djchapsticks Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) August 2031 Another perfect month in August but a shocker of a defeat to open September with. We remain top, Pohang have pulled back on us by a point so we are 6 clear plus 42 goal difference with eight left to play. We're hitting the tickly bit of both the season and my time in Korea/Asia now. The Champions league 2nd round is next up and an away tie to Higashiosaka Rosa. I feel we should win this comfortably but the in-game bookies surprisingly have us as the outsiders - let's see how we fare: Legitimately unreal. As I'm selecting my team , I begin to understand WHY we're outsiders. So many players have left, we've only got 15 registered for the competition!!! We've sold several players and there is not, as far as I can tell, opportunity to register any of my new players for the CL mid-season or at knock out. So I went into the game against Rosa with a back 4... 3 of whom consisted of greyed out youth players. Rosa rode me senseless and on another day, would have been far out of sight but we rode our luck big time. I just need a lucky break and the chance to register players or I can kiss cheerio to the champions league again this season. Edited April 23, 2022 by djchapsticks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 We mercifully hit a registration window and I managed to get the players needed for the quarter final against Melbourne City. Even at that, we got through by the skin of our teeth. We were out on our arse with 4 minutes left but it turns out that Lars Inderberg is a god amongst men. Semi final sees us away to my old club Port. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 (edited) We took on Port with a shitload of fitness issues, the games are now coming thick and fast and there were only 4 days between the QF and the SF with a league game between those as well. So going in there were a lot of fitness concerns. Port are still a very good side and regulars in the business end of the competition. A real nip and tuck game and once more, thought the jig was up when we missed our first penalty and they tucked theirs away. After that though, their bottle collectively went by missing 2 complete and the keeper saving another whilst we buried the next three. Jeonbuk are going to the final where UAE's champions await. In terms of the league, we're 6 clear with 4 to play and a visit to 2nd placed Pohang is our game in hand where anything other than a home win and we're home and hosed. I want us to tie the league up ASAP to rest players up as we've got 3 big fixtures to finish the season on: Edited April 24, 2022 by djchapsticks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 Four points from rounds 35 and 36 means that the second title is wrapped up with two games still to play. The best players are going on ice for the Cup and Champions league finals. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 Onto the cup final: The first leg was very tight but as always, there's that hero of a boy Inderberg nipping in with a last minute winner and something to hold onto when we travel to Pohang. The second leg was tight but once we had our noses in front, it was one way traffic....double done! Not loving the 'staunch' comments. Might mean something else in Korea... Which just leaves the CL final - a win and I can safely say that my time in Korea and Asia at club level anyway, is done. On paper Shabab Al-Ahli should not be beating us. We're far stronger and in all honesty, I'm surprised they got as far as they have but then this has been a competition summed up by my team squeaking through when on their arse. Let's hope for an easy run. Spoiler And an easy run it was... 5-1 winners and as I thought, we negotiated our way through three better teams to get here in the first place. With that, I'm done. A treble in my final season, another continental competition checked off to boot. I hand my resignation in but first. It's quite important to realise how good these two have actually been this season. Inderberg is of course finally moving to Paris but wherever I go next, it's going to be a step back in quality: Spoiler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 (edited) I've been floating about in the January - December seasonal trap for 10 seasons now, so it is definitely time to get everything to line back up. I've spent six months watching the job market and was given a proposal. But that's just not in the spirit of what I've been doing so far in this save. I'm not saying the save won't end up in the higher ranked leagues but I've a long, long way to go before that. Meanwhile - We're off to a new continent and despite me angling for a job somewhere in Africa, it will have to wait. Paraguay is our next destination! Edited April 26, 2022 by djchapsticks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 So on we go to Paraguay - My immediate reaction is shock. Shock that the league is the 4th strongest in South America behind Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. I had it in my head that at the very least Uruguay and Chile were both stronger overall but not the case. Guairena are a club with no history to speak of in terms of major honours. Formed in 2016, they are based upon a club that used to be formed and sent to the Paraguayan championship from the city of Villarica after the city's football federation championship was over. They appear to have made it from formation to the top flight of Paraguayan football in three years. They've got a cracking badge and a cracking shirt that is actually not based on Argentina, but the Morton side of 1995/96 that contained Marko Rajamaki and Derek Lilley. As stated, the club play in Villarica. A city of 56,000 that can comfortably described in climate terms, as a Rainforest. As for this season....well I didn't realise Paraguay only had an 18 game league season with the bottom two seemingly turfed out at that point. So with 7 games left we're probably goosed... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 My squad is pretty poor as is the depth of what I'm picking from but we might just have enough of a first XI to get by on if we don't lose anyone to injury or suspensions: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 12 hours ago, djchapsticks said: As for this season....well I didn't realise Paraguay only had an 18 game league season with the bottom two seemingly turfed out at that point. So with 7 games left we're probably goosed... Do Paraguay not do an Apertura/Clausura system? You might find there's another round of fixtures. If they're anything like Argentina then there'll be a convoluted system of relegation based on average points over several seasons as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 29 minutes ago, Cyclizine said: Do Paraguay not do an Apertura/Clausura system? You might find there's another round of fixtures. If they're anything like Argentina then there'll be a convoluted system of relegation based on average points over several seasons as well. Doesn't look like it. And bottom 4 go down in a 10 team league so looks like we're doomed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 32 minutes ago, djchapsticks said: Doesn't look like it. And bottom 4 go down in a 10 team league so looks like we're doomed. I wonder if the database you're using is still stuck on Covid seasons. Having a look at the Wikipedia page, Paraguay seem to normally have 12 teams and an Aperture/Clausura season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 I think @Cyclizine is right and whoever has made the Paraguay DB in the game has messed it up as the 2nd division contains far more games to play. But oh well, here we be. I threw myself into the job half expecting a fair crack at turning around the impossible with 7 games to go but didn't realise that it was the bottom four who went down as the table only highlights the bottom two in red. Meaning the 6 point gap I thought needed to be turned around was actually 14 points. So I think you know how it was going to go... My first port of call was strengthening what was a shocker of a squad. Ismael Arevalos came in to provide cover for a few shorthanded central roles, he's 'meh': Spoiler Cheick Fofana arrives as my first choice option on the right wing Spoiler Bolivian Eduardo Antelo on the opposite flank: Spoiler And up front, the utterly unpronounceable Allan Wlk...not Wik....WLK. The f**k is that for a name?! Spoiler The form before I joined was quite a spectacle. Understandable why they were looking for a new manager: My first 4 games were a bit better. We were actually unlucky against Guarani, taking and early lead and still being at 1-1 with 15 to go. Allan Wlk also starting off Even at that though, following the Capiata game, our fate was sealed. So it's officially a rebuild job. We'll start in the 2nd division and try and get the club troubling the top end of Paraguayan football and the latter stages of the Sudamericana within 4 seasons before we might move onto a side capable of challenging for the Libertadores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted May 4, 2022 Author Share Posted May 4, 2022 Three tremendous wins it has to be said. Cerro Porteno are the 2nd best side in the country and we managed to turf them out on their own patch. The 3-2 win over General Diaz was pleasing too given that we went down to 10 men at 1-1. I'm not sure what the Interligas cup final gets you - hopefully a Sudamericana place but it's a position I didn't expect to see us in and we'll face Olimpia who are clearly the best side in the country. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted May 5, 2022 Author Share Posted May 5, 2022 Onto the Interligas final. With one league game to go, we have been comfortably relegated and will finish bottom of the league. We do not realistically hold out any hope against Olimpia who have won the league at a canter by 10 points. After 17 games of an 18 game season, were 34 points worse off than them. The gap is huge. Spoiler 8 minutes in and true to form: Yep - going to be a long afternoon. We limp through to half time still only 1-0 down but could feasibly be out of sight. If we can just nick a goal and maybe somehow force extra time... Spoiler And yet we come back out and start getting a foothold in the game. 57 minutes. Spoiler Game on! And it all got a bit sketchy - heading for extra time. Then on 87 minutes. Spoiler And so it stayed! What an upset. What a cup win with a frankly very poor team. Unreal performance. Spoiler League results: Cup results: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG.Roma Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 Aw no! What happened next? Not been down here to read these threads for ages for some reason, but I really enjoyed this adventure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 On 18/11/2022 at 13:01, DG.Roma said: Aw no! What happened next? Not been down here to read these threads for ages for some reason, but I really enjoyed this adventure. Sorry man, I sort of just fell away from this. Shame as I was enjoying it. It's still there though and I might well end up going back to it in future, particularly as FM23 doesn't feel at all different so I'd be as well not starting afresh. Currently enjoying my St. Mirren save on FM23 just now but I know for a fact I'll get bored of that eventually, so I'll make a return to travelling the world! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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