FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[bjoggi33]

Yeah, Jabuti was amazing indeed On other notes i get no money to buy players and a small wage budget

[iacovone]

That's always the way at the bottom!

[Liverbird93]

Liverbird93-Casa Pia-Second Division Central-2010/2011

Not much to say really we were playing well in the first half of the season. We were incredible at home and pathetic away. In the second half of the season we were pathetic all round. Points were incredibly hard to come by and I watched my team slide down the table before the last game of the season. We needed a win to guarantee safety or just match 13th result if it was a draw. We both drew so I was safe. In the Portugese Cup we lost in the first round to Farense so not to good there either.

Next season I think promotion has to be the target if we can get good away form we should manage it.

League Table-12th

League Positions Graph

Portugese Cup-1st round v Farense

Manager Overview

Transfers

[iacovone]

Nice survival there Liverbird

Really weird here, my first ever semi-decent youth product has just left the club as his contract expired. This has never ever happened to any other youth player and I got no warning. He just left :confused:

At least he wasn't too good otherwise I'd be fuming.

[tomsmith1989]

Pau FC

French National

2010/11

Pre-Season

The Squad

The squad had a little depth and some players looked to possess some quality, however, I personally felt we were a little weak in key positions. My first issue was on the wings. I like to play a 4-2-2-2 with an AML and an AMR. The squad didn't have many able wingers and so I had to look into acquiring a couple of new ones. My next issue arose with my wing backs. I like to have attacking wing backs who possess plenty of pace. Unfortunately the wing backs already at the club weren't the quickest, and again were sparse in numbers.

The Transfers

Having released a number of players who had approached the end of their contract, and needing players in key positions meant I was always going to be delving into the transfer market. A £20k transfer budget gave me a little to play with, and the fact I was more than £3k under my wage budget put me in a great position.

• Jeff Strasser, 35 (DC) - Free - Strasser was signed on a free from Fola Esch. He has some invaluable experience at club and at national level. He has represented Luxembourg a massive 94 times, and I will look to him to tutor some of the younger lads at the club. He's not the most technically effective, but he has some great mental traits.
  

• Jardel, 36 (ST) - £300 - Setting me back just £300 from America (CE), Jardel is another old face. The way i've set my strikers to play focuses more on the technicla side of their game, rather than the physical. So for this reason, i'm hoping his lack of pace won't hold him back and that he can really make his technical qualities pay dividends.
  

• Pascal Bedrossian, 35 (AMLC) - Free - The 35 year old Armenian is again another signing who is technically and mentally proficient. He'll definitely slot in as my first choice AML, but will probably need to be rested every now and then.
  

• Cedric Rey, 25 (D/WBL) - Free - Probably not the best technically, he has the physical attribues i'd look for in a WB. He'll feature more as back-up in the team, but will get games.
  

• Viola, 40 (ST) - Free - The oldest of my summer transfers. Viola is a similar signing as Jardel. He is technically and mentally outstanding for this level. He still possesses some strength and agility, and will hopefully be clinical in front of goal. He'll be a great tutor for any young strikers looking to learn the trade.
  

• Ulrick Chavas, 29 (D/AMR) - Free - Versatile down the right, Chavas is at home playing at RB or at AMR. His ability to be able to fit in anywhere down the right will come in useful over the course of the season.
  

• Basile Yehoume, 23 (D/WBR) - Free - Yehoume is a physically adept WBR, and is exactly what I was looking for. At only 23 he should hopefully be able to improve over the next couple of seasons to make the step up to the next tier of French football.
  

• Ousmane Cissokho, 23 (AML) - Free - The Senegales AML has a good spread of attributes. He'll play as Bedrossian's under study, and will hopefully pick up a few things of the veteran winger.
  

• Evandro, 23 (D/WB/AML) - Free - Another versatile winger, this time down the left. Evandro, like Chavas, will look to slot in anywhere down the left when required, and he has the attributes to do the business. Again, his age gives him some time to improve.
  

Having spent only £300 so far in this transfer window, I brought in 9 new players. Admittedly, 4 of those couldbe short term signings, but the older players all possess the necessary technical skills to play well at this level. Their experience will hopefully be of benefit for the younger players in the squad.

The Friendlies

[b]Besancon RC 0 - 4 Pau FC[/b]

Pierre Aristouy (4, 82)
Jardel (22)
Dieudonne Bikoyoi (39)


[b]Pau FC 1 - 1 OH Leuven[/b]

Nicolas Sartolou (21) Gregory Ferreira (42)


[b]Pau FC 4 - 0 Go Ahead[/b]

Pierre Aristouy (19, 43, 90+2)
Charles Devineau (25)


[b]Pau FC 0 - 0 USBCO[/b]


[b]Pau FC 2 - 4 OGC Nice[/b]

Own Goal (37) Loic Remy (15, 35, 44, 58)
Pierre Aristouy (45)


[b]Pau FC 1 - 2 RBC
[/b]
Pierre Aristouy (25) Sjoerd Ars (9)
Sydney Janmaat (45+1)

Overall, I'm very happy with the way the team conducted themselves in the pre-season friendlies. Some tough Ligue 1 opposition never showed us up, and the lads always put in a good performance. The main star of the friendlies was certainly Pierre Aristouy who bagged himself a fantastic 7 goals in just five appearances.

The First Game of the Season

30th July 2010

Our first game of the season saw us up against AS Beauvais Oise, who managed to finish 7th last year, at home. It was a game I always thought would be a challenge as my first competitive match in charge, but the odds were in our favour.

A hard fought first half saw both teams go into the break goalless. There weren't many chances for either side, and the score was an accurate reflection of how the game had been going. The second half continued in the same vein. 63 minutes in saw me switch things about a bit. Up front, my main target man Pierre Aristouy, was having a torrid time and so I looked at 40 year old Viola to make an impact. It took him twenty-four minutes to break the deadlock with a goal on his debut. The euphoria of going in front so late on only lasted a short two minutes when the opposition managed to pull out an equaliser. The players weren't happy and rushed to the touchline to argue with the referee's assistant. After watching the replays in super-slow motion, I feel they had every right to be unhappy as the goal looked well offside. Injustice.

The goal stood, and we could only manage a 1-1 draw in a game we should've really won. At least we weren't defeated.

Viola's goal sees him become both Pau FC's oldest goalscorer, and oldest player at 40 years and 211 days.

[heat02]

Heat02 - Elgin City 2010/11 (First Season) End of Season Update

Manager Profile

Finished 8th

Transfers

The Team

I inherited a team of youth players and overpaid, over-rated players who only managed to win 5 games last season. This meant that a massive clearout was needed so out went 17 players and in came 15 players throughout the season.

Here is a list of the better players over the season:

Gary Fisher - Young goalkeeper I signed on a free after he was released by Kilmarnock conceded 61 goals in 39 games but most of them were due to a leaky defence.

Stuart Malcolm - Solid defender who commanded the back four. Gained a lot of interest over the season from BSP teams but signed a new contract.

Paul Kaczan - Made a good partnership with Stuart Malcolm hoping that the next season they will be able to hold the defence together.

Ivan Campo - I was amazed when my backroom staff recommended him to me so naturally snapped him up. Amazing playmaker and DM when he is not injured hoping he will be as good next year and play a few more games as he made a big difference.

Scott Murray - At 36 years old is still an amazing player, started off well but started to fade out towards the end of the season. Will play a part next season but will need to find a replacement for him.

Nick Main - Young CM who we snapped up on a free after he was released by Rangers has got a cracking shot and hopefully a bright future with the club.

James Keatings - The only International player we have got at Elgin City. Currently capped by Scotland U19s and dangerous when on form coming up with 8 goals from AMC position. Expect more from him next season.

David Bingham - At the ripe old age of 40 is the oldest player in the squad but he managed to pull his weight last season with some great performances. I reckon he has got one more season in him.

Craig McAllister - Signed on a free after being released by Exeter had high hopes for him as my leading goalscorer but started off well then faded out. Expecting more goals next season from him.

Craig Bradshaw - The more games he got under his belt the better he is getting! Went through a dry patch but came through it at the end knocking in more goals.

The Season Review

This season was very inconsitent we started off poorly then managed to put a great run together which saw us on the verge of the play-offs but nothing changed and for some reason we feel into a slump which saw us lose majority of our last 12 games.

In my opinion this was a poor season and we should have pushed higher up the table however next season I have high hopes and now that I can finally clear the remainder of the deadwood and bring some better players in reckon we should be able to finish higher and maybe even push for a play-off place.

Looking forward to next year.....

[iacovone]

Nice season to heat

tomsmith - Viola looks great, he even has some pace left in the tank! Also I doubt you'll ever have an older goalscorer! A good start and nice write up. Pierre Aristouy must be fairly good, that's a good haul in the pre season games!

4 league games left this season for Castillo. Improvements have been made but no promotion just yet.

[tomsmith1989]

tomsmith - Viola looks great, he even has some pace left in the tank! Also I doubt you'll ever have an older goalscorer! A good start and nice write up. Pierre Aristouy must be fairly good, that's a good haul in the pre season games!

Thanks. If I remember rightly, I scouted a 51 year old English chap just out of interest. He wasn't anything special, and I think he was a GK, so he wouldn't get any goals. Quite old for a footballer though. But yeah, Viola is really good still. Him and Jardel (of Porto fame a few years ago) have maintained their technical ability and i'm hoping they will just rip through the defences in this league.

Aristouy is good for this division. He has some pace, and decent technical ability, and is showing his worth already. I'll throw up a screenshot of him next time I update.

I think i'm going to try mini-updates after every five games (probably every five league games). A little taster of what's to come in the next mini update - Top of the league after 3 games.

Probably jinxed it now. :o

[iacovone]

Definitely jinxed

Forgot to show my admiration on the signing of Jardel! What a legend (except for his Bolton days!). Look forward to the 5 game updates, as well as the screeny for Aristouy

[DodgeeD]

Arggh! Game just crashed on me and I've had to go back a month - and it was a good month with 3 wins and a draw, our best form all season but now gone. Right in the middle of the January transfer window too so I've also lost a few new signings, a couple of good sales and two bosman deals lined up for the end of the season.

[Flashman\'s School Days]

Flashman's School Days - Pau FC - Season Summary 11/12

League

Predicted - 9th

Actual - 1st!!!!!

Graph

Squad

Squad 1

Squad 2

The Season

Well a complete surprise, I never expected to push for a promotion place before the season started let alone challenge and win the title. The season began with a hard worked 5-3 victory which actually outlined what would constantly happen to us, shipping too many goals! We then managed 3 more back to back wins, before being halted 4-1 in the 5th game then 2-1 the game after, with these 2 defeats I expected my early season form to count for nothing, however, we got back to winning ways with no loss in the next 11 games. Yet again we crashed horribly from our good form and lost 4 on the bounce in the league as well as being dumped out of the cup at the first hurdle. From there we had 17 games left of which we made very hard work of our title bid with only 9 more wins.

One of last seasons aims for this was to find a prolific striker and we were blessed with my free signing of Gregory Bettiol and last seasons top goalscorer Anthony Bral who managed to grab more goals and more assists as well as becoming the clubs highest ever goalscorer. These two were the reason for my winning of the title because when they weren't playing together due to injuries etc, it coincided with a period of bad form.

Nonetheless we have won the title and I am very happy with the success of the team, however, with the absence of Sashi Calwe who was sold during the summer by the chairman we constantly conceded goals and it's something that is going to need rectifying for next season otherwise we could possibly be the whipping boys of the division.

Players

The Key Players of the season were:

Nikolay Mihaylov - A free transfer and if it wasn't for such a quality operator in goal we would have conceded a lot more than we did, made a lot of saves in important wins.

Joris Sainati - First choice centre back and did a solid job, fantastic young player to have at this level, however, I am not sure he can make the step up to Ligue 2.

Mikel San Jose - Played every game of the season and was the outstanding force in defence, very composed and I don't remember him making any bad mistakes, another free transfer. No doubt that his ability can carry him up to the next level.

Cedric Fabien - Started the season at left back but couldn't hack the defence so made the swap to left wing and produced some very good displays, free transfer before last season ended.

Marc-Antoine Gbarssin - Possibly the most technically gifted footballer at the club, showed his class and will definitely be a first choice next season, free transfer before last season ended.

Andrew Shinnie - Scottish midfielder signed again for free and was recommeded by my coaches, made an instant impact with a man of the match performance and two goals on his debut. He is still very young and I think he is the most exciting player in midfield.

Anthony Bral - Another fantastic season for my first signing of my Pau career, regular scorer and assist merchant, now clubs leading goalscorer, didn't take him long to have his prolific strike partner Bettiol on his favoured personnel list.

Gregory Bettiol - Signed on a free before last season ended and exceeded all expectations I had when I signed him, both him and Bral will be leading the line next season.

Youth Players

Yeh Ningning - Not strictly a youth player but only 20, spent a season on loan at my affiliate club and got 42 appearances with 2 goals, will never make the first team but I don't think I will ever be able to end his contract because I have some weird affinity to him :o

John Paul Leslie - Signed him as a 15 year old, never had a club before but my coaches say he is the best prospect at the club.

Roddy Dunn - Similar situation to Leslie, never had a club before, another good prospect.

Rob Jones - Actually came through the youth academy and the best prospect to do so and still very very young.

Plans For Next Season

Survival has to be the main plan, but obviously I would quite like to make a name for myself in Pau's first season ever above the French National.

Misc.

Finances - It may be due to the huge stadium that we don't get anywhere near to filling but they are horrendous.

Transfers

Would like to congratulate Calais RUFC who you can see finished 2nd, this is now their 3rd successive promotion!

If you would like any other screenies just ask

[Uffe Johansson]

Casa Pia Liga Vitalis 2016/17

Before this season I really took my time to get in some new free players since our economy was as close to zero as possible. My main goals were a keeper, Ricardo Ferreira conceded 64 in only 27 matches in Liga Sagres, a couple of defensive midfielders to accompany Stevan Kovacevic, I did not give Djamal a new contract getting old and slow and I sold Paulo Oliveira back to St Gallen with almost the same transfer fee I bought him for +50% on next transfer. I sold him in order to survive in Liga Vitalis drought of money. I also looked to bring in a winger on the right because El Hadji Diouf, not the Bolton one, wanting to leave after being relegated.

Result

Omar Cabanne free from Basel, at last a really quality keeper that should bring some stability to the net.

José Luis free from Spanish Sporting. Good with the ball and really pacey.

Rahman free from Egyptian Zamalek. Sort of a copy of Luis but we needed the depth in the squad.

Arregi free from Osasuna. For the future I hope.

Marushkin free from Metalist. Considered as good as Diouf but with a brighter future.

After these arrivals, except Rahman that did not arrive until September, we crushed Chievo 5-1 and that really made me believe we could bounce back again.

Regular Season

Table Graph Finances Transfers

Well as you can see Casa Pia will again play in Liga Sagres but I’m not convinced we will be able to stay there. Because of the economy we sold Cabanne to AIK for 8M kr and Mancini to Lilleström for 11M kr. I found Labadie on free transfer and Anton Klopcic in Maribor for some change. But the keeper could not be replaced because he left in February after transfer window had closed.

Casa Pianos

Stats

GK

Ricardo Ferreira

Alfonso Coppola

DR

Feliciano Matias

Marco Izzo

DL

David Mendieta

DC

Anton Klopcic

Julien Labadie

Gianni Massa

　

MC

José Luis

Adel Abdel Rahman

Daniel Arregi

Stevan Kovacevic

João Amorim

ML

Ricardo Carvalho

MR

El Hadji Diouf

Vitaly Marushkin

ST

Romeu

Dany

Ishak Belfodil

Jonatan Rodriguez

My favourite players are Stevan Kovacevic and Ishak Belfodil. They never do a bad match and have been really good during the past seasons. Belfodil is the only player that performed well last time being in Liga Sagres and I hope he will step up this time as well. But I do think we have to find a really good keeper as last time in Liga Sagres Ferreira proved not doing well in the top flight. And som depth to both defence and on the wings.

Next season

Survival!

Career

Season   Division          Pos   PC         PLC     Achievements
2010/11  2:nd Division C   11th  1st Rnd    N/A     NOPE
2011/12  2:nd Division C   5th   1st Rnd    N/A     NOPE
2012/13  2:nd Division C   4th   3rd Rnd    N/A     NOPE
2013/14  2:nd Division C   1st   Qtr final  N/A     Champions, Promotion via playoff.
2014/15  Liga Vitalis      2nd   4th Rnd    3rd Rnd Promotion
2015/16  Liga Sagres       16th  3rd Rnd    2nd Rnd Relegation
2016/17  Liga Vitalis      2nd   2nd Rnd    2nd Rnd Promotion

[Uffe Johansson]

DodgeeD - Well done on promotion, to bad with the crach. I hope you can get some wins again.

Good sesaon Flash.

Good luck to everyone else.

[DodgeeD]

Well done on promotion Flashman and good luck for next season.

Congrats on bouncing back Uffe. I know what you mean about the finances - I got 75k (pounds) in TV money in Liga Vitalis compared to 1 million this season in Liga Sagres. I also had to renegotiate contracts with some of my best players as other clubs were interested and I didn't want to risk losing them on Bosman deals. That means they are now on an average of 1.5k per week compared to 300 previously...

I'm currently hovering just above the relegation places (had pulled away before the crash) but I'm fairly confident my January signings will help plug some of the holes, especially in midfield. I also have a hot prospect Spanish striker coming in - only 17 but could get some 1st team action early on. Fingers crossed he'll get the goals as he did last night before I lost all progress.

One thing which may help me is that I get the big three out of the way early on as I play them in consecutive matches in January/February (4 consecutive matches in fact as we have Benfica in the League Cup as well!). After that, I can focus on picking off the weaker teams in the knowledge that my relegation rivals still hav the toughest games to come. I just hope that team morale doesn't drop too much after the inevitable defeats...

[Jobnik]

Some crazy stuff going on.

After 4 losses in my last 5 games (the other match was a draw) came this match, in which I was sure I am going to continue my "wonderful" run of form.

You can see the outcome here- probably my best match on since taking over, against a team who beat me on the same ground 4:1 in last years playoff.

[iacovone]

Juan Baldomero's...

Castillo C.F 2019/20 End of Season Review

Liga Adelante

The "making an impact" Edition

5th|Graph

Predicted Finish: 20th

Finances

Squad

Transfers

Season Ticket Holders - 119 (last year 112)

Estimated Value - £6.75m (up by £1.5m)

The Generalities...

A hard year to get through despite the obvious improvement in our fortunes. It was evident early on that promotion would be out of the question - largely because of the strength of the top 3. Anyway we soldiered on and ended the season in fantastic form, winning our final 5 games to secure 5th spot. It makes the next season very intriguing as we can hopefully press on towards the Liga BBVA.

The Players...

Reinhard Thiessen - Took over from Fran this year and was excellent. A real gem of a keeper who is still nowhere near fulfilling his potential. Was voted goalkeeper of the year as well! This was down to our watertight defence (the fewest goals conceded in the league!).

Lisandro Dure - Came in following the January departure of Dario and took our 2nd and final non-EU spot. Was absolutely fantastic for us and could be the difference next year.

Serafin Gago - The young RB continues to impress and grow with the club. Rated as potentially a good BBVA RB so he is one to keep an eye on.

Christos Kantimoiris - Had a marvellous first season at the club contributing goals and assists. Managed to tie him down to a new contract so should be with us for at least a year more.

Oscar Juarez - Failed to live up to his tag of the new Riquelme last season, but was far better this year. Has been linked with a big money move back to Argentina and appears to want to leave. For now I've convinced him to stay but I think I'll probably cash in on him soon.

Alberto Merola - Top goalscorer for the 5th year running at the club. Has patchy moments but always comes up with the goals eventually. Has more competition this year though with Georgiev and new signing Canini.

Axel Elgh - Signing of the season in the Liga Adelante. Came in and was in red hot form. His pace is a constant threat and makes our forward line unstoppable at times. However he suffered at the hands of the media and was constantly struggling with the media pressure. This led to a period of 15 hours without a goal at the end of the season. Needs to man up!!

Average Attendance: 4259 (last year 3405)

Fans Player of the Year: Oscar Juarez

My Player of the Year: Axel Elgh

The League Campaign...

The graph tells a good story of our season really. Started slowly and had a lot of inconsistency but we eventually settled and strung some good results together to climb the table. If the season had been about 8 games longer I'd have backed us for promotion as we were flying by the end of the year.

Hercules, Castellon and Athletic Bilbao (!) are coming down into our division. Valencia finally broke the Real Madrid grasp on the BBVA title.

The Copa del Rey...

Better this year as we made the 3rd Round. However we unfortuntely fell at this hurdle to Tenerife and missed out on the big teams. Hope to go one better this season.

Other Stuff...

Club Info

Facilities

Best XI

Overall Best XI

The U19s came 4th out of 16 - a much stronger year.

The youth facilities are being improved again to the tune of £425k. We also have a nice new sponsorship deal for £300k per year.

The Plan...

I expect a quiet summer. We have 3 pre arranged transfers - Luna, a CB, Canini, a CF and Scherbyna, a AML. The idea is at home I'll be playing with wingers this year so the Ukranian Scherbyna will be key there. We could use one more AMR to challenge but overall I'm pleased with the squad now. We have a great set of forwards and a miserly defence. Hopefully we continue where we left off last season and push for promotion.

Progress so far...

Season   Division          Position     Achievements
2010/11  2nd Division B1   15th         N/A
2011/12  2nd Division B1   12th         N/A
2012/13  2nd Division B1   8th          N/A
2013/14  2nd Division B1   13th         N/A
2014/15  2nd Division B1   10th         N/A
2015/16  2nd Division B1   2nd          Lost in 2nd Round of Playoff Phase, Quarters of Federation Cup
2016/17  2nd Division B1   3rd          Promoted via the Playoffs
2017/18  Liga Adelante     18th         Survived
2018/19  Liga Adelante     13th         N/A
2019/20  Liga Adelante     5th          N/A

[DodgeeD]

Good progress iacovone.

I like the look of the Argentinian duo. Dure has got high attributes in the right places and could be a class centre back. ıt would be a shame to lose Juarez but I suppose it all depends on what kind of money you can get for him.

[rlipscombe]

and i'm back after a weekend away.... congrats to all those who have made good progress, especially DodgeeD, Uffe and Flashman on their respective promotions..... solid season there iacovone - looking for a promotion push this season...

[Flashman\'s School Days]

After the promotion, the club has just gone pro, however, I can only afford to keep about 6 or 7 players on full time contracts

[Polar Bear]

Well done on the various promotions. That's pretty rough though Flashman.

Good progress iacovone. I like the look of Elgh, I must say. What does Merola have to do to get on the club's favoured personnel list though?

[Polar Bear]

Eep! I was just clicking through my messages and I found that a young player (not good enough) "has made it clear that he is unhappy at being placed on the transfer list." On looking at his personal screen I saw "Is upset that his mentor has abandoned him." I'm not sure I've ever felt so guilty playing this game, I'm now imagining his future of virtual drug addiction or worse...

[iacovone]

Good progress iacovone. I like the look of Elgh, I must say. What does Merola have to do to get on the club's favoured personnel list though?

I know, I sometimes wonder about the fans! He has been consistently scoring 15-20 goals for the last 5 years but has far less formidable players on the list ahead of him (Alvarez, Vlug, Abels I'm looking at you!). Merola will have to be on tip top form this year to stay first choice, the new striker Canini and Georgiev will be real threats in this league.

[iacovone]

Hmmm well it won't endear me to the fans but I've let Oscar Juarez leave for Genoa for £2.2m plus a 50% profit of next sale clause. So somewhere down the line we should see a few more million come in. Shame as I liked him but when he signed I earmarked him as one to sell for profit a year or two onwards. Good luck to him

[iacovone]

Well the size of our club is killing us this summer. I've had Oscar Juarez leave already and Carlo Amodio ask to leave (which I'm ok with). Now we've had Giannis Athanasiou ask to leave too. Need a new defender now too as Dure has torn his calf muscle .

[Liverbird93]

2011-2012-Casa Pia-2nd divison central-Liverbird93

I'm going to keep this short because I'm really into this save and want to get back to playing it. This season the target from the board was top half finish although I wanted a playoff challenge. The season started well with me winning my first 3 games. Although at the half way point we were 8 points of the top of the table in 5th. At this point it looked possible but unlikely that we would challenge for the playoffs. We didnt really get the form that we needed second half of the season and we ended up 25 points off top in 6th place. Not a bad effort but next season we need to get much closer. In the cups we won the first round of the Portugese cup against Fut. Benfica before losing to Salgueiros in the second round.

Next season we really need to finish top three and I would like to be within 10 points of top.

League-6th

League Positions Graph

Portugese Cup-2nd round Salgueiros

Manager Overview

Transfers

[iacovone]

Castillo Summer Transfers 2020/21

Transfers

Sergey Andreev - talented Russian AMC who will hopefully get just as many goals and assists as Kantimoiris got last year.

Robert Schoder - really pleased to sign this guy for just £200k. He has the potential to be a leading BBVA striker apparently

Petr Stepanovski - badly needed CB after the departures of Amodio and Di Giorgio and the injury to Dure.

Olexandr Scherbyna - AML signed in case we switch to a wider 4-5-1

Matias Canini - useful looking striker who will also put pressure on Elgh and Merola this year.

Ezequiel Luna - experienced CB and now club captain joined on a free from Villarreal this summer.

Christian Frandsen - a versatile hot prospect who should give us a good depth.

Alejandro - another young versatile prospect this time from Spain. Should also add good depth

I'm pretty happy with the summer signings but am slightly disappointed we lost Di Giorgio and Juarez. Kees Pereira and Carlo Amodio were two long servers to leave.

[Polar Bear]

Some good looking signings there - mind you, I'm not sure 'good looking' is the correct phrase to describe Scherbyna! What's going on there?

My depth is getting preposterous - it seems very easy to sign good young players who I know I'll sell on at a profit even if they don't break into the team. Just got back from the winter break and I don't think we're quite good enough to make the top three, but I wouldn't rule it out.

[iacovone]

Well I'm halfway into my first game away at Sociedad. 2-0 up, Andreev scored! Then Luna got sent off for 2 bookings and they scored 2 .

EDIT: Now they're down to 10 men, great start to the season!!

EDIT2: Andreev gets his 2nd! He could be an amazing signing!

EDIT3: 3-3 . Stepanovsky has a rating of 4.2

EDIT4: 4-3 up! Axel Elgh!!

EDIT5: 5-3!! Well if the season's going to be this exciting I'm happy already...Vamos Castillo!!! \o/

EDIT6: Ended a cracking 5-4

[Polar Bear]

1.FC Magdeburg - 2014/15 Bundesliga 2 pre-season

Lots of comings and goings as we prepared for life in the German second tier. In addition to the usual fringe and no-hoper youth departures (nine in total, netting a tidy sum of E570K plus sell-on clauses in case I was wrong) the following notable players departed:-

Alexander Voigt - club captain and stalwart LB/DM wasn't retained. A fine player but pace and acceleration of just 2 won't cut it at the higher level.

Ernesto Martin - a solid regular at CB but I was never quite sure about him, and E1.1M from Betis made up my mind - especially as I was having to generate funds for new players from sales.

Diego Ruiz - E650K + sell-on to Osnabruck. Now I know this guy will be good, and I'm selling him to a divisional rival, but he wasn't going to sign a new contract, so time to cash in.

Karsten Fischer - E350K to Jena. A fine servant for the first two seasons, but he would have been pushed out by newcomers and I was pleased to get the fee.

And the arrivals:-

GK

Heinz Muller - experienced goalie arrived on a Bosman from Wolfsburg. Getting on but should still cut it at this level.

Attilio Pellegrino - free, having been released by Palermo. My third Italian goalie! But he looks considerably better than the other two, and may challenge Muller.

DEFENCE

Aron Brandt - Bosman from Mechelen. A left-footed right back, but looks good enough.

Mark Van Hecke - our record signing at E500K from Club Brugge, he is a very good looking centre back who can also fill in on the right if necessary.

MIDFIELD

Hanno Balitsch - the new club captain, this DM/M C returns to Germany on a free after a couple of years at Hearts. Very experienced and authoritative.

Javi Ros - free from Sociedad, he's mainly here to add some depth.

Francisco Dominguez - free from Sporting in Spain, I'm looking for Dominguez to bring some creativity and precision to central midfield.

Joachim Kilian - E45K from Hamburg. One for the future, highly rated by my scouts.

Yannick Kakoko - freebie DR Congo international who's spent a few years at Furth. Could be great, could be useless, worth a punt at those wages.

Stefano Manzo - released by Lazio, this young winger can put pressure on Braganca for his place.

Andre Hansen - was very pleased to get this Austrian U-21 international winger, inexplicably released by LASK. Scouts reckon he should become a good First Division player.

FORWARDS

Vincent Acapandie - released by Auxerre. Very happy indeed with this signing, which will give us proper competition up front.

Henk Braun - E350K from Germinal Beerschot. My third Belgian, he supposedly has the potential to match Acapandie.

Lorenzo Taverna - yet another young Italian, released by Roma.

In addition to all these, the board were happy to allow me a bunch of new coaches, so I got some familar names, including Carsten Jancker, Ferydoon Zandi and Shefqi Kuqi, and a chap who looks like a very good assman - former German international Manfred Binz.

I anticipate Muller, Brandt, Balitsch and Hansen going straight into the team, with Van Hecke, Acapandie, Pellegrino, Kakoko and Dominguez ready to step off the bench or come into the team if things aren't going to plan. The others may have to wait a while and train hard. Braun and Kilian are going to the U-19s for now.

The media predicted 16th, and relegation. Now I have very bad memories of this division from a few versions ago, but I think we're a bit better than that. The fans seem reasonably excited, with an increase in season ticket sales. Let's give them something to cheer about!

[iacovone]

Good luck PolarBear, I think you'll be fine with those additions. You've got a good keeper in Muller

[PRDH]

Whilst I catch up with everyone's progress and try to get round to writing my report I'd just like to tell you all that Marko Kresic is rapidly becoming a club legend. So far this season he has started 24 games and come on as a sub in 1. He has scored 24 goals!! He's broken Ameobi's record for goals in a season already!

[iacovone]

Anyone who breaks Ameobi's goalscoring records is a legend in my book

[Polar Bear]

A few pages ago someone asked if anyone could match their striker's five goals in one match, and the best I could offer was four. Not any more

Presenting... Christopher Kullmann, legend! (well, favoured personnel anyway)

The game raised two questions - what exactly happened to Freiburg in the last quarter of an hour, and what did Big Chris do to lose that all-important final 0.1 on his rating?

[iacovone]

Ha! Some good questions there. No idea why he didn't get a 10! I've decided I'm going to follow in tomsmith's footsteps and do monthly reports on my fixtures. I have a feeling this will be an interesting season (please don't curse me forum!)

[Polar Bear]

I would do that if it weren't for my irregular playing patterns - one month might be three pages away from the next one. Anyway, our next fixture yielded this extraordinary entertainment. Just call me Kevin Keegan...

[iacovone]

Awesome, Kullman looks a star!

Not too fussed if its irregular really, I think it'll be nice to get to know my goalscorers in a potentially big season. Unless no-one reads them

[Polar Bear]

Don't be silly, they'll get read, they're excellent. Writing the reports really helps me get into a save, I must say.

Would love to carry on but I've got a Stage 3 interview at the job centre tomorrow so I'd better get some sleep

[iacovone]

Aug/Sept 2020

R. Sociedad                4 - 5        Castillo

Igor (37,59)                            Andreev (7,57)
Martinez (45+2)                         Kantimoiris (21)
Lopez (90+1)                            Elgh (67)
                                       Riza Bozdag (86)
Melendez sent off (49)             
                                       Luna sent off (45+1)



COPA DEL REY 2ND ROUND:

Numancia                   1 - 2        Castillo

Sitges (73)                             Schober (43)
                                       Cabezas (86)




Salamanca                  1 - 1        Castillo

Parra (65)                              Andreev (30)




Castillo                   4 - 0        Levante

Kantimoiris (17,53)
Merola (49)
Schober (87)




Castillo                   1 - 3        Racing Santander

Andreev (55)                            Necas (35,60)
                                       Moser (80)




Lleida                     1 - 2        Castillo

Alexander (43)                          Cabezas (72)
                                       Elgh (83)





Castillo                   3 - 1        Tenerife

OG - Jefferson (34)                     Popo (22)
Merola (45)
Schober (55)




Numancia                   2 - 1        Castillo

N, Andreev (85)                         Cabezas (11)
Dialiba PEN (92)

Overall a good start to the season but I have seen the cracks exposed too many times already. Luna has been having a nightmare, same can be said for Stepanovsky. So basically the two new CBs have been awful and we desperately need Dure back from injury! The most disappointing game was the Racing 3-1 defeat at home. The CBs above got 5.0 and 4.5 ratings

We sit 4th anyway, plenty of optimism following this start and if the defence can settle then we should challenge. We have Athletic Bilbao at home in the 3rd Round of the Copa del Rey...

[PRDH]

Anyone who breaks Ameobi's goalscoring records is a legend in my book

Very true. He's just scored again to make it 8 games in a row he's scored. Racking up 12 goals in those games!!

[edit] - I've just had a look at the nationalities of my first team squad. I only have 3 frenchmen in there! I have three Croatians, three Italians and four Spaniards. I'm guessing my domestic bias won't be high!

[iacovone]

My domestic bias rating is '1' .

In a squad of 25 I only have 5 Spaniards. 3 Argies, 2 Italians, 2 Greek, 2 Czechs, an Austrian, a Dane, a Bulgarian, a German, a Hungarian, a Russian, a Swede, a Turk and a Ukranian

Now if that isn't cosmopolitan I don't know what is!

so different to my Savona file last year where I made sure the majority of my squad was Italian. I guess once my youth products get better it'll be easier to maintain a Spanish core.

[Gilbster]

Gilbster - Elgin City - End of Season Update - 2031/32

Table

So close to breaking back into the top 2, and for a large part of the season I thought first place was within our grasps. Unfortunately at least 4 key players are leaving on bosmans and more probably to follow, since players are never happy at Elgin for too long.

As a result next season will be another of rebuilding the squad dramatically, and I will spend 2 seasons regaining even close to as good a season as this.

Career So Far

Season    Division           Position    Points     Achievements
2010/11   Third Division     3rd         59         Lost in playoff semi final
2011/12   Third Division     1st         77         Winner
2012/13   Second Division    4th         56         Promoted from Playoffs
2013/14   First Division     1st         72         Winner. Challenge Cup Winner
2014/15   Premier Division   12th        34         Relegated
2015/16   First Division     2nd         67
2016/17   First Division     2nd         60
2017/18   First Division     1st         67         Winner
2018/19   Premier Division   7th         49         
2019/20   Premier Division   7th         47
2020/21   Premier Division   8th         47
2021/22   Premier Division   7th         54         Scottish Cup Winner
2022/23   Premier Division   4th         69         Scottish Cup Runners Up. Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2023/24   Premier Division   1st         75         Champions!  Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2024/25   Premier Divison    6th         52         
2025/26   Premier Division   7th         53         League Cup Runners Up
2026/27   Premier Division   2nd         79         Runners Up - League and Scottish Cup
2027/28   Premier Division   3rd         69         Champions League 1st Knockout Rd
2028/29   Premier Division   3rd         64         Scottish Cup Winners. League Cup Runners Up. Euro Cup Quarter Finals.
2029/30   Premier Division   4th         66         
2030/31   Premier Divsion    5th         61         Euro Cup 1st Knockout Rd.
2031/32   Premier Divsion    3rd         65

[Uffe Johansson]

I just played my first Liga Sagres game of the season and thanks to a very defensive tactic I manage to get a draw a the dragons nest against Porto. My first point ever against Porto. What happens after I press continue?

A crash!

Sigh!!!

[Polar Bear]

Possibly the most bizarre pre-match 'pundit' prediction I've seen. Bear in mind that in our previous three matches we've scored 13 and conceded 7...

"I can see this one fizzling out into a bore draw."

[iacovone]

Gilbster - good season, hopefully the departures won't hit you too hard.

Uffe - that is rough, I have somehow avoided any crashes so far in FM10 (touch wood)

PolarBear - that's just silly

[iacovone]

Castillo C.F. October 2020

Castillo 2 - 1 Recreativo

Merola (41) Munoz (16)
Stepanovsky PEN (59)




COPA DEL REY 3rd ROUND

Castillo 0 - 1 Athletic Bilbao

Castillo (4)




Castillo 3 - 0 R. Madrid Castilla

Merola (13)
Stepanovsky PEN (31)
Cabezas (77)




Celta Vigo 1 - 0 Castillo

Acosta (85) Stepanovsky S/O (83)




Castillo 1 - 1 Granada

Andreev (18) Silva PEN (65)
Andreev missed pen (18)
Luna S/O (80)

A mixed month really. We had the ups of a good win over Recreativo and R.Madrid Castillo but the downs of dropping out of the cup to Bilbao and the loss to Celta Vigo. The last two games continued to confirm to me that Luna and Stepanovsky are not up to it at CB at the moment. Sadly Lisandro Dure is still a month or so away from a return

[bjoggi33]

Don't know if you know him but my new Assistant Manager is Robert Prosinecki, he played for Real Madrid and Barca in the 90's.

[brambleten]

SV Waldhof Mannheim

2010-2011

Mid Season Update

Having no cup games in the German Third Division, this update comes exactly halfway through my league campaign. i currently sit 12th out of 20 in the table, having done reasonable well for a team predicted 18th at the start of the season. as you can see from the fixtures, we have slowly gotten a lot worse, which is probably down to the fact that I am now going to start using my 4th tactic of the season, as the 4-2-2-2 and the 4-1-2-3 i was trying werent working, and the 4-4-2 stopgap seems to only provide draws at the best. they also werent providing many goals after the start of the season, as shown by my goalscorers.

I doubt we I will be bringing players in in January due to the finances that have spiraled out of control without me noticing. i think this is down to the 26k capacity stadium that we only ever get 4-5k people into.

As for players, these are currently the players that are playing best when they play:

Alexander Thamm - Mr Utility, but he hasnt moved from the centre of defence all season. he does look fragile on occasion, but this is mainly due to his crap partners that cant work out whether to be beaten in the air by full backs or beaten on the floor for pace by the likes of Carsten Jancker. did score 4 in his first 8 games, but then decided that he didnt like heading the ball at the goal from corners.

Thorsten Schulz - First choice right back. usually solid and occasionally gets forward. one of the better players in the side, but still far too prone to getting caught out in one way or another.

Daniel Barwolf - 37 year old forward. he doesnt play often due to the number of forwards in the squad, all who look better on paper, but when this guy comes off the bench in the last 20 minutes, he has done well, and so somehow gets a good rating. wants to go into scouting when he retires, but i reckon i might get another season or 2 out of him at this level.

Christof Babatz Central Midfielder and Captain. probably the best midfielder in the squad, and things have started to go squiffy after he got injured, as he always seemed to conjure something up, even if it was just a penalty to draw us level, which he has done on a couple of occasions to add to the 2 thunderbolt freekicks from 25 yards out. currently desperately missed.

cant think of anything i've missed, so second half of the season starting now

(note: end of season update will tell all about transfers etc)

[ghostwriter]

OK, so I gave up with France, even after 20 odd reloads, the same teams always came up, especially Niort, Libourne and Martigues. I even ran thru 2 seasons to see if any interesting sides came up but none did. Hence Italy is where I shall be.

So please say hello to Giacomo Cristofori, the new manager of Renato Curi Angolana. They are based in Città Sant'Angelo, a town of 13,000 inhabitants, about 20km north-west of Pescara. They were formed in 1998 from a merger of 2 clubs: Renato Curi (a club created in honour of a footballer who died of a heart attack during a Serie A match for Pescara during the late 1970s at the age of 24) and dell'Angolana. Pescara's stadium is also named after the player.

Both Massimo Oddo (born in Città Sant'Angelo itself) and Fabio Grosso started their careers with Renato Curi.

They have never played above Serie D and play in the 3000 all-seater Stadio Comunale.

I have inherited this squad, who all appear to be pretty dire whilst the 3 loanees are going back to their parent club tomorrow. I also have no staff at all; no coaches, physios, scouts, nothing. Yikes...

There are some positives though. They have 5 parent clubs, and with 4 of them (Fiorentina , Siena (A), Arezzo (B) and Pescara (C1)) there are loan arrangements in place. I think I might need them...And not only do they have good training facilities but they also already have a youth academy, admittedly with only basic youth facilities but a youth academy is better than nothing...

Plus I also have £140k to spend and a wage budget of £6.25k which is 10 times more than the current crop of players earn.

Clearly my first objective is the avoidance of relegation (obviously the media prediction is last place). Think the first thing I need to do is to put together something resembling a scouting network...and then find some (much) better players...

[Flashman\'s School Days]

Good Luck ghostwriter always enjoyed your updates in previous challenges

[brambleten]

damn i hate this game. 7 games without a win. playing at home, against the team just below me who are 4 games unbeaten. 3-0 up at half time, and then at the hour, where i make my subs. i come back to the ME, and the bloody thing crashes! it just doesnt like me