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After my earlier aborted attempt, I will now post my end of season report again...

Keçiorengücü 2027/28 Season Review

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Quick Overview

Premier Division: 1st

Championship Group: Winners!!

(qualified for next season’s Champions League Group Stage)

Turkish Cup: Winners!!

Super Cup: Winners!!

Champions League: 1st Knockout Round

Premier Division

We lost a couple of games this season but still managed to top the table by some distance.

Final Table

Championship Group

Once the points were halved, we still had an eight-point lead. Wins in our first three matches brought the title home rendering this season’s Championship Group somewhat meaningless…

Final standings

Super Cup

Quite an exciting game this season as the lead changed hands several times in a 4-4 draw with Galatasaray. We then won the penalty shoot-out 4-2.

Turkish Cup

We had a straightforward run to the final, playing lower division sides or teams from the bottom half of the Premier league all the way. The final against Göztepe was as easy as the cup run as we won 4-1.

Champions League

Despite now being one of the second seeds, we ended up with a tough group containing Inter, CSKA Moscow and Bayern Munich. Inter got their revenge for last season when we beat them home and away by beating us home and away as they stormed to the top of the group. We did the double over CSKA and a home win over Bayern meant it all went down to the final game in Germany. We turned in one of our best performances of the season to win 2-1 and snatch second in the group.

Final Group Table

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got as we once again came unstuck in the 1st Knockout Round. The damage was done when we lost the home leg 2-1. A 1-1 draw in Portugal was not enough as we lost 3-2 on aggregate.

The Squad: Transfers

Again, there were major departures this year as I got rid of a couple of players who were spreading discord in the squad about contracts. The biggest loss and the biggest incoming fee came from the sale of Brazilian centre back Renato Gaucho, who joined Real Madrid in a 61 million TL deal. We also lost Jean-Baptiste Kalimunda, the young French goalkeeper who only signed a year ago. That really infuriated me as he started demanding a new contract asking for ten times his existing wage (he wanted to go up from 20k p/w to 200k p/w!) and refused to negotiate. He then started missing training so was dropped and then sold in January for 18.5 million TL (needless to say, he signed for a mere 38k p/w with his new side :mad:).

That meant my two major purchases in January were a new Brazilian centre-back Rui Pereira and a new cheap but good goalkeeper Pablo Orduna. Another new arrival in January who I have high hopes for is Bosnian right winger Boris Brkovic.

The Squad: Key Players

Fırat Pak (DR) – again excelled when in the first team and is well on his way to becoming one of our established homegrown stars.

Ariel Domini (DC)Solid and consistent at the back. Now an established Argentina international as well.

Kadir Alagöz (DC) – Another fine season saw Kadir become the first Keçiörengücü plaer ever to be named in the World Team of the Year.

Şahin Kaya (DM) – Not guaranteed a starting berth these days but still a highly consistent performer and now holds the club record for most league appearances.

Atahan Şen (AML) – Turned in some great performances out on the wing and became the fifth Keçiörengücü youth product to win an international cap as well.

Kaan Uygun (AML) – More of the same on the left side of our attack, providing 20 assists in all competitions.

Erman Ergin (ST) - in and out of the first team due to injuries this season (the worst of which, a broken foot, kept him out for 3 months) but played well when fit. He was named amongst the subs in the World Team of the Year as well.

Emrah Özkan (ST) - ended up being our top scorer in the league this season and has now taken Ergin’s place in the national side.

Alexandre Tavares (ST) – My coaches don’t rate this guy that highly since his comeback from injury but he still scored consistently when called upon. In doing so he became the club’s all-time top scorer in the league and won the Cup Player of the Year award following his hat-trick in the final.

The Season Ahead…

15 seasons in and it’s starting to feel like a bit of a slog – we are now at that ‘plateau’ stage where finances are secure, facilities are top-class and there is little challenge at domestic level but still a lot of work to do it Europe (part of the reason I have updated much recently). I have several players like Ergin, Alagöz, Özkan, Dragut and Domini signed to long-term deals so hopefully we can make some progress as they reach their professional peak.

Europe will be our main focus this season. I’m hoping for a return to the glory days of the 2023-24 season…

The Story So Far…

[b][u]Season[/u][/b][b]  | [u]Division[/u]    | [u]Position[/u] | [u]Play-Offs[/u] | [u]Turkish Cup[/u] | [u]Europe[/u]       | [u]Achievements[/u][/b]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 | 2nd (Grp B) | 5th      | QF        | 1st Round   | N/A          | N/A
2013-14 | 2nd (Grp B) | 1st      | N/A       | 3rd Round   | N/A          | Promoted!
2014-15 | First       | 1st      | N/A       | 3rd Round   | N/A          | Promoted!
2015-16 | Premier     | 10th     | N/A       | 4th Round   | N/A          | Stayed up
2016-17 | Premier     | 6th      | Won in R3 | 4th Round   | N/A          | Qualified for Europa League
2017-18 | Premier     | 2nd      | 3rd       | 4th Round   | EL 4th QR    | Qualified for Europa League
2018-19 | Premier     | 2nd      | 2nd       | Semi-final  | EL Group     | Qualified for Champions League
2019-20 | Premier     | 3rd      | 2nd       | 5th Round   | EL 1st KO    | Qualified for Champions League
2020-21 | Premier     | 3rd      | 2nd       | 5th Round   | EL 2nd KO    | Qualified for Champions League
2021-22 | Premier     | 2nd      | Winners   | 4th Round   | CL Quarters  | League Champions!
2022-23 | Premier     | 2nd      | Winners   | Winners     | EL Finalists | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners
2023-24 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | 5th Round   | CL Semis     | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2024-25 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Finalists   | CL Quarters  | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2025-26 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Quarters    | EL Quarters  | League Champions; Super Cup Winners
2026-27 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Winners     | CL 1st KO    | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners
2027-28 | Premier     | 1st      | Winners   | Winners     | CL 1st KO    | Domestic Double; Super Cup Winners 

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berty - Great progress and congratulations on the Europa win, I don't remember seeing anyone else crack that one so far. Got to be hoping for a Ligue 1 victory soon, you've been so close for a few seasons.

DodgeeD - Great dominance domestically, should have Turkey sewn up now, just need that breakthrough in Europe. That was an unlucky group draw, hopefully that's the hardest your groups will ever be now, and you've shown you can negotiate it. Your youth product defenders are fantastic as well. Pak is 18! Eighteen!! That's absurd. He's going to be phenomenal!

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Thanks PRDH. This year's group draw has been much kinder - we are still second seeds but this time our opponents are Arsenal (tough), Standard Liege (easy) and Maribor (play the youth team and win ;)).

And you are right to highlight the youth - with Pak and Şen now joining Kaya, Ergin, Alagöz and Özkan in the squad I have 6 regular starters from my youth system. That's never happened to me on any FM before! :cool:

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Well done domestically DodgeeD, and good luck in this seasons knockout stage, assuming you get through that group of course. ;)

Thanks PRDH, it's been a while since I've played this game, almost forgotten how good my side was, should really be completing this challenge but it's tough.

My star player is Daniele Reali, and when I've got his value set at £60m and he is wanted by the two biggest club sides he must be good.

There's been a bit of a manager merry go round during the close season, Laurent Blanc finally got sacked by France after a poor World Cup, I got linked to the England job, Blanc was given the position of England manager in the end, the Monaco manager got the France job and I was linked to Monaco, who gave the job to their Youth Coach... one Christopher Samba. :D Also I got offered the Chile and USA jobs, wow.

Into the next season, few matches in and I've won two competitions already. Good start to his managerial career from Samba in the Champions trophy. And did Juventus really win last seasons Champions league in the Super cup.

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Love when you do your updates dodgeed your youths are stunning.

That's fantastic getting your players in team of the year I've never had that!

Well done on Europa berty! That's excellent. How is your version of Ligue 1? Do Marseille Lyon + PSG spend tonnes every year? PSG have a ridiculous squad in my game, they are so erratic though, one season they scored 113 league goals but still didn't win the league!! Do you have a bogey team? It seems no matter how big the gulf in the teams, I always lose to Lorient, can't beat them to save myself! I've actually got a solid record against the big 3, beat them more than they've beaten me. Can't believe Monaco are top of your league, they are pretty much a guarenteed 6 points in my save, they must have a sugar daddy in yours? Weird seeing PSG so far down in your league!

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Well done Europa berty! That's excellent. How is your version of Ligue 1? Do Marseille Lyon + PSG spend tonnes every year? PSG have a ridiculous squad in my game, they are so erratic though, one season they scored 113 league goals but still didn't win the league!! Do you have a bogey team? It seems no matter how big the gulf in the teams, I always lose to Lorient, can't beat them to save myself! I've actually got a solid record against the big 3, beat them more than they've beaten me. Can't believe Monaco are top of your league, they are pretty much a gaurenteed 6 points in my save, they must have a sugar daddy in yours? Weird seeing PSG so far down in your league!

I don't remember seeing Monaco getting a sugar daddy, and checking their transfer history they mostly have got more money in than spent, so they've just had an exceptional manager and bought very well. Lyon and Marseille are still big clubs, though Paris SG are no longer oil rich and have struggled recently, IIRC last season they spent a while in the bottom 3. The latest club who had mega money takeover talks were Sochaux, who finished 5th last season. My bogey team until now (apart from Monaco) have been Stade Brestois, don't know what it is about them but struggle to beat them.

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Season 2018/2019 – End of season report

Serie A: The team played very well in the league and I feel like we know every team and their threats.

Milan played very well for a long time, but just like last year we finished in superb form and snagged the title. Also, for our second season in a row we are unbeaten at home. Hopefully the run will continue with the relocation to “Lippi Stadium” this summer.

Coppa Italia: We did well to come to the final and I was optimistic, considering we beat Inter in what was the “Final” of the league only 3 weeks earlier. However we were completely outplayed and didn’t even deserve a draw.

Champions League: Managed to win our two last matches, but that was not enough to qualify. Overall it was a nice experience for my young squad to play good foreign teams like Lyon.

Europa League here we come!

Europa League: We played way better than I was expecting us to do against the physically strong English sides. Really proud of the team and how they sent Chelsea out in the 2. Knock out round.

Our continental adventure ended in the quarters to Tottenham, who deserved the win.

Key Players/Serie A team of the year

GK: Sergio- Has the most league apps for the club with his 167, and he is gaining his Italian citizenship in 7 days. Another solid season from the Spaniard and he is a major reason to why we conceded the least goals in the league this year.

DC: Jaroslav Tichy- Our best defender this year, played well both in our 3-man and 4-man defense.

MC: Pavel Georgiev- Solid deep-lying playmaker. He tends to pick up a few injuries but played most of the season in style nonetheless.

AMR: Uche Opara- Had a good season down the right, but he can do even better I believe.

ST: Alessandro Pieroni- Our topscorer and most important player. Almost all of my squad are “honored to be in the same club as Pieroni” and we are a different team when he’s not playing.

After a year of no signings we are looking very good financially and are even described as “rich”.

Facilities are being upgraded and a few Italian players will be joining us this summer in an attempt to further Italianize the squad. If I sometime in the future wins the Champions League I want it to be with as many Italians in the squad as possible.

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Thanks PRDH. This year's group draw has been much kinder - we are still second seeds but this time our opponents are Arsenal (tough), Standard Liege (easy) and Maribor (play the youth team and win ;)).

And you are right to highlight the youth - with Pak and Şen now joining Kaya, Ergin, Alagöz and Özkan in the squad I have 6 regular starters from my youth system. That's never happened to me on any FM before! :cool:

Yeah, I've found the youth system has produced way more players worthy of a squad place for me too. I mean I'm only two left wingers away from a totally home-produced squad.

That is an easy group. Hopefully you'll void a brutal knockout draw (I'm working on the assumption you'll smash the group).

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berty-what is your ave attendance and how many season ticket holders do you have? A few of the other members of forum have tens of thousands, I average around 8k per week now, but for years in Ligue 1 I couldn't get more than 4k, and even after 2 titles in a row, I've only got like 1100 season tickets. My club is based on suburbs of Paris so not like it's the middle of nowhere, I thought it would've picked up a bit by now! I suppose PSG is too much competition, they have sell outs most home games.

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Lyon Duchère Association Sportive – Championnat National – 2014-2015

As per my post from a while back we hit Christmas in 2nd place with a game in hand and in the 9th round of the Cup via an upset at L2 leagues Montpellier.

Well, that euphoria did not last long as our 12 match unbeaten run in the league was ended by Le Mans and then we crashed out of the Cup to a CFA team (after 2 postponements). 2 wins in 3 helped but then things went considerably downhill – we were dire in 2 draws before relegation threaten Orleans came to our place and won 4-0. Oh dear :(. We did win the next match but promptly lost the next 3. Leaders Metz were sailing off into the distance but despite this form we were still in 3rd.

Despite a win in the next match, things did not get much better as following a loss we hit 4th. We then decided that, instead of losing we would start drawing. After each one we drifted further away from promotion. So, with 6 games left, we were 6th and 8 points behind 3rd. All over, you would think? Nope, we then started winning and everyone else copied our previous form. 2 wins for us and 2 defeats each for 3rd-5th and we were suddenly 2 points behind the last promotion spot and 2nd was not exactly miles ahead either. Then Marques went crazy – after 3 in the 2 previous wins he promptly got all 4 as we won at Cherbourg! 2 of the others won but when we beat 2nd placed Le Mans, the other 2 did not and suddenly we were 3rd, and only 1 point behind Le Mans.

When we took the lead at Paris in the next match I started to get excited, however they pegged us back and eventually won 3-2. That dropped us to 4th, 2 points behind Le Mans and Grenoble. By my calculations, on our head-to-head records, we needed to obviously win and for Le Mans not to win or Grenoble to lose if we to go up. Unfortunately, we were up against champions Metz. Fortunately we were at home and they hardly cared about this match. We attacked like crazy but they refused to concede (we even missed a penalty) so no promotion for us. Both Grenoble and Le Mans lost, so out of nowhere, Nimes actually got a promotion place at the expense of the latter who can hardly complain given that they got 4 points from their last 6 games.

So 5th place is where we ended up which ignoring our early season blip is around where we spent most of our time. Hmm, I’d have taken 5th at the beginning of the season, I’d have hardly believed it after 4 games but I can only be disappointed with that. To miss out on promotion by 1 point (maybe 2 as I have literally NO idea where we'd have finished if all 4 of us had ended with the same number of points) is a bit galling. The main difference was that we chucked it away twice (Feb / Mar and the final 2 games ) whilst the other 3 teams only did it once.

Final Squad

Finances – if losing less counts as getting better then they are getting better, cutting down our wages considerably helped a lot

Transfers – a lot less, mixed success, Siani was not great, Were did quite well, Muller and the loanee were good, the 3 Africans also and they will only get better, as will Almeida who is going to be very good indeed

Our more successful players

Best GKs – Benoît Aureille + Marcel Ngouadjio – Aureille continued his 100% appearance rate until Ngouadjio arrived from Africa in December and immediately played, apart from an injury he continued until the end of the season and did OK, as he is better, has a lot more potential and will hopefully be more settled he will be no.1 next season and as Aureille is too expensive to be a backup he will leave, which is a shame as he is good player for this level

Best Defenders – Mourad Benhamida + Patrick Amadou – 3rd good season in a row for the former, very quietly goes about his job without much bother, also accepted a large paycut, wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the same part of the report next year, Amadou is another of the Africans who arrived in December, as good as his partner Galimberti and has more potential and his LD career has got off to a good start, hopefully he will get even better next season

Best Loanee – Luciano Concaparent-club Rennes lent him to us just after Christmas and although I had several DMC at the club he became the best (which is a bit depressing given that he is only 17!), played nearly every game after his arrival and did pretty well, if they want to give him to me for another season, I certainly won’t complain but if not, then I have a couple of youngsters who aren’t far a million miles behind in ability and potential

Best Wingers – Achène Ouahchia + Dominik Muller – the former replaced Tribeau, he arrived last Spring and was pretty solid last season, given that he has L1 potential and is getting better, I shall do my best to hang on to him and he shall remain 1st choice, Muller came in from Germany in the Autumn and was in U19s apart from injury crises, when one of these crises hit ML in the Spring he came in and did so well that he kept the position until the end of the season, unless somebody better comes in he might keep it as well

Best Midfielder – Rafik Bouderbal – the usual, our best player and one of the best AMCs in the division (in team of the year), loads of assists and although a few more goals would not go amiss, I shan’t complain, some back-up would be nice as we are nowhere near the same team when he is out and he was a little injury-prone last season, like Benhamida he is one of the only original players still here

Most Prolific Striker – Frédérique Marques – the worst of our strikers on paper but far from it on the field, started off as back-up but when Siani never got going he came in and started scoring a bit, exact same story when Touré arrived from Africa, by March he was back in the side and then he went insane, 12 goals in 7 games insane, unfortunately he was the one who missed the penalty in our last match which cost us promotion, but given that it was really only because of him that we were in that position, I shan’t blame him much, he was going to be leaving at the end of the season but after that run he got himself another year’s contact, in the divisional team of the year as well

Best Striker – Christian Pathinvo – replaced the youngster Kouadio in the team and apart from his form going a bit downhill at the end of the season, he did well, is getting better and having the potential to be a star in L2, he will be around for a while

Notes:

England beat Northern Ireland in the final of the 2014 World Cup. Seriously WTF?!? :lol:

Instead of having several matches postponed for a waterlogged pitch this season, we just had the same match postponed twice :rolleyes:

We have still not sold a player, 3 times I have accepted offers and 3 times the players have turned down the contracts offered, which is in one way good but in another way makes me think we pay too much!

This Season’s Aims

Thin out the squad and cut down the wage billYES – more players left than arrived and our wage bill is £4k lower

Better away form – YES - 9-4-6 is 4 more wins and 4 less defeats better

Finish higher than 10thYES – a 5th that should have been higher

Next Season’s Aims

Sort out the left side of the team – I am not over-the-moon about either DL nor ML so a couple of new arrivals would be nice

Concede fewer goals – we conceded the same as last season when we finished 10th, a fewer less and we’d have gone up

Promotion! – I was going to say Champions but that is being a bit overly optimistic, however, given that we missed it by 1 point (or 2), we have to aim for it this time

12/13 – National – 10th

13/14 – National – 10th

14/15 – National – 5th

Team I Would Like To Play Every Week – Cherbourg (16th) (H4-0, A4-2)

Team I Would Not Like To Play Every Week – Metz (Champions) (A1-4, H0-0) – biggest defeat and denying us promotion means no contest, also no team did the double over us

Best 11

Overall Best 11

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Marty78 - Welcome to the challenge and good luck with cannes. No shame in picking a ‘bigger’ team so to speak – to be honest more often than not I tend to do the same…

G-Wiz - that’s tough going mate… shame to see things like that happen. I always accept transfer requests for players also. Best not letting them spread their unhappiness through the squad. More often than not they change their mind as they know what’s best for them!! ;)

Berty1978 - no shame on winning the Europa League. I personally would be delighted if I did that with Mannheim (though hopefully I won’t play in it ever again…) Daniele Reali looks a great defender too.

DodgeeD - great dominance of Turkey there… agree that seems you can almost focus on CL now. Looks a good group too.

silKEAPE - congrats on winning the title. Agree that Pieroni is a great player.

Ghostwriter - glad to see you have picked up again and are heading back in the right direction.

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Got my youth intake, nothing jumps out the screen at me, pretty average. I need to get my youth recruitment upped! But it's stuck on "above average" I've not been able to increase it for years.

I've featured the players who've been signed.

8 players with a PA of half a star! So they are all obviously chopped!

1 player with a PA of 1 star.

2 with a PA of 1.5

Franck Lembi - a young French/Congan attacking midfielder. Despite his projected 1.5 ability, I thought he looked like there was something to work with so I signed him.

1 with a PA of 2:

Steeve Verdier - young left back. Like most of the defenders to come through my ranks in past few years, is actually got a "competent" for other defensive positions, so I've signed him for his versatility if he ever fulfils his potential.

3 with a PA of 2.5:

Robert Fulton - young Scottish "sweeper keeper", got some decent stats already, but I'd have thought someone suited to sweeper keeper would have a better first touch than 5! Touted the next Allan McGregor (current Rangers and Scotland keeper), and plus being from my country, I was always going to sign him! Thats 2 Scots have come through the ranks since I arrived. The other (Jimmy "The Traitor" Donaldson) has been capped 20 odd times at u21 level for France, deciding to play for his adopted homeland instead of his country of birth, so I hope Fulton goes on to fulfil my wanting to develop a Scottish International player ambition!

Vincent Renucci - right winger with some decent technical stats, see how he goes. I don't use wingers so may retrain, or just see how he develops and sell him.

Anthony Tiero - a French/Ghanian attacking midfielder, could be a good squad player but doubt he'll ever be good enough to be considered a replacement for Oneil Tatlot at the tip of my midfield diamond.

1 with a PA of 3.

Guillaume Prost - a young right back/right midfielder. Looks to have good potential, fairly hopeful this kid could be a first team player in a few years. Already got Recep Alici, a young French-Turkish right back featuring for the first team, so this guy will hopefully provide good competition/back up in a few years when Alici is first choice!

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Lanzarote - 2014/15 - Season 3 - jimbowmanuk

Media Prediction: 12th

Actual Finish: 2nd

Season Tickets: 965(+7)

Transfers

Signed some players to improve the squad, the best one being Belgian Forward Kurt Wuets a free transfer from Heist and he turned out to be a right steal, scoring 40 league goals in the season.

League - Graph

After last seasons shocking placing the media had predicted us to only finish 12th, but I knew that we were better than that, the season started great remaining unbeaten for the 1st 9 games with 8 of those being wins, and we looked good for winning the league but we lost the crucial matches against teams near the top. Meaning 2nd place was the best we could do. Managed to break our own record by scoring 103 league goals. Defence still a bit suspect though shipping 62 goals.

So onto the play-offs again and I was more than confident of promotion this time. However Denia had other ideas, in a crazy match the 1st leg finished 7-5 to them, but I was hopeful of bringing them to my home ground but we could only win 3-2 in a game we dominated where we also had a goal disallowed so out 9-8 on aggregate and another season in Secunda B4

Fixtures 1

Fixtures 2

Spanish Cup

We were not entered in the cup this year, must be due to the league finish last season

Federation Cup

Not entered in this cup either, again must be due to previous league season

The Squad Stats

Finances - Chairman keeps putting money in to help with running costs

Youth Player came through the ranks with 5* PA called Marcos, came off the bench twice and scored on his debut.

Next Seasons goals

Promotion is the key one, I don't think I can handle anymore seasons in the B4

Season	| League	| Position	|Spanish Cup	| Federation Cup	| Europe	| Achievements
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2012/13	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A			| N/A		| Lost in Play-offs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14	| Secunda B4	| 11th		| 2nd Round	| Quarter-finals	| N/A		|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15	| Secunda B4	| 2nd		| N/A		| N/A			| N/A		| Lost in Play-offs

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berty-what is your ave attendance and how many season ticket holders do you have? A few of the other members of forum have tens of thousands, I average around 8k per week now, but for years in Ligue 1 I couldn't get more than 4k, and even after 2 titles in a row, I've only got like 1100 season tickets. My club is based on suburbs of Paris so not like it's the middle of nowhere, I thought it would've picked up a bit by now! I suppose PSG is too much competition, they have sell outs most home games.

We got a brand new stadium a few seasons ago that holds 17,000. The average attendances have slowly increased, peaked in 24/25 at 11,703 and decreased last season but half way through the current season I am averaging 14,391, IIRC we had around 3k season ticket holders. I'm the biggest club in our area now, with Rennes a mid to lower Ligue 1 side, we ground shared with Stade Lavallois while the new stadium was being built, they're now in the CFA.

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Well done in the league siLKEAPE, can see you completing the challenge soon.

Unlucky ghostwriter, that's harsh losing out in the last couple of matches.

That's really unfortunate jimbowmanuk, I've never found it easy to get out of the Segunda B when I've played there, it really is a lottery.

Cursing my luck a bit, finished top of my CL group (ahead of Real Madrid :D). The teams I could have got in the first knockout round include Shakhtar, Besiktas, Sporting Lisbon, Rosenborg :D, but I got AC Milan, excellent.

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rlipscombe - tell me about it, couldn't believe the lack of defence in the game

berty1978 -Thats a harsh draw to get after finishing above Madrid

ghostwriter - Thats a bit unfortunate to miss out by 1pt, I'm sure you'll go up next season

siLKEAPE - Well done on the title, shame you couldn't do the double.

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150px-AS_Cannes_New_Logo.jpg

AS Cannes Season 2012/13

NATIONAL

I was expected to gain promotion but our consistent failure to break teams down at home meant we missed out on the last day. We had the best defence in the league and lost the fewest games but failed to take advantage of that and drew far too many matches. The biggest problem was perhaps when opposing managers picked out our strikers as dangermen and their morale plummeted although morale was a problem in general which was compounded by the fact I probably made too many transfers. In spite of expecting promotion the board confidence says they are very happy to finish in a respectable league position. I find that a bit strange but am relieved it didn't put my job at risk. As far as the cups are concerned I rested players in all cup matches as I would rather concentrate on the league for the time being.

Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

TRANSFERS

Lots of transfers as I was like a kiddy in a sweet shop. With a number players leaving before the season even started and most of the rest leaving at the end of the season there was plenty of space in the squad. I didn't spend any money on transfer fees but my scouts highlighted plenty of free transfers so I didn't really need to.

THE SQUAD

Overall the squad has proved that, with a bit of added flair to help us score goals, they are very capable of a promotion push next year. I will be looking to improve the wide men and strikers in the summer as the defence is pretty solid although I will need a new RB. I'm not going to list too many players at this stage as most will have quite short stays at the club.

Idrissa Sylla - Struggled when targetted by opposing managers but still top scorer and very dangerous on his day.

Julien Berthomier - Solid RB was on loan but has agreed a contract and will re-join us next year as our own player.

Mexer - Good CB signed in January. Has done well so far.

Sidi Keita - Hard working and protects the defence well.

YOUTH CANDIDATES

Jean-Christhophe Sansoni - Overview | Report: The only player I'm going to mention as I doubt the others will be good enough as by the time they reach a decent level I expect to be at least in Ligue 2.

FINANCES

I am very lucky to have an ambitous board as we lost a small fortune over the season and despite missing out on promotion the board pumped in about £4m pound to put us back in the black.




			
		
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marty78 - unlucky on missing out on promotion there, those 0-0 draws at the end of the season look to have cost you.

Yeah I know, morale was very poor going into the last game and if we won we were promoted as we had a better goal difference but our strikers were "playing without confidence" and we wasted our chances. Oh well there is always next year.

EDIT - Unbelievably a tycoon has just taken over a team in my league and that teams just happens to be a new team to the league Evreux FC 27, whose town is twinned with where I live in the UK. I wish I had been sacked as they would have been elegible for the challenge and I definately would of picked them. Apparently he is going to make £24m pounds available for players.

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G-Wiz - that’s tough going mate… shame to see things like that happen. I always accept transfer requests for players also. Best not letting them spread their unhappiness through the squad. More often than not they change their mind as they know what’s best for them!! ;)

yeah generally in my experience thats what happened...the odd thing is his status said he was determined to prove his worth to the team, yet at the same time he requested a mutual termination of his contract on a few occasions. The only plus to come from it is that i already have a ready-made replacement in the squad who has now found himself prematurely in the first team, and starting to flourish - Kevin Krieger

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I'm sure a few of you may have had a lower league team occasionally get into domestic cup finals, and even sometimes winning them. But FC Rouen in my game, a pretty mediocre club who spend most their time yo-yoing between the National and Ligue 2, have, for the 2nd season in a row, beaten Marseille in the Final of a domestic cup. Last year, they beat the odds by beating Marseille in the final of the French Cup. This year, it's the Coupe de la Ligue, with Marseille again being the victims of a sensational giant killing. 2 major trophies for such a small club, makes me embarrassed I've never won either of them!

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Well done domestically DodgeeD, and good luck in this seasons knockout stage, assuming you get through that group of course. ;)

Cheers berty. We did indeed make it and now face Atletico Madrid in the 1st Konckout Round.
Love when you do your updates dodgeed your youths are stunning.

That's fantastic getting your players in team of the year I've never had that!

I was surprised and impressed by that too - and he's just repeated the feat by getting in the 2028 World XI as well :)

DodgeeD - great dominance of Turkey there… agree that seems you can almost focus on CL now. Looks a good group too.

Thanks rlipscombe. Champions League is definitely the focus (although we do seem to keep getting big league matches against our title rivals just before or after our European fixtures...)
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silKEAPE - Congrats on winning the title and best of luck for the Champions League!

ghostwriter - gutting to miss out on promotion but still good progress. You'll come back stronger next season.

jimbowmanuk - 7-5?!? :eek: So much for teams playing it cautiously in the play-offs. Good luck for next season!

marty78 - Very close to promotion also! Next season is the season ;)

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SV Waldhof Mannheim – German Bundesliga – Season 2024/25

Season Review

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The League

So after last season’s debut title triumph I was hopeful of retaining the title. After a steady start we quickly began to find our form and we found ourselves in the top 3. After ten games we found ourselves in the top 2 behind Bayern Munich and we kept on their coat tails through the winter. A slight wobble in January saw us lose a little ground but we steadied and found our form to close them down and take the top spot. We then eased away from the pack over the last eight games to retain our title by 10 points. We again had the tightest defence and although I would have preferred us to have scored a few more goals we did enough to retain the title.

German Super Cup

This season’s super cup saw us pitted against cup winners Koln who are a bit of a bogey team of ours. We settled quickly and raced into a 3-0 lead before they scored on the stroke of half-time. A second in the second half had us rattled but we hung on to retain our Super Cup title.

German Cup

This year’s edition of the German Cup saw us start away at feeder club Ingolstadt. The reserves came away with a 2-1 victory which saw us into the second round and a home tie against Bochum. A comfortable 3-0 win saw us face lower league opposition in Oberhausen who we beat 2-0 away. Victory saw us into the Quarter finals where we would face Freiburg away. The reserves were given another run out and despite a 1st minute goal from de Graaff we disappointed and lost 3-1.

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Champions League

After winning the German title we were entered straight into the group stages of the Champions League. We were drawn against Manchester United, Porto and Zrinjski. I felt it was a tough draw and it proved that way as we lost 1-0 away at Porto and 1-0 at home to Manchester United. Two 3-0 victories against Zrinjski saw us back on track as Porto came to town. We found our form and smashed them 5-1 with a hattrick from Freitas seeing us to victory. Our final game saw us visit Old Trafford and we put up a great fight before eventually losing 4-3. The Porto result saw us finish 2nd in Group G.

The 1st knockout round saw us drawn against Manchester opposition with City visiting the Carl-Benz Stadion. A close fought game saw us victorious 2-1 but a crucial away goal was conceded. The Manchester game was even tighter and we managed to progress with a 1-1 draw which ranked amongst our greatest European performances to date.

The win saw us into the quarter finals of the Champions League where we faced Italian giants AC Milan. We lost 1-0 at home however and then followed this with a 2-1 away defeat and our European adventure was over for the season.

The Players

Time to have a look at those players that earnt their first German winners medal with Mannheim…

Transfers

Squad 1 Squad 2

Goalkeepers

1. David Carroll - David started the season and did a decent job as ever. However when our form started to wobble a little I decided to give Dimitrov a go and he did well, keeping the No.1 shirt for the rest of the season.

30. Kostadin Dimitrov - Kostadin was initially selected for the German Cup games where he did well. Got a chance over the winter and after performing well he kept the shirt.

Full Backs

14. Migen Toma - Migen had another good season at RB and has settled into the position effortlessly. A great club servant.

51. Ronaldo - Young Ronaldo had to make do with a season of mainly being a squad player. Given run-outs on occasion he did well and established himself as the backup to Toma.

2. Victor Escobar - Victor slipped further down the pecking order after the arrival of Ronaldo and he is likely to be sold this summer.

3. Rafael - Rafael had another season of rotation, playing at times at LB, at times at CB and at times on the bench. What you call a versatile player.

20. Jonathan Lago - Lago had a kixed season and found himself relegated to a squad player after the emergence of Dasovic.

31. Slobodan Dasovic - Slobodan became unsettled early in the season through a lack of first team football so, like Solosin a couple of years ago, I gave him more game time. He responded by playing well and he pretty much kept his place from there on in. Developing into a highly promising player.

Centre Backs

6. Everton - Another good season for the Brazilian, he is a key part in our tight defence.

15. Vasilis Baxevanidis - Vasilis is beginning to decline a bit as a player and so became a reserve during the season. May well be sold this summer.

35. Aidar Solosin - Aidar, like Everton had another good season and performed well at the heart of our defence. Delighted I kept him and gave him a chance a few years ago when I could have sold him due to his unhappiness.

32. Bojan Filipovic - The young Serb got a few games this season and did ok but is becoming unsettled. I have a decision to be made this summer over his future.

Midfielders

4. Andres Yanez - Andres came in as a potential star but disappointed me a bit as he struggled to find his form. Will likely give him another go next season.

8. Roland de Jong - Roland was once more a star for the club and became the clubs highest paid player on £59k p/w in January when he decided to stay rather than leave the club for nearly £20 million.

11. Pirulito - Pirultio had a good season once more and confirmed his position as one of our better players. HOWEVER his contract expires in 12 months and he wants more than £60k p/w wages. I am loathe to pay it so I may try and cash in this summer with the continued development of Delcroix and Hamberger.

17. Andres Diaz - Andres played second fiddle to Clovis again and continues to bide his time. May give him more game time next season.

18. Simon Vennemann - Simon lost out to Teunis for the large part of the season this time round but delivered when called upon.

22. Philipp Hamberger - Philipp had a season mainly spent on the bench but did pretty well when he played. Need to try and get him more game time next season.

24. Mario Teunis - ‘Wonderkid’ Mario was given a lot more game time this season and did pretty well overall. Still developing, he could in time become the replacement to De Jong should he leave the club.

26. Clovis - another good season for the winger – MAY just be on the decline a little though. May lose out a bit next season depending on how well Diaz develops.

28. Constant Delcroix - Constant got more game time and delivered more often than not. His development is leading me to consider selling Pirulito.

44. Branko Loncar - Branko got a few games this season and did pretty well. May send him out on loan next season to get match experience.

61. Mikica Djokovic - Mikica seemed happier to be a squad player this season though he did become unsettled towards the end of the season. I have a decision to make on him. Maybe a loan season might be good for him??

Strikers

7. Timothy Veldman - Veldman dropped out of favour this season and he will depart in the summer.

9. Dimitri Delcroix - Dimitri enjoyed his first full season and he fully justified my decision to spend £7.5 million in January 2024. 18 goals in all competitions saw him become Freitas’ partner.

10. Theo de Graaff - Theo once more played a number of games although many were from the bench. Weighed in with a few goals too. Still developing.

16. Roman Le Gal - Roman played a couple of games but struggled with injuries. I may give him some football on loan next season.

19. Ricardo Freitas - Ricardo returned to form with 18 goals in the league which were instrumental in us retaining our title. Key player for us right now.

29. Petr Ptacek - Petr played a few games over the winter when we struggled with injuries and did a decent job.

40. Javier Fahrasmane - Javier got a few appearances in his debut season and did ok.

66. Godfrey Mofokeng - Godfrey continued his yo-yo seasons this time having a disappointing season. Delcroix’s arrival has put him in the shad a little.

Finances

Our European progression saw us make a profit again but this is restricted somewhat by the monthly losses we make largely due to wages. Still I am comfortable with this as long as we continue in this form.

The Future

After retaining our title we are slowly establishing ourselves as a force in German football. I am also pleased with our progression in the Champions League although the performances against Milan were a little disappointing. The board are adding seats to the stadium which whilst not increasing the capacity means that more will be able to watch our European adventures. Crowds are also on the increase which is encouraging. Next season is now about trying to make it a hattrick of German titles and reaching at least the quarter finals of the Champions League again.

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rlipscombe- Well done on winning the league again mate. Your team seems to have something in them when it comes to closing out a season. You played the kids in the cup, so that can be discounted. You also had a very solid performance in the champions league, maybe you could even go a couple of steps further next season- it seems you can beat anyone on your day. How large is your stadium? and what sort of attendances are you getting? that's probably the reason for you losing money as your wage budget is most likely better than most of the top german clubs.

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So we are doing well in the Second Division sitting in 8th place. But i am doomed. I don't have the money to offer my players new contracts. More than half of my players contracts expire this season. FML.

EDIT: I won't give up on this save even if i lose all my players. I will fight for this even if if i will have to play with my youth squad!!!

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2019/2020 – preseason

After winning two league titles in a row, I am now trying to further “Italianize” my squad. As last year, all of my staff is from Italy. 13 out of 24 players in the first team have an Italian passport aswell.

Serie A

Predicted: 4th

We have to consider us a title candidate now, and the least I expect is to finish within the top 4.

Champions League

I am aiming at qualifying from the group stages for the first time.

With this group, I think we have a fair chance of doing so.

As we lost to Inter in last years Coppa Italia final, it was good to get some sort of revenge in the first match to be played at our new stadium.

Hopefully we can get to the final this year aswell.

Signings (All Italians/Italian second nationality)

GK - Sascha Hubner – Free: I have my doubts he will ever become better than Sergio, but it is good to finally have an italian keeper in the squad.

DC – Giuseppe Morano- 2m£: Finally arrived from Udinese after being chased by me for a couple of seasons. Towering centreback that will be dangerous on set-pieces.

DC – Corrado Poli- Free: Arrived with a serious injury, hopefully it won’t stall his development.

DL – Cristian Scurto – Free: Solid left back that arrived from Sampdoria. Dubbed the new Dario Dainelli, and he already has a full Serie A season under his belt.

DR – Fabian Dominguez – 4m£: Arrived from Banfield in Argentina. Became a wonderkid as soon as he set his foot in Pontedera, and all of my coaches went crazy when I asked for his report. Great expectations.

ST – Mariano Battaglia – 11m£: Arrived from Zurich after I cashed out on his release fee. Will rotate him with Pieroni in the beginning, but might be forced to create a formation where they both can be utilized.

I also brought in two French youngsters for our youth team.

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well done on the league title rlipscombe. Im sure that in the coming years with domination of Germany, the european glory cant be too far behind

in Ac Viseu news, last years star man Per Kjaersgaard has, with 8 league games remaining, already broken his own club record for goals scored in a season. It has been an incredible season by all accounts, which sees us sitting 2nd, just 4 points behind Porto. With 8 games left its all to play for. Wish me luck!!

EDIT: In more less-exciting news, the chairman has decided to go above my head and accept an offer of 1.1 million from Sao Paulo for my first choice GK Souza...having improved significantly this season, losing him will be a major blow :(

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rlipscombe - Congrats on retaining the title . Hopefully this symbolises the start of your total dominance as you crush Bayern into dust beneath the juggernaut that is Mannheim. Love the look of your squad, Diaz and particularly Teunis look to be brilliant youngsters, and I love how much pace there is throughout your squad, your boys could outrace mine all day long!

Andy Sava - Sorry I can't remember. Is this Second Division in Portugal? Because I remember the wage budget issues from my seasons down there, it was brutal, but it is possible to build a decent squad, it's just a case of fighting for every player and accepting that occasionally you will lose that fault. Good luck, plough on, it's those moments that make the success even sweeter when it comes!

G-Wiz - So frustrating when the board decide to be idiots. You'll just have to enter the market and pull an even better player out of the bag. Hope you manage it!

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AS Cannes Season 2013/14

NATIONAL

Finished as champions and also winning manager of the year and we finished the season with a 23 game unbeaten run although we did have a fair few draws. A somewhat mixed start to the season, mainly due to a number of summer signings, eventually levelled out and we were easy league winners at the end. It was once again our defence which was the foundation for our performances and, try as we might, we struggled to really get the goals flowing as I would of liked. As solid as we are it is clearly a midfield problem as the service to strikers has been disappointing and against very defensive sides we have struggled to open them up and very rarely scored more than two goals in a match. I'm hoping to improve this area of the squad over the summer and will need to with the step-up in quality.

Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2

TRANSFERS

Only free transfers again and one loanee but we did manage to get a £120k fee for an unwanted player. Most are just squad players but there is a couple of good performers.

Alvin Arrondel - Good young CB who plays as a cover defender.

Pierrick Cros - Another young CB who plays as stopper.

Valentin Eysseric - An attacking midfielder with some potential who also provides cover wide left.

Guy Gnabouyou - A young striker with a bit of pace. Mixed performances so far but he did join half way through the season.

THE SQUAD

A couple of key players and top performers.

Idrissa Sylla - A few niggling injuries meant he started just half the games but when he plays he is always a threat.

Julien Berthomier - First choice right back joined permanently in the summer after spending the first year on loan and he continued his good performances.

Mexer - Assured defender can play stopper or cover depending on where I need him. Always look better when he is in the team.

Landry Banafoi - First choice keeper is solid and consistant although perhaps helped by the solid back four in front. 21 clean sheets in 35 league games.

YOUTH TEAM

This years candidates were pretty ordinary and I released most and with the best youth teamers predicted to be "good League 2" players, I'm hoping they will never be good enough for the first team as I'm hoping to get out of this league in a few years.

FINANCES

Once again we spent way too much money but once again the board pumped in over £4m keeping us in the black. I am hoping that promotion will improve attendances and increase turnover but there is still quite a gap between income and expenditure that is unsustainable without continued investment.

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Ri916 - cheers. In terms of the stadium the capacity is just under 30,000. We’re regularly getting mid-20,000s now which is helping but we’re A LONG WAY behing Bayern and Dortmund… think our wage budget is about 5th in the rankings now.

Andy Sava - that’s tough going. Can you try and sell a few to generate the money to offer contracts?

DodgeeD & G-Wiz - Cheers guys.

PRDH - cheers mate. Teunis is developing really well and Diaz is getting more game time. I do like the pace in my squad. Watching the matches sometimes it really shows how much it helps us.

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Well I am not sure what went wrong with Viterbese in the second half of the season, but we dropped from 7th to 16th, and have to go through the relegation playouts...not looking forward to this.

Well I thought I had just been relegated, we won 2:0 away, and then lost 3:1 at home, assuming away goals I ws gone, but Highest Seed wins in these playoffs...PHEW! We go into the second round, now need to win this to survive...

Well that was crazy, we had a 3:3 draw at our place, then away it was 0:0 through 90 mins and we went to extra time, and then it ended 1:1 meaning Penalties, we went down 3-1 and were in trouble, though it was 3:3 when their final guy stepped up, and when he scored we were relegated, this meant my first season with Viterbese was my last as we were relegated to unplayable leagues.

And Sacked before the relegation forced it :p

Time to find a new team lol

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PRDH & rlipscombe - It's in Germany. I am to blame for this happening because of the way i handle expiring contracts. Because i am always looking to improve the squad and i am at a stage where each season we can get better transfers in, i don't offer new contracts until six months before they expire. Usually i am ok because i make it a point not to go over budget with my wages but this time i screwed things up and went 10k over. Tried to sell some players i don't use to often but i had no luck.

I still have a few games left this season and i want to finish as high as i can so we get more money. As for the next season, i already got my eyes on some youth players that will star in the team while i rebuild the squad. Stupid mistake was stupid but i won't give up on Kiel just yet. I'll just have to move on and learn from this. Nothing i can do about what's already happened.

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Season is done, we finished 13th. If it's ok with you guys i won't do any big update just some thoughts on this season and things to come since nothing interesting happened and no players stood out.

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Des Tiny's

Penalva do Castelo

sc-penalva-do-castelo-logo-primary.jpg

Another New Club

Segunda Divisão Sul 2012/13

June 29th 2012

Fresh Beginnings

Well following the disaster of relegation in Italy, Des Tiny has made the trip west to Portugal. A quick trip in the Tardis saw him back on June 29th 2012, he headed up into the mountains and back to an area he knows. Des Tiny has been hired as the manager of Penalva do Castelo in the Portuguese Segunda Divisão Sul for 2012/13.

Profile (Manager)

Personal Page (Manager)

Overview Screen (Club)

League Positions (Club)

Information (Club)

Facilities (Club)

Finances (Club)

In Short

Predicted: 13th

My Aim: Avoid Relegation

Expectations: Avoid Relegation

Current Wages: €1,390

Wage Budget: €3,007

The Team

Full Squad

Captain: Sergio (DRLC)

Most Caps: Paulo Listra (AM/MC) - He already has 203 caps for Penalva, he will be looking to get more.

My Fav: Oliveira (ST) - I would say the Brazilian will be my starting striker, but nothing is guaranteed.

So I have headed back to a club I used in FM11, even if I was only there for 1 season, I have a small connection to the place.

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Marty- Well done on promotion mate! Some good signings as well and hopefully you can start life in Ligue 2 better than I have! I've caught a nasty strain of man flu so I dont imagine I'll much to do today other than play fm (I am genuinely ill :D) Hopefully I can close out season 2 and get the update up.

LLR- Unlucky to get relegated. It must have been even more gutting going down in a one off match. Good luck with Penalva and my only tip to you about managing in portugal in fm 12 is to get a very pacey striker.

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