dkouv
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Posts posted by dkouv
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Season 2.5 - 2017 end-year update - Chongqing (CHN)
@vikeologist Thanks v much for that explanation, makes a lot of sense! (or at least seems to correlate very well with my limited experience!) I decided to quit East Bengal because I applied for a job and they said they couldn't reach an agreement with my current employees. But things didn't get much better as I applied for jobs all through the summer and in early autumn, getting a few interviews in Chinese Premier League (including a dream job at a couple of super-rich teams) but was rejected.
In the end I got a job at Chongqing who were rock-bottom of the Chinese Super League with 3 games to go - and I mean rock-bottom, already relegated having only amassed 10 points from 27 games. Examining the squad it became obvious why, as they had zero left backs (!) and only one senior centerback (an ageing Hong Kong international with pace and acceleration of 5). I went on to lose 2 and draw 1 of the remaining 3 games, and am currently undertaking a thorough squad rebuild; have already bought 2 left backs which bodes well. So this reputation info made me feel better as I kind of was thinking I wasted a season or two because I end up being relegated and then have to get promoted again and established in the top division before applying for other jobs, in all likelihood.
Anyhow, I managed to secure some decent players in the transfer window so far, so the aim is definitely to go straight back up next season. I also got a job at India under-23s for the upcoming Asian under-23 World Cup in January 2018. I'll still post a few stats from Chongqing's season because it's kind-of amusing how bad they are
League: 16/16 (Chinese Super League)
Top scorer: Wang Zihao (8 in 30)
Top assists: Feng Jin (7 in 20(1))
Top rating: Emmanuel Gigliotti (6.79(!!))
Most crucially, the club's finances are secure, so I finally managed to start a coaching course, and the £4m transfer budget meant I could play around in the transfer market without penny-pinching too much.
Just to say, I'm really enjoying the other updates, looks like @numero uno gunner is very close to completion! And good to know about FS Stars finances since they keep sacking managers on my save, so I might end up there at some point.
Club Career: Season | Country | Division | Position | Cup | Continental | Top scorer | Notes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015/16 | India | I League (top div.) | 6th/9 | n/a | n/a | Ranti Martins (14) | Took over end-March with 3 games to go 2016/17 | India | I League | 1st/9 | Win | n/a | Ranti Martins (17) | League and cup double; looking for a better job 2017 | China | Super League (top div.) | 16th/16 | n/a | n/a | Wang Zihao (8) | Took over in October with 3 games to go and the side already relegated International career: Season | Team | Notes --------------------------------------------------------- 2017 | India U23s | Took over in November Challenge Progress: Club 1/10 top domestic leagues (India) 1/10 domestic cups (India) 0/5 club continental championships 0/1 club world championship International 0/5 continental tournaments 0/2 world tournaments
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Season 2 – 2016/17 – East Bengal (IND)
Season review
Given the rather substandard nature of my squad, and that almost everyone’s contracts expired in summer 2016, I oversaw a massive clearout during the summer, releasing 20-ish players and bringing in 12; and reforming the coaching team for good measure.
It then transpired that I had a lot of waiting to do: the Indian league season runs from January to April, with only a few cup games in-between (!!). So a lot of arranging friendlies and pressing continue during that season.
Still, it all started well as I won the cup, partly helped by the fact that most of the big teams were knocked out early on. By the time the league started, it seems like my squad had time to gel and I absolutely steamrolled the league, winning 15 out of 16 games and finishing a distant first. The top players again were the foreigners, with the Nigerian striker Martins finishing as the league’s top scorer (17 goals in 10 league apps), and my new leftback Kone topping the average rating table.
Summary
League table | League win | Cup final
League (IND, top division): 1st/9
Cup: Win
Top scorer: Ranti Martins, ST (17 in 11 apps)
Top assists: Do-Dong Hyun, ML/MR (8 in 16(2) apps)
Top rating: Ibrahim Kone, DL (8.18)
Looking forward
Am now trying to get a job outside the Indian league as quickly as I can, the idea is to stay in Asia and move to South Korea or China; but I’ve already been rejected by some top-division clubs. The Indian league isn’t really that enjoyable to play in for the following reasons: a). Lack of games, b). Terrible finances, I’m losing more than my wage bill every month and am on -£900k now despite 30k home attendances. Board keeps cutting the wage budget. Many other teams in the league also have “insecure” finances so not sure if it’s intended or is a bug…
Question: Does anyone know if resigning first makes you more likely to land a new job? And does it matter when you resign for some reputation-boost cut-offs? (eg waiting till end of season even though you win the league)
Otherwise I’m a bit tempted to stay on and play a few Asian Champ league games if I keep getting rejected from jobs.
Club Career: Season | Country | Division | Position | Cup | Continental | Top scorer | Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2016/17 | India | I League | 1st/9 | Win | n/a | Ranti Martins (17) | League and cup double; looking for a better job 2015/16 | India | I League (top div.) | 6th/9 | n/a | n/a | Ranti Martins (14) | Took over end-March with 3 games to go International career: no jobs Challenge Progress: Club 1/10 top domestic leagues (India) 1/10 domestic cups (India) 0/5 club continental championships 0/1 club world championship International 0/5 continental tournaments 0/2 world tournaments
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Ultimate Challenge Year 1 – 2015/16
Manager Profile: initial stats | Profile information | Leagues Loaded | Extra players loaded
Well, having had a couple of FM-free weeks after completing the youth challenge I couldn’t resist to give this one a go. I decided to start in Asia, since I’ll probably restart this challenge on FM17 and go my usual route of starting in the European lower leagues that time. In the meantime, I'll see how far I get in FM16.
It was a slow start jobs-wise, getting rejecting by all manner of premier league Chinese, Korean and South African clubs, despite quite a few interviews. But my heart was secretly set on India in any case, since it was a more realistic place to get a job and a country I actually visited so I could relate to the places and teams a bit more. After almost a year unemployed, I landed a job at East Bengal, a Kolkata-based team languishing in lower-mid-table despite 20-30k home attendances.
Not much to be done this season, I took charge of 3 games, drawing one and winning the other 2, but finishing in 6th, where I started. The league was won by our city rivals Mohun Bagan.
I have a huge squad of mostly 1 – 1.5 star rated players, whose contracts are expiring in the summer, so I’m anticipating a big clearout. The main constraint is my limit of 4 foreign players in the squad, so I have to scavenge some decent-quality Indian players on free transfers and find a good foreign leftback since that position is really lacking.
My two star players are foreigners Bernard Mendy (DR, 3 caps for France!) and Ranti Martins (ST, Nigeria). The aim for the next couple of years is to win the Indian league, maybe the cup, and move to a higher-rep country; no idea where in the world at the moment.
Season summary
League (IND, top division): 6th/9
Top scorer: Ranti Martins, ST (14 in 15 apps)
Top assists: Bernard Mendy, DR (10 in 21 apps)
Top rating: Bernard Mendy, DR (7.59)
Domestic:
Season | Country | Division | Position | Cup | Continental | Top scorer | Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2015/16 | India | I League (top div.) | 6th/9 | n/a | n/a | Ranti Martins (14) | Took over end-March with 3 games to go
International: no jobs
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The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge - Silver Age Archive
in Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments
Posted · Edited by dkouv
Season 1 – 2016/17 – Volgar Astrakhan (RUS)
Manager Profile | Leagues Loaded
Well, I got a bit bored of my FM 2016 save and having read the rave reviews of the FM17 beta, couldn't resist a purchase.
I jumped back into the challenge, starting anew on FM17 of course, and this time going down the European lower league route as planned.
It didn't take too long to get a job this time, and halfway through October I ended up at Volgar in the Russian First Division, a club based in the South of the country, next door to the Caspian sea. They were rock bottom of the First Division when they sacked the previous manager, but by the time I took over they won 3 on the trot, and the squad actually looked quite decent. The first few months were about getting used to the team and the new version of the game, and in the January transfer window I proceeded to strengthen the fullback position, which was badly lacking in depth. It was clear that we were not going to get relegated; we hit a good patch and then a little winless run, but finished the season very strongly, beating 5th-placed Fakel at home to ensure that we pipped them to 5th place and clinched the final play-offs spot. (Spartak Moscow's reserves finished 2nd, so the 4th and 5th place, not places 3 and 4, qualified for the play-off).
In the play-off, we were drawn against the team that finished 13th in the Premier League, Amkar Perm. I suspected that they would be too strong for us, especially as my best striker and winger got injured just before, and right at the start of the first play-off game. In the end we ran them close, but an unlucky 2-0 away defeat and a 2-1 home win meant we lost 3-2 on aggregate. It was like most such play-off games that I've watched IRL, with the lower-tier side high on confidence and dominating but not putting away the chances, and the higher-tier's side quality shining through. Still, I'm very happy with that first season, and really enjoying all the little improvements in this new installment of FM.
I'd apply for a job at a rich First Division team, or a lower-table Premier League team but none came up, so looks like I'll be staying at Volgar next year and working on that promotion push. I'll focus on upgrading a few key areas in the summer - namely, center forward and attacking center mid (only have one half-decent player for each of these positions at the moment). I have the same problem as @vikeologist in that I'm £3k above my wage budget, but still need to strengthen the squad; let's hope I can do it!
Season summary
League: 5th/20 (lost in play-off) (table)
Cup: out before I joined
Top scorer: Islam Mashukov (ST), 16 in 26(8) apps
Top assists: Dmitry Kabutov (AML/AMR), 7 in 34(4) apps
Top rating: Kevin Diaz (AML/AMR), 7.22 from 12(1) apps [one of my January signings]
Coaching badges: studying for National B license