[FM15] Where the Heck's It Gone? A hunt for lost glories...

[DodgeeD]

AS Magenta 2024 Season Review

Quick Overview

Division d’Honneur: 1^st (CHAMPIONS!!)

League Results

Coupe de Nouvelle-Calédonie: Winners!!

Cup Results

O-League: Finalists

Continental Results

Review

Business as usual domestically as we were top from matchday three onwards and we reclaimed the cup after last year’s shock early exit. We made it to the final of the O-League but Auckland City were simply too good for us. Still, that meant decent prize money and good experience for my young guns.

Key Players

Arthur Blanc YP8b (GK) – Developing nicely. As domestic games are quite easy, I made him our penalty taker just for fun and he bagged seven goals.

Thibaud Rosseau YP9d (DRL) – Did well to come back from injury and reclaim his place in the team.

Samuel Lacroix YP10e (MC/AMC) – The one that nearly got away turned out to be a very useful player in the central playmaker role. Still cheekily refusing semi-pro terms however..

Mickael Christmann YP9b (AMR) – Fantastic pace and acceleration helped this youngster break the goalscoring record (despite his shocking finishing attribute). Fans’ Player of the Season.

Yannick Lemoine YP8d (AML) – Was having a great season until he suffered a torn calf muscle. His performances in the O-League particularly stood out.

Amaury Joly YP10a (AMC/ST) – Fantastic debut season. Played equally well in the striker and attacking midfield roles and ended up with 14 goals and 13 assists.

Ones to watch

This guy has been with us for a couple of seasons already but he’s staking a claim to be a first tem regular now:

Jean-Pierre Soulier YP8e (AMR/ST) – work to be done on the technical side but pace and stamina make him effective at this level.

Youth Intake

Just the one standout player this season (also the HoYD’s pick):

Daniel Marguet YP11a (MC/AMC) – we don’t really need another central midfielder so game time may be an issue but looks like he could develop nicely into the advanced playmaker central midfield role.

Transfers

There does not seem to be anyone out there in New Caledonia who can add something to the team so this is turning into an unintended youth project!

The Season Ahead...

It’s all about the O-League now. Can we match the New Zealand clubs or is it going to be the frustration of only progressing until we go head-to-head with one of them?

[DodgeeD]

2025 International Update

After all those U23 jobs, time for a senior management role.

Ivory Coast had a miserable African Cup of Nations in January, flopping out at the group stage after a shocking 5-0 loss to Senegal in their final game. I have been brought in to ensure qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico. When I saw that our second round group consisted of Burkina Faso, Central African Republic and Zimbabwe, I thought reaching the final play-off round would be no problem. What I had failed to notice, however, was the fact that the qualifying process had already begun and my new team had already capitulated to Burkina at home, leaving little room for error over the remaining games:

[DodgeeD]

2025 AS Magenta Update

I'm skipping the traditional season preview for reasons that will become apparent later...

First an update on the 2025 O-League:

Group Stage

This was fairly straightforward. We got lucky by not only avoiding the NZ sides but also drawing the qualifying team Atu'u Broncos of American Samoa. We beat them 1-0 in our first game before heading to Fiji to record an easy 3-1 win over Ba. That meant our last match with Tafea was a formality. We won 3-2 though I was disappointed with our late collapse as we blew a three goal lead.

Group Tables

Semi-final

Ah. For the first time, we drew one of the New Zealand clubs in the semis. Canterbury United would be our opponents and they would dispatch us with ease, winning both legs 3-1. We were nowhere near beating them and that would influence events to follow...

Leg 1 | Leg 2

If my sole aim was to progress an Oceanic side as much as possible, I may have kept plugging away... but this is a journeyman career and I don't want to stay tied down for too long... Job offers arose as seasons elsewhere in the world came to an end and soon after this semi-final defeat, I would be on my way...

I leave AS Magenta again established as the top club in New Caledonia, well on their way to a fifth consecutive domestic title. Here are the results from 2025 before I moved on:

AS Magenta Results

[Lenzar]

What's with the points in the league? 15 wins and 5 draws should be 50 points.

[DodgeeD]

What's with the points in the league? 15 wins and 5 draws should be 50 points.

One of the curiosities of the New Caledonian system: 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, and 1 for merely turning up.... When you think about it, that makes absolutely no difference!

[DodgeeD]

May 2025 Career Move: In Search of Glory...

Once Magenta were out of the O-League my itchy feet kept taking me to the job centre page. With seasons elsewhere coming to an end, positions started to pop up and it was the ones in Australia that caught my eye. I applied to Adelaide Utd, a post the media saw me as a leading candidate for. AS Magenta offered to renogotiate my deal but then refused all of my suggestions furthering my resolve to leave.

Alas, in the meantime, Adelaide went for another manager. That decision, however, would open another door as they employed the boss of another A-League team. I swooped and one interview later:

Perth Glory have had some success since the beginning of my career, taking the A-League finals on two occasions:

My goal will be to aim for the AFC Champions League.

[DodgeeD]

May 2025 Update: A Glory-ous Beginning

A surprise awaited my arrival in Perth. I managed AS Magenta for the final time on May 17th, accepting the job offer from Perth Glory the same day. It was only after I arrived that I realised my new team had actually made the A-League Final, the previous manager having taken his new job days before the big game.

Within 24 hours of starting the job, I would lead my team out for the final against Melbourne Victory! And what a start it was...

AFC Champions League, here we come!

[deltablue]

One of the curiosities of the New Caledonian system: 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, and 1 for merely turning up.... When you think about it, that makes absolutely no difference!

Derby would have done a heck of a lot better in 2007/08 under that rule I remember reading that Greece was one of the first countries to introduce 3 points for a win because so many losing teams were storming off the pitch that they bumped up draws and wins to introduce a point for losing and actually staying for the entire match.

[DodgeeD]

Perth Glory 2025/26 Season Preview

Club Overview

Stadium: Perth Oval

Capacity: 20,500 (16,950 seats)

Season Ticket Holders: 5,010

Average Attendance (2024/25): 12,282

Impressive numbers compared to the clubs I’ve managed so far!

The Manager

Profile

Current reputation: Continental (-)

Coaching qualifications: Continental Pro Licence

I have retained my continental rep despite now managing on a much larger continent, which is nice.

Expectations

Media Prediction: 5th

Board Expectations: A-League – easily qualify from Regular Season, be competitive in Finals Series; FFA Cup – not important; AFC Champions League – be competitive

The squad needs some work but I think the media prediction is realistic.

Facilities

Training Facilities: Average

Youth Facilities: Poor

Junior Coaching: Excellent

Youth Recruitment: Above average

As the board want me to play youngsters in the first team, I will push hard to get those facilities improved.

Finances

Balance: €2,138,034

Annual sponsorship income: €2.07m

Transfer budget: €1.13m

Wage budget: €47,829 p/w

Current wage bill: €37,860 p/w

The budgets are decent and finances appear stable. Judging by the graph, we will lose money steadily throughout the season and then recoup it all through sponsorship and prize money. There is a squad salary cap system in place of €36,000 per week for registered first team players (youth player wages don’t count). We can also sign ‘Marquee’ players above the salary cap but I haven’t found anyone worth a punt yet. The transfer window is open until October so there is still time.

Transfers

Scouting range: No restrictions

2025/6 Pre-season Transfer History

The squad was in need of a serious overhaul with a great lack in depth. Many of the signings are squad players to give us decent options or young players whom I will play in the youth team or loan out for now (including a swoop for some YPs from AS Magenta). I expect the following guys to appear in the first team:

Tiago Noguiera (GK) – the best GK here when I arrived had a 1* rating so this guy’s 4* makes him the automatic number 1.

Scott Fletcher (AML/ST) – decent Scottish striker who should do well in this league despite having not made the cut at Celtic.

Connor Wickham (AMR/ST) – I am hoping this guy will have an Indian summer having spent the last few years in the Championship and League 1.

Lee Ki-Woong (AMRC) – as with most Asian leagues, three foreigners from anywhere in the world are allowed plus one additional Asian player and the unfortunately named South Korean is mine.

Youth Player Update

The youth players surprisingly came through in pre-season (September 13^th) and this guy was singled out by the HoYD:

Darko Petrovic YP12a (DR) – we had no decent back-up for our first choice right back so this kid will do!

[DodgeeD]

October 2025 Perth Glory Update

Deadline Day Dealings

It seems the transfer window in the A-League runs longer than its European counterpart, right up to late October in fact...

Just as well as we had a terrible start to the season (one draw and three defeats in our opening four games) and I needed to make some late additions.

The only problem was that I was at my limit of four foreigners and the only Australian players available were too expensive or not very good... However, I had found some room to play with in the squad due to two unfortunate events: one of our foreign stars was a 34-year old Brazilian striker by the name of Bruno Veiga. He had had a decent if not spectacular pre-season but disaster struck when he tore a calf muscle in the final friendly game; then there was Connor Wickham - awful in pre-season, on the bench for the first three matches and then immediately complaining about lack of first team football.

Those two would be out of the final squad (though I did feel bad for Veiga as it was an injury that ruled him out) and I would go shopping for these two:

Miguel Padilla (DL) - a Mexican available on a free. Just what we needed as the only other left-back in the first team had been complaining about lack of competition for places.

Donavan Morin (MC/AMC/ST) - this French youngster cost €120k from Nice and should add some much needed creativity to our attack.

That means our final transfer dealings look like this: Summer 2025 Transfer History

I didn't realise until it was too late that any players not registered for the first team automatically have their contracts cancelled. For Wickham and Veiga, that was no problem as they were finished at the club anyway but I couldn't help but feel bad for the youngsters I had brought with my from new Caledonia. I had just assumed they would play in the reserves or go out on loan but now they are without a club...

[DodgeeD]

October 2025 International Update

CAF World Cup Qualifying Second Round

With two games already played when I took over, I had to keep pacewith Burkina Faso and then hope we could beat them in the final gameto make it to the final play-off round. Luckily, we had two matches with Central African Republic to play, the weakest team in the group by far. My first match in charge was a tremendous 7-1 win over them to send out a clear message that we were back in business. CAR picked themselves up and promptly beat Burkina Faso a few days later giving us a great chance to go top. We blew it, alas, as we drew 1-1 at home with Zimbabwe...

Fast forward a few months and CAR would once again oblige us with an easy win as we beat them 4-1 at home. Zimbabwe did us a huge favour by handing a second consecutive defeat to Burkina to send us top going into the final game. That game did not start well as we went behind after 11 minutes but we rallied and eventually stormed into the next round with an emphatic 6-1 victory!

That left the final group table looking like this:

Our next qualifying match comes when I next load the game up away to Algeria with the home leg of this winner takes all tie coming in November.

[Dev'o]

Loving the series. Perth Glory is my hometown club, so do them justice!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Can Cape Verde still qualify?

[DodgeeD]

Loving the series. Perth Glory is my hometown club' date=' so do them justice![/quote']I will try my best. Never been to Australia myself but I have a cousin who lives in Perth so I was looking out for a job opening here at some point.

Can Cape Verde still qualify?

Alas, no. They were eliminated in the second round group phase and didn't look close to qualifying:

A quick check reveals they are currently ranked 71st in the world. They made it to the final play-off round in qualification for Russia 2018 but were beaten by my current employers Ivory Coast. They reached the Cup of Nations twice (2015 and 2019) but lost all three group matches on both occasions.

[DodgeeD]

2025 International Review

Quick Overview

CAF World Cup Qualifying: Won in Third Round to qualify!!

Results:

World Ranking (Dec 2025)

Rankings Graph

Considering that the result which prompted the firing of the old boss and my appointment was a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Senegal in the African Cup of Nations, I'd say that these results represent a pretty decent bounceback! The only defeat came in a friendly in Poland but we played well so no complaints there. Our place in the World Cup was secured with two impressive wins over Algeria (Leg 1 | Leg 2) - Mexico, here we come!

Speaking of which, the draw has been made:

Could we sneak into second place?

[DodgeeD]

A quick update on Perth Glory as we enter the second half of the season:

The signings have done the trick and we now look set to reach the Finals Series. We will have to juggle our remaining league fixtures with continental action though as the AFC Champions League draw has been made.

I expect Suwon will win the group with Gamba probably favourites for second. We will aim to beat Buriram and pick up any other points we can but I am not expecting a great deal with the thin squad we have at this stage.

One a lighter note, I got very excited when I saw this agent offer:

Then I did the maths and realised the Cristiano Ronaldo must have long since retired. It turned out to be this guy, who frankly isn't worth one of my four foreign player slots:

Ronald'oh!

[Adelaidean]

Great read! Good luck here in Aus

The salary cap rules can make the Asian Champions League a bit of an uphill battle, as you'll inevitably be up against the cashed-up clubs of China and the Middle-East. The foreign player slots are very important, but Australian club facilities are fairly good and youth quality is decent. Your signings look good though; best of luck!

[dllu]

Then I did the maths and realised the Cristiano Ronaldo must have long since retired. It turned out to be this guy, who frankly isn't worth one of my four foreign player slots

If my maths are correct he was born while Ronaldo was at Man Utd, so maybe his parents just have really poor taste in names...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Who else reached the World Cup?

[DodgeeD]

Perth Glory 2025/26 Season Review

Quick Overview

A-League (Regular Season): 4^th

A-League Finals Series: Semi-finalists

League Results 1 | League Results 2

FFA Cup: 1^st Round

AFC Champions League: Group Stage

Cup & Continental Results

Review

A decent first full season. After a poor start, the new signings made the difference as we moved into a play-off spot by the halfway point and stayed there. We were never really close to getting into the top three and a leaky defence is something that will need to be addressed in the summer. I was happy to make the semis but disappointed that we ended up going out on penalties to Central Coast Mariners, especially when you consider how we dominated the game.

All in all, a good season which saw me named as the A-League Manager of the Year.

The cups were dismal – 1^st round exit domestically (albeit to fellow A-Leaguers Sydney FC while most of my first team were still on holiday); even worse in the Champions League as we only managed a win in our final game at home to Buriram.

Key Players

Paul Slater (DRC) – Great young prospect who has been watched by the Australia boss a few times.

Douglas Walsh (MC/AMC) – The best of the squad I inherited with plenty of commanding performances in midfield.

Donovan Morin (MC/AMC/ST) – Played consistently well whether he was in midfield or attack and finished the season as the top scorer in the league.

Lee Ki-Woong (AMRC) – Fantastic creative force on the wings. I’m hoping he gets a call-up for South Korea to boost our merchandising sales!

Scott Fletcher (AML/ST) – After failing to make a single appearance in four years at Celtic, the young Scot Scott was a revelation for us with plenty of goals from the left side of our attack..

Paul Kosima (AMR/ST) – Scored some important match winners, enough so to be named Fans’ Player of the Year.

One to watch

This guy has been with us for a couple of seasons already but he’s staking a claim to be a first tem regular now:

Martin Downes (MC/AMC) – looked promising in the games he played, providing more than adequate cover for our first choice midifielders.

Youth Intake

This takes place in the Aussie pre-season so I will now feature youth products in my season previews.

Transfers

Transfer Summary - Morin, Ki-Woong and Fletcher were the standout additions. I now need to bring in the best Australian talent I can find to shore up the defence.

The Season Ahead...

I am not expecting to win anything just yet (despite having won the A-League in my first match in charge last year, of course) but I will be looking to trouble the sides in the top two a bit more. Our performance this season was enough to make the qualifying rounds of the AFC Champions League so I’ll be looking for a better showing there than this year’s dismal displays.

[DodgeeD]

Great read! Good luck here in Aus

The salary cap rules can make the Asian Champions League a bit of an uphill battle, as you'll inevitably be up against the cashed-up clubs of China and the Middle-East. The foreign player slots are very important, but Australian club facilities are fairly good and youth quality is decent. Your signings look good though; best of luck!

There was a definite gulf in quality between us and Suwon and Gamba in our group. I am hoping I can find some decent domestic talent (a blend of young guns and homecoming veterans most likely) over the next couple of seasons so we can step up.

If my maths are correct he was born while Ronaldo was at Man Utd, so maybe his parents just have really poor taste in names...

Could have been worse - they might have called him Kleberson!

Who else reached the World Cup?

Coming up in the next update

[DodgeeD]

Mexico 2026 Preview

Here is the draw for the Group Stage in full:

Apart from Groups E, F, and H, they seem quite tough to call in terms of who is going to qualify for round 2. If we can get through our group, there's a strong chance we will end up facing England.

Our build up has been decent:

Obviously, the Spain result was not so great but our end-of-season friendlies saw us put in some good performances with two very solid wins away to Denmark and Norway.

If we are to do well, the following players will have to perform:

Jonathan Tah (DC) - national captain, a regular for Arsenal and one of our most experienced players.

Kuadio Demel (DL) - the Roma left-back has the highest rating from my backroom staff.

Moussa Diakité (DC/DM/MC) - the Benfica man was one of the best performers in the qualifying rounds.

Kevin Kaboré (MC) - at €37m, he is the highest valued player in the squad. Coming off the back of a good season at West Ham, expectations are high.

Oliver Meite (AML/ST) - a Spurs regular but don't hold that against him! Easily our main goal scoring threat.

Mexico, here we come!

[DodgeeD]

International Review - Ivory Coast at the 2026 World Cup

Group C, Matchday 1 v. Italy

We had our toughest game first. At worst, it would be out of the way but there was also a chance to pull off an early upset... In the end, neither happened but we put in a very good showing, coming back from a goal down to take the lead with seven minutes to go thanks to a brace from Sanogo. Our lead wouldn't last long as the Italians immediately equalised but in the end I think 2-2 was a fair result. It was certainly a boost to our chances of qualifying for the second round.

Group C, Matchday 1 v. Sweden

The Swedes were top after easily beating Costa Rica in their opener. However, they would not have an easy time here as Diaby gave us an early lead and then scored a second just before half-time. Alas, the big win did not come as Sweden came out for the second half fired up, no doubt after a hefty dose of half-time hair-dryer treatment. They pulled on back to rattle us and just as it looked like we had taken the momentum out of the game, they scored a equaliser in the 82nd minute and we had another 2-2 draw. An opportunity missed...

Group C, Matchday 1 v. Costa Rica

The good news was that with Italy and Sweden playing each other, a win in our final game would put us through no matter what. We dominated from the outset but we were wasting a worrying amount of chances to score. Eventually, a penalty gave us the breakthrough but we failed to capitalise. We were then caught by a counter attack just before the hour mark. With Italy beating Sweden that meant we had to win. We threw everything forward but the ball would just not go into the back of the net. It finished 1-1 meaning we were unbeaten but ultimately came up short in the group:

The FA were not happy as they had expected us to reach the second round. As we had only narrowly missed out and I had rescued the qualifying campaign (when the FA only expected us to reach the final play-off round) I figured I would make up for it with a good crack at the Cup of Nations the following January. Alas, my employers had other ideas:

Come on! 'Awful recent performances' is a bit much! Still, there will be other World Cups in this career, I am sure.

[DodgeeD]

Mexico 2026 Round-Up

The rest of the groups played out as follows:

No big shocks though Ecuador and South Korea did well to top their groups.

The knockout rounds went as follows:

2026 World Cup Final

At least we can say we held the eventual champions to a draw!

[DodgeeD]

I initially told myself to take a break from international management but then temptation came in the form of job offers as other nations fired their managers following disappointment in Mexico.

Tunisia offered a tempting way to potentially make it to the African Cup of Nations anyway and hopefully outperform my previous employers in the process but I didn't fancy a return to African action so soon. Uruguay were an interesting alternative especially as the host the next Copa America but a year of friendlies beforehand did not appeal.

Just as it seemed nothing would come up, I spied one more opportunity in the job centre:

There are currently two games to go in the qualification pool with the table looking like this:

One point will secure a spot in the play-off round. As my first game in charge is against Kazakhstan, I'd say we have a very good chance of making it

[DodgeeD]

Perth Glory 2026/27 Season Preview

Club Overview

Stadium: Perth Oval

Capacity: 20,500 (16,950 seats)

Season Ticket Holders: 5,149 (up 139)

Average Attendance (2025/26): 12,180 (down 102)

We don’t own the stadium so not much chance of improvements. It would be nice to get some more fans in though.

The Manager

Profile

Current reputation: Continental (-)

Coaching qualifications: Continental Pro Licence

No changes here though I do now have my first personal accolade as reigning A-League Manager of the Year.

Expectations

Media Prediction: 2nd

Board Expectations: A-League – easily qualify from Regular Season, be competitive in Finals Series; FFA Cup – not important; AFC Champions League – be competitive

I’m not sure why our media prediction has jumped up to 2^nd, but the board expectations are the same as last season and once again should be attainable.

Facilities

Training Facilities: Average

Youth Facilities: Poor

Junior Coaching: Exceptional (up from excellent)

Youth Recruitment: Above average

Improvements were approved but then cancelled due to lack of funds.

Finances

Balance: €658,351 (down €1,479,683)

Annual sponsorship income: €2.47m (up €400k)

Transfer budget: €1.03m (down €100k)

Wage budget: €49,543 p/w (up €1.7k)

Current wage bill: €36,578 p/w (down €1,282)

The drop in the balance is a bit of a worry but there has been a rise in sponsorship and the wage bill has dropped a little so we should be able to avoid plunging into massive debt.

Transfers

Scouting range: No restrictions

2026/7 Pre-season Transfer History

I brought in some young Australians to provide back-up to the first team. I managed to bag two central defenders as well, both of whom I expect to be my first choice:

Max Harvey (DC) – despite being a regular for Melbourne Victory, he was allowed to leave when his contract ended so we swooped to get him on a free.

Matthew Sadaka (DC) – this took a long-time to negotiate both in terms of fee and player contract but it’s quite a coup as we bring a young player who was playing regularly for Reading in the Championship and has just broken into the national side to the A-League.

Youth Player Update

In our pre-season intake, this guy was singled out by the HoYD:

Michael Migliaccio YP13a (MC/AMC) – not really a position we needed an extra player for and not a great intake so I have low expectations for this one!

[deltablue]

Lost to Italy on penalties again

[Dev'o]

Some good signings there. Hopefully Max Harvey shores up that leaky defence.

[Nobby_McDonald]

A little harsh that you got sacked without even losing a match at the World Cup.

[DodgeeD]

Lost to Italy on penalties again

Who says this game isn't realistic?

A little harsh that you got sacked without even losing a match at the World Cup.

I know! Especially annoying as when I took over the FA didn't even expect me to qualify

Some good signings there. Hopefully Max Harvey shores up that leaky defence.

The new defenders are settling in well. Our goalie has improved a lot and we have good full-backs. Now with Harvey and Sadaka in the middle we are a lot tighter in defence

[DodgeeD]

2026 International Review: Croatia U21s

Quick Overview

Euro U21 Qualifying: Qualified

Results:

We qualified in some style, securing top spot in our group in my first match in charge before losing a (for us) meaningless match in Romania. The play-off draw was kind, pairing us with Slovenia U21s. The tie was pretty much over in the first leg as we strolled to a 4-0 win. That was nothing, however, compared to the second leg. We conceded early on but then proceeded to take control going into the break 3-2 up and the destroying our hosts in the second half as we ran out 7-2 winners on the night, 11-2 on aggregate.

The friendlies towards the end of the year were a disappointment. In a way, we were victims of our own success as several of the youngsters were called up to the senior side. Hopefully, they will be made available for the tournament next summer.

Speaking of which, the draw for the 2027 UEFA U21 Championship is as follows:

Quite a tough draw but we'll see how it goes!

[DodgeeD]

Meanwhile, back at Perth Glory...

Pretty much the toughest draw available in the Asia East pool - one Chinese club, a Korean club and a Japanese club too... We'll see how it goes though as our league form is good, confidence is high and we beat Beijing FC away in the qualifying round to get here.

[DodgeeD]

And another quick update as we enter the final few games of the A-League regular season:

Great form has seen us breakaway at the top of the table and with 20 of 27 matches played, we have already guaranteed our spot in the Finals Series.

Our form has been so impressive that the board made an early move to get me to sign a new contract. A nice pay raise means I am set to stay until May 2029 at least.

[deltablue]

Looks like an interesting group.

[Dev'o]

Oh Tony Sage, throwing the money around.

[DavidBeckham]

Running away at the top and congrats on the new contract

[DodgeeD]

Ah, that time of year again... FM16 ads on Steam are tempting me but I am trying to turn that temptation to buy into desire to play by getting back into this save. Still work to do down under!

[DodgeeD]

I will see if I can hold out until the new game goes on sale and patched have been released. Anyway, I haven't won a single continental trophy in this career yet!

Perth Glory 2026/27 Season Review

Quick Overview

A-League (Regular Season): 1st

A-League Finals Series: Semi-finalists

League Results 1 | League Results 2

FFA Cup: Semi-finalists

AFC Champions League: Qualified for quarter-finals

Cup Results | Asian Champions League Results

Review

After an opening day loss, we went unbeaten for the rest of the season, running away with the league top spot. Frustratingly, we came unstuck in the play-offs as we went out on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle Jets.

The cup was a similar story – unbeaten but eliminated in the semis on penalties by Sydney.

In both cases, there was the extra annoyance of having soundly beaten those teams in the league just a few matches earlier.

After being woefully out of our depth last season, we performed well in the Asian Champions League, only losing once to Suwon. We even went and beat them in Korea in the final match but just missed out on top spot on head-to-head results.

Group Table

In the second round, we took on and easily beat domestic rivals Melbourne Victory. We will clash with Suwon once again when the competition resumes at the quarter-final stage in August.

Despite missing out on the Finals Series, I was once again named as the A-League Manager of the Year.

Key Players

Matthew Sadaka (DC) – Our signing from Reading did what was expected, shoring up the defence and becoming a regular in the national side.

Max Harvey (DC) – The free signing from Melbourne Victory proved to be a key player.

Donovan Morin (MC/AMC/ST) – In great form again but missed the last few weeks with injury. We missed his cutting edge in those semif-finals…

Lee Ki-Woong (AMRC) – A fantastic season as he finished with the A-League Golden Boot and Player of the Year awards, and he’s not even a striker!

Mark Vucovic (AMC/ST) – Started to fufill his potential, especially in ACL matches. Won the National Young Player of the Year and A-League Young Player of the Year awards.

Scott Fletcher (AML/ST) – Another great season even brought the Scotland manager down to Perth to check on his progress!

Paul Kosima (AMR/ST) – Another great season with many key goals and call-ups to the Australia squad.

Ones to watch

Two midfielders who did a good job when called upon:

Ryan Bartlett (MC/AMC) – mainly cover but stepped up and proved his worth once Morin got injured.

Martin Downes YP12c (MC/AMC) – another decent season of cover from the youngster.

Youth Intake

This takes place in the Aussie pre-season so I will now feature youth products in my season previews.

Transfers

Sadaka and Harvey provided the steel we needed in defence. I am happy with the squad at present and will only sign players in the off season if an unexpected opportunity comes up.

The Season Ahead...

I have to aim for the Finals Series title next time out. I doubt we will get past Suwon in the ACL as they are the top team on the continent but I will be looking to challenge in the 2028 competition.

[DodgeeD]

Almost forgot - to add the the sweep of individual awards, Nogueira won the A-League Goalkeeper of the Year.

[DodgeeD]

International Update: Croatia U21s at the UEFA U21 Championship

Hosts: Ireland

Holders: Holland U21s

Group Stage

With holders Holland and perennial favourites Germany in our group, I didn't fancy our chances much. However, I was to be pleasantly surprised. An opening high-paced affair with the Dutch ended 2-2 and could have easily been 5-5. We then turned in a superb performance to overcome Belgium 4-1 while Holland beat Germany, leaving us needing just a point in our final game to go through. We went one better grabbing a 2-1 win with a stoppage time goal. With Holland and Belgium playing out a draw, that was enough to put us top of the group and set up a semi-final clash with England!

Semi-finals

I did not have high hopes here as we had recently lost twice to England in friendlies. Alas, there was no pleasant surprise this time as we were outclassed and deservedly lost 3-0. I doubt we would have had much luck in the other semi as France trounced Holland. England would go onto win the tournament.

After the tournament, I looked at our upcoming fixtures - Malta, Cyprus, Estonia and Scotland in qualifying for the 2029 championship and I just didn't fancy it. With a nation like Croatia, any decent youngsters get called up to the first team early so there would have been little chance of winning anything...

My decision was made easier by a few jobs that came up after the summer's international tournaments in North and South America. Chile was tempting as was Honduras but in the end I decided to opt for...

...the Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago.

Ranked 119th in the world and in need of a boost after finishing bottom of their Gold Cup group, my immediate challenge is to negotiate the early rounds of CONCACAF world cup qualifying against Grenada.

[DodgeeD]

Perth Glory 2027/28 Season Preview

Club Overview

Stadium: Perth Oval

Capacity: 20,500 (16,950 seats)

Season Ticket Holders: 5,281 (up 132)

Average Attendance (2026/27): 14,341 (up 2,161)

We don’t own the stadium so not much chance of improvements. Attendances are climbing steadily.

The Manager

Profile

Current reputation: Continental (-)

Coaching qualifications: Continental Pro Licence

No changes here – big step up to worldwide rep however.

Expectations

Media Prediction: 1st

Board Expectations: A-League – win Regular Season, be competitive in Finals Series; FFA Cup – not important; AFC Champions League – quarter-finals

We now have the favourites tag in the league and more is expected in the ACL – time to deliver!

Facilities

Training Facilities: Average

Youth Facilities: Poor

Junior Coaching: Exceptional

Youth Recruitment: Above average

No changes here due to lack of….

Finances

Balance: €-122,406 (down €780,757)

Annual sponsorship income: €2.49m (up €200k)

Transfer budget: €1.28m (up €250k)

Wage budget: €56,207 p/w (up €6.7k)

Current wage bill: €38,456 p/w (up €1,878)

Oops! We usually end a season indebt but then go back into the black thanks to prize money and sponsorship revenue. This time that hasn’t happened… Two sponsorship deals (main kit and continental) only have a year to run so hopefully there will be an increase next time.

Transfers

Scouting range: No restrictions

2027/8 Pre-season Transfer History

Having realised too late that I was letting my HoYD sign player son youth contracts, I culled the bloated U20 squad, releasing anyone with a PA of 3* or fewer. Only one arrival, introduced below:

Daniel McCann (AMRC/ST) – the main goalscorer in the Aussie national side and a product of the Melbourne Heart youth system. Out of contract, he left Melbourne and was available on a free. A deal was duly offered and accepted and we now have one of the hottest domestic talents available!

Youth Player Update

Only one guy worth signing this year and he’s yet another central midfielder:

George Gatt YP14a (MC/AMC) – another central midfielder! Looks better than YP13 at least.

[DodgeeD]

October 2027 International Update: CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

It was a case of straight into action in my new international job as the first two rounds of World Cup Qualifying got underway. These would consist of two-legged knockout ties between the smaller Caribbean and Central American players before the third round group stage. The T&T FA expected me to successfully navigate the knockout ties and reach the group stage.

1st Round v. Grenada

I was not sure what to expect from these first games. I had expected to be able to call upon a couple of players from the English leagues but no luck - my squad would be picked entirely from the domestic leagues (added as an edit file to my game). It was soon apparent that we would win the match and we were 3-0 up before 60 minutes. We caused some concern for ourselves by conceding a late goal but in the second leg took an early lead to silence the home fans. Eventually, that game finished 1-1 and we advanced 4-2 on aggregate.

2nd Round v. Cuba

The first leg was in Havana and I seriously worried my Caribbean adventure would not be lasting long. 3-0 down at half-time, it looked like we were on our way out. A few choice words during the break fired my boys up and we got a goal back to give us a fighting chance back in Port of Spain. We scored early on there and never looked back, eventually winning 4-1 on the night, 5-4 on aggregate.

Third Round Draw

This is where the big boys of the region come in. If we could avoid Mexico, U.S.A, and Costa Rica we might have a chance of progressing...

Yikes! We got two of the top three nations in CONCACAF as well as Surinam, who beat T&T in the Gold Cup just before I took over... and we start with Mexico away.

[DodgeeD]

2027 International Review: Trinidad & Tobago

Quick Overview

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying: Reached Third Round Group Phase (on-going)

Results:



World Ranking (Dec 2027)



Rankings Graph

A decent start though our away form is a worry. In reaching the third round, we have met expectations but qualifying will be a tough ask. At least we recovered quickly from our thrashing by Mexico to win against Surinam, a side that had beaten us just a few months earlier in the Gold Cup. Costa Rica's win over Mexico complicates things as we would now have to beat Mexico at home to stand a chance of going through... I shall focus on 2028's Caribbean Cup and breaking into the world top 100 instead.

Here's the current qualifying table:

[DodgeeD]

A quick final update for the weekend to bring you up to speed on Perth Glory.

Alas, we could not beat Suwon in the ACL quarter-finals, succumbing to 2-1 defeats in both legs.

For the 2028 competition, our group looks like this:

No Suwon this time and I would expect to get out of that group.

In the league, we are way out in front and have already qualified for the Finals Series with 9 games to play:

More frustration in the FFA Cup as penalties are again what costs us, this time in the final. (We would beat Melbourne Victory 4-1 away in the league just a couple of weeks later).

And finally a job interview offer out of the blue. It's not time to make such a big move yet but nice to know I'm wanted

[Nobby_McDonald]

Bit of a ******* of a qualifying draw.

[DodgeeD]

Perth Glory 2027/28 Season Review

Quick Overview

A-League (Regular Season): 1st

A-League Finals Series: Runners-up



A-League Results 1 | A-League Results 2

FFA Cup: Runners-up

Cup Results

2027 AFC Champions League: Quarter-finalists

2028 AFC Champions League: Reached quarter-finalists (to be played next season)

Continental Results

Review

A season that was great and frustrating in equal measure: great that we dominated the league; frustrating that we lost the cup final and the Finals Series on penalties.

Extra-frustrating as two penalty eliminations in a row mean we are also unbeaten in the cup for more than two years now. Extra-double-frustrating that we lost on penalties to Newcastle, who scraped into the play-offs in sixth place and who also lost 4-0 to us on the final day of the regular season .

We lost out to Suwon in our carried over quarter-final of the AFC Champions League but were dominant in our group the 2028 edition, only dropping points away to Guangzhou.

An easy win over Central Coast Mariners in the second round put us into the last eight again. With Suwon already knocked out, maybe we can go further this time.

Despite our penalty woes, I was named as the A-League Manager of the Year for the third time in a row. My stock is also rising elsewhere as Spurs became the latest Premier League side to seek my services. Not just yet...

Key Players

Thiago Nogueria (GK) – worth a mention as he was ever-present and won the A-League Keeper of the Year award.

Paul Slater (DRC) – An academy product who is now really fulfilling his potential and is first choice right-back for the national side.

Donovan Morin (MC/AMC/ST) – Fewer goals but still a great season that saw him named once again as A-League Player of the Year.

Lee Ki-Woong (AMRC) – Suffered two long injury lay-offs but was still our best player in the games he managed to play.

Mark Vucovic (AMC/ST) – Established as first-teamer and one of the hottest young talents in Australia. Retained both the National Young Player of the Year and A-League Young Player of the Year awards.

Scott Fletcher (AML/ST) – Another fine season culminated in Scott getting selected for the Scotland Euro 2028 squad.

Daniel McCann (AMC/ST) – A great signing for the club. McCann started the season in great form. He had some inconsistent patches through the rest of the season but he is one of the best Aussie strikers out there as shown by his Golden Boot award.

Overall, we had seven players in the A-League All-Star XI and seven plus one sub in the Team of the Season. I am sure they would have swopped it all for more silverware though…

One to watch

One youngster caught my eye this season:

Martin Downes YP13b (AMRLC) – one of those who suddenly makes an unexpected improvement. Had a great run in the first team in the secnd half of the season when Lee Ki-Woong was out and now has a 4* PA rating.

Youth Intake

This takes place in the Aussie pre-season so I will now feature youth products in my season previews.

Transfers

McCann was the only player in. At the end of the season, we will lose our left-back Padilla when his contract expires. That frees up a foreigner slot and creates a need for cover in defence so expect some new faces.

The Season Ahead...

I am keen to get as far as possible in the AFC Champions League and not losing any more finals or other knockout games on penalties would be nice.

[DodgeeD]

Bit of a ******* of a qualifying draw.

Definitely - the games against Mexico in particular were tough to watch...

[deltablue]

Mexico did you good

[DodgeeD]

Mexico did you good

6-1.... Twice... Ouch!

[DodgeeD]

Perth Glory 2027/28 Season Preview

Club Overview

Stadium: Perth Oval

Capacity: 20,500 (16,950 seats)

Season Ticket Holders: 5,341 (up 60)

Average Attendance (2027/28): 15,521 (up 1,280)

We don’t own the stadium so not much chance of improvements. Attendances are climbing steadily.

The Manager

Profile

Current reputation: Continental (-)

Coaching qualifications: Continental Pro Licence

No changes here – I am now being headhunted by Premier League sides, surely a good sign of my talents.

Expectations

Media Prediction: 1st

Board Expectations: A-League – win Regular Season, be competitive in Finals Series; FFA Cup – not important; AFC Champions League – quarter-finals

With the AFC Champions League still continuing, we have already met the target. Now to see how far we can go! A domestic trophy or two would be nice as well.

Facilities

Training Facilities: Average

Youth Facilities: Poor

Junior Coaching: Exceptional

Youth Recruitment: Above average

No development here for a while now….

Finances

Balance: €105,821 (up €228,227)

Annual sponsorship income: €2.53m (up €400k)

Transfer budget: €1.27m (down €100k)

Wage budget: €56,847 p/w (up €640)

Current wage bill: €35,818 p/w (down €2,638)

Back in the black! Increased sponsorship has helped along with prize and TV money and a small cash injection from the board.

Transfers

Scouting range: No restrictions

2028/9 Pre-season Transfer History

Miguel Padilla, a Mexican left-back, was the only major departure as he went to Zacapatec in his homeland when his contract expired. With no decent Aussie left-backs around, I replaced him with :

Gareth Johnson (DL) – a product of the DC United youth system, he left for Inter Milan as an 18 year-old but only made a handful of appearances in four seasons there. He comes to us on a free looking to kickstart his career.

In other news, there was high interest in Donovan Morin during the summer, which unsettled him. With the finances not so great, I managed to negotiate a deal worth €2million with Auxerre with the potential for another €1million in add-ons. As this was concluded after the European transfer window shut, it means he will stay with us until January and so can help us in our pursuit of Champions League glory. I also get more time to scout a replacement.

Youth Player Update

Total rubbish this year. All were released after the trail period.