PaulHartman71 Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x1 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Turkey Belgium Ukraine Croatia Austria Romania Poland Serbia Denmark Sweden Greece Czech Republic Switzerland Republic of Ireland Norway Iceland Bulgaria Israel Slovenia Slovakia Hungary Finland Belarus Northern Ireland Wales In hindsight I probably should've gone for Croatia or Austria as the next country to load, but I've had Switzerland ear-marked as the next nation for a season or two due to them having the two strongest sides based on last 10 coefficient ranking (Basel and Young Boys). They've dropped off massively down the rankings, only just above Northern Ireland, but I'm hoping they'll rise back up soon. They also seem to have a fairly cushty looking league (10 teams) and some very kind HG rules (looks like as long as you sign EU players they don't care about having a quota on Swiss players) which is good and in sharp contrast to the relatively strict rules in Ukraine and Turkey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Rangers and Lyon both making the Quarter Finals, be interesting to see how well the AI can continue to do with those two sides as as win with either of those would be a new club/nation completed for the AI. Real Madrid a huge team to drop down to the Europa League and proved too good for that tournament, eventually beating Everton in the final, who crazily enough were also a side originally in the Champions League group stage and dropped down. Besiktas doing well to get to the Quarter Final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacchi Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Congrats, well deserved win! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Incredible from Besiktas who managed to juggle a Europa League run with their first Turkish title in 11 years to break Galatasaray's 4 year dominant run on top, who had to settle for 2nd place. It would sure be a shame if their managed got fired this summer, ehh? A 3rd straight title for Standard Liege in Belgium as they begin to establish themselves as the dominant force there, as it really wasn't close this season. A fantastic season for K Sint-Truidense, as STVV finish 2nd and get Champions League to show for it. A poor year for Anderlecht who finish 7th, out of the champions playoff and eventually lose a penalty-shoot out in the Euro Playoff final to Club Brugge to go out of Europe completely. Shakhtar make it 15 in a row, but oh my word did Obolon-Brewer make them work for it. Obolon-Brewer were at one point 8 points clear and looked certain to break the spell of dominance, but Shakhtar refused to be beaten and muscled their way back out on top somehow on the final day. Another poor year for Dynamo Kyiv. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Not done a Hall of Fame post in a while so here it is. Thierry a long-way off getting a look in, not winning enough Scottish Premiership's probably costing him from at least being on the 1000 mark by now. Everyone on the list has now retired. Some interesting names at the bottom of the list. Joe Gomez won 28 Swedish titles with Malmo FF and 3 Danish titles with FC Kobenahvn, whilst Kristoffer Ajer managed 21 Norwegian titles with Rosenborg. There's not actually a massive amount of names knocking about that people would still recognise. Jadon Sancho recently retired at 70 years old. Some names people may remember: Pedro Diaz, who was a very good winger for me at Atletico Madrid is now 67 and has had a pretty good managerial career at Atletico Madrid, Basel, Porto, Steaua Bucharest, Man United, PSG, Rangers and Wolfsburg. He's currently on 3718 so well reach that list before he retires in the next few seasons. Joao Lopez, who was a defender for me at Roma is 68 and has had a decent managerial career. He's actually the current Rangers boss and has also managed Basel, Roma and Schalke. He's only on 2390 so he is unlikely to make the cut. Carlos Escobedo who you may remember as one of the star strikers at Zenit is currently 55 and managing Steaua Bucharest in Romania, having previously managed Chivas in his native Mexico. He's actually on 2193 I think from winning a lot of trophies in Mexico and Romania, so he could well make that cut eventually in the next 10-15 years if he keeps winning trophies. Other than that it's fairly slim-pickings for recognisable faces in the game outside of players who are still active from Vitesse or St. Mirren. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 France got their 4 spots back so from the season after next Scotland will go back to 2 automatic group spots, but if they can continue as they were then they'll be battling France and Portugal for the years to come. But for Thierry it's onto some place else... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidthekid Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Congrats on winning the big one. Great commentary for the final 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Fantastic stuff! Bet winning that is a weight off. Onto the next Country! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 I was blessed with a reasonable amount of choice over a new club. Turkey saw Galatasaray finish 2nd and Fenerbache in 5th, I thought maybe one of those two giants would get the sacking but both managers kept their jobs. Kayserispor who were a real force 20-30 seasons ago in the late 2030-2040s have been on a slump for a while, they came 7th this season and the job was going there. In the Ukraine I was offered the job of Dynamo Kyiv, who have gone 26 years without a title. Not too keen on heading to the Ukraine anytime soon and I'd ideally like to do so as Shakhtar if at all possible, so this was politely declined without too much consideration, especially with that transfer budget. In Belgium there were two options: Oud Huverlee-Leuven who have dropped off massively in recent years and Anderlecht, who had a poor season and were a shoot-out away from Europa League football next season. On paper if you look at all the offers in terms of wage/transfers I think Kayserispor just edges it, but that may be due to the Turkish league having slightly more money than the Belgian leagues. When you break it down it was really a straight-shoot out between Kayserispor and Anderlecht. Kayserispor do have the better ground, but Anderlecht are different class in regards to facilities for training and infrastructure for youth etc. I also think that the Belgian league is a slightly more open league with regards to the strength of the Top 6/7 so it may well be easier to get to the top with Anderlecht. Viva la Belgium 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 As a reminder Belgium are currently ranked 8th, which is pretty good going considering Russia, Holland and Italy are all behind them and have had a side win the Champions League more recently. Portugal would need to be toppled for our European places allocations to improve and that's probably not happening any time soon. Standard Liege are the 16th best side in Europe coefficient wise which is really good, but everyone else is letting the side down. The Pro League's way of handling European places probably plays into this, in the sense that the Playoff system can mean the 5th strongest side can miss out on Europe altogether to a team who finished 13th in the league or something like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Standard Liege have dominated domestically in the last 5 years, not finishing lower than 2nd since 2066, 5 years ago when Anderlecht last won the title for themselves. As far back ago as two seasons ago they did finish 2nd though, so I think Anderlecht are still a good side who have maybe just lost their way a little bit. I will look to rectify this in the next few years. The main goal for next season is to get back into Europe via the Europa League, with no European commitments like the sides that will be around us we should be fresh for the league games and the cup games too so we have a good chance I would say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how strong the squad actually is. It's strong enough that I don't see the point in spending my £5M budget as I think everyone deserves a fair crack of the whip until January to show what they can do. There's certainly no glaring holes anywhere really. In an incredible testament to just how brilliant the youth system here is 8 of the 11 first choice players are actually graduates of their youth academy, which when you look at how good some of them are is absolutely insane. I'm certainly miles ahead of where I was when I first took over at St.Mirren, hell some of these players would've got into my St. Mirren side of the last few seasons 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Some of you may well remember Yury Ageev, who was actually captain whilst I was at Zenit St Petersburg and actually played alongside Thierry for Zenit and Russia. In a totally random coincidence he's actually been at Anderlecht for the last decade as assistant manager to their U21 team, well now that his mate Thierry has arrived at the club he's been promoted to assisting the first team He's actually pretty decent to be fair as well so it wasn't a decision made too much on nepotism... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Scotland sorted. Good luck in Brussels. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 A Chinese side came in with big money for our right back, at 28 years old it was a no brainer to take it and he wasn't going to take no for an answer as he wanted the big money wages anyway. A few other squad players left, most notably Pascal Barbier, a good left winger that is an Academy graduate, but at 28 he wasn't first choice and wanted out so it made sense to get rid. I bought a replacement right back but other than that pocketed the £22M which we will save for a rainy day... Carballo looks a very tidy right back. We managed to poach him from Oud-Heverlee and as they signed him so young he even counts as HG in Belgium which is nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 Mid-Season Update Belgian Cup So far, so good in the Belgian Cup, especially considering we've had a very tough run with away trips to Standard Liege and KRC Genk. A two legged Semi Final with Westerlo awaits... Belgian Pro League A solid start to the season saw us win 4 of our opening 5 games, with just the solitary loss to Eupen, awful to concede 5 goals in 1 game, can't remember the last time I did that. We picked up our 2nd loss of the season to STVV, but then went on a 4 game winning streak, including a big win against Standard Liege. We won 4 from our next 5, keeping clean sheets in 4, with just the solitary cock up to Charleloi aside. When we play bad and lose we seem to just go completely off the rails and take a real pasting, there's not much inbetween. A very strong end to the calendar year, as we win 4 from 5, dropping points in just 1 game away to Eupen. I don't want to speak too soon but things have been going extremely well since I took over, no idea how this side came 7th last season. We've been more or less bossing it in the cup and the league, with the odd loss here and there, but still 5 points clear at Christmas is lovely. A very upside down league this year, as Eupen, Club Brugge and AA Gent who finished 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively last season, are 16th, 13th and 14th this year... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 As I mentioned when I came in our squad was overly stacked with players and a lot of them were either ageing or younger lads who were never gonna get a look in. 5 players leave in January, with only about 10 appearances in all competitions between them it's not real loss, especially with the conveyor belt of talent the Academy appears to be. Ljuobomir Kojic, our 2nd choice striker was the best of the bunch, he's a talented 23 year old Belgian who also came through the Academy, but he was never getting in the starting 11 over Joan Francois with the form he's in and he wanted first team football so he's gone. I didn't replace any of these players as with Kojic I have a decent 3rd choice striker who will be fine as deputy to Francois for the rest of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Pre-Split Update Belgian Cup A 3-0 aggregate victory over Westerlo in the Semi Final sees us through to the final to face a struggling Club Brugge. Belgian Pro League We kept the habit of when we lose we lose absolutely terribly, as we got smashed 4-0 in Liege sandwiched between 4 fairly comfortable wins. Our form dropped off a bit as we lost two on the spin against KV Mechelen and Charleroi, with 3 other wins to round our the normal season. We end the conventional season 6 points clear of Liege, with everyone else quite far behind really. AA Gent, who were 6th last season have somehow gone down. That 6 point lead not looking so good now that it has been reduced to 3 points with 10 games remaining, of which 2 will be against Liege themselves, even KRC Genk at 8 points behind aren't completely out of the running anymore if they hit form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 End of Season Update Belgian Cup 120,000 fans packed out the Stade Roi Baudouin and I'm sure the 60,000 of our lot who made the trip will wish they hadn't bothered. We were somehow 4-0 down at half-time, after conceding two own goals and two direct free-kicks from Cyrille Njoh. Club Brugge then got a man sent off early in the second half and we only managed to get 2 goals back. It was just a complete disaster from start to finish Thierry bottling another final ffs. Belgian Pro League 17 points from a possible 30 in the Championship stage, which included a loss and a draw to championship rivals Standard Liege. It wasn't exactly title winning form, with Standard Liege just 3 points behind us did we manage to hang on for the title? Incredibly, Standard Liege only picked up 20 points, 3 more than we did, which meant we finished on the same amount of points... We ended up winning the title by the skin of our teeth on games won, as Belgium's title is decided by that first over goal difference. A poor end to the season by us after a terrific start to the season. There was one time where Standard Liege had like 3 games in hand on us and were just 4 points behind, but they somehow contrived to not take advantage of that despite our best efforts to bottle both the title and the cup! Overall for us an unbelievable season. I would've been made up to finish 2nd at the start of the season, so to be annoyed that we bottled the cup and almost bottled the title is pretty incredible really but shows how good we have been this season! No idea how AA Gent went down. Club Brugge get Europa via the cup and STVV beat 4th place Charleroi after coming through the Euro playoff. Joan Francois in terrific form up-front for most of the season, with 26 goals in 40 games in the league he finished top scorer of the league. Steve Lippens extremely good in the #10 role this year. Ourdy at the heart of our defence worth a shout-out too, all 3 of these lads products of the youth system here in Brussels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x1 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Belgian Pro League x1 - 2071/72 (Anderlecht) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Turkey Belgium Austria (+2) Croatia Ukraine (-2) Romania Denmark (+2) Greece (+3) Serbia (-1) Sweden Poland (-4) Switzerland (+1) Czech Republic (-1) Norway (+1) Iceland (+1) Republic of Ireland (-2) Bulgaria Israel Slovenia Slovakia Hungary Finland Belarus Northern Ireland Wales Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 St. Mirren unfortunately eliminated at the Round of 16 stage by a Sporting Lisbon side who would eventually win the competition for a 2nd time under the AI's control, preventing another side the AI first won the Champions League with in RB Leipzig from repeating their success themselves. Good news for the Portuguese coefficient all round as they sweep up this year with Porto winning the Europa League. 3 of the 4 Europa last 4 were Portuguese sides for good measure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Fenerbache pick up their first title for 6 years, as Galatasaray's reign of terror in Turkey is over, now going two years without winning a title for the first time in over a decade. They end up 3rd, with last year's winner Besiktas getting CL football in 2nd. Kayserispor will be wishing I'd joined them as they still remain in mid-table mediocrity. 16 in a row for Shakhtar and nobody got anywhere near them after their score of only winning on goal difference last year. A good year for Dynamo though, another side I could've joined, as they get back in the Champions League with a top two finish for the first time in 10 years. A bit of context for the Swiss league since the start of the save. A surprise win in the first season by St. Gallen, but since then it has more or less been absolutely dominated by Basel and Young Boys. No real surprise as Basel win the title, but good performances from FC Thun and surprise package Neuchatel Xamaz, as well as a cup win for St. Gallen see them get Europe over the more fancied Luzern and especially Young Boys who had a fairly poor year considering they're on paper/history the comfortably 2nd best side in Switzerland. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 No shame in STVV going out to Portimonense and you can excuse Club Brugge going out to Villarreal. Standard Liege finished 3rd in a CL group of Bayern, Zenit and Barcelona so if anything you could say fair play for actually getting 3rd and into Europe, where they went out to Benfica in the Quarters. Good showings from STVV, Eupen and KRC Genk in the Europa who all reached the knockout stages, Eupen actually went out to Liege in an all-Belgian tie, whilst STVV went out to Monaco and Genk to Bilbao. A decent showing should see us retain 8th place moving forward, although Russia could go above us if Zenit keep reaching Champions League semi finals. Turkey have already gone above Scotland, whilst Portugal shoot up to the Top 3 for the first time in a good few years. Top 4 looks like it will be tight for the next few years with 5 nations all looking quite strong. I showed in Scotland if you have a good couple of years any of the sides in 5th-7th could get up there too, whilst Russia, Holland and Italy below us show what can happen if you have a couple of bad ones. It's all to play for but in Belgium we'll probably be under the radar for a few years just yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2020 Author Share Posted February 28, 2020 Summer Update A fairly eventful summer. Most notable departure saw top scorer and star striker Joan Francois leave in a big money move to join the Champions of Europe in Sporting Lisbon. He was desperate to go and for that price, with possible add-ons as well it seemed a fair enough deal to make. Edilson Agapito was our first choice left back but Chelsea came in with a pretty decent bid, he wanted to leave so I was happy to sell given the circumstances. We also sold back-up midfielder Bilal Martins to STVV. 6 new players joined us. Miguel Perosanz was an unbelievable bosman CB pick-up from La Liga, as the Spaniard wanted to leave the Canary Islands for Champions League football. Karsten Heinrich is the replacement left back I signed. At 28 he's older than I would've liked, but looks a quality player especially for the measly £7M price tag it cost to prize him away from Thun. Cumhur Caliskan is a defensive minded young Turkish midfielder who we signed from a struggling Boluspor, who couldn't hold onto him now they were outside of Europe. At £14M he again looks like a shrewd bit of business. Toni Vidoli is another young central midfielder who joins us, this time from Luzern in Swizterland, again at a similar price he would appear to represent decent value. Per Overby was signed from the Danish champions following the departure of Joan Francois to Sporting. We had to pay a lot to get him, much more than I thought a Danish club would want for their best player, but £20M was what it took and he was probably the best available that we could afford/attract to join us based on the scout reports I had. Finally, with the Francois money I had some cash burning in my pocket so we pinched right winger Mohammed Benalai from Westerlo for just shy of £15M. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 The first trophy of the season in the bag as we come from behind at half-time to beat Club Brugge with a last minute Steve Lippens penalty after they equalised. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 Mid-Season Update Belgian Cup Really poor to go out of the competition as early as we have. On paper we're surely the favourites to win it and we go out at home to a side we should beat. I did rotate a bit but that's no excuse as we should've beaten them with the team we put out. Poor. Champions League It was always going to be an uphill battle as 4th seeds. We got a difficult group and unfortunately couldn't do too much with it. A great win away to Lyon and a decent point at home against them, but outclassed by Atletico both times and my old adversary in Celtic showed they're still a strong side. Can't argue with that outcome in the end, although I was a little surprised Lyon managed to get through past Celtic as Celtic seemed far stronger in the two matches we played with them. Belgian Pro League A fantastic start to the season with 5 wins from our first 5, including Liege on the opening day and STVV and Club Brugge too. We won two more against Charleroi and Eupen, before barely scraping a draw against relegation battling KV Kortrijk and then losing to Antwerp. We did blow away Lokeren in our next game though. 3 wins from our next 5, which also saw 2 draws as Per Overby hit some good form. We ended the calendar year in electric from with 15 points from 15, in what was a tough run that saw us travel to Liege and Brugge. We have to be very happy with how the league has gone so far. 9 points clear at Christmas is great, although of course that lead will half before the split. The early elimination from the cup and Europe altogether means the Pro League matches are all we have left for the season now though, so with no distractions I'm hoping we should be able to retain our title. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 2, 2020 Author Share Posted March 2, 2020 Winter Transfers Nicolas Rodriguez wasn't happy with being 4th choice in central midfield so he demanded a move. A few South American sides were interested in the Argentine and he eventually went to Boca for a pretty tidy fee. We also sold 5th choice central midfielder Luciano Belusso to Brazil. The European champions Sporting Lisbon came in and poached another of our players, as they signed the young right back we only bought at the start of last season. We almost doubled our money on him though so can't complain too much. We have enough decent youth prospects that I'm not too fussed about getting another central midfielder in straight away, but we did need to replace our first choice right back, so poached another player from Westerlo, with young Belgian Joey Mavitidi Ito joining for a big but reasonable fee of just under £19M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Good start in Belgium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Pre-Split Update Belgian Pro League 4 wins from 5 in the new year, with a surprise 4-2 loss at Antwerp coming out of the blue. 4 wins from 5 in our next 5 games, with the only points dropping occurring away to Zulte. I'm a little ahead and forgot to take a screen-gap of the beginning of the championship group, but basically imagine all of points are halved It also means our lead is halved from 13 points to 6 which is pretty irritating given we've dominated the league and now the sides behind us get a bit of a reprieve. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 End of Season Update Belgian Pro League An incredible start to the championship group, with a 4-1 smashing of Liege with Per Overby bagging all 4 of our goals. We then lost to Club Brugge, but recovered quickly to defeat STVV and Eupen. What followed, oh my word. We did our absolute best to try and bottle the title at the last, but thankfully we did so well throughout the rest of the season that we could not contrive to do so despite our best efforts. A 5 game run in the championship group where we picked up 2 points from 15 ffs Pretty shocking to even let Liege come 5 points behind us after the season we had, but they did and got the second Champions League spot for their trouble. KRC Genk won the Belgian Cup, so in Europe next season we have pretty much our best teams competing in it which is good. Toni Vidoli bossed it in central midfield and was a brilliant signing. Per Overby ended the season with with 24 goals in 39 games, which we have to be happy with as he adapts to a higher standard of league. He blanked in all 6 of his Champions League appearances though, so hopefully he can improve upon that next season. Steve Lippens very good once again at CAM, he look set to leave this summer as he has refused all contract renewals in the last 12 months and has just 1 year left to go on his contract. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners 2072/73 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x1 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Belgian Pro League x2 - 2071/72, 2072/73 (Anderlecht) Belgian Super Cup x1 - 2072/73 (Anderlecht) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Turkey Belgium Austria Denmark (+3) Romania (+1) Ukraine (-1) Czech Republic (+6) Sweden (+2) Croatia (-5) Serbia (-1) Poland Greece (-4) Switzerland (-1) Norway Republic of Ireland (+1) Bulgaria (+1) Iceland (-2) Israel Slovakia (+1) Slovenia (-1) Hungary Finland Belarus Northern Ireland Wales Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 A huge win for Roma as Italian football has risen from the ruins once more. This is a first Champions League win for an Italian side in 45 years, with Italian football having spent the last decade or so in the absolute bin. Roma have fought back and this win should keep them at a health coefficient for a good while. Portugal still doing well with 3 sides in the Last 8, whilst Scotland sees 2 in the Last 16. RB Salzburg doing well for Austria too. A triumph for Turkish football as Fenerbache smash Portimonense in the Europa League final to pick up the trophy, having beaten fellow Turkish side Genclerbirligi in the Semi. Rapid Wienna doing incredibly well to get to a Semi. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 Fenerbache didn't let their Europa League run ruin their domestic form, as they retained the Turkish Super League. Another poor year by Galatasaray's very high standards of the last few years, although they still get Champions League thanks to the strong Turkish coefficient. Shakhtar make it 17 in a row, with nobody anywhere in sight. Basel make it two titles in a row, but the real story is last year's 2nd place side FC Thun, who came just 2 points and goal difference from being champions, this time are sensationally relegated down to the second tier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 Standard Liege went out of the Champions League to Besiktas, which seems fair, then crashed out of the Europa League Quarters to Rapid Vienna. On paper you'd expect them to win that one and be disappointed not to get through, but the Austrian side do seem to have gone on a hell of a run this year. STVV went out of a group after finishing 3rd behind Liverpool and Nacional de Madeira, but still above whipping boys SV Grodig of Austria. Club Brugge went out to Portimonense which you can't begrudge them for, whilst KRC Genk went out to Belgian opposition in Liege. I'm not sure I can ever recall seeing Germany that low, as they crash out of the Top 4. Turkey very impressively in 6th, ahead of Scotland and we aren't all that far behind the Scots ourselves really. Holland have fallen quite a bit, with Denmark even above them now and an Italian contingent that was like 20th not that long ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 Summer Transfers A few big moves this summer as a number of players left the club. 31 year old centre back Ourdy Kayembe-Menga who had 1 year left on his contract and did not much want to renew was sold to Sevilla, whilst arguably the best player at the club during my two year stint so far, Steve Lippens, was in a similar situation and ended up joining Schalke for £33.5M. Aurelian Delporte is a very talented 18 year old CAM who featured in 16 games across all competitions for us last season. I had high hopes for him but his exposure to first team football meant that a number of clubs around Europe were very interested in him and matched his minimum fee release clause to steal him away. I was disappointed but not too concerned as Michel Louis, effectively Delporte's CAM understudy in the U21s, is also quite talented and highly rated, but he also had a lot of interest despite only featuring 7 times for us last season, with only 1 of those being a start. Sporting Lisbon are a big club though and they turned his head, so we got £9M for him, which I thought seemed decent, made me think we should have got double what we got for the talented Delporte. Samuel, a Spanish CAM, was signed from Sporting Gijon to replace Steve Lippens. He's not quite as good but by no means a bad replacement, especially for the price we paid. Sasha Muller joins to be our new centre back, he joins from fellow Belgian side Eupen. It was a record transfer fee paid for the club, but given he is Belgian and extremely talented I think it was worth paying. We needed some more depth in central midfield following a few players leaving, so the Montenegrin, Topuzovic, joins from Feyenoord. Perhaps a little older than I like to sign but he was good value for what I paid and there wasn't many affordable options available who were below 24. With several talented CAM youth prospects leaving this summer I scoured the market to get a new one in. Rui Pimenta joins from KV Mechelen to fill that void. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 A first trophy of the season came courtesy of a victory against KRC Genk in the Super Cup. I thought they would've put up a bit more of a fight to be honest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 As 4th seeds again we've been handed a tough Champions League group again. Man City and RB Leipzig both very strong sides always up there for a place in the final. My old side from Portugal have gone out of the Champions League group stage in the last 4 consecutive seasons, although in 3 of those 4 they have come 3rd and gone to the Europa League, of course last season reaching the final of that. So it will be an uphill challenge for us, but I'm hopeful we can put in a decent fight and maybe snatch 3rd to have a go in the Europa ourselves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 A few things I forgot to mention from the summer: The local council helping us out by giving us a grant to get an extra 9,000 seats in the stadium, nice one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 The other thing being some interest in Thierry over the summer from other clubs. I would've gone to both of these over Anderlecht originally, but given we're two years into a good project where we're winning the league whatever time I might save by going to Galatasaray and possibly winning the CL quicker, in the long run I've got to come back to Belgium anyway and I might not be able to come back to Anderlecht, so I'm staying put for now. It's nice to be wanted though... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Mid-Season Update Belgian Cup A tough ride since our opening round stroll in the park against lower league opposition. A very good win away to Liege though and it took penalties to get past STVV away from home. A two legged Semi with KRC Genk awaits in the new year. Belgian Pro League Not the best start to the season, as we win just 2 of our opening 5, with 2 draws and a loss at home to Club Brugge. We regained some of the fine form that we exhibited last season on our way to the title, with 4 wins from our next 5, with just an excusable 1-0 loss in Liege. We continued the good form with two more wins on the bounce, but then two goalless games saw us pick up 1 point from our next two, before a strong win away to KRC Genk. A ropey end to the year with 2 points from our last 3 matches of 2073. After two years of dominance it is disappointing that we go into Christmas in 2nd, with the league very much a close run thing. Although that 1 point gap is barely even a point when they do the 50 percent off thing. We've not been quite as dominant domestically this season, although we've not been thaaaat bad, we did have 13 extra points this time last year as we were much more rampant in games. I think partially the problem has been the loss of Steve Lippens at CAM, with him and his understudy Aurelien Delporte always putting in match winning performances, whereas their replacements Samuel and Rui Pimenta have not been performing to the same extremely high standard Lippens set in the last few seasons. Champions League A huge start to the group stage as we smash RB Leipzig, who were finalists just 2 years ago. I certainly didn't expect this kind of result especially as we hadn't been so dominant in the league. We then picked up a huge result in Manchester. You may remember Callum McGregor, who was my starting right back at St. Mirren for the winning Champions League final, well clearly he wanted to help his old manager Thierry out by scoring an own goal for him A huge win at Paul Hart's old stomping ground in Portugal. Guillaume Hendrickx, the 18 year old upstart filling in for the temporarily ill Per Overby popped up to win the match. We were helped by a Portimonense lad picking up a second yellow early in the second half, but still a big big win in our bid to qualify or get 3rd. Portimonense pushed hard to get all 3 points in the return match, but a Mohammed Benali second half equaliser just after they took the lead was enough to get us a vital point. A different Leipzig turned up in the home tie, perhaps more wary of us. They got the win and probably should have had more to be fair. We needed a point against Man City to qualify for the 1st Knockout Round and well, they blew us away. A bad defeat but City were different class. A tad disappointed not to make it through after such a promising start, but still to make the Europa knockouts from that group is big. It's a return to Scotland for Thierry as in the Round of 32 we face Rangers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Good effort in the Champions League. Shame to get knocked out with that 4-0 loss at home to Manchester City, especially after getting a draw at the Etihad. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 Winter Window We sold a couple of fringe players, but other than that no business. The most important thing was to hang on to our starters, as we have both domestic competitions and the Europa League still to play for, so any further upheaval mid-season was much unwanted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 Pre-Split Update Belgian Cup A solid first leg performance against Genk, but a poor return one saw us eliminated at the Semi Final stage. A big disappointment as I would have liked to win it again this season. Europa League A close first leg at home, but a brilliant result on the night as we kept them out and got a goal courtesy of Samuel. Another close second leg and unfortunately we just came up short, going out on penalties. We're probably about the same level as Rangers so it was always going to be close, but of course it is extra gutting to go out on penalties. Belgian Pro League We didn't start the new year in particularly brilliant form, with 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss from our first 5 games of 2074. A slightly better end to the regular season, with 3 wins and 2 draws, which saw Per Overby grab a hat-trick against Eupen. So we end the regular season 5 points behind Standard Liege, but despite my moaning of it not being fair last year when we were winning, when you have an off year this 50 percent thing ain't too bad We're just 2 points behind with 10 games to go. In the last two seasons we've not had the best of finishes and generally limp across the finish line as we try our best to bottle it, so I'm not sure if we will manage to do it, but we have a strong team and if we hit form we're better than anyone in the league as evidenced by our last two title wins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 End of Season Update Belgian Pro League A very solid run of form, with 4 wins from 5 as we head into the business end of the season. Most important was wins against title rivals Club Brugge and Standard Liege. We avoided defeat in the entire championship group which is brilliant, with 3 extra wins and draws in our two away games with Brugge and Liege. We somehow end up winning the title by 10 points, as Club Brugge and Standard Liege fell behind quite a bit with our strong end to the season. Club Brugge join us in the Champions League, with Liege having to settle for Europa, with STVV and KRC Genk joining them. Miguel Perosanz at CB, Toni Vidoli at CM and youth academy graduate Bernard Weiss have been the highlights this season. All had varying degrees of interest in them over the winter window and no doubt the big sides will come back for them again this summer. After losing Lippens last summer and struggling to replace him I'm not too keen on the idea of mass upheaval, but we are still a small club in a small league in the grand scheme of things so it can be unavoidable if you want to keep morale up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners 2072/73 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2073/74 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x1 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Belgian Pro League x3 - 2071/72, 2072/73, 2073/74 (Anderlecht) Belgian Super Cup x2 - 2072/73, 2073/74 (Anderlecht) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Turkey Belgium Denmark (+1) Czech Republic (+3) Austria (-2) Romania (-1) Ukraine (-1) Sweden Poland (+2) Serbia Croatia (-2) Switzerland (+1) Greece (-1) Bulgaria (+2) Norway (-1) Republic of Ireland (-1) Iceland Israel Slovenia (+1) Hungary (+1) Slovakia (-2) Finland Belarus Northern Ireland Wales Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 (edited) RB Leipzig, a side we beat in a game in the Group Stage of course, win their 3rd ever Champions League, as Atletico lose in the final for the second year in a row. There were two Turkish and Scottish sides in the last 16, with 5 of the last 8 being sides I've previously managed. Also last year's champions get dumped out 10-1 on aggregate by PSG in the last 16, including an 8-0 second leg win A strong Europa League field saw Real Madrid eventually win against Schalke in the final. Edited March 12, 2020 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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