[FM12] Now You Do Not Punish Someone, English Or Otherwise, For Being Rubbish At FM...

[SnakeXe]

This is weird - the new England manager:

Terrible stats and not a single previous position either as a player or non-player.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 25 Preseason Update - Newcastle United

Board Expectations:

Premier League - Champions League qualification (minimum of Champions League qualification, predicted 2nd out of 20)

FA Cup - Semi Final

Carling Cup - Unimportant

Community Shield - Unimportant

Champions League - Quarter Final

My Expectations:

Premier League - If the standard of challenge is as poor as last season then I'd be very disappointed to not win it again

FA Cup - I'd like to do better this time after a poor showing last season

Carling Cup - We'll see what the second XI can do

Community Shield - I never, ever tire of beating Man Utd

Champions League - Winning it again to exorcise last season's disappointment would be great

Budgets:

Transfer: £50,540,000 (£71,130,000 remaining)

Wages: £1,213,983/week (£933,491/week currently)

Balance: £86,955,594 (+£41,352,728 since last season)

Squad:

With a few older heads moved on, the squad looks a little lighter on experience, but I'm still confident we can do well. Emeka Cole is my first decent prospect through the academy, whilst Killpatrick and N'Diaye have served their apprentiships in the development squads and deserve a crack at first team football.

Transfers:

Just the one guy coming in this year, Mohamed Saad, who had a bargainous release clause at Innsbruck. His arrival precipitated the departure of Felipe, who never really fit into my plans properly, whilst Álvarez Toca and Daniel move on to make room for Killpatrick and N'Diaye respectively. I wasn't planning on selling Daniel - he'd really come into his own in the last season - but Inter's offer matched my asking price so off he went. Breach leaves on loan again (I can see why Arsenal wanted rid), whilst veteran legend Brenes moves on after his contract expired. Hopefully he finds a new club soon - he's still plenty good enough for the Premier League.

Key Men:

Goalkeeper/Defence

Blazo Jeftic - DC - The leader at the back. Reis is still important, but I worry more when we're missing this guy.

Midfield

Delando Moke - M/AMC - If he can continue in last season's vein he'll be crucial for both us and England for years to come.

Mario Méndez - AML/ST - Probably our one properly world-class attacking player, everything ticks when he's on song.

Strikers

Marius Maciulevicius - AMC/ST - Perhaps his last season as first choice now. If not, then almost certainly penultimate.

[Nobby_McDonald]

How did Albania qualify for the Second Round and yet Czech Republic played in it?

Great performance from Wales.

[SnakeXe]

How did Albania qualify for the Second Round and yet Czech Republic played in it?

Great performance from Wales.

Because for some reason Group C didn't paste so it was a relic of 2032. Fixed it now, well spotted, thanks.

[crouchaldinho]

What a weird appointment as England manager.

Surprised you weren't more tempted by Inter!

[SnakeXe]

Season 25: Halfway House Update

Community Shield first up, and this year we faced Man Utd. Despite an even game, we approached full-time 1-0 down, only for Schwartz to grab a goal from the bench two minutes from time. Penalties followed, and 5 perfect kicks for us won us the trophy for the third year running.

The League Cup kicked off against Blackburn at Ewood Park, and our second XI found things difficult to begin with - despite going 1-0 up, we went 2-1 behind, before an own goal equalised things at the break. Blackburn scored straight from the kickoff to put the pressure back on us, and as time ticked away it looked like our challenge would be over before it had started. Luckily, Ocles came off the bench to steal a deserved injury-time equaliser, before we ran away with it 5-3 in injury time. West Ham were a bit more straight forward next, as a Ramón inspired team took them apart 3-1, whilst Aston Villa somehow stayed in the game until the very end despite being rubbish, but we beat them 3-2 to set up a semi-final against Leeds.

The Champions League group draw was a little difficult, since we were back in the group of second seeds having lost in the final last year. The draw was fairly tough, with Inter as top seeds, but we would be confident of getting past PSV and Olympiakos. The three-match suspensions of Mikic and Busao after the debacle of the Marseille clash were compounded by a bad injury crisis, meaning we had to send out very weak sides for the first three games of the group. We snuck past PSV 2-1 at home, as my weak bench nearly cost us the points, whilst a very disappointing 0-0 draw away in Greece followed. The away game against Inter became very important. Fortunately Inter had managed to lose to PSV, so weren't in any danger of running away with things.

Despite going in at half time 1-0 down, an excellent second half display saw us batter them 3-1, putting us right back in charge of the group. A 0-0 at home was slightly disappointing, but no disaster, and a 1-0 win away in Eindhoven secured both qualification and top spot as Olympiakos beat Inter - who were in severe danger of going out. Going into the last game, they had to beat PSV at home and hope we could do the same against Olympiakos. Having already won the group, I sent out a weak side - with mounting injuries causing problems I wasn't in the mood to unnecessarily stress my remaining players.

Olympiakos took an early lead against us, but posed no more attacking threat for the rest of the game, despite the fact that they could easily have picked apart our cobbled-together defence. Two goals in the last 5 minutes turned things around as we won 2-1, but the news from Milan was more surprising - PSV had beaten them again, 2-1! Inter were out, and PSV progressed as runners-up. We face Bayern in the next round.

We had a really rough start in the league, losing our first three away matches on the spin, meaning we picked up just 6 points from the first 15. Losing away to Arsenal and Tottenham was perhaps understandable, if not desirable, but the performance away at Huddersfield was execrable. After taking an early lead we found ourselves 3-1 down. Heroicly battling back to 3-3, the momentum seemed to be with us, but we shipped another in injury time to lose 4-3. An 11-match winning streak put us back at the sharp end, before another injury-time concession cost us a point at Anfield. Back-to-back home wins against Man Utd and Chelsea closed out the year in a more satisfactory way. Looks like I've got the title fight I was after!

The Good

• Winning the Champions League group despite serious selection issues
  
• The 11-game league winning streak
  
• Ramón and Sedat Yucel in particular have found their creative feet
  

The Bad

• Horrendous injury problems have limited Bellucci to 6 starts, with Méndez's disastrous broken leg an even worse set back
  
• Crap away performances against good sides still dog us
  
• Moke has been really disappointing (although in mitigation he's had to fill in out of position far too often)
  

Results - Premier League Table - Squad

[SnakeXe]

I have to say, I'm really enjoying this season! We're having injury crises a-plenty, which means I have to cobble together teams putting square pegs in round holes and playing youth teamers in key roles. My first choice left-winger for the last 5 or 6 games has been my second choice right-winger, and my only option at left back for the next game is my fourth choice centre-back! Fantastic.

[SnakeXe]

Bring on 1,500

[deltablue]

Tough competition to retain the title.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 25 - 2036/37

Story of the Season:

Premier League - 1st

The toughest race in a while, we only secured the title in the penultimate game with a 1-0 home win over Liverpool.

FA Cup - Fourth Round (lost v Hull)

It took a replay to get past Villa (who we played 5 times this season), and then we had an absolute shocker in front of goal as Hull knocked us out with their only decent chance.

League Cup - Winners

A difficult run until the semi-final, with all Premier League sides, but Leeds were quite accommodating in a 0-5 surrender. Spurs looked a tough ask in the final but we made short work of them to put last year's problems behind us.

Community Shield - Winners

It took penalties to eventually get past Man Utd for our third in a row.

Champions League - Winners

Bayern put up a fight at home, running us close in a 2-1 win, but we finished the job with aplomb at home - 4-0. From then on things got difficult. Atlético Madrid somewhat fortunately beat us 1-0 at the Calderón, but we managed to win 1-0 at home in a nervy display. Extra time was goalless, before we prevailed 4-3 in the shootout. We were at home first against Valencia, and we massively outplayed them, only to come away with a fairly poor 3-2 scoreline. This put the pressure on as we went to the Mestalla (Nuevo Mestalla still not finished, guys?). They took the lead on the night and on away goals on aggregate early, and it was certainly squeaky bum time as we came in at half time having performed quite poorly. A rocket up the jacksie seemed to perk them up a bit, and we got our just desserts, Saad equalising with 9 minutes to go. I reshuffled the system and told the lads to hole up, which they did successfully, putting us into a third successive final.

We were up against Arsenal, who were sure to be a tough opponent - we'd only beaten them once in the last two seasons. Fortunately they were in obliging mood, giving us a penalty towards the end of the first half, which Moke stuck away coolly. Mikic then exorcised his own personal demon of a red card against Marseille with an unlikely brace, before Sukhanov pulled one back. Moke then came up with a belter from 30 yards to finish things off - 4-1 on the night, and Champions of Europe once more!

Results 1 - Results 2 - Squad

Transfers - £22.1 recouped

A bit of a selling season this time - although Tochukwu Daniel was the only important first teamer. Coming in was Mohamed Saad at a bargain price from Innsbruck. Intended as a replacement for Felipe, he ended up half replacing him, and half replacing Daniel. It worked out ok in the end, but it's not an ideal solution.

Finances

Looking fantastic.

5 Most Important Players:

A bit of an unusual list this year, due to a year-long injury crisis!

5. Francis Selemani - DC - The one-time £8.25m signing finally made a big splash this season, showing some outstanding form when filling in for Jeftic and Kroulik during injury-related absences. Scored a few goals too!

4. Blazo Jeftic - DC - Another imperious season. Surely captain material once Maciulevicius hangs up his boots.

3. Fabijan Vujadinovic - AMR/ST - I love this guy. The Bosniak isn't the most talented of players (although he's certainly no lump), but he stepped up this season and really helped fill the massive holes caused by injuries to Ocles and Méndez.

2. Sedat Yucel - AMC - The Turk stepped up as the established creative forces stuttered and broke.

1. Marius Maciulevicius - AMC/ST - The club legend keeps on delivering.

History:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League/Competition    | Country      | Position | Notes                                                 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                                |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                            |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                                       |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March                   |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                                  |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                              |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners           |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      | 15th     | Left in December                                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners        |
| 2020/21 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Supercup Winners, EL Semi-Finalists |
| 2021/22 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 2nd      | Supercup Winners, CL & DFB-Pokal Semi-Finalists       |
| 2022/23 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Champions League Winners            |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2023/24 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 2nd      | Champ's League Semi-Finalists, League Cup Finalists   |
| 2024/25 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners, League Cup Finalists          |
| 2025/26 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners                                |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2027    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & Paulista Winners, Libertadores SF       |
| 2028    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 2nd      | Paulista & Copa Libertadores Semi-Finalists           |
| 2029    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & L'dores Winners, CWC RU, Paulista SF    |
| 2030    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | B'leirao, L'dores, Paulista, Recopa Winners, CWC RU   |
| 2031    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao, Paulista, Recopa Sudamericana Winners    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2030    | Brazil          | Friendlies            | Various      | N/A      | Appointed in July, P5 W2 D2 L1                        |
| 2031    | Brazil          | Copa América          | S. America   | R-Up     | Copa América Runners Up, Resigned in July             |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2031/32 | Vélez           | Clausura              | Argentina    | 1st      | Clausura Winners, Joined in February                  |
| 2032/33 | Vélez           | Apertura              | Argentina    | 1st      | Apertura Winners, Left in December                    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2032/33 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 7th      | FA Cup Runners Up, Joined in December                 |
| 2033/34 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League & League Cup Winners                   |
| 2034/35 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, FA Cup, & Champions League Winners    |
| 2035/36 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League & CWC Winners, League Cup & CL R-Up    |
| 2036/37 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, League Cup, & Champ's League Winners  |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:

This season was a constant battle as we faced massive problems with injury and loss of form all season long. Despite this, it was a far more successful year in terms of trophies than last year - where we played far better! Hopefully next year we can put both together - good football, and plenty to celebrate. I think this side has a clean sweep in them - but I might need to make a couple of signings first.

[SnakeXe]

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

Boo.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff Semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -
2020/21   Blue Square South       14th      -
2021/22   Blue Square South       19th      -
2022/23   Blue Square South       18th      -
2023/24   Blue Square South       22nd      Relegated
2024/25   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round
2025/26   N/A                     N/A       -
2026/27   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 3rd Round
2027/28   N/A                     N/A       -
2028/29   N/A                     N/A       -
2029/30   N/A                     N/A       -
2030/31   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 1st Round
2031/32   N/A                     N/A       -
2032/33   N/A                     N/A       -
2033/34   N/A                     N/A       -
2034/35   N/A                     N/A       -
2035/36   N/A                     N/A       -
2036/37   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round

NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

At least they avoided the double-dip. Need to turn the momentum around again.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   League Two              20th      -
2021/22   League Two              6th       FA Cup 4th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2022/23   League Two              9th       JPT North Quarter Final
2023/24   League Two              16th      JPT North Semi Final
2024/25   League Two              11th      -
2025/26   League Two              19th      -
2026/27   League Two              19th      -
2027/28   League Two              18th      -
2028/29   League Two              20th      -
2029/30   League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2030/31   League One              12th      FA Cup 4th Round
2031/32   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 5th Round
2032/33   League Two              2nd       Promoted, FA Cup 3rd Round
2033/34   League One              18th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2034/35   League One              4th       JPT N SF, FA Cup R3, Playoff Winners
2035/36   Championship            24th      Relegated
2036/37   League One              18th      JPT North Quarter-finalists

Southend United:

They need to turn this around fast - just one point off the drop.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -
2020/21   Championship            12th      FA Cup 5th Round
2021/22   Championship            9th       -
2022/23   Championship            15th      -
2023/24   Championship            16th      FA Cup Semi Final
2024/25   Championship            21st      -
2025/26   Championship            19th      -
2026/27   Championship            16th      League Cup Runners up
2027/28   Championship            21st      -
2028/29   Championship            22nd      Relegated
2029/30   League One              3rd       Playoff Semi-finalists
2030/31   League One              7th       FA Cup 4th Round, JPT Finalists
2031/32   League One              17th      JPT South Quarter-finalists
2032/33   League One              11th      -
2033/34   League One              11th      JPT South Semi-finalists
2034/35   League One              5th       FA Cup 3rd Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2035/36   League One              15th      JPT South Runners-Up
2036/37   League One              20th      FA Cup 3rd Round

Wigan Athletic:

Looks like they hit their head on that glass ceiling and fell down a bit.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)
2020/21   Premier League          18th      League Cup Winners, Relegated
2021/22   Championship            2nd       Promoted, League Cup Quarter-finalists
2022/23   Premier League          17th      FA Cup 6th Round
2023/24   Premier League          19th      Relegated
2024/25   Championship            5th       Playoff Semi-finalists
2025/26   Championship            4th       Playoff Winners, FA Cup 6th Round
2026/27   Premier League          5th       FA Cup 6th Round, EL Qualification
2027/28   Premier League          19th      League Cup Quarter-finalists
2028/29   Championship            6th       FA Cup 5th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2029/30   Championship            4th       Playoff Runners Up
2030/31   Championship            2nd       Promoted
2031/32   Premier League          11th      FA Cup 5th Round
2032/33   Premier League          14th      -
2033/34   Premier League          12th      -
2034/35   Premier League          10th      -
2035/36   Premier League          9th       -
2036/37   Premier League          16th      -

Werder Bremen:

If things continue at this rate I will have to make a rescue attempt when I'm finished on Tyneside. This isn't on.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20*  1. Bundesliga           8th       I joined in December, DFB-Pokal Winners
2020/21*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, S'cup Winners; EL Semi-finalists
2021/22*  1. Bundesliga           2nd       S'cup Winners; EL, DFB-P Semi-finalists
2022/23*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, Champs League Winners
2023/24   1. Bundesliga           2nd       CWC, DFB-Pokal Winners
2024/25   1. Bundesliga           4th       Champs League, DFB-Pokal Semi-finalists
2025/26   1. Bundesliga           4th       -
2026/27   1. Bundesliga           3rd       DFB-Pokal Winners
2027/28   1. Bundesliga           5th       Europa League Semi-finalists
2028/29   1. Bundesliga           4th       Europa League QF, DFB-Pokal RU
2029/30   1. Bundesliga           3rd       Europa League Quarter-finalists
2030/31   1. Bundesliga           4th       -
2031/32   1. Bundesliga           4th       DFB-Pokal Semi-finalists
2032/33   1. Bundesliga           4th       DFB-Pokal Quarter-finalists
2033/34   1. Bundesliga           2nd       DFB-Pokal Runners Up
2034/35   1. Bundesliga           3rd       DFB-Pokal & Champions League QF
2035/36   1. Bundesliga           6th       Europa League 2nd Knockout Round
2036/37   1. Bundesliga           12th      -

Arsenal:

At least made a title challenge this year in the league, whilst they fell to us at the final hurdle in Europe.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24*  Premier League          2nd       CL Semi-finalists, LC Runners up
2024/25*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners, LC Runners Up
2025/26*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners
2026/27   Premier League          1st       PL & CL Winners, FA Cup Semi-finalists
2027/28   Premier League          1st       PL, CL, CWC & LC Winners, FA Cup Final
2028/29   Premier League          3rd       League Cup Runners Up, Champ's Lg SF
2029/30   Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners, Champ's Lg RU
2030/31   Premier League          1st       PL & LC Winners, CL Runners Up
2031/32   Premier League          1st       Prem League Winners, FA Cup Runners Up
2032/33   Premier League          2nd       Champions League Semi-finalists
2033/34   Premier League          6th       Champions League Runners Up
2034/35   Premier League          2nd       FA Cup 6th Round
2035/36   Premier League          3rd       Champions League Semi-finalists
2036/37   Premier League          3rd       FA Cup 6th Round, CL Runners Up

Santos:

Another good domestic season spoiled by a shocking 2nd Round exit in the Copa Libertadores. They still have Xaropinho, Deivid, Júnior Andrade and Evandro - what's wrong with them?!

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2027*     Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao, Paulista Winners, L'dores SF
2028*     Brasileirao             2nd       Paulista, Libertadores Semi-finalists
2029*     Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao & L'dores W, P'lista SF, CWC RU
2030*     Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao, CL, P'lista & Recopa W, CWC RU
2031*     Brasileirao             1st       Brasileirao, Paulista & Recopa Winners
2032      Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao, CL, & Paulista Winners, CWC RU
2033      Brasileirao             2nd       CL, Recopa & Paulista Winners, CWC RU
2034      Brasileirao             2nd       Paulista RU, CL SF, Recopa Winners
2035      Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao & Paulista Winners, L'dores QF
2036      Brasileirao             1st       Brasileirao Winners, Paulista Runners Up

Brazil:

Losing a friendly to Morocco is surely a new low. Still 2nd in the World Cup Qualifiers though, so it's not quite armageddon.

Season    Competition             Position  Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2030*     Friendlies              -         Appointed in July, P5 W2 D2 L1
2031*     Copa América            R-Up      Copa América R-Up, Resigned in July
2032      Friendlies              -         P3 W2 D0 L1
2033      Confederations Cup      3rd       Confederations Cup 3rd Placed Team
2031-33   CONMEBOL WC Qualifiers  2nd       Qualified for World Cup
2034      World Cup               Grp Stage Eliminated at Group Stage of WC
2035      Copa América            Grp Stage Eliminated at Group Stage of C. América    
2036      Friendlies              -         P3 W0 D2 L1 

Vélez:

Much better!

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031/32*  Clausura                1st       Clausura Winners, Joined in February
2032/33*  Apertura                1st       Apertura Winners, Left in December
2032/33   Clausura                1st       Clausura Winners, CA 7th Rnd, CL SF
2033/34   Apertura                2nd       Copa Sudamericana Semi-finalists
2033/34   Clausura                5th       -
2034/35   Apertura                5th       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2034/35   Clausura                3rd       Copa Libertadores 2nd Round
2035/36   Apertura                9th       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2035/36   Clausura                7th       -
2036/37   Apertura                3rd       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2036/37   Clausura                3rd       -

[TheGreatTraveler]

Poor Wymouth. 13 years out of the playable leagues.

[SnakeXe]

I know - surely their rep must have gotten a decent boost from the season in the BSP, so why have they never come back?

[Nobby_McDonald]

Another great season Snake.

[SnakeXe]

Another great season Snake.

Cheers Nobby - very satisfying one too, the season-long struggle with injuries ending with the gratification of reclaiming the Champions League - can't beat that.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 26 Preseason Update - Newcastle United

Board Expectations:

Premier League - Champions League qualification (minimum of Champions League qualification, predicted 2nd out of 20)

FA Cup - Final

Carling Cup - Unimportant

Community Shield - Unimportant

Champions League - Semi Final

Super Cup - Win it

My Expectations:

Premier League - With the upgrades to the squad anything less than a 5th successive title would be disappointing

FA Cup - Surely we have to not mess it up at least one year?

Carling Cup - With our good record in this competition it'd be nice to keep it up

Community Shield - Not too bothered either way

Champions League - I haven't managed to retain it yet, so that has to be the aim

Super Cup - It's against Marseille - revenge would be sweet

Budgets:

Transfer: £54,710,000 (£52,840,000 remaining)

Wages: £1,447,887/week (£1,168,925/week currently)

Balance: £63,446,798 (-£23,508,796 since last season)

Squad:

Looking a lot better than last season. With Cardinal coming in and Breach given a second chance, we should have plenty more strength in depth to cope with the sort of injury problems we suffered. Of course, now we can cope with it, I probably won't need them.

Transfers:

A rare large net spend for us this year - José Manuel Cardinal is a belated replacement for Tochukwu Daniel, whilst Ioan Micu replaces the retiring Tom Baker as second-ish choice keeper, and Lucas Henry is one for the future. N'Diaye and Killpatrick leave on loan in search of first team football.

Key Men:

Goalkeeper/Defence

Blazo Jeftic - DC - With three fairly interchangeable players available for his partner, plus good backups for both fullbacks, he's the key man to stay fit and in form.

Midfield

Michel Bellucci - DM/MC - After a couple of campaigns disrupted by injury, we need him to be back at his best.

Mario Méndez - AML/ST - Last season was pretty much a write off, and with fleeting glimpses of his quality when he came back at the end of last season we have to hope he can be the player he was.

Strikers

Andy Wakefield - ST - As Marius Maciulevicius enters the twilight of his career, can this guy shoulder the burden of being the main forward? He's done well as backup, let's see what he's made of.

[SnakeXe]

Looks like the days of splurging aren't exactly over at Arsenal.

[crouchaldinho]

:O

Not tempted by the transfer budget then?

[SnakeXe]

Made that mistake once already this career! My manager knows his type

[crouchaldinho]

To be honest, I forgot how much you spent at Arsenal when you were there!

I've never had a massive transfer budget on FM like that. I would love to have a go although I guess maybe it becomes boring quite quickly?

[SnakeXe]

What I think the actual problem was is I could win the league with the players performing at 75% of their ability, because I had world-class players across the park. That made it difficult to work out the best way to play with them all, when I didn't need them to be that good apart from maybe one game in ten. Hence the problems in the Champions League.

It's telling that probably only two or three of my Newcastle players (Mendez, Reis and Nworuh) would have even the slightest chance of getting into my Arsenal team, such was the individual quality, and yet I've been vastly more successful. But then with so many great players, maybe the egos clashed or the balance of the personalities wasn't right? Too many chiefs and not enough braves?

Possibly another factor was the pressure for instant success brought by spending so much money. It didn't leave a lot of room to build a functioning team when I needed results from day one. In fact I don't think I've had a more dysfunctional team relative to the ability of the players in my career. The experience at Arsenal has really shaped my career actually - I've not gone to a top club with massive budgets at all since. Even now at Newcastle when I have £50m transfer budgets, every really key player for me has either already been at the club (Maciulevicius, Reis, Moke, Ocles, Vujadinovic) or signed for a very small fee relative to their ability (Nworuh, Mendez, Bellucci, Jeftic, Martac).

[crouchaldinho]

I certainly always feel that personality counts for a lot when building teams and that could be why you've done so well away from top clubs with huge budgets. Maybe you are building better teams with better character and therefore getting more out of the players plus a better team spirit going.

I'd still love to have a massive budget to play with. Just once! Maybe in my current career I'll end up having a go at this and, most likely, I'll regret it as I imagine that it won't be as fun as playing the way you are playing.

My managerial style is like yours in that sense as I think I'm probably more comfortable with clubs that might be considered more 'outsiders' rather than the established top clubs. It suits my managerial style more, I would imagine, anyway.

[SnakeXe]

Just an FYI for those who found the Argentinean league structure and relegation/continental qualification rules stupid/confusing when I managed there briefly, this season Tigres may win the title and then be relegated! Ridiculous.

In terms of this save I should be getting back to it soon, I think I'm running out of steam at Newcastle. I think the squad needs a reshuffle soon and I don't know if I can be the person to do it. The likes of Ocles, Vujadinovic and Krivokuca can still do a job for us but really I should be signing top class players ahead of them. I just like them too much. Since it's a World Cup year I may well end up finishing this season and then making another foray into international management - this time quitting my club job as I intended to. I think the work I've put into improving the finances alongside the youth of the majority of our key men should mean Newcastle will stay a top club. Perhaps I'll come back and rescue them again if they slip once more, but my job feels pretty well done right now.

[SnakeXe]

Season 26: Halfway House Update

First the mickey mouse stuff. Community Shield - good, beat Man City 2-1. European Super Cup - bad, lost another final to Marseille in a dire 0-1.

In slightly more serious competition we brushed Villa aside 2-0 in the League Cup 3rd Round, before a needlessly prolonged 3-1 win over Fulham after extra time. Blackburn put up a good fight to restrict us to a 3-2 win in the quarter-final, but we'll be the ones going through to face sort-of-rivals-although-they-care-a-lot-more-than-we-do Middlesbrough in the semi.

The league started off pitifully, a 1-4 defeat at Anfield a real sickener. As usual we won most of the rest, with the trend of stupid defeats away against good sides continuing with a 3-2 defeat against Chelsea in west London and a 2-0 defeat in the north of the capital against Arsenal. Other than that things were going great for the first 15 games, a 0-0 away in Cardiff the only other blot on the copybook. However, the twin fixture-congestion generators of the Club World Cup and World Cup conspired to give us a ridiculous run of four league games in a week over the New Year. To the players' great credit we dominated all four, but to my great disgust we won none of them, four successive draws dropping us 10 points behind leaders Man City, albeit with 2 games in hand.

The Champions League group was straightforward as is usually the case these days, 5 straight wins over Sporting and Zilina home and away, and Juventus at home tying up the group win before a meaningless 2-1 loss in Torino. We face AC Milan in the first knockout round.

The Club World Championship wasn't quite the usual turkey shoot, but we still waltzed to the trophy with a 2-1 win over Tigres followed by 4-2 against Newel

The Good

• Progress/success/challenging in everything that's not the European Super Cup
  
• Sedat Yucel continues his impressive form
  
• Sunderland are bottom
  

The Bad

• Losing another (albeit less important) final to Marseille, who really aren't all that
  
• 10 points behind a good Man City team is quite a margin to close
  
• Méndez hasn't quite been back to his best since returning from injury
  

Results - Premier League Table - Squad

[DazRTaylor]

Any game where Newcastle win four league titles in a row is a great game

You missed a positive off in your half year summary: Sunderland are bottom of the league Acidburn would not agree here

[SnakeXe]

Any game where Newcastle win four league titles in a row is a great game

You missed a positive off in your half year summary: Sunderland are bottom of the league Acidburn would not agree here

I'm so editing that in!

[deltablue]

Looks like quite a fight on your hands. Sunderland bottom is fine by me

[SnakeXe]

Looks like quite a fight on your hands. Sunderland bottom is fine by me

Yeah it'll be a real achievement to retain the title from this position. I've given us a fighting chance, though:

Deivid played for me at Santos, I nabbed him as a 15 year-old for a bargain £55k - quite the profit for the Brazilians! He should prove to be worth it, though, he should excel in the deep-lying playmaker role in my preferred system.

[SRL88]

4 draws in a row hasnt helped the gap at the top I bet?

Deivid looks a real talent .

[Nobby_McDonald]

Now I know the Argentine league is stupid.

[SnakeXe]

4 draws in a row hasnt helped the gap at the top I bet?

Deivid looks a real talent .

He's started pretty well

Yeah we were top before we went off to the Club World Championship, then that run of games came straight after.

Now I know the Argentine league is stupid.

It's laughable. Brought the system in to stop River going down, then they went down anyway in the end.

[deltablue]

Deivid looks a fantastic player, worth splashing that money out on.

[SnakeXe]

Deivid looks a fantastic player, worth splashing that money out on.

He just helped us engineer a 5-0 home win over AC Milan to overturn a 0-2 first leg deficit! It was 2-0 to us until the 80th minute, such a tense match.

[MeLikeFM]

Just read this whole thing over the course of the evening, great stuff

[SnakeXe]

Just read this whole thing over the course of the evening, great stuff

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it - and good effort reading it all in one go!

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 26 - 2037/38

Story of the Season:

Premier League - 1st

Liverpool put in a great title challenge - despite winning 17 out of our 19 games in an unbeaten second half of the season they only finished 3 points behind us.

FA Cup - Winners

Finally won this trophy again, only the second time in my career. Championship Leeds and Wrexham were a fairly untaxing start, and Middlesbrough weren't much better. Dipping back into the Championship for the next two rounds kept things simple, as Reading and MK Dons were dispatched in professional manner. Fulham in the final were a different prospect - somewhat of a bogey team for us and ended up just 1 point from Champions League qualification this season. Fortunately we overcame them 1-0 after extra time to claim the trophy.

League Cup - Winners

Boro were weak opponents in the semi-final, and another Championship side in Swindon lay down to have their tummy tickled in the final.

Community Shield - Winners

Goals in the 87th and 90th minute turned it around for us against Man City.

European Super Cup - Runners Up (lost v Marseille)

Our European bogey team snuck a ridiculous 1-0 win.

Champions League - Runners Up (lost v Atletico Madrid)

We didn't win a single away tie in Europe after a 4-1 thrashing of Sporting in Lisbon back in October - the irrelevant loss against Juventus followed by a 2-0 loss in the San Siro against AC Milan, and 1-1 draws in Leverkusen and Paris. Fortunately our home form was up to the job, with 5-0 wins over the Rossonero and Bayer, although another 1-1 draw meant penalties were required against PSG. Fortunately we held our nerve to convert 4 from 5 to progress.

Atletico are a good side, featuring my former star man at Vélez, Alan Esmerado. We would have to bring our A-game to beat them. However, we did not. We brought our E-game if that. Still, we outplayed them, but that's no good when you can't finish until the 2nd minute of added time, and you've already conceded twice and made your goalkeeper save a penalty to boot. Gutted.

Club World Cup - Winners

Tigres and then Newell's tasted our steel.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Squad

Transfers - £58m spent

A massive net-spend this time as I broke the club transfer reord twice, first for José Manuel Cardinal from PSV, then for my Santos old-boy Deivid at £32m.

Finances

Debt-free and massively profitable.

5 Most Important Players:

5. Mario Méndez - AML/ST - Not back to his best, but a huge contribution as always.

4. Mohamed Saad - M/AMRC - After the customary slow-ish start our new signings seem to make, he showed great quality playing wide right or just behind the striker.

3. Gil Reis - D/MR - A real club legend. Consistent excellence.

2. Sedat Yucel - AMC - Another great season from the criminally underused Turkish international.

1. Marius Maciulevicius - AMC/ST - Rolled back the years to smash in just under a goal every star

History:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League/Competition    | Country      | Position | Notes                                                 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                                |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                            |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                                       |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March                   |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                                  |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                              |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners           |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      | 15th     | Left in December                                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners        |
| 2020/21 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Supercup Winners, EL Semi-Finalists |
| 2021/22 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 2nd      | Supercup Winners, CL & DFB-Pokal Semi-Finalists       |
| 2022/23 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Champions League Winners            |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2023/24 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 2nd      | Champ's League Semi-Finalists, League Cup Finalists   |
| 2024/25 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners, League Cup Finalists          |
| 2025/26 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners                                |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2027    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & Paulista Winners, Libertadores SF       |
| 2028    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 2nd      | Paulista & Copa Libertadores Semi-Finalists           |
| 2029    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & L'dores Winners, CWC RU, Paulista SF    |
| 2030    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | B'leirao, L'dores, Paulista, Recopa Winners, CWC RU   |
| 2031    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao, Paulista, Recopa Sudamericana Winners    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2030    | Brazil          | Friendlies            | Various      | N/A      | Appointed in July, P5 W2 D2 L1                        |
| 2031    | Brazil          | Copa América          | S. America   | R-Up     | Copa América Runners Up, Resigned in July             |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2031/32 | Vélez           | Clausura              | Argentina    | 1st      | Clausura Winners, Joined in February                  |
| 2032/33 | Vélez           | Apertura              | Argentina    | 1st      | Apertura Winners, Left in December                    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2032/33 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 7th      | FA Cup Runners Up, Joined in December                 |
| 2033/34 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League & League Cup Winners                   |
| 2034/35 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, FA Cup, & Champions League Winners    |
| 2035/36 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League & CWC Winners, League Cup & CL R-Up    |
| 2036/37 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, League Cup, & Champ's League Winners  |
| 2037/38 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, FA Cup, Lg Cup & CWC Winners, CL R-Up |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:

I think this might be the end for me at Newcastle. I've won everything there is to be won multiple times, I've erased the club's debt, and built a vibrant young squad full of quality on a budget. It's a massive wrench, but time to move on. The plan is to watch the World Cup from my comfy sofa then pick up the pieces for whatever country takes my fancy afterwards. I think I'd prefer a European country at this stage.

[SnakeXe]

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

Boo.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff Semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -
2020/21   Blue Square South       14th      -
2021/22   Blue Square South       19th      -
2022/23   Blue Square South       18th      -
2023/24   Blue Square South       22nd      Relegated
2024/25   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round
2025/26   N/A                     N/A       -
2026/27   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 3rd Round
2027/28   N/A                     N/A       -
2028/29   N/A                     N/A       -
2029/30   N/A                     N/A       -
2030/31   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 1st Round
2031/32   N/A                     N/A       -
2032/33   N/A                     N/A       -
2033/34   N/A                     N/A       -
2034/35   N/A                     N/A       -
2035/36   N/A                     N/A       -
2036/37   N/A                     N/A       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round
2037/38   N/A                     N/A       -

NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Well that went well.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round
2020/21   League Two              20th      -
2021/22   League Two              6th       FA Cup 4th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2022/23   League Two              9th       JPT North Quarter Final
2023/24   League Two              16th      JPT North Semi Final
2024/25   League Two              11th      -
2025/26   League Two              19th      -
2026/27   League Two              19th      -
2027/28   League Two              18th      -
2028/29   League Two              20th      -
2029/30   League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2030/31   League One              12th      FA Cup 4th Round
2031/32   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 5th Round
2032/33   League Two              2nd       Promoted, FA Cup 3rd Round
2033/34   League One              18th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2034/35   League One              4th       JPT N SF, FA Cup R3, Playoff Winners
2035/36   Championship            24th      Relegated
2036/37   League One              18th      JPT North Quarter-finalists
2037/38   League One              22nd      Relegated

Southend United:

Finally some good news! The Shrimpers are back on the up.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -
2020/21   Championship            12th      FA Cup 5th Round
2021/22   Championship            9th       -
2022/23   Championship            15th      -
2023/24   Championship            16th      FA Cup Semi Final
2024/25   Championship            21st      -
2025/26   Championship            19th      -
2026/27   Championship            16th      League Cup Runners up
2027/28   Championship            21st      -
2028/29   Championship            22nd      Relegated
2029/30   League One              3rd       Playoff Semi-finalists
2030/31   League One              7th       FA Cup 4th Round, JPT Finalists
2031/32   League One              17th      JPT South Quarter-finalists
2032/33   League One              11th      -
2033/34   League One              11th      JPT South Semi-finalists
2034/35   League One              5th       FA Cup 3rd Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2035/36   League One              15th      JPT South Runners-Up
2036/37   League One              20th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2037/38   League One              5th       Playoff Winners, Promoted

Wigan Athletic:

A quite literal copy and paste of last season.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)
2020/21   Premier League          18th      League Cup Winners, Relegated
2021/22   Championship            2nd       Promoted, League Cup Quarter-finalists
2022/23   Premier League          17th      FA Cup 6th Round
2023/24   Premier League          19th      Relegated
2024/25   Championship            5th       Playoff Semi-finalists
2025/26   Championship            4th       Playoff Winners, FA Cup 6th Round
2026/27   Premier League          5th       FA Cup 6th Round, EL Qualification
2027/28   Premier League          19th      League Cup Quarter-finalists
2028/29   Championship            6th       FA Cup 5th Round, Playoff Semi-finalists
2029/30   Championship            4th       Playoff Runners Up
2030/31   Championship            2nd       Promoted
2031/32   Premier League          11th      FA Cup 5th Round
2032/33   Premier League          14th      -
2033/34   Premier League          12th      -
2034/35   Premier League          10th      -
2035/36   Premier League          9th       -
2036/37   Premier League          16th      -
2037/38   Premier League          16th      -

Werder Bremen:

A much improved season for Die Werderaner.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20*  1. Bundesliga           8th       I joined in December, DFB-Pokal Winners
2020/21*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, S'cup Winners; EL Semi-finalists
2021/22*  1. Bundesliga           2nd       S'cup Winners; EL, DFB-P Semi-finalists
2022/23*  1. Bundesliga           1st       B'liga, Champs League Winners
2023/24   1. Bundesliga           2nd       CWC, DFB-Pokal Winners
2024/25   1. Bundesliga           4th       Champs League, DFB-Pokal Semi-finalists
2025/26   1. Bundesliga           4th       -
2026/27   1. Bundesliga           3rd       DFB-Pokal Winners
2027/28   1. Bundesliga           5th       Europa League Semi-finalists
2028/29   1. Bundesliga           4th       Europa League QF, DFB-Pokal RU
2029/30   1. Bundesliga           3rd       Europa League Quarter-finalists
2030/31   1. Bundesliga           4th       -
2031/32   1. Bundesliga           4th       DFB-Pokal Semi-finalists
2032/33   1. Bundesliga           4th       DFB-Pokal Quarter-finalists
2033/34   1. Bundesliga           2nd       DFB-Pokal Runners Up
2034/35   1. Bundesliga           3rd       DFB-Pokal & Champions League QF
2035/36   1. Bundesliga           6th       Europa League 2nd Knockout Round
2036/37   1. Bundesliga           12th      -
2037/38   1. Bundesliga           5th       -

Arsenal:

A bit of a nothing-season.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24*  Premier League          2nd       CL Semi-finalists, LC Runners up
2024/25*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners, LC Runners Up
2025/26*  Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners
2026/27   Premier League          1st       PL & CL Winners, FA Cup Semi-finalists
2027/28   Premier League          1st       PL, CL, CWC & LC Winners, FA Cup Final
2028/29   Premier League          3rd       League Cup Runners Up, Champ's Lg SF
2029/30   Premier League          1st       Premier League Winners, Champ's Lg RU
2030/31   Premier League          1st       PL & LC Winners, CL Runners Up
2031/32   Premier League          1st       Prem League Winners, FA Cup Runners Up
2032/33   Premier League          2nd       Champions League Semi-finalists
2033/34   Premier League          6th       Champions League Runners Up
2034/35   Premier League          2nd       FA Cup 6th Round
2035/36   Premier League          3rd       Champions League Semi-finalists
2036/37   Premier League          3rd       FA Cup 6th Round, CL Runners Up
2037/38   Premier League          4th       -

Santos:

Another Brasileirao win, but poor performance in the Paulista and abject failure in the Libertadores - not even getting past the group phase.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2027*     Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao, Paulista Winners, L'dores SF
2028*     Brasileirao             2nd       Paulista, Libertadores Semi-finalists
2029*     Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao & L'dores W, P'lista SF, CWC RU
2030*     Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao, CL, P'lista & Recopa W, CWC RU
2031*     Brasileirao             1st       Brasileirao, Paulista & Recopa Winners
2032      Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao, CL, & Paulista Winners, CWC RU
2033      Brasileirao             2nd       CL, Recopa & Paulista Winners, CWC RU
2034      Brasileirao             2nd       Paulista RU, CL SF, Recopa Winners
2035      Brasileirao             1st       B'leirao & Paulista Winners, L'dores QF
2036      Brasileirao             1st       Brasileirao Winners, Paulista Runners Up
2037      Brasileirao             1st       Brasileirao Winners, Paulista SF

Brazil:

Qualified for the World Cup, let's hope they do better than the embarassing group exit last time.

Season    Competition             Position  Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2030*     Friendlies              -         Appointed in July, P5 W2 D2 L1
2031*     Copa América            R-Up      Copa América R-Up, Resigned in July
2032      Friendlies              -         P3 W2 D0 L1
2033      Confederations Cup      3rd       Confederations Cup 3rd Placed Team
2031-33   CONMEBOL WC Qualifiers  2nd       Qualified for World Cup
2034      World Cup               Grp Stage Eliminated at Group Stage of WC
2035      Copa América            Grp Stage Eliminated at Group Stage of C. América    
2036      Friendlies              -         P3 W0 D2 L1
2037      Friendlies              -         P2 W0 D2 L0
2035-37   CONMEBOL WC Qualifiers  2nd       Qualified for World Cup

Vélez:

A good season in continental competition spoiled by a poor performance in the Clausura table.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031/32*  Clausura                1st       Clausura Winners, Joined in February
2032/33*  Apertura                1st       Apertura Winners, Left in December
2032/33   Clausura                1st       Clausura Winners, CA 7th Rnd, CL SF
2033/34   Apertura                2nd       Copa Sudamericana Semi-finalists
2033/34   Clausura                5th       -
2034/35   Apertura                5th       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2034/35   Clausura                3rd       Copa Libertadores 2nd Round
2035/36   Apertura                9th       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2035/36   Clausura                7th       -
2036/37   Apertura                3rd       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2036/37   Clausura                3rd       -
2037/38   Apertura                3rd       Copa Sudamericana Quarter-finalists
2037/38   Clausura                9th       Copa Libertadores Quarter-finalists

[SnakeXe]

And off I go.

I think I have something in my eye

Sensibly, the board replaced me with the guy who beat us in the Champions League final.

[SnakeXe]

2038 FIFA World Cup

Hosts: United States

Holders: Netherlands

Group Stage:

Group A

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Brazil        |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 10    | 1     | +9    | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Romania       |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 6     | -2    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | New Zealand   |       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 2     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | United States |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 7     | -5    | 1     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Portugal     |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 3     | +1    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Germany      |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 9     | 7     | +2    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Ghana        |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6     | 6     | 0     | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Saudi Arabia |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 7     | -3    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C

| Pos   | Inf   | Team      |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | England   |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 0     | +6    | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Mexico    |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 2     | +5    | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Argentina |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 6     | 8     | -2    | 3     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Bahrain   |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 10    | -9    | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D

| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Uruguay |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 1     | +4    | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Serbia  |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 2     | +3    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Turkey  |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 1     | +2    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Canada  |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 9     | -9    | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Cameroon   |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 1     | +6    | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Finland    |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 0     | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Spain      |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 3     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Costa Rica |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 7     | -6    | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Sweden      |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 6     | 4     | +2    | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Ivory Coast |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Denmark     |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 7     | 6     | +1    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Jamaica     |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group G

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                 |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | South Africa         |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 5     | 2     | +3    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | France               |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 4     | 1     | +3    | 5     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Bosnia & Herzegovina |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 6     | -4    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Australia            |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 2     | -2    | 1     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group H

| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Russia  |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 9     | 3     | +6    | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Nigeria |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 4     | +1    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Chile   |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 6     | -3    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Iran    |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 5     | -4    | 1     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Knockout Stage:

Second Round:

Brazil p2 v 2 Germany

Romania 0 v 1e Portugal

England 2 v 1 Serbia

Uruguay 1 v 2 Mexico

Ivory Coast 3 v 4e Cameroon

Sweden 0 v 1 Finland

South Africa 0 v 1 Nigeria

France 1 v 1p Russia

Quarter Final:

Brazil 4 v 1 Mexico

Portugal p1 v 1 England

Cameroon 2 v 0 Russia

Finland 2 v 3e Nigeria

Semi Final:

Brazil 1 v 0 Nigeria

Portugal 1 v 1p Cameroon

Third Place Playoff:

Nigeria 4 v 0 Portugal

Final:

Brazil 0 v 1 Cameroon

An amazing win by Cameroon, becoming the second ever African World Champions, after Ghana in 2018. The Netherlands didn't even qualify to defend their title.

[SnakeXe]

Well despite there being a lot of jobs available, including France and Spain, and an intriguingly 3rd-ranked Serbian team, I only really had one in mind.

It's nice to be made welcome.

Sounds fair.

[SnakeXe]

Name: England

Nickname: The Three Lions

First International: Scotland 0 v 0 England, 30 November 1872

Stadium: Wembley, 90,000 (all-seater) capacity

From Wikipedia:

The England national football team represents England in football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the oldest national football team in the world alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872. England is one of the United Kingdom's Home Nations, meaning that it is permitted by FIFA to maintain its own national side.

What with Euro 2012 and Crouchy's excellent Roy Crouchson thread, I've been hankering for a bit of international management, and in particular, managing England! England have been really successful by our standards, with World Cup wins in 2014 and 2030, plus a European Championship win in 2020 and a second place in 2016. However, for the past couple of years we've languished outside the top 10 in the World Rankings, and in the World Cup qualifying managed just 4 wins agains teams other than San Marino.

Following the World Cup we've shot up to what I expect is a very artificially high ranking of 4th - considering that's the only time in the past 2 years it's been in the top 10 - so my challenge will be to make us earn the right to be a top 10 side once more, and then hopefully deliver some more success. I haven't won anything internationally since FM10 so this will be a great challenge.

[SnakeXe]

I think I'll move to a match-by-match style of updating now I'll be exclusively England manager. Sound good?

[SnakeXe]

Brought in my assistant from Newcastle, plus a coach and goalkeeping coach.

[SnakeXe]

England Squad v Saudi Arabia 11.08.38 (Friendly)

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name                | Position       | Club                | Height  | Weight       | Age     | Value   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Smith.png"]Tristan Smith[/url]       | GK             | Wigan               | 5'11"   | 12 st 6 lbs  | 30      | £6.5M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | IPR     | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Seasman.png"]David Seasman[/url]       | GK             | Man Utd             | 6'0"    | 12 st 12 lbs | 28      | £4.8M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | IPR     | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Leigh.png"]Chris Leigh[/url]         | GK             | Fulham              | 6'0"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 25      | £3.9M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Cruse.png"]Tom Cruse[/url]           | D (RC)         | Huddersfield        | 5'9"    | 11 st 2 lbs  | 26      | £10.25M | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | IPR     | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Compaore.png"]Boubacar Compaoré[/url]   | D (RC)         | Liverpool           | 6'4"    | 13 st 12 lbs | 20      | £2.4M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Evans.png"]Craig Evans[/url]         | D (L)          | Chelsea             | 5'10"   | 11 st 6 lbs  | 30      | £4.5M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Joseph.png"]Karl Joseph[/url]         | D (L)          | Man City            | 6'0"    | 12 st 3 lbs  | 30      | £15.25M | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Oakley.png"]Danny Oakley[/url]        | D (C)          | Liverpool           | 6'4"    | 13 st 9 lbs  | 31      | £7.25M  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Fred.png"]Fred[/url]                | D (C)          | Newcastle           | 6'2"    | 13 st 5 lbs  | 28      | £4.4M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Jones.png"]Greg Jones[/url]          | D/M (R)        | Newcastle           | 5'11"   | 11 st 13 lbs | 22      | £6.25M  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Mapes.png"]Jake Mapes[/url]          | D/M (C)        | Arsenal             | 6'7"    | 14 st 13 lbs | 28      | £6M     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/SmithK.png"]Karl Smith[/url]          | DM, M (C)      | Everton             | 6'0"    | 12 st 6 lbs  | 31      | £16M    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Vigurs.png"]Dan Vigurs[/url]          | DM, M (C)      | Juventus            | 6'3"    | 13 st 5 lbs  | 30      | £8.5M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | IPR     | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Norman.png"]Reece Norman[/url]        | DM, M (C)      | Fulham              | 6'0"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 26      | £5.75M  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Stewart.png"]Andrew Stewart[/url]      | M (R), AM (RC) | Shamrock Rovers     | 5'10"   | 11 st 13 lbs | 22      | £2.3M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Preston.png"]Mike Preston[/url]        | M (L)          | Paris Saint-Germain | 5'11"   | 11 st 9 lbs  | 26      | £20.5M  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/N-Shole.png"]Mbala Mbuta N'Shole[/url] | M (C), ST      | Man City            | 5'10"   | 11 st 4 lbs  | 23      | £12.75M | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Eric.png"]Branko Eric[/url]         | M/AM (R), ST   | Liverpool           | 6'5"    | 13 st 12 lbs | 27      | £12.5M  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Breach.png"]Mitchell Breach[/url]     | M/AM (L)       | Newcastle           | 5'8"    | 11 st 4 lbs  | 25      | £6.25M  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Moke.png"]Delando Moke[/url]        | M/AM (C)       | Newcastle           | 6'4"    | 13 st 3 lbs  | 24      | £13.75M | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Holland.png"]John Holland[/url]        | ST             | Man Utd             | 5'11"   | 11 st 9 lbs  | 25      | £7.5M   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Wakefield.png"]Andy Wakefield[/url]      | ST             | Newcastle           | 5'11"   | 12 st 3 lbs  | 25      | £23M    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | IPR     | [url="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/MrDeeerp/Journeyman/England/Saudi/Hall.png"]Oscar Hall[/url]          | ST             | Cardiff             | 5'11"   | 12 st 1 lbs  | 23      | £6M     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

I based this roughly on what my assistant recommended - however he left out some excellent players I knew of, such as star-man Mike Preston, so I'm sure there'll be more I've missed that I didn't know about. All in all I think it's a decent enough squad, and we should certainly have enough to qualify for Euro 2040. Andy Wakefield is my captain, with Karl Smith vice. The previous captain and vice-captain were 35 so I thought it was time to give them their gold watches.

NB: In future I'll just show the changes to this squad, with screenshots for any new players coming in. I'll show the whole squad again for any tournaments I qualify for.

[SnakeXe]

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]England 3

Josh Holland (26, 38)

Mike Preston (43)

Friendly International

Wembley, 73,976

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]Saudi Arabia 1

Aied Al-Maghrabi (88)[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Lineup (4-4-2)[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]Lineup (4-4-2)[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1. Tristan Smith

2. Tom Cruse (sub 73)

4. Boubacar Compaoré

5. Danny Oakley

3. Karl Joseph

7. Branko Eric (sub 61)

6. Delando Moke

8. Karl Smith (sub 61)

11. Mike Preston (sub 73)

9. John Holland*

10. Andy Wakefield © (sub 73)

------------------------------------

12. Mbala Mbuta N'Shole (on 73)

14. Mitchell Breach (on 73)

15. Andrew Stewart (on 61)

16. Reece Norman

17. Dan Vigurs (on 61)

18. Jake Mapes

19. Greg Jones (on 73)

20. Craig Evans

21. David Seasman

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]1. Khalid Al-Maghrabi (sub 73)

2. Nassar Al-Balawi

4. Sattam Hadi

5. Bassam Al-Jizani (sub 63)

3. Basim Ghulam (sub 57)

10. Nayef Barnawi (sub 45)

6. Fahad Al-Salman

8. Naser Al-Khamees (sub 45)

11. Bassam Fallatah ©

9. Adil Al-Eid

7. Hassan Al-Haddaf

--------------------------------------

12. Yehia Al-Fahad (on 73)

14. Abdul Razzaq Al-Qarni (on 45)

15. Fahad Al-Bishi (on 57)

16. Craig Nongwele

17. Hani Al-Jasim

18. Fahad Al-Zahrani

19. Abdulaziz Al-Inzi (on 63)

20. Fahad Al-Ka'abi (on 45)

21. Aied Al-Maghrabi

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[SnakeXe]

A good start then, Holland justified his selection ahead of the more heralded N'Shole with a brace, and when 3-0 up at half time I was anticipating a few more goals after half time. The fluency wouldn't quite come back however, and they got a consolation towards the end.

[jayahr]

Good luck with England

Some tiny keepers you have there...

[deltablue]

Do you miss Newcastle.

[jayahr]

And an England international playing for Shamrock Rovers

[SnakeXe]

England Squad v Albania (h) 04.09.38 (Friendly) and Moldova (a) 08.09.38 (Euro Qualifiers)

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]In[/TD]

[TD]Out[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Karl Smith - DM/MC - Man Utd

Lewis Thomson - ST - Blackburn[/TD]

[TD]Jed Smith - DM/MC - Everton (injured)

Andy Wakefield - ST - Newcastle (injured)[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

I would have gone with the same squad, but Karl Smith picked up an injury so he's replaced by his namesake Jed. If there's a Ward Smith I may have to delete my save and burn my harddrive.

Edit: Wakefield suffered torn knee ligaments so I called up the most experienced replacement, which turns out to be Lewis Thomson of Blackburn. Technically limited, but quick, although hopefully we won't need him.