[FM20] Chain Wreck to Champions League | Lynx FC (Gibraltar)

[mattyjames_]

Gibtelecom Rock Cup - Season 2027/28

This season we faced one of the toughest Rock Cup draws that we've ever had, needing to overcome Lincoln Red Imps and Europa FC prior to reaching the Final. The good news is, we made the final.

Very close matches with not much between the two teams - often we were scrounging for players as it was a midweek match and we just needed bodies on the pitch. We had to overcome our fair share of adversity, with Paul Shields being sent off in the 15th minute of our match against Europa, leaving us to play the rest of the game with 10. We even had to switch Goalkeepers so that we could continue as the sending off would have left us with less than 5 Gibraltarian players on the pitch (and it's not just a "oh, we will let you play with less", it's a straight "you can't continue until you do this"). 

Thankfully we got through, with Philip Russell-Cunningham (our young Gibraltarian GK) making a save in the penalty shootout to give us the win. There was euphoria everywhere, but we still had one match to go.

The Final was interesting. Despite having been pumped 6-1 in not one, but two previous fixtures against me in the past two months (including the most recent fixture for both teams where St Joseph's never really stood a chance), the manager of St Joseph's thought that the lead-up to the Final was a good time to go on the attack and talk some trash about me. Well. Well. Well. We decided to not hold back.

He apparently said some more stuff about us not being good, so I went to town even more. I want to turn this into something fierce. Is there a way to upgrade your rivalries yet? So that St Joseph's can become fierce rivals with us? Or not?

 

Oh, feast your eyes on this.

This moment was the moment where Kelvin Morgan, who joined the club in 2020, scored his 200th goal for Lynx FC. Three minutes into the Final of the Rock Cup for Season 2027/28, and he's opened the scoring with this piece of brilliance. He went on to score a hat-trick and I couldn't have been more proud of the lad - he has been immense for us this season, he just keeps going from strength to strength and makes it impossible for me to leave him out of the squad! Interestingly, despite our strong form in this competition, we have not yet beaten Lincoln Red Imps record of 12 consecutive matches without losing in the Cup. However, I don't think we can be too far away from that mark!

 

Goal Scorers - Gibtelecom Rock Cup - Season 2027/28

Kelvin Morgan - 3

Screve Zola - 2

Craig Galliano - 1

Joe McGlynn - 1

[mattyjames_]

End of Season Awards - Season 2027/28

Fans player of the season- Kelvin Morgan (75%)

Mac's player of the season- Kelvin Morgan

Rising Star- Screve Zola

Goal of the season- Craig Galliano (vs Panathinaikos)

Signing of the season- Matt Watson ($532 k from Bayern Munich)

Young player of the season- Paul Shields

Kelvin Morgan. What more can be said about this lad other than "it's a matter of time before he is inducted into the Lynx FC Hall of Fame". After a season out of the awards last year, he was back, bigger and better this year, stealing 75% of the votes for the best player of the season, and earning every single vote along the way. You can't argue with a stat line like what he has produced. 25 starts for the club, 10 appearances as a sub, and he's scored 33 goals and assisted 8. In addition to that, Morgan was influential in lifting the Gibraltar National Team to Division B of the Europa Nations League competition, scoring 5 goals in 10 games. Screve Zola earns the Rising Star award for his performances since joining the club in January. Kelvin Morgan's strike parter was the first name on the team sheet after he arrived for $5 million from AS Monaco, and he earned his place in the lineup, In 15 starts across all competitions, he scored 12 goals and assisted 9, showing how deadly he can be.

Morgan's Stats:   

Zola's Stats:         

 

End of season stat leaders (competitive fixtures):

Top Goalscorer- Kelvin Morgan (33)

Most Assists- Leon Clinton (16)

Most Clean Sheets- Serine Sanneh (12)

Highest Average Rating- Kelvin Morgan (7.85)

Best Passing Percentage- Tjay De Barr (91%)

Most Player of the Match- Kelvin Morgan (9)

 

Season Summary

Managerial Record

Trophy Shelf

 

 

Finishing with some more good news, the club is going to again double down on the upgrades to the Youth and Training Facilities! Hooray! We might actually be at the top of the "tech" tree for this one!

 

We pocketed a cool $10 million at the end of the season for Champions League TV payments and our position on the 10-year revenue table, and we featured prominently in the Champions League Summary at the end of the season as well.

 

EDIT (again): The accolades keep on coming for our team this year! Kelvin Morgan actually won the Golden Boot for the Champions League, which takes into account just his goals throughout the Group Stage and Knockout Rounds.

It really has been an incredible season.

Edited September 22, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Well, I've broken my transfer record by a long way with this one...

He is amazing, and I am going to try him in the centre of midfield. He will never be "trained in Gibraltar" but I don't think that matters.

Matt Watson and Kegs Chauke are unfortunately the victims of this one - Watson will go on to play in league games, and I will be putting Kegs on the transfer list.

EDIT: I spoke to him prior to putting him on the transfer list, and he didn't want to go... so I didn't list him.

Edited September 22, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

Liverpool?! Getting so many crazy job interview offers at the moment! I'd never take this job. There's no way I'd work for the wrong side of Merseyside!

Does anyone know anything about the "Headhunted" achievement? I have been offered lots of interviews, but does it only pop if you get offered a job?

[cel1234]

15 hours ago, mattyjames_ said:

Yeah, I just love looking around the world and seeing what's been happening in the other clubs/leagues that I have nothing at all to do with! It brings things to life a little bit more for me, even if it's not relevant for the save.

Unfortunately, this may be the last we see of Hound Dogs from a competitive standpoint - being in the Gibraltar Intermediate League, they didn't get any of the TV rights money from the Gibraltar National League (understandably). This means that while every club in Gibraltar has a balance of around $10 million right now, they have just $20 k in the bank.

EDIT: Oh, I just wanted to add, that as of 24 May 2028, every club in the Gibraltar National League (except for St Joseph's, interestingly), using the money they received from the TV deal, has chosen to go professional.

 

Is our winning streak going to be threatened next season?

Thanks for that insite how have other teams been doing in European Competition then ??

[mattyjames_]

Just now, cel1234 said:

Thanks for that insite how have other teams been doing in European Competition then ??

Unfortunately, they haven't been doing so well. I'll put some images below with the summaries of each of the teams in the Europa Conference League.

Teams that don't appear above have never finished in the top four places in the league and therefore qualified for the Europa Conference League.

[cel1234]

Thanks for that, that's great no they not doing so well. Gona have to try and have a game with my data haha.

[mattyjames_]

Just now, cel1234 said:

Thanks for that, that's great no they not doing so well. Gona have to try and have a game with my data haha.

The other clubs have been pilfering my squad throughout the offseason, with lots of them picking up the youth players I'm not keen on for free. Will be interesting to see how we go playing against them next season!

[cel1234]

Until you sign them back when they become good.

[mattyjames_]

Can the goal of the season come from a pre-season friendly?

[mattyjames_]

This is the first leg.

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Champions League - Qualification Matches - Season 2028/29

For the first time in the history of Gibraltarian Football, the League Champion earned a pass to the Champions Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League. After our impressive performance last season, and knowing that we had continued to strengthen the squad, I was confident in our ability to make the Group Stage for the fourth straight season, and really show what Gibraltar was capable of on the continental stage. Well, you've already seen what happened to our first opponent.

To say we took our foot off the gas in the return leg is an understatement. Without the backing of the home fans, the boys just didn't want to go in for the kill, so we had to settle for a 16-0 aggregate win. The 14-0 home win was recognised as the biggest Lynx FC win of all time, and I think it will be remembered for a long time as well. Screve Zola scored 5 goals by himself, and Joe McGlynn added a hat-trick. Perhaps more impressive were the goals from Matt Watson and Kelvin Morgan, as both players were only substituted into the match in the 70th minute.

Goals: Zola (5), McGlynn (4), Di Biase (2), Watson (2), Haines (1), Morgan (1), Shields (1)

 

I was a little unsure with how to feel after the return leg of the Second Qualifying Round, only putting two goals past a team we kicked 14 past a week prior. And, my concerns were deepened as we faced off against FC Sion. The first leg was a comfortable, if slightly nervy 2-0 win away from home to give us a great advantage coming back to the fortress of the rock and Lynx FC Stadium, however we were shown up, capitulating in front of our home fans and only managing a 1-1 draw. We needed to do better, it was clear for everyone to see, and on a different day, we could have been out of the Champions League and hunting for scraps in more lowly competitions. Thankfully, our first leg success saw us through, and we would go into the playoff against a foe we had faced before.

Goals: Clinton (1), Di Biase (1), McGlynn (1)

 

FC Kobenhavn had not caused us any concerns when we previously matched up against them, and they would not do so this season either. We had two goals come very late in the away leg to secure a handy advantage coming home, before we smashed in six goals during the first half of the return leg to put the result beyond all doubt, eventually finishing 11-1 winners on aggregate. It means that we would again feature in the Group Stage of the Champions League. Despite Zola being particulary quiet across the previous two ties, McGlynn showed his worth, scoring five goals in the two matches against Kobenhavn, moving to the lead of the goal scorers charts. Kelvin Morgan hasn't featured as a starter for us in the Champions League this season - despite being named as one of the fowards of the season last time around, and being the top goal scorer as well, we have needed his Gibraltarian nationality in the league fixtures much more. Having played the first two league games by the time the Groups were drawn for the Group Stage, I already know that this is a good decision.

Goals: McGlynn (5), Zola (2), Clinton (1), Di Biase (1), Haines (1), Shields (1)

 

So, on to the group for this season. We come across some familiar faces, including some teams we have never beaten before.

We lost our previous two matches to Lyon in the Group Stage of the Champions League in Season 2026/27, with an aggregate score of 3-7. Our immediate aim is to do better than that this time around. We have never met Chelsea, but they have proven to be a very good team over the course of this save so far, winning the Champions League three times - once for every two times in the competition. Looking at their history, they are scheduled to win the competition again this year, as they have been out of it for a little while! The two years they did not participate in the Champions League, they were playing in the Europa League, and they won that competition last season.

I'd say Chelsea would be odds-on favourites to win the group, with Lyon the most likely side to qualify alongside them. The battle for third place, and a spot in the Knockout Rounds of the Europa League, will be between us and Benfica. At this point of the season, a third place finish and progression to another continental competition is my goal. Hopefully the boys can carry me through!

 

Looking at the other teams in the Gibraltar National League - our performance in Europe means that teams finishing 2nd - 4th in the league get to progress to the Second Qualifying Round of the Europa Conference League automatically. Europa were the only team to make it through to the Third Qualifying Round, but they were dealt with by their Norwegian opposition.

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2028/29

Joe McGlynn - 10

Screve Zola - 7

Filippo Di Biase - 4

Leon Clinton - 2

Chad Haines - 2

Paul Shields - 2

Matt Watson - 2

Kelvin Morgan - 1

[cel1234]

Did you give players rest for that 2nd leg ?? Haha

[mattyjames_]

6 hours ago, cel1234 said:

Did you give players rest for that 2nd leg ?? Haha

I think the players decided to rest themselves! It was the same team, maybe they just took their foot off the pedal.

[cel1234]

Perfect opportunity to blood some youngsters

[mattyjames_]

7 minutes ago, cel1234 said:

Perfect opportunity to blood some youngsters

It's interesting that you would say that, because a lot of my first team still have the ability to play in the U23 league (and will, when there are no other games on offer).

I think in part this is because I am trying to sign players at or before they turn 18 so that i can get them "trained in nation" before they turn 21, and therefore be classified as home grown.

 

But I do understand what you mean. I give a lot of game time to the "second string" teams in the League. Hoping for something amazing from the Youth Academy this season, too!

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Champions League - Group E - Season 2028/29

Disappointing. That really sums up our performance throughout the first half of our Champions League Group Stage campaign. 

You look at the group table and think "you're in third, that's what you wanted. Why are you disappointed?". Have a look at the results.

Two one-goal losses and a two-goal win. Now, on the face of things, that doesn't look so bad, does it? Here's why I'm so gutted.

We just haven't been finishing games! All three of our games so far have seen us concede a goal in the 89th minute or later. Thankfully it didn't cost us in the Benfica match, but to drop points to Chelsea and Lyon in that fashion, with the games coming in quick succession, was very hard to take. If those results stay as draws, we have three teams tied for five points in the group and we have a real good chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds this season. As it is, we are going to be lucky to hold on to continental football, I think. The very next match we play will be at home against Benfica. If Lyon and Chelsea draw, we might still be in with a chance, but anything other than that and I think it will be tough for us to get through to the next round.

 

The Lyon game was wild though, wasn't it? Well. Wait until you see the stats.

SEVEN. CLEAR. CUT. CHANCES. TO. ZERO.

And we lost. Absolutely OUTRAGEOUS. 

 

Anyhow, we have three matches remaining. All we really need is another three points against Benfica and we should have a spot in the Europa League Knockout Stages secured. Let's hope that we can achieve that!

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2028/29

Joe McGlynn - 14

Screve Zola - 9

Filippo Di Biase - 4

Leon Clinton - 3

Chad Haines - 2

Paul Shields - 2

Matt Watson - 2

Craig Galliano - 1

Kelvin Morgan - 1

[DaneBramage]

Ouch, those injury-time losses are a real kick in the balls.

[mattyjames_]

5 hours ago, DaneBramage said:

Ouch, those injury-time losses are a real kick in the balls.

But wait, there's more! 

[mattyjames_]

Youth Intake Preview - Season 2028/29

I'm not sure what more I need to do to get something better than "don't expect much from this intake".

Hopefully once we upgrade to the next level of Youth Facilities next year, we will be in with a shout of something better.

I'm trying literally everything I can.

 

A youth-only save in Gibraltar (similar to what @Jimbokav1971 is doing with Irchester) would be practically impossible if this is the return that I'm getting. Though it could be fun using the IR button...

For some reason, the board won't let me get any affiliate clubs (they say that we already have enough when we currently have zero). Has anyone else had this issue?

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Champions League - Group E - Season 2028/29

After some bitter disappointment through the first three matches of the group stage, we lined up for the return fixtures ready to take revenge on some of the teams that got the better of us the first time around.

We showed Benfica that we are definitely better than them, with a comfortable win that all but stitched up third place in the group for us. It was going to take a miracle for us to not at least qualify for more European football after the group stage was over. Zola played well, getting us off to a good start, and we just kicked on from there. The stats showed that we were a much better team, but I feel that we were giving away a few too many free kicks.

Next up, we would host Chelsea, who stole a point from us in the first match of the group stage with a 93rd minute goal. 

This time, they scored first. We were again outclassed, but it was a glorious header from Di Biase that got us back on terms and enabled us to take a point from the fixture. This left us with one match remaining, against Lyon, who we crushed for chances at home, but somehow they defeated us, scoring in the 94th minute to steal more points away from us. Based on the way that other matches in the group had played out, we were on equal goal difference with them, trailing them by just three points heading into the final match of the group stage. The team that won this match would move on to the Knockout Rounds. The team that lost would be demoted to the Europa League.

 

We couldn't get the job done away from home. We gave up another goal in injury time and gifted our opponents another two points, consigning ourselves to third place in the Group. It's a shame because we had some quality chances, despite the stats not showing it, it's just that our wingers wanted to take the shot themselves rather than cut the ball back to one of the four players inside the box waiting for the tap in. It hurts even more that the AI manager agreed that they were lucky when I said that in my post match press conference, even if the stats don't seem to agree.

This year's results were hard to take, knowing that if each game was just a minute or so shorter, we would have been undefeated throughout the entire group stage. However, you can't win everything your first time of asking, and this is just another step along the path to glory for Lynx FC. We will head to the Europa League and see if we can get some positive results from the Knockout Rounds there, and perhaps improve on our best-ever finish in that competition instead (we would need to make it to the quarter finals to see that happen).

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2028/29

Joe McGlynn - 14

Screve Zola - 12

Filippo Di Biase - 6

Leon Clinton - 4

Chad Haines - 2

Paul Shields - 2

Matt Watson - 2

Craig Galliano - 1

Kelvin Morgan - 1

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, mattyjames_ said:

Youth Intake Preview - Season 2028/29

I'm not sure what more I need to do to get something better than "don't expect much from this intake".

Hopefully once we upgrade to the next level of Youth Facilities next year, we will be in with a shout of something better.

I'm trying literally everything I can.

 

A youth-only save in Gibraltar (similar to what @Jimbokav1971 is doing with Irchester) would be practically impossible if this is the return that I'm getting. Though it could be fun using the IR button...

For some reason, the board won't let me get any affiliate clubs (they say that we already have enough when we currently have zero). Has anyone else had this issue?

I've done Youth Only in small Nations before. Off the top of my head I've done Wales, Iceland and Gibraltar. 

In Wales in FM20 I managed to win the EURO League. 

In Iceland I managed to get out of the Group Stage of the Champions League. 

I can't remember how I got on with Gibraltar. Let me see if I can find the thread. I've found this thread but there is loads of it missing it seems. That's a real shame. 

I've had a look at your thread but if you are having problems with intakes then it could be that they are just poor in comparison to your non (GIB) players, but it could also be that you are missing out on the best (GIB) youngsters each season. 

I'm assuming that you have the best Facilities in (GIB), but it would also be interesting to see if you also had the highest reputation in of (GIB) clubs. 

[mattyjames_]

2 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I've had a look at your thread but if you are having problems with intakes then it could be that they are just poor in comparison to your non (GIB) players, but it could also be that you are missing out on the best (GIB) youngsters each season. 

I'm assuming that you have the best Facilities in (GIB), but it would also be interesting to see if you also had the highest reputation in of (GIB) clubs. 

Wow, there goes my weekend! Haha, I'll be reading through some of these saves, that's for sure!

I'm comfortably ahead of the other clubs when it comes to reputation in Gibraltar, but maybe I'm not doing great in comparison to the other clubs in nearby regions? I don't quite know what it could be, other than just poor luck?

[Jimbokav1971]

5 minutes ago, mattyjames_ said:

Wow, there goes my weekend! Haha, I'll be reading through some of these saves, that's for sure!

I'm comfortably ahead of the other clubs when it comes to reputation in Gibraltar, but maybe I'm not doing great in comparison to the other clubs in nearby regions? I don't quite know what it could be, other than just poor luck?

Ok, brilliant. 

So we know you are top of the reputation rankings. 

What about the 4 facilities? Do you have the best facilities in GIB? 

[mattyjames_]

1 minute ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Ok, brilliant. 

So we know you are top of the reputation rankings. 

What about the 4 facilities? Do you have the best facilities in GIB? 

The next best training/youth facilities to us are "average" which one club (Lincoln Red Imps) has. Essentially every other club has "poor".

In terms of coaching/recruitment, the majority of the league has fairly basic youth coaching and limited youth recruitment. Again Lincoln Red Imps are the best of the rest with adequate coaching and fairly basic youth recruitment.

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, mattyjames_ said:

The next best training/youth facilities to us are "average" which one club (Lincoln Red Imps) has. Essentially every other club has "poor".

In terms of coaching/recruitment, the majority of the league has fairly basic youth coaching and limited youth recruitment. Again Lincoln Red Imps are the best of the rest with adequate coaching and fairly basic youth recruitment.

Well it sounds like are doing everything possible. The problem of trying to generate decent youngsters in a small Nation with a low Youth Rating is that they are going to be compared to the best players at your club who are obviously not from (GIB). 

The only player I have seen is Sarcone and it's just not realistic to expect even the best (GIB) players produced to be good in comparison to him. The problem is that while some of us would like to see Youth rating linked to something like structure reputation, (so it's fluid), it's obviously completely static in the game so there is a limit to what level of players you can produce even when maxed out. I'm pretty sure that I never produced players anywhere near the level of Sarcone when I was in (GIB).

[mattyjames_]

Gibraltar National League - First Stage - Season 2028/29

Well, we are at the halfway stage of the season. With 11 games played in the Gibraltar National League, it's time for the league to split, and our winning streak has continued.

While the teams at the bottom have continued to be bad, and the teams around the top of the league have continued to take points off each other, we have just gone about our business. Academy graduate Philip Russell-Cunningham has been playing in goal for us over the first 10 games (until first choice Goalkeeper Serine Sanneh complained about a lack of game time), and despite conceding twice in the opening match, he kept clean sheets for us through the next nine games and we have the equal best defensive record in the league. Sanneh conceded a goal in his only match in the league this season, which was a disappointing 2-1 win against St Joseph's to round out the early stage of the season.

Kelvin Morgan started the season in excellent form for us, but despite playing in all the league games throughout the season, he really hasn't kicked on in the past five or six games, and we have had lower scoring games as a result. Some highlights of the first stage of the league competition are:

Kelvin Morgan getting four goals in the first match of the season as the reigning Champions League Golden Boot winner set his sights on Gibraltar instead.

This game against Europa Point where they had three players sent off in the second half, and we still only managed to score one goal once we obtained a man advantage.

Also, I need to make their new logo a bit smaller, by the looks of this.

 

The transfer window was a very challenging experience for me, as there were a lot of clubs coming in trying to buy my players that I just don't want to sell. Thankfully, for the most part, they don't want to leave iether, or the ones that do want to leave can be talked around. $63 million in potential earnings is nothing to be sneezed at, but I would much prefer to be able to continue to be competitive in Europe and dominate the league, thanks very much.

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2028/29

Kelvin Morgan - 13

Craig Galliano - 6

Screve Zola - 5

Carlos Romero - 4

Tyler Burey - 3

Mark Burton - 3

Tjay De Barr - 3

Filippo Di Biase - 2

Filippo Ballarini - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Julian Del Rio - 1

Paul Shields - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

own goals - 1

[mattyjames_]

In other Gibraltar National League news, after securing a 0-0 draw with them earlier in the season, Mons Calpe defeated Lincoln Red Imps.

It wasn't even a fluke! They just outplayed them. This could be the rise of something new for Gibraltarian football. 

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Europa League - First Knockout Round - Season 2028/29

Well, I almost copied the goalscorers information from the Champions League to put here - then I realised that this is a completely different competition!

I also had a screenshot of the fixtures from prior to the first match, so you would be able to see all the teams that made it, but that's disappeared. What a shame.

Here's the results from the first matchday.

We did well. Aside from a two-minute period where we conceded a couple of goals in quick succession (which was disgusting), we played quite well. We did manage to rescue a two-goal advantage before the end of the match, which left us feeling fairly comfortable heading into the return leg.

We looked the goods in the return leg. For the first 15 minutes, anyway. We had some cracking chances, but could only convert one. Thank goodness Zola got that for us though, otherwise we would be watching the rest of this competition from the comfort of our homes in Gibraltar. Thankfully, we managed to stop the bleeding after they scored twice, and held on for an aggregate win, despite losing on the day.

 

We have been drawn against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the Second Knockout Round. They are currently 10th in the Bundesliga, and if we play well here, we might have a chance of making the Quarter Finals!

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Europa League - Season 2028/29

Paul Shields - 2

Screve Zola - 2

Filippo Di Biase - 1

[mattyjames_]

Youth Intake - Season 2028/29

Well, it's not great, but at least I know why - because these players are being compared to the players that we have at the club right now. There's always next year!

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Europa League - Second Knockout Round - Season 2028/29

Well, we moved fairly quickly into our match against Hoffenheim. Being the lower seeded team, we would host the first leg.

It went well. Really well. We kept it tight, and managed to grab a goal late in the piece thanks to youngster Carlos Romero and we took a 1-0 lead into the second leg. The scoreline could have been better for us, but their GK managed a 7.3 on the night. Unfortunately, two things went badly for us.

1. Louie Annesley picked up an injury that would see him out for 10-13 days. We couldn't give him injections as the next match we would play would be a midweek fixture in the Gibraltar National League. This meant that we would miss him for the return leg.

2. Filippo Di Biase got his third yellow card of the campaign in this fixture, meaning he wold be suspended for the second leg.

It wasn't ideal, but what choice did I have but to make it work?

I'm not sure exactly how this worked, but it did. We managed to hold out for the 0-0 draw, and we were through to the Quarter Final for the very first time in our history!

It's not the best fixture for us, but it's certainly not the worst. There might be a pathway here for us if we are at our best, and we get some luck as well!

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Europa League - Season 2028/29

Paul Shields - 2

Screve Zola - 2

Filippo Di Biase - 1

Carlos Romero - 1

[mattyjames_]

Gibraltar National League - Championship Group - Season 2028/29

After our first five matches, our undefeated streak continues, and we sit eight points clear of Europa FC, who are the only team that stands a chance of stopping us this season. Lincoln Red Imps have had a torrid time of things this year, and it was their second loss of the season to Mons Calpe that reminded me to make this post. The Mons have a chance of getting to the Europa Conference League this season, but they are facing a bit of an uphill battle to get past St Joseph's FC. We have only conceded one more goal as our squad has again been on heavy rotation during the past five matches, as each league game has been interspersed with a Europa League fixture, but we now have a run of a couple weeks before we get to the Quarter Finals of that competition, so it will be interesting to see how our 'A' squad fares against the Gibraltarian defences.

We aren't exactly selling out our home fixtures any more, but hopefully that will change as we start to get more competitive within the league again. I'm dreading the day that we fail to win a game. I just hope that it doesn't happen this season!

Joe McGlynn features on the list of goal scorers during the latter end of this run of games as he has gone missing up front for us, especially in Europe, and Carlos Romero has stepped up to take his place alongside Screve Zola. Exciting times for Romero, but the 26-year-old McGlynn might find his head on the chopping block in the not too distant future if he can't start producing the goods again.

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2028/29

Kelvin Morgan - 15

Craig Galliano - 8

Tjay De Barr - 5

Screve Zola - 5

Tyler Burey - 4

Joe McGlynn - 4

Carlos Romero - 4

Mark Burton - 3

Filippo Di Biase - 3

Julian Del Rio - 2

Matt Watson - 2

Filippo Ballarini - 1

David Bond - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Paul Shields - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

own goals - 1

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Europa League - Quarter Final - Season 2028/29

I don't quite believe it.

I honestly don't believe it. We are through. We will be playing in the Semi Finals of the Europa League this season!

It was a couple minutes of brilliance that put us in the lead in the first leg, with Romero and Sarcone doing the business to give us a good lead at the break. Real Betis having a player sent off early in the second half meant that we just had to hold out without conceding any more goals, and we had no issues doing that. We played out of our skin, but the stats were in our favour as well.

 

The return leg was an absolute epic. Real Betis had another player sent off as a result of a shocking tackle early in the match, but then we conceded shortly after and I was worried. Screve Zola's goal minutes later got me out of my seat, and Di Biase had me celebrating! Wesley's goal really killed my mood, and made for a tense 20 minutes prior to the end of the match. Their keeper played well in this one, and saved some of our clear cut chances, but I think on balance a draw was the fair result.

 

We have beaten Arsenal before...

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Europa League - Season 2028/29

Screve Zola - 3

Filippo Di Biase - 2

Carlos Romero - 2

Paul Shields - 2

Rocco Sarcone - 1

Edited September 26, 2020 by mattyjames_

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Europa League - Semi Final - Season 2028/29

Never in my entire life have I experienced the range of emotions that this two-legged tie against Arsenal put me through.

We played away from home in the first leg. The Emirates was absolutely packed, and we were playing defensive. Sitting back, inviting pressure, looking to hit the Gunners on the break.

Zola gets on the end of an early cross from Tyler Burey and with only the keeper to beat, slams the ball into the upright. However, the defender rushing in fails to clear the ball, the goalkeeper doesn't recover in time, and Zola pokes it home for the 1-0 lead!

After picking up his first yellow card in the 26th minute, Di Biase doesn't learn from his mistakes, and gets himself sent off with 10 minutes still to play in the first half. We opt to play even more defensively, and substitute Tyler Burey, the man who set up the go-ahead goal, for Kegs Chauke to play in the midfield. Minutes later, Arsenal score. It's 1-1. But wait, no! The player was offside! We still have the lead.

I can't believe it!! Paul Shields gets possession of the ball inside the defensive half, then dribbles all the way to the six yard box, weaving between numerous defenders. He then coolly side-foots the ball past the keeper, and we go up 2-0! We manage to hold the lead until half time, and I have run out of superlatives for the boys as we prepare for another 45 minutes with 10 men playing defence.

The Gunners decide to start playing in the second half. You can see what's coming, can't you? MacDonald gets his head on a set piece delivered from range, and the lead is cut in half. Right on the hour mark, we are whistled for a penalty. My head is in my hands, I can't believe we have thrown it all away and are going to be looking at a tie after leading by two goals.

SERINE SANNEH MAKES THE SAVE! An incredible moment for us as the keeper goes the right way and denies Arsenal a gilt-edged chance to equalise. The ball goes out for a corner, which we deal with adequately.

WHYYYYYYY can't we play defence?? Peluso is able to dribble between four of our players and get to the penalty spot, where instead of firing at goal he lays the ball off to MacDonald, who adds his second goal of the game and we are back on terms.

Somehow, we manage to hold on, and with the 2-2 draw comes the advantage in the return leg. 

We would play in front of a packed crowd at Lynx FC stadium, and the fans would need to be the twelfth man we needed to get us across the line. We approached the match cautiously, knowing that a 0-0 or 1-1 draw would also see us through to the final, but also knowing that Arsenal have the potential to blow us away if we don't turn up. The absence of Filippo Di Biase would make things harder, but it meant that we put the left wing back in the hands of local legend Craig Galliano, as everyone dreamed of us making the Final now that we had performed so well in the first leg. Things started fairly quietly, with no major chances coming for either team.

But just before the break, Arsenal scored. They took the 2-3 lead on aggregate, and we were staring at an exit from the Europa League at this final hurdle. We couldn't restore the tie before the break, and the lads needed some serious encouragement. They went out motivated, and it was almost like a different team took the field after half time. We earned a free kick on the edge of the area shortly after the restart, and Screve Zola sent a curling ball towards the back post. Louie Annesley was on target to meet it with his head, but then he hit the turf and the ball went out of play. Seconds later, the referee's whistle went and we were given a penalty due to Mejbri shoving Annesley out the way. This could be a window back into the match!

Galliano smashed the ball home and we were back on terms.

It's unthinkable! We demanded more of the lads, and they deliviered. Some impressive passing play gave Screve Zola the opportunity to set up Rocco Sarcone inside the box, and the Italian midfielder made no mistake, hitting the pass first time and sending the home fans (and me) into a frenzy!!

We would hold on for a 2-1 win on the night, which gives us a 4-3 win on aggregate, and we are through to the Europa League Final.

 

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Europa League - Season 2028/29

Screve Zola - 4

Paul Shields - 3

Filippo Di Biase - 2

Carlos Romero - 2

Rocco Sarcone - 2

Craig Galliano - 1

[mattyjames_]

Gibraltar National League - Championship Group - Season 2028/29

We did it again. Another season where we win all 21 games, and we take our seventh consecutive league title. It was definitely tougher in the second half of the Championship Group, though, which I think was in part due to the fact that our continental run has gone so late that we needed to continue to play a rotated squad. It's great to see College '75 get off the bottom of the table though! Mons Calpe needed a win on the final day to scrape into the European places, but couldn't get the job done against Glacis United.

We performed well enough in the league to have the title stitched up with three games to spare. Excitingly, we sold out every stadium we played in for the last five games of the league season. But as you can see, the matches were a lot tighter than they have been in the past. The rest of Gibraltar is catching up!

Kelvin Morgan unfortunately went very quiet through the second half of the season, managing just one more goal in the final five matches, despite playing them all. Astoundingly, he still had enough goals to win the Golden Boot for the season. No real highlights here, as the most exciting stuff happened in Europe. 

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2028/29

Kelvin Morgan - 16

Craig Galliano - 9

Tjay De Barr - 6

Joe McGlynn - 5

Screve Zola - 5

Tyler Burey - 4

Carlos Romero - 4

Mark Burton - 4

Filippo Di Biase - 3

Julian Del Rio - 3

Paul Shields - 3

Matt Watson - 3

Filippo Ballarini - 2

David Bond - 1

Leon Clinton - 1

Chad Haines - 1

Rocco Sarcone - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

own goals - 1

[mattyjames_]

Gibtelecom Rock Cup - Season 2028/29

Well, we made that a lot harder than it needed to be!

The quarter final was great. The semi final was okay, we just scraped through. The final was a nailbiter. Even though the stats said that it shouldn't have been.

We had to bring in some of our "first team" talent we were trying to save for the Europa League just to get back on terms and take this to a shootout (thanks Shields).

I mean, Lincoln Red Imps really had no right to even be in the game at the end of the 90 minutes, let alone at the end of extra time! Maybe we are shooting from range too much...

BUT, we got the job done in the shootout, with Russell-Cunningham getting a save on Laurence Shea's first spot kick, and all of our players getting the job done when they came up to the spot.

 

Goal Scorers - Gibtelecom Rock Cup - Season 2028/29

Carlos Romero - 2

Paul Shields - 2

Kegs Chauke - 1

Julian Del Rio - 1

Craig Galliano - 1

Kelvin Morgan - 1

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Europa League - Final - Season 2028/29

Well, here we are. The final game of the season. The FINAL. An historic moment for Lynx FC, and for me as manager, 10 years after I started my career. 3629 days since I took charge, and we are at the final of the Europa League. It's not our ultimate goal, but it is a pretty huge achievement for the club with the 30th best coefficient in Europe.

 

The butterflies are real. I'm very nervous.

Time for the most motivational pre-game speech I've ever performed.

The stadium is packed, and it is "go time".

The boys held things together well in the first half and despite a couple of hairy moments, Serine Sanneh has been working effectively between the sticks to keep the match on level terms. They have had a lot of long shots, and no one has yet had a clear-cut chance, so we are definitely in with a shout here. Hopefully we've learned a thing or two from our Champions League campaign about scoring goals during injury time, and we can get the job done in the second half.

Well that was short lived. Time to change things up. Going to a cautious mentality and going to ask more from the boys. Sanneh got his hands to the shot that came in from the edge of the area, but he only served to push it in at the near post, rather than pushing it over the frame of the goal. Unlucky.

The match looked like it was slipping away, so we went more and more attacking, but still never seemed to have a touch of the ball in the highlights. Athletico made the most of their possession, putting our defence under pressure and just making us cave under the weight of their numbers. A cross from the byline finding the head of Fati for the second, and surely, winning goal.

There is nothing more frustrating than watching your team turn into a bunch of absolute peanuts in a game of Football Manager. Not only can we not control a ball, we can't keep it in our possession, and we can't defend. Annesley and Haines just back away from Antonio as he makes a run to the top of the box. With our midfield nowhere to be seen, he fires off a shot that Sanneh stands no chance of saving, and we are capitulating. Time to go back to cautious.

We had a header hit the bar and a ball cleared off the line in the final thirty seconds of play, but we were unable to find a consolation goal in the goalmouth scramble.

Simply put, we were not good enough. We fall at the final hurdle, and who knows how long it will be before we make it back to this stage again. A sad way to finish what has been a glorious season.

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Europa League - Season 2028/29

Screve Zola - 4

Paul Shields - 3

Filippo Di Biase - 2

Carlos Romero - 2

Rocco Sarcone - 2

Craig Galliano - 1

[mattyjames_]

End of Season Awards - Season 2028/29

Fans player of the season- Kelvin Morgan (35%)

Mac's player of the season- Screve Zola

Rising Star- Screve Zola

Goal of the season- Paul Shields (vs St Joseph's FC)

Signing of the season- Rocco Sarcone ($15.49 million from Reggina)

Young player of the season- Matt Watson

Are these end of season awards taken from just the league competition? I've seen goals come from outside that in the past, but I'm not sure about Watson being named as young player of the season. However, he did finish as the closest ever runner-up to Kelvin Morgan in the Fans Player of the Season voting, with 30% of the vote. Screve Zola holds his Rising Star mantle for another year, and also takes home my player of the season award. The 19-year-old got 21 goals and 12 assists in 27 matches across all competitions, and although his performance was very "front of the season" heavy, he still contributed immensely to our overall performance.

Zola's stats: 

 

End of season stat leaders (competitive fixtures):

Top Goalscorer- Screve Zola (21)

Most Assists- Screve Zola (12)

Most Clean Sheets- Philip Russell-Cunningham (14)

Highest Average Rating- Paul Shields (7.54)

Best Passing Percentage- Tjay De Barr (91%)

Most Player of the Match- Rocco Sarcone (5)

 

Season Summary

Managerial Record

Trophy Shelf

Season Review

[mattyjames_]

Of course the Athletico manager would retire after beating us in the Champions League.

There's no way that I'd sign with them. That's the most "Kevin Durant" thing imaginable!

[Jimbokav1971]

On 26/09/2020 at 11:01, mattyjames_ said:

Youth Intake - Season 2028/29

Well, it's not great, but at least I know why - because these players are being compared to the players that we have at the club right now. There's always next year!

What I would say is don't ignore them. 

The best player on this list has 3.0 PA, but it could easily be higher. I'm not sure how many Youth players you are offering contracts to, but I certainly wouldn't be ignoring HG players. 

[mattyjames_]

42 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

What I would say is don't ignore them. 

The best player on this list has 3.0 PA, but it could easily be higher. I'm not sure how many Youth players you are offering contracts to, but I certainly wouldn't be ignoring HG players. 

I've generally just been taking the advice of my HoYD, which wasn't very many signings last season. However, now that the other teams in Gibraltar have a bit more money, it will probably be worth taking more of them and looking to sell them to the other clubs...

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Champions League - Qualification Rounds - Season 2029/30

Hot off the success we had in continental football last season, we headed straight into the Champions League Qualification matches for the new season. Our coefficient had risen so much between seasons that five Gibraltarian clubs would have places in the various levels of European football at the end of this season, which is incredibly exciting for the league and its future coefficients. This is even more so now that teams appear to be spending money during the transfer window!

We spent big this season, grabbing ourselves a young goalkeeper, a new winger and a new centreback, to round out our squad and prepare for the future.

They have played well since arriving at the club, even if the team's results have been hot and cold.

I'm not going to go into too much detail in these fixtures, as I'm sure you can see they weren't too much trouble for us. It was disappointing to have the rollercoaster ride through the matches, performing well in the first leg and then performing poorly in the second leg, but thankfully it didn't hurt us in the long run, and we again made it to the Group Stage of the Champions League.

Screve Zola dominated the opening leg of the Second and Third Qualifying Round, getting a hattrick in both games. Filippo Di Biase got himself a hattrick in the playoffs and we have had one player getting a hattrick in each round so far. Long may it continue!

We are looking pretty good when it comes to the group. Yes, we have always struggled against Lyon, and I don't think this season will be any different. However, we have previously defeated Galatasaray, and although we have never played Osijek, they are the fourth seeds in the group, so I think we should be able to get past them. We are aiming for second place in the group this season, but would be satisfied with third. This is easily the best group that we could have been drawn into, and after the first two teams were drawn in each of the groups, this group was the one I picked that I would like to be drawn into.

 

Taking a quick look at the continental campaigns of the three other Gibraltarian teams that made it to Europe this season; they all made it to the Third Qualifying Round of the Europa Conference League! That's a huge improvement for them, and it's exciting to think about going forward. Hopefully they can continue to improve and we might see another Gibraltarian team make the group stage of a competition sometime soon.

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2029/30

Screve Zola - 8

Filippo Di Biase - 5

Rocco Sarcone - 1

own goals - 2

[mattyjames_]

Our training and youth facilities have been upgraded, and they are both classed as "superb".

I spoke with the board, and they have agreed to continue to update both facilities - at the cost of almost $20,000,000! Everything to try and develop these youngsters into world beaters.

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Champions League - Group F - Season 2029/30

Speaking of beating the world, we have been doing a little bit of that throughout our UEFA Champions League Group Stage run this season. At the halfway stage of Group F, we are in the box seat to qualify, tied on points with Lyon, and comfortably clear of Galatasaray and Osijek.

In fact, with our next game coming against Galatasaray, we could be through to to Knockout Rounds in just 90 minutes.

Here's how we got to this point:

We started poorly against Lyon, a side that we have never beaten before, conceding in the third minute. Screve Zola hit back to get us on level terms just two minutes later, and Paul Shields scored just before half time to gift us the lead! Mark Murphy saved a penalty in the 4th minute of injury time in the first half, as we were able to preserve the lead heading into the break. Olivier Nitcham levelled the scores with a rocket from 25 metres out just before the hour mark, and neither team could break the deadlock. This is the first time we've ever taken points off of Lyon, so it's safe to say I was impressed with the lads for their performance.

We made things much harder than they had to be against Ojisek, but thankfully a Chad Haines header from a deep set piece in the 87th minute was enough to get us across the line and earn us three points in the group. Sarcone scored a goal and although he didn't have any assists, he provided four key passes, which is a great return. We dominated this game, and probably deserved to win it by even more, even if we didn't get the only clear cut chance on offer. If my memory serves me correctly, this was the final Champions League game that I played with the "Shoot on sight" instruction turned on. We may have played a couple of league games with the instruction on prior to the Galatasaray game, but it definitely wasn't on for the final match in the first half of the group.

Despite not "shooting on sight", we tore Galatasaray apart. We have consistently performed well against them, and this match was no exception. Screve Zola led the way with a hattrick and Paul Shields came through with a brace, while Carlos Romero broke his goal drought as we dominated the game from start to finish. The result is a huge boost to our goal difference, but not enough to lift us over Lyon just yet. Hopefully we can improve that in the near future. Their team average rating of 6.19 was dragged down by their goalkeeper's 5.8 and their winger, who scored a 4.5. I don't think I've ever seen a performance that low in FM!

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2029/30

Screve Zola - 12

Filippo Di Biase - 5

Paul Shields - 3

Chad Haines - 2

Rocco Sarcone - 2

Carlos Romero - 1

own goals - 2

[cel1234]

What a result v Galatasaray

[mattyjames_]

20 hours ago, cel1234 said:

What a result v Galatasaray

I'm pretty proud of that one, to be honest! The boys were great. Hopefully we can do the job away from home and secure qualification to the Knockout Rounds!

[mattyjames_]

Another less than optimal youth intake coming through, unfortunately.

I tell you what, when we get a good one there is going to be one heck of a party!

[mattyjames_]

UEFA Champions League - Group F - Season 2029/30

Well, we only needed one win to guarantee ourselves a place in the Knockout Rounds, and we managed that at our first time of asking.

An almost perfect run through the group stage, again marred by our ability to not be able to play football when we come up against Lyon. Here's how the final three matches in the group played out.

It was another great win against Galatasaray, as we were really firing on all cylinders. Carlos Romero hit his straps once he broke his goal drought, and came to the party with a goal inside the first minute, and bang on the hour mark as well. Matthieu Muller also scored his first goal in a Lynx shirt in this away from home rout victory. We had some time off prior to the next game, and I wanted to do some additional set pieces training. Let's maybe not try that again. We picked up injuries to three of our key players in the week leading up to the game against Lyon, and had a total of five players out due to injury as the fixture rolled around. As a result, we were playing this match without our starting winger (Muller), our starting CAM (Paul Shields) and our backup midfielder (Matt Watson). Let's just say the match went accordingly.

The final game was to be played all for pride, with Osijek only having a chance of moving off the bottom of the table if they defeated us. Playing on their turf, they actually caused us a little bit of trouble! Although we scored first, they hit back almost immediately, then opened up a lead moments later. Thankfully, we got back on terms and our man Screve Zola came through with some clutch goals to get us a 4-2 win and see off this group in style. This match was typical of what Osijek have been able to do in the group this season. Never enough to get a win, but just enough to cause problems and be a difficult opposition.

The fixtures for the knockout rounds look like this.

Hopefully we can make it through, but Manchester City are going to be tough to beat! Considering they won the Champions League last season, I don't like our chances. But we will give it our best shot, that's for sure!

 

Goal Scorers - UEFA Champions League - Season 2029/30

Screve Zola - 14

Filippo Di Biase - 5

Carlos Romero - 4

Paul Shields - 4

Chad Haines - 2

Rocco Sarcone - 2

Filippo Ballarini - 1

Matthieu Muller - 1

Matt Watson - 1

own goals - 2

[mattyjames_]

Gibraltar National League - First Stage - Season 2029/30

We have made it through the first eleven games of the Gibraltar National League with our winning run intact, and we hold a six point lead at the top of the table.

The other teams are definitely providing better competition for our second tier players, and perhaps more interestingly, the bottom seven places seem to be getting closer together. Europa Point may consider themselves lucky to have snuck into the top six, but they probably don't have any serious thoughts about making a run for continental football this season given they trail Manchester 62 FC by six points already, and will only be playing teams above them for the rest of the season. Here's a look at the games that brought us to this point.

I say that we have had to work harder, and I don't think that's incorrect. However, I also think that as we have played through the save, the quality of player in our second tier has improved dramatically. Some of the players that are now missing out on game time in the league are players that have led the line for us for years. Especially with European football settling down over the last couple of matches, we needed to play our "big name" players in the league to maintain their match sharpness ahead of our Champions League Round of 16 match with Manchester City.

Looking at the fixtures to come in the league, we play Europa twice in the next five games, and will look to eliminate them from championship contention by with plenty of games remaining. The interesting thing will be what happens to Lincoln Red Imps. We only play them once, but if they fail to win two other matches, we may be in a position where we can claim the title with more than four games to spare. Only time will tell.

 

The league leaders aren't really the "big names" that you have come to expect from this save, but that's generally because we have been using our big name players in Europe and resting them in the league. Hopefully that pays off and we can have a decent run through the knockout rounds of the Champions League this season. I will still be satisfied with making it out of the group, of course! With such young players in the first team, it's tempting to continue to buy young players and train them up in order to have a great home grown squad for years to come, but I also need to constantly remind myself that a lot of the players that I have (Zola, Sarcone, Di Biase, Bellarini, Romero) are all still teenagers, or at the very most, in their early 20s, and have a load of development ahead of them if I am patient with them. I think that is the key now. I need to be patient with a group and allow them to use the coaching staff and training facilities to grow and develop into world beaters at 28-32.

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me about having so many young players is that we can always go back and dominate the U23 league any time we want, especially if it's in a period where there are no first team games. We can field almost our entire first team in the reserve competition, and just wipe the floor with our opponents without breaking a sweat. It makes our U23 managers look great, and makes them a target for the bigger clubs too, which is an exciting little aside from the main save. In fact, the reputation of our Reserve team rivals that of some of the biggest teams in Gibraltar (St Joseph's, Lincoln and Europa would be the only teams with a better reputation than our reserves at this point in the save).

 

Goal Scorers - Gibraltar National League - Season 2029/30

Joe McGlynn - 15

Kelvin Morgan - 5

Carlos Romero - 4

Dougie Taylor - 3

Matt Watson - 3

Screve Zola - 2

Tyler Burey - 1

Mark Burton - 1

Kegs Chauke - 1

Tjay De Barr - 1

Julian Del Rio - 1

Kemeron - 1

Paul Shields - 1

Dylan Thompson - 1

[mattyjames_]

Youth Intake - Season 2029/30

Well, it's not a group of youngsters that are going to set the world on fire and immediately break into the first team, but it is one of the best intakes we've had in terms of potential ability. We could be making some signings here!