kdavva74 Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 (edited) ADELAIDE UNITED HOMEGROWN CHALLENGE Way back in FM15, I had a very long save with my local A-League side, Adelaide United. In this save, which I played for several years, I only signed players born in South Australia, of which Adelaide is the capital, and managed to dominate the domestic scene as well as build AUFC into one of the biggest clubs in the world, including winning the Club World Championship final. It was a very fun, fulfilling save and it scratched the itch of civic pride for me. I want to replicate that success with Adelaide United in FM24, and the timing is perfect because in real life the Reds have found a sustainable model in developing local talent, then selling for a profit. The club has really positioned itself as 'South Australia's Team' due to the large amount of local first team players, including Ryan Kitto, Alexandar Popovic, Joe Gauci and the recently departed Craig Goodwin. They've also developed a large group of promising homegrown talent, led by the mercurial Nestory Irankunda, who's on the radar of Bayern Munich, and even father-son prospects like Ethan Alagich and Bernardo. Generally, Adelaide United have also featured young African refugee footballers developed through the youth system. With very little upheaval, I should be able to not only build a squad of solely South Australian players, but also include some really talented prospects that I can develop into great players. I could capitalise on a genuine golden generation at Adelaide United and maybe build up the national team as well. GOALS Australia win the World Cup with 5 AUFC homegrown players Australia win the Asian Cup with 5 AUFC homegrown players Australia win a match with 5 AUFC homegrown players Win the Club World Championship Reach the Club World Championship semi-finals Win the Asian Champions League - completed in 2026/27 Win the Asian Confederation Cup Win the A-League Finals Series - completed in 2023/24 Win the A-League Regular Season - completed in 2023/24 Win the Australia Cup - completed in 2025/26 RULES Only players that grew up solely in South Australia can be signed, including youth intake players. Players who were born overseas that have Australian nationality and grew up in Adelaide are also eligible. Players who don't satisfy rules 1 & 2 must be sold/released at the earliest convenience. If a reasonable bid comes in from a good European side, the bid must be accepted. HALL OF FAME Trophy Room A-League (Regular Season) x7 2005/06, 2015/16, 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 A-League (Finals Series) x5 2015/16, 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26, 2027/28 Australia Cup x6 2013/14, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 Asian Champions League x2 2026/27, 2027/28 Asian Confederation Cup x0 Club World Championship x0 Player Honours (SA players only) League MVP x6 Craig Goodwin (22/23), Musa Toure (23/24, 24/25, 27/28), Tete Yengi (25/26), Luka Jovanovic (26/27) Grand Final MVP x4 Joe Gauci (23/24), Tete Yengi (24/25, 25/26), Musa Toure (27/28) Best Young Player x6 Riley McGree (19/20), Musa Toure (23/24, 24/25, 25/26), Luka Jovanovic (26/27), Jake Porter (27/28) Golden Boot x4 Musa Toure (24/25, 25/26, 26/27, 27/28) Golden Glove x4 Joe Gauci (23/24, 24/25, 25/26), Paul Izzo (26/27) Manager of the Year x6 Aurelio Vidmar (08/09), Carl Veart (22/23), Hugo Montgomery (23/24, 24/25, 26/27, 27/28) Goal of the Year x0 Honour Roll Season Manager Captain Pos (Finals) POTY Golden Boot 2023/24 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st (champions) Musa Toure Musa Toure (16) 2024/25 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st (champions) Musa Toure Musa Toure (33) 2025/26 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st (champions) Tete Yengi Tete Yengi (39) 2026/27 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st (semi finals) Musa Toure Musa Toure (30) 2027/28 Hugo Montgomery Ethan Alagich 1st (champions) Musa Toure Tom Willoughby (37) South Australian AUFC All-Time Best XI Player Nat. Cap Career Ga Go GK Joe Gauci AUS 1 2020-26 140 0 DF Michael Marrone AUS 1 2008-10, 2013-21 160 3 DF Alexandar Popovic* AUS 0 2021- 140 5 DF Jordan Elsey AUS 0 2013-21 147 5 DF Ryan Kitto AUS 0 2013-14, 2016-27 257 28 MF Louis D'Arrigo* AUS 0 2018-23, 2027- 117 4 MF Jay Barnett* AUS 0 2023- 124 21 MF Ethan Alagich* AUS 1 2022- 119 13 FW Bernardo* AUS 0 2021- 142 27 FW Musa Toure* AUS 0 2023- 121 112 FW Craig Goodwin AUS 16 2014-16, 2018-19, 2020-23 157 53 *denotes current player South Australians with >50 A-League games for Adelaide United Player Nat. Cap Pos Career Ga Go Ryan Kitto AUS 0 DEF 2013-14, 2016-27 257 28 Jordan Elsey* AUS 0 DEF 2013-21, 2025- 182 12 Michael Marrone AUS 1 DEF 2008-10, 2013-21 160 3 Craig Goodwin AUS 16 MID 2014-16, 2018-19, 2020-23 157 53 Bernardo* AUS 0 MID 2021- 142 27 Joe Gauci AUS 12 GK 2020-26 140 0 Alexandar Popovic* AUS 0 DEF 2021- 140 5 Travis Dodd AUS 2 FWD 2005-11 137 30 Panasha Madanha* AUS 0 DEF 2022- 133 7 Jay Barnett* AUS 0 MID 2023- 124 21 Luka Jovanovic* AUS 3 FWD 2022- 124 50 Paul Izzo* AUS 0 GK 2012-15, 2017-20, 2025- 121 0 Musa Toure* AUS 0 FWD 2023- 121 112 Ethan Alagich* AUS 1 MID 2022- 119 13 Louis D'Arrigo* AUS 0 MID 2018-23, 2027- 117 4 Panagiotis Kikianis* AUS 0 DEF 2023- 112 8 Giuseppa Bovalina* AUS 0 DEF 2023- 107 3 Robert Cornthwaite AUS 7 DEF 2005-11 103 4 Lucas Pantelis AUS 0 MID 2005-11 101 14 Harry Crawford* AUS 0 MID 2023- 98 16 Jonny Yull AUS 0 MID 2020-28 98 10 Osama Malik SUD 21 MID 2011-16 95 2 Fabian Barbiero AUS 1 MID 2007-13 90 8 Nikola Mileusnic AUS 0 MID 2016-20 86 14 Dylan McGowan AUS 1 DEF 2014-17 82 7 Ryan Strain AUS 19 DEF 2017-21 81 0 Iain Fyfe AUS 0 DEF 2009-13 75 5 Jake Porter* AUS 0 FWD 2024- 75 33 Ben Warland AUS 0 DEF 2015-17, 2022-26 75 6 Angelo Costanzo AUS 6 DEF 2005-09 72 0 Awer Mabil AUS 58 MID 2012-15, 2025-26 70 12 Richie Alagich AUS 0 DEF 2005-08 64 2 Nathan Konstandopoulos AUS 0 MID 2013-15, 2017-22 63 5 Stefan Mauk AUS 0 MID 2015-16, 2020-22 61 13 Yaya Dukuly* AUS 0 MID 2020-22, 2026- 59 8 Daniel Mullen AUS 1 DEF 2008-12 58 2 Nestory Irankunda TAN 22 FWD 2021-24 55 11 Fabian Talladira AUS 0 MID 2023-27 55 1 Ben Garuccio AUS 0 DEF 2016-18 50 1 *denotes current player South Australians who have represented Adelaide United and a senior national team Player Nat. Caps AUGa Riley McGree^ Australia 72 40 Awer Mabil Australia 58 70 Elvis Kamsoba^ Burundi 42 35 James Troisi Australia 37 13 Pacifique Niyongabire^ Burundi 36 22 Nestory Irankunda^ Tanzania 34 55 Ryan McGowan Australia 22 28 Osama Malik Sudan 21 95 Ryan Strain^ Australia 21 81 Carl Veart Australia 18 47 Craig Goodwin Australia 16 157 Joe Gauci^ Australia 15 140 Mohamed Toure^ Guinea 13 42 Robert Cornthwaite Australia 7 103 Angelo Costanzo Australia 6 72 Ross Aloisi Australia 3 47 Luka Jovanovic*^ Australia 3 124 Travis Dodd Australia 2 137 Tete Yengi Australia 2 48 Ethan Alagich* Australia 1 119 Fabian Barbiero Australia 1 90 Michael Marrone Australia 1 160 Dylan McGowan Australia 1 82 Daniel Mullen Australia 1 58 *denotes current AUFC player ^denotes current international player Edited November 12, 2023 by kdavva74 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavva74 Posted November 8, 2023 Author Share Posted November 8, 2023 (edited) ADELAIDE UNITED HOMEGROWN CHALLENGE Season 1 | 2023/24 It was a very successful year for Adelaide United, as we won the A-League double! We comfortably won the title in the end after leading most of the way and then endured a thrilling penalty shootout Grand Final victory over our bitter arch-rivals Melbourne City. We thoroughly disproved the notion of 'you can't win anything with kids' as we sported an extremely young side and developed some future stars. Transfers The Barnett and Goodwin deals were both done before I arrived, but I still managed to do good business in the transfer market this season. We leant heavily on promoting youth, but I did spend a little cash on bringing home Ryan McGowan, an Adelaide-born defender who has played all over the world in the past decade and adds some much-needed experience to our backline. In January, after some departures, we also brought in Elvis Kamsoba on a free transfer, with the Burundian international starting his career in the Adelaide suburban leagues. We signed Valentino Yuel but I accidentally didn't register him and subsequently released him. In terms of outgoings, I was very pleased with how many non-South Australians I managed to get rid of in January, which allowed me to promote some youth team players. We've also released Luke Duzel and Lachlan Barr; there's only 3 non-South Aussies left in the squad at the end of the first season. Squad I got a chance to rotate a lot throughout the season, with frequent injuries and a lot of young players missing at times for youth international games. The average age of the squad was incredibly low, and some teenagers became genuine first team players. First XI GK - Joe Gauci - 25 apps, 8 clean sheets, 3 assists, 6.85 avg - The A-League's best young keeper, Gauci was named the league's best goalkeeper and has been called up for Australia. He's requested a move to a stronger club, with an asking price of $2,200,000. RB - Panashe Madanha - 28 apps, 4 goals, 3 assists, 6.98 avg - The club already had a lot of talent on the wings so I gave 19yo Madanha a shot at right back and he performed really well. Still has a lot of developing to do but should be a long term option. CB - Ryan McGowan - 28 apps, 4 goals, 6.92 avg - Was brought in to provide some experience and stability to our defenders. I was happy with his performances but I am mindful of his age and how he could drop off pretty quickly. CB - Panagiotis Kikianis - 22 apps, 1 assist, 6.72 avg - Kikianis and Alexander Popovic both vied for this position and while neither of them excelled, they're both still very young and have a long way to go. Kikianis also provided some versatility at left back on occasion and will remain a first-team squad member. LB - Ryan Kitto - 23 apps, 3 goals, 4 assists, 6.92 avg - The club captain and longest-serving player started the season brilliantly but dropped off slightly as it went on. Still finished with a good average rating and could continue to feature heavily for a while yet. Struggled a little with injury. DM - Jay Barnett - 22 apps, 3 goals, 4 assists, 6.92 avg - We had to wait a while for Barnett to get up to speed due to an injury at the start of the season but he slotted in beautifully to replace the departed club icon Isaias. DM - Ethan Alagich - 23 apps, 5 goals, 4 assists, 7.00 avg - Arguably the biggest success story of the season in terms of development, the son of foundation Red Richie Alagich adapted brilliantly to a new defensive midfield role and became a first team regular. He's now progressed to being one of the best midfielders in the A-League and is on the radar of Socceroos boss Graham Arnold. RW - Elvis Kamsoba - 18 apps, 3 goals, 2 assists, 6.96 avg - We added Kamsoba to our winger stables for depth and he performed well, covering in for some key injuries as well. It's cool to have an African international in the squad as well. LW - Nestory Irankunda - 21 apps, 3 goals, 9 assists, 7.25 avg - The genuine wonderkid at AUFC had an unsurprisingly fantastic season, although injury caused him to miss our Grand Final triumph. Was a creative force on the left wing and committed to Tanzania with 7 caps already. Sadly, it does not look like he will be receptive to renewing his contract so it's likely he'll be testing himself against the free agent market. ST - Luka Jovanovic - 27 apps, 15 goals, 5 assists, 7.08 avg - Was thrust into an important role at a young age and stepped up magnificently, bagging 15 goals and providing a wonderful strike partner for Musa Toure. We are in the hunt for a new striker but Jovanovic will still be a regular feature regardless. ST - Musa Toure - 26 apps, 16 goals, 8 assists, 7.37 avg - Musa is the third Toure brother to come through the academy, with Al Hassan and Mohamed both now playing in Europe. Musa could follow shortly after a tremendous season that has seen him named the A-League Player of the Year, A-League Young Player of the Year and AUFC Player of the Year. He contributed 24 G/A in a commanding season, it's hard to believe he's only 18. Results Youth Intake The first intake isn't until October 2024, so it'll be covered in the next update. Progression Season Manager Captain Pos Pl W D L GD Pts Finals Continental Club MVP Golden Boot TF YF JC YF Capacity AvgAtt 2023/24 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 15 6 5 25 51 Champions none Musa Toure Musa Toure (16) Aver Aver Adeq Grea 15,000 10,334 Edited November 9, 2023 by kdavva74 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakama2619 Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Fellow Aussie here! Will defo be following 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavva74 Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 ADELAIDE UNITED HOMEGROWN CHALLENGE Season 2 | 2024/25 It was another successful season for Adelaide United in the A-League, winning the league phase with a commanding 58 points and then winning all three of my finals 4-2 to make it back-to-back championships as well. We made our first entry into the Asian Champions League and finished third in a group behind Yokohama Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai, but ahead of North Korean champions Hwaebul. It will probably be a while before we can seriously challenge for continental silverware considering the strength of Japan and South Korea, let alone the oil-rich countries of the West which represent the final hurdle in the competition. Transfers All of my transfer business happened before the season ticked over so it isn't visible, but I made three South Australian signings in June to bolster the squad, with two depth players and one major target. Coming in on free transfers from rival A-League clubs were left winger Carlo Armiento from Brisbane Roar and defender Johnny Koutroumbis from Perth Glory. This pair provides short-term depth but I don't see either of them as long term options. The main guy we went after (and paid a record club fee of £400,000 for) was Ipswich Town target man Tete Yengi, who I felt gave us a much needed focal point in our attack, and could be the final piece for us offensively. Sadly, Nestory Irankunda did leave the club on a fre transfer and eventually signed for Sydney FC in January which infuriates me to no end. We also terminated the contracts of Harry van der Saag and Josh Cavallo which means the squad is 100% South Australian. In January we also let Ryan McGowan head back to Scotland for a nominal fee. Squad We had a very long season with our early Asian Champions League games effectively taking place in our pre-season. We got to use a wide squad with a lot of rotation this season, which was great for player development. Some bolters have emerged from our youth ranks too, quickly establishing themselves as regular A-League contributors despite their age. First XI GK - Joe Gauci - 36 apps, 11 clean sheets, 6.90 avg - Gauci was crowned for a second time the best goalkeeper in the A-League, and more importantly he signed a new 4-year contract after taking some major strides in his development. He's a regular call-up for the Socceroos and could get even better. RB - Giuseppe Bovalina - 32 apps, 1 goal, 13 assists, 7.20 avg - Bovalina took the most of a couple of early opportunities and became a tour-de-force at right back, displacing Panashe Madanha from the first team. He finished with 13 assists, equal best for the club. CB - Panagiotis Kikianis - 39 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 6.93 avg - He's developed tremendously and is now the best centre back at the club. Has been scouted for Australia duty, after a great campaign in Asia and domestically. CB - Alexandar Popovic - 22 apps, 6.71 avg - Popovic's numbers weren't great this year but he started to build into the role a lot more in the back end of the season. I think this Kikianis-Popovic pairing will hold the club in good stead for a long time, especially with Gauci behind them long-term. LB - Ryan Kitto - 37 apps, 1 goal, 12 assists, 7.05 avg - I waited a while to commit him to a new contract which he probably didn't deserve considering what he delivered this season. Now one of the senior statesmen of the squad as he passes 30, and is by far the club's leading games record holder. DM - Jay Barnett - 36 games, 6 goals, 12 assists, 7.15 avg - After an injury-interrupted first season, Barnett really flourished in his defensive midfield role, providing excellent cover in the double pivot alongside Alagich and still contributing creatively as well. Popped up with a banger of a goal from time to time too. DM - Ethan Alagich - 38 apps, 5 goals, 13 assists, 7.17 avg - The other half of the dynamic duo at defensive midfield, Alagich is one of my favourite players due to his ability to push the game forward. He's a relentless midfielder, and a real success story for the Adelaide United academy. RW - Luka Jovanovic - 34 apps, 14 goals, 11 assists, 7.32 avg - The signing of Yengi pushed Jovanovic out of a first team spot initially but he managed to hold down a hotly contested right wing role as the season went on and put up great numbers. He also took a big step forward in his development. LW - Harry Crawford - 31 apps, 6 goals, 4 assists, 7.09 avg - We had a lot of rotations on the wings across the season but I've put Crawford in this season's best XI, considering his age he did a great job covering for an often-injured Elvis Kamsoba and was a handful for A-League defenders constantly. ST - Musa Toure - 31 apps, 33 goals, 3 assists, 7.57 avg - Not sure what else can be said about Toure, he's just put together possibly the greatest A-League season of all time and swept all of the awards once again. He scored 19 goals in 18 regular season games before scoring a hat trick in each leg of the semi final and a goal in the Grand Final. Just brilliant. ST - Tete Yengi - 31 apps, 28 goals, 5 assists, 7.66 avg - Yengi had a weird first season at the club. He bullied part-time defenders in the early Asian Champions League and Australia Cup games, and had 16 goals in 10 appearances by the time the A-League season started. However, it took him 10 games to score in the league and while he had a purple patch mid-season, he also finished slowly. Still an incredible weapon to have. Results The 16-1 win in the Australian Cup over Cairns amateur club Leichhardt FC was certainly a career highlight for me. Youth Intake We had to let a couple of decent prospects go due to being from Victoria but Ivica Mlinar looks the most likely out of this cohort to have a career here. In the second half of the season he even trained with the first team and made 2 starting appearances. Progression Season Manager Captain Pos Pl W D L GD Pts Finals Continental Club MVP Golden Boot TF YF JC YF Capacity AvgAtt 2023/24 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 15 6 5 25 51 Champions none Musa Toure Musa Toure (16) Aver Aver Adeq Grea 15,000 10,334 2024/25 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 18 4 4 42 58 Champions Group Stage Musa Toure Musa Toure (33) Good Good Adeq Exce 15,000 11,181 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavva74 Posted November 10, 2023 Author Share Posted November 10, 2023 ADELAIDE UNITED HOMEGROWN CHALLENGE Season 3 | 2025/26 We continued to capitalise on the 'golden generation' at the club with an almost flawless season at domestic level, dropping just 13 points on our way to our third consecutive league/finals double, as well as winning the Australia Cup with a 5-0 final win over arch rivals Melbourne Victory. We made our deepest foray yet into Asia, drawing a much easier group containing teams from Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia and then beating Chinese side Shanghai Port 6-3 in the second round. We beat FC Seoul 5-1 at home in the quarter final first leg which had me wondering if we could get all the way to the final but we tragically lost 4-0 in the away leg to get knocked out at the quarter final stage. Results Transfers Once again the major transfers happened at the end of the previous season! I'm currently in a delicate balancing act between continuing to progress youth players as well as periodically add experience and quality to the side from outside the club. Our marquee signing heading into the season was one of the first successful academy graduates in the club's history, Awer Mabil, who joined on a free transfer from Grasshoppers Zurich and is our highest-paid player and possibly the best in the league. Adding a current Socceroo to the team made us look unbeatable and our results reflected it. We also brought back a couple of old servants of the club in Jordan Elsey, an experienced centre back who had a spell in India with East Bengal, and Paul Izzo, our old first team goalkeeper who will serve as a backup after crossing from Melbourne Victory. No first team players left the club, although Ryan White was dropped back down to the youth squad. Squad We got the chance to see some new youngsters play more this season, including regens Ivica Mlinar, Tom Willoughby and young defenders Bailey O'Neil and Jean Paul Mbembe. First XI GK - Joe Gauci - 46 apps, 21 clean sheets, 7.10 avg - Gauci had his best season yet in the save, playing nearly 50 games in a long campaign and keeping 21 clean sheets. He'll miss the World Cup sadly due to injury and didn't play in the Grand Final, but he's still contracted long term. RB - Panasha Madanha - 27 apps, 4 goals, 14 assists, 7.45 avg - Still struggled with injuries at time but won back his first team spot and was a creative force at right back with a massive 14 assists. Is starting to consider a switch to Zimbabwe to feature at international level. CB - Jordan Elsey - 39 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6.91 avg - Played plenty of minutes in his return to the club and was a solid, stable option. He's a no-frills defender that offers little going forward but should continue to be useful for a couple of seasons. CB - Panagiotis Kikianis - 38 apps, 4 goals, 5 assists, 7.04 avg - Kikianis is an accomplished A-League starter now and can play equally well in the more defensive duty on the right or as a ball-playing defender on the left. One of the first names on the teamsheet. LB - Ryan Kitto - 28 apps, 4 goals, 7 assists, 7.02 avg - He's at the stage where his career is potentially winding down but our stalwart captain still performed well this season. Will begin to mentor Bailey O'Neil more directly as his successor. DM - Jay Barnett - 38 apps, 9 goals, 12 assists, 7.24 avg - Stepped up when Alagich had injury issues and had a wonderful season in midfield with over 20 goal/assist contributions. At 25 he's a bit older than the main crop of players which is quickly seeing him become one of the squad's leaders. DM - Ethan Alagich - 25 apps, 2 goals, 9 assists, 7.07 avg - Had an injury-interrupted season and was slightly down on his dynamic best but still a good season by any metrics. RW - Bernardo - 37 apps, 8 goals, 11 assists, 7.33 avg - The son of AUFC icon Cassio, he's flown under the radar due to the amount of good wingers in our stable but he's developed really well and had a breakout season on the right wing. Still faces stiff competition for his spot from Luka Jovanovic. LW - Awer Mabil - 41 apps, 9 goals, 19 assists, 7.44 avg - Unsurprisingly, Mabil was an absolute star from day one and has clearly shown he's operating at a level above the A-League. Nearly picked up 20 assists and there was a couple of absolute worldies in his 9 goals. ST - Musa Toure - 40 apps, 33 goals, 2 assists, 7.41 avg - Fell off a bit in the back half of the season but still won the league Young Player of the Year and Golden Boot with 24 goals in 25 games. Has also broken the club's goalscoring record with 66 goals in 72 appearances. ST - Tete Yengi - 45 apps, 39 goals, 9 assists, 7.82 avg - Just missed out on the Golden Boot but his combined total of 39 goals is a club record and he's on the plane to North America for the World Cup after being crowned the A-League's best player. Unbelievably prolific season from the towering target forward. Youth Intake Tom Willoughby looks like a great future striker prospect and even made a few senior appearances this year, with 2 goals and 5 assists in 12 games. Dogukan Polat is probably the other player I'm looking forward to developing. Progression Season Manager Captain Pos Pl W D L GD Pts Finals Continental Club MVP Golden Boot TF YF JC YF Capacity AvgAtt 2023/24 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 15 6 5 25 51 Champions none Musa Toure Musa Toure (16) Aver Aver Adeq Grea 15,000 10,334 2024/25 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 18 4 4 42 58 Champions Group Stage Musa Toure Musa Toure (33) Good Good Adeq Exce 15,000 11,181 2025/26 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 21 2 3 58 65 Champions Quarters Tete Yengi Tete Yengi (39) Grea Good Adeq Exce 15,000 12,075 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavva74 Posted November 11, 2023 Author Share Posted November 11, 2023 ADELAIDE UNITED HOMEGROWN CHALLENGE Season 4 | 2026/27 We've become champions of Asia well ahead of schedule, taking down an old Al-Nassr XI 6-1 over two legs, but our focus on the final saw us drop the ball and get knocked out of the A-League semi finals, denying us the chance to win a historic quadruple. We were still dominant in the league and cup and I'm looking forward to what this squad can achieve. Results At certain points in the season we looked absolutely unstoppable and we finished with a whopping 98 goals in 26 league games. The undoubted highlight of the season was a frankly unbelievable 12-0 away win against a hapless Brisbane Roar. Transfers What made our success even more incredible was that we sold three of our best players in the off-season, for a total return of £3.5 million. Although I'd love to have the strongest squad possible at all times, I also acknowledge that Adelaide United is still a stepping stone for players and we can't be competitive with wages compared to Europe and the Middle East. Selling players for profit also allows us to reinvest into our facilities and create a sustainable model for success. Leaving at the end of the last season were Joe Gauci for £800k to Al-Khaleej and Tete Yengi for £1.1m to Al-Fateh with both signing massive contracts and breaking into the Socceroos squad. In August, Awer Mabil also left the club for Qatari side Al-Gharafa. We collected a fee of £1.6m for the 30 year old winger, a year after we signed him for free, which was a fantastic piece of business. I replaced Gauci and Yengi through the internal promotions of regens Jimmy Coleman and Tom Willoughby respectively, but we did spend a little of our bounty on Sochaux winger Yaya Dukuly to replace Awer Mabil. Dukuly left the club in 2022 for Reims but hasn't kickstarted his career in France and returns to Australia at 23, still young enough to make another move. Jai King-Byrne and Joshua Mori were both released by Melbourne City on deadline day and we picked them up purely as squad depth. Later in the season, we let Mori and talented youngster Ivica Mlinar head out on loan to China to get some first team minutes. Squad First XI GK - Paul Izzo - 43 apps, 22 clean sheets, 7.03 avg - Took up the job between the sticks when Gauci left and broke his record for clean sheets with 22. Definitely helped by a more stable back four ahead of him but Izzo did a lot to maintain our level of performance by stepping up to the job. RB - Giuseppe Bovalina - 36 apps, 1 goal, 12 assists, 7.28 avg - The constant battle between Bovalina and Madanha probably helps both players advance and it was Giuseppe who was first choice at right back this year. 12 assists is another great return. CB - Panagiotis Kikianis - 34 apps, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7.05 avg - Cut back by injury a little bit but still a great campaign for the accomplished centre back. Can also fill in at either full back position, might as well make him a defensive midfielder at this point. CB - Alexandar Popovic - 39 apps, 2 goals, 4 assists, 7.02 avg - A real breakout season for Popovic who was on the Socceroos radar due to his strong league form. Has become a definite first team starter which is what I've been wanting out of him for the past three seasons. LB - Ryan Kitto - 36 apps, 5 goals, 6 assists, 7.13 avg - After lifting four consecutive league titles and now the Asian Champions League, Kitto has achieved everything he could at the club and will leave in the off-season, not sure yet if he'll continue his A-League career elsewhere. DM - Jay Barnett - 37 apps, 11 goals, 7 assists, 7.21 avg - Becoming a regular goalscoring threat from midfield, Barnett has scored 26 goals in the past three years after contributing 11 in the most recent campaign. DM - Ethan Alagich - 34 apps, 6 goals, 8 assists, 7.18 avg - Bounced back from injury and had a cracking season. Also got a call-up to the Socceroos side in March for a couple of home friendlies against Oceanic competition (more on that later). RW - Luka Jovanovic - 42 apps, 22 goals, 18 assists, 7.63 avg - Our coaches believe he's the best player at the club and after the season he's had I would have to agree. The fans voted Musa Toure as their player of the year but Jovanovic had 22 goals and 18 assists playing predominantly as a right wing. LW - Harry Crawford - 33 apps, 8 goals, 6 assists, 7.21 avg - Crawford and Yaya Dukuly duked it out for the starting left wing spot and in the end I slightly preferred Crawford although they were both great. Crawford finished with 8 goals and 6 assists, he's a consistent contributor with 10, 14, 14 G/A in his three full seasons. ST - Tom Willoughby - 42 apps, 27 goals, 10 assists, 7.48 avg - Stepped up to the big time when Yengi left and repaid my faith by scoring 27 goals as a seventeen year-old. He's a little rough around the edges in some facets but his ability to find space in the box and then put the chances away is unparalleled in this country. Could be a future star for the Socceroos. ST - Musa Toure - 40 apps, 30 goals, 6 assists, 7.59 avg - Moved back into the target forward role after the departure of Yengi and recorded his third consecutive 30-goal season and A-League Golden Boot trophy. Just clockwork at this point, he can't stay off the scoresheet for long. Youth Intake A fantastic youth intake this season, with some great players that could quickly challenge for first team action - exactly what I wanted after selling 3 of my best players in the off-season. Paul Wooding is a powerful, intelligent centre back who's already good enough for the level, with Tom Johnston providing a taller alternative. Josh Brown is a promising keeper who's filled in a couple of times this season, while Ryan Lynch will be looking for first team opportunities at left back with the impending departure of Ryan Kitto. Fabiano De Vita is a great looking left wing prospect that could be our long term Mabil replacement. International After the retirement of Graham Arnold following the 2026 World Cup, I took the vacant Australia job and began preparing for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup in Oman in January. We put together an amazing tournament, topping our group before destroying Vietnam, South Korea, Uzbekstan and Saudi Arabia on our way to continental glory (and giving us a massive personal edge over Saudi Arabia for both club and country). Former AUFC goalkeeper Joe Gauci has become a regular while academy graduate Riley McGree, now a regular starter for Middlesbrough, scored 5 goals in the space of a week against Vietnam and South Korea. Ethan Alagich made his Socceroos debut as well against Papua New Guinea in a laid-back friendly in March. Our next task will be to qualify for the 2030 World Cup. Progression Season Manager Captain Pos Pl W D L GD Pts Finals Continental Club MVP Golden Boot TF YF JC YF Capacity AvgAtt 2023/24 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 15 6 5 25 51 Champions none Musa Toure Musa Toure (16) Aver Aver Adeq Grea 15,000 10,334 2024/25 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 18 4 4 42 58 Champions Group Stage Musa Toure Musa Toure (33) Good Good Adeq Exce 15,000 11,181 2025/26 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 21 2 3 58 65 Champions Quarters Tete Yengi Tete Yengi (39) Grea Good Adeq Exce 15,000 12,075 2026/27 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 20 3 3 74 63 Semi finals Champions Musa Toure Musa Toure (30) Exce Good Adeq Exce 15,000 14,880 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavva74 Posted November 12, 2023 Author Share Posted November 12, 2023 ADELAIDE UNITED HOMEGROWN CHALLENGE Season 5 | 2027/28 We pulled off our first ever 'perfect season', winning the quadruple - the league, the finals, the cup, and the Asian Champions League for a second year in a row. Once again we humiliated our Saudi opposition, beating Al-Ahli 7-0 on aggregate. Results Transfers We kept the squad pretty well unchanged, although some younger players got promoted into the first team squad. Joshua Mori and Ivica Mlinar once again headed off to China on loan. Squad A lot of new faces this year, like defenders Ryan Lynch and Paul Wooding, and new first team goalkeeper, 18 year old Josh Brown. We also had three players go past 20 goals this year, with first team starters Tom WIlloughby (37) and Musa Toure (35) topping the charts, and backup Jake Porter chipping in with 21. First XI GK - Josh Brown - 28 apps, 13 clean sheets, 7.06 avg - Got given a couple of games to prove himself and ended up outperforming Izzo and sending his experienced teammate to the bench. At 18 he's got plenty of improvement to come but he could be our goalkeeper for a very long time. RB - Giuseppe Bovalina - 30 apps, 3 goals, 13 assists, 7.17 avg - Another great season from Bovalina bombing down the right hand side and swinging in crosees, he picked up 13 assists. CB - Panagiotis Kikianis - 35 apps, 6 goals, 2 assists, 7.12 avg - The commanding centre back has a lot of A-League experience now which makes him the rock at the heart of my defence. Can shift around and do jobs at either full back if needed. CB - Alexandar Popovic - 39 apps, 5 goals, 2 assists, 7.09 avg - He's becoming one of the more experienced players in the squad now, so it's great to see him putting together a top season. Partners really well with Kikianis. LB - Bailey O'Neil - 28 apps, 1 goal, 4 assists, 7.01 avg - The departure of Ryan Kitto opened up the left back spot and Bailey O'Neil started off as the heir apparent but was quickly challenged by young Ryan Lynch, who got plenty of minutes. Neither was amazing, so I'm hoping a clear first choice emerges soon. DM - Jay Barnett - 39 apps, 4 goals, 8 assists, 7.18 avg - Not his most industrious season in terms of G/A contributions, but he had to do it without Alagich for most of the season as the new captain missed nearly 20 games through injury. Barntt is wanted by some Saudi clubs at the moment. DM - Jonny Yull - 26 apps, 5 goals, 10 assists, 7.27 avg - He's been a backup defensive midfielder for his whole time here because I've felt he's a defensive liability but going forward he really is an inventive player. However, I have decided to release him at the end of the season so we can bring in youngster Ivica Mlinar once his Shanghai Port loan ends. RW - Bernardo - 42 apps, 13 goals, 14 assists, 7.33 - Bernardo put up numbers this year, and even kept newly capped Socceroo Luka Jovanovic out of a starting spot at times. Was named in the A-League and Asian Champions League Teams of the Year at right wing. LW - Yaya Dukuly - 35 apps, 6 goals, 14 assists, 7.35 avg - Dukuly can sometimes feel like a transplant since he hasn't been here since the start, but he really made the left wing spot his own this season with a bag of 14 assists. ST - Tom Willoughby - 33 apps, 37 goals, 2 assists, 7.82 avg - This kid is gonna be a Socceroo soon and then a big move to Europe after that. Absolute goal-scoring machine, capped off by a four-goal performance in the first leg of the Asian Champions League final against Al-Ahli that basically killed the tie. Missed a few league games with injuries but finished with 14 in 17 in the A-League nonetheless. ST - Musa Toure - 41 apps, 35 goals, 10 assists, 7.74 avg - Toure had the highest G/A contribution this season with 45, and that included 24 goals and 8 assists in 24 A-League games. Just consistently bullies A-League defenders week after week and has become arguably the best striker of all time in the A-League - 2 Johnny Warren Medals, 3 Young Player of the Year awards, and 4 consecutive Golden Boots. Youth Intake Not the best intake, and I've been trying in vain to get the board to upgrade the youth facilities and junior coaching but they won't budge. Shaun Hayes seems like a decent striker option in the mould of Tom Willoughby who's currently tearing up the league. International We played in the Second Round of the Asian World Cup qualifying and did some nasty things to our minnow opponents. We finished with 47 goals in 6 games (averaging nearly 8 a game). I usually go with the suggested squads and use Quick Pick for the team so I don't pick players myself. It was great to see Luka Jovanovic called up to the team and play 3 games, scoring 3 goals. Progression Season Manager Captain Pos Pl W D L GD Pts Finals Continental Club MVP Golden Boot TF YF JC YF Capacity AvgAtt 2023/24 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 15 6 5 25 51 Champions none Musa Toure Musa Toure (16) Aver Aver Adeq Grea 15,000 10,334 2024/25 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 18 4 4 42 58 Champions Group Stage Musa Toure Musa Toure (33) Good Good Adeq Exce 15,000 11,181 2025/26 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 21 2 3 58 65 Champions Quarters Tete Yengi Tete Yengi (39) Grea Good Adeq Exce 15,000 12,075 2026/27 Hugo Montgomery Ryan Kitto 1st 26 20 3 3 74 63 Semi finals Champions Musa Toure Musa Toure (30) Exce Good Adeq Exce 15,000 14,880 2027/28 Hugo Montgomery Ethan Alagich 1st 26 22 3 1 66 69 Champions Champions Musa Toure Tom Willoughby (37) Supe Aver Ade Excp 15,000 17,118 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakama2619 Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 Being a Queenslander I'm not exactly happy with that Australia Cup final 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vara Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 excellent stuff, mate. impressive clean sweep! Willoughby looks like he'll be bossing it for years to come! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavva74 Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 Considering how dominant the team is at this point, I might do another update in 5 years time after my tenth season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
theBlackPrince Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 5 years to an absolutely dominant team is impressive! Have family in Adelaide so they are my team in Australia (I say my team, I look out for their results). Got a keep up the performances in year 6 now! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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