TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


Welcome, and thank you for viewing my post. I've started my usual unemployment save on Football Manager. I choose the lowest managerial style (badges etc.), start unemployed and see what happens. I have no real aim, just see what happens. I'm certainly no god at Football Manager, far from it, I just play for fun and see what I can do.

Side note: My third attempt at doing a career post on here, on my previous attempts I've tried it at the end of my use of Football Manager; basically when I'm getting bored/annoyed with the game so try to get back into it by doing this, that usually fails but this time I'm doing it early while the game is still fresh to me.


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


The Start:
As you can tell with the map above, my first job of the save is in Singapore. More on that later.

I've decided to start in Asia, therefore loading all Asian leagues except Australia (felt it would be a little unrealistic getting an A-League job). I also loaded all the big leagues as view only (e.g. England, Germany, Spain etc.).
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/DUd1Jx88cqJU2Ej0EFFokPtNKu70sOFudqUoAmH1.png

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/cPJYzdFAcXrKGPvGBatxglLrdAr8cs4gkVKNHRMy.png

The Search:
Persika Karawang (Indonesia, tier two) were the first club to get back to my application. I decided to delay a week to see what other offers I get, coming into this I was interested/expecting an Indonesian team.


https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/ZDsV6c34DLxuGE9heJtsYMW0O0nkT9olXdaJILgu.png

Next came Albirex Niigata (S), or Niigata Unicorn (Singapore) as they're known on FM17 (Singapore, tier one), and Persatu Tuban of Indonesia's tier two.

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/3kiEdJQtoLisp8mk8SX8sjDiElMOoaEHD23VUtDq.png

The Albirex Niigata (S) job interested me a lot. Good team, good league and overall a good place to potentially start. I finalised the deal at the first time of asking and became the new boss of the Singaporean team.

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/m8uM1QfwkJe2Fg9tC0Gu3XrXo8bBSZmKvdndThBO.png

Job 1:

So, I am the new manager of Albirex Niigata (S) in Singapore's S. League. A little surprising but I'll certainly take it! The team sit in first place, we sit four points clear with nine games to play. Could this be the chance for a very early first trophy? Well, it's me, so don't go expecting. As I said, we're first in the league but are out of the Singaporean Cup while the Singaporean League Cup is still to be played. My first game is against Warriors.

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/VucKqb4L2y2CXXqfU7VKJ3ILuEXGBMZqQ4L3hL2m.png

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/V1xc9OwcWiPjxYzjpVF1r4bJJTKgCXixciynMHN4.png

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/JiXGputFjJYS1xrwbTdpeJPEJ4SRiVJrf7m6lPOR.png

If you didn't know, Albirex Niigata (S) are related to Japanese J. League club Albirex Niigata so therefore have an all Japanese squad and can only sign Japanese players; similar to Athletic Club's rules regarding Basque players I guess. That makes it interesting and perhaps a little more difficult, but it sounds fun to me.


https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/UfscbbNni77NoPjhJST79itWfVf8arr9koYpwoyp.png

That's as far as I am as of right now, will be cracking on with it as soon as I've sent this. I'm looking forward to it!

Thanks for reading, I appreciate it. I will be regularly tweeting about this save on my Twitter account (@R96Skinner), updates on this post will be every two months (in game) unless something big happens.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016– | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 0.

TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


The First Two Months:
I'm two months into my new job in Singapore, so far it's gone very well. We started with an unconvincing 3–1 home win over Warriors, we started that match horribly and should've been two or three down in truth but thankfully the boys managed to score the first goal and from there we got back into the game and subsequently won; but Warriors deserved a draw from that. Next came a friendly versus Hougang (lower league side) which, as you'd expect, we won comfortably.

The mini summer break came along, no league match for a month but there was the Singaporean League Cup to play for. Not an important trophy, that's what my board said anyway, but it was one I was taking seriously. It's a group stage to semi-finals to final style competition. We began Group B with a solid victory against former Blackburn manager Steve Kean's DPMM. Three days later came a match against slight strugglers Geylang International, as it came so soon after the DPMM match I rested the majority of my squad ahead of the tougher fixture on Matchday 3. We went two goals ahead versus Geylang, despite Yû Takano receiving a red card, however we collapsed in the final thirteen minutes as our opponents raced backed to 2–2. Disappointing.

We faced Tampines Rovers, club of well-known Englishman Jermaine Pennant, in the group's final tie sitting in a qualification spot. We went a goal behind before we found a leveller on minute 74, a goal that saved us as a defeat would've sent us home but thankfully we drew to finish top of the group. So, into the semi-finals we met Group A winners Balestier Khalsa. A goal either side of a Balestier opener sent us through to the 2016 League Cup final, the club's second time in as many years. Our final opponents were Group A runners-up Home United. A dramatic final was to come.

We took an early lead through Susumu Kawashima, who has been superb for me so far with five goals in eight competitive games, before Home Utd struck back via a Sufianto Salleh goal. Into extra time it went. The team who sat fourth in the league then went ahead thanks to Luqman Ismail. At this point I was concerned, we started well but Home Utd got on top towards the end. However, Shinnosuke Matsubara popped up with an equaliser five minutes before the end to send the game to a penalty shoot-out! We, Albirex Niigata (S), kept our nerve and won the shoot-out 5–3 without missing a spot-kick.

Wow! Our first trophy after only a month in charge. A fantastic start.

A 3–1 friendly win over Marist United followed before league action returned. We faced our League Cup SF opponents Balestier Khalsa at home and won thanks to a goal from that man Matsubara, our cup final hero. A week later we played DPMM once more but fell to a bitterly disappointing 2–0 defeat, the first defeat of our career and first with Albirex Niigata (S).

Full rundown of our results, including goalscorers:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/h6g8EOGSOikT0TnHp0oTGnjrOINfuPwxI5mLfC8j.png

League Cup champions!:

So our first trophy is in the bag. As for the league table (see below), we are still in first and are ten points clear with six games to play. Hopefully we can achieve a double, but there's a long way to go; especially for me.
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/vmPLighjYPn14BsaI7QRoUvd8dX9mmVXZBSZ11DN.png

The Table:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/MZ4RR3O2X8H8GODvySKpJ0DtpcTtZl27IdObOp34.png

Special Mention: Susumu Kawashima!

He has fourteen goals in twenty-four games for the club, five in eight since I've joined. Brilliant!
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/LFW9bIx5NjoZcoL5Evm7lywpO3x05YU7Z8xBX5Dd.png

My current tactic:

I've pretty much used this system throughout, although have switched it about here-and-there in some games. It's working well so far, the front three are rather good.
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/irXj32FewRORW9sWWzCHNaznCakeJlcxRkzAPUnY.png

That'll do it for my second update, I'll be back after we've played our final six matches and hopefully I'll return with good news. Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016– | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- Singaporean League Cup.
Dan
12 years ago
4 months ago
16,964
Good luck with this, nice to see another set of new leagues loaded
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Good luck with this, nice to see another set of new leagues loaded

Thanks! Just started reading your story recently. A little late I know, so need to catch up!
ThatFMRegen
7 years ago
7 years ago
16
Hi mate I started with these as well. A really good team to manage. But one word of warning..these are a franchise club from Niigata Unicorn in Japan and u will be banned from entering any of the Asian Continental Comps because technically ur a foreign team playing in Singapore. I won the League second season and didn't get a Champions League spot. If u wiki the Singapore S-League it'll tell u they cannot qualify for it
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Hi mate I started with these as well. A really good team to manage. But one word of warning..these are a franchise club from Niigata Unicorn in Japan and u will be banned from entering any of the Asian Continental Comps because technically ur a foreign team playing in Singapore. I won the League second season and didn't get a Champions League spot. If u wiki the Singapore S-League it'll tell u they cannot qualify for it


Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that! Similar to Wellington Phoenix in the A-League. Thanks for the reminder, hopefully I can get the league & cup to go with the League Cup I won and head off out the club. Enjoying the all Japanese squad though, got some pretty decent players. Hadn't seen your career post until now, will be following along now!
Parker26
9 years ago
29 minutes ago
9,107
Premium
Never managed in Singapore before, good luck @r96Skinner
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Never managed in Singapore before, good luck @r96Skinner


Thank you, I appreciate it!
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


The Final Six League Fixtures:
After a first defeat to DPMM, we headed into the final six league fixtures top of the table and ten points clear. Could we keep our head to win the double and give Albirex Niigata (S) their first-ever in-game S. League title?

The run-in began on a more calmer note with three consecutive friendlies against lower-league sides, we got wins over Damai Rovers, Singapore U16s and Pulau Ubin. S. League action resumed soon after as we hosted Geylang International, a team who had been struggling, but we fell to a 0–1 defeat. Next came a trip to Bishan to face Home United, but we again lost by a single goal. Hoping to get back to winning ways, we were again on the road as we played Hougang United but incredibly we lost 1–0 for the third time in a row. Extremely frustrating, we had bottled a ten point lead! At this point, Warriors overtook us into first place; a place they hadn't been in since Matchday 10.


Two more friendlies took place to keep fitness up, wins over Buona Vista and Singapore Power arrived before we returned to league action. Bottom of the table Garena Young Lions were our next opponents at home, and we flew into a first-half two-goal lead and we were looking comfortable. However, disaster struck in the second half as, the team who had lost their last four matches by conceding at least three goals in each, somehow clawed it back to 2–2; helped by an equalising penalty. As you could imagine, I was stunned. I was conceding defeat in the title race. On the penultimate matchday, we faced Tampines Rovers at home and again missed three points as we yet again lost 0–1. I thought that was it, but unbelievably Warriors also lost to Balestier Khalsa. We had a chance, and guess who we faced on the last day - Warriors, away!

The final day came upon us, we sat in second place and two points off of leaders Warriors. Only a win would do. Shôsuke Ishida gave us an 18th-minute lead, it remained that way until the 81st-minute when Susumu Kawashima scored to make it Warriors 0–2 Albirex Niigata (S)! I couldn't believe it, I was positive we had thrown this away. The impressive Jonathan Béhé got Warriors a late consolation but it wasn't enough.

League champions!! An incredible end, I did not see us winning the title after that horrific drop in form but somehow we are 2016 S. League champions! We should've secured it earlier but I'll take it, the late suspense was all planned!

Fixture rundown:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/LG7Y7luo9Ml2sJ0yZjYHBzaZP1F7JITcpTfpItVQ.png

That Dramatic Final Encounter:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/SRm5nPaxBW2ng2PIrwiZqEARTk6l6fjcz7LPIAbH.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/n1SUtpWRyRd8J8ann2WkHG8zqzpp0eV1ALDO8uuv.png

The Glorious Inbox:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/CxmKnx1AQzUmmcpV2cUsS6qC1PaLw3SUtoFiDLKa.png

As you can see from the inbox above and from my previous posts, the league title is part of a double as we also won the 2016 Singaporean League Cup. What a first (half a) season! We arrived in July 2016 with the side top of the league, we've gone onto win the title (albeit fortunately) and win the League Cup. Lucky to get this as the first job, it's certainly the quickest time I've achieved silverware on Football Manager. Delighted.

Future plans? As I've said, this career is a see what happens type career. I have no plans to achieve certain things, I just like to see what happens and do what I can. Ideally, I'd like to get the Singaporean Cup next season to complete the collection and we'll probably leave Albirex Niigata (S) then. As @ThatFMRegen reminded me, this club cannot qualify for any continental competitions as they're basically a Japanese side so there isn't much point in sticking around, but we'll see.

Appreciate all of you who take the time to read my post, I appreciate it. That's that for update three, the next one will likely be in March 2017 after a couple of the new league season matches have been played.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016– | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 2 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


About 2016:
As 2016 petered out, I asked the board of Albirex Niigata (S) if I could start a coaching course to improve my badges for the first-time (I began the save with no badges), they accepted and I eventually completed to gain my National C Licence. Also, we received the awards and review of 2016 news items.

Coaching Badges:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/Bda89mAuw3XnFo4RzKb9PhLjlOqTc0BwDhx06HkB.png

Season Review and Awards:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/XfciYRbNKsz7mUfnifQAc0nW82n3TPhd2naIVWUx.png
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/YI7zYRQNDYNlNxm9nUapMQWofHVdWpp4JZfDAHYe.png

Season 2017 Begins!:
After joining in July of last year and going onto win the 2016 Singaporean League Cup and 2016 Singaporean league title, we head into 2017 aiming to retain our trophies but also win the one trophy missed last season, the Singaporean FA Cup. Let's get going.

First of all, over the course of the transfer window we made four signings and let one go with another set to follow later in the year. We signed: Hiromitsu Nakaue, a defender. Masahiro Shuji, a goalkeeper. Travis Fujii, a forward. Kazutoshi Takeda, a midfielder. Meanwhile, unfavoured and disgruntled left-back Yû Takano left on loan to Garena Young Lions. Another unhappy player, Wataru Satô, will leave in June to Malaysian Super League team Kedah for a fee of 11.25K. We also received our season expectations.

Transfer Round-up:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/Lv4RV6WmlbGXi97OKZEgp5OaoQRdqx3RWN0MdRyB.png

Season Expectations:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/OCilwXlkl2JhaOkfrYMZNElWMe7ymfDP5cuiN96h.png

As always, the season began with pre-season and we played three fixtures. Firstly, we faced Harimau Muda (who, in real life it seems, have been disbanded yet are still in the game?) and beat them 5–1 in a match that my new assistant manager, Chan Gabriel, took charge of as I was focusing on transfer activity. Secondly, we played Bedok Youth United and won 0–2. Lastly, we met Malaysian side Melaka United and lost 1–0. I took charge of those latter two friendlies.

The 2017 S. League season began on 5 February as we went up against DPMM. Despite dominating, we got off to a slow start as we drew 1–1 with Steve Kean's men. Balestier Khalsa were up next on Matchday 2 and we got our first win of the season as we won 2–1. Matchday 3 saw us play Garena Young Lions and we again won 1–2 after goals from Susumu Kawashima and Koichi Yoshii. In all of our opening three league fixtures, we played fantastically well. As we did in our fourth fixture, against Geylang International, but it took until the 90th-minute for us to find the winner after Shôsuke Ishida converted a late penalty. February ended with an unfair defeat to Home United.

March began with another loss, as we were defeated 0–1 by Warriors. We didn't deserve to win that one, but neither did Warriors. At this point, we were three points behind surprise early leaders Hougang United and we faced them next at Hougang Stadium. We were two goals ahead at the break thanks to Kawashima and Fumihiro Fujiwara, Hougang Utd got one back shortly after half-time but we went onto win 1–4 as Kawashima and Yoshii scored. A quite brilliant result in truth, I wasn't expecting such a performance or scoreline. This result took us top, although numerous sides around us had games in hand.

March ended how February began as we played DPMM to round off the month's league action. Unlike on day one, we ran out 2–0 winners and remained top. We finished March with two friendlies, a win over Si Ling United and another versus Crescent Villa. By the end of our two friendlies, a few sides had played their games in hand which moved us down to third place, a point off first place Hougang United. Overall, a positive start to the 2017 season.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/uDkGiiSqTn8yiLRObwzPi8nAn3Fqm7sw4dsw2vj4.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/YpuqZUyr2vvbKvXHqdDvw2UVWjhxsTohkG5OY7Ls.png

Tactics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/sivaiLl9vgSUEXFhWvMsLfhzpz757jkP6k2ZPN7e.png

So, eight S. League games down and we sit third. Squad statistics can be seen below. Just like last season, Susumu Kawashima has been tremendous with five goals in eight matches. Shôsuke Ishida has also kept up his 2016 form with two goals and four assists so far. Credit to Koichi Yoshii, he has been very good after being OK last campaign.

Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/AVl4WVL7VOTLCYiZT4sslUIUmb7pPG2RaMPz7NfR.png

Update four complete. Thanks for reading, I'll be back in early July, we have six S. League matches to play and two Singaporean FA Cup games to play. I'm looking forward to it.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016– | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 2 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
SR67
12 years ago
2 months ago
1,491
Good luck with this hoping to see lots of red dots on the map
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Good luck with this hoping to see lots of red dots on the map


Thank you! As do I.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


At The Midway Point:
After a fairly good opening to the season with Albirex Niigata (S), we made our way into the midway point of the season as the big games kept coming and the Singaporean FA Cup, the only cup that we have yet to win with the club, quarter-final double-header was coming.

A draw against Tampines Rovers started April off, Takaya Hattori put us ahead before Jordan Webb got the visitors level. Both teams had a man sent off. Next came a convincing 1–4 away victory against Balestier Khalsa, Tomiyama being the main man in that one. A friendly double versus Frenz United came next and we won both, 1–6 and 1–2 respectively. S. League action returned with a 1–1 tie versus Garena Young Lions, new signing Travis Fujii looked to have won it for us but Young Lions found a leveller in injury time. A trip to Geylang International was up next and we came home with all three points after goals from Fumihiro Fujiwara, Shinnosuke Matsubara and Susumu Kawashima gave us a 0–3 victory.

Next came two big matches against top end sides, Home United and Hougang United. On 29 April we managed to beat Home Utd 3–1 at home, a rather good three points against a team I don't enjoy facing. Hougang Utd came to town next and we absolutely walloped them, the standout side at the time, 6–0! We were four ahead at the break after a scintillating first half, two goals in the second half followed as we secured a memorable result against the side who the media were gushing over pre-match. Probably the best performance of my tenure so far.

Then came a pretty unnecessary two-month summer break, we filled the time with seven friendly matches which included a tour to Malaysia and Southeast Asia (well, to Singapore actually, does that count as a proper tour?). We scored 29 goals and won all seven fixtures. After so long off, we returned to competitive football with a crunch double-header with DPMM in the Singaporean FA Cup quarter-finals. We played the first leg on 27 June in Brunei and got torn apart against the home side and lost 3–0, it could've been a lot worse in truth. This got me very demotivated for the second leg, I wasn't expecting a miracle but did hold slight encouragement from the huge win over Hougang Utd in May.

We entered leg two very attacking and chased DPMM straight away, we took the lead through that man Kawashima on 18 minutes; a good start. We then received a penalty on 42 minutes, but Kawashima bottled it and missed a huge opportunity to put pressure on DPMM before the break. We began the second half slow and DPMM made us pay by scoring their fourth goal of the tie and pretty much ending the contest. We did actually score two in quick succession on 50 and 51 minutes but, despite going all out attack (including going 1-2-1-3-3 for the final 30 minutes), we hardly had any highlights (same for DPMM, on extended highlights). These things happen though, no Singaporean FA Cup for us this season.

All Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/vypPtM8fvB309gmsRMAueiRwBJqdreglIHCOiSVM.png

What A Win! vs. Hougang United:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/s7SQT29zkLWy90nvPb5jve0osVzyWCu6TW2OdHVg.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/Umq7E0nEZagAcfBIL2Hn2URsVfBU0fiUS53TY58C.png

An amazing month of league form, as you can see above we sit top of the table with ten games to go and are two points clear of Warriors. Really happy with that, but it's a big shame we fell out of the Singaporean FA Cup at the first hurdle as I really wanted to win that trophy. Disappointed for sure, especially given how poor DPMM have been in the league.

The squad overview can be seen below, pretty much the same performances as before however Hattori and Matsubara have really performed of late. Tactics (see below also) are still generally the same, with differences in a few games (e.g. vs. DPMM).

Squad Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/mKNw1Hg62vqXELiMYkGQ6UkCeFSODpvCIsajo1YD.png

Tactics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/rcVd8SBfMlIlYP4RUNtTChQX16KEPugzBr6BlEPf.png

In other news, Wataru Satô has finally left to club to join Kedah and youngster Yoshio Morioka has departed on loan to Sfida Hadano. We've also started our second coaching course as we hope to gain our National B Licence.

Updated Transfers:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/8DeJ30sktT2sAj3zw3P9VAKe1r2bU5wdvDLhJnub.png

Coaching Course 2:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/bXPpDR3mHJiyGVzJxcGd5MT18bp8O720YIqdBMlr.png

Coming up: The final 10 S. League matches! The League Cup starts! My Albirex Niigata (S) contract is due to end! Next update will be in September 2017.

Thanks for reading, much appreciated. Hope you all have a nice day.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016– | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 2 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


July to August 2017:
After Singaporean FA Cup disappointment, we had to forget about it and focus on the upcoming Singaporean League Cup and the returning S. League. Let's see how Albirex Niigata (S) got on between July and August 2017.

On 7 July, we faced our rivals Warriors away. A first half goal from Frenchman Jonathan Béhé (who I absolutely hate facing, he's a class striker) condemned us to defeat in our last league match before the League Cup began. In between, we won a friendly over Indonesian club PS Batam. Ahead of the League Cup, we were drawn into Group A along with DPMM, Warriors and Home United. A tough group. We began our campaign with a dominant display in Brunei against DPMM, winning 2–4. We played Warriors on Matchday 2 and won again as we beat Béhé's side 3–1 at home. We finished the group with a 2–0 win versus Home United as we sealed progression to the semi-finals and won Group A with a 100% record.

Just like in 2016, when we won the competition, we were drawn with the Group B winners. That team was Tampines Rovers, we would host them. Goals from Susumu Kawashima and Takaaki Tomiyama sent us through to the 2017 final, which was the club's third League Cup final in a row and, of course, my second LC final in a row. Hougang United vs. Warriors was the other semi-final, Warriors won it 1–3. That set up a final at Jalan Besar Stadium between us and Warriors, our league challengers. The final was a tense and tight affair, with both sides playing well and deserving to score goals but it remained goalless until the 76th minute when, the hero of my tenure so far, Kawashima popped up and scored a goal that turned out to be the winner. Love that guy, a real class act.

So, Albirex Niigata (S) are 2017 Singaporean League Cup winners! Second year running I have won the competition, an achievement I'm very pleased about. The third trophy of our career to date, to go with 2016's League Cup and S. League. Great stuff! We had a celebratory friendly a week later as we played another Indonesian club, PSIB, and won 0–3. Two league fixtures were to come, versus Tampines Rovers and DPMM. We drew 1–1 with Tampines, a pretty poor performance but we salvaged a tie. Against managerless DPMM (Steve Kean left) we were stunned as despite being 1–2 up on 74 minutes we threw it away in the final fifteen as we conceded three times to lose 4–2. Atrocious display.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/VfL6nFQAkwR4RnqB6yoV89zceI6TepXPm7Z5m31V.png

League Cup champions, again!
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/OjN4oa2CZkyjMFLrRt0hGFUhSHAOcBS5RBzKe0BF.png

After 17 fixtures, we sit three points behind leaders Warriors. Our league form has been bumpy, despite good League Cup form. Seven fixtures are left, all big games but the penultimate fixture at home to Warriors looks crucial. However, for it to be we must improve our form. As for the competitions overview (see below), there's the league table which also shows our League Cup high and our Singaporean FA Cup low.

Competitions Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/tWVJuWWe35CXmaiUqjr62cg7lSCN5fokOlnWjpx3.png

Tactics and Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/n7MSD3PSINtL9pkf9DCJBxDYiaTidd9yxvGvRHZH.png

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/dtUTfugEZ9TmpzMs4hIVrJtzj1vThuESG7s8hdCc.png

On a final note, we have completed our latest coaching course so have therefore gained our National B Licence. Progress! I will, hopefully, be starting the next one soon.
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/CbCDYWv09z1jYtduU0qjZhuXazrNcPQMAFqXtkBz.png

The next update will be at the end of the league season, in seven matches time. Can we claw back and win our second consecutive title with Albirex Niigata (S)? Let's hope so. Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016– | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/c2mZC2arb5pVLYE3VbeOtxZFWwR6AyGnEnJJ1lTZ.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


The Title Race:
After a mixed July to August run of form in the S. League, we headed into the final seven encounters with a real chance to claim our second title in Singapore with Albirex Niigata (S). We faced a title race with Warriors, with Hougang United not out of it yet either. With the Singaporean League Cup in the cabinet, could we go on a run to claim the title?

First we had two friendly matches, Prisons SRC and Dare 2 Dream (D2D), we won 3–0 and 6–0. Balestier Khalsa were our first league opponents of September and we easily dispatched of them to win 4–1, with four different goalscorers. Garena Young Lions came next and we again won convincing as we beat them 0–3. On 29 September 2017, Geylang International visited the Jurong East Stadium and humiliated us by winning by three goals to zero. Terrible result. October began with a friendly won over Persih of Indonesia.

Heading into the final four results, we were losing points on leaders Warriors. Home United were next and we left it late to win 1–2 thanks to a late Koichi Yoshii goal, dropped points would've won Warriors the title iirc. We visited Hougang United on the third to last matchday and crucially won after an early goal. Matchday 23 saw a titanic clash between Albirex Niigata (S), us, and Warriors, them. Second hosting first, our final chance to stay in the title race; we had to win. And boy did we do that, we demolished the in-form table toppers 5–1 at home! Shinnosuke Matsubara, Susumu Kawashima, Emmeric Ong (o.g.) and Fumihiro Fujiwara (x2) got the goals. An astonishing victory, I was filled with delight and knew it would affect Warriors' mentality on the final day. One game to go, we were a point off of them.

On the final day, we played Tampines Rovers at home while Warriors took a difficult trip to Geylang International. We started horrifically as we were two goals down at the interval, as were leaders Warriors which made it all the more frustrating. Tremendously, we managed to haul it back to 2–2 within twelve minutes of the restart. At this point, we were winning the title on goal difference! However, three minutes after levelling we conceded a cheap goal to make it 2–3. Back at square one. We kept fighting and had numerous chances but couldn't find a way through, Tampines got another goal late on to secure the win. Warriors lost 2–1 in the end but they won the title after we bottled it. Severely dejecting, we should've won the trophy!

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/rrDcU3jTA7Ye9YkfQMM9kLk9yMizYOw9ZAckTGhn.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/94a2d97sYzSuKWJN2VHlYnXTQyleBcJrUKltO3vB.png

The Amazing Yet Pointless Win Over Warriors:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/4WlKEX3zMWaOVCne85Frm8TCF20qEuhCHRsAJtr1.png

What Next?
After the rollercoaster ride of the final day, I decided to resign as Albirex Niigata (S) boss. It wasn't a knee-jerk decision, I had been thinking about leaving at the end of my current contract for a few months despite the board wanting me to stay. I wanted to end with the title but it wasn't to be. I loved my tenure as Albirex Niigata (S) manager, we won the league once (should've been twice! ) and two League Cups. I'm very happy with what I achieved.

In September 2017, we did start our coaching course aiming for our National A Licence. My initial plans for leaving Albirex Niigata (S) was to stay in Singapore, but to manage Warriors. Their manager's contract was ending soon, and he was favourite for many other jobs; including mine. However, shortly after I left Warriors offered their boss a new contract so that was a no go. The job search will begin imminently!

Resignation and New Contract Attempts:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/u17P8sWnou9LRh7CBrUp02p6RUBlrDF7ER5W1qdM.png

http://i.imgur.com/aPc7E4V.png

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/fKWpD8DwnYZZmNdscVS3mn0otR3PbLsxSTTPmCOr.png

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/jJ9t8AzZL6BysLXHFch9zM9WucnpR6UbiqIZk5je.png

Coaching Course:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/8HmnVSzwyHc8lbyHk1OPM0DfwKbWhuGwk4DBkhKf.png

So, we are not longer manager of Albirex Niigata (S)! I'm on the look out for a new job as we speak, no leagues will be added or removed so the new job will be in Asia (except Australia) somewhere. Excited to see where I end up. As always, thank you for taking the time out to read my ramblings.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/POFtkvJtwBArfeeqM0a6JHc7yB61zuYcY6n7RTqs.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


Looking For A Job:
After departing Albirex Niigata (S) at the end of 2017 after winning three trophies and spending one and a half seasons with the Japanese-owned club, we searched for our second job of our career. With only Asia (bar Australia) loaded, we were looking to remain on the continent.

As I said in my previous post, my initial feelings were that I wanted to remain in Singapore and manage Warriors as they can get into the AFC Champions League whereas Albirex Niigata (S) can't. However, the move didn't materialise. Pretty much all the other S. League jobs were available at one point or another, but only Warriors appealed to me. So we carried on to look for a new job, Malaysia (mainly Premier League, tier two) had vacancies as did Indonesia but none got me excited at first. We applied for a few jobs, Malaysian Premier League club Sabah were the first to contact me and eventually offered me the job but I wasn't feeling it so delayed for a few weeks before they rejected my further delays and issued me with a final chance, I rejected their offer.

Sabah Job:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/NUqrBOXLUSzyIupI4LvSK6xBpobQag88olIvBcX2.png

More time came and went as did job applications but no job really excited me, and the ones that did weren't interested in me. On one trip to the job centre, two jobs appealed to me. Bucheon (top-flight South Korean club, but favourites for relegation) and Persib (top-flight Indonesian club, one of the best clubs in the country). I was considering which one to take as they were both interested, the relegation favourites but would give me good big league experience or one of the big boys in a smaller league and hopefully continue like what we did with Albirex Niigata (S).

In the end, I chose Indonesian top division side Persib! I'm excited for my new challenge.

Persib Confirmation:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/UOxGJwM56bPImYhNfC7kngVCCru29skIW8Ij23NB.png

The recent season has finished, Persib finished second in the league and eighteen points off of leaders Persipura. It seems the board will want us to win the league, so catching Persipura will be the aim. Not looked in depth at the squad yet but it can be seen below.

League Overview (Last Season):
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/0nMiBu3bssD34YCryssweFFCCJPe4gkGeJVX9eIo.png

Squad:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/hRHiLCS6fGuTqSTB9vhaj6UviaZt07vzpEnTthDe.png

I'm looking forward to getting going, first time I've managed in Indonesia I believe. Thanks for reading, the next update will be at the end of June 2018 when around two months of the season have been played.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xtxEfeoQYUYLecYWdteIypgDhftPpuhOXjYbFA6W.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


The First Months With Persib:
As 2018 began we started our new job with Indonesian Super League side Persib. This first update will tell all the important aspects of my first few months with the Java-based club. Pre-season, transfers and the opening nine league fixtures were the main talking points.

Expectations:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/YfGjF7rH2GIobRZrYFXpcRLs4xjstD1ZcBlW1NbS.png

Let's start with the transfer window, we were a bit busy as we signed four new players; although one was pre-arranged by the previous manager. That player was Indonesian defender Saiful Ramadhan, who is actually a pretty good player. It was lucky too as I initially wanted to play Montenegrin Vladimir Vujovic as my second-choice defender but he retired soon after I joined, so I must thank the previous boss for signing me a ready made replacement. My first signing was a player I know all about: Shôsuke Ishida! A man I signed from my previous club, Albirex Niigata (S). Left-sided player, I know exactly what he brings to the table and managed to get him on a free as he left Albirex Niigata (S) at the end of his contract.

Korean In Joon-Yeon was my second signing, he was signed from K League Challenge side Goyang Zaicro for an initial fee of 8K. He was transfer-listed and we managed to get him for a cheap price; considering his value was higher. He plays in the same position as Ishida which isn't ideal but we did need depth in the position. In Joon-Yeon has been playing more than Ishida. My final signing was Brazilian forward Patrick, he comes on a free from Malaysian club PBDKT. We already have a few pretty good forwards at the club, but you can't go wrong with squad depth; and the fact all my league rivals were after him so I thought I'd take him so no-one else could!

As for outs. Vladimir Vujovic retired (as previously mentioned), M. Natsir Mahbuby (fourth choice GK) was sold to Perserang, Tony Sucipto (initially first choice LB) was released while Yusuf Harjanto (striker) and Robby Saputra (left-back) departed on loan.

Transfers:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/Qvmgu1xBefHYKnbChImDl2vVJCejNrD3V0VUM9Dj.png

As every new seasons does, this started with long pre-season preparations. We began and finished pre-season with a friendly with Selangor MPSJ, won the first 0–3 and the second 0–4. In between we had five other fixtures and came away with three victories and two defeats. I was overall happy with our pre-season, it wasn't the best for sure but we were improving with each game and I could see the players starting to learn my tactics. Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan (right winger) really stood out to me, he was a constant threat as were a few others.

We started the season at home to Pusamania Borneo and got off to the ideal start as we won 2–0 thanks to goals from Atep and the club's top goalscorer from last season Zulham Zamrun. We followed that up with a 2–2 draw away to Bhayangkara, we twice came from a goal down in that one. We hosted PSM Makassar on Matchday 3 and came away with a 2–1 win after two goals in six second half minutes. An away trip to Mitra Kukar was on the agenda next and we returned home with three points after an Atep strike on 59 minutes. June's opening fixture saw us play Persepam and win 2–1, Zulham got another goal while In Joon-Yeon scored his first competitive goal for the club.

In Joon-Yeon was on the scoresheet in the next match, versus reigning champions Persipura, as he won us the points with a fine goal four minutes after the interval. We followed that up with two consecutive 2–0 victories, firstly vs. Persiba Bantul (A) and secondly vs. Persegres Gresik United (H). That maintained our unbeaten start to the season and extended a run of six straight wins, a new club record. Throughout this period we were playing superb football but not scoring a great amount, but credit to the team as we grounded out the wins. After a 5–2 friendly win over Persikabumi, we suffered our first league defeat of the campaign as we conceded two second half goals to third from bottom Persik. Not good enough.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/LfGWgt1h82x1CwusLKXl0jkELMHvNBquNIHVH2QL.png

After all those results, we sit top of the Super League table (see below) with seven wins, one draw and one defeat. We're three points clear of second place Bali United. I'm super pleased with our start to the season, but we have a very long way to go. As I previously stated, our performances have been top drawer (bar the Persik game) but goals have been the issue, yet the team have still found enough of them to win which is always pleasing.

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/cRmkfhI15tTLzkAN2RC7vvdwZSS3U5tXzBjsptAD.png

The squad have been doing well, all doing their job so far (see below). Tactic wise (see below), I've been indifferently using different 4-3-3 systems. The one you see I mainly use at home, the other one with less instructions I mainly use away. It seems to working well at the moment.

Squad Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/i2OAwlK6hULVuOvL3IUIWcBgOgvl0gp9Rn0UZ5w2.png

Tactics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/kBOotXnmJkak3Knd8zvb4SJ4phZZstgdoSOjHOjx.png

One last bit of business, I completed my latest coaching course and have gained my National A Licence. I plan to do my next course soon, if Persib allow me to of course.

Coaching Course:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/o9IIKsNfbPhhd7SDR9QftdiMcPqkBURamlYfF6dz.png

Thank you all for reading. The next update will be at the end of August/beginning of September 2018, we have a load more league fixtures on the way while the Indonesian Cup gets underway very soon.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
Dan
12 years ago
4 months ago
16,964
Great to see the map beginning to change now @r96Skinner
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Great to see the map beginning to change now @r96Skinner

Indeed! Thanks for your comment.
tongey
14 years ago
1 month ago
1,101
I've just caught up with this career, absolutely loving it! Asia is a great place to manage, can find some awesome players and clubs!
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
I've just caught up with this career, absolutely loving it! Asia is a great place to manage, can find some awesome players and clubs!

Thanks for taking the time to read through! It certainly is, I'm enjoying it!
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xtxEfeoQYUYLecYWdteIypgDhftPpuhOXjYbFA6W.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


Approaching Halfway:
After an excellent first couple of months with Persib, we headed into July 2018 and nearing the halfway point of the Super League season. A further fourteen fixtures in all competitions are coming up in this update.

Our first match of the month was the first leg against lower-league Bintang Jaya as we got our Indonesian Cup run going in the First Round, the first of two ties ended in a 2–0 victory for Persib. After that we faced then-fourth place side Sriwijaya, the game ended in stalemate as both sides were happy with a point. The second leg of our Indonesian Cup tie came next and we advanced after winning 1–2 on the day and 1–4 on aggregate. The following weekend saw us play our rivals Madura United away from home, we gave our fans the greatest of gifts as he defeated the hosts 1–4. The scoreline flattered us but still deserved to win. Our second loss of the season came next as we were convincingly beaten by Bali United 1–3 despite Atep giving us the lead.

We hit back strong in our next fixture as we eased by Persela 3–0, Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan notched a brace. The Indonesian Cup resumed with a second round tie against Kwarta, we suffered a shock first leg loss as we were solidly defeated 2–0 by the lower-league team. Thankfully, a week later, we put things right with a 3–0 home win to progress to the third round. In between those two ties, we faced a huge fixture against then-third place Barito Putera. We smashed the away side 4–0 at Jalak Harupat Soreang Stadium with Zulham Zamrun grabbing an impressive hat-trick. In Joon-Yeon also got a goal.

August 2018 continued as we met mid-table Arema, we came away unhappy though as we lost 2–0. Things didn't get much better a game later as we scraped to a 1–1 draw against Persiram Raja Ampat. On 26 August, we came up against our Persib debut opponents, Pusamania Borneo, and beat them again after goals from Zulham and Kurniawan. We drew yet another lower-league outfit in Persewangi in round three of the cup. We hosted the first leg and dominated to win 3–0. That should be the tie done and dusted, but you never know in football. Note: In the Indonesian Cup, I've used a shadow eleven with no players from the league eleven playing and so far, the reserves have not let me down majorly but tougher tests will likely come.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/VjSehRVbD2OunnPGg6b2w9qeJOrAQ26PjGDs8puo.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/JFlwUVWH3PatAN0Whdx832YddiSstVzqpsijIX19.png

As you can see above, we are still top of the table and still three points clear of our nearest challengers, not Bali United but reigning champions Persipura who have raced up the table from 8th (in the last update) to 2nd (now). Behind them it's rather tight, so any dip in form from us could drag us into that fight for second. We are officially at the halfway point with 17 down and 17 to go.

The squad is doing well still, impressed by a load of them. Zulham is obviously the stand out man with 12 goals in 17 appearances, while Shôsuke Ishida, Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan and In Joon-Yeon have also been very good.

Squad Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/07UXclBeNjjBUbcMlJeSIQOlAfwWCHWkrJekPLiS.png

Tactics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/nFCDETrwJmIHQ3jCKtg8HDYK1CF5qkzOhLozbfX5.png

In other news, we were named Manager of the Month for June on 1 July 2018, the first personal accolade of my career. Also, on the same day, we appointed a new assistant manager in Wan Mustaffa Wan Ismail from Selangor PKNS of Malaysia (a team I managed on Football Manager 2016, see: r96skinner: Whatever happens, happens.). Lastly, we will not be on our next coaching course anytime soon as the Persib board rejected my request, stating they need me on the training pitch more. Fair enough, I guess, will try again soon.

Manager of the Month:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/sSJecoYskjoffesgSaADSfwifYpgmxyLwbjJ067Y.png

New Assistant Manager:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/csGb6zfMFLnwV8xYl2BAa7yGyOmTLkb5MEaPZeby.png

No New Coaching Course:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/jp1uZqzSCI4OBAI1pX10NUfaTAq29RHxogRWahez.png

A busy few months! My next update will be on November 1st, nine league games from now. Let's hope we can continue the form and get closer to a first Indonesian Super League title. That's a long way off though, we must keep focused. Again, thank you for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 1 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xtxEfeoQYUYLecYWdteIypgDhftPpuhOXjYbFA6W.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde:
With half of the league fixtures done, we began our run of the final 17 matches with Persib sitting top of the Indonesian Super League. Could we keep it going?

Persib's first match of the month came on 2 September as we faced newly promoted Celebest, the game disappointingly ended scoreless. The second leg of our Indonesian Cup Round 3 tie came up next and we eased through 5–0 on aggregate after winning 0–2. Bhayangkara visited us next in the Super League and left with all the points after winning 2–3. We obtained our first three points of the month in a 2–0 away victory over PSM Makassar on 16 September. Then came the first of three meetings in four matches with Mitra Kukar, firstly in the league with the other two coming in the Indonesian Cup fourth round. The league game ended in a thrilling 3–3 draw, a game that went from 1–0 to 1–1 to 2–1 to 2–2 to 3–2 to 3–3 as we threw away the lead three times.

Again hosting Mitra Kukar, the cup fixture was next and this time we lost 0–1 meaning we had work to do in leg two. A match-up with last season's league champions Persipura was sandwiched between the Indonesian Cup ties, it ended badly as we were thumped 1–3 but one good thing was that youngster Erwin Kurnia (16yo) scored on his debut. Second leg of the fourth round cup tie was played after and we drew 2–2 but went out on aggregate, a decent second leg display but the first leg let us down tremendously. By the end of this horrid form, we were knocked off of top spot in the league for the first time in a long while. It was falling apart, so a change of tactic was urgently needed (see below for full detail of new tactic).

We switched from the highly successful 4-3-3 to an untested, unfavoured (by me) 3-4-3. This allowed us to use three strikers (as the 4-3-3 was one striker, two wide men) for the first-time of Sergio van Dijk, Zulham Zamrun and off-season signing Patrick; who has had very limited game time and started moaning and wanting to leave in the middle of that bad form, I said I'd play him in the future fixtures. And, as you're about to find out, he walked the walk after talking the talk; his first start iirc was in that 3–3 vs. Mitra Kukar where we scored twice.

Persepam (A) were next in the league and we regained first place with an infuriating 2–3 away win. We took a two-goal lead via two penalties, getting two penalties is shocking enough nevermind scoring them both! Our joy was short lived as, with two goals either side of the interval, Persepam found their way back to 2–2. Thankfully, that man Patrick popped up with a winner on 65 minutes. We returned home to host Persiba Bantul and subsequently won by two clear goals, with that man Patrick scoring after 45 seconds and the usually reliable Zulham scoring. Some positive form, at last! We rounded off October 2018 with two further solid victories against mid-table Persegres Gresik United and high-flying surprise package Sriwijaya. An excellent end to an update that started dreadfully.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/Og3ungXUwlvq0aYlizdVK2nw7x0q8hnp9bXWNAge.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/vN1cauMJSkiwPe33qsQu50DGoV3uXm0F1ARFDAfs.png

The New Tactic:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/txTzeH8qLpEMSoLZLiSxzXeRyS0Ewd0H1RvKzqh0.png

Squad Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/qnG2ySAfkWPWkOX1H1UJltuslISEsWI5vUVhKhot.png

That will just about do it for this update. After it looking bleak at the start, shame about the cup exit but it has ended nicely and we're four points clear in the league with eight matches to go; which is when the next update will be, at the end of the season. It's tight in the Super League! Appreciate those who are reading, thank you.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 1 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xtxEfeoQYUYLecYWdteIypgDhftPpuhOXjYbFA6W.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


Season Draws To A Close:
We regained form at the right time in the previous update to go back to the summit of the Indonesian Super League with Persib, in this update the league season will draw to a close as we face the final eight fixtures as we aim to win the title for the first-time.

It all kicked off with a match against Persik, we exited the game with the three points after goals from Patrick and Atep for a 1–2 win. A 1–3 friendly win over Persikota followed before a league derby loss to Madura United. Another win in an exhibition fixture came (vs. Persis Solo) before we suffered a second Super League defeat in a row with a 2–4 home loss to Bali United. It went from bad to worse on Matchday 30 with yet another loss, this time away to Persela. On 12 December 2018, we won domestically for the first-time since 3 November after beating fourth place Barito Putera 1–2.

Going into the final three fixtures, we were second. On the next matchday we came away with zero points again as we lost to Arema, that put us five points behind leaders Persipura with two matches remaining. We headed into the penultimate game as we met bottom of the table Celebest, needing to win to keep the title race alive. However, we predictably surprisingly drew 2–2 with the strugglers to give Persipura their third title in three years. We ended the season with a 0–2 win away to high-flying Persiram.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/8mqDyhF4NqvehiLVytCF1PbnYMEtq5o8SGrC6TPq.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/6bKOqX021DWbiMCT32JYbtnpv79hkfWQraJv2lY4.png

Well, that was bitterly disappointing. Everything that could've gone wrong, did go wrong. Defeats, big injuries, international call-ups, abruptly ending tactics. It's a shame, easily the better team throughout the campaign but it is what it is. As I said, the 3-4-3 tactic was working fine until not one, not two, not three, but four strikers got injured in the space of a few weeks (two first-teamers, and even two youngsters I called up to the seniors who got injured a few days later. Weird. ) meaning we needed to change the formation that just happened to be working. We ended up finishing with the 4-2-3-1 that we started the season with, that didn't quite work the same way.

End Tactic:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/RC3h3saso0y9kzkKTUu8N8pfqY2OCTFdXARFxybV.png

Squad stats can be seen below. All of what I just said aside, our wingers turned to utter rubbish. Shôsuke Ishida, Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan and In Joon-Yeon all of sudden couldn't play football. Patrick's (only fit striker for the majority) goals slowed while Zulham Zamrun got injured (along with Sergio van Dijk, Asep Syamsudin and another young striker) on international duty. Throughout the last two updates number one goalkeeper, Shahar Ginanjar, was injured (until the last day) so Made Wirawan had to fill in but, in fairness, he done OK. Erwin Kurnia (16 yo youngster) got another goal, he's impressed me; well, as much as he could considering.

Squad Stats:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/R92l153qIoNwJLieQDqnRVFBdZE86umyNL3WL9wo.png

End of season awards were announced. All fairly given. On another note, my Persib contract runs out in the middle (yes, middle) of next season, hopefully I can get an extension. Odd how some league do contracts like this, a load of the first-team squad are on the same boat. Finally, after me having to severely convince them, the board have agreed to let me go on my next coaching course for my Continental C Licence.

Awards:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/1QwUpIx2DHhji10FXoyOceSlRtBp5nTyAZQWkkER.png

My Contract:
http://i.imgur.com/aoFy4pU.png

Coaching Course:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/f43NbGqXc8qSfsMfBCFHdoz7yBDOEojVOH2lztmh.png
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/C25w5yCdZScqskVYdC9TKje2BR3LbIR786eSg0rv.png
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/AH1lm2wZGFOfMyWivCv8mKtk6KSeM2NkfSO27sSw.png

Thanks for reading the latest update of my Journeyman's Journey career. This season proved to be very frustrating, but we will have to go again next season and try to go one step better and win the Indonesian Super League. The next update will be after two months of league football have been played (unless the board don't renew my contract, then it may be sooner).

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 1 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
SR67
12 years ago
2 months ago
1,491
Unlucky in the league, cup run looks to have cost you the title.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Unlucky in the league, cup run looks to have cost you the title.


Indeed the cup did get in the way a little, despite playing complete reserves for the majority but had to use my first-teamers for the second leg vs. Mitra Kukar to try and salvage the tie. Bit of a mixture between league and cup imo. Thanks for commenting!
Elliott Kinsella-calverley
9 years ago
4 months ago
80
Great too see something different! Interesting read, congratulations with your career at Albirex Niigata was very successful, I'd struggle to manage teams were there are so many rules in place with transfers! All best at Persib and I hope the Warriors job comes available for you!
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Great too see something different! Interesting read, congratulations with your career at Albirex Niigata was very successful, I'd struggle to manage teams were there are so many rules in place with transfers! All best at Persib and I hope the Warriors job comes available for you!


Thanks for your comment! Appreciate it. It's difficult for sure, but it's fun.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xtxEfeoQYUYLecYWdteIypgDhftPpuhOXjYbFA6W.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


An Odd Few Months:
Hello, and welcome to update thirteen on my Journeyman's Journey save. We are currently in Indonesia with Persib, which follows a successful spell in Singapore with Albirex Niigata (S). In this update, we begin our second season with the Indonesian Super League club.

First of all, I mentioned in my last update that my contract with Persib was due to end in the middle of this season. Thankfully, the board offered me a new deal which I subsequently accepted. I'm here for another year!

New Contract:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/TgJR0p8uIY7dv8trieMcMmTOj85bbt6fudd0pjji.png

As for the transfer window: We signed Johan Juansyah (MF), Anindito Wahyu Erminarno (MF) and Ichsan Kurniawan (MF). Juansyah arrived in a swap deal for M. Rizal Lestaluhu, who wasn't needed by me but was conveniently wanted by Juanyah's former club PSM Makassar. Erminarno was signed for squad depth while Kurniawan, the main signing, was purchased for 65K from Sriwijaya. I am happy with my incoming business. Outs wise, a load left on loan while Hendra Wijaya left to join Persiraja for 5.5K and third choice goalkeeper M. Ridwan was released.

Transfers:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/NS0OSS3Hs5l3sWlxtY1sgnqqYdgh61uusdZYIBCC.png

Pre-season began in March 2019 and ended in April, we played nine fixtures and won eight of them. The defeat to Persikabo aside, we were absolute superb throughout and scored goals galore; 43 goals overall. I was very pleased with how our preparations had went. I of course hoped we could carry it on in the league.

The league began on 4 May with a match-up with Arema at their Kanjuruhan stadium, we came away as winners after a sublime Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan first half hat-trick. Then came a very convincing 4–2 home win over newly promoted PSMS, a match that Patrick came away from with a brace. We followed back-to-back wins with back-to-back away defeats as we first lost to Persiram and secondly to Persik. We stopped the rot in our next fixture as we beat last season's surprise package, Sriwijaya, 1–0 thanks to a Patrick strike.

However, we returned to losing ways as we were demolished 0–2 (should've been by more) by this season's surprise flyaway leaders Bhayangkara, they were absolutely sensational while we were abysmal. Thankfully it was just one defeat on the bounce as we then went three unbeaten. We visited Bali United next and beat them by two goals to one, we were poor in this one but new signing I. Kurniawan stole us the three points by scoring once and (basically) assisting the own-goal. He was instrumental in the next game to as we smashed promoted Perseru 4–1 at home, Sergio van Dijk scored two penalties before I. Kurniawan topped it off after a Yusuf Harjanto goal. The final match of June was a decent 2–2 draw versus reigning champions (of the last three years) Persipura, we actually deserved the win but we had Hariono sent off at 2–1 so 2–2 was inevitable.

Interestingly, before the Bali United match I actually drastically changed the team about. Formation was changed numerous times before this point, so I decided to change it once more but to return to the familiar 4-2-3-1. Another big thing changed was the line-up itself, regular and previously crucial first-teamers Shahar Ginanjar (GK), Atep (MF), In Joon-Yeon (MF), M. Taufiq (MF), Patrick (FW) and Zulham Zamrun (FW) were all dropped and replaced with players who hadn't played much since me joining, and so far they have repaid my faith.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/3VI6FPMTFWzuKoyL2UbfkMt2G40ZKHxl6PWPyw8H.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/EHZ1xZdSoeN4Bv4qdMWQTq7sLif1J7luYnYXYpOk.png

So, it's been an odd few months to start the season. A cracking pre-season, a good start, then a woeful patch of form followed by a good end to it. We slightly surprisingly (given general form) see us in 4th and only three points off of the leaders. I'm content with it overall. Usual champions Persipura are way down in 11th, but they always start the season slowly and I have no doubts, come the end of the season, they'll be up around the top. As for tactics, it's been shambolic recently but as I said we've settled on the 4-2-3-1 again. Squad performances have been iffy, but they can be seen below.

Tactics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/sqrEvTiNX4SDJfcowNdoUv73NrL53mK4hVO1DCLC.png

Squad Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/oSjfGsgIQSJF79PZOr8icprGldxiUml2mpnWo9QC.png

That concludes this update. As always, I'd like to thank you all for reading and hope you all have a super Sunday. I will, if my team Manchester United can finally find form in the league!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 1 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
TinakoFM
10 years ago
1 day ago
1,522
Journeyman's Journey


The Map:

https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xtxEfeoQYUYLecYWdteIypgDhftPpuhOXjYbFA6W.png
Yellow/Red circle indicates my current job.
Orange/Green circle indicates my past jobs.


An Excellent Few Months:
After an odd few months in my previous update, we return to take on July and August's fixtures as we continue the 2019 season.

The year's seventh month began with us, Persib, kicking off our Indonesian Cup campaign with a first leg against Persiwa (tier two). We ran out comfortable 4–0 winners, Idris Mulyana started the scoring before Uston Iswahyudi (more on him soon) grabbed a brace either side of a In Joon-Yeon goal. Our first Indonesian Super League encounter of July was against Persela, we won that 2–3. We won the second leg of the Persiwa tie 0–1 via an Iswahyudi strike. On 14 July, we faced mid-table promoted club Cilegon United (my 100th match in management!) but came away as losers despite a Sergio van Dijk fifth-minute goal. We hit back with vengeance as we went onto score nine goals in the next two league fixtures. We visited Persegres Gresik United and annihilated them 2–5, defender Khokok Roniarto scored first before goals from Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan, Sergio van Dijk (x2) and Patrick followed.

Next, we met Persepam and knocked four past them as we won 4–1, we were 3–0 up after 33 minutes. Round 2 of the Indonesian Cup came knocking after, we were drawn to face Persijjap (tier two). We won leg one 0–1 (Atep 45'+1), we won leg two 3–1 (Anindito Wahyu Erminarno hat-trick!) to advance 4–1 overall. Between the two cup legs, we continued our fine form with a well earned away win versus Barito Putera. Our following Super League game was against Pusamania Borneo, who have had a great season so far and that showed as they held us to a 2–2 tie. Mitra Kukar, our slight bogey team, were up next and we eased past them by winning 3–1. Semen Padang were our subsequent opponents and we came away with the points thanks to an extraordinary performance from Patrick, he bagged a sensational four goals to give us a 2–4 victory on the road.

Madiun Putra (again, tier two) were our foes in the Indonesian Cup third round, we played the first leg of that in our penultimate August fixture and simply won 3–0. Shôsuke Ishida scored two PKs while Zulham Zamrun, our top scorer last season but way down the pecking order now, ended a thirteen match goal drought to finally score. The final match of the month was against bottom of the table Arema and we, despite starting fairly poorly, eventually ran out comfortable winners.

It has been a brilliant two months, it leaves us second and one point off of surprise leaders Bhayangkara who, despite dropping points more lately, are still going well at the top. Below second, we are six points clear of third place and nine points clear of Persipura (usual champs) but they do have a game in hand. It's looking good but there's still loads of football to be played.

Results:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/UGQXy64RMtuMZPh8bd3KunfoD5vChp96pmNG6pxm.png

League Overview:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/MCRXDJ2aoRzqwYmUWqNRFkhZcoIHW3p1k8zUdzPM.png

100 Games:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/xchCiP3lgBbXNY3Aur4XPiEPuIahilY90YtRygSm.png

Tactics, see below: We remain with the 4-2-3-1. It's been very successful of late, but that can change in a split second. Squad, see below: Patrick has found his scoring boots again (14 in 15!), Atep and M. Taufiq have worked their way back into the starting eleven after being dropped, Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan and Sergio van Dijk have been on form while Made Wirawan has secured himself as our number one goalkeeper. As I mentioned earlier, young striker Iswahyudi came in for the Indonesian Cup first round and made a great impact scoring three times in two matches. He has an incredible record of 16 goals in 7 appearances for the Under-21s. Very young LB Mulyana is our first-choice full-back now too.

Talking of the players, on the transfer (see below) front we've signed Manahati Lestusen (MF) for depth on a free while out of favour midfielder Febri Hariyadi left to join Barito Putera for 16.25K!

Tactics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/9qMkgyHm19WLTqo3OLSj1Y1dlBXmkvfAC7Y70BhE.png

Squad Statistics:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/H24FKcgPWkwSO72I39ka9tJK2dlOuUYoMucbbPf2.png

Transfers:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/YwXn1YXqk8yRbG8M4RVTDfGthe5zk7tYJ5E0w98V.png

Uston Iswahyudi's U21 Record:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/YFFoBgINYdy3m38UjYxHZgpA3Wc7S0Tff3MBmO20.png

On a final note, we won our second personal award of the save as we won the Manager of the Month award for August. Our second MOTM award with Persib.

Manager of the Month:
https://sortitoutsi.net/uploads/mirrored_images/QOGF7FjhGVVVXJszdQVB22KRxme00pzwGScycEdm.png

Thanks for reading the latest update of my career. I appreciate it!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018– | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 2 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0.

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.

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