Gundo's FM08 Small club from a small nation European adventure challenge

[Jimbokav1971]

Sorry to hear that .

I wasn't suggesting that it was specific to your game. More that your game being so far advanved as an Icelandic team would be in a unique position for them to look at the results.

I've just started by Icelandic career so I must admit I do have a vested interest in seeing the problem get fixed.

Saying that, when I started my N'orn I'ron save last year I was told that it was impossible to pass the early European stages due to them being so close to the start of the domestic season.

In the testers defence, they do have an awful lot of carp in that forum to go through. When I think they have missed something, whether it be a post by me or others, I politely up the thread and remind them. I understand your frustration though .

If your game is coming to a bit of a natural end, perhaps you could give us a little recap of how you progressed and how you did in Europe over the years. You must have won some games..... didn't you ?

[emgergo]

The problem I believe is with their awesome fitness rate. I've stopped altogether playing friendlies against all-grey teams because of this.

Last year Portoroz-Piran was promoted to the Slovenian 2nd league, and they only had 6 or 7 players, the others were grey.

Problem no. 1: the AI didn't sign anyone

Problem No. 2: the greys were always 96-100% fitness, and finished 6th after outrunning most of their opponents.

Now they have a new crop of players, no greys and are an easy prey: so far they are 0-0-2, 0-11 GD in the league, and we knocked them out from the cup.

[Jimbokav1971]

Yeah, the fitness thing is an issue but you also realise that their players don't serve suspensions.

I remember drawing with a grey team in 07, (oh the shame of it ), and then facing the centre-half who had been shown a red card late on, in the replay.

[endtime]

Yeah, I did win some games... two to be exact

Season 2017 - lost 1:2, 1:3 to St. Pat's Athletic in the 1st round of the Intertoto

Season 2018 - lost 0:5, won 2:0 against FK Sarajevo of Bosnia in the UEFA Cup 1st qualifying round

Season 2019 - lost 1:3, won 2:0 against Metalurgs of Latvia in the CL 1st qualifying round (in the second game my keeper got MOM and we scored the winning goal deep in added time); drew 0:0 against Otelul of Romania (they had a man sent off in the 3rd minute and still managed 16 shots on goal, with 10 on target); lost 0:1

Season 2020 - lost 1:2, 1:3 to FK Zeta of Montenegro in the CL 1st qualification round (outclassed in both legs).

Won the Icelandic championship 3 times, the cup, the supercup and the friendly cup 2 times each. Some random points of interest:

- there have been maybe 5 or 6 foreign transfers since the start of the game

- I ran into some sort of a bizarre bug where the national team manager would repeatedly call up carpy 16-year-olds for international games while ignoring much better players

- a 2nd division team bought my mediocre player for 1 million pounds, only to sell him a year later for 60k; another team signed one of my better players for 300k, he never played a game for them and was released a year later

- the national team has slipped to 110th position in FIFA rankings, but the manager's still safe

- the U-21 and U-19 national teams lose almost every game they play

- despite stellar performances, none of my players want to move to a bigger club; there is also no interest whatsoever in one of my strikers, who scored 104 goals in 113 league games

- having said that, there is absolutely no interest whatsoever in any of my first team players; at some point I was getting offers and enquiries every day, then I won the championship and all interest died for some reason

- also, none of my players has ever been called up to the senior national team

Color me unimpressed

[Gilbster]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gilbster:

After a year of holidaying, Gilbster has taken control a little known Northern Irish club called Downpatrick. With a 905 capacity stadium, basic training facilities, minimal youth facilities and no staff, but some players, it is an interesting looking challenge.

A media prediction of 6th out of 12, and a squad of assorted youth players and players currently out of contract.

Downpatrick Info

Profile

Ok wish me luck as I attempt to hire some staff and get to grips with a much smaller league than I've been used to.

Good luck in N'orn I'ron.

My save with Lisburn Rangers last year was my most enjoyable save ever.

I didn't complete the challenge, (I'm carp), but I did get to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League 3 years on the bounce.

You are gonna be sooooo sick of cups . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You'll be happy to know then that Lisburn beat me 1-0 in 4th round of the Antrim Trophy then.

I figure with this many cups at some point or another I am bound to pick up some silverware.

[Jimbokav1971]

The European game sutuation doesn't seem as bad as it might have been.

You've only won 2 games, but then again you have drawn a 3rd game and only played 10 games in total.

The away games at this level I am guessing you would expect to get nothing from, so maybe 3 "results" from 5 games is a better way of looking at it.

Of far more concern is some of the other stuff you mentioned.

[endtime]

It's not really the fact that I'm losing that;s getting my goat; it's a nice change from FM07 where the European cups were a cakewalk. What irritates me is that these teams had players who were inferior in terms of attributes, yet clearly superior when it came to the actual match.

And you're right that the other stuff is concerning. All those things I mentioned make the game really boring: there are almost no major transfers, which means playing the same squad against the same players in the same teams year in, year out.

[Jimbokav1971]

How much of the above did you report in the bugs forum and what responsed id you get, (if any)?

[endtime]

I reported the international call-ups issue, as its clearly a bug. I was asked to upload a save game, which I did; despite bumping the thread I got no response if it was logged or being looked at (maybe they did log it without bothering to tell me ).

The rest... aren't exactly bugs, more like flawed features. There is a big thread on the transfer system in GQ (which got 0 answers from SI). The reason why I'm sceptical about reporting these issues is that they have been present in FM since I remember, and despite many complaints/moans/constructive criticisms little has been done about them.

[iacovone]

We're making 200k a month...the finances are looking very healthy. So healthy in fact, that the board are upgrading the training facilities.

About time we moved up in the world. The basic training facilities simply will not do.

[cookie15]

Congratulations Gundo on your promotion

You've got a star in Rindstad, he's awesome in the First Division as well. He's scored 14 in 17 for me, admittedly i play him up front and not wide on the left. If your season goes anything like mine, you'll be bouncing around the bottom end of the table. Currently i'm just outside the relegation zone and am finding it really tough

Let me know if they decide to expand your stadium, because that has made my life really tough!

Anyway, best of luck mate

Jimbo who you managing?

[cookie15]

note to self, read all posts before asking idiotic questions!

How's it going Jimbo at Magni?

Have you managed to find SuperIngamar or some equivalent?

[Jimbokav1971]

It's going ok but a little strange.

Only started with 9 players, (all youth), but now have a reasonable sized squad, (but no stars).

We won our first 2 Cup games with injury time goals against lower league opposition. Interestingly, the Cup opposition teams have a full squad of decent(ish) players, and despite all of them being on amatuer contracts, they were heavy favourites for each game. We lost the 3rd game in a bit of a ding-dong goal-fest and I am playing Game 4 now.

ps. My Reserves have beaten my senior team 3 times and drawn 3 times as I seem to have a problem working out who is my best team.

[enema0007]

Originally posted by endtime:

I reported the international call-ups issue, as its clearly a bug. I was asked to upload a save game, which I did; despite bumping the thread I got no response if it was logged or being looked at (maybe they did log it without bothering to tell me ).

The rest... aren't exactly bugs, more like flawed features. There is a big thread on the transfer system in GQ (which got 0 answers from SI). The reason why I'm sceptical about reporting these issues is that they have been present in FM since I remember, and despite many complaints/moans/constructive criticisms little has been done about them.

endtime, have got a series of saves from your game in iceland, like say one in a few seasons old and a couple of this season?

i am willing to have a look

[endtime]

Unfortunately, I use a single savefile, which I overwrite I can play on and start making saves at regular intervals, if you're interested.

[enema0007]

ill have a look at that save, please can you upload it for me. cheers

I strongly recommend putting the game on at least a 3 file rolling monthly auto save

That way if save gets corrupted for one reason or another then you have a back up.

[CoachFlu]

Meldert, Belgium - May 14th 2016

Mid-season table

End of season

Quite an improvement! We went 3-5-8 before the winter break, and 11-3-4 after, to finish in a remarkable 6th place, before Standard and Anderlecht.

It was a bit unexpected. Not that we'd be playing a bit better than the first half of the season, but I feel 6th place is a bit better than we deserve. Would have been perfectly happy with 10th place or so, but we ended the season with 4 straight wins, giving us a final surge up the table.

Position graph.

Slightly mixed feelings about over-achieving. On the plus side, the prize money took a nice chunk out of my debt. But I hope the board don't adjust their expectations for next season accordingly.

Because I don't feel confident that we're ready to settle down in the top half of the table just yet. Until our financial situation is under control, finishing mid-table - even lower mid-table - is a good achievement. Our 6th place this season was more down to the blandness of the other mid-table teams.

The nice improvement of results in the second half of the season wasn't down to any major changes I made. Loaned one extra defender, and that helped a little, but it was mainly down to the team just 'clicking'. And the forwards finding the goal a bit more easily.

The team.

There are no real stars in the team, no players of any huge quality compared to the rest of the team. None of my players excel in any of the league rankings. (Correction: my loan DC/DM is top of the yellow card ranking, with 15, heh.)

But we do have a very balanced team, with some solid players in every line.

Two of the ones who stood out a little:

- Alex Lambrechts: He was my topscorer last season, on loan from Anderlecht, so when Anderlecht released him I was eager to sign him. Had a slow start to the season - like the rest of the team - but found his rhythm as time went on. Mostly used him as a striker to take advantage of his pace, but he also covered as an MC in a few matches, and was also the AMC in the handful of matches where I played a 4-1-1.

- Kalifa Marty: The creative engine in midfield - though that's not reflected in his assists, with most of those coming from the wings or the striker pair, but this kid was crucial in keeping the ball in the team and distributing the ball. Also scored regular goals from distance.

And I'll make an honorable mention of Steven Guéguin, my goalkeeper, who was in the squad before I took control of it and is the only player remaining who evolved with the club into the First Division (though he wasn't always first choice.)

He's still decent, but not quite the quality I desire, so I'll be looking for a replacement this summer. If I don't find a good replacement, it wouldn't be a disaster to keep Steven between the stakes for another season though.

I do have a replacement lined up for the future - an 18 year old Dutch kid. I tried him out already for a few months, and he did okay, but then the "pressure of public expectation" got to him, so I put him back on the bench.

Belgian Cup:

I was slightly concerned about the board's Quarter Final expectations for the Cup, but we managed to deliver. We did have to get past Cercle Brugge and Genk to get there though, which was a bit of a stunt given our form at that time. The Genk match ended in a penalty shootout.

Then we got lucky and drew the only remaining 2nd Div. team in the Quarters - albeit the team who would go on to win their division, but still.

In the semis we were thoroughly demolished by Mouscron though (two red cards in the first half of the first leg didn't help). At least it got us a nice extra chunk of income.

Financially, we're not there yet, but it's only a matter of time. The season's prize money, plus some cash injections along the way, will see us end the season at a small profit. We'll still be spending next season in the red though.

A rise in attendance is what we need to start running at close to break even.

Our average league attendance is 8540 - though that's slightly misleading, since we suddenly drew a 17k crowd for the last match of the season, when we surged to 6th place. Before that, we had two peak attendance numbers of 10.200ish against big teams, with most of the matches being below 8k.

I think I'll need crowds of 10k consistently to run at break-even every month. And that's if the wage budget stays the same, which I hope it doesn't. With most of the squad players and backups still on part-time contracts (most of which are ending soon), I'm gonna need a bit more money just to keep the quality of the team at the level it is now.

History:

2008/09: Third Division A - 6th

2009/10: Third Division A - 2nd (P)

2010/11: Second Division - 6th

2011/12: Second Division - 1st (P)

2012/13: First Division - 17th ®

2013/14: Second Division - 3rd

2014/15: Second Division - 1st (P)

2015/16: First Division - 6th

[migwar]

iacovone

nice going with the finances. i'm still dissolutioned with my Slovakia game as my finances are just getting worse ever season.

The first round of the Champions League brought in about £140k, but i lose over £100k every season. I did wonder, does anyone else receive any prize money for their league, cos I dont. And my gate improved plenty with promotion, but i'm crippled by 'match expenses' whatever they are...

I cant rely on that Champs League income every year, or any year really, as I was very lucky last year...

[Gilbster]

Northern Ireland's second division seems interesting. I have played the first 16/22 matches by the first week in January. The other 6 games will be played by the looks of it at 1 or 2 a month until end of April.

Without a proper winter break as such, I have to wonder why its scheduled like this.

[CoachFlu]

Originally posted by migwar:

I did wonder, does anyone else receive any prize money for their league, cos I dont.

Yes, prize money is pretty decent in Belgium.

I just received 1.6 million euro for finishing in 6th place. (came in handy too, since I was 3 mil in the red.)

Don't remember exactly what I got a few seasons ago when we finished 17th, but I remember it was pretty decent for relegating. Somewhere in the 3-400k euro range, I think it was.

[aaberdeenn]

Originally posted by iacovone:

We're making 200k a month...the finances are looking very healthy. So healthy in fact, that the board are upgrading the training facilities.

About time we moved up in the world. The basic training facilities simply will not do.

Is it only since you've been in the top flight that the finances are going good? i saw you got a million for TV money.

I'm still in the second division and have a bank balance of 100k. The sale of Semialjac brought in 500k which wiped out my debt though. I'm also steadily making 20k-ish a month due to my increasing attendances, good form, etc.

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by Gilbster:

Northern Ireland's second division seems interesting. I have played the first 16/22 matches by the first week in January. The other 6 games will be played by the looks of it at 1 or 2 a month until end of April.

Without a proper winter break as such, I have to wonder why its scheduled like this.

It's a gap for the All Ireland Setanta Cup I think, (or some other Cup. (I forget which as there are so many).

[Gilbster]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gilbster:

Northern Ireland's second division seems interesting. I have played the first 16/22 matches by the first week in January. The other 6 games will be played by the looks of it at 1 or 2 a month until end of April.

Without a proper winter break as such, I have to wonder why its scheduled like this.

It's a gap for the All Ireland Setanta Cup I think, (or some other Cup. (I forget which as there are so many). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What division do you need to be in to play that? I saw some other cup rounds being played, but I am out of all cups.

Can't believe how fast this game is going, have 2 matches left of my first season already, but have to go to work first.

I amm definitely safe from relegation, and am a lock in for a top half finish. However with a run of 4 games without a win, I'm not positive I can get promotion on the first attempt.

[iacovone]

Originally posted by migwar:

iacovone

nice going with the finances. i'm still dissolutioned with my Slovakia game as my finances are just getting worse ever season.

The first round of the Champions League brought in about £140k, but i lose over £100k every season. I did wonder, does anyone else receive any prize money for their league, cos I dont. And my gate improved plenty with promotion, but i'm crippled by 'match expenses' whatever they are...

I cant rely on that Champs League income every year, or any year really, as I was very lucky last year...

migwar do you get TV revenue each season? Because that's what is really pushing my income up. We receive a million over the course of the season

[iacovone]

Originally posted by aaberdeenn:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by iacovone:

We're making 200k a month...the finances are looking very healthy. So healthy in fact, that the board are upgrading the training facilities.

About time we moved up in the world. The basic training facilities simply will not do.

Is it only since you've been in the top flight that the finances are going good? i saw you got a million for TV money.

I'm still in the second division and have a bank balance of 100k. The sale of Semialjac brought in 500k which wiped out my debt though. I'm also steadily making 20k-ish a month due to my increasing attendances, good form, etc. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Exactly aaberdeenn, promotion really does boost your finances. I think it helps that I have a small ground and basic facilities because the overhead costs aren't high. Now we are nearly filling the stadium at home and receiving a lot of TV money. Wages are low too so in my current position I can't help but make a profit. We did struggle in the Second Division though - chairman sold a number of my key men to break even.

[migwar]

we get £50k

and my sponsorship deal is £30k...

in total, that's not enough to see us through the winter break.

[iacovone]

Ouch. Well sounds like your challenge is a tad harder than most. Keep the faith migwar!

[Gundo]

Originally posted by iacovone:

Very interesting spotg...So it seems Croatia has nudist beaches, Slovenia has nudist beaches plus ski resorts.

Scandinavia has cold weather all year round, high suicide rate and Gundo

Eastern Europe 1

Scandinavia 0

A little Norway taster...

The national team my occasionally give England the run-around, and at club level, Rosenborg always manages to cause an upset in the Champions League. That said the majority or Norwegian sides have yet to pull up any trees, and it's not a particularly strong league. However they do have a sideline in strong powerful forwards such as John Carew or Tore Andre Flo, and hard working running players such as John Arne Riise, who was recently spared a spell of National Service, something that is still mandatory in Norway. Another bonus is that Norwegian players are generally fluent in English, as well as the other Scandinavian languages.

*Taken from one of the old CM guides.

[Gundo]

Originally posted by cookie15:

Congratulations Gundo on your promotion

You've got a star in Rindstad, he's awesome in the First Division as well. He's scored 14 in 17 for me, admittedly i play him up front and not wide on the left. If your season goes anything like mine, you'll be bouncing around the bottom end of the table. Currently i'm just outside the relegation zone and am finding it really tough

Let me know if they decide to expand your stadium, because that has made my life really tough!

Anyway, best of luck mate

Jimbo who you managing?

Cheers. Yeah I'm looking forward to it now, Stian Ringstad should defiantly help our survival attempts.

How are you finding the squad selection thingy?

[iacovone]

Originally posted by Gundo:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by iacovone:

Very interesting spotg...So it seems Croatia has nudist beaches, Slovenia has nudist beaches plus ski resorts.

Scandinavia has cold weather all year round, high suicide rate and Gundo

Eastern Europe 1

Scandinavia 0

A little Norway taster...

The national team my occasionally give England the run-around, and at club level, Rosenborg always manages to cause an upset in the Champions League. That said the majority or Norwegian sides have yet to pull up any trees, and it's not a particularly strong league. However they do have a sideline in strong powerful forwards such as John Carew or Tore Andre Flo, and hard working running players such as John Arne Riise, who was recently spared a spell of National Service, something that is still mandatory in Norway. Another bonus is that Norwegian players are generally fluent in English, as well as the other Scandinavian languages.

*Taken from one of the old CM guides. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Annihilator666]

Originally posted by migwar:

we get £50k

and my sponsorship deal is £30k...

in total, that's not enough to see us through the winter break.

I got £6.5k prize money for finishing 4th in the Irish Premier Division.

And the TV revenue is £6k per year...

[iacovone]

Guess I'm quite lucky then.

[endtime]

Originally posted by enema0007:

ill have a look at that save, please can you upload it for me. cheers

It's up, the name of the file is endtime-magni2020b.fm, it's around 23mb in size. There's also a smaller file with a similar name; this is a savegame where I lost connection while uploading. A few points:

- regarding grey players: in the 2020 CL qualifications I played Zilina, not Zeta like I had previously stated (no idea where I got Zeta from). If you take a look at the Zilina squad, you will notice that their grey players are much better than their "real" players.

- regarding the lack of foreign transfers: if you review the transfer history, you will notice that in the 13 seasons since the start of the game, there have been very few transfers between Icelandic and foreign clubs; probably no more than around 10-12. There are several players in the Icelandic league who have performed on a consistently high level and should have attracted the attention of foreign clubs; however, there has been no such attention and the players themselves seem content to stay at an average club, in a poor league, on relatively low wages. Some notable examples include:

Hjorvar Gudmundsson of Valur: 167 goals in 230 league games, no interest shown, happy at the club.

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson of Vikingur: 202 league games, 156 goals. Happy to stay at an average Icelandic club, despite an excellent scoring record has only played in 2 national games.

Andri Fannar Stefansson of Valur: no interest and no international caps despite excellent, steady form.

Johan Prastarson of Magni: 123 league games, 114 goals. No interest, one international cap gained in 2017, no international call-ups ever since. Also, his player information screen shows that he is "with the international squad"; however, he hasn't been in the international squad since 2017.

- regarding international call-ups: if you take a look at the current national squad, you will notice players such as Sigurdur Borgthorsson, Ingvard Sigurdsson, Daniel Jessen, Steinarr Jonsson and Arni Gudmundsson. These players are 16 or 17-year-olds who have close to no experience in senior football (none of them has played more than 10 senior games) and are clearly not good enough to play international football. The AI international manager will however call up a seemingly random batch of 16-year-olds for every international game, simultaneously ignoring much better players available for their positions. At one point I took over the national team with a dummy manager and resigned, to see if the new AI national coach would stop calling up random 16-year-olds - he didn't.

- regarding national team performances: all national teams have performed very poorly over the past 13 seasons. My guess is that this is caused by the grey player issue. However, despite very poor performances the national manager's job remained safe. I'm guessing that countries with low reputation do not set high expectations for the national coaches and as a result they never leave unless they retire.

- regarding AI clubs buying players for large amounts of money and selling them for peanuts: in 2017 I sold the player Birgir Agnarsson to KS/Leiftur for 1 million pounds; 6 months later KS/Leiftur sold him to Reynir for 60 thousand pounds. Another similar transfer: in 2015 I sold the player Saevar Helgason to FH for 300k pounds; he failed to play a single game for them and was released on a free a year later.

I gave a cursory look to the transfer dealings between AI clubs and found no similar aberrations; it appears that I caused the AI to overpay by slapping a high asking price on a player to stop the daily enquiries and bids.

I strongly recommend putting the game on at least a 3 file rolling monthly auto save

That way if save gets corrupted for one reason or another then you have a back up.

I'm aware of this, but in my whole history of playing FM I have never actually had a corrupted save file

[endtime]

Originally posted by endtime:

- regarding international call-ups: if you take a look at the current national squad, you will notice players such as Sigurdur Borgthorsson, Ingvard Sigurdsson, Daniel Jessen, Steinarr Jonsson and Arni Gudmundsson. These players are 16 or 17-year-olds who have close to no experience in senior football (none of them has played more than 10 senior games) and are clearly not good enough to play international football. The AI international manager will however call up a seemingly random batch of 16-year-olds for every international game, simultaneously ignoring much better players available for their positions. At one point I took over the national team with a dummy manager and resigned, to see if the new AI national coach would stop calling up random 16-year-olds - he didn't.

While typing this I reached the next call-up date; there are now 14 (fourteen) 16-year-olds in the main international squad

[Gundo]

I'm not having any problems against 'grey' teams thus far. I'm actually unbeaten in 7 games, 3 of those where cup games the rest friendlies.

[Jimbokav1971]

Magni. Iceland. 1st Division. April 2009.

I still haven;t played a league game, but things are coming along nicely, (I think).

I've fleshed out the squad and from a starting point of 9 youth players, we now have 18 senior players on the books, the 9 youth players that I started with, and 2 loan players.

I have a 20 year old midfielder who has been capped at U21 level.

One of my loan players is capped at U19 level.

This bloke is the closest thing I have to a Super Jón O .

There is no fannying around in Iceland. When they get a group of carp clubs together to play a Cup, they don't call it after a van or a paint Co, they call it exactly as they see it.

The Lower League Cup maybe isn't the most glorious of names, but it does exactly what it says on the team. There are 4 groups with 6 teams in each group. Each team players the other teams in the group once and the top team only from each group qualifies for the Semi's.

In most groups there was only 1 Division 1 team, (the rest being made up of surprisingly strong non-grey amateur teams). We were in Group C. We won 3 and lost 2 and to be honest, (having not looked at the rules until it was too late), I thought that finishing 2nd would surely be enough to see us progress. Not a chance .

So, so far so good I would say at the moment .

[Gundo]

So my new contract finally arrived then.

Strange thing is though, the board want us to win the Second division at the end of a two year plan??? That despite us playing in the First division this season. So do they think relegation is a forgone conclusion this season and they want us to bounce straight back up the following season?

[Gundo]

Jimbo Super Jón O with be dynamite for you this season with pace like that.

[Gundo]

Originally posted by ridleys:

i have decided too start a new game as i forgot too save my other one =S

my team is in the the 4th group of the second division in norway (third tier) they are called Mo and are expected too finish 3rd at the end of the season

i have a starting transfer budget of £0

and a starting wage budget of £1400 with the average wage of my players at only £34 (only about 1000 times lower than chelsea's average wages )

luckily lots of players in norway are out of contract

now all i need to do is see how my team play and find a good formation to use!

ill reply back soon once i have completed my first season and hopefully gained promotion

thanks

Have you read the challenge guidelines?

Mo IL are not eligible to manage in this challenge.

You have to holiday for a year first, then take over at one of the newly promoted clubs that have been promoted into the Second divisions groups.

Hope this helps, Gundo.

[Gilbster]

Downpatrick, Northern Ireland - Second Division - 2008/09 End of Season Update

Started with a small attempt at a squad, and no staff. Left most of the players as is, since I would need some backup and signed some decent players, that my new ass man didnt rate at all.

Completely forgot to arrange any pre-season friendlies so was happy to be entered into a cup competition with a league stage before the second division started, so I used that as my pre-season.

Worked reasonably well as I qualified from that group and it took a while in the season before I suffered a loss in any competition.

I was fairly impressed with my new signings, and not so impressed with the players Ballymena sent me as my parent.

Somehow, despite a media prediction of 5th, and a promise of a top half finish, I managed to win the division, and promotion, at the first time of asking, in the last game of the season.

Unfortunately the club has lost money this season, and the finances dont look good, so my chances of getting a stadium expansion are probably non existent.

Table

Results

Transfers

Aims for new season

Survive in the first division

Hire a new ass man that has some clue about players

Pray a miracle happens and my finances improve

[Jimbokav1971]

Gilbster. I had Ally with me for a long time in my Lisburn Save. I've got a feeling I had O'Neill at the club in 2 different spells. Is he a wide player?

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

Gilbster. I had Ally with me for a long time in my Lisburn Save. I've got a feeling I had O'Neill at the club in 2 different spells. Is he a wide player?

ps. Look up a big fat useless slow defender called Mullan. He should have limited ability to play as a striker too. He scored over 100 goals for me from centre half .

[Gilbster]

Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jimbokav1971:

Gilbster. I had Ally with me for a long time in my Lisburn Save. I've got a feeling I had O'Neill at the club in 2 different spells. Is he a wide player?

ps. Look up a big fat useless slow defender called Mullan. He should have limited ability to play as a striker too. He scored over 100 goals for me from centre half . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

O'Neill as requested.

Managed to renew Ally's loan for another season. Not sure I can find Mullan though.

Just seen my board are distraught and devastated at the clubs bank balance. I was within my budget for the whole of last season, and currently still ok for this season.

[Gundo]

The latest news from the Randaberg IL camp, Norway:

Stian 'The Norwegian Burda' Ringstad gains yet more caps for Norway U19's and notches his first goal for them aswel against Serbia U19's.

Norway qualify for for the 2010 World Cup, after a playoff win v Greece.

Randaberg Il anounce a link with the giants of Norwegian football, Rosenborg.

[Scoham]

Originally posted by johnnyquest409:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Quacky:

Certainly if I can take Sakhalin islands to the top I will, sounds like fun

Lets get holidaying....

Doesn't look like it's possible unfortunately, their reputation is just too low. I reloaded the save a lot of times and the lowest rep team to appear (from the Eastern Division) was Amur (who I've taken over), and they have a rep of 1000. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Anyone found any interesting/different teams that are playable?

Maybe clubs either based in a foreign country, in the middle of nowhere, on an island, or with a funny name?

Shame FC Santa Claus aren't playable in Finland

[Jimbokav1971]

Originally posted by Scoham:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by johnnyquest409:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Quacky:

Certainly if I can take Sakhalin islands to the top I will, sounds like fun

Lets get holidaying....

Doesn't look like it's possible unfortunately, their reputation is just too low. I reloaded the save a lot of times and the lowest rep team to appear (from the Eastern Division) was Amur (who I've taken over), and they have a rep of 1000. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Anyone found any interesting/different teams that are playable?

Maybe clubs either based in a foreign country, in the middle of nowhere, on an island, or with a funny name?

Shame FC Santa Claus aren't playable in Finland </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Magni was one of the sons of Thor and Járnsaxa in Norse mythology, (apparantly).

Unfortunately it is also the name of an x factor style winning pop star that looks like he could have been one of the members of Right Said Fred.

Does that count ?

[Scoham]

Not really no

Playing around in the editor, I noticed 'British Police' won the Israel Premier League in its first season in 1932

There is a club in Denmark called FC Bornholm, who are on a Danish island. Don't think clubs can be promoted from the 'Danish Lower Division' though.

[johnnyquest409]

Originally posted by Scoham:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by johnnyquest409:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Quacky:

Certainly if I can take Sakhalin islands to the top I will, sounds like fun

Lets get holidaying....

Doesn't look like it's possible unfortunately, their reputation is just too low. I reloaded the save a lot of times and the lowest rep team to appear (from the Eastern Division) was Amur (who I've taken over), and they have a rep of 1000. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Anyone found any interesting/different teams that are playable?

Maybe clubs either based in a foreign country, in the middle of nowhere, on an island, or with a funny name?

Shame FC Santa Claus aren't playable in Finland </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

FC Sakhalin from Sakhalin Island in Russia can in theory get promoted, but their reputation is so low, you'd have to get ridiculously lucky. I'm just starting with Amur, who are from eastern Russia, about 8000 kilometres from Moscow and even further from the rest of Europe.

[yababo]

Just got sacked Was having a bad season I deserved it

Gonna start again somewhere else.

Where should I go guys?

[Supermas2]

Firstly, just to say good luck to the new entrants who have began during my week or so absense - I have returned to find another 3 or 4 pages of thread! Its good to see interest in the thread, without it getting overloaded so that all the participants seem like strangers, something that has happended a bit in Dafuges thread, due to the sheer amount of people taking part

TKP Torun in the Polish Second Division - Season 2008/09 Review

Well those who remember my traumatic last day relegation at Rakow will, hopefully, be pleased to know this year was less eventful than that one, and resulted in a comfortable survival in the division, and maintainting a potential for a push for promotion.

I tried to draw on lessons from my Rakow season, namely protecting leads when I went in front, and the approach to home games.

After a positive start and flirting with the possiblity of promotion mid way through the season, the return of football after the winter break resulted in a severe loss of form (and perhaps the knowledge to play football!). We did however manage to turn it around, and by the end of the season, on the back of a 2-1 home victory over Leczna, we finished 8th in the league.

The postions graph shows we consistently remained in the top half of the table throughout the season, which was impressive.

Despite this, there are some negatives:

With an average gate of 1221, we have the third worst average attendance in the league, and as a result of this my finances are very poor, and have left the board "distraught".

Next season I hope I can bring in a bit more quality to the squad and first team, in order to provide the spark we sometimes lack in breaking down teams. However, all in all, it was a promising first season at TKP Torun, and hopefully, the only way is up!