FM10 Small Club to Big Club Big Euro Nation Challenge

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's

Lusitano de Evora

End of Season

2032/33 Liga Sagres

The Decade of Domination

The Current Season

The Quick Reference

Predicted: 1st

Actual: 1st - CHAMPIONS!!!

Portuguese Cup: Final vs Benfica - CHAMPIONS!!!

League Cup: Semi Final vs Benfica

Super Cup: vs Varzim - CHAMPIONS!!!

Champions League: Final vs Liverpool - CHAMPIONS!!!

The Manager: Des Tiny - History

Euro Rank: 1st (^1) [1st Por]

Finances: £228M (Debt £39.5M) (1st Por, 7th World)

Season Tickets: 7875 (^1608)

The Squad: First & Second XI, Reserves, Under 19s

Transfers: 2032/33 & Part II

The Transfer Stories

A huge amount of action saw us sign 23 players for a total of 83 million pounds, in the summer window we signed seventeen players, and the two signings of the Window, Eusebiu Axinte & Michel Van Linden, Axinte went on to become the number one player for our squad, but Van Linden has dropped out of true contention in January. Juan Alvarado was another great signing in the summer window, and the addition of Bertoli meant we could safely send our other Goalies out on loan. In January we added Krivokapic & David Roberts to booster our starting line-ups, we also added some more depth.

In total we sent 27 players out on transfers, and another 10 went on loan this season, most of the loans were to Bologna our Italian Feeder Club. The biggest transfers saw Kamil Sima leave for Barcelona, Aleksander Lukic off to Chelsea, Emiliano Cappiello went to Chelsea for 16.25M, and Dudu Cearense to Sevilla for 10M. Several other big names for Evoran fans left, but we are likely to send a lot more players away this season as I look to cull the squad down to seniors + U19s.

The Competition Stories

August:

We started the season with the Portuguese Super Cup on August 7th against Varzim, it took a great effort from all the boys, as the game was still 0:0 at full time, but the first period of extra time saw the game end as a contest as first Tsochev and then Babic added goals to make the final score 2:0, this also saw Tiny's 1000th game in all management. The rest of August was to be taken up by League matches, Graafland scored in a 1:0 victory at Maritimo, Benitez scored a brace and Danilo added his first goal of the season as we managed to beat Vit Guimaraes soundly 3:0. On August the 29th we traveled to Lisbon to face Sporting and a great result there saw us run out 2:0 winners with goals to Benitez & Axinte.

September:

As we had our first Champions League matches coming up the draw was made and this saw Lusitano de Evora drawn alongside Fiorentina, Dinamo Kiev & FC Midtjylland, a reasonable group there would also see Des Tiny managing his 1000th game for Evora in the away leg to Midtjylland in October. The month started with Beira-Mar coming to town, we sent them packing 3:1 with a goal to Axinte and a brace from Dave Graafland who was off to a blinder this season. Next was the Champions League match, but first we will discuss the other two league games, we traveled to Touriz and faced Tourizense on September 18th, with Danilo on fire following his return from a pulled hamstring, we saw him slot two first half goals before Babic completed the rout 3:0, a week later we were back home and were absolutely gutted as Flores opened the scoring, but a late goal from Boavista saw us only manage a 1:1 draw. The Champions League in September saw us face Fiorentina in Italy and managed to come away with a 1:0 victory after a stunning goal from Benitez, later in the month we had Dinamo Kiev come to town, the Ukranians were played off the park as Danilo, Benitez, Almiron & Van den Bossche all scored in the 4:0 rout. So a great start in both the league and the Champions League saw a delighted Des Tiny leading the way for Evora.

October:

Starting with the Portuguese Cup saw the third round, Evora were drawn against last years Champions Varzim in the first round where the Liga Sagres teams were involved. It was always going to be tough to get past them and it proved such, but the boys managed to pull it off courtesy of a 15th minute goal by Danilo, but disappointingly in the 73rd minute he went off injured, the result was him missing 3 months with a damaged achilles tendon. The league in Portugal saw us having a home match early against Nacional which Axinte made sure we won with his goal. At the end of the month we travelled to Gil Vicente & Leiria, Babic was the man of the match against GV as he slotted home a great hattrick and led the team all the way, he was looking to step into Danilo's goalscoring role. The game against Leiria was a bit tighter, but Eusebiu Axinte popped up and managed to slot home another goal. The Champions League was looking pretty good for us as we had beaten the two better teams already and now only had the Danish Champions to beat, well when they came to Tiny Stadium everyone was predicting a cake-walk, but it was far from it as we ended up struggling to gain a 0:0 draw. Heading into the second half of the group stage we were sitting atop the table with 7 points, but Fiorentina was second with 4pts, FC Midtjylland were third with 3pts & Dinamo Kiev trailing with a meager 1pt.

November:

The highlight of the month was the 15th game of this season saw Des Tiny manage his 1000th game in charge of Evora, the team went out to show what they could do against FC Midtjylland in the European Champions League away from home. The skill on display was awesome as the boys ran away with it and took a 4:1 victory on their way to topping their group, two goals from Almiron and a single from Babic saw us well infront before the injury time own goal finished the game. The 4th round of the Portuguese Cup saw a great result as Part-timers AD Fafe defeated Feirense to make it through into the 5th round. Evora continued their tough battle in the Portuguese Cup as they faced Porto, a 2:1 victory made sure of by Benitez and Babic both contributing from the midfield. The Liga Sagres in November saw us manage to score 9 goals and only concede 2, but it was gutting to also see us get our first loss as the final game saw us drop 1:0 to Academica in an unexpected result that made the boys see that we were not invincible, after a 5:0 drubbing of Benfica at Tiny Stadium and a 4:1 victory over Vit. Setubal away from home. The second to last match of the Champions League Group stage saw us at home to Fiorentina, and we managed to set an incredible record as we stretched to 180 minutes the time of Champions League Football at Tiny Stadium without a goal as we had another 0:0 draw.

December:

After the Academica result I was a little worried heading into December as in the league we would be facing Porto, Braga & Varzim over a period of two weeks with the only break being for a Champions League game, but I needn't have worried as we started off slowly with a 1:0 victory over Varzim, but when we travelled to Porto we saw the biggest result of the season as we beat them 6:0, Graafland opened the scoring before Branko Babic ripped them apart as he scored an amazing 5 goals infont of 50,000 fans. A week later with the team bouyed by such a stunning result we stepped into Tiny Stadium and soundly beat Braga 4:1. The League Cup also kicked off with us drawn alongside Porto, Tourizense & Nacional, we started it off by defeating Nacional 4:0 on December 29th. The only other game in December was the final game in the Champions League Group stage, we travelled to the Ukraine needing a draw to guarantee our top spot in the group, it only took 6 minutes for Flores to put us ahead, and the game was complete when Graafland scored in injury time to make it 3:0. A good ending to the Calendar year saw us awaiting the return of Danilo and also looking forward to the new signings that January would bring and hopefully a slight lift in our performances, especially in the Champions League at home.

January:

The new year started the same as the old one ended, the addition of David Robert at the back made our defense awesome, but he also managed to score on debut as we smashed Maritimo 6:0 in the league, Krivokapic also managed to score in his Evora debut. The League Cup group stage was also completed here as we defeated Porto 2:1 & Tourizense 1:0 on our way to the Semifinals. The 5th round of the Portuguese Cup saw us draw Leixoes who we easily dispatched 3:0, but AD Fafe were not quite so lucky as they lost 3:1 on their trip to Lisbon to face Sporting CP. The other two league games saw us dispatch Beira-Mar & Guimaraes, 2:0 & 3:0 respectively.

February:

The first day of the new month saw us face Sporting at Tiny Stadium in the first part of a double header as they would be returning in just four days for a league game, the Portuguese Cup 6th round saw us facing them with a chance to avenge the loss of AD Fafe, we gave them something to think about as we sent them away 3:0, Babic added 1, and Krivokapic added 2 as we made them think about what was going to happen on Saturday. They returned for the league game only to get taught another lesson as this time it was 4:0 as Flores scored a brace. The strangest moment of the season happened in the February international window as we were preparing for the League Cup Semi-Final against Benfica, we happened to have 17 of our 18 man match-day squad on international duty, of course the result of this was that our youth side played and we went down at this stage of the competition once more. The remaining three league games of the month saw us defeat Tourizense 4:0, Boavista 3:0 and the score just as many as in both these games as we smashed Leiria 7:0 with a Danilo Hattrick. The Champions League Knockout stages started with us travelling to Emirates Stadium where a single goal from Danilo saw us lead 1:0 as we headed back to Tiny Stadium in march.

March:

In March we finally saw the end to the goal drought in Champions League matches at Tiny Stadium, but surprisingly it did not come as we fought out a 0:0 draw with Arsenal on March 15th as we beat them 1:0 on Aggregate, but it finally came on March 29th in the 57th minute as Danilo scored the opening goal against Leverkusen in the Quarterfinals. This saw the end of the 327 minute drought since the 4th goal against Dinamo Kiev. The home match against Leverkusen finished 2:0 as we headed to their place with a good shot at advancing to the semifinals. Before the two Champions League matches we faced Nacional & Gil Vicente in the Liga Sagres, we beat Nacional 2:0 with a Danilo brace, and he popped up again to score 2 more as we smashed Gil Vicente 7:0.

April:

The first three League games of April saw us go 1:0 over Academica, and then we only needed a victory over Benfica to make the Liga Sagres ours again, but it ended in a 2:2 draw, so heading to Vit Setubal and just needing a draw which we achieved with ease as we won 1:0 with an Almiron goal and that made it ten straight Liga Sagres titles for Lusitano de Evora, club favourite Sanchez praised Des Tiny's spirit as he guided the club to more trophies. Also in April we saw the second leg of our Champions League Quarterfinal against Leverkusen, this was a 2:0 away victory leading to a stunning 4:0 victory. Onwards to the Semifinal against Valencia, and the Evoran boys were on fire, but for the first time in the Champions League we went down 1:0 in the first leg at Tiny Stadium as they scored the first goal against us there in the Champions League this season, we travelled to Spain and managed a 1:0 victory followed by a 6:5 win on Penalties clinched by David Roberts on the 7th kick. This put us through to a final against Liverpool scheduled for May 21st. The Portuguese Cup Semi-final is over two legs and the first leg saw us score a 7:2 victory over Gil Vicente, they were a little gutted without their number 1 keeper, Nicolas Rodriguez (on Loan from Evora), for this match. There was just one further league match in April as we faced Varzim and managed a delightful 2:1 victory.

May:

The Portuguese Cup Semi-final against Gil Vicente ended with us defeating them 3:0 in the second leg for a 10:2 aggregate victory, then we saw Evora crowned the Portuguese Cup Champions in a great final game against Benfica, it took extra time for the Evorans to come out on top 4:1, this continued the clubs proud tradition. With Danilo's 13th minute goal offset by an injury time saviour from Benfica they had all the momentum, but Van den Bossche scored in the 93rd minute and Danilo added two more in the 106th and 113th minutes to guarantee the victory. The Liga Sagres came to an end as we drew 2:2 with Porto and defeated Braga 3:2, though this meant we allowed 7 goals in out last 5 League matches to more than double our goals against in the league.

The final match of the European season saw Liverpool & Lusitano de Evora face off in the Champions League Final at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. With both Babic & Benitez out injured we saw Van Bossche & Alvarado combine in the midfield to lead the Evoran line, it showed a great amount of skill in the choice as Tomas Van Bossche opened the scoring after just 7 minutes and went on to have his hattrick before half time as Evora led 3:1 at halftime, Tiny was delighted, but he just gave some support to the boys and sent them out there to complete the job. The second half saw a small spell of action around 70 minutes as Pedro got sent off for a second yellow card and Danilo completed the penalty to make it 4:1 and then Liverpool got a chance in the 75th minute as Cholakov scored, but it was not enough as the game ended 4:2 and Evora were crowned Champions of Europe. This saw former Evora star, Francisco Javier Sanchez hail the true legend Des Tiny.

The final nail in the coffin was the complete confusion of the media as they seem to have thought we were rank outsiders in every competition.

The Injury Stories

The biggest injury story of the season was the club losing Danilo with a Damaged Achilles Tendon in October put him out of action for 3 months, he also pulled a hamstring in August. Other players to suffer major injuries were Branko Babic (Torn Calf in April), Eusebiu Axinte (Pulled Hamstring in May), Pedro Banos (Pulled Hamstring in April), Ignacio Benitez (Strained Ankle Ligaments in May), Nicky Evers (Strained Ankle Ligaments in February), Ferhat Yildiz (Pulled Hamstring in December), and Tomas Van den Bossche (Pulled Hamstring in November).

The Rest of the Story

Tiny Stadium received an increase in seating to 34,108 seats, the work was completed on November 15th.

An International Story

The English side was preparing for the World Cup Qualifying stages, we were lining up in Group 2 with Ukraine, Ireland, Albania, Liechtenstein & Estonia. We warmed up with a match against Axinte and his Romanians, but were disappointed to only manage a scoreless draw. First up was likely to be our toughest match as we faced Ukraine (WR: #8), Tiny was frustrated as the boys didn't perform and we lost 1:0, this was followed up by the first round of matches seeing us win the remaining 4 games, Liechtenstein 5:0, Albania 1:0, Ireland 5:2 & Estonia 5:0, this left us 3pts back from Ukraine and looking likely to be going through the 2nd Placed teams section. We also had a friendly against Russia as preparation for Ukraine, we drew 1:1 with the Russians and then started the second round badly as we drew 2:2 with a fired up Ukraine side to stay in 2nd. The table so far shows that unless Ukraine drops some points we are going to end up in second, this right now would see us facing teams such as Sweden, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Czech Rep, Croatia, Denmark or Portugal.

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 & Won 2DS        |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4687627&postcount=2883"]2012/13[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5702/ligavitalis4.png"]8th[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4693906&postcount=2918"]2013/14[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/8594/ligavitalis.png"]3rd[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4735466&postcount=3041"]2014/15[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/6752/ligavitalis14.png"]3rd[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4897020&postcount=3290"]2015/16[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3581/ligavitalis9.png"]4th[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4901543&postcount=3295"]2016/17[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4115/ligavitalis6.png"]3rd[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4911039&postcount=3311"]2017/18[/url] |    LV    |    [url="http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8971/ligavitalis10.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |         Promoted & Won LV         |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4918967&postcount=3319"]2018/19[/url] |    LS    |   [url="http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6383/ligasagres2.png"]10th[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=4966396&postcount=3362"]2019/20[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/9412/ligasagres5.png"]5th[/url]    |    N/A   |           Qualified EC            |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5024185&postcount=3430"]2020/21[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7430/ligasagres7.png"]9th[/url]    |    N/A   |                None               |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5045935&postcount=3472"]2021/22[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9634/ligasagres4.png"]5th[/url]    |    N/A   |        Won Lg Cup & Qual EC       |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5066265&postcount=3495"]2022/23[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/7339/ligasagres9.png"]3rd[/url]    |    N/A   |           Qualified EC            |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5086438&postcount=3543"]2023/24[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7430/ligasagres7.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |        Won League & Qual CL       |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5111015&postcount=3605"]2024/25[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6289/ligasagres20.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |      Won LS, SC, PC & 2nd CL      |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5312387&postcount=3829"]2025/26[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7830/ligasagres8.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |           Won LS, SC, LC          |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5386357&postcount=3914"]2026/27[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2308/ligasagres27.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |         Won LS, SC, PC, LC        |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5414360&postcount=3930"]2027/28[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1079/ligasagres23.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |         Won LS, SC, PC, LC        |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5453227&postcount=3987"]2028/29[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/3503/ligasagres13.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |      Won LS, SC, PC, LC & CL      |
[b]*******************************Challenge Complete*******************************[/b]
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=5562944&postcount=4057"]2029/30[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9383/ligasagres19.png"]1st [/url]   |    N/A   | Won LS, SC, PC, LC, CL, ESC & CWC |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/158918-FM10-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Big-Euro-Nation-Challenge?p=5642049&viewfull=1#post5642049"]2030/31[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5941/ligasagres24.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |   Won LS, SC, PC, CL, ESC & CWC   |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/158918-FM10-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Big-Euro-Nation-Challenge?p=5840383&viewfull=1#post5840383"]2031/32[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://a.imageshack.us/img97/339/ligasagreso.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |          Won LS, SC & CWC         |
|  [url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/158918-FM10-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Big-Euro-Nation-Challenge?p=5973469&viewfull=1#post5973469"]2032/33[/url] |    LS    |    [url="http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/301/ligasagres.png"]1st[/url]    |    N/A   |        Won LS, SC, PC, & CL       |
|----------|----------|-----------|----------|-----------------------------------|

International Management

|--------|----------|---------|------------|----------------------|
|  Year  |  Nation  | Records | World Rank |     Achievements     |
|--------|----------|---------|------------|----------------------|
|  2029  |  Brazil  |  3-0-0  |  12th ^ 3  |         None         |
|  2030  |  Brazil  |  5-2-1  |   5th ^ 7  | World Cup Runners Up |
|  2031  |  England |  0-0-0  |   2nd ^ 2  |         None         |[/color][/color][color=Sienna][color=Black]
|  2032  |  England |  4-1-1  |  13th v 11 |         None         |[/color][/color][color=Sienna][color=Black]
|  2033  |  England |  2-2-0  |  12th ^ 1  |         None         |[/color][/color][color=Sienna][color=Black]
|--------|----------|---------|------------|----------------------|[/color][/color]

Club Records & Competition History

All Records:

Highest Attendance: 34108 vs Sporting (PC 6th Rd)

Average Attendance: 30290

Youngest Player: Inaki Arroyo 15yr 304d vs Benfica (LC Semi)

Highest Fee Paid: 21.5M for David Robert

Competition History:

Club World Championships - Winners 2029-31

Champions League - Winners 2029-31, 2033, 2nd 2025, 2032

Euro Super Cup - Winners 2029-30, 2nd 2031

Liga Sagres - Winners 2024-33 3rd 2023

League Cup - Winners 2022, 2026-30, 2nd 2032

Portuguese Cup - Winners 2025, 2027-31, 2033

Super Cup - Winners 2024-32

Liga Vitalis - Winners 2018, 3rd 2014, 2015, 2017

2nd Division South - Winners 2012

Reserves:

Group 3 - 3rd 2017

Group 2 - Winners 2025-32, 2nd 2019, 3rd 2033

U19s:

Group 4 - Winners 2030, 2032-33 2nd 2024, 2031, 3rd 2025-28

U19s Cup - Winners 2023, 2030, 2032-33 2nd 2018

The Players

The Squads Key Players

Current Teams Stats - First & Second XI, The Rest & Career

Goalkeepers

30. Nicky Evers (GK)

31. Lorenzo Bertoli (GK)

Defense

36. Ferhat Yildiz (DR)

50. Pedro Banos (DRC)

88. Engin Duruer (DRLC)

2. David Robert (DC)

1. Michel van der Linden (DL)

Midfield

13. Ignacio Benitez (MC)

21. Branko Babic (MC)

25. Pablo Almiron (AM/FC)

42. Dave Graafland (AMLC)

63. Eusebiu Axinte (AMLC)

19. Sedat Ozkan (MC)

68. Thomas Van den Bossche (MC)

10. Georgi Tsochev (AMC)

12. Juan Alvarado (AMC)

Strikers

9. Danilo (ST)

40. Mauricio Flores (AML,ST)

The Best of the Best

The 200+ Club

The 400s

Francisco Javier Sanchez 478*,Ferhat Yildiz 410*.

The 300s

Ernesto Vazquez 394,Wilson Mateus 352, Andre Santos 303.

The 200s

Pedro Banos 292*,Johnny Myklebust 281, Emiliano Cappiello 267, Danilo 244*, Pablo Almiron 236*, Borivoje Markovic 231, Pablo Roman 218, Gabriel Bazan 217, Oscar Carrera 211, Gabriele Federici 203.

The Story of the Awards Ceremony

First Half Awards

August:

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

September:

Player of the Month - Dave Graafland 3rd

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 2nd

October:

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

November:

Player of the Month - Ferhat Yildiz 1st, Dave Graafland 3rd

Goal of the Month - Dave Graafland 3rd.

December:

Player of the Month - Juan Alvarado 1st, Branko Babic 3rd

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

End of 2032 Awards Ceremony

World Player of the Year: Branko Babic 1st.

Taking out all the best awards this season was Babic, the Serbian was delighted to be the first Evoran to be named as World Player of the Year, he said he was hoping for bigger and better things in 2033/34.

European Footballer of the Year: Branko Babic 1st.

A huge achievement for the Serbian midfielder as he defeated a large number of his team mates to be named as the best footballer in Europe for the 2032 year.

European Midfielder of the Year: Branko Babic 1st.

A delight for Babic was to be named as the best midfielder in Europe through 2032, he will be looking to continue this in the new season after the return from his injury.

European Defender of the Year: Ferhat Yildiz 2nd.

Ferhat made his 4th appearance in the European Defender of the Year award placings, this time he barely missed out on the second win, but second is better than nothing and he will be happy with that.

European Goalkeeper of the Year: Nicky Evers 2nd.

Nicky is looking to be named the best goalkeeper in Europe, but he fell just short in 2032, he is only 23 so he has a few years ahead of him to gain control and lead the world yet.

World Team of the Year: Branko Babic (MC) & Ferhat Yildiz (DR).

Not really a surprise to see these two feature in this squad, they are both the best in the world at their positions, hopefully in the new year we can improve enough to fill more of the squad.

Second Half Awards

January:

Player of the Month - Ferhat Yildiz 1st, Ignacio Benitez 3rd

Goal of the Month - Juan Alvarado 3rd

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

February:

Player of the Month - Ferhat Yildiz 1st, Engin Duruer (DL) 2nd, Danilo 3rd.

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

March:

Player of the Month - Danilo 3rd

Goal of the Month - Ignacio Benitez 2nd

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

April:

Manager of the Month - Des Tiny 1st

End of the Season Awards Ceremony

Players:

European Champions League Player of the Year: Ferhat Yildiz 1st, Engin Duruer 2nd, Eusebiu Axinte 3rd.

The Evoran players ran riot in this category through the season, with some stunning Champions League results and a great win in the final. Yildiz though is still a marked step above the rest, and with the two best fullbacks in the world Evora is going to take some stopping.

Liga Sagres Player of the Year - Ignacio Benitez 1st.

A huge award for the mastermind of the Evora attack, no player compares to him in his presence on the park, upfront helping Danilo, or in the back alongside Banos he is always involved and as such is definitely an eligible candidate for Player of the Year.

Liga Sagres Young Player of the Year - Eusebiu Axinte 1st.

In his acceptance speech Axinte commented on how Des Tiny made a major contribution to him being named the Liga Sagres Young Player of the Year. The award also featured former Evoran, Vitor now playing for Benfica.

Liga Sagres Best Goalkeeper - Nicky Evers 1st.

The strongest keeper in the competition by a very long way, he played 25 games and only conceded 13 goals, other than the 4 goals against Benfica and the final run in he looked immaculate. He missed a spell due to injury, but a surprise from our youth keeper saw us not concede a goal during that time.

Liga Sagres Best Central Defender - Pedro Banos 1st.

He is the rock of our defence, but Banos looked even better once he had a true number one central defender alongside him, the addition of Roberts to this squad just made our whole defensive line look even better.

Liga Sagres Best Fullback - Ferhat Yildiz 1st, Engin Duruer 2nd.

In an award dominated by Turks playing in Portugal we get to see why the Turks are soo strong at the moment, with three world class fullbacks. Yildiz and Duruer were both deserving of this award, but it was no surprise when Ferhat took it out over all, the defensive effort was just amazing.

Liga Sagres Golden Boot - Danilo 1st (20), Branko Babic 3rd (17).

Danilo was out injured for a long period of this season and it looked like Babic might be the player to take the scoring title, it is good to see a midfielder step up when Danilo is out, but he came back with a vengence and slotted 20 goals in just 20 appearances in the Liga Sagres.

Liga Sagres Most Assists of the Year - Juan Alvarado 1st (13), Bosko Krivokapic 2nd (11), Dave Graafland 3rd (10).

Complete domination of this award from Lusitano de Evora, with three players getting double figures of assists there was always going to be a battle, in the end Alvarado came out on top, but Krivokapic did well in less games.

Goals:

League Cup Goal of the Year - Ignacio Benitez 2nd.

Quickest Goal of the Year - Pedro Banos 1st.

During his speech Banos was heard to comment on the weird timing system in Portugal which allowed over 82 seconds in your 2nd minute.

Other:

Manager of the Year - Des Tiny 1st.

For the tenth straight year he has taken out this award, no other team in Portugal even comes close anymore, Tiny thanked his players, his daughter and the board for giving him this chance 24 seasons ago, when asked what he wanted to do next Tiny laughed and said, "well maybe Football Manager 2011."

Liga Sagres Team of the Year - Nicky Evers (GK), Ferhat Yildiz (DR), Engin Duruer (DL), Pedro Banos (DC), Ignacio Benitez (MC), Branko Babic (MC), Danilo (ST).

Champions League Team of the Year - Ferhat Yildiz (DR), Engin Duruer (DL), Pedro Banos (DC), Eusebiu Axinte (MC).

Late Awards

Confed Cup Player of Year - Pablo Almiron 3rd.

Evora's Awards Night

Fans PotY: Ferhat Yildiz

Best XI: Nicky Evers, Ferhat Yildiz, Engin Duruer, David Robert, Pedro Banos, Ignacio Benitez, Branko Babic, Bosko Krivokapic, Eusebiu Axinte, Pablo Almiron, Danilo.

Subs: Lorenzo Bertoli, Michel van der Linden, Dave Graafland, Juan Alvarado, Sedat Ozkan, Samuel Falter, Mauricio Flores.

All Time XI: Nicky Evers, Ferhat Yildiz, Kamil Sima, Engin Duruer, Francisco Javier Sanchez, Matteo Jehl, Raphael Lopes, Pablo Almiron, Ignacio Benitez, Danilo, Emiliano Cappiello.

Subs: Oscar Carrera, Borivoje Markovic, Jose Manuel, Andre Santos, Pedro Banos, Pablo Roman, Haris Zeric.

Stories of the Future

Predicted Finish: 1st

Odds: 6-4 (1st)

Expectations: Win

Transfer Budget: 1M

Wage Budget: 600k

The Signings: Cristian Martin (MC), Rajko Golubovic (DL), Enio (AMC), Igor Melnik (DL).

New Youth: Diogo Carlos (DC), Valter Vilela (MC)

We have another expansion of our stadium planned as they are adding another 7574 seats to our stadium over this offseason, this will take us to over 40,000 seats by October. Another reason to complete the next season is that Des Tiny is just one competition victory off the top of the Hall of Fame. The club have also signed a new Kit Sponsorship deal, worth 4.3M per season, this is going to help balance the books, but it also gives me a chance to create new kits. I am absolutely gutted with the pathetic Wage & Transfer Budget I have been given, the club has 10M in the bank come on let me have some money, guess I just go with the squad I have an sell what I can as well. Tiny also signed a new contract til 2036.

[crouchaldinho]

What an update!

For the tenth straight year he has taken out this award, no other team in Portugal even comes close anymore, Tiny thanked his players, his daughter and the board for giving him this chance 24 seasons ago, when asked what he wanted to do next Tiny laughed and said, "well maybe Football Manager 2011."

Loved this bit!

[rlipscombe]

awesome, awesome review as per usual... and it's still not complete!! hats off to the king of the review.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well I have completed my update now...as for the maybe FM11, I had to try and make a bit of a laugh somewhere in there, I am trying out new things for my next season updates.

[Ohanzee]

Congrats on another amazing season LLR. Total domination!

I'm both a bit worried but mostly very excited about the Dynamic League Reputation in FM2011. I'm wondering how the first few years of a save (in a challenge like this) will affect the leagues that are already big. If you start in a big league that league might already be at the highest possible league reputation by the time you get to the top division. If you start in on of the slightly lower leagues the reputation might even have dropped since the first season. Will the reputation affect anything other than players willingness to play in that league? Will be very interesting to see how it works out.

If at all possible, I think I will start in Holland in FM2011. By that I mean there'll have to be a promotion system that works for this challenge. Seeing as the promotion system came in place after 1 season in FM2010, I'm hoping it will already be in place in the first season in FM2011. Then it would be fine. Right now the chances of the same team promoting again that went down the first season is to big to ever get a "new team".

[PRDH]

Apologies for the cut and paste, but I was nominating some of my players for the all-stars, and I uploaded some screenshots of my current stars so I thought I'd share the post here too, just so you can see roughly what I've been up to. It follows...

Name: Anselmo

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: Brazilian

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star?: 503 appearaances, 406 goals - the driving force behind Romorantin's rise to the top of the European game has won everything including the World Cup (under my guidance)

Name: Vasconcelos

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: Brazilian

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star? Superbly talented recent addition to the squad. He is truly world-class and is also a World Cup Winner too with Anselmo.

Name: Alexey Dubinin

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: Russian

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star? One of the world's best players. This left winger could be world class in any position he chose, he is that gifted. Has played 305 games on the left wing and scored 178 goals and is Russia's and Romorantin's captain. He has been named World Footballer of the year 5 times, European footballer of the year 4 times, European midfielder of the year 6 time and World Player of the Year 5 times.

Name: Emre Demir

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: Turkish

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star?: Total all round striker. Strong in the air. Clinical in front of goal and great at setting up the chances and all of this at only 24.

Name: Dimitris Raptis

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: Greek

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star?: Hugely loyal veteran defender. Has made 633 appearances for Romorantin over the course of his career after joining as a 16-year-old. During this 16 year career he has accumulated 63 winners medals including 7 World Club Championships, 7 Champions Leagues, 1 EURO Cup, 6 European Super Cups, 8 French Cups, 9 Coupe de la Ligues, 10 Frenc Champions' Trophies, and 14 Ligue 1s as well as being shortlisted for World Footballer of the year 12 times.

Name: Gilvan

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: Brazilian

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star? This young Brazilian is absurdly talented. Strong in the tackle, great in the air, a great ball player. He's a young, Brazilian Beckenbauer - naturally a centreback he makes a great anchorman (DM) and an excellent CM.

Name: Pierrick Tafani

Challenge: Big Euro Nation

Personal Information: Info

Positions: Positions

Nationality: French

Screenshot of Attributes: Attributes

Hidden Attributes: N/A

Why should he be a SC2BC all-star?: All strikers need service and there are not many better than this Xavi like player. Great passer, boundless creativity and is also able to put his foot in to break up the play.

[ghostwriter]

Renato Curi Angolana - Serie A - Summer 2023

On the incoming side of things July was very dull as only the 3 Bosmans arrived. There was only 1 departure as well but it was quite a big one money-wise. A lot of clubs had begun sniffing about Vecera, my young Czech DC, and given one of the Bosmans was an equally good young DC I decided to see what I could get. What I could get was £8m from Udinese so off he went and my coffers swelled.

As August started I set about spending all this money. First in for £6.5m was, hopefully, the solution to the never-ending issue of MR as an Iranian came in from Real Sociedad. 3 days later the same amount brought in a brilliant Spanish / Swiss ST from Basle. That meant I could rid of both Jimenez and Saadaoui, albeit for a lot less money than I had just spent! And then I broke our transfer record again as a very good very young Portuguese D/DM/MC came in from Dynamo Kiev for £9m.

There were no more arrivals after that but a few players did leave including 2 of the young GK - one on loan to Switzerland and the Turkish one to Serie B for a cool £1m. The most mysterious departure was that of the brilliant 17y0 DC Liberati. It started when he moaned about bigger clubs and having achieved all he could at the club which, given his age and his one season here, was ridiculous. As he 4 years left on his contract I ignored him presuming that he would get over this quite quickly. The chairman obviously thought differently as the moment that a club offered good money he accepted :confused: - £1m to Siena. Odd especially as he let me refuse the £9m that was offered for Guerrero at various stages during the Summer and I am not amused at all as he is going to be a stunning player in a couple of years.

So, the arrivals are:

Alessandro Lombardi - had been a freebie, like Liberati last Summer, and he ended up in Serie C1 where not only did Ancona not play him but they only gave him a 1y contract as well, my scouts loved him saying he had Serie A potential so I signed him up straight away, doubt he will play much if at all but he is definitely one for the future and I shall be following his U20 progress

Manuel Xhaka - a classy young defender, the scouts said he could turn out very good but they might have under-estimated him, my coaches think he could be even better than that, he has become a Swiss international since I signed him and his arrival let me sell Vecera, with Balthazar's arrival he will probably play a little less than I was expecting, in a couple of seasons though he could be brilliant

Federico Liendo - no idea why I signed him, perhaps I was blinded by the fact that Defensor had spend £6.5m on him 3 years ago, he is good but not brilliant and has some versatility but I have little clue what to do with him as he won't be replacing either Loos or Domnisoru and doubt he will play much at MR either, plus I wasted a non-EU slot on him as well, will probably come off the bench from time to time

Esmael Ghasemzadeh - the moment my scout recommended him to me at the end of last year he was the player I wanted to get to play at MR, I was determined and I am very happy I got my man, looks like a fantastic winger, fast enough and dribbling and crossing is top class, once he settles he should complement Gyorev on the other side very well, it is good that all my STs are good in the air, will be straight into the 1st team ahead of a slightly unlucky Zmuda, also has the honour of being the 1st Iranian I have signed in any version of this game

Alberto Moreno - cost a fair chunk but he looks a brilliant player is our best ST, great at nearly everything, heading and pace could do with a bump or 2 but the rest is great, only slight (non-)issue is the fact that he was spent his whole career at Basle and never moved until now but a record of over 1 goal every 2 games is good enough for me, will be a direct replacement for Diego

Paulo Baltazar - £9m is a lot for a 20yo so I hope he turns out OK, however as you can see he might be worth it, rather bizarrely for a Portuguese player he came up thru the Cluj youth system in Romania(!!) :confused:, then went to Sparta Prague (where my scout found him) and he was at Dynamo Kiev last year, a slightly odd career route I think you'll agree, looks a great DC with a lot of potential to get even better whilst he would fit in at MC very well also, also had the added advantage of speaking Portuguese, Spanish and Romanian which means he should already be able to communicate with most of the defenders in my squad without an issues, 1st choice (obviously, having cost so much), hope he does OK but whatever happens this season he should be better next year

So there you go. With those signings I reckon I would be a bit disappointed not to be at least challenging for the Top 10. 2 of the signings filled holes whilst the rest strengthen the squad considerably...

However, to say we have started the season badly would be an understatement, yes we managed to squeeze past Serie B opposition in the Cup but then we visited Udinese on the 1st day of the season...things were going well when the Iranian scored a wonder goal 5 minutes into his debut and then we got a penalty 10 minutes later. But we missed it and then 4 minutes later they equalised. And then got 2 more before h/t. And 3 more the 2nd half. We lost 1-6 :o - the worst ever defeat in our history...things can hardly get any worse, hopefully that was just a blip...

[rlipscombe]

some pricy yet good signings there ghostwriter... sure that Udinese defeat was a blip and that you'll hit form soon.

[PRDH]

Right. We've got a week until the demo is released.

Time to take a quick leaf from Iacovone's book.

Romorantin have just come off another season of domestic dominance. The team is securely placed in it's new stadium. There is a thriving youth set up. An excellent standard of facilities and a healthy bank balance.

But there is news that has shaken French football to its very roots. After 10993 days in charge, legendary manager Pete Harmer has resigned from the club to take over as England manager. He says that having achieved enormous success domestically in France, and at international level with Spain and Brazil and aged 64 he only has one job left in him. He went on to say that the chance to lead out his country was something no football fan could turn down.

I am going to save the game, and let the AI have a go with Romorantin.

What will they do? Can they keep up the dominance? Will they show enough fight to keep the squad together? Or will they let it be broken up. Here's to finding out. I will holiday through (stopping to play the England games obviously!).

Let's see how what happens in France with the world's most successful manager no longer at the helm of their biggest club. Who will take over? I'd like a former player to take the helm, but I wonder whether the heirarchy have the same idea.

I'll keep you all informed.

[PRDH]

The new era has dawned. The manager has left. Followed out of the door by 18 members of his backroom staff. Many of whom have been offered jobs in the England set up. We'll see if they accept.

[edit] - My successor has been named. They've only gone and appointed manager of Lyon. Ooh!

[rlipscombe]

interesting idea PRDH... will be interested to see how Romorantin get on...

[PRDH]

Can't take too much credit - as I said, it was Iacovone's.

We've got to January already. Romorantin just about holding together - despite an ill-advised transfer policy!

[PRDH]

End of the first season of AI control.

Frankly, they've done pretty well. They retained Ligue 1 and won the Champions League.

edit - Right, I've rattled through two more seasons. The team have retained Ligue 1 both seasons. But performances in the Champions League are deteriorating.

There have also been some strange purchases, some mediocre players brought in at huge prices. They have also sold and bought back in some youngsters, at huge losses.

They don't seem to have the fight for keeping the big name players in the face of bids - as the squad has basically gone now. Some through age, some sold. They also can't judge potential seemingly - shown from the sales and re-buying. But also a number of very high quality youngsters at the club were sold to big clubs (Man Utd, Man City, Inter etc) for very low prices.

The manager is holding is own, but he's not impressing me. I think the squad is weaker than when I left.

4th Season

Well, there we go. Romorantin's run in Ligue 1 has come to an end. And not a last dayer even. They came second - 10 points adrift of Nancy. A poor performance. They are now a very rich, but also a mediocre team.

5th - won Ligue 1 again,

6th - 2nd.

7th - 2nd.

[PRDH]

Right, in one final hurrah, I'm going to let the AI take control all night on holiday. I don't know how many seasons it'll get through, but it should probably be at least 5 which will take it to 2052/53 and mean the AI has had 10 years in charge of the club.

[PRDH]

Afternoon everyone.

Quick catchup on how the AI's getting on. I'm going to do a quick run through of league finishes since I retired at the end beginning of the 2041/42 season.

41/42 - Ligue 1 - 1st - Champions

42/43 - Ligue 1 - 1st - Champions

43/44 - Ligue 1 - 1st - Champions

44/45 - Ligue 1 - 2nd - Runners-up

45/46 - Ligue 1 - 1st - Champions

46/47 - Ligue 1 - 2nd - Runners-up

47/48 - Ligue 1 - 2nd - Runners-up

48/49 - Ligue 1 - 3rd

49/50 - Ligue 1 - 2nd - Runners-up

50/51 - Ligue 1 - 2nd - Runners-up

51/52 - Ligue 1 - 12th

52/53 - Ligue 1 - 20th - Relegated

53/54 - Ligue 2 - 4th

54/55 - Ligue 2 - 10th

55/56 - Ligue 2 - 16th

56/57 - Ligue 2 - 19th - Relegated

57/58 - National - 2nd - Promoted

58/59 - Ligue 2 - 5th

59/60 - Ligue 2 - 7th

Now I'm going to draw some conclusions from this.

1/ The AI managed the team of players I left them well. This is illustrated by the continuing success over the course of their first five seasons - four championships in five years is no mean feat. They had plenty of time here as the squad I handed over to them had an average age of 22. They even won a couple Champions League in the first season.

2/ They listened to money. When big money came in for the players, they took it. This led to a slow drain of talent and deteriorating results. First in the Champions League (they went winners, quarters, 1st knockout round, and then never got out of the group again) and then in the league.

3/ The AI didn't have the ambition or ability to pick out the young players to replace those leaving. They had the money - they made £168m, £111m, £122m, £100m, £263m in transfers out of the lcub in the first 5 seasons - that's £764m over five years and yet, despite spending large sums of money they bought old, average players at their peak, rather than young, excellent players on their way up. And when they had youngsters, that came through the youth set up, they sold them early for small cash sums, rather than bringing them into the squad.

4/ Once they fell out of the Champions League the fall was pretty catastrophic. The money went, and the finances, despite a 64K seater stadium collapsed. They almost fell into administration. The board bailed them out numerous times.

5/ Very strange transfer dealings. Selling a player, buying them back the following season, then selling them again. There doesn't seem to be the idea of building a team in the game. They buy and sell players purely on needs for that season it seems. The youth set-up - thriving under my management. We had a full U-18s, who graduated either directly to the first team fringes, or into the reserve team, and loaned out. Fell to having 4 players in the reserves and purely those home-grown players who couldn't be sold in the U-18s.

Conclusion

The AI's 19 years in charge oversaw a steady decline in standing, falling from domestic gods to the National league. The management showed that with the right players they can get the best out of them. Winning three more titles and a champions league with my squad. However, they didn't have the ability to build a team, and a future group of players to replace the high-profile exits. It was this which contributed to the fall.

Perhaps my level of scouting and you purchasing had kept us buying above ourselves as we snapped up world class players young and tried our hardest to keep them happy and to fend off advances until I was ready to sell.

I have to say, I never thought they'd get relegated. I hoped they'd be less successful than me, to make me feel better, but I thought, with the infrastructure (top class training and youth facilites, and a 64,000 seater stadium) they would have stayed a comfortable top flight club of the PSG, Lyon, Marseille variety, challenging for the title and the cups. But they imploded.

[G-Wiz]

^^ thats crazy!!

i havent had much opportunity to continue either my Lubeck or Marmaris saves, so perhaps gonna wait til FM11 comes out and start again in Turkey, may play these saves from time to time, havent decided yet...

i have to say ive really enjoyed taking part in the challenge and completing the challenge with VfB Lubeck, so ill certainly be taking part again next year.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

I am attempting to motor through my last season of Evora before FM11 comes out, I am off work from Friday 5th and through Wednesday 10th, so get a good period of play time in on the new game, just cancelled the Zaavi order as it is now cheaper for me on Steam, love how badly the US Dollar is doing, cost me $52NZ which is half the price it is in store here at $110.

Cannot wait for the new one, I played a little bit of the Demo, but now trying to finish the season and the World Cup with England before Friday. (I may be completing it on Friday morning while waiting for the Midday (or so) release time here...

[ghostwriter]

Renato Curi Angolana - Christmas 2023

As mentioned previously we started the season off with an utter disaster away at Udinese - losing 1-6, our record defeat. Things did not get much better when we lost at home to Livorno (Udinese promptly lost their 2nd match 1-6 ) and then at Roma. 3 defeats, bottom and a visit from AC Milan next up. However, thanks to an Aílton masterclass in goal we squeezed out a 1-0 win. And then followed it by beating Lecce 3-1 despite them have more shots, again thanks to Aílton. After last season's matches I was expecting a thrashing from our visit to champions Genoa but another Aílton masterclass resulted in a goalless draw.

It was promptly time to play dreadfully again as we capitulated at newly promoted (and rich) Pescara (recently in Serie C1). We then unexpectedly trashed Fiorentina at home via the 1st of hopefully several stunning performances from Moreno. A dodgy home draw and a Candela hat-trick inspired win later and Inter visited. And it is not really a match I want to discuss except to say that we were 0-5 down after 41 minutes . We weren't exactly much better at home to Palermo either. We were against Napoli though as another title challenger was held to a goalless draw. We strolled past Vicenza whilst the only reason we weren't thrashed out of sight by Lazio and only lost 0-1 was because of Aílton's heroics in goal. We finished 2023 with a dull goalless draw at Reggina.

So we are in 11th place (check out Udinese, that 6-1 opening day win over us provided them with half their wins and over a third of their goals so far, oh dear!). Despite being 6 positions better than we were at the same stage last season we have exactly the same number of points, a worse scoring rate, a worse defensive record and are much closer to 18th. So all in all, not exactly much improvement! To be fair, if you discount the 2 absolute maulings we received we only conceded a goal a game. But that is only because of the magnificence of Aílton in goal, without him I dread to think how many less points we would have. Him and Moreno up front have been the only players performing to any standard so far this season. Our defence has been dire, averaging about 6.5 between them. Our strikers aren't really scoring, our wingers aren't assisting and we have had a load of injuries. Some of this could be because of the strange schedule this season, 3 times we have had 3 weeks between matches which means many more midweek games and much more chopping and changing of lineups.

As for the signings, the Bosmans have been "OK", Moreno really rather good, the Iranian a bit disappointing and as for Balthazar he is safely on course to win the worst signing of the season award - half the time he has been injured, the other half he has been pretty rubbish. He can only improve.

Clearly given how we have played relegation avoidance has to be the main aim. We should be too good to get dragged into it but you never know. Looking more optimistically, despite playing so badly we are only a couple of wins from the European spots...

[rlipscombe]

ghostwriter - close league then... hopefully you can hit a bit of form and move on upwards. good luck

LLR - wish i had that time off... looking forward to Friday - i tried the demo but it didn't work for me... supposedly the game should work though as if can run FM10 then can run FM11.... best had!! Any decision where you're heading first??

As forme and Mannheim, i finished my Bundesliga II season. going to try and get review up soon....

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Rlips - Can't wait for your review, and I have a break around this time every year, planned because late november/early december is our busiest time at work so I have a break before it, but this year just happens to coincide with the release. As for where I am headed, I really think I want to give Italy a go in FM11.

[rlipscombe]

i'll try and get the review up tomorrow... As for FM11, i think i'm heading back to Italy too. unfinished business there

[PRDH]

I'm yet to decide. I enjoyed the challenge of France, but was annoyed by players still wanting to leave for bigger clubs. Hopefully the dynamic league reputations will change that.

I'm being tempted by Holland (if it's working well) or Germany. But, having said that, Spain and POrtugal are tempting. Not France or Italy though. They're done for now.

[rlipscombe]

i've enjoyed my short stint in Germany but as Mannheim have been demoted further down the leagues i can't play as them and at the moment i don't really want to be another German team.

[G-Wiz]

As for FM11, i think i'm heading back to Italy too. unfinished business there

likewise, would like to try out with Angri again after losing my save, but will see what happens...otherwise Turkey is where im gonna go again i reckon

[rancer890]

Is there any plans to use XML files in the FM11 challenge? I had a lot of fun in the German 7th tier...

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Probably not, like with Dafuge I think we plan to keep this challenge within the current game set-ups, there is more than enough depth in the game already in Big Europe.

[rlipscombe]

Probably not, like with Dafuge I think we plan to keep this challenge within the current game set-ups, there is more than enough depth in the game already in Big Europe.

i agree - think this challenge is strong enough without it...

[PRDH]

Are we all ready for tomorrow? What's everyone's plan? My copy gets delivered first thing, and I've got a train journey this afternoon to plan where I'm going to go. Spain? Portugal? Germany? Holland?

You'll find out tomorrow. Is the new thread ready to go? I wonder who'll be the first to get through a season and the first to complete. All the excitement of the first day to come.

[iacovone]

Hello All!!

Just dipped in here to see how everything was looking pre-FM11. PRDH - can't believe what happened to Romarantin under the AI!! Savona got stronger if anything once I resigned.

So the new game is out tomorrow? Got to be honest, I don't think I'll be picking it up for a while (if at all). My job and other commitments have really taken a toll these last 6 months. Sad to say iacovone may be in retirement .

But if I do make the purchase, you can be sure I'll be heading back to Italy! Good luck all, hope you're all well and the new thread gets going soon! I'll always have a peek into my spiritual home now and again

[crouchaldinho]

Sad to say iacovone may be in retirement .

Say it isn't so!

[G-Wiz]

i hope the new game can tempt you out of retirement iacovone. im looking forward to the release, been playing the demo just to get a feel for the new features etc, not sure if ill be picking it up tomorrow but hopefully shortly after.

i shall be back to do this challenge again

[PRDH]

My copy has arrived a day early! I've just installed it!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

It is a sad day to see someone go, we will miss you around here as well Iacovone, thank you for being one of the building blocks that led this thread to becoming the Community Spirit winner this season. Hopefully you come from retirement at some point and we can see you back here.

[PRDH]

Wow. Just saw that Iacovone, hopefully we'll see you back around here at some point.

[ghostwriter]

Renato Curi Angolana - Serie A - 2023/24

Midtable at Christmas

No new arrivals in January apart from the signing up of a useful looking young Spanish utility midfielder for the Summer but there were a few leavers. I got rid of 2 more goalkeepers for good money but towards the end of the month I got a huge shock when Juventus offered £17.25m for Paulo Baltazar :o who so far in his RCA career had been a mix of injured and rubbish. The chairman obviously did not turn that down and neither would have I if given the choice, I would have negociated any offer above £10m and probably accepted a few million less than this. I had a quick look around for a replacement DC but in the end I decided to stick with what I had.

2024 started the way 2023 ended with a dire 0-0 draw (1 shot on target between us). A visit to Parma brought us a good come-from-behind 3-2 win with Aílton again our best player on the pitch. A visit from Juventus brought inevitable defeat before we slightly got our revenge on Udinese beating them 3-0 (not too sure how they are so bad, they have some great players and 3 STs I would love to have). A trip to Livorno brought embarrassment as 3 late goals gave them a 4-1 win. Our eclectic form continued with a win over Roma and a good performance against Milan, only a late winner preventing us from getting a point. We should have beaten Lecce whilst we did, somehow, beat reigning champions Genoa 1-0 at home, yet more brilliance from Aílton. An away defeat was followed by a hat-trick of Moreno assists as we romped past Siena. We were pretty much entrenched in midtable by this stage, little chance of relegation, little chance of Europe.

Salernitana visited next and we were dire, yes we took an early lead but they could easily have scored 3 or 4, luckily they only got the one. A waltz past Pescara and then an unlucky defeat at Palermo later and we visited Inter. And did one better than our home match, we only lost 0-4 this time! When we lost a 3rd match in a row I was a little bit concerned but 7 points from our next 3 games whilst only conceding 1 goal eased that concern a lot. And our final 3 matches ended 0-1, 3-0 and 0-1 (against Juventus, confirming their title).

So we ended in 11th place which would have been 8th or 9th if we had not lost the last match. An 11th place which is more or less where we deserved to end up. Despite nearly finishing a higher position that was most definitely not an improvement - 5 more defeats, 7 less points, 8 less goals and 7 more conceded. Our home record was good and our away record was basically bad. To be fair although our defensive record was not very good, we had 4 very bad results and taking away those 19 goals we conceded under a goal a game, unfortunately those 4 very bad results did actually happen. And the only reason we conceded so few was our GK, Aílton, in a quarter of the games he was our best player and in around 80% he was better than any of our defenders. Our strikers could not really score whilst our wingers totally failed to provide assists and as for our defence, I still have no idea who the 1st choice lineup is (at DC anyway, we must have played with 15+ different pairings during the season). All in all, it is a miracle we finished so high!

Final Squad - how bad are our defensive ratings

Final Summary

Finances - Baltazar helped

Transfers - Moreno was great, the Iranian disappointing whilst I did not buy Baltazar to sell him 6 months later but I have no complaints there, Xhaka is not ready for Serie A, Liendo proved relatively useful and Lombardi is for the future

Our "better" players were:

Best GK - Aílton - was even better than last season and without him I dread to think where we would have ended up, maybe not relegated but definitely in some trouble, was our Player of the Season and the Besk GK in Serie A, can't really see anyone replacing in the near future, my scouts recommend loads of players who are better on paper but I have no desire to get them, his biggest danger is probably Mazur who is getting better and better all the time

Least Worst Defenders - Cornel Negru and Marko Georgiev - as I said the best of the worst ie. not exactly great, they both had some horrible games and some good ones but mainly were decidedly average, better play from them and all of my defenders would be nice

Best Left Wingers - Svetlozar Gyorev and Angelo Fiorentini - Gyorev began as he played last season but gradually deteriorated and then moaned about bigger clubs so Fiorentini came in and did pretty well, a combined assist total of 2 is pretty horrific for the ML position though, tempted to abandon wingers if this is how well they play, no MRs are mentioned as the Iranian really was not very good, hope he improves next season

Best Midfielder - Bogdan Domnisoru - not as good as last season but he is still improving at a rate of knots, is first choice MC now having overtaken Loos and I fear that some big offers might come flying in, I am sure he is capable of brilliance but so far he has not really shown it to be honest

Best Striker - Alberto Moreno - the one successful signing from last year, was the runner up for Serie A signing of the season and played very well, could have scored a few more but contributed a fair number of assists as well, something similar next season would do nicely if I could find a prolific scorer to play next to him

I think there will be a tactical reshuffle in the Summer as we must change the way we play given that we cannot rely on Aílton to not concede goals. Apart from that some of the squad players will leave (Hamrouni, Coulibaly) whilst I need one new ST and I definitely will be sniffing around some DC especially as Jacobo (albeit rubbish this season) might end up at Catania because of co-ownership.

For a second season slump (which we have had in every division) that was not that bad in relation to position, everything else was quite bad! I think I should be aiming for the top 10 and on the fringes of European qualification.

　

10/11 - Serie C2/B - 7th

11/12 - Serie C2/B - 13th

12/13 - Serie C2/B - 2nd (promoted via playoffs)

13/14 - Serie C1/B - 8th

14/15 - Serie C1/B - 10th

15/16 - Serie C1/B - 5th (lost in playoff semi-finals)

16/17 - Serie C1/B - 2nd (promoted via playoffs)

17/18 - Serie B - 13th

18/19 - Serie B - 18th (survived via playouts)

19/20 - Serie B - 3rd (lost in playoff semi-finals)

20/21 - Serie B - 9th

21/22 - Serie B - 1st (Champions!)

22/23 - Serie A - 10th

23/24 - Serie A - 11th

Team I Would Like To Play Every Week - Parma (18th) - A3-2, H3-0

Team I Would Not Like To Play Every Week - Inter (2nd) - H0-5, A0-4

Best 11

Overall Best 11

The 100 League Appearances Club

The 100 League Appearances Club

                          Apps Gls Asts MoM  AvR
Jacobo (ESP)               211   5    1   2   6.86
DC (2018-)
Aiman Napoli               210  98   54  29   7.12
ST (2012-2022)
Diego (ESP)                209  96   39  19   7.08
ST (2018-)
Fabian Remy (SUI)          203   -    -   4   6.87
GK (2013-2019)
Aílton (BRA)               189   -    -  15   7.00
GK (2016-)
Francesco Antonelli        159  13    7   4   6.93
DC (2013-2018)
Ivo Jazbec (SLO)           145   3    6   1   6.92
DRC/DM/MRC (2018-)
Marco Palermo              139   7   18   2   6.91
D/DM/MC (2018-)
Marcos Agudo (ESP)         132   8    7   9   7.08
DRC/DM/MRC (2014-2018)
Francesco Della Rocca      130   7   21   4   6.92
MC (2011-2017)
Asier Sarriegi (ESP)       129   9   30   9   7.06
MC (2015-2019)
Radek Loos (CZE)           127  12   41   7   7.37
MC (2020-)
Francesco Tacchinardi      126  64   18  14   6.99
ST (2014-2019)
Jean-Martial Kipré (CIV)   122   1   17   4   6.98
D/WBR (2012-2017)
Ivan (ESP)                 119   0    2   0   6.73
DLC/WBL (2018-2021)
Francesco Stella           118  17   18   6   7.11
MR (2013-2017)
Andrea De Rose             117   0    4   4   6.86
DLC (2012-2019)
Jorge Loeschbor (ARG)      116   3   13   2   6.93
D/WB/ML (2015-2021)
Guiliano Sguera            111   3    2   1   6.89
DC (2013-2019)
Abdelkrim Hamrouni (TUN)   106  15   12   7   7.03
AMRC/FC (2017-)
Aleksander Zmuda (POL)     101   8   12   9   7.07
AMR (2020-)
Wim Kuipers (NED)          101   3   13   1   6.85
MC (2015-2018)

[ghostwriter]

As mentioned I am intending on continuing with this game and not buying FM11. However, given that it has just come out and there will be probably only be me posting in here I doubt I will update to as much detail as before.

In any case, the next season does not really warrant updating. I am currently in February and we are deep in the relegation zone and have not won in 11 games . To be honest I have absolutely no idea where a win will come from and why we are playing so badly so I fully expect Serie B football next season. Which given how badly we have played this season might be a blessing in disguise as it means I can sort of start all over again. I have to say going from top 10 to relegation in 2 seasons whilst improving the squad no end is an impressive feat! Not one I am particularly proud of though...but you never know maybe we can somehow drag ourselves out of the mess we are in.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Ouch ghost, that is not a good turnaround, you need to maybe let the team gel and see if they improve rather than the continuous improving...