[FM15] Where the Heck's It Gone? A hunt for lost glories...

[DodgeeD]

September 2028 International Update: CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

Final Table

Not that close in the end, though we were in with a shout until the final game. Surinam were easily beaten home and away, Mexico were way too much for us stuffing us 6-1 in Mexico City (not a great result but it happens from time to time) and 6-1 again in Port of Spain (a total shocker, especially coming as it did just a couple of months after the other game). We were two up at home to Costa Rica but lost out to two goals so late I had to check that Alex Ferguson wasn't in the opposition dugout. We could have advanced had we won our final game in Costa Rica but we lost 1-0 and never really looked like scoring.

As our World Cup adventure ends, a more exotic Caribbean one begins as we enter the CFU Cup in the second round:

We are favourites to go through along with Guadeloupe to reach the third round.

[DodgeeD]

September 2028 Continental Update: Asian Champions League

Quarter finals v. Jeonbuk

Despite Suwon's early exit, I knew the remaining Korean teams would be the ones to beat. A tough tie with Jeonbuk brought about out first defeat of this year's campaign as we went down 2-1 in Jeonju. It was a close game, however, and the away goal scored by Paul Kosmina gave us hope of winning the second leg. We did just that... and we did that just as Kosmina again was the hero, getting an early goal which would ultimately give us a 1-0 win on the night to advance on away goals. The last 15 minutes were very nervy but it was the kind of tie that makes you dare to dream...

Semi-finals v. Pohang

Back to Korea for the third time in a few short months to face competition favourites Pohang. This time, we were sharper (having got into the full swing of A-League pre-season training) and Pohang barely got a look-in. We dominated the match from start to finish and could count ourselves unlucky to have only won 1-0. This time McCann was the goal scorer. In Perth for the return leg, McCann would be the man again scoring after just two minutes. Morin added a second before half-time and the tie was all but over. A Pohang consolation came in injury time but with a 3-1 aggregate win, we were through to the final!

Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia awaitin the two-legged final to be played in October. Before that, I have some CFU Cup action to take care of with T&T.

[DodgeeD]

October 2028 International Update: CFU Caribbean Cup Second Round

Hosts: St Kitts & Nevis

Holders: Jamaica

I went into this tournament not sure what to expect. That didn't really matter though as the T&T FA wanted a semi-final appearance at least, which would mean negotiating two group phases, starting here.

First up, Barbados: we looked great in the first half, dominating the game and cruising into a two goal lead. However, the second half would see a disaster as two of my players (both full-backs) got themselves sent off for stupid tackles. Thankfully, the Barbadians were too useless to even get a goal against nine men and we held on for the win.

The scheduling in this tournament is tough as we were back on the field 48 hours later to face the non-FIFA affiliated but better-than-most-CFU-nations side Guadeloupe. The game was a tough one and we were soon a goal down. Poor concentration in defence allowed a second goal just before half-time from a misplaced backpass. I told my team not to lose their heads at half-time but they didn't listen. Or at least central defender Michael Granger didn't listen and got a red card on 46 minutes. We held on after that, settling for the 2-0 loss.

That meant the last match with Aruba was a must win affair. An early goal settled our nerves and a late one dispelled any doubts of not making it. 2-0 earned us second place in the group and a place in the next group phase to be played in late November.

We got lucky in the sense that we drew host nation St Kitts & Nevis, who were given a bye to this stage. We know Guadeloupe will be tough and Haiti are sure to provide a stern test. We will have to be at our best to make the semis as expected.

[DodgeeD]

[h=2][/h]

October 2028 Continental Update: Asian Champions League Final

My lord! I think I have actually lost years off my real non-FM life after this final. I challenge anyone who doubts the ability of computer games to provoke reactions to live through these two matches as I have...

Leg 1 (a) v. Al-Hilal

This was a tough match. Nogueria had to make a fantastic double save before there was even a minute on the clock and that set the tone for the game. We actually did well to go into the break at 0-0. Alas, on the hour mark, we were a goal down and my focus became making sure we didn't concede again... but I guess the Saudi side got complacent. On 79 minutes, McCann locked onto a long clearance and suddenly, we were level. Unbelievably, Al-Hilal then completely folded. They gave the ball away from the kick-off and moments later McCann was bearing down on goal for a second strike. And we weren't done. Morin got himself in on the act with a long-range piledriver 5 minutes from time. A 3-1 win away? Surely, this was a dream...

Leg 2 (h) v. Al-Hilal

...or a nightmare! Six minutes in and Al-Hilal had pulled back an early goal. But overhauling a 3-1 deficit would be too much to ask, right? On eight minutes, they had pulled another goal back... We led on away goals still until the 17th minute when they sliced our defence open again. We were 3-0 down and all that hard work from the first leg was suddenly gone. But , just like last summer, we decided to do the twist again as Morin scored a goal out of nowhere to get us back in it. Kosmina then made it 2-3 from a free kick putting us ahead again on aggregate. With half-time looming, Vukovic showed his class to accelerate past the defence onto a long ball to draw us level on the night. Morin then completed a crazy first half by getting on the end of a team move to put us 4-3 up at half-time! After all that excitement, the second half was rubbish. No goals, no action but who cared? We had won a crazy, crazy final -4 on aggregate! Perth Glory - Asian Champions!!!

Leg 1 | Leg 2

My first continental trophy. I am after all six don't forget so I will move on soon. However, as the Club World Cup is only a few weeks away, I will stick around for a while first.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Caribbean Cup looks a lot easier.

[DodgeeD]

December 2028 International Update: CFU Caribbean Cup

Hosts: St Kitts & Nevis

Holders: Jamaica

Third Round

We started with what should have been a straightforward tie with St Kitts & Nevis. It wasn't. Buoyed on by the home crowd, the hosts were the better team in the first half and deservedly led at the break. I gave my boys a good talking to at half-time and it just about did the trick as we came back to win 2-1. Guadeloupe were next, a side which had beaten us in the second round just a few weeks before. This time was different however, as we took the game to them and won 3-2, an injury time consolation making it seem closer than it was. With qualification for the semis assured, we went into the Haiti game in a relaxed mood... Too relaxed it would seem as we got spanked. 5-1 was the painful final score as we completely folded. We were through to the final four but that game did not exactly fill me with hope for the semi-finals:

Semi-final v. Surinam

The surprise elimination of Jamaica in the other group meant we would face Surinam, a side we had recently beaten twice in World Cup Qualifying. Alas, the Haiti result had hit a huge dent in our confidence and we did not look good in the game. We had our fair share of chances but Surinam looked dangerous on the break. They took the lead just before the hour mark, we equalised soon after but a poor bit of defending ultimately cost us as they won a late penalty. 2-1 was the final score and we were out.

3rd Place Play-Off v. Curaçao

We would take our frustrations out on Curaçao in the third place play-off. We showed the cutting edge that was lacking in the previous two games in dramatic fashion as we smashed seven past our hapless opponents. 7-0 in a meaningless game... At least we have qualified for next summer's Gold Cup.

Haiti went on to beat Surinam in the final.

[DodgeeD]

2028 FIFA Club World Cup

Hosts: Qatar

Holders: Corinthians

Just 6 weeks after our Asian Champions League triumph, we were on our way to Qatar to take our place alongside the elite of world football in the Club World Cup. In our first match, we would face the Qatari champions Al-Sadd. As we were conquerors of Asia, I was confident of a win and it came easily enough as we won 2-0 without every really breaking a sweat.

Up next? Man City! We did well to hold out as long as we did with City only getting their first goal on 70 minutes. However, that opened the floodgates a little and we ended up losing 3-0. It's never fun to lose but there could be no complaints about the result against vastly superior opposition.

Tijuana of Mexico had upset the odds by reaching the final at the expense of Brazil's Cruzerio, meaning we had a tougher than expected thrid-place play-off. We never looked like winning and although we grabbed a late goal, 2-1 to the Brazilians was a fair result.

Man City won the final to take the Club World Cup crown.

[Adelaidean]

Well done on the Asian Champions League win, good showing at the CWC too.

[deltablue]

Decent effort against Cruzeiro

[DodgeeD]

Well done on the Asian Champions League win, good showing at the CWC too.

Decent effort against Cruzeiro

Thanks guys. The ACL was always the main aim with the CWC just a "let's see what happens" bonus. Prize money from both competitions put Perth Glory firmly in the black as well. Not that it mattered because...

[DodgeeD]

[h=2][/h]

2028 International Review: Trinidad & Tobago

Quick Overview

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying:

Eliminated in Third Round Group Phase

CFU Caribbean Cup:

3rd place

Results:

World Ranking (Dec 2028)



Rankings Graph

Not the best year, it has to be said. We met expectations getting as far as we did in both Word Cup Qualifying and the CFU Cup but we had some pretty dire performances on the way. At one point, we reached 86 in the FIFA rankings but we dropped back a lot after the CFU Cup for some reason.

2029 will see the latest edition of the Gold Cup take place. I will see how that goes and then probably move on to another team or just focus on my club career, wherever that may take me.Our best player at present is this youngster: Kwesi Williams (DC/L). All of our players are based in the Trinibogian league. I have tried to tempt a few League 1 players with dual nationality to join the squad but they all hold a forlorn hope of one day playing for England...

[DodgeeD]

Never one to stay unemployed for long, I had a new job lined up just before New Year's Eve 2028 (it was my application for this post that forced me to resign from Perth):

OK, here we go at one of the biggest clubs in Mexico! Their previous manager left to join St. Ettienne in France, though he may have jumped before he was pushed having just scraped into the apertura play-offs and then losing out in the final.

The expectation for me is to win the clasura, which starts tomorrow! A useful note for the Hexagon Challenge is that América are currently in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals so with a bit of luck, I may have a shortcut there.

For now, I will assess the squad and perhaps make a signing or two before the transfer window closes (I have €25million to spend!!)

In terms of history and facilities, this is easily the biggest club of this career to date:

[Nobby_McDonald]

Be wary of spies at Day of the Dead.

[DodgeeD]

Be wary of spies at Day of the Dead.

Thanks for the warning Nobby

[DodgeeD]

As I play through the clasura in Mexico, not much has happened with T&T as for some reason all the friendly dates were greyed out...

The draw for the Gold Cup in the summer has been made, however, and looks as follows:

Good news - we avoided Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Canada

Bad news - we got USA... but, wait - USA 'B'??? It turns out this tournament clashes with the Confederation Cup. USA have prioritised the World Cup warm-up and e face their B team.

[deltablue]

Bad news - we got USA... but, wait - USA 'B'??? It turns out this tournament clashes with the Confederation Cup. USA have prioritised the World Cup warm-up and e face their B team.

I got that recently on FM13, Costa Rica weren't there as well. Easiest path to a continental title ever.

[DodgeeD]

América 2028/29 Season Review

Quick Overview

Liga BBVA Bancomer Clasura: 1^st

Liga BBVA Bancomer Clasura Play-offs: Runners-up



Clasura Results

CONCACAF Champions League: Quarter-finalists

Continental Results

Review

I took charge for the entire clasura campaign. We had a slow start, picking up a lot of draws as the team got used to my 4-2-3-1 formation but we were soon putting a win streak together and eventually topped the standings.

The play-offs, however, were a struggle as we lost all our away games. We were able to comeback against Chivas easily in the quarters but needed a huge effort to over turn a 6-3 deficit against UdeG. We did it with a huge 5-0 win but we would come unstuck again in the final away leg as we got hammered by Tijuana 6-1. There was no comeback this time as we only managed a 2-1 win in the second leg.

Add in the fact that we crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League after a heavy away defeat to Monterrey and I think some tweaking of my away tactics for the new season is in order.

Key Players

Luis (DC) – the standout player at the club. It was a tough job to keep him happy though as he is constantly the subject of rumours about a move back to his native Brazil.

Alex (AMC/ST) – Another Brazilian who weighed in with goals and a lot of attacking talent.

Gaston Ponsa (AMC/ST) – An Argentine this time who was also a creative threat in attack.

Ones to watch

Despite impressive youth facilities, there are no exciting youngsters at the club at the moment.

Youth Intake

See above – the youth intake was pretty poor and nobody was offered a deal.

Transfers

I can tell this will be tough. We are a rich club with plenty of local rivals so Mexican players won’t come cheap. Despite our reputation, we are not that big globally meaning players will always want out when a big team in Brazil or not even a big team from Europe come calling. This resulted in me losing a very good Argentinian midfielder to Zenit shortly after arriving and promising two other players that I would sell them if their preferred teams put in a decent bid.

I had a decent amount to spend and splashed most of it on these two:

Ernesto Garcia (DRL) – a big fee for the Mexican international but I was lacking a decent right back so it was necessary.

Rogelio Villegas (MC) – put in some decent performances but I will be expecting more next season.

Transfer History 2028/29

The Season Ahead...

The squad is ridiculously bloated with a lot of reserve and youth ‘talent’ that will never get near the first team. We are also quite lopsided as a squad. I seem to have no end of AMCs and strikers but only one right winger, no left winger and a lack of cover in defence. I will need a generous budget and some ruthless culling to set it all right in the summer.

Provided I can do that, I will have to aim high – league titles and the Champions League are what I came here for!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Third place are champions and bottom aren't relegated? I wouldn't like playing in that league.

[DodgeeD]

Third place are champions and bottom aren't relegated? I wouldn't like playing in that league.

Yes, it's quite ruthless - positions only matter in the sense that top 8 gets you into the play-offs. Relegation is decided by average points over three seasons, hence Pumas being 'saved' despite a shocking season.

[deltablue]

Third place are champions and bottom aren't relegated? I wouldn't like playing in that league.

Nor would I and I'm Mexican! (sort of)

[DodgeeD]

2029 Gold Cup

Hosts: U.S.A.

Holders: U.S.A.

We came into the tournament in mixed form - we easily beat Panama 4-2 in a warm-up game in June (encouraging as they would be in our group) and then pulled off a shock 4-3 win over Australia. Any momentum from those victories was lost, however, as we got sprung by New Caledonia in our next game as we lost 1-0. We then took on a semi-pro American side as a confidence builder but it proved to be a confidence denter as Orange County Blues held us to a draw...

Grou Stage

U.S.A. B were up first while their senior counterparts were battling it out in Italy at the Confederations Cup. How would we fare against a side of youngsters and uncapped journeymen? Not very well was the initial answer as we quickly went two goals down. An improved second half saw us claw our way back into the match and it seemed like we would get at least a point as we made it 2-2 on 89 mins. Alas, a goal on 90(+4) would consign us to an agonising defeat. We were better against Haiti and took an early lead. Unfortunately, we could not hold it and ended up drawing 1-1. Our tournament was then over as Haiti went on to beat U.S.A. B meaning qualification was impossible for us whatever the result against Panama. That game was a bore draw as neither side had anything to play for.

Despite this less than impressive sequence of results, I was praised by the FA, the supporters and the media post-elimination for meeting expectations and avoiding embarrassment. That was nice but with a dearth of talent and no competitive matches for more than a year, I decided to bring my time with Trinidad & Tobago to an end:

[DodgeeD]

No season preview for América then:

I am shocked!

Pre-season was tough. I never got notified of expectations or given a transfer budget so despite €20 million in the bank, I only had €3 million left over from last season to play with. One signing was all I managed and that took up all of our funds. I cleared out the over-bloated reserve and youth squads but I had no decent options at left-back and an alarming lack of cover in central defence and on the wings.

Our first game away to Puebela came with three players still away at the Gold Cup and we lost 3-1. I was called into the office after the game to explain the bad run (remember we lost three of our play-off games at the end of last season despite making the final). The options were 'injuries' (only one squad member was out for that reason) and 'tough opponents'. I chose the latter but the did not agree. I then said I could turn it around in a month and they said 'on your bike'

I have been sacked a few times from international jobs (including Ivory Coast earlier in this career) but this is the first club sacking I can remember since Doug Ellis gave me the boot as Aston Villa back on CM4... A few months on from Asian Champions League glory and I an unemployed...

[DodgeeD]

Following my disappointment with América, I have now advanced through to November 2029 and a few interesting jobs have come up. I'm going to save the game with each of these offers delayed pending my final choice.

In the meantime, I would appreciate the input of my fellow FMCUers. The options are:

1. Toulouse - sitting just above the relegation zone in Ligue 1, they are looking for someone to pull them up to mid-table.

Transfer budget: €5 million

Continental competition: N/A

2. Kalmar FF - finished 4th in the Allsvenskan, now looking for a title challenge in 2030

Transfer budget: unknown

Continental competition: N/A

3. Bournemouth FC - relegated from the Premier League last season, they now sit 8th in the Championship and would expect me to get into the play-offs at least

Transfer budget - €3 million

Continental competition: N/A

4. Racing Montivideo - Currently 5th in the apertura with 4 games to go, no expectations were set during the interview.

Transfer budget: €500k

Continental competition: Copa Sudamericana

5. Asante Kotoko - have won the last four Ghanain titles in a row and recently reached the last four of the AFC Champions League

Transfer budget - €1.7 million

Continental competition: AFC Champions League

I'm not sure where to head next. Each job is attractive for different reasons - turn Toulouse or Bournemouth into big players in their leagues or try to make progress in Europe with Kalmar? Or stay away from Europe for now and try to pick up more continental titles in Africa or South America?Any ideas?

(Or option 6, which is to buy FM16 )

[deltablue]

Toulouse

[DodgeeD]

Toulouse

Might be worth a crack - after all, what have I got Toulouse?

[DodgeeD]

After much deliberation, I loaded up the game this evening and made my decision:

Sorry deltablue

In terms of the Hexagon Challenge, there seemed little point in going to Europe at this juncture. With only the Asian CL under my belt, it made more sense to go somewhere like Africa first. Hopefully I can add the CAF crown here before trying for the CONCACAF and O-League crowns. Europe and South America are best saved till last.

I have certainly picked a side capable of challenging for continental honours very soon. They were eliminated in the last four of the most recent CAF Champions League campaign and are well on course to win the Ghanaian title again this year. With their previous manager now in charge of the national side, it's my turn to take the team a step further and add to their already impressive collection of silverware:

[Deisler26]

Nice choice. Good luck!

[DodgeeD]

Nice choice. Good luck!

Cheers Diesler26

First update coming up!

[DodgeeD]

Asante Kotko 2029/30 Season Review

Quick Overview

First Capital Bank Plus Premier League: 2^nd



League Results

MTN FA Cup: Semi-finals

Cup Results



2030 CAF Champions League: Preliminary Round

Continental Results

Review

It started well as I beat rivals Hearts of Oak in my first game in charge to put us 4 points clear at the top. This is a tight league however, and Hearts of Oak would match us point for point through most of the season. We lost to them away later in the season and the gap was down to one point. A couple of costly draws in our final fixtures allowed our rivals to pull away and we couldn’t make up the difference as we finished second.

Hearts of Oak would prove to be our conquerors in the cup as well beating us in the semis.I am not sure what happened in the Champions League. The board expected the semi-finals and yet we were knocked out on away goals in the qualifying rounds. That plus the second place in the league means the pressure is on to deliver next season.

Key Players

Kwesi Hardy (DL) – solid in defence and on the fringes of the Ghana squad, one of the few domestic players to be involved.

Denzeli Boadu (MC/AMC) – The club veteran at 33 but still a driving force in the contre of the park. 16 goals and 19 assists is a grand return.

Daniel Twumasi (AMRC/ST) – He was in great form during my first couple of months in charge but a nasty cruciate ligament injury ended his season early and goals were harder to come by afterwards.

Ones to watch

Ibrahim Asamoah (AMR) – Only 18 but all the hallmarks of a promising winger are here.

Youth Intake

Joe Adams YP17a (DR/C) – looks promising and may even get first team time as early as next season.

Transfers

We have a decent transfer budget, easily enough to get the best domestic players. We need to, however, as my best players get distracted by any interest at all from Europe. Meetings along the lines of “some relegation threatened Hungarian Division Two side is interested in me and I want to leave” are already frequent.

In the January window, I brought in some potential future stars and sent a few youngsters out on loan. We lost one star midfielder to Lokeren in Belgium:

Transfer History 2028/29

The Season Ahead...

I will be looking for a goalkeeper, right back, a left winger and a striker in the summer. If we find decent options to add depth to the squad, we should be able to push for the title. We the board unhappy at 2^nd this season, we will have to push for the title!

[DavidBeckham]

Hope you can find the players required to fill the holes in your squad and push for the title this time round!

[DodgeeD]

Asante Kotoko 2030/31 Season Preview

Club Overview

Stadium: Baba Yara Sports Stadium

Capacity: 51,500 all-seater

Season Ticket Holders: 15,645

Average Attendance (2029/30): 21,900

Good numbers but plenty of scope to pack more fans in.

Expectations

Media Prediction: 2nd

Board Expectations: Premier League – win the title; MTN FA Cup – not important; Super Cup – not important; CAF Champions League – TBD

I have a point to prove this season. The league is a must and progress in the Champions League would be nice too.

Facilities

Training Facilities: Good

Youth Facilities: Great

Junior Coaching: Good

Youth Recruitment: Well-established

The board want young players in the first team and the facilities certainly help!

Finances

Balance: €2.4million

Transfer budget: €1.83m

Wage budget: €68k p/w

Current wage bill: €23k p/w

Finances are healthy and the budgets are generous.

Transfers

Scouting range: Africa

2030/1 Pre-season Transfer History

Quite a frustrating transfer window. This is a league where anyone young and decent is looking more to move elsewhere rather than step up to a bigger club. That meant the only incoming deals were youngsters who will hopefully be making an impact in a couple of season’s time. A few youngsters went out on loan and some of the dross in the squad was shifted out. No big losses from the first team squad at least!

Sly Tetteh Memorial Cup (Super Cup)

Asante Kotoko 6, Hearts of Oak 4 (a.e.t.)

The board don’t care apparently but I was happy to get the win. It took extra time and six goals from us to beat Hearts of Oak but hopefully it is a good sign of things to come!

[DodgeeD]

Hope you can find the players required to fill the holes in your squad and push for the title this time round!

Alas,as you can see from the update above, that didn't happen. Still, I can look forward to my youngsters developing and growing into those roles. I just hope the board have the patience for that!

[DodgeeD]

March 2031 Asante Kotoko Update

Just a quick update as we approach the business end of the season.

We started the season well but a wobble which saw us lose twice in three games turned the disapproving gaze of the board towards me. Every game then became a must-win for me personally. I tweaked my midfield a little, pushing the advanced playmaker from MC to AMC and having a support-minded central midifielder instead. That seemed to do the trick of tightening up the centre of the park and we then went on a winning streak, finally getting to top spot after the 21st game of the season:

As you can see, it's tight. Our next match in the league is away to Hearts of Oak, and our final match of the season is away to Berekum Chelsea.

Our good form meant I went from being the constant subject of speculation about the sack to getting a new deal:

Elsewhere, we have successfully negotiated the first few rounds of the CAF Champions League and will contest the group stage over the next few months. The board want us to qualify from the group but with the holders (ES Tunis) and Africa's most successful club (Al-Ahly) in there, I'm not so sure!

[CDorling]

Denzeil Boadu!

I just released him from Exeter in my game, he couldn't get into my team and complained a lot. He always looked like he should have played a lot better than he did.

[DodgeeD]

Denzeil Boadu!

I just released him from Exeter in my game, he couldn't get into my team and complained a lot. He always looked like he should have played a lot better than he did.

In my game, he was poached by Man City from Arsenal but never made a first team appearance for either. After a couple of loan spells, he ended up at Barnsley for several seasons in the Championship and then League 1. He wound up back home a few months before I showed up but even at 34, he is a standout player in this league.

[DodgeeD]

And I forgot to add:

His return to Africa has seen him reap the rewards - CAF Interclube Player of the Year, a place in the CAF Interclube XI, and the only non-European based player to be selected for the CAF African XI!

[CDorling]

He's without a club and there's no interest in him 8 months after I released him. He was also poached by Man City on my game, and played no games. I have a feeling he'll retire.

[DodgeeD]

Asante Kotko 2030/31 Season Review

Quick Overview

First Capital Bank Plus Premier League: 1^st – CHAMPIONS!!!



League Results 1 | League Results 2

Sly Tetteh Memorial Cup: Winners!!

MTN FA Cup: 2^nd Round

Domestic Cup Results

2031 CAF Champions League: Group Stage (on-going)

Continental Results

Review

A slight wobble early in the season (two defeats and a draw in three games) had me worried about losing my job but the team responded well as from that point on we only dropped 4 points over the rest of the season. A key win away to Hearts of Oak sent us top with eight to play. Although we lost the next game, we then won the remaining seven with the title wrapped up with two games to spare.

A goalfest early in the season allowed us to win the Super Cup over Hearts of Oak but they would get their revenge in the second round of the cup (co-inciding with our mini bad run in the league).

The Champions League has been a breeze so far. We blasted through the early rounds to reach the group stage. Our first game there was away to Al-Ahly in Egypt. Muhc to my surprise, We stuck it to Africa’s most successful club 4-0 and further wins over ES Tunis and Enugu Rangers have put us in pole position to reach the semi-finals when the competition resumes in late July.

Key Players

Denzeli Boadu (MC/AMC) – Immense once again with 27 assists! Deservedly won club, league, national and continental awards.

Daniel Twumasi (AMRC/ST) – Recovered from cruciate ligament damage to score 27 goals in 26 starts. I hope I can keep him for the remainder of the Champions League campaign as some European sides are tracking his progress.

Prince Adams (AML/ST) – hampered by injuries somewhat but 19 goals in 19 games from the wing is a very good return.

One to watch

Joe Adams YP17a (DR/C) – Lived up to his billing as one of the most promising prospects for many years with some commanding performances in defence. Could do with picking up fewer cards, however.

Youth Intake

Kwadwo Sarfo YP18a (MC) –not bad but I prefer Francis Abubakar YP18b (AML). We’ll see who has the bigger impact next season!

Transfers

2030/31 Transfer History

More out than in. The new arrivals were mainly signed for the future. The only first teamer to arrive in January was Solomon Fidelis (GK). For next season we will be able to scout anywhere in the world so we will see if that makes a difference.

The Season Ahead...

The Champions League is my immediate goal. If we can keep this form going into the new season, I think we stand a great chance.

[DodgeeD]

International Recall: D.R. Congo

It's been a while in game time since I quit my Trinidad & Tobago job and finally, an interesting prospect has come up in the shape of D.R. Congo. At present, they have a high world ranking (34th) and there is a chance to take them to new heights by getting to the World Cup or the latter stages of the Cup of Nations.

There is also the fact that my employers are the FECOFA

No competitive games until July 2032 when African Cup of Nations qualifiers and World Cup 2034 qualifying begin so that should give me plenty of time to settle on a first XI and try to persuade some uncapped Belgian players to choose their second nationality.

[DodgeeD]

Asante Kotoko 2031/32 Season Preview

Club Overview

Stadium: Baba Yara Sports Stadium

Capacity: 51,500 all-seater

Season Ticket Holders: 17,130

Average Attendance (2030/31): 22,404

Good numbers helped by the Champions League run but plenty of scope to pack more fans in.

Expectations

Media Prediction: 1st

Board Expectations: Premier League – win the title; MTN FA Cup – not important; Super Cup – not important; 2031 CAF Champions League – reach semi-finals

As usual, the title is a must. I would like to exceed Champions League targets though.

Facilities

Training Facilities: Good

Youth Facilities: Great

Junior Coaching: Good

Youth Recruitment: Well-established

Despite healthy finances and a desire to see youngsters in the first team, the board refuse to sanction further investment at this time.

Finances

Balance: €3.9million

Transfer budget: €1.35m

Wage budget: €28k p/w

Current wage bill: €26k p/w

Finances are healthy and the balance is up on last season. However, my budgets have been slashed - transfer budget down about €500k and wage budget reduced by 50%. No idea why…

Transfers

Scouting range: Worldwide

2031/2 Pre-season Transfer History

Good news – the board now allow scouting anywhere in the world. Bad news – any half decent African talent heads off to Europe and the best alternatives are our own YPs so no transfers in this season…

Super Cup

Asante Kotoko 4, Hearts of Oak 5

Last year, we won this 6-4 after extra time. This year against the same opponents, we came from behind three times before conceding an injury time penalty to lose out in another goal-fest. Take a look at the stats to wee why this game was especially frustrating…

CAF Champions League

We completed the group stage during pre-season, picking up three more wins to top the group with a 100% record. Zamalek await in the semi-finals.

[DodgeeD]

2031 International Review

Results:



Dec 2031 World Rankings:

Ahem...

Not the best start to life with DRC. I let the assistant take charge of the first few friendlies but took over after we got routed by Serbia. I did not fare much better alas.

Still only friendlies... Our next competitive action comes in June when the World Cup Qualifiers begin:

On paper, second looks easy but we have to watch out for Libya, who recently beat us. Whatever happens, I'll be happy to get back to meaningful matches.

[DodgeeD]

2031/32 Mid-Season Update

First Capital League

Well, would you just look at that?

Halfway through the season and a perfect record so far. How long can we keep it going?

On top of that, we are on a huge consecutive wins streak going back into last season's title run-in:

CAF Champions League

So close! We stormed into the final winning every game on the way. We won the first leg of the final against Etoile du Sahel 2-0... And then it all went wrong.

In the second leg, we conceded early on. We pulled one back but then conceded on the stroke of half-time. We then conceded again with 5 minutes left but still led on away goals. We then had a goal ruled out for offside, immediately after which we conceded a penalty... 4-1 defeat on the night and a 4-3 aggregate loss...

When you couple that with a heavy defeat in the Super Cup and an early FA Cup exit, it makes me wonder whether my team is supremely talented but without bottle...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well you can only improve with DRC.

[DodgeeD]

Well you can only improve with DRC.

I hope so! I'll have to wait a while though as the friendly dates for March are greyed out - no matches till the qualifiers in June...

[DodgeeD]

April 2032 Update

With 5 games to go, we have secured the title. It was as easy as it seems, as our 5-0 away win over closest rivals Hearts of Oak shows. There are still targets to go for over the last five games - pass 100 goals for the season (very close), break the league record for games without losing (stands at 33, we are on 32 at present) and see if we can close out the season with a 100% record.

In the Champions League, we have made the group stage again. Quite a tough group but with the form we are in, I think we can handle it.

[deltablue]

One of the easiest league wins I've ever seen!

[DodgeeD]

And our run-in is as follows:

Berekum Arsenal (15th) away

Great Olympics (12th) home

All Stars (5th) away

Tema Youth (14th) home

Liberty (10th) away

All Stars will be our toughest game - they dumped us out of the cup earlier in the season but 30/30 is doable!

[DodgeeD]

An intriguing job interview offer:

Over the 18 years of game time so far, Hayes & Yeading have pulled themselves up from the Conference South to the Championship. The last few seasons they have survived just about... I have my eye on them as a potential team to manage later on in this career to complete their rise. For now though, the timing is wrong. I instead use the chance to force the board at Asante Kotoko into increasing a few budgets

[DodgeeD]

Asante Kotko 2031/32 Season Review

Quick Overview

First Capital Bank Plus Premier League: 1^st – CHAMPIONS!!!



League Results 1 | League Results 2

Sly Tetteh Memorial Cup: Runners-up

MTN FA Cup: 1st Round

Domestic Cup Results

2031 CAF Champions League: Finalists

2032 CAF Champions League: Group Stage (Ongoing)

Continental Results

Review

We did it!

Plenty of records on the way – our run of wins is now 36 stretching back into last season. I’m pretty impressed with the +101 goal difference as well. Even in a crap league, I feel this is quite an achievement.

Cups are best quickly forgotten

Agonisingly close in the Champions League but we blew it in the final second leg. TP Mazembe gave us a beating in the first group stage match of the 2032 edition but we have recovered and should qualify from the group. The board want me to win it this time… We’ll see!

Key Players

Alfred Asare (DM/MC) – best player at the club currently. It will be tough to keep him over the summer but even tougher to win the Champions League without him.

Emmanuel Chibsah (MC/AMC) – 10 PoM awards says it all really. Made sure we didn’t miss Boadu when he was injured and kept his place in the team for the rest of the season. Fans' Player of the Year.

Bright Opoku (AMRC/ST) – A creative threat from the flanks with goals and assists in (almost) equal measure.

Prince Adams (AML/ST) – stayed injury free this time and got plenty of goals. Lots of interest in this one from clubs in Belgium and France.

Eric Owusu (AML/ST) – great season from the veteran. Played equally well either ron the flank or up front.

One to watch

Francis Abubakar YP18b (AMRLC) – didn’t get a huge amount of game time but made some promising contributions to the matches he played in.

Youth Intake

Disappointing this year. I signed a couple of players to keep up the youth squad numbers but I am not expecting them to make it in the first team.

Transfers

2031/32 Transfer History

No new arrivals as there was nobody who wanted to come who would add quality. The problem I now face is that my best first teamers are getting the attention of clubs elsewhere and as the bids come in from places like the Belgian second tier or Cypriot Premier Division, I may struggle to keep this squad together…. Where will the replacements come from?

The Season Ahead...

Again, I am hoping for a positive outcome in the Champions League. If we are successful, my contract is up in June 2033 so I will be moving on.

[DodgeeD]

July 2032 International Update

Finally, some action for D.R. Congo and finally, competitive games. my first year in charge had seen a winless run of friendlies followed by six months of nothingness so it was time to show the world what we could do.

CAF World Cup Qualifying 2nd Round

The road to China 2034 started with a tricky trip to Senegal, the top ranked side in the group. We went a goal down early on but then produced a fantastic comeback, taking the lead before half-time and adding another after the break for an unexpected 3-1 win. A few days later, we welcomed Libya to Kinshasa but our hospitality did not extend to the pitch as we easily beat them 3-0.

That puts us in the best possible position after the first round of matches:

We now take a year-long break from this group as we have an African Cup of Nations to qualify for:

The road to Ivory Coast 2033 begins in September. We need to top the group to guarantee we will be there. Based on rankings, that shouldn't be so hard. We do have to contend with a Congolese derby, however.