If You Count Your Chickens Before They've Hatched, They Won't Lay An Egg

[AK22]

30 Years of English Football

The post-Wenger era has been terrific for Arsenal, which has included eight back-to-back Premier League titles. Apart from Fulham breaking into the top three in 2026, the 'big five' have shared the honours out amongst themselves.

Currently, the Premier League contains Leyton Orient and Huddersfield, with teams such as Wrexham, AFC Wimbledon and Fleetwood competing in the Championship. At the other end of things, Bolton and Everton are in League 2, with Reading down in the BSP!

Burnley beating Liverpool in 2027 stands out as the biggest giant-killing final.

[AK22]

30 Years of Spanish Football

Very little has changed at the top of Spanish football, asides from Levante and Córdoba breaking into the top three on the odd occasion.

A few surprises, but mainly still dominated by the big clubs.

[AK22]

30 Years of Italian Football

AC Milan and Fiorentina have been consistently a class above the rest.

Good to see Bari becoming a bit of a cup specialist side.

[AK22]

30 Years of German Football

Bayern still the powerhouse team in Germany.

Little Aue won it last year!

[AK22]

30 Years of French Football

Nice, Lens and Auxerre have been shock winners, but it's still mainly been OM or Lyon.

A much more open competition, with several winners!

[AK22]

30 Years of Dutch Football

VVV winning in 2033 came slightly out of the blue!

AZ have done well in recent times.

[AK22]

30 Years of Portuguese Football

Braga in 2020 have been the only non-Big 3 winner.

A few surprise winners, but Sporting has been very dominant.

[AK22]

30 Years of South American Football

Brazil and Argentina have been seriously challenged, recently, with Columbia and Paraguay lifting the trophy.

Corinthians have consistently won South America's premier club competition.

[AK22]

30 Years of Brazilian Football

Corinthians or Cruzeiro, or Corinthians... or Cruzeiro...

[AK22]

30 Years of Argentine Football

Boca are still pretty dominant, but Independiente have done well also.

[AK22]

30 Years of North American Football

Mexico haven't quite had all their own way.

No US winners here.

[AK22]

30 Years of Mexican Football

Tigres and Pumas doing well recently.

[AK22]

30 Years of Asian Football

China doing well.

Dominated by Arab winners.

[AK22]

30 Years of African Football

Ivory Coast seem the most consistent.

Mainly Egyptian winners, in particular Zamalek.

[AK22]

30 Years of Oceanic Football

Boring, boring New Zealand...

Um... New Zealand or New Zealand...

[AK22]

30 Years of Rest of the World Football

[AK22]

And here's how my old clubs have been doing since I left...

The K's have done well, establishing themselves as a League One club. They've also been to the Playoff finals too, but missing out on promotion to the Championship. (In charge 2012-2015)

Hull got relegated from the Premier League as soon as I left, but asides from one season in League One, they've remained a consistent mid-table Championship side. (In charge 2015-2018)

Fulham have blossomed since my departure, with Champions League football coming to Craven Cottage on a couple of occasions too. (In charge 2018-2020)

Only two more Premier League titles added to the trophy cabinet after my period at the helm- that's 23 in total. Arsenal now have a record 26! (In charge 2020-2025)

[AK22]

Estudiantes have added plenty of league titles to the couple that I won. (In charge 2025-2028)

One more Bundesliga added since I left. (In charge 2028-2032)

I'm pleased to see Genoa are still right near the top of Italian football, and have added another Serie A trophy too. (In charge 2032-2036)

Still dominating. (In charge 2036-2039)

[AK22]

And finally, here's my career stats after 30 years.

Still, my aim is to make 2000 games before FM13!

[cerud]

Very interesting to see the footballing world after 30 years! How has the MLS fared?

[Raware]

Great 30 season summary AK . Nice skin too...name?

[noikeee]

I am a little guilty not to have followed this career as it developed, looks like it's been very interesting, now deep into the future with loads of success throughout all the major leagues. I can understand the challenge of going back down after winning everything at the top for long, these have been 2 very strong seasons with Balma, what are your goals in France, take Balma to the very top no matter how long it lasts, or stay open-minded for being on the move again?

[Adelaidean]

Great to see your old clubs doing so well, hope you do well with Balma!

Great 30 season summary AK . Nice skin too...name?

It's Steklo X2, I use the same one and it's fantastic.

[deltablue]

I love how Corinthians and Cruzeiro were pretty much passing the title between each other for a while.

[Raware]

Steklo X2, I use the same one and it's fantastic.

Thankyou please . Downloaded

[AK22]

Very interesting to see the footballing world after 30 years! How has the MLS fared?

Here you go, cerud. New York Red Bulls have had some great spells of success.

Great 30 season summary AK . Nice skin too...name?

Thanks Raware. See below... (here's a link to it, if you want to download). It's a good solid skin, very easy on the eye.

Edit: Too slow!!

Great to see your old clubs doing so well, hope you do well with Balma!

It's Steklo X2, I use the same one and it's fantastic.

Cheers, Adelaidean.

I am a little guilty not to have followed this career as it developed, looks like it's been very interesting, now deep into the future with loads of success throughout all the major leagues. I can understand the challenge of going back down after winning everything at the top for long, these have been 2 very strong seasons with Balma, what are your goals in France, take Balma to the very top no matter how long it lasts, or stay open-minded for being on the move again?

I reckon Balma will be my last club on this save, so would like to take them up into Ligue 1 and as far as possible. Although I can't rule it out completely, I doubt there is an offer out there that will tempt me to join another club, as I've pretty much done everything I would have wanted to do on this save. However, the one achievement I haven't accomplished, and would like to do so, is winning the World Cup. I haven't had a lot of luck with international management on this save, and can't say I'm desperate to jump back into it again, but I reckon I could take on another nation in the future and run them alongside my Balma club team.

I love how Corinthians and Cruzeiro were pretty much passing the title between each other for a while.

Yeah, it was a bit like two player pass-the-parcel for a decade or so!

[psychonaut]

Are Rangers still in the SPL?

[cerud]

Thanks for the update, AK22!

[AK22]

Are Rangers still in the SPL?

They sure are Although, Celtic seem to have the upper hand at the moment...

SPL Winners

Thanks for the update, AK22!

No probs at all!

[AK22]

Balma SC: Pre-Season 2041/42

We had a good season of Ligue 2 consolidation last term, so it's important for us not to slip back this year. The club's doing a lot better financially now, turning over a nice monthly profit, which has seen the board offer me a more generous budget to the strengthen the team with. I've also had my contract extended by two years, which will take me up to the end of the 2042/43 season (on a wage of £2.9k per week).

AS Monaco were one of the sides relegated from Ligue 1, and will be huge favourites to go straight back up again. Asides from them, I predict another close season, with about ten other sides competing for the right to play top-flight football next season; all being well, we should on the fringes of this chasing pack.

Board Expectations

Ligue 2: Safe mid-table

Coupe de France: Reach the Ninth Round

Coupe de la Ligue: Learn from the experience

Media Prediction: 12th

Transfer Budget: £1.1m

Wage Budget: £56k per week (currently spending £46.4k per week)

Transfer Summary

Key Signings: Semsettin Delil (DC) £2.5k, Mohammed Koné (MC) £7k, Dinnyuy Salami (MC) Free, Wojciech Koczor (AMR/ST) Free, Diego Arenas (DC) Free, Alexandr Dulub (ST) £26k

Once again the scouts have been very busy, and I'm absolutely delighted with all the signings we've been able to make over the summer. I've also been able to retain a lot of the existing squad from last season, so there's been a lot less turmoil compared to this time last year. That said, nine new players have joined the club, including one more Turk (that's four now !!), so there's still plenty of new faces to freshen things up.

The key signings have all been down the core of the team, with two centre-backs, two central midfielders, and two strikers joining the club. I've always believed that the key to success is to have a really strong spine to your team, and hopefully, with these new recruits, my theory will be proven correct. The one I'm most looking forward to seeing is Alexandr Dulub, a 6"9 Belarussian beast, with good pace and determination, who should be the talisman we were missing last year. (Just in case he isn't, Koczor should be a decent bet for a goal or two too!)

[Nobby_McDonald]

Great season AK.

[AK22]

Cheers, Nobby!

Balma SC: A Bit More Lead In The Pencil

Due to the signings brought in over the summer, I've decided to go with a more attacking main tactic this season. Of course, there has been time where we've had to keep things tight, and play on the counter, but for the majority of matches, I've released the shackles on the team. We're still playing the same 4-5-1 formation I've been using for the past two seasons, but now, the defensive-minded central midfielder is asked to contribute a lot more going forward, as are both of the full-backs. I've also introduced an inside forward on the left wing, which has produced some quite devastating effects...

Domestic Football - 2041/42 Winter Break

Domestic Fixtures

Remember that beast of a Belarussian striker I signed back in the summer? That six foot nine inch monster? Obviously, you'd play him through the middle as a target man, right? Well, not me. I've been using Alexandr Dulub as an inside forward, starting on the left wing, and what a revelation this has turned out to be!

A typical goal this season would have been as follows - attacking play builds down the right side of our midfield, ball finds it's way out to our right winger, he runs to the byline before crossing the ball to the back post, Dulub runs in off the left wing to attack the ball against the opposing right-back, GOAL! Rinse and repeat. 14 goals in 20 league games; I don't think there's a full-back in the land that can compete with a 6"9 beast running full pelt towards him!

Of course, Dulub's goals have been vital in pushing us towards to the top of the table, but the rest of the team have all stepped it up too, so it's no fluke that we're in such a promising position. My only real concern is that the squad back-up players are nowhere good enough to come in and regularly deputise for the first choice eleven, so any kind of minor injury crisis could really mean curtains for our siege towards top-tier football. I still think we'll remain solid defensively regardless, but it's our new offensive players that are making all the difference this season so far; when one or two of them don't play, we very rarely win.

Châtellerault 1-0 Balma SC - Not a great start to our campaign, as we were well beaten on opening day.

Balma SC 2-0 Valenciennes FC - One week later, and we're off and running with a much better performance.

Balma SC 3-3 Stade Lavallois - Despite the fact we were 0-3 down at half-time, this was one of our best attacking displays so far.

Balma SC 0-4 Châteauraoux - Our parent club smacked our arse and sent us to bed without any dinner.

Bordeaux 0-4 Balma SC - Dulub's finest hour; four beautifully physical goals!

GFCO Ajaccio 0-9 Balma SC - We've had worse day than this, as Hasan Sönmez helped himself to four of the nine.

Balma SC 4-0 AS Nancy Lorraine - What a way to sign off before Christmas, securing top spot at the break.

[ri916]

Just had a look at your career summary as I haven't been reading this thread until now. The move from Real madrid to the third level of french football was...err...interesting . You seem to have made a brilliant start to life as Balma manager though

[B.W.G]

Very good first half to the season,nice to see Dulub banging them in for you.

[ashton321]

Great win against Ajaccio mate well done

[deltablue]

Been taking France by storm so far!

[Dexter_Morgan]

Good start there, not far off promotion at all

[SRL88]

Going along very nicely.

[AK22]

Just had a look at your career summary as I haven't been reading this thread until now. The move from Real madrid to the third level of french football was...err...interesting . You seem to have made a brilliant start to life as Balma manager though

Thanks ri, it was a pretty unconventional move. Enjoying it a lot!

Very good first half to the season,nice to see Dulub banging them in for you.

Dulub is a beast! One of my favourite players of the save. I particularly love the fact he's Belarrussian!

Great win against Ajaccio mate well done

Cheers! Although it wasn't 'the' Ajaccio, just their smaller neighbours. Still, a 9-0 win is a 9-0 win in anybody's money

Been taking France by storm so far!

Good start there, not far off promotion at all

Going along very nicely.

Thanks chaps! All going very well so far. We'll only have ourselves to blame if it goes tits up from now on in!

[Raware]

Settling in to life in France pretty easily

[cerud]

You'll be up in Ligue 1 before long!

[AK22]

Thanks chaps; we're doing alright, I suppose

Balma SC: Finding The Golden Ticket

Financially, everything was starting to look rosy; our balance was up above £2m for the first time ever, and things were ticking over quite nicely. Then the board dropped this bombshell! For a side that averages only 1200 per home game, we really do not need another 10650 seats! After this refurb, our capacity will be up above 20000, which is great for the long term future of the club, but really isn't sustainable for now. What makes this even more laughable is the fact we'll be playing most of next season at Toulouse FC's ground, Stadium Municipal, which holds 40000... the mind boggles!!

Finances | Transfer Summary

Domestic Football - End of Season 2041/42

Position Graph | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2 | Season Summary | Equipe des Etoiles France Football

Even though we've had a terrific season, I'm still a little disappointed that we didn't go up as champions, especially considering our position at the half way stage. Unfortunately, after a fantastic twelve game unbeaten spell coming off the winter break, the wheels started to fall off as we approached the finish line, as we won only one of the final five fixtures. This opened the door nicely for Valenciennes, who finishing a lot stronger than we did, climbed to the submit of Ligue 2, hanging on to lift the trophy. Our run in was a tad trickier than theirs, but even still, I was expecting a higher points total than the 72 we finally achieved.

Still, promotion is promotion, and it was pretty much well deserved too, considering our (mostly) solid defensive efforts and the fact that we finished with the best goal difference. Next season will be tough though, especially considering the new financial peril, but I'm determined to enjoy Balma's first season in the top flight!

Châteauroux 0-5 Balma SC - After an early season hiding from our parent club, we got our revenge big time! Hasan Sönmez took the ball home with him, too.

Balma SC 4-0 Le Mans - Alexandr Dulub was this game's hat-trick hero.

Balma SC 3-0 FC Lorient - Three more big points.

Balma SC 2-1 Girondins Bordeaux - We did the season double over the six-time Champions of France, Bordeaux.

Stade de Reims 4-0 Balma SC - Not our finest hour, although we did actually play quite well!

Guingamp 1-1 Balma SC - The point that took us up!

Squad Overview

Key Players: Alexandr Dulub (20 goals, 7 MOTMs), Hasan Sönmez (19 goals), Tarkan Topalak (18 assists), Frode Berland (10 assists), Eddie Marchand (20 clean sheets)

Fans Player of the Year: Alexandr Dulub

Team of the Year | Overall Best XI

We really struck gold when we signed Alexandr Dulub; his 20 goals have been vital this season, and quite deservedly picked up Fans Player of the Year, Ligue 2 Topscorer, and Ligue 2 Player of the Year. Unfortunately, he's got a bit of a temper too, and got himself sent off twice in the latter stages of the season, meaning that he missed crucial games in our run in. Had he been available, I reckon we would have gone up as champions.

The rest of the first eleven have been top-class too, with our Turkish contingent (Sönmez and Topalak, in particular) having a big influence on our playing style. As expected, our biggest problem is when we can't start with our best eleven, as the cover players aren't really up to it, and will quite readily drop points. These back-up players are really only average National players, at best, and can't make the step up to the level we are currently playing at; the difference in performances is quite staggering at times! To stand any chance at survival in Ligue 1, I'm going to need a lot of new faces!

Career Summary

Season     Team              League                     Finish    Cups
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12    Unemployed
2012/13    Kingstonian       Blue Square Bet South      3rd       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round, FA Trophy 2nd Round
2013/14    Kingstonian       Blue Square Bet Premier    3rd       FA Cup 1st Round, FA Trophy 1st Round
2014/15    Kingstonian       npower League Two          16th      FA Cup 1st Round, Carling Cup 1st Round, JPT 1st Round
2015/16    Kingstonian       npower League Two          17th**    **Resigned 19/12/2015
          Hull City         npower League One          6th       FA Cup 4th Round
2016/17    Hull City         npower League One          1st       FA Cup 1st Round, Carling Cup 1st Round, JPT Winner
2017/18    Hull City         npower Championship        2nd       FA Cup 5th Round, Carling Cup 2nd Round
2018/19    Fulham            Barclays Premier League    5th       FA Cup Semi-Final, Carling Cup Semi-Final
2019/20    Fulham            Barclays Premier League    7th       Europa League 2nd KO Rd, FA Cup 6th Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd
2020/21    Fulham            Barclays Premier League    8th**     **Resigned 13/11/2020
          Liverpool         Barclays Premier League    6th       Europa League 1st KO Rd, FA Cup 5th Rd
2021/22    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League    3rd       Europa League Winners, FA Cup 4th Rd, Carling Cup QF
2022/23    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League    1st       Champions League Runner-Up, FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup QF
2023/24    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League    1st       Champions League SF, FA Cup SF, Carling Cup QF
2024/25    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League    2nd       Champions League Runner-Up, FA Cup SF, Carling Cup Winners
2025/26    Estudiantes       Primera División Apertura  4th       N/A
                            Primera División Clausura  3rd       Copa Argentina QF
2026/27    Estudiantes       Primera División Apertura  1st       Copa Sudamericana SF
                            Primera División Clausura  3rd       Copa Libertadores RU, Copa Argentina 7th Rd
2027/28    Estudiantes       Primera División Apertura  2nd       Copa Sudamericana Winner
                            Primera División Clausura  1st       Copa Libertadores SF, Copa Argentina RU
2028/29    Leverkusen        Bundesliga                 1st       Champions League 1st KO Rd, DFB-Pokal QF
2029/30    Leverkusen        Bundesliga                 1st       Champions League Winners, DFB-Pokal Winners
2030/31    Leverkusen        Bundesliga                 2nd       Europa League Winners, Club World Cup Winners
2031/32    Leverkusen        Bundesliga                 1st       Champions League Runner-Up
2032/33    Leverkusen        Bundesliga                 3rd**     **Resigned 25/11/2032
          Genoa             Serie A                    7th       TIM Cup Quarter Final
2033/34    Genoa             Serie A                    3rd       TIM Cup Runner-Up
2034/35    Genoa             Serie A                    2nd       Champions League QF, TIM Cup QF
2035/36    Genoa             Serie A                    1st       Champions League SF, TIM Cup Winners
2036/37    Real Madrid       La Liga                    1st       Champions League Winners, Copa del Rey Winners
2037/38    Real Madrid       La Liga                    1st       Champions League Winners, Copa del Rey Winners, CWC Winners
2038/39    Real Madrid       La Liga                    1st       Champions League SF, Copa del Rey Winners, CWC Winners
2039/40    Balma             Championnat National       2nd       Coupe de France 10th Round
2040/41    Balma             Ligue 2                    6th       Coupe de France 7th Round, Coupe de la Ligue 4th Round
2041/42    Balma             Ligue 2                    2nd       Coupe de France 9th Round, Coupe de la Ligue 2nd Round

[deltablue]

Good luck in Ligue Un

[B.W.G]

Congrats on promotion!

[AK22]

Good luck in Ligue Un

Congrats on promotion!

Thanks!

Next season looks like being a nightmare, though. Wage budget £55k per week- perhaps I should just spend it all on one player...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done AK.

[deltablue]

And best thread name!

[SRL88]

Brilliant work dude. Well deserved award too .

[AK22]

Well done AK.

Thanks Nobby!

And best thread name!

Brilliant work dude. Well deserved award too .

Cheers! I can't believe I won it, never really thought I was in contention

[AK22]

Balma SC: Pre-Season 2042/43

Boy, this is going to be tough. Even if we had a bit of money, survival in Ligue 1 was going to be an uphill task. So, if you factor in we're now totally broke (due to the obligatory stadium renovations), we're really going to have to go through the season on a wing and a prayer.

Hopefully, when we get to the winter break, the finances would have improved a bit, mainly due to the TV revenue, and the board will let me have a bit of money to spend, or at least increase the wage budget so that I can bring in some free transfer/loanees. Whether we're too far cut adrift at the bottom by then, only time will tell, but I would like to think we should be able to take a few points off the teams around us near the foot of the table; if you offered me 15 points by Christmas, I'd bite your hand off!

Board Expectations

Ligue 1: Stay clear of relegation

Coupe de France: Reach the Tenth Round

Coupe de la Ligue: Reach the Third Round

Media Prediction: 20th

Transfer Budget: £0

Wage Budget: £55k per week (currently spending £73.2k per week)

Transfer Summary

Key Signings: Stamoulis Rovas (AML) Free, Cezar Jurca (ST) Free, Alessandro Simonelli (AMC) Loan

With no money to spend, and also over wage budget, my hands were severely tied when it came to transfer activity this summer. Several players were released in order to free up a bit of cash, but this still only allowed me to sign three players, one of which is on loan. This leaves me with a first team squad of just 20 players, and we're still £6k over the wage budget!

None of the new signings are particularly show-stopping, but all three should at least be handy rotational players, with Jurca having the potential to become a classy forward in a few years time. For now, though, all my faith will have to be placed in the team that fired us into this division; some of them are bound to step up to the mark, and having a settled team is certainly a benefit too, but on paper, we've still got the worse team in the division!