pheelf Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2031/2032 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Remain top dogs domestically and try to make the knockout rounds of a European competition. THE SEASON League Table - Nearly the perfect season but draws against Portadown, Ards and Ballymena United denied us. I was pleased to again break the record points total but I can see the challenge becoming slightly harder as Linfield returned to professional status at the end of the season. Glentoran failed in the promotion playoff so it looks to be another season without the Big 2 derby. UEFA Champions League – Not as much progress as I was hoping for but I can't say that I'm unhappy with the performance. I'm slightly getting tired of playing Dinamo in the qualifiers though as we had to beat them for the 3rd season in a row but with our improving coefficient maybe soon it will become a thing of the past. I was a bit disappointed to get such a difficult draw for the group stage but after earning a draw in our opening match against Chelsea I thought that maybe 3rd place might have been possible but then it all fell apart and we didn't get another point. I take solace though in the fact that the teams in our group had great success on getting through the group. Napoli went on to win the Champions League, Chelsea made the semi-final of the Europa League and Bayern made the quarter finals of the Champions League losing to Napoli. I really want to get more points in the group stage next year and have set a target of 5 points minimum (if we get to the group stage). Domestic Cups - An almost perfect season in the cups with the exception of the league cup final loss to Linfield Reserves – Won the league but they were well below par in the cups U18s - A much improved performance in the league finishing in 3rd but poor in the cup THE PLAYERS Squad – Strong but needs to be much better in order to be competitive in Europe. I will be scouting far and wide to fill in the weaknesses in central defence and midfield. I was surprised when I saw my board decide to sign an affiliation with Olympiakos as it meant that I could sign a number of their talented youngsters for no wage contribution. I don't think I'll be doing it next season though as I don't want us to become dependent on them, it also hindered our ability to blood our own youngsters. I can see a few unhappy players leaving and Uprichard will be leaving on a free transfer signing for Wolves. Transfers – Important Transfers In Adil Bah : DL : Proved to be a solid player but was slightly disappointed that he couldn't dislodge Skinner due to his high transfer fee Georgi Todorov : AMC : 1st of the Olympiakos loanees who performed well and gave extra depth to the attacking midfield Luka Zivkovic : CM : 2nd of the Olympiakos loanees who put in a string of good performances Radomir Sedlacek : CM : Last of the loanees who did well when in the side John Nkunzimana : ST : A very good striker who while not being prolific came up trumps when asked. Probably not a long term solution but will do for now Hicham Benali : MR : Signing of the season by far. Performed exceptionally when called upon and next season will be an interesting 3-way battle for that right midfield position with David and Kvist. Important Transfers Out Oscar Ortega : AMC : Started to complain incessantly about wanting to go back to Spain so I let him leave. Was a little disappointed with the loss of £119K we made on him but was value for money as he performed very well for us so good luck to him Russ Eastwood : ST : A top draw striker who wasn't playing enough so when Leicester came in I jumped at the opportunity to sell for £825K. He's worth £5.25M now so perhaps this was a mistake but made a nice profit on him and have a nice 20% profit of next sale clause PLAYER OF THE SEASON – David – Average Rating : 8.24 A sensational season from the talented Brazilian. 24 assists and 15 goals showed his class and being only 23 means potentially he has many good years ahead of him. His brilliance hasn't gone unnoticed though with a few Brazilian clubs showing interest in bringing him back to Brazil. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Hircham Benali – Average Rating : 8.62 This was totally unexpected as according to his ability when compared to my other right midfielders he really shouldn't have had much of a chance in the first team but he fought hard and performed so well when he played that I couldn't ignore him. His great performances mean that if I get a nice offer for David I could sell him in the knowledge that I have a very capable player to step in behind Kvist. CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Looking good although I'll want to keep this healthy so that we can continue our yearly upgrades to both the youth and training facilities. Facilities – Upgraded youth and training facilities and upgraded the junior coaching. The council though are really starting to tick me off with them cancelling the expansion yet again and my board blocking a new stadium. I mean we sold out every single league game this season but planning permission was still refused. Does anyone have any ideas? I was pleased though that the option to relay the pitch became available, I asked for it and it was granted. Whether this means my artificial pitch is replaced or a new grass turf is installed I'm not sure, I guess I'll just have to wait until next season to get the answer. Youth Intake – Poor as usual but perhaps with our better junior coaching we might see an improvement next intake Average League Attendance – 300 We sell out every game and this low attendance is not sustainable...we need an expansion desperately!! REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – 2.5* seems to be in sight now, we just need to keep doing well in Europe Club Domestic Reputation - A clear 0.5* advantage but all the other Belfast clubs are hot on our tail Club European Reputation - Not a bad improvement at all. I think once those two terrible years fall off the coefficient rankings we could get seeded for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions league CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2032/2033 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Dominate domestically and try to perform better in Europe and make a knockout stage of a tournament THE SEASON League Table - A fairly uncontested title with newly pro Linfield not offering much of a challenge. It was a strange season though as Carrick got relegated from NIFL C1 and turned pro after selling their training facilities. Glentoran never looked like returning to the top flight finishing 5th in NIFL C1 and Glenavon got relegated. Cliftonville look likely to be next team to turn pro. UEFA Champions League – We seem to have hit a plateau in Europe and the seasons are becoming rather repetitive. Once again we beat Dinamo on our way to the group and once again we drew the first game of the group which has become almost a cruel tease because we just can't get any further points after that game. It also is rather unhelpful that we keep drawing in our group the eventual winners with Man City going on to claim the title this year. I feel in order to compete we are going to need to either spend big (which we can't do while simultaneously building up the club) or go hunting for some exceptional youngsters to develop who in a few years might be good enough to get us through to a knockout round. Domestic Cups - Clean sweep, was also nice to hand out a couple of batterings along the way Reserves – One of the worst seasons they've had. The regular rotation of my first team may be the reason as there were seldom any unfit players to play in the reserves. U18s - On great contrast to the Reserves this was one of the best seasons they've had, finally securing the youth league title. THE PLAYERS Squad - I can see great weaknesses which I feel may need some big money signings to fill. GK : Desperately hoping to hold on to O'Reilly but he has so much interest from teams in the English Premier League that holding on to him may prove impossible. May need to invest here DR : My backup Whitfield is off to Sheff Wed and Vicente is starting to decline. I'd say that getting in a quality right back for next season is essential DL : Bah hasn't quite been the player I thought he was and Skinner is gathering major interest from the EPL also. I will probably need a new player here also DC : Dixon is solid although he has interest from Watford. The rest are probably expendable and I can see the need for a top quality centre back to line-up with Dixon as my first choice partnership MC : Joyce is class and has minor interest from Bournemouth but the rest are overpaid and mediocre. Kennedy might be able to improve but I will be looking for a couple of marquee central midfielders MR : David is going as he wants to move and Benali is good but has peaked. Will be looking for a new first choice right winger ML : One of the positions which I'll probably leave as is. I need to give O'Reilly games to develop and Garcia is very solid, unless I see a special player to bring in this will remain untouched AMC : Stewart and Urquhart will be leaving when their contracts expire. Fjellbakk has been great for us but I will need another attacking midfielder for him to rotate with. ST : Aguero and Doyle will remain 1st and 2nd choice respectively. I might hold onto Magnusson as his goal scoring record is impressive for backup and ship out the eternally miserable and trouble making Nkunzimana Transfers – Important Transfers In Bob Crawford : DC : Not a bad signing but certainly not as good as my scouts led me to believe. I don't really see a long term future for him at the club Joe Joyce : MC : A really top draw central midfielder who can have a great career here. He needs players of similar ability around him so I will be hoping to make that a reality in the transfer window Mason Whitfield : DR : He did well when we called him into the team but at 34 had no future so I was happy when Sheff Wed came in and bought him Pablo Aguero : ST : Ah yea...a really magnificent player who is worth every penny of the transfer fee. His 19 finishing attribute means that I might just have found the goal a game striker I was looking for Shaun O'Reilly : ML : Some may say he's overpriced...I say not a chance. In him I have one of the most talented wingers in Ireland with great potential. He has been improving rapidly since I've put him in the team. Jack Daly : MC : Another talented youngster who with the correct guidance could become quite special Important Transfers Out Alexander Kvist : MR : He's now at Augsburg and worth £675K so I think I made a good deal to sell him for as much I did Oliver Andersen : ML : Retrospectively, I probably should have kept him as I wasn't able to replace him with a better player but it's done already and I'm sure that I can develop O'Reilly to be as good or better PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Vicente Garcia – Average Rating : 8.23 A class act all around really. He was consistent and scored and assisted 21 times which is great for a player who was played as a winger as opposed to a wide midfielder. If O'Reilly could become as good as he is then the left wing will be secure for the next few years. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Hircham Benali – Average Rating : 7.90 The 21 year old became Danske Bank Premier young player of the year and it was richly deserved. He put in a string of quality performances and has a great cross which led to him assisting 16 times. He may have reached his peak but I'm happy with his contribution, he may need to step up next year though as David leaves CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Good and healthy enough to allow us to invest in our facilities. May take a hammering next year though as I look to strengthen the side to improve our European fortunes Facilities – Upgraded both youth and training facilities and will be upgrading the junior coaching when the option becomes available. I'm rather exasperated though that the council yet again refused planning permission for a stadium expansion. I was also rejected by the board when I asked for a new stadium. Every game I played at the ground was sold out so I'm at a loss here. It almost seems like Linfield have slipped the council a bribe so that my expansions keep getting rejected. My rivals know that we can't continue playing at such a small stadium if we are to develop into a big club as the income we get from there is very poor. It's holding us back from really splashing the cash as our income is still very much dependent on our success in Europe which isn't guaranteed. We still have artificial turf at our stadium and the potential expansion capacity is now 9,800 which is more than 32x it's actual capacity . Youth Intake – At last we have a player that I can tag. I have tagged Andy Wray with YP33 and he looks like he could become a decent central defender in future. Average League Attendance – 300 I sold out every game I played at my home ground. REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – Not much movement this season. Into the top 50 is a plus but need to gain another 10 places to become 2.5* Club Domestic Reputation - Top again Club European Reputation - One more poor season to come off the coefficient calculation and we should be seeded for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League if we make the group stage next year CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitner Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Well, you're almost guaranteed a spot at the group stages... Now you need to find a way to go to the next level... Maybe some loan Signings? Cheers, Bitner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Well, you're almost guaranteed a spot at the group stages... Now you need to find a way to go to the next level... Maybe some loan Signings?Cheers, Bitner The league rules allow me to loan 5 players per season and with Olympiakos being my senior affiliate I wouldn't have to pay any wages. It may be something I need to exploit just to get me over the hump then once I get a bit of success I can reduce my reliance on loans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2033/2034 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Retain the domestic supremacy and make improvements in Europe. THE SEASON League Table - Never was in doubt but due to a few unnecessarily dropped points it took until the 30th matchday to secure the title UEFA Champions League – I was pleased to be seeded in the 3rd qualifying round which meant we only really had one 'hard' tie to make the group, maybe with a couple more years of group stage appearances we can become seeded for the playoff also. I spent big to try to improve our performances in Europe and it failed spectacularly. We started the group well enough by racing to a 3-1 lead vs Ajax but then collapsed to gain only a draw. Then we went to the Nou Camp and got absolutely destroyed and with that I knew we were going to repeat our poor performances like the last few seasons. I don't know what it is but we seem to keep getting drawn into the group of death as Man Utd went on to win the Champions League and Ajax reached the final of the Europa League. I found this message rather funny...not much of a gesture when there are probably more people on the pitch than in the stands supporting us Domestic Cups - Almost a clean sweep with the exception of the Co. Antrim Shield where we played a really weakened side Reserves – Finished runners up and performed average in the cups U18s - Our investments in the youth system seem to be paying off on the pitch with a youth league and cup double THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Will be needing a new goalkeeper to replace O'Reilly DL : Joao Luis was an expensive flop and Skinner seems to get more offers from other clubs than anyone else. If I can get a better left back it may allow him to leave DR : The new signing Alex looks good and Vicente looks good enough to be backup. Will be keeping an eye to see whether Vicente declines to assess whether he needs replacing DC : Whitestone and Dixon are first choice with the rest being rotated in. I'll probably stick with them unless I need to replace them MC : Joyce wouldn't sign a new contract so will be leaving on a bosman. This position needs serious improvements MR : I'm happy with my right flank as both Beissel and Bucur had good seasons ML : Garcia performed consistently well and O'Reilly is developing well although it was unfortunate for him to break his ankle and miss 3 months of the season. I'm happy with the left wing also AMC : Probably one of the strongest positions in my team with good options for rotation. This will remain the same ST : Needed to fill the gap once Aguero left and Grujicic looks more than capable. May need one more striker in the event Nkunzimana leaves Transfers – Important Transfers In Andy Whitestone : DC : Needed another 1st choice centre back to partner Dixon and he looks to be cut out for the role Alex : DR : My most expensive signing of the season proved to be quite a good player but I perhaps overpaid Stephen Grant : DC : Not a bad option for rotation in central defence Thomas Evans : MC : A really good addition to the centre of the park who assisted plenty and is on a reasonable wage Shane Chambers : MC : Another decent central midfielder for rotation Fitim Rrapaj : AMC : Needed another player in attacking midfield and he is a very capable player Mircea Bucur : MR : Had a very good season and I'm expecting great things in the future from this youngster Niek Beissel : MR : A bit expensive but assisted a lot and could be around for a few more years playing at his peak Joao Luis : DL : Big money signing who is no better than Skinner. My scouts dropped the ball on this one Steven Fulwood : AMC : Couldn't resist adding a bit more strength and depth to the attacking midfield and this guy fits the bill nicely Giovanni Palmieiri : DC : A fairly cheap signing for a player who has some very good core attributes for a central defender and is still developing Momcilo Grujicic : ST : An absolute bargain for a player of his quality Important Transfers Out David : MR : A fairly decent fee + clauses for a player which wanted out Mason Whitfield : DR : The veteran right back just didn't feature in my future plans so I was glad to get a fee for his transfer Craig O'Reilly : GK : I was getting fed up with the constant transfer offers unsettling him so I let him go Pablo Aguero : ST : This was done purely because the finances were looking a bit dicey and his wage was the highest but I ensured to include a nice amount of clauses PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Fitim Rrapaj – Average Rating : 8.65 A classy playmaker who performed superbly when he was called upon. Being only 30 means that if I could mould him into an Enganche type player I could have a player who may give me another 4-5 years which would be brilliant YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Mircea Bucur – Average Rating : 8.19 The speed demon had a very productive season scoring 16 goals and assisting 10 times. He is still improving and if he could improve his dribbling and first touch to go with his explosive pace he could become an absolute nightmare for opposing full backs for years to come. He was the winner of the DBP Young Player of the Year award. CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – We spent big to try to improve in Europe and this is the result. We were only able to ask for upgrades to the training facilities this season and will have to wait for the Champions League money before we consider making any further improvements Facilities – I think I may have stumbled across a bug here. I've been asking my board to expand the stadium yearly which they agree to and then the council block. This season I didn't think I'd have the money to afford to do it so I didn't ask but the council didn't block it this time. This is an incredibly annoying bug and in future it looks like I'll just have to stop asking and let them do it by themselves. The training facilities were upgraded. Youth Intake – Nobody worth tagging this year unfortunately Average League Attendance – 300 It will be interesting to see what this is next season and whether we can fill the 800 capacity of our temporary home REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – Nice, getting really close to 2.5* now Club Domestic Reputation - I'm a little confused how we have 2.5* reputation when our league is only 2* but I'm not complaining. Higher rep = better players willing to join and we need that to really kick on and improve in Europe Club European Reputation - I hope that a few more seasons of group appearances with some success in the group may make us seeded for the playoff CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Winning is a habit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Winning is a habit. Thanks...Here's hoping we can begin to turn it into a habit in Europe too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2034/2035 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Keep on dominating domestically and try our level best to make it out of the group stage of the Champions League THE SEASON League Table - We had the perfect season going and won 20/20 from the start of the season when we came up against Dungannon who we then drew against ruining our perfect run. If that wasn't enough for them they then proceeded later in the season to inflict upon us our only defeat which destroyed our unbeaten season...they aren't even that good which makes it further vexing. I'm also noticing a trend in the league now with teams playing ultra defensively against me, if we score early against these teams we usually go on to beat them heavily (I've won 9-0, 8-1, 7-0 twice) but if not then we usually have to settle for a 1-0 after spending the entire game attacking against what sometimes can be an 8 man defense. Cliftonville turned pro at the start of the season and Glentoran and Glenavon are coming back to the top flight which is great. UEFA Champions League – Progress at last!!...7 points in the group was our best performance yet and it probably would have been 8 had we not thrown away a late goal against Monaco which might have put us through into the Champions League knockout stages. I was a bit disheartened to go out of the Europa League so limply against Celtic but we had a bit of a nightmare in Glasgow which meant that we had a mountain to climb at home. If we can continue in the same manner next season I'd be happy...it's also nice to not draw the most difficult group which makes a difference. We have a coefficient of 36.085 which means there are only 5 teams in the Champions qualifier section with a higher coefficient which might mean that we get seeded for the playoff provided one of those teams doesn't make it to that round. I enjoyed the record 10-0 win against Vllaznia Domestic Cups - Only the one cup this year after Ards beat a weakened side in the Co. Antrim Shield and Linfield shocked us in the Irish Cup Reserves – This was a really impressive season for the Reserves as they won a double and reached the quarter finals of the U19 Champions League U18s - A cup win for the U18s and an absolute demolition of the youth league with only 2nd placed Linfield U18s able to keep close to them. They finished with 77 points from 30 games and ended with 4 more points than Linfield U18s and 28 points clear of 3rd placed Cliftonville U18s. Further investment is coming for my youth so I expect the domination to only get more emphatic THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Bergqvist is a world class goalkeeper who I picked up on a free who I feel could be our number one for many years should he want to be. Taylor is a solid backup so no changes will be needed here DL : Luis was good but McNally proved to be an inspired signing. No changes needed here either as McNally is developing nicely and Luis is very good backup DR : Alex is leaving on a bosman so I will be in the market for a first choice right back who the dependable Bunce will be rotated with DC : Of all the areas on the pitch this will the area where I think I will have to invest the most money. If we can get a couple of solid and dependable central defenders I'll be happy MC : Kennedy and Daly are leaving so I will be looking to invest in this area also. The players in central midfield have developed well but we need top quality if we are to maintain our progress going forwards MR : An abundance of riches on the right flank with Beissel and Bucur performing brilliantly. I'll leave untouched once the loans end unless I see a great player going cheap ML : Again much like the right flank I'm happy with the left midfield and will only make signings here if I can pick up a top quality winger for a low price or free AMC : I don't think I'll be needing to make any alterations to the attacking midfield as I have great options here ST : Doyle is leaving on a bosman so I will need to get in a couple of talented strikers. I will be looking more at the younger end of the scale for better potential resale value Transfers – Important Transfers In Kent Solberg : DC : Re-signed the central defender to add some depth which he provided well Michael McNally : DL : A great freebie who is developing really nicely Rory Bunce : DR : Signed to provide cover for Luis which he did very well and he scored one of the goals of the season, running the length of the field and slotting in the bottom corner Armando Martins : ML : A very competent winger who scored a few and assisted many which is all I could ask for Ryan Gatter : ST : A terrific striker who I hope will stick around for quite some time as he is just a goal machine Antonio Signorini : AMC : I needed the added depth and he was brilliant. At the start of the season he wouldn't even talk to us but once he saw how we were performing he decided to hop aboard Rickard Bergqvist : GK : Another player who was initially reluctant to join us but changed his mind which I was delighted with. The Swedish international is a great goalkeeper with some of the best attributes I have ever seen for a goalkeeper of only 23. He is tall, strong, with brilliant reflexes and brave as an ox with great decision making and communication. I couldn't really ask for more and he is headed for greatness even if it's not with us but I'll try my best to hold on to him for as long as I can Alexander Tavernaro : ML : Another very useful option to have on the left flank who will keep Overgaard and Martins on their toes Important Transfers Out Joe Joyce : MC : Left on a free as he was unhappy and would not sign a new contract Stephen Dixon : DC : He just wouldn't stop moaning about wanting to leave and was creating great disharmony in the team so I decided to accept the good offer from Aston Villa Gavin Skinner : DL : Stoke unsettled him and every time I refused their offer he would fly into a rage so I let him go for a reasonable fee Andy Whitestone : DC : He created massive rifts in the team when I began to refuse some of the offers he was receiving, so I cut my losses and sold him for another nice profit Leonel Vicente : DR : Was declining rapidly so I allowed him to return back home to Portugal Vicente Garcia : ML : I was pleased to get £250K for him actually as I had better players coming in Shaun O'Reilly : GK : Was constantly being coveted by the very best BPL sides which was unsettling him so when Liverpool offered a paltry £400K I counter offered £5M, they made the bid and the rest is history Vegard Fjellbakk : AMC : This actually came as a surprise as I didn't expect him to leave and had him registered for the Champions League squad. Unfortunately for me the Belgian transfer window closes on the 2nd Sept and a number of Belgian clubs bid for him. I refused as I saw him as great prospect to which he replied by throwing a great tantrum which destroyed his morale, as I didn't want to have that ongoing headache until January I decided to accept a good offer made by Gent and shipped him out for a very reasonable £1.8M Giovanni Palmieiri : DC : Even though he was a decent defender for us he wanted to return back to Italy to play in Serie A so I granted him the opportunity by selling him to Spezia for a reasonable fee Momcilo Grujicic : ST : The bid came a bit out of the blue but it was such a good offer that I couldn't refuse so I let him go PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Fitim Rrapaj – Average Rating : 8.32 Another great season from the playmaker. I have changed the role in my tactic of the AMC because of him to Advanced Playmaker (Attack) and he has taken to the role like a duck to water. If I can get another couple of solid seasons from him that would really be great YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Frederik Overgaard – Average Rating : 7.87 Another nice season for the winger although having such a low average rating indicates to me that the squad is aging as he gained the highest average rating among all my players who are under 21. I need to inject a bit more youth into the squad to create a better balance. My coaches think he could be quality but he is going to need to develop quite a lot to reach that potential CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Looking a lot healthier than it did this time last season and that is after over £8M came out as the club upgraded everything. I'd say we are financially secure for now and the money should allow me to loosen the purse strings a bit in the transfer window as I attempt to strengthen the squad Facilities – Training and youth facilities will be upgraded and the stadium expansion (505 seats) was done without my input. Have increased junior coaching to exceptional. Now I await the opportunity to upgrade the youth recruitment which could be a long wait Youth Intake – Nobody worth mentioning Average League Attendance – 591 This is great and I hope that we can fill out our expanded stadium REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – 2.5* reputation is so close I can almost reach out and touch it. I think once we achieve it the rest of the league will really start to develop Club Domestic Reputation - No important changes. We are still top and 0.5* clear of everybody else Club European Reputation - Almost among the best 50 teams in Europe and on the cusp of being seeded for the Champions League Champions playoff CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Immaculate in Northern Ireland. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Tactics: Having had some time to think about my tactics and noticing the new way in which teams are adapting to us by playing defensively against us I thought it was perhaps time to make some adjustments which didn't involve making role changes every game. I'll be keeping the 4-4-1-1 shape as it is simple and having 2 banks of 4 has proven to be very stable defensively. Attacking wise it plays out like a 2-1-3-4...the central defenders stay back...the central midfielder (defend) drops deep into the defensive midfield strata...the full backs push up into wide midfield (occasionally going further up) with the central midfielder (support) lurking in the middle...the two wingers push into the wide forward positions with the advanced playmaker (attack) darting into the box to support the advanced forward. I have made some alterations to the roles in the base tactic. You will notice that I have opted for wingers instead of wide midfielders. I found that even though my wide midfielders were supplying a lot of assists I didn't like the fact that it's not possible to turn off 'more risky passes' as that almost makes them similar to playmakers which wasn't really what I wanted from them. This has proven a problem for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they are further back in the first stage of attack so if they are attempting killer passes it's usually from deep which isn't great as the further the distance of the pass the more inaccurate it can become often leading to lost possession. Secondly, I wanted to get my AMC in the game and he was often bypassed by the wide midfielders as they attempted their 'hollywood' passes, meaning that one of my best passers wasn't influencing the game as much as I would like. Those reasons were enough for me to change my wide midfielders to wingers. The second change was to make my attacking midfielder (attack) an advanced playmaker (attack). I was initially against the idea of having a playmaker at all but then I thought about what I initially was seeking from the 4-4-2 and how the strike partnership of the deep lying forward (support) and advanced forward was going to work. I wanted a creative striker to play alongside and link up with a great finisher and that's what I get with the advanced playmaker (attack) as he drives from attacking midfield into the box and links up well with the advanced forward ahead of him. As a result of the changes my AMC plays a far more significant role in my system and I haven't lost any of the creative ability of my wide midfielders by changing them to wingers. Even though the playmaker is now the head of the attacking pivot to ensure balance and efficiency he needed passing options all around which he has. I also find that even when faced with two defensive midfielders because he has an attack duty he is incredibly difficult to mark out of the game without seriously disrupting the opposition's defensive shape. Now that my roles, shape and duties are fixed and won't be changed in match the only thing left for me to change in order to adapt to the different opponents I face would be the team instructions. Given that I have no interest in biasing the play with my own instructions instead I looked at the different mentalities. Now one thing I spotted during my games last season was that the most vital aspect of determining which mentality to start the game with was the opponent formation and the most vital aspect of that was the number of players in the defensive and defensive midfield strata. From that I was able to devise a plan of how I was going to approach each game. In games where I face a team with 4 men in the defensive zone I start with a standard mentality Why? Because I still have to be wary of the fact that they have 6 players which potentially could attack me and I know that the main factor which swings games is space. By playing standard I have potentially 6 players who are ready to defend meaning that it would be difficult to outnumber my defence and hence it restricts the space of the opponent as in theory every opposition attacker has a marker. In games where I face a team with 5 men in the defensive zone I start with a control mentality Why? If they have 5 men that could attack me then I know that I can be a bit more relaxed with one of my support players and reduce their defensive responsibilities and allow them more license to get forward. In addition if they have a 5 man defense then I'm going to need to change the way I play in order to create the space I need to break through. This I think is best done with the control mentality. The increased tempo, width, closing down and high line mean that I can more effectively break down the increased numbers in defence without leaving myself exposed to the counter attack. In games where I face a team with 6 men in the defensive zone I start with an attacking mentality Why? In this case they only have 4 men who are a direct threat when attacking. In this instance I need even more stretching of the play as space is that much harder to find when you have to attack against 6 defensive players. Therefore I move one more up the ladder to attacking, safe in the knowledge that even if my attack breaks down they are going to find it really difficult to hurt me on the counter as they won't have sufficient numbers to support their attacks. If I faced only 3 men in the defensive zone I would then play the counter mentality. Although no team has been brazen enough to try such an attacking formation against me with only 3 players in the defensive zone. This kind of goes against what I was stating before which was that I would look at whether they changed to an attacking version of the same formation and adjust based on that. If they changed from a 4-4-2 to an attacking 4-4-2 I would then switch up to control but I've come to discover that this approach isn't the best way. Instead, I have discovered that the best way to approach the opposition is to base my decisions on the formation they play rather than how they change their mentality and player roles/duties. It's not how attacking or defensive the opposition play it's where they will be positioned when defending and how to best overcome their defence which counts. It's also vitally important to not over commit or under commit players as outnumbering is usually how the chain reaction of bad defending starts. For e.g. if I was playing against 4 men in the defensive zone with a control mentality then I would likely be a man short as my central midfielder (support) would be less likely to track back creating a 6 vs 5 situation for my defence which is asking for trouble. Similarly, if playing vs 4 men in the defensive zone with a counter mentality then I would be lacking upfront as my central midfielder (support) plays more defensively meaning that we wouldn't outnumber the opposition when attacking instead having a 4 vs 4. Therefore I chose mentalities for the different numbers of opposition players in the defensive strata so that I can equal the numbers of opposing attackers when defending and outnumber their defenders when I attack. I think it's clear that from these ideas I will never play the defensive, overload or contain mentalities unless in exceptional circumstances (opposition players sent off). Playing with these principles has really helped me to develop a tactical system which has proven successful on the pitch. Even though we are expected to win the league comfortably I'm most content with the fact that in the current season I have 23/26 clean sheets using this strategy. I have also decided to train counter and control versions of the tactic so that switching mentality doesn't hurt familiarity. I suspect that the tactical system may continue to evolve but at least now I have a decent framework to use. The next few seasons will determine for me whether this way of playing has longevity or whether it needs alteration. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Immaculate in Northern Ireland. Like it ...if only it was like that in Europe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2035/2036 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Keep on keeping on and try to equal or better last years performance in Europe THE SEASON League Table - I really enjoyed this season with us only conceding 8 goals and keeping clean sheets in 33 games. Was a shame to see Glentoran relegated again UEFA Champions League – I knew that we were right up against it with the teams we drew in the group so wasn't surprised when we bowed out with a measly 2 points. The key was Shakhtar and we couldn't beat them so we had no chance of finishing 3rd. I was however happy with the draw against Man City Domestic Cups - Got the better of Linfield to win 2 of the cups but lost to them in the Irish Cup Reserves – They won the S&S Cup but other than that a rather mediocre season U18s - Nothing special this year THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Bergqvist was great and Taylor was a great deputy. May need to invest here as the big club predators are on the hunt and they want Bergqvist. DL : McNally was great but so was Luis. Both are unhappy with the amount of first team football they got which is understandable but they should understand that we need to rotate players. DR : Gordon returned and he was good. Bunce was reliable although he is leaving for Bournemouth and Brown was probably a mistake. Will need to invest here next season DC : Still having immense difficulty getting a top central defender but they all performed well enough to keep so many clean sheets so I can't be too disappointed MC : I'm very happy with the increased strength although Konnerup is leaving on a free and Chambers won't sign a new contract so I may need another central midfielder for rotation MR : Beissel was sensational and Bucur also sparkled when he played. I will be in the market for a new right winger as Beissel is also leaving on a free ML : Strong options with Tavernaro being the best of the three. Overgaard has interest so he may be departing AMC : One of the strongest parts of the team has now become one of the weakest. Signorini won't sign a new contract so I'll be looking for a pair of attacking playmakers in the summer ST : Gatter is going on a free and Thomas is unhappy. Hopefully Thomas and Krogh will be my rotating pair next season although I will be in the market for another top stiker Transfers – Important Transfers In Steve Holmes : DC : He was good but nothing special Rasmus Krogh : ST : Very prolific for a backup striker so was happy to pick him up on a free Stephen Gordon : DR : Glad he came back as he performed well for us in the season Rory Lehane : DC : I thought he was the great defender I was looking for but instead I ended up with an overpaid moaner who is no better that what I already had. Not good Mikael Larsen : DC : Maybe in time he can develop into a great central defender but as of now he is still very much a work in progress Nick Meredith : MC : One of the better signings of the season as he performed well for us Marcus Thomas : ST : I think he could be a great striker for us, I may just need to play him more often Kenneth Brown : DR : I thought I needed the extra depth when actually he was unneeded Important Transfers Out Alex : DR : Would have liked to keep him but he had no interest in staying. Was a little peeved to lose £2.2M on him though Cillian Kennedy : MC :Painful to lose him for free when he is now worth £6.25M (incidentally Sean Donnelly who went to Spurs for £2.5M is now valued at £33.5M...at least I have a sell on clause with him though) Glenn Doyle : ST : Another sickening one for us unfortunately. He is now valued at £8M, I'm frustrated as it means we are missing out on so much revenue. I may need to start selling a year ahead of contract expiry PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Niek Beissel – Average Rating : 8.20 The guy was man of the match 9 times and assisted 33 times in 33 games. Awesome YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Frederik Overgaard – Average Rating : 7.96 He is getting better all the time and got a better average rating this season. Will need to be careful with him though as some Danish teams are showing an interest in bringing him back home CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Not the best really but to be expected with our ballooning wage bill. Will need to do some wheeling and dealing in the transfer market so we can get back to upgrading our facilities. Things have gotten so bad that they had to take out a loan for the stadium expansion. Facilities – Another expansion I didn't have to ask for which I'm grateful for. I may test this bug to the extreme and see once we get up near the new expansion capacity whether I can ask the board for an expansion so it's blocked by the council and push the potential expansion capacity value up. It would mean we would be expanding every other season but I'm not too fussed. I didn't have the funds to upgrade the training and youth facilities. Youth Intake – Really poor considering the money that has been invested in this area Average League Attendance – 677 We sold out every single game we played at the ground even after the expansion was completed. I think that we have a lot more supporters than we can cater for and I don't think we will be able to catch up with the demand for quite a few years. I hope we can expand quickly enough as at the moment we are just losing loads of revenue. REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – 2.5* is so tantalizingly close...I was happy to see this though. Club Domestic Reputation - No changes for us Club European Reputation - Moving on up. So nearly in the top 50. I think once we make it we will be seeded through all the Champions League qualifiers CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 It's becoming like a dafuge career now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 It's becoming like a dafuge career now. Except without all the European success...although that may change in the next season summary...hint hint... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2036/2037 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Try to keep the domestic domination and see if we can make a knockout round in Europe THE SEASON League Table – We won the league again but the gap between us and the rest has worryingly shrunk dramatically. The competition is stepping up their game so we are going to need to do so also otherwise we might find ourselves out of the money generating Champions League. UEFA Champions League – Well....what can I say? Absolutely fantastic. We qualified for the group stage easily enough (although unseeded Partizan gave us a fight in the 2nd round) but once we got there I didn't harbor much hope for us getting through. It proved quite a punishing campaign and we ended with only 3 points, the lowest total for all the teams that finished 3rd and qualified for the Europa League knockout rounds. We managed it because Galatasaray was as poor as us and as we scored in the Ali Sami Yen and they didn't at Windsor Park we went through because of an away goal in our head to head record. I think it's fair to say we barely deserved it and went through on a technicality basically, given our atrocious performance I wasn't looking forward to the Europa League at all. The Europa League draw was made for the 1st and 2nd knockout rounds and we got Fenerbache. Should we beat them we would play either Fiorentina or Kasimpasa in the next round. Given the draw I was thinking that I would have been happy just to get knocked out by Fenerbache but then I started to give in game team talks. I didn't really think that it would have much of an impact telling my players assertively to concentrate and encouraging them but it seemed to give my players an edge and make them perform brilliantly. Then we played them...we went 4-1 up and I was shocked as I fully expected them to batter us, they got one more goal but with a 4-2 1st leg victory I was feeling bullish about our chances. Expecting a barrage from them in Turkey I was even further shocked that within 10 minutes of the 2nd leg we were 2-0 up. From that I knew we were going through and I was ecstatic although I felt at this point that our run would end when we played the much better team in Fiorentina. Now I'm in melancholy mode, resigned to the fate that most likely we won't beat Fiorentina and I start to think that I would be happy if my team give a good performance and avoid a large defeat, then an extraordinary thing happens. We batter them 3-0 at home, I'm stunned almost to the point of disbelief. I know that without any away goals conceded we are in an ultra strong position but I remain wary that they could easily beat us by a large margin. We go to Italy and lose 1-0...we're into the quarter finals. Now we are only 2 steps from the final...We start to believe...we start to dream. I await the draw knowing there are no easy teams now. We draw Red Bull Salzburg...I smile...we have beaten them before so see no reason why we can't again. So the first leg is at home. They go 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes, at that point I feel our run is over and with two away goals against we have no chance but then we fight back and level the game before 30 mins, I almost fall out of my chair wondering exactly what is going on. I know a 2-2 draw hands the momentum over to them so I still feel that unless we win now we were going to be up against it in Austria. Then in the last minute of injury time at the end of the game, Tavernaro steps up and gives us the lead. 3-2 and it's all to play for in the 2nd leg. Now, I know that they are going to want to get back into the tie as soon as possible so expect an onslaught from them from the very start. I then tell my players to concentrate and wow...it worked spectacularly. We go 4-0 up in the first 20 minutes, I begin to think I'm dreaming..how is this possible. I know we have broken them and even though they get back 2 goals we are into the semi-finals to play Everton. Now we are in a different league. Everton is the hardest team I've faced so far in this magnificent run in the Europa league and I know that as we were playing at Goodison Park first they could beat us so heavily as to make the 2nd leg void. We get beaten 1-0 and score no away goals. Slightly despondent, I go into the second leg knowing we need a miracle if we are to overturn the loss and make the final. We score in the 34th minute and my eyes light up, we have given ourselves a great chance. Then my hopes are dashed 4 minutes later as they equalize...I then concede defeat and say to my team it was fun while it lasted and encourage them to just put a good performance in. We now need 2 goals to go through and how do you get those goals against a quality team like Everton. Surprisingly easily actually, by half time we had what we needed and were 3-1 up. I know that Everton aren't just going to let it go so easily and I anticipate a response from them in the 2nd half. It never comes, they even threw in a red card in the 80th minute to make the passage even easier. I almost have to pinch myself when I say it but we've made it to the Europa League final to play Monaco. A team which we have previously drawn with so I go into the final feeling that maybe we have a chance to make history. The scene is set...Stade Pierre Mauroy practically filled to the rafters. AS Monaco, two times Europa League winners, Champions League finalists vs us, a team which hasn't ever made it past the 1st knockout round. If you are to compare the history and tradition of the two teams this is about as ill matched a final as a fight between a lion and a mouse. On paper they should beat us, thankfully we take comfort in the fact that football games aren't played on paper and if we break it down to the challenge we face...90 minutes, 11 men vs 11 men, it seems more manageable...if we can perform to our best, we can do it. The game starts rather tentatively with no real chances created in the first 20 minutes. We then have possession deep in our own half in the 22nd minute with Grant, he then plays a cross field pass up the pitch to Henry who then cuts inside and plays a pass to Selvi who is positioned on the edge of the opponents d with his back facing the goal, he then impudently backheels a pass into space for Flynn to chase. The defenders are bamboozled, Flynn gets on to it and is one on one with the goalkeeper. He strikes...it goes through the goalkeeper...1-0. I'm elated, what a great start for us. Then it gets even better, from kickoff they attack us, their striker De Koning on the edge of our box then tries to spray the ball wide to their left winger Chaillou, it gets intercepted by Henry. He then dribbles out of defence with the ball and lays it off to Flynn who then one touch passes it to Martins in the centre of the pitch. Martins dribbles to the right and plays a pass to the right wing where Henry is. Henry picks it up and plays a ball down the flank to Bucur who dribbles up the pitch and lays it back into the centre for Flynn. Then the magic happens. Flynn then plays an absolutely fantastic 40 yard pass out to the left wing which is picked up by Tavernaro. He then dribbles down the flank and crosses to a completely unmarked Bucur at the far post. He receives the ball and smashes it on the volley past the goalkeeper....2-0 up within a minute. At this point I'm in dreamland. We then hold them for the rest of the 1st half. I then tell my lads to concentrate..if we can do that and avoid mistakes we take home the trophy. It seems to work but then in the 58th minute they score and the nerves start to kick in. From that point in the game they give our goal an absolute peppering with Bergqvist having to pull off a sequence of brilliant saves to keep us ahead but we hold them...Immaculata, the little team from Belfast are Europa League Winners!!...What a season in Europe it has been...now we must target the Champions League Domestic Cups - Not the best...only managed to pick up the Co. Antrim Shield this season Reserves – Wonderful season for the Reserves with them picking up a treble and putting in a reasonable showing in the U19 Champions League U18s - A nice double for the youth team THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Bergqvist is an absolute legend and practically won the Europa League for us. Taylor has been a great backup. Bergqvist has many admirers DL : Luis has been solid as ever and new signing Panzo was decent. No changes needed here DR : Henry was fantastic and the departing Gordon was good in patches. Will be looking for another right back DC : All performed well but not as strong as last season. Brooke is unhappy so I will be in the market for a quality central defender MC : Evans is leaving for £3.8M to Aston Villa and Apostol may leave also. Will be looking to strengthen MR : A very productive season for both Hajji and Bucur. No changes needed here ML : Tavernaro was immense with Martins proving a decent rotation option. Unless I'm made an offer I can't refuse for either player I will be leaving unchanged AMC : Brilliant season from Flynn with Margina a decent backup. May need to strengthen here ST : Very good options up front. Docherty is unhappy but I'm fairly satisfied that I won't need a new striker for the next season Transfers – It would be quite exhaustive to go through each important incoming / outgoing as there were quite a few. I'd say Flynn and Selvi are the pick of the players in and McNally was the pick of the outgoings as the transfer fee was very good. PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Gareth Flynn – Average Rating : 8.26 His debut season was absolutely fantastic. His assist in the Europa League final is probably enough to guarantee him legendary status at the club. Although he doesn't have a lot of high attributes as an all around player he is great. More of the same next season and he is going to have a great career at this club. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Anthony Jarvis – Average Rating : 7.50 A really great young central defender who for a 21 year old has already got 32 caps for N. Ireland so I can see him becoming something special if we can keep him for a few years. Derry City will rue the day when they allowed me to have such a huge talent for free. He has come on leaps and bounds and I will be looking to see if next season he can maintain his development. CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Not that great as once again we didn't have enough to upgrade our facilities although we took out another loan for our stadium expansion. I'm not overly concerned though as I feel that we can now command some decent fees for our players. Should the money situation worsen I think a sale or two could bring us right back into a good position but I'm hoping it won't come to that. I also know we have guaranteed Champions League group stage money as we automatically qualify thanks to our Europa League victory. I also think the European Super Cup gives a few million for just participating. Facilities – At last we were able to upgrade our junior recruitment from limited to basic, so maybe my idea of making my club team help the next stage of the career in international management isn't so far fetched after all. The stadium is being expanded again and we get to use Windsor Park for practically the whole of next season. The junior coaching is maxed out so I'm hoping that if the money situation improves that we can resume our upgrading of the facilities. Youth Intake – Just not good enough really. Especially if we want to make the European registration rules a little easier and create a generation of top Irish footballers. Average League Attendance – 1245 It'll be interesting to see how much we can fill Windsor Park when we play our home games there next season. It will give us a good indication of our fan base which will tell us how far we have come REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – We reach 2.5*...the next rise to 3* looks to be a far more difficult proposition. We probably are going to need to get to the Champions League knockout stages in order to make progress beyond where we are now. Our success has increased our European coefficients to this Club Domestic Reputation - We reach 3* and are at least a full star clear of every other team in N. Ireland Club European Reputation - Jumped into the top 40 which is nice. We are only 5 places behind our senior affiliate Olympiakos...can't see that relationship lasting too much longer. CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 A Northern Ireland side wins a European trophy? Believe it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 A Northern Ireland side wins a European trophy?Believe it! Thanks, it came as a great shock to me as in any other Champions League group we would have finished bottom...The key moment of the whole run for me was the 3-0 win against Fiorentina that really gave us a huge boost in morale to beat such a great team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2037/2038 SEASON EXPECTATIONS After last season and the heroics performed in the Europa League I was hoping for some progress in the Champions League while maintaining our domestic dominance THE SEASON League Table – A fairly mediocre season for a team of our quality. Not enough goals and too many draws for my taste. Will be seeking improvement next season UEFA Champions League – It didn't help being drawn again into the group of death. A bit of a let down considering how we did last year. UEFA Super Cup – We tried our best in Cardiff but Manchester United were just too strong Domestic Cups - Looked like we were heading for a clean sweep until the lads had a nightmare against Linfield in the Irish Cup final. Maybe they were thinking about their summer holidays...who knows? Reserves – Cleaned up domestically and managed to get 7 points in the U19 Champions League, so were unlucky not to progress U18s - Won the cup but had to settle for 2nd best in the league THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Bergqvist is still number one with new signing Caporale providing a decent backup DL : Kelly looks a good prospect for the future and Budicin was a bit of a let down DR : One of the strongest positions in the team with Henry and Mendes having great seasons DC : Still struggling here but I am encouraged by Jarvis and his development plus the fact that he's Northern Irish so helps with European squad selection. I just need a quality player to play alongside him MC : I'm happy with my business here and I feel I have strengthened well. It is also quite young meaning there is plenty of scope left to develop MR : Hajji was great this year and Svensson looks like he can develop into a great player ML : I expected a little bit more from Perez but injuries hampered his season. Moran also suffered with injuries but looks a promising winger for the future AMC : Flynn and Murphy are top draw but Morrice will be seeing the door ST : They are certainly good players but I need them to up their scoring rates especially since both Ward and Thomas have entered their peak Transfers – There were so many outs that I had to split the screenshot and put another part Transfers Part 2 I was pleased to make a large profit on my transfer dealings but I don't feel the replacements were worth the money I paid. As practically all of my players are wanted now I will be driving a hard bargain to squeeze every penny I can get out of the buying clubs. I am however rather unhappy with the way that teams keep offering me poor money, when I refuse it causes massive drops in the player morale. I have received a number of offers from America from teams offering nothing when the player is worth in the hundreds of thousands. What annoys me even more is that they keep putting in the same offer over and over and seem surprised that I'm not biting their hand off to give my players to them for nothing. PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Jon Murphy – Average Rating : 8.43 He's a real class act and I have developed a great deal of appreciation for the older Riquelme type player who rather than running themselves into the ground uses his intelligence and great passing ability to unlock defences. I'm a little disappointed that he's declining quite so rapidly but I hope I can get another solid season out of him YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Mile Sovina – Average Rating : 7.81 He was a little costly to buy from Dinamo but he is developing magnificently. I think it's only a matter of time before he becomes my first choice central midfielder (support). I see in him a player similar to Luka Modric, if I can develop him into a player of that quality I can see him making a great contribution which will help propel us into the Champions League knockout rounds CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Our transfer dealings left us with a very healthy balance which then allowed us to improve our training facilities and pay upfront for another stadium expansion. We still aren't anywhere near self sustaining but we have made massive strides towards that goal. Facilities – Upgraded training facilities, had planned to do the youth facilities also but ran out of money for that so it was scrapped. Paid for a stadium expansion of 1532 seats, when we move back we won't have played a legitimate home game for nearly 2 years as we didn't play at the Olympia Leisure Centre at all this season. Haven't been able to upgrade my youth recruitment which is a little disappointing. Youth Intake – Absolute rubbish Average League Attendance – 5152 I'm pleased with that as it is still above how big our stadium will be once expanded. I'm hoping that we can keep building up our fanbase and I will be feeling much more comfortable with our financial sustainability once this figure is above the 10,000 mark. It would be great to have demand outstrip supply for a good many years to help build us into a big club. REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – All of a sudden 3* doesn't look quite so far away, we desperately need progress in the Champions League to get there though. Our performance in Europe has decreased our European coefficients to this. Well at least my fellow N. Irish teams will benefit from having one year where they get later entry into the Europa League. Was a little disappointed that Linfield couldn't at least make the playoff in the Champions League and missed out on group stage football. Club Domestic Reputation - Still top and clear by a star. We reached 3.5* (Superb) after our participation in the UEFA Super Cup Club European Reputation – Now that we have to compete in the qualifiers for the Champions League again I'm pleased that my high coefficient should guarantee that we are seeded all the way to the group stage. Even after a relatively poor year in Europe it was nice to keep climbing the table. Top 40 in the whole of Europe is very good. CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Jesus, that Eurpoa run was amazing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Jesus, that Eurpoa run was amazing! If only we could overachieve like that in the Champions League . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Tactics: I've decided after much viewing of the games that a slight alteration is needed to a couple of the roles in the tactic. I'm going to change my AMC back to an attacking midfielder (attack) from an advanced playmaker (attack). I have also decided to retain the idea of a playmaker in my tactic and changed my central midfielder (support) to an advanced playmaker (support). Why? I spotted during the games with the old tactic a number of things which I didn't really want that were happening frequently: 1) My AMC playmakers weren't very effective in supplying assists and in actual fact provided less put together than both wingers did individually 2) I often found my AMC so high up the pitch at times that there was only really one option ahead of him to pass to which often forced him into recycling possession giving teams time to defensively recover. If he didn't recycle possession he would be forced to hold up the ball and wait for runners from deep or try and dribble which tended to be ineffective. If by some miracle he could have the time and space to measure a pass then the pass would have to be brilliant to play in the Advanced Forward but this was unsurprisingly inconsistent. As you can see in the screenshot which shows the average positions, realistically, if he receives a long ball from the back who can he realistically forward pass it to except the Advanced Forward. 3) My defenders were often playing long balls up field to supply him which would regularly lead to lost possession, this was especially a problem in Europe where we seemed to really struggle to get out of our own half at times even on the Standard mentality. What would happen is that we would regain possession then my defenders would try and pump it forward to the AMC, as they are poor passers of the ball it would easily fall to the opposition and they would then attack us again almost putting us under seige and making us drop deeper and deeper. My central midfield also tended to be bypassed completely. As can be seen in the screenshot the received passes of my central midfield pair is far outstripped by both my wingers and my AMC which makes control of the centre of the pitch difficult. 4) My AMC would often have a hard time if my opponent played with a DM in their formation seemingly having to roam around endlessly to find space reducing his effectiveness The screenshot is a heat map with an overlay showing the positions where my AMC received the ball when we played against Ards who had a DMC in their formation. As you can see the heat map is very evenly spread indicating that he was roaming quite a lot and because of this he received the ball with far more frequency in positions which aren't where I want him to be on the pitch. 5) My central midfielder (support) players all ended last season among the lowest average rated players in the team indicating that they didn't really contribute as much as I would like which is terrible as they are supposed to be the rulers of the centre of the pitch which is where games can be won and lost So how do I think that the changes incorporated will improve things? 1) There is less pressure on my AMC now to be the playmaker meaning that he has greater freedom to link up better with the advanced forward rather than be focused on supplying him 2) With my advanced playmaker (support) on the base of my midfield triangle he should have much more passing options ahead of him and to the side of him meaning that his exceptional passing ability can be better utilized. It also means that he can be more involved in the first stages of the attack. 3) As my central midfielder advanced playmaker (support) is deeper then my central defenders won't need to play the long ball to find him. This should have positive effects on our ball retention which is needed when we play in Europe which is a much higher level than domestically. You could make the argument that we could achieve this by playing a deep lying playmaker (defend) instead of a central midfielder (defend) but I don't want that to be the case as that would make for plenty of long range passes from the deep lying playmaker as even on support he tends to be shackled to remain behind the ball and in our own half which I don't want. 4) When I come up against teams playing a DMC there will be no problems with the increased roaming of the attacking midfielder as there is no emphasis on my players to pass to him. 5) I'm hoping that because I have some exceptional passers in the central midfield that I will be able to dominate the middle of the park more easily and also that this will lead to the players getting better ratings overall. I don't expect them to provide many assists but I would like them to play a number of key passes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengaehassim Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Wouldn't a DLP be better? I feel like AP-S doesn't give the defensive support expected from the MCs on a pair. I use a DLP and he has one of the biggest average ratings on the team. Oh, and congrats on the amazing Europa League run! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2038/2039 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Usual routine...win as much as we can in N. Ireland and try to make progress in Europe THE SEASON League Table – Drew one fewer game but the perfect season still eludes us UEFA Champions League – It's the same old season in Europe we keep replaying it seems. I think I've drawn the short straw quite enough already...can we get an easier group next season please. It's very difficult for us to make progress when we have to play against the best teams in Europe at the group stage every season. This makes it a real struggle for us to get through to a knockout round. Group H had FC Copenhagen, Besiktas, AS Monaco and Ajax. I think had we got drawn into that group we might have been able to do better. Domestic Cups - All good until we met Linfield in the semis of the Irish Cup and they beat us Reserves - Great stuff from the Reserves. 6 points in the U19 Champions League was impressive but again they narrowly missed out on qualifying U18s - Won the league but bombed in the cup THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Bergqvist is class, I may need to search for a new backup should Caporale leave DC : Very strong here and Jarvis is becoming a real star defender. Might need another player for rotation DR : Henry did well although he's leaving at the end of his contract for Aston Villa and new signing Simionca is developing nicely. Will be in the market for a new right back DL : Kelly has become my first choice and Davey is a good backup. No changes needed here unless an interested team puts in a good offer for Kelly MC : I'm fairly happy with the central midfield and hopefully the changes I made to my tactic will facilitate better performances next season MR : Braud is a magnificent player, his temperament unfortunately is appalling. He regularly didn't show up for games instead preferring to party late and be snapped by the paparazzi. He turned into a right pain to deal with as I had to regularly fine him which is a real shame as he is quality. Bech on the other hand was a good signing for rotation ML : Moran had a great season and Otteson looked good once he arrived AMC : Flynn was great and so was Murphy but I'm a little concerned that they are both over 30. I may need to look for a young player to develop for when they start to decline ST : Thomas and Stabb should be enough for me going forward. If one of them suffers an injury I'm happy enough that my reserves striker Theofanous could come into the first team and perform well Transfers – I did good business and turned a nice profit. I tried to buy players which weren't the finished article that could develop well given the opportunity and I think I have been successful in this endeavour as they have all improved since signing PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Gareth Flynn – Average Rating : 8.32 Really good performance this season from the 31 year old. I think that his attributes don't necessarily match up well with that of the advanced playmaker so I'm hoping he can benefit from the change to an attacking midfielder and that he can use his great finishing to chip in with a few more goals next season. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Roddy Moran – Average Rating : 8.01 The young winger has been improving nicely. His turn of pace is blistering and proficiency with both feet will make him difficult to to deal with. He just needs to up his dribbling and first touch and he could develop into a real star for us. CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Even though we spent over £7M on upgrading the training facilities and the stadium expansion I'm a little disappointed not to have enough to upgrade the youth facilities. I'm concerned that even though we made a huge profit in the transfer market we still aren't sitting on a comfortable balance. We must be hemorrhaging money when we aren't getting prize money or selling players. I need to keep an eye on this to ensure we keep out of trouble Facilities – Training facilities are being upgraded to state of the art and was able to upgrade my youth recruitment to fairly basic. We are chucking in another 1560 seats into our ground which after another upgrade next season may be able to host European games Youth Intake – I think I'm going to need to wait until we have youth recruitment which is Established before we start producing some high potential youngsters although the intake this year was the best we've had Average League Attendance – 6176 We sold out Windsor Park when we played Linfield so I definitely feel that we should be able to fill our home ground regularly next season. REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – Even though we have performed poorly in Europe we still are rising up the rankings which has made my player values shoot through the roof (Braud is valued now at £7.75M). We are not that far off 3*, if we can perform well in Europe next season we might just be able to reach it Club Domestic Reputation - Sitting pretty at the top Club European Reputation – I think next season could mark the end of our affiliation with Olympiakos CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Christ you won the Europa League. I'm speechless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Wouldn't a DLP be better? I feel like AP-S doesn't give the defensive support expected from the MCs on a pair. I use a DLP and he has one of the biggest average ratings on the team. Oh, and congrats on the amazing Europa League run! What does the DLP on support contribution look like? Does he play a lot of long passes? Does he move beyond the half way line at all or does he stay behind play at all times? I take your point about the defensive support though as that is really important given my wingers. You certainly have given me something to think about jengaehassim. You have clearly made it work for you if your DLP gets one of the best ratings in your team. Thanks for the advice and I will definitely give it a rethink. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Christ you won the Europa League. I'm speechless. Maybe even more impressive than finding an 800-goal scorer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2039/2040 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Get motoring in the Champions League THE SEASON League Table – We so nearly messed it up. I'm thankful that Linfield became so inconsistent after the split as if they hadn't been we would have missed out because they had a 4 point lead going into the split. I won't be tinkering with the tactic next season as realistically this was too close for comfort. UEFA Champions League – Plain sailing to qualify for the group stage then sunk like the titanic once we got there. Same old story unfortunately..the Europa League win is now becoming a distant memory Domestic Cups - Linfield are becoming our bogey team in the Irish Cup Reserves - A decent showing U18s - Not quite as dominating as I would expect given our huge investment in the youth system THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Bergqvist left as I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. Grcic was alright but nowhere near being a direct replacement...will be searching for a new goalkeeper DC : Very strong here. May need another for rotation. Jarvis has developed very well DR : Two very competent right backs with the new signing Ashurov impressing once he had his work permit granted DL : Kelly and Davey are two very good left backs with a great future ahead of them MC : Really strong position for the team. I think I have definitely got the spine of the team as strong as it should be so it will take silly money for me to disturb it. MR : Booth and Bech are a pair of very talented wingers who could have a great career for us ML : Will need to add a winger to rotate with Otteson AMC : Flynn and Stewart are great and will benefit from the changing of the AMC role to an Enganche. Murphy will be leaving ST : Thomas, Stabb and Karamoulas all did well although Thomas may want to leave Transfers – Not as many transfer dealings this season but still made a nice profit. The players in were all younger players who were bought as longer term solutions for the players they had to replace (except Stewart who came back as an emergency quick fix when both my AMC players were injured). I'm hoping that with some development these players might just help us to reach the next stage. I was a bit annoyed though with the parting shot I got when both Braud and McDonald left the club when I told them that they were welcome back anytime. To hear that they "wouldn't come back as long as I was in charge" really did make the blood boil especially from Braud when I revitalized his faltering career...the ungrateful little ***... PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Gareth Flynn – Average Rating : 8.23 The aging AMC is just class and that has no age. He has the quality to be around for a few more years, I'm hoping in that time I can get him a younger protege who he can tutor but it has to be the right youngster YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Alan Booth – Average Rating : 8.37 The DBP young player of the year was just great on the right flank. He needs to work on some of his technical attributes to better blend with his very good physical attributes. If he can do that, then the sky is limit for the player CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – We're broke and it ain't no joke!!...However, I'm happy enough that we could easily get out of the red should we need to. We invested again in our infrastructure but because our training facilities are maxed out at least there isn't too many more money sinks, it's built already so hopefully I can begin to build up the balance. The increasing gate receipts should also help. Progress in the Champions League would give us the security we desire Facilities – Youth recruitment got an upgrade to average which I'm hoping means we can get some better intakes. The youth facilities will be upgraded which should help me to develop them once they are here. The stadium also got another 1735 seats installed which was paid for upfront. Everything else is at the maximum it can be. Youth Intake – Still waiting for the next big N. Irish star...I would have thought that by now I might have had a least one player come through who could be decent for us but I guess I'll just have to continue waiting Average League Attendance – 5087 Not quite what I was expecting as quite a few games in the season had around 600 empty seats once the expansion was finished. I'm hoping we can fill the stadium out a little better next season REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – I was expecting this to fall given our mediocrity in Europe and the other teams faltering early but it's still on the up. To be on the cusp of 3* is great so I need a big season in Europe to push through into the top 20 Club Domestic Reputation - Top but Linfield are closing the gap Club European Reputation – We now have a higher coefficient than our senior affiliate so expect it to be cancelled at the beginning of next season. CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2039/2040[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Tactics: Carrying on the theme of continual evolution of my tactic I have decided to update my tactic to the one below. As you can see there has been a number of changes and I'll explain them all below: 1) Mentality has been changed from Standard to Control This has been done because of the 4-4-1-1 shape I'm playing. From the control mentality description it aims to be patient and wait for a good opportunity when in the final third. This is ideal for us as at the beginning of the defensive to attacking transition there are only 2 players up the pitch therefore when attacking my front 2 will have to wait for support from the midfield. If I play a higher mentality then it could become too rushed and without sufficient numbers could blunt the attack. Similarly playing a lower mentality could give us the opposite problem with the build up being too slow so when we do get support for our attacks the opposition defenders would have recovered to their defensive positions. Compressing the pitch vertically also helps to keep our players within close range of each other which both helps our passing game in keeping possession which is a main component of the 4-4-1-1 and its three central midfielders and the increased pressing allows us to regain the ball quicker and higher up the pitch. 2) Team shape has been changed from Flexible to Fluid After reading some of the ideas presented in the tactics section of the forum I thought that this change would make a lot of sense. As the 4-4-1-1 is a fairly flat formation I feel that playing fluid would allow for increased movement between the lines to compensate. In addition as my players are of a high ability (relative to the rest of N. Ireland) I wanted to give them an increase in creativity as I felt that would be needed to unlock defences especially since the control mentality seeks to patiently probe the opposition defence. The reduced spacing between the players as they more frequently interchange positions also influenced my decision to play a fluid shape. 3) Added Play Out Of Defence instruction I thought this made a lot of sense considering that I had my GK distributing to my full backs while playing less risky passes. Without the instruction when my full backs or centre backs would receive the ball I found they frequently kicked it long which wasn't what I wanted. It also makes sense from the perspective that my formation isn't top heavy and isn't particularly suited to long balls from defence. Using the instruction should allow us to retain the ball more effectively while ensuring that it is more likely that my central playmakers can get more regularly on the ball without the ball bypassing them. 4) Added Work Ball Into Box instruction I added this after I played a game without it and ended up with a ridiculous 30 shots and only scored 3. It also makes a lot of sense given the shape I play as I need that wait in order for my support players to get up the pitch so that I can pass the ball around the defence and probe the final third. It has led to a lot less wild shots and given that I have a lot of creative roles in the final third I also think that it helps to rein in slightly the playing of 'hollywood' passes and shots. 5) Added Look For Overlap instruction Given our slow and patient passing game that I wanted to adopt I decided therefore to make my full backs the providers of the width. As the pace of build up play tends to be slower I feel if my full backs overlap they can make a telling contribution when we are camped in the oppositions half and need to stretch them. I felt wingers might be ahead of the speed of build up leading to isolation and as I only have one real target in the box (sometimes 2 when the winger from the opposite flank pushes up) I think making my full backs the main players to cross the ball would lead to increased numbers in the box to target when the ball is ready to be crossed in the later stages of the attack. 6) Added Prevent Short GK Distribution instruction As we have two solid banks of four when defending I feel confident that should the opposition goalkeeper kick it long that I could more easily deal with that threat. Given my Advanced Forward is up there anyway I thought that I might as well get him to contribute in a way to our defending by pressuring the GK. It doesn't always work but is helpful when it does. 7) Changed my Full backs (support) to Wing backs (attack) while also changing my Wingers (attack) to Wide Midfielders (support) This was done so that my wide midfielders could cut inside and bolster my numbers in the middle so that my Enganche had easier passing options helping us to retain the ball. I also employed wingbacks as I still wanted to stretch the opposition back line at the opportune moment. I didn't change my wingers (attack) to wide midfielders (attack) as I don't like the more risky passes the wide midfielder (attack) role has by default. I have clearly defined playmakers and I still want my wide players to be dribblers at heart rather than my main passers. 8) Changed my Central Midfielder (support) to Deep Lying Playmaker (support) I thought this was an essential change as I needed a pivot in my midfield to link my defensive deep positioned central midfielder (defend) and my attacking high positioned Enganche (attack). I also wanted a passer who could link the two rather than a runner and also a player who if needed could step in and cover for the marauding left wingback. I entertained the idea of making the DLP have a defend duty but I felt it was unneeded and would create too large a gap between my central midfield strata and my attacking midfielder strata. Having a selection of all three duties in my central midfield seems to have given a sense of balance. 9) Changed my Attacking Midfielder (attack) to Enganche (attack) This was partly done because I had a really good Enganche but as a number 10 and second striker I felt this was the best of the roles available given my formation. I don't really need a defensive contribution from my AMC at all so attacking midfielder and advanced playmaker were out of the question in my opinion. That left the Trequartista whose roaming would make for a very inconsistent playmaker in the final third where I need him to be and a shadow striker would not suit the system either as they tend to be more effective when the opposition aren't back into their defensive shape which suits a quick transition type of game which our shape wouldn't allow. The Enganche therefore was my choice and has proven to be very effective. That's all the changes I have adopted. I'm hoping that going forward it will be the final alterations I have to make but am always open to further refinement if I can see a benefit from it. I have also abandoned the idea of changing mentality based on opposition defensive numbers. I feel with the tactic if I score first then I'm very difficult to break down and rarely concede. If however I go behind then I may change my Wide Midfielder duty to attack although I may need to rethink this. Overall though I'm happy and the progress in our next season report shows how effective the system has proven to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2040/2041 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Restore a level of comfort with our position as top dogs in N. Ireland while pushing for improvement on the continental stage THE SEASON League Table – Better in some sense as our lead was more comfortable but we actually lost more games this season than last. I think the reason is the increasing rotation with my reserves and they aren't very good UEFA Champions League – AT LAST!!!...Finally we break through into the knockout stages. I thought it was going to be a case of more of the same when we drew our opening 2 games of the group and lost our 3rd game against the top seeded group winners but our resolute draw at home to the Red Devils had me hopeful. We then went to Ukraine and gave Shaktar a good thrashing which was pleasing with Moulin scoring the best goal of the entire tournament against them with a long range hammer into the top corner. Going into the final game of the group I knew that only a win would allow us to overtake Twente and take 2nd with 3rd practically guaranteed. We won thanks to a penalty and drew Chelsea in the next round. I was slightly disappointed to get knocked out by Chelsea actually. We had a 3-1 lead in the 1st leg which we threw away to end up with a 3-3 draw. In the second leg we came very close to beating them in the last minute of the game which would have put us 4-3 up but their goalkeeper pulled off one of the most miraculous saves I've ever seen to put us into extra time. I was hoping that I might be able to take them all the way but 2 goals deep into extra time killed us off. I'm happy that at last we seem to be making strides in the Champions League though Domestic Cups - I guess the lack of consistency in the cups over the last few seasons probably shows that I'm not overly interested in them anymore. I mainly played a blend of youth and reserve players and as my youth system isn't all that great they aren't of a level to be competitive enough to win the cups. Maybe in time they'll be good enough but that could be quite a while yet Reserves - Won the league but really not great in the cups U18s - I feel they should be dominating given the investment in our youth system but they aren't which is concerning THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : Grcic was decent although we need quality here DC : Seems to be weakening although Jarvis and Saunders shine. We need to invest in this area DR : Both top quality wing backs with interest from many clubs. I hope I can hold on to them as they are young and quality and could be long term occupants of the right back position if they want to be DL : Kelly might be leaving so I will need to find another left wing back MC : The strongest part of the team. The vultures are circling though, I really hope I can hold on to them MR : Booth and Bech are solid and unless I get a large offer for either I won't be selling ML : Another pair of solid wide players who I'm hoping to retain AMC : Zupic is class, I am however a little disappointed with Juska considering he came with such a large price tag ST : Theofanous is leaving and I will be searching for a couple of exceptional strikers to take us to the next level which can rotate with each other Transfers – Zupic was worth the money paid whereas Juska is yet to prove that he justified such a large fee. We made a bit of a loss this season on transfers which is an interesting phenomenon as it means that we can retain our best players more easily which is a good sign for the future. I also think the higher values of my players may also play a part in our easier retention of players PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Alan Booth – Average Rating : 8.18 Last seasons top young player becomes this years best player overall. Even though his attributes and stats aren't that special he must be doing something good on the pitch to get such a high average rating. If he can keep up these performances he will quickly become an indispensable asset within our team YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Temur Ashurov – Average Rating : 7.97 This is a truly exceptional performance from the player when I consider the background. Firstly, he is Uzbek which as a country doesn't have a reputation for producing top quality players. Secondly, he was offered to the club by an agent on a free transfer and he didn't speak any English. Lastly, he can't cross to save his life so isn't suited as a wing back although that is listed as his best position and the role I play him in. When you take that all into account I think it's quite remarkable that he has been able to assimilate so seamlessly into the team and perform so consistently. CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Not great, the fact that we are still so far away from being self sustaining given our increased revenues from Europe is cause for concern. Our finances are so bad that our maxing out of the level for the youth facilities will have to wait. Our club value is an astonishing £30.5M but it certainly doesn't feel like that based on our cash balance Facilities – As we are approaching our potential expansion capacity of 9,800 I asked for the stadium expansion through a board request expecting that the council would scrap it. They didn't and we took out a loan to cover the extra 500 seats being installed. Nothing else has been changed and the youth recruitment upgrade option is not available Youth Intake – It really is no longer worthy of comment anymore Average League Attendance – 7331 I'm happy to see the huge jump in attendance from last season. We have even started to host European ties at home which is nice but on the other hand I'd rather we could play at Windsor Park for a few more seasons until our home ground is of a comparable size as the revenue we get from playing there is much greater. REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – 3* league and clear. The jump to 3.5* is a much larger jump which I can only see the league making if we can get to the later stages of the Champions League and the other N. Irish teams get their act together in Europe. It's rather disappointing that not a single other N. Irish team has made a group stage in all the years this career has been running Club Domestic Reputation - We are clear which is good but the gap between teams in the top flight and rest of the league system is becoming huge meaning that Glentoran and the Big 2 derby could be missing for quite some time Club European Reputation – It's becoming a bit of a farce that Olympiakos remains our senior affiliate but I guess since they have an extra 0.5* of reputation that will remain the case. CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2039/2040[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group[/td][/tr][tr][td]2040/2041[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and League Cup Winners, Reached 1st Knockout Round of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Progress in the Champions League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ropo Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 This is a great read! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Progress in the Champions League. We certainly needed it!!...Now that we have had a takeover (which I'll put in my end of season report) I'm hoping that it can become a regular occurence Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 This is a great read! Thanks for that. Glad you're enjoying it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2041/2042 SEASON EXPECTATIONS After last seasons breakthrough in the Champions League I'm hoping for more of the same. We also need to be mindful of an improving Linfield THE SEASON League Table – I finished top of the pile but only managed to secure the title on the last matchday after beating Linfield on the 37th matchday. Linfield are putting in more of a challenge now so we are going to need to step it up next season UEFA Champions League – After last seasons improvement it was rather disappointing to end up bottom of the group again. I'm hoping that now I have finally settled on a tactic (which I employed first at home to PSG) that we can make some progress. Domestic Cups - Looked to be a clean sweep until yet again Linfield turfed us out of the Irish Cup. We haven't won the Irish Cup for quite some years now, I've almost forgotten what it feels like to lift the Irish Cup now. I'll be going all out next season to reclaim what should rightfully be ours and get our clean sweep Reserves - A pretty special season for the Reserves with a great performance in the U19 Champions League U18s - Won the cup but had to settle for bronze in the league THE PLAYERS Squad - GK : I'm having real trouble finding a long term replacement of Bergqvist and with all due respect the replacements I've bought they can't hold a candle to him DC : Jarvis appears to have peaked and the rest are as good as they are ever going to be. I may need to break the bank to get the quality we need but we must strengthen if we are to reach the next level DR : I feel Ashurov and Connolly could be our settled rotating pair but Ashurov is unhappy and wants to leave so he may force my hand and make me have to replace him DL : I'm very happy with my left backs and see no reason to make any changes here MC : They are top quality but they are also now aging which is becoming a concern. I'm hoping I can get to see the best of the them next season or I may need to dip into the transfer market MR : I don't see that any changes will be needed here and I'm happy with the depth we have ML : Similar to the right wing I'm content with the strength and depth we have here AMC : I'm still waiting for that great season where one of them steps up and owns the number 10 role. I know they are capable given their ability but they have yet to show me and I'm becoming rather impatient ST : I most certainly will be looking for that special striker as when Kelly needs a rest, the backup isn't up to the task. I need a consistent performer so that I can challenge on all fronts next season Transfers – Some of the free transfers in were class such as Nielsen, Hillman and Hall but I feel I'm approaching the limits of the quality I can bring in through the free transfer market as the real big stars are never released which I feel we need to challenge in Europe. All the transfers out for money were done as they had become unsettled thanks to the buying club and I didn't want the hassle. I was happy to get £5M for Kelly and we made a nice profit from our transfer deals PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Kenneth Bech – Average Rating : 8.24 Flippin' eck Bech!!...a great season from the right winger who was far and away our most prolific provider of assists in the team. He may not be a speed demon but his crossing technique is brilliant. I'm hoping for more of the same next season from him YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Bans Demir – Average Rating : 7.86 A very talented and quick left back who could be become a great player. He just needs to develop his technical attributes (especially his tackling to go with his PPM) and he could prove very difficult for opposing wide players to deal with. I really like how strong and fast he is and I'm hoping that he can put fear into opposing wingers with his ability to compete with them physically CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Although the finances may look poor in the screenshot we had a takeover after it was taken. The new consortium invested £9.5M and paid off all the loans, if this is a sign of things to come from them I think it's fair to say that the dark days are over and with them in our corner we can really start to turn this into a 'big club'. I think me and the new board are going to get along just fine. I'll use this opportunity to spend big to get what we need to take us to the next level now that I have some security with respect to our sustainability. Facilities – Had a stadium expansion which brings us up to our maximum capacity for the Olympia LC so if we are to progress further we are going to need a new stadium which I'm hoping will be granted without having to ask for it (provided the council doesn't constantly block it). Have asked for the youth facilities to be upgraded (after the takeover) so the work should start on them at the end of next season. Still have no option to improve youth recruitment which is one of the last aspects preventing us from building up the club even more quickly. It's lagging behind quite badly which isn't helping our youth system at all Youth Intake – This is exactly why we need the ability to upgrade our youth recruitment. We just can't continue with these lackluster intakes if we are to ever produce the quality of player that we need for the next generation Average League Attendance – 8324 We seem to be selling out all games with the exception of games against teams with small followings. We play all our games at home now in Europe with teams such as Cliftonville actually being forced to use our stadium to play European ties as their home ground is unsuitable. REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – Our first decline in years which is no real shock given our mediocre season in Europe. The terrible performances of all the other N. Irish teams in Europe doesn't help much either. We drop to 2.5* which is unfortunate but I'm hoping that should we do well in Europe next year we can begin rising again and count this as just a blip Club Domestic Reputation - We are top and clear by 0.5*. Are Glentoran ever going to get promoted to bring back the Big 2 derby?...I fear not for a long time... Club European Reputation – Again, we drop in the rankings, this time almost falling behind our now former senior affiliate Olympiakos who decided we were getting a bit too big for our boots so ditched us. It's not all bad though as without prompting my new board decided to assign us a brand spanking new one (how nice of them) who go by the name of...what was it again?....They play in Spain...ah yes...Barcelona..yes...Barcelona...I had to take a double take when I read that message in my inbox...this should be fun!...I did say that one day I wanted to develop this club into them...it'll be great getting some of their youth products and developing them..can't wait to see who they offer me!!... CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2016/2017[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Nothing of note[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017/2018[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]7th[/td][td]Seem to be going backwards although some minor cup success by making the semis of the Intermediate Cup[/td][/tr][tr][td]2018/2019[/td][td]NIFL Championship 2[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Champions and moving up[/td][/tr][tr][td]2019/2020[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Consolidation[/td][/tr][tr][td]2020/2021[/td][td]NIFL Championship 1[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]Winners of the Promotion Playoff[/td][/tr][tr][td]2021/2022[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]11th[/td][td]Stayed up by the skin of our teeth by winning the Promotion/Relegation Playoff [/td][/tr][tr][td]2022/2023[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]5th[/td][td]Finished in the top 6 and won the League Cup. Named Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2023/2024[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]4th[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League and my Reserves team won the Steel & Sons Cup [/td][/tr][tr][td]2024/2025[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]Qualified for the Europa League[/td][/tr][tr][td]2025/2026[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2026/2027[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2027/2028[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Irish Cup Winners, UEFA Europa League group stage participants and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2028/2029[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League Champions, Co. Antrim Shield Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2029/2030[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2030/2031[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2031/2032[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2032/2033[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic quadruple, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2039/2040[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group[/td][/tr][tr][td]2040/2041[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and League Cup Winners, Reached 1st Knockout Round of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2041/2042[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Tactics: I thought I had figured it out and that the last tactic I posted was going to be my last but with last seasons lackluster performances I thought that I may need to make further changes. When we got hammered 7-1 away to Dungannon near the start of season 2042/43 that pretty much settled it in my mind. The question however remained how to change it? As I hadn't really gone in depth with my watching of matches I didn't really know where to start. I wanted to create a tactic which had both variety and quality with the chances that it created. I then started to watch a few matches on comprehensive which showed me some pretty major flaws in my old tactic. I was especially concerned with the types of goals we were scoring which tended to be a mixture of players getting on the end of crosses (which seems a little broken and is likely to be fixed with the final patch), my players capitalizing on opposition errors or long range shots. This is no way to play and is terribly inconsistent, I wanted a system where I could create goals and break through defences consistently. Therefore I decided to change the tactic to the one below: As you can see I'm determined to keep the formation and just want to find a consistent way of making it work. I'll explain all the changes I've made below: 1) Mentality has been changed back to Standard from Control I found that after a while when playing against teams who were very defensive that the extra vertical compression of the pitch worked against us making it difficult for my players to find space in the final third. The increased width also hurt us especially since we had a lot of passers in the midfield, I found the gaps between them tended to be too large making ball retention difficult. I think by putting it back to Standard I have a good base to work from which if needed can be adjusted on a game by game basis with different team instructions. 2) Changed the STC to a STCL and the AMC to a AMCR What I was finding when I had them in a line was that they were getting in each others way with my Enganche often wanting to occupy the same position as my Advanced Forward towards the latter stages of our attacks. I feel by putting a bit of space between them horizontally they can more effectively draw defenders out of position and not be so predictable. 3) Removed Look For Overlap and Prevent Short GK Distribution Instructions As I wasn't playing with Wingbacks I decided to remove the overlap instruction and I didn't see much point in keeping the Prevent Short GK Distribution as the Advanced Forward has a tendency to do this anyway 4) Changed my Wingbacks to Full backs and changed my left midfielder into a Winger I made the first change when I had a closer look at the attributes of my LB and RB. They aren't great crossers of the ball and they certainly aren't good dribblers so playing those roles would probably mean that their performances would suffer. The full back means that they can focus more on their defensive responsibilities although I have added cross from byline and run wide with ball as player instructions for my attacking right full back. This was done as I want him to stretch the pitch in the final third but also play easier crosses which can be achieved by crossing from closer in. Additionally, I have made my Wide Midfielder (Support) cut inside so that my right back has increased space to run into. The second change of making my left midfielder a winger was done when I started to think about space and the interactions between the different players in my system. I wanted to create a layered attack with different players arriving at different times from different angles. I also wanted a player who could in the early stages of the attack cross to the advanced forward if the opportunity arose. 5) Changed my Deep Lying Playmaker (support) back to a Central Midfielder (support) I've decided to go back to my original idea of playing without a playmaker. The deeper starting position of the CM also meant that if he was to be a playmaker that he would be constantly playing riskier passes in order to provide assists which would have to be long distance passes owing to how far back he is. As my formation isn't top heavy this is rather pointless as he has very few targets ahead of him to find with a killer pass. It also doesn't mesh particularly well with a patient build up when you have a player who urgently wants to launch risky passes from deep. I don't mind my central midfield (support) attempting the occasional hollywood pass but only when its feasible. On a similar theme, I decided to add the Fewer Risky Passes to my central midfielder (defend). I done this as I noticed that he was persistently launching long balls as his best role is listed as a deep lying playmaker, I don't want this as I would much prefer he focuses more on defending and recycling possession rather than trying to create from such a defensive position in the midfield. 6) Changed my Enganche (attack) back to an Attacking Midfielder (attack) I think that the role best suits the action of a deep lying forward (support) except that the player starts deeper then pushes forward as opposed to dropping off the forward line then working the ball up. I've added the player instruction of move into channels so that the player constantly seeks to find space between the lines even when the opposition deploys a DM. I'm hoping that I can continue with this tactic with only slight alteration depending on the opposition. As of yet it has proven itself to be very good (season 2042/2043 which I'll report on has seen great improvement in Europe). It's not a diablo tactic and doesn't score for fun but what it does do is create some really brilliant passages of play often leading to some fantastic goals and more importantly it consistently creates good chances in the opponents box. In the majority of games I have played with the tactic I rarely see players shoot from distance and it's only a matter of time before my players have an 'on' game against weaker opposition where we'll hammer them as we seem to have so many shots inside the box. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2042/2043 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Have to do better in Europe which could be possible with the increased finances available. Try to do a domestic clean sweep THE SEASON League Table – We won but we seem to be getting worse which is worrying. Mercifully, our main competitors also appear to be declining although that could all change as Coleraine were taken over by a tycoon, it'll be interesting next season that's for sure UEFA Champions League – Now that's what I'm talking about...hell yeah. I think we were more than fortunate to qualify from our group with 6 points but the Galacticos were so strong in the group that it gave us an opening if we could perform reasonably against Schalke and Sporting. We sneaked through thanks to our head to head record against Sporting. When we drew Monaco I thought that maybe we might be able to repeat our Europa League final success against them and it proved to be the case with a stunning victory in the Stade Louis II putting us through. In the quarters we faced Leverkusen who were the weakest of the teams we could face. I then decided to play on the counter for the home tie and it worked with us pulling off an impressive 3-2 win. Going to Germany I knew we had to avoid conceding because of the precarious lead which I thought we could achieve by adding the retain possession instruction which worked like a charm with a goal just after half time giving us the victory. We then faced Real Madrid and while the omens weren't good based on our group performances against them I again tried to employ the counter mentality against them in the Bernabeu but unfortunately they were too strong and beat us 2-0 and without any away goals practically put themselves in the final. I was delighted to hold them at home 0-0 so maybe we aren't that far away from them. They ultimately went to Wembley to play Atletico where they lost 1-0 after ET which must have been pretty galling for them. If we can manage anything remotely like this next season I'll be more than happy Domestic Cups - It was a shame I had to play a weakened side in the Irish Cup because of the first leg of the Champions League Quarter Final only 4 days later. I was happy enough we took Linfield all the way though. Similarly, we lost our fantastic unbeaten run in the League Cup as we had to play Sporting 5 days after so again fielded a weakened side which weren't good enough to be beat Crusaders. If I have to sacrifice domestic cup success for European cup success then so be it Reserves - Clean sweep domestically and mediocre in Europe U18s - As I see it they should be getting a clean sweep annually but they often disappoint THE PLAYERS Squad - I decided to be a bit lazy and get a Director of Football in. I gave him the reins to sign players to which I would agree or decline, to be fair to him he was able to get some real quality loans especially Diaz who is considered a wonderkid. I think I'll take back over finding players next season though and attempt to extend some of the loans for the better players he found. The average age of the team is 24 but I feel that figure is somewhat biased by the young loan players we have in the side. We could be looking at a rebuild next season with special emphasis placed on finding youth players. Mba, Brown, Hall and Brooke are all leaving so I will need to replace them Transfers – The loans in were class where as the signings we bought were overpriced and under performed all season long. Demir will be missed but apparently the allure of Belgium was too strong for him to resist. When I rejected an ever lower offer from Standard he was fuming and caused a massive amount of unrest in the dressing room to test my patience. After much cajoling and trying to reason with him I saw that my efforts were becoming futile. In the end, seeing it wasn't a battle I could win I decided that when Club Brugge came in with an offer that I'd get shot of him just to end the whole sorry episode PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Scott McAusland – Average Rating : 8.24 He gained the most assists and had a great season. He may have peaked though so may not have a long term future here but if we can get more of the same consistency next season I'd happily accept that from him YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Julian Diaz – Average Rating : 7.21 The wonderkid Man City loanee has been a great acquisition for us. I really hope that I can convince Man City and him to extend the loan for another season as when he leaves he is going to leave a massive hole in our squad which is going to require big money to fill CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – Money is no longer an issue for us and we haven't got much more major expenditures when it comes the club infrastructure except a new stadium which I'll try to save up for. Our sponsorship deals are laughable when you compare them to the deals that other teams we need to compete with in the Champions League have, I'd say we still aren't self sustaining but the game changer will be a Champions League win or a new bigger stadium with better corporate facilities Facilities – We upgraded both the youth facilities and the youth recruitment which should hopefully yield dividends in future. I'm a little confused about the stadium situation though. Before the end of the season we had no option in the make board request screen to make any changes to the stadium so I couldn't request anything. The season then ended and I received this message in my inbox. Noticing a request stadium expansion tab in the message (not shown in screenshot as I already clicked it) I then asked for a stadium expansion which gave me this message in my inbox. When I then look at my facilities page there is no indication of any expansion taking place and when I look at my finances I notice that no money has been taken out. I'm totally confused by this Youth Intake – Future is looking bleak... Average League Attendance – 9709 We sold out practically every game so need the stadium issue to be resolved REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – Up to 3* again and my performance in Europe seems to have improved our coefficients to this. I'm hoping that the other teams in the league can make the most of it but realistically they probably won't Club Domestic Reputation - I thought that when you got taken over by a tycoon that your reputation would get a bit of a boost. Coleraine have proven that this isn't the case which is going to make it difficult for them to acquire the quality of player they are going to need to become competitive at the top end of N. Irish football Club European Reputation – In very impressive company now and the season after next means we won't have to start in the 2nd round CL qualifiers which is always welcome CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2033/2034[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, participant in the UCL Group Stage and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2039/2040[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group[/td][/tr][tr][td]2040/2041[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and League Cup Winners, Reached 1st Knockout Round of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2041/2042[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2042/2043[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Reached Semi-Finals of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Great Champions League campaign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 And I thought winning the Europa League with a Norn Iron side was impressive, then you make a run to the Champions League semis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Great Champions League campaign. Thanks, I feel the loan players really helped us to excel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 And I thought winning the Europa League with a Norn Iron side was impressive, then you make a run to the Champions League semis. We maybe were a tad lucky with some of the teams we had to play to progress, in the next season update you'll see what happens when the draw is unkind, I'm delighted to have made it so far though. You know what they say...if you did it once, you can do it again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2043/2044 SEASON EXPECTATIONS After last seasons heroic performance in the Champions League if we could manage something similar it would be considered a great season THE SEASON League Table – Much, much better than in recent seasons which may have been helped by better rotation of the team. The first year we get a second Champions League place and it goes to Cliftonville. Coleraine have improved and are spending like it's going out of fashion. It looks like the gap between the teams competing for second place has become much tighter making it difficult for teams to keep up with us as they take points off each other UEFA Champions League – We're good..but we're not that good. We just aren't among the elite yet, so when we drew a group like we did a season of struggle was sure to follow. Beating AC Milan on the 5th matchday meant we still had a chance of making the knockout stages of both competitions going into the last matchday but the late goal conceded in France consigned us to the wooden spoon Domestic Cups - It was nice to get our hands on the Irish and League Cups again, our reserve team losing on penalties to Donegal Celtic in the Co. Antrim Shield however wasn't as nice Reserves - A bit of strange season for them really. They beat R. Madrid U19s, AC Milan U20s & Lyon U19s to qualify for the knockouts of the U19 Champions League only to then lose to Basel U21s. Lost to the film factory in the S&S Cup but won the Intermediate Cup trashing Linfield and Coleraine on the way U18s - Nothing special THE PLAYERS Squad - It seems that the balance is about right with regards to squad numbers and depth. I think if I can keep to having 2 strong players for each position and rotate them regularly we can be a lot more successful. Unfortunately, some of my stars wouldn't sign new contracts so the following players are leaving on a free: Hogevold, Bech, Hillman & Zupic. As a result next season I will be looking for a defensively minded central midfielder, a right midfielder and a central attacking midfielder. As the squad appears to be aging a little I'll look toward the younger end of the spectrum for my replacements Transfers – Of all the transfers in Valery Mohamadou was the best and proved to be a great replacement for Becerra. As all the values of my players have gone through the roof (Ashurov is nearly worth £10M) all my signings have proven to be value for money with great resale value. I transferred out a lot of players which were getting on my nerves with the constant pestering about wanting to leave. By allowing them to go I no longer have the excessive number of players vying for each spot in the team meaning that the players which remain can rotate more effectively and will play enough to keep them satisfied PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Lukas Juska – Average Rating : 8.52 A great season from the player which has been filled with improvement. He will need to step up next season when he becomes my first choice AMC and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the increased responsibility YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Constantin Posirca – Average Rating : 7.43 A fine young defender who has made great strides in his development this season. As he is the best player I have that is 21 or younger it indicates to me that some fresh blood is needed next season CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – We look poor but in mid-June the board decided to pump in £8.75M. The timing of this was strange because it meant we had to take out a loan to pay for the stadium expansion. Had they pumped the money in earlier then we could have paid the money upfront and avoided the interest that we are now going to be charged...not the smartest move ever from the money men Facilities – It looks like we have re-entered the stadium loop bug. It starts with the council blocking the stadium expansion when the stadium is at its maximum capacity which then pushes up the potential expansion capacity of the Olympia LC. The expansion then takes place in the next season to raise it to the new maximum which will then cause the council to block again and repeat the loop. At this rate we will expand once every 2 seasons which is kind of slow for what we want especially for a stadium with such poor corporate facilities...I just hope that we can get a new stadium soon which has a much better expansion potential and can be upgraded yearly if needed. Other than the stadium, everything else is maxed out with the exception of the youth recruitment which is still unavailable to be upgraded Youth Intake – The next George Best could be quite some way off Average League Attendance – 9739 We got our expansion but we need a new stadium befitting a club of our standard...the Olympia LC just doesn't scream 'big club' and is hindering our progress as we miss out on huge amounts of revenue REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – We can see the summit!!...I didn't expect us to rise quite so much actually so I am chuffed with that!!...Next target 3.5* which might be possible if we can go far in Europe Club Domestic Reputation - No real changes Club European Reputation – Happy with our position CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2034/2035[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, reached the 1st Knockout Round of the Europa League and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2039/2040[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group[/td][/tr][tr][td]2040/2041[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and League Cup Winners, Reached 1st Knockout Round of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2041/2042[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2042/2043[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Reached Semi-Finals of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2043/2044[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Irish Cup Winners, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Back to normal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Back to normal. Unfortunately so ...Could be quite some time before we make the breakthrough and win the Champions League but I'll keep at it... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 The Immaculate Conception Season 2044/2045 SEASON EXPECTATIONS Keep trying in Europe and make it through to a knockout stage THE SEASON League Table – Had to wait until the penultimate matchday to secure the title but a comfortable victory overall. Feel a bit sorry for Coleraine though, their tycoon owner withdrew his cheque book, estimated club value now £0...good luck Coleraine...you're going to need it! UEFA Champions League – Real Madrid are just too good for us at the moment although I thought we may have had a chance after not conceding in the 1st leg but unfortunately they ripped us apart in the Bernabeu Domestic Cups - Annoying to lose in the Co. Antrim Shield but was happy to win the Irish Cup without conceding a goal Reserves - Well, they've certainly had better seasons U18s - Unsatisfactory mediocrity THE PLAYERS Squad - The strongest team we have ever had without a doubt. I would say it's fairly balanced if somewhat aging but some of the gaps are pretty glaring and need improvement. Madden is leaving on a bosman so I will be looking for a replacement left back. I will also be in the market for a goalkeeper, right midfielder and a central defender as I look to strengthen us enough to make us more competitive with the likes of Real Madrid Transfers – Oddly enough, the players we managed to sign on a free ended up being much better than the players I bought which may have been slightly overpriced. Of the transfers out Connolly was the biggest which was made as we needed the money and I didn't want to deny him his dream move. He is now worth more than double what I sold him for but I have some nice clauses which should give us a nice windfall in future PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Justin Durand – Average Rating : 8.16 A very good contribution from the player who I feel could become a great player for us provided he can continue developing like he has been YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - Dino Hadzic – Average Rating : 7.24 He got a bit shirty with me and wanted to leave at one point but I gave him more games and now he is happy to stay which is a great bonus considering his potential to become a great central defender CLUB DEVELOPMENT Finances – This looked really dodgy with serious concern generated as to whether we would pass the FFP but thankfully my board pumped in £4.8M at the end of the period to make us compliant. I may need to go on somewhat of a selling frenzy in order to get us into a more comfortable position and prevent a repeat next season Facilities – We spent £1M on the installation of 750 seats which while a much needed improvement is the main reason why we are struggling financially and finding it so difficult to compete with the elite in Europe. We need a new ground and I know in order for that to have a chance of happening we need to win the Champions League which is going to require us to spend big on players which can only happen when we have enough money which can only be gained by winning the Champions League . I think it's fair to say that we have got ourselves into a bit of a vicious circle. I'm somewhat annoyed that we still can't upgrade our youth recruitment...we need to do this so we can start getting some home grown players to help us to meet the European selection criteria Youth Intake – At last we have another player who can be tagged. Corey Knowles could develop into a great player given playing time and at 16 he has already been recognized and called up to the U21s squad for N. Ireland...I will certainly be keeping an eye on him as he has some great attributes for a player so young. 16 for tackling is magnificent for a central defender Average League Attendance – 10338 Not wanting to labour the point but we need a new stadium or some much bigger expansions...our stadium is still significantly smaller than Windsor Park, for a team that has won a European trophy that is pitiful. The most frustrating part of this is how much revenue we are losing, we could probably sell out a stadium double the size REPUTATION DEVELOPMENT League Reputation – A slight decline but one I was expecting after last seasons woeful performance in Europe Club Domestic Reputation - No real changes Club European Reputation – Marginal improvement CAREER OVERVIEW [table][tr][td]Season[/td][td]League[/td][td]Position[/td][td]Achievements[/td][/tr][tr][td]2035/2036[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2036/2037[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic double, Europa League Winners and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2037/2038[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2038/2039[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2039/2040[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]Domestic treble, Finished 4th in UCL Group[/td][/tr][tr][td]2040/2041[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and League Cup Winners, Reached 1st Knockout Round of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2041/2042[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2042/2043[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League and Co. Antrim Shield Winners, Reached Semi-Finals of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][tr][td]2043/2044[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Irish Cup Winners, Finished 4th in UCL Group and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr] [tr][td]2044/2045[/td][td]Danske Bank Premier[/td][td]1st[/td][td]League, League Cup and Irish Cup Winners, Reached 1st Knockout Round of UCL and Manager of the Year[/td][/tr][/table] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 Tactics: Given my seemingly baffling ineptitude in getting a Champions League title under my belt I've decided that the tactic once again needs changing. I think I've come to the end of the road with the tactic after giving it 3 seasons to deliver me success but it seems to be getting me further away rather than closer. As a result I've decided to in essence cheat and cop the tactic of a certain Arsene Wenger. During the 2003-04 season he led Arsenal to an invincible season playing a 4-4-1-1 so if I'm going to emulate a style with the formation it might as well be a style which has proven to be exceptionally successful. It'll be difficult trying to find the players which can match them but if I can get players who are halfway as competent as they were I think I'll be on my way to doing well. Therefore I decided to change the tactic to the one below: I'll explain all the changes I've made below: 1) Mentality has been changed from Standard to Attacking If there was ever a mentality which matched the way Arsene liked to have the team play then Attacking is certainly it. I feel I can be more aggressive with my mentality as I don't have a top heavy formation to begin with so we should still remain relatively defensively secure with the two banks of four. I'm hoping that when teams park the bus against us that my formation will allow them space to come out giving space for my players to attack and when teams attack us that on regaining of possession we can launch some blisteringly quick transitions to attack. I've tested the tactic to see how it works and I must say I'm impressed with the balance and feel the attacking mentality is actually a really positive change. I've decided not to add any team instructions and go with it 'out of the box' 2) Changed my left flank from a Full back (support) behind a Winger (attack) to a Complete Wing Back (attack) behind a Wide Midfielder (support) which has the cut inside PI Wanting to emulate the partnership between Cole and Pires I thought that this combination best matched the way they used to play. In the next season I will be looking for a wingback with great stamina and workrate to bomb up and down the flank with perhaps a very skillful LM to rotate with Nielsen who I think could perform the role very well 3) Changed my right flank from a Full back (attack) behind a Wide Midfielder (attack) to a Full back (attack) behind a Winger (attack) Again this was done to emulate the partnership between Lauren and Ljungberg. Lauren most definitely wasn't as attacking as Cole on the opposite flank but he didn't stay back entirely either. Ljungberg was clearly a winger on attack as he would often turn up in the box and score goals. I know that some might consider it dangerous to have two attacking roles on the flank but I have done it because I understand the way in which the winger operates and I don't want to have him isolated out wide. By playing the Full back on an attacking role he can get closer to him and offer him an easier pass back if he can't get past the opposition left back. I also think it is beneficial as it allows at times a 2 vs 1 on that flank which if the opponent is to address is going to leave space for others in the centre to attack 4) Changed my Central Midfielder (defend) to a Ball Winning Midfielder (support) I had much difficulty deciding what role best suited what would be my 'Vieira' and I was torn between the Box to Box Midfielder (support), Central midfielder (support) and the Ball Winning Midfielder (support) but after much thought I decided to go with the Ball Winning Midfielder which I think is what Vieira was in the Invincibles team. He would use his physicality to tackle and win the ball back while often pushing forward and supplementing the attack. He certainly wasn't a playmaker but was the rock of that side and had many a fascinating duel when he faced opponents with a similar play style to himself like Keane. I also feel that the role balances well with the right flank as he is likely to always be an option inside for the wide players as he should be fairly close to them 5) Changed my Central Midfielder (support) to a Central Midfielder (defend) Needing to find a role to match the style of Gilberto I wasn't satisfied that any of the non-generic roles really suited the way he played so I chose to customize the Central Midfielder (defend) role. As PI's I have added Tight Marking as I felt that he used to constantly shadow opposition attacking midfielders never really allowing them time and space in which to operate. The 2nd PI I've added is to ease off tackles, he wasn't a hard tackler and instead applied an almost passive pressure to players. I'm also viewing the central midfielder partnership much like the cover / stopper partnership you could have in defence. I have an aggressor beside him running down the opponent and getting stuck in to try and win the ball back so need a covering player should that fail so that we aren't totally exposed. Finally I've added the PI to play less risky passes which makes sense to me as I don't wish to have him acting like a playmaker feeling he needs to play killer passes from deep instead I want him to recycle possession and play simple passes to more advanced players 6) Changed my Attacking Midfielder (attack) to an Advanced Playmaker(attack) I feel that is pretty much what Bergkamp played as when in the team. I have chosen the attack duty as he would drive into the box on occasion and scored a fair few goals himself. I also feel that playing with two creators upfront is essential given the attacking mentality as I need them to be unpredictable which can only come about if they are given license to be more creative 7) Changed my team shape from Fluid to Flexible I feel this is necessary as I don't really want my players clustering together and disrupting my shape when trying to cover each other all the time. Henry and Bergkamp did very little if any defending while Campbell and Toure did very little attacking with the exception of set pieces and that's exactly how I want my team to be structured. I have chosen to not play structured as I'm playing with a 4-4-1-1 which has two flat lines which even though my roles seek to break when attacking would lead to isolation of my players. I want a compromise between players helping each other out while remaining mindful of their role in the team, I think playing Flexible allows this 8) Added the PI 'Fewer Risky Passes' to my LB and RB I noticed that they were receiving the ball from my GK and clubbing it long which not only led to a lot of lost possession but didn't allow us to build attacks as consistently as I would like I've also changed my set pieces to the following: Corner Defend My reasoning behind this being that I want my ball winner closing down the corner as he is most likely to be able to prevent the ball if played short getting into the box. Wide midfielders and wingers don't tend to be very tall so they can mark the shortest players. My two centre backs can take care of the taller threats the full backs can mark the posts and my defensive minded central midfielder can stand in the centre of the 6 yard box. Having my playmaker on the edge of the box means if it drops to him I have my best passer on the ball who should be able to feed my advanced forward and set up a counter Corner Attack If necessary, my full backs and defensive midfielder will remain back. My central defenders attack the posts and I have my ball winner harassing the goalkeeper. I decided to have my playmaker on the edge of the box should the corner be headed out and have my best finisher attack the ball from deep as his movement is likely to cause more problems and should the ball drop to him he is likely to have more space to have a shot. I put my wide midfielders as go forward as they are likely to be the players taking the corners as they are my best crossers Free Kick Defend My fullbacks don't need to mark as I have my best 3 markers marking players but I do want them to go back. I chose to leave the striker forward because if it breaks down I want a target up the pitch to launch a quick counter Free Kick Attack The Full backs and defensively minded central midfielder won't be of much help so they can stay back if needed. Getting the central defenders to mark the keeper should help keep him occupied and I like the idea of having my enforcer pester people in the wall So far it has been encouraging and is quite solid defensively for an attacking mentality but the proof is in the pudding I guess so I will wait before giving a final verdict on whether this is the final version of the tactic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Now that the game has been running for 30 years of which 29 of those have been managing Immaculata I have decided as a one off that I'll post about my Champions League campaign starting from the 1st knockout round before I post my end of season update for season 2045/2046. I comfortably made the knockout stages by finishing top of a group containing Schalke 04, Sporting Lisbon and Juventus. It was the ease with which I qualified which made me feel that perhaps the season could become a special one in Europe so I wanted to record it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Season 2045/2046 Expectations The board were happy enough for us to just make the group stage so anything more than that was seen as a bonus by them. As for my personal view, I think we should be looking to try and equal our performance of making the semi-final given our exceptional performance in the group stage where we topped it The Draw If I'm looking at the teams we could face we have a smorgasbord of teams that have varying strength. Of the 2nd placed teams, the hardest teams we could draw would be Manchester City, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Olympique Lyonnais or FC Porto. Of the teams in the draw I wouldn't mind facing they are Ajax Amsterdam and Dynamo Kiev So who did I draw? Well they aren't ideal but maybe over two legs we can do something...I wouldn't hold my breath though 1st Knockout Round 1st Leg First leg is away in the Parc de Princes. I'm hoping that we can grab at least an away goal to give us a chance at home even if we ultimately lose narrowly Here is how the two teams lined up: I think it should be clear from their formation that they are setup to attack us and kill the tie off in the first leg. I decide that it makes no sense at this point to change my tactic at all. The attacking mentality is helpful as it pushes up the defensive line so hopefully we can catch them offside a lot nullifying the threat from the three forwards. I also note that we should have a bit of joy down the flanks as we should be able to create some nice 2 vs 1 situations there Final Score Paris Saint Germain 1 Immaculata 1 A great result, we started really well and scored after the 13th minute when Aakenes ran onto a chipped through ball delivered by Juska and slotted it calmly (almost like Henry in his prime) into the bottom corner. They equalized in the 55th minute after a poorly defended corner which seems to ricochet off 4 bodies before lamely trickling over the goal line. They then went on to dominate the rest of the game but thankfully for us they just couldn't break through, this is great news for us as it now means if we can hold them to a goalless draw we progress to the quarter finals 1st Knockout Round 2nd Leg We know what we need so can we do it? Here is how the two teams lined up: The same formation as in the last game. Not wanting to cede any ground to them I decided to play the same tactic as in the 1st leg Final Score Immaculata 1 Paris Saint Germain 0 Immaculata win 2-1 on aggregate Absolutely magnificent...we scored at the perfect time just before half time with a rapid counter attack which led to Nielsen getting on the end of a Kouassi cross who was playing as a right winger due to injuries to my first choices. I took great encouragement from this result as they are one of the elite teams and even though they were dominant in possession we held them to only scoring once Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Season 2045/2046 The Draw In the quarter finals there is no such thing as an easy draw anymore but I certainly have my preferences. The teams in the draw are Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, AS Monaco, Dynamo Kiev, Athletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. Either of AS Monaco or Dynamo Kiev would be great as I've beaten AS Monaco before and Dynamo Kiev are in my opinion the weakest of the teams. I'd also like to draw them as it would mean that a least half of the elite would be knocked out by the semi finals So who did I draw? Fantastic!!...For once I got exactly what I wanted and drew the weakest team left in the draw. I'm optimistic that we can beat them and progress into the semi-finals which would equal our best performance but things don't always go to plan and we need to still give them the respect that they are due Quarter Final 1st Leg This time we start with the first leg at home which isn't my preference but we'll have to make and do. If we scrape a narrow win and not concede any goals it would put us in a great position for the 2nd leg in Ukraine Here is how the two teams lined up: Again it's clear to me that they want to try and grab as many away goals as they can as they have a very attacking shape but as we are at home I want to gain the initiative in the tie and keep to my original tactic. I also noticed that they have a number of injuries to key players so I'm hoping that has a detrimental effect on them Final Score Immaculata 2 Dynamo Kiev 1 Even though we won I'd hardly call it a comfortable victory. We started well enough and were ahead in the 6th minute after a throw in that resulted in a cross which Kouassi headed in but then conceded the dreaded away goal 2 minutes later when we conceded from yet another corner which was met with a bullet header by Vasin. They then proceeded to make all the running and put us under a lot of pressure but couldn't score. On the 63rd minute we won a corner which resulted in a botched headed clearance from them which was fed back into the box by Juska who spotted Aakenes completely unmarked who then duly placed the ball into the bottom corner. At this point I thought that we may have gained the momentum in the tie and be able to score again but unfortunately we couldn't and annoyingly gave them the opportunity to equalize when Sovina felled Romanchuk in the box gifting them a penalty. Thankfully, Vlachos pulled of a brilliant save and we were able to hold on for a narrow victory. I didn't quite expect the game to be as close as it ended up being and I will need to think hard about how we keep them from scoring in Ukraine Quarter Final 2nd Leg The objective is simple...keep them from scoring...whether or not that is possible is another question Here is how the two teams lined up: Their formation tells me everything I need to know...they want to attack and score to get themselves back in the tie. As we have something to protect I see no value in remaining on attacking as the onus is on them to score so I switch down two rungs in the mentality ladder to Standard with a view to going further down if we don't concede and we are approaching the later stages of the game Final Score Dynamo Kiev 0 Immaculata 0 Immaculata win 2-1 on aggregate They gave us a right battle throughout hitting the woodwork twice and having 8 shots on target which had our nerves shredded but we managed to stall them. Noticing in the last 10 minutes the amount of men they were committing forward I decided to switch to defensive and turn on the TI waste time which had the desired effect as we held them to a goalless draw. Semi-finals await us and the chance to play for a place at Hampden Park for the final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Season 2045/2046 The Draw Now only 4 teams remain. We could face Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or AS Monaco. If we could get drawn against AS Monaco....what a great chance we would have to make history!!...We would then only need to face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid once in a one off final if we could get through which anything could happen in...so fingers crossed for AS Monaco So who did I draw? ...Ah well...I guess it was a bit much to ask for my favoured choice to be drawn against me for two ties in a row. We have a terrible record against them and if history is anything to go by then we are on our way out of the competition. I'm pumped up for it anyway though...those defeats we suffered against them have left a bitter taste in the mouth and I want revenge so I'm going to give it everything I've got to make history...if we can't make it then I'll accept it as nobody expected us to win but if we could beat them.... Semi Final 1st Leg Again the first leg is drawn for us at home. More than anything in this game I'd just be happy to not concede any away goals which could kill the tie off. If we can do that, even if we didn't score we would be in great position to reduce the tie to basically a one legged affair. They would then be petrified to concede in the Bernabeu which would give us a great amount of momentum Here is how the two teams lined up: They really love to play my favourite formation against me. As the idea is to stop them from scoring I've decided to play the game with the Standard mentality. They have pace to burn upfront and I really don't want to play a high line against them, additionally, I know that will likely blunt my attack but I need every man I can get back dealing with them when they are attacking Final Score Immaculata 0 Real Madrid 0 It wasn't pretty but we got what we wanted. We were absolutely battered throughout the first 20 minutes with them creating chance after chance and bossing the ball like it was attached to their feet with magnets. I then had a brainwave...if they don't have the ball they can't create chances and are less likely to score so with that I put on the TI Retain Possession and it done the trick and they didn't create much once I had adopted it Semi Final 2nd Leg Can we score in the Bernabeu? If we can I give us a great chance of making the final as then we would no longer need to win the game but we are talking about Real Madrid here...they could easily rip us to pieces so we need to be careful Here is how the two teams lined up: Same old, same old I guess. I definitely won't be playing attacking as that is just asking for trouble but I'll start with standard and see how the game progresses. I don't think it would be sensible to start with the retain possession TI as I need a little more attacking potency and I hope to keep them quiet for as long as possible and maybe snatch a goal on the break Final Score Real Madrid 0 Immaculata 2 Immaculata win 2-0 on aggregate Without a single shred of doubt the best performance I have ever had from my team and what a great time for it to happen. We played the first half out exactly as I had planned, we kept it tight and frustrated them restricting them to a single shot which needed to be saved out of a total of 5. Noticing that we had them on the ropes in the 2nd half I decided to keep things the same and then it happens...in the 49th minute we get a throw in deep in their half. Fitzgerald throws it to Durand who is positioned outside their area to the right of the d. He then traps the ball, pirouettes and plays an absolutely magnificent perfectly weighted low cross into the path of Ilic which splits the Real Madrid defence wide open. Ilic not thinking twice hits it on the first touch and smashes it home from a shallow angle past the goalkeeper. We are in dreamland...we have comfort...they need to score twice in the time that remains...I know they are capable of this so I drop us down to the Counter mentality. They come into the game and begin to put our goal under siege but our defence is resolute and dogged and when Aguirre clatters Benko in their box in the 84th minute on one of our rare forays forward we have the opportunity to kill them off. Fitzgerald steps up to take the penalty and sidefoots it into the bottom right corner...we've done it!!!....we are going to Hampden to play in the Champions League Final!!...I wanted revenge and there is none sweeter than what we got against them...now into the unknown Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koetzer Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Good luck in the final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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