[FM24] Stranded: Zeb's African & European Adventure

January/February 2039

Africa Cup of Nations 2039 -  Cape Verde

Quarter-Final & Semi Final

Beating Morocco in their own tournament 6-1 came as a massive shock, and although we had beaten Ghana in the game before, I wasn't really expecting too much in the next game against Tunisia. We ended up beating Tunisia 3-0 and I started to wonder if the tactical changes I had instigated in the Ghana game and adjusted slightly for Morocco were going to give us the edge we needed to compete with the bigger teams.

While I kept the tactics exactly the same from the Morocco game onwards, I rotated the squad as needed to avoid losing anybody completely to fatigue, for the semi-final, we had Cameroon to contend with, yet another stronger team, though having beaten the teams we had to get here, I wondered if we could do it all again and we did, 3-1 this time, taking us through to our first ever Africa Cup of Nations final.

February 2039

Africa Cup of Nations 2039 -  Cape Verde

Final

Taking on and beating the likes of Morocco, Tunisia and Cameroon to reach the final, I knew we must have a chance against Mali, even if we were weaker on paper. There was a little fatigue for a couple of players but by and large, the team had made it this far without suffering any injuries and without losing anybody too important to suspension. Fielding nearly a full strength side, I went into the match, keeping everything the same as before, tactically speaking. This new system I implemented initially in the Ghana match and then tweaked for the Morocco game seemed to be working wonders, allowing us to beat teams that we probably should have lost against normally.

The key to the current tactical system is simple, our best players are up front and on the wings and the rest of the midfield are plenty competent, defensively we are at our weakest, so the solution was simple, get the ball up as quickly as possible to the front lines and let them lead the way. The system works and because of that, we reached our first ever Cup of Nations final.

With everything much as it was before, we went into the final hopeful of success, 1-0 turned to 2-0 and then to 3-0, it was looking to be a great win for us, though later in the game, Mali started to find gaps in our defence and we made mistakes, they pulled two back, one thanks to a penalty and the other a close-range header.

The final moments were nervy as I thought Mali might get a third, they didn't however, and as a result, my Cape Verde side were crowned Champions of Africa.

May 2039

The first phase of the Portuguese Liga 3 has finished, we came top of Série B with an eighteen point lead over second place Académica. Because of the way this league works, the top four teams from the two Liga 3 divisions will go through to the promotion playoffs group stage. For the promotion stage, we face Leiria, Leixões and Vianense. I'm hoping we can keep up our good from throughout the first phase and come out on top once more.

While I would like to come away from this season as Liga 3 champions, at the very least we need to go up, this team should really not be in the third tier. Given how well we have performed so far this season, I believe we should be able to top our group but if we fail, we should still have a chance of promotion as three teams go up, it'll just mean having to play more matches. Should we fail to secure promotion altogether, I think I may have to look to the job market once more, either I'll try and get a job at a higher league team here in Portugal, or possibly move on to Spain, rather than having to spend another year in the third tier.

May 2039

After dominating the league in the first phase, finishing eighteen points ahead of the second place team, we went into the final weeks hopeful of a successful promotion push. What I don't like about the Liga 3 in Portugal, is that a team can finish in third place in one of the two divisions, be ranked fifth overall for points and yet still come away as champions, fortunately that did not happen on this occasion, the Liga 3 winners, were in my somewhat biased yet correct opinion, that the team that deserved to be champions, lifted the trophy on the final day.

Having easily reached the promotion group phase, we managed to continue our good form, winning five out of the six games and drawing the other one, ending up top of our promotion group.. For the final, we faced off against the team that won the other group, which also happened to be the team that finished third in my division during the first phase. Having beaten Sertanense twice in the league in the first phase, I was confident of a repeat performance in the final, my players did not disappoint,. Though our promotion was already confirmed by topping our promotion group, winning the final gives us the bragging rights as champions.

By winning the league, it marks my third promotion since starting out on my journey, the others coming in the second tiers of Mozambique and Angola, it also gives me my first trophy in Europe, having only managed in Africa previously. A side effect of our promotion is the activation of a clause in my contract that extends it for another year, that means I should be here for another year as the team attempts to stay up in the second tier, and push for higher accolades.

For the time being, I plan to stick around and begin strengthening the side, as I do, I will also be checking the job market frequently, ideally I will be looking for a job in Spain, either of the top two tiers will do, but alternatively, I could be willing to move to a bigger team here in Portugal, in that case, it would need to be from the top tier to really make it worth moving. One final option that I have thought about is a move to Morocco, for that to be worthwhile though, I would only consider one of the absolute top teams, maybe Wydad or Raja Casablanca.

My next update will either be an end of pre-season update with friendly results and transfers, or a new job announcement should I end up leaving before the season starts.
 

Our transfers for the season, we focussed on bringing in talent without breaking the bank, relying heavily on loan players.

Our results throughout the season…

July 2039

Though I had my eye on the job market and I did apply for the vacant manager position at Alavés who had just been promoted to the top division in Spain, I was for the most part, expecting to kick off the 2039/2040 season still in Portugal. I had begun strengthening my side in preparation for the challenges ahead this season, and had already made several acquisitions, a combination of transfer and loans for the first team, both the starting XI and players for added depth, I was quite happy with the business I had managed to conduct and we had played our first couple of friendly matches.

Several weeks had passed since I applied for the Alavés job and I had heard nothing, I'm pretty sure they're still in a board meeting, trying to decide who to invite for job interviews, I have yet to get one, so I have to assume I'm not all that high on their shortlist, that said, it was then a rather big surprise, to wake up in the morning to representatives from both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford, looking to invite me for interviews for their vacant manager positions.

My goal along this journey has always been to reach the UK and last I checked, Wolverhampton and Watford are still in England. Naturally I hopped on an Easyjet flight to Gatwick, from there I headed to Vicarage Road to attend my first of two interviews. The interview seemed to go well and the board there seemed to have a well formed vision of the direction they wanted to take the club. Right now, Watford are an top-half Championship side, with a few improvements, I could see myself feasibly taking them them towards the playoffs within my first season there.

Once the Watford interview was out of the way, I headed north west, up to Wolverhampton, to see how things would go with their representatives. Once again, the interview went well and it was now a waiting game, which of the two teams, if either of them, would offer me a job. I knew that there would be a decision to make, firstly do I want to move on from Portugal? And secondly, which of the teams would I join, if they were both to make an offer?

In the end, both Watford and Wolves offered me a job. Given the difference in wages between what both teams were offering and what I was already on, it was a no-brainer to consider their offers, beyond the financial considerations, both teams were in higher-rated leagues, and finally, with my goal being to reach the UK, this was going to be my best chance to do so, without having to pass through Spain and France.

[Consulting the rules that I set for my save regarding moving without passing through a neighbouring country, this falls under the headhunting exception, the requirements that need to be met are that I have not applied for the job directly, both teams offered me the job, the wage is sufficient to cover the cost of the flight there, the club is professional and I have a continental license of some description, all these are met, so now it is just a case of whether I want to make the move or not].

When comparing Watford and Wolves at the present time, the decision is not too hard to make, while I have a fairly good opinion of both teams, Wolves are in the Premier League and Watford are in the Championship. While Wolves will need to avoid relegation, Watford will be looking for a top-half finish and eventually, a push for promotion. For most of my career, I have managed teams that didn't take much effort to turn into a competitive outfit at their level, managing Wolves, at least early on, would present an interesting challenge as I try to keep them in the Premier League, with that in mind, and if you are still reading this, you will now know that I have accepted the Wolves job (or if you are reading this on Facebook then you probably just saw the relevant screenshot to begin with lol).

Upon taking the job at Wolves, I have announced my resignation as manager of the Cape Verde Islands, instead, at least for the time being, I will be focussing solely on club football.