Where Can Football Take Me?

Thanks man was gutted about the CL Final but never expected to get much further than the groups in the first place so should be proud of it I guess.

Only concern with that 18 is his leadership rating of 2, not ideal for a defender but should improve a fair bit in time I hope.

This guy comes in from Beijing to fill in at right back, due to having 5 foreign players in the squad one of them will miss out regularly in the league and that is going to be my record signing Alan, there was no cover at right back so the signing makes sense and allows me to complete my transformation in style of play as we are looking to be more adventurous this season. Naturally this lads best role is as a complete wing back which will give us more options going forward. He has set me back a large £500k which is a lot more than he's worth but my options were limited with the lack of talented Chinese right backs.



The Champions League Group Stage Draw once again puts us up against Ulsan who we faced in the groups and the final last season, we also have Muangthong United of Thailand who have featured 5 times in the competition but only got beyond the group stage once. The group is completed with Okayama FC (FM's idea of Yokohama F Marinos I assume), the club has no history viewable so I don't know what to expect but Japan is generally strong so i'm guessing it's going to be a tough group to get out of.

February 2020



A fairly relaxed pre season schedule with a couple of competitive fixtures thrown in the mix, started off really well scoring goals for fun but nothing too serious for the side. Right back Alan picked up a bad injury in pre season and will be out for 5-6 months so it's a good job I signed the right back.



Once again Guangzhou got the better of me and lifted the Super Cup, the game was very even and only a draw would have been a fair reflection, Mario Garcia had an awful game missing a few good chances and some poor defending at our end allowed Wu Lei to jink through and slot past Wang Dalei to hand Guangzhou the victory.



Much Better! What a performance by the whole side but especially Mario Garcia who brought along his shooting boots and fired in a hat-trick, we were excellent going forward with the new attacking tactic working as i'd hoped, we were expected to be given a thumping but instead we got revenge for last years final. Great start to a tough group.



I have no idea what went wrong here, we didn't even deserve to lose here let alone get a hiding! Good job it's just a friendly.

That'll be all from me for a while, gonna be away for at least a week possibly a week and half. Thanks for reading up to now.

You should not have many problems in the Shandong, but I see that you have some problems. In general you have good results.

Wow last season just didn't want to go your way! Hopefully the squads been improved enough to really hassle the top!

My main problem at the moment is Guangzhou, however I feel that I have a stronger squad than they do this season and hopefully if my young players can be consistent enough I can overhaul them. Thanks for the comment and hope your enjoying the read.



Really didn't go my way, couldn't believe my luck but do feel the squad is much stronger this season so hoping for an improvement. Hoping to run Guangzhou all the way this year.


Luckily I have decent wifi connection where I am so there will still be updates though they won't be as regular as I won't get as much game time.

March 2020



Fantastic results this month, we have given ourselves a very strong footing in a challenging Champions League group with an impressive draw at Okayama in a game that exploded and swung back and forth 3 times before ending 3-3 to add to the 4-2 win over Ulsan last month. That was then improved by defeating Muangthong comfortably running out 2-0 winners, leaving us on 7 points having played each side once.

The league campaign opened up like a dream too with a fantastic 6-1 mauling of one of the top sides in the league away at Guizou Renhe (pictured below), a comfortable 2-0 win over Fuli and a last gasp win over rivals Beijing wrapped up a 100% start with 9 points from the first 3 games.



Very much a case of taking our chances that!

The whole side has started off really well with new signing Aranguiz off to a flyer but a special mention has to go to Mario Garcia, his performance against Renhe was less than impressive which saw him subbed off and dropped for the trip to Okayama and seemingly that gave him the required kick up the arse as he responded with 4 goals from the next 3 games.

April 2020



A hectic schedule this month with the conclusion of the Champions League groups and plenty of league action, injuries to Ming Yang Yang, Huang Quan & Mario Garcia ensured it would be a tough run for us with Huang Quan's injury being especially bad keeping him out of action for the next 4 months! Luckily I have an adequate youngster to provide some form of replacement in Zhang Xu. Our league form this season started with an excellent 5-1 win and a solid away win that should have been more comfortable making it 5 from 5 but a huge shock came next when we lost 3-1 at Qingdao despite dominating the match, ironically their hat-trick hero was the young striker I released before the season! We returned to winning ways with a solid 2-0 win over Jiangsu before somehow we were held 1-1 away at Hangzhou missing a 93rd minute penalty and 2 clear cut chances following it!





The draw at the end of the month sees us slide down to second behind a Guangzhou side who have been rampant in April mainly thanks to a 20 year old French striker on loan from Bordeaux scoring like it's going out of fashion!



A 2-2 draw with Okayama before away wins at Ulsan & Muangthong saw us comfortably through the group and in to the knockout stages for the second year running, we are once again flying the flag for Chine here with the other sides all going out of the competition in the group stages!



We have been drawn against Saitama UTD of Japan, we faced them in the group stages last season and was disappointed not to take maximum points from them, I am hopeful of progression from this tie.

All in all a decent month considering the amount of games played and the injuries suffered, thankfully Garcia is soon to return and will provide massive relief for Shen Tianfeng who has had a great start to the season but really dropped off at the end of the month. Keep plugging away I guess.

I have just read through the career and it's been very good gutted in the champions league and cup final and I am pleased you decided to stay! Good work getting through your champions league group and just a point behind in the league!

Thanks for your kind words, the Champions League was especially gutting as I think it may be a while before I get that chance again, judging by the results of fellow Chinese sides it doesn't appear that it's one of the stronger nations in the competition. The squad is stronger this year though, no doubt.

I've mode some changes to my loaded leagues to give me room for movement across continents, despite the feeling that i'm doing well for Shnadong i'm concerned that China will never have strong enough players to enable a side to win the Champions League so I may be tempted to move on, to give me extra chance of pentagon progression my loaded leagues will be as follows:

China
South Korea (From 26/12/20)

Brazil (From 02/01/21)

Mexico (From 09/06/20)

Germany (From 29/06/20)
Italy (From 29/06/20)
Spain (From 09/07/20)

Just the top league loaded in all the added nations, if I get a move to one of them i'll consider making more changes to the league structures.

May 2020



Only 3 league games this month and solid form shown, the defence is a concern but was what I expected given the switch to an attacking mentality for the season however my centre back pairing that came in pre season seem to be struggling to play together. 19 year old Kim Doo-Hwan has been bang out of form and has lost his place in the side and will be taken out of the spotlight for a while. Mario Garcia has made a decent comeback from injury with 3 goals while Shen Tianfeng continues to impress in front of goal. The pair have scored 27 goals between them in all competitions so far this season.

The 78th minute penalty that gave us a point against Guangzhou was more than deserved and a very impressive outcome against a side that seem unstoppable, after a slightly stuttering start they have been in superb form since and continue to keep my lads at bay on the top of the pile.



Still just a point off the top and with Liaoning 3 behind us the top 3 are starting to break clear of the chasing pack, I wouldn't expect Liaoning to be strong enough to keep up the pace though.



Having gone a goal behind before the 20th minute after a dominant opening from the opponents I feared the worst but when left back Zheng Zheng whipped a free kick in to the top corner it was game on again. We managed to contain them for the remainder of the game but a last minute free kick proved too hot for keeper Wang Dalei to handle and he dropped it into the path of Dan Ishii who gratefully slotted home and advantage to the hosts. An away goal is a positive but progression not looking likely.



A valiant performance and a crazy game, Garcia gave us an early lead and an advantage in the tie that lasted merely 10 minutes before we were pegged back to 1-1. Charles Aranguiz restored the advantage and put the tie on a knife edge, with both sides looking tentative it was Dan Ishii who came up with a crucial strike again for Saitama giving them a technical 2 goal lead in the tie due to the away goals rule. We battled bravely and found a glimmer of hope when Shen Tianfeng popped up with a goal with almost 20 to play but despite dominating the remainder of the game we couldn't carve out the opportunity required and were eliminated from the Champions League on away goals. A cruel blow after such a brave effort.

Gutted to crash out on away goals! but a very close league title so far

June 2020



Another short month and a perfect one as well, we have now notched 4 straight wins and are unbeaten in 8 league games as we continue to scrap it out for the title with Guangzhou. Mario Garcia again in fantastic goalscoring form with 4 goals in the 3 games. The lack of Champions League games should help us maintain our excellent Super League form. So how does that leave the league?



Well ... thanks to a surprising slip up from Guangzhou who were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Qingdao we have taken top spot, but it's mighty close up there! Liaoning have struggled to keep up their early pace as predicted and almost half way through the season it looks like a head to head between us and Guangzhou.

Still close, think it could be a tight run in the whole way!

Thanks for the comments Dan, can't see Guangzhou dropping too many points and realistically I shouldn't drop many either, the head to head at their place will have a huge say I think.

July 2020



Just 2 league games this month and another 2 wins taking our run to 6 straight wins and 10 games unbeaten, we remain just 1 point clear of Guangzhou who are matching our frantic pace stride for stride. Jin Hu hit a late winner with his second goal against high flying Liaoning with right winger Yang Chengbin on target as well. Another tricky game for us as we hosted Renhe but we fairly comfortably claimed 3 points with a brace from Shen Tianfeng, Renhe pulled a goal back but young Zhang Xu made sure the 3 points were secure with a goal from the bench.



So it remains very tight between us and Guangzhou but the gap continues to increase back to 3rd which is now occupied by Jiangsu.






Our first FA Cup game this season and an absolutely incredible game, the game swung back and forward in the first half and we eventually went in to the break 3-2 down but managed to make our superiority count in the second half to score a dramatic 6-4 victory and unsurprisingly smashed our record for goals in a game! Unbelievable stuff.





We were drawn against Jiangsu in the Quarter Final and saw them off comfortably despite a late scare, goals from full back Tang Miao and the prolific Mario Garcia securing our passage but the victory marred by an injury picked up by Charles Aranguiz. Thankfully it was just a knock and he won't miss any games. Into the Semi's to face ...



Guangzhou of course, but at least if we can get past them we should have an easier final than last year, rather meet them now than in the final again I guess. Gonna be tough though.



To finish of the month we managed to secure the signing of this guy who will join at the end of his contract at Sao Paulo, one of the best Chinese AMC's around and will give us an extra element of squad rotation with the expectancy of battling on 3 competition front's again next season. Scouts have very high opinion's of this lad and he looks pretty good too.

August 2020



7 games in August in the Super League and we got off to a horrific start with a run of 4 games without a win and some really bad results, we were missing a lot of players thanks to the Olympic Games but it's no excuse, the form wasn't good enough, the loss at home to Chengdu was a particular disappointment for me. We managed to resurrect our month with 3 straight wins at the end scoring 8 without reply putting a bit of belief back in to the side.



Thankfully Guangzhou decided to mirror our bad form over the month leaving us in the same position as we were at the start of the month, the league is still wide open and still looks like the head to head game will be the decider.



A positive result in the FA Cup Semi Final First Leg with an away goal and going in to the home game on level terms, if we can manage to shut out Guangzhou (Unlikely) we will have a great chance of winning a trophy.

Should be an intriguing end to the season.

Wow what an end to the season you have on here! good luc mate, in control so far

Couldn't resist getting this one up straight away, what a result and what a performance, Mario Garcia is a legend!! Gives me one defeat or 2 draw buffer with just 6 games to play! 4 points clear and with a better head to head record. Buzzing!!

Yes what a win! its in your hands pal!

September 2020



3 More games played and 3 wins including the huge win I posted against title rivals Guangzhou, Mario Garcia & Shen Tianfeng have been an incredible strike force all year and this month no different with 4 goals each in the 3 games. Fantastic form at the vital time of the season!



Thanks to us beating Guangzhou and them losing away at Chengdu our lead has extended to 7 points and a better head to head, with 4 games to go we require just 5 more points to secure the title! Unbelievable stuff!



We should have had this tie wrapped up easily with many chances but a sensational Wu Lei free kick sent the game to a penalty shoutout which ended with a dramatic 9-8 sudden death win for us, Huang Quan keeping his cool to smash us in to the cup final for the second year running. Finally got the better of Guangzhou!!!



So a final against Renhe after the conclusion of the Super League, not an easy final by any stretch of the imagination but i'm looking forward to it!

New Contract



A new 2 year deal, things are looking promising at Shandong I feel but if the right opportunity to move comes along it will be considered.

Youth Intakes



There is the new intake of youth into the club, i'll let the head of youth development deal with who stays and who don't, but these guys I will be making sure that they are tied down to the club as they look to have the best potential:

October 2020



Don;t really know what to say!! I think my players felt like giving me a heart attack before the season ended and they certainly did, needing just 5 points from our last 4 games they decided to wait until the 86th minute of the final game of the season before securing the title thanks to the legend that is Mario Garcia! The 1-0 win over Shenxin was our 7th straight in the league so the back to back 1-0 losses shocked me, I reverted back to a counter attacking formation for the final game but ended up piling everyone forward desperately before Garcia struck the title winning blow.









So that's the league dealt with, and I honestly thought we'd bottled it! November brings us the two legged cup final against Renhe which secures their Champions League place coupled with their 4th place finish. Then randomly towards the end of December we have this ...

All I can say is that the Chinese FA screwed me out of a cup win! The second leg was scheduled during an international break leaving without 9 of my first team squad and having to dip into my youth squad just to fill the bench! Absolute joke and to be honest i'm tempted to resign and get out of China after that. I'm furious!

Fantastic work on the league win! By a point So close too with the late winner! Unlucky with the FA Cup game not even having an opportunity to postpone the game is very harsh!

Cheers for the comments George, was really worried about the league we left it far too late haha

Well done on the league win mate! gutted about the cup though!

So we managed to win the All Stars game, no idea what purpose it serves but a wins a win I guees, had to come from 2-1 down but ended up with a 4-2 victory thanks to a brace each for Shen Tianfeng & Mario Garcia.



Secured the signature of this guy who will be my second signing of the pre season window, didn't really have any competition for my exciting young left winger Jin Hu and have probably splashed a little over the odds on this lad at £300k but he has had an impressive season at Jiangsu and is one of the best left wingers China has to offer at the age of just 21, so he has potential for further improvement too.

Will have a fair few players moving out at the end of their contracts so there may be further transfers to come, depending on my assessment of some youth players at the club.