I'm Going On A World Wide Adventure!

[andychar]

Adventure Time!

This is my first careers post so please be gentle!

I have been following a brilliant post http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450813-The-Perfectionist-II-From-A-to-Z-118-nations-and-millenia-of-management which includes going through the leagues alphabetically using the claassen world league pack.

There is another career http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/451803-FM16-The-Complete-Boxset which is still in its infancy which uses the same model I'm going to use.

I have a baby on the way and have resigned myself to the fact that the "purchasing new games" part of my life is nearly over. This is why I've chosen to do the longest save I physically could think of.

Step One - Download the claasen world league pack from this fine establishment.

Step Two - Randomly generate all the leagues.

Step Three - Create a manage with Sunday League Experience with No Badges

This is the full list of Countries I will be visiting and the order in which I will do so.

1) India

2) Honduras

3) Qatar

4) Estonia

5) Iceland

6) Chile

7) USA

8) Mexico

9) Zambia

10) El Salvador

11) Holland

12) Kazakhstan

13) Vanuatu

14) San Marino

15) Kuwait

16) Brazil

17) Venezuela

18) South Korea

19) Singapore

20) Cook Islands

21) Thailand

22) Australia

23) FYR Macedonia

24) Russia

25) Morocco

26) Mali

27) Georgia

28) Faroe Islands

29) Denmark

30) DR Congo

31) Portual

32) Italy

33) Finland

34) Israel

35) Solomon Islands

36) Uzbekistan

37) Sudan

38) Bahrain

39) Germany

40) South Africa

41) American Samoa

42) Tahiti

43) Poland

44) Ukraine

45) Lebanon

46) Myanmar

47) Tunisia

48) Slovakia

49) Moldova

50) Panama

51) Hong Kong

52) Cuba

53) Romania

54) Greece

55) Nicaragua

56) Saudi Arabia

57) Sweden

58) Bolivia

59) Belarus

60) New Zealand

61) Peru

62) Jordan

63) Ecuador

64) Fiji

65) Armenia

66) Jamaica

67) Ireland

68) Japan

69) Austria

70) Argentina

71) Scotland

72) Costa Rica

73) Vietnam

74) Algeria

75) Papua New Guinea

76) Syria

77) Samoa

78) Lithuania

79) Andorra

80) New Caledonia

81) Cyprus

82) Cameroon

83) Bosnia and Herzegovina

84) Malaysia

85) Iraq

86) Belgium

87) England

88) Hungary

89) Nigeria

90) Luxembourg

91) Croatia

92) Azerbaijan

93) Uruguay

94) Serbia

95) N. Ireland

96) Turkey

97) Wales

98) UAE

99) France

100) Czech Republic

101) Ivory Coast

102) Albania

103) Congo

104) Norway

105) Guatemala

106) Ghana

107) Malta

108) China

109) Montenegro

110) Paraguay

111) Oman

112) Indonesia

113) Haiti

114) Belize

115) Angola

116) Yemen

117) Latvia

118) Egypt

119) Bulgaria

120) Slovenia

121) Colombia

122) Iran

123) Spain

124) Trinidad and Tobago

125) Switzerland

I am actually in the Year 2023 at the moment so the first few posts will be a brief catch up to where I am.

The plan is simple have 3 countries loaded at any one time.

I can't move on from the country until I have won at least a league or a major cup.

A League can be classed as any league, it doesn't have to be the top league.

A major cup is classed as any cup the board actually gives your an expectation for. If the board doesn't class it as important, then its not. This is unless its the main cup such as the Copa Del Rey (not that I think for a second Real Madrid are going to come knocking!)

I have to stay in a country for at least 365 days and must complete a competition in full. This means I can't take over a team 5 games from the end of the season and bag an easy cup or title.

I have no real goals just to win as physically much as possible, try out some new and random leagues and to have fun.

With all the new leagues and excited new challenges the random generator has started me in......India. A league which is already built into the game...a league I have been in quite a few times...I love change.

I've cheated slightly to begin with. The compromise I came up with for starting Sunday League and no badges was I could pick my first team instead of starting unemployed.

The team I will start my Worldwide Adventure with is...

East Bengal FC

Let the adventure begin!

[andychar]

The first 3 leagues loaded were India, Honduras and Qatar.

The India only has the I League loaded, Honduras only had a top league loaded and Qatar has 2 divisions loaded. Just to give you a hint of what was facing me in the up coming seasons.

So here's a bit of information about East Bengal FC blatantly lifted from that fine source which is Wikipedia.

East Bengal Football Club is a professional football club, based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It currently competes in the I-League, the top-tier of Indian football pyramid. The club has a long-standing rivalry with neighbours Mohun Bagan AC, with whom it contests the Kolkata derby. Also there exists another small derby between East Bengal and Mohammedan S.C. (Kolkata).

The stadium is surprisingly nice for a country where football isn't the main sport.

2015/16

A great start winning the Federation Cup and an even better start going through the competition unbeaten.

So that was it for the first season. I had won both the cup avaliable to me. The only problem was the Indian League isn't exactly well known, meaning I would need to do much more to improve my reputation in order to move half way around the world to Honduras.

Another season at East Bengal was in my future with continental competition my big chance of increasing my reputation.

Hope Nakamura doesn't mind me blatantly stealing his layout here!

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League    | Position  | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Confederation Cup Winner

[dllu]

Welcome and good luck. Will be following with interest!

[andychar]

2016/17

Ok so it was a great season last season and the goals this season are strictly selfish. Do anything and everything to enhance my reputation so I can get out of this country and move onto the next...probably shouldn't have opened with that on the first press conference of the season.

[/img]

Next up was another curtain raiser cup. We were hoping to defend our Confederation Cup title.

We were relentless in the group stage only conceding 1 goal (a full 100% increase on last year!) and scoring 15. We almost came unstuck in the semi and maybe took our opponents for granted. We were lucky to scrape through on penalties.

A local derby in the final meant there was no room for error and we came up trumps hammering them 4-1. 2 in a row and automatic entry into the Conf. Cup (Asian's equivalent of the Europa League).

The board didn't really care about this competition but I'm the sort that wants to win everything regardless! This meant my full strength team saw this competition...and they nearly blew it.

A dodgy 2-0 win opened the group then a 1-1 draw meant we needed help in order to qualify for the semis. Luckily we got that luck as the final group game ended in a draw. We eased into the semi where yet another local derby was waiting for us. Not one to let the rivals win anything we beat them in the final for the second time in a row! Bragging rights secured.

[/img]

Luckily just because you take part in the Champions League it doesn't mean you can't take part in the Conf. Cup.

This competition takes place over 2 Indian Seasons so this season it was about staying alive. We did just that, winning every game we played in this competition. We were never really troubled against the half decent teams of Asia. The next season will start in the quarter final stage.

We made mincemeat of the league this season. We had another bad start with only 1 win in the first 4 games but 11 games won in a row made sure we were in control a further 4 games unbeaten meant by the time we lost our final game the league had already been won.

Another great season in India...but would it be enough to get a job in Honduras?

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League    | Position  | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Domestic Clean Sweep  

[andychar]

2017/18

So was my reputation increased enough to get a new job in Honduras?

No. No it wasn't. Turns out you can win everything in India all the time and nobody could care less. This put pressure on success in the contential competitions.

With only 10 clubs in Honduras job opportunities were few and far between. I did apply for a job that wasn't rejected straight away but I didn't get an interview, this tells me much more needed to be done.

Either way another Super Cup under our belts and even though its the same team by the same scoreline I can assure you its a different screenshot!

We were left completely and utterly shocked in the Durand Cup. I didn't want a repeat of the group stage last season so really went for it to ensure reaching the semi's were a breeze. In the semi we were 2nd best to a team outside the top division and we deserved everything we got coming to us. Shocking start to the season but the Confederation Cup was next and that's always been kind to us.

OH COME ON!!

We had a wobble in the group stage with defeat to Salgaocar but we booked our place in the semi with another cup victory against our bitter local rivals. We got past the semi with an efficient performance where we were set to face Salgaocar again. We wanted revenge, this is our competition how dare somebody beat us in it. Erm....we got beat. On the plus it was only 2-1 this time instead of 3-1. We went 2-0 down and despite getting a goal back we didn't look like getting the equaliser. We were beaten in the final and for the first time under my control we didn't win the Confederation Cup.

Surely we could defeat our I League title? Right?!

A lot of draws but only 2 defeats was enough for us to retain the title. It was the smallest gap out of the 3 seasons and we didn't clinch it until the final game of the season. We had a lot of continental competition to worry about this season and that was always going to be my priority.

We won the Conf. Cup (Asia's Europa League)!!

If this didn't improve my reputation not a lot would.

A fantastic away performance in the 2nd leg of the quarter final saw us through to the semi. A great first leg home 3-0 win gave us the advantage heading into the second leg, an advantage we never looked like losing. Despite it being close at 3-2 it was 3-0 at one point, with the tie won it was about resting players ahead of the final.

The final was against Kuwait SC, a team who had won the competition 4 times in a row and were playing in front of their own fans...I wasn't getting my hopes up. We raced into a 2-0 lead at half time and we were beginning to dream. Kuwait SC scored within 3 minutes of the restart and them proceeded to bombard us for the rest of the half but we defended like beavers and were able to bring home a fantastic win.

East Bengal FC became the first Indian team to ever win a continental cup and became the most decorated team in India.

I took up a job with the Qatari U23 side ahead of the Asian Games in an attempt to boost my reputation even further.

We had a great run to the final drawing with Australia in the group stage and beating Japan in the semi final. Unfortunately it all ended in tears after a final defeat. Serves them right for having an Englishmen as their manager. If they had picked a German manager you can't help but think they would have won.

It was a great experience and one that did nothing to harm my reputation.

We also took part in the Champions League.

We had a difficult group with some well established teams in it. We started off with a brilliant 3-3 draw against Jeonbuk which included a beautiful last minute equaliser. Persib turned out to be the whipping boys of the group. The most important result came against Saltama UTD, we managed to pick up another point at home against them and despite being thrashed it was enough to ultimately take us through above Jeonbuk.

I can take no credit whatsoever for the 2nd round defeat because by then I had already moved on...

Say hello to Qatar...so I skipped Honduras...nobody was getting fired and I didn't want to get stuck in India...so I cheated a little and swapped Qatar with Honduras. It meant that India was gone and the next Country being loaded was Estonia! Sexy sexy Estonia.

I was just happy to move onto pastures new.

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League    | Position  | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner

[andychar]

Welcome and good luck. Will be following with interest!

Thank you very much. I've been a long time lurker just popping in with the odd comment so thought its about time I bit the bullet!

Will be glad to have caught everybody up so can just do nice simple month to month updates.

2018/19

Ok so I cheated a little, but only in the best interest of the game. I have 100+ countries to get through and didn't want to be stuck in India for the next 10 years!

So I moved to a nice pronounceable team...Al Kharaitiyat. I tell you the first time I had to get a taxi to the place was a nightmare!

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the team.

Al Kharaitiyat SC is a Qatari sports club, best known for its football team of the Qatar Stars League. They are a relatively new club, having been formed in 1996 in the Al Kharaitiyat region.

They currently apply their trade at the Al-Khor SC Stadium

Since the 2015/16 season Al Kharaitiyat have found themselves on tough times and have recently just been relegated from the Qatar Stars League.

This is where I come in . I figure its an easy way in and possibly out of the country.

The Qatar Q League (which is the 2nd tier in Qatar) consists of 18 teams, 5 of which are full time teams, the other 13 are reserve teams who can't get promoted. Out of the 5 teams that can win promotion 2 are promoted to the Qatar Stars League. Teams only play each other once meaning there are 17 games between yourself and promotion.

Now does it make sense why I took this job

As you can see this is probably the easiest season I will have in all of my journey (and I'm only on country 2!)

Playing the teams reserves turned out to be easier than I could have imagined. We were top from start to finish and I'm not even going to pretend the last game defeat didn't hurt.

We were to busy celebrating the promotion that we forgot there was actually a cup to play for as well. 1st round defeat, and another penalty shoot out to boot.

Fortunately I couldn't care less, despite it being a joke of a league really it officially counts as a league so I am free to leave as soon as a Honduras job becomes available who actually wants me.

It was then in the Spring of 2019 I got a new job!

I became the manager of the Qatar National Side. Why stop at the U23's when you can take over the big boys! I took over after a disastrous Asian Cup campaign and as you can see I immediately set the country alight! 3 draws in a row 2 friendlies and one World Cup Qualifier. You may look at the Japan draw as a good draw...they equalised in the 94th minute to prevent a famous victory. We did well to secure home and away draws against Australia but that Japan away defeat left us needed results to go our way if we were to qualify for the next stage of qualifying.

I'll leave you on tenterhooks until my next update for how it turned out.

Luckily the season wasn't over for me as I said goodbye to Qatar (apart from the National Team of course) and said hello to the other side of the world...

A job in Honduras! The Holy Grail!

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League    | Position  | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League   |    1st    | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League   |    1st    | Promoted as Champions

[andychar]

2019/20

Ok so a 1 season wonder in the 2nd tier of Qatari football was enough to get me noticed in Honduras.

Maybe it was the credible draws I achieved against Australia and Japan, either way I had finally got a job in Honduras. This meant that Qatar was no more and the next league was loaded. We will be saying hello to Iceland hopefully very soon.

But back to Honduras.

Club Deportivo Victoria is an Honduran football club based in La Ceiba, Atlántida.

Say what you want about Wikipedia...its a fountain of knowledge.

The club currently play their home games at the Estadio Nilmo Edwards, which I can't decide weather or not its a brilliant name.

That believe or not was the most flattering photo I could find.

The season works very much like North and South American leagues tend to. The league is split up into an Opening and Closing stage. The top six qualify for a playoffs. The top two automatically qualify for the semi of the playoffs, 3rd-6th play in the first round. Despite it being two legged there is no away goal, if the teams are level after both legs then the team who finished higher in the league will go through. No extra time, no penalties. This gives an incentive to finish as high as possible up the league.

Enough chit chat this is how the season went starting with the cup.

It was plain sailing in the cups, the lower league opposition not really troubling the top division teams. Platense were the first top division team we faced and we easily dispatched them over 2 legs despite a first leg home set back. The final of this cup was easily the worse game of football the team played all season. Another cup final defeat, at this time I was trying to figure out if I had won more than I lost.

Looking at all those red circles I'm beginning to think just how I managed to come away with the Opening League Title. We started off poorly as the team struggled to adapt to the tactics I insisted in using (it worked in India and Qatar surely it can work in Honduras!). At the mid way point we were just about challenging for a play off spot. Then something happened, everything I was trying to do just clicked! Win after win starting coming in and suddenly we were flying up the league, even a defeat to Montagua didn't stop us.

We ended up finishing the Opening Stage in 2nd place, enough for and automatic semi place.

A stunning away performance but the Semi Final to bed in the first leg, I was able to rest players ahead of the final.

The first leg we were 2nd best and fell to a home 1-0 defeat. This result left us facing an uphill battle, we knew a draw would mean they would take it because they finished the league in 1st.

The second leg was probably the best performance of the season. We took an early 2-0 lead before they stormed back to make it 2-1. A goal with 20 minutes to go meant if we held on we would take an unbelievable title, and hold on we did. We defended like beavers.

After asking a friend whether this counted as a League Title or not we decided it did, mainly because it showed up in the Honours for the club. I wasn't going to start arguing. I made the decision to stay with the club because I wanted to take part in the North American Champions League.

I took my eye off the ball during the closing stage knowing that either way I would be able to leave Honduras when I wanted to. It seemed the momentum of the Opening Stage win left us as we went 6 games without a win to start the closing stage. We came alive after that with 8 wins in a row. That would be the last good run of the season. We struggled for form to finish the season but still managed to end in 2nd, which was enough for an automatic semi place. We scraped through the semi thanks to the stupid "we finished ahead of you so we win" rule. We got well and truly out classed in the final. A 3-0 home defeat meant we faced an impossible task in the 2nd leg. I decided to go hell for leather in the 2nd leg....it didn't work.

It turned out to be a rather frustrating end to the season, despite winning the Opening Stage. The North American Champions League was the only thing stopping me pressing the resign button.

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      | Position  | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |    1st    | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |    1st    | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |    1st    | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |    1st    | Promoted as Champions
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |  2nd/2nd  | Opening Stage Champion 

[andychar]

2020/21

So was I able to qualify for the next round of the World Cup Qualifier against all odds??

No. No I wasn't.

I did my job, I won my last game, but so did Japan. They finished 1 point ahead of me in 2nd with Australia going through as top.

I was left remembering that 94th minute equaliser in the first game of the group stage.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

Due to the fact Qatar didn't get to the next round it meant we had to Qualify for the Asian Cup. The group consisted of Laos, Bangladesh and Cambodia. I vowed there and then if I dropped any points I would resign. Things started off well with a very routine 5-0 away win against Laos.

The rest of the season consisted of friendlies designed to maintain or boost out World Ranking.

We also took part in the WAAF Championship which consists of teams from the West of Asia. It was a winnable competition and one the board expected to.

It was routine wins throughout including a brilliant 6-1 win in the semi.

The final was something else. Never have I ever dominated a game like I dominated that one, yet I could not find the back of the net. 90 minutes came, then 105 minutes came then 120 minutes, still nothing. You knew what would come next...a penalty shoot out defeat, another cup final came and went, another silver medal around my neck.

The Honduras League played second fiddle to the NACL. Players were constantly rested as I chased another continental win. The group consisted of 3 teams, played each team twice and the tie breaker was head to head record.

The champaign couldn't have started any worse. The hardest game was first, away to Mexican side Leon. I knew if I could get something here I would have a chance. It turns out I massively underestimated just how hard this competition was going to be as we fell 3-0 and was never really in the game.

We needed lady luck on our side. W Connection were a Trinidad and Tobago outfit that would potentially the whipping boys. We beat them home and away quite convincingly. The huge result came at home to Leon. We needed to win and we performed brilliantly, we got the only goal and held on for dear life. W Connection surprisingly beat Leon but it still meant we went out thanks to the head to head rule. A performance to be proud of from a small team in Honduras.

I decided to resign after the Champions League exit.

Honduras will be taken off and the next country loaded up was Chile. It will be the first time in South America.

First though I await a nice little job in Estonia.

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      |    Position        | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |       1st          | Promoted as Champions
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |     2nd/2nd        | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria    | Hondruas | Liga National |  6th when Resigned | N/A

[andychar]

2021/22

Not a lot happened in 2021 for Qatar. Some good friendly victories against Czech Republic, Scotland and South Korea, 2 Asian Cup Qualifying victories and a 100% year increased my stock.

The question is where would I end up in Estonia?

The Estonian National Team job actually came up and I was sorely tempted, they had a very winnable Euro Nations League group which would count towards me finishing Estonia. I decided against it mainly because I was actually enjoying my life with Qatar and I was still sore about that Japanese 94th minutes equaliser! Sometimes I wake up screaming.

An Estonian eventually take the National Job and it left a nice empty job at Infonet. They had finished runner up the previous season so the team was already there without me needing to do much work.

I applied and nailed the interview.

I had landed on my feet brilliantly in Estonia with a team who are already one of the best. The Estonian league is a simple league with teams playing each other twice. The tie break is whoever has won the most games...this will be important later .

Its a real shame I cant get a screenshot of the league this season because it was a brilliantly close league all season.

At one point I was 5 points off top thanks to my inability to turn 1 point into 3. A long unbeaten run meant I had opened up a nice 6 point lead. The only problem was all those draws.

It was defeat to Flora which kicked start a run of games where my players decided to ignore what I was telling them and just do their own thing. 2 wins in 10 games meant I had blown my 6 point lead and was 3 points behind with 2 games to go. It was effectively 4 because I couldn't win more than the leaders. I needed a miracle. We went into the final game level on points after Sillamae Kalev got beat.

In the final game I went 3-0 up very quickly. Half time came and I was set to win the league by 2 points as the other game was 0-0.

70th minute I conceded to make it 3-1 but still very much winning the league.

71st minute Sillamae Kalev take the lead. As it stands we are finishing level on points but 2nd.

91st minute Sillamae Kalev concede! Its 1-1.

3 minutes later Infonet are crowned champions in a very tense final day.

It was one of my most satisfying league wins and meant I had completed another country.

The Estonian Cup runs over two seasons which I thought was weird. I started in the Quarter Final against a non league team. I then faced a team in a lower division in the Semi and then finally a top league team in the final. When it went to penalties I automatically thought the worst. We missed the first penalty which wasn't a surprise. They missed the final two penalties which meant I had a kick to win it, which was happily converted.

I set up next season with some simple early round games. Quarter Final will be next season.

We had a mini run in the Europa League.

We weren't expected to do anything so to reach the 2nd qualifying round and to give a team like Legia a run for their money was good enough for me. Short and sweet.

Overall it was a brilliant season in Estonia and with a Champions League champaign on the horizon things were looking up.

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      |    Position        | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |       1st          | Promoted as Champions
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |     2nd/2nd        | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria    | Hondruas | Liga National |  6th when Resigned | N/A
2021/22  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |       1st          | Estonia Cup Winners

[andychar]

2021/22

The year 2022 was another good year for me and Qatar.

We managed to qualify for the Asian Cup with no fuss whatsoever 6 wins from 6 and hardly a goal concede.

We tasted defeat for the first time since the WAAF final, and even that was a penalty shoot out loss, Denmark just proved to tough opposition for a Qatar team still trying to find their feet.

We avenged the WAAF Final defeat 2 years ago with victory this time around. With this tournament taking place in December and the Asian Cup in January it was the perfect warm up for the team. Saudi Arabia equalised in the last second in the group game and we made sure the same mistake wouldn't be made twice. Qatar win their second WAAF and I pick up my first International trophy.

It was a confusing time for me in Estonia. I was looking forward to taking part in the Champions League then suddenly I just became...bored. The prospect of having to wait until near the end of the Estonia league suddenly seemed daunting. I resigned, completely out of the blue. No domestic job, no Champions League. I was happy to wait for the right Icelandic job to come up.

This meant that Estonia was taken off and the next country was loaded up. That country is USA.

I waited and waited for a job. I watched the league unfold, with 5 games to go up to 6 teams could still win the league, this meant that vacancies were lacking. The season ended and finally a few jobs became available. One stood out to me. They were predicted to finish 2nd in the league but finished a lowly 8th.

I applied and got an interview. They asked why I resigned I told them. They told me they were worried I didn't speak Icelandic even though I now speak Spanish, Estonia, Hindi and sometimes English. They asked if I had any demands, I told them I wasn't an international terrorist. Eventually the interview ended and I was offered the job.

The eagle eyed of you will have seen that in my screenshots my new Icelandic job is with...

And that is where I stand at the moment with my domestic life...I do have just one more update regarding the Asian Cup with Qatar but finally we are all caught up!

I will work on my screenshots and try and improve them.

I will be doing Monthly updates and be going a lot more in depth than I have been able to so far.

If anybody has any advice or criticisms about this going forward I'll be happy to hear them.

Hope everybody is ready to join me going forward on this World Wide Adventure!

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      |    Position        | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |       1st          | Promoted as Champions
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |     2nd/2nd        | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria    | Hondruas | Liga National |  6th when Resigned | N/A
2021/22  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |       1st          | Estonia Cup Winners
2022/23  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |  7th when resigned | Only lasted 4 games of the season

[andychar]

2023 Asian Cup

The stage was set and after 6 pretty pointless qualifying games I was ready to take on the best Asia has to offer. I feel we have come a long way since I have taken over and this was my first chance to prove it.

We were given an easy group consisting of India, Jordan and China.

I had just taken on Jordan in a friendly which finished 0-0 but I was confident of my chances of qualifying with maybe only China having the team to give me a challenge.

As it happens I rail roaded my way through the group.

First came a 4-0 demolition of India.

Then it was a better performance against Jordan, an early goal easing any potential nerves.

We had already qualified as top by the time we faced China but that didn't stop us easing to a 3-1 victory.

We drew North Korea in the next round, against we weren't particularly worried. It was an easy game with the North Korean game coming in the 87th minute when the tie had already been over.

I thought with a bit of luck we could go far...we got Australia in the Quarter Final. Bugger!

We went 1-0 behind and I was gearing myself up for the, we had a good run, beaten by the better team blah blah crap that comes from a losing manager in a major tournament. Then in the 93rd minute with the last kick of the game an equaliser, out of nothing! We were still alive. We took the lead in extra time only to be pegged back with 5 minutes to go. I was thinking penalties it is, then with 2 minutes of extra time to play we pop up with a beautiful goal to take us through to the semi final.

South Korea stood in our way, we had beaten them previously in a friendly so I was cautiously optimistic.

We battered them for 90 minutes, just unable to find the net.

We battered them for another 15 minutes, just unable to find the net.

We continues battering them and just when it looked like all hope was lost we took the lead on the 110th minute. We held on as South Korea got stronger and stronger for the rest of the game. It was a famous victory and a maiden Asian Cup Final for Qatar.

I don't want to talk about the final.

We were dreadful.

Maybe it was the occasion.

Maybe the team was just burnt out.

Whatever it was we were awful. We went down 3-0. For the second time in my Qatar career I had been beaten by Iran in the final. First at u23 level and now at this level. Gutted doesn't even come close.

Still its not like they are Japan scoring in the 94th minute to equalise .

I have decided to stay on with Qatar and see them through another World Cup Qualifying Campaign before moving on.

This is me as of last night.

Its already been a random and varied career and I cant wait to see what will happen!

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      |    Position        | Other 
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |       1st          | Promoted as Champions
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |     2nd/2nd        | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria    | Hondruas | Liga National |  6th when Resigned | N/A
2021/22  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |       1st          | Estonia Cup Winners
2022/23  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |  7th when resigned | Only lasted 4 games of the season


Years in Charge |  National Side  |  Honours
  2018         |    Qatar U23    |  Asian Games - Runner Up      
  2019-        |      Qatar      |  WAAF - Winner
			  |	    Runner Up
			  |  Asian Cup - Runner Up    

[bucket]

Good luck with this and the baby mate. My daughter is 2 now so I've finally managed to get back into FM after a few years break!!

[andychar]

Good luck with this and the baby mate. My daughter is 2 now so I've finally managed to get back into FM after a few years break!!

Thanks bucket. We have our 20 scan on Friday so excited to find out if its a boy or a girl! It's why I chosen to do such a long save, I figure odds are I'm not going to be buying a new FM any time soon so might as well get the most out of 16.

January/February 2023

Ok so KR had massively underachieved last season so it was up to me to figure out just how to improve. First look at the team meant I needed a few new CM's and a few new CB's. My right back doesn't have fantastic stats but he won defender of the year last season so I decided to give him a chance. During the demands section of the interview I did express my interest in getting a Parent club, knowing the potential loan players would be a god send. I had a choice between Ajjacio who apply their trade in Ligue 2 or FC Vaduz who play in the highest Swiss league.

I eventually went for FC Vaduz, mainly because of their constant presence in the Europa League.

I was able to bag two players from their academy, both would fit in perfectly into my side. A couple more signings were made to bolster the squad.





By far the best Left Back at the club and with a cap at International level (albeit with Liechtenstein) he already boasts a bit of experience against higher class players.



Best position is a striker but he will be mainly used as a AMR thanks to our already impressive striker.



An impressive looking Danish CM who gives us a nice attacking option from the centre of midfield.



A much needed centre back to sure up the defence.



Will be utilised as a back up in case I need to push Amberge into a striker role.

So after a few purchases this is what my team looked like.



I was pinning some hopes on Skoog up front and despite there being a few positions that didn't shine I was happy mostly with my strength in depth.

So I went into the pre season with KR with my eyes totally off the ball. The Asian Cup was taking place at the same time and I wanted to fully concentrate on that, despite telling the board during my interview "Yeah sure I can totally juggle two balls at once". The assistant manager was in charge of this seasons friendlies...whoops!

I had decided to stick with the tactics that had proven to be successful in other countries.



Attacking, with focus on crossing and short passing. My players have a tendency of getting booked but its all apart of the game!



Pre season went ok with me actually only taking control of one of the games, the 3-0 home defeat against AIK. It was actually a fairly even game but their better quality shone through.

February also saw the start of the Icelandic Upper League Cup. It was one the board didn't care about so even a competition win wouldn't be enough to see be able to move countries. It was a good way of getting the players to gel and get used to the new formation before the start of the season.

There are 3 groups of 8 with the top 2 going through and 2 best 3rd place teams.

We started off ok with a 2-1 win against Lower League opposition. Robertsson getting the nod thanks to an early injury for Amberge. He took his chance well and fire us into a 2-0 lead before a quick 3rd made it an edgy last 15 but we held on.

It was then a game of 2 halves against Breioablik. They controlled the first half and deservedly took the lead. Robertsson proved to be a good signing and maybe more than the back up role I intended for him when he popped up with an equaliser after we dominated the second half.

Solid start with 4 points from 2 games, something to build on as the group stage progresses.

[andychar]

March 2023

Only the 3 fixtures in March.

Another hard fought draw. Once against we were second best in the first half, they scored just before half time. We huffed and puffed in the second half and eventually got the equaliser we just about deserved.

We started like a house on fire against Fjolnir before being pegged back to 2-1. The 3 points were wrapped up in the 87th and 90th minute before they bagged a 2nd.

Skoog finally started showing some promise against Stjarnan. We dominated from start to finish and never really looked like losing.

I forgot to take a screenshot of the table at the end of each month. I'll learn!

We were top but 7 out of 8 teams still had a good chance of qualifying. We needed to maintain the unbeaten form.

[andychar]

April 2023

April saw the end of the Icelandic Upper League Cup.



We needed points to guarantee qualification into the knock out rounds.

We started with a terribly dull 0-0, neither side looked like scoring. It meant we went into the last round of games still top but with 6 out of the 8 teams still fighting for qualification.

We took the lead in the final game before being pegged back before half time. The point amazingly meant we still finished top as 3 out of the 4 games finished with a draw.

We eased through the quarter final stage against Lower League Opposition with Skoog bagging a brace.

He kept up his recent good form and fired us into the final. For the first time we had a bit of consistency, then this happened...



He had a minor injury in the semi final so I took him off as a precaution. Never in a million years did I think he would be lost for the season! Makes you wonder what would have happened if I kept him on!

It was a loss but we managed to beat the reining Iceland Champions in the final.

It was the best performance so far, we were the better side throughout the game and defended brilliantly when we had to.





You can't tell me there isn't money to be made in Iceland! (£425 went out as a winning bonus, don't spend it all at once!).

Although it wasn't regarded as an important competition it will give us the confidence going forward as we look for a great campaign.

[andychar]

May 2023

I started the month with a good bit of personal news.



I bagged the highest badge I could, mainly thanks to my time at Al Kharaitiyat and Infonet as they had the finances to send me on courses.

So after the pre season warm up that is the Icelandic Upper League Cup it was time for the season to begin.

First I had a tough decision to make. Do I replace my injured striker or do I wait and see how it goes.



I bit the bullet.

I paid £245k for a striker who I couldn't scout because he was out of my range (despite me asking twice now to increase it).

It was a massive gamble especially considering this...



We are now massively in the red. Truth be told if I was planning on staying long term I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but that's not what this save is about.

I've put all my eggs in one basket. I have a feeling if I don't win at least the league or cup this season next season will be very very tricky.

Semi long term the Iceland league isn't very long meaning I have scope for a lot of big money friendlies, if need be anyway!

Right enough about my crippled finances lets look at the results for this month.



Perfection

Robertsson has turned out to be the signing of the season so far for me, some vital goals in the Upper League Cup and some vital goals for me in the early goings of the league.

You'll notice the worrying thing about these wins was the lack of goals from big money signing Djokic. Not a single goal and 4 pretty average performances to be honest.

All 3 league games were close, cagey affairs but can't argue with 3 wins from 3.

The cup game was against lower league opposition but I didn't rest any players...this came at a cost.



A goalscoring threat out for up to 8 weeks. That's potentially 2 months which is potentially 14 games. It could be a big loss going forward.

It left the league looking like this.



We hadn't set the league on fire but we were sitting pretty in 2nd. Last years champions were 2 points behind us after drawing their opening game.

The weird thing about a short league is although its only 3 games and not a lot can be won in the first 3 games of a season. We are already 1/6th of the way through the season.

[andychar]

June 2023

June was a busy month both Domestically and Internationally.

The Icelandic season got into full swing and the World Cup Qualifiers started in Asia.

First Qatar.



We started the month of fixture with a real test. We were up into the top 30 of the world now and I wanted to see where we actually stood in the world. We were 3-0 up at half time. It was a brilliant performance and probably one of the biggest wins in Qatar history.

We followed it up with a 5-0 win against a Vietnam side who was never going to challenge us.

The away win at UAE was significant because it posed the biggest threat to our qualification (assuming that Japan will go through no problems). We looked good and wrapped it all up in 45 minutes.

A great month and it left the qualifying group looking like this



Even at this early stage its impossible to look past Japan at us to fill those two space. Only the top team is guaranteed qualification then its the best 4 runners up. Even if we ended up finishing 2nd i'd be confident filling one of those 4 spaces up.

Ok onto KR.



We started off with a wobble with an away defeat to the defending champions. We actually took the league but were pegged back and beaten by the better team. It wasn't a major worry as this was always going to be the hardest game of the season.

We responded well with 3 wins in a row. We went into the cup game full of confidence. That confidence was shattered. We took the lead in a first half we dominated, everything was looking good then we just collapsed in the second half. We were punished for getting complacent and thinking the game had been won.

This followed onto the next game as once again we took the lead only to be pegged back.

Djokic has scored 4 goals in 6 games this month and showing promise for a good season.

All that leaves us with this as the league table at the end of the month



We are 2nd level on points with FH who do have a game in hand but there isn't much in the GD. We haven't been fantastic going forward but our defence has been solid. The league at this point is still wide open.

[andychar]

July 2023

We went into this month on the back of 2 disappointing results but very much still in the title race.



Then this happened.

A truly awful month. The first two games once again we took the lead only to be pegged back. An away win against Por was our only bright point. We dominated that game and also had 2 goals disallowed, I thought we had turned a corner. A gutless performance against lowly Breioablik followed. We actually played ok against Fylkir but were punished on the counter and unable to respond.

In regards to the 3-0 home defeat



If one game sums up this month perfectly its this one. Awful going forward, 17 shots from all different distances and angles without troubling the keeper much. 3 goals from 7 shots, 3 of which were a last second scramble.

We are in a very tough spot, nobody it seems are doing their job. It left the table looking like this



The title challenge is a distant memory, despite this lacklustre month we are only 3 points off 3rd which would be a Europa League place.

The board wanted Europa League and a cup final. Another month like this and I could be seriously fighting for my job.

Well at least in Djokic I have a striker who can turn it on at any given moment



Oh crap.

2 months left, 8 games to go and a fight on my hands for probably the first time in this relatively short career.

[andychar]

August 2023

After the shambles that was July the pressure was on to deliver a good month. We were only 3 points off 3rd and a Europa League spot so we couldn't let our heads drop.



Absolute perfection.

We started the month with a routine 2-0 home win. Then we followed it up with the first domestic defeat of the season for FH. They took the lead early but we bounce back and went 4-1 up, they threatened a mini comeback before we secured a massive victory a few minutes from time. We produced a solid display to beat struggling Stjarnan away from home.

The Valur game was a massive game, they were 3rd and we were 4th going into it. A win would take us 6 points clear with 4 games to go. We started strongly and deserved to be leading 1-0 at HT. They came storming back in the 2nd and were all over us, they were good for their 2-1 lead and I started getting that sinking feeling. Then Robertsson burst into life first equalising from close range then slotting home an equaliser from a very contentious penalty.

A fantastic month left the league table looking like this heading into the final month.



We still harboured hopes of a 2nd place finish but 3rd is still the priority. Its what the board wanted and after this month I'm starting to believe this team actually has some fight in it.

Didn't get a screenshot of it but Fykir beat FH in the final of the Iceland Cup meaning that 4th place is actually good enough for a Europa League spot, which takes a bit of pressure off the final month for me.

[andychar]

September 2023

I forgot to include my Youth intake in the previous post.



As you can see there is a very valid reason I wasn't excited. I decided to keep the odd few but I won't be showcasing any of them.

Now onto the month, it was a make or break month.



After the great August we went into the final month of the season full of confidence. That lasted roughly 80 minutes. We conceded 2 penalties in the 1-0 defeat, the first was scored in the 82nd minute while the 2nd was saved in the last minute. It was a body blow.

We recovered to record a good 3-1 victory against a struggling IR team.

We finished the season with 2 very close defeats. The start of the season we were winning the 50/50 games but that luck had left us.

Was it enough to finish 3rd?



Yes.

Truth be told 3rd was secured before the last 2 games and the boys simply took their foot off the pedal. It make it hard to really judge them harshly this month.



We also set a new record this season!



I'm so proud of the boys!



Robertsson turned out to be signing of the season and Iceland Player of the Season. Not bad for a player I signed purely as a back up!



Injuries hit us hard this season with Robertsson out for a good 8 weeks, my main striker breaking his leg before the start of the season. Then his replacement in turn breaking his foot.

I underestimated the Icelandic League. FH are a very good team and in a league consisting of 22 games they aren't going to drop many points.

I was wrong in my wham bam approach. I could be in Iceland for a few years and need to be mindful of the finances.

I think in order to move on I have 3 choices...

1) Perform brilliantly in the transfer window and ace the league.

2) Get lucky in the cup

3) Hope the FH manager moves onto bigger and better things and hope I can get the job.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed on all 3 fronts!

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      |    Position        | Other 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |       1st          | Promoted as Champions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |     2nd/2nd        | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria    | Hondruas | Liga National |  6th when Resigned | N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |       1st          | Estonia Cup Winners
2022/23  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |  7th when resigned | Only lasted 4 games of the season
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023     | KR             | Iceland  |  Úrvalsdeild  |       3rd          | Upper League Cup Winners, Europa League Qualification 

[andychar]

September 2023

Also in September I had a few more Qatar games. A little friendly against Macau and a World Cup Qualifier against Japan.

The Macau game served the purpose of building up confidence ahead of a huge game against Japan.

We won 5-0 in a game which was minimal fuss.

Onto the big game. It was an even first half with few chances for either side. The game came alive in the 2nd half and was pretty much decided in 5 minutes.

Firstly we made it 1-0 with a swift counter attack.

2 minutes later Japan were down to 10 men thanks to a second bookable offence.

1 minute later Japan were down to 9 men after I injured a player, they had used all 3 subs.

From then on it was pure domination, we were unable to extend the lead but left with a very impressive and massively important 3 points.





The win left us in control of the group. There is only one game left which worries me, Japan away. We have put ourselves in a good position to better what I achieved 4 years ago.

[andychar]

World Cup 2026 Qualification

With the Icelandic Season done it was time to turn my attention to qualifying for the World Cup.

3 wins from 3 had put Qatar in a very strong position to qualifying for the next round, something I didn't manage to do 4 years ago.



It was another 3 wins as we went 6 from 6, Japan hot on our heels with 15 points.

We looked good against Vietnam scoring 3 in the first half before adding a 4th late on.

We made it look harder than it was against Lebanon. We went 2-0 and 3-1 up but kept getting pegged back. We held on for a valuable 3 points.

We were 4-0 up against rivals UAE before they decided to make a game of it. We were looking a bit nervy but we got the job done.

We went into the last 2 games knowing that qualification was pretty much in the bag even before the key game against Japan in Japan.



Luckily for me!

The Japan game was terrible, we were 3-0 down at HT and looking completely out the game, we made a good fist of it in the second half and missed quite a few chances, on another day we could have made it close. As it were we didn't and we needed to win 8-0 in the final game to guarentee top.

We went 3-0 up after 15 minutes but took our foot off the pedal and in the end declared for 4.

It didn't matter in the end as the final table looked like this.



We only lost one game, it was a wake up call.

The draw for the next round was made straight away.

JAPAN

AUSTRALIA

QATAR

INDIA

JORDAN

THAILAND

Looking at the group we were confident of our chances of finishing 3rd. This would mean we face 3rd in the other group in a two legged encounter. Then the winner of that would face the country that finishes 4th in the CONCACAF section of qualifying.

We won't give up hope of finishing in the top 2 and automatic qualification despite the odds being against us.

[andychar]

Pre Season 2024

After finishing 3rd last season I knew what positions we needed to improve. I needed more strength in depth in both CB and CM roles. I needed a first team LB after Vaduz decided that Felix Schafer was going to get first team football this season. I was able to bag Amberge for another season. He was injury prone last season but was consistent when playing.

I had a generous wage budget, which meant with a bit of tweaking I had roughly 250k to spend.



He was brought to my attention thanks to his agent. Although he won't automatically first choice keeper he was free and his potential was there.



Another one for the future. He again was brought to my attention thanks to his agent. Potential to lead our back line. This season will be used as a substitute and will see plenty of game time.



Works well in both AML and AMR another free transfer. Probably wouldn't have been sought after but he impressed me in World Cup Qualifying.



Will slot into my team as my first choice RB. He cost me 110k from Slovenia. A bit of a gamble but hopefully he will save me some points. We lost a lot last season from winning positions.



He is listed as a 3 star midfielder but I am really excited about this guy. We bought him from Fylkir who finished 2nd last season. He has experience in the league and I think will be a major asset.

There was absolutely nobody worth getting at LB which was disappointing. I've repeatedly asked the board to increase our scouting pool but they constantly refuse. It's making my job harder than it needs to be.

The expectations were made clear to me. Exactly the same as last season.



Europa League qualification is top 3 or 4 depending on the winner of the Iceland Cup. We will be looking to do better in the cup following last seasons 4th round exit.



The press see us as a team very capable of pushing for the title. There was a bit gap between us and FH last season. With them evens and us 2/1 the press seem to think that gap has closed significantly.

Onto the friendlies and a chance for my new signings to gel.

[andychar]

February 2024

So, signings made, predictions in. It was time to hit the ground running with some friendlies and the start at the Upper League Cup.



It was a mixed bag for pre season. We started with a good performance and result against a 1st division side, although with 3 own goals I can't help but think they had a cheeky bet on losing.

Then followed it up with one of the worst performances I've seen from my KR side. Conceded 2 goals from 3 shots and were terrible going forward.

We made sure we didn't just make up the numbers in a testimonal the following game with Robertsson showing some form that bagged him Player of the Year last season.

We finished with a brilliant 0-0 draw against a much better Midtjylland. We were solid and showed something going forward. We were 2nd best throughout but did brilliantly to hold them back. A good sign for my new bolstered defence.

We got lucky with our Upper League Cup draw as there was only one other Premiership team drawn with us, meaning progression to the Quarter Final should be straightforward.

Robertsson made it 4 goals in 4 games and showed us how important he could be to some success this season.

2 wins from 2 meant we were top and had progression in our own hands, more importantly for me were the two clean sheets.

[andychar]

March 2024



March was fairly straight forward. Djokic bagged the only goal in a game we dominated from start to finish and never really looked like losing.

We dismantled KV for the 2nd time in as many months with Robertsson continuing his fine start to the season.

Vikingur R proved a tough nut to crack as we churned out a 0-0 draw.

The result of the month came against Valur. 2 goals at the end of each half was enough to seal our place in the knock-out stages.



The best thing about this month was the 0 in the goals conceded column. 6 straight clean sheets, something we struggled with last season.

April sees the end of the Upper League Cup. Could we continue this fine form and win the cup for the 3rd consecutive year?

[andychar]

April 2024



Short answer was no.

No we can't.

We ended the group stage with another big win, another clean sheet and all the confidence in the world. We were a bit unlucky to draw Fylkir in the quarter final but we were confident of beating anybody.

We conceded early on and proceded to spend the next 75 minutes pounding on the door. All credit goes to Fylkir, they defended brilliantly and rode their luck when they needed too.

So an early exit, but we can come out of that the tournament with our head held high. We crashed out to the only goal we conceded all tournament and we will look to take that positivity and ruthlessness into the season.

Fylkir went onto lift the trophy.

[andychar]

May 2024

May saw the start of the league campaign. I needed to be a lot more consistent this season if I was to challenge for the title. I almost certainly needed to avoid a bad month like I suffered last season.

A bit of transfer news first.



I was able to fill the gap that Schafer left at LB. A full Macedonian international that will bring experience with him. He could be a valuable addition to the team.

Onto the results.



We started much like we did last season, with a perfect month. Although we only made the points safe in the last 10 minutes against IA we never looked like losing this game.

Fram was a near perfect away performance. We dominated the ball and tested the keeper throughout.

Although it looks like we got a latter winner against Breioablik we actually went 2-0 up before they scored in the last few seconds for our first conceded goal of the season.

IBV on paper was a tricky tie in the cup but we rose above any nerves and booked our place in the 4th round.

It was a great start to the season.



We are the only team with a 100% record in the early going. The next two games are make or break, first a home game against FH followed by a trip to Fylkir. 3 points or higher would show we really mean business this season.

[andychar]

June 2024



So we started out make or break period with a 1-1 draw at home to FH. We went 1-0 down before Amberge equalised, neither side really pushed for a winner and both were happy to settle for a point.

We were disappointing against Fylkir, a goal in both halves sunk us, we never really recovered from going 1-0 down to be honest.

We bounced back in the best possible way with an impressive 3-0 victory. The decision to bring back Amberge for another season was justified.

We were expecting an easy win against IBV but with them being our rivals anything was possible. They stole the lead after we dominated. In the end we were lucky to grab a late equaliser to spare our blushes.

A hard fought win came next in the cup against lower league opposition. We were 2-0 up then 3-1 but they kept coming back at us, we held on for a place in the quarter final where we will face Fram at home. Its a winnable tie for a place in the Semi Final.

We looked good against Valur and grabbed a very important away win. All the goals coming in the first half.

Don't know how we didn't beat Por. We dominated and took the lead in the first half, then out of nothing early in the second half they equalised. We huffed and puffed in search of a winner but wasn't able to grab it.

It left the table looking like this at the end of the month.



Fylkir were the surprise early leaders. They won 7 in a row following an opening day defeat. It means the draw against Por is 2 points dropped after Fylkir also dropped points.

We are only 4 points off but with FH hot on our heels we need to make sure we don't have a repeat of last seasons mid season dip in form.

One thing we can be proud of is our much improved defensive record, we currently boast the best defence in the league. If we keep that up we will be there or thereabouts come September.

We also have this to look forward too.



Personally I've never heard of them but they are a professional outfit out of Cyprus. I think this draw falls into the category of, it could have been better but it could have been much worse.

The board just want me to be competitive but I know if we turn up we could get a result against them.

The 2 legs are sandwiched with the Quarter Final of the cup so its going to be a very busy and very important July for me.





Unfortunately we are going to have to do it without 2 of our most important players.

Iceland Player of the Year Robertsson broke down in training while Yeoman who has been consistent in the centre of the park had to be taken off against Valur.

A bit of good luck is needed if we are going to end the season with some silverware.

[andychar]

July 2024

July was a massive month as we faced three competitions, Iceland Premier League, Iceland Cup and the Europa League.

The cup was the priority as it's probably our best chance of actually leaving Iceland and moving onto Chile.



Well so much for that!

We were terrible and deserved to get beat.

This team has a habit of choking in the big games and this game was no exception.



An unbeaten month. Neither side looked like scoring in a bore draw to start the month.

Two massive away wins made even sweeter by the fact it was two more clean sheets.

It left the league table looking like this.



It actually doesn't look that bad. We are 5 points behind with 2 games in hand. We have a Fylkir to play at home yet so the title is very much in our own hands.



Forgive the dodgy cropping I thought after the screenshot it would look better to break down the different competitions rather than give you a big list of this months fixtures!

We were brilliant in the first leg against AEK Larnakas and deserved the 2-1 away win. We clung on to be honest in the 2nd leg but held on for a famous victory.

We drew MTK from Hungary in the next round and never looked like losing. We polished them off 3-0 at home giving us the chance to rest a few players for the second leg. Despite this we were able to come away with a 6-0 win!

We faced Belenenese from Portugal in the next round. The first leg it was men against boys. They were much stronger and it shows. Despite this we gave it a good go. 2-0 isn't a bad result when you see that their star player is valued at 16x more than KR as a club!

August was going to be huge, with only the league to focus on we needed to make sure we took advantage of the great situation we have put ourselves in.

[andychar]

August 2024

We started August with the 2nd leg of the Europa League.



We gave it a good go, actually taking the lead. In the end their power showed and we were knocked out. It was a good run and as you can see it didn't do anything to harm our finances.



A little in the red but very manageable.

We also got our Youth Candidates through.



Nobody really worth mentioning except maybe the keeper.



Given our shortage of good keepers he maybe the best of an average bunch.

Anyway onto the league results.



We picked ourselves up after the European exit and did all the damage in the first 17 minutes. It meant I could rest players ahead of a busy schedule as we started catching up on games.

The first game in hand ended with a late penalty to rescue a point. We were poor and it was up to our young centre back to spare our blushes.

A hard fought win over our rivals followed. Shihao securing all 3 points with a vital goal. He has stepped up following the injury to Robertsson and despite him being back to full heath Shihao continues to keep him out the team with brilliant performances.

We ended the month with a fairly straightforward win. Shihao again scoring a brace.



Going into the final month the league couldn't have been closer. We were top with a game in hand. That game in hand is away to FH, the furthest we could be from a guaranteed 3 points.

One thing is for certain, the title was going to go down to the wire.

[andychar]

September 2024

So this was it, crunch time. We have the advantage going into the month. First up was a huge game at home to Fylkir. Win this and surely I will go onto win the league.



We managed to beat Fylkir in a tense cagey affair. Djokic scored his biggest game in a KR shirt just before the half and we held on brilliantly. That opened up a 4 point lead at the top.

Then KR did what KR do best. Bottled it. A gutless defeat against Valur followed by a very tricky away defeat to FH. At this point IA and Fylkir had fallen away and we held a slim 1 point lead over FH.

Por were 11th at the start of play and were fighting for their lives. It showed! We took the lead before conceding a soft equaliser then giving away a stupid penalty before half time. We went for it and because of the gaps at the back Por went 3-1 up. Shihao got us back into it before scoring a beauty of an equaliser with only 10 minutes to go!

FH went top by 1 point and we could see the league slipping away.

We bounced back and picked up our first win in 4 thanks to another last gasp goal, this time it was Amberge who was in the right place at the right time to send the away fans into hysterics. This was after we went 1-0 down and Robertsson had equalised from the spot.

It left the table looking like this with one game to go.



Amazingly FH had lost while we were celebrating a last gasp winner. We went into the final round of games knowing a draw would be enough, unless FH could win by 6 clear goals.



It was not going to be easy. Both teams were away, FH had the easier of the matches but neither were a guaranteed win.

Would we be able to crawl over the finish line?

[andychar]

September 2024

So the big day had arrived. 1 point was realistically all we needed. Did we manage it?



YES!! But only just!

We were laughing when Shihao scored to make it 3-1, we were well aware that FH were comfortably winning their game but we didn't care. Then 2 minutes of madness and suddenly it was 3-3. We held on by the skin of our teeth and took the title.



We had done it the hard way but I don't think KR know how to do it any other way!

After making an effort to bolster up our defence you can imagine my delight that the difference between 1st and 2nd was just 3 goals conceded.

Cue the wild celebrations and awards.



Lukanc claimed signing of the season. He was fearless in defence and always got on with his job without fuss.



Shihao claimed Iceland Player of the Season after single handedly winning matches and earning some valuable points. Not bad for a free transfer!



I was able to claim Manager of the Season. Only the 3rd time in my career I've won that and the first since my final season at East Bengal FC.



With a decent run in the Europa League and a brilliant title it turned out to be a fantastic season for myself and KR.

There was only one thing left to do...





It also meant waving goodbye to the Icelandic Leagues and saying hello to the Mexican Leagues.

So after 2 seasons in the county I could wave goodbye to Iceland and looking forward to my next job in a much warmer climate.

Season   |      Club      |  Nation  |   League      |    Position        | Other 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC |   India  |  I League     |       1st          | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat |   Qatar  |  Q League     |       1st          | Promoted as Champions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20  | CD Victoria    | Honduras | Liga National |     2nd/2nd        | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria    | Hondruas | Liga National |  6th when Resigned | N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |       1st          | Estonia Cup Winners
2022/23  | Infonet        | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga  |  7th when resigned | Only lasted 4 games of the season
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023     | KR             | Iceland  |  Úrvalsdeild  |       3rd          | Upper League Cup Winners, Europa League Qualification 
2024     | KR             | Iceland  |  Urvalsdeild  |       1st          | N/A

[andychar]

World Cup 2026 Qualification

I had 2 World Cup Qualifying games mixed in the middle of a dramatic September. It meant between Club and Country I had 5 games in 8 days. I must have been knackered, but just think of the air miles I accumulated.

It had been 6 months since we booked our place in the final stage of Qualifying. With Japan and Australia in our group we needed to get off to a strong start and hope somehow either of those countries slipped up along the way.



It was a great start with a point in Australia. We were outclassed in the first half and deservedly found ourselves a goal down. A strong team talk worked and we came out fighting in the second half, we grabbed an equaliser and went close to winning it on a number of occasions. In the end the draw was a fair result and one that could go a long way.

India was much more routine. 1 goal in either half with the Indians not really threatening. It was a great start and it left the table looking like this.



It was already shaping up as we thought it would; ourselves, Japan and Australia fighting it out for 2 automatic qualification spots.

Next up was Japan away. It means we would have got the 2 hardest games out of the way in the first 3 games.

[andychar]

World Cup 2026 Qualification

Ok so in between domestic jobs I had the small job of qualifying for the World Cup with Qatar for the first time in their history.

We had made a positive start and were looking to maintain an unbeaten record. Next up we had a trip to Japan and knew it was going to be a tricky task.



We followed up a brilliant away point with a very sloppy home point against Jordan, we conceded a last equaliser. We managed to bounce back well enough Thailand with a straight forward win.

I haven't got a screenshot of the table at this point but I can tell you were were once against behind Japan and Australia at the half way point but we weren't completely out of it. Up next was a home game against Australia, a game which could make or break our chances.

[andychar]

WAAF Championship 2024

The Qatar national job was keeping me busy while I was searching for a job in Chile. We took part in the WAAF Championship as we looked to defend our title won 2 years previous.



We eased into the semi final with 3 good wins and not a single goal conceded. As you can see we grew more and more confident as the group progressed.



Anything other than a win against Syria in the last game wouldn't have been enough. They currently hold 3rd spot in the other group in World Cup Qualification meaning if qualifying ended today we would face them in a play off. This made it important to beat them and beat them well.



We eased into the final with another win and another clean sheet against Kuwait. Then everything went wrong.

We dominated the opening 25 minutes until they were awarded a penalty and we were reduced to 10 men. From then on it was an uphill battle, one we never really looked like winning. They dominated proceeding and made the trophy theirs with a calmly taken 2nd.

We came close to being the first nation to defend the title but it wasn't meant to be.

3 finals in a row. 1 lost on penalties, 1 won and the other lost because of a stupid rash challenge.

Some good did come out of this tournament though...I managed to bag a job in Chile.

[andychar]

December 2024

So in my head I had two choices.

1) Bind my time and wait for the right job in Chile to come.

2) Apply for the first job that comes available.





It was 2, I totally picked 2.



Unión San Felipe is a Chilean Football club, their hometown is San Felipe in the V Región of Valparaíso.

They currently apply their trade at the Estadio Municipal de San Felipe.



They have been relegated from the Chile First Division and find themselves in a little trouble this season...



...ok in a lot of trouble.

That's fine, the team got relegated last season and were one of the favourites to bounce straight back up. The team can't be that bad right?



Ok so on the surface they have a got some really good players. Unfortunately their strength in depth is terrible. I am going to need to make wholesale changes to this team in order to get it firing again.

The Chile First Division B works like this.

The league is split into an Opening Stage and a Closing Stage. The top 4 from each stage go through a playoffs. The winner of each play off face each other in a one off game at the end of the season with the winner winning promotion to the First Division. There is also a Promotion place for the team who finished top of the combined league, which is the Opening Stage and the Closing Stage added together. The team who finishes bottom of that combined league is relegated.

This basically means although my new team sit just 1 point clear of bottom they could still be promoted if they win the Closing Stage playoffs.

In order for that to happen I really need to strengthen this team. Avoiding relegation is the first port of call. Easy right?

I have one more game before the Opening Stage ends...away to top.

[andychar]

December 2024

So with 1 point separating us and the bottom side we needed to hit the ground running.



My first game in game had the potential to be a baptism of fire. We were able to pick up a surprising point away to the leaders. They could have easily been resting players ahead of the play offs but I didn't want to take anything away from a great result.

Next on the agenda was to strengthen the side as much as possible before the start of the Closing Stage. I made no fewer than 7 signings. Luckily the finances at the club weren't bad (this would have been a good idea to take a screenshot of the finances...I'm slowly learning). We had over 500k transfer budget with 10k left in the wage budget.



Reynoso was bought in as somebody who could happily player in either the AMR or AML side. He was a free transfer.



Araos was bought in to sure up the midfield. He is Chilean which is important for the Foreign policy which states no more than 7 none Chilean players can be registered for the league.



Rivera was bought in for the same reasons as Araos. Chilean and CM. We needed quite a few new CM if this team was going to be able to play with my familiar tactic.



Chilean, CM, experienced, you get the picture.



With our best striker on loan for whatever bizarre reason we had to dip into the market for a new striker. We were happy with what we came up with. Young, semi decent stats. If he could stay fit he could easily fire us into safety this season.



After focusing my title winner KR season on the defence I decided I needed to bolster up the CB with this guy.



Another player bought in so we had strength in depth all along the defensive line.

With these new players I was confident we could pull ourselves clear. It would be a case of how well the team would react to not only a new manager but a completely new tactic and 7 new players.

[andychar]

January 2024

So how would my new team do in the opening stages of the Closing Stage.



Oh.

Maybe I have underestimated the challenge I have on my hands.

We once again went away to the leaders only this time 0-0 was only a dream. We actually took the lead which hindsight suggests only got them mad. They were 2-1 up 15 minutes later and ran riot.

We picked up a semi decent point which seemed to be the problem in the Opening Stage. Too many draws.

We would have killed for a point away to Curico Unido but were completely outclassed.



The table had a familiar look about it. We would need to gel as a team fast otherwise face the dreaded drop.

[andychar]

February 2025

We needed some improvement in February otherwise relegation would start to become a real possibility.



It was a good unbeaten month.

The team was showing signs of gelling and getting used to the new tactic.

We picked up the first win under my stewardship, followed by a back and forth 4-4 draw, it went 1-0,1-1,1-2,2-2,3-2,3-3,4-3,4-4. Neither side willing to give up, a real proper game of football!

We were happy to pick up 4 points from the last two games of the month.



We had managed to pull ourselves away from relegation and with the bottom side looking like picking up a point is a pipe dream I was thinking safety was assured.

Now it was a case of building on an unbeaten month and seeing just how far up the table we could propel ourselves.

[andychar]

March and April 2025

We went into the next few months with a new found confidence.



Another good home performance saw us record a 5th game unbeaten before we hit a bit of a slump. A few players were briefly injured and a few more fatigued. We deserved both losses against two very good sides.

Then something just clicked, a great performance to win 3-0 and a hard fought 3-2 away win and suddenly we were 5 points off the top 4 with 3 very winnable games left to come.

We dispatched the already relegated Deportes La Serena with relative ease before a last gasp winner saw us take home the spoils in the penultimate game.

It left the league table looking like this with one game to go.



We could finish as high as 2nd or as low as 9th. No matter what we needed to firstly beat Lota Schwager (probably my new favourite team name) and hope that somebody ahead of us fluffed their lines.

[andychar]

April 2025

So we went into the final game chasing what would have been a pretty out of the blue play off appearance. Did we do it?



We won our game with a comfortable 2-0 win. Lota Schwager didn't bring there swagger with them. Was it enough to force a play off place though?



Amazingly it was! We had recovered from a shocking start to record 5 wins on the bounce and secured a play off place. We would need to be at our best because we drew Cobresal. The team I had faced twice now and failed to beat.

[andychar]

So how did we do in the playoffs? Would we achieve an unlikely promotion?

I'm just going to leave this here.

An unbelievable game of football which went back and forth for 90 minutes. Terrible defending by both teams, we both looked liked scoring with every shot on goal. In the end we decided to stop with just the 11. We went into the second leg with a slender lead knowing that with 5 away goals pretty much any victory for them would be enough.

Unfortunately I'm just going to leave this here.

It was a tight testy affair with neither side really creating any meaningful chances. As the game developed and it was still 0-0 our confidence grew and maybe we got a bit cocky. They hit us with a sucker punch on the 70th minute and we were unable to respond. The fairytale was over.

I had done what I wanted to this Closing Stage. I had steadied the ship, caused a stir and given the fans hope that next season might just be our year.

Reynoso bagged signing of the season, not bad for a freebie.

I think we are a few more key signings away from really making a go at the automatic promotion. At the very least I want to be challenging for both play offs.

May 2025

Season   |      Club        |  Nation  |   League         |    Position                 | Other 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16  | East Bengal FC   |   India  |  I League        |       1st                   | Confederation Cup Winner
2016/17  | East Bengal FC   |   India  |  I League        |       1st                   | Domestic Clean Sweep  
2017/18  | East Bengal FC   |   India  |  I League        |       1st                   | Super Cup and Conf. Cup Winner
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19  | Al Kharaitiyat   |   Qatar  |  Q League        |       1st                   | Promoted as Champions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20  | CD Victoria      | Honduras | Liga National    |     2nd/2nd                 | Opening Stage Champion 
2020/21  | CD Victoria      | Hondruas | Liga National    |  6th when Resigned          | N/A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22  | Infonet          | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga     |       1st                   | Estonia Cup Winners
2022/23  | Infonet          | Estonia  |  Meisrilliga     |  7th when resigned          | Only lasted 4 games of the season
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023     | KR               | Iceland  |  Úrvalsdeild     |       3rd                   | Upper League Cup Winners, Europa League Qualification 
2024     | KR               | Iceland  |  Urvalsdeild     |       1st                   | N/A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024/25  | Union San Felipe | Chile    | First Division B | 11th Overall 15th OS 4th CS | Took over in December

[andychar]

2025/26 Pre Season

After a good Closing Stage I knew this team wasn't that far off challenging near the top. Just a few more new signings were needed to bridge the gap.



I bought in 5 new players in the hopes they would be enough to mount a serious title challenge.



Luduena, a young Argentine centre back, brought in to bolster up the defence.



Vila, another young Argentine defender, he would fill a gap we desperately needed filling at Left Back.



Mendoza, yet another young Argentine, he would be used as a back up to our first choice Striker. My tactics tend to throw up injuries so back up was needed.



Ramos would fill the gap at AMR perfectly and with him being Chilean he would help with the foreign rule or no more than 7 in the squad.



Last but not least was Fabio. An experienced Brazilian to sure up the Centre of Midfield.

We these new signings I was confident we could challenge.



The bookies agreed with me putting us there or thereabouts for promotion come the end of the season.

First up however was the group stage of the Chile Cup. 8 Groups of 4 with the top 2 qualifying for the 2nd Round.

We drew fellow First Division B side Cobresal meaning by the time the season had started I would have played them 6 times in the short 23 games I have managed.

We also drew First Division sides Cobreloa and Palestino.

It was a tricky group and one that would really show us where we stand before the season begun.

[andychar]

July 2025



We started with an encouraging 3-0 win in a friendly against a team from the same division as us.

We started the Chile Cup brilliantly. We opened with a 4-0 thrashing of a team a division above us and followed it up with an equally impressive away win against the other team in the group who are a division above us.

Cobresal gave us a problem as they always seem too before we fell to Cobreloa.

We bounced back and was able to beat Cobresal at their own ground for the first time under my stewardship before giving Palestino another 3-0 hammering.

It left the group table looking like this.



The good news was we had breezed through the group stage and won 3 out of 4 games against higher opposition. The bad news was this...



We had been drawn against the holders and a team who are always there or thereabouts for the First Division title.

It was very unlikely we would progress any further in the Chile Cup.

[andychar]

August 2025

So after a good start to the season thanks to the Chile Cup it was important to maintain for the start of the league.



We started with a tense away victory over a team who were not predicted to set the league alight before producing a brilliant home performance.

We deserved the loss against Rangers they went 2-0 up then 3-1 before we decided to make a game of it.

We bounced back brilliantly and put Cobresal to the sword with 3 first half goals in front of their own fans.

We failed to capitalise against an Iberia team who were more than happy to sit back and frustrate us, they succeeded in doing just that.

We finished the month how we started it, with an important 3 points in what was a very tight game.

It meant the league looked like this in the early going.



With only 4 points separating the top 9 we couldn't avoid a drop in form.

[andychar]

September 2025



It was a perfect month in the league with 3 wins from 3.

The only downer was the inevitable loss to Universidad de Chile. We were out of our depth in front of our own fans but at least gave them something to cheer about.

Universidad de Concepcion really gave us a run for our money in the league before we nicked a late goal to take all 3 points. The other two games were fairly straight forward wins.

It meant the league table looked like this.



We had opened up a nice 5 point lead at the top but with only 3 points seperating 8th and 2nd we couldn't risk a bad month, we needed to build on this great form and run with it.

[andychar]

October 2025



October wasn't a great month.

Despite the defeat in the cup we gave a good account of ourselves and were happy to only conceded the 1.

In the league we started off continuing our winning run before falling to a disappoint defeat, we had a lot of suspension and injuries during this game to the point where we had 3 out of our regular back 4 out for one thing or another.



With Rangers (CHI) winning their game in hand and taking advantage of our slip up things were looking very tight.

Despite being pegged back at the top we were looking good for playoff qualification.

[andychar]

World Cup 2026 Qualification

I decided to wait until the Group Stage was over instead of doing them month by month.

We went into the half way point only a few points behind Australia with Japan streaking ahead. We had qualification in our hands and that started with a huge home game against Australia.



We rescued a point against Australia after they took a first half lead. We surrendered 2 points against India after we had taken a first half lead!

It meant after 7 games we had drawn 5 of them and won 2.

The 3-0 loss against Japan was the worst match we had played since the Asian Cup final, we were 3-0 down by half time and despite making a go of it in the second half we succumbed to a damaging loss. Luckily at the same time Australia were surprisingly losing themselves meaning we still had a chance.

We went into the last 2 games 3 points behind Australia. As we were beating Thailand they were snatching a last minute equaliser against Japan meaning we went into the last game needing a miracle.



More precisely we needed an India win over Australia while we needed to beat Jordan on their own turf.



We did our job. Were India able to hold up their end of the bargain?



No. No they weren't. For the 2nd time in a row we had finished behind both Japan and Australia. At least this time we had a lifeline. The teams finishing 3rd in both groups face each other in a 2 legged playoff. The winner of that would face 5th place in the South American qualification, in this case Uruguay.

We would first have to go through Iran then Uruguay to get to the World Cup in 2026, a huge task but one I was up for!



Or not!

Despite taking Qatar to their first ever Asian Cup final. Despite 3 straight WAAF finals (winning one of them). Despite taking them to a record high World Ranking position of 15th the Qatari board took it upon themselves to relieve me of my position. Despite the fact we still had a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

I was shocked and annoyed. I gave them the best 6 years of my life!

Flash forward, they were able to beat Iran 2-0 on aggregate but fell heavily to Uruguay. They still await their first ever World Cup, as do I.

Years in Charge |  National Side  |  Honours
2018            |    Qatar U23    |  Asian Games - Runner Up      
--------------------------------------------------------------   
2019-2025       |      Qatar      |  WAAF - Winner
	|		  |	    Runner Up x2
	|		  |  Asian Cup - Runner Up   

[andychar]

November 2025



Forgive the dodgy editing its from 2 different screenshots.

November was a good month for us with only the 2 dropped points. Everton (CHI) gave us a scare taking the lead twice before we took control of the game.

Union La Celera deserved a point after they gave us a very hard game.

We were two strong at home in the remaining fixtures.



We had qualified for the playoffs quite comfortably, but perhaps more importantly we had opened up a 3 point lead over Rangers (CHI) at the halfway stage.

We knew winning the playoffs would guarantee at least a promotion playoff game but we had our sights set on bigger things.

[andychar]

December 2025

December is Playoff time in Chile.

A two legged semi followed by a two legged final.





We did just about enough in the semi. We bossed the first leg and more than deserved our 2-0 win.

We were made to sweat in the 2nd leg as we conceded an early goal. We were the much better team throughout but knowing they were only one goal away from levelling the tie it made for a nervous match. Luckily we did just enough and booked our place in the final.

We were joined by Rangers (CHI) who after a goalless first half scored a last minute winner in the 2nd leg to send them through. Without that goal they were heading out on away goals.



The final was a much tighter affair.

We battled well in the first leg and deserved our 1-0 away win. We knew that a draw would be enough.

Rangers (CHI) came back though and were 1-0 up and deservedly so. We huffed and puffed but it wasn't enough to find the breakthrough, so to extra time we went.

It took us 4 minutes of extra time to score, we were 2-1 up in the tie. We dominated the extra period as we pushed for another goal. Rangers (CHI) caught us on the counter and on the stroke of 120 minutes scored the goal which I thought had sunk us.

Alas away goals don't count after extra time so with the score 2-2 on aggregate it was the dreaded penalty shootout.

10 penalties out of 10 were converted including their keeper making my keeper look silly. So we went to sudden death. The mere thought of sudden death was too much to handle for their number 6 taker, he ballooned his penalty over the bar. Up stepped my player who slotted home and gave us the playoff win.

I was able to finally breath again.



Worst case scenario we have a promotion playoff at the end of the season. With that secure we could really push on and challenge for the title and automatic promotion.