Motlhen Posted November 9, 2022 Author Share Posted November 9, 2022 Young Lions were omitted from the league cup, so now with Hougang I'm approaching my first time in the competition. I don't have big expectations, especially with our current form, but if we can make it out of our group, anything can happen in knockout football! The best the club have ever done is 3rd place last year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 Aug - Oct 2026 We ended up drawing 4 in a row before finally getting a deserved win against Balestier. We had to wait over a month for the final game of the league and by that time we had lost our form & Albirex were out to win the title and it was clear they wanted it more. We also had to deal with a lot of injuries, including a very serious setback for our key player Rogerio. The board are very happy with a 5th place finish. I'll be aiming for the top 4, or at least to close the gap to 4th, for next season. Our facility upgrades have been completed and we are now 1-star in everything! We have the Singapore Cup to play before the end of the season and preparations for next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 Youth Intake We need new strikers! Shame about Yong Ching Yang's personality. Our youth intake also included quite possibly the worst player I've ever seen in FM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 Sep - Oct 2026 My first appearance in the competition and the less said about it, the better. Much work to do in the off-season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 (edited) Transfers In I've brought in every Singaporean player that I thought could improve the squad. Plus any standout foreign players too. There's definitely going to be a huge selection headache when it comes to the foreign player rules. The above were all pre-transfer window opening, but we did have an agent approach us about Vargas during the window. I prefer him over Avramides which will mean a hard conversation on registration day. One of the other hard decisions would be between our two foreign centre-backs. I think Koroma is better than Rogerio, but Rogerio had a better average rating last season, was the league's signing of the season and is also closer to the option to take up nationality. Looking at Rogerio's eligibility, I am not sure whether he will need 537 days left or 1175 days. I'm assuming the latter. Either way I'm playing the long game. Transfers Out That meant I offered out Koroma. Losing one of our best players for so little is not great, but I'm really disappointed we only got offers from teams in our league. I also managed to sell the last player who was earning more than me from the squad I inherited. There are still a few more foreign players I need to figure out what to do with.Ngan, Rogerio, Vargas & Susa are part of the squad.Koroma has been sold. I'd like to loan out Avramides & Ratisu and probably sell Green. Edited November 10, 2022 by Motlhen 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 Feb 2027 We're ready for the start of the first game of another season. We're predicted 5th, where we finished last season, but I have higher hopes. Interestingly Balestier are rated lower than Young Lions now. All of the 6 games against the bottom two have to be considered must-wins. Assessing the squad before matchday 1, I think we still need a couple of Singaporean centre-backs for cover. The other position of contention is goalkeeper. I rate Taib higher than Kahlert (who was terrible when he featured last season). But we still could make a massive improvement in goal if the right player comes up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 (edited) Pre-Season Mar 2027 We've started well. The results don't reflect how far we've come in terms of performances from the end of last season. A narrow loss to the Sailors was followed a strong win and a great comeback, both courtesy of Vargas hattricks. Then we did lose against one of the sides I said should be a must-win, but the stats show how unlucky we were to not win, let alone lose the game. Unsurprisingly.. Another youth recruitment improvement caps off a positive start to the season. Edited November 10, 2022 by Motlhen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 Apr - May 2027 We've been pretty inconsistent. But we've picked up some very decent wins and find ourselves inside the top 4! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 16, 2022 Author Share Posted November 16, 2022 Jun - Jul 2027 We brought in one player during the transfer window to play LWB and cover for LW when necessary. We battled for each of the draws to go unbeaten in 5 before losing to Tampines. Winning against Tanjong Pagar means that 4th is still possible! & we really need continental football as our finances are starting to look pretty ropey. We do need some more AMC's. We've had a pretty tough draw again in the Singapore Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 16, 2022 Author Share Posted November 16, 2022 Aug - Sep 2027 Consistently inconsistent and we end the season a point behind 4th, although we finished with 5 points more than last campaign. Despite finishing in the same position, one stark change from last season is that we scored the most goals in the league, whereas last season we were the least! 2026: GF 17, GA 23 2027: GF 41, GA 39 So we were definitely more entertaining to watch! & the main reason for us being more entertaining was Vargas, who we must keep hold of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 16, 2022 Author Share Posted November 16, 2022 Oct 2027 We had our youth intake and got two decent looking AMC's, but not much else to write home about. We had a rough start, but reacted well to top our group and make the Singapore Cup semi-finals! We'll play Albirex in the semi, who beat us in the group stage and who I have never won against as a manager. Gulp. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 Nov 2027 What a way to put an end to our unwanted record against Albirex!!! To get into the club's first final. Our star man will be slightly suffering as I've asked him to take painkillers so that he can feature in the final. What a start and what a game. So many chances for both teams but we have come out on top!!! At the end of the season I've been offered a contract extension. & would like to salute, again, to Vargas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 From what I understand, we will enter the Asian Confederation Cup at the group stage in September 2028, which is a long way off! We have to finish top or be the best 2nd place to progress. It looks like a tough ask. Although I could be wrong.. the competition has a very complex set up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 (edited) Pre-Season 2028 Last season we were involved in all 5 top transfers. Hopefully we can make similar progress with our signings this season too. Transfers In I am pretty happy with the quality and cover we've managed to pick up, especially in defence. Including a very decent new centre-back from China who will take up the foreign-but-Asian registration slot. Transfers Out We unwillingly lost a few youngsters who had only featured from the bench but also sold a few of the foreign players that hadn't made the registration places. Avramides has come back on loan for the season. After picking up our first piece of silverware in the last game of last season, we have the opportunity to win our second in this season's first match. And this is how the squad is looking going into that match. Edited November 18, 2022 by Motlhen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 We played brilliantly, but the game ended in heartbreak. We led the game 3 times, but twice threw the lead away immediately and also gave away a penalty. We lost Vargas to an injury and went down to 10-men for the last 5 minutes and they managed to capitalise on the man advantage to win the game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 Mar 2028 It was lucky we did get Avramides back on loan as we can swap him in to the registration places for Vargas whilst the transfer window is open, until Vargas is back from injury. Vargas isn't our only big injury problem though. We've started well, but back to the usual result against Albirex. We definitely feel closer to them, but it's clear they will be the team to topple for the title. The board aren't accepting any facility upgrades, but to be fair to them they are keeping the finances in order with cash injections every now and again so I can't complain too much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKLae Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 On 18/11/2022 at 15:06, Motlhen said: Nov 2027 What a start and what a game. So many chances for both teams but we have come out on top!!! At the end of the season I've been offered a contract extension. Congratulations on the cup!! The team IRL has just won their first trophy (the very same trophy you just won) too! Looking forward to your exploits in the ACC! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 On 19/11/2022 at 11:39, JKLae said: Congratulations on the cup!! The team IRL has just won their first trophy (the very same trophy you just won) too! Looking forward to your exploits in the ACC! Yep, I saw that 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 (edited) Apr 2028 After one round of fixtures we are where I expected us to be. We came so close to turning the last 3 results in our favour but whenever Vargas is out of form, we just can't score! The board agreed on another improvement Edited February 26, 2023 by Motlhen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 May - Jul 2028 We have been incredible, even beating Albirex and we are in a much stronger position after the second round of games. ..and it will be important to hold on to 3rd place to avoid going into the ACC Playoff next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 Jul - Aug 2028 Two well-fought wins followed by us going back to losing ways against Albirex. An agonising draw against Balestier and then losing to 2nd place Sailors means that Tampines are now hot on our tails for 3rd. We've got two games to go - the next game is against Tampines which is huge for our season. Following that we have our first ACC appearance as well as the Singapore Cup. The draws for both are below: This is an easier group than we've faced in previous years, I have high hopes that we can fight to retain the cup! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 Let's take a closer look at the clubs we're facing in the ACC: Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh have had some experience in continental competitions, but nothing since the cancelled 2020 group stage appearance. There's not much information about them in-game that I can find, but they lost in the Champions League playoff game to end up in our group but have not had any other record of continental football before that so I have to think we can at least give Ho Chi Minh a good game! Johor One-time ACC Winners, Johor have just had their 13-year domestic domination ended in Malaysia. They're more used to featuring in the Asian Champions League, we're going to struggle getting a result against these guys. Persib Bandung Indonesian champions have won their league twice in the past 6 years in what seems to be a very inconsistent league. When they have qualified, they've done exceptionally well in previous continental appearances. ..and somehow this season they have qualified and are playing in both the AFC and the ACC this season?! Them competing on multiple fronts and potentially resting players or being fatigued is the only chance I see of us getting anything from our games against them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motlhen Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 Sep 2028 We beat Tampines! It feels great to qualify for next seasons ACC for the first time via our league position and just before our first campaign in the competition gets under way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_hdk Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 great to see a save in singapore. love the country and the league 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now