SixPointer Posted November 18, 2023 Share Posted November 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Rikulec said: Thanks! It would probably be too much to ask for an unbeaten season at the first time of asking! All in good time my friend 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - August 2034 - FK RFS Virslīga If Riga had any hope that we might falter after the Super Nova defeat, we've extinguished them. A perfect month, including two big wins over Valmiera, and we're well back on track. Latvijas Kauss We played our strongest XI here and BFC probably didn't like it. We've got Spartaks at home in the semi final, probably the easiest possible draw. UEFA Europa Conference League Our second choice players carried on the job against Ararat, unfortunately we dropped out against a Polish side Jagiellonia. It was a close fought tie, they had more of the ball but we had a higher xG in both games. With better finishing we could have got past them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 Hopefully this is just the start of us making an impact on the national team! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - September 2034 - FK RFS Virslīga Second perfect month in a row, including a particularly satisfying win over Super Nova. Latvijas Kauss Oh boy, I guess they didn't like me underestimating them! Spartaks gave us a huge scare with two early goals. Thankfully we managed to turn the game around and win thanks to a stoppage time goal from Spirins. Grobiņas will be our final opponent. Certainly not an easy tie! Transfers Shola Shoretire - a free transfer and probably the best player to have ever played in the Latvian league. He may be 30, but what a coup for us! Youth Intake Meh. Juris Vavilovs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 What seemed inevitable has now been officially confirmed. We clinch the title with four games to spare, beating Riga in the decisive game nonetheless. We're also on track to break all sorts of records this season. It took a long eleven years, but I've finally won my first piece of silverware! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 Just four days after securing the league title we have a chance to complete the domestic double. It's my third attempt at the Latvian cup final and for the first time my team are actually favourites to win it. No pressure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Never in doubt! While Grobiņas usually tend to give us tight games and trouble us with their aggressive high press, this was honestly a poor performance from them as we strolled to a deserved victory. 18-year-old Kalniņš emerges as the unlikely hero, having recently broken into our starting XI. His goal was his first ever for the club and while it did take a lucky deflection, it's surely going to be a huge moment and a fantastic memory for the young lad. We've also set one more record, our attacking play has been exceptional this season. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Another record with three games still left to play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 It looks like RFS was the Club on the rise even before you took over. Now with you in charge Domination will become the name of the game. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - October 2034 - FK RFS Virslīga I'm peeved to have lost for the second time this season, though the two emphatic away wins over Riga and Liepāja certainly do send a message! If we win the three remaining games, we're going to end the season on a massive 100 points. You know what the aim for the rest of the season is. Latvijas Kauss A confident performance and a well earned trophy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 2 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: It looks like RFS was the Club on the rise even before you took over. Now with you in charge Domination will become the name of the game. They had the highest reputation in Latvia already, so you're generally right. All it took was one bad season to fire the previous manager, I'd be a fool not to take the chance! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - November 2034 - FK RFS Virslīga Honestly this is a poor month by our standards. Frustratingly, we let a two goal lead slip twice in a row, first against Grobiņas and then against Metta right away. The positives? Machava ends the season on 30 league goals and Shoretire gave a proper star performance against Spartaks, banging in a hat-trick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomD Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Congratulations on winning the double! Now to see how you fare in Europe. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 3 hours ago, DomD said: Congratulations on winning the double! Now to see how you fare in Europe. Thanks mate! I'm really looking forward to the next season in Europe, hopefully we can keep up our form! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - Season Review - 2034 - FK RFS Virslīga Results (Mar-May) - Results (Jun-Sep) - Results (Oct-Nov) Competition Performance: Winners From the moment I walked in I knew we had amazing quality for the league we're in, but I certainly didn't expect to hit the ground running like this! An absolutely ridiculous first half of the season with almost all wins and just the one draw and a dominant second half see us break all sorts of records en route to my first Latvian league title. This team is way too strong. Latvijas Kauss Competition Performance: Winners Only Spartaks were able to give us any trouble. A very comfortable cup win in the end. UEFA Europa Conference League Competition Performance: Third Qualifying Round We dispatched the Armenians before narrowly crashing out to a decent Polish team. One or two better quality players could have made the difference for us there. Squad (1) - Squad (2) As strong as we were in the league, I still feel like the squad is very much a work in progress. It's a long term project and many players have a lot of unfulfilled potential. We probably need a couple of improvements here and there to be able to make the European group stages next season, there's also the question of replacing Machava up front. However, I'm most excited about seeing some of those young lads develop. Transfers (1) - Transfers (2) - Transfers (3) - Finances The sheer numbers of transfers both in and out of the club show how deep we are in the process of rebuilding the team from ground up. I'm very happy with our business this season, pretty much every new player performed according to their expectations and we made a net profit of £1,7M. Our finances look very healthy, largely thanks to our performance in the transfer market and the money from the European qualifiers. Player of the Season 1st - Jeremias Machava - when Lizunovs scored 28 goals in the league for Metta last season, I thought it would be a record that would stand long before someone eventually beats it. Step up Jeremias Machava, the sensational striker from Mozambique who banged in 30 at the first time of asking while being subjected to squad rotation and playing around two thirds of the possible number of minutes in the league. What a player, sadly we won't be keeping him for next season. 2nd - Dmitrijs Bitāns - I bloody love this guy, seriously. Last season he was the surprise breakthrough star for Metta and this time he carried on his amazing form, getting into double figures for both goals and assists in the league. He also made his debut for the Latvian national team. His numbers kind of dropped off towards the end of the season though and there was a moment when his attributes started to decline a bit. Hopefully he still has some room to grow! 3rd - Romāns Pakulis - one of the finest products of the RFS academy, Pakulis was already recognised as a star for both the club and the league when I came in and thankfully he lived up to the hype this season. He has fantastic physical attributes for the league and most teams simply couldn't handle him wreaking havoc on the left wing. He's starting to attract some serious interest from abroad, I really want to keep him though. Next Season Domestically we have to prove that this season was a show of our true strength and not just a one-off. I also intend to make some quality transfers in order to try and get into the European group stages. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Confirmation of two more records. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - Season Preview - 2035 - FK RFS Board Expectations: Virslīga: Win it Latvijas Kauss: Win it UEFA Champions League: Not defined My Expectations: Virslīga: Win it. Preferably unbeaten. Latvijas Kauss: Win it. UEFA Champions League: It's most likely too soon to aim for the Champions League group stage. The Conference League should be within reach though and that's our goal. Budgets: Transfer: £6,169,305 Wage: £65,119 (currently spending £50,447) Balance: £6,702,458 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Dominance as expected. I smell the CL Groups this season 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 23 minutes ago, Deisler26 said: Dominance as expected. I smell the CL Groups this season Too early for that I think, but I guess with this team you can't rule anything out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Up to a great level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 It only took a year at RFS to attract attention from a much stronger league, namely Belgium. In different circumstances I would probably attend the interview, but at this point I feel there's still plenty of work to do at my current club. Interview declined. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwinriga Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 8 minutes ago, Rikulec said: It only took a year at RFS to attract attention from a much stronger league, namely Belgium. In different circumstances I would probably attend the interview, but at this point I feel there's still plenty of work to do at my current club. Interview declined. Interesting job offer, but thankfully, you're managing in Latvia, which you want to keep RFS more formidable as expected. IIRC, Sint-Truiden was owned by Japanese media company DMM.com, which they have produced some Japanese players out there. Maybe, you could have a club affiliation with them instead to ensure that you'll get some players from Belgium and Japan to play in Latvia. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 14 minutes ago, sherwinriga said: Interesting job offer, but thankfully, you're managing in Latvia, which you want to keep RFS more formidable as expected. IIRC, Sint-Truiden was owned by Japanese media company DMM.com, which they have produced some Japanese players out there. Maybe, you could have a club affiliation with them instead to ensure that you'll get some players from Belgium and Japan to play in Latvia. Interesting piece of trivia right there! Unfortunately I don't think forming such a link is a real possiblity nor that any of their players would like to come play for us. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 The first game of the new season is also going to be a landmark for me. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - Pre-Season - 2035 - FK RFS Friendlies A busy pre-season with plenty of goals. Transfers We make a slight loss on transfers in preparation for our European campaign. David Soto - a direct replacement for Pedrinho, I dare say he's a slightly better player. Andrej Markov - the big money move that also comes with big expectations. Jurijs Švāns - Riga are going to regret this one! I love the attribute spread on this guy. Andri Helgason - plenty of potential that we're hopefully going to uncover. Daniils Rozentals - a proven backup option for the domestic front. Dan Macintyre - our new starting goalkeeper, a real bargain and an upgrade on an aging Luis Castillo. Roman Luik - a hopeful punt, he was immediately sent out on loan to see how he develops. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 More upgrades, we now have excellent junior coaching and good youth recruitment. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - March 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga We got off to a somewhat shaky start against Valmiera, leaving it late to score two winning goals. Thankfully the Jelgava game proved that everything's going alright. We were also supposed to play Tukums, but that match got postponed due to bad weather. Despite playing one game less we've already scored more goals than anyone else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 A very good result result for the national team as they earn a respectable draw against Ukraine, and there are two of our players on the scoresheet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - April 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga Oh boy, looks like there might be a bit of a challenge this year! We comfortably beat some weaker opponents, but then dropped two points at Riga after a terribly dire game and lost big to Grobiņas. It's not like they dominated us, we had far more possession and a higher xG, but our finishing was poor and they seemed to score from every chance they created. The hopes of an unbeaten season are gone early this time! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - May 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga A perfect month and a few big wins in there. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 There's a glimmer of hope. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 When your the best team in a limited area sometimes your intakes take a hit. I had only 5 players worth signing this year and only one has hope of ever making the first team. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Hootieleece said: When your the best team in a limited area sometimes your intakes take a hit. I had only 5 players worth signing this year and only one has hope of ever making the first team. That's a good point. The intake assessment is always going to be relative to the players I already have, and with Latvia's youth rating it might be difficult to get a prospect likely to break into the first team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - June 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga That's not acceptable. Respect where it's due, but we should never be losing to Metta. We also needed an injury time winner against Valmiera and failed to beat Grobiņas again. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Grobinas seems to be your rival this season and putting on a real title challenge. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 11 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Grobinas seems to be your rival this season and putting on a real title challenge. That's right, they have a decent squad, they're playing brave attacking football and, most importantly, they're consistently beating weaker teams in the league. Could be an interesting season if their wheels don't fall off. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 We're investing almost £3M in the training facilities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Great news! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Deisler26 said: Great news! When you see the next update, you're going to be able to figure out why I decided to ask for the upgrade now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 1 minute ago, Rikulec said: When you see the next update, you're going to be able to figure out why I decided to ask for the upgrade now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - July 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga Despite the two big wins I really don't feel we're playing well at the moment. We're terribly inconsistent and we've just dropped two more points. We might be top for the time being, but we really need to step up if we want to remain there. Latvijas Kauss Another game where we were shaky at times, thankfully our finishing was impeccable. We've been drawn at home against Auda in the quarter final. The big tie of the round though is Riga versus Grobiņas, which is a great draw because it eliminates one of our two strongest possible challengers. UEFA Champions League On the one hand, this is probably yet another example of our frustrating inconsistency. First we made it an uphill battle by losing at home to Valur, thankfully we did recover and beat them away despite conceding a penalty. Then we destroyed the champions of Azerbaijan, only to lose away after a poor performance. What matters though is that we're through, which means we're guaranteed European football! We also seem to have got a good draw in the third qualifying round, where we're going to face Bulgarian champions Levski. Transfers I really didn't want to lose Shoretire, but he had a release clause and there was nothing I could do. Our accountants will certainly be pleased with the sales! Three new players in. Toms Redjko - one of the biggest prospects Latvia has to offer at the moment, hopefully he can live up to the hype! Musa Olamilekan - we sign another Nigerian on a free with the mammoth task of replacing Shoretire. João Coimbra - on paper he looks like he could match Pakulis' quality, I'd certainly like him to match the contributions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 8 minutes ago, Deisler26 said: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - August 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga Just the two games this month and two confident wins for a change. We're looking a bit more comfortable at the top of the table. Latvijas Kauss A walk in the park. Tukums at home in the semi final. In their first two cup games they've scored a stunning 16 goals, beating the record we set last season. I guess we shouldn't be underestimating them. BFC vs. Grobiņas is the other semi. UEFA Champions League Well, I'll be damned. We only went and qualified for the ****ing Champions League! Moreover, we did so in quite a spectacular fashion. Every single one of these wins was a great performance and a well deserved victory. While I did kind of expect us to get past Levski, I was sure PAOK would destroy us. And here we are, crossing the gate of the promised land. This is a historic moment not only for RFS, but for Latvian football as a whole. We're the first Latvian club to have ever qualified for the Champions League! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 Crvena at home makes me dream of getting at least a point (probably won't happen though). 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Well. This is a 'Pull pants down, grease up and prepare for penetration' set of fixtures... Best of luck! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 2 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Well. This is a 'Pull pants down, grease up and prepare for penetration' set of fixtures... Best of luck! Wait till you see mine for TNS.......(spoiler) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 8 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Well. This is a 'Pull pants down, grease up and prepare for penetration' set of fixtures... Best of luck! ...or is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 I've got a new deal. Still way off the big earners, but at least it's a four figure sum now. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 Artjoms Laizāns' Management Career - September 2035 - FK RFS Virslīga We drop two points and a perfect Grobiņas are hot on our tail. We have a tough run-in as we have two games against them and two games against Riga. Time for our clutch players to step up! UEFA Champions League If I'm dreaming, please don't wake me up! Two absolutely incredible, unexpected results from two tight, even games. Markov scored the opener on both occasions and Olamilekan chipped in with a goal as well, capitalising on Sevilla's goalkeeper dwelling on the ball for too long. I would have been delighted with just a point from all our fixtures in the Champions League and we have four after just two games! We're making all of Latvia proud with this performance. Youth Intake To add to this great month, we might have a special player on our hands here. He needs tutoring to work on his personality, but other than that he seems perfect for our system. Andrejs Cirkin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 I make more than you with TNS..... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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