Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!

[Jason the Yank]

Still in a really good position despite the relatively poor month. Hopefully this season you'll finally go up.

Shame you couldn't get the Shanghai job

I'm not too fussed about it. It would have been a bit of a lateral move at this point, but it was the potential from being in Shanghai that interested me. Our city's population is only (for China ) 400,000; Shanghai is 24M! That's the sort of thing we'll be up against if we do make it to the Super League.

Steady progress though

A bit choppy actually (see the following update), but we're still hanging in there. We don't have any good options at left wing, and that's affecting us IMO.

Great read! Done a great job so far of turning it around, and the table is really close this season. Should be a good finish. Congrats on that 10-0 btw.

It should be a tight finish, though some teams have fallen away a bit recently.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Shenzhen 2-2 Yanbian (Jia League)

A thrilling start to the match with both sides hitting the woodwork in the first 10 minutes. Cui Ren gave us the lead in the 37th minute when he pounced on a shot parried by the goalkeeper. But Shenzhen's star forward (13 goals in 23 league appearances this season) caught us flatfooted for goals in the 54th and 59th minutes. We got back on level terms in the 70th from a free kick on the goalkeeper's right of the penalty area as a half-clearance fell at the feet of Zhang Xinlin inside the 6-yard box where he was able to place his shot past the goalkeeper. We could have had the winner on 81 minutes when Ferrugem intercepted a soft backpass at the top of the penalty area, but his shot went at the goalkeeper. Interesting stat out of the game: Shenzhen held 57% of the possession and took 12 shots (6 on target), where we ended up taking 26 shots (12 on target). And I didn't even have the "shoot on sight" instruction picked.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Yanbian 1-4 Baxy (Jia League)

Gave a terrible pre-match talk that demotivated everyone and caused the whole team to "look complacent" or "look uninterested" and before I could do anything about it we were 0-4 down at halftime. Won a very cheap penalty in the 58th minute, but that was as close as we'd get. Wish FM allowed you to do a Herb Brooks (

). But hey, we won the reserve match 5-0 the next day.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Qingdao 2-3 Yanbian (Jia League)

Brought goalkeeper Yin Guang back in, figuring we might need a veteran head at this stage. Challenged the team to do better and they responded. Kim Ki-Soo marked his 100th match for the club by volleying a corner to give us the lead just 90 seconds in. Ferrugem followed that up in the 8th minute when he scored from the keeper's left after Cui Ren had the ball tackled away from him in the penalty area. Qingdao's main attacking threat pulled one back in the 13th minute, but 2 minutes later Serge Gosse won a penalty when he was shoved on the usual corner kick tussling. The keeper got his hand to Gosse's penalty, but it had too much power behind it. Qingdao gave us a fright in the 86th minute when they pulled one back, but we were able to ride out the storm. Other results weren't completely favorable to us, so we're 4 points adrift of promotion with 4 to play. Plus Qingdao decided to kick lumps out of us (committing 26 fouls), leaving Ferrugem and Cui Ren with twisted knees; both are expected out 4 weeks.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Yanbian 2-1 Chongqing (Jia League)

A bit of good fortune gives us the win in this one. An impressive bit of skill gave us the lead in the 11th when left back Zhang Xinlin showed some impressive vision by essentially one-timing a pass into the penalty area where Serge Gosse met it with a volley to the near post. Chongqing got back onto level terms in the 34th minute off a corner when their star forward won a hotly contested header to bulge the auld onion bag. It was in the second half where we got the good fortune: A throw-in by Kim Koo-So to the goalkeeper's right of the penalty area was easily dealt with by a Chongqing defender. That defender then made the terrible decision to try a back pass across his own penalty area. Our right wing Gao Wan'guo (the old man back in the starting XI due to Cui Ren's injury) spotted the mistake and roared in after it, volleying his effort from the penalty spot for what would hold up as the winning goal. His skills may be in sharp decline, but it was a heads-up veteran play.

September 27, 2016

We get our intake of youth players. Zhang Bowen could be one to watch: Already has First Touch 12, Technique 12, Heading 11 and Determination 13.

Manager's thoughts

So 7 points from 12 is a decent haul, but probably not enough at this stage. We're still in the promotion chase, but with three rounds left even Zhongze down in 10th probably can still dream of going up (although they'd have to run the table and hope for a crazy combination of results. They're basically needing to draw an inside straight flush).

No sense detailing everyone's run-in since too many teams are still alive. But we have a two-week break before traveling to Xiangtao. Then we finish our home fixtures with Hainiu, and end the season at Hangzhou. The last two will be difficult, but given their position in the table beating them would give us a big edge in the battle for promotion.

[Deisler26]

Wish FM allowed you to do a Herb Brooks

[video=youtube_share;tRWB2jtTF3c]

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Xiangtao 2-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Well, that's our promotion hopes likely dead and buried. I went with a 4-4-2 as Xiangtao have trouble with it, but a well worked goal in the 12th minute and a corner in the 40th minute put us behind 2-0 going into halftime. I switched to a 4-2-3-1 and took off a "very nervous" player, and we had a glimpse of hope when Serge Gosse scored in the 51st minute. But we had at least two opportunities when players shot when it probably was better to try a through ball to a teammate, and those shots were easily dealt with. We led on the stat sheet (54% possession, 18 shots to 12, 8 on target to 6), but not the most important one. Results elsewhere meant we fall into 5th, still only 3 points adrift, with matches against the 4th and 3rd placed sides to end the season. It's (sort of) in our hands still, but if we can't beat a 12th-placed Xiangtao when we need to...

Still, at least there's this:

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Yanbian 1-2 Hainiu (Jia League)

Ferrugem is back from injury! As is Cui Ren, but at 90% fitness so he'll start from the bench. Hainiu come out in a Christmas tree formation. There's pretty much no tomorrow (well, there is one more league match left, but you get the idea), so I'm going for it. We boss the game, only to get sucker punched in the 38th minute. But again we fight back, as left back Zhang Xinlin finds Serge Gosse in the penalty area with almost the last kick of the 1st half. And we're level at halftime. I actually give a good teamtalk and the boys are all motivated and ready to go .... and then Hainiu gets a killer through ball to take the lead in the 46th minute. We continue battling and have a goal questionably (IMO, though the commentators didn't suggest it and my players didn't protest) chalked off in the 66th minute. And that's all she wrote. The fat lady has sung, and our promotion dream is dead. In fact, every other result goes against us and we tumble into 8th place.

Sure, that's nice:

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Hangzhou 3-3 Yanbian (Jia League)

So with nothing to play, I opt to field an experimental lineup in the last match of the season, with an 18-year-old (just. Saturday was his birthday) left wing who's still on a youth contract making his senior level debut. Not surprisingly, we were pretty disjointed and Hangzhou were all over us. They went up after 5 minutes when they pounced on our young goalkeeper's parry. We drew level in stoppage time when Serge Gosse scored his 20th goal in the league this season. Hangzhou came out of the changing room full of fire and made it 3-1 from goals in the 55th and 62nd minutes. But we kept plugging away, and Gosse grabbed another goal in the 79th minute. That made it 50 goals as a Yanbian player for him. With the second half ticking away we got corner. Center back Zhang Xiaolong, making his first start for the club, was turned away in his first attempt but the rebound fell to him; he tucked it to the far post and we were able to salvage a draw.

Manager's thoughts

Well that was a sucktacular way to end the season. Once again our inability to keep the ball out of own net proved our downfall: We were second in the league in goals, but 3rd from bottom in goals conceded. That's probably no surprise given our star ratings for our regulars were DL: 2-1/2, DC: 2-1/2, 2-1/2, DR: 3-1/2, GK: 2, 1-1/2

Having said that, part of that is because our defense is pretty young. Left back Zhang Xinlin is 23; center back Li Xinjuan is 23; center back Zhang Xialong is 23; center back Chen Xiao is 27; goalkeeper (of the future) Wang Xiaodong is 18 (and I gave him 10 starts in the league this season); right back Jiang Hongquan is the old man at 29.

The close season may see some retooling. As much as I'd like to keep Ferrugem, his head is still turned by Jiangsu's earlier interest and he'd like to join them since they're in a higher division. Serge Gosse, the 20-goal scorer this season, only has 6 for finishing (but is a force in the air). Our starting goalkeeper Yin Guang is 32 and not expected to improve on his current 2-star rating. I'm inclined to shop Ferrugem and Goose with the idea of turning the keys over to some of these young guns making their way up through the system (and taking our lumps as a result; the board doesn't want to find me a feeder club to get them first-team experience, saying I can always make loan deals, but nobody is willing to take these kids when I offer them.

The sharp decline of Gao Wan'guo also left us with a hole at left wing that Sun Zhengyang didn't fill very well. Having said that, he's rated as 1-1/2 stars now, but my ass man (JPA of 13) gives him 5-star potential, saying he could be a good Super League left midfielder.

All in all, could be an interesting winter in China's northeast.

[Jason the Yank]

Although maybe we never had a chance: Hainiu closed out the season by picking up 26 of 30 points.

Also, that's back-to-back relegations for Songjiang. :o

[Jason the Yank]

We interrupt for this breaking news....

It's not that I wanted to do it, I just wanted to be sure I'd get something for him. He still had a year left on his contract, but this means we can start planning.

I offered him out, and Fuli were the only ones to actually make a bid.

Aw, see I AM a good manager!

[DavidBeckham]

Decent season mate, looking forward to a busy winter!

[AK22]

Very frustrating! If you could defend, you would have gone up

[Jason the Yank]

Yanbian FC - Chinese First Division - End of Season - 2016

Competitions

Jia League - 8th Expectations - Respectable position

FA Cup - Third Round Expectations - Be competitive

Players, Stats and Awards

Top Scorer

Serge Gosse - 22

Scored 21 in 28 league appearances to lead our goal scoring list by a lot; nobody else had more than 8. Usually playing alone up top, he abused opposing defenders with sheer physicality. Won't outrun anybody (Pace: 8), not a natural goalscorer (Finishing: 6), but a beast in the air (Heading: 16; Jumping Reach: 17; Strength: 14). It's a bit of a throwback style in that way, but it was hugely effective for us.

Most Assists

Ferrugem - 12

Pulled all the strings for us from his AMC role. He's going to be a big loss for us, but he deserves the move to a higher division.

Average rating

Ferrugem - 7.39

In addition to his 12 assists, he chipped in 8 goals and 5 Man of the Match honors. Even contributed a bit in defense, averaging 2.10 tackles per game.

Unsung hero

Cui Min

I stripped him of the captaincy, but it wasn't because he was playing poorly so much. Did not get a Man of the Match award this season, despite a 7.05 average rating; 4 goals (tied for 4th in the team), 4 assists, 4.57 tackles per game (2nd in the team) across 27 appearances (all starts); his lowest rating was a 6.96.

Fans Player of the Year

Serge Gosse

Easily won the voting with 48 votes; Cui Min was runner-up with 24, following by Cui Ren with 17. Eleven votes were tallied by other players. Ferrugem should have been on this list, but I suspect his departure to Fuli means he's no longer eligible for the award (which is strange, but hey I think that's just how FM works)

[Jason the Yank]

Yanbian FC - Chinese First Division - 2016-17 Offseason Review

December 11, 2016

We get a $14,000 tax bill based on taxable profits of about $1.18M.

We also land three new sponsorship deals:

A 1-year sponsorship deal worth $250K p.a., up from $187K

A 1-year new main-kit sponsor worth $69K p.a., up from $50.22K

A 1-year additional new kit sponsor worth $68K p.a., up from $49.74K

Total annual amount of new sponsorship money comes to $400K, up from $286K.

We currently have 5 main sponsorship deals, providing an annual revenue of $2.81M. Corporate facility and match day revenues were up slightly the past season, $12.99K and $159K respectively, compared with $12.17K and $155K respectively last season.

Broadcasting revenues and competition prize money totalled $113K, a decline of $24.14K (no doubt due to our lower finish in the league this season)

With all the sponsorship revenue kicking in now, we have a healthy bank balance of $4.67M. Four of those 5 sponsorship deals end after next season, including the big general sponsorship deal that pays us $2.35M per season.

December 25, 2016

We record a profit of $950K, a healthy 20% of turnover. Turnover for the financial year was $4.6M. Our financial status is currently listed as "Secure"

January 19, 2017

(here's where the new alt-F9 bug begins) I decide to promise the board another respectable finish (i.e. top half). They'll give me a wage budget of $32.41K p/w and a transfer budget of $575K. Still can't convince them to find us a feeder club to send players on loan to.

[DavidBeckham]

Not too bad when your unsung hero is the one whom you stripped the captaincy off

[Jason the Yank]

Not too bad when your unsung hero is the one whom you stripped the captaincy off

Aye.

It's not that he was playing bad, I just felt his poor leadership ability (rated as a 2 ) was partly to blame for the complacency that would always set in during matches.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Got to get this promotion soon mate

[Nobby_McDonald]

A little disappointing Jason after a big improvement in season two.

[Vanikain]

Unlucky mate promotion will come soon tho! by the looks of it not much needs changing just tweaking.

[Jason the Yank]

All right, so it's been a while since I cracked on this save. I replaced my borked PS3 at Christmastime and returned to Skyrim and fun stuff like that. I've tried to start a few other FM games after the data update but lost interest before the season even started. So I'm returning to northeast China.

There won't be a pre-season preview (I will say though that the board wants us to finish above mid-table) as I have to get reacquainted with my players and such.

Anyway, pre-season was lousy as we lost 2 and drew 1, playing local lower-league sides in two of those matches.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Xiangtao 2-2 Yanbian (Jia League)

Blew a 2-0 lead with a half-hour left. Xiangtao equalized in stoppage time with a shot that hit the post and bounced in as I was trying to sub out a center back who was gassed.

March 19, 2017

Announce season ticket sales of 1,023, exactly the same as last season.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Yanbian 1-2 Zhongze (Jia League)

Traded goals in the first 15 minutes, and then lost my captain due to injury shortly before halftime. Zhongze found the winner in the 77th, though it may have been offside.

March 26, 2017

Due to my good wage budget management, the board decides to allow me to retain 70% of any player sales.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Zhongji 1-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Thought we'd just edged this, but Zhongji grabbed the equalizer in the 87th minute with a shot whistling in from about 25 yards out as we were tiring. Serge Gosse is still throwing a strop about there not being competition for places, but he's on 3 goals in 3 games now.

April 3, 2017

Backup centerback Tian Runze had come to me complaining about his lack of first-team football. Although my coaches thought he had potential to become a key member of the first-team squad, his development has pretty much stalled (and given that he has the pace of a tortoise, I don't trust him at the back). So I offered him out on a transfer, and he passed on two other offers to sign Second Division side Meixian. We'll get $10,500 for him when the transfer window reopens in July.

Veteran goalkeeper Yin Guang then comes to me, saying he thinks he's achieved all he can here and wants to leave. I'd like him to stay, as we're transitioning to our (hopefully) goalkeeper of the future (but who is still only 18), but he wants out. I ask the captain to have a word with him

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Yanbian 0-0 Zhicheng (Jia League)

Our efforts in the final third let us down, as we fired 19 shots but put only 3 of them on target.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Yanbian 5-1 Baxy (Jia League)

My 100th game in management, and a fantastic effort to mark the milestone. A 4-minute triple salvo (Yang Bin free kick in the 14th minute for his first Yanbian goal, a cooly taken near post finish by Serge Gosse in the 16th, and Yang Bin winning a 50-50 ball off a corner in the 18th) had us cruising. Tang Haoyuan made it 4-0 in the 38th minute when he followed up his shot and was able to stick the rebound. He added his second in the 65th minute when he smartly dropped back to the penalty spot, where he received Yang Bin's cross and buried an uncontested shot. Unfortunately we couldn't hold the clean sheet and gave up a consolation goal in the 88th minute when we got caught breaking forward after defending a corner, only for a turnover to go the other way and our goalkeeper get beat at his near post (though in his defense, he did stop on a one-on-one a couple minutes later)

April 19, 2017

Serge Gosse wanted competition for places? Well he's about to get it. This fella was offered by his agent. A product of the Huracan youth system, he never made a first-team appearance for them. we hammered out a 3-1/2 year deal worth $2K/week plus a $4K signing on fee, a $500 appearance fee, a $500 goal bonus, and a $100 unused substitute fee. He'll also get a 10% raise every year, and 10% of any sell-on fee; there's a $1.5M minimum fee release clause for domestic clubs playing in a higher division. He'll get a 25% raise if we're promoted to the top division, but a 25% cut if we're relegated. And his agent gets $24,800 for his role. Expensive, but he looks the business.

Down side is, the transfer window means even though he's a free transfer, he won't be able to join us until July. We'll still have one open foreigner slot as well.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Wuhan 0-2 Yanbian (Jia League)

Things didn't look good when Serge Gosse had to come off with injury just 2 minutes into the match. But Tang Haoyuan put us in front in the 25th minute when he received a somewhat hurried pass at the penalty arc and was able to settle the ball and whistle it past the keeper. Yang Yang, who'd moved from central midfield to the lone striker when Gosse came off, seized on an errant header by Wuhan's right back in the 77th minute and fired in the insurance goal. An important goal too, as Tang Haoyuan then had to come off with injury in the 90th minute, meaning we had to see out the match with 10 men.

And it's bad. Tang Haoyuan suffered a broken leg and will be out 6 to 8 months. Serge Gosse tore his hamstring and is out 3 to 4 months.

April 26, 2017

We draw fellow Jia League side Chongqing at home in the second round of the FA Cup.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Yanbian 0-0 Shenzhen (Jia League)

So with 7 of our 11 goals this season now on the shelf for months, I decided to try out a 5-3-2 I've been working on. We're only "competent" with the formation, but we did show enough to keep at it. Might have won the game, but our 22nd minute header off a corner was cleared off the line, and an 85th minute penalty shout was turned down. Still, we're unbeaten in our last five.

Manager's thoughts

So a somewhat stuttering start, as could probably be expected after the close season sales of Ferrugem and Kim Ki-Soo, two regulars in the starting XI, and adding a new left wing in Yang Bin. The injuries to Serge Gosse and Tang Haoyuan won't help, but we should still have enough about us to stay out of any real trouble. Cui Min made his return from a pre-season injury in the Shenzhen match, so that will help solidify our central midfield. In the meantime, as we get to grips with this new 5-3-2 (designed to stay narrow with wingbacks providing the width) we should be sturdy enough defensively to grind out results.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Beijing IT 1-2 Yanbian (Jia League)

BIT are under a caretaker manager as the previous guy bailed to take the Zhongji job (seems like a lateral move to me, but it's not my call). Match was a bit cagey, as both sides opted for 5-man midfields (BIT's stretched across the halfway line, ours with a DM, 2 MCs and 2 wingers). We unlocked BIT's defense in the 29th minute when our right back and right wing pulled the BIT defenders forward before the right wing crossed for an unmarked, onrushing Yang Bin. They equalized in the 43rd after a mistake by our left back, but we nosed in front again in the 69th minute when Yang Yang controlled in tight pass before threading a through ball to Yang Bin; he went low and away and his shot nestled inside the far post.

Our right wing Li Shizhou (only getting a run with an injury to Cui Ren), suffered a twisted knee and is out four weeks. Cui Min, who only just got back into the first team, pulled a hamstring and is out 4 to 5 weeks.

May 7, 2017

The injuries keep piling up. Wang Xiaodong, our young goalkeeper of the future, damaged an Achilles tendon in training and is out 3 to 4 months. We now have 7 players out injured, 4 of them would be in the starting XI most games.

May 10, 2017

Make it nine, as Yang Yang suffers a hernia (out 6 to 7 weeks) and center back Zhang Xiaolong strains his wrist (out two weeks; though we'll give him some painkiller injections for that).

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Yanbian 1-3 Chengdu (Jia League)

The table toppers (having come straight back down from the Super League) come to the northeast. Their 3-4-1-2 had us on the back foot most of the day, but we didn't go behind until the 37th minute and that from a penalty. Chengdu struck again the 75th and 89th minute when we'd switched out of the 5-3-2 to a 4-2-3-1 chasing an equalizer. An own goal in stoppage time provided us with our only tally for the day. It was always going to be tough though: Chengdu have now taken 25 points from a possible 27. Weirdly, the only points they've dropped were against bottom side Xiangtao. They also have two of the top four goalscorers in the division, and the top two players by average rating.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Hangzhou 4-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

It doesn't get any (well, it does, a little) easier for us as we go see the other team relegated from the Super League. We could have taken the lead early only for Yang Bin to be robbed by a fantastic save. And then Hangzhou stopped screwing around, scoring in the 17th and 40th minutes, and my backup goalkeeper gifting them another in the 41st. Yang Bin pulled one back for us in the 61st minute off a great through ball. But then midfielder Li Hao picked up a yellow for persistent infringement in the 64th minute, and got another one not even a minute later. With 10 men we were never likely to get back into it, and Hangzhou drove the dagger in on 79 minutes.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The injury list grows, as young striker Ma Chengliang (who has promise, but is blocked by Gosse) broke down in training with knee tendonitis and is out 6 to 8 months. We have 9 players out with injury, and 5 of them still have at least 7 weeks until they're healthy again. (on the bright side, two them will be back in a few days, and another could be back in time for our FA Cup tie.

May 29, 2017

My director of football accepts a $29,000 bid ($18,000 spread over 12 months, possible total value of $36,000) for DLR/DM Wu Yongchun, "in line with his responsibilities." He was transfer listed, but now I'll need to figure out who's the backup at left back.

Manager's thoughts

A perfect storm of a month with an injury crisis coinciding with matches against both of the top two teams in the division. Some of the walking wounded are getting back into health now, but of course they still need to get up to match fitness. If we can continue to tread water, I'll be okay with that.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Yanbian 0-1 Chongqing (FA Cup, Second Round)

Out at the first hurdle due to a goalkeeping blunder. We had an opportunity in the first half, but a good shot brought a better save. It appeared to be headed to extra time when our backup goalkeeper stopped a free kick and ... just stood there. Didn't try to jump on the rebound. Decided that he should instead defend the advertising board to the left of the goal, leaving a Chongqing attacker with an open goal to shoot at. "Concentrating on the league" etc., and so forth now.

June 7, 2017

KLAXON!!!! Ferrugem placed on the loan list by Fuli after just two substitute appearances. The return of the conquering hero? We'll have to wait for another month to find out.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Yanbian 3-1 Changchun (Jia League)

A vital win to stop the rot. We had to weather an early storm from Changchun, but Yang Bin put us in front in the 12th minute when his strike partner Zheng Guangwu corkscrewed a cross from the right and Yang was able to stretch and nod the ball past the keeper. The favor was returned in the 26th minute when Yang Bin put Zheng through, splitting the defense and cooly slotting the goal. Changchun pulled one back in the 71st minute when we couldn't clear a corner. Another injury forced me to burn my final substitution late and move Zheng Guangwu back into midfield; in the 89th minute, he got off a shot that hit the post, only for substitute Gao Wan'guo (once a starter, now limited to the reserves due to declining stamina and general aging) to stick out his leg and redirect the rebound back into the goal.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Yanbian 1-1 Qingdao (Jia League)

Facing the third-placed team in the division. They had the better of the play but couldn't break through until the 66th minute when one of their attacking players was able to side step my left back near the top of the penalty area and deliver a strike to the far post that my keeper had no chance to save. With time running out, I opted to go direct and in the third minute of stoppage time Yang Bin brought the ball up the left side before sending a cross into the penalty area. Zheng Guangwu got on his horse and delivered a thumping close-range volley to salvage a point.

June 19, 2017

We now have "adequate" facilities.

And after some initial resistance...

They're currently rated as "poor". We'll still be in good shape financially even after this work. Although we leak about $100,000/month during the season, we still have about $4.3M in the bank presently. We're projected to end the season with $7.56M in the bank (our fat general sponsorship kicks in early in the close season, before the books are closed)

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Yiteng 2-0 Yanbian (Jia League)

Victimized by a harsh penalty in the 29th minute that even the commentators said so. Yiteng put it away in the 84th minute as we were chasing an equalizer.

Manager's thoughts

So another rough month in the books. We're struggling mightily with our best players still on the trainer's table. July looks like it will make or break our season. We have the transfer window opening, and my hope is to bring back Ferrugem and find a better goalkeeper on loan (I have my eye on an 18-year-old from Shandong who has double-digit ratings in almost all the goalkeeping categories). And after opening the month against Chongqing we get four matches against clubs currently in the bottom five (including whipping boys Senke)

[Jason the Yank]

Bah. I can't get Ferrugem on loan, because I have another Brazilian midfielder coming in on a free transfer (I'd signed him before I put this save on hiatus), so that will reach my cap on the number of foreigners in the squad.

Downside is it means that guy (like our incoming Argentine striker) hasn't been playing for 6 months and needs to build up his match fitness.

[Jason the Yank]

Sunday, July 2, 2017

Chongqing 0-0 Yanbian (Jia League)

Stole a point on the road despite being under the gun most of the match. Chongqing fired 22 shots but got only 6 of them on target. We took 6 shots in total, and only got 1 of them on frame. Not helped by our left back pulling up lame just 12 seconds into the match, and then losing Zheng Guangwu to a torn hamstrig in the 63rd minute. Zheng is out 3 to 4 months as our season of long-term injury rolls on.

July 7, 2017

The transfer window has opened

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Yanbian 4-0 Senke (Jia League)

Now that was what the doctor ordered. Released the kraken against the bottom side and we were never really threatened in this game. Because of lingering injury issues, I gave 18-year-old reserve Tang Cong the start at AMC. He volleyed us in front in the 14th minute, scoring on his debut. Yang Yang, making his first appearance in the first team since his injury, got onto a through ball to double our lead just four minutes later. The referee apparently felt sorry for Senke and whistled a soft penalty in the 25th minute, only for our goalkeeper to save the ensuing spot kick. Then we got the benefit of a harsh penalty, and Cui Ren converted to send us into halftime up 4-0. Not content with a goal on his debut, Tang Cong made it a brace in the 57th minute after Yang Bin laid off a square ball to him in the penalty area. And after that it was just a matter of giving some of the youngsters on the subs bench a runout. Tough learning experience for one of Senke's center backs; 19 years old, he played the whole match and came away with a 4.4 rating.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Zhongze 1-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Dominated the match except where it counts the most. Spurned a golden opportunity early in the match when Cui Ren shot when a pass would have set up a teammate with an open net. Nosed ahead shortly before halftime when Yang Yang nodded in a cross. But Zhongze capitalized on a corner in the 52nd minute to come away with a draw. We had 56% possession, and the shot count was 22-8 to 6-2 in our favor. But only a point.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Yanbian 3-0 Xiangtao (Jia League)

A dominant performance. We could have been 2 or 3 goals to the good by halftime, but all we had to show for it was Yang Yang's 10th minute goal (a turn-and-shoot job after Tang Cong delivered a pinpoint pass to him in the penalty area). Cui Ren missed one of those opportunities, but made up for it with a brace in the second half: A 73rd minute placed shot when Wang Bin spotted him loitering with intent at the top of the penalty area, crossed to Cui Ren, who took a couple of touches forward before firing. In the 89th minute, he got up to head substitute left back Ren Hanjun's corkscrewed cross (Ren being one of the new players coming in this window). Such a dominant performance we held Xiangtao to just one shot in the game, and it was off-target.

July 28, 2017

We just manage to comply with backup goalkeeper Yin Guang's desire for a new challenge, selling him to Super League side A'erbin for $5,000. wang Xiaodong, our goalkeeper of the future, is now the goalkeeper of the present, and just back in training from his Achilles injury. Sadly, none of my loan targets are available, so I'll have to roll the dice with him and another young goalkeeper (Dai Hang, who probably won't challenge Wang Xiaodong for the No. 1 shirt but could develop into a very serviceable deputy) currently in the reserves. But I suppose better that than an unhappy player.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Yanbian 2-1 Zhongji (Jia League)

So hey, Dai Hang gets thrown in straight away. We took the pressure off early though, with Yang Yang nodding in a Cui Ren cross on 7 minutes, then winning a penalty (the commentators claimed it was harsh, but he got bundled over so I think it was a penalty) in the 23rd minute. Again though we couldn't find our shooting boots, with just 3 of our 15 shots hitting the target. Naturally Zhongji scored on their only shot on target, in the 63rd minute, after a good through ball. But we were able to hang on and take all the points.

But Chen Xiao, our center back and captain, took a tumble and suffered a broken wrist. He's out 4 to 5 weeks. At least it's weeks, not months this time.

Manager's thoughts

Well we did (mostly) what I wanted to see from us. I figured playing so many teams in the relegation fights we had a good shot at 4 wins on the month, and instead we go 3-2-0. I can live with that.

I'd hoped we could use these games to slingshot us into the top half, and instead we're right at midtable. But we have our quality players getting healthy now, and the new signings are just about up to match fitness.

[HotChocolate]

Unlucky last season but hopefully you can be the one to get 26 points out of 30 this time round

[Jason the Yank]

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Zhicheng 6-4 Yanbian (Jia League)

Discombabulated right from the start. Zhicheng came out in a 4-2-4 formation that caught me off guard, and we conceded inside 4 minutes from a long throw-in. And then DMC Cui Men saw straight red for a two-footed tackle in the 6th minute. An attempted clearance off the line in the 24th minute instead ricocheted off our goalkeeper into our net. Things got even worse in the 39th minute when we were whistled for a "harsh" penalty. Center back Li Xianjun pulled one back for us from a corner in the 48th minute, but we conceded almost straight from the restart. Cui Ren followed up a rebound in the 59th minute and pulled us within two again. But our goalkeeper whiffed on a shot in the 67th minute. Six minutes later he failed to handle a free kick, and was charged with his second own goal of the match. New signing Nahuel Ayala came on as a substitue and scored on his debut, in the 80th minute. And center back Li Fan did likewise off an 84th minute corner. Just a completely terrible day at the office. But at least the 10 goals broke the previous Jia League record for a match, so I guess there's that.

August 8, 2017

Despite our embarassing defeat, I convince the board to let me study for a Continental C license.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Yanbian 1-1 Wuhan (Jia League)

We're in another run of injuries, so the side is largely unchanged except for Cui Min's red-card suspension. I do decide the time is right for our new Brazilian midfielder Mattheus Cruz to step into the starting XI (he's not fully match fit, but even at 87% match fitness I expect he's better than the young Tang Cong who's been steady but hasn't really built off his 2-goal debut). There was no action at all in the first half. Literally. We had the opening kickoff, then no highlights. We earned a somewhat soft penalty in the 52nd minute, but Wuhan equalized in the 72nd minute when we couldn't clear a corner.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Baxy 1-3 Yanbian (Jia League)

Looked like more of the same when we had a 1st minute yellow card, midfielder Zhu Cheng go off with injury in the 12th minute and Yang Yang concede a 20th minute penalty. A hot day, everyone was frustrated in the changing room at halftime. I tried to settle everyone down, and it was the new boys who stepped up. Nahuel Ayaya, the Argentine forward (who's still well off match fitness but had to get thrown into the fire after the injury) wriggled free of a defender to score coming out of halftime. In the 60th minute, he fed Matheus Cruz streaking through the middle for a one-on-one and a quick finish past the goalkeeper. We finished it off in the 89th minute when Cui Min ripped a shot from the penalty arc that was saved, but substitute right wing Li Shizhou pounced on the loose ball and had a simple finish.

August 20, 2017

Because nobody makes offers for my hot prospects on the loan list, I request to find a feeder club. After an initial rejection, the board relents and says they trust me to find a suitable club.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Shenzhen 1-3 Yanbian (Jia League)

Dusted off the 5-3-2 to counter Shenzhen's 4-4-2. Nahuel Ayala followed up Yang Bin's rebound to give us the lead in the 13th minute. We got a 4-minute double salvo in the second half, with Jiang Hongquan's cross from right back floating inside the far post on 51 minutes, then Ayala striking again off of Yang Bin's pinpoint cross into the penalty area. Shenzhen pulled one back on 85 minutes, but it was only a consolation goal. Downside is, another injury. Center back Li Xianjun suffered a groin strain and is out 4 weeks.

Manager's thoughts

Well that first match of the month is why people for years have said to never quit FM after a win. But we pick up 7 points from 12 to stay on the fringes of the promotion chase. We have a brutal run-in though, as we start September with a trip to Beijing IT (who look as good as down). Then we get the top 3 sides in succession (Chengdu away, Changchun away, Hangzhou home) before finishing with Yiteng. Then in October we get the (currently) 4th and 5th placed sides, Chongqing and Qingdao. Hopefully the board keeps this (and our season on the trainer's table) in mind when doing my post-season review.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Picked up in that last month Ayala should be a good signing for you, on the odd time I do venture off to Asia I always make sure one foreigner slot is used up by a striker as good as/better than anything else in the league because it really does make a big difference and hopefully it will be the same for you here

[Jason the Yank]

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Yanbian 3-1 Beijing IT (Jia League)

A thorough win over the bottom side which we consigned to their 20th consecutive match without a win. It took a while to get on the scoresheet though, with Nahuel Ayala continuing his impressive run for us by half-volleying a cross from Cui Ren in the 29th minute. The roles were reversed in the 52nd minute when Ayala played Cui Ren through for a goal. The third goal was a bit more scrappy, as Matheus Cruz headed back into the box a 61st minute corner clearance; Yang Yang then headed it onto the post, where Ayala cleared up the goalmouth scramble. Unfortunately we couldn't hold the clean sheet as BIT scored on almost the last kick of the match, scoring off a free kick swung into the box. We're sitting in 6th place now, just 4 points off of promotion. But now starts our brutal run-in.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Chengdu 1-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

So I have a great record against Chengdu's manager, and they're in a bad run of form, but we've never beaten them. I went 5-3-2 to counter their 3-4-1-2. They went up in the 7th minute, but we pegged them back from the restart when Zhang Xinlin came up from his left wingback spot and crossed deep to Yang Bin who got enough of the ball to direct it into the Chengdu net. Otherwise, we were on the back foot all day as Chengdu had 56% possession and fired 28 (7) shots to our 9 (2), and we were saved by the post twice. We slip to 5 points back of promotion. But the really bad news is Nahuel Ayala suffered strained knee ligaments and is out 2 months (effectively ended his season after 6 goals and 2 assists in 6 matches (3 of them as a sub)

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Changchun 0-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Both of us came out playing pretty cagey. I went 4-1-2-2-1, but noticed Changchun's backline staying deep when they were in the attack. So I went to 4-2-3-1 at halftime. But the breakthrough didn't come until I brought centerback Zhang Xiaolong on in the 70th minute to give us some fresh legs at the back. 2 minutes later, he got on the end of a corner for his first goal of the season (that deflected off a Changchun player standing on the post, but they all count the same) and the eventual match winner. We now sit in 5th place, 4 points back of promotion.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Yanbian 0-3 Hangzhou (Jia League)

A very poor effort. Hangzhou went ahead in the first half with a free kick and it seemed like we might have a chance, but they shut us down in the second half. We had no answers in attack, and our first touch was woeful. Then they had all day to sidestep our defense in the box and lay off a pass for an easy shot, before finishing the rout with a (IMO, soft) penalty. And we're back down to 7th. Fortunately other results go in our favor and leave us just 4 back of promotion.

Manager's thoughts

So a 2-1-1 month and other than getting torn apart by Hangzhou, I really can't complain too much. It's still anybody's game (well, maybe not Beijing IT, who are now winless in 24 matches for a new Jia League record) for promotion. If we do it, we'll have to do it the hard way with home matches against Yiteng and Chongqing before ending the season with trips to Qingdao and Senke. But we've picked up points in 13 of our last 16 matches (8-5-3) so maybe? Hey, why not us?

[Jason the Yank]

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Yanbian 1-0 Yiteng (Jia League)

Called a team meeting to rally the troops ahead of the final month. Told the media we had the talent and the desire to win this game. And results the day before were not favorable to us, making this pretty much a must-win game. Yiteng tried to crowd us out with a 4-1-4-1 but the match was decided in the 34th minute when Cui Ren wriggled around the back of a defender to receive Serge Gosse's pass and belt a wonderful goal. Almost as importantly, Wuhan smoked Chongqing, leaving the table looking like this with three matches left:

2. Qingdao 49

----------

3. Changchun 48

4. Chongqing 46

5. Zhicheng 45

6. Yanbian 45

7. Changdu 44

8. Wuhan 43

October 5, 2017

Not a great looking crop of youth candidates.

October 14, 2017

Hangzhou wraps up the title with two weeks to go.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Yanbian 4-3 Chongqing (Jia League)

Sure enough, goalkeeper Wang Xiaodong suffered a facial injury in training, but he's at 74% fitness so we roll the dice with him, and put a goalkeeper on the bench (which I normally never do). And we come flying out of the gates with Yang Bin scoring from 30 yards out just 16 seconds into the game (setting a club record for fastest goal), and Matheus Cruz scoring off a corner in the 8th minute. We make 3-0 in the 17th minute off another corner with our captain/centerback Chen Xiao scoring his first goal of the season. Chongqing pull back from distance in the 48th minute. Then they score again in the 68th, only for Cui Ren to set up Serge Gosse almost immediately after. And then from the restart they break through our defense, and it's a 4-3 game. But we manage to hang on and escape with all three points.

With two rounds to go, the promotion chase is now:

2. Qingdao 49

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

3. Zhicheng 48

4. Yanbian 48

5. Changchun 48

6. Chengdu 47

7. Chongqing 46

8. Wuhan 44

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Qingdao 1-3 Yanbian (Jia League)

THIS is the must-win game of the season. At the very least we cannot lose, otherwise we're eliminated from the chase (we'd be 4 back with 1 to play). Even a draw leaves our hopes on life support. We cheat death in the 12th minute when my goal parries a save to a Qingdao attacker, who then hits the post. But we're punished with a good goal in the 36th minute when Qingdao's forward steps around my right back to send a shot inside the far post. I decide to turn up the attacking pressure because we have nothing to lose at this point (Changchun have taken the lead, which means even if we get a draw we still have to leapfrog 2, maybe 3 teams). Cui Ren surges forward coming out of halftime and .. PELANTY! And Serge Gosse buries the spot kick to equalize. In the 80th minute I bring on Yang Yang for a nervous looking Gosse; four minutes later we have a corner ... YANG YANG HITS THE BAR ... BUT CUI MIN CLEANS UP THE SCRAPS!!!! We've nosed in front, and nosed into the last promotion spot! And three minutes later Jiang Hongquan comes marauding up from right back, drops it back to Cui Min near the top of the penalty area ... CUI MIN SCORES!!!! His first two goals of the season, and at a crucial time. And we run out with the win.

Hell yeah it was me:

But the promotion picture is no clearer. Heading into the final week it's:

2. YANBIAN 51 (at 15. Senke)

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

3. Chengdu 50 (at 4. Qingdao)

4. Qingdao 49 (vs 3. Chengdu)

5. Changchun 48 (vs 10. Shenzhen)

6. Zhicheng 48 (at 12. Zhongji)

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Senke 1-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

So it all comes down to this. Win and we're up. A draw probably sends us up but we'd need Chengdu not to win. A loss to a side that's struggling against relegation and has lost 5 games on the spin would be a disaster.

2: Zhicheng take the lead against Zhongji.

22: Zhicheng are now up 2-0 at Zhongji. They're still on 51 points to our 52 though.

29: SERGE GOSSE HAS SCORED FOR YANBIAN!!! Cruz evades a tackle, delivers the ball wide to Cui Ren, who finds Gosse in the box for the half-volley at the top of the 6-yard box.

HT: The table currently is 2. Yanbian 54 ... 3. Chengdu 51 ... 4. Zhicheng 51 ... 5. Wuhan 50 ... 6. Qingdao 50 ... 7. Changchun 49

46: Chengdu takes the lead against Qingdao. That puts them on 53 points, so we must see out the win.

61. A Senke free kick is headed onto the bar .... and their forward cleans up his own rebound. It's 1-1 and we've dropped to 3rd. I go more attacking now, and sub off a "complacent" Yang Bin.

68: Serge Gosse is looking "uninterested" so I haul him off in favor of Yang Yang.

80: Zhongji have pulled one back, it's 2-1 in that game. Time's ticking away, so I throw all caution to the wind.

We can't find the winner. Players getting nervous, Cui Ren "complacent" in the dying minutes. WTF DUDE!?

Senke get a score draw with only one shot on target. Of course.

Chengdu end up winning 2-0, and grab the last promotion spot.

This may be the most gutting finish I've had in any FM.

We pay out $825K to the players for finishing 3rd, while winning ... $71.39K. Something's wrong here.

[Cardiovascular]

Unfortunate there Jason. Will you stick around for next season?

Also just wanted to appreciate the use of discombobulated a few posts back. Fantastic word.

[HotChocolate]

So close but so far!

Is it just me or is this years FM a little harder than others?

[Jason the Yank]

Unfortunate there Jason. Will you stick around for next season?

Probably. The board hasn't offered a new contract yet, but I exceeded their expectation for the league campaign (though not so much the cup, and even that was just "be competitive"). I'd already been thinking about shaking up the coaching staff.

There was a "Black Saturday" after the season, where the managers of Chongqing, Yiteng and Zhongze all got sacked. The media decided to ask me about the possibility of taking the Yiteng job and I said "no comment." There's things to like about that job (their average attendance is twice ours, and their season ticket base about 4 times our), and things not to like about it (their training facilities and youth recruitment are much worse than ours, and their stadium charges a higher rent -- though it's also a 50,000 all-seater compared to our 32,000)

Also just wanted to appreciate the use of discombobulated a few posts back. Fantastic word.

So close but so far!

Yeah. Maybe if we hadn't had so many injuries, or if we didn't give up that 87th minute equalizer to Zhongji back in April, or blow the 2-0 lead in the season opener.

Or beat a team on the last day of the season that we really should have beaten.

Could be worse, I suppose. Could have had a fade like Qingdao (2nd place with two games left, finish 8th)

Is it just me or is this years FM a little harder than others?

Maybe a twinge, but I think the data updates always unbalance existing saves a little bit.

[Jason the Yank]

Your 2018 World Cup draw (sorry, England supporters )

Group A

Holland

Japan

Russia

South Africa

Group B

Argentina

Cameroon

Honduras

Scotland

Group C

Algeria

Colombia

Saudi Arabia

Switzerland

Group D

Costa Rica

France

Germany

Ghana

Group E

Greece

Guinea

USA

Ukraine

Group F

Brazil

England

Mexico

Spain

Group G

Italy

Montenegro

South Korea

Uruguay

Group H

Australia

Belgium

Croatia

Peru

[Jason the Yank]

Yanbian FC - Chinese First Division - End of Season - 2017

Competitions

Jia League - 3rd Expectations - Top half

FA Cup - Second Round Expectations - Be competitive

Players, Stats and Awards

Top Scorer

Cui Ren - 8

Probably not a good thing when your leading goal doesn't crack double digits and is a winger. But in an injury-plagued season at the club, he was one of the few who avoided a long stint on the trainer's table.

Most Assists

Yang Bin - 8

Technically joint most with Cui Ren, and in more games. Played all 30 league matches at left wing, with a couple of emergency stints at striker.

Average Rating

Cui Ren - 7.10

A natural left wing, I actually play him on the right because he's right footed. Doesn't seem to bother him too much

Unsung hero

Wang Xiaodong

The 19-year-old became the first choice goalkeeper this season, and wasn't out of his depth. Like many of his teammates, he had an extended spell out with an injury but still made 17 appearances, posting 5 clean sheets and conceding 18 goals in total. He's the guy we're building around at the back.

Fans Player of the Year

Cui Ren

Ran with the fans' award, grabbing 66% of the vote. 8 goals, 8 assists and a 7.10 average rating in 23(1) appearances.

[Jason the Yank]

Yanbian FC - Chinese First Division - 2017-18 Close Season

November 4, 2017

"Black Saturday" as three Jia League managers get the sack (Chongqing, Yiteng, Zhongze)

The media asks me about possibly taking the Yiteng job. I give a "no comment", and Yiteng never makes an approach. Still, it's nice to start being talked about for other jobs.

November 7, 2017

Come to terms on a new deal with Yanbian. They offered one year on my current wages ($1,600/week). I asked for two years at $2,000/week and bonuses for promotion and winning the division. They refused to budge off of one year and no bonuses, but we met at $1,800/week. I did get them to increase the budget for junior coaching though.

November 8, 2017

Initial budgets set:

Wage budget: $34,000/week

Transfer budget: $744,000

December 14, 2017

We get a $14K tax bill after posting taxable profits of about $1.21M

Announce four new sponosrship deals:

A 3-year general sponsorship for $2.4M p.a. Previously worth $2.35M p.a.

A 1-year sponsorship deal for $165K p.a. Previously worth $257K

A 1-year main kit sponsor for $35K. Previously worth $69.0K

A 1-year additional new kit sponsor for $35K. Previously worth $68.35K

Total annual amount of sponsorship money $2.6M, down from the previous $2.74M. Even after just missing promotion. Say what?

December 25, 2017

We announce a profit of $975K for the last financial year, 21% of turnover ($4.6M)

[Jason the Yank]

Yanbian FC - Chinese National First Division - Pre-season 2018

Pre-season transfers

More outgoing than ingoing here, as we make $82K in player sales in this window whilst paying nothing for just two players.

The sales of Sun Zhengyang and Zeng Chengcai were players who were moaning about not getting to player and not getting to go out on loan (mainly because nobody made a loan offer for them). Their contracts were due to expire anyway, and I was able to get a total of $4.3K plus various clauses.

Of the others:

Jiang Hongquan DR

Meizhou offer:

$24.K upfront, plus $31K over 12 months, plus $12.25K if he plays 50 games for them. Total potential value of $68K for a 31-yo valued at $56K.

Our starting right back and vice captain, he does still has something left in the tank, but I decide to cash in now.

Yuan Linhui AMR/ST

Henan: Season-long loan, pay 100% of wages

An 18-year-old with good mental stats, but not the finished product technically. Assman thinks he can be a good Super League striker, but he won't be getting any playing time here, so I'm happy to loan.

Gu Bang AML/ST

Loachenggen offcer:

$9.25K up front, $13.75K over 12 months. Total potential value of $23K

Turned 18 a couple of months ago, my coaches don't see him as anything more than "a decent player" for us, so I'm fine with this sale.

The Jiang deal opens the right back role for prospect Li Hu, who's had a few matches here and there with us. He's potentially a key player for the team, with my ass man saying he could be a decent Super League right back in the future, plus he's very brave, enjoys big matches and is a fairly consistent performer. Time to make good on his potential.

Of the incoming duo, Mu Qianyu is a goalkeeper signed on a one-year deal to be the backup to Wang Xiaodong. Better than my other goalkeepers in the squad, so it won't be as steep a dropoff should Wang get hurt.

Chen Kai is a right back, brought in as a security blanket in case Li Hu doesn't deliver on his potential and our other youthful option Zhang Jian (who grades out similarly to Li Hu) can't make the step up.

Pre-season fixtures

A mixed bag, as you can see. Local opposition for the first two matches; we had the Incheon friendly as a result of selling them Kim Ki-Soo last winter. The last two were our parent clubs: SD Youth is Shandong's U19 side (and before you say anything, Shandong won the Super League last season and have been in the top 2 four of the last five seasons), and Changchun is still technically our parent club (though we really don't get any benefits out of that now that they're in our division)

How everyone else sees us

The media are picking us for 8th.

[Jason the Yank]

Oh and also, I bagged my Continental C license and was able to turn right around and start on my Continental B license.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Yanbian 1-1 Baxy (Jia League)

Lost my AML and AMR to injury before halftime, but we into the break with the lead thanks to our South American connection: Mattheus Cruz crossing to Nahuel Ayala for a flying header. Pulled back to level terms in the 82nd minute from a really good goal that appeared to catch Wang Xiaodong leaning the wrong way. Took more shots, got more of them on target, edged out the possession, but had to share the points.

Cui Ren suffered a broken wrist and is out 4 to 5 weeks. So here we go again.

March 18, 2018

Announce season tickets of 1,025. An increase from last season of ... two.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Zhongze 1-3 Yanbian (Jia League)

So we're also down Matheus Cruz after he suffers a chest injury in training (out 3 to 4 weeks). We were all over Zhongze, firing 13 shots (6 of them on target) by halftime. Which seemed to work, since we went in with a 2-0 lead: Yang Bin expertly played a short pass in the area to backup AMC Tang Haoyuan who fired us into the lead; and just before halftime, Nahuel Ayala seized on a mixup between Zhongze's goalkeeper and centerback to slot him a simple finish. Zhongze pulled one back in the 57th minute that Wang Xiaodong got a hand to but couldn't keep out. We finished the game off in the 88th when Chen Xiao managed to get a free header off a corner to score.

March 27, 2018

Yang Yang blows out a groin muscle in training and is out 2 to 3 months.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Yanbian 2-2 Songjiang (Jia League)

Songjiang back in the Jia League at the first attempt following successive relegations. Interestingly, we've never beaten Songjiang in my tenure (0-4-1). And that continued in true SORT IT OUT SI fashion as Songjiang's only two shots on target both went in. We went up in the 20th minute when Jin Chenxi floated a headed corner over the Songjiang keeper's outstretched arms. But they equalized in the 28th minute when a shot took a deflection to beat Wang Xiaodong. We were controlling the second half, only for Songjiang to give us a sucker punch in the 69th minute from a flying header. But we got back onto level terms in the 73rd minute when Serge Gosse came off the bench to head in left back Zhang Xinlin's cross. But there would be no winner today.

Manager's thoughts

So draw at home, win on the road. Just the opposite of how you're supposed to do it. Still, we post an unbeaten month as we're integrating new players into the first team and have some other first teamers already up on the trainer's table. Really can't be too upset though, we've broken decently from the starting blocks.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Decent season there Jason.

[DavidBeckham]

Decent unbeaten start to the season! KUTGW mate!

[Jason the Yank]

Had an April writeup, but the board ate it. and I'd already wiped my Text for the next month and can't alt-Z back to it.

We lost the first two of the month, then won the last two. We're sitting in 6th now, 5 points off of promotion.

Work on our youth facilities was completed. They're now rated as "below average".

[Bilbo Baggins]

That group F looks ridiculously tasty, be sure to post how it pans out. Good time to move I think, if I was in your shoes I wouldn't have been able to bear another 'close but no cigar' type season.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Yanbian 1-2 Zhicheng (Jia League)

Conceded a penalty inside the first minute. And then Nahuel Ayala won a penalty for us in the 12th minute, only for Zhang Xinlin to hit the bar. But Yang Bin found Ayala near the penalty spot for a well timed goal in the 30th minute. I made a double subsitution in the 60th minute, but two minutes later Zhicheng scored off a floated header and that was it.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Changchun 3-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Changchun are top of the table. I go 5-3-2 to counter their 4-4-2, and bring in my tall trees (Changchun are the shortest team in the division). But it didn't really matter, as my three center backs got caught ball watching twice, sandwhiched around a direct free kick to send us into halftime down 3-0. I switched to our 4-2-3-1 at halftime, and Nahuel Ayala gave us a glimmer of hope in the 60th minute when he snuck one past the goalkeeper's near post, but it was only a consolation goal.

Center back Li Xianjun suffered a twisted knee and is out 4 weeks, whilst left back Ren Hanjun picked up a bruised rib and is out 9 to 12 days.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Yiteng 2-2 Yanbian (Jia League)

I decide to call a team meeting to address our sputtering form, and it does lift spirits. But again we're plagued by silly miscues, and fall behind in the 30th minute on a scorcher from 25 yards out, and give away a penalty in the 39th minute. I try to buck up some ideas at halftime. Ayala and Cruz work a one-two in the 52nd minute to pull one back, and we equalize in the 80th minute when Yiteng's goalkeeper bobbles a cross and substitute left win Chen Hongyang is there to clean up the mess. We're second best in shots, shots on target and possession, but we manage to salvage a point.

May 26, 2018

We get Second Division side Meizhou as our first opponent in the cup.

May 27, 2018

Goalkeeper Wang Xiaodong suffers a back strain whilst lifting weights during training. He's out 5 to 6 weeks. As is backup left back Ren Hanjun, who suffered a twisted ankle in training.

Manager's thoughts

So a winless month, and we've spiraled down the table. I don't think we're in danger, but we'll still want to be wary of getting sucked into the relegation fight. It's still tight enough that a couple of favorable results could slingshot us into the top half. A thumping win in the cup next would go a long way to boosting morale.

It's not that players are necessarily playing poorly, they're just not playing well either. They're just kind of "meh". We do have the youngest team in the Jia League, and we're rated 14th out of 16 in both decision making and teamwork. So it could just be that the youngsters are getting a footballing education. And we'll just have to accept that mistake will happen until they get more experience.

[Jason the Yank]

Good time to move I think, if I was in your shoes I wouldn't have been able to bear another 'close but no cigar' type season.

It depends. The club itself is in good shape financially (listed as "secure") and the board ultimately keep agreeing to my requests for facility upgrades and to take coaching courses. Which is really the only way we'll go anywhere. We don't have the catchment area or supporter base to go up against most of the Super League, and we'll always be fighting an uphill battle just in the Jia League. Even with a couple of promotion battles, our average attendance is regularly in the bottom half.

(IRL, our home city has a population of 400,000 and the prefecture has about 2MM. Which sounds great, until you realize the Beijing and Shanghai urban areas alone have about 20MM each. Qingdao, in our league, IRL has an urban population of about 4.5MM. We're basically like Northampton facing the prospect of going up against two identical Londons)

At the very least, I know I can use them to eventually complete my Continental Pro license and then start looking elsewhere.

[Jason the Yank]

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Yanbian 6-1 Meizhou (FA Cup, Second Round)

Amazingly, we actually had to come from behind after Meizhou took the lead in the 6th minute with a free kick that whistled into the back of the net. But we hit back almost immediately when Yang Bin (playing the lone forward position as part of an A/B lineup necessitated by injuries, ban on foreign players in FA Cup games, and some general experimentation) headed home his first goal of the season from a cross from the left wing. We took the lead in the 10th minute when right wing Li Shizhou was left unmarked in front of goal where he received a pinpoint cross from our left back. Li then played provider in the 15th minute by crossing to Yang Bin for a leaping header. It was 4-1 in the 32nd minute when left back Zhang Xinlin's cross was misplayed by the Meizhou goalkeeper for an own goal. Yang Bin completed his hat-trick in the 36th minute when he came back to the top of the box to receive Li Shizhou's square pass and shot uncontested for the goal. The game was pretty much over at that point, but Li Shizhou finished it in second-half stoppage time when he received a square ball from our substitute center back Cheng Tao and placed his shot. An emphatic win that allowed me to hand debuts to Cheng Tao and center midfielder Jin Jun on the 60-minute mark (though I was not happy to see them "looking uninterested". Uh, way to make an impression on your manager in your club debut (and in Cheng Tao's case, his first senior-level appearance for any club).

Our reward for this victory? An away trip to Guangzhou Hengda, currently sitting 2nd in the Super League. That's not going to be fun. And if somehow we pull the shock, the Fourth Round draw has us going to another Super League side, Fuli.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Henan 3-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Henan are midtable, but they just came down from the Super League, so I went 5 at the back and hoped to scrape out a point. Instead, we very nearly pulled out a win, only for Henan to break down our barricade. We took the lead in the 38th minute when left wingback Zhang Xinlin delivered a pinpoint cross to Nahuel Ayala at the top of the 6-yard box for a well-timed finish. We were doing well enough until the 64th minute when Henan expertly dealt with a cross into their penalty area, broke forward on a counter and rounded the keeper for the score. They took the lead on a 73rd minute corner, and then finished it off in the 86th minute with a well struck shot from inside the penalty area. Strangely, it didn't feel like we were dominated, but the final stats show Henan taking 33 shots, 17 of them on target, despite just 44% possession. By contrast we took 11 shots with 5 on target.

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Xiangtao 0-2 Yanbian (Jia League)

That's much better! It didn't look good in the 12th minute when Yang Bin had to go off with injury. Both sides tried to clog the midfield, and it required a bit of good fortune in the 39th minute for us to take the lead: the Xiangtao goalkeeper parried Zhang Xinlin's free kick, but substitute left wing Chen Hongyang pounced on the rebound and buried the opportunity. Xiangtao changed out to a 4-4-2 in the second half and got some great opportunities (Zhang Xinlin had to clear off the line, and another Xiangtao shot rattled the crossbar). But Chen gave us the vital insurance goal in the 80th minute when Li Shizhou played a ball over the top to Nahuel Ayala, who crossed from the side of the penalty for Chen to meet with a leaping header. Xiangtao had more opportunities, but we were able to keep them away from dangerous positions; they took 16 shots but got only 3 of them on target.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Yanbian 1-0 Shenzhen (Jia League)

Not much in this one except for a lovely team effort coming out of halftime. Left back Zhang Xinlin muscled the ball off a Shenzen player in our defensive third, got it forward to Yang Bin at the midfield line, who sent the ball forward to Nahuel Ayala in the attacking third, who played through Yang Yang surging up from his central midfield spot to bury a "fierce shot." Bingo bango, we pick up three points.

June 24, 2018

Right wing and fan favorite Cui Ren comes to me saying he needs a new challenge. My coaches still rate him as a quality player, but don't expect him to get any better (he turned 29 in January). And to be fair, the younger Li Shizhou has looked good in his appearances at right wing, so I'm not too wary of letting Cui Ren go. it is a shame though, as he's been with the club ever since he came through the youth system.

There's no response to my offer seeking $175,000 for him.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Guangzhou 3-0 Yanbian (FA Cup, Third Round)

Pretty much as I expected. I was just hoping we wouldn't get tonked and for the most part we managed that. We were down inside 5 minutes, and down 3-0 by halftime with the third goal coming on a penalty. We just didn't have the horses to keep up with them. On the bright side, our share of the gate receipts helps us post a profit for the month, which we normally never do during the season. Pretty much all our profit comes from the sponsorship payment during the close season.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Yanbian 1-0 Zhongji (Jia League)

A slight break for us, as the match was moved back a day for live television coverage, plus I scheduled a day off from training. It seemed to pay off as we had control for much of the match, holding 60% of the possession. The only goal came in the 21st minute when left wing Chen Hongyang headed Zhang Xinlin's deep throw-in back to him, and he proceeded to cross to the far post where right wing Li Shizhou raced in for the half-volley.

Manager's thoughts

Can't complain too much. A bad loss in the league, but we turn around and win three on the trot there all with clean sheets and all with the backup goalkeeper. Beat a cup opponent that we should win against, and lost to one that we should lose to. Chen Hongyana and Li Shizhou have staked a claim to be the starting wings, so I'm inclined to hand them the reins and turn them loose.

There's still a lot of season left, and if we can get on one of patented second-half surges, maybe this is the year we go up?

[GDH38]

That's more like it.

[HotChocolate]

An emphatic win that allowed me to hand debuts to Cheng Tao and center midfielder Jin Jun on the 60-minute mark (though I was not happy to see them "looking uninterested". Uh, way to make an impression on your manager in your club debut (and in Cheng Tao's case, his first senior-level appearance for any club).

I hate this! When a player has moaned at lack of playing time, so you give them a chance either from the start or as a sub and they immediately "look uninterested" you think why did I bother?

[Dexter_Morgan]

It depends. The club itself is in good shape financially (listed as "secure") and the board ultimately keep agreeing to my requests for facility upgrades and to take coaching courses. Which is really the only way we'll go anywhere. We don't have the catchment area or supporter base to go up against most of the Super League, and we'll always be fighting an uphill battle just in the Jia League. Even with a couple of promotion battles, our average attendance is regularly in the bottom half.

(IRL, our home city has a population of 400,000 and the prefecture has about 2MM. Which sounds great, until you realize the Beijing and Shanghai urban areas alone have about 20MM each. Qingdao, in our league, IRL has an urban population of about 4.5MM. We're basically like Northampton facing the prospect of going up against two identical Londons)

At the very least, I know I can use them to eventually complete my Continental Pro license and then start looking elsewhere.

I can see your point about the board being good with you but it is starting to look like the club is struggling to go forwards and it seems the only way it will improve is via keep getting the facilities increased at both first and youth team level and hope some regens come up which is obviously not a guarantee

[Jason the Yank]

I can see your point about the board being good with you but it is starting to look like the club is struggling to go forwards and it seems the only way it will improve is via keep getting the facilities increased at both first and youth team level and hope some regens come up which is obviously not a guarantee

This is us.

[Jason the Yank]

I hate this! When a player has moaned at lack of playing time, so you give them a chance either from the start or as a sub and they immediately "look uninterested" you think why did I bother?

They weren't moaning really, but they'd been doing well in reserve matches and I needed Chinese players to fill in for Ayala and Cruz (since the FA Cup doesn't allow you to field foreigners)

[Jason the Yank]

July 2, 2018

So this arrived in my inbox:

They're in northeast China, like us. No approach was made for me, but it's nice to see I'm being talked about for Super League jobs (albeit, one in danger of relegation, although there's a lot to like about this one. Their finances are "insecure" due to $1.3M of debt against a $1.4M value, but I think that's at least partly due to having a new stadium)

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Hainiu 0-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Hainiu came straight back down from the Super League, and have been at the wrong end of the Jia League table all year. Not much action, as we grabbed the winner in the 29th minute when left wing Chen Hongyang scored off a goalmouth scramble.

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Baxy 2-1 Yanbian (Jia League)

Not a pleasant way to see our winning run end, though there never is. Thought we'd taken the lead in the 17th minute, only for it to be ruled out for offside. Baxy took the lead in the 22nd minute off a headed-in cross (they're pretty good at that apparently), but we pulled them back 5 minutes later when Chen Hongyang shot with his off foot and the Baxy goalkeeper let it go through his hands. But we were consigned to defeat in the 60th minute when Baxy played a through ball for a close-range finish, despite my defenders' appeal for offside (well, they would say that wouldn't they?)

July 15, 2018

The World Cup champion is...

England finished third in that brutal Group F, level on points with Brazil but going out because they'd lost to Brazil 2-1. Daniel Sturridge scored in the first minute, but Brazil equalized in the 48th minute and won it with a 52nd minute penalty; Neymar went off injured in the 11th minute.

Probably the biggest shock of the group stage was the failure of Russia to qualify for the knockout rounds, losing out to South Africa 1-0 in the final match.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Yanbian 2-2 Zhongze (Jia League)

Pushed back a day for live television coverage. Had a glorious opportunity inside of 2 minutes but couldn't put it away. But right wing Li Shizhou changed that in the 3rd minute when he got between two defenders to reach a 50-50 ball and slot it home. Zhongze were given a penalty in the 13th minute that even the commentators thought was harsh. But Li Shizhou popped up again in the 31st minute, after forward Ma Chengliag dummied a pass across the top of the 6-yard box, allowing Li Shizhou to step up and cooly finish low and away. But in second-half stoppage time, our former player Jin Bo got behind the defense (I was trying to switch to the offside trap as Zhongze were sending long balls over the top, but it was still "pending") and found a late equalizer. Completely robbed, we had 14 shots (5 on target) to Zhongze's 3(3), and 62% of the possession. Against the bottom side at home, I found that unacceptable and gave the team the hairdryer treatment.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Songjiang 0-0 Yanbian (Jia League)

A very hot day (91 F at kickoff) didn't see much action. We could have won this, but for Cui Ren's 79th minute penalty being saved.

Manager's thoughts

A stuttering month in which we for sure dropped 2 points in the Zhongze game that were pretty much packed and on board the plane. Probably should have got at least a draw out of the Baxy game, and could have won the Songjiang game. But close counts only in horseshoes and hand grenades, so we find ourselves back on the fringe of the promotion chase. And the bad part is we're into the back half of the fixture list, so we've already blown our games with the bottom side and a Songjiang side that's not safe from relegation just yet. It only gets more difficult.

[Jason the Yank]

Meanwhile...

[Jason the Yank]

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Yanbian 2-3 Chongqing (Jia League)

Ugh. We were bossing the game the first 8 minutes, then got hit with a textbook counterattack and just fell to pieces. Allowed an uncontested header off a corner to make it 0-2 in the 34th minute. I gave the team the hairdryer treatment at halftime, and Jin Chenxi proceeded to get a straight red in the 56th minute for a late challenge, then 2 minutes later fell asleep on a throw-in in our half, allowing an unmarked Chongqing forward enough time to do his taxes before making it 0-3. Chen Hongyang pulled one back for us in the 63rd minute, and substitute forward Ma Chengliang had a goal ruled out for offside before scoring (another) in the 75th minute to salvage a bit of pride.

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Qingdao 2-0 Yanbian (Jia League)

Changed out four players (though two are from Li Shizhou and Li Hu returning from injury, and one is due to red card suspension). It didn't matter though, as Li Hu missed a tackle in the 25th minute, allowing a deep cross and a goal as a result. In the 65th minute, we conceded a free header from a corner and that was all she wrote. We've slipped into 9th on the back of a 5-match winless spiral and we're 10 points adrift of promotion (and could be 11 if Henan wins on Sunday) with 10 rounds to go.

Our struggles certainly are probably the result of Nahuel Ayala having not scored in 8 matches.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Tianshan 3-0 Yanbian (Jia League)

Called a team meeting in hopes of boosting morale, and pulled back on my attacking inclinations. That didn't work either as we were behind inside of 5 minutes on another free header from a corner. In the 60th minute I bring Chen Xiao (normally a starting centerback, but benched after the Chongqing fiasco) on a substitute .... and five minutes later he gets himself sent off for a professional foul that also results in a penalty (though the commentators thought it was harsh). And that was it for that one. We're now winless in 6 straight, and have slipped into 11th, 13 points off of promotion (and more worringly, only 5 points clear of relegation)

August 19, 2018

Well at least that's gone right for me.

August 23, 2018

OK, that might be a possible escape hatch. And would be a good place to land.

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Yanbian - Wuhan (Jia League)

I decided to go 5-3-2 to counter Wuhan's 4-4-2. It really didn't stop then for being all over us, though we were restricting them to long-range efforts. WHEN SUDDENLY! In the 35th minute, we cross into the 6-yard box and a Wuhan defender attempting to clear it instead slices it into his own net! An own goal in our favor to give us the lead going into halftime. Is the rub of the green finally about to go in our favor? Nope. Instead we lose a game of head tennis in the 65th minute and have to settle for the draw. That's 7 without a win. And Wuhan fired off 29 shots with 9 on target, whilst we took 11 (4)

Manager's thoughts

OK, something has gone seriously wrong here. Three points from 21 is relegation form, and we're suddenly in danger of getting sucked into the fight at the bottom. I switched out of our 4-2-3-1, thinking maybe we'd gotten stale in it and other teams had cracked it. But our other two available tactics were carved open as well.

Some of it is suspensions and injuries forcing some makeshift lineups, but we're not passing the ball as well as we have in the past, and our backline has decided to play "Ole" defense. And our first two matches of September are against the 1st and 2nd placed teams. The season is potentially spiraling out of our control now.

Promotion definitely looks out of reach now, and probably the best we can hope for is to fight our way back to 7th, which at least would meet the goal of a top-half finish.