[FM24] Back to the Baltics

[warlock]

59 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

sealing us a win and the league title

Well played 

It's the drama that makes the game . Isn't it? 

[Rikulec]

21 minutes ago, warlock said:

Well played 

It's the drama that makes the game . Isn't it? 

Yeah, otherwise it would be boring, and we wouldn't like that, would we?  Thank you!

[Rikulec]

It's always nice to get those messages. 

[Rikulec]

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

Esiliiga B

Results (Mar-May) - Results (Jun-Aug) - Results (Sep-Nov)

Competition Performance: Winners

What a ride this season has been! We started off incredibly strong, then got a little bit meh around the halfway point with the occasional great performance here and there, and finally we just about limped past the finish line. Our massive advantage we had built up was eventually reduced to a single point. Well, those are the joys of managing a youth team and being entirely dependent on the seniors not to take away our best players when it matters the most!

Estonian Cup

Competition Performance: Semi Final

To add to our league success, we pulled off an absolutely wonderful cup run, eliminating two top tier teams on the way to booking our place among the four best teams in the competition. A great experience for our young players, no doubt about that!

Squad (1) - Squad (2)

While we have some really good players in there, there are also some challenges coming up, the biggest one being the fact that Pavlov is going to be too old to play for us next season. It also seems like any standout players will quickly be taken by the first team. My hope is that playing at a higher level is going to facilitate our players' development and help them improve quicker, thus adapting to the Esiliiga requirements.

Player of the Season

1st - Jürgen Saar - in his first full season after coming through last year's youth intake, the young striker fired his way into the starting XI with an impressive 21 goals, leaving a rather disappointing rival in Kevin Timofejev on the bench. It's going to be interesting to see him develop, that's for sure.

2nd - Janek Kruusalu - although slightly overshadowed by Saar this time round, our left winger delivered a season's worth of decent appearances, adding good numbers to both his goals and assists tally. Surely one of the players who can help tip the scales our way in hard-fought games we're undoubtedly going to face next season.

3rd - Damian Tšilingarašvili - the midfielder with a Georgian-sounding name had to step up as soon as the first team realised that Stepanov is probably good enough to be raking up minutes for them already, and step up he did. In our most dire moments he was usually one of the few players who were performing up to the required standard. His poor physicals could be a worry though.

Next Season

I hope we can survive in the second tier. The first team are picking us apart (which is a good sign when you look at the grand scheme of things), and the recent youth intake probably won't be as influential as the previous one.

[Rikulec]

Another 4th placed finish for our first team, which again gives them European football thanks to Flora beating Tammeka in the cup final. For a large part of the season they were actually top of the league, but a disappointing collapse in the second half of the campaign cut their dreams short. A disappointing showing in the cup this time round, although they kind of made up for it by beating a Georgian side Saburtalo in the European qualifiers.

And how did our boys do?

Evgeny Nefedov is surely the pick of the bunch here. He's started in more or less half of all the first team games, most notably in all four in Europe. Five goals and nine assists to his name in all competitions, which is a decent return for a 17-year-old. Also, he's made no less than four appearances in the senior national team already! Looks like we have a real talent here.

Tauri Stepanov is obviously way too good to be playing for the U21 side, as proven by recording 25 league appearances in the country's top tier in his first full season after coming through the youth intake. Four goals and two assists in the league, playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. He's also played three times for the U21 national team, still yet to receive a senior call-up.

Artur Kesküla looks like he could use a season at the Esiliiga level with us, to be honest. His attributes look a little bit too raw for top tier football, however he did get two starts and eight sub appearances in the league, recording two assists in the process. He did very well in his U21 debut though, bagging two goals in a 2:1 victory against San Marino.

And finally, Timo Laur is another player who may not be good enough for the first team level yet. Only six league appearances and a rather poor average rating seem to back up this point. It's good that he's getting his chances though, still plenty of time for the youngster to develop.

[Rikulec]

I've been rewarded for a great season with a new contract and a raise. 

[Rikulec]

And here's a massive step in our manager's career. The UEFA Pro licence will make him eligible to manage top tier clubs. 

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Season Preview - 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Board Expectations:

Esiliiga: Mid-table finish
Estonian Cup: Be competitive

My Expectations:

Esiliiga: The board are being really ambitious here. I just want to stay up.
Estonian Cup: The further we get, the better.

[Rikulec]

I've got my first interview offer from a Meistriliiga club. However, for the sake of realism I don't want to go manage in the top tier until I complete my Pro licence. Interview declined.

[Gerhard___]

Salary smaller than the legal minimum haha.
 

[Rikulec]

2 hours ago, Gerhard___ said:

Salary smaller than the legal minimum haha.
 

It's fine, it's a semi-pro contract. 

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Friendlies

So close to a perfect pre-season.

Transfers

Aleks Sild, Andreas Kask, Mark Kangur, Vladimir Mikhailov, Daniil Karu, and Sergei Valtna have been promoted to our squad. I don't see Kask being with us for too long, he looks like a proper talent.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - March 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

A decent enough start, I'd say. The first two games were both fantastic performances, but afterwards we got picked apart by both our first team and the national team. With a weakened squad we still put up good fights in all three games we didn't win, unfortunately we just didn't have the quality to edge them out.

Estonian Cup

We should have had this done and dusted before extra time to be honest. A solid win over an Esiliiga B side.

In the second round we got drawn against Tallinna Kalev U21, a game we should be winning.

Edited March 21 by Rikulec

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - April 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

Boom! A perfect month, including two big away wins, and we rise up to 2nd with by far the best attack in the league.

Estonian Cup

Not the most spectacular of wins, but a win nevertheless.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - May 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

Not anywhere near as good as the previous month, but this sort of form should still keep us well clear of the relegation places.

[Rikulec]

Hopefully the first of many milestones!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - June 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

Three very close games. We could have probably got something more out of the trip to Elva after they had a player sent off in the first half.

Estonian Cup

The leaders of the Esiliiga B put up a decent fight and the result flatters us a little bit to be honest.

In the fourth round we get a chance to enact revenge on Harju for eliminating us two years ago.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - July 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

Now that is what I call consistency! We can't get promoted, but who says we can't win the league?

Estonian Cup

They had a few great chances in the second half, but they didn't take them. Oh well.

We got Saku Sporting away in the quarter final. Could a repeat of last season's run be on the cards here?

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - August 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

We extended our winning streak to nine games, which is a new team record. Unfortunately we finished the month by losing to late goals twice in a row. Nevertheless, we carry a five point lead at the top into the final round of games.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - September 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

We had to rely on a late turnaround to beat bottom of the table TJK Legion and then got our arse handed to us by Welco. Thankfully, instead of falling to another end-of-season slump, we recovered brilliantly to record an immensely important win over Viljandi Tulevik. Our lead grows to eight points with just six games to go.

Estonian Cup

Why, oh why did we have to play them during our dip in form?  A late goal took the game to extra time, where we actually had to come from behind to make it to the penalty shoot-out. No luck for us this time though. The run ends at the quarter final stage.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - October 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

An okay month, I'd say. We have a positive head-to-head record against Welco, which means we only need two points from our final two games to clinch the title.

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - November 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

Losing to Maardu wasn't exactly a glorious moment in itself, but Welco losing their game as well at the same time meant we were crowned champions with a game to spare!

[Rikulec]

We're the first U21 side to win the Esiliiga since Flora's victory in 2015. This is also the first ever win for Kalju U21, the team's previous best ever finish at this level was 4th. Oh, and winning the third and second tier seems to be enough for me to enter the Estonian Hall of Fame. 

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Season Review - 2025 - Nõmme Kalju FC U21

Esiliiga

Results (Mar-May) - Results (Jun-Aug) - Results (Sep-Nov)

Competition Performance: Winners

Well, I certainly didn't see this one coming! I was expecting a mid-table, maybe top half finish and honestly, if it hadn't been for an incredible run of nine wins in a row between June and August, we would have probably got exactly that, based on our form in the first and final third of the season. You have to take the opportunities that you get though, and we did just that. Winning any league while averaging less than two points per game doesn't happen very often!

Estonian Cup

Competition Performance: Quarter Final

We fell just, just short of repeating our last season's run in the cup as well. On any given day we probably beat Saku Sporting seven or eight times out of ten. Bad luck.

Squad (1) - Squad (2)

The squad seems to be getting thinner and thinner with each passing season, especially in defence, where we have exactly four players for the four spots in our formation. On the other hand, the general quality of players seemed to have evened out at a decent level. Hopefully that means at least some of them will continue developing and make it to the first team.

Player of the Season

1st - Stanislav Agaptšev - probably the biggest surprise of the season. He seems to have fallen from grace in the first team, which meant he spent a full uninterrupted year with us for the first time. It seems to have worked wonders to him, as his ball striking ability allowed him to net 14 goals in the league while playing in midfield. Some of those goals were absolute bangers as well!

2nd - Jürgen Saar - another good season from our young striker. This time he fell slightly short of the 20-goal mark in the league, but still managed to become our top goalscorer and generally was a reliable, fairly consistent player up front. Hopefully his personality doesn't hold back his development too much.

3rd - Sten Tragon - if you ask me how we were able to pull off a league win straight after promotion, I'll say that the numbers produced by our central midfield duo were a vital contribution to this. Tragon may not be rated too highly by the club coaches, but 7 goals and 11 assists in the league are certainly not to be scoffed at. His performances did tail off towards the end though, and he also infamously picked up a straight red card in the final minutes of the season against TJK Legion.

Next Season

In all honesty, I feel like I've achieved everything I could with this team, as proven by two league wins and two fantastic runs in the cup. My contract runs out at the end of January and I'm not going to renew it. As of now, the first team's manager also hasn't signed a new deal, which gives me a glimmer of hope that he may resign and I could be in the running there. Whatever happens, I should be getting my Pro licence any time now and it's time to look for a job in the top tier.

[Rikulec]

Three league defeats in a row at the end of the season push the first team down to 5th for the first time since the start of the save. They also couldn't make an impact in Europe, losing twice to Shamrock Rovers. However, they did make up for it by winning the cup for the second time in three years. The best part of it is definitely the scoresheet of the final game with two of our boys securing the trophy.  And how did the academy graduates do?

A breakthrough season for the Kosovan Rron Zeneli, who's also coming along really nice in terms of attribute growth. A regular starter in the league, he also made a few contributions up front. Fingers crossed he can keep his place in the team!

Evgeny Nefedov has now become a proper star! 12 league assists is the joint best, and let's not forget that he scored the first goal in the cup final as well. To add to that, he's also scored his first goal for the national team. What a season!

Kevin Timofejev has been a solid option off the bench in the league, but it's actually the cup where he truly outshone everyone. He became the competition's top scorer with a massive 11 goals, 4 of which he scored for us (is playing for two teams like this even allowed in real life?). Surely a player to watch.

Tauri Stepanov has become a full time starter in the league, although his performances have been a little bit disappointing so far. He seems to be developing nicely though, especially in terms of his mental attributes, which look as impressive as ever. Hopefully the next season could be a breakthrough for him.

Unfortunately it's another disappointing season for Artur Kesküla, who's been struggling to break into the first team (which probably shouldn't be that surprising, considering he's playing in the same position as Nefedov). I think it's time either for a loan move or for a switch to the U21 side.

Andreas Kask has been fast-tracked into the first team and I'm not sure it was a good decision. Like Kesküla, he doesn't seem to be quite ready for this level, as shown by both the number of league appearances and the average rating he got. A full proper season with the U21s could do wonders for him, I feel.

[GreenTriangle]

Very interesting. What database are you using ? What are the rules regarding the maximum number of players that can be registered ? What about the maximum number of non-EU players ? Is there a U19's team ? Are there restrictions regarding the number of players from U19 who can be used in the main team and in the U21 team ?

[Rikulec]

10 minutes ago, GreenTriangle said:

Very interesting. What database are you using ? What are the rules regarding the maximum number of players that can be registered ? What about the maximum number of non-EU players ? Is there a U19's team ? Are there restrictions regarding the number of players from U19 who can be used in the main team and in the U21 team ?

I'm using ranelsinna's file from the Steam Workshop, the only thing I changed was making a few U21 teams playable. We can register a maximum of 30 players for the league, 27 of whom have to be trained at Estonian clubs, which effectively leaves three foreign player slots. No specific non-EU rules. There is a U19 team as well, they play in the U19 league; only Flora and Levadia have their U19 teams in the senior structure. There are no specific restrictions for players moving between teams, but anyone who I'd like to use has to be registered either for us or the first team, and we can only register players during a transfer window. The first team sometimes makes some players available to us, but more often than not they'll use them on the same day anyway, which means they can't play for us; probably a slight bug there.

Thank you for following the thread!

[Rikulec]

I handed in my resignation at the beginning of the new year. The job hunt begins!

[Rikulec]

Before the resignation I finished my coaching course. 

[RoguPL]

Anything decent in the job market that you decided to step down ?

[Rikulec]

2 hours ago, RoguPL said:

Anything decent in the job market that you decided to step down ?

There's one club in the Meistriliiga that has just become available and would be the perfect stepping-stone, fingers crossed!

[Rikulec]

Pärnu Vaprus came back to me just a day after I applied for the job, which is usually a good sign. Last season they finished 8th in the top division and are generally a relegation-battling side. Let's see what comes out of this.

[Rikulec]

They didn't wait very long to make the offer. I got my wage up to £250 p/w, here we go!

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - New Club - Pärnu JK Vaprus

A change of club means that Erkki Karpela has to quit his job as a PE teacher and relocate from Tallinn to Pärnu to become a full time football manager.

Club Name: Pärnu JK Vaprus
Nickname: -
Year Founded: 1922
Status: Professional
Stadium: Pärnu Raanastaadion (2,501 capacity, 1,501 seated)

The squad is large, larger than it needs to be really. A little bit of trimming here and there should help the club's finances as well. Our best players at the moment appear to be Gaudentas Ralys, Magnus Villota, and Kristjan Kask.

Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of board expectations. Given the quality of the team, we should be able to avoid relegation without getting too involved in the battle, I believe.

[Sheriff7]

Great work mate and a very realistic choice for the next step.

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, Sheriff7 said:

Great work mate and a very realistic choice for the next step.

Thank you! 

[Rikulec]

Happy Easter everyone! I'm currently at home to spend some time with my family, so it's going to take a couple of days before I properly dive into my new club. In the meantime, I have some exciting news for you that's very much related to this thread.

In May I'm going to Tallinn for a six-day study visit at FCI Levadia. I'll be observing the training process and games of both the first team and the academy. My mentor is going to be the academy's head of methodology and I'll be meeting him daily for various presentations and discussions as well. It's still up in the air whether I'll be going alone or as part of a group, although I'd very much prefer the former as it would give me much bigger access, potentially even including the opportunity to get actively involved in some training sessions. With the end of the season approaching, it may not be a bad idea to expand my network!

[Rikulec]

Erkki Karpela's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2026 - Pärnu JK Vaprus

Friendlies

Close to perfection. We also beat teams from Latvia and Finland.

Transfers

Three players were signed by the previous manager.

Raimond Mets - a fairly decent backup for the left back slot.

Andri Rõõmus - not a player I would have signed.

Aleksandr Alteberg - same as above.

Giovani Yapi - a good creative player to improve our midfield, although his lack of pace might be a bit problematic.

Moreover, Mathias Villota has been promoted from the U21 side.

[Rikulec]

Alright, confession time.

If you remember my previous FM24 save, you'll also remember how it started with the Latvia U19 national team and how fresh that felt to me, and then the whole journey that followed, involving climbing through the ranks of Latvian football and then other European nations as well. I really enjoyed that, it was pretty much the first time I managed to have such an unrestricted journeyman save work so well for me. You may also remember that the success was largely based on a variant of 4-3-3 I came up with that seems to be almost an exploit in the current match engine. Nevertheless, I went with is as it was something I had legitimately put together myself without any external help, copying known exploits, etc.

Now, you may have already noticed that this save has been going down a very similar path, starting with managing a youth team and using the same tactic. Since the beginning I've been open about my intentions of trying to regain that enjoyment I felt in the initial stages of my previous save. Well, now it's time to admit that it simply doesn't work for me. It feels more like doing the same thing over again, more of a chore rather than something to genuinely enjoy. It has unfortunately missed the point.

It also doesn't feel right to suddenly change course and restrict myself from using this tactical approach or whatever, especially having already played through a few seasons. At this point I hardly have any motivation to carry on with this save at all, even if it's in a part of the world that's really interesting to me, both in terms of football and culture. I simply can't replicate the feeling I've tried to go for.

I have a couple of ideas for different saves that could potentially reignite that spark in me, both based on tactical ideas, challenges, and explorations that would be something largely different from what I've done so far. It's quite likely that I'm going to create another thread in a few days or so. In the meantime, thank you all for following and commenting on this one.

Take care, and see you soon!