Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
May 2018
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1-39_zps6b67b669.png


Hmmm, It's difficult to decide if May was a good month or not, on one hand we lost our grip at the top of the table after a series of uninspiring draws, however we are still unbeaten in all competitions this season and without a league defeat since the 4th of October last year, 24 games!
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps3bebae9b.png

The month kicked off with a fairly straight forward win over Auda to ensure our progression to the quarter finals of the Latvian Kauss where we will meet Spartaks.
We looked to be extending our lead at the top of Virsliga against Rezekne, leading 1-0 with a minute to go not many would have bet against us, however a last gasp equaliser robbed us of two points and began an incredibly frustrating run of games for the club, draws against Metalurgs and both Daugava sides saw us slide down the table as far as fourth making some question how much longer we could stretch our incredible run, however my players picked themselves up with two resounding 4-0 victories, first against newly promoted Auda as Christian Gutierrez scored a long overdue goal having not found the net since the 1-1 draw with Olimps last month, The Uruguyan followed up on that strike with a fantastic hat-trick against arch rivals Ventspils to really re-enter the golden boot competition. This result was massive for me as it was my very first win over Ventspils at the fifth time of asking.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zps46521c25.png

So we have lost top spot but given the signs of improvement in the final two games of May I have full confidence we will take it back from Olimps as we approach the half way stage of the season. The big question is perhaps could we possibly go the entire season unbeaten?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
June & July 2018
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1-39_zps6b67b669.png


At the end of the previous update I pondered the possibility of us going through the entire Virsliga season unbeaten, the answer is no, the very next game we slumped to a dismal defeat to Gulbene to end out run on 24 games without loss, thankfully we took that result on the chin and bounced straight back, assembling a new streak which currently stands at eight games without a reverse.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps9e1480ed.png

Before I go into detail however I have two new signings to unveil;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zps30f94683.png

A jumped at the chance to snap up Grzegorz who was released from Polish side Legia, I know all abut the Pole as he spent last season on loan at Daugava D, scoring an incredible 16 goals in 17 games, including a couple against us if I remember correctly. He should provide some real fire power as we look to wrap up Virsliga as well as help us be competitive in the Champions League.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zps8fe70ca1.png

The latest loanee from our parent club Dinamo Bucharest, Viorel will help boost our midfield numbers as the games come thick and fast.

A win over Spartaks has seen us ease into the semi-final of the Latvian cup against second tier side FK Jelgava so we look odds on for a cup final appearance this season which of course will be nice.
There was a win over Olimps sandwiched between emphatic demolition jobs against Rezekne and Spartaks in which new signing Tomasiewicz clearly stated his arrival by netting a hat trick after coming off the bench against Rezekne at half time to completely turn a game we were trailing 1-0 in on it's head.
The Polish forward helped give us a commanding lead in the Champions League qualifier against Bosnian side Siroki Brijeg by adding another two strikes to his name.
A win over rivals Metalurgs set us up for the trip to Bosnia for the return leg against Siroki which turned out to be a rather enthralling 3-3 draw which included a spectacular 30 yard free kick from Aivarus Mockus, sending us through 5-3 on aggregate to face Swiss giant FC Basel in the next round, can we upset the odds and beat Basel? it will be tough but in our current form only a fool would write us off.
Finally we faced Daugava in a rather one sided game, Mockus bagged another goal before his opposite winger Cavalo Ferreira rifled in an even better free kick than the one the Lithuanian scored in the previous game.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpse1655ca2.png


I also took charge of my Latvian under-21's in June as I suffered my first defeat in charge of the youngsters;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/5_zps7c404b96.png

Thankfully this was just a friendly and a warm up exercise for my first competitive game against Lichtenstein next month which I will be expecting a comfortable win from as we begin the qualifying campaign for the European championships next year, even so it's never nice to lose, particularly to your neighbours.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
August 2018

Well, our European adventure came to an end after first coming up just short against Basel in the Champions League and then suffering at the hands of Lokomotiv Moscow when we dropped into the Europa League. It was a bit gutting not to achieve a place in the group stages of either competition, especially as I would have been the first coach to guide a Latvian club to that stage, still, there's always next year I guess.
http://i42.tinypic.com/r9pphv.png

The game in Basel didn't get off to the greatest of starts as we fell behind after just two minutes and largely played second fiddle to the Swiss outfit throughout, leaving us with a real mountain to climb in the second leg.
We took our frustration from the midweek trip to Switzerland out on hapless Daugava with a resounding 5-2 win, Grzegorz Tomasiewicz got back amongst the goals with a brace after his initial hot streak tailed off a little.

The return leg against Basel was a much improved performance as we battled back into the tie, keeping the Swiss giants on the back foot throughout, Cavalo Ferreira's goal just before half time really got the stadium rocking as the crowd sensed the impossible becoming possible, unfortunately in the end we just couldn't find that all important second goal to end the game to extra time, however my players can take a great deal of pride from the heart they showed and can also look forward to a chance in the Europa League against Lokomotiv Moscow.
Another brace from Polish forward Tomasiewicz sunk Auda before the huge derby game with Ventspils, Scottish defender Andy Graham headed us into the lead after an hour, however that was cancelled out ten minutes later by Aleksejs Zdanov before a 93rd minute strike from Olegs Jakovlevs condemned us to a painful defeat, still just our second league defeat of the league campaign.


Next up was the first leg of our Europa League play-off with Lokomotiv Moscow which it is fair to say wasn't our finest hour as the Russian's more or less dumped us out before half time as Brazilian forward Leonardo tore our defence to shreds, scoring a superb hat-trick, this was the very first time I have lost back to back games with Skonto.
We bounced back with a comfortable win over Gulbene, revenge for them ending our 24 game unbeaten run earlier in the season before a much improved performance against Lokomotiv although it was never going to be enough the team did restore some pride in front of our own supporters with a battling effort.

So with twelve games to go we are now six points clear at the top of Virsliga;
http://i44.tinypic.com/6id5bs.png


I have some new transferss to announce;
http://i40.tinypic.com/33en9ci.png

Sergejs is a Skonto trainee who left to join Polish side Jagiellonia in 2016 where he struggled to hold down a first team place for a fee of £275k he returns to Latvia as a replacement for Oskars Klava who is retiring at the end of the season.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2it1tu9.png

Aslan will join us at the end of the season from Russian side Alania for £250k, also as a replacement for a retiring player, this time for player/coach Andy Graham. It's going to be sad to lose Andy who has played for me at three different clubs and I'm sure he has at least one more season in him. despite my efforts to persuade him to stay on he has decided to go ahead with his retirement plans and become a full time coach.

There was once other game for me this month as I took charge of my under-21's in a competitive game for the first time;
http://i40.tinypic.com/2wois9i.png

I'm so disappointed with only managing a draw with bloody Liechtenstein, we should have won this one, I was relying on three points to get us off the mark in our group, a result against Finland looks like a taller order but not an impossible task.
EOF Gizmo
13 years ago
3 months ago
103
Premium
still doing well here mate, whats the long term plans for this save now then buddy?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
By Random Jukebox | Permalink | On 24 June 2013 - 10:30 AM
still doing well here mate, whats the long term plans for this save now then buddy?

Well assuming I win the title this season that would move Skonto to up to 19 Virsliga championships, I would like to guide them to the milestone twentieth crown as my short term target. Beyond that I'm undecided, I may stay on with Skonto and try to turn them into a force in Europe but I may just as easily move on.
KEZ_7
17 years ago
1 day ago
1,875
Not sure I've missed it, but what's the deal with Olimps being in yellow too? Feeder club?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
By KEZ_7 | Permalink | On 24 June 2013 - 16:22 PM
Not sure I've missed it, but what's the deal with Olimps being in yellow too? Feeder club?

Yes mate, they have four or five of my best youth players at the moment, so they gain top division experience even though they would struggle to hold down a place in my first team at their current stage of development. RFS Riga in the first division are also a feeder. We are ourselves a feeder for Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
September 2018


With the league season now reaching it's climax we look odds on to retain our crown, eight points clear with as many games left to play, considering we've only lost twice all season I think even the most optimistic Ventspils supporter will acknowledge that this is not going to be their year now.
We're also through to the Latvian Kauss final after overcoming a very hard working FK Jelgava side who really took some beating, still we emerged victorious and will face Daugava for the chance to win the cup for the twelfth time in Skonto's history.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpsaf3bd576.png
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps0128f1ac.png

A tight game with Olimps raised the curtain this month, Olimps's title challenege may have fallen away but they still proved stubborn opposition, it took us until midway through the second half to finally break through from a Airvaras Mockus freekick, the Lithuanian wingers fourth of the season before Polish forward Grzegorz Tomasiewicz wrapped things up late on.
Rezekne managed to snatch a point in the following game despite being dominated throughout, Mihails Tarasov cancelled out Valdis Riherts 57th minute strike in the 77th when he bundled home from a corner.

Next up was the cup semi final with first division Jelgava who gave us a tougher match than most Virsliga clubs usually do, as you might expect we did most of the attacking but the underdogs proved themselves almost impossible to break down as chance after chance was ether blocked by impregnable defence or their outstanding goalkeeper Germans Malins (A former Skonto player) When we finally scored through Georgian winger Alin Gheorghe I thought the floodgates might open, however Jelgava remained resolute and occasionally threatened us on the break. In the end though we held on and qualified for the cup final where we will take on Daugava at the end of October after they beat Ventspils in the other semi final.

Back in league action, a narrow win over the other Daugava club set us up nicely to pump rivals Metalurgs 3-0, Metalurgs have never really looked like one of the big three here in Latvia to me, I certainly can't see them winning the title any time soon.
Finally came the first leg of our Baltic League first round tie with Olimps, having already beaten Olimps this month I was perhaps complacent in putting out what was largely a youth team who struggled to cope, still I'm confident we can get a good result in the second leg with a more experienced side out as I look to try and win this competition for the first time.

The under-21's were also in action this month as we continued our Euro qualifying campaign;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zps7dde6e89.png

After a poor start my team rallied magnificently after half time to storm back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, it was a bit disapointing not to hold on for the win but still this is a decent point as we prepare for Romania next month.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zpsfbcc41a3.png
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
October 2018
http://www.lff.lv/pics/Baltic-League/2011_06_18_Baltic-league_FINAL_Skonto_cempions.jpg


A wonderful month saw us collect two trophy's in a action packed week, first winning the league title against hated rivals Ventspils which was incredibly satisfying and then collecting the Latvian cup in style against Daugava, combined with the Livonia cup we won back t the start of the season that makes a wonderful treble!
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zps39a52b0f.png

We bounced straight back from our Baltic League defeat to Olimps by tearing apart Spartaks 4-0 with Grzegorz Tomasiewicz netting hat-trick, the Spartaks defence was so bad they even allowed hapless forward Valerijes Sabala to score for the first time this season.
Relegation threatened Auda should have been easy pickings for us, however the greens showed some real character and twice came from behind to earn a deserved point as they look to scrape another year in Virsliga.
Fans were treated to what proved to be a most apt preview of the cup final as we took on Daugava, beating them 3-0, just like we would the following week.
Gulbene are one of only two teams to have beaten us this season, and they continued to be a thorn in our side as they delayed the title party a week by holding us to a draw after being awarded a dodgy second half penalty, however our supporters might have felt a draw was the best result possible against Gulbene as it meant would win the Virsliga against Nemesis's Ventspils should we win.

We took the lead through Tomasiewicz in the 14th minute, the Polish forward diverting Aivaris Mokus's low cross beyond the dive of my Latvian under-21's goalkeeper Maxim Uvarenko to open the scoring, the visitors hit back just after the half hour mark through Andris Kozlovs who you could well see at Skonto next season if I get my way but we almost immediately retook the lead when Georgian winger Alin Gheorghe belted home from just inside the box. Tomasiewicz scored what proved to be the title winning goal ten minutes into the second half after jinking his way through the Ventspils back line, allowing my team to see out the game and lift the title for the nineteenth time, an occasion made all the more sweet with the Ventspils players having to watch on.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/5_zps4b6b2bd3.png

Given our momentum going into the cup final I can't say I ever felt any nerves, however a rocky start soon made me begin to shift uncomfortably as Daugava began brightly, however a penalty decision against the run of play quickly changed that as midfielder Vitalijis Smirnovs lashed home the spot kick to open the scoring. Daugava were noticeable deflated after falling behind and rarely threatened us from there on as Grzegorz Tomasiewicz bagged two in the second half to leave the capacity crowd in no doubt as to the destination of the cup this year.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zpsa997423a.png
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpse088bba1.png

Those cup wins have helped me enter the Latvian hall of fame;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zpsad74e4a1.png

As I said previously, I intend to be the coach who guides Skonto to their twentieth Virsliga crown, My squad is certainly strong enough to do it next season even without any new faces. After that I think I will probably move on in search of more prestigious silverware but I've loved every minute in Riga so far and am already raring to go for next season, even with three games left to play in this one!

Away from Skonto, have also been involved in two under-21 matches this month;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/6_zps6c9e5702.png

Not a good result at all, Newcastle United striker Anderi Buta was just far too hot to handle as Romania exploited our weak back line mercilessly.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/7_zpse7ae2df6.png

More like it!, three points gives our qualification hopes a shot in the arm, Russia are no doubt going to win the group, however I'm hopeful of sneaking into the play-off's by finishing second;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/8_zps0f4f26dd.png
Charlie M
17 years ago
1 year ago
849
Cracking stuff buddy! Come a long way since the Rangers days!

Well done in the up-turn in form for the Latvian youths. Hopefully keep that going and cement second.

Any thoughts of where to next?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
November 2018
http://www.stadionwelt.de/sw_stadien/fotos/stadionlisten/lettland/skonto_stadion/270.jpg
Skonto Stadium, Riga


We finished off the season fairly well as my fringe players and youth starlets made their final cases for new contracts in the last three league games, the first team also put on a courageous show to come back from 2-0 down in our Baltic League tie to win and advance to the last eight of the competition.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps0e1c48ce.png

With us 1-0 down from the first leg our hopes of a place in the quarter finals of the Baltic Leagues looked to be dashed when Olimps stole a crucial away goal shortly after the half hour mark, meaning we would have to score three times, my half time team talk did the trick as an own goal shorty after the re-start invigorated my side who sensed weakness within the Olimps ranks, Grzegorz Tomasiewicz made it put us ahead on the night with an hour gone but that still wouldn't be enough as Olimps had an away goal, with twelve minutes remaining Polish forward Tomasiewicz pulled it out of the
bag as he calmly slotted home to swing the pendulum back in our favour, a lead which proved decisive as we advance to face Estonian side JK Trans in the last eight. I'm going all out to collect the Baltic League this season as could then say I have won everything on offer to Skonto before I leave Latvia.

Olimps got a measure of revenge in the subsequent Virsliga game, but with the title already sewn up I wasn't too bothered, a 5-0 win over Spartaks more than made up for our lacklustre performance against Olimps before we rounded out the season with a final win over Rezekne as we surpassed last years points total by six.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpsb9d517eb.png

I'm shocked that Rezekne were able to come second, although they do have a good youth system which has supplied several of my Latvian under-21's. Neither of our traditional rivals Ventspils or Metalurgs ever looked like stopping us, whether they will be more of a challenge next year I don't know.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zpsbe0122db.png

No surprise there, his arrival last July really fired us to the title, he came second in scoring chart behind Daugava's Janis Krasovskis (who could well be a Skonto player next season) with twenty Virsliga goals, he also won his first cap for his native Poland in August when he came against Estonia.
Grzegorz also joins the ranks of our all time XI;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zps63e55c70.png


There was also an under-21 game to oversee this month;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps847dc518.png

Absolutely gutting ending! Conceding in the 89th minute was cruel but to equalise and then lose it again was excruciating. Still the lads can take a lot of positives from that game as they refused to be overrun by a much stronger Russian side.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps2ffb3ede.png

We're at home to Romania next March where we will have to do better than the 4-1 defeat we suffered in Bucharest, if we get a point I'll be happy but Finland away would become a must win game as I can't see us getting anything in Moscow in the final game.




By Charlie M | Permalink | On 25 June 2013 - 17:18 PM
Cracking stuff buddy! Come a long way since the Rangers days!

Well done in the up-turn in form for the Latvian youths. Hopefully keep that going and cement second.

Any thoughts of where to next?

Haha yes, the dark days.
Yeah I'm hopeful, we are good enough to beat Finland, we just need a result against either Romania or Russia which will be easier said than done but we came so close to taking something from Russia this month that it seems possible.
Not really, I think it will be another job on the continent, possibly at one of the bigger Eastern European clubs as I've proved myself in Latvia, Russia seems like the obvious choice but Ukraine, Czech Republic, Romania or even Poland and Belarus would interest me if the right job came up, we'll see at the end of my contract with Skonto which runs until the end of next season. Certainly I want to guide the team to their twentieth Virsliga title and I would love to guide them into the group stages of one of the European competitions fr the first time, preferably the Champions League!
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
December 2018 & January 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


I have a clutch of new signings to unveil, but first there was the small matter of the Livonia cup final to attend to;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps2c2ac53f.png

It was a tough game as the champions of Latvia and Estonia locked horns, however I used my substitutions wisely, unlike my opposite number who found himself down to ten men through injury for extra time after having used up all his changes, a situation my team exploited ruthlessly as midfielder's Smirnovs and Trofimovs struck to secure back to back wins in this competition.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/9_zpsb2069d2e.png


Right on to transfers, I'm not going to go into much detail yet as I'm planning on doing a guide to my squad in the next post.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zpsfdb4e5a4.png

Janis was the Virsliga's top goalscorer last term when he struck 31 in 34 games for Daugava, sgned for £200k
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/7_zps40443b43.png

A new Latvian transfer record was set when I parted with £1M to bring the Ukranian to Skonto.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/6_zpsa7b01feb.png

Back on loan for a second season.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpsdbe9d55a.png

Former Watford winger who found himself released by the Hornets after their relegation from the EPL.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zps94447b29.png

Signed for £250k from Russian side Alania as a replacement for Andy Graham who has now become my assistant manager.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/5_zps87831e99.png

Backup goalkeeper signed from Olimps for £75k.


And here is the outgoing list;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/8_zps9e9d04df.png
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
As promised, here is a full guide to my Skonto side ahead of the 2019 season.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/Skonto_Riga_Logo.svg/167px-Skonto_Riga_Logo.svg.png


Goalkeepers


1. Segejs Tarasovs
Age: 26
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Conc: 63/50
Int. Caps/Goals: 8/0
Former Clubs: N/A
Sergejs has been my first choice keeper since I arrived at the club after playing second fiddle for years to Igors Kacanovs, he is an excellent shot stopper who is brave in coming to collect the ball and also a very resolute individual, as a result I have just awarded him the captains armband following the retirement of Oskar Klava.

13. Valerijs Ivanovs
Age: 25
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Conc: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 1/0
Former Clubs: Olimps
A new signing who replaces Igors Kacanovs who wasn't happy being a bench warmer, Ivanovs may well feature more than Kacanovs did as he is a better all round goalkeeper.

Defenders


2. Aslan Dudiev
Age: 28
Nationality: Russian
Apps/Goals: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Alania, Zenit
Another new boy, pacey Russian full back who loves to get forward and support the attack.

3. Antons Kurakins
Age: 29
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 36/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 9/0
Former Clubs: Daugava D, Ventspils, Stranraer, Brechin, Celtic, Rezekne
Reliable left back who had a spell in Scotland with Celtic which included loans at Brechin and Stranraer. Since returning to his homeland in 2011 with Ventspils Antons has gone from strength to strength, earning his first international cap against Bosnia in 2013. I brought him to Skonto from Daugava in 2017 for £150k where he has been a very solid fullback.

4. Sergejs Melgavis
Age: 25
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 121/9
Int. Caps/Goals: 35/1
Former Clubs: Jagiellonia
A Skonto trainee who left the club in 2016 to go and play in Poland with Jagiellonia, however after two seasons in Poland he was happy to return for £275k last August, although an injury sustained shortly after his arrival prevented him from making his first team return until October.

5. Artjoms Davidovs
Age: 27
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 58/5
Int. Caps/Goals: 2/0
Former Clubs: N/A
Brave centre back who was a regular, however his starting place is no longer guaranteed following the arrivals of Melgalvis and Skabardis, he could well find himself moving on.

14. Hugo Angeles
Age: 25
Nationality: Peruvian
Apps/Goals: 35/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Real Garcillaso
A good left back who regularly rotates with Antons Kurakins although the South Americans lack of bravery makes me favour Kurakins for big games.

15. Ivans Gorkss
Age: 20
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 31/2
Int. Caps/Goals: 1/0
Former Clubs: N/A
Skonto trainee who last season put in performances that belied his tender age, in fact he has shown so much promise that he has already been handed his first senior cap for Latvia after starting in a friendly against Wales. Can play either right or left fullback comfortably.

21. Aleksejs Skabardis
Age: 19
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 18/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 1/0
Former Clubs: Rezekne
Joined us last summer after an impressive début season for Rezekne, he has largely played in cup games so far but will surely break into the team before long. He also made his international debut against Wales.

23. Mihails Ivanovs
Age: 17
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: N/A
Rookie centre back who has an exciting future ahead of him, has featured in a few cup games but is yet to make his Virsliga bow, although he is a regular for my Latvian under-21's.

Vitalijs Agafonovs
Age: 16
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Daugava D. (loan)
Made his league début aged just 14 years old during a loan spell with Daugava where he made another 10 appearances that season, still just the one substitute run out for us although he is really one to watch. another who is a member of my U21's.

Midfielders


6. Vitalijs Smirnovs
Age: 21
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 43/3
Int. Caps/Goals: 9/0
Former Clubs: Daugava D. (loan)
An outstanding young player who holds back and defends whilst his fellow midfielder's get forward, he has all the attributes of a great captain and had it not been for his tender age I would have appointed him this season, however some of the older players may have had issues with it so Tarasovs will be interim captain and Smirnovs his vice-captain until he's ready to take over.

7. Aivarus Mockus
Age: 25
Nationality: Lithuanian
Apps/Goals: 24/5
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Siauliai, Ekranas
Nimble right winger who I forked out £170k for last season after he impressed me in our Baltic league tie with Siauliai, excellent dead ball specialist who scored some beautiful freekicks last term.

8. Vitalijs Trofimovs
Age: 24
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 86/12
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: N/A
Fine young midfielder who has been at the club since graduating from the academy in 2013 and has gone one to become a good all round central midfielder who can support the attack as well as sit back and defend. I'm surprised he has been overlooked by the national team so far.

10. Valdis Riherts
Age: 24
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 146/68
Int. Caps/Goals: 25/5
Former Clubs: N/A
Valdis used to be a striker, however my systems usually favour utilising a single forward with two supporting wingers cutting inside, after a little retraining he made the transition to wide man and still manages to chip in with goals fairly regularly.

11. Vjaceslavs Isajevs
Age: 25
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 101/8
Int. Caps/Goals: 24/0
Former Clubs: Olimps
A veritable veteran by our young sides standards, Isajevs has been at the club since 2011 when he arrived from Olimps, he's gone on to make over 100 Virsliga appearances as well as becoming a regular for the national side. Like Trofimovs he can both attack and defend efficiently from his central position.

16. Nail Zamaliev
Age: 29
Nationality: Russian/Latvian
Apps/Goals: 37/7
Int. Caps/Goals: 5/0
Former Clubs: Tom Tomsk, Sheriff, Torpedo Moscow, Dinamo Moscow
Nail holds duel nationalities between Russia and Latvia, he recently broke into the Latvian squad after his £170k move to us from Russian side Tom. A highly intelligent and creative central midfielder who when in form is irrepressible in Virsliga.

17. Marco Meilinger
Age: 27
Nationality: Austrian
Apps/Goals: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Watford, Gotenborg, Red Bull Salzberg
A brand new left winger who looks a real talent despite being released from Premier League Watford.

18. Viorel Petre
Age: 20
Nationality: Romanian
Apps/Goals: 16/3
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Dinamo Bucharest
The Romanian under-21 is back for a second year on loan from Dinamo Bucharest (our parent club) he proved a wonderful asset last year, very creative and hard working and determined, all the attributes you could wish for in a play maker. His Dinamo contract expires at the end of May so I may well try and snap him up permanently.

19. Olexiy Babyr
Age: 28
Nationality: Ukranian
Apps/Goals: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Volyn, Krymteplytsya, Simferopol
The most expensive player in Latvian football history as I shattered the transfer record this summer by paying a cool £1M to bring the Ukrainian right winger to Skonto, I'm confident he will prove worthy of such a fee with his outstanding work rate and crossing abilities.

20. Roberts Laizans
Age: 20
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 31/2
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: N/A
Former academy star who has taken his first steps in the seniors, started playing regularly last season after injuries to Isajevs and Smirnovs, Roberts proved himself a capable rotation option, earning him the captains armband for my Latvian U21's in the process.

Strikers


9. Janis Krasovskis
Age: 28
Nationality: Latvian
Apps/Goals: 0/0
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Daugava
A Skonto newbie who I forked out £200k to bring in from Daugava after he won the golden boot last season, scoring 31 times in 34 games, Hopefully he can continue with that sort of ratio for us.

12. Christian Gutierrez
Age: 27
Nationality: Uruguayan
Apps/Goals: 104/34
Int. Caps/Goals: 0/0
Former Clubs: Defensor Sporting
I did wrestle with the decision to keep Christian after a poor season last year, however I have opted to keep him as backup to Krasovskis and Tomasiwicz, hopefully he can regain some of his form from a few years ago when he was deadlyin front of goal.

96. Grzegorz Tomasiewicz
Age: 22
Nationality: Polish
Apps/Goals: 20/17
Int. Caps/Goals: 2/0
Former Clubs: Legia, Daugava D. (loan)
The Polish hitman helped us to secure the title last season, I snapped him up for £375k from Legia in the transfer window last season, I first saw him during his loan spell at Dugava when he scored against us a couple of times, I had been a fan ever since and when the chance to sign him came up I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
March 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


Just the two competitive games in this month, one for either of my teams, Skonto began 2019 by showcasing exactly why we're expected to retain our Championship again, an emphatic 7-0 rout against Spartaks puts us top right from the very start.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps1c476831.png

It was good to see début goals for both Babyr and Krasovskis among the more familiar names, It's going to be fascinating to see the duel between Krasovskis and Tomasieswciz to see who gets to hold on to a starting place up front.
In terms of targets this season just winning that landmark twentieth Virsliga title will allow me to depart Latvia a happy man at the end of the season, however I also want to play group stage football in either the CL or EL, something no Latvian side has ever done before. Winning the Baltic League would also be nice just so I can say I have lifted it before I leave.

My Latvian youngsters also put on a good show against Romania although they couldn't quite manage to snare all three points;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpsa9383220.png

Although we could still finish second in our group I don't think we can still qualify for the tournament through the second place league. even so I will finish up the campaign and likely step down after the final game with Russia.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zpsa2fa45e5.png

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zps183b0216.png
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
April 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


An unbeaten month has seen us cling on to our lofty perch at the top of Virsliga after some pretty resounding victories. we're also as good as through to the semi final of the Baltic league after pumping Estonian side Trans 6-0 in the first leg.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zpsbdf821c4.png

Trans simply couldn't cope with our insatiable front line as they time and again fell victim to the trickery and skill of the forwards, this result follows on from the 7-0 opening day win over Spartaks, thirteen goals in two games, not bad eh?
Most would have been expecting us to hammer newly promoted RFS (Riga Football School) as well but the Virsliga new comers put on a show of resilience that most of the more established clubs in the league can rarely provide against us as they parked the bus and repeatedly frustrated my team. kudos to them.
Arch-rivals Ventspils were not so difficult as we dispatched the seven times champions with relative ease before another six goal glut against Daugava who looked distinctly toothless without their talismanic forward Janis Krasovskis who rose from our bench to score against his former club.
The other Daugava side and Rezekne proved far sterner tests as we had to come from behind in both games to collect four points, I think these two will be our main competitors this season, Rezekne in particular have a potent attack and should do well.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/22_zps4ca3cfa4.png
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
May 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


May was a gruelling nine game slog but we have come out the other side still leading the pack and looking odds on to be playing in the Baltic League final in July after beating Spartaks 3-2 away from home.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zpsadbc5cac.png

A simple 2-0 win over over Trans secured a 9-0 aggregate romp against the Estonians to advance into the semis of the tournament, this was followed up on with a straight forward cup win over Daugava to see us safely through into the quarter finals, can we retain the Kauss this year?
Metalurgs gave us a tight game as we returned to Virsliga action but Valdis Riherts's strike just after half time was just about enough to earn the three points.

Olimps were up next, Olimps have emerged as a force in Virsliga in the last couple of years, they pushed us quite hard last season but didn't have the strength in depth to maintain that momentum and fell away towards the end, however they have strengthened over the summer by signing the likes of Latvian Internationals Igors Kozlovs, Vadims Gailus as well as Vitalijs Melgalvis from us. Considering their improving stature this 2-0 win could be invaluable as we loo to prevent the building momentum and passing us.
Considering our last four games with Spartaks have ended 7-0, 4-0, 5-0 and 4-0 again, you may have expected us to have given the Seahorses another spanking, however a 89th minute strike robbed us of an unexpectedly narrow win much to my immense frustration.
We returned to winning ways against Gulbene, a outstanding solo run and finish from Nail Zamaliev was undoubtedly the highlight of this one.

Our Baltic League adventure continued as we again came up against Spartaks, this time there was no slip up as we took a vital away goal advantage into the return leg, a hat trick from Janis Krasovskis did the trick for us. Janis was again on target against newly promoted RFS as we held on, 3-0 up at half time we allowed RFS to battle back to 3-2 which was a bit unnerving, thankfully we regained our composure and went on to add to our lead and wrap up the result.
Finally came the always tricky clash with rivals Ventspils, we twice fell behind but equalised almost instantly, however a 91st minute Igors Kohans strike denied us a point which would have been fair, This is the second or third time those bastards have robbed us in injury time, ending my hopes of an unbeaten season in the process.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zps127bfcff.png


The win over Metalurgs was a personal milestone for me as I reached 100 games as Skonto manager;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zps8632b640.png
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
June 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


A slip up against title rivals Olimps has seen us slip off of the top of Virsliga for the time being, although we still hold a game in hand over the pesky upstarts so there is no cause for concern just yet.
In the Latvian cup we have advanced into the last four where we will face Ventspils for the oppertunity to reach the final and hopefully retain the cup.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zpsd5609f09.png

We looked to have blown our 3-1 half time lead against Daugava as the the home side drew level in the 88th minute, however my side showed great character to rouse themselves in order to strike back and win deep into stoppage time as the currently unstoppable Airvarus Mockus rifled in the winner, the Lithuanian wingers fourth goal in three games, in fact he has been so impressive he has kept £1M record signing Olexiy Babyr out of the team.

Mockus put in another golden performance in the second leg of the Baltic League semi final against Spartaks as he walked off with the match ball for scoring a tremendous hat-trick, helping us secure our place in the final against his compatriots FK Suduva next month.
We thumped the other Daugava side by the same scoreline in the following game as we returned to Virsliga action even young full back Ivan Gorkss got in on the scoring in this very one sided affair.
Beating one rival only set us up to face another in the semi finals of the Latvian cup as we dispatched Metalurgs 2-0 in the quarter final, only to be drawn at home to Ventspils in the last four, always a tricky game.
Finally we squared off with second place Olimps at home, knowing a win would take us four points clear, unfortunately with this opportunity dangling temptingly above their heads, my players stumbled, things looked to be fizzling out into a thoroughly boring 0-0, that was until midfielder Vitalijs Trofimovs saw red in the 54th minute. Olimps took full advantage of the extra space, going on to win 2-0 as I berated Trofimovs, the costly red card cost him to weeks wages.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zps82e5abad.png


In other news;
The draw fr the Champions League has been made, hopefully this will be the year the club can finally reach the group stages of the competitin, or t the very least reach the final qualifying round so if we lose we drop straight into the Europa League groups.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zpsd83ad47f.png

I doubt Hungarian side Videoton will be easy but I'm fairly confident we can advance if we play our best.

I reached another personal milestone this month as I reached my 300th game in management in the 5-1 win over Daugava;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zpsdf2753fa.png
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zps0f70fec7.png

It's certainly been fun! I wonder where I'll be in another 300 games time.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
Baltic League Champions!
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zpscf56ed30.png

That's the clubs seventh Baltic League victory, it also means I have now won everything open to me at Skonto at least once, with the exceptions of the Europa or Champions League which I'm never likely to collect here.
born-to-win
11 years ago
6 years ago
365
Congratulations on the Baltic League success, and good luck for the CL and this season in the league.

Btw I may copy your idea of giving a guide to players, but do players who have signed in the summer, I hope you do not mind me copying this.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
By born-to-win | Permalink | On 01 July 2013 - 16:32 PM
Congratulations on the Baltic League success, and good luck for the CL and this season in the league.

Btw I may copy your idea of giving a guide to players, but do players who have signed in the summer, I hope you do not mind me copying this.

Not at all mate, thank you.
jambowambo
16 years ago
4 years ago
388
Doing very well in Latvia mate. Are you hoping to return to Scotland to carry on with the challenge after or has that gone now?
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
By jambowambo | Permalink | On 01 July 2013 - 17:37 PM
Doing very well in Latvia mate. Are you hoping to return to Scotland to carry on with the challenge after or has that gone now?

One day yes, but I'm enjoying it on the Continent at the moment and I've certainly got my heart set on moving on to one of the bigger Eastern European or Scandinavian nations, which I think is a nice realistic progression.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
July 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


Although July was a good month in the cups I can't help but feel disappointed that we've lost ground on Olimps who have shown themselves to be far more serious n their title challenge then I thought they could be.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zpsc1390897.png
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zps35680af8.png

A straight forward win over Gulbene in the Virsliga was followed by us lifting the Baltic League trophy in front of our own supporters as we made light work of Lithuanian outfit Suduva, our very own Lithuanian international Airvarus Mockus claimed the man of the match award for his display on the right wing, scoring two goals and assisting another.
We suffered a bit of a cup hangover against Metalurgs as we failed to find the net despite keeping them on the backfoot throughout, giving Olimps breathing space at the top of Virsliga.

Our Champions League campaign got under way against Hungarian side Videoton, a 4-0 away win all but ensured our place in the next round, Janis Krasovskis claiming a hat-trick in the process.
Despite our dazzling cup form we again failed to impress in the league as we were held to a draw by the normally crap Spartaks Jurmala to allow Olimps to go six points clear of us, Is this Rangers all over again?
The second leg against Videoton was a straight forward affair as we eased into the third qualifying round against Polish side Lech Pozan before getting back to winning ways in Virsliga by coming from behind against RFS.

Our home game with Lech came next, it was essential we got off to a good start at home as going to Poland and beating Lech would be a tall order, we begin well as Krasovskis fired us into the lead before half time, however Lech's quality began to show in the second half as they came from behind to take a 2-1 away goal lead to make our task a daunting one in the second leg.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
August 2019
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/Untitled-3_zps87789987.png


Our European season ended in the exact same way as last season as we came up just short against Lech in the third round of the Champions League qualifiers despite a plucky second leg performance, much like last year against Basel before getting lumped with a tough ask in the Europa League play-off where another hard working show failed to bear fruit as FC Copenhagen just edged us out 4-3 on aggregate. A frustrating sense of deja-vue hung over Riga with memories of Lokomotiv Moscow last season re-surfacing.
In the league Olimps briefly got a nine point jump on us, however after wins against Dugava, Ventspils and Rezekne we are right back on their tails, narrowing the gap back down to three points with a huge first vs. second tie looming large on the horizon next month.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps7a5db4cb.png
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zps0df128f6.png

All three of our goals against Daugava came from players who usually don't feature often on the score sheet, Austrian winger Marco Meilinger, midfielder Vitalijs Trofimovs and centreback Aleksejs Skarbardis making this important result possible, in Skarbardis's case it was the 20 year old's first goal for the club.
With us 2-1 down from the home leg I didn't go to Poland to face Lech with too much optimism, however when Grzegorz Tomasiewicz fired us into the lead midway through the first half my hopes were raised, of course due to Lech's two away goals we would need another, Lech's goal in the 53rd minute didn't change too much as we still just needed one to force extra time, it took just two minutes for Tomasiewicz to find that goal, unfortunately we couldn't hold of for extra time as Lech scored with ten minutes to go to send us out of the competition despite a fighting performance.

Tomasiewicz was back on the score sheet in the always difficult derby with Ventspils, the Polish striker slotted in what proved to be the winning goal shortly after half time to avenge the defeat we suffered against our old rivals last time out. Daugava D proved tricky lock to pick as they held on for a draw, allowing Olimps to evade our clutches again.
The Europa League pitted us against Danish giants FC Copenhagen with the first leg at FCK's Parken stadium, Tomasiewicz fired us into an unexpected lead completely against the run of play after half an hour, however the Lions front line was overwhelming and pulled level in stoppage time at the end of the first half, Our dynamic performance was undone on the hour mark as Ulrik Hakansson put the ten time Danish champions ahead with what proved to be the winning goal, however with our away goal we weren't dead and buried in this tie as we prepared for the home leg.

A 88th minute strike from substitute Valdis Riherts won us the game against Rezkene as we came from behind, a defeat would have seen us slide down to third so the 25 year old's late winner was huge relief.
Keeping the score down to 2-1 in the first leg against Copenhagen meant we needed to win 1-0, just 1-0 to cause a big upset in front of our own fans, when Tomasiewicz belted us ahead in the 57th minute the place erupted, however the visitors were able to claw back an equaliser against the torrent of our attacking football to send us out of the Europa league at final hurdle for a second year running.

I've been having second thoughts about leaving Skonto at the end of this season and am now seriously considering staying on to try and guide the club further in one of the European competitions, Skonto celebrate their thirtieth anniversary in two years time which seems like a natural target to achieve reaching the group stages for the first time ever by. What do you guys think? should I stay or should I go now? http://www.drmc.org.au/images/musical/quaver.gif
itchycoo
15 years ago
1 year ago
1,652
I think you should stay. That is if you feel you can take the team a little further, and judging by the close results against Lech and Köbenhavn, I think you could. But sometimes it feels like you just hit the ceiling, and you can't get past a certain stage no matter what. It would also be good to read about a step to a league with slightly higher reputation. How about Poland? Bring Tomasiewicz with you and get a revenge on Lech.

Still, it's a good read!
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
My time as Latvia's under-21's coach has come to an end in spectacular style;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/1_zps35682471.png

A very solid win over Baltic neighbours Finland saw us jump above the Finns into second place with top of the group Russia looming in the final game;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/2_zps38c754c2.png

What a result! in my wildest imagination I never expected that! the Russians hadn't dropped a single point throughout the campaign so I had been fully prepared for a potentially heavy defeat but clearly my side was having none of that as we recorded what is surely one of Latvian footballs greatest moments at any level.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/3_zps196f08e9.png

Second place in that group is quite an achievement, especially after the pumping Romania gave us back in October last year, unfortunately it wasn't enough to qualify for the play-off's but the team can take a lot of encouragement for the next campaign;
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/Richard_Beale/4_zps16d595dc.png

The dropped points against Lichtenstein and Finland in the opening two games came back to haunt us, had we won them we would have qualified, but hey, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I resigned my post immediately after the Russia game to concentrate on finishing the season with Skonto as we look to secure the second half of a wonderful quadruple having already collected the Livonia cup and Baltic League. Just the Virsliga and Kauss to go and I can leave Latvian football a very happy man. (If I indeed do leave at the end of the season)
Will I return to International football? I would like to, but probably only at senior level next time, If the Latvian national side job opens up I would quite happily take that.
GreekExpress
11 years ago
10 years ago
89
I think you should stay, at least for a year, and have another go at the Champions/Europa League groups. If you are unsuccessful again, you can try your luck at a different league.
Rick87
14 years ago
5 days ago
3,084
Bad news guys, a corrupted hard drive has put paid to this save.
I'm absolutely gutted, I haven't got into a save so much in a long time and was really enjoying myself. I may do another thread at some point but right now my motivation to play FM is gone.
Shedender
17 years ago
1 month ago
13,751
Fola
17 years ago
5 months ago
3,240
Premium
This is a quality read this Rick. Good to see somebody not managing in Britain and going to an obscure country.

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