haier_fm

Very nice view from the stands.

Top quality banter lol. Yes, I'd say for the past month or so.

Oh dear those finances do NOT look good. Any thoughts of who you are looking to move on?

I closely follow Dinamo (since 2013?, back when a young Alexander Kokorin used to dominate headlines about a move away) actually, as they are my most favourite team outside of England. I watch their games on the regular whenever watching Arsenal gets depressing. May have been biased here but hey, still sounds like a decent job to take up.

Thank you! I will have the end of season awards and report in the next post. After that, some big changes ahead are on the horizon (DNA, Transfer Policy, Club Structure, Tactical Philosophy). Exciting times!

Before getting relegated after VTB Bank pulled the plug on the funding.

Strong end to the season, just unfortunate to see how the league panned out in the end. But CL football is secured for next year and that is all that matters imo. The Eredivisie title? There's always next year.

Off to a great start! While in the early stages of the season, have you identified anyone from the U19s who you will likely feature in the first team this season?

Looks like a club in crisis, oh dear... Sad to see them in a state like this - reminds me somewhat of Kaiserslautern, Deportivo La Coruna, and the current AS Saint-Etienne.

May '22 "We know what we need to do, Cottbus know what they need to do. It is just now a question of who can execute their plan to perfection better. We believe in ourselves and our ability - we are going out to fight for every inch, every blade of grass, so that there is nothing left of our boots by the end of the 90 minutes in each of the two games. I believe only that will help us on our course to conquer the title." - Petr Havlicek, speaking to Chemisches Element Podcast. With the season drawing to a close, we are 6 points away from first. While some of that was our own doing, Cottbus' form meant that with 2 games to go, they were in provisional pole for the title. Despite the odds, we were determined to try and stop Cottbus' supremacy and win the league ourselves. Just to recap, here is our run-in. At home to in-form Tennis Borussia Berlin before heading to midtable side Meuselwitz to close out the season. Our fixture list looks relatively even on paper against Cottbus'... ...who host a very good side in Berliner AK before travelling down to already relegated Eilenburg. For us to win the title, we need to win our both games and Cottbus to lose both of thiers. We should become top in that case, as our GD is superior to theirs. With this in mind, TeBe Berlin came to town. A game with a lot at stake, as the visitors arrived off the back of a 10 game unbeaten run. Our job was simple - to win and pray that Berliner AK do their job against Cottbus. It was another game where we dominated but didn't necessarily translate this into goals. Stephy Mvibudulu got his 28th goal of the season in the 21st minute with a smashing effort after being put clean through on goal by Dennis Mast. That was how the game finished, as the ground suddenly grew quiet in anticipation. The reports after the final whistle came in from Stadion der Freundschaft in Cottbus, reporting: BERLINER AK HAVE DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE! As news reached the ears of the Chemie faithful, the stadium arose from its slumber. As it stood, Chemie were now 3 points off from Cottbus with a game to go. The noise at the Alfred Kunze at this news? Deafening. Which made things very interesting. As we travelled to Meusselwitz, the fans, Petr Havlicek, and his players were clear about one thing. Win, and win at all costs, in the hope that Cottbus slip up. Buses, draped in the colour of green, yellow and white, arrived as a horde, as the side from the Leutzsch district of Leipzig disembarked. All focused and ready at hand, the lot were incredibly eager to win the game. Havlicek had put them in the right frame of mind, stressing how a win would put them one foot away from the title. As the Chemie players emerged from the tunnel under the loud chants of the Diablos, the stage was set, the aims were clear. Chemie dominated proceedings yet again, urgently moving the ball forward beyond the opposition. Chances came and went for the visiting side. A usual occurrence that Havlicek was indifferent to seeing to. Eventually one of these would make its way into the net, he thought to himself. The fans would wait for a while before Die Chemiker finally struck first. A neat passing move on the right, a Florian Bruegmann drilled cross, leading to Tom Gruendling to net just before the hour mark. The Chemie defence were brilliant all game, doing everything to restrict the hosts to only 4 shots, with all of them failing to hit the target. In a game which left no chance for the opposition to restore parity, Chemie found themselves on top. However. And there is a however in every feel-good story. Just about after when the stoppages were added, a Meusselwitz ball over the top from deep found their winger straight through on goal. The ball was played across to the striker and to the horror of the Chemie fans, Meusselwitz levelled with their only shot on target. 1-1 with 2 minutes left to go. Suddenly, a whistle from the referee interrupted the eruption from all 3 home ends. The flag was raised by the linesman, and just like that Chemie snatched a victory. And as the whistle blew again for full time, the away end was once again quiet, eagerly waiting for the results from elsewhere. It seemed as if hope lingered for a moment, as the destination of the trophy was being decided at this very moment. We had done everything in our right to put one hand on the title. The fate of the other hand lied in Eilenburg, where Cottbus were in the midst of duelling against the already relegated hosts. Before BSG Chemie Leipzig 2021-22 could be engraved into the side of the winners list on the side of the Regionaliga Nordost title, the news finally filtered through the ground at Meusselwitz. The away end was stunned into silence. A few heads dropped in light of the reports. So close but yet so far. A flagrant groan resonated through the away end, as some heads in the crowd slowly started to perch down, refusing to believe the news. Cottbus made it over the line convincingly on the last day. Unfortunately for us, this meant the top 3 looked like this at the end of the season's conclusion. And as the players made their way to the away end, there was a sour atmosphere blanketing over the Chemie ultras. Havlicek did his best to console some of his players, but he himself knew that his side didn't make it in the end. While a Sacshenpokal trophy serves as some sort of consolation, this was an opportunity that went begging. And just like that, the season finished. THAT run in March was just a small, yet significant speck, which left marks of regret and dull pain, in otherwise a monumental effort from Petr Havlicek, his players, the fans, the staff, the people that run the club, run the ground. A monumental effort from the club as a whole, the conclusion of the league season felt bittersweet. Nonetheless, upon reflection, 3 days after the season's end, Chemie realised that they should be proud that they mounted a title challenge in this manner. While they may have binned pole position while attempting to overcome one of the penultimate hurdles (ahem, pointing at you Optik Rathenow, Fuerstenwalde, Auerbach), they were never a contender to be champions anyway. With reinforcements coming in over the summer and some change in the old guard on order, Die Chemiker have a lot of potential to harness. With Petr Havlicek at the helm, Chemie look safe for the future. For Petr himself, winning the title is now of urgent importance, as it has become a question of when and where. Turning the side professional is imperative if the club were to develop, and gaining promotion to the 3.Liga plays a crucial role in that endeavour. An exciting summer awaits for BSG Chemie Leipzig, as the Alfred Kunze Sportpark closes its gates for the last time this season. Thank you for reading. ----- Allez BSG!

Danke schön!

Seems like you're in it for the long term. Best of luck!

Nice to see you back! I was following your adventures with Demba Ba, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Best of luck with Everton, would require a lot of micromanaging with finances and deals.

If it weren't for Krasnodar, this job opportunity would be very interesting to take. A full scale rebuild required, a club with great history and a deep-rooted rivalry with Spartak.

Great to see you back! Will be following.

From one cup winner to the other - congratulations.

Cheers! Can't wait for the DFB Pokal - giving us that sweet sweet extra revenue to our suffering finances Fair enough. When I first stumbled upon him, I thought it would be a coup if I pulled a deal off. Only 22 and plenty of room to grow, future captain material with those mentals.

April '22 "Reports emerge from the Leutzsch, specifically from Chemie Leipzig, where a number of deals were extended to 15 first team players, including Paul Horschig, Tarik Reinhard and Benjamin Bellot. This is fantastic for the side that play in green as futures are secured for their most crucial players." After a dismal month of March, we were looking to battle on towards the remaining fixtures in the league and the regional cup. We needed to pick ourselves up, and do it quickly, as it was our job to catch Cottbus. Altglienicke away. Another trip to Berlin sees us face a side in mid-table. A vicious ball into the box from the right by Florian Bruegmann finds Dennis Mast to head home at the far post on the 29th. A close game with two evenly matched sides, we should be thankful for our luck, as we didn't score anymore in a tight contest. A huge win at the expense of the hosts. Auerbach in the Semi Final of the cup. As this game was highly important, giving us a potential ticket into the DFB Pokal should we win the final, Havlicek put out the strongest XI possible. Under the voracious cheer from the Diablos, Max Kessler gives us the lead from a Dennis Mast cross on the 45th. It was a special occasion, as the headed goal would give us the lead as we re-entered the dressing room of the Alfred-Kunze Sportpark. A neat passing move, sending Dennis Mast through in on goal would put us 2 to the good and close out the game. A raucous chant from all four sides of the ground would mark the end of 90 minutes, ensuring Chemie's ticket to the final. The win sees us play against high-flying Zwickau in the final. 3 days later, a game against Fuerstenwalde at our place. With half the squad tired from the recent exploits in the cup, Havlicek picked a rotated side which inclued personnel such as Anton Kanther and Dennis Jaepel. As we took the lead through Stephy Mvibudulu, a nice through ball converted on the 31st, we were pegged back 4 minutes later through poor defending by our club captain yet again. A game where we dominated, we ended up taking a point instead of three. This severely impacted our gap between ourselves and Cottbus. This isn't turning out to be our year as it stands, unfortunately. ***** This is how the run in for both teams is looking like. Trailing 6 points and having a slightly tougher run-in than Cottbus, our hope for the title is fading fast, as it is looking likely that Cottbus will win the league this year. Very unfortunate as we held the lead for the better part of the year, only for us to bin our gap to second with a horrible run of form. Cottbus would win all their games in April, as seen below. A ridiculous run of form, but they are just a class apart from the rest of the league. I guess its just the way the cookie crumbles, we were never expected to give a fight for the title anyway. ***** Back to the action though. The game at home against Lichtenberg was our redemption game. Havlicek set out his team to get forward and intimidate the opposition. Credit to the Berlin based side, they stood firm, as defending became a matter of life and death in this game. This would continue until the 60th minute mark, where a horrid tackle put them down to 10 men. We finally open the scoring 3 minutes after; Stephy Mvibudulu found the net from a neat Manuel Wajer pass from the left. With that, the opposition defence crumbled - Dennis Mast scoring from a header on the 72nd, and an own goal on the 84th made it a day to forget for Lichtenberg, as Chemie outclassed their opposition yet again. Jena away on paper was our toughest match up in the league in April. We didn't want to drop additional points as the gap was already looking insurmountable. We were up for the game as we reduced Jena to no shots on target throughout the whole 90 minutes. While Tarik Reinhard hit the post from very close out, we were lucky, as the rebound fell to Timo Mauer, who wouldn't have an easier chance to score. We take the lead very early on, in the 8th minute, as Jena battled hard to gain supremacy in the middle of the pitch through persistent challenges. It didn't work however, and it guaranteed our positive end to the month. Here is the league table as it stands, going into the last two games. We need Cottbus to lose against both Berliner AK and Eilenburg. It isn't looking very likely that this will happen as the latter is doomed to relegation. Berliner AK can defeat Cottbus and cut the gap down to 3 should we win both our games. We will see what happens, and act accordingly. Sachsenpokal Final This was a big game, as this gave us our first taste of competition against the sides in the league above. Zwickau were red hot coming into this game, chasing promotion into the 2.Bundesliga through a potential play-off tie. We needed to win this to 100% guarantee our participation in the DFB Pokal. So, as both sides headed out onto the pitch, Havlicek reminded his boys there was no pressure to win. "Allow yourselves to enjoy the occasion". 2 TIME CHAMPIONS OF SAXONY-ANHALT - BSG CHEMIE LEIPZIG boomed over the speakers as the Diablos stormed the pitch to embrace with their heroes. Fear and disappointment suddenly blanketed the away end, as Zwickau took the lead through a break in our defensive line. Keen to build on our promising start before conceding, Havlicek eagerly shouted his players on. This worked as Dennis Mast turned in the rebound from a Tom Gruendling effort on the 16th, before chipping the keeper after a flowing move on the 28th minute. A touch of class from a classy player put us in the lead of the final. We never looked like conceding after that, dominating the game, creating chance after chance. As the game drew to a close, it was us who lifted the Sachsenpokal. A brilliant effort from the players all year round finally got rewarded with silverware. Behind the scenes, we were looking for potential deals to come in during the summer. After searching from the teams already relegated from the league above, we stumbled upon Lukas Pinckert, playing for @Deisler26's Viktoria Berlin. They are currently struggling to avoid the drop. With his contract running out in the summer, it was time to act now if we were to secure him. Tidy player, insane mentals, young, this lad ticks all boxes, without eating up too much of our wages. He fits the system perfectly, as Havlicek intends to change the way Chemie play next season. This signing is integral to that happening. So therefore... ... welcome Lukas Pinckert. The prospect of this signing causes an air of excitement for the Chemie fans, eager to see what Havlicek does next during the summer. With the season drawing to a close, there is a slow realisation that promotion is out of reach this season. However, Chemie must mount a full assault on the title next year if it wants to run sustainably a debt-free. Whether this occurs time will tell. But for now, it is time for the Leipzig based side from the northern Leutzch district to close out the season and thank the fans for their support. Thank you for reading. ----- Allez BSG!

March '22 "March is the month where the title may be decided. If Chemie don't drop any points over the four game period, I can't see them dropping behind Cottbus for the rest of the season. However, it will be a different story if results go differently. Cottbus simply look unbeatable and it will take something special for them to drop points." - Thomas Doll, former Dynamo Berlin player. Before we dive in, the top clubs in Germany had released their prospects, meaning that we were out to find some decent players that could bolster our squad for next season. After searching across some of the youth, we stumbled across this player. Introducing, Jorden Winter. He was the best of the bunch, a highly average to meh bunch. Yes, he may look very one sided and one hell of a one-trick pony, but his mental attributes are very good for this level. Being only 18 and having 13 determination, along with having good attributes in key areas, shows he has the potential to go far. He could serve as the Mvibudulu replacement if such an occasion arrives. A big plus is that he is already settled at Leipzig, albeit playing for the franchise. But, without hesitation... ...we snapped him up. At no cost and cheap wages, Winter has some serious resale value should we keep him beyond next season. Back to the league though, where things were hotting up. With the closing stages of the season upon us, the Regionaliga Nordost finds Chemie and Cottbus neck and neck, vying for the name on the league trophy. This is an important month for both teams, as they will face off against each other, which will ultimately determine the destination of the cup come the end of the 38 games in the league. Ouch. Things seemed to start off well on paper, as Chemie travelled to FSV Optik Rathenow, who were in the relegation zone at the time. This was the game where we should have won before approaching the match. Or so we thought. Havlicek's men conceded very early on. Mr. Reliable, Club Captain, the skipper, or however he should be described, our veteran CB Stefan Karau lost the run of the opposition striker Lucas Will, who, after receiving the ball, slid past the onrushing Benjamin Bellot in the 2nd minute. However, while keen to bounce back, it took ages for Chemie to score past the resolute Rathenow defence. The equaliser only came straight after halftime. Dennis Jaepel, after receiving a good forward pass, sent an inswinger towards the box for Max Kessler to prod home on the 46th minute. Nonetheless, mistakes from the Chemie defence kept on coming, conceding a 22 yeard freekick on the 49th minute - a freekick that would find the net. Afterwards and even throughout the match, we couldn't create anything. Mvibudulu and the quartet were surprisingly silent. With the Cottbus game around the corner, this wasn't according to the script, and unfortunately, Optik Rathenow inflict our first defeat of the season. Our tally of 28 games without a loss had stopped. Quite a feat, but it could have been so much more. Energie Cottbus at the Alfred-Kunze. The biggest game of the season. Cottbus were coming into the game in hot form, winning their last 8 games while we were reeling off of that defeat from the previous game. We started on the back foot instantly, but this was the case too in the reverse fixture. The main aim was to contain Cottbus and hit them on the break, exploiting the space in behind. This worked well, as the Chemie defence stood tall against a truckload of Cottbus chances, some coming from crosses, some were ridiculous one-on-ones, some were ambitious pot shots. Contrary to the reverse fixture, we created nothing - no shots on target, with Mvibudulu ending the game on a 6.2. We could only defend for so long before the floodgates would open. This proved to be the case, as the Cottbus attack used the space between our LB Manuel Wajer and CB Stefan Karau to get in behind and in on goal. This time, Cottbus indeed scored when the timer indicated 50 minutes on the clock. We didn't not muster up with an answer to that, conceding a second 5 minutes later after Karau made another defensive mistake by committing to a man and leaving space in behind, the space which was exploited for Cottbus' second goal of the game. And unfortunately, that was how the game finished - Havlicek looked a frustrated and depressed figure, as Chemie were lifeless and struck. Cottbus and Rathenow proved to be the sucker punch, throwing the spanner in the works in Chemie's fight for the title. Auerbach away was a game where we had to regain our momentum - those last two defeats had shot our confidence to pieces and we didn't play the way we were before entering March. We looked spooked and a ghost of our old selves, as we conceded early yet again - a first minute breakaway and scored by the opposition suddenly posed a lot of questions for our defence, the questions to which we didn't seem to have an answer. Thankfully, Chemie found their scoring touch, after Manuel Wajer heading in the delivery from a corner by Max Kessler in the 7th minute. During half-time, Havlicek demanded more from his players. "Where is your passion lads? Do you even want to play? What happened to you? We were 28 games unbeaten, now suddenly a couple of hiccups and you lads look down and out. We cannot have that in any circumstance. We cannot let a couple of silly defeats derail our season. Come on lads, we have still got this, I believe in you.", he said, desperately seeking answer in his players' eyes. However, Chemie concede a penalty, a very rare occurence, as Paul Horschig stops a one-on-one, injuring himself in the process. The penalty would be converted on the 48th and Auerbach were 2-1 up, against the run of play. Chemie would get their own slice of luck, receiving a soft penalty, for Max Kessler to step up and score. Sometimes reality is different from expectation as our youngster missed the chance to draw level by hitting a soft penalty down the middle, which was saved. Despite the awful attempt at a spot kick, we pressed on, desperate to at least grab a point. And that would arrive in the 90th minute. A scramble in the box, Auerbach defenders discombobulated and the ball miraculously found the feet of Max Kessler, to finally score and send the away end celebrating, euphorically chanting the hero's name. Havlicek had mixed emotions - on one hand avoiding defeat but on the other, dropping yet more points to Cottbus, who were unbeaten in March so far. We should've won that though and a look at the stats doesn't make that us feel any better. AAAARRRRRRGHHH!!!!! FM can be brutal sometimes, but at a time like this...... Tasmania Berlin at home. We couldn't play them at a more perfect time. Already occupying the foot of the table and consigned to relegation, we needed to win and win big against the opposition. And so we did, thankfully. A game that was awfully close on paper but we were just clinical on the day. Tarik Reinhard got his hat-trick - a header on the 35th, a tap-in from a Dennis Jaepel cutback on the 72nd and a penalty on the 79th, guaranteed that the man of the match award would go to him. However, he wasn't the only peformer that stood out. Stephy Mvibudulu had once again scored, converting a cross from a deep free-kick, Max Kessler had done the same and Andy Wendschuch scored another free-kick just outside the area, ensuring that Chemie would recover some of the lost ground in terms of goal difference. Yes, Havlicek's men conceded two to a very poor side and the defence must be questioned after yet again a poor showing. However, a 6-2 win is never unwanted, especially if it is a 6-2 win that allows a team to get back on its feet. Picking up 4 points out of a possible 12 is awful form, challenging to harm our position in the league table. It would prove to be the case when looking at the table at the end of the month. The side that play in green had been displaced from the green that is the top spot. This is giving me serious Liverpool 2013-14 energy. A 4 point gap behind suddenly turned into a 4 point gap in front. Really upsetting, to be honest, as there wasn't much that Havlicek could have done. Cottbus were in flying form (honestly their run is ridiculous) and we just did not turn up on the day where we should have, simply put. Yes, on another day, it could have looked very different. It remains to be seen if promotion is a reality, as it seems that the opportunity is slipping away from our firm grasp. It is an uphill battle from here and it is unlikely that Cottbus will drop points during their run-in, considering their last few games are much easier than Chemie's on paper. Despite the catastrophic situation, the side from the Leutzch district of Leipzig should not worry about that. Second place in the league is still an outstanding achievement. Cottbus look very strong, almost too strong. However, the most important thing now is to keep going and finish the last 6 games to our best, giving it our all. Because that is all that can be done at this stage. The rest will depend upon fate. As the managerial mastermind Ted Lasso once said: "Believe". And so we will Ted, so we will..... Thank you for reading. ----- Allez BSG!

Hello again, Firstly, thank you for stumbling upon this thread. Secondly, for those who followed my thread with Chemie on FM20, I apologise for the radio silence. I felt I needed some time away from Football Manager in general to rekindle the interest in the game. Hence, there was no continuation and there will not be any future post in my original thread on FM20 (you can catch up on it here if you wish!) However, after following the team for quite a while now, I felt that my dance with Chemie Leipzig on Football Manager was not quite over yet. Something was missing. Something was out there. After many hours logged into this year's iteration of the game, I think I can say that I am motivated to play and write again. I don't know for how long this will last, but I hope that I can at least give the club, its fans something worthwhile. Thus, I decided to reboot my laptop and start from square one, but now on FM22. Start again from square one. Same mission. Same manager. Same club. (All of this will be covered in my next post) I hope this will be the start of a great long-term save for me and one hell of a journey to write about. Allez BSG!