KibworthBull

April 2036 Domestic Contracts have ended - rotational keeper Michel Kouadio and Botswanan Ticker-Offer Keagile Nyumasi have moved on. We've signed a couple of Angolan International regulars. Grace Matondo and Hélder da Piedade - both regulars at club and country level and both will be well involved next year. Neither of them can take any part in the remaining African Champions League campaign. After a meaningless final group game, we skip to the end of the month and trip to Egypt. A game that will tell us how close we are to the ACL A fair way away.

March 2036 This month's mission - win a trophy, and secure safe passage to the knockouts of the ACL. Victory over Vita Club but Fofana and Kamian will miss most of the rest of the month with injuries. João Mendes got 17 goes for the B team this year, this was his first senior game - a hattrick to the end of an unbeaten season. Our name on the cup as well. Another 5-0 victory. The ACL has yet to be much of a challenge. At some point it will be. The goal difference was quite good

February 2036 It's celebration time. And Champions League time. Also the Angolan Cup. What a busy month! We progressed past Interclube into the final in the cup, with Mário Kiala on the double. It was a fantastic win over Cape Town City but we suffered 3 injuries during the game. 2 of them long-term. The formality of the league title was achieved with victory at ASA (ANG) Just the 5 for Fofana against Sundowns. Brutal. An interesting graphic. We are NOT the most celebrated side in the country. That will change.

January 2036 A short footballing month, with just 4 games in the first 13 days, and then a match right at the end where victory gives us a league title, in all but name Nyumasi WHY!!! A hat trick but still no MoTM award - is this a curse? Then right at the end of the month, a victory over ASA (Angola) sees the curse lifted. Botswana is achieved. And we have all but secured the league title. 12 points clear with 4 left and 52 goal better goal difference. On paper, it is a tough Champions League draw. We shall see from Feb just how tough 4 Botswana

December 2035 Probably our first real clanger of a result - a 1-1 draw. We were lucky. We bounced back with victories over Bravos do Maquis and Petro de Luanda before an ep-ic 4-4 draw against Interclube - we were 0-3 after 25 minutes. Next up was going back to the hand that fed, and we were able to tick off Mali, thanks to a double from new signing Daouda Kamian. I am desperate to tick off Botswana but Keagile Nyumasi seems cursed to always miss out, despite scoring goals for fun. Someone always does better. 8 league games left, 10 points clear. Mali (No.43)

The squad is insanely good compared to the rest of the league. Even the reserves would be top 3 or 4. I'm interested to see how it compares to Africa's elite in the latter stages of the CL

November 2035 5 goals in 19 minutes at the start of the Kabuscorp game - unusually only 3 of them for us. We must be slacking. We made up for it after though. 70% of the ten being in our favour. I decided to go strong in the cup - I've got a Ghanian and a Botswanan Striker needing the MoTM award so creating chances for both was the plan. That failed but we progress. A couple more victories in the league, we are now 7 clear with a game in hand. Daniel Asante ticks off Ghana with a late cup winner.

October 2035 They've given me a new deal. I've managed 8 games. A 2-0 win at Progresso Associação do Sambizanga doesn't sound that great if you compare it to the other scores, but they are 2nd and in good form. We also (FINALLY) ticked off DR Congo! We have 3 days between two legs in the Champions League, hopefully, that isn't the norm, we also have 5 players on International duty. Progress was made, and complete rotation was required. Interclube are a good side, said that many a time. We dropped our first points of the season but are still unbeaten. We are 5 points clear at the top. Isaac Kalumba, the man to get DR Congo over the line.

September 2035 Day 1... Home to last season's Champions. Our biggest test. It's also dawned on me that the league match at the end of last month, was the first match in the entire save where I was a PROFESSIONAL manager. All other clubs were either SEMI-PRO or AMATEUR. Ba went Pro literally days after I left. Antonio Tonet was born to be an AMC, his hat trick meant we won in some style. When then jump into African Champions League action and it's sandwiched between facing my old side. It's fair to say we don't need to worry about the 2nd leg after scoring 10 in Niger. We were expected to do very well. Isaac Kalumba gets 5 but not the MoTM award. So nearly DR Congo ticked off. Another game, another hat trick, this time it's a Left Back, Miller Dias against the old side. Sorry lads. We progress in the CL 19-1 on aggregate. And we are scoring goals for fun. This squad is insane compared to the rest of the league. The fact they DIDN'T win the league last season speaks volumes about the previous guy. 46 goals in the month. In my first season with Benguela we scored 49.

August 2035 It's lovely to have money... and expectation. Bringing with me from 1 de Maio is Ricardo Joao (versatile kid - can play most positions) and Keagile Nyumasi, my Botswanan so that I can tick that nation off. Mario Kiala got 23 league goals for Interclube last year and had a minimal release clause, and he will play up front with Dramane Fofana who has been produced from the machine that is ASEC Mimosas. Prince Ngakosso is an Angolan U-21 Defender and will give us good domestic depth. Razak Niane, is from Mali and will be the first-choice keeper. STOP PRESS - Marco Aloénouvo is a Togolese 19yr old Centre Back signed just before we started the season and after I got the screenshots (and yes, I know I could have re-done them but...) Additional nations - Mozambique and DR Congo should get ticked off this season. We are expected to win everything and I think we should win plenty. Fofana And finally some footballing action...

Off Season 2036... I always keep an eye out for jobs that become available.. Many reasons for this... Professional Loaded - £2.8m in account In the Champions League A massive upgrade.

March 2035 Two games left of the season. We can't move position. So it's all about trying to tick off a nation. In play we have Liberia, Niger, Zimbabwe and Botswana. We are away to 3rd and then host 1st. Good Luck! Liberian Curtis Jaysey scored and got a 7.5 playing up front (he's a defender) but we secured our first defeat of the year. Petro de Luanda have been crowned champions, maybe they will be in a bar/on the beach? No. Very much champions till the last. At the end of the campaign, we will be saying goodbye to a lot of players. Most did a job in their first seasons and have found themselves as backup options in their second. I tried keeping Cheikh Diallo but he was never interested, he'll be back next season, playing for Petro de Luanda. Next season is likely to be similar. If we can get a better start we might start to challenge the top 4 but I expect around 7th again.

February 2035 A fantastic 4-4 draw away at 1 de Agosto - they equalised with the last kick of the game, so it could have been better. We are certainly ending the season well. A 5-0 home win. We should have beaten Progresso but threw away a 2 goal lead in the dying moments of the game. But we have secured 7th place with two games left. The same position as last season. The only negative is the bank balance. We've lost about £700k in 12 months.

January 2035 If we have a good month here then we can look forward to 2035/36 in the top flight. That's the aim. And that's what we achieved! Safety secured. Lamin Demba, who we have agreed to sell ticks off the Gambia in his final game with a hattrick. #40 nations secured.

December 2034 A big win to start December - 2-0 against Caala. 14th before the game, the lead is now 9 points. Next up was a trip to our feeder club (just the 7 signings from them so far in 6 months) and a 3-3 draw where we were behind thrice. Interclube are a very strong side. I keep telling myself that as the goals pour in. We are not going to be judged on how we perform against Interclube, we will be judged on how we perform against Kuando Kubango, who are in the relegation zone. A hattrick from our latest signing from Desportivo Huila, Héritier Alongo the difference maker. For the 2nd year running a lower-graded side knocked us out in the Quarter Finals of the Angolan Cup. At times a difficult month, but we finished with a 9-point advantage over the drop zone with 10 games left.

November 2034 An early goal, then a penalty... it's missed and the side falls apart. Not the best start to the month. I think we've missed 3 or 4 penalties this season already, another in the 2nd game but this time didn't cost us. Next up? 2nd and then 1st! Bosque-Hamilton gets the MoTM as we beat 2nd at home. Ludicrous. We lost to top but I'm okay with that. The Angolan Cup tie was another Ludicrous game. This time we were lucky to escape with a win. We are doing just enough for now. 6 clear at the half way stage

October 2034 Words like crisis are not required yet, but I will admit it always worries me when there is significant updates to the game - will it knock my tactic off? This is also a worry 2 draws to start the month - a late equaliser and then a penalty miss so it could have been so different. Then the best side in Angola. Not what we need Zini came through the youth system at 1 de Agosto and came back to haunt them in style. A tactical switch has bought 2 wins in 2 - Abdul Bosque-Hamilton ticks off Sierra Leone in the Cup - he has really benefited from the switch. Ultimately an unbeaten month. Lots still to do but we can smile a little.

September 2034 Bartolomeu Tavares is a hero amongst men. A winner last month, a double this month to get us going. He was here before me and continues to plug away and do the business. He is a club Icon. We are yet to find any real consistency but have progressed in the Angolan Cup. We are just above the relegation zone. Without Bart things would be worrisome.

August 2034 6 players signed from Clube Desportivo da Huíla.... and guess who we play on day 1. Their fans recognise more of our squad than ours do. They beat us... Their goal was scored by the one player we couldn't sign. The other match in the month was a back-to-the-wall, dig-in and try and snatch victory. We are off and running. None of the new blood is firing yet.

Pre-Season 2034/35 A quiet window. Just 13 players in, 15 players out. The outs. All free transfers. The only one that really stings is Mario Cazanga - he's only 18 and decent but got annoyed that he wasn't starting every game and I could never convince him to stay longer. Sidney Ferreira ticked off the Cape Verde Islands but became a bit upset with coming off the bench. The rest are mostly forgettable. The In's 6 players were signed from Clube Desportivo da Huíla, who finished one below us in the table last year. Joaquim Baptista is a young keeper who will put pressure on the ones already here, Josué Beya (Left Wing), Gilberto Kasungu and Osvaldo Tchiaka (Central Defenders), and Luís Bento (Left Back). Completing the collection from Huila is Job Mbunga, a non-contract Striking option. All apart from Bento were freebies, Bento was free now, but £5k over the next couple of years. Ousmane Harouna is a Niger International Centre Back, he turned us down last year, went to our closest rival and got relegated. They were happy to send him our way now. We also signed from the same source Gambian Winger Lamin Demba. He's 31 but should be okay for a year. Zini is a 31-year-old Striker who has 150 goals at this level, he's beyond his best now like Demba but should be good for a year or two. António Mbala and Abdul Bosque-Hamilton are both natural CMs who will be forced to play as DMC's - they are our best 2 options further forward and will have little difficulty adapting a little bit further back the field. Bosque-Hamilton is from Sierra Leone. My final two additions are the cream of the attacking crop, José Rodrigues is a Right Winger and Keagile Nyumasi is a Striker. Both are miles better than what we already have. Nyumasi is from Botswana.

Season 14 picture Ivan Marmelo is the only player in both Games and Goals still active at the club to add to these numbers. He's already told me he wants to exercise his right to a free transfer at the end of the season so whilst he will lead Europe for some time, he will not be the guy to tick anything off. I think we are at least a couple of seasons away from winning a League or a Cup in Africa Hopefully, soon we will start to register Favoured Personel at least with 1 de Maio Benguela Nations: 5 nations last season - Portugal, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde Islands and Cameroon, which is our best return for a while. Certainly the best in Africa. 16.7% of the world has been ticked off. Of the nations already in flight, we have players from DR Congo, Niger and Zimbabwe in the squad right now. My plan is to tick off the nations as and when I can, whilst improving the squad. Once I complete Africa from a Champions League point of view, I shall find a few lower ranked nations and tick off what is left.

Just sitting down with a bowl of Girabola.... Yep that works! Thanks for joining along on the journey!

February and March 2034 3 games left. Absolutely nothing to play for. We are in the top tier next year regardless. The only thing we can try and do is tick off DR Congo or Zimbabwe. Those being the only nations "active" A 2 goal lead was stormed into, and then surrendered against Kuando Kubango. Marmelo getting another MoTM award. We went into the last game of the season, guaranteed to finish at least 8th, playing the team in 7th. That man Marmelo poking in a late winner and we finish in the top 7! As first seasons in the top flight go... I will take that. Both our rivals were relegated as well.

January 2034 We have a holiday at the end of January. Before that 4 games. 1 cup tie. If we win (and we should) might mean the holiday gets cut short. Before kick-off, it was confirmed that we had secured our safety. Which is objective No.1 met. I'll attempt to gloss over the cup defeat - we rotated to rest our best 11 as they are barely breathing right now. It backfired and we departed that one. Quarter Finals is our best attempt. Normal form - if they are above us, we lose, if they are below us, we win. So no idea how we beat 4th placed before the winter break. 3 more matches left. All are winnable.

December 2033 There are a lot of games this month. 8 in 31 days. If we have an awful month then the final 6 games in 2034 might be pretty nerve-wracking. It's not the defeats, it's the manner of them which is a concern. We shipped 6 goals against Clube Desportivo Primeiro de Agosto - they are the best in the nation. 2nd best in the nation... and our next opponents... Interclube. It never rains... The next 3 after Interclube are all winnable. Failure to do so and we are in a heap of trouble. Ivan Marmelo... Ivan Marmelo... what a man. A winner, but a man-of-the-match performance from our Ivorian keeper Ladji Atheba gives us a potentially massive 3 points. I'd forgotten I'd left Atheba on penalties... thankfully he scored and it's back-to-back victories. Ultimately 10 points from the month. Happy with that. In the final game, Ivan Marmelo managed to tick off Portugal, making it the 37th nation of the save.