FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

[rlipscombe]

Marty78 - solid season there – like you say maybe another year

Aldojags - congrats again on a great season even with the Cl defeat. Domestic treble is impressive.

Duccio - congrats on 5^th and another improvement. Paulo Inverno looks a cracking striker! Could be a world beater in a few years.

Killiekev - welcome and good luck in Germany with Koblenz.

Brick - good luck in Italy – I hope it goes better this time…

[Lenzar]

No idea where this came from, though we are dominating in the league.

[minisav]

Just got a 2-2 draw away to Real Madrid!!!

I was 2-0 up though Ronaldo double killed me.

[Brick_Tamland]

Ugh I have been playing FM since 01-02. I have always kinda sucked at it but have played the heck out of each version.

Each time I am a glutton for punishment. Off to a horrific start in Italy. Lost 4 and have drawn 1. Not looking good boys.

[minisav]

Ouch. Here's hoping you can turn it around.

2-0 down at half time in the CL at home to CSKA, won 3-2.

[Dr Poods]

DR POODS - USL DUNKERQUE SEASON REPORT 2017-18

End of Season Report

6TH FRENCH LIGUE 1

Club Legend

THE SQUAD

20Report/Squad1.jpg'>The Squad (1)

20Report/Squad2.jpg'>The Squad (2)

We had a good season and it was interesting to monitor how the squad had performed when competing on multiple fronts. We exceeded expectations in all competitions, making the 2nd knockout round of the EURO Cup and reaching the French Cup Final being particular highlights. Losing out on European football to Valenciennes (who beat us in the Cup) was a disappointment, but given that we had gaps in the squad because we didn't have eligible players (for European purposes) I think that a year of consolidation where we can concentrate in the league is to our advantage.

6th in Ligue 1

League Position Graph

Results (1)

Results (2)

Results (3)

Transfers this season were more aimed at increasing the number of players who can be a part of future Euro squads as home-grown players. Of note however is the signing of Robin Lebourg from Sion for 2.7 million and Huber for 6m. These players are not included in screenshots, but can be posted by request! The best would have to have been Rodriguez who starred up front and Ivkovic who averaged over 7 at LB, even when being expected to be squad support. Matthieu Flamini's performances earned him another season, but whether he can go further is up to debate.

Transfers - 10 IN, 8 OUT

THE DR POODS' PLAYER AWARDS

As usual, I will be giving four players special recognition for their achievements this season.

Rodriguez absolutely dominated with over 30 goals. Was a little bit spotty with form, but when he was on, he was outstanding.

Rodriguez

Toni Kurtovic, doesn't really even need a report, was brilliant at RB, and apart from a yellow card problem was dominant at RB. But, the vultures are circling. Luckily he is loyal...

Kurtovic

Bambock was initially used as cover in the centre of midfield, but ended the year with his best ratings in his time at Dunkerque. Whilst more creativity has been brought in, his flexibility and attitude make him a valuable part of the squad.

Bambock

Carlos Rocco came into his own this season and allowed Flamini to take a role in central midfield. A great player and since his is still young with a fantastic work rate, I believe he can be similar to Kurtovic and make DMC his own for many years to come.

Rocco

THE DUNKERQUE TEAM AWARDS

Vladyka - Fans' Player of The Year

Best XI

Overall Best XI

Well done to the new entrants to the Overall Best XI. It is interesting that some of the players who never made an impact after Ligue 2 are still included.

THE FINANCES

10,621,710

The Finances

The money looks solid and ignoring the transfer spending I have done since this screenshot, we are looking solid. This is probably the most pleasing aspect of my reign so far.

LIGUE 1 AWARDS

This is the only award we picked up this year.

Rodriguez - Most Promising Player

I believe that having a year off from Eurpoean competition will be a blessing as it gives the youth another year for home-grown status. Furthermore, we really want to challenge for a top 3 spot as we have been around the 4th to 6th positions, so it is not out of the question. Wins over PSG, OL and Ajaccio as well as more consistency will hopefully enable us to leapfrog our previous performances.

Wish us luck!

ALLEZ DUNKERQUE!!!

[Dr Poods]

By the way, sorry for the delay guys.... missed me?

Moved into a new house and the internet is not connected yet.

[killiekev1869]

I've had an "eventful" start to the season... A 5-4 win in the last friendly (3-0 down, 4-3 up, 4-4, last minute winner). Then I've lost 4-3 in the first two league matches, with an own goal, a penalty scored and missed against me and a player sent off. I never thought I'd be looking forward to a boring 0-0!

[ri916]

Sorry for not posting guys been engrossed in the Olympics (seriously, I've made like 500 posts in the thread for it in OTF) Not sure how much playing I will get done until the games are over, but I haven't given up, promise

[minisav]

Dr Poods, that's a pretty solid season. A shame to miss out on Europe but as you say you can focus on the league and it's only the Euro Cup.

Just smashed the whipping boys, Cottbus, 7-0 away from home. Solid start to the season, top after 8 games. Dortmund close to matching us though. Did beat Bayern 5-1 at home which was awesome too.

[rlipscombe]

Lenzar - stunning result against Celtic – you must be delighted!

Dr Poods - welcome back! good season there – 6^th is a solid season.

Brick - hopefully you can turn that around. No reason why not.

[Andy Sava]

Took a little break from the game after playing 3 games in my new Spain save. Didn't lose any points yet and i plan to start playing more tonight.

[rlipscombe]

started working on my last season review - back to normal this time seeing as i saved the game at the end of the season... hopefully have it done in a couple of days or so.

[minisav]

Majorly upset with the team. We may have qualified for the knockout rounds of the CL after 4 games but were top due to a 2-2 draw away to Real Madrid. At home we went 1-0 up. Then lost 2 goals, both crosses that were put in the net by my own player. The same player both times. So frustrating. Deserved a point, especially as at 0-0 Rossi missed his first penalty in 12 attempts

[b101]

Have been following this thread for ages and it's great to read of the successes you're all having. Will definitely give this a go on Fm13 - my current save is in ri916's European Youth Academy thread but I may start posting in here as I'm a big fan of the fact that you all care about what other people are doing.

Majorly upset with the team. We may have qualified for the knockout rounds of the CL after 4 games but were top due to a 2-2 draw away to Real Madrid. At home we went 1-0 up. Then lost 2 goals, both crosses that were put in the net by my own player. The same player both times. So frustrating. Deserved a point, especially as at 0-0 Rossi missed his first penalty in 12 attempts

Own goals seem to be quite widespread in this version, but that's a harsh result to take. Chin up mate, best of luck with your other competitions

[minisav]

Yeah, I've had quite a few go my way, just sickening as Madrid didn't even perform that well. Although I think they were toying with me, the 3 subs they took on were C Ronaldo, Cavani and Marcelo. That's not even fair having players that good on the bench. Cheers, German Cup I have Dortmund in the 3rd round. Tough one as they are my main league challengers. In the league I am top by 3 points after 14 games. Dortmund will be difficult to stop because it's December and their main striker, Lewandowski, is already on 19 goals in 19 matches. Just insanely good the past few seasons.

In other news, Barcelona are apparently interested in Rossi. They can gtfo.

[iacovone]

Hi guys, not been around in ages! Just thought I'd drop in and let you know I've gone back to my Novese file. It's 2037 and I'm just enjoying progressing through at a reasonable pace. Moving into the Cilona Park next summer

Anyway, hope all's well and I'll try and dive in here when I can

[Brick_Tamland]

I may possibly be the worst FM Manager EVER haha

4 wins

2 draws

9 losses

12 for

22 against

16th out of 20th right now

[minisav]

Is that relegation zone?

And what tactics are you going for? Lower leagues, due to the technical limitations, I tend to go defensive, and try to counter with direct passing. Could try that?

Beat Dortmund on pens. They didn't score any of their 3 penalties. Ter Stegen is amazing.

In January and I've just splashed 40 million on another striker. Was struggling with rotation with only 3 strikers. Plus he's only 21 and Barcelona are sniffing around for Rossi so thought I'd play it safe and have a replacement ready seeing as he's in his late 20s.

[berty1978]

My last season was going so well, was going for everything, then lost against Rennes in the Cup semi final despite dominating. And then lost in the CL final to.... Marseille, my new arch nemesis in extra time after having a good goal disallowed in normal time, didn't beat them in the league either, and they only finished 2 points behind me.

I think I may give this save a break for a bit, maybe come back later and try to win everything again, see if we get a new stadium named after me and win the WC with France. Will never happen but no harm in being optimistic.

[marty78]

2016/2017 SEASON UPDATE

LIGA ADELANTE

A very good first half of the season saw us challenging for the title but come January that would all change. I was slightly over my wage budget and, despite having transfer funds available, the board would not let me transfer anymore into wages. As a result I lost my top scorer for his minimum release clause and five other players I couldn't offer new contracts to and agreed end of season transfers. The second half of the season was then a bit tougher although we still managed to finish in fourth to cement our playoff place. In the Spanish cup we lost to Celta 1-0 at the first hurdle.

Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

After breezing through the playoff semi-final, we faced Sporting in the final who had finished in 3rd and with the best defense in the league. Despite dominating the first leg we could only manage a 0-0 at home leaving us with all to do in the return fixture. We took an early lead in the second leg before Sporting equalised in injury time of the first half. The second half was a tight and nervy affair with both sides creating little until the 92nd minute when we scored the winner to win 2-1 and claim our place in La Liga.

TRANSFERS

I lost my best striker Giorgos Alexandrou for £300k in January and due to my only keeper getting an injury I bought in Jamelo as a replacement.

SQUAD

Once the out of contract move on I will be left with just 11 first team players for next year. Some major work needs to be done this summer. My two wingers were about the best of the bunch.

Elliot Kebbie and Dani Nieto

FINANCES

I have a small balance but with La Liga football on the way surely that will soon change. Having upgraded some facilities but only junior coaching.

[minisav]

Congrats on the promotion Play-offs are always nervy so well done to the lads on holding theirs.

Good luck creating a team to survive. At least you can rebuild as how many of your players are ready for the step-up?

[marty78]

Minisav- Have made about 15 new signings as the ones I had were not really good enough. Have kept most as back-up though. I am fairly confident of staying up but I am sure it will be tough.

[minisav]

Sounds like a big rebuild! Pretty much what I did the first 3 seasons. Pretty much a new XI each season.

Oh and btw, I got Barcelona in the first knockout round of the CL. Typical. Bloody Coelho, could have gotten first and a much easier draw if it weren't for his two OGs

[Lenzar]

Beat Hibs in a replay at Easter Road to get to Hampden for a cup semi-final against parent club (the link's been useless other than for money) Hearts.

Should win SFL1 at a canter as well.

[minisav]

We beat Barcelona!

Experimental tactics worked! Started with 4 at the back and no width but my LB got injured pretty darn early and the back-up wasn't a great player so I improvised and chucked a DC at DL. It was 1-1 at home, we got an OG in our favour early days and they equalised in the 2nd half.

[killiekev1869]

TuS Koblenz

2012/2013 SEASON

Media Prediction: 20th

Board expectation: Stay clear of relegation

My aim: 45 pts, which should be enough to avoid relegation

Actual Finish: 14th, on 47 pts

LEAGUE TABLE

PROGRESS

FIXTURES

TRANSFERS

SEASON REVIEW

I'd only been in the country a week when I settled down to watch the Germany vs England semi final in the Euros. England led 2-0 before Germany drew it back to 2-2. In extra time Germany went 4-2 up in the first 9 mins, then Rooney missed a penalty and Germany made it 5-2. As a Scot, it was a fine welcome to the country!

The search for an assistant was a priority early on. After accepting applications for a short while one stood out - Matthias Lust. The 42 year old's careers was closely to tied to Unterhaching where he has two spells as a player (95-99, 02-05). Then he was scout, youth coach and assistant there until 2011.

I also added a trio of scouts, led by the experienced Hanspeter Goggelmann who had a previous spell as scout at Koblenz (07-09) and a short stint as Director of Football at Ahlen (2006).

We kept pretty quiet on the transfer front. Benjamin Baier and Kai Gehring were recommended to us, and we took them on. We also paid £10,000 to sign young Polish midfield, and product of Dortmund's youth setup, Marcel Kandziora. The German Trial Day threw up a couple of players I'd have liked to sign up, but in the end we only got one - Bence Szenes, a young Hungarian striker who'd scored in the match.

After a decent preseason I was hopeful we could get off to a good start, but we started in shocking form, conceding 15 in our first 4 matches. This prompted me to go out and bring in a couple of young Dutch players - Marco Bizot (GK) and Maikel Verkoelen (DC). We won our next match against Stuttgart II 4-1, which set us up for the big derby against Wehen.

Considering the shaky start, I was nervous but the team responded magnificently. After a cage first half, we scored early in the second before 12 glorious minutes late on saw us add another 4 goals for a 5-0 win.

All wasn't rosy though as the team struggled to find any kind of consistency. Oliver Larsen, a Danish defender, signed after a short trial period with the club in an effort to stiffen up the defence. Munster, Bielefeld and Sandhausen all ripped us apart, though we did record a surprise 1-0 victory over Regensburg, who were threatening to run away with the league at that point. Our stuttering form saw us in 17th at the halfway stage.

The January window saw us pick up Matthias Ottl, a German midfielder, for £10,000 from Red Bull Salzburg and we snapped up young Italian striker Alberto Spagnoli after a short trial spell. What impressed me most about Alberto was not only that he scored 3 times in 4 matches, but that each goal was different - a lovely run and tidy finish, a rasper from the edge of the box and a fantastic header across the keeper from the back post. Although only 18, he'd played 34 times for Verona in Serie B last season before being released by his parent club, AC Milan.

We launched into an 8 game unbeaten run in the second half of the season that saw as rise towards midtable, before losing 4 of our next 5.

As the season wound down, and the three B teams were so woeful as to secure everyone's survival, I set myself a target of finishing in at least 14th so that I could feel happy that even if those three hadn't been so bad, we'd have still stayed up. I also set about trying to solve the defensive problems with a tweak at the back that saw us play a high line and look to spring the offside trap.

It seemed to work as we conceded only 1 in our next 4 as we cruised towards a fairly comfortable finish. We managed to beat Regensburg again, this time ended any lingering hopes of promotion just as we'd dented their title challenge earlier in the year. The season ended with a whimper as the squad took their summer holidays early and the last two matches offered little, with the only positive being a debut for our 14 year old striker, Klaus Esswein.

Financially it's been a tough year for the club. I took the wage budget right up to the limit, so I'm bracing myself for cutbacks after the club posted losses of over £1m through to the end of May. We already struggled to attract top talent here as our wages are lower than the rest of the league, so any cuts to wage budget will be very keenly felt.

GAME OF THE SEASON

Of course the 5-0 win against Wehen was hugely pleasing, as was a 1-0 victory against Darnstadt in their ground, but for the me the game that gave me the greatest satisfaction was a 1-0 victory against Jena.

We actually finished above Jena in the table, but this win was pleasing because they had absolutely demolished us 4-1 earlier on in the season. It was a massacre. 4-1 going on 8-1. For the return match I changed it all up and went with a 4-2-2-2 formation, with two banks of central midfielders. The fullbacks were held back, making us very marrow, but it denied Jena the space they had exploited so well in the first match.

We got the goal in the first half - a great finish from Szenes after sterling work down the wing by Javier Martina. Jena got ever more frustrated and we could've added a 2nd and 3rd on the break, had our finishing been a little more composed.

SQUAD NOTES

End of season stats

Carsten Nulle - GK

A veteran who had been first choice in the club's promotion to 3. Liga, and was installed as my starting keeper but he quickly earned the nickname "The Ghost" - not for his deathly white appearance, but for the way that balls just seemed to go straight through him. Conceded 15 times in the first 4 matches, and I bought a new keeper to replace him. Was recalled in December to cover for an injury and improved to concede only 4 in 2 matches. Contract ends at the end of season, wasn't renewed.

Maikel Verkoelen - DC

Maikel came in to a struggling defence and quickly made a difference with goals in his first two matches, as well as imperious showings at the back. It quickly became a case of Verkoelen + One Other in defence as Haben and Larsen fought out for that 2nd spot. Verkoelen's fine play allowed me to let Angelo Barletta, the veteran centre back, go in January, and it was freeing his wages that allowed us to sign Matthias Ottl for the run-in. His impact was so great that he was voted the Supporters Player of the Year.

Michael Stahl - DM / M (RLC), AM (RL)

Quietly effective. He's played all over the midfield, both wings, defensive, attacking and always been solid. Like having four good squad players in one. The problem with such versatility though is that he hasn't really nailed a position as his own, meaning he tends to fit in around the others. Still, exactly the kind of guy you want in your squad - dependable and versatile.

Nazif Hajdarovic - ST

Our top striker. He started the season on fire, scoring 7 in the first 6 matches. His form dipped from October till the end of December, but he remained our primary attacking force, and formed a good partnership with the young Hungarian Bence Szenes.

Bence Szenes - ST

The young Hungarian was released by Gladbach and was snapped up by us after he scored in the trial day preseason match. I didn't expect him to feature as much as he did, but he put in some great performances, with the highlight being his hattrick against Bayern II. The goals dried up towards the end of the season, but that's to be expected from a 19 year old.

NEXT STEPS:

Promotion seems a long way off at this point. I'd hoped to rely on a core of experienced players to build a younger team around, but the veterans let me down. Nulle was, frankly, hopeless in goal and Mineiro was club captain when I arrived, but had been stripped of that role by the end of the year after a string of disinterested performances. The other over-30 player, Markus Kreuz never really made it into the starting XI. All three see their contracts end this season, and won't be renewed.

Going forward, I'll be looking to build on the progress of our young players - Szenes, Acquah, Ottl, Larsen, Verkoelen and Bizot are probably the stand-out U'23s with Spagnoli and Schug (a 15 year old product of the youth system who unluckily broke his leg in a U'19 match in late April - 6 to 7 months out) looking promising too. Remarkably, there will be no over 30 players on the squad going into preseason.

At least 7 players will see their contracts run down, freeing up some wages. By my reckoning, after automatic wage increases kick in for those that remain, there should be about £7k in the pot assuming the chairman doesn't slash costs, which is a big possibility.

Priorities will be to bring in a full-back or two, an experienced striker and a midfield schemer as we lack a bit of creativity through the middle.

I'll be back after preseason with a look ahead to the 2013/14 season.

[Lenzar]

Has anyone else noticed wierd behaviour in the top flight of their selected nation? The SPL table thus far this season is topped by Hearts, with Rangers behind by a point. Not too odd you may say, but Celtic (current champions) are back in 5th.

[minisav]

Bayern Munich and Leverkusen are fighting it out for 4th and 5th on mine. That's the only surprise I can think of. Other than me of course.

Good solid season Killiekev. Good with the next one, hope you can get some good signings in.

[Andy Sava]

In my Kiel save Werder Bremen got relegated and they ended up playing in the Third Division at some point and couldn't get back in Bundesliga. Other then that not much, just Bayern being a pain in the ass every season, Dortmund having a good season then a bad one and the ocasional mid-table team having a great season and finishing in the top 4.

[rlipscombe]

Marty78 - congrats on promotion to La Liga. Hopefully the major squad rebuilding goes well for you

Minisav - great win over Barca there – wacky formation too! J

Killiekev - solid first season there. Good luck next season

Lenzar - my league has been mixed up a bit. Bayern and Dortmund have had struggles and Koln have become a force over the last couple of seasons.

[rlipscombe]

SV Waldhof Mannheim – German Bundesliga – Season 2026/27

Season Review

League Finish: 1^st Graph Club Overview Club Information

The League

Getting a little easy this Bundesliga lark… Four titles in a row and just the 22 point winning margin in the league… Not too sure what to say other than we totally dominated pretty much from the off and never looked back. Only 2 league defeats was pleasing though part of me was hoping to try and make us the invincibles. Maybe we can try that next season.

German Super Cup

For the second time in three seasons we played cup winners Koln. Once more we saw them off winning 2-0 and kept up our domination of the Super Cup.

German Cup

After a couple of seasons of disappointing results in the German Cup I was hoping for an improved performance this time round. Once more I predominantly used squad players and we saw off Bamberg 9-0, Gladbach 3-1 and Rostock 5-1 all away to reach the quarter finals. Faced with Kaiserslautern at home we ran out 4-2 winners to face Dortmund in the semis. In a dominant match we won 6-0 at the Carl Benz Stadion to make it through to a final appearance against St Pauli. We were never going to lose in the final and a 4-1 win saw us take the domestic double.

Champions League

We went straight into the group stages once more as 2^nd seeds and this year we were drawn against Real Madrid, Panathinaikos and Standard Liege. 5 wins and a defeat saw us through as group winners along with Real Madrid.

The first knockout round saw us face Roma. A 2-0 away win was followed by a 3-0 home win to see us compfortably progress. The Quarter Finals saw us drawn against reigning champs Manchester City. We battled hard and earned a 0-0 draw away but heartbreakingly we drew 2-2 at home to exit at the Quarter Final stage.

The Players

As usual, time to look at those who won a domestic double:

Transfers

Squad 1 Squad 2

Goalkeepers

1. David Carroll - David was very much an understudy to Dimitrov and given his high wages and lack of playing time I will look to move him on this summer.

30. Kostadin Dimitrov - Kostadin has firmly established himself as our No.1 and continues to develop and improve. Part of me thinks I need to sign a TOP keeper though – we will see what happens this summer.

Full Backs

14. Migen Toma - What more can I say other than another top season for our club legend. Continues to go well and is a mainstay of the club.

51. Ronaldo - Ronaldo had to make do with sporadic appearances and will leave this summer having failed to develop as well as I had hoped.

36. Ninoslav Petrov - Young Serbian who was back up to Toma but did well when called upon.

3. Muluken Okello - Muluken did well on loan and was signed on a permanent deal. Unfortunately it didn’t work out as well this season and he had to make do with being Dasovics’ understudy.

31. Slobodan Dasovic - Slobodan was very much a 1^st choice LB for the club this season and did well consistently. Potentially has a big future at the club.

Centre Backs

5. Thorbjorn Angeltveit - The Norweigan CB did well when called upon and is a useful squad player.

6. Everton - Consistently good performances again this season prove why he is a key player for the club and a rock at the heart of our defence.

15. Maximiliano Aimar - Aimar joined the club from APOEL and did well in his first season, being the first choice partner for Everton for the majority of the season.

35. Aidar Solosin - Aidar was another who didn’t let the club down when called upon and was a good squad player.

25. Tiago Coelho - Tiago will leave this summer as his development wasn’t as expected.

Midfielders

4. Andres Yanez - Andres again disappointed a little when called upon and his future is in doubt despite his ability. He just hasn’t done it consistently enough for me.

8. Roland de Jong - Roland once more did well and was heavily courted as usual. Star player for the club.

12. Holm Adam - The young Austrian midfielder was given plenty of game time to aid his development and he did well. Could become a star in the future.

17. Andres Diaz - Andres had a good season and performed well for us. Technically gifted winger.

18. Simon Vennemann - Simon is slowly becoming more of a squad player now and is struggling to make the team. Decent squad player though.

22. Philipp Hamberger - Philipp is developing into a great little winger and he pushed Delcroix hard for the left wing role.

24. Mario Teunis - Mario had a season where he was in and out of the team but he did pretty well when called upon. A heavily courted player.

28. Constant Delcroix - Constant had a good season and edged out Hamberger for the left wing role.

34. Jonas Gloor - The young Swiss midfielder featured sporadically and his development is stalling a touch. Getting unsettled too.

38. Rodolfo Cantoro - young Argentinian midfielder featured in our cup run and occasionally in the league and did a decent job.

61. Mikica Djokovic - Mikica was edged out by Diaz but had a good season nonetheless. Him and Diaz offer great quality on the wing.

Strikers

7. Emiliano Rolon - the Argentine did a decent job when called upon. A solid back up.

9. Dimitri Delcroix - first choice strike partner for Busao he weighed in with an impressive 23 goals in all competitions. Good season for the Frenchman.

10. Theo de Graaff - Theo struggled to break into the team and along with a few injuries it meant he under-performed.

11. Busao - the naturalised German had a good season and scored 19 goals in all competitions.

19. Ricardo Freitas - Ricardo was edged out by Busao and Delcroix but still scored 18 goals. A great target man.

29. Petr Ptacek - Petr played in the cup run and scored some important goals. Getting itchy feet wanting first team football though.

Finances

A small loss made this season probably due to an increased wage budget but nothing to worry about really. A small ground increase also made a bit of an impact. Still in a solid financial position.

The Future

So after 4 league titles in a row we have to try and make the breakthrough in the Champions League. I feel the squad also lacks a bit of depth with young talent so I will look to redress this in the summer. A 5^th title in a row is also firmly in my sights though.

[marty78]

Killiekev- Solid first season, which is always the hardest I think.

Minisav- That is perhaps the strangest formation I've ever seen, great result against Barca.

rlipscombe- Thanks, going great so far with 28 pts from 17 games and I'm 18 points above the drop zone in 9th. No gelling problems at all really which is surprising.

Edit:

rlipscombe- Great domestic double and unfortunate against Man City. Away goal defeats are horrible. Like the two Delcroix lads, especially Constant.

[Lenzar]

rlipscombe- How do you have the paitence to do such nice updates? I tried it for season 1 and found it tedious to do such an in depth analysis.

[rlipscombe]

marty78 - cheers mate. the Delcroix's are both great though i am having a few issues with Constant now...

Lenzar - cheers! i have a template i use but it still takes a few hours to put it all together with all of the pictures... after a good season it is easier to do mind!!

[wardog]

I've just got directed to this and with my knowledge of the Scottish leagues going to give it a try. Will probably start this tomorrow night.

[killiekev1869]

TuS Koblenz

Season 2013/14 Preview

Media Prediction: 18th (of 20)

Transfer Budget: £39,860

Board Expectation: Stay clear of relegation

My Expectation: Mid-table finish

Wage Budget: £39,370 p/w

Current Wages: £38,198 p/w

The three veterans of last season - Mineiro, Kreuz and Nalle - all retired at the end of the season, their contracts unrenewed. Kevin Birk, Jura Gros and Tobias Bauer were allowed to go after failing to really break into the first team. We were unable to strike a deal with either Kerim Arslan, Tino Lagator or Kadir Yalcin that suited the club, so they too were allowed to go.

I was surprised to see the club up my wage budget by nearly £2k p/w, and doubly surprised when the chairman offered to extend my contract by a year to 2015, and up my wages by £500 to £2,700 p/w.

It was a busy time, as I raced to strengthen my squad which was now cut back to the bare bones. Mining old scout reports I was able to rustle up a cadre of free agents for some trials, as well as taking a couple of punts on players offered by agents. My three big targets all fell through. Ralf Schmidt, a versatile left back, was on the brink of signing until 1. Bundesliga newboys Aachen swooped in at the last minute. Felix Roth, an attacking midfielder/striker, decided to sign for Sandhausen instead, picking up an extra £800 p/w in the process. Davis Curiale, striker, was a player I'd been tracking for the best part of last season. He scored goals for fun in Italy's Serie B and with his contract running down at Grosseto, I fancied my chances of getting him in. I botched the initial approach though, going in too low, and he ended up going to Dusseldorf in 2. Bundesliga. I'll still be keeping my eye on him...

With that initial setback, I resolved to make sure that I got my men in future. No dilly-dallying. It may mean taking a punt here and there and getting someone signed up before anyone else had a chance, but I needed bodies in the door.

We made seven signings in the end.

Jan Evers - GK

Experienced keeper who'd been playing the lower leagues. We needed a body in as a #2 as our only other option was a 16 year old rookie, and I didn't want to spend big wages on a guy to serve as back up to Bizot. A squad player.

Marcel Scholsser - AML

I was quietly pleased with this one, beating out league new boys Wuppertal to his signature. A skilful winger, he had spent all his career till now with Chemnitz. 10 assists in 35 matches last season in the lower leagues, I've got faith he can step up. We've lacked as true left winger. so hopefully it helps balance out our team.

Nikola Jelisic - AML

One of the "punts". Only 18, but got big potential. Has both 1869 and Bayern on his CV, but hasn't played a top team game for either. Did make 9 appearances for Bayern II in their disastrous campaign last season, but only made one unused sub appearance against us.

Kevin Hotzweiler - AMC

18 year old tiny playmaker, released by Gladbach but impressed in the trial day match. Another of those where if it doesn't work out, it won't cost the earth, but he has strong potential to be a star not only in 3 Liga, but in 2. Bundesliga too.

Lukasz Burliga - DR

Probably the biggest single move we made. Not in terms of money, but import. The full back area was our big weak spot last season, and Burliga brings a good combination of defence and offence to the club. Signed aftr he left Wisla, where he'd spent all his career, save for a couple of loan spells.

Filip Novak - MLC

Filip had been sitting in my "maybe" pile for a while after one of my scouts spent a bit of time in the Czech Republic. I eventually got him in on trial and he impressed by setting up two in his first match. At 23, he could still improve, and is a useful addition to the midfield.

Benjamin Weigelt - DL

Another squad player. A relatively late addition, he was the best of three left backs I had in on trial. I needed someone to back up Langen, whose injury record was poor, and Weigelt fit the bill. At the time of signing he was 30, making him the only player over 30 in the squad. The fact he's played for both Kaiserlautern and, last season, Wehen may make his signing "interesting" to the fans here...

In addition to contracts not being renewed, I let Jan Hawel go to Wuppertal for no fee. He just wasn't going to feature, and his wages were a drain. Eike Mund, CD, had periodically bugged me about getting game time last season, but he simply wasn't good enough. He eventually asked to leave and I promised to find him a club in the summer. I couldn't, as no-one wanted him, so I let him leave. Or rather, I told him to leave. As yet he's still "unattached". In fact, none of the guys who left in the summer have found a new club in time for the big kick off. I think that tells you a bit about the quality of the squad last season.

Overall, I'm fairly happy with our business. We're a better team now than we were when last season ended. Of course I'd have loved to get Schmidt, Roth and Curiale in but when you're at the bottom of the food chain you have to get used to scraps. I think we've found a couple of gems - Burliga and Schlosser have me excited about the new season.

Squad List

That season begins with a trip to Sandhausen, the team that beat me to Roth. Yeah, yeah, I'm expecting him to score too! Tough match to kick off, but I fancy our chances. Our first home game is when the newly promoted Wuppertal - and Jan Hawel - visit the following week. This year we face our big local rivals back to back in August and February. Those first derby games are preceded by a trip to Karlsruhe, freshly relegated from 2. Bundesliga with Offenbach. Magdeburg and Mannheim join Wuppertal in taking the step up this year.

So, days till kick off. My goal is to better last season. I want to be looking up the table rather than over our shoulder. I fear that we perhaps lack that little bit of quality to challenge for promotion, but comfortable midtable is a realistic aim.

[rlipscombe]

killiekev - some decent signings there mate. like the look of Burliga and Novak looks like he has potential. hope the season goes well for you.

[minisav]

Good stuff rlipscombe Unlucky in the CL though. Away goals is not a nice way to go out.

Good luck Killiekev, some good signings there.

And cheers guys. The tactic was all about countering Barcelona. They play 1 up front, with 2 wingers playing AML and AMR. So with 2 CMs and a DM I wanted to flood the middle of the park to stop Fabregas and Iniesta having the space to pass. Once the injury happened I was confident enough with my 1 DC being able to cope with their singular striker. Also, I decided to focus down the right hand side as Barce were playing with a 38 year old Puyol at left back, and he had a light injury. It worked as they really struggled to cope.

[rlipscombe]

cheers minisav. it was tough to go out on away goals but at least we are competitive. need a little more luck.

[rlipscombe]

SV Waldhof Mannheim – German Bundesliga – Season 2027/28

Season Preview

After 4 German titles in a row but no success in the Champions League I felt that the squad needed a little tweak and some depth adding to the squad to try and help us fight on all fronts. We seem to stumble at the worst time in Europe and I have wondered if it is down to fatigue. I therefore set about scouring the world for players to supplement the multiple Bundesliga winners.

So without further ado here are the new signings.

Transfers

Full Backs

Roland Albrecht - Ronald didn’t come cheap signing for £11 million. Roland will give Toma some serious competition for the first time in a number of years and he adds strength to our RB options.

3. Fernando - Like Albrecht, Fernando joins to add strength to our LB spot and to push Dasovic on. £7.5 million was his cost.

26. Christophe Mercier - young Frenchman signed with the future in mind. Good potential.

Centre Backs

26. Jose Domingo Ballesteros - Jose joins on a free transfer from Real Madrid. Has huge potential, he will be given some game time this season.

Midfielders

4. Fusca - Joins for £6 million and is a direct replacement for the disappointing Yanez. Hopefully he will perform better for us.

27. Angel Martinez - Another Real Madrid youngster poached on a free. Angel has good potential and will get some game time this season.

28. Tomasz Piesio - Young Polish midfielder signed with the future in mind. Has good potential.

44. Joaquim Armengol - Another Spanish wonderkid joining on a free, this time from Barcelona. Good potential.

Christopher Winther - young Dane who has decent potential but a small gamble. Not much to lose by doing so.

Strikers

10. Recep Saygin - Prolific naturalised German striker who had been banging them in in Turkey for a number of years. I have watched him for three seasons and pounced to sign him on a free transfer.

The Upcoming Season

The number of new players shows that the squad has developed somewhat. A number of squad players left including Yanez, David Carroll, Okello and the biggest name Theo de Graaff who leaves for rivals Dortmund for £11 million. Whether this overhaul helps the club take the next step time will tell.

[minisav]

Good luck with the CL. Is this your year?

I've been handed Real Madrid in the CL Quarter Finals. Cheers Why couldn't I get Lyon or Malaga?

And I wish Lewandowski would change his mind and be interested in signing for me. He is such a beast for Dortmund. In the last 2 seasons he's had 79 appearances, scored 55 and assisted 18 goals. Crazy good. Keeping them in the hunt really.

Although my January signing has been pretty successful. 10 goals and an assist in 12 appearances.

[ashton321]

East Stirlingshire

I have decided to try my find in Scotland

Table to show they finished bottom

Club Info

Me

Could someone make sure that I have done the right shots above. I have not done this challenge in Scotland before Cheers

[killiekev1869]

Thanks for the feedback. 6 games into the new season, and one of the new boys is on fire! The phrase "shot like a traction engine" springs to mind.

@rlipscombe - I like the look of Recep Saygin. Any chance you could post his history?

[Lenzar]

Jamesashton430 - How is your manager already under-fire? Good luck in Scotland!

[ashton321]

Ha I spotted that and was a bit unsure as well. I have played 10 games and despite not having the best of starts the board are now satisfied so bit unsure.

[Lenzar]

It appears Annan will be in Europe a few years earlier than I had planned...

[Lenzar]

...and a previous ground expansion, that I had requested, will instead by under-soil heating. I wouldn't mind, but that's at a rip-off cost of £2 million. Not pleased that the board wasted all my hard earned prize money on a pointless upgrade, when we're in need of more capacity for the SPL next year (Galabank's capacity is a pathetic 2000)

[minisav]

You forget that one of the requirements of the SPL is under-soil heating. So it is a necessary upgrade. But congrats on getting into Europe. Cup wins are always nice

[iacovone]

rlips - you've come so far! Congrats on all your domestic dominance! How's it been in Europe?