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DNZY
T-COM 1.CFL
A slight improvement on last month, though it wasn't setting the bar very high. Coming from behind to beat Petrovac gave me a warm feeling, however two shoddy draws shows how the team will miss me when I'm gone. Brief goal drought for Vitali as well?
GRUPA CRNA GORA
Qualified comfortably for the cup semis with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bokelj to set a course for six consecutive Grupa Crna Gora successes.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
GROUP G
MATCHDAY 4
A missed penalty may have cost us the unlikely shred of qualification from the group. The usually reliable Rosic had a case of deja-vu when facing Ibrahim in goal, wasn't lucky enough to pounce on a rebound after a great save. Beşiktaş commanded affairs throughout, goals from Martínez and Ozanan left behind a mountainous task too hard to scale. The penalty could have helped change the game, but the Turks were too good for us.
MATCHDAY 5
Ruthless from Los Ches. It's not that we played particularly badly (even if we were poor at times), Valencia's finishing was an A+ standard. Couldn't get near them while they dribbled past our defence like they were cones, forcing two penalties out of us to account for 66% of Pruden Ramirez's hat-trick. Nikola Vidovic, Adil Mohammed and perhaps the goal of the night from Mathieu Gallard completed the rout and got their revenge for embarrassing them on their own turf.
MATCHDAY 6
What a spectacle to hang my Budućnost scarf up on. For all of København's dominance of the first period they were caught napping at the back, Vitali racked up his European goal tally to double figures to surprisingly lead at half time. Scepanovic thrived on the empty space available to him on the right and set up a second goal for Tvaradze, requiring two bites at it to leave the Danish crowd silent. It triggered another wave of dominance from the home side who quickly wiped the lead out, getting caught out on two set pieces to leave the game at 2-2. We bowed out of our European journey in a blaze of glory to seal a memorable win, Vukovic unmarked at the back stick to tap in from our own set piece manouevre. Copenhagen will be swarmed with loud, proud and intoxicated Budućnost fans on their way home tonight.
FINAL GROUP TABLE
Thrilled to leave with seven points from that group. Two wins more than I expected, we did the nation proud I feel.
Thus ends an eventful stay in Montenegro as I seek a brand new challenge in a brand new nation.
DNZY
Nation: Kosovo
Media Prediction (Odds): 1st/12 (Evens F)
Expectations: League winners
Pros: League holders. Front runners in Kosovo. Only finished outside top three once in six seasons. Solid wage budget. A chance to finally tick off this nation.
Cons: Insultingly small transfer budget. No source of wealth.
RESULT:
The offer is there, the objective is simple...but is it a 'safe bet' taking Feronikeli on? Is there much of a challenge involved? Hmm...
Nation: Gibraltar
Media Prediction (Odds): 9th/10 (300-1)
Expectations: Avoid relegation scrap
Pros: Pedigree of success engrained in club history. Half a million in transfer budget.
Cons: No league title for over 25 years. Newly promoted. One of the favourites to be relegated. Small squad lacking in quality and harmony. Less wage budget than Ferronikeli.
RESULT:
Tough decision to make. Lincoln's offer is a handsome one, but is it a poisoned chalice waiting to infect my reputation? A mighty gamble but one that could pay off.
DNZY
A return to the sunny peninsula sticking out of Spain, to paradisiac rock of Gibraltar. The red hot Lincoln Red Imps have been one of the most dominant sides in the British colony since their conception in 1976. The name of the club is an obvious connection to Lincoln City FC in England, former director Reg Brealey sponsored the Gibraltarian club and paid for new kits during a holiday to the rock, inheriting the name Lincoln and nicknamed accordingly to “The Imps” wearing red and black vertical stripes.
While Gibraltar may not be a recognised country, it holds a larger population (~34,000) than one other European country; San Marino (~33,500) and is almost as populous as Lichtenstein, just shy of 5,000 inhabitants. From the aesthetic beauty of cable cars traversing the Great Rock standing tall at 1400 feet, to the fascinating historic elements of their 55km of tunnels during the Second World War, Gibraltar has a lot to offer on the tourism front with 12 million visitors entering per year - not to mention a small contingent of wild and mischievous Barbary macaques nicking stuff from their backpacks. Thieving bastards.
This one is rather unique, as Lincoln have built a brand new stadium called the Lincoln (GIB) stadium (how original, SI) to vacate from Victoria Stadium, the national stadium. I’m amazed they even managed planning permission for the size of the nation itself, perhaps overcompensating too with a capacity stretching to the 6,000 mark, almost 20% of the entire population. The new venue opened its doors in 2026 with Lincoln defeating Mons Calpe 3-1 in front of 2,895. Still, at least it didn't take a millennium to open like Tottenham's new stadium...
As mentioned in the opening sentences, Lincoln Red Imps are the most dominant and most successful side in Gibraltar. Glittered with 23 league titles, including 14 consecutive titles between 2002 and 2016 before Europa put an end to the sequence in 2017. No shortage of success across the cups either, attaining 17 Rock Cups, 18 Senior Cups (now defunct) and 11 Pepe Reyes Cups (pre FM era). Europe has been a mini-success story for the Imps; a full strength Glasgow Celtic were famously defeated 1-0 by the Imps in a Champions League qualifier in 2016 to gain almost worldwide recognition and dubbed “the Shock of Gibraltar” thanks to a goal by Lee Casciaro – sadly they would go on to lose 3-0 in the second leg.
Fast forward to 2057, everything has gone south…sure, they managed to win the league nine more times but you would need to go back to the 2028/29 season the last time Lincoln raised the league trophy aloft, in fact their fortunes turned increasingly worse than that, succumbing to two relegations in 2051 and 2055. The crown has fallen to the hands of both Lynx and Boca Juniors (GIB) who've given the Gibraltarian League a paradigm shift in the last three decades.
SQUAD
A massive downgrade from my Budućnost camp, but not overly woeful. Large portion are part-timers and amateurs, only a handful stepping into the professional shoes but it's understandable since all their best players got snapped up after their demoralising relegations. Few stand-outs, rest are lucky to warm a bench at a level 7 English club. Interestingly, not one teenager in the main squad but may be a blessing as a lot might be hitting their prime years.
KEY PLAYER: Matt Collier - M(C)
Former youth product at Manchester City (which is an oxymoron in itself), the Welshman was released into the wild and ended up in the 'highly competitive' Gibraltarian league where he failed to make it at Europa Point or Boca. Lincoln has become his home and stands out as our key man, also rocking the captain's armband. Already mentally toned at 23, practically mastered the art of passing and will be our primary source of creativity in the middle. Let's hope his leadership steers us far away from the drop zone.
EXPECTATIONS
Flattered that I've been trusted with a nice cash cow for rebuilding the team, pressure seems to be off with low expectations from the board. The only way is up it seems.
Furthering our income, Swiss side Thun are our second nominated parent club along with German Bundesliga side Hannover 96. Couple of cheeky free, all expenses paid loan deals might be a good place to start rebuilding.
AdamRK
bigmattb28
bcsaulJ
Dan
Danilo Edanov
DNZY
DNZY
DNZY
“When I drafted this challenge concept originally two and a half years ago, I was expecting this to be a short lived ‘flash in the pan’ and fizzle out as time progressed. Never would I have expected to be so engrossed in a Football Manager save entering into its 40th season and to share the experience with my fellow FM advocates.
900 days have passed living in this fictional, Machiavellian managerial alter ego whom has become a serial sensation in success - the ‘Pep’ of the semi pro let’s call it. Good looks, flawless playing styles, minor setbacks but above all else – a multilingual wanderlust. Scouring seventeen European countries and that forgotten stint in the back end of Iraq; from admiring the stunning natural landscapes of the Faroe Islands, feasting on the olive oil infused Mediterranean cuisine of San Marino, feeling at home with mother’s cooking in Northern Ireland and freezing my balls off on the touchlines in Estonia, it has been an unforgettable pilgrimage that is still ongoing.
In this European mega-quest, I’ve raised 29 trophies aloft and gained almost continental-wide recognition for my achievements and been headhunted by some of the top international hotseats, with the likes of Germany, Denmark and Spain scribbling me down on their shortlists. Some may have dropped everything to sell their soul – but I decline them.
My heart remains at the grassroots level, learning more about obscure leagues, the fascinating backstories behind the creation of clubs a large majority would never have even heard of - creating history, building drama & suspense and taking games to the final day.
THAT is what makes an enticing read.
Humble brags aside, this save would not have reached this point without your support and interest. I’m by no means a journalistic, analytical or even an imaginative writer at times with my use of rustic English, but the comments I’ve received during the span of the journey have been overwhelming.
All of your comments have continually driven me and motivated me to keep pursuing this career and improve my work despite my recent drought in content - which will be briefly explained.
Long story short; this story has not finished, the next chapter is right around the corner and I have no plans to retire it any time soon.
Unfortunately work commitments and personal obstacles have eaten away a lot of my concentration to the point where it is difficult to find the time to open up the game. Rather than spouting out some random screenshots, I prefer to bide my time and not hurry out some low effort, poorly prepared analysis as I value the reader’s perspective.
A shoutout to those who’ve supported this since day one:
@Dan
@Sean_67
@HawkAussie
@Shedender
@Andrew♣
@r96Skinner
@AlexDepa
@SugarDaddy69
@Chris_ESK
@KEZ_7
@F.E.
@mons
@tongey
@b0nb0n
@GreenFront
@Catley20
@jambowambo
@Tipicality
@ade04
@bigmattb28
@BTB1991
@bcsaulJ
@Revans
@Dmeister
@davysrfc
@AdamRK
@Qvordrup
@Evan Kane
@Danilo Edanov
It doesn’t matter if you’ve left a single comment or hundreds of them, I’m eternally grateful for every one.
You guys are the real MVPs.
…now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another team to manage."
Dan
DNZY
TRANSFERS
IN
Not quite a ‘Manchester United’ state of emergency in terms of squad rebuilding but did splash out on eight new players excluding Heath who had already came in. Left back was the real crunch decision, but swooped up two strong recruits. A plethora of strikers now at our disposal too as the ‘Finnish finisher’ returns to the limelight, fingers crossed he can make a ripple or two.
Mikko Syväjärvi – ST(C) – unattached free agent
Eight years in Macedonia before finally being released by Renova, our favourite Fin returns to do some business. 104 goals (most of which seen at first hand) for my former employers, can certainly bail us out in tight spots and has yet to let me down. Amateur contracted too, shows a true sign of pride and loyalty.
Aday Martínez – D(C) - £8k from Lynx
A league winner with Lynx, but now out of favour in the centre back role; Aday finds a new home at Lincoln to almost definitely slot in to our backline like a key to a lock. May look one dimensional but as long as he utilises his 6’4”, 91kg build with a strong vertical leap, it’ll be just gravy.
Víctor Crespo – GK - £2.6k from Cannons
First choice goalkeeper for the season, an experienced shot stopper from second tier Cannons will do the business. Similar attributes to Martinez in terms of height and strength plus experience will be a key bonus. Handling isn’t the best, but in a league of this standard it’ll be enough to keep our heads afloat (I’m hoping).
Pepe Calonge – ST(C) - unattached free agent
Two first team appearances for Sevilla on Pepe’s CV, done and done. Even at 33, his physicality shows no signs of depreciating overnight. 16 finishing with 14 composure seems like a match made in heaven for this league but is this just a Trojan horse tactic to lure me into paying him a strong wage? Time will tell.
Of course FM being FM, a new impromptu midfield recruit also had to be prioritised after this piece of bad news.
Yilmar Delgado – M(C) – season long loan from Gibraltar Phoenix
When the chips are down and your best midfielder gets frozen out for three months, what does one do? Panic loan. Not disrespecting Yilmar at all but we ‘quick scouted’ him before the transfer window shut on our fingers. Looks like a good little option to offer creativity in the central areas despite his flair being on the wrong side of ten.
Pierce Sullivan – D(L) - £27k from Shamrock Rovers
This was a real tug of war to get over the line going back and forth with initial offers and contract demands. Good left backs were few and far between in the market but the ex-Shamrock Rovers player will do just nicely. Peaked at 28 and not the quickest to fly up on the overlap but looks beefy and tireless to stop some wingers in their tracks. Let’s hope hindsight won’t be called into action.
Maxwell Gilio – M(L) - £11.25k from Europa
Squeezed the last bits of lint from our wallets to bring in a winger to the party. Into his thirties but still speedy down the left and can surely pull a trick or two with his excellent flair coupled with strong technique. The rest of his game leaves a lot to be desired but have faith in him to get involved in assists.
Petar Punosevac – D(L) - unattached free agent
Remind me again why we paid out of pocket for Pierce Sullivan when this guy was right under our noses? Another elder lemon but looks of better quality than his competition for starting left back. Barely a raised voice from his agent during negotiations.
That’s a massive yikes. 450-1 to win the league is rather understandable given we’re newly promoted, but to be ten times the odds greater than eighth place Olympique? That’s just insulting. Are the bookies seeing something I’m not with our new additions?
Shedender
DNZY
___________________________________________
GIBRALTAR PREMIER DIVISION
MATCHDAY 1
When you go down to the side who are favourites for the drop, you know you're in trouble. Our match sharpness paled in comparison to Gibraltar United who headed home the opener in a pretty subdued first half. More positivity in the second half though with Simon Heath looking lively, despite spurning a crucial one on one. A sloppy clearance from the home side allowed Heath to gracefully finish low in the corner to level it up. Deaconescu inadvertently headed into his own net five minutes later while trying to defend a cross. Didn't have much left in the tank to warrant a response. Much work ahead.
Martínez saw out a full debut but now left on the sidelines immediately.
MATCHDAY 2
I'm impressed that we held out the big kahunas of the division and only by a sublime goal to win Boca the game. Can't exactly brag, Boca were much too good for us - especially Antonio Castro Torres who strayed offside and had a goal ruled out. Crespo saved two more chances from him and looked solid between the sticks, however there was no stopping Miguel Ángel's sweet hit from 25 yards. Created one measly half chance but not even close to breaking skin.
MATCHDAY 3
Good lord, humbled by my former club. Europa Point could only dream of beating Lincoln back in the day by three goals, nowadays we can barely string three goddamn passes together. A set piece finished off by Nieto before half time was exactly what EP deserved. Francisco Muriarte came in for injured Martínez, now I'm wishing someone would take a steel rod and bash his shins - he was woeful at positioning for the late flurry where Brad Marsh buried us six feet under. This is not going well...
MATCHDAY 4
Mons Calpe are title contenders these days, but doesn't excuse another uninspiring performance. It would only have been a matter of time to the point where it seemed like foreplay, eventually Shane Malone put it in us with a comically free header. If you thought the first was bad, the second danced on it's grave. Never have I seen such a statuesque back four when a direct ball went straight over their heads to Tony Ward who couldn't miss. Two yellows for Simon Heath in two minutes was the icing on the manure cake, I don't blame him wanting a fast getaway from this.
RESULTS OVERVIEW
Four games, four grim outings, four red dots of death. What fresh hell have I stumbled into?
LEAGUE TABLE
Let's look on the bright side...Manchester 62 are equally as bad as us.
DNZY
GIBRALTAR PREMIER DIVISION
MATCHDAY 5
I've a feeling this'll only get worse before it gets better. Victor Crespo may hang himself in shame with a sloppy kickout straight to Gibraltar Phoenix and despite saving the first effort as an act of redemption, powerless to stop Sergio Juan's second bite of the cherry. Second half was a slight improvement with Syväjärvi coming off the bench and beared down on goal, only to be denied at the near post. Five clangers in a row.
MATCHDAY 6
There we go! Finally some f*cking progression. Lively game too, setting up more defensively and springing well on the counter attack. Not a minute into the second half came the breakthrough with a fabulously placed free kick by Maxwell Gilio set the tempo. Simon Forecast in the middle was dangerous from range, testing the gloves once and rattling the woodwork twice as we looked for the clincher. Pepe Calonge came off the bench and tucked the ball under the Joseph's keeper in the late stages and get our first points on the board.
They really should put disclaimers for when signing strikers with this sort of goalscoring frequency.
In injury news, Pierce Sullivan will be keeping Punosevac's position warm for the next three months.
MATCHDAY 7
I've seen more entertaining games involving Stoke City for Christ sake.
RESULTS OVERVIEW
It's a start, I mean we've only scored three goals in seven games but we're on an upward trajectory instead of a tragedy. The strategic defending seems to be holding with two consecutive clean sheets. Maybe the humdrum route is the right way to go.
LEAGUE TABLE
Already looking out of favour for a top six finish, think our main objective is to remain in the top flight.
Claus Clausen1
I have self been away from FM, but after reading this again, I think I soon will start playing again
DNZY
__________________________________________
GIBRALTAR PREMIER DIVISION
MATCHDAY 8
The untidy first half performance cost us two points here. Crespo really should have kept Meichan's acute finish at the near post, but that's neither here nor there. Kicked up some steam afterwards with Simon Heath burying one in the top right to draw the game level. From that point we were cooking on gas and Maxwell Gilio will not believe what he saw from Man 62's keeper to somehow...SOMEHOW...got away with this. Unbelievable.
https://streamable.com/lyfa2
MATCHDAY 9
Shooting blanks at the worst possible time. Lynx were pretty pedestrian bar a very late strike pushed onto the post. That said out of our ten shots on goal, none of them were net worthy and Lynx's shape made it very difficult to break them down. Solid point nonetheless.
MATCHDAY 10
Revenge for the opening day, even if the match stats were stacked against us. Victor Crespo made two magnificent saves which could have completely flipped this game, but instead paved the way for Simon Heath who tapped home after some wonderful link up play. Gibraltar United had double the shots on target than we had shots on goal in general, they must be seething. Undeserved? Perhaps. Will we complain? Not one jot.
It cost us with losing our best midfielder for a few weeks. Sometimes needs must.
MATCHDAY 11
From five straight defeats to a six match unbeaten roll. Boca were out for blood early on with Castro Torres almost breaking the net from close range to leave us trailing. It mattered not regardless of their intimidating stature with recent fave Simon Heath playing a delicious 1-2 with Glenn Grace and stunned the home fans. The goalscorer from the last engagement saw red in the second half to reduce their tempo but decided not to profit on it, holding on to a very welcome point.
GIBRALTAR ROCK CUP
SECOND ROUND DRAW
Fellow top tier compatriots Olympique go to war on the journey for the prestigious Rock Cup.
GIBRALTAR PREMIER DIVISION
MATCHDAY 12
Another kick in the nads from my former employers although it was a lot more even. I'm scrambling to find for the receipt associated with the Pepe Calonge transfer, he's just chokes every attempt including the latest calamity of a one on one situation with the EP keeper denying him with his legs. If that weren't bad enough, the winner came from a foolish penalty conceded with four minutes left - Herrero the hero. The meteoric rise temporarily suspended.
MATCHDAY 13
Ah darkness, my old friend we meet again. Honestly could have been anything by the end of it. Terrible at closing down, horrendous at marking, woeful going forward. Gibraltar Phoenix blew us out of the water in the entire 90 minutes. Patience is wearing thin with this team to be perfectly honest.
RESULTS OVERVIEW
Quite the contrast; a promising December taking two points off Boca & Lynx, completely overshadowed by a dank and miserable January. Simon Heath seems to be the only one capable of finding the target while others couldn't hit balloons on a dartboard.
LEAGUE TABLE
The good form helped us slither out of trouble but only by fine margins. No way we'll get above 7th which is rather disappointing. Manchester 62 still without a victory which is reassuring but the battle between us, Josephs and Gibraltar United will go down to the wire.
KEZ_7
DNZY
___________________________________________
TRANSFERS
IN
Desperate times call for desperate measures as my two loan signings demonstrate. Brought in a defensive midfielder to switch the formation up a bit more defensive, while another striker enters the wings which is pretty self explanatory - six goals in thirteen games. SIX.
Tim Ahnelt - DM/M(C) - end of season loan from Hannover 96
From the European land of hard workers, this young German will in theory act as the caulk to our defensive leaks with his agile tackling but can also break into some pace on the counter. Lack of determination can ultimately make this backfire but it's not our fault he's not getting gametime at Hannover. The only way is up as I see it.
Jay ap Gareth - ST(C) - end of season loan from Boca Juniors (GIB)
A throwaway in the Boca reserves, Jay could channel his inner Ryan Giggs, Gareth Bale or I'll even take a Ben Woodburn to lead the line here. Tall at 6'4" with good leap and questionable connection from ball to head but worth a punt for a direct ball if Pepe Calonge falls to pieces in the box. Trained at Liverpool's academy too, must be a second coming of Woodburn. TNS legend, never forget.
GIBRALTAR PREMIER DIVISION
MATCHDAY 14
I felt sorry for Ahnelt here, only player who stood out in a sea of mediocrity as we crashed to another defeat. Simon Heath went close but minutes later a sloppy clearance from Aday Martínez allowed Mons Calpe to silence any further threat. The home side toyed with us afterwards and may have been half a dozen by the end; Kwaku Afari dusted the game off with a comfortable second.
MATCHDAY 15
A light ripple of applause, we actually scored!....a penalty. I'll give us credit though, we were definitely in control despite Joseph's having a particularly 'off' season in the dropzone. Matt Collier took the honours after a shove in the box and made no mistake. Hoping we'd mend our goal difference but some things never change. Three points though.
You may want to hold onto your hats for this one.
MATCHDAY 16
Not often I get furious but HOLY SH*T THIS GOT ME RILED UP. Let's talk about how Manchester 62 have gone 21 games without winning and managed to play like Barcelona against us. Let's ignore the fact that Punosevac got his leg BROKEN and they got away with a card, MEANWHILE Matt Collier lightly pushes and gets a second yellow. Eff the synopsis of this game, this was a farce.
GIBRALTAR ROCK CUP
SECOND ROUND
Penalties ends our brief run in the Rock Cup. Jon Byrne had more space than NASA to nod Olympique 1-0 ahead but ironically a penalty got us back into the game with Matt Collier bagging two in two. Game fizzled out into nothingness before the tombola took place. The pressure swung back and forth with Heath and Forecast missing for us, though similar fates befell Gean and Caetano for Olympique. It came down to the keepers but Ben Thornton got the short end of the stick.
Let's pretend this stint never happened, shall we? After the Man 62 result, I couldn't take it anymore. Brutal team bar Collier and maybe Heath. Time to hand out the CVs once more.
You'll be looking at this thinking "I know you would have kept Lincoln up if you stayed on" - that's not the point. The playing standards were far below my expectations and I wasn't stomaching another nonchalant display.
Claus Clausen1
Looking forward to your next challange!
Dan
bigmattb28
DNZY
@Dan - You saw nothing.
@bigmattb28 - High praise my man, glad to be the recipient! Really appreciate it!
___________________________________________
Nation: Macedonia
Media Prediction (Odds): 2nd/10 (4-1)
Current Position: 6th
Expectations: European qualification
Pros: Four league titles in five years. Only a couple of points off European spots. Solid quality in squad.
Cons: In too deep to fight back for the title. Out of Macedonian Cup. 12 foreign players when the league only allows 8. Budgets weak for a team of their calibre. Lacking in wide players.
RESULT:
Gutted, man. Rabotnički would have been a perfect team to build with going forward.
Nation: Kosovo
Media Prediction (Odds): 2nd/12 (11-4)
Current Position: 6th
Expectations: Around top of the table
Pros: Won Kosovo league since leaving. Squad depth in numbers.
Cons: Very bad history in previous stint. Knocked out of Kosovo cup. Won't get higher than third realistically. Quarter of a million in the red. Only five points off dropzone.
RESULT:
This would have been the equivalent of trying to get back with that ex who slept with everyone in your postcode while you were at work. Glad I ain't going back there.
Nation: Kosovo
Media Prediction (Odds): 8th/12 (150-1)
Current Position: 11th
Expectations: Safely avoid relegation
Pros: Only a point off safety. Many different goalscorers and not reliant on one. Decent budgets for all things considered.
Cons: Woeful season trying to battle relegation. Six defeats in last eight. No title in nine seasons. Number of players in thirties.
RESULT:
Not too bummed either. Held my ransom high to let them know it's my way or the highway, especially for the mess they've created for themselves. Next.
Nation: Georgia
Media Prediction (Odds): 3rd/10 (13-2)
Current Position: 9th
Expectations: Midtable
Pros: Predicted for Europe and only eight points away from spots. Expectations very manageable with quality of squad. Third tier side five years ago and on upward trajectory. Minted wage budget to flex about. Intrigued to work in Georgia.
Cons: Terrible run with no win in 13. Squad form poor with poor morale. Too many strikers, very few wingers. Player positions too central for my liking.
RESULT:
A persuasive offer tabled by Batumi. Never managed in this nation, could be the perfect litmus test. Plenty of pros but that winless run may be a sinkhole I'm about to jump into. Overall not many good vacancies around.
HockeyBhoy
AndrewW
Keep it up! I should do a story soon...
bigmattb28
Am sure you'll do fine and get some more silverware dude
DNZY
@AndrewW - Glad to hear you're converted to the mature footballing game.
@bigmattb28 - Here's hoping!
___________________________________________
Departing Gibraltar for an inaugural trip to the land of Kartvelians or the birth nation of Joseph Stalin, though more commonly known as Georgia. Swapping red for blue, Dinamo Batumi are the club I take on next. Formed in 1923 under a merger of two clubs ‘Mezgvauri’ and ‘Tsiteli Raindi’, Dinamo Batumi struggled to lay a marker down in the lower tiers of the Soviet Championship before the formation of the Georgian footballing pyramid in 1990. Although their trophy tally is on the low side, a promising investment fell into their laps earlier this year from a US based company with backers from Lithuania and Italy getting involved – including a proposal for a 20k seater stadium. The club rock the pure blue at home and lilywhite with black trim on away days.
Laying on the south western coast by the Black Sea, the city of Batumi ( ბათუმი ) has had more transitions than the Chelsea managerial role. Previously twice occupied by the Ottoman Empire before the Imperial Russians gatecrashed; DRG, USSR and even the British Empire all had their turns before ultimately settling with the nation of Georgia. In fact it goes deeper with Batumi, as it is recognised as the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( აჭარა ). Nowadays Batumi is has been compared to Las Vegas with strong tourism lying mainly in the subdivision of gambling. It is also the major port of Georgia, profiting almost $300m revenue from passing commodities through such as oil. The panoramic views are breath-taking in light, night, dusk and dawn with an array of landmarks; from the Piazza Square to the Cathedral of the Mother of God. Did you also know that a Trump Tower was in the works for here as well? However this was scrapped in 2017.
Excitement is mounting for the proposed building of the new 20,000-seater stadium at an estimated cost of about a whopping £28m and due completion by 2021. It is unclear where Batumi play their home games in the meantime with databases referring to three different locations. I’ll focus on their in-game information and go with Chele Arena as home base. This 6,000 capacity stadium is also home to second tier side Shukura Kobuleti and is made of a synthetic ‘3G’ surface. The arena is named after Revaz Chelebadze, a hero of the city of Kobuleti after representing the Soviet Union squad who claimed bronze in the 1980 summer Olympic games. Fun fact – the shortened name of ‘Chele’ alludes to the great Brazilian ‘Pelé’. (Okay calm down lads, you sound as bad as the English media overhyping their national side).
Subsequent to Georgia’s independence and the footballing pyramid structured with it in 1990, Batumi have failed to lock down a maiden league title, though finishing second on two occasions – 1997/98 and 2014/15. Their purple patch came towards the late nineties; grasping their only top honours in with a Georgian Cup and Georgian Super Cup double in 1998 - defeating Dinamo Tblisi 2-1 in both events. Before then they were the ‘nearly men’, beaten in six cup finals in five seasons. Turning the clock forward, things got a bit grey; league form deteriorated and saw them relegated to the Pirveli Liga in 2008. Batumi turned into a ‘yo-yo’ side with two further relegations in 2013 and 2017, but bounced back immediately, even securing a high of second in the Umagasi Liga in 2014/15 behind fairytale winners Dila Gori. The Georgian outfit’s European escapade never really materialised, only twice making the first round of the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in 1995 and 1996 – losing to Celtic and PSV Eindhoven respectively. Twice made it to the Europa League but humbled in the first qualifying rounds also.
'FM ERA'
Amazingly, Batumi won their Umaglasi Liga in 2028 but couldn’t layer their success beyond that – apart from going down again but winning the Priveli Liga once more in 2054. Not exactly the most decorated club on the planet. Dinamo Tbilisi and Dila lead the way these days, though sides like Samtredia and Chikhura also boast a few league wins to their name.
SQUAD
Yeah, I wasn't kidding about too many strikers. How can a team creatively function with six central midfielders, six strikers and yet only one wide player? Lots of position retraining might be mandatory otherwise it'll be a 4-3-3 all the way. Still scratching my head about how a team of this quality is lying in the bottom two - player power? Good quality loanees from mainstream Ukrainian sides with a mixture of organic Georgians certainly fill me with hope of turning this ship around.
KEY PLAYER: Tornike Turmanadze - M(C)
Supposedly the visionary midfield metronome, yet only has four assists to his track record this season. This guy could walk into any Georgian top flight side but his torrid run of form is severely letting him down. Look at all that green in his role, needs to squeeze the pips of his peaking 28 year old potential.
CURRENT SEASON
Jeez, where did it all go wrong from the opening two victories? Winless in thirteen, self proclaimed draw specialists and seem to start strong but finish incredibly weak. They lie in 9th place ahead of bottom side Tshkinvali, two points from safety but only eight away from third. Looking forward to sinking my teeth into the Georgian leagues.
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DNZY
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TRANSFERS
OUT
There he goes...our best part of the central midfield trio, heading off to warm some benches with Russian top flight outfit Ufa. Met 80% of his minimum release fee clause anyways so shamelessly cashed in.
IN
Kostyantyn Tanchyk - M(C) - unattached free agent
A former liability at Shakhtar no less, not an immediate starter but can improve by the bucketloads. Could be the lad to thread through the eye of the needle with strong vision and passing, not to mention an ice cool first touch. Might be the Aldi brand Giorgiobiani for now, but could certainly surprise.
Erol Gedik - AM(R) - season long loan from Ingolstadt
Finally bringing some width to the party. I love a good springboard deal with our parent club Ingolstadt, German raised but Turkish blood so will feel right at home in Georgia. Stealthily quick on the right and can double up as a striker despite his finishing levels on the wrong side of double figures. It'll look out of place in a 4-3-3 but gives us an option to switch up the game.
UMAGLESI LIGA
MATCHDAY 16
Positive performance imbalanced by a negative scoreline. Good sense of where the goal was but failed to make it bulge. Giorgiobiani stood out and came closest to breaking through for us, denied well by Dila's keeper. A smash and grab goal when Yury Orlov snuck in behind to thunder home off the underside of the bar to take the game home with the last quarter left.
Just a friendly reminder of what I signed up for.
MATCHDAY 17
Kuchukidze you donkey! We underestimated the bottom club as our strong first half wasn't mirrored in the second. Faffed around in their box and wouldn't you know it they lob it up the other end to which Ngah finished smartly first time. Giorgiobiani's last moments at the club were glorious to rescue us from the trenches (or so we thought) with a long range strike. The red card was a prelude to disaster as the resulting free kick ended with Ngah banking a brace. Leaves us bottom now, brilliant.
MATCHDAY 18
Props to the deserved man of the match Evgeny Khokhlov between the sticks, magnificent clean sheet in a tense spectacle. Sandro Khutsishvilli got the ball rolling with a finish from the tightest of angles in what was a pretty dominant half. Zugdidi upped the ante thereafter where Khokhlov morphed into a de Gea figure; thwarted two sitters AND saved a penalty - quite the shift. With all the visitors' persistence, we had the final guffaw with a penalty of our own. Pavel Mitin made no mistake. First win on the board!
DAVIT KIPIANI CUP
SECOND ROUND
Quite the fanfare for my opening game in charge...only the seven away from home then? Child's play. Ignoring their non-league status, we obliterated them within 34 minutes - Vüsal Süleymanov carrying the team to a 0-5 HT advantage. Kraschenko, Mitin and Khutsishvilli also offered their services in front of goal as Rustavi looked like fish out of water. It annoys me that we conceded but nice to be charitable in times of need.
THIRD ROUND DRAW
Not the easiest draw, Lokomotiv Tblisi may be in the Pirveli league but are almost ahead by twenty points and in steam locomotive-like form. Worth the risk of derailing our concentration from the league?
RESULTS OVERVIEW
Far from my greatest month, one league win, one cup win, two defeats. Certainly see a lot of promise in this team, however it concerns me how our start game is far more prominent than our end game where we run flush out of ideas by the final whistle. The sale of Giorgiobiani is a massive risk in the short term. Lets hope things pick up.
LEAGUE TABLE
The Tshkinvali defeat leaves us bottom on head to head, really disappointed to choke that. Still a good bit to go with plenty of time to bridge the gap to safety.