JamLUFC

Season 2031/32 - Liverpool Having had six months at Liverpool and narrowly missing out on two cups in my first season I went all out attack with the team I had. In hindsight it was probably too attacking for the cups, as I crashed out in the early stages of the FA and Carabao Cup's to the two Manchester clubs both away from home, however I did win the league with two games to go, winning by six points and scoring 106 goals in the process. We did dominate in the Europa Conference League too, winning 2-0 in the final against Frankfurt however unfortunately that doesn't count for much. I did play one of the more fun tactics I've put together trying to avoid the standard 433/4231 I tend to do, focusing on the quality attackers I've got. I do have a temptation to move on and tick another league title off. Whilst I've been given an initial budget of £80m to spend I am nearly 400m in the red so long term this club could be in trouble, however the need for cups is starting to grow now and England having two of them to target is a big incentive for me, especially with how strong this team could be so I need to focus on them and have a pop at the Champions League too. It is also a European Championship year so I expect to get a good level international job as well to try and get set up for the World Cup.

You'll find with the Saudi clubs they'll have 4/5 top players then a load of local lads so they're very beatable if you have a good team. With how it splits into East/West you'll only ever play one Saudi team in the final which is over two legs too so as long as you win your home leg you're in with a good chance

2030/31 - Liverpool As I was out of the Mexican Champions League I applied for a few English Premier League jobs to see what I could get. I applied for Leicester, Blackburn, Liverpool and Palace and of course the only club interested enough even for an interview was Liverpool, and surprisingly they offered me a job. It was the start of January and they were still in the Champions League and the two domestic cups, 12th in the Premier League. We hit the ground running, reached the final of the Carabao Cup and then throw in an epic bottle job by losing the Carabao Cup final, the Champions League quarters and then a FA Cup Semi final. The FA Cup hurt the most, as the semi was a winnable game against Villa with Fulham waiting in the final. The season ran out with us finishing in 7th place. I did look at a few international jobs but nothing stood out. I'm hoping my standing with Liverpool now should land me the pick of jobs in 2032 after the Euros and Copa America. I've got a two year plan to clean up in England now before looking elsewhere. Win a cup in year one and the league title in year two. I've got enough quality to build on, but also a bit of a bloated squad to cash in on especially with our Saudi friends sniffing around some sellable assets!

2030 - Cruz Azul I started the year with MLS side LAFC for a crack at the Champions League, but we lost over two legs on away goals to Monterrey. The combination of that, not enjoying the MLS and most of my squad hating me made me resign and take the Cruz Azul job before the start of the Apertura stage was to begin. We were dominant in the league stage, only losing one match to Club America and winning 12 out of 17. We finished top although only by one point. This took us into the knock out stage where we qualified for the quarter finals where we play Tigres, and were lucky to advance after both games were level but we went through as the higher place team. We then turned round a first leg defeat to Mazatian to beat them in the semis before playing Club America in the final and beating them 3-2 on aggregate to win the league. Unfortunately we didn't win the League's Cup. I'm now in a bit of a sticky one. The Champions League begins in two months but seems to be based on the previous two seasons so I'm not in it this year. So it's either staying in a country for 18 months that I don't need to be in, or looking to move. There are jobs at the bottom end of the English Premier League which I have loaded which I may go for to build my rep at for the big European jobs, but I'm also going to load the Brazilian league up for the start of Jan so hoping I can bag something there too. South Africa also are loaded but nothing is coming up for them nor has it for a while.

2029 - LAFC / Nigeria This season made me remember why I love FM so much! The MLS started as a bit of a slog - not helped by me forgetting to register centre backs so needing to scrape together a couple of players who had been waivered. We lost to San Diego in the Cup early on and just couldn't muster together any consistency no matter what I did tactically, so much so that I considered taking the Atlanta United job at the end of the regular season but decided against moving as their form was just as patchy. We did make the end of season playoffs finishing in 6th in the Western Conference and 14th in the overall Supporters Shield so I decided to move from the 4231 asymmetric system to a diamond - and whilst I wouldn't say everything clicked we managed to ride our luck perfectly! First up was Houston Dynamo in a best of three where we traded 2-0 home wins, but in the decider away to Houston we won away 3-1 scoring decisive goals in the 84th and 85th minutes. That took us away to FC Dallas who again took the lead but we pulled it back level before scoring a 92nd winner. The Western Conference final though was where the madness really hit for me An insane game where I have no idea how we managed to pull it back, the first time I've ever scored whilst going Very Attacking! Extra time I was just bringing penalty takers on as the game had no highlights until the very last kick where Curtis Jones (who had been dreadful all season) rescued up. That took us into a final where we won away to Montreal 4-3 to take the MLS and getting another league in the bag (I think that's the league anyway!) After that it was the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria, and despite losing our opening game to Cameroon we responded by beating Zambia and Tanzania to qualify in second place. In the knockout stages we got past Algeria and Egypt with relative ease before facing former side Ivory Coast in the semis who we stuffed 4-0. In the final we faced the side who had beat us in our opening game, and much like with LAFC a late goal sealed the win to get my fifth trophy in the bag. So for next steps, the immediate focus is on winning the North American Champions League with LAFC and have North America ticked off by May and then maybe look at ticking off one of the European leagues following that unless a big job comes up in South Africa. I quit the Nigeria post straight after the final, I'm not going to win the World Cup with them so best to get out now with reputation in tact and hope I can pick up either the USA, Mexico, Japan or South Korea jobs after the World Cup.

Any tips on managing in the MLS? I managed to get the LAFC at the end of October when they finished 4th in one league but 15th in the overall league. I then had a two legged game in the round of a cup which I think is actually the league against LA Galaxy, drew the first leg but lost on penalties, then drew the second leg and won on penalties so needed a third leg which I lost! I don't know whether that was the league or cup or what but I'm out of that, which is fine as preparing for next season was more important. So what counts as winning the league and what's a valid cup to win in the MLS? It all seems to blend into one. That's not even starting on the drafts and contracts! I'm in mid January and already had three drafts so far, my squad is a bit of a mess tbf and I have no idea how to buy other players from MLS teams, and buying foreign players have too many different contracts! I think I'll give it a year in the MLS but I'm not going to be against a move to Mexico next year!

2028 - Vissel Kobe Half season update, but I managed to get the Asian Champions League in the bag. We got lucky having a Thai team in the semi finals, but I was worried to come up against an Al-Ahli team in the final which contained Son, Romero, Emi Martinez, Coman, Vlasic, Fabinho and Theo Hernandez however we smashed the first leg 3-0 before drawing away 1-1 to take the trophy - adding to the Super Cup we won earlier in the season. The club should also win the league this year too, I'm second with 34 points after 14 games, 3 points off the leaders but also with 3 games in hand however as I've now got the J-League and the J-League cup along with the Champions League that's my time to resign and look for the next job. I've been offered the Montreal job the day before the final, but now I have this trophy I think I can wait it out and see what other jobs come up especially with the South African season also finishing. # That's three trophies in the bag now, the next steps are all about timing and getting the right jobs at the right time should help me tick a few more off in the next couple of seasons.

2027 - Vissel Kobe / Ivory Coast Despite another year vowing to leave, I opted to stay at Vissel Kobe (mostly due to no real opportunities) and was glad I did! I managed to tick off my first trophies with the J-League and the J-League Cup in the bag. I did lose in the fourth round of the Emperors Cup so never came anywhere near the treble but a cup and league title finally on the board gives me that motivation to really kick this into gear. I'm in the last 16 of the Champions League and that's my main focus now. Win or lose in it, I'll be resigning as soon as the competition ends for me as I want to start managing elsewhere. The timing will help me get an early season job in the MLS or end of season role in South Africa, so should be able to assess what roles and jobs have come available. The Ivory Coast job didn't go as smoothly in the most frustrating fashion. I pretty much blitzed every game I played, and smashed through the group stage of the African Cup of Nations including beating Egypt 4-0. Last 16 I was drew with hosts Mali which struck me as a routine win - until I was 4-0 down at half time! I pulled a goal back in the second half but was nowhere near. Straight after the game I resigned to save getting the inevitable sack. I'm going to stay clear of international management for a while now, unless the South Korea, Japan, USA or Mexico jobs come up going into their major tournaments!

Out of curiousity, how did you manage your run time speed? I'm only in 2027 and have noticed the game has significantly slowed down for me - will this continue to get worse throughout? At the minute the only leagues I've got as playable are Japan, South Korea, South Africa, USA, Brazil, Argentina and England top divisions, with Germany, Spain, Italy and France as view only. Is this too many? Would you recommend only having on the league I'm in?

Season Four - Vissel Kobe / Ivory Coast This was a tough season to get through! We started in the last 16 of the Asian Champions League, and my new signing and main striker Joel Piroe does his hamstring in the first leg to be out for over two months. We lost the first leg 2-1 away to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and couldn't break them down in the home leg which sent us out of that early. We hadn't qualified for next seasons either which meant we'd have to wait two years if we want another chance at this. Injuries kept coming, and new signing Yosuke Ideguchi broke his leg early on so was out for the season - our two biggest transfers in pre seasons out for a significant amount of time. We went on a winning run then lost in the last 16 of the J League Cup. We caught up with the league leaders, and with six games to go we sat one point ahead of Kyoto Sanga with it in our own hands. Despite winning 5 of our last 6 and drawing the other, we came up short in the title race as they won their last six games to pip us to the title. Very frustrating way to end the season, however we still had the Emperors Cup final to look forward to. My plan was to leave at the end of my contract on December 31st given our Champions League run won't start until August and I want to get out of Japan, however the Emperors Cup final didn't take place until 1st January so I had to sign a new contract! My plan is still to resign after the cup final but I couldn't risk not getting that game. The final saw us play Jubilo Iwata, and despite finishing 41 points higher than them and being the better team we lost 2-1. I started the season convinced I'd tick at least one trophy off maybe two, so to get so close and get nothing is very disheartening. At the start of the season in February I also applied for a few international jobs, and surprisingly got offered roles with Ghana and Ivory Coast. The Ivorians had a slightly better team so I went with them to try and get the following years AFCON ticked off the list. I'm also hoping that getting a big African job would give me better chance of getting one of the top South African jobs when these come available. We had the 2026 World Cup which I had no hopes for (so never did an update as I went through) as I was drew with Colombia, Italy and Saudi Arabia. After a narrow loss to Italy we bounced back with wins over Colombia and the Saudis to put us through in second place and give us a draw against Türkiye, who we beat 1-0. In the third round we were up against England. I expected England to hammer us, but we actually held out until the 115th minute before conceding and narrowly losing 1-0. I even managed to get our three best penalty takers on the pitch so was confident in a shootout, but it wasn't to be. England went on to beat Portugal, Nigeria and Germany to go on and win the World Cup. In the AFCON qualifiers we were drawn against Kenya, Gambia and Gabon which we've qualified for already from after just four games so have booked our place at the AFCON.

Season Three - FC Gifu / Vissel Kobe Started season three with FC Gifu after I was unable to get moves in the pre-season break I started the season with Gifu but with an eye on other moves available. I started the season well, but when Vissel Kobe came knocking - with the offer of Champions League football - it was too good to turn down. With Gifu I was second in the league 3 points off top and whilst Kobe were 15th after 14 games I thought there was more chance there of winning a Champions League. With Vissel Kobe I went on an incredible run and soon went from 15th to 4th by the end of the season, but despite this we turned into a team of bottlers at the end of the season - We lost our penultimate game of the season to drop from 3rd to 4th in the final table. Due to results in the Emperors Cup I think this means that I won't qualify for next seasons Champions League We lost the J-League YBC Levain Cup final We conceded an 89th minute goal to lose in the Emperor's Cup quarter finals We threw away a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 to Ulsan Hyundai in our final game of the Champions League to come second My plan at the minute is to stay for next season and try for the Champions League which I'm in still in. If I was to lose in the first knockout round I may look outside of Japan to try and get some trophies in the cabinet, possibly at a move to Mexico or South Africa if the right team was to come up.

Season Two - FC Gifu Season two in Japan in the bags and it's back to back promotions as Champions to go from J-League 3 to J-League 1. This season was an absolute canter and we won the league with six games to go, after which I just played the kids including a 2 1/2 star current ability 15 year old right winger who came through this years youth intake, scoring two goals in two games. I also signed Shinji Kagawa on a free transfer for the last few games to give me an extra option in the top division. The cups we did terrible in, and only reached the second round of both cups but they were never a realistic goal, and both times we lost to top division sides. The star of the season was Alan Picazzo with 33 goals in 33 league starts, he was previously at River Plate and certainly looks a cut above this level. Miguel Figueira was another star in centre midfield - randomly I got linked to him in a transfer window and when I looked Sunderland and Birmingham were also in for him so I thought he must be good enough. As for next steps, I'm not resigning from Gifu but I am open to moving on if the right job comes up but it would need to be a job where I can compete for a top division title now. I did get an interview with Sanfreece Hiroshima who actually lost in the Champions League final earlier in the year and now sat 12th in the league but was unsuccessful.

Season One - FC Gifu First season in the bag was a pretty routine one, winning promotion with four games to go and the title with two left, hitting an unbeaten run of close to 30 games to close out the season after a mixed start. My biggest problem was throwing away leads, three games I led 3-0 at half time and ended up drawing, a fourth I did the same but did manage to score a late winner after throwing the lead away. Plan for next season is a good midtable finish and try and get a job in the top division whilst building my reputation. I'm studying my National C licence so that's a step towards getting my first badge in place, and I've set a couple more leagues up in South Korea and Australia to become active to give me other opportunities for league titles. I actually think the Asian Champions League could be one of the hardest to win early with the Saudi clubs having stupid resources. The Asian cup is due to start up in January too so I'll have an eye on international jobs which come available, as well as the African Cup of Nations.

Season One - FC Gifu After a year away from this challenge and with the introduction of the J-League wanted to give it another go, so loaded up with Japanese, Canadian, American and English leagues loaded. I've always struggles with this and similar challenges due to hating managing in South Africa so I'm parking that until further down the line. I applied for every job going and got offered a lot of under 23 international jobs as well as the South Sudan role which I nearly took but opted to wait out. I was then offered jobs with FC Gifu and Kamatamure Sanuki. Gifu wanted top five finish with nearly a £1m transfer budget whilst the latter only wanted midtable and a budget of a third that so I went for Gifu. It's not a road to glory so I'm hoping they're better placed to build my rep up and get me a top J-league job where I can eventually challenge for continental honours.

Giving this a crack with Drita in the Kosovan super league. Appointed at the halfway stage of the season, 9 points off top and 9 points ahead of relegation so season could go either way. Setting myself a parameter that after I leave Drita I can't go up more than eight leagues higher (so would effectively open up Faroe Islands, Malta, Latvia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Iceland and Montenegr