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#356968 My British Steel Challenge Story
Ice Man
Season Review
I decided to give myself a head start on this challenge and started out with TNS. Granted they are the best team in Wales but for me this was going to be the best place to see if I was even going to start this challenge.
After a month, I knew that I was going to start this challenge and that this was only going to be a 1 year stay in Wales. The plan was simple, win everything in Wales and preferably win the Petrofac Training Cup at the first attempt.
While winning everything in Wales turned out to be very simple, I did fail to win the Petrofac Cup as I drew the best 2 teams (in my opinion) in the cup. We managed to beat Hibs on penalties but we were then smashed by Dundee Utd.
The other thing that I hadn’t intended on was doing well in Europe. The plan as I thought was going to be, go as far as possible and then lose in the last qualifying round. Turns out the players had other ideas. We got destroyed in the Champions League qualifiers against Viktoria Plzen and after drawing Gent in the Europa League and losing the home leg 1-0, my assumptions were looking correct. However in the away leg we produced one of the best performances I have ever seen as we smash Gent 4-1 and guarantee ourselves a place in the Europa League group stages.
The good European times didn’t end there. We won our first game at home against Russian team Rostov and at the end of the night we were in 2nd place behind Inter Milan. As expected it went downhill after that although we did pick up a point at home against Feyernood thanks to a last minute equalizer. We were also beating Inter Milan at home, but that only lasted 30 seconds as they answered back immediately and scored another 2 after that.
Overall an unbelievable run in Europe that puts the club financially miles and miles above everybody else in Wales.
The league was straight forward and had we not been in Europe then I firmly believe that we would have gone unbeaten. Throughout most of the year we were rotating the team whether it be because of the domestic cups that I knew we had to win, or because we had to have our best team out for our European games.
We lost a 3 of our last 5 games once we had been named champions and this was purely down to resting players due to the Welsh Cup games that were going on in between games. Overall it was an easy league win.
This was the squad that did all of the hard work throughout the season. The main defense was anchored by Cole, Duffie & Saunders. The midfield was a real mixture of players but the standouts were Routledge, Brobbel & Murphy. Up front throughout the season was all about Quigley who started out as my backup striker but quickly became the number 1. Furlong came in late on and I would have loved to have seen what he could do in 1 full year. Despite only starting 6 games scored 11 goals.
And so with that my time at TNS has come to an end. If I wasn’t sure about moving around and trying to complete this challenge then I could seriously have stayed for another few seasons and turned that team into a quality team. Some of the players that I could have signed were so far above the players that I already had, I am sure that in the next 2 seasons we could have got through to the group stages of the Champions League.
Oh well onto……
#356967 My British Steel Challenge Story
Ice Man
2016/2017 - Welsh League Cup (T.N.S 2-1 v Airbus UK)
2016/2017 - Welsh Cup (T.N.S 3-0 v Port Talbot Town)
2016/2017 - Welsh Premier League
2017/2018 - Northern Ireland League Cup (Donegal Celtic 3-1 v Ballyclare)
2017/2018 - Northern Ireland Premier Intermediate League
2018/2019 - Northern Ireland Championship
2018/2019 - Northern Ireland Irish Cup (Donegal Celtic 2-1 v Ballymena)
2018/2019 - Northern Ireland County Antrim Cup (Donegal Celtic 5-3 v Ballymena)
2018/2019 - Northern Ireland Intermediate Cup (Donegal Celtic 1-0 v Institute)
2018/2019 - Northern Ireland Steel & Son's Cup (Donegal Celtic 1-0 v Nortel)
2020 - Ireland Division 1 Playoffs (Wexford Youths 7-1 v Bray Wanderers)
#356966 My British Steel Challenge Story
Ice Man
#352091 ⬇️ Home Thread - Metallic Logo Megapack - FM24 Update 2025.03 Released [28/12/2024]
Ice Man
Sweet, thanks a lot mate. Could you do the small version as well please?
#352042 ⬇️ Home Thread - Metallic Logo Megapack - FM24 Update 2025.03 Released [28/12/2024]
Ice Man
This is their logo:
#336477 ⬇️ Home Thread - Metallic Logo Megapack - FM24 Update 2025.03 Released [28/12/2024]
Ice Man
Regardless thanks for the great wok Kremmen.
#327140 ⬇️ Home Thread - Metallic Logo Megapack - FM24 Update 2025.03 Released [28/12/2024]
Ice Man
Sorry, I wasn't sure if you had them or not as they were the ones that were missing after the latest update.
#326344 ⬇️ Home Thread - Metallic Logo Megapack - FM24 Update 2025.03 Released [28/12/2024]
Ice Man
NASL:
Miami FC - 20040608
Puerto Rico FC - 20040609
Rayo OKC - 20040610
D3 Western Conference:
Rio Grande Valley Toros - 20041350
San Antonio FC - 20041486
Swope Park Rangers - 20041351
D3 Eastern Conference:
Bethlehem Steel - 20041348
FC Cincinnati - 20041327
Orlando B - 20041349
Hope that helps
#324080 Uncle Sam FM 2016
Ice Man
#323784 Uncle Sam FM 2016
Ice Man
#319837 Problems seeing images on Firefox
Ice Man
#319721 Problems seeing images on Firefox
Ice Man
Here are the 2 screenshots that I have:
#319605 Problems seeing images on Firefox
Ice Man
#319552 Problems seeing images on Firefox
Ice Man
Any ideas?
#311994 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
Time to Say Goodbye
It is time to say goodbye to Brisbane and Australia. Having won everything there is to win here it is time for me to head to another continent. I was ready to resign straight after we won the Champions League but after looking at the available jobs I decided that my last game as manager of Brisbane would be the Final of the FFA Cup.
Throughout the season we had been playing a mixture of 2 teams. We had or main team who was mainly playing in the Champions League, but ended up playing around 12 of the league games. My rotation team played in all of the FFA Cup games and would almost play every other league game. I am very proud of this, as it showed what fantastic squad depth we have and something that at the start of my reign I would never have dreamed possible.
As you can see, I leave the club in a fantastic position with only Sydney as a challenger there is no reason that the new incoming manager shouldn’t continue the winning ways that I have established at this club.
What a way to leave. We smashed Sydney and it’s disappointing to concede our only goal of the competition this year. Sydney were never in the game and we were comfortably winning 3-0. A lack of concentration allowed them to score but in the end it didn’t matter and I leave on a very high note.
This is one thing that I am not going to miss. What a shambles. The club is losing money every year and the Chairman seems very happy to just sit there and let it happen. Throughout my time here we have always had the least amount of money from sponsorship which is a disgrace, especially when you consider that we have won the Grand Final twice in a row.
The stadium has a fantastic capacity and is the National team use it, then it is brilliant but for Brisbane it is completely pointless. We have never averaged more than 18,000 and that doesn’t bring in enough money especially when you add in the rent of £951k per year.
They need a new owner.
This is what I am going to miss most about this team. I have put together a fantastic team that offers great squad depth that and can also compete with the best teams in Asia. I can imagine that when Ieave the squad won’t stay together for long which is a shame as there are some real unsung heroes in this team.
GK: Thomas Glover | Benjamin Lyvidikos
DR: Jerome Polenz | Perry Cotton | Paulo Retre
DL: Callum Elder | Jim Gorman
DC: Luke DeVere | Rhys Williams | Sebastian Kippes | Daniel Mullen
MC: Javi Hervas | Matt McKay | Devante Clut | Gavin De Niesi | Brandon O'Neil | Jamie Ward
ST: Brandon Borrello | Soares | Jamie Maclaren | Dimitri Petratos | Julien Ngoy | Raf Naert | Blake Powell
There is some real quality in this team. Glover in goal is fantastic with the added bonus of being on loan from Tottenham without paying any of his wages.
In defense Cotton & Gorman are the future and both cost a combine fee of £0. I imagine that it won’t be long before the new manager succumbs and sells one if not both. They are covered at the back by the experienced pair of DeVere & Williams. They have formed a formidable partnership over the years and is one of the reasons we have been so successful. A big shout out must also go to Elder & Polenz who have both been unbelievable going forward with most of the assists coming from these 2. The unsung hero of the defense however is Paulo Retre who can play anywhere except center back and has filled in so many times when called upon and has never let the team down.
The midfield 3 has gone rather unchanged over the years. The experienced pair of Hervas & McKay have been the main stays of the midfield with Clut and De Niesi coming in to add the young attacking flair. Just like in defense Brandon O’Neil is the unsung hero in midfield and when called upon has filled in for all 3 and has never caused any problems.
Finally the attacking force. While at times we have struggled to find out the best partnerships the last couple of year we have seen what consistency and loyalty can do. Borrello, Maclaren and Petratos have all been here from the start but after teaching them to play upfront in a variety of roles it has paid dividends with all 3 scoring important goals and assisting each other numerous times. The main man however is Soares. The Brazilian/Australian forward came in on a free transfer and never looked back. Initially I wasn’t sure about him but after having him on trial and seeing him score 4 on his debut I knew that we had to get him. Somehow he became eligible for Australia and for some reason is yet to have played for them despite being called up for the latest squads.
A shout out must also go to players from other years. Mark Schwarzer joined on a free transfer and was our number one for 2-3 years. Defender Cameron Burgess and Forwards Azarias Molina & Ryan Hardie also deserve massive thanks. They all played a big part in helping us to win the Grand Final in 2017.
Following my exit, I was told that 4 staff members would be leaving as well. I am so grateful to these guys as they really helped me and improved the team no end. I would love to bring them all with me to my next job; however I would be very surprised if they have not all found new jobs by the time I find mine.
Finally a look at my stats before I leave. I am tremendously proud of my time here and what we have won as a club. The FFA Cup will always be a favourite of mine as the first competition that I ever won, but obviously the most impressive trophy that we won was the Asian Champions League. There was no way that a club as small as ours should have won and I feel for the next manager who has to try and retain it.
#311254 Rebuilding after the Fall
Ice Man
Hopefully you can get us back into the Premiership.
#311252 A One Way Ticket to Asia ... and Beyond!
Ice Man
Gutted about the Copa America though. Can't wait to see where you head next?
Keep up the great work.
#311239 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
2019 Asian Champions League Review
So with the first half of the Champions League draw finished we can look back with immense proudness at just what we have accomplished. We were in a tough group with teams from Japan, China & South Korea, and were expected to finish last.
I however was quite confident that we could qualify and with 2 fantastic games to start us off I had this feeling that we could be onto something special. It turned out that surprisingly the Chinese team wasn’t very strong. When the groups were drawn I had expected these to top the group followed by Ulsan but I just couldn’t believe just how poor they were. The same could be said about the Japanese team Sanfrecce who weren’t as poor, but still failed to live up to expectations.
Ulsan were the toughest team and ended up topping the group. We lost a narrow home game 1-0 and then put up a brilliant fight away in South Korea to draw 2-2 after being 2 goals down. While I would have loved to have topped our group the most important thing is that we qualified for the knockout stages.
The second round knockout stage once again proved just how poor the Chinese teams were this year. Guangzhou have won the CSL (Chinese Super League) for 4 years in a row, but we made them look average at best. The first leg at home allowed us to lay a real marker down for the rest of the tournament and despite allowing Guangzhou to score an away goal we showed our quality and came away with a 2 goal cushion. In the away leg we got off to the perfect start scoring after just 6 minutes to erase their away goal. We went into half time at 1-1 and all to play for, but the second half turned into a shootout which resulted with us winning 4-3.
In the next leg we would get the chance to avenge our group stage loss to Ulsan. With the first leg at home I was hoping for a similar performance to that against Guangzhou and that is exactly what we got. The added bonus here was that we didn’t concede an away goal which would turn out to be crucial. A very clinical performance allowed us to take a 3-0 lead to South Korea which we surely couldn’t throw away.
Well we tried! Things started badly for us conceding in the 24th and 35th minute to go into half time 2-0 down but still winning 3-2 on aggregate. In the second half we started to get into the game a bit more and were guilty of not finishing the chances that we were creating. Things got very tense in the 70th minute as firstly we concede to eradicate our 3 goal advantage and draw level on aggregate. Not to worry as soon after we had scored the vital away goal thanks to star striker Soares. However this glee didn’t even last a minute as straight from kickoff Ulsan ran through the defense and scored to level the score on aggregate. We parked the bus and somehow managed to hold on for the last 20 minutes and advance to the Semi Final where we would play fellow Australians Adelaide United.
This was the perfect Semi Final draw for us and one that I was very confident about. I knew that we would and could beat any team from Australia and so these games proved as well. The first leg was once again at home, and yet again we showed just how important our home form has been. We won the first leg comfortably 4-2 despite being 2-0 behind after 20 minutes.
In an ideal world we wouldn’t have conceded the 2 away goals but once again we proved how strong our attacking force could be and once we scored 1 in knew that we would score 3 or more. The away leg looks a lot closer that in really was. We fell behind again in the 14th minute but were level shortly after and at half time things were looking good. After 80 minutes things were still looking good but then there was a mental 10 minutes which saw both teams score 2 goals. Adelaide scored first to lead 2-1. We leveled the score 3 minutes later and then another 3 minutes after that we were leading 3-2. Straight away Adelaide scored but the game was already over and we were into the Asian Champions League Final to play a very strong Al-Ahli side from Saudi Arabia.
So the Final! For the first time in the competition we would be playing the first leg away from home and we just had one simple task. Score a goal or 2. We did just that. It wasn’t a great game on our behalf. We were losing yet again after 6 minutes but stuck back straight away to level at 1-1. I would have loved to of ended the game right there and then but unfortunately we cant. Disaster struck both sides of half time as Brazilian striker Osvaldo scored twice to lead 3-1. We knew that we couldn’t concede again, but more importantly we just had to score again. We went very attacking for 20 minutes in the hope of creating chances and more importantly scoring. We did just that through our own Brazilian striker Soares. We couldn’t force another good opening but thankfully didn’t concede either and the game finished 3-2.
The all important home leg. It has won us so many games during this amazing run and it was vital to do it one last time. We started very quickly and jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, but once again our lack of ability to keep a clean sheet came back to bite us as Al-Ahli scored and made the score at half time 2-1.
A goal apiece shortly after the break made the score 3-2 and everything was level on aggregate. For some reason I hadn’t figured this out and was sure that we were going to lose on away goals. For the last 20 minutes I threw everything and everybody at Al-Ahli in the hope of scoring a late goal but it wasn’t to be. Imagine my surprise when I found out that we were heading into extra time! From devastation to utter elation.
This emotion was trebled during extra time. In the first half there was nothing to report on and at half time with 2 subs still to use, I was now thinking about bringing on my penalty takers. As the game was heading towards the 110th minute I was getting ready to replace my tired strikers with a couple of defenders who can take a decent penalty. Soon this wasn’t needed as out of nowhere we created a half chance and striker Dimitri Petratos smashed the ball past the oncoming goalkeeper and scored what would be the winning goal.
What an amazing competition this turned out to be for us. Somehow we had managed to qualify from our group and then go all the way and win the whole competition. Our home form was the real reason that we won. The games in the knockout rounds all depended on a great first game, and allowed us to play the away games in a way as not to lose, rather than going and having to win.
Throughout the tournament there were tremendous performances from this team but there was one standout performer. Brazilian striker Soares ended up being the top goalscorer in the whole competition and without his goals we simply wouldn’t have come his far. He scored vital goals but during the group stage his hat-trick away to Shandong was his best performance as he was simply unplayable. He obviously loved playing in China as he scored a further 2 goals in the 2nd leg against Guangzhou when things looked like they could be getting away from us.
Simply he was unbelievable.
#310978 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
This will be a season review as I played through the season and forgot to take screenies at the end of January. Sorry
2018-2019 Season Review
So where to begin!
Before the season even started I didn’t believe that this would ever happen. I had completely fallen out of love with this team and despite qualifying for the Champions League I had started to look abroad for other clubs to manage.
I had found a new club to manage with Orlando City ready to offer me the job, but the Brisbane board had set the compensation too high and because of this Orlando had offered the job to somebody else.
While all this was going on we went about our business and the FFA Cup and league season had already kicked off. I had taken a backseat role and was only concerned with bringing players into the club and picking the team. All the match day stuff I had left to my assistant manager.
Despite a rough start to the season including letting somebody else have a chance to win the FFA Cup things started to turn around and we went on an amazing run of wins. It was during this time that I knew that I was going to see the season out.
As the season went on we kept winning and before I even knew it we had won the Regular Season title. It was a truly special achievement as I didn’t feel that this team was as strong as last season but for some reason everything has seemed to fall into place.
We went into the Grand Finals high of confidence and even though we were playing in the Champions League (Individual Update coming) it didn’t seem to bother us and won the Grand Final with ease.
What a league season it was.
At the end of season we were awarded with 3 individual awards for the club. Our on loan goalkeeper Thomas Glover was rightfully awarded Goalkeeper of the Season. Left Back Callum Elder was awarded with the A-League Player of the Year after having an unbelievable year. Finally I was named Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and was also inducted into the Australian Managers Hall of Fame!
During the season I applied to take over the Australian Under 23 squad. The previous manager had been sacked after losing to Saudi Arabia in the Quarter Final of the previous Asian Under 23 Championships. We succumbed to a late equaliser against Oman but then smashed everybody else to top our group.
#310577 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
Grand Final Playoffs
So there we have it. We came good at the right time and have won the A-League Grand Final. After coming into the finals on the back of 3 wins out of 4, I knew that there wasn’t going to be a better time than this to win it all.
The Newcastle Jets game was incredibly tough. The game wasn’t an open attacking game with on 4 shots on target for both teams during the whole game. With the score at 0-0 after 80 minutes and for all intense and purposes this game was going into extra time, I decided not to make any substitutions and would really attack them in extra time with fresh legs.
As it turned out that wasn’t going to be necessary. During a rare trip into the final third a deep cross from Jerone Polenz was turned into his own net by Newcastle’s Cameron Watson and with just 7 minutes to hold on, we were on course to make it into the Semi Final.
The Semi Final would be up against regular season winners Melbourne Victory. While this was always going to be a tough game, the fact that they had just played in Japan 4 days ago was something that I was hoping to take advantage of.
That is exactly what we did, as a very tired Melbourne team looked a shadow of the normal self. We were dominating them all over the park. We got off to the perfect start with Borrello putting us 1-0 up after 57 seconds. The game had a bit of a lull in it, but it was sparked into life once again as Ryan Hardie scored a fine goal from just inside the box and at 2-0 it looked like this game may have been finished.
However, Melbourne hadn’t read that script and scored a scrappy goal just before the break and with a turn in momentum I was now slightly worried. All year this had happened to us. We would be winning games easily only for us to concede 1 and then the flood gates would open. We could not let this happen again.
We didn’t! Throughout the second half we had numerous opportunities to put the game to rest but it wasn’t until the 89th minute that we finally did. With a tired Melbourne throwing everything at us we managed to catch them on the break. A nice run from Hardie drew defenders and the goalkeeper towards him and a simple pass into Borrello left him the simple task of rolling the ball into the open net and leading us into the Grand Final.
Were onto the Final!
It was a rerun of the FFA Cup final and we couldn’t let Sydney get the better of us here. We didn’t. We started of strong and Molina put us ahead after a lovely team passing move was finished from 6 yards out.
As expected Sydney came back strong and after a mad goal line scramble Vidosic equalized for the hosts and momentum was all on their side. However, it didn’t last long as experienced left back Scott Jamieson got two quick yellow cards and was sent off.
Despite not scoring before half time, I was sure that in the second half our numerical advantage would make the difference and it sure did. We didn’t have to wait long for the goal that would put us ahead. Another good cross from right back Polenz was met with a by Hardie to put us 2-1 up.
Another quick couple from Molina and Hardie after the hour mark was enough for us to win the Grand Final and book our place in the Asian Champions League.
#310300 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
February, March & April
Well, February and most of March really don’t need any explaining. Shambolic, Diabolical & Shit, and that was the nice words to describe the Melbourne City performance. I have never seen a game where nothing would change the result. They could have played with 7 or 8 players and still won. We were an embarrassment. Subsequently that was to be Mark Schwarzer’s last game for us. He would sit out the rest of the season and announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season.
The game that changed everything came against Perth Glory. With the game being tightly fought, and with Perth having just equalised in the 65th minute, I decided go all guns blazing and changed tactic to a 4-3-3. This seemed to have the desired effect as in the last 10 minutes the 3 up front overwhelmed Perth’s defense and space opened up for Barrello to score 2 late goals and give us a vital 4-2 win to kick start our season again.
I decided to stick with the 4-3-3 tactic and after beating Central Coast Mariners we had guaranteed our place in the Grand Finals. With that in mind we rested a few players and still managed to win 4-3 in a thriller with Melbourne City.
We had started to find top gear and were starting to fire on all cylinders at the perfect time.
We qualified easily in the end, although next year I would prefer not to have to wait until the penultimate game to guarantee our spot.
At the top of the pile it’s the same 2 as last year. Not as far ahead as last year but yet again Melbourne showing that they are the best team in the country. Funny thing is that we don’t have a bad record against them. This year we went 1-1-1 but should have won when we drew, and could have drawn the last game which we lost.
The interesting thing to note heading into the Grand Final stages is that Melbourne, Adelaide and Newcastle are all currently involved in the Asian Champions League so tiredness could be a factor for the 3 teams.
#310292 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
October, November, December & January 2018
So overall it’s been a very inconsistent first half of the season. We started our league season off with a fantastic win of defending champs Melbourne Victory. Over the rest of October and November we were so inconsistent as you can see from the loss to Adelaide all the way till the win against Central Coast.
After losing to Melbourne City we managed to find some form and went unbeaten until I rested too many players in the loss to the Mariners. The disappointing thing was that during that unbeaten run the draws to the Victory and Sydney occurred through conceding in the last 5 minutes.
Here’s hoping to a more consistent second half of the year.
We are sitting in a decent position. We are in touching distance of Melbourne Victory and although we are only 2 points clear of Perth and potentially going out of the playoff places I feel confident that we will win enough games to finish comfortably in the top 6.
2 Years in a row. Wooooooooooooo
After overcoming a very good South Melbourne team on penalties in the Quarter Final and then dominating the Newcastle Jets in the Semi’s this was always going to be the hardest test. Western Sydney who had knocked out Melbourne Victory to get to the final, where in the midst of some similar league form to us.
I was very keen for us to impose ourselves early on in the game and despite keeping possession really well for the first 20-25 minutes we didn’t create anything at all. As the half grew older Sydney were also growing in confidence and stringing some nice passing moves along, but we did well to restrict them to long shots only.
The half time talk went well and after telling them to believe in themselves and getting them all happy and motivated, I couldn’t believe that just 5 minutes later we were losing. A cheap giveaway in possession gave Sydney great attacking position, and when a clumsy tackle from Riley Woodcock resulted in a penalty, Italian forward Federico Piovaccari stepped up and smashed it into the top corner.
Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long for a response and just 2 minutes later the scoreboard was level. A fantastic cross from Callum Elder was matched by an even better header from Jamie Mclaren, which gave Duncan in goal absolutely no chance. Just like that it was 1-1 and we had the momentum.
Things got better for us on 68 minutes when young Scottish striker Ryan Hardie put us 2-1 ahead having just coming off the bench. This time it was a cross from the opposite fullback Polenz who did wonderfully picked out Hardie on the penalty spot. He was all alone and with a single touch was able to get the ball out of his feet and fire the ball into the top corner.
As the game was getting closer to the end and things starting to get a bit edgy, I decided to take a real risk and instead of going all defensive, I went attacking in the hope that we could get control of the ball. I wanted us to have the mantra of trying to score instead of trying not to concede as this team isn’t good enough to have that approach.
Thankfully it paid off and we managed to see out the remainder of the game with no dramas and just like that we had retained OUR CUP!
#310148 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
gaz12321 - Thanks, I'm trying to sort out the finances but the chairman really isn't helping! The Cup winners don't get into the ACL unfortunately. The winners don't get anything apart from the cup!
2017 Off Season
The off season started on a positive for me as I was offered a new 1 year extension. Despite the severe disappointment I have with the way the team played throughout the year I am excited to remain here as we look to improve on last year and try to qualify for the Champions League.
Speaking of the Champions League, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United will be Australia’s representatives this year. Melbourne not only won the A-League regular season, but they also went on to beat the Newcastle Jets in the Grand Final. As Melbourne won both, the next spot goes to whoever finished 2nd in the regular season.
Shortly after signing my new deal it was announced that Brandon Borrello had been named the A-League Young Player of the Year. It was a great achievement for him and hopefully he will go on and have an even better year.
We got our new recruits from our Head of Youth Development and I have to say he did a cracking job. We have offered contracts to 5 of them with Nielen Higgins & Daniel Jedinak being the best 2. Richard Bridge & Fabio Vinci will add to the defensive prospects while last signing Mitchell Ryan only has an outside shot of ever playing a game.
So we've had a fantastic pre-season combined with 2 more great FFA Cup results. The Adelaide game was always going to be tricky especially after where they finished last season but armed with a new tactic we were going to give them a bloody good go.
As it turned out for 70 minutes not a lot had changed. We were losing and looked incapable of changing things. Thankfully my brilliant substitution (pat on the back!) changed the game. Jamie Maclaren came on after an hour and made the impact that we needed. He raced clear of a slow defense and slotted the ball home. The second came after a cross from the right was met by Maclaren as he got across his defender and volleyed the ball home. 2-1 winners.
After some more good pre-season results we were once again coming up against another A-League team in the FFA Cup. This time we were drawn away to the Central Coast Mariners. I was hoping that this would be an easier game than the first round and thankfully it was.
We were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes and from then on the game seemed very easy. Borrello added his 3rd after half an hour and the game was as good as won. There was still time however after the break for Rhys Williams to score from a corner and young Argentine Azarias Molina to score his first for the club in the 66th minute.
The draw for the Quarter Final was made straight after the game and for the first time since I’ve been in charge at Brisbane we have been drawn against somebody that doesn’t play in the A-League. We will have to travel to South Melbourne in what should be a tricky game in amongst the start of our A-League campaign.
So it was clearly obvious that we were going to need to improve and recruit well and after my intial thought about a complete rebuild I changed my mind when I saw who was available to bring in. My initial areas that I wanted to improve on were in goal, central defense & up front. Thankfully I managed to find players for all of those positions and with the added bonus of 2 of them being Australian, they really helped with the squad restrictions in place.
I did however decide that I was going to use 2 of my foreign spots on the most important area of the team, upfront. I had been searching all throughout last season and when I saw that I could get Ryan Hardie on loan, I instantly knew that I had to. His striking partner for this year will be a very talented Argentinian on loan from giants Boca Juniors. Molina comes with the added bonus that being under 20, he allows me to use an older player as well which is vital for squad depth.
Brandon O’Neill and Andrija Jurkic have been bought in to help with the squad depth. After they were released from Sydney FC & Central Coast Mariners respectively I bought them in on trials for the whole of pre-season. Brandon was signed after a week or two after impressing me greatly while also adding fantastic depth at different positions. Jurkic isn’t somebody that I am totally sold on and is an easy releasable player if I find somebody else to bring in.
#309977 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
February, March & April
What a load of rubbish. I have never been so glad for a season to be over. We were beyond bad.
Not really sure where to start as it’s all too depressing reliving it. As my title above says we were awful. Beginning on the positive that we won 3 games. The Perth game wasn’t a great win, we were just lucky that they are bottom of the league and played really bad that game. The Central Coast & Western Sydney games were important wins at home and as you will see from the final league table were instrumental in us qualifying for the playoffs.
Now for the bad parts. Our problem is very much a forward and defense problem. Our defense has been a problem all year and it’s one that I will be working very hard to fix. We simply concede too many goals and more importantly we really struggle to see out winning positions.
At the other end of the pitch we really, really need to find a good striker for this team. We are being hurt by so many missed chances. Most of the time we are creating 4+ good chances a game but only scoring 1 sometimes 2 is just not good enough. Looking at the top teams in the league they have each got a very good striker who is finishing the chances.
The final game summed up our season. We went behind and couldn’t get back into it. Rubbish.
So as I just said we managed to scrape into the playoff positions thanks to those 2 wins at home. While only being 2 points of 3rd is a positive the gap that Melbourne and Adelaide have is just way too big.
The simple factor that I will take from this season is that a good striker is vital. Melbourne bought in Steve Beleck on loan from Fiorentina in January and since doing the goals he has scored has helped them to win 4 games alone. In the same time period Adelaide’s Bruce Djite’s goals have helped Adelaide win 3 games.
Now granted even without Beleck’s goals Melbourne would still have won the league but not by so many and add loss of morale and form then things might have been very different.
Now if you thought that the playing side was bad, then this is where the main problem lies. We are losing so much money a year and I am not sure what we can do about it.
We are paying a ridiculous amount of money (951k) to play in a 52,500 capacity stadium, and our average attendance for league games this year was 15,489. That’s just 29% of the capacity. Now what is the point in paying all of that money when I am sure that there is a smaller stadium that we could fill most/every week and not be paying out all that money per year. We made £923k in gate receipts this year, and yet we are still -30k before we have even paid the years rent.
I am doing all that I can. I am 2k under wage budget including bonuses and 4.5k under without the bonuses. I am doing that and it is hurting the playing side of the team as we are missing out on key players as they know we can’t offer them anything like a competitive salary.
One final note is that even when I suggest bringing in a Senior Affiliate team to help bring in some extra finance the stupid chairman seems to think that it isn’t worth the money.
Aaaaarrrrggggghhhhhh
Pretty self-explanatory really. A big surprise for me was that Javi Hervas wasn’t even in the fans top 3 for player of the year. He should have been 2nd in my opinion.
Matt McKay and Rhys Williams were both included in the A-League team of the year and will play in the All Star Game next year against a yet to be named team.
#309936 Conquering Paris
Ice Man
Any plans to bring in Pires or Vieira along side Henry?!?
#309911 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
My first trophy as a manager is in the bag, and we produced our best performance to date to do so. I was obviously keen to get off to a good start and couldn’t have asked for a better one thanks to Petratos’ early goal.
It all came from a vital interception from DeVere and within 8 or 9 passes the ball was out on the wing with Macclaren and his delightful cross to the back post was met with a thumping volley and just like that we were 1-0 up.
We only had to wait a further 27 minutes for our next goal. This one was a lot simpler. A corner from Javi Hervas found Petratos all alone on the penalty spot and thankfully he was composed enough to head the ball past the helpless keeper and at 2-0 and dominating the signs were looking very, very good.
The victory was all but confirmed in the 43rd minute when another set play brought us our third goal. A magnificent in-swinging ball was met by the head of Jamie Macclaren who had timed his run perfectly to be all alone inside the box with only the keeper to beat. Thankfully it was on target (as most of the season so far, they had been off target!) and we took a 3-0 lead into half time.
The 2nd half was a mere formality as we controlled the tempo of the game, by keeping the ball for the majority of the half. We ended the game with 61% of the possession and to allow Perth only 1 shot was a magnificent effort especially considering our struggles in the league.
A look back on our run through the tournament and there is no question in my mind that we deserved to win the cup. Having beaten 4 other A-League teams just to get to the final was an incredible achievement but then to go on and beat the 5th A-League team is just an amazing feeling. Perth Glory in comparison didn’t play 1 A-League team on their way to the final.
#309905 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
Ice Man
#309903 The Return of the Dons
Ice Man
#309880 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
November, December & January 2016
Never have I found a team more frustrating than this Brisbane team. The inability to score is frustrating but even more so is the fact that we can’t stop conceding when we score.
As you can see from our results there are way too many draws. There is also a very clear pattern of what is going to happen. If we score 1 goal then we are very likely to end up drawing 1-1. On the rare occasion we score 2 or more goals then even we can’t throw the game away. (The Melbourne Victory game was 1-0, 1-3 & 2-3)
The draws are just so infuriating. We have given up 6 points from winning positions, and even then there is no second wind from the players to go and get the lead back.
At least we started January with 2 wins otherwise this would have been an unforgivable start to the season, especially considering how we started.
The main thing despite how badly we have played so far this season is that we are in the playoff positions. Melbourne and Adelaide are running away with it and after playing the both I am a little surprised they are so far ahead.
If we can find some consistent form in the second half of the season then I don’t see why we couldn’t end up finishing 3rd or higher.
Despite all the doom and gloom there have been some shining lights. The midfield paring of Matt McKay & Javi Hervas have been unbelievable. Both of them are averaging over 7.5 for the season and never miss a match. Javi playing at times like his namesake Xavi leads the team with 5 assists and with better strikers could easily be in double figures.
Speaking about strikers Solórzano and Borrello have both scored 7 but what that doesn’t say is that Solorzano had scored 4 after only 4 league games so that is a very disappointing return, although he has missed about 2-3 weeks through injury. While he has been on the side lines Borrello has stepped up and scored some vital goals including 2 in the impressive 4-2 win away to Central Coast.
The discipline has been a problem and I have to take a big proportion of the blame for that. We have been tackling hard and closing down very tightly. This doesn’t seem to combine very well especially when we are trailing and rushing around trying to get the ball back. Hopefully this will be sorted soon as I look to change the way that we play.
When the January transfer window opened I was very keen to try and improve our team at both ends of the pitch. I wasn’t very pleased with our defending and with a change of tactic I wanted to move Rhys Williams into the defensive midfield position so a central defender was a must. Thankfully I managed to find Joe Rodon who was in our wage range and was willing to make the move out here on loan for the rest of the season.
At the other end of the pitch I was hoping to bring in Fulham’s Aussie striker Adam Taggart. Unfortunately for us, with his contract running out at the end of the year, French team Angers offered him a contract and as we couldn’t offer him a decent contract (bloody finances) he was off to France. After taking a long look around the globe we ended up going over to America and bringing in Jordan Hamilton who was out of favour at Toronto.
The downside to bringing in Hamilton was that we had to lose a foreign player and the unlucky player was Spanish midfielder Corona. It was a shame to lose him but there were a couple of reasons why he was an easy choice to release. Firstly he is retiring from football at the end of the season so this will get us ready for that. The other reason is that he only managed to play in 4 games weather that was through injuries or through the good form of Hervas & McKay.
A final transfer note is that we have managed to extend the contracts of McKay, Williams & Petratos which are going to be key players for a long time.
#309876 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
Ice Man
Tuesday 1st November – Game Day | FFA Cup Quarter Final (H) Western Sydney Wanderers
We managed to come through this hotly contested game thanks to 2 goals in 2 minutes.
After a relatively mundane opening to the match, the whole game changed in just 2 minutes. Firstly a superbly taken goal from Brandon Borrello gave us a 1-0 lead. The Western Sydney defense certainly didn’t help themselves with opportunities to clear the ball, yet they failed to do so.
If things weren’t bad enough for the visitors we made it even worse exactly a minute later. Straight from the restart Sydney gave the ball away needlessly, and within 5 or 6 passes the ball was on the right wing being crossed in to a waiting Jean Carlos Solórzano to make it 2-0.
The 2 goals really seemed to knock them for six, as they were unable to really muster any kind of attacking threat for the rest of the half. From our point of view we were very happy with the 2-0 lead and our main focus was keeping it that way into half time.
After the break the Wanderers started positively and for the next 20 minutes or so, started passing the ball around and although they didn’t create any real chances they were frustrating us as you can see by the amount of yellow cards we picked up.
Just as they were looking like scoring and making the game very interesting, we struck with a killer blow. Some slow but meaningful build up play was rewarded with a bullet of a shot from Borrello to score his 2nd and our 3rd.
This goal absolutely killed them and we were able to control the ball for the remainder of the game and come away with our first clean sheet of the season.
The reward for winning this game was an away Semi Final match against Newcastle Jets.
We left it late and it was certainly great, and we are into the FFA Cup final!
After a nervy 10 minutes on our part, we suffered a blow in our final chances when Ben Kantarovski scored an absolute screamer from 25 yards out after we only managed to half clear a free kick in a dangerous position.
The disappointing thing in the remainder of the half was the lack of chances that we created. We were keeping possession well and getting in and around their box but were relying on long shots as we couldn’t create any clear cut chances.
After some Alex Ferguson hairdryer treatment at half time I was hoping that we would come out fighting, and I didn’t have to wait long to see that my words had really worked.
In the previous 5 minutes to us scoring our goal we had 3 shots on target and another 3 corners but just couldn’t find that cutting edge. In the end it was our 4th corner of the half that did the trick. After it was only half cleared the ball came back out to Javi Hervas who’s initial shot was blocked by a defender, but with the goalkeeper out of position he was left with an open goal and just like that the game was tied 1-1.
For the remainder of the half things got very tetchy. We were going all out for the win, while Newcastle seemed confident in taking the game into extra time. The amount of yellow cards just shows how much we were pressing them down trying to get the ball back. Although it clearly didn’t work!
Just when the game was looking like going into extra time we found our way ahead thanks to the brilliant cross from my substitute Paulo Retre. Retre was having a very quiet game since coming on, but as he picked the ball up on the left wing he cut inside and put a wicked curling ball in towards the back post where Jamie Maclaren smashed the ball in and booked our place in the FFA Cup final.
The Final will be held on Sunday 22nd January at the Adelaide Oval against Perth Glory. Unfortunately we will be without our first choice right back Jerome Polenz after he was suspended for picked up 3 yellow cards in the previous rounds.
Bring it on!!
Just a side note. I am generally going to be doing 3 updates per season. There will be an early season, mid season and then an end of season. If I try to do an update every month then I find myself hardly playing the game and making sure that the updates look right. This way I can play most of the games and then just do an update here and there.
There will however be an individual update for the FFA Cup final.
Thanks