[FM15] Avenir Beggen - a Luxembourg Youth Challenge (take two)

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen

 

This seems very familiar. Didn't you already try this?

Definitely not. I mean, maybe, but probably not. Perhaps. You certainly wouldn't find documentation of my abject failure in this thread.

You're not a very good liar.

True. Hopefully I've learned from my mistakes though. Time to rethink my tactics and how I use Instant Results/holidaying.

Why Luxembourg?

First, it's just fun to say. Lux-em-bourg. See? Second, I wanted to try an unusual country that no one else was doing. Three, the league needed to award European places in a straight forward manner; the various San Marino threads drew my attention to how frustratingly inconsistent a unique league structure can be.

Why Avenir Beggen?

Because I fell in love with them from my earlier attempt. There's no particular rational but you can read more on the original thread linked above.

What's the challenge?

No signings beyond any already arranged when I take over. With the low state of Luxembourgish (I've double checked twice and that word still looks made up) football, we'll struggle to progress until we slowly drag the league reputation upward. The goal is to win the Champions League using only players from our Academy.

At some point I'll take over the national team as well to (hopefully) guide them to World Cup victory and Euro domination. The country may be small but our ambitions our big.

You're going to fail miserably.

I already have once! It'll probably happen again! But inspiring, right? Success and failure will likely be measured in decades; luckily I have a natural predilection to set a tactic and let it ride with minimal in game tweaks so I'll be leaning heavily on "Instant Result" outside of Champions League games and major national side games (eventually).

How impressive is the stadium?

Hold on to your hats:

What is that -- a pitch for ants?

Well, I'm not that familiar with the animal life in Luxembourg but I'm guessing there are probably a few? One day these fine people will host the Champions League's best.

 

Edit: Additional info from @Forest, who only lives a couple kilometers from the club:

On 9/2/2016 at 08:04, Forest said:

Well Avenir, which means translated from the french Future, is one of the last great football teams with many tradition in Luxembourg. They were formed in 1915. Tey are 6 time champions and 7 times Cup Winners, and played some great games in the european Cup against Red Star Belgrade, AC Milan, Porto and Rapid Vienna..They had their great years in the 80s and early 90´s always in a big rivalry with Jeunesse Esch. In the last year, the club was in a big decline. It went worse and worse. You must imagine, before millenium the club had a status like maybe Arsenal in England, one of the Top Clubs. After the financial crisis in Luxembourg, a lot of sponsors left their teams and a lot of teams made a fusion with another one. Like the big teams in Dudelange or Differdange, or Luxemburg City. They killed a lot of tradition n Luxemburg, they destroy teams like Red Boys Differdingen, Spora and Union Luxembourg etc, but there was no other choice. So the teams lower ranked, even Beggen had to concentrate on youth development. They even opened something like a football school, where they train the kids at the ground an help them to reach their potential in school. They don´t spent big amounty on strangers like Dudelange and the other big boys. So it´s a propper football club, which a large fanbase in Luxembourg, or at least had a large a few years back. I noticed the last years are a lot of younger fans who start to support their local teams around in Luxembourg. Before their supported the big teams in Europe but I think it´s a good evolution for the football in Luxemburg if they start more and more to support the local teams. I remember a Euro Cup game I was at the stadium against Ipswich Town  

Looks like I've made a serendipitous choice -- my philosophy here reflects the club's priorities in real life. Plus there's nothing like a redemption tale, returning historic giants to repeat the glories of memory.

[sherwinriga]

Good luck once again in rebuilding in Beggen.

What is your coaching badge and past playing experience because I think you use "Suggest Experience based on this team" when you choose your managerial style?

[jengaehassim]

Good luck trying again. I think you maybe got promoted too early on the first take, didn't give you time to build a foundation since you couldn't sign players.

[Ceching You Out]

Good luck once again in rebuilding in Beggen.

What is your coaching badge and past playing experience because I think you use "Suggest Experience based on this team" when you choose your managerial style?

Thanks! I'm starting with Sunday league football experience which means no badges and minimal points to start. My coach's stats are one of the things I'll track in my updates.

Good luck trying again. I think you maybe got promoted too early on the first take, didn't give you time to build a foundation since you couldn't sign players.

Thanks! I think you're on to something. My core was starting to come together but we really missed a couple pieces (like a reliable goal threat). We needed more time to make up the gap between the leagues. Difficult to avoid promotion with the quality in the original squad though.

[Ceching You Out]

How's this going to be different than last time, hotshot?

I've been pondering this very question. Let's start from the most obvious to least.

--Sign my non-contract players prior to the first window to keep the squad from getting gutted. Fairly obvious.

--Pay more attention to my tactic once I'm promoted. The vastly superior sides tore it apart; identify the tweaks to pick up that extra game or two versus mid-table sides.

--Rethink my stance on Instant Result versus holidaying. IR seems to use the same format and players, but will shuffle players from one position to another. When I'm playing a formation that falls apart without the right player in the right role, holidaying may be the better choice.

Onward we go!

[tyler16]

IIRC, IR uses your tactics (to begin a match anyways) and player selection. Holidaying leaves it up the the assman. Beleive almost everyone doing this uses IR at some point but not holiday.

Could be wrong.

[Ceching You Out]

It's not a very large sample size but I played around with IR and holiday for a few games last night.

Based on what I saw, IR used my formation and roles but swapped players around if it thought they're a better fit somewhere else. In the tactics I've set up, my best player is at ST but competent all over the field; I don't have a DM so I've got a RB filling in. When I checked the formation after a game where I used IR, it showed my ST shifted back to DM. Couldn't tell if it used my TI or not. This is the same thing I'd noticed in my first attempt. I played three CMs in that strata and sometimes the DLP(d) would be moved to one of the CM(s) spots. Nothing drastic but dangerous if your tactics require a particular skill-set.

Holidaying seems like it shouldn't have the same issue since I'm able to select "Use my tactics" and "Use my selection". Unfortunately it used my formation and players but changed roles.The formation after a game showed that the middle of my CMs became a CM(s) instead of CM(a) and that one of my wingers shifted to W(a) from W(s). Also couldn't tell if it used my TI. Again nothing drastic, but enough to throw the balance off.

I'm not sure what the immediate solution is for me. Long-term I can rely on my squad simply being better than the league, but until then I may be stuck "simming" the matches myself on commentary only and match speed maxed out.

[Bedese]

Interesting findings. Seems like only commentary and full match speed is the way to go until you become at least a midtable top division team. IIRC, that's what Makoto did during his original San Marino save.

[jengaehassim]

I'm not sure if IR/Holidaying is the right thing when you are still fighting to reach the top tbh.

[Ceching You Out]

Interesting findings. Seems like only commentary and full match speed is the way to go until you become at least a midtable top division team. IIRC, that's what Makoto did during his original San Marino save.

Seems that's the only option left! Which frankly isn't too terrible when there are only 26 league games.

I'm not sure if IR/Holidaying is the right thing when you are still fighting to reach the top tbh.

That's a fair criticism. There's probably fractionally more "performance" I could eke from the squad with more in-match modifications, but outside of subs and an odd switch in mentality that's never been my forte. I'm much more comfortable tweaking a tactic over a season's sample size than reacting to the AI manager's maneuvers. Knowing that, if IR or holidaying did what I had hoped, there wouldn't have been much of a drop off.

[Ceching You Out]

Three players worth mentioning.

Physical attributes are very solid for the next level, technical aren't bad. Mental will need some work though.

A Model Professional GK is a nice result. Hopefully he develops quickly enough to fill in for our (very talented) GK who has thus far refused to sign a contract.

He's an all around okay player.

[uglyghost]

Duarte Lima 16A - Physical is good, poor heading and passing for a defender

The Goalie - Ferron stats are impressive.

[uglyghost]

IIRC, IR uses your tactics (to begin a match anyways) and player selection. Holidaying leaves it up the the assman. Beleive almost everyone doing this uses IR at some point but not holiday.

Could be wrong.

Instant result is ok but simulation is terrible - no subs

[Ceching You Out]

Duarte Lima 16A - Physical is good, poor heading and passing for a defender

The Goalie - Ferron stats are impressive.

I'd be comfortable if Lima just grows into a no nonsense brute. There's definitely a place for that kind of defender at this level, even if it's not the direction I prefer. I'm hoping Ferron's potential is high; Model Professionals usually develop well.

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2015/2016

Squad / League / Transfers

How was the league?

A few posters hypothesized that rising too quickly contributed to our downfall. So of course we went and won the league this time instead, ensuring automatic promotion.

I, uhhh, don't have anything to complain about.

Color me shocked. I'll give you a start -- our best player refused to sign another contract and left. Thankfully everyone else signed on for the next season.

Whatever. Anything else noteworthy?

Not much that hasn't been shared already. I've decided to be more ruthless with releasing players on this attempt. You might notice that I culled any youth that didn't have potential. Hopefully a series of player bloodbaths minimizes the financial bleeding.

Recordkeeping:

[Jimbokav1971]

I have some info for you with regards to the IR feature.

I'm playing full-fat FM with an IR button on a skin, (IR isn't designed for full-fat FM), so if you are not playing full-fat then it will be different for you.

I have played a LOT of FM using the IR button over the last few years so I'm not telling you what I have heard other people say or guessing at what might happen. I'm telling you what has happened in my games.

1. Because the IR button wasn't designed for use with the full-fat version of the game, it's not fully compatible and if you are going to use it you must first accept it's limitations. The main limitation is that you can't really use a match plan. You can if you really want to, and it will work ok, but if a player suffers an injury, a substitution will NOT be made even if you have one available and you will play the rest of the match a man down. What I do is simply use the IR feature but without a match plan. I let the Ass Man control substitutions.

2. You pick the team and that is the team that starts. Not most of the time. Not occasionally. EVERY single time. The match starts with the team that you pick. Depending on your Ass Man, he will make changes, (often early changes), but you have to rely on your Ass Man and get your head round this from the start.

3. Because of the nature of this challenge, and the fact that you are using the IR feature, you have to adapt your thinking a little. For example, what I would do with a hot prospect player in a normal save is give him game-time from the bench to aid his development, however in this instance, if you stick a kid on the bench who is all PA rather than CA, then the Ass Man is probably going to leave him on the bench and he's never going to get his game-time that will increase the speed of his development. What I do is start the young prospect in the knowledge is that he is only going to play the first 45 mins and the Ass Man is then going to drag him off. What is a challenge is playing more than 3 of them and trying to work out in advance who your Ass Man is likely to replace. If you watch, you will soon see a pattern.

4. In my current save I play the games against Red Star and some European games, and the rest of the games are IR'd. Off the top of my head I estimate that I have played somewhere in the region of 60-70 seasons on IR across about 4 different saves.

Good luck.

[Fredrik]

What a coincidence that I found this thread. I've been editing Luxembourg in FM15 a fair bit and decided I should play as..you guessed it...Avenir Beggen.

Since I have a full squad and the rest of the division not(and this is a user created division) I expect to slaughter any opposition in season 1 and that next will be harder since Promotion League teams have decent squads unlike in the original database.

I'm going to follow your adventure to see how successful you can be.

[tyler16]

I have some info for you with regards to the IR feature.

I'm playing full-fat FM with an IR button on a skin, (IR isn't designed for full-fat FM), so if you are not playing full-fat then it will be different for you.

I have played a LOT of FM using the IR button over the last few years so I'm not telling you what I have heard other people say or guessing at what might happen. I'm telling you what has happened in my games.

1. Because the IR button wasn't designed for use with the full-fat version of the game, it's not fully compatible and if you are going to use it you must first accept it's limitations. The main limitation is that you can't really use a match plan. You can if you really want to, and it will work ok, but if a player suffers an injury, a substitution will NOT be made even if you have one available and you will play the rest of the match a man down. What I do is simply use the IR feature but without a match plan. I let the Ass Man control substitutions.

2. You pick the team and that is the team that starts. Not most of the time. Not occasionally. EVERY single time. The match starts with the team that you pick. Depending on your Ass Man, he will make changes, (often early changes), but you have to rely on your Ass Man and get your head round this from the start.

3. Because of the nature of this challenge, and the fact that you are using the IR feature, you have to adapt your thinking a little. For example, what I would do with a hot prospect player in a normal save is give him game-time from the bench to aid his development, however in this instance, if you stick a kid on the bench who is all PA rather than CA, then the Ass Man is probably going to leave him on the bench and he's never going to get his game-time that will increase the speed of his development. What I do is start the young prospect in the knowledge is that he is only going to play the first 45 mins and the Ass Man is then going to drag him off. What is a challenge is playing more than 3 of them and trying to work out in advance who your Ass Man is likely to replace. If you watch, you will soon see a pattern.

4. In my current save I play the games against Red Star and some European games, and the rest of the games are IR'd. Off the top of my head I estimate that I have played somewhere in the region of 60-70 seasons on IR across about 4 different saves.

Good luck.

Chiming in, thanks for this. Very interesting.

[Ceching You Out]

I have some info for you with regards to the IR feature.

I'm playing full-fat FM with an IR button on a skin, (IR isn't designed for full-fat FM), so if you are not playing full-fat then it will be different for you.

I have played a LOT of FM using the IR button over the last few years so I'm not telling you what I have heard other people say or guessing at what might happen. I'm telling you what has happened in my games.

[iR commentary]

Good luck.

Thanks for weighing in with your experience, Jimbokav. I'm using full-fat FM15 with the IR button skinned in, so I'm in a similar situation. Like you mentioned, Match Plans don't work as intended in this mode. My observations were based on checking the Formations screen after an IR match -- it would show the formation, roles, and players I'd selected just not necessarily where I had put them. For example, my ST getting moved to DM. It sounds like your interpretation is that the Assistant makes those changes from the off?

When I have a few games to burn, I'll IR and check a few places in the full match recording to see if I can verify what's happening when. I've stopped using it for now since my Assistant's swapping greatly weakened our chances. Some of it seems to be from morale -- does the Assistant give the team talks or are they skipped altogether?

What a coincidence that I found this thread. I've been editing Luxembourg in FM15 a fair bit and decided I should play as..you guessed it...Avenir Beggen.

Since I have a full squad and the rest of the division not(and this is a user created division) I expect to slaughter any opposition in season 1 and that next will be harder since Promotion League teams have decent squads unlike in the original database.

I'm going to follow your adventure to see how successful you can be.

Very cool! In the database I'm using, teams have the bare minimum number of players (including Avenir Beggen). That's one of the biggest challenges for me -- fill out the squad without destroying the budget. That and the giant quality gap between Promotion and National leagues. Best of luck to you!

[Ceching You Out]

Nothing much here that will add to the quality of the squad. Personalities aren't too bad despite not being able to find a HoYD better than Fairly Determined.

Acceleration, Anticipation, and Concentration are big question marks. Worth watching, although CD is already a strength.

Same concerns with Anticipation and Concentration but more rounded. Another one to watch.

[ManUtd1]

Nice challenge, CYO -- enjoying the start, and reading through your prior attempt.

I may have to consider a skin with IR...

[nie jem frytek]

What leagues you have loaded?

[Jimbokav1971]

Thanks for weighing in with your experience, Jimbokav. I'm using full-fat FM15 with the IR button skinned in, so I'm in a similar situation. Like you mentioned, Match Plans don't work as intended in this mode. My observations were based on checking the Formations screen after an IR match -- it would show the formation, roles, and players I'd selected just not necessarily where I had put them. For example, my ST getting moved to DM. It sounds like your interpretation is that the Assistant makes those changes from the off?

When I have a few games to burn, I'll IR and check a few places in the full match recording to see if I can verify what's happening when. I've stopped using it for now since my Assistant's swapping greatly weakened our chances. Some of it seems to be from morale -- does the Assistant give the team talks or are they skipped altogether?

Interesting that you mention your Ass Man swapping players. While that wasn't an issue with FM16, it was an issue in the early stages of FM15, and I had to get to a certain level, (not sure if that was a certain level of player or a certain level of Ass Man), before this stopped happening.

In FM15 I started of IR'ing, encountered similar issues to you and reverted to managing myself until I had progressed a little. When I went back to IR'ing, (we were in Serie A by then), it never hblink.appened again, (for whatever reason).

As for team talks, I'm honestly not sure. I don't really worry about team talks. If they were done away with completely I wouldn't be bothered.

[Ceching You Out]

Nice challenge, CYO -- enjoying the start, and reading through your prior attempt.

I may have to consider a skin with IR...

Thanks! Hoping my struggles at least keep people entertained. Maybe there's even a lesson to be learned in there somewhere.

What leagues you have loaded?

Currently I only have the Luxembourg leagues playable, with all other significant European leagues as View Only. From what I've read, that doesn't make much of a difference; I just like being able to see the league results. Once I'm consistently making Europe I'll probably turn some percentage of them Playable to make results more interesting.

Interesting that you mention your Ass Man swapping players. While that wasn't an issue with FM16, it was an issue in the early stages of FM15, and I had to get to a certain level, (not sure if that was a certain level of player or a certain level of Ass Man), before this stopped happening.

In FM15 I started of IR'ing, encountered similar issues to you and reverted to managing myself until I had progressed a little. When I went back to IR'ing, (we were in Serie A by then), it never hblink.appened again, (for whatever reason).

As for team talks, I'm honestly not sure. I don't really worry about team talks. If they were done away with completely I wouldn't be bothered.

Curious that you had the same issue with FM15 that resolved itself. Makes me wonder the cause. That confirms I'll probably keep playing the bulk of my matches until we're established as the title favorites. Team talks are much less important when you have a great team, although as relegation strugglers morale can sink quickly and there are minimal avenues to address it.

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2016/2017

Squad / League / Transfers

How was the league?

A fairly promising start through 10 games followed by a long womp wommmmmmp sound. Winless in the last 14 was enough to see us relegated.

Bahahahaha!

I know. I'm stuck looking for silver linings in getting relegated even more quickly this time. At least not much else was expected of us?

Whatever. Anything else noteworthy?

The morale of a squad in a relegation battle is a very touchy thing. Once we lost a few games on the bounce, there were only a few teams we could feasibly beat to snap out of it. When we lost those, spirits plummeted. As soon as relegation was confirmed, every non-youth player wanted to leave. Most were out of contract anyway but it means next season we'll be a massive transition.

A year or two in the Promotion League should give us a chance to manage the transition to youth and build depth. As far as adventures go, not so bright and shiny in the immediate future. But that's what I (and you, by proxy) have signed up for!

Recordkeeping:

[Ceching You Out]

With my HoYD abandoning me upon relegation and no suitable replacement available, my Assistant was in charge of this batch of youth. Apparently he's a miserable git, judging by the poor personalities he's chosen.

The best of the bunch but really a man without a position. He's a poor jumping, poor passing, plodder.

Fewer stars, but this guy has the potential to be a solid CM.

I'd be excited about Clement if he weren't Unambitious. He'll probably start next season, more down to lack of options than anything. Long term I expect him to decline instead of improve because of his personality.

[sherwinriga]

"Unambitious" is not a bad idea for these prospects. So, how's luck on hiring a new HOYD?

[deltablue]

Multiple Bosnian second nationalities is interesting.

[Ceching You Out]

"Unambitious" is not a bad idea for these prospects. So, how's luck on hiring a new HOYD?

I'm not a fan of Unambitious personalities, because it can cause players' development to stagnate if they don't also have high levels of professionalism.

There's an odd quirk to Luxembourg -- all the coaches, assistants, and HoYD that I can see are all Balanced, one of the levels of Ambitious, or one of the levels of Determination. I'm not sure if it's related to the database I'm using, the very low level of play, or what. Very frustrating when I'm as keen on youth with the right personalities as much as skills. I know we'll be battered for quite a few games in the top league; the players need determination, professionalism, and ambition to keep their chins up.

The timing of your comment couldn't be better though. Last night I was pondering if there was any way to find a way around the limitations in the available coaches. Then it struck me -- I'd looked to hire someone interested in being a Coach as an Assistant or HoYD, but it stopped there. Why not see if scouts have better personalities? If so, maybe I could lure them into being HoYD. A bit disappointed it took me this long to think of it, but I found an Ambitious scout with high Determination who was pleasantly happy to become my HoYD. I'll post a pic of him this evening when I update.

Multiple Bosnian second nationalities is interesting.

That's another quirk of Luxembourg! From the 7ish youth intakes I've seen across my two attempts, roughly 40% have a second nationality. BIH is the most common, with Portuguese not far behind, and the occasional Italian. I believe it will be a huge boost once I'm a force in Luxembourg since I think the extra nationalities "circumvent" the country's poor youth settings. Might eventually lose some of those players to other national teams, but we'll have already come a long way when that happens.

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2017/2018

Squad / League / Transfers

How was the league?

All but three of the non-youth players left before we even started. Morale was brutal. We limped through the first quarter of the season before finding our footing going into the halfway point. From there we kicked on to finish third and lose in the promotion playoff.

You suck.

Even more aggressive than usual, eh? We actually went into the final three matches of the season only a point behind an automatic promotion spot. We're not ready to compete at the top level so I "threw" them by tinkering with IR, then blooding the youth in the playoff. We got exactly what we wanted out of this season.

Whatever. Anything else noteworthy?

It's worth repeating -- morale at this level is brutal. Relegation crushes everyone's spirits until you can pick up a few wins. Which it turns out is very difficult when everyone is in such a poor mood to begin with. Avoiding that downward spiral is why we're sticking around in the lower division for at least one more season.

I begrudgingly abandoned playing 3 at the back. I'm still enamored with the idea, but we don't have the personnel to make the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Hopefully we can return to it in the future. In the meantime an offset 4-4-1-1 is working a treat.

A promotion run should be on the cards next season. Depending on how this year's class beds in and our youth intake, it still may be too soon on paper. But I get the feeling we may have too much quality to avoid promotion next season without drastic measures.

Recordkeeping:

[jengaehassim]

Dropping 3 at the back was a good idea IMO. You need really complete wide players, the kind of player that doesn't exist at this level. 4-4-1-1, on the other hand, works great if your wingers can run and cross.

[Adonalsium]

At lower levels you generally want to have a solid defense line, and 3 defenders just won't do that.

[Ceching You Out]

Dropping 3 at the back was a good idea IMO. You need really complete wide players, the kind of player that doesn't exist at this level. 4-4-1-1, on the other hand, works great if your wingers can run and cross.

At lower levels you generally want to have a solid defense line, and 3 defenders just won't do that.

You both basically hit on the weaknesses I ran into. We only have one winger, so we're overly reliant on him. Our defenders struggled to cover across our box and aren't strong enough passers to make them dangerous with the ball at their feet. Those two factors meant we couldn't capitalize on the opportunities the formation opened up, but still suffered for the flaws.

Additionally, the top flight teams played aggressive formations against us. That meant when they broke the press, we were all too frequently playing man-to-man. If they had "respected" us a little bit more, we could trap them in their defensive zone. Assuming we had the players to take advantage, of course.

[Ceching You Out]

So what does my new HoYD look like? He's this Ambitious chap:

How'd he work out?

If you needed confirmation that there are more factors at work than just the HoYD, take a gander. Three Unambitious blokes when our recruiter is the epitome of Ambition.

I should probably be happy with any Fairly Professional two star at this point, but keeper is the one place where depth is wasted. The years will see if he overtakes the established Ferron.

DC is the only place we needed reinforcements less than GK. Plus he's one of the dreaded Unambitious sorts. Without a tutor (which we don't have yet), he'll probably stagnate.

I'll happily take Viola. He's young, Fairly Professional, and promising.

[tyler16]

Have to admit, I'm enjoying that you are struggling juuuust a bit. Keeps things interesting.

Find low level regens such as these to be very frustrating to look at given all of the <5 stats. Sometimes you just have to shake it off and see how they perform or what they can actually do not so awfully. Viola for example, he's fit, quick, determined and works *sort of* hard. Good enough for now, despite every voice in my head telling me to never play a MF with 1 dribbling!

[ManUtd1]

Your regen stats make me want to cry...and read on...there's being a glutton for punishment, and then there's this!

Loving every moment, and fingers are crossed that all of that potential develops for you! #ClassOf2019

[Ceching You Out]

Have to admit, I'm enjoying that you are struggling juuuust a bit. Keeps things interesting.

Find low level regens such as these to be very frustrating to look at given all of the <5 stats. Sometimes you just have to shake it off and see how they perform or what they can actually do not so awfully. Viola for example, he's fit, quick, determined and works *sort of* hard. Good enough for now, despite every voice in my head telling me to never play a MF with 1 dribbling!

Your regen stats make me want to cry...and read on...there's being a glutton for punishment, and then there's this!

Loving every moment, and fingers are crossed that all of that potential develops for you! #ClassOf2019

Cheers! All part of the adventure with this challenge. Nothing to take for granted when you're trying to find the right combination of awful players to develop and win. Over time they should improve, although it may be a while before they stop being the source of tears. Thanks for following along; hopefully this roller coaster ride continues to keep you entertained!

[Adonalsium]

I also enjoy your struggle! Also the self-ironic tone you take is great

That HoYD seems pretty good! Not the best I've seen of course. What's his personality? If he's a Professional or a Model Professional I'd be very happy indeed!

[Ceching You Out]

I also enjoy your struggle! Also the self-ironic tone you take is great

That HoYD seems pretty good! Not the best I've seen of course. What's his personality? If he's a Professional or a Model Professional I'd be very happy indeed!

Cheers! If I'm going to struggle, I refuse to take myself too seriously. Also, I've got to keep myself entertained through the long grind ahead!

He's a standout at this level, although that says quite a lot about the league. Unfortunately he's only Ambitious, but I'll take that over the hordes of Balanced and Fairly Determined that were my other options.

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2018/2019

Squad / League / Transfers

How was the league?

No false modesty -- we were brilliant. We only dropped points in 4 draws and 2 losses, one coming on the last day of the season. The title was wrapped up quite early.

...

I thought that might leave you speechless. Prior the season, I still debated whether we should push on or wait to see whether we picked up depth. Ultimately the players made the decision for me by romping from the first day.

Whatever. Anything else noteworthy?

We may not be National League quality, but we're certainly a class above the Promotion League. Our players (sans two or three) aren't highly regarded by my coaching staff. Fingers crossed that the bulk of our players continue developing over the summer.

In the interest of stirring up drama in a season seriously lacking -- adios to the former players who bitched about relegation. Most left us for teams in the same division. Now they'll stay in the lower league while we salsa with the big boys.

One last note, although perhaps I should've led with it. The chairman finally accepted that we upgrade our youth coaching. For a couple seasons it wasn't an option, then he shot down the request half a dozen times. Perhaps he's turned a corner.

Recordkeeping:

[Fredrik]

Looks like next season could be the make or break season.If you stay up now I'm sure good things will happen after that. If not, then you're probably back to square 1.

[smp20]

Just caught up on this thread after reading the old one. Unlucky with the relegation (something that isn't even possible in SM) but congrats on getting back up to to big league. Next season, cling on! Hopefully you can gradually push towards European football.

[Adonalsium]

Better luck next season. I'm fairly hopeful that during the next 2-3 years, you'll be able to get a golden generation going here!

[Ceching You Out]

Looks like next season could be the make or break season.If you stay up now I'm sure good things will happen after that. If not, then you're probably back to square 1.

You've stated it exactly. If I'm going to crash and fail miserably (fingers crossed!), it will be next season. Assuming we have enough quality to survive this one year, we should be able to establish ourselves clear of the threat of relegation.

Just caught up on this thread after reading the old one. Unlucky with the relegation (something that isn't even possible in SM) but congrats on getting back up to to big league. Next season, cling on! Hopefully you can gradually push towards European football.

Not quite your near instant success, but it's coming along! Relegation is one of the trade-offs in Luxembourg; makes it a little more difficult than SM in that respect, but there's a few ways it's easier as well. Assuming we stay up this year, I'm making the horribly untrustworthy prediction that we'll be in Europe within 5 years. I'm not sure if that's unambitious or realistic at this rate.

Better luck next season. I'm fairly hopeful that during the next 2-3 years, you'll be able to get a golden generation going here!

Cheers! A golden generation would be fantastic. Unfortunately we've only got three exceptional players at the moment -- exceptional only being relevant to our squad since they wouldn't sniff the field at the best club in the the top division.

[Ceching You Out]

And I'll share this without comment, but a thousand internet points to the person with the best caption.

[Ceching You Out]

What have we got, what have we got... Wait, these personalities don't look like they came from an Ambitious HoYD... Damn it. Somehow swapping Assistants changed responsibility for the intake. Guess I'll have to wait another season to evaluate the HoYD.

Not where we need players, but he's got potential. My only complaint is his miserable Determination.

Probably good enough to replace some of our depth at CM. Unlikely to be a starter though unless he develops and as a Jovial personality I don't expect much.

More DC depth!

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2019/2020

Squad / League / Transfers

How was the league?

A Tale of Two Seasons by Ralph Wiggum. The first half we rode our luck to the upper midtable, close enough to grasp at the tail of the European places. The second half our form collapsed and we sank. All. The. Way. Down. To 10th, still 7 points clear of relegation.

Save the melodrama for Shakespeare.

My apologies, I hadn't thought you so cultured. On paper we still don't have the quality to be anywhere near the top of the table, but if you squint just enough and we get a few lucky breaks we're not that far away. Europe beckons, the saucy minx.

Whatever. Anything else noteworthy?

Only sound and fury, signifying nothing. Annoyingly, the Chairman seems to be one of the least ambitious I've seen; only two junior coaching upgrades over 6 years isn't inspiring for their abysmal state and our not awful financial state. On the other side of the spectrum, I'm apparently becoming a more talented manager. Gaze upon my attributes and know the taste of awe.

Neither of those facts is indicative of our future though. Still remains to be seen whether this is a comedy or a tragedy. Onward we go!

Recordkeeping:

[Ceching You Out]

For a taste of the disparity in the league (and the distance we have to close):

[Ceching You Out]

I triple checked this year -- my HoYD is in charge of the intake. Let's see how he does on his second try.

My prayers are answered! Yet another keeper in the intake!

Very solid. He'll do a job in CM if he develops.

A little on the slow side to play DL and we're deepest at DC (besides GK!).

[ManUtd1]

And I'll share this without comment, but a thousand internet points to the person with the best caption.

Hahaha...that is absolutely priceless! Reminds me of playing to a handful of people in a 27k stadium early in my '15 youth academy save with IFK Malmo!

Excellent progress, brother! This is extremely inspiring.