br00kster
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Posts posted by br00kster
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I picked up FM23 late because I was deep in a FM22 save, but it's the same question I had last year: can anyone recommend a UI to show the player attributes in scout reports, please? I'm not spending my life hovering over the little icon. Thank you in advance!
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Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (Armed Forces FC) aka The Gladiators
Season Three Review (2025)
Pre-Season
SpoilerAn interesting pre-season to say the least...
Despite finishing 3rd last season and qualifying for the Confederation Cup, Selangor won both the League and the FA Cup, meaning their additional Champions League space went to the next available team in the League....ME!
Fantastic news! Except, I was then told literally two days later that because of our poor financial position, the club would be turning semi-professional. Not good, especially with a number of players on full time contracts refusing to speak to me and renew on a part time basis. We took full advantage of any contract extensions available for our key players, but it's only a matter of time before we see them leave, unless we improve our financial position.
Despite the earlier news of Champions League qualification, I was somewhat bemused when I was drawn in a Confederation Cup group. I'm not sure if this is a bug, or because of my semi-professional status. While it's pleasing to still be in a Continental competition, the money is nowhere near as good.
Malaysian Super League
SpoilerWhat a performance. We've blown the league away this season, losing just two games. A fantastic start saw us unbeaten in eleven games before losing away to 3rd placed Kedah. Another extremely strong defensive performance saw us concede only 16 goals all season, three seasons with the meanest defence at the Ministry of Defence (stadium). I did have my concerns 2/3 of the way through the season after a few players were called up to the U20's World Cup, however Malaysia's quick exit saw them return to the squad fairly quickly, only missing a couple of games.
Defensively we are fantastic, much is down the goalkeeper, back four and defensive midfielders being amongst my stronger players.
A fantastic breakthrough season for our new striker Ali Shariff, picking up 19 goals (11 league goals) - a bright future ahead (hopefully for us) given he finished the season still 16 years old and already being capped by Malaysia u20s and winning 'Striker of the Year'. Stand out mentions to Rodzi for topping the league's assist charts from CM and Yunof our goalkeeper with the most clean sheets. Our inherited youngster Lee Hwee Koon continues to make strides, winning 'Most Promising Player' and 'Defender of the Year'.
Ismail also won 'Midfielder of the Year', giving us 3 out of the 4 awards, much to our Goalkeeper Yusof's dismay.
Once again, Champions League qualification is confirmed. Let's hope we play in it this time, given our need for financial support. The £93k prize money helped our woes, but we still have a long way to go.
Malaysian FA Cup
SpoilerOur (lack of) squad depth really showed and after a couple of average performances following a lot of changes, we were eventually eliminated by (almost relegated) N. Sembilan, who surprisingly went on to win the whole competition.
Malaysian Cup
SpoilerWith limited prize money on offer, rotation was provided to give some fringe players their chance to shine, especially as we were juggling Continental matches in the already hectic fixture schedule.
We were once again drawn against our nemesis, N. Sembilan, providing our 5th and 6th matches of the season against them and once again they came out on top, beating my weaker side twice to finish top of the group.
Once again we were eliminated in the Quarter Final, this time to Perak 3-2 on aggregate.
Confederation Cup
SpoilerOur first showing in a Continental Cup saw us hoping to emulate our compatriot Johor DT, who won the Confederation Cup the previous year.
We went straight into the group draw against what looked to be fairly average competition.
Needless to say, even with rotation, we barely broke a sweat and topped the group on maximum points, conceding just three goals in the process.
Once again, the 'Asian Confederation Cup ASEAN Zone Semi Final' (and breathe) didn't prove too difficult as we breezed past Myanmar's Yangon Utd 4-0 on aggregate.
The 'Asian Confederation Cup ASEAN Zone Final' saw us drawn against Vietnamese team Ho Chi Minh City (a lovely place to visit in real life and in Football Manager), especially if you come away with a Trophy. A 2-0 home win set the foundations for an eventual 4-1 aggregate victory and secure a Continental Trophy at the first time of asking. A light sweat and the £251k prize money really helped us!
This saw us qualify for the 'Asian Confederation Cup Interzone Playoff Semi Final'...gosh this tournament is confusing...drawing Indian side Bangaluru.
After battering them 5-0 in the home leg, a more humble 1-1 draw following a lot of changes saw us through 6-1 on aggregate.
The 'Asian Confederation Cup Interzone Playoff Final' saw us draw Hwaebul from North Korea. A tough away trip saw us lose 1-0, before a dominating home performance saw us just scrape it with a 2-0 win.
Done? All done? No. Don't be silly. Of course there's more.
Al-Wahda of Syria meet us in the Asian Confederation Cup Final, an exciting time to be a Gladiator for sure! Unfortunately, we lost our Goalkeeper, Yunof, in the build up and were forced to introduce our 15 year old backup, Wan Mustapha.
Unfortunately, despite Syahlan's 94th minute heroics, it proved one game too far and we were eventually defeated on penalties. Truly gutting, although the £540k prize money is really a much welcome bonus.
This was our last game of the season, so here are the final player stats.
Youth Intake
SpoilerUnfortunately, I forgot to take a screenshot of the intake, however it was our worst preview to date, with only one potential A rated and one B rated player.
The intake itself was ok, a lot of potential, but not many forcing their way into the first team straight away.
Best rated prospect Faizal Sani isn't all that, but I'm quite excited about Nizam Muhamad who looks to be a decent replacement for Syahlan who is approaching 33 (and went on to score 11 minutes into his debut in the Malaysia Cup!). We still lack height, with only one outfield player, who is unlikely to make an appearance, hitting the six foot mark.
Facilities, Finances, Transfers & Review
SpoilerOur successful campaign brought in some much needed money. We were finally granted some much needed improvements to Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment, the first improvement I've managed to get so far, as well as a Coaching Course for myself. No news on our Professional status, sadly.
Sadly, the board are 'Devastated' with my lack of profit from signings. Oooops. Have they never heard of this challenge before?
Confirmation of no transfers made.
And finally, overall review.
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Well...an interesting season to come...
Edit: so apparently, I'm not in the Champions League as I've just been drawn into a group in the Confederation Cup instead. Not sure if this is down to me losing my professional status.
Luckily we don't care about that and will beat all the professional teams that come at us in the League.
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Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (Armed Forces FC) aka The GladiatorsSeason Two Review (2024)
Pre-Season
SpoilerGood news for Malaysian teams, due to increase rankings an additional qualification space.
We also had a Testimonial for Azuhar, who after sulking for being our number two keeper, was loaned out. Unfortunately, we couldn't mark a fantastic 10 year career at the club, which saw him appear a massive (checks notes) 39 times with a win, but oh well. To make things even funnier, because he sulked and got loaned out to Felda Utd, he didn't actually appear in either match day squads for his Testimonial.
Finally, I accidentally sent one of my coaches to an early season press conference where he suggested our striker Mohd Syahlan was preferred to Mbappe. A bold claim indeed. Upon further inspection, he was talking absolute waffle.
Malaysian Super League
SpoilerA fantastic first season in an extremely tight Malaysian Super League saw us finish 3rd and gain continental qualification. This was again, a lot easier than my first season in the top flight in Greece.
Mohd Syahlan continued to be our stand out performer topping the goals, assists (joint), average rating and player of the match (joint) for a second season running. Now 31, I imagine he will slowly decline and hopefully we can get some young blood in to continue his legacy.
Our stadium, Ministry of Defence, continued to make good of it's name with another season where we conceded the fewest goals in the league. It really does help when your defensive spine of the team is your four best players, long may it continue.
Our Continental qualification was confirmed with our place in the Confederation Cup, however with Selengor winning both the League and FA Cup, there is the potential we may go straight into the Champions League next season...that should be, erm...fun?
Our defensive midfielder Rizal Ismail received a call up to the Malaysian U19's, becoming the first player in the save to represent the National Team at any level.
Malaysian FA Cup
SpoilerA poor showing saw us lose our first game, eliminating us in the just the Second Round.
Malaysian Cup
SpoilerThis season saw our first inclusion in the Malaysian Cup after the league had ended. With very little prize money (£36k to the winner), it gave us a chance to use some youngsters who perhaps hadn't received as much game time as they should have as well as some of the new Youth Intake.
Sadly, Johor DT taught us a lesson or two and we could only manage second in the group - probably what was to be expected.
Unfortunately, a 90th minute goal in the away leg saw us eliminated in the Quarter Final against Terengganu.
WIth this being our final game of the season, this is how the player stats ended up.
While not listed, our new youth prospect Ali Shariff (see below) managed an impressive 3 goals and 2 assists in his 6 Malaysia Cup games, almost being included in the top assists throughout the season.
Youth Intake
SpoilerIt is still extremely strange to end the league season without revealing our Youth players, so once again we had to wait. The initial preview was a mixed bag to say the least, with one of our best players being a Goalkeeper already.
A really strong youth intake saw four fantastic players, with RB Saufi Adbullah the stand out. It's just a real shame for Ismail (GK) that one of our best players in the squad is our existing number one, who is still only 26.
Finances, Transfers & Review
SpoilerOur finances continue to be an issue, with the club hemorrhaging money. Although rumours of a takeover are circling, they are apparently not to be believed, however, there could be late drama...
As a result of our poor financial situation, there were no improvements to facilities or coaching badges.
Confirmation of no transfers.
And finally, review.
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Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (Armed Forces FC) aka The Gladiators
Season One Review (2023)
Malaysian Premier League
SpoilerA really fantastic showing in our first season saw us win the Title and gain promotion to the top tier straight away. I found this A LOT easier than my Greece and while I don't want to use the word "easy", it was a pretty straight forward two way battle for the title, which we managed to come out on top of, despite throwing away a two goal lead in our final game and Kelantan scoring late (I was sweating a little when I saw their 89th minute equaliser).
Generally, I like to play with one up top with two attacking wide men, but without a single winger in the squad and an apparent lack of full backs all together, I was forced to go with two strikers.
The club's stadium 'Ministry of Defence' certainly lived up to it's name with us having the meanest defence in the league.
The season was really only about one man, my striker Muhd Syafwan Mohd Syahlan who finished top of the Goalscoring (13), Average Rating (7.48), Assist (7) and Player of the Match (5) charts for the club. At 30 years old, he isn't going to be around for too long, so we will continue to enjoy his presence in the team.
Five players represented the club in the Team of the Year, including two 16/17 year olds in Lee Hwee Koon and Razak.
Malaysian FA Cup
SpoilerWe managed to win our first game before a humbling defeat by Malaysian powerhouses Johor DT, who not only won the FA Cup, but also the Charity Cup to win the Double, finishing 2nd in the top division despite being pre-season favourites.
Eliminated in the Third Round.
Youth Intake
SpoilerWith our small squad, we were hoping to add some much needed reinforcements as well as some height (only one player is 6'0").
The initial preview was promising.
It's somewhat strange to finish the season without our youth players revealed, so it was a little bit of a waiting game to see how pour squad would shape up for the following year.
A decent youth intake (which I suppose is to be expected at this level with limited squad options), with Rizal Ismail the real stand out and Hariz Kamar as well. The joy of managing in Malaysia is that the standard is poor enough that it should be very easy to implement youth prospects straight away.
Post Season, Finances, Transfers & Review
SpoilerRumours circulating of a possible takeover are hopefully true given us leaking money, although they're apparently not to be believed. The poor financial situation meant there were no improvements to any facilities, however I managed to land a coaching course for myself
Confirmation of no transfers.
And game summary.
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I'm enjoying this challenge immensely, but was running out of steam a bit after completing eight seasons in Greece (especially after the Summer I'd had) fairly quickly, so I wanted to start a splinter save to keep me fresh and sane. Greece isn't dead, just on holiday.
My gaze drifted further East to Malaysia, taking over...drumroll...Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (literally Armed Forces FC) aka The Gladiators in the Malaysian Premier League (second tier)
(New teams on 13th November 2022)
Armed Forces FC - Introduction
Back to square one, zero reputation, zero facilities, lacking all round.
My favourite part of this is their stadium is called Ministry of Defence. Brilliant. Let's hope it's the fortress it suggests.
After securing some staff we can see how our squad looks. Luckily, there are some decent prospects in the team, with some key positions taken care of in GK, CB and ST.
On a final note, this will be the music played every time an update is provided:
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka “Wind”
Season Eight Review - 2029/30
Pre-Season
Another pre-season, another spending spree by OFI Crete, a whopping £71m spent in two seasons...the division is certainly getting more difficult.
Greek Super League One - Main
Further baby steps were made, finishing on 52 points (up from 49 last season), cementing back to back fourth place finishes and entering Euro Cup II in the Third Qualifying Round. It's proving extremely difficult to break the top three, given their exceptional defensive records and points haul. The top six were really dominating compared to the remainder of the division.
Greek Super League One - Championship Group
A poor showing in the Championship Group saw us scrape into 4th place. A measly 12 points from 10 games, including just 1 in my final 4 games. I almost threw it away completely in the last game, holding on to a 3-3 draw with AEK.
Sixteen year old striker Psarreas had a great first season, topping the scoring charts with 18 goals. Markakis (who we managed to tie down to a long term contract) was another stand out goal contributor, providing the most assists (13) as well as finishing second top scorer with 15.
My 6'4" brick wall of a centre back Tsanis continues to be my highest rated player, this time with an impressive 7.53 over the course of the season, only a matter of time before his £2.6m release clause is activated, with him notching up 10 goals, winning Talent of the Year, Greek Player of the Year, once again finishing 3rd in NxGn and being the first Aiolikos player to be named in the Team of the Year ever. And breathe. That's a long list.
On a sad note, it looks like our talisman and long standing Captain, Koutrobilas, looks like he will leave the club on a free transfer as he doesn't believe the squad is of high enough quality. A real shame as there are no clubs sniffing around him. I still have a faint hope he will open negotiations at the eleventh hour, but I won't hold my breath. 163 games, 36 goals, 19 assists, 7.02 average rating. We will miss you. Crying now.
How our starting eleven looked at the end of the season, some glaringly obvious gaps that could do with filling.
Greek Cup
Once again, the draw was on our side drawing lower league opposition before meeting Olympiacos in the Quarter Final. Dominic Solanke tore us a proverbial new one, with Karaktas having an absolute mare over the two legs.
Euro Cup II
The season before last saw me finish 5th and straight into the Fourth Qualifying Round of the EURO Cup II, meaning I only needed to win one tie before advancing to the group stages. Sadly, despite finishing an improved fourth last season, a drop in Greece's rankings meant I only entered in the Second Qualifying Round, meaning I had a bumper pre-season as I attempted to navigate Europe's
finesterr... decent teams.Having successfully beaten Norway's Viking, followed by Czech side Slavia Prague (mainly thanks to a couple of red cards in the second (home) leg of the tie), we eventually went through against Scottish side Raith on penalties thanks to some heroics from my 15 year old stand in keeper (first choice injured), who saved 3 of Raith's 4 penalties.
A tough group saw us drawn against another Scottish side, Hibernian, as well as Portuguese giants Porto and Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart...alarm bells were ringing as all these divisions had been selected and each team had a full squad.
I would've much preferred my compatriot's, AEK, group, but we make do with the hand we're dealt.
Much to my surprise, we advanced thanks to a 3-3 draw against Hibernian in the last game.
Stuttgart romped the group (and eventually went on to win the entire thing), however, I was surprised by how unbelievably terrible Porto were, finishing on 2 points and -14 goal difference. I thought this may be due to not having Portugal selected, but it wasn't and upon inspection at the end of the season, they could only manage an 11th place finish.
For once a bit of luck saw an easier draw against Belgian Union SG, beating them 2-1 on aggregate..
...before we were embarrassed by Spanish side Athletico Bilbao away from home in the next round. Still, this is the furthest we have got in a European competition, so baby steps.
Youth Intake
I am desperate for a goalkeeper. Desperate. My current number one and second choice are 2.0/1.5 star players. You can imagine my delight when Goalkeeper popped up as an 'A' in the preview.
You can also imagine my despair when I was served up another bang average youth intake. Unfortunately, this HoYD doesn't seem to be providing like he predecessor, so we will be letting his contact expire this Summer.
A few players will be brought into the first team squad, but I'm not sure any will immediately start...we'll see how they develop. A few with high Determination will hopefully develop, including our goalkeeper. Unfortunately, it seems I screenshot without their Personalities, but with our two striking options being Mercenaries, we're in for a torrid time.
Facilities, Finances, Transfers & Review
European competition continues to provide a decent source of income, allowing further improvements to our facilities. Excitingly, we will start the new season in our new stadium...6,641 capacity, no doubt we will be trying to expand immediately.
It also allowed us to finish the season in the black for the first time, hurrah!
Confirmation of no transfers made.
While it's tempting to join my team, I sadly had to decline Huddersfield Town's approach to join them in the English Championship. Maybe another time.
And finally our overview of progress so far.
UP THE WIND!
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10 hours ago, Daddy said:
2026/27 Season Review:
That was a rough season to get though. Last match of the season with relegation on the line against Grasshoppers. Down 1-0 so I crank it up to Very attacking and knock in two goals to stay up and send them down. We gave to most goals and scored the fewest. I tried all sorts of things tactically and I just couldn't get anything to get the team flowing. The main goal was to stay up and get that bonus money to keep from being too far in the hole.
The one thing I can say is the board have been generous with some upgrades and coaching courses.
Youth Intake:
Some good talent here, and though he's fairly underwhelming overall Y27I has solid technical skills for a striker for what I need. However, the mental and physical are lacking. He has potential, but not the best personality. He's going to get plenty of playing time.
2027/28 Season Preview:
At the end of the last season I went through all my legacy players in their late 20s and some now in early 30s. If their average rating for the year was below 6.7 I either sold them for whatever I could get or just dumped them. If that team could barely stay up, those players weren't likely to do anything to help us stay in the league after this year. I made the decision that if we're doomed for relegation let it be with the players that will hopefully develop into the future of the club. Hopefully there are younger players stepping up and their development takes off and we survive easy. Realistically I expect a bloodbath of a season.
That goal difference for the bottom three is insane! Congratulations on survival.
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Stop the count!
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka “Wind”
Season 7 Review - 2028/29
Pre Season
Repayments started on the £6.75m loan we took out to double our stadium capacity to 6,641, meaning our finances were going to take a continued battering even with a cash injection from the board, we ended last season on £1,290,814 in the red.
To make things worse, last season's additional European spot for Greece was swiftly taken away.
And to make things even worse, OFI Crete, who we were battling with at the bottom of the Championship group last season were made early season favourites following a take over and a shopping spree in Summer - was the gap to the top clubs widening further?
Greek Super League One - Main Season
We started the season extremely strong, but sadly our lack of quality and squad depth really hurt us around three quarters of the way through the season with injuries and suspensions racking up. I accidentally made the mistake of letting a few experienced players leave at the end of their deals without realising their replacements were not only 15 (16 and professional contract needed to be registered), but also lacking in quality. Still, we improved on our 44 points from the previous year to match out fifth place finish on 49 and once again join the Championship Group. The gap is closing on the top four, but with AEK only losing one game it's going to be hard to break into the top spot.
I needn't have worried about OFI Crete who managed to finish 7th and in the relegation Group proving money can't necessarily buy you success.
Greek Super League One - Championship Group
A much better showing in the Championship Group saw us leapfrog last season's Champions Panathinaikos to finish in 4th and secure European football once more. 13 points from a previous season's 4 at this stage was helped with our first ever wins over AEK and Olympiacos. The gap to Champions League football (top two) is still massive, I somehow need an additional 20 points from somewhere.
Markakis is finally finding his feet and after being worried he was going to walk away for free (nobody was sniffing even when we offered him out for his £750,000 release clause), we managed to smash our top earner ceiling to keep him at the club for another three years. Previously he has continued to sulk and it took only a couple of months before he was unhappy again, so we'll see how that goes.
Sadly, our captain Koutrobilas' contract is expiring next Summer and with no new deal in sight, I fear this could be our first star player to leave the club (and on a free transfer as well), despite no external interest). Hopefully with us securing European football and nobody circling him, he may have a late change of heart? Please. Please don't go. £1.6m release clause.
Greek Cup
We managed to make it all the way to the Quarter Finals, our best showing in the Cup to date, mainly down to us drawing non-league teams throughout. Even then, a somewhat easier draw against Panserraikos (who finished the main season 2nd bottom) left us frustrated we couldn't go further, eventually falling to a 3-1 aggregate defeat. Sadly, this came smack bang in the middle of our worst run of the season when our aforementioned lack of squad depth hurt us.
Euro Cup II
We finally managed to get European football last season and were looking forward to flexing our youth muscle against some of Europe's finest and our first outing didn't disappoint with Kotsaris scoring in the 117th minute to not only complete his hattrick, but sending us through to the group stages and providing us with a much needed £2.49m prize money.
The group stages saw us drawn against Bosnian side FK Sarajevo, Dutch FC Emmen and Italian big boys Lazio.
We somehow managed to qualify in second (as well as being the only team to score against Lazio in six game, probably down to the fact the Eredivisie and Bosnian Premier League are not selected leagues making their squads even thinner than mine. The extra prize money really helped with our mounting debts.
The first knockout round saw us drawn against another Serie A side, this time Sassuolo. Despite a spirited away draw and some late drama with Markakis scoring a 92nd minute equaliser in the home leg, once again our lack of depth hurt us with Sassuolo scoring 4 goals in extra time to run out eventual 6-2 winners.
Youth Intake
A somewhat better preview than the past couple of years, however no real stand out stars bar Simos Psarreas (who will provide some much needed competition up top), although a nice few personalities.
A few will go into the first team squad to bolster our squad depth.
Existing Youth Prospects
While we knew Tsanis was an amazing talent, to be voted 3rd in the NxGn 2029 came as a real shock, especially when he came through a 2 star youngster. We have him locked into a contract for another two years, with an option for a third, but the £2.6m release clause (foreign clubs) is staring us in the face with him refusing to open contract talks, as well as requesting a transfer. He also claimed Talent of the Year and Player of the Year. Another one I can say goodbye to.
Finances & Facilities
We continue to wait for our new stadium to be built, but I fear it isn't going to be large enough - time will tell. We continue to top the Stadium Capacity Percentage in the league as well as sell all our season tickets. To make matters worse, even our European games are being played at other stadiums to facilitate larger crowds.
The European money went immediately to work with much needed upgrades to both our Training and Youth Facilities and with this, we ended the season in the red, albeit much improved.
Summary & Transfers
UP THE WIND!
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My first European game ever ends in dramatic fashion!
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka “Wind”
Season Five (2027/28) Review
Pre-Season
Heading into our third season in the top flight, we're almost to the point where all of our original players are not in our first eleven plans, with only Patas remaining at CB.
In addition, a boost in Greece's coefficient meant an additional Champions Cup place would be available in the following season (2028/29).
Greek Super League 1
This season just really seemed to click, new players were coming in and performing, existing players were maturing and I felt we weren't just making up the numbers. Sure, some of our games we rode our luck, but we're establishing ourselves as a team who can really dominate a game against the lesser sides and put up more of a battle against the bigger boys, finishing the regular season on a positive goal difference. A 5th place finish saw us appear in the Championship Group for the first time. Frustratingly, the 39 points we accrued last season would have seen us finish 5th instead of 7th, but we play the cards we're given.
Greek Super League 1 (Championship Group)
Things didn't particularly go to plan here and the gulf between the top four and the rest of the league is apparent for all to see. We picked up a measly 4 points in 10 games and a -11 goal difference, really struggling along with OFI, however still finishing 5th, meaning we will enter the EURO Cup II in the Third Qualifying Round next season!
Kotsaris continued to cement his place as our number one forward picking up 14 goals (16 last season), our captain Kourtobilas continued to top the assists chart with an improved 7 (6 last season) and a special mention should go to Tsanis who topped the Highest Average Rating in his debut season. Coming through the intake as a 2 star current ability, he certainly found his feet and is without a doubt our most improved player this season. Although we've renewed his contract, we'll need to keep an eye on the £1.8m release clause.
Greek Cup
We finally won a game, but then lost our second - Fifth Round exit.
Youth Intake
Certainly a mixed bag when it came to the preview.
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Once again, no stand out stars with us only having 2 star abilities, but the potential is there.
The three stand outs are Xydis (X gonna give it to yaaaa), who will likely be a longer term replacement for Markakis who still will not renew his contract, despite nobody sniffing around his 750k release clause. Markakis is going into his final year of his contract, so we will have to make a decision there and potentially cash in this Summer.
Bousekas looks to be a potential replacement for now 31 year old Patas, our only remaining inherited player and another CM in the form of Kasianos gives us a potential replacement should our Captain's (Kourtobilas) release clause be met.
Finances & Development
Our finances still continue to be a problem, despite a £650k cash injection from the board we still ended the season in a worse position than last.
We took advantage after this injection to request improvements and were able to see one to our Junior Coaching.
We finally saw an update on our new Stadium, which is much needed given we once again sold out our limited number of season tickets and averaging 98% of our capacity. Sadly, £6.75m for only 6,641 capacity is somewhat underwhelming, especially given the two year construction time. Our finances are going to continue taking a battering in the short term.
The move from 'Municipal Stadium of Mytilini' to 'Aiolikos Stadium' in itself is a downgrade on name.
Summary
UP THE WIND! Blowing into Europe.
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8 hours ago, SkiIIs said:
Season 2027/28 - Super League 1
A slight digression in terms of on the field performances and I directly put that against transitioning out some of the legacy starters particular in the centre of midfield. However it's probably the year off the field that we needed which I'll touch on in a sec. We finished 10th in the first stage of the league which included a run of 11 games without a win! We just couldnt score at all, after the first 14 games we only had 5 goals. Luckily, 4 of those goals were in x2 wins. So over the short Xmas break, i decided to arrange a friendly with a non-league team to get the goals in and confidence up and we managed to just get over the line with a 3 - 2 win. This seemed to do the trick as we then went on 6 game unbeaten run with 3 of those as wins including a 4 - 1 drubbing against Panachaiki.
We ended the season in decent form and rose a couple spots as some of the new youngsters really flourished towards the end.
Off the field:
We were taken over by a consortium who wiped our 3m debt and some change to give us a bank balance of 800k positive. Of course i knew this wasnt going to last so made up for it as much as i could with now the ability to study some badges and renew staff contracts who were asking for more than what we could to offer previously. And also these two little nuggets (although the youth recruitment improvement came when we were in the negative by 700k or so):
Finances are still the issue and are now even more precarious with these improvements costing us more. Bit of a horse before the cart scenario but im all chips in to get that European coin!
Youth intake was positive as always although was hoping for a decent talent up front:
Not sure how this happened but boy have my prayers been answered!!
Dont think i ever got a player like this at 15yo in over 20 seasons at South Shields! Not too fussed about the personality as he doesnt need to develop at all, will be my best player by a mile!
Cheeky bugger has already asked for a min rel clause in his first professional contract, might be losing him quick id say...
The Greek league coefficients have improved over the years significantly and are now 8th in Europe, which has meant our team ranking have climbed up a lot which is great!
The only negative for this year was our downgrade to youth training facilities which we wont have any ability to improve for a long while.
Wow, what a player!
I’ve had two five star youth through, a CM and a Winger, hoping it’s a common occurrence in Greece because the lack of prize money is a real kick in the teeth, need money from elsewhere.
Both of them requested a minimum fee release early on and now want to leave, likely for £750k and £1.6m respectively.0 -
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka “Wind”
Season Five (2026/27) Review - Greek Super League 1
Having survived our first season in the top flight, I was keen to make our stay here long term as well as improve on our measly 34 goals scored in the previous year.
The season started off on an emotional note, with long serving Kritikos receiving his testimonial. A true Wind servant and a timely occurrence given his pending retirement at the end of the season.
Greek Super League 1
A previous 8th place finish was improved on, along with our points total, goals scored and goal difference, finishing 7th and frustratingly missing out on the Promotion Group on goal difference only.
Again, relegation was never really a threat, but a solid performance in the Relegation Group (despite a last game loss to 2nd), meant we topped the group.
A much better return on goals saw our top scorer (Kotsaris) finish on 16 in his debut season, double that of the previous year's top scorer. In addition, our central midfielders provided a number of assists in the form of our (extremely) young captain Koutrobilas and another debutant, Salapatas. It is still somewhat concerning that our Goalkeeper continues to be our Highest Average Rated player throughout the season, but I am proud to report he improved on his 3rd last year to win Goalkeeper of the Year this season.
One player we seem to be really struggling with is Markakis, who despite his early promise has not performed anywhere near his ability. We've tried him in a number of roles (Inside Foward, Winger, Inverted Winger), but he seems to consistently under perform and with him sulking and wanting a move to a bigger club, the £750k release clause in his contract may be activated sooner, rather than later. Apparently he's more suited to be a Whinger than a Winger, perhaps.
Our 7th place finish saw us win Manager of the Year.
Greek Cup
Another swift exit from the Greek Cup saw us lose in our first game in the Fourth Round.
Youth Intake
Our 'Exceptional' Youth Recruitment status continues to provide results, with a decent looking preview.
Once again there was no real stand out player, but a number of reinforcements will be in and around the first team squad next season. Given the retirement of my RB after his Testimonial, Kakaras (despite being a CB really) will provide much needed cover, along with Tsanis at CB. Top rated product Papasterianos (aka 'Daddy'), doesn't particularly 'wow' me, especially as I don't play an AMC.
Finances & Improvements
Where to start with our finances, we're truly struggling. Given that there is NO PRIZE MONEY for both the Greek Cup and Greek Super League 1, we continue to hemorrhage money at an alarming rate, despite an increase from £170k to £311k in TV revenue. No cash injection or takeover to speak of means we need to continue to push on and hope for European football (or another miracle), but I still feel we are too weak to compete with the larger teams in the division. No further news on our new Stadium and no improvements to facilities.
Summary
UP THE WIND!
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6 hours ago, Daddy said:
welp.
Didn't matter what I did formation wise. Talent was too poor, and lack of coaching/training due to the stadium financing meant it was never going to happen. 0-3 in England. I'll try again, but not next. I want to try something different.
Ah, that sucks, sorry! Board always quick to pull the trigger, short memories.
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka Wind
2025/26 Season Review
Our first season in the top flight kind of blew, with us struggling to take a firm hold on games and generally scoring. We found the gulf between ourselves and the top teams was often massive, meaning there were a lot of one sided affairs which really affected our goal difference come the end of the season.
Greek Super League
A solid 8th place finish, despite an embarrassing -16 goal difference and total 27 goals scored. We had a really tough run during the season when an injury crisis hit and went on a 10 game winless run.
Greek Super League (Relegation Group)
Our survival was never really in doubt and with players returning, we gave a solid performance against the lesser teams in the league despite dropping a place in the overall standings (due to our horrendous goal difference).
To really drive home our struggles this season, two players top scored with 8 goals (Bourous and Marakis), our top assist maker only managed 4 (Bourous) and our highest average rating through the season was our goalkeeper (Charalabis). To top it off, we're struggling to renew our better player's contracts without a low minimum fee release, so we'll be trying to ride their current deals out for as long as we can, although Marakis and Koutrobilas wanting new deals in Summer with a £750k and £1.5m release clause respectively.
Greek Cup
A poor showing saw us lose our first game in the Fourth Round against a much stronger Panathinaikos side.
Youth Intake
My Head of Youth Development continues to do a stellar job, with a bumper Youth Preview.
And while there were no real 'stand out' players compared to the previous intakes, this year's recruitment saw some much needed squad depth (although some decent Personality traits) given a few of our original players are slowly declining and on their way out. Next season is going to be very transitional given a number of previous regulars are leaving at the end of their contracts to free up some wage budget.
The two stand out youth prospects are Kotsaris, who will hopefully not only give some much needed height to my small team, but will hopefully help in the goals department (already scoring 8 in 5 for the u19s), and Salapatas, who will likely join our CM ranks.
Finances and Facilities
Our finances are a mess. A real mess. Although we're still waiting for any sort of prize money for the league, despite us already paying out to the squad. This is despite an increase in TV rights, a sharp increase in season ticket sales and a partnership with Tottenham announced.
As a result, small (cheap) improvements were on the agenda much like previous years, which saw two upgrades to Youth Recruitment and surprising agreement to Junior Coaching. Our youth recruitment rose to 3.5 stars and we'll hopefully see some more talent come through the ranks soon.
Despite our financial woes, our Board felt it was necessary to build a new stadium, although the financial implications of this have yet to be confirmed. This is likely a wise move given we top the average attendance by capacity in the league at 98%.
Finally, confirmation of no transfers made and one out. I tried to get some fees for other fringe players leaving at the end of their contract, but unsurprisingly no nibbles.
Up the Wind! On to season two in the top flight, let's hope we can see a few more goals.
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Getting nervy now after my past indiscretion, but a Parent Club to garner extra income (not loans) is acceptable?
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7 hours ago, SkiIIs said:
wow what a player!!! has he just turned 16 or is he turning 16 next season?
btw - my players were so intrigued about the new Super League B that they just couldnt way to play in it....
He turned 16 just after the youth intake so will be raring to go straight away, a real player.
Sorry to hear about relegation, Greece is proving a lot more difficult than England.
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka Wind
Season Three Review (2024/25)
Greek Super League 2
(North)(South)Having spent the first season in the North Division, second season in the South Division, our third season saw us in the new merged Greek Super League 2.
Third time the charm, as they say, saw us finally crowned Champions in a two horse race with Kifisia.
My young striker, Bourous, improved on his 11 goals last season to finish 2nd top scorer in the division. A big shoutout also goes to Varvagiannis, who was expected to be a bit part player but popped up with 9 assists finishing second in the charts, as well as my young keeper, Charalabis, who came in to replace my retiring captain and finished joint top of the Clean Sheets chart and won Goalkeeper of the Year.
Sadly, we weren't able to unleash out five star youngster, Markakis, until he turned 16 and signed a professional contract on 17th December with almost half the season played.
With one year left on his deal, with the option for an additional year, we are already having issues with agents requiring a minimum fee release clause (a measly £350k, despite his value) in any new deal.
Greek Cup
Eliminated in the Fourth Round to higher league opposition, Lamia.
Youth Intake
My Head of Youth Development must be doing something right and he's earnt himself an extension on his deal with another bumper youth intake including another five star youngster (my first two ever, might have to keep this guy around!).
While many Elite Talents, I'm not sure any bar Koutrobilas will be threatening the first team too much, but what a talent we have on our hands!
Thankfully, we've managed to tie Koutrobilas down to a three year deal including an option to extend for two years without any release clause.
We finally had a youth player poached, first time in this save, although we're not too broken up about it.
Finances & Improvements
As before, we are bleeding money at an alarming rate, even with an injection of cash, meaning that improvements to facilities are limited. A couple of Coaching Courses for myself as well as (much insisited) improvements to Youth Recruitment were our lot.
UP THE WIND!
Let's hope for a successful first campaign in the Greek top flight.
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9 hours ago, SkiIIs said:
wow thats nuts! Didnt take note of the first season but interesting how its changed. How many get promoted from the Super League B in the 3rd/4th year?
almost completed my first year in Super League A and its similar competition apart from 6 or so better teams
Third Season
10 relegated from two divisions, with two going through to a playoff with one promoted.
Fourth Season
18 teams with 4 relegated, one going up automatically and one going into a playoff with a team from Super League One (let's hope I can continue and get the automatic!)
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8 hours ago, SkiIIs said:
Season 2022/23 - Super League 2 South
It's been a few versions since managing in Greece so to see the second division split between regions was a surprise. League 2 is actually quite difficult to get out of as you need to top your region and then win a play off. Subsequently, if you dont win that play off (against the top team from the other region) then you play off against second last in League 1.
Hopefully i wont have to worry about it again as we managed to top our region and win the first play off against Lamia with 1 - 0 wins both home and away. A great result as at the start of the year I had to have some greyed out players on the bench with the squad being quite low with numbers. Also couldnt start any youth contracted players so had to wait for a couple of the juniors to turn 16 to be registered.
Finances are I suspect are going to be an issue for this save until we start playing in Europe. We averaged 50k-75k loss per month and hence we werent able to upgrade anything nor was i allowed to even start my coaching badges. Hopefully playing in the top division will help. but i highly doubt it.
One cool thing was being able to recruit some dead set legends of the game all with fantastic personalities as my staff:
The fantastic season landed me in 63rd place for League 2 (yes i know only 12 pages of rankings but im taking it!!)
Youth Preview, unsurprising to have a few A's projected, the team needs a lot:
Youth Intake wasnt too bad for the first one with all our junior facilities and recruitment only at adequate. Some half decent personalities amongst the group:
Congratulations! I've managed to grind out two third places in Greece so far, can't break through yet.
Regarding the divisions, first season there are 17 teams in each region, second 15, third 12 and now into the fourth season of the game the regional divisions have been merged into one Super League B with 20 teams (I believe, I'm at work without access to my save).
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AEPS Aiolikos Mytilinis aka Wind
Season Two Review (2023/24)
Another (short) transitional season in the bag with a couple of youngsters blooded into the team.
As mentioned in a previous post, I was moved from the North division to the Southern, as well as the number of teams in the league reducing from 15 to 12.
Things didn't start too well with our best CM picking up a cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for the season.
Greek Super League 2
(North)(South)Back to back 3rd place finishes. Kouroupis still loving a good set piece and our now 17 year old striker Bourous ended the season as our top scorer with 11 goals in 20 starts. My previous assumptions regarding 'B' teams seemed to be incorrect, so we will have to see how the new season lines up.
Greek Cup
A couple of victories finally saw us eliminated in the Fifth Round to higher division opposition.
Youth Intake
Initial reports were promising.
And they were right, with a real prospect joining the ranks - Sakis Markakis.
We also have a decent keeper coming through, Vasilis Charalabis, which is timely given our captain's imminent retirement at the age of 39.
Our inherited youth CB at the start of the game got a call up to Bulgaria u19s, still trying to blood him, but his progress is slow.
Post Season
Our finances are a mess...progress will continue to be slow without some real investment or likely selling our better players. No improvements in any facilities or recruitment to speak of.
The untimely retirement of set piece specialist, and my top assister maker these past two seasons, Kouroupis, has really put a spanner in the works for next season's planning.
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1 hour ago, XaW said:
I had to sell one of my best players. His contract was up at the end of the season, and he refused to talk about a new one.
Hope they sell him for big money...
A proper sucker punch, let's hope that 50% gets activated!
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9 minutes ago, Neo_Geo said:
Is this in the default database or a custom one?
Default database, although I've never managed in Greece before so a little new to me.
Last year in the North Iraklis got relegated in 10th, despite PAOK B being 11th, similarly with Asteras Vlachioti in the South and Panathinaikos B.
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UI to show player attributes in scout reports
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Not Gen Z, but thank you for your concern. Simply trying to make my play time more enjoyable. Found one without a snarky comment attached, thankfully. Keep having a good day.