RaySunshine

Copa America 2028 The opening game against Paraguay was utterly mad! We got to 3-0 up by the 60th minute before they scored. Then we shifted it on to a 5-1 lead before they made it 5-2. We then scored another to make it 6-2 before they finished off at 6-3! I don't quite know what to make of it all but I'll take the win and good start on the GD for sure! We knew that a win against Venezuela would take us through to the next round. We didn't get it though! Twice we trailled and twice we managed to level things up but we couldn't get the goal that would give us that win. From a domestic point-of-view, I got this report in on our youth intake for next season. It doesn't look very good to me but we'll see what it produces! In our final game, we took on Panama and it's fair to say that we did enough! Even with rotating out as much of the first team as fast as we possibly could, we still steamrollered our oppostion and this is what the table looked like afterwards... We topped the group and marched onto the knock-out stages of the tournament! Platense in the Argentinian top-flight offered me an interview so that was rather exciting! That led to a dramatic game against Uruguay. Leon Bailey opened the scoring with a penalty before they equallised straightaway. In the second half, Bailey put a second away with a far-post header before Nunez levelled up for them. This led to penalties and we held firm to win and take Jamaica to the semi-finals! GOI are in the Brazillian second tier having just been relegated. They seem to have a pretty serious budget so I wonder if they're a serious promotion candidate. The semi-final and the team that we will play awaits but it will now interweave around domestic duties. Deportes Concepcion are up first and they're presently 11th. Game two is against Santiago Wanderers who are in 4th just below us. San Antonio Unido are top so they won't be an easy game either. There are then two more games - Union San Felipe, 5th, and Rangers de Talca who are 6th.

June 2028 The month began with the news that I wouldn't be making the instant hop to the Chilean top-flight as I wasn't the chosen man for Union La Calera - the search goes on! We then had the second of Jamaica's World Cup Quals where we got a stunner against the USA! I thought we'd struggle here but Thomas-Asante broke through their backline before the break to put us a goal ahead and Richards was there to head home a second-half header. Thomas-Asante got himself sent off for a second yellow late on and Pepi got one back for the USA but we held on for a famous win! Before we resumed domestic duties, our backline took a blow when Navarrete twisted his ankle and ruled himself out for the next 5 - 6 weeks! We had one league game this month and it saw us play Deportes Melipilla (Mendez pen 27, Rojas 81). Mendez opened the scoring in the 27th when Moraga was brought down and won a penalty that needed converting. They got and converted a penalty of their own late on but Rojas then fired in a twenty-yard rocket to give us all three points! We finish the month only four points behind top-of-the-table and firmly in the play-off places. The turnaround from where we were at the start of the season is unbelieveable! I just hope that some of the big clubs on the continent are now taking some notice! All attention now turns to the Copa America. We open the group with the hardest game of the bunch against Paraguay who are firmly ranked above us. Venezuela are pretty equal to us so that should be a close but winnable game and, finally, I'd expect us to beat Panama without too much trouble but we shall see!

May 2028 It wasn't quite perfect in May but I still couldn't quite believe the great form that my team are in! It all began when we took on Deportes Magallanes (Godoy 4, 60, Sanhueza 8, Ventos 66). Godoy took the roof off the place in just the fourth minute with a stunning volley from outside the box! Sanhueza then curled a real beauty home from outside the box just four minutes later. Mendez missed the chance to score a penalty after 30mins but it didn't matter as Godoy got his second from outside the box. Finally, Ventos headed home Igor Gabriel's cross. They got one back but they weren't in the match. We followed up the good form in the game against Deportes Copiapo (Igor Gabriel 87, 90). For much of the game, it looked like our run was coming to an end but Igor Gabriel had other ideas and two late goals kept our records going! The run that we were on got us a couple of quite incredible records and it got me... a job interview! Universidad Catolica are a top-flight side and have just been knocked out the Copa Libertadores. The would be quite an exciting club to get hold of! I had to keep focussed on my work at Iquique and that meant a game against Deportivo Nublense (Sanhueza 31, Rojas 63). Once again, it looked like our unbeaten run was at risk. This time, we were two goals down inside twenty minutes. Sanhueza got one back when he put away a low pass from Ventos who spent a moment playing like a winger. In the second half, Rojas levelled it up when Moraga found him just outside the box for him to fire home. It wasn't good news from the top-flight as I didn't get the job with Universidad Catolica. However,... ... another top-flight side with Copa Libertadores aspirations did ask me to pay them a visit! Cobreloa (Moraga 51) were our last opponents this month. Moraga opened the scoring with a goal off a mazy run. Alas, we couldn't turn our dominance into more goals and their late leveller was enough to drive us crazy! I'd noticed that the side had no real options on the RW. It was Igor Gabriel or no-one really so Diego Rodriguez was brought in on a free transfer. The promising youngster began his career with top-flight Universidad de Chile without really making his mark so I hope that he can make his mark here. I can't register him untill the restricted window opens in June but I look forward to welcoming him then! International affairs then took over with Jamaica playing Canada in World Cup qualification. Despite dominating possession and matching them in xG, Canda's shooting was ruthless and we came away well-beat. The table still looks good - we're now a fixture in the play-off places and we have three points and a good goal difference on 9th place. No complaints here! We only have one league game in June. The World Cup Quals window closes and then we have time to play 11th-placed Deportes Melipilla before all domestic football on the continent pauses for the Copa America...

April 2028 What a difference a month makes - we go from a month without a win to a month full of them. This represents the club's best form since 2023! It all began with us taking on Palestino (Moraga 15, 34, Igor Gabriel 70). Moraga got the first when he sent Igor Gabriel off and running with a great ball over the top for Igor Gabriel to slide rule it back for Moraga to score. Moraga played the same 1-2 trick with Sanhueza for his second. At the start of the second half, they headed home a cross to make it 2-1 and Igor Gabriel secured the result when he ran into the box and fired home. They got one more goal back but we'd already done enough. From a Jamaican viewpoint, we then got our group for the Copa America. It's an interesting group. We're not the best team in it but there are games that we can win there. This was only a brief interlude in league action before we took on Dportes La Serena (Mendez pen 18, Moraga 40, Igor Gabriel 62, Rojas 79). Mendez opened the scoring in this one when he put away a penalty. Moraga got his goal when Sanhueza burst into the box and cut the ball across to him. Igor Gabriel's goal was a tap-in on the line when Moraga found him and Rojas was there at the far post when the ball found him to head home. More good news followed after the win when I found out that I had got my Continental B Licence and been given permission to study for my Continental A Licence. The next win, against Puerto Montt (Igor Gabriel 42), was a much closer affair. Eventually, a ball broke loose to Igor Gabriel on the edge of the box and he fired an absolute rocket home to steal the win! The month's final game was the derby match against San Marcos de Arica (Loyola 29, Ventos 42). Loyola got a shock first goal when he burst into the box and put it low into the opposite corner. Ventos then managed to double up when Igor Gabriel's shot bounced off the post to his feet and Ventos had an open goal to score into. The derby is not a bad occasion on which to score your first goal! In the second half, they pushed on and got one back to add some drama but we held on for the win! A month full of wins has propelled us into uncharted territory and the play-off places - if only by two points! By comparison to what has gone before, if we get one more win, we're already halfway to what the team got last season in just our first 12 games! May will be an interesting month for many reasons, one of which is that, after the first two games, I will have kept my promise of not appyling for jobs and I can start to see what bigger roles are on offer across the continent. In playing terms, the team starts off by facing Deportes Magallanes (14th) and Deportes Copiapo (16th) so there is the chance to start the month by building on our good form. After those games, we play Deportivo Nublense who are top (it feels like a new team every month!) before we face Cobreloa in league action. They're presently 13th. It could be a promising month!

March 2028 You can see by the colour dots here that the full scale of the challenge at hand came to bear! Despite Union San Felipe starting the season with their struggles, they dominated the game against us. The only goal came in the 64th minute when they headed home a corner but they could have been good for more. It wasn't a huge sum but it felt like money I couldn't turn down for an older player. This was a moneyball sell as we got 100% of his potential value for him. A loan back also eases the pain that we suffered here. Once again, a new signing suffers a more literal type of pain and we'll miss him for the next hanful of games. I was worried about our lack of goals and, with the injury to Pererya, I decided to bring in Miguel Ventos. The 23yo Argentinian is yet to make his professional debut but I hope that that comes here and goals come with it! We played better against Rangers de Talca but didn't get a goal to show for it. They did though - nabbing the first through a slack pass on our part and putting together a superb passing move for their second. Having got £800k for Sanhueza, I decided to spend £300k of it here to bring in Ignacio Moraga from top-flight Curico Unido. I hope that he can really bring his quality to bear and give us some of the assists that we really need! He got his first minutes in the game against high-flying Santiago Morning. If you'd offered me a draw against them at the start of the month, I'd have bitten your hand off but the fact that we've continued to not score was a significant worry. We've kept working to improve the quality of the squad and that brought in Juan Alvarado. The Peruvian cost us £80k but he had a good season last season with an average rating of 7.0 and he should add a bit more quality to the team. At this point, it was time to play international football and Jamaica took on Mexico in the NA Nationas League semi-final. We expected to be absolutely steam-rollered but we managed to stay in the game and Pinnock even got a goal late on to finish down by just a single goal. Then came the chaos in the third-place playoff against USA. Bailey made the most of a loose pass to steal in and put us into the lead. USA levelled up in the second half but, a minute after that, Spence made a wonderful weaving run and restored our lead. In extra-time, the USA got a two-goal lead before Thomas-Asante poked one home for a fightback and then Isaacs scored a beautiful volley to finish the game 4-4. Alas, we couldn't win on penalties but it was certainly a game for the ages! From a Jamaican point-of-view, we then got our World Cup qualifying group - it's clear to see what two teams represent our main challenges! Finally, we finished with cup action against Cobreloa. The game itself was a goalless bore-fest but penalties did for me again and we crashed out the cup. We finish the month 12th. Bottom spot is only a point away though so this season looks like being a relentless, hard challenge. I didn't come for an easy ride that's for sure! April begins with a game against Palestino. They're below us in the league but I'm rapidly learning not to treat any game as likely to get us points. We then follow on against Deportes La Serena who are two places above us in 11th. Puerto Montt are 9th and the month finishes with the Norte Derby against San Marcos de Arica. They also rejected me from a job interview so it will certainly be passionate. They are top-of-the-tree now though so we'll definitely be underdogs for that one!

February 2028 It comes to February and my first competitive games in South America take place! I open against Deportes Concepcion (Sanhueza 48). Things did not begin well when they carved our defence apart with a fine passing move. In the second half though, we responded. They headed a cross out and Sanhueza picked it up outside the box and fired a stunning volley home! I was worried about what seemed to be the team's lack of cutting edge and 25yo Luciano Pereyara has been brought in to provide it! He has all the attributes to be a leading striker and I hope that his goals will lift us up league! That took us onto game two where we played Deportes Melipilla. The teams were evenly matched throughout the game but they got the breakthrough when a throw-in led to a cross that they headed home from. On top the winless run from last season, the pressure was already mounting on me. I needed that green dot and soon! Finally, that green dot came when we played Santiago Wanderers (Igor Gabriel 22, Rojas 49) and how we got it! Igor Gabriel lit the ground up when he curled a beauty into the top corner from way outside the box. Rojas doubled our score when we got a cross from a throw-in and he was there to head home. They had a penalty in the 55th minute to rack up the tension but Bernedo pulled off a stunning save to play his part. I took every opportunity to improve the coaching team and so performance analyst Sebastian Quezada comes in to crunch the numbers for me. Everything comes with a cost though! Although mostly a bench player, its not good news to lose a member of the squad for the next three months. The month finished with us playing San Antonio Unido (Pereyra 72, Mendez pen 88). Once we'd gone 2-0 down, I worried about the state of the team. Pereyra led the fightback though by heading home a near-post corner and Mendez kept his cool to level things up with a penalty in the 88th min. I've noticed in writing up this month, that lots of the goals come when we give a pass away. I'm hoping that, as the team become more familiar with my tactics, that will decrease! This however, is a massive blow! Goal scorer and recent signing Pereyra joins the hitlist. I'm wondering if I need to find a Chilean deputy who can do the business for the next two months or if there's enough quality in the squad as it is. The month sees us higher up the table but it's been a slog - we're leaky at the back and require some sort of heroics most games as a result. I hope that things tighten up but I don't think it's going to be straightforward! Union San Felipe come up first and they're 15th with just three points so I hope to be able to get a win there! Then we play Rangers de Talca who find themselves 5th. Our final league game is against Santiago Morning who are top of the tree in these early days so the month doesn't look easy at all! After all that, we play Cobreloa in the cup and they're 12th so it's an all action month. Wish me luck!

Pre-Season The first of my players in is Igor Gabriel. The 24yo Brazillian played for GN in Brazil last season. The 0 return in 18 games doesn't sound too promising but I hope he has the quality to shine at this level. My only worry is a left-footer working as a right winger but we'll see. The next player in was Sergio Godoy. The 23yo Chilean played well for the league below last season but I hope that his quality is enough to shine in our midfield too. In true moneyball style, the money we spent this window was spent on the defence. £150k was spent bringing Benjamin Oyanedel in from Deportes La Serena. My hope is that he will really beef up our backline and help with a defence that clearly had it's struggles last season. This was then the bad news that was waiting for us! Brand-new midfielder Sergio Godoy has dislocated his shoulder and he now will miss the first three months of the season and not start us off in the way that I wanted. With the need to keep foreign players down to just five, I decided that a scout was needed who's area of expertise was Chile. In comes Camilo Pontoni who fits that bill perfectly. Nicolas Valencia left the club at this stage. £22.5k was 0.75 or higher of his value and that, in my Moneyball approach, is enough to see him go. The board expectations are clear. Keep out of trouble and try your best in the cup. Does everyone think that we can do it? Just! We're expected to finish 13th out of 16. I hope that's high enough to count as mid-table or we overshoot! The pre-season games were underwhelming and our failure to score is not perfect! Who will we start our league campaign against? Deportes Concepcion are up first and they're expected to finish bottom so it seems like the perfect opportunity to end this winless run. After that, Deportes Melipilla and Santiago Wanderers are up and they're expected to be 4th and 10th so the first of those clubs certainly represents more of a challenge. Finally, we play San Antonio Unido and they expect to finish 15th so I hope that that is another three points we can get out the month...

Staffing Updates Before any players could come in, I decided that some serious work on the staffing needed doing. First in was another Argentinian, Marcelo Frezzini. He comes in as fitness coach having had the role at a range of Argentinian clubs. Osvaldo Cannobbio joins the club as a scout. He's had a variety of roles in the past including being the manager of several Uruguayan clubs. He's retired from hands-on roles but is quite happy to be a scout here. In true modern style, a set pieces coach is needed. Santiago Rodriguez comes in to take the role. He's 35 years old and this is his first job in football. I feel pleased to have him join the team and I'll certainly see how he progresses. We then got the draw in the NA Nations League which sees us play Mexico. I certainly don't think we're favourites there but we'll give it our best shot! You can see where the improvements have hit and where they're yet to come. Coaching now looks pretty good. We'll need a new GK coach in time but we'll let the one we have finish his contract first. Scouts and physio are the departments that need sorting next.

Initial Squad Review Before any squad review could take place, I needed some staff to help me do the reviewing... Argentinian Mauro Conocchiari joins me as assistant manager. He has been assistant at a range of clubs in Argentina and this is his first move abroad. He has some good stats for this level but I know that more is needed to improve my coaching department. Another Argentinian, Leandro de Muner, comes in as Head of Youth Development. Unlike Arbroath, I have a youth team again and l certainly look forward to using it! So here is the review of the squad we have. Despite its poor showing last season, it should be relatively good at this level with three stars representing a leading Segunda Liga player. What's worth noting is that William Gama will be off as he doesn't want to sign a new contract. After him, Vicente Bernedo and Claudio Navarrete are the two worst performing. Bernedo's star rating is so high that I'm inclined to give him another chance and it will remain to be seen if another CB better than Navarrete can be found. Looking at midfield, I know that Benjamin Sanhueza only has one star as RPM but I find that's quite common and it didn't stop Mackinnon or Britez peforming well in the role. Another creative CM to go alongside him though wouldn't go amiss. Up front, Diego Machado doesn't look like a strong option so a leading striker will also be sought. Finally, none of the youth team are ready for promotion yet but several of them look like seriously strong candidates for the future.

Deportes Iquique At last, step one of my journey is complete! I have arrived in South America! More precisely, I have arrived in the Chilean city of Iquique where I will be managing second-tier Deportes Iquique. Below, I have put the save objectives so you can see where we're now at: Step one: get a job in South America. Step two: win silverware Step three: win either the Copa Libertadores or the Copa America. As you can see, step one is now done. Iquique The city of Iquique is in the North of Chile - on the coast between the Atacama desert and the Pacific Ocean. It's a place famous for it's port where mining goods were shipped out all over the world and the beach life and surfing. The club has spent a long time in the Chilean top-flight but, since 2020 has been fighting it out in the second tier. Last season, the team finished 15th and two points above relegation having been expected to be safely mid-table. What was really eye-catching was the run of eleven games without a win from mid-July until the Ocotber end of the season. It seems like there's serious work to do! Mid-table is the aim next season and we'll soon find out what the board are prepared to put in to make that happen. Next up will be my review of the squad as it stands...

November 2027 November proved to be another busy month and it began with another interview! And some more bad news - the squad suffers another injury which thins out the team even more. Game one in the Championship saw us take on Hamilton. We created plenty of chances but finishing was not our side and the game ended goalless. Alas another interview proved to be unsuccessful... ... but it's not so much of a worry when you have two more! My attention at this stage though turned to international matters... The first game in the NA Nations' League QF saw us play Honduras away. We dominated the game and, when Thomas-Asante put his penalty away late on, I thought we'd got the win. They had other ideas though; a massive punt downfield by their GK was nodded down to Acosta who struck it home. Sadly, I didn't the job I was dreaming of. I thought that a season rampaging through the Championship with a super-charged Watford would be great fun but it was not to be! We then had the return leg to play. Honduras snatched an early lead but Leon Bailey struck two minutes later to level things up. In the second half, he struck again and we move on into the semi-finals. Our progress also saw the side qualfiy for the Copa America which is pretty neat! At this stage, with one game played, the month stops. Arbroath are in second place - two points behind Livingston - but I'm moving on...

October 2027 The month began with a 'well done' to me as I lift September's Manager of the Month - not a bad place to be for a promoted club. October was an absolutely packed month and it didn't begin in the way that I wanted it to! We took on Livingston (Britez 66) who, by the 52nd minute, were leading by two goals. Britez managed to get one back against our title rivals but alas they win and step past us. I then went into international football where Jamaica took on New Zealand in my first tie as international manager. It was all action - 3-2 by HT. And that's how it stayed with me tasting victory in my first game in the job. The joy of that win was tempered by bad news for Arbroath - Mackinnon may have been knocked out the starting XI by Villegas but he's still one of my first options off the bench and now we're without him for three months. It didn't seem to matter in the game against Aberdeen Reserves (Kirk 8) though. Kirk got an early goal - firing home from close range and that was enough to see us on and through in the cup. A return to league action saw us take on a struggling Cove Rangers (Britez 18, Kirk 66, Gilbert 76, Ross 81). Cove might have had their troubles this season but they took a shock lead and we could only make it 1-1 by HT. Cove wilted in the second half though and three goals after six minutes secured all three points for us. The first good news for me was that I secured my Continental C Licence and got permission to start studying for my B Licence - is life great when your team is overachieving?! Even better news followed with two good job interviews - West Brom feels like it would be a huge job to take compared to Arbroath and Cortulua in Colombia would finally see me in South America. Nicolson no longer looked to be of the required quality and, with me overspending the budget already, I let him go. I wanted to impress my suitors and thought that a game against struggling Queen's Park (Britez 30) would do that. They took the lead and like the previous tie, Britez levelled things up. That's where the similarity ended though as Queen's Park took control of the game and ran out 3-1 winners! Then another two job interviews came in - Watford in particular was interesting as they offered a transfer kitty of £89mil in the Championship. That should be fun! The next game was against ex-SPL side Airdrieonians. It was a really dull game with both sides seeming to be struggling on their legs. Nothing really to report here except... Callum Burton broke his wrist in the game and Tom Ritchie had to come on. He'll be out for the next two months - if not more! The familiar news started then to roll in - interviews unsuccessful. Still, that huge Watford role remains for the moment! The month's final game saw us take on Dunfirmline Athletic (Aghatise 80). We managed to get a 1-0 win when, happily from my perspective, substitute Ethan Ross found fellow substitute Aghatise who powered home the header and got us three points! More bad news at the end of the month. Still interested Watford? Despite it being a rockier month, Arbroath remain top-of-the-table. Livingston are there on the same points as us though and they have a game in hand. It's not going to be easy! Hamilton are fifth and they start the next month. After that, it's two Cup games with ties against Raith Rovers and Annan Athletic. Finally, ninth-placed Dundee see out the month. The question is, will I?! Jamaica also step into my first competitive games when we take on Honduras in the NA Nations League QFs.

September 2027 As far as months go, September was almost perfect - considering we're a promoted club, to not have any red in sight is pretty great! The first win of the month came in the cup when we played Forfar Athletic (Gilbert 10, Britez 27, Ross pen 75, Aghatise 83). Gilbert got the first when the keeper couldn't hold his long-range effort and the ball bounced in. Britez got the second when he let a shot go from just outside the box and a couple of deflections sent it in. Ross got a penalty for the third and Aghatise got his heading home a Dall cross. Game two saw us go into league action - Dundee (Ledingham og 78). I'd expected them to be tough opponents and they were but didn't score till the 73rd minute. I thought that would be that but Yfeko sent in a low cross just five minutes later and Ledingham knocked the ball into the back of his own net. Things got exciting after the Dundee game as I was offered two interviews for clubs in the Chilean second tier. Would my time in Scotland be coming to an end? It wasn't going to end before the Falkirk (Kodua 23, Mundle-Smith 75) game though! Kodua got the opener when Dall sent a big looping cross over and Kodua headed it home. They levelled up by opening up space on our left-hand side and knocking a low cross in. Mundle-Smith, though, got his first goal and the winner when Kodua found him almost on the goal line to poke home. Alas, the game was followed by the news that one of the interviews was not successful! The month's final game saw us play Raith Rovers (Gilbert 12, McAvoy 19, Kirk 75, Villegas 85). I was stunned by the performance and the four goals we put away. Gilbert started the scoring with a fine finish after Britez sent him through on an eye-of-the-needle pass. McAvoy got the second when he headed home a Kodua corner. Kirk came on the second half and got his goal when Yfeko's low cross found him just outside the six-yard box and Villegas got his goal curling in an absolute beauty from the edge of the box! None of this was enough to impress my other interviewing club and, for the moment, in Scotland I remain! It's pinch yourself stuff - newly promoted and at the top of the table with a three-point gap and a great goal difference too. Surely, it must be impressing someone! Second-place Livingston make for a fascinating start to the next month before we take on Aberdeen Reserves in the cup after that. Cove Rangers are now 8th and Queen's Park are 5th. Finally, Dunfirmline Athletic are 4th so there are some interesting games there for sure! There is also the small matter of my first match managing Jamaica next month when we take on New Zealand in a friendly.

August 2027 The first piece of news at the start of August was the departure of Harrison Sharp. He was out of contract and chose this moment to walk away. It seemed less likely that Steele would play much this season with the players that had come in but now it means that we can't sell him this summer either! This was followed up with a game against Cove Rangers (Villegas 19, Kirk 30, 44, Kodua 48, Stretton pen 87). Villegas opened the scoring when Britez clipped the ball to the edge of the box for Villegas to smash it home. Kirk followed up when a scrambled pass-back pinged back to him and then followed up when another poor pass-back sent him through and he made the most of it to finish. In the second half, Britez then made a low cross for Kodua to poke home and Stretton finished up with a penalty. Tom Ritchie was brought in to be our bench GK. He has spent his career largely being a bench keeper for Aberdeen. He's now come to take on the same role for us! Another squad-thinning injury was incurred at this point when Ethan Ross pulled up in training! We then took on Dunfermline Athletic (Kirk 25). The scores had been level for most of the match but alas, a late, late corner gave them the three points. The next tie saw us play our fellow promotees Hamilton (Gilbert 10). Gilbert poked the early goal home and we went on to control a fair chunk of the game without getting the second goal. Hamilton came back into it late on and managed to claw it back to level terms for the end of the game. I was aware that Kirk was our only serious striker at the club so Errol Mundle-Smith comes in. He started his career at Norwich and had loans at Yeovil and Tampa Bay Rowdies. Is this his chance to make a name for himself? This took us on the final game where we played Airdrieonians (McAvoy 36, Gilbert pen 40). Much to my shock, we made it away with a 2-0 win. CB McAvoy got the first with a great header from a corner and Gilbert followed up with a pen to secure a win against the ex-SPL side. When I looked at the league wage bills, I was surprised to see that my recruiting had taken Arbroath to top spot so this team had better produce some good stuff! Much to my pleasure, we have and we stand second and three points and a good goal difference (thanks Cove) in the play-offs! Fierce League One rivals Forfar Athletic give us the month's first game in the Challenge Cup. After that, we play Dundee who are way down in 7th and Falkirk who find themselves 6th. Raith Rovers round the month out and they're fifth so it's mid-table all month!

July 2027 Our rather underwhelming League Cup campagin began with a game against Dundee. We were pretty evenly matched throughout most of the game but the curse of penalties got us at the death and they have the bonus point. It also turned out that I hadn't booked my ticket to South America just yet. Hopefully, an interview is a sign that I'm getting closer though. Game two saw us play East Fife who left League One going down as we left it going up. We had had enough chances to take the game but didn't score ours - cue their netbuster at the end of the game and all three points were their's. I finally found some good young players to improve the side and Gideon Kodua was the first to come in. The RW had been at West Ham and Charlton without breaking through at either. I hope he can show his worth in Scotland instead! In our next game, we played League One Peterhead. We dominated this match and how we didn't come away with three points amazes and frustrates me in equal measure! In a bid to keep boosting my rep, I took on the job of Jamaica manager. They've not got any games for a while but I look forward to some senior international football! Connor McAvoy was the second player to join the side this month and holds true to the moneyball approach of strengthening the defence first. He was a bit-part player for recently-relegated Airdrieonians last season as is eager to show his worth here. Murray Aiken comes in from Hibs. He's not really broken through there but looks pretty comfortable in playing an anchor role and that's what we want! We then had a game against SPL side Ross County (Kirk 39). They took an early lead and, just before half time, Kirk scored from close range to level things up. They went on to keep control though and we were well-beaten. With the host of players incomming, I didn't see Gunn getting much game time so, to help his development, he leaves on loan. 23yo Lautaro Villegas comes in from Banfield. He was a talent simply too good to turn down and I hope that our Argentinian midfield pairing can do great things! I had been chasing Olabarrieta all summer but he turned us down for Dundee so I hope that Alex Gilbert is a suitable second choice for the role instead! Finally, we had a league game to play against Queen's Park (Britez 3, Gilbert pen 6, Kirk 50). With the team having struggled in the League Cup, I was nervous going into the season but it looks like I've got nothing to worry about! Britez opened the scoring early with a real rocket and, a few minutes later, Gilbert won and scored a penalty. Finally, Kirk headed home Kodua's cross and the result was ours - we look like Championship naturals! Only one game has been played but at least we're in the title race for one week! Relegation-threatened Cove Rangers is a game I really want to get points from before we take on Dunfirmline Athletic who are expected to be solidly mid-table. Hamilton, who we came up with, should be another source of points before take on Airdrieonians who have recently dropped out of the SPL. Oh and our prediction has now changed to make us 8th rather than relegation-playoff 9th - sorry Hamilton!

Pre-season Pre-season began with a selling - an offer came in for Jay Bird and, in true moneyball style, it hit his value so we couldn't say no! In honesty, he wasn't really playing and scoring last season so I'm not too worried here. In player out terms, it was Jay Bird who brought us the money and Robbie Mahon left on a free. The first player to join us is Johnly Yfeko from Hearts. He's spent time at Spurs and Rangers as well as Hearts without becoming a starter for any of them. I'm not quite sure he's going to be first-team yet but he certainly strengthens the bench. The second player in does look like a real gem. Seb Quirk comes in from Port Vale where he's been playing well for the last couple of seasons. Just before that, he was at Accrington having started out as an Everton trainee. Unlike Yfeko, he's starting material. Like last year, we had one Prem League pre-season game. Once again, we got thrashed but Gunn got a goal he'll always remember! As ever, the league is the centre of the focus and the message is clear - don't get relegated! Do the bookies think my lightly strengthened squad can manage it... ... no they don't! We're pitted to be second-bottom but in the rest of the league which is unlike poor Cove Rangers. I hope that we prove we have enough about us to stay up by hook or by crook! The League Cup begins proceedings. Dundee are a fellow Championship side and, having beaten them last season, it would be good to do so again! East Fife who have just dropped back into League Two follow up as do Peterhead who represent League One. The final cup game sees us play Ross County of the SPL so that's where the headlines are! Finally we also have our first Championship league game against Queen's Park who are expected to be one of the better teams in the league so it's certainly not an easy way in! This though, could change everything! With the objective of this save being to get to South America, finally, an interview comes through! San Marcos de Arica are mid-table in the Chilean second tier and now with a vacancy as their manager has moved on. Is this my route into South America?

U21 Euros The U21 Euros began with a tough tie against Portugal. The team began well and had a shout for a penalty turned down by VAR early on. From then on though, Portugal came on to rule the game. Sadly, in the 80th minute, VAR confirmed their penalty and we found ourselves 1-0 losers. Ireland was always going to be the most winnable game and Constantinescu set us on our way when he scored a beauty - curling it in from outside the box in just the 3rd minute. Late in the second half, Dobre headed home to secure the result. He also broke his toe and ruled himself out for the rest of the tournament. On the domestic front, promotion got me another coaching badge out of the Arbroath board. Is it another step closer to South America? We had to better Portugal's result in our final group game but we couldn't do it. We tried hard against France but they had the clinicality to see us off. Our tournament is over. And so is my time in charge of the Romania U21s. I decided that I would focus on Arbroath or pastures new... We had to better Portugal's

Season Review So the season's XI is in. I'm not that surprised by much of it except the placement of Gunn over Stretton. It's really the pretty consistent team that I was able to play this season. In terms of awards, two players clearly shone out - Kirk and Dall are clearly major assests to this team! So here is my moneyball view. The two weakest postions are McGill at DMC and Ethan Ross at AML. McGill might be struggling to be an anchor which doesn't seem to be an easy postion to fill and Ethan Ross hasn't done badly but, at 25, he's not a star in the team so I can look for an upgrade there. The third could be any of Kyle Smith, Sam Fisher or Alan Britez. Britez is new to the side so I'm not swapping him out yet but I'm open to improvements at the back. I might not have made any moneyball money with players yet but I did get nearly £20k for our set piece coach!

May 2027 Hopefully, that row of green dots gives you a good sense as to how our season ended! We had one league game left. I wanted to keep up the good form so put out a first-choice XI and beat Peterhead (Bird 89). The goal came at the death when Britez chipped a ball over the top and Bird hit a spectacular volley to send it home! That was the good news - the bad news was that Aghatise had picked up an injury that rule him out of the playoffs. How much would we miss him? In the semi-finals, we were drawn against Alloa Athletic (Kirk 28, Stretton 35). The team did its best to rest my nerves when Kirk headed home a nearpost corner and Stretton doubled up when Smith chipped the ball to the back post and he headed it home. It was then time to play Alloa Athletic (Kirk 36, 74) at home. Kirk doubled up in this one and, despite Alloa's late goal, I was never in any fear that we'd reach the final. In that final, we faced Queen of the South (Britez 32, Wright 86). Britez opened the scoring here with a stunning curler from just outside the box and Wright got a second to give us control of the tie late on. We finished the season taking on Queen of the South (Kirk 76) at home. Kirk got a goal late on to secure our position and, even though they levelled the tie, ... We were up! Colin Hamilton came on as a late sub in the last game and so, his last match saw the club that he'd spent almost all his career at promoted! Captain Fantastic Bailey Dall had done enough to win League One player of the season - well done Bailey!

April 2027 April was a month full of drama and it began with our game against Queen of the South (Stretton 58, Wright 90+3, Gunn 90+7). This was a hard-fought win. It started with them taking the lead in the 39th minute and we levelled it up via Jack Stretton in the 58th minute. Queen of the South took the lead again and it took until the 90+3rd minute for us to draw level. Finally, we snatched the lead when Gunn put the ball home in 90+7. We couldn't follow this up with a win against Partick Thistle (Ross 3, Kirk 37). Ethan Ross fired a shot home in just the 3rd minute and then Kirk doubled it up in the 37th minute. I thought all was going well but they snatched one back in the first half and two in the second to leave us reeling from defeat. Game three and the oppostion were Clyde (Ross 5, Parker 32). We got into a 2-0 lead comfortably but never really got into a gear to smash the goals home. They got one back to give us a scare but we managed to get out with all three points. Finally, we took on Alloa Athletic (Kirk pen 30, 90+4, Neil o.g. 47). Kirk got the opener with a penalty before Dall fired a shot that went in off Neil for an o.g. Finally, Kirk finished off with one more goal to give us a three nil lead. Alas, it wasn't enough though and, after the Alloa game, we found out that Hamilton had done enough to win the league. We hadn't done badly though and managed to scoop a record for our credit. We have one more game to play but we know that we're going to finish second! The last league game of the season sees us take on Peterhead who are fourth. After that, the playoffs begin and we'll find out who our opponents are going to be!

March 2027 March started with some good news for my ambitions. The board wouldn't yet let me start studying for my continental licences but it certainly boosts my rep. Colin Hamilton, though, didn't start the month with good news. Upon news of his retirement, he picked up a strain that will keep him out for half his remaining career. Forfar Athletic (Stretton 18, 57) were the first team we faced this month. We managed to come past them courtesy of two far-post headers nodded home by Jack Stretton. It's particularly pleasing to see those go in as it's the role that I brought him in to do. The opponents in game two were East Fife (Steele 69) who took a shock-lead, curling home a worldie from the edge of the box. We wasted a hatful of chances but Steele headed home a corner to level up the scores. Finally, we took on Montrose (Ross 17, 28, 38, 43, Dall 27). The first half in particular was an absolute goalfest - 5-2 by HT. The star of the show was Ethan Ross who got four out of the five goals and scored some real long-range beauties in there too. Montrose managed to get one back in the second half but were never really in the game. The board wanted us to get a place in the play-offs and, with the win over Montrose, that is secured. The question is, can we do more?! This was the bad news with McGill ruled out for most of what remains in the season. Ethan Ross's superb work in the last game helped him get player of the month and Aghatise's four assists got him into the reckoning too. We've secured a play-off place now and second seems likely to be ours as we have an 11-point lead on Alloa. The challenge now is to keep chasing down Hamilton in that top-spot. They're only three points ahead of us but their goal difference far outranks ours. It's unlikely that we'll overcome the GD so we need to outdo them by four points in the last month! Queen of the South come up first and they're in 5th place. They will be wanting to get into the playoffs so it certainly won't be a easy game. After that, we take on Partick Thistle who are a place lower in sixth. Clyde are 10th having lost 19 out of their 31 games so I'd certainly hope to win there before we take on Alloa Athletic again who remain just behind us in the third. Can we charge towards the title this April?

February 2027 In the world of Football Manager, most news is bad news and it came to be the case at the start of February. A training injury has seen McDonald ruled out for the next two months and it's another hit to my already small squad. The month began well when we took on Partick Thistle (Britez 39). Alan Britez got his first goal for the club when Dall played a ball into the box and Britez ran on to it to smash it home. The single goal was enough to secure all three points. Once again, despite wanting youth players to come through, the board don't want a youth team. They're not easy people to please! We then took on SPL side St Mirren in the cup. They dominated the match but weren't scoring. However, the eventually put one away in the 86th minute and that was our cup run over. Clyde (Kirk 3, 4, Stretton 59, Wright 88) were up next and we took all the frustration of the last game out on them! Kirk made sure we were 2-0 up within five minutes and, from then on, the rest of the game was ours and we finished with a handsome win. Having largely dropped out the running this season, 34yo Hamilton has decided that it's time to hang up his boots. We then took on the team just below in the league in an absolute corker. Alloa Athletic (Kirk 22, Gunn 30, 48, 71, Aghatise 57) were a tough prospect but we began by blowing them away. We were 2-0 up at HT and 5-0 up by the 71st minute. They then had a real comeback event and scored three in the last twenty minutes! The couldn't conjure up the last two though and we came away with an important win. Table-topping Hamilton (Mackinnon 90+3) came next. Much to my surprise, we dominated the game against them and comfortably outdid them on xG. It looked, however, like the game would finish 0-0 until Mackinnon burst through their defence and fired home! Was there going to be a title race after all? Once we'd played Peterhead, I thought maybe not! We were second-best throughout the game and it was all capped off with Steele having the ball deflect off him into his own net - gah! I took the chance here to send young CB Agbaire out on loan to get some regular minutes before the end of the season. It's a bit of a risk but I think we have enough in the squad to get us through the run-in. We remain in second and Hamilton are four points ahead of us. We however have a game in hand in our eight remaining games so we can make a close-run thing of it yet. Alloa though have a game in hand on us so will be focussed on chasing us down. There's still all to play for! Dall's four assists in five games saw him get League One player of the month and hattrick hero Kyan Gunn came in second! Three games of the final run-in take place in March. We start off by playing Forfar Athletic in 7th, before taking on ninth-place East Fife. Finally, it's Montrose who are 8th. They're all must win games at this stage of the season that's for sure!

January 2027 The month of January began with an exciting incoming - 22yo Alan Britez joined the club when his contract with River Plate expired. The young Argentinian had only played two games for his first club but he has the talent to be a real star at this level and to have some serious moneyball sell-on value too! Then it was on to games! Forfar Athletic (Mackinnon 45+2, Stretton 49). This was a real topsy-turvy affair - Forfar got the lead when they recycled a corner and their shot crashed off the bar and the rebound was tucked in. We levelled things up when our corner produced penalty box pinball. The ball broke to Mackinnon and he smashed it home. At the start of the second half, Dall sent in an amazing deep cross and Stretton headed it home. A break in the second half resulted in them getting another goal though and then it was all level. East Fife (Stretton 20, Mackinnon 49, Kirk 55, Wright 90+4). Stretton opened the scoring with the sort of back-post header that I brought him into the club to score! Mackinnon then did his best to keep Britez on the bench when Stretton played in through and he slotted it home with a low strike. Kirk followed up with a goal when the ball broke to him in the box and Wright finished the scoring when, you guessed it... the ball was crossed to the back post for a header! The glamour cup tie against SPL heavyweights Aberdeen (Ross 37, Gunn 118) came next and, much to my surprise, we had the better of the game! Ethan Ross opened the scoring with a rocket into the top corner from just outside the box. Three minutes later though, Aberdeen were level through their own outside the box rocket. The game stayed tied into extra time but Gunn got the winner when Wright played him into score low past the keeper! A return to league action saw a bonkers game against Montrose (Aghatise 22, Mackinnon 25, Stretton 29, Kirk 90). Aghatise's header; Mackinnon's bullet and Stretton's far-post header meant that we were 3-0 up at HT. I thought we were cruising - and so did the team as they took the foot off the gas and Montrose got two back. Kirk then scored in the 90th which I thought would settle things but they got another to leave it a nervy 4-3 win! Then there was a cost - just when he'd hit form and scored three goals this month - Stretton finds himself out injured. It's certainly a blow to the side. The month's final game saw us take on Queen of the South. Ross Doherty nabbed a goal for them in the 26th minute and we just couldn't score. Burton made a super penalty save to keep the score at 1-0 but we still lost as a goal simply wasn't coming for us! We finish January in second place but Alloa are beginning to chase us down and occupy 3rd spot four points behind us. Hamilton are ten points clear and are in the process of walking to the title! Partick Thistle are a mid-week game. They're in 6th and the game leaves the weekend free for the big tie against SPL side St Mirren in the Scottish Cup. After that we play Clyde in 10th so that should be a win. Then it's a game against chasing Alloa Athletic before we finish the month playing fourth-placed Peterhead. This month could have a big say in where we end up this season!

December 2026 The results in December were mixed - two wins, a draw and a defeat but I'm hoping that it's enough to keep us where we are. December began with the draw for the U21 Euros. It's not going to be an easy group that's for sure but I would love to try and get some results out of the teams that we face. Games for Arbroath began with us facing Clyde (Bird 2, Ledingham o.g. 26, Wright 45+2). Bird opened the scoring early with Wright putting in a low cross for him to finish. Ledingham then put the ball into his own net when Wright put in a low, hard shot and it pinged off him. Wright then got a goal in his on right when Stretton crossed the ball and he headed it home. Clyde got one back late on but it didn't risk our result. Championship strugglers, Livingston, offered me an interview for a job. What will happen next? The next game saw us playing Alloa Athletic (Parker 38, Bird pen 76). We were behind twice in the game and twice we managed to pull it back - the first was corner that Parker headed home and the second was a Bird penalty late on. I was torn as to what to do with the Livingston role - I was inclined towards to not taking the job but they didn't offer it to me anyway! The next game was madcap when we took on Peterhead (Kirk pen 15, 32, pen 45+2, Wright 56, 71). Kirk might have got his hattrick but Wright stole the show here. He smashed home two absolute beauties in order to make sure that we had three points at the end of the game! Later in the week, we paid the price for the win. Fisher pulled up in training and the resulting injury sees him out for the next 2-3 months. It's a blow to the backline that has been the second-best in the league in keeping goals out. Our final game of the month saw us play the team with the best defence - Hamilton. Their defence was good to form. We couldn't break them down or score but they could. They bagged a goal early in the first half and that was enough to seal all three points for them. We remain second in the table. We're six points ahead of Alloa who are third and a mighty 11 points behind Hamilton! I think the league will be their's! We start 2027 by playing Forfar Athletic who are fifth before playing East Fife way down in 9th. After those games, comes the mighty cup tie against Aberdeen! We then resume league action with two games against Montrose (7th) and Queen of the South (6th). It could be a month where we really mark out our credentials. I'm hoping that this strong season, possibly finishing with a promotion will really help me head towards South America!

November 2026 November was certainly a busy month with a few postive highlights that might help me along my way! The first was the board finally agreed to me getting my National A Licence. Keep asking and eventually you get (or win a few games it seems!). This was less good news for a player who is a very useful cover option for me! Several of the jobs that I've applied for have complained that I don't make set pieces a big enough part of my game so I thought I'd get a set piece coach in and see if that helped to change the perception! Finally, we were on to games and played Montrose (Aghatise 32). Aghatise lit up an otherwise dull game with an absolute thunderbolt that nearly took the net off as the old cliche goes! It was then time for Romania U21s to take on Switzerland U21s. We dominated the match and should have come away with a two goal or three goal lead but had just the one - a rocket from midfield courtesy of Constantinescu. Arbroath had Queen of the South (Aghatise 24, Wright 54). The game was no walkover. Twice Queen of the South took the lead and twice we had to level things up - firstly from Aghatise's second thunderbolt in as many games and then from a neat strike by Matty Wright. We knew that we had to beat Switzerland U21s and we would have a ticket to the U21 Euros. It liked that might be hard work when they took the lead within fifteen seconds but we did manage to turn it round. At the death, Cocos flew in for a mad, mad challenge and got himself quite rightly sent off! There was not time to celebrate with Romania U21s as I had to be back on duty for the game against Partick Thistle (Bird 23, pen 40, 67). I was worried when Kirk was taken off injured in the first minute but Bird stepped up and put away a hattrick that takes us into the next round of the cup and a tie against Aberdeen! It became clear that it was a good job Bird had his shooting boots to hand as Kirk appears to be out for the next month or so. On the postive, moneyball-wise, Gary Mackenzie comes in as recruitment analyst to help us make those clever purchases. We then had Partick Thistle again in the league. It was a tough affair where I thought we'd done better but didn't get the goals to show for it! It's as you were in the league. Hamilton remain comfortably first and we're comfortably second. We're a good nine points inside the playoff places which is pleasing to see. Well done Aghatise - your two rockets didn't go unnoticed! December has four games in it and we start with a tie against Clyde who now sit bottom of the table. The next team, Alloa Athletic, sit in 3rd behind us before we take on Peterhead, 5th, and first-place Hamilton. It's an interesting set of fixtures for sure!