Dany's world tour

[phnompenhandy]

Daenerys Targaryan is an enormously talented football manager. However, as she is young, female, and from an obscure nation with no footballing pedigree, she can't get a break anywhere. No one in Europe or America has taken her seriously, so she left her homeland of Montserrat to roam the world in search of a job. The post she secured was in Tuvalu, at a club whose name she felt suited her perfectly - Nauti.

Dany's aim is no less than global conquest. She will move from club to club in the search of silverware and increased reputation. But she has a second objective - she is going to employ players from every nation in the world (a total of 207). To qualify and be ticked off on her list, the players must gain at least a 7.0 match rating in a competitive fixture.

She may apply to and/or accept jobs from every nation that has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup (that's 81 nations before qualifications are secured for the 2026 games), leaving 125 eligible nations including loosely-associated members such as Monaco, Vatican City and Isle of Man (she'll try for Greenland if there are any players in the Danish system, but that's uncertain). She cannot leave a club until she has secured at least one trophy, although she may decide to stay on and gain more. There's no credit for winning the same trophy twice.

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

I've loaded a monstrous 360 editor data files. The full list of nations and obscene amount of cup competitions along with other files is here:

My deepest thanks to all the brilliant people who create these files. FM would be nothing without you.

The gazillion cup competitions are to ensure teams from tiny leagues have enough fixtures. It also aids Dany in piling up the pots, although  it might mean she needs larger squads to cope. We'll see.

To keep things manageable, I'm loading up a few nations at a time, and will add leagues ahead of Dany seeking to move on to a different continent or region.

I'm starting with all the Oceania nations (minus New Zealand as they've been in the World Cup) plus a few extremely minor nations just to monitor them.

So, starting with 47 leagues from 21 nations, and 45,000 players.

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Tuvalu is a non-ranked associate member of FIFA. It's the highest-reputation post she could secure, and believe me, she's spent three years trying! Once she makes her name here, she'll endeavour to move onwards and upwards through the ranks. At Tuvalu, she'll do her best to attract players from the other 13 nations in the Oceania Confederation.

 

The chairman surprised her as the indicated that in addition to the league, which she is expected to win, there are seven more trophies to fight for!

Here are the details of the club itself

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The first problem she encountered was in meeting the squad, just five days before their first competitive match.

Yes, nine players. It seems a few didn't agree with Dany's appointment and walked. She'll be facing them in those upcoming league matches. There is a B team that lays in the second tier and comprises the Under 18s along with no-hopers. She doesn't think she'll be calling any of them up; instead, she'll be on the phone to her contacts around the region.

This is how the schedule starts - she has five days before her first competitive match.

Yup, those cup matches could prove a killer; she's not expected to get far in them though, the priority is the league, which comprises just those five matches! She figures her strategy will be to use the Champions League matches to bed in new acquisitions and get her tactics across, not worrying if she loses every tie. The most important part of the season is those five A Division games - the winner tends to drop no more than two points. If she fails that task, she might have to grab one of the pointless pots to achieve her goal and get the hell outta Tuvalu!

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

For reference, (1) to be 'redded' whenever a player qualifies. (2) to be 'blued' whenever a club is managed in that nation. All nations that have never qualified for the World Cup

UEFA     CONMEBOL     CAF       AFC     OFC                                       1. Albania   1.     Venezuela     1. Benin     Afghanistan   1. American Samoa 2. Andorra           2. Botswana     Bangladesh   2. Cook Islands   3. Armenia   CONCACAF     3. Burkina Faso     Bhutan     3. Fiji     4. Azerbaijan           4. Burundi     Brunei     4. New Caledonia 5. Belarus   1. Anguilla*     5. Cape Verde     Cambodia   5. Papua New Guinea 6. Cyprus   2. Antigua and Barbuda   6. Central African Republic Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 6. Samoa   7. Estonia   3. Aruba*     7. Chad     Guam     7. Solomon Islands 8. Faroe Islands* 4. Bahamas     8. Comoros     Hong Kong   8. Tahiti   9. Finland   5. Barbados     9. Djibouti     India     9. Tonga   10. Georgia   6. Bermuda*     10. Eswatini (Swaziland)   Indonesia   10. Vanuatu   11. Gibraltar*   7. Belize     11. Equatorial Guinea   Iraq           12. Iceland    8. British Virgin Islands   12. Eritrea     Jordan     Associate members are:  13. Kosovo*   9. Cayman Islands*   14. Ethiopia     Kazakhstan [moved to AFC]       14. Latvia   10. Curaçao     15. Gabon     Kuwait     1. Kiribati   15. Liechtenstein 11. Dominica     16. Gambia     Kyrgyzstan   2. Tuvalu   16. Lithuania   12. Dominican Republic   17. Guinea     Laos     3. Micronesia   17. Luxembourg   13. French Guiana   18. Guinea-Bissau   Lebanon   4. Wallis & Futuna 18. Malta   14. Grenada     19. Kenya     Malaysia         19. Moldova   15. Guadeloupe*     20. Lesotho     Maldives         * not full member of UEFA 16. Guyana     21. Liberia     Mongolia           other non-members 17. Montserrat*     22. Libya     Myanmar         Monaco     18. Nicaragua     23. Madagascar     Nepal           Isle of Man   19. Puerto Rico     24. Malawi     Oman           San Marino   20. Saint Kitts and Nevis   25. Mali     Pakistan         Montenegro   21. Saint Lucia     1. Mauritania     Palestine         N. Macedonia    22. Saint Vincent and the Gren's 2. Mauritius     Philippines         Vatican City   23. Sint Maarten*   3. Mozambique     Singapore               24. Suriname     4. Namibia     Sri Lanka               25. Turks and Caicos Islands* 5. Niger     Syria                 * associate members   6. Rwanda     Tajikistan               other associates:   7. São Tomé and Príncipe   Thailand               St. Pierre & Miquelon   8. Seychelles     Timor-Leste               Martinique     9. Sierra Leone     Turkmenistan               Saint-Martin     10. Somalia     Uzbekistan               French Guiana     11. South Sudan     Vietnam               Bonaire       12. Sudan     Yemen                 Saint Barthélemy     13. Tanzania                       US Virgin Islands     14. Uganda     Associate members:                      15. Zambia     Northern Mariana Islands                     other associates:   Macau                         1. Reunion (French overseas terr')                           2. Mayotte (French overseas terr')                           3. Zanzibar                                                                                                       TROPHIES                             LEAGUES    3             TUVALU, FIJI, GIBRALTAR, BHUTAN                           CUPS           4             TUVALU 2, FIJI 1, GIBRALTAR 1                                         NATIONS               39

[sorry for the wasted space - I can't get to grips with copying an excel sheet into a post.]

Edited Thursday at 14:45 by phnompenhandy
update

[phnompenhandy]

TUVALU

From Google Earth:

Quick facts

Tuvalu, in the South Pacific, is an independent island nation within the British Commonwealth. Its 9 islands comprise small, thinly populated atolls and reef islands with palm-fringed beaches and WWII sites. Off Funafuti, the capital, the Funafuti Conservation Area offers calm waters for diving and snorkelling among sea turtles and tropical fish, plus several uninhabited islets sheltering sea birds.

 

 

 

 

Why is Tuvalu not visited?

Apart from the difficulty to access, Tuvalu is on the list of islands that are most likely to disappear into the ocean in the near future due to rising sea levels. As per the reports, two of Tuvalu's nine islands are already on the verge of getting swallowed by sea-rise and coastal erosion.

Jul 29, 2023

 

The 'FA' and indeed government have urged Dany to do her bit to bring international attention to the desperate nation.

 

Here is a ninety-second insight into football on Tuvalu, made by a Dutch guy who was helping the FA apply to be a member of FIFA

 

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Nauti are the strongest team in Tuvalu; in addition to retaining the league title, Dany thinks it should have a good chance in the four domestic cup competitions. Or at least, she did before she met the team. They're already out of one cup and are in the semi-finals of three more. So she has a maximum of 11 domestic ties.

The regional cups are a different story. There are a couple where Nauti could get out of the initial preliminary stage -

Only the winners qualify, and then they're in a group with teams from New Zealand.

OFC President's Cup: - by no means limited to Oceania. Tricky - any chance of top 4? Slim, thinks Dany. A finalist will play 13 ties, but Dany is sure she'll preside over precisely 7 matches.

 

Maybe Dany's best chance of progressing:

A finalist would have 12 games, As you can see, only the winner gets out of this group. So that's probably 5 more matches here.

Two Kiwi sides in this knock-out competition.

The first match-up is against a domestic rival. What comes next is up to the luck of the draw.

 

The problem is, all three of the regional cups have New Zealand sides, and they always win every trophy. At best, we'll give a good account of ourselves and raise both the club and Dany's reputation. The league and four domestic trophies are all up for grabs, and Nauti are the favourites in all those contests.

Altogether, it looks like there will be about 25 matches this season, in seven separate tournaments.

 

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[Rick87]

Good luck Dany, must be a psychological advantage to have have dragons sitting in the stands. 😆

That is a lot of cup competitions!

[phnompenhandy]

1 minute ago, Rick87 said:

Good luck Dany, must be a psychological advantage to have have dragons sitting in the stands. 😆

That is a lot of cup competitions!

Dragon is the only way to scout players from other nations.

I fear I've  overdone  the  cups!

[phnompenhandy]

Due to her months spent touting for a job around the islands and atolls of Oceania, she already had a good knowledge of the best players. But the best were not interested in relocating to Tuvalu. Instead, she enquired about players who’d been released from their clubs due to off-field issues and were either deemed ‘no good’ by their communities or sought to get away from their claustrophobic communities and make a fresh start.

As a result, Dany quickly assembled a motley mob of Oceanians, but no Aussie or Kiwi would give her a moment’s consideration. She made positive contact with a dozen players, but only three arrived in time to join her in flying out to Apia in Samoa, where the team was due to play the five matches of the Champions League preliminary round. Dany figured she’d have a team waiting for her on their return, but she had to work with the talentless and lazy players registered for now.

The first match was against an American Samoan side. She set her lads up in a 4-3-3 and tried to impress the need for a high-energy approach. She knew they were unfit and unwilling; it was more a case of laying down the law.

 

Diminutive though she is, being five foot-nothing, Dany has a presence. These lads were scared of her, and she hollered incessantly from the technical area. She wouldn’t let them off any temptation to ease the pace. By the end, they were dead on their feet – but they’d chalked up a remarkable 4-1 victory. Dany was beginning to curry some respect.

Hat trick hero

Teoliga's attributes

And Dany's most promising free signing, Winjo, a right back from Vanuatu.

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The tourney in Samoa did prove to be a positive exercise. Dany got to know her new charges better and was fairly impressed with some of the fringe players, who had to step in as fatigue took its toll (five matches in twelve days is an unreasonable demand on amateur players).

Dany felt they'd done very well, given the circumstances and strengthof opposition.

The home side topped the group, despiteour best efforts to thwart them on the final day. Nauti finished above the leading clubs from higher ranked nations, i.e. Cook Islands and AmSam. The loss to the side from Kiribati was embarrassing , especially with the shot count 28 to 1.

While she was away from Tuvalu, the new acquisitions arrived and met the players left behind, prompting a number of them to decide they were surplus. During this time the transfer window shut, leaving five players angry and disenchanted with the sheer incompetence of the Director of Football. Dany would let the B team manager and Director sort that out - they were not players she'd be calling on, as they rightly judged.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Dany has twelve days on returning to Tuvalu for her troops to rest, recuperate and further internalise her tactics. She and the original squad got to know the newcomers. Dany was very pleased with herself for so quickly accumulating twelve nationalities. The Oceanic players she couldn't get were from Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia together with Australia and New Zealand. They''d have to be truly awful - and criminal to come to Tuvalu and play for free. She'd try again in the next window.

Six of them demanded to be treated as 'star' players. That didn't go down too well with the squad, and Dany won't let herself be influenced by such primadonna behaviour. There might be trouble ahead. She has to keep picking them until they achieve a 7.0+ rating, after which she could terminate a contract if the player proved disruptive.

This muppet's got trouble written all over him

Edited September 7 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

March and April are the key months for Dany. The whole league schedule – five matches are played. After that nothing happens for three two months (of the hurricane season) before the season recommences with half a dozen sucky cups. If Dany fails to win the league, she will have failed big time – no one cares about the cups although bagging one would meet her first objective. Of course, she’d probably be fired in the summer and leave herself with next to no chance of every getting a second post. So, pressure.

The home-away label is a nonsense – all matches in Tuvalu are played at the only stadium in the country, the Tuvalu Sports Ground. Nerves were calmed with an outstanding display in the first match. She saw off Tamanuku 6-1. Dany even enjoyed the bonus of bringing Tua the dickhead on for 10 minutes only for him to get an assist and 7.0 rating. Four other foreign debutants hit the mark already. Talking of which, three of her foreigners are in the B Team (that plays in the second tier) but the manager refuses to play them – old-school, see. They’re not going to be match-fit when she calls them up.

The second game was a 4-0 formality and then there was a month break while internationals took place. One of Dany’s B-Team leftovers gained match fitness with Kiribati, which led her to take a big risk in the third league game. Nauti already had a to-point and eight-goal advantage over bookies’ favourites Vaoloa, so she felt it worth the chance to start the non-qualified foreigners in the tie against hapless Ha’apai.

The 3-2 result was closer than comfortable, but Dany’s Micronesian striker bagged a brace and a 7+, and the Wallisian fullback hit the mark. The 15-year-old Wallasian centre back failed to hit a 7, but it doesn’t matter as his compatriot did. The other stand-in centre back, from Kiribati also failed so will need to go again at some point.

[phnompenhandy]

Dany’s strongest first XI outclassed favourites Vaoloa in the next match to secure the title with a game to spare. She’s mightily proud of her first trophy. The news to the left – qualifying for two regional trophies leaves her less excited knowing that there is no chance of progressing in either.

DANY'S FIRST TROPHY

 

She played the Kiribati player in the last match, which Nauti won narrowly without him hitting 7.0.

This early success leaves Dany with a dilemma. She has achieved her first objective. She could quit tomorrow and move on. The month has seven more months to run. May and June have no fixtures; July have seven matches in the President’s Cup which will be a humiliation. The domestic cups involve one tie in August, one in October and two in December. That’s too much dead time, in Dany’s mind. She’d probably be able to tick off the Kiribati player and possibly try to bring in one from New Caledonia and Papua NG, but she can do that in her next job. She’d give herself until the end of the month to think through her plans.

[phnompenhandy]

May Day rolled around, and the FA and island government organised a ceremony to congratulate Dany.

Everyone was talking in term's of a season review, whereas Dany considered it only halfway through. However, that assumption of the Tuvaluans made her decision that bit easier. She wouldn't quit there and then; she would use the dead time of May and June to tout herself and see what was available. If a promising post opened up, she'd go; if not, she'd stay for the tin pots.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Jobs vacant

 

Jobs applied for

 

In addition, the under-fire manager of Togafuafua of the Samoan top tier is furious with her back-stabbing. She's a terrific football manager, but lacks diplomatic skills and is earning herself an unwelcome reputation of a mercenary. Dany was immediately knocked back by Lami, and her declarations of interest in local media drew this response;

 

Edited September 8 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The chairman of New Caledonians' AS Magenta was kind enough to let Dany down gently -

Other less generous reactions scoffed at her hubris for thinking that winning five matches in a Noddy league counted for anything. She made a brief visit to Nauti to check in on her squad, only to discover that the Nauti B team were leading their 2nd tier division (they can't gain promotion) and won the Tuvalu Games, meaning the B-Team manager had the same number of trophies as Dany, and was placing himself in a position to replace her in the eyes of the board.

Furthermore, Dany's foreign players (two of whom had ticked her box with their sole first-team appearance and had been released) had become aware that if Dany gets a post elsewhere, she will have no interest in taking any of them with her, and they'd be unwelcome to the B-team guy. The atmosphere was glum and she felt deeply uncomfortable.

Edited September 8 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Uncomfortable issues were put aside for the return of football. It was the potentially humiliating experience of the OFC President's Cup group stage.

In the end, Nauti came out with some credit, finishing above the best of Singapore, whilst behind top clubs from Canada, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Lebanon. The media had it right:

Those three wins came with a lot of prize money, leaving the board feeling warmer towards Dany.

Another cup tourney preliminary group stage was drawn:

Nauti were drawn in the tough group with no realistic chance of going through. Those matches would be played in November.

Just as the first President's  Cup match was due, the summer transfer window opened. Dany added to her quota: a New Caledonian fullback just scraped a 7.0 versus the Singapore side, but the Australian and New Zealand defensive midfielders failed to hit the target. The New Zealander turned out to have dual nationality with the Cook Islands but Dany didn't know that before he signed and wasn't responsible for that possible exploit of the rule. The Kiribati defender has also failed as yet to put in a good performance. The only Oceanic nation she hasn't been able to sign a player from now is Papua New Guinea.

Despite the lukewarm appreciation of her achievement in adding value to the Cup performance, there was no disguising the reputation as a mercenary that Dany has created for herself. She's entrapped herself, being now cold-shouldered in Tuvalu and disregarded and ignored outside the atoll. She's quietly continue applying for managerial vacancies - without making public announcements, still  wondering how far down the ladder she'd have to go to get another chance. In the meantime, adding a local pot or two in the time she had left at Nauti couldn't do her chances any harm.

Edited September 8 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Dany was getting sick of Oceania, what with her increasing frustration at being ignored and rejected everywhere. She decided to spend the dead month of September back home in Montserrat where she’d lobby Caribbean associate members of CONCACAF and FIFA. She’d see if she could worm her way into any obscure European and African fringe members too if that were possible. She was pretty sure that if she didn’t leave of her own accord, her contract would not be renewed. She was getting desperate now.

 

She'll probably be unemployed or treading water for the best part of a year:

[phnompenhandy]

The first sucky cup final came around – The National Bank of Tuvalu Cup. The opponent was Tofaga, who’d finished fourth in the league and had been trounced 4-0 by Nauti. It took extra time in the final to win the game and land Dany’s second trophy

 

Dany reflected that she ought to appreciate these victories – her exhaustive search for another job revealed to her that nowhere else had so many trophies on offer; her next job would likely put her in with a chance of one cup, if any. Still, whichever ones she won in Tuvalu wouldn’t count if she repeated the achievement. So she’d put every effort into the two remaining domestic competitions in order to sweep a debut season quadruple. Surely that would land her a decent job?

 

The Nauti B manager did the double, underlining his case for taking over Dany’s role when (not if) she left. Nauti’s next match was against Toaga again, in the Independence Cup semi-final. With Dany having been in Montserrat and the best coach leaving for a managerial position, the players weren’t too fit when she returned to lead them in the match. They won the match – again after extra time, which set them up for a final against xxx three days later. The opponents – Nauti B!

Both Nauti’s central defenders were injured in the semi-final and so were not available for the final. She needed two players, and where to recruit them from – why, her reserves of course, i.e. Nauti B. The manager and her new nemesis was outraged and accused her of underhand, dirty tactics, but what choice did she have?

Both teams went into the clash exhausted, but whilst it was the B-Team’s last game of the season, the reason it couldn’t be played later is that in another five days, the Cup winner’s Cup group matches commenced – four more matches in a fortnight for Nauti.

On the morning of the day of the final, Dany received notice that eleven of her players had been called up for international duty – seven for the Tuvalu Under 23s squad (one the backup keeper), two for the senior squad, the Kiribati defender and the Tongan goalkeeper. The dates were smack in the middle of the Cup-Winners Cup. Dany was thoroughly sick of such ridiculous blind planning and incompetence. If The Tuvalu FA disrespected the competition despite all the money it brought in, why should she care?

The 4-0 victory delivered Dany her third and final trophy with Nauti.

Nodding in response to the board’s lukewarm praise, she shook the hands of each of her players and left a sealed envelope on the chairman’s desk. She picked up her packed suitcase and walked to the airfield, never looking back.

 

[phnompenhandy]

 

Dany  has gone to Tahiti

 

She's hoping a vacancy opens up and feels she's got a better chance if she's there to knock on doors. It's the end of preseason with the new season starting in a few days. She'll leap at the chance if she gets news of a post elsewhere, though, even if she's already started a job in Tahiti. don't tell anyone that, though!

[phnompenhandy]

Dany barely settled into her hotel in Pape’ete when she got notice of job vacancies in Papua New Guinea. She learned of vacancies at two clubs in Lae and two in Port Moresby, all clubs in the second tier. She chuckled when she realised that PNG was the only Oceanic nation she hadn’t procured a player from, and a gig here would complete her set. She’d also learned that PNG and Port Moresby in particular was a dangerous and volatile place – if she did get a job it would be a brief stepping stone. But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself – PNG is 166^th in FIFA’s ranking, and she'd be unlikely to be taken seriously.

Before she received a response from her enquiries, she got news of the first sacking in the region – Rewa in Fiji. She’d shaken hands with the manager after drawing 2-2 with Rewa in the President’s Cup in July, only three months ago. She sent an application.

Dany did have an interview with southern Strikers in Port Moresby, but was deemed to lack experience, which was fair enough.

Soon after, she applied for positions in Tonga and Fiji. Tonga is bottom of the FIFA ladder in 199^th spot, surely a step she’d be suited to after unranked Tuvalu?

She was soon offered the job in Tonga, and whilst contemplating whether to accept it, was invited to interview for the Rewa job in Fiji. With Fiji ranked 150th, one of the highest in Oceania, she thought she’d be out of her depth, but interviewed well. While waiting for the verdict, she first had to fob off the Tongan club with a request for a week to make up her mind, and then had to decide what to do about a second interview in Fiji. This approach was from Navua, the team that had finished bottom of the Premier League and was thus relegated. Maybe Rewa would choose another candidate and Navua would be a good second choice, so she decided to attend.

Now she had job offers from both Longoteme and Navua, but she chose to anger both by holding out for a response from Rewa. Was she being foolish? Bird in hand and all that? The chairman did seem serious and positive. In the end, the Tongan team got fed up with her and withdrew their offer, and Navua appeared to be souring, when her dream was finally answered.

I'm here for the cups. Tonga had none, just the league. Navua in the second tier would be in one. Rewa here will be able to try to challenge for the league and seriously contest three cups (plus two regional ones Dany is already weary of).

Edited September 8 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

So where if Rewa and Fiji?

 

Due south of Tuvalu

 

Rewa FC is in Nausori. Big rivalry with big sister, Suva. Boo!

Ramshackle ground

the boys

 

Yup yup - mostly present and correct in my squad. A level of fame this manager is not used to!

Edited September 8 by phnompenhandy

[shd34_216_42]

Battle of the Giants is an excellent cup name. Too bad it won't impress the chairpeople on name alone if you win it.

[phnompenhandy]

Dany had arrived in Nausori and signed her contract two months ahead of the new season, and about three weeks ahead of preseason. She had two immediate tasks to achieve - to identify weaknesses in her squad and look to strengthen it, and to find a place to live.

This club was no amateur outfit - she had a wage now.

She figured she could spend half of that on renting a decent pad, but proprty prices in Nausori were far higher than she'd anticipated and she  couldn't find anything under £500 per month.  Oddly, when the board had sacke the previous manager and his assistant, they'd hired a new assistant without thinking to liaise with the next manager. And so it was that Dany found herself having to bond with her new wingman, Josaia who, at 33 years of age, was close to her age. They decided to flat-share, and for £500 split between them found a habitable place.

The outside looked promising - a gated community

But inside, the basement flat is gaudy and horrible; however, it was the only place that wasn't a complete slum that they could afford.

Danny bagged the best bedroom

 

Flatmate and right-hand man

Edited September 9 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

She quickly learned that Rewa was a big club. Historically, it has had a lot of success and last season's sixth-place finish in a league of eight was believed to be an anomaly. The club is the best-supported in fiji - which is apparently a double-edged sword as the fanatical fanbase demand constant one-upmanship over rivals Suva, the current champions which is stronger and better-resourced in every way.

Dany persuaded the chairman to give the outgoing assistant manager the job as Reserves team manager. He was duly approached and was keen to take the appointment. Being grateful to Dany, he gladly shared his knowledge with her and Josaia. He stressed the squad is strong in attack but was let down by its defence last term. A few calls determined that at that moment, two Fijian-national fullbacks had just returned from stints in New Zealand, similar to a centre back home from Australia that ex-assistant Khan reckoned was better than any in the Vodafone League. If Dany was to stand any chance of securing their signatures, sh'd have to make a move before this information got around other clubs. Procuring their addresses, Dany dashed to meet them, persuade them and nail them down to contracts.

She's a risk-taker is Dany, as you'll have deduced by now. She got all three - on eye-watering contracts, way above what anyone else was getting, including herself. Just three signings took her way of the board's wage budget too, so further transfer business would have to be outgoings only.

signature signing

 

After a polite warning from the chairman to be careful in splashing the cash, a discussion resulted in Dany convincing the chairman that she probably wouldn't need any more signings, andif the budget he'd set aside for transfers was put into the wage budget, the club would be fine and could even afford a few rises, which was just as well as on the return of the players to preseason training, on learning of the new arrivals, some of demanded just that. Dany negotiated with them directly, showing how she was firm but fair, and all new contracts were resolved amicably.

Edited September 9 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

As the squad reassembled for training and fitness, there was a buzz of excitement around. The press and bookies, too, had awoken and had immediately placed Dany's three coups in the dream team of the division, as they rated Rewa second-favourites for the title, ahead of Suva.

 

Edited September 9 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Dany has arranged ten friendlies to play over the five weeks of preseason. She's assessed the squad, picked her first team squad and tactics. Here they are -

 

[phnompenhandy]

Preseason is now done and dusted. The team and fans tried to ignore the local buzz about Suva competing in the Melanesian Super Cup and focus on Rewa’s friendlies. Dany had no idea about the opposition – a mixture of lower league teams and sides in the Vodafone League, mixing first-teamers looking for fitness, fringe squad members and raw academy kids.

Out of nowhere, Dany’s backup defensive midfielder suddenly announced he was going to retire – imminently. The next day, Rewa was due to play league rivals Ba in a friendly, and a couple of players pointed out their star defensive midfielder in the corridor; he wasn’t due to play that day. A short chat revealed he was out of favour and looking for a move. Another free transfer on huge wages, but he’s straight into the first team.

She knew that the opposition in the friendlies was not of the quality Rewa would face in the upcoming competitive matches, but she liked what she was seeing. She reckoned that of her preferred First XI, the goalkeeper Alam was the least impressive player, and as he was in the media’s Dream Team, she figured there was no upgrade to be had. She was quietly feeling very confident indeed.

Just after Dany recorded those thoughts she learned that her spy [sorry, scout] network wasn't all she thought it was. Suva snapped up the best Fijian goalkeeper (discovered in New Zealand) - amongst others, and thusly propelled themselves back on top of the bookies’ odds. These things matter, as you can see.

Dany feels ready and raring

It's a full-strength side to face Lautoka next - let's hope that earlier result lured them into complacency.

[phnompenhandy]

On the day before the first match, Dany read exciting news:

She knew of this guy

A star striker in the solomon Islands - the final pieceof the Suva-busting jigsaw. Sheleapt into action:

And came crashing down with a thump. After Montserrat and Tuvalu, she thought  Fiji was pretty developed. She hadn't realised the Sol-Is are the new Bahrain. She felt embarrassed for her newly-adopted homeland. Nevermind, lesson learnt. Time to focus on the task in hand,

Rewa squeezed past Lautoka by the thinnest of margins, a fortunatefirst-minute strike proving to be the only goal of the game, with a desperate rear-guard holding tight. Young Prasad done his knee and would be out for a couple of months. The other ten starters had to rest up for three days as we were straight into a six-pointer. With only 14 league ties, two stood out and the toughest was next.

[phnompenhandy]

Suva were well battle-hardened when Rewa made the short trip to meet them in Dany’s second competitive fixture with Rewa.  They’d already won the Melanesian Super Cup after six matches, got as far as the Polynesian Super Cup semi-final, going out to a New Zealand side in four fixtures, lost a two-legged Champions v Champions tie and opened their Premier League account. They’d chalked up twelve real matches against very high-level opposition and done extremely well while we were faffing away playing friendlies with farmers.

 

Expectations

 

Edited September 9 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Outcome

 

HUGE result. Dany was more than pleased to take that. Advantage Rewa!

[phnompenhandy]

The league season kicked off with three matches in a week. Very tired limbs dragged themselves onto the Ratu Cakobau to face Labasa. Inevitably, it wasn’t a great spectacle, but Rewa got the job done.

 

An intense opening week, then nothing for the following three. A moment to reflect on Rewa's start.

It's a good as Dany could have hoped for. Beating the two teams that defeated Rewa in preseason, and an away draw against the holders, favourites and bitter rivals.

[Vakama2619]

Finally found someone that uses the revived competitions, currently I'm working on re-doing some of them I have the OFC CWC run alongside the CL and clubs that qualify for the CL unable to enter, with the runners up entering instead. I've also had the North American SuperLiga be for 2nd tier clubs in USA/Mexico alongside the CPL clubs (I DarthAnimal's fantasy pyramid loaded so no issue with lack of teams) because it runs at a similar time to the Leagues Cup

[Vakama2619]

Just curious mate, where'd the Vatican and Monaco files come from?

[phnompenhandy]

28 minutes ago, Vakama2619 said:

Just curious mate, where'd the Vatican and Monaco files come from?

I had to dig REALLY deep down to get those. The Forza Italian fella has them and every other nation in existence, but none of his files work for me.

Then I found this site by a fella called Zangelmi.

https://www.fmpreaseasonofficial.com/forum/extras

He posted it on this SI forum in December:

https://community.sports-interactive.com/forums/topic/581351-fm24-vatican-city-state-championship24/#comment-14272509

 

Monaco is in one of the megapacks on FMScout (creator's name is on the file)

They're verified, hence loaded up in my game, but I didn't test them; it's a surprise for further down the line in this career. They'll both be activated in 2026, so I'll be able to monitor them.

The added extinct competitions are also trial-and-error. I already abandoned one project after a holiday test indicated a murderous amount of fixtures in Oceania. I'm sure I'll further refine which ones I retain next time. My intention is to ensure clubs from minor nations have both sufficient fixtures, and more diversity than a simple league and one cup, although in most cases the regional matches are only available to title-holders. And the congestion of fixtures along with not being informed in advance what competitions a club is in - and when - is a realistic part of 4th world administration anyway!

[Vakama2619]

2 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

I had to dig REALLY deep down to get those. The Forza Italian fella has them and every other nation in existence, but none of his files work for me.

Then I found this site by a fella called Zangelmi.

https://www.fmpreaseasonofficial.com/forum/extras

He posted it on this SI forum in December:

https://community.sports-interactive.com/forums/topic/581351-fm24-vatican-city-state-championship24/#comment-14272509

 

Monaco is in one of the megapacks on FMScout (creator's name is on the file)

They're verified, hence loaded up in my game, but I didn't test them; it's a surprise for further down the line in this career. They'll both be activated in 2026, so I'll be able to monitor them.

The added extinct competitions are also trial-and-error. I already abandoned one project after a holiday test indicated a murderous amount of fixtures in Oceania. I'm sure I'll further refine which ones I retain next time. My intention is to ensure clubs from minor nations have both sufficient fixtures, and more diversity than a simple league and one cup, although in most cases the regional matches are only available to title-holders. And the congestion of fixtures along with not being informed in advance what competitions a club is in - and when - is a realistic part of 4th world administration anyway!

My biggest issue with the regional cups is that it kills coefficients for some of the Champions Leagues (Europe, Africa and Asia). Hense why I'm going through and revamping some of them

[phnompenhandy]

With a solid defence, Rewa were able to grind out wins even when they weren’t playing very well (mostly), including the 1-0 win in the home tie with Suva, and Dany continued to win the matches she was expected to win, putting Rewa in pole position to win the title. She was confident that so long as her favoured starting line-up stayed fit, the prize was theirs.

Two games in hand, having already played Suva home and away

The problem, however, was the upcoming cups.  All three were the three-games-in-a-week format, with league games the following midweek. Priorities had to be made, and she concurred with the board and fans in prioritising the league. Weakened sides were called up. Opponents that had nothing in the league to play for, prioritised differently.

Thinking ahead, Dany realises that if she wins the league this season, she could stay on another year to mop up the cups and see if she can compete in the regional tournaments. On the other hand, she’s itching to see the world and has surreptitiously sent out feelers to Africa – Eritrea, Somalia and Reunion (there are two vacancies in Eritrea right now but she has to win a trophy at Fiji first), the Caribbean island nations of Mayotte, Saint-Martin and St. Barthelemy, and an eye on Sri Lanka. When the season ends in Europe, further possibilities will open up.

On the other hand, with a mercenary mind and thinking strategically, if Dany could nab a pot early doors, she'd be available for a new post before completing the season. She'd have to consider that if the opportunity arose. One tiny issue was that there was still one last Oceanic box to tick off - Papua New Guinea. She has an aged national in her reserves, who's declared he'll retire at the end of the season. She's trying to slip him in to the starting lineup when it's a low-risk opportunity (it cost her victory in her last game) but he never gets near the 7.0 rating mark needed.

Edited September 10 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The Vodafone Fiji FACT tourney was an eye-opener for Dany.

It turns out her backup squad members can't cut it. She trusts her first-choice to keep going in the league, although two veterans have fallen by the wayside, with her staff assessing sharp deterioration due to ageing legs. In fact, the next tournament, the 'Battle of the Giants' in July is not sandwiched between league ties and so her strongest side should be able to compete. But as it is, there'll be no quick getaway - at least before August.

Dany has further observations. Despite her motivatory skills and the decent training facilities for this level, she just can't get a tune out of the squad in training. Furthermore, the preview of the upcoming academy intake was revealing:

There's no depth in the squad and no depth in the future. She's done a superb job this season enticing some of the best Fiji has to offer, but such fixes are short-term measures. And she realises that's what she is - a short-term in-win-out manager, leaving behind a trophy or two, but nothing else for the future in any club she manages.

She realises one more hard truth: she quickly ascended to near the top of the tree in Oceania, but she's still completely unknown beyond it. She could stay to compete in the regional tournaments league success would bring and get noticed around Asia, but that didn't count for anything last year. No, to move on up she'd first need to move down, to a lower FIFA-ranked nation in another continent. Sigh.

[phnompenhandy]

From mid-May until mid-July, Rewa had one fixture, away to basement-dwellers Ba. Dany spent most of the two months on a global research trip. In Europe she visited Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar, Monaco, Vatican City and Isle of Man. Off East Africa she went to the island of Zanzibar (where she learned that nobody wanted the two Eritrean gigs, and there was a vacancy in the second tier of Réunion), and in North America, she checked in on St. Pierre and Miquelon, Bermuda and her homeland of Montserrat.

Back on Fiji, Dany finally got the useless Papuan to score a penalty (pen rating 1) but he still couldn’t rate a 7.0.

With the title just one win away, the league was interrupted by the fun tourney, The Battle of the Giants. Dany was going for this one. ‘BOG meister’ appealed to her.

 

Rewa won their first wo games, and  knowing even a narrow loss would see them through, Dany rested her key players. In the other group, Suva needed a win against hapless Ba to squeeze through. However, the semi-final truly lived up to the competition title:

Can't wait!

[phnompenhandy]

 

Dammit! An own-goal. The media are calling it 'unlucky'. The fans have a different term, as one moment in a successful year sours the affection for Daenerys Targaryan. The next game will probably deliver the title; will the fans care?

The youth intake arrived the day after. Dany wasn't in the mood to meet them; she had the staff deal with it. Focus.

 

 

Focus on her notifications of managerial posts in Mayotte, St. Barthélemy, Bermuda, Reunion and still Eritrea.

Edited September 10 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

This is crazy. Dany has badly lost focus on Rewa, and the issue is feeding through to the team -

She will go into the final day needing to win, after failing to do so for three matches on the bounce. The game is against Nadroga, which in normal times would be a freebie, but is she going to keep her nerve? Suva play Ba and could close the goal difference gap. She has to keep it together, which means not leave Fiji, for three weeks.

[phnompenhandy]

Not now Dany! Leave it! don't look! 

 

[phnompenhandy]

Nerve held. Job done.

Mission Accomplished - trophy gained

The chairman is diplomatic enough to make the right noises in public

But despite delivering the success over Suva the supporters craved, they were less complimentary. It's an odd atmosphere, but not unfamiliar to Dany after experiencing the same in the end days at Nauti. She doesn't even feel sad or angry. there's still another competition and trophy to contest. And yet ....

An application to Andorra on the quiet. I know what you're thinking but no, this is not heavyweight FC Santa Columba; it's their smaller rival. They've still qualified for European competition and are about to get knocked out in the first round of the Europa Conference League. But hey, Europe!

[phnompenhandy]

Dany was shocked to receive such a rapid response. She figured the season had already started in Andorra and the chairman was in a hurry. She had a fortnight before the final matches of Rewa so slipped away quietly for an interview. What she learned surprised her.

U.E. Santa Coloma are (in the chairman's mind) Andorra's second team - no slouches, even though their reputation is far below Rewa's. The youth programme would be an entirely new venture for Dany. The club has the best youth recruitment programme in the (tiny) country - but that is a long-term project, not something that sits comfortably with Dany. After her experience last winter, Dany is confident of quitting Rewa and waiting for a good post, but this one in Andorra looks as good as any. She's minded to accept it straight off if it's offered to her.

[phnompenhandy]

 

Well, thems the blows. Dany couldn't share the bad news with anyone -she had to put on a front and focus on the upcoming matches, the Inter-District Championship. Could last a week; two if she got to the final. Then it would be bye-bye.

[phnompenhandy]

Dany took her charges to the final of this last, sucky cup.

Who would Rewa meet in the final, her final match at the helm? Could she give the supporters what they so badly craved as a parting gift?

She knew what it meant to them and she forced herself to selflessly focus on the task at hand, trying to ignore her phone exploding with notifications of dozens of managers'jobs on the line in such diverse places as Andorra, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City as well as Eritrea, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Bahamas and even her birthplace in Montserrat.

[phnompenhandy]

Just a thought - does Fiji have the only flag with a corn on the cob featured on it?

(apparently they're bananas. Same question stands, though. Also, sugar and coconuts. The flag is a pudding)

Edited September 10 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

YES!

The fans were delighted; the board indifferent

The chairman pointed out that if Dany stayed for the next season, there would be two unwon domestic and three regional trophies to contest, but his heart wasn't in it as he knew Dany was done there. It just remained for her to thank her players - you can see the ones she relied on (and the Papuan numpty whom she gave eleven starts to plus penalties and he still couldn't manage on 7.0)

[phnompenhandy]

Only one thing remained. At least this time, she could look her chairman in the eye and bid farewell to the fans.

 

Dany didn't know what to expect the last time she resigned, but as it went well, she's excited to see what offers come up. Try other clubs in Andorra, other European minnow, Africa, Asia, Caribbean? the world was her oyster.