[FM24] Back to the Baltics

[Rikulec]

[FM24] Back to the Baltics

Hello there, FMCU. You may remember my previous save, [FM24] Dievs, svētī Latviju, which sort of ended with me burning out after more or less abandoning the initial premise in pursuit of bigger and bigger jobs. I've learned from my mistakes now and hopefully I can have an even better and longer save with a more or less similar starting point. There is a possibility that with some career options that may or may not open up for me soon it may turn out to be rather short-lived, but that remains to be seen. For now, I'm simply going to enjoy the game.

The Aim

Have an enjoyable, realistic, and hopefully successful career, starting from managing a youth team in the third tier of Estonian football. This time I'll be trying to stick to the Eastern and/or Central European nations (but also not ruling out a Scandinavian detour, depending on how things go) and to avoid jumps like Lech Poznań to Ajax the last time around.

The Manager

Erkki Karpela is a former Kalju academy player, who quickly realised he wouldn't grow to be anywhere near good enough for first team football. Instead of dropping down to the lower leagues, he pursued university education while also remaining with the Kalju academy as a coach. He started as an assistant coach, helping out with the youngest groups and slowly working his way up the ranks. Now, as a UEFA A coach and PE teacher at a local high school, he has been given the chance to manage the oldest academy team, who play in the third tier of senior football.

The Save

I just hope my laptop can handle the 35 leagues from 33 nations in the long run!  Plenty of downloaded files in there, as you can see. I also tweaked the Estonian one to make the U21 teams that start in the second and third tier playable.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - New Club - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

I can't help but wonder whether I might be the first person in the world to ever manage this team on FM. 

Club Name: Nõmme Kalju FC U21
Nickname: Roosad Pantrid
Year Founded: 1923
Status: Semi-Professional
Stadium: Hiiu kunstmurustaadion (2,730 capacity, 650 seated)

When you exclude all the players loaned out, we have 21 names on the list after moving some players from the 2nd team (who play in the bottom tier) and the U19s. Bear in mind that those star ratings are relative to the first team players, not the league we're in. Nevertheless, I'll still be managing a team of boys in a grown men's league. Our best players are Maksim Pavlov, Tanel Henn, and Rommi Siht; they're all described as good enough for the league above us already!

I honestly have no idea what to expect here, so it's good that the board appear to be quite reasonable with their demands. As long as we don't get involved in the relegation fight, everything should be fine.

[warlock]

53 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

I can't help but wonder whether I might be the first person in the world to ever manage this team on FM

Highly likely, I think.

53 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

I honestly have no idea what to expect here

You won't be alone 

Good luck - both here and with other opportunities 

[Rikulec]

16 hours ago, warlock said:

Highly likely, I think.

You won't be alone 

Good luck - both here and with other opportunities 

Thanks mate, and welcome aboard!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Friendlies

Two games against the big Tallinn sides and a clash with a team from Finland. The early signs are good, we seem to be playing well and were unlucky not to score against Levadia.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - March 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

A great month to kick things off with and we top the early table! I'm not sure how long we can keep this up though; we lose several players every time we play on the same day as the first team (as was the case with the defeat to Welco) and we've also had two players called up for the U19 national team, which meant they missed the Tammeka game.

Estonian Cup

An easy win against a team from the league below us. This time it was the first team who helped us out by sending a couple of players down, one of whom banged in four goals.

In the next round we've got drawn at home against a Meistriliiga side Harju. Should be a good test, depending on who's actually available to play for us.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - April 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

We're suffering badly from being absolutely picked apart by the first team. Against Läänemaa it was actually so bad that we didn't have a single outfield player on the bench!

Edited March 4 by Rikulec

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Rikulec said:

We're suffering badly from being absolutely picked apart by the first team

Yeah, that's a problem. It's always put me off managing anything other than a first-team squad - you have so little control. I think it can work in countries where B-teams are run like independent affiliates (Spain and Germany, maybe?) But I guess it is realistic.

[Rikulec]

10 hours ago, warlock said:

Yeah, that's a problem. It's always put me off managing anything other than a first-team squad - you have so little control. I think it can work in countries where B-teams are run like independent affiliates (Spain and Germany, maybe?) But I guess it is realistic.

Yup, it's realistic. What's even more realistic is the frustration when those players are called up mostly just to fill the bench and hardly ever play. I've seen that **** in real life, makes the youth coaches proper mad (and rightfully so!). 

[RoguPL]

Good Luck! 
Whilst you play this one I will catch up with [FM24] Dievs, svētī Latviju     as I fear I may have missed this one ! 

Not sure about the spec of your laptop but that looks like a lot of leagues. You might have to drop some after few season unless you are happy with the waiting time    Loading time for continue is what pushes me away quite often, that's why I enjoy my youth only with only Poland loaded  

[Rikulec]

29 minutes ago, RoguPL said:

Good Luck! 
Whilst you play this one I will catch up with [FM24] Dievs, svētī Latviju     as I fear I may have missed this one ! 

Not sure about the spec of your laptop but that looks like a lot of leagues. You might have to drop some after few season unless you are happy with the waiting time    Loading time for continue is what pushes me away quite often, that's why I enjoy my youth only with only Poland loaded  

Thanks mate! Glad to have you on board.

I don't mind the longer waiting times. I rarely get to the point in saves where it really becomes a factor, and once it does, I'm usually so invested in the game that I don't even pay attention to the fact that I have to wait longer. Things should be fine, I guess.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - May 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

We've only won once in our last eight games, it's good that we started the season so well, otherwise we'd be in trouble. As long as we can be the best U21 side in the league, we're fine.

Estonian Cup

We put up a good fight and only went out to a late goal after missing a penalty ourselves early on.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - June 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Make that seven games in a row without a win. The one against Viljandi Tulevik was especially infuriating as we blew a two-goal lead in the final ten minutes.

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - June 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Make that seven games in a row without a win. The one against Viljandi Tulevik was especially infuriating as we blew a two-goal lead in the final ten minutes.

Tough run at the minute, any ideas why your blowing leads? 

[Rikulec]

6 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Tough run at the minute, any ideas why your blowing leads? 

I've got two rather obvious answers in mind: one of the reasons could be the lack of experience when facing proper senior teams, the other is the lack of subs as we can only name two or three outfield players on the bench in pretty much every game. We also seem to be conceding plenty of goals from crosses and set pieces, which could be down to poor marking and positioning, or the general lack of height across the back line, or a mix of both. I guess at this level you kinda have to accept this reality and hope you can make up for it in front of the opposition's goal, which is what I'm trying to do right now.

[SixPointer]

9 hours ago, Rikulec said:

I've got two rather obvious answers in mind: one of the reasons could be the lack of experience when facing proper senior teams, the other is the lack of subs as we can only name two or three outfield players on the bench in pretty much every game. We also seem to be conceding plenty of goals from crosses and set pieces, which could be down to poor marking and positioning, or the general lack of height across the back line, or a mix of both. I guess at this level you kinda have to accept this reality and hope you can make up for it in front of the opposition's goal, which is what I'm trying to do right now.

Best form of defence is attack 

[Rikulec]

19 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Best form of defence is attack 

Especially on FM. 

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - July 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Alright, so in response to the crisis we found ourselves in I decided to try out my tactic from the previous save, with only one or two minor tweaks. Now I almost feel like I'm cheating, even though it's a legitimate tactic I developed without using any external sources or anything. It just seems too good for the ME, even though it's relatively simple and doesn't contain any intentional exploits. On the other hand, it feels stupid to me to artificially restrict myself from using it. Well, I guess it is what it is. Cue us losing another five games in a row and this whole paragraph sounding just dumb. 

Transfers

Jan-Christofer Sarafik has been promoted from the reserves.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - August 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

And here's the first unbeaten month of the save! We left it very, very late against Viljandi Tulevik, but in the end it's 10 points from 4 games and we might still have an outside chance at challenging for the play-off spot.

[warlock]

3 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

we might still have an outside chance at challenging for the play-off spot

Two good months. How many games do you play in the season?

[Rikulec]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Two good months. How many games do you play in the season?

36 games. Everyone plays each other four times.

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Everyone plays each other four times

As I thought - gives you plenty of time to close that gap.

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

As I thought - gives you plenty of time to close that gap.

Which is exactly what we're doing!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - September 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Our unbeaten run is extended to ten games as we reduce the gap to four points with a home game against Viljandi Tulevik awaiting us next month. Other than that I dare say we have a favourable schedule, we've already played (and beaten) the top two teams in the final round. The dream lives on!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - October 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

It's going right down to the wire! The draw against Viljandi Tulevik seems like a wasted opportunity when you put it out of context, but in reality we were lucky to escape with a point, they were the better team and it's mostly thanks to a saved penalty in the second half that we drew this one. Our form in the second half of the season has been phenomenal, but with only two games to go it might just be too little, too late.

[Rikulec]

Regardless of how the season ends, my work has already been appreciated by the board, even if I did have to fight hard for my wage not to be reduced.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - November 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

This is ****ing unbelievable. 

Viljandi Tulevik lost their final game, providing us with the perfect opportunity to leapfrog them. We found ourselves two goals up and cruising at half time against a relegation-battling Kuressaare U21. And somehow we bottled it. Two long shot goals were only answered by a missed penalty, four or five woodwork hits, and an xG of almost 5. With our head-to-head record against Viljandi Tulevik being a perfect draw, we missed out on the playoff on bloody games won. If it had been goal difference, it would be us in 3rd. What a gut punch to finish the season with. We go again next year then.

Edited March 8 by Rikulec

[warlock]

56 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

unbelievable

Oof, that's harsh. Couldn't have been closer.

Better luck next time 

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Oof, that's harsh. Couldn't have been closer.

Better luck next time 

I probably shouldn't be complaining, given that we didn't turn up for the first half of the season. The game where we threw away a two-goal lead in the dying minutes to lose to none other than Viljandi ****ing Tulevik turned out to be the decider. Even drawing that one would have been enough to send us to the play-off.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Season Review - 2023 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Results (Mar-Jun) - Results (Jul-Sep) - Results (Oct-Nov)

Competition Performance: 4th

In our first sixteen games we picked up eighteen points. At that pace we would have finished somewhere mid-table after an uninspiring season. After the tactical change we got a massive 49 points from the remaining twenty games. This PPG average over the course of the whole year would have given us the league title. We gave everyone around us a massive head start and in the end fell short by the thinnest of margins. As things stand, we're sixteen games unbeaten and ready to come back with a vengeance.

Estonian Cup

Competition Performance: Second Round

We got eliminated by a stronger team, no complaints here.

Squad (1) - Squad (2)

We've got a bunch of really talented kids here, some of whom are already too good for the level we're at. We could do with a little bit of depth in pretty much every position apart from goalkeeper, but as the U21 manager I can only work with what I'm given. There are some more decent players who have just come up in the youth intake, hopefully I can use them for some time before they're snapped up by the first team!

Player of the Season

1st - Janek Kruusalu - he was only given a chance to become a starter after Evgeny Nefedov was moved to the first team, and boy, did he take his chance. 10 goals and 14 assists is a wonderful return for any player, let alone a 15-year-old in his debut season in senior football! It's going to be interesting to see whether he can maintain this level of performance consistently.

2nd - Maksim Petrov - probably the best goalkeeper and one of the best players in the league overall, and he has some great performances to show for it. I also like the fact that he decided to represent Estonia instead of Russia, and he's already got six U21 caps.

3rd - Richard Sepp - every team needs a big man in the heart of their defensive formation, and we're no different. Enter Richard Sepp, who's already got five goals in the league for us this season and cemented his place in the starting XI after a year of solid, consistent performances. Probably the most reliable player across our back line.

Next Season

After a season like this it would be silly not to be aiming for promotion. These kids deserve to be playing at a higher level, especially if we can get the right reinforcements from the U19 squad.

[Rikulec]

A successful season for the first team. While the 4th placed finish in the league is pretty much exactly what is expected of them, they actually went all the way in the cup and brought the trophy home after beating one of the two big Tallinn clubs in the final. This means they'll have a shot at the Europa Conference League qualifiers next season, which is always a good thing. Now let's have a look at some of our players who have, to varying degrees, broken through in the first team squad this season.

Kevin Kongi is probably the most successful one here. Even though he looks pretty raw technically, his physicality was enough to earn him a very respectable 17 starts in the league with 17 more appearances off the bench. With only two league games missed all season, you could say he's cemented his place in the squad. Well done, Kevin!

Tanel Henn is another full back who has been promoted to the first team squad this season and, arguably, he already looks like he could become a better player than Kongi despite being four years younger. 21 appearances in the top division, including six starts, at the age of 16 seem to further prove that point. Surely one of the players to keep an eye on in the future.

Rommi Siht was one of the players I listed as some of the best we had at the beginning of pre-season. So far he hasn't quite developed though, and despite being handed a few chances in the first team (mostly off the bench), he didn't manage to become a regular feature there. On the plus side, however, he has earned his first U21 national cap despite being only 17. Still plenty of time for him to develop, fingers crossed next year could be his breakthrough season.

Evgeny Nefedov looks like one of the most exciting academy products at the club at the moment. In his first senior season he earned no less than 26 first team appearances in the league and, even more impressively, came close to achieving a 7,00 average rating. He has also scored his first Meistriliiga goal. I'm quite surprised he's still yet to make his U19 national team debut.

Last but not least, Kevin Timofejev is a striker with great potential and some really good attributes in the right places already. No wonder he's already being given minutes in the first team, nine league games and one goal to his name. Another player who could become important for the club in the next few years.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Season Preview - 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Board Expectations:

Esiliiga B: Mid-table finish
Estonian Cup: Be competitive

My Expectations:

Esiliiga B: We have a stronger team than last season and a well established tactic. We should be aiming for automatic promotion here.
Estonian Cup: Not really important, but it could serve as a benchmark if we get drawn against teams from the higher divisions.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Friendlies

An almost perfect pre-season, including a demolition of a lower league side Tallinna Wolves.

Transfers

Siim Ilves, Nikita Mõttus, Jakob Kuresoo, Artur Kesküla, Kermo Larin, Tauri Stepanov, Jürgen Saar, and Stanislav Tõevälja have all been moved to our squad. I'm particularly excited about Stepanov, here's hoping he doesn't go straight into the first team!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - March 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

What a start! The goals are flying in and we find ourselves in the top spot. Our unbeaten run started last season extends to 21 games.

Estonian Cup

A good performance against a lower league team.

[warlock]

26 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

we find ourselves in the top spot

A good month, a good season 

I see you got to play Stepanov, too!

[Carambau]

Catching up with this! Nice club choice! And what a great form lately!  

[Rikulec]

9 hours ago, warlock said:

A good month, a good season 

I see you got to play Stepanov, too!

Thank you! This season the first team isn't using our players anywhere near as much as before, which means I get to play with a much stronger squad, and I think it shows. 

2 hours ago, Carambau said:

Catching up with this! Nice club choice! And what a great form lately!  

Thanks, and welcome aboard!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - April 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

We remain unbeaten, although the draw to Läänemaa was a bit of a disappointment. The first team is also starting to take notice of our performances, as a result we had a bunch of players unavailable for the Maardu game.

Estonian Cup

Another victory over a 5th tier side.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - May 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Yes! The first perfect month of this save as we're absolutely flying at the moment, six points clear of Maardu and a massive fifteen points clear of Saku Sporting.

[Rikulec]

Run's dead. 

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - June 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

We responded well to the first defeat of the season, which allowed us to extend our lead to eight points as we approach the halfway point of the season.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - July 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

It seems like the juggernaut form is gone, we're a bit erratic at times, as proven by a surprise defeat to Saku Sporting and letting a three-goal lead slip against Tammeka U21. Nevertheless, Maardu seemed to have imploded and we've extended our lead at the top to a huge twelve points.

Estonian Cup

We're writing our very own fairytale! Within a single month we eliminate not one, but two top tier clubs as we advance to the quarter final of the Estonian Cup! They seem to be underestimating us a bit each time, they're not playing their full strength teams and we're just punishing them, it seems.

Even better yet, in the quarters we've been drawn at home against Flora Tallinn's C team, another shock participant. Don't be fooled though, they're effectively Flora's reserve team with no age restrictions and they're bound to have some good players.

Transfers

Unfortunately, we've lost some good quality players in this window. On the flip side, the first team have brought in some decent U21 players and stuck them in the reserves, enabling me to promote them to our squad (yeah, the whole system may be a little bit confusing ). As a result, we've been able to register Joonas Vahermägi, Kirill Aleksandr Antonov, Andero Kivi (who was promptly sold, I had no control over it), and Robin Kane.

[RoguPL]

Good progress, you really are pushing for promotion. 

Is the first team in the league above? Or where is Esiliga B in Estonian structure? I know very little of their football  (I am sure I will find out more this Thursday)

I am guessing you will not be able to play in the same league as first team so you will remain in the current league? 

Edited March 17 by RoguPL

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, RoguPL said:

Good progress, you really are pushing for promotion. 

Is the first team in the league above? Or where is Esiliga B in Estonian structure? I know very little of their football  (I am sure I will find out more this Thursday)

I am guessing you will not be able to play in the same league as first team so you will remain in the current league? 

Thank you!

The Esiliiga B is actually the third tier of Estonian football, and the first team is battling it out for the title in the top division. We can get promoted to the Esiliiga, which is the second tier, and that's the highest we can get.

Oh yeah, and Thursday is surely going to be a stressful day for us! 

[SixPointer]

Just catching up! Quite the run of form…. Would an ultimate collapse to lose the top spot now!

[Rikulec]

4 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Just catching up! Quite the run of form…. Would an ultimate collapse to lose the top spot now!

I think that even with our slightly weaker form of late we should be able to win the league. There's simply too much quality in this team, we're probably only going to face proper competition once we get promoted.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - August 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Almost a perfect month, save for drawing to Maardu for the third time in a row. Ten games to go and the league is almost ours.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - September 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Oh for ****'s sake. This was not supposed to happen at all. The first team have taken away a few of our players, but that doesn't explain this horrid run of form. We keep dominating possession and creating numerous chances, but we simply refuse to score goals. Our advantage at the top has suddenly evaporated. Six games to go and I think I'm starting to get worried.

Estonian Cup

Well, at least we're through to the cup semi final! Flora scored an early goal and looked really strong in the opening minutes, but then we took over the initiative and romped to a convincing victory.

The semis draw has put us up against Tammeka from the top division. Not one of the biggest sides, which is good. They're obviously still the favourites, but we've already upset teams like this.

Edited March 19 by Rikulec

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - October 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Not the best set of performances, apart from the last game of the month, but we get some hugely needed points. Both Saku Sporting and Maardu are looking very, very strong though, the former having just beaten the latter to leapfrog them in the table, and guess who we play in our final two games of the season!

Estonian Cup

It was a much closer game than the scoreline would suggest. However, they took their chances while we didn't and thus, our fairytale run is sadly over.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - November 2024 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga B

Man, that was way too close for comfort. A disastrous second half cost us big time against Maardu, and as a result we needed at least a point from the Saku Sporting game to guarantee promotion. Thankfully an early goal from Saar and a set piece header from Sepp put us on the right track, with a precise finish from the edge of the box by Tšilingarašvili sealing us a win and the league title.