r96 - Comments

Job Hunt:
After leaving Eastern at the end of the 2025–26 season, we are on the hunt for a new job. After successful spells in Singapore (with Albirex Niigata S), in Indonesia (with Persib) and in Hong Kong (with Eastern) I am aiming to get a job in one of Asia's top leagues; ideally in China or South Korea. We, one way or another, will have a job soon.

I left Eastern on 1 June 2026. Plenty of jobs were open all around Asia, but with my aim to get a Chinese or South Korean job I had to be patient. Around three or four Chinese second tier teams were without a manager, Chengdu Qianbao being one but they sit quite far adrift at the bottom of the table so I didn't fancy that one. Two other available jobs were Hebei Elite (Hebei Jingying in game) and Dalian Transcendence (Dalian Chaoyue in game). Hebei's fans actually laughed me off when I applied, but the club offered me an interview. Their finances are described as "Rich" and in the interview, the board mentioned a potential £20m transfer budget. Safe to say, I wanted this job!

Sadly, I didn't get it. They gave the job to someone else. Disappointing, they are struggling but it would've been a nice project. Next, Dalian came back to be and offered me the job after a successful interview. I was happy with this offer, but a few other job vacancies took my eye so I decided to delay Dalian, to which they agreed. Two other clubs caught my attention, one in China (tier two) and one in South Korea (tier two). Tianjin TEDA (CHN) and Bucheon (KOR) were the teams.

Tianjin sit near the bottom in the China League One, but they, I'd say, are at least a mid-table Chinese Super League team languishing at the wrong end of League One. I'd love to be able to turn them around and get them back to the Super League, at least. On the other hand, Bucheon is also an intriguing prospect. They were formed in 2007, they are fan-owned after a relocation of a previous team; à la AFC Wimbledon. They sit fourth in the K League Challenge, occupying a play-off spot. So, a struggling sleeping club or an up-and-coming fan-owned club; or even a basic, Chinese team in Dalian.

I ended up joining...


Job Search: Hebei Elite:




Job Search: Dalian Transcendence:




Job Search: Tianjin TEDA:


Job Search: Bucheon FC 1995:


As I mentioned, my new club Bucheon sit fourth in the K League Challenge in South Korea. 23 matches left to play, we currently place in the final play-off spot and are seven points off the automatic promotion place; which Anyang occupy, we face them in my first game in charge. We are still in the FA Cup, too. The clubs finances are pretty woeful, described as "Insecure". Not good, but hopefully we can help rebuild this club off the pitch as well as improving them on it. I'm excited.

Results and Fixtures:


League Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Thanks for following! The first update with Bucheon will be on 1 September 2026, after a minimal of thirteen fixtures have been played.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned
2026– | Bucheon | (South Korea/2) | Trophies: 0 / Awards: 0 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: n/a.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Three Months, 16 Matches, Four Competitions:
Welcome back to my Journeyman's Journey career. In this post, the 2025–26 seasons reaches its climax in Hong Kong with Eastern. We have sixteen matches to play across four competitions, which are as follows: Premier League, AFC Cup, FA Cup and League Cup. Just like the January and February update, a lot of fixtures coming thick and fast.

March 2026 started with defeat as Southern District beat us 2–0. A few days later we returned to winning ways in the league with a narrow one-nil win over Hong Kong Rangers - that was our first win in the league after five without one. After that, we met Myanmar club Yangon United in our second AFC Cup, Group G encounter. We managed a 1–1 draw with Leung Nok Hang popping up with a goal. Another draw followed, in the league, next time out as we were frustratingly held to a 1–1 with bottom of the table Hong Kong.

Matchday 3 in the AFC Cup came quick on the heels of the Hong Kong fixture, Pyongyang City of North Korea visited us and took a point back home as we tied 0–0. Three days later, the League Cup semi-final with South China arrived. We were a goal down until the 88th-minute when Chan Ho Yin, recently back from fairly long term injury, equalised to send it to extra time. We won it after extra time as Chan Ho Yin grabbed a dramatic winner on 120 minutes, seconds before the penalty shoot-out. All those fixtures fell in March, which we rounded off with a friendly victory over Fire Services.

The first weekend of April gave us an FA Cup semi-final with Pegasus, after making it into the League Cup final we were looking for an FA Cup final berth too. However, it wasn't to be as we ridiculously lost 3–4 to the aforementioned Pegasus. iirc we were 1–3 ahead at one point before collapsing to lose 3–4. Southern District in the league followed, the second meet in a month with them in the Premier League but, unlike at the beginning of March, we beat them; 1–0. Next, the League Cup final! We faced Metro Gallery in the 2026 League Cup final, aiming to win my second League Cup title after triumphing back in 2024.



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Just days after that League Cup final, we were back in AFC Cup action with a hosting of former club Persib. In what was an even affair, they won to get back-to-back wins over me and Eastern. Elimination from Group G was looking likely at this stage, but we still had two games to come to salvage it. Before the first of those two final AFC Cup games, we had consecutive Premier League fixtures to focus on with the title still a real possibility.

On 21 April and 25 April, we faced Sun Hei and Tai Po respectively in two crucial matches. Darren Whitehead and Yeung Chun Hung I got on the scoresheet to help us beat Sun Hei, before our main man Chan Ho Yin got the only goal of the game versus Tai Po. This put us two points clear of, quite a few, rivals in a very tight title race. One game to go! Returning to AFC Cup, we played Yangon United on Matchday 5 and secured a vital victory by winning 1–3 in Myanmar, Yeung Chun Hung I grabbing a brace.

May features two matches, and two very big matches; both last day encounters. The first a league match with Yau Tsim Mong, the second an AFC Cup match in North Korea with Pyongyang City. How did we get on? Kitchee, our closest title rivals, played their last match of the season unfairly a day before us, and got three points meaning we had to beat Yau Tsim Mong...



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


How about that AFC Cup showdown with Pyongyang City?



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Results:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Squad statistics as usual are below. In a season full of chop n' change, a lot of players got game time. My star man was Yeung Chun Hung I, nine goals and twenty (20!) assists. Outstanding! Chan Chun Lok (12 goals, 7 assists) and, of course, Chan Ho Yin (21 goals, 3 assists) were also fantastic, amongst a few others.

Squad Statistics:


Records broken and awards aplenty. Few notable ones: Chan Chun Lok broke the club's all-time appearance record with 130 apps. Chan Ho Yin broke the club's goalscoring record with 21 goals. Yeung Chun Hung I, as expected, broke the club's assist record - he won Footballer of the Year as well. As mentioned a moment ago, Eastern's five titles is a new league record.

Eastern Record - Most Appearances (Chan Chun Lok):


Eastern Record - Most Goals in a Season (Chan Ho Yin):


Eastern Record - Most Assists (Yeung Chun Hung I):


Premier League Record - Most Titles Won (Eastern):


Premier League Award - Footballer of the Year (Yeung Chun Heung I):


Premier League Award - Team of the Month (April):


Premier League Award - Fans' and Players' Player of the Year (Yeung Chun Hung I):


Premier League Award - Best XI (2025–26):


Eastern Awards - End of Season:


On a couple of occasions, the board offered me contract talks which I rejected, pending the end of the season as I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay. Now the seasons is over, I have made the decision. I have chosen to resign as Eastern manager immediately. With the season over and all the competitions managed in, with six trophies in the bag, I feel it's the correct time to depart.

Contract Talks:



Resignation:


Hong Kong spell finished. My future plan is to get a job in China, South Korea or, less likely, Australia. I believe it's time to enter one of Asia's big leagues after ten years in the surrounding middle level leagues. I hope I can get a top division job in China or South Korea, but would be willing to join a second tier team. If that's not possible, then I may join another non-elite league; ideally India or Malaysia. Priority is China or South Korea though. The job search will commence in the next update.

Thank you for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023–2026 | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 6 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0. resigned

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Fixture Congestion:
Update 44 of my Journeyman's Journey career. We continue 2025–26 in this update as we enter 2026 with Eastern in Hong Kong. It has been a very, very busy two months.

I start with the only two friendlies of January and February, wins over Breakthrough and German All-Stars got the year going. Sun Hei were the team's first opponents in the Premier League of the year and we beat them by a single goal via Chan Chun Lok. Metro Gallery hosted us next and managed to draw 3–3 with us, Lo Tsz Kin scoring the last equaliser after Metro Gallery had taken the lead three times. The Senior Challenge Shield final took place on 25 January 2026 versus Sun Hei.

Due to upcoming AFC Champions League football (more on that in a moment), I unfortunately had to sacrifice my starting eleven and resort to playing a boat load of youngsters, majority of them had rarely, if at all, featured for us before. However, the youth lads did the club proud as we secured back-to-back Senior Challenge Shields. Jason Eng scored a pretty hilarious own-goal (see below) to give us the lead, but the name up in lights was youngster Liu Ho Lun who went and scored two crucial goals on just his second start for Eastern. Unbelievable impact from the seventeen year old, he won us the cup! Champions!

With players rested for the cup final, we were able to send a full strength line-up for a home AFC Champions League qualifier against Filipino club Global. A good draw I thought, pretty evenly matched opponent. Well, that was on paper at least as we stormed into the second qualifying round with a 3–0 victory; Clinton Britz, Yeung Chun Hung I and Darren Whitehead with the goals. Due to the scheduling of the competitions, I have decided to take the continental football as our main priority, meaning the league was put on the back-burner. That was shown as, days after the Global match, we met South China in the league and were thrashed by three goals.

A week after beating Global, we were drawn to face Perak of the Malaysian Super League in the following round, another draw I was happy with. The match happened in Malaysia at Perak's Perak Stadium, and we found yet another fine performance and were rewarded with a 0–1 victory; centre-back Lee Kai Chi with the all important goal. Fantastic! Into the play-off round of AFC Champions League qualifying. Before that, we had a league fixture with Kitchee and, just like vs. South China, we were easily, easily beaten, this time 0–4 at home. We are struggling in the league with our back-up squad.

In the play-off qualifying round in ACL, we were drawn with Japanese side Tokyo; a team I played while at Persib in my last campaign in the Champions League in 2022. Just like in 2022, I suffered defeat against Tokyo but we gave it a right good go; we lost 2–1 in Japan but it was a close encounter. Unlucky. We subsequently drop into the AFC Cup, into Group G. We're in a group with North Korean team Pyongyang City, Yangon United of Myanmar and, would you believe it, my former club, Persib! I'm heading back to Indonesia!

The AFC Cup would start just a week after our AFC Champions League elimination, meaning all other football would once again take a backseat, sadly. Between continental encounters, we actually had a FA Cup fixture this time around as we met Tai Po in a quarter-final tie. I kinda would've liked not to advance due to fixture the pile-up, but we managed to get past Tai Po with a rotated eleven; we advanced after a penalty shoot-out win. Not ideal, but I can't complain; kinda needed the win in general anyway.

Our first match of AFC Cup 2026 was with my former club, Persib, in Indonesia on 25 February. Early homecoming, one we, Eastern, narrowly lost. We don't play again in AFC Cup until 11 March, but there is no let-up in fixtures as we face a league midweek fixture instead. Despite that, we face a run of three Premier League encounters as we aim to get back on track domestically; we sat in fifth around this point and around five points off top spot, but with games in hand.

Leaders Yau Tsim Mong were the first of the three and we were held to a goalless draw, decent result in one way but not in another - tricky opponent, but need wins. Third place Southern District came days later in the midweek match, we lost 0–2 in my 100th game in charge of Eastern. That rounds up this update, fixture-wise. It has been an extremely difficult first few months of 2026. Twelve competitive fixtures in under two months. We have lost five of our last eight. We are sixth in the league, seven points off top spot but with games in hand. Injuries aplenty too, both left-backs have been out while vital top goalscorer Chan Ho Yin has been out for months - missed him tremendously.

It doesn't get much easier, as we'll have more of the same in March, April and May with the Premier League continuing, as well as the AFC Cup and we still remain in not one but two cup competitions with semi-finals upcoming in both the League Cup and FA Cup. It could be a sensational end to the season, with four competitions winnable, or it could be a rather horrid end to the season.

Results:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Senior Challenge Shield Champions, Again!


Young XI for Senior Challenge Shield Final:


Jason Eng OG:


100 Games with Eastern:


Chan Ho Yin Injury:


Squad statistics can be seen below, as can cup final hero Liu Ho Lun's profile. Two departures transfer-wise, Tam Ho Lam and Leung Ming Kit have left on loan to Citizen and Sparta Rotterdam Mutual respectively.

Squad Statistics:


Liu Ho Lun:


Transfers:


Multiple records and awards as usual, they are all below. Also, the club's takeover has been completed but nothing much has changed.

AFC Champions League Record - Youngest Ever Player (Leung Chi Ming):


AFC Champions League Record - Highest ACL Attendance for Eastern (7,141):


Senior Challenge Shield Record - Most Goals (14):


Premier League Record - Most Assists (Yeung Chun Hung I, 13):


Senior Challenge Shield Award - Top Goalscorer (Chan Ho Yin):


Takeover Complete:



Quite the two months! Fixture congestion, injuries and general out-of-form has made it very difficult. It'll all happen again in the next batch of fixtures as it doesn't exactly lighten up, as I previously mentioned. Must pick up form. Thank you for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 4 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.
2026 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Multi-Competition:
Another update from my Journeyman's Journey career. I'm currently in 2025–26 with Eastern in Hong Kong. Four different competitions to face in November and December 2025.

First up was a meeting with bottom of the table Hong Kong, we put more misery on the promoted strugglers by winning 3–1 with Chan Ho Yin scoring twice. Next came an interesting competition, the Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship. A competition between the Hong Kong Premier League champions and a club from Shanghai, China; usually Shanghai SIPG or Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. A Hong Kong club side has never won the competition in eighteen attempts (in game and real life). Two-legged affair. The first leg took place in mainland China on 5 November at the Songjiang Stadium, we were easily dispatched by three goals to zero. Tie all but over.

The second leg came three days later at the Mong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong and we somewhat surprisingly beat Shenhua by a goal to nil, Yeung Chun Hung I giving us a very creditable victory albeit a meaningless one; the first time on the save (nine editions) that the Hong Kong team has won a leg! A friendly with Rally of Macau followed and we won 0–3. One week later saw the League Cup get underway, we were drawn into Group B with Pegasus and Kitchee.

Kitchee played Pegasus in game one and won it, meaning we had to beat them on 23 November to stand a chance of qualifying at the first attempt in first place. We did just that as goals from Chan Ho Yin, Darren Whitehead and Chan Chun Lok gave us a 3–2 home win; we survived a scare though as they came from two goals down to get level before Chan Chun Lok won it for us. Pegasus was our last Group B match and, despite being second-best for the vast majority, we managed to win with our back-up team via a late, late strike from Leung Nok Hang; a draw would've seen us go through anyway, but nice to get the victory. Into the semi-finals!

A friendly with Fukien was sandwiched in-between the League Cup fixtures, we won that 3–0. We returned to league action after more than a month without a Premier League match on 9 December to face Tai Po. We lost 2–3 despite a double from Chan Ho Yin, our first league loss of the campaign and only third in all competitions. That was prior to dropping points again next time out as we drew 1–1 with Pegasus. Good cup form, disappointing league form. A friendly win over Islands District fell before a big Senior Challenge Shield semi-final with Tai Po. We advanced to the 2026 final to defend our crown after Yeung Chung Hung I and a Chan Chi Shing own-goal puts us through. Sun Hei await in January's final.

In terms of the league, we are third in the table and sit four points off shock leaders Yau Tsim Mong but we do have two matches in hand. In the cups, we are into the Senior Challenge Shield final and the League Cup semi-finals. The Community Cup and Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship are both over, both lost sadly. Still to start is the FA Cup and the AFC Champions League.

Results:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Two last chunks of news. The first is Chan Ho Yin got into December's Premier League Team of the Month, the second is the club is currently in a transfer embargo with takeover talks taking place. They've been going on a little while, reports of the takeover being on and off constantly. Will have to wait and see with that.

Premier League - Team of the Month (December):


Takeover Talks at Eastern:


Thank you for reading. I appreciate it! Next update will likely be on 1 March 2026.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

Big Season Ahead:
Welcome! We begin the 2025–26 season with Eastern in Hong Kong in this update, this campaign proves to be a very busy but a very exciting one with a total of seven different competitions to face over the course of the season. Those competitions are: Premier League, Senior Challenge Shield, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Cup, Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship and, the big one, AFC Champions League.

We start with the transfer activity. In short, five in and fifteen out. We'll start with the incomings. The first was Leonardo Muñoz. Wait, what? Wasn't he already in the your squad? Yes, he was, but his contract expired and I tried offering him a new contract, he wasn't even interested in negotiating. Yet, the second he becomes unattached he's super happy to sign a normal contract. Odd! I'm delighted though, a quality centre-back.

Three other signings were: Adixi Suparman (Persib, loan), Man Chung Kai (Hong Kong Rangers, £10k) and Chan Tsz Ho (Citizen, £9k). Suparman (what a name) was my right-back during my days in Indonesia with Persib, a young player but did show fantastic potential when I was with Persib. he was loan listed so decided to see how he goes in Hong Kong. Man Chung Kai is also a RB, a player who is capable of playing now but, in my eyes, is one for a season or two in the future when Lam Wai Lok retires. Chan Tsz Ho, a 18 year old striker, joined from Citizen, he has made quite the impact which you'll see momentarily. The fifth signing was Leung Nok Hang's loan extension, taking him into his third season on loan from Balestier Khalsa.

Outs included the aforementioned Muñoz, other notables were Xing Yu, Emeka Jimoh, Sarot Pakbud and Mak Ka Wai. Xing Yu was the number one goalkeeper when I joined in 2023, but I wasn't impressed with him and he has now finally left. Jimoh, the Nigerian striker, has joined rivals Kitchee, I didn't want to let him go to a rival but it was only Kitchee and South China interested and able to pay the fee, so Kitchee was the lesser of two evils; didn't even want him to go, but he was moaning for first-team football which I couldn't give. Pakbud and Mak Ka Wai leave on loan, Pakbud could become the club's future right-back as he has potential but I wasn't impressed with him when played and now with the signings of Suparman and Man Chung Kai, his time looks up. Mak Ka Wai's time certainly is, he'll leave permanently asap.

Transfers:


Muñoz Originally Said No:


Before the season began we were given the expectations.*

Expectations:
*AFC Champions League yet to be added as it doesn't start till 2026.


Pre-season got the season going, overall we faced five friendlies and came away with four convincing wins and a narrow shoot-out victory over recently relegated side Citizen. Love some of the team names you can face in exhibition matches in Hong Kong, Boca Seniors being the pick of the bunch this time around. One final interesting part from pre-season was that I was heavily linked to the vacant South China job, one I may have been interested in had I become unemployed this season.

The season kicked off with the Community Cup final against Southern District, Premier League winners vs. FA Cup winners. Southern District beat us 1–0 in that FA Cup final, and they beat us again in this match. We didn't turn up in both matches, very frustrating. A match with Pegasus opened our Premier League campaign, a strike from Chan Ho Yin followed by a double from Chan Chun Lok secured us an opening day three points. After that, we faced a sizeable test against Kitchee.

Kitchee vs. Eastern was played on 21 September 2025 and it turned out to be a thrilling encounter. Ho Ka Chun gave Kitchee the lead, before Chan Ho Yin equalised to bring the scores level on 52mins. Kitchee retook the lead through Emeka Jimoh, yep the guy we sold to them in the off-season; typical. Then came the introduction of new young signing Chan Tsz Ho, making only his second substitute appearance. He is actually a player we snatched off the hands of Kitchee who had put an offer in for him before we came in and snatched him from under their noses. You can probably guess what happened next. He came on to score twice to win us the three points! Jimoh and Kitchee had the first laugh, but we had the last laugh with Chan Tsz Ho. Excellent win!

The Senior Challenge Shield got underway on 24 September, we came in as defending champions and had a tough first test versus South China. However, it was a rather easy encounter as we advanced to the quarter-finals after goals from François Nguidjol and Chan Ho Yin (x2). Our final match of September and first of October would be against Hong Kong Rangers as we faced them twice in quick succession. First we met in the league, they disappointingly held us to a deserved 2–2 draw but we got our revenge in the Senior Challenge Shield meeting days later as we smashed them 6–2; Chan Ho Yin grabbing yet another brace.

Azzurri gave us a tight friendly match-up after the Rangers double header but we still won 1–2. South China were up next in the Premier League, we put three past them again but it was a much closer affair as we won 3–2. Important victory. We finish these months with a win over Metro Gallery, Lo Tsz Kin and Chan Ho Yin on the scoresheet.

After five league games down, we are in first place and two points clear of our nearest challengers. In the cups, we unfortunately lost the curtain-raiser but we are into the Senior Challenge Shield semi-finals. In the next two months, two more tournaments get underway; the Hong Kong-Shanghai Interport Club Championship finals (versus Shanghai Greenland Shenhua) and the League Cup while the Shield semi-final against Tai Po will be played. That, plus four Premier League fixtures are all scheduled. Busy!

Results:


Community Cup final:


League Overview:


Competitions Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Favourite for South China:


Two records broken and one award given out. Darren Whitehead set a new average rating record of 7.44, while Yeung Chun Hung I has incredibly already broke the assist record for the season, he had 11 which beat Chan Ho Yin's record of 10 last season. Quite remarkable. Finally, Lam Wai Lok and Yeung Chun Hung I got into October's Team of the Month award.

Record: Highest Average Rating - Darren Whitehead (7.44):


Record: Most Assists in a Season - Yeung Chun Hung I (11):


Premier League: October Team of the Month:


Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.

2024–25 Ends:
We conclude the latest season with Eastern in Hong Kong. With the Senior Challenge Shield already in the bag, we aim to win a domestic treble with an FA Cup semi-final to face and, of course, the title at battle; in which we currently trail South China by one point with five matches to play.

Our first opponents were bottom of the table and eventual relegated side Citizen, we eased past them to record a 4–1 home victory with goals from Darren Whitehead, Lee Kai Chi, Chan Ho Yin and Yeung Chun Heung I; all goals coming in the first half. That's something we have been incredible at this season, we've scored a crazy amount of first half goals. That wasn't the case, however, in our next fixture against Southern District as they held us to a goalless tie.

Back-to-back friendly wins over Lucky Mile and Yan Po followed before we had a big FA Cup semi-final versus South China. We reached the FA Cup final for the second time in my two and a half year tenure after a brace from Yeung Chun Hung I (against his former club!), excellent performance and we'll face Southern District in May's final. Talking of Southern District, we had the same result after the cup semi-final to which we had with them - a 0–0 draw, this time with Pegasus. KCC Dragons played us in a friendly on 19 April but lost 0–5.

Despite dropping points in our last two fixtures, South China failed to make us pay and we subsequently sat level on points with them, in first due to head-to-head, with a game in hand and only two matches to play. That game in hand came a day after their fixture, versus Sun Hei. South China had failed to win meaning we could secure the Premier League title with a win against Sun Hei. Could we do it?



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


With the league secured, we could turn attentions to the FA Cup final in three weeks time. Before that, we participated in two matches. First one was a friendly where we got a 0–2 win over Eastern District, second came a week later when we finished our league campaign in absolute style as we destroyed fifth place Tai Po by seven goals to two! 2–7! Unbelievable result, a real fitting way to end a wonderful season. Now, for the FA Cup final...



^^Click "Show Spoiler" before scrolling down. ^^


Results:


League Overview:


Squad Statistics:


Before I get into the records and awards from the season, there is two pieces of news to share first. 1. Izwan Mahbud has left the club. He has joined Home United for £20k. A real shame to see him go, but good luck to him back home; Kamarudin seems a good replacement. 2. I have signed a new one-year contract with Eastern, taking my stay with them until (hopefully) June 2026. At this moment in time, I plan on leaving at the end of that season. This gives me a chance at a few new cups (that you enter after winning the league) and, obviously, the AFC Champions League; where we enter at the first qualifying round.

Izwan Mahbud Leaves:


New Contract:


There's been a bunch of awards and records, they all can be seen below. Most notably include the club's end of season awards where Darren Whitehead won Fans' Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. We also broke the record for Eastern's most goals in a Premier League season of 42 (well, now 49 after that last day barrage of goals vs. Tai Po).

Awards: Club's End of Season:


Awards: Chan Ho Yin - Footballer of the Year:


Awards: Darren Whitehead - Young Player of the Year:


Awards: Premier League Team of the Month for April:


Awards: Premier League Best XI for 2024–25:


Awards: Chan Ho Yin & Yeung Chun Hung I - Premier League Top Goalscorers:


Awards: Yeung Chun Hung I - Premier League Fans' & Players' Player of the Year:


Awards: Li Ngai Hoi - League Cup Best Defensive Player:


Awards: Lo Tsz Kin - FA Cup Top Goalscorer:


Records: Chan Ho Yin Breaks Club's Assist Record:


Records: Tai Po 2–7 Eastern - New Goals Record For Club and League:


Records: Most Goals in a Season for Eastern:


A lot of awards/records! Thank you for reading this update of my Journeyman's Journey save. Looking forward to next season already.

Cheers,
R96Skinner.

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Career so far:
2016–2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) | (Singapore/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: n/a. resigned
2018–2023 | Persib | (Indonesia/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: 9 / Promotions: 0 / Relegations: 0. resigned
2023– | Eastern | (Hong Kong/1) | Trophies: 3 / Awards: n/a / Promotions: n/a / Relegations: 0.

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Trophies won:
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2016 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) S. League.
2017 | Albirex Niigata (S) -- (Singapore) League Cup.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super Cup.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Super League.
2024 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) League Cup.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Senior Challenge Shield.
2025 | Eastern -- (Hong Kong) Premier League.

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Awards won:
2018 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, June.
2019 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2020 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, October.
2021 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, May.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, July.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Month, August.
2022 | Persib -- (Indonesia) Manager of the Year.