retired_charytine

I'm keeping a striker I've got purely on the fact that he has raw pace which could be very useful at this level, apart from that, he's carp.

retired_charytine

Good first season there Gundo. I'm predicting a slight promotion challenge from you next season. :thup:

retired_spence1ca

PS. Good start Gundo! Looks like a solid first season.

I do think the challenge will be harder this year - but that can be a good thing

retired_makaylalldredge

More like it supermas, keep it up!

aaberdeenn thats a great decision, especially considering how bad some of these defences are. Target man with 'run onto ball' usually works wonders....(are we allowed to talk tactics? not noticed anyone do it so far, so apologies if Im in the wrong!)

emgergo - I think the beauty of this challenge could be that we all struggle together! I have a feeling that other than the larger nations, we could all experience similar difficulties. To be honest, like people have said, I think this is a good thing.

retired_george-leo

Meldert, Belgium - December 22nd 2013

Mid-season table

We had our almost traditional slow start to the season, with two defeats, but after that things went fairly smoothly.

The question is whether "fairly smoothly" will be enough to save my job. It's not under fire yet, but it will be before long.

Here's why: Finances.

Still in the black for now, but if you look at the Outstanding Loans, you can see that that won't last much longer. We'll be in the red by February. We'll be massively in the red by the end of the season. After that, I don't even dare to speculate.

(For those who missed it in a previous post: the board took out a massive loan last summer to build a new stadium, despite the club relegating back to the Second Division. I reported it as a bug, since this is a clear case of criminal mismanagement.)

To be honest, I'm not very optimistic about being able to finish the challenge under these circumstances. Not throwing in the towel just yet though, I wanna see how long I survive.

The only chance I have of hanging on to my job is if I consistently over-achieve on the pitch, to counterbalance the board's wrath about the finances. I'll have to do that for the next... erm... fifteen seasons or so.

Overachieving will already be a problem this season. After our brief stint in the top division, the board expects us to challenge for the Second Division title this season. Which is fair enough, really, just makes it kinda hard to over-achieve. Luckily I had a bit of a financial cushion, so I should survive until the end of the season. Hopefully.

But I have only one option: we HAVE to gain promotion this season. If not, I doubt I'll last long next season. If we promote, at least I'll score well on the "long term expectations" bar, and if the season expectations are to be relegation battlers, that gives me the possibility to over-achieve a little. Even if I'll have to do it without money.

After next season... no sense in thinking that far ahead. We may be declared bankrupt by then, or the board may not offer me a new contract. Or I may have gotten the sack already anyway. Time well tell. One step at a time. First step: promotion.

retired_makaylalldredge

Hang on in there mate! Be very interesting to see what happens, particularly if you get promoted. I think you rightly reported that as a bug, its a shame that it's happened to you but keep going. :thup:

retired_zoe77tb

a drop in the ocean, but thanks

I guess they're trying to keep us afloat. That leaves us £432k in the red. Ouch...

retired_emzmcgee

Annihilator666 - Nortel - Season 08/09 - Northern Irish Second Division

Manager Profile - Manager Profile
Table - League Table | Position Graph
Results - Results #1 | Results #2
Transfers - Transfers Summary
Finances - Finance Summary
Other Info - Club Information | Manager Information
Top Scorer - Kenny Neilly
Fans' Player of the Year - Ross McMullan
Records - Team Overall Records | Team Season Records



A pretty good first season in the Second Division for Nortel. We actually hit the top of the league around about the half way point, but a run of four straight defeats ruined our chances of promotion.

In the cups, I had a good run to the Semi Finals of the Intermediate League Cup, but lost out to Ballyclare Comrades. My other cup runs weren't very good.

The board provided me with a very good parent club, Linfield. They're sending me a GK for the new season so hopefully he turns out to be good. Financially, the club is a mess. I was using about 85% of the club's wage budget, but still made a loss of £80k for the season. I have no idea where the hell I am going to make money from.

retired_atlspiderweb

Hey Gundo, watch your back mate, Skjetten are on their way

Well i say that, i've only managed 7 games so far in the season, hope to complete it later tonight

retired_ncbarry

Hey Annihilator, good work on the updates, but I have a question if you feel like it.

I've been doing this challenge in N.Ireland as well but have been too busy to update. How have you been doing in cup draws with amateur teams that have almost all grey players? I've been getting right destroyed by them all the time even though I got promoted my first year into the first division.

I lose these cup games to grey teams and can't score for my life and then go on next week to smash my league opponent or at least be very competitive. The sad thing is that in these cup draws I pray for full squad teams because I can't beat the amateur greys!