rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Having hit 17 season mark in my youth only career, I realised I haven't really done a journeyman career. I haven't used the new scouting system, I haven't been to pretty much any league other than Lithuania and Sweden (briefly). I am also feeling like my youth only save is about to hit the glass ceiling in terms of player abilities and stop making progress. Time to change all of that, so I'll be doing a journeyman with a twist. Once I have spent 3 full seasons with a club, I will be accepting all interview and job offers coming my way. I've loaded up the big5 leagues as view-only and will be playing in one of Gibraltar, Wales, Belarus and Poland. The first two are rock bottom of the league standings but I fancy getting them up a bit. Belarus could be interesting if the finances are not too bad and I see Poland as a genuine opportunity to build a top5 league in Europe and maybe even make it the best. Once the game is up, I will be simming the time to 1 June, 2018 and will take it from there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Overall progress Trophy room Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Sounds interesting. The overseas restrictions in Belarus make it quite a tough place to manage, which really adds to the challenge. Best of luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 6 minutes ago, withnail316 said: Sounds interesting. The overseas restrictions in Belarus make it quite a tough place to manage, which really adds to the challenge. Best of luck. Thanks man, interesting that about Belarus. I had a look and indeed only 5 foreigners allowed in first 11 but it only takes 3 years to become naturalised. We'll see how it goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 June 2018 The man leading us into the unknown is the evil twin of Landar by the name of Jaunius. Jaunius tried out for a local football team called Kretingos Grudai but the team famously folded in 2017 leaving him with a cruciate ligament damage and broken football dreams. Undeterred, he set out to become the beacon of light in the sad world of crappy football and what better way than to say 'YES' to everything. Gibraltar is bottom rated of the playable leagues, so Jaunius will buy a one-way ticket and try his luck getting a job in Segunda. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbokav1971 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Is #YesMan going to say "yes" to absolutely everything, (including bids on players and requests for new contracts)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 5 minutes ago, rodesire said: Thanks man, interesting that about Belarus. I had a look and indeed only 5 foreigners allowed in first 11 but it only takes 3 years to become naturalised. We'll see how it goes. I quite like the extra challenge those restrictions add. Think it was 9 overseas players in a 25 man squad in Norway, and 9 in an 18 man match day squad in Sweden. It just means you have to think a little more about your signings. Anyway, I won't hijack your thread any more. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Just now, Jimbokav1971 said: Is #YesMan going to say "yes" to absolutely everything, (including bids on players and requests for new contracts)? I think, noikeee's transfer strategy will be employed (4x current value, 1.5x transfer record will always be accepted) Contract-wise, players in last year will get new contracts if they ask for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, withnail316 said: I quite like the extra challenge those restrictions add. Think it was 9 overseas players in a 25 man squad in Norway, and 9 in an 18 man match day squad in Sweden. It just means you have to think a little more about your signings. Anyway, I won't hijack your thread any more. Good luck! I do like those little limitations, always makes me come back to Sweden as it creates a good mix of local talent and influx from abroad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 FC Hound Dogs I had to wait for a little while but, finally, FC Hound Dogs approached me. Kinda love the logo, also their kits are mint, literally. The club itself is very basic, just as you would expect an amateur club to be in the lowest playable division in Europe. I only have an assistant manager for staff, so that will have to change fairly soon. I'll be looking to get at least a fitness coach, physio and a scout. The playing staff, however, are fairly decent, we have two good strikers and a rock at the back. The finances look okay but at least we're not in debt. We seem to have two sponsorship deals worth a total 12k pa, so that should keep us afloat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuy600 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Very fun idea. Will be following this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 July 2018 The funny thing about Gibraltar Segunda is that the matches do not start till late October meaning I have a 3-4 month pre-season to whip my amateur team into shape. I hired some new coaches, divided the workloads and made sure we had a scout and a physio too. The board even accepted to pay for my first badges, so I may start doing some training before too long. I was going through the squad, looking for decent players when I saw that my defender is a playing chairman. I really hope I don't **** him off too much or I may get sacked. Speaking of sackings, the expectations are very reasonable with a mid-table finish as the league expectation - the team finished 5th last year. We only played one friendly this month, demolishing Cadiz C team and I have arranged a bunch more friendlies to slowly get in shape and get to know the team a little bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Sack your chairman, mate. You know you want to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 21 minutes ago, withnail316 said: Sack your chairman, mate. You know you want to. I really do, unfortunately, my key left-back just got injured, so my chairman is my best left-back for the next few months Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Pre-season 2018 It's a been a quiet pre-season, we played a bunch of friendlies, got a couple people in but nothing seismic as playing with FoW is really slowing things down. The media now thinks we're fourth favourite for the promotion having been in P5/6 earlier. Hopefully, they are right and we can mount a bit of a challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbokav1971 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 It would be rude not to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbokav1971 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 1 hour ago, rodesire said: I was going through the squad, looking for decent players when I saw that my defender is a playing chairman. I really hope I don't **** him off too much or I may get sacked. Love this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 19 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said: It would be rude not to. You beat me to it Followed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Interesting idea man, good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 October-December 2018 We started the league very well, grabbing 7 points in the opening 3 games and sweeping all the awards in the league with my chairman doing the work on the left wing. I managed to land my National C license and strange things happened. First, we lost our form, then the guys started a full blown revolt against me. I kinda ignored it but the chairman is definitely against me now Overall, I felt we did very well, getting through the first round of the league cup too. we're inconsistent but that's what you would expect in a very even division. All in all, second place on goal difference and we advanced in all cups, cannot really complain. Meanwhile, the Belarus championship has finished and we have a new winner, very very exciting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 Winter update + youth intake Since we didn't exactly rock in December I dipped into the transfer market for a couple new players and ended up buying a whole new centre mid combo. Soler decided to retire a day after signing with us but hopefully he can do work from the deeper mid whilst Isola is more of a space investigator and a potential winger. I also got a new centre-back and a striker since we're way too dependent on Mena Jimenez, who has scored more than half of our goals. So how did we do? It's been strangely good. The schedule is very very relaxed and we barely have any matches but we won every single competitive game of the ones we played. Our attack is wildly inconsistent scoring 8 in one match and then scraping on pens after a nil-nil 5 days later. That Leo FC game featured some real belters and it was enough to land my guys top2 places in the goal of the month awards. Having been great in the league and good enough to progress in the cup, this is how we find ourselves in the league with just more than half of the season gone. Late feb was also the time for youth intake but with rubbish facilities and youth team, this lot just got plopped into my main team. Not a single good talent there, so I'll keep good personalities around and fire the rest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriole01 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Following. Love the choice of club and their color scheme. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 Run-in One thing that really baffles me in Gibraltar is how few fixtures the teams have. You have 3 in November and all other months have even fewer games. But every now and then the cup matches will be scheduled 3-4 days after the league match even though there is a 20 day gap to the next fixture for either team. /Rant_over I have been probing the board for upgrades for a while and they finally budged on the Junior Coaching, small victory and at least it puts us on level footing with most teams in the league There weren't many games for us in the last 6 weeks, this is due to the fact all 18 teams in Gibraltar use a single stadium, so scheduling is a nightmare to say the least. We blasted away the weakest remaining team in the league run-in and carried that form in the cups, defeating top division club in FA Cup and second placed Magpies in the second division Cup. The six-nil was full of great goals, so more awards for our guys.. There was a bit a of a gap, so I thought it would be smart to play a friendly before the final and this happened.. That's my key striker out for the final and two out of three last league games. Hopefully, the winter signing can now have a run as I really didn't fancy playing him instead of my goal-per-game attacker. I also tried firing my chairman but he seems to be hardcoded to not have contract termination options available, he'll stay an amateur forever, it seems. The results above leave us atop the league on goal difference with a game in hand. Our run in is extremely tough as we'll be facing second, third and fourth placed teams. I will be writing up the division league final in more detail soon whilst in FA Cup we will be meeting another top division club, though I am not sure I should be too worried as they look pedestrian to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Can you send your chairman on a scouting trip to Yemen? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Can you loan out your chairman? Sell him? Release him on a free? This is an amazing situation. edit: of course I posted without reading and you already explained it above. Still an amazing situation. You're stuck with him forever. It's kinda like how I used to post this, , but on reverse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 5 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said: Can you send your chairman on a scouting trip to Yemen? I tried finding him a beautiful bride from over the strait but he has refused stubbornly. Yemen might be a good call.. 2 minutes ago, noikeee said: Can you loan out your chairman? Sell him? Release him on a free? This is an amazing situation. No, nothing. Literally no contract options and since he's on an amateur contract, he's here forever. He's actually decent for this level and plays a fair amount, but I'd love to make him go crazy in reserves if I can. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 Division 2 League Cup Final A very warm welcome from Gibraltar, Victoria stadium. It's actually drizzling, 13 degrees, the pitch is a mud-bath but let it not distract you from the fact the winning manager today will gain 0 Hall of Fame points. A slightly more tangible reward will be going home with ten grand to spend on hoookers and booze club infrastructure. Let's welcome the teams. Boca Juniors are arguably the strongest team in second division if it wasn't for playing in a 4411 as their AMC is seriously awful and doesn't link anything up. Hound Dogs are definitely the feel good team of the year, combining a bunch of journeymen but what's this? Oh, it's just their chairman screaming from the stands having been left out of the squad for the finals. Surely, the gaffer is getting sacked in the morning? First 30 minutes are very much a borefest as both teams struggle to keep possession. In fact, they're both just pinging it back and forth trying to get mud in defenders' eyes. Finally, on opening. Boca Juniors have a corner, but it's cleared Lombard just inside Hound Dogs half. They're 3 on 2 as they ball goes wide to Shute. The defenders are recovering but they're stuck in an awkward line with two attackers lurking in behind. A cross comes in and it's an opening goal for Hound Dogs! Myhill scores his first goal after an injury and he's absolutely delighted! The rest of the first half is a cagey affair with just a couple long shots testing the keepers. It's 1-0 to Hound Dogs after a textbook counterattack. Can they hold on, will their chairman celebrate the win in full kit, we'll find out in 45 minutes! The second half starts with Boca slightly on the front foot, they seem to have regrouped and figured out how to pass the ball in this weather. An intricate passing move gets the ball to Adams who's been starved out of service. Boca Juniors man turns, finds half a yard and absolutely smashes it into top corner from 25 yards out. What a finish! We've finally got a game on our hands! Boca Juniors continue pressing as Hound Dogs remain listless having conceded a worldie out of nowhere. Not much happens in terms of chances and we're through 90 minutes as we head to extra-time. Hound Dogs have had a few more chances but it's been a very even game and a simple mistake may decide this final. Ten minutes into the extra time Hound Dogs have a freekick about 35 yards out, they play it short, then back to the kick taker who whips one in and Lombard scores a half volley into the far corner! Hound Dogs chairman goes bonkers, falls over the barriers and has to be taken away by an ambulance. Early signs indicate it's a concussion, he'll be out for 3 weeks. Boca Juniors do not give up. They're showing their true fraud faces playing three up front. They keep probing and probing but with just two minutes to go, Hound Dogs latch a long ball forward. Lombard, who else, takes it inside the area and gets taken out by hapless Romero. Penalty to Hound Dogs, a golden chance to finish the game off! Myhill takes the ball, cleans the mud away, kisses it and prepares for what seems an eternity. The ref whistles and Myhill proceeds to blast the pen way above the bar onto the collision course with a Sergio Ramos penalty from 2012. Boca Juniors go right back from the goal kick, the three centremids quickly pushing the ball up as 3 strikers are left with just 3 defenders to cover. Ortiz slips Muscat through, he's just inside the area. He shoots and... almost hits the corner flag. Two more minutes to be added on. Jubiliant scenes as Hound Dogs lift the trophy, their manager looks elated whilst Boca Juniors have to pick themselves up to face the menthol boys in 4 days in the league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvzifer Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Pictures are not showing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriole01 Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 1 hour ago, lvzifer said: Pictures are not showing? Don't worry mate, that's just a common fraud move. Nothing to see here .Yeah, they aren't showing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 5 hours ago, lvzifer said: Pictures are not showing? 4 hours ago, oriole01 said: Don't worry mate, that's just a common fraud move. Nothing to see here .Yeah, they aren't showing. They seem to be showing on desktop but not mobile... Investigating... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 League finale Having won the divisional cup final, the squad just kept going as we closed out the league with assured 7 points in final 3 games whilst also prevailing in extra time against top division Phoenix in the FA Cup semifinal. That was our second extra time in 6 days and I was very pleased I had played second string in the second match against Boca as my starters really rose to the occasion. This means we've done the double this year with an unlikely treble still a possibility as well as winning 4 Gibraltese trophies in one calendar year. In the end we had a 31 point, 9-4-1 season topping the league by seven points. Magpies couldn't keep the challenge up as they ended up losing the promotion playoff too. The board is ecstatic, so I used that to get more coaching courses, I am finally starting to get useful on the training pitch. Naturally we dominated the awards of the year, Mena Jimenez has been incredibly good, averaging more than goal a game. My winter signing Isola snagged the Young Player of the Year, whilst myself, I got the manager of the Year. We also had a magnificent seven players in the Team of the Year, with our chairman anchoring the defense. Now only the final frontier remains, Red Imps, Gibraltarian Celtic, in the Cup final. They're far too strong for us and I expect to lose heavily but we'll try our best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvzifer Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Great results so far, which editorfile are you using? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 6 hours ago, lvzifer said: Great results so far, which editorfile are you using? Official SI one released just before 18.03 from steam workshop Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 I'll post the tactic later this week, it's very simple, similar to what I used in Lithuania. Counterattacking 442 with emphasis on pace, wings and long balls forward Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidthekid Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Congrats on a great start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 28 minutes ago, kidthekid said: Congrats on a great start. Thanks, I have inherited a very good team, so that helped, definitely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 As promised, this the tactical setup I use against most teams, nothing complicated at all The bread and butter of this setup are crosses from the right as well as balls over the top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Rock Cup Final, May 2019 Hound Dogs vs Lincoln Red Imps Once again, it's 13 degrees in Gibraltar as we're gearing up for another Cup final. Both teams have already snatched a domestic double winning their leagues, Super cup and a 2nd division Cup respectively. Who's going to make it a treble today? Smart money says it will be Red Imps, still unbeaten domestically this year, featuring a team that will likely be dismantled by richer Spanish clubs over the summer. Some say it might be Hound Dogs who come into this game in formidable form having lost only once all season too. Red Imps are in standard 4231 with their wingers likely to exploit slower opponents. Hound Dogs have prepared a bit of a surprise here lining up in a defensive 4141. They clearly don't rate their chances and hope snatch a goal on a break, their chairman is on the bench for this match. Both teams are ready, the ref blows his whistle and we're off! 20' Nothing major happens in the opening minutes as both teams try to figure each other ou t. It looks like Hound Dogs finally gain something as the ref awards a free kick about 40 yards from Red Imps goal. Draper lifts it into the area, Mena Jimenez tries to get on the end of it but gets bodyblocked by Bidari but ref says play on. The whole team goes berserk and fourth ref needs a towel to handle the heat coming from Jaunius and rest of Hound Dogs. You've seen penalties given in moments like these, will Hound Dogs come to ruin this by the end of the night? Red Imps don't waste time and go straight up from the goal kick down left wing. A vicious cross goes in, it bounces of a defender and falls to unmarked Augusto just 8 yards from goal. Can he finish? Oh dear, oh dear, he miscues his shot and Hound Dogs survive for now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Rock Cup Final, May 2019 Hound Dogs vs Lincoln Red Imps 30' It's a Red Imps corner, they have finally taken control of this match and started pushing forward. They only send 4 men forward though, can they get anything out of this? The cross is inch-perfect, he finds Augusto unmarked at the near post but he misses again! What a howler, the manager got his head in his hands and the bench falls silent in disbelief. 33' Red Imps on a counter, they send a long ball down the right wing for Casciaro to run onto. He's got a defender on him and two more in the middle. In a moment of madness, Hound Dogs leftback lunges and Casciaro leaves him for dust. Monterde is sprinting down the middle but can he get there in time, it's two on two at the moment. Casciaro makes his move and crosses it towards the penalty spot. Monterde is ready as the defenders all misread the ball. The left winger makes no mistake as he plants a firm header into the back of the net. 1-0 Red Imps! 45' The fourth referee signals 2 minutes added on, is there going to be any more action? Another long ball to the wing, these have been very effective today for Red Imps. This time it's Monterde on the end of as he hits a first time cross into the box. The ball evades the striker but Casciaro has shifted centrally, hits a great header and it's 2-0 to Red Imps! An assist and a goal for each of Red Imps wingers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 Rock Cup Final, May 2019 Hound Dogs vs Lincoln Red Imps 45+2' Hound Dogs look rattled as they restart the game. The ref checks his watch but doesn't blow the half-time whistle just yet. Soler comes forward with the ball and spots both wingers making a run. He chooses left as Jose Lombard overlaps the defender. He's one on one against the goalie and makes no mistake! 2-1 to Red Imps and what a time to score for the underdogs! Half-time: It's been one-way traffic for Red Imps who should have scored at least 4 by now. However, their poor finishing and a single shot on target from Hound Dogs means the game is still in balance. ~~~ 70' Red Imps have controlled the game as they seem to be content with a one-goal lead. But what's this? Another long ball to the wing, Casciaro is on the end of it. Can he produce more magic? He crosses, it's heading towards Monterde but Garcia is first to the ball, he hits it rather awkwardly and it's an own goal! Disaster for Hound Dogs, they haven't created much but looked much better this half. Red Imps won't care, their fans starting the party already. 88' Hound Dogs have been a bit more active going forward and they get a corner. Garcia gets on the end of it at the edge of 6 yard box. He smashes his header against the bar, the ball comes back to Mena Jimenez. Surely, he'll head it in? Oh no, it hits the bar again and bounces back to Mena Jimenez. One more time, he nudges it towards the goal, it hits the bar yet again but this time skims into the back of the net. Absolutely incredible, it's 2-3, the Red Imps are still leading but the minty supporters are the ones in full voice now. The final whistle is music to Red Imps supporters. They've completed the treble, sweeping all domestic trophies this year with an assured performance in the final. The final scoreline flatters Hound Dogs but the biggest what if will remain that penalty shout in the first half with the scores still at nil-nil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 Hound Dogs | Season 1 What a season to open this career with! We've just gone and done the double, won promotion at the first attempt and looked really good throughout. Gibraltar second division is very short, so whilst I did use a lot of players, very few played more than 15 games all year. All this success meant that our reputation started growing a little bit. While the big guns are still quite a distance away we should be able to attract most of second division talent. This will allow us to create a decent team for a shot at survival in top division next year. Just before the season reset the board announced we'll be going semi-pro, this is very exciting! I know I won't be able to offer part-time contracts to players but it's halfway to professional status. It will also help us keep our star players a bit longer. Speaking of star players, we made a tidy profit last year, so we should be able to offer fairly decent wages next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Well done! Interesting approach to use that many players, it seemed to have worked out for you though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 20 minutes ago, MarcxD said: Well done! Interesting approach to use that many players, it seemed to have worked out for you though. I do like to rotate my players, see if anyone stands out in game situations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 Around Europe Looks like this save has started with a few unexpected European winners but let's start close to home. As expected, Red Imps romped to the title with the professional sides filling the other top3 spots. Europa Point will be going to Europa League, it will be interesting to see how they use the money next season. In France, it's all about PSG. They just about won the title from Monaco this time round with the remaining challengers far behind. Hopefully, more of a battle next year. We have a new unexpected winner in Bundesliga and it only took a year! Bayern finishes third behind the Franchise and Neverkusen! Dortmund completes the CL spots, I wonder how the summer spending is going to look here given a few teams underperformed by quite a lot. A new winner in Italy too! Milan snatches the title from Juve with Roma and Torino all in close pursuit. Donnaruma is already outstanding, can Milan build a dinasty or will Juventus fightback? Finally, a boring league. Man United regain the title as they always do on FM. No surprises of any kind here with big 6 all safely in Europe next season. Now, this is more like it. Aletico started the season with 11 consecutive wins and it was enough to propel them to a title ahead of the giants. Griezmann had a truly amazing season, maybe Ballon d'Or for him? None of this favourite choking stuff in Wales. TNS win their ninth in a row and all other teams are a notch below them at the moment. Finally, in Poland, Legia really really messes up the run-in as Lech secure the title. They get there by a single goal having lost to runners-up on the final matchday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidthekid Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Great season, best of luck in the top flight Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 Hound Dogs | Summer 2019 We're not in Europe yet but it was great to see that all playable leagues have increased their European rankings over the last 12 months. More European places, more domestic money and better players, it's all looking up for us and others. The silly season kicked off when two of the best teams in the league could not extend the contracts of their overly great managers. I did not even get mentioned as a possible replacement and there were no offers coming my way. Red Imps managed to land Johny, who I believe is still a tad too good for them, so they'll definitely remain the team to beat in Gibraltar. Our own pre-season started with fantastic news, we're now a semi-professional club. Despite that, we still can't offer players part-time contracts and amateur ones have been replaced with non-contracts going forward. Hopefully, this will change in the near future and we can hold onto our brightest stars. My leftback chairman seems to be just as ambitious as myself aiming for midtable this year. I reckon we'll need some reinforcements but we could get there if other squads fall out. Conveniently, my coaching courses had just finished, so I asked for more to improve my, um, coaching abilities. Sean bought it and sent me on my way to get smarter still. Our gloryhunter bus has added a few extra seats as we sold 35 season tickets, a 40% YoY increase. I wonder how that will translate into our match revenue over the season. We also had Brexit blow by. In this career, we got the softest possible Brexit with no new limitations applied whatsoever. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 Pre-season 2019 We managed to do a fair bit of business this summer essentially rebuilding the whole starting eleven. Ten deals in total with nine likely to start the first league game. At the back I got a young Jordan McKenna who needs a bit of pace and marking but is amazing otherwise. He's partnered by Carl Thomas on the right who should be a one-two year stopgap solution. Rovegno will probably become the new vice-captain and he can cover both centre and left back positions seamlessly. Finally, in Will Sykes we have an improvement on our previous keepers but his low one-on-ones and reflexes could be a bit of a problem against better teams. In midfield, Asquez is a good DM/MC will lots of room to grow with Hernandez basically a slightly better version of the too. Has two national team caps, so I am even more excited about this one. On the wings we got Sene and Gilbert, hopefully, their physicals hold up for at least a season. Finally, I stole a couple strikers I relly hated facing in the second division, so really pleased with getting them. The media now considers us a fourth favourite for the title which is just on the edge of EL qualification spots. That would be perfect in my book but I am worried they expect a tad too much. When it comes to possible awards last season's top goalscorer is one of leading candidates to repeat but I don't think he'll play much to be honest. Finally, the pre-season fixtures. Not a single loss but then again we didn't play anyone too strong in preparation. Hopefully, we won't sink when we meet good teams now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 October 2019 So one thing that really bothers me in Gibraltar is general lack of money and lack of money transferring between the clubs. Let's take the financials for example. You can clearly see the European sides with their money. Red Imps had a good run, so they earned even more while the rest of the league have to sustain on very minimal income. Also, the league winner gets around 500k in prize money with second place being awarded 38k, so that makes the gap to Red Imps even bigger. And yet despite all that inequality I managed to convince the board to improve our Youth Rec. Not sure there is a lot of point improving it further before we get training facility upgraded, maybe a junior coaching upgrade or two could help first. Fixtures were very forgiving, providing us with a slowly increasing level of opponents. Jamie Adams hit a debut hattrick and continued his great start whilst the rest of the new boys scored all of our goals. All in all, looks like a two-tier league at the moment with Red Imps yet to really pull away but Europa Point already starting to lose ground on European qualifier spots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 December 2019 It's the final call time in Belarus as they have another unexpected winner. A year after Dinamo took the crown from BATE, Solihorsk comes in and sweeps every single domestic trophy. Is this a start of a new dynasty? Only time will tell. Back in Gibraltar we faced the big boys in November and that didn't go well at all. Lesser teams played us in December and we took full advantage of that, inflating our GD and points columns. The league table is fairly static. College Europa managed to draw at Red Imps and are still managing to keep pace whilst Mons Caipe are right on our toes. The rest of the league looks positively lost and I am starting to dream of European nights a little bit already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 February 2020 The year started with great news of me getting a new contract and the board tentatively agreeing to expand our training facilities. It will cost 160k and we only got 30 in the bank but maybe there is a way and will to push this through. The second best piece of news didn't come from us, it was Red Imps losing in the cup to a second division side to record their first domestic loss in over 2 years. This opens the path for us at least to challenge for the Rock Cup and the European place that comes with it. Back at the club we dispatched the scrubs as usual, though with slightly more difficulty. Then proceeded to throw the remaining games against slightly more skillful opponents, my boys truly are dogs. Despite our uninspired form we still find ourselves way up in third and with a bit of a buffer to fourth that could still yield a European adventure next summer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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