CameronFM - Comments

With 3 new signings in through the door, a host of dead wood out the door, it was time to see if the subtle changes outlined in the previous post would come to good effect with a quick pre-season roundup.

Opposition at this time of the year is difficult to come by, so we played 3 island sides and invited CS Lanaudière over from Canada to give us some preparation for the new season. Dubbed favourites at odds of 10/11, the pressure would be on us.

After the AS Piraé match, I took to the data hub to see how things had been going over the early friendlies and made one subtle change.

It was deemed that the opposition broke into our final third 147 times, and roughly half of this came from the middle of the park. Now I do operate a RPM and AP in the middle two, as I would have thought a DLP in DM along with an IWB on the right was sufficient cover, but I elected to drop the RPM back into a B2B. That should still carry some attacking threat whilst shoring up the central positions of the park. 

Another concern was the lack of final third entries down the left-hand side of the park - which I do expect given our LB is tucking in as part of his IFB role. I am hoping that having a B2B should aid that side of the park and even allowing our striker to roam from his position.

Yet a common theme keeps occurring. Goals against from extremely low xG. Granted that two of the four goals conceded were directly from mistakes, one from a player that is a depth option and one was a penalty, it still needs worked on and it will be monitored throughout the course of the season.

Our final game against AS Dragon saw me reverting back to a RPM in place of the B2B midfielder - this is something that will take to work as we do sacrifice an additional attacking threat. However, in the case of this game, the change worked as Morgant scored the winning goal. Perhaps it is a good thing to know that the change back can be effective during matches.

With the appointment of an analyst, I can now dive into their report concerning our trends:

In our last 4 friendly matches, 12 of our 15 goals have come from inside the box, with 9 being slap bang central.

6 of 10 assists have come centrally from outside the box, 1 has come down the right (new signing Papaura) and 3 from within the box.

We have conceded 2 goals from outside the box, and 2 from the central area of the box (one being a penalty).

2 of these 4 goals have come directly from set-pieces - one corner and one free-kick. The third was a direct mistake and the fourth being the penalty.

With the addition of three players in crucial areas, it will take time to gel, but I have full confidence that this is the right way forward.

The League Flags Coming Home Again!

April 8th - AS Tefana 4 AS Papenoo 1 - League Winning Game.

Welcome back to another update from Oceania as I look to round up S1 and then look to the future transfer plans. 

As expected, bowing out of the Champions League meant that the players were just about ready for their holidays. We were 8 points clear with 2 games in hand, it was highly unlikely we would go on to lose the league from this point. The only thing left to play for was the Coupe Tahiti Nui, where we have a semi-final tie against AS Vénus - they will be right up for this match so we had to find form quickly.

Ligue 1

Results were very mixed, but expected knowing that the league was going to be ours; it was just a matter of when.

Continental hangovers carried into our first league game following disappoint against Auckland City, and whilst we got back to winning ways to secure the title just a week later, the team suffered from what I call the Arsenal-effect - under-performing once the league was wrapped up.

Losing one game over this period is still impressive, but the nature of the performances certainly dwindled. Goals looked to dry up at times, whilst we seemed to be a bit leaky with our defending.

Regardless, the job was done and we ended the season 17 points clear of AS Dragon.

Coupe Tahiti Nui

Despite a bump on the road against AS Jeunes Tahitiens in the QF where we required extra time, I was hoping that we could get back onto the straight and narrow wins inside 90 minutes. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

AS Vénus took us another full 120 minutes, but we did manage to secure a 2-1 win to book our place in the final. One final game from a domestic treble in our first season - it was huge. 

AS Central Sport inflicted our only defeat of the season just a matter of weeks ago, and it was time to exert revenge on ruining a potential invincible domestic campaign. Yet, the final was a familiar story.

Extra time was required for the third round in a row, and things were starting to be concerning - more on this to follow.

The Season in Data

With our first season now officially completed, its time to review the season's performance as a whole. This is going to be the only way we can improve the squad going forward and look to dominate the domestic scene whilst building our way to continental success.

Goals Against

Whilst I don't like to rely on the xG table on its own, I do feel it gives a good perspective of how our outputs looked.

We conceded 3 more goals than what was expected, which is not horrendous given our overall performance, but it was a bit high for my liking. We ended the season with the best defence (27, 31 was second best) and our goalkeeper ended with 15 clean sheets for the season. As a whole, we conceded 2 goals from set-pieces all season, but 27 goals were attained from 78 shots on target. What is the issue?

6 of these 27 goals came directly from mistakes, which I can expect at this level of football.

Goalkeeper

Teave Teamotuaitau was our number one throughout the season, playing 32 of the 33 league games. But his metrics don't give me confidence going forward.

A negative xGP coupled with one save per 90. I feel like being Tahiti's number one, we should see more of a performance from the GK. And this is where I decided to take action.

AS Vénus finished 4th, conceding 39 goals, and I feel that their goalkeeper could be a worthy consideration. 

Despite having a negative xGP, it is in a far better position that Teave's but it comes down to his xGP in the league that is worthwhile to note:

A differential of 3.35 is huge at this level and it is something I can fully get behind. Anapa will come in during the summer and should make a push to dislodge Teave as both national and club number 1.

Defence

With the goalkeeping situation sorted, it was time to move one up the team to review what was going wrong with the defence. I had already explored some of the goals earlier in the thread, and I can accept smaller defenders being out-jumped by taller attackers, but that can't be the only source of goals conceded. 

It is clear to see that there is a gulf between our defence's ability and mental capacity to see snuff out opposition attacks. But where do we begin to look?

A bit of ying and yang between my starting central defenders, as one doesn't win many headers and both seem passive in the tackles. Neither of these performances give me much to go on - its off to the data-hub to find out more information. 

Inverted Full-Back

Stéphane Faatiarau played 28 times in the role of an IFB so it is naturally his data is driven from the CB segment. Unreliable with the ball, and infrequently wins the ball, he does win his tackles and puts pressure onto the opposition during counter attacks. It comes as no shock he does not win headers at 5'10", so that could be a large area of concern.

Thoughts

30% of our defensive actions come from inside our box, but despite our few tackles we win a high percentage of these (+80%). A majority of our possession is lost in the middle third (20% inside our own half, 30% inside opponent's half).

I don't feel our natural CBs need to be replaced, but there is an arguement to be had concerning Faatiarau - 34 years old, out of contract and not winning his aerial duals. 

Teiki Kananou strikes me as a potential ideal replacement for this role - 8 years younger and standing 5 inches taller, he wins his headers whilst being solid in the tackle and retrieving the ball for his team. Scouts are being sent out to advise further on his ability for next season.

Goals For

91 goals scored in the league campaign; 11 in the cup; 6 in the Coupe des Champions; 12 in the OFC Champions League. 120 goals in a year, and Klaïd Steeven Leon grabbed roughly a third of these goals (41).

It is clear that all success came down to this man, but the issue is that he is dying on his feet. With no talent to replace him, we were sacrificing his ability to win a game to rest and rely on our midfielders to score (Gitton 14, Mu 9, Kaspard 7 & Morgant 8). And this just isn't sustainable going forward.

Dylan Hutia will be back at the club during the summer and should look to help out when it comes to rotation so that Leon can get the rest that he deserves, but I do have my reservations over the teenagers ability. Being the lone striker, I don't feel his engagement is high enough for our style to choke opposition inside their own half. Which is a rich statement given that Leon records 1.27 more pressures per 90.

The above chart is a result of our xG and xGA in the final 10 matches, and whilst there are positives to take from this, I do feel tiredness plays a big part in Leon's output - he average an xG of 0.5 over this run of games.

Tactical change for 24/25 - AF to a PF. No need for additional signings as of yet.

Kaspard was our inverted winger throughout the season, so I would expect less goals from this role. However, he is right-footed playing on the right, and this is not sustainable going forward. 

I've asked him to train on playing on the left as our inside forward, and I think his numbers can back this up. But that would then leave a gap on the right. Thankfully, I have sourced a player to fill that void.

Franck Papaura will join from AS Pueu in the summer on a free-transfer, and at the age of 18 has a lot of promise behind him. AS Pueu deployed him on the left as a more traditional winger, but I think he can cause havoc on the right in the role of inverted-winger. He is joint 11th for assists in the league (8) and has a 1.56 ratio of key passes per 90.

Young and raw, he will certainly bring excitement to the team.

It seems like every two-months contain a mammoth segment of games for my to navigate with AS Tefana, but none more so than this update. We had one game to secure passage into the latter stages of the Champions League, whilst also looking to maintain our domestic form in both the league and the cup. With 7 league games, 1 cup game and 6 Champions League games in this update; it certainly is a huge time.

The eagle-eye amongst this community may recognise the Iconic skin by Mustermann, and I am a sucker for making things more challenging. After being fascinated with data throughout Football Manager 2024, I feel it does add a new element of difficulty to the game as I try to rely on outputs and team performance to judge if a player is good enough to take my sides to the next level. Recruitment-centric posts to follow!

Moving back to life in Tahiti, and you can see from the above screenshot that we have had a rollercoaster period in charge - starting with a draw against New Caledonian minnows Ne Drehu:

It seemed to be a lacklustre performance for large spells of the game, and when the visitors edged in front, I feared for the worst. However, a couple of inspired subs flipped the momentum back into our hands, and star-striker Klaid Steeven Leon saved our blushes with the equaliser that was enough to book our passage into the Quarter-Finals.

The draw could have been a lot more kinder to us, but to be the best in the continent, we have to compete with the better teams. I felt that we performed amicably well against New Zealand's elite in Auckland City, and it would be good to brush shoulders against one of the lesser teams in NZ; Miramar Rangers.

I thought I grabbed screenshots from both legs of this game, but there is a good chance they are on my Mac in the new property as opposed to the MacBook I share with my partner currently. However, a heroic performance away from home kept the tie alive before we picked them off easily on our own island. 

We can compete in this competition, but Auckland City are always going to be a step above.

A harsh scoreline in Auckland sent us back to Tahiti knowing that our journey in the competition was pretty much over at this point; the late completion of Manickum's hat-trick was probably the turning point in the tie that just put it beyond doubt, but I knew that we wouldn't give up when we got them back on our own turf.

And despite not really having a foothold in the game, we frustrated the competition favourites and narrowly lost the second leg. Given that this is a side that has had no recruitment brought in at this stage, I was delighted with the performance and I knew that if I could research the right type of player to take us beyond, we could be in with a shout in the years to come. 

Domestically, it was business as normal for us. A couple of results where we did look tired and the scoreline appeared to be a lot closer than what it actually was, but we maintained a winnable run to extend our lead at the top of the table to 13 with 2 games in hand. It was inevitable that we would win the league, and that it was more a question of when. 

A domestic treble in the first season of management would be a great marker to lay down, and it looks more and more likely with each passing week.

The big task is now identifying players that will improve the club. I feel it is easy to neglect the youth sides due to youth intakes, but with this database I have my Reserves and youth side in the second division - which will benefit their development much quicker than playing youth football or looking for loan spells.

Whilst our first youth intake of the save is deemed to be an excellent intake, I do hold some reservations given the drop-off in estimated quality. However, I do feel that we are lacking in defensive options, so it is pleasing to see that the core coming through are full-backs. While I wait for these players to actually arrive at the club for their trials, I do have one youngster on loan that I am keen to bring back into the senior fold next season:

The above snippet is from 17-year-old striker Dylan Hutia who is currently on loan at Ligue 2 side AS Excelsior. He went out on loan halfway through the season and is currently the league's 3rd top scorer - only 2 and 3 goals behind second and first respectively.

Now diving into his actual footballing ability, he doesn't striker me as a leading AS Tefana striker by any means, but there are a couple of areas that I feel could add an additional dynamic to our side. Jumping & Heading are two areas I feel we are weak in, especially when we decide to drop to the 4141 and we don't have the target to hit. His composure & finishing means he could be effective in the final third domestically, which would then give us the opportunity to rest players for the OFC Champions League.

The future could be very bright out in Tahiti...

With another segment of games coming thick and fast, this would be a real test of character and team spirit as we come up against AS Pirae, AS Venus and AS Central Sport during this period and entering the domestic cup at the second round. We also found out about our OFC Champions League group draw during this update. 

A sign that the Barcelona-esque system is working well against island opposition with areas to be worked on and improved upon. Drilling down into goals, both for and against, I found the following:

• 54 goals scored in 18 games - averaging 3 a game.
  • Over-performance on our xG by 4 (49.2).
• 13 goals conceded in 18 games - averaging 0.72 a game.
  • Under-performance on our xGA by 2 (10.9)

Whilst delighted with the attacking performance of the side, I am concerned about the defensive side in our game. Whilst we are joint top for least conceded, we have conceded only 1 goal from a set-piece all season. We have allowed 87 shots on our goal (36 on target) so far in the campaign, which is averaging out to 4.83 shots (2 on target) per game, and it is a concern to see teams taking these chances when they come along. 

Naturally, with the level of ability in this league, there will be mistakes that will be punished. Manatini Sienne (21-year-old central defender) has had two mistakes that lead to goals: Avearii Bennett (24-year-old right-back) and François Mu (28-year-old winger), both of whom have been responsible for one mistake each.

So, with five goals accounted for, the remaining eight have all come from open play. But where? Unfortunately, due to a lack of data analysts, I don't have access to the report to quick show this, but I am determined to figure this out!

• AS Dragon 1-1 MD1 - 84th Minute.
  • Ball over the top from the middle of the park.
• AS Punaruu 4-1 MD2 - 51st Minute.
  • Our left side of the park. 1-2 throw in and cross to far post. Out-jumped RB (5'7").
• AS Dragon 2-2 MD4 - 7th & 64th Minutes.
  • Ball slipped in between right-back and centre-back.
  • Penalty.
• AS Olympic Mahina 5-2 MD8 - 84th & 93rd Minutes.
  • Corner and Teriinohopuatierai (GK) fumbled it into the path of their CB. Tap-in.
  • Our right side of the park. 1-2 from a throw-in and crossed to the far post. Out-jumped LCB (6'4").
• AS Pirae 2-1 MD10 - 72nd Minute.
  • Unchallenged cross to the front post and got across Hapipi.
• AS Pueu 4-1 MD11 - 62 Minute.
  • Free header from a deep cross to the back post.
• AS Taiarapu 3-2 MD14 - 3rd & 68th Minutes.
  • Bennett mistake. Intercepted pass and finish from distance.
  • Winger drives to the by-line and cuts back.
• AS Papenoo 5-2 MD16 - 57th and 67th Minutes.
  • Long ball over RB head and slots home.
  • Mistake from Sienne - intercepted pass within the box.
• AS Central Sport 3-1 MD18 - 44th Minute.
  • Penalty.

Not too sure when the Mu error comes into matters; however, there tends to be a common theme happening. We have conceded twice from long balls over the top, and the others have been from crosses. Unfortunately, you cannot plan for a player under six feet to be out-jumped, but we can make precautions. 

Dropped defensive line from "Much Higher" to "Higher".

Introduce "Stop Crosses" instruction.

I am intrigued to see what difference this will make for the second half of the season, but as things stand, we are sitting very pretty at the top of the league:

OFC Champions League

Well, to be the best, you need to beat the best. Holders Auckland City are drawn alongside us in the group stages, which is a huge blow compared to the other groups. We know that this will be a mighty difficult game, but what of the other two?

ABM Galaxy:

• Vanuatu representation.
• 2 time league champions - Tafea are the record holders with 16.
  • 2 times runner up, 2 times finished 3rd.
• Similar reputation to AS Tefana.

Ne Drehu:

• New Caledonia representation.
• No major honours won.
  • Runners up the last two seasons.
• One of the lowest reputations in the competition.

We will play each team once, and the top two go through to the Quarter Finals. Now, it would mean, should we qualify, then we would avoid Auckland City in this round, which could be big for the club. However, we would be foolish to underestimate the other clubs in the competition. 

By the end of February, we had played two out of three games, and our fate was in our hands.

We were probably aided by the fact that ABM Galaxy are currently in their pre-season with the Vanuatu league kicking off in March, but we still had to get the job done to secure three points in the opening game of the group. Disappointing to give two goals away; the first was from another long ball, but with a recent tweak, I was not expecting the issue to be ironed out completely. The second was a bit of pinball outside our box before a thunderous effort beat Teamotuaitau in net. 

Some work is to be done in terms of the 4-1-4-1 formation as we were too passive over the 90 minutes. I tried to make slight tweaks to the system without directly touching the structure as I felt we did defend well in spells, but we had no attacking outlet at all. The main positive is only losing by 1 goal to keep a healthy GD, and it leaves our final match against Ne Drehu as a must-win following their 3-1 win over ABM Galaxy. 

Thanks for the kind words! 

Vanuatu brings back glorious memories, always got a gig out there when starting out as unemployed. Really enjoying the change in quality out in Oceania, hope you enjoy it too!

The opening weeks of life in Tahiti was certainly an eye-opener. Despite it being semi-professional football, games occur every 3-4 days, so managing squad fitness is a huge consideration with each passing week.

Our quality in depth is not there as of yet, so this then makes it trickier to manage. Sometimes making 1 or 2 substitutes has a far larger impact than 4 or 5 and losing quality throughout the pitch.

Until we get our first youth intake through the door, if we have games during international periods then we will be relying on the created players for that match-day. Far from ideal, but it is needed at this level. 

From the last post, I had mentioned that nine of our players would be missing for the Coupe des Champions match against AS Pirae.

I had to rely on four of those players; two starting at goalkeeper and central defence.

Despite the clear lack of high quality chances, we were absolutely lethal with the chances we did have on goal whilst having the lion’s share of the ball. A massive start to our domestic campaign and an early trophy into the cabinet.

With one trophy in the bag, it was time to move onto league business, and we had a tough opening month with games against AS Dragon (x2), AS Punaruu, AS Venus & AS Central Sport.

A solid undefeated start to the league campaign, shipping only 4 goals and scoring 16; our attacking threat is certainly showing promise.

Our stellar start to the campaign has us out in front by 3 points which bodes well for the season:

Life in Tahiti is bliss!

Thank you @HockeyBhoy, @lorek007 & @bigmattb28 for the kind words. Glad to have you on-board for this journey! I have to admit that I have been finding game-time difficult to come across recently. I've recently moved into a new property with my partner, and whilst the house is not habitable just now, most of my set-up is at the property whilst we live elsewhere for the time being. Will drip feed some updates into here for the time being, but hoping to be back at it properly in the next couple of weeks - social plans and life just come at you too quick!

Unfortunately the database is slightly inaccurate in the fact that they class Tahiti Ligue 1 as a straight league system. IRL, the league goes into a Champions Playoff where the winner qualifies for the OFC Champions League.

Therefore, in 2006/07 season, AS Tefana won the league stage but lost in the first round of the playoffs, so their count of 7 in game is factually incorrect. The second post of this thread is accurate. The above graphic is a direct comparison with AS Pirae to show that the competition is extremely healthy in the league, but that AS Tefana have got a corner to turn under new management.

Brief Squad Overview

I am never against referring to the assistant’s rating of a player’s ability when starting out at a new club. I don’t tend to rely on them thereafter, but I still hold the opinion that it carries some worth.

François Hapipi

Hapipi is deemed as the best player at the club, and with the early experience in Croatia and France, he should absolutely stroll through the league campaign. With it being a semi-pro contract, I reckon we will struggle to fend off attention.

Tehotu Louis Gitton

Gitton is dubbed to be the brightest talent at the club, and it’s clear to see why. A bonus to pinch him off AS Pirae, this creative midfielder should be key to any success we want to have in the near future.

First up for us in this season is the Coupe des Champions match against our rivals AS Pirae. We will be without 9 senior players as they are away on international duty with Tahiti for the Pacific Games, our opponents are without 5. Not the ideal start to the season, but this could be the massive boost of confidence we need going into a new season.

Since starting the save, I have reverted back to using the Iconic skin by Mustermann to add an additional layer of difficulty to the save. Updates from January onwards will include screenshots from this skin as opposed to an attribute skin, but if there are any questions surrounding the detail within these updates please let me know!

Name - Teva Marama

Age - 34

Previous Experience - Former Tahiti international. Former youth coach for AS Tefana.

Coaching Badge - National A.

Playing Style - Possession-based.

Philosophy - Develop homegrown talent.

Teva Marama will be the protagonist for this adventure as we look to brush shoulders with the greatest clubs in the world on the big stage.

Once a promising midfielder for AS Tefana themselves, a serious knee injury forced Teva’s hand into retirement at the age of 28. Whilst Teva had opportunities to leave Tahiti and work abroad, he refused the opportunities to stay on his home island and help AS Tefana develop the next generation of footballers.

After witnessing AS Pirae compete at the FIFA Club World Cup, Teva found a new source of motivation to get more involved with the game; as a manager. With his aspirations set, the door of opportunity presented itself when AS Tefana announced the departure of their manager. Eager to impress, Teva applied for the job immediately and was granted his chance.

Teva dreams of taking AS Tefana to the world stage.

Inspired by the great Barcelona side during the 2010s, Teva’s style of play is based on that of the Catalan giants. He demands his side to be fluid in the attack whilst looking to control games from start to finish. In order for his team to do so, he felt that this would be the best approach for the short-term:

The idea was simple. The deep lying playmaker will dictate the play and tempo from a deep position, allowing his two midfielders to push forward and support the attack. The wingers are tasked with creating chances for the lone runner and doing the selfless supporting runs to free up more room.

With a high press demanded, Teva’s vision was to move the ball quickly from side to side in order to tire out the opposition, forcing them into mistakes that can be capitalised on. Now this requires high fitness levels from AS Tefana themselves, and a fitness coach was at the top of Teva’s priority list.

When the need arises, Teva is willing to sacrifice the pure attacking edge to his team for a more structured and defensive look to the side. This was more looking toward the future when OFC Champions League games are a thing, but with both wingers tucking back one, they will still have the ability to support the lone striker alone with one of the two central midfielders.

AS Tefana: Tefana to the Top

Back in 2021 in the height of COVID-19, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) postponed their OFC Champions League. This meant that there the OFC representation for the FIFA Club World Cup would be down to sporting merit and decision making. Naturally, the OFC voted that Auckland City would be the representation for the continent.

Auckand City FC are the most decorated club in Oceania and it was most logical that they would be the candidate for the upcoming Club World Cup. However, New Zealand COVID-19 laws meant that the team would not be able to compete due to isolation laws. With that, the OFC had to go back to the drawing board and it was this decision that put the island of Tahiti on the world map; they decided to extend the invitation out to AS Pirae of Tahiti to represent.

Unfortunately for AS Pirae, they lost a number of players before the tournament due to positive test results for COVID-19 and they ultimately lost their first round match against Al-Jazira 4-1. It was not to be for the Tahitian side, but it was the start of a dream for the island. 

Could it be done again?

When you begin to research football in Tahiti, there are a couple of observations:

• AS Central Sport are the record holders for most league titles with 21 trophies, AS Pirae are second with 12.
  • The capital city of Papeete has been home to 47 league title wins from 8 different clubs since 1948.
• AS Pirae are the only side from Tahiti to reach the final of the OFC Champions League (OCL); they lost 3-1 to Auckland City in 2006 and 4-0 in 2024.
• Tahiti sit 153rd in the world rankings; most recently beating Samoa and Vanuatu 2-0 and 3-0 respectively.
  • They are actually ranked higher than Malta and Andorra for reference.

With what seems a clear two dominating the football scene in Tahiti, it would seem logical to go one of these clubs and look to build. But there is no challenge to be had there. So lets take it down a peg...

Just over 6km to the west of Papeete lies the commune of Fa'a'a, and the home to the club I will be looking to build with. They are deemed one of the strongest clubs in Tahiti in recent times, but there is still a bit of competition to be had with AS Pirae, AS Punaruu and AS Venus. 

AS Tefana is the chosen club for this save as I look to develop not only the club but the reputation of the island as a whole. Despite being one of the most beautiful islands in the world, their football infrastructure is extremely limited to the point that the football league itself is Semi-Professional; imagine the smell after a long day of working on the harbour and then having to train straight afterwards!

Whilst AS Tefana are one of the stronger clubs on the island, they have only won the title 6 times so there is room to grow from within and develop further to become the island's leading contender in the OCL. And with this in mind, I have clear objectives with the club:

• Local Dominance
  • It is deemed that winning the league itself should be straight-forward. However, I am not just satisfied with this notion. I want AS Tefana to become the island's leading dominant force and consistent representation in the OCL.
  • Whilst winning the league year-on-year could be deemed as being dominant, there is much more to consider and that is the youth academy. The club needs to have the leading youth academy on the island and this will in turn, push to help our exploits on the Oceanic stage.
• Cracking the OFC Champions League
  • This is where the real war begins as we look to overthrow Auckland City (11 times winners) whilst also laying down the gauntlet to other New Zealand sides such as Team Wellington and Waitakere United, whilst also being wary of new boys Wellington Olympic who won the 2023 New Zealand Championship.
  • Whilst New Zealand clubs are the most dangerous, it would be rude to ignore football in Fiji, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia - three other countries that are just ahead of Tahiti in the FIFA World Rankings.
• The Road to the Club World Cup
  • Perhaps one of the hardest things to achieve; qualifying for the Club World Cup. In order to do so there are two simple steps for this to be possible:
    • Winning the Tahiti Ligue 1
    • Winning the OFC Champions League.
  • Once we have won the OFC Champions League, we then enter the newly reformed Club World Cup's knockout stages.
    • First Round - Winners of host nation's national league V OFC Champions League Winners
    • Quarter-Finals - Winner of this tie will go into a round that consists of the African, AFC and CONCACAF Champions League winners.
    • Semi-Finals - UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores Winners are introduced at this stage.
    • Final

Sure, its a crazy old journey. But this crazy old journey is exactly whats needed to fall back in love with FM24. Especially until we hear news of the next instalment...

So disappointing to go out at that stage of the Champions League in that fashion! 
 

With the funds being there to spend, I fully back you to be back right up there competing for it next season; already loving the signings in Casadei and Suarez!

I really like the look of Alcaraz! As you say, perhaps paid out on the higher side, but will certainly make your money back and some! Hasegawa looks quality as well, no real area of concern across his attributes which is a massive bonus. 

Did you approach Millonarios with a balaclava on?! Vergara is a massive steal at that price for the spread and resolute personality - easily my favourite signing of the lot!

Another dominating league campaign! Think it is fair to say that you are now the leading force in Scotland and it is showing with that performance!

Gutting about the Scottish Cup, but to take 2 out of 3 domestic competitions, it is still good going. Champions League will eventually come, can’t wait for the party!

What a massive transfer window for Queen’s Park! Really like the logic behind the experienced signings, Jashari looks an absolute beast, Ajer is solid and Mukiele will do a job for the next year or two!

What an achievement mate, congratulations!

Montalto has had a stormer of a season; I think his strength is in his hair? Will it be a tough task to keep him around?

The future is very bright!

Amazing to see what you have achieved with Queens Park, the bridge between you and 3rd is terrifying! Cannot wait for the season run-in, this looks as though it can be tasty

The new tactic is a thing of beauty, supported with the fantastic run of results! Very unlucky to be pipped to the Viaplay Cup by Celtic in the manner it happened in, but that first final win over them will be ever so sweet!

Bonagoali! 😍 Loved the boy at Sampdoria a few years back, glad to see him chipping in during his first season with the club!

Mammoth updates from you, gutting to finish 3rd this time round given 2nd the year prior, but still goes to show the progress made over a short period of time.

Glasgow is black and white!

Thank you! I think after a second season we will be more on a level playing field with them in terms of finances and budgets, so this could be a crucial year!

Agreed on the youth players. Lowry showing glimpses what he can do is great, but we really need a big season from Devine and King to shore up the defence. Hopefully they perform well enough if and when they get loan deals that they can slot into the team!

Another great season, despite the supposed wobbles! Can smell 2nd going into these last few games, I have confidence!

Agreed mate, always going to be a tough tie, but we did give it our all and goes to show that we can upset on our day!

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End of 2023/24 Season

Our first year in charge of restoring Rangers back to a sustainable level that can compete with Celtic. We went into the split in a healthy position - one win would seal the title - and still in the hunt for Scottish Cup glory.

Could we do it?

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cinch Premiership

Yes was the answer! Probably one of our tougher games of the league campaign in all honesty, as the game yo-yo'd between 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3 before we really got our act in place and ran out 5-3 winners. 

Regardless, we had achieved something I didn't think would be as comprehensive in the first season. We were Champions as we sat 13 clear with 12 to play for! A great achievement for the club, as it guarantees League Phase football next season in the Champions League.

With the league secured, we did ultimately take our foot off the gas as we slumped to a second league defeat against Celtic, before a poor 1-1 draw with Aberdeen. We did win our final two games of the season; a comprehensive win over Hibernian before a massively rotated side beat St Johnstone 2-1.

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Scottish Cup

After defeating Hearts, we had a semi-final to contend with against Dundee United. On paper, this should be a straight forward semi-final given the gulf in quality, but it is important to note that it was that. A semi-final. Dundee United were not going to let this get away from them easily.

Despite a promising start from Sima, we really made a dog's dinner of this game. Perhaps fortunate to be going to the final. Dundee United seemingly scored with every chance they created, as we wasted numerous chances at the other end. Despite a late third, we held our nerve and would be squaring off with our rivals for the Scottish Cup.

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A first half rout was just enough to get the job over the line! We finally have our revenge for the Viaplay Cup final. A domestic double in our first season in charge. It is now time to plan for the future - this club stood too still after winning the league title in 2020/21, we can't afford to let that happen again.

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Youth Plans

As we move into season 2024/25, I felt that it is appropriate to review the progress of Leon King, Lewis Mayo, Bailey Rice, Alex Lowry and Zak Lovelace.

Leon King - Development

Despite making a total of 21 appearances over the course of the season, King needs regular football under his belt. 20 years of age, he should begin to see signs of development as a football over the course of the next season, and I will be looking to send him out on loan for regular football in the top-flight. He will start pre-season with the first team, but will be loaned out ASAP.

Lewis Mayo

Although not really of youth age anymore as he is now 24, Mayo is at a make or break stage of his career. He did make a total of 6 appearances for the first team before his January loan to Livingston, where he made a total of 13 appearances out of a possible 17. He averaged a 7.02 rating with the Lothian club, and despite him being a worth squad player, I don't feel as though he will massively improve us as a side, particularly compared to Lewis Neilson. Both players are touted to be as the more attacking central defender, and Neilson's attacking ability edges it as cover for the Libero position.

Bailey Rice - Development

An injury ravaged season meant that Rice found first-team opportunities hard to come by. He did make 5 appearances for the club grabbing 2 goals in the progress, but a torn hamstring prevented him from further opportunities over the Christmas period. He will be going out on loan for 2024/25, he is deemed as a League One standard player, so I would like to see him playing with a team expected to compete in that division or a lower-end Championship side to aide with his development. Like King, he is expected to travel with the first-team for the pre-season camp, but will be loaned out.

Alex Lowry - Development

The star of the youth academy this season. Alex Lowry clocked up 24 appearances for the club, averaging a 6.91 rating in the progress - not bad for a 21 year-old at senior football! 8 goals and 2 assists, he needs to up these numbers but that should come with time. His performances this season have attracted the interest of Brighton, so we could find it tough to keep a hold of him over the summer, but in my eyes he has secured his place in the first team squad for 2024/25. 

Zak Lovelace - Development 

Another player that struggled for first-team minutes this season due to injuries. He did make 2 appearances for the club and scored on the final day of the league campaign to open his account for the senior side. Like Rice, he is deemed to be a decent League One player, and with that in mind I would like to see the 18-year-old get valuable minutes at this level and then we can reassess his future with the club.

Adam Devine

Devine spent the season out on loan to Raith Rovers in the Championship, and helped steer the club away from the drop as they defeated Hamilton Academical 4-3 on aggregate. He made 45 appearances for the Kirkcaldy side, and grabbed 8 assists. He could prove to be another James Tavernier in the right setup, and I am excited to keep him on the books for 2024/25. He is a very similar player to Max Johnston, and it looks as though one of these players will be on loan with a recall inserted to ensure apt squad depth if injuries do amount. 

A domestic double. What a season. Lets do it all again after the summer, as we look to retain our crown and really build something here.

February to April (Pre-Split)

We begin our descent down to the business end of the Scottish season. Scottish Cup games. Premiership games. Champions League Knockouts.

A huge spell of games for us, but can we maintain the form?

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UEFA Champions League

We start off with our Champions League campaign. Last time out, we were given a difficult Round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich. It would take a something massive for us to come out of the first leg at Ibrox with a positive result, but stranger things had happened.

Well, not exactly a disaster, we had a slim chance of progression but we were still well in the tie! Disappointing to concede two very late goals to give Bayern a real advantage. However, being in the competition still at this stage was massive. We travelled over to Germany 2.5 weeks later hoping to overturn the tie:

The cruelest of fashions! We were in control up until we scored and then it just seemed to get away from us, but I am mightily proud that we have competed this far. A lot more to come from the team next season as we look to cement automatic qualification for the League Phase via winning the title.

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Scottish Cup

After seeing off Peterhead at the end of January, I realised that this was no longer the time to play the youth and really go for this. Particularly with Champions League exit looming (We played our 5th Round tie straight after the 1st leg), I wanted to ensure that the domestic double had a fighting chance. We were given a draw away to Paisley, where we would come up against high-flying St Mirren. Not an easy tie in the slightest, but one we should be winning.

And win is exactly what we achieved! A bit of a sluggish performance after the big game during the week, but we are in the hat. New signing Young-Joon grabbing his first the club is a huge boost for him. We could almost taste the National Stadium turf once again, we just had to navigate a Quarter-Final tie against Hearts to give us a fighting chance.

Surprisingly, it was never in doubt. The game was wrapped up inside the first 45 minutes that we could afford to rest the first team players ahead of a mammoth couple of weeks for the club; we would be going on to play our rivals in just a fortnight, so it was important to give the team as much of a chance as possible. 

We are scheduled to play Dundee United in the Semi-Final at Hampden on the 21st April, Celtic will square off against Falkirk on the Saturday, and it looks likely that the final showdown of the season will be a 6th derby. Expectations are huge.

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cinch Premiership

Really, it was about churning out the results as they came, one game at a time. There was no point looking ahead at games, as we could only control what was in front of ourselves. But another 2 undefeated months left me a bit giddy. We were going to do it!

Disappointing to drop points against both sides from the capital, particularly Hibernian away. We were 2-0 up and cruising, before letting our lead slip in the second half. Hearts, we done really well to come back from 1-0 down, but we just couldn't find that winning goal. And that winning goal could have been all the difference by the time the 6th April rolled around.

Celtic at home. Probably the biggest derby of our season given the importance behind it. Win and the title was ours to lose. Lose, and it gave Celtic a fighting chance. A small one. But still a chance.

In a game that was all Celtic, it was actually a goal against the run of play. Tavernier whipped in a corner and Goldson was there to open the scoring. 1-0, and it felt good given the match momentum was heavily in Celtic's favour.

Just over 20 minutes, we got our opportunity once again, as Sima was fouled inside the box. Mr Reliable Penalty was on had, as Tavernier fired us into a 2-0 lead - we couldn't through this away could we?

The game petered out until the final 20 minutes when it burst back to life. Sima converted his header to make it 3-0, and I thought it was all down and let the foot off the gas. Jacob Brown haunted us just two minutes later with a goal of his own, before Hakšabanović grabbed a second with 4 minutes left of normal time. Thankfully, a roar of encouragement got the players back to ground zero and we saw out the game. Another massive win. And that win meant that we went 13 clear with 18 to play for. We could win the league the following weekend.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as Celtic took their frustrations out on St. Mirren. But it didn't matter, we were one win away from a league title. And we could win it against Hibernian in front of our own fans in the first game of the split!

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Youth Development

The business end is really tough to give some of the boys a chance here, but with the end in sight, I can see a couple of them getting minutes prior to the season ending.

One player that has been thriving, is Alex Lowry. 

Three goals in seven appearances since February, he is really making an impact off the bench in the Treq when either Cantwell or our CM is tiring. Certainly will have a huge part to play next season, which will be followed up with some internal promotions of the younger players. We have now built a squad capable of challenging, that I feel we don't need to heavily invest in players in. We will still need to strengthen, but only when the time is right, and it is fair that these boys get there chance like Lowry.

Next Update - End of May 2024.

You have been busy!

What a massive first season in amongst the big dogs, absolutely buzzing for you finishing inside the top 6 and even getting a spot in Europe! Will do wonders for the club and its finances.

Speaking more on the recent results, brilliant to qualify for the League Phase! Some tricky matches in there, but think of the money!

Brilliant job mate

December 2023 and January 2024

A mammoth month of games, which also consist of a decisive UCL match and a cup final! It will be tough on the legs but do we have it in ourselves to make this a month to remember?

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UEFA Champions League

The task was simple really. Win and we would have European football after Christmas. In what form? Well that depends on the result between PSG and Porto; a Porto win will secure them as P1 and PSG as P2 given PSG beat us 11-2 over two games (ouch).

Thankfully, we perform when it is in our own hands. A massive 2-0 win away in Spain meant we had upheld our end of the bargain, we just had to hope for a French victory.

Which happened! PSG won 2-0 on the night to demote Porto to the Europa League, and we would be progressing to the Round of 16, the first time since the 2005/06 season. But we will not be going any further in the competition:

A tough draw, but the exposure at this level is massive, along with the financial benefits!

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cinch Premiership

We continued to pick up where we left off each week, churning out some impressive performances in amongst these games. Čvančara has really settled in now and scoring for fun!

With things going all so well, it was a trip across the city for the traditional New Year's game with our rivals. A lot was on the line here, Celtic had dropped points and found themselves 9 behind at this stage; a Rangers win would make the league defence a whole lot more difficult.

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Despite the early lead, we were never in this game. I tried to be a bit more conservative when Degenek was given his marching orders for a professional foul, but when McGregor grabbed a second, I ended up going for the point and was picked off on the break. A tough defeat to swallow, but we were still 6 points clear going into the New Year - a mightily fine first half of the season performance, if I do say so myself.

January 2024

Thankfully, not a banana skin in sight. Straight forward victories over Kilmarnock and St Mirren kept the distance between us and Celtic, and I could start to believe.

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Scottish Cup

We were given the delight of travelling North for our Fourth Round tie, as Peterhead were going to be our hosts for the day. Knowing that I could afford to take my foot of the gas a bit for this game, I elected to go with a team of youths, and they did not let me down.

Lewis Neilson would be making his debut for the club, McCrorie, King, Mayo, Neilson, Erhahon (more to come) and Lowry would all start for the club in this round, meaning that both Neilson and Erhahon would be making their full Rangers debuts. The boys did not disappoint, as we blew away Peterhead with a first-half performance that saw us claim three goals. Complacency did creep in after we scored another before the hour mark, as Peterhead helped themselves to 2 goals before the full-time whistle, but the job was done!

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Viaplay Cup Final

We were out to claim a trophy that we hadn't touched in 13 years against our fierce rivals. So much riding on this one game; the psychological advantage it can give one half of Glasgow, the bragging rights. Would the trophy come home with red, white and blue ribbons?

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No. We had massive chances to equalise and kick on, but it wasn't to be. Iwata's 50th minute goal generated an xG of 0.34, but it contributed to the only thing that mattered. 1-0.

A sore final defeat to take, but there was more to play for this season. A league win would get us automatic qualification for the Champions League, which is massive for Scottish clubs.

We go again.

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Transfers and Youth Development

Firstly, deals in and out of the club during the month of January.

We finally said our goodbyes to Sam Lammers and Dujon Sterling. Lammers would move to Al-Duhail for £4M, whilst we hired an intermediary to get rid of Sterling - he moved to Samsunspor for £170K. Moving Lammers on for £4M meant that there was some money to reinvest back into the side.

Ethan Erhahon (22) - £2.5M - MC - A&B

Allan Campbell (25) - Free - MC - B

Zion Suzuki (21) - £2M - GK - A&C

Goh Young-Joon (22) - £1.3M - AMC - A&C

Our first bit of action in Asia's market! Suzuki has returned to Urawa for the rest of the Scottish season, whereas Young-Joon joins the club right away and is in contention. Hoping to see a bit of a social media increase in due course, and that may also help with our merchandise income stream which is sitting at £3.4M for the season to date.

Youth player wise, it has been a highly successful period for both Lowry and King:

Leon King - 20

Alex Lowry - 20

Injuries have hampered the progress of Lovelace and Rice again, but they will get another chance before the season is done. Summer signing Lewis Neilson made his debut for the club against Peterhead, and kept a clean-sheet for as long as he was on the park and got himself on the scoresheet. I keep watching over him, as I have ear-marked him as a potential replacement for Goldson in a new variant of our system:

Next Update: February to 13th April (Pre-Split)

Certainly a tough ask, particularly with the financial differences between the two. Celtic have made signings like Ismaïla Sarr and Jacob Brown, with plenty more in the war chest I would imagine!

September to November 2023

A real busy 3 month segment of our season, with games ranging between the Champions League, cinch Premiership and Viaplay Cup. We were coming into the month of September on a great run; winning 7 of our possible 8 games. Can we continue the run?

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Transfer Deadline Day

Whilst I was quite happy with the look of the squad on the 1st September, I still had one final day to arrange any further transfers. With some money lying around, I was only going to make a move for players I felt that would add quality to the team:

Nicolás Fernández Mercau (23) - £3.3M - WBL/CM - Argentine - A

Andi Zeqiri (24) - £4.5M - ST - Swiss/Albanian - A&C

Two new faces, and ones that were not available before the 1st. With their agents pushing them out the door due to internal unrest, I knew that we had to make a move on both players sooner rather than later. Despite having Yilmaz and Strapp at the WBL position, I felt another one couldn't do any harm. Given that Mercau can also cover the middle of the park - where I felt we were very light - I was very happy to get the Argentine in from Elche.

Zeqiri however, was with 3 hours to go when his availability came through. The Swiss international has not been prolific at his previous clubs, but I think given the chance, he could be a success in Glasgow. Brighton were happy to get him off the books, and he is on a reasonable wage for the potential ability.

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Viaplay Cup

We progressed thanks to a realtively straight forward tie against Championship opposition Arbroath, and were rewarded with a tie against a fierce rival in the league; Hibernian.

A potential banana skin for a knockout tie, but with it being at home, I knew that I had every right to back the boys

A Ċvančara hat-trick was the talking point of the match, as the Czechia striker put Hibernian to the sword, and secured passage into the semi-finals. I thought it would be a case of “hot-balls” to draw up a Rangers-Celtic semi-final tie, but we were given the right to play Kilmarnock, as Celtic played St. Mirren.

A day out to the national stadium is always special. Even more special when it gives you the opportunity to book your place in the final. However, Kilmarnock continued to prove to be a sticky opponent, as we had to fight them to the bitter end for that lucrative spot. 

Pegged back twice by the Ayrshire side, but eventually we settled our nerves after Zeqiri made it 3-2, and went on to score a couple more to book our place in the final. As you can see, we played on the Sunday, meaning that we knew our final opponents going into this game:

Can we finally get our hands on a trophy that has been elusive for 13 years?

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UEFA Champions League

Being in a group with PSG and Porto, it was always going to be tough. When you add in an impressive side such as Real Sociedad, it got a whole lot tougher. We had harsh lessons to learn in the first group game of the campaign, as PSG lamped us in the French capital:

A poor showing on the night, but I didn't expect it to be a 9-1 game. I knew at this point that we had to be a bit more reserved away in Europe against these sides, but at Ibrox? I backed us.

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Two huge wins at home meant that we were not out of the running for a chance at qualifying or dropping into the Europa League! All we had to do to make that dream more of a reality was travel to Porto and get a result of sorts to put us in the driving seat.

Which unfortunately didn't happen. We were a bit more reserved with our approach to the game, which led to us being 2-0 down just before half-time. Lammers stepped up with a big goal to give us a chance, and I elected to go a bit more attacking given the swing in confidence. We came out all guns blazing at the start of the second-half, and really looked as though we would go on to equalise, before Tav got a double yellow in 15 minutes and we were down to 10. We had no chance of getting back into the game without our main creative force, and Porto picked us off on the counter to seal the points.

With two games remaining, and PSG, Rangers and Porto all on 6 points, we had it all to do. We needed to get a positive result against PSG at Ibrox to steal the advantage; knowing Porto still had to play PSG.

A real sucker punch. We were so close to getting a massive result in the Champions League, but Dembélé's late strike stole the points and left us hanging in limbo. Porto then lost to Sociedad, meaning everyone could still qualify on the final match-day:

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cinch Premiership

As mentioned in my previous post, we had a game coming up against Celtic. Well it would actually be the first game to kick off this 3 month period, and what a time to play them after a grilling 120 minutes against PSV Eindhoven just days before.

We had the backing of the fans for this tie, and it goes to show what home advantage can do for a team:

A huge psychological advantage at this stage of the season, as we move 3 points clear of our arch-rivals. A real bonus to get a win to set the precident, and this then had a knock-on effect as Celtic recorded a 3-1 defeat at home to Dundee just a week later!

At the end of November, we remain the only team unbeaten in the British Isles, and we are extremely lucky to be in this position. We were poor away to St. Johnstone right after the Celtic game, and more recently away to Livingstone as we were 2-0 down:

However, all that matters is the end result, and whilst we couldn't hold on for all three points, we did come away with a point that look highly unlikely at the start of the second half. We now look at the upcoming games and have a whole host of them, meaning that the next part is going to get a lot of attention over the next 6 weeks.

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Youth Development

Perhaps we slacked a bit on this front over the 3 month period, but with the intensity of the games, we have been unable to extend minutes into the up-coming Rangers talents.

Leon King - 19

Lewis Mayo - 23

Bailey Rice - 17

Alex Lowry - 20

Zak Lovelace - 17

The only players to feature over this period, was predominately Leon King, whilst Lowry has been involved a bit in recent games. We have been unable to find ourselves in positions when I can comfortably say that the game is done and bring on younger talent. I think the next move for Rice & Lovelace certainly, is a loan move out to another club to gain senior minutes. Both players are good enough to do a job for some clubs in Scotland, and I think this will be more beneficial in the long-term.

That will be after we get through the next run of games in December. There should be opportunities for these 5 in particular to get minutes in some shape or form, given the fixture list we have in front of us:

Not an easy run of games, but when you are manager of Rangers, there are no easy runs.

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Next update: December 2023 & January 2024

Congratulations on the league title! What a first season for you in charge of Queens Park, will be great to brush shoulders with the big boys; already shown you can do it on you day!

Some good signings in there as well which will no doubt help, promising to see the media rank you ahead of a few teams!

What a great transfer window replacing those that had left! Sinclair is going to tear the Championship up, and gives you the valuable experience as a potential promoted side, be that through play-offs or going straight up.

Will you keep Paton around to help with the aging Sinclair and rotation? He looks to be a very solid option to have around the squad!

Period ended 2nd September - Transfer Window Closing

The squad was in need of a massive overhaul, and from the previous tactic screen, I set about trimming it with those that would not feature in my plans going forward. 

Recent big players such as Barišić and Lundstram had played their last games for the club, as I wanted to go down a different path and evolve the team.

At the end of the window, we did manage to off load the following:

£27M in for these players, and a 100% retention, meant that there were further funds on top of my initial £10M to reinvest in the squad. I wanted to stick to my policies as much as possible, and for each policy I will show them as; 24 & Under - A, Scottish - B, Unorthodox Nation - C. 

Max Johnston (19) - Free - WBR - Scottish - A&B

Lewis Strapp (23) - Free - WBL - Scottish - A&B

Edu Expósito (27) - £3.3M - CM - Spanish - Failed

Lewis Neilson (20) - £1.4M - DC - Scottish - A&B

Miloš Degenek (29) - £6M - DC - Australian/Serbian - C

Strahinja Eraković (22) - £2.7M - DC - Serbian - C

Tomáš Čvančara (23) - £4.2M - STC - Czechia - C

Nicolás Fernández Mercau (23) - £3.3M - WBL - Argentinian - A

Andi Zeqiri (24) - £4.5M - STC - Swiss/Kosovan/Albanian - A&C

A lot of ins and outs, but I was hoping that I had managed to assemble a team worthy of going toe-to-toe with Celtic consistently.

Edu Expósito does not fall within my transfer policies. However, when he was offered to Rangers for the £3.3M, I felt we couldn't say no to a CM's ability such as his, particularly being weak and lacking in midfield already.

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UEFA Champions League

Our campaign would begin in the League Phase 3rd Qualifiers, where we would come up against FK TSC Bačka Topola of Serbia, who finished runners-up to Crvena Zvezda. It was going to be no easy game, especially when we fell behind early in Serbia, but we did have enough in the legs to run out comfortable winners. With the job done in Serbia, it gave me an opportunity to rotate the squad and ensure player fitness was not damaged.

Show Spoiler

One round down, and the final one to go, it was going to be deja-vu when we went up against PSV Eindhoven once again. We had been playing well going into the first leg in Eindhoven, and I felt comfortable that our players would be able to perform on the big stage.

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It wasn't exactly rip the whole thing up and go back to the drawing board, but the realisation that perhaps our brand of football was just too expansive away from home against some of Europe's elite. Before the home leg, I elected to change Todd Cantwell's positional role into an Attacking Midfielder on attack to ensure he was staying higher up the park with the strikers - one thing I had noticed was he was dropping as deep as our two CMs, sometimes into our defensive line.

We had to get this result right.

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Oh boy. Tomáš Čvančara took the first leg result to heart, and delivered when it mattered most. A hat-trick and assist on the night, he was sending us into the Group Stages of the Champions League. A mammoth result, and proof that the building blocks were starting to settle.

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Viaplay Cup

Only the one game to tell you about here, as we drew Arbroath at home in the second round. Our board expectation is to win this competition, but we still won comprehensively with a rotated side ahead of our first leg tie with PSV.

Into the hat for the next round with some of the youth players getting a chance to strut their stuff, it was always a bonus as opportunities are there to be taken.

We host Hibernian in the Quarter Finals of the competition.

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cinch Premiership

Three wins from three is all I could ask for, particularly with the Champions League qualifiers going on at the same time. Trips to Kilmarnock and Dingwall can be potential banana skins, but we did manage to get the job done, even if it was just by the skin of our teeth.

Celtic on the other hand, have been matching our results, but showing their entire team is settled. With 11 goals scored and just the 1 conceded, it is going to be difficult to close the gulf between the sides if this form keeps up; our biggest opportunities will be the 4 league games against them.

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Youth Development

Bringing through the youth is easier said than done, but I am sticking to my guns and basing any involvement on current form and training.

As it stands, the current youth players to be training with the first team, but still getting B team exposure are:

Leon King - 19

Lewis Mayo - 23

Bailey Rice - 16

Alex Lowry - 20

Zak Lovelace - 17

Of all the players, both King and Mayo will find it toughest to get a run in the team given the importance of defence. After signing another 2 defenders for the team, it will give them a challenge to shift the current crop, but also more experience available to them. Mayo has currently made 2 appearances for the senior team this season; 1 UCL & 1 appearance in the league from the bench. King had struggled with an injury at the start of the season but has came back to make 2 UCL appearances and 2 league appearances, one from the bench.

Bailey Rice. I think he is my new favourite Scottish youngster, and it is easy to see why this would be. Despite a low determination, he is consistently performing well in training, posting ratings of 7.5 upwards. Currently going through a retraining programme to become a BWM, Rice is taking it all on board and playing with the B team when he is not featuring in the senior squad. However, he did start in the 4-1 win over Arbroath, and came off the bench in wins against TSC in the UCL and Livingston in the league. Rice even became the youngest goalscorer for the club when he grabbed himself a goal in the 5-2 win over TSC at Ibrox.

Alex Lowry is one of those players that impressed during the pre-season camp. He featured in all 5 games, grabbing himself 3 goals and an assist. After impressing, I felt it would be appropriate to keep him at the club instead of loaning him out, where he can develop under Todd Cantwell & co, and get first team minutes when the opportunity arises. His only appearance so far this season was in the 4-1 victory over Arbroath.

Unfortunately for Zak Lovelace, injury has hampered his progression path into the first-team.

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Coming up - September to November featuring Celtic (H)

1st October 2023 - Michael Beale is sacked as Rangers manager.

Another season. Another failure in the eyes of Govan's faithful. Michael Beale took over from a side that had 0 confidence, steadied the ship and then returned another confidence lacking squad - that was well backed also. 

Thanks to FM, I can now relive the summer of 2023 in “Your Mode” and correct some wrongs. I can live in a world where I can shape the team per my will.

This is Project Restoration.

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Before I kick things off with the beta save, there are a couple of areas that I want to touch upon.

Team Identity

I want to bring a clear identity to the team, with a set formation that will benefit the players at the club, but also deliver results on and off the park. Football is ever developing over the years, and I know that some areas of the tactic will be tweaked. I will discuss more on the team below.

Youth Development

It is clear to Rangers fans that not enough onus is on the youth development we have at the Rangers Training Centre. There are numerous talents in the wings waiting for their chances to shine - Lowry, Rice and Lovelace - and I feel that it is important that they, amongst others, are given the platform to show what they can do.

Transfer Policy

I want to create a policy that will benefit the club in the short and long term. We need a squad that is going to compete now, but will also go on to compete for years to come as we look to reclaim Scotland as our own.

1. Players for Development - 24 and Under
2. Scottish Players
3. Unorthodox Nations

Points 1 and 2 above are pretty self-explanatory, but point 3 is where I want to hone in on a bit more. 

The above map is something that I flung together in anticipation of the Early Access being released, and it made for an intriguing analysis. A lot of the world has no representation in Scotland, particularly Europe.

Czechia. Hungary. Serbia. Bosnia & Herzegovina. Kosovo. Albania.

These are some big countries for talent, and i want to be able to turn these countries in the Rangers goldmine of players over the next couple of seasons. Interestingly, Celtic claim right to 5 of 7 Japanese players in Scotland - I want to be able to call one of the Asian countries our own also.

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I touched upon an identity earlier on, and I believe this is the best way to assert ourselves. High defensive line. Wing-backs pushing on. Two strikers and a creative CAM. I think in the long run this could be successful, but time shall tell. From the get-go there are a couple of areas I need to get numbers in. We need at least another 2 CMs and CBs to give us ample depth and an out-and-out striker would be nice.

In terms of Beale signings, we have managed to keep a hold of Butland, Sima, Lammers and Sterling, with the latter two being less likely to feature.

Will be great to follow another Scottish journey! Queens Park battering teams in the top flight will be so satisfying when it comes around. Like previously mentioned, strange that Hampden and Lesser Hampden aren’t coded into the game; thought it was well documented at the time to be included! Not that you will be complaining, a nice big stadium in place for when you are an established Glasgow giant 😉 
 

McKinstry is going to be huge for you getting to the top-flight, here’s to many more years (hopefully!)

International stage will come, the Norway result is a real sore one, but I have faith you can prevail in the play-offs!