vikeologist Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 South Korea's East Asian Cup A month before the East Asia Cup I went on record on the forum as saying that we were 99% certain of winning the tournament. By the time it started I was a lot less certain. We had 5 of the first choice 11 out injured, at least for the first, and most important, match against Japan. Our entire squad was so decimated that in the end it was hard to pick 22 players because I was having to go further down the depth chart than ever before and consider players that were nowhere near good enough. I had 4 goalkeepers, as I called up my club and country goalie, (Junkie) in the hope that he would recover from his broken jaw in time for at least the final match. That’s not his real name of course. Starting from my time at Seoul I’ve given some of the Korean players’ nicknames so I can tell them apart. Other players in the squad include Bungo, Soo-Soo, Heart, Flash, Simbo, Jhon and Moon. Kronk, Oh-Oh and J-Sung were amongst the (approximately) 8 players unavailable for the squad because of injury who otherwise would have been included. In the end 16 of the chosen 22 were 30 or over. This reflected the fact that it was mostly the younger players who had picked up long term injuries, and my falling back on tried and tested veterans. It also reflects the fact though that the best days of the squad may be behind them. Hopefully they can hold on for another 12 months. I worry that many of them will quit after this summer’s World Cup, where in reality they would all go for one last try at the major international trophy (Asian Cup) that has eluded their entire generation. The East Asian Cup hasn’t eluded them though. South Korea had won 6 of the last 7 iterations, the only exception being my glorious victory with China in 2021. Anyway, in the end we won all 3 matches, and thus the tournament, but the matches were a lot closer than all our previous matches against Asian opposition. I sort of hoped that China would put up a good show. Their world ranking could have been due to the fact that (as hosts of the upcoming World Cup) this tournament was their first competitive action for a while. With a squad full of my heroes from Guangzhou’s Champions league, maybe they would turn out to be sleeping giants. No. Their record was P3, W0, D0, L3, F0, Ag12. 20 of their squad of 22 were 30 or over, (the youngest is 27). It made me a little sad. They’re in the same group as Argentina, Bulgaria and Canada. As the home team, they are top seeds, and you might think they stand a chance, but bear in mind that Canada are basically Toronto FC, the Club World Champions. They’re going to get slaughtered. Anyway this cup puts me in the top 10 Scottish managers’ Hall of Fame, (the first hall of Fame I’ve got into given that my successes are spread around the globe). My board are however still just satisfied. I dodged a sacking-shaped bullet here, but it will be a lot harder to do that at the World Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 NW - Bad luck on your time at Dempo. They do say you should never go back, especially when the first time was in an alternate universe. It certainly is a problem that many jobs that become vacant are because the club is in a mess. I've taken a big chance taking over Dortmund, as half the squad was (and indeed still is) on at least 5 times too much money, over the hill and unsellable. like you I've got to try to make it to the end of the season where a lot of them will leave at the end of their contracts and free up a staggering amount of salary space. Surviving is by no mean certain however as the board expected me to progress from the Euro Cup group (despite being bottom with two game to go) reach the semis of the German Cup (we reached the quarters) and achieve a mid-table finish despite being in relegation trouble when I took over. I spent my entire transfer budget on the mid-season acquisition of my right winger from Hertha, Luis Gustavo for £7.5 million. A bargain since he was only available so cheaply because his contract was running out and he had no intention of staying. He's world class and was by a county mile the best player at Hertha. But at Dortmund, he's been really mediocre in his first 4 games. I don't know how this can be happening as my team tactics and his role are identical. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Nice work with the League and Champs League double burtur... Good luck with Real. Ouch with Dempo NormandyWept... Ouch! - Now come on Bengaluru! Well done making it into the Scottish Managers Hall of Fame top 10 vikeologist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Bengaluru FC - Season 2020/2021 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 My second season in Bangalore was comfortably the best of my career so far. Whilst East Bengal kept their iron grip on the Federation Cup with another victory over us in the Final, by then we had lifted the Durand Cup (the third oldest knockout competition in the world!), the second piece of silverware of my career. Mohun Bagan then painfully outpaced us in the run-in to clinch the title over us on goal difference, but a Cup win and 2nd place was much better than anyone had expected, delighting our board despite the continuing financial pressure on the club. The fans are obviously well on side, not least because we have achieved this by consistently bringing through youth players into the first team. Whilst winger Satish Ali is making the questionable decision of jumping ship to (still struggling) Dempo on a free transfer when the season ends, we retain his near-namesake, superb forward Ashok Ali, who has become our captain, established himself in the India first team, and been named India Emerging Young Player of the Year with excellent back-to-back seasons. I believe 2nd in the league should be enough for a place in the AFC Cup, but await confirmation. In the meantime, preparations continue for a challenge again next season where I hope we can follow up the Cup success this season with the first league title of my fledgling career. Career Summary Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF Manager of the Year 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Manager of the Year. Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F Missed title on goal difference Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Bengaluru FC - Season 2021/2022 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 The day after our goal-difference title defeat to end the 2020/21 season, my Chief Scout recommended two new players in the shape of Nigerian defender Kelvin Okoro and Brazilian right winger Flavio, both available on free transfers and both rated five-star by him and my assistant. Both were quickly recruited along with a number of squad players released by other Indian teams, as we took advantage of a suddenly much-larger wage budget. That wasn't to last, with the Board cutting the budget drastically mid-season, but our success on the pitch meant that their threats that I would have to adhere to the suddenly smaller budget never came to anything. For much of the league campaign it looked as if we would go unbeaten, but a smash-and-grab defeat to Lajong in the penultimate game of the season put an end to that hope after we had gone more than thirty games without tasting defeat. Even more disappointing was a surprise exit from the Asian Confederations Cup at the hands of Hong Kong side South China, but overall I had to be happy with my debut season in continental football. I'm really pleased with how I have managed to turn my career around. Life at Bengaluru is now superb, and we will strengthen further this summer to both attempt to retain our domestic crown, and to give a good account of ourselves in our first season in the Asian Champions League. It was small news compared to the title win, but we also finally managed to lift the Federation Cup, no doubt assisted by finally not having to play East Bengal FC in the Final! Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Continental Other & Notes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF Manager of the Year 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Manager of the Year. Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won ACC R2 Manager of the Year LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 IND 2021/22 2020/21 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 NW - Well done on your first league title. So India have a Champions league slot? How long do you think you're going to stay at Bengaluru? Good luck in the Champions League, and if you're staying for a full season victory lap, I hope you manage the unbeaten thing. Getting though a season in four and a half hours is pretty impressive. It usually takes me about that much gameplay between the last game of a season and the first competitive fixture of the next; longer if I have an international tournament in the middle. Anyway, I hope that you're going to move on at some point, and make further progress with the challenge. I mean, winning the CL with an Indian side would be awesome, but if you managed it you would replace Burtur as our current deity in residence. Any thoughts about where you'll go next? Does a return to Australia to vanquish your enemies appeal? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 NW - Well done on your first league title. So India have a Champions league slot? How long do you think you're going to stay at Bengaluru? Good luck in the Champions League, and if you're staying for a full season victory lap, I hope you manage the unbeaten thing. Thanks vikeologist; Indian champions go into Asian CL qualifying, I believe. In real life they've never had a team make the competition proper, but hopefully we can buck that trend. It's hard to know what level the league is at - players like Flavio and another Brazilian free transfer signing I've made are clear five-star players for both current and potential ability for me but it'll be interesting to scout them when I'm at another team. In the Asian CC we were overwhelming favourites for every single game we played with our victory usually at odds of 1-30 or similar. I'm sure the CL is going to be much tougher but I want to stay for this season and see how we do. I won't deny that going unbeaten after frustratingly losing one game late this season would also be very satisfying and is probably the main motivation for staying on. My contract is up next summer, so I'm inclined not to sign a new one unless we're romping the CL, which I suspect is unlikely. So the plan is stay for one year, hopefully win another title and a cup or two to boost the rep, try and cause an upset or two in continental football to spread my name around Asia. Then on to new pastures. Getting though a season in four and a half hours is pretty impressive. It usually takes me about that much gameplay between the last game of a season and the first competitive fixture of the next; longer if I have an international tournament in the middle. League campaigns in India are a mere 20 games long which certainly helps the pace. I'm playing on Classic and have been making liberal use of the Instant Result button now I'm happy with my tactical system: I'm using it for every friendly game, and started also using it once the league / cup group qualification were foregone conclusions, to try and accelerate into some more interesting seasons which I hope are coming up and get stuck into the challenge proper! In a new job I'll likely slow down whilst I get the system right for my players. I'd love to make a 4-4-2 work after failing miserably with it so far in previous jobs. I agree that planning for a new season can take as long or longer than getting through a chunk of "the real thing". Pre-season between these two campaigns was simple: I had a lot of confidence in the squad that finished 2nd only on goal difference, my Chief Scout identified two marquee signings that could make a hell of a difference, and we had zero transfer budget so it was only players released by other clubs who I could add around the squad for depth. Anyway, I hope that you're going to move on at some point, and make further progress with the challenge. I mean, winning the CL with an Indian side would be awesome, but if you managed it you would replace Burtur as our current deity in residence. Any thoughts about where you'll go next? Does a return to Australia to vanquish your enemies appeal? Winning the CL seems very unlikely, I agree. Australia is definitely appealing; I applied for the Melbourne City job during my first Bengaluru campaign and was laughed off but hopefully the silverware in the meantime will allow me to land a very good job back in the land down under. In real life, Wanderers won the CL immediately following the FM2015 start date, so I'm hopeful Austrlian clubs are a realistic proposition for the CL. If not, I'll have to try South Korea: I've been put off of managing there or in China in attempt #2 as I find the names a nightmare. (Having Ashok Ali, Ashok Sali and Satish Ali all in my Bengaluru squad at one point was bad enough!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Yes, well, understandably I don't have a problem with the Chinese names, but as discussed above, my South Korean squad is so nicknamed-up they sound like a mixture of Gladiators (a Tv show maybe before your time) and rejected names for the seven dwarves. Bullet, Limey, Darwin, Spidey and Juice are the latest names I've come up with. Managing Ivory Coast was a nightmare as well, as the entire population seemed to share about 2 surnames; Diallo and Kone. It's probably even more fun if you give them really obscene nicknames, but the danger would be becoming too accustomed to them, discussing your four lettered star striker by name on the forum and having your account and all your posts deleted for breaking the forum's obscenity rules. I actually had to slightly change the nickname of one of mine (in an earlier post) because I had a nagging feeling that it was an obscure but still potentially offensive racist epithet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Gladiators (a Tv show maybe before your time) No, I remember Gladiators - must be older than you think ;-) Naming my entire team off of them or finding a similar pattern sounds quite amusing actually, might give it a go! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Bengaluru FC - Season 2022/2023 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 Two defeats in our first three league games meant that hopes of an unbeaten league season were nothing more than a pipe dream, and whilst I remained confident of overcoming Mohun Bagan on at least goal difference through a campaign broken up by our efforts in other competitions, it was to turn out that we ultimately ended up short on the results to reclaim our league title. The pre-season cup campaigns went better as we claimed the Durand Cup for the second time and lost only in the Final of the Federation Cup, continuing our proud tradition of delighting the fans and dishing out medals to our players, including outstanding new Brazilian striker Ranierre who displaced homegrown Ali from our team after the latter's poor run of form and quickly broke the club's single-season goalscoring record in spite of having been originally targeted to replace Australian Sean Rooney on our left flank. Our Asian CL campaign lasted until the 3rd Qualifying Round East, ensuring that even defeat there on penalties dumped us back into the Confederations Cup. We extended our run in that competition to the Quarter Final stage that the board expected, in turn continuing the continental silverware challenge into the 2023/24 season. I'll see out our effort to win Asia's secondary continental competition before I move on to our new club: although this again won't be Melbourne City FC after they ridiculously laughed me off once again, in spite of my multiple trophies here in India and double Manager of the Year awards in their country. Perth Glory took me more seriously before opting elsewhere, so I hope that the continental Cup triumph in early season this time can set me up for a major job in Australia or South Korea and in turn the first of the many Champions League wins I need for the challenge. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF Remain 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Looking much better at Bengaluru NormandyWept. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 The Ultimate Challenge: Brettney Edition; The season started off great for us, going on a long unbeaten run that saw us go clear (7 points) at the top, the self destructions of both Tampines and DPMM helped with both really struggling to even make it into the top half of the table for most of the season. We eventually finished the season 9 points clear and in doing so not only do i cross off Title number 1 but Woodlands win their very first S-League Championship. We fell out of the League Cup at the Semi final stage losing 3-2 versus Tampines, but managed to once again win the Singapore Cup, winning us a double for the second time in 3 seasons. The Squad|S-League Table| Singapore Hall of Fame. Key Players; Bah Mamadou|Ricardo Da Silva|Fazrul Nawaz Player of the Year! Transfers; Youth Candidate's Season Team Position Notes Challenge Landmarks 2014 Woodlands (Singapore) 7th Took over 17 games in (8th) Cup Double (League Cup and S-Cup) 2015 Woodlands (Singapore) 4th Too many injuries! League Cup won. 2016 Woodlands (Simgapore) 1st Champions! S-League Title + Singapore Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtur Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Normandy is going through the seasons like coffee goes through the digestive system! Well done on your cups and league win i India. Where does that league rank compared to the Australian one? If it is far behind then your triumphs there won't count for much. Brettney. On your way as well! Not bad at all. What's your plan now? Going to stay there or moving on? Vikeologist Your second East Asia Cup, congratz! When is the AFC Asian Cup? You must be in with a shout there! Oh and thanks for the "Deity" remark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Looking much better at Bengaluru NormandyWept. You're not kidding! Congratulations on your title with Woodlands Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Jeju United FC - Season 2024 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 Defeat in the Quarter Final of the Asian Confederation Cup saw me leave Bengaluru before the new league campaign kicked off, and Jeju United were the South Korean side who took a gamble on my career having turned a corner by appointing me as their manager. I had to check several times that Kevin Keegan hadn't been my predecessor at Jeju, with only four defenders contracted to the club the day I took over and with four of our top five players being strikers. Our shortages at full back in particular and the need to make the most of the attacking talent led me to a 3-5-2 formation, which served us brilliantly in attack but did lead to us conceding far too many goals, with the system especially exposed after the league split, leaving us with only top-level opposition with the result that we didn't win a game in the 'group stage' of the league. The mid-season transfer window had seen me follow up on a visit by my chief scout to my old stomping ground by making two acquisitions from Bengaluru for a combined £39,000. Whilst the fans recognise that Brazilian forward Ranniere is a fine signing, they remain uncertain about Nigerian defender Kelvin Okoro, but his transition to a right back in the summer should help as we switch to a back four which should give us a much better platform: I've also lined up a new South Korean acquisition for the opposite side so the transition should be smooth and ensure we can defend well enough to push on and make the Asian CL next year. All in all, a good landing in a new country. Being at a financially stable club is a refreshing change, and hopefully we can push on from here into continental football in the coming years, with South Korea a much stronger league to challenge for a Champions League title. (I'm also finding that the names aren't quite as painful as I'd thought: hooray!) Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Jeju United FC - Season 2025 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 We slipped back in the league, mainly due to a reduced goal output, but our squad is getting stronger and it feels only a matter of time before Jeju break into the top group in this league. We have a fantastic young team, full of promise, and I hope we can soon start converting that into results. Apparently our owner will no longer pump money into the club, however we look stable despite this and I'm confident of building over 2-3 more years to the point where we can be genuine challengers on every front. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 burtur: I'm staying on for now, going to have a crack at the Confed cup. But if an interesting job comes up in China or Australia i'll be heading there. You're not kidding!Congratulations on your title with Woodlands Thanks, good luck with your new club Jeju. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Vikeologist's 2033/4 Hertha Berlin (And South Korea) and Dortmund End of Season Report For the third season in a row, 6th in the league, but a very different season because I changed team after 12 games of the season. 12 league games was all that Dortmund gave their new manager, but he had no room for complain as when I replaced him Dortmund (one of the big 2 teams) was third from bottom and rock bottom of their Euro Cup group. I knew that the squad was full of horrendously overpaid has-beens and never-will-bes, but it's such a big club I couldn't turn the job down after they approached me for an interview without my even applying. A part of my consideration was that hertha were having a pretty bad campaign. In the league match after the interview they were 3-0 up at half time, and I thought I might stay, but it ended up 4-4, and I thought sod you. You don't deserve me. My first league game with Dortmund was away to league champions (22 times in a row now) Bayern, but we won. Admittedly we scored a lucky goal and then played a 5-5-0 formation. I couldn't stop them going out of the Euro Cup. (I mean, we would have progressed if we'd won both of our games under me, but it wasn't my fault, ok?). I also went out of the German Cup in the quarter finals (to Hertha) and my job seemed in danger for a match or two, but we were making solid progress up the league. The board wanted a mid-table finish, but in the end we secured 6th place, which would be enough for a spot in the Euro Cup. Except that this season there are only 6 continental spots and Hertha were in the German Cup final. If they beat Bayern and won the cup for the first time in their history, they would have denied us continental football, but Bayern hammered them, and we're in the Euro Cup (again). I reduced the wage bill as much as I could, but it's not as though many teams are going to take on crap players on £150k a week. At the end of the season I'll be releasing deadwood attracting £1million per week (the equivalent of Hertha's entire wage bill, and more than 10 of the 18 teams in the division). I will need to bring in some new defenders, and have already arranged for a new fab goalkeeper. Junkie, our current first choice, is pretty good, but it was his unavailability through injury that knocked us out of the German Cup (7-1)and after a 5-0 loss nearly cost me my job. God knows at the moment we'll need the world class goalie, because we don't have any decent defenders. It could be a tricky off-season and I'll have to hope that the new players I bring in can gel, and that I can get rid of the deadwood whose contracts are not expiring. Now on to the World Cup, and my star striker Kim Yong-Won is out with an injury, but we do have some other good strikers so as long as they stay healthy, it's not a complete disaster. Season Team Position Notes Challenge Landmarks 14/15 Swallows(South Africa) 14th Took over after 14 (of 30)games in 16th bottom position. Dodged relegation. 15/16 Swallows 12th South African FA Cup winner. Continental qualification. 1 domestic cup 16/17 Swallows 3rd Champions League qualification 17/18 Swallows 3rd 18/19 Swallows & Kaizer Chiefs2nd Quit Swallows mid-season. Took over Kaiser Chiefs with 9 games of the season left 19/20 Kaizer Chiefs/ChU23 2nd Won 2 domestic cups. 20/21 Kaizer Chiefs / China 2nd Lost in Champions League Final on away goals 21/22 Kaizer Chiefs/China 1st Lost in Champions league semi-final. Won 36 straight matches and East Asia Cup 1 domestic league 22/23 Kaizer Chiefs/ China n/a Won African Champions League. Humiliated nation of China. African Champions League 2023 Seoul 1st Won South Korean League 2nd domestic league 2024 Seoul / Brazil U23 3rd Won FA Cup 2nd domestic cup 2025 Cruz Azul 9th Won FA Cup (Opening Stage). Then I was sacked. 3rd domestic cup 2026 Chivas 2nd Manager for one match. Lost title in extra time of 2nd leg of league final. 26/27 Chivas /Ivory Coast 6th/1st Won NACL. Lost Closing stage final of Mexican 1st Div (again) NACL 27 Chivas / Ivory Coast 5th Lost in Opening Stage semi-final and resigned after CWC Q/F 28 Dalian / Ivory Coast 11th Lost in FA Cup Final / Lost in 2029 ACON Q/F 29 Guangzhou / Egypt 1st League / Cup double. Qualified for World Cup 4th cup, 3rd league 30 Guangzhou/Egypt/USA 1st League / Champions League double Asian Champions League 31/2 Hertha Berlin 6th German Cup losing finalists. Qualified for UEFA Cup 32/33 Hertha Berlin/S Korea 6th UEFA Cup losing finalists. 33/34 HB/ SK/ Dortmund 6th Moved team after 12 games. Won East Asia Cup again, this time with Korea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Interesting switch there Vikeologist, good luck with Dortmund going forward. Hopefully you can turn them around and break Bayern's stranglehold. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dap1987 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Good luck with breaking the Bayern stranglehold in Germany! 22 years is ridiculous really, time for a new name on the trophy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre2807 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 This is my first challenge, but I'm unsure as to how many countries I should load. Is small database fine? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 yes. You can add and remove nations later. bear in mind though that, if you only load 1 nation and 1 division, it might take longer for any jobs to become vacant. I suggest you start with at least 2 divisions / nations and allow 6-9 months to find a good first job. I'm unsure what problems a small database will present if any. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtur Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Vikeologist: First off, that Dortmund logo...is it big enough? Kidding. Gratz on the new job I like it that you are now in shark mode. That's the only way forward in this challenge in my opinion. Dortmund is a fun club and I'm sure their stature and resources will allow you to win the league. On the subject of goalkeepers. So far, in my save, I have always taken control of a team that had an ageing goalie in their squad (apart from my first job). Can't remember who the goalie was at Metz, but at Inter Handanovic was 36 years old and still number one. Man City still had Joe Hart as their number one and at Real Madrid they had Hugo Lloris as their number one, 37 years old. Mind you, they were all decent keepers but they weren't World Class and that's why their teams failed to meet their expectations. So I always have a few good goalies on my radar I can snap up when I move teams. Database, I personally always play with a large database. It obviously affects the number of players available in the game. Whether it is crucial or not, I can not say but I always find myself playing with a large database. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre2807 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Unfortunately I'm playing on FM14 and my age is 25 and not 20... I hope this isn't a problem for the challenge. So after three unsuccessful interviews with Ajax Cape Town and African Warriors, finally a South Korean team accepted my job application! My career will officially start as a manager from 20 December 2013. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 The Ultimate Challenge: Brettney Edition; Season 2017. Another season, another double in the bag. We managed to pick up the S-League title in a great season aswell as the asian Confederation cup, with a fairly generous draw. The Confed. Cup final. The Squad|S-League Table| Key Players; Fazrul Nawaz|Walid Lounis|Alemayo Kebede|Oki Derry Andryan Transfers. Managed to persuade the board to spend some money... Youth Candidate's Season Team Position Notes Challenge Landmarks 2014 Woodlands (Singapore) 7th Took over 17 games in (8th) Cup Double (League Cup and S-Cup) 2015 Woodlands (Singapore) 4th Too many injuries! League Cup won. 2016 Woodlands (Simgapore) 1st Champions! S-League Title + Singapore Cup. 2017 Woodlands (Singapore) 1st Won Confed. Cup. League and Confed Cup Double. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Jeju United FC - Season 2026 League | Schedule Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 A disappointing season overall as we suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat in the Cup and struggled to another 8th-placed finish in the league. In pre-season I'd made three big-money moves, acquiring left midfielders Yoo Sang-Hyun (£190k) and Tarek Kouakbi (£400k) and striker Lee Jae-Hwan (£230k) as I decided to finally use some of our big balance. The hope was that this would add to a squad at the club that I already really liked, and allow us to really push on, but we really struggled to make our dominance in games count, especially in a period where both Lee Jae-Hwan and Ranniere were out injured, leaving us without the crucial touch to finish many of our moves. A board takeover in the season saw a new local businessman in charge and he would have been pleased that we got good money for full backs Kim Kyung-Won and Kelvin Okoro when their foreign-club minimum fee clauses were triggered by Krasnodar and Petrolul respectively at the end of the European summer transfer window, but this didn't help our late-season form. Our scouts have identified a free transfer replacement for Kim in the shape of Iranian youngster Faisal Khrees who will join in January, but Okoro is going to be a big miss. I think we'll have a foreign player slot free with the others occupied by Ranniere, Kouakbi and Khrees, so we should have maximum options for a good replacement. An interesting dynamic in Korea is military service, which often results in us losing young players to two-year "loan" deals, and we have a few of that type of player returning too to bulk out the squad a little, but noone really special. It's probably make or break time for Jeju next year: we need to start taking chances, winning more games and get into the top of the table, where this squad ought to be. Early in the campaign I was on the list of favourites for bigger jobs when they came up, and feeling very confident about making it in this league, but the late-season form has changed things a little and we'll need a strong start to next season. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Jeju United FC - Season 2027 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 I switched to 4-4-2 to accommodate both Ranniere and Lee Jae-Hwan in the same team, although the goalscoring feats of both were outdone by intended squad rotation signing and surprise player of the year Oh Jae-Young, who hit 24 goals and 9 assists in 29 appearances as we found the new system gave us greater goal chances, from both a quantity and quality perspective. A sensational first half of the season also led to my taking charge of my first All Star Game, although we disappointingly failed to defeat the part-timer K Challenge All Stars, who made it back-to-back wins in the marquee game. With a series of bids coming in for our players again and a slide in results in the second half of the season, it looked as if I was right back to square one again for the following campaign, only for the sacking of Kim Hae-Sung to give me a way out and into the job at Pohang Steelers, the four-time Asian Champions League winners. A new chapter in my Korean adventure begins... Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Pohang Steelers FC - Season 2027 League | Schedule Pohang Steelers was the club that had eliminated Jeju from the FA Cup, therefore my move across Korea reinstated me to the competition, and two wins later I was finally a champion for the first time in South Korea. An FA Cup win in turn qualified the club for the Asian Champions League, and led the board to announce a preliminary transfer budget of an astounding £7m for the coming season. It's clear therefore that this club has resources above and beyond what I've worked with so far. It has also won the Champions League four times: three times in real world history and once more since my Challenge effort began. This club has the right platform to make that five, and hopefully I can make that happen sooner rather than later. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place 2027 KOR Pohang 5th won Took over after 32 games, in 5th place LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR 2027 All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Better try this out. Going with FMC as time is limited at the moment. Danilo Bandini got his first gig at South African club Jomo Cosmos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Better try this out.Going with FMC as time is limited at the moment. Welcome to the challenge, and good luck with Jomo Cosmos! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Pohang Steelers FC - Season 2028 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 Some clubs remain unable to meet their objectives because they don't realise the important connection between stability and results, and never has that been more true than of Pohang in the 2028 campaign. As mentioned previously, I had an enormous £7m transfer budget, but I chose not to go overboard: we already had some talented youngsters in my foreign player spots, so there weren't clear ways to spend our way to a "South Korean League Select XI". Rather I ensured we had good first- and second-choice players, and whilst it wasn't quite where I wanted to be at the end of the campaign, I thought our start was decent. Unfortunately it did include a Champions League exit, albeit from a very difficult group and having been unlucky in the games we lost. But truly, to be sacked when we were 5th after 16 games and would almost certainly improve on that after the continental exit, was utterly ridiculous. Pohang will now seek their 4th manager in as many years and it's clear that this policy, as opposed to the triumphant 14 years they allowed Hwang Sun-Hong, will not get them anywhere near the fifth Champions League title that they crave. My fourth sacking comes as a serious personal surprise, but hopefully my reputation is the best it has been and I can land a new job soon. A return to Australia or South Africa would be particularly ideal. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place 2027 KOR Pohang 5th won Took over after 32 games, in 5th place 2028 KOR Pohang CL GS Sacked after 16 games, in 5th place LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR 2027 All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Whizzed through the seasons NormandyWept. Didn't go great in Korea for you... The Pohang sacking looks pretty strange. If you head to Australia explain the Squad rules to me.... :confused: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 The Ultimate Challenge: Brettney Edition; Season 2018. I thought about quitting on a high, but with no jobs jumping out i continued on at Woodlands while keeping an eye on the Vacant jobs list... National C License completed. New york Red Bulls!? ... No Good. Cape Town... .. Black Aces' Board unhappy! ... And Sacked! S-League Table as i leave. Hired. New club: Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia). Western Sydney Wanderers: Background. The Table when i took over. The League registration rules are going to take some getting used to ... First game in charge ... The Injury curse follows me. Finances|Results|Squad A-League Table|Hyundai Final Series Key Players; Tomi Juric|Yojiro Takahagi|Nikita Rukavytsya Season Team Position Notes Challenge Landmarks 2014 Woodlands (Singapore) 7th Took over 17 games in (8th) Cup Double (League Cup and S-Cup) 2015 Woodlands (Singapore) 4th Too many injuries! League Cup won. 2016 Woodlands (Simgapore) 1st Champions! S-League Title + Singapore Cup. 2017 Woodlands (Singapore) 1st Won Confed. Cup. League and Confed Cup Double. 2018 Woodlands (Singapore) 1st when left. Sacked! 2017/18 Wanderers FC 5th Took over 26th March Final of Hyandai Finals Series Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Whizzed through the seasons NormandyWept. Didn't go great in Korea for you... The Pohang sacking looks pretty strange. If you head to Australia explain the Squad rules to me.... :confused: I'm actually still in Korea, as you'll see from the next update! Finished out that season with another club, finishing in about the same sort of place I have been doing. One of these years I really need to break into the CL qualification places in the league. I'm on Classic mode, so the only squad rule I have to deal with in Australia is a foreign player limit, similar to what I've had to deal with in both India and South Korea. When I finally get to Europe it will be great to have so many more nations to pick from! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors - Season 2028 League | Schedule Luckily the brief spell at Pohang hadn't hurt my reputation and I was out of a job for only two rounds of fixtures before the brilliantly named Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors came calling. Clearly I am now known as one of the top managers currently operating in Korea. Whilst Jeonbuk don't quite have the resources of Pohang, they are a top club with more money than I had at Jeju. I kept the changes to the minimum for the remainder of my first campaign, and we managed to recover only two places in the league, ending up in the 5th place I'd finished in with Pohang and been fired for being on track for delivering again. (As I predicted, Pohang did recover slightly, moving up to third, and I'm pretty sure would have done at least that with me still in charge.) Bigger changes will now come in the summer to try and push for Champions League football, with about £2.5m available to spend to achieve that. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place 2027 KOR Pohang 5th won Took over with 6 games remaining, in 5th place 2028 KOR Pohang CL GS Sacked after 16 games, in 5th place 2028 KOR Jeonbuk 5th SF Took over with 20 games remaining, in 7th place LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR 2027 All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I'm actually still in Korea, as you'll see from the next update! Finished out that season with another club, finishing in about the same sort of place I have been doing. One of these years I really need to break into the CL qualification places in the league.I'm on Classic mode, so the only squad rule I have to deal with in Australia is a foreign player limit, similar to what I've had to deal with in both India and South Korea. When I finally get to Europe it will be great to have so many more nations to pick from! I have never even loaded up classic mode, always just assumed it would be too restrictive. It's the seemingly not being able to sign anyone with an agent thats throwing me... Unless i'm just not getting something. A 2 game improvement since you took over... Hopefully Jeonbuk are your team! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors - Season 2029 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 Another year, another sacking. I feel like I've badly missed my opportunity to really make a success of Korea: I should have spent Pohang's money when I had the chance to make a real go of the Champions League. We had a solid start this year with Jeonbuk, but a run of draws late in the season killed our title and indeed top-three-finish chances. I took the opportunity to take some very lucrative offers from Europe for some of our top players, with the intent of a more pronounced rebuild in the summer, aiming for star players for what looked the best tactical system I've had in this country, but this only contributed to a further slide of results and the board were dissatisfied with the way the league finish was panning out despite some very healthy financial implications. Looking for a way out, I applied for the Sydney FC job which became available as we were playing out the last few games. The board offered me the opportunity to resign, and when I instead tried to apologise to them for the Sydney application, I found myself sacked for the fifth time. Goodness knows how long the challenge is going to take at this rate -- it's a good job I am getting through the seasons quickly! Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place 2027 KOR Pohang 5th won Took over with 6 games remaining, in 5th place 2028 KOR Pohang CL GS Sacked after 16 games, in 5th place 2028 KOR Jeonbuk 5th SF Took over with 20 games remaining, in 7th place 2029 KOR Jeonbuk R4 Sacked after 35 games, in 7th place LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR 2027 All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Season review 2014/15 - Jomo Cosmos South African National First Division - 8th A pretty good starting season. As we started with 3 straight defeats I wondered if this was the wrong team to take, but after a few tweaks to the tactics we began playing really well. We cut some deadweight on the salary scale and started bringing in players to evolve the playing squad. Especially pacey striker Tafadzwa Rusike will become vital next season. This year he ended with 7 goals and 6 assists in 10 games. Our cup venture went bad quickly as we got knocked out at the earliest opportunity. As I always use reserves in the cup tournaments I often feel excused for these matches. This time I didn't so... Yeah... We sucked! At least we managed to do well above expectations with a 5th place. Not really close to top-3. Target Man Motha played his part in reaching this with his 7.29 average rating. Season preview 2015/16 - Jomo Cosmos Stabilize ourselves among the top-5 and maybe if things go well challenge for promotion. A lot of players contracts are about the expire in the coming month and that should give us the salary room to sign strengthening to the team. Hopefully we won't be as hunted by injuries like this year. Our squad will be much thinner next year. Bold prediction of the year: Top-3 finish and Rusike will become the topscorer in the league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Jeju United FC - Season 2030 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 On leaving Jeonbuk I had the chance to return to Jeju United, my first Korean club and the only one that showed any loyalty or patience. It seemed as good an idea as any, and a two-year contract was soon signed. The club didn't have the money to make transfers without sales, but it did have a decent overall squad still and had been underachieving to an extent. I gave a decent account of myself, most notably in my final two games where I beat my two much richer other former Korean clubs in very satisfying style. But the club's position was not getting any better and with mid-season slashes to the wage bill and constant discussions of finances and the need to sell in every appraisal meeting, it was clear it would be a long hard slog to get Jeju to the status of Champions League contender. Finally I got a win-win opportunity, the chance to return to Australian football whilst collecting Jeju a not-insignificant £65k in compensation. The Korean mis-adventure is over. Here's hoping the Asian CL is an easier nut to crack coming from Australia, and that I do rather better in the A-League than I did with Wanderers a whopping twelve in-game years ago. Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place 2027 KOR Pohang 5th won Took over with 6 games remaining, in 5th place 2028 KOR Pohang CL GS Sacked after 16 games, in 5th place 2028 KOR Jeonbuk 5th SF Took over with 20 games remaining, in 7th place 2029 KOR Jeonbuk R4 Sacked after 35 games, in 7th place 2030 KOR Jeju Left for Wellington job after 16 games, in 4th place LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR 2027 All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 NW - Erm, I'll get around to a proper congratulations / commiserations etc once I've finished my South korea World cup adventure; but I think Wellington are in new Zealand, and therefore can't take part in the Asian Champions League. So, you'll only be able to use them as a springboard if you wat to take part in the ACL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I think Wellington are in new Zealand, and therefore can't take part in the Asian Champions League. So, you'll only be able to use them as a springboard if you wat to take part in the ACL. Now this is worrying! I realised that they are NZ, but thought that like Swansea/Cardiff they'd be able to take part in continental football representing the league that they play in. Like you say, if that doesn't work out then I'll have to just get some domestic success in the A-League and jump to one of the Aussie teams. I'm frankly sick of Korea so it was a case of anything to get out and try a different approach! I'm switching out the Korean league for the Chinese one too on a similar basis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 NW - Wellington definitely aren't going to be in the Champions League. It's in the manual for FM15. The game doesn't even seem to have Wellington as winners of their own champions league. Auckland seem to pop up every World Club championship. What to say about your career so far? In my save Jeonbuk are a far bigger club than Pohang. I wonder if that's because of a tycoon in either my save or yours. The trouble with the big clubs is that you rarely get the time to establish yourself, but when I've tried to develop a mid-level club, I've been enticed by a big club. Anyway, you're not doing so badly in terms of challenge landmarks per playing time, and you're making this one of the most active threads almost single-handed. Good luck in New Zealand / Australia. Muggert - A solid first season. Hopefully you'll get promoted this season. Oh, and there won't be a special update from me on South Korea's World Cup. We lost to France, England (very heavily) and even Uruguay. I don't think my job is in danger. Perhaps winning the East asia Cup did count for something. It's become clear though that the national team is hitting a fallow period at the wrong time for me, (caused perhaps by the 3 seasons South Korea wasn't an active league in-between my winning the Asian Champions League and re-activating it 11 months after getting the national job). Brettney - Hard luck losing in the final. Is winning the grand final going to be the way of winning the league that counts as a challenge landmark, or would you count being top of the final table as counting? One of the problems with this challenge having an absent baby daddy is that we'll have to agree what counts as achievements in strange leagues like this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brettney1980 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Brettney[/u] - Hard luck losing in the final. Is winning the grand final going to be the way of winning the league that counts as a challenge landmark, or would you count being top of the final table as counting? One of the problems with this challenge having an absent baby daddy is that we'll have to agree what counts as achievements in strange leagues like this. I'd say winning the league is what counts, i'll try and win both though and cover myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtur Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 First off. Muggert, welcome to the challenge and congratz on a decent first season! Does anybody know if FM has an age limit to ones manager. As it stands, Normandy has got one league title under his belt in 16 seasons...we all need at least 10 titles. Will be funny to see if he lifts the World Cup 180 years of age. The only turtle to ever grace the game... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtur Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Just realized that my last post might come across as me making fun of Normandy. I am not at all, I am actually really interested to see how his save pans out.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Just realized that my last post might come across as me making fun of Normandy. I am not at all, I am actually really interested to see how his save pans out.. No offence taken! It's been an interesting adventure and the rate of silverware accumulation definitely needs to speed up! Even if I don't end up finishing this challenge, it's already taken me out of the 'usual suspects' of leagues I play in. And it's getting me a good chunk of the Steam achievements you'd expect from a solid career, too. Edit: that sounded negative! At the moment I'm all in for becoming Lord Turtle of the Ultimate Football Manager Challenge :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Wellington Phoenix FC - Season 2030/31 League | Schedule Part 1 & Part 2 Wellington Phoenix: a brilliant logo, great Dortmund-esque kit, ability to count both Australian and New Zealand players as non-foreign, even the arranged signing by my predecessor of fine young striker Gordon McParland from Hearts: what wasn't there to like about this club? Oh yeah, that's right, they can't play in continental competition, the entire reason I wanted to get away from South Korea. It's clearly been a big mistake to jump away from Jeju, who were similarly a poor team in their league, but I had them overachieving in 4th place when I moved back to Australasia. Whilst I was pleased with my results against Adelaide United in particular in a solid first season with a team considered 150-1 outsiders for the A-League title, it looked like this lot were years away from challenging in the top half of the A-League, and the lack of even an FFA Cup place to help enhance my reputation is particularly worrying. The Perth Glory job came up this summer, but I missed out to my former player (from Wanderers FC back in the day) Nikolai Topor-Stanley. Hopefully I can finish above one or two clubs in the next few seasons to prompt them to take me on. If not, I also now have the Chinese league active, and have cancelled the removal of South Korea just in case I can return to a club like Pohang or, even better, the indomitable FC Seoul. The Turtle rumbles on! Career Summary CLUB CAREER Cups Season Club League 1st 2nd Cont. Other & Notes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014/15 RSA Ajax CT 12th Took over with 3 games remaining, in 15th place 2015/16 RSA Ajax CT R2 R1 Sacked after 16 games, in 16th place 2016/17 AUS Wanderers 6th QF 2017/18 AUS Wanderers won Sacked after 22 games, in 10th place 2018/19 IND Dempo GS Sacked after 19 games, in 11th place 2019/20 IND Bengaluru 6th SF F 2020/21 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F 2021/22 IND Bengaluru 1st GS won CC R2 2022/23 IND Bengaluru 2nd won F CL Q3E 2023/24 IND Bengaluru CC QF Resigned after CC QF defeat/before league season 2024 KOR Jeju 5th SF 2025 KOR Jeju 8th SF 2026 KOR Jeju 8th QF 2027 KOR Jeju QF Left for Pohang job after 32 games, in 7th place 2027 KOR Pohang 5th won Took over with 6 games remaining, in 5th place 2028 KOR Pohang CL GS Sacked after 16 games, in 5th place 2028 KOR Jeonbuk 5th SF Took over with 20 games remaining, in 7th place 2029 KOR Jeonbuk R4 Sacked after 35 games, in 7th place 2030 KOR Jeju Left for Wellington job after 16 games, in 4th place 2030/31 AUS Wellington Phoenix 10th LANDMARKS BY COUNTRY Nat League Win Cup Win Other Milestones --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUS 2017/18 2 x Manager of the Year (2016/17, 2017/18) IND 2021/22 2020/21 Manager of the Year (2021/22), Hall of Fame (2022) KOR 2027 All Star Game Manager (2027) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I think we may all need to manage into our hundreds in order to get the international achievements; though hopefully some of us can achieve the domestic ones before our senescence (sic). That may change if burtur can get a few of the trophies with France, I guess. It is possible to manage when very old. Dafuge has done that a few times in his challenge. He's currently in 2052 in his challenge this year. he doesn't have to get new jobs though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormandyWept Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I think we may all need to manage into our hundreds in order to get the international achievements We may well do. I tried for a couple of international jobs a few years ago but couldn't get one. Priority clearly needs to be the continental trophy, and see which doors it opens. In the meantime, I'm on my way up: Wellington Phoenix's title odds are up from 150-1 last time out to 100-1 this year! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikeologist Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I was fashing about nothing. I didn't get sacked after our terrible World Cup, and none of our players retired from international football. There were plenty of tempting international jobs did become available, but I probably still wouldn't get them anyway. So, I've still got my entire squad staying around for one last hurrah at the Asian Cup in about 6 months; something I'd feel more confident about were it not for our poor performances lately. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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