that we have this bloke in, I'm far more willing to let (18c) Harald Skúlason (Amb) * leave. The only problem is that I can no longer get even £500,000 for him and I just don't want to sell him for such a paltry amount. 

[Jimbokav1971]

I think I might Love this Generation. 2024 Youth Intake. HK. 8th Aug 2024.

"Kriss" (24a) Grétar (FSport)(2024) *.

It's a real shame, but I actually don't think I like this "Kriss" because his attributes don't seem balanced to me. He looks like a playmaker, but he can't pass. That's not a good mix. I'm not saying that I can't male something out of him, but it's not what we want to see on Youth Day. Don't get me wrong, he's far from rubbish, he just seems a bit of a waste.

(24b) Kristinn Geirn (F.Det).

This is the guy that the HoYD labelled the "diamond in the very strong group" and I think I agree. I prefer him to "Kriss". He's not exactly what I'm looking for in a MC, but then again he's 16 years old and we shouldn't expect him to be. He is certainly very good though.

(24c) Ásgeir Svein (F.Sport).

This is just what I needed. Still a bit raw in places, but certainly has the making of a good central defender. 

 

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youngster. HK, Aug 2024.

2 goals on debut at 16 years old is none too shabby. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New 2 Year contract offered and accepted. HK. Aug 2024.

I've already allowed negotiations to break down once, but the reality is that the club don't have the money to upgrade the facilities at the moment so there is no point playing hardball.

The only other reason not to sign was to make me more attractive to other clubs, but there is nobody interested at the moment and there seem to be a shortage of good options anyway.

My reputation is still growing and I recently passed my National A License. I wonder if I need the next qualification to really get foreign clubs interested.

[Jimbokav1971]

Goodbye to Italy.

I haven't yet played a game as Italy Manager and I have decided to jump ship. The appointment still feels wrong and I'm just not "feeling" the position so that was that. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Update 2024.

[Jimbokav1971]

Training Facilities Downgraded. HK. Nov 2024.

Future Stadium Plans. HK, Nov 2024.

You might notice that there are "Future Stadium Plans" that I haven't seen before and I haven't seen a media message about it either. They  are looking for a 10k+ site while we are £1M overdrawn at the bank.....

 

[Jimbokav1971]

If I Could Change Your, (The Board's), Mind. HK. Dec 2024.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Half the fee. HK, Jan 2025.

[Jimbokav1971]

Yeah I know it's a friendly, but 14 goals is 14 goals. (7 from (20a) Óttarr (F.Pro) (2020) *). 

14. HK. Mar 2025.

[Jimbokav1971]

Who cares. HK. May 2025.

Unstoppable. HK. May 2025.

Double. HK. May 2025.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Young Pretenders. HK. May 2025. 

This is my favourite club competition in saves such as this, (although I wouldn't mind a wildcard invitation to the Copa America U19 competition).

2023 was the 1st year we were entered into this competition. As a participant in the Europa League we have to qualify for the Knockout stages of the junior competition, and this takes place towards the end of the year, with the Knockout Stages taking place in the early the following year, (so a completely new season for us), so apologies if the pictures look confusing. We beat Man City and Chelsea, but crashed out against CSKA Moscow on penalties. 

After doing quite well at our 1st attempt, I was determined to have a proper go at it this season, (which doesn't mean that I actually played the games, but does mean that I selected the teams for these games and "managed" the squad in the games around that time to try and ensure players were in the best condition possible). 

Things were going pretty well and I was delighted that I was able to add Bayern, Atletico and Man City (again), to the scalps of Chelsea and Man City from our 1st campaign. Then the Chairman got involved on deadline day. 

He accepted an offer, (that I was unable to protest), for our best player from the intake 3 years ago.

It was a paltry amount for a player, but to add insult to injury, he didn't include a sell-on clause of any kind, (never mind a 50% clause), and then if that wasn't enough, sold him to our domestic rivals rather than a foreign team. 

(22a) Ísak Ör (L.H)  (2022) * is already capped at Senior International level and is already a regular starter for us, (obviously). That it will possibly cost us a crack at the U19 Champions League is particularly galling when we are a little Icelandic club and it's only 2025. 

Thankfully, and much to my surprise, we didn't have to do much defending in the Semi as we absolutely smashed Monaco 7-0. 

The bad news is that Sopic (CRO) (F.Det), who is on loan from Dinamo Zagreb, (he was signed by my DoF so don't ask me), is injured and will miss the final. I have no idea why they have sent him out on loan, (because I would expect him to be a regular for them), but he's here and well and truly eligible so he is playing with the kids. If this was a different save I would be trying top sign him on a permanent deal, but as it is this save, I stay completely out of transfer signings, with the caveat that I have a veto over anyone I don't like, (and I don't like a lot of them). 

We will play Chelsea in the Final, (who beat Barca on pens in the other Semi), and we obviously beat them 2-1 away last season. 

The fixture list is a little taxing at the moment. 

Wednesday 21st May 2025. U19 Champions League Semi Final.
Thursday 22nd May 2025. League match.
Friday 23rd May 2025. U19's Group match.
Saturday 24th May 2025. U19's Champions League Final.
Sunday 25th May 2025.
Monday 26th May 2025. U19's Group match.
Tuesday 27th May 2025. Cup Match.

I think I might give the lads the Sunday off. What do you think? 

Yeah ok, but where is the trophy? I'm sure there is a trophy! In fact, I know there is a trophy because I have won it before. 

Missing Trophy. 

Where is it? 

I've found the trophy. Tell the Police they are not needed. 

I don't think I get presented with the trophy because I am not managing the team. 

Ah well. A wins a wins a win.