RaySunshine

I've been having a review of things at Millonarios being nine games in and one thing that I've noticed is that my team get 'leggy' in the second half of games and, unsurprisingly, this is when we concede more goals - 7 out of the 11 goals let in have been 60 mins or later. 36% of goals conceded come in the last ten minutes of a match . At the moment, my press instructions are as follows: I also have counter-press and counter on in my transition tab. I know I'm not running a particularly high press as it is but I wondered if I should drop back further or ease off things in the second half of games. I'm interested to know how other people run their pressing games, particularly when you're not at one of the world's biggest and best and get some tips as to what might be best for my side!

July 2029 Having settled in after the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the mid-season, it was time for the action to begin. The second stage of the league threw up Aguilas Doradas (Correa 25, 53) as our first game and the Arsenal-bound Correa got us all three points! He scored the first cutting from Vega's through-ball and firing home and the second was a close-range header. After that, they got one back and then, much to our concern, Correa limped off... ... and it is going to be a concern! Correa twisted his ankle and got ruled out for nearly two months! The games keep coming though and, mid-week, we were playing Expreso Rojo (Valencia 18, Saraz 43, Vidal 61). Valencia got the first after Suarez made a mazy run from the centre of the park and then squared for him. Saraz got the second heading home a bullet from a corner before Vidal got our third heading home at the far post when Forero crossed to him. However... ... once the scoring had been done, Valencia limped off the pitch with a torn hamstring and limped out the action for the next three months!!! In the week, we found out who our opponents would be in the Copa Sudamericana. Just like the way top teams can be found in the Europa League, they can be found in South America's second-tier tournament too. And we have one of the biggest in Newell's Old Boys - the team of Bielsa, after who the stadium is named, and Poch to name but just two legends from the club! It's my dream to manage them but to even play them is a serious start! The injury news kept coming - one of our potential replacments for Correa then suffered a training ground blow that ruled him out and gave us the highest number of players injured in the league. All the players that I could find took on Llaneros FC (Vega 19). Vega cut into the box from the left-hand side and fired the ball in at the near post to give us the lead. Llaneros came back into the game in the second half though and put away a last-minute goal to leave the points shared. My options were also reduced further when Forero limped off. Thankfully, his injury is as long as some of the others but it's still a blow that I could well do without! This was the month's first piece of good news - young Victor Hugo Cobo, 21 and from second-tier Cortulua, has agreed to join us on a free transfer at the end of the season. He's a player with real potential and fits the moneyball profile perfectly. Then came the even better news - we splashed £1.5mil of the Correa money on Ecuadorian Allen Obando from Orense. He's reputed to be one of the best young talents in the world and to have the opportunity to get him was simply too good to miss. I'm seriously excited about what he can produce here and what his sell-on potential might be one day. Surely, Europe will come knocking for this lad before too long! Obando made his debut in the game against Once Caldas (Obando 28, 90+3, Gonzalez 29, Belacazar 90). Once Caldas dominated the game throughout and took an early lead. We turned it round with two goals in two minutes courtesy of newboy Obando and young Gonzalez. In the second half, they turned it round again and took a 3-2 lead but, at the death, Obando set up Belacazar for the equaliser before scoring the winner himself - what a debut! There's always a cost though and this time it's Rodas - our starting DM. The month's final game saw us play Indipendiente Medellin (Obando 60, Belacazar 77) and after a flat first-half, two familiar names popped up with goals in the second. I've made a slight tactial tweak and am playing Obando as a complete forward - hence my post in the tactics section and it seems to be suiting him perfectly! We're top of the tree! What a different experience managing this side is to poor La Equidad who languish at the bottom of the table with just a single point so far! August is a monster of a month - there are nine games to get through with the Copa Sudamericana games against Newell's Old Boys and the Copa BetPlay ties against Independiente Santa Fe filling up the month. When my squad is so full of injuries, it's a real worry as to how we'll get through all the games on a skeleton side. I just hope that some of my injured players come back into action soon!

What would you look for in a complete forward? In my head, the role sounds like peak Harry Kane which, as spurs have proved over the last season, not many strikers can do!

My question is pretty much what it says on the tin really! I've just signed a new striker and pressing forward doesn't look like his best role. I wondered about changing his role to complete forward or advanced forward but, before I do that, I wondered how much effect it will have on his pressing effort at the spearhead of the team!

Mid-Season Break The first thing that took place was a bidding war for youngster Jorge Correa. Man City opened the bidding at £2.6mil, Newcastle then came in at £8mil but Arsenal got their man with a finishing bid of £12 million! This is a new record for a club in the Colombian top-flight and we get to loan him back for the rest of the season - bonus! We had a single mid-season friendly against second-tier Deportivo Pasto. In term's of a result, we took them apart with a series of wonder goals but... ... everything comes at a cost and this time it's a strain for Joal Contreras which will rule him out at the start of the season's next stage. We then suffered a transfer blow - we'd put in a bid for Garces and he fitted the profile of what I wanted perfectly. I didn't get him though and our key competitors at the top of the table did. It remains to be seen what role he takes in the season's second stage. And here, at the last, is the team that will take the field in our first game. In goal, 33yo Facundo Altamirano is an Argentinian who started out at Barfield but never really broke through but has been here and between the sticks since 2025. The star of the backline is Emerson Saraz. Only 21 and a Millionarios youth product, I wonder how long it will be before bids come in for him. In the midfield section, Nelson Deossa, 29, has been producing the goods so far - he has a rating of 7.42, three goals and three assists. I hope that that good form continues. Young Jorge Correa is the wonderkid that we've just sold to Arsenal but he remains with us for the rest of the season. Upfront we have Jader Valencia at the moment. He's 29 and 6'4". He has only managed five goals in his 25 starts though this season so I'm certainly looking for better there! So here's who we face first! Aguilas Doradas finished 6th in the Apertura compared to our 10th. Then we have Expreso Rojo who ended up 18th and Llaneros FC who were 19th - giving us two games in a row that I'd really expect to get points in. The month's final two games see us play Once Caldas who finished 5th and Independiente Medellin who ended up 8th in the Apertura. Everything gets reset through for the Finalizacion stage of the season so we really do go again!

CONCACAF Gold Cup Final And the answer is no! We executed a clinical counter-attack in the first half from which Leon Bailey fired home. For much of the game, it looked like that would be enough but, in the 76th minute, Grant passed the ball back to the keeper - except he didn't! It rolled past Boyce-Clarke, hit one post, rolled along the line hit the other post and then rolled in to level things up! The USA pounced on this and Ferrerira got two late goals to take the trophy home.

CONCACAF Gold Cup Before the games begin, I found out who I'll be facing in the final charge for World Cup qualification. It doesn't seem like too threatening a group so maybe the chance to lead Jamaica to a World Cup is really coming into view! It was then time to get on with the CONCACAF Gold Cup itself. It's fair to say that the group stage was something of a procession! In game one, we face Curacao (Oxford 12, Capleton 45, Gray 76, Thomas-Asante 82). Whilst we scored the goals that we needed - they got the most the memorable one with a real thunderbolt past second-choice keeper Noah Cooper who's playing the first few games while the first-choice keeper, Boyce-Clarke, is out injured. The same thing happened in the second game against Suriname (Graves og 6, Oxford 39, Thomas-Asante 61). We got the three goals that secured the win but, once again, they smashed home the worldie - Cooper must be developing some worries! Boyce-Clarke returned for the game against Guyana (Spence 21, Thomas-Asante 51, Bailey pen 60, Grant 79). I needed a point from this game so a full-strength side was put out. That secured our result and progress on to the quarter-finals... Here we took on Honduras and all the action happened early! Russell opened the scoring by heading home a corner after just one-and-a-half minutes. Thomas-Asante then followed up by bringing down a beautiful ball over the top from Russell and smashing it home. Then, on the 15 minute mark, Yoha got sent off for a shocking tackle on Leon Bailey. They weren't going to give up though and, just before the break, Elis fired home the first long-range worldie that Boyce-Clarke had conceded in the tournament! Our scoring was finished though and Clarke scored after Dion Rankine put in a low cross. Then, we were on to the semi-finals... ... and it was a game full of drama! We weren't favourites but Leon Bailey opened the scoring early by heading home Spence's great cross. Canada, then took a hold on the game and Jonathan David put away a penalty and then a neat one-touch finish to take the lead. We weren't giving up though and Bailey slipped Clarke through one-on-one to put the ball home. Then Canada battered us - David had a penalty saved and two goals ruled out for offside which took the game into extra-time. There, Gray sent in a vicious low cross which Millar sent into the back of his own net and we're into the final! Will I win my first trophy on FM24?!

Great to see you back @DerbyJack! It’s a great idea for a save. I’d thought of doing an ‘anti-me’ save at some point where I aim to do the opposite of my normal ‘known-for’ collection. You’ve got some great names in there too so I look forward to seeing how you get on!

Millonarios I might not have got the dream move to Brazil or Argentina but I have moved to a club with a real possibility of success. Millonarios are one of the most successful clubs in Colombia. I'm staying in the capital, Bogota, but this time at a club that plans on sticking around and winning things! What was even better was them giving me what might be the magic ticket to that big-time job in the not-so-distant! The double-league nature of football in Colombia produces quite a spiky graph but it's clear that they hit the top more often than not! Joining the club means I get my first taste of continental football in the Copa Sudamericana - the second-tier international cup for the continent. Challenging for the domestic cup and getting a top-half finish are on the agenda too. We're still on the mid-season break though so we won't be diving too far into this yet as we have a CONCACAF Gold Cup to play!

June 2024 June began with the bad news that my dream of getting into the Argentinian top-flight wasn't happening any time soon. There was some much better news though in the form of Jamaica's results against Honduras and St Kitts and Nevis. These two results put us above the USA in our group and meant that we'd qualified for the third round on the road to the World Cup. Could I be taking part in the world's biggest tournament for the first time in FM24?! That wasn't all the news that this month held though...

May 2029 May began with good news for me and my aim of getting out of here before the club get relegated! It got me noticed too and dangled the carrot of getting into Brazil! May wasn't an easy month in terms of results but I can't really complain overall! It began with us playing Dportivo Pereria (K Moreno 81). They cruised into a two-goal lead but Kilver Moreno scored a thunderbolt free-kick late on to give us some hope! That goal wasn't enough to impress GOI though so I won't be going to Brazil just yet! He then had a fall in training that saw him out for a long spell so there won't be any more free-kicks for a little while yet! The next game was the first of our triple-header against Jaguares de Cordoba (Celemin 30, 44) Celemin fired a rocket home for his first and then headed home a close effort to give us a two-goal lead. It wasn't enough though and, in the second half, they fought back and the first round of the cup finished all-square. Jaguares de Cordoba (Mosquera 5, Palacio 56) were up again and this time it was the league. We took an early lead when Mosquera headed home from the right-wing position. They then turned it round with a close finish and a penalty-box pinball smashed home - and this was all by the ten-minute mark! The scoring wasn't over though as, in the second half, Palacio put home a close finish and it was all square again. Then the offer of an interview came in from Peru and the chance to dodge that relegation mark against my name! It was then time to play Jaguares de Cordoba (Chara pen77, Mosquera 90+6). There was plenty of excitement in this cup tie but success wasn't to be. They began by getting a two-goal lead. Late on, we got a penalty and the young Chara stepped up to knock it home. They then got a third to make it 3-1 but Mosquera finished with a goal just to add a final hope! Not a bad way to finish the month! And this was good news too - with the club running out of money, a takeover would be very welcome! If I'm not going to Brazil, maybe I could go to Argentina. I've been delaying on the Peruvian job since this possibility came up. It would be a dream to get into one of the two big South American leagues! With the money running out, the president makes it clear that he's happy for someone else to sort it all out! An upgrade to one of Colombia's top clubs is also on the table. I'm hoping that I can avoid that relegation! The Apertura stage of the league finishes and we're bottom of the table. We're still in the red zone on average points but, with the Finalizacion stage of the league to play, there's only 0.01 of a point in it!

April 2029 My time as La Equidad boss has not been easy but it's been pleasing to see the upturn in results over the month of April. Whether it will continue or not remains to be seen but there is some hope! The normal form carried on in game one when we took on table-topping Atletico Nacional (Palacio 12). In this game, I took a park-the-bus approach and hoped it would pay off. The hope grew whean Palacio got us ahead but, over the course of the game, the stronger team came to dominate and win. Whilst he's not a regular starter, he's a certain bench option and, with the squad being so thin, every player counts! In game two, take a deep breath, we got a league win! In the game against Expreso Rojo (Chaverra 45+1). Chaverra finished off a fine move with an equally great finish and, combined with our first clean sheet of the season, we got all three points! I dreamed of two wins in two when we took on Millionarios (Jimenez 10, Chaverra pen 90+6). The dream lived large when Jimenez headed us into the lead early on in the game but, later on, they turned it around. It looked for all the world like we'd actually lose but, right at the death, we got a penalty and Chaverra put it home to get us all three points! Before the next game, our CONCACAF Gold Cup group came in. We're clear favourites against this group so I look forward to some wins! In the game against Llaneros FC (Palacio 27), we took the lead through Palacio, who's having a good month. They however fought back and the game finished level at 1-1. The week's training brought with it a big blow in injury terms with Clavijo being ruled out for nearly two months! He's one of the first names on my team sheet so I hope we can work without him! The cup brought us a game against second-tier Barranquilla FC (Jimenez 10, Pedrozo pen79, Piedrahita 90+3). Jimenez opened the scoring with a great header from another corner which is always pleasing to see. RW Pedrozo made the result look more secure when he a penalty home and then Piedrahita curled home a long-range beauty to put the final gloss on the result! Between the two cup games, we took on Real Cartagena. In this one, we couldn't score any goals and they managed to nab one in order to secure all three points for them rather frustratingly! The squad is thin and so the young players were being blooded regularly as the needs were required. We then took on Barranquilla FC (Celemin 44, Mendoza 67) in the cup second leg. Barranquilla gave us a scare by taking the lead on the day but we held on and two goals - from Celemin and Mendoza - left us with all three points. It's not been a easy season and I had promised to Mosquera that I would cheer the team up. He feels like I've failed in that regard which isn't much of a surprise! The month's final game saw us take on Union Magdalena and it's fair to say that we didn't do well. We weren't in the game at all and were sent home with our tail between our legs! We're still bottom of the league table but we're closing in on the average points - maybe relegation isn't the certainty that I thought it was. I don't really want to hang around to find out though! We have four games in the month of March before the break comes in June. We start against Deportivo Pereira who are 11th. We then have a three-header against Jaguares de Cordoba. They're presently 16th and we take them on in the both the cup and league. What can we get off them?

March 2029 My time in Bogata has been challenging so far and that didn't change in March! Independiente Medellin (Chaverra 71) and, like many of the games we've played in the league, we weren't really in it. We got one goal but it's fair to say that worse things were coming up! Not straightaway though as we did manage to beat Patriotas FC (Cossio 56, Clavijo 68) of the second tier! We got a two-goal lead up and going in the second half and, while they did pinch one back, I got my first competitive win as La Equidad manager. Back to the league and back to normal was the case against Once Caidas (Mosquera 67). This time, Mosquera got our only goal but we didn't have anything else to shout about! We then got our first (note I say first) thrashing of the month when we took on Expreso Rojo (Cossio 60, Mosquera 73). It was great to score two second-half goals but we'd already conceded three in the first half and still let in two more after that! We then returned to cup action and our second game against Patriotas FC (Garcia 14, Cossio 86). It looked, for one scary moment, like we were going to lose to these guys too and risk our place in the cup! thankfully, Cossio scored late on to save our blushes. A draw means we progress on into the next round. Jamaica then had a dramatic game against Mexico in the NA Nations League semi-final. We took a a shock lead in the first half and held it until almost HT. They then pinched one back straight away. I thought we'd unravel when Rankine got a silly yellow for a push. They did eventually get two more but Jahmari Clarke got one to make it close! Then thrashing two came against Cucuta Deportivo and this time we didn't even have a single goal to celebrate. It was back to international action and a dramatic game against Canada for the bronze medal! Despite utterly dominating the game, it looked like Canada's early goal, courtesy of a defensive mix-up, was going to nick it for them before we poked home a corner at the death. It went on to penalties and we managed to win a dramatic shoot-out 7-6! We then got only our second point of the season against Deportes Tolima (Jimenez 19, Celemin 90+6). Jimenez headed home a corner early on and I began to dream that we might even win a league game! However, once they'd turned it round, I feared that the chance to get anything at all had passed us by. Celemin had other ideas though - smashing home a long-range volley to double our points score! All I can really say is that La Equidad are going down! I only need to manage for eleven more days before I can start casting round for a new job. The challenge will be persuading other clubs that this mess is not my fault! April is another crazy month - we begin against Atletico Nacional who are 2nd and Expreso Rojo who are 17th. Milionarios find themsevles in 6th and Llaneros FC are in 19th - maybe we can nab points against them! We then have the cup games against Barranquilla FC who are 7th in the second tier so I hope we can beat them like we did Patriotas this month. In between the cup games, we take on Real Certagena (15th) and the month finishes with a game against Union Magdalena (9th).

February 2029 To combat the wave of departures and the poor form that the club was in, I snapped up Julian Clavijo on a free transfer. The 25yo spent last season at Expreso Rojo making 25 appearances and averaging 6.79 so I hope that he bring that sort of form to La Equidad. The results suggest that we need anyone who can bring any sort of form rapidly! We began the month against Aguilas Doradas (Parra 90+4). We found ourselves 2-0 and struggling again within an hour. Late, late on, Parra managed to break through and finish but, by that stage, it was only ever going to be consolation. The board got their way at Pablo Rodriguez leaves to join Atletico Nacional. My response was to bring in Carlos Quitlan on a free. The LB spent last season at Forteleza in the second tier but he played well for them there so I hope he can do the same for us in the top-flight! He was joined by potentially my star signing - Joan Cajares. The 25yo, again on a free, comes in from Sport Huancayo of the Peruvian top-flight. He excelled last season so I hope his top-flight form comes with him and lights up our patch of Bogota! Game two saw us take on - and lose to - Envigado. They got a throw-in down the right-hand side, threw it close, their man wriggled away from his marker, got the cross in and it was one-nil. We then picked up another blow to the squad to go with our bad results! Our only point of the month came in the game against Deportes Quindio (Caicedo 89). We were poor at a corner to go one goal down but scored one of our own to nab a point! I'd made a promise to Echeverria and had to stick to it when they hit his value. Defeats came again in the games against Indpendiente Santa Fe (Clavijo 8) and Junior FC. Things are staring to look pretty grim! Given last season's poor form and this season's too, we're already down baring a major miracle - minor miracles won't do it here! I've got to get out before I get a big red 'R' next to my name. 42 days before my promise to hang around runs out. Here are the games for the next month. As an indicator of how bad we are, I look forwad to taking on a mid-table second-tier side to see if we can even compete against them!

January 2029 This looked like a tough job to do and everything that took place in January confirmed that certainly was! The ray of hope in the month had to be the youth intake. While I don't intend to be here long enough to see these players come good, there's certainly some hope here. But it feels like there's less hope when the president is happy to sell your team for you! We're thin enough as it is and so this really doesn't help! In our two games, the results weren't great either. We started by taking on America de Cali (Chaverra 45+3, 60). Initially, the cruised into a 2-0 lead within 20mins and I thought all was going to be bad. However, either side of HT, Chaverra scored to get us back level again. Then the drama really started - we got through and thought we'd scored a late winner to see it chalked off for offside before they beat our backline to score a late winner themselves - gut-wrenching but at least there's hope! Frustration then grew when we took on Alianza Petrolera. They had a pop with an early free-kick that pinged in off our backline and then we fought back into the game but couldn't get a goal to leave us with two defeats to open the season. Here is the league table and the average points table - the one that really matters! These two defeats see us drop into the red for the first time since I took the job. Not good news! So the next month starts off with Aguilas Doradas who are 8th with one win before we take on Envigado who are 13th and have drawn both their games. Then a mid-week game sees us play Deportes Quindio who are 14th with two ponts and the final two games are Independiente Santa Fe (6th) and Junior FC (4th). I really don't know what to expect but I don't think it will be anything good!