Crusaders F.C. - The European Crusade

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First Champions League Group Stage win!

Into the groups we went, and despite controlling the game, we were undone against PSG. A 50/50 penalty in the first half left us chasing the game, and while we had chances, they scored again late on ... and again ... and again! Still though, 56% possession away to PSG is a moral victory! (6)

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Next up, a pretty famous win away to Olympiakos! 3-1 was the final score, and Digby netted a brace in his Box-to-Box role while Jones got the final goal to prevent any comeback!

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Our 3rd group game was against City and we once again had the lions share of possession again far superior opposition! Their quality told and a few screamers saw us off, but we scored to show some grit and continued to dominate possession and frustrate City.

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So after 3 games, City are running away with it, and it wouldn't surprise me if they won all 6 like last season. I hope that is the case as it will mean I have a chance of getting something in this group. If we can prevent a loss against Olympiakos at home we could ****** 3rd!

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The league has been fairly straightforward so far, although our only draw came at home to a newly promoted side. Strange! Linfield are looking like a force now and could provide stern opposition if they flatten everyone else who are still weak.

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I'll post some tactical analysis very shortly, stay tuned to see the finale to the group!
 
It must be a Crusader thing as im sure IRL they managed too get drawn against Rosenborg in the 1st qual round of Europa league for the last 2 seasons
 
Talk on tactics!

So we have been completely dominating matches domestically, and in Europe we are enjoying the majority of possession against anyone regardless of the gulf in class. I'll highlight the PSG game where we had 55% possession away from home and no it wasn't a fluke or miscounted; OK we lost 4-0, but we played really well and the world class players we were up against were the difference:

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We used the following formation firstly:

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The midfield area is key to any team, and defines the style you will enforce. I use technical players who are intelligent on the ball and off it, with good decisions and passing ability key. Firstly, the holding midfielder is possibly the most important to the way we play.

I use a Regista, which I think is a fantastic addition to FM. Brittain was/is probably the best Regista available to Crusaders F.C. with his attributes. Them mental stats are, well, mental. 17 decisions, 16 positioning, 13 OTB, 16 teamwork, 17 work rate. PPMs of switching the play, passing it short and curling the ball all aid his ball retention. Check out his pass completion analysis against PSG:


Onto Digby and he is the legs in the midfield trio. He has been tutored 3 times by Brittain now so shares his personality and some PPMs, but in his Box-to-Box role he makes runs, creating space and linking up play.


Eamon Curran, the academy graduate, plays the Advanced Playmaker (support) role. He got through even more passes than Brittain, and they were more incisive (less retention based) since he plays further forward.

With Ball, Jones and *** also in the squad, we have a wealth of talent in this area!
 
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just wait till some of your youngsters grow with european football then you can follow them into international football:)
 
RaeHurlock said:
just wait till some of your youngsters grow with european football then you can follow them into international football:)
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You're right, I should wait until I can justify a squad almost completely from our league/club. No idea how I'd apply for the job though!
 
Hi mate, I was just wondering whether you could post the link for the site you downloaded the instant result button from? Cheers, and loving the story
 
tobyg said:
Hi mate, I was just wondering whether you could post the link for the site you downloaded the instant result button from? Cheers, and loving the story
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Search "instant" in the steam workshop. Subscribe to it, and it will download (it's like 0.3mb). Then in game, click the fm menu and go to downloads to install/enable it. I think someone posted instructions on like page 3 of this story but if not, I hope I'm right and didn't miss any steps! (6)

Cheers for reading too mate, I'm loving it, loving it, loving it
 
I tried somthing like this in Gibraltar needless to say it took me 3 years to get past the first qualifying phase
 
rocco russo said:
I tried somthing like this in Gibraltar needless to say it took me 3 years to get past the first qualifying phase
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Wow, it's hard to imagine starting from a lower base than Northern Ireland, that must be tough!
 
January Update!

Champions League Group stage conclusion

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Our games with PSG and City went as predicted, with us losing but Olympiakos managed to beat PSG, meaning we were tied on 3 points each going into our game. We dominated the game but they snatched a draw, and we finished 3rd (by head-to-heads) and went into the Europa League knockouts for the first time! We got drawn against AS Roma, a massive test.



Just look at all the green circles on our fixture list!
We completed an early double of the NI League Cup and County Antrim Shield by January, and sit top of the table with only 2 draws and 0 defeats! A second undefeated season remains a possibility!

I'm always fielding bids for my youngsters, some decent and some insulting, but I always consider whether I can afford to lose the player long term, regardless of the fee. Blackburn offered 1.9m and I negotiated a 50% sell-on-clause for my 17-year-old second choice goalkeeper (just like Armstrong a few years ago). I have a 16-year-old 3rd choice prospect who could have similar potential so I took the money!



Most of this was re-invested in an experienced centre half in Tom Eastman for 1.3m. I also had him in my Yeovil save, but hope he will turn out better this time because we will definitely need him against Roma!

Here's the squad, as you can see it's progressing nicely with lots of game-time for the mass of youngsters!


Finally the finances, general and facilties panels. Notable changes are the healthy balance which I intend to now keep above the 5 million level, and the latest upgrades have given us Great training facilities and Superb Youth! Also I'm now a club legend! (6) Hopefully the majority of our current squad can join me as I look to create history from our academy!

So we now gear up for the finale to the season, including the biggest game of the clubs history; Roma

Stay tuned! (6)
 
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Arazar said:
Wow, it's hard to imagine starting from a lower base than Northern Ireland, that must be tough!
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In my first year in the champions league Cliftonville knocked me out 9-1 the first time i got through a round it was against a Estonian team
 
rocco russo said:
In my first year in the champions league Cliftonville knocked me out 9-1 the first time i got through a round it was against a Estonian team
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Post the story :) I've not seen a Gibraltar one last long on here. As for Clinftonville going on a run, that's news to me cause on this save they couldn't run a bath.
 
Doing well mate getting 3rd in the champions league group already is impressive and it was good to see PSG and Man City didnt really destroy you. Scott Laird had a few seasons for me on my Dundee United save.
 
coolmcool said:
Doing well mate getting 3rd in the champions league group already is impressive and it was good to see PSG and Man City didnt really destroy you. Scott Laird had a few seasons for me on my Dundee United save.
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Yeah the brand of football is really exciting and stifles even the best teams, although we still get beat due to their individual quallity. Hopefully the big money signings of Laird and now Eastman can give us that solidity at the back and make us harder to beat for the big boys!
 
Europa League last 32

Onto the Roma game and we marched into our fate with destiny in fantastic form, with all the major players fit and firing. The first leg was at home, and we pulled out a top drawer display to go in front, then when they equalised keep on battling. Jordan Jones stabbed in a goal from a corner in the 91st minute to ensure we had a narrow 2-1 lead going into the away game!

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With the away goal we needed to be capable of getting our own if they took the lead, so we went with the 4-5-1 Standard/Fluid for the second leg. They took the lead through Adem Ljajic but Jones once again came up with the goods from the Left Wing Inside Forward position to nullify the away goal and give us a 3-2 aggregate lead! We held on to reach the last 16, the best achievement of Crusaders to date! :D

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Given some of the names in the draw, we got a favourable tie against the Czech side Slovan Liberec. They only have grey players which gives us hope of making the QF!

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As for our results domestically, we're still winning every game since our last draw in the league back in 2018! The Irish Cup and All-Ireland Cup are soon going to be in full swing, hopefully we can clean up at home!

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Keep watching for more updates soon!
 
Great results against Roma mate, and a great draw in the next round!

On my Aberystwyth story last year we beat Roma in the Knockout Rounds of our Europa League winning season, so I'm taking it as a good omen for your Europa League run this year :D

Looking forward to the next update mate!
 
Making history + Youth Intake 2019

We won our 6th league in a row, still undefeated with only 2 draws and at the same time as my 400th game in charge. The Hall of Fame shows I'm now the most successful manager in NI history!

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Youth Candidates

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Another nice little batch of players to supplement the squad, I'll definitely look to involve as many of them as possible, while Atcheson (sp.) may be thrown on a few times this season as I look to smash our Youngest Goalscorer record!

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Our next game is the Last 16 tie against the Czechs, fingers crossed!
 
You have a squad that competes with the best in Europe and you still find 4.5 potential superstar i must say you are very lucky
 
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