[FM20] Lost in Paisley

[Carambau]

It is west of Glasgow where the story begins. Paisley, a city of approx 75.000 people.

Home of St. Mirren Football Club, named after Saint Mirin, the Patron Saint of Paisley.

The Hope: Surviving in the SPL.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SQUAD OVERVIEW

Hladky is one of our best players and it´s no surprise he will be our number one. Lyness is his backup and Barton is there to learn.

Three experienced players look to lead the young talent in defence, with Paul McGinn being the most prolific here. Sadly, McLoughlin and Waters are only loan players who will return to their respective clubs after the season. I´m not sure we can make those deals permanent. Broadfoot and MacKenzie are pretty old already and past their best, so we will have no choice but to bring in fresh legs in central defense, be it from our youth academy or from other clubs. Erhahon on the left looks very promising though, but will need some game time to develop. MacPherson and McBrearty are not quite there to feature in the first team too often. Maybe we will loan them out to get match practice.

Kyle Magennis and Stephen McGinn will form our central midfield. However, there are lots of possibilities on the wings, Durmuz looking good on the left and McAllister is a great talent. Flynn and Djorkaeff will get their chances to prove themselves as well.

Morias, Mullen and Obika. Three strikers who are on the same level. The competition is on. Excited to see who ends up with the most goals at the end of the season. Plus, we have some very promising strikers in our youth teams, who rare to go but will probably have to wait and get loaned out.

 

TACTICS

We will try to play a very pressing game with quick counter attacks. I am not sure if it will work with the current squad though but we will give it a try nevertheless. The central midfielders especially do not look suited to it but maybe they will surprise me.

 

TRANSFERS

None. We are not allowed to make any signings during the first transfer window. I don´t know why though.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2019/2020 JULY - OCTOBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

We lost the first two games, then we got used to the new pressing tactics and started to get comfortable with it to be able to play a confident pressing game. Losing against Rangers isn´t exactly a disgrace. Especially the 4-0 away win at Hearts was a joy to watch. We look in good shape at the moment. Hopefully this run of form will continue into November.

We sit in 4th place. Enjoy it while it lasts. Would be nice if we could finish the season there, but it´s gonna be a tough walk. I´d be okay with a mid-table finish and I think this is realistic for our team.

 

LEAGUE CUP

We qualified easily from the group stage...

..but then we managed to lose to Championship side Ayr at home!! I still don´t know how that could happen. They countered our counter-press game perfectly. And they were lucky of course.

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2019/2020 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Only one loss in 2 months and that was against big Celtic. We even manage not to lose against Rangers this time. But most of those results were damn close, apart from that trashing of St. Johnstone. It´s a small margin between victory and defeat, so we have to be wary and keep our concentration up. And foremost : Score more goals.

Thanks to the great form in december we are the 3rd force in Scotland! However, it´s only 4 points to 5th. Better don´t get used to this. But we believe.

 

SCOTTISH CUP

We already lost againt a Championship side in the League Cup and want to make sure this does not happen again.

 

NEWS

A few players leave us in January. They were mostly fringe players, apart from goalkeeper Hladky who will leave us at the end of January to return to his homeland to Boleslav for a nice sum of 800K.

We needed more depth in central midfield and so we sign veteran Gary O´Neil on a free transfer. He is finally a decent Ball Winning Midfielder who can play that part properly in our central midfield. And: The Transfer Embargo is finally lifted now the Winter Transfer windows is about to open.

Brexit is not happening in this save. Never had that before in any save. Interesting.

 

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• The sheer amount of injuries seems to become a problem lately
• Most of our young players out on loan seem to be doing really well

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2019/2020 JANUARY - APRIL 2020

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

We lose four games, draw two and win six, more than I had expected. Many injuries take their toll, but the stand-ins do a good job. So we manage to qualify for the championship phase rather easily.

We remain in 3rd place after some good performances in the last 4 months. Now the championship phase begins. I can´t say if we have the breath to keep going, especially as there are more injuries hampering our first eleven, so we will have to play the inexperienced youngsters in the upcoming matches. Then again this is a chance for them to shine and maybe break into the first team. But it is a long way to go still. European qualification would be a dream come true.

 

SCOTTISH CUP

We have to play every match AWAY to reach the semi final...

...then we play AT HOME for the first time and lose!! Reaching the semis was better than expected though.

 

NEWS

After Hladky left us in late January, we had to bring in some quality in goal, so we sign Senegalese international keeper Clement Diop as the new number one.

Not a very good Youth Intake. Only Evans looks like a good prospect.

 

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• We  were also able to keep hold of most of the key players of the team for next season but we will lose a lot of young players so we need to grab young talent to fill up the reserve team and the U19s
• We keep losing money every month, approx 100K. However, the 800K from the Hladky transfer should keep our balance in the black until the end of the season.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Carambau

[Nobby_McDonald]

Why was there a transfer embargo in place?

[PaulHartman71]

Big up the St Mirren gang 

[Carambau]

8 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Why was there a transfer embargo in place?

That was what I was asking myself as well... luckily only in the 1st transfer window

Edited January 21, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

7 hours ago, PaulHartman71 said:

Big up the St Mirren gang 

We are on our way

[Carambau]

SEASON 2019/2020 APRIL - MAY 2020

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

We lose the obvious 2 games, and it all comes to a showdown on the last matchday. But we were able to keep our nerves and beat Aberdeen quite comfortably, securing european football as a consequence, at least for the preliminary/qualifying rounds. Should be some money in it too.

Celtic win the title, not very surprising. For St. Mirren FC, finishing 3rd is a dream come true. We deserve to play in the Europa League next season. The big 2 are impossible to catch at the moment, but there is hope this is gonna change in the coming years if we keep progressing. Livingston and St. Johnstone both go down to the Championship.

 

Our right winger McAllister had a great season and gets the reward for it. I wonder when the first offers from the big clubs will come in.

 

END OF SEASON STATS

Morias and Mullen score the same number of goals, but Morias had less games. Still I think, Mullen´s performances were better over the season. Magennis and McAllister ran the show in midfield. Broadfoot secured our defence like a boss, but he is no youngster anymore and will surely start to decline during the coming season. Diop made the fans forget about Hladky with his safe hands.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2020/2021 JUNE - JULY 2020

TRANSFERS

Free transfers and out-going loans to get match practice. Ryan Flynn and Cody Cooke are not a big loss. McAllister and McMaster were starting to become foul apples with their complains about no getting first team football, so we loaned them out as well to keep the peace in the club.

• ex-Celtic player Ross Doohan, who already got 6 caps for Scotlands U21s, will be the backup of Diop in goal
• Liam Donnelly is a Northern Irish international (6 caps) who can play as a ball-winning midfielder
• Liam Dick is the successor of Callum Waters on the left defender position
• Robert Dingwall is a very talented young Central Defender
• Ross Wallace brings experience on both wings
• We got 2 new strikers in David Goodwillie and Steven Boyd  

 

SQUAD OVERVIEW

Diop has proven in the last half of the season that he is a capable number one. But Doohan is too talented to leave him on the bench the whole time, so he should play the domestic cup games and maybe in some "easy" league matches against weaker opposition.

Looks like the the back line will consist of Dick, Broadfoot, Baird and Paul McGinn. For now. Dingwall is very good already, so he could replace Baird at any time when called upon. Paul McGinn always has the experience to help us, even if he is declining a little bit lately. Erhahon is trememdously talented but he does not show it too often yet. Hope this will change in the new season. McPherson is rather a midfielder than a right back.

Kyle Magennis is the leading man here. He will have to take control of the central midfield alongside new signing Liam Donnelly. Kyle McAllister and Ilkay Durmuz will contribute on the wings. Veteran Ross Wallace will surely bring in his experience. Gary O´Neil looks a bit past it by now though, while Foley still holds on and can be brought on when needed. Stephen McGinn is the backup in the center.

With 5 strikers available (Mullen looking the best of the lot at the moment), we will have to split the playing times. Thank god we have a lot of games to play this season! But I think at least one of them will have to leave in the winter, be it because of complaining about getting too few game time or because of bad performance.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2020/2021 AUGUST 2020

TRANSFER UPDATE

We make one final signing in this transfer window: Scott Allan from Hibernian joins us for 300K. We plan to play him on the left side in midfield, in rotation with Ilkay Durmuz and -to a lesser extend- Ross Wallace. When we saw he was transfer-listed by Hibernian, we took the chance to sign him on the spot. The former Celtic player should fit our style of play just fine. Additionally, he got 10 U21 caps for Scotland.

Edited January 25, 2020 by Carambau

[bestbrother]

Cracking first year at St.

Be interesting to see how you can move the club forward.

[deltablue]

Nice first season.

[Carambau]

14 hours ago, bestbrother said:

Cracking first year at St.

Be interesting to see how you can move the club forward.

Thank you The season exceeded my expectations by far!

[Carambau]

4 hours ago, deltablue said:

Nice first season.

Thanks mate looking forward to european football with us!

[Carambau]

SEASON 2020/2021 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

No defeat in the first seven games. We can be content with that. The draw against Celtic at home was the most boring match, but a point is still a point.

Third. Kilmarnock are the surprise team but I think they won´t be able to hold that position for long...

 

LEAGUE CUP

The first round match was harder than it looks, because in-form Kilmarnock were hard to beat but then Goodwillie scored and they didn´t. Hamilton didn´t pose a big thread and Mullen scored a brace to fire us into the semi final against Rangers.

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

We go out in the last qualifying round. Besiktas was just too strong and it showed what we lack in quality yet, especially in the first leg when they played cat and mouse with defence. The 2nd leg was won at least to restore some pride and keep our fans happy.

The craziest and best match came in the round before when we had to defend a 3-0 lead we thought was safe enough in the heated atmosphere in Rijeka. They scored an early goal and pushed us back, but we were able to counter and score which let us relax a little. But then came McAllisters own goal just before half time. They pushed us into our own half again and we were lucky when they hit the post after an hour. Then they scored their third goal and the fans went even more crazy. Donnelly was sent of for a harmless foul in midfield shortly after and Baird also had to go 3 minutes later. We held on. Then they scored their 4th goal. There was still time to score for them as the ref let the game go on for 3 more minutes but they did not create any more chances and we were able to keep our nerve, held on and prevailed.

 

NEWS

About time! Magennis wins his first cap for Scotland.

About time! Oldtimer O´Neil retires.

As there is some money available now, the board decided to splash it rightaway and enhance the terraces.

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2020/2021 OCTOBER - DECEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

So many games in december. Luckily we didn´t have as many injuries as last year at that time, so rotation was the way. The Hearts defeat was something like a wake-up call and we won the next four games. Motherwell are our bogey team this season it seems (besides the old firm).

Somehow we seem to have established ourselves in the top four of the Scottish Premier League.

 

LEAGUE CUP

What was that? We destroyed Celtic in the League Cup Final! At first it looked like this would end as expected with the clear favorite smashing the underdog easily, Leigh Griffiths scored. Then something clicked. In David Goodwillie. In just 16 minutes. The first was a tap-in from a Donnelly long shot, the second a screamer from 12 m right into the top left corner. He was on his way to his 3rd goal, when he was fouled in the box. Mullen snatched to ball from him and took the spot kick instead. Good for him that he scored! But Goodwillie was still hungry and added his 3rd goal in the 41th minute to make it 4-1. And that was that, the second half was nothing more than a parade from our players, the Celtic players were too shocked to create one sensible attack, unbelievable as it may seem. We. Have. Won. The. League Cup.

 

NEWS

Right winger Kyle McAllister is one of our best players. His contract was running out at the end of this season. We tried and offered him some good money, but he declined and asked for a transfer. So we had to sell him when Sheffield United came around the corner with 6.75M.

Shortly after the transfer was announced, he was called up to the Scotland squad and made his first appearance. Congratulations nevertheless.

Edited January 26, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2020/2021 JANUARY - APRIL 2021

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

We manage to stay up there with only three defeats in 3 months. The Hibs defeat was unnecessary but oh well sh*t happens sometimes I guess. David Goodwillie and Danny Mullen are forming a great strike partnership up front, Goodwillie is 2nd in the goalscorers chart by now.

63 points and still 5 games to go! Looks like a record breaking season if we can keep this up until the end. At least european football should be possible for us.

 

SCOTTISH CUP

The opposition was not the strongest on our way to the final with 3 championship teams... Anyway, you have to beat them nevertheless and so it´s another Cup Final this season, and again it´s against Celtic. I somehow suspect this time it´s not going to be that easy...

 

NEWS

A better Youth Intake this time. There are at least four or five players we could probably use in the future.

 

After the bad start to the campaign it was inevitable. At least they caught up by now, sitting on 2nd (as usual). Gennaro Gattuso is his successor.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• Our finances look great now. We have about 6M in the bank. Looking forward to spend the money in the next transfer market
• Lots of talent on the DC position in our youth teams. Gonna be tough to decide who to promote to the 1st team when Broadfoot retires after this season

Edited January 27, 2020 by Carambau

[Nobby_McDonald]

Very good first season Carambau and second season going very well too.

[Carambau]

8 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Very good first season Carambau and second season going very well too.

Thank you We are progressing quite well! One concern is out reputation is still so low that bigger players dont even want to start contract negotiations but I guess we will just have to wait and continue to grow..

[kidthekid]

Great start to the save. Good to see the tactics working.

[Carambau]

10 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Great start to the save. Good to see the tactics working.

Thanks a lot Yeah I wasn´t expecting them to adept to this that easily, but I won´t complain

[Carambau]

SEASON 2020/2021 APRIL - MAY 2021

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Motherwell are our bogey team this season. We lose the last match. But it doesnt matter much as we qualify for Europe again!

Celtic win the title and we finish 3rd again. We get closer to Rangers, let´s hope we can narrow the gap next season. Ross County and Queen of the South go down this year.

 

Kyle Magennis was the commanding force behind our success this season and he fully deserves all these awards.

 

SCOTTISH CUP

Celtic get their revenge. We don´t stand a chance this time.

 

END OF SEASON STATS

Goodwillie and Mullen score the same number of goals, but Mullen had less games this time. Magennis was the best player for us and the whole league, as proven by his awards. Broadfoot will retire but no worries - Dingwall and Baird made a great pair in central defence. Erhahon continues to develop and Paul McGinn proved he´s still got it.

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2021/2022 JUNE - JULY 2021

TRANSFERS

Let´s get rid of the old deadwood. Obika can leave as well.

• Gary Nicol will be a backup for the right back position
• Yahia Kalley is a Swedish U21 international who could start for us as left back
• Daouda Weidmann and Kays Ruiz, a central midfielder and a winger, join us from Paris Saint Germain´s U19 team. Both are backups but should get their minutes
• Striker Liam Cullen  is another option in attack
• Daniel Harvie is another left back option
• We also bring in Dom Thomas, a right midfielder. The deal happened close to the transfer deadline, so he is not included in the squad overview below

 

SQUAD OVERVIEW

3-D! Diop is still number one, but Doohan had some good games last year and will get more this season. Dunne is a Northern Ireland U21 player.

Baird and Dingwall have proven a reliable pair at the back. Talented youngster Denham is one of our youth academy products. We will see how the new signings Nicol, Harvie and Kalley will fit in. Erhahon is needed alongside Magennis in central midfield, so Kalley can be expected to feature on the left mostly. Paul McGinn or MacPherson on the right back position.

Kyle Magennis is our best player, no doubt. Central midfield looks very thin, but Donnelly and Erhahon can also play there. We brought in Dom Thomas for RM in the last minute too. Hopefully the both new young french players will develop well. They got lots of potential that´s for sure. Rangers persistently wanted to buy McCabe in the transfer window, but we said no. He got a bit angry, but McGinn came to the rescue again and was able to calm him down.

Goodwillie had a good first season for us, but Cullen is 10 years younger and will play when David needs some rest. Mullen & Cullen - doesn´t that sound nice?

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2021/2022 AUGUST

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

A nice start. And Liam Cullen shows why we brought him in! He only fails to score against Rangers, our only defeat. Also notable: The young Kays Ruiz scores right in his first game after being given a chance on the left wing. Same for RM Dom Thomas on the right wing.

We slide in between the old firm. For now.

 

LEAGUE CUP

There´s only one round to play in August and we win comfortably. Cullen scores again.

This time we won´t meet in a final. And we are likely to go out in the quarters.

 

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

We make it to the group stages! Opposition wasn´t too hard to be honest, but we surely did not expect to beat Malmo FF 4-1 at home! Even though our goals all came in the last 15 minutes it was impressive stuff. I mostly benched in-form Cullen in those games to give him some rest, and Goodwillie had to step up alongside Mullen. And David wasn´t very impressive in those games, it had to be Mullen to score the decisive goals for us. Maybe his age is slowly becoming a factor.

I honestly don´t know what to make of this group. We probably could win it comfortably or go out finishing last. Or something in between.

 

NEWS

I think everybody knew that this would happen at some time...
 

Spoiler

 

...but veteran Stephen McGinn was able to calm him down. For now at least.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

4 hours ago, rdan said:

Brilliant so far mate playing in the Europa will bring in some decent revenue and any good results are a bonus, good luck!

Thanks Yeah some more money will be beneficial. Thinking about upgrading our facilities.

[Carambau]

SEASON 2021/2022 SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Awful two months in the SPL for us. We only manage to win one match. It shows that Magennis is integral to our game. But he injured himself in training the day after we won against Hearts and was out or the remaining matches. Cullen got into a crisis and didn´t score anymore as well. Two bad months for us.

We are in 6th position. At least the gap isn´t that big.

 

LEAGUE CUP

And we´re out. It was a crazy game though. Celtic thought they had it in the bag after the first half and our red card. But we managed to come back with two goals and they got one of them sent off too. There were lots of fouls, bookings and aggression and they even missed a penalty. But it stayed at 3-2 until the end.

 

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Looks like we enjoy the Europa League better than the Scottish Premier League at the moment... An easy victory in the first game, and we even win the next two away games. We were very lucky in those games though, with their chances outweighing ours 2 times. Anyway, a win is a win and we got 3 now. Looks like we qualify.

9 points from 3 games = Top of the table.

 

NEWS

He is not a regular starter, but 7 months is harsh...

Edited February 2, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2021/2022 NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

We improve. And the best thing is: Cullen is back! December is his month! After having a little crisis he came back in style, scoring 5 goals.

4th. We rise up the table after two good months. Celtic are cruising, while Rangers are having a bad first half of the season.

 

 

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Playing some benchwarmers in the last 2 games after we secured qualification after match day 4.

We lose top spot to AZ but who cares.

Astana from Kazakhstan will be our opponent in the first knockout round. Seems a decent draw.

 

NEWS

We sign central midfielder Greg Docherty as we needed more man-power in the center.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2021/2022 JANUARY - APRIL

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Finally we find our pace with Mullen on fire. Only one defeat and that was against the Champions.

Celtic have already retained the championship. Boo! Boring One-team league! The other teams have proven they are rather weak contenders, if you regard our bad run of results in the first half of the season and now we are in a secure second place. Especially Rangers did disappoint, Gattuso wasn´t able to get them on track, but he is still in charge. Now we have to defend second place in the remaining 5 matches. I am pretty optimistic about it.

 

SCOTTISH CUP

Seems an easy road to the semi final, but it was harder than it looks. We mostly played non-first teamers which in the end it did pay off luckily.

And of course t´s Celtic again.

 

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

European cup days are good fun for us. We enjoy the occasion and cruise through to the quarter finals, thrashing Young Boys on our way.

This should be an even affair in the quarters and could go either way certainly.

 

NEWS

The Youth Intake this year is rather disappointing. Better luck next time.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Carambau

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 29/01/2020 at 22:34, Carambau said:

 

 

Why did nobody qualify for the Europa League and three in the Europa Conference League?

[Carambau]

4 minutes ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Why did nobody qualify for the Europa League and three in the Europa Conference League?

I have no idea... 

[Carambau]

SEASON 2021/2022 APRIL - MAY 2022

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Twelve points from five games, only losing the odd Celtic game. We bring a successful season to a close.

We finish second, the highest finish St. Mirren has ever achieved in the Scottish Premier League! The UEFA Champions League awaits!

 

Mullen is joint top scorer.

 

SCOTTISH CUP

Celtic finish us off in the semis. It seems since the defeat in last years League Cup final, they always dominate us.

 

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Trabzonspor were too tough for us in the semis. But what an achievement for this team. Next season the opponents will be even tougher though.

 

END OF SEASON STATS

Ethan Erhahon is our player of the year, Magennis wasn' t that influential this season. Erhahon already had some offers from clubs from the MLS but we declined of course. New signing Kalley emerged as the solution on the wing back position for us and late signing Dom Thomas surprised with constantly strong performances as a right winger. Also youngster Ruiz played very convincingly, there is surely more to come from him. And of course Cullen & Mullen. Both scored the same amount of goals. Goodwillie is only a backup now. Last but not least our keeper Clement Diop had a fantastic season with outstanding saves.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2022/2023 JUNE - JULY 2022

TRANSFERS

After long years of service, Stephen McGinn leaves us for Crewe. The rest are loans to get game time.

• Michael Docherty is a young central midfielder from Ayr, our scouts say he has bags of potential
• Anthony Ralston, an ex-Celtic player with 5 U21 caps, should be a certain starter on the right back position
• Central Defender Harry Souttar , dual Australian-Scottish citizen, comes from English Championship side Stoke where he didn´t make the grade
• Young talent Tony Ward was available on a free, he should compete with veteran Goodwillie for a place behind Mullen & Cullen

 

SQUAD OVERVIEW

No changes here. Diop, Doohan and. Dunne.

Baird and Dingwall have another competitor for a CD place with Souttar, Denham also develops well. New signing Ralston will start on the right side, same for Kalley on the left.

Erhahon and Magennis in central midfield, with both Dochertys challenging. Ruiz is ahead of McCabe at the moment, but the season is long. Dom Thomas on the right wing. And don´t forget Donnelly.

Mullen & Cullen first, Goodwillie & Ward second.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Carambau

[Nobby_McDonald]

Now Rangers are in the Europa League.

Excellent work qualifying for the Champions League.

[Carambau]

15 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Now Rangers are in the Europa League.

Excellent work qualifying for the Champions League.

Thanks

I guess it was mostly due to their bad run of form that we are now playing CL instead of them ...

[Carambau]

 

SEASON 2022/2023 JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Bad start but we make up for it in the following games. Good to see Ruiz and Ward score.

The top 3. There is already an impressive gap between them and 4th place after 8 games.

 

LEAGUE CUP

The road to the semis. It wasn´t that hard.

Not Celtic this time for a change.

 

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

After making short work of Swiss challengers FC Zurich and getting our revenge on Trabzonspor for last season´s Europa Conference League semi final defeat, we thrashed Danish outfit FC Midtjylland 4-0 at home. A long party night in Paisley followed.

 

Then this happened:

Spoiler

 

Never underestimate the Danish. We felt safe. We felt superior. Champions League group stage here we come we said. Then it all fell apart. After hitting the post two times in the first 10 minutes, the danes finally scored. And then they scored again. We did not put up a fight, we just could not, as they were tightly marking and pressing which is normally our game and we could not cope with that. Our passing was abysmal and almost every ball was given away quickly. Thinking just sitting back and some long balls would be enough to see this out was a mistake obviously. Half time came and time to breathe but it did not help much. Liam Donnelly maybe thought he was proving a point when tackling his opponent from behind in central midfield shortly after the break. Off he went. Mabil scored his second goal. We were safe still. Then the ref let the game run until the 96th minute and they scored. Extra time then. With only 10 men and already out of breath. Then young and talented striker Bozhidor Kraev came on for Midtjylland. And he finished us off with his two goals. Daniel Harvie got one back for us, but it was clear this meant nothing. Europa League here we come.

 

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

Strangely, we played Fenerbahce twice in the first 2 games. Anyway, a win and a draw are good enough. And we beat Maccabi.

Hoffenheim won all 3 games, so it looks we both will qualify.

 

 

 

NEWS

Another right midfielder for us. Luke Bolton is a last minute transfer, having been released by Man City.

 

 

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• What a name for a stadium!? Funny I did not notice that earlier as it is Livingstons home ground...

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

 

SEASON 2022/2023 OCTOBER, NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Losing against Rangers was unnecessary, but it happened.

Third behind the old firm.

 

LEAGUE CUP

And we are out. Rangers make short work of us.

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

No defeat in the group stage.

We top the group.

Lazio are next.

 

NEWS

Highly talented goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson comes from Valeranga for 2.3M. Our stopper Diop will not like that, but that´s life and he´s already 32 while Klaesson is only 22 and already has better attributes mostly. Maybe Diop will be sold in January already if there is interest, otherwise he will leave at the end of the season surely.

 

Our striker Tony Ward is capped for the 1st time for Northern Ireland. Congratulations.

 

The FIFA World Cup took place during winter in Qatar and Germany won it, again producing a 7-1 win in the World Cup semi final, this time against old rivals Argentina having dispatched Brazil already before in the quarter finals via penalties. Jamaica were the surprise team of the tournament, as they made it to the semis, only to lose to a Christiano Ronaldo-driven Portugal.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Carambau

[Nobby_McDonald]

Things went very pear shaped in Denmark.

[Carambau]

22 minutes ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Things went very pear shaped in Denmark.

I guess you could say that...

[Carambau]

SEASON 2022/2023 JANUARY - APRIL

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

A lot of games and not much time to rest, many injuries too. Still, we manage to win most of them. Five to go.

Celtic are five points ahead, Rangers are 7 points behind. Anything can happen in the remaining five games. We hope for the best.

 

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

Well we gave them a good fight. In the end Lazio are the more lucky team. We did not practice penalties before. Had I known it´s only one game, then we would have.

 

 

NEWS

The Youth Intake - again - is rather disappointing..

Edited February 17, 2020 by Carambau

[Gross_Ballon]

This is insane ! you sir are punching well above your weight ! 

[Carambau]

7 hours ago, Gross_Ballon said:

This is insane ! you sir are punching well above your weight ! 

Well, ok... if you think so... 

Edited February 18, 2020 by Carambau

[Gross_Ballon]

10 hours ago, Carambau said:

Well, ok... if you think so... 

I mean congrats its amazing having been a Glasgow Rangers fan for 28 years I meant in comparison to real life ! Its crazy to see ST. Mirren in Champions league etc !  enjoying it ! rather neat 

[Carambau]

2 hours ago, Gross_Ballon said:

I mean congrats its amazing having been a Glasgow Rangers fan for 28 years I meant in comparison to real life ! Its crazy to see ST. Mirren in Champions league etc !  enjoying it ! rather neat 

Thank you very much, mate 

Yeah, we are indeed growing much faster than I expected before!

Edited February 19, 2020 by Carambau

[Gross_Ballon]

14 hours ago, Carambau said:

Thank you very much, mate 

Yeah, we are indeed growing much faster than I expected before!

Probably one of my favorite saves to read on here. Mind blowing not knocking in your transfer ability  Just crazy with such a low budget and champions league and still with a lower rep having to sign lower level players. 

Maybe a good run or league title could project Mirren to be able to go for higher rep players. 

None the less this is one heck of a wild save ! all credit to you. 

If you had a 1st season save should up load it for some of us to give it a go. 

looking forward to more updates. 

[Carambau]

13 hours ago, Gross_Ballon said:

Probably one of my favorite saves to read on here. Mind blowing not knocking in your transfer ability  Just crazy with such a low budget and champions league and still with a lower rep having to sign lower level players. 

Maybe a good run or league title could project Mirren to be able to go for higher rep players. 

None the less this is one heck of a wild save ! all credit to you. 

If you had a 1st season save should up load it for some of us to give it a go. 

looking forward to more updates. 

Nice to hear that

Maybe we are developing a bit too quickly, but I don´t mind. Getting high rep players is hard, youre right there, but I love diving deep into player searching and finding potentia unknownl gems. Sorry about the 1st season save, but I do 3 rolling saves which always overwrite each other... Update coming very soon!

[Carambau]

SEASON 2022/2023 APRIL - MAY 2023

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Don´t ask me - I don´t know where all these draws came from suddenly. Maybe to do with the FM update? Anyway, we secure second place with those results.

We finish second again. So we get another go in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.

 

END OF SEASON STATS

Signing Klaesson was the right decision. 15 clean sheets in only 24 games speak volumes. I guess Diop is on his way out. Having Ralston in defence really helped, as he shut up our right side, becoming our best player over the whole season. Souttar didn´t have the impact I expected, as youngster Dingwall was hard to overtake. Apart from those, the usual suspects shone again, with Dom Thomas once more playing surprisingly good. Young Tony Ward established himself in attack, which means that Goodwillie and Cullen will have to look for new clubs as they just were not good enough.

 

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• Since joining from the PSG youth team, Kays Ruiz has made enormous steps forward in his development and has now established himself as our regular left midfielder.

 

• The Scottish teams were so bad in the european competitions, that we will have to start one round earlier in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers from next season (not this one).

Edited February 21, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

SEASON 2023/2024 JUNE - JULY 2024

TRANSFERS

There was no interest in buying him, so Cullen goes out on loan. Diop has also gone on loan to Sporting Kansas City in the MLS.

• Talented midfielder Dane Murray comes from Celtic and gets loaned out again straight away
• Anthony Shakes was the top scorer of the Championship last season and will be a backup for our strikers
• David Turnbull is a young Chelsea FC academy product for our central midfield
• Anyone remember Jack Wilshere? The ex-Arsenal and ex-England midfielder comes on a free
• Young striker talent Pedro Magalhaes gets loaned out from Benfica, a potential first teamer
• Central defender Matteo Gabbia comes from Milan, where his contract ran out
• Veteran DeSilvestri is signed as a backup/replacement for Ralston, who injured himself in august (see below)

 

SQUAD OVERVIEW

Diop is gone. Klaesson all the way. Doohan maybe in the domestic cups.

Gabbia will be trying to break in between Baird and Dingwall, and Souttar and Denham are also still there. Good competition, I´d say. With Kalley on the left and usually Ralston on the right.

I wonder what Wilshere still has to offer for us. Turnbull looks a good prospect. Ruiz continues his development.

Looks like Magalhaes is our best striker at the moment. He will start alongside Ward. Sorry, Mullen, but you have to be patient. Shakes as well.

Magalhaes looks like a real talent. Hope he lives up to the hype and delivers.

 

NEWS

The season could not have started worse. Our best player of the last season is out until next year and the new *star* signing will have to wait for his debut as well.

 

At least the media is starting to take us seriously and see us as real contender.

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Carambau

[Carambau]

  

SEASON 2023/2024 AUGUST & SEPTEMBER

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

A good start to the campaign. No defeat and an away draw against rivals Celtic.

Early days. But look at promoted Dundee! They are enjoying a great start.

 

LEAGUE CUP

Dundee continue to prove they are hard to beat until we finally do it.

It is time we beat Celtic again.

 

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The dream is real! We finally qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. I thought Liege and especially Marseille would provide harder opposition but they did not. Or - we have already grown that much. Time to celebrate!

 

Then this happened:

 

Spoiler

 

This is sooo damn nice! Thank you, UEFA! It doubles our bank balance and makes us more competative in the transfer market I hope.

Anyone said "Group Of Death"?

 

Our first match in the Champions League ends with a late defeat to Liverpool. It was a good fight, but in the end individual class saw them through.

 

Let´s be realistic. We hope to snatch a point against Benfica at home and that´s it.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Carambau