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Tongey · Feb 7, 2022

EP.17 - Moving On

Well, we aren't moving on just yet, but I am at the end of this update. I've got a few things to fill you in on before we go. All you can know for now is that I have got a new job, and I'm ready to go and win more trophies in another European Country! I'm pretty hungry for success!

For now though, I'll fill you in with how the first bit of the season went for me at FC Inter Turku.

I set about to add some more quality to the team as we lacked in a few areas. Even though we won the league, it was a bit close for comfort, and we still needed an out and out striker that could score goals for fun!

Jonathan Laukkanen (ST) - Free Transfer (TPS)

Iiro Aalto (CM) - Free Transfer (FC Jazz)

Joona Hietala (CB) - Free Transfer (Gnistan)

With the transfer done, and my new squad assembled, it was time to go and attack the league to see if we could go and win back to back league titles. At the same time, I'd be looking for jobs that stuck out to me to see if I wanted ot move on.

Veikkausliiga

Well, things couldn't really have gone much better right? We have yet to lose this season in the league, and have picked up some very good wins along the way. We started off with a little 3 match winning steak with wins over KuPS, KPV Kokkola & IFK Mariehamn. All 3 were decent (ish) teams, with KuPS challenging for the title with us.

Up stepped HJK next and I was happy to at least pick up a draw. The aim is just not to lose against them, and we completed that missionn. A late Lindberg penalty got us the draw. We then kicked on, but haven't had a run of over 3 wins in a row yet, which is kind of strange. So far we've picked up wins against KuPS (twice), KPV Kokkola, IFK Mariehamn (twice), Ilves, FC Lahti, FC Haka, FC Honka, & Ekenas IF, and draws against HJK, SJK, AC Oulu & KPV Kokkola.

We're well on our way to picking up the league title for a second year in a row, and just need to keep on going at the rate we are. HJK are hanging around but we're still top of the tree at this late stage.

Suomen Cup

Like lsat season, we had to qualify from the Group Stage where we were drawn against Ilves, FC Honka, Ekenas IF, FC Haka & FC Lahti. We should dominate this group and easily qualify as leaders.

Of course we did just that, scoring 17 goals along the way and only conceding just once. No one really challenges us and we made light work of this group! We're on the march.

Our group stage antics set us up with a Second Round tie against KTP. It was a much closer game than I thought it would be, but we scraped through in the end with Laukkanen doing the business towards the end.

In the Quarter-Final we easily beat JaPS who tried their best, but didn't have enough quality to challenge us for the whole game. They had spells, but nothing major. A 2-0 victory set us up with a semi-final matchup against SJK.

Another semi-final, and another win. Once again we dominated this game like we should've done. Demirel & Ibsen provided us the goals, and to be honest with you, it should've been a lot more. Into the final we went.

On a cold evening at the Kupittaan jalkapallostadion we managed to overcome the odds and beat out HJK in a fantastic match. It could've gone either way, and the momentum swung back and forth like a pendulum. It was a goal from Niko Lindberg half way through the first half that ended up being the match winner, and we lifted the trophy in front of a bumper crowd of 4,327 fans, most of which we hardcore Turka fans!

Another trophy ticked off, and for now, that's all I can win in Finland, unless I dropped down a league. I'm not willing to do that yet.

Player Stats

Goals:
1. Jonathan Laukkanen (ST) - 17
2. Niko Lindberg (AMC) - 8
3. Yucel Demirel (AML) - 5

Assists:
1. Yucel Demirel (AML) - 9
2. Jesper Ibsen (AMR) - 6
3. Luke Harvey (CB) - 5

Average Rating:
1. Luke Harvey (CB) - 7.89
2. Jonathan Laukkanen (ST) - 7.63
3. Martti Haukioja (RB) - 7.60

The News:

So, I said I had some news, and that I was going to be moving on to help quench my hunger for success. I was offered an interview with Ferencvarosi who play there trade in Hungary. You've probably heard of them. Anyway I wasn't offered the job after what I thought was a standout interview, Maybe the job was just too big for me.

Anyway, a few short weeks late I applied for another team in Hungary, and they offered me the job a couple of days later. I'm now the proud manager of

Puskas Akademia FC

Next Post: EP.18 - Puskas Akademia FC - Club Overview

Tongey · Feb 8, 2022

EP.18 - Club Overview - Puskas Akademia FC

Club Name: Puskas Akademia FC
Nickname: PAFC
Founded: 2005
Current League: OTP Bank Liga
Club Colours: HOME: Blue AWAY: White
Trophies Won: Merkantil Bank Liga (1), Hungarian Division II (1)

The aim for the founders of this club when they set it up, was to create a fitting memorial to former Hungarian superstar Ferenc Puskas.

Stadium: Pancho Arena
Capacity: 3,816 (all seated)
Training Facilities: Good
Youth Facilities: Great

The Squad:

Here's the squad that I've inherited, and at first glance, it looks pretty **** ecent. The weakest star rating (of course you can't always rely on this), is 3 star and no one is below that. I'd call that a success. We seem to have enough players in every position too but you know me, I'll be bringing some players in for sure so I can mould the team to my tactic and my style!

Our best players in each position are:

GK: Martin Auerbach

DF: Laszlo Deutsch (WBL)

MF: Eryk Matus (AML)

ST: Gyorgy Komaromi (ST)

Past Season:

The team was pretty successful in terms are wins and overall performance, but in terms of winning trophies the club has never been that successful. Having only won 2 trophies in their history, I'm looking to double that haul in quick time.

In the OTP Bank Liga the team finished as runners-up, below winners Fehervar who won the title on goal difference alone. God that's frustrating for the fans! My free flowing attacking game should lend itself to having a strong goal difference come the end of the season.

The domestic cup in Hungary: The Magyar Kupa, was pretty good for us too. They got to the Semi-Final last season being knocked out by Fehervar after a 3-0 defeat. A good series of results before that saw wins against Budaors, Dabas-Gyon, Vasas, & Pesci.

Next Update: EP.19 - Mid Season Update - 2028/2029 - Puskas Akademia FC

LutterworthFox · Feb 8, 2022

Ooooooof Matus looks something else mate! Good luck!

Tongey · Feb 10, 2022

Matus seems to be a beast! Great attributes for an inside forward! Thanks for reading and commenting mate @LutterworthFox!

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EP.19 - Mid Season Update - 2028/2029 - Puskas Akademia FC

The first proper update from Hungary, and it's been a full on half season that's for sure! We've had cup upsets, European giant killings, and ridiculous league form! Oh, and a few signings have come in too! Anyway, I've been doing a little bit of research on the club since I took over, and they have a really interesting backstory!

The aim of the founders was to create a fitting tribute to Hungarian football legend Ferenc Puskas which they though they had done. They were also meant to be the academy side for Videton (Fehervar). The club didn't even have any academy players involved, and Ferenc Puskas had no links to the team or the area. This led to the team being mocked by the majority of Hungary, and they aren't very popular. A lot of fans won't even call them by their real name, and only refer to them as Felcsut (which is the area they are from). Apparently they don't have many fans despite having the best stadium. Interesting stuff eh?

Anyway, on with the footballing update.

Transfers:

Flavio Henrique (CB) - £425k (Paysandu)

Ciprian Todoran (ST) - £875k (FC Steaua Bucharest)

Sam Gallagher (ST) - Free Transfer (Huddersfield)

European Conference League

So, as the club finished as Runners-Up in the league last season, they qualified for the European Conference League, which of course means we have a **** of a lot of qualifying rounds to navigate through in order to make the Group Stages. I wasn't aware of how much of a journey we were about to embark on!

We faced Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia & Herzegovenia) in the first qualifying round, and easily came through the task. The home leg really set us up in this two legged tie, as we won 5-1 with Dor Hugi netting a hattrick! An excellent first game in Europe and it put us in complete control of the tie. We then travelled to Bosnia, and held firm to grab a 0-0 draw and a path to the second qualifying round.

Lech Poznan (Poland) were our opponents in this round, and I expected a much harder tie. It proved to be as we travelled to Poland for the first leg. A 1-1 draw was a fine result, and we had an important away goal as well. We hosted Lech in the return leg and put in a controlling performance and came away with a fantastic 3-1 victory! Eryk Matus with a performance of the highest quality.

Norweigen giants Molde were up next, and I didn't expect the absolute battering we handed out. We went to Norway expecting a defeat, but we came away having won 4-1. A brace for both Ganbold Ganbayar & Nandor Tamas! We were brilliant and fully deserved our win! Surely we couldn't drop the tie after that. We then hosted Molde and once again put in a good performance and just added to our lead. 2-0 the final score, and to be honest, it could've been a lot more.

Our reward for that battering was a tie against PAOK with the prize for the winners being a place in the Group Stage. As you can see we took control of the tie with a 2-0 win away from home. Eryk Matus once again hogging the limelight by grabbing both goals. We just needed to hold firm in the return leg, and we did just that. A 1-1 draw the result! Group stage here we come.

Group Stage:

WOW! Group of Death right? Sivasspor, Hertha BSC & Monaco. Two big names and a team that has been performing well over the past few seasons. I really expected a tough task in this one, but I was determined to win a couple of games to get some more money in.

A nice 3-1 victory at home against Sivasspor was up first, with 2 lateish goals really securing the 3 points. An absolute battering followed as we lost 4-1 to Hertha BSC where we didn't deserve anything out of it. Welcome to European football eh? A tight game away at Monaco followed and to be honest, I'm gutted we didn't get anythng from the game. We were the better team but gave away 2 silly goals. Lessons learnt and on we went.

The second round of matches started with a fantastic 2-1 victory of Monaco, this time in front of our own fans! This time we got exactly what we deserved. We put our name on the map with this one! A 0-0 draw against Hertha BSC shows how we improved over the campaign, and put us in a position where we could progress into the knockout rounds with a big win and a Hertha win against Monaco. Unfortunately for us, Monaco won and gave us no chance of progressing. We held our end of the bargain up as we beat Sivasspor 3-0 and finished in 3rd position failing to qualify on goal difference alone.

10 points on the board, and I'm extremely proud of how we performed over this campaign! An outstanding effort by the lads and an unfortunate ending. We could've progressed but we can hold our heads high and look forward to competing in the competition again next year hopefully.

OTP Bank Liga

I love managing in Hungary! The team is excellent and it shows in our league performances. We didn't lose a game until 26th November 2028 which is a 12 game streak without losing. The standout performances and results are clearly the games against the big 2 Ferencvarosi TC & Fehervar. We beat the latter 1-0 in a tight game thanks to an early goal from Ganbold Ganbayar. The big game against league favourites Ferencvarosi ended with high drama thanks to a 91st minute winner from Joao Nunes. We just seem to be performing really, really well.

We did have a little blip towards the end of the first half of the season as we lost 3-2 to Fehervar in a fantastic game of football for the neutral. Twice we hit back, but couldn't quite see the game out and conceded late. We followed this bad result with another as we drew with then league leaders Ujpest which I guess isn't a bad point overall. Back on track though as we head into the break on a 2 win streak having scored 8 goals in the process.

Well, top at the half way stage and we're clear by 4 points! 13 wins, 2 draws and a singular loss in those 16 games! Ferencvarosi are sticking around but I'm pretty confident in the squads ability to kick on and secure that trophy at the end of the season! Happy days!

Magyar Kupa

Well well well! Not the results we wanted in this competition! I had really set my eyes on this as the first success of my time in charge in Hungary! It wasn't to be as we lost out surprisingly to Vasas! They were the team we beat on the way to the semi-final last year so they got their revenge this year. We were't great but deserved to win the game nonetheless. A disappointing effort in the cup, but it just lit the fire in my belly to go out and win it next season.

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 13
2. Nandor Tamas (AMRL) - 12
3. Eryk Matus (AMRL) & Dor Hugi (MC) - 8

Assists:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 9
2. Eryk Matus (AMRL) - 8
3. Laszlo Deutsch (LB) - 7

Average Rating:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 7.59
2. Sam Gallagher (ST) - 7.37
3. Flavio Henrique (CB) - 7.35

Next Update: EP.20 - End of Season Update - 2028/2029 - Puskas Akademia FC

Tongey · Feb 11, 2022

EP.20 - End of Season Update - 2029/2029 - Puskas Akademia FC

With only 16 games to play through, this half of the season flew by. We were knocked out of the other cup competitions we were apart of this season, so it was just the league we had to focus on. I did uhm and ahh about bringing in some more players to the first team squad, but instead I promoted a couple from the youth team that were showing some promise. They got to train with the first team, but didn't appear in any games unfortunately for them. Maybe next year.

I've told the lads that if they win the league this season, I'll buy them all a VIP ticket to Sziget Festival. The festival takes place on Sziget Island in Budapest and it's a hotspot for everyone in Europe to go and enjoy a week of music, drink and soak in the sun. Who can say I don't reward my players eh? I'm such a nice manager!

OTP Bank Liga

We came back from the mid-season break, and decided it would be fun to go on an unbeaten run all the way to the end of the season! The only games we dropped points in were against:

Ferencvarosi TC - 1-1 (A)
Budapest Honved - 1-1 (A)
Fehervar - 1-1 (H)
Mezokovesdi - 2-2 (A)

Not bad eh? We just kept on rolling and picking up 3 points, after 3 points, after 3 points. I don't think all jobs will be as easy as this one is. I think the challenge next season will be balancing the Champions League fixtures with the league ones. It's a different kettle of fish in that competition so I'm sure my players will become tired eventually.

Sam Gallagher has been a different player during the second half of the season scoring 10 times in 16 games. Excellent work from the now 33 year old striker. Alongside striker Ganbold Ganbayar, they were the main sources of goals for us this season.

So, did this run mean we won the OTP Bank Liga title?

Of course we did! Oh, and we won it easily at that. We ended up on 84 points from our 33 games, a massive 15 points ahead of our next challengers Ferencvarosi. Incredible eh? Oh, I bet that Ferencvarosi wish they hired me when they had the chance. Tough luck, and better luck next time. I'm a Puskas lad now!

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) -22
2. Nandor Tamas (AMR) - 17
3. Sam Gallagher (ST) - 14

Assists:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 15
2. Zalan Vecsey (AMC) - 11
3. Joel Pereira (RB) - 10

Average Rating:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 7.59
2. Sam Gallagher (ST) - 7.52
3. Flavio Henrique (CB) - 7.34

As per usual in a title winning season, the end of season award spectacular is a real event for us. We pretty much had a clean sweep!

Hungarian National Division 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: Martin Auerbach
Hungarian Division 1 Player of the Year: Ganbold Ganbayar (1st) - Flavio Henrique (3rd)
Hungarian Manager of the Year - Mark Tonge
Hungarian Division 1 Team of the Season: Martin Auerbach (GK), Laszlo Deutsch (LB), Flavio Henrique (CB), Joao Nunes (CB), Joel Pereira (RB), Szilard Bokros (CM), Mateusz Czyzycki (CM), Nandor Tamas (RM, Ganbold Ganbayar (ST)

Next Update: Mid-Season Update - 2028/2029 - Puskas Akademia FC

Tongey · Feb 12, 2022

EP.21 - Mid-Season Update - 2029/2030 - Puskas Akademia FC

The celebrations from last seasons league title win went long into the night, and carried on for a weeks straight celebration! The highlight for the players was obviously the VIP ticket to Sziget festival that I'd promised them. I of course as the manager and older than most of the squad, decided to accompany them as a chaperone. I wish I didn't, as I embarrased myself by passing out on the slingshot! I'll ever live that down, but I did get to see George Ezra play 'Budapest' in Budapest! An excellent off-season, but now we're back and ready to challenge for back to back titles.

Just a little information about the managers off-season activities. I was offered the job at Norwich City who lie near the bottom of the Premier League in England. I'd be silly to not even consider it, but you can call me silly! I turned it down as I've got a mission to complete here in Hungary first. I've got more chance of winning the Magyar Kupa with Puskas than I have at winnning anything with Norwich.

Transfers:

Silvio Nikolic (AML) - £160k (FC Rijeka)

Bruno Duspara (AMR) - £575k (Osijek)

Gabor Farkas (AMC) - £600k (Crvena Zvezda)

Robert Kavcic (RB) - £76k - Maribor)

Champions League

As last years OTP Bank Liga winners, we qualified for the Champions League, but had to go through the ardious task of qualifying to make the group stage proper. Could we do it? It'd be a big ask to even get there but we'd give it ago.

All went to plan, until the very last match, but I'll come back to that. I've got to praise the lads first as they've been excellent in this qualifying campaign which saw us travel across Europe and really show our stuff.

Up first was a big tie against Cypriot team Astana. We eased through after a 2-0 victory away from home and when we returned, a 4-1 victory in front of our own fans. We were really good, but I think we're a better side than them anyway. You can only beat whats infront of you on the day and we did that.

FK Sarajevo were up next and it was even easier for us in this round. A dominant 4-0 victory at home put us in complete control of the tie, leaving us with a simple task of keeping that lead away. We did it, and won 2-0 on our now annual trip to Bosnia.

A bigger name awaited us in the 3rd round, as we faced AEK Athens. I definitely thought we wouldn't progress here, and it was a tight edgy set of games that awaited me. We stole the victory in Athens itself, thanks to a Sam Gallagher goal in the 80th minute. We did brilliantly to come back from a goal defecit and win the game, whilst scoring 2 away goals as well. Back in front of our own fans, we battled to a 1-1 draw with Eryk Matus scoring the equaliser.

Our journey ended as we faced Rangers, obviously a big name in European football. It was always going to be a tough task, and I thought we were in with a chance as we beat them at Ibrox. An early Gallagher goal saw us win the game 1-0 despite a huge amount of pressure on our goal for the remainder of the game. We held out and took the lead back to Hungary. At home though we fell to pieces and lost the game 3-0. Out of the Champions League at the last qualifying round. It was a tough ask to get into the main Group Stage.

Into the Europa League Group Stage we go.

Europa League Group B

Well, for the second year in a row, we were drawn in the so called Group of Death! Awaiting us were Newcastle United, Borussia Monchengladbach, & Lille. Some big names there! We'd give it our best shot and who knows what would happen,

A tough opener as we travelled to the billionaires Newcastle United, and got absolutely battered as we lost 3-0. Not the start we wanted but onto the next one.

The Germans were up next, as we hosted Borussia Monchengladbach. We played much better in this one but still lost, so 0 points on the board after 2 games. At least we scored in this one with Nikolic & Gallagher netting our goals.

The Frenchies were next and once again we suffered defeat. A 2-1 tight defeat to Lille was hard to take considering we were ahead in the 4th minute. Would we ever get a win in this Group?

We did! We were brilliant in the return tie against Lille and we got our first 3 points on the board! 2 lateish goals from Matus & Nikolic saw us climb from behind to win the game! Brilliant to challenge with these teams!

A close encounter saw us beat the Germans next, and climb into second position in the group! Ganbold Ganabayar whohas been out for 3 months grabbed us the winner in this edgy affair. We'd need results to go our way in order to stay in second!

A narrow defeat against Newcastle saw us having to check the other result to see if we'd qualified. Lille & Borussia Monchengladbach drew their final game which mean't we'd qualified from the Group in the 2nd position! What a shock! Could we go all the way? Probably not, but you never know!

Magyar Kupa

So, the one cup I'm waiting to win here in Hungary, apart from the second league is the Magyar Kypa! We were unceremoniously dumped out surprisingly last season as we lost out to Vasas in the 4th Round!

We've gone better this season and our target is of course, the Final so we can give ourself a chance at winning it. We beat out Szombathelyi Haladas in the Third Round with a convincing 4-1 victory! I didn't rest the starters as I don't want any chance of us losing by playing the youngsters.

We then went on to beat Bekescsaba 912 Elore Sport Egyesulet in the Fourth Round with an equally good performance. Domination from start to finish, and 3 good team goals! So far so good!

OTP Bank Liga

At this stage of the season last year, we were already well on top and in control of things. We had only lost the once aswell, but this year things are different! Games are a lot closer and tighter and we are on the wrong end of them more often.

We lost out early to Ujpest who are always capable of Ujpesting the apple cart

. Our other two losses came against the two big names in the league: Ferencvarosi TC & Fehervar. Two performances we deserved to lose as well, both meant we lost ground whilst chasing them down at the top. We weren't great, and I'm a bit worried about our form to be honest.

One thing yuo can see, is that we are drawing too many games when we should be beating them! We ended out this half of the season with 2 draws, both games we should've won but couldn't take our chances. You can probably tell I'm not too pleased with how we're performing in the league this season.

Well, down in 4th at the half way stage and headed into the break. We're actually 6 points off the top which is worrying at this stage. We can't let the gap get any bigger than it is otherwise we won't be there when it counts most. We're level on points with Ujpest, but I think it goes on head to head or something. Not really sure why we're below them. Can we get back to the top?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Sam Gallagher (ST) - 16
2. Eryk Matus (AMLR) - 11
3. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 7

Assists:
1. Joel Pereira (RB) - 8
2. Eryk Matus (AMLR), Zalan Vecsey (AMC) & Yevheyni Kychun (CM) - 5
3. Bruno Duspura (AMR), & Sime Dogan (LB) - 4

Average Rating:
1. Joel Pereira (RB) - 7.42
2. Robert Kavcic (CB) - 7.39
3. Sam Gallagher (ST) - 7.34

Next Post: EP.21 - End of Season Update - 2029/2030 - Puskas Akademia FC

Tongey · Feb 13, 2022

EP.22 - End of Season Update - 2029/2030 - Puskas Akademia FC

When you add in the continental competitions, seasons really do start to become long and full of games. You're constantly playing games every couple of days. My players were feeling the burn towards the end of the season, but the carrot on the end of the stick was the 'Double Winners' badge. Not many players get to wear that badge so it's worth working hard for.

Anyway, as I bring this 2029/2030 season to an end, I thought I'd put my manager profile up for you to peruse. You can see just what I've been up to, what my attributes are, and what my tendencies are. Enjoy.

After the last update, we had advanced to the Europa League Knockout Rounds, sat 4th in the OTP Bank Liga table, and were still in the Magyar Kupa. An excellent seasons work so far but could we go on and win anything?

I brought in some re-enforcements as I wasn't happy with our league position. These players were absolutely quality and went straight into that first team squad. They are probably my best transfers to date.

Fernando Martinez (CM) - £975k (Chacarita Jnrs)

Lorenzo Campinoti (CM) - Loan (West Ham)

OTP Bank Liga

After sitting in 4th at the mid-season break, we had work to do. We had to buckle down, start to compete more and turn those draws into wins and cut out those stupid losses. Well...

We did just that! An incredible second half to the season where we only dropped 6 points! We picked up 51 points out of 57 available. That's title wining form if I've ever seen it. The most important parts were that we won our big matches against Ferencvarosi & Fehervar.

The standout result was clearly the 7-3 victory against MTK Budapest where we blitzed the previous league record for goals in a game. An insane match where both teams put on a showcase of goalscoring ability. Not so much the defensive skills.

We only conceded 10 goals in the entire second half of the season which shows how much our defense stepped up to the plate. They took the team on their shoulders and said, "We are winning this league title again" and well, we did!

Back to back league winners! That's some achievement but I won't take the credit. The lads were incredible and deserve all the plaudits. I could've put any team selection out there and we would've still won it. Just remarkable achievement to come back from 4th in the league and 4 points behind to win the league by 12 points. What a team this is.

Magyar Kupa

The only remaining trophy that alluded us that is winnable for Puskas Akademia FC, as the other one is the league below and we aren't entering that anytime soon...

We had reached the 5th Round last time we met, so we were drawn against Ujpest in that 5th Round tie. Ujpest have been our bogey team and have caused us some terrible moments in my tenure here, so to see us beat them 2-0 was pleasing. We weren't at our best but that doesn't really matter as winning is all that matters here.

A 1/4 Final match up against our old rivals Fehervar was up next, and wow! What a result we got. 4-1 winners with a superb hattrick from 18 year old winger Gabor Farkas being the highlight. They were never in this one, and we never looked troubled. Semi-Final bound.

An easier tie awaited us on paper, but we were made to work for it against MTK Budapest. We had blitzed the record for goals in a league game the match before this, so it was inevitable that it was going to be a more cagey affair this time around. Ciprian Todoran & Flavio Henrique with the goals that were sending us to our first Magyar Kupa Final! Could we?

A bumper crowd of 12,159 packed into the Puskas Arena (excellently named), to witness a stunning performance from the Puskas boys! New signing Fernando Martinez took the game on his shoulders and won us the game on his own really. A 1st half hattrick put us in firm control of this game before Ganbold Ganbayar put the icing on the cake and sealed the trophy!

Up stepped captain Ganbold Ganbayar to hoist the trophy into the sky amid scenes of joyful celebration! My final trophy I'll be winning with Puskas as it'll be time to move on shortly.

Europa League

We had advanced quite fortunately to the knockout rounds of the Europa League where we had been drawn against Napoli. I thought this was where our journey was over but I was to be wronged. We were so so good in this tie, and thoroughly deserved to progress.

The first leg was played at home, and we were brilliant. Two goals in 5 minutes really put us in control and although we faced pressure throughout the second half we didn't really look troubled. They had a few half chances but didn't create anything that tested Auerbach in our goal! The return leg was a tighter affair but I was playing more cautiously and we saw the game out with a 1-1 draw. Into the next round we go.

This was obviously one step too far for the lads, but what a journey it's been. It started way back in the Champions League Qualifiers before the season had even begun so to get here was a miracle anyway. We didn't deserve the pummeling we got in these matches but it shows the quality of the English teams. The semi-finals were an all English affair too so we were going to be up against it no matter who we were drawn agianst.

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Sam Gallagher (ST) - 19
2. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 16
3. Eryk Matus (AMLR) - 15

Assists:
1. Joel Pereira (RB) - 15
2. Zalan Vecsey (AMC) & Lorenzo Campinoti (CM) - 9
3. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 8

Average Rating:
1. Ganbold Ganbayar (ST) - 7.45
2. Robert Kavcic (CB) - 7.43
3. Joel Pereira (RB) - 7.41

End of Season Awards:

Hungarian Goalkeeper of the Year: Martin Auerbach (2x in a row)
Hungarian Division 1 Player of the Year: 1st - Ganbold Ganbayar (ST), 2nd - Flavio Henrique (CB), 3rd - Robert Kavcic (CB)
Hungarian Manager of the Year: Mark Tonge (2x in a row)
Hungarian Division 1 Team of the Year: Martin Auerbach (GK) & Flavio Henrique (CB)

Next Update: Where Next?

Tongey · Feb 13, 2022

EP. 23 - Club #5 - Back to Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has drawn me in once again, with the prospect of winning some more of the many trophies on offer here! The club I've taken charge of was too good to turn down. In real terms, taking this job is a massive step down for me, but I'm not here to progress up the management ladder, I'm here to tick trophies off, and this team gives me the best chance of doing that quickly.

I've taken the job at Linfield FC. which is just under 15 miles from my previous job in Northern Ireland, Ballyclare Comrades. No disrespect ot Ballyclare, but Linfield are a huge step up in terms of National standing and reputation. They've done it all, and done it all many times over. I'm excited to get started, and revisit all my favourite places in the area. I've got a date with a coffee shop in the morning, and a celebratory Guiness (or 2, or 3, or 4) in the evening.

Linfield FC - Club Information:

Club Name: Linfield FC
Nickname: The Blues
Founded: 1886 (Linfield Athletic Club)
Current League: Danske Bank Premiership
Club Colours: HOME: Blue AWAY: Black
Trophies Won: Danske Bank Premiership (67), Sadlers Peaky Blinders Irish Cup (44), Bet McClean League Cup (34), County Antrim Shield (49), Steel & Sons Cup (15), Irish Intermediate Cup (13)

Stadium: Windsor Park
Capacity: 18,434 (all seated)
Training Facilities: Good
Youth Facilities: Average

The Squad:

The squad is absolutely massive! I've already made the decision to demote the poorer players into the B team, before selling them. I don't want them hanging around in the First Team, making it all untidy. Not a fan of that. Anyway, the team looks good, and ready to challenge for the title straight away, which is obviously the aim. I'll be bringing in some more players of course, that fit my style of play but it won't be a huge amount.

Our best players in each position are:

GK: Chris Johns

DF: Michael Orchin (CB)

MF: Gary Stewart (CM/AMR)

ST: Ruari Duffin (ST)

Previous Season:

The club had a very successful season last year, but in terms of their expectations, I'm not sure they will count it as being so.

Danske Bank Premiership: 1st (Winners)
County Antrim Shield: Winners
Bet McClean League Cup: Runners-Up
Sadlers Peaky Blinders Irish Cup: Winners
Europa Conference League: 3rd Qualifying Round
Irish Intermediate Cup: Winners (Linfield Swifts - Reserve Team)

I'll be aiming to win at least 3 of these competitions this season, obviously the Europa Conference League isn't achievable but I'd like to get a few rounds in to help boost the coffers. I've set myself a target of within 2 seasons, to have won all of the competitions we enter domestically. I'll be counting the reserve team winning the Intermedite Cup as a win if they do go all the way themselves.

We've been made odds on favourites to win the Danske Bank Premiership this season, and the bookies really do believe we will win it by pricing us at 8-13. The next best team is Glentoran at 7-2. It'd be a real disappointment if we don't manage it this season.

Next Update: EP.24 - Mid-Season Update - 2030/2031 - Linfield FC

Tongey · Feb 14, 2022

EP.24 - Mid-Season Update - 2030/2031 - Linfield FC

I'm going to dive straight into this update, as there is a **** of a lot to update you on. Get a cuppa ready, and get ready to celebrate ALOT of trophies coming our way. On with the show we go!

Transfers:

Cieran Slicker (GK) - £100k (Barnsley)

Kevin Moran (AMC) - £96k (Bristol City)

Cameron Archer (ST) - £195k (Bristol Rovers)

Champions League:

The club qualified for the Champions League thanks to them winning the Danske Bank Premiership last season! We started this years competition in the earliest qualifying round, and would've had to go through many games to qualify for an unlikely Group Stage appearance! Could we do the impossible and get us there for the first time in our History?

If you look at the fixture list above, you'll see we did indeed manage to qualify for the Group Stage! I know, I was in just as much shock as you probably are. Cash windfall incoming!

We eased through the First Qualifying Round beating F91 Dudelange 8-0 on aggregate. No issues there. Rosenborg were our opponents in the Second Qualifying Round, which turned out to be a very good tie of football. We went out to a 3-0 lead in the tie, and I thought that was that, but we lost the return leg 2-1 to see us go through 4-2 on aggregate. Could've gone either way to be honest.

In the Third Round, we faced Astana from Cyprus, and came through two tough battles and won both legs of the tie. 2-0 at home and 1-0 away. You can't ask for more than that. Then came my former employers, FC Inter Turku from Finland. A 1-1 draw in my old hunting ground set us up nicely for the return leg. We eased through that challenge and won the game 3-0 to send us through to the Champions League Group Stage! Insane right?

And, my eyes nearly came out of my head when I saw the Group I was drawn in...

Linfield (Northern Ireland)
Ajax (Holland)
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Atletico Madrid (Spain)

How did we get on, I hear you ask?

Well, we exceed my expectation massively by grabbing some points! Not only did we earn some points, but we grabbed a well deserved win against a form winner of the Champions League in Ajax. The group stage got off to the best start we could imagine. A 2-0 victory against Ajax got us all dreaming! Tawanda Chirewa & Ruairi Duffy grabbing us the famous goals. Surely the best result in Linfields history?

After that, we were brought back down to earth with a bump, losing our remaining 5 games as we were expected too. Still, I'm proud of the lads for getting this far! A truly memorable cup run and one the fans and players will never forget.

Danske Bank Premiership

WOW, WOW, WOW! We are yet to lose in the league this season. That's some form! I can't decide whether it's down to our attacking prowess, or a defensive stingyness. We've been outstanding in both sections.

Goals Scored: 117
Goals Conceded: 20

That's insane! We're averaging 3.55 goals per game. I've never had one that hight before. Whatever we're doing, we're doing it right, Anyway, I played up until the league split into two, and of course we've qualified for the Championship Group where we will play the other top 6 teams once more to determine who will win the league title and qualify for the European competitions.

Well, we would play for the title, but we've already won it, and at a canter!

We sit top of the tree, and are crowned champions with so many games left to play. We are currently 26 points ahead of Glentoran who sit in 2nd place. We should easily break that magical 100 point landmark! Things couldn't really have gone better for us in the league this season.

Irish Champions Cup

Since the team won the league last year, they were invited to take part in the Irish Champions Cup which takes place between the two winners of the Danske Bank Premiership (Northern Ireland) & the SSE Airtricity League (Republic of Ireland) which ended up being Bohemian.

The first leg went to play as we won 3-1 which put us in control. I rested a few players in the return leg which was silly of me, as we lost the 2nd leg 3-2, and nearly through it all away. We didn't though, and won the first of the European competitions on offer to me. Yes, I know that sounds silly that it's a European competition, but it is listed as one, and who am I to argue with it?

Couny Antrim Shield:

As the holders of this trophy, I wanted us to go out there and dominate once again. We did just that, and eased through the early rounds by beating Dundela 6-0, Ballymena United 3-0, and Larne in the semi-final 2-0. Too easy for a team of our calibre, and to not concede a single goal is special.

Awaiting us in the Final, was Cliftonville.

Once again, as so often with Linfield, we dominated when it mattered. The game was over by the 35th minute as goals from Charlie Allen, Ruairi Duffy & Paul Dunne sent us flying into a 3-0 lead. We held that lead against 10 men and lifted the trophy high into the night sky. Easy really.

Bet McClean League Cup

Are Linfield too good for this football league system? Probably, but they can only beat what's in front of them. Once again we eased through to the Final by scoring lots of goals, and conceding 0 goals on route. We beat Banbridge Town 9-0, Cliftonville 2-0, Ballymena United 3-0 and Glentoran 2-0.

Newry City AFC waited for us in the showpiece game.

Too easy once again, as we eased to a 5-0 win! Another trophy ticked off! Massive props to Alexander Mohammed who scored a hattrick in a final which doesn't happen too often! We just had too much for Newry City on the day.

Sadlers Peaky Blinders Irish Cup:

The only domestic cup competition to have not finished yet is the Irish Cup! We're on course for another final though, as we've reached the Semi-Final once again.

An absolute battering in the Fifth Round against Ballymacash Rovers saw them lose 13-0. I don't usually like winning that badly as I feel bad for the other team, but we broke the record for most goals in a game. Stupid result really.

We then beat Tobermore United 8-0 and Coleraine 2-0. That's a massive 23 goals in 3 games, and 0 conceded. In fact, we haven't conceded in a domestic cup yet. That's some stat right?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Cameron Archer (ST) - 43
2. Alexander Mohammed (AML) - 27
3. Pat McCabe (ST) - 23

Assists:
1. Kevin Moran (AMC) - 22
2. Alexander Mohammed (AML) - 17
3. Ben Kerr (CM) - 16

Average Rating:
1. Kevin Moran (AMC) - 7.83
2. Charlie Allen (ST) - 7.63
3. Alexander Mohammed (AML) - 7.52

Just a side note, I've counted the Steel & Sons Cup as a trophy win as our Reserve side has won this competition this year. I'm not sure I can manage a team to win that one...I'll try and double check, but for now it's a win and a tick.

Next Update: EP.25 - End of Season Update - 2030/2031 - Linfield FC

Tongey · Feb 14, 2022

EP.25 - End of Season Update - 2030/2031 - Linfield FC

Another season done and dusted, and what a season it's been! Northern Ireland was a little bit of a struggle last time I managed here, but how things change when you get put in charge of clearly the best team in the league. Last time out, we were on the way to an unbeaten league campaign, and could win the legendary 'Quintruple' if we got our way in the Sadlers Peaky Blinders Irish Cup. Here goes nothing...

Danske Bank Premiership

We had already won the league, and by a country mile, so we didn't really have much to play for in. The only thing I wanted to do now, was to go through the whole season being undefeated. That meant we had to win or draw our five remaining games in the Championship Group.

Look at that! We did it! 5 wins from 5 in the Championship Group! We scored atleast 3 goals in each game which is absolute insanity, although we weren't as solid at the back as we were in the regular season. Not that i'm too bothered. You don't need to be good at the back when you score 3 or more each match.

Top of the tree when it counts! 38 games played and our record stands at:

GP: 38
WINS: 36
DRAWS: 2
LOSSES: 0

I'll take that all day long! That's the first time I've ever had an undefeated season so I'm quite proud of this one! We ended the season with 110 points which I also think is the highest total I've ever had! I just can't speak highly enough of this team.

Sadlers Peaky Blinders Irish Cup

Continuing on from where we left off, we went on to hammer Newry City AFC 6-1 in the semi-final! Cameron Archer netted a spectacular 5 goals to help us get there! He's some player at this level. Anyway, we had reached yet another final.

Another final, another win and another chance to celebrate! Ben Kerr got us off to a **** of a start by going on a mazy run from kick off and placing the ball into the bottom corner. An own goal in the second half was enough for us to see out the 2-0 win. Dungannon Swifts were actually quite good and should've got something from the game. Just shows that even when we aren't at our best, we still win.

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Cameron Archer (ST) - 58
2. Alexander Mohammed (AML) - 29
3. Pat McCabe (AMR) - 27

Assists:
1. Alexander Mohammed (AML) & Kevin Moran (AMC) - 23
2. Ben Kerr (CM) - 19
3. Ben Cheung (RB) & Lennie Rae Cirino (LB) - 12

Average Rating:
1. Kevin Moran (AMC) - 7.84
2. Cameron Archer (ST) - 7.60
3. Charlie Allen (ST) - 7.56

End of Season Awards:

Danske Bank Premiership Player of the Season:
1st - Kevin Moran (AMC)
2nd - Scott Shields (CB)
3rd - Darren Nixon (CB)

Danske Bank Premiership Top Goalscorer:
1st - Cameron Archer (ST) - 34 (25 games)
3rd - Charlie Allen (ST) - 15 (15 games)

Danske Bank Premiership Young Player of the Season: Gary Stewart (CM)
Danske Bank Premiership Manager of the Year: Mark Tonge

Danske Bank Premiership Team of the Season:
Cieran Slicker (GK)
Michael Orchin (RB)
Emmitt Telford (CM)
Cameron Archer (ST)

The only downside to the end of the season was the fact my reserve side Linfield Swifts lost in the final of the Intermediate Cup which means I can't tick that one off the list just yet. I'll have to come back to Northern Ireland for a third time, but it probably won't be for a while.

I'm now back to finding a new club! I'm not resigning though, as it ruins my standings and teams don't like it when you resign.

Next Update: EP.26 - Club #6?

Tongey · Feb 17, 2022

EP.26 - Club #6 - Touchdown in Turkey

After the heroics of last season, which saw us win the historic 'QUINTRUPLE'! Yes, the first team won 5 trophies in a single season and the Reserve Team won one as well! What a year for the club, but after the celebrations had calmed down, I swiftly handed in my notice and set about the job hunting once again. Surely, I'd be in popular demand and it was that way.

Big names such as West Ham United & Wolverhampton Wanderers came in for me, but I turned them down. It's not time for me to manage in the Premier League just yet. One day I will, but that day is not now. Instead I opted for the lesser known: Spor Toto 2. Lig Kirmizi Grup and I'm now manager of Bodrumspor AS.

Club Overview:

Club Name: Bodrumspor A.S
Nickname: N/A
Founded: 1931
Current League: Spor Toto 2. Lig Kirmizi Grup
Club Colours: HOME: GREEN AWAY: White
Trophies Won: Spor Toto 2. Lig Kirmizi Grup (1), Spor Toto 3. Lig Grup 2 (1) & Boigesel Amator Lig Grup 7

Stadium: Bodrum Ilce Stadyumu
Capacity: 4,563 (all seated)
Training Facilities: Adequate
Youth Facilities: Adequate

The Squad:

A relatively small squad available to me, and one that may just have the quality in enough areas to mount a serious title challenge this season. I'll definitely be looking to strengthen some areas, especially in the goalkeeping department as we lack massively there. I'd also like an out and out striker who scores for fun in this league. Leave that with me...

The best players in each position are:

GK: Mehmet Das

DF: Arif Tosun (CB)

MF: Halil Engin (AMR)

ST: Ramazan Albayrak (ST)

Last Season:

The league actually went really well for them last season, with them managing to finish in 3rd position, someway off the top 2. They qualified for the playoffs, but went crashing out to the team that finish just below them: Adiyaman FK. The aim this season is definitely to get promoted as Champions, but a playoff spot would suffice.

In the Turkiye Kupasi, the team got knocked out in the Fourth Round by Premierleague side Buraspor after hammering a team 8-1 in the Third Round. Winning this competition is highly unlikely this season so just a good performance and a few rounds will do me nicely.

Next Update: EP.27 - Mid Season Update - 2031/2032 - Bodrumspor AS

Tongey · Feb 19, 2022

EP.27 - Mid Season Update - 2031/2032 - Bodrumspor AS

Sorry it's been a while since I did a proper update. I recently moved to Bodrumspor where I'm attempting to climb the Turkish league ladder and make them become a force in Turkish football. If that happens then I'll be a miracle worker! Reality is, I'll probably try to move to a stronger team if I get the chance to as we climb the leagues. Bodrumspor are a top tier team in the league we're in so I'm enjoying dominating for now.

You saw I had a small squad at my disposal and I also had a very healthy budget of £3.4m available to me. I obviously got nowhere near spending that, and spent only £85k. Plenty left to get more in if needed. Welcome to...

Egeman Atay (WBL) - Loan (Antalyaspor)

Bekir Ozer (CB) - Free (Basakeshir FK)

Gokhan Deniz (ST) - £26k (Fatih Karagumuk)

Ibrahim Kalkan (CM) - £11.25k (Sakaryaspor)

Whilst most of these won't go straight into the starting lineup, they provide much needed back up quality so we can ring the changes if needed. I'm excited to see how Ozer develops. I'm hoping he may become the first team captain in the future!

Spor Toto 2.Lig Kirmizi Grup

We went into the season as 2nd favourites to lift the trophy come the end of the season! Only Kocaelispor were favoured ahead of us and tbh, it's been a battle between us two all season so far.

For the second season in a row, we're on for an unbeaten season. My first was with Linfield in Northern Ireland. Can we go for the 2nd in a row? Probably won't happen but we're looking good so far. Our record stands at:

14 WINS
3 DRAWS
0 LOSSES

I'm delighted with our performances but Ramazan Albayrak has been outsanding and stands at the top of scoring charts in the league with 14 goals. Impressive for a young man. I'm hoping he can go on to be crowned the Golden Boot winner. Anyway onto the results.

Our crunch game against Kocaelispor came down to a last second equaliser by Zeki Gur who took matters into his own hands and slammed one into the top corner to deny them the victory! That could be a huge moment in deciding where the title is going to go. As of now, we're on a 6 match winning run, and we're looking good to extend that!

As I mentioned before, it's a 2 horse race between ourselves and Kocaelispor! I'm sure it's going to go down to the wire! We're top of the pile so far, but only 2 points ahead of them in second place. Both of us have really good goal difference so that may be crucial too! In terms of the rest, we're 10 points ahead of Ankaraspor in 3rd. It's looking good for a top 2 spot.

Turkiye Kupasi

Well success in this competition was never going to happen and I set my pre-season target to be competitive and get through a round or two! We only just got through the 3rd Round tie against Sanyer Spor Kulubu who are down the bottom end of our division! A late winner from Ibrahim Kalkan the difference on the day.

We then went to face a team from the division above, and pushed them all the way! Boluspor are no mugs so to take them to extra time was a good result. We even took the lead, but ran out of steam towards the end and their quality ended up telling. A decent ish result.

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Ramazan Albayrak (ST) - 13
2. Arda Kurtulan (ST) - 7
3. Halil Engin (AMR) & Serkan Kaya (DM) - 4

Assists:
1. Halil Engin (AMR) - 6
2. Zeki Gur (AMC) - 4
3. Egeman Atay (WBL), Ibrahim Kalkan (CM) & Arda Kurtulan (ST) - 3

Average Rating:
1. Arif Tosun (CB) - 7.43
2. Serkan Kaya (DM) - 7.32
3. Bekir Ozan (CB) - 7.31

Next Update: EP.28 - End of Season Update - 2031/2032 - Bodrumspor AS

Tongey · Feb 19, 2022

EP.28 - End of Season Update - 2031/2032 - Bodrumspor AS

Back to back unbeaten seasons was definitely on the cards at the end of the last update! Did we manage to do it? The unprecedented dream! Well, I'll update you on that shortly, but first I've posted my manager stats below so you can see how I'm progressing as a coach.

Pretty decent attributes for a coach in the 3rd division of Turkish football! Maybe that's why we're winning lots of games and my players are improving week on week. I'm headed towards the first BIG milestone of 500 games in management. That's a big achievement, but it's only a drop in the water for this challenge! Many, many more to come!

Spor Toto 2.Lig Kirmizi Grup

17 more games, and 17 more games unbeaten which makes me a double unbeaten season winning manager! Back to back aswell! That's some feat! I'm sure next season will be a huge challenge and my record will come to an end, but for now I'm going to enjoy it!

You'll remember that it was a two horse race for the league title. Myself & Kocaelispor were headed into a dogfight as each game was played. The big game against them once again ended in a draw. A 1-1 finish thanks to Ramazan Albayrak who's fine form was a major aspect in our record this season.

On numerous occasions we scored 4 or more goals which is ridiculous. 6 out of the 17 games we did just that! We were stingy at the back as well which is a typical trait for my teams. We just score lots, and hardly concede. That's the mentality of a winning football team.

Did we win the league though?

OF COURSE WE DID! CHAMPIONS! We were crowned champions with 90 points on the board, only dropping a total of 12 points throughout the season! Kocaelispor dropped off the pace slightly, and finished 9 points behind us. We'd be going up to the next league as Champions!

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Ramazan Albayrak (ST) - 25
2. Arda Kurtulan (ST) - 20
3. Halil Engin (AMR) - 13

Assists:
1. Halil Engin (AMR) - 12
2. Zeki Gur (AMC) - 11
3. Recep Akbulut (CM) - 7

Average Rating:
1. Ismet Torun (CM) - 7.45
2. Bekir Ozer (CB) - 7.43
3. Zeki Gur (AMC) - 7.38

End of Season Awards

Spor Toto 2.Lig Kirmizi Grup Top Goalscorer - Ramazan Albayrak (ST) - 23
Spor Toto 2.Lig Kirmizi Team of the Season:

Mehmet Das (GK), Ayhan Atas (RB), Bekir Ozer (CB), Arif Tosun (CB), Egeman Atay (LB), Ismet Torun (CM), Serkan Kaya (CM), Arda Kurtulan (AML), Recept Akbulut (AMC), Halil Engin (AMR), Ramazan Albayrak (ST)

Yes, my whole team was named in the Team of the Season! Not surprising really as we went unbeaten! Time to prepare for the next challenge in the league above!

Next Update: Mid-Season Update - 2032/2033 - Bodrumspor AS

Tongey · Feb 21, 2022

EP.29 - Mid Season Update 2032/3033

I've actually just remembered that I've been to Bodrum in real life. I wasn't overly keen on the holiday, and it said it all that our favourite day of the holiday was a day trip to Kos. That being said, it seemed to just cater for all inclusive luxury hotels so if that's your thing, then maybe Bodrum is for you. The local beer Efes was 'ok'. Nothing to write home about.

Anyway, on with the update. I've hit that milestone! The 500 games in charge milestone, and even though it does count as a milestone, it's only a mere drop in the ocean for this save. I have no idea what number I'll be at if I get anywhere close to finishing this...

That's some good stats if I do say so myself! A win percentage of 69%! We score lots, and we don't concede too many! That's how you win games and that's how you sustain it. (Here comes the drop in form now I've said that)

Transfers:

As we have gone up a division after a fantastic promotion last season, the squad needing adding to. The players we had are good players, but we needed a little more quality in those key positions. I especially needed a goalkeeper so that was my main target. The club also a lot of players leave on loan. These are obviously the youth talents that I want to get game time. Maybe they can improve and come back and challenge for a first team place.

Mirac Dogan (AMR) - £16.5k (Sivaspor

Aaron McCaul (DR) - £1.1k (Crusaders)

Ameth Mboup (DL) - £350k (Generation Foot)

Tanju Taltekin (AML) - Free (Kocaelispor)

Egemen Atay (DL) - £1.4m (Antalyspor)

James Nungaray (GK) - £62k (Nottingham Forest)

Zeki Solak (CM) - £39.5k (Bandirmaspor)

TFF 1.Lig

With the new league upon us, and Bodrumspor back in the TFF 1.Lig, could we buck the trend of the constant up and down spiral that club had been stuck in. The media thought we had a good chance of staying up, by predicting us to finish in 13th place. I'd be happy with that, but we've done something ridiculous this season so far that exceeds all expectations. I have no idea what's happening.

Is this the form you'd expect of a newly promoted team? Probably not, but the squad is playing with such a confidence and it's showing in the results. Things didn't actually get off to the best of starts, as lost to title favourites Gaziantep, but deserved to win. A late goal saw us lose that one, but I was happy with how we had fared.

A little 6 match unbeaten run was to follow with some fantastic victories in there. Most were closely contested games and won by the odd goal. Victories came against Hekimoglu Trabzon, Ankaragucu, Hatayspor & Bandirmaspor. After that we lost two on the trot against Altnordu & Manisa FK. Both games were close again and both lost by the singular goal. To be expected at some point though.

Since those two losses, we've only lost one more game whilst winning the rest. Our form has been ridiculous. We beate Samsunspor, Bsb Erzurumspor, Istanbulspor, Denizlispor, Akhisarspor, Kasimpasa & Fatih Karagurmruk. We've picked off some big scalps in there, whilst our lone loss in that section was againnst Tuzlaspor when a 94th minute header was the cruel winner for them. What a start to the season we've had. Can we keep it up?

TOP! Yes, we're top of the league! Quite unexpectedly as well! I never though we'd be this good, and maybe a drop in form is on it's way, but I'll cherish this for now. Honestly from this point, I'd be happy with a playoff spot. It does seem really tight at the top, with 5 points separating the top 6.

Turkiye Kupasi

Once again, I've gone into this competition with no expectations whatsoever. I just want some good performances and to maybe pick up some big wins on the way. We eased through the Third Round with a 3-0 victory against Yozgatspor 1959. Another strong victory in the Fourth Round followed, as we beat Hekimogly Trabzon from our division 3-1.

The first BIG test came against Giresunspor from the Superlig. A two legged affair was to take place in which we won both of them. That's what confidence can do. They aren't performing well in their league, whilst we are. Into the Sixth Round we go...

The team that stands in our way: Trabonzaspor. Now, they are one of the biggest names in Turkish football! Can we do something special?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Ramazan Albayrak (ST) - 13
2. Tanju Taltekin (AML) & Arda Kurtulan (ST) - 5
3. Halil Engin (AMR) - 4

Assists:
1. Tanju Taltekin (AML) & Recep Akbulut (CM) - 5
2. Ismet Torun (CM) - 4
3. Ameth Mboup (DL), Zeki Solak (AMC) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 3

Average Rating:
1. Bekir Ozer (CB) - 7.63
2. Ramazan Albayrak (ST) - 7.37
3. Ismet Torun (CM) - 7.20

Next Update: EP.30 - End of Season Update - 2032/2033 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

Tongey · Feb 21, 2022

EP.30 - End of Season Update - 2032/2033 - Bodrumspor

Welcome back into another episode of the total carnage that is 'Global Navigating'. We're here in Turkey where we're managing Bodrumspor, a team based in you guessed it, Bodrum. Last season we were in the 3rd Division of Turkish football but got promoted into the TFF 2.Lig where we've been flourishing so far. Unexpectedly may I add.

Anyway, theres been a bit of transfer news regarding players IN and OUT of the club. I'll explain the outgoing one first. Fan favourite and top goalscorer Ramazan Albayrak grew extremely unhappy with the club after I rejected a bid from a top tier side. I couldn't regain his confidence so I decided to sell him before I had to let him go for free. Something is better than nothing eh. He left to join Fatih Karagumruk who play in the same league as us.

Now, onto the faces that have signed up for the project here in Bodrum.

Sezer Demirbas (ST) - £20k (Tuzlaspor)

Jarrod Reece (AMR) - £130k (Woking)

Darren Henry (CM) - £5k (Coleraine)

TFF 1.Lig

As of the last update, which I wrote half way through the season. 17 games in to be exact, we were sitting pretty at the top of the pile. It was **** close though with the top 6 being separated by 5 points. It could literally go anyway. I did expect our form to drop, and it did unfortunately for us. We didn't peak at the correct time.

As you can see, our form has been more patchy than the start of the season. We couldn't really get a run going for long enough. We lost a tight game against Gazientep which meant they had done the double against us. Frustrating as they are a title challenge rival. Our best run of form then followed as we won 4 straight. That was about as good as it was going to get.

Our form really faltered at the end as we only won 3 of the last 5, when we really needed to win them all. The big game was against Kasimpasa which we unfortunately lost 3-1 on the day. This put them in control of the title race and knocked us down into the playoff spot. Playoffs confirmed, but I didn't want them, I wanted that final automatic spot.

We needed a win on the last day and either Kasimpasa or Gazientep to lose. We didn't hold our end of the bargain up as we drew disappointingly against Fatih Karagumruk and you guessed it...That man, Ramazan Albayruk scored the goal that made it so. Disappointing end to the season, which saw us finish in 3rd.

Playoffs:

We were drawn against Manisa FK who finished down in 6th, 13 points behind us in 3rd. I knew we weren't in great form and it told. A terrible end to the season, and it looks like we'll be stuck in the division next season. Don't get me wrong, it's been a fantastic first season back in the league, but it's frustrating since we got this far and couldn't get over the line.

Turkiye Kupasi

In the Turkiye Kupasi, we were already into the Sixth Round, and had been drawn against Turkish giants Trabzonspor, I didn't give us a chance, but we actually played pretty well. We lost the home leg 2-1 and probably deserved to do so, but in the return leg, we deserved to win the game. A 2-2 draw, and only because of 2 late goals. We were going through and switched off.

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Sezer Demirbas (ST) - 8
2. Serkan Kaya (CM) - 7
3. Halil Engin (AMR) & Recep Akbulut (CM) - 6

Assists:
1. Ismet Torun (CM) & Recep Akbulut (CM) - 8
2. Tanju Talketin (CM) - 6
3. Zeki Solak (AMC) & Serkan Kaya (CM) - 4

Average Rating:
1. Bekir Ozer (CB) - 7.55
2. Arif Tosun (CB) - 7.16
3. Ameth Mboup (LB) - 7.12

No individual awards in the End of Season Awards, but the team did pick up the Fair Play Award which is pretty impressive. Can we do the same next year?

Next Update: EP.31 - Mid Season Update - 2033/2034 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

Tongey · Feb 22, 2022

EP.31 - Mid Season Update - 2033/2034 - Bodrumspor

Welcome back to another instalment of this magnificent challenge. I'm still in Turkey, where I'm really enjoying my time in charge of Bodrumspor. After last seasons disappointment at the end of the season, which saw us lose our automatic promotion spot right at the death, before losing out in the Playoffs to eventual winners Manisa, we're looking to bounce back and get ourselves promoted into the Super Lig.

The media obviously still don't believe in us properly as they've only predicted us to finish 13th. Not great, considering we nearly gained automatic promotion last season. I don't trust the media anyway, but it's always nice to prove them wrong.

Transfers:

OUT:
Ameth Mboup (LB) - £115k - Gaziantep FK

IN:
Mehmet Coskundere (CB) - £4.9k (Altay SK)
Lee Reed (ST) - Free (Southampton)
Bahri Sonmez (LB) - £7.5k (Hekimoglu Trabzon)
Eyup Nazh (CM) - £210k (Konyaspor)
Umut Alan (CB) - £12k (Pendikspor)
Murat Tatli (DL) - Free (Sakaryaspor)
Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) - Loan (Antalyaspor)
Sami Ipekoglu (AMC) - £58k (Istanbulspor)
Nafiz Palta (AML/R) - Loan (Konyalspor)

TFF 1.Lig

After coming so close last year, I was making it my mission to come out on top this time around. We needed to get off to a good start in the first half of the season and I think we can count this as mission accomplished. We just need to continue this into the second half of the season and we're golden. Here's how we fared.

To only lose twice in the first 17 games is pretty impressive. We've already cemented ourselves as one of the teams to beat in the league and teams don't really like visiting us. We started off the season with a 10 match unbeaten run where we only dropped 4 points. We had some good wins aganst Tuzlaspor, Boluspor, Istanbulspor, Kocaelispor, Adanspor, Eyupsor, Goztepe FK & Denizlispor with draws against Bursaspor & Fatih Karagumruk.

Our record speaks for itself, and despite a little bad patchy run of 3 games where we only picked up 1 point from a possible 9, we've been really consistent. In that bad run we lost againt Altinordu and a surprise one against Samsunspor with a draw against Hatayspor. The 2 losses were tight games but we probably did deserve to be on the losing side in both.

We've ended the first half of the season on a good run which I hope can continue for a long time to come. Wins aganst Kayserispor, Bandirmaspor, Ankaragucu & Goztepe SK. The league double over Goztepe is one to savour as they were favourites for the title this year. They still may come good on that, but to beat them twice is always a good thing.

Top of the tree with 17 games to go! We were in a similar position last time around but faltered towards the end. I'm hoping we have a different ending this time, but you can never count your chickens too early! Goztepe & Bandirmaspor are pushing us all the way, and ideally I'd have a bigger gap separating us at this stage.

Turkiye Kupasi

Again, I don't expect success in this cup, but instead it's a chance to give some of the non regulars to get some football. Or, it was meant to be that way before our early exit.

We eased into the Fourth Round thanks to a 6-0 battering against Tepecik Belediyespor and a fine 4 goal sample from Eyip Nazli and 2 from Lee Reed. I expected us to go atleast another round, but we were unceremoniously dumped from the competition after a disappointing 2-0 loss against Ankaraspor. Not to be tihs time, but maybe next year?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Eyup Nazli (AML) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 12
2. Lee Reed (ST) - 9
3. Sezer Demirbas (ST) - 5

Assists:
1. Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) - 6
2. Eyup Nazli (AML) & Ismet Torun (CM) - 5
3. Halil Engin (AMR) - 4

Average Rating:
1. Eyup Nazli (AML) - 7.37
2. Ismet Torun (CM) - 7.36
3. Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) - 7.29

Next Update: EP.32 - End of Season Update - 2033/2034 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

Tongey · Feb 23, 2022

EP.32 - End of Season Update - 2033/2034 - Bodrumspor

I'll be starting this update with the news that I've signed a new contract with the club that will keep me in charge of the mighty Bodrumspor until the end of next season. It's not a long term commitment but it keeps me where I'd like to stay for now. It also keeps the money flowing in and allows me to stock up on Efes, and lets me get my day trips to Kos in on a regular basis. Can't beat that Greek food on a night.

Anyway, enough of that, on with the remaining 17 games of the season. It had been a tight affair up until the half way stage, but since then, it's been plain sailing. That should give you a little preview of what happened...

TFF 1.Lig

We carried on our unbeaten run for another 4 games with some fantastic results. At this stage it's all about the 3 points, and not the performance, but when you get that combination of both. It's magical. We deserved to lose the match against Fatih Karagumruk but rescued an unlikely draw with two injury time goals thanks to substitue Sezer Demirbas. When your luck is in, it's in.

A deserved loss did follow, when we lost 1-0 against Boluspor who showed why they were in the Super Lig last season. We followed that up with a cagy 1-1 draw against Istanbulspor, and I thought our usual patchy end of season form was coming back. I couldn't be more wrong!

We went on a crucial 8 match winning streak which put us in a commanding position at the top of the pile. Wins came against Kocaelispor, Adanspor, Bursaspor, Eyupspor, Altinordu, Hatayspor, Samsunspor, & Kayserispor. I can't tell you how relieved I was when win after win just came coming. One game at a time we were clawing ourselves closer to that title. An unbelievable title as well! Remember the media predicted us to finish down in 13th. A bit of belief and a good tactic gets you a long way.

By the time the Bandirmaspor game came around, we'd already been crowned Champions so the result didn't matter. After all the celebrations that week, it's no wonder we lost that game. I couldn't care less. We did follow it up with a thumping win aganst Ankaragucu but couldn't round the season off with another win as we lost to Bsb. Erzurumspor who were fighting for a playoff spot I think.

WE ARE SÜPER LIG, SAY WE ARE SÜPER LIG. WE ARE SÜPER LIG, SAY WE ARE SÜPER LIG.

We had won the league title at a canter really, with a massive 10 point gap at the top of table. Bandirmaspor claimed the second automatic spot, with the playoffs being made up from Goztepe SK, Bsb. Erzurumspor, Altinordu & Samsunspor. For the second straight season, the team finishing in 6th got promoted to the top league as well. Crazy. Anyway, back to the title celebrations eh?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Lee Reed (ST) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 19
2. Eyup Nazli (DM) - 18
3. Sezer Demirbas (ST) - 10

Assists:
1. Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) & Eyup Nazli (DM) - 11
2. Ismet Torun (CM) - 7
3. Egemen Atay (LB), Darren Henry (CM) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 6

Average Rating:
1. Eyup Nazli (DM) - 7.34
2. Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) & Ismet Torun (CM) - 7.30
3. Arif Tosun (CB) - 7.29

End of Season League Awards:

Turkish 1.Lig Young Player of the Season - Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB)
Turkish 1.Lig Manager of the Season - Mark Tonge

Turkish 1.Lig Team of the Season
GK: James Nungary
RB: Batuhan Pehlivanlar
CB: Arif Tosun
CB: Bekir Ozer
LB: Egemen Atay
CM: Ismet Torun
CM: Darren Henry
AMC: Sami Ipekoglu
LW: Eyup Nazli
RW: Halil Engin
ST: Lee Reed

Yes, once again, the whole team were awarded this honour as they were excellent all season! Second time this has happened in this career to date.

Other News:

The board came to me during the title celebrations, and gave this little nugget of information. They've secured permission to build the club a brand new stadium in the city of Mugla. It has a capacity of 10,000 with undersoil heating to boot. Not bad eh? Just a shame about the generic name. Surely the Tonge Arena would've been better...

Next Update: EP.33 - Mid Season Update - 2034/2034 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

Tongey · Feb 25, 2022

EP.33 - Mid Season Update - 2034/2035 - Bodrumspor
Taking on the Süper Lig.

Our first season back in the big time. In fact, I don't think the club has ever been in the Süper Lig before, so this is a historic season in the clubs history. With the rise into the top division, a few players were bound to leave and many were going to be brought in. I immediately went about checking the registration rules as they change from league to league. I found out I could have 10 international players registered, when I previously could only have 4. This is huge for me.

Heres the latest crop of transfers both in and out of the club. (Only notable OUTS.)

TRANSFERS: OUT
Umut Alan (CB) - £26.5k (Kasimpasa)
Firat Celik (CM) - Free (Kayerispor)

TRANSFERS: IN
Antarra Haddad (GK) - Free (Stade Reims)
Batuhan Penlivanlar (RB) - £1.6m (Antalyspor)
Damir Vujovic (AMC) - Free (Teuta)
Ameth Mboup (DL) - £105k (Gaziantep)
Jules Ahmadou (AMC) - £215k (Cotton Sport)
Erdal Celik (CM) - £350k (Yeni Malatyaspor)
Erol Ozturk (CM) - £200k (Altay SK)
Denis Albrecht (ST) - £300k (Manheim)
Alvaro (AMR) - £525k (Manisa)

Spor Toto Süper Lig

You know what, I'm extremely happy with how the first half of the season has gone for us. The media expected us to suffer, and suffer badly by finishing 2nd bottom in the league table. The only team they expected to be worse off than us was Bandirmaspor. It's been a patchy season thus far, but we're doing well, and should be a mid-table team judging by this form.

We actually got off to a ridiculous start and were top after 4 games played. We won 3 on the bounce against Bandirmaspor, Basakeshir & Adan Denispor. 2 draws then followed as we pushed our unbeaten run to 5, including a credible draw against Beskitas who of course are one of the Turkish Giants. We managed one more win, this time against Altay SK, before a bad run of form hit us.

2 massive teams inflicted defeats upon us, after 2 tight games. Fenerbache & Trabzonspor are big, big names and just had the know how about getting over the line. I'm proud of how we played in these, and could've got something out of them if we had a bit more calmness in front of goal. Not to be though.

We lost a third in a row against Antalyspor, before drawing 2 more against Samsunspor, & Sivasspor. The 4-4 game against Samsunspor was an incredible match. Denis Albrecht was in fine form, netting all 4 for us, and even had one disallowed in the last minute. A cruel blow, but a point gained.

Our form has been hit and miss since then, winning one, then losing on, then winning one, and then losing one more time. A rare win against Galatasaray has been the highlight of the season, especially in front of our own fans. Denis Albrecht once again the man of the moment as he scored a beautiful lob before celebrating on his knees in front of the fans.

Well, whod've though we would be in 7th after the first half of the season. We're doing well, but need to keep this up into the second half. We need to find a little bit of form that will carry us over and keep us safe. We're only 11 points clear of the relegation zone, but more importantly we're 2 points off the European places. Could we do something incredible and sneak one of those?

Turkiye Kupasi

We've made good progress in the Turkiye Kupasi, and this may be a target of mine this season. We've had relatively easy draws so far, playing 2 low league teams, before facing off against our relegation rivals Bandirmaspor in the 5th round.

An 8-0 hammering of 1877 Alemdagspor saw us cruise into the Fourth Round, where we saw off Etimesgut Bld. with a 5-0 win. Two easy games, and two easy passages through.

The series against Bandirmaspor was an edgy affair where I still played my 2nd team with some starters mixed in. Denis Albrecht was the man who made the difference and netted once in each game. We scraped through 3-2 on aggregate and are due to face off against Galatasaray in the Sixth Round. A toughie for sure.

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Denis Albrecht (ST) - 17
2. Jules Ahmadou (AMC), Eyup Nazli (DM) & Erol Ozturk (CM) - 6
3. Alvaro (AMR) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 3

Assists:
1. Ismet Torun (CM) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 7
2. Jules Ahmadou (AMC), Batuhan Penlivanlar (RB), Eyup Nazli (DM) - 4
3. Sami Ipekoglu (AMC) - 3

Average Rating:
1. Bekir Ozer (CB) - 7.24
2. Ismet Torun (CM) - 7.23
3. Arif Tosun (CB) - 7.22

Next Update: EP.34 - End of Season Update - 2034/2035 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

Tongey · Mar 5, 2022

EP.34 - End of Season Update - 2034/2035 - Bodrumspor

We've just completed our first season in the Turkish top flight! The first in the clubs history, and what a season it's been. Now, don't get too excited, we didn't go on a stupid run at the end of the season and win the title. We've just done OK in terms of success, but for us, it's a massive step and shows we belong in this league. We belong amongst these giants of Turkish football, and by george, can we kick on? You bet we can...

Spor Toto Süper Lig

Not the form you'd like to see over a season, but for us, it's good enough! There was games in there that we should've won, and games we won that we should've lost! For me, there is too many losses for us but I guess that was to be expected. I'd like to have had a better end to the season and really push up that table but it wasn't to be.

We carried on that patchy form as we won one, then lost one, then won one, and that continued for a while. We did manage 7 more wins out of the remaining 17 games, which is pretty good to be honest. We lost the big ones against Fenerbache & Besiktas, but did somehow secure a 3-0 win against Trabzonspor who went on to win the league. That was probably our best result this season. Happy days!

Our form at the end of the season left alot to be desired as we only picked up 1 point from 12 available. Not good. We could've maybe picked up a European spot if we had ended better. That being said, this is how the table ended up...

An 8th place finish for the Bodrum boys, which is massively overachieving after we were predicted to finish 2nd bottom and be relegated at the first chancne. Not this year!

Turkiye Kupasi

The toughest draw we could've been handed in the 6th round awaited us, and with that we were out of the competition! It's going to be a tough one to win as they're a lot of strong teams in Turkey! Galatasaray beat us 2-0 in the first leg before beating us 2-1 in the return leg. At least we got a goal eh?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Dennis Albrecht (ST) - 25
2. Eyup Nazli (AML) - 13
3. Alvaro (AMR) - 8

Assists:
1. Halil Engin (AMR) - 11
2. Ismet Torun (CM) - 9
3. Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) - 8

Average Rating:
1. Ismet Torun (CM) - 7.19
2. Arif Tosun (CB) - 7.14
3. Ameth Mboup (LB) - 7.12

Next Update: EP.35 - Mid Season Update - 2035/2036 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

Tongey · Mar 6, 2022

EP.35 - Mid Season Update - 2035/2036 - Bodrumspor

Our second season in the Turkish top flight has reached the half-way stage and we've exceeded my expectations once again. We're firmly in a title challenge, and we're still in the Turkiye Kupasi, with a good chance of progressing further, but more on that later.

At the start of the season we moved into our brand new home, aptly named: "Bodrumspor Stadium" which is in the nearby city of Muglya. Season tickets soared and we sold over 4,000 of them and we fully expect to sell out the stadium week in week out. If we do that, I'll be asking for an expansion on the stadium so we can maximise profits.

The board also agreed the improve our training facilities which can only benefit us in the long run, but they got stingy when I asked for an improvement in Youth Recruitment, which they said was already at a good enough level. They didn't buy the whole 'it's never at a good enough level' argument and sent me walking out of the door in a bad mood.

Transfers

As per usual, I'll run you through the new signings at the club this season, with another addition that'll be joining us in January 2036 as we've already agreed a deal for him.

Pepe Salmeron (ST) - £975k (Atletico Balaeres)
Pepe is a striker that I've had my eye on for a couple of years as he's progressed through the youth ranks in Spain. He scored goals for fun last season even though it wasn't at a high level. He's got an eye for goal and at the age of 19 he's got plenty of time to improve. He's absolutely rapid and has already shown he knows how to score when given a chance.

Aytug Genc (RB) - £105k (Kasimpasa)
I needed a back up RB, and he fits the bill nicely. A Turkish born player so fits in with registration rules which my previous back up didn't. He's got everything he needs to do well in the position but probably won't get much playing time unfortunately for him.

Aydin Erdem (AML) - Loan (Antalyaspor)
I still don't understand why we've got a senior affiliate team in the same division as us, but I'll take it. Aydin is a fabulous player with bags of potential. I'll be hoping to bring him in full time at the end of the season. He's quick and tricky with lots of flair. Just what I want out there.

Sedak Senturk (CM/AML) - £195k (Alanyaspor)
You may think I'm crazy bringing in another attacking player on the left hand side, but he's a back up, and can also play in the middle of the park which is valuable for me. Again he's quick which is an essential trait for me, and he can cross a decent ball in. Not sure how much he'll play but we'll see.

Now onto the player I've agreed to sign in January. My CB Arif Tosun kicked up a fuss after a turned down an offer from Fenerbache and since then he has only featured in the Cup. I've agreed to get rid of him and have signed his replacement.

James Jones (CB) - £4m (Millwall)
My biggest transfer to date at the club and I'm delighted with what we've got. James is a monster at the back Quick so should be good on the cover and is great in the air. He should be a great fit alongside Kenen Yildiz with Bekir Ozer backing them up. A great 3 CB's competing for 2 spots.

Spor Toto Süper Lig

If you saw this result list then you'd think we were among the better teams in the league, and you're not wrong! This season we've been outstanding and if we'd have taken some more chances in key games we'd be well clear at the top. We started off slowly with a shocking, 2-0 defeat against our affiliate team Antalyaspor but then followed this up with a brilliant run of 9 games unbeaten.

In this run we managed wins against Basaksehir FK, Yeni Malatyaspor, Fenerbache, Gaziantep FK, Samsungspor, Manisa FK, Besiktas, & Genclerbirligi. The wins against Besiktas & Fenerbache were some of the finest moments I've had at the club so far. 3-0 against the giants Fenerbache with goals from Ozturk & Albrecht, and 2-0 against Besiktas thanks to goals from Ahmadou & Albrecht.

After that, we drew with Giresunspor who at the time were top of the league, and a loss agaisnt Alanyaspor which was a game we dominated but lost. It was a typical FM game.

We ended this half season with 3 wins, a draw and a loss. The loss came against Trabzonspor who edged us out in a tight affair after Albrecht had put us ahead in the 34th minute. We just couldn't hang on and in the 84th minute we conceded the winner. Never mind.

A last day draw against Galatasaray sees us doing well at the half way stage.

We're in 2nd position after 17 games with Galatasaray leading the pack. We're 4 points behind them so we're still in with a chance of an unlikely title challenge. It's close behind us as well but we have a 3 point buffer on 3rd spot. We need a good run going into the remaining 17 games.

Turkiye Kupasi

A competition I was aiming to win this season, but I've decided to throw out the reserve players in the rounds so far so they can get minutes in their legs. It seems to have paid off so far, with us progressing nicely into the Sixth Round.

In the Fourth Round we eased past Silivraspor with a 5-0 victory which saw new signing Pepe Salmeron grab his first for the club. Engin, Senturk & Genc all got goals aswell. An excellent display sees us into the Fifth Round.

A 2 leg affair was awaiting us, against Tuzlaspor which meant we were heavy favourites to progress. We did all the hard work in the first leg away from home and came back with a comfortable 3-0 victory. Goals from Pepe Salmeron & Lee Reed. The return leg saw us lose 2-1 but progress into the next round on a 4-2 aggregate win. Pepe Salmeron netted his fourth of the comeptition.

We've been drawn againt Yeni Malatyaspor in the next round which gives us a great shot of progressing even further. Do I start to bring in the big guns or stick with the lads who've got us this far...?

Player Stats:

Goals:
1. Dennis Albrecht (ST) - 16
2. Pepe Salmeron (ST), Jules Ahmadou (AMC) & Alvaro (AMR) - 5
3. Halil Engin (AMR) & Aydin Erdem (AML) - 4

Assists:
1. Batuhan Pehlivanlar (RB) - 7
2. Jules Ahmadou (AMC) - 4
3. Alvaro (AMR), Ismet Torun (CM), Aytun Genc (RB) & Aydin Erdem (AML) - 3

Average Rating:
1. Dennis Albrecht (ST) - 7.37
2. Bekir Ozer (CB) & Halil Engin (AMR) - 7.35
3. Ameth Mboup (LB) - 7.32

Next Update: EP.36 - End of Season Update - 2035/2036 - Bodrumspor
You can follow my career more over on Twitter: @FMTongey

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