[FM16] Whatever happens, happens.

Update 001:



I started this career like I always do, starting unemployed with the worst statistics possible (sunday league etc.) and with my manager attributes matching my level and to see what I can achieve during it, I have no targets or aims other than to do what I can. No editor allowed, no added staff and all that good stuff. I don't claim to be amazing at Football Manager, I just play it for fun although I do have a love/hate relationship with it.

Job 01
My career started in the Belgian Third Division A with Hamme, a job that, except than my time with Lokomotíva Košice (I'll talk about them in a bit!), was probably my worst and least enjoyable managerial post. Nothing really went right, and in a division that starts in FM2016 with the bottom 12 clubs getting relegated at the conclusion of the season it was always going to be difficult. Anyway, I lasted 7 months with Hamme before getting sacked in January 2016. I won just 5 of my 23 matches in charge. Not good!
Job 02
Next came a move out of Europe and into Africa to join Santos in South Africa. This was the job where I finally achieved some good things, and in contrast to my time with Hamme and Lokomotíva Košice, I enjoyed my time with Santos very much. It's a fun league to manage in. I picked up with Santos with them in the second tier of South African football in the National First Division. I spent three-and-a-half years with Santos. I joined with four matches left of my first season, finished 8th. My first full season went very well, finished in 2nd place and made the play-offs however failed to gain promotion after finishing joint-bottom of the three-team mini league.
My second full campaign went one better as I guided Santos to promotion to the Premier Soccer League after winning the National First Division with 2 games to spare. I also won the Manager of the Year award. Our first season in the top-flight was difficult but we achieved our goal - avoid relegation. We ended 2018–19 in 12th position, 8 points above the relegation play-off spot and fifteen points off bottom place. 2019–20, however, went worse. After 15 matches we were rock bottom with 7pts, nine games on and we had only gained one more point and were a shocking 18 points off safety; won just once all season. In March 2020, I decided to resign as Santos manager in the hope of someone else keeping them up but unfortunately they still went down.
Job 03
Then came my first step into international management as I accepted the Ivory Coast post in April 2020. Things were average throughout my tenure, I won 8 of my 14 games in charge but it was rarely pretty. It all climaxed with a disappointed 2021 African Cup of Nations as we lost to Cameroon in the semi-finals and subsequently the third place play-off to finish 4th. Ivory Coast were the previous holders and were expected to win the tournament, so immediately following it I was sacked. Not much more to say.
Job 04
The Norwegian national team approached me next and appointed me their new manager. This job I felt was heading well, I had a good squad and got some good results in FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying despite failing to qualify for the tournament itself but in my defence we had France in our group who finished 9 points clear. I won 4, drew 2 and lost 3 with Norway overall (friendlies included) before being sacked straight after qualifying had ended.
Job 05
Lokomotíva Košice came calling next. This job was a disaster from start to finish, I almost stopped playing the game as I got so bored playing with them. I joined halfway through the season with a team that were 3rd, I had 2 games left to play with Promotion Stage football all but guaranteed. I went on to make the next stage but none of the games had anything to play for really as we weren't close or good enough to the promotion spots. We finished 4th. At the end of that season (2021–22), the board were unhappy and gave me an ultimatum of gaining 13 points in the first 5 games of 2022–23. That, to go with a load of player unrest (who annoyingly were pissed at me because of what my predecessor had done!), made me even more bored of it as I knew what was coming. Lone behold I did not achieve the board's goal and was sacked two matches into the new season! I was glad to be gone to be honest.
Job 06
Despite that, I decided to continue with the save and see what would happen. Interestingly, my next career move was a return to Santos. They managed to return to the top-flight during my time away so I was back in the Premier Soccer League. I joined with them last after three matches and set a goal of keeping them up before again moving on. Thankfully, I did just that as we survived in 14th place and only missed the relegation play-offs on goal difference. Delighted as I was to stay up, I resigned shortly after. Santos have been a yo-yo club ever since.
Job 07
I left South Africa for Malaysia next as I joined second division PKNS, I began at the end of the season with just the League Cup to play in. In the aforementioned League Cup we performed well in a group with three top-flight clubs, we missed qualification from the group by one point and secured two wins including away to the big club Johor DT; a club we've had quite a surprising rivalry with ever since.
That was the 2023 season, 2024 went incredibly way above my expectations and turned into something special. We won 17 league matches in a row and were flying, with us being miles ahead of our closest challengers we even secured promotion and the title with five matches left. In the end, after 22 league games we won 20 of them while drawing and losing just once. A sensational season, one of my best on a Football Manager game. However, that wasn't all for the 2024 season as during all of that we went on a brilliant run to win the FA Cup! We beat Johor DT in the final AET and I, honestly, went mad. I was gobsmacked, wasn't expecting that at all. That got us an AFC Cup place for 2025, a first for PKNS. The year ended with another shock as we made the League Cup semi-finals, fantastic even though we lost over two legs to rivals Selangor. We met Johor DT in the group stage again in the League Cup and one match ended 5–4, we were four goals up before them coming back to 4–4 but thankfully we scored a late winner. Crazy, crazy season.
Our first campaign in the Super League went superbly too. We were predicted relegation but eventually finished 6th, a record Super League position for the club. Throughout the league season we were never as low as 6th and sometimes were sat in 2nd. Johor DT were close at first, but pulled away quickly. Speaking of Johor DT, our rivalry continued as we met in the AFC Cup knockout rounds following us qualifying from our group. They smashed us 5–1. Disappointing, but good achievement to make the knockouts. The 2025 League Cup is still to come.
Job 08
During 2025 with PKNS, I saw that the Malaysian Under-23s were looking for a new manager with upcoming U23 qualifiers coming. I applied and got appointed as their manager, my only intention was to qualify them as the qualifiers came during PKNS' off-season but the tournament itself would've clashed with PKNS' 2026 start to the season; we had Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Northern Mariana Islands in our group. We duly qualified as a best-placed second place side following defeat to Indonesia but wins versus the other two minnows. I resigned straight after to concetrate on PKNS again.
-------------------------
Next Post: 2025 League Cup review.
-------------------------
Thanks for reading! Not all posts will be this long (I hope ).
-------------------------

Good to see you bring your career here, looks like you've had a fair bit of success to date, keep it going

I love a good unemployment story! Will be keeping an eye on this for sure

Cheers! I'm enjoying it and I'm liking the way the save has progressed and developed. Its got nothing on your Journey Around The World though, that save is brilliant.


Nice one! I concur, unemployment saves are always a winner.

Current Club: Selangor PKNS, Super League (Malaysia)

Update 003:

Current Club: Selangor PKNS, Super League (Malaysia)

As of this post, I am currently on 17 October 2026 and my contract with Selangor PKNS is running out in November. I'm a tad worried as it looks like I'll be leaving at the end of said contract, which I'd feel hard done by and would feel quite sad given I'm building this club and with had two strong campaigns in the Super League which followed that incredible promotion winning season. I believe that the board's expectation was to finish top half, which I know I failed but only by a couple of points; we were 5th with two games left. Feels harsh. Who knows I perhaps may be offered a new deal, I'd love to stay, but if they put conditions on next season with the new contract, like Lokomotíva Košice did to me, then I'd probably reject it and leave. Time will tell!

Update 004:

Current Club: TBA

Update 005:

Current Club: Hyéres, Championnat de France Amateur (France)