RaySunshine

July 2033 Money might be flowing out the club like a river but Fogg can have no complaints about the results that the club have gathered this month. They started off against Henan Songshan Longmen (Liang Yijun 12). The relegation-threatened opponents dominated the game but didn't score. Lian Yijun did finish a superb free-kick though to collect all three points. Game two was against Dalian Professional (Miao Jingzhe 17. 40). RW Miao Jingzhe was sent through twice with superb through-balls. Both times, he beat the keeper and so the month began with back-to-back wins. Meizhou Hakka took charge again against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger but, this time, they couldn't find the back of the net and the points were shared. Goals didn't come in the next game against Zhejiang (Ibrahim Saidy 20, 66, pen75). Saidy took control and got a hat-trick. This got him up to five goals for the season. It's low but it's a step in the right direction. A night of drama came in the cup QF against Changchun Yatai (Garibay 23, Wu Wei 99). Changchun took the lead inside two minutes but Meizhou answered that with a corner. That was enough to get both teams in extra time where Wu Wei then put Meizhou into the lead. Changchun had and instant reply and that took the game into penalties where Meizhou Hakka scored 5 to Changchun's 4. Into the semi-finals they go! The celebrations carried on into the last game of the month, where, despite there being some very very tired legs, the win came against Kunshan (Xiao Yong pen 25, Miao Jingzhe 46, 75) to the tune of 3-1. The only downside was the loss of Miao Jingzhe to a tackle leading to a damaged thigh. He'll be out for a fortnight. Meizhou Hakka move up to sixth and the club pass the level of points Fogg expects that they'd need to survive. What he needs now is another way to raise his reputation in order to get that USA job in the not too distant! The headline games next month will be the cup semi-finals which are a two-legged affair. In league terms, it's a tricky start with 1st and 4th coming up. Heilongjiang Ice City are 18th and Changchun Yatai 10th. Fogg looks to keep marching on!

June 2033 The month's most serious challenge came in game one against Beijing Guoan (Wu Wei 2). Fogg was in dreamland when the ball was palmed out to Wu Wei to net for an early lead. Sadly though, it wasn't to last and the better team went on to assert their dominance in the match. There was more bad news for Fogg on the injury front when he got news of losing his leading CDM for the next few weeks. It didn't seem to show against struggling Heilongjiang Ice City (Wang Junjie 48, Wu Wei 52) where Wang Junjie's headed corner and Wu Wei's far post header were enough to secure all three points. This looked like good news for Fogg. He's aware that he might have to hang around longer to build up his reputation and these are good resources to do that with. Finally, the team took on Guangzhou City (Miao Jingzhe 45+1, 82). They took the lead but Meizhou Hakka levelled with a laser ball over the top finished by Miao Jingzhe before he doubled up by heading home a free kick at the far post. Meizhou Hakka are 9th and 11 points away from trouble. This is simply dreamland for Fogg. If he can keep this up and keen Meizhou Hakka away from trouble, he hopes that other, bigger, clubs will take notice of his good work! Henan Shongshan Longmen are just above relegation whereas Fogg knows all about the challenge posed by Dalian Professional. The next two teams are both just below Fogg's in the table so he expects challenges there before the cup tie. Finally, fellow promotees Kunshan are 12th so no easy game there either!

May 2033 When Fogg looks back at this month, there's certainly more green but it's important to note that two of the three are in the cup! The month began with a heavily-rotated side playing GXPG Hawlaeh (Lian Yijun 50, Xiao Yong pen 52, 81, Huang Rui 90+1). There was a bit of a shock when they took the lead despite being down to ten men but Fogg's side had more than enough to cruise through this tie and move on into the next round. Despite being below Meizhou Hakka in the league, Dalian Professional were serious opponents and they cruised on past without Meizhou Hakka being able to land a serious glove on them. Tianjin Jinmen Tiger (Wu Wei 22) were 8th at the start of the month and began by taking the lead. Thankfully for Fogg, Meizhou Hakka could respond when Lian Yijun found Wu Wei to slot home. The only league win of the month came against Chengdu Rongcheng (Saidy pen 14) when Saidy converted an early penalty and the side held onto their clean sheet to secure a vital three points. Shenzhen were another tricky side and Meizhou Hakka can be very proud of the fact that, in xG terms, they broadly matched their opponents throughout the match. Unfortunately though, they took two of their chances to run out winners. A cup game came up next and League One side Qingdao Manatee (Laveaux 36, Wu Wei 37). Laveaux and Wu Wei tried to outdo each other with stunning long-range efforts and a 2-0 win sees Fogg's men move on into the quarter finals. The final game of the month was against top-placed Shanghai Port and Fogg's men were happy to restrict them down to one goal but they were never really in the game nor were they ever expected to be. This is some pretty serious news for Fogg. The club has been struggling for a while finacially and the management have said now that the wage bill cannot rise any higher than it is right now. This reinforces Fogg's desire to move onto the pastures new before this starts to have serious implications for the playing side. Meizhou Hakka finish the month twelfth and five points above trouble - just as they were at the end of last month. Fogg considers any month where the side aren't in the bottom two to be a success so he hopes that this will continue. There are only three games next month but what games they are! Beijing Guoan are 4th and Fogg knows that points against them will be a tough ask. Heilongjiang Ice City are 18th and Fogg already sees that game as a must-win. Finally Guangzhou City are 13th and Fogg would be delighted to get points there too.

April 2033 If March had Fogg in dreamland, it's fair to say that April brought him back to reality with a bang! Game one saw his side take on Shandong Taishan and they struggled throughout. In the end, they gave away a penalty and this was enough to lose the game. In game two, the opponents were Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic (Miao Jingzhe 24). They took an early lead through a free-kick and then Meizhou fired back when Wu Wei came up with another superb cross. Sadly though, they snapped right back, getting away from our LB, chipping the keeper and stealing the points. Good news was in short supply in the run up to the next game. Chen Lin, the starting RB picked up a knock and then Wang Junjie led a group of complaints! It looked like all three points were going to be taken against Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic (Wu Wei 23, Sady 70) when Wu Wei put away a neat finish and Sady fired home a thunderbolt. They managed two goal though to get a share of the points. Having wound up the squad, Wang Junjie then announced that he was going to consider leaving at the end of the season! Wuhan are a top side in this league and it showed in the game as they cruised past Meizhou Hakka without having to leave second gear. A penalty provided the only goal. Fogg had not been planning for this - his leading LB being called back having not put a restriction on it in the loan agreement. It looks like it's time for Chay Jones to step up and take the role on. He did so against Changchung Yatai (Zhang Zhijie 6, Miao Jingzhe 13, Wu Wei 31) where Fogg's men blew the opponents away early on in the game and got a much-needed win! Having travelled around a bit, Fogg's men finish the month ninth in the table and five points away from trouble. Game one is a cup tie against a lower league side and that gives Fogg chance to boost morale further at the start of the month. From there, it's 13th, 8th, 14th, 3rd and 1st. There are challenging games in that month again and Fogg will be grateful for every point that his side manage to scrape together!

March 2023 The competitive season began with a game against Zhejiang. Meizhou Hakka dominated the game and the xG chart against the top-flight regulars and finished up being disappointed to only come away with a point. Fogg and co simply couldn't beat Kunshan (Miao Jingzhe 58, Li Zihilin 90+4) last season but, this season, things were different. Meizhou dominated throughout and took the lead when Miao Jingzhe slots home Wu Wei's superb cross. They levelled straight away with a long-range effort into the bottom corner before Li Zhilin leaps magnificently to smash home a header from a corner in the dying stages. Just like game one, Meizhou Hakka dominated again against Guangzhou but couldn't finish off a chance. Fogg is pretty pleased though as the side make a great start to the season. At the end of the month one, Meizhou Hakka are sixth and it's been a dream start for the side on their top-flight return. Fogg is sure though that things will get harder than this and is keeping his eye out for a bigger job should one become available. 2nd, 11th, 15th, 10th and 13th are up next. Obviously, Shandong are the standout team of the month but it's important to remember that it's still early days and there could be some big clubs with poor starts in there to shock Fogg and co. Perhaps at the end of month two, there will be a good sense of whether Fogg can really shock the league or not.

Pre-Season Pre-season starts with an interesting bit of news! Meizhou Hakka are moving out of their stadium which itself is only 5 years old! It's not big enough for the Super League and the club have decided that it's not worth the risk of paying out for the expansion just yet! Lots of players go out on loan as Fogg hopes to develop a promising set of players for the future. Now we're on to the ins... 30yo Gambian Ibrahim Saidy comes in from Suzhou Dongwu. It's claimed that he's far better than Xiao Yong but did score fewer goals than him last season. The two are in competition! Being promoted, Fogg expects to be under a lot of pressure this season so 21yo Jin Jian comes in to take over between the sticks. He's been the starter for top-tier side Dalian Professional and Fogg can't quite believe that he's been available on a free! 22yo Hatian Dominique Laveaux comes in from Kalamazoo in the USA. Fogg had noticed that there was a gulf in technical level beween Meizhou Hakka and the rest and he hopes that Domnique will help to do that. Zhou Chenyu is 26yo and comes in from Guangzhou City. He was a regular there since 2027 and Fogg can't believe that he's available on a free! Fogg hopes that he can add a bit of aggressive bite in midfield. 24yo Liang Yijun has come in from top Chinese side Shanghai Port. He came close to breaking through there but never quite made it. Fogg hopes that Meizhou Hakka can give him the chance to shine. Chen Lin comes in to provide top-flight quality at RB. He again was a top-flight regular for Hebei for the last few seasons. Hopefully, he can carry that on at Meizhou Hakka! Miao Jingzhe is only 22yo but looks to add some RW shine to the squad! He's played regularly in the Super League for the last four seasons and Fogg hopes that this strength comes through for Meizhou Hakka. Pre-season looked good for Fogg - he was most pleased with the two creditable draws against Super League sides at the start. One cup round win and battle against relegation is what the board expects. This is good because... ... rock bottom is where the club is expected to finish up. At one point in pre-season, Meizhou, Heilongjiang and Kunshan were on equal odds and Fogg hopes that that was more accurate. Ultimately though, he wants a move to a club who's looking at the AFC Champion's League. Finally, onto the opening fixtures! Zhejiang are expected to be 10th, Kunshan came up with Meizhou Hakka and Guangzhou are one of the great famous clubs of Chinese football! It's going to be an interesting start!

Season Review The season XI represents the solid side that Fogg put out each week. Maybe new signing Ji Shaolei can feel a bit hard done by not to making the final group. Wang Junjie and Zhang Zhijie scoop up the awards, representing the superb contributions they made to the season. Their names come up in the simply amazing number of record breakers that the club has gained this season too... The vision appears to be an interesting one. Fogg is not happy with the addition of defensively solid football that has snuck in there and that the board refused to have removed!

October 2032 The deciding month of the season did not have a good start for Fogg. Meizhou Hakka were totally dominated by Kunshan who got their goal courtesy of a penalty. Zhuang Guang was chasing his man back and simply couldn't make it. In game two, Meizhou were again dominated - this time by Shaoxing Keqiao Yuejia who finished a smart break just before HT to snatch all three points. Fogg knew that form had to pick up and quick if his side wanted to get promoted. They did just that against Jiangxi Beidamen (Xiao Yong 19, Ji Shaolei 20) when Xiao Yong profited from a penalty box scramble and Ji Shaolei nodded home a smart cross following a throw in. The rating for this year's youth intake said it was excellent but Fogg was uncertain with only the top two names really catching his eye. The good form continued against Qingdao Manatee (Xiao Yong 16, Zhang Zhijie 71). Zhang Zhijie's strike in particular was a superb curler from just inside the D and all this led to the following good news... Fogg and the team were over the moon and capped it all off with a resounding win against relegated HeB Kungfu (Xiao Yong pen 7, 29, 44, Deng Chengbo 80). So there we have it! Meizhou Hakka are promoted to the Super League and Fogg has had something of a reputation boost. He now needs to keep that going to get higher level jobs and over the hurdle of getting that MLS job in a couple of countries' time!

September 2032 September represents the second unbeaten month in a row for Fogg and the perfect moment in the season to find good form. The month began well with a win against Beijing IT (Wang Junjie 14, Wu Wei 54). Headers are the order of the day with all three goals coming that way - Fogg is pleased that his team get two of them and keep marching on! Last-minute drama marked out the next game against Cangzhou Mighty Lions (Deng Chengbo 90+2). Fogg thought all was lost when Cangzhou scored a bullet header in the 91st minute but Huang Rui had other ideas - dispossessing one of their CBs and sliding it across to Deng Chengbo who slotted home. Against KM ZH Shipman (Zhang Zhijie 14, Wu Wei 20), Zhang Zhijie scored a wonder goal from long range that crashed in off the bar and Wu Wei finished off his wonderful ball over the top to secure all three points by the 20th minute mark! Finally, Meizhou Hakka took on Hbei Zhuoao (Wu Wei 33). In the 33rd minute, Lin Biao crosses over to Zhang Zhijie who nods it down for Wu Wei to half-volley home. Job done! So the team finish the month top of the table and with four points to spare against the next place not promoted! With only a month to go, it's all in Meizhou Hakka's hands - can they do it?! 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 18th are the teams next up. If Meizhou Hakka are to be promoted, it's going to be the hard way! Take game one for example, there's not a single win in the last five against Kunshan - it's not going to be easy!

August 2032 There were no red spots in this month but it's fair to say that Fogg wasn't entirely pleased with all the results! He started off against Suzhou Dongwu (Xiao Yong pen 26, Wang Junjie 89). Xiao Yong slotted away a penalty before Wang Junjie secured the result by heading home Xiao Yong's cross. Game two saw Meizhou Hakka take on struggling 2001 China NYT. Meizhou dominated and created chance after chance but failed to score any of them, leaving Fogg with the distinct feeling of points dropped. The feeling of frustration was eased when the side took on Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard (Wu Wei 63, Huang Rui 83). Front to back was the order of the day with Fogg's keeper's long kicks starting off both moves that resulted in the goals. Finally, it was the big one against Shanghai Shenhua. If Fogg had been offered a point before the game, he'd have bitten a hand off for it; but, having dominated the game, it feels like points dropped again. Even more so when it was the chance to really push back a promotion rival. No defeats and Meizhou Hakka move up into the promotion places. It's fair to say though everything is tight between the top three and one of those teams has to miss out. Four games against 16th, 5th, 14th and 9th gives Fogg the hope that the month is another serious point-winning potential. Can Fogg still be in touch by the end of the month?

July 2032 The summer transfer window in China opens for one month only and Fogg swoops in on day one - signing two players with the determined hope that they will help fire Meizhou Hakka into the Super League! 25yo Ji Shaolei comes in on a free having been released by Beijing BSU. Fogg can't quite make out why Ji Shaolei was released as he was a good steady performer and seems to be a solid midfield choice at this level. He hopes that Beijing's loss is certainly his gain! Left winger Wu Wei also joins on a free having been released by Chengdu Rongcheng. He didn't play at all last season but the season before but had been a regular starter for four seasons before that. His attacking returns do seem to be pretty limited but Fogg is hoping that he can soon fix that! July was another nearly-perfect month with just that one telling red spot in it. Fogg is developing serious concerns that these red spots will add up and prevent him from gaining promotion. Anyhow, game one saw the side take on HeB Kungfu (Lin Biao 52, Huang Rui 57). A neat header and superb long-range daisy-cutter from Huang Rui did the job. Before the next game came the devastating news that Meizhou's best player was going to miss a significant chunk of time out injured. Up next were Qingdao (Li Tao pen 72, Huang Rui 74) and thankfully, the team managed to carry on despite the loss of Zhang Zhijie. Lio Tao's pen and Huang Rui's far post header from a deep cross did the job. The bad news kept coming though and Fogg began to wonder if he'd have any players for the next game! Thankfully, he did and the side beat Nantong Zhiyun (Lin Biao 7, Wu Wei 56). Fogg was particulary pleased to see the new boys combine for the second goal - Ji Shaolei's deep cross being headed home by Wu Wei. More bad news was to follow though with another first-teamer picking up a knock that would keep them out. It didn't seem to matter against Beijing BSU (Li Wei og 8, Xiao Yong 32). Langaigne had his shot pop home off their defender while Xiao Yong scored another beauty of a free-kick. Fogg missed out on a perfect month though against Sichuan Jiuniu. Despite dominating the game, they managed to score off a deep cross and nick the win. Despite that last defeat, Meizhou Hakka remain in the mix. With only two places to go up and three competing teams, someone is going to miss out. Fogg doesn't want it to be him! 12th, 13th, and 14th are all games that Fogg views and winnable and will need to be won to for Meizhou Hakka to keep up with... Shanghai Shenhua who are presently first. It's clear what the big game is coming up this month!

June 2032 June was another solid month for Fogg and kept him and Meizhou in touch with the business end of the table. Game one was against 2001 China NYT (Lian Biao 39, Huang Rui 84). The first goal, in particular, was a beauty with Zahijie playing a stunning through-ball to make the goal. This was follwed up with an even better performance against Sichuan Jiuniu (Xiao Yong 32, 70, 83, 89). Xiao Yong played a blinder, getting all four goals! The last two goals were both superb free-kicks that left the ground buzzing! The good run couldn't continue forever and there was a bump in the road against Shanghai Shenhua (Lin Biao 87, Zhu Jianhu 90+5). Despite dominating the game, Meizhou Hakka let in three goals and, after that, it was an uphill struggle and one that Fogg's men just couldn't quite make this time. This was an exciting piece of news... for a manager planning on hanging around. Fogg wants to move on quickly but he is aware that, at this stage, the US is going to be a challenge to get into! The final game of the month was against Jiangxi Biadamen (Garibay 74, Xiao Yong 84). Two decent headed goals were enough for the win and to send Fogg and the fans home happy! The team step one place up to fourth and Fogg has all his fingers crossed that, by the end of the season, they could cross that golden line and get promoted. The reputation enhancement wouldn't do Fogg any harm either... 18th, 11th, 16th, 8th and 7th sees a month where the challenge level slowly steps up as the month goes on. Fogg knows that a decent month would see the club stay in touch if not get into those top two places. Can it be done?!

May 3032 Fogg has been casting his cv around China, hoping to get a higher-rep job and a better chance of getting that MLS job later on. This month did well for that with a win against Beijing IT (Garibay 15, Zhu Jianhu 90+1) kicking things off. This was followed by the result of the month - a 7-1 thrashing of Nantong Zhiyun (Wang Junjie 28, 45+2, Xiao Yong pen 39, 67, 71, Lin Biao 68, 83). Xiao Yong put a penalty away again to restore his record and Fogg was overjoyed with the general quality of performance and the result. Another win came against Qingdao (Deng Chengbo 16, Lin Biao 24) with a close header and smooth finish being enough for all three points. Fogg's crew then got something of a bump against Kunshan with a 3-0 defeat and the frustration being that two of the goals were corners conceeded. It took until the last minute, but the month finished on an up with a 2-1 win over Hebei Zhuoao (Wang Junjie 11, Lian Biao 90+2). The sea of wins gets Fogg's men a place up the table and a spot closer to promotion. He's absolutely focussed on his reputation though - having been turned down for a Super League job, Fogg is convinced that he has to raise the value of his name to complete the quest. 11th, 8th, 3rd and 1st - nothing is easy here! Fogg is bracing himself for a bruising month. Any points he gets from the next month will be most certainly hard-earned and will give a strong sense of where the future of the season lies for Meizhou Hakka and Fogg...

April 2032 The month begins with some of a re-arrange as Qingdao Manatee's waterlogged pitch pushed the game back. The month, instead, opened with the game against Shaoxing Keqiao Yuejia. It's fair to say that Fogg's men dominated the game but couldn't get the goal that would earn them all three points. A goal did come against Qingdao Manatee (Xiao Yong pen 20) as Xiao Yong made up for his previous penalty miss to put this one away and take home all the points. Once again, there was domination but no goals against Cangzhou Mighty Lions. Fogg is seriously hoping that this doesn't become the regular routine of the story. A true shock came in the cup - HeB Kungfu knocked Meizhou Hakka out the cup with a through-ball that carved Fogg's defence apart and led them to the next round. Finally, another league win against Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard (Zhang Zhijie 67) when Zhang Zhijie got half a yard of space inside the box to curl the ball home and make up for Xiao Yong who missed another penalty. The team are unbeaten in the league this month and see themselves up the league by one place. Second are only two points off and top only four points away so it's still all to play for. 12th, 16th, 3rd, 2nd and 13th give the month plenty of variety. Fogg is keen to get points out of every game but would love to see if he can get results against 3rd place Qingdao and 2nd place Kunshan...

March 2032 The season certainly began with a bang for Fogg - his side took on Suzhou Dongwu (Deng Chengbo 8, 27, Xiao Yong 49, Zhu Jianhu 64). Glory goals peppered the game with Deng Chengbo's opener being a superb freekick and both Xiao Yong and Zhu Jianhu scoring long-range strikes too. The good start carried on against Beijing BSU (Xiao Yong 22, Zhang Zhijie 58). Xiao Yong beat the offside trap superbly after Deng Chengbo sent him through and Zhang Zhijie scored a long-range effort to secure the points. Reality came to strike in game three against KM ZH Shipman (Garibay 14, Xiao Yong pen 57, Liu Junhui 75). Three times Meizhou Hakka found themselves behind and pulled it back. They couldn't do it a fourth time though and so there no points here. Even more good news followed the first defeat of the season! So Meizhou Hakka finish the month sixth, precisely where they're meant to be. It's early days at the moment though with only three games played so it's hard to read too much into it. A much busier month is coming up. 14th, 5th, 3rd and 17th come up next in the league so it's another varied month for sure. In the cup, Meizhou Hakka take on HeB Kungfu who are presently 16th without a win!

Pre-Season There were no outs of note this season for Fogg but an almost record-breaking number of 'ins' - ten new players in total join the club as Fogg looks to rebuild his reputation. 24yo Ying Jiahua is the first of the tremendous ten - he has spent his career impressing at Nantong Zhiyun and now Fogg hopes that he's a serious boost to the backline here. Also 24yo, Xiao Yong has spent most of his career in the USA. He's rarely played though and now moves back to his homeland in order to lead the line for Fogg's revolution. Ibrahim Garibay joins the club from Mexican side Potros UAEM. He's yet to really start his career but Fogg feels like he has the ability to go places at this level. Another youngster - Ji Haoyang comes in from Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan. Despite not playing for them regularly, Fogg hopes that the player is still a serious upgrade on what he had before. Wang Junjie is one of the few players to come in with serious first-team experience, having played superbly well for Jiangxi Beidamen over the last few seasons. Fogg hopes that he brings his apparent reliability with him for sure. 21yo Zhang Zhijie looks like a real star at this level - having been a regular for Guangzhou in the Super League for the last seasons, Fogg can't quite believe his luck at having got him to show his talent in League One... Deng Chengbo joins the side from Shanghai Shenhua. Having played a regular role in the Super League last season, Fogg hopes that he can play for fun at this level. Yang Ziheng goes to show that there's some serious talent out there for grabs this window. The superb keeper comes in from Shanghai Port. He never played a game for them but is now the time for him to make his mark? The only player to command a fee this window, Chay Jones joins the side from financially-challenged Lewes. Fogg sees real LB potential in him and hopes to train him into that role.. The 24yo Reshane Langaigne moved to Super League side Kunshan from Grenada last season. He struggled to perfom though; Fogg hopes that a league level drop on loan will help him show his best. Reasonable performance seems to be what the board is asking for this season. No real drama is expected so Fogg feels that, with the players he's brought in, maybe there's the chance to overachieve and make his name. The bookies seem to agree too as, if the club finish 7th, it would be their best finish in four seasons. Pre-season was good and, with the draw and win against top-flight opposition, Fogg hopes that it's a sign of things to come and the name-make that he's looking for. 10th, 8th and 16th are the predictions for these three clubs. Fogg is hoping that this gives him the chance to put points on the board nice and early...

November 2031 and Season Review So there is one game, against Suzhou Dongwu (Zhu Jianhu 88) but there was still plenty of drama. They went down to ten men after 23 minutes but then got the lead. It looked like they were going to keep it but youngster Zhu Jianhu managed to smash a near post finish to record a share of the points. A draw means the club don't move and finish 12th. It's hardly startling stuff but Fogg saw good things in that starting run and hopes that that's the way of the future. It's an interesting best XI with one player who's now a free agent and another who's not even in the game any more. It's pretty hard what to make of it all really. Huang Rui is clearly the star of the side with the most goals and player of the match awards. Li Zhilin gathers up highest average rating. The vision of the club remains largely unchanged as does the vision of Fogg. He wants to get a higher-rep club in China after his six month promise expires before the search for a job in Japan comes along.

October 2031 It was a tougher month for Fogg and, until the last game of the month, he was still in dreamland. It all started off against Jiangxi Beidamen (Liu Junhui 72). Hakka went behind early on but Liu Junhui scored a beauty of a free-kick to earn his side a share of the points. Against Beijing BSU (Hung Rui 28, 32), the team again went behind early but Hung Rui got all three points with two superb beatings of the offside trap. HeB Kungfu (Huang Rui 27, Lian Biao 31) have struggled so far this season and Hakka added to the misery with Huang Rui's header being followed by Lian Biao's smart strike to earn all three points. Well this is certainly a pleasing sight for Fogg. As ever, he's not planning on being there too long but he knows that he's got a little bit of reputation increase to do to help complete his trip. This is the less good news though with one of Meizhou Hakka's best players missing out on the rest of the season. Meizhou Hakka conceeded early again against Shaoxing Keqiao Yuejia but this time it didn't get any better - it just got worse and worse. By the time five goals had gone in, Fogg was just pleased to hear the final whistle. Meizhou Hakka sit in midtable still - safe from relegation but not able to trouble the top flyers either. The club can't drop any further with one game to go but could climb up the table with a good win. 8th-place Suzhou Dongwu give the last game of the season. Can Fogg get one more win in order to finish the season on a high? The result and season review will follow together!

September 2031 Fogg begins his adventure in China in good form! Three games and three wins is not a bad way to start! The first game saw the team take on Hunan Billows (Kossigbo 77, Huang Rui 84, 89). Fogg was led to fear for a while as his team toiled a goal down. Substitute Huang Rui came on though and saved the day with his two goals, giving Meizhou all three points. Game two was against Sichuan Juuniu (Huang Rui 19, 35, Liu Ke 69). Fogg felt obliged to give Huang Rui a start in this game and was pleased to see that his faith was rewarded with Huang Rui grabbing another two goals on the way to a win. It looked like the points were going to be all shared in the game against Cangzhou Mighty Lions (Kossigbo pen 90+4). Kossigbo had other ideas though as he netted a late penalty to earn Fogg three wins out of three! A perfect start sees Fogg's team rise a place up the league. Fogg is aware though that he's going to need to raise his repuation as, with the USA not coming that far away now, he thinks that he'll struggle to get an MLS job with a reputation of just 30%. It appears that the football world have forgotten about him since he left Europe. 8th, 7th, 15th and 11th come up in the next month. Fogg hopes that he can keep earn points on the pitch and reputation points for the rest of the mission to come.

Starting XI So, slightly injury-stricken, here is the first XI that Fogg is putting out for Meizhou Hakka. Kong Qi starts in goal. He hasn't been first choice so far this season and only gets the nod today as injury dictates. Zhang Guang: The 24yo has been at the club for the last five seasons. Two goals and two assists so far - what more can he offer? Li Zhilin: The 27yo has spent his entire career at the club and is one of the first names on teamsheet every week it appears! Xia Chengjun: Injury hands only a second start of the season to the 19yo CB. Yu Jiayue: The 21yo has been a regular starter this season but is struggling for form. Fogg hopes that he can turn around his fortunes quickly! Liu Junhui: In his second season at the club, the 24yo has made 8 starts so far. Can he impress Fogg and keep his place? Sam Kossigbo: The 25yo Liberian is in his first season at the club and has been one of the side's top performers so far. Lin Biao: 23 games so far but only two goals and no assists - Fogg will want more! Li Tao: The 22yo has just moved to the club and has three assists and two POTM performances so far - sounds promising! Liu Jian: 22yo and here on loan. He's only played six games so far and Fogg is prepared to hand him a few more starts. Ben Sima: The 26yo Equatoguinean has 2 goals in 10 starts - can he manage more? The side are in 13th and are 12 points away from trouble when Fogg picks up the reigns. Can he keep them there? Hunan Billows and Sichuan Jiuniu are both struggling towards the bottom of the table while Cangzhou are this months high fliers. What sort of start can Fogg generate?!

Meizhou Hakka The bigger offer doesn't come in so Fogg opts for Meizhou Hakka in China's second tier. He's promised to do six months at the club at least but could be interested in a step up to the top flight to build up his rep and complete the mission. So here we are - only four countries remain. Fogg is aware that his rep has fallen since he was in Europe so he's hoping that he has enough to get through to the end of the challenge. Ma Yougang is the assistant at Meizhou. He's been here since 2030 and is contracted until the end of the season. The team have spent most of their time in China's second tier. They've had a brief spell in the top flight but mid-table security is where they're at. The club's vision is pretty simple - repair the finances and stick around in this league. Fogg's not planning to spend long here but he'll play his part while he is.

August 2031 Meizhou Hakka of the second division in China offer Fogg an interview and then a job. He delays though as he's hoping that a bigger offer may soon come in...

Season Review Most of the season's XI is not a surprise for Fogg - only seeing Wong Wai Chun make the XI ahead of Boumsong seems to be something of a surprise. Warner leads the awards with his goalscoring prowess this season. Fogg has been pleased with him but isn't planning to be here to manage him again next season...

May 2031 Once the dust had settled on the league, it was all cup action for Fogg. Game one saw the side take on April 25 (Schweitzer 2, 52). French CM Schweitzer scored a pair of beautiful free kicks and that was enough to guarantee all three points for SSP. The team couldn't muster up the same against Eastern AA though and, despite going down to ten men, the table-topping team snuck a single goal win. Fogg was really looking forward to the game against Irn Bru Rangers (Warner 2, 60) and the chance to get to a final. The game itself though was a nightmare - taking the lead twice, seeing them going down to ten men and still losing the game and the chance to get silverware this season. The final game of the month saw SSP take Hwabel (Ma Chun Man 74) where left-winger Ma Chun Man manged to help the team salvage a point. As the season comes to an end, will this be the last goal SSP score for Fogg? The Asian group comes to an end and SSP finish second from bottom, bringing the season to a close...

April 2031 After the pleasure of getting into the Championship group last month, it's fair to say that Fogg had a pretty bruising month this time around. Game one saw SSP play Eastern AA in the Conf. Cup. SSP simply failed to compete in this game and a 2-0 defeat left Fogg looking at a lot of work to do in the group. This was followed up by a Championship Group game against Irn Bru Rangers. It was another game where SSP failed to score. The xG for both teams was pretty equal and they couldn't complain at the points being shared. Good news did follow though - the draw was enough to guarantee second place and continental football again next season. That's where the good news ended though as SSP stumbled to defeat against Hwaebul of North Korea, giving Fogg even more work to do in the group. This was possibly the best news of the month where a superb youth intake joined the club. It makes the future look good but we know that Fogg isn't too interested in that. The month rounded out with another game where SSP failed to score and Eastern AA made off with a single goal win. Fogg's crew pick up an injury that's pretty unfortunate at this end of the season as legs get tired too. League Table SSP finish second for two season in a row and Fogg is pretty pleased that it's huge increase on the pre-season predictions of sixth! Conf Cup Group Stage The defeats in the Conf Cup leave Fogg feeling like progress is pretty unlikely at the halfway stage. A month of pure cup game action is coming up next. Fogg will be giving his all in the Conf. Cup but, for him, the highlight is that semi-final where he thinks that there is a real chance of progress towards silverware again.