[FM17] Journeyman's Journey I

Regular Season Nears Its End:
Hello! In this update, we play fixtures from the first two and a bit months of 2025. It includes four friendlies, six Premier League fixtures as well as three different cup competitions coming into play.

Friendlies kicked off the year, two of them. The first we actually lost, vs. Tsuen Wan but we bounced back to win the other against Hong Kong University 70s. Yau Tsim Mong, who despite being the promoted side are playing very well this season sitting mid-table, played us on 18 January 2025, they held us to a tight two-two draw back in September 2024 but this time around it was anything but close as we trounced them 6–0; goals coming via Clinton Britz, Chan Chun Lok (x2), Darren Whitehead, a Cheung Kai Cheong own-goal and Yeung Chung Hung I - five of those goals ridiculously came in just 37 first half minutes.

If that was a high, we suffered a low next time out as we exited the League Cup at the hands of our league rivals South China, being easily beat 3–0. Our heads were likely switched due to the Senior Challenge Shield final coming just days later. We faced Hong Kong Rangers in the aforementioned final and, just like last season's continental play-off semi-final, it went all the way to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes.



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Back to league action, we played leaders South China in a vital, vital encounter on 2 February. In what was a narrow contest, it took a Chan Ho Yin strike to win us the three points! This took us top of the Premier League table. Another tricky fixture fell right after, versus Kitchee. It was the same outcome as Chan Ho Yin got us the victory. Sadly, after taking steps forward we took steps back after losing 3–1 to Hong Kong Rangers; they actually led 3–0 but that was thanks to two penalties.

Next came our opening FA Cup tie, a quarter-final with Yau Tsim Mong. We beat them for the second time running but this time it was just the 2–1 win rather than a 6–0 - can't be greedy! A double from Lo Tsz Kin puts us through to the semi-finals where we will meet South China. Tough! We lost our second league match running after that cup win as we were beaten by Tai Po 1–2, very predictable result after we had over twenty shots but kept missing every single chance. Disappointing to lose back-to-back in the Premier League, around this point we were six points clear of South China but they had three (!) games in hand.

Our last league game of this update came against Metro Gallery, the recent champions who sit down the bottom. Chan Ho Yin and Yeung Chun Hung I got goals to secure the points. We round off with two friendly victories over BC Glory Sky and Hong Nam. Remember those three matches South China had in hand? They've now been played and thankfully they only got four points from a possible nine.

That means, although South China go top by a point, we remain very close and have the first two tiebreakers in our favour: head-to-head (two wins) and goal difference (+23 for us, +9 for them). That's a positive, but will mean absolutely zero if we can't at least get level with them. Five matches left to play!

Results:


League Overview:


Squad Statistics:


More Izwan Mahbud news, it's becoming a regular feature at the moment. At the beginning of these two months we wanted to leave, then he changed his mind to stay and by the end of it he wants out again. Long story. Here we go:

Tampines Rovers interest made him complain to me about leaving, I said I'll let him go if they right offer comes, nothing comes in so he stays and says he no longer wants to leave. Around a month passes before he comes back to me stating he just wants to leave due to homesickness, not due to interest. I end up agreeing to let him go in the next transfer window, to which he is absolutely fine with. Then Home United (ironic name) come in with offers to sign him immediately (not in the next transfer window), to no retaliation from Mahbud.

I continue to reject the offers as: A) Not the right fee, and B) It isn't the next transfer window to which we agreed. Apparently that meant nothing as, despite me breaking no promises to Mahbud, he ends up getting annoyed for me not letting him go AND the squad turn on me for "bad treatment". Thankfully, I managed to turn Mahbud and the squad around as long as he goes next time we get an offer. It doesn't end there either really, Mahbud actually got injured in the middle of all this (suspicious ) so I had to sign a new 'keeper as I didn't feel confident with my young GKs, especially for a pending game versus South China. So, Malaysian Nazri Kamarudin was signed on a free transfer. He has done well to be fair to him!

What a mess! One of those things, I guess!

Mahbud Mess:





New GK Signed:


Lastly, on a much more happier note, that young man Chan Ho Yin won the Senior Challenge Shield's top goalscorer award. He is outstanding! Since the season I joined (two half a seasons and one full season) he has scored 41 goals in 60 matches in all competitions, he is only eighteen years old! Fantastic little player.

Senior Challenge Shield: Top Goalscorer - Chan Ho Yin:


Thanks for reading! I'll return at the regular season's end, hopefully that will be the end with the league title and we won't have to go through the play-offs for continental football like last season. Who knows! Have a nice day!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 2 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2024–25 Ends:
We conclude the latest season with Eastern in Hong Kong. With the Senior Challenge Shield already in the bag, we aim to win a domestic treble with an FA Cup semi-final to face and, of course, the title at battle; in which we currently trail South China by one point with five matches to play.

Our first opponents were bottom of the table and eventual relegated side Citizen, we eased past them to record a 4–1 home victory with goals from Darren Whitehead, Lee Kai Chi, Chan Ho Yin and Yeung Chun Heung I; all goals coming in the first half. That's something we have been incredible at this season, we've scored a crazy amount of first half goals. That wasn't the case, however, in our next fixture against Southern District as they held us to a goalless tie.

Back-to-back friendly wins over Lucky Mile and Yan Po followed before we had a big FA Cup semi-final versus South China. We reached the FA Cup final for the second time in my two and a half year tenure after a brace from Yeung Chun Hung I (against his former club!), excellent performance and we'll face Southern District in May's final. Talking of Southern District, we had the same result after the cup semi-final to which we had with them - a 0–0 draw, this time with Pegasus. KCC Dragons played us in a friendly on 19 April but lost 0–5.

Despite dropping points in our last two fixtures, South China failed to make us pay and we subsequently sat level on points with them, in first due to head-to-head, with a game in hand and only two matches to play. That game in hand came a day after their fixture, versus Sun Hei. South China had failed to win meaning we could secure the Premier League title with a win against Sun Hei. Could we do it?



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


With the league secured, we could turn attentions to the FA Cup final in three weeks time. Before that, we participated in two matches. First one was a friendly where we got a 0–2 win over Eastern District, second came a week later when we finished our league campaign in absolute style as we destroyed fifth place Tai Po by seven goals to two! 2–7! Unbelievable result, a real fitting way to end a wonderful season. Now, for the FA Cup final...



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Results:


League Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Before I get into the records and awards from the season, there is two pieces of news to share first. 1. Izwan Mahbud has left the club. He has joined Home United for £20k. A real shame to see him go, but good luck to him back home; Kamarudin seems a good replacement. 2. I have signed a new one-year contract with Eastern, taking my stay with them until (hopefully) June 2026. At this moment in time, I plan on leaving at the end of that season. This gives me a chance at a few new cups (that you enter after winning the league) and, obviously, the AFC Champions League; where we enter at the first qualifying round.

Izwan Mahbud Leaves:


New Contract:


There's been a bunch of awards and records, they all can be seen below. Most notably include the club's end of season awards where Darren Whitehead won Fans' Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. We also broke the record for Eastern's most goals in a Premier League season of 42 (well, now 49 after that last day barrage of goals vs. Tai Po).

Awards: Club's End of Season:


Awards: Chan Ho Yin - Footballer of the Year:


Awards: Darren Whitehead - Young Player of the Year:


Awards: Premier League Team of the Month for April:


Awards: Premier League Best XI for 2024–25:


Awards: Chan Ho Yin & Yeung Chun Hung I - Premier League Top Goalscorers:


Awards: Yeung Chun Hung I - Premier League Fans' & Players' Player of the Year:


Awards: Li Ngai Hoi - League Cup Best Defensive Player:


Awards: Lo Tsz Kin - FA Cup Top Goalscorer:


Records: Chan Ho Yin Breaks Club's Assist Record:


Records: Tai Po 2–7 Eastern - New Goals Record For Club and League:


Records: Most Goals in a Season for Eastern:


A lot of awards/records! Thank you for reading this update of my Journeyman's Journey save. Looking forward to next season already.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Big Season Ahead:
Welcome! We begin the 2025–26 season with Eastern in Hong Kong in this update, this campaign proves to be a very busy but a very exciting one with a total of seven different competitions to face over the course of the season. Those competitions are: Premier League, Senior Challenge Shield, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Cup, Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship and, the big one, AFC Champions League.

We start with the transfer activity. In short, five in and fifteen out. We'll start with the incomings. The first was Leonardo Muñoz. Wait, what? Wasn't he already in the your squad? Yes, he was, but his contract expired and I tried offering him a new contract, he wasn't even interested in negotiating. Yet, the second he becomes unattached he's super happy to sign a normal contract. Odd! I'm delighted though, a quality centre-back.

Three other signings were: Adixi Suparman (Persib, loan), Man Chung Kai (Hong Kong Rangers, £10k) and Chan Tsz Ho (Citizen, £9k). Suparman (what a name) was my right-back during my days in Indonesia with Persib, a young player but did show fantastic potential when I was with Persib. he was loan listed so decided to see how he goes in Hong Kong. Man Chung Kai is also a RB, a player who is capable of playing now but, in my eyes, is one for a season or two in the future when Lam Wai Lok retires. Chan Tsz Ho, a 18 year old striker, joined from Citizen, he has made quite the impact which you'll see momentarily. The fifth signing was Leung Nok Hang's loan extension, taking him into his third season on loan from Balestier Khalsa.

Outs included the aforementioned Muñoz, other notables were Xing Yu, Emeka Jimoh, Sarot Pakbud and Mak Ka Wai. Xing Yu was the number one goalkeeper when I joined in 2023, but I wasn't impressed with him and he has now finally left. Jimoh, the Nigerian striker, has joined rivals Kitchee, I didn't want to let him go to a rival but it was only Kitchee and South China interested and able to pay the fee, so Kitchee was the lesser of two evils; didn't even want him to go, but he was moaning for first-team football which I couldn't give. Pakbud and Mak Ka Wai leave on loan, Pakbud could become the club's future right-back as he has potential but I wasn't impressed with him when played and now with the signings of Suparman and Man Chung Kai, his time looks up. Mak Ka Wai's time certainly is, he'll leave permanently asap.

Transfers:


Muñoz Originally Said No:


Before the season began we were given the expectations.*

Expectations:
*AFC Champions League yet to be added as it doesn't start till 2026.


Pre-season got the season going, overall we faced five friendlies and came away with four convincing wins and a narrow shoot-out victory over recently relegated side Citizen. Love some of the team names you can face in exhibition matches in Hong Kong, Boca Seniors being the pick of the bunch this time around. One final interesting part from pre-season was that I was heavily linked to the vacant South China job, one I may have been interested in had I become unemployed this season.

The season kicked off with the Community Cup final against Southern District, Premier League winners vs. FA Cup winners. Southern District beat us 1–0 in that FA Cup final, and they beat us again in this match. We didn't turn up in both matches, very frustrating. A match with Pegasus opened our Premier League campaign, a strike from Chan Ho Yin followed by a double from Chan Chun Lok secured us an opening day three points. After that, we faced a sizeable test against Kitchee.

Kitchee vs. Eastern was played on 21 September 2025 and it turned out to be a thrilling encounter. Ho Ka Chun gave Kitchee the lead, before Chan Ho Yin equalised to bring the scores level on 52mins. Kitchee retook the lead through Emeka Jimoh, yep the guy we sold to them in the off-season; typical. Then came the introduction of new young signing Chan Tsz Ho, making only his second substitute appearance. He is actually a player we snatched off the hands of Kitchee who had put an offer in for him before we came in and snatched him from under their noses. You can probably guess what happened next. He came on to score twice to win us the three points! Jimoh and Kitchee had the first laugh, but we had the last laugh with Chan Tsz Ho. Excellent win!

The Senior Challenge Shield got underway on 24 September, we came in as defending champions and had a tough first test versus South China. However, it was a rather easy encounter as we advanced to the quarter-finals after goals from François Nguidjol and Chan Ho Yin (x2). Our final match of September and first of October would be against Hong Kong Rangers as we faced them twice in quick succession. First we met in the league, they disappointingly held us to a deserved 2–2 draw but we got our revenge in the Senior Challenge Shield meeting days later as we smashed them 6–2; Chan Ho Yin grabbing yet another brace.

Azzurri gave us a tight friendly match-up after the Rangers double header but we still won 1–2. South China were up next in the Premier League, we put three past them again but it was a much closer affair as we won 3–2. Important victory. We finish these months with a win over Metro Gallery, Lo Tsz Kin and Chan Ho Yin on the scoresheet.

After five league games down, we are in first place and two points clear of our nearest challengers. In the cups, we unfortunately lost the curtain-raiser but we are into the Senior Challenge Shield semi-finals. In the next two months, two more tournaments get underway; the Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship finals (versus Shanghai Greenland Shenhua) and the League Cup while the Shield semi-final against Tai Po will be played. That, plus four Premier League fixtures are all scheduled. Busy!

Results:


Community Cup final:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Favourite for South China:


Two records broken and one award given out. Darren Whitehead set a new average rating record of 7.44, while Yeung Chun Hung I has incredibly already broke the assist record for the season, he had 11 which beat Chan Ho Yin's record of 10 last season. Quite remarkable. Finally, Lam Wai Lok and Yeung Chun Hung I got into October's Team of the Month award.

Record: Highest Average Rating - Darren Whitehead (7.44):


Record: Most Assists in a Season - Yeung Chun Hung I (11):


Premier League: October Team of the Month:


Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Multi-Competition:
Another update from my Journeyman's Journey career. I'm currently in 2025–26 with Eastern in Hong Kong. Four different competitions to face in November and December 2025.

First up was a meeting with bottom of the table Hong Kong, we put more misery on the promoted strugglers by winning 3–1 with Chan Ho Yin scoring twice. Next came an interesting competition, the Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship. A competition between the Hong Kong Premier League champions and a club from Shanghai, China; usually Shanghai SIPG or Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. A Hong Kong club side has never won the competition in eighteen attempts (in game and real life). Two-legged affair. The first leg took place in mainland China on 5 November at the Songjiang Stadium, we were easily dispatched by three goals to zero. Tie all but over.

The second leg came three days later at the Mong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong and we somewhat surprisingly beat Shenhua by a goal to nil, Yeung Chun Hung I giving us a very creditable victory albeit a meaningless one; the first time on the save (nine editions) that the Hong Kong team has won a leg! A friendly with Rally of Macau followed and we won 0–3. One week later saw the League Cup get underway, we were drawn into Group B with Pegasus and Kitchee.

Kitchee played Pegasus in game one and won it, meaning we had to beat them on 23 November to stand a chance of qualifying at the first attempt in first place. We did just that as goals from Chan Ho Yin, Darren Whitehead and Chan Chun Lok gave us a 3–2 home win; we survived a scare though as they came from two goals down to get level before Chan Chun Lok won it for us. Pegasus was our last Group B match and, despite being second-best for the vast majority, we managed to win with our back-up team via a late, late strike from Leung Nok Hang; a draw would've seen us go through anyway, but nice to get the victory. Into the semi-finals!

A friendly with Fukien was sandwiched in-between the League Cup fixtures, we won that 3–0. We returned to league action after more than a month without a Premier League match on 9 December to face Tai Po. We lost 2–3 despite a double from Chan Ho Yin, our first league loss of the campaign and only third in all competitions. That was prior to dropping points again next time out as we drew 1–1 with Pegasus. Good cup form, disappointing league form. A friendly win over Islands District fell before a big Senior Challenge Shield semi-final with Tai Po. We advanced to the 2026 final to defend our crown after Yeung Chung Hung I and a Chan Chi Shing own-goal puts us through. Sun Hei await in January's final.

In terms of the league, we are third in the table and sit four points off shock leaders Yau Tsim Mong but we do have two matches in hand. In the cups, we are into the Senior Challenge Shield final and the League Cup semi-finals. The Community Cup and Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship are both over, both lost sadly. Still to start is the FA Cup and the AFC Champions League.

Results:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Two last chunks of news. The first is Chan Ho Yin got into December's Premier League Team of the Month, the second is the club is currently in a transfer embargo with takeover talks taking place. They've been going on a little while, reports of the takeover being on and off constantly. Will have to wait and see with that.

Premier League - Team of the Month (December):


Takeover Talks at Eastern:


Thank you for reading. I appreciate it! Next update will likely be on 1 March 2026.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Fixture Congestion:
Update 44 of my Journeyman's Journey career. We continue 2025–26 in this update as we enter 2026 with Eastern in Hong Kong. It has been a very, very busy two months.

I start with the only two friendlies of January and February, wins over Breakthrough and German All-Stars got the year going. Sun Hei were the team's first opponents in the Premier League of the year and we beat them by a single goal via Chan Chun Lok. Metro Gallery hosted us next and managed to draw 3–3 with us, Lo Tsz Kin scoring the last equaliser after Metro Gallery had taken the lead three times. The Senior Challenge Shield final took place on 25 January 2026 versus Sun Hei.

Due to upcoming AFC Champions League football (more on that in a moment), I unfortunately had to sacrifice my starting eleven and resort to playing a boat load of youngsters, majority of them had rarely, if at all, featured for us before. However, the youth lads did the club proud as we secured back-to-back Senior Challenge Shields. Jason Eng scored a pretty hilarious own-goal (see below) to give us the lead, but the name up in lights was youngster Liu Ho Lun who went and scored two crucial goals on just his second start for Eastern. Unbelievable impact from the seventeen year old, he won us the cup! Champions!

With players rested for the cup final, we were able to send a full strength line-up for a home AFC Champions League qualifier against Filipino club Global. A good draw I thought, pretty evenly matched opponent. Well, that was on paper at least as we stormed into the second qualifying round with a 3–0 victory; Clinton Britz, Yeung Chun Hung I and Darren Whitehead with the goals. Due to the scheduling of the competitions, I have decided to take the continental football as our main priority, meaning the league was put on the back-burner. That was shown as, days after the Global match, we met South China in the league and were thrashed by three goals.

A week after beating Global, we were drawn to face Perak of the Malaysian Super League in the following round, another draw I was happy with. The match happened in Malaysia at Perak's Perak Stadium, and we found yet another fine performance and were rewarded with a 0–1 victory; centre-back Lee Kai Chi with the all important goal. Fantastic! Into the play-off round of AFC Champions League qualifying. Before that, we had a league fixture with Kitchee and, just like vs. South China, we were easily, easily beaten, this time 0–4 at home. We are struggling in the league with our back-up squad.

In the play-off qualifying round in ACL, we were drawn with Japanese side Tokyo; a team I played while at Persib in my last campaign in the Champions League in 2022. Just like in 2022, I suffered defeat against Tokyo but we gave it a right good go; we lost 2–1 in Japan but it was a close encounter. Unlucky. We subsequently drop into the AFC Cup, into Group G. We're in a group with North Korean team Pyongyang City, Yangon United of Myanmar and, would you believe it, my former club, Persib! I'm heading back to Indonesia!

The AFC Cup would start just a week after our AFC Champions League elimination, meaning all other football would once again take a backseat, sadly. Between continental encounters, we actually had a FA Cup fixture this time around as we met Tai Po in a quarter-final tie. I kinda would've liked not to advance due to fixture the pile-up, but we managed to get past Tai Po with a rotated eleven; we advanced after a penalty shoot-out win. Not ideal, but I can't complain; kinda needed the win in general anyway.

Our first match of AFC Cup 2026 was with my former club, Persib, in Indonesia on 25 February. Early homecoming, one we, Eastern, narrowly lost. We don't play again in AFC Cup until 11 March, but there is no let-up in fixtures as we face a league midweek fixture instead. Despite that, we face a run of three Premier League encounters as we aim to get back on track domestically; we sat in fifth around this point and around five points off top spot, but with games in hand.

Leaders Yau Tsim Mong were the first of the three and we were held to a goalless draw, decent result in one way but not in another - tricky opponent, but need wins. Third place Southern District came days later in the midweek match, we lost 0–2 in my 100th game in charge of Eastern. That rounds up this update, fixture-wise. It has been an extremely difficult first few months of 2026. Twelve competitive fixtures in under two months. We have lost five of our last eight. We are sixth in the league, seven points off top spot but with games in hand. Injuries aplenty too, both left-backs have been out while vital top goalscorer Chan Ho Yin has been out for months - missed him tremendously.

It doesn't get much easier, as we'll have more of the same in March, April and May with the Premier League continuing, as well as the AFC Cup and we still remain in not one but two cup competitions with semi-finals upcoming in both the League Cup and FA Cup. It could be a sensational end to the season, with four competitions winnable, or it could be a rather horrid end to the season.

Results:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Senior Challenge Shield Champions, Again!


Young XI for Senior Challenge Shield Final:


Jason Eng OG:


100 Games with Eastern:


Chan Ho Yin Injury:


Squad statistics can be seen below, as can cup final hero Liu Ho Lun's profile. Two departures transfer-wise, Tam Ho Lam and Leung Ming Kit have left on loan to Citizen and Sparta Rotterdam Mutual respectively.

Squad Statistics:


Liu Ho Lun:


Transfers:


Multiple records and awards as usual, they are all below. Also, the club's takeover has been completed but nothing much has changed.

AFC Champions League Record - Youngest Ever Player (Leung Chi Ming):


AFC Champions League Record - Highest ACL Attendance for Eastern (7,141):


Senior Challenge Shield Record - Most Goals (14):


Premier League Record - Most Assists (Yeung Chun Hung I, 13):


Senior Challenge Shield Award - Top Goalscorer (Chan Ho Yin):


Takeover Complete:



Quite the two months! Fixture congestion, injuries and general out-of-form has made it very difficult. It'll all happen again in the next batch of fixtures as it doesn't exactly lighten up, as I previously mentioned. Must pick up form. 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
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 4 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Three Months, 16 Matches, Four Competitions:
Welcome back to my Journeyman's Journey career. In this post, the 2025–26 seasons reaches its climax in Hong Kong with Eastern. We have sixteen matches to play across four competitions, which are as follows: Premier League, AFC Cup, FA Cup and League Cup. Just like the January and February update, a lot of fixtures coming thick and fast.

March 2026 started with defeat as Southern District beat us 2–0. A few days later we returned to winning ways in the league with a narrow one-nil win over Hong Kong Rangers - that was our first win in the league after five without one. After that, we met Myanmar club Yangon United in our second AFC Cup, Group G encounter. We managed a 1–1 draw with Leung Nok Hang popping up with a goal. Another draw followed, in the league, next time out as we were frustratingly held to a 1–1 with bottom of the table Hong Kong.

Matchday 3 in the AFC Cup came quick on the heels of the Hong Kong fixture, Pyongyang City of North Korea visited us and took a point back home as we tied 0–0. Three days later, the League Cup semi-final with South China arrived. We were a goal down until the 88th-minute when Chan Ho Yin, recently back from fairly long term injury, equalised to send it to extra time. We won it after extra time as Chan Ho Yin grabbed a dramatic winner on 120 minutes, seconds before the penalty shoot-out. All those fixtures fell in March, which we rounded off with a friendly victory over Fire Services.

The first weekend of April gave us an FA Cup semi-final with Pegasus, after making it into the League Cup final we were looking for an FA Cup final berth too. However, it wasn't to be as we ridiculously lost 3–4 to the aforementioned Pegasus. iirc we were 1–3 ahead at one point before collapsing to lose 3–4. Southern District in the league followed, the second meet in a month with them in the Premier League but, unlike at the beginning of March, we beat them; 1–0. Next, the League Cup final! We faced Metro Gallery in the 2026 League Cup final, aiming to win my second League Cup title after triumphing back in 2024.



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Just days after that League Cup final, we were back in AFC Cup action with a hosting of former club Persib. In what was an even affair, they won to get back-to-back wins over me and Eastern. Elimination from Group G was looking likely at this stage, but we still had two games to come to salvage it. Before the first of those two final AFC Cup games, we had consecutive Premier League fixtures to focus on with the title still a real possibility.

On 21 April and 25 April, we faced Sun Hei and Tai Po respectively in two crucial matches. Darren Whitehead and Yeung Chun Hung I got on the scoresheet to help us beat Sun Hei, before our main man Chan Ho Yin got the only goal of the game versus Tai Po. This put us two points clear of, quite a few, rivals in a very tight title race. One game to go! Returning to AFC Cup, we played Yangon United on Matchday 5 and secured a vital victory by winning 1–3 in Myanmar, Yeung Chun Hung I grabbing a brace.

May features two matches, and two very big matches; both last day encounters. The first a league match with Yau Tsim Mong, the second an AFC Cup match in North Korea with Pyongyang City. How did we get on? Kitchee, our closest title rivals, played their last match of the season unfairly a day before us, and got three points meaning we had to beat Yau Tsim Mong...



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


How about that AFC Cup showdown with Pyongyang City?



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Results:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Squad statistics as usual are below. In a season full of chop n' change, a lot of players got game time. My star man was Yeung Chun Hung I, nine goals and twenty (20!) assists. Outstanding! Chan Chun Lok (12 goals, 7 assists) and, of course, Chan Ho Yin (21 goals, 3 assists) were also fantastic, amongst a few others.

Squad Statistics:


Records broken and awards aplenty. Few notable ones: Chan Chun Lok broke the club's all-time appearance record with 130 apps. Chan Ho Yin broke the club's goalscoring record with 21 goals. Yeung Chun Hung I, as expected, broke the club's assist record - he won Footballer of the Year as well. As mentioned a moment ago, Eastern's five titles is a new league record.

Eastern Record - Most Appearances (Chan Chun Lok):


Eastern Record - Most Goals in a Season (Chan Ho Yin):


Eastern Record - Most Assists (Yeung Chun Hung I):


Premier League Record - Most Titles Won (Eastern):


Premier League Award - Footballer of the Year (Yeung Chun Heung I):


Premier League Award - Team of the Month (April):


Premier League Award - Fans' and Players' Player of the Year (Yeung Chun Hung I):


Premier League Award - Best XI (2025–26):


Eastern Awards - End of Season:


On a couple of occasions, the board offered me contract talks which I rejected, pending the end of the season as I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay. Now the seasons is over, I have made the decision. I have chosen to resign as Eastern manager immediately. With the season over and all the competitions managed in, with six trophies in the bag, I feel it's the correct time to depart.

Contract Talks:



Resignation:


Hong Kong spell finished. My future plan is to get a job in China, South Korea or, less likely, Australia. I believe it's time to enter one of Asia's big leagues after ten years in the surrounding middle level leagues. I hope I can get a top division job in China or South Korea, but would be willing to join a second tier team. If that's not possible, then I may join another non-elite league; ideally India or Malaysia. Priority is China or South Korea though. The job search will commence in the next update.

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
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Job Hunt:
After leaving Eastern at the end of the 2025–26 season, we are on the hunt for a new job. After successful spells in Singapore (with Albirex Niigata S), in Indonesia (with Persib) and in Hong Kong (with Eastern) I am aiming to get a job in one of Asia's top leagues; ideally in China or South Korea. We, one way or another, will have a job soon.

I left Eastern on 1 June 2026. Plenty of jobs were open all around Asia, but with my aim to get a Chinese or South Korean job I had to be patient. Around three or four Chinese second tier teams were without a manager, Chengdu Qianbao being one but they sit quite far adrift at the bottom of the table so I didn't fancy that one. Two other available jobs were Hebei Elite (Hebei Jingying in game) and Dalian Transcendence (Dalian Chaoyue in game). Hebei's fans actually laughed me off when I applied, but the club offered me an interview. Their finances are described as "Rich" and in the interview, the board mentioned a potential £20m transfer budget. Safe to say, I wanted this job!

Sadly, I didn't get it. They gave the job to someone else. Disappointing, they are struggling but it would've been a nice project. Next, Dalian came back to be and offered me the job after a successful interview. I was happy with this offer, but a few other job vacancies took my eye so I decided to delay Dalian, to which they agreed. Two other clubs caught my attention, one in China (tier two) and one in South Korea (tier two). Tianjin TEDA (CHN) and Bucheon (KOR) were the teams.

Tianjin sit near the bottom in the China League One, but they, I'd say, are at least a mid-table Chinese Super League team languishing at the wrong end of League One. I'd love to be able to turn them around and get them back to the Super League, at least. On the other hand, Bucheon is also an intriguing prospect. They were formed in 2007, they are fan-owned after a relocation of a previous team; à la AFC Wimbledon. They sit fourth in the K League Challenge, occupying a play-off spot. So, a struggling sleeping club or an up-and-coming fan-owned club; or even a basic, Chinese team in Dalian.

I ended up joining...


Job Search: Hebei Elite:




Job Search: Dalian Transcendence:




Job Search: Tianjin TEDA:


Job Search: Bucheon FC 1995:


As I mentioned, my new club Bucheon sit fourth in the K League Challenge in South Korea. 23 matches left to play, we currently place in the final play-off spot and are seven points off the automatic promotion place; which Anyang occupy, we face them in my first game in charge. We are still in the FA Cup, too. The clubs finances are pretty woeful, described as "Insecure". Not good, but hopefully we can help rebuild this club off the pitch as well as improving them on it. I'm excited.

Results and Fixtures:


League Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Thanks for following! The first update with Bucheon will be on 1 September 2026, after a minimal of thirteen fixtures 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
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026– | Bucheon | (South Korea/2) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

First Matches in South Korea:
Welcome! In this update, I start my new job in South Korea's second tier with Bucheon. Two months of solid league football to focus on, as well as the FA Cup still up for grabs. Coming into this spell, we sat fourth with twenty-three K League Challenge fixtures to play.

My first game in charge of Bucheon was against league leaders Anyang. In what was a very even affair, we came away with a debut point after a stunner from Ahn Tae-Woong earned us a point. Fair result. Goyang Zaicro appeared three days later and I won my first three points as Bucheon boss after a stunning two-minute double from Kim Chil-Sung; a player I gave a career debut to in my first match, he has now become a regular! Gwangju played us on 11 July and, just like Anyang, held us to a 1–1 draw; Kim Shin getting a goal for us.

We had an FA Cup tie up next, versus K League Classic club Ulsan Hyundai. A tricky fifth round match, they sat near the top of the top division. They showed their quality as they eased past us 1–4, it was actually an even game really but they just had too much for us and merited the progression. League action returned with an encounter with second-bottom Sangju, we completely dominated them and won 5–1. Ahn Tae-Woong got a hat-trick in that one, who has been sensational since I joined; some of his goals have been incredible. A big win, pleasing but expected as, as you'll see from the table in a moment, they and Asan (Ansan Mugunghwa in-game) have been horrendously bad this season.

Daejeon Citizen was our following fixture and we managed another simple three points after winning 3–4. Daejeon gave us a few scares, including having a late equaliser ruled out for offside, but in truth it would've been a disgrace if we didn't win that. Just as it would if we didn't come away victorious from our next game, versus bottom team Asan. Like Sangju, we eased to a win after goals from Kim Si-Woo and Ahn Tae-Woong (x2). That rounded off my first competitive month with Bucheon, a pleasant beginning.

August 2026 started with a trip to Suwon, another lowly opponent. Ahn Tae-Woong got yet another goal before Han Sung-Min popped up with number two to send us another win; fourth in a row. We made it five and six in a row as we subsequently got wins against high-flying play-off rivals Gyeongnam and mid-table solid side Daegu; both single goal wins. Our winning run was stopped on 15 August as Chungju Hummel battled well to force a point in a 2–2; Ahn Tae-Woong making sure we didn't lose.

Two more fixtures to go, two important ones. The first was versus leaders Anyang, whom we sat only a few points behind in second; a win would send us top for the first-time in my reign. We did just that as Kim Chil-Sung gave us a lead before a penalty from Ha Sung-Ryong made sure of the points. Top of the table! Sadly, it didn't last long as we lost next time out versus play-off chasers Goyang Zaicro, my first league loss with Bucheon and, in all honestly, it was one hard to take as they scored a late, late undeserved winner. Disappointing.

So, after two months with Bucheon this is how the table looks. We are in second place and one point off table toppers Anyang. An improvement since I joined, for sure, as Bucheon were fourth and seven points off top back in June. It's a tight league though, with only eight points separating first and sixth. Eleven matches are left to play, the board want a play-off final appearance so that will be the minimum expectation but I, of course, am aiming for that automatic promotion place. It'll be tough, though.

Results:


League Overview:


Squad statistics are below. Special mentions to Ahn Tae-Woong (who has set a record for most Player of the Match awards) and Kim Chil-Sung. We made two additions in the transfer window, two loan players. With the finances (see below) so bad, we have nothing to spend in budget so I had to look for cheap loan signings. That I did, and completed temporary moves for Derek McGahon (RB) and Im Jong-Hyuk (GK). Both likely back-ups, but both look capable to be starting.

Squad Statistics:


Ahn Tae-Woong Record:


Kim Chil-Sung:


Transfers:


Finances:


One final note. My first few months have gone pretty well on the pitch, but it has been quite challenging off it. When I joined the club, multiple players were unhappy due to the club's recent (well, "recent" being a season ago) relegation and wanted to leave as a result. At least six players have come to me moaning, all oddly crucial first-team players - how strange. Three of them I managed to turn around, but three others it didn't go so well.

Shim Sung-Nam, Yoo Hyun-Ho and Paulinho all didn't take my interactions well and have since turned on me, as well as cohering others to join a mutiny. Thankfully, I managed to convince the squad I was right but the aforementioned players still aren't happy. They've subsequently been dropped to the Under-18s. We haven't needed them and squad harmony has improved with no moans for around a month. The board still mention it in the confidence message, but as long as we keep performing on the pitch it shouldn't matter; plus all three of those player's contracts expiry in a few months.

Squad Dissenters Dropped:


Board Confidence:


First two months with Bucheon done! I have enjoyed it, despite the off-field early issues. The next update will come at the end of the season in two and a bit months (in game). Hopeful for promotion. Thanks 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
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026– | Bucheon | (South Korea/2) | 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

End of Season 1 with Bucheon:
In this update, my first (half a) season with South Korean second tier club Bucheon comes to an end. We are in a fight for promotion. Coming into this we sat in second place, one point behind leaders and automatic promotion place holders Anyang; we sit in a play-off spot but only four points clear of fifth place Goyang Zaicro. The aim is top spot, but if not that then we must claim a play-off place at the very least.

Gwangju gave us our first test of September 2026, a test that ended in a goalless draw; not much else to say about that, bore draw. One of the two strugglers were up next, Sangju. They and Asan, who face us in two games time, have been truly atrocious at the bottom of the league with both at least 30-40 points off their nearest challengers. Just like we done before this season, and in truth most of the teams have, we battered them to ease to a 0–3 win. Daejeon Citizen played us next and drew with us 1–1, Ahn Tae-Woong grabbing an important late equaliser.

The aforementioned Asan was our next league encounter and we beat them 3–0, just like we did to the other basement club; those two are literally a guaranteed three points, they may as well not turn up. Can't complain though! With those two out the way, only tricky fixtures were left to play; seven games left with us still chasing Anyang. Suwon came to our place on 27 September and we turned them over to win, but it took a 90th-minute goal from Ahn Tae-Woong. A 0–0 tie with Gyeongnam ended September.

Two matches in a couple of days kick started October 2026 with fixtures against Daegu and Chungju Hummel. Daegu gave us a tough match-up but we still managed a deserved 3–1 victory, Kim Shin getting a brace. We struggled to break Chungju Hummel down for the majority but Ahn Tae-Woong stepped up late on to snatch us the three points. Very important win, it guaranteed us a play-off spot but, more importantly, it kept us close to Anyang ahead of a gigantic encounter with them on Matchday 38. Before that, we played our first friendly as Bucheon boss after beating Boin High School 6–1.

The huge encounter with Anyang took place on 21 October at our stadium, a win would put us top of the table with just two games remaining. It was a dramatic fixture. Lee Kang-Hoon gave Anyang a first-half lead, before Lee Myung-Won drew us level on 70 minutes. Nine minutes later, Kim Shin came and scored a go-ahead goal. We led with eleven minutes left to play. However, two minutes before the end of normal time Nam Ha-Neul raced through our defence and smashed a shot past a hapless Kim Young-Jun. 2–2 looked to be a disappointing final score, but more was yet to follow.

As the assistant referee held up his board to show the minutes of stoppage time, the main man since my arrival Ahn Tae-Woong got on the ball and incredibly scored to put us 3–2 ahead with seconds left. It didn't end there though as seconds later Kim Shin punished an obviously all-out attack Anyang team on the counter to make it Bucheon 4–2 Anyang. Enormous, enormous victory! This put us top of the table with two to play. I noticed something important after the match with Anyang.

That was Anyang's penultimate fixture, meaning they only have one more fixture to play this season while we have two. Their final game wasn't until the final day, so our game with Goyang Zaicro fell a week before and it gave us a chance to secure the title and promotion with a victory. Could we take this golden opportunity or will we bottle it?



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


We still had one fixture left to play, that was against third-place Gwangju. In short, it was a remarkable disaster. We lost by FIVE GOALS TO ZERO! 0–5! I have no idea what happened, thankfully top spot was done and dusted but deary me. What happened? Embarrassing way to end the season, in front of a record attendance too. Poor. At least it meant nothing, though. Funnily enough, Anyang lost on the final day so if we were still chasing the title that 0–5 loss would've been enough. How odd would that have been!

Results:


League Overview:


Past Positions:


That Win vs. Anyang:


That Loss vs. Gwangju:


Record Attendance for Gwangju:


Fantastic first few months with Bucheon in South Korea, only been here since July and we've already won a trophy and a promotion. I can't believe it. Next season will likely be my toughest of the save so far, I've been one of, if not the, best team in the leagues so far whereas next season I'll be one of the worst, I expect. It'll be nice to mix it up, I guess.

Squad statistics can be seen below. Ahn Tae-Woong has been sensational, only nineteen years old. He has scored some gigantic goals for the club this campaign; iirc he was only on two goals/two assists when I joined, he's scored something like sixteen goals in my tenure. Superb! Kim Chil-Sung, my prodigy if you will , has been incredible, no idea why the previous manager(s) hadn't used him. Other than them two, it has been a squad season; loads of players have had good games when others haven't. Good squad.

Talking of Ahn Tae-Woong, he has broken a few records. He scored the most goals in a season for the club and most league goals in a season for the club, as a result he won the league's Player of the Year award and Top Goalscorer of the Year award. Noting awards, the end of season ones have been released. The striker won Fans' Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season, no surprise. Kim Chil-Sung won Goal of the Season.

Lastly, I forgot the mention previously, I went on a coaching course for my Continental B Licence while at Eastern, that is now completed. I doubt I'll be going for my Continental A Licence yet give the club's finances but I'll ask soon.

Squad Statistics:


Ahn Tae-Woong Records:



Ahn Tae-Woong Awards:



End of Season Awards:


Coaching Course Done:


Trophies So Far:


Thanks for reading! Update 3 from Bucheon will arrive after two months of competitive action in 2027. Bring it on!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026– | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2027 - January to April:
Six months later, this returns. Took an long, unplanned break from FM17 without even realising, but have got back in the mood for it recently. I stopped playing in the build-up to the 2027 season, in the K League Classic after promotion from KL Challenge in 2026 with Bucheon. I hadn't planned to stop, but just got bored with the game in all honesty and found other things to keep me busy. Find it crazy it's been six months though! Only recently did I even remember the game existed. This website probably played a key part, always enjoy doing these posts - more than playing the game sometimes!

Fixtures:


Table:


Transfers:


It has been a tough opening to the K League Classic for me and Bucheon, as expected. It was always going to be the toughest season of my career, I've been used to winning trophies between 2017 and 2027 in Asia's low ranking divisions but now it's serious in one of the continent's top leagues. Despite this, it's where I wanna be. Must turn it around soon, though.

Pre-season went well, as did the signings I felt. Eight games have been played, we've lost seven of those with the other match being a credible draw against Ulsan Hyundai. We've got battered handsomely by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Seoul and especially Jeonnam Dragons. We actually played well in the matches versus Gangwon (leaders at the time) and Pohang Steelers but narrowly lost out. The table doesn't make for pleasant reading, with the team six points from safety already. It isn't looking good, but we still have time to turn it around.

Few other notable things to happen are:
Takeover Talks: Our chairman is reportedly looking to step aside, no huge news in regard to this but one to keep an eye on.


400 Games Reached: The one-goal loss to Pohang was my 400th game in management. Nice.


The board expectation is to avoid relegation, so that is and has always been the aim. Their current confidence in me is stable. That's all from me, thanks for reading!

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026– | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2027 - May and June:
We find ourselves bottom of the table after eight matches, losing seven and drawing one in the top-flight of South Korean football with Bucheon in 2027. In this post, we take on what May and June has to offer as we go in search for win number one.

Fixtures:


Table:


We've improved ever so slightly in these two months, managing to pick up two (two!) wins from ten league matches. The first coming against Jeju United, Kim Shin grabbing a stellar hat-trick. Scoreline flattered us but I wasn't at all bothered. The other was versus Seongnam, a relegation rival. We were superb that day, deserving of the points. Apart from that, it has been much more of the same to be honest. Nine defeats overall, with one those coming in the cup to lower division opposition but I threw that game away with a reserve line-up; league the ultra main focus.

As you can see, the final game of this set of fixtures was to our closest rivals - Anyang. A late, late goal condemned us to defeat, probably all but relegating us in the process despite fifteen matches remaining. We sit bottom, eight points off of the relegation play-off and nine points off complete safety. It has been tough! It has began to take a toll on my board relationship, with my job status dropping to insecure since before the Pohang Steelers match. Very surprised I didn't get sacked after the Anyang loss. I hope I can turn it around, but wouldn't be surprised to see myself out the job in months if not weeks.

Right at the beginning of the two months, that takeover was made official. Nothing has changed either way since, so it's as if it never happened!

Job Security:


Takeover:


Thanks for reading! I'll return after two more months of action - if I survive that long!

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026– | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2027 - July (kind of):
As read in the previous post, we were facing tough times with Bucheon in South Korea. Rooted to the bottom of the K League Classic, facing almost certain relegation coupled with high pressure from the board and supporters. This is July's update. You can probably guess what has happened.

Fixtures:


Table:


I've been sacked! The first time in this ten year career, I had previously only resigned. Real sad it didn't work out, wanted to help build Bucheon into a stable top-flight club. However, it didn't go to plan as I couldn't help them do so. It's worth nothing that in their previous three campaigns in the save in the K League Classic, they've been relegated in similarly poor manners each time. A club seemingly too good for the K League Challenge but not quite good enough for the K League Classic. The board scheduled a meeting straight after the convincing defeat to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. They wanted me to achieve seven points within the next five games. Plain and simply - never going to happen; we only got eight points from the last twenty-two games! I refused to accept their demands and was subsequently sacked.

Bucheon is now my shortest tenure at a club, a grand one year and five days. Quite the turbulent short spell, a title and promotion in my first season in-which I joined halfway through and sacked halfway through my second campaign.

Board Meeting:


Board Demands:


Sacked:


Shame! However, I haven't rested on my laurels as I am already in a new job. That will be discussed in the next post, thanks for reading!

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026–2027 | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / Relegations: 0. sacked

-----------
Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2027 - Back In A Job:
After getting sacked by South Korean club Bucheon last time out, I instantly go in search of a new job to get back into the swing of things. I wouldn't have minded waiting a few months if needed, but there were quite a few jobs available that interested me so there was no need for a break. I still wanted to stay in Asia, so no new leagues have been added.

Numerous jobs were open, but three took my interest.

A| Mohun Bagan (I-League, India)

B| Qingdao Huanghai (First Division, China)

C| South China (Premier League, Hong Kong)

Mohun Bagan were the first club to get back to my application. India is definitely a place I'd like to manage one day, but I chose to decline this (after a delay) as I was feeling one of the other two jobs more. So now it was between the Chinese second tier or the Hong Kong top-flight; a place I know well after big success with Eastern between 2023 and 2026. Qingdao Huanghai are in the middle of their season, sitting extremely comfortably in the top two promotion places with only a half of the season left. South China's season has just ended, with the club claiming their fifth Premier League title.

The Huanghai job was the most obvious choice, but my gut feeling was to take the South China job as I really enjoyed Hong Kong football when I was with Eastern. It was a tricky decision, but as Huanghai took too long to get back to me and South China offered me the job almost instantly I decided to make a return to the autonomous territory of China.

Mohun Bagan Delay:


South China Offer:


Delighted to return to Hong Kong. South China is my new job. If all goes well, my plan is to stay for just one season, hopefully achieve success, and leave at the end of the campaign for a return to one of Asia's top two nations (China or South Korea) as that's where I need to be. However, for now, I'm excited for the new season which starts in a few months. A full pre-season, start from scratch in all the competitions and, to top it off, AFC Champions League to come at the start of 2028. The perfect job for this moment, I feel.

New South China Manager:


Once two months of competitive action has been completed, I'll return with another update. Thanks for reading!

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026–2027 | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / Relegations: 0. sacked
2027– | South China | (Hong Kong/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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2027 - August to October:
I'm back in Hong Kong football with reigning champions South China. In this update, we get the season underway with the first three months of the new 2027–28 campaign.

Fixtures:


Table:


Competitions:


Pre-season featured five matches, including a early reunion with my former club Eastern in Leung Nok Hang's testimonial. Overall, pre-season went well and we looked good to start the club's title defence. In the league, we've won five of our first six and drew the other. Perfect start to the league season, even the draw versus rivals Kitchee was a good point to pick up. Another meeting with Eastern came on 19 October, it ended with victory as goals from Joël Diop, Afonsinho and Leung Nok Hang gave me a win versus my old team.

Away from the league, two cup competitions have begun. The Community Cup kickstarted the competitive season and we subsequently won the first available piece of silverware by beating Metro Gallery by two goals to zero. One of the few trophies I didn't win in Hong Kong previously with Eastern, but it has been added now. My seventh trophy in Hong Kong football in three and a bit years! Sadly, the Senior Challenge Shield (which I won twice with Eastern) won't be added to mine or South China's cabinet as we lost in the opening round on penalties to Pegasus. Disappointing. On a side note, we played two friendlies to fill the fixture list and won them both versus Standard Chartered Bank and São Paulo.

As you can see in the above screenshot, a whole host of cup competitions to sink our teeth into in Hong Kong. One of the reasons I enjoy this country's football league most, amongst other things. I would highly recommend managing in Hong Kong on Football Manager 2017. Senior Challenge Shield is off bounds, Community Cup already in the bag. Still got the FA Cup, League Cup, Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship and, most excitingly, the AFC Champions League later in the season. Much to play for, along with the all-important league of course. Below you can see the board's expectations.

Board Expectations:


Community Cup Success:


With the new season, new signings were made. They can be seen below, along with other notable happenings and squad stats. I made six signings. Chan Ho Yin (who I actually signed for Bucheon, but he didn't officially join until I was sacked! - subsequently decided to loan him), Cheng Ming Fung and Yeung Chun Hung I were big players for me at Eastern between 2023 and 2026. Oh Soo-Jin was an excellent pick-up in my opinion, a talented South Korean midfielder who has fitted in nicely. Au Ka Hing and Tedi Supriyatna are back-ups.

Transfers:


Squad Statistics:


Coaching Course for Continental A Licence:


Joël Diop's Deserved POTM Award:


After a tricky year with Bucheon, it's good to back in winning ways in Hong Kong with South China. Thank you for reading!

Next: Albirex Niigata (S) – Where Are They Now? (ten years on)

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026–2027 | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / Relegations: 0. sacked
2027– | South China | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 1 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.
2027 | South China -- (Hong Kong) Community Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Albirex Niigata (S) – Where Are They Now? – Ten Years Later:
It has been ten years since I left my first club in management, Albirex Niigata (S) of Singapore. I thought I'd go back and see how they've done without me at the helm.

My Record:
2016 - 1/9 | PLD24 | W13 | D3 | L8 | GF33 | GA22 | GD+11 | PTS42
2017 - 2/9 | PLD24 | W14 | D4 | L6 | GF51 | GA27 | GD+24 | PTS46
Joined: July 2016 | Resigned: November 2017
Trophies: 3 (League Cup X2, S. League X1)

For a first job in management, this was a perfect place to start. I joined midway through the 2016 campaign with the club sitting top of the table. Despite struggling at times, I managed to keep them top and secure the league title; my first trophy and Albirex's first S. League triumph. I also won the League Cup within the first few months of my contract. Not a bad debut season! The second season again saw us win the League Cup, but we fell short in the league despite having a very good run as you can see from the stats above. Warriors beat us to the crown by a few points unfortunately, we were brilliant but they were even better - just! The FA Cup never came close to my cabinet, for some reason I couldn't get far in that competition.

I resigned at the end of the 2017 season despite fans and board wanting me to stay. I wanted to move on to a new club, felt I done all I could with Albirex especially as they are not able to qualify for continental competitions (AFC Champions League/AFC Cup) due to them basically being a Japanese team in a Singaporean league. A glass ceiling, so to speak.

Their Record Since:
2018 - 1/9 | PLD24 | W14 | D5 | L5 | GF40 | GA25 | GD+15 | PTS47
2019 - 2/9 | PLD24 | W13 | D7 | L4 | GF42 | GA21 | GD+21 | PTS46
2020 - 3/9 | PLD24 | W11 | D7 | L6 | GF37 | GA24 | GD+13 | PTS40
2021 - 2/9 | PLD24 | W13 | D9 | L2 | GF38 | GA22 | GD+16 | PTS48
2022 - 3/9 | PLD24 | W11 | D6 | L7 | GF34 | GA24 | GD+10 | PTS39
2023 - 2/9 | PLD24 | W10 | D8 | L6 | GF33 | GA24 | GD+9 | PTS38
2024 - 2/9 | PLD24 | W12 | D7 | L5 | GF36 | GA21 | GD+15 | PTS43
2025 - 7/9 | PLD24 | W6 | D10 | L8 | GF24 | GA28 | GD-4 | PTS28
2026 - 8/9 | PLD24 | W5 | D10 | L9 | GF18 | GA22 | GD-4 | PTS25
Period: January 2018 to November 2027
Trophies: 2 (FA Cup X1, S. League X1)

They actually managed to win the title in their first season without me which is nice, they actually performed better statistically than my lot. The next six campaigns they went without the S. League trophy, as they were constantly finishing second or third. However, the last two seasons have been dreadful with the club finishing seventh and eighth in a nine-team table. Very poor. In the years since my departure, they've won two trophies; the aforementioned S. League and the elusive FA Cup in 2023. Overall, they didn't do too bad when I left but have since fallen on trickier times. Hopefully they can get back up to the top of the league. Although, they've almost finished the 2027 season and are currently bottom in ninth; which would be their worst position in their history (in-game and real life). Luckily for them, there is no relegation in Singapore.

Around the league, Garena Young Lions have managed to win the last four titles (including the ongoing 2027). That, is pretty incredible. During my two years, they finished bottom of the ladder both times; as well as the following season. In-fact, they didn't finish inside the top three between 2016 and 2023. The following season, when they did, they won the whole thing and have won every season since. Very surprising! Even more a surprise, my big rivals at the time were Warriors - they've only ended in the top three twice since 2018!

Screenshots:




Always like seeing how clubs do without me, as well as the general footballing world; speaking of which I'll probably do a similar post like this in July 2028 seeing how major clubs from around the globe have done. Any requests are welcome! Thanks for reading!

Next: 2027 - November and December (w/ South China)

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026–2027 | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / Relegations: 0. sacked
2027– | South China | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 1 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.
2027 | South China -- (Hong Kong) Community Cup.

-----------
Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2027 - November and December:
After a pleasant start to the season with South China in Hong Kong, this update sees the end of the year that was 2027.

Fixtures:


Table:


Competitions:


The two months began with the Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship two-legged final. A Community Shield-esque competition, one that is super difficult to win with a Hong Kong club. We faced Chinese giants Shanghai SIPG and, despite a fantastic first leg performance, we lost 6–2 on aggregate. No complaints, actually happy with how we played. No HK club has ever won that competition, dating back to 2005. Another meeting with my ex-club Eastern arrived on 20 November to start the League Cup, we drew thanks to a Afonsinho brace - the nationalised Hong Kong man has been in sensational form with fifteen goals in fifteen matches. Back-to-back matches with Sun Hei followed, the latter finishing our League Cup group stage fixtures. We beat them which, coupled with that Eastern draw, sent us straight to the semi-finals; avoiding the 'loser' play-off system.

In these two months, we had four league meetings and managed to win three of them but lost the last vs. title rivals Kitchee; our first loss of the league season. However, we achieved our biggest win of the campaign by beating a spirited Hong Kong team 6–1. We remain top in first place, but are now just two points ahead of Kitchee. Pegasus and Metro Gallery ready to pounce too. Just ten fixtures left, it's gonna be tense I feel. Of all the competitions, we still have the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and AFC Champions League to play for. Really excited for the latter; the draw is done in a week-or-two.

Squad statistics are below, as well as two awards which came to our club in December 2027.





Thanks for reading!

Next: 2028 - January and February (w/ South China)

-----------
Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026–2027 | Bucheon | (South Korea/1+2) | Trophies: 1 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 1 / Relegations: 0. sacked
2027– | South China | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 1 / 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.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Bucheon -- (South Korea) K League Challenge.
2027 | South China -- (Hong Kong) Community Cup.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.