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And now for something completely different - toiling in Eastern Europe and Beyond

withnail316

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Good work so far, looks like you've bought in a couple of decent young guys too.
Great bounce back in the league!
Great turnaround in the league.Hopefully you can finish the job off.

Cheers lads. I'm not getting my hopes up yet, but we shall see. I think I've accepted I'm quitting at the end of the season now and moving on to pastures new regardless of what happens. Thoughts?

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March 2015

(Polish Cup QF 1st Leg) GKS Bełchatów 0-1 Lechia Gdansk

A really confident performance, but just a single goal to take back to the second leg. Mitrovic was the man who got it, drilling home from 18 yards.

Lechia Gdansk 4-1 Widzew Łódź

One of our bes league performances of the season, we were magnificent. Michał Żyro scored twice on his return to league football, and Mitrovic scored his second goal in two games. Rafał Wolski with the other.

(Polish Cup QF 2nd Leg) Lechia Gdansk 2-0 Bełchatów

A comfortable win sends us through 3-0 on aggregate, and into the semi finals for third time in 3 seasons. Mitrovic and an OG on the scoresheet.

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April 2015 (part 1)

Piast Gliwice 2-1 Lechia Gdansk

The marathon month begins with two shocking individual errors which cost us all three points. Mitrovic put us in front early on, combining well with Zyro and smashing home his 10th of the season, only for left back Lupu to carelessly give the ball away on the edge of my box for 1-1. Worse was to follow though. Vitas dawdled in possession 6 yards out, had the ball taken off him, and we were behind. A fine followed.

Wisła Kraków 0-2 Lechia Gdansk

A really good performance at Wisła, and Mitrovic again found the net. He put us in front early on, slotting home from 10 yards, and Wszołek made things safe 10 minutes from time.

Jagiellonia 1-1 Lechia Gdansk

A very average performance, but a late Michał Żyro goal ensured we got something from the game. With 11 games left to play, we're 4 points clear at the top.

Lechia Gdansk 1-0 Górnik Zabrze

We didn't play very well here, but Rafał Wolski's strike on the stroke of half time ensured another win.

Lechia Gdansk 2-1 Polonia Warszawa

Another game, another win. Zyro and Mitrovic on the score sheet, although we did suffer a couple of injuries too. Both Savitskiy and Duda will miss the next 7 weeks (so effectively out for the rest of the season).

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April 2015 (part 2)

(Polish Cup SF 1st Leg) Lechia Gdansk 4-0 Cracovia Kraków

This game was played just a day after the Polonia victory, and as a result I changed 9 of the starting 11. However, we were brilliant from the start. Brasanac put us on our way, turning home a Ricardinho cross just before half time, and Grzelczak made it two just after the restart. Ricardinho grabbed our third after great work from Cwielong, and returned the favour in stoppage time to give us one foot in the final.

Lechia Gdansk 0-0 Ruch Chorzów

This was simply too many games in too few days. A really tired performance, but from a squad out on their feet I'm not surprised. Still clinging on to that top spot, but for how much longer?

(Polish Cup SF 2nd Leg) Cracovia Kraków 1-1 Lechia Gdansk

Again it was my second string who took to the field, and again we had enough to ensure we go through with ease. Grzelczak got our goal in stoppage time to see us into our second Cup final.

Pogoń Szczecin 0-3 Lechia Gdansk

An absolutely brilliant performance against a side who normally cause us problems. Wolski, Zyro and Grzelczak the scorers, and this result gives us a little breathing space at the top for good measure.

Zagłębie Lubin 0-0 Lechia Gdansk

Certainly not a good performance, but a point gained I would suggest.

(Polish Cup Final) Lechia Gdansk 1-0 Jagiellonia

A second cup final and a second cup for the trophy cabinet! I'd be lying if I said it was a classic, but a single Mitrovic goal was enough to win my third trophy as Lechia manager. Now I just need to hope I can win the big one...

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Six games left to play...

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May 2015

Lechia Gdansk 1-0 Bełchatów

Once again, it was a fairly average performance from us, but we did enough to get the win. Paweł Wszołek with the goal 6 minutes from time.

Lechia Gdansk 2-0 Śląsk Wrocław

A massive game against one of our main title rivals, and three precious points. Michał Żyro and Machaj the scorers, and we're now so close I can almost taste it.

Legia Warszawa 1-2 Lechia Gdansk

A fantastic victory, especially as we had to play for a while with 10 men thanks to Wolski's red card. Paweł Wszołek was the hero, bagging his 9th and 10th goals of the season.

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Lechia Gdansk 3-1 Cracovia Kraków

A title celebration in our penultimate home game of the season. Machaj, Wszołek and Wolski on the score sheet.

Lech Poznan 3-0 Lechia Gdansk

A disappointing display, but ultimately the game was meaningless. No complaints.

Lechia Gdansk 1-0 Arka Gdynia

Once again, Wszołek was the hero. He's finished the season brilliantly, and his goal here sent nearly 40,000 people crazy.

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CAMPIONES, CAMPIONES, OLE OLE OLE!

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Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk Spółka Akcyjna: Season Summary 2014/15

League

Media prediction: 1st

Finished: 1st (Champions)

Cups

Puchar Polski: Winners

Superpuchar Polski: Winners

Europa League: Qualified for the group stages

Top scorers

Michał Żyro: 34 appearances (33 starts): 14 goals (8 in the Ekstraklasa)

Aleksandar Mitrovic: 35 appearances (25 starts): 13 goals (6 in the Ekstraklasa)

Paweł Wszołek: 46 appearances (44 starts) 12 goals (7 in the Ekstraklasa)

Positives

The Super Cup, the Cup and the Ekstraklasa in the bag, it's been a really good season in the end. When you add in qualification for the group stages of the Europa League, it looks pretty much like a perfect season. Crowds are growing, there's plenty of money in the bank, and the club look to be going places, especially now there's the chance to compete in the Champions League. I've also officially become the club's most successful ever manager too by bringing the title to Gdansk for the first time in the club's history. On a personal note, my reputation is now up to Continental as well, which is perfect as I'll be doing a Mourinho and leaving while on top. OK, it's not the Champions League, but it's not bad either...

Concerns

All my concerns have gone out the window now I've made my decision to quit. Having won a few trophies, I'm hopeful I won't be out of work for too long.

Ambitions

Tough to say as I'm leaving. I'm looking at moving to a top flight club somewhere else in Europe, but I'm open to all offers (other than different clubs in Poland.)

Surprise of the season

The surprise was being under pressure at the start of the season, which ultimately ensured I'd be leaving. I thought I deserved better after two 2nd placed finishes in two years.

Player of the season

TBC

Average attendance

24,603 in the Ekstraklasa (largest in the league)

24,793 in all competitions

Season high attendance- 39,599 (v Arka in the Ekstraklasa)

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One to sleep on, I think. Although the club currently only play in the 18,000 Arena Khimki, they are due to move back to their redeveloped 33,000 all seater stadium next summer, and they have top notch training facilities. Certainly not the biggest club in Russia, but it looks to be a good challenge, and a club I can build up. It's worth noting that the club are debt-free too, and I'd hope expectations shouldn't be too unreasonable, as well.

Having said that, it's my first offer, who knows what other offers there could be... I'll make a decision tomorrow, but if you have any thoughts on it, please let me know.

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Congratulations on a great season, first ever title for the club and the cup as well! An achievement to even make the groups in the Europa League too.

As for Dinamo for some reason I dislike them, not my fav club in Russia (in fact I dislike most Russian clubs for no reason at all which is strange :confused: ), but it definitely would be a challenge, don't think they've won anything in many many years.

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Where are they at in the league? How many games left?

Just curious since they're saying you wouldn't be judged on the league.

Their season has finished, but I got the offer 6 days after quitting Lechia so there's been no time to update the board's requirements. They finished 13th in the league, escaping relegation by 4 points. I think I can do better than that, even if I don't change their squad.

Congratulations on a great season, first ever title for the club and the cup as well! An achievement to even make the groups in the Europa League too.

As for Dinamo for some reason I dislike them, not my fav club in Russia (in fact I dislike most Russian clubs for no reason at all which is strange :confused: ), but it definitely would be a challenge, don't think they've won anything in many many years.

So anywhere but Russia, eh? :) Having had a little look at their (in game) records, they've only won a solitary Russian Cup in the club's history (1995) so it's my type of FM club.

I'd take it. Glad you left Lechia. :)

There's a shock, Rikulec! :) Cheers for your views though, I'm leaning towards taking it too.

Very good offer, surprised you left.

The Lechia board were the problem, I'll be honest. In the early weeks of the season my job was under pressure after a slow start, but considering I'd finished higher than the club had in their history twice in two seasons and won two trophies, I thought that was a bit off. There's also the wage restriction at Lechia. My top earner was on £4,900 (with a maximum limit of £6,500) while a quick look at Dinamo shows me their top earner is on £57,000p/w. That should open up a whole list of players who could make the club European contenders down the line.

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Футбольный клуб Динамо Москва

(Football Club Dynamo Moscow)

(With thanks to Wikipedia)

Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white, and the Club's motto "Power in Motion" had been proposed by Maxim Gorky, the famous Russian/Soviet author who once was an active member of the Dynamo sports society.

Dynamo are the oldest Russian football club and the only one that has always played in the top tier of the Soviet (for the Soviet era – sharing this achievement jointly with Dynamo Kyiv) and the Russian football competitions never being relegated to the lower divisions. Despite this, it has never won today's Russian Premier League title.

Dynamo's greatest achievement in Europe to this day was in the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they reached the final at Camp Nou in Barcelona, losing 3–2 to Scottish side Rangers. This was the first time a Russian side had reached a final in a European competition, until CSKA Moscow won the UEFA Cup in 2005. At the end of the 2008 season, Dynamo finished third, and qualified for the 2009–10 Champions League preliminary round. This was the first time that the club had taken part in the competition, since its re-branding from the European Cup in 1992. On 29 July 2009, Dynamo Moscow recorded an 1–0 away win against Celtic at Celtic Park,[4] which gave them a strong advantage going into the second leg. However, Celtic comfortably defeated Dynamo 2–0 in Moscow to progress,[5] and send them crashing into the Europa League play-off round, where Dynamo were eliminated by Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia after a 0–0 away draw in Sofia, and a 1–2 home defeat in Moscow.

Dynamo's historical rival is Spartak Moscow. Originated in the late 30's, it was the most important game in the Soviet Union for more than three decades, attracting thousands of fans to every game. Ironically on New Year's Day 1936, a combined Dynamo-Spartak team traveled to Paris to face Racing Club de France, then one of Europe's top teams. Shortly after Dynamo clinched the first ever Soviet League by beating Spartak 1:0 in Kharkov, in front of 60.000 spectators. Spartak responded by winning the next championship thus starting one of the biggest sporting and political rivalries in world football. Following Dynamo's decline in the late 70's the heated rivalry has faded. After the collapse of the Soviet Union CSKA Moscow has emerged as Spartak's nemesis. Other rivalries are with CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit St.Petersburg, and most recently with Anzhi Makhachkala.

Their ground used to be the historic Dynamo Stadium (Moscow) (1928) in Petrovsky Park, which seats 36,540. In 2008, it was closed for demolition. It is to be replaced by VTB Arena in 2016, which will have a capacity of 33,000 (adjustable up to 45,000). In the meantime, Dynamo have been sharing Arena Khimki with rivals PFC CSKA Moscow since 2010, as they too are awaiting the completion of their own new stadium.

This is the ground the club play in on my arrival:

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However, next season we'll be in the new stadium...

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On to another first then, I'd never managed in Poland, and this will be my first time in Russia. Looking forward to it!

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Best of luck with Dinamo.It should be quite an entertaining league that's for sure.

Cheers, man. Going to be a tough job to become the top club in such a strong league, but it's more rewarding if you have to work for it. There are at least 6 clubs who are much bigger than Dynamo, so there'll be no instant success here!

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First impressions

Cheers for the well-wishes, lads. I'm back on the case with this after a few days off.

So after taking the job, my first task was to assess what talent we currently have at our disposal. As I said previously, we finished a lowly 13th last season, and indeed we only survived after winning a two legged relegation play off. While I'm pretty certain that I can do better, I'm going to need to strengthen what is a relatively thin squad this summer. Here's the report of one of my staff:

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My intention for this window is to only buy Russian players, largely because there are quite a few foreigners already at the club, and because the Russian league limits the number of non-Russians that can play each week. However, I'm also going to have a look at Lechia and see if I can tempt one or two to join me in Russia.

My plan is to play a similar way to my Lechia tactics, but I guess that depends on how results go. On first appraisal, it would appear this fella is my stand-out player:

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I can tell this board are going to be fun! I've been busy in the transfer market so I've brought in 5 players, and I've not overspent either on transfer fees or on wages. However, when I get to the season's expectations before the season gets underway, the board have cut my wage budget by £120,000p/w, which means I'm now over by £60,000p/w! I had hoped to sign a couple more on frees, but it instead looks as though I'll be releasing players unless I can convince them to extend the wage budget.

I wouldn't mind if the club were skint, but there's more than £22m in the bank and no debts to pay! Infuriating...

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Football Club Dynamo Moscow: Season Preview 2015/16

Media prediction: 10th

Board expectation: safe mid-table position

Unsurprisingly then it's been a busy first month in Moscow. With £10m in my back pocket, I've been out and brought in some quality for the side, although I'm still not thrilled with the depth I have available to me. The board changing the budgets after I'd already signed players was immensely frustrating, although if I can shift Kevin Kuranyi from the club I'll be back under budget. The 33 year old German striker is my 3rd choice front man, and I'd rather keep him if possible, but considering he's on £57,000p/w and I'm over budget, I might just let him go. Indeed, I've already offered him a mutual termination (which he declined) as his contract expires next season, and I might just release him if I have to.

I've not released too many players since I arrived, although Bosnian midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic retired on my arrival (which put £40,000p/w back into the wage budget) and I've also loaned a couple of youngsters out to our feeder club FC Khimki. I'm also going to lose Dutch midfielder Otman Bakkal in July when his contract expires. He's on £20,000p/w, and I simply can't afford to give him a new deal at the moment.

Having complained about the budget, I'm really pleased with the players I've been able to bring in with that £10m. Here's a quick screenshot of my deals so far:

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Of course, Wolski is from my old club and I think he'll be a mainstay of our midfield, but all of those signings should be involved this year. Pablo Domizzi was offered around by his agent, and considering he's only 20 he has the makings of being one of the best strikers in Russia. I'm just hoping he settles, but for £2.4m I think he'll be a star.

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As I'm not too sure of the Russian league on FM I've no idea if we've got enough quality to finish where we need to, but I'm going to try and enjoy it no matter what happens!

Right then, on to the friendlies, and hopefully the board don't get too annoyed about those wages...

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Dzsudzsak is a class player, I was a bit disappointed when he left for the Russian league in real life as I wanted to watch him at a higher level, I expect him to lead your team's dealings in the final third of the pitch. Good luck.

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Some decent buys there, very strange your board cut your finances like that!

It's fair to say I was less than impressed when they did! So much so, I might have had second thoughts about taking the job if I'd known before hand. Frustrating, especially as I HATE being over-budget and I'm currently over by £30,000 a week!

Dzsudzsak is a class player, I was a bit disappointed when he left for the Russian league in real life as I wanted to watch him at a higher level, I expect him to lead your team's dealings in the final third of the pitch. Good luck.

Cheers, man. I hope he's a star. I think I need to get in a few more Russian players before the window closes, but it's tough thanks to my budget problems.

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Well, I was going to come into this, but I've had a crash dump during my third match. Luckily I've still got a file from the day I resigned at Lechia, so I'll just pick that up and see where I go. Hopefully I can go back to Moscow, but firstly I'll holiday a bit and make sure it's not a date specific issue.

Fingers crossed...

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OK, well I've gone from my resignation date, although I was unable to get the same job in Moscow... I'm now in a completely different league, but I'm pretty excited about this job too.

All to be revealed in the next post.

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Football Club Chornomorets Odesa

(With thanks to Wikipedia)

FC Chornomorets Odesa is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Odessa. The club's home ground is the 34,164-seat Chornomorets Stadium opened in 1935 and rebuilt in 2011. During the reconstruction (2009-2011), the team played in the 4,610-seat Spartak Stadium. The club was officially formed in 1936 as Dynamo, but after a number of name and management changes, it emerged under its current name in 1958.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Odessa, within limits of Shevchenko Park, a construction started of what was supposed to become a lake. However, after the trench for the lake was dug out, the funding stopped and so did the construction. Soon the hole began to serve as a field for one of city's non-league teams. As the hole resembled a shape of the Black Sea, that was the nickname given to the field, and the team was named Chornomorets, which means "Black Sea man". And although that team is unrelated to the today's club, it was the first team in Odessa to play under that name.

The club was a founding member of the Ukrainian Premier League, winning the Ukrainian Cup and finishing 5th in the inaugural 1992 season. Chornomorets finished 3rd the next two seasons and 2nd during the following two seasons. They also won another domestic Cup in 1994. The club’s most successful spell was achieved under the guidance of Viktor Prokopenko, and later under Leonid Buryak. At the end of the 1997–98 season, following big financial troubles and the sale of a number of leading players, the club was relegated to the First League.

The club finished 13th in the league last year, but with 20,000 season ticket holders, it's definitely a club I can look to build.

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I've taken over the club on the 2nd July so I've only got 8 days before the start of the season. I've got a bit of a budget to play with and two months left of the transfer window, so I've plenty of time to decide what I'm going to do. Luckily, all the board expect is a mid-table finish so there's very little pressure. Looking forward to getting into this now.

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