[retired_frogs]

Originally posted by KenC:
5 years in conference followed by 4 straight promotions..Fabulous work there fellow Aussie.What became of your 137goal blitzer, can I buy him?

I still have him, although he's not the goalscoring demi-god he once was. He put 32 in this last season, and at last count he's scored 397 goals under my management. He's also broken into the England squad since reaching the Prem, 6 caps, but no goals yet.

And in answer to your question... no. Not unless you pry him from my cold dead hands.

[retired_frogs]

2016-17 Barrow - English Premiership

9.46M transfer budget
Expectations: Avoid Relegation
12.03M wage budget

Players In: 3 for 4.4M
Players Out: 6 for 4M

Another 6750 seats added to the stadium this season (the local contractors must love me). Facilities are now at a point where they can't be any better.

Couldn't be happier with the season's outcome, considering my squad now has the depth of a kiddie's wading pool. My striker even returned to some sort of form, with 45 goals for the season. But despite qualifying for Europe like I wanted, I'm still very much in the mood for a new challenge.

So, will I jump? Will I stay? Will I have a nervous breakdown over the decision? I'll leave you in Neighbours-style suspense until my next update.

Final Position: 7th
FA Cup: 4th Round
League Cup: Quarter Final

[retired_frogs]

Sorry, bear with me, this'll run a bit long...

After much deliberation, I decided to take the plunge and say my good-byes to my Bluebird heroes. In a fit of Oceanic passion, I decided to apply for, and accepted the Cook Islands job. I'm looking to win the Oceania Nations Cup, and I'm dreaming of qualifying for the World Cup, or at least getting to the playoff.

With a national management role in tow, I was now looking for a club role somewhere in the region, and I found one in China's Dalian Shide. It turns out that Dalian are one of the big Chinese clubs, and have been hit by hard times, having not won a thing in about a decade. I set myself the task of returning them to their former glory.


2017 - Dalian Shide - Chinese Super League

2.3M transfer budget
Expectations: Title Challengers
3.2M wage budget

Players In: 5 for 2.2M
Players Out: 14 for 440k

So I come to the club with 13 points after 10 games, and sitting in 10th. A quick check of the squad shows the name doesn't lie, these players really are Shide. So I sign up one of my old coaches from Barrow, and send out the scouts to help me spend big on players that might help me construct some sort of semblance of a team. And lo and behold, a few key players and an extensive fiddle with the tactics later, and my boys are on a run for the top spot. But the run was too late, and Shide were locked into 2nd position with two games left in the season. Still, I get an Asian Champions League spot for my troubles, and I think with another couple of signings I have my eye on, this team should rout the competition in the title race next year.

Final Position: 2nd
FA Cup: Quarter Final

---

2017 - Cook Islands

A review shows the National Pool isn't as bad as I thought, and includes two decent strikers (one at Shaktar), and an old midfield general who's been plying his trade in the Spanish lower leagues for the past ten years. I organised a few friendlies to get a feel for the team.

9-0 East Timor
1-0 Guam
8-0 Brunei
2-1 Fiji

Which leads me into the Oceania Nations Cup Prelims, where the Cook Islands have drawn hosts American Samoa, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Tahiti.

2-0 Tahiti
4-0 American Samoa
2-2 Solomon Islands
1-1 New Caledonia

And a place in the next section with Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, which begins right after the new year.

[retired_frogs]

2018 - Dalian Shide - Chinese Super League

1.26M trasfer budget
Expectations: Title Challengers
4.33M wage budget

Players In: 2 for 50k
Players Out: 36 on free tranfers, 2 for 130k

An all-too-easy trot to the title, despite ten draws and three losses during the thirty match season. The main down point was a shock loss to Wuhan in the FA Cup, when my boys were in the middle of an injury crisis. I think I've completed my challenge here, so I'll be keeping my eyes and ears peeled for a new role in the near future.

Final Position: 1st
FA Cup: Quarter Final

Barrow: 17th in the Premiership, reached the 2nd knockout round of the EURO Cup.

---

2018 - Cook Islands

Straight into the Oceania Nations Cup league section with Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands right after the new year.

8-1 Papua New Guinea
3-3 New Zealand
2-0 Fiji
5-1 Solomon Islands

Setting up a two-legged final with the Solomon Islands for the cup.

4-0 Solomon Islands (A)
9-0 Solomon Islands (H)

With an absolute demolition job of Oceania under my belt, and the Confederations Cup to look forward to next season, I arranged some more friendlies with a view of pitting the Cook Islanders against some real opposition.

2-2 New Zealand
0-3 China
1-7 Australia
3-1 American Samoa

Nothing else to report except to say I scouted a 15 year old Cook Islands striker with electric pace during the season, who I instantly signed for Dalian and added to my slow-as-molasses Cook Islands squad. Three caps and no club debut as yet, but he looks the goods, at least at a Cook Islands level.

[retired_trainer]

Great read Victa, KUTGW.

[retired_kswansonwoolf]

Cook Islands, nice.

[retired_frogs]

One thing I forgot to mention, I thought I'd qualified for the Asian Champions League last season, but it turns out that because of a bug, the League Cup doesn't run past the first season and the ACL spot continually goes to whichever club won it.

Normally something I wouldn't be too happy about, but I wouldn't have qualified if the bug wasn't there anyway, so meh.

[retired_sandra]

Cook Islands ownage by Australia.