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

[AcidBurn]

Virtually a perfect season last year, scoring for fun in the friendlies should be another successful season coming up.

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella We've carried on our pre-season form and have made a perfect start so far and we've wrapped up another trophy for the season.

[DazRTaylor]

All set for a cracking season.

[B.W.G]

We are indeed,we've made a near perfect start,the only game we didn't win was our 2nd group stage game in which we drew

[B.W.G]

Bayern Munich - First Division - August and September 2022

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

We've made a brilliant start and we wrapped up our second trophy of the season in the Euro Super Cup as we beat a Marseille side which might as well had 12 men considering the ref favoured them a lot!We've made the perfect start in the league in which I feel that we haven't even got out of second gear yet as some of out performances have been quite sloppy,the only annoying thing is that HSV seem to be playing worse than us and are still on our tale so they will require some beating.We had a poor performance in the German Cup but we progressed so that is the only important thing to me and we will now face Rostock in the 2nd round.The Champions League has given us a group containing Valencia,Rangers and Dinamo,if we don't progress from that group after the start we have had then I will quit my job!We beat Valencia 4-1 despite having O'Halloran sent off and we managed to score with having no forward on the pitch!

I really need us to kick it up a notch in the next couple of months as we have two very big games in Dortmund and Leverkusen and it is vital that we win these games to help show my intent of winning everything in sight!I want us at our best so we can fight and prevail no matter the circumstances.The Champions League sees us face Dinamo twice and the return game with Valencia in which 7 points is my aim and that should be enough for us to qualify for the knockout stages.At the moment,we have our 2nd round German Cup game in November but I am not sure whether that will go ahead due to internationals so that will be a case of wait and see.

[B.W.G]

I wanted the team to kick it up notch,they then went and did this to rivals Dortmund

[AK22]

Fantastic result! Looks like being a cracking season

[DazRTaylor]

Close game.

[B.W.G]

AK22 - Cheers fella I really hope so!

DazRTaylor - Possession wise maybe but it should have been 9 as O'Halloran had one wrongly disallowed for offside

[deltablue]

Yep, that's kicked up a notch

[B.W.G]

It really did as well,we suffered our first defeat at the end of November and somehow we still have Schalke right on out tails!

[B.W.G]

Bayern Munich - First Division - October and November 2022

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

That was a brilliant two months for us which saw us lose just once to Kaiserslautern of all teams!We waltzed through in the German Cup and will now face Ingolstadt in the third round.The Champions League group stage has now finished for us and we destroyed everyone in our path,Dinamo didn't know what hit them,Rangers were lucky they only conceded twice and Valencia were tore apart as we topped the group with 16 points and scored 26 goals.As for the league,I wanted us to kick it up a notch and we certainly have done so outside the Kaiserslautern game.We destroyed our rivals Dortmund and Leverkusen while Mainz are still trying to figure what hit them.Our goal scoring is brilliant and we should have built up a healthy lead but that means I have to give credit to Schalke who have somehow managed to keep up with our form.O'Halloran is leading the charge for us as usual and has already scored 41 goals in his 23 appearances this season!

December sees us compete in the Club World Cup which gives us a shot at our third trophy for the season and I have registered our strongest team to go.We have our 3rd round tie in the German Cup in which I want that trophy as well!The league sees us face rivals Schalke and HSV,the latter being the only team I have not beaten in the league and I will do so at all costs!January is not too bad of a month but we will still need to be at our best to make sure we claim the points as I don't want us to play well and lose again!

[deltablue]

Sola who?

[B.W.G]

Looks like I found the next best thing to Sola,O'Halloran scored twice against Schalke and now stands on 43 goals in 24 appearances

[iHeadHunta x]

Dominant is an understatement, Great work.

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella We are just a bit dominant

[JackJCFC]

Destroying everything in your path, surprised Shalke are keeping up as well as they are!

[DazRTaylor]

Annihilating everything!

[B.W.G]

JackJCFC - They were doing very well then they came across us and we won 5-2 We are five points ahead but we have a game in hand.

DazRTaylor - Looks like it,hopefully we can do more of the same in the second half of the season

[noikeee]

8-0 over Dortmund and 6-1 away over Valencia. It did remind me too of the big wins you used to post from your Iker Sola-powered Basque team.

[b101]

great performances recently - keep it up!

[B.W.G]

noikeee - It's been a honour to manage this Bayern Team but I still don't think they could match C.D Vitoria or as they are more commonly known as...Iker Sola FC

b101 - Cheers fella We will try our best to keep this sort of form up.

I will finally have a update up tonight after I finish work!The reason being that we've had problems at work and I've not had a day off for the last 10 days!

[AK22]

What a brilliant start! And you also beat the mighty Rangers

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella To be perfectly honest,Rangers were the most difficult to beat and I have struggled with them everytime I have played them

[B.W.G]

Bayern Munich - First Division - December and January 2022/23

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

The most important thing is that we picked up our third trophy of the season in the shape of the Club World Cup.The league saw us beat Schalke and HSV (at last!) in December before two wins in a draw in January to open up a 5 point gap but we do have the advantage of having a game in hand which is very helpful.We also made it through in the German Cup against Ingolstadt in a match which certainly won't be remembered as a classic but we got through which is the important thing.January saw us make one signing in the form of Nika Japaridze,I wasn't going to make any signings but I've been short in midfield due to suspensions and injuries so I needed another body in to help cover.Japaridze was an absolute bargain as he cost £1.2 million thanks to a minimum fee release clause in his contract.

Ferbruary and March are coming up and that is where I want us to step things up even further and completely destroy everything in sight.We only have two tough games against Dortmund and Leverkusen but if we can repeat how we played last time then I have the up most confidence that we can increase our lead as I don't think Schalke have enough about themselves to keep up if we increase the pace.The German Cup quarter final has seen us drawn against Leverkusen and hopefully we don't have the same problem as last season where we lost half the team to internationals!In the Champions League,we will face Shakhtar in the Knockout stage in which it isn't the easiest tie of the round as I'd give that honour to Anji vs Dortmund but it's great to see that there are three German teams in the Knockout Stage.The other German side is Leverkusen but they have a nasty tie against P.S.G!

[DazRTaylor]

Another season of domination!

[B.W.G]

Last season of domination in Germany,I'm going to leave at the end of the season as it's far too easy!

[DazRTaylor]

Last season of domination in Germany,I'm going to leave at the end of the season as it's far too easy!

Exactly why I quit Stuttgart.

[B.W.G]

I'm already eyeing up a job in Mexico as they are struggling but they are tycoon owned.Just trying to figure out how some Mexican sides qualify for the Copa Lbertadores as that could kill two birds with one stone!

[simonjenks1]

Just read all through this thread and it was a very good read, will be following.

What interests me is regens that just become international super stars like that japanese goal keeper and I'm sure Shaun O'Halloran is heading for the record of England top goal scorer? Who actually is the current England top goal scorer if you don't mind checking

[B.W.G]

Cheers mate

That's part of the reason why I like the game.It's always interesting to see the players coming through and also trying to find them via scouting.It's currently Wayne Rooney with 76 goals so O'Halloran only needs 51 more goal so it certainly is possible as O'Halloran is only 24 at the moment.

[simonjenks1]

Wayne Rooney wasn't predictable.. lol

The way O'Halloran is going I think he's well on track

[B.W.G]

It's only the start of March and O'Halloran has already broke his record from last season!

[B.W.G]

Bayern Munich - First Division - February and March 2023

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

Nothing really to see here as we continued with our emphatic domination of Germany in which we have not dropped a single point in the last two months.We made progress in Europe as we beat Shakhtar 5-0 on aggregate but our next opponents are cursing as we face Valencia again,we've already beat them 4-1 and 6-1 this season!We have progressed to the final in the German Cup as we beat Leverkusen and destroyed Dusseldorf,we will now face St Pauli in the final who will not be looking forward to seeing us again as we beat them 5-0 and 8-0 in the league!Talking of the league,destiny is now in our own hands as we have a massive 15 point lead with just 7 games left of the season.I don't think it is possible that we are going to blow this!

We are now entering the last couple of months of the season,we're in prime position to retain the title and it is in our own hands to make sure we do so.April is the easier of the months as we don't have the pressure of facing any of our rivals till May so the league should be wrapped up by then.We have the German Cup final against St Pauli and I hope they make it a bit more challenging then what we have faced in our league encounters as they were very one sided.In Europe we face Valencia in the final in which we had them in our group and beat them 4-1 (with 10 men!) and 6-1 so I am confident of progressing.If we win that tie then we have a tough encounter with either Chelsea or Real Madrid in the semi-final!O'Halloran has been brilliant and going into the last two months,he sits on 71 goals in 41 appearances and I generally believe he could possibly hit 85 + for this season!

[AcidBurn]

Easy, easy, easy, easy. Simply brilliant in the league.

[AK22]

Piece of **** springs to mind!

[B.W.G]

Acidburn - It has been,we wrapped up the title in mid-April but we are still going strong and have set a new record for goals scored!

AK22 - Just a bit,even I've been underwhelmed as I thought teams would be a bit more competitive!

[B.W.G]

Think I may be needed to resurrect Sunderland

Don't think I've seen any top flight team fall that quickly before!

[JackJCFC]

Absolutely smashing it at Bayern.

From EPL to BSP in 10 years for Sunderland

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella although we did lose a game in May to Schalke

Never seen anyone fall that quick,they'll get back to the Premier League one day!

[B.W.G]

Bayern Munich - First Division - April and May 2023

Fixtures

League Table

Manager's Thoughts

The shocking thing from these two months were that we didn't lose once but twice and both defeats didn't mean a thing!We literally walked the league and finished 18 points ahead of Schalke in the league.The German Cup was probably one of the most one sided finals I have ever seen,St.Pauli have now conceded 22 goals in the 3 games they have faced us in this season.The Champions League saw us brush Valencia asides 8-0 in the Quarter final,credit is due to Chelsea as they made us battle in the semi-final even if they did lose 3-0 in the first leg whereas we lost 3-2 in the second to clinch a 5-3 victory!The final was more comfortable then the scoreline suggested,with the way we were missing chances,I honestly thought it was going to take extra time or penalties to win the game before O'Halloran popped in injury time to give us a clean sweep!

Next up is the end of season update before I go on the look for a new club.

[B.W.G]

Bayern Munich - First Division - End of Season 2022/23

2022/23 Transfers

Most of those who left were for first team action to help with their development.The exception to this was the five that left on a free transfer as they were never really going to make it at the club and I didn't see them having a future here.Four of the players were 16 or younger when we signed them so they were for the future.Tom Schindler was bought in as a back up from my old club Wigan.Japaridze can be considered as a leaving gift off me,he was bought in as a backup but has the potential to be a key player and cost so little thanks to a minimum release clause in his contract.

Competitions

First Division

League Table

Well that was easy,we dropped 7 points all season which is really remarkable.We set a new record for goals which is no surprise really has O'Halloran scored 51 league goals!We also set a new points record which is again no surprise really as the opposition posed little threat to us with the way we played.St.Pauli pulled a Werder as they got to the German Cup final,lost and got relegated in the same season.My congrats go to Schalke,Kaiserslautern and Wolfsburg who were the only team to take points off us.This team I have built could easily dominate for the next 7-8 seasons if kept together but I don't see that happening somehow.

Champions League

Winners

We topped a group containing Valencia,Rangers and Dinamo with a 5-1-0 record to top the group with the only points being dropped being in the away game against Rangers.The 1st knockout round saw us push aside Shakhtar 5-0 on aggregate.The quarter final was even more easy as we faced Valencia again and we swept them aside with a 8-0 aggregate victory without really breaking a sweat.The semi-final saw us up against Chelsea and it was a lot more trickier,even though we won the first leg 3-0 it was a lot closer than the scoreline suggested,we lost the second leg 3-2 but that meant we went through to the final with a 5-3 aggregate victory.The final was more comfortable and we should have easily finished them off before we did but I will take it as there is nothing more satisfying then getting one over the opposition in injury time!

Club World Cup

Winners

I fielded a weakened side in the semi-final against as we breezed past Esteghlal 3-1 in a game they rarely threatened.The final was easier than expected against a very good Internacional side who are managed by the 4th best (in regards to hall of fame) manager in history.We won 2-0 and were largely dominant for most of the match,for a team who have won five Copa Libertadores,eight league titles,and four Brazilian cups,I was expecting a more difficult time than it actually was.

German Cup

Winners

This was quite unusual as it normally starts off quite easy and ends difficult,this season saw it start difficult and end very easily.We struggled past 3.Liga side Karlsruhe 3-0 before easing past Rostock 4-0 in the 2nd round.The 3rd round was against Ingolstadt and it was a pretty false scoreline as we won 2-1 but easily could have scored 7 or 8 as we were that dominant.The quarter final was practically the same as the 3rd round as were totally dominant but only score 2 as we beat rivals Leverkusen 2-0.The semi-final saw us demolish Dusseldorf 5-1 in which they were extremely poor in which I was pretty upset with the finishing as we were shocking and should have had double figure.The final itself was the most one sided final I have ever been in,I never expected to win a final of a competition by 9 goals.This meant in 3 games St.Pauli played us in,they conceded 22 goals!

Euro Super Cup

Winners

This was a lot more even than the stats suggested and Marseille made it extremely tough for us to break them down.Although my biggest annoyance came in the form of the referee who did favour Marseille a bit too much for my liking.A late O'Halloran double secured us victory against the 12 men French side much to my relief.Don't think there will be a game this difficult in the Super Cup!

German Super Cup

Winners

Was an extremely easy game and the only annoyance which came from this was Werder's goal as it came from a sloppy defensive mistake.Probably won't get an easier game than this in the German Super Cup.

Players,Stats and Awards

Best XI 22/23 - Overall Best XI

A quick look at the Player Stats for the season.

Top Scorer

Shaun O'Halloran - 84

Is anyone really surprised by this....no...didn't think so.The Englishman continues to gain the praise he fully deserves as he hit a very impressive 84 goals for the season while providing 16 assists and averaging at 8.55 from 53 appearances.The most surprising thing is that he is only regarded as a favoured personnel as I would have swore that with scoring 180 goals in 3 season that he would be slightly higher.His impressive performances this season saw him pick up Fans Player of the Year,Top Scorer and the Golden Ball which is otherwise known as World Player of the Year.Truly deserved by O'Halloran who should become a legend at the club if he can carry on like this.

Most Assists

Saeed Al-Qarni - 30

Al-Qarni topped the assist chart with an impressive 30 in a season where he cemented himself as a key player for us.On top of the 30 assists,he scored 17 goals and averaged at 7.86 which is a very respectable return from the 21 year old.Al-Qarni still has room to improve and it could be quite scary to how good he can actually become in the future.He is already attracting a lot of interest from Barcelona and Manchester City.(Regarded as the two biggest clubs in the world!)

Footballer of the Year

Aldo Godoy

Another sensational season from the guy from Paraguay!Godoy played 49 times,scored 33 goals and provided 25 assists while averaging at 8.09.Without a doubt,I can say that he was definitely a bargain when he cost us £6.75 million and I am quite gutted to be leaving a talent like him at the end of the season.He always tries his hardest and will be a success without me anyway.His performances saw him pick up Footballer of the Year and he really did deserve it.

European Golden Boy

Carles

Carles has been a revelation since we signed him from Barcelona.He was once dubbed the next Puyol and her certainly seems to be living up to those high standards.The Spaniard played 55 times,scored twice and even managed to win Player of the Match five times during the season.His performances saw him win European Golden Boy which is the 2nd successive season that a Bayern Player has won that award.He has also become a regular for the Spanish team and if he can keep on performing like this then I don't see anyone taking his place.

Manager's Thoughts

The best way to finish off my team at Bayern Munich as we completed a clean sweep and finally beat HSV (twice I might add!) which means I can leave with my head held high.We completely stormed things domestically as no one put any sort of challenge.Even on the Champions League front,there was very little resistance as we were very comfortable for most of the competition but our finishing did mess things up at times.The most shocking resistance actually came from Brazil when we faced Internacional in the Club World Cup final but this is Bayern team will probably go down as the greatest team I have put together in FM13 and I doubt it will fall apart too easy unless Bayern hire someone who sells half the team.

Next for me is unknown at this moment at time,the only thing certain is that I will be leaving the club and looking for a new job.Whether it is in North America,South America,Africa,resurrecting a fallen club or raising a club from the bottom is yet to be decided as I don't want to give too much away!

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!

[Dark Demon]

Resurrect Sunderland

[B.W.G]

With that being said,it's time I said Auf Wiedersehen to life in Germany.

Where I end up next,no one actually knows....not even me

[AK22]

A fantastic season to sign off with. Good luck with the job hunt!

[B.W.G]

Cheers fella Nothing so far but things always start to get interesting around October.

[DodgeeD]

Back-to-back clean sweeps!

Good time to move on as well.

[Jason the Yank]

St. Pauli relegated.

[DazRTaylor]

All the best wherever you end up.

With Sunderland not selling out their ground in the EPL, which is embarrassing, what is their average attendance now?

[B.W.G]

DodgeeD - Cheers fella I agree with it was the best time to move on.

Jason the Yank - Always look on the bright side of things,even though they were relegated,they get to play in Europe for being the runner up in the cup

DazRTaylor - Still not sure where I will end up yet!Sunderland's average attendance last season was 19,910.So far in the Blue Square Bet Premier it has been 15,168,SoL still holds 48,707 so it become a pretty empty ground now