DNZY - Comments

Well then. This Martinez boy has got talent. Ran the show.

Dylan Martinez was told by me he'd get first team action if he put in a good shift off the bench, well it looks like he'll be rewarded.



The best we can strive for is third with five games left. Lions have two games in hand though.

Desperately unlucky and it may hurt our chances of third place too.

Revenge is delicious.

Shellshocked, Gibraltar United brought their A game to send us crashing out of the Rock Cup.

Back after a spell of personal inconveniences, but return with a pretty routine win.

Nice to see another Northern Irish save, all the best with it!

A little concept of mine which might bring something new to the table in FM. Introducing Jacob's Ladder: the ladder leading from the bottom rung of despair to European glory in a perilous adventure to claim the ultimate crown; a European trophy.



What does this challenge entail? Where do I begin? What are the rules?

- Going by the UEFA Coefficients as of 2016 (http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2016.html), you must go up from every nation in the list. *

- You must only load up the three lowest reputable leagues according to the coefficient list (i.e. Gibraltar, San Marino & Andorra).

- You must start with no coaching badges and Sunday League reputation.

- Once you've won the top division or top cup competition in one nation, you may proceed to another nation.*

- You are only allowed to load up the next three nations when you've conquered 2/3 or 3/3 from the starting nations and continue that trend until you get to the top nations.

- You are NOT allowed to skip nations within the three nation bracket. (e.g. if the next three nations are Wales, Malta, Faroe Islands, you must complete 2/3 of them to continue).*


The objective:

- Win a European competition with as fewest steps as possible, either Champions League or Europa League.

- Alternatively if you win the top division of each nation.

The stages:

Stage One: Gibraltar / San Marino / Andorra

Stage Two: Wales / Malta / Faroe Islands

Stage Three: Armenia / Estonia / Northern Ireland

Stage Four: Lithuania / Luxembourg / Montenegro

Stage Five: Latvia / Republic of Ireland / FYR Macedonia

Stage Six: Albania / Bosnia & Herzegovina / Finland

Stage Seven: Georgia / Iceland / Moldova

Stage Eight: Hungary / Slovakia / Slovenia

Stage Nine: Bulgaria / Kazakhstan / Serbia

Stage Ten: Azerbaijan / Scotland / Denmark

Stage Eleven: Israel / Norway / Sweden

Stage Twelve: Belarus / Cyprus / Poland

Stage Thirteen: Croatia / Austria / Romania

Stage Fourteen: Greece / Czech Republic / Switzerland

Stage Fifteen: Turkey / Belgium / Holland

Stage Sixteen: Ukraine / Russia / France

Stage Seventeen (God Tier): Portugal / Italy / England / Germany / Spain




* Liechtenstein is an exception due to no recognized league.

Daylight robbery though the stats may not reflect it. Lead stolen from under us and may kiss our chances of second place goodbye.

Made it difficult for ourselves in the last ten / fifteen minutes but pushed on with a victory.



Followed by another needless dismissal so early in the game, we fought back to earn a draw and Pibe hitting the bar late on almost gave way for the jugular.

End of January sees us still in third which is pretty much the best we can hope for. Lions have two games in hand though.

Tirado is such a plonker, Lincoln (GIB) were not up to their usual standard and we could have easily got something out of it.

Britannia are really becoming a bogey side for us these days. An unconvincing draw where a penalty bailed us out and couldn't exploit the one less man following a red card for them.

Out of the Premier Cup. The wind went out of our sail after that red card early on.

A firm iron grip in this game to send us back to third in the league. Also a healthy boost to goal difference.

Are you kidding me?

Lee Muscat shaking off the critics with a cutting edge performance against his former club. Second win over Gibraltar United in just over a week.

Onto the Premier Cup. I need to catch my breath. Upstaged Gibraltar United with a fierce comeback and a 7-6 penalty victory.



Our reward sees us in the second round against Lions.

Fourth going into the new year.

Returning from an Easter break with a win. In control might be a bit of an overstatement as we had a nervy last quarter.

On the same degree of domination as Lincoln (GIB). Almost managed an unlikely draw in injury time but alas the better side won.

Narrow game indeed. Funes nicking it at the death.

The first full round of matches are complete. We stay third for now.





In other news, we drew Gibraltar United in the First Round of the Gibraltarian Premier Cup.

Bad news; Ivan Hernanes picked up an injury. Good news; his replacement Ivan Jiminez bagged two. Better news; they missed a penalty to preserve a clean sheet.

Cancer is such an ugly disease.



http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35892775

Thanks bud!



No surprises here, we were lucky to escape with just two. After all they are the strongest team in the league.

Lost to the only pointless side in the league. Jarv caused us all sorts of problems. An inexcusable defeat.

So yes, I've returned to do something a little different since I've a little bit of time over Easter, so I've loaded up the lowest ranked nations via the UEFA coefficients Andorra, San Marino and Gibraltar. Taken over Glacis United, a team with a bit of a hidden past, last winning the league in 2000 and they've marked a 50 year history as a football club.

I've already rushed in with some league matches.



Despite an opening day drubbing to Europa, lots of good fortune. Wins over Manchester 62 and St. Josephs (GIB) and two draws with Lions and Gibraltar United, though we probably should have beaten United.




The table looks promising as we lie in third, but Lincoln (GIB) and Europa look set to battle out the top two already, but who knows?

The team set up is pretty decent too, the only thing lacking is a consistent striker with Pibe and new signing Lee Muscat failing to provide any goals so far. Still early doors and a lot more to come.



This thread will be a lot more just shooting the breeze rather than writing paragraphs so I'll more than likely post every result after every match played. Enjoy!

So another season draws nearer to its beginning for what could be a huge test of our abilities in the fourth tier of Italian football. The pressure was certainly on me to get a decent season. Few bits of business were made, both good and bad...two of them were tough pills to swallow.



Our brightest center back Esposito and central midfielder Bonavolontà both exited Gladiator to sign better deals elsewhere, gutted that our contract offers were not good enough to convince them to stay. Wish them all the best but it would be a nightmare to replace both of them.

Not only that, two of my loyal players called it quits on their playing days for coaching roles. My top left sided midfielder Maschio becoming a coach, while Gelotto now is an assistant at another team in the Eccellenza divisions.



Anyways, here is the transfer window thus far. Mostly outs than ins, mostly due to some poor youth players.



Seven new faces, more of which you can see in greater detail here:




Pre-season didn't go too bad, not losing a single game.


However, straight into the first match of the new season we threw away a 2-0 lead to fall flat against Termoli. Granted it wasn't really a priority, losing a lead like that is a bit of a worrying sign.



Bookies don't seem to have great faith in us either, lying firmly bottom of the standings. Meaning that'll be a goal for me to set.

The first round of matches in the new season mean absolutely nothing to me as I'm unaware of who'll be seen as a threat so going in blindfolded might be best. San Nicolò do sound familiar and Arzanese will be a team we do know a lot about. Question is can we break away with a good start to the season. Away to Matelica on the opening match, sounds like the most metal football team ever.



NEXT UPDATE: End of October 2017

@Dan - It certainly was a rollercoaster of emotions. Think we deserved it after last season's woe.

@KEZ_7 - You expected fair decisions in the Italian leagues?

This should be good! Best of luck!