bigmattb28 - Comments

Kedah season 2021 update

I'm quietly confident. Like actually really, REALLY confident. Why? Well the players we've got are good, they all on board and full of morale, they're picking up my 352 tactic and are nearly fully familiar with it. Plus we go into the Champions league with nothing to lose. I'm going into every game with the intention to win this season. I will win something else with Kedah. The relegation with Selangor is still fresh in my mind, and they're back in the Super League and will be looking to impress but I back my boys no matter what. We are Kedah, and we've got no fear!!

The season starts off early for us as we have the small matter of the champions League qualifying rounds. As we won the cup we got into the competition at this stage. I think we've got a good chance of getting through.







We kick off my maiden Champions League campaign with a tie against Vietnamese opposition Thanh Hoa with the next round already being drawn and the winners getting a massive test against South Korean team Seongnam.

We're not here simply to make up the numbers and I tell the team to go all out with nothing to lose. In the end it was a comfortable win for us





This next game will be more of a test. Seongnam are quite a considerably bigger club than us. They've won the Korean league as recently as 2019 (2 seasons ago) and they'll be expecting an easy passage into the group stages. Well we're Kedah FA and we've got a point to prove. All out attack, high defensive line and no fear is how we're setting up.

The game arrives and we take it to them. Then they take it to us. Then we repay the favour. This continues all game as we just about scraped an absolute thriller 4 - 5 with a late 87th minute goal. That means we're only in the bloody group stages!!!



The draw for the group hasn't been kind as we're drawn against 3 top teams, Perth Glory the current A League champions, Huanghai who are actually in the Chinese first division and Sanfreece Hiroshima. Most Japanese teams are full of quality so we're gonna have to play well and get a bit of luck if we're to progress. As I already said, I'm confident and optimistic.



Back to league action and the start of the season coming, we're expected to finish 6th despite a cup win and 3rd place finish last season.



Our first 2 games bring us big wins against Pahang and Penang to take us to 1st in the table after 2 games. After this it's the draw for the cup and would you believe it we're drawn against our biggest rivals and my former club Perlis, again!







Obviously in the build up to the Perlis game I get questioned about my time there.





The game arrives and we take an early lead before letting them equalise shortly after. we take the initiative and go in at half time leading. Second half was pretty much us dominating and doing everything but scoring again. We manage to see the game out as they had a man sent off and the result was never really in doubt. another victory for me over a previous club. Thanks to that win we get a draw against another lower league team in Sungai Ara, a game we should dominate and win.





Before the domestic cup game though we have our first Champions League group game against Hunghai of China.



I tell the boys to have no fear and to play thier natural game. This pays off as we dominate this team from start to finish. 5-0 flattered them really it could've been more! An epic perfomrance and we're looking good.



Back to league action and we got a draw against Felda. Not a lot to say on this really, we didn't deserve to win but neither did they. 1 all was a fair result



Back to the Champions League and the game against Japanese team Sanfreece Hiroshima



A massive point this. We were expected to get battered and came away with a big result! We're unbeaten so far in the Champions League and playing with confidence. This is going to be a good season, I hope!



It was the cu game next and we absolutely took the p*ss here, 8-0! The difference in quality between the teams was frightening!



The draw for the cup gets us games against Johor. Hopefully this good form we're in will see us through



Before we get back to Champions League action we played out a dull 0-0 draw against Kuala Lumpur. Nothing more to say really, we were poor.




Now a massive test for us, Perth Glory are in town so we've gotta be on our A game to get anything from this match



So normally I'd be backing my team no matter what, but as you can see from my team sheet 4 first teamers are suspended so we've got to try and control the game



We do actually start well and take the lead. They get straight back into the game though and have equalised before long. I think maybe we can hold on and get them on the break, NOPE! They dominate every area of the game and run out 4-1 winners. We've got a lot of hard work ahead to get out of this group.



Now we're back in domestic cup action with an away frist leg at Johor. A win here would put us in good stead for the return game. We didn't start well and ended uo beign 4 downa t 1 point. Managed to get it to 4-2 before half time and finishing the game 4-3. We're at least only 1 goal down going into the retunr leg at home. Nothing new for us as we've lost every first leg quarter or semi final we've been in during my time in Kedah



So the return leg is here and we have to win by 2 clear goals to go through, or 1 goal to take it to extra time. All out attack and route 1 football gives us a nice 2 goal lead within 15 minutes before conceding to make it 2-1. We take it to Johor and run out 3-1 winners meaning we go through 6-5 on aggregate.



The draw for the cup has us drawn against Terengganu, another game i'm confident of winning



We move on to my 200th game in management which is a home game against Kelantan



Which we lost, of course we bloody did!



Game number 3 of our Champions League season against Huanhai. Can we get a repeat of the result in our opening game....



You're damn right we can!!!



To bring a nice close to this update is a resounding 4-0 away win in the semi final first leg game to Terengganu. I can't see them getting back into this and we've got 1 foot in the final.



So that brings us part way through the season and we're looking good. I've had a good feeling about this season from the off with the players we've signed and am confident we can retain the cup should this form continue.

As always thanks for reading!!

'What would you do?' I asked.

'Well, we're in the Champions League boss, we won a cup and really the fans and board are on your side' my assistant Mohd Fauzie replied

'I know that, I just don't know if we're going to get anywhere in the Champions League, I mean this squad was literally the most inconsistent squad I've managed. Plus only a handful are willing to agree new contracts as it is'

'So? You're the manager, MAKE them consistent. Sign new players and build a team capable of competing. You've won enough things up to now so you know what you're doing'

'Yeah you're right Mohd. I've got some targets in mind already, and I think they'll join. We're in the Champions League, we're bound to be able to attract some decent players. Right first things first, I'm telling the board I'm here to stay'

Kedah 2021 season preview

Right now that's out of the way I can concentrate on building a team capable of competing in the Champions League. I had a half decent run in confederations cup with Perlis and I want a decent showing with Kedah in the champions league. My hand was forced last season in playing a 442 as we had no quality out wide, so my focus is going to be on trimming the squad and wage bills whilst bringing in wide players.

First up I go back to players I've managed before. Dawson D'Souza was unhappy at Pahang so naturally I go in for him. Kind of think I've overpaid here but as I need quality on the wings I;m prepared to pay. Next up was Zeus Arcos who was also with me at Perlis. He's been released by Pachuca and has improved slightly since playing for me and as we've no left midfielders he's going straight into the team. Fans seem happy enough with these 2 signings









Next up I'm thinking rotation options for these 2 and go looking for bargains..With that in mind we secure 2 free transfers. Ang Zhiwie from DPMM in Singapore and Kumaahran from Johor both on free transfers. Fans are content with these 2 and I think with these 4 out wide we've got a good chance to create things from the wing.







Finally I want to sign a center half. Again I look for a free transfer and Kenny Pallraj from my old team Selangor is brought in. He's got quality in a key area for me and I think he will impress ass I look to go back to 352 formation.







My strike force of Rosdin & Trye has gone as Rosdin won't sign for me despite me agreeing a fee with Johor. After looking at Johor he's not even in the first team there despite being our player of the year. I'll keep an eye on him but in the mean time my other main striker Darren Lok has signed an extension to ward off interest from Johor coincidentally.



In terms of outgoings quite a few back up players and guys that didn't play much have gone on free transfers. Biggest outgoing was Miro Fontenelle to Perak for 36.5k! Couldn't say no to this as they have overpaid and I had too many foreigners in the team. I'm disappointed to see him leave but as I;m going to be playing more wide players even if he did stay his time would be limited.





Last thing to point out is this guy sitting in the reserves. I hadn't even noticed him there until an inbox from the coaches saying he's improved drastically. Stats aren't the best but I think if he plays in the cups and comes on lat in games he may improve, definitely 1 to watch out for,



That's it for this update. My aims for this season are simple, give the Champions League a real good go and try to be competitive in the domestic cups. The league looks stronger this year as Selangor are back and Johor have made some big moves. Am I optimistic, yes. Am I excited at playing in my first Champions League campaign? You're damn right!

Thanks for reading!

So following on from my season review above I wanted to post our end of season awards.

First up was the goal of the season that was awarded to youngster Ashok Youwarasan with a nice long range effort against Perlis. I don't agree with the fans on this at all. Firstly we've scored many batter than this this season, in fact a free kick in the SAME GAME was way better than this, but who am I to argue with the fans!

https://youtu.be/28Xo9KaKTew

Next up, player & young player of the season winner is Mohd Arif Tony Rosdin. Totally agree on this, he was signed on loan from Johor DT and banged in 12 goals to tie with the fans signing of the season Alieu Trey who again was signed prior to my joining.







Next award actually goes to Kedah as a whole as we win the club of the year award. I don't think this is anything other than cosmetic, I doubt it increases rep or anything and certainly doesn't go on my own achievements page, still nice little nod to our good season.

In preparation for the next season and to see where I'll be, I've tried to make some signings. Firstly I've tried to get Rosdin in permanently but Johor are pricing him out of a move, no surprise really as he's clearly got some skill and should go straight into their first team next season. Next I've tried to get some players contracts tied up but most of them are not interested or want too much money. Not a lot I can do here really but try and negotiate them down but it's not looking good.

Anyway I'm going to consider all aspects of the club, the expectations and decide what I'm going to do, whether to stay or leave. I've got a lot to think about, will I stay or will I go.....

Kedah 202 season review

This season has just flown by. It seemed like only yesterday I signed for Kedah and here I am discussing the season and thinking about the future.

Malaysian Super League

Our league campaign the last 6 months have been full of ups and downs. We kicked off this period with a good 3 - 0 away win over Kuala Lumpur, with back to back losses against Sarawak and Penang before smashing Melaka 5-0, which was the start of a 3 game winning streak with 3-1 wins over Perak and Terengganu. A 3-0 nil loss to Johor was our last defeat of the season as we went on a run of 3 wins and a draw to close out our league campaign. The highlights of this period definitely the 5-0 over Melaka, and the 3-1 away win over Terengganu





We beat my old team Perlis 0-1 which just about confirmed their relegation. They sacked the manager after this game too





Wins against Felda and Kelantan sandwiched a draw against league leaders at the time Pahang closed out our season. I can't complain it's been a good season really.



Piala Malaysia 2020

During the league season was the Malaysian league cup. We were drawn in Group C alongside ATM, Penang & Police FA. We started the cup with an away loss to ATM who are in the league below. We managed to improve slightly with a 5-0 away win over Penang. Back to back losses to Police FA & ATM really put a dent on our hopes of qualifying. 2 big wins in the last 2 games over Penang & Police made sure we went through in second place.



We got drawn against Johor DT in the next round. The first leg was what I considered a good result, 1 all draw. The return leg saw us go all out and manage a well earned 2-2 away draw. We did however end up losing this tie on penalties. I can;t complain really they were the better team over 2 legs despite us drawing both games. No double cup success for me this season.





So we finished the season in third and won the FA cup whilst getting to the quarters of the league cup. This should be considered a good season for Kedah. I feel bad for Perlis as they've got relegated in their first season since I left but Selangor got promoted back. I will see what happens in the close season as I told the team we should be challenging for the title and they all disagreed, how can I try and compete if the full squad think's they aren't good enough? There's a couple of interesting clubs who's manager's job status is insecure and there's a few jobs already available, the ones catching my eye are clubs in Qatar and South Africa. We'll see how I get on in the coming weeks, but whilst I've maintained that this was always a 1 and done season for me here at Kedah I won't rule out staying for another season should I feel good about it.

Thanks for reading!

Kedah 2020 season update

So building on that 7-1 victory over Penang we move onto the cup game against Police FA. Nearly, very nearly a repeat of the Penang scoreline but we conceded another goal, still 7-2 against a lower placed team in the cup is a good result



As a result of progressing we get drawn against Felda in the quarter final



Before the quarter final first leg we had a game against Melaka. Not much to say really, we just about edged the game but conceded more, 3-1. We must play better in the next game in the cup



We didn't and ended up losing the first leg to Felda 2-1. We have to go all out in the second leg to stand any chance of going through.



Which we did, absolutely thumping them 4-0 to send us through to the semi final. We went all out attack in this one and it showed. Good performance, excellent result!



So what's our reward for getting past Felda.......



You couldn't write this! A big semi final against the team I relegated, my previous club. This has fireworks written all over it. I'm praying for a good performance against Selangor. how did we get on? Well we got smashed, badly. 3-0 flattered Selangor, we've got it all to do in the second leg.



The second leg was much of the same from the second leg against Felda. We went all out attack, route 1 football and we absolutely thumped them. All the goals were well taken especially the diving header. After that surely Selangor know what they're missing in not having me as manager? Well we're in the final.



https://youtu.be/GmwbCZL3fGA



But before we get the final we've got league games against Perak, Terrengganu and Felda. A win against either would work wonders for us and put us in good form as well. But it wasn't meant to be against Perak and we faded away going down 2-1 but managed to a big win against Felda and a disappointing hammering against Terrengganu









So here we are the final of the Malaysian cup against Johor. It's Kedah's first final since 2008 which they won, can I do the same?



We set up with the intention of taking it to Johor, I've won this cup with Perlis and I want to win it again! We may have won 2 nil but it wasn't plain sailing. Johor looked threatening and we responded well to going a man down. We absolutely dominated shots and deserved this win. Another trophy for myself, and Kedah are in the Asian Champions League next season!









After this cup win we've got the small matter of the league game against our biggest rivals Perlis, my former team. We need to make sure we press on from this cup win and take it to Perlis. A loss against them would be catastrophic.

Well we did the job, We took it to them. Perlis destroyed my Selangor team last season, my Kedah team repaid the favour!



Next up were games against Johor, Pahang and Kelantan to round off the last 3 months of this career. We lost to Johor without much of a fight, just narrowly lost to Pahang and got a deserved away win over Kelantan.







That does it up until June 2020. We seem to win a couple, lose a couple, win again lose again and so on. There's no consistency at all but leaves us 5th after 11 games. Definitely something we need to work on but I'm happy at the minute after the cup win.





I had seen this chap sitting in the reserves, the previous manager bought him and my god he's good! He's a starter for me and scoring goals



Also the club had singed Salim on loan from Johor who has been a good back up for me, nothing special just does what he does.



As always thanks for reading. Next update will be who we get drawn in the groups in the league cup and the run in towards the end of the season.

Kedah 2020 update

Here we go then. I'm starting in a new job, albeit 1 I never thought I'd be in but here we are. I look around the team and there's some quality here already. A good looking strike force, an improved defence but there's something missing, some creative spark and a bit of industrial steel in midfield yeah that's what's missing.

First up I'm bringing in another familiar face, Veenod who I had at Perlis performed well for me despite his stats screaming back up player. I'm thinking we're gonna need to be hard to break down, and there's not any decent wide players here so winning the midfield battle is going to be key for us. Next up another familiar face. I had to break the bank for this 1. Someone I've relied on at Perlis and Selangor. Someone who wants to leave Selangor. When I've needed a creative spark, when I needed someone to ping a ball into the box, I turned to Fontenelle, so once again I'm turning to him and this time, I'm spending just about every penny I've got for him.









This will be the first full season Fontenelle will play for me so I'm expecting big things. There was already Rosdin singed on loan from Johor prior to me joining and he looks decent enough



Pre season brought with it a couple of wins against smaller nearby teams. Season preview has us looking at around 5th, this is despite the club finishing 4th last season. Howver 5th gives us a good platform and anything better than 5th will likley be seen as over achieving.



Our first game of the season Kuala Lumpur was shown on TV and I'm expecting to get off to a good start. No excuses, no fear! This is going to be a good season, I hope!











We start off well and press forward straight away and get a free kick on the edge of the box. Me being the good manager I am (!) totally forgetting to assign free kick takers but up steps the young lad Youwarasan with a free kick taking of 8 absolutely buries the free kick home, 1 nil!! we controlled the game and got 2 penalties for our troubles which Darren Lok confidently buried home. Looking good until we gave away a sloppy penalty in the 65 minute which our keeper saved. We win a great game with a good scoreline.







All 3 goals here:-

https://youtu.be/7sLcyF-i_eg

Next up was Sarawak away. Not going into detail on this 1, we were crap, 2 goals flattered us really and I let the team know exactly how I felt.



Next up was the cup game and we rightly dominated the game against the lower placed Sungai Ara and won comfortably 2 nil. Next up in the cup are Police FA and we will look to win that too





Last game for February had us against another of our rivals Penang. A game I really could do with winning to get the fans on side





We start with the intention of winning and within 10 minutes we're 2 up. GAME ON! But they get 1 back straight from the kick off which just nicked the post on the way in, lucky I thought. I consider changing it up but nah sod it, we can get a few goals here today and we get another 2 before half time, this cold be a cricket score! We add another 3 and finish the game 7 -1, just the type of result I need to get the fans on side and something to build on.



We finish my first competitive month in charge, and apart from the 1 bad result it's been good, definitely something to build on. As there's no decent wide players I've had to use an unconventional 442 formation which has been okay really.








Aims for this season for me to give the cups a good go, I feel we could go far. Initially I only intend to stay at Kedah for 1 season, this is a 1 and done deal, that may change if I manage to win something, we'll see. Next update I'll go through how we get on in March and I've noticed a player in our reserve team that's actually quite good.....

Thanks for reading!

Journeyman saves are the best type of saves man!! Get something typed up I'll be following! Good luck!

You not carrying this on mate? Good read so far.

If you can't beat them, well, join them!

A hectic couple of weeks that. First I decided i was going to take it easy and take some time away from managing, you know recharge the ol' batteries and wait for the right opportunity to present itself, but within 3 weeks of me leaving Selangor I got a phone call.

'Hello?'

'Hi, is this Sergio Camacho?'

'Depends who's calling'

'Well it's Jeffrey Low, I am the President for Kedah football club, now just wait before you say anything hear me out'

I'm intrigued, why oh why would the president of Kedah, 1 of my previous clubs biggest rivals be calling me?

'I'm all ears'

'Well, not sure if you know but our first team manager has left recently, and you're out of work, you know what I'm saying?'

'Apart from stating the obvious, no I don't'

'Okay look, I know you've done well at that team who play in yellow, not that they beat us the last 3 times we played, anyway look I need a manager, I need someone to come in and sort my team out, we've not done too bad really, finishing fourth last year but we've not won anything since 2008, that treble winning season we had'

'Okay so what does all this have to do with me'

'Sergio, look don't make me spell it out for you. You're an out of work manager, I don't have a manager I think we could achieve great things together'

'I'm not sure, I am still very well liked in Perlis, I pissed off the KEdah fans every time we played you lot, oh and don't forget I just took a team down for Gods sake, why me, why do you think I'd do any good?'

'Look, you're record speaks for itself. You're a winner, you win cups, you take teams from nothingness to relevance, we need someone like you Sergio, and look don't worry about the fans, once you get your feet under the table and win a few games they'll be onside'

'I left Perlis for a much bigger job and failed, I couldn't keep a team full of great players in the division, why do you think I'd do any better at your club?'

'To hell with Selangor, with them out the league it gives us a better chance of progression. Sergio, I won't wait around forever, I want you at my club, I give you my full backing, and just think players will think you've gone to your previous clubs biggest rivals and that takes some balls. I'll say it once and once only, Sergio please be our new manager....

That was that, I hung up the phone and packed my bag.I was heading back North, back to a part of Malaysia I know well, not quite as far North as Perlis but still it was nearby. What were the Kedah fans going to think of me, Perlis most successful manager in recent memory, a manager that actually hasn't beat Kedah in my last 4 games, a manager that had the opportunity to build something at Selangor and absolutely stuffed it? Well there was only 1 way to find out......



















So here we are, a place I didn't ever think I'd be. Firstly due to my history, affiliation and success with Perlis I thought this day would never come, and secondly after getting the chance at a big club with Selangor I blew it, I am genuinely surprised to get another opportunity so quickly. Learning from my mistakes I am going to concentrate on sorting the defence out. An old trusted player has been signed, an unproved up and comer and an experience head are all coming in to hopefully shore up the back line.









I've signed Nick Swirad not to annoy the Perlis fans, not to get 1 over them or try to get our fans onside, I've signed him as I think he's going to do well for me. Norsam is going be be my back up option from the bench or to fit in around injuries and suspensions. Costa is also going to play back up, I've mainly signed him for his height, maybe he can improve who knows? I don't yet see myself committing to Kedah in the long term, I want to win and I want to win NOW! I have a reputation to keep, well rebuild really, the first thing they Kedah chairman asked me about was the relegation, hopefully people will remember the cups I've won not to mention taking Perlis up as champions.

End of 2019 season update

As I sit there contemplating, there's a knock at the door. 'come in' I say loudly. It's Miro Fontenelle, a young player I just signed. Ambitious, driven and outspoken, he's got all the attributes to be a top player. in many ways he already is

'Miro, how are you son?'

'Terrible boss'

'What's on your mind?'

'I'll cut to the chase, out of respect for you I'm here to say I want to leave, I can't play in the second division I'm too good for that league. I came here after the damage was done, the other players that were here before me relegated this club, not me'

'Okay Miro, thanks for your honesty and I sympathise with you, but look how about sticking it out for at least this season, we're going to go straight back up I know we are. Plus as a promise I'll build the team around you, you'll be my main guy, the first name on the team sheet, next season we'll be challenging for trophies trust me!'

'I can't wait that long boss, I need to be competing now so I'll say it again, I want a transfer away'

'Okay I can see I'm not going to change your mind, would a payrise tempt you to stay?'

'I can't believe you think throwing money at me will change my desire'

'Okay I'm sorry I insulted you. Anyway as far as I know there are no teams even interested in you yet? You're under contract here so get used to it, I'm sorry I can't put the desires of 1 individual over the team'

'You've not heard the last of this' he says as he storms out. Great, just what I need. My job is already insecure and now someone who I thought I could rely on he turned against me. Literally minutes earlier I was about to head downstairs and start figuring out what players I would actively shop and try to move on, as well as seeing what players I can find that will join Selangor even though they are in the second division they're still a big name club, but after this chat with Miro, as well as the other 5 players that have pretty much said the same thing, I think I know what I'm going to do.







After doing the usual interviews with the press after leaving I think I'll wait for the right opportunity to come up. I don't think any teams battling relegation will want me, I couldn't keep a big club from going down so what chance will I have of keeping any other up? I think I may have to think low, not lower leagues low but maybe a lower to mid table team somewhere depending on what's about job wise. I think to myself I'm in no rush really, this relegation has totally taken the wind out of me. If and when I get another job I think I might drop Operation Icarus, maybe that was the reason we went down? Am I just looking for excuses? We'll see. I think I'll wait for a team to come to me, I'll only put myself out there and apply for somewhere if I truly beleive in the project., time heals all wounds, let's wait and see what comes up.....

Thanks for readin. Next update will be about what jobs are out there and how long I wait to get another!

Could the unthinkable happen? Is this the end? It will be massive in Malaysia if Selangor go down. I can't let that happen, we've got the quality to beat Kedah, they are a poor team in Perlis's shadow, I haven't beat them in 3 games, that's got to change today! This club looked good in parts since I took over. Many times I thought we were too good to go down. The players here are too good to go down.



We go into the game against Kedah with the intention to attack and win the game. We need to win to be sure of survival and to not rely on Kuala Lumpur winning. We take it to them form kick off but it's back to the same old story, play well and look good just to concede first. 1 nil after 6 minutes. So we go all out attack to try and get the equaliser. Obviously we're leaving massive gaps behind and they catch us on the break to make it 2 nil. Heartbreaking stuff this. It's not like we're even playing badly we've done well so far just been unlucky. I've got to keep the faith and confidence we can do this. We start the second half on top just like we started the first, we do get a goal on 57 minutes which I think, well hope will spur us on to get an equaliser. Another goal does come, but not for us. they catch us again on the break and bury a low cross into the box. 65 minutes in and I already know what's happening. this game is over. This season is over. We're going out of the Super League for the first time since 2005. I can't believe it. I left a solid team in Perlis to come here with the hope of building for something and competing for titles. I've got to look at everything, myself, this team, the players.





I'm genuinely distraught. The club is too big for this, the players are too good for this. Is it me, was I the right man at the wrong time? Was I the wrong man at the right time? I need to think do I want to spend a season in the second division and hope we get promoted first time and then hope I can build on that in a years time? I've already got 6 players saying they want to leave because of this relegation. They're the ones that got the club into this mess and now they want to leave?!?








The players go on leave now for a few weeks. I need to think about this long and hard. We're bound to be favourites to go back up. Even if the majority of these players demand moves away and we will have to cut the wage bill quite a bit. There will be a lot of movement within the squad if I stay. If I leave will that look bad on my part? I have a big decision to make. I leave to think it over. I'll give myself a week or so to decide, once I make my mind up there's no turning back.....

As always to those reading this thank you and stay tuned for my decision!

We've got to be confident. We've got enough quality in the team to get clear of relegation. We've got ourselves a decent cushion to fall back on in terms of points over the teams below us. If nothing else we're bloody Selangor FA for God's sake! We're too good, too big to go down! Not only that, I'm Sergio Camacho, and I'M too good to get relegated!

We start September with the first leg of the cup quarter final against Sarawak. They dominated this game, they wanted it more, the deserved it more. We can't complain, if anything else we need to concentrate on the league over the cup. This loss gave me no feeling either way, we lost so what, we can concentrate on the league games.



This next game against Kuala Lumpur is a must win. They're propping the league, in bad form and a team lost of confidence. This will be a walk in the park and i expect nothing but a win from this game, i tell the lads as much in the pre game team talk.







We start off well. We look like the team that will get something out of the game. We edge the first half and go in at 0-0. I tell the team to press on and get the victory. We didn't create any clear cut chances though as all the efforts were well held by their keeper. then it happened. We gave away a silly free kick on the edge of the box.

I knew what was coming.

I knew exactly what was going to happen. Against the run of play and really all our own doing giving away a stupid free kick in a dangerous place. Ahmad stepped up with confidence and it flew straight in in the top corner. No keeper would've saved it. 1 nil to them



Our heads drop. We already look defeated. We go all out attack but it doesn't matter. They're sitting with 11 men behind the ball. We just don't have the confidence to try anything else or take any risks. A 1 nil loss to the team at the bottom of the league. Things aren't looking too good right now.







After this defeat it was the return leg in the cup against Sarawak. I had 2 choices, go all out for this game in the hopes a) playing well & building confidence which should help us with our last few league games, or b) play a weaker team and take the loss and keep the stronger players fit for the run in. I go with choice A. I never want to lose a game on purpose, I want to win every game I manage. I don't like playing young players as defeats for them may dent their confidence which in turn may affect the team when they play again. We go into the game looking to win it. We need 2 unanswered goals. We go with an attacking mindset.

An even game, nothing exciting but we looked good even after going a goal down. We responded well and deserved the equaliser. Not to disheartened at this as we were never concentrating on the cup.





Right then, no cup distractions now it's on the final 2 games, 1 against my former club Perlis. This is the biggest must win of my tenure so far. This Selangor team put 5 past my Perlis team not that long ago, oh how I would love and need a repeat of that scoreline!









We've gotta win this game. My decision to leave Perlis will come under heavy scrutiny if we lose. Not only that if we lose and other results go against us we could be 1 point above relegation heading into the last game. We NEED 3 points here, and nothing else will matter if we don't get that. I tell the boys I expect nothing but a win here and we go out to start the match and lose possession straight away. It doesn't matter as we regain it quickly. We keep the ball well until the 13th minute where we get a goal. A cross into the box is swept in. We hold the lead for a bit before they take the lead through my old go to guy for goals Yaha, the twat! A good goal really as they went from their own half to getting a goal in double quick time. We do hold on for a bit before losing possession deep in our own half. they send a cross over from the right which is hilariously turned in by Jalil. 2 - 1 to them going into half time. This will not do. I tell the team to get back out there and show a bit of desire. We get desire alright, we get commitment so much so we get a red card for our troubles. Eldstal was booked in the first half and decides its time to go lunging into people within 3 minutes of the second half and gets another yellow. Great stuff, we're losing to my old team, away from home and now we're down to 10 men. Can't get any worse can it? Oh wait it can, we concede 2 more just to top it all off. People are going to be asking questions, why did I leave that team to come to this one? Why didn't i exploit their weaknesses? How come Perlis didn't have any defensive breakdowns today but had 1 every game for me? Maybe it's me that's the reason for failure? Tough questions, and even tougher decisions to come.......









That was humiliating. That was a pathetic showing. Against Perlis of all teams. I just hope Kuala Lumpur lose their next game against top of the league Kelantan. We've got to cross everything and pray that Kelantan do us a favour





How did they get on......



Obviously. Obviously they won. Obviously they put 4 passed the team looking to win the league. Obviously that's going to help their goal difference. Right well we've got to go to the last game of the season and get a win. Nothing else. Nothing else will matter. It all comes down to this, it's just 1 game. Beat Kedah and we stay up. Simple as that.





Next update will be how we got in the final game of the season and if we managed to stay up or not. Thanks for reading.

So here we go with Augusts update and a tough looking month ahead. We start off with an update on 1 of our youth player Rosli Salim looking good in training according to my backroom team. A quick look at his stats and he seems okay for now, plenty of pace an possibly may be able to improve. He's played a few times, none for me though.





First match in August for the third time during my time here is against Melaka.





Long story short, they were the better team. They went 2 up and we didn't look like creating anything until we got a decent goal against the run of play. We move on to the next game in the cup against PKNS which if we win we'll progress out the group.



A confident win against a lower division side and we played well.



We're back to league action next against Penang. I'm looking for a good performance here to really boost our hopes of survival.



The game comes and goes in a flash. We were terrible. I can see now why this team are hovering above relegation. We got absolutely destroyed. I told the team in an aggressive tone just how mad I am. This is unacceptable and we cannot have any more performances like this or we will be going down!







Back to the cup and against our favourite opponents Melaka. A solid performance and a debut goal from Fontenelle. We qualify for the next round and have been drawn against Sarawak.











1 game left in August sees us up against Pahang who are playing near the top of the league and have a slight chance of winning it, but need to win all their remaining games and have other results go their way. We went into the game set up how we have every game I've been here and come away with a deserved 1 nil win that stops any hope of Pahang winning the league. This last performance sees us to the end of a decent month, with only 3 games left to go we're 8 points above relegation so 1 more win would be enough to secure survival.







Since me leaving Perlis they've done alright under they're new manager, only losing 2 but drawing quite a few. We do actually play in the league soon and that may be the game that secures Selangor's survival.



As awlways thanks to you guys for reading!

So my first month in charge of Selangor, and things have gone well. First up we had my debut match against Johor DT.









We set up with 352 and I told the lads the pressure is all on Johor, we are the underdogs so we can play without any fear. In my own mind this is a new regime so these players are either going to want to impress and will need to get used to a new system. The game kicks off and we're start brightly, keeping the ball moving and looking like we want to get something from the game. Fast forwad to the 20th minute and a corner comes in and the ref blows for a foul. At first I thought it was a free kick to us and then realised oh bugger, we've conceded a penalty. Not how I envisaged my first game going but their player stepped up to take it and our keeper was rooted to the spot. Not that it mattered as the ball went straight down the middle and the keeper saved it!! That's bound to boost confidence! We carried on the same way and managed to take the lead in the 33rd minutes thanks to a through ball to Ahmad who buried it confidently. Going into the seoncd half winning I was confident we would add to it. We kept plugging away and had a few decent chances but didn't convert any of them. Johor equalised with a pretty well takne long range shot. Nothing much happened after that and I am happy with a draw away to Johor for my first game in charge.



Before our next game which was in the league cup,I had made 2 signings. First up is Muhd Azman, a right footed left midfielder from Felda United. I've actually scouted this guy when I was at Perlis and we definitely need a left sided player, his stats don't scream quality but this league isn't the best and I believe he'll be a success.





Next up is a signing I'm very happy about. I had signed and sold him whilst at Perlis, Miro Fontenelle. His stats aren't amazing but in the few games he played for me at Perlis he was awesome. Not played in many games in Brazil he found himself on the transfer list. 10k for a player in this league is big business, I know he'll do well and his stats are actually better then they were in Perlis, so he's improved. Currently injured but will be straight in the team when he's fit.









Next up is our first game in the cup against PKNS. We're the favourites and go out with a plan to win and do so coming away with a 3-1 vctory.



Transfer deadline day came and I didn't bother taking part as I am happy with the team and the 2 neew singings we've got. Transfer round looks like this and as I said earleri 10k on 1 player is big business in Malaysia



Just as the window closed I decided I'll scout Saidin from my old team Perlis. I know he's good and I am scouting him to make sure he'll join, can't see why he wouldn't. So I declared my interest and if we manage to stay in this league which I'm confident we will I'll make a move for him.







After this is was back to cup football and an away game against Terengganu. Another solid performance and a resounding 3 - 1 away win. Equal amount of possession but we had double the number of shots as them. Another good performance making me think the players are well suited to my 352 formation.



Final game of the month saw us taking on 2nd place Melaka this time in the league. We do actually play Melaka in the cup after this. Melaka favourites for this one and rightly so, Selangor have been poor in the league prior to me joining.





I tell the team to go out and give the fans their money's worth. We've got nothing to lose really, we've got a couple of points over the 3 teams below us and we've played well up to this point. If you Googled the term 'even game' then this match would come up. 50/50 possession and 11 shots each, except 1 of ours was the winning shot that went in. An absolute belter (more on this shortly) from outgoing midfielder Eduardo gave us the win. This type of victory can really help push us on. We're looking good and I am very confident relegation was only a word mentioned before I got here.



That does it for games for this month. I've come in when the club were looking over their shoulder at relegation which was a real possibility. After 3 league games we now sit 9th and 5 points clear of the drop zone. Morale is high, the team have responded to new tactics and I am confident we will continue this form and steer clear of going down.





Finally to top this excellent first 4 weeks in charge, Eduardo got goal of the month for his winner against Melaka. A good goal from a player that had already agreed a transfer away before I joined.

https://youtu.be/UbNod7oKfPk

Thanks for reading!

Perlis July 2019 season update

So going into July 2019 I had been to the interview with Selangor and waited to hear back. After this there was a big game against our biggest rivals Kedah again, and the last time we played this lot they scored a 90th minute winner, so revenge is definitely on the cards this time around!





The game came and I told the lads we have to get revenge, all responded positivley and the match kicked off. We started the brighter team and took a deserved lead on 24 minutes. I expected a response from Kedah but that didn't come. Right on half time we doubled our lead to go in at 2 nil. I told the team to press on from here, I was half expecting either Kedah to go all out attack or our defence to gift them a goal. Of course both of these things happened. They didn't seem to have much possession but when they did they looked threatening. It wasn't until 74 minutes their breakthrough came though, a sense of de ja vu tho as close range finish where our defence were just ball watching made the score 2 - 1. Then it happened 3 minutes later as they scored the equalising goal. Again a close range finish as our defence can't seem to cope with anything that gets put into the box. the final 10 minutes were pretty even and uneventful as we were happy to draw. Another disappointing result and dropping points from winning positions, at least we didn't lose to a last minute goal again.



This is the end of an eventful 2 and a half years........



The news filtered through from various news outlets in Malaysia that I have been hired as the new manager of 1 of the biggest clubs in the country, Selangor FA.













Am I excited at the prospect of managing arguably the second biggest club in Malaysia? Yes. Am I nervous? Very much. Am I ready to get started, you;re damn right! This is a huge opportunity for me. Success is ingrained in this club, they've won more trophies than any other but nothing since 2010. The club are hovering above the relegation zone but their form hasn't been too bad really. I guess the board are very demanding. Aim for this season is simply avoid relegation. After that we're going to press on and I want to challenge for the title, something that I don't think would've possible with Perlis, well not in the short term. I feel sad at leaving Perlis but couldn't say no to Selangor.









A little insurance policy for me with a 10% release fee in my contract, and I wanted an affiliate club as part of my joining, so we'll see who the board come back with. All being well someone we can get young players on loan from. The first team look good, this squad were supposed to finish around 4th so there must be some underlying issue as to why they're 2 places and 2 points above the relegation zone, with relegation a very real possibility. Finances are healthy as well as a decent budget for this league as well.









To attempt to get the club away from the relegation zone, I'm going with my tired, tested and trusted 352 Operation Icarus. The current first team look decent enough, I think maybe a change in formation may be the catalyst for them to move away from the drop zone. There are enough players that can fit into this system, with the stand outs Martin Anier on loan from Tallinna in Estonia, Kenny Parallj at CM looks decent enough, Rodrigo Eduardo has already agreed a move away but we'll use him until then, Robbat Gary Steven will be our B2B midfielder, Muhd Ahmad I will look to for goals and Mohd Iqbal Muhamad is a strange one. An Oman international with 1 cap yet not played in the league for Selangor at all, he's played in the cup though, he must be okay to get called up, anyway he'll be used sparingly.

Anier



Pallraj



Eduardo



Steven



Ahmad



Muhamad



My time at Perlis came to an end with a 2 all draw against Kedah, my time in Selangor kicks off with possibly the toughest start possible, an away trip to the big boys Johor DT, who I managed a 1 nil victory over a couple of weeks ago. The next update will be about how we got on in our first games at Selangor, as well as the first few matches in the league cup where we are drawn in group A alongside Melaka, PKNS & Terengganu as well as any signings we make as the window will be closing in couple of weeks.

Thanks for reading!

Perlis June 2019 season update

This month sees us play games against Melaka, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur & Johor DT all in the league. The transfer window opens this month as well so we'll be looking to strengthen where we can.

First though the groups are drawn for the league cup, which we won last year. We're drawn in group C alongside Pahang, Penang and Perak. On current form I can't see us getting out this group but you never know, by then we might have remembered how to win



First game this month sees us away to Melaka. A team that came back up last season and is currently in 2nd place in the league. It's a fairly even game right up until the last couple of minutes where we concede 2 in 2 minutes. Same old story really, play well but implode defensively near the end. Bad performance, bad result.



The press like to point out the obvious sometimes, tell me something I don't know....



Following this the Selangor manager got sacked. Now they've not been in nearly as bad form as we have so in some regards I think I'm lucky to still be here, but that's not why I'm bringing this up, this is why:



So I cheekily declared my interest in the role, why not, if I get it then I'll have a much bigger transfer and wage budget and will possibly be challenging for the league title next season.







I won't apply for the job, I will wait for Selangor to come to me. In the mean time we've got 3 more games to go this month. the first is against Pahang at their place. In my team talk I let the guys know the pressure is all on Pahang as we're not expected to get anything out of the game, and this definitely worked. Straight from kick off they came at us and we got the ball back in our own half, bombed forward and within the first couple of minutes were 1 nil up! Then straight from the kick off again we regained possession, went straight up the other end and buried in another goal, 2 nil after 3 minutes!! the game died down and then the usual defensive collapse happened and we let in a sloppy goal. Great I thought, this is where we get caught again from being 2 up but managed to hold on until half time. I told the players I was extremely pleased so far, a couple of their reactions said they felt relaxed, a little too relaxed maybe as 10 minutes into the second half we went and conceded a pretty good long range goal to make it 2 all. I thought yep this is it, we're on to a hiding now. After passionately encouraging the team during the game Fazail sent a cross over from the right wing that was 1 of those cross sum shot types that give keepers nightmares. Their keeper managed to get a hand on it but it creeped over the line, 3 2 to us! A very nervy final 10 minutes actually saw us get a corner near the end. I thought brilliant hold the ball in the corner and see out the clock but Fazail decided to whip it in, and we managed to get a penalty which I was quite surprised about. Saidin converted the pen to give us a very much needed 4-2 away victory!! Absolutely thrilled with this win, our first in 14 games now hopefully we can build on this.



It's great what a bit of confidence can do. We go into our penultimate game of June against Kuala Lumpur. The media seem to think after the win against Pahang we are comfortable favourites, but I'm not sure.


I tell the team to go into the game and continue where they left off against Pahang. It works as we dominate possession right from the off. After getting near to half time I felt we would end up getting caught on the break ourselves, but luckily we get a penalty right on 45 minutes that we convert, 1 nil going into half time. Second comes and again we dominate, waiting for an opening whihc we finally get on 54 minutes, our young striker Kamal getting the goal. This trend of keeping possession and looking strong continues right up until the 82nd minute when we get our deserved third goal to take home 3-0 victory. Dare I say we might just have turned a corner here with 2 wins on the bounce? Probably not, We've got the big boys Johor DT next....



So here we are with the final game in June against the Man United of Malaysia Johor DT. It's worth noting we thumped these guys 4 nil at the start of the season and not actually lost to them since I've been in charge, but despite winning our last 2 games I know we've been poor most of the season so I'm expecting a tough game, and I think a draw could be classed as a good result for us.What am i saying, the game itself was a defensive master class. Johor had the most possession and although we had the same number of shots they didn't look like converting any of them. A very well deserved victory and this could be the turning point now, 3 wins on the bounce and we've looked good in all 3.





The board are still happy with me and these 3 wins will be a reason why. Not only that but Selangor have offered me an interview.











In the next update we'll see if I have the interview, if I get the job or stay at Perlis. Thanks for reading!!

Perlis May 2019 season update

It can't get much worse, can it? I need to get back to winning ways, we have a capable squad, these lads know what we've got to do. So change is coming, a change in formation, set up and rotation of the squad.

First up is our new formation, 5-3-2 counter attacking. I figured we'd go counter attacking to try and catch teams out on the break, it can't be any worse than we've played so far





Training this month is all about tactics with a bit of defence training chucked in there



Before any games commenced I had a private chat with Kamal who wants more game time. Not a problem kid you're in for the next couple of games, we can't possibly be any worse off





As always i checked the gossip column and once again we're linked with another goalkeeper, this time Amir Khata of Negeri. Definitely an improvement on our current keepers, I will make a move for him in the upcoming transfer window.







First game in May was a meaningless game in the Confederations cup. I'm not even bothered about the result, it's jsut a chance to test out the new formation. We played well in the opening stages and even took the lead before our usual defensive collapse.



Next up was the game against Selangor. These are a top team in Malaysia and always challenge at the top.To say I'm not confident is an understatement despite them not winning in their last 4 either.



The game arrived and long story short we were terrible. The worse I've seen us play in a long time! 5-1 flattered us really and the 90th minute goal wasn't even worth celebrating



Next up were Perak, another chance to test out our new formation. Hopefully a better result.



We set up with the new 532 hoping to catch them on the break. During the game it's clear they are also setup to defend. A boring match with nothing of note happening. 0-0 was probably the best result.



Penang are our next opposition. And another poor performance and we ended up losing 2-1. I can't really say much about this game, we didn't deserve to win and we didn't. Not only that but we've created history, not a positive piece of history though..





In our final game of the month we find ourselves up against Kelantan who destroyed us over 2 legs in the cup. I am not confident about this one and just hope we keep it respectable. I tell the lads to play their natural game and hope for the best.

Considering the 8 goals over 2 games they put passed us last time, the fact we're playing badly a 0-0 draw I feel is a good result. We just need to build on this now.



In between all this, Darren bloody Lok went and got the goal of the month for his strike against us in April, jammy bugger!



Also my main man Abbas has decided he's homesick. Not much I can do but let him go away for a while and hopefully come back refreshed and ready to help us get out of this slump





My job despite this poor form is still very secure. The results and performances have been bad. I have to pick it up. We MUST pick it up. We'll see what June brings....

Perlis April 2019 season update

Coming into April I'm hoping for an improvement in form. We have to step it up big time to have any chance of qualifying from our group in the Confederations Cup. I've also conceded defeat in our quest to retain the Malaysian Cup.

Before we got to the return leg against Kelantan, the team of the month for March was announced with Alias getting in it, good work son although we should be thankful any of our players got recognised considering our results.



Considering our woeful defence this month I decided to concentrate on nothing but defending this month, hopefully this increased focus will pay off. Also a quick update from the board, and they're still happy with me despite this run of form.





As part of my routine I like to check the gossip column and today sees us linked with unsurprisingly, a goalkeeper. The Malaysian Football post first broke the story just before the return leg in the cup:





The player in question will be scouted from now until the transfer window, if I don't see an improvement from my current goalkeepers and my scouts give me a good report I think we'll move for him



So the return leg in the cup, you get a feeling of what's the point.



We then move on to the first of our Confederation cup games for April against East Bengal, a win is desperately needed, a draw could be okay but we'll see how we get on. We actually start the match well and have a decent chance in the first few minutes. We kept possession really well and looked good, I genuinely thought we may win this until they got us on the break. Without a doubt against the run of play and they finished with their first chance of the game. Great, I thought that's it we're going to get hammered. Straight from the kick off we went at them and following a clearance we managed to bury a long range shot, 1 all!! Half time came and straight from the kick off again we took it to them. Another long range effort went in and we were leading. This is it I thought, this is the turning point! Then a minute of pure madness, pure insanity. A cross from the right wing evaded all of the defence and they got a free header to make it 2-2. Oh well I thought we've got 2 goals already we should be able to get a third. NOPE! As soon as we kick off they're onto us with a high press and put our defence under pressure. The ball was played back to our keeper who couldn't control it and BAM their striker makes it 3-2. Devastating. Disappointing. Demoralising. The final 15 minutes and we created absolutely nothing. Defeated again. It's going to take a miracle to get out of the group now. Not confident at all.





Ahh well at least we've got a big game against our main rivals Kedah to look forward to. I try to put some pressure on them by saying I think they're favourites to go down this year. I mainly say this to try and get the fans on our side, as well as get under the skin of their manager.







Big game. Pre match nerves. Trash talk in the build up. No matter what league, competition or venue there's nothing like a game against your rivals. In my pre game team talk I remind the lads this is all about the fans, they're the ones paying our wages, they're the ones that feel it as much as we do, we can do this!

We start well, taking it to Kedah with a couple of fierce long range efforts nothing too threatening but still we get a couple of shots off, just to let them know they're in for a game today! After that the game dies down, we keep possession well, we pass the ball around dare I say, confidently? Then it happens. Abbas, 1 of my main guys runs down the right wing and whips in a delicious looking cross, it hits a defender and bounces towards another defender who tries to clear it with no luck at all and Zambri is there to clear up the loose ball, 1 nil!! Get in, get in GET IN!!!!! Just what we needed, a goal mid way through the game, that should settle the fans as well as clearing our own nerves. After that it was much of the same, we held the ball well and created space with pur neat passing. Then it happened, Abbas broke free down the right again, whips over a cross that just falls nicely at the feet of Zambri to stroke home and make it 2-0! Scenes absolute scenes as every player from our bench jumps up and celebrates, this could be it, the win we've been crying out for! In the stands as the fans are going wild, they can sense it too! From here on out I feel we should control the game, not have as high a line and try and keep possession as we have done. I change the team instructions, dribble less, play out of defence, shorter passing and most important KEEP POSSESSION!

Why? Why? Why? Why me, why us? Why can't we defend? These players know how to defend, we've won cups together, most of this team won promotion 2 seasons ago, we stayed up last year finishing fourth with mostly the same team, so why can't we defend now? Darren Lok. Darren bloody Lok!! I've had this guy on my shortlist for a while now, constantly scouting him as I want to sign him, and he's just proved to me exactly why. They went long, Tony Pulis style. A route one ball into the box that fell to Lok and his first time shot hit Nick Swirad on the way in. In a way I was hoping it would go down as an own goal, that way we could feel unlucky with it but it wasn't to be and the went to Lok. Okay guys, keep it simple, we can go in at half time in the lead and build on that in the second half, NOPE! They took it to us, we couldn't keep the ball, weren't making any meaningful tackles and then it happened, Darren Lok again. In real time it looked a good goal, a nice finish from just inside the area but I replayed it and again our defence were nowhere to be seen. He's wide open with our centre half's just standing ball watching. I'm furious, absolutely fuming! Half time comes and I let the team know exactly how I feel with an aggressive tone. Instructions go back to attacking and to dribble more and run at the defence. We scored 2, we can score more. The second half was a sloppy affair from us. We gifted them shot after shot after shot, eventually they had nearly double the amount of shots that we had but we get to the 89th minute and I think we can hold on for a draw, a draw from being 2 up but a draw nonetheless. Tactics change to drop deeper, keep possession and more disciplined. Then Kedah went all Tony Pulis again just as they did in the first half. Another route one ball into the box which just happened to land at their unmarked striker with all the time in the world, really he could've taken 4 touches, done a Cruyff turn and still been in enough space to bury the ball home. 3-2 to them. It's games like these that test your mental strength. the fans will be upset, the board won't be happy, the player they better be p*ssed off! all I can do is try and pick them up.





We've got 1 game left in April and it's a must win, anything less than a win and we're out of the Confederations Cup. Pre match team talk I tell the boys to go out with no pressure, to play their natural game and the result will come. I can't put any more pressure on them, they all know what we need to do. It doesn't matter that we need other results to go our way, we just need to concentrate on what we do.



The game starts sloppy, neither team able to keep the ball and I can sense the tension in my players, if they feel what I do then it's only a matter of time before we concede. That's a bad way to think but at the minute that's how it feels. My fears were confirmed around 26 minutes in when another sloppy piece of play from our defence let them score a tidy finish inside the area. Right then, we've got nothing left to lose, we're losing this game, we're on our way out of the Confederations cup so we go all out attack. Instructions are to overload them, route one into the box, if it worked for Kedah in our last game surely it can work for us? The boys get in at half time and I don't want them to know I feel defeated already so tell them to go out there and carry on with no pressure. It seems to work as we now look the more threatening side. We don't see much possession but when we do have the ball the long balls into the area seem to cause them issues. A couple of half chances and we finally get a breakthrough, it may be in the 83rd minute we do manage to equalise thought an absolute rocket from Hashim. Whilst I know we won't win this match at least we're going out of this competition with a draw and a not another loss.





So that does it for April. A bad month, a bad couple of months actually. I think it's time we changed it up. We need to be hard to beat, scoring goals doesn't seem to be the problem, keeping them out is! We are going to try something different, we're going to go 5 at the back. Try and catch teams on the break. They won't be expecting it. We've got a busy month in May coming up with games against Selangor, Kelantan, Perak and Penang as well as a meaningless game against April 25 in the Confederations cup. We've got to pick this up now no excuses and no fear!

Perlis March 2019 season update

What happened last night?' Sergio asked himself, We dominated, absolutely dominated that game, how have we not won? It was very demoralising really, it's absolutely killed morale in the dressing, I'm not sure how to pick the guys up from this'.





Even the fans seemed to feel the same judging by the posts on Twitter:




I guess we've gotta get back to winning ways, after all it's only 1 loss, a hard loss to take but still it's only 1. The next game I see as a must win, Terengganu beat us the last time we played so we have to get revenge, surely that will improve morale, plus there was a war of words the last between myself and their manager Joseph Jacob whose relationship with me is fairly bad



Well that didn't go as planned, we didn't lose but we must build on this and not dwell on these last 2 games.



As always I look to improve the team where I can, let's check today's gossip column.



Hmmm wonder what he's like, 15k does seem a bit much tho and I'm not sure we need to bring in another right sided player, at least not for the first team, I suppose scouting him won't hurt



Next up is another Confederations Cup game, I've got to get the lads focused for this, another loss and our chances of qualifying from the group will hang from a thread. We'll go all out for this one



I play what I feel is our strongest 11, I feel confident with this line up



Damn it! We concede too many sloppy goals. The first we conceded was from a wide open header from their striker, we could and should have done so much better with defending set plays. We managed to go in at half time in the lead but there was no stopping thier equaliser, a long range effort not even 2 keepers would've kept out.



Fan reaction on social media seems to be divided







We're playing well just not able to see games out. Should I change my formation? No, no that's not going to happen, Operation Icarus has proved so well for me for so long, but maybe just maybe the opposition have figured it out and figured out how to combat it. Food for thought, I will think about switching it up before our first leg cup game against Kelantan in a few days.

I feel quietly confident. Training has been good, all players are fit and morale is slightly better this week. I tell the journalists in our usual pre match press conference I'm confident as long as we stick to my game plan, ESPN kindly linked it in the post earlier



The game starts slow, no real chances for either side until the 18th when we concede a close range thunderbolt. Again the defence were all over the place, what is going on?!? It gets worse still, as 2 more close range goals go in when the defence are seemingly nowhere to be found. By the end of it we got beat,badly. We do however have a feint hope of getting something in the return leg as we managed 2 late goals of our own, but it was too little too late really. I let my anger known to the team at full time.



That does it for March 2019. We've got the return leg against Kelantan, a league game against our main rivals Kedah and 3 Confederations cup games coming up in April. After this humiliating battering I think it's time I looked at the formation we play and if we can change it somehow to try and shore up the defence. I can't let this poor form continue, I had high hopes at the start of this season, hopefully this is just a blip.

From this update onward I will still try and put a bit of story telling into it, but will probably be doing monthly or maybe every 2 months worth of updates.

Thanks for reading!

Well done on the cup win mate, looks like you could either build on this with this team or use this victory and club as a stepping stone. Will definitely be keeping an eye in this.

Sergio Camacho career update

So in this update I will post some of the signings I've made, plus my managers current profile and state of our current and previous team.

First up, whilst I was at Huangang I had to sell our best player Japanese midfielder Fumiya Kogure as we had too many foreigners already in the team. I just couldn't get him in the side as the foreign players I felt I had to play were mainly the defence. Since selling him for 42k he only played a small number of games for the Japanese team that signed him and had gone back to Singapore with Albirex but has now left and is available on a free. It turned out okay for us really as we won 2 cups without him.


Before I started properly posting updates I had been offered a promising Brazilian attacking midfielder which I signed on a free transfer. His name is Miro Fontenelle and I had high hopes for him. He came in on deadline day and straight away went out on loan to Kuantan where he only made a handful of league and cup appearances. He came back and went straight into my starting 11. He only played 9 league games for me but 5 cup games as well. Then Chapecoense declared their interest in him and of course he wanted to leave. I was quite gutted as he performed well for us and I didn't want him to leave. Since joining them for a club record sale of 34.5k he's only made a handful of appearances in their first team. I am keeping an eye on him in the hopes I can resign him later on as our coaching team gave him 4 star current ability and 5 star potential ability.




After getting promoted with Perlis our star central midfielder Oh Kyu Bin wanted to leave. I did everything I could to get him to stay but it wasn't meant to be. He was sold to Perak for 22k, went out on loan to Sarawak and is now back in the Perak first team. Another player that despite being 1 of our better ones it turned out okay for us as we won 2 cups the season after he was sold. Again I am keeping an eye on him as he's pretty solid for this league




Next up are our 2 hot prospects. I've already mentioned them in previous posts and here they are again, our back up striker from the bench Kamal who is 4 star potential and Yazid my back up keeper who despite having no star potential seems to play really well every time he gets played. Not world beaters but at this level in Malaysia they're performing well




Next up is my managers profile at this stage. Can speak 4 languages fluently and currently studying for the first licence which will help get other jobs if / when they become available.


My go to formation at both clubs titled Operation Icarus. A solid 352 with short passing and getting the defence involved. Has worked pretty well so far for me, only real changes are when trying to shut out games I change the wide midfielders to defensive wingers




This is how Perlis are doing in comparison to other clubs in Malaysia. We're okay financially and have grown in reputation due to the cup wins.






Finally my previous club Huanggang have finished bottom in back to back seasons since I left. I am also on the favoured personnel list of both Perlis and Huanggang. As part of my aims I want to be an icon with at least 2 teams so maybe I can get that at Perlis if I don't leave at the end of this season. For the next update I'll post the next set of fixtures I manage to get through and I'm thinking about adding some story elements to this career update thread to add an extra dynamic to it, I'm probably not the best story teller there is but I'll give it a go.

As always thanks for reading.

@DNZY cool man I have an i7 too, gaming laptop so hopefully it won't slow me down too much after a number of seasons into my game.

Great reading so far mate hope you can press on from here.

Cheers mate I'll check that site out. Good read up so far, hope you do win the league after saying you would, if you don't I wonder if the board would stick with you?

Great read mate. I've always wanted to buy the shirts of teams I've got attached to but as I play a lot.of Asian and south America teams it's difficult for me to get hold of shirts of the teams I play as. Awesome collection tho!

In staff details in the editor you need to out his manager role to 20 and everything else to 1, this will then make his preferred staff role asanager. When you move him to another club he will become manager as manager is his default staff role.

Good intro mate I'll be following this. Just a quick question, have you signed a season or are you starting from the 17/18 season? Also how do you create those Twitter posts, I'd like to use them in my story.

Cheers mate. D'souza looks great doesn't he, he'll out grow Perlis before long. I'll keep an eye on your career too.

Awesome read mate I'll be following! Just a question, what's your game speed like this far in to the game?

Career update

I'll be getting a proper write up done in the next couple of days or so, but for this update I'm going to be changing some of the aims for the career.

Initially the aims for the save were these

Win at least 5 top leagues
Integrate the pentagon challenge in this
Manage Internacional
Manage Real Madrid
Manage Barcelona
Manage Brazil
Manage Portugal

But after adding the Brazil leagues it put my game speed down quite a bit, whilst I didn't notice much of a change in the overall speed of the game I've noticed on old saves having Brazil as active does slow it down in the long term. With that in mind I'm going to remove a couple of leagues and add a couple. I'm going to remove Hong Kong, South Africa and Uruguay and adding Argentina and Spain. As well as this I will remove Singapore after this season if I don't get a job there and add Germany to third division and Portugal top division only in a couple of seasons time.

Then playable nations for now will look like:

Argentina
Chile
China
Malaysia
Singapore
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
Mexico
Spain

So I'll have 9 nations loaded at the minute, I think I'll either go for a job in Singapore, UAE or Qatar after this season or another in Malaysia, will see what's about at the end of the season if I'm not sacked by then. This is a journeyman save after all. With the above in mind and the active leagues I will change my aims for this save as well. As I probably won't bother putting Brazil in at all (if I do it will be a long time in the future) I will add to the teams I want to manage at least once to:

San Lorenzo
Villarreal
Mallorca
Dortmund
Sporting Lisbon

Spain
Germany

So after these changes my aims are going to be:

Win at least 5 top divisions
Win at least 1 cup competition in each country I manage in
Win the Asian Confederations cup & champions league at least once
Win the Copa Lobertadores and Copa Sudamerica at least once
Become a club icon at a minimum 2 clubs
Manage each of the following in no particular order at least once:
San Lorenzo
Villarreal
Mallorca
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Dortmund
Sporting Lisbon
Manage the following nations at least once:
Brazil (managers nationality)
Spain
Portugal

Reasons for these club teams are simple really, I like all of them in real life. I've always followed Real Madrid since I properly got into football in the 90's, Lisbon I've had a soft spot for a while cos I love thier kit, same with Dortmund and Villarreal. I'm actually in Mallorca right now so that's why I've added them to the list. San Lorenzo was chosen as I think realistically out of the big Argentine clubs I will probably only get the San Lorenzo job. Plus thier kits are nice.

Next update will follow up on the third season with Perlis and fourth overall. I've not done any other posts other than how we've performed so the next update will show my tactics I use, significant signings and how other leagues are performing.

Thanks for reading.

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Career progress:
2016 | Houngang -- (Singapore) FA & League Cup.
2017 | Perlis FA -- (Malaysia) Premier League winners
2018 | Perlis FA -- (Malaysia) FA & League cup winners

Absolute bummer when you're save gets broken, my career game I had the same and reloaded back a full season, .aybe you could follow my save bro?

Good luck in Somalia, it's a country I've never managed in despite most of my games being in lesser countries.