Work my way up, from the bottom

I started unemployed with a range of random nations to choose from. I applied for 3 or 4 interesting looking vacancies in lower leagues, in Bulgaria, Hungary, England and Portugal. I was offered 3 if the jobs but decided to accept Spartak 1918 Varna in the Bulgarian Second League. They are so poor, financially, with no budget or spare wage budget. Quality is pretty low, but I took time to organise training and tactics, and sift a few youth players from B team into the main squad. After a poor start (I had tried a strange version of 5-3-2 which really didn’t work at all)  I have settled in. Top of the league by 18points with 20 games played. 
 

Starting to think about next season, even if I win promotion I can’t see there being much I can do regarding transfers. Also a number of key players are considering their options at the the end of this season and I just don’t see how I’ll be able to replace them with players suitable of playing at 1st league level with the wage and transfer budget restrictions. 

So I’m starting to keep an eye open at Italian Serie C teams, looks like vacancies pop up regularly, so might make the move over to Italy for 24/25, try to build a team and climb the Italian ladder.

So I reached the end of the 23/24 season, winning Bulgarian Second League by a landslide. The board rewarded me with a princely transfer budget of £750, which sealed my decision to move to Italy for 24/25.

I waited until playoffs were all done in Serie B and C to see who got the sack and what vacancies would emerge. I applied for Venezia and Ascoli (who turned me down), both newly relegated to Serie C, but then I noticed Hellas Verona had been relegated from Serie A and had sacked their manager, so applied there too. Given the lack of experience I didn’t expect to get a look in but they offered me the job and I accepted. 

I’m now in the process of recruiting staff and assessing the squad before pre-season, but already it’s clear that Verona are a galaxy away from the level in the Bulga Second League.

Incidentally, I took some time to download the DF11 Megapack for player images, including all the updates. I must say it was worth the effort. I was always put off as it seemed quite a faff, but I found it quite easy once I read through the download instructions. I haven’t been brave enough to download the newgen skin generator but I’m sure I’ll come back to it at some point. 
 

Now let’s see if I can get Hellas Verona promoted straight back to Serie A or not.

So I finally got round to finishing the season. I am chuffed to have got Verona promoted back to Serie A as champions, with 2 games to spare. It was a fairly poor show in the cup but we are a way off the top Serie A teams and we were never going to compete with Juve and Milan (eventual finalists). 
 

I relied mostly on loans and bargains. Top scorer was Justin Diehl, on loan from Milan, with just 10 goals. Budget for next season is just over £5million, I am expecting to have to rely on loans again, but that’s fine. Have already sealed the transfers of Filip Stankovic from Inter and Facundo Pellistri from Man Utd. 
 

The club was taken over near the end of the season but so far there hasn’t been much impact but the season has barely finished, so I’ll have to wait and see. Fingers crossed they don’t mix things up too much as I’m quite looking forward to next season with Verona in Serie A!

Quick update, 3 games into Verona’s return to Serie A, so far so good - a win and 2 draws. Quite excited about transfer deadline day as I managed to sign 2 top young players on loan at the last minute, including Carvalho from Liverpool. He would normally be totally out of our league and budget, but in the closing hours of the window I was able to barter with the club for no loan fee and only paying 20% of his wages! Totally worth leaving it last minute and being cheeky!

Season is going well, had a tough run of games against the big teams but have won most the games against smaller teams and find myself 5th in Serie A with 12 games played. All is good, I‘m even contemplating what European football might be like next year if this continues, but out the blue I have been offered the Austrian national team job!?! Really not sure what to do…

…I didn’t take the international job, stuck to my plan of finishing my the season with Verona. And what a season it turned out to be, we managed a 5th place finish, only missing out on 4th on the last day. I’m currently sorting a clear out of dead wood and have appointed a new director of football. Starting to contemplate europa league football in my 3rd season with the club, 4th season of the save. Dead chuffed and look forward to it.

So, I’m almost half way through the 26/27 season and things are going well. Results have been mixed, as always we find it impossible to get a result against Juve, Milan, Inter, Napoli etc. Currently sitting 4th in Serie A, if we can hold on to a champions league spot (improving on last year’s 5th place finish) then I’ll be very happy indeed. Life in the europa league is tougher that I expected. We are 13th in the table with 2 games to play, but one of those games is against Chelsea, which we are guaranteed to lose. 
 

I recently freshened up my first choice tactic to try and break a bad run of form, moving one of my midfield 3 forwards into a more attacking role. I also slowed down the pace and shortened up our passing, to try and retain more possession. This has worked a treat, with 2 wins on the voice, albeit against weak opposition. I will stick with it for a while, mostly to accommodate a couple of big injuries we’ve had, the worst one being my first choice striker, Justin Diehl. 
 

Since the start of the season I’ve been approached by the Poland national team and most recently by Lazio. I wasn’t particularly interested in the national team job, but I confess the Lazio job got me intwrested. I eventually turned it down because it wouldn’t be a step up, and I’ve put a lot of effort in at Verona and I’d regret missing out on seeing us progress further. I’m really excited about the young players I’ve signed on free transfers over the past 18months, nearly all out on loan this season and nearly all worth £10m plus. With a half decent wage budget I’ve managed to sign some amazing prospects for no transfer cost, and I’m desperate to start integrating them into the team next season. 
 

Saying that, if a top team approached me I’d have a hard time staying. But it would have to be an established champions league team to tempt me away, obviously madrid, Barca, Liverpool etc. but perhaps the Milans or even Juve. For now though I’m still enjoying the building process at Hellas Verona. Top 4 here we come!

nice

Ok, so I mentioned previously that I reworked my tactics… the good results did not last. You know when you’ve been using one tactic for a while, but little changes here and there mean that it’s completely evolved into a different tactic that what you started with? I got frustrated with it and so I started reading the tactics blogs here on sortitoutsi. I was mesmerised by a ‘Klopp style’ 433 gegenpress. I created a new tactic with my Verona team, based on this, but with a few tweaks to account for the players I have. Wow! What a difference! I haven’t won every single game, but I’m about to break my unbeaten run record and am challenging for the Serie A title! Also, against my own expectations I’m through to the semi final of the europa league and an 5-3 up after the first leg of the copa italia semi final against Napoli. Injuries have been a problem for us, but careful squad rotation has allowed me to stay competitive. With about 6 league games to go I’m daring to dream of the title, and perhaps even winning the lot. 

Scrap what I said about big teams being too tempting to turn down, I’m ‘this close’ to getting a Hellas Verona tattoo 🙂 

What an end to the season!!! Down to the wire, we were 2 points ahead at the top of the league, last game of the season, we had to win to guarantee the scudetto. Hellas Verona 3 - Napoli 1. I’ve never screamed at my laptop screen so much. So chuffed! I thought I had high hopes by aiming for a top 4 finish!

The trophies didn’t stop there, as we were the unlikely winners in a 2-1 victory against Man Utd in the Europa League final!! So pleased.

The only dent in our amazing end to the season was losing 2-1 to Inter in the Coppa Italia final, but I was pleased just to have made it that far. Given our success in the other competitions, I am determined to do one better next season. 
 

Now I start the process of analysing the young players I signed last year who have been out on loan all season. I think there are at least 5 who can come in to challenge the first team, and a handful of others who I can sell for a tidy profit. 
 

Budget for 27/28 has been set at £9.5m, I‘m not complaining but it certainly won’t be enough to launch us into the later stages of the champions league next year, so I’ve some work to do.

I do love this game.

Oh my goodness, this season feels like it’s gone on forever! After a strong start to the season where we won the European Super Cup and the Euro/South American Cup, we had a few ups and down in the league. We were knocked out of the cup by Mourinho’s Roma at the Quarter Final stage, and Milan kicked our ass in the Italian Super Cup. I got through the group stage in the Champions League but was kicked out at the first knock out stage by Nice. Managed to get back on top of the league after Christmas and were eventually recrowned as champions with a game to spare. I’m quite chuffed at how many youth players are now first teamers, and when I analyse how many of my best and up and coming players were signed for free it’s really impressive. As the season winds to a close I find myself considering what to do next. I think a real push in the Champions League next season will keep me hooked, but I am unsure how my resolve will hold if a big team showed interest. I’m looking forward to a bit of a clear out over the summer, and promote a few more young players to the first team.

I’ve also been pleased to see our finances improve over the last 4 seasons. We are now apparently ’rich’, mostly because I’ve yet to spend more than £9million on a player, and even then only twice (a new gen wonderkid winger called Jofre, and Joe Gomes). Also wages have been kept reasonable, only in the back half of this season have I given in to paying a player over £100k per week - Jofre insisted and he’s one of my best so I paid up.

Maybe I’ll spend some cash this summer, or perhaps I could try and get the stadium expanded. Either way, I think I need something new to occupy my interest for another season before getting itchy feet. 
 

I had a strange urge to manage Bordeaux in French Ligue 1, think it’s because of the recent (real life) i terest in the club from Liverpool’s owners. It’s a possibility but would be a bit of a step backwards after building Hellas Verona up to be the Italian giants they now are.

Let’s see what the summer brings!

Hi, it’s been a long time since the last post, because it’s been a long time since I got any real game time. I’ve been back ‘at work’ finally and a lot has happened…

Over the summer I did some pottering, the major change was breaking my transfer record to sign a £35m left back newgen from Barcelona. Great prospect, first team ready, but just as the season started I realised he wasn’t going to displace Dogu from the team so I sent him out on loan. It was a mixed start to the season; I was in 6th place in Serie A after about 10 games. Similar performance in the Champions League, but with some tough games coming up. It was about here that I spent a while away from the game, and when I returned my itchy feet had gotten even itchier. I love Hellas Verona, after 5 seasons and a lot of progress, and felt really conflicted, but tried to remember it’s only a game. So I had a  look around for other jobs. it was around October, so it wasn’t really the right time, so I went on holiday until Christmas. On my return the club were still in 6th place. I took charge of the team for the Italian super cup held in Saudi, but lost on penalties after a thriller, in the semi final to Juventus. I realised I had already lost the hunger, so went on holiday again, to return with 3 games to go. My assistant did a sterling job but had only managed to maintain 6th place, along with honourable but ultimately disappointing performances in the cups and champions league. I saw out the last 3 games, and the board sacked me. I had no complaints, although 6th in Serie A wasnt really that bad. I look back with pride on 2 scudettos, 1 Serie B, 1 Europa League, super cup and intercontinental cup. Not bad from taking over a newly relegated club.

So what was next? There were a few newly relegated clubs in the top leagues which had vacancies, but nothing to interest me. But then I saw Marseille was available and I applied. They had finished 8th in 28/29, missing out on any European competition. They looked financially stable with a half decent squad, including Vitinha up front. I had applied for a couple other jobs just in case, but Marseille came through. 
 

So here I am, in a new league, where champions PSG finished 20 points clear last season. I’m adopting a 4-2-3-1 formation, trying to pass short and maintain possession - with mixed success in preseason. I’ve not had a clear out as such, but I haven’t fought hard when reasonable bids have come in for players, especially those with huge salaries. I’ve managed to build a transfer pot of around £35m with a healthy wage budget over £2m per week. I’ve bought young prospects, some for the first team, and feel good about the team. At the time of typing I have one preseason game left before kicking off my first league 1 season. I’m aiming for champions league qualification, but really I’ll be disappointed if we can’t make second place. It will take time to truly challenge PSG but one season at a time.

I’m feeling good but I confess after Verona that I could be tempted away sooner than later. ultimately I’m aiming for la liga, or I would love to end up at Liverpool. In 2029 on my save Klopp is still there, and still winning stuff, so I’m happy to wait.

Lots of work to do, I’m still refining staff roles and working on the tactics. More to come.

So I’m loving life at Olympique de Marseille. We are into Feb 2030 and are top of Ligue 1, a single point ahead of PSG. We have trailed them all season until they unexpectedly dropped 2 points against someone down the bottom end of the table. We are through to the semi final of the Coupe de France, lining up against and Auxerre team who are currently top of Ligue 2.

Every now and then I get asked about my beloved former team, Hellas Verona, in particular what I think of my replacement Julian Nagelsmann, spending big money. I try not to be jealous, but can’t help it. 
 

I’m slowly getting hopeful of delivering the league and cup double in my first season in France. Can’t help but notice that Klopp is under fire for a poor season at Liverpool… If that job came up I would apply in a heartbeat.

Season is over, Olympique de MarseLille have done the league and cup double 🥳. We finished 10 points ahead of PSG in Ligue 1, and smashed them 4-0 in the cup final. it was hard work around the middle of the season but very satisfying.

I’m now balancing prep for next season and champions league football, with keeping an eye on job vacancies in case something big turns up (seems like I say this every single year!).

19 hot prospects set to sign at the end of the season (for less than £5m 🙂 ) to bolster our mediocre youth team. As always, I’m looking forward to promoting some youth to the first team.

I have no idea what the summer months will bring…. Let’s find out!

Well that didn’t take long… I noticed 2030 was a World Cup year, and that Senegal were without a manger. Ranked 14th in the world, and with ambitions of making it to the second round of the 2030 World Cup, I was appointed manager of  The Lions of Teranga. 

I’m quite excited, I’ve not done an international job on FM in decades. Looking at the squad I don’t see why we can’t escape the group phase at least, but here goes!

UPDATE…

We had a friendly scheduled one week before the WC group stage kicked off, away to Greece. I'm afraid it wasn't such a strong start to my international career as we were 3-0 down in less than 20mins 😢

Interesting concept this.

Would be even better with a few bits of graphics here and there in my opinion.

Senegal seems an interesting international challenge, produced plenty of good players over the last few years it has to be said.

Good luck with the national team hope you do well

As @HockeyBhoy  says you should get some images of the game up to really set your story alive 

Incidentally, I downloaded the sas skin from this site a little while ago. I have sceptical about downloading skins in the past but I really like this one. The arrangement of data for a player plus a few other quirks has really been useful, plus it's nice to have a bit of a change after playing the original skin for a long time. Fully recommend!

World Cup 2030 update: Senegal are through to the second round, after wins against Syria and Costa Rica, and a predictable loss in the opening game against Spain. 

So we're through to the second round for an African showdown with Nigeria.

I've tinkered with the shock-and-awe tactic I have used on and off over the seasons at Verona and Marseille. I've had to slow down the pace a little and shorten the passing to adapt to the slightly lower level. We certainly have a few quality players, including a 29yo Nicolas Jackson up front. I'm a little nervous about the Nigeria match; they were the other national team without a manager when I applied for the Senegal job - I hope that decision doesn't come back to bite me!

Meanwhile…

…couldn't help myself. Happy to stay at Marseille next season, but I just thought it might be a good opportunity to move to the Premier League, and with a club with Champions League games and a (hopefully) decent budget. We will see!

Back to the World Cup, and we made it through in extra time. We had dominated the first hour, with massive possession, XG and shots on goal. But Nigeria equalised to take us to extra time.  The win means we are through to face Denmark in the round of 16.

Wow - what a few weeks!

I win the league / cup double with Marseille, take Senegal to the World Cup round of 16 (and counting) and get the job at a Newcastle side who finished 3rd last season. This save keeps exciting me, even though I'm pretty sure it's the longest save I've ever done. I always look forward to the release of the new FM each year but I must say I'm loving this save so much that I'm happy that it's been delayed!

Looking good with the screen grabs now mate. Definitely brings the story to life 

Hope you get the Cartoon army relegated tbh, I would say that because I’m a SAFC fan….

As a Geordie and Newcastle fan myself I like this!!!!!

The World Cup dream ended admirably in a 3-2 round-of-16 thriller, where we lost to Denmark in extra time. We went toe-to-toe with them throughout but it just wasn't to be. I was genuinely proud of our performances in the tournament and we exceeded the expectations set, of making it to the second round. I'll be honest, I saw this as a summer job to keep me entertained until the new season kicked off at Marseille, but I think I will stay on as Senegal manager for a while, alongside the Newcastle job. 

The African Nations qualifiers begin in October, and I'm now thinking I'd quite like to experience an international tournament with the benefit of some prep time. I've been pretty busy setting things up at Newcastle, but I've also been working on recruiting staff for Senegal - we now have coaches and scouts. I've kept it to Senegalese staff for now, with the exception of my Ghanaian assistant manager who had previously managed the Ghana youth team to win the Under 20s African Cup of Nations. I've also started to keep a close eye on the national pool, taking an interest in potential players for the squad. 

It's true that most of my attention will be on Newcastle for the next couple of months, but I'm really glad that I went for the Senegal job, it's a very interesting twist to the tale of this save.