rourke

Since Pete's World Relegation Tour came up the other day, I thought I might as well post what's likely to be my last FM07 campaign before 08 comes out. Sorry for the length, but this is 7 seasons and 7 clubs...

2006 - Sao Bento, Bra 3rd Div (-60k/mth before investment)

Start poorly, only 4th in the first phase. Nothing to do from August until January when the State Championships start, so like red-blooded Englishman I take a four month holiday. Forget about my contract renewal; by the time I notice, it's too late :o. On to the job market!

2006/07 - Aalen, Ger Reg Div S (-250k/mth b.i.) (relegated)

Dreadful squad, defence like a pub team, losing money like nothing I've seen. In bottom three with half the season gone. Play very gung-ho to try to cover for awful defence. Finish as the league's runaway top scorers - only 7 of my 18 games in charge involve less than 6 goals total - but still relegated with two games to go.

2007/08 - Verl, Ger Reg Div N (-100k/mth b.i.)

Newly-promoted, so a complete rebuild job. High wages making an OK squad spell financial doom. Never in danger of relegation, never in danger of achieving anything. Fed up with the debt-ridden drudgery of the German league, I quit at the end of the season.

2008/09 - Fortuna Sittard, Dutch 1st Div (-50k/mth b.i.)

Very poor squad, no money to improve, bad all round. Finish second bottom thanks to Haarlem's even worse record. No relegation in the Dutch league but hate the promotion format so I quit. Again.

2009/10 - 10/11 - Nueva Chicago, Arg 2nd Div (+110k/mth :eek: in first season, -55k/mth second)

For some reason, Nueva Chicago decide I'm the man to take them back to the top flight. Thin, less than brilliant squad. Limp through the first stage of 09/10 in 12th place, blow most of my transfer budget to bring in 13 players. Go 15 games unbeaten in the closing stage but throw 1st place away in the final four games to slip to third and an unsuccessful attempt in the insane Argentinian playoff system. First stage of 10/11 finishes in 7th place, squad misfiring and half the players demanding to leave. So I quit.

2010/11 - Montevarchi, Ita C2/B (-60k/mth b.i.) (relegated)

Join with 11 games of the season to go and the club deep in relegation trouble. Start with a 5 game unbeaten run, eventually becoming W3 D5 L3 and failure to escape. Lose the home leg of the relegation playout, draw away. Relegation, and the sack, beckon.

2011/12 - 12/13 - Hessen Kassel, Ger Reg Div S (-60k/mth b.i. in first season, -90k/mth b.i. second)

Why do I do it to myself? No other offers by December, when broke :eek: and relegation-threatened :eek: Hessen Kassel scrape the bottom of the managerial barrel and give me a job. It goes OK, and we pull away from the bottom four to sit comfortably mid-table. Losing cash fast even though we're in budget. Next season, I improve the squad somewhat, fail to improve the awful finances. Eventually finish 5th but I really am fed up with Germany.

At the end of the season, Varese ("... due to the club's perilous financial state...") call me back to Italy, and I jump at the chance. Screw you, Regional Division South.

rourke

Damn typos.

Incidentally, the reason I mention the clubs' financial *cough* "performance" is that I was amazed at the way every team I managed seemed to be in inescapable financial plight. If they weren't already, they were by the time I left...

Barside

The I quit world tour.

Will you ever attend 2 xmas parties at the same club?

KUTGJobHopping.

Moonshine

Nice update there

KUTGW

T-IceMan

why? dutch promotion/relegation rules are great lol quite a challenge. Also the prem div play-offs for european football are quite laughable gettin uefa cup when finishing 9th ftw

rourke

It's just the sheer play-offishness of it all that got to me. That and I was never exactly sure what the target was (optimistically speaking - IIRC I was never in any danger of threatening the top spots of the table) because I could never remember who had to be where at the end of each of the million phases to get to the playoffs.

But mostly, the playoffs. The sheer, lunatic number of those horrible things.

Barside

Dutch leagues are definately strange, I was offered a job with Sittard in mid December & they had already confirmed their play-off spot.

It just didn't feel right with over half the season left to go.

rourke

Quite agree. My first thought was, "Hey, so if I win my first six games - which is doable, ish, then I don't need to worry about the rest of the season..."

Very strange.


2013/14 - Varese, Ita C2/A (-20k/mth)

Contrary to what I claimed before, I got the job here with 9 games of the season gone (I'd quit Hessen Kassel at the end of the season, was tempted by a job with Red Star '93 since French is the only central European language I still can't speak, but then left it until the sack race began). Toyed with the playoffs in the middle third of the season - one defeat in 13 games, but still too many draws - before injuries bit hard. And by hard, I mean my squad of 19 players was reduced to 11 and I had a bench full of greys for three games on the trot. Eventually finished 10th with a decent run at the end.

Most of the current squad are due to go come transfer time - contract over or transferred out - and I've got 15 players (so far) to come in and try to make a better fist of things next season.

rourke

2014/15 - Varese, Ita Serie C2/A (+25k/mth b.i.)

So nearly a great season. Started well, slowly heading upwards, and we topped the table come January. Then the injury stick hit hard - worst of all our £1m-rated Spanish U21 keeper going down with a broken pelvis for the rest of the season - and the rot set in. Just 2 wins in 13 before the final game of the season and we slipped out of the playoffs. But a 3-0 win on the final day and Cesena drawing 0-0 meant we edged it - level on points, level on head-to-head (two 1-1 draws), level on goal difference (+12) but on goals scored - 5 more than them. The squeakiest of squeaky bum margins. Which didn't help us in the playoffs, which we meekly dropped out of without much ceremony.

Saviour of the season - and I never thought I'd hear myself say this - was the Serie C Cup. It must be a bug, but we had full attendances for the groups and the two qualifying rounds, majorly boosting our income, which we didn't see again until the semis. We overcome a string of Serie C1 sides, including Andria BAT and Catania, before walloping Ternana 6-3 on aggregate in the final. By my count, the cup took us from being £330k in the red to £330k in the black. No sucking arse here.

Valuable #2 striker wouldn't renew his contract and promising #3 striker announced he wanted to leave for a bigger club at the end of the season. And then got in a snit when I immediately transfer listed him and offered him around. No pleasing some people. Still, things look good for next season. This could be three Christmas parties in a row at the same club... :eek:

Schwazz

Cheeky!

KUTGCupWinningW!