[FM23] Around The World

[marktonge]

 

Welcome in to "Around The World", a Football Manager 23 career update story chronicling my usual FM challenge of winning every trophy possible on the game. Now I say it's a career update story, instead of an actual story because I'm not in this to tell you a story about the career. It's not made up and it's not going to be an entertaining read each update. It's just going to be what happened season by season.

Now, spoiler alert, I've already played a load of seasons of this and have been persuaded to keep a record of this somewhere, so I chose on here. You lot seem nice enough, so here we go. I've won a fair few trophies in Asia so far, and I'll be sticking around in Asia until I've ticked off the continent then I'll move on to pastures new. Who knows where, time will tell. I may not even reach the end of Asia, but I'll certainly try my best.

My next post below, will be a record of where I've managed, what I've won, and my total country count. It'll all make sense below.

Thanks for taking the time to read my "boring" opening post.

 

[marktonge]

Career History

 

Teams Managed

Team Name - Country - Dates In Charge - Reason Left

Niigata Unicorn (Singapore) // Singapore // 24.01.22 - 01.11.22 // Resigned

Irn Bru Rangers // Hong Kong // 12.07.23 - 22.10.26 // Resigned

Kuching // Malaysia  // 25.12.26 - 23.09.30 // Resigned

PSPS Pekanbaru // Indonesia // 30.11.30 - Present

 

Trophy Cabinet

Trophy Name // Country // Team Managed // Game Date

Singapore Community Shield // Singapore // Niigata Unicorn (Singapore) // 19.02.22

Great Eastern Yeo's S League // Singapore // Niigata Unicorn (Singapore) // 14.08.22

Singapore Cup // Singapore // Niigata Unicorn (Singapore) // 30.10.22

Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield // Hong Kong // Irn Bru Rangers // 07.02.2024

Sapling Cup // Hong Kong // Irn Bru Rangers // 14.04.24

Hong Kong FA Cup // Hong Kong // Irn Bru Rangers // 25.04.24

Hong Kong First Division // Hong Kong // Irn Bru Rangers // 26.04.25

Hong Kong Community Cup // Hong Kong // Irn Bru Rangers // 22.08.26

Piala FA Malaysia // Malaysia // Kuching // 01.07.28

Piala Malaysia // Malaysia // Kuching // 01.12.28

Sultan Haji Ahmed Shah Cup // Malaysia // Kuching // 10.03.29

Astro Liga Super Malaysia // Malaysia // Kuching // 22.09.30

Liga 2 Indonesia // Indonesia // PSPS Pekanbaru // 29.02.31

 

Country Completion

Asia

Hong Kong | 5/5 - *COMPLETED*

Indonesia | 1/4

Malaysia | 4/5 

Singapore | 3/3 - *COMPLETED*
 

Edited October 28, 2022 by marktonge

[marktonge]

 

 

KUCHING | SEASON REVIEW | 2029/2030

 

Welcome to Kuching, a place in the World I've actually been to, albeit a long time ago. Let me fill you in on why we're here and how long we've been her for. I took over at Kuching on Christmas Day 2026 after ending a successful stint in Hong Kong with Irn Bru Rangers. I knew the league here in Malaysia was dominated by Johor DT who have been crushing my dreams year in year out ever since I took charge. It's not all been gloom and doom in my reign though, and we've managed to add to the trophy count a couple of times. 

It did take us until 2028 for us to get our hands on our first piece of silverware in Malaysia, and it came in the form of the Piala FA Malaysia which is the equivalent of the FA Cup here in England. That kick started a trophy haul in that calendar year, as we went on to win the Piala Malaysia in December after beating Eastern in the Final! 2 trophies in a year sounded good to me. We added to that haul 3 months later as we brought the Sultan Haji Ahmed Shah Cup back home to Kuching. 3 out of the 5 trophies completed but the league title was still avoiding us. We had come close however with Johor DT pipping us to the post by a couple of points a season ago. 

Anyway, we're here in the 2029/2030 season, and it's time to bring you up to date with what's been going on. 

 

Transfers | IN & OUT

Junior Anisi | CB | Free Transfer

Junior comes in to be our number one CB this season. We have had issues at CB with our starting 2 last season being ruled out for 7-8 months each with broken legs. Not what I wanted to repeat. He has everything I could ask for in a CB at this level. He can jump high, he has natural fitness, he's strong and he can also tackle. Oh and he's young so will only improve. 

Spoiler

 

Marcos Cassama | DM | Free Transfer | Benfica (MAC)

We needed a new holding midfielder to play as a defensive midfielder and break the attacks up. Again his natural fitness is really key there so to have that high was important. He has good tackling and decision making so he was a natural fit for this role. Excited to get him into the team. A fantastic pickup from a decent side in Benfica (MAC). 

Spoiler

 

Juan Rodriguez | ST | Released

Unfortunately, my main striker decided he didn't want to renew his contrat. I had the opportunity to sell him for a bit of money but I didn't want to as he was crucial to our title challenge last season. He scored 39 times in 36 appearances for us. I was sad to see hm leave. He's actually not played for anyone this season which is strange. What did I do to him?

Spoiler

 

Gabriel Barcenas | DM | Released

Just like Juan, Gabriel didn't want to renew his contract and decided to leave the club on a free transfer, hence opening the door for my new DM Marcos Cassama. One in, one out. He was very, very good for me in that position but no one is irreplaceable eh? He went on to join title rivals Johor DT in the aim to rub it in with us as they are the title favourites. Who will come out on top?

Spoiler

 

Confederation Cup | ASEAN Zone

As a result of our performance last season and winning a trophy or two, we had qualified for the Confederation Cup: ASEAN Zone which is the equivalent of the Europa League (I think). Anyway, we breezed through the Group Stage at the end of last season, which meant we had the Knockout Rounds to navigate at the start of this season. 

ASEAN Zone Semi-Final

Well we faced a familiar foe in Sabah FA, who we face year in, year out in the league so we know them very well. We travelled to Sabah to face the first leg and came away with a 0-0 draw. A great base to launch our attack from when we returned home. The 2nd leg was much more like us as we dominated the game. We could only steal a 2-1 win in the 87th minute thanks to Abdul Hadi Shukor and a wonderstrike from midfield. Into the final we went.

ASEAN Zone Final

I found ourselves very unlucky to not come away with the trophy at the end of this series. We didn't get off to a good start losing the away leg 2-0 to Hougang United, before thumping them 4-2 in the return leg. We were brilliant and Muhd Amirul Akmal Safarinizam showed all is talent and netted a hattrick. We were gutted to find out the away goal rule still counts over here, and that meant Hougang lifted the trophy at the end of the night. Gutting. 

 

Piala FA Malaysia

 

Not much to talk about here as we were knocked out in the Second Round (where we entered) to lower league team SAINS. Yeah, I've not heard of them either. A 1-0 victory for the hosts saw them advance. To be honest, we were very good and deserved to lose this game. We've won this competition in the past so it was very disappointing to get knocked out at the first attempt this season.

 

Astro Liga Super Malaysia

Fixtures:

Spoiler

So this is what we were aiming for this season as it's the only trophy available that I hadn't picked up with Kuching. Things didn't get off to a good start as we lost the season opener (which is also the Charity Shield) to Johor DT (our biggest rivals) meaning we lost ground straight away and we missed out on a trophy. We then got things going in the right direction by beating Kinabalu Jaguars, PJ City & Kedah FA. Consistency was something I was looking for this season after struggling in the past 3 seasons in Malaysia. We lost the next 2 games in a row against Kuala Lumpur & Kelantan FA. 

It was much better after those 2 losses as we only lost 1 more game all season. That's exactly what we needed, and that game came against Kinabalu Jaguars who did the league double over us somehow. They really aren't that good. Just a bogey team for us. In fact, we only dropped points in 3 other games, where we drew against Kelantan FA, Kuala Lumpur and of course Johor DT (once again). This fixture list was definitely what I was looking for, with a strong finish right at the death.

It all came down to the last game of the season. We needed Johor DT (1st) to drop points whilst we needed to win our last game against Sabah FA. Of course, you'll know how we fared as we ended up winning our game 2-0 in a dominant performance. Did Johor DT win, lose or draw though?

Spoiler

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!

We had done it! At the 4th time of asking, Kuching have won the Liga Astro Super Malaysia and knocked the mighty Johor DT off their perch. They drew their final game with Kelantan of all teams 0-0. A fantastic result for us which saw us be crowned champions on the final day of the season. They probably had to Tuk Tuk that trophy down the motorway to Kuching at the last minute. No one saw that coming!

 

Player Stats | Awards

 

Top Goalscorer:

1. Muhd Amiral Akmal Sarfarinizam (ST) | 20 (25 apps)

2. Maxwell Aping (AMC) | 8 (24 apps)

3. Mohd Taufiq Idris (ST) | 5 (4 apps)

 

Most Assists:

1. Muhd Amiral Akmal Sarfarinizam (ST) | 10

2. Mohd Azmeer Aris Nor Rashid (AML) | 9

3. Jayabalan Ganesan Pillay (AMR) | 6

 

Highest Average Rating: (Minimum 10 games)

1. Junior Anisi (CB) | 7.55

2. Maxwell Aping (AMC) | 7.37

3. Muhd Amiral Akmal Sarfarinizam (ST) | 7.27

 

Malaysian Manager of the Year | Mark Tonge (6th MOTY Award)

Malaysian Club of the Year | Kuching

Malaysian Best Foreign Player | Junior Anisi (CB)

Malaysian Best South East Asian Player | Junior Anisi (CB)

Malaysian Midfielder of the Year | Maxwell Aping (AMC)

Team of the Year Players | Junior Anisi (CB), Abdul Haki Shukor (CM), Mud Amiral Akmal Safarinizam (ST)

 

Anyway, that rounds up the season. Usually after the league season finishes, you head straight into the Piala Malaysia but, I'm moving on to pastures new. My time here in Malaysia with Kuching is over because I have nothing left to win with them. I still have one more to tick off in Malaysia, which is the league below, but I'll come back for that. 

In my time here I had the following stats:

GP - 149.  GW - 82.   GD - 32.   GL - 35

Trophies Won | 4 

(1 x Astro Liga Super Malaysia, 1 x Piala FA Malaysia, 1 x Piala Malaysia & 1 x Sultan Haji Ahmed Shah Cup)

 

Where to next? Pastures new? I'll be back to make sure you keep up to date on this wonderful career!

Thanks for reading.

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by marktonge

[marktonge]

PSPS PEKANBARU | SEASON REVIEW | 2031

Well, the last time. you caught up with this, we had just finished our season over in Malaysia with Kuching. We've completed all we could with Kuching and although fond memories were made, it was time to move to pastures new and that's what I did. Of course, I had restraints that meant I had to stay in Asia, so I made the relatively short hop over to Indonesia where I'm currently in charge of PSPS Pekanbaru. When I took over, we were coming up to the end of their season and they were going well. 

We had 6 league games remaining when I took over, and the club sat 2nd in the league table. Unfortunately I couldn't keep up their good form, and with me at the helm we dropped down to 5th which is where finished. A poor and disappointing finish to what was a promising season for them. Maybe the decision to hire me wasn't the greatest for them eh? I didn't let that deter me though, and set about building a squad capable of finishing in that top 2 and winning the Phase 2 Promotion Group Stage which would mean we would head on up to the lofty heights of the Indonesia League One. 

 

If you don't know how the Indonesia League Two system works, then you'll be in the same boat as I was. 

- 3 Leagues of 8 Teams (Play each other twice)

- Top 2 in each league head to 2 promotion groups (3 in each group) (Play each other twice)

- Team that tops the group plays in a Final to decide who gets promoted

 

Very confusing right? It all works out eventually but you've got a lot of hurdles to get over first. Anyway, onto introducing you to my. new signings that would help kick us up a notch and into a championship winning team.

 

TRANSFERS | IN

 

Fadli Gunawan | CM | £8.5k | Persbul Buol

We severely lacked in the middle of the park and every player coming in wanted me to strengthen the midfield, which is why I went straight in for Fadil. His stamina stood out to me as a key attribute as I needed him to run for days. Up and down the pitch all game, every week. I also needed him to be able to distribute when he'd won the ball back, and his passing range enables him to do just that. A good player for my system.

Spoiler

 

Riki Ridwan | AMR | Free Transfer

The next area I needed to upgrade was my attacking threat from wide areas. Riki provided good options here, and with his natural pace and agility he was a threat all season long. The only downside was his crossing wasn't great, but he kept defenders scared because of that pace. A great option down the right hand side. 

Spoiler

 

Iqbal Zulkarnain | ST | PSIM Yokyakarta | Free Transfer

I was struggling to find a striker that would look to score tonnes of goals up top all season, and then I found this guy late in the window. In fact too late to register him in time for the opening 6 games. I always look for pace when looking at a striker and he fits the bill. His finishing isn't great and it told. I might have made a mistake in this one, but you live and you learn.

Spoiler

 

Arkhan Fikri | AMC | Persibo Bojonegoro | £2k 

This guy turned out to be the signing of the season. Again, I needed someone in the attacking third to be the provider whilst also scoring himself. Pace, stamina, Agility, Acceleration, Flair all mixed in with Determination & Leadership. My ideal midfielder in all honesty. Straight in as my best player.

Spoiler

 

Piala Indonesia

The first competition I'll walk you through is the Piala Indonesia. This is the only cup competition I was entered in this year, as I think the other one is for top tier league sides only. 

I chose to run you through this cup first because there isn't much to run through. We entered in the First Round, and exited in the First Round after a poor performance. We lost 2-0 to Persela Lamongan who are in the same tier as us. Things didn't help when my CB Candra Sudjarat got sent off for a late lunge and left us with 10 men. Anyway, success wasn't on the cards in this one and we move on to the league.

Spoiler

 

Liga Two Indonesia First Round

Fixtures:

 

Spoiler

Like I explained above, the league is split into 3 different divisions of 8 teams. We were in the middle division named "The Central League" and had some pretty good teams in there with us. We'd certainly be up against it, but with my new additions I definitely would back my boys. The usual system of playing each other twice applied.

We didn't get off to the greatest start as we lost to Sulut United. I won't blame it on the fact we couldn't register our new signings are they were made too late, but I will also definitely blame it on that reason. We had to use the U18s to fill out the subs bench. After that disappointing start, things improved massively and we didn't actually lose another game until the end of the season. We had 4 draws in the season, against Persekam Metro, Persiba Balikpapan, PSP Padang & Kalteng Putra. We lost the final game of the season, which was a bitter way to end but better things were to come right?

Our form was definitely down to 2 different players in the mostpart: Muhammad Prabowo who was our frontman for the season after beating out the competition of the newbie. He scored a massive 23 goals in this phase alone. That's massive for any team. He definitely led from the front. He hit 2 hat-tricks as well which definitely helps. The other player to make a real impact was Arkhan Fikri who played provider to Prabowo and the two of them forged a prolific partnership. I'm excited to see what they can do in the league above.

The games that meant the most and were the most important were the two against Kalteng Putra and in particular the away tie when we came away with a 2-0 victory. The game at the death against Persiba Balikpapan was a sneaky big game as well as we could tie up our qualification into the finals with a victory, which we duly delivered. Overall, a fantastic season was had.

League Table:

Spoiler

It couldn't have been closer at the top, with us stealing 1st place from Kalteng Putra in the final couple of games. We finished with 12 wins, 4 draws & 2 losses. 40 points in total and we easily progressed into the Final Phase with a 9 point gap separating us from the 3rd position that didn't qualify.

 

Liga 2 Second Phase | Group B

Spoiler

We were drawn in a group of three alongside a team we faced in the regular season, Kalteng Putra, and a new opponent in PSM Makassar. I knew we could get the better of Kalteng when needed but it was unknown how good Makassar were. I needn't have worried as we comfortably dispatched both teams in the first two games. 

We could've wrapped up top spot if we had beaten Makassar in the 3rd game, but they got the better of us in a 1-0 defeat. It meant that we needed a win by 2 goals on the final day to ensure we got that top spot and qualification to the promotion game. We did just that and beat Kalteng 4-2 to send our fans into chaos. Excellent group stage from the boys.

Spoiler

 

Liga 2 Final | Persiraja Banda Aceh

We had reached the final after dominating the First League Stage and performing above par in the Second Phase. We were on a roll and I definitely didn't want that to stop anytime soon. The boys knew that we needed one more win to earn our spot in the Liga 1 for next year. A thing I think they definitely deserved. 

We were up against a new foe in Persiraja Banda Aceh and I didn't know much about them. They turned out to be a fairly decent team, but they were no match for us as we dominated the Final in true Pekanbaru style. We took the lead in the 37th minute as Prabowo got on the end of a Fikri cross and slammed home. It turned out to be the only goal of the game but we should've and could've scored a lot more. They never really threatened scoring. Happy days are here in Pekanbaru.

Spoiler

 

 

Player Stats & Awards:

 

Top Goalscorer:

1. Muhammad Prabowo (ST) | 25 (23 apps)

2. Arkhan Fikri (AMC) | 10 (17 apps)

3. Riki Ridwan (AMR) | 5 (18 apps)

 

Most Assists:

1. Ahmad Nugroho (AML) | 9

2. Riki Ridwan (AMR) | 8

3. Syaiful Wahab (CM) | 6

 

Highest Average Rating: (Minimum 10 apps)

1. Arkhan Fikri (AMC) | 7.62

2. Muhammad Prabowo (ST) | 7.42

3. Candra Sudjarat (CB) | 7.35

 

Top Goalscorer Award | Muhammad Prabowo

Indonesian League Two Manager of the Year | Mark Tonge (7th MOTY award)

Team of the Year Players | Candra Sudjarat (CB), Iqbal Zulkarnain (CB), Ahmad Nugroho (AML), Fadil Gunawan (CM), Syaiful Wahab (CM), Riki Ridwan (AMR), Muhammad Prabowo (ST)

 

That brings an end to this season and this update. Next time you'll be reading this we'll be an Indonesian League One team and trying to find out feet in a new division. Can we stay up? Can we challenge for top of the league? Who knows, but we'll give it a good go. See you next time and thanks for reading!