Hootieleece

Congratulations on your Victory! What other parts of the Challenge do you have to finish?

Probably, but enough Welsh people understand English.

The Job Search begins: There were four jobs open. I only applied to Conwy Borough because it had biggest payroll. Of course I took the interview! I needed a job! I was sent an offer letter and I accepted. Considering my lack of credentials, I thought the offer was more than fair. Yes, I make less than I did teaching but I will now be on an exciting adventure in Wales. I am taking over the biggest team and favorites in the Cymru North! It has a small fanbase but I will work to make it bigger and better with success. Tactical Direction As a Liverpool fan I will try and emulate Jurgen Klopp's Success wherever I go in this save so I created the following tactics. They are all "Out of the Box" Gengen Press TI's 4-3-3 Formation will be the main formation. with a 4-2-3-1 Wide Variant which I am most familiar with and have had the most success with in FM. and finally a 4-2-4 because it was a suggested formation for a Gengen Press. to be continued:

I know but I didn't. I used to add French, but didn't bother this year.

You got this! I didn't last long on "Break" darned FM24.

Hello again! With the Beta out I didn't get much of a break from FM. (about two days) Premise: I usually start a save as myself every year with the Beta to learn the new features before delving into creating Career Updates. This year I decided to record my travels in that save for posterity. The Title: On the Road is a novel by Jack Kerouac an author from a city I live near in Massachusetts. Hootie is my nickname because I love "Hootie and the Blowfish" a 90's Band. The Manager: I don't know why it gave me basic Spanish.......It does it every year. (I would have picked French since that is what I studied at the University. The Skills: (or lack there of) The Game World: (Leagues playable or on View) Due to a screwup when setting up I only had MLS Leagues available on my original start date (October 19. 2023) So I vacationed again until the playable leagues started loading. (I vacationed till 6/18/2024, the day AFTER the School Year ends for me). to be continued:

In my Schalke Thread it was always England and Italy by a large margin in the Coefficient. I think it has to do with having a lot of teams from a league do well in Europe and it becomes a self-fulfilling thing more teams more chances.

I have decided to put this save on Hiatus for Now. With the ability to move saves to FM24 may mean I pick up Jester's Career. Mostly I need a break from FM and Updates for a while. I am a schoolteacher and finding the time for both is tough. With FM24 imminent I might come back......as a JOURNEYMAN. Since that is the first save, I do every year. I am thinking of doing that as a career update. Just a lot slower. But for NOW, I will take some time away.

I hate to disappoint you but my guess is October 24/25 as release date for the Beta.

Congratulations! You have now earned a chance to rest before FM24 comes out. Use the time wisely.

Thanks. I am torn with going forward fearing I am in the same cul de sac that I was with Preston. Stuck in the midtable to top and always worse than the champions without ever really challenging them due to finances. I must say that AI Preston has been "Best of the Rest", just outside the top 7 most seasons since Jester left. With FM24 coming I think I want a clean slate even though I have the option of continuing this save.

Always good to give aging stalwarts contracts to retire if they are still good enough to make the bench and get some substitute minutes.

May 2038: Regular and Post Season Manager's Thoughts The team played well like it had all season. It finished with a flourish with an amazing DFB-Pokal win in Penalties that went to the tenth round. After the win, a board meeting, and after hearing about Bayern's Victory in the Champions League. Jester went on vacation to think things over. Had he made Schalke04 relevant? and would they ever be able to topple FC Bayern in the near future? Those were just some of the questions that were on Jester's mind as he went as far away from Football as he could think of to spend some time NOT thinking about and what he wanted to do in the future. Schedule Highlights The month of May would see Schalke04 finish up the Regular season and play in the DFB Pokal Final. The first match of the month was versus Paderborn who was threatened with relegation. Jester would play a half-rotated squad to give some backups match time and some starters rest. It was a professional victory made easier by their red card sending off. The win should secure 4rth place in the Bundesliga. Our AMC AP-A had quite a day willing the team to victory! The Youth players inducted to the u-19's look like a talented bunch. Schalke04 should be in a good place in a few years. Even if Jester doesn't see it. Borussia Dortmund is still in the Europa League so the DFB-Pokal Final was rescheduled. Jester's penny pinching is allowing the team to remain solvent in face of its debts. Luckily, we are playing well, but eventually we will have to pay more for our players. Schalke04 travel to Leipzig for the final day of the Bundesliga with nothing really to play for than assuring 4rth place and a Champion's League place. Teams are worried about Schalke04 that is a good thing. We played a tough match neither team wanted to lose but neither team really wanted to win.....so a draw ensued. The draw secured Champion's League Football for us again. Since we are in the Champion's League we are only playing the DFB-Pokal for Glory and a trophy of course..... The Prize Money in the Bundesliga is incredible! This was enough money to pay for our player payroll and transfers. We had several unbeaten runs that were key to our qualification.' Seasonal Analysis Report DFB-Pokal Final The Board is getting excited as the hype for the Pokal Final begins..... Berlin for a Neutral ground Final. Both BVB and Schalke04 have been in good form it should be a tight match with BVB favored. We haven't won it since 2011! The usual media driven "War of Words" to Hype up the final. rumors are already starting about players leaving.......will it ever end! Then finally came the match on a Sunday afternoon. It was a tight match between two teams that wouldn't give an inch and it went to penalties and our GK Toshav won it for us! Bordoni played his heart out for us! Season Review These are the players that we added to the roster, and all made a contribution to our success. The finances aren't in bad shape. Fan's Player of the Year Young Player of the Year Signing of the Season! End of Season Board Meeting Bigger budget than this year. We are still gaining fans on Social Media! Just under 50% of our fans are our core. These are the board's Expectations for next season all do able with our track record. The Team is ready to follow Jester. Highlights #2 It is good to get recognition, but we have a long way to go. Our Rivals FC Bayern on the other hand are the best team in the world! Management Report Financial Report to be continued: (I think) Las Vegas, Baby!

Hopefully, you can end the curse......rooting for you to end this before FM24!

April 2038: Regular Season "Remaining Relevant" Manager's Thoughts The team is playing well and remaining unbeaten. It has achieved Jester's goal of a European place for next season and is still in the hunt for a trophy. There is a chance we will be returning to the Champion's League, but a better bet is the Europa League. The team's new signings are bedding in well with new CF-A Annan carrying the team even though he was the cheaper of the two signings in the wake of Bergin's Departure. With the success of this season, it can be said the Schalke04 is remaining relevant in the Footballing world. Even if the budget is slightly more than $5/day! Schedule Highlights The month of April began with a match against FC Koln The Home team was struggling but was still considered favorites for the match. Schalke04 is on a 5 match unbeaten run and this was Jester's answer about how we were playing. It was a tough match and we almost lost, but in the end Kenneth Annan scored the game tying goal in Extra time! The next match would see the team travel to Hamburg to take on HSV. Again, even though we were in 5th place in the table the lower ranked home team was favored. A wide-open game with as many cards as goals that entertained the neutrals happened. The HSV Boss was less than enthused about dropping points! As for VAR Jester remains Neutral and deflects...... An Interesting Article about profits in the Bundesliga came out: No one in the Bundesliga is making a profit. Most of our $38M is service on our debt. Schalke04 then returned home to Gelsenkirchen and Veltins Arena to host Hertha Berlin. Schalke =04 was favored but needed to do a professional job to get the points. It was a fine match and Schalkeo4 showed Hertha who was boss. We are assured a European Place even though we have a chance for Champions League. After a long string of losses to Hertha, Jester was happy for the fans. Major Injury. We are now without our starting Center backs! Also 3 of 4 are injured. Luckily, we have some players that can cover including our Captain Rehnen. Big match in the DFB-Pokal Semi Final even though we are the hosts, we are the underdogs! Mind games from the Leverkusen Manager. It was an even and tough match between two teams that wouldn't give an inch and went to penalties that we won! The Hero of the hour! As a reward we will play our rivals BVB in the Final! There is still a chance for a trophy this season, but it will be tough. After the midweek victory the team then had to head for Frankfurt for another match. Both teams are in good form this is a match to determine who will get a European Place better than Conference League. Jester played down his dominance over the Koln Manager. (Mind Games) Schalkeo4 got the win in workman like fashion over a 10-man Frankfurt team. Now we will have the Europa League at least next season. The financial picture was coming into focus with some more reporting, this time on transfer spending. League Table Monthly Analysis Report Player of the Month Management Report Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued:

March 2038: Regular Season Manager's Thoughts The new signings started to find their way and the team played well in spite of injuries. Jester thinks the team will have a European Place by the end of the season. Now that Bayern is out of the DFB Pokal this might be our chance to claim another trophy to show we remain relevant and competitive. The future looks bright but the players joining from the academy may never see the field under Jester. Schedule Highlights The team's Home unbeaten streak would definitely be tested by the visit of the Bundesliga Leaders FC Munich There is a reason why Bayern is favored, they are probably the best team in the World in 2038! Nagelsman was certainly confident of his chances. It was the big match of the Weekend! The team played well and were just stopped by FC Bayern's Keeper who has not given up a goal against us since Jester became manager! Overall, Jester was happy with the outcome. The draw meant we kept our 5th place standing. There is a significant gap between 4rth and 5th place as well as 1rst and 2nd place. The DFB Pokal Semi-Finals were determined the next day. We would have another match with Leverkusen at Veltins Arena in April. Schalke04 had to travel to Hannover for the next match. Schalke04 was favored over the relegation threatened team, but needed to do a professional job. A Half-Rotated squad di the job and got the win in Hannover. Amri the backup AP-A had quite the match setting up two scores after coming on for an injured Nubbemayer. Schalke04 is Jester's Focus! Jester's Favorite list came out, but this time no one stood out enough to sign. The next match was a visit from relegation threatened FC Nurnberg. Schalkeo4 was favored. The match came and it was Kenneth Annan's coming out party! Schalke04 won the match 4-0! Great work from the new CF-A! Five more in a row unbeaten haven't lost in a month! Youth Intake Day Looks like an exceptional class. After the U-19 vs. Candidates match the DOF decided to sign the following players: Burak Simsek Nico Heidrich Armend Naumoski Thomas Engel Niko Hachenberg The Scouts brought Jester a list and he saw an opportunity to sign another young player. But fisrt he wanted know why this player was rated with a D but was a priority signing! The player that caught Jester's Eye was: He will join Schalke II for development purposes. League Table Monthly Analysis Report Player of the Month Kenneth scored and assisted during the month as well as getting his first International Cap as well. Management Report Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued:

February 2038: Regular Season Manager's Thoughts Life without our Striker began. It was hard and his replacements needed to settle down and we ended up in a bunch of tough matches that featured physicality that led to injured players. Importantly the team lost its leading assist maker Roncarati for 3 months. After his injury one could tell that "Jester ball" didn't quite have the same creativity and the team won matches by sheer number of chances on goal. That led to some close matches which we luckily won. Since the team needs to remain in the European places to stay competitive and afloat financially. Schedule Highlights The First day of February was concerned with the just Closed Transfer Window. The Jordyn Bergin Deal was the 2nd biggest of the Transfer Window. This screen shows a summary of our Transfers. Two in to replace one player, but with plenty of money left over. Jester continues to penny pinch. After the transfer window and over the season Payroll spending under Jester has doubled from when he took over 4 seasons ago. Unfortunately, in Modern Football one must spend to win! After Transfer Day the next round of the Pokal was drawn. With a quirk of scheduling Schalke04 would end up playing BMG twice in a row! After all that Transfer Business it was time to get back to playing Football in the Bundesliga. Next Opponent would be Union Berlin. Schalke04 was a comfortable favorite at home versus the relegation battle team. Union Berlin played us tough, they sat deep and spent more time trying to hurt our players than playing Football. They also succeeded in injuring our star player Roncarati. Roncarati will miss the next 2-3 months after being sent to a specialist. He was our assist leader. After the Union Berlin Match the team then headed to Mainz. Both teams are in so so form, so Mainz is favored due to being "Home" Team. And they won because we missed the creativity of Roncarati and the new players were still settling in. After the loss to Mainz the team returned to Gelsenkirchen to play Hoffenheim. Schalke04 was favored but the team would need to step up their game. During the pregame press conference Jester was asked about Roncarati. He will be missing until April at least! Another tough match that was fought tooth and nail and saw a lot of injuries to both teams. It was a relatively even match, but it was obvious that Schalke04 missed Roncarati's creativity. This one will hurt our best defender out for about a month.... and we lose our defensive midfield depth as well. Everything in Football according to Jester is about making your home stadium a Fortress! Twenty matches unbeaten is a good place to start! The team then had to prepare for the double-header versus BMG. This match was actually in the Pokal not the Bundesliga so there would be a bit of a rotated Squad. The Rotated Squad won the match in a physical fight with BMG. Afterwards the team prepared for the next match in Gladbach. No reason to celebrate unless we are victorious! After the win in Gelsenkirchen, we had to be wary of Complacency even though they were favored. It was another tough match but the turning point was when BMG had a man sent off. Bordoni got his first Goal for the team as well. League Table Monthly Analysis Report Player of the Month Management Report Financial Report The Financial report looks rosy in the bank account mostly because of the Bergin Sale and the Champions League money received. The team needs another top 6 finish to stay afloat due to the debt in carries. ($30M/year servicing the loans until 2061 due to new stadium) Looking Ahead to be continued:

Decent returns for the sales. You didn't break the bank but at least you are back in the black.

He was just about ready to really flourish after moving from the wing too. Juventus went and put him back on the wing when he has all of the Attributes of a Great Center Forward except for elite heading, only 10. Bordoni is a similar player but is smaller and faster and may end up on the wing. Annan is just a little bit better than Herrlich according to my coaches. 3-4 stars vs. 2 stars. I am really just trying to maintain a European place for one last run before FM24.

January 2038: Regular Season "Losing our Talisman and our way." Manager's Thoughts The loss of our best player was bound to happen and hurt, but Jester didn't expect it to happen so quickly. It left him scrambling to find a replacement and he ended up bringing in two players as replacements. The team started to stall without our star player and lineup tumult, but some of the problem was the fact that we were playing better teams. That still doesn't explain totally why we didn't beat some of the smaller teams on the schedule. Is there something fundamentally wrong with "Jester Ball"? Or is Midtable Mediocrity and the occasional Cup run the best it can do? Schedule Highlights The month of January started with the Royal Blue Midseason Cup to get the players match fitness after the XMAS Break. The backups played a lower level Belgian Team in the Semi-Final and the Starters would play ASSE in the Final. The match was a bit of a foregone conclusion. and the starters won comfortably. After the match it was announced that backup player Jens Pinkert would stay with the club. and then came the seismic move that Jester feared...... Juventus did make a move for Bergin and matched his release clause. Since it was a bigger team andhe had played Italian Football before coming to Schalke04. Jester didn't put up much of a fight to keep him. Was that the right Choice? and now the team had to start the Bundesliga again with a cloud over its Striker situation. Bergin left for Juventus and Schalke04 pocketed a $23M profit. The First match without Bergin showed that the team missed their talisman. Toshav, the Goalkeeper, was the star with an important penalty save to keep a clean sheet. Jester was proud of the man of the match award for his keeper. Jester found a player that might replace Bergin...... Herrlich ended up with a bee in his bonnet about the Annan Signing and Jester was having none of it. After that the team had to ready itself to host Eintracht Frankfurt at Veltins Arena. Schlake04 was favored even without Bergin. Mostly due to a good record against them and their manager. Someone has thin skin and a long memory..... Jester is still trying to find the winning lineup with the loss of Bergin and the team escaped on penalties. Herrlich was made the starter since it was a cup match, but he did play well. Since Jester wasn't convinced Annan or Herrlich could fill Bergin's boots, he picked out another player to try out at Striker. Both Deals were within Schalke's ability to pay thanks to the Bergin Transfer Windfall and might be profitable in the future. All the while the money is pouring in! After the Midweek Pokal Clash the team had to ready themselves for a trip to Stuttgart. Jester would play a rotated squad as he looked to refind his best XI. He took criticism better than the last guy. A real kick in the teeth on this one in that we couldn't take advantage of their being down to ten men, but it showed that the team wasn't ready for primetime without its Talisman. Jester was happy but would have been happier if he put one in the net! Now Rumors are starting that our Captain, who is a squad player, will be moving to Freiburg. at least he isn't interested in the move. After the draw against ten-man Stuttgart the team had to head for Paris for a replay of the Europa League Final! We played like heroes, but their quality was just too much for us this time around. Annan made his debut for the team in the match. After the trip to Paris came another tough match. Leverkusen at Veltins Areana with the guests being favored. Jester appreciates the attempts at mind games...... Utter Domination against a team that was down to ten. We were up for the match! Also, we have a clean sheet streak going as well! Someone refuses to believe his own eyes as to what happened on the pitch...... The Hat-Trick Hero! TV's all over Germany saw highlights of our win! Now Schalke04 was about to start a week of BIG matches first, Barcelona in the Champions League and then Borussia Dortmund! The winner of this match would advance to the knockout rounds but NOT be seeded. Jester decided to play a full strength team on the chance of winning. Old Head JP Ndiaye came off the bench for an injured Kemal Ozcan and scored a Goal, but it wasn't enough. Jester overall was satisfied with the way Schalke04 played against such a tough schedule in the Champions League. Now, that Champions League was over it was time to beat our Rivals BVB! Jester was going to play a full Starting XI on Short rest but plenty of time with the Physios. The Hype train got going...... It was the final match of the month, and this isn't the result that was wanted after a tough month...... We lost but it was a good match that didn't go our way. Our rise in the standings had a lot to do with this undefeated run that was masterminded the first-half of it anyway by Bergin! Images of BVB Celebrations would be etched in our minds! League Table Monthly Analysis Report Player of the Month Management Report Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued:

Interesting I will follow.

December 2037: Regular Season "Status Quo" Manager's Thoughts The team is playing well and Jester decided to give up some points in the Bundesliga by rotating the squad in a hope of sneaking into the knockout rounds of the Champion's League. The team didn't lose but it felt a little like falling between the stools at a bar when one can't decide. Also, the success of the team is going to make it harder to keep our good players. The money that one or two sales would help, but there is no one equivalent to Bergyn, for example that the team can afford. Jester also signed an extension that runs through 2042, but he doesn't expect to remain after the 2038-2039 season due to wanting to go back to Tolkien Scholarship. Schedule Highlights The month of December would start off with a match against Hertha Berlin. After the big match with HSV, Jester decided to play the backups. Even though it was billed as the midweek match of the day! The backups at least didn't lose.....and it gave the starters some much needed rest. Jester sent the Assman to the After-Match Q&A Session. Jester thought he did well. After the trip to the Capital the team returned to Gelsenkirchen to play Eintracht Frankfurt. This was a big match in the European places and Jester would use the starters. The Frankfurt boss wanted to start a spat egged on by the media. Jester did his best to difuse the situation. The match was played and Schalke04 dominated. Bergyn led the team with his goal. With the XMAS break coming up Jester decided to host a Royal Blue Midseason Cup over New Years. and this time the marketing team got it right. Also, Jester was called to a board meeting about extending his contract even though he still had 18 months left on his current deal. and this was the agreed upon deal. a three-year extension with bonuses for winning trophies that matter! Jester was all smiles for the media upon announcement of the extension. After that Boardroom stuff, it was time to get back to the pitch with a big match versus Atalanta. Schalke was favored due to fan passion. There would be a half-rotated squad. We fell to another late goal. The Academy report was readied for Jester. We will get some help up top. With the transfer window about to reopen the rumors started going around.....Jester had no idea where it came from. Jester had been in negotiations with his agent for an extension. which he was happy to sign..... So, the rumors are now about our backup right Back that is competing for the starting job with his performances....SMH! After all the media and negotiations were done the Jester had to lead the team on the pitch. The trip to newly promoted and relegation threatened Paderborn would be played by a backup team. Another dreadful match, but at least we didn't lose. Jester was asked about the amount of players he had used this season and the reason he had been rotating the team during the past few weeks. The last match of the month and just before the Midseason Break was against 2nd placed RB Leipzig. It would be held at Veltins Arena and Jester would play the best team available! It was a memorable victory with a man sent off with a red card! The star of the show was Atchom. Even though we won Jester was upset with his left back's Red Card. Let the transfer rumors continue......but we might not be able to keep him even though he is becoming the the CF-A of Jester's dreams. League Table Monthly Analysis Report Player of the Month Management Report Financial Report Looking Ahead Tough month ahead with a lot of matches. to be continued:

You know supposedly you will be able migrate saves to FM24. I agree winning a treble before FM24 comes out is a good end game. My save will end in whatever season I am in when FM24 comes out. I will finish that season however.

Congratulations on the Double! Are you thinking of retiring on a high note?

November 2037: Regular Season "staying the course." Manager's Thoughts The team is playing well especially in the Bundesliga and is sitting in 4rth place. So Jester will continue with the prioritizing of the Bundesliga. The Board also agrees in that they gave him a bigger payroll to achieve our goals. Jester is probably NOT going to rush out and sign any more players for this season, but depending on Transfer budget maybe one or two players for next season. Since we have no real chance of winning either the Bundesliga or Champion's League. Schedule Highlights The month of November would start out with a tough Champions League match versus Inter. The trip would be tough on us but Jester was determined not to be embarrassed so he played his strongest XI. I'm not sure where they got the overconfidence from..... We had been playing well but Inter was a step up in class. The Match came and was a tough brawl between two teams that wouldn't give an inch defensively and ended in a 1-1 Draw which pleased Jester. After the trip to Italy Jester decided to play the Backups versus relegation threatened Nurnberg. The match should have been a win, but our backups weren't the best defensively late on because of match fitness issues as well as refereeing. Halabaku is a bit of a utility player who can play anywhere in the Midfield and do a job. Five of the ten best players in the world in 2037 play for FC Bayern! No wonder they win the Bundesliga every year and are consistent Champion's League competitors! Schalke 04 returned home to Veltins Arena to take on Koln. Schalke04 is favored but would need to play well. We played well and the gameplan worked a treat! Kuklis the backup RB played well in place of Vidovic and set up Bergyn's Goal! Jester was asked about "Jester Ball" after the Victory, and this was his response: The team will keep on as long as it gives results! The team then had to travel to Austria to play RB Salzburg. Jester was confident since we play them in friendlies every summer and generally win. Jordyn Bergin was the hero, scoring early and often to give Schalke04 the lead. A tough match awaited us after the trip to Austria. HSV! This would be another top of the table match for us, and we would need to be at our best. Jester didn't "Fear" a defeat he just thought it was a possibility. and Just before the match our Star assister goes down for a month! Just before the big match! It was a nip and tuck affair with both sides looking to score goals! HSV's Yakovlev was almost unstoppable, but Florent Halabaku scored the winner in Extra time! Sore Loser! Bergyn became the creator instead of the scorer! We don't play dirty we play hard within the laws of the game! Just before the end of the month Jester was summoned to a board meeting and this was the result: The team can now spend about $74M/Year on players. League Table Monthly Analysis Report Player of the Month Management Report Financial Report Looking Ahead to be continued: