Home
FM Discord
YouTube Channel
FM24 Data Update
FM26 Data Update
FM26 OOP Player Roles
Downloads
Graphics
Challenges
Blog
Forums
Videos
Tactics
FM26
FM26 Real Name Fix
FM26 Shortlists
FM26 DB
FM26 Men's Wonderkids
FM26 Women's Wonderkids
FM26 Men's Club Finances
FM26 Women's Club Finances
FM24 Update
FM24
FM23
FM Saves
FM Database
FM Guides
Installation Guides
Records
Search
#256694 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Another title to add to the growing list. Thank you.
#256693 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Steady progress up the Asian club ladder. Keep on producing who knows how far we can go.
#256691 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
My second season in Qatar and I was looking to right a few wrongs from last season. During the start of this season we managed to secure the Champions League, my fourth of my career. The challenge will remain the same. Go back and defend the title. Do that then I will consider moving on. There have been jobs cropping up of some appeal. However my focus is with this great club. I wanted to ensure that this season there was little upheaval of changes at the club and ensure that I begin to develop the youngsters. Aiming to compete on all domestic and continental fronts too.
We cameback and learnt from previous mistakes. What we did this time around was start off with a bang. We really racked up the points early doors. This meant that sides had to chase us early on. It created pressure and others faltered. Yes we slipped up twice but we were good enough to hold composure and see this off. A fantastic achievement. Such a competitive league and do win it is a fantastic deal for the club. We got to ensure that next season we do it again. My contract runs out and I am unsure if I wish to continue here.
Righted the wrongs from last season and saw out the season as victors. The club and players should be proud. Easily the most competitive league I have managed in Football Manager. Sides are constantly chasing you down or you are chasing them. This is what makes winning in Qatar that much more special. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed managing in other leagues but this is something else. Would recommend people do so.
Outclassed in the semi final. Really shocked by this. Perhaps some complacency on my part. Tough to swallow. Can't win them all.
So we won it again. Easy progress through this cup. The final might just read a simple 1-0 victory. However we were the far the better side. Another trophy to rack up here in Qatar.
The equivalent of the Community Shield and we started the season off by winning it. Lucky at times but we took what was given and you take what you are given. You got to beat the best to be the best.
We came third and matched the side of 2011 feat. Cannot be prouder of the boys. We were outstanding and really punched above our weight. Flamengo went on to win the competition beating PSG in the final. We might have been lucky against Chivas but again you take what you are given. We are fairly clinical when it comes to penalty shootouts. We were brilliant.
You cannot and should never write us off. Underdogs going into the Final and we dispatched Uwara in the home leg. However it came back to haunt us in the second leg. We went down to three early goals and it looked like we had blown it. Step up the old Overload tactic and bang ... 10 mins of heavy pressure results in a penalty. We step up and finish it. We hold on for the last 6 mins of the game under a barrage of pressure and see victory thanks to the away goals. What a game and what a final. Defended the corwn.
The squad has gelled well and have developed a real good understanding of the style of football I want. Lot of players used and lots of players have produced. Over the coming season it is time that more of the youth products are used. Hopefully the squad by the end of my stint here is made of youngsters from the academy.
Mohammed Salah Al-Sulaiti looks like to be the greatest prospect to come from Qatar ever. A World Cup bloomer I hope. A player I will next season blood into the first team regardless of his age. Some of the young guns from previous seasons are due to step up.
Lots and lots of deals. Eronna being the biggest deal. I am not looking to spend any money if I can help it next season. I really want to keep to a tight budget. I will reveal all in a short while.
Finances are still peaking and troughing. I am really hoping that the chairman delivers some cash for us. Just so I can improve the club's much ageing facilitates. Hopefully the trough's will disappear and we will see a steady peak in the coming year.
Key Player Profiles:
Ahmed Al-Mohannadi was absolutely outstanding for us this season. Could not fault him. On the continent he was lethal, the creative influence for our side. Injuries aside and lack of fitness he was brilliant. Did everything I could to ensure he stayed rested and fit. He played behind the strikers and also in the center of our midfield. Has had some European clubs sniffing around him. Will see for how long he will stay. I have a valuation, let's see if anyone dares to match it.
Eronna ... enough said. Boy is class ... when fit.
Zongo is literally one of my favourite players in this journey. He scores when he wants and is lethal with his pace. I am surprised no one has comeback for him from Europe. Their loss is our gain. I am sure he will set the African Cup of Nations alight when it next rolls around.
Good old Kagawa. What a signing. Instrumental for everything good that happened to us this season. When you look back at the side of 2011 they had Raul and the skill he brought to that side was instrumental. This side with Kagawa is the same, ok he might not be in the class of Raul but certainly he is an immense player of quality so to have him at the club is fantastic.
Career Overview
2014 -
2015 -
2016 -
2017 -
2018 -
2019 -
2020 -
2020 -
2021 -
2022 -
2023 -
Next Season
My contract ends at the end of the season. I don't think I am going to apply for an extension. My time here is coming to an end. Job offers have come in from elsewhere. I don't wish to jump ship just yet. The right club for me has to come along before I move. Until then Al-Sadd get my full attention.
#256514 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Cheers Johno. Really happy I have regained the trophy with another club. We had a whale of a time in the final ... haha ye right.
#256498 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
So advantage us. We held on despite the constant pressure from the South Korean top dogs. Literally had to change tactics and soak up the pressure, how we didn't concede is a miracle.
Needed penalties. Had we both scored another goal we would have lost on away goal rules. I knew when it went to penalties it was going to all for us to lose. Certainly the case. I had the boys practising penalties and it paid off. My 4th Champions League trophy. A huge achievement. Now the real work begins. I got to make sure this is not just a flash in the pan and a one off victory. I need go back and defend this crown to show that I am the real deal. I certainly would like to dominate with Al-Sadd again before moving on. Certainly the league too.
#256495 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Going to play back against former Iranian rivals Persepolis. We managed to walk away from Iran with a draw, which was very pleasing. Persepolis have a very strong squad and as I have said previously we need luck when we go away in this. In the home leg it was all about us a complete different story from the first leg. The same story can be said of the semi final. At home we unplayable, away from home we struggled and relied heavily on soaking up the pressure. Newcastle have some of the best Australian talent so we did really well to progress past them. So a final awaited us against the mighty Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Can we do it?
#256466 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
400 games in this journey is quite extraordinary. I did think I had played more but there we are. Here is to the next 400.
#256465 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
New contract so decided to take it. Promised me some upgrades.
#256464 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Similar to last season and so need to focus heavily on the league and Champions League.
#256364 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Quite surprised I was awarded this but hey. I will take them as they come.
#256363 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
So moving to Qatar at this stage of my journey was going to be an interesting one. Earlier on I had decided to turn down a job here with another promising club in Al-Arabi. But I wanted to see what I could do with Saipa and gave them another chance. Qatar as I mentioned earlier are just about a year or so out from hosting the World Cup, the national side has made some strides forward but are likely to struggle to make an impact on the world scence. Lot of clubs are trying to poach foreign uncapped talent in the hope of them becoming a Qatar national. I am hoping to follow suit to a certain extent. I think I am dealing with an ambitious chairman, he is willing to put some money in but has told me so far that he isn't going to plough much in at this stage. It is down to me with what is going to be a limited budget to bring the squad up to scratch and compete on all domestic and continental fronts.
You couldn't script this if you could. Only two losses but when we needed not to have a loss, it did happen and ultimately cost us the league. We didn't really take a side apart this season and that for me was slightly worrying, not only because in my reign of other clubs on this journey I have been able to do that. Here I haven't been able to do that. I do believe the standard of Qatar players are not as good as that of Thailand, Qatar, Iran and China. So that is something I am looking to address. Our strikers scored plenty. For some odd reason I couldn't get the goalscorers into the screenshot. Will look to address in the near future.
Heartbreak on the final day ensured we failed to clinch the league. We needed a point and we ended up chocking. Our goal difference was not as good as it should have been and as a result Lekhwyia was able to continue their fine form this season and clinch the league. Hard as it is to admit, they were the best side in Qatar this season.
A relatively straight forward cup run and win. One of many cup's I had to contend with. Unreal.
Squeaky bum time came in the Semi Finals but really we never should have put ourselves in such a dangerous position. We are a good side and that was proven as we dispatched Lekhwyia in the Final. Bang on another fine cup victory.
Arguably one of the most pointless cups I have seen. Semi and then a Final. How many more cups man?
So same old story in the Champions League. We are now having to wait until August to find out the next step in the path to Champions League glory. I am very confident we can go all the way. It just depends on injuries to key players and the kindness of the draw.
The squad has gelled well and have begun to understand the style of football I want. I still have some tweaks to make with certain players in regard to their training regimes. I made a few mistakes this season and that cost some players. So I have to go back to the drawing board there and improve. Hopefully next season we shall see a stronger core of Qatar nationals leading the average ratings.
Very pleasing to see the academy has produced some quality in my first year. I will be looking to integrate Al-Sada and Al-Shammari as soon as possible into the first team squad. One thing I would like to achieve in my time here is to bring at least two or three academy prospects through. I did it to a certain extent at Saipa and at BEC I poached some young talent from other clubs, developed them and used them into our first team.
Lots and lots of deals. I tried to bring in youngsters with the view to become Qatari nationals. Backfired with my boys from Costa Rica. They instantly become sensations in Qatar. So they were capped. Imhol Ezekiel is the best Qatar player available so was pleased to have gotten him. Did not play much due to injury but looking for a greater impact in his second season.
Finances are still peaking and troughing. I am really hoping that the chairman delivers some cash for us. Just so I can improve the club's much ageing facilitates. Hopefully the trough's will disappear and we will see a steady peak in the coming year.
Key Player Profiles:
Kramaric was a player I wasn't initially sold on. At first I was all for shipping him out and brining Eronna in from Saipa. I'm sort of glad I didn't. He proved to be an inspirational player for us. His goals and assists were crucial for us. However it wasn't upfront where he found his feet but in the hole. So I was shocked by that. I am looking to sign a decent striker to ensure we have some cover to allow him to play in the hole. Hopefully he will continue and have another strong season for us.
Old Ritzmaler qualified during the season as a Qatari national. I was impressed by this player. Our creative midfielder and inspiration. Tore sides apart with his passing and vision. Hopefully he will have another strong season to ensure we can continue our push for dominance in Asia.
The man brought in on a free from Napoli has proven a success. Offered via his agent and boy oh boy am I happy I took the gamble. He literally has been outstanding. Played outstandingly well up top on his own or wide on the right. Created and finished plenty. Expect him to leave the club in the future to head back to a major European club. Boy is to good for us.
M'Bengue was another player who got capped by Qatar during the season. However his future is uncertain. He has been quite disruptive and I am keen to ship the winger on.
Career Overview
2014 -
2015 -
2016 -
2017 -
2018 -
2019 -
2020 -
2020 -
2021 -
2022 -
Next Season
Plan for the forthcoming season is to continue to progress in the Champions League and also go back and try to knock the top dogs off their perch in the league. It certainly won't be easy but it is a challenge I am looking forward to progress with. I sadly have thought about my next destination too. I am finding I am getting quite bored with clubs fairly easily and sometimes jobs in countries come up which I would love to take on. I am however fully committed to Qatar football and Al-Sadd for that matter. However you just never know what the future holds.
#256205 Succession Game
Cymro
Pulled us into 4th. Be disappointed if we drop out of the European slots to be honest.
#256203 Succession Game
Cymro
Last game of the stint and progression into the next round
#256202 Succession Game
Cymro
Will take everyday ...
#256201 Succession Game
Cymro
Bugger ...
#256200 Succession Game
Cymro
Got a crucial away win at Newcastle, good effort from the players.
#256199 Succession Game
Cymro
Another 3 points and another tale of missing opportunities in front of goal.
#256198 Succession Game
Cymro
Smashed Swansea and continued the rise up the league.
#256197 Succession Game
Cymro
One of those games when we should have scored more goals.
#256196 Succession Game
Cymro
Manager of the month. Fantastic work from the team.
#256195 Succession Game
Cymro
Tough draw but one we did well to secure.
#256194 Succession Game
Cymro
Should easily have put more passed a dire Middlesbrough side, but we got away.
#256193 Succession Game
Cymro
Valencia ... come at me
#256192 Succession Game
Cymro
Another smash and grab performance
#256191 Succession Game
Cymro
We enjoy a long term injury at this club
#256190 Succession Game
Cymro
Massive comeback win. Great stuff.
#256189 Succession Game
Cymro
So no we couldn't progress ... Europa League it is ... again
#256188 Succession Game
Cymro
We lost Martinez for 4 months ... ideal.
#256187 Succession Game
Cymro
Put Juventus to the sword. Needed the win and results elsewhere for us to progress in the group. Unlikely to happen.
#255612 The Shanghai Nights Adventure [FM15]
Cymro
Reza was released after I left Saipa. I was really shocked. He was outstanding. I took him on trial but he wasn't going to displace my wingers or strikers so I decided against offering him a contract. I thought he would pick a deal up. He was crowned Iranian player of the year last season. However the news item popped up to say he had become manager at an Iranian football club. I was disappointed. Easily one of my favourite players on this save.