The Small Four - Gibraltar

[andrewr2711]

The Small Four is a custom idea where you must take a team from Gibraltar, Andorra, San Marino, and Kosovo to both International and European glory.  This save file will be following the custom Gibraltarian team, known as Gibraltar Rocks, named after the Rock of Gibraltar.  There will be 3 other saves following the teams in Andorra, San Marino and Kosovo, as I hope to win the World Cup, the Euros, and the Champions Cup with all 4 teams. 

There will be a write up after every 3 game months to show how the team develops throughout the years.

[andrewr2711]

So first day in charge, and the team isn't looking too bad.  Defense is looking a bit thin but apart from that the team is looking ok.

 

Finances are also in the green, so nothing to complain about there, hopefully I can get some more staff in there soon enough

[andrewr2711]

Gibraltar Rocks 

1 Jun - 31 Sep

Starting off with what could be seen as a less then impressive team, my first thoughts were to improve my team in anyway i could.  So I've looked through the scouting reports and looked through potential transfers, and believe that I have come up with a decent team.  During the transfer window, i signed 10 players and it made the team look much more impressive.  (Transfers at the bottom of the page

I also needed a lot of staff members too.  I signed an assistant manager which was needed. Two coaches in Luke Gomez and Lee Ferrary, along with two physios and two scouts.

As we got closer and closer to our pre-season and our season opener, the media had predicted we would finish in a respectable second place, which is quiet satisfying knowing that we don't really have any star power in our squad.  However I wouldn't denying a second place finish in a season where I've been issued to finish at least mid-table.  With the addition of only selling 15 season tickets, that didn't fill me with a lot of confidence.

 

Friendlies

Our first pre-season match was against Lynx F.C. This initially came across as a bit of a test as they were in the top division and expected to beat us quiet easily.  I decided to play my strongest team and see how we would fair against a top team.

To my delight we absolutely crushed them 4-0.  Despite the possession being even, we took our shots and made sure of them too.  Boulaich broke the deadlock in the 2nd minute, and then again in the 4th minute.  Our defense looked really strong, closing down all of their attempts and everyone played well.  In the second half, we began to look a bit quiet, as it was a friendly match, i decided to use all my subs and get a completely new team on.  This proved to be really effective as Torres added his first goal to the tally on the 77th minute, and getting his 2nd in the 81st.  We closed out the match with strong defense and made our claim as real contenders for promotion for the season.

 

 

Our second pre season match was against newly promoted Europa Point, after our first match we were quiet confident to get a positive result

Unfortunately for us we didn't look anywhere near to what we did in our last game. We went down 2-0 really early in the game and did not look to be able to fight our way back in.  In the 71st minute, our 14 year old striker managed to get his name on the scoresheet with an impressive strike into the top corner of the goal.

 

 

Division 2 League cup

Coming into the league cup, we felt like we were real contenders for a semi final spot and decided to put our best foot forward against what seemed like a lowly Boca Juniors team.  We appeared to go in over-confident and we ended up paying the price for it.  We went down 1-0 early in the game to a weak bit of defense.  Despite our amount of shots, we just couldn't beat the keeper.

 

Rock Cup

Time for the Rock Cup, the F.A Cup of Gibraltar.  This match put us up against Cannons, and with our recent form, i wouldn't of counted out a shocking loss.  However they had two of their first team players out injured, so that gave us a bit more of a chance.

What a result!

A massive 5-0 win with 5 individual scores in Lopez, Totesaut, Boulaich, Victor and Bosio. We played a lot better than we had in recent fixtures, limiting the Cannons to 3 shots, however the amount of fouls we had given up was a bit concerning, but a much better result none the less

 

 

League 2

Our first match luckily put us up against Cannons again, hopefully with a massive win against them the week before will help us to another win, again we put our best team forward to see what we could do.

Another great victory over Cannons, it looks like we might be in for a good season if this form continues.  Lopez scored a double, new signing Olmedo Cruz scored, and the consistent Boulaich scores again helping us to a 4-0 win, and a top of the table start.

 

Round 2

Our next game sees us to play against Leo FC.  After our game against Cannons, the feel around the team was good, and they were ready to take on anyone.  

Again we get a good result, although it wasn't without loss.  Our captain Cortes Silva was injured, and unfortunately it was a shin injury with left him out for 5-6 weeks, luckily for us we got a convincing win where Boulaich scoured a double.

 

Round 3

This match saw us up against Magpies, they were a lower mid-table team, so we felt confident, although without our captain, we were left pretty shaken up, but confident still

A 1 all draw, not the worst result, but not what we expected, however a late penalty cost us the match, which unfortunately cam in the 90th minute.  We started slow, and stayed pretty slow throughout the game, which isn't how we want to play.  Luckily for us, we managed to hang onto first place.

 

Round 4

This match sees us against Angles, looking at their previous games, we felt like this was the time to get another win up, hopefully we can fill the void left by Fendley, our left back, who was called up to the Gibraltar U21 team.

This match is one we probably should not have won, we conceded a very soft goal, and very luckily managed to sneak a goal in the dying minutes to tie up the game.  Maybe the loss of our captain is a bit of a curse.

 

Round 5

Our last entry in this summary is against the Gibraltar Phoenix, they've been fairly strong this season and looks like it'll be a challenge.  Our captain is planned to come back next game, so hopefully we can get a good result to bring him back into a positive team environment.

3 1-1 draws in a row, we got off to a slow start, conceding in the 4th minute, but getting one back in the 18th minute.  Unluckily for us, we couldn't capitalize on any of our shots, we had a great chance in the dying minutes, but it came off the post.  Hopefully now that we get our captain comes back we can get some more wins.  However, we remain unbeaten in the league, and still on top of the table.  The next three months should get us some more wins hopefully

 

 

 

Here are the transfers

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, andrewr2711 said:

This save file will be following the custom Gibraltarian team, known as Gibraltar Rocks, named after the Rock of Gibraltar.  

What facilities/reputation etc did you give this custom team?

[deltablue]

I recognize the Boulder Badge.

[andrewr2711]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

What facilities/reputation etc did you give this custom team?

The facilities are all 1, as most of them are in Gibraltar.  The reputation is also 1, however it has shot up to 16.

 

2 hours ago, deltablue said:

I recognize the Boulder Badge.

It's only fitting isn't it?

[jengaehassim]

12 hours ago, andrewr2711 said:

The Small Four is a custom idea where you must take a team from Gibraltar, Andorra, San Marino, and Kosovo to both International and European glory.  This save file will be following the custom Gibraltarian team, known as Gibraltar Rocks, named after the Rock of Gibraltar.  There will be 3 other saves following the teams in Andorra, San Marino and Kosovo, as I hope to win the World Cup, the Euros, and the Champions Cup with all 4 teams. 

There will be a write up after every 3 game months to show how the team develops throughout the years.

Why don't you play on the same savefile? It'd be interesting to see what would happen to the nations you've already been after you leave.

[andrewr2711]

7 hours ago, jengaehassim said:

Why don't you play on the same savefile? It'd be interesting to see what would happen to the nations you've already been after you leave.

I might save that idea for a separate save file. Although at the moment i'm just looking at the individual nations.  That could be a good idea however

[andrewr2711]

Gibraltar Rocks

1 Oct - 31 Dec

3 months into the first season, and it's looking quiet promising. We haven't lost a game in the season yet, and hopefully we can hold onto this lead for a little while longer.  Looking at the squad, it felt like it was lacking a bit of star power, so I've looked through the junior national teams to see if there was any players who didnt have a club.  Luckily for me, we found two players in Dayle Coleing, and William Cross

Our third and final player that we transferred was someone from the Kosovo u19 team who had no club.  He looks like he will be quiet a talent, well in our team anyway.

 

League 2

Round 6

This week we come up against Hound Dogs, a lower table team, luckily for us, our captain comes back for this game, hopefully he will provide some sort of boost for the team.

A massive win for us.  Looks like Cortes Silva coming back from injury really pushed the team on to a big victory.  Boulaich and Lopez both recorded doubles in this game, along with goals from Cortes Silva, an own goal, and from substitute Bosio.  We got off to a great start with 2 goals within the first 10 minutes.  With this win, we go back to first with a game in hand.

 

Rock Cup Round 2

This cup tie puts us up against first division team in Glacis United.  They are looking quiet strong in the first division this year, being in the top half of the division.

And our cup run is over for the year.  However it was not without a fight, they got out to an early lead, although we were able to fight back with a strong showing from Boulaich.  However our biggest mistake came from our vice captain Kane.  He stood with his back to the field, ball at his feet, and allowed them to steal the ball and score an easy goal.  Only a mistake right?

 

Round 7

vs Boca Juniors

This game puts us up against Boca again, after a very disappointing League 2 cup game  against Boca Juniors, we were looking for a bit of revenge against Boca, they hadn't had the greatest season as of yet.  Although everyone knows that anything can happen in football, and we couldn't count out the fact that we could lose again.

The first hat trick of the season came through our poacher Jamie Lopez, his 3 goals allowed us to secure a win over Boca.  This game saw the debut of all 3 of our transfers, and all put in fairly decent performances, with Cross getting himself an assist in the game.  Unfortunately for us, it was a slow start to the game until we opened with a goal in the 31st minute.  After that, we played the game at a good pace and Boca did not look like getting in the game

 

Round 8

vs Angels

After our last two league performances, we were looking to continue this form for as long as we could.  After looking like we have the right combinations in defense and midfield, all we needed was to find the right striking combination, and with Lopez playing the way he is, we need a player similar to him, or a strong target man who can play through balls to him to finish off the goals.

Another good win for us. Tahiri finally got himself on the scoresheet for the season, and Lopez grabbed another two goals. How long will this form last do you think?  Our set pieces need a bit of work but apart from that.  I'm fairly happy with the way that we are going in the league, and in our games.

 

Round 9

vs Olympique

This game sees us playing the struggling outfit in Olympique, with only one win in the league so far, their heads had dropped and we were going to look to get a big win against them to keep our good run going.

A second  hattrick for the season. This time from our Kosovo import in Tahiri.  Unfortunately for us he also suffered an injury which will see him out for 4-5 weeks.  With Tahiri out, we will have to look to the in-form Boulaich to score some goals while Tahiri comes back from injury.  Lopez added his name to the scoresheet again with a good goal in the 38th minute.

 

Round 10

vs Cannons

For the third time this season, we go up against Cannons.  Our last two matches again them see us with a goal difference of +9, so the confidence was extremely high that we could get another big win.  But with the lost of Tahiri will we be able to function as well as we can?

A very narrow victory with Boulaich scoring a game in the dying seconds of the game. He showed a lot of pace to get on to the loose ball and tucked it away in the bottom right corner.  Kane had another awful game, unable to retain possession, and unable to pass effectively.  I'm not sure that he merits his vice-captain place for much longer.

 

Round 11

vs Magpies

Once again we come up against 2nd place Magpies.  Last time we played them it ended in a draw, in which we probably didn't deserve to draw.  However its a completely different game, with a better squad, hopefully we can get a stronger result.

A very close game which had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.  Totesaut scored an absolute screamer from just outside the box which found its way into the top corner after a mis-fired free kick.  Our large amount of fouls is still concerning, but with only one yellow card, I can't be too alarmed by it.

 

Round 12

vs Leo

In this mid season game, we find ourselves up again Leo FC again.  After our 3-0 win, we became quiet complacent and it was a very relaxed atmosphere in the club.

This attitude came back to bit us big time.  This game saw the return of Tahiri, and with high expectations on him, he couldn't find the back of the net, with numerous chances on goal, and on target.  However a draw is a draw, and we get a point out of it.

Between this game and the next game, i decided to release Kane, as i felt he could not make a positive influence in the team, and felt he could play out his career somewhere else, despite being signed in the transfer window.

 

Round 13

vs Boca

For the third time this season, we come up against Boca.  We have had one win and one loss against them, so we were not sure what to expect from them, hopefully we can pull another win out, and extend the lead over the rest of the table.

A draw, well now we have had all 3 results against this team.  We looked to be dominated through the match despite the possession stats.  Coleing conceded an awful own goal, if which left, would of gone out for a goal kick.  However we were able to fight back and score another last minute winner through who else but Boulaich.  Lopez popped up and scored another goal which takes his tally to 14 in 13 games.

 

In the months of October and November, we managed to pick up manager of the month awards, along with Boulaich who managed goal of the season in October.

 

The transfer window has opened once again, and we will be looking for some talent so we can add some depth to the squad.  Maybe get some stars from the teams who aren't doing as well.  We will see what needs to be strengthened.

 

Here is the table currently