[FM20] Chain Wreck to Champions League | Lynx FC (Gibraltar)

[mattyjames_]

Lynx FC. Estabilished in 2007. One of Gibraltar's 'middle of the road clubs'.

The Gibraltar National League was reformed in 2019 with a single tier format that has no promotion or relegation. One of the true minnows of European football, Gibraltar was only accepted as a member of UEFA in 2013, and became the 211th FIFA Nation in 2016.

With these international federation memberships, the Gibraltar National League offers a place for its champion in the Champions League Qualifying rounds. Gibraltar is the smallest UEFA member, and every club in the entire country plays its home games at Victoria Stadium, which sits in the shadow of "The Rock", the iconic natural formation that Gibraltar is famous for.

The best ever finish in the league for Lynx FC was 3rd in 2014-15, where they also finished as runner up in the Rock Cup. Last season, they finished 9th. Currently they are a semi-professional club.

In a league dominated by Lincoln Red Imps and College Europa, can Mister Mac take this Chain Wreck and bring them to Champions League glory?

Check out the playlist on YouTube and stay tuned to this thread for updates!

EDIT: This thread starts out as a YouTube thread, and then transitions away from it to a more traditional forum-style thread. Please don't give up on me in the early going!

Edited August 20, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Welcome to the Rock! | Episode 01

We step into the clubrooms for the first time, a fresh-faced manager with no coaching badges or past playing experience, hoping to fill the shoes of Albert Parody with some strong performances at the club. The club vision for the first season is to achieve a top-half finish, and we acknowledge that we can probably make that happen. 

We have 0.5 star youth facilities, training facilities and reputation, with virtually no money in the bank, and we quickly set about asserting our thoughts and feelings on the playing group.

The Gibraltar National League is somewhat unique in FM20. All 12 teams play each other once each in the first stage of the competition. After that has been completed, the Top 6 (Championship Group) and Bottom 6 (Challenger Group) are decided, and teams finish the season playing home and away fixtures against teams in the same group as them. Teams in different groups can no longer overtake each other in the table, but all of the points from the first stage of the league carry over into the second stage of the league. This ensures that every match will be competitive when it counts. In the first season, the team that wins the league earns passage to the Champions League Champions Qualifying Tournament. Teams that finish 2nd - 4th earn a place in the Europa League "Best Place" Qualifying matches. This will become a place in the Europa Conference Qualification matches from the second season onwards.

At this point in time, we don't have the ability to sign players to decent contracts, which means we have to hope they play well enough to win, but not well enough that other teams want to come in and poach them! We take our first look at the squad and figure out what exactly we are working with.

 

(PS- the early episodes were some of my first videos on YouTube, so I apologise for the poor quality. They do get better as the season progresses!)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Strong start to the season! | Episode 02

The pre-season friendlies were incredibly good to us, with our three matches against various foreign opposition resulting in a 16-2 goal difference across the three matches.

Alberto Valdivia has made a name already as one of the most influential performers in the team, after the following scoring run:

Quote

 

vs Lynx FC Under 23s (3-0) Valdivia:  4', 11', 69'

vs Vazquez Cultural (5-0) Valdivia: 11', 60', 77'

vs Goyu Ryu (9-0) Valdivia: 10', 14', 47', 69'

vs Xerez Deportivo (2-2) Valdivia: 40', 58'

 

Never in my life have I witnessed such an incredible run of scoring, and Valdivia secured his starting position for the season with those performances in the friendly matches. Not to be outdone, our key player (and perhaps best player) Alisson Rasquinha also scored 5 goals across the four games, filling me with hope for the season ahead.

We sold 150 season tickets in the lead up to the season taking place, which is a decent amount for a club with a very small share of a very small market. No major transfers took place during pre-season, as there is very little money available for luxuries like transfers.

Heading in to the first game against College '75, we gave an inspirational team talk, but how did we get on? Check out the video linked above to find out.

 

Matches this episode:

@ College '75 (Gibraltar National League)

vs Manchester 62 FC (Gibraltar National League)

 

(PS- the early episodes were some of my first videos on YouTube, so I apologise for the poor quality. They do get better as the season progresses!)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Season Expectations | Episode 03

Well, we started the season much better than even I expected, carrying an undefeated run through our first four league games. All we need to do to satisfy the board is finish in the top six after 11 games (when the league split happens), but heading in to this episode we are in second place overall!

Goal Scorers - League - 2019/20 Season

Alberto Valdivia - 5

Jayden Parody - 4

6 others - 1

 

Valdivia's scoring form from the preseason continued into the League season, and we have impressed the board, the fans and the pundits with our early season form, who were all predicting a mid-table finish. This episode sees us play against the two leading teams in the entire history of football in Gibraltar, and we also wrap up the first half of the season and discover where we are going to be ranked for the 'championship' phase.

 

Matches this episode:

vs Lincoln Red Imps (1st in Gibraltar National League)

vs College Europa FC (2nd in Gibraltar National League)

 

(PS- the early episodes were some of my first videos on YouTube, so I apologise for the poor quality. They do get better as the season progresses!)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Seeing Red! | Episode 04

In the last episode, we claimed a top half finish in the National League classification stage and earned our place in the Championship Group for the second half of the season, despite our results against the top quality opposition. Valdivia has been on an absolute tear, scoring goals for fun and getting on the scoresheet in practically every match to lead the league for goals scored (by a comfortable margin). We also managed to qualify for a position in the Europa League with four games remaining in the season after an impressive run early in the Championship Stage that has seen us go six games unbeaten.

Goal Scorers - League - 2019/20 Season

Alberto Valdivia - 16

Alisson Rasquinha - 4

Jayden Parody - 4

Antonio Gonzalez - 3

Brad Power - 2

Chuky - 2

 

We had luck on our side early in the second stage, with the Lincoln Red Imps keeper making an absolute mess of a routine save to gift us a goal that eventually proved the difference between the two sides. In between episodes, we secured our first ever wins over Lincoln Red Imps and we also took points from College Europa for the first time. We currently sit third in the league overall, and play against teams in fourth, first and second in the run to home. This episode looks more heavily at the Gibraltar Rock Cup, but there are some great games to watch. If you're interested, click the link at the top of the post.

Matches this episode:

vs Mons Calpe FC (Gibraltar Rock Cup Quarter Final)

vs St Joseph's FC (Gibraltar National League Group 1)

@ College Europa (Gibraltar Rock Cup Semi Final)

 

(PS- the early episodes were some of my first videos on YouTube, so I apologise for the poor quality. They do get better as the season progresses!)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[Sheriff7]

3rd place for the first season will be a great achievement in Gibraltar. Imps and College Europa are miles away from every other also St Josephs  changed level in last 2-3 years and  closed the gap between them and the two giants.Try to sign their main striker Juanfri he is amazing.Good luck!

Edited July 6, 2020 by Sheriff7

[mattyjames_]

2 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

3rd place for the first season will be a great achievement in Gibraltar. Imps and College Europa are miles away from every other also St Josephs  changed level in last 2-3 years and  closed the gap between them and the two giants.Try to sign their main striker Juanfri he is amazing.Good luck!

Thank you!

My recordings are a little bit ahead of this, so I will keep posting as I go, but trying to space them out a little bit. I'm having a lot of fun with the campaign though!

[mattyjames_]

Season 1 Finale! | Episode 05

It was a somewhat disappointing finish to the Rock Cup for us during the last episode, as despite getting an extra time win against Mons Calpe, we fell late on in extra time to College Europa, who are showing us exactly why they are one of Gibraltar's strongest teams. Trying to play out a match with only 9 men didn't help things, either. Unfortunately, both players had their appeals fail, so they needed to sit out the next game. That match was game against Boca Juniors (GIB) who we defeated 2-0. Valdivia got on the scoresheet again early in this one, scoring his 18th goal of the season from the penalty spot. Not sure where we would be without him, honestly (probably at the bottom of Group 2).

Goal Scorers - League - 2019/20 Season

Alberto Valdivia - 18

Alisson Rasquinha - 4

Jayden Parody - 4

Antonio Gonzalez - 3

Brad Power - 2

Chuky - 2

 

And so we will need to have saved the best for last. Two matches remain in the season. Two teams who have been dominant in Gibraltar Football for so many years. Two six-point matches, back to back, with no second chances. A loss would surely see us, the most unlikely of candidates, come crashing down from our dream world on top of the table and missing out on the Championship and the windfall that goes with it. Check out the video in the link above to see how we get on!

Matches this episode:

vs Lincoln Red Imps (2nd in Gibraltar National League)

vs College Europa (3rd in Gibraltar National League)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

First games in Europe! | Episode 06

Wow. What a finish to our first season in charge of Lynx FC.

End of season awards:

Fans player of the season- Alberto Valdivia

Mac's player of the season- Alberto Valdivia

Rising Star- Jaydan Parody

Goal of the season- Alberto Valdivia (vs Glacis United)

Signing of the season- Isaac Vinet

Young player of the season- Alberto Valdivia

It was essentially a clean sweep of the awards by the championship hero Alberto Valdivia, who took the league by storm in 2019/20, rightfully earning multiple player of the season honours. Jaydan Parody picks up the 'Rising Star' award (I made this one up because I wanted an opportunity to mention someone other than Valdivia), and Isaac Vinet picks up the signing of the season after putting in some quality work on the left wing and scoring some crucial goals for us along the way.

End of season stat leaders (competitive fixtures):

Most goals- Alberto Valdivia (22)

Most assists- Jaydan Parody (12)

Most clean sheets- Bradley Banda (10)

Highest average rating- Alberto Valdivia (7.61)

Best pass completion- Alberto Valdivia (80%)

Most player of the match- Alberto Valdivia (5)

 

Now, this next bit I borrowed rather heavily from @DaneBramage, who is doing a career mode in FM07 currently trying to overtake Neil Warnock's record of 8 promotions in a career. He's had some exceptional results along the way, but I also really liked the way that the season stats are laid out there, so I kinda copied it. I hope that's okay!

Season Summary

Managerial Record

Trophy Shelf

 

However, taking over the Gibraltar National League was just the first step on the way to incredible future success. The board announced some changes to the club culture which included sign players under 23 for the first team, play defensively solid football and play counter-attacking football. None of these things should be too hard, as we are already doing them. From there, we also had European football to contend with, which starts incredibly quickly after the conclusion of the Gibraltar season. Most players generally have a month or less away from the club, before they are back and frantically trying to squeeze in a friendly or two before the Champions League Champions First Qualifying Round.

Unfortunately, I didn't capture these matches on camera - I thought I had started the recording but it turns out that I didn't. Let's just say that it was a wild ride. We played against the Finnish team HJK and in the away leg, we lost 4-0. Seems pretty bad, right? Well, it gets worse. We were 2-0 down until the 82nd minute where they hit a screamer from outside the box that Bradley Banda didn't react to in time. Then (it gets worse), they score from a wide open header in the 85th minute to win 4-0. Why is this so bad? We had a return leg to play. Valdivia scored twice in the opening 15 minutes and summer signing Kelvin Morgan got his first goal for the club in his home debut just before the half hour mark to give us a 3-0 lead (and make the score 3-4 on aggregate). Unfortunately, we couldn't find one more goal to send it to extra time and potentially penalties, so we were forced to drop down to the Europa League Champions Second Qualifying Round instead.

We also picked up a host of new signings in the lead up to our fixtures this episode

New signings:

Kelvin Morgan already made his mark on the side with a goal in his home debut against HJK, it will be interesting to see how the other players go during their opening fixtures - they face a veritable trial by fire as they take on some of Europe's best.

 

Matches this episode:

@ KF Kukesi (Europa League Champions Second Qualifying Round Leg 1)

vs KF Kukesi (Europa League Champions Second Qualifying Round Leg 2)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[DaneBramage]

19 hours ago, mattyjames_ said:

Now, this next bit I borrowed rather heavily from @DaneBramage, who is doing a career mode in FM07 currently trying to overtake Neil Warnock's record of 8 promotions in a career. He's had some exceptional results along the way, but I also really liked the way that the season stats are laid out there, so I kinda copied it. I hope that's okay!

Of course, I approve of any spreadsheet fun (and I probably nabbed it from someone else first). 

Congrats on the trophy, hopefully the first of many.

[mattyjames_]

European Dreams... | Episode 07

Europe has been very tricky for me to judge over the first two ties. One thing I know about Gibraltar is that we are a long way from any of the other countries that we play, and often matches involve a trip of over 1500 kilometres for the teams involved. This leads to us generally performing much better at home compared to away games. Our new signings made their mark early in the piece, which was fantastic to see. Even more amazing to see us cruise through the second round of the Europa League Champions Qualifiers!

Goal Scorers - Europa League - 2020/21 Season

Kelvin Morgan - 4

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

 

Lincoln Red Imps are making some concerning moves on the transfer market, bringing players in for over $100,000 and signing them to contracts worth over $2,000 a week (this is all in Australian dollars, I'm not sure what the conversion is to GBP sorry). At this point in time, we aren't even listed as a professional club, and all I can offer my players is non-contract payments each game. Lincoln have also been playing well in the Europa League qualifiers, and they have reached the same stage as us. Will we be able to outlast them as we look to raise the profile of Gibraltar Football in Europe?

 

Matches this episode;

vs Vardar Skopje (Europa League Champions Third Qualifying Round Leg 1)

@ Vardar Skopje (Europa League Champions Third Qualifying Round Leg 2)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Europa Destruction | Episode 08

Unbelievably, we are still alive in the Europa League Qualifiers, claiming the scalp of Vardar Skopje with a 5-1 aggregate win. The highlights of the tie were Kelvin Morgan scoring his fifth goal for the club, and Mark Bailey, a youth player from the 2020 youth intake, scoring his maiden goal for the first team and breaking the record for the youngest ever Lynx FC goalscorer (16 years, 246 days). 

Goal Scorers - Europa League - 2020/21 Season

Kelvin Morgan - 5

Shaun De Los Santos - 3

Jaydan Parody - 1

Mark Bailey - 1

 

Lincoln Red Imps also progressed to the Fourth Qualifying Round, and they will face CSKA Moscow during this episode. We will take on our first opponents of our title defence off camera (Glacis United), and we also host one of our major rivals in College Europa as we compete for the Pepe Reyes Cup. I hope you enjoy watching the video!

 

Matches this episode:

vs FC Basel (Europa League Champions Fourth Qualifying Round Leg 1)

@ FC Basel (Europa League Champions Fourth Qualifying Round Leg 2)

vs College Europa (Pepe Reyes Cup)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

First half of the season... | Episode 09

Well, perhaps the group stage was a wish too far at this point in our development. Unfortunately we crash out of the Europa League Qualifiers on aggregate, but we held FC Basel to a credible draw on home soil at the Victoria Stadium. Lincoln Red Imps also fell at this stage, meaning two Gibraltar teams were inches away from qualifying for the Group Stage of the Europa League for perhaps the first time ever, but it was not to be. Of course, from this season onwards, teams in Gibraltar will qualify for the Europa Conference and Champions League, not the Europa League, meaning the only way that Lynx (or any other team from Gibraltar) may have a chance at the Europa League is if they lose in the Champions League Qualifiers. We did, however, have something to savour, lifting the Pepe Reyes Cup for the first time in our career, with a dominating performance against College Europa. Amazingly, we defeated them in consecutive matches with a 6-1 aggregate scoreline; something to be very proud of!

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - 2020/21 Season

Alberto Valdivia - 3

Craig Galliano - 3

Kelvin Morgan - 2

Shaun De Los Santos - 2

Jaydan Parody - 1

Brad Power - 1

 

On the back of five straight wins in the league, we are looking to defy expectations again as we host Lincoln Red Imps in the first match of today's video. Can we extend our perfect streak to 6? We have managed to share the scoring around a lot more than what we did through the Europa League competition, which is great. After consecutive defeats to us, College Europa went missing from the face of the earth, and plunged down the ladder, being just one point above the 'drop zone' with a game to play in the first half of the season.

 

Matches this episode:

vs Lincoln Red Imps (2nd in Gibraltar National League)

vs St Josephs FC (3rd in Gibraltar National League)

vs Manchester 62 FC (4th in Gibraltar National League)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Okay, so today, for some reason, I got really carried away with my save and I’ve recorded up to episode 19 of my career mode, which is halfway through the 2021/22 season.

I’m releasing one episode a week on YouTube currently, but I’m not sure what those of you who are reading along here would prefer. So if you could let me know in this thread, that would be great!

 

1. Post updates once a week as the YouTube video releases.

2. Talk about what’s happened in the save and then link the YouTube video when it posts.

3. Just tell us about your save, I don’t want to go to YouTube to watch it anyway.

4. Stop talking about Gibraltar, it’s an easy league and no one cares.

 

All thoughts are appreciated!

[Sheriff7]

I love Gibraltarian saves but from my experience at this forum i should tell you that Yutube fm stories don't have big luck here.Propably a good writing here with some good pics will attract much more interest.Defenitely not the last one.I raised my Gibraltarian save here in past(more than one times) and the interest was big.In the end do what ever you like mate.

[mattyjames_]

1 hour ago, Sheriff7 said:

I love Gibraltarian saves but from my experience at this forum i should tell you that Yutube fm stories don't have big luck here.Propably a good writing here with some good pics will attract much more interest.Defenitely not the last one.I raised my Gibraltarian save here in past(more than one times) and the interest was big.In the end do what ever you like mate.

Really appreciate your feedback. I hadn't noticed a huge spike in numbers over on YouTube, so I figure I might just keep recording for that, but then use this as a place to share my current progress and all the exciting things that are happening, well ahead of the videos being uploaded.

[mattyjames_]

Crushed! | Episode 10

Jaydan Parody has been injured. One of our key players, and one of the highest assist providers on our team, is sidelined for months with a broken leg. The worst part is, it comes just days before crucial back-to-back league matches against College Europa and Lincoln Red Imps. He has an average rating of 7.27 across 23 fixtures in all competitions this season; unbelievable performances and it is going to be much tougher with no real replacement for him. After a scintillating start to the season, Craig Galliano has backed off a little with his goal scoring, but Valdivia and Morgan have kicked on, adding 10 goals between them in the last 7 games. Speaking of the last 7 games, the whole squad has been on fire, producing a 16-3 goal scoring record and currently holding a 5-game clean sheet streak. It's amazing what a loss to Lincoln Red Imps will do to galvanise the squad!

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - 2020/21 Season

Alberto Valdivia - 8

Kelvin Morgan - 7

Craig Galliano - 4

Shaun De Los Santos - 2

Brad Power - 2

Jaydan Parody - 1

Tyrone Avellano - 1

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Own Goals - 1

 

So it is possibly the worst time of the season to have an injury to our key winger. Everything is going well, but it may all come undone here as we have three matches in a row against the three toughest competitors in the entire league. It's clear to see that we will have our work cut out for us and we will need something special to hold on to our position at the top of the table.

 

Matches this episode:

vs College Europa (5th in Gibraltar National League Group 1)

@ Lincoln Red Imps (2nd in Gibraltar National League Group 1)

@ St Joseph's FC (3rd in Gibraltar National League Group 1)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[Jimbokav1971]

On 12/07/2020 at 14:56, Sheriff7 said:

I love Gibraltarian saves but from my experience at this forum i should tell you that Yutube fm stories don't have big luck here.Propably a good writing here with some good pics will attract much more interest.Defenitely not the last one.I raised my Gibraltarian save here in past(more than one times) and the interest was big.In the end do what ever you like mate.

I completely agree. 

If people want to watch a video they go to YouTube. They come here because they want written word/pictures. 

I love a (GIB) save. 

[mattyjames_]

Crucial Fixtures! | Episode 11

After a crushing 3-0 loss to St Josephs FC last time out, we bounced back with a 3-0 win against Mons Calpe and a 3-1 win against Manchester 62 FC in the league. However, we were outclassed by the struggling Gibraltar Lions in the Rock Cup, losing on penalties. We went behind just before half time, and it took us until the 92nd minute to find an equaliser. Despite continuing to push, we couldn't find a goal in extra time, and it came down to the lottery of the penalty shootout. 

Yeah. It wasn't pretty. We were up 3-1 on penalties after Bradley Banda made two exceptional saves. And then we lost 5-4. So that wasn't fun. Thankfully we are still pressing on with good performances in the league, which is all I can ask for, really.

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - 2020/21 Season

Kelvin Morgan - 11

Alberto Valdivia - 10

Craig Galliano - 5

Shaun De Los Santos - 2

Brad Power - 2

Denilson Carvalho - 2

Jaydan Parody - 1

Tyrone Avellano - 1

Own Goals - 1

 

It has been fantastic to have two strikers notching over 10 goals each in the league so far this season - long may it continue. We have struggled a little with Jaydan Parody out, but nowhere near as much as I thought we would have. Nowhere near as much as College Europa have struggled either; we take them on here and they are currently in 6th place. We hold a 1 point advantage over Lincoln Red Imps with 4 games to play, but we also have a game in hand. However, the second episode is a six-point showdown against them, and after splitting the season series with them 1-1 so far, they will be looking for revenge and a way back into the title hunt. A win against Lincoln would secure us back-to-back championships. Can we get the job done?

 

Matches this episode:

@ College Europa (6th in Gibraltar National League Group 1)

vs Lincoln Red Imps (2nd in Gibraltar National League Group 1)

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Season 2 Finale! | Episode 12

We've done it again! Champions of Gibraltar for the second consecutive season. After a crushing 4-2 win over College Europa and a hard fought 2-1 win against Lincoln Red Imps, we have made it two titles in two years. The rest of the matches don't even matter! Which is a good thing, because we experienced something of a championship hangover, drawing 1-1 with Mons Calpe in the very next game to bring our winning streak to an end after just four games. Morgan and Valdivia continued their impressive performances up front and it really has been their heroics that earned us the win in the league this season.

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - 2020/21 Season

Kelvin Morgan - 12

Alberto Valdivia - 12

Craig Galliano - 5

Denilson Carvalho - 3

Shaun De Los Santos - 2

Brad Power - 2

Leon Clinton - 2

Niall Serra - 1

Jaydan Parody - 1

Tyrone Avellano - 1

Own Goals - 1

 

The only match in this video is another disappointing loss to St Josephs FC, who seem to be building into something of a bogey team for us. They have outscored us 5 goals to 1 in the last two fixtures we've had against them. The important things to look at now are the end of season awards.

End of season awards:

Fans player of the season- Alberto Valdivia (75%)

Mac's player of the season- Kelvin Morgan

Rising Star- Craig Galliano

Goal of the season- Denilson Carvalho (vs College Europa)

Signing of the season- Kelvin Morgan

Young player of the season- Kelvin Morgan

Valdivia was almost completely replaced in the awards this season by 23-year old Kelvin Morgan, who performed exceptionally well both in the league and in Europe, claiming my player of the season award as well as the Young Player of the Season and the Signing of the season. Hard to believe he was a free transfer, hey? Craig Galliano, the only player we have spent money on so far, earned the Rising Star award because of his proficiency from the penalty spot for someone at the tender age of 19. 

End of season stat leaders (competitive fixtures):

So it turns out that I forgot to click on this at the end of the season. Oops! No stat leaders this time around, sorry!

 

Season Summary

Managerial Record

Trophy Shelf

 

So all things considered, it was a good season for us and for Gibraltar. The league ranking moved inside the top 100 for the first time, and our team ranking took a big jump thanks to our adventures in Europe. We are still not considered one of the best teams in Gibraltar, but hopefully that will come before too long. An average attendance of about 1,700 is promising considering the capacity of Victoria Stadium is only about 2,226. So it won't be too long and hopefully we will be selling out stadiums almost every game.

 

Matches this episode:

vs St Josephs FC (3rd in Gibraltar National League Group 1)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Champions League again... | Episode 13

Lynx FC is back with me at the helm for a third season. We had a successful second season, but I got a bit carried away and forgot to schedule any pre-pre-season friendlies priod to the first Champions League Qualification match against APOEL. Unfortunately, due to earning yellow cards in the last European match of our last campaign, Ethan Jolley and Kelvin Morgan would be suspended for the first match back. It didn't really hurt us at the time, but it could definitely hurt us here. In addition to that, I have made no moves on the transfer market since the end of the season, aside from sending my scouts to the SkyBet Championship to have a bit of a scout of a couple of teams and see what they could come back with. They found some interesting players that would be available for loan and I've popped a couple of offers in.

 

Matches this episode:

@ APOEL (Champions League Champions First Qualifying Round First Leg)

vs APOEL (Champions League Champions First Qualifying Round Second Leg)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Loan signings debut! | Episode 14

Unbelievably, we managed to clinch an aggregate win over two legs against APOEL last time out and move forwards in the Champions League. It was a Craig Galliano penalty that started us on the right foot, and although we struggled in the return leg, another penalty and a great volley from a set piece saw us through. The one real thing that we learned is that Valdivia needs to learn how to stay onside. 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2021/22

Craig Galliano - 2

Tyrone Avellano - 1

 

We finally replaced the injured Jaydan Parody with a player that can actually play on the right wing, bringing in Tyler Burey from Milwall on a season-long loan. We also got ourselves a first-team striker in Julian Larsson from Nottingham Forest on loan for the season as well. 

As we earned progression through to the second qualifying phase of the Champions League, we would be taking on NK Maribor, playing away from home in the first leg. Will our new signings make a difference for us or will the money we have put towards their wages be in vain?

 

Matches this episode:

@ NK Maribor (Champions League Champions Second Qualifying Round First Leg)

vs NK Maribor (Champions League Champions Second Qualifying Round Second Leg)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Dinamo-ite! | Episode 15

(pronounce this like dynomite - you'll understand why).

 

UNBELIEVABLE. We have done it again. Julien Larsson scored an equaliser on debut to draw the away leg against NK Maribor, while Shaun De Los Santos grabbed the only goal of the game with a gorgeous volley that smacked into the underside of the crossbar on its way in to earn us the 1-0 win in the home leg. This meant we took a 2-1 win on aggregate and were through to the Third Qualifying Round. 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2021/22

Craig Galliano - 2

Julian Larsson - 1

Tyrone Avellano - 1

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

 

So, in the third round, we get matched up against Dinamo Zagreb. And I really think that we have no chance in this one, at all. We are drawn as the home side, so anything that goes wrong in the first leg is only going to get worse for us in the second leg! We picked up James Hill on loan from Nottingham Forest for the season prior to this game as well - he's going to come in to bolster our wing defence. Probably the next position we will need to look to improve is our GK and our central defensive pairing, which is unfortunate, because these players have been real heroes for us in recent times. 

 

Matches this episode:

vs Dinamo Zagreb (Champions League Champions Third Qualifying Round First Leg)

@ Dinamo Zagreb (Champions League Champions Third Qualifying Round Second Leg)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

The turntables... | Episode 16

It's safe to say that James Hill didn't have the best of debuts for us. Giving up a penalty for handball with 15 minutes to play in his first match at home certainly didn't endear him to the fans (or me). However, it was all put into perspective in the away leg, where we capitulated to a 6-0 aggregate defeat at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb. We received a $1.85 million payout for our troubles, which was quite a nice surprise. Lincoln Red Imps had already bombed out in the second qualifying round for the Europa Conference League, so it seems we may have inherited some of their luck along the way. It seems the Champions League is still somewhat out of our reach at this point in time. However, the progress is very positive and it's great to see that we are improving (or getting luckier).

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2021/22

Craig Galliano - 2

Julian Larsson - 1

Tyrone Avellano - 1

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

 

We are in the process of improving our training and youth facilities, which will hopefully help our players improve their skills much faster. The board only want us to be 'best of the rest', but I want to do better than that, and I'm hopeful that with the right investment, we can achieve it.

 

Prior to that, we had our first game of the new Gibraltar National League season, against St Josephs FC. In the last two matches against them, they outscored us 5-1. This fixture, we got the better of them, winning 5-1. It was a dominant performance from start to finish, where we earned four clear cut chances inside the first 15 minutes. I can't think of a better way to start the season!

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2021/22

Julian Larsson - 2

Kelvin Morgan - 1

Alberto Valdivia - 1

Isaac Vinet - 1

 

So it comes to this. A two-legged showdown to claim a place in the Europa League Group Stage. We fell at this hurdle last season. Can we go one better this time around?

 

Matches this episode: 

vs LASK Linz (Europa League Champions Playoff First Leg)

@ LASK Linz (Europa League Champions Playoff Second Leg)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Still in Europe! | Episode 17

Well, we gave it our best effort against LASK Linz, taking a 1-0 lead through to the 70th minute of the home leg, and then pushing all the way to the end to go down 3-2 away from home, which resulted in a 3-4 loss on aggregate. Unfortunately, we just weren't good enough at defending set pieces, and we crash out of another European competition. However, we did manage to find a silver lining, which came in the form of a $4 million windfall and a place in the Europa Conference League Group Stage!

Goal Scorers - Europa League - Season 2021/22

Julian Larsson - 2

Ethan Jolley - 1

 

We were seeded third in our group, which means we probably stand a chance of getting some points - it will be interesting to see how far we can go in this competition!

 

For the second game of the Gibraltar National League season, we squared off against College Europa, and I really am starting to feel as though we have their number now. We took them to the cleaners, and grabbed a commanding 3-1 win, continuing our perfect start to the League season.

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2021/22

Julian Larsson - 3

Kelvin Morgan - 2

Alberto Valdivia - 1

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Isaac Vinet - 1

 

We also had the Pepe Reyes Cup to play - this time against Lincoln Red Imps. Confidence was high after we claimed the win in this fixture last season, but it seems like we are dealing with a bit of a curse in cups at the moment, as it was again a penalty shootout loss that denied us silverware this season. Our newest signing Hill didn't do anything to endear himself to us, missing the crucial penalty in the shootout to see us lose. Banda's own goal was a little rough though. He caught a bullet header that came straight at him, and just happened to land with the ball over the line, and that was that. Poor positioning, I suppose. I think it's time I seriously start looking for a new goalkeeper.

 

So we set off on our first European Group Stage campaign, taking on the might of Vorskla and KRC Genk in the first two matches of Group D. We aren't expected to 'pull up any trees' in this competition, but I have been raising my team to be 'giant killers', and I'd really like them to do some good things this season.

Matches this episode:

@ Vorskla (Europa Conference League Group D)

vs KRC Genk (3rd in Europa Conference League Group D)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

VAR needs to go. | Episode 18

After being humbled away from home against Vorskla, and sneaking an amazing 1-0 win despite huge amounts of pressure at home against KRC Genk, we are in a decent position in our Europa Conference League group. It was our pressure that allowed us to get a win, forcing a missed header by the central defenders with a beautiful lobbed through ball from Burey, only for the Genk keeper to try and play the ball with his feet. Then Kelvin Morgan did this

and the rest is history. An historic first win in the Europa Conference League for Gibraltar and for Lynx FC. 

Goal Scorers - Europa Conference League - Season 2021/22

Kelvin Morgan - 1

 

Our perfect run in the league continued between these matches, with a 1-0 win over Manchester 62 FC and a 3-1 win over Mons Calpe taking us to four wins from four games. However, after our win against Genk, We unfortunately fell 0-2 to Lincoln Red Imps, snapping our winning streak and also the first scoreless League game since our disastrous showing against St Josephs FC over seven months earlier (yes, we had an off-season between then and now, but 7 months sounds better than 10 games). Larsson had gone missing across these fixtures, but thankfully Morgan and Valdivia are always available and ready to go just in case we need them (which we definitely do).

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2021/22

Julian Larsson - 3

Kelvin Morgan - 3

Alberto Valdivia - 3

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

Isaac Vinet - 1

 

So the big news in this episode is the home and away fixtures against Atromikos in the Europa Conference League. After our cracking performance against KRC Genk, consecutive wins against the fourth-seeded side in the group could see us with one foot in the knockout stages of this competition, and what an amazing surprise that would be. 

 

Matches this episode:

@ Lincoln Red Imps (1st in Gibraltar National League) [0-2]

vs Atromikos (3rd in Europa Conference League Group D)

@ Atromikos (3rd in Europa Conference League Group D)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Our future at stake! | Episode 19

Having a player called offside (by VAR) who didn't come anywhere near the ball after a free kick that ended up in the back of the net is a real kick in the teeth. Knowing that goal is the difference between fighting to stay alive in the Europa Conference League and getting through to the Knockout Rounds with two games to spare makes it hurt even more.

We come through our back to back matches with Atromikos with a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw, and that leaves us in second place with two games to play. Two more points and we would have been safely through to the next stage.

Sometimes though, that's just the way that it goes.

Goal Scorers - Europa Conference League - Season 2021/22

Kelvin Morgan - 1

Alberto Valdivia - 1

Tyler Burey - 1

 

Thankfully, our form has picked up again in the league, and we have gone back to winning ways. Taking care of Gibraltar Lions and Glacis United, and scoring a bag of goals in the process. I've had to try and rotate players where I can in between European games, and I'm thinking that the squad is probably too small at this point in time, so will need to start looking at ways to expand it in the future. I haven't seen a viable replacement for Bradley Banda (GK) or either of our central defenders on the marking or in the scouting network as yet, but I'm hopeful that something will come our way soon. Larsson, Morgan and Valdivia were all in great form for us, which is everything we could hope for at this early part of the season. Even more excitingly, Jaydan Parody made his return from injury after almost 9 months out and scored pretty much straight away!

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2021/22

Julian Larsson - 5

Kelvin Morgan - 5

Alberto Valdivia - 5

Jadyan Parody - 1

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

Isaac Vinet - 1

 

So really, it comes down to this. Games against Vorskla and KRC Genk where we need to take 2 points to earn a place in the Knockout stages. Unfortunately, we've been hit with a bit of a selection crisis. Valdivia (ST) and Elva-Fontaine (WB) have both picked up injuries in the last week of our 21-day break between fixtures, and Ethan Jolley (CD) is suspended after picking up too many yellow cards in the group stage. This means that we are taking on the first game with a much weaker lineup than we usually would be. However, Vorskla have already qualified for the next stage of the competition, so maybe that means they will go easy on us? If we can't take points in the first match, the second match becomes even more vital as we travel to play KRC Genk who we stole a win off in the return fixture.

 

Matches this episode:

vs FC Vorskla Poltava (1st in Europa Conference League Group D)

@ KRC Genk (3rd in Europa Conference League Group D)

Edited September 21, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

After crashing out of the Europa Conference League in disappointing fashion, losing 2-4 to Volska and 0-4 to KRC Genk,

Goal Scorers - Europa Conference League - Season 2021/22

Kelvin Morgan - 2

Julian Larsson - 1

Alberto Valdivia - 1

Tyler Burey - 1

Following the team's progress through the knockout stages, KRC Genk defeated SG Braga 4-0 on aggregate in the First Knockout Round. Somehow, they have been paired with Vorskla (who won our group) in the Second Knockout Round, which I wasn't sure if that was possible in the competition (but apparently it is).

 

The silver lining of all this was that we could afford to devote all of our attention to the Gibraltar National League.

We have been on a fantastic run of form, keeping five consecutive clean sheets (and yes, this is the same defence that I have been criticising for the past however many posts), and scoring in every match to take a great lead in the Gibraltar National League and move into Group 1 (the Championship Group) for the third consecutive season. The 7-0 win over Magpies would be one of the highlights of my career so far. The strikers are again finding their feet, and all of the combinations that have been yellow (slightly concerning) throughout our time in Europe have turned green now that we are playing just in the National League. 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2021/22

Kelvin Morgan - 12

Alberto Valdivia - 7

Julian Larsson - 6

Craig Galliano - 4

Jadyan Parody - 2

Denilson Carvalho - 2

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

Isaac Vinet - 1

Ethan Jolley - 1

 

Hopefully we can keep this form going through the second half of the season.

It's already a two horse race at the top, and with 8 games remaining, we play Lincoln Red Imps (who are the only team to defeat us) twice. We have been blessed by a couple of teams taking points off of them to lead at this stage, but from here it will be a challenge. The biggest games for us are still to come.  Oh, yes. Bradley Banda, our first-choice Goalkeeper, has been injured and will miss up to six weeks. Probably not what we need in such a tight battle at the top of the league.

Unfortunately, we don't have too much to look forward to when it comes to our youth intake either.

If we can pull this off, it's going to be incredible!

[DaneBramage]

Congrats on the second title, looks like there'll be a battle for the hat-trick.

[mattyjames_]

On 20/07/2020 at 01:23, DaneBramage said:

Congrats on the second title, looks like there'll be a battle for the hat-trick.

There sure was a battle for the hat-trick. I've played through another 2 seasons, so I am going to drop some bulk info here shortly, and then head into Season 5!!

[mattyjames_]

Alright. Where do we start?

With a one point lead and 8 games to play, we were in the box seat for claiming the title in the 2021/22 Gibraltar National League Season. We started the run home really positively, with a 2-0 win against College Europa, and we really seem to have their number at this point. Then we faced our campaign-long rivals, Lincoln Red Imps, still smarting from the defeat they handed to us earlier in the season. We started strongly, opening up a two-goal advantage thanks to Kelvin Morgan and Alberto Valdivia, but capitulated in the second half to draw the match 2-2. Thankfully, we rebounded from that game with four consecutive clean sheet victories, including another great win against College Europa to knock them out of contention for the title.

After the College Europa game, we met Lincoln Red Imps again. This time in the Rock Cup - the only Gibraltarian competition we have not won. This time, we started poorly, conceding inside the first five minutes, before fighting back to take a 2-1 lead. We managed to hold the lead through most of the second half, before conceding the equalising goal in the 75th minute. It was at that point that Football Manager did what only Football Manager can do, and handed us a goalkeeping error in the 99th minute that we couldn't fight back from, and we lost 3-2. Match stats from the game are below.

We had no time to lick our wounds or feel sorry for ourselves though, because we had a huge fight on our hands. Nine days after our heartbreaking loss in the Semi Final of the Rock Cup, we had to face Lincoln Red Imps again, this time in the league. With two games to play, we were three points clear of Lincoln, and we had a comfortable margin when it came to goal difference. In fact, we were fairly confident that whatever happened here, we were on course for a third successive title.

We fell apart. Again. Not even a hat-trick from Kelvin Morgan could save us from the fast-finishing Lincoln Red Imps side, who fought back from two goals down to equalise, before going a goal up early in the second half. Morgan's third goal got us back on terms, but a late winner from loanee Aminu Mohammed crushed the spirit of everyone at Lynx FC. This was the Train Wreck we were dreading since the start of the season. To add insult to injury, Julian Larsson scored a headed goal from this situation in the 52nd minute that would have put us up 3-2, but it was chalked off for offside.

Needless to say, I let rip at the officials after the match. Because I felt like we really deserved something from this game. But hey, no big deal in the end, because you have superior goal difference, right?

Wrong. Gibraltar doesn't work that way, son! The tiebreaker between teams is decided on head-to-head results between the sides, and after losing our only two games all season to Lincoln Red Imps (and drawing our only draw against them too), we didn't have a record good enough to claim first place. Lincoln Red Imps would play College Europa on the final day, but their traditional rivals were really not on pace this season. For our final game of the campaign...

We got banned. Apparently the referees were right. I checked the stats and Herbert Warwick scored a 9.5 or something crazy high for that game, so I just accepted it at the time, but looking back at that replay, I really can't see how they could say that. Our last match of the season was a 2-1 win against Manchester 62 FC. Lincoln Red Imps defeated College Europa 2-1 thanks to goals from Aminu Mohammed (the kid scored 7 goals in the last 4 league games, and 3 goals in the last two games of the Rock Cup - freak), and Lynx FC missed out on the title in 2021/22.

Prize money for winning the league: $750,000

Prize money for second place: $55,000

It's tough out here for the plebs!

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2021/22

Kelvin Morgan - 23

Julian Larsson - 12

Alberto Valdivia - 9

Craig Galliano - 5

Denilson Carvalho - 3

Tyler Burey - 2

Jadyan Parody - 2

Shaun De Los Santos - 1

Niall Serra - 1

Isaac Vinet - 1

Ethan Jolley - 1

 

End of season awards:

Fans player of the season- Kelvin Morgan (65%)

Mac's player of the season- Kelvin Morgan

Rising Star- Craig Galliano

Goal of the season- Julian Larsson (vs Mons Calpe)

Signing of the season- Julian Larsson (loan)

Young player of the season- Kelvin Morgan

Kelvin Morgan turned it on again for the 2021/22 season, and unfortunately was not supported by the defence this time around. 

 

End of season stat leaders (competitive fixtures):

Top Goalscorer - Kelvin Morgan (26)

Most Assists - Denilson Carvalho (12)

Most Clean Sheets - Bradley Banda (8)

Highest Average Rating - Kelvin Morgan (7.54)

Best Passing Percentage - Bradley Banda (87%)

Most Player of the Match - Kelvin Morgan (11)

 

Season Summary

Managerial Record

Trophy Shelf

 

The board have asked us to qualify for the Europa Conference next season through the league. That will take a Top 4 finish, so I think we have that in us fairly easily. The $55,000 in transfer outlay was for the signing of Tyler Burey, who we picked up on a contract from Milwall. We managed to extend James Hill's loan deal, and although we had both transfer and loan offers accepted for Julian Larsson, he didn't want to play for us again, which was unfortunate. 2021/22 was not a great season for us, but we gave a solid account for ourselves. Onwards to the next one!

[mattyjames_]

So, the 2022/23 season. Would it be our opportunity to make amends and finally crush the ghosts of the past, or would it be more taunting from the 'haves' over at Lincoln?

We set to work during the off-season, and brought in a whole host of new players, including a new Goalkeeper, in order to try and save some of our blushes from previous seasons. Unfortunately, he got injured within the first three days of joining the club, so we brought in Serine Sanneh on loan for one-third of the wages of Jared Thompson.

We even remembered to set friendlies in the weeks leading into the first Europa Conference League match in order to raise the Match Sharpness of our players before they try to take on Europe!

Yep. Kelvin Morgan scored 8 goals in two games against our U23 side. A very impressive effort and hopefully a sign of things to come for the season ahead! It was also promising to see our new midfielder Jake Hackett getting on the scoresheet too.

In the Europa Conference League Qualifiers, our new defence hit the ground running, keeping a clean sheet through our opening home and away tie, and Dylan Thompson scored a goal on debut to see us easily move through the First Qualifying Round.

Kelvin Morgan kept up his pre-season form, scoring in each of the First Round games, and then found the back of the net in the first leg of the Second Qualifying Round against  Sarpsborg, where we again kept a clean sheet. At this point, Serine Sanneh had gone 3 consecutive matches without conceding and I was very happy with his last second loan deal, and very disappointed to be paying three times as much for Jared Thompson to be sitting in the stands. Between the first and second legs of the Second Qualifying Round, Sanneh picked up an injury and Thompson came back to health. It meant a straight swap was in order for the second leg.

Needless to say, I was even less happy with that result, but grateful that Kelvin Morgan again got himself on the scoresheet to see us through on away goals. The Third Qualifying Round saw us drawn against Aberdeen, in what must have been a whiff by the fixture computer. Other Gibraltarian sides Lincoln Red Imps and College Europa were still in the draw for these places, and both managed much easier opposition (admittedly, Lincoln were in the 'Champions' section of the draw, but still). It was at this point that Kelvin Morgan decided to go missing up front, and we found ourselves left watching the others progress as we crashed out on away goals in a second leg that Aberdeen simply refused to die in. Their 84th minute equaliser was heartbreaking.

With that result, our brief foray into Europe for 2022/23 was over. There would be no more continental competition until next season, providing Lynx were good enough to claim a spot. College Europa fell in the Fourth Qualifying Round, and Lincoln Red Imps made it to the Group Stage, where they managed just two draws from their six matches.

 

Goal Scorers - Europa Conference League - 2022/23 Season

Kelvin Morgan - 4

Tyler Burey - 2

Denilson Carvalho - 2

Craig Galliano - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

Ethan Jolley - 1

[mattyjames_]

Despite our poor performance in Europe, we came out fighting in the National League, desperate to avenge our end-of-season capitulation that led to Lincoln Red Imps winning the title last season. It was about this time that I realised that Gibraltar has kind of a unique rule in the league. There must be five players trained in Gibraltar on the field at all times during match play. I guess this is to stop the big clubs really dominating, but it certainly hurt my perceived flexibility a lot.

 

Goals: Fielding (3), Galliano (3), Morgan (1), Carvalho (1), Hackett (1), Burey (1)

We started our redemption arc with back-to-back 5-0 wins over Mons Calpe and Europa Point, in a confident start to the season for new signings and seasoned veterans alike. Tom Fielding had a Field Day, grabbing three goals to kick start his Lynx FC career, Galliano bagged three and Kelvin Morgan was left in an unusual place, not leading the goal scoring tally.

 

Goals: Morgan (2)

September brought us the sweet, sweet taste of revenge, as we stole a 3-2 win over Lincoln Red Imps in the Pepe Reyes Cup (which the Lincoln manager and our board both claim not to care about). We were up 2-1 until the 91st minute where Oliver Cooper scored his first goal for the club. It was lucky that he did, because Lincoln scored in the 95th minute to make it 3-2, but we have another piece of silverware to add to our collection. Our leage performances left something to be desired, however, with everyone except Kelvin Morgan forgetting how to score, and things going from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows as we gave up a lead to draw 1-1 with College Europa to end the month.

 

Goals: Burey (2), Cooper (2), Fielding (2), Morgan (2), Jolley (1), Galliano (1), Valdivia (1)

October was the last month of the year with more than one league match in it, and we thankfully found our form again. It could have been in part due to the fact we were playing teams at the bottom of the pecking order. Comfortable wins against College '75 and Magpies were split by a clean sheet performance against Glacis United, but we still weren't comfortable. Because Lincoln Red Imps were playing in the Europa Conference League Group Stage, a lot of their early National League matches had been postponed, which meant that at early points of the season they had up to five games in hand. And they just kept winning.

 

Goals: Morgan (4), Clinton (1), Cooper (1), Fielding (1), Galliano (1)

November and December were almost carbon copies of each other. 4-0 wins against struggling teams that would find themselves in the bottom half of the draw come the league split. Leon Clinton's superb form for the Gibraltar National Team (3 goals in 7 appearances) earned him more playing time in the Lynx FC midfield, and he didn't let us down. All these results left us with 8 wins and a draw from our first 9 games, while Lincoln Red Imps had steamrolled their opposition for 9 straight wins in their league campaign so far. We used the extra time to pick up a few new signings, focusing on getting talent trained in Gibraltar, and desperately asking the board to give us some new facilities at every available opportunity. We managed to get Julian Del Rio (ST) on a free transfer, and we paid the $550,000 release clause to bring Tjay De Barr (CM) home from Real Oviedo in a record transfer for the club. Both of these Gibraltarian players will help with our squad flexibility in the months to come while we wait for our Youth program to get up to speed. We also arranged a future transfer for Gibraltar International Louie Annesley (CB), who will be joining us from Blackburn at the end of the season. 

 

In front of a sellout crowd at home, we went behind in the 12th minute to a great goal from Lincoln Red Imps, and it was our new signing Julian Del Rio who scored the equalising goal in the 62nd minute. Del Rio is a product of the Lincoln Red Imps youth academy, having started his career for them. I couldn't think of a sweeter way to get back at them than that!

 

Goals: Galliano (1), Cooper (1), Hackett (1)

In the final game before the league split, we kept ourselves in the chase for the title with a comfortable 3-0 win over St Joseph's FC, with all our goals coming in the late minutes of each half.

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2022/23

Kelvin Morgan - 9

Tom Fielding - 6

Craig Galliano - 6

Oliver Cooper - 4

Tyler Burey - 3

Jake Hackett - 2

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Julian Del Rio - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Alberto Valdivia - 1

Ethan Jolley - 1

[mattyjames_]

The league split hit us hard. We had to roll with the punches though, as it would be the only way we would complete our dream this season. We had a six-day turnaround to get fit and ready to go against Lincoln Red Imps after our match against St Joseph's FC. There was a lot on the line in this one, considering the first match between the two sides ended in a draw (and even that was relatively fresh in the memory banks).

 

Goals: Burey (3), Del Rio (2), Galliano (2), Morgan (2)

This time we took the lead against Lincoln, but they equalised late on. I feel like we got away with things in that one, considering they had three clear cut chances to our two, but Bradley Banda was just too good in goal. Well, not quite too good, but good enough. He was playing injury cover for Serine Sanneh. Sanneh was fit for the game against Boca Juniors, and everything appeared to be going fine - we were even two goals up at the hour mark where I noticed that I'd made a mistake and accidentally had Jared Thompson in goal. I'd been trying desperately to sell him all through January, but no club wanted to buy him. I literally couldn't get rid of him. Anyway, from the moment I realised he was playing, I went "oh heck" and he proceeded to make two calamitous errors and gift Boca Juniors a path back into the game. Thankfully Galliano converted from the penalty spot in the 75th minute to give us the win. With Thompson out of the lineup, we comfortably won 5-0 against Mons Calpe, who were out of their depth in the top half of the competition.

 

Goals: Burey (1), Carvalho (1), Cooper (1), Galliano (1), Jolley (1), Morgan (1)

March was a great month for us, as College Europa defeated Lincoln Red Imps for the second time, and heading in to our game against them, the table was very different to the same time last season.

The College Europa match was never in doubt, with Burey and Morgan giving us a comfortable lead before they pulled one back from a set piece. However, Denilson Carvalho came off the bench to seal the win in the 83rd minute with a typical flashy finish. Ethan Jolley, the Lynx FC Captain, put the team on his back in the follow up match against Lincoln Red Imps, scoring the only goal of the game with his head in the 18th minute. The result was our first win against Lincoln in the league since April 2021 (almost two years)! The only disappointment to come from March was our Youth Intake. This led to us releasing our Head of Youth Development and picking up someone with a little bit more reputation. We had some great upgrades to our coaching staff over this period, and also signed a new contract with the club, keeping us employed into 2025.

 

Goals: Morgan (7), Cooper (2), Del Rio (2), Galliano (1)

If March was a good month for us, April and May were amazing. Kelvin Morgan came to life in the last four games of the season, scoring seven goals. He bagged a hat-trick against Boca Juniors, and we wrapped the Title with two games to spare after defeating College Europa in the second game of the month, at home, in front of a sellout crowd. Morgan kept the goals coming in the final two matches, slotting three in our wins against Mons Calpe and St Joseph's FC.

 

 

For the first time in the save, we had achieved what most had thought to be impossible - an undefeated season! After Lincoln achieved it in 2021/22, 2022/23 was ours for the taking. We conceded 10 goals in the league all season, and scored an impressive 62, setting a new points record in the process. We pick up a cool $970,000 in prize money and earn a place in the Champions League Qualifying Rounds for the 2023/24 season. At the end of the season, we heard the board were planning to give further upgrades to our Youth and Training Facilities (there were upgrades already in progress), and we begged with them to upgrade our Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment (and they accepted).

 

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2022/23

Kelvin Morgan - 19

Craig Galliano - 10

Oliver Cooper - 7

Tyler Burey - 7

Tom Fielding - 6

Julian Del Rio - 5

Jake Hackett - 2

Denilson Carvalho - 2

Ethan Jolley - 2

Leon Clinton - 1

Alberto Valdivia - 1

[mattyjames_]

However, it wasn't all happy endings for the Lynx FC squad, for one elusive title still avoids us.

Despite keeping a clean sheet in both the Quarter Final and the Semi Final (the Semi was impressive because it was a back-to-back game against College Europa and we kept a clean sheet and scored multiple goals against them in both games), we couldn't get any scoring to work for us against Lincoln Red Imps, and our final game of the season was a loss (and snapped our 24-game undefeated run for the season) to crush us at the end of our season. We still haven't quite got Lincoln's number it seems.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about the match was the fact that despite having 16 shots (and most from good spots too), we only managed two shots on target. In fact, we didn't force a save out of Lincoln's keeper until after the hour mark! On the whole, not a game that I was happy with, and a disappointing way to end the season. Unfortunately, the Rock Cup continues to elude us, and there is a gaping spot on our trophy shelf just waiting for it to grace us with its presence.

Goal Scorers - Rock Cup - Season 2022/23

Kelvin Morgan - 1

Julian Del Rio - 1

Craig Galliano - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

 

At the end of the season, a couple of exciting things happened. First, we were informed that we had become the most reputable club in Gibraltar, having overtaken Lincoln Red Imps. Having taken the lead in the country, it's clearly time to make a splash on the Continental stage!! Additionally, we were informed that Gibraltar's club coefficient had improved enough to have a change in our qualification placings for the following season. As we are now ranked the 29th best nation in Europe, we have the following places on offer for the upcoming league season:

1 Champions League First Qualifying Round

2 Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round

1 Europa Conference League First Qualifying Round

Additionally, for the first time in the save, the winner of the Gibraltar National League in 2023/24 will take home over $1 million in prize money.

 

End of season awards:

Fans player of the season- Kelvin Morgan (48%)

Mac's player of the season- Tyler Burey

Rising Star- Tyler Burey

Goal of the season- Denilson Carvalho (vs Aberdeen)

Signing of the season- Tyler Burey ($55k from Milwall)

Young player of the season- Tyler Burey

Tyler Burey grew into his role on the right side of midfield this season, and was almost ever-present for us. He built up a great working relationship with right back Oludare Olufunwa, and just nailed delivery from out wide. He connected with Morgan so many times from set pieces and from open play, but even found his opposite midfielder Galliano on occasion, and also slotted a bag of goals himself. The 22-year-old is currently awaiting paperwork for Gibraltarian citizenship, and I'm almost certain he will lock in a place in the national team as soon as that goes through. I've played a couple friendlies in the pre-season for 2023/24, but as you can see, he looks pretty good for someone so young!

 

End of season stat leaders (competitive fixtures):

Top Goalscorer - Kelvin Morgan (26)

Most Assists - Tyler Burey (21)

Most Clean Sheets - Serine Sanneh (10)

Highest Average Rating - Kelvin Morgan (7.79)

Best Passing Percentage - Serine Sanneh (94%)

Most Player of the Match - Kelvin Morgan & Tyler Burey (6)

 

Season Summary

Managerial Record

Trophy Shelf

 

We have managed to secure a number of players on better contracts (for us - either without ridiculously cheap foreign release clauses or on a reduction in wages), as well as being able to extend loans on James Hill and Serine Sanneh for the 2023/24 season. Other than that, there were no major signings in the off-season, we just welcomed Louie Annesley home after the pre-arranged transfer from January came through in July. He becomes the highest paid player at the club, but his experience and strength in defence is well worth it. We are going to have to make some creative plays to get him in the squad for the Gibraltar National League though, as despite being from Gibraltar and having played almost 40 games for the national team, he trained at Chelsea and Blackburn, so won't count for our player numbers in the league. This is going to be interesting.

[mattyjames_]

Alright. It's time for the 2023/24 Season. It's Champions League Football!

Lynx FC are back and ready to play with the big boys of Europe (assuming we make it through the Qualifying Rounds, which has never happened before). Joining us in the hunt for continental football this season are Lincoln Red Imps, College Europa and Boca Juniors FC who scraped a fourth place finish last season and really deserved a shot at making Europe.

Our first leg saw us face off against Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur. We were playing away from home in the first leg, so we took a slightly cautious lineup over to Iceland for the game.

We were awarded a penalty after having one of our players taken out in the box and Galliano made no mistake from the spot. Right before half time, a deep free kick from Tyler Burey found the left foot of Dylan Thompson inside the box, and the defender smashed it home on the volley to give us a 2-0 lead. We gifted them a goal in the 64th minute with a mistake between our defense and Serine Sanneh (as a manager, you never want to see what I experienced), but thankfully we pulled through okay. Sitting on a 1-goal lead, knowing that Knattspyrnudeild KR would need at least two goals to progress past us, we decided to take the same cautious approach for the home leg.

It was almost a carbon-copy of the first leg, including another goal coming from a deep set piece (courtesy of a little bit of desperation from Oliver Cooper), and a headed effort from the 190 cm (6'3" approx) fan favourite Kelvin Morgan. The visitors pulled one back just after the hour mark, but we were again able to hold on to take the win, and move to the Second Qualifying Round.

 

Other Gibraltarian teams fared okay in their First Qualifying Round for the Europa Conference League.

Boca Juniors bowed out almost without troubling the scorers.

Interestingly, after making the Group Stage last season, Lincoln Red Imps also crashed out in the First Qualifying Round.

College Europa carried on the hopes and dreams of Gibraltar, claiming a 6-0 win on aggregate against their opposition, and earning Gibraltar some valuable coefficient points.

 

Next up in our Champions League campaign: FK Partizan of Serbia. They won 16-0 on aggregate in their First Qualifying Round fixture, and in between the first and second legs of that game, they won 3-0 against Aberdeen in a Friendly Cup 3rd Place Playoff.  After playing four games in seven days, hopefully they are a little bit tired!

 

Goals: Cooper (1), Galliano (1), Morgan (1), Thompson (1)

Edited August 17, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

After getting through our Champions League First Qualifying Round matchup against Knattspyrnudeild KR, we travelled to FK Partizan for the Second Qualifying Round. I'm not sure about you guys, but something inside me enjoys when I play away from home first up - in some ways I prefer that - just because I know that we are traditionally stronger at home, and that a first leg draw is always much better if you have a home game to come back to. Partizan had two huge wins in the First Qualifying Round, so would have been high on confidence coming in to this one, and it showed.

Despite us taking an early lead through youngster Julian Del Rio, we were unable to hold out. A screamer in the 19th minute erased our advantage, before a disappointing moment from Serine Sanneh gifted them the win. It was made all the more heartbreaking by the fact we had a Kelvin Morgan header chalked off due to offside just minutes before. However, on balance, we probably deserved to lose this one, when looking at the stats. So! We travelled back to Gibraltar, nursing our wounds, and prepared to turn Victoria Stadium into a fortress for the return leg.

In front of a sellout crowd, we did what many (even myself) thought possible - we absolutely smashed them! Julian Del Rio defied all expectations and smashed home a hat-trick in the space of six minutes at the end of the match (I believe this may be as a result of Partizan chasing the game after we scored in the 27th minute to equalise on aggregate, but it was still incredible to watch) to give us a solid 4-0 win. Easily our best ever result in a European match! We hit 10 shots on target to 2, and split possession 50-50, suggesting we are really coming along at this level, and playing the impressive, attacking football the board and fans are after.

It was at this point that we realised two things.

1. We are the only Gibraltarian club remaining in Europe, after College Europa lost 0-4 on aggregate to Hajduk Split.

2. We were guaranteed (at worst) a place in the Europa Conference League for the 2023/24 season.

 

All that remains was for us to find our opponent for the next match.

Oh dear.

Oh no.

RB Salzburg.

 

This doesn't look good.

 

Goals: Del Rio (4), Cooper (1)

[mattyjames_]

Well, the match has been drawn, the stadium lights are on, and we are here! Hosting a Champions League Third Qualifying Round first leg match against the dominant Austrian champions, RB Salzburg! The odds are not in our favour, and the media and fans aren't confident either. We didn't even get a sellout crowd! A win across the two legs here would see us in the Champions League Playoff match, and guaranteed a place in the Europa League at a minimum this season. A loss would mean that we would have to face the demons of a Europa League Playoff match, where we had twice before failed. 

I gave the lads a bit of a rev up before the game, encouraged them to give it their all, and told them that I had faith in them. After the last match we played in Europe, I'd have been silly not to believe we could make something happen! We again played for possession and just hoped that we could make the most of it despite a defensive mindset and very talented opposition. Less than 15 minutes in, we passed the ball around a lot in midfield and I was fearful the highlight was going to end with Salzburg stealing the ball and running in to an open goal. Instead, we played the ball all the way back to the Keeper. Serine Sanneh played the ball out, and in the ten seconds between the ball leaving his boot, we had managed to string together a series of passes that culminated in Oliver Cooper smashing the ball into the back of the net at the other end. Quality football! Unfortunately, in the last minute before half time, Salzburg managed to score an equalising goal. Great for them, not so good for us. 1-1 at the break, and 1-1 was how it finished. Looking at the Clear Cut Chances, I feel like we deserved more from the game. Looking at the shooting stats, I'm not so sure.

We headed into the return leg, over in Salzburg, and decided to go even more defensive. Trying to keep things tight at the back, and find a way through with a rare chance and hopefully snatch a result away from home. However, the longer the match went on like that, the happier Salzburg were to reflect our style of play, and eventually we just ran out of time. I'd like to apologise to all the people that watched this on TV (it was our first televised game), as this was one of the most boring matches of FM I've watched in terms of highlights. Sanneh (GK) and our central defensive pairing of Dylan Johnson and Louie Annesley all scored over a 7.1, so they must have had plenty to do. Disappointingly, we only managed one shot on target all game.

The result means that we miss out on earning a spot in the Champions League as a result of the away goal rule. It would be time for us again to take on the might of the Europa League Playoff match. Our opponents?

Aberdeen.

Not again?!

 

Goals: Cooper (1)

 

Goal Scorers - Champions League - Season 2023/24

Julian Del Rio - 4

Oliver Cooper - 3

Craig Galliano - 1

Kelvin Morgan - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

Edited August 18, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

With our Champions League hopes dashed, all eyes turned to our Europa League Playoff match against Aberdeen. The Dons drew 4-4 with us on aggregate last year in the Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round, but they qualified ahead of us on away goals. Heading in to this match, I really wanted to get some revenge against them, and see how much stronger we had become thanks to our new signings (Annesley) and having a decent keeper in goal (Sanneh). Again we would play the away leg first, so we jumped on the plane and headed out. The good news would be that if we lost, we had a place waiting for us in the Europa Conference League Group Stage, and some good money on the way.

Well, that was a surprise. We started incredibly well, then got pegged back just on the half hour mark. Things looked like they were going to fade into a draw, which I didn't mind, but I was also hoping for a little more from the game. In the 78th minute, I subbed Tom Fielding in for Julian Del Rio. He scored in the 79th minute from a corner, and I was out of my seat. Then in the 85th minute, he set up Morgan's second goal to seal the win, and put us in an amazing place for the return leg. A 7.9 rating after playing just 11 minutes is incredibly impressive. Many other players scored over a 7 for the game, including Serine Sanneh, who pulled a 7.4. We travelled back to Gibraltar with a 2-goal advantage and an almost full stadium behind us.

We kept a clean sheet, and Leon Clinton got on the scoresheet in the 82nd minute after being subbed on at the hour mark. Clinton played so well aside from his goal that he won Player of the Match as well, and just like that, we had a 4-1 aggregate win and a place in the Europa League Group Stage.

O H    M Y    G O O D N E S S.

This was not on the cards at the start of the season. Not at all!

We get drawn in Group D, alongside Stade Rennais, Galatasaray and Zorya. We have some options here. A third place finish in our group would get us a place in the knockout rounds of the Europa Conference League, so that's what I'm aiming for.

 

Goals: Morgan (2), Clinton (1), Fielding (1)

Edited August 19, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Europa League Group D - Season 2023/24

Well, who would have thought that we would be here? Not me, that's for sure! We get to start the group stage off with the lowest ranked team in the group - Zorya. The side from Ukraine finished third in the Prem'er-Liha last season, and we took a defensive approach considering that we were away from home. 

The boys absolutely played out of their skin in this one, playing beyond all expectations, and Julian Del Rio continued his good form in Europe, smashing home two goals. Tjay De Barr has been practicing his killer balls, and he was involved in the buildup to both goals, directly assisting in the opener, and providing the hockey assist in the second goal from central midfield. The competition for the end of season awards is hotting up already, and I'm excited to see where this team will take us! Our defence again played out of their skin, with three of the back four and our goalkeeper (Sanneh) all pulling ratings above 7.2 on the day. As you can see from the stats, we weren't outclassed (perhaps we were underestimated), and we were probably unlucky not to score more in the opening fixture, considering we had 4 clear cut chances.

 

We hosted Galatasaray in the second match of the Groups Stage, and I waas feeling less confident about this one, despite playing at home. It was also our second ever televised fixture! We stayed in the contest throughout the first half, having some amazing chances and great shots on goal that were adequately dealt with by the opposition goalkeeper. I'd like to say that I remained cool, calm and collected when we gave up a penalty in the 66th minute, but I wasn't. The Galatasaray player went to ground on the edge of the box down near the corner flag (I felt it was outside the box), and VAR gave the penalty. It sucked to go behind like that, especially considering the way the match had played out leading up to that point. If you take out the penalty, we had 2 clear cut chances to 0 and hadn't scored by that point. Some great play from inside the box saw Julian Del Rio flick on a Galliano cross for Tyler Burey to hammer home the volley at the near post, tying the match. It was a great build for us, and an impressive result to keep us in the top two. The thing I liked about the way the matches were played is that we got to face gradually stronger opposition from one match to the next - it really allowed us to find our form.

Additionally, the Gibraltar National League matches in between these games gave me the opportunity to give other squad members a run, and the rule regarding 5 players trained in Gibraltar needing to be on the pitch at all times meant that I had no choice but to rest some of my big names during each game. Our third group stage match would be against the other undefeated team in the group, Stade Rennais. I really didn't think we stood a chance in this one, but I didn't let the media or the team catch on to that!

 

Three games, two comebacks. The fairytale run in the Europa League continues for Lynx FC! The Stade Rennais manager openly criticised us prior to the game, suggesting that he would take this game as an opportunity to rest some of his key players. We wanted to make sure that he ate those words, and I tell you what, there is some serious fight in these boys. One of my priorities for staff and player signings is determination, and I like to think that the determination stat is what's keeping the boys going when they go behind, not the 'High' continental bonus pot that I set for them at the start of the season! We were completely outclassed, but did enough to get a point away from home, and I took every opportunity to let the Stade Rennais manager know about it in the press after the match, stating that our result was "deserved". With Galatasaray getting a win over Zorya, we were in second place in the group at the halfway stage, and still undefeated! Who would have thought that would be the case. The second half of the group phase had us playing two matches at home, so surely we could hope for some similar form, but it couldn't possibly get better, right?

 

Goals: Del Rio (3), Burey (1)

Goal Scorers - Europa League - Season 2023/24

Julian Del Rio - 3

Kelvin Morgan - 2

Tyler Burey - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Tom Fielding - 1

[mattyjames_]

It was about this time that we started to get job offers from other clubs - generally clubs in the relegation zone in France and Italy. Unfortunately, I didn't make notes of which clubs at the time. But I do remember FC Lorient and Udinese offering us a gig, as well as Montpellier HSC. I'll keep better track of these job offers from this point onwards! Needless to say, I rejected their offers straight away. I'm only interested in taking Lynx FC to the top of the Champions League, and perhaps Gibraltar to World Cup glory! But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we had to travel to France to play Stade Rennais. Surely they wouldn't underestimate us this time - I went for an all-out defensive lineup. We had an incredibly tough league game just before this match (more on that later), which meant that some of our regulars who were also Gibraltarians were quite tired leading in to this one.

Someway, somehow, we held out all the way to injury time in the second half. Despite Stade Rennais throwing 16 shots at us, they only managed 4 on target, and Serine Sanneh saved those shots comfortably. You can see the push that gave us the penalty just up above. Now, I'm not complaining, but watching it in real time, I wasn't so sure. With Galliano benched due to fatigue, it was up to Jake Hackett to convert from the spot. He made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way and clinching the win in front of the home fans. This result also sent us to the top of the group!

 

We were incredibly shaky through the next game - the home leg against Zorya, but we managed to find enough strength within us to come from behind, and then held off a late charge. Four separate goalscorers for us in a rousing and super exciting contest. That's not to say it wasn't frustrating as well, conceding in the opening seconds is always hard to watch. Del Rio, Morgan and Cooper were clinical in front of goal on the breakaway, and Hackett scored our fourth and his second in two Europa Conference games. The assists were spread around as well, demonstrating that all of our attack were playing their part. We had the stats to back us up, too, suggesting that we could have scored even more! One thing that I've really liked from this squad so far this season is their ability to play a possession focused, high tempo game, and not concede very many fouls for the most part. With this result, we secured a place in the First Knockout Round, as Stade Rennais defeated Galatasaray in their match. This set up something of a mini-showdown for us in the final match of the group stage, away from home and with top spot in the group on the line.

 

And dispite being unusually absent for most of our European campaign to date, Kelvin Morgan turned up big for us in this one - another match where we had to come from behind and then hold on to a lead. Del Rio and Cooper scored goals on the break, but Morgan was the true highlight - not just a hat-trick, but a perfect hat-trick; his final goal coming from a left-footed spot kick in the 74th minute. He also bagged an assist to go along with it. To say that I am dumbfounded by this result, and the rest of the results in the group stage, is an understatement. The best part of this match was just how clinical we were in front of goal. I have been completely blown away by how these players have stepped up and performed time and time again on the Continental stage, and I just hope that this comes with a big boost to not just Lynx FC's coefficient, but also the coefficient of Gibraltarian clubs as a whole. The further other teams start in the competition, the more money they make and the more chances they will have to go even further and improve the reputation of the league even more.

 

Goals: Morgan (4), Cooper (2), Del Rio (2), Hackett (2) 

Goal Scorers - Europa League - Season 2023/24

Kelvin Morgan - 6

Julian Del Rio - 5

Oliver Cooper - 2

Jake Hackett - 2

Tyler Burey - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Tom Fielding - 1

 

Europa League - Group D - Final Table

 

This result sets up a Second Knockout Round match for us with an unknown opponent in March. Off the back of this run of results, we managed to convince the board to give us an early Christmas present, and they upgraded our Youth Recruitment for us. We have the best coaching lineup in the National League by a considerable margin, and our youth network is beyond compare.

However, our training and youth facilities do leave something to be desired. By early January, they will have been renovated and upgraded, but with $13 million now in the bank, I'll be kindly requesting some more improvements are made as soon as possible (and hoping that the board decide to get 'on board' with the idea).

Despite the fact that we have this amazing junior coaching and youth recruitment, and quite a strong Head of Youth Development, our youth intake leaves a lot to be desired. I've never ever seen "golden generation" in any of my playthroughs, but I'm hopeful that before too long I'll find something like that (without any of my players getting poached) in Gibraltar.

 

We play two league games in the next two months, so there will be a number of friendlies that we go through before we get to the halfway stage of the season, in order to keep the squad's match fitness up. 

[mattyjames_]

We are here in February, and what a start to the season we've had!

We have not dropped a single point through 11 league games so far, despite fielding second string players in at least a couple of positions every single match. Not only that, but we have conceded just one goal in our league campaign so far. There has been no real surprises in terms of the teams that have made the top six and the teams that have made the bottom six, but with just ten games remaining in the league season, College Europa look like the only team with a chance of catching us.

Currently, we are on an 8-game clean sheet streak. In addition to that, we're riding high on a 19-game win streak, and it's been almost two years since we lost against a club from Gibraltar. Except...

We lost to our U23 Team in a January Friendly match that we were using to keep up our match fitness. Having said that, of all the matches this result could have come in, I'm glad it was this one. Our U23 side are currently leading the Intermediate League (after winning it last season) and they have won the Intermediate League Cup for the second consecutive season. Some highlights from the Gibraltar National League are below:

These were our last two matches of the first half of the season. Almost 100 shots for us, and no shots for the opposition. Really, really positive stuff.

 

We are still waiting to find out our opponent for the Europa League Second Knockout Round, but we know that we will be taking on College Europa in the final league game of the season, in what could be a deciding round. I'm really looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store for us!

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2023/24

Kelvin Morgan - 9

Oliver Cooper - 5

Julian Del Rio - 5

Craig Galliano - 4

Tjay De Barr - 2

Tyler Burey - 1

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Tom Fielding - 1

Jake Hackett - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

[mattyjames_]

Well, this is probably where our Europa League run ends.

[cel1234]

Shocking Matty no using my Gibraltar facepack lol . Great work though with the season. Promoting the league 

[mattyjames_]

6 hours ago, cel1234 said:

Shocking Matty no using my Gibraltar facepack lol . Great work though with the season. Promoting the league 

I actually have it downloaded and in my SI graphics folder! I honestly can't figure out why it's not working.

Is it because I'm running the SI database from the Steam Workshop?

File Path:

Documents > Sports Interactive > Football Manager 2020 > graphics > Gib Footballers > (this is where the photos are)

Not sure if that's something you can help me with as well?

 

Gibraltar is probably my favourite league on the game to be honest. Great season length, always new challenges, and some really fun players to work with!

[mattyjames_]

Despite our good progress with the facilities, we've had another year of no luck with our Youth Intake.

These guys also came in with the intake and were offered contracts by the Assistant Manager

Ah well. Guess I have to just hope to pump the reputation some more and see if I can get better next year!

[mattyjames_]

Up against it was an understatement. You can see from the article that we went down 1-2 in the first leg. We were smashed from start to finish by Wolfsburg, and they never let us get going. We only had one shot on goal, but that shot was on target, and it hit the back of the net. Would it prove to be a crucial goal ahead of the second leg at home? We can hope. Here's the stats from the first leg:

Tyler Burey picked up his third yellow card of the campaign in the first leg, which meant he would be unavailable for the second leg.

Well, we certainly put up more of a fight in the return leg. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough. It was an amazing moment seeing Julian Del Rio score the opener; a Leon Clinton cross found Craig Galliano on the left side of the box, Galliano hit the ball which beat the keeper, before hitting the post. Thankfully it bounced into the path of Del Rio, who cooly slotted it home. This had us going through to the Quarter Final on away goals, However, it was only a moment, as before I'd finished my celebration, Wolfsburg had pulled one back. Once they decided to go on the offensive, we just couldn't contain them. The 2-5 aggregate loss is a little harsh on us, but we still gave a good showing. We pick up a couple million dollars, and a 10 coefficient points, which is a great boost for the future. We should find ourselves among the top 100 clubs in Europe come the end of the season. Making the last 16 of the Europa League is no mean feat, and I am incredibly proud of the boys.

Goal Scorers - Europa League - Season 2023/24

Julian Del Rio - 7

Kelvin Morgan - 6

Oliver Cooper - 2

Jake Hackett - 2

Tyler Burey - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Tom Fielding - 1

It's been a good season so far for Julian Del Rio, who has really emerged as the surprise package of the continental competition for us, despite being just 22 years old. Couldn't ask for more from the lad, really!

 

Six games left for us in the league, and a Rock Cup campaign to make the most of now, as we head towards April.

[mattyjames_]

I'm not sure about you, but I don't think this one is going to the wire. I'm hoping to have the League stitched up by the time we face College Europa on the final day. We have played five of the ten games in the Second Phase of the Gibraltar National League season, and we are yet to drop a point. Bradley Banda has been immense in goal while Serine Sanneh was playing in the Europa League. Banda went 8 consecutive games (over 720 minutes) without conceding (stretching back to the first half of the season) and it was Sanneh who conceded in the fifth game against Manchester 62 FC.

We've had a wide range of goalscorers through our matches this season, as you can see from the image above. We have alsosix of our eight home games in the league this season sell out, which means it's hopefully not too long before the board decides it's time to build a new stadium. Who knows where they are going to build that on a tiny island like Gibraltar though! In other news, with seven games to play this season, we secured our place in the Europa Conference League with seven games to play this season. With College Europa slipping up against Boca Juniors in their last game before the 'halfway stage', we probably only need two wins to secure the Championship, with games to spare.

 

Goals: Galliano (6), Morgan (4), Burey (2), Cooper (2), Jolley (2), De Barr (1), Del Rio (1), Thompson (1)

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2023/24

Kelvin Morgan - 13

Craig Galliano - 10

Oliver Cooper - 7

Julian Del Rio - 6

Tyler Burey - 3

Tjay De Barr - 3

Ethan Jolley - 2

Dylan Thompson - 2

Denilson Carvalho - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Tom Fielding - 1

Jake Hackett - 1

[mattyjames_]

Not my management, but my players. The U23 team have gone undefeated for the entire season so far, and have claimed the Intermediate League with two matches to play.

The U23 squad have taken all titles available to them in the last two seasons, but none of them have really grabbed the initiative or looked good enough to get a place in the first team. With the league rules the way that they are, until we start getting some amazing players coming through the Youth system, we are going to have to rely on the squad that we have for the next few seasons. Hopefully as we upgrade our facilities and our reputation improves, we can start to bring through some better junior players.

[mattyjames_]

The Gibraltan National League is ours! We have now won the league four times out of five attempts, and this time we did it with three matches to spare, thanks to College Europa dropping points to Lincoln Red Imps. This has guaranteed us a place in the Champions League for the 2024/25 season. We have also (finally) staked our claim as one of the best Australian managers of all time.

Somehow, the board are still surprised at the fact that we have won, despite (at time of writing) having gone undefeated in the league for 40 games, and putting together a run of 27 consecutive wins.

However, at least they aren't as dense as this guy, who is currently managing St Joseph's. This kind of comment from a team that hasn't beaten us in three seasons (and has only scored two goals against us in that time) is a little funny, I must admit. But according to the relationships screen, we have a good relationship!