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[FM17] Something...Something...Something...Journeyman!


andychar

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I find it amusing that the French federation thought the right man for the job was the Kosovan champion  and Chilean 2nd division champion. :D Yet, nobody gives you a chance in the lower leagues of France... 

Good luck for the Euros and for the new job, whichever it is. 

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On 20/01/2017 at 15:41, Keano16 said:

Not a great cliff now is it! :lol:

I think the size of the cliff was a representation of the sheer size of the weekend cliffhanger I left you with!

On 21/01/2017 at 13:40, noikeee said:

I find it amusing that the French federation thought the right man for the job was the Kosovan champion  and Chilean 2nd division champion. :D Yet, nobody gives you a chance in the lower leagues of France... 

Good luck for the Euros and for the new job, whichever it is. 

I bribed the FFA with a new garlic clove necklace, a nice little bicycle and a new baguette. (Nothing like a bit stereotypical racism in the morning). 

I shall be updating throughout the day! I know I'm excited too.

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Chapter 3.2 "The French are coming!"

It was nice to have something to do in the middle of my very very early mid life crisis.

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Got to laugh at my ability to take a simple screenshot.

The missing team was Italy Under 21's. Now the brilliant manager I am I didn't even notice only one team went through. So all the way through I was thinking "Should beat Norway and Wales so should be fine."

Maybe I should start reading the fine print...as well as the great big highlighted section which shows what you need to progress through a group.

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We enjoyed a good build up. 4 wins from 4. I was feeling confident ahead of our first games against Wales Under 21's.

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Right. 

France U21 0-2 Wales U21 - I came up with a new feature FM18 needs to have. International managers need to have the ability to send players home in disgrace from Major Tournaments. We were down to 10 men after 15 minutes because off a reckless 2 footed challenge that even Aussie Rules players would think "now that's going to far streuth." We held on very well, soaking up pressure while still trying to go forward. We conceded in the 75 minute then another one straight after. If we were going to qualify it would have to be the hard way. 

Next up was Italy Under 21's.

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France U21 3-1 Italy U21 - This was a very even game. We went behind early and I made some radical changes. The changes worked and we had managed to turn it around before half time. A stressful second half saw Italy miss quite a few good chances before we managed to put the game to bed. It kept our hopes alive. Wales beat Norway so we would need some help from the Italians and beat Norway quite convincing to stand a chance of going through.

Italy would go onto beat Wales but had I done enough to make the Semi?

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Stupid tournament. I didn't want to win it anyway!

France U21 1-1 Norway U21 - If this was a boxing match Norway would have thrown in the towel at HT. How I wish this was a boxing match. We destroyed them for 88 minutes. It just turns out they had a good 2 minute patch midway through the 2nd half and it was enough for them to snatch a point. The French had surrendered for a change and it was all looking rather gloomy.

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As it turns out the European Under 21 Championship sorts teams out on head to head and not goal difference so even if I had beaten Norway I would have still finished 2nd. This fact would have given me very little comfort as I cried myself to sleep. I really should have done my homework before this tournament.

It was a disappointing tournament on the whole. If I had stayed in charge the player who was sent off in the first game against Wales would have never played for France U21 ever again and I would have gone out of my way to make sure his career was destroyed. But I'm not bitter.

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I wasn't actually given any expectations regarding the tournament so I'm not sure if I would have been fired or not. I wasn't sticking around to fine out though.

Now cast your mind back to when I made the bold prediction "Either way being France Under 21 manager wouldn't hurt my reputation". Turns out I was wrong!

My reputation went from the very high 1 and a half stars to the pathetic 1 star. I had lost a full half a star reputation! Means all those French National teams were right after all!

My mind was made up. No more being picky. It was time to literally apply for anything and everything that was available. It was time to get in full time employment once again!

Summary!

Number of jobs currently hold - 0

Number of angry letters sent to the b****** who got sent off against Wales - 720

Number of warnings from the police - 3

Still to come!

The team who have taken a punt on washed up pitiful manager!

The contents of the barrel I have just scraped the bottom of.

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Chapter 4 "The Bottom of the Barrel"

So after a very poor U21 European Championship I decided I needed to just apply for any job, stop being picky and get my face back out there.

It wasn't long until I managed to land on my feet in the last remaining original country.

After googling for some time I was unable to find a logo or stadium picture I was confident enough to post on here! It also seemed Google Maps were very reluctant to give me direction from my old club to my new club. So here is the ever useful Wikipedia with some vital information about my new team.

Urana FC d'Arlit is a Nigerien football club based in Arlit. The club plays in Niger Premier League

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I have no idea why I look so angry. Call it a happy accident.

Urana have just been promoted back to the Niger Premier League after being relegated the season before.

This is the team I have to work with.

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A very young team. Luckily for me I have a lot of choice for ST considering I play 1 up front. It seems Urana were promoted playing the always very popular 5-0-5 formation as they have nothing in midfield. 

I was going to have to vastly improve this team if I was going to stand any chance of surviving.

Note I said surviving and not challenging. I wish I had taken a screenshot of this but I'll explain anyway...

The league is currently in the off season meaning meaning I have plenty of time to improve the team. However I hold no hopes of winning this league...in the slightest.

The reason why is simple. This will be the 4th season in which the Niger Premier League has been loaded.

The 3 previous seasons were all won by the same team AS Douanes.

"Why nothing strange about that". I hear you scream at your computer screens

Well it turns out in the 3 season (78 games) they have dropped precisely 0 points.

They have won every single league game since I have started this save.

Basically the only way I'm getting out of Niger is if I...

A) Work really hard continue to improve Urana FC and maybe just maybe in a few season be in a position where I might actually be able to challenge the might of AS Dounaes.

B) Move to a different club where my chances of challenge are vastly improved.

C) Wait for the (young) manager of AS Douanes to leave, take over walk to the league.

D) Fluke the cup.

Personally I'm praying for D!

 But it's ok right. This team has just been promoted the board won't be expecting much of me in my first season right.

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Crap.

Summary!

Number of times I regretted taking the job - 16

Number of players I need to buy - All of them

Wage budget - £250 p/w

Still to Come!

The comings and comings to the team.

The start of the Niger Premier League

AS Douanes Unbeaten watch!

 

 

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Chapter 4.2 "You get a contract! And you get a contract! Everybody gets a contract!"

I don't think my chapter title will need much explaining. I went on a bit of a shopping spree.

Good thing about this sorta job is because most players don't have a contract you can really cull a team at no extra cost. 

The evil in me really loves this part. 

So after I broke many a young players heart and torn so many families to pieces I was able to get started on the players I wanted to bring in. So without further ado let me present to you the class of 2019-20!

issaka_zpsqfgebvrh.jpgmatthew_zpsiujlwezt.jpgharouna%20doula_zps9rybzm3l.jpgabdoulkarim_zpsdw20wvel.jpgmalam_zps7v7opb6s.jpgabkar_zpsuuxknsnp.jpgchaibou_zpsalodzqeo.jpgyusuf_zpsulngfifk.jpgmoussa%20souna_zpsa7mwo6zi.jpg

So after raiding a small Nigerien village there were a couple of things I've noticed and a couple of thing you need to know.

1) I've learnt that no matter how hard I try, no matter how much effort I put into things...I just don't pay attention to where the cursor is before I take a screenshot.

2) I've learnt from past mistakes. When I raided this small Nigerien village I made sure to nab as many vulnerable children as possible.

3) The scouting pool ranges from the top of Niger to the bottom. Dare cross the border at your own peril.

4a) Nobody wants to come to a Nigerien team who has just been promoted...except players who have just been relegated from the Niger Premier league.

4b) Seriously the only players who wanted to come to me were players who had been relegated. So basically my team is now populated with players who weren't good enough last season.

All in all I think its going to be a very challenging season. My aim is to achieve a respectable mid table position. Hopefully that will mean I can attract a better calibre of player. I don't think I'm in Kosovo anymore!

Summary!

Number of players brought in - 9

Number of players who are probably good enough to play - 2

Number of dreams destroyed - 10 (I got rid of 10 players)

Still to come!

The start of the Niger Premier League

The most FM game of FM ever! (Trust me on this)

 

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Chapter 4.3 "Home away from Home"

Ok so there were numerous signs this season wasn't going to be my most successful.

The first sign was the fact that no team wanted to play a friendly with me. 

So I did what any respectable manager does. I pimped out my youth teams.

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Urana FC 1-0 Urana FC U19 - I only managed to beat my U19 team 1-0. It all started well with a 13th minute goal but that really is as good as it got. In fact I was lucky we managed to pick up the win!

Urana FC 1-2 Urana FC U21 - The second sign this wasn't going to be a successful season so the fact that I got beat by my own U21 team. Of course I went through the usual emotions after losing a friendly "It's only a friendly" "It doesn't matter" "It's all about fitness". At the end of the day I cant even beat my own U21 team! What chance did I have against anybody else. This has of course become known as the Aston Villa vortex.

So how could it get any worse than losing to your own U21 team?

Without further ado I present to you...the most FM game of FM ever!

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There are literally no words.

These were the fixtures in full.

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Urana FC 0-1 Dan Kassawa -The more you think about it the more it seems impossible. An own goal is normally defined as a shot which is initially off target being deflected in off a opposition player. Dan Kassawa (the name of the team not a player) didn't even manage a shot on goal meaning my own goal was of my own making entirely. We actually didn't play badly and I took heart from what was a completely fluke result.

Olympic FC (NIG) 1-3 Urana FC - And that heart showed in the next game. We raced into a 3-0 lead at half time meaning we were able to take the foot off the gas in the second half. They grabbed a consolation goal towards the end but it didn't dampen our spirits. Maybe there was hope for this team yet.

Urana FC 2-3 AS Douanes (NIG) - A brilliant performance against a team who hasn't even so much as drawn a league game in 3 seasons. We were at 2-2 with 8 minutes to go but we just ran out of juice as they grabbed a deserved winner. We ran them close and that was really all I could ask for. We also came from behind twice which shows a bit of fight this team potentially has. 2 losses out of 3 but heads weren't dropping.

Zumunta 0-1 Urana FC - A hard fought victory. We weren't the better team not by a long shot but we managed to grab a goal and hold on to it. Something my previous teams have struggled with. It meant we started 50/50. Strangely enough it meant we started with 2 home losses and 2 away wins. Go figure.

What nonsense left the early league table looking like this (no prizes for guessing whose top)

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Encouraging start and I'm where I pretty much want to be. Room for improvement but happy with the start to the season.

Haven't noticed before how AS-FAN stick out like a sore thumb in that table...I mean seriously...Orange!?

Summary!

Number of shots opponents need to beat me - 0

Number of points picked up at home - 0

Number of Under 21's who got promoted after beating the first team - 0

Still to come!

January in Niger

February in Niger

 

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19 hours ago, noikeee said:

Uh-oh, that wasn't great. Fine margins on that tournament though, in international management all it takes is a small slip-up...

Yeah it wasn't a great tournament! It's not stopped me though. I applied (unsuccessfully) for the Spain, Netherlands and Argentina U23's ahead of the Olympics and I also applied (unsuccessfully) for the Kosovo job. 

It seems nobody wants the manager who crashed and burned at his only Major Finals so far. Weird right!

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Chapter 4.4 "Urana work hard to get those 3 points!"

Last time I use the "Urana = you wanna" pun...I promise.

So 2 wins 2 defeats and no surprises whatsoever. Onto the next month.

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Ok so technically it was 2 months but I didn't think you'd want just an update of a home defeat!

Urana FC 0-1 Nassara - By the end of February the only team I have seen my team beat at home was my teams Under 19's. Even the Under 21's got the better of us. I can't explain it. Its like we get put off by the huge crowds of 178 and 201. Nassara grabbed a goal just before half time. It was a terrible game with the grand total of 8 shots between us after 90 minutes. 8 shots. That's about 1 shot every 11 minutes. I would have missed the goal had the 11 travelling supporters not gone wild. We wouldn't win a game for the whole of January!

AS SONIDEP 1-1 Urana FC - So into February. We snatched a point here, we were the 2nd best team, which when it's out of 2 teams isn't very impressive. That being said we were still unbeaten away from home. Somehow I think I've got this league backwards.

Jangorza 0-2 Urana FC - This seems like a really good win away from home...*Spoiler Alert* 

Spoiler

Jangorza finished the season rock bottom with 10 points. If we hadn't won here it would have been against nature.

It was a good performance, sealed late on in the day. Meant we finished the month strongly and with something to build on.

The table! *Spoiler Alert* I'm not top.

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When you win 3, lose 3 and draw 1 you cant really be shocked to find yourself right bang in the middle of the table.

You can look at this table in 1 of 2 ways.

1) I'm only 4 points off 2nd :)

2) I'm only 4 points off the relegation playoff :mad:

I can't believe I'm only 4 points off the relegation playoff! We need to improve!

Summary!

Position I could be if I win the next game - 4th

Position I could be if I lose the next game - 12th

Odds of completing Niger this season - Fading, fading, fading, RISING, fading...

Still to come!

The gripping continuation of the Niger Premier League

The start of the Niger Cup (which I am hoping I somehow fluke!)

 

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Chapter 4.5 "Normal service resumed"

Smack bang in the middle of the table. I needed to improve my home performance while maintaining my strong away record...you can already guess what happened in March can't you.

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It like my home form and away form cannot match, its like dividing by 0. If i won a home game followed by an away game I'm pretty sure the universe would end.

Urana FC 2-1 AS-GNN - A brilliant topsy-tervy game. We started strong and struck early. In the first half it looked like the lead would only grow but we weren't able to take the chances. I told the team at half time "Things are going well but I know your capable of better". On the 46th minute they equalised. From then on there was only one winner, they hammered the goal while I just sat there screaming. Then with 20 minutes to go, out of nowhere we managed to counter and shock the travelling fan. We held on to claim our first Home win of the season. Suck it Urana FC Under 21's!

Espoir 2-0 Urana FC - What's this coming at me with incredible speed? Its going closer and closer...*BANG*. That was us...coming back down to Earth with a bang. We were terrible. Easily the worst performance we have put in so far during my tenure. Its the sort of performance which made me seriously consider retiring and living off the land. 2-0 flattered us in the end, it could have been 6 easily. 

Urana FC 2-2 Sahel SC - This was a game of 2 halves. The half time score was 2-2 and we were 2-0 down after 10 minutes. We did well to come back and thought there was only one winner heading into the second half. My memory is fuzzy but at one point I think a football match threatened to break out in the 2nd half. It was terrible and in the end neither side could argue with a point.

US GN 3-0 Urana FC - US GN are a good team and were the first team since the dawn of time to beat AS Douanes. They made very light work of us and suddenly our brilliant away form was just a distant memory. I went into this game with no expectations whatsoever and still managed to leave disappointed.

I didn't take a screenshot of the league table after this month. I meant to but I was distracted for some reason...

Summary!

Number of games unbeaten at home - 2

Number of games without a win away from home - 2

Amount of people who put Urana on their accumulator - 0

Still to come!

The reason behind my distraction 

The Niger Premier League continues

The Niger Cup commences 

 

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I must say if I had to guess in which country you'd be managing next, Niger probably wouldn't have been top of the list...

Under my somewhat limited knowledge of football in Niger, I believe you are doing well. Might be a little difficult to catch up with Douanes, however...

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Chapter 5 "Abandoning a sinking ship...well a ship that was mid table any way."

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I may have attended a Job Interview. I may have been offered a job. I may have taken it.

Ok I've totally taken it.

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Well Niger is a lot bigger than I thought. Better put some petrol in the car. Its going to be a long 17 hours (I'm hoping I can cut off that 5 minutes).

Now weirdly enough when I try to google AS FAN logo all I get are a load of fans. I don't think that's quite what I had in mind. 

Here's Wikipedia.

Association Sportive des Forces Armées Nigériennes or simply AS FAN is a Nigerien football club based in Niamey and operated by the Nigerien Armed Forces (the FAN). They play at the stade du camp Bagagi Iya, a small stadium in one of Niamey's military bases, although larger matches are played at the stade Général Seyni Kountché. Their current club president is Army Lieutenant Colonel Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (called Colonel "Pélé").

Holy crap my president is in the military...God I hope I reach the board expectations! Speaking of which.

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So they want me to finish around Top of the League which I'm seeing as top 4 and they want to me reach the first round of the Niger Cup. Basically they want me to play in the Niger Cup.

The wage budget is bigger as is the transfer budget. The expectations are less. I feel like I've made the right decision here.

The real reason for taking this job is because they are basically in a better position to be challenging. I'm still not in a position to take on AS Douanes but with a strong finish to the season, potentially qualification to the African Conf. Cup and with the ability to lure a better standard of player I think I could be challenging sooner rather than later.

My first game in charge...yep...Urana FC.

So what of the team?

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It wasn't fantastic. There were some really good players but definitely room for improvement. 

And would you look at that? The transfer window is opening. Small Nigerien villages everywhere tremble. 

I'm going shopping :brock:.

Summary!

Number of clubs bagged off for better teams - 1

Number of small Nigerien villages abandoned - 283

Still to Come!

The result of hunting season...I mean the transfer window.

The start of my reign of terror at AS FAN.

 

 

 

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29 minutes ago, noikeee said:

I must say if I had to guess in which country you'd be managing next, Niger probably wouldn't have been top of the list...

Under my somewhat limited knowledge of football in Niger, I believe you are doing well. Might be a little difficult to catch up with Douanes, however...

I think Niger was the result of literally no French team wanting me and the Montenegro teams giving their managers infinity lives. 

My knowledge of football in Niger is still very limited and I've been there half a season now. Football is played...its hot and you can only have a maximum of 4 foreigners in your team. Which is handy because nobody wants to play in Niger. Not even the Nigerien's.

I'm think it will take a few season to catch up with Douanes. They haven't been nearly as dominant this season but there is still a major gulf between them and the chasing pack. 

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Chapter 5.1 "Rules? What rules?!"

So the Niger transfer window opened and Jim White was ready and waiting to tell the world about all the new additions to the AS FANily.

matthew_zpshtxcbkhn.jpgIdi_zpsipdegkjp.jpgmahamane_zpsx3erqwni.jpgmahamane%202_zpsfc4n8gbu.jpgamadou_zpsrd2eq6cj.jpgmoussa_zpsa9iktyy4.jpgabdoulaye_zpszmf9uwr1.jpgadamou_zpsuu45scsi.jpgibrahim_zpsy7gydu6a.jpgabdou_zpsua6nq5nv.jpg

No fewer than 10 new faces. Now this is where it gets fun.

One thing I never think about checking is a players history. I scout them and if I think they are worthy I snatch them...I mean sign them.

Turns out in the Niger Premier League due to all clubs being semi professional its not uncommon for players to switch between clubs quite freely. To the point where they could play for 2 maybe 3 different clubs in the season.

However the laws of football state that a player cannot play for 3 different teams in the same season. 

So yeah it turns out 5 out of the 10 players I have signed have already played for 2 different clubs already.

"Which ones!" I hear you cry.

The best ones.

Great success!

So half of the players I've signed won't be available to me until next season. This is going to make for an interesting 2nd half of the season.

Summary!

Number of new signings - 10

New of loyal new signings - 5

New of new towel and water boys - 5

Still to Come

The Niger Cup kicks off

My first match in charge of AS FAN, against my old club.

 

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17 hours ago, vossmaj said:

Reading your thread is pretty informative indeed. From Kosovo to Niger - I didn't learn so much about international Football like... ever!

Where else are you going to learn about the climates of Kosovo and Niger? School?! Pssst I don't think so. FYI it's so hot in Niger. I played a game where they asked me if the weather was going to play a factor. It was 39 degrees! And breezy which was nice. I got sunburned terribly, stupid Scottish skin.

 

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Chapter 5.2 "You can't win anything with kids"

Boys...lets get to it.

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Urana FC 2-1 AS FAN - Can you hear that? That's the sound of everybody in Arlit laughing their butts off! Now I'm not usually one for excuses but I lost 5 first teams players in this game because they were busy with the Niger Under 20's squad. It would be the last time those 5 boys would pick up a cap for the Under 20's. I'm not normally one for withdrawing players from international squads but I would happily sacrifice the career of every single one of my players if it meant picking up 3 points. And in the end isn't that what management is about? Poor game from AS FAN we went behind twice but couldn't recover the 2nd time. I feel I've not really seen the side properly yet.

AS FAN 2-1 Janorzo - For people who read the spoiler before you'll know that this wasn't an impressive win. Made even less than impressive by the fact we actually went behind. Sure we came back and won but we really shouldn't be falling behind. My international players were back so I couldn't use that as an excuse. I'll stick with "my players need to get used to the new style and new formation". Yeah that sounds good.

AS FAN 2-3 AS-GNN - Another disjointed performance and I was starting to think I've made a terrible terrible decision. We didn't deserve anything from the game and the late goal was always going to be a consolation rather than a signal of intent. I'm really missing the players who are ineligible. I have a feeling this is going to be a case of get through this season and work on next season. Either way this is still a step up from Urana FC even if it doesn't seem like it right now.

Espoir 2-3 AS FAN - We are going to win the league! Woooo! We stormed into a 3-0 lead and suddenly life was good again then 2 quick goals one before halftime and one after it gave me that usual sinking feeling. We held on but that's exactly what it is. Holding on! They had a chance in the 93rd minute which I bet my house on them scoring. I was happy they didn't...my wife however misses our old home.

So after holding out on you fine fine people this is what the table looks like.

table%20after%2015_zpspwukuwqu.jpg 

We were 2nd when I took over so that defeat against AS-GNN is looking costly at the moment but with 11 games still to play its all to play for.

Just for confirmation. 2nd qualifies for the African Conf. Cup while 3rd gets you nothing. That's the fine margin I need to deal with. 2nd is essential if I'm going to attract the better players so I can finally be in with a chance of challenging AS Douanes. Speaking of which they have now lost twice in the same season...losers!

In the end it was nice of AS FAN to make it seem like I've never left Urana FC but giving me 2 wins and 2 losses!

Summary!

Number of Niger Under 20 players before the Urana game - 5

Number of Niger Under 20 players after the Urana game - 0

Number of goals scored - 8

Number of goals conceded - 8

Still to come!

May in Niger 

The Start of the Niger Cup (my ticket out of this hell hole)

 

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Chapter 5.3 "Is it June yet!?"

May was a bumper month of games. Much more than I have been used to recently.

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AS FAN 1-1 Sahel SC - Cracks were beginning to emerge. This wasn't a defeat but it felt like one. If we were to stand any chance of finishing 2nd we needed to be winning our home games. We were ahead early in the 2nd half but once again we were holding on only this time we didn't manage it and they grabbed a deserved equaliser with 15 minutes to go. The game turned again and we started looking dangerous but it was too little too late. We didn't deserve to snatch one although I wouldn't have complained if we did!

US GN 2-2 AS FAN - Another draw but a completely different feeling. We equalised with 5 minutes to go to snatch a point away from home against one of our rivals at the top of the league. Brilliant. We didn't really deserve it as we were clearly 2nd best throughout. We went down twice but showed the fight to come back twice. We were fighting just to stay in the game but in the end we picked up what could be a valuable point. I'd seen enough though to make me think we need a change of formation and a change of tactics.

Jangorza 2-4 AS FAN - Once again we went behind against the worst team in the top flight but we picked up the win and advanced to the next round of the cup. This was always going to be a potential banana skin so I was just glad to get through it. It wasn't a brilliant performance but in the cup all that matters is getting through. 4 goals with the new formation was encouraging but conceding 2 was a worry.

AS SONIDEP 1-2 AS FAN - We were brilliant here and fully deserved the late winner. We once again were behind early but equalised quickly. We bombarded the home goal and it was beginning to look like one of those games. Fortunately we managed to strike and pick up the 3 points. We had some catching up to do after back to back draws in the league and this was the best place to start.

AS FAN 2-2 AS Police (NIG) - 1 step forward 2 steps back. We were the better team but struggled to take our chances. They only had 5 attempts but scored 2 of them. They were clinical and we weren't, that was the difference between the two teams. I'm going to put it down as just one of those days and move quickly on. We needed to improve our home form and fast otherwise this season could quickly get away from us.

AS FAN 3-0 Dan Kassawa - There was a little bit of personal revenge needed here. This is the team that beat me despite having 0 shots. The first half flew by as nothing really happened but we came alive in the second! They didn't have any answers for us as we kept asking question after question. In the end 3 wasn't flattering and if we had played that way for 90 minutes it could have easily been 8. We were through to the quarter final of the cup and I was starting to believe we could win it. Although the top 4 were all still in the competition, and I draw one of them...away.

Dan Kassawa 0-1 AS FAN - How many times does this happen? You play the same team twice in a row. It was a different game and this one stayed tight and cagey throughout. They definitely had more than 0 shots this game! It looked like it was going to finish in a 0-0 draw, a draw neither side could argue with until our big defender Matthew stepped up to power a header in the back of the net. A vital 3 points. I think I've picked up more points away from home with both teams this season.

All in all it was an unbeaten month and we were still in the cup. But how had those draws effected me in the league.

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We were 2nd thanks to playing a game more than US GN. It was going to be a photo finish with only 6 games to go. Goal difference may yet play an important part. As you can see I was going to have to do well very to come through in the cup. The way I see it though, with the teams both of us could have drawn they will be equally unhappy drawing me as I was drawing them.

Next month was going to be a vital one. 

Summary!

Number of games played - 7 (seven!)

Number of defeats - 0

Number of non league teams I could have drawn in the cup - 3

Number of times I've played a non league team in the cup - 0

Still to come!

A big June in Niger

The Quarter Final of the Niger Cup

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Chapter 5.4 "Goals? Overrated!"

So into a very important month.

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It was thrilling.

AS FAN 1-1 Olympic FC (NIG) - Good to see my home form is improving, oh wait no its not! We couldn't take advantage of a slip in the league by US GN as we dropped 2 more points at home. Once again we took the league only to see it disappear. We are coming back well in games but not holding onto a lead well. It almost makes me wish we would start conceding the first goal!

US GN 0-1 AS FAN - This was huge, the first half was even and cagey as no team wanted to make the first mistake. We started strongly in the second half and grabbed the lead. From then on it was as 50/50 as you can get, they missed chances, we missed chances. We held on to claim a huge victory and move onto the semi final of the cup. It would be a two legged affair. I drew AS-GNN. It could have been better but it could have been much worse!

AS Dounaes (NIG) 1-0 AS FAN - We gave as good as we got but ultimately the best team in Niger were too strong for us. I wasn't too downhearted about the defeat considering it was only 1-0. It did mean we would be left chasing the pack. Its actually our first defeat since we have changed the formation. Fine margins are the difference at the moment. I honestly think next season (if I'm here) I can give them a good run for their money. As long as I can strengthen a few positions.

AS FAN 1-0 Zumunta - 3rd straight 1-0 game bought a rather boring June to an end. I wasn't complaining here. We struck in the 1st half and never really looked back. They weren't dangerous as we saw them off with relative ease. It was an important win, it kept us in the loop for a 2nd place finish.

So all in all not a very exciting month but a big month in terms of the league and the cup.

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It really couldn't be closer for that 2nd spot with 3 games to go. It's also stupidly close at the bottom to avoid that relegation playoff match. My last 3 games were my old club Urana FC and the current bottom 2. The final game of the season is US GN v AS-GNN.

I had a feeling if I managed to win my last 3 games that would be enough to seal 2nd place.

Summary!

Number of goals saw across 4 games - 5

Number of winks I managed during most of the games - 40

Number of points separating 2nd and 4th - 0

Still to come!

The final month of the league season.

Season summary and awards 

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Chapter 5.5 "Date with destiny"

Ok so heading into the final month I was still fighting on two fronts. 

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Nassara 2-3 AS FAN - This was a game both teams needed to win for completely different reasons and it showed. We started strong, scoring in the 4th minute but the game would be level by the 11th minute. We retook the lead just before the hour mark only to find ourselves level 2 minutes later. Both sides were desperate for the 3 points. We retook the lead for the 3rd time with 17 minutes to go but this time held on for a brilliant win. They may find themselves 2nd bottom but if they show that fight for the rest of the season they should be fine. 

Next up was the 2 legged semi final.

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AS FAN 2-3 AS-GNN - I've bundled them both together here. As you can see I went out 3-2 on aggregate. I took the lead in the first leg in a first half I dominated. They dominated the 2nd half and equalised. Nobody could argue with the full time result and we went home knowing a win or a scoreless draw would be enough to send us into the final. We once again took the lead in the second leg and we were cruising to the final. Then half time happened. AS-GNN come out and played like they had nothing to lose. They had equalised before the hour mark and 7 minutes later would find themselves ahead thanks to an own goal by my keeper. It was a long way back from there as away goals would have knocked us out. In the end we had no response. We would be gracing the Niger Premier League once again. AS-GNN would go onto lose to AS Douanes as they completed a domestic double.

We had to get over the disappointment quickly. We had "2 cup finals" left. (Everybody loves a good cliche!)

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AS FAN 4-1 Urana FC - There was no room for sentiment against my former club as we swiftly disposed of them. It was 1-1 with 15 minutes to go and bad thoughts were creeping into my head. Luckily 2 goals in as many minutes saw us hold a comfortable lead before the icing was put on the cake with 3 minutes to go. It was a good way to finish our home campaign for the season. 

Jangorzo 0-2 AS FAN - I've lost count how many times I've played this team this season. I won't be playing them next season that's for sure! We never looked back from the goal we scored in the 2nd minute. We controlled the game and if I was being critical (which I am) we should have really scored more than 2. The game wasn't really put to bed until the hour mark. 

So we finished the season strongly winning 3 out of 3 but with the points level on the last update was it enough to bag 2nd place?

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Yes it was. By a country mile in the end. 

I went into the final game with a 2 point lead over US GN and after US GN v AS-GNN finished 1-1 2nd place was mine before I had even played Jangorzo, but why let that get in the way of a good story!

So 2nd place was mine which meant only one thing.

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This will help me convince better players to come to me in the hopes of closing that 12 point gap at the top.

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Overall I would said its been a successful season and a building block to challenge next season. The players who were previously ineligible will be free for selection and I'm sure there will be a brand new small Nigerien village will my name on it.

The only thing that will stop me challenging AS Douanes (NIG) next season is if their manager get poached somewhere else and I get the job. A manager can dream can't he! Otherwise I've been told Voodoo works well.

Summary!

Number of French words learnt - All of them! I am now a fluent French speaker. Tout la fruit and everything!

Level of expectation for next season - High

Number of unsuccessful attempts at creating a voodoo doll of the AS Douanes manager - 6

Still to come!

The build up to the new Niger Premier League Season

 

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Now I need all your opinion on something.

Due to AS Douanes winning the domestic double it means I've qualified for the Niger Super Cup.

Normally the Super Cup is just a glorified friendly but the board have given me an expectation for it. (Try not to get outclassed).

Now my dilemma is would winning the Niger Super Cup class as a cup and give me free range to consider the country complete? 

I know its a little bit of a cop out but my thinking is I've earned the right to be in the Niger Super Cup so if the board give it an expectation and I win it then I would be free to leave the country and move on. If I took over a job and they were in a Super without me doing anything I probably wouldn't count it but due to me being the reason the club has qualified for the Super Cup I feel its acceptable to count it. (Have I justified it enough yet or do you need more).

Obviously I wouldn't actually leave the job just yet but it would mean a new country loaded and it would take a little bit of pressure off.

What does everybody else think?

Of course all of this is irrelevant unless I beat AS Douanes. Something I'm not very confident in doing!

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I think the board's expectations make the "winning this cup" thing ok.  It isn't like the Mickey Mouse Cup in Sweden (or England, for that matter), where no one truly cares (much less the board).

But, it's up to you.  Your rules, your interpretation -- judge, jury and executioner, all in one.

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Chapter 5.6 "Its like a turnstile!"

The transfer window was open and it was a very very busy time to be the manager of AS FAN. We bought in new fewer than 13 players! We did lose 9 however. 

The aim was to strengthen both wing backs, the midfield and maybe another striker. In the end I just found myself trying to replace the good players we lost. 

I think on the whole the squad is better than it was at the end of the season but whether or not I can compete with AS Douanes is a different matter.

They hadn't improved their squad in the slightest, I don't think they really needed to.

For your viewing pleasure I present to you the new crop of AS FAN players. (All of these signings were made during the window and not necessarily before the season started).

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As you can see my new signings fit into 3 categories.

1) Slot straight into the first team

2) Squad players

3) Players who wouldn't even see the light of day.

I think I was guilty of panic buying a few players but in the end its the results that will ultimately judge me!

Summary!

Number of new players - 13

Number of players lost - 9

Number of new names on the enemies list - 9

Number of potential U20 players - 7

Number of actual U20 players - 0

Still to come!

Friendlies

Expectations

Niger Super Cup

Start of the Niger Premier League

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Chapter 5.7 "I'll have a one way ticket to anywhere but here!"

So as the new season was fast approaching I only had one thing on my mind. Win the Super Cup and get the hell out of this country. 

Of course the board knew nothing of this and kept sending me messages about the upcoming season.

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My wage budget and transfer budget has sky rocketed. Not like I would get anywhere near those numbers.

So the board got adventurous this season and demanded I at least win a game in the Niger Cup instead of merely competing in it.

If I was to stay at the club my personal expectations were to challenge for the league title, 2nd being the bare minimum and to reach the final of the cup. I still felt winning the Niger Cup was the best way out of this country (apart from the Super Cup of course...). The African Conf. Cup doesn't start till February so I won't get the expectation for that for a few months yet, although it better be "try not to get pasted".

So with the expectations out the way it was time to start with some friendlies (which I had to organise myself...thanks Assistant Manager!)

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I won't go into too much detail except to say it was a pretty damn good preseason.

We played 2 Niger Premier League teams and one non league team. Neither really caused any problems as we breezed to 3 wins out of 3.  Its set us up perfectly for our date with destiny and the chance to consider Niger complete.

All we had to do was beat the best team in the country in the Niger Super Cup.

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"Quick cancel that one way ticket...what do you mean I can't get my money back...what the hell am I going to do with credit!"

AS FAN 0-3 AS Douanes - Wow. Just wow. It was 0-0 at half time and I was starting to believe we could nick this then 2 goals in 2 minutes condemned me to another season in Niger. As you can see from the stats I had no cause for complaints really. They were much the better team and deserved the win. The most frustrating thing wasn't the loss it was the manner of the loss. We had a really good preseason and I was actually feeling confident we could pull it off. We are further back than I thought. Now I'm convinced I need to fluke the cup if I'm going to get out of here. Or hope the manager of AS Douanes gets bored of winning and retires from football.

So another season in Niger knowing I'm probably going to need a near perfect season in order to topple AS Douanes. That includes at least beating them once over the course of the season. Pray for me.

Summary!

Number of preseason wins - 3

Number of crappy pointless useless cups I didn't want to win anyway losses - 1

Number of bottles of Johnnie Walker drunk out of depression - 4

Still to come!

The bumper start to the Niger Premier League

The draw for the African Conf. Cup

The Niger Cup (ages away yet)

Random Niger Fact

The main staple food of Niger is millet. (Yeah I don't know what Millet is either)

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Chapter 5.8 "Fine lets get this season over and done with!"

I didn't have long to dwell on the disappointment of the Niger Super Cup as the league was starting! We needed a strong start something to show that we mean business this season...you can already guess the first result can't you.

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AS FAN 1-2 Sahel SC - My god we were terrible! They opened the scoring with a stunning free kick only for us to respond 2 minutes later with a stunning free kick of our own. Allo Moctar was one of the players I thought might be a fringe player, well that's how you bag a place in my starting lineup. He was pretty much the only bright spark in an otherwise crappy day. Sahel SC dominated and although they didn't grab the winner until 8 minutes from time, I didn't have a leg to stand on when arguing they didn't deserve it. Not the start I had in mind.

AS Douanes (NIG) 0-0 AS FAN - I feared the worse following the 3-0 defeat 2 weeks previous and the poor showing in the opening game of the season but not only did we grab a point we earned the point. It was a very even game, both teams having plenty of attempts but not many troubling the keepers. We were full value for the point in the end and nearly snatched it. It was only 1 point from 6 but holding the best team in the league to a goalless draw in their own back yard suddenly rejuvenated the team. 

AS FAN 5-2 AS SONIDEP - Now that's more like it! It was a slow first half with us grabbing a goal just before half time. We probably edged the first half but it was looking like a close game. We started the second half as we finished the first and soon doubled the lead. They threatened a comeback shortly after but two goals in 6 minutes silenced the travelling fans. We added a 5th in stoppage time. A perfect response and perfect accompaniment to the previous draw.

AS Police (NIG) 0-2 AS FAN - The season was starting to pick up pace. We struck early and never looked troubled. In fact the home side didn't start playing until they were 2-0 down but by then it was too late. We did enough to keep them at bay and keep our 2nd clean sheet away from home. It seems that our away form was picking up from where it left off last season as well. If only we could rely on our home form.

AS FAN 1-0 US GN - I was weary of US GN, they ran us close last season in the battle for 2nd place but had started the season terrible finding themselves 2nd bottom. We were in control pretty much all the way through only being threatened a few times over 90 minutes. We got our goal in the first half and played sensibly in the second half. In the end I was more than happy to hold on and claim the third straight win. US GN are proof that its hard to maintain a strong squad when players are so free to move about. It makes AS Douanes' success even more impressive and shows that it wasn't going to be easy for us to repeat what we did last season.

Dan Kassawa 1-2 AS FAN - I have a personal vendetta against Dan Kassawa (I mean seriously how can you lose 1-0 when the opposition doesn't even have a shot!) so not only was it sweet to win, this was coupled with the fact that it was on their turf and it was a late goal. They are actually a decent side so this 3 points is probably better than it looks. It means we are still 100% away from home and we are now unbeaten in 5. We have recovered brilliantly from the starting blip.

So what did that do to the early standings?

table%20after%206_zps7zyuad7o.jpg 

I have no idea why Zumunta have only played 4 compared to everybody else's 6. Maybe their pitch has caught fire because of the heat. 

Either way things are looking tight at the top. 4 wins in a row has brought us right back in the title hunt. AS Douanes (NIG) are exactly where everybody expects them to be with a game in hand as well. The important thing is not letting that lead get bigger than 3. If we can somehow beat them at home in the return fixture we just might be able to win this thing. We will need help from the other teams though chipping away at their win column. 

I've faced 3 out of the top 6 already so fingers crossed the winning streak will continue as I start to face the bottom half teams.

Summary!

Number of teams separated by just 3 points - 6

Number of ex clubs bottom of the league - 1

Number of games in January - 1

Still to come!

A very quick January 

A bumper February

The start of the African Conf. Cup

Random Niger Fact 

Niger's capital city is Niamey

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17 hours ago, mjaferrie said:

Last time I checked in you were still in Kosovo, nice progress! I'm chuckling the whole way through.

Ahhh Kosovo, when life was so much simpler. Winters were cold and summers were...a little less cold and the players were nice and greyed out. 

Thanks for the comment mate. Makes doing this worthwhile. Otherwise I just look a little sad.

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3 hours ago, andychar said:

Ahhh Kosovo, when life was so much simpler. Winters were cold and summers were...a little less cold and the players were nice and greyed out. 

Thanks for the comment mate. Makes doing this worthwhile. Otherwise I just look a little sad.

Haha, I know the feeling mate!  Echo! ... echo... echo......

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18 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Hahaha...The little comments do make a huge difference :)

They do and I appreciate every single one of them.

16 hours ago, danmcconnell1 said:

Loving this story, great progress so far and comedic value is top notch! KUTGW!

Cheers mate. I may have made a mistake years and years ago (in the game) but more on that later!

16 hours ago, Northernpilgrim said:

Douanes look a really tough nut to crack. Good luck mate 😃

I think I'll need more than luck...voodoo just isn't working anymore.

Chapter 5.9 "Competing against African's finest...well nearly"

So with January being only one match I will also update February as well. I know I know I'm a generous God.

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Zumunta 0-0 AS FAN - So there is only one game in January and boy did we take full advantage of it! I don't know what happened in this match because I found some paint drying in the tunnel and just couldn't drag myself away. Either way I was told it was a dull game and neither side deserved anything...not even a point. Both teams should have been deducted points for crimes against football.

AS FAN 4-0 Olympic FC (NIG) - Now that's more like it. I never know which is better. 1 striker scoring 4 goals or 4 different goalscorers. Neither of my strikers have really been on fire but everybody seems to be happy to help which is always a good thing. We dominated this game and never looked back from scoring an early penalty. Olympic would really struggle this season so this win wasn't out of the ordinary.

Al-Ahli Banghazi 2-0 AS FAN - We were 30/1 to win this game...we didn't win this game. I knew I shouldn't have stuck us on my accumulator. They were 2 up within 9 minute and I was fearing the worse. Luckily we held them back without really threatening to grab an away goal. Our stay in the African Conf. Cup looks like it will be short lived, but I think that was expected anyway. It was a nice different competition to have and won we felt we had earned.

Nassara 0-1 AS FAN - To say this game was comfortable would be an understatement but I was happy to pick up the 3 points. We had a few nervous moments in the 2nd half but in the end we were good value for what was a very important win.

AS FAN 2-0 ASN Nigelec - Another great win with 2 goals coming at the end of each half. It was an even game and for one of the only times I can say we took our chances well while they didn't. Maybe it was the bummer TV crew and John Motson in the crowd commentating that really spurred us on! 

Espoir 0-3 AS FAN - Our away form has never been a problem and in fact we are unbeaten away from home so far this season. This was an easy game although the points weren't secure until 2 quick goals went in midway through the 2nd half. The title challenge had hit full swing. We just needed to avoid doing what we normally do at this stage and bugger it up.

AS FAN 2-1 Al-Ahli Banghazi - Fantastic effort shown here and we actually took the lead...its the hope that kills you. We were the better team and just when we looked like we were going to level the tie we conceded. The game was flat after that as we needed 3 goals. We grabbed a late consolation so at least we won the game. 3-2 on agg against a team who were 1/50 to beat us. No complaints there.

So how would an unbeaten month in the league affect the league?

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Don't ask. I have no idea why AS Douanes think they need to give us a headstart!

In the end I only have one thing to say WE ARE TOP THE LEAGUE SAY WE ARE TOP THE LEAGUE. If everybody could ignore that we could easily be overtaken by 2 teams that would be great. Goal difference is looking good, wouldn't surprise me if that could be the difference come the end of the season.

Summary!

Number of games played to qualify for the African Conf. Cup - 26

Number of games played to be knocked out of the African Conf. Cup - 2

Amount of walls that still need painting in the tunnel - 1

Still to come!

March in Niger

The start of the Niger Cup

Details on how I have royally screwed up 

Random Niger Fact

Niger's population is 17.83 million. Which makes the regular attendance of 193 really depressing.

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On 29/01/2017 at 08:08, Northernpilgrim said:

Loving the random 'amount of' items in your summaries, a cracking read and very interesting career. Nice work!

Thanks for the comment. I just wanted to add something a bit different to what everybody else is doing. 

Chapter 5.10 "March Madness!"

If a college basketball term doesn't perk you in a the morning then I'm afraid your dead inside.

Anyway my March Madness was only 3 games but 2 of them were against my fellow title rivals and the other was against my old club Urana FC. Madness!!

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AS FAN 1-1 AS-GNN - So not the season defining result I was looking for but it could have been worse I suppose. In reality it should have been better. We were the dominant team we just couldn't turn our pressure into meaningful attacks and when they equalised the draw was going to be the only outcome. We stay unbeaten but are left with a sense of what could have been.

Urana FC 0-3 AS FAN - After being beat by them on this ground last season I took immense please in winning this time. I have nothing against Urana FC in fact the fans have more reason to be annoyed with me but still doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good beat down! The result flattered us really with 2 goals in the last 10 minutes but I wasn't complaining goal difference could be a factor and this was a great result to grab.

AS FAN 1-1 AS Douanes (NIG) - 91st minutes equaliser! Ibrahim Mohammed now has the key to the ground and if I found him sat at my desk I would happily be his foot stool. We were poor here and never really got going. AS Douanes scored early on and it looked like it was going to be 2-0 at any given moment. Up steps Ibrahim! Cooley slotting home after a delicious through ball to send the 200 odd fans delirious. At the start of the season I said to my wife if I was going to have any chance of winning the league I would have to beat AS Douanes once. I haven't beaten them but I've also not lost against them, I'll take that any day of the week. My wife just shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't care (although she wasn't as polite with her words.)

So 1 win and 2 draws against my title rivals left the table looking like this.

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So we are top only this time its by right!

The two draws weren't the end of the world and as I said before Goal Difference could still play a huge part. We can't ignore Sahel SC either with a game in hand they could potentially only be 4 points behind. They are the only team so far to beat me as well. With 12 games to go its anybodies.

Summary! 

Number of times I've posed as Ibrahim Mohammad's foot stool - 42

Number of games unbeaten - 13

Number of games I need to win in a row to guarantee the title - 12

Still to come!

A bumper April

Start of the Niger Cup

Information of my epic fail

Random Niger Fact

A mere 2.8% of the total land area in Niger is cultivated. Making the trip home from the pub a long one.

 

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Chapter 5.11 "The wheels on the bus come falling off, falling off, falling off"

So a massive month that could shape this title race.

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AS SONIDEP 0-0 AS FAN - We sure know how to entertain the fans! This was another bad game. Neither side looked like they were bothered. 0-0 was the only result and it's a bit of a dent in our title challenge.

Sahel SC 1-1 AS FAN - This wasn't a bad point on the face of it. Sahel were doing well and were trying to add another horse to the race. We were fortunate to get a goal just before the half as our play didn't really earn it. Sahel came out in the second half with a point to prove and they proved it by equalising and looking deadly with every attack. We held on in the end to claim a good point really.

AS FAN 1-1 AS Police (NIG) - If the last one was a good point this was a terrible awful point. Once again we were given the lead thanks to an own goal and really we should have doubled it. This game the strikers decided they couldn't hit a barn door so my reaction when they scored they one of their only shots on goal wasn't one of surprise. It was one of those games where it felt like no matter what I did or how I managed we weren't getting anything from this game. 4 draws in a row and we haven't officially scored ourselves in 3 games.

US GN 0-2 AS FAN - US GN were battling with us last season for 2nd but weren't anywhere near us this time, although this was still a very good win. We needed something after 4 straight draws and this was just what the doctor ordered. A strong performance from everybody and a goal in each half was no less than we deserved. I think finally we had turned a corner and grabbed our form back.

AS FAN 1-2 Dan Kassawa - Hello darkness my old friend. Everything was going well in the first half we had the lead and we were looking dominant. Then I told them to keep up the good work at half time. They didn't keep up the good work. In fact they played completely the opposite of how they played in the first half! Dan Kassawa scored twice in 2 minutes to completely turn the game on its head and we just didn't have an answer. The title bid was beginning to unravel before my eyes! It was our first defeat since the start of the season and once again it was at home, we remain unbeaten away this season!

So what damage has this month done to the table.

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We at least the table looks nice and tidy now everybody has played the same amount of games.

The month had took its toll and we were 3 points off top but I think it could have been very worse seeing as though we have only won 1 in 6!

Sahel SC are still not out of the race and we actually play AS-GNN in the 2nd to last game of the season meaning I just need to take advantage of a AS Douanes slip up...easier said than done.

Summary!

Number of bribes to opposition players - 2

Number of boots kicked in frustration - 15

Number of times I've had to convince myself a draw is better than nothing - Far, far too many.

Still to come

The final few months of the season

Niger Cup starts (I drew Urana FC in the first round...naturally)

Random Niger Fact

Niger borders seven countries. All of which I'm forbidden to cross until I at least win a trophy.

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Chapter 5.12 "I'm a manager...get me out of here!"

So May was going to be a massive month in both the league and a potential cup run.

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AS FAN 2-0 Zumunta - A steady win and a much needed win! We did everything we needed too in the first half which gave me the option to rest players ahead of the cup game against my former club. It was nice to get the win here as the previous game with Zumunta was a dull 2-0. This was a dull 2nd half but by then I couldn't care less!

Urana FC 0-2 AS FAN - We were made to wait for the breakthrough here but we were good value for a 2-0 win and safe passage into the next round. With the league being so close a cup run was essential, it might be my only way to escape this country!

AS FAN 5-0 Nassara - A brilliant win and a brilliant 2nd half. We were poor in the first and I told them I expect much better in the 2nd half, for once they listened and scored 5. A big 3 points and it wouldn't do my goal difference any harm! Once again despite a big score the goals were spread across the team. It means we aren't reliant on one player which could be vital in case of injury.

Olympic FC (NIG) 0-3 AS FAN - Another win and another clean sheet. Our defence has been brilliant in the run in to the end of the season and amazingly so have our strikers. Everybody seems to be singing off the same hymn sheet and its just what we needed after a poor month last month.

ASN Nigelec 2-1 AS FAN - This is my fault, I dared to dream again. Luckily my team was on hand to bring me back to Earth! The day started well with a penalty but went down hill very quickly. We had a man sent off just before the half and it was then upto us to try and keep them out. We didn't do very well. They dominated the second half as is expected and got the two goals needed to sink us. A bitter bitter blow in the title race.

Malbaza 0-1 AS FAN - Another penalty but this time no red card and no comeback gave us a win in the cup and another tight game. They are a non-league team but were still classed as favourites pre match. Seeing that made me suspicious otherwise I might have played a weakened team. Luckily I didn't otherwise I would have gone crashing out. 3rd round awaits.

AS FAN 1-0 Espoir - 75 minutes. I had to wait 75 bloody minutes! This was a horrible game to watch as it was end to end, either team could have scored and the other would have no cause for complaints. Luckily it was us who struck first and we held on for a huge 3 points. Every game is a cup final now (love a good cliche). 

Table time!

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My heart can't take this. 2 games to go and the next league game AS-GNN away. Basically win both my remaining games and win the league. Simple.

Summary!

Number of mild heart attacks - 2

Number of refs bribed - 2

Number of games left - 2

Number of balls Hitler had - Not 2

Still to come!

The gripping finale of the Niger Premier League

Continuation of the Niger Cup

Details of my colossal screw up.

Random Niger fact

Niger gets its name from the River Niger, so does Nigeria.

 

 

 

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Chapter 5.13 "It's the magic of the cup!"

So attention was turned away from the league and onto the cup. Would I be staying in Niger or would I be able to taste one of its 7 bordering countries. 

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AS FAN 2-1 AS Sonintcha - A somewhat uncomfortable win in the quarter final of the cup but a win nonetheless. We were 2-0 up and cruising before they grabbed a goal before half time. They battered our goal the second half and were probably unfortunate not to force extra time. We weren't complaining we reached the semi final for the second year in a row and for the second year in a row it would be against AS-GNN. This meant we faced them 3 times in a row. Each match as important as the other.

AS FAN 2-0 AS-GNN - We have not been convincing in any game in the cup this year. It seems we have held on for dear life every time we have played and most of the games have been against teams who weren't even in the Niger Premier League. So imagine my surprised when we not only beat the league leaders 2-0 but dominated the game from start to finish. 2-0 is a great score to take into the 2nd leg but it could and should have been more. Yeah that's right I always want more! If we could grab 1 goal it would mean AS-GNN would need 4. I was confident heading into the second leg.

Now the reason why I've separated them as opposed to clumping them together like I did last season will become evident when you see the 2nd leg fixture.

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AS-GNN 3-1 AS FAN - I was never comfortable in 90 minutes of this game. Whats the worst thing that can happen when defending a 2 goal lead? Yeah I conceded after 3 minutes. Too be fair it was a wake up call and we looked a lot better after it (the previous 3 minutes were terrible). We held them at bay and were looking good. This was until they went 2-0 up 4 minutes after half time. It looked like there was only going to be one winner, luckily we managed to counter and grabbed a vital away goal. It left them needing 2. 5 minutes later it was 3-1 to set up a showdown in the final 20 minutes. We clung on and were able to book our place in the Niger Cup final. 

I was caught in two minds, obviously I was delighted to make the cup final but then I thought about that game as an individual instead of a second leg. They had just beaten us 3-1 and were good value for it, we play them next in the league on the same ground. If they win they are champions, then the Cup Final becomes even more important if I'm to escape this country.

Summary!

Amount of rounds I've squeaked through - All of them

Amount of cares I gave it about it - None!

Still to come!

The final 2 games of the Niger Premier League

The Final of the Niger Cup

Awards and end of season summary 

Details of my face palm moment.

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Chapter 5.14 "This is a really long chapter!"

Here we go! Win and I'm top of the table with 1 game left, lose and AS-GNN are champions. Draw and I will need to beat Urana FC and get some help along the way.

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AS-GNN 0-2 AS FAN - Ibrahim Hassane along with Ibrahim Mohammad now have full control of the club. Huge win! I expected a cagey performance but we came out with fire in our belly and took the lead after 15. It was no more than we deserved. They came out and starting playing after that but it was an even game. We struck what turned out to be the vital blow just before half time. A 2-0 lead I find can be quite dangerous but we held out nerve brilliantly to record a massive win and take us to the top of the table.

Going into the last game any one of 3 teams could still win it.

1st AS FAN - 52

2nd AS-GNN - 50

3rd AS Douanes - 49

All we knew was a point would more than likely be enough thanks to our considerable goal difference.

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AS FAN 1-1 Urana FC - And a point is what we got. Not to ruin a good story but both AS Douanes and AS-GNN played before me and both dropped points meaning I was champions before a ball was even kicked. Taking that into consideration I played a weakened team in order to focus on the cup final. We were naturally poor and gave quite a disjointed performance but Ibrahim Hassane demanded to be brought on, I looked up from my position as foot stool and gave the order. He popped up with a late equaliser ensuring we finished the season on a semi high. Not that any cared at that moment.

So it left the final table looking like this.

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A comfortable 3 point lead in the end and I think you'll agree with me when I say it was never in doubt :ackter:

AS-GNN went from missing out on match point to not even qualifying for the African Conf. Cup. Very harsh on them.

So the only thing left to do was to wrap up the season with the cup final.

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ASN Nigelec 4-4 AS FAN - What a game of football! I took the lead 4 times only to be pegged back each and every time by the same man! Mohamed Amadou will have the distinction of scoring 4 goals in a cup final and still missing out on the winners medal. Every time I took the lead I thought that was it only for them to come roaring back. The half time score was 1-1 the full time score was 3-3 and after extra time 4-4. It was a shame there had to be a loser but I was glad it was them! 5-4 on penalties with them missing the 5th and final penalty in heart breaking fashion. A brilliant and unlikely double was in the bag and it was a brilliant way to say goodbye to Niger.

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We held our nerve when it really mattered. There was only one thing left to do.

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So a country which started with me losing my first competitive fixture despite the opposition failing to record a single shot ends with a brilliant double. I will look on my time in Niger with fondness. And alcohol, lots and lots of alcohol.

Now the eagle eyed of you will notice it says I will remain manager for Iran Under 23s. "But I cant remember him ever mentioning that" I hear you whimper.

I actually took control of them half way through the season and qualified for the Asian U23 champions with ease. But it wasn't worth mentioning at all because here lies the screw up....

Summary!

Number of trophies won - 2!

Amount of time it took me to board a plane out of Niger - 15 minutes

Still to come!

A new country is drawn

How I screwed up

Random Niger Fact

In real life AS FAN are actually the defending champions. In a computer game they are now the defending champions. Suck it AS Douanes!

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Now before I start the next chapter I need to fill you in on what happened.

I drew my new country.

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The Cayman Islands

I was excited as it was the reason I chose to do this sort of save. Manager in places I would never have imagined.

I went to remove Niger and add Cayman Islands...but nothing, nada bubkis.

It turns out when I loaded the database at the start of the save I had completely forgot to add any North American country meaning there was only USA and Mexico. It was like I had channelled my inner Donald Trump, without the Mexico hatred. 

I weighed up just ignoring the North American countries but decided I would be losing out on 30 odd countries, each one a country I would never look to manage in normally (apart from the British Virgin Islands, can't drag me away form that place).

So I was travelling back to 2016...again!

I started a completely new save with North American countries a plenty.

I didn't want to start completely from scratch again ie Sunday League Footballer and no badges. So I tried to match exactly how I left it after leaving AS FAN.

I had earned Continental B badge so that's what I started with. Thanks to my couple of years in Niger I had learnt fluent French so I added that.

I played about with my past experience. When I had to restart my reputation was 2 stars. In order to get to that I had to make my past experience International Player (National). I started the game with 22 caps and 6 goals. Not bad at all really, especially when considering my backstory as a goalkeeper.  

Its not the ideal situation but I think it was for the best. 

So without further ado the next chapter! 5 years in the pass.

 

 

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Chapter 6.1 "Back to the past...again"

I started unemployed because I would have been if I had been carrying on the new save. It didn't take me long to find a new job because there were a couple available in the Cayman Islands.

Luckily this time I had corrected the issue with greyed out players by ticking the box which ensured all playable teams had their squad filled.

I applied for 3 jobs and each one offered me the job. I weighed up my options and decided to go with...

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Elite SC (CAY)

I turned down the chance to manage Roma (CAY) and Scholars who were actually the defending champions. 

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It was a long flight. That long I left Niger in 2021 and landed in the Cayman Islands in 2016.

The squad I had inherited wasn't bad but it also wasn't great. We had zero RB or LB and every single player I scouted were deemed not good enough for the squad. I mean how bad do you have to be in order for the scout to say "Nah I'd rather have a big gap there where a player should be rather than sign this player". 

My tactics are heavily CM based so I needed to improve that aspect of the squad. I was confident that I would only need to make a couple of signings rather than invade a small Cayman Islands village. The country is that small that I would probably have ended up nicking a kid from the next door neighbours.

Finances were well...see for yourself.

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Meaning any player I signed would have to be on a free. If I had the budget I would have looked at both the National Team and the Team of the Season and snapped up anybody who didn't belong to me. Unfortunately that wasn't the case here. Hence these players I bought in.

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I should have listened to my scout to be honest. The RB and LB I brought in were garbage and I was starting to think weather or not I had made the right choice. I was happy with the additions I made at CB and CM and was raring to go. I had 100 days of preseason to get through!

Summary!

Number of attempts at doing this save - 3!

Number of new addictions - 4

Number of actual footballers - 2

Still to come!

Expectations

Friendlies

Start of the league season

Random Cayman Islands Fact

Population - 58,435 I'll still get a better attendance than with AS FAN! 

 

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Chapter 6.2 "2016 won't be so bad, its not like every single celebrity in existence dies. I can live through it again. I'm also hearing wonderful things about this Donald Trump..."

And the award for longest and most pointless chapter title goes too...

So preseason 2016...again.

Truth be told I was hoping Cayman Islands was going to be a one season wonder. This is why...

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I had expectations in 4 all cups. I wasn't counting the Charity Shield this year because I didn't earn the right to be there, it was just given to me!

The Presidents Cup was just a straight knock out competition between the 8 teams in the Cayman Islands Premier League while the FA Cup had non league teams as well. I had 3 good chances of escaping this country in one season and I would be disappointed if I didn't take any of them.

I arranged a few friendlies to assess my squad.

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Straight forward friendlies. East End are a non league team so I expected a win here. Fort Lauderdale U23's were the only foreign team I could face, so I did and was happy I did. Bodden Town were one of the favourites for the league so I wanted an early test. I was happy with what I saw. I went into the Charity Shield full of confidence.

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And rightly so!

Scholars 1-2 Elite (CAY) - We were officially away although I think there are only two stadiums in the entire country! We took the lead in the first half and were good value for it. Scholars came out in the second half and force the issue, the deservedly grabbed the equaliser just before the hour mark. From then it was an even game but luckily we struck next and were able to hang on. It was nice to start the season with a bit of silverware but it would mean nothing if its the only thing we won. It was a close game and if its a signal on how the season is going to go its going to be closer than anticipated. Long gone are the days of Prishtina and a guaranteed win!

So a good start with an unbeaten preseason and a trophy already. The season would start against 2 of the teams who should be competing with me for the title. I want to get off to a good start!

Summary!

Number of competitive games played - 1

Number of trophies won - 1

Number of flashbacks (flash forwards?) to a place called Niger - 20

Still to come!

The start of the Cayman Islands Premier League

That's pretty much it

Random Cayman Island Fact

The National Symbol is the Green Sea Turtle. I hope I don't end up on my back.

 

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Chapter 6.3 "Cayman, you can do better than that!"

So the start of the league and it was a tricky start.

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Scholars 1-1 Elite (CAY) - A very good point to start the season. We weren't the better team by a country mile. It seems Scholars were after revenge and they were 10 minutes from getting it. It's going to be a tough season and this was a good start all things considering.

Elite (CAY) 2-1 Bodden Town - This wasn't as easy as the friendly by a long shot. That being said 2 goals 1 in each half was enough to grab the 3 points. They pegged us back just before half time but few could argue we didn't deserve the victory as we dominated in the second half. Some very encouraging stuff.

4 points from 6 against two potential title challenges. I will take that any day of the week. I won't bore you with an early table instead I will plunge straight into the next month!

You lucky lucky people.

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Elite (CAY) 4-1 Academy (CAY) - A nice win here after a slow start. We were second best in the first half and to be honest we were very lucky to go into the half level. It was like watching a different team in the second half. We were cool calm and collected, most importantly we were clinical, putting the game to bed with 3 goals in 9 minutes. If we keep this up we are going to be very hard to beat.

Sunset 0-4 Elite (CAY) - I'm really starting to get a good feeling about this season. 3 wins in a row and back to back 4 goal games. My strikers were looking confident and we weren't being troubled at the back. 2 goals in both halves and the scoreline really didn't flatter us.

Elite (CAY) 0-2 Latinos - What the hell just happened? We were on fire, we were looking unstoppable then this!? The players played like they were on an all night bender and I only allow all night benders 48 hours before a game! What can I say we were truly awful and deserved everything we got. A crash back down to Earth but nothing we can't recover from, everybody is allowed one bad game.

Cayman Athletic 2-1 Elite (CAY) - Ok so the poor performance has spilled into this game. This wasn't as bad of a performance as the last one. It was a 50/50 game that could have gone either way. We have already had one of those this season that went our way, this one didn't. Back to back defeats to end the month wasn't ideal but we needed to pick ourselves up and turn this around. The league is only 21 games so we needed to do that sooner rather than later.

Been a mixed bag of a start and its left the league table looking like this.

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We are the only team to take points off Scholars this season so far so I'm not holding much hope that the lead will stay at 3 after they play the game in hand.

We are where we deserve to be. Back and back losses have put us on the back foot already. It seems like the league has just started but actually we are nearly 1/3 of the way through. Luckily if the lead does increase to 6 points I still need to play Scholars twice yet.

We just need to rediscover that winning formula, otherwise it could easily get away from us and leave us needing a cup win.

Summary!

Number of defeats - 2

Number of shattered dreams - 1

Still to come!

Continuation of the Cayman Islands Premier League

The start of the Presidents Cup

Random Cayman Islands Fact

The average temperature in January is 25 degrees. I'm glad I brought 2 jumpers with me!

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Wow, pretty efficient start. I wonder how Dave&Dave, your new LB/RB duo, turn out. If they fail they might still open a Casual Food chain or something...

As always I love following your random world tour. Entertaining at all times.

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1 hour ago, vossmaj said:

Wow, pretty efficient start. I wonder how Dave&Dave, your new LB/RB duo, turn out. If they fail they might still open a Casual Food chain or something...

As always I love following your random world tour. Entertaining at all times.

I'm ashamed to say I have played through a full season with this team and haven't noticed once that they are both called Dave. I even named one of the screenshots Dave when all the rest are named after their surnames.

I have failed :(

Thanks for the comment. 4 different leagues 4 different nationalities and 3 different 2016's. Its been a journey!

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Chapter 6.4 "Can I go back to the Year 2021?"

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Elite (CAY) 3-1 Roma (CAY) - A good win here and just what the doctor ordered! It looked like a typical Elite performance at one point, we took an early lead and was looking good then all of a sudden we conceded and I would have bet my house on it finishing 1-1. We finally found the net and added a bit of icing on the cake in the last minute. Roma was a team I turned down to go to Elite so I felt I needed to shove the knife in further. A good 3 points and I need a new home after I lost my house in a stupid bet.

Elite (CAY) 1-1 Scholars - Well with this point I think the title has slipped away. The gap is still 6 points but with Scholars not looking like dropping points against anybody else and us being 6 points behind it will be near impossible. In the end it was a good point. We dominated this game and were unlucky to be behind but once again an equaliser in the last 10 minutes at least gave us a little hope in the title race (which would be destroyed completely in the next game).

Elite (CAY) 3-2 Roma (CAY) - I was happy with the draw when it came out, Roma are sitting near the bottom of the table so I saw this as an easy passage into the next round. WRONG! Sure it was a passage into the next round but it wasn't easy at all. We took the lead thanks to Dwayne "The Striker" Wright who had found a bit of form only to find outselves 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go. Luckily their lead lasted only a minute and just as I was thinking about strategies for extra time we grabbed a 3rd and winning goal. I drew Bodden Town away and was bemoaning my luck until I saw it was actually 2 legged. 

Bodden Town 2-1 Elite (CAY) - A must win and we lost. No complaints we were second best throughout and could have been down and out before the half time whistle blew. It was 2-0 after 45 and although we showed some fight in the second half it was very much too little too late. At this point it looked like I was going to have to put all my eggs in the cups basket.

Academy (CAY) 1-4 Elite (CAY) - The bounce back this team deserved, we looked good here. I was debating whether or not to risk my first team against of the presidents cup semi. I'm glad I did as we destroyed the home side. They scored with their only shot on goal and it was already 3-0 by then. We would at least go into the match against Bodden Town with a bit of confidence and maybe even a swagger.

Bodden Town 0-2 Elite (CAY) - A huge victory and a huge penalty right at the death which gave us a two goal lead heading into the 2nd leg. After the disappointment of the league defeat against them I resorted back to the tactic I used at the start of the season. It was a bit more defensive and the tactic paid off. Sure we were under pressure for large amounts of the game but nobody could have argued we didn't deserve it. 2-0 maybe flattered us a little bit but you'll hear zero complaints from me.

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Scholars have started dropping points so suddenly a 4 point gap doesn't seem the end of the world. In fact we are probably better off now than we were at the end of November. Plus we have one foot in the final of a cup. This season hasn't got away from us just yet.

Summary!

Number of different sofa's stayed on - 4

Number of Dave's I didn't even notice! - 1

Chances of winning the league - Slim but alive!

Still to come!

The continuation of the Cayman Islands Premier League

The Finale of the Presidents Cup

The Start of the Cayman Islands FA Cup

Random Cayman Islands Fact

Residents of the Cayman Islands pay no income tax. Hmmm maybe its not the end of the world if I have to spend a few more seasons here.

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