forameus - Comments

Another unbeaten month puts us within touching distance of the play-offs, and surely only an absolutely unprecedented collapse would deny us now.

We started things off with my debut in the NACL, and made it look easy with a 4-0 defeat of main rivals Saprissa. Ken Martinez continued his battle with Andrew Igwe for the only strikers spot by netting two. That put us into an early commanding position in the group. We kept up our good form in the league with three wins and a draw to put us clear at the top, with Ken Martinez taking his chances wonderfully in the match against Seattle, ending with four goals. Our final match of the month was a strange one - I pegged Tauro as the whipping boys, but we could only manage a 2-2 draw, and we were lucky with that. The group didn't look as good as it could have after that, but another win against Saprissa should see us through before we welcome Tauro back to Los Angeles.




San Jose kept the gap at ten points, but they retain a game in hand in the Western Conference, but both us retained the distance to the rest of the teams in the division. Seven games to go and ten points ahead. The next month will be a big one for us.

National Job



After applying to pretty much every international job going, and then in turn being turned down for every international job going, it was a great surprise to finally be offered another job after the Uruguay debacle. Lucky for me, it was another very good team, with Chile having recently come third in the Copa America. They sit 4th in the World Rankings, and have some potential. The board simply want us to qualify easily for the World Cup, which could be difficult in the marathon that is South American Qualifying.

We very quickly had our first two friendlies in charge, but things didn't go particularly well.

Chile vs Serbia - 1-1 - FT
Chile vs Mexico - 1-4 - FT

These were not encouraging at all. Strangely, after these two, we moved up one place in the rankings. Not sure how that works, but it'll do. I wasn't too worried about the Serbia game, but to be beaten 4-1 by Mexico was worrying - if we're to win the Copa America, we have to face teams like Mexico, and they're not even the best we'll face. We need to improve, and quickly.

Another good month, although unfortunately our US Open Cup campaign fell apart during an extremely good match against our old nemesis Chivas USA. We probably should have done better, but I have no complaints with going out to an MLS team who were just simply better than us on the day. It's several stages closer than I have ever gone before.

In the league we continued our fantastic form, only dropping points towards the end of the month against Chivas (again) and Dallas. Up front we've been lethal - 20 goals in 8 games. Our defence hasn't been too bad either, and it's starting to look like we have a better than even chance of retaining our MLS Supporter's Shield title.



Once again, the West are running away with it. We're now 7 points ahead of San Jose with 11 games to go, making it a Californian party up there.

We also had our Champions League groups drawn, in what is a different format to what I'm used to.



Only three teams in each group, meaning only four games away from the knock-outs. Saprissa I'm familiar with, and to me they'll be our main rivals. We face our first match next month.

Got a bit carried away with playing, so a bumper update of fixtures.



When we drew our first two games, I feared the worst, but from the 92nd minute of our game against New England when Andrew Igwe got his first goal of the season with a late penalty, we went on a great run of eight games unbeaten with only two draws. We stuttered against San Jose with a 3-0 beating, and I thought we might start to fall apart a little. But it proved not to be as we won the next three without conceding a single goal. That included two good cup wins - they may have been against smaller teams, but you can only beat what's put in front of you, and we've struggled before.





The west is well and truly running away with this years Supporter's Shield Battle, and it looks at this stage to be between us and Colorado for the title. It could all change though - San Jose are not too far away after all, along with other teams.

Wrap Up

Well altogether a very good season. In terms of the board expectations, we met and exceeded them. They don't count the Supporters Shield as a competition, but to clinch that not just on the final day, but also in the final minute. We went one round further than they expected in the play-offs, but went out in the cup way earlier than we should. Very disappointing in that sense, but a good season nonetheless.

Finances - Looking very good. We are a very rich team in a country where it's not that easy to spend that money. I've cut out my really high earning designated players, leaving only one player on more than 4.2k a week. We're projected to make a 4 million profit per season, so not a bad place to be in.

Key Players from Last Season Preview

Yoshiaki Takagi - I said he had come into his own after last season, and here he continued. Average rating wise, he wasn't too impressive, in fact he was average (6.86). He did chip in with 5 goals and 5 assists though.
Juan Manuel Michel - A rock at the back with an average rating of 7.28 from 38 games. He was pretty much an ever-present, and contributed to our good defensive disaplys when we needed them.
Theo Walcott - 24 games, 7 goals and 7 assists with an average rating of 7.08. Very good performance from the ageing Theo. He played most of his games on the right wing, which wasn't his favourite position in 2012 and certainly isn't now. But he put in some great performances, and was a key part of the team.

2023 Season Preview

Competitions

MLS
Board: Reach play-off semis
Me: Win it

Supporters Shield
Board: N/A
Me: We win it by getting the best record, so obviously I'll aim to win it. Play-offs are important though

US Open Cup
Board: Not Important
Me: Win it. No excuses

Drafts

Re-entry Draft

Gershon Mohammed - The American joins us as our only Re-entry draft signing after being released from Toronto in the off-season. The DM position was a priority to get sorted, as we only really had one player for there, and he was more creative than defensive. This will give us another option.

Superdraft
Mike Brindley - Mike joins us as our first pick on the superdraft. RB is another position we're light in, and he'll be a decent understudy for Reginaldo
Simone Hamon Pellegrino - Exotically named, but that probably won't be enough to grab him a starting place. Might look to get him out on loan for some experience, as I don't think he'll get the game-time here.
James Watts - James Watts is in a similar position to Pellegrino, but probably has more chance of getting a game with his stats. He'll be a fringe player initially though.

Transfers



One more player joined us - Jordanian Bashar Al-Rayahneh. He'll be very important to us, and will give us a lot of depth in the very important DM position.

In terms of players leaving, most of them were fringe players used as makeweights to get more international slots and free up wages. Theo Walcott and George Santos unfortunately left the club - I would have liked Walcott to stay, but with the wealth of strikers we had, he was falling down the pecking order. Santos was unhappy at not playing, so had no problem getting rid of him.

Our team report now looks like this. I'm fairly happy with it - this feels more like a squad I have built, probably because I had to after ending up with no players when I arrived...

Key Players for this Season


Bashar Al-Rayahneh - I've mentioned him already, but I can't state how important he could be to us. With a decent defensive player shielding our defenders, it'll allow the 5 players in front of him forward. At least that's the idea.
Andrew Igwe - The Super Eagle is on the fringe of a call-up for Nigeria, but the media seem to think he doesn't have a chance. I'm happy for it to stay that way, because as long as he remains cap-less, he will stay available for us. His goals will hopefully fire us to Champions League glory.
Deji Ramirez - Forever a target for other clubs, but he's not going anywhere. An ever-present in our creative midfield.

Hope this isn't too much of a pleading post, but just wondering if anyone is still interested in this story. I was posting it in three different places in the beginning (the official SI forum, a famous Scottish football forum and here) but have lapsed to just posting over on SI.

From the looks of it, I've gone so far beyond where I last posted, so if anyone is still interested in reading, I'll post it up and continue. Would be good to - I always enjoyed the community on this site back on the FM12 careers forum.

It was Los Angeles Galaxy against Seattle Sounders to see who would go on to face the Eastern Champions in the MLS Cup. We still remember the 2-1 last-gasp win we managed over them on the final day of the season, but they'll still remember beating us 3-0. It'll be a tight game, for sure.



Ooooor, not so. A terrible, terrible game. We went 1-0 up through an own goal, and at that point it was looking good. In the 44th minute, when minds began to wander to the interval, Machin turned into his own net to equalise. I can forgive that, but to then let in another in injury time was unforgivable. We went in at half-time 2-1 down, and then the arse fell out of the team. Within a minute of the second half, Seattle scored a third, and from then on we were out of it. They added another three later in the half to leave us 6-1 down, and probably without a prayer in the 2nd leg.

We would have to go absolutely all out and score at least six, and that's only if we can keep out the free-scoring grunge stars of Seattle.



Well, we didn't do enough. It was looking good though. We went all out from the start in an unfamiliar and stupid formation, and within 20 seconds we had struck the post. Within twenty minutes, we were 2-0 up, and I started to dream. After the goal though, Deji Ramirez went off injured, and our rhythm was pretty much gone. We went in at half time needing three to level the scores. Within ten minutes of the second half, we were 3-2 down, and it was all over. We fought back to 4-3 at the end, but it wasn't enough. We did ourselves proud getting the win, but Seattle were too good for us.

A tough game, and one we almost threw away. It all happened in the final ten minutes. Portland took the lead in the 82nd minute, but were pegged back three minutes later. With the scores at 1-1, I was fairly happy. There are no away goals in the play-off, so 1-1 really is all square. But then Portland scored, and I started to fear the worst. Luckily, we scored yet another stoppage time goal as Andrew Igwe scored a great equaliser. It finished all square, and we would go back to Los Angeles to dance all over again.



I'll be honest, this was the worst game I have watched on FM in a long time. After an initial flurry, we were treated to 80 minutes of football with absolutely no highlights whatsoever. Seriously, I play games on key highlights, and there was nothing shown. For a match that both teams were desperate to win, and one where one of them HAD to score, it wasn't exactly an advert for the competition. Luckily, in the 106th minute (after another fifteen minutes of nothing, I might add), we finally broke the deadlock. In true fashion, nothing else happened afterwards, and we marched onto the final where we would once again face Seattle Sounders.

So here it is, the run-in. We had a bad two months mid-season, so I didn't really expect anything from these final two months. At the very most, I wanted a shot at the play-offs, but time will tell whether we manage it.



And that will help quite a bit! A fantastic two months, with only one small blemish in the defeat in Ohio to Columbus Crew. In all the other games, we fought like hell and won seven of the ten games, drawing two more.

What really struck me though was the fortitude our team showed - it always seemed like we threw away a record number of points from winning positions, but in this run-in we never quit, clinching three of the games in the last ten minutes and two in stoppage time. We fought back from 1-0 down to 2-1 up against Chivas and also got a late, late winner against Seattle in the season-ending game. We'll get back to that one...

Player-wise, they have really, really impressed me in the latter part of the season. Our strikers are giving me a nice dilemma by playing well whoever I put up front. I play a one striker formation, so it's hard to fit my six strikers in. But I've rotated when I could, and each time I do they've made it worth my while. Andrew Igwe is the one I'm proudest of - I took a chance on him pretty much on the strength of his physical stats, and he's repaid me with 12 goals in 19 appearances. Wonderful.

But how has all of this left the table? Did we make the play-offs?





Ooooh yes we did. We didn't just make the play-offs, we also won the Supporters Shield. I may have said it was an empty trophy, but it does give qualification to the Champions League. Continental club football is coming back to Los Angeles.

Going back to that final game I mentioned earlier. We only won the league by one point, meaning that 91st minute goal pretty much won us the league. There was much celebration, as five minutes earlier we struck the post with a penalty, and it looked like the Shield was out of our grasp. Then Igwe stepped up and fired us into the lead. Nothing to worry about...

We go into the play-offs full of confidence, and also with the knowledge that we don't need to win them. Champions League is secured - let's go have fun.

A pretty lousy couple of months to be honest. We had our first game in the cup against feeder team Atlanta Silverbacks, and they played us off the park. That's one Champions League chance out of the window. We didn't do that much better in the league either, playing seven, losing three and drawing two. Altogether a very disappointing month, none more so than the 3-3 draw with Portland. We were 3-1 up and absolutely cruising when the team's legendary ability to bring my wrath set in - they let in two late goals - one of them in stoppage time - and we had to settle for a draw.





All that puts us in 4th in the Western Conference and 7th overall. The overall table pretty much ends any hope we had of winning the Supporter's Shield. However, we're still in the hunt for the play-offs, in what is an uncharacteristically tight table.

Job Offers

Both Liverpool and Wigan offered me a job in the past couple of months. Of course I turned them both down, as I have no interest in moving to Europe right now, especially to a Premier League team. Steven Gerrard ended up making a remarkable return to Anfield to manage, so all worked out well.

All in all, we've settled down nicely into our second season. Three losses and two draws in our ten games so far puts us in a great position. The one thing that's always struck me about the MLS is that usually one or two teams absolutely romp away with the league, and are untouchable, with the rest fighting tooth and nail for the rest of the play-off spots. If we can keep up this kind of pace, we should be good for the play-off spots, and maybe even an outside shot at the title. In the end though, the title does not matter, as it's a pretty empty trophy. The play-offs do matter though, as they are the ones that allow entry into the Champions League. We must keep up the pace.

We have some tricky ties approaching - Portland visit Los Angeles in June, and we also face a double against San Jose Earthquakes - the team that broke our heart in the play-offs last season. Time to stand up and be counted.





And our league positions. We're sitting pretty in the Western Conference, level at the top with Portland. Although there is a combined table, this only counts towards the Supporters Shield (the empty trophy), so if we finish in the top 3 of our conference bracket, then we're in the play-offs. That's our aim.

A Look at the Squad










Our 2022 vintage squad is actually looking fairly healthy, even if we are a little overstocked up front. I went into America thinking it would be the easiest leg to manage, but there seem to have been a lot of changes under the hood from FM12 that make the MLS a lot harder to manage in. The most difficult thing is around the salary cap in place - it's very easy to sign players, but they all want the maximum wage possible with little budging, which makes it difficult to build a large squad while still staying within the cap. But anyway, we've built a squad, and it should be enough to get by. There's quite a bit of youth in there that should improve too.

The key players in that squad are as follows...

Yoshiaki Takagi

Our Japanese Designated Player, although only because I struggled to get rid of him. He's on a large wage, and one I don't think he entirely deserves, but I'm happy enough for him to stay. He started off with some pretty average performances, but he's come into his own recently. A big player for us.

Juan Manuel Miche

This guy just isn't remarkable stats-wise. He certainly wouldn't be a key player in any top-level division in any of the major countries, but this guy is highly sought after in America. Of course, with the terrible coding of the American leagues, all the bids are for the same pathetic amount every single time (95k if you're interested). He's a rock at the back for us though, and I'm happy to have an American in there.

Theo Walcott

Now this is a name you'll all recognise. As you can see, he's 33, so reaching the twilight of a career which never really hit the heights it should have. He was an ever-present for Arsenal until the 2013/14 season. After this, Chelsea swooped with a 25.5 million pound offer to take him across town to Stamford Bridge. In the next six seasons however, he only played 17 games. I had a look through his injury history, and although he's had many, none of them were ever for too long, not enough to keep him out of that many games. A shame really. Well, not really, as I picked him up after his days at Chelsea. He had a fantastic early season before breaking his leg early on in the season. It seemed it may end him, but he's come back this season and picked up where he left off. He's our Becks.


Season Expectations

MLS
Board: Reach Play-off Semis
Me: Reach At least play-off final

US Open Cup
Board: Not Important
Me: Go as far as possible



Needless to say, I didn't add to it last season, so this is what we need to beat. It's been over a decade now since the clubs only Champions League win - it's my aim to double that, and hopefully we won't need to wait another decade.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long for my international career to continue...



I wanted out of Europe to take a shot at some of the other continental tournaments. I applied for several roles, amongst them Italy, Jamaica, Canada, Ivory Coast etc, but none of them wanted me, most just laughing off the application. Luckily, one took pity, and it was La Celeste, who had fallen down the rankings considerably after their purple patch. They managed a runners-up spot in the 2014 World Cup, but since then there has been little to cheer about. They have plummeted down the rankings in the past two years, and are now in danger of missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. And that's where I come in!

And talking of employment, after knocking back several offers in the UK, both Scotland and England, aiming for somewhere in the USA or Brazil, I was given a pretty good offer...



The Galaxy. Just the name of the team brings memories of teams absolutely strewn with stars. Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Robbie Keane...and then the plethora of other lesser stars that turned this side into something great. In the first year of this crazy FM universe, they won the Champions League and went to the final of the World Club Championships only to be beaten by Man City.

Let's face it, despite the small allocation fund (which is fixed by the league) this side is clearly never going to ever struggle for money. They are rich in a league where it's almost impossible to become rich. In other words, they're probably one of the safest bets not to befall the same problems as have struck the other teams I've managed so far.

And of course, since this is an alternate universe, I'm going to tell myself that the Governator is still in charge of California. Bitchin'.

So this is the squad I'm taking with me to Turkey. Some familiar names in there, but as you can see, a lot of them are nearing their final hurrahs. Russel Martin, who had been captain for some time, will retire after the tournament, as will long-serving goalkeeper David Marshall. Steven Fletcher and Jordan Rhodes are getting on, along with Charlie Adam, James McArthur, Lee Wallace, Grant Hanley...to put it simply, our team is ageing, and we don't really have the replacements coming in. And it's because of that, that I gathered the reporters once again, this time at Hampden Park, to have a wee chat.



There is something more than restlessness behind this decision though. I hung on for too long on my FM12 save in the Scotland job. For most international jobs, there are only 2 competitions you can win, and if there is little chance of winning them with the side you're at, then you can't let sentimentality get in the way. I've won one tournament with Scotland, which is one more than last time, and now I have one more to aim to win. If I don't, or even if I do, it's time to move on. Our squad is ageing fast, and there is no-one stepping up to replace the quality. I could see us qualifying for tournaments for the foreseeable future, but any chance of winning them is a long time away. I'm not going to settle for an outside chance of winning the Euros every four years.

But anyway, on with the tournament.

Our pre-season friendlies went fairly well. I deliberately chose these three - Germany because they were top of the rankings, Bulgaria because they represent a similar team to Belarus (one of the teams in our group) and then Palestine as a confidence booster. We won two of the games, and put up a good fight against Germany. I was in good spirits.




After the group stages, we were in a pretty good position. We faced France first up, and took an extremely important 1-0 victory thanks to an 87th minute penalty. We then faced Sweden, who gave us quite a game before we ended up winning 4-3. With two games gone, we were through, with only one more game left to secure the top spot in the group against Belarus. Unfortunately, we could only manage a point. Fortunately, so could France, when they drew with Sweden, meaning we won the group.



Unfortunately again, we only managed one more round before eventually falling, spectacularly so.

We won a hard-fought second round victory against Belgium, who still had a number of their star players in their ranks - Fellaini, Hazard, Courtois etc. When we were drawn against Holland in the next round, I feared the worst, and I was proved right as they dismantled us. They were 3-0 up within half an hour, and even when we got a goal back, they were assured and lethal in attack, going 5-1 up soon after. We got one goal back, but it was far too late.

My Scotland career ended in an awful defeat. Not the way I wanted it to end.

And now an update on my Scotland career, and my quest for the European Championship.

2019 was a good year for Scotland, as we managed to secure our place at the European Championships fairly comfortably. It could have been better though, and we were made to sweat a little with some poor results.



After a perfect record in 2018, we started in 2019 by winning our very first Four Association Championship.



Not a massive competition to win, but a win nonetheless, and puts us in at least 2nd position in the UK. We're still better than England though...definitely.

When we returned to qualification, we did so with a bang, thumping our nearest rivals for the group Austria 3-0 in Vienna. I pinpointed this as the most important game in the group, so to win it was a big boost. And with two games against Kazakhstan and Armenia next up, I could dream of pretty much securing qualification after that. Unfortunately, fate once again had other ideas, as we stuttered against the Khazakh's and then fell at home against Armenia. It was a listless performance, and we didn't deserve anything out of the game in the end. We went into the last two games a little nervous after that, and a 0-0 draw with outsiders Bulgaria didn't exactly help either. Luckily, that result was just enough to secure our place in Turkey. Another victory against Austria sealed the top spot I craved, and our panic was over. We once again made heavy weather of it, but a win is a win. We could now focus on the next summer adventure.

So here we stand, our first season in charge of Toronto now over, and let's just say things haven't exactly gone to plan.

Competitions

We started off with the stakes already super high, with our first competitive game coming in the Champions League.



It was not what I had planned. We contested a close 3-2 defeat in the first leg, scoring what could be a vital second in the 94th minute. However, in the second leg the arse fell out of the team, and we slumped to a 5-2 defeat, capping an 8-4 aggregate loss. It was not my finest moment, put it that way. But no matter, in a way I would feel like I had cheated if we won the Champions League so early on. I want to put my stamp on a team in America, and I wouldn't do that in such a short period of time. So really I'm not too bothered about getting put out. Not at all. *weeps*

Our next battle was to try and win the Canadian Championship, and assure ourselves qualification for next season's Champions League. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas.




If the Champions League was a dissappointment, this was a travesty. FC Edmonton should not have put up much of a fight, but after a good 2-1 win in the first leg, we decided to throw it all away by putting in an absolute joke of a performance. We lost 3-0, and with it went our greatest hope of Champions League qualification. We can still do it through our MLS performance, but if we can't beat a small side like Edmonton, then I don't hold out much hope of finishing high enough to qualify that way.

Talking of the MLS...



It all started off so well. We won 3 on the bounce, and I started to dream of the other times I've managed in the MLS and absolutely blitzed it. We then got a bit of revenge on Canada by thumping Montreal Impact 4-1. Then the backlash came. It all started with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Chivas, but then got so much worse as we slipped to a run that only yielded 1 point from a possible 18, culminating in a 6-2 capitulation at the hands of New England. I would describe the rest of the season, but it was far too average to waste words. Every time we seemed to go on a run, we were knocked back down. Come the end of August it started to seem like we might be an outside bet for the play-offs, but any lingering hopes were almost extinguished with a poor end of season run-in, yielding only 6 points from 24. However, we still managed to sneak into the Wild Card positions...




For how badly we had played at times, 8th position is pretty good. It's not good enough though - I wanted Champions League qualification, and we have now ended up with a worse record than the manager who left Toronto before me. That's not a good thing.

Anyway, the Wild-cards...



Well that was short-lived. Sporting Kansas City never gave us a sniff, even though the scoreline suggested they did. We had no chance in the end, and our season ended abruptly with nothing to show. Bitterly disappointing, but not unexpected.

Once again I have to ask myself with the limited budget, is it possible to do what I want to do with Toronto?

Transfers



Well there you have it, Samir Nasri is no longer a Toronto player. My first action as boss was to decide which players would stay on, and in the end most of the ones whose contracts were expiring ended up leaving, including Nasri. The financial situation at the club just couldn't sustain the amount of money he was on - around 4.5 million per year. That's far and away more than the rest of the squad put together. I stand by my decision.

Ins

Tiago Gomes


Matthew Turnbull


Franck Sanogo


Christian Paredes


Assael Rodriguez


Ashtone Morgan


Antonio Rios


A selection of youth and experience, with Turnbull in particular exciting. We haven't really strengthened the defence though, or replaced the considerable talents of Samir Nasri. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite us.

So I joined Toronto aiming to pick up the 3rd side of the Pentagon. Days after taking the job, there was a draw for the quarter finals of the Champions League which apparently we were in. A possible 6 games away from completing what I had come to do. That just wouldn't do, as I intend to stay with Toronto for at least the next few seasons to try and build something.



And that is why I want to build something. Toronto FC are a fairly new club, but even so, they have pretty much no history. The Canadian Championship a few times and a handful of Trillium Cups. Hardly anything to write home about. I'm going to make sure I leave this club with history.

Team Report






The squad is pretty good, but I imagine you're being drawn to one particular midfielder...

Samir Nasri joined the club as a designated player and ended up being one of the better players the previous season, but he is on a massive 87k a week. A clear 70k more than the second highest earner, so there may have to be a decision to be made about whether we renew his contract for the next season.

Elsewhere, we have a pretty decent squad, but it certainly has more potential than it does ability. Our goalkeepers will be good in a few years, but a little weak at the moment. It's a similar story up front with a lot of potential there. Two problems though - our midfield will look a little light on numbers and quality if we get rid of Nasri, and our defence is just not good enough. I'll be looking to improve it in the off-season

Board Expectations

MLS - Mid-table
Canadian Championship - Reach the final
Trillium Cup - Not important
Champions League - Won't be judged

My Expectations

MLS - Reach the play-offs
Canadian Championship - Win it and secure our Champions League place for next season
Trillium Cup - Win it, even though I have no idea what it is
Champions League - As always, aim to win

So after leaving Africa extremely quickly, and taking time out to fight it out in Russia for the World Cup, I found myself at somewhat of a loose end. The next place I wanted to go was over in the Americas, either North or South, but to be honest I wasn't entirely caring which one. If I had to choose, it would've been the MLS, because for some reason I love managing there, but we shall see.

What didn't interest me, however, was taking over in the MLS straight away - I would much rather take over at the end of a season and give myself the best chance of progress. That meant waiting until December, which gave me the opportunity to start my European Qualification campaign with Scotland.



And start it we did. We wobbled massively in our first game after the World Cup, drawing 2-2 with Albania, and then followed it up with a disappointing goalless draw against Ecuador. Not the best preparation, as I'm sure you can understand, but as soon as we started our campaign proper, it seemed those slip-ups were all forgotten. We played three qualifiers in 2018, and won all three, scoring seven and conceding none. Granted two of the games were against weaker sides, but historically those are never winnable for Scotland.



Looking at the table, it's clear where the crunch game is going to be. We visit Austria in June 2019, with the draw being the crunch final match at Hampden in October. Hopefully we've wrapped it up by then, but both ourselves and Austria are looking like the group favourites. Two go through from each group, so it's not critical to get top spot, but I don't care - we are good enough to get the top, so that's what we'll do.

On the club side of things, I eventually settled on taking over a new club following the close of the 2018 MLS season...



We're off to Toronto to put Canada on the map...

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Russia       |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 8     | -3    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Colombia     |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Saudi Arabia |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6     | 6     | 0     | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Ireland      |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 4     | -1    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |              |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Argentina    |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 9     | 3     | +6    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Austria      |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 8     | 5     | +3    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | U.S.A.       |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 7     | -4    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | South Africa |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 7     | -5    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |              |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team      |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Scotland  |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 8     | 2     | +6    | 9     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Holland   |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 4     | +1    | 6     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Australia |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 4     | 7     | -3    | 1     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Guinea    |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 9     | -4    | 1     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |           |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Spain       |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 1     | +6    | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Chile       |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 3     | 2     | +1    | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | South Korea |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 5     | 7     | -2    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Denmark     |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 6     | -5    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Belgium |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 1     | +2    | 5     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | France  |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 3     | -1    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Jamaica |       | 3     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 1     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Algeria |       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 2     | -1    | 2     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |         |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | England |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 8     | 3     | +5    | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Brazil  |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 2     | +1    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Japan   |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 4     | -3    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Norway  |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 5     | -3    | 1     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |         |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team              |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Switzerland       |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 0     | +6    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Germany           |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 1     | +5    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Trinidad & Tobago |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 8     | -6    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Gabon             |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 5     | -5    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                   |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Ivory Coast |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 4     | 0     | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Mexico      |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 1     | +2    | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Uruguay     |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 2     | +1    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Greece      |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 4     | 7     | -3    | 1     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Did I expect to win it? No. Did I think there was a chance? God yes.

Put simply, in that Argentina game, we were nowhere near good enough. They went 3-0 up before we even really knew where we were. Cristophe Berra rose highest to get a goal back, but it was one of those games where nothing happens on key highlights just when you want something to. The clock ticked from 70 minutes right to 90 with not one highlight. Argentina shitfested it, knowing they had done enough to win. To be fair to them, we didn't do enough not to get beat, and we fell at the quarter finals - one stage further than the board expected. Before that though, we had some fantastic memories. Chile fell at the second round after a hard-fought 2-1 victory, and we qualified from our group with another 100% record, once again showing Holland that they can have history, but they're still not going to beat us.

I'm so proud of the team, and it took the eventual Champions to stop us, just like it did in the Euros. We now have a qualifying campaign for the next European Championship to look forward to, and a tournament that we have a very, very good chance of winning.

After disappointing in friendlies and then exceeding all expectations in the Confederations Cup, I would have been happy to just qualify with little incident for the World Cup.



And we did, in style.

There were a clear two matches that stood out as important, and that was our home match with Sweden, and our away match in Holland. Both we dominated, producing fantastic performances to get a so important 6 points from them. We kept up the pressure by beating Armenia and Bosnia in our other two games before securing our qualification before a ball was kicked in the final group match. I didn't care what happened there, as long as we stayed unbeaten. I would have liked to have finished with a win, but a 1-1 draw away in Sweden was a very good result, and one which wouldn't change the fact that we were group winners.

We were going to Russia. Tartan Army hooooooooooooooo!

2017 Confederations Cup



Can you believe it? The Confederations Cup usually gives the host nation a chance of a dress rehearsal for the main event the following summer. The Tartan Army will now hope that this is also a dress rehearsal for them.

We started off with a fantastic 1-0 win against Brazil in a match we most definitely deserved to win. Matt Phillips scored the crucial cgoal in the 80th minute, sending the travelling fans into raptures. Brazil didn't exactly have their second string out either, with Neymar, Damaio, Oscar, Lucas, Marcelo and Dede amongst the starters. We certainly put out a statement of intent though.

It was a state of intent that faltered when we only managed a draw against Constant Kings of Oceania New Zealand. It certainly took us down to earth with a bump, but it was something we needed arguably after the euphoria of Brazil. We faced Japan in the final match hoping to win to top the group and give us the best chance in a potential semi. Two extremely late goals gave us the 3-1 win we craved, and suddenly we were two matches away from a title.



Two matches we only went out and won...

Russia probably expected the win in the semis with their partisan home crowd, but after a tense 74 minutes, we scored 3 in the remaining 15 to shock the Lenin Lovers and send us into a final against Japan. We had beaten them before, but it took yet another late, late show to beat them, with veteran Stephen Fletcher scoring in the 84th minute. We contained, we fought, and 10 minutes later the whistle was blown.

We were Confederation Cup Champions. Three out of Fourteen baby!

Apologies, but for this update, I'm going to wind the clocks back to the day I took charge of Scotland.

2016

We arrived mid-way through 2016, just after Scotland had lost in the European Championship Final to Germany (!). We had a tough World Cup Qualifying Group, so we couldn't rest on our laurels.



Well, what a 2016. We started off playing a tough game against Canada, but all restraint was thrown out of the window as the rampant squad spanked them 6-1. Winning ways continued as we beat Armenia in our first competitive match, and then Chinese Taipei in a meaningless friendly. But then came the big one - Holland at Hampden. These were the matches we would need to get something from if we held any hope of getting top spot. Play-offs would be good, but top spot...that would be a dream.

We ended up with a hard-fought 1-1 draw, which suited us very well given how tight the group was ending up. Holland were level with us following this game, and four days later we kept up the pressure with a fantastic 3-0 win in a tricky away tie in Bosnia. We rounded off the year the way we hoped to do in 2018 - winning in Russia. 4-1 was a very good result, as I'm sure you can imagine.

2017

As 2017 rolled around, I was given a nice surprise. Thanks to Germany triumphing in Brazil in 2014, and then again in France in 2016 (against us) we qualified for the Confederations Cup. Normally I would have had no plans of even denting it, let alone winning it, but it's always nice to have the opportunity.



Not with friendly results like these though. Somehow, we conspired to lose to the Faroe Islands - a result which no doubt had the Tartan Army lighting their flaming torches and heading for Johannesburg. We also lost to Kazahkstan, Georgia and Iceland in a year to forget friendly-wise. We did manage to save some face with a win in the Middle East and then in Mexico, but nothing can take away from how poor the rest of the results were.

But that was nothing compared to what was to follow...

Summer finished early for us, as is the way with some of those exotic climates, when the Champions League returned before our domestic season could get under way. We really had one objective, and one alone for this year, and that was to win the Champions League. If we did, that would be polished off by mid-November 2017, leaving me around a six month void. If we win it, and that's by no means certain, then I plan to see out the season and hopefully bring the league title to the club again, and hopefully a few cups. I'll also get a shot at the World Club Championship in December.

But then I'll probably get papped out of the competition and have to start again...

Competitions

South African Super 8 Cup

Results

We improved in the season's first trophy, but still didn't do enough to bring it home. We came a cropper against Swallows, who absolutely brutalised us in the second leg, eventually taking a 6-4 aggregated victory, despite being 2-1 down after the first leg.

I don't think I'll ever win a domestic cup...

South African Knockout Cup

Results

I stand very much corrected! This is much better as we bulldoze our way to the South African Knockout Cup title. It was a tense affair in the final, but we eventually overcame Ajax CT in the final after extra-time with a single goal. The first trophy of my Kaizer Chiefs career, and indeed my South African career. Hopefully, here's to many more.

South African Premiership

Results | Table

Whether or not we win the Champions League this season, we've failed elsewhere. Once more, I can only come in in second place in the league, this time behind the Dutchmen of South Africa, Ajax CT. Once again, we didn't deserve to be much higher, and it seems this team just can't bring themselves to be successful domestically apart from that solitary cup win. Bunch of sell-outs. Once again though, if results against Ajax had gone our way, instead of two draws, we may have been looking at a different result. We choked though, as usual. The question is, though, would we get another shot at it, or would the Champions League dream come true?

South African Cup

Results

We couldn't do a domestic double in the end, going down on penalties after a dull, drab, awful, painful, horrific (I could keep going) 0-0 draw in the final. It was Aces High (I could write for the Sun if i hated myself enough) as they triumphed 5-4, but I wasn't too disheartened. We may have lost the league, but there was something else brewing in Kaizer town...

African Champions League

Group Stage

Results | Table

We put the horror of that near-elimination in the qualifiers behind us and strolled through the group stages with a perfect record. We didn't really have it all our own way though. There were a few pretty hairy games. The two games against ASEC were predictably close, but we triumphed 3-2 home and away. Africa Sports were supposed to be the weakest team in the group, but that 5-4 win away was a nightmare, and we ended up lucky to get out of that with the points. We rounded things off with six points against Zamalek, not conceding home or away. Proud of the team, and that puts us in the best possible position going into the two legged semi.

Semi Finals

Results

Ooh, nervy. We faced Etoile Sportive du Sahel, who are one of the teams I actually know the name of, and came through it with the smallest of margins. We literally battled to a 2-2 draw away, and probably could and should have won outright. However, we were pegged back, and things were finely poised going back to Johannesburg.

What followed was the tensest game I've had so far in this save. Try as we might, we just could not score, but luckily neither could they. We ended up scraping through on away goals, but that didn't matter. The main thing was that we made it.

Finals

We were drawn against ASEC Mimosas in the final, and that was a draw I liked a lot. We had already beaten them twice that season, and with the tie set to close in Johannesburg in the 2nd leg, we knew that one good win in the Ivory Coast would put us in a great position.

African Champions League Final 1st Leg: ASEC 0 - 4 Kaizer Chiefs

There's a saying in my country...

ROUND YE'!

We absolutely blitzed ASEC, and barely let them out of their blocks, leaving them staring down the barrel of a 4-0 deficit going into the second leg. Strangely, it took until the 44th minute to break the deadlock, but from then on we didn't look back. The stats were fairly even, but only one really matters - we scored four more goals.

The second leg therefore SHOULD have been a foregone conclusion. Not even I can **** this up, right?

African Champions League Final 2nd Leg: Kaizer Chiefs 1 - 0 ASEC

Right! I've got to say, there was a feeling of unease during this game, and something that suggested we might not have it all our own way. Thanks to ludicrous scheduling, pretty much all our best players were off on International Duty, leaving us with a threadbare side. Lucky we didn't quite need them, eventually winning an unremarkable match 1-0.

You hear that? We're Champions of Africa, and I make that 2 out of 14. Boom.

World Club Championships

Thanks to that win, we now had a place in the World Club Championships to see who would get the honour of being beasted by the European side in the final.

Results

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be us, and we fell at the semi-final stage to the Copa Libertadores winners C Cerro Porteno (yup, really) of Paraguay (yes. Really.). They outclassed us, but we did Africa proud in the 3rd placed playoff, beating Saitama of Japan comfortably. And of course, as you can see, we sneaked past Chivas of Mexico in the first round, which was no mean feat.

The Future

So with that fantastic season behind me, it was time to leave Johannesburg for pastures new. I would say I enjoyed my time in Africa, but to tell the truth I didn't. In FM12, I hated my time in both Asia and Africa, but can't really put my finger on why. I never really got into managing sides there, and FM13 has been no different. Bidvest Wits were too poor for my "talent" and Kaizer Chiefs were just missing...something. Not quite sure what, but whatever it was, I turned out not to need it. I leave the club with its trophy cabinets topped up, winner their first Champions League and African Super Cup trophies (the latter was a one-off game, like the UEFA Super cup. We won it, but it was too boring to give an update). Also, despite doing my usual and almost leading the club to financial ruin, my cutting spending in my second season seems to have steadied the ship, and we're projected to make only a modest loss next season. I make that progress.

But now, on I go. It's World Cup 2018 time, and my Scottish side need a manager...

Been pretty busy recently, so it's time for 2 seasons of bumper double updates from Kaizer Chiefs and then Scotland in another post.

Season 2016/17

Competitions

South African Super 8 Cup

Results

Hardly the greatest start to my tenure as Kaizer Chiefs boss. I had only left Bidvest Wits a few months earlier, so for them to beat us in my first competitive game was not what I had planned. They battered us too, suggesting that maybe I was wrong to leave them so soon. Tough times.

South African Knockout Cup

Results

Again, I'm not exactly setting the world alight here, am I? Another first hurdle defeat, this time to Supersport United, with legendary South African Siphile Tshabalala the only bright spot. Lucky I don't particularly care about these ancillary competitions, isn't it?

South African Cup

Results

We got one stage further, but the end result was the same. Our ageing squad ended up running out of steam in extra time against my old pals Sundowns, meaning that we would be without a cup trophy this season. I'm really selling myself to this board, amen't I?

South African Premiership

Results | Table

Here it is, my bread and butter. Unfortunately, that bread was slightly mouldy. However, we did just enough, and grabbed a qualification spot for the 2018 Champions League if we needed it, which we probably would if this season's form was anything to go by. The season really came down to one match, against eventual Champions Orlando Pirates. As you can see, we lost 3-2. As you can also see, we ended up four points behind them after they eased off. Who knows what would have happened if we beat them, but what I do know is that that would have given a six point swing, and we might have been champions. Shoulda, woulda, coulda really. Apart from that, our season was really derailed by a run of five draws early on, preceded by a defeat at Tuks. We dropped 13 points in those six games, and if we'd converted some of those bitterly disappointing results into wins, we would've been a lot closer. There was also of course our 15 day collapse in January where we only scored 3 goals in 5 games, netting only 2 points, but afterwards our form really picked up, and we clawed our way back up there. 2nd is a great achievement when you take it in isolation.

African Champions League

Results

Well, we've done the "hard" bit. The way the African Champions League is structured, you usually have to go through three qualifying rounds before you get a sniff of the group phase. Luckily, we negotiated them without too much trouble. Anse Reunion were brushed aside after a fantastic away performance (and then a worryingly leaky home performance) with Vita Club going in the same direction but with opposite results. By the time ES Serif arrived for the second leg of our 3rd round battle, we had begun to feel like we were going to stroll into the next round.

How wrong we were.

It took a very, very last minute goal to secure a second leg draw, and stop Serif winning the tie on away goals. Nicolas Sebeko got the goal, the player who has done nothing but moan since he arrived at the club, but who will have a bright future once he gets some games under his belt. I've got to say, it was looking very likely that we would be going home for large periods of that game. Luckily though, we didn't falter, and now we were in the group stage, which also doubles as the last eight, given there are only two groups. A potential 10 matches from the title, and ASEC, Zamalek and Africa Sports will stand in our way. Bring 'em on.

My job hunting wasn't exactly over though. No sooner had I begun looking for coaches to help guide me to Qatar, a club job I had applied for a while earlier finally came back to me.

Kaizer Chiefs are a big deal in South Africa, that's undeniable, and their offer was one that really appealed. I mean look at it - all that money after being starved at Bidvest. It wasn't my chosen destination, but it would certainly do in the meantime, so I absolutely snapped it up.



Unfortunately though, any chance of a long pre-season to mould the team in my image went out of the window with only one week until our opening game. I rushed through some signings to try and improve the team (emphasis on the rush), so here's an overview...

Transfers

Out

The outbox is mainly uncontroversial, apart from the one signing that was decided before I arrived. Eric Mathoho would never have been allowed to leave if I had my way, being comfortably the best defender in an inexperienced back-line. However, you can't really sniff at 2 million, and like I say, I had absolutely no say in the deal. The rest were all pretty uninspiring, with a few squad players being let go.

In

Erwin Isaacs - Another deal carried out before I arrived, but I certainly won't turn him down.
Tinashe Nengomasha - A player I brought in from my old club for probably way over the odds. I wanted some steel and experience in my midfield though, so Tinashe will provide us with that. His mental stats are fantastic, so hopefully he can be a good addition. Just don't ask him to run anywhere.
Asive Langwe - Another buy from Bidvest, and this one had more of an air of panic about it. I thought I needed some central midfielders as other deals didn't go our way, so Asive was brought in. He can be a backup on the right.
Toriq Losper - Another signing, and another midfielder. This one is more defensively minded, and has better stats for playing in the middle which we need.
Nicholas Sibeko - Now this is the one I wanted. The others were purchased because Nicholas did not want to join the club, but after some gentle coaxing, as well as telling his manager he was an absolute cretin who didn't deserve a player like that (pretty much, a nice new interaction option), he changed his mind and decided to join us. He's already the best midfielder at the club, and at 18 he'll improve massively. 2 million may be a high price, but I think I'll get way more back if we ever sell him.

Here's the team report following all these signings. We look strong everywhere but in defence, so I'm happy enough with how it's gone.

Season Preview

Board Expectations
South African Premiership - Win it
African Champions League - Reach the Group Stage
Super 8 Cup - Not Important
FA Cup - Not Important
League Cup - Not Important

My Expectations
South African Premiership - Win it
African Champions League - Reach the knockouts and then see what happens
Super 8 Cup - Enjoy it, but not really important
FA Cup - Enjoy it, but not really important
League Cup - Enjoy it, but not really important

Finances

Hmm...this is looking ominous. We have a healthy balance certainly, but we are projected to lose 7 million pounds this season. At that rate, in four seasons we'll be in the red. It's Bidvest all over again, albeit on a larger scale.

So, Scotland. If you don't believe that this motley crew of awful Scottish footballers really got to a major tournament, let alone a final, here's the proof. They really should have actually won it to be honest - it was a fantastic performance by the side, and something I hope to build on for the World Cup Qualifying. I will take my place in Qatar.

Here's a rundown of the situation in the nation as I speak. We're now 18th in the World, which is madness, but even more mad is that Christophe Berra is the most famous player in the country. Wit?!

Talking of World Cup Qualifying, here's the group we will face. I'm actually very happy with it, but it could go several ways. Holland are not the team they once were, and are only a few places ahead of us in the rankings. Sweden are only a few below us. One worry may be that we don't really have a diddy team in the group - Armenia will be the weakest, but there's no Faroe Islands or Liechenstein in there. We should be able to get second, which is what the SFA want, so here's hoping.

We ended up having a friendly against Canada only a couple of weeks after I joined, so this would be a time to take stock and see where we are as a team. Just a calm, run-of-the-mill friendly.

A run-of-the-mill friendly we absolutely dominated. We could've done better actually, as when the subs came in at half-time, we lost a bit of our rhythm. I'm under no illusions, of course, I'm well aware that we will face much tougher sides than Canada in our quest for qualification, but it's a fantastic start to my career.

So I found myself unemployed for the first time since my short break before the Bidvest job. Got to say, this is actually one of my most favourite parts of the game - the excitement of trying to find that perfect job. Thanks to my exploits in Australia and, strangely enough, my "achievements" in South Africa, I was a wanted man. To be honest though, I really wanted a job in the MLS. In a similar way to my FM12 game, I had fallen out of love with South Africa, and fancied a change before going back to it later.

I was still searching for the perfect club job when this happened upon my inbox.



Craig Levein, one time pride of Scotland, later social pariah, had finally relinquished his icy grip on the Scotland manager's post after a remarkable run to the final of Euro 2016 where they were beaten in extra time by Germany. I know, I can't believe it either. However, he'd had enough, clearly thinking he could never be as lucky again. I also thought I couldn't be so lucky, but fired in an application anyway.

All I can say is thank God for national bias...



I was Scotland manager once again, and this time I am determined to get at least one International Competition crossed off with the mighty Tartan Army at my back. Alba gu brath.

We finished off our season with some pretty changable results. We couldn't string more than two wins together before dropping some more points, but we did have a markedly better second half of the season, granted. Prince Arko was a high point though - his performances got him nine goals in this period, including a fantastic hat-trick against Black Leopards. As one of my signings, I'm quite happy with that.



So we found ourselves the very epitome of mid-table, finishing in 8th. It's sad that that can be considered an achievement, but our first half really was dreadful. A distance three points behind Blackburn in 7th, and a massive twenty-five off the top spot. In the end though, I was just going through the motions.

The board were happy with the season, but I wasn't. I wasn't enjoying the club, and by the looks of our finances I couldn't see that changing in the next season. There was only one choice to make.

Reserved post - here I'll be keeping track of anyone who undertakes this challenge, along with their relative scores (if I can be arsed)

forameus - Story Link
Trophies Won - 1/14
Achievements - 1/47
Points - 100