[FM15] Glentoran - Let Me Take You On A Journey....

[thehazeofspades]

Hey everyone and welcome to my first ever save to document on this site. I'll be doing a save with Glentoran where I try to take them to European domination and bring N. Ireland to the top of Europe also. I use instant result a lot, so I will be zooming through the seasons and posting season updates bar from some important events (first european game, big transfer, good intake etc.).

So who are you going with?
Glentoran.

Why?
Because I did something similar on FM13 and FM14 (with Linfield and Crusaders), and I tried similar saves on FM15 in Wales and Denmark but didn't get into it. But hopefully N. Ireland and typing this story up will give me the motivation to stick with it.

FM15?
I'm a student. I'm poor.

So another youth challenge?
This is not a youth challenge. I don't have the willpower to go through that nor the patience. I've made my own tactics with this and I love going through transfers so youth challenge is a no-no. I do also love youth and giving them a chance (the anti-Jose Mourinho), but not willing to define my career on a couple of bad/good intakes.

Why is this intro so long?
Sorry. SORRY FOR CARING.


(If you're reading this for the first time, I did a stupid with the images and you won't be able yo see them till about post #15)

[thehazeofspades]

A Little Preview

So just before kicking things off here are some essentials.

The history #MakeTheGlensGreatAgain

The squad Not too shabby for a top half finish/Europa league spots (top 4 get into Europe), but it'll probably depend on Curtis Allen, Jay Magee and Jordan Stewart.

Facilities The stadium is actually quite decent by Northern Ireland standards (sorry Will Grigg) but those youth facilities need to be improved fast.

Finances Or not.

[thehazeofspades]

So I thought I'd take a look into my youth team..



That was a mistake

[thehazeofspades]

So now I don't have a youth team nor a first team...great

[harryleechinyeow]

looking to do something similar to this in N. Ireland as well. Will definitely be following. Good Luck!!!

[ManUtd1]

You had me with the sarcasm

Will be following along.

[thehazeofspades]

looking to do something similar to this in N. Ireland as well. Will definitely be following. Good Luck!!!

You should, it's loads of fun! The poverty and quality of players and bad fitness and...sigh

You had me with the sarcasm

Will be following along.

You're in for a world of disappointment. Cheers!

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2014/2015 Half Season Update

So far so good(in the league that is, cups have been garbage). Things started off very inconsistently, but as the players got on board with my tactics and got accustomed to it we've been playing very good football recently. Jordan Stewart has been at the centre of it all, being involved in most of our attacks, and Curtis Allen has been better recently after a tactical change.

I didn't have any money for transfers bar from a rubbish backup striker (that was a waste of money) and an on loan winger I got during the injury crisis we had. Who then got injured. And had his loan terminated. Though recently I have been given the option to change my season expectations (from mid table finish to title challenge) which has taken our wage budget from ‎£-550 to ‎£-260. Swimming in the cash.

Obviously the wage has been garbage due to the finances being garbage also. The money in the Northern Irish league isn't as good as you'd think surprisingly, and the matches aren't televised. Europe cannot come soon enough.

(Yes I know I said I'd do season updates but a season takes me about two days to get through so I thought I'd do half and half for a while till Europe starts heating up. #OnlyGodCanJudgeMe)

[thehazeofspades]

Transfer Update

Just very quickly we bought in one winger in the January transfer window (further crippling ourselves financially).

Stephen Garrett was released from Cliftonville and can play loads of positions and isn't half bad so he comes in one a one year deal and we'll see where it goes from there.

[thehazeofspades]

2014/2015 Youth Intake

Good potential on some of these players, but the personality on them is abysmal. A new HoYD is essential this off-season(even though this one isn't absolute garbage so the personalities is a bit disappointing).

[thehazeofspades]

Wow.
Didn't see this hapenning this fast. Season update coming up

[thehazeofspades]

2014/2015 End of Season Update

League position and fixtures

Brilliant. It was actually very tight as all the top 4 teams were very good (until Linfield faded off in the end). But a win against Cliftonville and Portadown (our first win against them this season) extended the gap at the top and a final win that was dead rubber made the gap seem much bigger than it was. The cups were garbage but the squad was thin and I never played a full strength squad in any of them. Hopefully by having a few youth players now I'll have more options to lose with.

Squad

The two attacking players that I highlighted earlier led the way, and Jordan Stewart has a long term contract (and he also won Young Player of the Year). Curtis Allen refuses to talk to me but I'll wait for the rep boost at the reset date to try again. Stephen McAlorum is a very good player but does get sent off quite a bit. Quite surprising to see that only 6 players have an above 7 rating seeing that we were predicted to finish 5th.

Transfers

All three of these have been a mistake.

Northern Irish teams in Europe
Cliftonville lost 6-1 to Maribor (HUN) in the CL 2nd Qual. Round, Linfield lost 3-2 to Fram (ISL) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, Crusaders lost 6-0 to Spartak Trnava (SLVK) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, Glenavon lost 8-1 to Siroki Brjeg (BOH) in the EL 1st Qual. Round. Hopefully we'll better this pathetic lot (please don't mark my words in case we lose).

Finances

Still hemorrhaging money, but the CL money should help. Doubt we'll turn pro this off-season.

Miscellaneous

Junior coaching budget is essential for better youth. It's at good now.

It's good to know you're appreciated. My ex left me without a goodbye. Who's laughing now though?

This will help our finances. lol jk


Plans for next season
Retaining the title is essential to have a chance at more CL fixtures and more moola and then gorvelling to the board to go pro. Strengthen the squad and add some players with better personalities for tutoring purposes, as well as sorting out the staff. Hope we get a decent first CL opponent and don't get absolutely spanked.

[thehazeofspades]

Cheers other Northern Irish clubs.

[thehazeofspades]

2015/2016 Pre Season Update

Transfers

James Singleton - Young and will compete for the starting left back spot
Paddy McNally - Potential and can back up my centrebacks
Chris Curran - I think he's the best winger in the club
Anthony Elding - Brought in as cover for my lov...I mean Curtis Allen
Glenn Morrison - I actually rate him unlike my assistant
Harry Brennan - Great potential so might get a few cup games

Europe

As we were unseeded and were entered in the very first qualifying round, we were drawn against Shirak of Armenia.

As I forgot to assign pre season early (my annual mistake on FM with this save), we only managed two friendlies before playing this match, and the players fitness was worse than after a night out when you're blind drunk and just had street kebab. But we somehow fluked a victory here but did concede an away goal which made the away leg seem difficult.

Can I have Jordan Stewart's babies? (We won this match 3-2 with a Jordan Stewart hattrick)

We were 'rewarded' with this tie. See you later Europe. (This tie was Ludogorets)

[thehazeofspades]

So after dismissing Shirak we had Ludogorets to face who weren't as scary as I thought they were after looking into their team. Hoping for a loss and a draw to raise the coefficient.

Absolutely dominated but we kept it to 1-0. Dare to dream?

Wait what.

I have nothing to say, I'm still shocked at the Ludogorets match.

[thehazeofspades]

So after the peculiar Ludogorets situation, we went in to the Petrolul match with our heads held high proud of what we've accomplished.

They were too much and we couldn't get a few lucky breaks like the Ludogorets match.

A win at home and this puts in the Europa League Qual. Round as a seeded team.

We got drawn against them and I didn't know what to expect. I actually wouldn't want Europa League fixtures as the team in no way has the required depth to compete on two fronts.

Well I got what I wished for I guess. I actually played backups in the second leg which left me thinking what could have been. Meh, the coefficient is up and our cash is up, all is good.

[thehazeofspades]

Hey guys I had an error with my imgur account so some of the older pictures won't work. I apologise for that.

[harryleechinyeow]

Well I got what I wished for I guess. I actually played backups in the second leg which left me thinking what could have been. Meh, the coefficient is up and our cash is up, all is good.

Yeah good call imo. Europa might do more harm than good.

Would be great if we can see those blocked images. But don't bother

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2015/2016 Half Season Update

League Position and Fixtures

And it couldn't be closer. Inconsistency and periods of not having key players due to injury or fatigue affect us as there's a huge drop off from our starters to our backup players. But our play has been better than last season I believe and we can push on from here.

Oh and cups have still been garbage. Honestly I'm just not paying attention to them.


Squad

Take a wild guess who our best players have been. Honestly the periods in our fixtures where we've been inconsistent have coincided with when Jordan Stewart or Curtis Allen were tired/injured/unavailable. Which is quite meh. Stephen McAolrum remains a good player who gets suspended far too often, and I'm trying to integrate our youth players in Pat Galbraith (13(9) appearances with a 6.69 avg. rating) and a few others with less appearances than that.


Transfers

Paul McMahon - Used to always play well against us with Portadown and the left winger spot was a problem for us so we decided to 'splash the cash' on him.
Brendan Shannon - Even though our right back William Garret plays well I'm not too convinced by his stats and he then got injured so I decided to buy Brendan who immediately becomes the best right back at the club. I know my stuff.


Finances

Our CL adventure has helped our finances immensely, but I'm trying to sit on this money (he says after spending 40k on a player) to save it to be able to ask the board to turn pro next season.

[thehazeofspades]

Yeah good call imo. Europa might do more harm than good.

Would be great if we can see those blocked images. But don't bother

Yeah honestly I just messed up man. Sorry for that but the rest will be good and I learned from my mistake.

[ManUtd1]

Looks tight, but your European campaign was inspiring. Great stuff! Good luck in the 2nd half of the domestic run -- hopefully some consistency will find you.

[thehazeofspades]

Looks tight, but your European campaign was inspiring. Great stuff! Good luck in the 2nd half of the domestic run -- hopefully some consistency will find you.

I feel with more time between fixtures and me being able to set our starting 11 more often we should do well in the 2nd half of the season like we did last season. The more CL matches we play the more money we get and the quicker we get to turn pro; that's when the fun really starts, so CL qualification is essential as the EL doesn't even compare financially.

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2015/2016 Youth Intake

These bad personalities will be the death of me. The problem is that I can't even figure out the problem. We have a jovial coach but that's about it. All these low determination and unambitious players really tick me off and I didn't sign those two at the top (Stevie Arthur and Frankie O'Connor) largely in part to the fact they're overrated and their personality is garbage. This is such a shame as the increase in junior coaching we did has really helped as all these players have better potential than last year's intake and I think are also better players as well.

Aidan Stanex - The best player according to my assistant. He might find games tough to come by as we have so may young players and youth prospects in this position.
Andrew Braiden - Too short to play centreback, too slow to play right back. And sh*t haircut.
Darren Wilson - 5 finishing and composure, but he's a striker and I rarely let them go.
Dean Kerr - Andrew Braiden 2.0 with a garbage personality. But I think he's the best player attribute wise from this intake.
Roy Coleman - See Patrick Addis.
Martin Doyle - Token goalkeeper signing.
Denver Todd - He has all the right attributes in the right places and decent mentals and physicals. Jordan Stewart's backup?
Paddy Weir - I honestly cannot remember why I signed him.
Patrick Addis - Steps to being a winger in N. Ireland; Be fast. That's all.
Gary O'Brien - See Patrick Addis.

[harryleechinyeow]

Paddy Weir - I honestly cannot remember why I signed him.

Ya seems like a weird one. Especially the 4 in determination, where the rest are at least 10.

Patrick Addis - Steps to being a winger in N. Ireland; Be fast. That's all.

[thehazeofspades]

Ya seems like a weird one. Especially the 4 in determination, where the rest are at least 10.

I can't remember where I read it (I think it was on a thread on this site), but Determination isn't directly related to a player's development. That's what the personality is there for. Determination is related to if you're team is losing or needs to hold onto the lead how the players' react to that and if they can keep their cool. I can't remember but apparently even players with professional personalities don't need high determination to be qualified as professional.

All of that is stupid because he still has casual personality and I signed him. I did a dumb.

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2015/2016 End of Season Update

League position and fixtures

Another league title. As much as I mention how inconsistent we are, our consistency is what led us to this title this season. I remember at one point there were 3 points separating first from fifth, and the run in was all over the place. But other teams started fading off and especially as the split happened with the other teams taking points off each other, we stayed firm to get our second league title in a row. The County Shield and the League Cup I didn't pay much attention to, but I tired in the Irish cup but had to put out a rotated side as we had an All-Ireland Cup match three days later and I had that as a higher priority. The final was utterly disappointing.


Squad

Honestly I could just say the same things as last season's end of season post. Jordan Stewart is on another level completely and holding on to him will be key to our growth as a club (initially at least). Curtis Allen was also very good but had a bit of an injury-ridden season so didn't play as much as I would have liked him to. Stephen McAlorum and Jay Magee remained brilliant players who get suspended far too often.


Key Player's Profiles

Jordan Stewart - I love him.
Curtis Allen - Scored as many league goals as last season in less games.
Stephen McAlorum - He holds the midfield down very well, BUT NEEDS TO STOP GETTING SO MANY CARDS.



Transfers

Nothing added here since January. Chris Curran has been very good as has Peter McMahon. Brendan Shannon has been decent but nothing to write home about. The rest have all been meh leaning on disappointing.


Northern Irish teams in Europe
Crusaders lost 6-2 to Anorthosi (CYP) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, Portadown los 7-0 to Helsingborg (SWE) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, but Cliftonville beat Silemma Wanderers (MAL) 4-0 before losing to Hajduk (CRO) 3-2 in the EL 2nd Qual. Round. I hope they continue doing well as they're the team who has the most finances and thus the higher chance of going pro. More pro teams=better leagues.


Finances

Good. I give it a couple more seasons before going pro.


Plans for Next Season

Really try to put our foot down on the league. Hope for a good draw in Europe and hope other teams also do well and push up the coefficient.

[thehazeofspades]

Not much of an improvement here.

Much of an improvement here.

[harryleechinyeow]

Good job on another league title! Better luck next season in the All-Ireland Cup.

Ya looking forward to you and other clubs going pro, cuz that's where the real fun begins imo.

1 question though: how much do you think your bank balance need to have to go pro?

[thehazeofspades]

Good job on another league title! Better luck next season in the All-Ireland Cup.

Ya looking forward to you and other clubs going pro, cuz that's where the real fun begins imo.

1 question though: how much do you think your bank balance need to have to go pro?

From my past experiences, anything over 3 or 4 million will do. The problem is getting to that sort of money needs you to be in either the European group stages.

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2016/2017 European Qualification

We got drawn against Aktobe of Kazakhstan in the 2nd Qual. Round since we performed well last season so didn't start in the 1st Qual. Round.

Definitely second best in this game, but managed to escape without conceding so it was advantage to us.

As I predicted, being at home helped us power through the Kazakh champs. We got drawn againstLegia Warsaw of Poland in the next round.

Bloomin heck. I didn't see that happening. What was more bizarre is that the player we put on for Jordan Stewart is who scored the winner. I have such confused emotions right now... We also set a new gate receipt high this match.

Three penalties. We've fluked into Europe boys. We got drawn against Red Bull Salzburg of Austria in the next round.

No luck of the (Northern) Irish here, we were well and truly battered.

Europa League it is. But our adventure came at a cost...
And here are our fixtures so far.


Transfers


Aidan Nicholl - Good potential, which is a theme of many of these signings. Will be a backup/rotation right back.
Tony Smith - Payed good money for him. Then I got in another striker and now I feel like a turd.
James McKeown - I actually like his stats and personality, so I ignored the scout/assistant reports.
Johnny McGil - A decent central midfielder who can act as cover further up the pitch.
David McMurray - Bought from Linfield for peanuts. I disagree with his reports and I think he's a good player.
Liam Grimes - Who doesn't like a bit of grime?
Simon McFarland - I honestly don't see what's so good about him, but y scouts were raving on and on. He'll be backup to Curtis Allen.
Paul Higgins - Potential. Honestly I'm just filling up my reserves and youth teams with these players in the hopes of them either becoming good enough for me or if not then joining other clubs in N. Ireland to strengthen them.

[thehazeofspades]

And this is the group we've been drawn in.

Who's ready to break the record for most goals conceded in a Europa League group?

[thehazeofspades]

 

Glentoran PROFESSIONAL STATUS ANNOUNCEMENT

IT'S HAPPENED!

 

I found this quite silly. I clicked the option as a misclick, and it worked out. To match other teams in the league? You mean all the other semi-professional sides? ok.

 

[ManUtd1]

Congrats on turning pro, haze. The domestic campaign should scale accordingly!

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2016/2017 Half Season Update

League Position and Fixtures

Tight as ever. Portadown have been a surprise frontrunner, but us, Linfield and Cliftonville are not far behind. It's a very tight league and we (and other teams) have been dropping points more than I drop rhymes on my mixtape. (I'm white I know). Our biggest undoing has been post-European matches, as we simply don't have the depth to win matches. While we have the depth to put out a fit starting 11, they aren't good enough to win matches in our league, so halfway through the group matches I did the opposite, putting my weaker team in Europe and the stronger one in the league, and we picked up slightly. Very slightly though, as we were still inconsistent. We have picked up a bit of form though as the rest has really helped the team. We are in the Irish League Cup final (through a very dodgy draw where we haven't faced anyone that difficult), and I hope to get my first piece of cup silverware.


Squad

No real standout performer, bar maybe Peter McMahon. The team has really struggled for consistency when you play a good match then go get spanked 5-0 in Europe while facing 46 shots. As you can see lots of youth players or bit time players have played a few matches, especially in the cups. But as every season, hopefully with more consistency in the starting 11 players can pick up form.


Key Players' Profiles

Peter McMahon - Been our best player so far ratings wise, as he chips in with lots of key passes and dribbles, but his output needs to increase.
Kym Nelson - Have been playing him as a deep lying playmaker, and he's been mixing tackling and distributing the ball well.
Curtis Allen - Went through rough patches (at one point he didn't score for 10 hours of football) yet still remains our top scorer.


Finances

And this is why we've been able to turn pro. Europe really helped us immensely and I honestly did not think we'd have 3.5 million by our third year.

[thehazeofspades]

Congrats on turning pro, haze. The domestic campaign should scale accordingly!

Hopefully so, it's been a bit of a difficult juggle the first half of the season

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2016/2017 Youth Intake

So increased junior coaching and a new, better HoYD (albeit with balanced personality), and all I get are two players worth signing only? and they're in positions where we're loaded? ok.

Jimmy Millar - Great physicals, decent mentals. Technical stats are bad and spread all over the place, so I don't even know what to do with him. Possibly raise his tackling and play him as a BWM.
Michael Topley - Another keeper, which is a shame because I think he has the best potential out of the last two intakes' keepers.

[withnail316]

Congrats on going pro, fella. Good progress so far. KUTGW

[thehazeofspades]

Congrats on going pro, fella. Good progress so far. KUTGW

Cheers fam

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2016/2017 End of Season Update

League Position and Fixtures

We absolutely blitzed the second half of the season, and ended up with a higher points total than last season. Again, the other teams cannot seem to put together a run of good games in the final stretch of the season, as evident by the past positions (special points for Portadown for that Arsenal-esque collapse). Cups I played youth in again, and many got fined after losing to a team in the division below us in the Irish cup. The league cup final was also disappointing. Still haven't won a cup.


Squad

A lot of appearances added to our key players while very few to our fringe/youth players. This was key to our success, as I know we have the best starting 11 in the league. The best squad? Eh not so much.


Key Players' Profiles

Kym Nelson - Continued his season of not contributing too much but getting a good average rating.
Peter McMahon - Our best attacking midfielder.
Curtis Allen - The man, the myth, the legend.
Pat Glabraith - Was in our youth intake two seasons ago, and has evolved nicely. Even filled in for Jordan Stewart when the latter was out injured.


Transfers

Honestly the only one who was a first teamer or resembled anything of use was Simon McFarland, who did a very god job as cover for Curtis Allen at such a tender age. Aidan Nicholl and Tony Smith, who played in a few cup and meaningless games here and there.


Northern Irish Teams in Europe

Linfield lost 3-2 to Sileks (MAC) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, Crusaders lost 4-0 to Midtjylland (DEN) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, while Coleraine beat Dacia (MOL) 3-3 on away goals before losing to Neftci (AZE) 2-0 in the EL 2nd Qual. Round. We really need someone like Linfield or Cliftonville to kick on as the other team do not have the consistency to end up top 4 every season.


Finances

Obviously a loss here, but the European matches will help this.


Plans for Next Season

Make the team better. I've already signed a few more coaches and staff and have some pre-assigned transfers. We need to really kick on our facilities also and do well again in Europe to stock up the cash for this.

[ManUtd1]

Nice season, haze -- turning pro seems to have made a huge difference domestically. Consistent CL appearances should cause those funds to accumulate nicely.

[thehazeofspades]

Nice season, haze -- turning pro seems to have made a huge difference domestically. Consistent CL appearances should cause those funds to accumulate nicely.

The pro status didn't actually happen till this off-season, so we should see what happens and if your prediction is right. Cheers Utd!

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2017/2018 European Qualification

Our adventures last season has led to some really good increases of both the league and the club. Can we continue the upwards rise this seasons? Sant Julia of Andorra faced us first.

No problems here at all. BATE next, and at first I was horrified, but after inspection of their team they aren't as horrific as first thought. It's like getting a girl from the bar while drunk, and when you wake up you're scared she'll be ugly, but she's actually alright.

At this point you find out that the girl is an absolute worldie and has a great personality.

Aaaaaaand this is when you find out the girl is actually insane in the head. I don't know where I'm going with this, but we won and we're up against Petrolul again. sigh.

We are just nowhere near being able to compete with them. And they'd probably be considered a 3rd seed side, so I found this result disappointing. I did expect to lose, but we conceded far too much for my liking. Maybe I'm a victim of our own (really rapid) success? Maybe so.
We got lucky and drew Jablonec of the Czech Republic, which is great as they were possibly the easiest side we could draw from our pot, that had the likes of Molde and Malmo.

A good first leg set us up knowing if they don't score a goal we'd be through. I set us up more defensively, and we went through even with a red card while scoring a goal. Europa League group stages for a second season in a row.

Group C two seasons in a row? Conspiracy theory. #PlatiniOut


Transfers

James Knowles - Now I know this is bad but....I actually signed him because I really like signing players on pre-contract agreements in January, and he was the best player out there. He'll be good depth for now.
Sammy McCaw - 30k is peanuts for a starting right back with great physicals and at only 17. Top notch transfer that.
Carl Long - Our first non-Irish signing! Starting right winger and has potential to be an immense player in this league.
Seamus Dunne - Now some of you won't be happy that I shelled out 155k for him, but honestly I only had two centrebacks that were old enough to be considered first teamers, and one of them has declined due to age, so I needed a good option who was young to stay with me for a while, and Seamus fits that bill. Good attributes all around for a central defender, and not a panic buy in my books. Not one bit.


Here are what our fixtures have been like so far. Lots of Curtis Allen, which is good as he has become our highest earner and is very demanding in contract negotiations. No losses domestically so far, but it's the matches before and after the European group stage that were our downfall last time, will they be similar this season round?

[thehazeofspades]

Remember when I said I need a good centreback so I can have three players to depend on?

155k doesn't seem like such a bad investment now right?

Banter aside, we might actually have an issue with centreback depth now.

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2017/2018 Half Season Update

Fixtures


(I forgot to take a screenshot of the league, I'll post it with the youth intake update. We were comfortably first though).

Domestic dominance has begun (If you discount the cups..). We have the squad depth now to put up a backup team that would be considered a starter team for most other teams in the league, so Europe hasn't been that much of an annoyance. I do actually want to win a cup so will be prioritising the Irish Cup as we're so far ahead in the league. And maybe the All-Ireland Cup but we will see.


Squad

Bar the keeper, you will find two very familiar names up there. They remain our best players, and until we get a reputation boost to sign players (which according to the time I tried to sign players in January, isn't happening soon), we will have to depend on that couple and N. Irish/Irish youth to lead us. Lots of depth as you can see and everyone in the team has played their share.


Key Players' Profiles


Curtis Allen - There's a love triangle going on between Jordan, Curtis and I. He has been immense, leads the goalscoring charts in the league, broke the the club's goalscoring record, and has been insane in Europe. I have no clue where we would be without him.
Jordan Stewart - My boy. He has been playing key passes left right and centre for our striker (and mainly Curtis) to feed on. I'm just glad that he recovered very well after his 3 month lay off last season.
Calum Birney - A rock at the back. Just edges Seamus Dunne as he has been more consistent over the course of the first half of the season.


Transfers

I have money. I will spend it. NO ONE CAN STOP ME


Tommi Kettunen - Tommy, as he will now be known (No seriously I'm nicknaming him Tommy) solves my left back problem. The problem being Marcus Kane (who's 26) is very good, but his backup doesn't want to be a backup. So Tommy comes in and will play matches till he matures in about 3-4 years and Marcus will be starting to decline.

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2017/2018 Youth Intake

Are we just producing keepers for fun? A decent intake though with 4 players being signed.


Stevie McConkey - Winner of the best name award, McConkey has a good personality and physicals, but we'll see how his technical attributes develop.
Wayne Tohill - Winner of the best player of the intake award, he could be a backup attacking midfielder straight away with those attributes (and will be as I'm not renewing the contract of my backup AM).
Ryan Beattie - Winner of the I don't know where to play him award. He isn't tall enough to be a centre back nor is he fast enough to be a right back. I'm leaning on keeping him as a centre back and hoping for the best.
Davy Irwin - A goalkeeper. Also I'm out of awards.

And here's the league table. We're so far ahead of everyone as they keep dropping silly points. I really had high hopes for Cliftonville and Linfield this season as I really want them to kick on but it was not to be I guess. Cliftonville still have time to get second place but Linfield are far and away from those European spots.

[ManUtd1]

Irwin gets a participation ribbon.

[thehazeofspades]

Irwin gets a participation ribbon.

"Thank you for generating in the game"

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2017/2018 End Of Season Update

League Position and Fixtures

The league is done. The other teams around us kept on dropping points to each other and our consistency (you're sick of this word by now right?) made us settle the league by mid-March. We did the double also finally, by getting the Irish cup (with a relatively easy route to the final, bar Coleraine). But that gosh darn All-Ireland Cup...


Squad

Curtis Allen and Jordan Stewart are the present and future of this club. Curtis broke two records this season.


Key Players' Profiles

Curtis Allen - He's incredible. My only fear is that he's now 30, and he'll need replacing soon, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that emotionally.
Jordan Stewart - But I remember that Jordan is still 23 and that makes the pain that little less painful.
Calum Birney - Our defense is obviously an issue, but Calum is the best of the lot. Don't let his European ratings fool you, it's hard for any defender to get a good rating when you're conceding 3 goals a game.


Transfers

James Knowles - A mistake. Will be sold.
Carl Long - I kinda expected more of him. Possible due to being in a new league and a new country, I'll see if he can kick on next season.
Sammy McCaw - He's been really good and he's only getting better. I like him.
Seamus Dunne - Second best centre back in the club, but he has potential to get better. Remember, he's only 19.
Tommy - Still only 16, so I shouldn't expect his average rating to soar. He's also getting accustomed to the rigors of Northern Irish football. But I like his attributes.

Northern Irish Teams in Europe

Linfield lost 4-1 to Sarajevo (BOS) in the EL 1st Qual. Round, Crusaders lost 5-1 to Istra 1961 (CRO), and Cliftonville beat NSI (FAR) 3-0 before losing to AA Gent (BEL) 6-1 in the EL 2nd Qual. Round. I need to get the coefficient up to the point where we have two teams in the CL qualifiers so someone else can turn pro.


Finances

Losses throughout the season as I upgraded some facilities but I'm only using our European money so it's fine. I'm good with money guys I swear.


Plans For Next Season

Keep on keeping on. Try to push on more in Europe, and loan some of our youngsters to other clubs in the hope of making them better in Europe. Upgrade facilities.

[thehazeofspades]

I'm back and an update will be up now. Sorry for the break guys.

[thehazeofspades]

Glentoran 2018/2019 European Qualification

A bit of improvement in this front, nothing too major. We are still miles away from that second CL spot obviously.

I have to admit I was a bit scared when I drew F.C. Copenhagen, hoping for a respectable scoreline, but I think I might be suffering from small team mentality. Our team is a proven EL group stage team, and we shouldn't be battered by the Danish team. Defeating them was still a pleasant surprise though. We were drawn against Lech Poznan of Poland.

Seeing as I think they're a weaker team than Copenhagen, I expected to go through here and we did just that. I would like someone to explain to me why we're a better team away than we are at home. I was hoping for an easy draw, but we got Basel instead. Hello Europa League.

We didn't disrespect ourselves too much against the Swiss champs, and more Europa League money. I feel that that is the level we're at till we can upgrade this team some more.

Good news: We aren't in group C.
Bad news: We are in possibly the worst group of all. It seems like our first European point will have to wait.

And as usual our fixtures so far.


Squad

Curtis Allen is on a completely other level. He's amazing. The depth of the squad is good now, as we have a starting 11 in Europe and a starting 11 that can win matches domestically.


Transfers

Michael Duffy - Brought in on a bossman. Was debating getting him or not until Peter McMahon broke his leg and that was the greenlgiht for me.
Dan Hanford - A big upgrade over our previous starting keeper, and should be here for a couple or more years till we can upgrade again.
Ross Weaver - I'm not a huge fan of his heading, but he was the best centre back available to us. Will rotate with Calum Birney and Seamus Dunne.
Calvin Helm - Our new record transfer. Offered him a contract in January, but he re-signed with Crystal Palace, and they subsequently put him back on the transfer list and for the same price they were offering before. #Logic.
Craig Storey - Brought for cover at right back and for tips on how to maintain hair strenght and shine.
Jahmali Williamson - Carl Long got an annoying injury so Jahmali was brought in late in the transfer window as a backup.


Finances

We can afford to put money into facilities now.