retired_DinoSaadeh

WHS :thup:

retired_ironmaden

Awards from last season:

- Player of the Year + Fans' player: French AML, who played as a free role AMC (untrained position), and ended up with a 7,41 average and 17 goals :p

- French AML, Romanian and Czech DC, Russian DM, captain DM all in the league XI.

- Manager of the Year

- NOT getting worst signing award Probably the league-deciding goal saved my striker's year :p

retired_ironmaden

Lierse, 2019/20
Belgian First League

Contract year approaches, and prior to the year I decide not to extend it. I don't really see the opportunity to develop much further.

Bookies tip us 3rd, but I'm pretty sure that we can retain the title. I splash out the money on Latin American signings (finally the board allowed me to send scouts): 9M for the left back of the Brazilian national team, 1,5M for a Mexican striker, 1,1M for an U-21 Brazilian defender.

Still, player sales keep us in plus. We kick off the year with the Belgian Super Cup, winning 1-0 against Genk. Last year's player of the season goes out with a broken foot. ****.

We start well despite the injury, with Russian playmaker banging in a whole lot of goals from distance. We set sail, and go to the top, before Genk kicks us down (0-2 at home). Autumn fixtures are tough, especially with the Champions League group games. We are at 4th place when we go on a 7-game winning streak, making our place at the top before Christmas.

The winter headlines is Club Brugge falling apart. They loaned 224M for the new state-of-the-art stadium, and as they didn't qualify for the Champions' League, they get into a debt trap. Winter break sees them calling in administrators, and putting the whole squad on sale.

I jump on the opportunity, and I play the chief vulture with 3 signings. In comes a talented backup goalie (my American experienced goalie is **** poor), a young striker, and a very good Portuguese midfielder. At the same time, my want-away Russian star midfielder joins PSV.

This ****es off the Romanian centre back. I tell him he has no business in transfer issues. He's ****ed off bigtime. Arrival of the Portuguese ****es off the Slovenian in his position. Young goalie debuts with a clean sheet in the cup, but gets a 6, and the media jumps on him. I tell them to cool down, the guy will improve. Goalie gets ****ed off.

I'm ****ed off with the moaning bunch of my players

Our winning streak is ended by GBA on a match we dominated, and the whole attacking section goes on strike, not scoring for four matches... Morale drops, but we scrape through undeservedly against Standard in the cup. The boost we just needed! Club-record 11-game winning streak comes, and 4 games to go we need only one win to lift the title.

We blow our first chance (0-1 to Standard), but run down Brugge (3-0) to celebrate our consecutive 2nd trophy. :thup:

Cups didn't really suck. For the first time ever I'm in the Champions' League groups (automatically), and end up 3rd, then go one round in the UEFA. We reach the cup final, but in my last game as a Lierse coach we are outbattled by Gent, losing 1-0 in overtime.

End of the year comes, and I let my contract run out.

7 seasons at Lierse, 3 titles, 1 cup, 2 lost cup finals, once runners-up in the league, twice bronze medalists. Pretty good I think.

Altogether 238 league games.

I have to pay a tribute for my long-serving faithful:

- Belgian captain DM (187 championship games)
- Experienced Norwegian DC (173 championship games)
- Towering Czech DC (143 championship games)

All with me throughout the 7 seasons.

Pos.: 1st (retained title)
P: 34 W: 23 D: 4 L: 7 49-22 73pts

Belgian Cup
- Francs Borains 2-1 (A)
- KVSK 1-0 (A)
- Standard 1-0 (A), 0-0 (H) - QF
- Club Brugge 1-1 (A), 3-1 (H) - SF
- Gent 0-1 (AET) - Final

Champions League
Group stage:
- Atlético Madrid 2-0 (H), 2-3 (A)
- PSG 0-2 (H), 0-4 (A)
- Fenerbahce 1-1 (A), 1-0 (H)
Finished 3rd

UEFA Cup
- Legia Warszawa 3-0 (A), 3-0 (H)
- Ajax 0-4 (A), 1-0 (H)

I finally got approached by the Belgian FA, and took the chance. So managing Belgium from now on.

Future at Lierse seems OK, finally the council allowed the much-needed stadium expansion and finances are fine. My successor however started with kicking the 3 longtime servants to the reserves :thdn:

retired_lauriekeith

Phenomenally entertaining!

retired_ironmaden

Some guidelines for the future.

I'm planning not to take any jobs at clubs for 2 years at least. I'll try to spend my time as realistically as possible: see Belgian games, scout key players abroad at matches (I'm off for lot of match views :p). Just like a normal national manager does.

Only question: should I update per year, or rather per competition?

retired_ironmaden

Quit Belgium after 6 games.

I resigned because of a shameful, embarrassing, **** poor 1-1 home draw against Luxembourg :thdn:

And our chances wer gone for the qualification, so I did the thing I would have done IRL.

Matches:

- Iceland 2-0 (H): solid start, 2 almost identical goals from my AM C-s.

- Sweden 2-3 (H): WCQ. Up 2-0 at half time, while the match didn't have a flow. For the second half my defense collapsed...

- Portugal 0-2 (A): WCQ. Poor first and good second half + a godlike Portuguese keeper

- Azerbaijan 2-0 (A) WCQ. Mediocre performance, two nice goals from experienced Arsenal-striker.

- Albania 2-1 (H) WCQ. They scared a hell out of me, after a nice comeback from 2-0 down. I mean, nice for them... Ajax striker gets one, Real Madrid midfielder blasts the second.

- Luxembourg 1-1 (H) WCQ. A kind of result which makes you flee. Enough said :thdn:

Job center, here I go.

retired_trinitys

KUTGW emgergo..very entertaining read. Reading other LLAMA stories, it seems like managing the international teams (well, ones that are expected to do well) is quite a different challenge entirely).

retired_ironmaden

Approached by Heerenveen, took the job.

They're lying at 14th position of the Dutch First League (that is, the second league in Holland). Team lacking in depth very much. I've got decent transfer funds, so 3-4 players will be brought in during the winter transfer period. No match played yet.

retired_cin4me9

Superb update emgergo. Looking forward to hearing about your new Dutch adventure.

retired_ironmaden

Heerenveen
2021/22
Dutch Second League

Team is lying in the lower region when I sign, so morale is anything but sky-high. It seems to me that the board sold most of the squad after last year's relegation, so I'm commanding a proud 18-people-strong fleet of players.

I look at the schedule.

I ask myself, what kind of drugs was on the guy who invented the Dutch First League (that is, second div.) schedule.

Wednesday-Saturday matches all the way till December.

Damn.

The team introduces itself with a 3-1 win, and a 2-0 loss. Then we have some fantastic games (4-1, 5-0, 3-0), and move up to 7th. I sign two freebies (Nigerian playmaker who used to play at my Lierse side, and Danish DM) to make the squad at least 20. And I'm continously praying for no injury crisis.

Being lucky, I somehow scrape through till the winter break, and sign 5 players. Squad looks much healthier. After losing our last match before Christmas, we go on an unbeaten streak, which lasts 15 matches - that is the end of the year.

We secure playoff spot with 6 rounds to go. And it looks like we have an outside chance to win the title (and direct promotion), when injuries hit me bad. All the midfield is forced out, and the team just wears out and loses cutting edge at the end. 4 points from the last 2 games could've meant first place, but I'm held to two goalless draws.

Playoffs then.

NAC Breda is the opponent, and they beat us 1-0 home, deservedly. Two wins are needed, so I'm not in that big trouble. Especially given that I'm unbeaten at home.

Until the next match. We hit the post, shoot the keeper ragged, miss golden opportunities, and lose thanks to an absolutely silly own goal. Out.

I didn't really feel that I have the nerve for another goddamn long season in second division hell. So when Schalke approached me, I took the job.

Off to Gelsenkirchen.

Pos.: 3rd
P: 38 W: 16 D: 13 L: 9 63-30 61 pts

Lost in playoffs 0-1, 0-1 against NAC.

Dutch Cup

Sucked.

- Groningen Reserves 4-0 (H)
- Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 (H) - they actually won the cup

Fans' player: chance-wasting Dutch striker.

BTW my successor almost made Lierse relegated. Got fired. Deserved. :thdn: