Sumqayit: Second Edition

[Cheez3y]

18 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

YOUTH INTAKE REVIEW - MAR '29

The worst intake since the save started, not sure what to do? i) invest more or ii) change HoYD. 

Didn't even bother with screenshots. 

Probably both.

[ToMexico!!]

2028/29 SEASON REVIEW

Another season another league win as we really dominated the division, we even went unbeaten for the first time and dropping points in just three games. 

76 goals scored is another record, beating last seasons total by two goals. We finished 16 points clear of Qarabag which is only the third biggest margin in the save so far. 

In Europe, after topping the Europa League group consisting of Villarreal, Dynamo Kyiv and Spart Prague we were rewarded with a 2nd Knockout Round tie against Fenerbahce. Unfortunately, we couldn't continue our heroics as we fell to 1-0 losses home and away, still a valiant effort against a Turkish giant. 

Qarabag did get one over us this season in the Kuboku final. We had beaten Xazar Baki, Kesla and Baki en route to the final before Qarabag caused what could be considered an upset by beating us 1-0. 

The squad is really settled at the moment and it showed this season with the performances as a team and individually. Three players managed to score more than 20 goals whilst two more hit double figures. Bazungula top scored with 31 goals in 42(7) games and also made nine assists whilst new boy Pedro Santos notched 26 goals and made 23 assists in his debut season with us. However, it was Dzenis Burnic who shocked me the most, the Bosnian central midfielder scored 29 goals and made eight assists in 40(11) games. Pushing him forward from DM(dlp) to CMa has worked wonders. 

Full Squad

Off the pitch development has slowed, the facilities now both sit at an Adequate level whilst the Junior coaching is at an Exceptional level but the Youth Recruitment lags behind at Fairly Basic, we need to target that I feel. Our league average attendance was 5103 which is our capacity, so we need a bigger stadium already. 

[ToMexico!!]

6 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

Probably both.

You're probably right. 

We're currently spending just shy of £150k per month on the youth setup. Which equates to £1.8m per season there or thereabouts. 

I changed my HoYD to this guy around two seasons ago, whilst he's not the best available he was the best that was affordable, we can only offer wages up to £1.4k p/w at the moment. He also has room to improve, with just a National B licence but the coaching course bug for HoYD seems to be about still. 

I could also improve the youth training facilities again, we surely must be in the realms of spending £1m+ every upgrade now. 

I may just bite the bullet and improve the Coaching/Recruitment if possible and then improve the Youth Facilities if neither come to fruition. 

[Cheez3y]

1 minute ago, ToMexico!! said:

You're probably right. 

We're currently spending just shy of £150k per month on the youth setup. Which equates to £1.8m per season there or thereabouts. 

I changed my HoYD to this guy around two seasons ago, whilst he's not the best available he was the best that was affordable, we can only offer wages up to £1.4k p/w at the moment. He also has room to improve, with just a National B licence but the coaching course bug for HoYD seems to be about still. 

I could also improve the youth training facilities again, we surely must be in the realms of spending £1m+ every upgrade now. 

I may just bite the bullet and improve the Coaching/Recruitment if possible and then improve the Youth Facilities if neither come to fruition. 

Yeah I think you can now go crazy with it and max it.

As long as you make it into a group stage of the EL, you should be save.

[ToMexico!!]

UPGRADE - JUNE '29

We asked for a Junior Coachig, Youth Recruitment and Youth Facility upgrade but only managed to convince the board to upgrade the recruitment, which I don't mind as that was the worst of the three. 

[ToMexico!!]

RANKINGS - JUNE '29

A huge leap up the rankings, we move ahead of the Israeli, Hungarian, Polish, Bulgarian, Croatian and Swedish top flights. 

Most importantly we gain a Champions League spot, the league winners enter a round later too. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

MAJOR TRANSFER - JULY '29

Our first major transfer of the save comes in our ninth season as Man City have signed centre back Dario Schottland for £3.5m and then loaned him back to us for free. The deal includes a 50% profit clause which I imagine we will benefit from quite lucratively as he is immediately worth upwards of £21m. 

[ToMexico!!]

RECORD - AUG '29

Academy player Mammadov was promoted to the first team for the season due to needing a U21 players in the first team. He made his debut in the season opener against Sabail. 

Where he also scored a goal after 13 minutes. 

[ToMexico!!]

EUROPE - AUG '29

Armenian side Ararat were no match in the 1st KO Round of the Champions League, 12-0 aggregate scoreline. 

Belarussian side BATE up next and it was much closer, 1-1 away in Georgian due to the nuetral stadium. A solitary goal a week later was all that was needed to win the tie. 

Swedish side Djurgardens next. A 1-1 home draw was a worry for the away leg but a 5th minute red card for the Swede's allowed us to turn on the style. 

Another Scandi side in Rosenborg, we lost our first tie of the season in Norway, a tough task to overturn the deficit at home but we made it a win but went out 3-2 on aggregate. 

We drop down into the Europa League where were drawn in Group D.

Now this is a tough group, toughest so far. 

[Cheez3y]

4 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

MAJOR TRANSFER - JULY '29

Our first major transfer of the save comes in our ninth season as Man City have signed centre back Dario Schottland for £3.5m and then loaned him back to us for free. The deal includes a 50% profit clause which I imagine we will benefit from quite lucratively as he is immediately worth upwards of £21m. 

The moment I saw Peng and Schottland I knew they would bring you a nice chunk of money.

Nice business!

[ToMexico!!]

TRANSFERS - SEPT '29

We've already mentioned the exit of Schottland to Man City and then subsequent loan back, well he then broke his foot and was ruled out for 4 months which prompted me to move the signing of a new CB forward 6 months. 

After some intial scouring of the usual suspect teams we plumped for Slovan Bratislava's Jozef Chovanec for £825k. The young Slovakian defender should improve with a full season playing his favoured position. 

The other player to join was Rovsen Cafarov on a free transfer after he was released by Dortmund where he came through their academy, he won't be a regular player for us of course but it was more about bringing a Azeri national home. 

[ToMexico!!]

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE - DEC '29

We did much better than I thought we would, picking up two wins and six points in the process. We only suffered one heavy defeat also, against Juventus in Italy which was probably to be expected. Unfortunately, six points wasn't enough to get us 3rd as we finished bottom of the group. 

An extra point could have seen us into 2nd place and qualified for the 1st KO Round. 

[ToMexico!!]

YOUTH INTAKE REVIEW - MAR '30

If I remember correctly, the preview was very similar. I got caught up in the Euro's final and forgot to screenshot the preview and any midseason update. 

One top talent is disappointing. Asif Nacafov could develop nicely into a back up striker for us, he has a decent personality too. 

Full Intake | Map 

[ToMexico!!]

STOLEN STAFF - MAR '30

Another one bites the dust. He's been here eight months and off he goes to try his hand at first team management. 

This is quite nice though. 

[ToMexico!!]

MAJOR SALE - MAR '30

Well this sale didn't happen in March but it did back in January, I forgot to mention it at the time. 

We sold Keylor Benavides to Man City for £1.8m which was less than Schottland but still a decent deal. As part of the deal we got him back on loan for the rest of the season and we also included a 50% profit clause as standard for these types of deals. We're actually currently running at a loss with this transfer but I hope the profit clause will benefit us in the long term especially as he is worth upwards of £42m at the moment. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

2029/30 SEASON REVIEW

We made it seven league titles in a row in an extremely routine season in which we went unbeaten for the second successive season. We also recorded just two draws which meant we have set the record for the most win in a league season and most points in the process. We scored 88 goals too, which is another new record whilst conceding 13 goals is our joint lowest. 

We also made it a league and cup double by winning back the Kuboku from Qarabag. We beat Kapaz, Sabah and Qarabag-2 en route to the final against Qarabag. In a tense game we went to penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time where we prevailed. 

Another 36 goals for Bazungula in 44(1) games along with 11 more assists. Bosnian midfielder Burnic notched another 22 goals whilst wingers Santos and Fofana scored 15 goals apiece. Santos was the top assister with 17 whilst Tasdemir was one behind with 16. Fofana, Burnic also hit double figures for assists.

We made improvements to the facilities this season, the Training facilities have been completed and now sit at an Avergage level whereas the youth facilities will be completed at the end of the month. We also managed to convince the board to improve the Youth Recruitment at about the 54th time of asking. 

We raked in over £10m in competition prize money this season and another £6m in player sales. The youth setup has cost us £2m this season and needs to start producing soon. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

RANKINGS - JUNE '30

Not what we want to see. Maybe I need to start helping the other teams out so they do better in Europe? 

We "tumble" two places. 

Gutting we gain a place then lose it. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

CITIZENSHIP - JULY '30

This helps massively, shame he has played for DR Congo because he would have been a shoe in for being the Azerbaijan front man. 

[ToMexico!!]

IMPROVEMENT - JULY '30

Another upgrade to the youth recruitment. 

[ToMexico!!]

CITIZENSHIP #2 - AUG '30

A second nationalisation of a player gives me more options to bring in foreign players. 

[ToMexico!!]

EUROPE - AUG '30

We entered Champions League qualification at the 2nd Round this season. 

A routine 8-1 aggregate win over Montenegran side Sutjeska. 

Serbian side Red Star in the 3rd Round. A shock 4-0 away win was followed by a 3-1 home win. 

Norweigan side Rosenborg in the last qualifying round again and another exit at the last hurdle. We managed a 1-1 home draw followed by 0-0 away in Norway but we failed from the spot. 

We drop into the Europa League.

A better group than last season, we could sneak through in 2nd place. 

[ToMexico!!]

TRANSFERS - SEPT '30

Having sold Schottland and Benavides last season to Man City, they returned to us on loan but now they have gone we needed to replace them. Also with Bazungula and Gullit taking up Azeri nationality that gives me the chance to actually sign three foreign players. 

We actually plumped for a Azeri first, signing Nicat Hasanov from Neftci for £425k. The 21 year old defender can operate at left back and centre back. With two players from the America's leaving we went back there for two more. First in was Gustavo Gutierrez from Costa Rican side Alajuelense in a deal rising to £550k, his signing has prompted a shift in left back forward to left wing back. 

My scouts alerted me to Jorge Rodriguez from Argentinian side Talleres, we struck a deal for just £1m, an absolute bargain. A central midfielder, he will slot in to the CMa role, pushing a 32 year old Burnic back to the DM role. In August we then signed Zimbabwe international Junior Mubayiwa from South African side Kaizer Chief for his release clause of £550k. He was primarily signed as a back up for Bazungula with the potential to replace him next season. 

We didn't make any player sales this summer. 

[Cheez3y]

Gutierrez looks spicy again.

Costa Rica prodcuces always little gem, even if you dont have the league loaded.

Rodriguez and Mubayima looking also really nice.

 

Mubayima with "tries to beat the opponent" trait and he will destroy the league.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Cheez3y

[ToMexico!!]

9 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

Gutierrez looks spicy again.

Costa Rica prodcuces always little gem, even if you dont have the league loaded.

Rodriguez and Mubayima looking also really nice.

 

Mubayima with "tries to beat the opponent" trait and he will destroy the league.

Costa Rica's squad is stacked with youth and most of them are still playing in Costa Rica. Gutierrez's only problem is his natural fitness. 

I think Rodriguez won't be here long, a big team will come sniffing. 

I've taken a look at the traits for Mubayima and gone with places shots first. Good finishing and technique will help. Just working on his final third - Composure and Decisions.

Edited August 1, 2022 by ToMexico!!

[ToMexico!!]

JOB INTERVIEW - NOV '30

This would be a huge opportunity normally but this is one club save. They struggled in this particular save and currently find themselves 9th in the Bundesliga. 

 

[ToMexico!!]

A SHORT STORY - DEC '30

We've never actually lost against Turan in this save. 

Anyway...

No worry about us losing. 

[ToMexico!!]

YOUTH INTAKE PREVIEW - DEC '30

I have higher hopes for this intake. 

Also I changed my HoYD - Yusif Aliyev is the new one! 

[ToMexico!!]

NEW RECORD - DEC '30

Just eight days after recording a 9-0 victory in the Kuboku against Turan, this happens...

Not sure how this has happened to be honest but this is now our record win in the save so far. 

[ToMexico!!]

EUROPE - DEC '30

An unbelievable set of results marred by the unexplicable 4-0 home loss to Wolfsburg. Lets be honest, I was hoping we could sneak a 2nd place but we've won five from six. The shocking thing is that it was only enought to finish 2nd, Wolfsburg finished ahead of us becuase of head-to-head results and the fact they scored four against us compared to just our two in our win against them. 

We go into the 1st KO Round and we face...

Probably the end of the road for us. 

[ToMexico!!]

STOLEN STAFF - DEC '30

U19 Manager goes to Kapaz after their manager was sacked. 

Updated the table as I thought Parson had retired but he had moved back to Germany with Werder Bremen and then Hertha Berlin. 

[ToMexico!!]

TRANSFERS - FEB '30

One player left this winter window as Slovakian centre back Jozef Chovanec left for German side Stuttgart. We made £1m profit from this deal as we sign him for £800k originally. 

We replaced him with Matej Krizmanic, a player I had been scouting/ had shortlisted for two seasons now. The 19 year old Bosnian joins in a deal worth £400k from Zeljeznicar, he's lacking a little technically but mentally is in a good stead for his age. 

We also signed Azeri national Idris Aliyev from Russian side Spartak Moscow for just £56k, his contract was due to expire but I decided to cash bid for him due to his age, we needed another U21 player to sit on the bench as per league rules. 

[ToMexico!!]

EUROPA LEAGUE 1ST KO ROUND - FEB '30

An expected couple of results, I think if we had only lost 2-1 in the first leg things could have been a bit more intersting but it was never to be. 

This table shows each clubs expolits in Europe for the seasons so far. Qarabag reached the group stage of the Champions League this season. 

[ToMexico!!]

YOUTH INTAKE REVIEW - MAR '30

Finally, something to be excited about? 

Two elite talents instantly makes it our best intake so far. 

Elcin Huseynov - an inverted winger for the right hand side, yes please. He could be the mainstay on the right hand side for the next 10 years but he could certainly be the U21 player for the first team. Poor personality at Mercenary but its manageable. Two good traits already for his position. 

Anar Aliyev - if we can work on his physicals which should come with time and some help then he could be our right back for the future. A few 9s there which coverted to double digits makes for better viewing. 

Full Intake | Map

We add a Spanish player to the map. 

[Cheez3y]

23 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

YOUTH INTAKE REVIEW - MAR '30

Finally, something to be excited about? 

Two elite talents instantly makes it our best intake so far. 

Elcin Huseynov - an inverted winger for the right hand side, yes please. He could be the mainstay on the right hand side for the next 10 years but he could certainly be the U21 player for the first team. Poor personality at Mercenary but its manageable. Two good traits already for his position. 

Anar Aliyev - if we can work on his physicals which should come with time and some help then he could be our right back for the future. A few 9s there which coverted to double digits makes for better viewing. 

Full Intake | Map

We add a Spanish player to the map. 

Hüseynov looks pretty damn good.

I would say he could be your first Azeri player, which gets sold for 7 figures at some point.

[ToMexico!!]

7 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

Hüseynov looks pretty damn good.

I would say he could be your first Azeri player, which gets sold for 7 figures at some point.

Ideally I don't want to sell him but IF I get a better player that comes along he could command a big fee. 

[ToMexico!!]

POACHED - APR '31

A 2nd player poached and its a long time coming. Interesting they go abroad but are tipped to be worse than the first player poached. 

[ToMexico!!]

2030/31 SEASON REVIEW

The seasons are flying by it seems and its no surprise that we won the league again, I think it has become a given now. 

Unbeaten for the 3rd season in a row, 98 goals scored and just 12 conceded. 

We made it a league and cup double by beating Qarabag in the final of Kuboku, 3-1 after extra time.

Bazungula top scored with 25 goals but spent the last two months of the season injured so Junir Mubayiwa got an extended run up front and he notched 20 goals for the season in the end. Pedro Santos was sandwiched between them with 21 goals as well as 21 assists. Rodriguez (17), Burnic (17), Tasdemir (16), Fofana (14) and Abdullazade (10) also all hit double figures. Rodriquez got the most assists with 22 whilst three other players hit double figures including 18 year academy graduate Mammadov who made 17 including 16 of those in the league which saw him break the record for the most in a league season. 

We're now in a position where the board is rejecting all of our requests for upgrades. We have the money to do anything we need to including building a new stadium which they feel the one we have is big enough despite us filling it week in, week out. 

[ToMexico!!]

SQUAD - JUNE '31

Its end of season break and it would be a good time to run through the squad and see where I need to invest and see who I can move on. 

Goalkeeper

Tuncer being of Azeri background has always been the automatic choice for the gloves and I was not going to renew Joof's contract as he has played just 10 times since he has joined but I then saw he has just 24 days remaining until he can become an Azeri national. Early signs that Tuncer's ability is starting to decline has reared its head means next season we could see roles reveresed. 

Fullback/Wingback

At the moment first choice is Bagirov at RB and Gutierrez at LWB. Beyond those two there isn't much potential. Buludov is very much a back up CB that "can fill in" at RB, Hasanov is CB that can play LB, Abbasov is a CB, Guillet is a CB that can fill in at LWB. Cafarquiliyev keeps asking to leave which I may now grant as 2*/2* in this squad is a poor player. Longer term at RB, Anar Aliyev has shown signs of improvement, at 15 its maybe a season too early to throw him in as back up. 

Centreback

First choice pairing is Krizmanic and Gullit. Abbasov, Hasanov and Buludov are back up in that order. Interesting to see Burnic has added CB to his position range, I haven't knowingly played him there, maybe the AssMan has moved him their during the game. 

Midfield-Three

Burnic at DM dictating play, Rodriguez at CMa and Mammadov at Mez. Akinpar and Abdullazade both want to leave and I've promised them they can. Santos is primarily at winger but can play CM if needed. When Cafarquliyev, Akinpar and Abdullazade leave that leaves me with few options in DM/CM, investment is needed here. 

Wingers

Ahmadov wants to leave and he can, he played just four times from the bench last season. Santos on the left cutting in and Fofana on the right cutting in is the normal play. I see Mubayiwa as a striker rather than deputising at RW, Tasdemir can cover both sides. I will look to promote last seasons academy graduate Elcin Huseynov from the U19 into the thick of it and he can develop from the bench for us. 

Striker

Bazungula is first choice but has had a few niggly and one major injury this season causing him to miss quite a few games. Mubayiwa deputised well and we could look to replace the former with him this season as Bazungula goes into his last year of his contract. 20 year old Mubayiwa has had some interest from PSG towards the end of the season but that has wained fortunately. Fofana is 3rd choice at ST. Asif Nacafov has developed well in the U19's and could be on course for a promotion to the first team. 

Course of Action for the Season

1. Invest in a new younger DM to eventually take over from Burnic
2. Invest in a back up CM with high potential
3. Promote Huseynov for back up RW
4. Phase out Bazungula for Mubayiwa at first choice ST
5. Swap GK as long as Joof gets Azeri nationality. 

[ToMexico!!]

RANKINGS - JUNE '31

The League winners will enter at the 2nd Qualifying Round now. 

[ToMexico!!]

SPENDING MONEY - JUNE '31

Qarabag seem to be going out of their way to spend their Champions League money from last year. In any other circumstance I would be considering to accept this but when league rules dictate you have 1 x Azeri U21 player in the starting line up and another one on the bench I have to do the right thing for the team and keep him. 

[ToMexico!!]

AZERI CITIZENSHIP - JULY '31

As hoped for, Ablie Joof has gained Azeri citizenship. 

[ToMexico!!]

EUROPE - AUG '31

In July we faced Finnish side FC Inter and won comfortably to set up a tie with Shamrock Rovers. A much tougher tie coming out the other side by a single goal in a 4-3 aggregate scoreline. 

The 3rd qualifying round was done and dusted at home in the first leg, as we smash Slovan Bratislava 5-1, a slightly rotated side in the second leg earn a 3-3 draw. Ferenvaros were our last hurdle to reach the Champions League group stage and again we dominated them at home 5-1. A 3-2 away victory including a  goal on debut for Elcin Huseynov who was promoted under the U19 as expected. 

I've immediately requested upgrades for both the training and youth facilities and an improvement to the youth recruitment. 

Could we pick up a point or two against Salzburg? 

[ToMexico!!]

UPGRADES - AUG '31

Two out of three ain't bad...

[ToMexico!!]

TRANSFERS - SEPT '31

We made two additions to the squad this summer, in two key areas I had previously highlighted. 

We went in for Croatian defensive midfielder Renato Delic from Osijek for £1.5m, his preference is to be a deep lying playmaker which is how we currently play Burnic at DM. He has great mental attributes along with great passing and technique which makes him a perfect replacement for the now 33 year old Burnic. 19 year old Tomas Shejbal was highlighted to us by a scout and when I saw he was available for just £1.2m which was his release clause it was a no brainer. although his preference is to be a DLP in CM he will play as the Mezzala beside Rodriguez when we can play an U21 Azeri player elsewhere. 

We didn't sell anyone during the summer transfer window but have had to contend with alot of offers from German clubs for Jorge Rodriguez, the Argentinian midfielder however has no interest in leaving us and I am more than happy to keep him until he does want to leave. 

EDIT - I'm surprised the board didn't intervene. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by ToMexico!!

[ToMexico!!]

GROUP STAGE DEBUT - SEPT '31

A casual 9-3 win over Salzburg 

[ToMexico!!]

JOB INTERVIEW - NOV '31

A second German club to offer me the opportunity to interview for their vacant position. They have Benjamin Sesko up front 

[ToMexico!!]

JOB INTERVIEW - DEC '31

Niko Kovac left after 5 years to take the Hertha Berlin role. 

[ToMexico!!]

YOUTH INTAKE PREVIEW - DEC '31

Three A rated DM's is excessive but it should mean maybe one of them is half decent. 

[ToMexico!!]

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE - DEC '31

Absolutely no expectations going into the group stage. 

We opened the group with the 9-3 hammering of Salzburg then proceeded to lose home and away to Milan and Liverpool including a drubbing of our own at the hand of Liverpool. We beat Salzburg in Austria to claim 3rd place. 

Which see's us drop into the Europa League 1st KO Round. 

[ToMexico!!]

HUGE SALE - FEB '31

Not a player I wanted to sell and I could have got double this in the summer but he didn't want to leave. However, Bayern turned his head and he wanted to leave for Germany but they didn't bid £15m for him. With him going to Porto makes more sense for us, we get £15m and potentially huge rewards from the 50% profit clause if he does well and then moves on to a top 5 league.