PGC: The Spanish Inquisition for FM17

[smashin88]

 PLAYER WATCH

 JOSHUA ONOMAH

A new signing at ponfy this summer, the player was the first in the door when the transfer window opened. A sum off 3 million pounds was agreed with Liverpool a bargain in todays market. The onetime England international and Tottenham player has had an exceptional career so far and comes too Ponferadda at the age off 25 still with his best years ahead off him.  The player had struggled too get the game time his ability deserved at Liverpool and had been actively seeking a move elsewhere. Akinbiyi has said he has high hopes for Joshua and says the player can blossom into the player he once promised too be.

   ALEIX GARCIA

 Aleix Garcia isn't a new face at Ponfy having spent some time at  the club on loan before signing last year on a free from man City.  The player failed too settle in England and has been on loan at various clubs over the years before finding a home in his native country off Spain. Akinbiyi has arguably gotten the best football out off this talented attacking midfielder allowing him the freedom too operate in between the forward line and midfield and too play with the ball at his feet where he can do the most damage. The player has a bright future ahead off him and like Joshua is approaching his best years as a footballer, with the right attitude and work rate the player can push on and prove City wrong for letting him go.

 ROB HOLDING

 Rob Holding is another free transfer from England. The player was once at Arsenal and was regarded as a top prospect and future England international. lack off game time had meant his career stagnated and he reluctantly moved on finding an unlikely home at Ponferrada. The defender has been a rock for Akinbiyi, rarely putting a foot wrong and this summer he was rewarded with a 30k a week contract and a much higher release fee than the reported 1.3 million in his old contract. Akinbiyi has said the defender is the first name on his team sheet and is looking forward too working with him for years too come.

RODRIGO QUINTERO

 Quintero was an unknown player when Akinbiyi brought him in from Columbia. A fee off 250k did not set off any alarms but after his man off the match performance in the teams opening day off the season win last year, people did take notice. The player is perfectly suited too Akinbiyis style, he is hard working talented and never gives up. In truth the club has done well too keep the player this summer with interest from at home and abroad. the manager has already stated that the player will play an important part in the future off the club.

NICHOLAS PIERINI

  Nicholas is a new signing this summer at Ponfy, a sign off the rise in profile the club has had this season. The player has been in Italy with Sassoulo but the Spanish youth international jumped at the chance too return home and play in the Spanish top division. Akinbiyi has said he expects the player too spearhead the attack and has full faith in his ability. the player himself has said he is excited to showcase his talents in the country off his birth and will repay the managers faith in him with goals and assists. The player is far from the finished article but with hard work he could be a future international, a dream he has had from an early age.

 

 

 

 

[SeanBhoy88]

Logrones - 

 

This season summed up in one word? FRUSTRATING!! we started our domestic campaign like a team on fire we sat a healthy 3rd at one point which is clearly way above where our quality should be but still it felt nice, then came the injuries then came January.... our form was slipping the injuries where mounting and in January my main man my 16 goals already ST Vanderson who featured in previous posts left the club for a tasty 17.5mill, this was to be a nice financial boost for the club but it came at a bad time he was literally the only player in form and injury free at the time and when he went out goals dried up fast, we went on a streak of 8 games without a win or something like that, we kicked scratched clawed did everything we could chopped changed tweaked but ultimately our team could not muster up better than 9th place finish AGAIN! 

 

I think a big part of where i went wrong last season was the fact i didn't go for steady progression i have kind of had a major overhaul from the year before and when you do that its a lottery it either works for ya or it goes badly wrong, mine was a mixed bag it started like its going to work and finished like WTF is this ?

Onto the cups - we had a decent cup run our team actually did something this year only to be halted in the quarter finals by Levante, a team any other day i would expect us to beat but when we played my team was dejected unfit and full of injuries and suspensions, poor timing? who knows but it certainly did not help but the quarter finals was ok it meant we could focus on the final 10 league games or so. 

 

Aims going forward? well after last season its clear to me more now than ever that as much as we can hold our own we are a million miles off being top 5 quality, it can be done if i was to go have a monster season like Ali but the chances of that are unlikely for me at the moment, again i am having an overhaul but this time i have been almost to careful trying my best to find the right player, what's happening in game now tho is we are almost at games and i am missing key players key positions and depth the battle to find the right guy at the right price has become a long grueling one but the window is still open and we are still working! here is hoping we can pull at least one big transfer off that makes a substantial difference to our squad. 

 

 

In these SS firs of all you will see my new signing the best player in my squad by quite some distance Lammartine, he did not hit the ground running by any stretch of the imagination but he started to show real glimpses of what he can do towards the end of the season, the second SS is to show the volume of changes, we spent a fair bit after the sale of Vanderson but again having to sell a lot to buy a lot and i dont believe the mass of changes has helped us at all! the last SS is my current board confidence as you can see my season wasn't great but it wasnt bad either we where asked to avoid relegation and we managed to have avoided it by February so that was nice but all in all the expectations are gradually getting higher i just hope my board understand Logrones are a club in building there may be one or two more average/rough seasons before we kick into top gear. 

Shout out to Ali who had a monster season,  And Jamie and Gilly for making Europe and the rest on another top season.

[Athrill]

[Jonas Christensen]

After a dramatic finish to the last season, we found ourselves up in La Liga 123 after being stuck in the lower divisions since the start of the game... Phew! What a fight to get out!.... So now began the mission to stay up!

I was under no illusion, that we had our work cut out for us, as we only went up on some weird rule about standings and couldn't even win our way up... So the pressure was on in the window, as we were nowhere near in shape to take up the fight in La Liga 123 yet... Once again though, the summer window started with a transfer embargo, as the club once again were in talks of a takeover - and once again fruitless...

As we had a lot of work to do, the window was once again extremely busy for me... but this time I wasn't looking to fill the team with loan players, but rather get a few older players in and then fill up the ranks with youths...

The most important transfer activities was without a doubt that I kept Ernesto Aparicio on a free loan from Valencia.... An AMC who'd been my best player in all my seasons at UCAM so far... Some of you might remember me mentioning Izan Rufete last season, a young striker who I had on loan and who'd become an instant UCAM favourite, scoring for fun... I managed to secure him on a free, and I was ecstatic about that, as he had loads of potential for my level...

He's now up to 43 goals in 80 appearances for us, and while I still think he's good, I don't really feel he's progressing enough...

Another extremely important transfer was the signing of my new star striker Elton Goncalves... A young portuguese striker with loads of speed...

While I don't think his technical stats overwhelming good, his speed all but makes up for it, and he's proven to be an extremely good purchase on a free....

Our goal for the season was to fight bravely against relegation.... But a decent first half of the season had me over the moon, as we looked certain to stay up....

As we headed into January, we hit 5 wins out of 5 games in a row, and we were suddenly up to 2nd in the league! The next 4 games were all against contenders for the title and playoff, so those game would be deciding for the fate of our first season up here... But as you can see, it was a disaster... We went on an awfull run that meant we suddenly had to claw our way after from the fight to survive...

Luckily we bounced back and finished the season strong, with the chance to get into PO in the final game, where we unfortunately fell short...

My strikers and AMC proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the league as we scored 79 goals, 10 more than the team with the second-most goals!

Our performance didn't go un-noticed, as we won "Biggest Overachievers" of the season...

For next season however, we're once again predicted at the bottom, and we once again have our work cut out for us, especially as I lost Aparicio, as Valencia now wanted me to pay full wages to loan him again...

 

[Jonas Christensen]

[welshguy21]

Jamie - Llagostera

What a great season again this team keeps surprising me we held 4th spot up until the last 4 or 5 games as we faded from a small squad and league and cup exploits caught up with us in the end.

 

Seasons results

 

 

A great season overall european place in the league and a cup final which we narrowly lossed 2-1 to Sabadell.

 

Star players from the season

 

Tarashaj was my top scorer with 29 goals in 44 games

 

Carrascal AM on loan for two season now permanent for 900k last seasons poty

 

Preguinho youngster first full season in the starting 11 and did not let me down turned down 10 mill from west ham in summer

 

Onto the new season and we have hardly any budget to work with 4 mill on transfers which i had to turn the majority into wages most of that down to an upgrade on the ground taking us to 15k capacity which will take a year to complete which sends us ground sharing at Sabadell for the season and upgrades to the youth and training facilities.

 

 

 

New Ins and Outs

 

 

 

 

 

Those are the main additions the rest of the loans are to bolster the squad as its going to be a tough year with cup europe and league to consider i will be shocked if we are in the top 6 this season the rest of the lads have sold and signed well and i think our squad is more or less the same level as last season just with a bit more cover mainly in midfield.

 

But to be honest i would rather the club build slowly as too many changes to the squad every season just unbalances everything its a mistake i have done in previous games and rarely works out in the long run.

[Kaboooom]

Club Deportivo Toledo

Season 2020-2021

We had a lot of work for the new season just avoiding relegation on last game of the season. So it was straight away to business at Toledo.

First of all we renewed some contract of players who did a good season nabil alioui was one of them who received an new contract after a amazing season and received the award for Topscorer in Liga 123.

After that we said some goodbye's to several player's who didn't have any futur anymore at Toledo.
Following players left: David Alcibiade, Andy Kawaya, Xavier Lenogue, Ion Echaide, Hendrik Bonmann.

Also some new players came to join Toledo.
New arrivals at Toledo: Diogo David (Loan), Emiliano Diaz, Vierinha, Sandro Veloso, Lucas Bruera, Ilyes Bonnet, Michael Morais.

After preparing our team in the summer with a lot of friendlies it was finally time to start the new season with our first game against Racing Santander (2-0 lose) i thought it would be again a battle against relegation this season.

But the next 3 games we won all for of them against Celta De Vigo, Real Oviedo, Villarreal B and a draw against Athletic Club who just came down from La Liga.

Here some results of the season:

My team fought well all season long an secure a playoff position (5th place) to promote to La Liga.

Playoff games:
Semi-Final against Girona FC (1st leg 0-0) - (2nd leg 2-1 win)
Final against CD Numancia (1st leg 1-2 lose) (2nd leg 2-1 lose)

After all we did a great season nobody thought we would secure a playoff position, everybody thought we would fight again against relegation.
They only think i can say about my players is well done for this great season and we shut up a lot of media people.

One player again had a great season ( NABIL ALIOUI ) who else our favorite son won again topscorer award with 46 appearances and 33 goals.

For next season we will continue building our team to better then the year before.

Training facilities and youth facilities will be upgraded.

To be continued

[LEEMOD]

Where is this weeks league tables?

[smashin88]

END OF WEEK STANDINGS

        

  The fight for European places is hotting up in La Liga. With the human managers all scrapping it out in the top half off the league  one win can literally move u 2 or 3 places in the league its that close. With Real Madrid and Barcelona continuing too run the table  an expected title push by Sabadell has floundered but they still remain in with a shout. After the top three though it is open warfare between Atletico Madrid, Albacete, Llagostera and Ponferrada with Logrones and betis not too far behind. Last seasons over achievers Recreativo have struggled with the added demands off European football but still only remain 4 points off the last European slot.

In the second division Toledo continue too struggle in the middle of the table while UCAM are pushing into the play off places. Theres some top clubs in this division now so it makes it all the harder to gain promotion. The newest member off the clan Dan took over at Almeria but a demanding board sacked him not too long into the season and now he finds himself in a relegation fight with Elche.

 

[birkelse]

[Jonas Christensen]

 

[Athrill]

reserved winner 1

[Athrill]

reserved winner 2

[Jonas Christensen]

After surviving our first season in Liga 123 and actually having achieved a fairly decent midtable position, UCAM now headed in to the second season, and our board still only wanted us to fight to survive, which was great, as I had once again a difficult window ahead of me. What little cash I had went into my wages, and I had to focus on free transfers. We hadn't really lost any major players, but let some fringe players to and one MC/AMC... But the goal was clear, I had to strengthen every area of the lineup.

In came two new strikers, who where bought to come in from the bench, when my "stars" Goncalves and Rufete weren't performing... Especially van Hout was a big signing for me. A pacey striker meant as the replacement for Goncalves for when I'll lose him.

As you can see from the screenshot, we had a lot of transfer activities... and even some well-known names in the form of Büttner and Valter Birsa... Birsa who proved to be a dissapointment, or... I didn't really give him the chance, as I had younger players, I wanted to play... and Büttner who actually played a lot throughout the season, but didn't really shine... I also bought a few DC's in the hopes of finally finding some decent ones to supplement the only good one I already had...

As you can see, we had a very on and off form, sometimes getting a decent run, only to fall into a rotten one...

When we hit the winter window, a minor transfer bomb hit UCAM.... We got a bid on our best DC, Orihuela, and I had to let him go to prevent him becoming upset... and in came the well-known Javier Pastore for a fringe position on AMC... The sale of my DC hit us badly, and we struggled defensively throughout the season, not that we hadn't already struggled before the sale, but this certainly didn't help....

In the second half of the season, we did however manager to scrape enough points together towards the end, to make sure that the bad runs didn't have too much of an impact...

With the season done, a nice little look-back showed that my free signing van Hout proved to be an excellent purchase, netting 21 times, while Goncalves and Rufete continued to give me goals with 17 and 14... Tomas Martinez, my new AMC this season, also proved to be an excellent signing with 8 goals and 13 assists...

 

Surprisingly though, my fans didn't even select van Hout in their top 3 for the season, despite him being our top scorer and signing of the season... And Youga, who was injured for half the season was chosen in team of the season... A bit puzzling for me...

Taking a retrospective look, I can say that even though we didn't do as well as the season before, a 15th place finish wasn't too bad, as we weren't extremely far off the promotion playoff spots, as the league was very tight this season... This gives me hope for our 3rd season here, the season where I really want to make an impact. The board is extremely happy with our perfomances, and I've used this to start improving the facilities and staff a bit, but there's still a lot of work to be done...

Next season we have to fix our problems at the back... I can't keep playing a defence where only 1 or 2 players perform - and only sometimes... This will hurt us if one player gets an injury, and we can quickly become a big part of the relegation battle.

[Advantageous]

[insert picture here]

Season 7 passes us by (and rather flatly it has to be said) as we hobble home to finish in 8th. Compared to last season, it's pretty much a damp squid of a campaign, but I have reason to be optimistic about the future. I missed just over 10 games due to work commitments, where my assistant succeeded in winning a grand total of zero matches. This is the same guy I could rely on in Liga 123 and Segunda B, so it appears we have found his level. I also managed to make it to the Champions League quarter finals (of which my assistant, of course, managed to lose 5-2 on aggregate) against PSG which, in all fairness, I didn't expect to win. This has lead to a slight increase in our club rep. and and influx of transfer funds (£20m to be exact). I can't complain really, as I have invested the money into a much stronger, deeper squad and cleaned out the deadwood and underachievers from last season.

[insert picture here]

As you can see below, my transfer dealings from last season were relatively tame for a side about to be competing in the Champions League, with Wendell the only real quality signing at LWB. A lot of loans went into the B side (more on that below).

[insert picture here]

Recreativo B

To cap off a fantastic season before this one, our B side won promotion and found themselves in an active league (Segunda B4). I immediately set to work to build up the quality by signing plenty of loanees that could, in all honesty, play for a promotion challenging side in Liga 123. I'd have liked to have bought in more quality, but our finances were tight and I restricted my loan signings to those players I could either hire on free for the season (or two) or pay the bare minimum in wages for. Stingy, I know, but needs must. I had very little time to build an entire team from scratch, which included the backroom staff as well as the player personnel.  

Fast forward a year and I'm caught in two minds about our success. On the one hand, finishing 4th and competing in the play-offs in their first season was a solid achievement for the B side. A selection of players had great seasons and relished playing in a 352 formation. On the flip side, the manager played very cagey (something I knew about when appointing him, but did so anyway as he was the best candidate i could find for the job) despite enjoying the best side in the league. I only offered him a two year contract, knowing that he preferred to air on the side of caution rather than playing expansive football, just in case his style wasn't suited to the squad we had. He has since been relieved of his duties and another manager has stepped into his shoes. With a squad that isn't quite as strong, but consisting of young players both from my academy and bought in on free transfers, the idea is to continually develop players for the first team, with a focus on players from our own youth academy and those players identified by my scouting team. 

A word on the other lads

Pedro/Sabadell: A great season for Spaniard. League title in the bag and a side with some exciting youth talent. After a wobble last season, he has returned with a bang.

Stuart/Albacete: Another lad with a great season under his belt. Was challenging for 3rd (the final CL place) but fell away in the last couple of games. Will be delighted with the cup win.

Jamie/Llagostera: A top season with no sign of a second season syndrome taking shape. Finished in the Europa League places and will be happy with his consistently strong side showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Gilly/Ponferrada: Hit patches here and there, but finished strongly and will be happy with the progress his side are making. Has been hunting for CBs in the market, poaching my targets left, right and centre! 

Sean/Logrones: Will bemoan his lack of funds, lack of time, lack of good players, etc. but has had a solid season. Like everyone in the league, he has overachieved in relation to his media prediction and (if previous FMs is anything to go on) will continue to improve regardless of investment or not.

Liga 123: Both Jonas and Mike have had solid seasons. With both predicted to finish in the bottom half (or there or there abouts), they have been comfortable finishing in the top half, with a promotion charge thrown in for good measure. Dan has had a mixed season this time around. Started poorly with his first side (with no help from his assistant) before being booted from the club. He returned to take a second side, but it was too late to save them from relegation and he now takes his third side for this season. 

[SeanBhoy88]

The Almighty! LOGRONES!! ( NOT )

This season was another season of nothing special in all fairness, we started so sketchy and unpredictable it was almost impossible to determine how our season would pan out in the end, consistency was a real problem and so was injuries to key men within the squad the mass of changes iv had to make season in season out since hitting La Liga has been a real burden for our team its changes that have had to be made for one reason or another, Like one player demanding 70k p/w to stay so selling him was the only option iv also lost key players to their min fee release clause, nothing at all has went right thus far in La liga for us. 

On the Eve of game 1 in the season we lost our best player by a country mile to a  6 month injury forcing us into using our AMC as a False 9 and as much as we did not disgrace ourselves our form was so inconsistent any sights we may have had on a European place were fading by the minute , Come January we rushed into signing a striker straight away a young fella from Germany who came in and made an impact as our band of travelers started to blend together and get familiar with their surroundings things did actually pick up... for a while at least  

We then went through the inevitable end of season stumble and eventually missed out on a European place  by no more than a measly point, I can argue my season wasn't great but giving everything iv had to put up with 6-8 month injuries losing people ion the last day of transfer window etc we have successfully held our own and slowly progressed each season and when i say slowly i mean like the great not so speedy sloth or to be more accurate like Ali's internet connection  

What we need to do in the future now that we have put together a squad that i am gradually starting to get happy with is stop over-selling to re-buy let our young players grow and become men/legends at the club, begin to build a solid foundation of players who will stay and stand the club in good steed, there is no doubt in my mind where i have went wrong is the mass changes ins and outs every season, but when you are faced with dilema's like we have done your hand is forced at times, and when you can visibly see mistakes and poor football you want nothing more than to shift out the the old wood and replace it with nice shiny steel

 

The Cups - and that is all she wrote, we abstained from playing in any cups... yes it was that bad. 

 

As you can see in screenshot numbero uno! my mid season form dipped heavily, after this run it was tough to pick back up but to our teams credit as you can see in SS2 we picked up in stylish fashion only to miss out on Europe by 1 measly point/place, and the last SS is my board confidence their still happy with me but as expectations grow my form will have to certainly improve they want bigger things and i cannot blame them because i do to. 

until next time. 

[smashin88]

 A GOOD SEASON..... BUT NO EUROPEAN PLACE

 With Ponferrada setting standards so high in recent years this years finish feels a little disappointing. A tenth place finish means no European football this coming season and none off the financial benefits it brings either. The team played well in patches but some poor mid season form really meant the team was too far behind too stake a claim  for a top 6 finish. There was some welcome relief in the cup and Europa league though with the team again making the semi final stage off the Spanish cup losing eventually too Barcelona and a Quarter final finish in the teams first appearance in Europe, going out too the English team Everton.

l

Finances remain amazing with the team putting money into its training facilities, youth recruitment and a new stadium. the directors themselves even found the time too reward themselves for all the teams hard work with 6 million in dividends.

Star player off the season was on loan striker Luc Bosc  his loan move proved a masterstroke and the player finished 3rd top scorer in the league and with the Spanish young player off the year award. A mention has to go to left back Edward Sobol who made the team off the year after some inspired performances for the club in defence and  his blistering free kicks made him a real fans favorite.

[welshguy21]

Jamie - Llagostera

 

A solid season overall after a disappointing budget in the summer after the rich owner pulled away his funding i was expecting top 10 at best with the extra games with the euro league and such a small squad but i was pleasantly surprised with 6th place in the league 5th round of the cup and 2nd round of the Euro League.

 

As the season came to a close the work to expand the stadium was finished and we moved back home to a 15k stadium although plans for a  new stadium are also being talked about if funding can be found from outside the club. Hopefully more funding can be released to the club for players now most of the building blocks of the club are in place.

 

On to the summer and another low budget meant i had to sell my young midfielder preguinho for 12 million to fund the summer dealings.

Best of the summer signings

 

 

 

Strengthened in most areas and much needed upfront to take the pressure off tarashaj who wasn't at his best last season but still bagged 28 goals in all competitions.

I will take another building season the same as last season as i will be missing most of the season as i'm away for two weeks but as long as i still have my job on my return i will be happy.

 

 

[Athrill]

[smashin88]

 END OF SEASON STANDINGS

 

[Dan9Maguire]

2022/23 Season Review

Once again it proved a difficult season for me, as you can see by the three badges at the top. We began our season at Almeria, aiming to improve on a poor season last time out. I spent well in the summer, getting rid of a large chunk of the squad and replacing them with a mix of youth and experience. We also unearthed a potential star from our 'B' team, after a successful loan spell at Zaragoza however, despite a solid start in my eyes - the rather demanding board had me sacked unexpectedly. Results below -

This led to me heading to a struggling Elche side - ridden with debt it was a difficult challenge and this proved, ultimately I didn't have what it took to keep them up. At this point I was seriously questioning what to do - I really hadn't adapted well so far to life in Spain and I was given another 'chance' at AD Alcorcon, newly promoted to Liga 123 and predicted to finish rock bottom of the pile alongside Sabadell B, a fellow promoted side and Jonas' UCAM Murcia side. You can see the results of my time at Elche here -

So, this summer I have invested a lot of time into this squad and whilst I'm not the most confident - I think we can survive. We have a very low budget compared to most of the teams in this league and this is very much reflected in the squad ability - the other two sides mentioned to finish alongside us are very much in the same situation. So I've had to invest in frees and loans in order to assemble a squad - most of the team just weren't good enough to make the step up and thus were released. Here's to hoping that the 2023/24 season will be the season for me and we can achieve the impossible and survive. We can dream.

[FFCStu1428]

Spoiler

Stuart -Albacete  

 

Sorry for the late post couldn't be helped. Anyway onto last season, and what a season, We had signed some good players in the summer who were really putting the fear of god into the league, the pace in my side is scary and when we break nobody can handle it, Time after time we should show up and sit in and wait for the moment to strike. It was a good see what i have been working on in the past 5 years starting to show on the pitch week in week out and by Jan 1st we were sitting just outside the playoffs. 

Jan came and little business was done i was able to sign a Left back for 130k who has been strong for me so far and a couple more Loan deals that have not worked out and have since gone back to there clubs. But in Jan saw me do something i didn't see coming and that was to knock out Pedro in the cup. After losing to him 3-1 in the league i felt a little unlucky to get him in the cup, But i should of known better as by now my side was flying and it was different beast now. we went to his place and won 2-1 and there was no luck about it we played some good stuff and and matched pedro in most areas. The return leg also saw the return of the double decker bus as i parked it all game long Pedro tried and tired to break us down but as i said, this side is a beast and we held strong a 0-0 bore saw me into the Q'Final, Betis were who i was to play and they didn't stand a chance the game was over in the 1st leg, 4-0 win at home and a 0-0 away saw me into the semi final. Again the draw had not me kind to me as i drew Ali, another player who i find hard to beat. With my side going well in the league and no injurys to talk of i felt we had a chance but had to keep it tight. Ali can rip you apart in half an hour before you know whats hit you so for once i watched all things on the pitch as well as off them. Ali likes to tinker with his side so anything he did i tried to counter if he moved a player to a AMC i would move a player to DM Anything and everything was done. Then i got lucky bad marking from a corner left my striker free to power it home 1-0 and the away goal. but now ali was in full tinker man mode moving players left right and center, it paid off for him in the end and he scored late on. The reason i remember this game was it tested every bit of my skills on as a manager. Afterwards we both laughed about the Tactical battle that had just taken place but i would of called it more of a war zone and there was still the 2nd leg to come.

By now my cup run was starting to have a effect on my league form with Wednesday Saturday games coming thick and fast the weakess of my side was starting to show, yes i have a good 15 but after that in very thin and injurys started to raise there heads 2 weeks here a month there, then a blow My AMC Kasami out till the end of the season just in time for my 2nd leg with Ali. This time around i knew what i was going to do, Same set up as i did to pedro and sit in. Again Ali moving players about but i never 433 with dm and  my wingers tracking back, its a hard system to break with its in full flow and AGAIN like pedro Ali found the same issues, and a 0-0 Draw saw me into the final BOOOM!!. In the final i was to face Barca they had knocked out Andys side in the semi and i was there next victim.

With the City now buzzing again about its first final in there history it seem to have a good effect on the team too as we won 10 out of the next 14, Not only had this group of 15/16 players for us to cup Final we were sitting in 3rd place with one game to go in the last week of the season we had a cup Final and a trip to the mighty Real to try and get a champions league place, the city the media the whole of Spain had all eyes on my little club Alba. As we went into the final i was a buzzing the players were buzzing and we couldn't wait to get on with it, Barca by now were in full melt down, they had somehow blow a 10 point lead and Pedro assistant was making fight for the league, Then i saw there line up and they had rested half there side, I would have no better chance of winning the cup than right now, the players knew this and went out and put on a performance that will go in Albacete foke law. Not only did we beat barca we were 3-0 up in the 1st 10 minutes and 4-1 by half time. 2nd half was a joy i changed the system to 433 dm ( the double decker as i call it ) and we sat in 2nd half and danced our way to victory, at the the ref blew at full time and the party started what a feeling. In the final game we took on Real for a chance for champions league next season but we lost 3-0, ill call it a cup hang over as we didn't really show up and ended the season in 5th place. 5th looked a little harsh on the players but it didn't really bother me. Never have a rushed with this side, the mind set has been if we don't do it this season then we will try and do it next season. 

OFF THE PITCH

If events on the pitch were not enough for once season then a takeover half way into the season was something i didn't see coming. The new chairman sees my ideas and loves them so much so everything i have asked for hes done other than spend stupid money on signings. Everything is now getting done up to state of the art training youth and the after my old board agreeing to build my ground up. This chairman has agreed to a 33,000 new ground. Things are really kicking on now at my club Alba and i can't see me ever leaving them now. I love it here and i have a chance to build something very special. 

SUMMER WINDOW 

I made a bunch of loan signing last summer that turned out to be outstanding for me so my window was simple sign them all, give new deals to my players already there and add depth for my Europa league games. i ended up spending 28 million with the sale of 6m. And with the side knowing each other already there is no worry of needing time to gel..

 

SEASON AHEAD

We have already started the season and i sit in 2nd 7 games in. 2 wins from 2 in Europa league see is going on with my 2nd team really stepping up. I don't know what will happen this season or how i beat last season maybe 3rd place will do that or win the Uefa cup lol. Ether way last season till take some beating.

 

Till next time 

 

 

[Kaboooom]

Club Deportivo Toledo

Season 2022-2023

After losing the playoffs in the First Round last season, we got back to business at Toledo to strength the squad.

Some new players arrived at Toledo and some left:

We bought some players for straight impact and some for the future:

Amine Gouiri, Tomas Silva (First-Team)

Gerard Kone, Godwin Suleiman, Uzochukwu (For The Future)

After a good preparation we started the season good, but after 2 months in the competion, i had some personal problems. So i had to take a leave and let my assistant manger handle the First Team for a couple months.

When i came back we where just hanging above relegation zone.
So i had to take charge again and wake up the squad, that this isn't are place to be.

After the wake up call, the team reacted really well and when on a winning streak 2 months and move up to get almost a playoff position, but the 2 last game the players let me down with 2 bad resultes.

Again about one player i can be really satisfied and that is Nabil Alioui who won again the Topscorer Award

Here his stats for the last 3 season's:

Some results from last season:

For next season we hope to do better then the year before.

Training facilities and youth facilities will be upgraded.

To be continued

[FFCStu1428]

END OF WEEK STANDING 

 

 

[Jonas Christensen]

[smashin88]

 ITS ALL COMING TOGETHER FOR PONFERADDA

 After last seasons poor finish Ponferrada had too step up this year. No European football was a huge disappointment and if the team was too progress and attract better players this team had too improve its performances. Whatever the manager said too his team pre season definitely did the job as the team come out the blocks firing on all cylinders. The team was never out the top 6 and even managed a late title charge add into that a cup final run and this season was a huge success.

 With Akinbiyi having too miss a month off the season as he was in Africa building homeless shelters for sick children, Christian Lattanzio his assistant stepped up too the table at a crucial time in the season too keep the team performing too the same high levels the management expected. He along with the rest off the staff did a great job and kept the team firmly in the European places and even managed a 4 - 1  victory over Barcelona in the cup. Lattanzio even managed to get himself in the headlines this season leaping too his managers defence after some inflammatory comments from UCAM manager Jonas Christiansen. Lattanzio was quoted on local television saying -

 " We work as a team here at Ponferrada our achievements belong too all of us, We work hard and we earn every point we get through hard work and determination, if Jonas wants too send some off his staff up here we can show them how too work better as  a team and maybe his team will find success a little quicker than it seems have taken so far. I would however like too congratulate Jonas and his team on finally earning promotion to the top league its a shame he didn't come up last year as the 6 points we would have taken off him might have put us into first place in the league. "

 Star performer off the season has too go too on loan wonderkid Ronaldo Gashi he finished the season as the league top scorer and picked up the player of the year and young player off the year trophy's too. In all honesty his achievements will go down as one off the best debut campaigns ever in the league and with Akinbiyi having negotiated a 10 million buy out in his loan deal we may be seeing a lot more off this player in the coming seasons.

 

 

 

[Advantageous]

My attributes across the board have increased fair rapidly, with my managerial reputation also enjoying a little boost. Below, you can also see the formation I played through out the season, with the 4 central players creating a delightful quartet when in attack, with slick intricate passing and great off the ball movement. As my side develops, I intend on bringing in or developing a libero to play just behind a centre-back pairing and giving him the freedom to join the midfield, creating a central force of five players.

1st Team

It looked to be a great campaign again for Recreativo as we entered the final stretch of the season with the top four in sight. However, after failing to win at home to Sean's Logrones and then dropping 2-points at home to Vallecano, we gave up fourth place to Stu's Albacete. Disappointing? Yes. It was in our own hands, and yet we failed to convert our promise into champions league qualification. The positives, however, far out-weigh the disappointments of the season. The football on offer was great to watch, with our solid defence providing a great foundation enabling the seven players ahead to pass the ball around, create space and work the ball into the box. We are building something special here, with strength in all positions and valuable assets that can be sold for the right price and used to bring in better, cheaper options. Utilising a much smaller first team squad (18 players maximum), I was able to ensure player morale was consistently high with all players getting enough game time, as well as keeping the squad fresh.

Big wins away against R. Madrid and Barcelona showed the potential we have as a side, but it's those matches against the weaker sides, especially at home, where we need to improve. Perhaps we need to improve our ability in front of goal, or perhaps we need to draw the opposition out more regularly to improve the quality of our chances. I think it's probably a bit of both, but if we truly want to be successful, we need to ensure we bring our A-game for our matches against the other human managers. I'll be working on team instructions and team shape to combat the growing strength of other human managers as, so far, we've lost more points that we've gained against them.

Dogan Yavas

Purchased for £5m from Valencia, Yavas scored 24 goals in his 38 league appearances last season, with 6 assists and 5 man of the match performances thrown in for good measure. His physical advantages have allowed him to shine with the ball on the ground, and he still has a little bit of room to grow. 

Martin Fiore

Arriving on a free, after being released by River, Fiore proved to be a pivotal part of my attacking trio, with 10 assists and a 7.20 average rating. With solid physicals, a good free-kick and an excellent eye for a pass, he had a hand in a fair number of chances.

The B Team

A quick word on the B side who, under new management, managed to clinch the Segunda B4 title, and win promotion to Liga 123. A great leap for my plans at this club, as we continue to build a Barcelona like youth structure, combined with an Italian approach on the pitch. We're still a long way away from realising this dream, but continuing to improve as we have, it will arrive quicker than expected.

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart - Albacete  

 

After missing out on champions league football last season me and my side set about putting things right this time around. Like i said in my last post i have never rushed things at this club and my mindset didn't change much this season, tho we wanted to finish in the top 4 there was no pressure from my board to do so. We started strong like we do most seasons but again we would lose the odd silly game Mallorca is one game that stands out because we were truly shocking on the day. But after a team meeting on the Monday we started getting back into the swing of things. One thing most that was eye catching was how mean my Defence was this season, we were giving little away and teams were finding it real hard to break us down, I put that down to having  settled back line for the past 2 seasons adding to the fact they are now all in there mid 20's. I have always been a manager that builds from the back so seeing so many clean sheets have made me very happy. The same tho couldn't be said of my strikers, for one reason there were hot and cold all season ,and Gavasiadis who i had real high hopes for was bang out of form and all his arrows were going down and not up. With only Bosonin as my only other striker and no money to bring in a replacement it was Vital that my back 4 stayed strong all season.

As we got to jan we were sitting in 3rd place behind Barca and Real my side was going well but my strikers were still out of form, Lucky tho my wigers and midfield players had come to my aid and were chipping in with most of my goals Rafa Leao who i had signed 2 seasons ago after a good loan spell ended the season with 13 goals, Conceicao who i have on a 2 season loan got 11 goals this season and had 13 assists to his name, these 2 guys were keeping my season alive something had to chance. As we got into the window i was scouting like crazy looking for a striker to sign, the trouble was i couldnt find one with better stats than the 2 i had. This left me thinking maybe my strikers are not getting enough service to them so i changed tac and looked for a AMC and boy did i find one. Muhammed Ucar ( or MO as he has been come to known as ) was out of contract at stuttgart in the summer, But there were sharks about, Ali and Gills had also seen him and where making bids the same time i was, this was a player i needed, he has speed power a eye for goal and could also set them up. for the first time i used my financial clout and gave him 10k more than he asked for with a nice signing on fee. Ali and gills never stood a chance and he was to sign for me at the end of the season. I was over the moon to have landed the lad but i needed him now so i sold 2 players on deadline day and was able to bring in MO right away for 2 million it was a steal, he has a buy out of 40 Million so if he was to go the profit we make will be masssive. I also signed another Center half, i was having trouble with one of my players Mesut Macit, he was signed 2 years ago and was demanding a new deal, He had 18 months left so i though that he maybe right, we started to talking he was on 25k a week he was only one 4k a week at his old club Bursaspor, His demands were 70k a week!! a big row broke out with him storming out of my office not before cups and saucers had been thrown about the place. After that i went brought in Juan Di Lorenzo for 6 million Hes a solid Center half who works his balls off for the side. Hes better than Macit in all departments and is a team player unlike Mesut and at 40k a week, hes alot cheaper wage wise to. 

THE RUN IN!!

 

After the window had finished there were 3 human managers fight for 2 champions places, Me Ali ad gills were all scraping it out, any points dropped would damage our chances of getting the riches that come with the champions league. After a ok Jan we had a really good feb only dropping 2 points, Trouble i had was i was still in the Europa league and had to play Saturday Wednesday week in week out as Gills only had to do that in his cup matches and Ali didn't have to do it at all apart from league games. This had a reall effect on me, as soon as i played in the UEFA Cup my league form took a hit, wins turned into draws and my team was getting tired, as much as i rested and rotated my side the 3 games a week really was having a effect on my side and we won just 3 out of 9 league games while before being knocked out by Real Madrid i the Q'Final of the competition. 

With just 6 games the league was very close, Andy ( gills if you don't already know his nick name ) Ali and myself were Separated but just 2 points. With all 3 of us looking to see who the other had it was clear that Gills had the better run it than the me and ali with him only having Real Madrid that could cause him problems. Ali on the other hand had the likes of Malaga and Sean who was in a great run of form. Me on the other hand knew what i had to do, With Real Madrid away AGAIN!! the last game of the season i needed to win my 5 games before i played Real and hope Ali or gills slip up.

 

Things got off to the worst start, Pedro has left the clan for abit because of Distractions outside of clan ( getting his end away in other words lol ) and his assistant who won him the league last season was left in charge, he tore me apart and i lost 3-0. For me all was lost but then Ali lost to Levante and the gap was back at 2 points, then i found some form as i took Barca apart 4-1 at home this lifted the players and we then went and beat Valencia away 2-1, we Followed that up by destroying a poor Celta side 6-0! and all the goals came in the 1st half lol but Ali had also won, his games he was starting to look like the Arsenal of old with back to back 1-0 wins. Then he had Sean, like i said Sean was on a great run of form and i asked my Scottish mate to help me out and a big brown bag would be on his way to him. I had done my part by beating Sevilla 3-1 so now i had to wait, When Ali and Sean play each other its a tactical battle so the game takes a little longer, So by the time i had finished they where at Half time. The wait was killing me 0-0 would do me fine but it would mean me having to win at Real. Then the moment i had hoped for ZEYER!! scored for sean, His one and only shot on target was enough to win him the game and put me 2 points clear of ali with 1 games to go. I had a chance but i had been here before, Last season i needed a win at Real to get into the champions league and lost 3-0, Now here i am again needing either a win or a draw to get into the Champions league Playoff round. Real went 1 up after 5 minutes and doubled there lead soon afterwards, it was like watching a repeat of 12 months ago. I went into a 433 and parked the bus just to get to half time without being blown away and it worked. 2nd half i went into a 442 and we seem to have a little more of the ball but we couldn't take our chances, we pulled one goal back in the 90th but we had lost again and maybe blown our chance of the champions league for the 2nd year in a row.  We all ran into the dressing room to watch what we thought was the final moments of Ali's game but he was at half time, so we had to wait even longer then our hearts sunk Ali side got a pen and Luca Valzania put it away 1-0 Ali. Thinking all was lost Rayo game to life and hit back 3 minutes later 1-1!!!, As much as ali Tried he couldnt get a 2nd goal time was running out then it was Full Time!! ALBACETE WILL HAVE THERE CHANCE TO MAKE THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!! What a season!

 

Respect goes to Ali as he was a gentleman about missing out and was a true sportsman about it, i know what its like to miss out on the final day after putting so much hard work and effort in so the way he conducted himself afterwards by saying well done and good luck was nice to see even tho he must of been gutted. Top bloke. 

 

New ground now under way can't wait to move into it this will really put this club on the map

 

SUMMER WINDOW

 

After the party it was back to business, My strikers had let me down over the season so i had to try and get 2 new ones to try and push me onto the next level. I sold Gavasiadis for 7.5 million i spoke to him as he left saying that he hadn't improved enough and he agreed and we wished ech other the best, I also sold my center half Macit, A war of words broke out as soon as the season ended he wanted a new deal and 70k a week became 92k and all hell broke loose, he was listed right away and sold for 5.25m it was less than what i wanted but i cant have a player like that who would upset the rest of the side and who's only intrest is money and himself. 

 

he got his 70+ a week but not at my club. Would you pay that for a player like that 

 

Onto my signings and its been a nightmare of a summer, the players i scouted and have wanted all asked for crazy wages and signing on fees, my board hadn't help me much by giving me 7 million to spend, they have me 100% of any income i made but for the type of players i now needed i would have to work hard to get the players i need. Below is my business so far. 

 

Cost me 11 million up front with the rest over 48 months. Hes only 18 so its alot of money to part with for a 18 year old. The trouble i have is i cant match the big guys wage wise so this is a building job. He is the future of alba and me and my coaches will be working hard to get the best out of him.  

My 2nd striker. On a 2 year loan from Liverpool and only costing me 10k a week and i don't have to pay any other fee for him. I have a buy out for 20 million, These are the type of sigings i like as i to see what he is like so i don't wast any money . This is the way i have worked this football manager and its worked well for me so far 

 

B SIDE Like Ali i have take care of my B side, they did very well in there first season Segunda and made the playoffs 1st season i signed some free players for them as you can see above so i hope they are able to push on and get into Liga 123 very soon. 

 

ONTO THE OTHERS 

 

ANDY ( GILLS ) What a great season for the Scot. At times he had to leave it upto his Assistant who kept him in and around the top 6, but when he was able to return and play he pushed on and was able to finish 2nd in the league. He also made the cup final but Real Madrid  were to strong for him on the day. Gills signed a TOP!! striker early in the window for 10 million, My guess by looking at the lad is that he could of brought himself a world beater. 

 

Ali - Like i said Ali was unlucky this season but he will be in the mix again. He has a good side and a great set up with this tactics. He as not spent much this window but the players he has spent his money on look real good and im sure he will be eyeing up a top 4 finish or even higher. Ali performs year in year out and a trophy is not far away I pick Ali to go close in the Europa league this season his side is very good now with his new signings. 

 

Sean - Is this now his time. Sean found things hard at the start of the season but he hung in there and had a great turn around to his season after Christmas. Sean now seems to have a system that works for him and his side. He did suffer a big blow this summer by losing some top players as clubs matched here buy out clauses but this has left him with good money to spend and he has spent it reallly well, he beat me to a center Mid that i was in for who is very good and a striker who i was also looking at but wages became a problem. Sean is a danger this season for sure, he has sorted out his tactical issues and has signed some top class players A charge at the league is not out of question. 

 

Jonas - Get in there my son!! Jonas has done it, taken UCAM from the bottom league and is now mixing it with the big boys, I always follow the progress of jonas as he took on my ideas about players and them having speed, he front 3 are all very quick and that has seen him push on up the leagues season after season. Jonas went up via the playoffs and made it Look easy. I'm glad he is up and i look forward to our battles next season. Jonas has little money to spend so the free market is where he will have to look to sign his player but with good strikers already at the club he has a fighting chance of staying up. Well Done mate 

 

Mike - Sometimes he cant play a full week and has to leave the game but when mike is here he shows the talent he has, by the end of the season mike finished 10th. That may not seem good but when he was here he won 8 of the 13 games in one session and was pushing for a playoff place. I hope mike can sort his out of fm stuff out because he will he close to going up next season for sure.

 

Dan - Welcome to the online version of football manager mate. Dan like most has found out how hard Clan play can be, I know his pain as i was like it myself. all i can say is keep at it read up on things and it will come. Dan has a new club again after going down. This time in Real Zaragoza. I hope he can get this side right as he has a club with a good fan base good youth and training set up. I hope he can find his way in online play. 

 

Jamie - He i away in getting a nice tan in the states. He will be back soon with his side in good shape.

 

Well thats you all on another season on PGC.

 

Look out for other members and there storys of the season 

 

Till next time 

[SeanBhoy88]

Logrones - 

This season was nothing to shout about believe me!! it was a season that can only be described as standing still, looking through my big book of excuses looking to find something to claw onto i can only put it down to not working hard enough tactically, i haven't had the most time in the world but again there has been times iv been very lazy this season i am hoping will be a little different,  if i was to ask myself if  i am disgracing myself the answer would be hell to the no! we are just not going any further forward and i think there is other people in the clan putting in more work therfor deserving higher places.. 

onto the season we go! we started the season with a grueling run of matches winning only 1 in 7! losing the majority this was a testing time something that could of been touch and go in terms of pulling out of it, i quickly ditched my 4231 figuring my wingers and defenders are just not good enough to pull off my ambitious attacking free flowing tactic, i went to a narrow 4321 and results starting to pick up we went on to win 5 from 6 drawing the other only to then again be spited with injury after injury and nonsense after nonsense form was dipping and players where falling left right and center, my games kind of went like win loss win loss draw win loss loss draw for a while until i thought u know what its time for yes another change 4312 we went to initially before residing to 433 with 3 ST's just causing absolute destruction!! we did make a late charge but only to charge into 8th place a position we have been in or around for 3 seasons and its really time to say goodbye to this and kick on so watch out la liga!! we are here. 

onto the cups - And that was all she wrote, Gilly's team took me bent me over and shafted me into a broken specimen of a man, so that was fun!! ( not ) but cups are not something im overly worried about the league first and foremost is the only priority until we reach a stage in the league table where we can also focus on both. 

 

Aims this season - simple as pea's we must and i cant emphasize enough the word ' MUST ' break into the top 7 and get European football, this  for me on FM is the first big step in becoming a big club, your rep and finances alone grow significantly it really is the road to better things, so yea top 7 first and foremost and then we will take it from there.

This window - Pretty much forced into a massive overhaul iv had 3 stars pinched off me for minimum fee release clauses a thing Spanish clubs must have on every player a pain right in the buttocks but it is what it is we have replaced i just hope the mass changes doesn't hold us back to much with the gelling at the beginning.

 

First SS is my new marquee signing to replace my stolen MC beauty!! and the second is my current confidence within the board, i must admit i am surprised given out stale season it says last seasons success but to be honest we haven't exactly been giving anything to work with iv sold over 40m more than iv bought at this club and selling to survive and now compete is not easy!! 

 

Till next time.

[Kaboooom]

Club Deportivo Toledo

Season 2023-2024

Due some personal problems again i couldn't play alot this season, so i let my ast. manager (Peter Ballette) handle my squad.

Before i went on leaf i finalized some transfers Diogo David came on a free transfers after being on a loan spell at Toledo for 2 years.

Also : Amr Hamdy, Inigo Gonzalez, Paco Maldonado, Leonardo Campos, Abdou Mané, Deivid Santos and Alvaro Tejero

Joined the club this year.

After that my ast. manager took over for me until the 24th of February.

Here some results until then:

Peter Ballette didn't do a great job, because team was just hanging above Relegation Zone.

Once i came back on the 24th of February, i had a good team talk with the players and told them to look in the mirror and step up.

It's seems it was a wake up call for everyone because the following results where great (expect for the last 4 games) :

I hope i will not have anymore personal issues so i can concentrate again on my team and finally get the promotion spot or win the league in the near future.

Will be continued.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jonas Christensen]

We finally did it! In our third season in Liga 123, we managed what was thought to be impossible. We went from being predicted 2nd last by the media to finishing 3rd and winning easily in the play-offs!

After a decent first season in Liga 123, where we finished 7th, our second season was a disappointment with us finishing 15th. This season however, I was determined to get back in the promotion fight, and we needed a strong window to achieve this.

The first order of business was to strengthen my very weak defence. In came 6 new defenders and a new first choice keeper. Of the 6 defenders, 2 were prospects for the future. The most important defender, I signed, was without a doubt Cooper-Richards... He proved to be a very solid investment and was impressive throughout the season.

In the winter window, we also managed another impressive signing was the former AC Milan youngster, Hachim Mastour, although he hasn't fully gotten the chance to fulfill his potential for me yet.

Below you can find a full overview of my transfers:

I felt very confident after a very good transfer window where it looked like my defensive worries could be fixed...

Our first half of the season went fairly decent. We often managed to score a decent amount of goals, and my defence was better than previously. Especially my GK and new main DC was proven to be a big reinforcement...

The season half of the season started with a lot of bad performances, and for a long time, it was looking like we weren't gonna challenge for a playoff spot, but an extremely strong finish to the season with 7 wins out of 8 saw us grab 3rd, only a few points of 2nd... In the playoffs, we had a bad first game, but then swept all opposition aside in the remaining games...

As you can see, van Hout was the big performer this season up front, while Cooper-Richards was a force at the back. van Hout was impressive with 20+ goals and assists, while Goncalves however has a terrible season, although finishing on 14 goals towards the end...

To finish it off, just to underline the accomplishment of the season, we were voted biggest overachievers!

Now the struggle begins to try and stay up!

 

[Dan9Maguire]

AD Alcorcon Season Review

The ultimate aim for the season was to ensure the club remained in the league. Predicted to go down along with Sadabell B and UCAM Murcia (who Jonas has done a fantastic job with again and a well deserved promotions took place against all odds,) we were very much underdogs. After a few poor seasons within the PGC so far (sacking at Almeria and a relegation & resignation at Elche) I was looking to finally cement a mark on the clan in a more positive light.

The first half of the season was an utter dream as we occupied a playoff spot for most of it before a few poor results meant we sliding into mid-table but looking comfortable. Personally my biggest result came against Jonas in which we got a 3-0 win and also drew 1-1 to Mike's Toledo on the human controlled manager front. Elsewhere we collected points against our relegation tipped rivals in a 2-1 win over Racing and a 1-0 win over Sadabell B.

 

 

The second half of the season was a complete nightmare as we only manage a single win. The main issue in my eyes was the loss of Charles Doncel and Theo Epaillay who suffered long term injuries and would miss the majority of the season around the Xmas period. Goals was an issue, very similar to my supported side North Ferriby and it ultimately cost us in the long run as we were simply outscored rather than outclassed you could argue. The loan of Juan Manual Rodriguez from Murcia was one I was interested in, he seemed a goalscorer and I was proved wrong - typical. He sufficed just 11 goals in 36 games for the club, though this meant he would finish the campaign with the most goals. 

 

 

There's isn't too much to report on besides that - it was just a season where the goals dried up and we were unable to keep clean sheets.

Over the summer window I have once again moved clubs, this time to Real Zaragoza in hope of success. Zaragoza narrowly stayed up in the league last season which is a surprise considering the amount of talent within the ranks. With little to spend however, I have to rely on the squad of last season alongside a few free signings - although there are some cracking freebies out there at the moment, who sadly have been poached by the likes of Kobenhavn... screw them. With that said the aim is to consolidate and ensure we at least aim for mid-table, I'd be happy if I could actually have a good season here. Here's to hoping eh.

 

 

[smashin88]

 WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO ?

After his debut season was such a success what is going too happen next for superstar striker Ronaldo Gashi ? His triple award haul in his first season is a huge achievement and now that his move has been made permanent by Ponferrada the striker is looking too cement his place as one of the top strikers in the league, if not the world.

 With last years awards still fresh in the memory Ronaldo has already scooped the top scorer award at the summers Olympic games. This is sure too be a big season for the striker and who knows what he can achieve with new signings at the club hoping too push the club further up the table and onwards in Europe.

[smashin88]

 END OF SEASON STANDINGS

[FFCStu1428]

END OF WEEKS STANDING 

 

[FFCStu1428]

END OF WEEK STANDING 

 

 

[Jonas Christensen]

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart - Albacete 

 

I write this and i want to say and say what a great season i had, in a way i did 2nd in the league a club record semi final of the champions league, something i couldn't of dreamed of BUT, i cant help but think what might of been. I started like a team that was on a mission beating anyone i came up aganist infact it was such a great start that i didn't lose my 1st league game till the 14th of December. My side was strong and winning the league was in my sights, but then jan came and the board never gave me any funds to add 2,3 players that i needed to keep my side fresh. I have said this on more than one post, i have a great 15 but little eles outside of that and so this was to become the case again. With my side now fighting it out in the champions league and league season after season you have to be able to rotate your side now and again but with the board not willing to infest anything when it comes to signings i was left with little room in the market in jan and in the end it was to cost me a dream season.

 

By the time we the window had shut i was able to bring in 1 player. Romero turned out to be a great signing. aged 31 he was what i needed a steady head about him he helped me big time a strong DM  he put his foot in when needed and took pressure off the back 4, but i was still sort 2 maybe 3 players. By march my side ws tired, 2 days rest was needed with champions league duty my side started to crumble yet again. Real Madrid were relentless winning game after game and my 7 point league at the end of jan had gone by the time April arrived. i was able to hang in there keeping it gap at 2 points but int he end key players were missing at key times, infact it got so bad at one stage i had a 19 year old goalkeeper playing for me and a 2-3 loss to bottom side Malaga all but ended my league dreams. i was able to hang onto 2nd place but that was also rather lucky as my laptop froze and we had to start again and it was against Andys side who was sitting in 3rd place, before the crash i was losing 2-1 but in the reload i was able to hang onto a 1-1. Harsh on gills who had a great season but i was happy the season was over with.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

 

Like i said at the start i got to the semi Final where i was put out by Munich. This was a hard loss to take as we were really unlucky, a 1-0 loss at there place in the 1st leg set things up nice at mine. I always fancy my side against anyone at home. If history is anything to go by in game then people will know my home form becomes something abit special. In fm 16 with Lyon i went 3 whole seasons without lossing a game at home. Anyway back to the 2nd leg, and we started badly and went 1 down, the way goal seem to kick us into gear and we started to show the form that had got us here in the 1st place, we went 2-1 then 3-1 but i couldn't hang on, Munich got a goal back 3-3 on agg with 20 to go. With me now all out i got another goal 4-2 from being all out i sat in and tried to park that big double decker but this time it was not to be. Munich scored in the 77th and it was the last highlight of the game we won 4-3 but went out on the away goal. Killer!

 

SEASON AHEAD 

 

With 55 million in the bank i though this was the season i would get a big cash fall. NOPE 8 million, What can i do with 8 million, how am i meant to win the league or champions league with 8 mill. I did sign Oly burke on a free and have sold 3,4 players for 3,4 million but with Real buying big again it seems another season of getting into the top 4 and a good run in the champions league is all i can really do. i am short again of depth size of my side right now is 19, i need 3 more but with no funds left ill have to go with what i got. 

 

 

 

 

THE OTHERS 

 

Andy-  Was my main Danger this season, he has a Striker Called Ronaldo who is ripping up the league, his back 4 is strong and he gets the best out of everyone he has. Gills has spent a little more than me but he finds himself in the same trap i do. Cash in the bank by non in the pocket to spent. very good season 

 

Ali - Somehow got to 4th place after a shocking start. Ali put the hours in and fought his way back to a very respectful 4th place . If he had got the start i had then i think he would of bee fighting it out for the league. Ali had to sell his top Center half this summer so it will be interesting to see if his replacement is upto the task, If so then he could push Real all the way. 

 

Jamie - Was away on holiday at trump towers trying to get much needed funds into his club. when he returned he found it hard to get going as his side was unhappy. This is a big summer for Jamie to get things back on track before he left. 

 

Sean - Missed the last session and with it went Europa league dreams. 11th place doesn't look to good on paper but before he missed the last session sean up in 6th and was looking good. Sean again has had to sell to buy so we will have to wait and see what his new players can do this time around. 

 

Jonas - Somehow he stayed up. I don't know how and if you was to ask Jonas he don't care, all we know is he did it. After fighting it out all season long and being in the bottom 3 for long spells of the season Jonas found 2 wins in the last 2 games, One against Gijon Who he sent down instead of himself. Hes had a good window so far but its gonna be a hard season again. 

 

Mike - maybe next season, Mike had a good side but needs to work on his back 4 . you can go up by scoring 65 goals but you cant go up of you leak 50. If he can get the back line sorted then mike will join the rest of us very soon.

 

Dan - Was away for 2 weeks for personal reasons, is back with us now lets hope he can do something special.

 

Well thats that 

 

Look out for others members story's and insight 

 

till next time 

[SeanBhoy88]

Logrones - 

 

This Post won't be anything of any real detail because i missed the last half of the season and essentially my clubs most important games due to having such a busy week in my personal life, but here we go anyways!!

My club as always was struck with bad luck from day 1, in the chat i preached about how i was changing little and keeping my settled team as i had faith this group only needed a few to push forward, well to hell with that, the CPU took 3 of my best talents for their minimum fee release clauses leaving me shell shocked and pretty much forcing my hand into yet again another overly busy window.

And after all that ^ i lost Lammartine again for 7 months this time, yes a whole 7 he really is the the Jimmy Bullard of my team and essentially on his wage had to be sold this season for a value much less than his ability but considering all facts 14m isn't to bad. SO!! the season got off to a stop start rhythm as always new players a plenty all speaking different languages and what have ya, but i as always the persistent fool kept on grinding and grinding sitting in a handy but not any further forward 7th!! we where fully ready to launch an assault on that top 5/6 or at least try but then things came up and that is where my story ends unfortunately, my sloppy assistant dropped me to 10/11th i am not even sure i am to disappointed to even bother looking  

This season, well well this season's window is one that has not gone good! again iv missed days where we have been buying, iv lost people to min fee release clauses so its same old same old, but the worst part of it all is my club gave me 1.4m to work with, this is a club with 40+million in the bank a club who i sell to buy every single season and they hit me with that? i wanted to go back to using wingers, i am still stuck in a loop of selling loads and buying loads once we hit Europe eventually i have ever faith we will kick on from there. 

[Jonas Christensen]

Who can? UCAM! Who can? UCAM!

We did it! We stayed up!....

Our first season in the La Liga is done, and boy, this has got to be the most tense season I've had this FM... After going up, I need I had to make some changes to the team if we were gonna have any chance  of staying up, as the team was nowhere near good enough for La Liga - despite being promoted... Remember, we were predicted to be relegated when we instead went up...

As you can see from our window, this was one of our most expensive windows... A new GK, two new DC's, a new DM, a few MC's, and a whole bunch of strikers... Probably a few too many strikers really. Granatiero was our new DC to play alongside Cooper, and I was hoping to bring in a new main DL and DR to complete the defence, but alas, I couldn't afford any really good ones...

The first half of the season was not amazing, but acceptable. We had a decent start that secured us a good amount of points, and I was quickly under the impression that we would easily stay up...

First game was a tricky away game against Stu, but luckily he came with the reserves, and we somehow managed to grab 1 point due to our pacey strikers, Goncalves and van Hout... In fact, the first 8 games was our best form of the season, securing us 13 points and building the foundation that would see us stay up... However, once we hit one of the more dreaded teams in the form of Barca, our form collapsed...

In the second half of the season, we once again found a bit of form, before once again hitting the dreaded run of games that saw us get a losing streak in the first half of the season. Luckily for us, our two last games of the season were against two of the teams fighting to stay up along with us. My screenshot above is missing the last game, which was a win against Real Sporting Gijon, who were relegated.

As you can see, Goncalves found some of the form that was missing last season, ending up once again as my top scorer. This however also shows a bit what we're lacking. We need a striker that gets 20+ goals, if we want to go from a bottom side to a midtable side. Dimitris Meliopoulos, my main man in front of my defenders proved to be a decent signing, who we really couldn't have stayed up without.

And once again, Cooper-Richards was our best player of the season for the second season running since joining 2 seasons ago. A player we however have lost in the current window, as he didn't want to sign a new season, and a club met his low release clause. An interesting fact though, is that the team of the season is 8 players from my promotion season, so we're still playing with the majority of that team. A fact that will start to change now that we've managed to stay up.

The above realyl shows what a fight this was for us. We were predicted to have no chance of staying up and along the way, we had some big defeats. The biggest being 7-0 to Vallecano, but in my mind, our biggest match wasnt' the 5-4, but one of my wins against Sean or Gilly.

Gilly, who 1 season ago, said he wished I had been in La Liga, as it was 6 guaranteed points for him...

 

[Advantageous]

La Liga

Much improved in the league, despite starting the campaign off miserably. We were 10 points off of Stu's Albacete and Gilly's Ponferadina after just a handful of games as they looked to battle it out for the league title. I knew then that our slim hopes of a title challenge was off the cards, and I concentrated all our efforts on pushing for that top four place and Champions League qualification. I spent time working on my tactics - specifically on formation as my attacking players began dropping like flies. A slipped disk here, damaged spine there, and a couple of ruptured calves later, I had no strikers and it was looking like being one of 'those seasons'. A complete write off essentially. So I switched my attention to the strikerless idea, which has gained popularity over the years, especially on this years FM. In the end, it was only a simple tactical tweak I made. I dropped my striker down to create three AMCs and moved one of DCs back to create a libero. This would (in theory) give me plenty of the ball in the centre of the park and allow me to play a short passing style (providing I had the players for it). It turned out that still didn't have a libero type in my squad. It didn't take me long to work that one out, but even a BPD style libero was proving hard for my players to perform well in. So a sweeper it was after initial experimentation, but a libero it will be once all the cogs fit into place.

 

Cups & Europe

As we finished outside of the top four last year, we entered the Europa League at the group stage and found ourselves battling it out with Arsenal. Despite this, we finished on top and fought our way to the Quarter Finals, where we met a rampant Dortmund side, who swept us away with their blistering attacks. We battled valiantly, but in the end, we were no match for a side that would have competed in the Champions League. All in all, a good performance.

Through to the final of the Spanish Cup, only to find the dominant Real Madrid that had just powered to the League title with 90+ points. Again, we fought valiantly, even scoring an early goal, but were no match over the full 90. I did not expect to win, so can't complain about the performance, especially as we matched them in almost every stat department (apart from the obvious - we lost 3-1). It does look promising here, with the team developing well, but I fear Stu and Gilly still have the upper hand at the moment. 

The B Team

As always, a word on my B side, who are bringing through and nurturing my young talent. A strong maiden season in Liga 123, where relegation was never a threat and my club's young stars were able to carry the side into a very respectable 7th. I'm still experimenting with my set-up here, but the side is a tad stronger this time around, with younger players being that year older and stronger youth players being bled into the side. There has been another change in manager (thats one every two years so far) as the current lad left on a high, running down his contract and refusing to sign a new one. Again, I can't complain as he has done his job well by winning promotion and securing our place in the second division. 

[welshguy21]

Jamie - Llagostera

 

I'm back after my Hols and missed a year in game and is taking a while to try and get club back to where i left it.

Before i left i was 4th in the league and the team was flying but didn't expect my assistant to carry on that form and we dropped to 6th which i was happy with to be fair.

But thats where the issues start in the summer i lost my best two full backs to min fee release clauses that i couldn't raise high enough before i left leaving  my squad thin on the ground and a few unhappy moves had been blocked with team  in 12th in the league on my return around october in game but top of our euro group and in the 5th round of the cup .

There were transfers before and after i returned i replaced my full backs and added an extra midfielder but never really regained morale and happiness in squad with perez and Soyuncu unhappy moves were blocked by my assistant.

Seasons Results

 

Never got the league form going we had a few good results but away we were shocking but in the euro cup we were the opposite the team looked like the one i left getting to the semi finals and losing by one goal over two legs to dortmund after a poor away loss 4-1 we won the home leg 3-1 in a great fight back but it just wasn't enough.

Finished the season in 10th with 5th round in Cup and a Euro Semi finals which was a decent season with a squad that needed fresh blood in the summer after missing two windows.

Summer Transfers

As you can see i had a big rebuild this summer i lost my top scorer from last two seasons Nanakasse on a min fee release just as i was negotiating a new deal, i also let the unhappy perez go along with the majority of my back up players to fund a spending spree.

Aim for this season is to break back into the top 6 and get team back playing the way they were and we dont have europe this year so squad should be fresh all season which could benefit us massively.

[Dan9Maguire]

I missed the season due to a mix of personal reasons, hopefully this is now the last of these 'issues' as we move on together. With that said, I have come back into the group with my Zaragoza side finishing just above the relegation zone, five points clear. Overall, it's not too bad given the poor start we had, so to turn that around is something we can be happy with and the performances of Reno Wilmots are something I can't wait to see - he bagged twenty-three league goals last season which is a sight to behold for sure. We have made some improvements to the squad, this summer was extremely difficult for myself coming back into game with this next squad, a lack of preparation can cost you dearly I found out. The aim once again is just to finish above the relegation zone and hopefully, as long as I hold up on the personal side and can continue to commit to my duties as first team manager, go from there and progress up the table similarly to Jonas' UCAM Murcia side. The morale of the squad has been a challenge upon return, due to the finish many of the players were unhappy and sought to leave or were just simply unwilling to co-operate sadly, the issue hasn't been totally resolved but as we go into the season the scene is slightly better than what it looked like originally. The below screenshots are what my assistant managed to do within my absence, all I can say is onwards and upwards from here in every way possible.

 

 

 

[smashin88]

 ANOTHER GOOD SEASON WITHOUT A TROPHY

 Ponferrada just cant seem to get over the line, another title challenge wasn't expected but the team managed to put in a good effort pushing Real Madrid all the way and sadly tailing off in the last couple of weeks. In the end the team finished 3rd joint on points with Albacete but in reality if there hadn't have been a crash on the final game second place would have belonged too Ponferrada for the second year running. This was Ponferradas first appearance in the champions league they breezed through too the quarter finals where stus Albacete team lay in wait, my assistant got landed with the games and went out on away goals as frustrating as this was reaching this stage first time in was a great effort.

 Star performer was superstar striker Ronaldo he had another great season and is now being chased by all the top clubs in Europe, his buy out is 51 million and I will look to offer him an improved deal later in the year. The hard work is all done by the defense though we love clean sheets and a 1 - 0 win is better than a 4 - 2.  Sommer is the top performer at centre back and he is still under 25 so has a lot of improvement ahead of him and our young left back Santos is already being chased by Barcelona Chelsea and Real Madrid.

 Its going to be a busy summer window ahead with a reported 15 million budget for the manager too spend. Akinbiyi has said he is determined too keep improving and with Albacete and Real Madrid not showing any signs of letting up the season should be one of the most exciting yet.

[FFCStu1428]

END OF WEEK STANDING 

 

[smashin88]

 

 HISTORIC SPANISH CUP WIN FOR PONFERRADA

 Finally they have done it, Akinbiyi has taken this promising Ponferrada team too its first major silverware. After previously being humbled in the final by Real Madrid and making the semi finals two of the previous three years the team faced the mighty Barcelona in this years final. Akinbiyi set up too attack from the off and after a slow start he made the brave choice too substitute star striker Ronaldo, his poor running off the ball was slowing down his attack and with Kuki on the bench the manager had left himself some good options. This proved too be a masterstroke as kuki set up the opening goal and Ponffy went on too win 3 - 1. The fans and media alike praised Akinbiyi for this amazing achievement, he has taken this club from the lowest league in spain too now being a major player in Spanish football.

[smashin88]

 BARCA LOOK FOR A NEW MANAGER

 The once mighty Spanish giants Barcelona are now looking for a new manager. After this seasons poor performance resulting in a 6th place finish and a defeat too Ponferrada in the cup final the board have decided enough is enough and fired the entire management team.

 Rumours are rife with who will be in charge next season and a huge shortlist seems inevitable but here we can run through some off the favourites -

  STUART ABREY

Stu has had a tremendous few years he really has taken Albacete so much further than ever expected. His team is fast attacking and full off talent and would make for an excellent choice as there next manager

 SEAN BLACK

 Sean has recently jumped ship from Logrones too former champions Sabadell. The in demand manager has an amazing ability too find the best in the transfer market and with an ageing underperforming squad at Barcelona he really would be an asset to the management team.

   ALEJANDRO SANTIAGO

  Ali has had his best season yet and was looking like winning his first title in the top flight. Going into the last day Ali was at home too struggling Atletico Madrid and needed a draw or better, his team struggled though and succumbed to a 2 - 1 defeat. The manager despite this setback though would be an excellent choice as manager his ability at bringing youth players through to the first team and working from the under19s upwards would be perfect for Barcelona.

 ADEBAJO AKINBIYI

This manager is definitely on the up and destroying Barca in the cup final this year is only going to help. Akinbiyi has taken the club from the lowest level of Spanish football all the way too the top, he has a keen eye for a bargain and spends his money wisely. The manager has been quoted in the media as an early front runner but has so far remained silent.

 

 

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart - Albacete 

 

Were at our limit right now when it comes to class. A top 3 finish again and another semi final place in the champions league losing again to Real was shows that were close to being one of the big boys but are still not there yet. The season was all to familiar to last season. We have some class players but not enough of them to hurt the major clubs at the business end of the season and always seem to fall short. This really is because my board wont give the the funds necessary to add the 3 or 4 players that i need to push onto the next level. Its so bad when it comes to transfer that when this seasons budget game Jona's UCAM had more money than even tho the club turned over 168 million. My board want do build something special and i understand that but do they reallly need to spend 54 million on a new youth center and build another 19,000 seats onto my new ground that i go into this season at a cost of 30 million yet only give me 6 million for summer business it very stupid. There is little i can do with 6 million to improve the side. 

 

As for the season we were strong again and held out own for most of it, Away form took a hit towards the end of the season so thats something i will need to look into but other than that its next season will have to be a top 4 finish and a run in the champions league same as this time around until my board stop spending stupid money on other things and give me one summer where money is given to make the 1st team stronger. 

 

 

SUMMER WINDOW 

It's been a slow window for with me missing out on targets. One was a striker who went to Watford, and another was a left back who went to Sean. This has left me searching like mad all summer long. I have signed 2 players Walid Hajji On a free and Mbappe who cost 6.5 million, that deal was done over 48 months so cost me next to nothing really. I still need A left back a right back a center half and a Defence Midfielder all this with just 7m Crazy!. 

Onto the others 

 

Ali - Bottled it or was unlucky make ya own minds up, either way Ali had the league in his hands only to lose it on the last day of the season. His side was strong all season long but lost there heads on the final day. he finishes 2nd and wont get a better chance to win the league 

 

Sean - Has moved clubs and is now at Sabadell, he hit the ground running there and shot up the league ad finished 4th and has a chance of making the champions league. Now sean has the money and players at the ready he should now kick on and win the league in no time. anything less and he wont be pleased. 

 

Jamie - Unlike the club he supports leeds Jamie had a outstanding 2nd half to the season, he missed out on the top 4 on the final game of the season against season but non really had him pushing so hard up the table as he did. Jamie has a great forward line and will be looking to break into the top 4 next season.

 

Andy - He somehow landed himself the barca job, pressure will be cranked up for him now as they wont settle for a 6th place finish like he did this season with his old side. Hes already blown 96 million this summer and my guess is he aint done yet. 

 

Jonas - 14th and safe all season Jonas is getting UCAM up the league season by season. Unlike last season Jonas has not worries about being in a fight at the bottom tho his end of season form will be a worry for him with no win in 9 and losing 6 of is something he will to address over the summer. 

 

Mike - Missed season 

 

Dan - Now back with us after taking a break to get upto speed with the spanish game. Dan has returned and has started at the bottom with Merdia. Lets see whats he can do this time 

[SeanBhoy88]

Logrones -

Well as stories go this one was getting tedious quickly in all my years playing clan games I don't think I have ever lost motivation to manage a club so quickly, as much as we where 6/7th and within 2 points off 3rd the board and club itself was just a consistent nightmare anytime I made a step forward  I was bombarded with every player wanting to leave, literally the worst team ever for dressing room bust ups and revolts against the manager, the board as well they just took and gave sod all so year in year out it got a little worse until I said hey u know what! iv took u moaning twats this far, your on your own! I'm off to ring the bell for wee Sabadell and start a new adventure I leave you Logrones in a healthy place in la liga table and also financially and structure wise also, take care.

 

Sabadell!!

A club managed by another member who done wonderful things with them but since then an AI takeover for 4/5 seasons has seen them slip and slide down the table and toggle with mediocrity their signings over the last few years where anything but flattering and left a lot to be desired, but the good thing for me personally was there was enough there financially for me to make changes quickly as funds had not been spent really in years, and also there was a few faces still in the team that where pretty damn exciting to work with Mainly Petrovic and Jackson Jose!!

So ... in I went 23 games on the clock Sabadell sitting a miserable but not so distant 9th place, we quickly got to work and shot up the table we lost only 2 of my 15 games in charge and considering we had to play Real Albacente Barca Lagostera and most of the top sides including Ali's impressive bottlers Huelva that was a good turnaround for anyone being there with so little time to work, we breezed past Wolsburg in the euro cup only to be knocked out off Man U in the Quarters I had missed the first leg by not coming off holiday quick enough which we lost 5-2 I had no chance after that and to be brutally honest most of man uniteds bench would be star players for my side.

As time  wore on there was one hell of a scrap on for fourth place for that final and oh so illustrious champions league money finish! I had been kicked from the server against Jonas a home game that was pivotal that we won to maintain our 2 point gap down to the lingering Jamie who was waiting on me fudging it up! and yea as luck would have it my assman couldn't find a way past a stubborn Jonas. what followed tho was something unexpected from my side we had to travel to Jamie in a make or break do or die clash winner takes the CL spot, and I couldn't believe my porky pies that we walked out with not a 1 or 2 nil victory but a 4-0!! very unexpected as Jamie has been top class again this year but I reckon after 2-0 he had to push which suited my countering soiling my pants squeaky bum tactics towards the end of the match.

 

I wanted to make an impact immedietly an I feel that's been done by putting Sabadell back into champions league football straight away! now for the host of changes getting rid of all these old chancers hanging around and put a lot of fresh young hungry faces in there place.

 

Window - Changes a plenty so far 100m spent 140 so far its still going big big changes indeed gelling will be required.

 

Will add my SS's when the game is up later.

 

[Jonas Christensen]

The journey continues...

Our second season in the top league was upon us this season, after a struggle of a first season where we secured another season in the last game of the season...

Due to our difficult first season, a season where we however we're deemed for relegation, I knew that this season was gonna be difficult, and that the team needed strengthening if I wanted to improve our chances of staying outside of the relegation battle. Therefore, it was the most important window in recent seasons, as we needed to go from Liga 123-quality to the next step...

As you can see, there was a lot of activity in the window... A new DL in Koné, a new DR in Perna, a new AMC in Olsen, and a bunch of young players - and then Ottesen in the winter window, who's being lined up to start next season...

The first half of our season was pretty decent. We started really well and grabbed a lot of points and especially the 3-1 away win over Atletico was great... Towards the end of the first half however, we hit a bad streak, as we so often seem to do...

We hit a decent streak again when we went into the 2nd half of the season, where we once again whacked Atletico, this time 7-2!!! However, the end of the season was awfull and we were struggling to score goals, while leaking a lot of easy goals as well...

 

 

As can be seen above, the biggest profiles this season were a bit surprising. Manuel Campos went from 3rd choice to 1st choice and returned the favour by bagging an impressive 23 goals and 6 assists. Of course, this is not of the same quality that the top teams get from their strikers, but it was certainly an improvement for us. The second profile was Kenneth Olsen, who proved to be a majestic creative force as AMC, scoring some pretty decent goals along the way. On the dissappointing end was van Hout and Goncalves, my former striker stars, who are now on the way out... Koné furthermore had a bad first season, and I'm hoping he'll have a better second season, as he was quite expensive by UCAM standards.

The above confirms that Campos and Olsen were by far the best players for me this season, with Campos bagging player of the season and young player of the season. Other than that, the team of the season pretty much matched my starting lineup, so no real surprises there

On another positive note, we won the award for most imrpoved team of the year, which really shows the big steps we continue to take each seasons...

And this last piece is the top of the successes so far. This shows how I've taken UCAM from bankruptcy in the bottom league to midtable team in the top league and splashing 54 million on a new stadium...

 

For the new season, our 3rd season in the top league, we need to take the next step and close a bit of the gap up to the European spots. I don't expect to challenge for them this season, but the aim is to challenge for them next season, so the gap needs to be minimized this season.