The Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Broken Fan Belt And A Flat Tyre.

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella The league may hit us fast as at the end of October,we have three games in hand on some of the teams above us.The brilliant news is that the Champions League is an all South African affair as it is us vs kaizer Chiefs in the final!

[B.W.G]

Free State Stars - South African Premiership - Ocotber and November - 2024

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

I stand before you as the Champions of Africa as we won the CAF Champions League final with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Kaizer Chiefs in which most of the damage was done in the home leg.We also clinched the MTN8 Cup as we barely scraped past Jomo Cosmos in the final in which I did blow my top at the performance at full time.We've also made progress in another cup as we have made the final of the Telkom Knockout in which we have beaten Martizburg Utd,Kaizer Chiefs and Swallows,the final will be played in December.The league is quite tough as Orlando Pirates are looking as strong as ever,if Kaizer Chiefs had won some of those games they had drawn then I would be more than likely in 3rd but that's not the case so it is very tight at the top of the table.

December sees us compete in the Club World Cup and I am quite excited with the simple aim of winning a game as the African teams tend to flop for the most part.We have the Telkom Knockout final against Sundowns which brings an end to another competition in which I am out of breath with how many games we have played so far this season (33 games!).Just the three league games,two against tougher teams and the other being against the bottom side,the bonus is that both of the tougher games are at home.January looks easy on paper but I cannot take anything lightly as I feel we will be in a battle right till the end of the season when it concerns the league title.

[B.W.G]

As for the final itself,screenshots are below.

Final - 1st Leg

Final - 2nd Leg

That takes my tally up to 5 Champions League titles so far (3 European,1 Asian and 1 African!).

[B.W.G]

Time I shed manly tears of joy....

Club World Cup Semi final vs Barcelona

Club World Cup Final vs Tigres (My 600th game in management!)

The spirit of Gangneung City lives on!!!!

[Jason the Yank]

Well done conquering Africa.

EDIT: And the world.

[B.W.G]

Not just Africa but the World

[Jason the Yank]

WTF? I edited that and it showed up that way for me? Then you post and it's not there. :confused:

SORT IT OUT, SI!

[B.W.G]

I think the boards have been acting weird,I've tried posting and when pressing post quick reply,nothing has happened.

[deltablue]

Wow, that's incredible!

[B.W.G]

It is indeed.I likened it to this seasons Carling Cup,two teams who were expected to go through (Barcelona and Santos,Chelsea and Villa) and the two who went through (Swansea and Bradford,Us and Tigres!).

[Dexter_Morgan]

Brilliant work there mate Are you going to stick there for a while or move on?

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella

Thinking I may move on,I was going to go for the Confederation Cup but because we won the African Champions League,we have been entered in the Champions League due to being the holders so I will probably move on as it was easier than expected.

[JackJCFC]

Wow, cant quite believe you won the club world cup, crazy achievment. How can you better that sort of achivement!?

[B.W.G]

It is a crazy achievement,to be honest,I don't think I can actually top that at any point so it is more than likely I will head to Brazil or Mexico next as they should be more challenging.

[B.W.G]

Free State Stars - South African Premiership - December and January - 2024/25

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

We've added another two trophies to the cabinet in the form of the Telkom Knockout Cup in which we beat Sundowns 2-0 in the final,we also won the Club World Cup which included massive wins over Barcelona and Tigres.As for league form,we dropped 4 points from 7 games which is quite good considering the games have come thick and fast.We also sit on top of the table with a slim 4 point lead over Orlando Pirates but it is very close at this point.I have also made the decision that if we win the league then I am going to leave at the end of the season as there is no way that winning the Club World Cup with FS Stars will be topped and I will be following the phrase leaving on a high.

February is now here and we have another chance of winning a trophy,this time in the shape of CAF Super Cup which I am going to guess is the African version of the European Super Cup.Due to winning the Champions League last year,we have now been shifted from the Confederation Cup to the Champions League which we will start our defence of the trophy against Ethiopian side St. George in the preliminaries.At some point,we should also start our defence of the FA Cup in which I will take seriously again.Most of the league games come from March onwards so we will be pretty busy when it comes to end of the season but I will be looking and hoping to open a wider gap over Orlando Pirates who sit in 2nd place.The Vital game will be against Orlando Pirates in February as we face them at home,win that and it could be hard to stop us.

[Jason the Yank]

February is now here and we have another chance of winning a trophy,this time in the shape of CAF Super Cup which I am going to guess is the African version of the European Super Cup.

Good guess.

CAF = Confederation of African Football.

[B.W.G]

I knew that part I was quite surprised to see I was facing a team that I knocked out of the Champions League,I won anyway so it's another trophy added to the collection

[DodgeeD]

Nothing like winning the Club World Cup with a non-European or South American club (I did it with Toronto a few FMs ago beating Fluminense and Inter in the process - sweet memories )

Hope to see you in Mexico soon!

[B.W.G]

It is definitely one of my highlights playing this save.I'll be honest,it is the first time I have done it as a non-European or South American club so it does feel brilliant .There has been 4 non-European or South American runners-up with those being Wydad Casablanca (2013),ES Tunis (2016),Suwon (2019) and Tigres (2024).

Mexico is definitely on the list,I had a good spell at Morelia in FM11 so definitely want to go back to Mexico at some point.

[B.W.G]

Free State Stars - South African Premiership - February and March - 2025

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

We won another trophy which takes my tall up to five for the season out of a possible seven.This time we won the CAF Super Cup against MA Tetouan who were lucky they didn't concede more than they did.The Champions League has kicked off and we have already scored 19 goals in 3 games!I think it's safe to say we have qualified for the next round as we have a 6 goal advantage over Curepipe Starlight and we have the home tie next.The big news is I finally got one over Orlando Pirates as we knocked them out of the Nedbank Cup on penalties,that felt really good!The league is too close for my liking though,there is only one point between us and Orlando Pirates although we do have a game in hand.I need to match their results but credit to the challenges as they certainly have made me sweat.

We are now entering the last few months of the season,there are still two trophies left to play for.The Nedbank Cup and the league title.My aim is to win my remaining 6 league games as that will give us a the title.In the Nedbank Cup,we face Ajax CT who have been under performing this season and that could make them more dangerous if my players become too complacent.We have the Champions League still playing and I will hope to have them in the Group Stages by the end of the season which should leave the club in a good position as it is looking likely I will leave as there is no bigger high then winning the Champions League and the Club World Cup with a African team!

[deltablue]

Surprised that you aren't dominating that much at home.

[B.W.G]

So am I,it's a mixture of Orlando playing very well and the fact we've dropped stupid points which has cost us a win or we lost the game.If our finishing was better then we'd have a bigger gap at the top.

[B.W.G]

Free State Stars - South African Premiership - April,May and June - 2025

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

We ended the season in spectacular fashion as we added the league title and the Nedbank Cup to take our tally up to seven trophies for the season.The league looked more comfortable than it actually was as Orlando Pirates messed up their run in and it basically handed us the title which is absolutely brilliant.We added the Nedbank Cup in what can be described as a battle as we received 6 yellow cards and a red card while Thanda Royal Zulu received 4 yellow cards and a red card!We made excellent progress in the Champions League as we beat Curepipe Starlight 10-0 on aggregate before beat Etoile du Sahel 6-0 to move on to the group stage.The group looks easier than last years as we've been drawn against Orlando Pirates,Asante Kotoko and Zamalek so whoever is in charge will have a easier time than I did.

Just going to do the End of Season update before moving on with my next destination being the continent of one of the Americas!

[AK22]

Top stuff! Excellent job winning the World Club Cup AND beating Barcelona in the process

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella I had to pinch myself after the Barcelona game,it was one of those where you just stare at the screen because you don't believe what just happened

[cerud]

Wow! Class to win the Club World Cup with a South African club! Not an easy thing to do

[rancer890]

Well done B.W.G! It takes a great manager and team to win the Club World Cup with a non-European/South American team!

[B.W.G]

cerud - I have to be honest,I was nervous in the Tigres game as they were all over us but we held off just about

rancer890 - Cheers fella It also takes a lot of luck with the teams hitting the bar/post three times a match,definitely my proudest moment playing FM

[AcidBurn]

Wow! Beating Barcelona is easily one of the best achievements I've seen in the careers forum. Well played dude.

[noikeee]

I just caught up with the African Champions League and the Club World Cup. And wow... there is only one word: ridiculous. Well done that is a sensational achievement.

[B.W.G]

Acidburn - Cheers fella I think they needed to check the woodwork after the game,it probably had a few dents in

noikeee - Thanks mate This is my biggest achievement ever on any FM and I've won Champions Leagues with teams from Wales and Romania.

[deltablue]

Bit more comfortable in the end.

[B.W.G]

It didn't feel like it,Orlando put up more of a challenge than some of the teams in Russian and Germany

[Dexter_Morgan]

Well done on the title, cleared everything you can win there already haven't you?

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella!I have done,in that last season I won no less than seven trophies which makes it my most successful season to date

[Dexter_Morgan]

Cheers fella!I have done,in that last season I won no less than seven trophies which makes it my most successful season to date

Some haul that You should save that team to play SRL_88 and wipe the floor with him

[B.W.G]

This wasn't my strongest team though,I am pretty confident the team I had a Bayern would rip him apart!For him I am planning on taking over Everton,get to World Class level and beat him.Kills two birds with one stone,beat his Napoli side with a team he hates

[B.W.G]

Free State Stars - South African Premiership - End of Season - 2024/25

2024/25 Transfers

The transfers did't really see much upheaval at the club,those who left on a free were never going to be good enough for the club.The three I loaned out were to help the players gain first team experience to help them develop.We had three players come in,Monareng and Sali came in as first teamers with Monareng having already been capped by South Africa.Mohohlo is a player for the future as he is 16 years old but should be able to become something good in the future.We have a good squad and we should do well this season.

Competitions

ABSA Premiership

League Table

This was not as comfortable as it appears,Orlando Pirates deserve credit for actually making me sweat with what was happening as it was pretty much neck and neck till game 25 when we started to pull ahead slightly.At least with them challenging,it stopped our players becoming complacent which was very helpful.If this was another league then we would probably have walked it.As we finished in the top two by quite some distance,this means we are guaranteed to play in the 2026 Champions League which is the most important thing.We set a new record for goals and we were only two points off setting a new record for points which shows the high class performances we put in.The points we did drop were pretty stupid but having a young squad,this will only improve with age.

CAF Champions League

Winners

We had already made the group stage by the end of last season.We topped the group of Al-Ahly,Es Tunis and kaizer Chiefs with a perfect 6/6 record but it was Kaizer Chiefs who stunned everyone by qualifying ahead of the two giants.The semi-final saw us face TP Mazembe who gave us a tough battle in both legs but we prevailed with a 6-0 aggregate victory which is very harsh on the opposition.The final was a day to remember for South Africa as we faced off against Kaizer Chiefs in the final!We took apart Kaizer Chiefs in the first leg and gave ourselves a very impressive 3-1 lead,the damage looked severe in the second leg as it was a very boring game even from my point of view as the second leg finished up 1-1 which meant we clinched the title with a 4-2 victory to become Champions of Africa!

Club World Cup

Winners

I am absolutely stunned with what down in this competition,winning the Champions League is one thing but winning the Club World Cup with a South African team tops anything I have done before hand!We beat Nigerian side Heartland 4-1 in the quarter finals which set up our biggest game in history as we faced Barcelona in the Semi-final.The semi-final was pretty even with exception to the Spanish giants hitting the post and cross bar three times but we claimed a historical 2-0 victory to move on to the final.The final itself was a shock as we faced Mexican side Tigres who knocked out Brazilian giants Santos!To be fair,they battered us for most of the game,what we showed is that the spirit of Gangneung City lives on in my teams as we put in a gutsy backs to the wall performance and clinch a 2-0 victory to crown us the Worlds best team!

CAF Supercup

Winners

This was quite the walk in the park,we should of scored a lot more than what we did as we did have a pretty poor shot on target to shot rate.We won 3-1 and by rights it should have been a lot more but no matter what I will take it as a win is a win!

Nedbank Cup

Winners

This competition gave me more headaches than any of the others and we were pretty abysmal (bar one game!) in it from start to finish!We faced Orlando Pirates who were the toughest opposition we had and beat them on penalties which I thought was acceptable.We struggled to get past Golden Arrows in the 2nd round as we laboured to a 1-0 win which was not good enough.The Quarter final saw our only good performance as we put Vasco (RSA) to the sword with a 4-0 victory.The semi-final saw us with a false scoreline as we beat 3-0 SuperSport Utd,what made it false was that it took extra time to win and me blowing my lid twice which is definitely not acceptable.The final against Thanda was more of a bloodbath than a football match,it saw both teams reduced to ten men and poor finishing very nearly cost us,thank god we can take penalties though,this was atrocious even though we were the victors.

Telkom Knockout

Winners

Was probably the trophy we won with less difficulty,we beat Martizburg Utd 3-1 in the first round,Kaizer Chiefs went the same way as Martizburg Utd as we beat them 3-0 in the Quarter finals.We didn't even get out of second gear in the semi-final as we beat Swallows 1-0.Even the final itself was a walk in the park,the only thing that stopped us from destroying Sundowns in the final was our poor finishing but that was probably the most comfortable 2-0 victory I have had!

MTN8

Winners

Beat Martizburg Utd 5-2 in the Quarter Final which was quite a scrappy game but our overall quality shone through and we got through.We faced Orlando Pirates in the semi-final and it was a story of two games,the 1st leg we destroyed them 3-0 but the 2nd leg I very nearly messed up and we lost 3-1 but we managed to scrape through with a 4-3 aggregate Victory.The final itself was poor on our behalf as we should have easily finished them off if we just finished our chances better,in the end it took an own goal and a very late winner to clinch the title but was disappointing none the less.

Player's,Stats and Awards

Best XI 24/25 - Best XI

A quick look at the Player's Stats for the season.

Top Scorer

Many Ateba - 61 Goals

The most unsurprising thing Ateba was the top scorer as he hit 61 goals in 56 appearances as well as providing 16 assists and averaging at 7.94 and in my honest opinion,he could have done a lot better as he was one of the first to become complacent when we had a healthy lead in games which was very annoying.He needs to pick up on his consistency as he scores a load goals then very rarely troubles the net at times.Hopefully he will grow out of it as he is only 19 years old so has plenty of time to mature and I do believe he will become a big talent in the future.

Most Assists

Ransford Appiah - 29

Appiah is our AML who gets most of the plaudits behind Ateba.Appiah had a remarkable season where he made 57 appearances,scored 25 goals and provided 29 assists while maintaining an average of 7.71!You never know when Appiah will strike as he is so unpredictable with what he does even though most cases it was either scoring or providing an assist!His top class performances saw him pick up Young Player of the Season which was totally deserved and I feel he can still get better so the opposition better watch out.

Special Mention

Landry Koffi

My other first choice winger,he doesn't get as many plaudits as Appiah does but Koffi does his best which is all I can ask from him.He mad 59 appearances,scored 18 goals and provided 28 assist while averaging at 7.59 which shows he put in top class performances.He is still young and can get better and will probably play for a bigger club in the future as he is attracting a lot of attention due to his performances at international level.Koffi is consistent and doesn't shy away from the big games which helps us massively as some players at times go missing which is nightmare but I am thankful for Koffi being himself.

Manager's Thoughts

Think that is it for my time in South Africa,you should always leave on a high and there is no possible higher point then winning the Club World Cup with FS Stars.Tobe fair,we actually performed better outside South Africa than we did domestically.At times it felt like a struggle and credit to Orlando Pirates,they did push us all the way to the finish which I felt pleased with as the players could not afford to be complacent.The boys can be proud of what they have pulled off as it will certainly go down as one of the biggest highlights of my career.

Not Sure where I will end up next but it is more than likely will be either North America or South America as I only have two remaining Major Continental trophies left to claim.As I'm quite sadistic,I wouldn't mind playing loads of games so Mexico and Brazil could be good bets to where I end up next.I did enjoy my time here at the club but you should always leave on a high,maybe one day I will actually see out one of my contracts!

Season       Club          Division       Country      League       Cup       Continental    Avg.Att       Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012    Gangneung City    N-League       S.Korea       4th       3rd Rnd        N/A          1618     Playoff Defeat!
2013    Gangneung City    N-League       S.Korea       1st         Q.F          N/A          3540     Playoff Vitors!
2014    Gangneung City    K-League       S.Korea       4th       WINNERS        N/A          3707     FA Cup Winners!
2015    Gangneung City    K-League       S.Korea       3rd       WINNERS      WINNERS        4233     Left 18/11/15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16   Wigan Ath.     Championship     England       5th       6th Rnd        N/A         13218     Playoff Winners!
2016/17   Wigan Ath.      Premiership     England       8th      Runners Up      N/A         19551     Top half finish.
2017/18   Wigan Ath.      Premiership     England       5th*      3rd Rnd*       N/A         17379     Left in Dec 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017/18    Zenit        Prem.Division     Russia        1st       5th Rnd     Group Stage    42445     League Winners!
2018/19    Zenit        Prem.Division     Russia        1st       WINNERS      WINNERS       50024      Won Treble!
2019/20    Zenit        Prem.Division     Russia        1st       WINNERS     Semi-Final     53101    Resigned at E.O.S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21  Bayern Munich  First Division    Germany       1st         Q.F        WINNERS       68158      Won Double!
2021/22  Bayern Munich  First Division    Germany       1st       WINNERS      WINNERS       70368      Clean Sweep!
2022/23  Bayern Munich  First Division    Germany       1st       WINNERS      WINNERS       69688      Clean Sweep!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24   F.S Stars     S.A Premiership  S.Africa       5th       WINNERS     Group Stage    12177     S.A Cup WINNERS!
2024/25   F.S Stars     S.A Premoership  S.Africa       1st       WINNERS      WINNERS       15289      Clean Sweep!

[DodgeeD]

7 trophies in a season is none too shabby Hope to see you in Mexico soon

[Dexter_Morgan]

This wasn't my strongest team though,I am pretty confident the team I had a Bayern would rip him apart!For him I am planning on taking over Everton,get to World Class level and beat him.Kills two birds with one stone,beat his Napoli side with a team he hates

If I was drawn against you i'd let you win just to see that happen

[B.W.G]

DodgeeD Cheers fella Well I left FS Stars on 16/7/25 so it is now a case of wait and see I'm afraid

Dexter_Morgan - If he sees that comment then I'll probably get infracted for even suggesting it would be possible

[AK22]

Not a bad spell in Africa that

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella As for jobs,I've had no luck finding one.The only offer I've had was off AC Milan but I would have been their 3rd manager this season if I accepted.Also as I started this save when it first came out,I think I will have the issue with tax in Italy!

[B.W.G]

This next job of mine will get a mixed response,Acidburn will like me for taking it while DazRTaylor will hope I get sacked at some point

I was interested in resurrecting them at some point anyway but it seemed like a no brainer as they sacked their manager while in 3rd place so now would be a good time to take over!

[JackJCFC]

Interesting move, should be entertaining to see you take them back up the league. Good Luck!

[B.W.G]

I think I should be able to,my main aim is to actually win a trophy in England as I didn't do so with Wigan

[B.W.G]

Sunderland - Blue Square Bet Premier - New Club - 2025/26

Takeover Position

Manager's Thoughts

It's quite nerve wracking to be fair,the previous manager was sacked while in 3rd placed but he was expected to win the league whereas I'm not!I do feel we can get promotion as I do have quite a strong team at my disposal,I doubt I will get promoted automatically but I think I should be able to do it via playoffs.We have seven games left to get as many points as possible,we also still have to play Ebsfleet who top the table so I could really turn the pressure up on them if we win.The wage budget is a small problem with being £2.9k over budget but I should be able to get that down eventually and with the facilities we have at our disposal,we should be able to make some money from the attendance.Let the rise of the Black Cats commence!

[DodgeeD]

Great move! I can't believe Sunderland fell quite so far... How has this fall from grace affected the facilities and set up? Are you streets ahead of the rest of the division or has everything been sold off and/or downgraded?

[B.W.G]

I like this move already,played twice,won twice,scored eight and conceded one goal

They are mainly down this low due to previous financial problems.We are £652k in the red and have a loan of £23 million which will be paid off by 2037,the facilities are actually in good shape,we have top training facilities with average youth facilities.The stadium is in a poor condition but it still holds 48,707 which is a brilliant size for the next few seasons.

We're also quite ahead of the league facility wise and could possibly be ahead of those in League 2!

[B.W.G]

Sunderland - Blue Square Bet Premier - March 2026

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

The perfect start to my career at Sunderland,three games and three wins while we moved up to second and seen the gap on first reduced to just three points!This team is actually suited to the tactics I have used elsewhere so they have had no problem adapting which has been helpful.Patrick Russell has been brilliant for us as he scored seven goals in three games,the game he didn't score in,he provided two assists so was still involved.He is going beyond his technical ability as to be fair,it is pretty shocking.Excellent start and can now focus on the last four games of the league campaign.

April is here and we have a title decider,the very first game of the month sees us travel to Ebsfleet,a 3-0 victory in our favour will actually see us go top but I am not holding my breath on that one!The other three games are against Accrington (20th),Boston (23rd) and Woking (18th) so we definitely do have the easier of the run ins but I really want to beat Ebsfleet to prove we can win the title but it is a case of see what happens.I doubt the team who could possibly get promoted will be the same as next season as a lot of players don't want to re-sign which will save us wages but leave us lacking players!Time to finish the mission and get Sunderland back into the football league!