[FM23] Kosovo

[Jimbokav1971]

The new season. Jun 2024. 

We've been put into the Kosovan First League Group B. I honestly don't know if it's Geographical, random or something else that sorts the clubs into whatever Group. 

We play each side 3 times, (so 27 games). 
The Champions get prompted to the SuperLeague. 
The Runners Up go into a Semi-Final Playoff with the Runners up in the other Group. 
The winners of the Semi-Final Playoff play the team positioned 8th in SuperLeague. (The winner plays in the SuperLeague next season). 
The bottom team is relegated, (so we just have to finish 2nd bottom). 
Match squad of 35 players. (but EVERYONE has to be registered). 

Season Preview. It's fine. The odds will come down loads when we start signing players...... (Oops!)

 

Grounds. That's not a football pitch that Malisheva play on. That's a runway! 

Malisheva are a Pro club who yo-yo between the SuperLeague and First League and their top wage is £1,800 pw. 
Drenica are Semi-Pro but have been in the Superleague for 20+ years until 2 years ago and their top wage is £425 pw.
Ulpiana are Pro and have just been relegated from the Superleague and their top wage is £1,100 pw.
Flamurtari are Semi-Pro and their top wage is £450 pm.
Vjosa are Semi-Pro and their top wage is £425 pw.
Kika are Amateur, (but this is their 6th year at this level). I don't know what the score is with them or how they operate at this level against Semi-Pro clubs. Deep Youth system perhaps? 
Fushë Kosova are Semi-Pro and their top wage is £300 pm.
2 Korriku are Semi-Pro and their top wage is £450 pm.
Vllaznia are Semi-Pro and their top wage is £350 pm.
Shkëndija are Semi-Pro and our top wage is £200 pm. 

This could be tough. 

I wonder what the board expectations are. I have a feeling that we will be coming straight back down. 

So even if we come straight back down I shouldn't be sacked, assuming I also don't lose the dressing room. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Progress? Jun 2024. 

I was just starting to wonder how we were going to improve and then I received this message. 

This should make a significant difference and I wonder if I can squeeze the Balkan El Presidente for a facility upgrade off the back of this news and our successes last season? 

I don't like this Balkan El Presidente. 

Squad registration. I've got 35 slots that I can use, but just trying to get 2 players in every position, (22 players), is a challenge. We're really short in the middle of the pitch. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Muttley84 said:

Thats Liechtenstein who only gets 1 place (for the cup winner, they have no national league). Otherwise, Kosovo still has room to grow. Good luck!

Of course it is. Good spot. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug & Sep 2024.

First League Group B. We've played really, (surprisingly), well and all the games were close. If you had told me that we would be this competitive I would have bitten your arm off. We have to remember that we don't have to win many games. We just need to gain enough points not to finish bottom. 

xG watch. We have won the xG battle in every single game so far, (which is absolutely astonishing). Obviously we're conceding more goals than we should and we're not scoring as many as we should, but we're still actually really competitive. 

Ulpiana 1.52 - 2.09 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 1.41 - 0.98 2 Korriku.
Vjosa 0.64 - 1.45 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 2.26 - 1.28 Malisheva.
Shkëndija 1.78 - 1.41 Flamurtari.
Drenica 1.40 - 2.32 Shkëndija.

Records. 

Transfers. We've lost 3 of our best players on free transfers. They were on NC contracts and there was nothing we could do. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2024.

First Division Group B. Our 3 games against Vjosa already look like being key in deciding who goes down. We won the 1st one, (4-0 away), and if we can continue that then I think we should be fine. Remember, we only need to finish ahead of 1 other club to stay up. 

xG watch. The Amateur side Kika are the 1st side this season to beat us on xG. I really wish I knew what the deal was with them. They sound REALLY interesting. 

Shkëndija 3.05 - 0.27 Vllaznia. 
Kika 1.29 - 0.98 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 1.81 - 1.25 Fushe Kosova.
Shkëndija 1.60 - 2.39 Ulpiana.

Staff. The Balkan El Presidente has finally appointed staff in all/most areas. (I will show you some of them as and when they do something). 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

16 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

PPM's.

Something else I noticed and forgot to mention is that I'm not able to train PPM's at the moment. I've checked the settings/responsibilities and I'm wondering if it's limited to players who train FT? Anyone else come across this before because I love a PPM.... 

 

15 hours ago, Thebaker said:

maybe its to do with the standard of facilities

I am able to train PPM's now and I have worked out what the problem was. We didn't have the staff to be able to train them. When you think about it, the process is to ask a staff member to train a particular PPM for a particular player. We were unable to do that because all we had is a GK Coach, (and I didn't check GK's). 

At least I know now for future anyway.

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2024. 

First Division Group B. A quite fantastic month all things considered. Not only did we beat our big rivals for relegation Vjosa, (that's 2/2 against them this season), but we also beat 2 Korriku and took SuperLeague side Liria to ET, (away) in the Cup.  Really really pleased with this month. We're almost at the halfway point of the season and we're 4 points clear of Vjosa at the bottom. We've won 4 games in the 1st half of the season. If we can win at least 2 more then that might be enough to keep us up. 

xG watch. Surprisingly Vjosa beat us on xG, (although we did have some injury/suspension issues). Pro club Malisheva battered us but it was interesting to see that Pro SuperLeague club Liria not only couldn't beat us in 90 mins in the Cup, but also actually lost on xG to us. I wonder is this simply a case of big clubs under-estimating us? 
1 Korriku 1.50 - 1.65 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 1.14 - 1.30 Vjosa.
Malisheva 4.30 - 2.13 Shkëndija.
Cup. Liria 2.10 - 2.47 Shkëndija.

Kosovan Cup. What a brilliant performance. We led 1-0 and in the end we just ran out of legs. Brilliant performance though. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Facilities. Dec 2024. 

With us sitting relatively pretty, 8th in the league and 4 points clear of relegation and with £17,777 in the bank, I thought now was the right time to approach the Balkan El Presidente again for some facility upgrades. Surely if our over-performance on the pitch wasn't enough, my wit and charm surely would be? 

He's not even giving me the chance to persuade him. 

Maybe if we manage to stay up I will try again. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake preview. Dec 2024. 

I was on holiday when we got the Youth Intake preview, (so I never saw it). This looks.... surprisingly reasonable for a club with 2.1.1.1 facilities, (although maybe it actually helps that we have a HoYD now, (no it doesn't!) 

[Jimbokav1971]

Job Interview. Jan 2025. 

I have no badges and I obviously started with Sunday league reputation, so this is a surprise. 

Vllaznia are a Semi-Pro side currently sitting just below us in the league, and they have a smaller budget, (actually no, that's what they are spending rather than what their budget is I think), and they have better facilities. No wonder they want me! 

Although this will absolutely be a Youth Only save, I hadn't actually considered if I would move clubs. At the moment I'm thinking no, but if the Balkan El Presidente keeps saying no to my facility upgrade requests then......

I went full "Youth Only" on their asses in the interview and stayed completely in Youth Only character, but they absolutely loved it and offered me the job immediately. 

Unfortunately I haven't given up here quite yet. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2025. 

First Division Group B. 2 away games and 0 losses is brilliant stuff!

xG watch. I really am surprised by how well we're doing in terms of xG. The only issue is that our players aren't good enough to capitalise on it. 
Fla,urtari 0.72 - 0.76 Shkëndija.
Vllaznia 1.06 - 1.31 Shkëndija.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New contract. Mar 2025. 

I honestly feel insulted every time I'm offered just a 1 year contract in any save, but it's better than not being offered a contract at all. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2025. 

First Division Group B. It was a really tough month in terms of fixtures, and I'm absolutely ecstatic to come away with a total of 7 points, which gives us not only a 10 point gap to Vjosa in 19th, but also a 7 point gap to Vllaznia in 9th. With 7 games remaining I think we're almost guaranteed to survive. (Almost). 

We've had a torrid time with suspensions this month with 3 red cards and God only knows how many suspensions from the accumulation of yellow cards, (it's a 1 match ban for 4 yellows). 

xG watch. It wasn't a great month in terms of xG either and for a change we did better in terms of scorelines than we did in respect to xG, (not that I care). 
Fushe Kosova 2.79 - 0.92 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 1.97 - 3.19 Drenica.
Shkëndija 0.62 - 2.13 Kika.
Ulpiana 2.35 - 2.46 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 0.73 - 1.28 2 Korriku.
Vjosa 0.58 - 2.37 Shkëndija.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Apr 2025. 

(25a) Çela might be (Unamb) + (L.Det), but he has double figure passing & vision and we're short of central midfielders so he's definitely getting a contract. 
(25b) Ndoja has 1.0 CA (rather than 0.5) and his Det is 13 so he's getting a contract. 
(25c) Shala 5'9" is a DL and we've got quite a few DL's already. I don't think I can afford to sign another one, (and he has (L.Det too).
(25d) Bestrova is a DL but looks much better + his (Det) is 14 and he has a (F.Amb) personality. 
(25e) Hornby (KOS)(ENG) looks like one of the best players from this intake. 
(25f) Murseli is pretty average and the only thing making me want to keep him is his Pace of 9 and Acceleration of 10. Undecided about him because of (L.Det).
(25g) Sharpe (KOS)(ENG) might have (L.Det), but it's not Really (L.Det) and he's another midfielder which we;re desperate for. 
(25h) Hasanaj (KOS)(ALB) is another with (L.Det), but I also just don't like his attribute distribution. I can't see him ever playing. 
(25i) Ramadan looks vaguely decent and has (Det) of 12. 
(25j) Xhafa has (L.Det) but he's a midfielder who can pass, (and even First Touch is decent)
(25k) Kasmollari has (L.Det) and pace of 5.
(25l) Caushaj would be our 6th GK at the club and that's just too many. 
(25m) Michot (KOS)(SUI) is quick and can cross and dribble.  
(25n) Ademi might be (Temp), (and I have already had training issues with a (Temp) player in this save), but I like his physicals so he gets a contract. 
(25o) Bajrami is a non-lefty centre-half who isn't a midget, but (L.Det), low bravery and low strength is really putting me off. 
(25p) Bajrami (KOS)(ALB) would get a contract just for his 16 (Det), but he can also pass & make good decisions. (Just a shame he can't run).

I'm signing the 10 players in Bold and releasing the others, (rightly or wrongly). This will save us just under £9,000 per year and that's actually really significant at this stage. It's complete guesswork from my side, but I'm also gambling that the chances are we're highly unlikely to produce anyone who's any good anyway so the risk is really low. Attribute balance is probably the biggest thing I'm looking for right now, (and filling gaps in the squad). 

(25a) Çela actually asked for a NC contract, (to start at the end of his Youth contract I think). I didn't have a single player ask for that from last seasons intake so..... 

(25b) Ndoja also requested a pre-contract NC. 

(25d) Bestrova asked for a pre-contract NC. Maybe this did happen last season and I just didn't notice. 

(25e) Hornby (KOS)(ENG) is another pre-contract NC.

(25g) Sharpe (KOS)(ENG)

(25i) Ramadan

(25j) Xhafa

(25m) Michot (KOS)(SUI)

(25n) Ademi

(25p) Bajrami (KOS)(ALB)

They all asked for pre-contract NC's. I must just not have noticed last season. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

3rd Time Lucky? Facilities. Apr 2025. 

After being knocked back on all 3 requests the 1st and 2nd time, we get our 1st success at the 3rd time of asking. 

Or facilities are still showing as 2.1.1.1 but I think it takes approx 1 month to kick in. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Relegation Battle. Apr 2025. 

We've taken 1 point from our opening 2 games of the month, tough games against Flamurtari (3rd) and Malisheva (1st), but Vjosa have gone and won 2 on the bounce and suddenly we're right back in the mix again, (albeit with a 5 point buffer over the other 2). 

We have the easiest run-in of the 3, (2nd, 6th, 7th & 9th) and I think that if we beat Vllaznia in our 2nd last game then we will probably be safe no matter what else happens. (I hope). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2025. 

First Division Group B. 4 really good performances this month brought us 2 wins, a drawn and a single goal loss. It means that we're 10 points clear of Vjosa with 2 games to play and we must be safe but I haven't seen the message telling us that or confirming what our budget for next season is. [Goes to check for missed messages] Nope, I haven't missed a message but we are safe. Even if both Vllaznia & Vjosa win both their remaining games and we lose both of ours, we will still be safe by 4 points and a significant goal difference. Maybe it doesn't work the same way at the bottom of the table as it does at the top....  I think because the relegation isn't decided, it hasn't been triggered despite the fact that we're no longer involved in the equation. 

xG watch. I know we lost the xG battles in the 2 home games, but these games are against proper teams that we have no right to even be playing. 
Shkëndija 0.76 - 1.55 Flamurtari. 
Shkëndija 0.64 - 1.85 Malisheva.
Drenica 1.44 - 2.09 Shkëndija.
Kika 0.70 - 2.84 Shkëndija.

Records. With 2 games of the season still to play, we have just set the record, both for goals scored at this level, and also goals conceded at this level. Talk about entertaining football! 

Finances. 

[withnail316]

30 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Records. With 2 games of the season still to play, we have just set the record, both for goals scored at this level, and also goals conceded at this level. Talk about entertaining football

Kevin Keegan? Football royalty on this sub. 😄

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2025. 

First Division Group B. We had a really good end to the season, winning 5 and drawing 1 of our final 8 games, earning us 16 hugely valuable points. 

xG watch. 
Shkëndija 2.20 - 0.29 Vllaznia.
Shkëndija 2.29 - 1.88 Fushe Kosova.

Finances. I obviously don't care about not having a Transfer budget because we won't be buying anyone anyway. The increase in the wage budget is great because it just takes the pressure off with regards to releasing players a little. 

With 10 Youth players, (10 signed from the 16 in the intake), at an avg wage of £150 pm (it's either £120 or £150), costing us approx £1,500 per month or approx £18,000 per year, that seems pretty reasonable, but when you consider that the Youth contract doesn't expire on the players 17th birthday, (unless they sign a new contract). In fact in continue until the season that the player turns 20. When you consider that it's largely 15 year olds that we're seeing coming through the intake that means they cost us £1,500 per month, (or £18,000 per year), for the whole season that they're 16(1), the whole season that they're 17(2), the whole season that they're 18(3), the whole season that they're 19(4), and a few months at the end of their 1st season when they're 15 years old and have just come through the intake. So that initially means that if I sign 10 players from this intake, then I will pay them that figure for about 4 and a bit years. That doesn't sound too bad until you consider that when they are in their 2nd full season, (when they are 17 years old), you are also paying the 10 players from the next +1 intake the same amount per month, (so that's 2 lots of £1,500 per month = £3,000 per month), and then when they are 18 you're paying them and the following +1 intake and then the +2 intake after that so you're effectively paying for 3 years worth of Youth contracts each month now at £4,500 per month and then when they're 19 in their last season on a youth contract, you're actually paying 3 other years' intakes the same so the total bill is 4x £1,500 = £6,000 per month, or £72,000 per year, (and that's not counting the couple of months after they come through the intake even before the 1st season. When you consider that I haven't we've got £29,249 in the bank, and that's the most we've ever had in the bank under my tenure, the sums of money we're talking about really are significant. 

Don't get me wrong, if we were to get promoted then I don't think there would be the slightest issue with funding 4 seasons worth of intakes at the same time, but certainly in the First Division while we're selling 69 season tickets, it really might be a problem. 

Of course there are ways to mitigate this. 

1. We can loan the youth contract players out, (but who is going to want to pay their wages when they are so rubbish?)
2. Some of them are hopefully going to be good and are going to be poached by other clubs, (and we might even earn some money from them). 
3. Some of them, (like all 10 of the recent intake here), will sign pre-contract non-contract contracts, (sorry, that isn't a joke really), so when they turn 17 they will no longer be paid a weekly wage and instead will be effectively on a pay as you play contract, (which I'm liking the sound of more and more after crunching the numbers here). 
4. If we ever start producing good players we could even sell them for a fee, (rather than compensation). 
5. Finally, (I don't think I have any more options), in the dim and distant future we might even earn a loan fee from then while they are out on loan. 

Squad by Appearances. Last season we had 3 players who featured in every game of the season, and this season 2 of them have done it again. GK Makolli 6'0" and SC Kastrati. * started every game this season. 

Squad by Goals. Although Kastrati. * scored 14 goals fewer than he did last season, 15 goals after going up a league where we're huge underdogs is nothing to be sniffed at, (especially when you consider that he really isn't very good). 

Squad by Assists. Our WB positions are key to our creativity, and it was only later in the season that we really started to reap the rewards from the likes of 17 year old (24c) Sefa & 19 year old Hamra * HG. 

Squad by Avg rating. The fact that this list is topped by a 1.0 CA centre-half playing as a Libero, (when it doesn't suit him at all), tells you all you need to know about passing stats influence on match rating. Compare the Avg rating of Xhemajli. 6''0" (6.95) to that of centre-half Zagani. 6'0" who scored 4 goals (6.63), and you don't need any other info. You get a better rating for lots of useless passes than you do sticking the ball in the net. 

Home Table. Because we play each team 3 times, (so an odd number of games), some team play 1 more home game than away game, and other teams play 1 more away game than home game. I expect that if you have an extra home game this season you will have an extra away game next season. Approaching the end of the season it suddenly dawned on me that we were significantly better playing away from home than we did at home. 

In simple terms....

We earned 14 points from 14 home games at an average of 1 point per game. (ranked 9th of 10 clubs).
We earned 20 points from 13 away games at an average of 1.54 points per game. (ranked 5th of 10 clubs). 

We played 1 extra home game this season, so hopefully that means we will play an extra away game next season.

If you are wondering why this happened then I would expect that the better sides in the league were more attacking when we were away and this allowed us to counter the, successfully. When they were a little more reserved we didn't have the quality to break them down or keep them out. Granted our away games were ridiculous goal-fests, but it's that away form which was instrumental in keeping us up. 

Away Table. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, withnail316 said:

Kevin Keegan? Football royalty on this sub. 😄

I think I have morphed into a mix of Kevin Keegan, (Newcastle Kevin Keegan rather than ENgland Kevin Keegan), Ossie Ardiles and Pep/Klopp. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Records. Jun 2025. 

I was all set to just write here that the last message must have been a bug because there is no way we had the biggest average attendance, but it actually appears we do somehow. 

Are fans just coming to watch us because of all the goals? 

Home Attendances in 1st season. 

Home Attendances in 2nd season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Pre Season. Aug 2025.

1st Team squad. 

Season preview. 

Upliana are a Pro club who were in this League lasts season and finished 4th. 
Drenica are a Semi-Pro club who were in this league last season and finished 7th. 
Flamurtari are a Semi-Pro club who were in this league last season and finished 2nd.
Kika are a really weird club. They are completely Amateur but seem to thrive at this level. They were in this league last season and finished 3rd. 
Arbëria are a Pro club. They were in our 3rd Tier League when we were promoted & fell away at the end. They were promoted as Champions last season. 
2 Korriku are a Semi-Pro club who were in this league last season and finished 5th.
Vllaznia are a Semi-Pro club who were in this league last season and finished 9th, (just avoiding relegation).
Fushë Kosova are a Semi-Pro club who were in this league last season and finished 6th.
Rilindja Prishtinë are a Semi-Pro club who were promoted as Runners Up behind Arbëria.

Last season our odds were 250-1 I think.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2025. 

First League Group B. We should have won both these games. First of all we led 2-0 away to title favourites Ulpiana and then had a player sent off on 30 mins, (2 yellows in 3 mins), before they were given a penalty, (in a separate incident). Then we just absolutely countered them to death.  Against the weird Amateur side Kika, (I am dying for someone in the know to come in here and tell me all about them), we were the better side and should have led until their striker scored an absolut Worldy lob from about 35 yards that he hit 1st time and our GK got a hand to it but could only palm it into the corner of the net. I'm gutted that we're not on 6 points, but I really think we might upset a few teams this season, (assuming someone doesn't nick all our players). 

xG watch.
Ulpiana 1.26 - 1.54 Shkëndija.
Shkëndija 1.39 - 0.36 Kika.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2025.

First League Group B. What a tough month! We lost our 1st choice WBR, (out for 5 weeks), and then his replacement comes in, scores a great goal, then gets sent off and is missing for the next 2 matches!  With a little bit of luck we could have had 9 points from this month. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2025. 

First League Group B. We had a really good month, but we deserved to win the Flamurtari game and Ulpiana beat ut in the 94th min. 

Facilities. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2025. 

First League Group B. Our form has dropped off a cliff and it's because we're just not scoring. (23) Kastrati. * scored 29 goals my 1st season in charge and then another 15 goals last season, but this season he's scored just 1 goal in 11(2) appearances. We were scoring 3's, 4's and 5's last year. 

Kosovan Cup. What an absolute hiding this was. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth intake preview. Dec 2025.

[Jimbokav1971]

Kosovan goal of the year. Dec 2025. 

I rarely seem to score good goals in FM, (other than GK goals of course), but this one is a belter! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Winter mid-pre-season. Feb 2026. 

I know I'm probably going to jinx it now, but the most significant aspect of the save so far is that we haven't lost a player that we wanted to keep since August 2024, (so approaching 2 years).

I was happy for all these players to leave and I instigated the sales of the top 2, and the released the bottom 3, (after converting their Youth contracts into NC contracts. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2026. 

First League Group B. We've been in much better form this month, largely because (23) Kastrati. * has got his mojo back and is banging in the goals again. We sat 7th in the league after our last game before this, (8 pts off leaders Drenica),  but our great form has coincided with everyone else dropping points and we have rocketed up the table. 

Form. Before this game, our star striker form the last couple of seasons, (23) Kastrati. * (with 44 goals in 60(1) appearances), hadn't scored for 13 games and our form had really suffered as a result. During the WInter mid-pre-season or whatever it's called, I basically just told him I loved him and that we were meant to be together, and got him scoring a couple of goals in friendlies and that has seem to have done the trick. 

He's scored 6 goals in 4 games this months and is suddenly back to the player we had before, (and then some). Prior to this he had scored 1 goal in 11(2) appearances this season. 

Job Interview. FC Istogu are a Pro club who currently sit 7th in the other First League Group. I'm going to always answer questions in my Youth Only Manager character in all these interviews, so let's see if they want the real me or if they just want to appoint someone who wins but they don't know how. 

The fact that they want defensively solid football and are inviting me to interview suggests that they haven't done their homework on me. 

Before I even go to the interview I know this club is not for me and even if I do move on elsewhere, it won't be here, now. 

I down-scaled both the transfer budget and wage budget they were offering, and also suggested that we wouldn't be playing defensive football at all, but also asked they they improve Youth Recruitment, (they declined), so at least they know what I'm all about now. 

Astonishingly they thought I was who they wanted, (I'm not), so i will not be accepting the job offer. It's good to know that pro clubs are interested in me though. 

Facilities. Top of the table, 4 wins on the bounce, just turned down a move to a Pro club to stay here..... You know what that means? Yep, a visit to Mr Balkan El Presidente and see what I can squeeze out of him. 

I couldn't ask for a bigger Junior Coaching budget, (because we had an increase not long ago). 

Balkan El Presidente said no initially to improving our Youth Recruitment, but I managed to persuade him. 

I didn't push this because the truth is I don't know how much it costs. I think the sensible strategy is to not actually do this anyway, and instead wait until we have turned Pro. I have a feeling that we're going to need to get promoted to the Top tier in order to turn pro, and I'm not sure how realistic that is, (despite us currently being top of the league. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Amateur hour. Mar 2026. 

KF Kika are an amateur club playing in the 2nd tier of Kosovan football and they are confusing the hell out of me. The general level in the 2nd tier is Semi-Pro, but there are always 1 or 2 fully Pro clubs knocking about in each of the 2 Leagues. KF Kika shouldn't be able to survive at this level and certainly shouldn't be able to do well, but they do and I don't understand how. 

With 1 exception, we've had an absolute nightmare playing against them.

The Head to Head comparison looks bad, but it's even worse when you consider that 1 of our 2 wins was in a friendly. 

Even if you just look at result under their current manager it's still not good. 

They have even played in the SuperLeague, but I can't find much info about them at all. 

Maybe I can find more info looking at where they play? 

Wiki isn't much help on this. 

Ahhhh, hang on. I don't usually use Facebook, (hate it), but they have an active page on there. 

They actually state that they are Professional, (although that could be a fb thing). 

It appears that there is some development going on. 

OMG!  They've got videos of full matches on FB. How am I going to stop myself watching them? I'm not even managing them!  (By the way, the pitch and the camera work is awful, but the football deffo isn't). 

https://www.facebook.com/kfkika/videos/2768854506769127

I think the researcher has screwed up here. I think they are a Pro team and the game has it wrong. 

They don't have good facilities so how do they continue to do so well as an Amateur club in the game?  I don't even think there are any Amateur clubs in the tier below this. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2025.

First League Group B. Since the WInter break we've won 7 out of 8 games, (and even the game we drew saw Ulpiana equalise in the 94th min). We're playing some really nice football and we even somehow kept 2 clean sheets this month!   

With 6 games to play we're 7 points clear of KF Fushë Kosova in 3rd so there is a really decent chance of at least finishing 2nd and qualifying for the Playoffs, (which is quite frankly ridiculous), and 2nd placed Drenica have drawn 3 of their last 6 game. We play then next month and it will be of huge significant in respect of who claims the title. 

New contract. A 1 year deal? What a liberty!!!   Maybe you don't get longer than 1 year on a PT contract though? 

Finances. 

[Jtomsett11]

I'm enjoying your light hearted approach to this, it's enjoyable to read (as always) but you also seem to be making progress quite rapidly. How successful are top flight teams in Europe? I can imagine the money from qualification for say the Conference League is enough to fund teams for years. 

[_Ben_]

I’m going to echo @Jtomsett11 - you’ve progressed very quickly here. I envisage that it’s partly due to the lack of difference in quality between these two levels, as is often the case at such a ‘low’ quality. When do you think this is going to get ‘hard?!’

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Jtomsett11 said:

I'm enjoying your light hearted approach to this, it's enjoyable to read (as always) but you also seem to be making progress quite rapidly. How successful are top flight teams in Europe? I can imagine the money from qualification for say the Conference League is enough to fund teams for years. 

The whole idea of this save is that it's very easy in terms of playing style, (not much effort), after the detail and effort I had to go into in the Spanish/African/Ceuta save. It was really hard work and this is mostly pressing continue with a little but of player analysis. 

We're certainly doing better than I expected. I think we need to get promoted sooner rather than later though, because especially when we play away from home we're benefiting, (I think), from opposition teams not giving us enough respect and them paying the price for that simply because we've got square pegs in square holes where as we all know the AI is fond of square pegs in round holes. 

If you don't mind I'm going to leave it a few seasons before I even look at who has done what in Europe. I will probably do it when/if we get promoted to the Superleague so we all know who's who and what we can expect. I will also cover the finances of the Superleague at that stage too, (because I simply don't know what they are at this stage).  

I think it all depends on how brave/risky you are with your contracts in the SuperLeague. Obviously signing a hot young player to a long-term FT contract is sensible, but if you get relegated then it seems it's not sustainable at all and of course I very much doubt there are parachute payments here like there are in the Premier League. When it goes wrong I can imagine it goes badly wrong.

Until we progress our players a little so that I can at least try to identify who is good and who isn't on intake day, (I haven't a clue at the moment and I'm signing players based on personality, determination and attribute balance), then it's hard to make real proper progress. At the moment it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, blindfolded, with no arms, when the haystack is the size of Australia. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I’m going to echo @Jtomsett11 - you’ve progressed very quickly here. I envisage that it’s partly due to the lack of difference in quality between these two levels, as is often the case at such a ‘low’ quality. When do you think this is going to get ‘hard?!’

I'm honestly not sure. 

What I was expecting was that we would do pretty well in the 1st season, simply by using a tactic that works on the basis of creating loads of chances, being better than the AI at deciding what player should play in what role(duty) and also being better than the AI at getting value out of "players with serious limitations". I think that went better than expected and you obviously saw that the team were winning after I took over even when I was on holiday, so just using the tactic that I had stuck in, (my basic 343 Ceuta tactic), and the key bit was that I made a Save Team Selection, (really quickly), where I just stuck players into roles where I thought they could do and I really didn't care about actual positions. WB's are key in this system and we didn't have any so I was using wingers to start off with, and also wingers playing on the sides of a front 3 up top. I really just stuck players where I thought they would perform best, (and picked the best players), and went from there. 

The 2nd season went a little better than I was expecting, up until the last couple of months where it went MUCH better than I was expecting. It just seemed like we were on a roll and you know what momentum is like in FM. We finished the season really strongly and were miles clear of relegation in the end. 

This season is a little different. We only lost 1 player in the last 20 or so months, (retired), and all the time our young players are getting better but by little bit, and every time we have an intake I get another couple of players who can fill this gap opr that gap. It's largely the same team that I started with though. 

What I've found before is that at this Semi_pro level in FM you don't have to do an awful lot to be successful, and the real struggle comes when you start coming up against sides who are Pro, or who have been Pro recently, and who just have players that you can't compete with. The fact that we're better away from home, (enormously), suggests that the AI thinks that they can turn us over pretty easily and I guess I'm just taking advantage of that and going right back in at them with 3 strikers and 2 WB's and sticking it to them often with a huge overload. The reason we're beating them is simply that they're not very good and can't take their chances that they have to work hard for, where as we don't have to work nearly as hard for our chances and the overload is giving us an advantage when our chances come.m 

I anticipated that we would struggle this season, and get battered against the Pro teams, but they're under-performing hugely and the Amateur side Kika are over-performing hugely too. (I really don't understand it and I've looked hard at it). This is sustained over-performance over an extended period by Kika. 

When will this get hard? I think if we somehow go up this season then we might not win a single point next season, (unless they continue to undervalue is). The problem, (if you can call it a problem), is that promotion to the top tier will likely come with a big old rep boost and I think it's this which is helping us at the moment. 

We're the 2nd lowest of the "local" rep clubs, and there are even some non-playable clubs, (so tier 4 at best), which still have better rep than us. 

If we are able to turn Pro quickly once we get to the SuperLeague then that will help, but I expect that we won't be able to do it immediately and by then we will almost certainly be relegated back to the 2nd Tier again so it possibly might not be worth doing even when we can. I might have to plan to go up, (if of course we go up), come straight back and then go up to stay the 2nd time around. 

The other variable here is that because it's a Youth Only save everything really depends on the facilities, (and the reputation), but also, we don't have to have the best facilities, we just have to have better facilities than the other clubs, (and I haven't checked out the facilities of SuperLeague clubs yet). 

If we can start banging out decent youngsters, and get to the point where I'm able to identify who's who, then I think this whole save could be pretty easy, (at least the domestic portion of it). Of course it's going to go up another few levels once we start playing in Europe, and experience tells me that money doesn't do you any good when you can't go and buy someone and have to rely on your Youth Intake. 

The other thing is that unlike most Youth Only saves I've ever done, I don't actually know what the Youth rating for Kosovo is, (and I don't want to know either at this stage so please don't tell me of you know). Actually I would expect it to be significantly higher than that of the likes of San Marino or Gibraltar for example, and it will be interesting to see how that impact us. 

For a while I thought I might be forced to emulate a @Makoto Nakamurasave where he gets stuck in some league for years and can never make any progress, and I fear that's what might happen if our Rep improves but we don't progress our facilities and escape the 2nd tier. 

I am REALLY surprised at how poor the Pro clubs do in the 2nd tier though, (and again the Amateur club), It doesn't seem right to me. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Apr 2026. 

We've had quite a few upgrades since the last intake, so although I'm not expecting the quality here to be good, I am expecting it to be better. What that looks in terms of PA I have absolutely no idea, but I am hoping that we will a noticeable improvement in player CA coming through. Last season none of them were ready to walk into our starting XI, (even though 1 did). 

(26a) Rexhepi is (Unamb), but he's not also (L.Det) so he's getting a contract.  The problem with him though is I don't know where to play him at this stage. He doesn't fit in anywhere. 
(26b) Naçi is (L.Det) but he has some good physicals. I'm really not sure what to do with him. I will move on and come back to him. 
(26c) Iseni 6'0" is a centre-half and we're short of those so he gets a contract. 
(26d) Dushku 6'1" is a centre-half and we're short of those so he gets a contract.  He also has double figures for Tackling, Aggression, Bravery, Decisions, Determination, Jumping Reach & Natural Fitness. I think he's probably our best centre-half immediately. 
(26e) Lekaj is a DL who looks reasonable. He's getting a contract. 
(26f) Osmani (KOS)(ALB) is a DR and we're desperate there so he's getting a contract.  I've also got to admit to having a personal preference for liking Albanians in this save. 
(26g) Rexhepi (I've checked and they're not related),  First Touch, Technique, Passing, Decisions, Determination & Vision. He's getting a contract. 
(26h) Muca. (Unamb) + (L.Det) I'm not giving him a contract.  I can cope with (Unamb) or (L.Det), but I'm not having both unless he looks amazing.
(26i) Shehu (KOS)(ALB) looks like a decent wide attacker. 
(26j) Ramadani 5'9" is another decent looking centre-half. This time with more ability on the ball but I like him. 
(26k) Qehajaj is a bit raw, but I like his physicals, (and his name). 
(26l) Antonsen (KOS)(NOR) is another passable midfielder so he gets a contract.  First Touch, Technique, Passing, Workrate, Natural Fitness.
(26m) Doka is the only striker in the group and we're really desperate for a central striker. He's getting a contract.  Dribbling, Finishing, Flair, Off the ball, Acceleration, Pace, Natural Fitness. Wait until you see this guy!!! 
(26n) Gjuzi Oh wow. Double wow! These lads are getting better the lower down the list we go. OMG and he's Pro too. Just look at this bloke. 
(26o) Krasniqi is a little raw but I like some of his physicals. 
(26p) Zürcher (KOS)(SUI) 6'0" If he wasn't a GK then I wouldn't be signing him, but he is a GK so... 

At the end of all that it meant that I signed 15 out of 16 players, (I'm sure there are some duffers in there but I just got carried away). The only player I didn't sign is (26h) Muca. (Unamb) + (L.Det).

[Edit] 

The Youth Academy candidates beat the U19's 4-3, (and that doesn't usually happen), so...... It could just be because we're early in the save and the facilities started so poorly. 

(26o) Krasniqi scored, got 2 assists, made 6 key passes and walked off with the MOM award. 

(26j) Ramadani 5'9" didn't play Libero, (I would have played him Libero out of those 3), but he scored 2 goals, made 12 (TWELVE) interceptions and won 9 of 16 headers while only 5'9". 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2026. 

First League Group B. It's fair to say that the pressure is getting to us. Thankfully though, the pressure seems to be getting to Drenica too, who after beating us have both their next 2 games. We weren't just beaten in our 2 losses. We were absolutely pulverised, but there is a reason for it. Suspensions!  We had both our MC's suspended for the Drenica game so we had lost before we'd even kicked off, and then against Arberia, 1 of them was still missing and we had 2 more suspended. 

Despite all that, we're still somehow top! 

Records. There were 598 people at the game. We've been in the 500's 4 other times this season and 3 times last season, but the attendance record of 620 was set against Flamurtari last season. 

Facilities. Because we're still top of the table, it's a perfect time to go and see Balkan El Presidente and hope that he's in a good mood.

Turns out he was and we got a Junior Coaching upgrade, (another one). I didn't even want the Youth Facilities upgraded. (It's too early and too expensive). I was just chancing my arm. This is a right touch! 

 

The Junior Coaching upgrade won't be showing yet in the numbers. It takes a little time to come through, (but when it does we will be up to 2.1.6.6.1 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2026. 

First League Group B. We drew against Flamurtari in our penultimate game, and Drenica took full advantage, dispatching the Amateurs Kika. 

I assumed it was all over until I saw who our last game was against, (already relegated Rilindja Prishtinë), and my hope boosted further when I saw that Drenica had to go away to 3rd placed Fushë Kosova, (who themselves were fighting with us for the Playoff place). We have to win, (and we should win), and if we do win then I think there is a decent chance that Fushë Kosova might just beat Drenica and hand us the title. As long as we win, I think even Fushë Kosova drawing with Drenica will give us the title on goal difference. 

(Knowing us we will go and lose now). We even have a full-strength side to pick from. No suspensions. No excuses. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2026 continued. 

I'm not sure why I didn't win this with Ceuta. Weren't they in the bottom league? 

League 2 Group B. We won 3-1 and Drenica lost 3-1 and we're champions and playing in the SuperLeague next season!     

This is the best picture I can find of the real thing. 

Finances.  OMG! They've given us almost a quarter of a million Pounds to spend on players and we don't spend any money on players. What the hell are we going to do with that? 

I'm guessing that means the TV money is pretty sizeable. (2nd Tier was £67k or something similar), so maybe £1M(ish)? 

Next season is going to be a joke! We're going to get pumped every week! 

Squad by Appearances. GK (21) Makolli 6'0" * was the only player to feature in all 28 games and I think that means he's played in every game for 3 years running now. 

Squad by Goals. (23) Kastrati. * was top goal-scorer for the 3rd year running, but Kosumi * ran him close.

Squad by Assists. 

Squad by Avg rating. 

Favoured Personnel list. 

[_Ben_]

22 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Squad by Appearances. GK (21) Makolli 6'0" * was the only player to feature in all 28 games and I think that means he's played in every game for 3 years running now. 

I mean, you’ve got…four…good players here. Good luck!

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

I mean, you’ve got…four…good players here. Good luck!

It does make me laugh that (23) Kastrati. *, who has scored 56 goals for us in 3 seasons is a 1.0 CA player. 

Can you imagine how many goals he would have scored if he was just a little bit good. 

[Jimbokav1971]

International Recognition. Jun 2026. 

Something that I forgot to mention during the season is that we had our 1st player capped at U21 International level. Although he's rubbish, as has just been pointed out in a previous post, all our players are rubbish, (apart from 4), so if we got rid of everyone who was rubbish then we wouldn't be able to put a team out. 

The fact that (24b) Pekka Pietilä (KOS)(FIN) scored league goals the last 2 seasons shows quite how low the standard is here. 

[Rikulec]

15 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

It does make me laugh that (23) Kastrati. *, who has scored 56 goals for us in 3 seasons is a 1.0 CA player. 

Can you imagine how many goals he would have scored if he was just a little bit good. 

He has pace, agility, finishing and a bit of dribbling and off the ball. That's all he needs at this level really.

[Jimbokav1971]

Welcome to the Kosovan SuperLeague. Jun 2026. 

This is how things finished last season. 

• Where as we played every team 3 times in our league, (3x9=27), everyone plays everyone else 4 times in the Big league. (4x9=36). 
• The top 2 clubs, (Ballkani & Drita), finished 28 and 27 points clear of 3rd placed Gjilani, (so it appears there are 2 big clubs dominating).
• Feronikeli 74 were relegated via the Playoffs, (they lost to Drenica on pens), but they will also be playing in the Europa Conference League, (because they won the Kosovan Cup Final).
• All the clubs who played in SuperLeague last season are Professional. 
• Liria, (who won First League Group A), are Professiona.
• Drenica, (who finished 2nd to us but won the Playoffs are Semi-Pro). 
• U19 players don't have to be registered. (Good, that was rubbish that we had to register them before). 
• There doesn't seem to be a limit to how many players you can register, (so I think it's 99). I also like that. 
• The bottom 2 go down and the 8th placed team plays off against the winner of the 2 Runners Up from each First League Group. The winner plays in the SuperLeague the following season.

@_Ben_asked in a recent post something along the lines of "when is it going to get hard". In answer to his question, I give you this spreadsheet comparing the 10 sides who played in SuperLeague last season, and include the 3 who have been promoted to play in it next season. I think it's fair to say that "it just got hard". 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Rikulec said:

He has pace, agility, finishing and a bit of dribbling and off the ball. That's all he needs at this level really.

You're honestly not wrong. When I initially looked at selecting my Save Team selections, I ignored what a player couldn't do and picked them on the basics that they could do. Expecting someone to have the full package was just ridiculous. It's actually quite hard sometimes to look at a really rubbish player and work out where and how you can use them effectively. 

[Jimbokav1971]

FC Ballkani in Europe. Jun 2026. 

FC Ballkani. 2022/23.

FC Ballkani. 2023/24.

FC Ballkani. 2024/25.

FC Ballkani. 2025/26.

[Jimbokav1971]

FC Drita Gjilan in Europe. Jun 2026. 

2022/23.

2023/24.

2024/25.

2025/26.

[OlivierL]

15 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

FC Ballkani in Europe. Jun 2026. 

FC Ballkani. 2022/23.

FC Ballkani. 2023/24.

FC Ballkani. 2024/25.

FC Ballkani. 2025/26.

They beaten lincoln(gib) today in the ecl qualifications, 5 1 in total. 😀

[Jimbokav1971]

SC Gjilani in Europe. Jun 2026. 

2022/23.

2023/24.

2024/25.

2025/26.