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Dilly-dallying with the Dollybirds


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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2073 / 2074


Season Expectations

The only way to make progress is to get into the Europa League group stages which should give the club enough money to turn professional, that has to be the main objective for the season. On the domestic front, I'd be happy with another mid-table finish in the league and a good run in the cups. 


 
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League Table - A much poorer season than the last with a large drop in the number of points scored. The clubs European commitments meant that we got off to a dreadful start and were rock bottom for the opening months of the season. A severe lack of fitness going into the season didn't help even though I scheduled a load of pre-season friendlies. We recovered to finish in the same place for the 3rd season in a row but we are going to need to improve significantly as for the first time since the start of my tenure here we have taken a step backwards.

Danske Bank Premier Europa League Playoff - There will be no European football for us next season, we were simply outclassed by a much better team. 

UEFA Europa League - This was the only thing that mattered for the season and we got what we wanted. We had to scrape through against Hibernian but the money we earned from participating in the group stage has allowed the club to turn professional. The group stage itself was a complete wash and really hampered us in the league having to play a Thur-Sat schedule as a part-time club. We managed to break the attendance record at the club along with the gate receipts record which was encouraging. We also managed to score a goal in the group stage which was something I suppose.   

Domestic Cups - Aside from beating Linfield and finishing runners-up in the Co. Antrim Shield the season was poor in the cups. The defeat against Ards Rangers has to go down as one of the low points of the career so far.

Reserves - They won the league which was great and did well in the cups too.

Under 18s - Another of our teams crowned champions of their league which bodes well for the future.

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Squad – I don't think I could have asked for more out of the players if I'm being honest. Part-time players are just not cut out for playing two or three times in one week and it showed in the performances. I also felt that the development of the players has been hampered by only being able to train every other day. Next season will be one of huge change with many players coming into the squad with a focus on youth and developing players to have good resale value.

As a result of the change in approach I've decided to cancel the affiliation with Spal and will no longer be bringing any loans into the club. Some would argue that it is a risky strategy given that the majority of the other teams around us have senior affiliates and use them extensively to great benefit especially Ballymena United who have an affiliation with AC Milan. I am resolved to make this decision though as I want to be better than those clubs and replicating their model isn't going to enable me to build this club. 

The only benefit they get from having those senior affiliations is the ability to bring in quality young players for free which makes sense when you can't develop your own players which is why I wanted one when we were at semi-professional status but now that we can develop players by training full time it no longer makes sense. The downsides are numerous and far outweigh the benefit. Firstly, you get nothing financially for developing players for other clubs which to me is a major downside. Secondly, you deprive players at your club game time which could be sold for a profit to help build the clubs finances. Thirdly, you can become dependent on a stream of players which is unpredictable. Lastly, if they are among your best players, your team can only be as good as the players the senior club deems not good enough for them which is hugely limiting on how good a squad you can assemble.    

Transfers – I spent a bit of money in the hope it would help us to get to the Europa League group stage and if you were judging our business on that metric alone then it would be deemed a success. In reality, we vastly overpaid for players which didn't help us achieve that goal. Smith DC was ridiculously overpriced even for a talented youngster and when he came into the first team he was poor. He didn't really develop much this season so I'm hoping that next season when he is allowed to train full time that he will redeem himself and vindicate his signing. I don't want to spend a fortune next season as we can ill afford it so I'll be hoping to look for pre-contract deals and free transfers when assembling the squad.

Player Of The Season
Tommy McFadden – MR - Average Rating: 7.10
He was one of the shining lights in an otherwise mediocre team as the only player in the squad to score higher than a 7 average rating. It'll be interesting to see if he can unlock that last bit of potential my coaches think he is capable of next season.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Jacopo Colucci – ML - Average Rating: 6.97
Another player who had a decent season but no more than that.

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Finances – This is an area of the club I'm going to need to manage well in order to keep healthy as even at semi-professional status we are a loss-making operation and I wouldn't want to go the same way as some of the other clubs who have turned professional in N. Ireland who after a couple of years had to revert back due to insecure finances. The costs involved in running the club are going to go through the roof such as the scouting packages which are going to cost a full £720K per year as I feel it will be necessary in order to find those diamonds in the rough to develop. The player and staff wages are going to increase significantly also.

As we have no European football I'm going to have to look at transfers as our main source of income and will be using the bank balance we currently have as a cushion and thus not making any investments off the pitch for the moment. If we could manage a few £1M+ sales every season for the foreseeable future that should see us able to turn a profit and build the club up off the pitch.

Facilities – I won't be investing in the facilities until I'm sure that we can afford to do so which for me means a bank balance in excess of £5M.
 
Youth Intake – I'm very happy with this intake and it comes just at the right time as I can now offer the players full-time training which is critical to their development. Some of the best players from previous intakes haven't developed well at all and have seen downgrades to their potential, I'm hoping that will all change even if the facilities aren't that great.
 
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League Reputation – Another drop which is a bit surprising as Ballymena United, Dollingstown & Linfield all made it to the knockout stages of the Europa League. I guess my exploits didn't help as I was unable to bring home many coefficient points. Hopefully, the stronger contingent being sent next season will do a lot better.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Portadown and Coleraine are the next targets which I'm hoping a good domestic campaign next season will help us to catch. Having seen both sides of the equation now I can really appreciate why clubs find it so difficult to develop in N. Ireland.
 
Club European Reputation – Moving up but still a long way to go.
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2074 / 2075


Season Expectations

With the club becoming professional I'd hope that this would mark the beginning of a new era and that we can begin to progress up the table. The most important objective from the season will be to qualify for Europe.


 
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League Table - Another season and another 8th placed finish. I'm really disappointed with this, we're outspending Portadown on wages more than 3 to 1 and we still finished below them. We didn't even have the excuse of playing in Europe we were just poor.

Danske Bank Premier Europa League Playoff - Well at least we managed to salvage something out of the season by grabbing the final place in Europe which could be critical for the future of the club.

Domestic Cups - We had a decent season in the cups although we ended trophyless thanks to the big teams who beat us easily.

Reserves - A woeful effort in the cups but at least they were runners up in the league.

Under 18s - Excellent work from the youngsters, at least there is one team that done the club proud this year.

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Squad – I think I've encountered a serious bug in the game. All the market values of all my players have collapsed. Guidi ST at the end of last season had a value of £600K coming down from a value of £800K during the season. This season his market value is £95K when he has a longer and more valuable full-time contract. This has made a complete mess of the clubs finances as now we are paying players the money they aren't anywhere near being worth. All of which has practically destroyed any hopes of us becoming a selling club and now the club has a bunch of overpaid players who nobody is willing to buy which is understandable given that their wages appear extortionate.

The team let me down big time and usually, that would mean a big rebuild but we can't afford to do that and I'm going to have to depend on players to do well next season who were poor this season. For the first time, I feel like I have lost control of the situation here and it's a position I dislike being in. At least I have a powerful motivation to continue at Distillery and turn things around but it could take a good few seasons as we have definitely taken a significant step backward. In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to keep the affiliation with Spal but I have to live with the consequences of my decision to cancel it and move on.   

Transfers – I largely stuck with the plan of signing free agents and pre-contract agreements. Little was I to know that the rug was about to be pulled from under me and that my cash purchases were all going to make losses for the club. I also think there was a mess up with the scouting as a lot of these players were considered stars before I signed them only for them to fall far short of that and the wages that I'm paying them. Augenstein ST & Pelekis DR being the worst culprits as my highest earners who were trash. 

Player Of The Season
Noel Fanthorpe – MC - Average Rating: 7.19
The Ballinamallard United signing from last season did well although he didn't really need to do much to be the best player in this team.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Kyle Smith – DC - Average Rating: 6.74
I really struggled to find a player to give this award to, he gets it on the virtue of being the only player 21 and younger who made a decent number of appearances which says volumes about the quality of the youth players in the team.

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Finances – As a result of this shambles of a season the board decided to revert the club back to semi-professional status. All of which means I have players with full-time contracts that will be training part-time, fantastic. I'm going to have to pay more attention to the financial aspect of the club as I've been playing the game like I'm still with the likes of Linfield or Dollingstown. The wage budget is completely unsustainable for a club of this size and the players earning the most aren't our best players which makes the situation worse. A drastic new philosophy must be adopted here and I'm going to be taking a new multi-faceted approach to bringing the club back into a healthier financial situation.

1) Slash staff costs by allowing them to leave and not renewing their contracts while replacing them with much cheaper alternatives. Based on the clubs income, we should be spending no more than £5Kp/w on staff.

2) Slash player wages at every opportunity and those that don't wish to comply should be sold at the first opportunity, Based on the clubs income, we should be spending no more than £20Kp/w on player wages as it stands it is over £40Kp/w and that is without bonuses. The structure should be £10Kp/w on key players, £7Kp/w on first team players, £2Kp/w on rotation and backup players and £1Kp/w on hot prospects/youngsters.

3) Stop offering such generous contracts to players and gear negotiations toward rewarding overperformance, no more unused substitute fees, yearly wage rises and be willing to break off talks with future signings if the demands are unreasonable regardless of how great the players are. 

4) Utilize the youth system more and give more first-team opportunities to talented HG players. Considering the money being spent on the youth system we need to start to see a return on investment.

5) Keep qualifying for European competition every season as that is the only way to keep significant sums of money coming into the club.

If we can do these steps it should help to improve the situation and put the club back on the right track.

Facilities – Unsurprisingly, there were no changes.
 
Youth Intake – Some good talent in there which I'll be hoping to see in the first team before too long. A bit unfortunate with some of the personalities but we can try to rectify that through tutoring.
 
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League Reputation – An uplift which is welcome, the N. Irish teams did perform well so was expected.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – We appear to be flatlining.
 
Club European Reputation – I think that ensures that we'll be unseeded throughout qualifying so we are going to need to graft hard to make the group stages which has become so critical to the clubs future. 
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2075 / 2076


Season Expectations

After the false dawn of last season, the recovery begins here. We need to throw everything at getting to the Europa League group stage as the future of the club depends on it. Domestically, we need to continue qualifying for the Europa League and some nice cup runs will be helpful financially.


 
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League Table - It seems like we're replaying the same season over and over again much like the film groundhog day except we seem to be getting worse each time rather than better. 

Danske Bank Premier Europa League Playoff - We continue our good record in the playoffs and once again take the final spot in the Europa League which is a huge relief.

UEFA Europa League - I must give tremendous credit to the team as I didn't think we were capable of even getting to the group stage. The performances in the group stage were impressive and we were very unlucky not to get through as we finished on the same points as Reims and went down due to the head to head record. A much-needed shot in the arm after the devastation of last season.

Domestic Cups - A good season in the cups with the team pulling off a great win in the Irish Cup away at Dollingstown but the final was embarrassing.

Reserves - Would have been nice to draw Linfield Swifts away in the Intermediate Cup as that would have given a good chunk of gate receipts but a decent effort from the heavily depleted reserve team.

Under 18s - A quality season from the young starlets.

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Squad – I was offered an interview for the vacant Linfield post which I attended and was seen as the favourite to get the job which would have made for an interesting decision on whether to leave but in the end, they offered the job to somebody else. Once again my highest paid players were among the poorest performers but outside of that, I'm actually really happy with the team. Their exploits in the Europa League have completely changed the mood at the club and we seem to have corrected the bad path we were on.

Augenstein ST will be shown the door when his contract expires which is great as he never thrived here and it will save a whole lot of wages. He won't be the only one leaving and I expect to see a very different team lining up at the start of next season. Unlike last season, I'm actually in an optimistic mood for the coming season as the plan of action to improve the situation is beginning to kick in. 

Transfers – Very little activity on the incoming front with only free transfers and loans coming in. Far more interesting on the outgoings however as I sought to reduce the wage bill. We will be making a loss on the players that I spent money on but if that is the price we have to pay to become more stable financially then I'm willing to suffer that. I'm also pleased to get some good clauses on some of the young players that we sold, I really hope that the player values start to go up so that I can begin to turn the club into the selling club we need to be.

Player Of The Season
Thomas Murray – MR - Average Rating: 7.28
A very consistent season from the player which I'm very happy with. He may come under pressure for his spot soon as there are a couple of really talented right wingers in the youth team that I'd like to promote to the first team but he should enjoy his moment.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Gareth Young – ST - Average Rating: 6.93
Not bad from the Cliftonville loanee but perhaps could have been more prolific. Much like Murray, there are youth players vying for a spot which will mean that his loan will not be renewed.

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Finances – This is a position that I couldn't envision at the end of last season but I'm thrilled to have bounced back this well. The balance isn't enough to turn professional but it gives the club the opportunity to do so the season after next provided we can repeat the success of making the group stage of the Europa League next season. The wage bill has also been cut and will continue to fall over the coming season. The staff wages situation is still a bit out of control but we'll have to wait until the end of next season to correct that when the bulk of the contracts expire. We're moving forward once again and we just need to maintain this momentum.

Facilities – No changes.

Youth Intake – A really top quality intake with McNair MR looking the best attribute wise. I rank him higher than Kane ST as I fear that his personality will hinder his development and I haven't got any players who could be suitable tutors. Hopefully, we can return to professional status soon and allow some of these highly talented youngsters to train full time which is the most important factor in improving them.
 
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League Reputation – Another improvement in the position which was no doubt helped by our winning of coefficient points. The other teams did well also with 4 teams making it into the knockout stages of the Europa League, if we can continue like this then it won't be long before we get ahead of Scotland again and reclaim our 3rd Champions League spot.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – I don't think we are going to get above 2* until we can win a domestic cup or finish in the top half.
 
Club European Reputation – Our excellent performance in the Europa League should mean that we are seeded for at least the 3rd qualifying round if not the playoff also. If we have pulled that off it will make our path to the group stage far easier.
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2076 / 2077


Season Expectations

After last seasons uplifting performances in the Europa League, the hope has to be to repeat that success and regain the clubs professional status. On the domestic front, I'd be happy to qualify for the Europa League again through whatever means and to try and break into the top 6 in the league.


 
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League Table - A very poor season which means that the club misses out on Europa League football next season. It was a strange season all around, Cliftonville overtook Dollingstown on the final day to claim the title, Linfield also flopped on the final day gifting Ballymena United 3rd which is a shocking result for a team which should comfortably be title contenders every season. Then of course Ballinamallard United surprised everyone by finishing in 8th.   

UEFA Europa League - As it turned out the club was seeded throughout the qualifiers which proved to be a great help. Once again we did very well in the group and only narrowly missed out on making the knockout stages. We did our part on the final day and won but Red Star drew which was enough to see them through. The money generated has given us enough to return to professional status next season. 

Domestic Cups - A mediocre season in the cups with Ballymena United and their AC Milan loanees proving to be our nemesis.

Reserves - Not too bad although they never came close to lifting a trophy.

Under 18s - Another good season as they brought home the domestic double.

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Squad – Things are coming together for us at the moment and the squad is in a decent shape. It will be getting rebuilt next season though as we need to start making progress up the table. I'll be looking to renew the Burns ML loan and move on some players, Pelekis DR will finally be leaving and so will Smith DC who really haven't impressed for the club. I don't want to fall into the same trap as last time as we turned professional without any European football and we had to revert back the season after. This time I will be far more conscientious about who I sign and stick to a structure with regards to wages. 

Transfers – There was very little activity in the transfer market as I didn't want to bring in players on part-time deals knowing that we would be turning professional at the end of the season. There was also the problem of identifying targets to bring in, as the players which could have improved us weren't interested and the ones that were interested were rubbish. Next season should see a mass of incoming players which should be provided by the free transfer market and loans.

Player Of The Season
Thomas Murray – MR - Average Rating: 7.15
Slightly worse than last season but still our best player overall.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Jim Burns – ML - Average Rating: 7.32
A real quality player who I'll be interested to see develop with full time training next season as I extended his loan. I think what makes me the happiest about him is the fact that I haven't had to pay a single penny to have him here. His parent club Dollingstown interviewed me about the vacant manager position but much like Linfield they chose to hire someone else, hopefully, time will show that to be the worst decision they ever made. I'm rather mystified why they don't want him at the club as he would certainly add to their first team but their loss is our gain.

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Finances – I must take care of these a lot better than I did last time which means some strict rules. A total wage bill of £50Kp/w, of which £15Kp/w is for staff and £35Kp/w is for players. That will give a total yearly wage budget of £2.4M which should mean that the balance will go down by approximately £1.5M if our seasons' income remains stable (excluding Europe). I've also decided to scrap all appearance fees, unused substitute fees, yearly wage rises, sell on fees, minimum release fees if they are below an acceptable level and automatic wage rises after x games clauses. I will retain all performance-related bonuses such as the goal bonus, clean sheet bonus, team of the year, international cap and competition win bonuses. I'm hoping the new structure will enable me to keep track of the clubs finances more easily. I'll also not be renewing the contracts of a lot of staff to give me the flexibility to terminate contracts if necessary by keeping them on rolling contracts. 

Facilities – I would like to start improving these but until the balance is comfortable it will have to wait.

Youth Intake – Some interesting prospects in there for sure. I think that perhaps I'm being misled by the star ratings which are relative to the first team. The first team isn't that great so Peden ST which has a possible potential of 5* might only be good enough to be a good DBP which my best players in the squad are. If I want to develop the team into serious contenders for the title then I need players that are stars/leading players for the DBP to compare with then I can properly assess whether these players are going to help us achieve our goals.  
 
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League Reputation – After two successive rises a freeze isn't so bad, hopefully, our absence next season doesn't lead to the nation slipping back again.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Still can't break that 2* barrier.
 
Club European Reputation – Again, I really hope that our absence doesn't damage this too much.
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2077 / 2078


Season Expectations

I'm really steaming through the seasons at the moment, probably because there isn't much to be done as the club is slowly built up over the longer term. I'd like to make some progress up the table this season and will see missing out on Europe as a massive disappointment which could prove damaging.


 
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League Table - Hurrah!!...Progress at long last. We might have finished even higher had we been able to defend a bit better and turned some of those narrow defeats into draws. With better finishing, we could have turned some of those draws into wins also. This could be the season which changes everything.

Danske Bank Premier Europa League Playoff - It was vital that we got into Europe as failure would have set us back again. We managed to sneak in at the expense of Cliftonville which was great as I feel we should be able to navigate our way to the group stage next season provided we remain a seeded team throughout qualifying. 

Domestic Cups - I made a promise to Gazzaneo GK that we'd win some silverware this season and we came very close but apparently not close enough, he was cool with it though and is happy for us to win something next season, he won't be playing any part in us doing so though.

Reserves - Won the league at a canter but really struggled in the cups.

Under 18s - They were invincible and just destroyed everyone which is very promising for the future.

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Squad – The team is weaker than it was in January but is still a lot stronger than last season. The ranks will be getting bolstered significantly in the summer as I have signed a whole bunch of players on pre-contract agreements who look a cut above our existing players based on their 100% knowledge scout reports. I was also pleased to see the market values of the players rise significantly after the screenshot was taken which should mean that I can get decent money for players. I'm also going to cut my reliance on loan players now that the market values have risen as I need to give all the game time possible to contracted players.

Transfers – With the exception of Burke GK we didn't spend a penny which was fantastic when you consider the quality of player we brought in. For the first time, you will also notice some nice profits being made in the transfer market. I think that the idea of bringing in players on a free transfer then selling them for huge profits with clauses is the way forward. We smashed our total transfer income and highest transfer fee received records which is great and bodes well for the future. 

Player Of The Season
Thanasis Alexandridis – MC - Average Rating: 7.58
His best season at the club without question. I don't feel that he has enough to really take the team to the next level but he will remain the first choice Central Midfielder (Support) in the 4-4-2 for now until I can find someone much better.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Josh Peden – ST - Average Rating: 8.65
I have never seen the likes of it before, 118 goals and 51 assists. That is ridiculous, even in the youth team. He's not quite ready for the first team, I'll be waiting until he's 18 for that but what a prospect he is.

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Finances – We are largely where I expected us to be and considering we have just finished a season without any European football I think that is pretty good. I think we can loosen the purse strings a bit now as a couple of transfer clauses were cashed in after the screenshot was taken. I got £3.06M from the Buyse DC deal and another £368K from the White DC deal which left a balance of over £5M. If we make the group stage we can add around another £3M so we are comfortable.

Facilities – As a result of the unexpected windfalls I decided to invest in all the facilities. It comes at a total cost of £1.5M which is perfectly acceptable given the improved financial status of the club.

Youth Intake – Another decent looking intake but I'll reserve judgement until I see how they adapt to life in the youth team. I don't really understand why I'm getting so many players in positions which aren't in the 4-4-2 which is the HoYD's favoured formation. 
 
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League Reputation – Hopefully I can help by applying a bit of pressure on Scotland. Having our 3rd Champions League spot back would be incredibly helpful at this point considering how difficult it looks to break the top 2.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – I thought that breaking into the top 6 might move us off 2* but evidently not. It looks like we are going to need to win a domestic trophy of some description to do it.
 
Club European Reputation – A coefficient of 18.200 was enough to see us seeded throughout qualifying last time we were in Europe therefore 21.920 should be more than sufficient unless we get drawn into a particularly rough section.
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2078 / 2079


Season Expectations

Qualify for the group stages of the Europa League and see if we can make the breakthrough and get to the knockout stages. Progress up the table will be a bonus but qualifying for Europe is critical in order to secure the financial future of the club.


 
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League Table - We actually did slightly worse points-wise than last season but I'm happy with top half finishes for now. Making further progress looks a real challenge when you look at the gap between us and the top 5 but if we can continue to improve the club there is no reason why we can't catch them, it's just going to take time.

Danske Bank Premier Europa League Playoff - The game against Ballymena United was a great spectacle and I was delighted that we beat them as I considered them favourites. The Glentoran game was more routine which gives us another season of Europa League football which at the start of the season was the main objective.

UEFA Europa League - This was a brilliant campaign which is encouraging for the future. We had to play 3 qualifying rounds this time but they didn't pose much of a threat. The group stage went well with the team going unbeaten which was enough to finish 2nd. I would have been happy to get knocked out against Fiorentina as we had already gone further than ever before but a stunning result in the 1st leg practically booked our place in the next round. Then we drew Barcelona and got dismantled in the Nou Camp which effectively ended our chances of making further progress. The team did salvage some pride however by pulling off a magnificent win in the return leg which for me is the highlight of the season in Europe. More of the same next season would be great. 

Domestic Cups - The club finally ended its run of not winning a domestic trophy by lifting the Co. Antrim Shield. The last cup win before this was in 2011 with the League Cup and the last Co. Antrim Shield was won in 1986. Suffice to say it has been a long time coming but at least that barren period is now over and perhaps we can look forward to a more trophy-filled future.

Reserves - We came close to a brilliant treble, the money from the Intermediate Cup win was much appreciated.

Under 18s - Another very good season for the youth team.

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Squad – We're stronger but still have a long way to go if we are going to compete at the top end of the league. We still are lacking in the spine of the team as I feel we are short a quality central defender, defensive-minded central midfielder and top class deep-lying forward. I think I may have addressed the central midfielder issue by signing a Celtic player on a pre-contract agreement but am struggling to find the other positions. I may need to broaden my search and start spending money in the transfer market but will need to sell players to raise funds in order to do so.

Transfers – John DC was signed on a pre-contract agreement but seeing the lack of quality in the defensive line I decided to purchase him early, the price was a bit high but he really helped to shore up the defence. Giminez MC was a bit overpriced but at least he has good potential. Hopefully, we might be able to sell some more clauses to raise extra money.

Player Of The Season
Jim Burns – ML - Average Rating: 7.43
He was released by Dollingstown and when I saw him rotting on the free transfer list it was a no-brainer to bring him in given how well he did for us during his 3 seasons on loan at the club.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Alex Flinders – ML - Average Rating: 7.34
The rotation option did well when called upon and still has a lot of untapped potential which I'm hoping he begins to show and puts pressure on Burns ML for his spot.

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Finances – It looks bad but we are fairly comfortable given that we qualified for the Europa League next season. Had we not qualified then I wouldn't have spent any money and the balance would have been far larger. We also took on a £2.1M debt in order to expand the stadium but with monthly repayments of £20.5K, I think that is manageable. The wage bill has risen significantly but I'm not concerned as the market values of the players should ensure that if we do get into a bit of trouble a couple of sales should get us back in good position.

Facilities – Everything except the data analysis facilities is being improved. You may argue that with such a poor average attendance that expanding the stadium is a risky and unnecessary investment but I want to do everything possible to increase our income and given that a loan is funding the expansion a lot of the risk has been taken away. By quadrupling the number of seats in the stadium I think it will have a positive effect on gate receipts which are the only real money makers domestically.

Youth Intake – Some good prospects in there but as anticipated the PA star ratings are dropping which I take as a good sign that the quality of the first team is improving.
 
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League Reputation – I'm a little surprised that we didn't overtake Scotland given that Dollingstown won the Europa League and that we picked up coefficient points in all but one game in our campaign when we lost to Barcelona. In the end, the nation finished 3.317 points below Scotland but more encouragingly the coefficient for 2080/81 shows that N. Ireland will overtake Scotland which is fantastic as it gives us our 3rd Champions League spot back.  
 
Club Domestic Reputation – We finally break the 2* barrier and reach 2.5*. This is great news and should help with many different aspects of the club. The next target is the 3* clubs who incidentally are all the clubs who finished directly above us.
 
Club European Reputation – A massive surge up the table by 40 places, the coefficient should ensure seeded status throughout qualifying and might just push us up a pot for the group stage draw.
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2079 / 2080


Season Expectations

Try to go further in the Europa League and keep qualifying for Europe.


 
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League Table - Slight progress but the gap between the top 2 and the rest is looking rather ominous. 

Danske Bank Premier Europa League Playoff - Another win but there appears to be a bug as Cliftonville got the final spot in the Europa League when only one spot should go to the playoff winner, Ballymena United should have qualified instead.

UEFA Europa League - Yet another bug as we entered at the group stages without having to qualify. A very strange campaign which fluctuated between euphoric highs and terrible lows. How we managed to throw away a 5-0 lead in the San Siro is baffling. 

Domestic Cups - No joy this time.

Reserves - A brilliant season from them.

Under 18s - They did well although the best players are coming of age and aren't being replaced so I'd expect to see a decline soon.

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Squad – Defensively we aren't good enough and that was reflected in the results in Europe and domestically. I think the problem is both a tactical one and a personnel one. There is a real dearth of fullbacks that are useful going forwards as well as defensively and there are no players in the database whose best role is central midfielder (defend). Perhaps it may be time to tinker with the old 4-4-2.

Transfers – Spent a bit of money but made a good profit in the transfer market. The squad has become rather bloated so I would expect to see a lot more players leaving next season. 

Player Of The Season
Jim Burns – ML - Average Rating: 7.90
The best performing player at the club who improved on last season.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Jon Turner – MR - Average Rating: 7.05
A very good player who rotates with Fraser, I would like to see him putting more pressure on Fraser for his place next season.

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Finances – At this point in the season that is a very good balance. We took on an extra £1.5M worth of debt in order to max out the capacity of the stadium but outside of that no further investments were made.

Facilities – More seats mean more income and I was happy to sign off on the expansion plans which should be completed before the season starts. This gives the club the 3rd highest capacity stadium in the league which should provide a decent platform to establish the club among the top teams in the country. The next step will be getting a new stadium but that will have to wait a while. 

Youth Intake – The lack of ambition and determination of the players is really worrying. I don't think any of these players will ever play in the 1st team. 
 
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League Reputation – Two very promising things happened this season which might just turn the tide in the favour of the nation. Firstly, we rose to 6th and secondly, we regained the 3rd Champions League spot which will bring in much-needed income into the clubs.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Unfortunately for us our chances of getting that 3rd Champions League spot have decreased significantly as a tycoon has taken over Ballymena United. In the long run, it could be a great thing as he has already started by expanding their stadium and it would be great to have a team able to keep up with the top 2 financially.
 
Club European Reputation – I'm glad to have made it into the top 50 and hopefully we go through qualifiers next season so we can contribute with some much-needed coefficient points.
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2080 / 2081


Season Expectations

In Europe, I'd like to be among the last 8 but whether we can or not will depend on who we draw. On the domestic front, I would want to grab 3rd and get into the Champions League but that might be a step too far so provided we qualify for the Europa League it'll be a good season.


 
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League Table - We came so tantalizingly close to grabbing 3rd but a late winner by Linfield on the final day took it away from us. It was a really enjoyable season as we topped the table for quite some time but defeats to our main rivals after Europa League games really cost us. 

UEFA Europa League - The qualifiers were surprisingly straightforward and we drew a favourable group. Unfortunately, those dropped points against Legia and Rapid Wien came back to haunt us as we finished 2nd which meant a tougher draw which gave us Roma. The key to progressing was getting a lead to take to the Olimpico but a late red card forced me to change plans and try to keep the clean sheet which we did. We had over 30 minutes to grab that equalizer in Rome which would have taken us through but just couldn't manage it.

Domestic Cups - Got knocked out of everything at the semi-finals stage.

Reserves - Very good, the prize money and gate receipts from the cup runs was a nice boost to the clubs coffers.

Under 18s - A very successful season for another one of our teams.

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Squad – We are getting stronger as a team and the first team on their day can compete with the best teams. We seem to come up short when we have to play our 2nd string players. Therefore the focus next season has to be to improve the quality of the depth in the squad rather than merely increasing the depth by adding numbers.    

Transfers – Some decent signings in there but no real stars which look capable of taking us to the next level. I think perhaps I've been neglectful of the most important factor in becoming a selling club and that is in scouting. For the majority of the career, I've largely left the setting of scouting assignments to my chief scout. The problem with this is that they don't find players in areas of the world in which the club has no knowledge even when you set for them to search worldwide.

This has led to the club having 0% knowledge for the whole western hemisphere, very sparse knowledge of Africa, 0% knowledge of Asia and very weak knowledge of all but the UK & Ireland in Europe. All of which means that I'm missing out on loads of cheap, high potential young players which is foolish when spending so much on the scouting module of the club. Therefore I've decided to manually assign scouts to different regions in order to build up knowledge and hopefully unearth some gems.  

Player Of The Season
Simon Kuzma – ST - Average Rating: 7.82
A breakthrough season for the Slovenian international who was the top scorer at the club. I'd like to hold onto him but he has interest from other clubs and for the right price I would consider selling him.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Erik Novak – ST - Average Rating: 7.19
Perhaps the new Kuzma but he still has a long way to develop to hit those heights. 

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Finances – Had another takeover from a consortium who consolidated the 2 loans we took out earlier for the stadium expansions into 1 loan and pumped in a few hundred thousand into the club. Haven't quite got enough money to invest in the clubs infrastructure but a massive increase in the wage budget should help us to bring in some real quality players into the squad.

Facilities – No further expansion to the stadium is possible but I was surprised by how much the average attendance increased this season. If we can continue to attract new fans at a similar rate next season we will be needing a new stadium before too long.

Youth Intake – A real shame that the best prospect has such poor determination, hopefully, I can tutor that out of him.
 
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League Reputation – Looks like being a real tug of war between us and Scotland for that 6th place spot and 3rd Champions League place. They overtook us again after a lackluster season for the N. Irish teams but hopefully with more teams competing next season we might be able to regain our place.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Still stuck at 2.5*.
 
Club European Reputation – We were top seeds in the group stage which is great progress for the club as it meant a far easier group.
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2081 / 2082


Season Expectations

Progress has been going steady but we still don't look anywhere near capable of mounting a title challenge. As long as we can keep qualifying for the Europa League I'll be satisfied.


 
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League Table - Our best season yet with us even flirting with putting in a title bid even though we never were higher than 3rd at any point in the season. Ultimately, the three losses to Linfield were the difference but I'm encouraged for the future if we can continue this level of improvement.

UEFA Europa League - A very good campaign although Man Utd was a class above and are a team who should really be competing in the Champions League. I was pleased with our ability to score and rather taken aback when we put 10 past Standard over two legs who I thought we might struggle against. We're going to need a bit of luck if we are to go deeper into the competition I feel.

Domestic Cups - Another barren streak bites the dust with us capturing the League Cup for the first time since 2011, we didn't do well in the other cups though.

Reserves - Quite the disappointment considering last seasons exploits.

Under 18s - Shining bright as usual, it would be great to see how this team would fare in Europe.

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Squad – The broadening of our scouting knowledge has really helped as it has allowed me to bring in some real quality players into the team. I'm very happy with the market values of the players as it should really allow the club to become a selling club. There are a few areas which need to be strengthened such as the GK & LB positions but we are moving in the right direction. 

Transfers – I managed to bring in some real quality players and at very good prices and more importantly for fees which are significantly less than their current values. I didn't want to sell Kuzma ST but he didn't want to sign a new contract and signed a pre-contract agreement with Sevilla. I didn't want to lose Kuzma for free so I offered to 'Sell Now' and managed to get a respectable £600K. Overall, a very productive pair of transfer windows with the club making a good profit and creating good future earnings with clauses.

Player Of The Season
Jim Burns – ML - Average Rating: 7.86
A very good player but it doesn't look like he has any further room to improve. It's great to have a homegrown option in a team becoming increasingly made up of foreign players making European registration easier but he will be no more than a rotation option next season.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Gregor Gavric – MC - Average Rating: 7.25
He looks to have great potential and I will be giving him more first team football next season in the hope of unlocking that potential. My only concern would be that he is lacking a bit with his defensive attributes but hopefully, that will improve.

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Finances – In a relatively comfortable position but I didn't feel we had enough to make any further investments. I will be cancelling the senior affiliation with Bayer Leverkusen to see if that is having an impact on our outgoing transfers. If we can get to around the £10M mark for the end of season balance then I will restart the upgrades to the facilities.

Facilities – No changes.

Youth Intake – A couple of promising prospects including a much-needed goalkeeper in Hooton GK. I do like to have HG goalkeepers given that you have to select 2 for European competition so if we can develop Hooton into a first-team player that would be very helpful.
 
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League Reputation – The N. Irish teams actually did pretty well in Europe by having 5 teams in the knockout stages of the Europa League. Unfortunately for us 5 Scottish teams also managed to get into the knockout stages and did better overall which means that they retain their position ahead of us in 6th.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – I'm beginning to think we are going to need to win the DBP to get to 3*.
 
Club European Reputation – The coefficient remains strong although we won't need to qualify for the group stage next season.
 
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Geez I had some 15 seasons to read, glad you kept the Excel sheet updated. :D

Are Linfield and Dollingstown still a force in Europe?

What were they smoking when they came up with those 25 cups in the Northern Irish footballing calendar? :D 

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On 30/08/2018 at 02:30, noikeee said:

Geez I had some 15 seasons to read, glad you kept the Excel sheet updated. :D

Are Linfield and Dollingstown still a force in Europe?

What were they smoking when they came up with those 25 cups in the Northern Irish footballing calendar? :D 

Thanks for commenting.

Linfield and Dollingstown aren't really a force anymore in Europe although Dollingstown did manage to win a Europa League title in 2079 which is a good achievement given the debts they had to take on to build their new stadium which they have decided to expand significantly.

I'm disappointed with Linfield though as I left them with a decent balance, a massive new stadium and a whole bunch of wonderkids but they just haven't come close to maintaining the success. They both regularly make the knockout stages of the Europa League but that is no special achievement seeing as I'm managing to get Distillery which is a small club in comparison to that stage and Cliftonville and Ballymena United also make that round regularly also.

I can't quite put my finger on a reason for it other than perhaps a lack of ambition from Linfield. Tycoon owned Ballymena United spent £29M on players last season whereas Linfield only spent £3.4M which was less than us!!... We really need them to help the nations coefficient as without them being a significant force in Europe we risk giving the Scottish teams an insurmountable advantage given how much more money they are able to generate. The coming seasons could make or break the development of N. Irish football as the level of investment I'm seeing from Scotland is worrying.

Celtic will be moving into a 98,500 capacity stadium in 2086, Aberdeen has a 77,800 capacity stadium, Rangers have a 64,000 capacity ground, Hibs have a 44,809 capacity ground and Cowdenbeath are expanding their ground to a 35,466 capacity. They already get a lot more money from playing in Scotland if they keep 3 spots in the Champions League for a long period then I could easily see them spiralling out of control making it nigh on impossible for us to overtake them. 

The scheduling does get a bit hectic but it's not too bad at the moment. I think when I qualify for the Irn-Bru Cup it will start to become a major problem as that often tends to get scheduled over international breaks which makes things a bit tricky.

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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2082 / 2083


Season Expectations

I'm not really sure what I can realistically expect to achieve this time around and it feels like our destiny is in the hands of other teams. If either Linfield or Dollingstown has a good season then I can't see us putting in a title challenge and if we draw a team of the calibre of Man United in the knockout rounds again I can't see us getting through either. We'll just have to see how it goes.


 
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League Table - Never have I been so conflicted about what to make of a season. On the one hand, I'm delighted to have qualified for the Champions League as that was unexpected and it shows good progress. A final day victory allowing us to overtake Linfield to clinch 2nd. On the other hand, we were top of the league after 33 games after fighting so hard to keep the title race going only to have our form completely collapse post-split and basically hand the title to Dollingstown. I think the turning point was the loss of Diallo ST for those final 5 games due to him tearing his groin muscle, had he not suffered that injury we could well have a C next to our name. 

UEFA Europa League - We couldn't really expect to concede 8 goals in a knockout tie and still progress. Some of the defending against Real Sociedad was bordering on amateur-ish with Baskerville DC putting in one of the worst performances I've ever seen, so poor in fact that I ended up having to substitute him to spare him and us any further embarrassment. That being said, our chances of progression weren't helped when all my first choice right wingers got injured forcing me to play a youth player and our best ML D'Angelo broke his leg forcing me to play Burns.

Domestic Cups - We did respectably well except in the League Cup which was all sorts of terrible. Our long wait for another Irish Cup win goes on.

Reserves - Easy as you like for the B team.

Under 18s - Another clean sweep under their belts, if we can get to the group stage of the Champions League it will be interesting to see how they fare against the better quality opposition of the UEFA Youth League.

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Squad – I think we were unlucky this season and we would have turned a very good season into an unforgettable one had we avoided some of the terrible injuries some of our best players suffered. It seems the bad luck with injuries is continuing as Stieber DR fractured his leg and could miss the Champions League qualifiers next season. I don't think the squad needs major surgery just a few players here and there and we'll be capable of putting in a title challenge. If we could pick up a pair of fullbacks, a decent ML and attack duty striker I think we will be in good shape. I'd also like to give more game time to talented youth prospect Hooton GK as I look to bring a more HG look to the team as European squad registration was really difficult this season. 

Transfers – We made a good profit which was great and managed to bring in a number of young talented players. Yates DL was a little disappointing at times in Europe probably as a result of his dislike of big matches. There were some good bargains in there, Campos MC, Doherty ST and Doppelfeld ST all look like making good contributions to the club either through performances or sell on value. The star signing has to be Diallo ST, I had been tracking him for a while but he wasn't interested, he finally relented and I think we have potentially a great player on our hands. 

Player Of The Season
Mattia D'Angelo – ML - Average Rating: 7.48
Up until he broke his leg he was really performing well in Europe providing a lot of assists. I hope that the injury doesn't ruin him although given his determined nature I think he should have what it takes to come back strong.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Jean Diallo – ST - Average Rating: 7.49
He is defintitely what we needed in the DLF(S) role. Strong, determined and great off the ball intelligence. If he can avoid injury and keep his consistency he could be the one that gets us over the line in the title battle.

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Finances – A pretty poor balance which I'm hoping to boost with Champions League group stage money. This just shows how financially insecure the club really is. We had a good season with transfers, sellling clauses and finished higher than ever before but still we have no money which means no investments will be made off the pitch.

Facilities – I did upgrade the youth facilities last season as we had some money leftover but I will not be doing so this time.

Youth Intake – One of the poorest intakes we've had although all the players have been signed. Anderson DL can maybe become a decent backup player but the rest look ready for the road as soon as their time in the youth team comes to an end at 18.
 
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League Reputation – The problem we have is that every season the Scottish teams are doing as well or better than the N. Irish teams. More concerning is the way in which the Scottish teams are using the money they are getting from having 3 Champions League spots to invest in their clubs. How are we going to overtake them when the gap is already so large and is getting larger every season? One thing is for sure we are going to need a big season in Europe to help the coefficient and who knows maybe the drop down to the Europa League might help Linfield win some coefficient points for the country as they have been next to useless in the Champions League.   
 
Club Domestic Reputation – 3* at last and we didn't even need to win the DBP.
 
Club European Reputation – I'm hoping that having such a high coefficient offers us some protection in the form of being seeded for the best placed qualifiers or we could be in for a rough time. Only AC Milan and Benfica have a higher seeding than us in that section of the qualifiers so provided we avoid them we should have a reasonable chance of taking one of the 2 spots available in the group stage from that route.
 
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5 hours ago, pheelf said:

The scheduling does get a bit hectic but it's not too bad at the moment. I think when I qualify for the Irn-Bru Cup it will start to become a major problem as that often tends to get scheduled over international breaks which makes things a bit tricky.

Maybe you need to hire rubbish players not good enough for international teams, on purpose, just for those ties. :D

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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2083 / 2084


Season Expectations

After coming so tantalizingly close to winning the DBP last season it would be a disappointment if we don't challenge for the league title. I'd like to also make the group stage of the Champions League but feel we are going to need the luck of the draw if we are to achieve that goal. 


 
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League Table - After 121 years of hurt we finally reclaim the DBP title. This was a titanic battle with surprise challengers Cliftonville pushing us all the way. Much like last season, we went into the split with the lead but a slender advantage after some indifferent form during February which reduced a healthy 5 points lead to just 1 point. Unlike last season, we didn't have injuries to our top players. As I anticipated, Diallo ST proved to be pivotal as he chipped in with a goal a game post-split which helped us to a 3-2 win at home against Glenavon on matchday 34 and a 2-2 draw away at Linfield on matchday 35. Without his goals, we would have been looking at only 1 point from 2 games instead of 4.

The major turning point in the title race came with a convincing 4-1 win at home to Dollingstown on matchday 36 while Cliftonville could only manage a 3-3 draw with Ballymena United even though they recovered from 3-0 down. The next game was the knockout blow as we then went away to Ballymena United and trashed them 5-1 which basically guaranteed the title with a big 3-0 final day win at home to Cliftonville proving largely academic. A great season for us although Dollingstown never looked like being capable of defending their title which isn't great given that they are supposed to be one of the leading teams in the country.

UEFA Champions League - The tie against Standard was well...standard as we were well in control and dispatched our Belgian opponents without conceding. Unfortunately for us we then drew AC Milan. Our previous history with them had me optimistic that we could perhaps pull off a win but a late missed penalty in the home leg meant we were chasing them in the San Siro which was always going to be difficult as we needed to score twice without conceding. To my pleasant surprise, we were very competitive in Italy and took the lead in the 36th minute. We conceded just before halftime but that didn't demoralize us and we created some good opportunities in the second half. We gave everything we had but between an inspired GK and the width of a post we just couldn't get that goal to take the game to extra time. A great effort from the lads, at least next season we won't have to go through this again as we qualify directly for the group stage.

UEFA Europa League - The group stage went well with the exception of Bournemouth as we qualified with a game to play. Unfortunately, once we reach the knockout stages we seem to be developing this bad habit of shipping goals like it's going out of fashion making further progress impossible. This time it was 7 goals but once again terrible luck with injuries decimated our front line which play a critical role as our first line of defence in the 4-4-2. Lacking both Diallo & Doppelfeld meant that our usual press was ineffective as they were able to play out from the back far more easily. In the end, they just played us off the park in Belfast. We did salvage some pride in Germany but the damage was already done.

Domestic Cups - A great season in the cups as we put an end to another embarrassingly long trophy drought as we lifted the Irish Cup for the first time since 1971. It was also great to win the Scottish Challenge Cup at the first time of asking. We were a lost penalty shootout away from a clean sweep which is a remarkable improvement after years and years of coming nowhere close to lifting any cup.

Reserves - A little blip in the Steel & Sons Cup but outside of that another great season.

Under 18s - Another league title but poor in the cup. Next season will see them test their mettle against the best European teams. Hopefully, it can be a positive experience for them.

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Squad – A fantastic team which looks to have plenty of room for improvement. I can see plenty of movement in the transfer market given how much interest there now is in the majority of the players but given the market values have gone up it could be a great time for the club to make some serious money. I don't think the players will be good enough to make an impact in the later stages of the Champions League but a few quality additions might give us enough to grab 3rd in our group. I think I may have encountered another bug as both Toure GK & Popov ML were denied work permits even after appeal but were able to play games. I had intended to buy them and loan them out but given they were eligible to play it wouldn't make sense not to utilise them given their quality. I think in future I'll just cancel any incoming transfers for players which can't get a work permit as this is clearly not how it's supposed to work.  

Transfers – Our incoming transfers in January were far better than the summer window as while Popov ML & Rioja ST were great, Soria DL & Averaimo MC were overpriced for what they brought to the team. We made another profit and overall I wasn't too fussed to lose the players that left. I'm anticipating a busy summer window next season, hopefully, we can use it to build up the bank balance and secure the clubs future. 

Player Of The Season
Lucas Doppelfeld – ST - Average Rating: 7.52
One of the best bargain signings I've ever done. For £70K I never anticipated that I'd be picking up a top scorer but that is what he proved to be. He was a bit unlucky with injuries but I'll be looking to offer him a new contract as I want to remove his temptingly low £4.9M release clause.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Valery Popov – ML - Average Rating: 7.50
The Russian came in at the start of January and has been great for the club. He seems to have a lot of untapped potential which I'm hoping that playing at a higher level in the Champions League might help him unlock. 

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Finances – It looks bad but once the Champions League group stage money goes in and some player sales occur the club will be in the strongest financial position it has ever been. This is the balance after £3.7M was taken out for facilities expansion but before a clause was sold bringing in £2.32M.

Facilities – The training and youth facilities will be getting upgraded and the club now has data analysis facilities. I did ask for a new stadium but the board doesn't feel we have the fanbase to support it which is understandable given that the average attendance is only 51% of the stadium capacity. Now that the title has been won I'm hoping we will see a rise in that figure as that is the next major step the club needs to take. 

Youth Intake – A much-improved intake, it is interesting to see a Polish-born player in the intake it's just a shame about his natural position as he will need to be retrained. McKee ST looks to be the best player potential wise although his personality lets him down, again we seem to be attracting a lot of poor personalities.
 
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League Reputation – We're falling back as it was a poor season for the N. Irish teams in Europe with only 1 representative in the Champions League group stage and 2 representatives in the Europa League group stage. At least Dollingstown were able to salvage some coefficient points with a run to the Europa League quarter final but we need more if we are to catch Scotland.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – We are now officially the 3rd most reputable club in the country, I'll take that for now.
 
Club European Reputation – I'm hoping that we can gain some coefficient points in the Champions League but how many will depend on who we draw.
 
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Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Season 2084 / 2085


Season Expectations

Last season we reached the top of N. Irish football, I'd like to stay there especially since the board demands that we do. As for our maiden adventure into the Champions League group stages, I'd like to aim for 3rd anything better than that will be great.


 
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League Table - A disappointing season and a step backwards. We started the season fairly well but as the Champions League games started we then dropped points which gave us a deficit to make up. We also had the misfortune of suffering injuries to key players before we played the big teams which meant that we lost the majority of the games against our title rivals. We came back into the race with a sequence of good results in winter but every time we got within striking distance we'd slip up and by the time we got to the split we were 7 points off the top. To have any chance we'd need to win practically every game and hope that Linfield and Dollingstown slipped up which Dollingstown did, Linfield didn't which meant the gap stayed the same in the end which means no Champions League football next season.

UEFA Champions League - If the league season was disappointing this was everything but. The group stage went very well with us pulling off some great wins especially at home to Man United. We managed to top our group ahead of surprise runners-up Torino with Man United booted down to the Europa League. Our bubble burst when we drew West Ham as they slaughtered us in both legs but the gap in quality still remains vast. We also were missing star central defender Peraza which really hampered our efforts.

Domestic Cups - Only the one cup this time around although we did go deep into all the competitions.

Reserves - A poor season in the cups but held their own in the league.

Under 18s - The domestic double and a good first season in the UEFA Youth League, just a shame they won't be playing in it again next season.

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Squad – The strength of the squad has been reduced slightly as I looked to bring in some HG players which were of lower current ability but have decent potential. There has been some good development of players this season with Hooton GK now considered a wonderkid alongside his rival Toure GK. The major stumbling block this season was injuries, Peraza got injured for months which meant he missed the UEFA Champions League knockout round, Yates DL is injured for months. At one point in the season, we had 8 first team players out injured which any team would struggle with and it really affected our performances. I don't really have an explanation as to why this keeps happening every season as our training is average intensity, I rotate players and don't start players with condition less than 90% and have a number of sports scientists.

Transfers – Diallo ST left for a record fee with Robles ST seen as his long-term replacement. I was a bit gutted to lose Doppelfeld ST for his low release clause but the profits we made overall have made the club comfortable financially.

Player Of The Season
Kristiyan Marinov – MR - Average Rating: 7.69
A very gifted winger who was the leading provider of assists in the team. He hasn't got much flair which I think hampers his game when coming up against the poorer teams in the league as he needs to be more unpredictable. I'll be definitely looking to bring in a player to compete with him for his place as I wasn't convinced by Galan MR when he played and healthy competition might just help him.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Valery Popov – ML - Average Rating: 7.64
Two seasons in a row for the young Russian. His physical attributes are brilliant but he needs to work on his technical attributes which I have him training with the Wide Midfielder role.

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Finances – A very comfortable balance which was bolstered after the screenshot with the sale of a Diallo ST clause for £7.5M. I think the balance will once again be rising as I see a few players leaving as a result of the absence of Champions League football on offer. The club was also able to clear off all the debts it took out earlier to fund stadium expansion. If we can keep the balance healthy we should be able to continue investing in the clubs infrastructure.

Facilities – Everything got improved except a new stadium which we seem to be getting further from rather than closer to. The average attendance actually dropped which I found perplexing given that the ticket prices hardly rose at all. We also lost out on a load of income as for some reason our Champions League home games were played at Cliftonville's new ground with its capacity of just over 8,000 as opposed to Windsor Park with its 27,000 capacity. Ideally, I'd like them to convert all the terracing at New Grosvenor stadium to seats so we can host games in Europe at home but there doesn't appear to be any way of doing that.

Youth Intake – An intake which provided a 'best player of his generation' in Hughes ST. He has already been called up to represent his country at youth level so I'm looking forward to developing him and hopefully having a player which can be a star in the national team in future. I also looked to scout the other teams in N. Ireland and their youth intakes in an attempt to be more proactive in finding high potential N. Irish players. I really want to help the national team and the concern is that the poor facilities of other clubs along with the lack of playing time at an appropriate level is depriving the national team of players which can drive the nation forward.
 
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League Reputation – It is getting harder and harder to envision a scenario where we overtake Scotland. Dollingstown getting knocked out of the Europa League qualifiers didn't help our coefficient.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Any further progress is going to depend on our performances in Europe more than anything else at this point.
  
Club European Reputation – We have the best coefficient of all the teams in N. Ireland but just look at how many Scottish clubs are above us.
 
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On 17/09/2018 at 11:37, noikeee said:

Nice step forward this last 2 seasons, I trust losing the title this season was just a blip caused by the CL distractions, and you'll be back to winning it again in no time.

That was the plan but then an opportunity has just presented itself which I'm considering what I should do with. I've gotten to December of season 2085/2086 and the Linfield manager has just left his post to go manage Hamburg (which is inexplicable to me as they are 16th in the Bundesliga equal on points with Bayern :eek:).

I'm considering applying for the Linfield job and leaving Distillery for the following reasons.

1) Distillery still needs a lot of work to challenge in the later stages of European competition. Additionally, the next major step in building the club would be a new stadium which appears many years into the future, we aren't even filling half our current stadium capacity on average.

2) It's only another season and a half before a new stadium can be built for Linfield which would have a massive capacity, probably in excess of 80,000. Teams playing away in the cups picking up £1M+ in gate receipts would really help spur the development of the other N. Irish clubs. This is something I can't do with Distillery for the foreseeable future, the only contribution the club can make to the overall state of the N. Irish game is the coefficient.

3) Linfield is a team that I could return to being a European giant a lot easier than turning Distillery into one for the first time.

4) I feel it's the only way that I'm going to be able to topple Scotland and get back the 3rd Champions League spot by controlling what is meant to be the biggest club in the country.

On the other hand, Linfield is 4th in the DBP and are 11 points off the top. If we win our game in hand we are joint top. I've also got a number of wonderkids at the club now which will probably all just leave if I go. I have to think about my next move.

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The prodigal son returns

After giving it much thought I have decided to leave Distillery. It was just too good an opportunity to let waste as I didn't know when the job would become available again and this way I have time to rebuild the club and prepare it for a new stadium which should be available to start seeking planning permission in 2087.

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They still have all the makings of a super club but have faltered badly since I left. No European trophies at all and only going as far as the Champions League quarter-final stage. Their record in the Europa League has been even worse with them not ever making it past the 2nd Knockout Round. Reputation wise they have declined to only a National reputation and fallen behind Distillery in coefficients. Even though they won the DBP last season their domestic record hasn't been particularly good either even though they did win 5 DBP titles on the bounce between 2077 and 2082. It has been a slow and steady decline since I left which I hope to correct and get the club moving in the right direction again.  


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The first thing that needs addressing is that reputation. 3.5* doesn't make the club attractive to wonderkids and considering that one of the philosophies is to sign high profile players having such a reputation isn't going to help matters. I am slightly surprised that in all these years a rivalry hasn't developed with Dollingstown as the two have been involved in many a title battle before Distillery began to disrupt it. As they finished bottom of their Champions League group we can't even use the offer of Champions League football as a lure to attract players so it's going to be tricky.

Facilities 

I don't really understand why a club which is considered 'Rich' would allow the facilities to run down to this extent. Therefore it will be a priority to make everything state of the art once again. They have also been neglectful of the coaching staff and the club has a number of training categories at 2*. Scouting is also in a bad state with only 4 scouts at the club. I will take full control of this department, unlike last time as I don't want to be restricted to signing only players within our very limited scouting knowledge which is 23% of the world and would be much lower had they not retained the youth affiliation with Chilean club Universidad Catolica. It's a real mess at the moment and is going to take a lot of work to sort out. 

First Team

Oh dear. No wonder the club is in such a state and are so uncompetitive in Europe. Not a single wonderkid in the squad and with an average age of just over 30 we can begin to see the extent of the rebuilding task ahead of us. Thankfully, I have practically the entire January transfer window to try to improve things but I think I'm going to find it quite challenging to ship out a lot of the oldest players who incidentally are some of the highest paid. Dane Potts GK is considered to be the best player at the club which isn't great but at least a lot of the older players contracts are expiring at the end of the season. After seeing the squad I think it's going to be really difficult to get back into the title race especially when you look at the number of injuries.

Reserves

A very weak team although there are a few prospects in there who could in time prove useful provided I can give them game time to develop them.

Youth Team

Much like every other department another area which has been largely neglected. If the club is to become a factory for the N. Irish national team we are going to need more numbers in the youth team. Cooling GK is considered the hot prospect at the club which is deserved as he appears to have a lot of untapped potential but he isn't going to do well with greyed out players in the outfield positions infront of him.

Finances 

This isn't actually what I expected as this appears quite low for a club which has turnover up to this point of £41M. The wage bill is completely out of control when you consider the ability of the players in the squad. The club is spending over £400Kp/w before bonuses and we don't have a single world class player in the team it's an absolute scandal. Worse still the players don't appear to have good resale value.

Starting Conditions

The current DBP table is below.

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If we win our game in hand the gap could be down to 8 points but I just don't see Dollingstown slipping up very much. We still have to play them another 2 times so if we can win both then we might start to exert some pressure. I think the target this season has to be 2nd and getting into the Champions League as that will help us greatly when trying to bring in new players in the summer.

Starting League Reputations

Danske Bank Premier - 7th

Bluefin Sport Championship - 107th

Bluefin Sport Premier Intermediate League - 167th

This is a long-term project to try and get the nation further up the competition rankings with hopefully the side benefit of helping the N. Ireland national team. If I can end my time here having restored Linfield to the very top and got them into a fully expanded massive new stadium with the other teams in N. Ireland improved I'll consider it a job well done.

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Linfield F.C.

Season 2085 / 2086


Season Expectations

The club is celebrating its 200th year and I'd like to be able to bring home the DBP title but Dollingstown has a good lead with only 16 games left of the season to play. I think it will be very challenging to overcome that lead as it will depend on us being perfect and them slipping up but I see no reason why we can't set our sights on my old club Distillery and aim for 2nd and the Champions League spot that comes with it. 


 
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League Table - A season riddled with 'what if?' moments. What if we had managed to hold onto our 2-0 lead away to Dollingstown, what if we didn't start our time at the club so poorly picking up only 1 point from 2 games, what if we held on to our lead against 10 men Distillery, what if both our first team right-wingers weren't injured for the post-split fixtures which forced me to play youth players. In the end, we finished in the same position as we started. Owing to a stroke of luck, we may have still qualified for the Champions League thanks to Dollingstown pulling off an incredible Europa League win. It doesn't show it on the table but the last time they won the Europa League in 2079, 3rd placed Cliftonville were in the Best Placed qualifiers the following season so we should be there.

UEFA Champions League - The entire campaign was played out before I arrived and they were shocking. If you get taken apart like that against Spartak Moscow at home then you don't really deserve to even finish 3rd.

Domestic Cups - At least the fans have some silverware to help celebrate the clubs bicentennial. I wasn't overly optimistic going into the Irish Cup final as we had lost on the final day of the DBP 4-0 to Ballymena United but the players were determined to win and they beat them comfortably getting revenge. Some of the players were probably aware that it was likely to be their last outing for the club so it's nice to see them leave on a high.

Reserves - Not the greatest of seasons but they are severely lacking in players.

Under 18s - They were abysmal in both the league and UEFA Youth League but at least they won the cup.

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Squad – The summer is going to bring about a revolution at the club with a number of players leaving the club which should free up some wages. The players I'd like to leave are Potts GK as I have talented HG goalkeepers that need game time as their development has stalled and I think I could get decent money for him. Maria DR will be released when his contract expires which should free up over 7% of the wage bill and get the highest paid player out of the club. If I can get both Giminez DC & Filoia DC out I'll be happy as we need a top class central defender if we are to stand any chance of making the group stages of the Champions League. Granger DL will be leaving at the end of his contract giving us another £10Kp/w in the budget. 

In midfield, I'm considering cashing in on Katanic MR if we can get a decent offer. I'd like Saul MC & Sierra MC to leave as they are too old to provide the kind of dynamism I need in the central midfield. I will need to see if I can find a quality defensively minded central midfielder as I don't think Ribeiro MC is the long-term solution. I'd also like to see Booth ML leave as he is going to be 35 in August and for a wide player that I need to get up and down the flank he is becoming very slow even though his passing is good. I think for the money he is earning I can get better value by investing in a younger player.

Finally, upfront I think we are going to need to get rid of Kalkhuis, Flanagan, Pastor & Palicka. Both Pastor and Palicka proved to be expensive flops and the other two don't look to have what is needed to take this club to the next level, at least Kalkhuis and Flanagan should be able to command a decent transfer fee. I would expect to see a completely revamped squad next time around.

Transfers – This is why I don't really like doing major business in the winter transfer window as you often end up paying over-inflated prices for players based on form. The only decent player I managed to bring in was Plazanic DR who looks to be developing well and has risen above Maria DR in the pecking order. We are going to need a lot of players for next season which I blame the previous regime for as they held onto players for way too long and now we have a situation where we need practically a new back line and central midfield which is going to be expensive if we are to bring in the quality we need to be competitive in Europe. 
 
Player Of The Season
Nedeljko Katanic – MR - Average Rating: 7.57
An incredibly reliable player who might have helped us back into the title race but for his injury. He has asked to leave and I've agreed to let him go provided a club bids £7.75M. I already have my eyes set on going back to my old stomping ground and putting in a bid for wonderkid Medina MR before other clubs become interested. If he leaves then that should give me enough money to do that.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Drazen Plazanic – DR - Average Rating: 7.19
He performed better in half a season than Maria DR has done in his last 4 seasons which tells you why he so quickly became the first choice fullback. I'll be looking for another high potential right back to compete with him next season in order to keep him on his toes when Maria leaves. 

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Finances – We're not 'Rich' as I spent over £7M on upgrading all the facilities. This means that we can't afford any more missteps in the transfer market and every player we bring in has to be one which has room to develop and good resale value. We have to be a selling club for the moment as the bank balance is going to need to be boosted significantly if we are to fulfill our ambition of building a huge new stadium. There are some positive signs going forward as the wage bill will fall significantly next season. Once players like Maria DR who is on £35Kp/w leave if I can replace them with youngsters who demand a similar wage I'd imagine they'll probably be wonderkids. Even if say a 19-year-old wanted half of his wages to start they are likely to have the potential to be one of the best players in the world in their position provided they aren't already at a bigger club. I'm also pleased to report that the club has no outstanding debt which is very helpful.

Facilities All the facilities are being upgraded with the exception of the stadium.
 
Youth Intake – Not the best of intakes, even the best player Maybin MC isn't all that impressive when compared to our current squad which means that he is unlikely to help us going forward. I'm a bit concerned that we don't appear to have a single natural striker in this intake which means that we are going to have no natural striker in the youth team until the next intake.
 
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League Reputation – Even after Dollingstown won the Europa League we are still miles away in terms of coefficients from Scotland. Hopefully, if we can navigate the Champions League qualifiers we should have 3 teams in the group stage which might help to close the gap significantly.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Dollingstown unsurprisingly rise to the top after their exploits in Europe hopefully we can begin to impress in Europe too and regain top spot before too long.
 
Club European Reputation – We should be seeded throughout the qualifiers as only one team Hibernian has a better coefficient than us in the best-placed section. I am getting a bit concerned though as we aren't appearing in the list for seedings in the Champions League. Last time Dollingstown won the Europa League they finished 2nd in the league, I wonder whether that makes a difference although I don't see why it should. We get 2 places because of our position in the coefficient rankings and they should get a special unique spot in the group stage which is completely unconnected to their finishing position in the league. The only way that we haven't qualified is if the spot gets voided if you have already qualified for the group stage through the league. How I thought it worked is that if either 1st or 2nd in the DBP won the Europa League then the nation would get an extra place which would go to the 3rd placed team which is what happened to Cliftonville the last time it happened. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
 
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After doing a little bit of reading on the rules of the Champions League it turns out that we don't qualify after all as the place gets allocated to the 3rd placed club from the league which is ranked 5th which in our case is the German Bundesliga. So we're off to the Europa League group stage then. 

Massively disappointed by that, kind of sets up a perverse incentive as the nation is being punished for Dollingstown having had such a good season. Had they not won the DBP we would have got 3 Champions League spots instead Germany benefits by getting an extra place.

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Linfield F.C.

Season 2086 / 2087


Season Expectations

Last season we finished 3rd in the DBP, this time around the board wants us to win the title so that has to be the objective, failing that we need to at least qualify for the Champions League by finishing 2nd. I'd like a good run in the Europa League but after seeing some of the teams seeded for the group stage how far we end up going will depend on who we draw.


 
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League Table - We started the season rather poorly as the new players struggled to gel properly which had us down in 5th place and 10 points off Dollingstown at the top. Critically for us, the team started to play better as we went into the fixtures against our main rivals which we managed to scrape narrow wins against which pushed us up into 3rd and only 8 points behind. I still remained unconvinced that we could put in a title challenge but sensed that if we could remain perfect with our form we might just have a chance. Thankfully we managed to do just that and when I saw Dollingstown slipping up my hopes were raised as we reduced the lead to 5 points by the time of the split. Then we were done a huge favour by my old club Distillery who then beat Dollingstown on the first matchday of the split putting us within striking distance of Dollingstown meaning that a victory at home to them in the penultimate game of the season would put our destiny in our hands.

What then followed in that game was one of the best games I've ever played in FM. Going into the game I thought it might be a tepid affair given what was at stake but it turned out to be a thriller. The game started poorly for us with some slack marking by our left back allowing an uncontested ball into the channel for their striker Hayes to run onto which he cut back for his strike partner Coulibaly to tap in at the far post within the first two minutes. A nightmare start which I hoped wouldn't be a sign of things to come. We then showed great character and responded instantly as a cross from Dekker ML on the left flank was swung in behind their defensive line which Knott ST met and smashed into the bottom right corner. Then just before halftime, Bashev MC pings a beauty of a pass wide over the defenders which Lense MR runs onto. He then plays a cross into the centre of the 6 yard box which is met by Naveda ST who heads past Oliver in their goal. What a great time to score all that we needed now was to hold on in the second half.

I was unsure of how my players would approach the 2nd half knowing that we already had what we needed. In my opinion, they had the right idea and within 2 minutes of the restart, we were 3-1 up. Naveda picked up the ball deep in the midfield and pinged a great pass into the space behind the opposition defensive line for Knott ST to run onto which he met and slammed it low into the middle of the goal. At this point, I was delighted as we appeared to be making a difficult challenge look rather easy and perhaps my players became a bit complacent as a result. As the second half was progressing I was becoming increasingly confident that we weren't going to concede but then Dollingstown got a throw-in deep in our half on our left flank in the 80th minute. They then played a one-two on the flank between Giminez and Fletcher with Giminez then managing to get a cross into the box which seemed to fox our goalkeeper and went into the net. A very poor goal to concede which started all the nerves jangling again.

The last 10 minutes of regulation time seemed to drag on forever but we were holding on to our lead when the board went up for 4 minutes of added time. Then in the 93rd minute, it happens. We seem to be in control of the ball in their half but then Naveda stupidly attempts a through ball which is intercepted by their defender Massey giving them the opportunity to counter. He then pumps it long into the feet of the fresh Rasmussen ST he then plays a great pass over the top which our central defender Floristeanu misjudges which allows Coulibaly in. He still has a lot of work to do as he approaches the edge of our box as he's got 3 defenders around him and our goalkeeper rushing out. Amazingly, Floristeanu recovers and tackles the ball away from him unfortunately for us the ball goes loose in the worst possible place and lands at the feet of Tate who has an open goal which he duly slots the ball into. I was devastated, not only to throw away a 2 goal lead but also because there was practically no time left to recover. To think that we had worked so hard just to stay in the title race and for it to be so cruelly ripped away from us was very hard to take. Accepting that our fate was out of hands I kept things the same as I didn't want to lose the game which would have ended the title race there and then. We still had a small hope that Ballymena United might be able to do us a favour on the final day.

Then something miraculous happened. It's late, referee looking at his watch late but the game is still going on. Floristeanu puts in a tackle and the ball runs loose to the feet of Rodriguez DL on the edge of our area. He then plays it into an exhausted Bashev who knowing we have literally no time left turns and belts the ball long into space for Knott to chase. He wins through the tackle and has the ball wide around 20 yards from their goal. He notices Naveda desperately trying to catch up with play and make a run into the far post. He then buys a bit of time by driving to the byline which allows Naveda to get to around the penalty spot where he is unmarked. Knott then crosses the ball into the area in front of the defender which realistically he should be the massive favourite to meet and clear but he's caught ball watching and almost freezes in place under the pressure. Nevada then makes the run and meets the ball in front of him and heads the ball into the net. Incredible, absolutely incredible as I knew then that we were going to be champions. The final day was a routine 2-0 win against bottom of the top 6 teams Glenavon which sealed the title for us. We showed so much fight and determination throughout the season to keep up with Dollingstown that I can say that this one of the sweetest wins of the career so far, a thoroughly deserved victory. Roll on the Champions League!!  

UEFA Europa League - Our campaign couldn't have started much better although we were soon brought back down to earth with a narrow loss to Borussia Dortmund. We dispatched Lech Poznan easily in both games but then bizarrely drew in Turkey meaning that we had to beat Dortmund in the final game of the group to finish top. I suspected that we might be able to do that but I certainly didn't expect that scoreline meaning we scored 25 goals in a group stage which is probably the most I have ever managed. Sevilla was one of the hardest teams we could have drawn but we were competitive against them. I felt that we were going to need an away goal but try as we did we just couldn't manage it as our strikers had an off game. When they scored 2 goals within the first 20 minutes of the 2nd leg I knew the game was up but in some respects, I was relieved as it allowed me to focus my efforts solely on the domestic front. Had we not been in a title battle I think I would have been more disappointed with our defeat and loss of a route into the Champions League but it all worked out well in the end.

Domestic Cups - A case of my old club coming back to haunt us. I don't know what we were doing in the Irish Cup final but we started woefully and practically handed the trophy to Distillery which is strange as I thought we would have been on a high having secured the DBP the week before. At least we didn't end the season completely empty handed as we lifted the Co. Antrim Shield.

Reserves - They won the league and were invited to play in a youth tournament which they did reasonably well in. The cups were a bit of a disaster though.

Under 18s - Relatively poor from them but then again having no natural strikers isn't exactly helpful, at least the youth intake brought some into the squad for the UEFA Youth League next season.

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Squad – I promised a lot of changes in the squad for this season and I think you'll agree that is exactly what has happened. We now for the first time in many years have wonderkids in the squad. Floristeanu DC was considered one during the season although not now for some reason, Bilek DC is a wonderkid and so is Lense MR. Areas for further development are the ST positions as we have a number of average strikers that need to move on. I also think we need to look at the central midfield which doesn't have any star players although there is a lot of potential. If every season end we can keep slowly improving we will soon be competing in the later stages of the Champions League and the domestic challenge should get easier. I'm pleased that the average age has plummeted from over 30 to just under 23 as that is the direction I want to be moving the club into. It doesn't help to fulfil the philosophy of signing high profile players but is a much better idea for building the club and securing its future.

Transfers – The club made a loss in its transfer dealings but I always anticipated that might be the case as I went about rebuilding the squad. Once you add in the sold clauses the deficit is a lot smaller. Overall, I'm very pleased with my transfer dealings as I swapped ageing players who couldn't take the club any further for young players with massive untapped potential. There are a few signings which didn't feature as much as I had hoped but the ones that did really impressed with their performances and development. The future is looking brighter and we are still going to need to remain active in the transfer market next season as many of our players are attracting interest from other clubs. Although with our ability to offer Champions League football I think it might help us to hold on to our better players which I'd like to keep.
 
Player Of The Season
Pablo Naveda – ST - Average Rating: 7.80
Been an absolute revelation since stepping foot into the club. He proved instrumental in swinging the title pendulum in our favour scoring some critical goals for us. He is a player which my coaches think is the best at the club which I would agree with. Another admirable trait is his ability to handle pressure and consistency although he doesn't enjoy big matches.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Julius Lense – MR - Average Rating: 7.99
What a brilliant season he's had, brought in as the replacement for Katanic already I think he has surpassed his ability. The top provider of assists in the team chipped in with important goals and seems to have massive potential to get even better. I can't wait to see how he does in the Champions League as the potential is definitely there to become one of the best wingers in the world. Red Bull Leipzig didn't really play him during his 6 seasons there, I bet they are regretting that now having seen how well he is developing for us, a snip at only £5.75M I feel.

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Finances – The financial situation of the club is still a bit difficult, so much so that the board felt it necessary to pump in £5M after the screenshot was taken. I'd like to operate the club at 'Rich' status which might be possible if I get some exceptional offers for players but it seems stable enough going forward.

Facilities The board decided not to be co-operative this time around and rejected everything except my request to improve the data analysis facilities. I think they might have a point with respect to a new stadium as we are still below 90% average attendance in the league. I'm hoping that our title win should help boost attendances slightly and a good run in the Champions League might just help us boost our reputation.

Youth Intake – Isn't it a shame when the best player in the intake has a natural position which you don't play. I'm not exactly going to change my entire formation to accommodate a player and as a result, he will need to be retrained. In more positive news, at least we now have strikers in the youth team.
 
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League Reputation – The lead the SPL has over the DBP in coefficients doesn't appear to be budging at all. They have 61.667 and we have 49.600 for next season. That is a huge gap that is going to take a massive improvement from the N. Irish teams to close. We can start by having two teams in the Champions League group stage which Dollingstown should be able to manage given that their coefficient is the 2nd best in the best-placed qualifiers behind Aberdeen which should mean that they won't have to play them. Given that Ballymena United have the highest wage bill in the league I expect them to at least make the group stage of the Europa League and will see anything else as a disappointment. I don't think Glenavon will make it to the group stage but if we can have 2 N. Irish teams in each group stage that will help our cause immensely.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – Dollingstown remain top as they retain the boost of the Europa League win last season but they couldn't defend their title succumbing to Napoli in the 1st Knockout Round after finishing 3rd in their Champions League group.
 
Club European Reputation – Still too many Scottish teams above us in the table. Our first target is Cowdenbeath who will be in the Europa League next season.
 
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27 minutes ago, pheelf said:

Then we were done a huge favour by my old club Distillery who then beat Dollingstown on the first matchday of the split putting us within striking distance of Dollingstown meaning that a victory at home to them in the penultimate game of the season would put our destiny in our hands.

 

What then followed in that game was one of the best games I've ever played in FM. Going into the game I thought it might be a tepid affair given what was at stake but it turned out to be a thriller. The game started poorly for us with some slack marking by our left back allowing an uncontested ball into the channel for their striker Hayes to run onto which he cut back for his strike partner Coulibaly to tap in at the far post within the first two minutes. A nightmare start which I hoped wouldn't be a sign of things to come. We then showed great character and responded instantly as a cross from Dekker ML on the left flank was swung in behind their defensive line which Knott ST met and smashed into the bottom right corner. Then just before halftime, Bashev MC pings a beauty of a pass wide over the defenders which Lense MR runs onto. He then plays a cross into the centre of the 6 yard box which is met by Naveda ST who heads past Oliver in their goal. What a great time to score all that we needed now was to hold on in the second half.

I was unsure of how my players would approach the 2nd half knowing that we already had what we needed. In my opinion, they had the right idea and within 2 minutes of the restart, we were 3-1 up. Naveda picked up the ball deep in the midfield and pinged a great pass into the space behind the opposition defensive line for Knott ST to run onto which he met and slammed it low into the middle of the goal. At this point, I was delighted as we appeared to be making a difficult challenge look rather easy and perhaps my players became a bit complacent as a result. As the second half was progressing I was becoming increasingly confident that we weren't going to concede but then Dollingstown got a throw-in deep in our half on our left flank in the 80th minute. They then played a one-two on the flank between Giminez and Fletcher with Giminez then managing to get a cross into the box which seemed to fox our goalkeeper and went into the net. A very poor goal to concede which started all the nerves jangling again.

The last 10 minutes of regulation time seemed to drag on forever but we were holding on to our lead when the board went up for 4 minutes of added time. Then in the 93rd minute, it happens. We seem to be in control of the ball in their half but then Naveda stupidly attempts a through ball which is intercepted by their defender Massey giving them the opportunity to counter. He then pumps it long into the feet of the fresh Rasmussen ST he then plays a great pass over the top which our central defender Floristeanu misjudges which allows Coulibaly in. He still has a lot of work to do as he approaches the edge of our box as he's got 3 defenders around him and our goalkeeper rushing out. Amazingly, Floristeanu recovers and tackles the ball away from him unfortunately for us the ball goes loose in the worst possible place and lands at the feet of Tate who has an open goal which he duly slots the ball into. I was devastated, not only to throw away a 2 goal lead but also because there was practically no time left to recover. To think that we had worked so hard just to stay in the title race and for it to be so cruelly ripped away from us was very hard to take. Accepting that our fate was out of hands I kept things the same as I didn't want to lose the game which would have ended the title race there and then we still had a small hope that Ballymena United might be able to do us a favour on the final day.

Then something miraculous happened. It's late, referee looking at his watch late but the game is still going on. Floristeanu puts in a tackle and the ball runs loose to the feet of Rodriguez DL on the edge of our area. He then plays it into an exhausted Bashev who knowing we have literally no time left turns and belts the ball long into space for Knott to chase. He wins through the tackle and has the ball wide around 20 yards from their goal. He notices Naveda desperately trying to catch up with play and make a run into the far post. He then buys a bit of time by driving to the byline which allows Naveda to get to around the penalty spot where he is unmarked. Knott then crosses the ball into the area in front of the defender which realistically he should be the massive favourite to meet and clear but he's caught ball watching and almost freezes in place under the pressure. Nevada then makes the run and meets the ball in front of him and heads the ball into the net. Incredible, absolutely incredible as I knew then that we were going to be champions. The final day was a routine 2-0 win against bottom of the top 6 teams Glenavon which sealed the title for us. We showed so much fight and determination throughout the season to keep up with Dollingstown that I can say that this one of the sweetest wins of the career so far, a thoroughly deserved victory. Roll on the Champions League!!

Brilliant stuff!!

Think some of your writing later on that post got cut off, though. ;) :D 

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43 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Brilliant stuff!!

Think some of your writing later on that post got cut off, though. ;) :D 

I was having a bit of trouble as the forum software was unresponsive but hopefully, it should be resolved now.

I'm actually really pleased that Dollingstown gave us a good fight, I'm hoping they can take some of that fight into Europe next season. When they started the season by winning 10 on the bounce I was thinking 'Oh here we go' but the fact that we showed such great resilience to keep fighting is what impressed me the most. I'm under illusions though, if it weren't for Distillery taking points off of them we wouldn't have had a chance.

I don't think we will be able to depend on that next season though as their new manager goes about systematically dismantling the team I built there but hopefully, it won't matter as we should be so much better ourselves and not have to go through another massive gelling period for our players which should allow us to start better.

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Linfield F.C.

Season 2087 / 2088


Season Expectations

We have to look to retain the DBP, if we could manage that and knockout stage football in Europe I'll consider it a good season.


 
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League Table - The ultimate bottle jobs. We started the season exceptionally well with 10 wins from our first 11 games which gave us a nice advantage which we managed to maintain all the way to the split. We had a 7 point lead by the time of the split but then proceeded to lose to both Distillery and Dollingstown and embarrassingly drew 2-2 with Ballinamallard United. This meant that we faced a final day showdown with Dollingstown as the lead was reduced to a solitary point. Between a missed penalty and the width of a post we just couldn't grab a win against Ballymena United which meant that Dollingstown won the title with a final day 3-2 win against Ballinamallard United. What a disappointing end to a season which started so brightly and we dominated right up until the end. Congratulations to Dollingstown but our loss just reaffirms a lesson which we must never forget, don't count your chickens before they hatch.

UEFA Champions League - A great group stage from the team with us managing to top our group and not concede a single goal at home. This had me in a buoyant mood which was enhanced when we drew Rennes which I thought at the time might have been one of the best teams we could face. Then they threw something unexpected at me. They started the game in France with an attacking flat 3-4-3. Needless to say, we got taken apart as our defenders failed to cope with the 3 opposition strikers and our strike partnership was completely nullified by their 3 central defenders. It was only once they switched to a 4-2-3-1 that we managed to get into the game and score a goal. I have to say that I'm rather annoyed by that if I'm honest as it feels like I've been cheated by the AI using an exploit tactic. We then beat them at home when they started without 3 strikers up front which just made me feel even more cheated. The only solace I can take is that we lost to the eventual winners but that really is a scant consolation and has tainted what was otherwise a great season in Europe.

Domestic Cups - We were on for a clean sweep until our reserve side flopped in the Scottish Challenge Cup final.

Reserves - They were completely dominant and deserved their clean sweep. It was also nice to give Dergview a nice payday.

Under 18s - I think they were unlucky not to get through their group in the UEFA Youth League but they did well at home.

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Squad – The team is getting stronger and stronger which is a good sign but I do detect that some of these players may have outgrown the club and need to move on to pastures new. We suffered some terrible injuries this season with two of the clubs fullbacks suffering horrific leg breaks which seems to have ruined Bajic DL. I think the lower level teams in the DBP know they can't compete with the technical abilities of our players so they resort to trying to rough us up and kick us off the park which is pretty disgusting when you think about it. I think I need to inject some steel into the squad especially in the midfield to counteract this new approach. I made sure to keep players contracted for longer periods which should ensure I get good money for any players that wish to leave.

Transfers – Some good business in there although there are a couple of players in there which I definitely overpaid for such as Adnane MC, Hauptmann MR, Pil-Suk DR & D'Alessandro DC. I will begin to recoup some of the transfer fee paid for Pil-Suk with merchandise sales and will be looking to do a tour of South Korea next season to maximize that as much as possible. The only player I might have wanted to keep was Bosanac DR but the rest I was happy to let go and was surprised to see Distillery spend so much on my 4th choice central defender.
 
Player Of The Season
Pablo Naveda – ST - Average Rating: 8.15
He did even better than last season and looks to be at the height of his powers. He is attracting some interest from big clubs but the offers put in so far are nowhere near good enough for me to sell him. If a club offers £30M or more then maybe we can talk but he isn't leaving on the cheap.

Young Player Of The Season (U21)
Julius Lense – MR - Average Rating: 8.06
He managed to get a spot in the German national team for Euro 2088 which probably epitomizes how much he has improved as a player over the season. Unfortunately for him, he suffered an injury but I'm sure he will be in the picture for another call-up soon. Having said that I think he could be more productive and should perhaps get more assists given his attributes.

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Finances – A really low balance but this is after some money was spent on the facilities. As we have to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League we are going to need to be careful as missing out and having to play in the Europa League group stages could prove very damaging for the clubs finances. I'll be looking to take advantage of any interest in players provided the money on offer is right for the club and an adequate replacement can be brought in.

Facilities All the facilities are being upgraded which should prove very beneficial. I requested a new stadium but the board believes that they don't see any signs of the fanbase being big enough. Maybe they have a point but the average attendance has increased to over 90% so maybe it's the clubs financial situation which is holding things up as no doubt any new stadium at this point is going to cost in the 100s of millions.

Youth Intake – Our intakes seem to be mainly consisting of low determination players which doesn't bode well for the future. The goalkeeper and fullbacks look the best of the bunch but they are really going to need to develop some ambition or they won't stand a chance of making it here.
 
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League Reputation – There were no Scottish teams in the knockout stages of the Champions League but collectively they are still miles ahead. It did go as expected with 2 teams in each group stage from N. Ireland but neither Distillery or Ballymena United made it out of their Europa League group and Dollingstown got knocked out at the Europa League 2nd Knockout Round after finishing 3rd in their Champions League group.
 
Club Domestic Reputation – I can't see any changes until we start to win European trophies again.
 
Club European Reputation – As the coefficient is relatively high I'm hoping that will allow us to be seeded throughout the qualifiers.
 
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Linfield F.C.

SEASON 2088 / 2089

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Win the DBP and see how far our European adventure takes us although I feel we need to make the group stages of the Champions League at a minimum.

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League Table - Practically a clone of last season. By the time we got to the split we were once again top and clear by 7 points but this time I was determined not to let the lead slip and we didn't. Dungannon had a terrible season but I was happy to see Distillery make the Europa League although that bug has reared its head again as Cliftonville instead of Glenavon should have grabbed the final spot.

UEFA Champions League - This was a great campaign and gives me optimism for the future that another lifting of the trophy might not be far away. We conceded only 4 goals at home and broke the record for the most team goals scored in the tournament's history with 54 which was very pleasing. I should have used some game management tactics other than substitutions in the 2nd leg of the quarter-final but as we were playing so well I thought we would be able to see it out but a late goal ended our run.

Domestic Cups - A dominant performance in all the cups with only the Charity Shield escaping our grasp.

Reserves - Only the one cup this season although it was nice to give Newington a nice payday.

Under 18s - Massive improvement in the UEFA Youth League but poor in the U18s Cup.

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Squad - The transformation of the squad over the last 4 seasons has been immense. From a team with an average age of over 30 to a young vibrant squad filled with wonderkids supplemented with older players of high ability. Unfortunately for us, envious eyes have been watching our progress and want a piece of the pie which is why the vast majority of my players have a 'Wnt' icon next to their name. This summer has got to be focused on keeping this group of players together and minimizing departures to players which can be replaced for a reasonable price. If I can manage to keep the bulk of this squad together I see no reason why we can't have a real good go at winning the Champions League next season when you consider how impressive we were this season.

Transfers - The club made a very nice profit when you add in all the transfer clauses that were sold. Some of those signings have proved themselves to be brilliant value for money although players like Garcia DC and Vanbrabant MC were overpriced even if their contribution was good. I decided to bite the bullet and buy Hughes ST from Distillery by triggering his release clause. He is potentially one of the best N. Irish strikers the country has ever produced and I wanted to be the one that develops him and didn't want to leave that task to the AI. He comes here to state of the art facilities and a team on the up so hopefully, that will inspire him to greatness. I was a little disappointed to lose Adnane MC but my pain was eased when I sold a clause to Chelsea for just over £13M.

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Average Rating: 8.25
He just seems to get better and better with each season so far ending with a higher average rating than the last. He suffered a broken toe during the season which kept him out for a little while but once he returned he was back to his usual level of performances which is a good sign. He still hasn't been capped for Germany yet which is rather frustrating as I feel he would be an asset to their squad given how well he performed in the Champions League.
 
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Average Rating: 7.76
Another player that I really don't want to see leave the club. Very rarely do you find fullbacks in the game which have a favoured duty that isn't defend. At one point in the season his favoured duty was attack although it has since been revised to support. I agreed to sell for a certain price as he wants to leave and no amount of convincing would change his stance, I'm hoping that the higher asking price acts as a deterrent and Guingamp doesn't put in a bid. 
 
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Finances - The club is in a very comfortable position as the major expenditure has all been done with upgrading the facilities and building the squad. The directors even took a payment which tells me that we have the luxury of choosing to sell players rather than being forced to out of necessity.

Facilities - Both the training and youth facilities are state of the art with only the data analysis facilities needing to be upgraded. I did ask for a new stadium but once again I was met with the response that it would be irresponsible without a sizable increase in the clubs fanbase which is complete nonsense given that our average attendance is over 90%. I have this sneaking suspicion that I'm going to have to wait until 2092 which is 30 years after this stadium was built before they decide to build a new stadium. I'll keep asking but I think it would be wise to focus on trying to win the Champions League before then. 

Youth Intake - Boyce MR looks the best of the players and will be tutored to try and change his poor personality. Unfortunately, the tutoring has been very hit and miss with the stark differences in personality between the tutor and tutee usually resulting in no changes. I've signed another youth affiliation with Danubio F.C. (Uruguay) to go along with the one I established with Holstein Kiel (Germany).
 
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League Reputation - This was actually a good season for the N. Irish clubs with 2 teams (us and Dollingstown) making the quarter-final stage of the Champions League which is a first for the country I think. For the first time in many seasons, we actually managed to outperform the Scottish teams in coefficients earned. It did dent their lead slightly but given how many of the previous seasons they outperformed us there is a lot of years that need to fall off the coefficient calculation in order for us to even get close to catching them.
 
Club Domestic Reputation - Our reputation has improved along with Dollingstown which is nice to see. The conundrum is and always has been on how to sustain the other clubs at professional status without just gifting them money. As good as gate receipts from cup games are that source of income is intermittent at best for the other clubs. Dergview got a massive income last season but nothing this time around so if they did turn pro how could they sustain it which I found to my cost at Distillery. We really need a 3rd club to emerge and invest heavily in their club. I thought we had it when a tycoon bought Ballymena United but that didn't really work out as although he spent a bucket load of cash on players he didn't do all that much to build the club off the pitch.  
 
Club European Reputation - We can see the summit, I'm really hoping that Dollingstown can repeat our success next season as we really need to maintain the strongest possible presence in the Champions League.
 
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