RBKalle Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 2025-26 Europa League 1st Knockout Round Undrið FF - Metalist 2-2 It was closer than I predicted, but as usual the players found a way to make it even harder than it was. They wasted a great chance at the half hour mark (virtually the first event worth mentioning at that pont) and went on to concede a stupid goal in injury time (the usual loose marking on crosses...) AND to give a penalty away two minutes into the second half. Metalist hit the crossbar to make in one apiece, and when we looked dead and buried, we finally got one on the counter and snatched the 2-2 with the last kick of the ball! A home draw was hardly a positive result, but given the circumstances it was the best we could hope for. Metalist - Undrið FF 3-2 Karma is a *****! We avoided defeat in the first leg with a goal in injury time, and we were eliminated by a goal in injury time... In thuth Metalist dominated the game and it was only thanks to our keeper Kristian Joensen if we went 2 minutes from bringing it to extra time. He had at least 3 stellar saves in one-on-one situations, and as many from close range efforts. We went down, heavy, early in the first half but somewhat managed to come back once again. Our counter is very effective, as much as our defensive work is still questionable. All in all we went out with a flattering scoreline that we didn't deserve, but in the back of my head that 90+1' goal still hurts... Probably we'd have lost 5-2 in extra time, but still... you never know! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Season 2025 - Domestic formalities We keeo on meaning business on the Islands. Another convincig treble, obtained with alarming ease (for the opposition and for the general level of the league). Only once we were in actual danger to lose and to end our undefeated streak (well into triple digits) but it was merely one of those stupid games when complacency and bad luck stack the odds against you. We rescued a late draw and the crisis was averted. Our superiority allowed me to give more chances to young players while saving some of the new signings for the European adventure (see above). Important Imports I had to make some compromises with my original "not too many foreigners" policy because the tiny talent pool of Faroese players is currently devoid of quality in some areas. So with a substance over style approach, I had to give in and sign more foreigner players than I originally intended. Our long-term issue on the right flank was (sort of) solved with Montenegro international Branko Djordjevic. A bit of a slow start in the league, but his contribution has been improving lately. With Spanish playmaker Diego being a bit on the weak side mentally and defensively, and with our homegrown Golden Boy Ingi Holm making waves about leaving, it was time to bring in a true box-to-box midfielder. Enter Danish Kristian Juul. A solid hand in every aspect of the game, and in the new 2026 season he's been scoring and providing assist at a better rate than any other CM. Defense has been our Achille's heel in Europe, so it was time to phase out the aging Faroese guys in favour of younger and better players. Danish Morten Thim Hansen hasn't been overly impressive in Europan matches, but he's becoming a dangerous bonus striker on set pieces, with 6 goals in 11 apps in the new 2026 season. However I'm not completely ignoring the domestic scene, with three solid additions: experienced winger, and former pro in Denmark, Gilli Sørensen, still going strong at 33 (he was better last year, screenshot doesn't do him justice), and dynamic CB duo Runi Johannesen and Leivur Jacobsen. Good enough to be starters in the league. Goal bonanza Jari Pukki is going to break all sort of goalscoring records, with 57 goals in 37 games, 35 of them in the league (in only 21 games). His wage is growing every year, but he's worth every penny. 2026: new owner, more money, bigger dreams As reported earlier, we finally had a successful and profitable takeover. A cash injection plus training and youth facilities upgrades. It's probably time to reach the promised land of Champions League Group Stage, provided we get a decent draw. With a coefficient of 16.625 we'd get a relatively easy road to the Playoffs... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShanghaiNugget Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Has Jari Pukki made any international appearances? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 3 apps and 2 goals so far Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 2026-27 Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round Undrið FF - Buducnost 4-0 As a seeded team, we got softer opposition and the tie was virtually decided within 20 minutes. In one of Pukki's rare day offs, Lady Luck showed up... An own goal and a penalty put us ahead by three, and another own goal completed the scoreline. Four goals with 2 shots on target is both an awesome and annoying stat. Buducnost - Undrið FF 0-9 Our strikers bounced back in style and went on to absolutely TEAR APART Buducnost's defensive line. We finally looked like an actual CL side and scored more or less how we wanted, when we wanted. A record-setting win for the club obtained with the same ruthless dominance we're used in domestic games (5+ goals wins are almost a given nowadays). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 2026-27 Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round Videoton - Undrið FF 0-3 That was a tricky draw, at least according to the media... Instead we followed our new blueprint, scoring early and keeping control of the game from that. Two strikes from the right side of the box and a comical own goal from a corner, plus several other great chances. Our defense was surprisingly solid too and didn't concede that much. Undrið FF - Videoton 3-1 New game, old habits... B2B Kristian Juul gave us an early lead with a screamer and Mørkøre took care of the rest with two quality goals. Videoton pulled one back early in the second half, but their attempt of a comeback only produced another half-chance while we were much in control of the game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 2026-27 Champions League Playoffs Dinamo Zagreb - Undrið FF 0-1 The Croatian champions were probably the best (or least terrible) opponents we could get in the Playoff round. The first half was relatively quiet, with our new keeper Perea making two good saves, while we produced zilch. In the second half Dinamo's performance dropped and we managed to score on the counter with our saviour Mørkøre (Pukki had a bit of a form slump in Europe). Nothing else happened after that and we got a valuable win. Undrið FF - Dinamo Zagreb 4-3 What didn't happen in the first leg happened in the second... It was the most dramatic and crazy game I've ever seen, and I'm proud to say I won it with the right tactical changes. Ingi Mørkøre gave us the lead and we were looking solid, until the final minute of the first half when the usual shambolic defending (closing down when holding the position is required, and the other way around) allowed Dinamo to draw. Another old sin, the free header in the goal area on a corner, put them in front and we I was ready to give up. Still some back and forth action with two CCCs a piece, and with only 12 minutes to go we scored our trademark counter. Still I wasn't happy with our setup, so I went for an even wider/more direct approach, replacing Juul and the awfully lazy Jevzin with youngster Kristiansen and experienced striker Meinhard Olsen and taking the huge risk of subbing 2-goals scorer Mørkøre for Jógvan Nielsen. After only 1 minute Olsen scored and on the 90th minute Kristiansen netted the fourth and decisive goal! It wasn't over, as we gifted Dinamo a third goal in injury time, but in the big picture it didn't matter... The game could have gone both ways, but, for once, the tactical changes were applied quickly enough to take effect and, most importantly, they were the right ones. And now, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Big achievement! Congratulations!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolanthustrel Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I hope your group stage isn't too hard and you can in the very least finish 3rd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 The group isn't hard... It's a group of death... Barça, Tottenham and Ajax are going to blow us to smithereenes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 You might be able to give them a tough time at home though, especially late in the year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolanthustrel Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Ouch, That's tough. Might want to close your eyes and just think about the money. You might also be able to level the playing field if you're playing on a well worn pitch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 2026-27 Champions League - Group Stage That was unexpected and awesome!!! Things started as badly as I was expecting with a predictable home defeat to Barça. We were beaten but not humiliated. The trip to White Hart Lane was an eventful one. We took the lead on a corner, but then Spurs' strikers proceeded to cut through our defensive line line a hot knife through butter and scored the equalizer. Despite them getting some more decent chances, at halftime it was 1-1. New half, same story, with Tottenham having their way in our defensive half for the 2-1. Luckly our trademark counter, and a wonderful strike by Pukki from 30 yards out put us back on level terms, before we were gifted the third goal when their keeper literally dropped the ball (in front of Pukki, who duly put it away). It was the 87th minute and I couldn't believe my luck. Alas it lasted just enough time for Tottenham to restart the game and score with another great strike. Still a valuable and convincing away draw... Good performance and good money. I would have been happy with that being our only point, but business was going to pick up. The home game against Ajax was a masterclass in bus-parking, although it just "happened" rather than it being planned. At the end of a completely forgettable first half, we scored with the usual header from a corner. Ajax didn't do much to salvage a point. Sterile possession (61%), long shots and one dangerous scramble in the dying moments of the game. We stole 3 points with 1 shot on goal. Who needs tiki-taka, when the only % that matters is the shots/goals?! More of the same at the Amsterdam Arena, with even more possession (70%) and more shots OFF target (20 out of 28) by Ajax. Unsurprisingly scored first, on the usual counterattack. Ajax equalized and put some pressure on us, before Pukki had a brace and scored with a sweet lob from a tight angle. The second half was a boring pile of nothing, with one chance per side and countless awful shots by the Dutch strikers who couldn't hit a barn door. So with two matches to go we're in 2nd place with 7 points, behind Tottenham (8), three points clear of Ajax and Barça! Barça made it clear they wanted another win against us to boost their chances of advancement and quickly took the lead and kept on pressing, but with little accuracy in their shots. So we got our usual equalizer and even turned the game around in the second half, wasting at least two more good chances to extend our lead. Barça eventually found the 2-2 when our keeper, probably tired of all the saves he had to do in the first half, clumsly parried shot right into the feet of an opponent and then failed to save the shot from an awkward angle. We could have won it with a cooler head in front of the goal, but not losing a game we conceded 12 shots on goal and 66% possession was no shabby feat. And it boils down to the final matchday... We face Tottenham at home, and Barça faces the already-eliminated Ajax away. If we lose, as it looks more likely, and Barça win, it'll be Europa League for us due to H2H results. Still, with a win Ajax can overtake Barça for a consolation spot in EL, so who knows... The match itself is quite dull, with Spurs scoring once per half and playing generarly better and in a more confident way. Our attention was much directed at Amsterdam... Barça took the lead in the second half, but Ajax stole a famous with with a quick one-two in the final third of the match. Much to my surprise and delight, we're through in our very first foray into the Group Stage! It was a string of lucky coincidences and of quite incredible results (Barça's sporting suicide, despite having mutliple Ballon d'Or winner, Oscar, was memorable and completely unexpected) but I do feel we deserved it because we mounted solid fights against much better opposition. Sure, a 2-2-2 record would have meant 3rd place in another Group, but we damn earned all those points! Knockout Stage against PSG will be a wonderful pre-season event, but the chances of pulling off another huge upset are minimal. And I don't honestly care... We've earned enough money to have at least three more seasons with the same budget, and if nothing terrible happens, EL Group Stage is now our minimum goal in European cups! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Wow, wasn't quite expecting that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Any updates? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 I've been busy (and away) lately, so I'm still in pre-season for the 2027 campaign. I'm likely to resume the career next week once summertime is officially over (sigh!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigz76 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Really enjoying this, don't stop now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Season 2026 - The perfect season It doesn't get much better than that... a 100% win season, with an average of 4 goals per game and only 0.5 goals against... Most league games were little more than 90mins of training to build up morale and momentum for the Champions League. Our superiority was so overwhelming I could afford to rotate some of my best players without noticeable drops in performance. It's only us! For the first year since the beginning I didn't even need to delve into the transfer market mid-season, as I literally couldn't find a player who was good enough to significantly improve our side! Or at least one who had wage requests I could try to satisfy... I'm starting to enter the dangerous territory where better players ask for real money (>500k) but their quality doesn't really warrant such figures. So considering my current setup is ridiculously dominant in the league and still decent enough to hold its own with Europe's "lower-middle class", I can patiently wait to find another game-changing player, a la Jari Pukki, instead of splashing the cash on players who don't guarantee a step forward. Another one-man show Guess what... Jari Pukki gets another PotY award (along with the official in-game accolades). This year he had to sit out a few matches due to injury and rotation, but he still netted 29 goals in 16 league apps, plus 13 assists... Similar figures in domestic cup (5 in 2) but slightly less deadly in Europe with "only" 11 goals and 8 assists in 14 games Jógvan Nielsen performed maybe even better, taking into account his skills, with a 22 league goals and 17 assists in 24 games. Where do we go now? Well, after a perfect season, things can only go down... Seriously though, another CL campaign is coming, and we have to make it to the Group Stage again. For the money, for the coefficient and for the glory! To improve our chances, I've just signed a new striker who's looking even more promising than Pukki, with whom he could form a lethal partnership. Welcome Polish U21 sensation Adam Poduch Facilities still need to be improved because the few decent youth prospects are still struggling to develop properly if they don't play enough first team football, and that's a problem. Without state-of-the-art structures, I can't hope to achieve international success without resorting to an all-foreign side. Also, must find a way to raise the general status of the league... Still 1.5*, still AI clubs have no money and the market is stale... I've loaned out some prospects, but it isn't enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 2026-27 Champions League 1st Knockout Round As expected, PSG didn't give us a chance and both games were more one-sided than the scoreline suggests... Our fairytale is over, for now, but I think we can look back at our run with pride. No humiliating defeats, some rather inspiring wins and more money than we can spend! Let's see how far we'll make it next season... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 It's Champions League time again!!! 2027-28 Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round The tie was pretty much over after half an hour: we played well at home and, despite some minor lapses in concentration in the second leg, a positive outcome was never in jeopardy. 2027-28 Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round As usual, after a convincing win, we just MUST complicate things for ourselves... Litex (an all-grey side) didn't look much of a threat on paper, compared to Honka (filled with real, fit players). Instead they give us a run for our money, holding on to a relatively comfortable 0-0 draw in the first leg. The second leg was equally tense... We quickly took the lead and on the 3-1 it was plausible to think we were pulling safely away. Instead Litex mounted a late charge and, courtesy of our trademark horrible horrible defending, scored twice in the closing stages of the game. Luckly it was too late, but with a few more minutes on the clock, I'm sure we'd have collapsed completely... The only positive was the advancement, but in fairness we played poorly, failing to take control of both games for large chunks of the match. Attack looked ok, but the defense was back to its old ways, leaking through balls a plenty and looking as solid as a house of cards on a windy day... 2027-28 Champions League Playoff As the last of the seeded sides for the playoffs, we got relatively weak opposition. Still, Romanian club Petrolul didn't go down easily. The first half of the first leg was more of the same from the awful performance(s) against Litex. Our keeper Perea kept us afloat with three great saves just before half time. Then we struck twice on the counter and went back to shambolic defending after that. Once again, our #1 earned his salary... The second leg was slightly better, even though we went down early on a freekick and were close to conceding the second shortly after. We then found the equalizer on a freekick of our own and scored again on a textbook counter. We opened the second half with the third goal, and for a change nothing of note happened in the final 30 minutes. So we've made it to the Group Stage for the second season in a row! Not bad at all, but I do have some concerns about the way we've played... Against some of the Top Dogs we'll need to me much tougher, otherwise we'll need a calculator to keep track of the goals we'll concede... And the draw hasn't been kind to us either... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I've been skim reading through the posts and this thread, but fantastic work mate, KUTGW! Maybe Champions League Glory one day!? BTW whens the last time you lost in the league!? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 I've been skim reading through the posts and this thread, but fantastic work mate, KUTGW!Maybe Champions League Glory one day!? It could happen, but that'll require me to field an all-foreign side, which is something I'd rather avoid, despite my domestic/foreign ratio having already dropped a bit recently (4 or 5 Faroese/Faroese-HG players in my starting XI) BTW whens the last time you lost in the league!? Currently on a 190 undefeated streak, last defeat was in August 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taleron Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nice work! 2 related questions: 1) How much of the Faroese national side are on your team? 2) Who is the best Faroese player (I assume he's on your team)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nice work! 2 related questions: 1) How much of the Faroese national side are on your team? 2) Who is the best Faroese player (I assume he's on your team)? 1) Currently 14 out of 23, 8 in the starting XI 2) Oddly enough the best/highest valued player isn't in my team. It's Sonni Nattestad (at Midtjylland in the original db), who at 33 is still better than my all-time best newgen Ingi Holm (who has still improved a bit since that screenie) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 At least I can put that money to good use and improve our abysmal training and youth facilities (first upgrade, paid with EL money, to be completed next spring) Currently on my way to another Double, but the money is almost useless because the domestic market operates on Free Transfers, even for part-time contracts. Also, no foreigner is even remotely interested to join, so I guess I'll throw the money into better training facilities. Sorry to bother you with another question mate, but I don't understand the above two posts. Do you have the option to upgrade them whenever YOU want IF you have the money? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Sorry to bother you with another question mate, but I don't understand the above two posts. Do you have the option to upgrade them whenever YOU want IF you have the money? Yes and no... I started with minimal facilities, so the board was willing to upgrade the facilities because it was cheap (around 250k and 500k for the first two steps) and it was needed to bring the club on par with the standard of other domestic clubs. However upgrades have been getting more expensive (2M for the last one I was able to get granted) and the board now sees them as unnecessary because they feel the club doesn't need better facilities, considering we're already the best club on the islands by a landslide. Also, Faroe's youth rating is so low the quality of the youth intakes can't be that great anyway, so even with worldclass youth training structures and training, a random untalented Jón Hansen will never become EPL material... So, while the option to ask the board to improve training and youth facilities is always active, provided there's enough money and the request hasn't been made too recently, the chances of the board agreeing are dependent on the level of "urgency" perceived by the board itself (and down to a bit of randomness I guess). Those posts were from several seasons ago, when we weren't loaded yet... still I got a request turned down tonight because of the aforementioned "we're good, thank you" attitude by the board. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Yes and no...I started with minimal facilities, so the board was willing to upgrade the facilities because it was cheap (around 250k and 500k for the first two steps) and it was needed to bring the club on par with the standard of other domestic clubs. However upgrades have been getting more expensive (2M for the last one I was able to get granted) and the board now sees them as unnecessary because they feel the club doesn't need better facilities, considering we're already the best club on the islands by a landslide. Also, Faroe's youth rating is so low the quality of the youth intakes can't be that great anyway, so even with worldclass youth training structures and training, a random untalented Jón Hansen will never become EPL material... So, while the option to ask the board to improve training and youth facilities is always active, provided there's enough money and the request hasn't been made too recently, the chances of the board agreeing are dependent on the level of "urgency" perceived by the board itself (and down to a bit of randomness I guess). Those posts were from several seasons ago, when we weren't loaded yet... still I got a request turned down tonight because of the aforementioned "we're good, thank you" attitude by the board. Makes it much clearer thanks mate and KUTGW! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 2027-28 Champions League Group Stage We were unable to replicate last year's fairytale, but at least we stole a valuable third place and the EL Knockout Stage as consolation prize. It began horribly against Chelsea at home, as we were 0-3 down already in the 24th minute. We then came back from the dead to clinch an unexpected equalizer, only to concede the final goal with 3 minutes to go. We showed heart, but also quite unimpressive defenending, meaning that Chelsea could and should have scored more. At Dortmund things looked better and we were unexpectedly leading 2-0, against the flow of the game. Borussia eventually salvaged a draw, in another game we had been under pressure for most of the time. The game with Ajax was a rather dull one, with few chances and it should have ended 0-0. Too bad we lost again. Luckly we managed a scrappy draw in the away game, which was equally even. Chelsea treated us to the usual deadly one-two in the opening stages of the game (1' and 4'), then slowed down and we pulled one back, without ever looking likee viable contenders. Again, a way too flattering scoreline, courtesy of Chelsea strikers' poor accuracy and our keeper's saves. So it all went down to the final game agains Dortmund, who were tied at 2 points with us. Unsurprisingly we went down after 2 minutes and it took the whole first half for us to react and equalize. Borussia scored again around the hour mark and we looked done and dusted... Then on the 80th minute we hit them on the counter (the only viable tactic when you're constantly on the backfoot) and put the game away with a lucky scramble in the box two minutes later. All in all, the only positive is the 3rd place, but we were far from impressive. Lucky at times, gutsy as well, but largely disappointing in terms of actual performance against (much) stronger sides. To be fair though, that's probably a fairest representation of our value, rather than last season's overachievments. We relied a lot on luck back then, and this time around that didn't really work, although we can still count as fortunate not having been buried by several goals. Speaking of luck... Out of all crappy EL sides, we drew fellow CL-relegated Man Utd... Just because we haven't suffered enough this season... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Aaargh sugar...Europa League winners then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Definitely not.. In the first leg we looked like Barça... the poor version with plenty of pointless possession (55% total, 4 shots, 1 on goal). Anyway after an uneventful first half, we converted a (cheap) penalty. United didn't do much, but found the equalizer before the game quietly came to an end. A fair draw and a relatively encouraging performance. The trip to Old Trafford quickly turned into the usual shooting practice against our keeper who did his best to withstand the barrage. It worked and at half time we were ahead following a corner kick goal. Sadly we failed to hold onto the lead and eventually lost 2-1. It was a shame, but then again, United had 24 shots and 12 on goal, so once again we got away with a respectable scoreline while it could easily have ended much worse. Back to the new domestic season now... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Unlucky and well done, but 3000 stadium? I guess that's a packed stadium? Any indication of the board increasing capacity? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Attendance is a huge issue... The stadium, Gundadalur, has a capacity of 5,000, but despite huge domestic success and great international visibility (CL Group Stage etc), the average attendance is around 2,500. Actually that 3k against MU is disappointing, as we attracted 6,000 to see Videoton, Rapid Wien and Litex... I haven't thought about asking for an expansion, as I'm afraid there isn't a big enough fans pool to warrant a bigger stadium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Season 2027 - Perfection can be improved With the undefeated season being a given and the 100% wins record quickly becoming another common occurrence, there aren't many areas we can improve... So the ultimate goal is to perfect perfection... Single-digits conceded goals is a solid start toward a season-long clean sheet. Hard, but who knows... A sloooooow growth As usual, the gap with the rest of the league is so huge it's getting embarassing... However our good results in Europe has improved the league ranking and, finally, the league reputation has reached 2*. However that only means our domestic rivals will now get smashed in the Second QR instead of in the First... The whole domestic scene is still stuck in a pseudo-professionalism, with our "rivals" operating around minimum wage mark and not turning enough profit to PAY for transfers or to attact decent players. Therefore I can't sell my surplus players for money, actually I'm lucky to even get some 0 offers when I need to get rid of aging rotation players. Moreso, being a backup for us is still regarded as a better choice than being a regular elsewhere, so plenty of half-talented youngsters or solid performers have wasted valuable years in the vain hope of dethroning my Stars, while they could have strengthened other domestic sides in desperate need of a boost. Let's see if the extra half star in reputation will finally make a difference. If it ain't broke... No need for huge changes in the team... only gradual improvement of weak areas and a long-term plan with youngsters. At the end of the season we had to hold some sort of huge retirement party for a good number of veterans who decided to call it a day or who wanted to leave (to where???). We payed homage to long-time servants like GK Kristian Joensen, right-back Torsten Mýlingstind, left-back/wing Benir Ellefsen and Páll Gregersen (who didn't want to sign a new contract and retired at 25...), right winger Eyðun Justinussen (whose "new challenge" is apparently coping with unemployment) and striker Meinhard Olsen (doing nothing at EB/Streymur). So I brought in a batch of new and better fullbacks... Left backs Jonas Peltola and Steffen Østhagen (still undecided about who's better) Half-promising right back Thomas Andersen And a hot prospect up-front: Guðmundur Steinn Jónsson who scored 7 goals in 15 apps in his maiden half-season with us at age 17. The midfield needed some fresh legs and more educated feet and minds, so here are all-rounder Lars Petter Vindenes and slow-paced playmaker Kevin van der Heijden. That meant I could switch to a more balanced 4-3-1-2, with a B2B (or BWM depending on the opposition), finally leaving my trusted and simple 4-4-2 behind, at least unless I need to open up a parked bus... Still, in the league it barely matters what formation I play because we're ridiculously better than the rest of the field. We'll see how the new tactic fares in Champions League... What future? As said, attendance isn't rising as quickly as it should have, so stadium expansion (or a brand new one) is out of question. The board doesn't seem to think we need improved facilities either, because they already are the best in the country, and by far... So every season we earn several millions we can't truly spend... Still better than being in the red or barely breaking even, but I'd really like to be able to improve the club (and the league) standard ASAP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 What future? As said, attendance isn't rising as quickly as it should have, so stadium expansion (or a brand new one) is out of question. The board doesn't seem to think we need improved facilities either, because they already are the best in the country, and by far... So every season we earn several millions we can't truly spend... Still better than being in the red or barely breaking even, but I'd really like to be able to improve the club (and the league) standard ASAP Although its of no benefit to you, it is good to see how realistic the game is...small country small attendances... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 2028-29 Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round Easy peasy round against Lithuanian champions Ekranas. Solid effort all-around, nothing to moan about against opponents on par with the rest of our league. 2028-29 Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round It's BATE again... We faced them several years ago and prevailed on away goals after two laboured draws, but I was expecting us to breeze through, considering how much we've had improved since that meeting. So wrong I was! The home game was a struggle and we barely won it with a fluke goal. Things improved slightly away, but it still took us way too much to score a goal, just to concede the equalizer minutes later. Advancement wasn't really in jeopardy because we were undoubtedly the stronger side, but the end product was barely enough to scrape through a draw we'd have sealed much more comfortably. 2028-29 Champions League Playoff In another "blast from the past" draw, we travel to Israel again, to face a different Maccabi though. In 2024 it was against Haifa and we made it to the Playoff round for the first time ever. Now is against Tel-Aviv for a spot in CL Group. The away game was another tense and even affair, with us performing once again below our standards but still getting a valuable goal. Back at Gundadalur we finally stepped up a gear and dominated the game from kick-off, killing the game already before Maccabi were reduced to 10 men. The second half was purely academic and we could celebrate another lucrative CL Group appearence. A group where I do feel we can hold our own... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Another horrible draw.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marios1999 Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Hey mate, any updates? I'm managing Klaksvik so it is very enjoyful to see your story Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Yep, we're still interested in this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 It's been a loooong time, but I'm back... hopefully for some more good seasons while I wait for FM15 to inspire me enough to can for good my Faroese career... Anyway, here we are! 2028-29 Champions League The first game was a close one away at Valencia. We had more possession but went down three times and managed to pull it back. A bit shake defensively, but we'll take the point. PSG made short work of us, scoring in the early minutes and bringing it home without allowing us more than 2 shots. A truly disappointing game that showed once more how ineffective possession play can be if there's not enough quality... Odd, because we used to be lethal on the counter. Things improved noticeably against Leverkusen: we played well and scored two convincing goals capping off elaborated but direct-ish moves. Bayer's late goal was merely a slip up in concentration. As usual, the follow-up was disapponting, with an away draw at the end of another even game that we could and should have seen out victorius. Things went from meh to worse when the usual "fullback won't defend through balls" issue costed us a key win home against Valencia. The late equalizer put us in a very dangerous position, with only 6 points with one game to go. Valencia were 3rd on 3 points but with a relatively easy home fixture against Leverkusen, while we had a complicated trip to Paris. Needless to say, everything went as it had to be expected, with Valencia thrashing Bayer 5-0 and us losing 1-0 to PSG in a dull dull game. So it's Europa Legue again... better than nothing, but annoying because 2nd place in the group was a more than attainable result. We still lack consistency and I'm starting to think my 4-3-1-2 doesn't really cut it in Europe... Changes will have to be made, and I may splash some cash on an actual playmaker. And now for EL Knockout Round we got our old arch-nemesis, Red Bull Salzburg, some 11 years after our first, traumatic, meeting that kicked off our European Campaign with a rather inglorious 0-7 aggregate defeat. Probably we're not going to make it this time either, but I bet they'll have a much tougher time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Good to see this back, unlucky with the CL group but hopefully you can get past RBS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Season 2028 - Only 2 goals away... With our winning streak having been going on for so many seasons it wasn't major news anymore, the next possible goal was setting clean sheet records... Sure our squad is vastly superior to any other domestic rival, but I wasn't quite expecting a clean sheet SEASON being feasible... It turned out it wasn't, but just barely... We went on 20 league games without conceding! Our new and improved striking duo scored a lot, with newcomer Poduch being twice as lethal as Pukki, who faced a bit of a confidence crisis late in the season. Still, a very solid team effort in a leage we could easily dominate with rotation and backup players. No major improvements in Europe from our fellow Faroese sides that keep on getting steamrolled in 2nd QR with no signs of closing the gap with their oppsition. Millionaires in a thrift shop We have plenty of money, with >10M each for transfers and wages. The only problem is there are no players who are worth that kind of money who are willing to sign for us. So we're once again stuck with mediocre (or serviceable) free agents or with relatively expensive players who aren't better than those we have already. I won't waste 3M and 750k p/y on an Anderlecht backup who is barely as good as my first choice MC (who's earning a third of that money). Until we make a further step in European competitions AND the domestic league prestige improves again, all I can do is sit on my money a la Scrooge McDuck However I signed Claudio Izzi, a solid, albeit selfish, Italian-French MC/AMC, hoping to get more out of our possession, which, too often in CL, reminds me of the worst version of Barça... we have the ball a lot but we don't know what to do wit it. Then the opposition scores. We lose. Last season's youth intake was as forgettable as the recent ones, and I'm not even able to send the least awful out on loan to improve the quality of the other teams... So frustrating! Another useless Treble? As said, things are moving slower in Europe, so the domestic season is gonna be another foregone conclusion... glorified training matches to get the team ready for a dozen (or so) of European matches. Kinda reminds me of the old days in CM97/98 when I edited myself as Rosenborg manager to play Champions League (with no domestic league available!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 2028-29 Europa League 1st Knockout Round Undrið FF - Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 Revenge is a dish best served cold, and it took us a decade to get back at Red Bull Salzburg for their less than pleasant introduction to European football... It was a rather dull game, and both penalties were ridiculously cheap, but the very flattering 3-0 is a solid lead so, for a change, I don't really care how we won. Actually it made it even sweeter. Red Bull Salzburg - Undrið FF 2-1 We dominated the first half but failed to get something out of it, so RBS promptly punished us in the opening part of the second half. We went down 0-2 on two identical poor pieces of defending, but luckly got our final pass right at least once to pull one back, securing an advancement that should have been much less dramatic than that, with a 3-0 lead to preserve. Again, we're untidy in defense and at times too wasteful in attack. Unfortunately our players' mental strengths are on average around the 11 mark, so they're prone to such lapses in concentration and drive. Still, we went through, so that's all fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 2028-29 Europa League 2nd Knockout Round FC Bayern - Undrið FF 1-3 That. Was. INSANE!!! We split their defense open several times and cruised away with an unbelievable 3-1 away win. The bare stats don't make our team justice, as Bayern were never truly dangerous until their late goal. Possibly the most convincing win in the club's history! Now let's see if we can make things difficult for ourselves like against Salzburg. Undrið FF - FC Bayern 1-1 Well, since Bayern didn't look that great in the first leg, why not throw them a bone? That's what my keeper thought when he dived for a tame cross in the 2nd minute of play and proceded to put the ball in his own net... Great start guys! At the other end of the field, Pukki decided to top his soapy-handed teammate and squanders two easy one-on-one chances (the first one by cracking the keeper's ribcage with a "well-placed" shot, the second one with a moronic lob. So much for great composure...). Luckly Bayern were indeed quite crap and we finally got our equalizer in the second half and quietly brought it home. Not saying we should have won 3-1 that one too, but well... We should have won that 3-1 too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 2028-29 Europa League Quarter Final Rapid Wien - Undrið FF 1-1 Rapid were the least dangerous side we could have faced in the quarterfinals, but we still managed to make it hard for ourselves... We wasted a couple of chances early on and thus allowed the Austrians to slowly but steadly get back into the game. We duly conceded on a quick counter and went dangerously close to collapsing around the hour mark. Our keeper Perea had to pull off THREE pont-blank saves in the span of 2 minutes. On the following counter we got another cheap penalty. The equalizer worked like an anaesthetic and the game was over with that. I would have gladly accepted a 1-1 away draw beforehand, but the performance was far from satisfying. Undrið FF - Rapid Wien 4-2 They must be doing it on purpose, trying to kill me! 18 seconds into the game, Rapid had their first scoring chance... Perea saved and the team realized the game was underway. Some solid attacks later, we were 2-0 up and looking comfortable. Cue in a defensive mishap and Rapid pulled one back on a silly counter. After half-time we quickly scored another one, that must be it for sure but NO! We promptly conceded another stupid goal, but a fair penalty restored a 2-goals lead. Again, 4-2 with half an hour to go, that's quite easy to see the game off... Guess again! Rapid went into God mode and began to build attack after attack, hitting the post and creating dangerous scrambles in the six-yards box. A mixture of solid goalkeeping and dumb luck saved our ass. How we managed to turn 30 minutes of potential "garbage time" into nailbiting and shambolic defending is beyond me... The media pointed the finger at me for being happy at a "scrappy win" and to an extent they're right... We didn't concede to freaking Bayern over two legs the amount of chances Rapid created in 30 minutes... Anyway, semifinals, here we come! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOA Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You will win it!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 You will win it!!! It's very unlikely... Semi-finals against AC Milan, and the first leg didn't go particularly well... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlickJ Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 2 goals conceded in 27 games, your keeper must be bored poopless! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bov Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Losing away to RB Salzburg 2-1 and winning 3-0 at home? That rings a rather pleasant bell for me. Great thread! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD nawrat Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Just caught up with this thread... this is incredible stuff mate! KUTGW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBKalle Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 2029-30 Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round A double 5-0 against minnows Ventspils. If I'm allowed to nitpick, we should have scored more, but the tie was officially over 10 minutes into the first half of the first leg, so there was no actual need to risk our knees and ankles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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