mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Since my last save with LASK Linz crashed and burnt, here is my new save. I have always wanted to do this, so might as well try it! It's the standard club and country Liechtenstein challenge. For those who don't know, Liechtenstein is a tiny country sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. Liechtenstein has a population of 37,340 and is one of the worlds smallest countries. I will be managing the mighty USV Eschen/Mauren who play in the 1. Liga which is the Swiss fourth tier as well as taking charge of the national team. First, onto the club team. USV Eschen/Mauren Eschen/Mauren represent the villages of Eschen and Mauren, who between them have a population of around 8500 and play in the 2000 capacity Sportpark Eschen/Mauren. My plan is to bring these guys to European glory. How am I going to do it? More on that later! Liechtenstein I will also be managing the national team, who play at the national stadium in Vaduz: My goal with them, will be of course glory on the European and World stage. It will be very hard of course, but who knows how it will turn out. I rarely manage national teams so unsure about how I will manage this to be honest. But how? And more importantly why? First onto the how. I will be playing this, as I do most of my saves, as a homegrown save. That means I will be pumping as much money as I can into the youth system in order to improve the quality of youth players available to me. All players must be from Liechtenstein other than the ones already there, who will be phased out over time. I have a large database, so will have as many players as possible to call upon. The better the youth academies across the whole of Liechtenstein are, the better the quality of the national team, so everyone wins. I will be keeping tabs on all other Liechtenstein teams, and will update you as and when. My first focus will be on improving facilities at Eschen-Mauren and hoping to be competitive with the national team. Current standings Here is where the Liechtenstein teams stand at the start of the game: Liechtenstein 149th Vaduz Swiss Super League + Europa League USV Eschen/Mauren Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Balzers Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Triesenberg Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Any other business Firstly, the database. I have made a few amendments. I have added the Swiss 3rd/4th/5th tiers and added the 4 remaining Liechtensteiner clubs to the 5th tier (to allow them proper fixtures) as Balzers and Eschen/Mauren were already in the fourth tier. Allied to this, as with my previous save I have added a few little bits to test a few things. Tajikistan have a youth rating of 200 plus Prambachkirchen in the Austrian 7/8th tier have been given a sugar daddy as I've always wanted to know how that effects the game. Anything happens and I will let you know. In my previous save, I gave myself a second nationality to test this but haven't for this one as I want as many Liechtensteiners as possible to come through the youth ranks (my nationality is English on the game as in real life). I think that is all for now. Hopp Liachtaschta!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Goals USV Eschen/Mauren First promotion 2015/16 season Turn professional 30/5/2021 Win Liechtensteiner Cup 2018/19 season Promotion to Super League Max out youth facilities Max out training facilities Win Swiss Super League Enlarge stadium Build new stadium Make group stages of Europa League Make knockout stages of Europa League Win Europa League Make Champions League Make knockout stages of Champions League Win Champions League Break top 100 clubs in world Break top 10 clubs Number 1 club in the world Liechtenstein Win a game! 16/6/2015 3-2 at home to Hong Kong Win a competitive game 20/11/2018 2-1 at home to Gibraltar Break into world top 100 Break into world top 50 Break into world top 10 Qualify for European Championships Make it out of group in Euros Make final of Euros Win Euros Qualify for World Cup Make it out of World Cup group Make it to World Cup final Win World Cup Number 1 country in the world Walk on water Ascend to the football Heavens to take my rightful place in sitting at the Football Manager God’s right hand side Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Glory Glory Liechenstein United! May your reign be long and glorious! Would have been easier starting as Vaduz.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 8 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Glory Glory Liechenstein United! May your reign be long and glorious! Would have been easier starting as Vaduz.......... Yeah, would have been much easier, but I do love a challenge! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Best of luck with this! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 50 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: Best of luck with this! Thanks. Hell of a challenge! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Start of season 2015/6 Swiss first league group 3 Welcome to the start of the challenge! I scheduled a few friendlies in order to get the players up to match fitness. Some mixed results, but as I said, it's all about fitness at the end of the day. I am currently 7th favourite to be promoted and am rated at 40-1 to gain the one promotion spot, so not looking at promotion this season. Here's the league table at the start of the season Too early to say how this season will go, but need a large slice of luck! Liechtensteiner Cup First game is in November and it hasn't been drawn yet Youth Nothing to report yet, as only just started. The facilities are basic across the board and given the financial situation (in the black, but only just) that's not likely to change soon. The only benefit I can see is that all my regens (as useless as most will be) will be exclusively from Liechtenstein... Transfers See above financial situation... Trying to loan a Liechtensteiner midfielder from Vaduz, but nothing come through yet. National team 2 games so far with Liechtenstein. A predictable 3-0 loss at home to Sweden in the European Cup qualifiers. But a nice 3-2 win at home to Hong Kong. 3-0 up at half time so disappointed to concede 2 in the second half but we will take what we can get! Have dropped to 168 in the world but have lined up friendlies against Curocao (153) and Barbados (143) at home so 2 wins there will hopefully boost my ranking. My next fixtures in the qualifiers are Austria, Moldova, Montenegro and Sweden. Realistically Moldova (130th in the world) is the only game I may have a chance of getting something out of, but football is a funny old game! Any other news Already had a link with Vaduz as my parent club, but added FC Schaan as my feeder club. They are also from Liechtenstein, but the division below. Hopefully as time goes on, they have have some of my cast offs which will help both of us grow as the save develops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Good luck mate!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 11 minutes ago, Sheriff7 said: Good luck mate!! Thanks mate! On a 5 match unbeaten run with Eschen/Mauren (3 wins and 2 draws) at the moment and just got a draw away to Austria to earn my first point in the European qualifiers (led for 23 minutes as well). That's a quick teaser for you! More to come at the winter break. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 54 minutes ago, mark1985 said: Thanks mate! On a 5 match unbeaten run with Eschen/Mauren (3 wins and 2 draws) at the moment and just got a draw away to Austria to earn my first point in the European qualifiers (led for 23 minutes as well). That's a quick teaser for you! More to come at the winter break. I get a draw against Spain in my first qualifiers mate so no teaser at all... Liechtenstein made a very good qualifying campain IRL in these qualifiers and collect 5 points (win and draw against Moldova and a draw against Montenegro) and was very competitive against Austria and Sweden... Anyway very good result against Austria and in away game is much more difficult I would like to see your updates..Also you could use some logopacks or Megapack from Sortitoutsi I hate seeing these badges in clubs.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 34 minutes ago, Sheriff7 said: I get a draw against Spain in my first qualifiers mate so no teaser at all... Liechtenstein made a very good qualifying campain IRL in these qualifiers and collect 5 points (win and draw against Moldova and a draw against Montenegro) and was very competitive against Austria and Sweden... Anyway very good result against Austria and in away game is much more difficult I would like to see your updates..Also you could use some logopacks or Megapack from Sortitoutsi I hate seeing these badges in clubs.. I am planning an update at around mid/late December game time, so about another month or so to go. Question about the Liechtensteiner Cup. If your U-21 team gets further than you and then actually wins it, who qualifies for the Europa League? I'm, erm, asking for a friend... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 1 hour ago, mark1985 said: I am planning an update at around mid/late December game time, so about another month or so to go. Question about the Liechtensteiner Cup. If your U-21 team gets further than you and then actually wins it, who qualifies for the Europa League? I'm, erm, asking for a friend... It happened to me once but in last version of Fm (in Fm 17 or Fm 16) and my U21 played in Europe,eliminated of course and I continued the save... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Mid season 2015/16 Very very happy with my performance so far. I currently lie in second 2 points off of United Zürich. A win at home to United Zürich in my last game would have seen me go top, but a draw isn't so bad and at least they haven't gone further ahead. I am quietly confident of at least giving the favourites a run for their money. I think United Zürich and Grasshopers U-21 will give me the strongest test. Baden were also predicted to finish above me, but I am still quietly confident of a top 3 finish. Liechtensteiner Cup Knocked out at first time of asking against Balzers 3-2 but not massively disappointed as my U-21 team are flying! The U-21 have Triesen in the semi and have already beaten someone of the standard as well as Triesen's U-21 team. In the other semi, Vaduz have Balzers. Vaduz should win that, and if the U-21s have a good game, they can beat Triesen to set up a final against the mighty Vaduz and I tell you what Sorry @Sheriff7 but that would be an amazing result for my youngsters who have done amazingly well so far! Youth Speaking of youngsters, other that the U-21s in the cup, nothing to report here. The U-18s failed to make it past the 1st round. Both teams are mainly greys, plus a few I offered contracts to (mainly to act as cover) so cannot wait for youth intake day. Especially as my junior coaching has been bumped up and it is now adequate. Transfers Not a lot to see here either. I did bring in Eggenberger on a free from Muttenz who is a Liechtensteiner and can play DC, DM and MC so very useful. He now also has a couple of caps for the national team. National Team Speaking of the national team, a few games were played here and predictably I didn't qualify for the Euros. The highlight was a fantastic 1-1 draw away to Austria, which was very much helped by Leitgab's second yellow card in the 13th minute. I went 1-0 up just after half time but they pegged me back about 20 minutes later. But very very pleased with that result! The rest of the qualifying campaign was on par with what I expected, but a shame I couldn't get anything against Moldova Some decent wins against the mighty Curocao and Barbados in friendlies saw me move back up to joint 151st in the world. My next game is a friendly away to Malta so a good result should hopefully break back into the top 150. The only bad news was the retirement of Mario Frick. Hopefully he will except a non playing role with the country in the future as would love to have him around. Current standings Liechtenstein =151st Vaduz 9th in Swiss Super League + knocked out in Europa League 3rd qualifier by Borussia Dortmund USV Eschen/Mauren 3rd in Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Balzers 6th in Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Triesenberg 7th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 9th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 7th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan 5th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Not bad so far for the other teams. Other than myself and Vaduz, most should finish midtable. Maybe a push from Balzers (not too hard please!) and my feeder team FC Schaan could be interesting, but other than that we shouldn't see too much from the others. Any other news Nothing to report so far, other than the afore mentioned funding for junior coaching. Other than that, nothing new here. As for the rest of the season, wuld love to challenge for the title but wouldn't be the end of the world if I don't go up. My aim to to finish 3rd or above and give the United and GC a run for their money. 5th or lower would be disappointing at this stage I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 3 minutes ago, Sheriff7 said: It happened to me once but in last version of Fm (in Fm 17 or Fm 16) and my U21 played in Europe,eliminated of course and I continued the save... Haha that would be hilarious if that happened. Hey, would be good experience for them at least... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 End of season 2015/16 Wow! I more than kept up my form in the second half of the season and ended up wining the league! What an achievement! It was very close at the end with just 1 point dividing me and United Zürich. It went completely to the wire with the 2 of us matching each others results after a vital win against the Grasshoper U-21 team. I'm astounded really as it wasn't on the cards at all. Next season will be pretty tough in the Swiss third tier but with some canny transfers I may be able to stay up and thrive. Liechtensteiner Cup It was won by Vaduz in the end, so no surprise there really. The U-21 team was knocked out in the semis so a good result for them really. Youth Youth intake day!! There are some decent prospects in there actually, with the best probably being the striker Stefan Scheiber who could even feature in the first team next season I think this is a decent crop of young local players. There are no real standouts at any other clubs, but expected that to be honesgt National team Only 1 friendly game since the last update and that was a 0-0 draw away to Malta and my world ranking is now joint 146th. Current standings Liechtenstein =146th Vaduz 10th in Swiss Super League + knocked out in Europa League 3rd qualifier by Borussia Dortmund . Relegated to Challenge League USV Eschen/Mauren 1st in Swiss 1. Liga group 3. Promoted to Promotion League FC Balzers 3rd in Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Triesenberg 10th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 8th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 8th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan 3rd in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Disappointed in Vaduz getting relegated but not bad from the rest of the teams. Any other news Fantastic to get promoted this season and far better than I could have imagined! Next season will be very tough for Eschen/Mauren but confident we can stay up. In terms of the national team, I would like them to be competitive in the World Cup qualifiers but given that the second and third games are away to Spain and Italy (who are both half decent apparently) it may not get off to the best start! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Excellent first season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Too bad Vaduz relegated they haven't good coach.. Amazing season for you and for Balzers too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 4 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Excellent first season! Thanks mate! If I can make next season look half as easy as you do, I should have no problem! 3 hours ago, Sheriff7 said: Too bad Vaduz relegated they haven't good coach.. Amazing season for you and for Balzers too Haha, are you available? They're in Europe at least and fingers crossed I can get some loans off of them this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 Start of season 2016/17 Second season of the game and first in the 3rd tier Promotion League. I have been made 500-1 to win the title, so literally bottom of the pile along with Brühl. So is going to be a fight to stay up and the board expect me to give it a good fight. Here's the league table at the start of the season Quite a few U-21 teams in there, so hopefully can get some points off of some inexperienced youngsters. Fourth from bottom would do me this season but anything is possible on FM! Liechtensteiner Cup Draw not yet made but strangely, I go in at the second round this time whereas my U-21 team go in at the quarter final stage. Strange... Youth 2 of my youth players Schreiber (a striker) and Walter (a centre back) will be in and around the first team this season but still get playing time in the U-18s as well. Transfers Not a lot of movement, but brought in Lorenz (a defender) on loan from Vaduz and sent Farel on loan to Schaan. 3 of my players got nabbed, but that's the risk of being a part time team after all. Only Kreienbühl featured in the first team to any extent. National team Not a lot to report other than my draw away to Malta was followed up by a 0-0 draw away to Finland (65th) which I'm chuffed with. This led to us rising to joint 136th in the world. I have a friendlies at home against Afghanistan (141th) and Bangladesh (179th) coming up which hopefully should be some gimmes in terms of wins and ranking points, In between these, I have the qualifiers against Albania (H), Spain (A), Italy (A) and Israel (H). Albania are 96th in the world and the only team I can realistically get something from. My games against Spain (6th), Italy (5th) and Israel (59th) are far too difficult at this stage of my development, but who knows! Current standings Here is where the Liechtenstein teams stand at the start of the game: Liechtenstein =136th Vaduz Swiss Challenge League + Europa League USV Eschen/Mauren Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Triesenberg Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Any other news My plan for the first half of the season is to be out of the relegation zone and fighting hard to stay there! And as for the national team, I want to be no lower than 136th in the world and maybe grab a draw or 2 in the qualifiers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, mark1985 said: Liechtensteiner Cup Draw not yet made but strangely, I go in at the second round this time whereas my U-21 team go in at the quarter final stage. Strange... I think the round you reach last year effect next year's Liechtensteiner Cup draw mate. I start every year with Vaduz from QRT final.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 17 minutes ago, Sheriff7 said: I think the round you reach last year effect next year's Liechtensteiner Cup draw mate. I start every year with Vaduz from QRT final.. I was knocked out in the quarter final (the first round I entered) whereas my U-21s got to the semis. Ah well, I have drawn Balzers U-21 team so should be able to beat them I would hope... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 Mid season 2016/17 Well, at least I started well. I won my first 5 games in a row, scoring 9 and conceding 1. It left me wondering how hard this could be. It wasn't long until I found out. I haven't won in the league since, and in the following 10 games my record has been 4 draws and 6 defeats. I currently lie mid table in 10th, but I really need to start turning this around before I'm drawn into a relegation scrap. I have a feeling that all I need is a win and I will be on my way again. Here's bow the league table stands Liechtensteiner Cup I was drawn at home to Balzers U-21. Won 2-0 after extra time. Annoyed it went to extra but a win is a win. Beat Ruggell in the quarters and now got Vaduz in the semis. Hvae a feeling that's where it will end, but will give it a shot. The U-21s lost to Triesen in the quarters and the U-18s lost to Ruggell in the 2nd round. Youth I have been giving opportunities to Schreiber (10 games, 1 goal rating of 6.64) and Walter (13 games, 0 goals, rating of 6.70). Most of the games have been off of the bench and starts in the cup. So far, so average but they are only 16 so not too bad really. EDIT: Forgot to add that I have 7 players in the Liechtenstein U-21 team which is encouraging. Transfers Not much more to report since last time other than a few more loans going out National team In the qualifiers, I lost all 4. That was expected, but lead twice against Israel and was pegged back twice. They then scored in the 84th and 86th minute, so the scoreline flattered them a bit really as the 3rd goal was an own goal. Wins against Afghanistan and Bangladesh boosted morale slightly I suppose. Current standings Liechtenstein =153rd Vaduz 2nd in Swiss Challenge League + knocked out in Europa League 2nd qualifier by Levski on away goals . USV Eschen/Mauren 10th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 1st in Swiss 1. Liga group 3 FC Triesenberg 9th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 3rd in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 5th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan 4th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Some good form form the other local teams in there! Any other business The club is increasing the junior coaching budget which is nice, but little else to report. Hopefully we get a parent club at my third time of asking as the money will really help out. At least Balzers are flying in their league. Now lets hops my form picks up hey? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Hopefully you can get that win to kick on, but you're in a fine position as it stands if you can keep there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 43 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: Hopefully you can get that win to kick on, but you're in a fine position as it stands if you can keep there. Yeah, if I can string a little run together I should be fine. Got a young and inexperienced team, so if I stay up next season shouldn’t be so bad. It’s just that little run that I need which will increase confidence and then my youngsters should get some results as they clearly have the talent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 End of season 2016/17 I stayed up fairly comfortably in the end finishing 8th, so exactly mid table I put the odd mini run together which proved enough to help me to stay up and finish in mid table. I was safe with 2 games to go so managed to stick a few of the youngsters in to give them some experience. I'm pleased with how the season went and as my team is relatively young and inexperienced, hopefully they can kick on next season. Liechtensteiner Cup Managed to make it to the semi final where I met Vaduz who i took to extra time but lost 3-2. They are a better team so not too disappointed and they went on to win it. Again. Youth Here is this seasons youth intake. Only one player to really write home about Ingo Loose (great name) looks like he could be a decent midfielder in the future and was given 2 games at the end of the season to aid his progression. Walter (the centre back from the last intake) was given a decent amount of playing time in the first team (although about two thirds of his games were for the U-18s) to aid his development and got a rating of 6.70 which is very average but not bad for a 16/17 year old in his first season. Transfers Here are the ins/outs of the season. Very disappointed that Eggenberger left the club, but such is the life of a semi professional team. Very pleased with the loans of Fleischhauer (10 games,1 goal, 1 assist and rating of 6.64) and Schreiber (10 games, 8 goals, 3 assists and rating of 7.36) at my feeder club of Schaan in the 5th tier. They look like they should be ok for a place on the bench next season. I may loan them out again to help their progression, but still undecided. National team My only game was a 3-1 defeat away to Macedonia and my ranking is now =151st. Nothing else to say really Current standings Liechtenstein =151st Vaduz 2nd in Swiss Challenge League + knocked out in Europa League 2nd qualifier by Levski on away goals . USV Eschen/Mauren 8th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 1st in Swiss 1. Liga group 3 and promoted to Promotion League FC Triesenberg 8th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 5th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 7th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan 4th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Fantastic to see Balzers promoted up to the Promotion League! That means there are 3 Liechtensteiner teams in the top 3 divisions. Hopefully Vaduz can get promoted as well as one of the teams in the 5th tier. Any other news Not much else to mention here. I am trying to keep hold of Kieber at Eschen who scored 14 in 29 games and was vital. He's refusing to sign a new contract but hopefully I can win him around. I am very much looking forward to next season. I also have a link with Schmerikon and we ae sharing training facilities, which gives me a temporary boost before I can improve my own. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Loose looks pretty handy, hopefully he turns into an important player for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 10 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Loose looks pretty handy, hopefully he turns into an important player for you. Yeah, me too. Only problem is that he has low determination but got him on some tutoring, so fingers crossed that helps out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Start of season 2017-18 Looking forward to my second season in the Promotion League and hoping for another mid table finish and maybe a challenge for the title. Here is the league for this season: Only the 3 U-21 teams this season as St Gallen U-21 and Sion U-21 went down. Coming up are Balzers, Mayrin (near Geneva) and Schötz (near Lucerne). Happy to have another Liechtensteiner team in the league and I hope we both finish outside the bottom 3 come the end of the season. Liechtensteiner Cup I am hoping I can get to the final this year and Vaduz are knocked out earlier. That would be perfect. Youth I have sent a few promising players off on loan, and I will keep Walters (who refuses to go on loan) and Loose (who is too young and needs tutoring) on the bench for the season to aid their development. Don't think I mentioned it, but nabbed another junior coaching upgrade which is nice. Need to improve my finances before I upgrade the facilities. Transfers I have got 3 loan players from Vaduz in part to strengthen my team and partially to replace Kieber who refused to sign a new contract and a month down the line is still a free agent. Numpty. I have sent the players down to the 2nd league interregio (5th tier) to get some first team football and will hopefully see them ready for the first team next season. National team I have qualifiers against Spain, Italy, Israel and Macedonia which are tough. A draw against one of the latter two would be the best I can hope for I think. Peter Jehle now has the most caps for the national team (127). Any other news I have a new feeder club, Küssnacht in the 5th tier and irl the village next door to where I used to live in Switzerland (I actually watched the team a bit when I lived there as well). So a few of my players have gone on loan there. That's it at the moment! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Mid season 2017/18 Half way through the season and it's going well so far. I currently lie in upper mid table in 6th. The surprise has been newly promoted Meyrin who lie 8 points clear at the top of the league. It's been a poor season for Schauffhausen who are in the relegation zone despite coming down from the second tier Challenge League the year before. Balzers are doing pretty well in 9th as well. I would be chuffed if we could both finish top 10 at the end of the season. Liechtensteiner Cup I played Balzers and lost 2-0 at home. Disappointed in that, but hey ho. Youth More of my players have gone on loan to my 2 feeder teams and are performing well so far. Slightly disappointed in Schreiber who has only scored 1 goal all season but hoping he can kick on in the second half of the season (he scored 8 in 10 last year at the same level). I currently have 12 of my youth products in the U-21s and 2 in the U-19s which I am very pleased with. Transfers Here are my transfers for this season As you can see, they are all loan signings to my 2 feeder clubs which is good as I can keep an eye on them and they can play together. Kieber is still without a club and refuses to resign with me. Which is hilarious. National team Some mixed results. 3 losses against Spain, Italy and Israel, But a nice draw against Macedonia which is great. A friendly win against the Turks & Caicos Islands and a disappointing loss against the Faroe Islands. Current standings Liechtenstein =157th Vaduz 1st in Swiss Challenge League + knocked out in Europa League 3rd qualifier by AZ USV Eschen/Mauren 6th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 9th in Swiss Promotion League FC Triesenberg 10th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 1st in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 14th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan 3rd in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Apart from the national team and Ruggell, it is a very successful season for Liechtensteiner clubs so far this season. Any other news Really pleased with the progress this season. If the national team could win a few games and Ruggell could pull themselves off of the bottom of the league plus the rest of the Liechtensteiner teams could keep going, then it would be a great season. The way it is panning out, next season we will have 1 top tier team, 2 3rd tier teams, 1 4th tier team and 3 5th tier teams. The (realistic) end goal would be 2 top tier teams, 1 or 2 second tier tams, 1 or 2 3rd tier teams and the rest in the 4th tier. This would be realistic as well as letting the top 2 teams allowing to loan/sell unwanted Liechtensteiner players to lower divisions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 End of season 2017/18 Disappointing second half of the season for Eschen/Mauren, but luckily I avoided relegation this season. I never put a real run together (well, a positive one anyway) but managed to scrape the odd win here and there which was enough. Meyrin were the definite surprise as they went straight up after promotion the season before so fair play to them. Liechtensteiner Cup Convincing win by Vaduz. Again. Youth Here is this seasons youth intake The two best prospects both happen to be midfielders, so all in all my 5 best prospects are a central defender, 3 central midfielders and a striker, so building a decent little spine of local talent there Walters (25 games, 1 goal, 7.00 rating) and Loose (23 games, 2 goals, 7.07 rating) both featured heavily this season and impressed. Transfers My loans out impressed on the whole and the stand outs were Borowka (23 games, 2 goals, 15 assists, 7.60 rating), Girstmair (24 goals, 11 goals, 11 assists, 7.39 rating) and Diedam (20 games, 20 goals, 6 assists, 7.74 rating). They are all 18 years old so very promising prospects. They will all be in/around the first team next season. national team Poor performance from us in our 1 game losing 4-0 at home to North Korea. Current standings Liechtenstein 155th Vaduz 1st in Swiss Challenge League and promoted to Super League USV Eschen/Mauren 11th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 9th in Swiss Promotion League FC Triesenberg 9th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 2nd in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 11th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 FC Schaan 1st in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 + promotion to 1. Liga 2 Promotions for Liechtensteiner teams and 1 near miss so all in all a successful season for Liechtenstein! Any other news Despite the way my season ended, I am confident about next season with some talented youth prospects starting to find some form. If I manage to integrate them into the first team successfully, then I should be able to do much better next season. Chuffed for Vaduz and Schaan and hopefully Triesen can go 1 better next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Bit harsh. Totally unknown? He was no Fabio, but... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Start of season 2018/19 Here is the starting league table for this season Only one U-21 team left compared to 5 2 seasons ago and they finished fourth bottom just out of the relegation zone last season. But where will my points come from!!! I am more confident about this season and fingers crossed I can finish in the top half this season. Liechtensteiner Cup In at the 2nd round this season and hopefully can do better than last time Youth I am keeping most of the more promising young players at the club this season but some are out on loan (see transfer section). Most have a full season under their belt and are better for it. I think they can step up to the plate and guide the team to a better finish this season. Transfers Quite a few loans. Mainly the players I am not sure about plus promising striker Schreiber again and Assel (decent keeper but very raw still). Big season for Schreiber as his 8 goals in 10 games shows he has a lot of talent but his 4 in 23 last season shows he still has a lot of work to do. This seaosn he has gone on loan to Schaan for 2 reasons. Not only was it where he got his 8 in 10 (so hopefully can refind the magic) but they are now in the 1. Liga compared to the Second League the time before so will show if he can step up a bit. No loans this season as I have faith in my younger players. National team Here is my draw for the International League Division D 2 wins against Gibraltar would be nice and maybe a point or 2 against Malta. Any other news With 2 Liechtensteiner teams getting promoted, it is a big season for the country. Triesen finished second last season so can hopefully go one better and at a minimum I would like the rest to stay where they are for the time being! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Intakes seem to be giving you a good mix of players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 1 hour ago, BoxToBox said: Intakes seem to be giving you a good mix of players. Yeah, but would like a few wingers as well so I could mix my tactics up a bit. Currently playing a 4-3-1-2 and mixing it up with a 4-1-3-2 when I think I need a change. But want to maybe try a standard 4-4-2 and would appreciate another wide man or 2! Got potentially one decent winger in each position, but currently 1 of them is suspended so need to wait a little until I experiment (also got a few players retraining) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 Mid season 2018/19 Currently sat in 9th due to winning in fits and spurts. Here's the league table My performances have picked up over the last few weeks, so I am confident going into the second half of the season. Part of me hopes Black Stars Basel stay up as Basel is definitely calling out for a decent second team! Could I go for promotion? No way but am aiming for top 10 for sure. My young players are bedding in well and with this season under their belt they seem to be progressing nicely. Liechtensteiner Cup Wins against Triesen and my U-21 teams (would never have lived that one down), I have set up a semi against the Vaduz U-21 team so I should win that to get to the final where I will play the winner of the other semi (Balzers v Vaduz). So me v Vaduz is the likely final then... Youth My youth players have been doing really well. I will talk about the ones on loan in the next section, but the ones here are doing pretty well. Krose has made 4 starts and 7 off the bench with a rating of 6.84, Loose has made 15 starts with a rating of 7.02, and Walter has made 15 starts scoring 2 goals with a rating of 7.01. So all doing pretty well I think and I need to keep them up. I have 10 players called up to the U-21s and 5 in the U-19s so chuffed with that. Transfers Here are all of the transfers out and in. Schreiber has scored more already than he did in all of last season, so it looks like last season may have just been a blip but lets see how he does int he second half of the season before proclaiming him as the next big thing. Rode is the stand out for me so far with 4 goals in 11 games and a rating of 7.24. National Team The good - finally, a competitive win (2-1 at home to Gibraltar) The bad - only drawing 1-1 away to Gibraltar and the other games which I all lost The ugly - joint 170th in the world. Sheesh Current standings Liechtenstein =170th Vaduz 8th in Swiss Super League USV Eschen/Mauren 9th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 6th in Swiss Promotion League FC Schaan 12th in 1. Liga FC Triesenberg 9th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 1st in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 14th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Mixed bag, Ruggell and Schaan need to up their games, the rest are doing ok and Triesen are flying! Any other news Nothing else to report really. Let's hope for a top 10 finish hey? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Good job with club team! Youth Only? Not going to pilfer any FC Vaduz players? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 21 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: Good job with club team! Youth Only? Not going to pilfer any FC Vaduz players? It's a Liechtenstein only challenge, so I can sign anyone with Liechtenstein nationality or alternatively anyone who comes through my youth academy (regardless of nationality). So I can sign Vaduz players but only the ones with Liechtensteiner citizenship. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarchColorDrink Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Really enjoying this report. There is something so inherently appealing about a Lichtensteiner only save. To what extent are the other clubs using home grown (lichtenstein) players? Perhaps you could add the home grown ratio of each club at the end of the season review? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 End of season 2018/19 Very pleased with how this season ended. Hit a good run of form and finished 7th in the league. The only downside was that I was 11th points behind 6th, but shouldn't complain! 4 wins, 2 defeats and a draw in the last 7 games helped me to that and hopefully can carry that forward. Crazy that Basel U-21 went up as they were almost relegated last season. Shame Black Stars Basel went down as I would love another team from Basel to do well. Anyone notice that EC next to my name? On to that now... Liechtensteiner Cup To say that is unexpected is an understatement. At the start of the season, I would have loved to get to the final. Not only did I get to the final (an easy path to the final if I'm honest with my own U-21s giving me the trickiest test), I beat Vaduz in the final. Once I saw the for the final, my only thought was to keep it tight and respectable. But a 74th minute goal from Girstmair led to me shutting up shop and sticking everyone behind the ball. I held on for dear life and when the final whistle went, the fans went mad. What a win! First bit of silverware and a trip to Europe next season. I am dreaming of Barcelona, Milan, Paris despite the European hotbeds of Tallinn, Torshavn and Dogana being more likely. Youth Here is this seasons youth intake Not the best youth intake I've ever had with only Kaiser being of any note. My younger players played well this season when given chances in the first team and I'm regularly having a lot of players in the national U-21 and U-19 teams which is pleasing not only for the national team, but for the players progression. The only disappointing news with a young player is that Große keeps asking to leave which is frustrating. Thun (just relegated from the Super League) are interested so if the promise of European football can't entice him to stay, then I will have to milk Thun for all they are worth. Transfers Here are this seasons transfers Shame that Fleischhauer decided to leave as he was a regular, but such is life. Schreiber has scored 12 in 26 games for Schaan in the 1. Liga so will be on my bench next season. National Team Apart from 2 spankings against Croatia and Hungary, little to report. I'm disappointed with how the national team part of this save is going, but just waiting for some better players to come through really. Current standings Liechtenstein 181st Vaduz 9th in Swiss Super League USV Eschen/Mauren 9th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 11th in Swiss Promotion League FC Schaan 13th in 1. Liga + relegated to the 2. Liga Interregio FC Triesenberg 6th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 2nd in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 13th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Disappointed in Schaan's relegation at the end of the day,and a shame Triesen couldn't get promoted. Not the best of seasons for Liechtenstein in general. Any other news Really looking forward to European football next season and the money that will go with it. Hopefully that will help me grow and I can pump it into the youth setup which is badly in need of an upgrade if I am going to do anything with this challenge. In terms of @MarchColorDrink question, here are how many Liechtensteiner players the other teams are using: Vaduz Only 1 Liechtensteiner in the squad, which is very disappointing. USV Eschen/Mauren Apart from Antic (Swiss keeper) my squad is entirely from Liechtenstein. FC Balzers About a third of the squad is from Liechtenstein FC Schaan About 90% from Liechtenstein (3 Swiss and 1 Brazilian players are the only exceptions) FC Triesenberg Apart from 2 Swiss players, entirely Liechtensteiner FC Triesen Pretty much a 50/50 split between Liechtensteiner and Swiss players FC Ruggell Apart from 1 Swiss player and 1 Turkish player, entirely Liechtensteiner So predictably the lower you go, the more Liechtenstein players you find. Shame there aren't more at Vaduz though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 Just seen the prize money for the Liechtensteiner cup and my share of the gate receipts (plus 2 home games in the month). Ching ching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodlard Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Nice job with the cup win! Really enjoying your save. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 43 minutes ago, Theodlard said: Nice job with the cup win! Really enjoying your save. Thanks. Enjoying it myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 Start of season 2019/20 Promotion League So, another season in the 3rd tier begins. I am cautiously optimistic for this season judging by how last season ended. Hopefully the players aren't too distracted by the involvement in Europe. Some of the U-21 teams are back in the league with Basel U-21s replaced by Grasshoppers and Zurich U-21s. Amazingly there are 4 teams from Zurich in the league this season (the 2 U-21 teams plus United Zurich and YF Juventus). Liechtensteiner Cup I hope I can defend my title, but realistically another showing in the final would be amazing Europe Here is the draw for the first round Nice little trip over to Andorra and I am massive favourites. Fingers crossed I get through the first round as it's a fairly easy draw. If I get through, I will play the winner of EB v AEK. Youth Big season for the likes of Schreiber. But I have confidence in my young players. The board have finally agreed to upgrade the youth facilities and have also upgraded the junior coaching, so the money from the Liechtensteiner Cup has been put to good use. Transfers I couldn't make Große stay which is a shame but on a plus, managed to get 500k out of Thun which is amazing. In true FM manager style, I countered their offer with 500k to tell them to politely go away but they responded with ok, we'll give you that, So would have been rude to say no. He's now playing for the Thun U-21 team and I wish him the best of luck for the future as he could be a good player for the national team. National Team A really good 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland and a defeat against Slovakia in the qualifiers is all I have to report at the moment. Very pleased with the 0-0 draw. Any other news Very happy with the upgrades to the youth facilities and that will play a large part in really kickstarting this challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Great achievement winning Liechtensteiner cup and dethrone Vaduz so soon mate!! You are going to pass easily Andorran club but Aek would be much more difficult task. Anyway money prize will be huge! P. S Liechtensteiner cup money prize isn't usefull even for gum in my save with Vaduz.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 On 3/16/2018 at 19:42, Sheriff7 said: Great achievement winning Liechtensteiner cup and dethrone Vaduz so soon mate!! You are going to pass easily Andorran club but Aek would be much more difficult task. Anyway money prize will be huge! P. S Liechtensteiner cup money prize isn't usefull even for gum in my save with Vaduz.. Yeah, love the prize money from Europe. It's certainly helped! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 Mid season 2019/20 Promotion League Been my best season so far I think. Half way through the season and I sit in 4th in the league. There was a brief blip of losing 3 games in a row, but my last game was a draw so hopefully that blip is behind me. If I could remain top 5 for the rest of the season, that would be amazing. Liechtensteiner Cup A win against Schaan has put me into the semis where I will play Vaduz U-21s so hopefully win that and set up another final showing! Europa League A first round draw against Engordany proved fairly easy and I cruised through with a 4-2 win. I drew AEK in the next round and predictably lost 7-2. On the plus side, I broke my attendance records and gate receipts plus the prize money was lovely! The games were held at the national stadium instead of my own ground, but hopefully in the future I can get my own ground up to scratch so I can have them there. Youth My young players are playing very well so far this season. Walter has played 16 games with a rating of 6.79, Borowka has played 15 games with an average rating of 6.82, Kramer has played 9 games (5 starts) with an average rating of 6.91 (2 assists), Loose has played 14 games (2 off the bench) with 3 goals and 3 assists with an average rating of 7.32, Schreiber has played 9 games (4 off the bench) scoring 4 goals, 2 assists and a rating of 6.91 and finally Girstmair 11 matches (3 off the bench) has scored 2 goals with an average rating of 6.71. Very pleased with how Loose is playing so far. Transfers I signed Soares (a Portugese player) to sit on the bench, but mainly for the fact that he is a really good coach at this level Other than that, little to report. National team A 3-1 loss at home to Kazakhstan and a 1-1 draw against Slovakia are the only results. Very happy with the draw against Slovakia. Went ahead against Kazakhstan so shame I couldn't get at least a draw. Current standings Liechtenstein 178th Vaduz 9th in Swiss Super League USV Eschen/Mauren 4th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 6th in Swiss Promotion League FC Schaan 5th in 2. Liga Interregio group 1 FC Triesenberg 7th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 4th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 14th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Not a bad season so far for the Liechtenstein teams. Any other news Not any other news so far but it's shaping up to be a decent season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Very good year in Promotion league mate and scoring twice against Aek is a big achievement if you think the difference in both clubs levels.Keep up good work... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 On 21/03/2018 at 20:07, Sheriff7 said: Very good year in Promotion league mate and scoring twice against Aek is a big achievement if you think the difference in both clubs levels.Keep up good work... Been a really good season so far. Will update on Sunday/Monday. Got a few games left to play but watch this space... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1985 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 End of season 2019/20 So, what to say about this season. Really good season for Eschen/Mauren. We ended up finishing 5th in the league which is an amazing finish! Even more amazing, not only could I have been 3rd (only finished 2 points off Yverdon and would have finished 3rd barring a late season loss of form) but I was only the 3rd best team in Liechtenstein! Balzers finished 4th, equal on points with me so Liechtensteiner football is flourishing! Fantastic season in the league for me and leaves me a lot to be hopeful for in the future. Liechtensteiner Cup Won it for the second time in a row in what was an absolutely crazy game in which I beat Vaduz 6-4. Just a bit of a silly game where we kept hitting each other on the break and both defenses/keepers had a bit of a mare! Luckily I caught Vaduz in the middle of a bad patch of form for them and I was just coming to the end of my good run. Couldn't have dreamt of winning it again and it gives me European football for another season. Amazing! Youth Here is my youth intake The 2 standout players are Hartmann and Baumann who look like they could grow into really good players in the future. My young players have done really well this season and have really started to blossom. Loose was the standout who had a rating of 7.33 and 6 goals in his 32 appearances. Schreiber (12 goals in 14 games and a rating of 7.12) and Baumann (6 games with a rating of 7.23) also had great seasons. Schreiber dislocated his shoulder and was out for 2 months, hence only the 12 games. Transfers Not too many to speak of, but I brought in Götz and Soulier in from Vaduz to cover injuries and they performed pretty well. Other than that, nothing to report. National team I followed up my draw with Slovakia with a win at home to the Faroe Islands which helped to boost my world ranking. Current standings Liechtenstein 159th Vaduz 10th in Swiss Super League and relegated to the Challenge League USV Eschen/Mauren 5th in Swiss Promotion League FC Balzers 3rd in Swiss Promotion League FC Schaan 4th in 2. Liga Interregio group 1 FC Triesenberg 9th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Triesen 3rd in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 3 FC Ruggell 14th in Swiss 2. Liga interregio group 6 Apart from Vaduz and Ruggell, a very solid season for the Liechtensteiner teams. Any other news Oh yes there is other news! Vaduz fired their manager (understandably as getting relegated is bad enough, but loosing to me? That's just embarrassing!) so I slung them my CV. I really am in 2 minds about the Vaduz job. They would be the 'easiest' route to success but have become very attached to Eschen/Mauren but we seem a bit stuck in the 3rd tier whereas Vaduz would really help Liechtenstein grow at club and national level. Any ideas? If I am offered the job (and that's a big if), should I take it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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