ExiledKopite Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Welcome to my second attempt at a Football Manager career thread - the first being usurped by the great evil that is 'life outside FM'. My normal attitude to FM is to do a fairly ruthless journeyman save - rising up in reputation at every possible opportunity until I stand at the top. My point is, long term one-club saves are an area I have very little experience in, and have decided that with the new game, I want to try for a different approach to the game. So, why Romania? The simple answer is two-fold - Gheorghe Hagi, and FIFA World Cup for N64. Romania were my go-to team, and I have a very peculiar retrospective affection for their national side, particularly during that 90s golden era. The goal for me, therefore is firstly to rise to the top of the Romanian game, and secondly to bring that club to the top of the continental game. In other words, I want to win the Champions League with a Romanian Liga III team - producing a good amount of Romanian talent along the way, with any luck. No worries then, easily done! The Club: SC Bacău SC Bacău is a Romanian football club based in Bacău, founded in 2010 and currently playing in the Liga III. Bacău is an interesting club, in that it was started by a group of friends - football and golf enthusiasts - and has had a rapid 5-year rise to the higher realms of Romanian football. Flying up the leagues with practically successive promotions, they were promoted to Liga II in the 2015/16 season and managed a 6th place finish, only to be subsequently relegated due to financial difficulties. They have mostly cleared up their financial issues - according to FM at least, and are now looking to continue their rise to the top with an entirely unknown and unproven English manager at the helm. If anybody here has any knowledge of Romanian football, and wants to expand or correct any of that, by all means post away. It seems to be a pretty fascinating club. SC Bacău Profile - Finances - Squad - Facilities - General - History My Manager Decided against giving a run-down of the squad. Partially because I haven't really had a chance to have a look through myself yet, and also because I'm not yet familiar with the required level etc, so can't really effectively judge. Needless to say, going to get stuck in to the training and evaluating the staff and such, to give us the strongest possible launch point. With all the admin/intro out of the way..... Let's get cracking with the season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSJ Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Good luck with this...a particular Romanian highlight of mine was when they all dyed their hair Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 They seem like a really interesting club, good luck with them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPQR Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 exciting stuff look forward to seeing a fellow Romanian career! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledKopite Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 January Update 2016/17 League Table - Romanian Cup - Finances - Transfers So, after finally getting stuck into my career in Romania, one thing became clear - our finances are diabolical. We were £40k-odd in debt before the season had even gotten underway, and I was starting to get a bit concerned - I still tried to sign a few players of course, and off-loaded a few monetary black holes, but even having had a £120k cash injection from the board, things aren't looking great, come January. On to the football. A few good players came in, and I was feeling pretty confident as the season got underway - particularly after the first game, and in all honesty, we've had a good start. The trouble is, silly results - poor draws, and throwing leads away has meant we are 6 points off of a pretty beastly looking Harman side. To make things worse, our cup showing was diabolical. Still, things are fairly positive looking, and if we can stay financially decent, we'll be heading up this season or next, most likely the latter. Key Signing: Uzun Uzun is a 30 year-old CB who is very much a level above just about anybody else in the squad - if he maintains his level for the next few years, he'll be a mainstay there. Key Player: Boghian He's not as clinical as I'd like, and that is very much the reason we've been a touch inconsistent. And yet, far and away our best. Youth Prospects: Ureche, Chiriac Ureche started the game at the club, and is probably good enough to play in the league in above. We need to keep hold of him and hope he gets better with us. Chiriac I bought to rotate through the midfield as needed, and to with any luck, grow into his potential as a Liga II player as we go up also. A great pair, that make up in some respects for the U19s, which are utterly barren of actual players. We've also managed to begin to reshuffle the staff and make coaching and scouting improvements, whilst managing to get the board to agree to send me on a coaching course. Small positives! Hopefully we can move into the second half of the season and really start to push Harman, but I think we'll need another season, in all honesty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledKopite Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 On 11/13/2016 at 19:44, RSJ said: Good luck with this...a particular Romanian highlight of mine was when they all dyed their hair Thanks! And yes! I remember it too - though it did seems to be the last of their really 'successful' tournaments, from what I recall haha. On 11/13/2016 at 19:52, BoxToBox said: They seem like a really interesting club, good luck with them! Yeah, their history is fairly unique, particularly having so much success so young - I'd love to hear an 'insider's' take on it. Made even more strange by just how comparitively low their regular attendance is. We struggle to get 100 people into the ground - mid-table LIga II sides are pulling 4k+ so yeeeeaaah. Should be an interesting challenge On 11/13/2016 at 22:26, LPQR said: exciting stuff look forward to seeing a fellow Romanian career! Thanks! If you're doing Romania too, I'll be sure to follow yours! Be interesting to see how they both evolve! End Of Season Update - 2016/17 Champions!! That consistency I was looking for? It came, and it came in style. One loss since the mid-season update meant we were going to push Harman all the way no matter what, but crushing them 3-0 at our place meant we never lost momentum, and simultaneously destroyed theirs - they seemed to fall apart in the final weeks, and in the end, what had been a hard-fought two team race ended up looking far less competitive than it actually had been. Finances - Transfers - Manager Profile - Manager History End of Season Awards Two more defensive signings - Coc (*sniggers*) is a top quality CB of a good age, and will partner Uzun for several seasons yet. The other man is a CB who can also fill in at LB, and the versatility is why we picked him up. The added depth and quality signalled an improvement for us at the back, and to be quite honest, I'm fairly happy with our side, and am hoping to ride out my first season in Liga II without wholesale changes. Which is important looking at the finances, since we needed another huge board cash injection to stay healthy, especially since Liga III doesn't seem to have prize money. Liga II is well structured and should see us well off wherever we finish, but Liga I, only 1st place seems to get any, so lord knows how that's all going to work (can anybody who plays in Romania's top division clarify this, on the off chance they're reading?). Our attendances also have remained pitiful, and well below Liga III's level. Hopefully we'll see a reasonable jump now that we're a division up to help ease the financial burden somewhat. In other new, I've been given a new contract, which is nice, and bagged my continental C/B license to boot, so there's that haha. Next season should be interesting: our quality in depth is poor, and despite having a young squad, having 3 U21 players in the first XI on top of our financial difficulties presents an interesting recruitment challenge for a team looking to inject the required quality to stay up. Luckily, players like Corban give me hope. At 19, he's a leading player for Liga II sides, with the potential to play in Liga I, and has just been all around fantastic. Between him and Ureche, that's two of those mandatory U21 slots completely sewn up. N.B - normally I'd do a bit on the youth intake, but, well - pickings were slim. As they get better, I'll likely disseminate more on these - perhaps even afford them their own update. For now? Nah. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPQR Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 congrats on promotion! 1 minute ago, ExiledKopite said: Thanks! If you're doing Romania too, I'll be sure to follow yours! Be interesting to see how they both evolve! aye, I'm 10 seasons in already, check my thread Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledKopite Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 On 11/22/2016 at 18:26, LPQR said: congrats on promotion! aye, I'm 10 seasons in already, check my thread 10 Seasons?! Haha I'm not sure I'll be catching you at this point xD - Far too slow. I'll definitely be looking through your thread when I get a chance! SC Bacau Pre-Season Update 2017/18 Squad Overview - League Predictions - Transfers - Finances Having gained promotion sights were immediately set upon improving the squad - both in terms of shaving away the deadwood, and injecting real quality suitable for Liga II. A fair challenge for a club of our stature, but I feel I've done a reasonable job. The like of Rus and Lima are huge improvements on what we had, and we added depth to several positions on top of that, so I'm fairly happy. I did end up allowing a lot of players to leave on a free, which has left us relatively short, but I'm rather hoping we'll cope with a (relatively) small squad. If not, there is actually transfer budget left to play with, so we'll see what happens. The only other really significant piece of news is our star player in Corban has demanded a move to a bigger club, and is now unhappy because I told him exactly where to shove it. Really hoping this complaint will die down of it's own accord, or a big team actually comes in for him before his contract expires, because I refuse to offer him out. He's our best player, and I'd rather get another full season out of him at least. We start the season away to Dacia Unirea, in what has been billed as a bit of a momentous task. They're predicted to finish 7th, so I can't exactly say I disagree! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledKopite Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 End of Season Update 2017/18 Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2 I should really, really be happy with this - I should be freaking over the moon, in all honesty - but all I can think is 'what if?'. Our form in the last four games has cost us a spot in the play-off for promotion at best, and a shot at an unthinkable back-to-back promotion. That said, our season was really pretty unbelievable. Our first five games had me setting myself for a long season, before we finally started picking up irregular wins. Irregular turned into consistency, and soon we were putting together nice little runs and climbing the table. Our final third was strong, and we even sat top for a round of fixtures. It really was a fantastic season for the club, and we match our highest ever league finish - but I'll never be able to look at it as anything other than an opportunity missed. Highlights include an 8-1 drubbing of Afumaţi, and a narrow 2-1 win over the eventual champions via an injury time penalty that put us top, if only for a brief moment. Romanian Cup - Dreadful showing. A 2-0 loss against a side a tier below - though their attendance of 900+ next to our average of about 110 tells it's own story. We really should have beaten these, and next season, I'm desperate for at least a little bit of a run in the cup. Players Transfers - End of Season Awards (Club) - Best XI (Club) - Team of the Year (1 Player) Key Players Dumiter - Dumiter started the season behind Boghain in the pecking order - and swiftly won it from him, his performances too good to ignore, even though his attributes didn't quite match up. That soon changed, and first team football has pushed the youngster to new levels - if he can carry on developing, we'll have brought through a great player. Dos Santos - Brazilian winger - what more do you want? He was our primary creator, and was ruthlessly effective in front of goal when called upon - another good prospect, though his development is likely pretty much done. A good player for this level, but he'll likely not manage the step up. Though being fair, neither will most of our players. Uzun - Experience. A rock. Our vice-captain has had a cracking season. I mentioned last year that it was questionable just how many of those he has left, and that concern hasn't gone away - I'm saying he has one more left in him at least. Coc - I gambled this season, and made the 22 year-old club captain at the very start over the experienced Uzun. He expressed worry over the pressure, and his initial performances were poor and littered with costly mistakes - but the boy grew into it, and came on hugely as a player to boot. Great CB, if a little shorter than I'd like - though his partnership with the 6'2 Uzun compensates somewhat. Gheorghe - In all honesty, I'd earmarked Ramon as weakness in the side going forward - but this season has made me question that. 7 goals and 8 assists prove he can perform at a level I didn't think he could. As an aside, I made two transfers in Jan - a solid left-back to replace the aging Sascau (who became a full time coach at the end of the season) and a young winger by the name of Octavian Ursu. An outstanding player, and somebody I was so excited to see play for us and help push us on - only to be crushed when I am informed that he cannot play for us this season as he has already played for another club. Our £60k record signing essentially cup-tied but for the league. What. In other, more upsetting player news - Corban's departure at the end of the season is confirmed - for free. He asked to leave at the start of the season, and I tried to talk him down - and then figured I could try again and float a lucrative contract at him - no such luck. Freaking Udinese came in for him, and will be taking him when his contract expires. Drat. Easily our best player, and a beauty to have with the 3 U21s rule. That said, I may just have found a replacement capable of filling his boots..... Priority for the summer window is younger players capable of playing in the first team to ensure I can meet the requirements for the league, and a really good quality RB. We've lost a fair few players to contracts ending, so we have some real work to do on the squad. The Club Finances - General - Financial Info The prize money is a welcome balm to our financial woes, and honestly makes me think 'just missing out' on promotion for a few years might be a benefit, given that as far as I can see on the champions get prize money in Liga I. As ever, the board is tight-fisted with major upgrades, though I did manage to get some Junior Coaching budget out of that particular stone. How we move forward financially will be interesting to see. The Manager Profile - History - Manager of the Season Little bit gutted about MotY, but on the bright side, bagged another contract (and a slight pay rise!), and a pair of Manager of the Months, so I'm not totally recognition-less Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPQR Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 so close... well done overall, teeth clenched and it will come! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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