TerminalPortugal Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, Doiggy_2007 said: Great read so far, caught up with the whole thread over the past few days! Really interesting concept for a save too! Do you stick to the same tactic with every team or do you mix it up? Thanks. Almost always the same tactics, occasionally I have had cause to change a role or two in the tactic, but always the same formation and generally the same mentality and style of play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Season 2091/92 We were out of job for 8 or so months before we finally got a job in the Palestinian league with Al Ahli Al-Khalil Hebron or Ahli Khalil as they are better known. They are decent side in Palestine and things were not going to the boards satisfaction so they dispensed with the manager which allowed us to apply and get the job. The club were sitting in 7th place when we arrived to the club. Palestine is reasonably unique in that it has two top tier leagues, the West Bank Premier League and the Gaza Strip Premier League, they are both worth 100 points, but are not mutually exclusive of one another so if we win in the West Bank and get 100 points, then we will only get 50 points for the Gaza Strip Premier League should we win that. Ahli Khalil play their football in the West Bank Premier League. Palestine has 4 main competitions; the West Bank Premier League and Gaza Strip Premier League as mentioned which are worth 100 points, the Palestine Cup which is worth 50 points and the Palestinian Super Cup which is worth 30 points. Palestine Cup Already knocked out when we arrived at the club West Bank Premier League We arrived at the end of January to the club and the job was to make sure that we achieved safety and if possible push ourselves up the table and we managed to do that, at one point we were in the running to perhaps pinch the league but in the end we finished in 2nd place which we will take this season and we hope we can push further next season. Squad A little bit early to assess, there is some quality but I would like more, so I want to work in the transfer window to improve the first XI. To honest this season we were not at our best and there were no real standouts as far as I am concerned, hopefully they will reveal themselves next season. Manager Thoughts Well we are in Palestine for AFC5 and it is no points for our first half season or so, which is fine and to be expected, we will push next season to see where we can take this side and hopefully we will be challenging for the major honours. If we aren't then things have not gone well. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 (edited) Season 2092/93 Palestine Cup The Palestine Cup I believe includes all the teams in Palestine from both sectors. We started our campaign away at Al-Arroub and won easily 5-0, then it was the turn of Shabab Yatta, this time at home and we won 3-0. The Quarter Final saw us beat Shabab Al-Am'ary 4-0. The semi final were another route win as we faced Shabab Al-Khalil winning 3-0. The final was as routine as any other game as we beat Shabab Al-Dhahrieh 4-1 to cap off a very comfortable Palestine Cup campaign winning the trophy and 50 points. West Bank Premier League We managed to lift the West Bank Premier League trophy reasonably easily although at times during the season we were poor. We tended to dominate every match we played but sometimes the goals dried up completely and we ended up being pretty streaky to be honest. Still it doesn't matter a whole lot as we wont he league by 8 points losing 4 games in the process. I would say that of all the teams we have managed Ahil Khalil felt very ordinary. We win the league and pick up 100 points for our win and qualification to next season Asian Confederation Cup. Squad We made signings but not many of them improved us a whole lot. We seemed a bit bad up front, probably with a lack of creativity as well despite probably having more talent at the top end of the pitch than in defence. Ali Ashour was our best player this season for sure, he did score the most goals or assists but in general play he seemed to be the one everything relied upon. Manager Thoughts We pick 150 points for the season and the prospect of Asian Confederation Cup football next year which may be an avenue for perhaps further points, although part of me doubts we can go particularly far in that competition. I did not feel we were really at times the best team in Palestine, let alone the teams that will be in that competition. Perhaps we can get some transfers next season after the league win to improve us. I was considering a move away and even had an interview with Al Jayish of Syria with the understanding that I would take over after this season finished but they opted for someone else, so that convinced me that we should probably stay another season here, and the Confederation Cup football doubly convinces me that we should at least see how we do. Career Summary Edited September 7, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 (edited) Season 2093/94 Palestinian Super Cup We started off the season with the Palestinian Super Cup against Jabal Mukabar and came away with a big win 4-0 for the season opener. We claim 30 points. Palestine Cup The Palestine Cup was again another boon for us. In the first two rounds we were pretty muted getting narrow wins 1-0 and 2-1 before in the third round we opened up and got a 4-0 win over Thagafi Tulkarem, a good side in Palestine. In the semi finals we faced Shabab Al-Dhahrieh and got again a narrow win thanks to an early goal to book safe passage to the final. In the final we trailed in the 3rd minute, but got back level just before half time. Just as the game seemed to be heading towards extra time Taha got the 93rd minute winner to give us another Palestine Cup and 25 points. West Bank Premier League We were absolutely superb in the league this season as we improved the side to the point of dominance domestically, we dropped just four points all season and won the league by an almighty 23 points in the end. Another 50 points claimed. Arab Club Champions Cup We had won this tournament every time we had entered it so far, but it was not to be this time. We started up against old side Al-Saqr and put them to the sword both at home and away winning the tie 8-1 on aggregate, but we ran in Jordan's Wehdat who beat us in Jordan, before we managed to equal there achievements at home, however they got the better of us on penalties to knock us out. Asian Confederation Cup We entered the Confederation Cup this year and I was hoping we could go far. We started with qualification for the group stages against Tadamoun of Lebanon and got through thanks to a big home win that helped us to a 6-2 aggregate win. In the group stages we got drawn against Faisaly of Jordan, Manama of Bahrain and Al Shorta of Syria and it was pretty easy for us as we only dropped a draw away in Bahrain and we won 6-0 at home to Faisaly and won in Jordan as well as battering Al Short 4-0 in Syria. Then we ran into our conquerors in the Arab Club Champions Cup, Wehdat, and really bad first leg effectively put us needing a miracle at home which we could not produce as Wehdat advance 3-0 on aggregate. Squad We did well in the transfer market this time around managing to add a lot depth and improve the side to produce the performances that started to dominate domestically. But it was a man who was already at the club who was the key and his name is Ali Ashour as he bagged 24 goals and 27 assists and averages an 8.00. It was a fantastic year for him and without him I don't think we would be anywhere near the same side. The irony is that he is not a 5 star rated monster, just a two and half star rated player, but performs brilliantly on the pitch. Manager Thoughts 105 points earned this year and that brings us past the halfway stage. The performances in the continental competitions however were pretty disappointing and I think due to that it really has made my mind up that we will be leaving the club at the end of this season and seeking pastures anew. There will be diminishing returns from here on out and it seems like it is time to find ourselves to a new club and probably a new country in the process. In other news, Francisco has reached the ripe old age of 100 years old. I don't think Guatemala has a king or queen but if it did I am sure he would be receiving a letter right around now. Career Summary Edited September 8, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Season 2094/95 In the off season we left Ahli Khalil behind and went into the job market and it was not long before we had another job this time in Syrian capital Damascus as the manager of Al-Shorta. The had finished 5th the season before and the manager had left part of the way through the season to manage at Hutteen another top division Syrian side. Al-Shorta are a pretty decent side in Syria but not expected to win the league and at best perhaps put up a title challenge as a dark horse. In Syria they have three main competitions the Syrian Premier League worth 100 points, the Syrian Cup worth 50 points and the Syrian Super Cup worth 30 points. Syrian Cup Our Syrian Cup campaign opened up against Al-Keswa and we picked up a narrow win 1-0 to advance to the 1st Round proper. There we played Al-Arabi and it was an altogether easier affair as we won 5-0 on the day. In the second round we faced Al-Sahel and again and early goals saw them off as we won 2-1. In the Quarter Finals we faced Al-Taliyah and got ourselves a 3-0 win, with two late goals ensuring the victory. In the semi final we faced Al-Wahda and got a routine 2-0 win. In the final we would face Al-Fotuwa and I was supremely confident of victory, and I was proved right as we got 3 goals just before half time to lead 3-0. They got one back late on but it would not stop us claiming the Syrian Cup and 30 points after a 3-1 win. Syrian Premier League The greatest shock for me was that we threw away an unbeaten season in the final game, which was a little disappointing but overall we brilliantly, and at times unplayable as we stomped the Syrian Premier League opposition into submission. There were some heavy drubbings along the way as well as we beat Cup finalists Al-Fotuwa away 8-0, and Tishreen 9-1 as well as Al-Sanamayn 7-1, a result that actually confirmed the league title for us. A dominant display from us this season and I don't see anyone getting near us in the coming seasons. Squad We went heavy in the transfer window bringing in a lot of players. We ran into a bit of an issue with foreign registrations, I read the rules and it seemed to suggest a 6 player player limit for foreigners but when it came time to register them it was actually only 1 that could be registered. But it did not really matter as we had got plenty of talent in from Syria as well. The main man this season was without doubt Mohamad Al-Hafez as he average over an 8.00 this season, for a very nice season. He is superb in behind the striker and scored 10 and set up 22 goals this season, for a great overall campaign Manager Thoughts We complete our first season in Syria and it has been a very successful one as we walk away with 150 points and are not too far away now from the completing AFC5 at this stage. The news articles confirmed that we qualified for the Arab Club Champions League and the AFC Champions League. While the AFC Champions League would be pipe dream I think we would have a shot at the Arab Champions Cup. We sit on 405 points at the moment so a domestic treble of the league, cup and super cup would be enough by themselves next season to complete our journey in AFC5. We will have to see whether we can do that or pick up a continental competition along the way to make up for any dropped domestic trophy. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Season 2095/96 Syrian Super Cup We opened up the season with the Super Cup and it was a rare site in football nowadays as we won on a golden goal in extra time to over Hutteen to claim our first 30 points of the season. Syrian Premier League I think this may be the most complete league performance that any of my teams have ever managed in my long career. We absolutely obliterated the league this season. To put it in perspective of how destructive we were this season in the two league games we scored 16 goals past Jableh, 14 past Al Ittihad, 14 past Tishreen, 11 past Al-Herafyeen, 10 past Hutteen, 9 past Al-Wahda, 9 past Al-Jazeera and 8 past Al-Fotuwa. We scored 122 goals in all in 26 games and conceded just 11 for a goal difference of +111. I was right when I said no one would come near us, we have by far the best team in Syria and arguably we have one of the best teams in Asia at the moment. A fantastic league campaign nets us 50 points. Syrian Cup The first three rounds were just a massacre as we would 4-0, 10-0 and 8-1 to book a quarter final spot. We then came up against more serious opposition and got a win the Quarter Final 4-2 against Al-Jaish and then 2-1 in the semi finals against Al Karamah. In the final we faced Al-Taliyah and we comfortable throughout recording a 2-0 win to give ourselves another 25 points. Arab Club Champions Cup We have a good record as a manager in this tournament lifting it twice already with unfancied sides. We started our campaign against FUS Rabat of Morocco and got a creditable draw in Morocco, but took them apart in the return in leg in Syria as we won out 7-1 winners for an 8-2 aggregate win. In the next round we had Al-Talaba of Iraq and we killed the game in the first leg winning 7-0, before humiliating our opponents further with a 4-0 win in Iraq to win the tie 11-0 on aggregate. The Quarter Finals saw us against an old foe from our Ahli Khalil days and a team I respected as they knocked us out of both this tournament and the Confederation Cup in our final season in Palestine. We started off with a great result at home against Wehdat winning 3-0, and followed it up with the same result in Jordan to exact some revenge for myself. ES Tunis, a titan of Tunisian football were next and we got a handy 2-0 win at home and secured a famous 1-0 in Tunis to win 3-0 on aggregate The final was like it was a script from a movie, our third final in this competition as manager and the same opponent in all three finals, the Egyptian giant Al Ahly. Much like the other games one goal was the decider and we got it very early on as we won the game 1-0 to win the Arab Club Champions Cup and secure another 50 points. AFC Champions League We entered the group stages of the Champions League with what looked like a tough group with our former club; Iranian side Tractor Sazi, Saudi giant Al Ahli and Al Arabi of Qatar. We initialled our credential with a great opening day win against Tractor in Tabriz 3-1, before Al Ahli showed their class when we visited Saudi Arabia and beat us 3-0. We then went to Qatar and got another fantastic win 4-1 against Al-Arabi, before again we were brought down to earth by Al-Ahli at home as they won 2-1. We now needed to keep our heads in the final two home games of the group stages and we did as we battered Tractor 3-0 in Damascus and got a narrow 1-0 win against Al Arabi to book a place in the knockout rounds. Unfortunately we already have the points needed to advance from AFC5, so our tenureship in charge will be over here and the next manager can look forward to the match against another Saudi giant Al-Ittihad. I genuinely think we proved we are the top few Asian sides at the moment. Squad We again went into the transfer market with real intent to improve the team and again we got some great additions to the team, generally focussing on Syrian talent. In terms of performances the whole team was absolutely brilliant. The standout player and probably at the moment one of the best players in the whole of Asia is Mohamad Al-Hafez, he is like a creative genius with the ball, 33 assists and average a pretty crazy 8.41. Wael Al-Dali came in and became a deadly fixture at the top of our Christmas tree formation as he bagged 30 goals this season and is just so dangerous. Omar Hamada was brilliant this season grabbing 21 goals himself from midfield. Ahmad Dannoura got himself 13 goals and 13 assists in a brilliant season. Ahmad Gharib got himself 20 goals and 13 assists from central midfield a crazy season for him. Even centre back Omar Majarmsh got himself 18 goals from set pieces this season as we were deadly from dead ball situations. Can't really fault anyone at all. Manager Thoughts It was a perfect season to end AFC5 on, we really took Al-Shorta to a different level in Syria and we got the points to complete AFC5. We also bagged our third Arab Club Champions Cup crown which is becoming a bit of a favourite of mine. We will now be unloading AFC5 and loading AFC4 which consists of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, and I think it is pretty clear to me what the easy path is. Get to Saudi Arabia and win the Champions League, however the downside may be that the competitiveness of that league I expect to be very high. Qatar is also a good prospect with the likes of Al-Gharrafa a titan in Champions League football. Anyway we will see where our next stop will be with the next update. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneBramage Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I'd say the trophy cabinet must be looking full but you probably require a trophy bungalow by now. Are you looking forward to getting to a bigger nation, or enjoying hovering up all the smaller countries first? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 1 hour ago, DaneBramage said: I'd say the trophy cabinet must be looking full but you probably require a trophy bungalow by now. Are you looking forward to getting to a bigger nation, or enjoying hovering up all the smaller countries first? Yeah we have won something like 115 trophies, so wouldn't want to put all those medals round the neck at the same time might break my neck. Depends whether you mean to the big nations like the European nations or the big Asian countries. I am quite looking forward to managing in Saudi or Qatar, since there teams have been beating my teams in the Champions League for about 50 years now. Not thinking yet about Europe since at this rate its about 300 years away or something like that. Quite enjoyed some of the smaller countries, like Bangladesh we did really well and Philippines we won the title with three different sides which was good. Some I haven't enjoyed as much, didn't really like Palestine much as an example. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Season 2096/97 We were out of job for about 8 or so months before we got our opportunity. The job at Saudi side Al-Nassr came up and we decided to go in for it and we got it. The club were sitting in 6th place in the league but had aspirations to get into the Champions League. The club were also in the Champions League this season which was a good opportunity for us to test ourselves in the competition. The main issue with the club is that they had a fair bit of debt and were over the wage budget. We also had a problem with a lack of players in the attacking midfield position, where the club did not really have anyone that could play in behind the striker. Still it was a job at a big side in Saudi Arabia so that was good enough for me. Saudi Arabia has three competitions, the Zain Professional League which is worth 100 points to us, the Saudi King's Cup worth 50 points and the Saudi Super Cup worth 30 points. Zain Professional League Our first game in charge was a daunting one as we played Al Ittihad and got well beaten 5-2, but we did start getting some results down the track. At one point especially I thought we might be sacked; the board stopped short of issuing us with an ultimatum but they were none too pleased and our job security dropped to insecure. This was on account of them expecting a Champions League place finish and has a bad little run in February and March that kind of made that really unlikely. In the end we recovered from our lowest point of 8th place to record a 5th place finish, outside the Champions League places, but about as much as we could do at this stage. Saudi King's Cup The Saudi King's Cup started around the time we joined the club and after losing 5-2 in our first game in the league to Al-Ittihad I was none too pleased to be playing them in the cup, but we squeaked a win to our first win with the club. In the next round we faced Al Batin and got past them as well 2-0. The Quarter Finals saw us face Al Wehda from the division below and again we found the goals we needed to score a 2-0 win and qualify for the semi final. There we faced Al Ta'ee who were having an awful season and we made things worse for them as we beat them handily 2-0 to book a place in the final. In the final we played against league champions Al Hilal. The game was very tight and after 90 minutes there was no scorer. In extra time we found what we thought was the winning goal but Al Hilal hit back just before the end and we were faced with penalties. Generally the teams I have managed have not had a good time with penalties but this time around our luck changed as we kept our nerve to win the penalty shootout 7-6 and claim the King's Cup, the first time Al Nassr had won the cup since 1990, so the first cup in 107 years. We claim 50 points for the win AFC Champions League In the Champions League we got a group that I felt that we could overcome with Al-Gharafa of Qatar, our former club Persepolis of Iran and East Bengal of India. In the opener we faced Al Gharafa away and got a 1-1 draw, which was a decent result in my book. We then faced Persepolis at home and we got the win 2-0. East Bengal were next and they actually have us a much harder game than I was expecting as we only won 1-0. The return game against Al Gharafa effectively put us in the driving seat as we beat them 2-0. A draw against Persepolis in Iran secured our passage to the knockout rounds and a 2-0 win in India gave secured us top spot. The 2nd Round drew us against domestic foe Al Ittihad and we have only played the first leg of the 2nd Round. We went away for the first leg and we got a good 1-1 draw. Next season we will resume with the Champions League with a decent chance of getting through to the Quarter Finals if we can beat Al Ittihad. Squad Originally we were waiting for the second leg of the Champions League which was meant to be this season but it has been moved and we lost the stats for the season. The issue with the team is we are lacking attacking midfielders, I could have done with some of the players that were out on loan from the club, but we did not have them. Two players intrigue me enough to mention. Fahad Al-Ghamdi got a lot of goals last season and I think he is a good striker for us we need to keep hold of him and Jeremias Villarmea our American midfielder was probably our best player last season, operating from the central midfield spot he will be an important player for us going forward. The issue we have is the financial situation at the club that may curb our ambitions quite significantly as to what we might want to do with the squad and how we work in the transfer market. Manager Thoughts We arrived in Saudi Arabia and faced real pressure. I thought at one point we were going to be sacked as the board were really upset with our performance. I was expecting that an time we would have the meeting where we would talk about our future, but the cup win and out Champions League run has probably saved our job for now and we can concentrate on next season. We are still in the Champions League and while I think we are short of being able to win it, if we get a bit of luck we could go far. We did pick up 50 points for the cup win and so at least we are on the board. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Season 2097/98 Saudi Super Cup By virtue of winning the Saudi King's Cup last season we were in the Saudi Super Cup facing league champions Al Hilal, and we sent out a statement of intent as we produced a great display to win 3-0. We claimed 30 points for the win. AFC Champions League When last we left off, the tie in the 2nd Round was balanced on a knife edge at 1-1. In the return leg against Al Ittihad we were the better side and we took a 3-0 lead, eventually Al Ittihad got a goal back but they never looked like getting another two goals that they would have needed and we were through to the Quarter Finals In the Quarter Finals we faced Qatar's Al Sadd, the most successful club in the history of the AFC Champions League with 19 titles. The first leg was in Qatar and we managed to nullify their attack as they nullified ours and the game finished 0-0. In the return leg we were in major trouble. They took the lead after four minutes, but we found the equaliser via Al-Khaibari after 17 minutes. Just before half time we took the lead through what felt like a new signing in Colombian Cesar Vergara who came back from a loan spell back in his native Colombia but Al Sadd were level even before we could get to half time and it would remain like that going into the break. At 2-2 we needed another goal in the second half without reply to progress we needed to dig deep. Al Khaibari did so as he found the net 7 minutes into the second half. We were under pressure as Al Sadd looked for the goal that would take them through but Al Khaibari became a hero as he rounded off his hat trick 15 minutes from time to put us 4-2 up. Al Sadd could find no way back and that was how it ended and we were through to the semi final. In the semi final we faced more domestic opposition in the form of Al Ahli. We went away and got a great 1-0 win. However in the return leg Al Ahli were 1-0 up after just 4 minutes, and the tie was on a knife edge. Another Al Ahli goal would leave us needing to climb a mountain by virtue of away goals. It remained like that at half time, but in the second half we were a different side and two quick early goals gave us the lead and Al Ahli looked beaten at that point, as we claimed the win and we went through 3-1 on aggregate. In the final we would face Guangzhou Evergrande of China. I did not know what to expect. We were at home first and my fears and doubts were alleviated with a superb performance as we put 4 past the Chinese without response to claim a 4-0 win and put one and half hands on the trophy before the second leg in China. We now just needed to avoid a disaster to claim the Champions League. When we got a penalty after 7 minutes which Al Khaibari put away I knew it was over and so did the Chinese as we went on to a 3-0 win. 7-0 on aggregate in the final as we lift the AFC Champions League, the first in the clubs history and only our second Champions League crown despite 50 odd years of management in Asian football. Zain Professional League The league became immaterial with the Champions League crown, but we were playing like a new team as we put together 9 straight wins to sit in 2nd place in the league with games in hand. I have no doubts that if we had not just won the Champions League and had achieved our objectives we would be staring at another league crown. Squad It's too early to give out seasonal shoutouts but Cesar Vergara who got himself and injury to miss the Champions League final has been an inspiration to us as he got himself 9 goals in 14 games. Having a good player in attacking midfield has made all the difference to this side. Our financial position meant that we could not bring anyone in and the only thing we could rely on was to bring back the players that we had on loan and utilise them properly and it has paid off dividends. Manager Thoughts This leg has worked out perfectly as we spent just under a year in charge of Al-Nassr and have already finished off AFC4 with a lovely Champions League win. The next leg is the first of our special stages for AFC3 as we head to China and only China. There we will need to achieve 1,000 points rather than the normal 500 points to progress and I have a little trepidation about how we will deal with it. There will be no opportunity to just walk away from a league and go elsewhere as we will have to deal with whatever China throws at us. Our opponents in the Champions League prove that Chinese teams can compete in the Champions League or they would not have made it all the way to the final so we will be looking to the same and get some Champions League trophies in China. If we can't do that then we are going to have to change clubs multiple times all while winning as many trophies as we can to avoid as best as we can the diminishing returns that will kick in with multiple competition wins with the same side. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 (edited) Season 2098 We were out of a job for around 5 months before we found a role. That role was at struggling Shandong Luneng in China. The two time Champions League winners were rooted to the bottom of the table and our task was to take the club to safety in the first instance. It was immediately obvious to me what the issue was upon taking up the job. We basically had no players to play competitive games, with too many foreigners most of them we could not register, and a complete lack of any Chinese players let alone good Chinese players we would be forced to play a fair few greyed out players. China has three main competitions the Ping An Chinese FA Super League worth 100 points, Chinese FA Cup worth 50 points and the Chinese FA Super Cup worth 30 points. AFC Champions League Arriving at the club we were basically already out of the Champions League, we had two games in charge against Ulsan and Perth Glory and got two win to finish in 3rd place in the group, but I a very disappointing campaign. Chinese FA Cup For some reason the competition in the screenshot says Super Cup, but it is actually the FA Cup. The actual Super Cup just appears as "Super Cup" looking at the teams that were involved in it this year. The whole team was struggling when we took over and the 1st Round we really struggled to get past lower league opposition in Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic after a 1-1 draw we mercifully got past them on penalties. In the second round we faced Beijing Renhe and we got a good win this time around 3-1 as we started to find some form. In the Quarter Final we were well beaten, battered to be honest 5-1 by a merciless Guangzhou Evergrande side 5-1 and that was the end of our FA Cup. Ping An Chinese FA Super League Our first game in charge was Tianjin TEDA away for the last game of April and we got a nice win 4-2 the first of the season for the club. We absolutely improved the form of the team, but there can be no doubt that the league season shows real problems in the side that we will need to address. In the end I was pretty happy to be able to get the club up 8th having taken the club over bottom of the table, but the likes of Shanghai SIPG, Guangzhou Evergrande and Wuhan Zall have found it easy to play us. Hopefully we will see a further improvement next season. Squad As already mentioned we had real problems on taking over the club with the lack of Chinese players we had in the club. We had maybe 10 Chinese players total and obviously the majority were not great this left us having to play greyed out players so the mid season transfer window was all about acquiring what Chinese players we could. To be honest the market in China is mental. A Championship standard Chinese player will set you back upwards of £60m, and despite the club being filthy rich, my warchest was £300m I am just not willing to sanction reckless spending on trash, but at the end of the day we did have to spend some money and we got in what we could. To be honest the best value came from poaching players on youth contracts. Certainly players not ready for the first team but we would have to utilise them here at Shandong as we had no choice. In terms of performances, clearly the team was not great this season, we were bottom of the table when we arrived for a reason and so at this point no one deserves a mention. We have had the youth intake and while it was not great we will incorporate a lot of those youngsters into the first team squad and build from the ground up. I am also moving on as many of the foreigners as we can. For some reason despite being able to register 5 non Chinese players, we have way more than that at the club. Manager Thoughts A very rough start for us in China, this could be a brutal leg to get points in. The likes of Guangzhou and Shanghai have good squad and our squad is all over the place and we need to do a lot of work on it in the coming seasons. We are also out of Champions League football so any ideas about that competition can be forgotten for a while. No points this season and a lot of work to be done. Career Summary Edited September 9, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 Season 2099 Ping An Chinese FA Super League We entered the league season with the goal of qualifying for the Champions League above all else. I did not think despite plenty of work during the transfer window that we could challenge for the title itself and it more or less worked out like I expected. We perhaps did a little better than I first envisioned as we put up a bit of a title challenge and had we not lost at home to Shanghai SIPG towards the end of the season we might have given them a run for their money in the title run in, but we did lose and they wont he title. We opened a pretty big gap to Tianjin TEDA who unexpectedly finished 3rd. Beijing Go'uan sacked their manager for finishing 6th so potentially we could have explored that avenue and the manager at Guangzhou Evergrande is under considerable pressure. However with Champions League football assured it does not make a lot of sense to consider those moves at this time. We were good if not amazing this season, the defence was the key to the success. Chinese FA Cup If we wanted to get on the board as far as points were concerned then the FA Cup seemed like our best chance this season and we opened up our campaign against Qingdao Huanghai and got a nice 3-0 win. The next round saw us up against a formidable foe in Guangzhou Evergrande and we probably telegraphed our intent for the season in this game as we took them apart in their own backyard winning 4-0. Next up was another side from Guangzhou in R&F this time time and we scored an easy win 4-1. Wuhan Zall a side that had had a lot of success against us was next and it was a tough encounter as we trailled twice in the game at 1-0 and 2-1 but found two late goals to win the game 3-2 and book a final appearance. The final would be against Shanghai Shenhua who only recently go re-promoted to the top division and we dealt with them well over two legs as we won 2-0 at home and 4-0 away to win the Chinese FA Cup and get the first 50 points on the board of this leg. Squad We worked very hard in the transfer window. Since we could not really improve the level of Chinese players we had, only really snapping up youngster where we could, we decided to focus on the foreign talent, and I took the step to only keep guys who were star players in this division and attempt to replace those who did not meet my standards with players that did meet my standards, and through that process we got in several key players this season that helped the team become much better. A lot of my focus was on the defence so the addition wonderkid fullback Ariel Maidana from Boca Juniors and Hugo Chiusoli from Sao Paulo helped a lot at full back and centre back respectively. At the top end of the pitch Khaled Hassanain came in with some incredible ability and would help for the Champions League AFC registration as he counts as an Asian player. Elias Vinas from Sevilla came in again as a young top quality player to replace the good but not elite foreign players we had in key positions. In terms of the squad we were much better this year. The defence was much improved although in the early season we struggled a bit for goals, but they eventually came and we are looking good now. Khaled Hassanain was the key player, and was absolutely brilliant for us in his first season and I hope he kicks on next season in the domestic and Asian campaigns Manager Thoughts It's the send of our second season at Shandong and China and China is proving a tough nut to crack but we have made significant progress this time around by running Shanghai reasonably close and by qualifying again for Champions League football, we are making strides towards where I want us to be. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 Season 2100 Chinese Super Cup Our first game this season was the Super Cup by virtue that we won the Chinese FA Cup last season and it was a mad opening fixture as eventually beat Shanghai SIPG 5-4 with a 92nd minute winner from Hugo Chiusoli. 30 points in the bag. Chinese FA Cup If we did well in the Super Cup we did not do well in the FA Cup as we hosted Jia Leaghue side Meizhou Hakka and contrived to lose on penalties. Very disappointing. Ping An Chinese FA Super League We had an amazing season and we were run all the way to almost the end of the season by Shanghai SIPG, who just started faltering at the end. At one point we were level on points with one another with barely any points dropped. It is quickly becoming a two horse race in the Chinese Super League and this year we got the better of them to claim the title. Very happy to have done it and it bodes well for the future. In the end we finished 12 points ahead of Shanghai. That is 100 points in the bag for AFC3. AFC Champions League The Champions League did not scare me much with Selangor of Malaysia, Western United of Australia and Gangwon of South Korea and I was right not to be scared as we won all six of our group games to seal top spot and a perfect record. In the 2nd Round we faced South Korean side Jeonbuk and we got a crucial win in South Korea for the first leg 1-0 before we capped off the job back in China 4-1 and 5-2 on aggregate. In the Quarter Finals we faced domestic side Tianjin TEDA, last years surprise Champions League qualifiers and we were good at their ground as we gave ourselves a big advantage with a 2-0 win and finished it off at home 3-0 for a 5-0 aggregate win. In the Semi Finals we faced the team we were having a domestic title race with in Shanghai SIPG. The first leg was in Shanghai and they got the better of us narrowly winning 2-1, but crucially we had the away goal. In the second leg back at home we took full advantage of that away goal as we got ahead early and never relinquished the lead as it finished 1-0 on the night 2-2 on aggregate with us advancing on away goals. The final saw us up against the most successful side in the competitions history in Al Sadd of Qatar, and things went very wrong in the Middle East for us as got smashed 4-0 pretty much ending any chance we had of competing with Al Sadd in the tie. The return leg was a drab 0-0 draw to hand Al Sadd another Champions League and unfortunately we fell at the final hurdle. Squad Barely any transfer activity this year as we really did not have much avenue to improve the side, we were hoping some of the young Chinese players had another year under their belts and could kick on and improve. In terms of standouts, Zhang Dongxian had a breakout season as he bagged 22 goals for us in all competitions, he looks to be developing into a very decent striker and Khaled Hassanain continued to be brilliant this season with 21 goals and 18 assists to cap off an amazing year for him. Elsewhere Li Zeyu, Hugo Chiusoli, Arial Maidana and Shi Jun all had very good years this season for us. Manager Thoughts Well it was a bittersweet year as we finally got our hands on the Chinese Super League trophy but it hurt to lose in the final of the Champions League, we were very close to 500 points but alas we could not quite get them. In total we collected 130 points this season for the league and super cup so some progress this season. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 Season 2101 Chinese Super Cup Not a great omen for us in the season opener as we lost the Super Cup to Shanghai 2-1. Chinese FA Cup Our FA Cup woes continued again this season as we beat Tianhai in the first round but then lost to Shenzhen to exit the cup early. Ping An Chinese FA Super League We started the league very impressively and despite Guangzhou Evergrande keeping pace with us for a while eventually they were 6 or 7 points back, but we had a pretty bad end to the season and a major blip around the end of August with three straight losses to put the title in jeopardy. In the end we managed to get over the line as we recovered and because Guangzhou also hit some rocky ground towards the end of the season that saw them finish in 3rd as Hebei China Fortune got above them into second. Another league title and 50 points in the bag AFC Champions League It was a Champions League where we flattered to deceive. In the group stages we looked all conquering dishing out spankings like a 10-0 win against Gangwon, and we got through Newcastle Jets easily enough but it all fell apart against domestic rivals Beijing Gou'an as we lost home and away. Really disappointed with that, I think we could have done it this year but to lose to Beijing really I felt was a missed opportunity. This loss also sparked off the bad league form which at one point looked like it might derail our league campaign but thankfully we stabilised that one. Squad We managed to do some really good business as we spotted several China internationals were available on a free and moved quickly to bring them in. Gan Jianqing ended up being a brilliant acquisition as he bagged 35 goals this season and made us far more deadly. We also acquired Attila Gabor as we let Scepovic go. In the end not sure it was a great signing, the scouts somewhat mislead me about his abilities. He is certainly servicable but probably not top tier. We will have to think about him. Elsewhere Hassanain continued to be both a brilliant goalscorer and provider. My main worry about him is that he is now 31 years old and we may well need to replace him in the near future. Manager Thoughts A bit of a disappointing season all told. The league win is nice, but I think we could have done more in the cup comptetions especially the Champions League. We also now need to start thinking about how long we remain at Shandong. We are in a bit of a stick or twist situation, where the Champions League win would be the key we need, but is that day ever going to arrive or for at least arrive in a reasonable amount of time. I think we may look at how we do next season and then weigh it up against what jobs are available in the market. I have identified that any of Guangzhou Evergrande, Beijing Gou'an or Shanghai SIPG I think would be good moves for us, but will those jobs be available at the time, we don't know, they have all been available at some point during our tenure in China but they don't come up very often. I think Hebei might be another club that looks on the up and up and may be worth considering. If we do win the Champions League next season then we may be thinking about repeating it and getting to the 1,000 points that way, but all this talk is still a very long way away. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 Season 2102 Chinese Super Cup The Super Cup was back and we got the win after losing it last year. We beat Shanghai SIPG on penalties. That is 15 points for us. Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup had been a competition that we had had bad luck over the years. This time around we got things right, and got through Meizhou Hakka in the 4th Round 5-0. Then we hosted back to back games against the Guangzhou clubs, firstly R&F whom we beat 2-0 followed by Evergrande whom we beat 3-0. Next up in the semi final we beat DL Pro 4-0 to set up a final against Chongqing Lifan and were 1-0 down after the first leg away but we managed to turn the result on it's head in the second leg winning 2-0 and winning the tie 2-1 to claim another Chinese FA Cup for 25 points. Ping An Chinese FA Super League Our league was good enough this season to secure a third successive league title as the traditional challengers in Guangzhou Evergrande, Beijing Gou'an and Shanghai SIPG all had very disappointing season by their standards and in the end we were pretty comfortable winning the league by 11 points from surprise package Henan Jianye. Another 25 points in the bag for us. AFC Champions League We again started the Champions League in destructive fashion as we won all our group games in a group that contained Ulsan of South Korea, Melbourne Victory of Australia and Pahang of Malaysis. We dished out a lot of hidings as we beat Ulsan 9-1 and 5-0, and Melbourne Victory 5-0 and 6-0. In the second round we faced Australian side Sydney FC and it was all over after the first leg in Australia as we won out 5-1 winners, and a week later we were through after winning at home 4-0. In the Quarter Finals we faced Guangzhou Evergrande and this was where we fell last year so I was keen to avoid a repeat especially with Guangzhou struggling a bit in the league. At home we grabbed a 2-1, but it was a dangerous scoreline to take to Guangzhou but credit to us we were solid and got the late goal to make sure of progression as we won out 1-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. Next up we had more Chinese opposition in Shanghai SIPG. They were struggling in the league and for form generally and we took advantage winning 5-1 at home and giving them an enormous mountain to climb, which we pretty much killed off after 2 minutes in Shanghai with the only goal of the return leg as we advanced to the final 6-1 on aggregate. In the final we faced Saudi side Al Hilal. In the first leg we were away and we battled to a 2-2 draw over there that gave us the advantage. In the return leg we eventually got the lead just before half time to give us the advantage into the second half and now Al Hilal knew they needed two goals. The game was killed off on the 62nd minute as we got another and we got the cherry on top in the final minute of the game to cap a wonderful Asian campaign and get our hands on the Champions League trophy and 500 points. Squad There was a fair bit of action in the transfer window. Ariel Maidana left to Feberbahce and was replaced by compatriot Daniel Rubio. Atilla Gabor left for Young Boys of Switzerland we brought in Danish attacking midfielder Dennis Danielsen to replace him. Gan Jianqing had his minimum fee release clause activated by Lyon and we decided to replace him with a key reinforcement down the wing as we agreed to pay £72m for Liu Yajun. It is definitely overpaying for a Chinese player but that is the market now, and he improves us a lot. Manager Thoughts A huge season for us as we swept all competitions we entered into and grabbed ourselves the all important Champions League. We now sit on 795 points, and so are not far away from completing AFC3. However we have a decision to make, staying at Shandong means we need to win the Champions League again, as the domestic trophies are almost worthless to us at this stage in terms of points. Or we could move on, with the Beijing and Shanghai jobs up for grabs, those might be moves we could get, but we would forego on Champions League football and we might find it tough to compete with what is now a very good Shandong side. We will have to have a think about what makes the most sense. Career Summary 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) Season 2103 We decided to leave Shandong Luneng in the off season, as throwing all our hopes on winning another Champions League; whilst the quickest way to complete AFC3, seemed to have a lot of risk involved with and there were two big jobs available that of Beijing Guo'an and Shanghai SIPG. We applied to both. Beijing never got back to us, but Shanghai did and before you new it we were being unveiled as their new manager. They had had a pretty bad season last time out and had finished in 8th place which was very poor considering how dominant they had been before and in the first few years after we arrived. This season we only had two competitions to focus on, the league and the cup as we had no Asian football this season on account of the awful league performance last season. Ping An Chinese FA Super League It was a season to remember as we went the entire thirty game season undefeated to claim the title finishing 11 points clear of the nearest challengers Beijing Guo'an, with our former club Shandong Luneng ending up in third place. Our move was somewhat vindicated with 100 points earned from the league win. Chinese FA Cup In the FA Cup, we faced off away to Beijing Renhe in the 4th round and got a nice 4-1 win to start off the campaign in the right way. Next up was Shijiazhuang Ever Bright and they gave us a good game as we narrowly came through 2-1 in the end. In the Quarter Finals we faced league rivals Beijing Guo'an and we were seconds from going out until we got an 89th minute equaliser. In extra time we throught we had won it with an 107th minute goal but Beijing got level to force penalties. Fortunately for us we ended up keeping our nerve and coming through the penalties as the winners. The final would be a two legged affair against Wuhan Zall. We were away first and we got a crucial advantage at their ground as we beat them 4-2, the return leg was sitting at 1-1 before we got the winner. We never really felt threatened in the second leg and the FA Cup was the result of our work as we claim 50 points. Squad We had half a billion pound to spend in the transfer market, the Chinese league never failing to provide ludicrous amounts of money, but very little to spend it on and think you got a decent deal. We decided to be a bit ballsy and get in players and forget a little bit about what we were paying for them. We got in Roland Toure to play on the wing for a foreign slot, and then spent serious money on three Chinese players. Two I knew well getting them from Shandong and Yang from Tianjin TEDA. Anywhere else in the world it would be a criminal waste of money, here it was justified to have a squad capable of competing on all fronts. Manager Thoughts A brilliant season for us and for me personally as I feel vindicated for having made the move from Shandong as we picked up 150 points, which now leaves us very close to finishing AFC3. We will just need a combination of two out of the league, super cup or cup next season to provide us with the points required to advance to the next rung of the ladder as we currently sit on 945 points. For this reason we are going to remain here at Shanghai SIPG and who knows we are back in the Champions League, why not try and win that again and go out in style. In terms of performances I have to look at Bullman who ran the show from the midfield and Turkish striker Burbakan who was lethal up front for us and has seemingly been lethal for Shanghai for a very long time. Career Summary Edited September 10, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 Season 2104 Chinese Super Cup Our first opportunity to get some points came in the Super Cup and we got the job done with a great 4-1 win over Beijing Gou'an, for 30 points. Chinese FA Cup In the FA Cup we played Shijiazhuang Ever Bright in the 4th Round and got a good 3-0 win, which was followed up by 2-0 win over Zhejiang Greentown in the 5th Round. The Quarter final saw us play Jiangsu Suning where we on 3-0 and then beat Shenzhen 2-0 in the semi final. We would play Beijing in the final of the cup and we suffered a defeat in the away leg 3-1, which left us with a lot of work to do in the home leg. Fortunately we did get the job done at home, an early goal set us on our way before two second half goals clinched it for us as we won out 3-0 winners and 4-3 winners on aggregate for 25 points. Ping An Chinese FA Super League We managed to retain our league crown reasonably comfortably this season, we were never really troubled by any of the chasing pack as we won the league by 8 points. AFC Champions League The Champions League was back and the group stages gave us no issues as we won all our games in a group that contained Central Coast Mariners of Australia, FC Seoul of South Korea and Kedah of Malaysia. In the second round we faced off against more Australian opponents in Melbourne City. It proved to be a pretty simple tie as we won in Australia 3-2 and won 4-0 in China for a 7-2 aggregate win. In the Quarter Finals we faced Beijing Gou'an whom we had seen a lot of this season. We lost the away leg 1-0, which gave us still plenty of scope to think we could come back from it at home, and we got a great start with a 9th minute goal to put 1-0 up, and the game remained like that to force extra time. However in extra time Beijing found a goal to knock us out of the Champions League. Squad Only one piece of business in the transfer window, Bullman was already turning 33 and we decided to cash in on him to get in a younger replacement in Equatorial Guinea midfielder George Salami from Real Sociedad for big money. In terms of the squad, we were perhaps worse without Bullman this season although Salami did well enough. Durbakan got himself 24 goals this season and his compatriot Ozgur Tekin stepped into the creative role left by Bullman well this season. Not as good as last season but still good enough. Manager Thoughts With the three trophies in the season we collected enough points to finish off AFC3. It has been a long 7 years in China as we first got Shandong to the summit of Chinese and Asian football and finished things off by bringing Shanghai back to glory. We now unload China the only AFC3 country in this special rung, and move on to a new special rung in AFC2 where we will be heading to South Korea. It has been a very long while since a South Korean side looked like they would win the Champions League so this could be a really hard and long leg that we might have to endure, although we will be doing all we can to get things done as quickly as we can. Next time we are back we will be somewhere in South Korea. We already speak Korean from our time in North Korea, so perhaps that will facilitate getting a job. Our time in China has really helped our reputation and for the first time since we started we are now considered to be a World Class Manager and have entered the World Hall of Fame, no sitting in 10th place on that list. The screenshot says that we are 100 years old but we are in fact 111 years old now. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 Season 2105 Our first stop on arriving to South Korea was to take over as manager of Ulsan Hyundai. They were having a pretty mediocre season and decided to let the manager go when they were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages. We picked up the club in 5th place some 16 points behind runaway leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. South Korea has two main competitions, the Hyundai Oilbank K League Classic worth 100 points and the Hana Bank FA Cup worth 50 points AFC Champions League Already out when we arrived at the club Hyundai Oilbank K League Classic On taking over the club our first fixture was against Jeju United, we sat some 16 points behind Jeonbuk who were flying at the top of the league. We won our first game and then promptly lost our next but after that we were brilliant as we closed the gap to Jeonbuk and eventually they started to falter. By the time the league split for the final five games of the season they were 3 points behind us in the league. We then went into the championship playoff named the Group A fixtures, and we continued to win apart from a loss to Jeonbuk that put us level on points going into the final game. We just needed to win, and we did against Seongnam. We were champions in the most unlikely fashion as we basically went through a tremendous run at the end of the season. We wasted no time in getting 100 points on the board. Hana Bank FA Cup When we took over the club were still in the cup and first game was against Daegu away. It was a tough match but we managed to come through in the end 3-2. That set up a semi final against Gwangju, which would be played over two legs. We faced them at home and got a narrow 1-0 win to take to their ground. In the return leg we got off to a brilliant start with two early goals, but eventually they got back level, which left us a little nervous, but we came through late with the goal that sealed things to win 3-2 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate. We would face Sangju Sangmu in the final. We got a crucial win away again by a narrow margin 1-0 and then we were far more comfortable at home as we got three early goals to kill the game off as we won the tie 4-0 on aggregate. The cup in the bag to complete the double and another 50 points. Squad We were forced into the transfer market due to the board interfering with player sales that I did not want to sell, but unlike China, the South Korean market is much more manageable with much better value available as we got a couple of players from cup finalists Sangju. We were not actually that amazing, we were just solid and consistent. Even so Park Joo-Hyun from centre back was probably our best player which probably tells me we might need reinforcement in the creative positions. Manager Thoughts A great start to AFC2 in South Korea as we pick up a double in our first season in a very unlikely victory. We also get Champions League football next season which will be a good barometer of where we are with Ulsan as well as South Korean football in general when it comes to the Champions League and that might inform us whether we are at Ulsan long term or if realistically this might be a leg of moving around and winning domestic honours. Career Summary 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 Season 2106 Hyundai Oilbank K League Classic Another season with Ulsan and to be honest we were not that great and pretty inconsistent and the league season all came down the final game of the season against Jeonbuk with the title on the line, thankfully we managed to get the win and pick up the 50 points, but in general all season we were prone to lapses where we would lose or draw kind of out of nowhere. Hana Bank FA Cup We were not to repeat our FA Cup win, as we got as far as the semi final before FC Seoul got the better of us over two legs. Losing at home was really the key to our loss, I thought the away draw was going to lead to our progression but fair play to Seoul they did a job on us in the second leg and got the win. AFC Champions League Our group looked something that we could get after and to be honest we were very competitive as we got a draw at home and away against Beijing Guo'an and got wins against Western Sydney Warriors and Selangor. The 2nd Round saw us face the very tough Guangzhou Evergrande and we got a key win at home 2-1 to give us a fighting chance away but I was expecting that it would be enough but we were solid in the return leg and battled to a 0-0 draw to get the win on aggregate. In the Quarter Finals were again against a club from Guangzhou, this time R&F. An away loss gave us some confidence that we could get back into things as we got an away goal in a 2-1 loss, and it proved crucial as we got a 1-0 win to advance on away goals. In the semi finals we faced another Chinese side and a team whom we faced in the group stages. The home leg was no surprise as we got another draw against Beijing for the third draw in the Champions League this season between and it was advantage Beijing, but we produced probably our best performance of the season as we took Beijing apart in China 5-0 to advance to the final in style. In the final we faced Al Hilal with the first leg to be played in South Korea and we put ourselves in a strong position with a 3-0 win. The second leg could not have gone better as we got 2-0 up very early on in the game. Eventually Al Hilal did come back and go on to win the game on the night but the damage had already been done and we were Champions League winners. The clubs first Champions League since 2042. More importantly 500 points for us. Squad We did some business this year but I am unsure much of it really came off. We were not really that good, which sounds weird to say considering we won the league and the Champions League but that is the truth, I think we were very lucky to win both competitions this season and we could have easily walked away with nothing. In terms of the players, the strikers really didn't fire, 13 goals the top scorer in the team. Jung Byung-Moon was very handy when it came to assists with over 20, but not really too impressed I have to say in general. Manager Thoughts A bit of a surprise season as we got another league title and captured the Champions League. As I have said I do not think we were that good, but at the end of the day it is the results that matter and I think the Champions League win has convinced me to remain at the club and see if we can repeat the Champions League win which would send us through to AFC1. However I do think if we can't get the job done in Asia, then we will have to move on due to the diminishing returns. South Korea only has two competitions and the points dry up quick. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 Season 2107 We stated that we were planning on remaining at Ulsan to see if we could win another Champions League however a better option came up when Jeonbuk sacked their manager. Jeonbuk were in the Champions League as well and we would get full domestic points with them whereas we would not with Ulsan. It seems the board were not happy with playing second fiddle to Ulsan and decided to sack the manager and were only too happy to give us the job. Hyundai Oilbank K League Classic For the first six months of the season we were irresistable, that performance was enough itself to confirm us as champions elect, but we ended the season pretty badly as the number of games got on top of us as well as badly timed internationals stole our players for league games. But in the end we were champions even before the league split, and we ended up winning the league by 19 points. It was never close and we take 100 points for the league win. Hana Bank FA Cup We were not really challenged until the final when Ulsan got to take their revenge on myself as we lost away and then could only manage a draw at home which handed Ulsan the cup. Unfortunately for us no points as we lose the final over two legs. AFC Champions League In the Champions League we did not really know what to expect, we had won it the season before with Ulsan but I was expecting it might take a few cracks with Jeonbuk. As we finished 2nd the season before we were forced into the Champions League East Playoff where we faced Japanese side Kashima Antlers and thankfully we got a 4-1 win to make the competition proper. In the group stages we were drawn against Guangzhou R&F of China, Central Coast Mariners of Australia and Persipua Jayapura of Indonesia. So two former sides we managed in the groups. We did a decent enough job not losing any game as we drew twice to Guangzhouu and away in Australia, which was enough to secure top spot and passage to the knockout rounds. In the 2nd Round we faced Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers and the tie was over after the first leg as we smashed them away 4-0, before getting a 2-1 win at home to go through 6-1 on aggregate. The Quarter Finals had us back in Guangzhou to faced Guangzhou Evergrande this time. The first leg was at home and we played very well to get a 3-0 lead to take back to China and there we did brilliantly to steal the game 1-0 and win 4-0 on aggregate. In the semi finals we faced another Chinese side in Beijing Guo'an. A brilliant performance in China gave us the advantage as we won 3-2 and we completed the job at home winning 4-1 for a 7-3 aggregate win. In the final we played Saudi giants Al Ahli with the first leg to be played in South Korea, and what a performance as we took Al Ahli apart inside 20 minutes in the first leg as we scored 4, as we went on to a 4-0 win, that effectively looked like it ended the contest, but we still had to go to Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia we made it difficult and set up defensively to stop them playing and got a 0-0 draw to win the Champions League and with that complete the South Korea leg of our journey. Squad We made two really key signings in the offseason with Icelandic midfielder Arnar Arnason coming in and Swiss right fullback Paul Campo. The player of the season was without a shadow of doubt Brazilian/South Korea dual national Tuti who set the K League and the Champions League alight this season in front of goal with 47 goals in 50 appearances as he scorched his way to several goalscoring records. The set up man was actually a bit of an unexpected hero in Dirk Abrogast who I was not convinced about at first but made himself undroppable as he bagged 27 assists for us this season. Arnason was a key player as he got 19 goals 13 assists as a perfect foil to Tuti up front. Antonio Jorge the other Brazilian/South Korean dual national also did very well with 15 goals and 7 assists this season. We were brilliant this season, the squad performed admirably to achieve what we achieved. Manager Thoughts Well in the end we made short work of AFC2 for South Korea as we blitzed through it with two Champions League wins with two different South Korean sides in just 3 years of management in the K League. We now unload South Korea and we move on to the final step in Asia which is Japan. I am a little worried, Japanese teams have really not been close to a Champions League win for about a century now, whereas South Korea sides were at least getting to Quarter Finals and Semi Finals every now and then even if they were not winning it. The last time a Japanese side was involved in a final of the Champions League was in 2018 when Kashima Antlers won the tournament, so 99 years ago. We will need to change all that if we want to complete Japan quickly like we did with South Korea and China. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 12, 2020 Author Share Posted September 12, 2020 Season 2108 We made the move from South Korea to Japan and we were out of work for for about 9 months before the first job in Japan came up, which we went for and got and that job was at Sanfreece Hiroshima who were sitting in 10th place in the league and that was enough for the manager to be relieved of his duty. As has been common in first year loading countries, the squad was very light on players, but thankfully we did not really have use greyed out players. Japan has four main competitions, the Meiji Yasuda J1 League worth 100 points, the Emperor's Cup JFA All-Japan Soccer Championship Tournament (Emperor's Cup from now on out) worth 50 points, the J.League YBC Levain Cup worth 30 points and the Fuji Xerox Super Cup also worth 30 points. Fuji Xerox Super Cup Already lost when we arrived at the club J.League YBC Levain Cup Already out when we arrived at the club Emperor's Cup Already out when we arrived at the club AFC Champions League Already out when we arrived at the club Meiji Yasuda J1 League The club had been in a pretty bad run for most of the season when we took over and we managed to stabilise the club well enough and start getting results on the pitch, which propelled us up the league to 4th place. We almost snuck into the final Champions League place, but the gap was just too big for us to make it despite a very good run of results at the end of the season and Urawa Red Diamonds not playing particularly well and dropping points. No points for us in the league this season, but we look good for next season having a real challenge at the league. Squad We had to act in the transfer window because we were so undermanned and we got in a few good players that I think will help us a lot next season. Yamamoto came in from Shimizu S-Pulse as we had no left winger at the club, Adam Tobin was big improvement at attacking midfield, the New Zealander coming from Team Wellington. Taishi Chiba was an upgrade at right wing, a signing from Vegalta Sendai, and right at the end of the season we picked up Turkish free agent Yasin Ozturk, who is very good attacking midfielder who should combine with Tobin in behind the striker to cause havoc next season. Manager Thoughts We have arrived in Japan and no points as of yet, but we had very little time to work on the team with two thirds of the season already having been played. I am confident that next season with a good pre-season we will be ready for the league and will be challenging at the top of the league. Career Summary 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 12, 2020 Author Share Posted September 12, 2020 Season 2109/2110 J.League YBC Levain Cup The League Cup threw up a very strange set of affairs in the group stages as it was draws galore. As all four teams drew 4 of their matches and it was only ourselves and Cerezo who found a couple of wins to qualify for the next round. We faced Urawa Red Diamonds in Quarter Finals and got past them without much issue. Next up in the semi finals we faced our group stage opponents Cerezo Osaka and a home and away win again got us through to face Yokohama F Marinos in the final It was a tight game but we got the only goal of the game to win the League Cup and with it 30 points. Meiji Yasuda J1 League We were not superb by any stretch of the imagination and we rarely blew any teams away but we were generally pretty consistent and very tough to beat this season and everyone else was far more beatable and that really is why we ended up winning the league rather at a canter, 9 points ahead of Jubilo Iwata. Some of the traditional powerhouses of Japanese football had pretty bad seasons. Urawa Red Diamonds were well down the league in 9th. Shimizu S-Pulse were down in 8th, Gamba Osaka last seasons league champions only finished 4th, so in the end our performance was more than enough to claim the title. Emperor's Cup In the Emperor's Cup we always seemed to be just about in control of our games, as we beat Fagiano Okayama 2-1 in a tight affair in the 1st Round, then Kyoto Sanga 2-0 in the 2nd Round and Sagamihara 2-0 in the 3rd Round. The Quarter Final would see us play a struggling Urawa Red Diamonds side and we got past them 2-0. In the semi final we were away to Nagoya Grampus Eight and a we got a tight 2-1 win to book a final place. The final would see the two best sides in Japan head to head as we faced Jubilo Iwata and it was a 10th minute goal for us that sealed things in the final as we lifted the Emperor's Cup. Squad We did a bit of work in the transfer window as we brought in Heider Muller from Brazilian football on a free, who was a cut above our current options at centre back. Yuki Seino came in from Yokohama FC more as a depth option in attacking midfield. Tetsuji Sekine came in from Consadole Sapporo and he was a depth option at centre back and Keiichi Arai came in replacing Ryosuke Abe, who was Urawa Red Diamonds bound, it ended being effectively a swap deal plus money. In terms of performance, we were solid as a side without wowing anyone, we generally won games by a goal or two and were difficult to break down. Kawata up front got a good goal return considering our style this season with 21 goals and Turkish attacking midfielder, who has been a nightmare off the field and with his personality has been good on the pitch with 9 goals and 12 assists and the best average rating at the club. Manager Thoughts A very nice season as we collect a domestic treble in our first full season and 180 points towards the 1,000 points we need. We will be remaining with Sanfrecce to see what we can do in the Champions League next season, but I am not particualrly hopeful to be honest that we will be pulling up any trees and if we don't we may have to accept that domestic football is going to be our key to completing AFC1 and Japan. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Season 2110/2111 Fuji Xerox Super Cup Penalties were required for us to get past Jubilo Iwata in the season opening Super Cup, but we did come through it and we get 30 points. J.League YBC Levain Cup We were looking to retain our league cup crown. We started off with a draw in the first group game and I was fearing the curse of league cup group stage draws, but we changed all that in the remainder of the games as we won all 5 of them to top the group. In the Quarter Finals we faced Vissel Kobe and the home leg pretty much got us through as we won out 5-0, and the 1-0 loss in the second leg did not really matter at all as we advanced anyway. The next test in the semi finals was Kashima Antlers, who were not having a good season and had sacked their manager. We got a great away win 2-1 and repeated the feat at home to progress 4-2 on aggregate. We faced Jubilo Iwata in the final and much like the Super Cup we could not beat them in normal time as it finished 2-2 after 90 minutes and 3-3 after 120 minutes, but again we held our nerve on penalties and came through to win the League Cup and claim 15 points. Meiji Yasuda J1 League It was again a pretty comfortable league season for us, as we won the league by 11 points from Urawa Red Diamonds. At one point we were 4 points behind Urawa but our form was pretty consistent and towards the run in to league title we just never looked like being troubled for the league crown. We are still waiting to enter the Champions League as I think it is on a delay by a season due to when the Champions League starts and ends, so we should be involved this season and next season whatever happens with next years league title. J.League Cup/ Copa Sudamerica Championship This was a one off game, that I believe is between the J.League Champions and the Copa Sudamerica Champions. It would have been worth 50 points to us as unspecified continental competition, but we had some stiff opposition in Brazilian giants Fluminense and in the end two red cards did for us, although we did well to force extra time at 1-1, in extra time Fluminense got a couple of goals. We did somehow manage to get one back with only 9 players on the pitch but we could not get another as it finished 3-2 after extra time to Fluminense. Emperor's Cup The Emperor's Cup was back and we faced Consadole Sapporo in the first game, on paper a very tough tie, but we spanked them 5-0 to advance to the second round, where we had far more problems against Ventforet Kofu, whom we only overcame 2-0 in extra time. Next up in the 3rd Round was Gamba Osaka and it was a good 3-0 win for us and then in the Quarter Finals, we only got past Renofa Yamaguchi on penalties after a 3-3 draw, and it really started to highlight to me something that was clear, the big sides tend to not have success against us as they play quite open thinking they can beat us fair and square but the small sides set up to defend and we do find it hard to a) break them down and b) not get caught on the counter attack. Something we will have to watch out for, but on this occassions penalties did the job. In the semi finals we faced Jubilo Iwata and got a nice 3-2 with a 93rd minute winner to deny extra time in the tie. In the final we faced Cerezo Osaka and we were comfortable in the game winning 3-1 to lift another Emperor's Cup and claim another 25 points for the season. Squad On the transfer front we decided to let Adam Tobin go as we felt we could bring in a younger attacking midfielder who would develop into a better player in Gary Ninaja from Bolivar. The Bolivian is only 20 and already has the same ability as Tobin has who is 29 years old. Silva also came in permanently from Atletico Mineiro after two season on loan at the club. He had proven a fantastic full back for our level so I was very happy to bring him into the club permanently. In terms of the team, we remain a workmanlike side that works hard and defends doggedly and to be fair we have been very consistent with winning trophies and we do not bottle finals, we seem to always turn up to the big games and the team are pretty consistent. But we are not the kind of side that blows teams away like some of my previous sides. This season Takafumi Kawata upped his goalscoring to 27 and he continues to be the main outlet for the side and is very good striker for this level. Heider Muller at the back was a key player for us, as he averaged the highest rating at the club but he has been deadly from set pieces as he bagged 17 goals this season mostly from corners and whipped in free kicks into the box. Yasin Ozturk has thankfully concentrated more on his football than where his agent can take him to and he has been very good this season with 14 goals and 15 assists for us and Taishi Chida has also been great on the assists from with 16 of them and also 10 goals. Manager Thoughts Another very successful season as we won pretty much everything apart from the J League/Copa Sudamerica Championship, but that should be back next year by virtue that we won everything domestically. We have now advanced to 300 points, which puts us just shy of the goal of a third of the points we need. I believe we will be back in the Champions League this season so that will be a key tournament, if we were to win that, which I still think is very unlikely we would be knocking on the door of finishing AFC1 in that eventuality next season. However if the Champions League campaign does not produce results we realistically have to consider our next move in Japan as diminishing returns are going to start getting pretty harsh next season. Career Summary 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Season 2111/2112 Fuji Xerox Super Cup The first fixture was the Super Cup and we performed very well as we won 4-0 against Urawa Red Diamonds to get the season off to a flyer and collect 15 points J.League YBC Levain Cup The group stages were no problem for us despite a very tough group and we progressed to the Quarter Finals, where we would play Vissel Kobe and we knocked them off without much issue 4-0 on aggregate but we would be stopped in the semi finals as we drew away to Urawa Red Diamonds but lost at home in a bit of shock result as we lost 3-2 and never really looked like winning. J.League Cup/Copa Sudamerica Championship We were back for this South American vs Japan competition and this time we managed to get the win against Argentinian side Lanus 2-1 to claim a nice 50 points. Meiji Yasuda J1 League We had very few issues this season in retaining our J League crown as we picked up the title with 85 points, and some 17 points clear of second placed Yokohama F Marinos. In the end we were just very steady all season, and had a few very nice winning streaks. Another league title means 25 points added to our total. Emperor's Cup In the Emperor's Cup we faced Tegevajaro in the first round and that was an easy win 6-0 and the next round proved to be just as easy as we beat V-Varen Nagasaki by the same scoreline. A 3rd round win against Gamba Osaka made it look like we were on our way to another title, but Cerezo Osaka were incisive in the Quarter Final and well deserved their 3-1 win against us as we are knocked out. AFC Champions League The Champions League experiment did not start well for us as we dropped the first game in the group stages to Western Sydney Warriors in Australia 2-1, and it was signalling to me that perhaps we were not ready, but we recovered well to beat Anyang and Guangzhou R&F in our remaining matches as well as beat Western Sydney Warriors at home to confirm first spot in the group and qualification for the knockout rounds. In the 2nd Round we faced our old club and South Korean outfit Ulsan Hyundai and we got a great win in South Korea 3-1 before playing a scoreless draw to advance to the semi finals. In the Quarter Finals we faced domestic rivals Kashima Antlers and a home goalless draw was a bit of a worrying result, but it proved to be crucial as we got another draw at their ground this time 1-1 and that proved enough to send us through on the away goals rule. In the semi finals we had more domestic opposition in the form of Jubilo Iwata, we got a decent 1-0 win and playable brilliantly away to win 3-1 for a 4-1 aggregate win and a place in the final. The final would be against Saudi side Al Hilal, who we must have played as a manager now over 20 times in various competitions. We got an amazing 1-0 win away that gave us the slight advantage int he final. An early penalty at home got us even further ahead but an equaliser on 15 minutes later made it a very tense night, but Al Hilal could not find the goal that would give them the win on away goals and we hung on for to lift the Champions League and claim 500 points. The first Japanese Champions League win in over a century and we managed to engineer it. Squad We did not do too much business, but Ozturk finally left, his constant moaning to leave finally found a suitor that paid his minimum fee release clause in Antalyaspor. Bergsson was the player we brought in from Icelandic football and while not at the same kind of level as the Turk, he would be a handy replacement. Tajima was a top signing, he looked like Japan's best forward and we managed to get him in from Yokohama F Marinos. On the performance side Tajima was a big success with 26 goals in the campaign as he became the new starter for the side in the striker position. Kaneda was very good this season 17 goals and 15 assists from the left wing and Ninaja got 13 goals and 13 assists to cap a very nice season for the Bolivian. All around it was a very good season for the team as we continue to cover new ground. Manager Thoughts We managed to win the Champions League at the first time of asking which is a great achievement for us and the club and now puts us very close to finishing AFC1 and finishing Asia. Part of me thinks it might be best to move on from Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but I am unsure we will as while the diminishing returns have come in full force, I think we may be able to do the full thousand points at Sanfrecce. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyjames_ Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 It's gonna take a big effort this season to get the 110 points you need if you stay, but good luck!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 1 minute ago, mattyjames_ said: It's gonna take a big effort this season to get the 110 points you need if you stay, but good luck!! Yeah depends on the jobs that come up in Japan, but you are right if I stay, probably would need the Champions League realistically. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyjames_ Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 1 minute ago, TerminalPortugal said: Yeah depends on the jobs that come up in Japan, but you are right if I stay, probably would need the Champions League realistically. I think I only counted 63 points on offer if you win all the tournaments in Japan, not including the Champions League? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 1 minute ago, mattyjames_ said: I think I only counted 63 points on offer if you win all the tournaments in Japan, not including the Champions League? Think there is more with the JLeague/Copa Sudamerica trophy as that always remains at 50 points, but not even sure we qualified for that this coming season, as I don't know whether you have to win the league cup or the league to qualify for it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Season 2112/2113 The season had pretty much got underway when the move was decided that we were going to Urawa Red Diamonds, both Urawa and Sanfrecce had already started the Champions League campaigns, and the league was only a week or two away. We moved because of the diminishing returns and this was the kind of job that I would move to if available. The goal for the season was simple, we needed the league title and another domestic cup to finish it now, or we needed to win the Champions League either one would do for us. J.League YBC Levain Cup The group stages threw up no problems for us as we got 5 wins and draw to qualify easily for the next round as group winners. In the next round we faced group opponents Vegalta Sendai, and we got past them without much issues as we beat them at their ground 4-0 and then 4-1 at home to record an 8-1 win. The semi finals would see us play the always difficult Kashima Antlers. We got a very nice 2-0 away win and followed it up with a 3-2 home win to make sure that we would be in the final. The final would see us play surprise package Oita Trinita and they could surprise no more as we got the win on the night 3-1 to collect the league cup and our first 30 points as Urawa manager. AFC Champions League The Champions League was a tough campaign for us, with the squad already registered and the squad a bit light, we generally were not able to field our best team throughout the competition. When we arrived at the club we already had recorded a 2-1 win in Myanmar against Yangon United, and we promptly then lost 1-0 at home in our first Asian game to Guangzhou Evergrande. However we would eventually be able to claw back the group as we managed to get a draw in South Korea against former side Ulsan and crucially got the winner in the decider when we hosted Ulsan in Japan 1-0. We finished 2nd in the group and that set up a tie against the other Guangzhou side R&F, and we got a decent win at home 2-1 against them but we were well overpowered in the 2nd leg as we lost out 4-1 to bow out of the Champions League. Meiji Yasuda J1 League We were always in control of the league it seemed and we led from early on. Sanfrecce had significant problems early on the season and were not really challenging. In the end it was Yokohama for a period who were running us closest but they eventually fell away and by the time Gamba and Sanfrecce recovered to get 2nd and 3rd spot, we were gone and over the hill as far as the title race was concerned. In the end we won the title by 12 points and we collect the key 100 points we needed for finish off Japan, AFC1 and Asia as a whole. Emperor's Cup Apart from a pretty tough tie against Fagiano Okayama where we only won 1-0, we had it pretty easy to the final with easy wins against Vissel Kobel and Ehime, before pretty comfortable wins against Sanfrecce and Matsumoto Yamaga to set up a final against Vegalta Sendai. We already knew that this game was our final game in charge or Urawa and our final game in Japan, so it was really about finishing on a high note. Vegalta gave us a pretty tough game and led the game from the 2nd minute of the match, but we got level with 4 minutes to go and then you felt we were the only side that could win it in extra time, and so it turned out. An Emperor's Cup to add to our CV and 50 points as well. Squad We had a very small squad when we arrived so my main job was to spend money on key Japanese players we could bring either as depth of first teamers, and we did that, even bringing in a few faces from Sanfrecce where we could. In terms of the squad I felt Hiroshi Yokoyama was key at left wing and he really got us moving forward creatively with 23 assists this season. Kazuya Toyoda proved why he was Japan's number 9 with 39 goals this season as he had the league banged to rights. Flavio, the Brazilian attacking midfielder was pretty great this season two contributing 15 goals and 8 assists, and Guevara, the Salvadoran also did an excellent job as his buddy in attacking midfield. Medina was also key from left back, very solid player with great attacking attributes at this level. Manager Thoughts We are finally done with Asia, we came into Asia in 2042, when we took our first job in the Philippines with Ceres and in 2112 we exit Asia having finished up a treble with Urawa Red Diamonds. It took us 70 years to make our way around Asia and finally finish it here in Japan and we have finally done so. Now we will be moving on to the next continent in North America as we will be joining NA11 which will be a shock to the system as we leave a decent level of Japan and now have a choice of Barbados, Grenada, Saint Martin or Sint Maarten. We ended up winning 6 Champions Leagues in Asia, which I think was a nice haul in the end as we grabbed 1 in Iran with Persepolis, 1 in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr, 1 in China with Shandong Luneng, 2 in South Korea with Ulsan and Jeonbuk and 1 in Japan with Sanfrecce, added to our other multiple wins in the Asian Confederation Cup and Arab Club Champions Cup I think we did pretty decent when it came to continental football in Asia. Next up we will be somewhere in the Caribbean. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Season 2113/14 We were out of work for approximately 14 months before an opportunity came up at Paradise in Grenada and we got given the job with only three games left of the season. The club were sitting in 3rd place and that was enough for the club to dispense with the manager, so they clearly expect a fair bit from the club. Grenada has two main competitions Grenadian Premier Division worth 100 points and the Waggy T-Super Knockout Football Tournament worth 50 points. Waggy T-Super Knockout Football Tournament Already knocked out when we arrived at the club Grenadian Premier Division We only had the club for the final 3 games of the season and while we did not lose, we only won one of the games, which to means there is plenty of work to be done for the team to get up to speed. We finish 3rd, the same position we took over the club and I hope we can challenge for the league next season. Manager Thoughts We have started off NA11 in Grenada and it seems like a huge drop in standard compared to Japan, but hopefully we should be challenging for the honours next season. I have not yet worked out the continental competitions. The CONCACAF Champions League is clearly the main competition and I think the North American League is the main secondary competition, but I am not sure that Grenada will get a berth in either competitions. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 (edited) 2114/15 Waggy-T Knockout For some reason that I cannot really fathom we did not enter this tournament as yet, it is possible that this tournament has bugged out, we will have to check next year. It will be very annoying if it has as just having the league to go at makes things pretty difficult. Grenadian Premier Division We dominated the league from start to finish, and we went the season undefeated, almost perfect in fact. We end up winning the league by 22 points and it was not even a contest. We get 100 points for our league win to get us on the board in NA11. Squad Last time out I partially forgot to show the squad and partially I had very little to say considering we only played three games and I expected to improve the team. Now that we have there is plenty to say. We were brilliant in the league this season as we did not lose a game and pretty much dominated most games we played. Kimron Simpson was outrageously good averaging almost 8.50 and scoring 8 and setting up 16 goals, it was a great season. Wendell Joseph ended up top goalscorer with 12 goals this season as he seemed pretty reliable as a striker. You could pick any player from Jamal Cato, Kithson Phillip, Aaron Phillip, Patrick Alexander, Cassim Rennie and Kwan John-Brown, they were all brilliant this season and long may it continue. Manager Thoughts We are up and running in NA11 with 100 points, unfortunately the cup is a bit of an annoyance at this stage. I hope we are back in it next year and it works properly. Either way I think we will be at Paradise at least one more season as it just makes sense to take advantage of some potential points we might get and I think in Grenada at least the team we have built will be very tough to compete against. Career Summary Edited September 13, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 2115/16 Waggy-T Super Knockout Football Tournament The Waggy-T was back to give it it's shortened name, although I do think it is bugged and won't be working next year. It was not an issue for us as we pretty much coasted to the final against lower league side Royal Grenadian Police Force and beat pretty easily 3-0 in the final. That is 50 points for the cup win. Grenadian Premier Division Another league title as easy as you like as again we win 17 and draw 1, just like last season to win the league. This time around the gap was closed to 14 points so some progress made by the likes of QPR, but realistically we were as dominant as last year. That is 50 points for the league win. Squad I did nothing in the transfer window as we clearly did not need reinforcements after last season, and Kimron Simpson was again the main man, again averaging over 8.00, and this time taking the top goalscorer at the club 16 and also top assist maker at the club with 12. Pretty much everything we did, went through him at some point. Jamal Cato was also pretty decent in front of goal this season bagging 13 goals. Manager Thoughts We got the cup win which was nice that it was available this year and we recaptured the league title which was the expectation. It is time to move on now, as the points will only start getting smaller and smaller from here on out, and likely next season there will be no cup football. So we will resign our role and see what else might come up, hopefully elsewhere other than Grenada as I think we might struggle to go up against Paradise. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 (edited) Season 2116 We moved from Grenada all to Saint Martin to take over at Amateur side Concordia, and there was about a third of the season to go in the 2116 Season. We had an assistant manager for about a week before we got taken by Flamingo also in Saint Martin, and that means I have no staff at the club and can bring in no staff and I am getting big Wallis & Futuna vibes, which was probably the most annoying league to manage in so far. One positive is that there is no relegation so at least we are safe from that. Saint Martin has two competitions; the Saint Martin Championship worth 100 points and the Coupe de Saint Martin worth 50 points. Coupe de Saint Martin Already knocked out when we arrived to the club Saint Martin Championship We have not been great by any stretch of the imagination but we have been better than the form from before I took over, the loss of the assistant manager is annoying as we cannot replace him. I have had an advert running for about 5 months and there have been no applications. I have checked every Saint Martin staff member and no one wants to come to us, so it will be annoying as I then have no second opinion on players and then also have to manager the Reserves and the Under 21s. The points system is also odd in Saint Martin, it's 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw and 1 for a loss, just to make things needlessly complicated. Hopefully we can get better next season but we have pretty big gap to close if we want to win this league. Squad The players are not good, I have no way to scout anyone else in the league. I can't even see how good my players are meant to be so there they are above. Since only Laurent Frey got above a 7, there is not a lot to talk about, they were not very good. Manager Thoughts We may have bitten off a little more than we can chew with this one. The board are furious with us because somehow they expected us to win the league this season, which seems mental, so I fully expect a meeting soon to tell me how many points I need in the next unspecified amount of games. Getting sacked would be disastrous, but since they already rate me at an F at the moment, I can't resign and not take the hit as if I was sacked as per the rules we entered this challenge with. I will have to try and keep a job until next season and try and do better with the side. Edit: They sacked me at the end of the season anyway. So that is 100 points lost. Career Summary Edited September 14, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 (edited) Season 2116/17 Following our undeserved and unceremonious sacking, we were out of work for approximately 4 months before we found a job in the Barbados at Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme or BDFSP for short. The club were in 3rd place in their group and dispensed with the manager, which allowed us to get the job. This was another club that wanted to win the league this season despite having a gap in the table to make up and they had no assistant manager. However I was able to secure an assistant manager and other staff so at least it was easier. Barbados has two main competitions; the Digicel Premier League, which is split into two groups, with the winners of the groups playing a playoff for the title. Only the league title counts for 100 points so we must win the group followed by the playoff match to secure 100 points and the second trophy is the BFA Knockout Tournament worth 50 points BFA Knockout Tournament Already knocked out when we arrived at the club. Digicel Premier League We arrived at the club in early January and thankfully we managed to turn the form and results around and actually found it quite easy to get to the top of our group and ended up taking it by 7 points. In the playoff we faced Rendezvous, and I hate playoff formats in leagues so I was half expecting to bottle the final, but credit to us we managed to get through the game pretty easily and won the final 2-0 to pick up the Digicel Premier League and 100 points, which makes up for our sacking in St Martin. Squad We have a good squad for the standard we are playing at but to be honest there have not been too many great individual performances, it is to be expected, the team were not great in the first half of the season and despite winning the league we were more functional than brilliant. Manager Thoughts Well at least we made up for the sacking in St Martin and have retrieved our 100 points that we lost last season here. Getting the sack has made me a little bit more wary of where we got and what the board are asking for in the interviews as what they were asking for in St Martin under the circumstances was never going to be achievable. In fairness our board here Barbados wanted the same but we there was more time to get the results we needed and we got the job done. I think we will stay at least another season to hopefully get another league title and have a crack at the cup. Career Summary Edited September 14, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 (edited) Season 2117/18 BFA Knockout Tournament The BFA Knockout was pretty key for us this season. I wanted to win it, no excuses and we performed very well as we swept to win our group with 3 wins from 3. The only game we looked slightly suspect in was the Belfield game where we narrowly won 2-1, but we beat Youth Milan in the semi finals and Weymouth Wales in the final really quite easily both by the same scoreline of 3-0. That secured us the BFA Knockout trophy and 50 points Digicel Premier League Things could not have gone better in our league group as the rest never had a chance, but with the format, all that counts for nothing unless you win the playoff final and once again it was Rendezvous who had got to the final and it was the same results as last year as we won this time by 1-0 to take another league title and with it 50 points. Squad It has not required much to win the double in Barbados. I don't even think we have been fantastic but it has been enough. The key players have been Ramer Sargeant from right back with 13 assists on the season and Randy Skeete up front with 12 goals this season. We have been decent without being brilliant. Manager Thoughts We move up to 300 points with the league and cup double and I think mathematically it makes sense to stay another season. Another league and cup double will net us 50 points which will leave us a league and cup elsewhere from completing NA11. So I think more than likely we will still be here next season despite the reducing benefits from league and cup wins. Career Summary Edited September 14, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 (edited) Season 2118/19 BFA Knockout Tournament The plan this season was to get the double to leave us a double away from finishing NA11, and the BFA Knockout was crucial to this. Despite a loss in the group stages to Youth Milan we made it through to the knockout rounds, where we faced Brittons Hill first in the Quarter Finals and got an easy 3-0 win. We then exacted revenge on Youth Milan in the semi final winning 2-0 to make the final against Weymouth Wales, where two goals in the first half sealed another BFA Knockout trophy for us and 25 points. Digicel Premier League A couple of group stage losses were the only real downside as we made it through Group A without much issue. In the playoff final we would play Pinelands who only recently came up to the top division. I was little worried as at some point I was expecting we would have to drop one of these playoff finals but it would not be this year as we captured another league title following a 2-0 win. That's another 50 points. Squad We made no signings this year as I didn't think we could really improve the team much. We were good this season as we completed another double. Randy Skeete came into his own as he bagged plenty of goals and topped the assists and highest average rankings too so a good season for him. Manager Thoughts Our time here is complete, we now need to move on as we are a league and cup competition away from finishing NA11. Part of the purpose of this season was to put us in that position, at a club where we felt very comfortable and felt we could win both the league and the cup this season. We will leave the club and see what positions are avaiable. It has been a good stay in Barbados after we were sacked in St Martin and hopefully we will get the right job next time and finish things off. Career Summary Edited September 14, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 Season 2119/20 We were back to Grenada after leaving Barbados, there were three options in Grenada that we could have opted for. Mount Rich, Hard Rock and Queen's Park Rangers. We opted for Queen's Park Rangers (no not that Queen's Park Rangers). They were probably the club best able to tackle Paradise and I felt best taking them on. The goal was simple with the league and the cup and we were done with NA11. Grenadian Premier Division Well we had a fantastic season in the league, as we went the season undefeated and never gave Paradise a chance in the league as we finished 12 points ahead of them in the end. That is the first part of the puzzle we needed with 100 points for the league secured. Waggy-T Super Knockout Football Tournament Hurricanes gave us out toughest test of the competition in the second round as we narrowly got past them 3-2. But then we had easy wins against Springs and Carenage to reach the final where we would play Shamrock where we secured a comfortable 2-0 wins with two first half goals, to secure the second part of the puzzle and 50 points. Squad We brought in a few players we thought would improve the team, in the end the best two players for me where Tyrone Matheson who was joint top goal scorer, top assist maker and the player with the best average rating and Neil Cato who also contributed well with the goals this season. Manager Thoughts Very glad to have secured the league and cup double that we needed to complete NA11, and we did in the country where we started in Grenada. Now we will be unloading NA11 and loading up NA10 which will include the British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Bermuda. Again I don't think there will be any continental competition to compete in so we will need to the job domestically. Career Summary 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 Season 2121/22 We were out of work for 13 months before we finally got an opportunity to pick up a job, and the job we picked up was Virgin Gorda United in the British Virgin Islands. They had just finished their league season and had finished in 7th place, and the manager had been sacked a few weeks before. We decided to delay our start until the new season wary of the strange boards that these clubs sometimes have expecting miracles in just a few matches. The British Virgin Islands have just one competition the BVI Premier League worth 100 points. BVI Premier League It was the perfect start to NA10 for us as we managed to take the title this season by 8 points. Rebels ran us pretty close, we beat them twice, had we not beat them twice and lost twice they would have won the title so the margins were not great at the end oft he day but it was enough from us. Squad We only brought in two players in Alexander and Lebongo-Haschou, but they had a big impact on the team in terms of assists so they were well worth it. The standout player had to be Scott Binns as he got 22 goals in 21 games for a fantastic performance up front this season. He pretty much smashed the league all season. Obviously already mentioned Lebongo-Haschou and Alexander also had a great impact on the side with assists and performances this season. Manager Thoughts A very nice way to start off NA10, by getting 100 points on the board. I think we may move on if we find a good enough job available as there points will quickly become insignificant with only one competition here in the British Virgin Islands. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
corinthiano Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Must be tough to step down into Amateur football after winning the Asian CL consistently in the last few seasons - some very interesting leagues in the Caribbean though and at least the weather is nice 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 1 minute ago, corinthiano said: Must be tough to step down into Amateur football after winning the Asian CL consistently in the last few seasons - some very interesting leagues in the Caribbean though and at least the weather is nice Yeah not too fun. The worst part has been our reputation being annihilated in a few years, we are down to 15% rep now, when it was at 75% at one point. Plus we got sacked for the first time, which was not too fun. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Season 2122/23 We were not out of a job long before we found a job at YMSC Bluebirds in Bermuda. They had had a bad season the season before and we were able to prepare in the off season for the coming new season. Bermuda has two main competitions the Cingular Wireless Premier Division worth 100 points and the Bermudian FA Cup worth 50 points. Bermudian FA Cup A very bad display against Somerset Tigers ended up costing us badly as we tumbled out of the cup way before I would have wanted to. Cingular Wireless Premier Division We were predicted to finish in 6th and we marginally overachieved on that, but quite frankly we were ****. We started badly, then a good little run and then ended pretty badly. We were to some degree involved in the title race but we were never really close, apart from briefly touching first place for one fixture. I am not very happy with the team. Absolutely no ability to defend. We sporadically just concede a lot of goals, and I absolutely hate that. The final game of the season is endemic of the problem, winning 6-5 is not something I am particularly happy with. Squad The squad was and continues to be pretty poor. We did try and improve where we could, but with no ability to hire a scout it was a crapshoot getting guys into the club. No one to me stood out apart from Justin Roberts up front who knows where the goal is with his 13 goals from 21 games. Denzil Copeland was also pretty decent this season contributing plenty. Irvino Simms also merits a mention from attacking midfield for his assists. The defence was abhorrent this season, may as well get rid of every single one of them, complete waste of space. Manager Thoughts Not the season I wanted as we picked up zero points this season and it is clear to me that this was a pretty bad career move. Fortunately it ends here, as soon as I realised that we were going nowhere I started to look around for what jobs were available and we agreed to join Sugar Boys back in the British Virgin Islands, who should be challenging next season, we should join in about a month and half from now. Good riddance to the Bluebirds I say. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Season 2123/24 We were back to the British Virgin Islands to take over as manager of Sugar Boys. As mentioned previously the deal was concluded while we were still the manager of Bluebirds and we only joined once both seasons had finished, meaning we had a full pre-season to work with the players BVI Premier League It ended up being a close run thing but we just did enough, as we won the league by 2 points from Islanders. We started the season very impressively and the end of season form just let Islanders and Virgin Gorda back in a bit, but the top sides this season were consistent. We only lost one game all season and only just squeaked it in the end. 100 points for us as we claim the league crown. Squad Only one signing a former player we had at Virgin Gorda. In terms of the team we were good without being fantastic. That has tended to be the way with the majority of the teams I have managed in the Caribbean, generally we are workmanlike and more often than not have been able to get the job done, barring a few instances where we haven't. In terms of performances Jhon Farell was pretty key in behind the striker as he finished top goalscorer on 11 goals this season and with the highest average rating. Manager Thoughts Another BVI Premier League crown for us, moves us to 200 points, and I think it may be time to move on again, as we only have one competition here in the British Virgin Islands and the points dwindle quickly. We are in talks with a few clubs at the moment, but nothing is certain as yet. There is a possibility if no move materialises we will still be here next season but I see that as the outside shot. Career Summary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Season 2124/25 Not for the first time in our career we made the move from the British Virgin Islands to Bermuda to take the job at Robin Hood. They were one of the better teams in Bermuda, and we would have the whole off season to work on transfers and tactical familiarity as the season had already ended and the team had finish in 4th place, which was deemed not good enough for the outgoing manager. Cingular Wireless Premier Division The margins cannot really get tighter than this season as we managed to win the league title on goal difference from Devonshire Cougars. We were a bit inconsistent in the league and would always seemingly suffer a defeat or draw where we could have kicked on and made things easier for ourselves in the league, but in the end ourselves and Devonshire Cougars were inseparable but we had done enough with the manner of some of our wins to pip them. That is 100 points added to our total Bermudian FA Cup We started off the FA Cup with a big win against Dandy Town Hornets before meeting North Village Rams in the Quarter Final and getting a narrow win thanks to an early goal. In the semi final, we had late goals to thank as we got past Wolves with a 93rd minute winner sending us to the cup final. The cup final itself was against Somerset Trojans and I expected a very tough game and it was but we got ahead midway through the second half and a penalty 8 minutes from time sealed the win as we lifted the FA Cup and got ourselves 50 points in the process. Squad We went pretty heavy in the transfer window and particularly were able to get some Central Americans that really strengthened the team on paper, but I wonder whether it actually it could have been a hindrance as we perhaps we were a little less fluid than had we been a little more conservative with the transfers, regardless it worked out as we got ourselves a double. In terms of the squad, Knory Jennings up front did pretty well in getting the goals as he came away with 11 for the season. Cannonier was the best player in the team by quite a distance this season, he got 6 goals and 10 assists and was central to a lot of what we did this season. All around there were good performances, but at times we were a little disjointed. Manager Thoughts A league and cup double helps us out a lot when it comes to the points as we hit 350 points. I am torn as to whether to stay and try and get 75 points that would put us a league title away next season, or whether to move again and see if we can build a team elsewhere to perhaps get NA10 done this season. I will have to see what jobs are available and if there is any upside in the job market. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 (edited) Season 2125/26 In the off-season we saw that there were two jobs available in Bermuda, the first Devonshire Cougars, rejected us but we got given the job at Somerset Trojans, who over the years we have been in Bermuda have been one of the better sides. This was not so when we arrived and shortly after it as there was a mass exodus from the club as other Bermudian clubs picked off our best players, we would have a real job on this season. The prize potentially was that a double this season would finish off NA10, even some trophy would leave us pretty close to the finishing line. Cingular Wireless Premier Division We started a season with a tonne of new faces and were not a better team than we we joined and we did not start particularly well, but we kept going and soon we were not too far away from the early leaders in YMSC Bluebirds and PHC Zebras. As we got towards the end of the season it was looking like we would miss out, PHC Zebras were two points ahead of us going into the final game. We played North Village Rams a big Bermudan team having an awful season battling relegation and they needed to get something from this game to survive. PHC Zebras had a tough game against YMSC Bluebirds who could still win the title if they won. In the end the stars aligned for us as we got the win against the Rams and Bluebirds and Zebras drew to hand us the title on goal difference. For a second time in Bermuda, goal difference or in this case goals scored handed us a title. That was 100 points towards our total and we were just a cup away. Bermudian FA Cup I would say there was no game in the whole of the FA Cup where we won comfortably, we pretty much had to battle to get every win, but we did get the wins, and eventually we got the final where we play North Village Rams, the team we had just relegated from the division by beating them to also win the league. We got the better of them again as we came through a ding dong match 3-2 in the end, with Jaz Francis being the final hero with a hat trick on the night. Squad The transfer window was mad as we lost a good section of our starters as soon as we joined the club and with limited scouts and no existing player knowledge at the club we had to take our chances on recruitment so we ended up bringing in over 20 players, but at least we brought in some guys who could cover the losses we had suffered, and in the end it worked out rather well. I think we were very average this season but somehow came out of it with two trophies and I think Jaz Francis was key to this. He did not score a tonne of goals but he scored very important goals generally, exemplified by his heroics in the cup final. Manager Thoughts We have finally finished NA10, in the end it came by way of the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda. Bermuda proved to be a very tough place for us as we failed one season and just about got over the line the other two seasons to get our points. We will now be unloading the countries of NA10 and moving on to NA9 which will include Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica. I expect very much the same kind of experience as we had in NA10, but hopefully we can find the right club in the right league to get off to the right start. Career Summary Edited September 15, 2020 by TerminalPortugal 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 (edited) Season 2126/27 Our first move in NA9 was on the island of Dominica where we took over as manager of Bath Estate, a pretty decent side from the island. The season was still ongoing and the manager had been sacked with the club in 5th place. There was still a possibility we could challenge for the title but it would require us to be perfect for the remainder of the season. There are two competitions in Dominica, the Dominica Premiere League worth 100 points and the Dominican Knock-Out Cup worth 50 points. Dominica Premiere League Well I don't think things could have gone worse. We won our first game in charge against Bombers and then pretty much lost every game remaining of the league season. We were so bad that I actually think I should be sacked, if they were to sack me I would deserve it. I don't know why the team has performed so bad, but we have had almost no impact on the side, in fact we have more or less become worse. I really hate taking over clubs mid-season because I know this kind of thing can happen, which is why we started to avoid taking over clubs if possible mid season in NA10, but we had no real choice here. If we are still in a job we really have to perform a million times better than this. Quite frankly it's embarrassing. Dominican Knock-Out Cup Already knocked out when we arrived Squad Clearly there should be people in this team who should be making the difference, but up until now they have been abysmal, and I do mean it when I say utterly abysmal. Manager Thoughts The board are pretty unhappy although not furious, we really should be sacked, it's inexcusable, the only thing that might give us a stay of execution is that they handed us a two year contract when we joined and that may save us. I really am beginning to think that we are losing some of our touch as a manager. So far North America has been pretty bloody tough. We have already been sacked once and in Bermuda we were very lucky to win the titles we won. Maybe we have lost it. Maybe we are a **** manager now... Career Summary Edited September 15, 2020 by TerminalPortugal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Season 2127/28 Dominican Knock-Out Cup Extremely poor, knocked out by lower league opposition. Absolutely not good enough. Dominica Premiere League We were okay, but too inconsistent for specific periods of time that effectively put us behind Middleham United and we never were able to recover. We ended up 3 points behind Middleham United and that is unfortunate for us. We were not awful but we are so mentally fragile and we do not score enough goals, despite having decent strikers at the club and plenty of supposed talent going forward. I am very disappointed. Squad We tried to get some improvements in and I think we managed that at least on paper, but the squad under-performed in total and I am not very happy. The team seem to be very succeptible to crises of confidence and we just could not keep their morale up all season. Heinrich Walters probably is the only guy who can feel okay with what he did last season Manager Thoughts Another season and again no points in Dominica. I was quite disappointed with this performance this season. I think we should have won the league this season. I think we had all the tools in place to do much better than we did. To still be on zero points at this point is not where I wanted to be. We have already agreed a deal to leave the club, since a large job came up in Martinique towards the end of our season and we decided to go ahead and jump ship. The Caribbean is seriously giving me migraines trying to get through these minefields. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Season 2128/29 After a frustrating couple of years in Dominica we made the move to Martinique to join one of the biggest teams on the island Club Franciscain. They won the league last season with the caretaker manager who got the club to recover from 4th place to 1st, so we had a bit of an act to follow this year. We were joining just after the season had ended so would get a full pre-season and transfer window to work with. We actually were very close to getting sacked with Bath Estate, they probably would have sacked us had we not already agreed to leave the club for Martinique at the end of the season. In Martinique there are two main competitions, the Martinican Trophee Gerard Janvion which is the league competition of the country and worth 100 points and the Coupe de Martinique worth 50 points Coupe de Martinique We were superb in the cup this year as we barely let anyone come close to us. Every game, even the final was a comfortable win for us as we went on to lift the Coupe de Martinique and finally we had some points on the board in NA9, with 50 points captured. Martinican Trophee Gerard Janvion The standard of the league was way up from last season, where 82 points would have been enough to win the league. This season we were run to our limits by Golden Lion and eventually we managed to come away victorious to complete a double in our first season in charge of the club. We only lost three games in a reasonably long season for a Caribbean competition and we won every other game, and despite Golden Lion losing one less game over the season, it was our ability to turn draws into wins over the season that probably got us over the line. We win 100 points for the league title. Squad I did not want to upset the apple cart with two many signings so we were quite selective in who we brought in and also I thought the team was very much good enough to win things. In terms of performance, Cyprien Renault was very good upfront for us as he bagged over 20 goals this season which is a very nice return for us. Gerard Karamoko was also key this season, creatively he was the fulcrum of our work this season. Manager Thoughts I am very happy and relieved to get 150 points on the board after two barren years at Bath Estate in Dominica. My plan is to remain another season here and see if we can repeat our double. Obviously if a job comes up that promises more we would be interested, so we will see what happens over the off season and whether we are still at Club Franciscain come the start of the new season. Career Summary 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSousa06 Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 How do you rank those countrys to form the "ladder"? I mean, I've never heard of St. Pierre & Miq, how is this country in the NA1 along USA, Canada and Mexico? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalPortugal Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 1 hour ago, DSousa06 said: How do you rank those countrys to form the "ladder"? I mean, I've never heard of St. Pierre & Miq, how is this country in the NA1 along USA, Canada and Mexico? So they are basically in geographical groups. I messed up NA11 a bit, they were not meant to be together as they are a bit too far away. Then I took the FIFA rankings for each country and got an average for each "rung" from worst to best. In Europe because this would have not really felt right I used UEFA coefficients instead. St Pierre and Miquelon is actually geographically in the right group, they could fit in no other geographical group for North America. That is where the islands are, it is some sort of weird thing, where they are french overseas dependency islands as opposed to Canadian islands, despite the fact that is sits right next to Canada - dates back to effectively the 18th century when Canada became a British colony - but they did not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSousa06 Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 3 minutes ago, TerminalPortugal said: So they are basically in geographical groups. I messed up NA11 a bit, they were not meant to be together as they are a bit too far away. Then I took the FIFA rankings for each country and got an average for each "rung" from worst to best. In Europe because this would have not really felt right I used UEFA coefficients instead. St Pierre and Miquelon is actually geographically in the right group, they could fit in no other geographical group for North America. That is where the islands are, it is some sort of weird thing, where they are french overseas dependency islands as opposed to Canadian islands, despite the fact that is sits right next to Canada - dates back to effectively the 18th century when Canada became a British colony - but they did not. So, basically you group them geographically, and not per coefficient right? Interesting... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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