Cymro - Comments

Stick in Sweden, look for one of the big boys to finish it.

Yours to lose here fella.

How Australia looks. Some big names here and some recognisable ones. Ranked 17th in the World but on the climb. Not won much in recent times but have been in the finals of competitions quite a few times. Just not coming away with silverware.



Highest ranking was 6th in 2025. Not long ago 8th. Can reproduce the form we will get there again.

Took the Australian job. A few reasons why. They have a very good squad and lots of good players in the right areas. South Korea doesn't have. I know the current crop of Australian internationals well from my time at Brisbane. The South Korean side I am still coming to terms with the countries players. The Australian Youth are looking strong so I went with these guys. Also believe that Australia are sleeping giants and in 3 years time could be a competitor at the World Cup finals.

That is a fair point fella. Although I don't agree with South Korea being first choice. I know the Australian players very well and the class that is coming through now are some of the lads I over saw whilst at Brisbane.



Ye offering big bucks. Think they have to as they know Australia is pretty appealing.



Australia have a handy U21s side but I know that my academy side in South Korea are churning out players.

Could you explain what is not working please?

My stint done. The league table shows how close it came. We could have had it had Stoke done a job for us. Ultimately drawing to many games cost us. However the league was far more competitive this season. With a few tweaks here and there who knows what could happen next season.

Uploading now.

Lot of money to run but hopefully should be worth it.

The dream factory starts here.

All cash is welcomed!

Three in the starting lineup and two on the bench. Not bad at all.

Last few games sent him to the top.

Not bad for a free agent signing.

Fitting. He's been clearly class this season.

Wasn't enough sadly. Arsenal beat Stoke. What a comeback had we have won the league.

Teti was class at left back. Unreal. One point behind leaders Arsenal with one game to go. Could win the league if Arsenal slip up.

Doncaster bullied. Impressive performance.

Facilities getting a boost. Hopefully be near top level soon.

Will help us get some good youth through if it works.

Murhala is unreal

Smashed Villa. Oddmo bossing life in the midfield.

The Hen was on fire. Touching value of £40m.

Comfortable win. Looking to push for second place.

#Home

Been offered two national team roles ... both are appealing. I know who I would like to manage but want to gather thought from you guys.



or



Who do we think?

Cheers Itchy. That is the aim. Want to defend all three.



Cheers Dan.


Hopefully he will stick around. Can't see it.

After having such a good start to life in South Korea it was all down to me settling the squad. By that I mean not making many changes. Looking after what we have got and begin the road to developing the youngsters at the club. There are some ageing players here. Some will probably have this last season in their legs before moving on. Therefore finding their replacements amongst my youth is crucial. Defending the league title is something that is high on the agenda as is correcting the wrongs we made in the semis of the AFC Champions League last season. Easier said than done. But we have to look to improve ourselves. Just a note made a mess on getting screens so missed out on getting stats for squad list and best player performers.





Fast and furious we started, slow and almost not steady how we ended. Lots of positives on show. Some really big results to some of the bigger sides in the league. We however struggled towards the back end of the season. What affected us was the run of the Champions League, KFA Cup and league. The squad at times lacked some character which is worrying and will need to be addressed. Obviously I have not learnt from last season.



Won by a brilliant 17 point margin. An outstanding goal difference too. If I was going to complain it would surely be that I did not hit a 100 goals. But you can't have everything.



Defended the Cup that the club has won over the last couple of season. Progress to the final was pretty straight forward. Not much to trouble us. The final against Seongnam was not a brilliant one, mostly down to negative tactics of our opponent really. We were by far the better side mind. Looking to make it four on the bounce next year.



Could we do one better and make the final this year? Sure we could. Yet it was almost a case of Déjà vu. We progressed tidily from our group and into the depths of the knockout rounds. Our form Away was slightly concerning. But we were able to hold ourselves together. I feared the worse in the Semi Finals when we drew F Marinos again. Not only that. When we lost the first leg I knew it was going to be a tough. We brought them back to the Steel Yard and we dispatched them comfortably. Ensuring the club could go and challenge for their fourth AFC Champions League title, some 20 years after winning their last. It was surely scripted. Frontale managed to hold us at their thanks to a Fergie Time goal, then at home we battered them just we allowed them to sneak back in. However we were the best side on the day and we managed to come away with the title. Yes!



Came away with a credible third. Would have liked to made the final. Sadly we drew the might of Europe in the Semi Final and routinely got put to the sword.



Keen provided the biggest outlay. However other deals happened to bolster the depth of the squad and also bringing the transition of South Korean players into the club. Looking to have the best South Korean talent at the club and not to sign foreign players if I can help it. Plenty of deals out on loan and on frees but decided just to show the cash deals.



Finances are steady. Hoping next season to continue to bring some stability to the finances. I am lucky that we are progressing well at the tail end of the season which tends to right off the small losses from throughout the season. Might need to look to sell or offload high earners to maintain a positive balance.



Key Player Profiles:



Thurtell was something else last season. His goals were amazing and I think the addition of Keen has meant that Thurtell has adapted well to life in Pohang. Easily the best player for us this season. Possesses some fantastic stats for this league, I am sure he will be moving to Europe sooner rather than later.



37 league goals in 30 league games is plain old silly. He played extremely well. 12 Man of the Matches award and his 14 assists provided others with the opportunities to score. He struggled to settle last season however he seems to have adapted and playing beyond his ability.



Career Overview

2014 - BEC Tero Sasana F.C. - League Winners and FA Cup Winners
2015 - BEC Tero Sasana F.C. - League, League Cup, Royal Cup and AFC Champions League Winners
2016 - Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club - League, CFA Cup and CSL All-Stars Winners
2017 - Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club - League, CFA Cup, Super Cup, AFC Champions League and CSL All-Stars Winners
2018 - Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club - League, CFA Cup and Super Cup Winners
2019 - Saipa Alborz Football Club - Azadegan League Winner (Promotion)
2020 - Saipa Alborz Football Club - Persian Gulf Pro League Runners Up and Hazfi Cup Winners
2020 - Iran Under 23s - Tokyo Olympic 2020 Winners
2021 - Saipa Alborz Football Club - Persian Gulf Pro League Winners and Hazfi Cup Winners
2022 - Al-Sadd Sports Club - Qatar Star League Runners Up, Star Cup, Prince Cup, AFC Champions League and Crown Prince Cup Winners
2023 - Al-Sadd Sports Club - Qatar Star League, Sheikh Jassem Cup, AFC Champions League, Star Cup and Crown Prince Cup Winners
2024 - Al-Sadd Sports Club - Qatar Star League, Sheikh Jassem Cup, AFC Champions League, Star Cup and Crown Prince Cup Winners
2025 - Brisbane Roar FC - A-League 5th Placed and FFA Cup Semi Finalists
2026 - Brisbane Roar FC - A-League Winners, AFC Champions League and FFA Cup Winners
2027 - Brisbane Roar FC - A-League Winners, AFC Champions League 2nd Round and FFA Cup Winners
2027 - Johor Darul Ta'zim FC - Malaysian Super League Winners and Piala Malaysia Winners
2028 - Johor Darul Ta'zim FC - Malaysian Super League, AFC Cup. Piala FC Cup and Piala Malaysia Winners
2029 - Yokohama F. Marinos - J1 League. Emperor's Cup and Nabisco Cup Winners
2030 - Y.F. Marinos - J1 League, AFC Champions League, Club World Cup, Xerox Super Cup. Emperor's Cup and Nabisco Cup Winners
2031 - Sriwijaya FC - Indonesia Super League and Piala Indonesia Winners
2032 - Wolmido Sports Club - Highest Class Football League, Republican Championship and AFC Cup Winners
2033 - Pohang Steelers - K League Classic and KFA Cup Winners and AFC Champions League Semi Finalists
2034 - Pohang Steelers - K League Classic and KFA Cup and AFC Champions League Winners



Next Season

Next season I am to continue to build upon the strong season we have had here. There is still plenty to do. Now need to defend the AFC Champions League title. Last time we won it was 20 years ago exactly. So now is as good as ever to go and try and win back and defend our crown. Plenty of good teams in Asia at the moment. We must not get complacent.

Lot of promising talent in that youth squad. Looking forward to seeing these guys develop.

So the youth system for a while at the club has produced. Produced some good talent. But in recent years not been looking after the young guns. Hopefully this season will see a change for me and the club.

Cheers Dan. Got to build on the first season.



Sad days. 13 years ago they were dominating Iranian football. Now they are out. Sad sad day.