The Flying Scotsman. A Hall of Fame career

At the start of the game, a manager by the name of Alex Ferguson (don’t know if many of you have heard of him) tops the worldwide Hall of Fame with 4980 points and a total of 39 trophies. Along with him, there are 3 other Scotsmen in the worldwide Hall of Fame, these are Willie Maley (Celtic icon) with 30 trophies, Bill Smith (Rangers icon) with 28 trophies and finally Jock Stein (another Celtic icon) with 26 trophies.







Whilst there is no denying Ferguson is arguably the best manager of all time, he stuck relatively in his comfort zone, in his home country of Scotland he took Saint Mirren to the first division title as well as taking Aberdeen to 3 SPL wins and 4 Scottish FA cup victories, as well as some success in Europe. He then moved to neighbouring England with Manchester United and winning everything with them multiple times.

This is the story of another Scotsman, Vince Lloyd as he attempts to top the Hall of Fame himself, however he will be stepping way out of his comfort zone in his own journey. A Sunday League at best player, with no coaching badges to his name he will have his work cut out for him as he attempts to knock Sir Alex off the top of the Hall of Fame.

Few aims I want to complete during this are as follows:
• Become the greatest manager of all time (top the Hall of Fame)
• Become favored personnel at 3 clubs
• Become an icon at 2 different clubs
• Become a legend at Motherwell
• Manage Scotland
• Win the Champions League on any continent I manage in

To even get close to Alex Fergsuson’s record of 4980 points, Vince is going to have to win a lot of trophies. Sir Alex had over 30 years in management in which he amassed all of his trophies. There aren’t any rules to this and I’m not trying to get to the top of the Hall of Fame in the same amount of time as Sir Alex which is the requirement for this challenge on another forum, I am aiming to top the Hall of Fame eventually, but ultimately I just want to have fun with it.

If you’ve read 1 of my previous careers on here, found here then you’ll see I started in Singapore and went on to have a decent enough time of it. Due to FM19 coming out I stopped that save and went on to have a couple of other decent runs in 19, before experiencing 3 game breaking glitches, hence the return to the best FM there is, FM17. For other FM17 saves, see the incredible Jacobs Ladder thread here which is still going strong, as well as Journeyman's Journey found here. Also see Franjo's blog which has stopped now, although he has said he'll carry it on at some point. These threads just show how great FM17 is.

As with Take me on a Journey, Man this will also start in Singapore, however it’s not the usual start unemployed, I will be starting at whatever team is at the bottom of the S League when the game starts, which is in June 2016 which by that point the S League has played a handful of games. The reason for that is due to the Singapore league being the lowest rep league I have active in the game from the start and for a nobody in football, a good and realistic starting point. As the save goes on I will be adding and removing leagues along the way. The only league that will stay active for the duration of the game will be Scotland, as I want to see some quality Scottish regens coming through and hopefully, one day I can take the Scotland team to a World Cup (maybe, maybe not) as well as hopefully managing Motherwell.

Hailing from the sunny skies of Motherwell, Scotland, Vince sets out on his quest to become the greatest of all time. As a lifelong fan, he’s always dreamed of managing Motherwell, but for that day to ever come to fruition Vince has got a lot of work on to make it a reality.

Updates should be at least one a week. However I will try and get more than that up if I can.

As noted in the opening post, I will be starting at the team bottom of the S League, which currently is Hougang United.





I’m going to be realistic, it’s probably damage limitations this year and try not to finish bottom of the league. In FM there are no relegation's from the S League, not sure about in real life though, so even if we do finish bottom we should still be here next season. The team have won 2 games all season and as such are planted right at the bottom of the league with 9 points. There's plenty of time to turn things around however.











The first thing to I do after assessing the squad, is sign a center half, Jonathan Xu, as clearly the team are struggling on the defensive end. Not a world beater by any means, but the standard of player in this league isn’t high and I’m sure he will shore up the defence. As there is still the transfer window, we may conduct more business.





Any good manager has their own back room staff that go from club to club with them, and this club only has a physio on it’s books, so with that in mind I sign my first back room member chief scout Andy McKenzie. His stats don’t tell me he is that great, but if he comes with me to another club, he’ll bring along the scout reports from players I scout now and keep on my shortlist. Welcome aboard.

As with incoming players, I will be addressing the shortage of backroom members as well, but for now we're just concentrating on the first game of my career.





So with the usual pleasantries out of the way, we kick off the journey with a home game against Geylang International FC. Whilst a loss isn’t the end of the world a win would be nice to start the journey to greatness.









Next update should be up over the weekend and will be covering the first round of games for Vince on this journey, tactics and any more new signings made during the transfer window.

Thanks for reading.

Hougang United June 2016 update

After getting advice from the 1 member of coaching staff on the books at the club, the team had played 4-2-3-1 all season with very little luck. So with that in mind we used a very basic 4-4-2 using Pablo Rodriguez as a target man and Fairoz Hasan as a poacher playing off him.

As for the game itself we looked good and held our own, there was no nervy feelings and we took the lead inside half an hour. Rodriguez played a low cross in from the right which got buried in at the near post. There was the inevitable pressure from Geylang but despite them having some good possession and the stats say 3 clear cut chances, we held on to the lead until we doubled it on 65 minutes to kill the game off. They had a man sent off for a second yellow late on but the game was over and done with by then.



After the game Steve Kean piped up about the club using a director of football to which I responded. I do love a good spat. I hadn’t actually realised there was a director of football here until now.





We sign left full back Ismadi Mukthar who will be our starter. As with the other players here, they’re not world beaters but for this league, I think he’ll do alright.





I didn’t mention on the opening post but this team had actually beaten Young Lions in the Singapore cup first round for us to progress to the quarter final, there’s not many teams play in this cup, and we played a 0-0 against lower league opposition. We absolutely battered them all over the pitch, we just couldn’t take our chances.



Early doors in the career but 2 games unbeaten gives us a decent platform to build on, which we did by beating JP Voltes 3-0 in the second leg of the quarter final. We had over 30 shots against them again, surely this is a good sign we can create things going forward, it may only be against a lower league side but hopefully that can carry on. We’re drawn against Albirex Nigata in the semi final.





Back in the league and my thoughts of the team being good going forward were true as we absolutely destroyed Home United 6-0 with Hasan getting 4 goals, all 4 coming off assists from Pablo Rodriguez meaning the big man little man combo worked to perfection




The League Cup takes palce during the season in Singapore so we've got at least 3 games to play. We're drawn against Home United, Warriors and Balesiter in Group A

Home United must hate seeing us as we beat them 3-0 in the first game of the league cup, before beating league champions elect Warriors 2-0 and rounding out the group stage of this cup with my first loss, a drab 2-0 away loss to Balestier. Despite the loss we topped the group with 6 points and are drawn against Geylang in the semi final









If you remember earlier Steve Kean kicked up a bit on the director of football approach, well at half time during the semi final game we were winning 2-0 and his team held a 2-1 advantage, all signs pointing to a final between us.



We got a bit complacent as we allowed Geyland to get back into the game as they grabbed an early goal in the second to give them some hope. We just about held on and then on the 66 minute mark there had been another goal in their game, and my oh my Steve Kean had conceded an equaliser from the penalty spot.



We held on to win the game 2-1. Nothing came of the pressure from Geylang as we stood tall and got not only a very well deserved win, but a place in the Star Hub League Cup Final.





After our game I checked on the score from the other game



After conceding that late equaliser, DPMM went on to concede an own goal deep into extra time to knock them out of the cup!

We now play Balesiter, who gave me my only loss as a manager so far.





So for a team that were bottom of the league a short while ago to be in the League Cup final sure is something. On this path of greatness Vince is going to need to win as much as possible. Obviously a loss here isn’t the be all and end all, and really this team has responded well to a change in tactics, but they’re bottom of the league for a reason.

We hope to avenge that first loss to Balestier and win the League Cup. A win here could really propel the team and help with avoiding finishing bottom of the league. I’m not getting ahead of myself, but I’m confident of a win here.



Next update will be how we got on in my first final as a manager, as well as final couple of months of the season will be covered.

Thanks for reading.

Like the way you're presenting, quick to read but plenty of detail. Just wondering what you're gonna do when FM2020 comes out as you will no doubt still have a long way to go with this.

Best of luck with this, I echo what VP says about trying to get stuck in to a 'big save' so close to FM20 release.

Good start to the season so far! Best of luck in the final

Cheers mate. With FM 20 I'm not going to bother until the third patch in around April time next year, plus with 19 I had game breaking bugs that really put me off. 17 just plays so well and smooth for me I always found myself going back to it even when 19 was playing okay.



Thanks man, glad to have you on board.



Cheers mate. Glad to have you following

Hougang United August 2016 update

Just a short update this time as I wanted to get the cup final and the few games of August out of the way.

The first cup final, of hopefully many, ended in a way no one would’ve predicted before I took over. I told the team to go out there and play their natural games, the pressure was all on Balesiter, in a way it was as they were the favorites and our team had been playing poorly all season. We were 2-0 at half time, and really the game was done and dusted at point. We added a third to really top the whole competition off in style.









Believe me when I say there’s no better feeling than winning a cup, maybe a league but for a team that has been poor all season up until I walked through the door, and for the first competition win of my career, this feels special. Not only is this my first trophy, it’s also this clubs too.



All the goals:

https://youtu.be/FZYldmYBd9I

We then had the semi-final of the Singapore cup where we played a 1 all draw with Albirex Nigata, the highest rep team in Singapore.

A very even game all things considered. They scored the opener on 16 minutes before we went straight back at them from the restart and after a long ball into the box Wahid poked the ball home. A decent enough result to take into the second leg



Sandwiched between the 2 legs of the cup semi final, we played top of the league, and champions in waiting Warriors. We were 2-0 at half time before they pulled it to 2-1 with 7 minutes remaining, we held on though and a win against top of the league team can be seen as progress.



Rounding out August was the second leg of the semi final, and this is where our second cup run ends, as Albirex showed their superiority and pulled out a 2-1 win, meaning they won 3-2 on aggregate. Always disappointing to lose a 2 legged tie but there’s no shame in this loss, they’re a top team and our team are only now playing somewhat decent.





All in all August was a good month for me as we had 3 wins, 1 being the cup final, a draw and a loss, to bring my record to a respectable 8-2-2. I’ve seen enough in this team to think finishing bottom isn’t going to happen, and all the games left in the league are winnable enough. Plus we’ve won the League Cup this season, and there’s nothing to say we couldn’t win it again next season.



So Vince has one cup to his name, there’s going to have to be a lot more than that if he is to top the Hall of Fame. Onwards and upwards.

Hougang United 2016 season update

So after a good month in August despite being knocked out of the Singapore Cup, I think we’ve used all our luck winning the League Cup this season, it’s all about getting results and not finishing bottom of the S League now. With the Cup win the squad should be on a high and really, finishing bottom shouldn’t happen.

So 6 games left of my first season as a manager, and we got off to a good start when we beat Young Lions 3-2 at home. The interesting thing about this game was we were 2 all heading into the 85th minute before center half Jonathan Xu got sent off, I would have been happy with a draw at that stage but we managed to clinch the win with a late goal.

Steve Kean the twat and DPMM taught us a lesson in finishing as an even game ended 3-1 to them, which helps them and their title challenge out. We then lost another even game, this time to Balesiter who avenged that cup final loss. 1-0 was a fair result really, they had a decent chance and took it, we had enough chances to equalize but we didn’t.



Those results leave us 7th in the league with 21 points and 3 games left to play.



For much of the season Warriors had occupied top spot, but with 3 games left, Steve Kean and DPMM currently hold that position.

We then played a good game at home to Tampine Rovers and secured a 2-1 victory.



This home victory preceded an absolutely incredible game away at Albirex Nigata, where it was end to end stuff. Both teams putting on a good showing and really, 4-2 didn’t tell the whole story. Every time they had the ball they looked like creating something from it, and we never backed down either and kept taking it to Albirex despite going in at the half 2-0 down. 12 minutes after the restart and it was 2 all, and I think that really took the wind out of Albirex. We got 2 goals in the final 10 minutes to complete a remarkable turnaround.



The final game of Vince’s first season as a manager ended in a 1 all draw away at the team he first faced as a manager, Geylang International. As even a game as they come, not a bad result and the team had secured not finishing bottom by this point as well.



So with all that done the first 6 months of the career are in the bag and Vince did what he set out to do in the short term, and that was avoid finishing bottom of the league, which was won by Warriors who by and large had looked the most threatening all season long.





The final game of this season is the third place play off in the Singapore cup, nothing fancy and doesn’t do anything in the grand scheme of things, but we beat Tampine Rovers 2-1 to finish third in the cup





Steve Kean managed to win the Singapore Cup with DPMM this season to have a Scotsman win each of the cups in Singapore. I'm sure winning the cup will soften the blow of losing out on the league title.





End of season stuff now and Fairoz Hasan gets player of the season, not my choice I’d have given it to Pablo Rodriguez. Noor’s goal against Home United is also awarded goal of the season.





https://youtu.be/8Npid33bwv0

1 final note to make, as the dream is to manage Motherwell, I’m always keeping an eye on their results and here’s one no one saw coming



As the team sets off for their end of season break, there’s not that much work to do really. There’s enough quality in the team to improve on this season’s 7th place finish, the League Cup win proves that. Backroom staff will be addressed, any players that won’t sign new contracts will be replaced, and this season we won't be hanging around at the bottom end of the league.

Next update will be pre-season stuff, staff coming and going, new signings and the start of the new campaign. Thanks for reading!

Great start ticking off a trophy already!

Yeah was nice to get an early cup win, the first of many hopefully

Hougang United season update

As mentioned in the last post I have addressed the back room staff situation. First in is first team coach and Saint Mirren icon Steven Thompson. Following him through the door is my new assistant manager Jim Love. Finally joining those 2 are my new under 18’s coach Marc O’Connor and under 18’s physio Paul Spencer. Hopefully we can build a good working relationship, and as noted I would like to keep my backroom team together at other clubs, where possible. I know the under 18’s staff stats aren’t that good, but I want to keep it as realistic as possible.











With my backroom taking shape we got the season summary through, Warriors clearly over achieving by winning the league so they’ll be the team to beat this season, as well as our own fixtures being announced, and we’re playing the team I faced first as a manager Geyland International, as well as being predicted as finishing 5th in the league, which of course is an improvement on our 7th placed finish from the season that just finished.







Transfers time now as we saw 1 player leave and 2 come in. First the players joining us are Cristian Vargas at center forward and Stefan Milojevic at left full back. As with all the players in this division they’re stats aren’t the best, but for me Vargas must surely be the best striker in the league and I am expecting some goals from him this season









Fumiya Kogure was transfer listed as I couldn’t get him in the team, with him being Japanese and our foreign player quota already being filled, he’s off to Malaysian team Pahang who have just been relegated to the second division. 20 thousand euros is big money in this league and more or less pays for the 2 players we’ve just brought in





The board are expecting a top half finish, and so am I. With Rodrigues and Vargas up top we should be able to outscore most teams in the division, with the exception of champions Warriors and top rep team Albirex Nigata.



Final point on this update is that Lionel Messi (anyone ever heard of him?!) has won the Ballon d’Or after a good year with Barcelona.



Next update will be the first 2 months of the new season and any other business.

Thanks for reading.

Nice work on winning the cup, and a respectable league position given where you started. Hopefully the couple transfers will help you out for the next season. Good luck!

Cheers mate, very optimistic for this season.

Hougang United season update

My first full season at Hougang started just as my stint as manager did, with a victory over Geyland International, this one being a resounding 4-0. Rodriguez grabbing a brace and goals from center half Xu and forward Hussain. A great way to start the new season.



Another win followed this time a 3-1 away win over Young Lions, Rodriguez getting another 2 goals as well as Hassan getting the other.



Our first home game was another 3-1 victory, this one over Tampines Rovers, Rodrigues this time grabbing a hat trick to bring his total to 7 in 3 games.



The final game in February saw us win again, with a 2-1 victory over Balestier, with Rodriguez continuing his great form to get a goal within the first minute, before Stazibat sealed the win on 78minutes.



4 games in and 4 wins for our troubles. We’ve got 2 games in hand over leaders Albirex but with the way we’re playing, we can be confident of progressing.





Just thought I’d see what’s going on in Scotland and to my surprise Celtic are struggling and have sacked Brendan Rogers



Remember this is still only the first season, so they must not be doing well at all. But their first game after sacking Rogers was a home game against Motherwell:



Back to our own progression and we’re drawn as the home team in the Singapore Cup against Vientiane FC of Laos. We should win this one fairly easily I would’ve thought.



We couldn’t make up ground on leader Albirex as we went down 2-1 at home in our first loss of the new season. We can’t have many complaints really, we took it to them and held our own throughout, they were just the better team on the day.



We had Steve Kean and DPMM up next, and he was mouthing off in the media about how he’s a better manager than me and how he’ll shut me up, well I don’t bother responding to the media and let the team do all the talking for me



They didn’t have a sniff of the ball all game and 3-0 flattered them, with new boy Vargas absolutely bossing the game. Keep out of the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat Steve.



Whilst it’s always nice putting a rival manager in place, that bit of good fortune preceded 2 injuries that can fall in the unfortunate timing column. First team left full back and new signing Milojevic out for up to 3 months and star striker and main man Pablo Rodriguez out for up to 7 weeks. I just hope this doesn’t derail us too much





Those injuries aside, we laboured to a 2 all draw with defending champions Warriors, before rounding out the month with a 1 nil away over Home United.





Those results give us a record of 6 wins, a draw and a loss to keep us in second place in the league.





A steady start to the new season, and from what I’ve seen we’re in for a good season. I really think this squad can continue to challenge for the top end of the league. Whilst main man Rodriguez is injured, Vargas has stepped up and is playing well.

Next update will be the next few months of this season, other happenings in the world and anything else of note.

Thanks for reading.

Hate it when you're doing really well in a lower league but you always get one team that matches you

Yeah it's neck and neck at the minute, I'm actually happy as Albirex are the highest rep team in Singapore. But there might be a twist in the tale in a future update.....

Hougang United season update

With there only being 9 teams in the league we play each 3 times, then there’s the cups so play them all again, gets a bit boring playing the same team over and over, but it is what it is and really, Singapore is a pretty enjoyable league to be in.

First up in April were the team I’ve played against the most Geylang International, and this was an end to end game which neither of us deserved to lose. We were holding on at 2-1 right up until the dying embers of injury time and conceded right at the end of the game. Despite the stats telling a different story, we were lucky to be in front and really could’ve lost this game.



Not long into our new season and DPMM have sacked my seemingly bitter rival. Oh well, wonder how they’ll get on now, who they’ll get in and where Steve might end up next.





We went down 1-0 away to defending champs Warriors next in a game we could’ve won on another day. They are the champs I suppose so grinding out results are to be expected from them.



In the media I’m asked about my problems with Young Lions boss Patrick Hesse. I didn’t realise there was a war of words last time but I do love a good spat between managers





As for the game



An out of left field appointment by DPMM to replace Scotsman Steve Kean with another Scotsman in ex Rangers player Barry Ferguson, as he leaves the bright lights of Clyde in the Scottish third division. I love it when FM does stuff like this, can’t wait to get the better of him



We were brought crashing down to Earth as we lost 2-0 away to Tampines Rovers. We had more shots but none were real clear cut chances, and they took their chances. Disappointing but we move on.



On the same day Barry Ferguson wins his first game in charge of DPMM as they won 3-0 away at Home United. Good for them.



We get right back on track with a resounding 5-0 home win over Balesiter to bring our record in April to 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw which sees us occupy second place in the league.







Defending champs Warriors seem all over the place at the minute as they are currently 14 (!) points off top spot whilst we are 5 points behind Albirex but they have a game in hand. Definitely all to play for and maybe, just maybe we can reduce that 5 point gap at the top

May 2017

Nice little award for Vargas to kick May off as he’s awarded the player of the month for April. No doubt about it either as he’s really stepped in with Rodriguez being injured.



Speaking of the big man Rodriguez, his first game back was against Home United and I brought him on in the 73rd minute, and gave him some encouragement as he made his way on to the pitch with the game at 0-0 despite us absolutely dominating the game.





We changed it slightly as well as we went route one and pump ball into the box, and the substitution really paid off. Firstly the ball got hoofed up to Rodriguez who was just inside the penalty area and with his first touch he headed the ball down in front of him, and in a way it was defence splitting as Mat Noor ran onto the ball and buried it home. 1 touch, 1 assist. Next bit of good play was another long ball, one of those floating efforts that again found Rodriguez just on the edge of the area, except this time he took a touch, laid the ball in to the path of left midfielder Plaziblat who hit a sweet effort to kill the game off.



We took the good form into the cup as we beat Vientiane 3-1 to progress to the next round, where we’ll play Young Lions.





To end this post is the finale of the SPL season, and what a season it’s been so far. Celtic aren’t the runaway leaders, and I didn’t post it but it was Paul Hartley who was given the job after Brendan Rodgers got the boot. Anyway the table going into the final game looks like this:



Motherwell are safe from relegation, so Vince is happy at that. However at the top it could be 1 of Hearts, Celtic or Rangers who win it. Rangers need to win at home to Dundee and hope Celtic and Hearts both lose, Celtic need to win away at Aberdeen and hope Hearts don’t win at home to Saint Johnstone, and for Hearts they just need to win to guarantee the title, or match Celtics result and hope Rangers don’t win by 3 goals and they lose.



So an exciting end to the SPL season as all eyes will be on the final games. If Celtic don’t win it there will be serious questions asked, but it would be great if they didn’t.

Next update will be how the SPL season finished, some news regarding contracts and the next round of league games and the start of the League Cup, which we’ll be looking to defend.

As always thanks for reading.

Hougang United season update

We kick this update off with the final of the SPL. How did it end?



So with us playing well and looking like finishing around the top of the table, I let the clubs director of football sit down with main man Pablo Rodriguez and try and discuss a new deal. The outcome:



But when I get an inbox inviting me to an interview with bottom of the Malaysian Super League side Kedah my head is turned.



So to me at least my stock seems to be on the rise. You never can tell how interviews go, and there’s not much else I can do other than get the team ready for the next fixture against Young Lions in the Singapore cup quarter final.



Just before that next game however we get news that Cristian Vargas is out for 3 months, not good news but we’ve got Rodriguez & Hasan who despite not signing new contracts are fit and ready to play.



The cup game itself was a great result for us, 3-1 away and taking a 2 goal advantage into the second leg.



3 bits of news now, as firstly the World Cup is now heading to Morocco instead of Qatar (forgot to get a screenshot), Steve Kean wasn’t out of work too long as he heads North to Malaysia with Super League side Terengganu, and I get my first rejection letter as a manager. Part of me is disappointed not to get the Kedah job (if you read my other save found here, you’ll see I had a pretty good run with Kedah) as they’re bottom of the league and relegation is a possibility, plus at the minute we’re still in both cups here as well as in with a shout, albeit a long shot of winning the league







The first leg result really helped as we managed a 2-1 second leg win over Young Lions to progress to the quarter final 5-2 on aggregate, where we’ll play Tampines Rovers.





We then had possibly the result of the season so far as we beat league leaders Albirex 2-0 away to cut the gap to just 1 point with a game in hand. Absolutely terrific performance from us here and the top of the league is looking very close at the end of June.





Starhub League Cup time now as we start off with 2 wins and a draw to see us progress as Group B winners.







We’ve got current league champions Warriors in the semi final, and unlike the Singapore cup this is a 1 legged affair. So how did we get on?



We have the chance to progress in the Singapore cup next as we beat Tampines Rovers 3-0.



Before the return leg in the cup, we destroyed DPMM 4-0 and edged a close game against Geylang International 3-4, before winning the return leg of the cup 2-0 to book our place in the final against Home United.



Rounding out this update are 2 games, a loss to defending champs Warriors and a win over Tampines Rovers (again) in the league





On the same day as we beat Tampines, Warriors beat Albirex and we’re sitting at the top of the league on 41 points, 3 in front of Warriors in second place.



The next day I noticed the following news article



Which I’m asked about, and I do confirm I am interested in the job









Now this may seem like a step down should I be interviewed and even get offered the job, but at the minute there doesn’t seem to be any other interest and they’re on a bit of a downward slope. They’re still the biggest rep team in Singapore, and this is a journeyman save so moving to another team, albeit one that is in trouble at the minute is all part of the fun, so we’ll see how things pan out from here.

Next update will be the final 5 games of the S League season, the cup final, any other business and if anything came of the Albirex Nigata links.

Thanks for reading

Winning back-to-back Singaporean League Cups isn't for everybody...
I'd personally stay with Hougang so you have a chance of getting continental football, as Albirex are ineligible, but completely your decision of course - it would be a step up in reputation, as you say.

Hougang United season update

With the business end of the season coming up we finished the month of September off with a loss to Young Lions in a pretty disappointing showing. We’re sitting top of the league on goal difference though so in the last 4 games, it’s all to play for.





Something I didn’t pick up on, but 4 days ago the man Kedah chose over me didn’t manage to keep them in the Super League as they got relegated, and today Sarawak joined them. Maybe a blessing in disguise that I didn’t get offered the job at Kedah?





With the league title in touching distance, we opened the door for Warriors as we went down 1-0 away to Balesiter in a game we dominated, after going behind early on and absolutely battering them, we just couldn’t take 1 of our many chances.



Next up were Albirex, who we beat 2-0. Not only was this a good victory for Hougang to keep the pressure on Warriors at the top of the league, it also put me in the shop window, as straight after the game I was invited to an interview with the Albirex chairman



I attend the interview, and I want this job. Even if we win the league and the cup, I think going there will bolster my chances of getting a bigger job further down the line, plus with the budget they have I’ll be able to use that to really challenge for and dominate the league. I wait and see.





Finishing off October we beat Home Untied 2-0 in a preview of the upcoming cup final, to leave us with 1 game to go, and we’re 1 point behind defending champions Warriors





During the interview with Albirex, I said I wanted to take over at the end of the season, that way I can finish this season as best as I can, and with that in mind they came back with an offer





So the deal is done and dusted, I’m leaving Hougang for pastures new in a few weeks time. Before then though we’ve got DPMM and Barry Ferguson at home and if we win and Warriors don’t then we become champions of Singapore. If not then we will finish a very respectable second. So how did the final game of the S League season go:



End of season awards and Plazibat is given the player of the year award, and a young player by the name of Kazkui Ishida gets young player of the year. I’ll be hoping despite Albirex’s poor season his form continues as I take over.





So I find myself at my final game as Huangang manager, and it’s a second cup final for me as we take on Home United in the Singapore Cup.



A win here would certainly be great as I could leave on an even bigger high and hopefully take this momentum into my new job.









The cup final really was one sided as it was effectively over after only 21 minutes. Of our 12 shots in the game, 3 were on target, 3 were clear cut chances and all 3 were goals. After that we sat back and let them come onto us, we soaked up the pressure and never looked like conceding at all. A perfect way to win a cup final, and a fitting way to end my time as Hougang Untied manager.









Before I officially go over to Albirex, the clubs best 11 is announced, along with confirmation that Pablo Rodriguez is the fans player of the year, and Plazibat’s goal against Balesiter is given goal of the season





https://youtu.be/FbXFJZea6CA

The clubs moment to forget is the final day defeat to DPMM, ending our chance of winning the league. I’m also now on the favoured personnel list at Hougang United





And with that, I am now leaving my first managerial position as I leave Hougang United after a 7th & 2nd place finish, as well as winning the League and FA Cups during my 18 months here. It’s time to move on and I do feel the time is right to leave. The attraction to Albirex is that they’ve got a good budget to play with, and they can only sign Japanese players which is going to make me prove my worth as a manager. Onwards and upwards.

Next update will be the first few weeks of my new job, new signings and any other business.



Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the words mate, glad to have Journeyman following

I know Albirex are ineligible for the Champions League, but I'm not targeting continental football at the minute. I want to build up a bit of rep and get a good team together, maybe not in Singapore but somewhere to really tackle continental football.

Unlucky with the league, but great to get the other cup on your way out. I'm sure you'll do even better with Albirex.

Cheers mate, I remember Journeyman doing well with Albirex, I'm here for 1 thing and 1 thing only and that is the S League. You'll see in the next post how many players Hougang released, so I think going to Albirex is my best chance of getting that league won.

Well done on winning the cup but losing the league like this must be disappointing :\.Good luck in your next adventure with Albirex mate !

Cheers for the kind words man. Glad to have you on board.

Echo what GreenFront said, annoying to lose the league especially with it being so tight but well done on the cup success

Cheers man, am sure next season will go a good one.

Progression in Singapore

So here I am, Albirex Niigata, formerly Singapore’s highest rep team. A short half hour or so drive from Hougang's stadium to my new home of Jurong East Stadium.















A team that struggled last season and finished, for them a disappointing third in the S League, 9 points behind me and my Hougang side, and a staggering 13 points behind winners Warriors. Joining me on this second leg of the journey is my assistant manager Jim Love, along with the rest of my backroom staff Steven Thompson, Kyle Wells, Andy McKenzie, Marc O’Connor and Paul Spencer.

As shown, for a team that was supposed to be challenging for the title, they lost a lot of games last season, so the thing I address is the defence. Now as Albirex are a satellite team of Albirex in Japan, the club can only sign Japanese players. Not too much of an issue as really, no disrespect to any other Asian players but Japanese players are the stand outs in Asian football. There are a few good South Koreans, but Japanese players tend to be better overall.

First in the door are center halves Tommy Stokes (half Australian) and promoted from the youth setup Tara Yokoyama. For this league I expect them to be good players. Stokes isn’t the tallest especially for a center half, but his quickness and tackling should make up for that.









Complimenting them is a new goalkeeper in the form of Guilherme Hasegawa. He will start most games and I am looking for him to really shore up the defence





We were then given the news that DPMM are now the country’s highest rep team, despite Warriors winning back to back league titles. This club has gone down in the rankings, but my good showing over 18 months in Hougang hasn’t seen them rise at all





Season review now and my main man Pablo Rodriguez was top scorer, Plazibat had the most assists and Rodriguez had the highest average rating. Despite this, I am happy with my leaving Hougang, and just to justify it to myself Hougang didn’t agree contracts with those 2 players, as well as letting 6 other first teamers and Matthew Tay (reserve keeper) leave. Without those players I think they will struggle, however the players had seemingly made their mind up long ago and wouldn’t negotiate a new deal with me.





We’re drawn with Warriors, Tampines and Home United in the League Cup. Can we win it, who knows? Our first league fixture is against Tampines so we’ll be looking for a win there as well as being made favourites to win the league.











I finally arrive at my first game for Albirex, and I’m looking for a good performance early on to let the other teams know that I’m here for 1 thing and 1 thing only, and that is the league title. I felt we had no chance of getting it in Hougang, but here it’s different. Here I can tell I’m going to win it, and I’m not looking back. Hougang was a good opportunity and experience to land me this job, and from here who knows. But this season it’s all about me getting that league title. This club are favourites for the league for a reason, and I’m here to make sure that happens.





Next update will be the first few rounds of games at my new club, see how Hougang get on without me in their first few games and any other business.

Thanks for reading.

Board wanting the double, pressure is on! I'm confident you can get that league title, though Warriors will likely run you all the way; despite the bookmakers odds.