Aberystwyth Town - European Giant

I think the board have something to do with youth recruitment because it was suggested by my assistant that i try and upgrade. But this did not get very far as i was shot down by my board (who i don't seem to get along with)
 
Champions League Group Stage (Season 8)

Match Day 1

Aberystwyth Town 1 - 1 Feyenoord

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A decent start to the group with a point at home to Dutch giants Feyenoord. We had to come from behind through a Matty Collins equalizer in the 62nd minute however we were a bit disappointed to not push on and get a winner considering they went down to 10 men.

Match Day 2

Arsenal FC 3 -0 Aberystwyth Town

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We followed up our draw in match day 1 with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at the Emirates. We were dominated from the opening whistle and were probably lucky to keep it at 3.

Match Day 3

Aberystwyth Town 0-2 Bayern Munich

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Sadly, we could not repeat our heroic performance of last season against the German giants. We were once again second best all over the park and they thoroughly deserved their win. Could we get our revenge in Munich on match day 4?

Match Day 4

Bayern Munich 5 - 2 Aberystwyth Town

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Yet another disappointing defeat and it seems we really got to Bayern with that win last season as they raced into a 4-0 lead in Munich. We changed to 2 up front at 4-0 and managed to get two goals which convinced me that we are good enough now to play two up front in Europe.

Match Day 5

Feyenoord 1-3 Aberystwyth Town

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Just as I was saying in the squad report that Lewis Doyle doesn't score goals in important games he makes me look like a mug by blowing Feyenoord away with a deadly hatrick at de Kuip stadium. This meant that we only needed to match Feyenoord's result on the final match day to qualify for the Europa League knockout rounds and if we could beat Arsenal and Feyenoord could beat Bayern Munich we could qualify for the Champions League knockout round.

Match Day 6

Aberystwyth Town 2 -1 Arsenal FC

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This was by far the best result of our group stage, beating last years Europa League and the 2017 Champions League winners Arsenal 2-1 at Park Avenue! The only question now is whether Feyenoord could do us a favour and win in Munich??

Group G Final Standings

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Unfortunately, two late goals from Juan Mata and Mario Balotelli gave Bayern the win over thier Dutch counterparts and so we will have to settle for the Europa League knockout rounds. However if you offered me that and 7 points from that group before the group I would have snapped your hands off. A really nice improvement from last season and we have been drawn against Anderlecht of Belgium in the 1st knockout round of the Europa League with the winners playing the winner of the FC Basel vs Juventus tie!

Next update will be the Europa League knockout rounds, could we make it as far as last season and at least get into the quarter final? Anderlecht have some decent players however I think they are beatable. However, a potential tie with Juventus in the 2nd round will prove a very tough test if we make it through.​
 
NOOOO lost my job at Drogheda. Will slow the blog down somewhat
 
kitchin75 said:
what happend?
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Unfortunately the board and i did not see eye to eye and they decided it was better for the club if we parted ways. So now looking for a new challenge if you have any advice
 
MrStu01 said:
Unfortunately the board and i did not see eye to eye and they decided it was better for the club if we parted ways. So now looking for a new challenge if you have any advice
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thay sound like twats you could try making fc utd bigger than manu or san marino or fc andorra
 
kitchin75 said:
thay sound like twats you could try making fc utd bigger than manu or san marino or fc andorra
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Can you get FC utd on FM13? Wasnt sure what league they were in. Yeah thinking of smaller leagues i could try and improve but hard knowing where to go. Debated Scotland but most teams there are already recognised.
 
MrStu01 said:
Can you get FC utd on FM13? Wasnt sure what league they were in. Yeah thinking of smaller leagues i could try and improve but hard knowing where to go. Debated Scotland but most teams there are already recognised.
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yes there is a download for england level9 there in the northen prem the download is on this site
 
kitchin75 said:
yes there is a download for england level9 there in the northen prem the download is on this site
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Also debating a european league start with a small team such as France or Ukraine or Holland but reputations are still high
 
Braga will be my new team and new blog! Be sure to check it out guys!!!!!
 
Will update this tomorrow, been bogged down with college work the last couple of days. It will include the Europa League Knockout rounds. Is anyone interested in updates regarding the how the domestic season went or just Europe?
 
Season 8 - Europa League Knockout Rounds

Europa League 1st Knockout Round

Aberystwyth Town vs R.S.C Anderlecht

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Heading into the first leg in Brussels I probably would have been happy taking a score draw back to Aberystwyth, so I was ecstatic that we were able to pick up a 6-2 victory. Nice to see our new Jamaican left winger getting a goal in his first European game. Anderlecht would have needed to score at least 5 goals in the away leg to go through, but there was never too much danger of that as we picked up a nice 1-0 win in the home leg to take the tie 7-2 on aggregate. Italian giants Juventus awaited in the 2nd knockout round....

Europa League 2nd Knockout Round

Aberystwyth Town vs Juventus FC

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We were once again away in the 1st leg and we were actually able to take a shock 1-0 lead in Turin with a goal from Kevin Conn. Unfortunately, this awoke Juventus and they hit back with 3 goals to race into a 3-1 lead but Pierce Sweeney rose like a salmon to pull one back with a header in the 82nd minute and this away goal proved to be crucial. Heading back to the Parc y Scarlets for the 2nd leg we won a penalty in the 6th minute, which Kevin Conn duly dispatched before Lewis Doyle put us 2-0 up and ahead on aggregate. Juventus then scored to set up a very nervy last 20 minutes, but we held on to advance on away goals! Athletic Bilbao awaited in the quarter final.

Europa League Quarter Final

Aberystwyth Town vs Athletic Bilbao

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The quarter final proved again to be one step too far for us this season as we were outclassed by Bilbao over the two legs. A 3-2 defeat in the home leg followed with a 3-0 defeat in the away leg meant we were out of Europe. Still, I am very happy with our performances in Europe this season and we seem to be progressing year on year.
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Season 9 Preseason

Season 9 Preseason

Board Takeover

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This dragged on for over 6 months but finally we got a board takeover. Hasn't really changed anything in terms of finances, but I'm hoping they will be more willing to improve certain aspects as we get through a few more seasons.

Club and League Improvements

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All of this goes to show the work we are doing means we are heading in the right direction. If only another Welsh team would actually get into the group stages of a European competition...

Clubs Current Status

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Not too much to say here, just thought you guys might like to have a look where we are in terms of facilities and club icons etc. Also have agreed improvements to youth and training facilities since this screenshot.

Transfers

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Minimal activity here. Burrows rejoins on a years loan to play backup to O'Brian on the right wing and Hunter was just a short term loan to provide cover on the left wing due to an injury to our backup left winger. The standout signing however was one we agreed over a year and a half ago Alan Gannon... and apparently he has way better potential than we originally thought, which has led to him being given the role of 1st choice keeper in order to quicken his development. Last year 1st choice keeper Graham Phelan joined Championship side Birmingham on a year long loan as their first choice keeper. Here are some screenshots of Gannon...

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Champions League Qualifiers

2nd Knockout Round: Aberystwyth Town vs FC Flora Tallinn

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3rd Knockout Round: Aberystwyth Town vs Molde FK

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Playoff Round: Aberystwyth Town vs Shamrock Rovers

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We were pretty worried after losing the first leg at home 1-0, but the boys served up a great performance in Ireland to send us through to the group stages for a third year in a row! We were drawn into Group A...

Champions League Group A:

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Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund
AS Roma
Aberystwyth Town

Think this group is a harder one than last year. Manchester City have a brilliant team with the likes of Neymar, Muniain and Thomas Muller, whilst Dortmund still have the likes of Hummels, Reus and Gotze. Roma also have a few good players and are, on paper, better than us, however I feel they are there for the taking and we should be aiming for at least third place in the group.


Will post a Group Stage Update tomorrow at some point, what are your predictions for how it is going to go??? Also, feel free to ask for screenshots of anything you may wish to see and I will post them!



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One thing you could do to push the other clubs along is say buy one of there players for a large amount, if you have money left after you strengthen. Boosting them up asyou go along, making the comp a bit stronger?
 
Wynters said:
One thing you could do to push the other clubs along is say buy one of there players for a large amount, if you have money left after you strengthen. Boosting them up asyou go along, making the comp a bit stronger?
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Yeah I considered that but then thought they would only waste any money I gave them so would rather keep it to improve our team and hopefully keep improving in Europe that way which will hopefully drag us up in the competition rankings and European coefficients etc.
 
Season 9 - Champions League Group Stages

Champions League Group A:

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Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund
AS Roma
Aberystwyth Town

Match Day 1: Aberystwyth Town 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

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We started the group off with a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Dortmund. Probably would have took a point before the game but we were 2-0 up at half time through Kevin Conn and Fabian Waugh, only for us to take our foot of the gas in the second half for them to punish us with two goals of their own from Gotze and Ayew.

Match Day 2: Manchester City5-1 Aberystwyth Town

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Outclassed. Man City have two Champions Leagues and 5 Premier League titles to their name since I started this save and the difference in class was massive as they absolutely battered us with a clinical striker from Brazilian superstar Neymar.

Match Day 3: AS Roma0-1 Aberystwyth Town

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It took us until match day three to get our first win in the group and we had a second minute own goal to thank for it. It was backs to the wall for the rest of the game and started an unbelievable second half of the group stages.... Match Day 4: Aberystwyth Town 4-0 AS Roma

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We followed up our scrappy win in Rome with a far more comfortable 4-0 victory over them in Aberystwyth, with a brace from target man Lewis Doyle. This result meant that if we could avoid defeat against Dortmund in match day 5 and Man City beat Roma, we would have qualified for the Champions League Knockout round.

Match Day 5: Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Aberystwyth Town

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No need to worry about the Man City vs Roma result, as we turned over Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in their own back yard with a midfield masterclass from Australian Kevin Dindone. This sealed our progress into the knockout rounds and meant match day 6 would simply decide who finished top of the group..... Man City only needed the draw however we needed the win...

Match Day 6:​ Aberystwyth Town 3-0 Manchester City

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A 4th straight Champions League victory meant we had climbed from the bottom of the group after match day 2, to win the group. Another brace from Lewis Doyle and one from Dindone gave us our surprise victory.

Final Table:

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4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat is far more than I ever expected when the group was drawn. A nice goal difference of +6 also shows we are continuing to make nice progress although the 5-1 defeat to Manchester City shows us what can happen when the big teams actually turn up against us. We have drawn FC Porto in the first knockout round. Not overly hopeful as they look to have a brilliant squad with a couple of very good Brazilian regens, but we'll give it our best shot and hopefully we can catch them on a couple of off days :p

Next update will be either a January transfer update, or the Knockout round against Porto, or both depending on when I get around to posting it. Hope you're enjoying the story guys!
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