FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[tjt65]

La Vitreenne FC - 2012/13 Season

Preseason Update:

Overview: At a glance

Transfers: Not too much activity

Finances: General starting view

Squad: (Highest rated at start of campaign)

Jalliti: Good mental and physical stats

Bourillon: May partner Jalliti, may strengthen midfield. Time will tell.

Pivaty: Physicals in all the right areas, will be looking for him to do damage down the left.

Peralta: Probably favourite player at the moment, hopefully will be the heart of the team for now.

Nkoum: Will be providing width and hopefully lots of assists for the strikers.

Haquin: Main guy upfront, not the best stats, but well rounded and experienced.

Thats a general view of the club just before the first game.. (Which took me ages to take screenshots, set up photobucket, sort out links and stuff)

Will probably do a January update depending on how fast/slow i go through the season.

Here we go then.

EDIT: Ignore this because of manager reputation mistake as described 4-5 posts down

[aldojags]

good luck to you tjt your centre half looks really good for the National. As I've said to everyone else whose started in France, I found scouting Africa, and in particular, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, a real help, plenty of cheap talent you can snap up to help you out the National.

Just finished my season, in the process of doing an update, but I thought a momentous occasion deserved it's own post. For the 12 seasons in my game I've never produced a youth player to go on and play at senior International level, but guess who has just gone and changed all that, making his debut at the Euros no less!!

[Missioner]

Looking good on the primary update tjt65 . I'm in the same process of starting up with Portosantense (coming soon!) so the effort is understood and appreciated.

[rlipscombe]

silKEAPE - that's some home form!!

tjt65 - some decent signings there. good luck

Andy Sava - good start there mate. hope it keeps that way for you going forward.

[Andy Sava]

Good luck tjt65!!!

[joel1031]

Going to try my hand at this after stalling out in the Youth Academy challenge.

USL Dunkerque

Manager: Troilius Fournier

Club Overview Club Info

Squad

Media Prediction: 16th

Board Expectation: Avoid Relegation

Going to go for a more defensive minded approach with just a few attacking players. Won't be doing many whole-sale changes but I want to build depth at each position. Oh and I discovered an absolute gem in my U19 side - a 14 year-old already valued at 75k with a 4.5 star potential. Exciting stuff!

[tjt65]

Thanks guys!

I will dive right into Africa aldojags thanks for the tip

tjt:thup:

(oh and good luck joel1031)

[tjt65]

Guys, bad news, i have been an absolute donkey and added my manager with past experience 'international footballer'

Means i have to start again.

(Im going for Germany this time, i'm very indecisive)

Will report back hopefully this eve with the new save started.

[rlipscombe]

joel1031 - welcome to the challenge and good luck with Dunkerque. that kid sounds promising!

tjt65 - that's a shame mate. welcome to Germany!

[aldojags]

Season Review 2023/24

Ligue 1

Media Prediction: 4th

Board Expectation: Qualify for Champions League

Finished: 1st

Table | Graph | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

A fantastic season to earn our 2nd title in a row, whereas last season it was a closer affair, we ended up romping the league by 12 points, a fantastic performance by all concerned.

Started well enough though lost early on to Rennes, then went on a 30-odd unbeaten run in the league to wrap up the league, which considering we didn't have Oneil Tatlot (our best player) for 3-4 months, is a fantastic achievement. We were unbeaten at home all season, and only lost late on the season after the league was won and I played a lot of youngsters/fringe players.

The undoubted story of the season is the emergence of Ilan Roger, who notched 24 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions. I had planned to keep him involved this season, and started giving him starts against weaker opposition, but he had a run of form where he kept scoring (including 2 hat-tricks in the space of a month), and I figured I'd just keep him in the team, and he scored some vital winning goals.

Great team effort, and Roger aside, no standout performers - shown by the fact we only had 1 player in team of the season (Pituca).

Joining us in Ligue 1 are Auxerre, Grenoble & Lorient, replacing the relegated US Raon l'Etape, Stade Malherbe Caen, and Toulouse.

Champions Trophy

Fixtures

We won the season opener, which for some reason was at Lyon's stadium, but it didn't really matter as we turned them over 3-0.

French Cup

Fixtures

Crashed out first game away to Ligue 1 opposition on pens so wasn't too fussed as was reserve/u-19 squad. This competition was surprisingly won by Ligue 2 FC Rouen, who beat Marseille in the final.

Coupe de la Ligue

Fixtures

Beaten in the Quarters by Marseille.

Champions League

Fixtures | Table

Only lost 1 game but still crashed out in 3rd place.

Europa League

Knocked out in 1st Knockout Round by Porto 3-1 on aggregate.

Squad

As per usual, bold denotes first choice, whilst *stars* mark an academy player. A few of the younger players, their stats for season will be based on reserve team fixtures, it may say they've started 25 games etc, but for the youngsters that means reserve league fixtures.

Goalkeepers

Jimmy Lynch - reliable keeper, contract up in a year, considering moving him on as I've a good keeper coming on a bosman.

Marvin Angloma - did excellently when Lynch was injured for a while.

*Amar Ben Haddou* - academy player surpised me when I checked up on him mid season to find his attributes had increased considerably, gave him his first taste of senior football after we'd won the league, coaches rate him as 3.5 potential, which if he reaches would make him a far better keeper than my current number 1.

Defence

Viv Cable - picked this Englishman up on a bosman from Man United, he had a cracking season. Was capped by his 2nd Nation - Wales, and is currently at Euro 2024 with them.

Nathan Chalobah - same old from Nathan, solid as a rock.

Karl Thorpe - excellent season from Karl again, signed him up for another 5 years.

Cedric Hue - didn't start season 1st choice, but took his chance when he got it. Earned a solitary France cap this season.

*Jimmy Donaldson* - handy to have on the bench due to his versatility. Decent player but doubt he'll ever be first choice, happy to keep him as a utility man though.

Peter Mohammed - spent a couple of million to bring the left back from relegated Montpellier - started season 1st choice and did well, but Hue dislodged him toward end of season. Still great cover and will feature plenty next season due to heavy schedule.

Mahmoud Rabie - hoping this man will be long term successor to Thorpe.

Bart Van Der Weg - and hope this kid will partner Rabie in my future centre defence, looks like he'll be a class player.

*Maxime Reset* - decent player and versatile. Coaches reported due to off field events his attitude is shocking, don't know what I can do about that? May just sell him? Anyone had any experience of this?

*Recep Alici* - gave the young French/Turkish full back a few games after league was sewn up, hoping he'll be in first team in a few years, he's got the potential.

Midfield

Oneil Tatlot - injured for a long spell, but either side of the injury he was his ever reliable self creating and scoring goals. Essential to us.

Pituca - fans player of the year, class act, and has just signed a megabucks 5 yr deal with us. Got into Ligue 1 team of the year (our only player in it despite romping the league!). Won 2 consecutive goal of the month awards also.

John Larsson - anchor man in midfield, and like Pituca, has just penned a new 5 yr deal for a ridiculously high wage but I don't want to lose him and the money is in my budget.

Ali Jelassi - class act, and is getting more goals which is what was missing from his game.

Andy McMahon - versatile player I had initially signed for cover at centre back, but when played in midfield this season, he scored quite a lot, including a hat trick off the bench! Good squad player, who picked up caps for his 2nd country Grenada this season.

*Charles Modeste* - the young defensive mid is already technically very good, working on improving him physically and I'll have a handy player for the first team.

Pablo Roig - January signing (bosman - suprise surpise!) from Argentinian football, did very well when called upon, very good player. Man City enquired about him toward end of season but I rejected it, he's solid.

Ante Livaja - I toyed with idea of wingers this season, it sometimes worked but overall I still prefer midfield diamond, this guy is frustrated with lack of football, and I may move him on as he's on a hefty wage.

Atila - same as Livaja - too much of a wage for a guy who doesn't play, so I'll look into possibly moving him on. Good player though.

Samba Coulibaly - attributes have improved greatly for the youngster I got on a free from Auxerre some years ago, and I still think given time he'll be a good player at this level.

Sevki Gurdal - injury ruined the young Turk's season, see how he does next year.

Raul Gil - retrained him as right back to give him more value to us, he's a good player but will never get in front of the first picks, so he's been used more at right back this season, but still a good player in midfield.

Forwards

*Ilan Roger* - although Pituca won our player of the season, this guy would be my pick. Fantastic season from the wonderkid, and as you can see from the screenie, has just earned recognition with the France national team, getting his debut at Euro 2024. Huge future, hopefully with us. Only problem is a post I mentioned on page 38 of thread, over the past 2-3 years, his determination has decreased from 18 to 13, I take it due to who I've linked him up with when doing tutoring? So I'm going to try and fix it this season. But it's a minor concern, the rest of his attributes are coming on nicely.

Brayan Guttierez - the Colombian scored against me in the Europa league last season for AA Gent, he really impressed, so I picked him up on a bosman. Already had Man City enquire about him. Great looking player, and looking for more goals next season.

Tony Champion - found himself 2nd choice for the first time in his career with us, be interesting to see how he reacts. Just signed a new megabucks deal for 5 yrs, I rate him highly and is a model pro, so I like to get him to tutor my youngsters.

Mattia Panagelli - last seasons hero really didn't get a lot of game time, I may move him. Good player but he's on a hefty wage for a reserve. See how pre-season goes.

Daniel Schneider - picked this Liechtenstein international up from Mattersburg on a free, didn't impress me to be honest, but will give him another season to get his act together.

Vladimir Kralik - good 1st season from the French U-21, got him on a free from Rennes, hoping he'll go on to play for France senior team too.

*Patrice Caron* - not sure if this kid will ever cut it with me, possibly not, but gave him a run end of season and he scored first ever senior goal. May look into loaning him out.

*Gregory Michel* - like Caron, got his first senior goal for us this season, but don't think he'll be up to it long term with us.

Club Info

Finances - for the first time ever I wasn't bottom of average attendance list! Only 2nd bottom! Got plenty of prize money from Champions League + winning Ligue 1.

Facilities - youth is listed as good, and work is underway to improve this, will be ready in December.

Transfers

Players going to Euros.

Ranked 31st in Europe.

Got a few players coming in on pre-contracts:

Ugo Potenza - Italian international, I struggled when Tatlot was injured, hoping this man can play in the hole behind the strikers when Tatlot is needing rest/injured.

Pavel Skrobak - great looking keeper who I think will be my number 1.

Daniel Michel - to give us more options in midfield.

Past Seasons
Season     Division        Pos    French Cup      League Cup         Europe        Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7705369&viewfull=1#post7705369"]2012/13[/url]     National      4th      8th round        N/A                            Survived Relegation
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7713320&viewfull=1#post7713320"]2013/14[/url]     National      8th      7th round        N/A                            N/A
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7722456&viewfull=1#post7722456"]2014/15[/url]     National      1st      8th round        N/A                            Champions
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7734045&viewfull=1#post7734045"]2015/16[/url]     Ligue 2       6th      7th round        2nd round                      Consolidated
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7741822&viewfull=1#post7741822"]2016/17[/url]     Ligue 2       2nd      11th round       4th round                      Promotion
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7757976&viewfull=1#post7757976"]2017/18[/url]     Ligue 1       10th     Runners Up       4th round                      Survived
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7778883&viewfull=1#post7778883"]2018/19[/url]     Ligue 1       6th      11th Round       2nd round                      Consolidated    
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7795399&viewfull=1#post7795399"]2019/20[/url]     Ligue 1       3rd      11th Round       3rd Round                      Qualified for Champ League            
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7831196&viewfull=1#post7831196"]2020/21[/url]     Ligue 1       3rd      11th Round       4th Round         EL QF        Qualified for Champ League                        
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7848172&viewfull=1#post7848172"]2021/22[/url]     Ligue 1       4th      11th Round       Semi's       CL Group Stages   Qualified for Europa League
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7869045&viewfull=1#post7869045"]2022/23[/url]     Ligue 1       1st      11th Round       Semi's       EL 2nd KO Round   Champions
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7880932&viewfull=1#post7880932"]2023/24[/url]     Ligue 1       1st       9th Round       Quarters     CL Group Stages   Champions 

Season     Ligue 1         French Cup        Coupe de la Ligue                Champions Lg             Europa           World Cup/Euros         
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12    PSG             PSG                      OM                         Barcelona               Roma            Euros-Germany
2012/13    Lyon            Toulouse                 Lyon                       Inter                   Liverpool
2013/14    Lyon            PSG                      Toulouse                   Barcelona               Porto            WC-Argentina
2014/15    Lyon            Toulouse                 Lyon                       Man Utd                 Stuttgart
2015/16    PSG             Lorient                  Lyon                       Juventus                Man United       Euros-Germany
2016/17    PSG             Sochaux                  PSG                        Benfica                 Arsenal
2017/18    OM              Lorient                  OM                         PSG                     Arsenal          WC- Belgium
2018/19    OM              OM                       RC Lens                    Man Utd                 Barcelona
2019/20    PSG             St Ettiene               Sedan                      Valencia                Hamburg         Euros-Belgium
2020/21    PSG             Valenciennes             OM                         PSG                     Benfica
2021/22    OM              Lyon                     Lyon                       Arsenal                 Fiorentina       WC-England
2022/23    Viry-Chatillon  Lyon                     OM		               Barcelona	       Leverkusen
2023/24    Viry-Chatillon  FC Rouen                 OM                         Barcelona               Rubin Kazan       Euros - Spain

[Missioner]

C.D. Portosantense

I've been following this challenge for a few weeks now, so I've decided to give it a go with a Portuguese team, Portosantense. Here is the first-day evaluation:

Manager: Hugo Chatterjee. A half-Portuguese, half-Indian 30 year old manager with little experience.

Club overview: For reference; nothing outstanding. A small club based in Porto Santo, Madeira. Hopefully this will change .

Facilities: The club owns a 3000-capacity stadium named after the club's president, José Lino Pestana.

Squad overview: There are a few decent players in the central regions of the pitch, but the right hand side is a real weak spot with which the remaining €850 wage budget will be used on first.

Players of note:

Peu: The oldest member of the squad at 41. A central defender who once played for top-flight Rio Ave with good all-round stats, but his poor pace and woeful concentration may be a liability for the team

Daniel: The Swiss defender is half the age of Peu, so hopefully Daniel's pace can cover for him. His strength is lacking so hopefully he can be developed here

Hugo Tecelão: The goalkeeper is the highest earner at €500. I think he is fairly decent for this level but I hope he does not get injured, as until we can find a backup that is even half-useful compared to the one I have now, he is all I really can rely on.

Léo Oliveira: Hopefully he can strengthen the midfield initially, but another aging player who I can't rely on for too long.

Júlio Pinto: A 34-year-old Angolan striker who is decent, although I wonder how long I can rely on his pace before it declines.

Caio: Rated as 5-star potential, though it's not saying too much. Hopefully his technique and good passing provides chances to keep us up with vital wins.

Additional comments/thoughts: I haven't played the game for a long time, so my questionable tactics at a low level may send me down. This for now is a trial club but if I can survive we'l see where I can take them. I would like to keep the team as traditional as possible (meaning Portuguese/Brazilian/Angolan etc.) and no player searches, scouts only. Local youth development is a priority too, once we get to the stage to do so.

[Missioner]

Congratulations on the title defense aldojags. Roger is looking the part, and you are right that the determination drop is due to tutoring. I think the tutoring aspect is a bit silly in that it tries to make tutee's value = tutor's value no matter what, but there you go. Just make sure the gain in other (hidden) attributes is worth it.

Good luck with Germany when you get there tjt65.

[G-Wiz]

Ac. Viseu - 2016/2017 - End of Season Review

Manager Profile

Team Information

Transfers

Predicted Position: 16th

Actual Position: 7th

Average Attendance: 6532

Season Ticket Holders: 1319

We started our first foray in the top flight very unprepared, with no funds and very little improvement in wage budget. As a result our season started with mixed fortunes. It was apparent fairly early on that the players we had were not all up to the challenge, and so a few new faces were brought in over the course of the season. A few of these signings proved to be very influential in the overall outcome of the season.

In the cup competitions, we were non existent in the Taca de Portugal, losing in the 4th round. Our League Cup campaign, however, was far more impressive. The group stage yielded a draw with Pacos Ferreira, and victories over a very weakened Benfica side and Vitoria Setubal. Our great run was to come to an end in the semi final though, as we were hammered 5-3 by Vit. Guimaraes. A worthwhile experience for the lads nonetheless, who confounded the critics to get so far.

A brief look at the main players of the season:

GK

Souza - was brought in last season as cover for Rocha. However, established himself as first choice in preseason. Did concede a shedload of goals though, which is definitely a concern

DEF

Alisson - missed part of the season through injury, and seems to have fitness concerns, but overall one of the stars of the season, 15 assists from RB is no mean feat

Marvin Grundei - one of the new players brought in, and proved to be pretty useful, either at RB or CB, a potential star for the future

Leonel Jakson - missed a chunk of the season with ligament damage, but a first choice when fit

Ricardo Tavares - one of the stars of the cup run, and formed a pretty solid CB partnership with Jakson

Raphael Simon - another who doesnt seem able to last 90 minutes, shame tho as he is a threat from LB

MID

Dionatan Teixeira - big man continues to be a very useful player. solid in DM, and a threat from set pieces, as shown by his 8 goals this season

Mexilhao - another of last seasons stars, hasnt quite made his mark on the top flight yet, but improved as the season went on

Ruud Jacobs - signed in the summer after a glowing reccomendation from one of my scouts, and what a find he was. Having made noise early on about being homesick and being given leave on a few occasions, he then handed in a transfer request saying he couldnt settle. However, as the season progressed he quickly emerged as one of the real gems of the season, scoring 7 and assisting 12 from CM position. Hoping the good league position can help convince him to stay

Boris Nkoa - brought in part way through the season, better than what we had previously but the jury is still out

ATT

Jean Silva - became clear pretty quickly that this league is too much for him, and so played little part in the season. Shame he couldnt make the jump up, but his status as a club legend remains intact in my eyes

Fusca - another who hasnt proved himself at this level, in fact if anything he has regressed this season. I tried to give him more of a chance but the return (3 goals, 5 assists) speaks for itself

Nene - picked up in January, and again what a find he was. Outstanding on the left side of my front 3, 10 goals and 8 assists from 17 games is a great start to his Ac Viseu career

Ahmed Sayed - missed about 8 weeks of the season due to injury, and never really got going. Scoreed 9 goals but i expected better to be honest

Per Kjaersgaard - saved the best til last. Signed on the last day of the summer transfer window after being picked out by my scouts. Proved himself to be the pick of the bunch, scoring a total of 26 goals (21 in the league) 2nd top scorer in the league. Also now the Ac Viseu record holder for most league goals in a season, overtaking Edsons 19 goals from a few years back. A real star and one who i will need to hold on to if we are to build on this seasons success

Top Scorer - Per Kjaersgaard - 26 goals

Highest Average Rating - Nene - 7.52

Fans Player of The Year - Per Kjaersgaard

Portuguese Premier League Top Scorer - Per Kjaersgaard - 2nd

Portuguese Premier League Most Assists - Alisson - 1st

Portuguese Premier League Manager of The Year - Garry Maltman - 1st

Portuguese Premier League Team of The Year - Alisson, Kjaersgaard

Portuguese Most Improved Team of The Year - Ac Viseu - 1st

Following on from the success of this season, its pretty clear that if we hadnt conceded as many goals, we could probably have made it into the european places. So one of the main aims going forward has to be to tighten up defensively. Beyond that, i hope our success will inspire the board to give me some money to spend, surely weve earned it now!!

Season          Division                                 Position       Achievements
2012/2013       Portuguese Second Division - Central      7th	        Safety          
2013/2014       Portuguese Second Division - Central      1st           Champions, Promoted Through Playoffs
2014/2015       Portuguese Second League                  7th		Safety       
2015/2016       Portuguese Second League                  1st           Champions, promoted to top flight   
2016/2017       Portuguese Premier League                 7th           Consolidation                          

[G-Wiz]

lol just noticed the pattern in my league positions...7th, 1st, 7th, 1st, 7th...you all know what that means for next season!!

[tjt65]

VFB Lübeck - 2012/13 Season Preview

Preseason Update:

History/Overview: Div 2 has been highest finish, plan on beating that with ease.

Club Info: No nickname which is a shame. I shall invent one at some point!

Board Overview: Managed to get Koln as a parent after some badgering.

Finances: Dropped quite significantly after terminating terrible players.

Transfers: High wage signings.

Squad:

Lahaye: Very solid GK i managed to get in, should be main man between the sticks for the time in Div3.

Budisa: Experienced DC who can sub in at LB if need be, should do for the first season.

Laudrup: Great CM and will be the core for a few years i'm sure.

van Moorsel: Another great player in the midfield, will play further up than Laudrup and will hopefully get some goals!

Gerritsen: Another dutch player in on a free, good winger who should start almost every game and get goals too.

Team Report: As you can see the defence isn't the best but will an awesome midfield and very solid GK then i am happy that we won't concede too many. No major striker but their stats are the right place and with the good attacking mid's i don't need to rely on the strikers for goals.

Thats a quick peek at the team just before the season begins and i will probably do a Jan update, or maybe just an end of season one depending how fast/slow i go through it.

Here we go! (again..)

tjt65

[G-Wiz]

good luck with VfB Lubeck tjt65, a team close to my heart having loved my time there back in FM10

[aldojags]

Good first season in the top flight there G-Wiz you look like you've got a few prospects there particularly at centre half and up front. What you thinking for next season, too soon for Europe or you reckon you can do it?

good luck tjt hope this save lasts longer than the last one!

welcome to the challenge missioner all the best

[G-Wiz]

Good first season in the top flight there G-Wiz you look like you've got a few prospects there particularly at centre half and up front. What you thinking for next season, too soon for Europe or you reckon you can do it?

ill be honest, i have no idea. If we can start off this season the way we finished the last i dont see why we cant push for a europa place, but by and large im dealing with the same squad as last season due to the continuing lack of ambition/lack of funds available, and so making any real progress might be difficult. To be honest ill be happy if we can continue scoring the way we have been, but concede a few less goals in the upcoming season, which in itself im sure would make a difference to our chances of improving on last seasons position. Time will tell...

[jimbowmanuk]

Lanzarote - 2012/13 - Season 1 - jimbowmanuk

Media Prediction: 16th

Actual Finish: 2nd

Season Tickets: 851

Transfers

Spent a total of £4k bringing in players, also managed to spot an English youngster on the beach at winter time. Although being British on a Spanish Islands he liked a drink or two. Still when he did play he was fantastic. 3 goals and 6 assists in 12 games. The stand out signing had to be Portuguese striker Lupeta who weighed in with 21 goals for me.

League - Graph

Predicted to finish 16th and the board asking me to try and avoid relegation had me wondering what kind of struggle the season would entail. However my Kevin Keegan approach to football of we'll score more than you, meant that we were never outside the top 6 all season. Scoring 98 goals(a new league record for most goals), the downside being conceding 66. With top spot the only guarantee of promotion, and although we massively over achieved, we headed into the play-offs. We edged Badajoz 5-4 over 2 legs in the 1st round but were unstuck by Guadalajara in the next round losing 6-3 on aggregate.

Fixtures 1

Fixtures 2

Fixtures 3

Spanish Cup

I seemed to have the same issue as Vikeologist in that the team were never in the competition, but hopefully next season we will be.

The Squad Stats

Finances - could be better

Next Seasons goals

With some new faces due to arrive on 1st July, I should have a really serious chance of getting promoted next season, and I think I'll need too to get the finances in the black.

Season	| League	| Position	| Cup		| Europe	| Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A		|

[PRDH]

jimbowmanuk - Great first season there. Really strong position to push for promotion next season.

G-Wiz - Again, really strong first season in the top league. Solid base, strengthen a bit and you've got a real shot at Europe next time out.

tjt - Welcome back! Good luck in Germany!

aldo - Roger is turning into a cracking player. If you can get that determination up again, which I'm sure you can as he's still so young, then he'll be even better. Would make a cracking partner for Cardoso, wish I had them both!

Missioner - Welcome aboard. Great to have another player in Portugal, hope you have as much fun as I have. Good luck!

[rlipscombe]

Aldojags - congrats on the 2^nd title. Much more dominant this season. Roger is turning quickly into a beast of a striker. Some record that especially for a youngster. You must be delighted to have had him come through the academy too.

Missioner - welcome to the challenge and good luck in Portugal

G-Wiz - good first season in the top flight there. Kjaersgaard looks like a good signing there too. I like the look of Nene too.

Tjt65 - good luck with Lubeck

Jimbowmanuk - really good first season there – unlucky in the playoffs. Hopefully you can make it up next season.

[aldojags]

jimbowmanuk - I had that issue with the player being spotted out on the lash - it was a Czech Republic winger, he done it a couple of times, so I chased him. You should see the player he turned out to be aswell! Oops! Some season there with your goals scored/conceded!

rlipscombe - yeh I'm delighted, I've been an obsessive FM fan for over 10 years, never ever had a player come through like that...mainly because every save I've ever had has been in Scotland, not renowned as a hotbed of talent! Maybe with me being in France I'll hopefully get a few stars through ala PRDH!!

[Andy Sava]

Good luck in Portugal Missioner.

tjt65 - I hope you will have fun in Germany, i know i am

jimbowmanuk - nice first season there. Best of luck next season going for that promotion!

Grats on your second title Aldojags.

As for me, i am still finding hard to believe how well it has gone for us this season. We have a 23 (21 this season) unbeaten run that puts us in first place with a 6 points advantage. I am looking forward to the second half of the season, if we don't get promoted now...well i don't want to think about it, we must get it!!!

[aldojags]

Sounds good to me andy sava, can't see you losing it now!

[jimbowmanuk]

Cheers guys, although I've just realised I've made a total schoolboy error, forgot to check contract expiries and have lost 3 of my key players, hopefully I can get replacements

[Andy Sava]

Aldojags - hopefully i won't lose it. The thing is that every team we play against now really want to beat us and it's starting to show on the scoreboard.

Jimbowmanuk - Sorry to hear that, but if my past experiences in FM thought me something is that i always find players for replacement if i need. Hope you will too.

[Andy Sava]

Can someone PM me about how to link to a certain post in a forum please:)

[Missioner]

Andy, no guarantees it's what you're looking for, but how about (at least in Firefox) right clicking the post number in the top-right (#3827 for your last post) and selecting "copy link location", then paste it where you want it. Does that work?

[tjt65]

VFB Lubeck - 2012/13 Season Review & 2013/14 Season Preview

2013/14 Season Review

Great first season! Thought i was going to well, but a 2nd place finish with instant promotion was sweeet!

End of season: Table

Team Stats: Very solid 1st season

Best result: RB Salzburg

2013/14 Season Preview

Finances: Still on the way down, not a surprise and not worried at the moment.

Team Report: Defence still isn't the best.

Transfers: More in than out this season.

Squad: (Still got most of the best players shown in previous post from last season)

Klandt: New goalie, only slightly better than Lahaye but there is nothing wrong with having two top keepers in the squad.

Stehle: New experienced DC with great mental attributes and should be a rock at the back.

Gorlitz: Another experienced signing at RB who has a couple of Germany caps and played for Bayern Munich for a number of years.

Essame: New (D)MC who will help out the defence and with good mental attributes he should be a starter for the season.

Haas: Surprisingly, an experienced signing. Probably backup to Van Moorsel.

Mares: New right winger with a really good spread of attributes.

Udoji: Very quick left winger who can also play either side.

Kielo-Lezi: New DR Congo striker who is also rather speedy.

So there it is, first season went well and pretty quickly (Got to love being a student!) now moving onto 2nd season, going to push for instant promo but with some really good teams in the league i think it will be tough.

(ps can someone just confirm the links to the pictures are working)

----- tjt65

-----

[aldojags]

Yeah tjt pics are working fine mate. Great season there, that's a few people recently won promotion first season, good goin. You've got some good players there, sure you'll rise through the leagues quickly. I wish I was a student!

[tjt65]

Thanks aldojags, yeah it wasn't too easy but was alright in the end.

Yeah its great! for now... haha

[rlipscombe]

well done on the immediate promotion tjt65! good luck in the Bundesliga 2. got some decent players there by the looks of it.

[Andy Sava]

Andy, no guarantees it's what you're looking for, but how about (at least in Firefox) right clicking the post number in the top-right (#3827 for your last post) and selecting "copy link location", then paste it where you want it. Does that work?

Yes, that seems to work, thank you!

We won the league with a 1 point lead god that was close

Second Division here we come!

Season report will come tonight or tomorrow.

[Andy Sava]

Holstein Kiel - 2014/2015

Table | Squad | Transfers | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2 | Manager Profile

Season Overview

League Finish - 1st

Media Prediction - 15th

What a season. A wonderfull performance that led us to winning the German Third Division and finally got us promoted.

Transfers

Managed to get my hands on some really good young players that will definitely help the team in our future adventures in the Second Division.

Paulo Ferreira (Position - DC, Games Played - 37, Goals - 2, Assists - 1, MoM - 4, Average Rating - 7.18) - Very happy that i was able to sign Ferreira. He turned out to be a very important part of our defence and played in 37 out of 38 games this season.

Domink Brunnhubner (Position - GK) - I kind of regret signing him but i brought him as a back-up in case both of my goalkeepers get injured.

Vladimir Petrzela (Position - M/AM LC, Games Played - 2, Average Rating - 6.78) - Well another failed transfer this season as i didn't use him unless i really needed. He also found it hard to adapt and had to give him a leave of absence.

Simone Belotti (Position - Striker / AM R, Games Played - 6, Goals - 5, Assists - 4, Average Rating - 7.06) - Brought him in mid season but didn't actually used him alot. Will definitely feature in my plans next season.

Timo Horn (Position - GK, Games Played - 17, Average Rating - 6.96) - Also brought mid season he played alot in the second half and did well.

German Third Division

What more can you ask from a season? We had a 29 games unbeaten run only losing our first game in late march. We had the best attack scoring 87 goals but we let in 33. Just a great season overall. We almost lost it in the end after losing our last game away at Duisburg but thankfully Bielefeld didn't win their game so we managed to win the title.

Key Players

During the season several players stood out by playing exceptionaly well.

Tim Hofmann (Position - DC, Games Played - 38, Goals - 20, Assists - 1, MoM - 7, Average Rating - 7.61) - A truly sensational player for the team. Team captain, led the defense vey well and managed to get his name on the scoreboard 20 times featuring in every game during the season.

Frederic Maciel (Position - Striker, Games Played - 28, Goals - 17, Assists - 10, MoM - 6, Average Rating - 7.46) - Best striker in the team, after a first season where he didn't play to much he did very well when i gave him the chance to play and managed to stay in the first team after that.

Thorben Stadler (Position - DL, Games Played - 34, Goals - 4, Assists - 23, MoM - 3, Average Rating - 7.39) - Another solid season for Thorben.

Sebastian Reinert (Position - AM RLC, Games Played - 36, Goals - 15, Assists - 12, MoM - 6, Average Rating - 7.32) - Not the best of attributes for Sebastian but man he did so well this season.

Korbinian Muller (Position - GK, Games Played - 18, Average Rating - 6.99) - Played in the first half on the season and did well.

Next season

Well i don't know. Everything can happen next season. Hopefully my finances will get better and i will manage to get better players. My hopes are for a mid-table finish but the plan is to avoid relegation.

[aldojags]

20 goals from a centre back?!! 23 assists from your full back! That is fantastic, I'm delighted if my trequarista gives me 15 assists in a season! That's phenomenal, never seen a defender with anything like that. Does he take all your corners etc andy sava? great season, won't have any problems with the step up with that team.

I've lost first game of season away to Marseille, last season I only lost 2 all year and now I've lost my first game! Not got a good feeling about this, we were pretty poor in pre-season. Ilan Roger broke his foot at the Euros and is ruled out for 4 months! Going to be a total slog this season.

[rlipscombe]

Andy Sava - congrats on the title and promotion at last... good luck next season.

[Andy Sava]

aldojags - Something like that. Stadler is set to take all my corners and free kicks alongside Reinert, and Hofmann is at the near post, where we aim our corners, every time we have a corner.

We already played 3 games this season: two in the league (we won 1 and we got a draw in the other) and 1 in the cup where we lost at Dusseldorf 3-1. Also got a few good players to help us out but that put us over budget with our wages.

[tjt65]

Guys, i dont want to jinx it, BUT, i am having a cracking second season (first in the 2nd league)!

Currently in 3rd in March and playing really well, pushing hard for promotion, which would be awesome and very unexpected!

[aldojags]

Well looks like Champions League is over for another season...groups just been drawn, Man United, Inter, & Shahktar Donetsk! Nightmare stuff. I need to try and get into 2nd pot this is a nightmare!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hard Luck aldojags, I would aim to finish third and push through in Europa as far as you can to lift your co-efficient as you can get good boosts of that from the Europa league and hopefully get seeded higher in the future.

As for Viterbese, we made it through to the 2nd Round of the Serie C Cup (Final 24), a 3-0 loss to Barletta saw us knocked out, but it was a good tournament til that point. In the league we have played 10 games (1 in hand on rest) of 38 and manage to sit just outside the playoff spots in 7th spot with a 4-4-2 record leading to 16pts, we have scored 15 goals and conceded 9, which is acceptable in my terms of a first season. I have had to rest players quite a bit because of the hectic cup run, but after this Wednesday we should be down to one game a week.

My Stars so far:

|-----|-------------------|-----|------|-------|-------|-----|-------|
|     | Player            | Pos | Apps | Goals | Assts | MoM | AvRat |
|-----|-------------------|-----|------|-------|-------|-----|-------|
| Def | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/ArturoZuccarelliOverview_Attributes-2.png"]Arturo Zuccarelli[/url] | DC  |  15  |   2   |   0   |  1  |  7.07 |
| Mid | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/FrancescoFrijioOverview_Attributes-1.png"]Francesco Frijio[/url]  | AML |  14  |   2   |   5   |  1  |  7.09 |
| Mid | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/EmanueleMoriniOverview_Attributes-1.png"]Emanuele Morini[/url]   | AMR |  14  |   4   |   5   |  2  |  7.16 |
| Fwd | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/LucaRibertoOverview_Attributes-1.png"]Luca Riberto[/url]      | ST  |  15  |   9   |   2   |  4  |  7.22 |
|-----|-------------------|-----|------|-------|-------|-----|-------|

Zuccarelli & Frijio have been stunning youngsters for my club so far, in fact at the centre of defence I am now playing the two youngsters over Orsi. Frijio has had one of the best starts in my team, especially for his young years. Morini leads the team with style, and Riberto has shown what he can do, he also already has a club hattrick.

[PRDH]

Lusitânia Açores - Youth Intake - 2042

Introduction

That time of the year again. It's time to see what the next batch of players to pull on the famous green jersey of Lusitânia Açores are like. The needs I'm identifying this season are first and foremost - left wing - I have a cracking player in this position, but he is not a youth prospect and so ideally I'd move him on - and a striker - I mean, first choice is fine, but a good striker would be much appreciated.

The New Youth Class

But enough of what I was hoping for, time to look at what I actually got. 16 players were made available for me to chose from. Of those 16 nine had a potential of half a star, they could be discounted immediately, not even to be offered a youth contract.

After that there was one player with two-star potential - Omar Vaz, a full back born in Angra do Heroísmo itself. He does not look to have much about him to me, but will probably be signed onto a bog standard youth contract to see if he progresses at all and to add numbers to the U-19 squad.

We then had three players reckoned to be of a two and a half star potential. These are:

Michaël Vernier, a Franco-Portuguese central defender who was born in Pontinha, a suburb of Lisbon. He is a mediocre talent, but someone who will probably have a chance to be a part of the first team squad eventually due to the need for squad depth. He is not the worst player to come through a youth academy with decent stats for marking and tackling and passable physical stats for this stage of his career. Mentally he is week, but hopefully he can learn from some of the experienced players at the club and improve that side of his game to become worthy of a squad place.

Osório Sá, an Angra born central midfielder who looks to have very little about him. He looks to be fodder for the U-19s at the moment, nothing more. He doesn't fit in with my system in terms of how he looks to play, and doesn't have any obvious skills for retraining. A pity.

The final player in this group is Ricardo Duarte, a defensive midfielder who heralds from the mainland. He is another player who looks destined for life in the U-19s. Technically very weak, he will have to improve drastically to stand a chance of making it here.

Often that would be the end of an intake, but this is the world-renowned youth setup of Lusitânia Açores, where the youngsters are gathered from the surrounding islands, and schooled in the history of the club, the players and football in general in the rustic Casa de Fazenda (or farmhouse), and there were a few more players to be unveiled.

There were two players rated with three-and-a-half star potential, players with this initial potential have done well for me in the past. Off the top of my head this is the category that Teixeira, Tigabe, Lopes and Rodrigues fell into, and they have carved out careers at the club. These players therefore have a bit more expectation on their shoulders. Let's meet them...

Luís Pereira, a left-footed right winger from the surfing town of Peniche on the Portuguese mainland, was the first. He doesn't fill me with confidence if I'm honest. I will probably retrain him to play on the left as I don't tend to play with inside forwards. He has decent potential so hopefully with the right combination of training, game time and tutoring he can turn into a squad player. I think that's probably the most to hope for, but I'm prepared to be proved wrong, I am after all, the one who thought Paulo, one of the best defenders in the world now, would only be a squad player. He provides hope to them all.

The other three-and-a-half player is Flávio Carvalho, a defensive midfielder (yes, I know, another one!) born in Linda-a-Velha, another suburb of Lisbon, and now we're talking. Physically he is weak, but he has good technical stats and a decent starting position to build his mental abilities. He is a very similar player to Duarte, and I would be tempted to retrain him to be another full-back because of his crossing ability. I have reasonably high hopes that he can progress into being a part of the team. It's impossible to tell how far he'll go, but he has the best chance of the bunch so far.

Now, often a three-and-a-half-star player would be the highest, but not this season. Yes, that's right, we've got a four-star player. We've not had one since (off the top of my head again) Luis Santos, who is turning into an excellent player four years down the line. High hopes therefore as I went to have a look at him. Oh, and that's right, he's a striker - perfect. So, without further ado, Rodolfo Marques is a striker born in Angra do Heroísmo and dubbed the new Manuel Fernandes, who I thought was a midfielder, but never mind. He is starting from a decent position, he can finish, he's determined and has decent off the ball movement already. Physically he needs to toughen up, he is reasonably paced for his age, but his strength is pathetic. With his competent passing I may look to train him into a replacement for Djokovic in Harmer's famed 'Pastore-role' - the creative striker. I have pretty high hopes for him generally, and with some way to go to reach his PA (I'm assuming that's what the stars relate to) he could become a very good player.

Final Assessment

Overview - Sixteen players; Two I hope will become first teamers of some description; two on the cusp; three I'm unconvinced by, but prepared to be proved wrong on; and nine who are likely to be straight out of the door.

The Plan

1/ The nine half-star players will not be offered deals unless my assistant makes a case for them.

2/ Omar Vaz, Osório Sá and Ricardo Duarte to be offered youth deals and a chance to show they have a future at the club.

3/ Luís Pereira and Michaël Vernier to be offered proper contracts but probably to remain in the U-19s for now.

4/ Flávio Carvalho and Rodolfo Marques to be offered proper contracts and promoted to the first team training squad as soon as possible, given first choice of tutors and generally have resources thrown at them to get them where I think they can.

5/ There will probably be some retraining position-wise too. I plan on getting Carvalho to retrain as either a central defender or a full back as I don't have any need for central midfielders. While Luís Pereira will be trained in the art of playing on the left so he better fits our tactical system.

(Thanks for reading (if you have) and sorry if you've just skipped past my drivel, the extended format is part of my feeling for ways to change my updates to focus on the important part of my new aim)

[tjt65]

Top update PRDH, i look forward to your posts with great anticipation.

Marques looks a quality player aswell!!

[aldojags]

PRDH that was a crackin read, I laughed out loud about the bit where they are schooled in the history etc hahaha great idea for your update, extending the youth intake I like it! Marques Perreira and Carvalho all look to me like they'll be first team players for you, and likely very good ones!

[PRDH]

aldo/tjt - Cheers. Interested in your thoughts on Carvalho. Where do you think he should end up? Full back? Centre half? His current position of DMC? That's open to everyone of course, where do you think he should play?

Edit - While idly wandering around checking my team are ready for the next game, I noticed Pedro Cardoso is 28! How the hell has that happened! I had it in my mind that he was about 25.

Edit 2 - A question for everyone on retraining players. Duarte, the player from a couple of season back who I was retraining to become a right back instead of a DM is now natural at right back. If I stop him learning the position in training, will he forget? Obviously he'll still be paying there regularly in matches.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Des Tiny's A.S. Viterbo Calcio

Serie C2/A 2012/23

Mid Season Update

January 1st 2013

In Short

Predicted: 17th

Currently: 10th

Expectations: Avoid Relegation

My Aim Now: Mid-Table Finish

Wage Budget: €9,712

Transfer Budget: €0

Wages at 01.01.13: €12,261

The League

Well it has been a bit back and forth all season in the league, we started with 2 draws followed by 2 losses, and I thought at this point that maybe avoiding relegation would be easy. We lost the next two games before another 4 split results of 2 wins and 2 draws, this meant after 10 games played we were 7th and in the playoffs. A realistic shot at playoffs was appearing, well the next 9 games showed our inconsistency as we won 4 and lost 5, but after conceding 9 goals in two games we swapped out our keeper, and the next five games we have gone 3-2 with only 6 goals conceded, much better.

Table

Serie C Cup

The Cup starts with a group stage which has ten groups of 5 teams, and we started in group F and scored 10 goals and only lost one game in our effort to get out in 2nd place.

Table

Then we were drawn in the 1st round against a Serie C1 side who was predicted to run us off the park, the boys went out to face Andria away from home and we scored first, but they equalised only 4 minutes later. Straight after half time we managed to score again, and then a third goal seemed to make it all over, but we had Di Fusco sent off in the 78th minute and were going to have to defend with everything we had left, but we held on for our 3:1 victory.

This put us into the 2nd Round, where we would face Barletta, they were a much better Serie C1 side, and with a few players missing we were in trouble, and then it was topped off as Di Fabiis was sent off in the 26th minute, an unbelievable event which meant we were in serious trouble. The attempt to hold off Barletta saw them score in the 36th minute, and as we pushed forward to try and get back on level terms they scored again in the 67th & 89th minutes to leave us knocked out and suffering a 0:3 defeat.

I was actually quite happy with that, we managed to play 6 games in the cup first season out. My team managed to score 13 goals and only concede 8 (3 in our final loss), and it showed me which players would help in the league season and which ones needed some work.

The Players

Some players have really stood out to this point, while others have actually ended up being a let down. As I am now so far over wage budget we are going to have to send some players away in an attempt to get at least lower, so if a player hasn't performed, or hasn't made it onto the park yet they are likely to see themselves on the transfer list or terminated.

My Personal Stars so far:

|-----|-------------------|-----|-------|-------|-------|-----|-------|
|     | Player            | Pos | Apps  | Conc  | Clean | MoM | AvRat |
|-----|-------------------|-----|-------|-------|-------|-----|-------|
| GK  | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/ValerioScarsellaOverview_Attributes.png"]Valerio Scarsella[/url] | GK  |  5(0) |   6   |   1   |  0  |  7.02 |
|-----|-------------------|-----|-------|-------|-------|-----|-------|
|     | Player            | Pos | Apps  | Goals | Assts | MoM | AvRat |
|-----|-------------------|-----|-------|-------|-------|-----|-------|
| Def | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/ArturoZuccarelliOverview_Attributes-3.png"]Arturo Zuccarelli[/url] | DC  | 22(0) |   2   |   0   |  1  |  6.97 |
| Mid | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/FrancescoFrijioOverview_Attributes-2.png"]Francesco Frijio[/url]  | AML | 20(0) |   3   |   6   |  1  |  7.03 |
| Mid | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/EmanueleMoriniOverview_Attributes-2.png"]Emanuele Morini[/url]   | AMR | 21(0) |   5   |  10   |  3  |  7.10 |
| Fwd | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/LucaRibertoOverview_Attributes-2.png"]Luca Riberto[/url]      | ST  | 22(0) |  13   |   3   |  5  |  7.20 |
| Fwd | [url="http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p604/jononewton/Viterbese/JosephPisanoOverview_Attributes-1.png"]Joseph Pisano[/url]     | ST  |  3(2) |   5   |   0   |  0  |  7.52 |
|-----|-------------------|-----|-------|-------|-------|-----|-------|

Our replacement keeper and striker have played a major role so far, Scarsella has come into the squad and greatly changed the number of goals against us. At the same time Pisano has stepped up while Riberto needed a rest and has managed to score 5 goals in only 5 games. The other four have been mentioned already, the two youngsters have managed to continue performing above their station, while Riberto & Morini are leading this team from the front.

The Transfer Window

I am not looking to bring anyone into the squad, my team is at an ok level. We are likely to see a bunch of players leaving or released by the end of January. I need to get my wage budget down, at the same time I need to try and extend the contracts of a couple of players that are central to our team.

The Players whose Contracts are up at end of season [Apps]:

Bold: Top Priority, Italics: I want to Stay, Red: Can Leave

Luigi Panarelli [2(14)], Fabio Di Fausto [21(2)], Emanuele Morini [21], Leonardo Orsi [18], Davide Cosaro [6(11)], Matteo Salvi (Loan) [5(5)], Alessandro Sabatino [3(6)], Marco Testa [1(4)], Ivan Aiardi (Coach/GK), Salvatore Alfieri, Matias Vegnaduzzo, Rinaldo Lispi.

I think Di Fausto is going to be the hardest to sign, he wants about 1k per week, that is unaffordable, I think I can re-sign Morini for 600 p/w which is acceptable to me given the job he has done. The rest will happen as we go along.

Edit: Well the board increased wage budget to 12,750, this makes it a bit easier and I don't have to dump as many players now.

[ri916]

Edit 2 - A question for everyone on retraining players. Duarte, the player from a couple of season back who I was retraining to become a right back instead of a DM is now natural at right back. If I stop him learning the position in training, will he forget? Obviously he'll still be paying there regularly in matches.

He wont forget it if he's natural and he doesnt even have to play matches. He will only lose his natural position if you play him somewhere else and retrain the position.

[aldojags]

Whenever I have done the retraining, once I've stopped the training and dont play them there anymore, they eventually lose it, but I don't know if I've retrained to "natural" level, so ri916 sounds like he's right.

Carvalho could play centre half but 5'10 is maybe too short for a centre back, I like them to be at leasr 6'2! He could play right back yeh, aswell as CM.

[tjt65]

I agree with aldojags, i think that Carvalho probably isn't best suited for a CB, i would leave him as a CDM (maybe anchorman?).

You could easily retrain him to be good as a holding CM or a CB because he would be a solid backup in both positions.

[PRDH]

Cheers ri916, that extra training could make a difference in him reaching his potential.

aldojags/tjt - Thanks guys, I've noticed he's already competent at CB, so I'm still tempted to up that to at least accomplished to add some depth to that department as I've looked a bit thin at times this year.

One weird thing keeping me motivated at the moment is the fact I've been in my stadium for 18 years now, I remember at Romorantin we got a second new stadium 20 years after moving into the first one. Hoping that might be the case this time too. If they don't name this one after me I'll be gutted, though I might suggest the 'Cardoso Arena'.

[PRDH]

Lusitânia Açores - Season Summary - 2041/42

Finances | Summary

Looks disastrous, but that's mainly because it's before Champions' League TV money came through, should make it slightly better.

Transfers Frees | Loans | Cash deals

One transfer in, the return of an ageing former youth player, Tiago Costa, to add some depth to the striking department. Out went a few senior imported players, and there was the usual glut of loans to feeder teams Fatima, Penafiel and Oriental who finished 6th in the Premier League, 11th in the Second League and won promotion from the Second Division respectively.

Competitions

Domestic - Table | Graph | Supertaça | Taça de Portugal | League Cup

Domestically I'm pretty predictable. I could probably copy and paste the majority of this from the previous update, but I won't. Another pretty comfortable season in the league. The most shocking thing was the gap between me, 1st, and Sporting, 4th, which was a shocking 30 points. As for the cups, well again we won the Supertaça on penalties before losing in the other two cups as our youngsters didn't quite perform.

European - Group Table | First Round 1st/2nd Leg

A return to my traditional 1st Knockout Round exit here. We cruised through a tricky group before coming up against Bayern Munich in the knockout stages. A tricky tie, but I'm a big team now. A decent performance away from home but we misfired back in the Azores and couldn't get the goal we needed.

The Team (homegrown unless stated otherwise)

'Keepers

Ricardo Dias - 48 apps, 32 conc, 23 cln, 1 MoM - There are other keepers at the club, but none of them made an appearance this season, so I won't include them here. Dias was ever-present and had another great season. The back up is mediocre and long-term number two Nelson Martins is leaving at the end of the season on a free after he got fed up not playing, I'm not sure he's good enough for a starting job at a proper team, so it'll be interesting to see where he ends up. This leaves me a little thin in this department, I may have to have a look around to see if any of my former youth 'keepers are still making a living at anything approaching a decent level.

Defenders

Shéu Sousa - 14(11) apps, 1 gl, 3 acts His first season as an eligible player went well. He rotated in the right back position and, despite his age, he didn't look totally out of place, even managing to pitch in with a goal. His technical skills are progressing reasonably and he is physically excellent already and has been recognised at youth level for Portugal. A player I have high hopes for.

Duarte - 27(6) apps, 3 asts - Second season in the first team and his training, coupled with game time, has led him to learning the right-back role to perfection. He displaced established player Pesic this year, probably not entirely on ability but as part of the project. He needs to work on his tackling and pace, but is beginning to look like a proper player, and at only 18 he has the potential to go a lot further. Between them he and Sousa should have this position sewn up for a long time.

Ricardo Aleixo - 39(1) apps, 3 asts - After his breakthrough season last time out, he became our definite first choice in the left back position. He is progressing nicely, adding some ability when going forward to his already decent defensive skills. His good club form saw him recognised internationally making his full Portugal debut. Earning just £100/week he must be one of the least well remunerated international players for a major side in the world! I'm very happy with him, and hopefully he's got a long way to go in the game.

António Reis - 3(1) apps - A quiet season for this young lad. He made his league debut off the bench and was involved in the cup squad but will have to improve further to challenge Aleixo at the moment. He is not without talent though, and could put pressure on him over the next few years, he will at least be a decent squad player for the time being. And, let's not forget, he's only 16. Plenty of time to improve on his positioning etc.

João Paulo - 38 apps, 7 gls, 1 ast, 4 MoM - Another cracking season for the defensive rock. Unrelenting in defence and a really potent threat from set pieces he's a great player. He's attracting admiring glances from big teams around Europe, but I hope he has enough loyalty, and I have enough success to keep hold of him. At 25 he's approaching his peak, and that's very exciting. It would take a spectacular player to displace him in the foreseeable future.

Luis Miguel - 13(11) apps - Luis is biding his time at the moment. He's a decent 20-year-old, and with Rui Lopes, the current partner of Paulo approaching 30, he will find his way to the first team soon, as long as a new hotshot doesn't come along and displace him. He's got the potential to be a good player domestically, whether he's got what it takes for us to sustain our place at Europe's top table is another matter. It'll be interesting to see how he develops as he gets more time on the pitch.

Saad Falah - 8(2) apps, 2 gls, 1 ast - The Iraqi-Portuguese defender appears to have stalled slightly, probably due to a lack of opportunities, although a lack of talent might also be a part of it. He looks to be turning into a decent back up, probably no more at the moment, but he might have a burst of development yet, and that could change that assessment. He's open to a call-up from the Iraqi side, it'll be interesting to see if they go for it. I'd have thought he's worthy of recognition for them eventually, as I can't see him getting into the Portugal side any time soon.

Rui Lopes - 36(1) apps - The defender with the silky skills had a quiet season not troubling the scorers at all which is surprising. Still, he's a quarter of one of the meanest back lines in the division and is very important at starting attacks from defence as he strokes the ball about nicely. He is also now vice-captain and definitely one of our more experience heads. He's been there and done it. As he approaches his 30th birthday it is time to start working on him to make sure he stays in the game. I'd ideally like to turn the entire club into a little Azorean place. If I could include staff in this project it would be amazing, but I'm not going to be strict, I want the club to remain a place to nurture talent.

Stipe Pesic - 7 apps - A victim of my homegrown zeal. Despite being a very long-serving and talented player he fell out of favour with the emergence of some viable contenders from the youth set up. A pity because he's been a great asset to the club. It's not that sad though as he's managed to find himself a move to another team. I mean, they're a bit of a step down, but nevertheless you might have heard of them, some small British outfit - Chelsea I think they're called. Hopefully he won't come back to haunt me at some stage down the line, but I wish him all the best.

Omar Omar - 6(1) apps, 3 asts - Another non-produced player, he got some game time, but couldn't push past Aleixo, I will keep him around for the time being, hope to train him up into a player I can get a decent fee for when I feel he is no longer useful.

Midfielders

Paul Bossman - 9(8) apps, 1 ast - Not his finest season, but he is still progressing nicely. He is excellent competition for Teixiera, and actually probably close to being a true rotation player now. He is excellent mentally and has some interesting all round technical skills which make him a useful deeper lying midfielder. He is a regular in the Portuguese U-21 side and has said he would only consider a call-up from the European team at the moment rather than his country of birth - Ghana. It'll be interesting to see whether that changes if he doesn't get full recognition soon.

Miguel Teixeira - 28(3) apps, 1 gl, 4 asts, 1 MoM - Still the main man in the holding role, he is a solid player, in fact probably more than solid. He has really maximised his skills and turned into a vital part of the side. He is a very good bodyguard for the lighter-weight talents of Vieira and Santos and has plenty of talent too.

Carlos Daniel - 4(1) apps - Still struggling to make a real breakthrough, I feel partly vindicated that I wasn't that excited by him when he emerged, but obviously I'd rather he'd proved me wrong. I think he's a candidate for a loan move next season as he's not getting the game time he needs to improve with me. Hopefully a spell with one of my feeders will spur him on.

Moussa Sidibé - 7 apps, 1 gl, 2 asts - At 20 I'd normally have wanted a player to have got further in his development than this, but there is something about his performances in the cup that give me hope. He looks a decent player, and with the embargo on players coming in I have to hope he can convert some of his undoubted promise.

Atanas Radkov - 11 apps, 1 gl, 8 asts, 1 MoM - The dearth of talent coming through the ranks on the left wing means it is still a haven for the external players. Radkov is still back-up to Tuominen but progressing nicely and showing in games that he is good enough should anything happen to the Finn.

Paulo Jorge Vieira - 26(4) apps, 3 gls, 7 asts, 2 MoMs - Slightly disappointing season for the classy midfielder. He is still first choice though, and there are still signs of his undoubted excellent. Hopefully next season will see a return to form for him.

Luís Santos - 21(11) apps, 4 gls, 5 asts - Vieira's understudy and an excellent player in his own right, this youngster will surely go all the way to the top and at six years Vieira's junior he is the ready-made replacement. Until then they will continue to rotate. He is an excellent option off the bench and another supremely talented graduate of the youth set up.

Álvaro Pinto - 6(17) apps, 1 gl, 1 ast - The grandfather of the youth teamers, Pinto, is still around and still making appearances. He's never been a first rate talent, but has been a very useful member of the squad and is another who, at almost 30, will be starting to think about his future.

Sérgio Rodrigues - 35(1) apps, 11 gls, 20 asts, 8 MoMs - Another superb season from the right winger. He scored and assisted a hatful and generally looked a real menace up the right. His form is gaining him some potential suitors but he is another I will fight very hard to keep at the club. He has it all. Not only a technical threat, he is also very skilled at popping up on the end of crosses using his great height and strength to compete with central, defenders. Did someone say 'new Cristiano Ronaldo'? No? Must just have been me then!

Lasse Tuominen - 25 apps, 8 gls, 11 asts, 3 MoMs - The only player who is undoubted first choice in his position now that is not homegrown and unfortunately I think that will continue for some time. There is no-one coming through to challenge him. Fortunately I don't feel too bad as he only made 3 appearances for his Finnish team back when he was very young before his £500 move to the Azores. (That's not a typo by the way, he cost me a mere five hundred pounds when he joined, surely one of the bargains of all time!). At 25 he has plenty of time left at the top, and with my academy's inability to produce a decent left winger we may need all of that time!

João Silva - 11 apps, 2 gls, 3 asts, 1 MoM - Still the best we've produced on the left wing. He's not a complete mug, but at 23 he really ought to be showing more than he is. I'm afraid he's never going to become a first team regular, unless something awful happens.

Forwards

Nuno Rosa - 9(13) apps, 6 gls - The young forward's progress has stalled somewhat. He no longer looks quite the bright young hope he once seemed. At 19 he has time to kick on, and his progress was harmed this season by a nasty injury that kept him out for a long time. Hopefully with a good pre-season behind him he can get back on track and start to show the progression I expected from him. We need him to provide some competition for the main strikers.

Mihajlo Djokovic - 15(1) apps, 6 gls, 5 asts, 1 MoM - Playing time for the Serb was curtailed this season as I looked to try to get as close to an all Azorean side as I could. He's still a great player, but I may look to sell him anyway to remove the temptation to play him and to give the youngsters more game time. Plus, he should get a decent fee and help the finances.

Tiago Costa - 10(6) apps, 1 gl - The exception to my 'no-signings' policy. He left the club 10 years ago to join Brondby in Denmark after which he had spells with Olympiakos and Cardiff before finding himself without a club. I decided to bring him back as he still looks a decent player, and one who would add depth to the strike force, especially as he can make a decent fist of the creative striker role. He wasn't the best player in the squad, but he didn't embarrass himself and was delighted to make his much delayed league debut for his boyhood club. At 34 he's not one for the future, but for the time-being is still a decent option and his an excellent example for the youngsters.

Pedro Cardoso - 41(2) apps, 26 gls, 3 asts, 6 MoMs - Again Pedro was not quite at his best this season, he missed chances I expect him to score and generally wasn't quite as lethal. His tally probably wasn't helped by spending some of his time as the deeper-lying striker as I experimented with where he played, but still I was a little disappointed. I mean 26 goals isn't bad per se, but it's not quite up there with what we all know he is capable of. Hopefully he'll rediscover his best form next season and prove to me why he's such a legend.

Abakar Tigabe - 22(12) apps, 13 gls, 6 asts, 6 MoMs - Got promoted to first choice this season as I pushed to make the team, as much as feasibly could, all-homegrown. He never disappoints, and always puts a good shift in. He may lack the spark of some of my great players, but with good players around him he is definitely good enough. That said, my new young striker (shown in an earlier post) may start to put pressure on him. Fingers crossed!

Progress Towards Goal

Of the eleven first choice players, ten are now a product of our youth set up and all the squad are now classed as home-grown by UEFA rules (which I'm not really counting). The change hasn't made a noticeable difference yet, but it'll be interesting as the remaining players who didn't emerge form my academy drift away whether it will. The main worry at the moment is obviously the left wing, where there is really nothing good enough to warrant a first team place from the youths. This will be a worry, but for now I will keep Tuominen in the line up only to be replace when someone comes along who is good enough to warrant a regular place.

Story So Far...

Season		League			Position		Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7202432&viewfull=1#post7202432"]2012/13[/url]		Second Division - South	12th			Avoided Relegation (just)
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7220339&viewfull=1#post7220339"]2013/14[/url]		Second Division - South 1st			Promoted!
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7239921&viewfull=1#post7239921"]2014/15[/url]		Second League		14th			Avoided Relegation
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7249179&viewfull=1#post7249179"]2015/16[/url]		Second League		2nd			Promoted!
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7271085&viewfull=1#post7271085"]2016/17[/url]		Premier League		13th			Avoided Relegation
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7285735&viewfull=1#post7285735"]2017/18[/url]		Premier League		3rd			Qualified for Europa League
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7337490&viewfull=1#post7337490"]2018/19[/url]		Premier League		4th			Europa League again
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7357975&viewfull=1#post7357975"]2019/20[/url]		Premier League		5th			Europa League again
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7384317&viewfull=1#post7384317"]2020/21[/url]		Premier League		1st			Champions!
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7414146&viewfull=1#post7414146"]2021/22[/url]		Premier League		2nd			CL Qualification again
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7430561&viewfull=1#post7430561"]2022/23[/url]		Premier League		1st			Champions!
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7467274&viewfull=1#post7467274"]2023/24[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7480108&viewfull=1#post7480108"]2024/25[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7531647&viewfull=1#post7531647"]2025/26[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7544658&viewfull=1#post7544658"]2026/27[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7553099&viewfull=1#post7553099"]2027/28[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL Semi Final
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7614242&viewfull=1#post7614242"]2028/29[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7628197&viewfull=1#post7628197"]2029/30[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL Semi Final
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7639411&viewfull=1#post7639411"]2030/31[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7652794&viewfull=1#post7652794"]2031/32[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL Quarters
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7665898&viewfull=1#post7665898"]2032/33[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL Quarters and domestic quadruple
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7703596&viewfull=1#post7703596"]2033/34[/url]		Premier League		1st 			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7719374&viewfull=1#post7719374"]3034/35[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL Quarters
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7732208&viewfull=1#post7732208"]2035/36[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7743979&viewfull=1#post7743979"]2036/37[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL Quarters
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7754129&viewfull=1#post7754129"]2037/38[/url]		Premier League		1st			Champions' League winners
------------------------------------------------Challenge Completed----------------------------------------------
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7839380&viewfull=1#post7839380"]2038/39[/url]		Premier League		1st			CL finalists
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7848401&viewfull=1#post7848401"]2039/40[/url]		Premier League 		1st			CL 1st Rd
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/279094-FM12-Big-Euro-Nation-Small-Club-to-Big-Club-Challenge?p=7866956&viewfull=1#post7866956"]2040/41[/url]		Premier League		1st 			CL Semis
2041/42		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Rd