FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[corinthiano]

Great season LLR - de Man looks like he was a decent replacement for Sedlacek. Some of the youngsters you have signed for next season look to have huge potential. Can we arrange a loan deal for Çomaktekin, I am in dire need of a RB

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Thanks DodgeeD, I don't know if they are on the wane, I think they will be back, they did just sell Fabergas (To Granada). I just think they slipped up early in the last season and it took them all season to recover.

Thanks Corinthiano, he was good enough to do the job, and it looks like he will do well this season as well. I tried to bring in a bunch of young guys who might be able to do something, and sure a loan deal sounds like a good idea, he is third or fourth on my list with Ostergaard, Garner, and then Pedersen. I am quite pleased with the youngsters, hoping some of them can be back-ups this season.

[PRDH]

Great season LLR. Title next season. Champions' League the next. Bish, bash, bosh. Another completion. (Maybe!)

Really like Legendre. I feel his name might give some indication of how he'll be viewed in years to come...

[corinthiano]

Hacettepe Spor Kulübü 2016/17 – Bank Asya 1. Lig

Bank Asya 1. Lig

Media Prediction: 16th

Board Expectation: Avoid Relegation

My Target: Avoid Relegation

League Table: 4th ǁ Position Graph

It was a pretty average season with us hovering around mid-table after until there were 9 games left in the season. An amazing run of 6 wins and 3 draws put us right in the mix for promotion and a playoff place. On the final day of the season we were even in a promotion place for 20 minutes before Bozüyükspor turned their game around and clinched promotion. But the important thing was, unlike the 2. Lig playoffs we actually went into the playoff off the back of a great run.

Promotion Playoffs

Semi Final First Leg – It was a pretty tense and uneventful game until Jozinovic’s 5 minutes of madness. First he scored a clever header from a free-kick and a couple of minutes later lunged into an opposition player and got himself sent-off. We managed to hold on to an important lead though.

Semi Final Second Leg – The game started excellently and within twenty minutes we were 2-0 up and cruising. We got complacent at half time and a couple of goals conceded halfway through the half ensured a tense finale. Again, we managed to hold on making it to the final!

Final – You can certainly say it was an interesting game! I had the upper hand in the 13th minute when Adana D.S. got a player sent off for elbowing one of our defenders. Despite us being dominant after that it was Adana D.S. who broke the deadlock and I feared the worst. We did however manage to equalize in the first half and take the lead early in the second. After that it was pretty comfortable and we secured promotion!

Ziraat Türkiye Kupası

Fixtures

It was a decent run where we beat Süper Lig side Göztepe in extra time before losing to eventual winners Samsunspor away.

Hacettepe

Transfers ǁ Squad - Defence ǁ

This season was all about signing key players and all signings were straight shoe-ins for the first team. The foreign players were way better than anything we had at the club and made all the difference.

First XI

*denotes a Hacettepe youth product

GK: Ceyhun Demircan – Was solid again, keeping 17 clean sheets in 40 matches. Shouldn’t have a problem making the step-up to the top tier.

DR: Fahri Akyol – Regained his place in the first team this season, but I am not entirely happy with him.

DC: *Eyüp Özçelik* – Suffered a lot with injuries this year, but still had a good season.

DC: Sanjin Gavric – One of the foreigners brought in, an absolute rock in defence.

DL: Deniz Isik – Brought in for the left-back spot, OK for this league, not sure about next season.

DMC: Antonio Jozinovic – The other foreigner brought in, helped turn our defence into the best of the league.

MC: Mohammed Al-Sallal – Boy was I glad when his agent offered me this gem, by far our best player and with plenty of room to improve. He has a 100k release clause, so I am trying to get him to sing a new contract as soon as possible as there are some clubs sniffing around.

MC: Hasan Türk – And I thought my MC pairing would never be replaced…Hasan was brought in on a free and was part of a strong revamped midfield.

AMC: Azer Abbasov – Not considered foreign due to his Azeri roots, was voted Fans Player of the Season.

ST: Mehmet Düz – Ergun got injured and he came back to the team and did a better job, but generally we weren’t great up front.

ST: Onur Garip – Think the club legend could be nearing the end of his Hacettepe career, I already have two new strikers coming in the summer and he will be used as back-up. Broke the league appearance record this season.

Others

Ergun Cengiz – Not the same this season, started as a first teamer but lost his places to Mehmet.

*Güney Avcu* – Youth product that got plenty of chanves this season, unfortunately no goal for him yet.

Levent Çalik – Played a lot due to Özçelik’s injuries and did well.

*Mümin Bas* – Another promising youth product, but his contract is expiring and I am struggling to get him to sign a new deal.

*Serkan Kiraz* – Didn’t progress as much as I hoped he would, but still has potential.

Other News

Finances – There was atakeover at the club and the chairman took out a 4.5 M loan to cover our debt, but even without the loan we would have made a profit for the season. I think we should do well financially from now on though seeing as there is a lot of money in the Süper Lig and our sponsorship deal surely helps.

I won the Manager of the Year award again and we had two players in the division Best XI, also again. Additionaly Mohammed Al-Sallal was voted Young Player of the Year and Azer Abbasov was Foreign Player of the Year. We were also overachievers of the season and Azer Abbasov was the second best signing of the season.

This Season Targets

1. Avoid Relegation. Yes, slightly overachieved there

2. Sign 3 foreigners that could make a difference. Yes, they were absolutely vital and even won awards.

3. Try to make a profit Yes, sure the loan was the main contributor, but we would have made a profit even without it.

Next Season Targets

1. Avoid Relegation again.

2. Sign 3 further foreigners that could make a difference.

3. Find some decent Turkish players.

Going up so soon was unexpected (even though DodgeeD said it was possible ) and I think we might struggle at the top. Getting some good foreigners will be key again as I just can’t find many good Turkish players available on a free. Next season will be all about avoiding the drop as the finances should improve each year if we keep at the top.

Career Overview

Season       League          Pos        Türkiye Kupası        Europe           Other Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13      2. Lig          2nd        Second Round          N/A              Lost in Playoff Semi-Finals
2013/14      2. Lig          3rd        First Round           N/A              Lost in Playoff Quarter-Finals
2014/15      2. Lig          2nd        First Round           N/A              Lost in Playoff Semi-Finals
2015/16      2. Lig          1st        Quarter-Final         N/A              Promotion
2016/17      1. Lig          4th        Third Round           N/A              Promotion via Playoffs

[PRDH]

Amazing corinthiano! Congratulations. Really storming up the leagues now!

[aldojags]

corinthiano - good job on the promotion, that you premier league now?

great season there llr - your keeper is fantastic. Cox + Medina look superb of the new signings, bright future for you I think. Shame Montiquin didn't keep up his standards but I'm sure he'll be back next season!

aldojags Sounds like Roger is going to be a superstar, how many has he scored this season?

Only 4 manku - mainly been used off the bench when we're winning out of sight, but between now and end of season I reckon I'm going to just throw him in, treat him like a first team regular. His attributes are improving all the time, just need to improve his pace (11) and I think when he matures he'll be a complete centre forward. He holds the ball up brilliantly already. Coaches all fancy him as an advanced forward, that's what I've been doing with him, and he picks it up and lays it off well for other players. Really cannot wait to see what he'll be like in say 5-10 years, if I keep him that is :confused:

[corinthiano]

Yep, that is us in the top league. Already signed loads of players, absolutely exploded the budget, but oh well...

[aldojags]

I'm the board will happily increase it for you given you've climbed the leagues so quickly. So what's the structure of Turkish Prem? You likely to stay up? Whose been winning it past few seasons?

[PRDH]

That's a nice way to start the new era in Lusitânia Açores' desire for self-sufficiency. After a fight with my board I have managed to get the youth recruitment network extended. It is now 'well established'. That can only be a good thing as I start to rely wholly on what they produce! Hopefully I'll still get some decent real local lads through though.

Edit - And the policy is already starting to bite. Non-home-grown players Bentalaa and Jellouli are leaving when the transfer window opens in January. Bentalaa leaves as a first team regular, but in a position where we have some talented local boys while Jellouli has potential, but hasn't broken into the first team yet, and again, we have some decent youth products in his position.

[aldojags]

Impressed you are sticking to your laurels so early! I thought you'd hold onto as many as you could for as long as you could, but you obviously have faith in the youngsters, I hope they repay u! Have you got excellent junior coaching? I can see some starlets coming through next few seasons to further compound my jealousy of your save!!

Are you back into your save now PRDH? I remember you saying along with iacovone you were finding it hard to be interested? Now that you've given yourself a new challenge, you think you'll stick with the save a while longer?

[PRDH]

aldojags - Well, they're positions where I've got reasonably established players. Rodrigues on the right was basically first choice anyway, and Teixeira in midfield has been around for a while. Yeah, really back into it now with this challenge. Very excited.

Just put out my first all homegrown squad - even subs. It's against Beira-Mar in the 6th round of the cup. Not even a first choice squad. Left Rodrigues, Dias, Cardoso and Vieira on the bench. It didn't start well. We went 1-0 down in the 8th minute. But a goal in the 22nd took us into half time level. The second half saw us put on a real display and emerge as 1-5 victors. This gives me real confidence for what I'm trying to do. Would still like a right-back and left winger to come through though.

Edit - Oh, and yeah, excellent junior coaching, state of the art youth and training facilities and well-established youth recruitment. I've got the best chance of getting quality players through and also the best chance of them reaching that potential. Fingers crossed...

[corinthiano]

I'm the board will happily increase it for you given you've climbed the leagues so quickly. So what's the structure of Turkish Prem? You likely to stay up? Whose been winning it past few seasons?

It is pretty simple, 18 teams, 34 games, team with most points win. They took out the Championship Playoff in the latest patch, which makes things a lot easier! Fenerbahce have been the dominating side, winning 4 out of the 6 in-game season, with Galatasaray and Trabzonspor winning the other two. Things have started well we have 7 points from 4 games and dont look out of place. Of course it is way too early to say I will stay up.

One thing which I like a lot in the top division is that you get € 346k for every win and € 174k for every draw in the league

[DodgeeD]

Congrats on the promotion corinthiano. No play-offs with the new patch? That almost tempts me to start again

[corinthiano]

Haha, yeah the championship playoffs only run in the first season and then the league goes back to "normal" after that. Have to say I much prefer the straight forward league!

Just had my first game against one of the big three Istanbul sides and it was not pretty, got trounced 4-0 away to Besiktas!

[Manku]

Ramon Ramirez's

Real Massama

2016/2017

Recap

Liga Vitalis

Media Prediction: 15th

Board Expectation: Top Half Finish

My Target: Promotion

Table (Graph) | Squad | Transfers

Liga Vitalis:

We absolutely sucked this season. I signed some promising players for the midfield but they were all very defensive minded. Also I had no playmakers, which meant no goals for me. I lost as many times as the last couple seasons (13), but unfortunately my mistakes lead the team not being able to win the games we were supposed to. We just couldn't score. It was horrible. We ended up just above relegation zone, and for the first time ever I feared I would be fired from a club.

Taca de Portugal:

Lost to Freamunde on PKs on the 2nd round, it's the 4th time in 5 years that I'm out of the competition after losing on penalty kicks. It seems like we just can't do it.

Portuguese League Cup:

Ended last in the 1st phase with a (1W-2L) record. Not much else to point out about this one.

Key Players:

GK: Polaco A very good young goalkeeper. He has been with us for a couple years now and is improving a lot.

DC: Juan Jose Paredes[/url]Our best center defender, great player in the air, a little slow. He doesn't seem interested in signing a new contract, which means he won't be with us next season.

DL: Rastislav Straka I must confess, I regretted signing him a couple years ago. He was a promising player, but not good enough for what he was earning. Right now, I'm glad I signed him. He is very consistent defensively. The only thing I don't like about him is that he is not good offensively.

DM/DC: Xia Zhenyu I had many troubles with this guy. He was homesick, so I let him go home. When he returned he kept complaining, I ignored him and he stopped complaining. He's adapted now, and ready to be a brick wall behind my creative mids.

AMR: Peter Menningen I signed him to be behind Fabio Martins, but he ended up playing better than Fabio. I gave him the starting spot and he seemed to improve as the season went on.

ST/AML: Gonzalo Gallo Our best scorer, and basically the only one who scored goals. I'm confident that with a couple good playmakers behind him, he will be even better next season.

Future:

Hopefully we'll be able to get back on track, and the new guys in the middle can start taking control of the game again for me.

Aims:

Finish top 6

Score at least 37

Concede less than 33

[corinthiano]

Tough season there Manku, hope things improve next season for you. Shame you couldnt get Paredes to sign a new deal as well, he looks like a very decent player? How are your finances doing?

[Manku]

corinthiano, finances are not very well at all, we have a 2M loan from the bank. I was hoping to do what I did with my Boavista save and sell some of the developed youngsters to balance the finances, but I guess I didn't expect to get stuck on Liga Vitalis.

And now my best player, Gallo, wants to leave. I'm in big trouble.

[corinthiano]

Selling squad players for a good fee only tends to happen in the top tier, very true. Bad news on the Gallo front, are there any clubs interested in him? What sort of fee would you be able to get and most importantly, would you be able to replace him?

Just noticed a very weird thing in my save, Mali have been No.1 in the World Rankings for most of 2017...Granted they have won the African Cup of Nations and all their matches in 2017 bar two, but all of them were against African competition apart from Germany, a match they drew 2-2.

[Manku]

I Pacos de Ferreira offered me 200k for him, but he rejected the contract. He has one year left in his contract and doesn't even want to talk to me. For some reason all my best players' agents hate me, which makes everything even harder. I just hope I can sell him before the window closes, I don't want to lose him without getting any money from it. I did already replaced him with Melgarejo, who played very well in the preseason, but it's hard to replace Gallo.

I'm sure Mali won't stay there for long. In one of my other saves I saw Portugal being ranked 60something, which is very weird when you have the likes of Nani, and Ronaldo, on your team

[corinthiano]

Melgarejo looks like a decent replacement for Gallo, hope you manage to get some money for Gallo, like you said it would be a shame to lose him for nothing.

[aldojags]

Tough season there manku, just need to rebuild. You've got the foundations there, just need the creativity like you said. Melgarejo will make you more dangerous definitely. Shame your losing that Peruvian defender he looks solid.

That's strange about Mali! My rankings are all pretty much what you'd expect, except Belgium in 4th who are current World & European champions...don't ask how because I don't know...

[Manku]

Yeah, Aldo, Paredes was a pretty good. He's playing in Spain now and earning 3 times more what I could pay him. He served me well, hopefully the replacements will do the job. This season I decided to let go a bunch of guys and replace them with loaned players. The backbone is still the same, loaned players just help me balance the finances.

About Belgium, I'm not surprised at all. I think Belgium has a bright future ahead of them, they have many young players coming up. I can see them getting far in 2014 and even being a serious contender in 2016. And, I guess the programers share the same opinion, because Courtois, Kompany, Vermaelen, Witsel, Fellaini, Hazard, Defour, and Lukaku will be/are world class players.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist’s 2031/32 End of Season Report - Farewell to the Shire

Season             League            Pos           Cups                      Europe     Award
2012/13            Sc Div 3          1st           No comment                n/a        Manager of the Year
2013/14            Sc Div 2          1st           Challenge Cup Finalists   n/a        Manager of the Year
2014/15            Sc Div 1          3rd           CC Winners & SC Final     qual       None
2015/16            Sc Div 1          2nd           CC & SC Winners, LC R/U   EC 3Q      Manager of the Year
2016/17            Sc Div 1          1st           Challenge Cup Winners     EC 4Q      Manager of the Year
2017/18            Sc Prem           5th           LC Final                  qual       None
2018/19            Sc Prem           7th           LC Winners                EC R2      Manager of the Year 
2019/20            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners, LC R/U        n/a        Manager of the Year
2020/21            Sc Prem           1st           SC & LC Winners           EC Winners Manager of the Year
2021/22            Sc Prem           1st           SC Winners                cc Q/F     Manager of the Year
2022/23            Sc Prem           1st           LC R/U                    CC R1      Manager of the Year 
2023/24            Sc Prem           1st           LC R/U, SC Winners        CC R1      Manager of the Year
2024/25            Sc Prem           1st           SC R/U                    CC Q/F     Manager of the Year
2025/26            Sc Prem           1st           SC, LC                    CC Q/F     None
2026/27            Sc Prem           1st           SC, LC                    CC Q/F     Manager of the Year
2027/28            Sc Prem           1st           LC                        CC Q/F     None
2028/29            Sc Prem           1st           LC                        CC Q/F     Manager of the Year
2029/30            Sc Prem           1st           LC, SC                    CC Final   Manager of the Year
2030/31            Sc Prem           1st           LC, SC                    Winners    Manager of the Year
2031/32            Sc Prem           1st           ESC, WCC, LC, sc          Winners    (Unbelievably) Nothing

League

Squad

Transfers

After winning the Champions League last season and completing the challenge, I decided to stay one more season at East Stirlingshire and take a victory lap. In my last report I didn’t mention my main reason for doing this; I had never had an undefeated season in the league.

So here’s my record for the season, (in all competitions).

W62, D2, L0

The 62 wins include winning the Champions League in extra time and the League Cup in a penalty shootout. Maybe they should count as draws. If only I'd done a little bit better, I might have won the Manager of the Year award.

The draws were away to Inter in the Champions League, and, frustratingly, at home to Celtic in the 31^st league game when I had the goal of a perfect season in my sights.

So, Rangers didn’t manage to make the league competitive again, but a couple of the finals were quite exciting, and of course the end of the league season was more nerve wracking than usual with the unbeaten record at stake.

Chelsea (our favourite whipping boys) actually put up a bit of a fight in the Champions league final, and had the audacity to even go ahead, the cheeky minnows. We’re East Stirlingshire. Who the hell are you?

It’s hard to imagine leaving the Shire, but there’s not really a whole lot else I can achieve. It would take me about another 4 seasons to become top of the hall of fame, and I did that in last year’s game anyway.

So I’m loading up the Spanish league and I’ll start at the bottom of that.

The Scottish managers job came up (after I told the press I was interested even while the previous guy was still there). So far the only match I’ve had with them was a friendly against East Stirlingshire, where they were nearly beaten by 2 of my strikers and 2 of my goalkeepers, one of whom was playing in central defence. The other 7 players were greys. Absolutely ages until a competitive fixture. It’s fun your international team being able to play a club side, but it’s undermined somewhat if your entire squad is on international duty elsewhere. However, it will be fun to see if Scotland can beat my Spanish basement side next season. Frustratingly, my players who haven’t picked up an international cap, and could take Scottish nationality, show no inclination to do so if they’re already an EU national.

So, see you when I get to Spain.

Just to be clear. For the challenge can I take over any team, as my present incarnation, world-wide rep and all, as long as they were not in the bottom division in 2031/32? Or is it if they weren't in the bottom division in 2012/13? This seems a bit unfair if they've spent the last 18 or 19 years in the league.

In any case, i will try to find a complete virgin team to have my way with, untainted by any hint of domestic league history.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

They have to have not been in the league in 2011/12 & also not in 2031/32, they have to be unplayable at the beginning of the game and also newly promoted this season.

A great season there Vikeologist, good luck with your Spanish club, and the Scots.

[corinthiano]

vikeologist - a great way to finish off your career at East Stirling, a truly amazing season. Best of luck in Spain!

[vikeologist]

They have to have not been in the league in 2011/12 & also not in 2031/32, they have to be unplayable at the beginning of the game and also newly promoted this season.

A great season there Vikeologist, good luck with your Spanish club, and the Scots.

Thanks. Hopefully that will still leave me with lots of options.

[Andy Sava]

9 games left in this season and currently sitting in 15th place but so much bullcrap happened in my last game. I was playing the 2nd team in the league, they score 2 very lucky goals and after that they get two of my best players injured for 3-4 months each...so stupid.

Edit: So this is becoming even more stupid. My left full backs got injured at least 2 times each in this second part of the season...and i have 4.

[aldojags]

I remember my first few seasons, the injury situation got on my nerves, every week I'd lose someone, sometimes only for 2-3 weeks, sometimes for 3-4 months. When I got to Ligue 1, I must admit I've been fairly fortunate, but this season both Oneil Tatlot + Tony Champion, pretty much my 2 most important players, are both currently out for months, but that's been the first injury that's annoyed me for years. But I feel your pain, it does get to points where you think there's a glitch in the game.

Another thing that's happened to me a few times is I use a sub to replace an injured player, then the sub get's injured soon after. I've finished plenty matches with 10 men because of injuries, I tend to use my subs early if things aren't going well, but it's tripped me up a couple of times.

[corinthiano]

Yeah I had that last season too, got to a point where one of my midfielders would get injured every game, so frustrating! I only ever make two subs exactly because of what you mentioned aldojags, happens quite a bit that a player is injured at the end of the game so I dont have to play it out with 10.

[aldojags]

Yeah I've stopped it recently, as it left me with 10 men quite a few times.

Well my policy of playing a reserve/u-19 team in Europa league, like last season, is working wonders. Got Shaktar away in first leg of first knockout round, sent a very average second string with a few under 19s, won 5-0 away!! Played a similar team at home, drew 4-4! Got AZ in the next round. Can't get over the 5-0 away to Shaktar though, unbelievable. Even a couple of u19s scored.

[Romanista1994]

corinthiano - Well done getting consecutive promotions.

Manku - Shame that you didn't continue to progress this season, but I'm sure it was just a blip.

vikeologist - Massive congrats, completing the challenge in Scotland is huge. Good luck wherever you end up next.

aldojags - Keep building up the squad and you'll soon get there. Those Europa League results will also be huge for the development of your youngsters. Did Ilan Roger play in any of the games?

PRDH - Glad to see you're back into your save. Your new transfer strategy looks very interesting.

LLR - Great season after last year's disappointment. Really building for the future with those youngsters.

[aldojags]

Yeah he played in both the Europa games, couple of assists I think but surprising didn't score any of the 9 goals over the tie. He's got 4 goals this season so far, only started handful of games, mostly used him off the bench. He's just been called up to French U-21 squad at the age of 16, totally bypassed U-19 level. Think he's destined for greatness.

[corinthiano]

Hacettepe Spor Kulübü 2017/18 – Spor Toto Süper Lig

Spor Toto Süper Lig

Media Prediction: 18th

Board Expectation: Avoid Relegation

My Target: Avoid Relegation

League Table: 11th ǁ Position Graph

After successive promotions I was expecting a tough battle, but was surprised by our decent start. This obviously didn’t last long and soon enough we were in mid-table turning in some good and some bad performances. After the winter break we went into an awful run of 3 draws and 6 defeats, which saw we were only 3 points off safety. But we eased off any fears by winning the last 3 games, ending it all off with giving Fenerbahce a 3-1 beating.

One interesting story in the league was the Galatasaray title win. Going into the last match Gala were a point ahead of Trabzonspor and played them in the last match. A 6-0 trouncing ensured the title win for them. This was also Fatih Terim’s last match before retiring, such a nice way for the Gala legend to end his career.

Ziraat Türkiye Kupası

Fixtures

We beat three 1. Lig sides away from home with relative ease before getting a horrible beating from Besiktas in the Quarters.

Hacettepe

Transfers ǁ Squad - Defence ǁ Squad - Attack

A lot of movement this year as I attempted to bring the squad up to Süper Lig level. Brought in those extra foreigners and they made the difference. I struggled to find too many good Turkish players, but got a couple of Uzbekistani’s in who don’t count as foreigners. It was also nice to loan out my youngsters to our new feeder club, which they helped to keep in the 2. Lig.

First XI

*denotes a Hacettepe youth product

GK: Volkan Babacan – Picked him up on a free and he did a good job.

DR: G’ulom Urunov – Really struggled to find anyone decent once all the foreigner spots were taken, so had to go with Urunov.

DC: Murod Holmuhammedov – Forgot to take his screenshot before the new season, but he was a brilliant find from Uzbekistan and solid in defence.

DC: Sanjin Gavric – Carried over his form from last season and was voted Fans Player of the Year.

DL: Özgür Çek – The former Fenerbahce bench warmer didn’t have the best of starts for us due to his many injuries.

DMC: Ibrahim Dagasan – Ibrahim provided us with much needed experience between defense and midfield.

MC: Mohammed Al-Sallal – He just keeps getting better and better. Managed to keep him away from any bidders and he paid it off with some strong performances. A horrible injury towards the end of the season will keep him out for 5 months though…

MC: Mirko Maric – Very strong and young midfielder, am thinking of moving him to Ibrahim’s position once age gets the better of him.

AMC: Tomás Farfán – He was unlucky with injuries in his first season, but he has a lot of potential and I expect to see more of him next season.

ST: John García – Picked him up on a free and he seemed to be the only striker who knew how to find the net. Was elected Signing of the Season.

ST: Mustafa Semih Kepoglu – Good youngster with potential, really struggled to find the net, even if I played him on a supporting role. Will look for more next season.

Others

Antonio Jozinovic – Lost his place to Ibrahim, but still pitched in with a few decent performances.

Azer Abbsasov – Also lost his place this season, but had some good games.

David Ríos – The Argentine came on loan to help our strike problems. Zero goals didn’t really do much to help.

*Eyüp Özçelik* – Lost his place this season and I am afraid back-up in the Süper Lig might be the best our first youth product will ever achieve.

Ham Ji-Young – Brought him in before I saw Özgür, so he was set to be a back-up, but ended up playing a lot this season. He is still young and could improve so I might keep him around even though he is foreign.

Other News

Finances – Well, I sure do like the Süper Lig, a nice € 1.3 M profit last season means we will have a large transfer budget next season.

I reached 200 games for Hacettepe and at the end of the season the board announced a training facilities updgrade, whilst three player will be going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Another interesting thing that I had not seen before was a chairman stating he would stop the spending spree, but keep on working at the board.

This Season Targets

1. Avoid Relegation again. Yes, not as easy this time, but achieved.

2. Sign 3 further foreigners that could make a difference. Yes, got carried away and signed 5, so had to bench two, but they all added quality to the squad.

3. Find some decent Turkish players Kinda, got a few for the first team, but had to resort to a couple of Uzbekistani’s to fill some gaps.

Next Season Targets

1. Mid-Table Safety.

2. Better performances against the big teams.

I think we will be OK in terms of relegation this year and I am looking for us to establish ourselves in the division. Last year we pretty much got trounced by the big teams only getting a draw against Trabzonspor and a win against Fenerbahce, both at home. I would like to at least keep more respectable scores, mainly away from home.

Career Overview

Season       League          Pos        Türkiye Kupası        Europe           Other Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13      2. Lig          2nd        Second Round          N/A              Lost in Playoff Semi-Finals
2013/14      2. Lig          3rd        First Round           N/A              Lost in Playoff Quarter-Finals
2014/15      2. Lig          2nd        First Round           N/A              Lost in Playoff Semi-Finals
2015/16      2. Lig          1st        Quarter-Final         N/A              Promotion
2016/17      1. Lig          4th        Third Round           N/A              Promotion via Playoffs
2017/18      Süper Lig       11th       Quarter-Final         N/A              None

[aldojags]

Good season there corinthiano, now you've stayed up it'll be onwards and upwards from here. How odd Uzbekistan have made the world cup! And Korea, that's some wierd nationalities you've recruited there!! Shame Ozcelik is back up-but still good to have the youth around the squad.

My latest youth recruits have arrived, got two 3 star strikers - Patrice Caron, and Gregory Michel. If they both hit their potential they'll be more than good enough for first team squad, strikers I've got just now at 3 star are a really good standard, so pleased with that intake.

[PRDH]

Excellent season corinthiano. Amazing progress over the last three seasons.

aldojags - Like both of those players. Definitely capable of becoming squad players at least.

[PRDH]

Lusitânia Açores Youth Intake - 2040

Now that I'm not signing players these intakes have taken on a whole new importance. It's my main source of new players, and vital to the development of the club. Especially important is to get players through in all positions. Anyway, without further ado, let me introduce the latest batch of players to try to make it into the first team.

The two highest-rated players are these two defensive midfielders:

Duarte, or Fernando Jorge Duarte to give him his full name, is a defensive midfielder and anchorman born in Angra do Heroísmo itself. He has a decent set of attributes but unfortunately finds himself in a position with a series of home-grown incumbents already. For this reason, and looking at his attributes, I'm thinking of retraining him as a right back. Any thoughts on that plan?

Carlos Daniel, born on the mainland, is the player my assistant was most excited by, but I see the real talent of the intake as Duarte. He is another defensive midfielder, but of a type I've seen a couple of times already. I'm unconvinced by his ability to become a first team regular, but we'll see how he does.

Carlos Abrantes, also born in Angra, is one of the lesser lights, he still has two and a half stars, but I'm not hopeful about his chances.

Tiago Silva, born in Madalena do Pico on a nearby island, is yet another defensive midfielder. He is another who looks decent without looking like a future world beater. He could be useful back up if I can find a position for him.

All-in-all a slightly disappointing intake. The players are reasonably talented, but not in positions I have any real need for. Could still do with a good left winger or right back. Hopefully Duarte could transfer his skills to the latter, but the former is woefully understocked.

[Romanista1994]

corinthiano - Easily surpassed expectations and with the added money you really have something to build on.

PRDH - I'd say Duarte would be a good rightback, obviously after some Quickness focus. Silva might also be able to do a job as a centreback (or another rightback). Might be worthwile to try and get your Junior Coaching upped to Exceptional if it's still at Excellent.

[PRDH]

PRDH - I'd say Duarte would be a good rightback, obviously after some Quickness focus. Silva might also be able to do a job as a centreback (or another rightback). Might be worthwile to try and get your Junior Coaching upped to Exceptional if it's still at Excellent.

Aha, having just checked my junior coaching is in fact Exceptional. Just a case of not thinking properly when I was writing it previously.

[Missioner]

Wow, three DMs at oncePRDH. I know how you feel. At least they aren't all goalkeepers Abrantes' personality may help him develop well but I wouldn't get my hopes up with his poor stats at present. At least he may be a good future tutor for a good left winger.

I agree with the Duarte to right back, but I personally value decent dribbling skills in LB/RB alongside quickness before he is worth his salt. Daniel and Silva could do the same job to be fair, perhaps Silva's skillset is more rounded for the job.

How flexible/deep is your squad formation-wise and what are you currenly using as first and backup?

[aldojags]

Yeh I think Duarte could do a job at right back definitely. Tiago Silva looks good, very quick already aswell so he'd be good on flank.

[berty1978]

Blimey, I've got a lot of catching up to do, PRDH: in year 2040.

As for me, feel like carrying on and giving it another pop, I remember why I gave it a rest, was having a mare. Will post update at some point soon.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well Parla have their group draw, not the worst, but I know I am fighting for 2nd, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow & Bordeaux, I am pretty sure I can overcome Bordeaux, CSKA will be tough, but I am pretty sure I have no chance against ManU. Going to concentrate on the league, but if I have an easy league game my seniors will feature in Europe. Also my group is better than a couple of others: Lyon & Bayern, Barcelona & Marseille, Chelsea & AC Milan, Real Madrid & Inter. As a fourth seed I was worried about hitting a big pair of teams, but I think I got a good deal.

[aldojags]

That's a fantastic draw for you, gives you great chance of getting into last 16. Those other groups are an absolute nightmare!

[PRDH]

Missioner - I've got pretty good squad depth in central midfield, central defence, in goal, and on the right of midfield from the youth academy and my strike force is almost there. I've got a left back who is coming through who should be good enough for a place either next season, or more likely the season after and a semi-decent left-winger who might make something of himself, perhaps. The real issue is right back, where I have two youth prospects, both of whom are pretty poor if I'm honest.

My formations are a hybrid (I suppose) of a 442 and 424 - Gk, DL, DC, DC, DR, MC, MC, AML, AMR, FC, FC with my back ups being a 3-4-3 and a 4-5-1.

Duarte definitely isn't a ready made full-back. He will work on his pace, though I'm not as fussed about dribbling. I prefer to have them delivering from deep or first time from the byline after an overlap, rather than taking on a man.

[PRDH]

And that's 200. In his 236th league game the 26-year-old Pedro Cardoso has reached 200 league goals for the club. A marvellous achievement for the homegrown boy. The first player in Lusitânia Açores' history to reach the milestone.

[aldojags]

that is a ridiculous record! What a total legend! Can't wait for your next update to see how his attributes are looking I haven't seen him since he was about 22-23 I think!

you ever had anyone interested in him or had a near miss with him wanting to leave? Ilan Roger lists me as favoured personnel, but he doesn't list Viry-Chatillon as a fave club, so I'm worried long term.

[corinthiano]

PRDH - Duarte and Carlos Daniel look very promising. If you play your RB defensively I reckon Duarte could do a job there. I personally dont use wingers so my full-backs have to be of the Brazilian kind.

Also, amazing record by Cardoso, a true local legend!

[PRDH]

aldojags - Yeah, there were a load of people interested in him earlier in his career. It took him a while to accept Lusitânia Açores as his favoured club, which annoyed me a bit (not much with the goals) but he's taken it on now. Not had people interested for a while, though, certainly a couple of seasons. Will be looking to tie him down to another extended contract soon, as I have been doing fairly regularly with all of the local stars. Oh, and you shouldn't have to wait too long. I've only got a couple of games to play this season.

corinthiano - Yeah, by full backs tend to be quite attacking too, in the same way all my team are, but I'm hoping once his training kicks in he'll develop in the direction I want him to!

[Manku]

Ramon Ramirez's

Real Massama

2017/2018

Recap

Liga Vitalis

Media Prediction: 16th

Board Expectation: Avoid Relegation

My Target: Top 6

Season Aims:

Finish top 6 3rd

Score at least 37 48

Concede less than 33 37

Table (Graph) | Squad | Transfers

Liga Vitalis:

This season we got back on track after last year's disastrous run. We ended up 3rd, 3 points shy from promotion. We consolidated the squad and got many players involved in first team duty. Unlike the other seasons, we managed to keep the form constant throughout the year. We got a very high number of injuries, which will make me rethink my training schedules, and may have made the difference between us finishing 2nd or 3rd. Overall it was a very positive season, and gives me hopes for promotion next season. Our record was (15W-9L-6D) with (48-37) in goals for/against.

Taca de Portugal:

This time we went all the way to quarter-finals in the Portuguese Cup, and eventually lost to Estoril (2-0). It was a very good run, probably thanks to some lucky match-ups. On our way to the quarter finals we beat Quarteirense (4-0), Lamego (6-0), Oliveirense (2-1), and a late comeback against Gil Vicente (2-1).

Portuguese League Cup:

Ended last in the 1st phase with a (1W-2L) record. Not much else to point out about this one.

Key Players:

GK: Armand Bakayoko A very young goalkeeper with a lot of potential. He made some mistakes, but I'm sure he will keep improving.

DC: Renan Felipe Our best center defender. A true leader in the back, and the most consistent player in the team. He made a good partnership with Brauer.

DC: Bjorn Brauer Last year, he played mediocrely in the midfield but after Paredes leaving the club, and he moving to centerback, he started playing at a very high level. Too bad his form went down at the end of the season, leading me to benching him. He is young, so I assume he just got broke down. Lets see how he does next year.

DR/DL: Alex Kakuba Our fearless leader. Kakuba was our best player this season, leading the team from the back. He played both on the right and the left, and rallied the troops for a last promotion push at the end of the season. He was our only player to feature in the Second League Team of the Year.

DL: Nuno Correia He came on loan from Penafiel, mainly to be a backup to Kakuba. With Straka's injury in the beginning of the season, I had to move Kakuba to the left side and play Correia as a starter. He played very well, and made me wish I had him long-term.

DM/DC: Xia Zhenyu A brick wall behind my midfielders, this guy gives security to the whole team. Too bad he got injured twice, while on international duty, and wasn't available for a third of the season.

MC/AMC: Massimo Francesco Piccinni Was the type of guy I was missing last season. He was the maestro of the team, and scored some important goals from long range, when games seemed to be doomed to and up in a draw. Great player.

MC/DM: Emrah Volkan Yildirin Appart from having a cool name, Yildirin was Piccinni's ugly friend. He covered up and did the hard work to assure Piccinni could keep the team moving. He also covered up for Zhenya at DM for when the Chinese went on his many trips for his national side.

AMR: Peter Menningen He played even better this season, scoring 5 goals and 7 assists. He was also named young player of the year. Too bad I couldn't count with him for the last part of the season because of an injury, I'm sure he would have made a difference.

ST/AML: Gonzalo Gallo Our best scorer, once again. He played very well this season scoring 10 goals in the league. I often used him as a winger, to allow Melgarejo to play as well. We had some problems with him wanting to leave at the beginning of the season, but he eventually calmed down and even signed an new contract.

ST: Lorenzo Melgarejo I signed him to replace Gallo, who I believed was going to leave the team at the end of the season. Melgarejo played well, dividing his time between the first team and the bench. He was our second best scorer, and didn't disappoint when called upon. He broke his leg at the end of the season, I hope he gets well fast.

Future:

Next season is now or never for Promotion. We will only lose 2 players who were with us on loan, and we already have replacements for them. I hope it will be our last season in the second tier.

Aims:

Promotion

Concede less than 35 goals

Score more than 50 goals

Edit: We just won the Most Improved Team of the Year Award

[PRDH]

Making good progress now Manku. After coming so close this season I hope you can get into the top flight next season.