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Thanks!

Love following along with these crazy challenges, looking forward to seeing how it goes!

Aberdeen 31/32 - July July consisted of two competitive games, both in the Champions League against FC Basel. We actually won the tie pretty comfortably in the end, it was much easier than expected I must admit. The first leg was very exciting as a neutral but we put in a very professional performance in the second leg to secure a 7-3 aggregate win. First leg Second leg That result secured us a draw against 2x winners of the Champions League Porto, which is another very tough tie. You can see why the Champions League is the best competition in the world, this is just to qualify for it and we're having to play Porto!

Aberdeen 31/32 - Summer transfers We've finally got to the start of the new season, the summer has been a bit of a slog as we only had a couple of million to spend so we couldn't really afford to buy the top quality players, but I think we already had a good squad and managed to make a couple of decent additions. The transfer window is not finished yet, there's about a month to go, but I think we're pretty much done with transfers now but of course if anything else comes up then you'll hear about it as soon as they happen. Now as always, let's start with the outs! Outs Nothing major really happened in the way of player departures, the most major transfers would be right backs Milovanov and Daley-Campbell, on a free and for half a million respectively. Goalkeeper Dillon Phillips also decided to hang up the gloves. Ins The board aren't exactly happy that 2/4 of our signings are old and don't meet the criteria, but it's all we could get really that were going to be good enough and Harry Winks is only here for a season while McCrorie will likely be a starter for this season in goals then hopefully move to a backup for the final two years of his contract and probably his career as well. We needed a couple of right backs and I'm happy with both players we brought in. Drever comes in on loan and I like the look of both his attacking and defensive attributes, he's already got a couple of assists in the Champions League which you'll find out about in the next post. The permanent signing Boyle is actually pretty similar and I'm confident he's still got room to develop, I just need to decide on who is going to be my starter. I love the fact that as they are coming to the twilight of their careers, Robby McCrorie (GK) and Ross McCrorie (CDM/CM) have been reunited just as they were when they were coming through the Rangers academy, it definitely played a small part in the decision to sign Robby. He's definitely not a world beater but anyone actually good we couldn't afford. Season Preview The media predict us to finish third behind Celtic and Rangers respectively, I definitely think we're capable of this and after a promising season last year I see no reason why we can't be in the mix for the title again, but only time will tell if that's a realistic opportunity. I forgot to mention actually we renewed the loan of Manchester City centre back Spencer Patino who was first class last season, he is the sole representative of ours in the media dream XI. I'm very happy to have him back for a second season! Tactic We played very well last season so there's no reason to change things tactically, and this will be the starting XI I class as our best XI, although a few are carrying injuries so may miss the first few games of the season. Pre-season Very comfortable pre-season, 4 friendlies played and 4 wins as well including against former side and affiliated club Annan Athletic, it was nice to be back at the Galabank stadium once again.

I've decided to reject the Brighton contract offer despite it being a realistic step up, I'm having lots of fun at Aberdeen and I feel there's still more to do here. Let the journey continue!

Good luck with this, Switzerland looks a fun country to manage in. Feel like you missed a trick not calling it Walking in a Winterthur Wonderland!

Oh god not Swansea. Once we got to the prem it was a nightmare, didn’t even last a season before I’d jumped. The premier league is tempting, but I’m sure I’ll have more opportunities later on. It goes against the realism aspect definitely, but I prefer being settled somewhere rather than jumping around every season.

I think we’ve got a good squad, even if I’ve not really improved it from last season I think we can challenge around the top of the table and hopefully pick up another domestic cup. Think it’s a risk worth taking, it feels way too much of a premature ending at Aberdeen after only one season.

As expected we didn't get the Manchester United job, hopefully I can get it later on in my career as it's the club I support so definitely the dream job. Brighton did offer me a contract but I think I'm going to turn it down, it looks like they've got a decent squad but I think we'd all have more fun both me playing and you guys reading at Aberdeen where it feels like we're not done here quite yet. I know it goes against the realism rule but I feel if I succeed more in Scotland it will lead to a better opportunity in England. Am I making a mistake here?

It’s very sound advice as well! My heart is in Aberdeen at the moment and the board asked me to sign a new contract earlier which I think I’m now going to sign.

Very true about the money. Looks like Tuchel is getting the Man United job so it’s down to Brighton or Aberdeen, and honesty I think at Aberdeen there’s way more potential. Brighton is basically sitting around until a better job becomes available really whereas Aberdeen there’s still plenty room to grow.

I’ve been thinking about it and I agree, to me staying and finishing the job at Aberdeen is way more appealing than Brighton. I said earlier on in the save I really want to win the Scottish Premiership and Aberdeen is where I want that to happen!

Following Fergie’s career path would be the dream!

Haha yeah, the quality of football in Wales isn’t the greatest I have to say. Really glad you’re enjoying the save so far, never done a proper unemployed, no badges or experience journeyman but have always played realistically. They’re my favourite saves to read about as well, I’d definitely recommend giving one a proper go next time you’re stuck for a save!

Just had another interview, this time with Brighton. They finished 16th in the Premier League last season so the main priority would be to avoid a relegation battle. They've offered a transfer budget of £37m which is actually more than Man Utd offered and they seem to still have a few decent players, so it definitely would be an interesting project that I'd have to consider if offered the job. It's worth noting I didn't apply for the job, they've been interested in me all summer and now offered me an interview.

Aberdeen 31/32 - Champions League draw The Champions League qualifying draw is in and we've been given a tie against Basel from Switzerland. I think this is quite a difficult draw given the fact it's only qualifying so there's three rounds just to get to the group stage, but there wasn't exactly any easy teams to get so I can't complain too much.

Looks like they're going to give the job to Thomas Tuchel, which is fair enough I guess!

Aberdeen 31/32 - Job interview Well well well, the dream job in my career! I applied for this at the end of the season, had no hopes of even getting an interview but thought it would make for a fun story given Sir Alex Ferguson left Aberdeen for Man Utd, and he was the last manager to win a European trophy with a Scottish team until I did so. It would be a cool narrative, but didn't I think I'd actually be offered an interview! Now to beg and promise everything to give me the best chance of getting it, I'm not job hunting at all this summer (although couldn't resist applying for this) but if a really good opportunity comes up at a premier league club or something I'd definitely consider it.

Brighton would be interesting. They finished 6 points clear of relegation last season. I don’t think I’ll apply for it, but if I’m offered an interview I’ll go and then it all comes down to money because as you say playing champions league football, even if it’s only qualifying, is a big factor to wanting to stay at Aberdeen.

And finally, as per usual now, here's the squad in full.

Aberdeen 30/31 - Season review What a brilliant season. So many games played, but 2 trophies and a second place finish in the league in my first season is very impressive. Winning the Conference League has actually boosted my reputation up from 3 stars to 4 stars, and I'm currently wanted by Brighton! Aberdeen stats so far Budget wise we've got £3.3m to spend this season although I have asked for more given our healthy financial state, and we've got 12k in the wage budget but that is before players leave. I think that's everything to cover before I go and start making signings, if there's anything at all you'd like to see about either Aberdeen or the footballing world then let me know and I'd be more than happy to get a screenshot for you. Shoutout to Sylvester Walker who once again has scored an absolute ton of goals, 45 to be exact. Although he's been quite frustrating in the league, he definitely made up for that in the Conference League where he scored 26 goals - 12 more than anyone else in the competition!

Aberdeen 30/31 - End of season special Right, here we go. End of season special, split into two parts. First up is the league where there's still a chance we could actually win it, then it's on to the Conference League final. Let's get stuck into it! We didn't lose a single game in the league split, although there was a few too many draws for my liking. Drawing to Rangers and Celtic is okay, but we really could have done with a win in at least one of those. The other draw we picked up was against Hibs and this was a game we absolutely had to be winning, so to only pick up a point is really dissapointing. It probably wasn't helped that until the final game against Dundee where he scored a hatrick, Sylvester Walker just didn't turn up. So, was this enough to win the league? Well the answer is no, but we did manage to qualify for the Champions League which is brilliant. If we had beaten Celtic and Hibs we would have won the league but unfortunately it wasn't to be and to be honest it's probably fair as well, Celtic have been top and we have been second for absolutely ages now. It's a very good first season domestically though as we managed to win the Premier Sports Cup earlier on in the season and personally I won loads of Manager of The Year awards which was nice. Now for the big one, the biggest game of my career, the Conference League final against Valencia. Conference League Final It's been a fairytale run to get this far, we had to qualify to play in this tournament in the first place and now, in our 19th Conference League game this season, we've reached the pinnacle of it all - the final. We've had an incredible run to get here with some massive upsets along the way most notably against Sporting and Atalanta. We're definitely underdogs, but everyone loves a good underdog story, don't they? We went in with pretty much a full strength team, the only notable absentee is Lewis Reid who is carrying a slight knock so can only make the bench. Dillon Phillips wears the gloves for the final time in what will be his final ever match in Professional football and what a game for it to be, just a shame it's at the Etihad! Let's get into the match, I will be covering all major events in the game to make the experience (hopefully) even better for you! There's some early drama as Valencia are reduced to 10 men just 4 minutes into the game, it's a shame it's only their striker but still a man advantage could be massive! He just loves this competition! 3 minutes before halftime and Sylvester Walker grabs his 26th (yes, that's twenty six) goal of the season this year - in the Conference League alone! The deadlock has been broken and it's us who have done so! And we've got another one just before half time! The right back has a ton of space coming into the Valencia box and smashes one in for his first goal of the season, what a time to get it! The halftime stats are in, we could do with a few more shots on target because despite being 2-0 up, we know Valencia could be a massive threat. Although saying that, they are playing Daniel James in centre midfield... Ah sh**. 6 minutes to go and Valencia are on the board, it's a great finish into the top corner at the near post. We've just got to hope we hold on now! YEEEESSS! WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE IT!!! I can't believe it. Conference League winners. Wow. This is definitely my biggest achievement as a manager and stepping out of this alternate world for a second, it could well be my biggest achievement in Football Manager. We had to qualify just to earn the right to play in the group stages so to go on and win it is very very special. Against all odds. I have to say I'm very proud of this one! We join an elite list of winners, and yes that is actually Burnley on there! This season has been incredibly long, 64 matches in fact but it's been incredibly fun to play through even though it has taken me quite a while! 2 trophies in my first season at the club, it's hard to get much better than that! I'll probably be back with a proper end of season round up post in the near future, but for now I'm going to sit back and enjoy the title celebrations as we tour around the streets of Aberdeen!

Thank you, and that would be the dream!

No plans for it to end anytime soon, we’re only just getting started really!

Thanks a lot, and yeah I’m very glad I took the Aberdeen job now! Hamilton have totally collapsed after they lost me and their two strikers, they’re already on their second manager of the season and at one point didn’t win a league game for 18 games or something. The Celtic game could be a potential title decider, win that and we’ve got a good chance if we don’t drop any more points, if we lose then surely it’s all but over.