CardiffDragon

finally made it to the end of season 1 ( my laptop is struggling so need to get a few promotions so i can get rid of the lower leagues to speed things up)

thought i would throw my hat in the ring as well been looking for something to get my teeth into for a while

Flut skin

HO HO HOpe you have your seatbelts fastened because this season was a wild ride. The major difference was the fact that by winning the Europa Conference last year we qualified directly into the group stages of the Europa Cup which meant that we didnt have to go through the qualifying rounds in the middle of the season so we could play and rest our best players as needed through the course of the season and what a difference that made... We wont mention the cup as we were so tired at the "start" of the season on our third season with no break before preseason that half our players needed to be rested at that stage. We have lost three of our academy starters this year, the first on a minimum clause and the other two because they threw a right strop when i initially stopped them, at least i have a 50% sell on clause for both of them Youth intake I think it shows in the amazing intakes we have had for the last two years that we are seen a reduction in the amount of elites this year but the onces that have come through show a LOT of promise Europe Straight into the group stages and this was some tough games ahead Last thoughts we have maxed out Youth recruitment and junior training and are slowly improving the other facilities but this was a surprise at the end of the season also as timeline highlights go....not a bad season

European Update 2031 season (In 2032) When I left you last time we had one game left in the Conference league but were guarenteed to get through to the playoff round. Also our fellow Finnish side ILVES had also made it through which was great for our Coeffiecients. We drew Fehervar from Hungary...... Depending on previous results, to not spoil any surprises i will complete every round in every update, leaving them blank if we were knocked out before Round of 16 Quarter Finals Semi finals The Final Final Thoughts

just thought i would reiterate our record breaking euro game

Ho Ho Home games have made our stadium a fortress this year (well maybe both stadiums should be more to the point as we have to play in the national stadium for european games at the moment) and we have broken our cup jinx finally.....after penalties. Europe Well we are in the same boat as last year, the season is not finished as we have made it through to the group stages and with one game to go we are guarenteed to make it to the playoffs.i i will put up and update when the ride is finally over Youth Intake The improvements to the youth facilities together with my HOYD being established for a few seasons ( His intakes do seem to be getter better and better, especially in their personalities) mean we really do have some promising young players and far more elites than last year The year ahead Although we are doing well. The league seems to be becoming a three horse race, but with our main competitors doing well in europe as well it mean we are flying up the coefficients, we are 26th this year but it looks like we are moving upto 19th at least next year, almost to the stage where we get two Champions League places The biggest issue we are going to have this year is the number of players from the intakes a few years ago that are going to be exploring options at the end of their contracts, think we are going to lose at least a few so it could be a dip next season.

Jst a quick one....could not resist putting this up. Yes i know it is only the Europa Conference league and i know it is only a Gibraltarian team but even so, it is still europe!!! and the away round was with my "B" Team and thanks to this we now have two Europa Conference League records for the same tie..... .

European update 2030 (in 2031) For those who read the update earlier, you will remember that because Finland plays in the summer and we had done so well in europe, that as well as a massive 24hr break before the next season started, we were still in Europa Conference compitition at the end of the season. I thought i woudl update you as to what happened.... as predicted we lost to schalke 04 but due to other results we ended up being 23rd in the league, just enough (8-24 go through) to get into the knockout stages where we had a resounding win at home and a close loss away but we got through In the next round we would be facing our old nemesis Galatasaray after a very dour home game which ended 0-0 and then we went away and got outplayed, some much needed finances got through this run but we really need a more in-depth squad if we are going to compete year in year out in europe and at home On the bright side our most dedicated fan has decided to take his family on away trips now, i hope they enjoyed Turkey after the result!

The longest season break on record....... i am sure they will all come back feeling refreshed!

forgot to say we immediately used our european money to improve everything ( it was at a low enough level we could afford it\!!!

Ho Ho However you look at it, it has been an interesting season, with Europe once again defining it. The boards expectations going into the season, even though we had got into europe in 2029 was still to avoid relegation. So nice and easy! We lost our best academy graduate as he did not feel our squad was strong enough and i could not even get him into negotiations. But the start of the season was very good indeed ( apart from the cup, knocked out again in the preliminary group stage) and at the start of europe we were flying high in the league, I won manager of the month But then the match congestion really took hold and we basically had to put our B team out for the league if we wanted to well in europe and strength in depth is not the best at the moment. and going into the last game of the season this was seen as he had been caught and past and anyone of five teams could win the league and at the end of the last day... Europe Youth Intake The number of elites this time round has dropped but i think that was more to do with the amazing bunch we had last year increasing the potential ability level as a few of them have broken into the first team already but three potential game changers have hit tthe ground running there will be a lot of compettiton to get into the "B" team this year in the position a And finally.... If you have read my european adventure this year you will be aware that we have the most dedicated fan in the world....well he has found a friend damn i was gutted when they scored in extra time!!! I suspect it will be the last men standing that get on the pitch by the end of this next season but it will be fun

HO HO HOwever you look at this season it was a very mixed bag, we were in Europe for the first time but had lost some of our older better players so it would be an interesting ride. The media still didnt rate our chances though even thought we had qualified for europe. We got off to a good start, finally getting out of the group stages of the cup. We tinkered with the tactics a little, some of the best players coming through were attacking inside forwards so i dropped the lone striker back slightly from an advanced forward role to a deep forard with an attacking role to hopefully create more space for the other forard coming in. This seeed to work as although our top scorer for the last three years did not do as well ( he was out injured for a couple of months as well) the goals were spread around a lot more. Unlike last year when we got off to a flying start, without a couple of our more established players we struggled in the league and seemed rooted in 10th positionjust clear of the relegation playoff. Then europe came into the mix..... The european adventure OK now europe was over and done with we had a big problem in the league, ie. because we had been concentrating on europe we had basically been sending our B team out to play the league matches and it showed we did not win a game while playing in europe and were now going to be stuck in the bottom half of the league when they split. But now we had our tactical knowledge up and running, wow did we move forward, until on the last day we were in eighth with equal points but with a far worse goal difference....and we drew.... but they lost and we were in the playoffs.... Am i glad we practiced penalties but best game of the year by a long way...we walked the semi- final and then in the final... so we made it into europe again, by the skin of our teeth and the long way round. The prize money from europe helped us improve junior coaching and youth recruitment so that is a plus Youth Intake We had a new HOYD last year but it was only this year that his perfectionist personality seems to be making a huge difference, only a few unambitious personalities rather than the 90% we have had previously and i think this was our best intake ever..... yes there is even one three star but remember our star range has changed since we lost a couple of our top players Now i am very excited about this one, have needed a second forward desperately this year and he fitted straight into the side, even scoring in the playoffs. We are losing our previous best academy player at the end of the season becasue he wants to move to a bigger club ( even though none want him) so he will be fitting right in And a new goalie for us much needed as our reserve goalie is shocking And finally....... i thought our fans were brave (stupid) before, but to watch a friendly in those temperatures....... what really want to know is how do they kept the pitch from freezing ( i checked it is grass with no underfloor heating!!) Another good run in europe and HO HO HOpefully we can start to get affilates and facilities further improved

Ho Ho Holy Fun!!! What a season!!!! It seems to have all stemmed from one change, in tactics, i added pass into space and this seemed to kick start them into a different gear. We were ridding high in second place for the first few months of the season before a gradual drop off and then we hit our second wind and climbed back into third, ok there were a lot of 1-0 games but still.........euro playoffs here we come, the issue is that we are not a cup side at all, not even got out of the initial group stages the last two years but somehow we made it into the final and then... Youth Intake Another good intake but we continue to lose our senior players faster than the younger ones are ready to take over and our best academy player who has become a regular in the first team is now looking to move on at the end of this season. Ho Ho How we do this year will be a story for the ages!!!

Congratulations, i hope you drunk the Mumbles Mile dry before you left!!! Very glad that Wales is finally off the list even if it was a Swansea club that did it (only kidding!!!)

Yes i use canva as well, very easy to use

Ho Ho How did the first season in the top tier of Finnish football go you may ask! Well i am still here......we were forecast to finish at the bottom and be relegated but after a very good start to the season we held on to finish in 9th. The big news of the year is that we turned professional and promptly lost almost £500,000, as the minimum wage is £240 for all signed players and this hit us hard financially, altough we have started to sell some shirts so there is a silver lining......a very very small one. Personally i have started on the continental pro license so almost there with qualification, obviously with the finances there is no hope of improving facilities for a long time unless we start earning in europe. Youth intake Not as many elites as the last few years but two that are almost ready to fit into the first team as subs. We are losing a lot of the more mature players to retirement and our youngsters, bar one, are not quite ready to take their places so this is likely to be a transition year and ho ho hopefully we can ho ho hold on.

What a season!! Predicted to finish 7th, we didnt change the tactics or set pieces, two of our better players retired and we only had one academy player ready for first team duties. Yet we just kept winning ( well apart from in the cup but we wont mention that) . Made into the promotion group after the split for the first time and finally ended up in second, which meant we had a promotion playoff to prepare for. I was expecting to put on a valiant display and hopefully go up next season as we have a few more youth players that will make it into the team next year. However we won over the two legs which means promotion into the premier league. It also means we have turned pro.......and with a minimum wage of £240 a week i am bobsleighing into the red this season, with expectations next year not to finish last i think it is going to be a challenge and from reading other posts about being fired when they are relegated i wonder whether this is my last season..... but before i leave this season review i think a special mention should go to the three hardcore fans that made the trip away with us to our cup tie, please note the temperature, rather them than me (surprised it didnt get camcelled with a frozen pitch with no under soil heating!

I have to say it does seem that this year people are going for it with the graphics and spreadsheets, with a lot of them being a step up from previous years, which i love as it does make it far easier to see it all in one place and you can get an idea of what has happened that season without having to scroll down and down.... No pressure on everyone else though to keep up!! Seriously though i am going to have a go for my next season report as i think it will be good method of information consolidation. It is interesting to see the depth some go into the youth intake, which i suppose is the bread and butter of the entire challenge, i especailly like seeing the locations of where the newgens come from. Is there a particular site that people use to generate this or is it just find a map and stick pins to it? and yes it does seem more challenging this year

Season 2025 Review After the nail-biting end to the previous season this one was quite timid by comparision, we finished 8th in the league and were in a much better position at the split and then..... yes i know it is only the relegation side of the league but even so..... my forwards finally got their act together and started scoring at will almost. Boes well for next season, the only thing to concern me is that no academy players are close to breaking into the first team yet and my reserve team is only playing friendlies so the jump from U20 to first team is still very big. as for youth intake it looked good and turned out ok but once again the personalities, especially in most of the more promising players are not brilliant forgot to do a summary last time of where the club is but we are doing OK financially and thought increasing the youth facilities and junior coaching was good for a season and then the day after the end of the season..... bitter pill to swallow with the boards expectations for next season finally changed from "dont finish last" to establish yourself in the league it looks like things are finally on the up ( or have i just tempted fate.

thank you very much, much appreciated!

Season 2024 Review First things first, sorry about the size of the logo, it is the only one i have found so far,. Well that was a HO HO Horrible season. It started so well, finishing top of the group stages of the Finnish cup and finally getting knocked out in the quarters. ( The cup is played and virtually finshed before the season proper gets going) Mid table finish was the boards expectation and being in sixth after six games i thought it was a shoe in and was looking forward to my intake and then....... Now i know the game is not biased and i know these things do happen but over the next few months things went wrong, really wrong and to rub salt into the wound, we lost by one goal most of the time and six of the games we lost by a goal scored after the 85th minute, the laptop almost went through the window when we lost to a penalty given after the additional added time was up, ( i did have to check if the other team was an affiliate of Man Utd!!) and this was the same tactic that we had been cruising on earlier in the season. Mid table was out, i was propping up the table with only three games to go. With 12 teams in the league each playing each other twice then spliting into two sixes who play each other once more. I then received a lovely messge from the board, get eight points in five games or pack your bag. So i did something i never normally do i changed tactics entirely mid season, i had been playing with it for a while but thought what is the worst that can happen..... and by the end of the normal season we had scored five of the needed eight points. and by the end of the five games we had completed the task so with the last game of the season looming it was a must win game by at least two goals as we were playing the top of the group We played well and won, but only by one goal..... guess when they scored ....again, so i was getting the atlas out to decide what country to head to next when a miracle happened and both bottom teams beat their oppostion and we survived but actually the tale of the season could not be explaind clearer than........ Or even better the only notable event on my timeline was...... So i survived and looking forward... It had the potential to be a good intake and hopefully they will grow but with all of the top six being unambitious i dont hold out too much hope from this intake Well Ho Ho Hopefully it will be a better season next year.....it surely cant get worse

Well after a shakey start in Wales with no friendly games for my reserves i decided to start again and having a look at what countries havent been done yet i took on the challenge of Finland. The manager is a young man, Nick Claus who has had a hard life (hence his appearance) and travelled down from the north of the country....lapland to be specific After running an extra year by accident i am starting in the 2024 season and there was only one club that it could be for such a fabled manager Actually the club is not a bad choice at all, apart from bonus of the the home kit being red and white ( i kid you not) the facilities are pretty good as well apart from teh youth facilities Ho Ho Hopefully there will not be any problems this time and we will have a successful time together

Bit gutted but i am not getting any games for my U19 side ( my only reserve side) i have reported it but reluctant to keep on at the moment until this is fixed. So i will have to pick another counrty and start again i think. Is there a list of (available) countries that have not been completed yet at all?