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Football, bloody hell


alexcharliemann

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Frigg Oslo

2012

Norwegian Second Division Group 4

Having finally got on the FM2012 bandwagon, and having got comfortable with the game, it's time for me to dive in and make a proper game of it! I have never managed outside of England, and my FM2011 save featured Leyton Orient where we went to the Champions League final. I don't think I will stay with one club throughout this whole save, unless one club really takes my fancy. I intend to win as many league titles in different countries as I can - I might do this by taking small clubs through the ranks, or just boosting my reputation to the point where I am the manager of choice for big clubs. Who knows. Lets just see where it takes me.

Me - Starting as a Sunday League Footballer.

Club Reputation - One star club.

Norwegian Competitions - One star competition.

Norwegian National Team - For some reason Norway are 5th in the world. Not sure that reflects their skill levels.

Squad - If my AssMan is to be believed, all of our players are exceptional for this level. However the squad is small, and we're a bit winger heavy given I don't play with wingers in the lower leagues. I will be doing some wheeling and dealing to get in some solid defensive midfielders, a taller target man and a pacy poacher.

Finances - £250k in the red at this level means we are unlikely to have any money to invest in the squad or facilities for years to come.

Facilities - Decent enough facilities at this level though, 1500 capacity stadium

History - Some history but well in the past, nothing recently.

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Good club to start with, a reasonably popular around here in the past year. That league's a devil to get out of though.
Ah really? I've not read the forum much - how have people got on with them? I started unemployed and I liked the club badge, my technique is very sophisticated!
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Mid Season Update

June 2012

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A very interesting first half to the season. We started off playing a defensive sweeper system which just didn't work, hence the first two defeats. After that we switched to an attacking 4231 which has seen the whole team contribute to some fantastic attacking football, smashing pretty much any team in our way. This included a great run to the Norwegian Cup 4th Round, with victims including Odd of the EL (Premier League) and 2 team in the AL (First Division). Eventually we were knocked out by the AL leaders by a late goal, but the run gave me confidence that were we to be promoted we could hold our own.

Unfortunately I don't think we will get promoted. The downside of being in a small league with only one promotion spot is if that one team is outstanding you stand no chance. Those two early defeats meant we have always been playing catch up to Moss, and in our meeting we could only draw (the only game so far Moss haven't won). I can't see anyone beating Moss, meaning even if we beat them in the return and have a 100% second half of the season, we can still only come second. Lets hope someone finds form and they have a couple of bad days. Still, so much fun.

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Ah really? I've not read the forum much - how have people got on with them? I started unemployed and I liked the club badge, my technique is very sophisticated!

Bit mixed, I took over when they were repromoted into the Second Division, had a few 'there or thereabouts' seasons and left as I didnt fancy my chances of getting top and going up anytime soon. Cerud took them up to the Premier Division in just a few seasons, and the other guy I can think of might have taken them up as well but that was way back in the Autumn. Definitely shows they have the potential though.

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Frigg Oslo

Season Review - 2012

Norwegian Second Division Group 4 - 2nd place

League - 57 points from 26 games isn't a bad haul at all, especially with a 23 game unbeaten run in the middle! Unfortunately we came up against Moss who were fantastic. They were undefeated and only drew 4 games (2 of which were with us) so they won the league by some distance. But 2nd place was a good finish given we were predicted 8th. A goal difference of +45 suggests we are too good for this league so expecting more of the same next year - promotion will depend on how good the teams are that drop down into our league.

Cup - A cup run we can be proud of, making the 4th round and earning £100k much needed prize money. The highlight was a fantastic 3-2 win over EL side Odd, featuring a stunning hattrick from Christian Stiesen. We also knocked out two AL teams, and we were unlucky to lose out 4-3 away to AL side Ranheim, who won the AL and were promoted to the EL. Christian Stiesen was the competition's top scorer with 8 goals.

Transfers

Overview - Some cracking signings mainly on free transfers, with Stiesen and Middtun Lie providing the majority of our attacking thrust. Jukka Vanninen was a bargain at only £50 too! Yes, not £50k, £50! A 35 y/o player/coach, he anchored the midfield well and also scored 8 goals. All the players released weren't good enough. My strategy is to have a small squad (only 19 players this year) but to have quality instead.

Key Players

Christian Stiesen - Signed on a free transfer from Viborg in the Danish First Division, he is perfect for this level. Decent pace, decent finishing, some good height and an excellent work rate, he scored 21 in 28 goals, including 3 hat tricks. Average 7.39.

Jon Middtun Lie - Signed on a free transfer with previous EL experience, he turned in some great performances on the left wing and returned 12 goals and 17 assists in 29 games, averaging 7.66, and was named Fans Player of the Season. Technically he is nothing amazing but he has very strong teamwork, fitness and work rate.

Martin Vethe - A beast at this level, he is only 25 and had played at this level before, signed on a free transfer. Very commanding centre back with good tackling, heading, strength, bravery and concentration, he is also my vice-captain. Returned 9 goals in 29 games as he towers at corners and averaged 7.29. Interestingly for a centre back he received only 2 yellow cards and was fouled more than he fouled.

Jukka Vanninen - The previously mentioned player/coach who was also my captain, and with his mental attributes it's easy to see why. Determined, fit, brave, a hard worker and a natural leader, he epitomises the spirit of this team. Averaged 7.24 and 8 goals in 29 games: not bad for a 35 year old.

Krenar Badivuku - Didn't look much on paper, but average mental and physical attributes meant on the right wing he provided some great performances. 7 goals and 12 assists in 24 games averaging 7.34

Next Season

I signed a new 2 year deal in the close season. They left it a bit late but nothing better presented itself so I'll stay here for a bit. Hopefully we'll take the title this year. Junior Coaching has been increased so I am hoping for some better youth intake in October 2013. The next season will depend on how good the teams are coming down. The frustrating thing about this league is if you have one team who are unbeatable and heads and shoulders above everyone there is nothing you can do. Fingers crossed.

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Frigg Oslo

2013 - Season Preview

Norwegian Second Division Group 4

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Missing out last time to a rampant and undefeated Moss, I signed a new 2 years contract and am ready to take another stab at it. With some new free transfers I am confident have improved the team, our biggest rivals this season will be Alta who have dropped down from the AL and are favourites. Interestingly we have them in the first match of the season. Some good pre-season results mean we're all fit and raring to go.

Me - Not much has changed. Interestingly I appear to have a national reputation already even though I started with a Sunday League rep? Not sure if that's a mistake. 20 games won from 30 so far and a +50 goal difference.

Club Reputation - Still a one star club.

Norwegian Competitions - The Tippe Ligaen moved up 4 places.

Norwegian National Team - Norway dropped from 5th to 6th. They had a good run at Euro 2012 though reaching the semi-final before losing 2-0 to winners Spain. They currently sit third in their world cup qualifying group behind Iceland and Cyprus!

Squad - A decent squad with no real deadweight. Kept it lean at 20 players so there are a lot of utility players. My main focus has been to get players with good fitness, teamwork and work rate, meaning we press all over the pitch, go all out attack and tackle hard!

Finances - Exactly where we were last year, £250k in the red. The cup run we had helped us hugely here, but we're still struggling.

Facilities - A moderate improvement in junior coaching.

Board expectation is Respectable League Position, my odds are 4th favourite at 16-1 and, and media prediction is 3rd. I'll be disappointed with anything less than the title.

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Poor start to the new season. Only 2 wins out of 5 in the league, including a 6-3 trouncing by midtable average team Nesodden. I suspect other teams have figured out our tactic of all out attack. Then, out of nowhere, this comes in: didn't even apply to it!

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What to do? Crewe are now in the BSP. They just finished their first season in the BSP, finishing 6th and missing out on goal difference. Great youth set up for a team of their league standing!

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Me - Not much has changed. Interestingly I appear to have a national reputation already even though I started with a Sunday League rep? Not sure if that's a mistake. 20 games won from 30 so far and a +50 goal difference.

It's not hard to get up to 'national' rep with regular and big wins. I'd be tempted by Crewe anyway.

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The prospect of a club with good youth facilities was too much for me, so after my isolation in the lower leagues of Norway I pack my bags and head to Crewe Alexandra. After finishing bottom of League 2 in 2011/12 with 39 points, they finished 6th in the BSP in 2012/13 with 72 points, missing out only on goal difference. Although the ground is in a state of disrepair, the famous youth development pipeline is excellent, and the highly rated and versatile Nick Powell is still with the club. My first task is to see how likely it is we can keep him, and if so, discover his best position and then build the team around him.

The club is heavily in debt though to the tune of £750k and has a bloated wage bill: not surprising with 39 players at the club! At Frigg Oslo my tactic was simple: get a team of players with high teamwork, work rate and stamina, and then play them in a formation which called for pressing high up the pitch and try to bludgeon the opposition into submission. So I won't be afraid to get rid of first teamers who won't fit in with this tactic. Might be a busy pre-season.

I join them on 22nd May so I have a few months to sort things out. I live Frigg Oslo 5 games into the new season. Seeing as the 2012 season finished in October, I will have gone 10 months with hardly any football by the team I get there!!

Transfer Budget: £2.5k

Wage Budget: £11.75k

Wage Total: £13.08k

Finance Overview

Club Reputation - like Frigg, also a one star club. Slightly surprised by that with their history.

Competition Rep - a one and a half star competition so a step up from Norway.

Squad Overview - plenty of potential there. I need to decide if I am willing to wait or whether I chop the youth and get in some experienced heads.

Facilities - the main reason for me choosing to come here. Many clubs in higher leagues would dream of having such good facilities.

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Crewe Alexandra

2013/14 - Season Preview

Blue Square Premier

It's been a long pre-season, and after 10 months of hardly any competitive football I am raring to go.

Key Signings

Adam Blakeman - left back from Bolton Wanderers. Very average but with no glaring weaknesses, should be reliable.

Jackson Irvine - central midfielder and centre back from Celtic. Looks good defensively with a good work rate.

Ashley Eastham - centre back from Linfield, where he just won the double.

Danny Ireland - my new number 1 goalkeeper from Queen of the South.

Sean Higgins - will lead the front line, joins from St Johnston. Is in his prime and I think he'll be a good signing for this level. Best season was at Ayr, 14 goals in 36.

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Good pre-season friendlies. Lots of them to raise money for the club: we took about £400k in ticket and match day sales in the end helping us to reduce our debt. Hopefully it won't have tired the players too much and at least they're match fit now! We managed to beat 3 Premier League sides along the way and the players seem to buy into my tactical philosophy so it's looking promising.

Other pre-season revelations include that we lost £210k last year which was 10% of turnover, the board injected £375k to help with running costs, the bookies put us in 6th at 16-1 (favourites Macclesfield and Hereford), the media puts me 3rd, and the board want me to challenge for the title.

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Lots of friendlies :D When i ventured into the lower leagues i found that having tournaments features top teams can attract alot of money without having to play so many games, but i guess thats irrelevant now. I just hope you played the reserves in some of the matches!

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Lots of friendlies :D When i ventured into the lower leagues i found that having tournaments features top teams can attract alot of money without having to play so many games, but i guess thats irrelevant now. I just hope you played the reserves in some of the matches!
Yep yep. I signed quite a lot of low wages low ability high potential youngsters on youth contracts to bulk out the reserves in the hope that one or two of them might come good.
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August 2013

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A satisfying first month if not entirely perfect. A swashbuckling gung-ho first game saw us win 3-0 with Sean Higgins grabbing a first half hattrick on his debut. We came undone in the next match as too often we got caught on the counter. That led to us reconsidering our tactics with a modest 442, allowing us to play our hot 16yr striker alongside Higgins. He's predicted to be a future leading Championship striker so want to get him a lot of game time. In the end we settled into our rhythm, keeping possession, getting early crosses in and looking for the space. Higgins has 5 goals in 5 games, but incredibly is only joint 4th in the goalscoring charts. This is a very open and attacking league. It was a tough match as the first 4 matches were all against teams expected to right up there with us, so pleased to have come through it.

My young kid O'Sullivan gets goals of the month for a stunning lace shot from 30 yards for the 4th goal against Stockport, I get 3rd in manager of the month, and Higgins gets 3rd in player of the month.

We also lost £80k despite three large home gates for this level. Even if there were no wages at all we'd still have lost £30k so not much I can do about these losses really.

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We also lost £80k despite three large home gates for this level. Even if there were no wages at all we'd still have lost £30k so not much I can do about these losses really.

Thats very common among lower leagues, losses that would occur even with minimal wages.

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September 2013

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Decent enough month. Started with a tough match against the bristle Cambridge. They got an early goal that left us always chasing and too much space between the midfield and defence. A nice run of 3 wins saw some great attacking play including another hat trick from Higgins, and saw my 16yr old Dom Yoffe established as his striker partner. Two draws seems disappointing on the face of it, but the 2-2 was a good performance to fight back from 2-0 down (yes, Higgins with both again, 10 from 11 now), and the 0-0 showed we can press well and limit chances created even when the opponent has lots of the ball in our half. 3rd place is promising.

Sean Higgins wins player of the month for 5 goals in 6 matches, and I come 3rd in manager of the month.

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October 2013

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A frustrating month to say the least where the goals dried up, as Higgins went 6 matches without a goal. Our prodigy Dom Yoffe scored 3, but some of the younger first team players looked tired and the squad needed rotating. We kept things tight at the back to start off with, but some loose defending cost us at the end of the month. The loss to Lincoln was particularly poor given our excellent ball retention and accurate passing, but wasteful shooting from midfield cut off our supply line and reduced the threat. Dropped down to 6th, we need to up our game. My aim is the title not the play offs and we're losing pace. Macclesfield, Hereford and Cambridge are the teams to beat. Next month we play Macclesfield on TV.

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Always nice to see someone managing Frigg, lost count of how many Frigg related puns I have seen on this sub-forum! Interesting to see you take over at Crewe, should hopefully be able to at least reach the play-off's. I wonder how long you'll be able to keep hold of Nick Powell for, should be alright for a bit if you go up to League 2 first time round I imagine.

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Always nice to see someone managing Frigg, lost count of how many Frigg related puns I have seen on this sub-forum! Interesting to see you take over at Crewe, should hopefully be able to at least reach the play-off's. I wonder how long you'll be able to keep hold of Nick Powell for, should be alright for a bit if you go up to League 2 first time round I imagine.
Haha I didn't realise they were such a forum legend.

I'm a bit disappointed with Nick Powell to be honest, he's not really performing. It's the third season, he's worth £275k and no teams have come in for him (although his attributes are improving rapidly!). I guess the problem might be that we are a bit light on the ground in some positions and he can play them all so he gets moved around a fair bit. To be honest though, Dom Yoffe is the guy I am more concerned with keeping. Came through the youth, scored 3 in 5 while still only 15. He's only 16 now but already looking really good, and my AssMan reckons he could be a good Premier league striker:

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news15.png Well that covers this month's losses at least :D Only £440k in the hole now...

In other good news Nick Powell has agreed a 2 year extension to his contract which was due to expire in the summer. It wasn't too hard and he says he is 'relieved' so hopefully a sign I can start to build the club around him and Yoffe (who I have signed to a 4 year contract).

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November 2013

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The month started off badly losing in the FA Cup to Telford from the league below us. Quite a few players have started to look gassed which I guess is my fault due to giving them 14 pre-season friendlies! Dom Yoffe was sitting out this month with a 5 match ban (second red card of the season for a bad tackle) leaving Higgins to pick up the slack and he did well with 3 goals. Despite some injuries meaning we had to blood in some youngsters, in the league we managed 3 wins and 2 draws taking us up to second.

We also picked up Marnick Vermijl, a Belgian wing back on a free transfer from Manchester United. Nick Powell came third in young player of the month and Sean Higgins came second in player of the month.

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December 2013

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A rather quiet month which only had 4 matches - our early FA Cup exit meant we had a week off, and snow saw the postponement of our Boxing Day match to the delight of our player's legs. An easy win in the FA trophy, and 2 out of 3 in the league means we continue on the right course. The only disappointment was a 2-1 defeat away at play-off occupying Salisbury, with our ever present vulnerability to conceding after we have scored taking root. The results leave us in 3rd, although a game in hand means we can go top if we take advantage. Our next match is at home to leaders and goal-happy Fleetwood.

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January 2014

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Another oddly quiet January as more games were postponed and all my matches seemed to be lopsided. 4 victories (2 at 3-0, 2 at 3-1), and 1 defeat (0-3!) saw us stay just behind Cambridge in the table, but with 2 games in hand and a match with Cambridge in February, February is a real opportunity to grab the championship trophy. The defeat to relegation threatened Ebbsfleet was due to a surprising lack of energy by the team in a cumbersome performance, and in no small part to my right winger Nick Powell breaking his arm, and then the substitute right winger fracturing his arm! More pleasing was a 3-1 win away at 4th place Kidderminster that gave us some day light to the challengers. Still a tight league though, and anyone down to 16th has a realistic chance of making the play-offs. If anyone is to break away at the top and form a small title challenging pact, it is ourselves, Cambridge and Fleetwood.

I came second in manager of the month, and Dom Yoffe came second in goal of the month.

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February 2014

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It's getting tight at the top of the league: we are in 3rd place, but 6 points off the lead with 3 games in hand. A postponement due a water logged pitch, another team having a cup postponement meaning our league game got re-arranged, and a couple replay meant we only played 4 of the 7 league matches we were meant to this month. We coped well, with 2 draws and 2 wins. A manic match with Chelmsford finished 4 -3 as 3 times we came from behind - all before half time! The first versus second clash with Cambridge finished in a 2-2 stalemate; a match against Mansfield was played in the hail as we ground out a 1-0 win; and a match against play-off chasing Dover frustratingly finished 1-1 as Higgins blew chance after chance.

Fleetwood won 6 out of 6 this month and stormed ahead. The games in hand mean it's still in our destiny, but with an ever tiring squad I'd rather have the points. The FA Trophy is an unwanted distraction and I will be fielding the reserves.

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