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My Greatest Challenge: Knocking Fergie Right Off His ****ing Perch. And You Can Print That


AK22

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It was a theoretically good move to Argentina after having sort of stalled momentarily in Italy, but shame it didn't work out well, you certainly had a trigger-happy board there. I imagine you'll be back to Europe now?

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I've no idea how relegation works in this division! How on earth can Huracán and Rosario Central be relegated?! Rosario were only six points off being promoted! Anyway, we've snuck into the top half and secured an end of season finish of 11th place.

I imagine its the same as Mexico, where I'm managing at the mo, where average points over several seasons determine relegation. There should be an average points table within the competition info page.

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A shame to see you sacked so soon, hopefully you can get your career back on track.
Seems pretty harsh. Hope something good crops up!

Cheers! Found myself a new club reasonably quick, so update coming up.

Unfair dismissal' date=' I'd be going to my solicitor.[/quote']

Yeah, it was a tad harsh :(

Expectations of mid-table,you get sacked for finishing mid-table.I've got my own conspiracy,Fergie paid off the chairman to fire you!

Wouldn't put it past him! :D

It was a theoretically good move to Argentina after having sort of stalled momentarily in Italy, but shame it didn't work out well, you certainly had a trigger-happy board there. I imagine you'll be back to Europe now?

Yep, back to Europe for now. I'd like to return to South America later on, but only once I've repaired my reputation.

I imagine its the same as Mexico, where I'm managing at the mo, where average points over several seasons determine relegation. There should be an average points table within the competition info page.

Spot on! Thanks for that!

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü

Following my disappointing spell in Argentina, it didn't take long for a new club to come knocking. In fact, there were plenty of opportunities ranging from the Mexican second tier to League One in England; however, it was the chance to manage in Turkey that interested me most of all the jobs on offer.

After four consecutive seasons of finishing third in the Turkish second tier (PTT 1. Lig), and missing out on promotion through the playoffs, the club's board decided that a fresh approach was needed if the club was to make it's way to the Süper Lig. I applied for the job, and a couple of days later a contract offer was made; two years at £1.4k per week. A pretty decent deal for a manager sacked only a few weeks ago.

The club itself hasn't got much of a history, having been formed in 1969 and competing the majority of it's seasons in the lower leagues of Turkish football. They've won the 3rd tier four times previously, as well as clinching promotion to the top tier back in 2013; asides from that, they've had very little to sing and dance about.

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I've never managed in Turkey before, so this really is venturing into the unknown! That said, I've watched a fair bit of Turkish football, and know how passionate the fans are, and how intense some of the rivalries are. Unfortunately, we don't have any rivals, at the moment, but there's plenty of time for that to change!

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Club Overview | General Club Information | Facilities | Club Background | Finances

The set-up here is decent enough, with a modern stadium with a good capacity. It's unlikely to sell-out very often whilst we're playing at the current level, but if we can achieve promotion, then we've got the facilities to match many Süper Lig clubs. Financially, the club's looking strong too, with no loans and £3m in the bank, so it's apparent that off the pitch the club is being responsibly managed.

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - Pre-Season 2018/19

The board really want promotion this year, and have told me in no uncertain terms that they expect me to win the league. I've got a decent budget to do it, mind, with £900k to spend on transfers, and a small amount of leeway in our £62k per week wage budget. The media agree with the board, and have predicted us to finish first; no pressure then! That said, with title odds of 8-1, we're only fourth favourites with the bookies, with Konyaspor, Elazigspor and Boluspor all at shorter prices.

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I've set the team up in my favoured 4-5-1 formation, with an out-and-out winger on one flank, and an inside forward on the other. Unfortunately, as proven by the friendly results, we're still very much in the bedding-in stage, as the players struggle to adapt to my newly implemented philosophies. I hope this doesn't continue for long, as we'll need to make a decent start to our league campaign; we'll also certainly need to score more goals than we have pre-season too.

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The league restrictions are quite tough here, actually, with us only able to name five non-Turkish players in our playing squad. Due to this, I've prioritised the signings of as many Turkish nationals as possible within the first transfer window, just to ensure we've got enough players to cover any kind of injury crisis. However, due to the regulations, all Turkish players come with a premium price-tag, so I've had to focus on free transfers for now.

Baris Atas - A wise old head, who should protect the back four well.

Fredrik Haugen - Our most creative midfielder. We'll be looking to him to load the bullets for our strikers.

Ronaldo Alves - Well respected Brazilian centre-back.

Emran Eksi - An exciting prospect, and will help with our home-grown quota.

Javi Martínez - Should be an excellent inside-forward at this level.

Ǘmit Sencan - Good young fullback.

Yilmaz Gürtay - Another promising Turkish player.

And perhaps the most exciting signing of them all, one of my new coaching staff...

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Excellent appointment. I feel if you don't go up, you may be looking for a fresh club! :)

Let's hope I do then!

Good luck in Turkey :thup:. Xavi :cool:.
Best of luck in Turkey :thup:

Thanks chaps!

I felt the same thing happened to me twice in Indonesia- does make the game more challenging though.

True. I'm not bitter (much!).

Haugen looks a great playmaker. Good luck in Turkey, looks like you have the tools to go grab a promotion. No pressure.

I agree. On paper, Haugen looks like our best player, so I'm expecting him to play a key role in our promotion chase.

That's Argentines for you, Turks aren't much more patient I've heard (regarding football anyway), hopefully you'll have more time there.

More than six months is all I hope for!

Just caught up AK - the move to Argentina was definetley the right option - such a shame the board were so trigger happy :/ like the move to turkey! KIU

Cheers, ollie!

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - September 2018/19

What. A. Start. Considering the poor pre-season results, I wasn't expecting us to spring out of traps like we have, and was more than prepared to slug it out for the first few weeks of the season. Javi Martinez has been the star of the show, finding the net five times in as many games from his inside forward role; as a player new to the squad, he's really hit the ground running and making a name for himself in Turkey.

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With our unbeaten start, we've already got ourselves nicely positioned in the table, just missing out on top spot on goals scored. It is early days still, but I'm pleased that we're right up there from the start.

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Next Time

* We'll play Adanaspor next month, a side who have made an equally good start; someone's unbeaten record may be coming to an end soon.

* Our first Turkish Cup fixture is forthcoming (against Iskenderun DC); we'll be looking to achieve the board's expectation of reaching the 4th Qualifying Round.

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - October 2018/19

A perfect month for us in the league with four wins out of four. Another couple of goals from Martinez, but it's Jakub Sylvestr who has become my new teacher's pet; seven goals in total, this month, but it's the four he put past Adanaspor that has highlighted him as one of our stand-out players. As excellent as our league performance has been, losing in the Cup was a disappointment; I did rotate the squad a bit, in order to keep the players fresh for next weekend, but we should have performed better than we did.

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The victory over Adanaspor sent us clear at the top of the table, and we've now opened a five point lead over the chasing pack. In addition to our impressive unbeaten league record, it's also encouraging to see that we have both the best defensive record, as well as the most prolific strike-force :cool:

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Next Time

* I'll be hoping to keep our unbeaten league record going, although we will need to travel to miserly Konyaspor and avoid defeat there.

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - November 2018/19

Not quite the barnstorming month we've been used to recently, with only the solitary victory. I think the opposition have now started to work us out, and even though we can still dominate possession, they're quite happy to sit back and play on the break; it's a bit early to be tinkering with tactics at this stage, but, going forward, we need to work on a decent 'Plan B'. Despite the iffy results, it's another three goals for Sylvestr, bringing his total to eleven for the season so far, and making him the league's topscorer.

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It was really disappointing to lose to Bucaspor, as this really was the proverbial home-banker; a match I expected to win comfortably. Combine this slip up with the points dropped against Gaziantep and Konyaspor, and we're lucky to finish the month still at the top of the table. But there we stand, leading the pack with a small one point advantage over Adana; a few more wins needed next month, though, please!

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Next Time

* Hopefully, we'll return to winning ways again, although it is a tricky month ahead. We'll play promotion-chasing sides Ankaragücü, Adana, Boluspor and Akhisar all before the winter break; definitely not the easiest run of fixtures!

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - December 2018/19

Another scratchy month, with only the single victory again. That's two poor months in a row, with only two wins in that period; how I'd love to return to our early season form! That said, all the teams we've dropped points against are all fighting for promotion, so it was always unlikely to be a bumper haul. With these difficult games now out the way, I'm hopeful we return to winning ways after the winter break.

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To be honest, I'm surprised that we're still top, especially considering we only picked up the five points this month. However, it is now very close behind us, with Adana, Tavsanli and Adanaspor all within striking distance. We'll need a good run in the new year if we're to open up the gap again.

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Next Time

* January's a quiet month, as we don't return from the mid-season siesta until January 20th. Due to this, we'll only play two competitive fixtures, which includes a trip to playoff chasing, Caykur Rizepsor.

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The right time of year to go to Turkey.

I'm pleased to say we haven't had a good stuffing yet, though :D

Fergie starting to pay attention now.

Hmm' date=' possibly!

Great start mate, can see you cruising to promotion especially with two automatic places up for grabs :)

Cheers! It makes a nice change to have two automatic places to play for; the last two leagues have only had the one, and it's mighty difficult to get it!

Very good start to life in Turkey :thup:

Thanks :)

You're in your seventh season of management. By my reckoning, that only puts you two trophies behind Sir Alex at this stage (who won his first two trophies in his third and seventh seasons respectively). I am having a slow day at work.

That's good to know! Still easily catchable then! I'm still a bit off winning an European trophy, though :D

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - January 2019

A short and sweet period, with two wins out of two. Neither performance was anything to write home about, but we've done what was required and taken maximum points from those available.

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With our two victories in hand, we've now opened up at three point lead at the top of the division. There's plenty of games left to play, but I'm happy to have some clear daylight between us and the chasing pack.

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Next Time

* We'll play a huge six-pointer away to Tavsanli Linyitspor; a win here would give us some serious breathing space!

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Just read through this, thoroughly enjoyable. A shame your time at Tigre didn't go as planned, though. I whole heartedly applaud your Ferguson-related aim, by the way.

I must concur on all three points. Good job and good thread!

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - February 2019

We've had mixed fortunes this month, losing a big six-pointer against Tavsanli, but then concluding it with victory over Adanaspor (with the help of two own goals :D). To be fair to us, the game we lost was an extremely even affair, so we can feel slightly hard done by to come away empty handed; we just couldn't put our chances away. Jakub Sylvestr's still ticking over on the goal front, though, but we could probably do with a few more over the remaining games to ensure the season ends on a high.

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Despite losing to the second place side this month, we've actually increased our advantage over the pack to five points. Handily for us, they're all taking points off each other, so long may this continue! At the other end, it's starting to look fatal for Kirklarelispor and Gaziantep, who are going to need a major turnaround if they are to avoid dropping to 2. Lig.

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Next Time

* All of next month's fixtures are extremely winnable, including games against two of the bottom three (the two G-sides), so I'll be looking for a sizeable return of points.

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14 games to go. I would suggest 30 points will see you up as champions.

If that, to be honest. Over recent seasons, 60 points has been more than enough for promotion.

Just read through this, thoroughly enjoyable. A shame your time at Tigre didn't go as planned, though. I whole heartedly applaud your Ferguson-related aim, by the way.
I must concur on all three points. Good job and good thread!

Thanks guys! Glad you're enjoying it :)

Impressive job so far this season, nicely matching the challenge I put forward of promotion. Keep pushing.

Cheers, I think we're getting there! 4 more wins should be enough; extremely achievable from the ten remaining games.

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - March 2019

Boom! Right on the cue, the perfect month. Well, perfect in the sense that we've won all our games, anyway; the performances have been a bit flaky at times, and we've had to rely on only a single goal advantage to see off the opposition. I'm being picky, though, as at this stage of the season, it's the results that matter more than anything, and we've just won six on the bounce (a new club record).

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Although, it's not mathematically assured, I think it's reasonably safe to say that we'll be playing top flight football next season; we're ten points clear of the third place team, Akhisar, and with a game in hand, it's going to take something quite spectacular for them to overtake us.

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Next Time

* I'll be looking to tie up our promotion, hopefully with the bonus of winning the league too; it would suit me down to the ground if we have nothing left to play for in May and I can roll the reserves out for the odd game.

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - April 2019

We've done it! Promotion is sealed! Not that we've been great this month, mind, as we have only just about stumbled over the line. Jakub Sylvestr's back in great form again, finding the net five times, but the rest of the team seem to have had one eye on their summer holidays and aren't playing to the level they have been in recent weeks.

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With two games left to play, Akhisar can still beat us to the title, so I'll be looking to secure this with at least one victory from our remaining games.

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Next Time

* The 1. Lig season draws to an end, with us playing promotion-hunting, Adana and Boluspor; not the easiest of fixtures! Hopefully, we'll cling on to top spot!

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Excellent season so far,hopefully promotion is only round the corner.
Great stuff AK! Take that Tigre. :D
Great stuff once more, in cruise control to the league title now :)
Nice move to Turkey. :thup: Looking good for promotion too.
Looks like a comfortable promotion on the way :thup:

Thanks all! Really pleased we've done it!

You still have a couple of weeks yet...

Indeed there is!

Congratulations on the promotion... well I know that's early but you're not going to mess it up are you, it would be some feat at this stage. :D

Well, we nearly did mess it up! If it hadn't been for Sylvestr's injury time winner against Denizlispor, we wouldn't have won a game last month.

Shame to Tigre for that sacking, but Turkey is treating you well! Promotion to the Super Lig looks like a done deal :D
Great work in Turkey so far, shame about Tigre.

I'm well over Tigre now. Amazing what a promotion can do! :D

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Şanlıurfa Spor Kulübü - May 2019

Not the most exciting of final months, but the win over Boluspor was enough to ensure we finished the season as 1. Lig champions. Having been expected to win the league, this really kept the pressure on us to seal the deal, so I'm delighted to deliver this for the board and fans, and finish the year off on a high.

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On goal difference alone, Akhisar held on to the final automatic promotion spot, having been pushed to the end by Tavsanli. Adana will join us in the Super Lig too, after being victorious through the playoffs.

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End of Season Summary 2018/19

I'm absolutely delighted to finish the season as champions, earning the first piece of silverware of my career! In all honesty, I've landed on my feet here, with a club that has a good squad and well financially backed; of course, I had to get the best out of the squad and steer them to the Super Lig, but it wasn't the trickiest of tasks I've faced, although still well deserved.

Even though the club's on a sound financial footing, the board have seen fit to pump £1.9m into the club coffers. This should be a big help, and will help to ensure we're competitive in the top tier next season.

1. Lig - Champions!

Türkiye Kupasi - 2nd Qualifying Round (lost to Iskenderun)

Finances | Transfer Summary

Topscorer - Jakub Silvestr (21 goals)

Most Assists - Javi Martinez/ Tonia Tisdell (9 assists)

Highest Average Rating - Jakub Silvestr (7.31)

Fans Player of the Year - Jakub Silvestr

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All in all, the first team has had more than enough quality for this league, and it's no surprise that three players (Ozer, Sylvestr and Tisdell) made the 1. Lig Team of the Year. Sylvestr's been immense all season long, and has really fired us to promotion; he also picked up one of the league's Player of the Season awards, as well as breaking the club's goalscoring record for the number of goals in a season.

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After the disappointment from my time in Argentina, I'm pleased to have now consigned that all to the history books, proving that it was all just a small blip. That said, I can't say my Turkish board are coming forward to sing my praises too highly; I suppose everyone was expecting promotion, but I would have liked them to have at least shown a token gesture of gratitude.

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What this means now, is that I'm finally off and running in the Hall of Fame. Winning 1. Lig has earned me 45 points, meaning that I'm just 4290 behind Fergie now!

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I'm sure he's pleased to see me hot on his heels!

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Season     Team              League                     Finish    Cups                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013       FK Vidar          Oddsenligaen Avdeling 3    4th       Cupen 1st Round
2014       FK Vidar          Oddsenligaen Avdeling 3    2nd       Cupen 2nd Round
2014/15    Taranto FC 1927   2nd Divisione Girone A     4th       N/A
2015/16    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     6th       TIM Cup 1st QR, Coppa Italia Lega Pro SF
2016/17    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     4th       TIM Cup 1st QR, Coppa Italia Lega Pro 2nd Round
2017/18    Taranto FC 1927   1st Divisione Girone B     N/A*      * Resigned 14/12/17
          Tigre             Primera B Nacional         11th      Sacked 26/05/18
2018/19    S. Urfaspor       1. Lig                     1st       Türkiye Kupasi 2nd QR

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