[FM20] - Disappointment and defeat and good times in the Ukraine.

[DaneBramage]

Tavriya Simferopol

September 2023

Utterly pathetic. How is it even possible to have 56 shots and only score once? Put me up front and I'd score more than that. There's no effort to win, we're literally just giving the points to the opposition. Against Chorno-2 we missed a penalty. Against Metalurg we conceded two own goals, plus had a red card.

Put a tenner on us going down.

[DaneBramage]

Despite my aim of trying to get Tavriya back into a position at the top of Ukrainian football, given how badly this season has been going with no sign of improvement on the horizon I would be half-tempted to move on. But not to Dinaz - they're even worse than us, bottom of Group A.

[mattyjames_]

Oh gosh, such a turn in fortune after the pre-season that you had, as well!

[DaneBramage]

15 hours ago, mattyjames_ said:

Oh gosh, such a turn in fortune after the pre-season that you had, as well!

I don't know why it's going so badly given that nearly nothing has changed from last year. Back to the tactics forum I suppose. 

[DaneBramage]

Somehow I still seem to be impressing people (or maybe they're just looking for a cheap option). Bottom of the first division, declined.

Followed by this a few days later. Maybe I should have gone to the interview...

Edited October 4, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Tavriya Simferopol

October 2023

After some time in the tactics forum looking for some inspiration something to completely rip off we started October with a decent draw.

Then came the warning in the post above and I feared the worst. But the team had an incredible performance out of nowhere, Bey absolutely smashing it in front of goal, to buy me a little more time.

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear.

Gone. It's difficult to argue with their decision, I tried claiming a tricky run of fixtures in the meeting but they easily saw through that.

Edited October 23, 2020 by DaneBramage

[mattyjames_]

Oh no! 

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

Winter Break 2023/24

I'm not entirely sure why, but I was a man in demand. Two clubs were interested in hiring me, both from the same division I'd just been fired from. I somehow fumbled my way through the interview process (the first time I'd done this, a new addition compared to the version of the game I had been playing), and after that, both still wanted me and offered a contract. 

Real Pharma are struggling near the bottom, so it was easy to refuse that job. Pleasingly, one of the few teams doing worse than them is my old club, Tavriya Simferopol, who've managed just one point from five games since kicking me out. Still think that was a good decision? 

I've fallen upwards here. VPK-Agro are fourth in the table. and the manager had jumped ship to go up a division. They're currently tied with four teams on 29 points, and the board want a top-half finish.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

March + April 2024

Due to the long winter break more than three months passed before my first competitive match in charge took place. But before that there was the annual youth intake to consider. As you'd expect from the Ukrainian third tier the facilities aren't particularly good (fairly basic junior coaching and basic youth recruitment). The coaching is slightly worse than at my old job, the recruitment is slightly better, for whatever that's worth. Obviously there's no money to improve them at all.

The goalkeeper (24a) Burdiyan is the obvious standout here, and (24b) Maximov and (24d) Ponomarenko also combine okay potential with good personalities. The less said the better about the rest of them, but contracts have been given to all in case the first judgement isn't very accurate (and with the AssMan's JPP being 7, it probably isn't).

The first game went well, a solid no fuss 1-0 win. But the second game went tits up almost immediately, a match that would have been difficult at the best of the times made almost impossible by a fourth minute sending-off for winger Virt. A slightly rotated team picked up another good win, before I saw my biggest win of the whole save so far. We thumped managerless Borysfen 5-0, Virt making up for his suspension by marking his return with a goal and assist, though the headlines were taken by striker Slobodyan grabbing a hat-trick.

Surprisingly we then followed that up with another big win. We'd beaten three clubs slumming it near the bottom of the table so far, but Motor ZP in third place were an entirely different prospect. Yet we rose to the challenge, blitzing them with four goals in the first half, Slobodyan again on the scoresheet with a brace. Up next was another strong team also in the mix for a top half finish. It took a last minute winner, but Victoria were added to the list of teams we defeated.

There's been very little to complain about so far. Five wins from the first six games is way past my expectations, and although we still sit in the same spot in the table, we now have a stronger hold on the position. Prior to the restart we were equal on points with the teams in the 5th-7th places, now we're two/four/eight points ahead.

Tavriya have started putting some form together now and are pulling away from Vovchansk, who look almost certain to be relegated.

Edited October 10, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

May 2024

May began with a comfortable win over Real Pharma. The scoreline doesn't reflect quite how dominating the performance was, 58% possession and 14 shots to their 1.

But the big game was up next. I was up against Tavriya Simferopol for the first time after being unceremoniously kicked out by them. The strongest team was in place for this, as not just was our position in the table at stake, but also my pride. Could I show them they made a mistake getting rid?

No. The players decided now would be the perfect time to put in an utterly abysmal performance, letting Bey up front for Tavriya run the game and score two goals without even trying to defend against him. I'm gutted by it and to be honest, too annoyed to continue playing right now,

Edited October 10, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

May 2024

Four games left this season, and while we currently hold third place, we could still finish as low down as 7th. Top two are a long way out of sight.

First up was Chorno-2, there wasn't much difference between the two sides so a penalty was enough to give them the win. That saw them jump above us and we fell to fourth. We put up a bit of a fight against Metalurg but lazy defending made it too easy for them to capitalise on our mistakes.

We should have absolutely smashed Balkany. I have not idea how we didn't win convincingly. 65% possession and 20 shots compared to their 4. Yet they scored, and we couldn't hit a barndoor, Splawski even missing a penalty in the first half. The wheels have well and truly fallen off, the new manager effect is over, that's now four losses in a row and we've fallen to fifth.

The final game of the season was against already relegated Vovchansk, so at least we could end with a win.

All the good work that was done in April was thrown away by a terrible May. We managed to finish 5th in the end, one place below where they were when I joined.

Tavriya ended the year with a great run of form to finish in 9th.

Edited October 11, 2020 by DaneBramage

[mattyjames_]

So now the challenge is to keep your team above Tavriya at all costs, right?

[DaneBramage]

On 12/10/2020 at 11:13, mattyjames_ said:

So now the challenge is to keep your team above Tavriya at all costs, right?

Absolutely. I'd prefer their utter destruction, but I'll go with finishing above them for now.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

June-August 2024

A bunch of contracts were up so anyone without much potential was allowed to leave. After only a few months in charge here I'm not yet attached to anyone so none of the names really stand out. Letting so many people go should help keep the wage budget down, and as you can see with a couple of players retiring, also give the squad a younger look.

No permanent deals in, just five loans. No wage contribution needed for any of them so that prevents the financial situation getting any worse.

I'm not used to seeing quite so much green, but I like it.

I confess, since moving on to FM20 I've had a lot of trouble trying to create a tactic that worked, not just in this save but also in several others too. So I did download a tactic from the forum to try and get my head round it, to try and see what actually works. And it turns out this particular tactic works incredibly well, which doesn't necessarily feel like I've earned it. So I'm currently trying to tone the tactic down, remove choices I wouldn't make, to try and make it more 'me' and seem like I'm doing more than just pressing continue and waiting to see the win. 

We're running away with it at the top, an almost flawless run so far. Of course, we now wait and look out for what happens in September after my changes come into play. I don't want to go on a losing run of course, but I would like it more competitive.

Also, the most important thing is that we beat Tavriya, and they're not doing well at all.

[Lodi Lemmer]

Congratulations on the early season success!

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

September - November 2024

I was half expecting a big downturn in fortunes after making big adjustments to the tactic I was using, but I'm happy that things seem to be holding up nicely. We're averaging a goal a game less, but still racking up the wins. There was a blip at the end of September/start of October when First Division side Minaj knocked us out of the cup, as we then went on to draw three of the next four games, but since then we've got back on the winning track with a perfect November. 

The one disappointing result was of course the draw with Tavriya. Since being fired my record against them has been one win, one draw, and one loss. There's one more game against them this season before we hopefully leave them behind, so winning that last one is vital.

Excellent. We've almost got twice as many wins as anyone else, and I think it's safe to say that with a 17 point gap and 11 games left, we won't be caught. Even if we did stumble, nobody else seems to be capable of putting any run of form together.

Tavriya are on course for a midtable finish. I am slagging off their new manager at any opportunity possible (and most of the other managers too, we're not here to make friends).

The board are super chuffed with how things are going, but the financial situation is still an absolute state, so I can't ask for any improvements to the facilities.

  

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

December 2024

Turned down the interview. They're 12th in the league above but battling against relegation, so we could well be replacing them next season.

The fella sacked was the old VKP-Agro manager, who keeps suggesting in the media that my success is down to the foundations he laid, so I will allow myself a little chuckle at his misfortune.

The very next day. Turned this down too, they're one place below Cherkaschyna so even less appealing.

A couple of midfielders and a goalkeeper that might be some use then. I already have a young goalie with 3.5-4.5 star PA, but a new DM would definitely be good.

Edited October 20, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

April + May 2025

The preview was nonsense then. The supposed 'great prospect' goalkeeper (25n) Osmanov is a long way down the list, and the defensive midfielder with 'potential to go far' (25h) Stepanyuk hasn't actually been judged as having much potential, though he does have a decent personality. 

They were right at picking out an attacking midfielder 'to keep an eye on' though, with (25a) Yevseev top of the PA list. Not noted in the preview but there's also a striker with good PA and personality (25b) Musienko.

Also, although it doesn't look like he'll ever amount to much it's always good to have someone from outside the Ukraine coming through in the form of (25o) Walther (GER).

Another couple of job interview offers came through.

In the relegation area of the first division, no thanks.

Bottom of the Premier League by nine points, with only three games to go. Nope, I've got a job to complete at VPK.

Edited October 23, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

March - May 2025

If we didn't already have such a lead at the top of the table I'd have been furious at the run of form in March and April. We returned to action with a loss, conceding an injury-time goal, which ended out unbeaten league streak at 23 games. We then picked up a win, before losing 2-0 against Tavriya for a real kick in the nuts. Two goalless draws followed and I gave a harsh team meeting afterwards which didn't go down well, completely killing morale in the dressing room.

Yet next time out we won against our nearest challengers Chorno-2, and we tied up the group with five games to go.

The final few games played out without too much drama. With the pressure off we got back into the habit of winning and scored plenty of goals along the way. My third choice left winger Koval scored six times in the final six games, I've had him on loan all year and I wish I'd noticed he had this in him earlier. 

1

Boom! A convincing title win. We went top early on and never looked back. My one regret is that we lost to Tavriya in my final game against them. We're leaving them behind now but I wish it had been with a winning record against them, instead of just one win in four, with one draw and two losses. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

May 2025

Turns out that there's one more game to go this season, a champion's play-off against the Second League - Group A winners. Which just so happens to be Shakhtar-2. If they've got potential stars for the first team coming through this could be painful.

Result! We raced into an early lead and although we conceded midway through the second half should have held on for a win in normal time. But a defensive mistake in injury-time allowed them a late equaliser. The penalties went into sudden death and we held our nerve to win the overall Second League title.

And this reminded the board that my contract was about to run out, so they offered me another year.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

Season Review 2024/25

A good year for Splawski as he dominated the awards ceremony. He was the only player to make it into double figures for goals but that wasn't a problem, as goals were coming from most of the attacking positions so we weren't relying on just him. Loanee Melnyk was top for assists which is slightly concerning as you'd rather your own players were the top performers, but he is out of contract in the summer so I'll be keeping an eye on him. Kornev and Kalynchuk also have expiring contracts so I'll be paying attention there too. 

There's a very young look to the squad with a lot of teenagers getting significant game time, and it will probably be getting even younger next year with the two oldest players likely to be on their way. Poruchynskyi just isn't very good, even to be the rotation choice, especially for the £400 a week he's paid. Goalkeeper Melashenko is good and played the most this year, but he's also on £400 a week which is more than double what most of the others are getting. (24a) Burdiyan was the one youth graduate to play much and he only conceded twice in 810 minutes, so it's probably time to make him first choice.

[DaneBramage]

Edited October 28, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Ukraine

2023/24 + 2024/25 Competition Winners 

2023/24

  

2024/25

  

Two years' worth as I forgot to add this in last year. The big two continue to run away with the most trophies as they won a league title each while Dynamo Kyiv have won two more cups.

My challenge to make my way on to the table hasn't changed, and nobody else managing to win anything means no change at the bottom.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

June - August 2025

Two players were released when their contracts ran out. Poruchynskyi was my second choice defensive midfielder, but was below the standard needed and earning way too much so it was an easy decision to let him go. Yarmolenko was a regular but without much potential, so it made sense to let him go to free up a space to be filled by a better option. I thought my goalkeeper would be on his way too, but he accepted a much lower contract to stay.

The usual scraping around for freebies and loans as we try and strengthen the squad for the First Division without any money to spend. Kornev has been made permanent after a year on loan and will be my first choice left back. Melnyk has returned for a second year on loan and will be a starting midfielder. Zhukov and Matveev will form my central defence, while Lytovka will play in the defensive midfield role just ahead of them. Zhurakhoskyi is cover for the left wing.

As expected for a first year in a higher league the aim is just to avoid relegation. We're obviously amongst the favourites to go straight back down so it's going to be tough.

[scarp]

Congratulations on the title win! I bet you gonna go up next season aswell.

[DaneBramage]

 

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

August - November 2025

We made a winning start to the First Division to establish some confidence in our ability to step up the new level of competition. Although we lost our third game out, we then kicked on and went on a five game winning run. Our decent form continued through September, but October saw a drop in form. We didn't lose a league game that month, but struggled for goals and only managed one win. 

We also went out of the Ukrainian Cup, though put in a very credible performance. Everyone was expecting to get a whooping from Dynamo, but despite their 23 shots we stopped them scoring from open play, and they required a penalty to beat us. 

Bagnyuk was the star of November with all three of our goals that month, single-handedly winning us four points, but we go into the winter break with a loss.

Things are going a lot better than expected. Avoiding relegation is almost certainly achieved by now, it would take a disaster to fall into trouble from this spot. We're four points off an automatic promotion place and two points off a play-off place, so we are very much in the mix to go up. 

Only losing four matches at this point is very impressive. Two of these were against the top two and the most recent was against the team just below us, but the big disappointment was the loss against Polissya who currently sit in the relegation area.

The board are suitably chuffed. But the financial situation is as dodgy as ever. I hoped that with the move up there'd be a bit of money to be won in this league, but there's just as little cash in the First Division as there was in the Second. It's still a case of operating on a loss and relying on the board to make an investment every few months.

  

[DaneBramage]

59 minutes ago, scarp said:

Congratulations on the title win! I bet you gonna go up next season aswell.

I'm not so sure of that, but we're certainly giving it a good go. 

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

January 2026

When I first started this game I envisioned it as a one club save, leading Tavriya Simferopol to the top of Ukrainian football. When that went south and I was fired that went out the window and I moved on, so I'm not opposed to taking a new job. And this one certainly is tempting to apply to, 5th in the Premier League and in the fight for European qualification.

But I don't think I've earned this yet. One promotion from the Second Division to the First Division isn't enough to deserve a top-half Premier League job. I want to get into the top division through being promoted there, so it's no thanks to this interview offer for now.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

March 2026

After regular rumours of a takeover one finally came to fruition. The £330k debt was paid off with a £400k investment, leaving a positive balance of £70k. I did put in a couple of cheeky requests for improvements to the youth facilities, but they were knocked back. I was given a new contract though.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

April 2026

A really good prospect at the top with (26a) Nesterov having some serious potential coupled with a decent personality. Unfortunate though that the second best player (26b) Leschenko also plays in the same position, and I don't happen to use attacking midfielders. Both will be re-trained into different roles in central midfield.

Last year's crop of youngsters was absolutely littered with unambitious personalities, so good to see a general improvement in that this time. And nice to see another nationality coming through with Slovenian (26e) Rozman.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

March - April 2026

We returned to action with a bang and two good wins. I then made a mistake ahead of the Chayka game. I accidentally made most of the squad available for under 19 and under 21 games the day before, leaving very few players fit for the first team. A real mixed up thrown together side took the field but couldn't get anything from the game. 

Against Kalush we were back into good form, but this was sandwiched by too many draws. Chornomorets and Illichivets are both above us in the table so these weren't bad results, it prevented them making the gap any bigger but at the same time we failed to make up any points on them either. The Nyva draw was a big disappointment though, we shouldn't be throwing away those kind of points against teams in the relegation area.

Our promotion hopes have taken a bit of a blow as with only one win in five we've dropped away from the top three. Illichivets are also on an inconsistent run of form, our best hope now is that this continues and hopefully opens a door for us to overtake them for the play-off spot.

[Deisler26]

A good comeback from defeat here!

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

May 2026

Four games left, can we make it into the top three? Or even the top two?

Game 27

  

After two games in a week a rotated team was put in against HKR and gained a good win, while Illichivets and Cherkaschyna both lost. They're still ahead but we're breathing down their necks.

Game 28

  

A dominant away win with the first team back in place. There's a slight injury crisis at right back so a 16 year old was called up (and will likely fill in for the rest of the season) but he did well. To add to the good news Illichivets and Cherkaschyna both lost again, and we rise above them into 2nd place, the highest we've been all season.

Game 29

  

Going into the final month as outsiders I thought it would be close and things would go to the wire. Instead my rivals have fallen apart. Cherkaschyna lost again, Illichivets only managed a draw, and I pulled further away from both. A point on the final draw will be enough to confirm a 2nd place finish.

A loss on the final day could make things tricky. The table is sorted by points, results between teams, then goal difference. If we lose and Cherkaschyna win we're fine, as we drew twice and my goal difference is significantly better. If we lose and Illichivets win we're in trouble, as we drew once and they beat us once. If we lose and they both win so we all end on 54 points... I don't know. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Game 30

  

Not the comfortable afternoon I hoped for as we failed to get the point we needed to keep our fate in our own hands. Cherkaschyna won but only by a small margin, so didn't get the goal difference turnaround they needed. And Illichivets...

Illichivets could only draw.  We're promoted!

Edited November 7, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

Season Review 2025/26

Splawski won the player of the year, highest scorer award, and most MOTM awards for a second year in a row, also adding the most assists to his CV, really demonstrating how important he was to the team this year. 

There was very little room for youth graduates to get first team football this year, as when looked like pushing for promotion was a realistic aim we had to make sure we played a strong team throughout. How well we'll do in the Premier League I don't know, I really hope there's some cash coming in so I can strengthen the squad, extend some contracts, improve facilities, etc. Without this it could be a long old season.

[DaneBramage]

[DaneBramage]

Ukraine

2025/26 Competition Winners 

  

The league goes back to Shakhtar, while Dynamo take the cup for a third year in a row.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

June - August 2026

I made a bit of a mess of the transfer window, as I somehow ended up without an assistant manager or any scouts for most of the summer, which made identifying targets to bring in difficult. No players left, but we eventually managed to bring in seven players to hopefully give us a fighting chance of staying up. I'm not sure if the squad has actually been strengthened though or we've just added numbers at a similar quality of what we already have.

Melnyk and Zhurakhovskyi are back on loan again. Melnyk isn't a first choice but can play in several positions across midfield so that makes him useful. Zhurakhovskyi made a slow start to his time with us last year, but came on strong after the winter break so hopefully he'll hit the ground running this time. Chapala impressed while on trial and can play in both central defence and defensive midfield. Stryzkak is another defensive midfielder, he probably won't play much and is mostly a cheap backup option.

Ryabinin, Prykhod'ko, and Tereschenko are all young players signed by the chairman for the under 21s, I should probably re-assign that task to the HoYD.

  

Fight against relegation. It's going to be tough, bottom to go down and 14th place goes into a relegation play-off, so we're just aiming for 13th place really.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

August 2026

Not a great start as we picked up just one point from the first five games. There were a couple of heavy losses in there as Zorya hammered us and the game against Vorskla looks closer than it actually was, with our goals coming when we were already four down. But we were competitive against Chornomorets and Karpaty, to give us hope that maybe we wouldn't just be the whipping boys of the division.

The cup tie came at the right time as a game against Second Division Polissya saw a rotated side finally secure our first win of the season. And it seems that inspired a little bit of confidence as we then repeated this with a 1-0 win in the league, before earning another point from a draw against league-leaders Dnipro-1 (and a third consecutive clean sheet).

If the season was to end now I'd be happy with this. We don't have to be good, we just have to ensure there are three teams worse than us, and at the moment there are four so that'll do nicely. 

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

September 2026

Absolutely battered by Shakhtar but scraped a draw (by kicking them all over the park apparently). You love to see this go your way for a change.

Edited November 13, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

September 2026

We collected a very unexpected point from Shakhtar, then picked up an away win to give us a bit of breathing room above the relegation places. Add in a rotated side making it through to the next round of the cup, and I think we can call that a good month.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

October 2026

Absolutely battered Rukh Lviv but they scraped a draw (by kicking us over the park apparently). You hate seeing this go against you.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

October 2026

A goalless draw with Rukh Lviv was a bit of a disappointment. As one of the few teams below us in the table it would have been nice to take the full points to create a bit of a gap. But we made up for that with a good win over Metalist which saw us jump above them. 

Dynamo destroyed us in the first half. We battled back in the second to make the scoreline look okay, but there was never any real chance of getting back into the game. Our starting XI had a combined value of roughly £3 million. Their lad who got the hat-trick was worth £17 million by himself. Another loss followed and I was pretty annoyed by this one. Cherkaschyna were one of the teams we beat to promotion last year so progression to the next round of the cup was there for the taking. With staying in the Premier League the priority a rotated side took to the field and showed why they weren't first choices.

At least that left the first team fresh for the Oleksandriya match, but despite taking an early lead we slipped to another loss which left us outside the relegation area on goal difference.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

November 2026

We pretty much did as expected in these three games. Desna are in the same battle as us to avoid relegation, so a draw with them was an okay result to not lose any ground. Vorskla are up in the top half so a loss to them wasn't the end of the world, although it did knock us down into the relegation play-off spot.

So the game against Olimpik was an important one, the last chance to pull ourselves up before the winter break. They're also in the relegation fight, and a cracking free-kick from Splawski set us on our way to a good win (and clean sheet) which saw us leapfrog them for good measure.

It's all very close at the bottom. Volyn and Rukh Lviv are in real trouble and have an uphill task to get out of the automatic relegation places, but we're part of a real dogfight to avoid 14th place. At the moment we're a couple of places clear, but I would say teams even as far up as Chornomorets could be drawn into this.

Our finances our only getting worse. We're way under budget so that's not the issue, it's just that there's no money to be made in Ukrainian football, even in the top division. Crowds are up, but that increase barely makes a difference.

Edited November 13, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

December 2026

The usual underwhelming preview. A right winger and a forward could be of use, but much else of note here.

Interesting. They're directly above us in the table, just one point ahead, and in the same fight to avoid relegation. But their facilities are much better than ours, the stadium has double the capacity, the club value is five times higher, and they have a left winger worth over £7 million. My highest valued player is Splawski at £525k. The one negative is that their finances must be worse, as they're listed as insecure rather than okay. I'm going to apply.

Never mind then. They instead went with some clown who was last seen being sacked after getting Rotor Volgograd relegated from the Russian Premier League.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

February 2027

A bunch of players were brought into the club, most of them by the chairman rather than me. I did cancel a few he arranged as they were using money we just don't have, but I did allow a couple for cash to go through. The first signing for £9.25k popped a Steam achievement for a record signing, and I think is the first player signed for a fee at any time in my career so far. Lytovka was a player I brought in, a defensive midfielder we had on loan last year was brought back for a second spell. Rubchynskyi is one of mine too, a striker to ease the burden on Splawski, though as soon as he signed his CA and PA both dropped one star, which can't be a good sign.

Our return to action after the winter break was a bit of an embarrassment, as we suffered our largest loss of the season so far. A draw with Karpaty gave us another point, ever so slightly increasing the distance away from 14th place.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

March 2027

Awful. Losing to two of the bigger teams is one thing, but Volyn are one of the teams we need to be beating to have any chance of staying up. Only one point out of 15 so far this year has put us in trouble.

We've fallen into the relegation play-off spot, and that's despite having played one more than anyone else. With only eight games left we need an upswing in form very quickly, or we're going down. We've scored a lot more than everyone else around us, in fact only the top three have scored more, but have a terrible defensive record.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

April 2027

The rumoured potential of the right winger and forward from the preview seems to have been exaggerated, as they slot in at fifth and sixth when sorted by PA. Instead we end up with a right back and a central midfielder at the top, and not a huge amount of potential going around. We have a Slovakian to go with last year's Slovenian, and a Kosovan has turned up too. All in all a pretty unambitious bunch.

At least we ended the run of losses at five. Should have managed it a game earlier but missed a penalty against Obolon-Brewer.

Yikes. In a bad spot now. Even Volyn have managed to find a little bit of form while we've fallen apart. The one silver lining is that they and Olimpik are both only one point away, we haven't been cut adrift quite yet.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

May 2027

Game 26

  

Five games left to try and survive. First up was bottom of the table side Rukh Lviv. It wasn't pretty, but a 92nd minute penalty from Splawski gave us a bit of hope. Volyn won while Olimpik lost, putting us back in the play-off place.

Game 27

  

Not exactly what I wanted, I was eyeing this up as a winnable game. But Volyn lost and Olimpik drew, so we jump to the safety of 13th place for now.

Game 28

  

Fuming. We were holding the champions-elect to a draw, then an idiot substitute gets himself sent off and we concede a loser in stoppage time. Volyn and Olimpik both drew and we're back in the play-off.

Game 29

  

Losses all round. No change.

Game 30

  

A final day miracle? No, we get hammered by the team that passed up on hiring me a few months ago. Fair play lads, you made the right decision. Volyn won anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered regardless. We're in the relegation play-off.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

June 2027

Before the play-off I was given a new two year contract, so at least I'm safe even if the worst happens.

I asked for some of the facilities to be improved, most were rejected but they did agree to improve the junior coaching. The approval message was broken though, it said they were happy to agree to this because we're on our best run of form in a good season, which is quite obviously incorrect.

[DaneBramage]

VPK-Agro Magdalynivka

June 2027

We're against Ingulets Petrove in the play-off. They came third in the first division, a considerable distance off the top two.

First leg

The first leg was at home so we had the opportunity to take the early advantage. And instead we pissed it away. In a very even game the best chance of the whole match was a penalty in the 8th minute, and the keeper went the right way to save it.

To create the perfect build up for the second leg my best midfielder decided to lead a dressing room rebellion against me, because of a poor dressing room atmosphere. Yeah, that makes total sense. I said I'd get rid of any bad apples and that kept them happy for now, but it does mean Budnyak now has to be dropped for the second leg. I'd try to sell him too, were it not for the fact that not a single player of mine has received a bid in the six years or so this career has been going.

Second leg

Humiliating. We started on the wrong foot by conceding in the first minute, then contributed to our own downfall with an own goal. Utterly woeful.

I wish I hadn't signed that new contract.

Edited November 14, 2020 by DaneBramage