[FM18] You Need to Be Selfoss To Win Trophies

[tastaiwan]

My goal in this save is to dominate European football with UMF Selfoss using only Icelandic players. This was very much inspired by @BoxToBox's Martyr to the Cause, a fantastic, ongoing read that I highly recommend.

Pre-Season 2018

Hinrik Albertsson will be the man for the job, an average man with far from average dreams, and whether or not he can make the magic happen will reveal itself in the future!

UMF Selfoss has battled to stay in the top league in Iceland without success, and they have now settled into mediocrity in the second league. My main attraction to the club is the Argentinian-like away kit, hopefully the spirit of Messi will give us luck.

Facilities are listed below.

The staff is currently severely lacking, but hopefully we can pick up an assistant coach as a start pretty soon. I typically relegate staff signings to the Managing Director or Director of Football, but I'll most likely wait a season before I do that.

The squad has a few more foreigners than I was hoping, but if they don't leave by transferring, their contracts will be running out.

According to star ratings, here are my best Icelandic players.

[BoxToBox]

Cheers for the shout out!

Best of luck with this, should be a fun challenge!

[ManUtd1]

Good luck!

[noikeee]

1 hour ago, tastaiwan said:

My goal in this save is to dominate European football with UMF Selfoss using only Icelandic players.

An extraordinary difficult goal, but this has the potential to be lots of fun!

[tastaiwan]

2 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

Cheers for the shout out!

Best of luck with this, should be a fun challenge!

 

1 hour ago, ManUtd1 said:

Good luck!

 

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

An extraordinary difficult goal, but this has the potential to be lots of fun!

Thanks!

[tastaiwan]

Just a little bit of transfer business to round out the squad before the first season.

The midfield was easily the weakest position on the team, and while Aron isn't much of a step above what we've got, he has a lot of room to grow. His defensive strength in the middle will be appreciated among the other more attack-minded players.

I noticed that the bench only had two defenders, and any harm inflicted on our fullbacks would bite us right in the ass every game . I would have loved to buy a fullback, but Ingimarsson will have to do once he returns from his broken ankle.

Hopefully I can give him some loan football, but he won't be on the squad this season quite yet.

 

I've done some formation work as well, although I can't promise results.

Really, I can't promise anything but some interesting football, but isn't that really what the beautiful game is about?

[tastaiwan]

2018 Mid-Season Update

We're doing a fantastic job in the league, but it looks like our form is about to take a turn for the worst. We're out of both cups, but our strong performances in both give me a buffer with the board. The formation is doing surprisingly well, but heading into the final months of the season, it's going to be a battle to keep up with Vikingur Olafsvik.

Magnus Ingi Einarsson is currently our top performer, and he seems to be the reason we've been scoring nonstop. It seems like his streak is starting to dry up, hopefully his confidence remains high. Loan signing Magnusson has also had some standout performances, playing in most games but maintaining a high average match rating, hopefully I can keep him on board for the next season. Young players Gislason and Palmason have also been prominent fixtures in the side, if they remain for many years they form the spine of the team when I need to pick new captains.

[tastaiwan]

Two quick signings to speak of from this transfer window.

A strong defensive player, I think his star rating sells him a little short. He won't be getting much better, but he'll be a strong player to push us into promotion contention.

The quieter loan signing of the window, we'll see if he makes an impact or gets dropped from the match squad altogether.

[tastaiwan]

Youth Intake 2018

[tastaiwan]

Post-Season 2018 Wrap-Up

Only two losses is a lot more impressive than it felt. Our form suggests that we're a top half side in this league, so we should be making some moves that give us significant strength. Surviving next year is obviously the goal, but I'm going to have to work hard this summer to give us a chance.

Current Squad

Finances

Thoughts

Half of the team's top players are leaving this year, and many are starting to get old. I want to bring in young players wherever possible, but I'll most likely be stressing loan signings. Hopefully I can pick up some good free agents, but I'm absolutely terrible at finding them so I'm tentative on that matter. We are poor as balls, all I can really do is perform to fix that.

[noikeee]

So you got promoted at the first attempt, then? Nice job.

I love the bonkers formation, but not sure I'm following what's your plan for the left flank - the LB on FB/Auto on Standard mentality will translate to a FB/S. To me that looks like an overly careful choice of role for the only player on that whole flank. I'd try to use WB/S or FB/A to see what happens. And/or maybe a Mezzala on the left-most midfielder to try to get him to move to the flank a bit.

Ólafsson looks like a great youth product for that level.

[Rikulec]

Well done getting promoted early on, I'll be following.

[tastaiwan]

9 hours ago, noikeee said:

So you got promoted at the first attempt, then? Nice job.

I love the bonkers formation, but not sure I'm following what's your plan for the left flank - the LB on FB/Auto on Standard mentality will translate to a FB/S. To me that looks like an overly careful choice of role for the only player on that whole flank. I'd try to use WB/S or FB/A to see what happens. And/or maybe a Mezzala on the left-most midfielder to try to get him to move to the flank a bit.

Ólafsson looks like a great youth product for that level.

Your mistake was in trying to follow my plan, there barely is one. Now that you're pointing it out, I definitely agree. I'll make the left wingback more of an attacking player, and I think I've brought in a good player who can do that job for us! However, as the team evolves every year, there may be a few more tweaks to accommodate the best players. Most of my transfers are done; unless I pull another move out of nowhere, I should be able to come up with a tactic by tomotrow and post it here. I say tomorrow because I just had wisdom teeth pulled and I'm in no shape to come up with a tactic that works.

8 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Well done getting promoted early on, I'll be following.

Thanks and thanks! 

[BoxToBox]

Great first season!

[mark1985]

Always fancied a Scandinavian save and I love a homegrown save. So will give it a follow 

[tastaiwan]

2 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

Great first season!

Thanks! I always hate overachieving though, really sets me up for the sack next season.

1 hour ago, mark1985 said:

Always fancied a Scandinavian save and I love a homegrown save. So will give it a follow 

Welcome!

[tastaiwan]

2019 Pre-Season

Our expectations leave me a lot of room to overachieve! The Fourth Round is rather doable, but otherwise my board are just telling me not to get killed, I think that's an extremely achievable goal.

The bookies aren't giving us the benefit of the doubt either, but as you can see by the highest net transfer spender, I haven't been content to roll over for the big teams. I'm coming for you, Breidablik.

We've raided HK, who were relegated to the third league last year. Some of their great players were transfer listed, and I jumped at the offer. We've spent a lot for the club size we've got, but if we do well enough the bank will balance itself in the end.

There's a reason I'm not going into business.

A depth signing, we don't have enough capable players at left back so I brought in Nganpanya. Most of my signings are done without scouting them because budgeting is hard and I'd rather trust what I see.

I love the natural ability to play in the center and in the front. He'll be a good starter for us.

He was leaving Valur at the end of his contract. I was impressed with his performance last year on loan, so he comes in as an option on both wings.

His star rating is lower than what I expected it to be, but he'll be third or fourth string.

Bless you, HK. An easy starter that can play three positions in the formation we play, he may be one of the marquee signings of the window.

Again, I'm looking for a lot of versatility in the front, and while his stats suggest more of a forward role, he'll be jumping around.

Now here's a proper left back signing, he'll give some competition to Aran and Pettursson (those names might be wrong, it takes me a few years to get used to people). Icelandic names are already hard enough.

Brought in a young backup, he's set as ongoing available for the U19s but will hopefully step up in case of injury.

Another player picked from the reaches of HK, he gives me the option to employ a 4-2-3-1 Wide if necessary, he has some good skill.

The last signing, he came in alongside Jonsson and will be battling for a spot early in the season before I settle on my best players.

Things have calmed down a little since last year, but things will keep changing as times go on and I get desperate. I think we can put on a good show in the league, and with a little bit of luck and discipline we can reach mid-table. I believe in the boys, hopefully they return the favor.

[tastaiwan]

2019 Mid-Season

Our form is quite good so far! The squad almost started a mutiny in April because apparently the locker room atmosphere drops significantly if the team isn't playing. I relieved the assistant manager of his duty to organize friendlies, that will be in my domain from now on. In the Urvalsdeild, inconsistent form is good form if you're not going for a title yet, so I'm content to see this season unravel in the same way that it's started so far. Hopefully at the end of this season I'll have enough money to finally upgrade youth facilities but I suspect I need European football before I do anything like that. I'll just keep buying first-team-ready players.

I thought they would be happier with the League Cup, but it really doesn't matter. The board is satisfied, however, with the league. With only 22 games played per season, it goes by extremely quickly.

Gislason has been serving the ball to the Jonasson/Jonsson partnership up top, and that strong partnership seems to be what's keeping us alive. Gislason is being a bit of a troublemaker with his contract, but a good enough performance in the league may entice him to stay without bloating his salary.

[tastaiwan]

Youth Intake 2019

Nothing much in this youth intake, but Brynjolfsson turns some heads with his potential. Not expecting any incredible players, I would expect to be in the Europa League before that happens.

[mark1985]

Looks like you got a Montenegrin player in the intake. That's really random. Would expect non Icelandic players to be Swedish, Norwegians, Finns etc 

[tastaiwan]

13 minutes ago, mark1985 said:

Looks like you got a Montenegrin player in the intake. That's really random. Would expect non Icelandic players to be Swedish, Norwegians, Finns etc 

Yeah he's got Icelandic as a second nationality but I really don't know what he's doing here. Maybe my part-Bosnian coach has something to do with it?

[Jimbokav1971]

I'm loving that more people are playing in Iceland thanks to saves like that of @BoxToBox

Selfoss were never great in my games, but the facilities in Iceland should create no end of quality. Good luck. 

[Jimbokav1971]

18 minutes ago, mark1985 said:

Looks like you got a Montenegrin player in the intake. That's really random. Would expect non Icelandic players to be Swedish, Norwegians, Finns etc 

 

2 minutes ago, tastaiwan said:

Yeah he's got Icelandic as a second nationality but I really don't know what he's doing here. Maybe my part-Bosnian coach has something to do with it?

Serb, Mac, Mont players seem to be quite well traveled. Saw quite a few of them during my time in Iceland. 

[mark1985]

22 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

Serb, Mac, Mont players seem to be quite well traveled. Saw quite a few of them during my time in Iceland. 

Yeah, it's weird as I rarely get random second nationalities. The closest I can remember getting for ages was an English player coming through my intake in Austria, but I had English nationality so could see that (most of the others were Austrian with all the other non Austrians having Turkish 1st/2nd nationality which is understandable) and none in my 5 seasons in Liechtenstein so far (not even a single one with Swiss second nationality!!).

[tastaiwan]

30 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I'm loving that more people are playing in Iceland thanks to saves like that of @BoxToBox

Selfoss were never great in my games, but the facilities in Iceland should create no end of quality. Good luck. 

Thanks! After the Euros, who can't love a good Icelandic challenge! I've read so many articles about Icelandic grit and the incredible youth system, Icelandic football seems like it's gonna be the real deal in a decade or two.

29 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

Serb, Mac, Mont players seem to be quite well traveled. Saw quite a few of them during my time in Iceland. 

 

4 minutes ago, mark1985 said:

Yeah, it's weird as I rarely get random second nationalities. The closest I can remember getting for ages was an English player coming through my intake in Austria, but I had English nationality so could see that (most of the others were Austrian with all the other non Austrians having Turkish 1st/2nd nationality which is understandable) and none in my 5 seasons in Liechtenstein so far (not even a single one with Swiss second nationality!!).

I love a good second nationality every once in a while, I wouldn't mind an Icelandic-American or Icelandic-Estonian player coming through, they're much more memorable players!

[mark1985]

9 minutes ago, tastaiwan said:

I love a good second nationality every once in a while, I wouldn't mind an Icelandic-American or Icelandic-Estonian player coming through, they're much more memorable players!

I would love a good Liechtensteiner-Jamaican or Liechtensteiner-Uzbek player or something.

[tastaiwan]

End of Season 2019

I don't know how to describe what's happened this season. I ran with the 4-1-2-3 DM Wide for the entire duration, only tweaking player instructions but no team instructions. My players must have developed quite a deep understanding because our quality does not warrant our performance. It seems like it's easier in this year's FM to pull off an underdog story if you don't know what you're doing.

I've been organizing friendlies much more frequently to keep morale nice and high and to make the odd $1000 here and there. Our performance through the middle of the season was incredible, highlighted by a 3-1 win against KR and a 4-1 domination of Keflavik. At the end of the season, we were just surviving, teetering on the edge of the Europa League spots.

It seems like the other teams screwed up more than we did, so we can save the bottle for another season. With Selfoss's introduction into the Europa League next year, we can expect the money to start coming in properly.

We need it, too. Our finances are dreadful.

The squad is well-balanced at the moment, I'll figure out what I need after the higher-reputation clubs inevitably come in for my players.

Olafs up front ended up being a stronger player than my ass man forecasted. Hopefully I can pick him up for another year. Additionally, I've permanently picked up loanee Magnusson after Valur neglected to renew his contract. He's not amazing, but you can't underestimate backup options as well as dynamics.

Next season's goals:

Top two in the league, win one game in the Europa League.

[kidthekid]

Nice season. 

[tastaiwan]

Pre-Season 2020

A mid-table performance is perfectly doable, the expectations play nicely into my hands once again this season.

We're expected to fare a little better this year, but recently-promoted Fylkir are expected to outperform last year's third place team. We'll see what I can do about that.

No team is actively trying to pick up my players, so this year is highlighted by massive expenditures. The club's finances have dipped into the negative millions, but I'll just ignore that. No loan signings this year, but I think it would have been worthwhile to bring in at least one. It's a bit too late for that now at this point, my squad is full.

I've permanently secured Olafs from last year on a cheap fee, so I don't need to go looking for striker in the market.

Magnusson isn't a very good player, but he's been here a while on loan and he seemed to appreciate the odd game as a backup option.

Johannsson is a little bit stronger as a central player and well-rounded, nothing in particular to say about him though.

A little bit more of a mistake, but he can play all three attacking positions when needed, which I appreciate.

I've resigned myself to bring in older players when needed. Arnarsson used to be of Selfoss blood, and he returns to us as a decent player.

Arnason is probably the highlight of this transfer window. I'll probably only get one or two good seasons out of him and his determination is painful to look at, he brings much-needed quality to the left flank.

Here's the state of the squad at the moment. We've got some wanted players sitting in the attacking positions, but unless they actively come in, we should be fine.

[tastaiwan]

Man, Icelandic names just seem to blend together, I can barely keep them apart. The only names I consistently recognize are Olafs up front, Hjaltalin, and sometimes Gislason. Everything's just a blur. Might need to start employing nicknames at some point.

[tastaiwan]

League Cup A 2020

Well ****...I didn't expect that. Not sure what kind of magic possessed us, but we stumbled our way onto UMF Selfoss's first cup trophy ever. I was rotating the team, trying to get most of my players playtime so I can figure out who my most consistent players are, but no matter what team took the field, we did well. Good signs for this season, maybe we can do better than second place?

Seriously, I would have covered this more extensively, but I literally didn't see it coming. I'll definitely put continental football into their own posts, I'll keep national cups to just the final if we get there.

[BoxToBox]

 

Not often you accidentally win a cup!

[tastaiwan]

8 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

 

Not often you accidentally win a cup!

It seems like whatever devilish spirit I gave my soul to has started to bite me in the ass, our form and morale has taken a slight hit recently...

[tastaiwan]

World Update 2020

I'm thinking every five years, starting now, should be a good interval.

Poland almost pulled off an upset in the first World Cup!

Realism goes out the window as Tottenham flukes their way to a CL Title, but the trophy returns to its home in Spain once again. Hopefully we see that trophy tour more of Europe soon.

About what you'd expect from the Europa League.

In the Premier League, the Manchester Derby has taken hold. It's an absolute blowout as the other teams struggle to come up with a competent response.

It's a tight challenge for dominance in Spain, but everyone else is pretty disappointing.

Riveting.

Lazio won the Europa League the year before winning the league. Jorge Sampaoli was the man who brought glory to Lazio, but he was poached by Bayern Munchen during the summer of 2019, which has led to the rapid decline you see here.

Skip.

[tastaiwan]

Europa League! I think we can take them.

[tastaiwan]

Mid-Season Update 2020

We get $117k for our troubles and round two to boot.

The Europa League was fun while it lasted boys. Hopefully we just get some nice money.

Great form after a bumpy start and an unfortunate early departure from the Icelandic Cup to a weak side.

FH have built up a ferocious lead, it's going to take some miracles to knock them off their perch.

[tastaiwan]

It's really not a good showing from us, but we get a quarter of a million dollars out of it. We'll live to see another day.

[tastaiwan]

Youth Intake 2020

Arnar Petursson is actually quite a good player! I'm not sure where the Polish lad's come from, but he doesn't seem good enough to stay either. Palsson is a good player as well, but Hlynsson is rather underwhelming.

[tastaiwan]

End of Season 2020

Wow. We spent the entire season trying to reel in FH, but in the end we just screwed it all up against Breidablik. Our form at the end of the season was abysmal and we have nothing to show for the good work we put in this season. This summer is going to be crucial, I need to bring in one or two star players in key positions.

Marteinsson was asking for $50k+ per year, but he's finally lowered his demands to $35k, which I can handle. Eythorsson is still putting up with me despite never playing, we'll see what he wants to do, but if he stays I don't have to worry about keepers.

Next year, I'm going for the title. I'm not sure how it's going to happen, but I want FH to be breathing down my neck, not the other way around. We still don't have enough money to upgrade youth facilities, I need to win in Iceland before I can do that.

[tastaiwan]

Don't think I'm ready for this, need to keep a close eye on my finances and players right now.

[tastaiwan]

He's on the market for $35k...any other time, I would be all over this, but we just don't have the money. Can't offload any players right now, but I suspect I'll be releasing a few players next summer. At that point it will be too late for this particular deal, but in the general gist of things I will be able to focus more on improving the quality of the squad. This year's squad is essentially the same thing as last year with a key difference.

[tastaiwan]

Pre-Season 2021

One sore spot with FH. They're an entirely different beast.

They're rocking a player I actually know. Olafs isn't far off his ability at the moment, but when FH shows up, it's not for fun.

The transfer window wasn't in our favor either: Gislason left to FH. I would have been facing a mutiny if I denied him his move. I do believe we'll be fine. It definitely hurts though.

Heimisson is still a strong player, he won't fill the leadership void that Gislason is leaving behind but his quality is undeniable for this league.

Brought this one in to take advantage of some extra space on the wage bill, he'll be starting about Hjaltalin most likely.

Upped it to top half for a $660k budget. I think we'll beat that, but no need to overdo it.

We're climbing the expectations list slowly but surely. I can take a few more seasons of Head Coach of the Year.

Here's the squad we're left with at the end. I'm still trying to send on players like Hjaltalin, Thorsteinsson, Petursson, and Arnarsson, but no offers have materialized.

[tastaiwan]

League Cup A 2020

This time the journey got cut short a little short. Even worse, we were undone at the hands of a first division side. My focus is immediately switching to the league. I can feel that a little bit of cohesion is missing, and I suspect that it left along with Gislason. We need to recuperate as soon as possible and get back to top form.

[tastaiwan]

The first game was definitely a lot tougher than last year, but the next round is easier. We're still heavily predicted to lose, but at least I don't feel as defeated before the game.

[tastaiwan]

Mid-Season Update 2021

We've gotten exactly the upset I was looking for. Norrkoping dominated both legs, but with some scrappy football we've snatched ourselves another round.

We arrive at a similar place we did last year, however, with virtually no path to the next round.

A semi final exit this year at the hands of Breidablik, but I can't fault the team. We performed exceedingly well and surpassed the expectations. Hopefully we finally get a proper final next year. In the league, we've been just as strong, and the strong depth of the team has allowed me to start a rotation system every game.

We've put ourselves in the perfect place to overtake Leiknir and Valur into the leading spot, but I'm wary of hitting a rough patch, as is customary.

[tastaiwan]

Youth Intake 2021

It's an exceptional year in the youth intake business! Five viable players come through!

Now that the first team is starting to solidify a little bit at the top, I'll also start posting the squad at the beginning every season so we can follow the development of the players that end up staying a long time.

[tastaiwan]

Carry on, nothing to see here.

[kidthekid]

Looks like your centre midfield is set for a few years now.

[mark1985]

Great result against Sociedad and that's a great intake! You're all set for centre midfield plus a really good keeper and centre forward prospect in there too. Wish I could get an intake like that (but in defence as opposed to midfield as my centre midfield prospects look kinda ok)

[tastaiwan]

1 hour ago, kidthekid said:

Looks like your centre midfield is set for a few years now.

Hopefully I can get that out on loan as soon as possible! Teams don't seem to be very keen right now to borrow them. 

57 minutes ago, mark1985 said:

Great result against Sociedad and that's a great intake! You're all set for centre midfield plus a really good keeper and centre forward prospect in there too. Wish I could get an intake like that (but in defence as opposed to midfield as my centre midfield prospects look kinda ok)

Seems to be every great youth intake comes at the price of a few bad ones, hopefully you get one soon!