tongey - Comments

First of all, sorry I forgot to put a pre-season update on, but there wasn't much to talk about. I'll post my transfers and a bit about them below as they are important ad everyone loves to see players coming in. We actually only had time for two friendlies and we won both of them so we were in good form going into the season, albeit a bit low on fitness due to not playing many matches.



I have only brought two players into the first-team squad, and a couple of youth prospects that go straight into the youth team to gain experience and get match practice. My two main signings come straight into the first-team and will be key contributors this season. The first is Gennadiy Zbun, a no-nonsense center back from Obolon-Brewer. He's 27 and has all the attributes needed ot be a leading player in this league and our team. The second signing is an absolute beast in the middle of the park for us. Denis-Chihozie Ezeahbanari (try saying that 10 times fast when you're drunk). He's an experienced 31-year-old midfielder who is a born leader. He's determined and has amazing natural fitness. He's definitely going to be a box-to-box man for me. I'm excited for these two to make an instant impact.







The league form started off excellently, as we went on a 10 match unbeaten run before we lost to Girnyk-Sport. Our form dipped a bit after that loss as we went on to lose a further 2 games against Bukovyna (who we shouldn't have lost to in the slightest, they're a poor side and I'm frustrated at this one). We then lost our last match in this half of the season in a 5-4 thriller against Cherkaschyna. What a game, but unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side of the scoreline. Anyway on to the positives, as we have won the majority of our games this season; 8 in total, and have 4 draws to add to them. We have been excellent all season and have deserved our good form. We had good wins against Krystal Kherson & Volyn. I definitely can't complain at our league form and it's now time to kick on and make sure we are up there come to the end of the season.

In the Ukrainian Cup, we progressed easily into the 1st round after a comfortable win against Balkany in the qualifying round. We've been drawn against top league side Ingulets Petrove who some of you will remember from last season.





It really couldn't be closer at the top of the league. We sit in 3rd position on 28 points, only 1 point behind the top two who sit on 29. Agrobusiness & Kremin lead the way but we lead the rest of the chasing pack in trying to hunt them down. Only 2 points separate the top 5 so it's anyone's title to win. We could do with a nice run of wins to get us ahead in the race.





Goals
1 | Olexandr Nalygach | 15
2 | Dmytro Chernyshov | 4
3 | Kyrylo Kulish, Paulo Cezar | 3

Assists
1 | Kyrylo Kulish | 5
2 | Jan Borosak, Denis-Chihoze Ezeahbanari | 3
3 | Vasyl Medvedev, Dymytro Chopko, Andrey Pavlov | 2

Average Rating
1 | Olexandr Nalygach | 7.71
2 | Kyrylo Kulish | 7.22
3 | Dmytro Chernyshov | 7.02

Next Post | End of Season Update 2033/2034

Well, I've finished my first season in charge of Metalist, living off a diet of mainly Borscht & Salo (two traditional Ukrainian dishes), and things are good. I've not been sacked, and I've not had to win a certain amount of points so my job is safe. Ukraine is home to one of the longest winter breaks I've ever experienced. It must get stupidly cold here. It was around 3 months without any football, then another month of friendlies to get back into the swing of things. Crazy.

How did we get on I hear you ask? Remember, we were sat mid-table, with a chance of going up in one of the two promotion places. Time to check-in...





I'm fairly happy with how the squad have turned things around this season. We changed tactic and went to a 4-1-2-2-1 formation with 2 wingers and a DLF. It seemed to work and we dominated possession, but we didn't always grab the win. We won 6 of the 11 games I took charge in so over 50% win rate. I'll take that any day of the week. We had a cracking win against Ingulets Petrova who had been one of the leagues in-form teams. We did lose however to the team in top spot Avengard Kramatorsk which was disappointing and slowed our promotion challenge down a tad. To only lose once in my first 11 games in charge is really pleasing.





URGH, look at that. A draw on the final day of the season sees us miss out on that 2nd automatic promotion spot in the league table. Avengard Kramatorsk take the title, ahead of Ingulets Petrova who finished in second and go up as well. We finish in 3rd spot on 49 points. We do however finish in a lot better position than I started with, and this means it will be an exciting and hopefully, successful season next time around. I'm not too disappointed in this, to be honest.





Goals
1 | Vasyl Medvedev | 7
2 | Olexandr Nalygach, Maxim Karpov | 6
3 | Sergey Gurov | 5

Assists
1 | Olexiy Lyulka | 6
2 | Kyrylo Kulish | 5
3 | Vasyl Medvedev | 4

Average Rating
1 | Maxim Karpov | 6.98
2 | Yory Gorbunov | 6.97
3 | Olexiy Lyulka | 6.93

Next Post | Pre-Season Update 2033/2034

That's right, we're back and we're back with a bang. A new country after that rather unsuccessful and embarrassing stint in Slovenia that will forever be ignored from now on ok? Anyway, it took ages to get offered an interview and then all of a sudden 3 teams were battling for my signing. The three clubs I had to choose from were Metalist in the Ukrainien Second League, Foresta Suceava in the Romanian Second League and Chornomorets in the Ukrainien Premier League.

I ultimately decided to head to Ukraine and take charge of Metalist Kharkiv. I chose them as they were in the second tier of football in Ukraine so I can build them up. They aren't performing badly in the league and have a chance of promotion this season which is always a bonus. They're also a fairly big name. I'm looking forward to this challenge in Ukraine and hopefully, it will be more successful than Slovenia.



Metalist 1925 Kharkiv are a professional team in the Ukrainien Second League. Although their name suggests they were formed in 1925, they were actually formed in 2016. I'm guessing because of a restructure or liquidation. The team goes by the nickname 1925. (It's nice to have a team nickname). The club has one trophy in its museum, the Ukrainian First Leauge, back in 2031, and has fallen back into the league the season after.

Metalist play their home games at the Metalist Stadium, which is a massive 40,000 seater capacity stadium in the city of Kharkiv. They also have average training facilities, and below average youth facilities. These will need to be improved fairly quickly in order to really challenge in Ukrainian football.







So as you can see, the club lies in the middle of the league after an average campaign. Not going to lie, it's not where the club should be, as they should be challenging at the top of the division. We sit on 27 points in 9th position. A title is still an option but we need to get a move on. The team has actually improved its form lately and hopefully, this is good for me. There will be no domestic silverware this season as we were knocked out of the Ukrainian Cup in the first round.





Another club, another squad overview. We have one player who is absolute quality for this league. Vasyl Medvedev is an advanced playmaker and at the age of 22, he can improve massively as well. He's got all the stats needed to be good in his role. He should score and assist for fun. I could do with a new striker that's going to score for me, but that's for another episode...



Next Post | End of Season Update 2032/2033

Well, that lasted long. I went into the first game of the season against Gorica who are a better team than we are and lost the game 2-0. As you know, I needed to gain 4 points from the first two games of the season, which obviously couldn't happen after that loss. The inevitable happened and the board sacked me one game into the new season...



Next Post | A new club? A new country?

It's been an important pre-season for us here in Slovenia, considering my job isn't safe yet. We still have to get 4 points from the next two games to ensure my status as first-team manager here at Ilirije. It's a tough ask, but I've got some new players in and things are looking up slightly I think. The media have put out their preview for the season and it's not as bad as I thought. We were fancied for relegation last season, but now we are predicted to finish in the lofty heights of 9th. Crazy eh?





I went out and scouted the transfer market for players to come in and provide quality in the first team, or to provide more depth so we can make an impact off the bench. I've managed to sign 4 players and I'm pretty happy with all of them. I also spent a little bit of money for the first time in a while. Rok Kovac comes in for the hefty price of £6.25k. He's an attacking midfielder who can play on the wing. He's very pacey and has good dribbling skills, so he should be able to trick his way down the line with pace and bamboozle the defenders. Matic Krizaj is the second player through the door. He plays on the other wing to Kovac and has a similar skill set. I have gone for pace down the wings. I signed William Scannel from Northern Ireland, to provide cover for my center halves. He probably isn't good enough yet but has huge potential apparently. He will get some game time this season. The big signing comes in the form of Vid Kocuvan. He's instantly the best player at the club, and plays in the middle of the park. He can play defensively and attacking. His stats are quite frankly awesome for this level of football. I hope he lives up to his promise now.

Rok Kovan | AMR | £6.25k | Tabor Sezana


Matic Krizaj | AML | Free | Fuzinar


William Scannell | CB | Free


Vid Kocuvan | CM | Free




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Only the four friendlies this pre-season, and we improved week on week which is a good thing. We were beaten by Sigma Olomouc in the first friendly. A 0-0 draw followed against Beltinci. We grabbed a good win against Prevalje and beat our league rivals Bled 2-1 in the final pre-season friendly which was also a testimonial. Not a bad set of results really.

Next Post | Mid-Season Update 2032/2033

God this is a tough place to manage! It's not gone well, to be honest with you! Slovenia is harder than I remembered! It may be a beautiful country, but it's not a good pleasant place to manage a football team. I got this message from the board towards the end of the season, and you'll find out if we managed to fulfil their aim at the end of the update...







We were on a terrible run of form at the end of the last update, as we hadn't won a game in 4 attempts. That changed quickly and we actually played really well for about a month. We won 3 of the next 6 games, and drew the other 3. That's crazy good form for us. We had good wins against Radomlje, Drava & Brezice. All of these teams have been performing well in the league and I was shocked at all 3 results to be fair. All good runs have to come to an end though, as we went on a run of 8 games where we couldn't find a win. We had no luck, and things just went against us. That's not to say we played well, as we didn't. It all came down the last game of the season ironically. It was us in 15th, and Smartno in 14th. We smashed them 3-0 and our safety was secure! Happy days, but it's going to be a mammoth job next season to turn this team around and into a challenger for the league. I'll be searching the job market too...

Also, we have two more games left on our 5 game promise. We currently have 4 points out of the 8 they wanted. So we need to start next season with a win and a draw at least, otherwise, I think it's the end of me here at [b]Ilirije.[/b]





As I said in the previous segment, we had survived, but only by the skin of our teeth. We were not impressive this season but showed flashes. I hope we can kick on next season and show we belong in the league. We finished on 28 points, in 14th position. Smartno & Dob were the two teams that will be going down into the league below. Close.





GOALS
1 | Marko Urbanc | 9
2 | Boris Golob, Dragan Krajnc | 4
3 | Sasa Spudic | 2

ASSISTS
1 | Sasa Spudic | 6
2 | David Bokal | 3
3 | Matija Avbelj | 2

AVERAGE RATING
1 | Marko Urbanc | 7.06
2 | Matija Avbelj | 6.94
3 | David Bokal | 6.89

Next Post: Pre-Season Update | 2032/2033

Slovenia may be beautiful but by George! It's one hard place to manage in! I may have taken on a bigger job than first thought, and maybe I'm not the man to turn it around for them. I'll give it my best shot though. I have brought in a couple of players, but I'll introduce you to them in another update I think. This is definitely my toughest challenge on this career so far.





YIKES! that the fixture list is not looking too healthy. There is an awful amount of red result icons splattered around and there is definitely not enough green on there. I knew we weren't going to be challenging anywhere near the top of the table, but we were expected to finish just above the drop zone. With this form, we aren't even doing that. We did go on a run of 2 games where we won both in a row! Impressive for us to be honest. Those wins came against Dob & Gorica. The 1-0 against Dob was my first victory in Slovenia, coming a good 3 months into my tenure. We are, however, on a run of 4 games now without a win or draw. What can I do eh?

In the Slovenian Cup, we were knocked out in the Qualifying Round against Bilje who are in the same league as us. It wasn't a pretty game, and although I didn't expect any success in this competition just yet, I wanted to go a few rounds further.





As you would have expected to look at that fixture list, we are glued to the bottom of the league and have been all season. We have a measly 10 points from 15 games and are 5 points from safety. Can we chase down Bled who sit in that golden spot above the relegation zone or will I get sacked in my first season in Slovenia? I think I may know what happens but I hope it doesn't! We need to improve quickly.





GOALS
1 | Marko Urbanc | 4
2 | Sasa Spudic | 2
3 | Boris Golob, Dragan Krajnc, Tomaz Brumen | 1

ASSISTS
1 | Marko Urbanc, Matija Avbelj, Sasa Spudic, Dragan Krajnc, Blaz Kocar, Tomaz Brumen, David Laban | 1

AVERAGE RATING
1 | Marko Urbanc | 6.96
2 | David Bokal | 6.85
3 | Matija Avbelj | 6.77

Next Post: End of Season Update | 2031/2032

I did leave Northern Ireland and Larne and I'm headed to somewhere often called the hidden jewel of Europe. Slovenia is a little known country in Europe but has been growing in terms of tourism over recent years. It's absolutely stunning and it's part of the reason I'm here. I had a couple of offers from teams around Europe including from Greece, Romania & Germany, but ultimately, I thought Slovenia was the right choice for me at the moment.

So here I am, the new manager of....wait for it...ND Ilirija 1911 Llubjana. Yeah, that's not easy to say at all, so from this point on, they will be known as Ilirija or Ilirijia 1911. I've signed a 2-year contract with the club and I'm earning £825 a week. Not as much as I was on at Larne, but that really doesn't matter to me, to be honest.



Ilirija 1911 play their football in the Slovenian Second League which is the bottom tier in the Sloevnian football pyramid. The club was formed in 1911 and is a fully professional outfit. They don't have a nickname, so I'll have to come up with one...any suggestions are welcome. They have no rivals which mean no derby days for us. I'm sure we will make some rivals along the way though.

The team play their home games at Sportni Park Ilirija, which is a 1,450 all-seater stadium. The club needs to improve it's facilities as it has basic training facilities and below-average youth facilities.







The squad we have at the moment doesn't look to have too many difference-makers in it. We are thin on the ground in terms of depth and need to strengthen. The problem being is that the season is literally just about to start as I've just taken over at the end of pre-season. I'll try my best to bring in a few players though to help me improve the current crop. Aleksander Sitar is apparently the best player at the club at the moment, He also has the longest face I've seen. The central midfielder is an aggressive player with great natural fitness. Hopefully, he can improve under my tutelage.

Aleksander Sitar


Next Post: Mid-Season Update | 2031/2032

Another season is now wrapped up, and in the books, but how did we get on I hear you ask? I'll let you know all that in a bit, but first more contract news for you. I don't actually plan on sticking around for too much longer, but I signed a new contract with the club, which earns me £1k a week now. Good going I think.





Happy days are here again, and Larne is one happy place to work and live. We've hit good form and we hit it at the right time. We were top of the league, but that didn't last for long as Linfield went on a crazy winning run to topple us for a while, but could they keep it up. We had a lot of wins in the second half of the season, totalling 13 altogether in the league. We only lost 3 times in the second 19 games and drew thrice. We had cracking wins against Cliftonville, Coleraine & Portadown but couldn't manage a win against Linfield. We did manage a lucky draw in the latter stages of the season but I desperately wanted a win against our closest rivals. All this fine form, but could we win the league? You'll find out in the next section. First, we head to the cups...

In the County Antrim Shield, we ended up as eventual winners, after a shaky performance in the final against Crusaders. It was a tight affair, that went all the way to the dreaded penalty shootout. We held our nerve though and went on to win the trophy with a 4-3 win on penalties. Earlier on in the game Tony McClean scored an absolute belter to put us ahead. A win is a win, no matter how you get them, and it's another trophy in mine and Larnes cabinet.

In the Northern Irish League Cup, it was to be more successful as we went on a run to the final, and were crowned champions on a rainy day in May. The route to the final included wins against Cliftonville, Linfield, Newry City AFC & Portadown. We rode our luck from time to time and relied on penalties but we got there and anything can happen in a final. The final was against Glentoran who failed slightly for their standards this season. Once again we had to rely on penalties, and held firm to win the trophy. Crazy that we are quite good at penalties! Alex Wright is a beast at them.

On another note, the reserve team Larne Olympic won the Development League title and the Steel & Sons Cup once again. It's a successful youth team we've got there. Some in there for the future definitely.





I told you, you would find out if we had won the league, and here is that moment! WE DID IT! It couldn't have been closer to be honest, but we just about edged it this season. We ended on 83 points, with Linfield only a point behind us. It came down to the last game once again, with us needing a win to stay at the top of the table. Both ourselves and Linfield won meaning we were crowned champions! Happy days!!







GOALS
1 | Sean McGovern | 19
2 | Khlodian Lala | 14
3 | Daniel White | 11

ASSISTS
1 | Daniel White | 15
2 | Khlodian Lala | 12
3 | Tony McClean | 10

AVERAGE RATING
1 | Tony McClean | 7.15
2 | Daniel White | 7.10
3 | Khlodian Lala | 7.08

Next Post: SOMEWHERE NEW??

I think I've won everything I can at Larne now, with only 2 competitions left to tick off in Northern Ireland. Larne isn't in the 'Bluefin Sport Championship, or the Northern Irish Mid-Ulster Cup, so I can't win them here. I think I'll move on from N.Ireland for now and opt for a change, but I'll be back to tick off the rest...

Well, we've gone through half of the season, (yes, an actual half of the season, not like last time), and we've not had another takeover so that's good news. Other than that, things are going well, the finances are still stable and in the positives and things just couldn't really be better. Can we keep it up?





19 games in and there is a lot of green on that fixture list. Like usual, I'll go through the league fixtures first, followed by our many cup competitions we're taking part in this season. We've actually not had a massive run of wins, but have lost or drawn the odd game after a decent little run of wins. They've kind of been a momentum stuffer, but we recovered really well and kicked on to go on another little run again. With some really good wins against Linfield, Crusaders & Institute. We've actually done quite well against the teams near the top but struggled against the lower teams like usual. We've continued to score a lot of goals, but haven't kept as many clean sheets as I would've liked so that needs tightening up. We've actually only lost 4 games, against Crusaders, Portadown, Linfield & Dungannon. We should never have lost to Portadown and I'm gutted we did. We've won 14 of our 19 games an drawn 2 of them.

In the Bet McClean Cup, we reached the Semi-Final but were knocked out by Dungannon Swifts 2-0, after a poor performance. We had actually had a good run before that beating Ballymena United, AFC Newry City & Glentoran. I'm disappointed to be knocked out after getting this far, but I've got this trophy so not too fussed in the long term.

We're still on the march in the County Antrim Shield, and have reached the Final. I've not won this competition yet, so I'm desperate to win it this year! We have a great chance of doing so, as we play Crusaders in the final. Fingers crossed we can go all the way!

We actually played 2 rounds in the Euro Cup II at the start of the season. We had a cracking 5-1 aggregate win against Breidablik who play in the Icelandic Premier League. It rewarded us with a glory tie against Rangers. Unfortunately, this was a step too far for us, after losing 3-0 at home in the first leg, it left us with too much to do. We did gain a credible draw away at Ibrox which will be in our player's memories forever. It also brought a load of wonga into the club too!





LOOK AT THAT! WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE! HELL YEAH! It's been a close battle all season so far, and we have edged them out at the halfway stage. We sit top of the tree on 41 points. Linfield are our closest challengers as they sit 2 points behind on 39. Can we stay top, and kick on to pull away from the rest of the pack. Time will tell...





GOALS
1 | Sean McGovern | 16
2 | Khlodian Lala, Matt Kelly, Ricky Young, Ross Gibson, Tony McClean | 5
3 | Shea Adair | 11

ASSISTS
1 | Daniel White | 9
2 | Tony McClean | 8
3 | Khlodian Lala | 5

AVERAGE RATING
1 | Sean McGovern | 7.24
2 | Tony McClean | 7.18
3 | Matt Kelly | 7.08

Next Post: End of Season Update | 2030/2031

Well, here we are again, with another pre-season roundup. We've made it all the way to the 2030/2031 season and it's going to be good I'm sure! The off-season has been crazy, and it's been the board that's been providing all the crazy! I've had to suffer, not one, not two, but THREE takeovers this summer. I don't think I've seen a version of FM with this many takeovers, one after the other. I don't really understand it, but I've survived all three, and our finances are looking a lot better now so we'll be stable for the future.



The league media has predicted the finishing spots, and they have us finishing down in 4th once again. There is no way we will finish there, and it's only the top spot that I will accept this season.





With all the takeover processes going on, I had been put under a transfer embargo for a lot of pre-season which didn't allow me to sign many players. I have brought in two players that strengthen the squad straight away and I'm excited to introduce you to them.

Phil McNulty // CB // Glenavon // Free


Phil is a hell of a signing, and instantly comes in as our starting centre half. He will probably rotate in and out, but he is the day one starter. His mental attributes are impressive, but his marking stood out to me as the one. He won't let attackers past him easily and that's what we need here. A cracking piece of business.

Tony McClean // CM // Free


Tony has it all, and will hopefully, make an instant impact in the middle of the park. He's creative and has energy to burn! I'm hoping he's all over the park winning tackles, setting up goals, and, maybe even scoring a few too.





One thing I can say from the friendlies is that we score a hell of a lot of goals. I know we play a lot of weaker teams, but scoring is immensely important and we do it well! Our only defeat came at the hands of Chelsea U23s which was probably predicted. These results should set us up nicely going into the Euro Cup II qualifying!

Next Post: Mid-Season Update | 2030/2031

A little bit of good news for myself to start this update off. I've been offered a new contract to stay at Larne up until the end of the 2031 season. I've been given a pay rise and I'm now earning just shy of £1k a week. That's not bad for a little old manager in the Northern Irish top league is it? I'll take it anyway.







I lied in the last update, saying we were half-way through the season. I had no idea where that came from, as we were nowhere near half-way. We play 38 regular-season games, not 28, but that's by the by now. Anyway, let's talk about the ridiculous form we were in during this 'second half' of the season. In total, we played another 24 league games, winning 16 of them, whilst losing only 5. That's title-winning for wouldn't you say? I'll pick out a few of the key and more exciting games for you.

We managed a lovely 3-1 win against Linfield to carry on our strong form against them. We also had a strong 5-2 win against Glenavon with Daniel White netting a hattrick. We actually went on an outstanding run of 8 games where we only won. Not bad, not bad for a little old team from Larne.
On the not so go side, we lost a thriller to a team not doing so well. Ballymena United ended up victorious in a 7-6 spectacle. Imagine scoring 6 goals and still losing. I wasn't impressed when the winner went in I can tell you. We also had a heavy defeat against Glentoran, the leaders of the league at the so-called half-way stage. In the run-in, we had 2 big games in a row against Glentoran & Linfield and ended up losing them both which was disappointing. You'll see why it was double disappointing in a minute...

Cup competitions now, and things have gone extremely well for us. WE LIFTED THE BET MCCLEAN CUP, after a wonderful set of performances got us to the final. On the way, we beat Ballymena United, Crusaders, Ballyclare, & Glenavon. It set up a final against much-fancied Coleraine. It was an even final, with nothing separating us after the regulation 90 minutes. I was preparing for penalties and had even brought on penalty takers so we had our best on the pitch, but it wasn't needed. Sean McGovern pivoted on a sixpence, and slammed home from the edge of the area in the 94th minute to send us into raptures. A trophy in my first full season at Larne.



I'm also ticking another trophy off the list, albeit somewhat cheekily. I saw that my reserve side Larne Olympic was in the Steel & Sons Cup, which is another one on the list to complete. I took over from my assistant manager and led them to the trophy in a brilliant 2-1 victory over Killyleigh. It's a bold strategy to win them all, but it's another off my list.







HOW CLOSE CAN WE GET! I told you that the results come the end of the season would be doubly disappointing. The loss to Glentoran actually made us miss out on the league title. We had spent all season chasing them down and making it interesting come to the end of the season and it was all for nothing.

I say nothing, but we did qualify for the Euro Cup II by finishing in 2nd position. We are in a strong position to challenge next season now, and I am to win the league title.





GOALS
1 | Sean McGovern | 38 (an outstanding effort from the advanced forward)
2 | Shea Adair | 12
3 | Steven Todd | 11 (despite having 2 serious injuries this season)

ASSISTS
1 | Khlodian Lala | 13
2 | Daniel White | 10
3 | Trevor Anderson | 9

AVERAGE RATING
1 | Sean McGovern | 7.30
2 | Khlodian Lala | 7.14
3 | Daniel White | 7.13

Next Post: Mid Season Update | 2030/2031

We're 14 games into the league season, and things are looking pretty good for us at Larne. There has been no club updates to update you on, but the club is in serious debt, leaving me with 0% transfer revenue, and a very small wage bill to try and win the title with. It's not an easy job that's for sure. I'm doing my best though and hopefully, that will be enough.





Well look at that, things are going pretty fine and dandy for us at Larne. The amount of green on that fixture list is definitely pleasing on the eye. There have been some negative moments but the positives definitely outweigh them. I'll focus on the league first as normal, and we've played 14 games so far. Of the 14 games, we have 10 wins. The most impressive wins included a league double over much-fancied Linfield, and a nice 1-0 win at Cliftonville. We did, however, get mullered by a strong Glenavon side who are running away with things a little bit as you'll see in the league table. They battered us 5-0 at their place, and I'm hopeful we can put on a much better showing at our place. We're currently on a 6 match winning run in the league and I'm confident this can continue as we push on for the league title.

In the cup competitions, we've had mixed success. The County Antrim Shielf ended early for us as we were knocked out in the Quarter-Finals by Linfield after a 2-1 defeat. It's a shame as it was one of the trophies I wanted to win this year. It'll have to wait until next year though.

In the Bet McClean Cup, we're on our way to a good run, as we've made it all the way to the Quater-Finals, where we face an inform Ballyclare side. On the way to the Quarters, we've beaten Ballymena United & Crusaders. Hopefully, this strong form can continue and give me my first trophy in charge of Larne.

We also have the Irish Cup to enter, and we will enter at the 5th round stage.





Well, well, well we're currently in 3rd position in this very tight league. Glenavon are running away with things at the top of the league as they have a 7 point lead from ourselves and Linfield. We have the exact same record as Linfield, but they sit above us due to goals scored (I think). I will be hoping to put the pedal down, and push on and try and reel in Glenavon. It's a tough ask, but I think we may surprise people and the bookies.





I haven't got too much to say about the lads, but they've put in some really solid performances through the first half of the season. Our most in-form player is Klodian Lala, the Albanian U21 as he's averaged a 7.27 rating through 15 games. He's scored 4 goals and has 5 assists too which is decent for an attacking midfielder. I think he has been the key so far this season and can unlock any defence on his day.

Goal scoring-wise, we have a runaway leader in Sean McGovern who has 10 goals from 18 games. That's not prolific but he's won us some matches on the way. Winger Steven Todd is in 2nd place with 8 goals. Most have been tap-ins from crosses, but I'll take any goal obviously.

Alex Wright has been immense between the sticks and has 6 clean sheets so far. He's made so many key saves and kept us in so many matches. It's definitely a good thing to have a strong umber one.

Next Post: End of Season Update | 2029/2030

It's been an absolutely manic off-season, bringing in no less than 14 players into the club. Not all of these are first-team players and will be sent to the reserves or out on loan to improve. I'm pleased with who we've brought in and we're actually being predicted to finish 4th in the league. That's a lot better than the 7th we finished in last season. I won't be happy if we don't at least get top 3, but that's just me. I think this is the season where we should concentrate more on winning the domestic cups, as we still need to tick them off.



The only teams that are expected to have a better season than us in the league, are Linfield, Glentoran & Cliftonville. It should be a fun one.





I told you it's been a manic transfer window. I won't go through the details of every player, but will just pick out some of the key ones.

The first area of the pitch we needed to strengthen, was the goalkeeper. We had a serious weakness here last season, conceding a massive 55 goals last season. I immediately set out to find a new keeper and incomes Alex Wright. The new number one comes in from Afan Lido, and looks to be a confident, young keeper who has room to grow in this team.

Alex Wright // GK // Afan Lido // Free


Ricky Young & Shea Adair, both were here last season on loan, so I made their loans permanent on free transfers. Both had good campaigns and I'm happy to have them here on long term deals.

Dean Fanthorpe, comes into marshall the defence, and take control back there. After having no club for a while, he's going to captain the defence and hopefully make them become a formidable opponent. He's got everything a CB should have, but his natural fitness is outstanding. He's going to be a key player for us this season.

Dean Fanthorpe // CB // Free


The last player I want to introduce you too is Steven Todd. He's a versatile midfielder, who brings an attacking threat. He can play in the middle of the park, or out on the right-wing. He's pacey and has a cracking first touch. I'm not sure where he will mostly play, but he's definitely in my plans.

Steven Todd // MC/AMR // Free //






I know I say this every year, but friendlies don't really matter to me, and I don't really take much notice of them. I do love how the team has come together though and how they played together. There have been a lot of additions and their performances show they are onto something special. We had great wins against Stranraer, Barrow, Wellington Rec & Portstewart. We only conceded 2 goals throughout these 4 games and scored a massive 14 goals at the same time. Impressive going into the season.

Next Post: Mid-Season Update | 2029/2030

I thought I only had 3 games in charge of the club to bring the season to an end, but the league splits as it does in the other N.Irish leagues, so I actually had a few more to get through. We finished the regular season in 7th, which meant we qualified for the relegation phase (URGH). To be honest, I just wanted to see the season out so I could start to get my own players in and get them trained in a tactic that we can use going forward. You can see how I got on in my first little bit of Larne management below.





As I said above, we had a few league games remaining, and then the relegation phase to oversee. I'll start off by summing up the league performance before heading onto the cup competition. Things weren't great in the league, but they could've been worse. We managed a total of 3 wins (out of the 8 I took charge in). The wins came against Portadown, Newry City AFC & Ballymena United. The win against our rivals Ballymena pleased the fans and showed what a force we can be in this league. We had a convincing win against Portadown as well. In these wins, we scored a combined 13 goals. That's some firepower in the team. We did, however, lose 3 matches as well, against Linfield, Portadown & Glenavon. I'm not disheartened by our form, but things need to change in the off-season, and we will need to get rid of the deadwood and bring in fresh faces.

In the Irish Cup, we had reached the Quarter Finals and had set up a tie against Cliftonville. Unfortunately, we ended up losing a thriller. 3-2 was the final scoreline, but it wasn't in our favour. It was a great game but Cliftonville showed their class and ended up nicking the win from us. Not to be this year, but I expect to go and win it next year.





Not much to say here, but we finished in 7th position, which is as high as we could considering we were in the relegation phase. This isn't where a club like Larne should be, but we will be looking to build on this and challenge for the title next season. We are much better than how they performed in the league this season.

Next Post: Pre-Season Update | 2030/2031

As you can see from the new banner, things have changed a little bit. I've not moved country, but I've moved up a league and to a new team. Things had started to stagnate at Limavady United and we weren't progressing as quickly as I would have liked to. Basically, after finishing in the bottom half of the league during the regular phase, we had entered the 'relegation phase' meaning we could finish no higher than 7th. That's not where I want to be, and we were being drawn into playing defensive football. Again, that's not what I want to do, so when Larne came calling for an interview, I gladly accepted and they in return offered me the managers job.

So, here I am, sat here today, as the new Larne Football Club manager, sitting on an £800 per week contract, which runs up until the 31st May 2030. It's nearing the end of the season and I'll show you how they have got on so far in the rest of this post, but I'm glad to have moved on, and with a club that has a strong possibility of trophies next season. (if not this one).



Larne play their football in the Danske Bank Premiership which is the top tier in Northern Ireland football pyramid. The club was formed in 1889 and is a semi-professional outfit. They also go by the name of the Inver Reds. They have one main fierce rival in Carrick, and two other rivals in Ballyclare & Ballymena United.

The team play their home games at Inver Park, which has a capacity of 2,050 including 1,250 seats. The club benefits from having 'good' training facilities. as well as 'adequate' youth facilities.







This is the squad that I have inherited, and it looks to be very strong. Just by looking generally at it, we are strong all over the pitch but could do with a bit more depth in the full-back positions. We have a lot of central midfielders so I'll have to evaluate them all and see who fits my plans. I do tend to use a lot of them in rotation so they may all stay. Aaron Monaghan is the strongest player at the club apparently, and the right full-back will be key to my plans. He's only 25, so keeping him around will be key. The player with the most potential according to my assistant is Darren Kelly who is an attacking playmaker. He's only 19 but has 4* potential (5 if you count the black star). I'll be looking at getting him game time too.

Aaron Monaghan


Darren Kelly




As I said earlier, we are very nearly at the end of the season here in Northern Ireland, but the club still has a little bit to play for, and even a trophy. We've only got 2 games to play in the league, and one in a semi-final. So we potentially have 4 games to play this season. You can see how we've gotten on in the rest of the competitions below. The team actually played in the Euro Cup this season, so shows the quality they have. They've performed well below-par this season and are currently in 7th position, with the possibility of rising to 6th (which is possibly why the previous manager got sacked).

My aim this season is to win the Northern Irish Cup. If we can manage that, then I'll be super pleased with taking this job, as I can then start to tick the others off next season.



Next Post: End of Season Update 2029/2030

I've only just realised that I can't actually conquer the whole of N.Ireland with Limavady United, due to the fact they don't enter 2 of the cup competitions, so N. Ireland will definitely be at least a 2 team mission. That being said, I'm enjoying my time at this club. Things are going well, and with a few more key additions, things could be special for us. Anyway, nothing else to report on club wise, apart from the fact that the chairman has rubbished some takeover reports. Nothing drastic though.





Considering we have only just been promoted to this league, we're not doing as bad as I thought we would do. We could do with a few more wins, as we've only managed 3 in total this campaign so far. Our wins came against Newington, Armagh & Dollingstown. In all 3 games, we scored 3 goals, so maybe there is something to that. Whenever we score 3, we win. That's the secret recipe. We did have an unbeaten month in the middle, where we didn't lose for 5 games. We gained a few credible draws against Ballinmallard & Dergview. Our form against the top teams in the league is not good, and that will need changing if we are to challenge next season.

In the only cup, we've entered so far, it was an early exit for us, as we lost to Armagh who beat us 1-0 in the Bet McClean Cup 2nd Round. A disappointing run in the cup which never got started and ended far too prematurely.





At the midway point of the season, we are doing better than the media thought. They put us down in 8th position, when in fact we are in 7th. I'll take that, and it could quite easily be higher than it is. We have 14 points and sit 8 points above the relegation zone so a few more wins, will mean that we are safe this season. We are also only 6 points off the playoffs, so you never know. We could be one and done in this league if all goes to plan...





I've changed our system to a more cautious, counter-attacking system with a 4-4-2 formation. This means I can play Lee Carey & Kris Frame upfront together which seems to work better in this league. The two lead us on average rating standings, with Carey having 7.17 and Frame, 7.21. That's not bad considering we aren't winning many games. The effort is there and the results will come.

In regards to goalscoring and setting them up, Frame & Carey both have 5 goals apiece, but Frame has 4 assists to Carey's 1. My favourite stat is that the goalkeeper Jack Hazard has himself an assist. I love the fact that we are going route one and it's paying off. Go on Jack lad.

Next Post: End of Season / 2028/2029

Another pre-season is in the bag, and I'm not as confident as I was last season. Last season was all too easy for us, as we were one of the strongest teams in the division. I think this season is all about establishing ourselves in this league: Bluefin Sports Championship. I'll be trying to progress as far as we can in the cup competitions, with no real aim of winning any of them due to us being a mid-range team in them. It's about setting ourselves up for the future here, and then maybe challenging next season? I could be wrong though and we go on a crazy winning run and win the league this season. The media actually predicts us to finish in the mid-table position of 8th.





I've only actually brought 3 players into the club this summer, although I could do with maybe a couple of more to help us with the depth issue. I've sent a few youth prospects out on loan to gain first-team experience so hopefully, they will continue to improve and be back next season to challenge for a first-team place with us.

The first player I brought in was Connor Hazley, from Ards. He's an AMC who can flick on his creativity with a switch and has pretty impressive physical stats. He's really pacey and I look forward to him setting lots of goals up this season. I then went and signed Chris Murray, from Portadown, who is a more defensive-minded midfielder. He's got average stats but across the board so should be able to help solidify the midfielder for me. The final player we signed is Michael Coulter, who had no previous club. He's an attacking left-winger, who should provide competition to Adrian Rice.

Chris Murray // MC // Portadown // Free


Connor Hazley // AMC // Ards // Free


Michael Coulter // AML // Free






Once again, we only played a few friendlies, and once again a couple were testimonials. We performed well and the new players came in an got up to speed with the tactic. Players got much-needed game time in their legs, and we are set for the season now...

Next Post: Mid-Season Update // 2028-2029