FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[Jack no Coke]

Thanks lads

Looks like it will be a struggle for me alright,I'm in pre-season at the moment so we'll soon find out.

Lecce have just made me an offer of 220K with a 25% of the next sell on fee for Varriale http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/660/varriale1.jpg

What do ye think ?

I'm around 30K in debt at the moment

[minisav]

Got any potential replacements lined up?

30k isn't that much in debt so if not I'd keep him and hope they go closer to the 500k mark personally.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

*laughs* 30k is nothing I currently sit at 437k in the red, I know that I can afford to keep losing money so long as I stay below wage budget and I keep up the steady progression up the leagues, I only buy in frees until I clear the debt in the top league and then we we will go for the top.

[minisav]

473k in the red?

Try 46m in the black

Update to be delayed. Going to watch CSI: New York with my parents. Will probably do it after that.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Haha that's about where I got Fafe too, at one point we were 900k in debt, Portugal has this serious problem with money and almost every club is losing money at a huge rate.

[Jack no Coke]

Yeah I no I'm not too bad with the money situation,437K now I feel alot better

I think I'll take your advice Minisav,If he plays well this season then he will be worth alot more next year.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Glad I could make you feel better Jack. The money is no issue so long as you keep moving upwards, I really think you only need to focus on it once you get to the top league, generally by which time you have some stars you can afford to sell to make it back pretty quickly.

[PaulHartman71]

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, 2020-21, Ligue 2

League Position - 1st: Past Positions

Squad

Transfers

Summary

The season started out very well, despite being 25-1 for promotion, for the first time in a few seasons there didn't seem to be the 2/3 'dominant' teams. Going into 2021 we were top of the table, however... At the end of January, we'd reached absolute crisis point, well I thought we had anyway! Despite having played 23 games and being 11 points clear of 2nd place, 13 of 4th, we were breaking down! We'd lost Svec (star RB), Fischetti ( a CB who left because he randomly started hating me), Nikolov (who was our best CB, basically lost 2 starting CB's) and Harguindeguy (our star LM)! Then I found out the chairman was looking to step aside! It was almost as if by achieving everything I'd wanted in the 11 years at the club, we would now literally, have to limp to the finish line. We still had our GK, our star MC's, our star striker, and the YP's Herbert and Joaquim! But the scouts and ass man couldn't find decent replacements at all, I was literally stuffed. The 6.5M I'd made that season, where the hell had it gone? Our bank balance was around 1M! Where did that 5.5M actually go? It's not like our wages were that high, they were higher last season and we only spent 8M on wages last season. So in half a year, how did we lose 5.5M? It was madness! To top it off, my Scout found 2 ML's that were worth bringing in on loan, and I was really excited, then realized it was the 1st of February. This was the table on the 1st of February. 13th March we got a new Chairman, originally a director. He said he wasn't investing anything, which was fair enough I suppose. However, less than a fortnight later he was allegedly looking to 'step aside'. He did leave about a week after that and a different director took over, who also didn't want to invest. Despite my initial worries, we did win the League. I was Ligue 2 manager of the year.

Onze de départ

GK: Matthieu Dreyer, 32, Français - He's probably not going to be good enough for Ligue 1, but he had a good season this year.

DR: Mladen Tsvetkov, 24, Bulgare - Signed for a fairly cheap price, he's not that great and wont make it in Ligue 1, but he was decent enough for this season.

DL: Alexandru Muscä, 23, Roumain - He's quite good and might be good enough for Ligue 1.

DC: Kevin Gomis, 32, Sénégalais - Once most of my DC's had left the club I didn't have a lot of options, so played this guy there.

DC: Adama Macalou, 18, Francais - He was a good solid loan signing, originally signed as rotation, he ended up being first team when players left.

MR: Jérôme Hebert, 19, Français - He had a good season, he got injured near the end of the season, but a solid season from the home grown hero.

ML: Zakaria Bathily, 24, Français - Another rotational player that found himself playing a lot more than expected. He did a decent job on the left.

MC: Sergio Marbus, 28, Néerlandais - The captain had a great season and was a crucial part of our title run, without him we wouldn't have been champions.

MC: Matthieu Causse, 24, Français - The midfield pair continued their fantastic partnership this season, Causse had a fantastic season, and was crucial in our title run.

ST: Vivaldy Joaquim, 26, Congolese - Another home grown talent, he had a good season, scoring 11 and assisting 6. He's also now a Congo player, which is nice for him.

ST: Geslin Schafer , 25, DR Congo - An absolutely crucial part of our season, top scorer, without him we wouldn't have been Champions as his goals won so many games.

-

Official Fans Player of the Year - Sergio Marbus

Unofficial Young Player of the Year - Jérôme Herbert

Career Overview

Season     League   Position   Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11  National    4th       None
2011/12  National    5th       None
2012/13  National    7th       None
2013/14  National    2nd       Promoted 
2014/15  Ligue 2    18th       Relegated
2015/16  National    3rd       Promotion
2016/17  Ligue 2    13th       None
2017/18  Ligue 2    12th       None
2018/19  Ligue 2     7th       None
2019/20  Ligue 2     6th       None
2020/21  Ligue 2     1st       Promoted as Champions




[b][size=3][u]Trophies won:[/u][/size]

[/b][size=2]Ligue 2 (x1) - 2020/21[/size]

P.S - Apparently due to 'comply with requirements' we have had to expand the stadium by 10,000 seats. This has cost us 12.7M.... and any hope of avoiding relegation.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Evora's Quick Mid-Season Review

Well the league has been rocking along pretty well, the media were predicting us for relegation once more, this time in 15th. Except bar a 2nd game loss we have not lost a single game so far this season in the league, we are slightly ahead of my target I set at the end of the last season as we have gone 7-7-1, we really need to do something about these draws as a lot of them are in games we should be winning. We currently are on a 16 game unbeaten streak including our three games in the cup. So at the midway point we are in 2nd and on for promotion, but if we want to grab it the team really need to wrap up some wins to confirm the slot early. The Player of the first half has to be Jose Manuel 20 games, 6 goals, 4 assists and 4 MoMs for a rating of 7.34.

Elia Motta - 1 (7) 4G 1A (7.10).

League Table

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Congrats on promotion there Paul, hopefully the Stadium purchase doesn't hold you back and you can manage to stay up anyway. It seems this forced increases has changed back into FM10 as a lot of people have had that problem, I would be trying to find as many frees as I possibly can and try to get them in prior to the season.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well we have made it to the Quarter-Finals of the Portuguese Cup after a 2:2 (7-6 on pens) victory over Leira and we will travel to face Sporting in the next round. I don't expect us to go any further, but we are unbeaten through 18 games have one more game before that match-up.

[daemonic]

Montevarchi are promoted at last

Congrats Jack...and as for the debt, I managed to take Montevarchi from 4m in the black to almost -2m in an attempt to stay in Serie A so a little debt is necessary sometimes. Good luck in Serie C1

[minisav]

Darmstadt - Minisav - German 1st Division - 2012/13

Table

Transfers 1

Transfers 2

Cup Final

Awesome season. Extremely pleased that we will have European football next season. Not even sure if we will do better than this next season. Or as well. Hopefully we can repeat it. Will be looking for some wingers as Pepper hasn't impressed so Merida will take AMC and I lost Filkor so RM is left open.

Season			League			Position			Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11		    Third Division		  1st			    Automatic Promotion
2011/12             Second Division               1st                       Automatic Promotion
2012/13             First Division                6th                       German Cup Winners

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hang on 20M for coming 6th come on that's completely unfair, nothing like that in Portuguese Football haha. Well we are now at 19 games unbeaten heading into the Sporting game and 3pts clear at the top of the league (I've played 17 to their 16), its going to be close I have 34pts, behind me Santa Clara 31, Varzim 31, Fatima 30, & Freamunde 30. So for two promotion spots I really have to win 3 out of the four games against those opposition. Only Fatima have a better G.D and also more goals as they have scored 35 to my 33.

Edit: Well after they have played their games the table is now:

|-----------|--------|-----|-----|
| Team      | Record | G.D | Pts |
|-----------|--------|-----|-----|
| Evora     | 9-7-1  | +14 |  34 | 
| Fatima    | 9-6-2  | +20 |  33 |
| S.Clara   | 9-5-3  | +11 |  32 |
| Varzim    | 9-5-3  | +10 |  32 |
| Freamunde | 9-4-4  | + 6 |  31 |
|-----------|--------|-----|-----|

[minisav]

Yeah, suck on that! Hoping I get an awesome transfer budget. Although could do with a reputation boost as still not a huge amount of players that will come I don't think

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well we are now out of the Cup in the Quarterfinals, we lost 4:2 to Sporting, but as the stats showed we didn't actually do as badly as the scoreline shows. Stats

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well with 5 more games gone in the league there are now just 10 left, so 2/3rds way through the season and its still a very tight race, I beat Freamunde, but Varzim ended my unbeaten streak at 17, tied for the all time Liga Vitalis record.

|-----------|--------|-----|-----|
| Team      | Record | G.D | Pts |
|-----------|--------|-----|-----|
| Evora     | 11-7-2 | +15 |  40 | 
| Fatima    | 11-6-3 | +22 |  39 |
| Varzim    | 11-5-4 | +11 |  38 |
| S.Clara   | 10-6-4 | +12 |  36 |
| Freamunde | 10-5-5 | + 6 |  35 |
|-----------|--------|-----|-----|

This has to be one of the tightest title races I have ever been involved in, and no one is clear of relegation with 15th & 16th on 12pts each.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's

Lusitano de Evora

End of Season

2013/14 Liga Vitalis

The Current Season

The Quick Reference

Predicted: 15th

Odds: 14th (50-1)

Actual: 3rd

Portuguese Cup: Quarterfinal vs Sporting

League Cup: 1st Round vs Fatima

Finances: 1.5M (21st Por)

The Squad: 1 & 2

Transfers: 2012/13

The Season in General

Well this season I decided to stick with the team I used in the 2nd half of last year, and just go for a few small changes and hope that they had enough to make it to a better position than the year before. So with only three signings and a lot leaving I was hoping to be well under the wage budget and have a shot at making money. That was nothing but a dream as we lost even more and ended the season at 467k in the red, the only month we made money was when we faced Sporting.

Des Tiny Storms out - They asked me about the sending off of one of my players when it clearly wasn't a card, he came from the front and hit the ball.

The League

Well we started the league with a win and a loss, but after that we went on a long run of 17 games without a loss, this put us on top of the league and left us with a great shot at promotion. When we eventually lost it was to Varzim the eventual champions, but then our team fell apart over the last few weeks and we dropped to 3rd and could never recover, we missed promotion by a mere 2pts, as we finished with 55pts (1 more than my aim). I am happy with the season results, but I hope to improve again in the next season.

Player Stats

The Cups

Well the League Cup was up first as per normal, but we were drawn against Fatima again, and it seems that they were out for revenge as they beat us 2:1 over the two legs. In the end I was a little disappointed, but then I thought I could try and make a run in the Portuguese Cup and see what happened. We started off with two 4:0 victories as we decimated Lousade & then Farense, the entry to the 4th round saw us drawn against Operairo de Azores, we beat them easily in a 1:0 victory. This saw us face Leira in what would likely be a huge battle for us, but we fought all the way and eventually won 7:6 on penalties after my keeper saved one and got us through. This saw us into the top 8 and drawn to visit Sporting, I didn't think we had a shot at all, so we went in looking to put in a good effort and nothing more. In the end I was pretty happy with the final score of 4:2.

Player Stats League Cup

Player Stats Portuguese Cup

The Club's History

League Records

|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|
|  Season  |  League  | Final Pos | Playoffs | Achievements |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4647693&postcount=2810"]2010/11[/url] |   2DS    |    [url="http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1156/portugueseseconddivisio.png"]6th[/url]    |          |     None     |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4669085&postcount=2856"]2011/12[/url] |   2DS    |    [url="http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/1156/portugueseseconddivisio.png"]1st[/url]    |    [url="http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1156/portugueseseconddivisio.png"]2nd[/url]   |   Promoted   |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4687627&postcount=2883"]2012/13[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/1156/portugueseseconddivisio.png"]8th[/url]    |    N/A   |     None     |
|  2013/14 |    LV    |    [url="http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/8594/ligavitalis.png"]3rd[/url]    |    N/A   |     None     |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|--------------|

Goals Home & Away

|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
|  Season  |  League  |  Home   |  Away   | Total |
|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    |  36-15  |  18-29  | 54-44 |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    |  39-10  |  31-20  | 70-30 |
|  2012/13 |    LV    |  33-22  |  20-25  | 53-47 |
|  2013/14 |    LV    |  27-17  |  26-19  | 53-36 |
|----------|----------|---------|---------|-------|

Win-Draw-Loss Records

|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  Season  |  League  |   Home   |  Away    | Total    |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|  2010/11 |   2DS    | 10-03-02 | 05-01-09 | 15-04-11 |
|  2011/12 |   2DS    | 13-03-01 | 07-06-04 | 20-10-05 |
|  2012/13 |    LV    | 09-01-05 | 03-07-05 | 12-08-10 |
|  2013/14 |    LV    | 07-06-02 | 08-04-03 | 15-10-05 |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|

Club Records & Competition History

New Records: Highest League Pos 3rd LV, Highest Gate 12k, Avg Attendance 2018, Unbeaten Streak 19, Without Conceding 4, Career League Apps: Jose Maria 98, Highest Fee Received 12k (Amarilla).

All Records: Part 1 & 2.

Competition History: 2nd Division South Winners 2012, Liga Vitalis 3rd 2014.

The Players

The Squad

Current Teams Stats: This Season & Evora Career.

Goalkeepers

30.Andre Martins - Martins stepped into the lead role comfortably, Braun had an early injury that saw him drop out, and Martins continued right on from there. An improvement on last year as he only conceded 38 goals in the 32 games he played.

31.Leroy Braun - With an injury he dropped back behind Martins, but Braun still looks like the future. He did only concede 6 goals in the games he played, and went 20 games for 24 conceded for the reserves, he does look like a solid possibility.

Right Backs

64.Carlos Alves - He was a complete disappointment when he first stepped in after an injury, but he still sat on the bench.

39.Fabio Semprini - The clear number one right back, while he was injured Visentin and others seemed to cover more than Alves. If the young Italian can stay fit he will soon have a career defining season.

Left Backs

53.Lorenzo Semioli - He looks pretty good, but he is just below the level of Federici. With the inability to keep on the field he was just cover when needed, other than that this season he was unable to play much.

17.Gabriele Federici - The third Italian across the back is the clear best left back, he did have a few problem periods, but he always rebounded and showed his class. Until the end of the season he looked on for over 7 avg rating.

Centre Backs

28.Franco Zennaro - With only 2 appearances there was nothing he could even show.

7.Sebastian Visentin - Another Italian defender for my club, Visentin was one of the best defenders this season, playing at DC & DR he showed skill, he did have a few bad games, but he was still the definite second choice.

6.Diego Galiano - The star centre back, he had an amazing season on corners, free kicks, penalties, and also defending at the back. He ended the season with 9G 3A 6MoM & a 7.25 rating. No one can debate the Spaniards class at DC.

5.Miguel Serodio - The young Portuguese centre back was a bit of a super sub for Evora, he got 9 starts while Semprini was injured.

Right Wings

37.Christophe Lacroix - The frenchman is now supposedly better than Inzaghi at the position, though really I believe I am lacking in a true star at MR. It was split evenly between these two & Mengy.

27.Inzaghi - The old man of the team failed to really shine this season.

Left Wings

73.Revy Rosalia - He looked poor early in the season and hence dropped to the bench with Lopes running the left hand side.

78.Luis Pereira - A disappointing season saw Pereira into the reserves.

Centre Mids

22.Jose Maria - The true super-sub this season, our leading capped star. Maria is on top of the team, but he was not up to the standard of any of the other centre midfielders this season, he was solid, but not spectacular.

43.Raphael Lopes - He ended up taking over on the left wing and had his best season of his career. Playing 34 games he ended with stats of 6G 7A 3MoM & a rating of 7.05.

23.Jose Manuel - He became a solid force in the centre of the field, he was able to provide some great passing, he got a few goals, some great assists and he led the team in every game we played.

13.Carlos Perez Rojo - With two Spaniards now in the middle of the park Rojo was on fire, he got 13 assists on the season and showed real class as he played a more defensive role than his partner.

15.Victor Manuel Uria - As a new signing in January Uria managed to become a great substitute for our club, but couldn't break through the starters.

Strikers

57.Addy Menga - He ended up playing a lot more on the right wing than upfront this season. A disappointing season considering the skill I know he has at the position.

11.Wesllem - The only striker I could count on this season, he slotted home a very good 21 goals, not as many as others have, but it was definitely a very solid season, hopefully he can stick around and do it again.

77.Elia Motta - He came in and moved into the starting line-up when Willian went down injured, and he was injured on his debut, when he finally returned he scored 28s later, and then again in his next game. With 9 goals & 6 assists in 16(9) games he was clearly well worth the effort as a youngster.

1.Willian - He really had a poor season, but I put a lot of that down to his time off injured, only 4 goals in his 16 games is a disappointment.

The Best of the Best

The Awards

Portugal

Most Improved Club: Evora

2nd Division

Player of the Month: Aug - Wesllem (2nd), Sept - Diego Galiano, May - Diego Galiano.

Manager of the Month: Oct - Des Tiny (3rd), Feb - Des Tiny (2nd).

Goal of the Month: Sept: Manuel (2nd), Oct: Wesllem (2nd)

Team of the Year: Diego Galiano, Andre Martins.

Most MoM: Diego Galiano 6 (2nd)

Most Assists: Carlos Perez Roja 12 (2nd)

Overachievers: Evora

Signing of the Season: Elia Motta (Free)

Portuguese Cup

Most Goals: Wesllem 5 (3rd=)

Evora

Fans PotY: Diego Galiano

Best XI: Martins, Visentin, Federici, Galiano, Serodio, Inzaghi, Lopes, Perez Rojo, Manuel, Wesllem, Motta.

Subs: Braun, Semprini, Menga, Maria, Willian, Semioli, Zennaro.

Overall XI: Martins, Visentin, Federici, Galiano, Mauro, Inzaghi, Lopes, Maria, Manuel, Wesllem, Menga.

Subs: Festas, A. Alves, Perez Rojo, Costa, Edson, M. Silva, Motta.

Where are they now?

Evora - Martins, Visentin, Federici, Galiano, Inzaghi, Lopes, Maria, Manuel, Wesllem, Menga, Perez Rojo, Motta.

Others - Edson (Olhanense), A. Alves (Aves), Mauro (Doxa), Festas (Moscavide), Costa (Esmoriz), Nilton (Free Agent).

Staff - Mario Silva (Unemployed Manager)

Retired - Caetano

The Next Season

Evora Youth Project

In this section I will basically be following the career of the best player through my academy, and also if I buy a star youth their career as well. (A) Players are through my academy & (B) Players are bought.

Player A1: Pedro Alexandre Pinheiro (MC)

Starting Profile (June 2014)

|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
|  Season  | Games | Goal | Asst | MoM | AvgR |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
| 2014/15  |  0(0) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 0.00 |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|

I have no bought players at this point, though I am bringing in another 5-10 20yr olds for the new season, but here is someone we should follow his career.

Player B0: Elia Motta (ST)

June 2014

|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
|  Season  | Games | Goal | Asst | MoM | AvgR |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|
| 2013/14  | 16(9) |   9  |   6  |  2  | 7.00 |
| 2014/15  |  0(0) |   0  |   0  |  0  | 0.00 |
|----------|-------|------|------|-----|------|

Aims

1. Promotion

2. Get some better players (in particular DR, GK & DM)

3. Make QFs of Cup

4. Make 2nd round of League Cup

5. Stop losing money

Actual aim for points is to get more than 60. And once more I am Untouchable. The board love me.

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Second Division North - 2010/2011

Second Division North – 1st

Promotion Playoff – 2nd – Promoted

Portuguese Cup – 4th Round – Lost 3-0 to Beira-Mar

Team Stats

Transfers

Top Scorer: Filipe Azevdo (21)

Top Assists: Ricardo Martins (24)

My first season at Fafe could be described as nearly the perfect season of football. We bounced back from an opening day defeat in the league to go on a run 12 games unbeaten that propelled us to the top of the table. More good runs of form saw us say there and progress into the promotion playoff.

It was there that our form seemed to disappear, score draws in the first two games left us in a must win position for game 3. The team delivered an amazing 3-0 win to secure 2nd place in the playoff and promotion.

Our season also benefited from a decent cup run, mainly due to favourable draws, but a 4th round tie with Liga Sagres side Beira-Mar would always do the finances some good. The loss didn’t even seem to affect the team either as it came during the 12 game unbeaten league run.

An added bonus to the season was being named Manager of the Year.

I only have 1 aim for season 2. Survival. Anything above a 15th placed finish in the league will be a good season.

[rlipscombe]

Des - seriously unlucky with missing out on promotion, although still a decent season. good luck with the promotion push next season.

minisav - great first season in the Bundesliga.

Razer - good season for you too.

[StellaF1]

Hospitalet - Season 5 - 2014-15 - Liga Adelante

Table ¦ Graph ¦ Squad ¦ Transfers ¦ Finances

Pre-Season

After the previous seasons 5th place finish in Liga Adelante my aim for this season was to push for a promotion place. With the stadium being regularly sold out for home games we were now able to make a consistent profit month by month as well which enabled the chairman to stop selling all the players that had a 1m+ bid for them.

In terms of transfers it was the quietest pre-season I have had in charge of Hospitalet as the only players that i brought were youth prospects or backup players to ensure the squad was strong enough for the promotion push. The first of 2 main departures was Juan Carlos Alvarez, the young DMC for the last couple of seasons, who hadn't progressed as much as i would have liked so wasn't too fussed when he went to Udinese for 1.2m. The second main departure was Kevin Dos Santos, DL, who went to Tenerife for 975k.

The main transfer out actually came in January as i sold my DR Daniel Opare to Braga for 975K up front with another 2m being paid in monthly installments with a 10% sell-on clause. So the full transfer value was in the region of 3m - not bad seeing as he had a minimum release fee of 1.8m!

The Season

The league season started off well enough with 2 wins and a draw but with so many of my games being rearranged due to international call-ups i was left in mid-table having played 3 or 4 games less than most of the teams in the league. The inevitable backlog of games that followed saw our form drop as the team was not fully recovered from the previous games. By about the 10th game of the season things had evened out in terms of games played and this was were our form improved as we quickly went from 10th place up to 5th place after game 15.

At this point we were only a few points off the promotion places of 3rd and 2nd but Tenerife had made an awesome start to the league and had already built up a sizable gap over everybody. More good results leading up to the halfway stage of the season saw us move into 2nd place in the league. We then went chasing after Tenerife and had a good run off form but we were never able to get within 5 or 6 points of them. During this period we had at least managed to pull away from the teams behind us and as it turned out we would maintain 2nd place all the way from game 20 till the end of the season, eventually finishing 10 points behind Tenerife but more importantly 9 points ahead of Mallorca and Xerez.

The Spanish Cup saw our best ever performance as we took our league form over into this competition. We won our Second round matach away at Malaga 2-0. The board was now happy as we had been told the minimum expectation was to reach the third round of the competition. We were then drawn at home against newly-promoted Girona and we were able to beat them 2-0.

This was the first time that we had reached the fourth round in 4 seasons and we were drawn against Almeria of Liga BBVA. The first leg was at home and we were able to sneak by with a 2-1 win with goals from Bagi and Bolado. The second leg was another close game with Almeria taking the lead on the 73rd minute but a quick reply from Bolado saw the match finish 1-1 and we were through 3-2 on aggregate.

So we had managed to reach the fifth round for the first time and we were drawn against the mighty Barcelona. The first leg was again at home and we battled away but ended up losing 1-0 to a 74th minute Albin goal. The away leg was a no contest as we were easily defeated 4-0. Out of the cup in the fifth round but the ticket revenue was a nice bonus.

The Players

Bas Van Duijn - GK - Young and improving all the time. He was again my number 1 keeper and had another excellent season.

Martin Prokop - GK - Used mainly on the bench but i decided to give him some match experience now and again. Was disappointed with him really as he seems to concede at least 90% of the shots that are on target.

Luca Bianco - DR - Was my backup DR really at the start of the season but after the sale of Opare he stepped up really well to become my number 1 DR again.

Juan Jose Trueba - DL - Played a lot of games and looks a good player. I have one major reservation about him though and that is his pace (6) as he gets beaten too easily by quick wingers. Will be looking to make some money from him in the summer.

Ricardo Alonso - DLC - Played the majority of the games this season switching between left back and center back. At 18 he is a quality player who I'm sure will easily adapt to Liga BBVA. My only aim is to keep hold of him as he will be essential in my aim for survival next season.

Nasief Morris - DC - Brought in on a free to provide experience and cover at the heart of defence. He didn't play much but when he was called upon he did a good solid job.

Sergi Gomez - DC - Brought in for 275k Sergi played most of the games this season and did an excellent job keeping Nasief Morris out of the squad and being a key component in our promotion.

Vasily Ignatjev - DC - Played 20 games over the course of the season mainly covering for injuries and during periods of tightly congested matches but he played well when called upon.

Aimen Demai - DMC - Brought in on a free after the sale of Alvarez. He provided experience and quality in a key position as he achieved the best pass completion % in my team.

Armando De Marco - DMC - Used as a backup to Demai so didn't feature too often.

Francesco Viola - MC - Another great season from this Italian youngster as he managed to get himself 10 goals and also provided 12 assists.

Josip Knezevic - AM LC - Used as either a left winger or in the center of midfield i played him as much from the bench as i did from the start. Even so he was excellent throughout as he managed to score 11 goals and get 8 assists.

Adam Dudas - AMR - Used mainly as a backup he did contribute to 2 goals and assists.

Zoltan Bagi - AMR - Another great season from the Hungarian youngster. His 8 goals and 10 assists were a valuable contribution for the team.

Mihajlo Zaric - AML -He didn't play as much this season due to injury but despite only playing in 16 league games he contributed with 10 assists which i would say is a great return.

Pablo Sarabia - AML - Was in the squad as a backup but due to the injuries Zaric had he almost played as many games as him. His contribution was 5 assists.

Jean-Pierre Kremer - ST - My third choice striker but he is still young. He got 4 goals and 5 assists in his appearances this season. Not sure how he will cope with the step up in class next season.

Fabio Caracciolo - ST - Fantastic season for Fabio as he really improved this season finishing with 19 goals.

Ivan Bolado - ST - For the third season in a row he finished as top goalscorer, though he was pushed all the way by Fabio. His full season stats of 25 goals and 11 assists no doubt helped him win the Fans Player Of The Year. He now holds the club record of league goals scored for the club with 65.

The goals score by Fabio and Ivan saw them finish 4th and 5th in the top goalscorers in the league.

Next Seasons Aims

Well with my focus on youth due to the club finances having paid off I am hoping that they will continue to improve as players and that i might have a chance of surviving relegation. Sorting the finances out this season was key as my chairman wasn't accepting every single bid that was made this season. With the bigger financial burden next season, especially on wages, my chairman might come back to haunt me again. Not that there is a lot I can do about it as we are now regularly getting full attendances of 6400 and we can't get planning permission to expand the stadium.

Aim = Survival.

[daemonic]

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila - Italian Serie A 2015/16

Transfers - I spent quite a bit but the two 1m+ signings were worth every penny as they played a large part in our survival with Baan being the only player to average above 7 for the season, picking up the Fans Player of the Year for his efforts.

Italian Serie A

Predicted: 20th | Final Position: 13th | Graph

We started well remaining unbeaten for the first 5 games, although only one of those was a win and that set the tone for the season as we proved very hard to beat but an inability to score meant we drew a lot of games. At the mid-point of the season we were 11th and most importantly, 11pts above the relegation spots.

Hopes of a nice safe mid-table cruise to the end of the season was wrecked by a run of 11 games without a win when we picked up only 3 points and dropped to 16th, within 3pts of the drop zone. Our first win in over 2 months was an uninspiring, backs to the wall 1-0 against Frosinone who were 12pts adrift in 20th place but a wins a win. As luck would have it our next game was another home tie, this time against 19th placed Palermo and another tight win took us to 39pts and within 1 of my pre-season target of 40. A couple of games later we'd amassed 43pts, climbed to 13th and were officially safe with 2 games to spare.

Italian Cup - 4th Qualifying Rnd.

Other News

Finances - Only finished in the black thanks to the Serie A prize money. Next year will be tough too as we pay the loans on our New Stadium.

Club Records

Stars

Most Assists: Edoardo Schirripa - 7

Most Goals: Peio Eizmendi - 12

Most MoM: Herman Baan / Domenico Oliveri - 4

Highest Avg Rating: Herman Baan - 7.07

Fan Player of the Year: Herman Baan

Best Eleven: Season | Overall

Montevarchi Calcio Aquila Trophy Room

Serie B x 1 - 2014/15

Serie C1/A x 1 - 2012/13

Serie C Cup x 1 - 2012/13

Serie C2/B x 1 - 2010/11

Italian C1 Super Cup x 1 - 2012/13

Italian C2 Super Cup x 1 - 2010/11

Career History

Season   League      Pos.  Serie C Cup  Cup       Europe         Achievements
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2010/11  Serie C2/B  1st   2nd Rnd      N/A       N/A            Serie C2/B Champions, C2 Super Cup
2011/12  Serie C1/A  7th   2nd Rnd      1st Qual. N/A            None
2012/13  Serie C1/A  1st   Winners      4th Qual. N/A            Serie C1/A Champions, Serie C Cup,
                                                                Italian C1 Super Cup
2013/14  Serie B     3rd   N/A          3rd Qual. N/A            None
2014/15  Serie B     1st   N/A          4th Qual. N/A            Serie B Champions
2015/16  Serie A     13th  N/A          4th Qual. N/A

Next Season...Survive again.

[rlipscombe]

congrats on promotion stella and on survival daemonic....

[yababo]

1.FC Saarbrucken End of season update

Relegated and Sacked

Can't believe I am gonna be sitting next to Gary Megson on the goals on Sunday sofa.

[rlipscombe]

seriously unlucky yabobo.... Were you badly relegated? What's next?

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hard Luck yababo, what happened exactly?

[yababo]

Couldn't turn draws into wins. My policy of youth players was probably a mistake. Not sure what to do next. Might go back to Holland and WKE as I thought had deleted the file in a hissy fit but have just discovered I didn't.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Portugal is alright getting up the leagues, the problem is how hard it is once you get into the top league.

[Jack no Coke]

I'm half way through my first season in serie c1 and I'm currently 14th and struggling.I've managed only 4 wins and 4 draws out of 19 games and shipped 43 goals in the process.Update at the end of the season,I'll probably avoid automatic relegation but will definately be in involved in the playouts.

I can't seem to find a formation to suit me as I'm the underdog in almost every game,any suggestions?

[daemonic]

I'm half way through my first season in serie c1 and I'm currently 14th and struggling.I've managed only 4 wins and 4 draws out of 19 games and shipped 43 goals in the process.Update at the end of the season,I'll probably avoid automatic relegation but will definately be in involved in the playouts.

I can't seem to find a formation to suit me as I'm the underdog in almost every game,any suggestions?

Being underdog is down to reputation and form so I wouldn't worry about that too much. As for a formation, pick one and stick to it, switching too much means players never settle. Also, try taking the pressure off with a few 'No Pressure' team talks.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I would suggest building a simple 4-4-2 and going against the odds and trying to go slightly attacking rather than letting them control the game. I play a Standard setting at the start, if they score first I go attacking, if I score I stay standard, if I go 2 goals up I use retain possession shout to hold them out. If its a tie at 35mins I go back to attacking to try and score a goal, if still tied by half time I come out attacking, similarly if down. If I am up by a goal its standard all the way, if I get 2 up then add the retain possession. It seems to work, I am still underdog in nearly every game I play.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I had to show everyone the atrocious condition of our pitch. Is it any surprise the club agreed to relay it even though we are broke?

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Evora's New Signings

El Mehdi Ouaddou - ML (Injury cover for Rosalia).

Matteo Jehl - MR (The new starter).

Koen Koster - AMC (A replacement for Jose Maria, looks solid).

Ander Suarez Rodriguez - DR (The new man on the right fullback).

Dimas - GK (He will probably start in a rotation policy with Martins & Braun).

Diederik Van Dijk - DM (This guy will be part of a rotation in the midfield).

Guilherme Afonso - ST (The new star upfront 3 goals on debut).

So now my Starting Line-up includes the following nationalities:

ESP - 4

ITA - 2

FRA - 1

NED - 1

BRA - 1

SUI - 1

ANT - 1

Though this is only the core team, there will be a few more who play normally.

Edit: I have to report on our League Cup match-up, we faced Maritimo B (Newly Promoted), first was our home leg and we won 3-2 with a great Afonso hattrick. So I was travelling knowing that I had to fight for a draw and it might be a bit tight. I told the boys to complete it for the fans and they went ballistic. We added 8 more goals, Afonso Man of the Match again with a second consecutive Hattrick & 2 assists. Final score 11-3, WOW is about all I have to say.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

The Challengers as it Stand

Well I have gone through the thread because I couldn't sleep and the below table shows where everyone is at. The breaks in the table are simple. Top section = Completions, then going down "Completed Season Top League", "Promoted to Top League but no season yet", "Relegated from top league", and this pattern continues down the leagues, list sorted by closeness to completing.

|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| User       | Club        | Nation    | League    | C. Season | Last Pos. |
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| El sid     | Munster     | Germany   | 1st Div   |  2018/19  |    1st    | Completed 2018/19
| Ohanzee    | SD Noja     | Spain     | Liga BBVA |  2019/20  |    1st    | Completed 2019/20
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| ElDani     | Farense     | Portugal  | Sagres    |  2016/17  |    1st    |1
| PRDH       | SO Romo     | France    | Ligue 1   |  2021/22  |    1st    |1
| WillCarr   | Stuttgarter | Germany   | 1st Div   |  2015/16  |    2nd    |1
| Gilbster   | Elgin       | Scotland  | Premier   |  2032/33  |    3rd    |1
| Cookie15   | Pisa        | Italy     | Serie A   |  2015/16  |    3rd    |1
| ToMexico   | Elgin       | Scotland  | Premier   |  2016/17  |    6th    |1
| Minisav    | Darmstadt   | Germany   | 1st Div   |  2013/14  |    6th    |1
| UffeJohan  | Casa Pia    | Portugal  | Sagres    |  2020/21  |    7th    |1
| DodgeeD    | Bc Branco   | Portugal  | Sagres    |  2017/18  |    7th    |1
| iseemonster| Racing Club | France    | Ligue 1   |  2014/15  |   12th    |1
| Daemonic   | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie A   |  2016/17  |   13th    |1
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Cadley X   | Kirikkale   | Turkey    | Premier   |  2013/14  |    1st    |1
| Paul Hart  | FC Libourne | France    | Ligue 1   |  2020/21  |    1st    |1
| Iacovone   | Castillo    | Spain     | Liga BBVA |  2021/22  |    2nd    |1
| StellaF1   | Hospitalet  | Spain     | Liga BBVA |  2016/17  |    2nd    |1
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| LLR        | Evora       | Portugal  | Vitalis   |  2014/15  |    3rd    |2
| Dave.      | Ostuni spt  | Italy     | Serie B   |  2017/18  |    5th    |2
| Berty1978  | Lorca       | Spain     | Adelente  |  2013/14  |    6th    |2
| Sazchu     | Stranraer   | Scotland  | 1st Div   |  2016/17  |    7th    |2
| G-Wiz      | Angri       | Italy     | Serie B   |  2015/16  |    8th    |2
| Rlipscombe | Venezia     | Italy     | Serie B   |  2015/16  |    9th    |2
| Polar Bear | Magdeburg   | Germany   | 2nd Div   |  2015/16  |   10th    |2
| TanO       | Pajara      | Spain     | Adelente  |  2015/16  |   13th    |2
| Gareth K   | Velez CF    | Spain     | Adelente  |  2019/20  |   14th    |2
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Quackje    | Saarbrucken | Germany   | 2nd Div   |  2012/13  |    1st    |2
| Jobnik     | Merida UD   | Spain     | Adelente  |  2012/13  |    1st    |2
| Thistles*  | Martigues   | France    | Ligue 2   |  2015/16  |    1st    |2
| Razer82    | Fafe        | Portugal  | Vitalis   |  2011/12  |    1st    |2
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Twellman   | Algeciras   | Spain     | 2 Div B2  |  2015/16  |    3rd    |3
| Liverbird  | Casa Pia    | Portugal  | 2 Div C   |  2012/13  |    5th    |3
| Deltablue  | RW Essen    | Germany   | Third Div |  2011/12  |    5th    |3
| TaylorB    | Infesta     | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2011/12  |   10th    |3
| Kabajingai | Saarbrucken | Germany   | Third Div |  2011/12  |   11th    |3
| Brambleten | Mannheim    | Germany   | Third Div |  2011/12  |   12th    |3
| Flashman   | Portugalete | Spain     | 2 Div B3  |  2011/12  |   16th    |3
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| sydneyTili | Albion      | Scotland  | 2nd Div   |  2011/12  |    1st    |3
| AdamFitz   | Elgin       | Scotland  | 2nd Div   |  2011/12  |    2nd    |3
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| JacknoCoke | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2012/13  |    7th    |4
| Heat02     | Elgin       | Scotland  | Third Div |  2011/12  |    8th    |4
| Ghostwriter| Renato Curi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2012/13  |   13th    |4
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Rancer     | Sannois SG  | France    | National  |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Tomsmith   | Pau FC      | France    | National  |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Tharros    | RW Essen    | Germany   | Third Div |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Saab693    | Famalicao   | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| CharlesB   | Fafe        | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| XXXtreme   | Leca        | Portugal  | 2 Div N   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| 5ergio     | Maltepespor | Turkey    | 2nd Div   |  2010/11  |    ???    |3
| Robert 296 | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| Bjoggi     | Montevarchi | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| Dougeh     | Venezia     | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| OccamsRazor| Venezia     | Italy     | Serie C2B |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| LtPS       | Annan       | Scotland  | Third Div |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
| Gers15     | Annan       | Scotland  | Third Div |  2010/11  |    ???    |4
|------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|

If I have made any mistakes just point them out to me. The year listed is the one you are now in, not the one you just completed.

[rlipscombe]

great work with the list of participants Des. As for your new guys, the screenie for Afonso is Van Dijk again............

[minisav]

I reiterate everything said in the above post.

This challenge keeps drawing me in. I'm trying to give it a rest and play other saves but I want to see how much I get in my budgets!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

The Afonso link is fixed, and thanks guys, the Challengers Table took a bit of work, but I am pretty sure I got everyone, and sorted correctly as well.

[Razer82]

Razer82 – Associacao Desporitvo de Fafe – Portuguese Liga Vitalis – 2011/2012

Liga Vitalis – Media Prediction – 15th – Actual - 11th

Portuguese Cup – 5th Round – Lost 3-1 on penalties to after a 3-3 draw with Chaves

Portuguese League Cup – 3rd in Second Round Group B

Team Stats

Transfers

Top Scorer: Miguel Angelo (8)

Top Assists: Delfim (13)

A media prediction of 15th means relegation, something that would not be acceptable. So when we started the season with 8 games unbeaten I thought that things were going to go pretty well. After that though, indifferent form hit us and we slowly slipped down the league.

Only managing two draws in our final 8 games basically ruined the fine start we had to the year but I would think that surviving relegation was the best part of the season.

Our good cup form continued this season as we managed to get one round further in the Portuguese Cup this year, but needed an extra time goal to send the game with Chaves to penalties at which point the players fell apart and we crashed out 3-1. Still, an extra round is still progress.

After being promoted, we took part in the League cup for the first time. An easy tie with Freamunde got us into the Second Round Group with two Liga Sagres sides. Total opposite to the first round, saw us lose both matches, but prize money is always great - £35k for two defeats!

Last season’s aim of avoiding relegation was easily meant at the end of the day. 11th place is great progress for the side.

Aims for next season –

Again, avoid relegation. Still being a semi-pro side will continue to make things a little difficult.

Improve the squad – The only way to really avoid relegation is better players.

Better finances would be better, but can't really guarantee or doing anything about that as we don't get great attendance and are currently spending £6k a week on wages.

[daemonic]

Good luck next season Razer

And that's one prodcutive case of insomnia you have Des, great to see everyones progress in one place ...could probably be kept up to date without huge effort now the initial work is done. Maybe post it near the top of each page or every 3 pages or so because the thread can move quickly at times.

[Willy Wonka]

SV Stuttgarter Kickers - German Bundesliga 2015/16

Champions of Germany for the first time.

Table

Progress

After Bayern were so good last year I was worried we wouldn't be able to match their consistancy. We did. Top throughout really, except the one game you can see in the graph, where we had two games in hand. At one point we threatened to really run away with it, but Bayern went on a ridiculous run and I became worried they might catch us. Luckily they started losing and when we beat them 1-0 away I knew we couldn't be stopped. Great to win the league.

Squad

You can see how dependant we were on Tarik, who performed incredibly. You can see a few more Germans emerging this year, which is a far cry from a couple of seasons ago where we had literally no home grown talent. Grob and Buschman in particular are brilliant youngsters, Grob a regular at only 17.

Transfers

Talent exodus this season. Really disappointed to lose Gyenes and Farina, both my centre backs, but White stepped up, with Buschman and Grob, who were also great. Gago went to make room for Acampora (7m profit in one season), but Acampora was an incredible disappointment for 15m, but he's only 19, so plenty of room for him to get better.

Champions League

Disappointing to lose to Athletico, after beating them last year in the Europa League, but a good debut season anyhow.

German Cup

Won for the second time in my career, against my bogey side Gladbach.

Tarik, Player of the Year

This guy is ridiculous. Carried my team this year. His stats might not be the best but he gets results.

Manager of the Year

Super Cup; justice.

My aim is to bring in more German players, and to win the Champions League.

Code:
    Season     League   Position   Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010/11  Division 3    3rd       Promoted through play offs.
2011/12  Division 2    2nd       Promoted, Lost in German Cup 1st Round
2012/13  Bundesliga    5th       Qualified for Euro Cup.
2013/14  Bundesliga    9th       Won the German Cup, Euro Cup 1/4 Finals. 
2014/15  Bundesliga    2nd       Won Euro Cup, German Cup Semis, CL qualification
2015/16  Bundesliga    1st       Won German Cup, Super Cup, League, CL 1/4 finals.

[rlipscombe]

congrats Will on your 1st Bundesliga title.... pretty good performance in the Cl in debut year too.

[deltablue]

That was swift progress you made there. Congrats on already half done. Will be at least few days before my next update. This because after I spent a lot of time making the most of being back online I had a lot on my mind and didn't feel like playing too much, still early Nov on my main save season. Admitedly going on to the thread now has given a little bit more motivation to plough through that (like I did last sunday/monday). I'll be sure to get back up to speed soon.

[ghostwriter]

Great summary there LLR but you are going to have to change mine I am afraid .

But, my word was it a struggle. We lost the away leg in both ties and struggled to victories in the home matches and only won each tie due to the fact that we were the highest placed club (we finished 2nd). I like this rule in Italy (for the moment at least...). Also celebrated a bit early in the final as I did not realise there was extra time :o. I then had to endure another 30 minutes of hoping we'd hold on but our promotion was confirmed.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

And that's one prodcutive case of insomnia you have Des, great to see everyones progress in one place ...could probably be kept up to date without huge effort now the initial work is done. Maybe post it near the top of each page or every 3 pages or so because the thread can move quickly at times.

Thanks all, I think posting it near the top of each page would be manageable, just depends on how many updates as to whether I can keep up really. I have it saved as a txt file so easily changeable

Congrats on the Title Will, the Promotion Ghost & staying up Razer.

[daemonic]

Thanks all, I think posting it near the top of each page would be manageable, just depends on how many updates as to whether I can keep up really. I have it saved as a txt file so easily changeable

Congrats on the Title Will, the Promotion Ghost & staying up Razer.

I wouldn't get too worried about missing the odd update. I scan other challenge threads for updates to see if anyone has completed a challenge so I can add them to the Hall of Fame and the updates tend to stand out from other posts. But if I miss someone's update then its up to them to let me know.

[Benjaminoo]

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/3016/01262010133738.jpg

Here's my Profile, decided to start in Portugal with Farense - should be a nice game

[cookie15]

Welcome on board Benjaminoo, best of luck in Portugal.

[Bednar]

I am a bit late to the party this year, but really fancied giving this a go! Have decided to go with Portugal as i enjoy the leagues.

So holidayed my way to season 2 and took a look at what clubs i had to choose from... Was very tempted by the legends of fafe, but could never live up to previous adventures there, also looked at BC Branco, but in the end i had to go for......

S.C. Farense

A club who only 15 years ago were playing in Europe. Time for fortunes to be revived me thinks.....

The manager who shall try to achieve this

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/7996/typrofile.jpg

Inherited a squad containing 2 goalies, 9 defenders, 3 midfielders and 1 striker.....work needed....

To my delight, my Ass Man gave me some recommendations when commenting on the strenghth of the squad. The highlight was him recommending nikao

No way i can compete with the quality of the other portugese updates, but hopefully i can have some fun along the way!

[rlipscombe]

Welcome and good luck Bednar - never too late to join the party!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Welcome aboard Bednar, and Fafe was a great delight for me, though I am really enjoying Evora this season. I have this great love of Portuguese Competition, so much my Fafe Jersey is on its way.