alec6247 - Comments

@mons.





Before starting a career

Downloaded and got everything working, other than the Japanese and German national teams? Do I need to wait for the first international break to double check that it's working?

Good start to the season, keep it up!

Other points of interest from the first season

• Joelinton won the Premier League Golden Boot with 22 goals over the season. Was a brilliant player all season long. Was ably supported with 15 goals from Miguel Almiron from CAM.
• Was taken over towards the end of the season, and as part of the takeover the new owner signed Dani Olmo and Sander Berge.
• Man City sacked Guardiola for finishing second in the Premier League at the end of the season
• Chelsea won the Europa League and Liverpool won the Champions League

Just started the second season now, has been a fairly busy summer with quite a few signings made, including a Wonderkid striker.

I'll be following too - another Newcastle fan/sufferer here. Good luck!

Ignore this, have sorted it out now

I've got the same issue, not working in FM19 beta for me. I've re-downloaded the logo pack, changed the settings in interface but it's not loading the new logos. Anybody got any idea why this isn't working?

Good luck in the World Cup!

Thanks, r96skinner. It's somewhere I've never managed before so I'm certainly looking forward to the challenge!






At the end of pre-season, I'm feeling pretty confident with the squad we have managed to assemble. We've had decent results from the friendlies, only narrowly losing the two games against teams in the division above us, and comfortably winning the remaining games, including a game against Gomel who are also in the league above.


In regards to transfers, its been a busy couple of months at the club, with no less than 12 players arriving at the club with three loans, and nine permanent deals, whilst two players were moved out permanently, and we also were forced to release Andriy Stryzheus.


It was frustrating to have to release such a talented player (for this level), but due to the stupid rules in the league, I'm unable to register any foreigners and it worked out cheaper releasing him on a free rather than having him rot in the reserves.

Overall though, I'm happy now with the balance of the squad, and hopefully a second crack at the Persha Liga with the opportunity to strengthen the squad during a transfer window will mean that we do much better than we did before!


I've now got plenty more players at my disposal, and at least two options for each position to allow me to cover the inevitable injuries I will get. I adjusted my wage and transfer budgets, allowing me to sign the extra players and I am still well within my wage budget, with some room to manouvre in the summer transfer window if I need to. There's plenty of money in the bank as well, and generally we're pretty secure financially.


I was perhaps a little surprised to see us predicted to finish so low in the league though, with the media predicting us to finish in 13th! Realistically this season, my aim is going to be at a minimum to finish in the top half, and perhaps even push for top 4/5.


The basic tactic I've decided to go for, and the initial starting 11 for the season is a pretty basic, high pressing 4-4-2, with retain possession and play wider team instructions. Generally at this level, high pressing is a good idea due to the low decision making stats of the players and I'm going to be looking to force them in to mistakes, whilst at the same time using the pretty good passing stats we have as a team to control the tempo and find the gaps for our two strikers. The strength of the team lies in the flanks, so by getting the team to play wider, hopefully this will bring these players in to the game more, and allow them to create plenty of chances for the men up top.


With the season about to kick off, I'm optimistic and will be looking for a good solid start from the lads to really establish ourselves early on in the division.

Next post - Mid-Season Update

Looking forward to getting stuck in to this one.

Granit Mikashevichi

So we've stayed in Belarus, and stayed in the Persha Liga. After spending around 4 months unemployed, a couple of jobs popped up that we were the favourites for. Having spent the previous few months applying for jobs all around the world and getting turned down repeatedly, I decided to return to Belarus with a point to prove.

An introduction to Granit Mikashevichi for you:

Founded in 1978, Granit Mikashvichi are a professional Belarusian football club currently playing in the Persha Liga. The club play their games at Polasie and possess below average training facilities and basic youth facilities. The club also has average junior coaching and a fairly basic youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as The Miners.

Having enjoyed success as recently as 2014, The Miners are a club with a growing history. Granit won the Belarusian second tier for the only time in 2014 and finished runners-up once.

It's the end of the season in Belarus, and Granit managed to finish in 7th place last term, a massive 10 points behind Energetik-BGU, who appeared to turn things around after they sacked me last season. The board expectation is a mid-table finish, and I have got a transfer budget of £54k and a wage budget of £2k. The club's finances are looking healthy, and this should give me plenty of room for manouvre in the transfer market.


Time to meet the current squad.


The first thing to mention is it is currently very small. I'll be looking to change that over the transfer window, brining in a number of players either permanently or on loan.

Another piece of good news is the board agreed to my request to go on a coaching course. It won't be long now until I have a National B qualification!


Let's hope we have a bit more success this time in Belarus!

Next post - Pre-season round up

Well... that first attempt at management didn't last too long. 30 days to be exact.


Turns out that when I asked the board to send me on a coaching course, they said that they would as long as I improved the club's position in the league. As you can see from the results, things didn't exactly go our way.



We leave the team in 12th place, having not really been able to improve the teams form, although I would argue that I wasn't really given the opportunity, especially being sacked in the middle of the transfer window! Never mind though, back on the job hunt we go!

Side note, I've been thinking about my long term goals for this save. What I'm hoping to aim for is winning the top continental club competition in each continent, so brace yourselves for a long term save!

Next post - New Job

Energetik-BGU

Founded in 1995, Energetik-BGU Minsk are a professional Belarusian club currently playing in the Persha Liga. Energetik-BGU are looking to build on their mid-table finish in the Persha Liga last season.

The club play their games at the 1,600 capacity RTsOR BGU and possess good training facilities and average youth facilities. The club also has adequate junior coaching and an above average youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as 'The Students' and retains a fierce rivalry with FC Zhlobin and Krumkachy Minsk.

Although 'The Students' are enduring a nineteen year barren spell, having not won a competition since 1998, the club still have a history of which they can be justly proud. Energetik-BGU finished runners-up in the Belarusian 2nd tier for the only time in 2001, and won the Belarusian 3rd tier for the only time in 1998.



I'm guessing that very few people will have ever played in the Persha Liga, or the Belarusian second tier before, so let me run through the rules quickly for you:



At the time of me taking over, the club finds themselves in 10th place in the league, with just under half the season played.


The board are expecting a top half finish, so hopefully not too big an ask and something we are not too far off as well. We are also still in the cup competition, the Kubak Belarusi.

The next thing for me to do was to have a look at the squad that I would be working with:


Some good prospects in the side, alongside some fairly decent experienced players. There are however some glaring weaknesses, particularly down the left hand side with no quality option at left back, and limited options at left midfield. I'm relatively happy with the rest of the squad though, with some good depth in most positions. There would be nothing I could do about it immediately though, with the transfer window not opening for another couple of weeks, on the 2nd August. Financially though, the club appears to be in a fantastic position at the moment, hopefully allowing me some room in the transfer market to bring in a few players, however I am likely going to have to look to move on some players before I can bring any more in.


I'm not sure yet what my best tactic is going to be with this side, however to begin with, I'm going to be sticking to a fairly basic 4-4-2, although I'm sure the first few games in charge will give me a fairly good idea of what tactic to go with.

First things first, I need to get myself on to the coaching course ladder. I asked the board if they would allow me to complete a coaching course and they agreed.


With my first game in charge coming up the day after my appointment at home against Torpedo Zhodino in the Kubak Belarusi 2nd round, I would have a great opportunity to instantly win over the fans and the players. It isn't going to be an easy fixture though, with Torpedo doing well in the Belarusian First Division.

Next post - Transfer Window round-up

My first job in football management. Where was I going to end up? I had a good look at the job centre, and immediately ruled out a number of clubs. I wouldn't be considered for any of these... yet. Let me build my reputation in some other leagues first.

Applications began flying out to clubs as varied as Richards Bay, Henan, Cherno more and IK Sport, and within a few days a couple of the clubs had got back to me with an offer of an interview. It was going to be a bit of a busy few days! I would be flying out to Israel to begin with, for my interview with Hapoel Ramat-Gan before flying back via Romania and Ukraine for interviews with CS Balotești and Rukh Vynnyky respectively.

I arrived back in the UK tired after travelling, but feeling that all three interviews had gone well, but continued to keep an eye on the job centre for any new vacancies to pop up. After a few days though, my first bit of bad news popped up. Hapoel Ramat-Gan had decided to go for Eli Cohen instead of me. Not that I was too disheartened, I never expected to get the first job I had an interview for. Besides, I was still in the running for another couple of jobs, and I also sent off a few more applications. A day later however, and more bad news. CS Balotești and Rukh Vynnyky had both gone with other managers as well.



After receiving this bad news, I pinged off some more applications via email to Clyde, Atlanta Utd, Energetik-BGU and SJK, and it wasn't long before I got offered some interviews. First up was Clyde, and a job interview that went incredibly well, and only a couple of days later, they offered me the job, on a salary of £210 per week. I decided to ask them if I could delay my decision for a week, as I had also had a good interview with Energetik-BGU, and wanted to see whether they would offer me the job, and what they could offer me. A few days later, and Energetik-BGU got back to me, offering me £500 per week.



Next post - Club Overview

After playing around on a few saves, I've finally decided to sink my teeth in to a long term save, and the first real proper journeyman I have done. I've loaded up as many leagues as I can whilst sticking below the 125k player database limit, and here is the variety of countries that I could possibly end up in.



Here I am, starting out with no coaching badges and a Sunday league reputation. The little points I have got, I have piled in to adaptability in the hope that will aid me with all the moving about I'm sure to end up doing.



I've got no real preference as to where I start off my journey at the moment, but I will take a good look in the job centre, and consider my options carefully before taking the plunge in to a job.


July 2017 to August 2017 - Energetik-BGU Minsk
January 2018 to present - Granit Mikashevichi

Trophy Cabinet

Next post - First job in management

I've finished my run through now. Ended up finishing 7th, missing out on the Playoffs by a single point.



That final game of the season was excrutiating though! I needed to beat Wolves, and had to hope that Birmingham and Fulham drew to be able to get into the playoffs. As you can see, things were looking really good for much of the game...



A 92nd minute winner for Fulham, and with the goal, a place in the playoffs.

Lewis Grabban did manage to grab the Golden Boot award for the Championship though, finishing on 21 goals.



Aiden McGeady got the Goal of the Season award. Does this count for any points?



Here's the list of fixtures



By my reckoning, I've managed to accumulate:

Finish 7th-12th - 10 points
Made it to FA Cup 4th Round - 5 points
Beat Middlesborough - 5 points
Beat Leeds - 5 points
Top Goalscorer - 5 points

30 points total

This side is just so inconsistent. It seems to be two steps forward an one step back. Just as I start getting a little decent run of form going, I end up losing a game, or drawing a few in a row.



I am however within touching distance of the playoffs. A decent run of form between now and the end of the season could see me creep into 6th spot!



The only issue I'm having at the moment is the lack of support from the players. With no coaching badges, it doesn't make them want to play for you at all!

It's not been a bad start to this for me!



With 5 games played in the league, I've picked up 10 out of 15 points, and I'm only sitting 5 points outside of the playoff places now.



I've got a FA Cup 4th Round Replay against Leicester next, and my prize if I win that is an away fixture against either Chelsea or Bournemouth in the 5th Round...

I managed to bring in Shani Tarashaj on loan from Everton until the end of the season, who is providing me with more options in the Striker and AM role

It's been a decent start!



I'll carry on with it tomorrow now. Got a few signings coming in as well which should hopefully help out

I'm in:

I'm keen to get involved on this after having a break from FM last year. Want to get my teeth stuck in to another challenge, will be my first one since getting about 1/2 way through the British Steel Challenge a few years back

It's not gone well...



Not really a massive surprise. The team have been awful this season as you can see by the results.



Just two wins all season, and even more concerning is that we have failed to score in nine of the thirteen games. I've been sacked with Exeter currently occupying 21st position on 12 points.



Now the question is, what do I do next? Do I start again and give this another go? Or do I try with a different team? I could potentially do this with Plymouth or Yeovil as well as Exeter. I'll leave it up to the forums to decide...

Thanks Dan and Willz, hopefully I will be able to update this more regularly than I have been able to so far... Almost finished the first essay now, and then it's on to the dissertation. Exeter is a place close to my heart as its where I was born, saw my first game at St James Park when I was about 3 months old through the window of the bedroom!

Preseason Roundup



Preseason fixtures didn't go particularly well as we tried to get the team to learn the new tactic, although some draws against higher league opposition in Oldham and Port Vale gave some hope that we could potentially kick off the season with at least a decent defense. In terms of transfers, we saw Clinton Morrison and Jordan Tillson released on free transfers, and seven players come into the club, five on loan deals and two on permanent deals.



The two released players were not going to have futures at the club, Clinton Morrison being 35 and on a wage of £900 per week not being worth the expense, and Jordan Tillson was unfortunately never going to be good enough to break into the first team.

In terms of incomings, Nathan Luscombe was picked up as an intended AML cover, although it looks as though he may have the potential to start in that position this season, with an opportunity to improve as the season continues also.



Ryan Brobbel was brought in on loan from Middlesborough to act as cover for both the wing positions, and with no contribution towards his wages necessary, was a good deal. He has the potential to become a crucial member of the squad this season as he may be required to step up and make the starting position his own should injuries occur during the season.



Lubomir Satka is a player I know a little bit about being a Newcastle fan, and I know that he has a great potential. He was brought in to help strengthen the weak defense, and could become a key player for us this season. Again, he has been brought in on no wage contribution, allowing us more flexibility in the free transfer market.



Ryan Inniss was another player brought in on a no wage contribution loan to help with the defense. He is unlikely to be an automatic starter this season, and will be cover to begin with, but he may well be able to force his way into the starting line up through some good performances.



Reece Hands was offered a trial by the club and impressed enough during his time to be offered a full time contract. A player already good enough to be pushing for a start, he also has the potential to improve to become a key player as we move forwards. We managed to sign him to a long term contract for relatively little money, and hopefully we will be repaid for the faith we have shown in him.



Olivier Kemen is again another player I know a little about, and he has been brought in as cover for the defensive midfield position. A strong and hardworking youngster, he will help add to the squad and will hopefully be able to come up big for us at times during the season.



Our final signing of the window was another loan signing of Mauro Vilhete. A player who has come in to act as cover for the wings again, due to the very limited number of free agents available for those positions. Hopefully he will be able to have an influence in the squad as the season goes on, although I feel he is definitely second choice to our other loan signings.



In Other News

Exeter have agreed to pay for me to get my first step on the coaching qualification ladder, and I will be the proud owner of a National C badge within 3 months. The board also agreed to find a senior affiliate club, to help raise some funds, and also allow us to loan in some players, with Arsenal coming back as the most suitable and also bringing in a much needed £72.5k per year.

The nPower League Two season is about to begin in earnest now, and we need to hope for a decent start to get us moving in the right direction and at least meet our aim of finishing in a respectable position this season.

After a little while away from the forums, I have decided to start up another save that should hopefully keep me ticking over for a while at least. I've decided to do something that has of course been done many times before and will continue to be done by many people as well, although I don't think I've seen one with the team I have decided to choose, so hopefully will be interesting for you guys. Anyway onto the team...




Exeter City FC, founded in 1904, are a professional football club based in Exeter, currently playing their football in League Two, the fourth tier of the English Football pyramid. The club was a member of The Football League from 1920 until 2003 when relegation saw them ply their trade in the conference. Promotion back into The Football League in 2008 has seen Exeter achieve mixed fortunes, being promoted into League One in 2009, although they were relegated once again in 2012. Exeter have never plied their trade higher than League One, with their best ever finish being 8th, achieved in 1979/80 and again in 2010/11. Exeter City is nicknamed 'The Grecians' and play their home games at St James Park.

I've chosen to become the manager of Exeter City, a team with limited success, from a region that unbelievably has never had a team playing in the top division in England! I hope to achieve as much as possible whilst at the helm of the club, with the ultimate aim of having Exeter as a successful Premier League team, but also successful in Europe. I'm going to be focusing heavily on youth, looking to upgrade youth and training facilities as quickly as possible, although that won't be happening for the first season at least due to the financial situation of the club. I'm also going to try as much as I can to have a domestic bias at the club, which will be easier whilst in the lower leagues, but much more of a challenge as we get closer to the Premier League.

The Manager


I'm starting out with Sunday league reputation and with no coaching badges, so this should be quite a challenge to begin with until I get hold of some coaching badges.

The Squad


Not a bad squad, but then again not fantastic. Defense seems to be a particular area of concern, along with the wings. I'm going to be looking to play a 4-5-1/4-1-2-2-1 tactic, so wingers may well be the first priority.

I have no transfer budget to play with, but I do have a little bit of room in the wage budget to accommodate a couple more players, although we will almost certainly be looking to sell before we can buy. Financially we are doing alright, with approximately £500K in the bank, and I want to ensure that the financial status of the club continues to improve during my tenure at the club.



So, here is the club and the idea behind the save. Hopefully it's one that you will enjoy reading and being updated about, and I look forward to hearing your comments.

N.B. - I'm going to be looking at doing probably three updates per season, Preseason round-up, January update and then End of season wrap up. Also apologies if updates are slightly irregular, am going to be playing this save to give me a break from essay and dissertation writing, so may be a little bit slow going for a little while.

That's the first one down then, good season for you, although would have been disappointing if you hadn't won with those budgets! Good luck with wherever you end up next.

Great first season in charge for you there mate, some good consistent performances from some of your players as well

Layout looks fine to me buddy. Good luck in Albania!

EDIT: silly double posts!

This is a ridiculous challenge! Will take you forever! Looking forward to seeing how you get on

Thanks Dan, European football was the minimum expectation for me this season, so I'm glad to have comfortably achieved that. Kez, we both know Poe cheated a little bit there is just a tactical mastermind!




Transfers Out



Firstly, the outgoing transfers. A majority of the outgoings this close season were players that didn't have a future at Newcastle any longer and one transfer that would probably have had me lynched by Newcastle fans. We begrudgingly waved goodbye to Hatem Ben Arfa as he joined AC Milan in a deal worth £21.5M, a huge figure that would allow us to fully strengthen all areas required within the team, as well as finding a suitable replacement for him. Of the others to leave, Gabriel Obertan, Squidward himself, left to join rivals Hull for £3.5M, and Jonas Gutierrez returned to Argentina in a deal worth just under £300K.



The biggest name to leave on a free this summer was long serving Geordie legend Shola Ameobi. However much I would have liked to be able to keep him, he just is no longer good enough to compete at the highest level, and it was sad to see him go. Others leaving were youth players who unfortunately were just not cut out to play at this level.

Transfers In



With the board having given me a transfer budget of £15M for the season, with the expectation being to qualify for the Europa League once again, much strengthening was needed to give me a competitive squad to compete on all fronts this season. This budget was boosted through the sale of Hatem Ben Arfa to a total of just under £30M, and we set about rebuilding the squad.

First incoming transfer was Jordan Rhodes, a player I had been scouting all season long, and he had impressed in the Championship scoring 23 goals and taking home the golden boot award. I feel he is more than ready for the step up to the Premier League, and hopefully he can make a big impact this season, bringing him in with a deal worth £7.5M



Our second incoming transfer was that of Chelsea's forgotten man Marko Marin. Despite never getting an opportunity at Chelsea, he is still a quality player and an absolute bargain at only £7M. A really good buy in my opinion, and will be Hatem Ben Arfa's replacement.



Our third incoming, and unbelievably on a free transfer was that of Tom Ince. Again, I had been keeping tabs on him all season long and couldn't believe it when he became available, and I quickly swooped in to provide more competition and strength in depth for the squad.



Our fourth transfer of the window, which was also our largest outlay was that of Will Hughes. Midfield is an area where we are perhaps strongest, however, I still felt as though we were one player short, which was highlighted to me during our injury crisis in the middle of the previous season. At £14.5M, he definitely wasn't cheap, but he is a player that I will be able to build the team around in the future.



Our last incoming transfer in this window is Javier Hernandez from Manchester United on a season long loan. With me having lost Loic Remy and Luuk de Jong and the end of last season, another striker was needed. Unfortunately I couldn't really find anybody suitable available at the right price on the transfer market so decided to bring in Hernandez as a stop gap. Although i don't see him remaining at the club beyond this season, with some good performances he may be able to win himself a full transfer.



Preseason Games



A week long preseason tour of France, book-ended by two home games saw us go through preseason winning every game. Hopefully with the season about to begin, we can carry on our good form as we look to get off to a solid start.