Tasting Success in Slovenia

[ToMexico!!]

We're in Slovenia, the Municipality of Brda to be exact to takeover NK Brda. Slovenia is somewhere I have managed before but many FM's ago, I think it was divisional rivals Krka who I managed in a Journeyman save. 

The region is best known for its vineyards and it lies not far from the border with Italy to the west. Which was one of the factors that made me choose this club, the chance of Italian players entering our club through the intakes is increased, same with youngsters from Croatia to the South and Austria to the North.

 

The other fact was the facilities, we have a super tiny stadium which has 193 seats but the youth recruitment and junior coaching both already sit at average. 

The club itself is in semi-decent shape, we're semi-professional so can offer contracts and will receive a fee for anyone we sell, whilst the finances are in the black with no debts. We have very few staff so that gives me the chance to bring in my own. 

Prior to last season the club had spent 12 seasons in the 3rd tier of Slovenian football before being promoted in back in 2015/16. So the only honour to their name is that 3rd Division title. 

This is the squad we have to begin with, some quite promising players. At a quick glance Shongo (LB), Kodermac (AMC) and Debenjak (ST) are the better players. I have a small budget to help bring in a player or two and some wiggle room in the wage budget too. 

[I only have Slovenia loaded as a playable nation with all players from top division clubs in Europe]

[ToMexico!!]

Title Chances....

...there are none!!

We're predicted to finish 15th out of 16, so relegation is a distinct possibility this season. 

We're going to play a 4-3-1-2 Narrow, retain possession and work the ball through the AMC. We'll see how it goes...

[oriole01]

I'm the forum's resident American Maribor fan, so I'm 100% following. Best of luck, but it's going to be pretty damn hard to topple us .

[kidthekid]

I'm a simple man, I see a save based in a country nobody manages in, I click follow.

[kidthekid]

On 13/09/2018 at 14:38, ToMexico!! said:

Title Chances....

...there are none!!

We're predicted to finish 15th out of 16, so relegation is a distinct possibility this season. 

We're going to play a 4-3-1-2 Narrow, retain possession and work the ball through the AMC. We'll see how it goes...

Any reason for the two CM support roles? Just curious

[ToMexico!!]

8 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Any reason for the two CM support roles? Just curious

That's since changed, ones on automatic. I find with a back four which all defend first and foremost we need that extra support from midfield, i'm using the recent match analysis a bit more than I previously have so when it says we've maybe over committed more in midfield I will reign it in a bit more with a defensive mentality in there. But so far we're playing well and I won't change it too much. 

[ToMexico!!]

Slovenian Cup 2nd Round

A massive scalp in the Slovenian Cup as we came from behind to beat Domzale, arguably the 2nd biggest club in the country behind Maribor. We didn't even sell out the ground as 163 fans, 30 short of full capacity witnessed Debenjak put Domzale to the sword with his two goals.

[ToMexico!!]

2017-18 Winter Break

We've reached the four month long winter break in Slovenia and we're above and beyond the expectations. We sit in an admirable 6th place. 

We began the season indifferently but went on a run of nine games with just one loss in the middle, that run including wins over Dob and Brezice along the way. The first half of the season ended poorly with three losses from four to drop us down the table from fourth place. 

Player of the Season so far is Kodermac who was probably third choice striker at the beginning of the season. His 12 goals in 13(5) appearances so far this season. We've been hampered a little with injuries so we haven't had a consistent first choice XI but this winter break will allow the batteries to recharge. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

2018 Youth Intake

The first intake of this save and its....

....awful. One player with decent potential. Just the two below will be tagged, the rest released. 

An unambitious defensive forward with poor stats all round. 15 for determination gives him a glimmer of hope of developing into something. 

Rodic has the best CA but plays a position I don't use, he will be retrained as a AMC, has decent physicals which gives him a chance. Also has a realist personality. 

[ToMexico!!]

Slovenian Second League - 2017/18

First season in Slovenia is over and we beat our expectations of avoiding relegation which was the priority first and foremost. The winter break was a blessing in order to repair the squad but fortunes changed as we slipped from our high flying 6th place down to 9th. Which in its own right was a decent finish but could have been better. 

The squad below is sorted by minutes played. 

Goals dried up in the second half of the season in general, especially for Kodermac who had 12 goals prior to the winter break but only scored one in the second half of the season. 

Debenjak ended the season with 13 goals and 7 assists. 

Through the course of the season we lost a lot of money but managed to upgrade the youth recruitment to above average and the board injected 100k to help with running the club so I also asked for an improvement in Junior Coaching which now sits an Adequate. 

Season  | League | Pos  | Cup           | Europe          | Top Scorer          | Most Assists         | Youth Recruit | Junior Coach | Finances | Ave Att
2017/18 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Debenjak (13)       | Debenjak (7)         | Above Average | Adequate     | 59k      | 140

 

[oriole01]

Solid first season, survival is always a good first step in a league you're not expected to do well in. Next season should hopefully see some improvement and maybe even a promotion challenge if you find the right players to add to the squad.

Who knocked you out of the cup?

[ToMexico!!]

9 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Solid first season, survival is always a good first step in a league you're not expected to do well in. Next season should hopefully see some improvement and maybe even a promotion challenge if you find the right players to add to the squad.

Who knocked you out of the cup?

Thanks, yeh, I need to do some serious scouting through the close season to find improvements for a number of positions whilst not making wholesale changes. 

Celje knocked me out, should have probably mentioned that, was only on away goals too. They went on to win the competition too.

[ToMexico!!]

Improvement...

Towards the end of the season we had three new sponsor deals struck which gave us some money in the coffers so I asked for another upgrade and after some persuasion the board agreed. 

Youth Recruitment now sits at Established. 

 

[noikeee]

On 15/09/2018 at 11:09, kidthekid said:

I'm a simple man, I see a save based in a country nobody manages in, I click follow.

Pretty much the same, Slovenia is interesting, I've played a few times in Croatia but not their neighbours.

On 15/09/2018 at 20:11, ToMexico!! said:

That's since changed, ones on automatic.

Automatic is the same as support on standard mentality, FYI.

[ToMexico!!]

17 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Pretty much the same, Slovenia is interesting, I've played a few times in Croatia but not their neighbours.

I just can't bring myself to manage in a big nation anymore, admittedly I try but always with a bottom division club. 

Over the years I've had great fun in Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary including spending time on Journeyman careers in Romania and Serbia. 

Quote

Automatic is the same as support on standard mentality, FYI.

Thanks, also admittedly I don't read too much into tactics, never been my thing. With this close season I'm looking to upgrade a midfielder to a more accustomed defensive role. 

[dllu]

On 15/09/2018 at 05:42, oriole01 said:

I'm the forum's resident American Maribor fan, so I'm 100% following. Best of luck, but it's going to be pretty damn hard to topple us .

I just removed a couple of redundant words from your sentence...  

[oriole01]

9 hours ago, dllu said:

I just removed a couple of redundant words from your sentence...  

I find the lack of football eccentricity in America disturbing. Best these frauds can ever muster is a Hearts jersey.

[dos Santos]

I'm definitely following, since I'm from Slovenia. (also a Maribor fan )

[ToMexico!!]

3 minutes ago, dos Santos said:

I'm definitely following, since I'm from Slovenia. (also a Maribor fan )

Great to have you here! 

[ToMexico!!]

Winter Break 2018/19

We've reached the winter break in a worse position than this time last season. 

Still 8th place is OK, pretty average. We conceded far too many goals, had our arses handed to us on a couple of occasions but we did smash Tolmin 7-2 then followed it up with no win in five. Player of the Season so far has to be the young Italian, Damiano who had scored 13 goals before sustaining an untimely injury which coincided with our down turn in form. 

Finances are still OK with just over 100k in the bank, we're currently under-spending on wages by 1.2k p/w. So we have scope for a couple of additions if the opportunity arises. I've completed my first coaching course to move to a National B license, that has seen an up turn in interest for my services with a few sides offering me an interview. I'm currently wanted by top flight side Gorica. 

[ToMexico!!]

Youth Intake 2019

Ah the old classic "a golden generation"...

Wow, loads of potential here. Eight players with 4.5* PA or more. 

Personalities are varied but overall OK with only one player from the eight having poor determination. A few positions we don't use but we can retrain. 

 

Probably the best of the bunch. A leader, ambitious, good mentals, needs to work on his technicals. 

[ToMexico!!]

Slovenian Second League - 2018/19

We've quickly reached the send of the second season in Slovenia and marginally improved on last season by finishing 5 points better off but still in 9th place. 

In the cup we reached the quarter finals but lost out to Triglav from the First League.

Squad sorted by minutes played. 

Best players were Damiano (18 goals and 13 assists) and Kodermac (14 goals and 16 assists) but for me player of the season was also the fans favourite and signing of the season Denis Vezjak, the RB made eight assists, more than my free reign AMC. 

We secured two new sponsorship deals which refreshed the finances. 

The board sprung the news that the ground would be increased in capacity with the installation of 307 seats at a cost of 210k. I aslo signed a new  two-year contract but at on around £300 p/w less than my last contract. 

Season  | League | Pos  | Cup           | Europe          | Top Scorer         | Most Assists        | Youth Recruit | Junior Coach | Finances | Ave Att
2017/18 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Debenjak (13)      | Debenjak (7)        | Above Average | Adequate     | 59k      | 140
2018/19 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Damiano (18)       | Kodermac (16)       | Established   | Adequate     | 170k     | 128

 

[ToMexico!!]

Winter Break - 2019/20

Absolutely flying through the season and we've reached the winter break in a very good position. 

We sit 4th in a fairly tight league, three points from top but a poor run of results could drop us down to 10th quite easily. 

Young striker Kodermac has been impressive with 10 goals, as Damiano sustained a pre-season injury which kept him out for 4 months. I signed a young winger on a free transfer after his release from Radomlje in the summer and am trying to transform him in a Shadow Striker as I don't use wingers. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

Whyyyyyy?....

Won't sign a new contract because he feels signing for us isn't as good as already being with us....pls SI

[ToMexico!!]

2020 Youth Intake

Shhhhh....its another golden generation 

Not bad again, six players of good potential, 50/50 split on determination's and personalities. 

Best of the bunch, a leader, a realist, decent determination, would have preferred his as natural CM(BWM) from the off but can be trained. Needs to heavily improve marking and positioning but he has a future at this club. 

[ToMexico!!]

Slovenian Second League - 2019/20

A huge improvement over last season as we managed to finish in 3rd place, just 2 points off top spot. 

In the cup we lost in the first round. 

Sorted by minutes played, as I said in the winter break update Damiano struggled with injury but Kodermac stepped up, finishing the season with 16 goals for the season. 

Finances improved at the end of the season as the club brokered some new sponsorship deals to take us from around negative 70k into the positive. 

Season  | League | Pos  | Cup           | Europe          | Top Scorer         | Most Assists        | Youth Recruit | Junior Coach | Finances | Ave Att
2017/18 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Debenjak (13)      | Debenjak (7)        | Above Average | Adequate     | 59k      | 140
2018/19 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Damiano (18)       | Kodermac (16)       | Established   | Adequate     | 170k     | 128
2019/20 | 2nd    | 3rd  | First Round   | -               | Kodermac (16)      | Vezjak (6)          | Established   | Adequate     | 214k     | 148

2020/21 Expectations

[ToMexico!!]

Winter Break - 2020/21

We've breezed through the first half of the season and reached the winter break where we sit top of the league. We've made no signings so far this season and made two sales, well one was on a free and the other our chairman intervened to sell for 35k, he was 4th choice however. We promoted two players from the U19's to use in the first team, a GK, who is yet to play and David Vidmar who came through the 2019 intake. He has made 17 appearances so far this season scoring twice and making three assists as a DLP. 

We are lacking a bit of goal threat with no striker really hit any form so far this season. I will definitely be looking to bring someone in to add some goals alongside Kodermac. 

[ToMexico!!]

Youth Intake 2021

Could be a 'golden generation'!...

Getting worse, quality of my squad is better overall but only one 5* PA and three 4.5* PA players. Poorer personalities overall. 

Best player in my opinion but 5th in terms of apparent PA. Determined/Good determination stat means he could develop better. Needs to work on his poor marking and positioning. 

 

[bigmattb28]

On 15/09/2018 at 11:09, kidthekid said:

I'm a simple man, I see a save based in a country nobody manages in, I click follow.

In a not too dissimilar way, I see a thread not in the 'big' leagues, I follow.

 

Best of luck @ToMexico!!

[ToMexico!!]

6 minutes ago, bigmattb28 said:

In a not too dissimilar way, I see a thread not in the 'big' leagues, I follow.

 

Best of luck @ToMexico!!

Thanks @bigmattb28

[ToMexico!!]

The Title Race....

Last seasons runners up and ourselves who finished 3rd have a four point gap over the chasing pack. We probably have the easier run in due to having three home games but do face 4th placed Fuzinar next. 

[ToMexico!!]

Slovenian Second League - 2020/21

We went on to win just two of the remaining four games of the season but was it enough to reach the play-offs or even win the league?

You betcha!...As we choked, Nafta choked worse even allowing Rogaska to jump up to 2nd place. 

We really struggled scoring goals this season with Kodermac the top scorer with 11 to his name, he was also top assister with 10. 

It was full back Vezjak who was the best player again this season, he contributed two goals and five assists and averaged 7.33 for the season. 

New sponsorship deals mean a big leap in revenue for the close season and we find ourselves half a million in the black. We upgraded the Junior Coaching to a Good level. 

Season  | League | Pos  | Cup           | Europe          | Top Scorer         | Most Assists        | Youth Recruit | Junior Coach | Finances | Ave Att
2017/18 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Debenjak (13)      | Debenjak (7)        | Above Average | Adequate     | 59k      | 140
2018/19 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Damiano (18)       | Kodermac (16)       | Established   | Adequate     | 170k     | 128
2019/20 | 2nd    | 3rd  | First Round   | -               | Kodermac (16)      | Vezjak (6)          | Established   | Adequate     | 214k     | 148
2020/21 | 2nd    | 1st  | First Round   | -               | Kodermac (11)      | Kodermac (10)       | Established   | Good         | 500k     | 240

 

[kidthekid]

congratulations. 

[ToMexico!!]

51 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

congratulations. 

Thanks kid!

[ToMexico!!]

Pre-Season 2021/22

Not much of a fan of doing pre-season updates but as its our first in the big league I would give a small update.

Expectations are to try and avoid relegation, that's a given. Cup is not a priority of mine this season. 

I signed a new contract. A new two-year deal will see me through to 2023. 

We're changing formation. Moving to a 4-4-2 with AMR/L options. Clear the ball to the flanks and hope the inside forward on the left and winger on the right can do the business. That change meant we needed a few new faces, Gulic is predominantly an AMR but can and will be playing ST(p). Bavrlic is a new LB. Topic the new GK. Huc is an AMR too but can play AMC/MC/AM. Levacic is an experienced CB. 

With minimal signings and promoting a few youth players to the first team we begin the season with all greens. Hopefully with a tough start of Maribor (a) and Olimpija (h) that will help us a little. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

Can we end the league now?

We drew 2-2 with Maribor then we demolished Olimpija 4-0 at home. I made one positional tweak to my tactic moving my AMR back to a MR, then switching my MC's round with a Carrilero next to the MR and the DLP next to the AML/IF. That seemed to do the trick in the second game. 

[oriole01]

Congratulations on the promotion. Excited to see how you'll fare in the PrvaLiga, and it appears you've started well so far. Beating Olimpija 4-0 is always a good sign .

[ToMexico!!]

2 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Congratulations on the promotion. Excited to see how you'll fare in the PrvaLiga, and it appears you've started well so far. Beating Olimpija 4-0 is always a good sign .

Thanks oriole! 9th is the aim, avoiding that automatic relegation spot but I feel if we get a good start we can do better. 

[ToMexico!!]

Winter Break - 2021/22

We've reached the winter break and we're in a fantastic position. The league is so tight, we had been mid tabled, bouncing between 3rd and 8th most of the season, even dropping down to 9th at one point after a run of five games with no win. Unfortunately there's not really a team who could be certain of relegation at this point so we need to continue picking up as many points as we can. We're also into the semi-final of the Slovenian Cup despite rotating the squad. 

In terms of players who have been performing well, Kodermac has continued his scoring prowess with 11 goals and has been backed up with a late signing Kosic, who has 10 goals to his name. 

[kidthekid]

fantastic first season in the top flight. @oriole01 , isn't Olimpija supposed to be good?

[oriole01]

3 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

fantastic first season in the top flight. @oriole01 , isn't Olimpija supposed to be good?

Yes, they're definitely supposed to be. They usually challenge us for the title every year and have won it in two of the last three seasons, so to see them so low in the table is surprising indeed.

[ToMexico!!]

7 hours ago, kidthekid said:

fantastic first season in the top flight. @oriole01 , isn't Olimpija supposed to be good?

Thanks kid, so far so good. 

7 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Yes, they're definitely supposed to be. They usually challenge us for the title every year and have won it in two of the last three seasons, so to see them so low in the table is surprising indeed.

They've picked up a few points to move off the bottom of the league!

[ToMexico!!]

Youth Intake 2022

Oh no another potential 'golden generation' 

Forgot to take a screenshot of the intake so this is from the U19s. Some potential there but again poorer overall, only a handful of players will be given contracts. 

Deemed the best player and I have to agree, despite him having poor attributes in the correct places for his position, coupled with low determination and determination stat. He was the best of a poor bunch. 

[ToMexico!!]

Scalping the Big Boys

One for @oriole01  

(sorry, not sorry )

[ToMexico!!]

Slovenian First League - 2021/22

Another season finished and our first in the Slovenian top flight. After the winter break we weren't as good in the first half of the season but was it enough to survive?...

Of course it was, we finished in an admiral 5th place, just 5 points behind a European spot. We were a massive 20 points ahead of bottom placed Ankaran, Krkso beat Bravo in the play-off to avoid relegation. 

After the winter break Kodermac and Kosic both lost their goal scoring boots, Damiano and Huc both picked up the mantel. 

This guy was my player of the season, from the 2019 youth intake he made that DLP spot his own last season before stepping up this season to score seven goals, all from the penalty spot. He didn't contribute too many assists but seeing that 31 of the last 58 assists have come from crosses so I would expect he was the assist-assister. 

We ended the season in the black before the sponsorship deals paid in. The board has given me over 400k to spend on new players but I will look to spend much less. 

Season  | League | Pos  | Cup           | Europe          | Top Scorer         | Most Assists        | Youth Recruit | Junior Coach | Finances | Ave Att
2017/18 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Debenjak (13)      | Debenjak (7)        | Above Average | Adequate     | 59k      | 140
2018/19 | 2nd    | 9th  | Quarter Final | -               | Damiano (18)       | Kodermac (16)       | Established   | Adequate     | 170k     | 128
2019/20 | 2nd    | 3rd  | First Round   | -               | Kodermac (16)      | Vezjak (6)          | Established   | Adequate     | 214k     | 148
2020/21 | 2nd    | 1st  | First Round   | -               | Kodermac (11)      | Kodermac (10)       | Established   | Good         | 500k     | 240
2021/22 | 1st    | 5th  | Semi Final    | -               | Kodermas (12)      | Sres (YP19f) (8)    | Established   | Good         | 658k     | 418

 

[oriole01]

Excellent season again, keep it up. Who got you in the cup this time?

[ToMexico!!]

10 minutes ago, oriole01 said:

Excellent season again, keep it up. Who got you in the cup this time?

Thanks, making good inroads in Slovenia but we are miles behind Maribor still. 

Was Krsko on away goals this time. Maribor beat them in the final. 

[ToMexico!!]

Pre-Season 2022/23

First up after a few seasons of dropping down the rankings, the Slovenian First League has risen up four places to 35th in Europe. 

With all that money we have I asked the board for a stadium expansion, they rejected. However I did persuade them to improve the Youth Recruitment. 

Board expecting us to attempt to avoid relegation again, I told the squad I wanted mid-table again. 

A few players in, top four are first teamers. Krefl from Ankaran who were relegated, he slots in at LB. Flis is a new back up RB who Maribor paid 120k for two seasons ago, had a good spell at Mura on loan last season. Gvardjancic is another former Maribor player, made just two appearances last season, becomes first choice here in the heart of defence. Pljava is a new first choice striker, again on a free from Maribor, spent two seasons on loan at Bravo. Zivec and Golob are strikers for the U19s, where we had none. 

[ToMexico!!]

Another New Contract

After bagging a Continental A License I was immediately wanted and offered an interview at Rudar. I politely rejected and my chairman offered me a new contract. I duly accepted. 

Another two-year deal taking me to 2024. 

Nearly 200 games in charge. 

[ToMexico!!]

2022/23 Winter Break

Breezing through the season again.

In 4th, Olimpija started very strongly but have curtailed, Maribor were in the bottom three for the first 10 games of the season. We're consistently inconsistent. 

Every man and his dog who hasn't played in three consecutive games is moaning about lack of first team football, at least three players a week at the minute. However, Pljava started slowly but has 14 goals and nine assists to his name. Backed up by Kosic who has 12 and eight.