There's a big difference between sanity and insanity!

[B.W.G]

February 2023

Fixtures

Table

February was a real grind as we struggled in front of goal as we are lacking that killer instinct in front of goal,we picked up five points from twelve and with that return it is surprising that we somehow stayed in fourth place.All three goals we scored during the month came from the wings which is great as all three wingers are under the age of 18 so they can still get better as they get older.Defensively we have been brilliant  as we are really hard to beat although I am surprised we aren't top of the draws with fourteen as Santos have beaten us in that!

Three games in March and we will be facing Grecia,Guadalupe and Cartagines,we're safe so I don't have any expectations although my aim is to try and score more than one goal in a match as we haven't done that since the 7/1/23.We should be able to get maximum points against Grecia,Guadalupe are similar to us,they have a decent defence but they struggle like us in attack.Cartagines will be very difficult and if we can't score more than once then it is highly likely that we will struggle against them.

[B.W.G]

Youth Intake 2023

All these will be signed immediately,the only player here who will not be part of the first team next season is Ivan Fanjurl as he needs a bit more time to develop.Vargas,Arias and Campos look like they could be starting quite regulalrly while Castro will be a backup option for DM.Fernandez I am not sure on as I don't use MR's but he can also play the AMR and MC to some role and I will probably train him in the MC role just to give us a bit better depth.

All three will be signed up but it will be Torres who will probably get more game time first as we lack options in the DC role,Hernandez and Corrales will be give more time for training and should end up being viable rotational players.

He will also be signed but it is more to do with boosting the depth of the reserves/youth teams.If I got a decent offer for him then I'd probably sell.

I don't really see much of a future at the club for these players and I will be allowing the HoYD to decide whether we will keep them,if he says no then they will be gone.

[B.W.G]

NxGn 2023

 

Considering we are only in the second season of the save,I was surprised to see a newgen at number 3 on the list instead of the real life players.Aidalvo is actually the one touted as the next Taffarel.

I also really love seeing this in FM22 as it helps to see who are the upcoming wonderkids.

Edited November 22, 2021 by B.W.G

[B.W.G]

March 2023

Fixtures

Table

Well that was certainly something as we won two out of three games but we did sink to fifth place in the table but I am really happy with how we have played during March.We met my aim of scoring more than one in a game as we beat Grecia FC and Guadalupe 4-1 so I am over the moon with that.I'm gutted with the 3-1 defeat to Cartagines,it was a very even game and it was 1-1 as we headed into the final minutes of the game but they went and scored twice late on as we sunk to defeat.

We're heading into April which is the final month for league games and we will be facing off against Perez Zeledon,Jircal-Sercoba,Saprissa and Sporting FC.Honestly unless San Carlos win all four matches then I think this run in favours me as we are facing the bottom three during April,I doubt that we can beat Saprissa as they have been on another level this season but we are facing the three worse teams who have the three worse defences in the league,if we can play like we did against Guadalupe and Grecia then I do believe we can rob that fourth place spot for the Championship playoffs.

[B.W.G]

April 2023

Fixtures

Table

That went pretty much how I wanted as we picked up ten points from twelve and stole fourth place from San Carlos.It did take a while to pit both Jircal-Sercoba and Sporting FC to bed but we eventually did it,the win against Perez Zeledon was really annoying,if it wasn't for Montoya then we would have dropped points as we wasted far too many chances.The one game where we did drop points saw us claim an undeserved point as Saprissa battered us.There has been good and bad news off the pitch,the good news is that both Arguedas and Morera have agreed new contracts and will be here for at least two more seasons but Jason Reyes will be leaving as I can't afford to keep him as he wants £1,100 p.w which is nearly double the maximum I can offer.Also apparently we have qualified for the Champions League as well.

Just the two games in May and it is in the Championship playoff where we will face Saprissa,I seriously doubt we will do anything as my record against them in 0-2-2 this season so it will be a case of try my best against them but I won't be upset if we lose as this season has been amazing for us.

[B.W.G]

May 2023

Fixtures

I finally beat Saprissa.......just a shame that we lost by a bigger margin in the first leg.Can't complain about the result in the first leg as they were much better than we were,the second leg could of gone either way as it was a very even game but we scored early on and hung on for the victory.Weirdly neither team actually won the home leg!

End of Season update to follow then onto season three!

[robterrace]

Thing is, you're behind the big 3 in Costa Rican football, and, yeah, you're pretty close, but, its going to take a big effort to push yourself past Saprissa eventually, but, the other two are pretty difficult to get past too.

[B.W.G]

46 minutes ago, robterrace said:

Thing is, you're behind the big 3 in Costa Rican football, and, yeah, you're pretty close, but, its going to take a big effort to push yourself past Saprissa eventually, but, the other two are pretty difficult to get past too.

I'm generally surprised it was this close,I was expecting to be 25+ points behind as we scraped a lot of undeserved draws.

I think it will be probably around 5 seasons before we can push for the top spot as the other players coming through will need time to develop.I'm not expecting any miracles for a while in the Champions League as that will more than likely be dominated by American and Mexican teams.

[B.W.G]

Escorpiones - Liga Promerica - End of Season - 2022/23

Profile - General - Facilities - Finances

Season Review

Transfers - Released - Youth

Only one player left the club and that was Miguel Campos for an initial fee of £37k,he was in his last year of his contract and was constantly causing problems so it was a case of off you go.He only played three times for San Carlos during the season so I am laughing quite a bit at his predicament.

Fixtures 1 - 2 - 3

Competitions

Liga Promerica - 4th Place

For a team rated at 2000-1 to win the title,I think we did really well in coming in fourth place in our first season in top flight.We took fourth in the last few games after San Carlos bottled the ending which saw them lose to Perez Zeledon on the final day of the season.After the start we made,I was generally expecting to fall away slightly more than we did,my expectation going into the second half was finishing 25+ points behind whoever finished top so only finishing fourteen gives me real encouragement for the future.Although finishing fourth has meant we have qualified for next seasons champions league.

Championship Playoff - Semi-Final

No complaint from me as the better team won over two legs,Saprissa were far better than we were in the first leg,we did win the second leg but overall that match was pretty even.

Players,Stats and Awards

Overall Best XI

Best XI - Accolades

Estiven Jesus Oriol

Daniel Calvo

Diego Salas

Pablo Morera

Anthony Jimenez

Manager's Thoughts

That was a fantastic effort by the team in our first season in top flight as we came in fourth place overall and qualified for next seasons Champions League.We did lose in the semi-final of the Championship playoff but I wasn't even expecting to get there and that shows you how much we overperformed as our prediction for this season was dead last.I have to give a lot of credit to Oriol,he isn't the best player in terms of ability but his consistency in this season and the last has been nothing short of fantastic and he has played a key part in central midfield which has helped us massively.Financially we are in a great position as we have £622k in the bank,it may not be enough to get facilities but it may be enough to get a upgrade for either Junior Coaching or Youth Recruitment.We are still over out wage budget even after it's been increased but at least it's only £800 p.w over and that will be rectified when Jason Reyes leaves at the end of his contract as he is on £1,100 p.w and would not take a pay cut!

As for next season,it will be a case of avoid second season syndrome as the only expectation for the league is to fight bravely against relegation while the Champions League expectation is to reach the first round.I think both of these are achievable and my team should be slightly stronger next season as there will be at least five players joining the first team from the under 21's which came through this season.On the financial side of things,we are projected to be in a better position by this time next year and we will also be receiving a new sponsorship deal that should be worth more than the £150k total value that the current one is.There is only one player guaranteed to be leaving but that will benefit us more as we will be saving on wages but on then that it is a case of roll on next season to see how we do in multiple competitions.

Career Stats 

Link (For entire career)

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by B.W.G

[B.W.G]

Ex-Youth Player Watch

Everyone is still in the game,the four from this season have already found clubs while Martinez signed for Brujas FC in the second half of the season so he wasn't able to be registered.

[B.W.G]

Escorpiones - Liga Promerica - Pre-Season - 2023/24

Profile - General - Facilities - Finances

Season Preview - Expectations

Transfers - Released - Youth

No permanent transfers this season,just players that were released.The highest profile of the players released was Jason Reyes,we couldn't afford his wages and he wouldn't reduce them so it was a case of off he goes.The other five players who were released were not good enough for the team so they were let go as I tried to bring the wage budget under control.

Pre-Season Fixtures

It didn't start off too well but things picked up in the last two games of pre-season so at least it wasn't a complete disaster.This is the first time that I was able to arrange a friendly with a foreign team as Marquense are from Guatemala and we put in a fantastic performance in that match.

The Team

Tactic A - Tactic B

Anthony Jimenez

Pablo Morera

Luis Montoya

Jean Carlo Campos

Daniel Calvo

Manager's Thoughts

To start things off I was lied to,I got told we qualified for the Champions League but the reality is that we didn't as only the top three got those spots.The other major thing to note is that the chairman wants to sell up and on the general tab the chairman's status is "rumours of a potential board takeover" so I am expecting a takeover at some point in the future.Financially we are in a solid position as we have £969k in the bank,I was going to ask for upgrades to Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment but I've delayed that till any rumours of the takeover have been sorted out.We received two sponsorship offers that netted us £168k per season for two seasons (£336k in total) and we are projected to go pass the £1 million mark this season so there will be upgrades on the horizon in the future.

As for this season,the board want us to avoid relegation and that is what I want to do as I am not expecting a miracle season like last season where we finished in fourth place.The odds on us to win the title have fallen massive in the space of year as we are now 1000-1 to win the title (was 2000-1 last season),We are definitely stronger than we were last season but we do run the risk of not being underestimated which was the case of last season and probably was why we were able to snatch points when we shouldn't of.Tactically we will be going in with a 4-3-3 with a 4-2-3-1 (2 DM's) as backup,we do have a very young team so we do have a few years to develop the players so that we can realistically challenge the big thee in which I reckon it will be 26/27 where we can challenge for the title properly and possibly turn it into a "big four".

 

[B.W.G]

July 2023

Fixtures

Table

I really couldn't of as ked for a better start as we won both games without conceding a goal.Both sides are among the weaker of the teams in the league so it was vital that we recorded early wins against them as I want to get away from any relegation fight as possible.Nice to see that we are top of the league for now but we all know that it won't last as we have a lot of games in the upcoming months so it was nice to see us at the top!

August is hell on earth as we are playing nine times and that will see us play all three of the biggest teams in Costa Rica as well as the other teams I haven't played in the first round of fixtures.All I want is for us to pick up as many points as possible just so we can try and stay away from any relegation fight.On the plus side,August will be great for development as many of the youngsters will be getting some sort of game time due to rotation and hopefully that will help kickstart their development.

[B.W.G]

Another Season......another long term injury to a key player

Last season it was this Juan Arguedas and this season it's Daniel Calvo,suffered a broken lower leg in the match against Alajuelense and he had performed brilliantly in the five games he played.he will be a massive loss.

[B.W.G]

August 2023

Fixtures

Table

What a month that was as we picked up twenty one points from twenty seven and we went through August unbeaten.I think our defensive showing has been remarkable and it's actually better than last season,the major difference between the two seasons is that we have been a lot more clinical in front of goal.The surprise result of the month was the 6-0 victory over Herediano,we were helped massively as they were reduced to ten men after ten minutes so the sending off played a massive part.Of the three draws,we were actually lucky in the games against Alajuense and Cartagines as both teams squandered their chances.Other teams do have games in hand on us but at the moment,no one can knock us off the top.

September is a slightly quieter month as we only play six times,we've been brilliant so far and I hope it can continues.it is a relatively easier month for us with Alajuelense being the most difficult game for us while the other five matches are with teams who are sixth and below.My aim is to try and keep this run going as this could be a successful season for us.

[B.W.G]

September 2023

Fixtures

Table

Six games and six wins and it looks like we are running away from the rest of the pack at the moment.Defensively we have been superb with exception to the Jircal-Sercoba match but the goals have dried up a bit not that it matters much due to our defence.The one thing I have noticed is our ability to score outside of the area,the games against Santos,San Carlos and San Ramon were all won with a long range effort from just outside of the area.No issues with either of the bigger wins while Alajuense squandered too many chances as we stole the three points from under their noses as we didn't deserve that win.

October is a quiet month as we are only playing three times and we will be facing Perez Zeledon,Saprissa and Sporting FC.I'm not bothered by being at the top as it is more important to be in the top four due to it being a Championship playoff,that being said we are guaranteed to be in the top four come the end of the month so there is less pressure on us for the next couple of months.