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The Ultimate World Football Manager Save– The Set Up Part 1

 

Saturday 26th December 2020 (in real life)

Boxing Day is arguably the most important day in the world sporting calendar. Traditionally and in a normal year it was the day when men would ‘escape’ after spending the previous day with family and loved ones. This year was different and one where we were advised to be ‘jolly careful’ by our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and I only had one day to see my parents on Christmas Day.

My original plans for Boxing Day 2020 had been kyboshed by the tightening of restrictions just days before. My Dad though has a saying, ‘Preparation meeting opportunity’ Sat in my living room with just my laptop, a can of coke and some background Christmas telly, Boxing Day 2020 was the perfect day to start my epic footballing journey. The one I had been planning for the past three months…

Back in October and with a second lockdown in the UK looming I had an idea. Having relegated my Football manager fix from FM18 to Football Manager Mobile 2019 and 2020 over the past couple of years due to family reasons I was ready to make a comeback to the full fat FM. As a trial I downloaded a free version of FM20 from Epic in September 2020 and started messing around on it, starting random saves, but not really settling on one. Then the beta version of FM21 came out on 14th November 2020 and so I downloaded this from Steam, loaded England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and started Unemployed with not many badges or reputation. I ended up at Brechin City and then probably wished I hadn’t. (Their club vision was to qualify for the Relegation Play Off in Scottish League 2). While I could not help but admire the pragmatism of the Brechin board, nor could I ever accuse them of being overambitious, which was in line with the pretty weak squad that I had inherited, the seeds of an idea started forming in my head.

What if I could download or create on the editor every league in the World and find a way of choosing any team at random and take them on, regardless of the country and their standing in the football world.  

In other words, the ULTIMATE world journeyman save which could take me to any country in the world, manage any club, in any situation and in any league.

Collecting Every League In The World – November/December 2020 (in real life)

 

So where do you start in collecting the leagues from all the countries in the world on FM? The rule was that I must have a representation of every country in the FIFA World Rankings, plus any others which were available, such as Greenland, The North Mariana Islands and Kiribati for example. I would really have to find my inner Richard Osman here!

Football Manager already gives you 52 default nations, including all the major European and South American countries, you know the ones. However, there’s only one African nation, South Africa, only Australia in Oceania and Mexico is the only default representation in Central America and The Carribbean.

I did have a few things in my favour though, one I have had previous experience and a working knowledge of the Pre Game Editor in creating new leagues, which I have used on previous versions. Secondly, despite having never travelled beyond Italy, my world geography is pretty good, although I did have to look up where on earth Mayotte was? Turns out it’s a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean in case you didn’t know...

From the 24th November, the official release date for FM21 onwards I was on the Steam Workshop every night hastily subscribing to any created league that appeared. I don’t know who you are but @Timo, you are the man! This guy must sit in his bedroom morning, noon and night churning out these extra league files and uploading them to Steam, from Kiribati and Angola to The Cape Verde Islands and French Guiana @Timo (and a few others) cover the lot and in a matter of just weeks.

By mid-December my collection of editor files was getting close to my target of every league in the FIFA World Rankings. I was determined to get the lot. I also expanded some of the larger nations, for example the ubiquitous ‘England leagues down to Level 10’ file was included and Holland down to Level 8 (every square inch of this small country must have a football team) and other major nations.

Just one week before Christmas I had downloaded most of them, except for a few outstanding countries dotted around the globe. Jamaica was an obvious missing country, El Salvador was another, while I nearly left out Kyrgyzstan because I almost forgot this country even existed, let alone spell it! The missing countries were filled by my own basic FM editor skills which can just about join a few leagues together with promotion and relegation, along with a cup competition if available to a reasonable standard of realism.

By around the 21st Dec I was ready with all leagues sat squashed like sardines in my editor data folder on my laptop. After a couple of test runs, to make sure by loading every league in the world at the start of the game didn’t result in steam coming out of the side of my laptop and that I wasn’t waiting two hours for the game to load I was ready to go. Boris’ last minute change of rules meant I was game on for Boxing Day night to start the ultimate footballing journey.

The Aim Of The World Football Manager Challenge

The aim of this was to manage a team picked at random from any of the 200+ nations and leagues in the world. How was I to determine the country and the club that I would take over and become my first team on the save?

Boxing Day night and I switch on my laptop and load Football Manager 2021, select start new career game and load up all the leagues. I then made a cup of tea because this may take a while. In fact it took around 10-15 minutes to get to the 'Choose Nations To Manage In' screen, which listed each country by Continent and a nice little flag next to them. Which country, league and club will I end up in?

 

 

In Part 2 I will explain how I chose completely at random the club which would become my first team to manage on The Ultimate World Football Manager Save!

Edited by Jon1982
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Hey Jon1982, good to have you join us on our corner of the Boards......

However. Your opening post is breaking a number of our Forum Rules, particularly the rules about images and links to third party websites, which I've removed from the post now.

I've posted a link to our rules and guidelines, and I'll give you some time to advise if you want it moved elsewhere.

Cheers

 

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1 hour ago, Jon1982 said:

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your message. I'll bear this in mind when posting in future.

Thanks

Jon1982

Thank you Jon.

Good luck with your story. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

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Thanks mate. Not very technical when it comes to computers  but its a Hewlett Packard intel core i5 laptop bought in 2018. It takes a little while for the leagues to load but you only have to do it once so its not too bad. 

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The Ultimate World Football Manager Save - The Set Up Part 2

 

      Choosing The Nation & Choosing The Team

To choose the ten random countries I opened my web browser and found a fantastic online random country generator.  (I cannot link it on here but just type random.country into Google) This website is a beast and in the run up to Boxing Day I had been testing this site to make sure that all countries in the world had an equal chance of being selected. I wasn’t disappointed as places that were not even recognised countries came up such as Guernsey and Northern Cyprus. The site even showed you where it was in the world and a little bit of information about it. I guess this site is perhaps used by travellers who cannot decide where to go on their next exciting expedition. I also think this site must not have been used much recently as travelling had just about come to a standstill in 2020.

I had to generate ten random countries by pressing the ‘next random country’ button on the site. It’s dead simple, have a go its fun!  The full ten countries are shown below in the order they came up in.

 1. Hong Kong

2.  Namibia

3.  North Korea

4.   The Maldives

5.   Gibraltar

6.   Cambodia

7.   Bolivia

8.   El Salvador

9.   Fiji

10. Lithuania

 

A good variety of countries were drawn and they are dotted around the globe. Two European, Gibraltar and Lithuania, one African, Namibia, three Asian, Cambodia, The Maldives and North Korea, one South American, Bolivia, one Central America, El Salvador and one from Oceania in the shape of Fiji.

I then found an online random number generator to determine which country I would start the game in. This came out as number four which meant the game started in the Maldives  in July 2020 (There’s worse places in the world to start and it could have been North Korea at the end of the day)

Managerial Ability and Reputation

In order to maximise the amount of clubs available to possibly join I decided that I would put myself somewhere around the middle in terms of coaching badges and reputation. Now admittedly none of the ten nations selected are hardly powerhouses of world football and to my knowledge only two out the ten, Bolivia and North Korea have ever qualified for The World Cup. I started the game with a National A License coaching badge and a Regional Professional Footballer reputation. My managerial stats are as below which gives me something to work with at least on the training field wherever I end up.

Attacking 10                                                                                    Adaptability 10 (important for this game)

Defending 8                                                                                    Determination 3

Fitness 1                                                                                          Player Knowledge 5

All Goalkeeping Stats 1                                                                  Youngster Knowledge 10

Tactical 6                                                                                         Man Management 8

Mental 6                                                                                          Level of Discipline 8

Technical 10                                                                                   Motivating 10

Working with Youngsters 12

 

Job Centre and Applying for Jobs

I went into the Job Centre and filtered on each individual nation, starting with 1- Hong Kong. Unfortunately there were no jobs available in Hong Kong, probably because it is a default nation on the game and there are only eight teams in the league, so I started with country 2, Namibia. Every club in Namibia was in the Job Centre, so I ahd to find a way of determining which clubs I applied to in each nation. The rules were that I could apply to two clubs per country. To determine which clubs I applied for I found a random letter generator on the Internet. From here I chose a random letter which the clubs I applied to must begin with. If there was more than two clubs which began with the same letter I would draw a second letter which the club’s name must also contain. I did this if necessary until it was whittled down to two clubs per available nation.

If there was only one club which started with the chosen letter then I simply drew another letter for the club’s name to begin with, which is why some countries have two letters in the list below. There were no available teams in my first country, Hong Kong

 

The second country was Namibia. The letter drawn was C. I applied to two clubs called Chief Santos and Citizens. I repeated this process for the other 8 nations as below.

North Korea – RY – Ryongaksan & Ryongnongen

Maldives – T&G – TC Sports & Gaamagu

Gibraltar (No available teams)

Cambodia – E & R – Eléctricitié Du Cambodge & Rithy Sen

Bolivia – V – Vasa Diez & Virgen De Chijipata

El Salvador – J & I – Juaye & Ilopaneco

Fiji – R & S – Rewa & Suva FC

Lithuania – J & N – Juventa 91 & Neptunas

 

I then attended each of the job interviews that I was offered from the applied jobs. Only two, TC Sports of the Maldives and Ryongaksam of North Korea did not offer me the job and employed somebody else. All the other clubs I applied to offered me the job. To decide which team I would start the game in, I loaded the first letter of each club who had offered me a job into the random letter generator.

 

The letter generator drew the letter E, which meant the club I would be starting the game with was Eléctricitié Du Cambodge of Cambodia… 

Through the turn of a random country generator and the spin of a letter wheel my footballing journey starts in the South East Asian Kingdom of Cambodia at a club called Electricitie Du Cambodge, who are also known as EDC!

Let the footballing journey begin.......

Next time.... In Part 3- I start my world footballing journey with a struggling Cambodian C-League outfit, Electricitie du Cambodge in the middle of the league season, in a completely unknown country. I have already bought my apartment in Phnom Penh, but know not one word of Khmer. How will I get on?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Jon1982 changed the title to The Ultimate World Football Manager Game

About EDC

EDC are the Cambodian Electricity Company’s football team, or I suppose the country’s equivalent of the National Grid. They are based in Phnom Penh the capital and play at a ground called Prey Veng. EDC were only formed in 2015 and are semi-professional. They play in the C-League, the top flight of the Cambodian domestic league.  Thanks to @Timo I have the C-League, along with the Cambodian Second League, which is split into three groups of fourteen teams. The Cambodian season runs from March to October, which means as I am starting the game in July 2020, I take over EDC halfway through the season. After 14 games we lie in 10th place, but a reasonably comfortable 7 points above relegation. My remit from the board is for me to keep EDC in the C-League this year. This would not normally be a problem if this was say in The Conference North, where I know the teams and league inside out, but as I am on complete unknown territory here, it makes the task somewhat harder. Such is the beauty of the journeyman save! By the way I absolutely love the fact that the EDC club badge has electricity pylons on it. Brilliant!

What I Know About Cambodia

 

I know little about Cambodia, other than where it is in the world, sandwiched between Thailand to the West and Viet Nam to the East. It has a coastline on the Gulf of Thaliand and its capital is Phnom Penh. The country is perhaps sadly most known for the horrendous regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s which resulted in a mass genocide of the population. Thankfully the Khmer Rouge was thrown out of office and the current President is called Hun Sen and he has been in power since 1985. He even has the Cambodian FA cup named after him, the Hun Sen Cup, also known as the Prime Minister’s Cup which EDC will be competing for.. In 1993 the country’s monarchy was restored and the King of Cambodia is in office as a figurehead for the nation. As far as I know he doesn’t have any trophies named after him.

I guess I will get to know this country better as I go along managing their Elecrticity Company’s National Grid's football team…

What I know about Cambodian Football

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting The Players and The EDC Squad – First Impressions

 

Having sorted my squad in terms of ability according to my Assistant Manager (whose name escapes me for now) the stand out here is a 15 year old left back (obviously a Regen) called Ouk Ratana, who has a 5 ability and potential star rating. The other names to look out for are Suon Veasna (AMR/L, Moul Daravaon (DC), Sok Chanraksmy (ST), Tum Saray(AMLRC) and Moun Nara (D/MC), who according to my assistant are my best players.

The First Team Squad

Goalkeepers

Sam Chammoureun - At 28 he should be my first choice, but his stats are not that great

Kong Rafat- At 17 he has quite a bit of potential and so I will consider making him my no1 if he can take the pressure at his tender age.

Kouch Vandeth A young 16 year old keeper with some potential

Defenders

Ouk Ratana DLC - A player of high promise, though only 15. A tackling of 12 and many other stats above 5 make him a decent choice with plenty of room for improvement. Can also play in Central defence

Chan Dara DL - A veteran left back aged 34, who looks as though he was decent but the stats are going south, Might be useful in big games where experience is needed.

Ouch Panaseth DL - A 20 year old left back with not great stats. A back up option at best,

Maul Daravon  DC - Statistically our best defender and a key player.

Suon Makara D/MC - A versatile and experienced defender who will probably partner Daravon

Moun Nara D/MC A decent back up who can play in defence or midfield

Nhem Theara - We are not overly blessed with right backs, so I've plucked this kid out of the Reserves as there is nobody else. We'll see how he does.

 

Midfield
 
Nan Punlock DMC/MC - A decent ball winning midfielder. with a tackling of 11
 
Savy Sedsody DMC/MC - A decent young prospect who will be there or thereabouts in my plans.
 
Ouch Udom MC/AMC- A young 16 year old attacking midfielder with potential
 
Suon Veasna MR/L A good winger who can play either side. Dribbling 10, Crossing 8 Pace 12
 
Tum Saray AM/LRC A highly rated player but his stats don't convince me on first impressions.
 
Ly Pheng ML - A pretty useless left winger with no pace
 
Hem Chetra  AMR/L - A pacy winger who can play on both flanks
 
Long Rothsery MLC - A young midfield prospect who has already broken into the 1st team
 
Sok Sengdara MC - An experienced midfielder who could do a job
 
Mao Mol AML - A young left winger with decent potential
 
 
Forwards
 
Sok Chanraksmy - Our best and most experienced striker with a finishing of 12 and with International experience. Finishing 12, Pace 10, Heading 10
 
Phanny Y Rotha -  A good striker with pace and decent finishing, but little else.
 
Choum Chum - An experienced striker with International experience, but at 34 years old probably past his best.
 
Math Voeuen - A young striker with a finishing 0f 14, but little other endearing qualities.
 
Sam Chammeroun - A young striker with some potential but not ready for first team yet.
 
There are other regen young players in my Reserves and Under 21 teams which may pop up from time to time.
No Nicknames Needed & Currency

One thing I like about Cambodia already is the names are quite easy to learn and pronounce, which means I will not have to use the ‘Set Nickname’ feature to simplify their names! For the purpose of simplicity I have kept the Currency as the default Pound Sterling, meaning that wages and transfer fees will be conducted in English currency rather than the Cambodian Riel or US Dollar, which in real life are the units of currency in Cambodia.

My First Press Conference

Eyebrows were certainly raised across the world of football at the appointment of Jonathan Rudd as manager of EDC. 'You cannot speak Khmer' barked the hacks in Phnom Penh 'Football is a universal language,' I cooly replied. You may not be able to hold onto Tum Saray.. 'Well we'll see what happens with that..not really sure who he is to be honest...' According to my Press Officer, this was just fine!

 

Betting Odds & Expectations

As the odds of us to win the C-League are 450-1, then I don’t think we are really much cop against the rest of the division, apart from the few teams below us. The only way I will find out is by looking at the other teams, assessing their strength and try to pick up as many points as I can in order to stay clear of the relegation zone. I can see Veasna and Chanraksmy are the best two players at the club, but I have no idea how they match up to the players in the top teams in the league, such as 6-5 favourites Vishaka and 10-3 shots, Beoung Ket. EDC are 11th most likely to win the C-League out of 14, so I can see we are certainly not the biggest fishes in this particular pond. The only thing I can compare this team to is where they would sit in the English League pyramid and on first impressions they would be a mid-table Conference North/South side.

Board Expectations and Club Vision

Luckily the expectations from the board are pragmatic, but not quite as bad as Brechin City! They want us to avoid relegation from the C-League. EDC had already been knocked out of the Prime Minister's Cup before I took charge, so I will not be judged on this. Moving forward they just want us to establish ourselves as a consistent C-League team. Judging by the fact that EDC are only 5 years old this seems to be a sensible approach.
 

Our Stadium & Facilities

Our ground is called Prey Veng, with a capacity of only 1,000, which is hardly conducive to an electric atmosphere. However, with a team full of electricians, at least the floodlights will always work.. The training and youth facilities are rated Poor, but I didn't really expect anything else. Despite this we have a few decent young prospects in the squad.

The 2020 Season So Far
 
In the season so far, EDC actually got off to a decent start with three straight wins, but then hit a slump in form, losing seven games in a row. I pick up the season after 14 games, halfway through the campaign and we are 10th in the table, but a healthy 7 points away from trouble. My first game is against Bati Youth who are deep in the relegation zone. I haven’t a clue what they are like, or what EDC are in comparison, such is the beauty of managing a football team in a completely unknown country like Cambodia! 
The C-League Table (after 13/14 games)
 
1st - Svay Rieng  35pts
2nd - Nagaworld  31pts
3rd - National Police 27
4th - Boeung Ket 25
5th - Phnom Penh Crown 25
6th - Ankhor Tiger 22
7th - Vishaka 22
8th - National Defence 19
9th - Kirivong 17
10th - EDC 15
11th - Asia Euro United  14
12th - Solitio Angkhor 8
13th - Bati Youth 5
14th - Kampong Cham 3
 
 
My First Game in Charge
 
Amidst all the chaos of taking charge of a new club in an unknown country and league I also have a game. 
 

Game 1- Bati Youth (H) 25/07/20

 

Pre Match expectations

My first game in charge of EDC on the day after I take over the job, yikes! I have no idea what to expect from my players. I know we are far from the best team in the league, but looking at the squad and results before I took over the reigns we are a capable team and can compete in this league if we play well. Looking at Bati Youth they are as the name suggests, an academy team who are struggling in 13th in the league and are full of kids. This should hopefully be a nice easy three points to pull us further away from the bottom of the league towards mid-table. In the process it will give me a nice first look at my players and hopefully a successful start to my

 

 

                                                                                                                Rotha                 Chanraksmy

    

                 Saray                                                                                                                                              Veasna                           

Sengdara                                    Punlock

                                                       

 Ratana    Daravon    Makara   Theara                   

    Kong Rafat

Subs: Sam Chammeroun (GK) Ly Pheng, Choum Chum, Hem Chetra, Moun Nara, Ouch Udoum, Chan Dara
 

Result: EDC 1-2 Bati Youth

                                                                                                                               Chanrakmy (pen) 21                 Sambo 27, Oudoum 51
                                                                                                                               Sengdara s/off 55

 

I’m not really sure how this game was lost against a team full of 16/17 year olds, but it really is not as bad as it sounds. All was going to plan when Chakraksmy drilled a penalty into the bottom corner and the game in our favour. Like England v Iceland it was a case of how many we could score. However some poor marking from a corner let in their player Sambo to hammer the ball into the top corner for 1-1 from their only attack before half time. At the interval I was confident we would win the game comfortably. Chance after chance went a- begging and their keeper was like a Cambodian Thomaschevsky. Then 5 minutes of madness when a breakaway was briefly halted by Ratana our 15 yr old full back only to slide tackle the ball into their onrushing player who squared it for Oudom to sidefoot it into the net unmarked. Then an innocuous 2nd booking for our midfielder, Sengdara, who was having a decent game from a free kick put us down to 10. Even then after that we still pushed forward for an equaliser, with sub Chum going close. Really unlucky to lose this one against a team we should be beating if we want to play C-League football next season...

Oh dear! Not quite the glorious start to life at EDC I'd hoped for. In fact I lost to a bunch of acne ridden kids in my first game. Things can only get better surely, Can I rally the troops and keep the lights on in our season, or will this be the worst footballing mistake of my life? Find out next time....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Can I chuck in an early nomination for Funniest Story in this years awards.

Laughed harder than I should have a 'What I know about Cambodian Football'.

Jon, call me Mikey. Everyone else does.

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On 20/02/2021 at 19:04, Celtic_1967 said:

Can I chuck in an early nomination for Funniest Story in this years awards.

Laughed harder than I should have a 'What I know about Cambodian Football'.

Jon, call me Mikey. Everyone else does.

Thanks Mikey. The oldest jokes are sometimes still the best! :)

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Trying to find a spark

 

The next three matches

As I drove into training the day after the Bati Youth defeat I passed a local high school. As the teenagers crossed the road and hung around the school gates, the nightmare of my opening defeat came flooding back, as their youthful striker, Oudoum wheeled away in jubilation at scoring the winner, accompanied by whoops of delight and that sort of immature celebration that only 16/17 year olds do on a football field. (If you watch any U19s or U17s football you'll probably know what I mean. 

So, to the next game, a team against men, one of the biggest teams in Cambodia and as they are also based in the capital, a local derby, Phnom Penh Crown.

Game 2- EDC v Phnom Penh Crown (H) 02/08/20

Pre Match Thoughts

After the defeat against Bati Youth I cannot take this league lightly. Although we were very unlucky to lose, the FM gods were not on my side, even on my debut game. Crown sit 5th in the table and look as though they can play. They have a decent South African striker, Booyens up front and a Colombian by the name of Monteiro on the wing amongst others who all look much better than my lot... I really don’t hold out much hope for this one and will play a Cautious mentality with 2 DMCs sitting in a solid 4-2-3-1 formation. Chetra comes in on the Left Wing to show me what he can do after a good week in training, while Saray starts behind the lone striker, Chanraksmy Fingers crossed we keep the score down in this one. I also make my debut on Cambodian TV, as this match is being broadcast live! 

Team: 4-2-3-1: 

                                                                                                    Chanraksmy

                                                Chetra                                            Saray                                       Veasna

 

                                                                               Nara                                      Punlock

                                            

                                               Ratana                        Makara                      Daravon                      Theara

                                                                                                    Kong Rafat

 

 

 

          Phnom Penh Crown 1-1 EDC

                                                                                                           Shirota  59                                                            Saray 28

A point at against the team who are 5th in the league., I’ll take this! The game started badly as our best attacking player, Suon Veasna hobbled off injured and was replaced by the youngster, Ouch Udom with Suray moving to right wing. Phnom Penh Crown have a few foreign stars, but for large parts of the game our bunch of 11 semi pro Cambodians  kept them at bay. Shockingly we took the lead as Chanraksmy got in behind the defence before floating a lovely ball to the far post where Tum Suray smacked it into the top corner with an acrobatic volley Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of. Then the game just ticked along until half time with our lead still in tact. In the second half the inevitable pressure from the home side materialised and a free header from their Japanese defender, Shirota into the bottom corner from a corner levelled the scores. However EDC held strong and kept a very good defensive shape. We could have almost won it when a breakaway from defending a corner, the ball landed at the feet of defensive midfielder Nan Punlok, who could only find the defender when an easy through ball was on to the onrushing Chanraksmy. Never mind I’ll take the point. 

 

Game 3- National Defence (H) 08/08/20

Pre Match Thoughts

 

EDC stand a cat in hell’s chance of a result here. However, National Defence sit only 2 places above me and despite having a lost Brazilian upfront, Romario and a very useful looking South Korean you just never know. Chan Dara replaces our 15 year old left back. He is 34 and have gone for experience. Udom comes in at AMC with a recovering Veasna on the bench.

                                                                                                       Chanraksmy

                                          Chetra                                                         Udom                                            Saray

                                                                                    Nara                                     Punlock

                                        Dara                                Makara                                 Daravon                       Theara

                                                                                                          Kong Rafat

 

 

EDC 1- 0 National Defence

                                                                                                         Chanraksmy 60 (pen)  

 

Whoop Whoop our first win! No it wasn’t pretty and we had to grind this one out. While we may lack quality we lack nothing in fighting sprit, toughness and togetherness. The first half was evenly matched with both sides trading blows, but Daravon and Makara in the heart of the defence were first to every ball and their Brazilian, Romario looked very lost and was eventually substituted in the second half, a shadow of his more illustrious namesake. It was 0-0 at half time. My only concern was Chanraksmy looked a bit isolated up front, so Suray and Chetra were pushed up alongside him to try and give him some support. On the hour our lone striker was upended in the box from a free kick and he duly got up and calmly slotted the penalty past their keeper, sending him the wrong way. Soon after National Defence won a corner and hit the bar but seldom came close apart from that, with our keeper Kong Rafat barely making a save. Sengdara came on as a sub, back after his ban and went close with a long range effort, as we kept the ball superbly in the dying minutes of the game to secure the win. 

Game 4- Vishaka v EDC – 15/08/20

Pre-Match Thoughts

Like the previous game against National Defence I do not hold out much hope of a result here. Our hosts sit in 5th place in the league and looking through their team have a talented contingent of escaped North Koreans to contain plus an experienced Croatian striker, Mihaljevic, who has somehow ended up in Cambodia via stints in Poland and Bulgaria. Having seen our resilience against stronger opposition in the last 2 games we have a chance if we work hard.

                                                             Chum                Chanraksmy

                         Chetra                         Nara                    Punlock            Saray

                         Dara                            Makara                Daravon           Theara

                                                                         Kong Rafat

 

 EDC 2-3 Vishaka

                                                                                  Chetra 30, Punlock 49       Pak Song Chul 59, Keo Sokpheng 69,  Choe Meong Ho 81                                                                                                      

Where to start? Vishaka begin the game well and win a penalty, Mihalevic though pulls the ball wide. Then, Saray drifts in from the right flank and plays a delicious through ball for Chanraksmy to force a fine save from their goalkeeper, Nhem Polroth. From the resulting corner, Suray drifts it in to be met by Hem Chetra who leapt like a salmon to head home, giving us a shock 1-0 lead, which is how it stayed until the interval. At half time I told them to keep up the good work. Then, 4 minutes into the second half, our veteran striker, Choum Chum held up the ball before laying off to the onrushing Nan Punlock who unleashed a stunning piledriver into the bottom corner and EDC were together in Electric Dreams! However, this only seemed to galvanise Vishaka, who were beginning to look more and more dangerous as their North Korean contingent began to pick up the ball and run with it. Ri Hyok Chol on the left wing was finding too much space, against young Theara , our right back. His pass found his compatriot, Pak Song Chol who fired in an unstoppable angled shot past Kong Rafat for 2-1, the comeback was on. Then, Keo Sokpheng drifted in unmarked from the right to equalise after another raid down the left. EDC hearts were broken when Choe Myong Ho won the game for Vishaka with a 25 yard strike into the top corner, pouring water over EDC’s charges. Not too disheartened in that it shows we can compete with the bigger C-League teams, but it is never nice to lose from a 2-0 winning position.

 So a win, a draw and a defeat in my next three matches. It could have been worse, could have been better. However with a relegation six pointer next up against the team directly below us, Solitio Angkhor, can EDC stave off relegation fears once and for all?

                     

 

 

 

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  • Jon1982 changed the title to The Ultimate World Football Manager Save

Great start to this Jon. As you can see from the amount of interaction you're getting, the journeyman saves are very popular among the natives in this corner of the boards, particularly when they involve far flung places.

After your last couple of updates, I'm particularly looking forward to the Transfer Window, to see if you're able to bring in any foreign players of your own. It will give us a better idea of whether your club will be amongst the 'haves' or 'have not's' in the C-League, or if you're going to have to rely on domestic talent to keep the lights on at the electric company.

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Glad you are enjoying this so far neilhoskins77. The Transfer Window is a few posts off yet but it is interesting once we do get there which will be in the Cambodian pre-season from December to March. There is also a mid season one in May-June. Secondly as I go along which I will explain more in a later post I will remove the other leagues I originally drew except Hong Kong and The Maldives and replace them with neighbouring countries around Cambodia, such as Thailand, Viet Nam, Laos and China etc. This is to make the game more realistic and attract talent from these nearby countries, plus giving me opportunities to eventually move clubs if desired. 

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A Relegation 6-Pointer

 

A mixed bag of results has seen EDC lose two draw one and win one game during my 4-game tenure at EDC so far, On our day I believe we can compete with anyone, but there are weaknesses in the team especially in defence. As the next transfer window is not until the end of the season, I have only free agents to sign, of which in a small nation like Cambodia are few and far between. In fact my first player search resulted in no players in any position being available. For now I will have to work with what I have.

Our next match is a real six-pointer, against the team directly below us, Soltilo Angkhor. While the North Koreans were running rampant to steal the match from us against Vishaka, our relegation rivals recorded a comfortable 5-2 win over bottom of the table side, Kampong Cham, reducing the deficit between the sides to four points. Therefore a win for them in our forthcoming fixture would cut that to just one point. Then anything could happen...

Match 5- Soltilo Angkhor v EDC 22/08/20

Pre-Match Thoughts

Big game this, if you look at the table. Soltilo Angkhor lie 4 points below us in the first relegation spot. A win for them puts them only 1 point behind and drags EDC firmly into a relegation scrap, while a win for us pulls us up the table and 7 points clear of trouble. I’m going in with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Veasna starting on the right, Udom in the AMC role behind Chanraksmy. They have a lost Brazilian which needs containing called Matheus who can pull the strings from midfield, plus a talented Japanese expat, Kogure who will need watching, so Nara stays in the midfield with his marking of 11 to try and snuff him out. Fingers crossed!


Team: 4-2-3-1 Kong Rafat, Dara, Daravon, Makara, Theara, Nara, Punlock, Saray, Udom, Veasna, Chanraksmy

Subs: Chammeroun, Ratana, Rotha, Chum, Chetra, Sengdara, Sedsody

                                   Chanraksmy

Saray                          Udom                                 Veasna

                     Nara                 Punlock

Dara           Daravon             Makara          Theara

                                     Kong Rafat

 

Soltilo Ankgkor 2- 2 EDC

                         Kogure 53, 91                       Punlock 53, Rotha 93

Phewww we were lucky to come away with a point here. After a drab first half, with the only two highlights being a saved penalty from our ever improving goalkeeper, Kong Rotha and Chanraksmy hitting the bar with a header from a delicious Veasna cross. Enter the second half and I switched to 4-4-2 with Udom making way for Chum up front. I kept the two holding midfielders to keep their talented midfield at bay. We took the lead. Veasna floated a far post corner and Nun Punlock arrived late to nod home. We looked threatening for a 2nd goal, but then in true FM style a corner out of completely nowhere for them resulted in an equaliser courtesy of their impressive Japanese player, Kogure. Then EDC pushed forward with Veasna pulling the strings down the right and Chansraksmy going close. Chum then had a goal disallowed, but he was clearly offside (no VAR in the C-League.)  Just when I thought we had gained a point, a breakaway from our throw in down the left saw Long Makara square for Abban whose shot hit the post, only for Kagure to pounce on the rebound to seemingly break EDC hearts in the 91st minute. Ten minutes earlier I took a punt and introduced a striker, Phanny Y Rotha who I had not used much before, but already had 4 C-League goals to his name for Chanraksmy our best striker. In the dying moments of the game, Dara ran forward from left back, who found another sub, Chetra in the box, who cleverly squared it to the onrushing Rotha to poke home at the far post for 2-2 in the last kick of the game!. Relief! I’ll take this, I would have preferred a win, but Soltilo proved to be a good side, whose position in the table belies their ability. That last minute equaliser from Phanny Rotha could be a lifesaver this season!

A point did us more favours than them, but with 7 more games left can EDC carry on keeping their heads above water in the C-League?

 

 

 

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Phanny's Keeping The Lights On

Phanny Y Rotha is already a legend. I've never asked him what the 'Y' stands for, but in the last match it stood for 'You Beauty!; Brought on for only his second appearance in Rudd's regime and he scores what could turn out to be the most important goal of our season. Dara and Chetra deserve some credit for setting up the goal, but Rotha's timing on the run to the far post and his cool finish, squeezing the ball through the eye of the needle between goalkeeper and the upright is the moment of the season so far. Had he missed, Solitio Angkhor would have been just one point behind us and with some tricky fixtures coming up against the top teams in the C-League  it could have got a bit messy. Anyway with Rotha's timely intervention we are four points clear of trouble, but given the undoubted ability on our relegation rivals from Angkhor I would not put it past them to go on a decent run themselves. Therefore it is important we keep picking up points and hope they lose or draw. 

Match 6- EDC v National Police 30/08/20

Ello Ello Ello, the National Police are in town, so we’ll have to mind our Ps and Qs. They lie in 5th place in the C-League and once again are smattered with overseas talent, including a globe-trotting Nigerian, Mathew Osa, who has taken the C-League by storm, netting 6 times in 10 games. Daravron & co will have to be on their mettle to contain him. Osa aside I think we can get a result here. They play a very narrow formation, so will revert to a 4-4-2 in order to try and attack them down the flanks, with Veasna and Suray, but maintaining solidity in the middle with Nara and Punlock. Chetra misses out with strained knee ligaments, so young prospect, Long Rothserey takes his place on the bench. Otherwise it’s the same team which started the second half against Angkhor.

Team 4-4-2: Kong Rafat, Dara, Daravon, Makara, Theara, Nara, Punlock, Saray, Veasna, Chun, Chanraksmy

Subs: Chammeroun (GK) Ratana, Rotha, Long Rothesary, Sengdara, Sedsody

EDC 3-4 National Police

                                                                          Chanraksmy 41, 88    Rotha 87              Osa 17,24  Oudoum 37 Kumagai 65

We very very nearly pulled off a miracle comeback. At 4-1 down the home fans were leaving the stadium in disgust, but then some electrifying football saw EDC claw it back to 4-3. So lets start from the beginning. Mathew Osa, the globetrotting Nigerian lived up to his rep. The first goal came as he raced onto a flick on before squeezing the ball inside the far post with a fine finish. The second was somewhat fortuitous, as our young full back, Theara attempted a cross which rickashyed off the defender’s legs and the ball was just kept in play, before Osa was sent racing clear and cheekily dinked it over Kong Rafat for 2-0. Worse was to follow when Srey Odom nodded in a third from a corner, which slid under Rafat’s body. Then, a glimmer of hope when Saray crossed from the left and Chanraksmy found the top corner with a fine header. Kumagai made it 4-1 before we got our act together as Chanraksmy played a delicious through ball for sub Rotha to bag his second goal in 2 games. Then substitute Ouk Ratana crossed for Chanraksmy to glide another header in for 4-3. Unfortunately EDC could not complete a miracle and now find themselves just 3 points from safety. 

A Bit of Staff Recruitment

Chea Makara - New Scout

Given our indifferent form in the league I have been trying to scout some players to fill especially our problem area of right back. The current incumbent, is 16 year old regen, Nhem Theara, who is not really ready for first team football and perhaps should stick to his paper round for now. In the future he may become a decent player, but at present he is just cannon fodder for any decent left winger in the C-League. To help with the search for better players I have signed this guy as a scout. Welcome to EDC, Chea Makara!  

Although his stats aren’t that great, 5-5 in Judging player ability and potential he does have a Determination of 9 and Discipline of 14 which may be of use as he combs Cambodia for footballing talent. Some might say a thankless task..

Nhem Mony Udom - New U21s Coach

 I have sought to boost the fortunes of some promising youngsters in my squad. Again he is hardly brilliant but is about the best we can get. Welcome to Electricitie du Cambodge, Nhem Mony Udom!

 

A Rare win for our Reserves

With no game for 2 weeks I decided to give a run out to some of the first teamers and fringe players in the reserves to help boost their fortunes and it worked. They recorded a 4-3 win over Boeung Ket Reserves. Veteran striker Chum bagged 2 goals to help give him some much needed confidence, while a promising young striker, Ouch Samnang scored and new discovery Rotha goy the man of the match award. A good exercise and confidence boost before the relegation scrap re-commences against 6th place Kirivong. I have also scheduled a ‘Team Bonding’ session to try and bring the squad together before the remaining games.

The feelgood factor also went to our U21s team who carved out a 1-0 victory over Posenechey Reserves, with another young striking prospect, Sam Chamrouen netting the only goal. It also marked Udom’s first match as U21s coach.

 

Match 7 – EDC v Kirivong 12/09/20

I fancy our chances in this one somehow, despite them having a decent Guinean striker up front, Lelouma and the usual contingent of foreign players adorning the team. I believe in playing positive football and this is what I aim to do here. Rotha looks like a real find up front, so he will partner Chanraksmy. Ratana will replace Theara at right back after showing promise in the last game playing in a new position that the coaches have been training him in; so he can play all across the back four and solve a problem position for us until the window re-opens to sign a full back.

Team: 4-4-2 Kong Rafat, Dara, Daravon, Makara, Ratana, Nara, Punlock, Saray, Veasna, Rotha, Chanraksmy

Subs: Chammeroun (GK) Sedsody, Sengdara, Chum, Udom, Rothesary, Theara
 

EDC 7-3 Kirivong

                                                                                            Rotha 5, 8, 38, 69 Chanraksmy 42, 51, 53           Sasaki 28 Chandara 49, Wiang-in 52
 

What the hell was going on here? What a performace! Rotha and Chanraksmy set about dismantling the Kiriving defence with an electrifying display of attacking football. Think Cole and Yorke against Juventus in '99, or Sheringham and Shearer in Euro '96 for two devastating strikers ripping a defence apart. On 4 minutes Veasna curled the ball in and Rotha headed in the opening goal. Then Rotha picked up the ball from just inside the Kirivong half and ran to the edge of the area and unleashed a shot which slipped under the body of the keeper. 2-0. Sakai their one threatening player slipped his marker to race clear from the right wing and slot in goal back, 2-1. Then Rotha completed his hat trick when he raced clear from a precise through ball from Dara to slot in the corner. Chanraksmy headed in a 4th with a looping header from a Veasna free kick to make it 4-1 at half time.  Chandara headed in from a corner to make it 4-2 on 48 minutes. Then, Ratana crossed in low for Chanraksmy to fire in an angled shot, 5-2. Makara missed a header to allow Lelouma to run onto the ball and find Thai left winger Wiang-in to make it 5-3. Punlock won possession in the midfield and strode forward before sliding in Chanraksmy to fire in EDC’s 6th into  the top corner. Substitute Sedsody, a midfielder making his first appearance under my tenure delivered a lovely ball over the top for Rotha to run onto and round off the scoring with a shot into the corner of the net. Fantastic display and performance. We looked like scoring every time we went forward. A big three points here and in some style too! 

EDC continue to keep their heads above water. Phanny Y Rotha has cemented legendary status. Can EDC complete the job of staying in the C-League, or is there a cruel twist in the tale? Find out next time on the Ultimate World Football Manager Game! 

 

 

                                               

 

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Squeaky Bum Time

 

After Sok and Phanny lit up the C-League against Kirivong it extended our lead to 6 points over Solito Angkhor who narrowly lost 1-0 against National Defence. Therefore as long as we can pick up points in our next few games and hope our relegation rivals can drop points. This starts with a tricky game against league leaders, Nagaworld.

The bottom of the table currently looks like this:

Asia Euro United 27pts

EDC 23pts

Solitio Angkhor 17

Bati Youth 9

Kampong Cham 3

 

Recognition in the strangest of places...

Somehow my work with EDC in the Cambodian C-League has been noticed thousands of miles away in Bolivia, where my name has been linked with Premier League outfit, ‘The Strongest.’ I strongly denied the rumours as to be honest I have only just started with EDC and want to take them as far as I can. The pundits seem to think I lack the pedigree to keep them up this season. We’ll see about that Cambodian Gary Neville! 

Board Confidence

To sum up, the board like my attacking style of play with two wingers, Veasna and Suray, but are worried about the amount of goals we are conceding with our 4-4-2 Winplay tactic. The board and fans are both looking forward to how I perform in the transfer market and I have full backing from the players. They are also disappointed with my left back, Chan Dara’s recent performances and Tum Saray’s who has been filling in on the left wing, although this is not his best position. 

Match 8 – Nagaworld v EDC 18/09/20

Nagaworld are top of the table and sounds like a place you would send the missus to on a one way ticket. Joking aside this team is potentially the best teams in Cambodia and seen as we are away from home, the trickiest fixture in our C-League campaign so far. Up front is another globetrotting Nigerian called George Kelechi who gets most of their goals, backed up by a surprisingly high number of domestic players, many of which make up the Cambodian National team. It will be an interesting one this. I’m going to keep faith with the XI who put 7 past Kirivong. I have nothing really to lose.

Team: 4-4-2 Kong Rafat, Dara, Daravon, Makara, Ratana, Nara, Punlock, Veasna, Saray, Rotha, Chanraksmy

 Nagaworld 1-1 EDC
                                                                                                                             Matnorotin 91                Chanraksmy 15                                                     
 
We were so close! A last minute equaliser scuppered our chances of taking a shock three points from the league leaders. We were the better side early on and deservedly took the lead on 15 minutes when the ever dangerous Veasna’s pinpoint cross was headed home by Chanraksmy for his 11th goal of the season. Nagaworld staged an inevitable comeback and had a goal disallowed for offside shortly afterwards. EDC held firm and yes we rode our luck a bit, Kelechi forgot his shooting boots, while Kong Rafat had to bail out our defence on a few occasions with some fine saves. Then in stoppage time some scrappy midfield play saw Nagaworld come out with ball. It was played to the right wing. The cross was met with a side foot volley from Sary Matnornim to break EDC hearts., However a point was gained from this match which I would never have expected before the game and extends the clear blue water from relegation to 7 points after Solitio Angkhor succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to Vishaka's North Koreans.

The Run In

There are only 4 games left this season and with a 7 point gap between us and Solitio Angkor, barring a complete disaster we should be playing C-League football next season. If we can get the next game out the way against title challengers Svey Riang, we then play the two teams directly above us,  Ankhor Tiger and Asia Euro United, before ending the season at home to relegated whipping boys, Kampong Cham.  This run -in gives me hope that we can definitely beat relegation and start to build for next season.

 

Match 9 – Svey Riang 27/09/20

 

Second placed Svey Riang are our opponents today, who boast a couple of Brazilians amongst their ranks, along with several Cambodian internationals and Japanese expats. This will be a tough game, but one I believe we have little to lose. The 7 point cushion from us and relegation allows a little margin for error and with a favourable run in on our side a point would be a good result here. Indeed a victory for us and results going our way elsewhere could guarantee survival. Tum Suray is a doubt with a bruised shin, so Ly Pheng gets a rare start, but otherwise I will keep faith with the eleven who almost beat Nagaworld.

Team: 4-4-2 Kong Rafat, Dara, Makara, Daravon, Ratana, Nara, Punlock, Ly Pheng, Veasna, Rotha, Chanraksmy

Svey Riang  4-1 EDC

Samnang 31 Pinheiro 36,65        Rotha 53                    

                    Udom 45                                      

We paid for a gutless first half performance which saw us go 3-0 down before half time, with no shots on target and any attack we did muster resulted in an immediate breakaway from the opposition. The Brazilians were well, Brazilian, a cut above anything else on the pitch. Cambodian Sok Samnang opened the scoring with a thunderbolt from 30 yards out from a short free kick. You don’t stop those. Then it was the Pinheiro and Udom show. At half time, for the first time I lost my temper with the team (yes the water bottle was thrown) but this seemed to spur us into life for the second half. Rotha turned smartly on the edge of the box to slide in a consolation goal. The same player also forced a fine save from their keeper moments later. Just when a comeback may have been on, Pinheiro broke away to slip the ball home for their fourth and kill the game off completely. In their Arsenal-style red and white shirts Svey Riang are comfortably the best opposition we have played this season and deserve to become Cambodian Champions. As for us, it’s Angkhor Tiger next and perhaps a more winnable game. Solito Angkhor won 5-1 today against those acne-ridden upstarts, Bati Youth, cutting the deficit to 4 points. As a very famous Scottish football manager once said It’s Squeaky bum time!

Match 10 – Ankhor Tiger v EDC 03/10/20

Just three matches left and this is most difficult. Tiger lie in 8th place, but have a talented squad. I still think they are beatable if we play as well as we know we can. I’m going to shake the formation up a bit today and play a 4-3-3, with Suray in a more central attacking midfield role which suits his game better. Dara is dropped and Theara comes in at right back, while Ratana switches flanks to left back, his more natural position. Nara is suspended so Sedsody comes in midfield alongside Punlock

Team: Kong Rafat, Ratana, Makara, Daravon, Theara, Sedsody, Punlock, Saray, Veasna, Rotha, Rotha, Chanraksmy

 

 

Ankhor Tiger 4-2 EDC

                                                                 Fukazawa 21, Debeiro 23 Khumpheak 45 Phearith 79       Rotha 4, Chanraksmy  61    

Oh dear! It was the same old story I’m afraid, we looked great going forward but were terrible at the back. If I do make it through to pre-season I will be investing in my goalkeeper and defence as a priority. We actually took the lead when Ratana played an accurate ball into the box for Rotha to swivel and fire home spectacularly. It wasn’t to last. An avalanche of Tiger attacks resulted in two quick goals from the veteran 43 year old Japanese winger, Fukazawa and their Nigerian forward, Debiro. We then went 3-1 down when an unfortunate rickashay fell kindly into the path of Khumpeak who fired home. After the break we rallied and Chamraksmy headed home after good work from substitute Choun Chum, who had replaced the injured Rotha. Just as we pressed for an equaliser, Phearith broke away and scored to make it 4-2. Not a bad effort from the lads, but to face facts we simply are not good enough.

 

An Unexpected Visitor

A few days after our defeat to Angkhor Tiger I was sat in my office plotting my tactics for the next game against Asia Euro United when I had a knock at the door. It was my secretary who told me that a woman had come to see me. She turned out to be the mother of Nhem Theara, our young 16 year old full-back. She entered my office and greeted me with a bow as is customary in this part of the world.

'Mr Rudd, my name is Nadia Theara, I am the mother of Nhem."

"Mrs Theara, nice to meet you, what would you like to see me about?"

"It is my son, you need to stop playing him in your football team Sir, I beg of you."

"Nhem is quite a good young prospect at the club, although perhaps not quite ready for the first team yet. I cannot blame him entirely for our recent defeats, although he has not performed well admittedly, but that's not really his fault."

"Mr Rudd, he comes home after the match and he cries, the papers have written some horrible things about him," holding a copy of the Phnom Penh Gazette.

"I'm sorry to hear this," was the only response I could muster.

"He is getting shouted at in the streets for his bad performances and also they think he should not be in the team!"

"The problem is this, Mrs Theara, Your son is the only proper right back at the club. Our other right back Sok Piseth is not registered to play in the C-League and so he can only play in the reserves." Nhem has been registered and so is the only right back eligible to play. This was a decision which was taken before I became the manager of EDC."

"Can't you just not play him for a while, it is having an effect on our family and on Nhem himself."

I have only one other player who can play right back and that is Ouk Ratana, but he has not played this position long I admitted. Look I can give Nhem a rest and we can see where we are at the end of the season, but if Ouk cannot play for some reason, like injury or suspension I may have to recall Nhem to the team."

"Ok thankyou Sir," she bowed and left. 

I think we will have to find a long term solution to the right back problem sooner rather than later I thought as Nadia left the building. 

I spoke with Nhem the following day after training and we both agreed that it was perhaps for the best if he played for the Reserves for a bit to take him out the spotlight and gain some form and confidence.

Ratana Called up to Cambodia U23s Squad

On a brighter note our promising defender, Ouk Ratana was called up to the Cambodian U23 squad where he played in a 3-1 win over Chinese Taipei. Not only is he seen as one for the future at his club, but also his country too. Hope this does not clash with a club game, as I may have Mrs Theara in my office again..  

Match 11- EDC v Asia Euro United 17/10/20

The biggest game of the season so far. A win for us ensures survival, if Solitio Angkhor lose against The National Police we stay up regardless. A defeat for us and a win for Anghkor means it all goes down the final round of fixtures. Let’s not get to that stage. I will line up with a 4-4-2 with Chetra coming in for the out of sorts Saray who drops to the bench. Key defender Daravon is suspended so Nara drops into Central Defence alongside Makara, with Sedsody coming into midfield alongside Punlock. Thirdly Dara returns at Left back and Ratana switches to right back in place of the hapless Theara dropping to the bench. Let’s do this! 

Team: Kong Rafat, Dara, Nara, Makara, Ratana, Sedsody, Punlock, Chetra, Veasna, Rotha, Chanraksmy

EDC 2-4 Asia Euro United

                                                                                                                    Rotha 36, Nara 54          Ajayi 30,86 Sokha 41,77          

Firstly to the match which we made the same old mistakes, good going forward but weak at the back. For half an hour they battered us and took the lead when Nigerian forward, Ajayi received the ball innocuously on the left wing round about the halfway line, before sprinting with the ball past our static defence and slotting it past Kong Rafat. Amazingly we equalised when a long hopeful ball by Ratana was flicked on by Chanramsky into the path of the onrushing Rotha who blasted it into the top corner for his 13th goal of the season, Their second goal was akin to Miroslav Klose v England. From our corner, yes our corner, Veasna floated the ball straight into their keeper’s arms, before his long kick put Yan Sokha through on goal who did the rest. I went into attack mode for the second half, we had nothing to lose and were rewarded when Nara nodded in a far post corner for 2-2. We pressed for a winner to ensure survival on our terms, but they broke away and scored through Sokha, a rather scrappy affair and then Ajayi exposed an absent defence to seal the win. It didn’t matter though, Solitio Angkhor lost 2-1 to the National Police sending them down. We survive but radical changes are needed, especially in defence!

EDC Survive Relegation!

We’ve done it! EDC will be playing C-League football next season, but not because of our brilliance on the pitch, but because there were three worse teams than us. Kampong Cham, our final opponents were the whipping boys, while Bati Youth who weren’t much better and Solitio Angkhor, who I was quite impressed with in our 2-2 draw have all performed worse than us. We are not a good team and lots of work will be needed over the next few months to recruit new players and put together a squad capable of finishing higher in the C-League. We'll worry about that once the hangover has cleared because we are having a party in the middle of Phnom Penh to celebrate!

A Supportive Tweet from Charlotte Lay

‘Jonathan Rudd is an absolute hero can’t believe he kept us up! EDC are lucky to have him!’ 

Could be in there!

EDC have survived relegation and as pre-season begins can me and my scouts find the right players to improve to squad and build a team who can compete in the C-League! Find out next time on the Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

 

 

 

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On 01/03/2021 at 07:56, BenArsenal said:

Poor Mrs Theara

Haha thanks she wasn't happy.. I genuinely had a 22 year old right back, Sok Piseth whose stats were not that good but for some reason was not registered by the previous regime and you can only register players at the start and end of the season and during the transfer windows.  This won't be the last you hear about player registration in this story... :)

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20 hours ago, neilhoskins77 said:

Congratulations on your successful survival. Fingers crossed you can move the club on to the next level in the new season.

Thanks Neil. It was fairly comfortable in the end and with a game to spare, but had Angkhor won their matches and beaten us in the 2-2 game then we would have gone down. Yes things are going to get interesting in the pre season and transfer windows. 

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End of Season Round Up

 

  Having survived relegation with a game to spare I am looking to the future and how I can build a team to compete better in this league. Firstly I have the last game to get out of the way against relegated Kampong Cham. I will use this to have a look at some of the younger and fringe players, which will help me decide how I am going to re-shape my squad.

Match 12- EDC v Kampong Cham 31/10/20

With survival secured this match against the C-League’s bottom side is a dead rubber, but provides a great opportunity for me to look to the future and for established players to keep them in my thoughts for the next campaign. I’m hoping for a good performance and 3 points to make our survival look more convincing than it actually was. I also want to end the season on a high.  My team is as below, with Veasna and Chamraksmy on the bench in case things start to go Pete Tong.

 

Team: 4-4-2 Sam Chameroun (GK), Panhaseth, Chandara (yth), Daravon, Theara (yth), Mol (yth), Sedsody, Udom(yth), Chetra, Samang(yth), Rotha

 

EDC 1-1 Kampong Cham

Rotha 22                         Rithy 31

What a joke! We dominated the game and yet we only came away with a point. We took a deserved lead when Rotha poked home a pinpoint cross from our young left winger, Mol. Then, out of nowhere Keo Rithy equalised when he was put through on goal and slammed home an unstoppable shot into the top corner. In the second half it was all EDC. Veasna and Chanramskey came on to try and force something. The latter hit the post from the angle, while shot after shot was either saved, wide, or disallowed for offside. It was a frustrating end to the season, but given this was a dead rubber it hardly mattered. Much work to be done in the long close season. Somehow I will have to find my inner Harry Redknapp during the transfer window.Team: 4-4-2 Sam Chameroun (GK), Panseth, Chandara, Daravon, Theara, Mol (yth), Sedsody, Udom(yth), Chetra, Samang(yth), Rotha

 

Season 1 - Final League Table

1st Nagaworld 58pts

2nd Svay Rieng 56

3rd Boeung Ket 50

4th National Police 48

5th Kirivong 43

6th Vishaka 39

7th Asia Euro United 38

8th Angkor Tiger 37

9th Phnom Penh Crown 36

10th National Defence 36

11th EDC 25

12th Solitio Angkor 20

13th Bati Youth  10

14th Kampong Cham 6

Congratulations to Nagaworld who were crowned Cambodian League champions. I am slightly comforted by the fact we held them to a 1-1 draw when we played them, but they deserve their win and gives us something to aspire to next season.

C-League Topscorers

1st George Kelechi (Nagaworld) – 15

2nd Phanny Y Rotha (EDC) – 14

3rd Filip Mihaljevic (Vishaka) – 13

Phanny Y Rotha's 14 goals makes him the second highest goalscorer behind Nagaworld's George Kelechi. What a find he was and his goals  helped keep us in the C-League. His partnership with Chanraksmey who bagged 12 goals was the most positive aspect of our team's performance so far.

Miscellanueous

EDC received £6.39K for finishing in 11th

Phnom Penh Crown win the Prime Minister's Cup

Football Manager's Take on my Season

 'The club's season started badly in April , with EDC eventually sinking to 10th, but with the arrival of new manager, Jonathan Rudd, they were able to mount a successful survival effort.

 
Now while I am flattered by that sentiment, we actually sunk to 11th place and did not get any higher... , so EDC were worse off in league position than when I took over in July... We did survive though...
 
Team of The Season and Other Accolades
 
Average Ratings in (  )
 
Kong Rafat (6.97), Dara (6.36), Makara (6.50), Daravon (6.82), Theara (6.32) (surprisingly), Nara (6.50), Punlock (6.50, Saray (6.69), Veasna (6.90), Rotha, (6.83) Chanraksmey (7.00)
 
Top Goalscorer - Phanny Y Rotha 14
Most Assists - Suon Veasna - 6
Top Average Rating - Sok Chanraksmey - 7.00
Most goals in a game- Phanny Y Rotha v Kirivong
Goal of the Season - Nan Punlock v Vishaka
 
 
End of Season Thoughts

The table doesn’t lie, but we survived and in the end. 

We finished in 11th which is just one position lower than when I inherited the team in the middle of the season. I have only been in charge for 12 games but only won two of them, drawn 4 and lost 6. In most of the games except for Svay Rieng we actually competed quite well, but our weak defence time and again let us down and we could not keep a lead for toffee. However the board seem fairly happy with my progress and in the end there were three teams that were worse than us who went down. If we can bring in more quality and perhaps some foreign players we can compete better with the bigger teams in the C-League and finish higher up the table next season.

Squad Analysis and Areas to Strengthen

We have three good attacking players, Veasna, Chanraksmey and Rotha, plus one good defender Daravon. We have some utter rubbish in the reserves, mixed with promising youngsters. Kong Rotha has done well in goal, but at just 17 years old is he ready for the pressures of first team football? The same goes for Ratana, who is only 16 but full of promise, but lacks consistency, but I’ll forgive him he’s only a kid barely out of school. Some like the hapless Nhem Theara are hopelessly out of their depth, while Punlock and Makara are dependable without being outstanding. I will be looking to bring in full backs, centre halves and a goalkeeper as a matter of urgency. A good AMC, which we lack, would also be on the agenda, plus a natural left winger as Saray is not comfortable playing there.

The transfer window is now open! Will I find my inner Harry Redknapp and wheel and deal my way to a successful squad for next season, or will it all go Peter Odemwingie? Find out next time on the Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

 

 
 
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15 hours ago, kentonizking said:

 

i would love to see you stay in that part of the world and win the Asian Gold Cup (or whatever it is called now)

Yes that would be the aim, to get EDC as far as I can, although I have to conquer Cambodia first! Spoiler: I will be adding more Asian leagues in that part of the world such as Thailand, Viet Nam China etc to the save, which will make the game more concentrated in Asia.

Edited by Jon1982
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Wheelin' 'n' Dealin'

 

It's early pre-season and the opening of the transfer window is a few weeks away on 9th December. Things are a bit topsy turvy when the season is March to October. Since the day after the final league game against Kampong Cham, my thoughts have been solely on how I am going to improve the squad for next season.

My First Signing

It was bonfire night, 5th November during the day and the players were training with our team of coaches outside, while I was in my office mulling over some scout reports for some potential signings and thinking about the fireworks, hot dogs and jacket potatoes that would be part of the festivities back home. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and my Assistant manager Nen Borey came in.

'Boss we've had a player come to training ground. He says he wants to play for us?' Do you know anything about this?

'No, we have no trialists recently and have not offered any?' Is he any good?

'Well we don't know yet boss, he's just come asking to train with us.' Says he was released from his contract at Boeung Ket and wants to come and play for us."

"Lets have a look at him. In fact, Nen, I'll come outside and have a look at him, if you can set up a practice match with the lads. 

"Yes certainly boss, my Judging Player Ability Rating of 1 is not what is required right now," he joked.

"What's his name?" I enquired.

"Um"

"OK you didn't think to ask his name?"

"Yes boss, that's his name, "Um", Um Channou to be precise, he's a goalkeeper.

"A goalkeeper eh, well that is top of Santa's wishlist this Christmas Transfer window Nen, This could be an early Christmas present!"

Um Channou turned out to be a pretty decent keeper and after having conversations with the rest of my coaching staff we decided to sign him on the spot.

"How much do you want to play for us Um?"

"I play for the love of football, of saving the ball and winning!"

While the Yorkshireman in me wanted to sign him as an amateur player and have myself a free goalkeeper, EDC are a semi-professional club and every other player at the club, from senior pros like Sok Chanraksmey down to the 15 year old regen kids in the Under 21s are paid a wage, even if it is just an appearance fee. To allow Channou to play for free seemed wrong.

"I tell you what, I'll give you £5 for every game you play and if you don't let any goals in, I'll give you a further £2." 

" Um looked at me gratefully. Thankyou boss, I won't let you down!"

"Um, just one more thing," I smiled warmly. "Can you wire a plug?"

Start of The Transfer Window

The surprise signing of Um Channou meant at least when the transfer window did open on 9th December we had at least solved the goalkeeping situation and we could concentrate our resources on recruiting players for other areas of the squad. Armed with a transfer budget of £1.5K and a wage budget of £750, we set to work. Top of the priority list from me (and Mrs Theara) was a new right back, followed by a Central Defender and a left winger. After numerous scouting meetings, pouring over many scout reports on players I'd never heard of from all over Cambodia we made the following new signings for EDC.

Ins 

Roeum Channroeum – DR £350 from National Defence

  A highly rated right back with one cap for Cambodia . It fills a problem position for us last season and at 21 years old there’s room for improvement too.

 Sorn Sophina –DC £200 from CMAC United

An experienced defender with pace to help tighten up our leaky defence.

Keo Udom – FC £375 from CMAC United

A pacy striker with an eye for goal. A slight risk in that he comes from a Division 2 side CMAC where he only scored 4 goals in 17 appearances. Finishing 8, Dribbling 11, Pace 13

Math Fasal AML/R - £300 from National Police 

A real coup for the club a pacy winger that can play on the left or right and swap flanks with Veasna every now and again. Crossing 9, Dribbling 9, Pace 10

 Yun Raksa- DC On loan from Phnom Penh Crown

A backup defender/defensive midfielder but with disappointing pace, but other decent attributes including Tackling 10 Work Rate 12

Sann Suhana- MC/AMC Free Transfer  

A A promising midfielder who can pass the ball well. One for the future and maybe the present. Needs more pace Passing 11 Vision 12, First Touch 10

 Sung Rot MC/AMC/FC £375 from National Police

This is a great capture for the club. A pacy attacking mid/FC who can create and score goals. Just what we needed! 

Leng Sophaon - DL - Free Transfer from Khemara

A bargain signing for this backup left back. He only wanted a £5 appearance fee. I’ll pay him out of my own pocket and even buy him a pint after the game! 

Khek Khemarin  DC Free Transfer From National Defence

A quality centre back signed for nothing from National Defence. An ideal partner for Daravon and the final piece in the jigsaw for this season.

Outs

Sam Channerouen Free Transfer to Kampot

I’ve sold my backup keeper Sam Chamroeun to Kampot of the Cambodian Second Division Group B. His stats weren’t great and I’ve signed Um Channou as the No1 with the talented Kong Rafat as a Number 2. I wanted to give this 28 year old a chance at another team in the lower league as he would have been 3rd choice here.

Sok Sengdara on loan to Wat Phnom until end of season

This experience midfielder had a decent start under Rudd's tenure but fell out of favour and so I've loaned him out to get some first team football.

Chan Dara to Phuchung Neak - £0

I’ve sold our 34 yr old full back. He didn’t play that well last season and is not getting any younger. I felt it was time to offload him to see out his days in the Cambodian 2nd division.

Choun Chum Free Transfer to Build Bright United

Experienced striker Choun Chum leaves the club. Still a decent player but with Rotha, Chanramsky and Udom standing in his way, plus some promising young strikers in the reserves, he is not in my future plans. 

Hem Chetra Free Transfer to Kampot

My fringe winger, Hem Chetra has joined Second League outfit, Kampot on a free transfer. He would have had limited opportunities this season with the signing of Fasal and the presense of Veasna and Suray in his position, so I wish him well at his new club.

Hey Big Spenders!

EDC have spent the most money in the Transfer Window out of all the C-League teams.. wait for it.. a whopping £1.6K. A grand and a half goes a long way in Cambodia! 

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in France, Bernardo Silva has just completed a £128m deal from Man City to PSG.. I may as well be on a different planet!

Next time: Pre-Season for the 2021 Campaign: How will the new boys settle in and what are our chances of C-League glory?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Jon1982
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C-League Season 2- Pre Season

 

Happy British New Year! 01/01/21

Happy British new year everybody! The first day of 2021 and it's about 32 degrees out there in sunny Cambodia! I am reliably told by my players and staff that the Cambodian New Year is actually in mid-April and is a time of great celebration, so today is just a normal day in Phnom Penh. The players are still a month away from coming back from their holibobs to start the pre-season in earnest. Therefore it's a good time for me to tell you about the new leagues I have introduced onto the game. As you remember at the very start of the Ultimate World Football Manager Game I drew ten random countries from a random country generator on t'interweb, well many of these such as Namibia, Bolivia and Lithuania for example are thousands of miles away from Cambodia and therefore of no real use in the game. Therefore these outlying countries were replaced with Asian Countries which neighbour Cambodia using the 'Add/Remove function on FM21. 

 Out of the original ten I have retained Hong Kong and The Maldives, due to their relative proximity to Cambodia. I have added neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Viet Nam, Laos, China, The Philipines, Malaysia and got rid of El Salvador, Namibia, Bolivia, Gibraltar, North Korea (close by but don't really want to go there), Lithuania and Fiji. This I hope will make it a more realistic game and eventually when I am allowed to scout outside of Cambodia I can tap into the footballing talent of these countries and even manage in one of them in the future. As you probably know they don't happen instantly, but they will be added and deleted over the course of the next year or so, starting from today, as I set the wheels in motion for this a few months earlier. Although this transition will take a year or so the Thai, Philipino, Vietnamese and Laotion leagues will be available from now, the 1st Jan 2021.

Board Expectations
 
The board's club vision for EDC  is to basically avoid relegation this new season and then stay in the C-League thereafter. Sounds like a simple plan to me. I would like us to have a good run in the Prime Minister’s Cup and finish as high in the league as possible. Given the players we have signed I think a top half finish is do-able,
 
EDC’s Reputation in Cambodia

In light of EDC’s survival in the C-League, our reputation has taken a small boost and we have become the 20th best known team in Cambodia and with half a star.. Whoppety doo! As there are only 13 other teams in the C-League this means there must be 6 Second Division teams with a higher reputation than us.

Pre-Season Friendlies

Although I am one of those FM players who place a high importance on pre-season friendlies I will breeze through each one with a brief match report.

Friendly 1: EDC 8-3 EDC Reserves 03/02/21

OK lets not get too excited here, it was only against our reserves packed full of kids and fringe players. Yes we looked good going forward, Chanramsky scored a 1st half hat trick, while new signing Keo Udom chipped in with three goals himself. Substitutes Rotha and Tum Saray completed the rout, while Hem Chetra (just before he left the club) scored twice for them in an impressive display on the left wing, which gave me food for thought. We looked good, but we can only beat what is in front of us. Let’s see what the next friendly brings!

Friendly 2: EDC 5-1 Kep – 08/02/21

A resounding win against 2nd league opposition in Kep, although the scoreline flattered us a little. Suon Veasna volleyed us into the lead but then we were pegged back by Vannak’s close range effort. Keo Udom continued his good form with a header, followed by Chanramsky. Young midfielder Ouch Udom scored from the 6 yard box and Rotha completed the rout with a tap in. Good going forward, but 12 shots to them show a slight weakness still in defence.

Friendly 3 – CMAC 3-2 EDC – 12/02/21

That was painful- turned over by a Second Division team, albeit one of the better ones. My experimental 4-3-3 system initially blew up in my face as we looked clueless both in attack and defence and conceded two soft goals, the first from a missed header from a corner, the second god knows. A switch to the diamond formation brought about a better performance in the second half. Sung Rot reduced the deficit, before they broke away and scored again. Keo Udom made it 3-2 near the end when he ran through on goal. Must do better.

Friendly 4 – EDC 2-1 Tay Ninh (VIE)

That’s better! A good solid win against some decent Vietnamese opposition in the shape of Tay Ninh. We attacked well, looked solid in defence for a change and thoroughly deserved to win the game. I switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Chanraksmy the lone striker. He put us in the lead when on loan DMC Yun Raksa played a hopeful ball forward in which Chakramsky flicked the ball on. This seemed to confuse their keeper who misjudged the bounce and dived over the ball which trickled into the net, much to the surprise of everyone including Sok himself. The second was a thing of beauty. Sub Tum Saray ran at the heart of the defence before unleashing a ferocious 30 yard shot which thumped into the top corner! A well deserved 2-0 lead. Tay Ninh pulled one back late on, but a good performance and a good win which bodes well for the season. 

Friendly 5: Kampot 4-4 EDC

Now that was exciting! I confess I put the kids out for this one, so we were far from full strength. I paired young strikers Matt Voeun and Sam Chameroun together and they were brilliant, bagging two goals each. Mol did well on the left wing and Ramsakey on the right hand side. Not as bad as the score sounds, albeit against a 2nd League outfit in Kampol. We would have thrashed tham had I put my full strength team out and we showed character from being 3-1 down in the 1st half. 

Board Confidence Update

They are pleased with my performance and the fans are happy with the transfers I have made, which is nice.

Friendly 6 – EDC 5-1 Kampong Cham

We were good, very good today. Starting in our improving 4-2-3-1 formation, against recently relegated Kampong Cham in which we could only muster a draw against in the final game of last season. New signing Keo Udom scored a 1st half hat trick and Tum Saray adding two others to round off a top performance. However it is no use being flat track bullies we have to do it when it really matters, starting with our first C-League match against Vishaka.

Friendly 7 – EDC 4-2 Tre Phanh Po Ho (VIE) 10/03/21

This was a good solid win against good Vietnamese opposition. We lined up again in a 4-2-3-1 formation which we have been working hard on in training. We did really well and controlled the game. From a throw in Veasna crossed in to sidefoot in the opener and only goal of the 1st half. Second half saw more of the same. Substiute Math Fasal crossed in for Veasna to sidefoot home, then Chanraksmy went on a delightful solo run which ended with him powering in number 3. The same player rounded off our scoring by poking in at the near post after good work from substiutue Ramasky. Just when I’d hoped we may keep a clean sheet they scored two consoloation goals at the end, but all in all a pleasing performance. Bring on the C-League, starting with Vishaka and the escaped North Koreans.

Pre-Season Betting Odds

EDC are 100-1 outsiders to win the C-League this season, making us the 8th most likely behind favorites, Beoung Ket and Vishaka. This is an improvement on the odds of 450-1 of last season. I think we can finish higher than last season and finish in the top half of the table.

Pre Season Thoughts

As we approach our first competitive game of the new season, 2021 I think we have a stronger squad than last season, having strengthened in many problem positions such as central defence, right back and midfield. Keo Udom our new striker looks good, as does Sung Rot and Math Fasal on the left wing. The friendlies have been in the main against teams we should beat and with only one defeat we should take heart.

I think we can finish mid-table this season and hopefully have a run in the Hun Sen (Prime Ministers) Cup too. 

EDC kick off their 2021 C-League Campaign against old foes Vishaka. How will we start the new season but are things all that they seem? Find out next time on the Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

Edited by Jon1982
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The Start of Season 2, but what's going on here???

I'm going to start today's post with a question... 

What do Cambodia and Spain have in common in footballing terms? 

Answer: You have to register a maximum of 35 players to play in the C-League. There the comparisons end between the former World and European Champions and Cambodia…

The 35 Registered Players at EDC for the 2021 C-League Season

Goalkeepers

Um Channou 

Kong Rafat

--------------------

Kouch Vandeth

Kouch Rithy

 

Defenders

Ouk Ratana (DLRC)

Leng Sophaon (DL)

Khek Khemarin (DC)

Suon Makara (D/MC)

Rouem Channerouen (DR)

Nhem Theara (DRC)

Sorn Sophina (DC)

---------------------

Mom Veasna Yth (DR)

Ly Chandara Yth (DC)

Chea Sambath Yth (DC)

 

Midfielders

Savy Sedsody (DMC)

Nan Punlock (DMC)

Moun Nara (D/MC)

Yun Raksa (D/DMC)

Ouch Udom (MC/AMC)

Sann Suhana (MC/AMC)

Sung Rot (MC/AMC/FC)

Tum Saray (AMRLC)

Suon Veasna (MR/L)

Math Fasal (MR/L)

Long Rothsery (MLC)

-----------------------------

Mao Mol Yth (M/AML)

Math Ramasky Yth (MR/AMR)

Molly Yth (M/AML)

Tuy Udom Yth (MR)

Forwards

Sok Chanraksmey (FC)

Phanny Y Rotha (FC)

Keo Udom (FC)

------------------------

Sam Channeroun Yth (FC)

Ouch Samnang Yth (FC)

Math Voeun Yth (FC)

N.B Under the dotted line and in italics in each section are Reserve and U21 players which may pop up now and again.

Hun Sen (Prime Minister's Cup 1st Round Draw

The first qualifying round has been drawn and we face Kampong Cham at home. This is the same team we thrashed 5-1 in pre-season, so a good draw first up.

Ouk Ratana Called Up to Cambodia Squad and a Word on the National Team

Our talented defender, Ouk Ratana has been called up to the Cambofian national squad, the first EDC player to make the national team. Hopefully Ratana can improve them. Cambodia are not much cop at International level they are 179th in the FIFA World Rankings and were the whipping boys in the Asian Qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

This latest round of fixtures are a couple of friendlies before entering the SEA (South East Asian Championships)

Praise from Vishaka's Manager

Seems like my work at EDC has not gone unnoticed by other managers. The Vishaka manager has praised me in the pre-match press conference for having an all Cambodian squad. It wasn’t for the lack of trying to bring some foreign talent in, including their reserve player Korede of Nigeria, but hey-ho nice to get praise from other managers.

The Big Kick Off

Match 1 Vishaka v EDC 20/03/21

Vishaka are one of the better sides in the C-League and with their contingent of foreign stars from North Korea they need to be watched. 4-2-3-1 has served us well in pre season and so I will go with that formation.  It will be interesting to see how my new signings fare against good opposition. 

Team: 4-2-3-1: Um Channou, Channeroun, Daravon, Khemarin, Ratana, Raksa, Sedsody, Veasna, Sung Rot, Fasal, Chanraksmey

Vishaka FC 1-4 EDC

Channou (o.g) //// Sedsody 7, Chanraksmey 27, 80 Daravon 67

What a start! A brilliant performace to start the new season. Sedsody strode forward like Gerrard in his pomp and lashed in a 30 yard screamer, then Sung Rot retrieved the ball on the right before sending in the perfect ball for Chanraksmey to open his account for the season with a curling shot into the bottom corner. EDC were in dreamland when defender, Moul Daravon powered in a near post header from a Veasna corner. Vishaka scored a scrappy consolation when a goalmouth scramble deflected off the unlucky Channou and into the net. Ratana then sent substitute Tum Suray down the left who squared the ball for Chanraksmy to slot home for number 4. Fantastic!

But wait!!!!!!!!!!!! 

THERE'S SOMETHING NOT RIGHT HERE!!!!

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Where were the North Koreans in Vishaka's line up? Have they been sold? Have they been rounded up by Kim-Jong Un's regime and sent back to Pyongyang? Find out what has happened to them in the next instalment of The Ultimate World Football Manager Game..........

 

 

Edited by Jon1982
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2 hours ago, Mandy42 said:

brilliant stuff! Glad to see this turn around from being a rule breaker at the start to a fabulous read now! 

Hopefully you kick on and no second season syndrome! 

Thanks Mandy. Yes I should have read the rules before I posted. :o)  Glad you are enjoying it so far 

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12. Staging An Intervention

 

 So I'll immediately put you all out of your misery... The North Koreans of Vishaka are thankfully safe, well and still on Cambodian soil... However there is a problem, a big problem which threatened the entire integrity of The Ultimate World Football Manager Game and even led me to contemplate starting the whole thing again. You see the reason why there were no North  Koreans, or their Croatian team mate, Mihaljevic in the opening game of the season for Vishaka was because there was a huge bug in the game.

It centred around the registration of players for the new C-League season, which happens during two windows, one at the end of pre-season in early March, around where we are now and the other at the end of the mid season transfer window, which is in mid-May.

The end of the registration window was on 5th March 2021. While I, as the only human manager duly registered 35 players from the first team, reserves and youth team, the AI managers failed to do this. It seems on further inspection, that the bug only allowed the reserve and youth players from each team to be registered for each club in Cambodia and certainly no foreign players. There is a 5 foreign player limit in Cambodia, as added on the Editor by @Timo. This meant that the first teams of every club in Cambodia (except EDC) was full of unregistered players, which leads us back to why the North Koreans or Mihaljevic did not play against us in our 4-1 win. The team I beat in the first game of the season were a bunch of Vishaka youth and reserve players. No wonder the match was so easy! This however does not seem right and as a person who likes to keep FM as realistic and fair as possible I felt something had to be done to rectify the problem.

What to do?

I googled the problem and looked at some FM forums to see if the same problem had happened on other people's game and it seemed as though it had. One solution I saw was to buy the in-game editor because it had a setting which allowed players to be registered at any time on the game, thus abolishing the two windows per season. The person who suggested this said it had solved the problem on their game. The only thing stopping me was it is completely against my DNA to buy the in-game editor to alter the game. I am not one for adding a sugar daddy and winning 20 Champions Leagues with Newcastle and thinking I am the next Jose Mourinho! That is not my style of playing FM, as you can probably tell from this blog. However, in this case I saw no alternative but to give it a go. At the end of the day if I carried on the season with the bug, if I won the C-League by thrashing every other team full of kids and reserves it would not feel right. In fact it would be like winning the Premier League with Burnley, having thrashed Liverpool without Salah, Firmino and Mane', or Man City without Sterling, Aguero and De Bruyne. 

Solving The Problem

Having paid for and installed the In Game Editor I thought the best way of solving the problem instantly was to take over each team in the C-League using the Add Manager feature and set the in-game editor to allow players to be registered at any time. I then manually registered the unregistered players myself before then retiring from each club instantly. Luckily I had an autosave file which was saved until 2nd March which enabled me to 'go back in time' in order to do this. 

The only by-product of doing it this way was that each club will start the season without a manager, but I felt in time this would sort itself out. I will also do the same process for any lower league cup opponents I get, including our Prime Minister's Cup First Round opponents, Kampong Cham, to preserve the integrity of the tie. Unfortunately I do not have time to go round every single 2nd League club in Cambodia to address the bug and hope over time, with the new registration settings on the In-game editor, the problem will resolve itself. 

This move enabled me to re-start the season and play a Vishaka side which included the North Koreans and Mihaljevic and win, lose or draw at least I will know I have done the right thing and I will thankfully be able to continue with this save in a competitive manner and with the integrity it deserves.

Next time- I re-start the season against Vishaka's proper 1st team, foreign stars and all, plus I get my first taste of cup action in the 1st Qualifying Round of the Prime Minister's Trophy. Find out how I get on!

 
Edited by Jon1982
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oh no... poor Mrs Theara has no idea what is coming for her!

Slightly worrying in my own save (the thread I have on here starting in Zimbabwe, I also have Timo's megapack file.) However I've not noticed any clubs not having any registered players Will have to keep an eye on it. 

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Thanks for your reply and glad you are enjoying the story so far. I will have to check out your Zimbabwean story. I'm not sure whether the bug is from the game or Timo's file, but I think it centred around the 5 foreigner rule, so if Zimbabwe have similar rules it may be worth keeping an eye out for this. Imo I find the registration windows more trouble than they are worth. The problem did thankfully sort itself out over time and all teams are now at full strength. However I will be keeping a close eye in the pre season of the Season 3 when that comes around. 

Edited by Jon1982
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3 hours ago, Jon1982 said:

Thanks for your reply and glad you are enjoying the story so far. I will have to check out your Zimbabwean story. I'm not sure whether the bug is from the game or Timo's file, but I think it centred around the 5 foreigner rule, so if Zimbabwe have similar rules it may be worth keeping an eye out for this. Imo I find the registration windows more trouble than they are worth. The problem did thankfully sort itself out over time and all teams are now at full strength. However I will be keeping a close eye in the pre season of the Season 3 when that comes around. 

Yeah there is a 3 foreigner limit for the Zimbabwe squads in the 2nd division. But it seems there are little to no foreigners in the squads I checked after reading your posts. Which I suppose is better than them being there and not being picked.

Glad your save sorted itself out as It would be a shame to be off to a none starter after all the work that you have put in.

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8 hours ago, BenArsenal said:

Wow, that seems like a real palaver to sort out.

Yes it took me a couple of days to work out what to do. It was strange becoming the manager of different clubs, but what had to be done had to be done, otherwise it would have devalued the game. Luckily now all seems to be well and can carry the game on. 

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Restarting The Season

 

After all the shenanigans with the bug, the editor and the unregistered players I am now ready to re-start the season, starting with my trip (again) to Vishaka, complete with their foreign stars and first team players.

Season 2 Match 1 20/03/21  – Vishaka v EDC (Match Replayed)

While I don’t envisage a comfortable 4-1 win, I hope we can make life difficult for Vishaka and cause a few problems ourselves. We line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with 2 DMCs and defensive full backs to negate the threat of North Korea. I think we have made some good signings in pre-season, but they still do not match up to the quality of teams like Vishaka. Good luck boys! 

Team: 4-2-3-1 Channou, Channeroun, Daravon, Khemarin, Ratana, Raksa, Sedsody, Sung Rot, Veasna, Fasal, Chanraksmey

 

Vishaka 2-4 EDC

Kim Kyong Hun 17. ///  Chanraksmey 9,36,45,68

Mihaljevic 92                  

Registered players or unregistered players, North Koreans or no North Koreans.. I think it was written in the footie manager stars that we were going to win this one. We were brilliant! Organised in defence we negated the threat of the our Korean friends and Mihaelovic our wandering Croatian while attacking with verve and creativity at the other end. Chanraksmey was simply on fire, and a constant threat in behind, a pure masterclass in leading the line as a lone striker.

Their left back dwelled on ball, Veasna tackled and crossed for Chanraksmy to head in. Soon after, Kim Kyong Hun finished off a sweeping Vishaka by firing into the bottom corner. Then Channeroun played a lovely flighted ball for the onrushing Chanraksmey who volleyed beautifully into the top corner to restore the lead.

Our on-loan DMC, Raksa chipped the ball forward and Chanraksmey poked it past the keeper for No 3 and a perfect hat trick. Veasna’s free kick found Chanraksmy who controlled turned a fired a shot past the keeper 4-1!

Mihaljevic scored a screamer at the end but it hardly mattered. Rudd’s boys never looked like losing this and I think this is a reward for my honesty in registering all the players in the C-League to make it a proper competition!

Prime Minister’s Cup - 1st Qualifying Round – EDC v Kampong Cham

Our friendly fixture resulted in a 5-1 victory and I still expect a comfortable win against last year’s C-League whipping boys. I will go with a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield. Keo Udom will make his full debut and I may consider bringing in some other players from the squad. Ok quite a few changes but still have the big guns on the bench to bring on if things go Pete Tong.

Team: 4-4-2 Kong Rafat, Long Sophahon, Nara, Sophina, Channeroun, Punlock, Ouch Udom, Saray, Veasna, Keo Udom, Rotha

EDC 10-0 Kampong Cham
Rotha 7,8,40,50

Sophina 13

K Udom 26, 45,47, 65

Raksa 80

Well that was a bit good. I really did not expect to win 10-0 but there we go. Perhaps the Kampong players wished they had remained unregistered! We were awesome and looked like scoring with every attack. Udom and Rotha ran their defence ragged and bagged four goals each. Kong Rafat in goal had nothing to do as they rarely made it into our half of the field, such was our dominance. Whatsmore this was a Second XI out, except for Veasna and Udom so god knows what damage our first team could have done. Just magnificent!  A run down of each of the goals are below. We have also broken the record for the biggest win in the Prime Minister’s Cup and it's only my first game in the competition.

1-0: Rotha penalty after being hacked down in the box after good work from Saray

2-0: K. Udom ran at the defence before providing a pinpoint ball for Rotha to round the keeper and slot home.

3-0 Veasna’s free kick into the box found the head of defender Sophina who flicked it into the bottom corner.

4-0 Veasna cut in from the right, played to Rotha who slid in K.Udom whose shot sneaked in off the inside of the post .

5-0 Their goal kick straight to O. Udom who played it over the top for Rotha to run onto. He did the rest..

6-0 From their attack Punlock won the ball who played it to K.Udom who ran past the defence and slotted home- 6-0 before half time!

7-0 Substitute Fasal runs with the ball down the right, gets tackled, retrieves the ball sends in a peach of a cross for K.Udom to bag his 4th goal!

8-0 This is getting embarrassing now.. Leng Sophson plays the ball into the box. Missed header Rotha runs onto it 8-0!

9-0 Ball forward from Nara. K.Udom ran onto the ball and slots past the keeper. I think we are in the next round now…

10-0 Substitute Raksa wins a free kick. He fires it into the top corner 10-0!

Board Confidence Update

Not a bad time to have one of these when your team has just won 10-0! In summary they are pleased with that, plus the harmony and stability at the club I have created, but they still think, while my Wing Play style is easy on the eye and we are scoring goals, they are concerned that we are conceding too many as well...

Match 3- EDC v Rithy Sen 03/04/21

After two comfortable victories in league and cup we go into this game against newly promoted Rithy Sen with a lot of confidence. I revert back to the 4-2-3-1 formation, but Udom comes in for Sedsody as a more attack minded midfielder. Sok Chanraksmey continues as our gun lone striker.

Team: Channou, Channeroun, Daravon, Khemarin, Ratana, Raksa, O Udom, Sung Rot, Veasna, Fasal, Chanraksmey

EDC 4-2 Rithy Sen

Chanraksmey 22,49, 82 ///// Piphop 76, Rozaly 92

K Udom 86

A game which we deserved to win, but not without the odd scare along the way. Chanraksmy was in imperious form once again, while Veasna and Suray looked dangerous on the flanks. Khmarin was sent off for two bookable offences when the score was 2-1.

A slick passing move in midfield enabled O. Udom to release Chanraksmy with a super slide rule through ball to slot in the first goal. For the second goal, Rithy Sen lost the ball in midfield. Raksa then flighted a lovely ball into the box, which Chanraksmey volleyed nonchalantly in off the post first time, for a lovely goal. The wonderfully named Piphop broke away to score for Rithy Sen, powering it past the keeper when one on one.

From our goal kick its headed clear, only to Veasna who slips in Chanraksmey who fired low into the bottom corner 3-1. Substitute Sann Suhana drove forward in midfield, but was tackled. The ball falls kindly for Keo Udom who strode forward to just inside the area before unleashing a fearsome strike into the bottom corner 4-1. Their consolation came when Vatanuk broke down the right wing, before squaring for Rozaly to slot home. A good win which makes it 2 wins out of 2 and sends us top of the league!

A fantastic start to the season for EDC, scoring 18 goals in three games and Sok Chanraksmey bagging two hat-tricks, but is this just a brief power surge in Electricitié Du Cambodge's quest for glory? Find out next time on The Ultimate World Football Manager Game! 

 

 

Edited by Jon1982
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14. Onwards & Upwards

Sok Chanraksmey, a 31 year old journeyman Cambodian striker who is enjoying the best spell of his career so far at EDC. A striker with a bit of everything, can run in behind, can hold the ball up, is good in the air and is a good finisher, in fact one could say on some ways an old fashioned English centre forward. He can play up front on his own, or with a partner in crime in the shape of Phanny Y Rotha and this season, Keo Udom. 

International Recall

EDC striker Sok Chanramskey has been rewarded for a fine start to the C-League season by being called up to the Cambodian national team for the South East Asian Championships, which will see the Angkhor Warriors take on Laos, Singapore, Myanmar and Brunei in Group B of the tournament which kicks off on 11th April 2021.

Earlier in his career Chanraksmey won 11 caps and scored 5 goals, which meant he had a good start to his International career. I am not sure why they have not selected him since, but perhaps it was down to injury or loss of form.

Match 4- Asia Euro United v EDC – 9th April 2021

After a great start to the season I am confident we can get something out of this one. Asia Euro were mid table last season and while they have a couple of useful players I think if we can negate them then our forward line can do the business. I will line up with a 4-2-3-1 again, with Sophina coming in for the suspended Khemarin. 

Team: 4-2-3-1 Um Channou, Channeroun, Daravon, Sophina, Ratana, Raksa, O Udom, Veasna, Fasal, Sung Rot, K.Udom

Asia Euro United 0-1 EDC

                                    Fasal 20

Three wins out of three! This was not the electrifying football we have played in the previous games this season, but instead three hard earned points away from home. The moment which separated the two sides came from a Veasna throw in. Sung Rot lobbed the ball into the area and Math Fasal climbed above the defender to nod home. 1-0. This was a war of attrition, but Asia Euro United didn’t really threaten and our keeper Um Channou looked solid when called upon. Sophana looked the part in central defence, while Veasna as ever looked a threat on the right wing. A solid,unspectacular performance, but job done and three more points.

Match 5- Khemera Keila v EDC 17/04/21

After our 100% start to the season, I am starting to feel more confident about these matches. I’m pleased with the improvements we have made to the squad and the high performance levels from all the players. We face Khemera without three players, Chanraksmey is on International duty, while Fasal is suspended and Ratana has just come back from injury, so Leng Sophason keeps his place at left back, Saray starts on the left wing and Keo Udom starts up front. Khemera for their part have had a decent start to the season with two wins and are lying in 5th place, so they should not be taken lightly. Just as an aside, this match is being played at the Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium. The only thing is I don’t ever recall Cambodia ever hosting an Olympic Games, summer or winter?

Team: Channou, Sophahon, Khemarin, Daravon, Channeroun, Raksa, O.Udom, Saray, Veasna, Sung Rot, K.Udom

 

EDC 2-3 Khemera Keila

K. Udom 37                 Mol 20,45,90

O.Udom 87

Not really sure what happened to us here. A poor first half performance cost us, as we could barely get the ball. I switched to a 4-4-2 when we went 2-1 down and this improved thisngs, but two missed headers from Khemerin has cost us here from hopeful long balls. They were the best team we’ve played this season, very good for a promoted side and probably deserved the win. We showed resilience to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 down but we have to defend better than this if we are going to have a good season. We drop to second in the table and to make matters worse, Suon Veasna was injured and will be out for 5-6 weeks with a calf strain…

From a long goal kick, the ball was flicked on and Mol rounded the keeper 1-0 to Khmera. We scrapped for the ball in midfeield. Raksa won the ball, Ouch Udom strode forward before playing in Keo Udom to equalise with a fierce shot into the far corner 1-1 A hopeful ball by their right back should have been cleared by Khemarin, who missed the header to allow Mol to lob the onrushing Channou 2-1 to Khemera

The equaliser came when Chammeroun’s cross was cleared and retrieved by Rotha who crossed for the onrushing Udom who powerfully headed the ball home for 2-2

 

The killer blow came from another hopeful long ball, which was missed once again by the defender Mol ran onto it and slotted past Um Channou.. 3-2. A last minute winner broke EDC hearts.

Match 6 – EDC v Build Bright United 24/04/21

On paper this looks like an easy win against newly promoted and bottom of the table Build Bright United. Looking at their squad though they have some decentish players and like to play in a funny upside down Christmas Tree formation. It’s not worked well for them so far but I have an annoying feeling things may come right for them. I stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation due to their liking for putting 5 men in the middle of the park! Veasna is injured so Fasal returns after suspension to take his place and Saray keeps his place. Ratana comes back in for Leng Sophahon at left back.

Team: Channou, Channeroun, Daravon, Khemarin, Ratana, Raksa, O.Udom, Sung Rot, Saray, Fasal, K.Udom

 

EDC 3-1 Build Bright United

Saray 16                                     Vandeth 82         

K.Udom 57

Rotha 92

Never in doubt! We did not deserve to lose this one and controlled the game from start to finish. The team defended well and attacked with purpose. Saray ran down the right, his low cross found Sung Rot whose shot was blocked. K.Udom picked up the ball and played in Saray who scored with a clever first time finish at the near post. Then, Ratana crossed from the left, their defender missed the ball and there was K.Udom to poke the ball home at the far post – 2-0. In response, Vichet sent Vandeth through to slot past Um Channou for 2-1. A slick 5 man move through midfield, Fasal found O.Udom who released Keo Udom whose perfect through ball found Rotha who did the rest 3-1

A good win here and onwards we go! We stay in second place in the C-League.


EDC have reached the dizzy heights of second place! Is this the spark that can mount a serious title challenge? Also, find out why I nearly had to wear a pair of wellies for a cup match next time on The Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

Edited by Jon1982
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