Constantine

OFK Beograd March Madness 2024 Prva liga Srbije Very, very pleased how this turned out. On paper, it was either/or results wise, no middle ground. Lost against top sides, Radnicki, who's definitively getting promoted to top tier and Kolubara, underperforming side that got relegated from Superliga, managed by my real life godfather! Just a fun little tidbit to throw out there. And I've seemingly, unintentionally solved the number of cluster****s coming from our defense that worried me throughout winter preseason. I've noticed that our players are getting real tired after every game so tried to rectify it by turning off the press. We just can't handle playing like Klopp's Liverpool, running like mad dogs for 90 minutes. And our defenders stopped (not really stopped but lowered frequency) coming out to tackle whenever ball goes past midfield line. They actually kept their shape. Lovely stuff. Also, I've got to confess another omission. Youth Intake After two years at Rayo, having not bothered with this stuff, I've genuinely forgot this is a thing you should pay attention to in Football Manager. And I've played the bloody thing since CM days. And I've mentioned OFK's focus on youth development in a post when I took over. Rookie mistake. I'm embarrassed. Anyhow... The Next Generation arrived. Some really, nice, juicy prospects in there. Bad personalities, as I haven't bothered to check HoYD but there's something to work with here. Top three that caught my attention are: In my eyes, best of the bunch. Got some stuff to work on but also got a bag of potential. Could become lethal goalscorer down the line. I love me a brave, determined fella. Don't like his PPM. We'll work on that. Terrible physique is really dragging him down but I like the rest. Will keep my eye on this little lad.

OFK Beograd December 2023, Overly Long Winter Break, February 2024 ****ing hell. This took a while. First things first. Prva liga Srbije Not exactly a greatest start to one's career but we did won against Mladost. So not great, not terrible either. After that, we went on a break. That is still on. You can see the date in the top right corner, it's end of February, for god's sake. Still, there's one more week to go before league starts again. And we made some transfers. Finally. That felt good. Really, really good. Pulled my Spanish connections (read: opened shortlist from my time at Racing Rayo) and got us two Spaniards. Which will force our resident Ruskie on the bench, since we can only have two foreigners in starting lineup. Javi López can take up pretty much any role in midfield. José Carlos is easily our best defender. Milos Vranjanin could give Jose a run for his money but... I'm just happy that they're both with us. Sava Radic is a very welcome addition to the right side of our defense. Lazar will be his brother in arms, just on the opposite side of the pitch. Left backs are so incredibly scarce so having Lazar converts into one is the best I could do at the moment. Miroslav is your typical tall CD newgen that can't head the ball. Uros is a winger that can play on both sides of the pitch. Both are here as cover. All of these transfers are made with this abomination in mind. It started out as a ode to Graham Potter. My dumb ass brain somehow made that connection, since our colors are blue and I admire the manager, we are both at relegation contenders (well, he's not anymore) so only sane thing to do was to watch a lot of TIFO videos on him, watch that masterclass one he's done, couple of his tactical breakdowns and try to create something that resemble his style. I really wanted that juicy square in the middle of the pitch, all those sexy overloads, marauding wing backs. It turns out, you can't do that with slow fullbacks. We were getting mad exposed against Zlatibor in the league. So I gave them some support. Moving two players from the middle to the sides fixed that but also opened another can of worms. When opposition plays with more than one striker/has AMC/cuts inside, our defenders couldn't handle it. One fix after another, I gave up on faithful recreation and we ended up on something that kinda worked. It's not Graham Potter, but it works. In friendlies. Still untested in official matches. I like the shape. Love the movements. I suck at three-at-the-back tactics, never made one that properly work (I'm more of a traditional in that sense, give me 4-3-3/4-4-2 any day of the week) so... Our March is loaded. Bloody hell. Here goes nothing.

Chapter II of this story begins. I'm coming home. Kind of. Home country. Close enough. I was actually a favorite to take over quite a few Serbian Superleague sides. I knew our coaches are rubbish but still... Saw that OFK Beograd is in 2nd tier, that they're struggling. It was just a matter of time, really. And decided to wait for them. Spanish 4th tier to Serbian 2nd, that's more believable jump to make. And OFK Beograd is a club I have a soft spot for. One of the two, three clubs in Serbia I would actually love to manage. I used to live near their stadium during my college days. Used to watch their lower league games. Their downfall is tragic. One man's greed and misdeeds destroyed a proper football legacy. Their predecessor was first club in Serbia that paid wages to players. Their players made the core of Yugoslavian NT during first World Cup in Uruguay. In recent years, they were famous for their top tier youth development. Aleksandar Kolarov and Branislav Ivanovic were most famous products of OFK's academy. And current DoF of Crvena zvezda ruined them. A crime without punishment. Shady transfers, siphoning money from the club to his private bank accounts, gods know what else. He ended up on Interpol's list, wanted for arrest because of it. And because this is Serbia, a country where you could do whatever you want, even kill someone as long as you have money, Zvezdan Terzic escaped justice. He just knew the right people in the government. People who brought him to Zvezda. All while the club paid the price. Financially ruined, all assets stripped, OFK failed down the ranks of Serbian football. They're still down there, somewhere. Third tier, Srpska liga Beograd. At least, in this game, one could make things right. And everyone loves a great comeback story. So let's write theirs. OFK Beograd Squad That is one tiny squad. Hard to say which area has least problems. They've got bad goalkeepers. Two decent but slow central defenders. Fullbacks are alright but we have no cover for them. Midfield is fine. Bang average, nothing more, nothing less. Russian striker is actually decent for this level. Better than Lazovic, who drew most of the starts. Wings are fine, if unspectacular. Anyhow, we must get some improvements. Some new players. Pronto. And it seems like we actually have some kind of budget to make something happen. Lovely. We're out of the cup. Dead last in the league. However, it's far from hopeless. There's two more games to be played before going on a winter break, which would give me a chance to get some business done. Let's get to work!! We'll bring and spread some love to Serbian football. That was my terrible attempt to work OFK's nickname into this post. The Romantics. I'm sorry.

Rayo Cantabria Squad There's isn't much point in showing you this, since our squad fluctuates so much. Our best players aren't even shown here, as they were moved up the food chain, to the senior squad. A testament to our good work, sure, but a frustrating one. Dani is easily the best of the bunch, and one I'm particularly proud of. My pet project, Central midfielder converted to a lethal striker. And boy, was he lethal. As for our parent club, how do they do? Well, once again, they're in the play off. Castilla was just too much to deal with. I've peaked into their squad, talent in there is off the charts. Hopefully they pull it through this time around. They deserve bigger stage. And with them, my own club should promote to 3rd tier. We've earned it on the pitch, two seasons in a row. But should that happen, I won't be there. I've decided. It was no brainer, really. I've enjoyed my time here, players were fantastic (best part is, they've all complained to the first team manager, no one bothered me ), talent available was great but... I want my own team. Pick my own players. This was a fun experiment but lack of control really ground my gears. So I waited a bit, till my number of days at the club were at a nice number (quirk of mine, I'm sorry) and now that's the case, I can resign. And after 555 days in charge... It wasn't for nothing. Got two badges done, another one is on the way. My reputation has risen up to 30% or 1 and a half star. Won one league title and, technically, two promotions. That should open some doors in the future. Unknown future, here we come... Don't know why I said that.

Rayo Cantabria March, April & May 2023 We tried really, really hard not to win this bloody thing. Well... Task failed successfully. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo II We went on a bad run of form, mostly... Well, not mostly, it was entirely fault of our first team manager, who decided to pluck up our entire front three and laid their asses on the bench. I know it's his right to do so but from my POV, it was such a dick move. Not to mention the flood of injuries we suffered. I don't know if Muriel, our best midfielder, pulled two games in a row this entire half of the season. We stumbled but our drop off wasn't as bad as Leioa's. Poor bastards were undefeated since October last year (yeah, you read that right) but two draws and defeat in May cost them the title. And promotion, since they lost in play off too. I'd be furious... Side note, just to finish this update anticlimactically, did you know that, even when the club is in red, you can go on a coaching course? First time it happened to me, as a B team manager. I've seen coaches sent into school when club is deeply in red but not managers. Perhaps that only counts for first team manager...

Rayo Cantabria January & February 2023 Occasional slip ups aside, we're doing well. If we avoid any catastrophic drop in form, we should wrap this league before May kicks in. After that, we'll see... I'm enjoying my time here, this side is good enough to keeps my win percentage at ridiculous levels, there's always a decent diamond in the rough for me to throw in starting XI but, at the same time, I'm spinning my wheels, not exactly progressing career-wise. Already had an offer for extension and I've rejected it. Gotta keep my options open, but I'm leaning towards leaving, not gonna lie. We'll see if that changes till season's end. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo II

Rayo Cantabria October, November & December 2022 I planned to do month to month report but I've got carried away last night so went and played through all the way to year's end. We had some serious injuries that depleted our midfield. Our #1 went to sit on a bench for first team. Same for our baby Firmino, Dani Gonzalez. Yet, despite it all, we did alright. More than alright. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo II Not much I can say, really. Our top form resumed. Both defense and attack have been stellar. We've dipped a bit near the end but I'll write that off as "players already on vacation". Went on and started another coaching course. Not sure what did it, our great results or the fact that I finally got some license but my reputation's finally risen. One star or 15%. That won't hurt.

Rayo Cantabria September 2022 Nothing much to report over the break. Our squad's changed a bit but I had no influence on it. I did sign two players, one of which is already snapped up by first team. Other one is still with us, he'll show up later on in this post. One thing that happened, I've finally started school. Had to strong arm the board, as they couldn't see how educating their own personnel could possibly help the team. We've played some friendlies but nothing fun happens anyway. I've set them up with lower opposition, my only goal is to build up fitness and morale. Squad It looks bigger than it is, half of these clears up when it's selection time for our games. I'd say our midfield is a bit weaker than last year but as a team, we are overall stronger, if that makes sense. Germán Berni ** Diego Mirapeix ** Javier Entrecanales ** Ramiro Quintana Fernando Muriel ** Marcos Bustillo ** Diego Campo Mateo Gandarillas ** Dani González ** Ibrahima Bah That's our best eleven. Happy that German signed on for another year though I wouldn't mind throwing Luis Alberto into fire. He's hella young but could do a decent job at this level. Berni is that other player that I signed. We needed someone on the wing desperately. Not sure how and why Marcos Bustillo is still hanging around with us, as he seems first team ready but you won't hear me complain about it. Dani Gonzalez is pet project of mine. During last season, I've started him on striker training. I liked how he looked for that role and after some adjustment period, he's come into his own, as you'll see in screenshot below. We've got our baby Firmino. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo II So far, so good. Should've won that last one too but heck, can't get them all.

Season has been reset and... Yeah, we're staying in 4th tier. I expected it, since our main team botched their promotion but I'm kinda bummed out, not gonna lie...

In the meantime, I've been granted "the power" to negotiate contracts with couple of our players, should I wished them to stay with us.

Ouch... That's gotta hurt. They took the lead but Deportivo equalized three minutes later then blew them apart in the second half. So... What happens now?

Racing drew away at Betis but they went to the Final as higher seed. I assume, because they were 3rd in their group and Betis Deportivo ended up 4th in entirely separate group. Makes sense, sure... Real Deportivo, proper Deportivo is their next rival.

A week later, let's check in with Racing. In their group, they've finished third, behind Logrones and Super Depor. Jeez, how I haven't noticed it before. They've had mental second half of the season. Proper god mode stuff... They'll be facing it off against Betis Deportivo, Betis' B team, I assume, on Wednesday.

Wait, what? That's it? That's all it takes to win a promotion in Spanish lower divisions now? Two games, no elaborate and overly complicated system? That doesn't seem right. Yet we've got all the usual messages, board reaction, fan reaction, budget for next season. We're kept being told we're promoted, despite Racing still having unresolved status in league above us. Well... Let's see what happens when their PO is over. I suspect we haven't seen the last of it... Also, I've lost it a bit in this madness. Congrats to the guys. They've really pulled it together after that tough break we had. Whatever happens, I'm proud of them.

Alright, the game is really trying to make me feel bad about progressing through to the Final... I mean, why? Let me celebrate, dammit!! Jabbari strikes again. Twice. Earned himself MoM. And got us playing against Salamanca. I don't know how this spanish system work. It's been confusing for a few years now, this time is not an exception. I guess we'll just roll with it and see where it takes us...

Rayo Cantabria Segunda División RFEF - Grupo II It's amazing what having more confidence can do for a player... Jabbari couldn't hit a barn door for quite a lot of time yet now he scored four goals in same number of games. And got us into play offs. Where we'll be facing 2nd placed side from Group V, Intercity. Last, but not the least important, I've got a contract extension. I've be staying for another year, no pay rise. Cheapskates.

As I haven't played FM22 as much as I did previous versions and considering the fact that I'm not planning on buying newest one till after January patch, I said, what the heck, let's go on with this thread. I need a motivation to keep playing and bragging about success in a video game to total strangers just might do it for me. So here we are. Starting unemployed. Here's the profile at the beginning. I wanted to play the game in advance, get back into it as I haven't played in months now and post progress bit by bit. Wanted to drag it out, build some tension with club interviews and whatnot... So in the end, I decided against it. It seemed a bit dishonest. I'm just gonna lay it as it is. We start in Spain. Most of the offers were from there, like 90% of them. And 100% of them were from B teams. I don't know, must've been some reputation quirk. Didn't want to do it, as I knew I wouldn't have a control over players, transfers, wouldn't be able to build my team but, I was like, screw it, if it was good enough for Pep, it'll be good enough for the virtual me. We'll work our way up. So I signed for Racing Santander's affiliate, Rayo Cantabria. They were in a bad spot, in the relegation zone. Far from hopeless, though, with a lot games to go. They weren't a bad bunch. Lots of potential here. Stacked in attack but severely lacking in defense, especially on the sides. Standout players were Marcos Bustillo, Jorge Delgado and Simon Perez. In the end, we would end up relying on first one, Marcos, the most, since Jorge was always injured and Perez had first team duty to attend to. When I came, I promoted three players from our U19's side and all of them has/had significant roles to play in months to come. Neco Celorio was brilliant and he earned frequent call ups from A team. Diego Fuentes is a regular in our first XI, while Marco Carrascal has an occasional appearance in the starting lineup. Fast forward a couple months, where we are? Our squad is a bit bigger. And messier. Registration is messy to deal with, especially with a bunch of players hopping in between sides all the time. That annoys me. A lot. And I haven't the slightest idea what this team will looks like next year. Results wise, we're alright. Started pretty great, or brilliantly, rather, but we've been on a rough-ish patch these last month or two. Goals have dried up a bit and that one remaining goalkeeper has been pulling Karius from time to time. Finances are unsurprisingly horrible but there isn't a single thing I can do about it. Fixtures list (I was hired on December 1st) We have nothing to play for in last couple of matches. Can't get promoted, since our A team is in the league above. Can't get relegated, we're far too gone. We might try to get into play offs, just for ***** and giggles, just to mess with others but otherwise, it's a smooth sailing till this season' end. As for the next one, I guess we'll see... Anyhow, welcome aboard.

So nothing till October... Bloody hell!

Most important of all, what does it means for football?

Good lord, no, please, don't. There's an international break just around a corner and that's about much delay as I can take...

Waiting for some good news...