Seeking Kvaradonna - a Georgian club save

[ToMexico!!]

Welcome to Georgia

Georgia is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, by Russia to the north and northeast, by Turkey to the southwest, by Armenia to the south, and by Azerbaijan to the southeast. 

 

Can we find the next Khvicha Kvaratskhelia? And the club we'll do it with...

SK Rustavi

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia signed fro Rustavi in 2018 from Dinamo Tblisi for £160k before leaving for Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow on loan and the rest is history, Khvicha finds himself on the way up, whilst his former club are on the way down. 

In game, Rustavi find themselves in the second tier of Georgian football, the National League 2. Predicted to finish in 6th place (of a 10 team league) they recently had been playing in the National League as recently as 2019 but were sadly relegated, last season they escaped another relegation by finishing in 9th place and winning in the relegation play-off. Formed in only 2015, they are one of the youngest clubs in Georgia and have no affiliation with clubs that previously existed in the city. 

Rustavi is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and 20 km southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 130,100, making it the fourth most populous city in Georgia. Aptly, the city of Rustavi is twinned with Sumqayit in Azerbaijan, a club I have twice spent FM saves with. 

We have an indifferent squad, we have no outright centre backs and no outright strikers but we do have Giga Samkharadze, one of the most well rounded, average players I have ever seen, just a shame his Determination and physicals weren't all double digits too. We have two foreign players, Mzwakali from South Africa and Japanese winger Yuta Nakano. The league rules are a maximum of eight foreign players which is great, I like the limit but it also gives me scope to scour Africa and the surrounding countries to Georgia to find some gems whilst also giving our youth a chance. 

We have a 2nd team, Rustavi 2 and also have a U19's, jam packed with poor players, so over time we will need to improve the facilities. We have no money, around £5k in the bank, no transfer budget and some room in the wage budget to bring in a player or two. 

Game Setup

Georgia playable down to tier 4 of the league setup. England, Germany, Russia and Turkey loaded as View-Only. All players from top division clubs in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Central Asia loaded. 

I've signed a 2 year deal with the club and the board want me to finish mid-table and grow the clubs reputation. 

[ToMexico!!]

March 2022

March sees the start of the new domestic season which runs until the end of November. Its a 10 team league and we play each other four times for a 36 game season with the winning team promoted to the top flight and with 2nd and 3rd enter the promotion play-off. 

First up though is the transfers. We don't have any money to spend and very little wiggle room in the wage budget so our best bet was the loan market. 

We managed to secure the loan signings of four players, three centre midfielders and a defender, all for no wage contribution whilst on the other hand we loaned out three players all for 90% wage contribution. 

Tactically we gone for a 4-3-3 which will adapt in time as wingers become inside forwards and we find a decent DM to act as a half-back. We're keeping things simple; mid-block, keeping width and mixing the crosses up. 

Its given us a good start to life in National League 2, although three home games skews things slightly I feel. Rati Ghvaladze is the cream of the crop for March with two hat-tricks to his name against Gareji and WIT-Georgia. 

 

Four wins from four is a good start, I don't expect that to continue. 

[ToMexico!!]

April 2022

A busier month which started poorly, we faced Samtredia who are expected to finish 2nd after relegation from the top tier last season, probably an expected loss there. We came back with a big win against non-league side Krtsanisi in the cup, Ghvaladze notching four goals and setting a record in the process. Back to winning ways in the league as we beat Spaeri and Shevardeni. We then faced Dinamo Zg. who were bottom of the league and lost, we were without two key players, Ghavaladze and Samkaharadze who were both suspended. We ended the month with a late win over Shukura. 

Ghvaladze is now up to 13 goals in 9 games. 

Still top by three points. 

[_Ben_]

I’m sure this will be quite the adventure! Your work in Eastern Europe, in particular, seems to progress at quite the pace. 

[ToMexico!!]

9 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I’m sure this will be quite the adventure! Your work in Eastern Europe, in particular, seems to progress at quite the pace. 

Thanks Ben! 

I've really enjoyed saves in Azerbaijan particularly over the FMs, I've tried Georgia before but didn't find the right club. 

[ToMexico!!]

May 2022

A poor month in all honesty. We opened the month with a win over Merani in the league before an easy win over another non-league side in Meskheti in the cup. We then hit a rough patch, an away draw to Gareji who we'd beaten 3-0 earlier in the season before inexplicably losing to Martvili, who were struggling towards the foot of the table. We then picked up a point against 3rd placed Samtredia who we had lost to before. Ghvaladze moves to 17 goals in 14 games. 

We're still top by three points but that lead could have been so much more. 

Finances are plummeting at around £30k per month, there is some win bonus in the cup, if we can reach the Quarter Final we could nearly wipe that debt out. 

[ToMexico!!]

June 2022

A much better month, undefeated, into the 3rd round of the cup. 

We started with a disappointing draw against WIT-Georgia before Ghvaladze notched his fourth hattrick of the campaign to beat a hapless Spaeri. He was banned for the cup game after an accumulation of yellow cards and back up striker Mikautadze took advantage to net a hattrick of his own. Ghvaladze returned against Shevardeni with two more goals in a 3-1 win away in Tbilisi before he netted one more against Merani. 

A solid month see's us open up a five point gap to second placed Samtredia with Dinamo Zg. who are expected to finish 8th in third place. 24 goals in 18 games now for Ghvaladze. 

Another £20k lost this month offset by £9k in prize money from this month cup win. 

[ToMexico!!]

July 2022 - Youth Intake Review

Not expecting much here. 

Although I would have expected slightly better considering the facilities aren't too bad. 

[ToMexico!!]

July 2022 - Transfers

One in, three out. 

Outs first and we cashed in on Bantu Mzwakali, his contract was due to expire in December and he was on £625 p/w, which when one goal and eight assists is the return in 18 games its too much. We got £40k up front rising to £50k for the South African winger. A couple of Rustavi-2 players leave for free. 

We swapped a South African for a Zimbabwean, as Luke Musikiri joins from Dynamos Harare for just shy of £3k. We had scouted and trialled him in pre-season but his wage demands were too much at the time. He's not a like-for-like replacement as he's suited to the right wing compared to his predescessor who played on the left. Immediately worth up to £95k, he could make us some decent profit in the future. The first of probably many, many players arriving from Africa in this save. 

[ToMexico!!]

July 2022

A mixed bag of a month, unbeaten in the league but with only two wins in five games and out of the cup at the hands of fellow league side Dinamo Zg. Ghvaladze only scored once this month, he was banned for another game and then proceded to get injured for two weeks, missing the last three games of the month. New signing Luke Musikiri stepped up in his absence, scoring four goals. 

We remain in top spot with a four point cushion. 

Despite bringing in £40k from player sales we still lost money. Were also now £470 under the weekly wage budget. 

[SixPointer]

What a start! Poor intake but I’m sure In time it will be flooded with talent 

[ToMexico!!]

1 hour ago, SixPointer said:

What a start! Poor intake but I’m sure In time it will be flooded with talent 

Thanks SixPointer! It has been a good start, hopefully we can carry on for the entirity of the season. Yeah a poor preview but as soon as we have money we'll look to improve our chances. 

[ToMexico!!]

August 2022

An unbeaten month as we extend our lead at the top of the table to 11 points. Disappointingly we drop points against Spaeri who are in the bottom three. 

27 games played and nine remaining, we could seal the title at the end of September. Ghvaladze up to 24 league goals and 29 for the season in 26(1) games. 

We continue to lose money, we'll need to pick up some cheap African's and look to sell on for profit soon. 

 

 

[ToMexico!!]

September 2022

We're now 18 games unbeaten in the league but we ended the month poorly in my opinion, we should have beaten both Gareji and Martvili but we have to factor in that both were away games. 

We extend our lead at the top of the table to 16 points with six games remaining and a possible 18 points to collect. 

Another £20k loss this month. 

[ToMexico!!]

October 2022 - Youth Intake

The intake has improved from the preview. 

One elite talent in Vakhtang Tkemaladze, an inverted left back, he could provide some back-up if he improves well. I prefer top talent Zurab Barbakadze though, one of five centre backs who came through in this intake. 

Beyond those two there isn't much else but poor potential. 

Spoiler

 

[ToMexico!!]

October 2022

It took one game in October to be crowned champions. 

As we beat, then 2nd placed Samtredia 4-2 thanks to a 5th hattrick of the season from Ghvaladze in front of a capacity crowd. We backed that win up with another two before inexplicably ended our unbeaten run which had extended to 21 games, we did rotate quite heavily but we should have had enough for a point against Spaeri. 

We maintained a 16 point gap to Samtredia in 2nd place, there are two games remaining against 3rd placed Dinamo Zg. and 5th placed Merani. 

[ToMexico!!]

November 2022

Two games to end the season. We were back to full strength against Dinamo Zg. and that showed with a 4-0 demolition including hattrick number six of the season for Ghvaladze. We then lost to Merani to kind of end the season on a sour note. 

17 points clear of 2nd place with a huge goal difference. 

A full season review later on after I get back home. 

[ToMexico!!]

2022 Season Review

Season one completed in comprehensive fashion with the league sealed with five games to spare. We finished 17 points clear of 2nd place, scored 17 more goals than the 2nd highest scorers, conceded the 2nd least (behind Martvili with 27) all in all a pretty dominant season. 

We had an OK run in the Davit Kipiani's Cup eventually losing to Dinamo Zg. in the Third Round. 

Transfers wise, we made just three additions to the squad under my tenure whilst we allowed three players to leave on free's loaned out four and sold one for upwards of £50k. 

Squad wise we can't look beyond Rati Ghvaladze as player of the season, his 39 goals in all competitions, including 34 in the league (crowned as the leagues top scorer) and six hattricks propelled us to the title, he will get a chance in the top flight next season. The on loan midfielder Nikoloz Tskhovrebashvili was our most creative player with 10 assists whilst Japanese winger Nakano made seven but also scored nine goals. Zimbabwean winger/striker Musikiri, a summer signing from his hometown club Dyanamos Harare scored eight goals in 19 games. 

Off the pitch, we didn't invest any money due to lack of financial resources but we have announced plans for a new stadium with its location, capacity and name yet to be decided. Anything above the current 500 capacity stadium will be seen as a step in the right direction. 

 

Financially we're not in a good place but hopefully the promotion to the top flight will bring incentives and opportunities for new sponsorship, better players becoming interested in signing for us and the chance to make a profit on any good player we can find, nurture and move on to bigger and better things. We received £43k for winning the league but it did little to make a dent in the current finances. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

Jan & Feb 2023 - Pre-Season

Promotion brings a few challenges and for us it was improving the squad but first a quick look at the new league. As expected, we're expected to finish in last place (10th) with the likes Gagra and Lokomotiv Tibilisi being quite a bit better than us according to the odds. Obviously 10th place gets automatic relegation whilst teams in 8th and 9th go into the relegation play-off. Squad rules are much of the same but the amount of foreign players has increased to 10. 

Other than around the 12 players who either retired or were released at the back end of last season, one player left for a fee and that was Gujabidze, who was our starting ball winning midfielder. Dila had offered a similar amount a week prior but I rejected it and as a result he became unhappy and we nearly had a mutiny on our hands so off he went. 

With the released players, our squad numbers were extremely depleted and we had just 12 players remaining in the first team. 

In came 10 players. 1 x GK, 4 x CB's, 2 x MC, 1 x LW and 2 x ST's. I won't show all of them but lets look at the foreign players. 

• Cheikne Sylla - signed for free from Martvili, will be 3rd choice striker. 
• Alagie Saine - the first of two signed from Gambian side Falcons FC. One of four centre backs signed, probably a bench player at the moment. 
• Bakary Touray - the other player signed from Falcons FC. Our BWM replacement for the departed Gujabidze. 
• Nexala Mvula - originally a deal struck for the end of his contract in July but for £2.6k I could say no. First choice CB for sure. 
• Tatenda Jamu - another Zimbabwean, signed for £4k from Platinum FC. Will play as a Mezzalla in CM. 
• Artem Lyegostayev - we needed a LW and he was found via a recruitment focus, £26.5k makes him our record signing of the save so far but hopefully worth it. 

A short pre-season against some lower league sides probably see's us undercooked for the start of the season but time will tell, we open up against current league title holders Dinamo Batumi. 

[ToMexico!!]

March 2023

A tough opening fixture against current league champions Dinamo Batumi but we did well, scoring a goal and not being  beaten easily. We then faced Torpedo Kutaisi at home and thanks to a late, late injury time goal we picked up our first win of the season. Late mid-March we faced Samgurali who at the time of playing were two from two and top of the table. We fell behind to a penalty in the first half but two goals in two minutes in the second half resulted in another win and another three points. 

Feels like a false position at the moment but its early days. 

We made one more signing and spent the remainder of our transfer budget on Temur Tsulaia from Samgurali. At 22 years old, he offers quality x youth, hopefully he will improve with gametime and become our first choice striker for seasons to come. 

We need to spend short term for long term gains. We'll ignore the balance for the most part. 

[Sheriff7]

Good luck mate!I will follow this as always.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Sheriff7

[ToMexico!!]

28 minutes ago, Sheriff7 said:

Good luck mate!I will follown this as always.

Thanks Sheriff!! Good to have you with us.

[ToMexico!!]

April 2023

A busy month as we continued to go from strength to strength. Lokomotivi dispatched, Sioni defeated, late wins over Telavi and Dila. However, we tasted our first heavy defeat to the hands of Dinamo Tbilisi. We also won comfortably in the qualifying round of the cup, beating Abuli with new signing Tsulaia notching a hattrick. 

Table: Includes an extra defeat from May. 

2nd after 10 games in balmy, crazy in fact. The aim was 9th, maybe 8th at a push. 

[ToMexico!!]

May 2023

A poor, poor month with just one point gained in the league. We did defeat Tbilisi (2016) to advance in the cup. I was pleased that we're still scoring goals in most games, we just need to tighten up in defence. 

We drop down to 5th but still way ahead of expectations. 

[ToMexico!!]

June 2023 - Interview Offer

Our first job interview offer. Rejected. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

June 2023

Another poor month with no wins but we did pick up a good point against Dila. We are then defeated by Dila a few days later and dumped from the cup. 

Settled in mid-table at the moment, we have an eight point cushion to the relegation play-off spots. 

The balance hits half a million in the red. 

[ToMexico!!]

July 2023 - Youth Intake Preview

Not a great preview. 

[ToMexico!!]

July 2023

A surpirse 1-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi but thats about it. Thats one league win in 12 games.

Clinging on to 5th. 

[ToMexico!!]

August 2023

A much, much better month. Finally a win away at Sioni before Ghavaladze smashed four past Dinamo Tbilisi for back-to-back wins. We then lost at home to bottom side Gagra. 

We did go above Dinamo Tbilisi briefly but that loss saw them leapfrog us again. 

[ToMexico!!]

September 2023

A month of home games. We won the first two against Dila and Telavi. We played well against Dinamo Batumi for a loss and really we should have beaten Samgurali. 

Still 5th, we could have been in 4th place if we had won a third game this month, although Dinamo Tbilisi have a game in hand. We have seven games remaining. 

[Carambau]

I´m a big fan of Kvaradonna

Looks like a nice project! Will be following  

[ToMexico!!]

2 minutes ago, Carambau said:

I´m a big fan of Kvaradonna

Looks like a nice project! Will be following  

Thanks Carambau! 

Enjoyed reading your exploits with Celta Vigo earlier! Didn't know Santi Mina had gone to jail, he had a promising career prior to that. 

[Carambau]

3 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Thanks Carambau! 

Enjoyed reading your exploits with Celta Vigo earlier! Didn't know Santi Mina had gone to jail, he had a promising career prior to that. 

Thanks mate

Yeah, I was shocked to learn that too! But it looks like justice was served in that case...

[ToMexico!!]

October 2023 - Youth Intake

No change. 

A really poor crop of players. If we were further down the line in the save I wouldn't sign any of them but we need some depth for the U19's/2nd XI.

Spoiler

 

[ToMexico!!]

Ocotber 2023

A queit month with just three games; one win, one draw and one loss. Ghavaladze scoring his 2nd hattrick of the season against Lokomotiv Tbilisi. 

Still 5th, fourth looks out of reach. We could still finish as low as 8th with four games remaining. 

[ToMexico!!]

November 2023

An unbeaten month where we defeated Dinamo Tbilisi for a third time this season and also ensured survival in the National League. 

5th place sealed with one game in December to go. 

[ToMexico!!]

December 2023 - Season Review

We ended the season with a loss but it didn't matter in the end as we couldn't move from 5th place, either up nor down. 

A really good season overall, predicted dead last we managed to win more games than we lost and also ended with a positive goal difference. Highlights were definately beating Dinamo Tbilisi three times. We scored 55 goals which was the third most in the league behind the top two teams in the division, we only failed to score in five games. 

Rati Ghvaladze ended the season with 26 goals in 22(8) games with 23 of those coming in the league which saw him win top scorer in the league on virtue of having played less games. He had some support from Tsulaia but with only eight goals. Tatenda Jamu was excellent from central midfield, scoring 11 goals and making 13 assists. Ukrainian left winger Artem Lyegostayev made eight assists and scored seven goals. 

Financially we're in the mud, we'll likely be close to £1m in the red by the start of the new season. However, plans for the new stadium are coming along with a planned capacity of 2918 announced, previously on other saves when I've had a new stadium the board have encorporated that debt into a loan. 

[ToMexico!!]

March 2024 - Transfers

At the end of last season we released seven players from their contracts which included a mixture of first team and Rustavi-2 players. We also sold Sylla, freeing up a foreign player spot, he went back to his homeland Mali for a small fee. 

We signed three players to strengthen two keys areas which were lacking quality and depth. We re-signed Gujabidze on a free, just one season after selling him to Dila. A couple of days later we signed Giorgi Moistsrapishvili from Dinamo Tbilisi for £4k rising to £6k, he will offer depth in CM as a Mezzalla. Signing of the pre-season was Thibaut Aubertin from Senegalese side Generation Foot in a structured deal rising to £47.5k, he will slot straight into RB. 

[ToMexico!!]

March & April 2024

An unbeaten month to start the new season, a month that has also seen us play Saburtalo at home twice. 

We then entered April by playing Lokomotivi Tbilisi at home again, like we ended March, scheduling . We then absolutly smashed Krtsanisi in the cup, Tsulaia with six goals and four of them in minutes 20 to 26. That huge win then seemed to knock the stuffing out of us, back-to-back losses against Telavi and Samgurali, although both high scoring affairs. Tsulaia ended the month in good fashion scoring late in a double to get us back to winning ways against Dinamo Batumi before notching another against Torpedo Kutaisi for a draw. 

We end the two months in 3rd place, level on points with Dinamo Batumi, slightly worse goal difference but ahead of them on virtue of record versus them. 

Horrendous looking balance. 

But things could soon change, time will tell. 

[ToMexico!!]

May 2024

A solid month overall. Back-to-back away wins over Sioni before rotating heavily in a 2-1 win in the cup against Algeti. A penalty from Zambian centre back Mvula was all that was needed in a narrow win over Kolkheti. Poor home loss to Dinamo Tbilisi to end the month.

Behind Dinamo Batumi by a point but eight points behind league leaders Samguarli. 

[ToMexico!!]

June 2024 - Takeover

The new board have restructured the debt with a £1.5m loan. 

[ToMexico!!]

June to October 2024

I got a bit carried away last night whilst playing. 

An unbeaten month of June as we opened it with revenge against Dinamo Tbilisi, a late Ghvaladze goal stealing all three points. Into July we struggled against Skuri in the cup until extra time, Temur Tsulaia coming on to do the damage with four extra time goals. A narrow loss in a potential game of the season contender against Dinamo Batumi before we saw out the month with no more losses. Again we struggled in the cup, two late goals from Ghvaladze earned us extra time before beating Samtredia on penalties. 

A poor couple of months all told, pretty good at home but really poor away. Probably expected losses again to the Dinamo's were compounded by a poor loss to Telavi. We smashed league leaders Samgurali out of nowhere and then beat them days later in the cup, albeit via extra time to earn us a semi-final appearance for the first time. A poor home loss to Torpedo Kutiasi ended the month on a sour note. 

Two penalties from Lyegostayev was enough to secure three points against lowly Kolkheti before losing to Sioni. Saburtalo beat us comfortably 1-0 in the cup semi-final before a ding-dong 4-4 draw at home to Dinamo Tbilisi. 

3rd place with four games remaining for us. We face 10th & 1st away, whilst we play 6th & 2nd at home. Six points from those games should be enough for 3rd place I hope. 

The positive balance didn't last long, we're back in the red but the cup run has helped a bit with the prize money. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

November 2024

A better month, unbeaten in three games. Away at Lokomotivi it was a hard fought point before Tsulaia scored twice against Telavi. We were 2-1 up against Batumi going into the last quarter but we failed to hold out. 

We face Samgurali in the last game of the season, they're already champions so they have nothing but pride to play for. We need to equal Torpedo Kutaisi's result to ensure we finish in 3rd place. 

[ToMexico!!]

December 2024 - Season Review

We end the season with the win we needed to confirm 3rd place. 

3rd place means we qualify for the Conference League next season, so around July 2025 we'll enter that competition. 66 goals scored was the second most behind Batumi with 69, league winners Samgaruli only scored 44. However we did concede 50 goals which was the fourth most and something we need to address but its also something I've struggled with in FM23. Attack is my best form of defence. 

We receive just shy of £85k for our league finish. 

We reached the Davit Kipiani's Cup semi-final beating Krtsanisi, Algeti, Skuri, Samtredia and Samgaruli before losing to Saburtalo. We received around £130k in prize money. 

Temur Tsulaia took over the lone striker role this season from Rati Ghavaladze and he did well, scoring 36 goals in 35(4) games and also making seven assists. Ghvaladze himself scored 11 goals in 7(11) games but now wants a move away from the club due to falling down the pecking order. Left winger Artem Lyegostayev scored 14 goals and made 16 assists in 42 games whilst Luke Musikiri struggled on the opposite wing with just three goals and eight assists, he also wants out, which I'm happy to sell him for the £300k we agreed. Our other Zimbabwean player Tatenda Jamu had another good season at CM(a), scoring 13 goals and making seven assists. 

The ever decreasing balance has been stiffled a little this month due to the league prize money. We're still awaiting for confirmation of the new stadium but its planned capacity has been increased. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

December 2024 - New Stadium

And as we continue forward we're notified of our new stadium. Poorly named but we have no history other than Kvaratskhelia played for us for one season. Its going to cost us £1.63m, we've got a loan for £1.4m to pay for it plus a 5 year stadium sponsorship deal which seems to start immediately despite the stadium not being completed until January 2027. 

[Mr Jabay]

Hey, great read as usual! I hope with the new stadium your finances will look more solid... right now you sell out every home game:)

And, of course, good luck for the international games! I look forward to your reports

[ToMexico!!]

1 hour ago, Mr Jabay said:

Hey, great read as usual! I hope with the new stadium your finances will look more solid... right now you sell out every home game:)

And, of course, good luck for the international games! I look forward to your reports

Thanks Mr Jabay! Yeah when you only have a 500 capacity stadium its not hard to fill. We've got two more seasons at the old one, hopefully we can get through a round or two of Europe to get us some money in the meantime. 

At least we also have two transfer windows to strengthen for our first venture in Europe. 

[ToMexico!!]

January 2025 - Job Interview Offer

Their previous manager just flat out resigned, wasn't sacked or moved to another club. Anyway, no thanks. 

[ToMexico!!]

Feb 2025 - Transfers

One player of note has left the club and thats Rati Ghvaladze for an initial fee of £50k to last seasons league winners Samgurali. Ideally I didn't want him to leave, he was a great back up to have but he wanted to leave and was opting to not renew his contract. He leaves having scored 76 goals in 84 games in the three seasons with us. 

We managed to sign five new players. Tsotne Bendianishvili had been on my radar for around 18 months now but he was mid-contract and not wanting to leave Belgian side Winkel Sport. In January things changed and his contract was up in six months time, so I offered him a deal and he agreed to join. Upon confirmation I asked how much to sign him now and they wanted just £12.25k, a no brainer. We needed a new back up GK but I managed to sign a new first choice player instead, released by former club Torpedo Kutaisi, Lasha Dvalishvili joins on a two-year deal. 

I was then offered Jose Otavio by his agent, he too was set to leave his former club in Brazil at the end of his contract but they had set his asking price to £0. A bid went in, we agreed terms and in he came as our new first choice CB alongside Mvula. I then signed another CB, a more experienced player on a short-term deal, Irakli Kvashilava was released by Dinamo Tbilisi at the end of his contract. Last to join this winter was Giorgi Gogolashvili, another free transfer who was released by Belarussian side Osipovichi, he joins as a fringe player who can play at RW or ST. 

We still lack a good back up option for LW and could also do with another back up striker, so more players may still yet join before the window closes. 

[ToMexico!!]

March 2025

A decent start to the 2025 season, five games with three wins and a draw. Disappointing to have lost against Telavi as they had opened their season with a 4-0 loss but obviously were fired up. A solid win to end the month with our very own 4-0 win defeating Saburtalo. 

Early days but we're 2nd.

One more player joined before the window shut as free agent Zuriko Davitashvili joined to ultimately change our formation to a more direct 4-3-3. He's a inverted left winger but I felt we could change formation slightly to play three up front, three goals and three assists so far for Zuriko indicates its been a good move so far. 

Who cares? I don't