HawkAussie - Comments

Long time since I updated but not to be forgotten this is the OFC Champions League final


The starting lineup for the match and we stick with a classic 4-4-2 while Auckland gone for a 4-1-2-3.


11' - Here the Auckland team had the ball and we couldn't break their forward line with Turchetta scoring the opening goal. 1-0 to Auckland City.


44' - We kept our team in hope as we defended our life, hoping for something in return with an equaliser. It didn't happen as on the 44th minute we went 2-0 down.


51' - After our half-time talk, I thought it was time to change up our focus and go for attacking. Sure enough Tony Foy got a goal to get one back and the chances of winning matches had gone up. 2-1 still to Auckland City.


54' - Once again luck was on our side when we were given a penalty which Vincent Kumar slotted in. The score now being two all with 36 minutes to play.


61' - Al-Oaisher had a shocker of a throw as he tried to get the ball out. The only problem was that he kicked it to one of our players and soon Jeremy Buswell scored to gives us the lead. 3-2 to Waitakere.


85' - After the drama of Auckland scoring one back, Fuimaona got us back in the lead and with six minutes to go I was wondering could we possible on with the score 4-3 to Waitakere.




Our last remaining games to end the season and we do have chances of getting these trophies.

What has happened in the OFC Champions League to get us to the final.


By the looks of this fixture we had an easy trip to the final with the only challenge being Amicale who was also in Auckland City group (Auckland won the group).


I need to check this but surely the Tongan team that got through to the semis started out in the preliminary round as a development country entry. So making it this far into the competition is a brilliant job for them.


The semi-final results and you can see that its an all New Zealand matchup again this season.


The only thing is that I feel like we are the underdogs for this match as our last win was way back in 2018 in the Chatham Cup final. We won 1-0 that day and hopefully luck can be on our side.


Just stats from the competition so far.

So as we head into the OFC Champions League how far have we got and can we seal this season before we head to the O-League.


Possibly not after we lost to Southern in the opening match before making it through to the final of the Chatham Cup after a 5-2 win over Hibiscus Coast. Two more victories over Canterbury United and WaiBOP United gives us at least some hope of staying in the lead.


Three matches left for us this season and with a six point lead, you would think the title is now ours for the taking but until it certain I am not saying it's officially ours.


Our opponents for the Chatham Cup final is Team Wellington which we have defeated three from three this season.


The draw for the OFC Champions League group stage and I think we should easily get through to the Semis with this draw.

How was the month of February went for our team as we start to hit into the end of the season.


So after a slow start to the month in the Football Championship with the 3-3 match against Team Wellington, we only just scraped through to the Semi Finals after we won on penalties to Canterbury United. Then two wins over Wanderers S.C. and Hawke's Bay. The game saw what would some would say a goal of the year contender. The link to that game is here.


That means with a quarter of the matches to go we hold an eight-point lead which we shouldn't lose from here but strangers things have happened on this save so far with really two players in George Lloyd and Michael van Noort probably be the best players from the youths.


Stats for this season from across the league


We also have the youth come into our team with what I say a ok section but not the best by far.


A possible backup keeper for our main keeper after I leave the club with the One on ones and Reflexes being really good for us.


A good player for this divison and maybe might get into the main squad if injuries do occur from the other main players.

So as we start to hit the month of January what happened to our team as transfers start to come.


So a good month except for the game against Auckland City where we were outplayed and outsmarted in the 3-0 lost.


Despite that loss, we still do remain on top and that feeling of taking out the title could be a real thing with nine matches left of the season. Of course with only two points separating the top 2 any slip up could be devasting for our campaigns.


Our transfer period for our team was very quiet with only one player coming in and out.


A free agent from England and the physical stats is completely mad for this defender and tackling is good. This player will definitely improve on our defensive in the backline as I felt like that was the weak section in our team.


I don't know why I add this but here is the Chatham Cup section and Auckland City won't be seen in the final this season as they lost to Team Wellington in the fifth round. For us we hope this is the perfect opportunity to take at least one title home on what will be my last season in New Zealand.

So as we hit 2021, it is time for a update in terms of other things happening in the world.


In England it has been the Manchester City show with four of seven titles heading to Manchester. This was after Manchester United was *removed* in an alternate world where they didn't exist. Chelsea did win two in a row in 2017-18 before Arsenal took out the season before.


Spain is the Real Madrid show with four titles heading there. While for Barcelona, as well as taking one title they have finished 2nd four times . If you want to know who won 2014 it was Atletico


The only league which I have loaded in this save and Juventus and Napoli have dominated this competition with all of the titles going to these teams. Nothing else can be said.


In France it has been a domination of PSG with six of the seven titles heading that way while Lyon is the team that did break this trend. But could Bordeaux be the surprise team in this list as they finished 2nd last season.


If France was PSG, Germany is all about the Bayern dominance with all of the titles heading to Bayern Munich. Enough said.

Next update will be about the Continental tournaments on this game.

After a long time since I last updated. It is time to update this.


All been a good season until the Southern game where I thought it would be a good idea to instant result the game against Southern. Thinking 1st v 7th it should an easy victory. The answer to that question. I might not use the instant result for a while now and might have cost me my first place.


The answer is no as we are still top of the league as we hold a two point gap over Team Wellington. But we do have a game in hand which may be useful in the coming matches. Third is Auckland City who after losing to Team Wellington sit a point further behind but they do have a better GD compared to us by only a goal which means we can't slip up these next games.


Think of this as the start of the recap section for seven years on this save and you might have noticed that a certain country named Australia is in that top 20. This was because they had basically a perfect season in World Cup qualifying which has hit the half way point in Asia. New Zealand for your notice is in 118th currently.

With that the next update will be a review of the past seven years of this game.

I feel sorry for AFC Dunstable with that demolition of 16-0.

So how did we do as we hit into the football season with Chatham Cup starting again while we continue on in the Football Championship


As you can see our form has continued with all of the matches being wins except for the Auckland City. But unlike previous seasons, this time it was a draw which was a relieve as I wanted to get a point from this game and we got that. Other results I am happy about was the 2-1 win over Team Wellington which was my 200th match in charge on this game and the 1-0 over Southern as we struggle to hold for most of that match.


So for once, our team is on top after the first round of matches with a five-point lead separating us and our biggest rivals in Wellington and Auckland. On the other side of the ladder, it is another tough season for the two 'reserve teams' with only two points being scored from a potential 39 points that are available.


Also during this time, our draw for the OCL was revealed with what I think is an easy group for us with our only challenge being AS Dragon who we did meet in last years Semi Final. The other two opponents should see us not going to concede any goals from these matches.


The 200th game in charge with a career in review so far and the amount of jobs that I have been, especially in the international department.

Well done on winning the Champions League once again.

@Dan Tell me about it


So as you can the pre-season went really well with the biggest surprise being a 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix with a weaken lineup as I was managing my team in Japan. That form did continue to carry on with two from two in the Football Championship


The current standings as of three matchdays and we are currently ranked 3rd by Alphabetical with Team Wellington currently on top but we do have a game in hand which might be useful for us.


The transfer window for me was continuing to clear out the junk and the fans weren't happy with me releasing Harshae Rangia and Dean Lausev. But they were starting to get on the older time and it seems like I don't want to have any players over 25 which does make the challenge a little bit harder. But we did bring in two players to our squad.


The main role for him would probably be a backup for my main defender which I currently do have.


I was almost tempted to deny this as we already had two strong forwards in Tony Foy and Fuimanoia. But if one does go down then at least I have cover with this guy.

Its looking good right there.

@r96Skinner It does hurt to lose in that area.

So during the winter break, the Olympics were held in Japan and as manager of the Italy Under 23s, I wasn't really expecting much.especially when the squad only had 4 defenders to choose from where I would prefer to have 6 at least.



So as I couldn't really do much with my tactic that I need to work out from with my main tactic being a 3-3-3-1


With this formation, it was an ok result for us with 3-3-0 record but the worst record would have to be the 5-0 drubbing of Brazil that we got in the Quarter Final and all I could say from it was why the quarters.


The main man that did the damage being Malcolm would be the top goalscorer for the tournament with five goals and all of those being against us. Our team couldn't work out anyway of stopping this guy from scoring, especially with the second half.


Of course no Olympic update can't be complete without the group stage that my team was in.

What a way to end the season. The question is now what?

Looking good for your team to defend the EPL title.

So as we head into the final of the Oceania Champions League. Do we tick our first trophy of six to get or do we have to wait another season.


By the stats, it doesn't look for our team as it looks like we got smashed in the final result with Auckland City getting more three times more shots than us. Also, more possession from Auckland compared to us with a 60-40 record but ...


Yep, we did lose but surprisingly not by much as we lost in extra time in what was a crazy match which featured eights goals in a single half. To be honest, it should have been a bigger margin than the one goal.


The ratings from this match and the proof that we went into extra time being the substitution of Rory Lapslie who we brought on with four minutes left as we were hoping for the game to go in penalties.

But at the end of the season, we would finish in 2nd place which means another OCL spot for our team on the last day of the season. But the question is, will I stay for another season and hope to take out the title or do I leave and look for another country to conquer.

So with the OFC Champions League hitting the final stages, time to make progress on how our team is doing.


So four from four which was I expected to see when New Zealand is dominant in Oceania with 14 goals scored and only one being conceded throughout the entire tournament. Also, that spread of goals is good, expect when you have two strikers injured for the final which limits our choices.


As you can see from this, the group stage was basically a cake walk as we won all three of the group games where my opponents each won one. Not that I am complaining.


The semi-final against AS Tamarii was a good game for us with complete dominance in the game not that much will matter as we meet our finals opponent.


Once again, we meet Auckland City in a final and I hope it can be the 2018 Chatham Cup where we won the match 1-0. But with Auckland City winning all three of the previous encounters against us this season it might be a tough task to crack.


Stats for our team if anyone is interested.

So as we get to the OCL, what happened to get to this stage of the save.


For the first time in about four years, we don't make it through to a Chatham Cup final after we lost on penalties to Team Wellington which meant that they will compete against Auckland City in the final. The other results for us were mixed but once again the Southern game was annoying for me as we led twice before conceding late in the half (much like the Team Wellington game).


Our team needs a miracle to finish in 2nd place and qualify through to the OCL as we are four points behind with two games to play as I don't see Auckland City losing it from here.


Here was the Chatham Cup result against Team Wellington and I really should release Zeyad Ahmed for his bad performance in this game and few games earlier in the season has cost us with points. But really, we didn't deserve to take the match to penalties which were a surprise to me. That was as we did have an early lead before Zeyad made a critical error and gave Mngomeni space to score. The rest they say is history.

Next up will be the OCL Group Stage and with the group that we got, it should be a good run of games for us.

What a brilliant season from your team, now the only thing missing from the cabinet is a UEFA Champions League title.

You are going to have a tough challenge trying to knock over Lincoln Red Imps from the top. That comparison between Lincoln and Auckland City in my save is comparable.

Another update and have we caught up to our rivals or do we luck to go on our side.


Compared to the previous month, this was a much better month for the team with a lot more green then red. That being said, the lost to Southern was a disappointing performance and saw my main goalkeeper being dropped for two Football Championship matches and bringing in my backup keeper in Liam Anderson which as you can see has done a good job.


This does mean that the expectation of finishing with the NZC as we are eight points behind the leaders in Auckland City with seven matches to go. With the OCL coming up, I want to get to the final and with Team Wellington being our opponents (which we have defeated this season) then a possible final against Auckland City could come up for the third year in a row.


The transfer window for our team was quiet with two in and two out. The big signing for us this transfer window was Lafaele Fuimaona.



Really I was surprised that we only spent 110 thousand pounds to buy this striker as he was the current leading goalscorer for the league with eighteen goals. Because for me, I thought I will stay quiet during this window and not do much. So this was my assistant manager who thought this would be a good player to support Tony Foy (who is second in the goalscoring tally).


This player was brought in for free and with brilliant pace and good penalty taking he is basically will be a backup to our main two strikers.

So time for the December update.


As you can see from this, the competitive matches was a mixed affair with three wins and two losses. The first game against Waibop United we had a 2-0 lead before conceding a late goal. Then we smashed Wellington Marist in the 4th round of the Chatham Cup with a 6-0 demolition. After a loss to Team Wellington after having the early lead we dominate Canterbury United 4-0. The last game, our defence was strong until late in the game where we did concede the goal to end in a loss.


So this was the tactic before I did change it back to a regular 4-4-2.


So for our team, we lost one spot as we dropped down to third place. With eleven matches to go for our season, we could still take out the title but it will be challenge that hopefully, we can get some back in the coming games.

Thanks, I hope by April (which it starts) I can put all of my focus on that and not worry about the league (highly unlikely).

Another update to this story and to start with, the last two months for our team has been... mixed in some way.


Those red circles are starting to annoy me as both times that I did lose, I made bad mistakes early on. In the game against Auckland City, I changed the familiar tactic of 3-2-3-2 into a 4-4-2 thinking that it might break the deadlock 16 minutes in and long story short it did but in the wrong direction. The other red dot was against Hawke's Bay and we didn't do well at all. This might of been because earlier I wasn't happy because I was failing at parkour in another game and I think the frustration led to this lost.


So for us, that means we are four points behind Auckland City at the moment and with the lost to Hawke's Bay, they are near our tail ready to pounce if we stuff up again. In more positive news, at least we are into the fourth round of the Chatham Cup where we take on Wellington Marist.


The current squad stats for the season and our main men of Tony Foy and Vincent Kumar isn't up there like they were last season, but are still getting in the performances. You may notice that Vincent Kumar is injured and this is why.


Yep, he got injured in a New Zealand match against Korea which took out for two months which is going to be annoying. But I do have a strong midfield so hopefully, they will cover for him.


The last one was an interesting offer from Perth Glory and if it was a Journeyman challenge I would go for it as they were currently 7th in the league when they sacked their manager. But I said no to the interview knowing that I need to finish Oceania first.


Speaking of Oceania, the group Stage of the OCL was revealed and the draw that we got is what I might say, a possible group to get out of with really our only challenge being PRK Hekari which I had experience taking on when I was at Unitech Lae. Other than that, it might be an easy group to get out of it. But strangers things have happened, hopefully not against me.

Let's hope you can continue, maybe a perfect season for you?

So with the Asian Games over and complete, how did my nation of Singapore go.



As you can see we struggled with our group being what would be called the Group of Death with the only win of the campaign being a friendly against East Timor. Of course, we did lead in two of the matches but we seemed to not hold the lead as we only ended up with a single point.


The squad that we played for the three matches and overall our team wasn't the best on paper and it did the show with Abdul Shukor Junaldi being our best player for the tournament.


Our lineup for the final match of the group stage against Oman and we had to play this as one (and only) ML player got injured.


As a little treat, here is the top 20 in the world as of October 2019 and the biggest surprise is that Russia is actually in the top 20 teams.

So with me starting my third full-time season as manager of Waitakere United and the goal for this season is basically to win all of the competitions that we have entered for. Because I think last year we were unlucky to not get the title after losing two of the three matches against Auckland City. This season I hope that changes:


I know way more out than in but most of the players came from my youth intake from the previous season (which was terrible). The main outs for my squad being Joey Gibbs who was our second in the goalscoring charts and we got 110 thousand pounds on him as he was starting to get on with age. Jacob Cook went back to his native land to England for 175,000 pounds which could be a record for me on this game and Scott Barr moving to Team Wellington for 68 thousand pounds.


Despite those big removals we had a good pre-season with me being really happy about the one all draw to A-League side Wellington Phoenix. After the match against Birkenhead Utd, it all started to a click when I changed the formation from a 4-4-2 to a 3-2-3-2 and as you can see from this. We have not conceded in six games with our defensive finally clicking for once. Of course with Team Wellington next on our schedule and Auckland City on the radar, we can't take these early results as our main form.


So as you can see early on, we do currently are on top of the league table after three games with us ahead of Hawke's Bay by goal difference. I need to keep my focus right for our team as Auckland City is ready to pounce on us if we slip up.

Also during this time, I got the role as the manager of Singapore U23's for the Asian Games to be held in Vietnam this year so the next update, I will show you what happen to that team as I accepted this job because mainly I wanted to create history with this national team (as they haven't won a Asian Games competition).

That looks like a good group for the English there. A couple of requests from me.

First one: Want to know who won the Champions League and the Europa League (EURO Cup) in this play through.
Second one: Maybe a look at the whole of the 2034 World Cup instead of just Group B that we see.

What a brilliant season for your club. Go forth and take out the title.

I hope I can take out the title. But if I don't and take out the Oceania Champions League that would be a pass for me as well.