The Long Journey to the Top

[PocketMouse]

Hello everyone,

Its been a long time since I've been on here and posted anything due to just not playing football manager that much anymore but I decided to set myself a challenge to start in the lowest country by the UEFA coefficient and win the top league, main cup and secondary cup.

I have loaded the first 4 countries (Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Finland) that are bottom this list of the UEFA coefficient and will hopefully work my way up the list.  I have no set rules or plans for taking over clubs, I could take over the best team in the country or the worst, it just depends on how I feel at that moment.

I have already played 3 seasons of this and I am really enjoying it.

So since Wales is bottom of the list I went on holiday and set it to "Apply for all jobs" and got my first job offer from Cardiff Metropolitan University but turned it down since its a pretty impossible job but then I got a decent offer from a decent enough team in Newtown FC.

 

2016/17 Newtown FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 10th 

I took over on the 23rd of December and my Christmas present was 2 matches against top dogs TNS which we of course lost.  When I took over Newtown were 10th and had their heads a bit above relegation but a disastrous run of results under me and we were in serious danger of relegation had results gone differently.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Fourth Round

Easily knocked out by a much better Bala Town.

theWord Cup - Second Round

Newtown were already knocked out of this competition before my arrival but probably shouldnt of been beaten so easily by Llandudno.

Key Player

Jason Oswell - The reason Newtown were down so low in the league is probably due to him being out injured for 5 months or so.

 

2017/18 Newtown FC/Gap Connahs Quay FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

 

I messed up the screenshots for this season and didn't take any of the first half of the season at Newtown but I left them in a healthy position of 6th and took over at Connahs Quay who were 11th and 2 points off safety, bit of a risk but that is part of the fun!

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 8th 

I had a brilliant start to life with Connahs Quay and not losing for 9 matches until we lost 3-2 to Carmarthen and then a disappointing 2-2 draw with Conwy meant we narrowly missed out on the European Places Playoff to Aberystwyth Town, but it was good that we managed to stay up so convincingly.  

Newtown managed to finish up in 4th spot and lost to Aberystwyth Town in the European Places Playoff...it would of been very interesting if we had of finished 7th and a return to Newtown for that match.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Semi Final

Blew the opposition out of the water until we reached the semi final and should of blown Conwy out of the water but they seem to be a bit of a dodgy team and they beat us 2-0 with late goals after we went down to 10 men before half time.

theWord Cup - Third Round

Connahs Quay were already knocked out of this competition as they were easily beaten by TNS.

Key Player

Nick Rushton - He was actually on loan at Newtown last season and I was a bit disappointed I couldn't sign him permanently but he was immense this season and ended up with most Man of the Match awards in the league. 

 

2018/19 Gap Connahs Quay FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 3rd

A great season and we managed to make it into the Championship side of the split and we done brilliantly, the last 2 wins over Aberystwyth Town and Bangor City were huge as we managed to grab a Europa League spot without needing to qualify through the playoffs.

Also, Newtown were relegated this season so I was proved right to make the move to Connah Quay.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Fourth Round

I was hoping to reach the semi final again at least but we didnt show up in a tough draw against Bala Town and we were eliminated on penos.

theWord Cup - Runners Up

We had quite an easy time making it to the final which included a local derby against Flint Town which attracted a bumper crown of 211 which was just under half the attendance that showed up to watch us lose 3-1 against TNS which was a pretty obvious result.

Key Player

Stuart Hickman - Scored 30 goals in 38 games over the season and he was a free transfer from Bala Town! Madness that they left him go. 

 

Season	Club			Country	League				Position	Main Cup	Secondary Cup	Champions League	Europa League	Club World Cup

2017/18	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	10th		Fourth Round	N/A		N/A			N/A		N/A
2018/19	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	6th		Third Round	First Round	N/A			N/A		N/A
2018/19	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	8th		Semi Final	N/A		N/A			N/A		N/A
2019/20	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	3rd		Fourth Round	Runner Up	N/A			N/A		N/A

 

[Sassafras]

You will be pushing for the title soon. I would like to try something similar where I win a title in a UK league/cup that isn't England, but it seems tough!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Started well.

Winning a league or cup not in England is easier than you think. Even I have managed it - I won the Welsh Cup with Cefn Druids on FM15.

[PocketMouse]

Isnt the tough part most of the fun  

[PocketMouse]

2019/20 Gap Connahs Quay FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 2nd

I was sure we would get a second place finish this season but when our star striker Stuart Hickman broke his ankle in January it was a bit worrying but luckily for us Richard Grant, a youth product, stepped up and into Hickmans boots and continued the scoring for fun and he only missed out on the top scorer award by 1 goal.  We never really tested TNS this season, they were far better as expected but a 2nd place finish is good.....maybe they should start giving out a prize for finishing 2nd?

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Runner Up

Our first real test in this came from Bala Town in the semi final and we managed to edge them out in extra time so we went into the final against TNS full of belief we could cause an upset but it wasn't to be as we lost out on penalties.

theWord Cup - Third Round

Very disappointing to lose against Bangor City on penalties, we were winning 2-0 and then 3-2 but unfortunately Bangor kept coming back and we lost on penalties.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - First Qualifying Round

I didn't expect us to get up to much in this and we didn't but we did manage to get an away goal which was a good boost.

Key Player

Richard Grant - Brilliant season from our youth product player, big of him to step up after the injury to Stuart Hickman. 

 

Season	Club			Country	League				Position	Main Cup	Secondary Cup	Champions League	Europa League	Club World Cup

2016/17	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	10th		Fourth Round	N/A		N/A			N/A		N/A
2017/18	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	6th		Third Round	First Round	N/A			N/A		N/A
2017/18	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	8th		Semi Final	N/A		N/A			N/A		N/A
2018/19	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	3rd		Fourth Round	Runner Up	N/A			N/A		N/A
2019/20	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Runner Up	Third Round	N/A			N/A		N/A

[Nobby_McDonald]

More steady progress.

[PocketMouse]

2020/21 Gap Connahs Quay FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 2nd

The season didn't have a good start because I was unable to get Ed Palmer, David Eardley and Richie Bowen to sign new contracts as they didn't believe the squad was strong enough to play at a level matching their own ambitions, I assumed they would leave the club or join TNS but they stayed for the season on Month to Month deals, bit strange but at least they stayed.  We didnt make any ground on TNS at all this season but we seem to be securing our place as second best team in Wales, which I still think should be a prize in itself due to the dominance of TNS.  We lost Stuart Hickman to a broken leg in late October but Richard Grant once again stepped up.  Hopefully next season we can start to close the point gap, the aim is for TNS not to win the league in February.   

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Winners

After knocking out TNS in the Third Round I felt we would be favorites to win this but we got a hard draw against Bala Town which we won and then we easily progressed to the final which we won with a 4-0 hammering of Llandudno, after this win it only leaves the task of toppling TNS for the league.

theWord Cup - Winners

TNS were knocked out by Bala Town in the Third Round which gave everyone hope of winning, we reached the final quite easy even if we did make tough work of the Third Round against Aberystwyth Town.  We faced Bala Town in the final and we took an early lead through Richard Grant and after many nervous moments we held out to win our first trophy. 

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round

I really wasn't expecting anything from this venture into Europe.  We somehow beat Olimpija of Slovenia 1-0 thanks to a Stuart Hickman 88th away goal in a match where we had a player sent off in the 20th minute and another in the 60th minute.  Next up was Slavia Prague which I was expecting to be hammered by but after the first leg it was disappointing not to get an away goal.  In the home leg we managed to get a goal in the first minute but found ourselves 2-1 down after 28 minutes but Stuart Hickman scored a minute later and Salvyn Kisitu in the 72nd minute and then we got another 88th minute goal to win the tie.  Our reward for beating Slavia was a tie against a team just under an hour away, Everton.  We were easily eliminated by Everton but we didn't get embarrassed.

Key Player

Jon Llewellyn - A brilliant debut season from another free signing from Bala Town.

Season	Club			Country	League				Position	Main Cup	Secondary Cup	Champions League	Europa League		Club World Cup

2016/17	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	10th		Fourth Round	N/A		N/A			N/A			N/A
2017/18	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	6th		Third Round	First Round	N/A			N/A			N/A
2017/18	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	8th		Semi Final	N/A		N/A			N/A			N/A
2018/19	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	3rd		Fourth Round	Runner Up	N/A			N/A			N/A
2019/20	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Runner Up	Third Round	N/A			First Qualifying Round	N/A
2020/21	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Winner		Winner		N/A			Third Qualifying Round	N/A

 

[PocketMouse]

21 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

More steady progress.

Wish it was a little quicker..... theres many more countries to come 

[PocketMouse]

2021/22 Gap Connahs Quay FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 2nd

We may of finished second again but we managed to close the gap on TNS and they only won the league in March and not February so while that is not hugely significant progress it is noticeable.  We even managed to beat TNS twice at the end of the season.  There is a big gap opening up between us and the rest of the league.  The 3 amigos from last season still wouldn't sign new contracts but still stayed on a Month to Month contract.  The board informed me that the club would be turning professional and should take about a year for some reason.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Fourth Round

I nearly had us down as winners of this after knocking out Bala Town but we were surprised by Conwy in a match we just didnt bother to turn up in.

theWord Cup - Winners

We dominated this tournament scoring 16 goals and only conceding 2, great to win back to back cups.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - First Qualifying Round

I knew we wouldn't have a run like we did last year but it was pretty disappointing to be knocked out by a team from Luxembourg.

Key Player

Jon Llewellyn - Chipped in with a lot more goals this season.

Season	Club			Country	League				Position	Main Cup	Secondary Cup	Champions League	Europa League		Club World Cup

2016/17	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	10th		Fourth Round	N/A		N/A			N/A			N/A
2017/18	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	6th		Third Round	First Round	N/A			N/A			N/A
2017/18	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	8th		Semi Final	N/A		N/A			N/A			N/A
2018/19	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	3rd		Fourth Round	Runner Up	N/A			N/A			N/A
2019/20	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Runner Up	Third Round	N/A			First Qualifying Round	N/A
2020/21	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Winner		Winner		N/A			Third Qualifying Round	N/A
2021/22	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Fourth Round	Winner		N/A			First Qualifying Round	N/A

[PocketMouse]

2022/23 Gap Connahs Quay FC - Wales - Dafabet Welsh Premier League

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - Champions

Well we turned professional at the start of the season and it seemingly made an absolutely massive difference.  We started with a 6-0 win over TNS in the first match which was a huge surprise but then we went on to dominate every team we came up against and handed out hammerings up and down the country.  In the end we easily won the league, we only dropped 7 points all season and it was very disappointing to not get an unbeaten season after losing to TNS late in the season.   We even had Arsene Wenger show up for a few matches, presumably to learn how to win a league.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

JD FAW Welsh Cup - Third Round

I was expecting our league form to come into this competition but we lost out 2-1 to Rhyl in the Third Round which I still don't know how that happened. 

theWord Cup - Runner Up

We were going for 3 in a row this season and I fully expected us to do it due to our league form.  We had a bit of a hard time in the semi final against Port Talbot but we ended up winning on penalties and we faced TNS in the final were we unfortunately beaten 3-2 in extra time. 

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - First Qualifying Round

We weren't able to get a good run this year either after a narrow loss to Slaven Belupo.

Key Player

James Carlin - Wow what a beast!  He shattered the leagues top goalscorer record with 48 goals in 32 games, phenomenal stuff.

The Future

Well now we have won all the league that means I am now finished in Wales so I began to look at jobs in Northern Ireland.  I applied for the position at Dungannon but unfortunately they didn't pick me.  I then declared interest in a possible position at Ballymena United and the Connahs Quay board called me in after their disappointment in me looking to move on so I refused to attend and they sacked me!  A sad way to finish with Connahs Quay after a brilliant season but I'll remember the good times.  I will start to apply for jobs in Northern Ireland now and I also removed the Welsh league from the game and added in the Hungarian league, which I was surprised to see below Iceland.

Season	Club			Country	League				Position	Main Cup	Secondary Cup	Champions League	Europa League		Club World Cup

2016/17	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	10th		Fourth Round	N/A		N/A			N/A			N/A
2017/18	Newtown FC		Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	6th		Third Round	First Round	N/A			N/A			N/A
2017/18	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	8th		Semi Final	N/A		N/A			N/A			N/A
2018/19	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	3rd		Fourth Round	Runner Up	N/A			N/A			N/A
2019/20	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Runner Up	Third Round	N/A			First Qualifying Round	N/A
2020/21	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Winner		Winner		N/A			Third Qualifying Round	N/A
2021/22	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	2nd		Fourth Round	Winner		N/A			First Qualifying Round	N/A
2022/23	Gap Connahs Quay FC	Wales	Dafabet Welsh Premier League	Champions	Third Round	Runner Up	N/A			First Qualifying Round	N/A

[Nobby_McDonald]

There you go, job done in Wales.

[PocketMouse]

On 8/28/2017 at 21:29, Nobby_McDonald said:

There you go, job done in Wales.

Should go a bit easier after Wales, don't have to take down any team like TNS 

[PocketMouse]

2023/24 Linfield FC - Northern Ireland - Danske Bank Premiership

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - 2nd

I had applied for the job at Ballinamallard and done the interview and was about to job when I seen the Linfield job was available so I delayed the Ballinamallard one and done the interview with Linfield and they offered me the job and I took it.  We got off to an absolutely dreadful start to the season, we lost 8 of the first 10 matches and found ourselves bottom of the league for 7 games.  The board called me in to "Discuss the future" once but I managed to get away with it, then our form really picked up, thankfully.  We went unbeaten in 8 matches and began to climb the table but then we lost to Cliftonville and the board called me in again to "Discuss the future" but managed to get away with it again.  We won the next 2 games and then drew with Ballymena and I was called in for a third time!  This time I had to pick up 11 points in 5 matches and we went unbeaten in the last 6 matches of the season and managed to sneak ourselves into 2nd place which is brilliant considering after the 11th match of the season we were bottom and we only finished 8 points behind champions Cliftonville.  

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Tennent's Irish Cup - Winners

We didn't come up against any team that gave us a rough match in this cup, we pretty much sailed through it to collect the trophy which means I only have to win the league next season to complete Northern Ireland.

Irish League Cup - Winners

We struggled a bit to overcome Bangor and our big rivals Glentoran but we easily beat Larne and Coleraine in the final to win my first cup in Northern Ireland.

County Antrim Shield - Quarter Final

Unfortunately this meaningless cup began when our league form was garbage and we were knocked out by Crusaders.  I don't have to win this competition but still would be nice to win something.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Second Qualifying Round

Linfield had already knocked out B36 from the Faroe Islands and got a match against their senior affiliate club, Rangers of Scotland.  We were quite easily beaten by them but we managed to get 2 away goals in Ibrox.

Key Player

Adam McEleney - Good young striker that scored us plenty of goals, luckily we had him or else we wouldn't of finished 2nd.

 

2024/25 Linfield FC - Northern Ireland - Danske Bank Premiership

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Dafabet Welsh Premier League - Champions

It was no surprise that we won the league after only finishing 8 points behind Cliftonville last season.  We were pretty much coasting our way through it but towards the end of the season we stumbled a bit by losing 2 in a row to Cliftonville and 1 to Glentoran.  Thankfully we had built up a sizable lead and eventually we secured the title.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Tennent's Irish Cup - Quarter Final

We were very disappointing this season.  We got dragged to a replay by Knockbreda but hammered them in the replay.  Then a 2-0 scoreline flattered us against P.S.N.I. and then we were eliminated by Institute.

Irish League Cup - Semi Final

A bit of a struggle against Bangor in the Second Round but we managed to get into the semi final easily enough against Cliftonville which we narrowly lost out. 

County Antrim Shield - Semi Final

I was hoping to win this but we came up against Bangor in the semi final and as usual they gave us a tough match in a cup competition but sadly we didnt manage to beat them this time.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round

We were drawn against the same opposition Linfield faced in the first round last year, B36 and we knocked them out again.  We then went up against Norwegian giants Rosenborg.  We lost 3-2 away but I hoped them 2 away goals would be crucial.  The second leg came and everything went our way and we ran out 5-2 winners and made the tie look comfortable.  We then played Omonoia from Cyprus and we got an away goal in the first leg but sadly anything we threw at them in the second leg didn't become anything much and we were eliminated.

Key Player

Adam McEleney - Another great season from him scoring plenty of goals and supplying assists. 

The Future

That's me finished in Northern Ireland now after only 2 seasons.  Next up I am heading down south to the Republic of Ireland were Dundalk have a TNS like hold over the league winning 11 titles in 12 years, only broken by Cork City in 2017, despite their domination in the league they haven't managed to win a league and cup double.  I doubt their manager will be going anywhere soon so looks like I will have a decent enough challenge to take them down.  

 

[PocketMouse]

2025 Limerick FC - Republic of Ireland - SSE Airtricity Premier Division

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

SSE Airtricity Premier Division - 2nd

Well it didn't take too long to find a new job after resigning from Linfield.  Limerick was the first job to come up and I decided to take it as it had been many years since they won anything significant, and they also had a young striker that played for Ireland to build a team around.   My first match was the team dominating the league, Dundalk.  We beat them 2-0 and then we went on to be unbeaten all season under me and eventually ended up 9 points behind Dundalk.  

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup - Runner Up

We faced easy enough opposition except for Cork in the quarter final but a lucky 2-1 win with 2 very late goals sent us through to the semi final against non-league Castlebar who we brushed aside easily.  This win set up a final against Dundalk but we didn't play to our best on the day and lost 2-1 in extra time.

EA Sports Cup - Quarter Final

Limerick were eliminated by Galway, who were relegated at the end of the season.

 Munster Senior Cup - Semi Final

Limerick were already knocked out of this cup when I arrived by Cork.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Playoffs

We had all the first 3 rounds ties over by the first leg with huge wins away from home and we then came up against Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon and we gave them a tough fight in the first leg in Lisbon and only lost out to a late last minute goal so confidence heading into the 2nd leg at home was high but sadly we were well beaten 5-0.

Key Player

Karl Mohan - He had 8 caps already for Ireland while playing for Limerick and I'm sure he will collect a few more.

 

2026 Limerick FC - Republic of Ireland - SSE Airtricity Premier Division

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

SSE Airtricity Premier Division - Champions

We had a brilliant season and quickly found ourselves top of the table.  We didn't lose a match until the very end of September which was my first league defeat with Limerick over a year and 3 months before, and Dundalk were putting the pressure on us the whole time.  When we lost we were just in touching distance of the title but we went on a bit of a wobbly run not winning in the next 4 matches.  Then we had a match against Dundalk at home and we won 2-0 and secured Limericks first title in 66 years.  It was a shame Karl Mohan left for Bournemouth back in August for free, Im sure he came back for the celebrations.  As it turns out that we won the league and the cup but lost in the league cup I will be still at Limerick next season which gives me my first crack at football in the Champions League

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup - Winners

We were losing 1-0 and then 2-1 to St Pats in our first test in this cup and it seemed like it wasn't to be our day but we got it together and ran out winners.  We then struggled to over come Waterford and only won the replay in the last minute which put us up against Cork in the semi final and we won 1-0.  In the final were Bohemians and we controlled the game and grabbed a goal just before half time.  Bohemians didnt put up much of a fight in the second half and we got another to make sure the cup was returning to Limerick for the first time since 1982.

EA Sports Cup - Semi Final

A standard win over Waterford led us to a match against St Pats which we threw away a 3 goal lead to be dragged to extra time but an own goal in the 100th minute was enough to see us into the semi final against Dundalk, we done well to drag it all the way to penalties after playing the extra time with 10 men and sadly we were the losing side.  

Presidents Cup - Winners 

A close and tough match in the first game of the season but we came out on top after a Karl Mohan goal.

Munster Senior Cup - Winners

We managed to come out on top in a very close final with Cork City in this bizarre competition since managed to knock out a team from Galway, which is not in Munster.  

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round

An easy opening round tie against Lions from Gibraltar was easily won which set up a tough task against Hibernian from Edinburgh but in the end there were no match for us and we advanced to face Everton.  We got 2 away goals in the first leg but they got 5. and it was highly unlikely we would win 3-0 at home but we did managed to take a 2 goal lead but Everton scored 1 minute after to end the tie.

Key Player

Derek Dunne - 26 assists for the season is brilliant and also added 12 goals.

 

2027 Limerick FC - Republic of Ireland - SSE Airtricity Premier Division

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

SSE Airtricity Premier Division - 2nd

We started the way we started the season before and I already had us down to win the title again but St Pats and Cork were right behind us all season.  With 6 games left we were managing to hold onto first place but things didn't really go our way and after draws with Dundalk and St Pats and losing to Bohemians meant it all came down to the last day as we traveled to Derry knowing a draw would secure the league for us due to our superior goal difference and St Pats had Dundalk at home and I was hoping Dundalk would do us a favor but it didn't matter as we folded under the pressure and found ourselves 3-0 down at half time.  Any chance of a comeback was stopped when we went down to 10 men and St Pats got their 2nd goal of the game to go 2-0 up against Dundalk, the scores stayed like that and St Pats climbed above us and won the title.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup - Winners

St Pats gave us our only scare in this competition in the semi final taking us to a replay which we comfortably won and we then came up against Waterford again and once again we beat them to win the cup twice in a row. 

EA Sports Cup - Winners

A 5-0 hammering of Dundalk and I was sure we were going to win this but we had a tough draw against Cork which we managed to win 1-0 with a shockingly low 578 people in attendance, I was going to blame it being played on a Monday night but 2,139 people turned up to see us play non league Bonagee United in the quarter final and we then knocked out Waterford again and progressed to the final against Bohemians and we went 3-0 up before half time and coasted the second half.

 Munster Senior Cup - Winners

We easily beat our only rival for this cup in the quarter final before coming up against Waterford yet again in the final and we won a surprisingly tough match 1-0.

Presidents Cup - Winners 

We easily beat Dundalk in the curtain raiser for the new season.

Continental Cups

UEFA Champions League - Third Qualifying Round

This was my first taste at Champions League football and it started brilliantly with a 8-0 beating of Qarabag of Azerbaijan which pretty much set up a tie against APOEL from Cyprus and after a hard fought draw in the home leg we didn't manage to do much in the second leg and we lost 2-0 and exited to the Europa League playoff. 

UEFA Champions League - Playoff

A ridiculously tough draw against Spanish side Villarreal awaited us and we found ourselves 5-0 down after 33 minutes of the first leg before grabbing a hardly deserved away goal.  The second leg was a little closer but the damage was done from the first leg.

Key Player

Chris Gaffney - It was a shame his 25 goal haul couldn't lead us to the title.

The Future

While it was disappointing not to win the league and it would be interesting to get revenge for losing it in such a dramatic way I must move on and the next stop is to Finland.  I've never managed here before so it will be an interesting change, HJK have won the league every season bar 2017 and 2022 and have also secured the double in a good few of them seasons.  Interesting note about Finland is that the league cup was done away with after the 2016 season so it only leaves 2 cups to be won in order to progress to the next country, Hungary.

 

[PocketMouse]

2028 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Ykkönen

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Transfers

Domestic League

Ykkönen - 2nd

I decided to start Finland down in the 2nd tier with PS Kemi Kings who I pretty much picked because they play in Lapland and have a pretty cool crest and name but I did almost join Ilves due to their mental looking crest.  This league only has 10 teams in it so the season is short and very very tight.  In the end only 5 points separated FC Haka in 5th and 9th placed SalPa who were relegated and FC Haka missed out on finishing 2nd by 6 points.  We managed to end up 2 points ahead of 9th place but it always felt like the relegation worry was there the whole season.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - 3rd in Group Stage

This is a strangely set up competition, it kicks off around the end of January with a group stage that replaced the league cup in 2017, the 2016 competition was a standard knock out competition.  Each group seems to have 2 top tier teams and the rest and 2nd tier and low division.  We ended up in 3rd place 2 points behind IFK Mariehamn with only the top 2 going through.

Key Player

Kimmo Seppala - He had a fairly average season but stood out a bit from the rest of our players performances.

 

2029 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Ykkönen

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Transfers

Domestic League

Ykkönen - Champions

We didn't get off to the greatest of starts but we really came to form around the middle of the season and we climbed into 1st place and we stayed there for the rest of the season as we began to run away with the league.  After securing the league and promotion it was announced that the board were searching for suitable sites and possible investors for a new stadium which is good due to our ground only only 1,200 and we were close to that in every home game.  Also the Lappi Derby against RoPS from Rovaniemi will return next season.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - Second Round

We were drawn with HJK and Honka from the top division and I fancied our chances to pip Honka to 2nd place.  We lost against HJK first and then beat the 3 lower teams and I was surprised to see Honka had only won 1 game and were out of the running for second place.  They beat us 2-1 in the last match but it didn't matter as we had pretty much secured our place in the next round and drawn against FC Lathi from our own league and I was disappointed to lose 3-2 to them.

Key Player

Antti Ulmanen - I wasn't expecting much from him this season but he caught the eye with 14 goals in 12 friendlies and he carried it on into the league with 27 goals in 27 games.

 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Kemi Kings is a good name.

Time to test yourself in a tougher league?

[PocketMouse]

On 9/11/2017 at 23:05, Nobby_McDonald said:

Kemi Kings is a good name.

Time to test yourself in a tougher league?

Many countries to get through before getting to a tough league!

[PocketMouse]

2030 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Veikkausliiga

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Transfers

Domestic League

Veikkausliiga - 9th

The board announced that a new 3,600 capacity stadium was to be built and named after one of Kemis heros, apparantly, Hannu Tihinen.  We started our first season back in the top flight brilliantly and we were top of the league after 1 match!  But we then sunk like a stone and crashed into a relegation battle.  The middle of the season was good and I was confident we would stay up but then we lost the last 6 matches in a row but thankfully the other teams below us didn't take the advantage and climb over us.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - Group Stage

I guess it worked out well to be knocked out of this so early in the season and focus on staying up.

Key Player

Mikko Nurminen - Says a lot about the kind of season we had that a defender was our best performer.

[PocketMouse]

2031 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Veikkausliiga

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Transfers

Domestic League

Veikkausliiga - 8th

Really bad news as one of our star players Arttu Nyberg refused to sign a new contract and left the club on a free.  I offered him a new contract a week later and he accepted, bit of a strange one.  When we started playing football our form was very up and down but we never dragged ourselves into a relegation battle.  Next season we will be playing in our brand new stadium and hopefully we will be challenging for a European place since we did only finish 6 points behind 3rd place.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - Quarter Final

We finished top of the group ahead of HJK and got a handy enough draw against VPS in the quarter final but we somehow lost!

Key Player

Mikko Nurminen - Our forwards still are not setting the world on fire so again we have a defender as the stand out player.

[PocketMouse]

2032 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Veikkausliiga

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Transfers

Domestic League

Veikkausliiga - 2nd

We had a good start to the season finding ourselves battling up around the top of the league.  We then suffered a bit of a wobble and fell down the table and looked like we were going to end up midtable before we were on a brilliant run for the last 9 games of the season which shot us up to 2nd place and finishing 7 points above KuPS in 3rd place and we qualified for the Europa League. 

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - Runner Up

We absolutely coasted our way into the final and we were up against our rivals from Lapland, RoPS.  I really fancied our chances against them but then when the match day came we were missing half our team due to international call ups!  With our severely weakened team we were unable to overcome RoPS.

Key Player

Roy Scully - Despite a season were he had a lot of injuries he managed to score more goals than games he played, hopefully he stays injury free next season.

[PocketMouse]

2033 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Veikkausliiga

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Transfers

Domestic League

Veikkausliiga - 4th

We didn't have a great season, we performed just about above average but we did almost manage to sneak into the top 3 but 4 losses in the final 6 games gave us no hope. After a 1-0 win against HJK we really should of kicked on and climbed higher in the table but we were dreadful after that match, the worst being a 3-2 loss to relegation threatened Honka.  It was a shame we didn't manage to do aswell as we done last season.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - Winners

A little slip up against SJK in the group stage but other than that we walked into the final the same as last year and of course we were missing most the first team due to international call ups in the final but thankfully the team we sent out was strong enough to beat off IFK Mariehamn.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round

My first venture into Europe in 5 seasons!  We struggled against Metalurg Skopje in the first match but we beat them 4-2 in the second leg.  Sioni from Georgia were our next opponents and they didn't give us much of a battle.  Next up was a trip to Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean to face Nacional da Madeira.  I knew this would be a tough tie and we didn't manage to get an away goal in the first leg which gave us a tough battle in the home leg but Madeira were too strong for us and we never looked like winning.

Key Player

Arttu Nyberg - Very hard to pick a top performer here but I decided to go for him since he is a youth product.

[PocketMouse]

2034 PS Kemi Kings - Finland - Veikkausliiga

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Transfers

Domestic League

Veikkausliiga - Champions

Yessssssss, the title is heading to Lapland!  For the first time ever as far as I can tell.  There was absolutely no one stopping us this season as we comfortably wrapped up the title.  10 wins on the bounce pushed us way ahead so we were able to afford to lose or draw a few in the last bit of the season.  

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Suomen Cup - Quarter Final

We smashed every team in the group stage but we just did not carry it into the quarter final against SJK where we lost 1-0.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Second Qualifying Round

Since I was convinced we were going to win the title it was good to be drawn against Hungarian opponents since Hungary is my next stop.  I didn't really know what to expect and the first tie was a tough match and we ended up giving an away goal.  We managed to get an away goal ourselves in the second leg but unfortunately it came after Debrecen got a goal of their own, we gave ourselves 40 minutes to find a goal but it just didn't happen.

Key Player

Roy Scully - He managed to stay injury free this season, cant not give it to a striker who scores 29 and assists 10.

The Future

Now I have won the league and the cup in Finland after 7 long long seasons its finally time to move on to the next country on UEFAs League Coefficient which is surprisingly Hungary.  I have never managed in Hungary before and its quite a big footballing country with a lot of history, I'd hope to see Honved or Puskás Akadémia become available but if I want to get through every available country on the list in a reasonable time then maybe I should take over one of the bigger teams like Debrecen, Videoton or Ferencvárosi.  I'm still not sure.  Since the Finnish league is a summer league and the Hungarian is a winter league then I'm sure I will have plenty of choice of teams over the final 6 months of the Hungarian league.

[PocketMouse]

2034/35 - Budapest Honvéd FC- Hungary - OTP Bank Liga

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Transfers

Domestic League

OTP Bank Liga - 11th

When I seen Honvéd come up I jumped at the chance to become the manager and it was only when I joined that I noticed why they were looking for a new manager since they were bottom of the league and 8 points from safety with just 1 win all season.  Good wins over Debrecen, MTK and Nyíregyháza in my first 4 games had me full of hope I could keep Honvéd up but no wins in the next 8 games took away that hope.  We beat MTK in the 2nd last match of the season which meant it all came down to the final day to see who would be relegated between us and Mezőkövesdi, we played 2nd place Diósgyor while Mezőkövesdi took on 3rd place ZTE.  We got a brilliant win against Diósgyor but luck was not on our side as Mezőkövesdi secured a 2-2 draw and we were relegated on matches won with Mezőkövesdi having 1 more win.  A heartbreaking relegation.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - Quarter Final

I wasn't surprised to see Honvéd knocked out of this cup already when I joined.

Key Player

Ian Schlingermann - I signed him and he only played 11 games but he was a lot better than the rest of chancers.

[Makoto Nakamura]

Really enjoying this save You staying with Honved in the 2nd tier?

[PocketMouse]

5 hours ago, Makoto Nakamura said:

Really enjoying this save You staying with Honved in the 2nd tier?

Thanks!  Yeah I may aswell but I'd have no problem jumping ship to one of the bigger teams 

[PocketMouse]

2035/36 - Budapest Honvéd FC- Hungary - Merkantil Bank NB II

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Transfers

Domestic League

Merkantil Bank NB II - 2nd

After last seasons relegation I was expecting us to bounce back straight away but we had a new board take over in July who ended up selling most of our better players over my head which was extremely annoying.  When they sold Roman Kaiser, the best player ever to come from Lichtenstein, to Ferencváros and Sheridan Stoute to Gyirmót I felt like resigning as Honvéd would be moving no where fast with this board but I decided since the transfer window was closed I may as well hold on until the end of the season at least.  On the pitch it was better however we managed a lot of draws due to out inability to close out matches.  We ended up finishing in 2nd place which was good enough for promotion, we probably would of won the league if the board didn't sell the players but thankfully there was some welcome news in May that we got another new board who took over the club for the huge fee of €0!  It almost sounds like the club was in serious financial difficulty but it wasn't!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - Quarter Final

We didn't come up against a good challenge until the quarter final against Pécs, we got an away goal in the first leg and were winning 2-0 in the second leg and looked like we were heading to the semi final but Pécs grabbed a goal in the 84th minute to win the tie 4-3.

Key Player

Sanel Jahic - It was very close between him and the winger on the other side Csaba Székely, the 2 of them had brilliant seasons.

[PocketMouse]

2036/37 - Budapest Honvéd FC- Hungary - OTP Bank Liga

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Transfers

Domestic League

OTP Bank Liga - 12th

We were awful to put it nicely.  We managed to get good wins against Újpest and Ferencváros but other than that it was a disaster.  After losing agaisnt Mezőkövesdi I was called in by the board but managed to persuade them to give me more time.  When the season entered into the long winter break we were rock bottom and 6 points from safety.  

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - Third Round

I was happy that we knocked out Pécs who knocked us out the year before but we then were up against Debrecen and they predictability knocked us out.

Key Player

Paul Connolly - Despite most the team playing rubbish he was the only shinning light of the season.

 

2036/37 - Ferencvárosi Torna Club - Hungary - OTP Bank Liga

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Transfers

Domestic League

OTP Bank Liga - 5th

At the start of the winter break with Honvéd sitting bottom and 6 points from safety I seen that underachieving Ferencváros had sacked their manager and I applied and thankfully I got it so I made my way 7km down the road.  I took over when they were in 7th position and 12 points behind a European spot.  In my first 10 games we lost 1, drew 2 and won 7 which brought us right up chasing 3rd place but a frustrating draw against 3rd place Debrecen put them too far ahead.  We didn't win the last 3 matches of the season and fell to 5th place which turned out we missed out on a European spot by 1 point due to Debrecen winning the cup.  

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - Fourth Round

It was a very tense first leg against Gyirmót and the second leg was even more tense and we scored in the 84th minute which I was sure would put us through but they got a goal only 1 minute later.  There were no more goals in extra time and it went to penalties were we lost out.

Key Player

David Okonkwo - Despite being 32 he was very good which surprised me!  

[PocketMouse]

2037/38 - Ferencvárosi Torna Club - Hungary - OTP Bank Liga

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Transfers

Domestic League

OTP Bank Liga - 2nd

Despite losing the first game we went on a great run after that and found ourselves top of the league but after that we fell down and up the table.  Going into the final third of the season we went unbeaten and even looked like we might win the league but a draw against our dodgy team Szolnok meant Diogyor were 2 points ahead of ourselves, Debrecen and Videoton going into the final game of the season.  Diosgyor played our dodgy team Szolnok and of course they beat them 2-1.  Even though we didn't win the league it was a brilliant finish, the title could of went to 4 different teams on the final day! 

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - Winners

Siófok gave us a tough match early in the competition but after that we found our way to the final quite easy.  The final wasn't so easy and we played out an epic match against Debrecen,  after 26 minutes we were 3-0 up and cruising but a red card on 66 minutes for us changed everything and soon Debrecen had got 2 goals and were throwing everything forward looking for a 3rd but we managed to catch them on the break and make the score 4-2 but 3 minutes later Debrecen got another goal which made for a very nervy finish but we just about got over the line to pick up my first Hungarian cup.

Key Player

Milan Mitrovic - To score 49 and assist 16 is brilliant from a 19 year old, I can imagine a battle in the future to keep him.

[PocketMouse]

2038/39 - Ferencvárosi Torna Club - Hungary - OTP Bank Liga

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Transfers

Domestic League

OTP Bank Liga - 2nd

After coming so close last year I was expecting us to kick on and win the title this year and despite losing the first match we won 11 of the next 13 which included a huge 8-1 win against Debrecen and another huge 4-1 win against Diosgyor had us top of the league and seemingly heading for the title but Diosgyor were never too far behind.  In the last 5 fixtures before the winter break everything changed.  We lost to Videoton and drew with Debrecen and then even worse we lost to Diosgyor which let everyone back into the race.  We were left chasing Diosgyor for the rest of the season to try overtake them but we were hoping and hoping that they would slip up but they didn't and despite us hammering them 6-1 with 3 games left we then lost 1-0 in the next match.  In the end they were always going to win the league, if we had of matched their points they would of won on matches won!  A small silver lining was that since Hungary moved up in UEFA coefficient we managed to qualify for the Champions League!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - First Round

This was the worst performance a team of mine has put in probably ever!  Non league Velence held us off for most the match and then managed to get themselves a late penalty which they scored and knocked us out!  Unbelievable!  And we had a pretty much full strength team out!

Szuperkupa - Winners

I think this is only the second time I have played in the season opener!  Despite us giving up a 1-0 lead we managed to come back from 2-1 down and win 3-2 which proved a good start to the season.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Group Stage (3rd) 

We faced tough opponents from Poland and Portugal in the qualifiers and we managed to come through them and get into the group stage.  We were drawen against Fiorentina, Rangers and Braga.  A very tough group but we fought well and after a 3-2 win agaisnt Fiorentina at home and a draw against Rangers away it really looked possible that we would qualify but a frustrating draw against Braga sent Rangers and Fiorentina trough.

Key Player

Milan Mitrovic - He had another brilliant seaon scoring 55 goals in 45 appearances overall which included 42 league goals in 33 matches which led to him picking up the adidas European Golden Shoe ahead of 2 players from Barcelona.  His contract was set to expire at the end of the season and he refused to sign a new one but I had put a 3 year optional extension in his contract with I of course activated!

[PocketMouse]

2039/40 - Ferencvárosi Torna Club - Hungary - OTP Bank Liga

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

OTP Bank Liga - Champions

We finally got over the line but I didn't really have the belief that we would win it this season, we drew a lot of matches and at one stage we were 4th 8 points behind Diosgyor at the top.  After the winter break we went on an unbeaten run winning 11 and drawing 3 and after a 3-0 win against MTK we moved into 1st place.  All we had to do was win the next match against Újpest and we managed to win 6-2 but it didn't all go our way, we were losing 1-0 and 2-1!  In the end we won the league by a point and we even hammered Szolnok which was good in my final league match.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Magyar Cupa - Semi Final

I was given a return to Honvéd early to knock them out!  We hammered knocked out Videoton and then struggled against ZTE in the Quarter Final but we done just enough.  We drew 0-0 with Disogyor in the Semi Final and by the time the 2nd leg at home came around we had won the league which was nice but they had the last laugh as Jesse Faherty scored an own goal to give them the win on away goals!

Continental Cups

UEFA Champions League - Playoff

My first venture into the Champions League in 13 years!  Anderlecht managed to get 3 away goals in the first leg which was worrying but in the second leg we wiped them away and we were 3-0 up after an hour!  They got 1 back but never looked like getting any more.  In the Playoff we were drawn against English side Manchester City who managed to win the champions league in 2033 but they haven't been successful at all winning only 1 UEFA Europa League (2032), 1 FIFA Club World Cup (2033), 1 UEFA Super Cup (2033) and 2 FA Cups (2036 & 2038)!  We played the first leg in the Etihad Stadium and we were hammered 7-0, I knew we would lose but didn't think it would be 7-0.  The second leg was quite boring with City winning 2-0 and us not even threatening them.

UEFA Europa League - First Knockout Round

Since we were knocked out in the Playoff of the Champions League we went straight into the Group Stage of the Europa League.  We were drawn with Athletic Bilbao, Basel and Dinamo Zagreb.  I felt quietly confident we could finish above Basel and Dinamo and we did by 2 points to get into the First Knockout Round.  There we came up against AC Milan who have also not been very impressive and only winning 1 Serie A title in 2020!  The home leg was a brilliant battle, we managed to go 2-1 up after 24 minutes but it didn't last very long and soon found ourselves behind but the next 2 times we trailed we came back and when AC Milan went 5-4 up in the 71st minute I felt we could get a draw but we tired quickly and it finished 5-4.  In the second leg we looked very tired again as AC took a handy 2-0 win. 

Key Player

Milan Mitrovic - I really....nearly....almost....didnt at all feel bad for holding him hostage for this season.  He didn't quite reach the heights of last season but still scored for fun!

The Future

Now that I have won both trophies on offer in Hungary its time to move onto Iceland who are half way through their winter league season so I could have a few months off before joining another club team and I'm unsure about who I'd like to take over.  I suppose I'd like a team out side of Reykjavik, I had hoped for KA who are on the north coast of Iceland but they were relegated from the Icelandic 2nd division a few years ago, maybe they will be back.  I have applied for a few Under 23 international jobs for teams playing in the Olympics but unsure if any of them will take me on.

[PocketMouse]

2040 - Argentina - Under 23's- Olympic Games

I was surprised to see after applying for a few Under 23 jobs I was actually offered them all!  I decided to go for Argentina as I felt they would have a better chance of winning it and also its one of my favorite countries!

Squad

Group Stage

Group A - 1st

We faced our toughest rival for top spot Italy in the first match.  The first half was very close but around the hour mark we got 2 goals and added a 3rd in the last minute.  Next up was Nigeria who I thought would be dark horses but they lost their first match against New Zealand and we soundly beat them 5-1.  The last match of the group stage was against New Zealand and we still were not qualified for the next round but New Zealand would of had to of beat us by 7 goals or so to knock us out but as expected we were 3-0 up by half time and got a 4th with 13 minutes left.  

Italy had saw off New Zealand and Nigeria to qualify along side us.  I was very surprised by Nigeria's poor showing with them finishing bottom only scoring 2 goals.

Group B

There wasn't a huge surprise in this group except for maybe I would of had Ukraine down to win it.  

Group C

A very close group!  If Tunisia had of found a winner against China in the last match they would of jumped over Mexico who beat 1st placed Portugal into 2nd which would of been crazy but it wasn't to be for the Eagles of Carthage.

Group D

There was a huge upset with the host nation Canada beating Chile 1-0 in the first match and Turkey drawing with Saudi Arabia!  Turkey pretty much sealed top spot with a win over Canada and going into the last game Turkey beat Chile and Canada beat Saudi Arabia to qualify for the next round!

Knockout Stage

Quarter Final

We were up agaisnt Ukraine who we rather easily knocked out which means we still haven't been seriously tested as of yet!  The highlight of the round was Turkey and Mexico with Turkey getting a 1-0 win thanks to a 3rd minute goal.  Both Italy and Portugal had routine wins over South Korea and Canada.

Semi Final

Our opponents for this were Portugal and we finally got a tough challenge.  It was an incredibility even match with all the stats being even and so the game was dragged to extra time and up stepped Óscar Bonet to rocket a shot into the top corner right on half time in extra time.  Portugal had a man sent off with 3 minutes left which took a lot of pressure off as we held out to reach the final.  In the other semi final Italy dominated Turkey and came out 1-0 winners.

Final

A repeat of the first match of the tournament where we were comfortable winners.  I didn't expect this match to go the same way with Italy out for revenge against us but by half time we were 3-0 up thanks to a Jonás Reinoso hat trick.  There was perhaps a little too much celebrating in the dressing room and Italy came out up for the second half and eventually got the match to a 3-3 draw in the 86th minute!  A wonderful counter attack in the 94th minute sent Jonás Reinoso down the left wing to cross into the box for Claudio Córdoba to slot home and win the Olympics!

Awards

Best Player - Jonás Reinoso (Argentina)

I suppose if you are going to score a hat trick in the final and assist the winning goal you have to win this!

Golden Boot - Jonás Reinoso (Argentina)

See above.  Brilliant tournament from the player PSG bought for €47.5 million.

Best Goalkeeper - Diogo Alves (Portugal)

Not surprised to see this go to the only team that we only scored once against.

Dream Team

The Future

This was my first time managing in the Olympics and it feels great to win it!  However I will be stepping down now and looking to Iceland for a job again.

[PocketMouse]

2041 - Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja - Iceland - Pepsi-deild karla

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Transfers

Domestic League

Pepsi-deild karla - 3rd

I settled for IBV since there was no sign of KA getting promoted to the first division.  Its pretty cool that IBV are located on the island of Vestmannaeyjar which is off the south coast of Iceland and they have a decent enough history with 3 league titles in 1979, 1997 and 1998.  They have won 1 cup and 1 league cup since my game began so it would be nice to bring more success.  We started off the season decently enough but bad losses against Þróttur and Breiðablik were surprising and turned out to be very costly!  After losing to Valur we went on an unbeaten run for the rest of the season and going into the last game we were 3rd and 2 points off the top but we were playing Fylkir who were 2nd and also 2 points off the top.  FH were top and playing 10th place Keflavík and surprisingly they ended up losing 2-1 but unfortunatly for us we lost 2-1 aswell and Fylkir were champions!

Positions Graph

Fixtures

Domestic Cups

Borgunarbikar - Winners

I was very nervy heading into the match against Fylkir but we just about came out winning on penalties!  In the Quarter Final and Semi Final we faced First Division opposition and were giving a bit of a fright against KF Ægir with us scoring a equalizing goal with 5 minutes left and with 10 men!  They then dominated us during extra time but we held out and brought it to penalties for the second time in this competition and again we came out on top and got into the Final.  We faced Breiðablik and we defended brilliantly, they dominated us in possession but never broke down our defense and we finally scoring in the 52nd minute and held out and won my first Icelandic trophy! 

Deildabikar - Semi Final

Finally a return of a league cup after 13 seasons!  The whole thing is played before the start of the season which is odd but kind of nice since it would be good to start the league season with a trophy!  We struggled a bit in the group stage and ended up finishing 3rd but it turns out we qualified for the quarter final due to us being 1 of the 2 best 3rd place teams in 3 groups, which was a welcome surprise.  We faced Leiknir from the First Division in the quarter final and they gave us a really good game, we were losing 3-2 with 8 minutes left and ended up scoring a last minute winner!  Valur came next in the semi final and we thought we had won it by scoring with 4 minutes left in extra time but Valur poped up and got a last minute goal to bring the match to penalties where only 1 of our players missed but it was enough for Valur to win.

Key Player

Nökkvi Karlsson - He was our main attacking threat all season and was our second top goalscorer but also got 17 assists.  He also scored the winning goal in the final which always helps these decisions.

[PocketMouse]

2041 - Italy - National Team

I declared interest in the El Salvador job earlier and was laughed off by their fans which I thought was harsh and now Italy have approached me!  They have missed out on qualification for the 2042 World Cup in Germany by finishing 6 points behind a dominant Portugal.  They are 29th in the world rankings which is a long way from the team that won back to back World Cups in 2022 and 2026, a European Championships in 2024 and a UEFA Nations League in 2025.  I of course jumped at this chance but our first match wont be until next September in the UEFA Nations League but I can't wait!

[PocketMouse]

2042 - Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja - Iceland - Pepsi-deild karla

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Pepsi-deild karla - 7th

We didn't start the season off too badly, we fought our way up to 3rd and had a match in hand over the 2 teams above us but we drew that match in hand with Stjarnan and then lost the next 4 matches which sent us crashing down the table.  We had a slight recovery against Víkingur and Fram but another annoying draw with Stjarnan followed and again we fell apart in the next 4 games.  We won the last 3 games of the season but it didn't improve our position.  A huge fall considering we had a chance to win the title on the last day the season before but we did bring in a good few younger players so hopefully they will start to come good.

Positions Graph

Fixtures

Domestic Cups

Borgunarbikar - Winners

We faced and beat 2 non league teams and then a First Division team in the Quarter Final but we faced FH in the Semi Final which I thought would be a hard match but we absolutely battered them but somehow we only put the ball in the net twice...one goal for us and an own goal for them and they held out to take the game to penos!  All our takers kept their cool and scored and 2 players missed for them so we were into the final which was strangely held just 3 days later agaisnt Valur.  We scored in the 4th minute and then got 2 more in the 32nd and 33rd and it looked like we were going to easily win this but Valur got a goal in the 41st minute and then another goal soon after half time which make it a very nervous game for us for most the second half but we held out and secured our second cup win in a row and also a European spot for next season.

Deildabikar - Group Stage (5th)

We struggled to overcome Mangi, who were playing in the First Division for the first time ever, which as it turns out had a lot to say about our season.  A loss and 3 draws later and we were knocked out with 2 games still to play.  Quite a disappointing start to the new season.

Íslenska Frábær Bikar - Winners

After the disappointment of the league cup we faced league champions Flykir and smashed them 5-2 with Ívar Theódórsson grabbing himself a hat trick from midfield!  This win set us into the league season full of hope after the disappointment of the league cup.

Continental Cup

UEFA Europa League - First Qualifying Round

A really hard tie against Brøndby of Denmark.  We gave it a good go in the first leg but Brøndby held us scoreless but we did get a penalty to give us an away goal but Filip Milanovic missed it and it would of changed the tie but instead we came into the home leg 2-0 down and no real chance of progressing and sure enough the match ended 0-0 and we were out.

Key Player

Tómas Friðriksson - I really didn't have much to choose from, his 9 assists pretty much separated him from the rest.

[PocketMouse]

2042/43 - Italy - National Team - UEFA Nations League 

Group Stage

We were drawn along side our rivals France and Greece so we should definitely not face any chance of being relegated. 

In the first round of matches France drew with Greece and we faced Greece 4 days later in my first competitive match as Italy manager.  It seemed to be going to plan when, the brilliantly named, Matteo Bambi gave us the lead with 9 minutes gone but Greece got an equalizer on 23 minutes and for the rest of the game we threw everything at them but we couldn't find a winner!  

The next round of matches was our double fixture with France visiting Rome and Greece visiting Palermo.  The match against France was a bit of a surprise as we dominated them and Thomas Lodi and Tomaso Piu scored for us and France only managed 1 shot on target.  We faced Greece and we were all over them but we weren't able to find a goal!  The Greek keeper ending up picking up man of the match!  After this round of matches we were top with 5, Greece were 2nd with 3 and France bottom with 1, however France had a game in hand.

The final round of fixtures saw France win an annoyingly comfortable game against Greece which meant France were 1 point behind us and we were off to Paris to face them.  It was a very close match but France were slightly the better team but we managed to string together a few one touch passes and Sami Afkir, born in Morocco, popped up to stab the ball home in the 76th minute and give us a 1-0 win and qualify for the Semi Final.

Semi Final

We faced England who had won all 4 of their group games against Portugal and Croatia, scoring 9 and conceding 0.  The match was to be played in Wembley and we went there thinking it would be a tough match however England didn't seem to show up and we easily beat them off the park and won 4-0.

The other Semi Final had Germany and Belgium.  Germany had dominated their group like England had and Belgium had won 2 and drew 2.  Germany carried on their form and held off Belgium and eventually won 5-3.

Final

The 4-0 win over England had our hopes high heading into the final against Germany even if they had been completely dominant so far.  Unfortunately for us Germany continued on their dominating run and absolutely took us apart and before halftime came it was 3-0 and Germany added another 2 before the end to leave us embarrassed.  We were so embarrassed that the players offered to refund the fans that traveled to Berlin!

The Future

The Euro Qualifiers have been drawn and kicked off.  We have been drawn against Sweden, Turkey, Montenegro and Liechtenstein.  Sweden are our toughest opponent but Turkey could cause us some problems however I'd still expect us to qualify by finishing 1st.

[PocketMouse]

2043 - Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja - Iceland - Pepsi-deild karla

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Pepsi-deild karla - Champions

We were in flying form the first half of the season except for a 3-1 loss to Breiðablik who themselves were flying too and were right behind us.  When we fell 1-0 to Grindavík we also lost top spot to Breiðablik but then we beat them in the next match to regain top spot and thats how it was for the rest of the season, up and down between 2nd and 1st.  It all came down to the final game of the season and we were in the driving seat to win the title by just 1 goal and we faced 7th placed Haukar while Breiðablik were against Keflavík.  Breiðablik got off to a flyer scoring in 3 minutes but 2 goals in the 16th and 17th minutes for Keflavík had us sitting clear at the top by a point but it wasn't to last long Breiðablik equalized in the 24th minute.  As the clock ticked towards half time we finally got a goal in the 43rd minute through Nökkvi Karlsson.  As both games entered the last 10 minutes we were still top by 2 points and 2 goals which meant Breiðablik needed 3 goals to over take us due to our superior goals scored.  They managed to get 1 but so did we in the 87th minute and win IBV their first title since 1998, 45 years ago!  Also I will be playing in the Champions League next season due to us still not winning the league cup.

Positions Graph

Fixtures

Domestic Cups

Borgunarbikar - Quarter Final

The third and fourth round matches were against teams from the Second Division and we weren't troubled but a hard game against Breiðablik followed at home.  We didn't have our best match but still managed to take the game to extra time were they got the winner in the 98th minute.  A tough loss to take considering we won this 2 years in a row.

Deildabikar - Quarter Final

In the Group Stage  wefinished 1st in a hard group containing Breiðablik, Valur and Víkingur.  We then faced Valur who had finished 3rd in our group in the Quarter Final and we didn't even show up on the day unless it was to fly into tackles as the game finished 1-0 to Valur and 6 yellow cards and no shots on target for us.

Íslenska Frábær Bikar - Winners

For the second year in a row we faced Fylkir in this match and it was a pretty boring game except for the last 20 minutes of the first half when Fylkir took the lead on 27 minutes but we came straight back and an own goal in the 30th minute put it at 1-1 and then a 33rd minute goal from Davíð Arnaldsson put us in front and Jóhann Ingason got a goal just on half time to make it 3-1.  Not much happened in the second half and we lifted this cup for the second time in a row.

Continental Cup

UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round

Got a lot easier draw this year facing HSK Zrinjski Mostar from Bosnia and we got 3 away goals in the first leg which pretty much sent us through to the next round.  Next up were Greek team AGS Asteras Tripolis and once again we got 3 away goals in the first leg and we were 2-0 up in the second leg before they managed to get a goal.  We then faced Swiss giants FC Basel and after 28 minutes of the first leg we were 3-0 down and afraid of being on the end of a hammering but we got our act together and managed to get an away goal.  Basel were the much better team in the second leg and we never really came close to getting a goal never mind 2.

Key Player

Emil Schram - This must be the first time I've picked a defender during a title winning season but he was a rock at the back and even managed to grab 7 goals for himself!

[PocketMouse]

2043 - Italy - National Team - Euro Qualifiers

Group A

A farcically dreadful group but the Netherlands will never have an easier group, no surprise to see them win all 10 games and conceding only 5 goals.  Only 2 points separated 2nd and 5th but due to the poorness of this group none of them were going to do good enough to qualify through second place.

Group B

An outstanding performance by Ireland to top the group over Spain!  Their only loss was to 3-2 to Slovakia, a 2-1 in Belfast and another 2-1 win in Dublin against Spain in the first 2 games set them up nicely and then two 0-0 draws against Spain and Northern Ireland pretty much sent them to the Euros. And even for a brief 4 minute period Northern Ireland were beating Spain in their last game and both Irelands were going to the Euros, maybe they could of united for the tournament, but in the end Spain won 4-1 to put an end to that thought.

Group C

Good to see Iceland qualifying and being unbeaten.

Group D

France comfortably won this group but only scored 10 goals and had draws with Albania and Norway.  

Group E

A very close group, a little harsh on Romania missing out.

Group F

England were way too good, winning all 8 and scoring 21 and conceding only 1.  Even if Austria and Hungary rolled it back 125 years and reformed their empire they still would of struggled to over come England but Austria wont mind since they qualified too. 

Group G - 1st

Fixtures

Well I was right when I said that Sweden would be our biggest rivals.  We were sailing through our group with handy wins over Montenegro and Liechtenstein and then a close call against Turkey until Sweden surprised us with a 5-3 win in Stockholm.  Then came routine wins over Montenegro and Liechtenstein again then we were off to Konya to face Turkey.  I had expected a close game after the last match but this was too easy for us and we won 4-0.  In our final match we faced Sweden in Bologna with us sitting 2 points ahead of them.  A draw would of sent us through but we were far to good for Sweden and won 2-0 and Turkey beat Montenegro 3-0 to finish second and qualify.

Group H

It was a bit of a surprise to see Serbia perform so badly however they did only lose to Greece and Belgium twice and they lost quite heavily.

Group I

Quite a tough group and very surprised to see Scotland come out on top!

Group J

This was handy enough for Germany but Armenia had a good tournament beating Denmark and drawing with the Germans, they did lose against Kosovo and Bulgaria but if they had of won 1 of them they could of qualified.

 

[PocketMouse]

2044 - Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja - Iceland - Pepsi-deild karla

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Pepsi-deild karla - 5th

We started the season brilliantly by beating FH 3-0 but an unfortunate losses against Breiðablik and Haukar had us slide down the table before we beat HK 2-0 in my final game as IBV manager.

IBV went on to win their second title in a row by 2 points ahead of Valur.

Positions Graph

Fixtures

Domestic Cups

Borgunarbikar - Fifth Round

We faced a Second Division side and easily brushed them aside.

IBV were then drawn against Breiðablik and lost 2-1 conceding 2 goals in the last 15 minutes.

Deildabikar - Winners

The group stage went handily enough for us except for a surprising 2-0 loss to KR and we finished 1st.  Stjarnan were our opponents in the Quarter Final and we won 1-0 but we really should of won by 4 or 5.  The Semi Final was against the only team to beat us, KR.  We were 1-0 down and Ívar Theódórsson was sent off in the 40th minute but we eventually found a way to score in the 77th minute and the match went to extra time and surprisingly we took the lead!  But it only lasted 4 minutes before KR equalized and the game went to penalties.  We missed one and KR missed 2 and Nökkvi Karlsson stepped up and scored his peno and won us the cup finally!

Íslenska Frábær Bikar - Runner Up

We were playing in this for the third season in a row but this time we faced rivals Breiðablik and we didn't make it easy on ourselves by going 1 down after 6 minutes and then we sent on Guðmundur Aðalgeirsson at half time.....and then he got sent off in the 46th minute!  And then Breiðablik got the winning goal a few minutes later and after that we never looked like getting back into the match.

Key Player

Nökkvi Karlsson - Once again he kept a cool head to score a goal to secure us a trophy!  He had 15 assists and 4 goals in the 19 matches played.  His form took a drastic turn after I left and he only added 4 more assists and 2 more goals to his tally.

 

 

2044 - Italy - National Team -  UEFA European Championships

Group A - 4th

We managed to score just before and after half time against Russia but then 2 quick goals in a minute by Russia had them back in it and despite us being all over them they managed to score with 8 minutes left to give us the worst of starts.  We then faced Serbia in a must win match and again despite us being all over them we could't find a winning goal leaving us with a pretty much impossible task of qualifying as we faced the Netherlands in our last match and we found ourselves 2-0 down after 52 minutes but we managed to battle back to 2-2 with 30 minute left however we couldn't find a winning goal that would of sent us through over Serbia on goals scored so we finished the group dead last which was very embarrassing.

Group B

France won the group despite their only victory being over Ireland.  Ireland won the game of the tournament 5-4 against Hungary and came second, Poland managed to qualify for the next round by drawing all 3 games and scoring only 2!

Group C

Pretty standard enough performance by Germany and not very surprised to see Czech Republic qualify behind them.

Group D

Probably the group of death with Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine facing each other.  Sweden surprisingly lost all 3 games only scoring once.  The other 3 teams managed to qualify.

Group E

An incredibly close group that I had expecting England to dominate but Austria managed to wind up on top by goal difference.

Group F

Scotland continued to surprise me by finishing second holding Belgium to a draw and beating Portugal, but Portugal still managed to qualify from 3rd place.

Second Round

There wasn't any major upsets in this round all though I would of expected Belgium to put up a better fight against England.  Ireland and Scotland got the easiest match for each other by facing one another with Ireland running out winners in extra time after being 2-0 up earlier in the match.

Quarter Final

There was almost an upset for the Netherlands against Ireland as the match went to extra time but the Netherlands just got over the line.  England and Germany comfortably beat France and Spain 2-0 and Serbia beat Ukraine on penalties, Ukraine even missed a late penalty in normal time!

Semi Final

England struggled a bit against Serbia but managed to come out 1-0 winners.  Germany scored 2 early goals against the Netherlands and they never recovered, it was a close game but the Germans were more clinical.

Final

A very close game as expected and it went to extra time were England scored in the 109th and 111th minute to win....boooooo! 

The Future

After winning the Icelandic League Cup I was keeping an eye on jobs in Slovakia and then I seen that the manager for Zilina had resigned at the end of their season so I applied and during the interview I was asked how would I split my time between club and country so I said if they wanted me to step down I would.  I had already planned to resign at the end of the European Championships but in the end Zilina offered me the job and I accepted and I quit the Italy job automatically!  So my next stop is Zilina in Slovakia, they have won a few titles since I started the game alongside Slovan Bratislava and Trencin.  As for the international management I think I will take a break from it for a while unless a country on another continent comes up.

[PocketMouse]

2044/45 - MSK Zilina - Slovakia - Fortuna Liga

 

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Fortuna Liga - 5th

We started off by losing 4 matches in a row but our results improved a very small small bit in September but we were still brutal.  And then all of a sudden our form got even worse than before, the final 8 games going into the season break brought 6 losses.  We looked slightly better after the break and the final 7 matches of the season we managed to pick up 5 wins and finish up 5th somehow only 1 place behind a European spot....but also 12 points behind!  Not a great start to my Slovakian career but a 5th place finish is brilliant compared to the crap we played all year!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Slovnaft Cup - Third Round

Handy enough wins over non league teams in the first 2 rounds but once we came up against decent opposition we were easily knocked out.

Key Player

Peter Lojdl - No one stood out so I went for him for his highest average rating but I suppose 5 goals and 7 assists in 23 games is OKish.

[PocketMouse]

2044/45 - MSK Zilina - Slovakia - Fortuna Liga

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Fortuna Liga - 2nd

We started with 2 wins but our form dipped over August and September due to low morale in the squad because of Ion Mande forcing a transfer to Leiga Warsaw through.   With the morale low our form in October, November and December was absolutely awful with 3 draws and 4 losses.  After the 2-1 loss to Presov I was called in by the board and told to get 9 points in the next 5 games or be sacked.  We drew 1 and lost the next before the winter break meaning I would need to win all 3 matches after the break was over and thankfully they were against lower opposition however I decided to bring in 5 new players during the transfer window but sadly Leiga Warsaw were not finished picking our players and I was forced to sell Jonathan Doyle before he upset the squad!  The second half of the season was completely different for us and we won the first 3 matches so I got to keep my job.  In the next 10 games we only lost twice and drew twice and climbed up to 2nd spot.  Slovan Bratislava ran away with the league but there is a bit of hope in the fact they lost 7 matches.

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Slovnaft Cup - Winners

Thankfully we came up against non league teams while our form was brutal but even though our league form improved we struggled to overcome First Division Kosice and probably should of lost but we managed to pick up a 1-0 win.  We faced Nitra in the Semi Final and easily beat them thanks to them scoring 2 own goals in a minute in the first leg and we ended up with 4 away goals and then we scored 2 goals in the first 30 minutes to put the tie to bed.  We faced Trencin in the final who have picked up about 20 trophies since I started the game.  Trencin probably edged the game a small bit overall but we were more clinical scoring 2 goals before the 25th minute and holding on to win the trophy. 

Key Player

Massimiliano Gesmundo - A decent season by the young Italian winger picking up 9 goals and 6 assists in 24 games including the 2nd goal in the final.

[PocketMouse]

2046 - South Korea

After the World Cup many African and Asian nations sacked their managers and I applied for some of the top jobs and was offered them all so I decided to go with the dominant force in Asia, South Korea.  The AFC Asian Cup kicks off in January 2047 for the senior team but I decided to take control of the Under 23's for the Asian Games in September 2046 and I might also take control of the Under 19's in the AFC Under-19 Championship.  I will probably step down after the end of the AFC Asian Cup and hopefully it goes a lot better than the Italy job.

[PocketMouse]

2046 - South Korea - Under 23's - Asian Games

Group A

No surprise at all to see Chine and Japan easily qualify from this group.

Group B

I don't know a whole lot about the teams in this one but Malaysia could of finished top if they took their chances again Qatar.

Group C

Our northern rivals scored 2 late goals against Afghanistan in their final match to secure a second place finish.

Group D

We got no challenge in this group as we smashed every team but it was disappointing to concede against Turkmenistan.

Group E

A close win for Oman over the Philippines in their first match set them up for a second place finish but they were never going to finish above Kuwait.

Group F

This is another group I don't know a whole lot about and it was pretty dull.

Group G

Handy enough group for Thailand and Syria who canceled each other out during their match.

Group H

It was a shame to see the hosts India knocked out in the group stage but a narrow loss to UAE in the second match pretty much eliminated them.

Second Round

We easily beat Qatar 2-0.  All the other fixtures went as expected except for Irans 2-1 loss to Kuwait.

Quarter Final

A tricky match against Kuwait but we wern't challenged and won 3-0.  China and Japan also won as expected and the UAE won on penalties against Hong Kong in what was probably the game of the round.

Semi Final

I thought China were going to finally give us a good challenge but China didn't turn up and we beat them 3-0 with ease.  Japan managed to just about overcome UAE in the other Semi Final.

Final

This time I really thought that we would get a hard match but it was the same story as the Semi Final against China, Japan just didn't turn up and they were lucky that it wasn't more than 4-0 to wrap up a pretty easy tournament win.

 

2046 - South Korea - Under 19's - AFC Under-19 Championship

Group A

We pushed aside China and North Korea but we were held to a draw by Kuwait in the final match but still finished top of the group.

Group B

A poor showing from Australia and strange to see Saudi Arabia being randomly chosen over Iran.

Group C

I would of expected Qatar and Thailand to qualify from this group.

Group D

A very tight group with the top 3 finishing on 6 points.  I'm not sure how Japan finished ahead of Iraq since the first sorting rule is matches between teams and Iraq beat Japan 1-0 and also scored more goals overall. 

Quarter Final

Our reward for finishing top was a tough match against Iran and despite us being the better team the match went to extra time but we found 2 goals in the second half.  That win also qualified us for the U-20 World Cup.  There was a big win for Kuwait over Saudi Arabia, a close call for Japan only winning on penalties against Uzbekistan and Indonesia overcame Jordan.

Semi Final

We got a rematch against the only team we haven't beat yet, Kuwait and this match was close enough to the same match earlier and finished 1-1 at full time.  We managed to get 3 goals in 10 minutes and secure a place in the final were we would meet Japan who struggled against Indonesia.

Final

Japan had a lot more possession but we managed to get a penalty in the 14th minute and score it and then after that it was a pretty close match but Japan couldn't find a way through and we lifted the cup at home!

[PocketMouse]

2047 - South Korea - National Team - AFC Asian Cup

Group A

Far too easy for us scoring 15 and conceding only 1 which was a bit of a fluke.  I didn't expect us to beat Malaysia 7-0.

Group B

I thought it would be close between Iraq and Qatar and only 1 win separated them and that was a 3-2 win for Iraq over Qatar with 2 late goals.

Group C

A very easy group for Thailand and Australia but I would of expected Australia to pick up 3 points against Lebanon.

Group D

Iran easily ran away with this group which was no shock.

Group E

China topped the group with not much effort but its a brilliant performance by India to finish 2nd.

Group F

Quite a brutal group but good to see North Korea qualify.

Second Round

The biggest shock of the round was North Korea knocking out Thailand on penalties.  All the other results were expected including our 4-0 beating of Syria.

Quarter Final

North Korea put in another strong display before going down to 10 men in extra time and then China got 2 goals.  We were 3-0 up before Iraq got 1 back in the 21st minute and we were 6-1 up before Iraq added another in the 78th minute.  Iran and Japan both won their Quarter Final.

Semi Final

We faced rivals and hosts Japan and they had a lot more possession than us but we had more shots on target and managed to get 2 goals in 6 minutes to reach the final were we face Iran who beat China with a 89th minute goal!

Final

I was offered the Iran job but turned it down for the South Korea one which made this a bit juicer!  This was the 2 top teams in Asia but as the match went by it was clear there was only going to be one winner and we grabbed the first goal of the game in the 35th minute and added another in the 53rd minute and that was it!  Iran never really threatened us and we many should of scored again but 2-0 win will do!

The Future

I've decided to step down as manager of South Korea as I have no interest in leading them to the World Cup or the EAFF East Asian Cup.  I'm quite pleased that I have picked up 3 international trophies at different levels which should do my reputation wonders especially after the whole Italy job carry on.  I'll be keeping an eye out for African or American national teams coming up after the next World Cup.

[PocketMouse]

2046/47 - MSK Zilina - Slovakia - Fortuna Liga

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Fortuna Liga - Champions

A great season!  We were strong all season but somehow managed to still surprisingly lose 6 times, including 2 defeats against Michalovce!  It was always going to be a 2 horse race between us and Slovan Bratislava.  Thankfully they picked up 12 draws over the season and then we beat them 3-0 to pretty much secure the title, even though we lost the next match it was all over when we beat Trencin 2-1 at home with Tomas Horny scoring the winning goal....lovely!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Slovnaft Cup - Winners

We faced 1 top division team in the first 3 rounds and easily won all them matches.  Next up was a tougher test in Slovan Bratislava and it was quite a boring match but very evenly matched.  It ended up going to penalties were we came away 3-2 winners.  In the Semi Final we gave away 2 away goals in the first leg so it was all to play for in the second leg.  We were much the better team and managed to get a 1-0 win and make it to the final.  We faced Trencin there for the second season in a row and we again beat them, this time 3-1!

Slovenský Superpohár - Runner Up

We went into this match full of hope that we could topple Slovan Bratislava but to be honest they made a bit of a show of us and easily won 3-0.  Not the ideal start to the season.

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - First Knockout Round

We had a handy tie against Shakhter Soligorsk against Belarus which we won 7-1.  Malmo from Sweden were up next and the first leg was close with us giving away an away goal but we improved a lot for the 2nd leg and won 4-1 to win 6-2 overall.  Next up were Hajduk Split and the first leg we were being dominated by them but somehow managed to get 2 away goals!  We won the second leg 1-0 and qualified for the Group Stage!  We were drawn against Man City, Braga and AA Gent.  The first 2 matches against Braga and Gent were frustrating as we couldn't find a winner in either.  The 2 back to back matches against Man City went as expected as we lost both.  A brilliant 4-0 win at home to Braga was followed up by a 1-0 win away in Gent and we qualified for the First Knockout Round!  We faced Napoli who had won 1 Serie A title in 2018 and 1 Europa League in 2042 and are regulars in 2nd and 3rd place.  Napoli were clearly the better team and easily beat us at home 3-1.  We improved slightly for the second leg but we were never going to win the tie. 

Key Player

Adam Jacko - Hard to pick a winner between him and Alexandru Ivan but his 20 assists just shaded it.

The Future

I have won all there is in Slovakia which means I'm moving onto the next country and it is Slovenia.  Maribor and Olimpija Ljubljana have a strangle hold over the league.  I will be aiming to take over one of the top clubs as I am looking forward to managing in the next country after Slovenia which is Serbia.  Also this season marks 30 years since I started the game so I thought I would look back at all the past teams and put together the best XI and I was quite surprised to see that the whole outfield team was players from Connah's Quay in 2023!  I don't really expect the team to change much bar the goal keeping position due to that team absolutely dominating the league, any of my other title winning teams have not even came close to as good as that team.

  

[PocketMouse]

2047/48 - NK Maribor - Slovenia - PrvaLiga Telekom Slovenije

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

PrvaLiga Telekom Slovenije - Champions

Luckily for me almost half the jobs in Slovenia became available and I jumped at the chance to join Maribor.  It was a whole 3 years since their last title.  I was given 5,000,000 to spend and I spent 1,200,000 getting the team stronger and it completely paid off straight away.  We were the best team in the league by far and we were only outclassed once and that was by Olimpija Ljubljana when they beat us 5-3.  When we got to the winter break we were 13 points clear at the top and this eventually grew to 20 points and we won the league with 6 games to do.  The match where we secured the title we actually lost 4-3 to Krsko, who got relegated.  We had 2 players sent off in the last minute and gave away a penalty but in the end it didn't matter and we secured the league.  On a little of a downsite we lost to Radomlje and drew with Domzale and ended up missing out on the points record by 1!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Pokal Nogometne zveze Slovenije - Winners

We started with a straight forward win over Dob to set up a Quarter Final agaisnt Olimpija Ljubljana.  We handed them 2 away goals in the first leg but we quickly wiped them out in the second leg and then we faced Rudar Velenje in the Semi Final.  The first leg was very bizarre as Rudar Velenje missed a penalty and then scored 2 own goals!  The 2 away goals pretty much handed us the tie and we won the second leg 1-0 scoring in the 10th minute to put the tie to bed.  The final saw us face Domzale and they gave us a very tough match until our 18 year old Moroccan striker Hamadi Ouakrim broke the deadlock on 70 minutes and then added 2 more before the end to make it look overly comfortable!

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - Playoff

Maribor had already knocked out CS Fola Esch-Alzette from Luxembourg before I arrived.  My first match was a 5-1 win at home to Siroki Brijeg.  We cancelled their away goal in 7 minutes of the second leg all though we lost but we done enough in the first leg.  Next up was Krasnodar from Russia and we made a mess of the first leg, after taking the lead one of our players got booked in the 75th minute and then got booked again in the 77th minute and gave away a penalty!  Krasnodar scored and had an away goal but we went to Russia and won 2-0!  We were then given a nearly impossible task of playing Olympiakos, we lost the first leg at home 5-3 but I still don't know how we managed to score 3.  Olympiakos scored in the 2nd minute of the second leg which pretty much ended the tie.

Key Player

Stipe Medved - The Croatian on loan from Slaven Belupo was brilliant for us picking up 29 goals. 

The Future

I didn't think that I would of won the league and the cup in Slovenia in 1 season!  This is the first time ever I have won back to back titles and cups in different countries.  I actually forgot to add in the Serbian league so it is only becoming active at the end of this season so I'm not sure what kind of jobs there will be or what kind of jobs I'll be looking for but I will step down as manager of Maribor and go from here!

[PocketMouse]

2050/51 - Red Star Belgrade - Serbia - Super Liga Srbije

Squad

Domestic League

Super Liga Srbije Preliminary Phase

Super Liga Srbije Final Phase - Champions

Well after 2 full seasons of absolutely no jobs coming up at all in Serbia finally the Red Star manager left to manage Serbia after they finished last in their group in the World Cup!  They had already played 4 games in the league and found themselves 7 points from top spot and considering they won the last 8 titles it was for the best that the manager left!  My first match brought a huge win against title rivals Vojvodina however after that we never really got going until the end of October when our form seriously picked up and by the start of the winter break we managed to get into 1st spot.  We went unbeaten for the rest of the season and a huge 1-0 win over Partizan, which is definitely the biggest derby I've managed in so far, was crucial.  In the end it came down to the last match of the season and we found ourselves 3 points and 4 goals ahead of Partizan but we had the easier match.  We beat Cukaricki 2-0 to secure the title but Partizan lost 1-0 to Rad anyway.  Next season might be a bit tougher due to big European teams coming in for most of our first team players!

Positions Graph Preliminary Phase

Positions Graph Final Phase

Domestic Cups

Kup Srbije - Quarter Final

The First and Second Round brought easy wins but the Quarter Final was a different story, we faced Rad at home and were expected to win except Rad turned up and played like the 1970 Brazil team!  They played us off the park and didn't give us a chance and we were knocked out losing 2-0!

Continental Cups

UEFA Europa League - First Knockout Round

After Red Star lost to IFK Göteborg in the Champions League a tough match against Feyenoord in the playoff was first and we were seemingly cruising to a 2-0 win in the first leg but gifted Feyenoord 2 away goals but in the second leg they must of felt bad for us and scored us 2 own goals before Stefan Stevanovic added a third to finish the tie.  We were drawn with Villarreal, AA Gent and Brondby in the group stages.  The first 2 matches were handy enough wins over Gent and Brondby but it was no surprise that we lost twice against Villarreal.  It was a huge blow that we lost agaisnt Brondby with them scoring a last minute winner!  We faced Gent in the final match knowing we needed a win and it was a truly mental match!  We took the lead after 1 minute before Gent missed a penalty in the 4th minute.  We then doubled our lead in the 28th minute before Gent pulled one back 6 minutes later and then drew the game level in the 75th minute and we gave away another penalty for them to win it in the 84th minute but thankfully they missed!  We were then given a penalty to win it in the 88th minute but we missed aswell but Nenad Damnjanovic managed to pop up in the last minute and score to qualify us from the group stage!  In the knockout phase we faced Zenit St Petersburg and we were looking good in the first leg until 2 quick fire goals gave them the advantage.  We took the lead in the second leg but again they got 2 quick goals and the tie was already over by the time they got a third.

Key Player

Djordje Mitic - Even if 14 goals and 16 assists in 49 games isn't exactly earth shattering he was by far the best player.

[PocketMouse]

2051/52 - Red Star Belgrade - Serbia - Super Liga Srbije

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

Super Liga Srbije Preliminary Phase

Super Liga Srbije Final Phase - Runner Up

At one stage it looked like we were going to comfortably run away with the title until April when we went on a dreadful run.  We played 5 matches and lost 3 and drew 2!  The 4-3 loss to Partizan hit us very hard considering we were 2-0 up and 3-1 up but Partizan battled back and we ended up scoring an own goal in the last minute!  Our April form let Partizan catch up to us and despite us winning the final 5 games the damage was already done and Partizan picked up their first title in 9 years!

Positions Graph Preliminary Phase

Positions Graph Final Phase

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Kup Srbije - Winners

Napredak gave us a bit of a scare in the Second Round by going 2-0 up but we managed to come back and win 3-2.  We faced Radnicki in the Semi Final and blew them away in the second leg and finished the tie easily enough.  In the final against Javor we found it very frustrating with them scoring in the 6th minute  and then parking the bus for the rest of the match.  We finally got an equalizer in the 90th minute from a corner and went into extra time.  We took a 2-1 lead in the 97th minute before scoring an own goal 10 minutes later and it looked like it would be heading to penalty's but a defensive mix up let Aleksandar Ivanovic in for his 5th goal of the season and the winner. 

Super Kup Srbije - Runner Up

Vojvodina were very lucky to get a draw and take it to penalty's.  We should of easily beat them but then we lost out on penalty's.

Continental Cups

UEFA Champions League - 2nd Qualifying Round

We were given a winnable draw against Trencin from Slovakia and they took an early lead in the first leg.  We didn't get going until late in the game and managed to score in the 77th and 81st minute.  By half time in the second leg we found ourselves 2-0 down but grabbed a goal just after half time.  The match eventually went to penalty's and only 1 of our players scored and we were knocked out!

Key Player

Matipa Theletsane - A bit of a disappointment that a defender was our top performer this season.

The Future

Next up is a trip to Norway!  Like Finland id be hoping for a team from the very north of Norway or even not based near Oslo.  I have removed the Serbian league and will now add in the Scottish league!  I will look forward to trying to break Celtics 40 titles in a row!

[PocketMouse]

2052 - Tromsø Idrettslag - Norway - OBOS-ligaen

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

OBOS-ligaen - Champions

Manager Mats Pettersen surprisingly left top of the First Division Tromsø to join struggling Strømsgodset in the Premier Division.  I was going to apply for the Strømsgodset position but when I seen he was favorite I left it and once he left Tromsø I applied and became the manager of Tromsø!  They are the most northern team you could get!  They haven't won much only 2 Norwegian Cups in 1986 and 1996 and 3 First Division titles in 2002, 2020 and 2027.  They were going through a bit of a rough patch when I arrived having only won once in 8 matches.  My first match was a 2-0 win over our title rivals Haugesund.  A draw with Florø and a loss against Bryne meant that Haugesund were back in the race for the title and going into the final day we both had 55 points and we were 1 goal ahead.  We comfortably beat Ranheim 3-1 with Sampsa Pylkkönen picking up a 15 minute hat trick!  And to make it nicer Haugesund lost 3-1 against Ålgård.  Since I only managed 6 games I can't really claim this title....but I may aswell!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Norgesmesterskapet i fotball - Second Round

Tromsø were already knocked out long ago by the time I arrived and I was surprised to see they lost to Harstad who went on to win the Second Division.

Key Player

Arve Bekker - He was by far the standout performer of the team!  Might turn into a bit of a struggle to hold onto him.

[PocketMouse]

2053 - Tromsø Idrettslag - Norway - Eliteserien

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

OBOS-ligaen - 16th

The first 4 games of the season we looked very good and would easily stay up but then things went to the dogs!  We only won 3 more matches and picked up 3 draws and lost the rest.  We were confirmed as relegated in my 1,500th match with a 1-0 loss to Haugesund.  My job status is now "Very Insecure" however I have not been sacked yet and I hope to be given the chance to bring the team back from the OBOS-ligaen. 

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Norgesmesterskapet i fotball - Semi Final

Thankfully we managed to be drawn against low division teams and only got a top division side in the Quarter Final and we won on penalty's somehow.  We faced Harstad in the Semi Final, who knocked out Tromsø last year.  They scored within 3 minutes and then parked the bus for the rest of the match and we were unable to find a way through.

Key Player

Jens Pettersson - He was the only real threat that we had all season. 

[PocketMouse]

2054 - Tromsø Idrettslag - Norway - OBOS-ligaen

Squad

Transfers

Domestic League

OBOS-ligaen - Champions

We started the season with 3 huge wins before losing our first game of the season and we were only to lose 5 more times as we eventually overtook Kristiansund about half way through the season and we stayed there until the end!  There was a bit of a panic mid season as one of our best  defenders Jan Erik Grønoset left the club which was very strange but we managed to sign him back a few months later.  And this season also brought a new addition to the best XI with Gunner Anderson going into central midfield, good times!  Also I was offered the Italy job again but I decided to turn it down!

Positions Graph

Fixtures 1, Fixtures 2

Domestic Cups

Norgesmesterskapet i fotball - Third Round

We were down to 10 men against Ranhiem however they scored 2 goals in the 75th and 76th minute to make it 3-1 and even though we managed to grab one back in the 77th we couldn't find another!

Key Player

Pål Haugen - Absolutely phenomenal season from him scoring 26 goals in 31 games over all!