Jump to content
Sports Interactive Community

Biscotti

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    1,399

  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Biscotti

  • Rank
    Part-Timer

About Me

  • About Me
    CSE

Currently Managing

  • Currently Managing
    Dollingstown

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

  1. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Seventeen(2034/35) After feeling so good about our future last season we find ourselves taking a step backwards this year. We'll start by skipping straight over Europe. Another disappointing Second Qualifying round exit against a team I felt we stood a chance against. WWe've now won the Mid-Ulster cup years on the bounce, but seeing as we're the biggest team in the competition and using it to give our rotation players some much-needed match time I really don't hold much interest in it. Quarter-Finals of the League cup is identical to our achievement in the previous 2 years and even though the board want me to progress there I really don't see the benefit. This season did see our best run in the FA cup since we won it in the 24/25 season, but ultimately we were thoroughly embarrassed in the final by Cliftonville. In the league, everyone seemed to be dropping points in odd places early on and we found ourselves sitting atop the pile a couple of times. By matchday 31, there was still only 2 points separating us in third with Cliftonville in first. Whether it was down to our part-time status or perhaps just a general crumbling under the pressure, though, we only picked up 6 points in our last 7 league games. We were never in any danger of losing third, but when you collapse worse than England's batting order it is very demoralising. Still, we did ultimately get more points than last season, so silver linings, right? Our Best Eleven now has Mark West and Brian Gilfillan among its ranks. Player of the season was overwhelmingly Wayne McQuillan (67% of the vote). Top scorer was new signing Paul Hagan, whom I was trying to bring in last season after Glentoran released him, but he was stubbornly without a club until this year. John Hanna just about edged Lynch to be my preferred second striker, although I was more than comfortable with any 2 of those 3 playing together. Over the last season or so my transfer policy has largely revolved around picking up Glentoran and Cliftonville players as they get released, but now this has graduated to actually spending a little money on snatching their fringe youngsters and I feel like I'm at a point now where I pretty much have two elevens that I'm not entirely uncomfortable with using in league games. It's possible that the age problems are a contributing factor in our late-season problems. I think for next season I'll mostly be looking to try and upgrade the back-ups, but I think a consistent squad will do us a lot of good. Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) 2029/30 Premiership 7th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A McDaid (12) Russell (15) McDaid (7.14) 1000 (374) 2030/31 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (34) Lynch (15) McQuillan (7.48) 1000 (449) 2031/32 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (35) Hanna (21) McQuillan (7.86) 1000 (453) 2032/33 Premiership 3rd 5th Round 2nd Qual Basic Basic Adequate Above average EL Qualification Lynch (43) Lynch (18) Hanna (7.75) 1000 (449) 2033/34 Premiership 2nd Semi Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Adequate Above average EL Qualification Lynch (44) McQuillan (15) McQuillan (7.56) 1000 (497) 2034/35 Premiership 3rd Runner-Up 2nd Qual Good Basic Adequate Above average EL Qualification Hagan (35) McQuillan (15) McQuillan (7.60) 1000 (479)
  2. Biscotti
    Great stuff @Tecmo good to see you are able to finally start the climb. Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Sixteen(2033/34) For the first time in a few years, I have something new to report! Admittedly our Europa League run was no better, with home and away losses to IFK Göteborg knocking us out again in the Second Qualifying Round. In the league, we were still dropping a few too many points to teams lower down the table, but crucially we managed to pick up 9 points in our 4 matches against Glentoran and 5 points in our 4 games against Cliftonville. Cliftonville would only lose one game all season (to us) and walk the league, but despite a poor run to the end of the season we managed to sneak into second place ahead of Glentoran. I'm not about to suggest that we should now be pushing for the title next season, but if we can keep picking up points against the two professional teams like that we're certainly well on our way toward it. Better still is it looks as if we may come out of this season with a slight profit thanks to continued vigilance on the wage budget (£5.1k of the available £7.3k p/w spent this season) and also a bit of a bump in league prize money. This season sees no new entries into our Best Eleven, but once again Johnny Lynch and Wayne McQuillan have been outstanding. At just age 21, McQuillan is now a club icon. Worth noting that I brought Joe Kelly in to play back-up as a playmaker but he actually played most of the season initially due to injury and then later on merit and was also great for us, winning signing of the season. There's a couple of positions I'm looking at new players to bring the level of quality up a little, and I'm definitely in the market for a youngster who can fill Lynch's shoes once he starts to tail off as he's 32 now. We're looking good though, and I think it would take quite a failing on my part for us to not stay as a comfortable top 3 side. Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) 2029/30 Premiership 7th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A McDaid (12) Russell (15) McDaid (7.14) 1000 (374) 2030/31 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (34) Lynch (15) McQuillan (7.48) 1000 (449) 2031/32 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (35) Hanna (21) McQuillan (7.86) 1000 (453) 2032/33 Premiership 3rd 5th Round 2nd Qual Basic Basic Adequate Above average EL Qualification Lynch (43) Lynch (18) Hanna (7.75) 1000 (449) 2033/34 Premiership 2nd Semi Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Adequate Above average EL Qualification Lynch (44) McQuillan (15) McQuillan (7.56) 1000 (497)
  3. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Fifteen(15!!!)(2032/33) An easy Europa League 1st Qualifying Round draw was to be followed with an incredibly tough tie to FC Köln. Starting away at their place and it didn't go well. A 4-1 loss meant an awful lot to do in the home leg, but the away goal gave us a glimmer of hope. A very open start to the match saw us 2-1 up on the night after just 7 minutes. Unfortunately, we just couldn't ever keep the upper hand, and it ended with a 4-3 loss and we were out. Our coefficient has also taken a slight dent for next season, although this year will see us push out a previous year that we didn't play in Europe. The last time we lost more than 10 games in a season we finished in the bottom half of the table, so I guess we can count ourselves lucky to have still finished in 3rd place as our rivals below all kept dropping points to one another. Been a while since we got anywhere in the cups (Aside from the Mid-Ulster) as well, so it's a little difficult to not feel like we're moving backwards. Our poor European run has also meant we are noo closer to being in a financial position to go pro. Johnny Lynch (New record for goals in a season, new record career goalscorer) and Wayne McQuillan (Signing of the Season) are utterly indispensable at this point, but Lynch is 31 now and I'm not sure I've got a replacement lined up for him. Mark West picked up third place on the fan's player of the year vote, but it could easily have gone to a number of players. Newly inducted into our proud Best XI are John Hanna, Gary Swift , Wayne McQuillan and Richard Scott. I can't really write much that's new in summary. We're still not a big enough club to attract players from abroad, and we don't have the financial clout to prise the best Northern Irish talent away from the two professional clubs. I'm anticipating a few more seasons of stagnation before we can really look to take the next step. Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) 2029/30 Premiership 7th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A McDaid (12) Russell (15) McDaid (7.14) 1000 (374) 2030/31 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (34) Lynch (15) McQuillan (7.48) 1000 (449) 2031/32 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (35) Hanna (21) McQuillan (7.86) 1000 (453) 2032/33 Premiership 3rd 5th Round 2nd Qual Basic Basic Adequate Above average EL Qualification Lynch (43) Lynch (18) Hanna (7.75) 1000 (449)
  4. Biscotti
    I''m hoping that it's just a case of real life has happened and that @Lenzar will get back to this eventually
  5. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Fourteen (2031/32) As is usual here in Northern Ireland, we started our European campaign right in the middle of pre-season. It certainly makes getting friendlies and testimonials in very difficult but, despite this, we managed to comfortably take down two professional teams in Europa FC (Gibraltar) and CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria). The third qualifying round saw us take on our first proper "big name" opposition - Spartak Moscow. Unfortunately, a 2-0 loss at their place was followed by a disappointing loss 3-1 at home, and our adventure was over for another year. It was pretty helpful financially, bringing in nearly £400k in prize money, but despite only spending about 60% of my wage budget and making no cash transfers that money slowly trickled away throughout the season to end as just about break-even. At the moment I have no clue how to earn the money we need to be able to turn professional without either sneaking into the Europa League group stage or significantly higher average attendances. The league didn't start all that well for us, possibly due to our European hangover, but 3 losses in our first 6 games certainly didn't look good for cementing our position toward the business end off the table. Fortunately we were able to steady things, but our ultimate points haul was 3 less than last season and as a result, we were never really in the hunt for anything better than 3rd. It was probably fortunate that everyone from 4th downwards kept trading results against each other, otherwise I'd have been worried that we might not even make third. An FA Cup final between Cliftonville and Glentoran meant we were at least guaranteed Europa League qualification without having to play the playoff. Johnny Lynch (32 goals in 32 starts in the league) and Wayne McQuillan (7.86 Average rating from 38 total starts, joining us permanently in the summer) were once again instrumental to our performances, as well as John Hanna (32 goals, 21 assists in 46 starts) making sure I have to consider him to be more than just a hot prospect for our future. Lynch was the only new inductee into our Best Eleven. We certainly have a strong foundation for pushing Cliftonville at the top, but mostly I'd like to improve the back line - the only defensive position I'm truly happy with is my left-back. The challenge will be bringing in quality while still maintaining my really tight leash on the wages. I might be looking for a couple of loanees to fill in at no cost if I can find someone willing to join us. I'm not expecting us to push for the Europa League groups just yet, as I think we'll still be unseeded when we get to the third qualifying round, but if I can pick up a few more good scalps and big crowds on the way then I'll be happy enough with that. Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) 2029/30 Premiership 7th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A McDaid (12) Russell (15) McDaid (7.14) 1000 (374) 2030/31 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (34) Lynch (15) McQuillan (7.48) 1000 (449) 2031/32 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (35) Hanna (21) McQuillan (7.86) 1000 (453)
  6. Biscotti
    Looks like Scotland is a pretty rough place to start seeing as you're still struggling to make progress @Tecmo. I hope things start to improve for you soon. Incredible start there, @rlipscombe! Going up so early might well make Serie B that much more difficult though. I've just finished the 2031/32 Season and I'll look to get a report up soon. I've got a busy week, though, so if it's not up tonight it will probably have to wait until the weekend.
  7. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Thirteen (2030/31) I said in my last update that it was time for a different approach. That goes for my updates as well. Incoming wall of text - I'll try and keep it somewhat worth reading. I said I wanted to simplify things, so after a little early-season tinkering, I ended up with a 4-4-2 with only 3 team instructions. The goal was no longer possession, but instead to be solid at the back while still creating plenty of chances. In spite of this, we only managed to rank 7th in the league for chances created. We did make up for this by ranking joint-second on clean sheets, and top on tackles won. We also scored the third most goals resulting in us finishing a comfortable 3rd in the league, including an incredible win over Cliftonville to end their 16 match unbeaten run. If it weren't for a drop off in form right at the end of the season, we'd have probably made second and not had to worry about the European Playoff. Fortunately, Glentoran won the FA Cup, meaning we were guaranteed our spot in the Europa League regardless of the final result. Shout-outs are due for Aaron Owens (New Clean Sheets Record at 19), Johnny Lynch (New League goals record at 27) and Wayne McQuillan (Young Player of the Season, loan extended for a further year). Newly inducted into the Best Eleven are Alan Watson and Colin McDaid. Looking forward I think I've got to maintain this momentum. I'm not under any illusions that we can win the league yet - I'm pretty sure professional status will need to be achieved first - but there's no good reason we can't push for top 3 every season going forward. I'm letting more of my fringe players leave at the end of their contracts but definitely intend to try and keep the core the same. We had such a good season it would seem silly to make drastic changes. Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) 2029/30 Premiership 7th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A McDaid (12) Russell (15) McDaid (7.14) 1000 (374) 2030/31 Premiership 3rd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Lynch (34) Lynch (15) McQuillan (7.48) 1000 (449)
  8. Biscotti
    Just a brief one this time, as It's been about 3 weeks since I last played the save at all and also because it's difficult to say "not really any progress" and still make it somewhat worth reading. Sorry for the delay - Got back from my holiday nearly 2 weeks ago, but the Crusader Kings II was free on steam and I can only dedicate my time to one massively in-depth game at a time. Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Twelve (2029/30) In case my little note above didn't give it away, we finished a very middling 7th in the league again, plus losing out in the Semi-Final of the Europa playoff. Nothing remarkable in the cups either, including our European "run" as far as the Second Qualifying round. Although the 8-0 mauling we gave to Llandudno did feel good. I'm honestly struggling at the moment to decide what to do in order to bridge the gap to the professional teams, but taking a break away has given me some distance from my players, so I'm thinking to thin the squad out a bit over the summer. I'm also looking at perhaps a philosophy change, as while we're pretty good at possession football we're still completely outmatched by the big guns. My thinking is that we need to simplify things and get players playing more to their role, so I'll be trying out some new things moving forward. I didn't come anywhere near my stated goals from last season, so I'm not going to set myself any new ones. Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) 2029/30 Premiership 7th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N//A McDaid (12) Russell (15) McDaid (7.14) 1000 (374)
  9. Biscotti
    Congrats on solid survival @Andrew Haines . I'm not far off finishing my season at Dollingstown, but my report might have to wait until I come back from holiday next week.
  10. Biscotti
    I may or may not have just signed someone who has 100 Northern Ireland caps.
  11. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Eleven (2028/29) The League I'm starting to get frustrated at the lack of progress. Another drab mid-table finish although we got extremely lucky in that we managed to "back-door-Kev" our way into the Europa League. We lost in the Euro Places playoff, but for reasons I've not quite worked out yet (improved national coefficients, maybe?) we still find ourselves entering the first qualifying round. I did also manage to win Manager of the Year, which was nice. League Overview | League Fixtures 1 & 2 | Past Positions Europe Not Applicable. Other Competitions Much like the league, this was disappointing all around. Competitions Overview | Fixtures Key Players Aaron Owens - Still by far our best player. He's now been attracting scouting from Grant McCann who has been looking at him for a full team call-up. It's not happened yet, but he's still young. Also nearly lost him at the end of the season as I'd promised him a top-half finish this year. Fortunately, he was willing to admit that we had a fantastic dressing room and that he'd be foolish to leave that behind. Adam Hanley - I still haven't replaced him, and he's repaid my faith by continuing to be among my better performers. The current intention is that even if/when I do get someone in for his position I'll keep Hanley around as a rotation option. Jack Matthews - Playing on the opposite wing to Hanley and honestly probably equally as important. Unfortunately, a tactical change has rendered him a bit less useful now than he was for most of the season. The Squad I don't really know what more I can do here without serious funding increases. Unless I can get a few repeated runs in Europe I just don't have the money to get much in the way of improvements. We don't really have the facilities to develop youngsters well, and we don't quite have the reputation to attract top players. Squad Overview | Club Awards | Best Eleven (All Time) | Dynamics | Hierarchy | Social Groups | Records Finances A year without Europe and again it drops off a cliff. Luckily we're in again this year so another bump in funds is due, but we need to be aiming to make it into Europe every season if we want to improve. Finances | Projected Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2026/27 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2027/28 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) 2028/29 Premiership 7th Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Average Average EL Qualification Wilson (18) Hanley (13) Hanley (7.21) 1000 (232) Goals This Season Qualify for Europe >55 league points (42) >80% passing accuracy (Forgot to look, but I doubt it) Next Season £250k+ in the bank Europa League Fourth Qualifying Round European Qualification again
  12. Biscotti
    Akrofi only managed 19 apps? Is that because Everton brought someone else in, or because of injury?
  13. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Nine (2026/27) The League Another very uninspiring year which at one point forced me back to the 4-4-2 just to put an end to a game losing streak. We may have finished 6th, but I definitely wasn't happy with the nature of it. We didn't even make our way through the European playoff to clinch the Europa League spot. League Overview | League Fixtures 1 & 2 | Past Positions Europe FH were easily dispatched in the first qualifying round, followed by our biggest scalp to date - taking out Dinamo Minsk in the second qualifying. Unfortunately, we were to go no further, as we were drawn against Schalke in the 3rd qualifying round and they were much too strong for us. Other Competitions With the league being a little underwhelming and only a short run out in Europe I'd have hoped for a good cup run, but alas we only made the quarters of the League Cup and the semis of the FA Cup. Competitions Overview | Fixtures Key Players Aaron Owens - I genuinely believe that without Owens we'd be barely on the edge of relegation, such is his importance to us. I have no evidence to suggest it, but I strongly believe that he gained us more points than any other player in the squad. Adam Hanley - I have actually been giving some consideration to replacing him recently, but this season Hanley really stepped up and performed like I need him to. Dean Andreson - It's been a couple of seasons since I last had a somewhat regular goalscorer. As a one-in-two man Anderson isn't exactly tearing the league up, but it's nice to have a focal point to the attack again. The Squad I'm still basically only able to afford a squad of 23 players who are good enough for this level, but I'm at least starting to see interest from more potential targets. Might be looking into a large overhaul sometime soon. Squad Overview | Club Awards | Best Eleven (All Time) | Dynamics | Hierarchy | Social Groups | Records Finances That European run again topped us up nicely, but with no continental football again next season it's all going to trickle away again. I have at least managed to make some upgrades to youth recruitment and junior coaching, and my coaching badges are coming along nicely along with my managerial attributes. Finances | Projected Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2025/26 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) 2025/26 Premiership 6th Semi Final 3rd Qual Basic Basic Average Average N/A Anderson (25) Hanley/Woods (14) Hanley (7.14) 1000 (567) Goals This Season Top half finish (6th) Some kind of facilities upgrade (Recruitment and Coaching) 25 goals in all comps from a single player (Anderson - 25) Next Season Qualify for Europe >55 league points >80% passing accuracy
  14. Biscotti
    Akrofi just quietly plugging away with 20+ a season. Won't trouble the top like that, but he's not so far behind
  15. Biscotti
    Hugo De Luca - Dollingstown FC - Northern Ireland - End of Season Nine (2026/27) The League Results this year were very inconsistent. Our league position, on the other hand, was very consistent - never higher than 6th or lower than 9th. In the end, I don't feel too hard done by the 7th place finish because when the split happened we were a fair distance from Coleraine. Somehow at the end of 9 seasons in Northern Ireland, I was still surprised by the fact that in 7th place I qualified for the Europa League place playoff. First up was Linfield and it went to extra time at 1-1 before a 116th minute Roscoe strike saw us through. A final against Dungannon was probably the most tense game I've had in this save yet, and it again went to extra time at 2-2. Once again we were able to keep playing through the extra 30 and scored on the 112th to take us into our second European adventure! League Overview | League Fixtures 1 & 2 | Past Positions Other Competitions Nothing too exciting to report here. We won the Mid-Ulster Cup again, but honestly, that no longer feels like an achievement. The sixth round of the FA cup and Quarter Finals of the League cup were also fairly unremarkable, but seeing as we had such success in the league I'm ok with that. Competitions Overview | Fixtures Key Players Aaron Owens - After picking out Watson as one of my key players last season, I then went and replaced him. I think Owens might be the real deal though. Starting 'Keeper for Northern Ireland U21s and by far the highest rated ability on my team by my staff and definitely still improving. I desperately need to start upgrading our available facilities. Niall Owens - Niall transitioned from a more holding midfield role into a more forward-thinking Mezzala and absolutely bossed it - often being the man making the bursting run for the through ball. Rhys Millar - Once again my first choice playmaker. His stats don't really reflect how pivotal he is, as he's less about assists and more about playing the wingers/wingbacks in. His passing percentage is a little low too, which I'm slightly at a loss to explain, but he's certainly in no danger of being dropped. He also made up for my strikers being a bit lacking, which is something I need to fix. The Squad I think I've reached a point where I no longer fear relegation. I still suspect it'll be slow going breaking the top of the table, but at least forward progress is still happening. I'm also sad to report that Johnny Grant (YP1a) has been the first of our youth to retire after he was unable to find himself a new club. Squad Overview | Club Awards | Best Eleven (All Time) | Dynamics | Hierarchy | Social Groups | Records Finances I'm now seeing just how vital it is that we continue to get European football. In just 2 seasons we've managed to leak away all that £500k we made from our first Europa League run, and that's without us having been able to upgrade any of our facilities. At the current rate, I think I'll need to make Europe at least every other season to start making money. Finances | Projected Season League Position FA Cup Europe Training Facilities Youth Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Achievements/Notes Top Scorer Most Assists Highest Avg Rating Capacity/Average Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Premier Intermediate 10th 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Black (13) Falvey (8) Hanley (7.07) 1000 (108) 2019/20 Premier Intermediate 2nd 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Dunlop (26) Walsh (9) McClurg (7.20) 1000 (134) 2020/21 Premier Intermediate 1st 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted! Klobusek (24) Hanley/Robinson (12) McLaughlin (7.47) 1000 (117) 2021/22 Championship 6th 4th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Survival Farren (20) Robinson (10) Robinson (7.21) 1000 (130) 2022/23 Championship 2nd Qtr Final N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Playoff losers Farren (36) Hanley (25) Hanley (7.50) 1000 (154) 2023/24 Championship 1st 5th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic Promoted Farren (20) Hanley (18) Noble (7.37) 1000 (104) 2024/25 Premiership 9th Winners! N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic FA Cup Winners! Robinson (23) Hanley (15) Millar (7.06) 1000 (187) 2025/26 Premiership 9th Qtr Final 2nd Qual Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic First run in Europe Roscoe (17) Hanley (11) Millar (7.19) 1000 (379) 2025/26 Premiership 7th 6th Round N/A Basic Basic Fairly Basic Basic EL Qualification Millar (15) Hanley (14) N. Owens (7.08) 1000 (202) Goals This Season At least 7th in the League (7th) >3 players with a 7.00 rating from at least 15 starts (6) 25 goals in all competitions from a single player (15) Next Season Top half finish Some kind of facilities upgrade 25 goals in all comps from a single player I know I missed a couple of my usual screenshots. By the time I realised I was too far past the end--season for it to be worth including.
×