Flez85's Trot Around The Globe

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flez85

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Scouring The Globe In Search of Trophies and Achievments

I started this save thinking I would attempt the Pentagon challenge, planning on going to it when my San Marino game was dragging. However it's turned into a fun save because I haven't really set myself any goals nor am I forcing myself to stay in one place. I started this unemployed with a Sunday League reputation, and the following nations loaded:
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Progress

2013/14
Jomo Cosmos 1stin National First Division and SA Cup runners-up
2014/15
Jomo Cosmos 15th in South African Premiership, won relegation play-off and won SA Knockout Cup
2015/16
Jomo Cosmos 1st in South African Premiership
England U21s win Euro U21 Championship 2016
2016/17
Jomo Cosmos 1st in South African Premiership
Appointed Head Coach of Congo National Team
2017/18
Jomo Cosmos win 2017 African Champions League
Jomo Cosmos win Third Place Playoff in 2017 Club World Cup
Congo qualify for first ever World Cup
Leave Jomo Cosmos for Jeonbuk
2018
Fired by Jeonbuk after finishing 7th in K League Classic
Resigned from Congo after failing to qualify for African Cup of Nations
Appointed as Nigeria head coach
2019
Hired by Busan I'PARK
Finished 7th in K League Classic
Nigeria fall to a record low World Ranking of 103rd-
-but climb up to 78th by year's end
2020
Busan win K League Classic
Busan win Korean FA Cup
Nigeria qualify for African Cup of Nations
Resign from Busan
Hired by Chunnam
2021
Chunnam win Asian Champions League
Chunnam finish 2nd in K League Classic
Nigeria overcome Camerron to qualify for 2022 World Cup
Resigned from Chunnam
Went on vacation and applied to every open position and it didn't take long to be offered a job in the National First Division of South Africa:

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History[edit]

The club was founded in January 1983, upon the remnants of the previously well-known and successful club Highlands Park, which Sono opted to buy when he ended his playing career in the United States. The club was named Dion Cosmos in its initial 1983 season, with the first part of the name respresenting the previous sponsor of Highlands Park and the second part being the fingerprint of Jomo Sono, who decided to name his newly bought club after his former NASL club, the New York Cosmos. Since 1984, the name of the club has been Jomo Cosmos.[1]​
Sono's policy for development has always been to recognise and build upon raw talent. Sono's team accentuated and developed a strong youth policy and through the years has gained a reputation for discovering and developing some of the finest talent to have played in the league, for theSouth Africa national team and abroad. Under Sono's ownership, the club went on to achieve several successes: it won the National Soccer Leaguein 1987, the Bob Save Super Bowl in 1990, the Coca-Cola Cup in 2002 and 2005 and the SAA Supa 8 in 2003.
In 2008, Jomo Cosmos were relegated from top-flight football for the first time since 1993. After one season in the National First Division, they returned to the PSL for the 2009?10 season, having won the Inland Stream and the promotion play-off against Carara Kicks. They were immediately relegated again, only to win the 2010-11 NFD championship and promotion back to the PSL, for the 2011-12 season. They were again relegated, and as of 2013-14, play in the National First Division.

Job #1, get the team promoted. There was a decent set-up already and with a media prediction or 3rd, the team didn't need too much strengthening.
Transfers

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Released some players that were never going to sniff the first team, especially if we were promoted. Also sold Motha towards the end of the season despite him being one of the best players at the club, but it was an offer too good to turn down for a player that was getting on in age.

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Nxabo has since retired at the point I'm at now so was unable to get a screen of him. He was our (if I remember right) backup GK the first year but was also aging so didn't get his contract renewed. The three pictured above were going to be vital to the team's success in the first season and are all still contracted to the club where I am now in September 2015.

First Season Results

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A promising preseason, highlighted by a 6-1 win over Premier side Polokwane, was followed by an abysmal start to the league that saw us drop our first three games. We turned it around however, going unbeaten for the next 24 league games and setting records for the NFD's longest unbeaten streak as well as most wins at 10 starting at the end of January '14 until our league defeat against Roses Utd in April. Even with our record setting performances we needed to win one of our last two games to secure the league crown and only automatic promotion spot, which we did.

2013/14 also saw us make an unlikely run in the SA Cup all the way to the final, thanks to a kind draw that allowed us to avoid all top division clubs until said final where we deservedly lost to a superior Kaiser Chiefs.

League Table

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Black Leopards had held the top spot for most of the season thanks to the league's most stifling defense, however we were able to pass them up and finish the season top thanks to their poor form towards the end. They did figure it out in the end though, winning the promotion playoffs and joining us in the South African Premier league for the next season.

2013/14 Best Eleven

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For this save I've been using The Truly TIKI-TAKA tactic by kun from the tactics section of this forum, with a few minor adjustments to suit my players. Another tactic I've been using, not nearly as frequently but with as much success, is 'Under Pressure' tactic by Chrissy Dude. I enjoy using both of these tactics because they're based off of a style of play, not necessarily an exploit of the ME.


​
 
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A return to the Premier League by a club earning the nickname "Yo-Yo Cosmos" recent years saw the board want nothing more than to keep from being relegated yet again. In order to make sure that happened, I felt the squad needed a massive overhaul.

Transfers 2014/15

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Way too many players leaving to mention individuals. Most of them left either because they wouldn't cut it at the next level or because they weren't willing to negotiate an extension. Too many players brought in as well to post up all of their screens, but here's a few that I want to highlight:

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2014/15 Results

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It was a mostly frustrating season as I thought we had a squad capable of a comfortable mid-table standing, and it showed in how many games we played close. A few more draws or a couple wins in those close games and we wouldn't have had to worry about being dragged into the relegation playoff. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened, making it a nervy time for a board that wanted desperately to stay in the top division. On the positive side of things we somehow added another trophy to the cabinet, winning the SA Knockout cup, a competition that saw us play to our true potential.

2014/15 Relegation Playoff Mini League

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Thanks to 2 wins over Chippa United we managed to keep our status as a top division club, though it of course had to come down to the final day.

2014/15 League Table

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With a goal difference of only -5 we really should have finished higher up, but I guess we had to make things exciting. Orlando Pirates won the league crown and shortly after their coach retired, offering me a chance at an interview. I think it went successfully, however the Jomo Cosmos board convinced me to stay for at least another year.

2014/15 Best Eleven

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New signings Buengo and Mxabo were the ones to make a big difference and keep us afloat. The midfielders did well also, it's the defense that's going to need improving if we're to make a statement next year. Too many times we dominated games only to see the opposition score despite having far fewer chances.


I'm off to work now, next update will cover youth intakes and possibly get caught up to my game, at which point I'll post updates every few months.​
 
Promising Youth

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In case you were wondering why I passed up the possible opportunity to manage the league winners, here you have your answer. The youth I've seen come through this club are the best I think I've ever had playing FM (at least for this level) and I want to stick around for a while yet to see how they develop.

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Mkhwanazi and Sibiya are straight into the first team and have been/will be seeing a lot of playing time. Mkhwanazi has been my backup GK and has seen a lot of time on the pitch due to injury and outperforming the man he's replaced. Sibiya has been used in a rotation at CB and starts about every other game. Zwane at right winger and Chabalala at ST both saw a few games last year and performed admirably but I'm looking to loan them out this year.​
 
2015/16 is going to have to be much improved over last season, otherwise I don't think I could stay at the club for another year. I need to be competing for the league title or a chance at one of the continental competitions in order to keep my interest or I'll be seeing what else is available. I believe the squad is good enough to be towards the top of this league so I wasn't looking to sign too many players unless the right ones came up.

Transfers

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Once again most players leaving were due to them not having a shot at much playing time. The only player I was disappointed to see leaving was Matsilele Sono as he had been a top player for us. Unfortunately he was making noise about wanting to join a bigger club since the beginning and Gangwon offered a contract the moment they were able to sign him on a free. Only four real players in as Shitolo was released on accident but was willing to come back when offered a contract.

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Signed as cover at both fullback positions. Not expecting him to make much of an impact, though he did have an impressive preseason.

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Signed as a possible replacement for the aging Buengo, for now will act as cover.

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The first player I've splashed cash for at Jomo Cosmos. He'll go straight into the first team and is especially useful because he can play anywhere up top. He'll mainly feature as the left inside forward and will be expected to create and score goals with good finishing and crossing stats for this level.

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Signed to be the first choice keeper, however he suffered an injury in the preseason and youth product Mkhwanazi came in and performed better. Those two will probably split time evenly since Mkhwanazi is still just 17 and can't yet be trusted as the full time starter.

Preason 2015 Results

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A short 4 game preseason that went decent. Didn't need a lot of games since most players were already familiar with each other and the tactics. All of the games went well other than a humbling 0-1 defeat to First Division side Winners Park.

In other news, throughout the career I've been applying for any national team jobs that opened up and was finally offered one at Chile U20s in an attempt to boost my reputation. Problem is there aren't many young Chileans since I didn't have the leagues loaded; problem fixed by adding the leagues which will be coming into effect in June '16. I've also removed Singapore to try to keep the player count from getting too high.​
 
August-September 2015

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I knew the squad were better than they showed last year but wasn't expecting this kind of start to the season! Maybe they just needed a year to get their feet under them in this league. Most impressive to me are the big away wins against Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns, two teams that I believe to be top teams in the league. Mkhwanazi is making it really hard to stick to my earlier statement of his being to young to perform well consistently as he's now gone 346 minutes without allowing a goal and played especially well against Sundowns, earning a shutout and a 9.3 match rating- one of, if not the, highest I've seen from a keeper in FM.

Squad

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Mxabo has been immense so far this season, scoring 5 and creating 2 in his 6 games to date. Ary has been just as impressive with 4 goals and 5 assists in 6 games, but it's Nkoana that I think is making the real difference. Before I was playing players who weren't natural on the left wing because I wanted a right footed player there. Nkoana's strong foot is his right and he's a natural on the left which has led to 5 goals and 3 assists in 7 games.

I also can't forget to mention youth products Mkhwazani and Sibiya, who have both helped to shore up the defensive woes we had last year.

League Table

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A spectacular 100% start to the season sees us top with a massive +16 goal difference. I don't expect things to be this rosy throughout the season, but I'll enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Hopefully we can challenge for the title this year and get into continental competition!

Chile Under 20s Results

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Just two friendlies and they went about as expected, though we should probably have been better against Guadeloupe. First competitive matches won't be until June '16 at the French Youth Invitational. That's the same time the Chilean leagues will be added so not sure whether I'll have more players to choose from for that tournament or not.​
 
October-November 2015

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It was disappointment to start October with a 1-3 loss against Kaizer Chiefs in the Knockout Cup in a game that saw our defending revert back to last year's. Then against Amazulu I was afraid our amazing form was going to come crashing down as we were 0-2 down at the half, however a superb individual performance out of Nkoana saw us come storming back and grabbing an unlikely win. We lost our 100% record, but remain unbeaten in the league, against Maritzburg United in a match where we hammered them but they managed to hang on and ****** an undeserved draw. We then ended November returning to winning ways in our final two matches of the month, which was particularly impressive considering both our first team keepers are now injured and have been replaced with a greyed out player who performed admirably in the Wits match.

Squad

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I thought for sure we'd slip up with an injury plagued squad, however the replacements have performed superbly. Zwane and Nguzana have done particularly well considering they hadn't seen any playing time until recently. With six players still injured, some of whom will be out up to 2 months, it's still a very real possibility that we're in for a slide down the table.

Table

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Though we haven't been quite as impressive lately as we were at the start, we're still confounding critics by remaining the league's only unbeaten team and are leaders by a lofty 12 points. There's still a long way to go in the season and I wouldn't be surprised to see teams like Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, or Kaizer Chiefs start to make a midseason charge up the table.


New Job Offer

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I was hesitant to leave the Chile U20s post, but with England U21s still in contention for the Euro U21 Championships there wasn't really much to consider. It's going to be a tough road for us with plenty of stiff competition remaining:

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I was able to accomplish a 100% record in my short stint at Chile U20s but I have a feeling it's going to get much tougher. Due to this change I've cancelled the adding of Chile leagues in favor of loading up England down to Skrill Premier. I'm not keen on moving to Europe this early in my career but if the right club job comes up it may be on the cards.​
 
December 2015- January 2016

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I don't know what the **** happened, we couldn't find a win for six games in a row despite dominating possession and creating more chances and having more shots/shots on goal than our opponents in every game. The Bloem Celtic match was the worst as we were 3-1 up and cruising until two stoppage time goals less than a minute apart forced us into a draw.

This example is obviously the extreme, but isn't far off from the rest:

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I guess the good news is we didn't lose. That and we returned to our winning ways in the final two matches of the month, though the Swallows match had me scared.

Squad

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Zwane has been terrific since coming into the first team and the youngster has certainly made a case for more playing time. He's by far been the best performer still on a youth contract. Mxabo and Nkoana have both been maintaining their good form for the most part, and Mxabo isn't far from a goal a game average.

Table

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Still top however Wits, somewhat surprisingly, have closed the gap to 5 points with Sundowns and Orlando Pirates not too far behind. We can't afford to have another couple of months like the last two if we want to take the league title. Still, we've set the league record for the longest unbeaten streak so win the title or not we can be proud of that.

Euro U21 Championship Group Draw

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Not as tough a group as we could have had but most likely won't be a walk in the park either.​
 
February-March 2016

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That's more like it. This time we drew games that were even and managed wins in the ones we were clearly the better side. We maybe should have lost against Orlando Pirates but getting the late equalizer wasn't as lucky as some of our opposition has been in the last few months. I am disappointed to be knocked out of the cup by a team we should have cruised past, but as long as we take the league title I won't be too distraught.

Squad

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Injury plagued again but Mkhwanazi and the defense have done well enough to at least keep us in games. Nkoana has been particularly disappointing however I'm confident he can put the worst behind him and get back to top form.

Table

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11 points up with just 12 left to play for and the top spot should be wrapped up. I'm delighted to have done this well, don't know if I would have been able to stay at the club for another year if we weren't playing in either of the continental competitions.

On the national front, England U21s tossed aside Slovenia in a 3-0 thrashing for my first game in charge. It's just a friendly and they're not as good as the competition we'll be up against in the Euros but it's a promising win nonetheless.​
 
April-May 2016

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It was a disappointing final two months but we did what we needed to win the league. Platinum Stars and Bloem Celtic both ensured they'd be playing in the top division next year by beating us.

Squad

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Buengo was essential to the win that clinched the title for us with a first half hattrick and will always be appreciated for that and his role in helping to keep us afloat last year. He is retiring at the end of the year to become a coach. Nothing else to really say about the squad other than maybe Mxabo grabbing consolation goals in the final two matches.

Table

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In the end it was a comfortable title win for us despite dropping 3 of our last 4 games after going unbeaten up until then. It was our prolific offensive play that led us to the top, but average at best defending will need to be improved upon if we're to make a run in the Champions League and attempt to retain the league title simultaneously.

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Beat Kaizer Chiefs record of 73 goals in a season with 75 then added two in the final two matches to set the bar at 77.

Youth

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This year's intake doesn't seem as promising as the last two years, and I'm not sure I'll be spending more than one or two more years at the club so these youngsters might not ever play for me. I'd like to pick one or two that have come through the youth ranks during my time here to take with me wherever I go so will be keeping an eye on them regardless.​
 
Euro U21 Chamionship 2016

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Started off with 1-0 wins over Czech Republic and Greece, then finished the group clinching 1st with a 1-1 draw to France. We really dominated the former two and probably should have scored more, however the France match was pretty even and the draw was a fair result.

Semi Final
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Another dominating performance and a 2-0 win sets up a final clash against Ukraine. Neither of the nations in the final have ever won the competition.

Final
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The match was more even than I had expected going in, but we took our chances and brought home the trophy for the first time in history.

With Hodgson announcing his plans to retire at the end of the month, I'll be sticking around to apply for the senior team but I doubt I'm reputable enough yet to land it. Boasting an unbeaten record and winning the only competition the U21s are involved in I feel it's time to move on and will resign if not handed the reigns of the senior team.

Awards and Thoughts on the Future

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Head Coach of the Year and entering the South African Hall of Fame, not a bad start to what will hopefully be a long and successful career. On the player front, Ary made it into the Premier Division Team of the Year and Mxabo narrowly missed the Golden boot by a one goal margin.

At the end of the year I was approached by two MLS teams for an interview, Philadelphia Union and Chivas USA. I turned them both down and decided to stay put and try my hand at the Champions League. I've already been at Jomo Cosmos longer than I was expecting, but the chance to win a continental competition is too good to walk away from. I will be hoping to land a national job with a senior team in the near future, though I'm not sure I've worked up a reputation to take one over that can compete for the next World Cup in 2018.
​
 
2015/16 Best Eleven

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This is actually pretty close to what I used as my best 11, only difference would be that I played Nkoana mostly on the left, bumped Ary up to right winger and gave Woodington the start at MC and had Zwane on the bench. Good to see 3 youth players from the first intake claiming a spot here, with Mkhwanazi, Sibiya, and Zwane all performing well.

Fan's Player of the Year

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Thouroughly deserved for the striker who banged in 23 goals in 27 league appearances. My assistant still rates him as a player who can still grow so hopefully he can top this performance in the coming season.

Preseason Transfers

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On the out side I wasn't happy to see Woodington go, he rejected my contract renewal in favor of joining Wits. I let Nguzana's contract expire but didn't have any luck bringing in the forwards I was after, fortunately he was happy enough to re-sign with us a month later.

Ins:
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With a couple of new competitions for us coming up I opted to go for more experienced players this time around who can hopefully help the young guns keep their heads in the big matches. Letsholonyane and Nengomasha come in to play a pivotal role in the first team straight away. I was hoping for one of the two so was delighted when I ended up getting both. Moshobane comes in as cover for both wingers, and may turn into a beast on the right when fully retrained to play there. Sibande and Jele come in to be most likely used in a rotation along the defensive line.

Team Depth Chart

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I do feel the squad has been strengthened over last year's so we should be able to make a run at retaining the league title, however I'm not sure it's been strengthened enough to challenge for the Champions League. I'm also not sure if my assistant was sober when he wrote this report.

Friendly Results

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An ambitious preseason in which we gave a decent account of ourselves against some quality European opposition in spite of losing. The final match was a big let down, didn't create any clear chances and couldn't put the ball in the net.

Upcoming Fixtures

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We start off the campaign with a Super 8 Cup home match against Platinum Stars who have defeated us 3 of the 4 times we've played in my career. Then we start the league with a fixture list that will allow us to make a statement that the league will be ours again this year with matches against 3 of last year's top 5 finishers. At least that's the statement I hope well make because I told the board we'd challenge for the title again this year, so mid table or lower isn't an option.


In other news, I resigned from England U21s after they decided to go with Roberto Martinez as Hodgson's replacement for the senior team. I'll be keeping an eye out for other national jobs opening.


​
 
August-September 2016

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Not the 100% start we had last year but close. Sundowns really have our number in the three matches played against them, maybe it's from the multiple times I've trashed their coach in press conferences in the last few years. Really disappointing to go out of the Super 8 cup the way we did, scored in the 75th to go up 3-2 and would have been through on away goals, however our hopes of progressing were dashed when they scored the late equalizer.

Squad

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Nkoana has been the key man again, creating 4 and scoring 4 in his 9 games so far. Muso has impressed me, brought him up from the youth team to act as cover but he's done well so far and scored a hattrick in his first league start against Maritzburg Utd. I'm also pleased with the new signings in Letsholonyane, Nengomasha, and Jele. They've all done well, not spectacular but solid and consistent which is all we really need.

Table

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A good start to the season has me confident we can stay up top and attempt to defend our title. Sundowns have been poor which makes our loss to them sting a little, but that's what they get for hiring the man that got Ajax CT relegated last year and finished towards the bottom with Maritzburg United the year before.

Upcoming Fixtures

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I don't understand why we have these long breaks then suddenly a bunch of games 3-4 days apart. The next two months should be pretty straightforward, I'll be upset if we don't increase our lead at the top- FS Stars are the only team we face that finished higher than 10th last year.

I didn't realize the Champions League runs from February through August, not really keen on spending another year after this so between now and then if the right job offer comes along I might be packing my things and leaving South Africa.​
 
October-November 2016

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These two months went well considering at one point I was using more youth players than I would have liked due to injuries and international call ups for the African Nations Qualifiers. The final two draws were disappointing as we were clearly the better side in both matches but couldn't finish. Good news in the Knockout Cup as we're through to the final where we'll face Kaizer Chiefs. Last time we won the cup it was a victory over the same opposition two years ago.

Squad

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Nkoana continues to impress, luckily he's not injured for long. Ary was the best player of the period, however his injury is more serious and the physio says he'll be out for the next 3 months.

Table

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So we extend our lead at the top to 5 points, but we'll have to keep winning to hold off a charging Sundowns team that has set their poor form at the start aside and won their last 4.

Upcoming Fixtures

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In contrast to the last couple of months we're facing some tough competition with all of our opponents in December sitting in the top 6 in the league. With a depleted squad I just hope we can keep our top spot, though I'm not too optimistic. Hopefully we can add another trophy to the cabinet this month to put everyone in good spirits for the holiday season.​
 
December 2016

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Started the month with a loss to chasers Supersport Utd, not too worrying as we played them evenly just couldn't put the ball in the net. Had to play 5 players that I consider to be decent backups at best so wasn't hopeful of much heading into the game. We dominated the Chiefs in the SA KO Cup Final and were helped along the way by a goal apiece from two youth team regulars in Muso and Mgwengwe and the winner from 3rd choice right winger Moshobane. The last two games went about as expected as we drew Platinum Stars away, a team that we struggled against in the league the last couple of years, then pulled out a late and promising win against AmaZulu.

Squad

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If I was giving away a monthly award it'd have to go to Nguzana who came in for the injured Mxabo. He took the Supersport game to get reacquainted to the first team then scored 2 and assisted 1 in the final 3 games of the month.

Table

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A slim 3point lead at the top over Platinum Stars and I'm just glad we've managed to stay up top. Hopefully with some players returning from injury we can push on and do what Jomo Cosmos have never done before- win the league two years in a row.

Upcoming Fixtures

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Another tough period only because of the three fixtures in a row against Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, and Sundowns. As long as there aren't any more injuries between now and then we should be able to field a squad capable of coping with them.

I'm back and forth on wanting to stay yet another season, a lot of it will depend on how far we can progress in the Champions League. The only jobs opening that I'm remotely interested in have been in England and I still don't want to move there this early in my career. Hopefully a decent international job pops up that can keep things interesting enough to stick with Jomo Cosmos and attempt to tackle Africa's most prestigious competition.​
 
January-February 2017

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Great way to start the new year with two wins, including a record-setting 10-2 win over Swallows. We must have put all of our finishes together in that game as 4 days later we couldn't score once and struggled to a 0-1 loss to Orlando Pirates. We kicked off the Champions League campaign with a dominating 7-0 win, against a club who's name immediately reminded me of this:
[video=youtube;i3BzgsrYanQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3BzgsrYanQ[/video]

We ended the period poorly however with a loss to Maritzburg Utd, again misplacing our shooting boots, then a 2-2 draw against Sundowns in a game that was 0-0 all the way up to the 81st minute when a bizarre scoring explosion happened.

Squad

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Nkoana continues his amazing performances, his scoring and creating chances have been what's kept us from dropping too many points, especially as Mxabo was out with injury for most of the period. Muso becomes the latest player from the youth ranks to force his way into the first team with impressive performances despite my thinking he wasn't quite ready.

Table

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Still sitting top by the same 3 point margin that we ended the year with. The league is extremely tight 1st through 6th this season, hopefully that helps our cause in case our form doesn't pick back up.

Upcoming Fixtures

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We've got to be considered favorites to retain the title with probably one of the easier remaining schedules in the league. We'll have to watch out for SuperSportbut the rest are games we should be favorites for.

International Job

I've been applying for some senior national team jobs, or declaring interest where the coach is on the hot seat and finally got an offer to take over Congo. Their head man was deservedly let go after a disappointing opening two games in World Cup Qualifying, leaving the table set up like this:

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I'm not too familiar with the pecking order of African countries but it seems as though Congo should be favored to win this group. Nigeria might pose a threat but as two qualify I'll be upset if we don't advance.​
 
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March-April 2017

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A great couple of months minus the 2-5 loss and defensive collapse away to Tuks. SuperSport United provided the next stiffest challenge and I felt we deserved all 3 points but had to settle for a draw in the end. I was concerned about going up against Enugu Rangers from Nigeria in the Champions League when the news blip said that they had finished runners up previously. Checked their history and that was back in 1975, though they did have 5 Nigerian Premier League titles so it didn't set my mind at ease, however my fears were quickly erased by halftime when we were up 5-0.

Squad

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Nkoana was never going to be able to keep up the amazing average rating and his performances have dropped off quite a bit but he's still quality. Defenders Sibande and Mathias have probably been most impressive over the period which saw us allow less than a goal a game on average if you don't count the Tuks game.

Table

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Still top but despite our good form we haven't been able to pull away at the top with Orlando Pirates finding their form to stay hot on our heels. This season might go down to the final match day.

Upcoming Fixtures

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It's not going to be easy to retain the title with the final two matches against top-half opposition. In the Champions League we were drawn against three time winners ES Tunis, possibly one of the toughest draws we could have asked for. They last won the competition in 2015 to add to their 1994 and 2011 wins, and have finished runners-up 4 times: '99, 2000, 2010 and 2012.

International Matches

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Two wins out of two and hopefully we can keep up the winning form.

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I was mistaken about two teams advancing from the group so it's going to be much tougher to qualify than I thought. As things stand we have to win out and even then might not make it.

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May 2017 League Results

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We knew that if we had won the last two games there was nothing our opposition could do to catch us. We didn't even need the last game as Orlando Pirates ended up losing to Sundowns shortly after we dispatched AmaZulu, making us league champions for the second year running.

2017 SA Cup

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Make that a triple! Despite only playing Premier League competition we made it to the final and handily beat National First Division foes Ajax CT to add our third trophy of the season, the other two being of course the league and SA KO Cup. We maybe were a little lucky, advancing through both the Quarter and Semi Finals on penalty shootouts but the trophy is ours.

Champions League

First Leg
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Starting the tie at home I had thought we had an excellent opportunity to put ourselves out front, however despite dominating almost all aspects of the match we could only draw. Next match saw us travel all the way to Tunisia and I figured we'd be in for a long, hard-fought game.

Second Leg
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Wow. We absolutely demolished a team that had won this same competition a short two years ago. Makes me hopeful that we stand a good chance of winning it all.

Squad

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If Nkoana doesn't win the Fan's Player of the Year for this season then we've got some delusional fans. In 37 games across all competitions he scored 16 and set up 22, as well as being named man of match on 6 occasions in 24 league games. Muso has been the surprise package this year, going from youth team to cover for first team then finally becoming one of the best first team players after given a chance due to injuries and never looking back.

Table

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In the end it looks a lot more comfortable than I felt as the season was coming to a close. Ironically we matched our point total from last year, though I think the injury bug hit us a little harder this year and we would have won much more comfortably otherwise. Biggest surprise is Golden Arrows, who suffered through the relegation playoff last year, finishing in 7th.

World Cup Qualifying

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Excellent win over Nigeria, only complaint is that we easily could have had more. This makes it 3 wins in a row for me at Congo.

Group
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I've done everything I can to get us back into contention yet the group is still out of my hands. I'll need to hope for a win over Namibia (shouldn't be difficult) as well as a Nigeria and Benin draw in order to advance.​
 
Fan's Player of the Year

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No surprise here, hopefully he can keep it going this season and repeat.

Transfers

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Practically nothing going on here. Nato left to join rivals Kaizer Chiefs but he was injured most season last year and youngster Muso ousted him anyway. Oluwafemi and Jele wanted too much money to renew their contracts and Shongwe didn't sniff the first team. All three are fullbacks however so I'll be looking for some cover at that position.

I wanted to keep the squad mostly the same as last year, but with Mxabo going out with injury for a time last year and never really breaking out like I had hoped I couldn't resist going for this kid when my scout uncovered him:

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Scout says his work permit should be granted on appeal, hopefully he's right. It does seem to take longer for work permits to come through here than in Europe, but I could be wrong.

Friendly Results
so far

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Played lots of players and still gave a decent account of ourselves against some teams that should have probably been considerably better than us. Won't worry too much about the end results as they're just friendlies.

2016/17 Best Eleven

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4 players here in Mkhwanazi, Sibiya, Muso, and Chabalala that have all come through the youth ranks in my time here is impressive to say the least.

Champions League Group Draw

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I really have no idea the quality of these teams compared to us, however I think that we should be able to at least qualify from the group. Al-Ahly should be the favorites to win the group, having won the Champions League 8 times previously, with 6 times coming since 2001 and the most recent in 2014. The other two clubs in the group haven't won in the last 20 years so I feel like we should be able to handle them easily. Last year's winners (Zamalek) were drawn in the other group along with Orlando Pirates.

Upcoming Fixtures

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So right into the Champions League games and I'm just glad that we're playing the perceived two weaker teams in our group first. By the time we get to play Al-Ahly we should be in the swing of things and give it our best shot. Tough start to the league against Sundowns then away to AmaZulu but it gets easier with games against newly promoted Roses United, then Swallows.

National News

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We have to wait until September to play our final WCQ group game but some good news in the meantime.
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