[FM20] Hidden Talent - Being Poached Ain't Fun

[KibworthBull]

Youth Intake time...

We have 2 5* Current Ability players - Jackson Wafula is a natural Advanced Forward - a role we already play.

Bernard should slot quite nicely into the Central Midfield two

I fear for how long we can keep hold of these two gems.

Another 10 players were signed from the intake - this scatter gun approach is required when at any second during the transfer window every player is vulnerable.

On the field of play, form was a little bit more mixed. We managed to sneak £2k out of the cup run.

8 matches left to play - I am aiming for 7th place as that gives us prize money - the teams 3rd to 6th look to be in a less than impressive run of form, so maybe, just maybe we could sneak into 3rd but it would be a heck of a run in with results going our way.

[KibworthBull]

Couple of staffing changes as the season meanders to a close..

Eric Mwaura is a step up in terms of an Assistant Manager, he can actually judge Player Potential (+3 on previous), and he is also good at working with the kids.

Salim Masika has a Professional personality which was the main draw to convince him to come onboard. He is also better in each of the key attributes for the HoYD

For the first time we actually had some choice!

[KibworthBull]

In true Hidden Talent style, the only win this month was against the team at the top of the table.

The Muhoroni Youth victory has ensured our place in the Kenyan Super League for a 2nd season. We can still get 4th place but 11th feels about right based on our season.

[KibworthBull]

Really strong end of the season. Every member of the squad for the Coast Stima game was an academy graduate and it was nice to see the result.

A season of thirds.. The first third was a struggle as we couldn't find a win, then we did nothing but win in the middle third and then found a little bit of inconsistency towards the end of the campaign. Really pleased with the final finish, although we missed out on Prize Money by 1 place.

Paul Nyangweso and Victor Rodgers took the 1st and 2nd prizes in the Player of the Year awards but they aren't my boys so I don't care about them. Our star was 3Y Victor Were with 18 goals in 32 matches in his first season of first team football. 3Y Justin Omoto also had a very good debut campaign with an impressive 7 goals.

[KibworthBull]

The transfer window is a time that I don't enjoy..

Gor Mahia are one of Kenya's elite... we never stood a chance..

This one hurts - THEY HAVE GOTTEN RELEGATED TO THE LEVEL BELOW US...

And this is the other 5* CA player that we produced last season - again goes without playing.

We don't have the cash to go fully Professional so we are sitting ducks..

This hurts...

[KibworthBull]

There is still a month left of the transfer window and our entire squad is being circled by the pesky vultures - all on non-contracts remember and I cannot change that fact..

No Jocking... this is my latest first choice left back waltzing out the door for nothing..

Last seasons top scorer..

Back up winger/striker who despite being very highly rated hadn't done much for us

It's good to have a versatile Right/Left back at the club... oh wait.. no it's not..

14 more days until the window shuts - I've had enough for now... time to stop crying and do some more work..

[DaneBramage]

Good job avoiding relegation, was looking bad for a while there.

[KibworthBull]

2 hours ago, DaneBramage said:

Good job avoiding relegation, was looking bad for a while there.

Cheers! It was a very good 3 months that saved the day. This year looks blinking tough, especially with the mass exodus

[KibworthBull]

We nearly got to the end of the transfer window without losing anymore... but on the last day...

Goal on his debut a few days before..

But finally the transfer window closes.. All of the 4th Years are quality prospects that we shall miss - before this I was hoping we could mount a promotion bid - now it's all about staying up.

A very pleasant first month of the season - bonkers first match that we should have won and then 3 decent victories out of 4. We sit 3rd.

[KibworthBull]

Mwuhahahahhahahahaha

Regretting it now Edwin????

Another decent month - I think we should be OK from relegation - bold statement after only 9 matches but as long as we survive the January window with enough players to put a team out we should be ok... Or I am sacked...

Also asked the question about going Pro.. and the board like the idea but don't have the money for it.. an expected answer so we need a top 7 finish and a decent cup run before asking again.

[KibworthBull]

Never seen a side miss 2 penalties in a game before, even more sweeter was the 2nd was missed by an escapee..

A really good month - in fact it probably couldn't have got much better

There is a BIG gap above 4th place and us - although January is around the corner and the vultures will circle again.

[KibworthBull]

Feels difficult to get excited by any sort of intake preview - we can't keep hold of anyone that is really good..

1st v 2nd started the month and the victory put us clear at the top, but the mid month slump means we go into the turn of the year in a very good 2nd place.

We enter January.. wish us luck..

[KibworthBull]

The positive is we are unbeaten through January but those 3 draws were against sides towards the bottom of the table so they are definately dropped points.

It's a 7pt lead over the chasing pack - 15 above 7th so I fully expect some prize money at the end of the season and the transfer window has closed.

We lost one of our best Centre Backs but that was it. Despite 48 bids (yes i counted...)

[KibworthBull]

Almost the perfect month until the 91st minute against Ushuru FC - gave away a penalty.

The title has probably gone - we still get to play Mt. Kenya again but 10 points is big. It's also the same distance between us and 4th. 1st and 2nd go straight up and 3rd has to play-off against 16th in the Premier League.

[wesl]

Amazing that you're doing so well despite all the unwanted departures. I guess rival scouts are drawn towards Hidden Talent?

[KibworthBull]

7 minutes ago, wesl said:

Amazing that you're doing so well despite all the unwanted departures. I guess rival scouts are drawn towards Hidden Talent?

A number of factors i think

1. The biggest is the tactic - i'm using a very slightly altered version of one of Knap's Beowulf442 tactics - it's 99% his work though and he deserves all of the credit he gets.
2. We have very good facilities now compared to the rest of the nation so even the ones left behind are decent enough
3. The standard in the league is poor.

48 teams in the top 2 leagues in Kenya and we have 48 season ticket holders - I'm sure this is a coincidence.. 

[KibworthBull]

Intake - this makes me weep, it really does - some fantastic looking prospects although most will probably be snaffled in the summer before they can play for me.

A fair example of the intake - nothing much in the technical aspects of the game but some decent numbers in the mentals and the physicals. We have signed them all.

[KibworthBull]

A really good month went south right at the death. The Nzoia Sugar was 2nd v 3rd and a BIG WIN. We were able to give some of the 5Y intake some game time in the SportPesa Shield.

7 matches left in the season and from this point I would be disapointed if we dont make at least 3rd place and the play-offs. We play Mt. Kenya very soon

[KibworthBull]

We absolutely found our shooting boots in the month of April

The point away at Mt. Kenya was enough to give them the title and meant we hadn't been beaten by them this year. The play-off spot was secured at the end of the month.

3 games remain, 2 points are needed.

[KibworthBull]

With a game to spare this kinda happened..

An unbeaten end to the season.

Our league position gives us £14k which doesn't really make a dent in the debt..

Best 11

Star man and developing nicely

[KibworthBull]

TV Money for the first time ever

We have also increased our reputation.. Didn't have to scroll down this year.. Ok we are the worst in the Prem but thats to be expected.

Sadly though Elvis has left the building.. He was one of our best performers but fancies another year at the lower level

[KibworthBull]

We have ticked off an achievement..

One of our academy graduates has made the international stage - Bernard has made his bow for the U20s

[KibworthBull]

A very strong start to the season - we are odds on for relegation but I think we will be fine. At this point in time I don't think we will win any silverware but we have shown we have the ability in the squad to be able to compete at the very least.

[KibworthBull]

It's not dull right now..

As long as we can keep picking up the odd points here and there we should be ok.

[KibworthBull]

We are not having any luck (insert line about good teams making their own..). We've lost to late goals a lot recently. Against Softapaka we had 3 sent off and conceded twice in injury time.

7pts clear of the drop zone - something positive is needed otherwise it could be a very anxious few months.

Edited July 13, 2020 by KibworthBull

[KibworthBull]

A positive bit of news

And the next group have the traditional "Golden Generation" message

But we are in real trouble now. This squad has been found out at this level and it's simply a case of seeing if we can eek out enough to survive. We've picked up 2 points in 2 months. Both Zoo and SoNy Sugar are below us and we dropped points.

[KibworthBull]

It's January so.....

Thats our main CM out the door..

Stephen hadn't played a huge amount of football but he may have had more chances..

I knew that John was going - he refused to even speak to me - he drops 2 levels though, which is odd..

Some huge results on the field - our best months for points since August.

We sit 11 points clear with 17 games left.

This guy is my freaking hero - he looks rubbish but every year he seems to just do the business - one of the originals as well - played the last 2 matches of the month - 3 goals, 3 assists. Legend, Hero!

[KibworthBull]

Doing it in singles.. Mathare are top and we led 2-0 in the 86th minute which is a bit of a pain..

I think 30 points will be enough for survival. Which means 6 more points from the 30 on offer.

Joshua Aswani becomes our first "one of our own" to play 100 games for the club - 99 in the league and 4 in the cup. 

[KibworthBull]

Absolutely brilliant result against Posta Rangers has i think secured our place at this level for a 2nd season. The rest of the month wasn't great but most importantly the other results always seemed to go in our favour.

Youth Intake day has given us an absolute gem.. so naturally he will probably have every Kenyan club offering him deals in the summer!

I can play the kids in the cup so Samuel has at least played for us before being poached..

[KibworthBull]

I think the cup is our best bet for Continental football right now - so naturally we crash out at the 3rd Round stage (which is our best performance!). If you removed injury time goals we would probably be 10-15 points better off this year, but it's a young squad fighting above their station and other such cliches. No victories in the month.

The fans are complaining that the 4-4-2 isn't working but I do not care..

I said 30 points would do it and we are not a million miles short of that total.

[KibworthBull]

We've manged to improve the Assistant Manager with a small improvement - slightly better reputation and does the Ass. Man stuff better. He is also a better allround coach.

The league form since we secured our status has been dreadful - the squad is knackered, the goose cooked. We need a holiday - we didn't even enjoy our trip to the Zoo..

14th is brilliant - despite losing half of our matches!

[KibworthBull]

Sorted by average rating, this shows just how tough this season was for us. Only 5Y Anthony Ogwayo average over 7 AND played more than 10 games of the season, Anthony walked away with the Player and Young Player of the year. Results showed how inconsistent we were so it's no surprise that the average ratings suffered.

Best 11

Just noticed this beauty... He doesn't turn 17 until Christmas so NO ONE will bid for him in the summer!!!

It was also time to let some of the squad players depart, I can only register 35 players so these boys are country miles from my thoughts - some of them though have been on the complete journey - Omondi (117 games, 46 goals) and Yidah (69 games, 14 goals for a CD) especially

[KibworthBull]

The exodus has started as the Summer Window opens..

Wesley wouldn't even chat to me about a new deal

[KibworthBull]

The transfer window rumbles on and the deals keep getting thrown at my players so it was only a matter of time before one is accepted. Eric has potential in spades but what will he become?

But I think I have found a way to STOP repeated bids - offer a player a non-contract deal to start at the end of the season - if they accept then other clubs don't make bids for the player - makes the windows so much more enjoyable that I don't have to keep going around the horror of having to offer the same player 4 or 5 identical contracts over the window.

The bookies think they know where we will finish - I would like 10th-15th, that would be acceptable. 30 points is the target.

The perfect start - nothing in pre-season was expected to be a challenge, but 1 game 1 win in the league - 27 more points required.

[KibworthBull]

Always a nice message to get

Compared to this message - this is last years top scorer..

Considering we are relegation favourites, to have 5 wins from 5 games pretty much dispells that worry in the first full month of the season. 15pts already - I targetted 30 - we are Bon Jovi... (Half Way there..). Top of the table at the end of September.

[KibworthBull]

After the easy walk in the park of the last month, this one brought us back down to earth quite nicely

14pts clear..

[KibworthBull]

A momentus moment - our first graduate (still at the club) gets an international call up - he is still 16 years of age.

He played the final 29 minutes of a 2-0 win.

I fully expect us to be topping this in the near future - Mathare Utd are the defending champions.

A slow start to the month before we hit our straps

Sitting pretty in 5th

[KibworthBull]

Probably our worst intake preview - possibly because we are now at a level where we are considered decent - but it's still classed as a golden generation.

We are safe - I wanted 30 points this season and have achieved it before the halfway mark.

I would be happy with 5th - it might help wipe away some of the debt (c.-100k in the red)

January next and there are one or two players not wanting to sign contracts who will be hot property.

[KibworthBull]

We got the football done early in the month - there is nearly a month before our next game

The most important thing though, is that we have reached Feb 1st without losing anyone - barely any bids either - perhaps our reputation is now good enough for other clubs to not bother trying.

[KibworthBull]

2 games in February, both against sides at the wrong end of the table

Looking good for 4th in the table as well - I think top is slightly beyond us for this year but it's been a massive improvement year on year

[KibworthBull]

Delighted by this

Also another milestone achieved - youth academy graduate playing for a nation that wasn't Kenya at U20 level - he played 4 minutes!

And two more of our boys could taste their first international honours -  Mambo Mumba played the whole 90.

Intake day produced a Kenyan German CM who will stroll into our side next season

We have perhaps ran out of a little bit of steam in the league - back to back defeats end the month

8 matches left, 6 points clear of 5th

Edited July 21, 2020 by KibworthBull

[KibworthBull]

Lower graded oppo in the SportPesa Shield and we ran away with it somewhat. A new club and competition record - not that anyone bothered to watch it - just 13.. I think we can possibly win this cup and that would give us Continental football next year - but quite a way to go yet.

As good as the start of the month was good, the end of the month was poor

That defeat to Mathare Utd means we can say goodbye to 2nd. Four games left and we have a fight for 3rd - we play Tusker FC next

[KibworthBull]

Our group have finally come of age... for the majority of the last couple of seasons this has been blank.

We had slipped to 6th prior to the Kariobangi Sharks match but we delivered in some style, but our continental aspirations died in extra time of the Semi Final - we simply ran out of steam.

Going into the final day it was a four horse race for 3rd - our goal difference gave us an advantage but the form book was against us. We also played AFC Leopards so knew defeat would mean 6th, which would feel a little bit of a failure.

We smashed it..

3rd place - a long way behind the top 2 but for relegation favourites it was a superb result.

[KibworthBull]

3 standout performers for me. 5Y Paul Asike, extremely reliable right winger, involved in 19 goals during the campaign - we have more skilled wingers at the club, but Paul delivers. 5Y Fidel Mwaura was someone that I was expecting to play 2nd fiddle to 6Y Samuel Orundu but he hit 21 goals - he is now my top scoring newgen with 33 in 69 games. Orundu has the attributes and has gotten international recognition this year. Asike won the Player of the Year.

Fiddie also takes the top scoring gong..

Best Eleven.

[DaneBramage]

35 minutes ago, KibworthBull said:

3rd place - a long way behind the top 2 but for relegation favourites it was a superb result.

Great season, cut out a few of those losses and you'll be well in the mix next year.

[KibworthBull]

2 minutes ago, DaneBramage said:

Great season, cut out a few of those losses and you'll be well in the mix next year.

That is the hope as long as the transfer window is kind to us.

[KibworthBull]

Why! Gabby Why! You would of been a star in the CM spot for me..

Peter wouldn't even speak to me, we've got lots of options on the right hand side.

Andrew had been part of the squad for most of last season without getting too much game time - i'm not massively upset that he has chosen to move on. Our main strikers have signed on.

Eze has a huge amount of potential - like most of them - not sure quite if this is a blow just yet. We have other left sided options.

Another striker out of the door

It feels like quite a few departures but we still have a squad of 50 players remaining - the bulk of the young enough to improve. I don't think that there will be too many more.

[KibworthBull]

A new day, some more deserters..

John drops down 2 levels which just feels daft - but based on his Potential Ability then maybe he saw which way the wind was going and decided he didn't want the challenge.

This is another one that stings - Daniel could have been outstanding for me - double figures for both Heading and Tackling at this level is rare for someone so young.

Talent being recognised in the betting -  2 - 1 that Orundu gets the top scorer accolade - last years winner not even in the running!

As opening days go... this one was a shocker - we lost 6Y Anthony Jacobs after 8 mins to a red card.

[KibworthBull]

A slow start to the season - fired blanks for the opening two games before going to Mount Kenya and remembering where the back of the net is. Already in my head I am thinking about the 30pt mark and then taking it from there.. We've played a few of the sides towards the bottom of the table this month but it's an unbeaten one and I don't think we have played that well - that feels like a good sign. The Vihiga United game was 2-0 after 75 minutes - 6 goals in the final 15+stoppage time)

We are 5th.

It would be nice if this happened... hopefully it would be a cash injection and the promise to go full time (a man can dream!!!)

[KibworthBull]

Whats the phrase? No smoke without fire??

We are becoming like the George Graham Arsenal.. The Tusker result was a real smash and grab

Any lingering relegation worries are firmly dispelled.