[FM20] HNK Cibalia - A slow build to Croatian success

[metallimuse]

Spoiler alert but with three games to go we've secured our place in the Prva HNL next season...

Strangely, mathematically we could still qualify for Europe...but I don't think it will happen.

[metallimuse]

April 2021/22:

A superb month for the lads as we clinched Prva HNL with 3 games to go.

We started off the month with our first back to back league wins since promotion and the best thing about that was that they were big 6 pointers against our nearest rivals in the league.

We lost to Split and Dinamo over the month but that was to be expected but a win over Rijeka, one of the big/top 4, was a HUGE bonus for us.

Two games left against bottom club Sibenik and HNK Gorica who sit above us, we could actually sneak into Europe!

[metallimuse]

May 2021/22:

Heartbreak on the final day of the season as we miss out on a European place .

We had no right to be in that sort of position anyway and just shows how close the league is outside of the top/big 4 as up until the past month I was writing about avoiding relegation .

A draw against Gorica would not have been enough to take us into Europe but to lose again to an injury time winner is very frustrating and actually means we drop down to 7th as those pesky pharmacists NK Slaven Belupo leapfrog us in the league.

[metallimuse]

End of Year Review 2021/22:

In a season that we were expected to fight off relegation, which was the case for the vast majority, we had a great season overall. The pack outside the top/big 4 is very close so anything it seems is possible in that cluster of teams.

We missed out on Europe on the final day of the season and I had no idea I would be in that position at the start of the campaign so it can only go down as a good first year.

 

 

The squad has held its own over the course of the season mainly.

The one player I've been disappointed with though is Antonio Stupar who just hasn't cut it.

Goals have been hard to come by and Dominik Dogan has struggled but he'll get another bite at it next year.

At 34 and his contract up Mario Kis will leave this summer along.

 

 

 

Stefan Bubalo was a colossus in defence and without him the season would have been a lot harder.

 

 

Other than Toni Karimovic I can't see any of this starting 11 staying in this team as time goes on.

 

 

So to sum up the season, it's been a good year.

"Nastavljamo graditi i krenuti naprijed!"

[metallimuse]

End of Season Player Analysis 2021/22:

 

 

So I've had a slight change to how I'm going to be scoring the squad and for the moment I've stripped out my DNA approach and also re-evaluated the attributes I'm looking for in each position. As I've got all the data stored from each season I've played I'm still able to take a year on year growth view.

 

So lets have a look at the sweeper keepers first.

Jurica Nevistic was number one and did well on the whole but Dejan Jakovljevic also got some games and impressed. Both have made massive strides in their CA over the year and both still have bags of PA left so they are very much duking it out for the position as time goes on.

 

 

I ended up switching my defensive flanks to full-backs for that bit of extra security as a newly promoted team and I feel it worked well.

Milicevic came up from the under 19s and made the right back position his own over the season as Janovic did the same on the left, Mateo Bukvic is able to play on either side so filled in on both when one needed a rest.

Ljubic was brought in on loan as extra cover but didn't get a look in really.

 

 

As I mentioned in the previous post, Stefan Bubalo was magnificent all year with Vajo Klicic and Zlatko Cipric slotting in next to him as a pairing.

Klicic and Bubalo have big PA still to accomplish so they will be the starting partnership next season to help to try to realise it.

Tomo Ilincic did well when called upon but is out of contract and he's agreed to join relegated Sibenik as of this summer.

 

 

Sadly Marijan Ivic had problems with injuries this year but he still is head and shoulders above everyone else in the squad. He's starting to think he needs to move to a bigger club though so I'm hoping we can keep him for a bit longer yet.

Toni Karimovic was solid and one of the first names  on the team sheet every week either in this role or just ahead.

 

 

Everyone above played in this role at times over the year and none have made it their own, mainly as none are really suited to it but it's role I want to play to add some cover and bite.

Toni Karimovic played here a lot and did well but it seemed his better performances were not here but rather as a regista or box to box midfielder.

We have Josip Panadic who has come through this years academy graduates though who I'm hoping will make this role his own next season.

 

 

Again, I rotated this role around the players at the club the young guns of academy graduates Saric, Karimovic and Ivic all excelled in it as I knew they would.

Moving forward these boys, if I can keep them, will be the heart of the team and all the other players listed will be allowed to leave as their contracts run out in the hope that new academy boys can come through and replace them.

 

 

The other big tactical change this year along with the switch to full backs was to change my wide players to advanced playmakers.

I thought the switch to this role would mean it would give me a beefier, closer midfield to ping the ball around and keep possession better.

For the team and our play it's worked well but I'm not keen on any of the players so hopefully our academy can produce something of note in the next year or two as I run these players contracts down and move them on.

 

 

We really struggled for goals this year and Dogan is facing a make or break year ahead as if he can't put the ball in the net more I'm going to go into the transfer market the end of next season if my academy hasn't produced anyone.

[metallimuse]

Some great news over the summer as the board agree to improve our youth set up 

[metallimuse]

Season 2022/23 Preview:

Predicted to finish dead last again by the bookies.

I definitely do not think we will go down and I'm hoping we can have a few more wins this year but I'd be happy with a 7th place finish again.

The board aren't expecting anymore from us this season and that suits me.

The new season is upon us and I can't wait to get started.

[metallimuse]

July 2022/23:

A tough opening combo to the season as we faced two of the big 4 and predictably lost.

We finally got our season underway with a victory over Zagreb based side NK Lokomotiva thanks to a deft finish from Dogan and a stunner from Toni Karimovic from outside the box as he seized upon a loose ball.

 

You'll notice that at this very early stage Dogan is leading the goal scorer charts, he must of known what I was saying in my previous posts 

[metallimuse]

August 2022/23:

A solid month for the club as we claim 5 points out of 12.

Draws against one of the big 4 in Osijek and top of the table NK Slaven Belupo were great results followed up by taking our chances against bottom club NK Inter Zapresic meant we had reason to be happy this month despite finishing with a loss against heavyweights Dinamo Zagreb.

 

Dogan still tops the goal scoring charts 

In other news, there has been no transfers over the summer.

[metallimuse]

September 2022/23:

A great month again as we avoid defeat and claim 8 points from 12 and even at this early stage I'm leaving thoughts of a relegation battle behind. We won't be challenging top 4 but depending on how things go maybe we could sneak that 5th place European spot.

Was a surprise to sneak a draw against Split at the end of the month.

 

Dogan still at the top of the goal scoring charts! 

[metallimuse]

October/November 2022/23:

Our great league form has continued and like I said, any thoughts of us being in a relegation dog fight are long gone.

Important wins over Rijeka and local rivals Osijek were the highlights of the month yet to show how competitive this league is we only managed draws against lower table teams.

I can't wait to see how the second half of the season unfurls.

Out of the Cup at our usual spot of 2nd round, to our local rivals Osijek no less

Dogan is no longer top of the pops 

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2023 Preview:

Very promising, let's hope it lives up to the hype.

[metallimuse]

January 2022/23:

Well what started out as a bright start to the new year turned into a nightmare as we've gone five straight losses.

I mean, they were against last years top 5 so...was it to be expected to some extent? Not sure to panic or not.

Hopefully there will be an upturn in fortune over the next month.

[metallimuse]

Winter Transfer Window 2023:

So some of the eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted in the previous post that my finances have now jumped and become much healthier and that's because I had to sell my talisman and star player Marijan Ivic.

He went to Liverpool for £4m plus 50% of any future transfer so we should hopefully see further money for him.

Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea all put bids in and Spurs even met his £5m buy out clause which worried me as I couldn't then get any future fees for him but thankfully Ivic chose to join Steven Gerrard's new look Liverpool.

 

As a result we were able to actually start improving facilities...

[metallimuse]

February 2022/23:

A better month this month than last with our only defeat being at the hands of leaders Dinamo but still disappointing to not take more points considering the opposition, NK Inter Zapresic especially as they are bottom of the league.

But still, we keep going and I must say I'm really enjoying how competitive the league is in the middle pack.

We're gunna be up against it the month ahead as Dogan, our one recognised striker, picked up a groin strain in the last match against Gorica and is out for the month.

But it's March next month so that means newgen time 

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2023:

So this will be the final year of my Director of Football bringing through the kids but he's unearthed a few lads each year of good quality so I hope moving forward my new Head of Youth, whoever he may be, continues to unearth strong prospects. Here's what Drazen has to say anyway...

And here's what my development centre advise me are the best/top prospects...

And here's who's actually the best rated...

I've signed A-I this year with a view of fill out the squad and in the next year or maybe two we should have an entire first team squad consisting of academy graduates.

 

The overall group isn't bad but no decent personalities again so hopefully with my own hand picked HOYD next year that should start changing.

Really didn't need another top left back so soon but his potential is actually better then the two solid left backs I have so maybe we can look to sell one of them in a year to help our finances.

[metallimuse]

March 2022/23:

Very much the proverbial "mixed bag" of a month as we took 4 points from 9 this month.

Losing to Split is something we expected and a draw away to Istra 1961 with our one win coming against Jaap Stam's NK Lokomotiva Zagreb has left us still in the hunt for a European place.

[metallimuse]

April 2022/23:

Another tough month this month as we battled through amongst injuries and suspensions this month.

Just the one win this month and that came at the start against Vincent Kompany's Rijeka.

We lost the Slavonian derby against Osijek and got pumped by champions elect Dinamo, a game that we were winning until the 71st minute annoyingly.

Two games to go and there's still every chance that we can claim a European spot.

[metallimuse]

We did it!

[metallimuse]

May 2022/23:

Yes we did it!

We limped our way to a European place as Kompany's Rijeka lost on the final day to Osijek for us to keep hold of 5th place.

A fantastic achievement for the lads and a great reward. This league is so tight though I got a message with 4 games left to say that I had avoided relegation.

Hopefully our participation in Europe next year can improve the coffers so we can start really developing the club and moving forward.

[metallimuse]

End of Year Review 2022/23:

Well, what can we say about this season?

Ultimately when the dust settles all that will be remembered is we qualified for Europe after being predicted to be relegated so it must go down as a great season.

Our form was inconsistent and we are by no means considered one of the better teams in the league but it's worth remembering that I still haven't spent a penny to improve the team. We are relying on kids to get us through and our facilities aren't of good quality yet so to finish where we did was a great achievement.

 

 

The lads have performed well over the year with Dogan being the pick of the bunch in terms of average rating with Klicic,  Bubalo, Nevistic and Karimovic not far behind which shows that we are starting develop a nice spine to the starting 11.

 

 

Can't disagree with this and it was my starting 11 when all fit, it's still a shame we won't have Marijan Ivic next year in our regista role but Rene Saric is getting close to his PA now so hopefully he will do a job next year.

 

 

So we've finished in our highest place yet and have Europe to look forward to next year and we're starting to improve our facilities so we are definitely moving forward.

 

 

Stefan Bubalo and Andrej Milicevic have made it into the all time best 11 but Rene Saric has dropped to the bench after this season.

[metallimuse]

End of Season Player Analysis 2022/23:

 

So let's have a look at how the players have improved in the roles that I'm using them in over this past 12 months...

 

Jurica Nevistic was the number one again this year and actually was awarded the 'Keeper of the Year' for the Prva HNL which just goes to show how great he was. He's improved a bit over the 12 months in his role as a sweeper keeper but I suspect looking at his stats he may be better more as a regular keeper than a sweeper keeper but we'll persevere for now as it's the role I want him to play.

 

 

 

My ball playing defenders are solid and the main partnership of Stefan Bubalo and Vajo Klicic have improved immensely over the past 12 months.

 

 

Andrej Milicevic has made the right back role his own but Neven Svalina who spent most of the season in the under 19s has really improved massively also and will get game time next year.

Janovic and Bukvic have performed solidly at left back but neither edging ahead as of yet, Matej Jazvic has popped up in this years newgens and he will challenge them both next year.

 

 

Ivic played a big chunk of the season in this role but obviously left in the winter transfer window, Rene Saric is close to his PA now but will fill the role mainly next season with Karimovic to drop in if we need to rotate.

 

 

Josip Panadic played in this role the majority of the season as he has bags of PA despite his tackling not being quite up to it yet. Over the next 12 months I will try to focus on his training more and address that but we really need a newgen to come through with good tackling to make this role his own.

Filip Scrbec and Mate Bajic have also played in this role over the 12 months but neither have impressed and I think I might let both go this summer as they are a bit older and I don't fancy them much for the squad anymore.

 

 

Toni Karimovic was the starter here and performed really well and will continue here next year, probably with Zvonko Pamic as his understudy.

 

 

Antonio Stupar and Dinko Matosevic  were the main starters on the left and right respectfully and did well. 

Mario Vidosevic has shot right up over the year but did not get much game time so I'll have to have a look into him next season and maybe give him some more game time to see what he can do.

Marko Kirchbauer will probably be let go over the summer so we can give game time to younger options.

 

 

And finally...

...Dogan was obviously the man up top this year but he went off the boil at the turn of the year and it was no surprise my form went with him.

We are desperately in need of a good newgen to pop through next year to offset Dogan when he goes off the boil.

[metallimuse]

Season 2023/24 Preview:

So the bookies are, in my view, underestimating us again and predicting 9th this season.

It's one better then last year but considering we finished in the European places last year I think this is a crazy prediction. 

Let's have a look at what the board are looking for...

...well they agree with our league placing but expect the quarter finals of the cup.

I think that's a bit backwards. Confident of a stronger showing in the league then the cup and Europe is a bonus.

So far in FM20 I've not actually competed in the Euro Cup II so not sure how it all works but I think we can get a few rounds up but we will lose whenever the big boys come in.

 

For me this year, I'd be happy to finish 5th again but I'd like to get a few more wins on the board and be tougher to beat and a more formidable team.

[metallimuse]

July 2023/24:

A great preseason has given way to a great start as we make it two wins out of two in competitive competition.

We scrapped a win in the league if I'm honest and Dogan was poor but the rest of the team was strong. We should be through in Europe after the first game now.

[metallimuse]

August 2023/24:

An absolutely horrendous run of form this month has left me actually fearing for my job and the future of this thread.

The eagle eyed will spot that my first leg win over Lithuanian side FK Kauno Zalgiris last month has actually increased by a goal and that's because I had one too many whisky's last night and forgot to save and when I woke up this morning my laptop had decided to reboot itself due to an update. But it was a tie we had effectively won anyway and we went away and drew with them to seal our spot in the next round.

That was the highlight of the month that draw as we lost the following 6 games on the bounce including a loss to newly promoted NK Rudes!

I didn't expect to get passed Vit. Setubal from Portugal in the Euro Cup II and loses to Dinamo and Split are expected but it's worrying times as the vultures are overhead with the press & fans starting to turn on me. Even the squad has come to me and told me the atmosphere at the club and in the dressing room is bad.

 

 

[metallimuse]

September 2023/24:

Our poor form continued into the month and I was fearful but I switched things up and have redeployed my full backs as inverted wing backs to provide extra beef in the middle of the park and it seems to have made all the difference. There have also been some other minor tweaks to player instructions that have helped.

We're through to the second round of the cup and starting to claw our way up the table so hopefully we can get some points next month but we're up against some strong teams.

 

[metallimuse]

October 2023/24:

Well I thought this would be a tough month considering the opposition and it proved to be the case as we go winless again.

We did get two hard fought draws though so I can take solace in that but in the game against Kompany's Rijeka we were very lucky not to lose as they peppered our goal all game without success.

Dogan has gone 17 hours without a goal now and is yet to score this season, we really need him to spark back into life or it will be a long drawn out season with little to get excited by.

Edited June 12, 2020 by metallimuse

[metallimuse]

November 2023/34:

Another very tough month for the club with only 1 win in 5.

It came in the Cup so this is now the furthest I've come in the Cup since taking over at the club but it's scant consolation as our league form continues to be poor.

Dogan finally got himself on the scoresheet bagging a brace in the thrilling 3 all draw with Gorica but things are still tough.

Morale is low and we are starting to be left adrift second from bottom.

[karanhsingh]

Nice thread, I like your focus on youth development and use of spreadsheets. Will be following 

[metallimuse]

5 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Nice thread, I like your focus on youth development and use of spreadsheets. Will be following 

Thanks mate.

I'm still finding my feet with it all, the spreadsheets, but it's something I'm keen to master and implement more.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2024 Preview:

Wide midfielders and strikers, that is just what we need.

[metallimuse]

December 2023/24:

A slightly better month this month as we claim a league win over bottom club NK Slaven Belupo which was important in enabling us to keep within distance of 8th place and trying to pull ourselves out of relegation danger.

We're actually playing some decent football at times but with Dogan off the boil up top it's hard to get the wins we deserve.

It's also been tough this month as our number one keeper Jurica Nevistic has been injured all month along with Vajo Klicic in the heart of defence.

A last minute goal in extra time by Josip Panadic, a beautiful free kick, means we are through to the semi finals of Hrvatski kup! Our cup run has been our one thing to be excited by this season.

[metallimuse]

My days at the club could be numbered...

[metallimuse]

February 2023/24:

Another horrendous month but we were always gunna be up against it considering the opposition.

We had a couple of red card moments over the month as well which didn't help our cause much and made things a lot tougher.

Starting to get cut adrift again in 9th sadly.

Still, March is next so that means newgens! 

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2024:

So let's have a look at my new Head of Youth's first intake, here's what he's got to say about the group...

And I've got to say, this could very well be a 'Golden Generation'...

A through to K have been signed and hopefully can live up to their potential.

Once again I'm dismayed at how these kids show in the development centre though...

I don't understand how with PA at 105 Anto Vrgoc is rated third from bottom? 

[metallimuse]

March 2023/24:

Another tough month, is there any other kind at the moment?

Three draws being the best we could manage including 1 against champions elect Dinamo Zagreb at the end of the month. We will face them again next month in the semi finals of the cup.

Cut adrift in 9th now so looks like we will have to navigate our way through the relegation play offs.

[metallimuse]

April 2023/24:

We finally got ourselves a win!

The first one of the calendar year courtesy of an Andrej Milicevic injury time thunderbolt.

The rest of the month was as bleak as the year has been and we went out of the cup to Dinamo as expected.

Three games to go and the worry now is that NK Slaven Belupo are clawing their way towards us and we might end up being outright relegated.

My contract is up at the end of the season and I've no idea if I'll still be here in the summer.

[metallimuse]

May 2023/24:

Another winless month for us but thankfully NK Slaven Belupo failed to take advantage and still finished bottom.

So it's the relegation play offs for us and it looks to be HNK Sibenik who we will face.

Fingers crossed for me.

[metallimuse]

Well despite our terrible season the board have actually offered me a years extension before the play offs are decided.

[metallimuse]

But despite the new contract...

...it wasn't enough to inspire the lads to keep themselves in Croatia's premier competition as we lose in both legs.

[metallimuse]

End of Season Review 2023/24:

It has been a tough season.

It's been a bad season.

It's a season that we've been relegated so we have very little to shout about.

 

Rene Saric, Stefan Bubalo and Andrej Milicevic were the stand out performers for the season.

Stefan's contract was running out and when we entered into talks he said he thought he had outgrown the club so he will be leaving us this summer...for bitter rivals Osijek of all teams. 

As you can see we have a very young squad and maybe that's cost us this year. The oldest player is Zvonko Pamic and as shown above, he's out of contract with us this year and I won't be renewing due to his age.

Next season we need to give more game time to Mladen Dogan as his CA this year has sky rocketed.

I've no idea who will be here at the start of next season due to our relegation but hopefully we can keep most of them seeing as they are fresh out of the academy but I suspect a few may go. 

Jurica Nevistic was again named Croatian goalkeeper of the year so you would think he will be in high demand and likely to go.

 

Tried a few formations this year to try and kick start our season, obviously none with any real effect but I found we played some good football despite the results with the formation above. We are still really lacking a consistent goal scorer and if any of the newgens can step up and become that next season then this formation may prove successful.

 

 

So, we finished exactly as predicted but we had an incredible run in the cup for the first time this year. 

We had a brief flirt with Europe but coming up against a Portuguese team we were blown out the water in terms of quality on the field.

We've now managed to improve our junior coaching to an excellent level and youth facilities and recruitment have also improved so hopefully the conveyor belt will keep churning out talent for our first team and to sell for good money in future days.

 

 

Rene has made it back into the team along with Bukvic with Klicic and Josip Panadic breaking into the starting 11 for the first time.

 

Due to the fact that I chopped and changed and went through a few formations this year I won't be drilling down into an in-depth player analysis this season.

[metallimuse]

Staff Review/Update:

I realised as I was typing up my youth intake report earlier that I hadn't actually told you about my new HOYD yet so here's a look at how I've filled out the staff at the club over the past few years.

I've got a decent level to the backroom now with good personalities so this should hopefully help in the long run.

My under 19 staff is still very sparse but I'm bring the strongest players straight into the first team anyway so I don't think that's going to have too much of an impact at the moment and we need to save money where we can.

[metallimuse]

Season 2024/25 Preview:

Bookies have tipped us for third so we should be set for a happier 12 months this season than last.

The board are just requesting a top half finish so there isn't too much pressure this season but their long term ambition is to sell the club so I need to be doing well or maybe the new owners coming in, whenever that may be, might want me off.

 

On the transfer front we've had a few stars leave due to our relegation and contract stipulations...

The heart of our defence is gone so our back 4 will be very inexperienced this year, might prove difficult if we advance in the cup and against some of the B teams in the division.

 

I'm not sure what to make of the season ahead personally. I'm happy to have a strong showing this year even if we don't bounce back straight away to the Prva HNL. The squad is obviously very young so lets look to giving them game time and allowing them to mature and give us more of a foundation for maybe next year to look at seriously challenging to go back up.

[metallimuse]

August 2024/25:

A great start to the season and a solid pre-season also.

I've gone back to the drawing board and come up with a new more possession orientated tactic and it's working very well as we keep a hold of it more and fashion out tactics more clinically. Dogan has still not found the net but Vilim Jancic has two to his name with the rest of the squad chipping in.

At the end of the first month we find ourselves only two points off the top.

[metallimuse]

Well, after the tough season last year it's nice to see this...

[metallimuse]

September 2024/25:

A great month as we remain unbeaten in all competitions.

We should have had a win in the last game of the month against NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac but I got cocky and took the more experienced players off for kids and they came back and bagged 4 in the last 16 minutes 

But we've moved top of the league and everything's looking rosy currently.

 

[metallimuse]

October 2024/25:

We've had a tougher month this month but I'm not sure if it's been down to me starting to take control of training rather than letting my Assistant Manager control it like I've always done. The tactic I think is still sound.

We've got some of the B teams coming up next month so it's an interesting time of the season and should see where we're at.

We went out of the cup at the end of the month at the hands of Prva HNL side Istra 1961 so can't really complain there. We did play some good football in the game though so if we go up this year I'm hopeful this new tactic would play better.

 

We also had another milestone moment over the course of the month...

[metallimuse]

November/December 2024/25:

A stronger month and a bit this time around so maybe it's not my training and we just had a bad month last month.

We were in great form this month really stopping teams have the ball and playing some beautiful passing football.

Young Vilim Jancic up top is starting to find the net with a solid goal every two games ratio and with a couple of young strikers in the u19's it look like Dogan's time at the club is up as he is really struggling and I can't keep the faith any longer with prospects coming through.

So as we go into the winter break, we sit top of the Druga HNL.

[metallimuse]

Youth Intake 2025 Preview:

I'll say one thing, this club is starting to develop a reputation for discovering and producing great young goalkeepers.

 

[metallimuse]

The deal finally went through over the winter shut down...

A new chapter in the clubs history has begun, let's see how the new chairman decides to run the club and how ambitious he is.