Hansa Rostock & Two Smoking Barrels

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MillerJA9

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Once labelled in 2007 as having the 7th best support in Germany, I want to take Hansa back to the top of German football. With the best training facilities and youth recruitment in the 3.Fußball-Liga (besides second teams of Bundesliga outfits), they were an attractive proposition to meet my planned goals.

Where do two smoking barrels come into it? Well, not only in the name/movie similarity but also in firing Hansa Rostock up the leagues of course. It shall be myself managing (Vinnie Jones taking over a 3rd division German side just didn't seem too realistic).

My primary focus is to build up a strong academy and team with youth recruitment ideally developing a large chunk of the squad. In line with this, here are some of my planned objectives:​

  • [*=center]Get Hansa back to the Bundesliga
    [*=center]Continually improve facilities and youth recruitment to maintain goals
    [*=center]Employ a number of international backroom staff (ideally high determination)
    [*=center]Bring young prospects into the first team
    [*=center]Rely on homegrown talent ONLY



EDIT: Following suggestion, decided to definitely play it as HG/German challenge​
 
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you should try make it a HG/German challenge
 
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Background in Brief
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Hansa were unfortunate enough to suffer four relegations (and two promotions) in the past ten years, dropping from the Bundesliga to the 3rd division of German football. Despite the lowly position of the club now, the structure at Hansa is that of a 2.Bundesliga club at minimum, with quality stadium and training facilities (see further down)
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There last trophy came twenty years ago in the shape of the 2.Bundesliga title. Rostock achieved a few good finishes during their decade spell in the top flight, yet their tenth year ended in relegation and they haven't bounced back since, but in fact dropped further.

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Other than the a few trophies and few spells in the top flight, Rostock don't have too much written in history except an apparent moon landing (see above) and the glorious mullet of Mike Werner (below) which is certainly an achievement in itself.
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As you can see, it looks stupendous from every angle.


Facilities
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With goals of the following, it was essential the team I took over had the required backbone to meet my intended objectives. The facilities here are the best in the league (besides 1.Bundesliga side second XIs) and with above average youth recruitment there is a decent chance I will enjoy some good intakes as the seasons progress.

Just to reiterate, my goals remain to:
​

  • [*=center]Get Hansa back to the 1.Bundesliga.
    [*=center]Employ quality staff (ideally internationals/high determination) to facilitate youth development.
    [*=center]Make the most of facilities and continue to expand/grow to nurture young talent.
    [*=center]Have a complete reliance on homegrown (German) players.


The objective for this year is to attain a respectable finish in the league. The following season I will look to push for promotion and gradually move up the leagues.


Next: Pre season/tactics/signings​
 
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Pre-season
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In-line with my objectives, I brought in a completely new backroom team including former Danish international teammates Jon Dahl Tomasson and Michael Gravgaard. The training quality for a team of my stature is pretty good all things considering. This was pushing the very limits of staff I am allowed to have on board, so hopefully it will improve as the seasons go on (as I hopefully go up) and I am able to bring in more/better quality staff.

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Admittedly, I leave the friendlies to my assistant, which I almost regret doing so. With the team being quite a shambles in some respects and having to work hard to bring in quality individuals on a strict budget, I just didn't feel I had time to focus on these games (which were purely for fitness) when I had more pressing issues.

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Prior to the big kick off on 02/08/14 I made a number of signings, yet disappointedly have only off-loaded one player so far. Most of these signings were youth prospects with low wages. As I am trying to build a sustainable project by focussing on home-grown prospects, I put some emphasis on bolstering the depleted II and u19 teams. Of the signings above there are a few first teamers. Yalcin is a talented CM, Focher is my new first choice keeper, Vier is an experienced CB and Proger is a first-team winger.

Ideal situation involves us offloading a few more individuals as we currently have a large squad with a number of fringe players. Our wage budget is currently stretched, so without a few sales there will be no further signings, despite a few trialists impressing at the moment. Hopefully there will be more on this front in future posts!

First-Teamers

Goalkeepers
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Focher is our new GK, with good aerial ability he will be first choice yet Brinkies is a promising talent.

Defenders
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Weidlich is our first-choice RB and vice-captain, Stuff is our top CB with Vier joining this window. Radjabali-Fardi is first choice LB with Pelzer (our captain) a back-up at both LB & CB.

Midfielders
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Blacha is our most talented attacking mid (AML), Schwertfeger is our main DM, Yalcin is a new signing and is possibly our most talented player, Krausse is a hot prospect who will feature this season and Proger is our new AMR. There are a few other players who will likely feature but I am sticking to key players for now.

Forwards
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Ziemer, a talented finisher, is our first choice striker, Savran is second choice yet also adept at playing AMC/R. Kucukovic is ranked as third choice according to my assistant, however his target man stats will prove very useful.

Hot Prospects
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Tille is arguably the best of a few promising defenders, Christiansen has real promise in CDM and could make some appearances this season, Rodriguez was the star academy product and we had to fend off contract offers from 2.Bundesliga sides to keep him in our ranks, and finally Schletzke is a very promising 15y/o striker.


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Unfortunately, prior to kicking off the new season we sustained a number of injuries, including to key striker Marcel Ziemer. Rodriguez is 16 and thus ineligible to play in the 3.Liga until he hits 17. He will remain in the u19 squad until then.

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Based on injuries, this is the starting line-up for our first game of the season vs Dortmund II. I employ one limited full-back and one ordinary one. I prefer wing-backs but would rather play more cautious for now. In midfield we have a DM ball winner and a CM box-to-box. I play with one inside forward and one winger, with the attacking mid often occupying an advanced playmaker role. The striker will likely be a complete striker or target man. I presently play in a counter formation with an emphasis on high tempo football. I will try to keep the ball on the ground yet may utilise a target man in a more direct approach from time to time. For now it's a case of getting a feel of the team and what kind of approach would work best.


Next: First month of results

​
 
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August

A poor, poor month in all. Struggling to clear the deadwood, players under-performing and a manager that isn't sure what to do next! Here are the results:

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A great start to the predicted table-toppers put me in good spirits. We looked solid and composed.


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A good start that went horribly wrong in the second half. Wehen got two quick goals and we never got back into it.

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At home we expected to do better. Once again, we took the lead but then threw it away.


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REAGEN SMASH! Wow. Well, I wasn't expecting this. We looked completely out of sorts and our star defenders were left floundering.

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We sit in 16th after a rather poor start to the campaign. Still early doors but the 5-0 battering from Regensburg is very worrying. The morale of the players is rock bottom now and there "isn't a good enough reason" to hold a team meeting, so we approach September needing to get some points or risk falling even further down the table very quickly. It is a struggle finding a tactical approach that works for this team, but I may have to switch to a more basic 4-4-2 or something of that sort. I'd like to think the problem is solvable by a few tweaks and geeing up the personnel but I am not sure. Maybe a little experimenting is in order in September.

My player of the month goes to Kai Proger, the only player to average above a rating of 7 across the four fixtures. He looks a very promising signing. Let's hope the rest of the side can start to follow his example.
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To try and lower the wage budget we attempted to offload some more players, including the only non-German in the squad, Vidovic. Unfortunately no one came in for these players!
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We did, however, manage to release some on a free...
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...and brought in Max Ehmer on a completely free loan from QPR. As a 22 year old German with decent potential, I wanted to see how he could grow as a player and whether we could snap him up in the future. Unfortunately he was part of that dreadful loss vs Regensburg and so I don't think I'll be relying on him any time soon.
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The transfer window has slammed shut and now it's time to get this squad gelling!​
 
Creative title, good story, GREAT mullet!!!

What more could you ask for?

More mike werner pics!!! That thing is legendary! Lol
 
Good luck with this mate and trying to keep it to German players will be a task but im sure its one you will be able to handle! will follow this
 
Lippo255 said:
Creative title, good story, GREAT mullet!!!

What more could you ask for?

More mike werner pics!!! That thing is legendary! Lol
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My only slight regret is not playing the game as Mike Werner himself, so I could live the mullet every day! Haha. More mullet pics to come however!
 
SamPeters said:
Good luck with this mate and trying to keep it to German players will be a task but im sure its one you will be able to handle! will follow this
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Thanks very much! Yeah it's difficult as the quality is harder to find on the cheap. Some real nice players been available for me to sign but have been foreign. Hansa will battle on!
 
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September

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Some nice news for Weidlich and good we have a current international in our ranks. Unfortunately it means he has to miss the occasional game here and there as the fixtures clash. Ps don't worry, he IS German! On to the results...

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The month started well. A good win vs Munster would hopefully set us up for a tidy month.


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Another away defeat! We played pretty well here and didn't really deserve to lose.


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A very convincing win, and our home form starts to look good!


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This was tremendously unfortunate. 2-0 down, pulled it back to 2-2 and they scored a free-kick in the last few minutes. A real gutting moment!

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Finally, a draw that we probably should have won, but that leaves us unbeaten at home in September.

Here's a look at the league table...
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So we lie in 13th, not too bad but we really need to fix our away form asap. We have lost every away game this season, yet remain unbeaten at home. We need to be a little more ruthless when playing poorer teams at home, yet more organised in defending. Our goal difference shows we are too leaky at the moment and we aren't compensating for this up top!

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Savran earned this month's POM after scoring two in five, despite being largely played out of position. No other player really did enough to earn it, though I was tempted for our CB Christian Stuff, but with another leaky month, he just didn't quite earn it this time!

What to (hopefully) expect from next month:

​

  • [*=center]Maintain our good home form whilst picking up points away

    [*=center]A change in formation. I am tinkering with the tactics as I am a bit concerned my 4-5-1 tactic isn't working. It has been my staple-mark tactic for the past couple of FMs but I am not sure it is working for Hansa.

    [*=center]Just four games in October so time to get some organisation on the training ground. Other than high-flyers Chemnitz, we are playing opposition in and around us which gives us a good opportunity to move up the table.
    [*=center]FURTHER ANALYSIS: MIKE WERNER'S MULLET!
 
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Could things get even worse than September? Yes.

October

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As promised, I said I'd try a new tactic to try and solve our woes. We started quite well with this tactic but now I am thinking about changing it again. No matter what team instructions I set, we seem to leak goals. Stand off/shut down, direct/short. The players don't seem to respond. When operating short passing play, we boot it long and vice-versa. Looking like a much harder job on my hands and I hate to go even more defensive but feel I might have to.

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Another away game, another defeat. Chemnitz are a good team and we weren't expecting a win but put in a spirited performance.

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A good win and a good performance, with Blacha getting his rewards.

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Again, a decent enough performance but not clinical enough and a costly error results in a loss.

View attachment 329422This is the game I am most fuming about. Left back Radjabali-Fardi cost us by getting sent off for a two-footed tackle. Each time we looked like closing the two goal gap they would pip us for another one to extend their lead. A close game yet ultimately disappointing. I do feel we could have won this with 11 men.

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Fourteenth. Disappointing to drop points to Dresden and Fortuna Koln. It's really left us in the lurch and our 0% away record continues, which is quite frankly dreadful.

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October's POM is Blacha who turned in some good performances. It's a shame that the rest of the players didn't match his level of form but hey what can ya do!


As promised, the only real positive of the month is an image of the most glorious mullet ever known to man, Mike Werner.
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Let's hope November is better than previous months (don't count on it).
​
 
My god, its so.......Beautiful! Lol

Away record is a bit of a concern mate, have you tried parking the bus?
 
Lippo255 said:
My god, its so.......Beautiful! Lol

Away record is a bit of a concern mate, have you tried parking the bus?
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Think I'm gonna have to! Just no matter what I seem to do we leak goals. We will see what I can do!
 
Perhaps you should switch back to the tactic that you used in september, according to your reports you played pretty well that month despite being somewhat unlucky. Maybe you should just try using that tactic for a month or two and see how your team does when they have gotten more used to it. You should also probably accept that you are only a mid-table side this season so losing a match here and there isn't so bad. Anyway looking forward to your next update.
 
ouch some tough results there mate but hopefully you can pull through!
 
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Rostock Resurgence?

November

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Things were getting a little worrying for me so I chose to attempt to park the bus a little against high-flying Erfurt, using the above formation, in the hope of snatching a draw. I stuck with two up top (hindsight, maybe I shouldn't) and hoped I could maybe even ****** it...

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 Instead it ended in our third defeat on the bounce and we dropped to just outside the relegation zone! A defeat but one that I kind of expected. Morale of the players was rock bottom and I worried things could only get worse! I threw a bit of a paddy after this result as I was convinced the save would be coming to an end soon. I slept on it and tried to regroup.

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Ok, well remind me never to play "negative" again. I was quite surprised by this but it caused me to rethink my tactical strategy...

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I chose to go back to basics and back to my original formation. I switched up my team instructions a little to be more pressing and to adopt a higher tempo like at the start of the season. I also brought Ehmer back into the first team line up. The loanee from QPR's stats are inferior to Vier, our summer CB signing, yet Vier has suffered from poor form and no one else has managed to bag that second CB spot alongside Stuff.

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The game went on at 0-0 and I was personally happy for an away draw considering we had lost every other away fixture. We pulled it out the bag though with a last gasp scrappy goal! Delighted, as I was expecting the sack soon and this gave me a stay of execution at least.

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Well, we get a win and questions are still asked! Unfortunately our next game was vs another high-flying team in Halle.

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VERY happy with a draw. The game was very even so I wasn't even lucky to hold on. These control tactics seem to be helping so far. Two more important games to wrap up the month were to follow...

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More pressure heaped on? Come on guys!

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Our away day hoodoo seems long gone as we snatched another late win away from home! It might have something to do with my amazing new tactics, or something to do with their keeper getting injured in the 80th minute and them having no subs left... Either way, I am DELIGHTED. Three games without a loss and I can't quite believe it.

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No, you're not high, this result is real! Well, maybe you are high but trust me, this really happened! The defence performed well as we looked like losing a grip on the game after going ahead early on. Stevanovic (yes, he's German) with his second goal in two games!

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Here is the league table at the end of November. As you can see, without such a tremendous points return in those final four games, things would be looking a lot bleaker for us. I like to think we've turned a corner now but we need to remain grounded and try and push on. Every good result brings more confidence.

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Two Player of the Month's for November in my eyes. Stuff was a rock at the back after the Erfurt game and Stevanovic's two goals won us six points!

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An honourable mention to Max Ehmer whose solid displays at the back help keep four clean sheets in the final four games since being brought back into the squad.


Three wins, one draw, four clean sheets. A very productive month. December is a less hectic month with only three fixtures vs Bielefield, Dortmund II and Wehen before the winter break. Tough games though so let's hope we can set ourselves in good stead for January and beyond.




​
 
Good to see that your fortunes finally turned around, those are some very impressive results. Lets hope that your team can continue this form :)
 
TheOtherSpecialOne said:
Good to see that your fortunes finally turned around, those are some very impressive results. Lets hope that your team can continue this form :)
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I've always played with a counter attacking tactic, yet a simple switch to control has left me far more solid at the back as we assert ourselves as the dominant team in a game. I came close to losing faith but now I am getting really into this save. Most difficult part is recruiting quality homegrown players. So many better foreign players available but it's a fun way of playing.
 
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December

Only three games this month so we looked to pick up some steady points and put us in a nice position for the winter break.

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We had a player sent off (Radjabali-Fardi) yet managed to ****** a late win as I threw on target man Kucokovic. Great away win, when I would have been delighted with a draw.

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One game away from the sack but look where we are now!

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The referee was poor in this fixture and issued many yellow cards and a red that very easily could have cost us dearly. Great to get it rescinded as Radjabali-Fardi is a key player, though he hasn't played to his full potential just yet.

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We took the lead yet conceded a sloppy corner before half time. No more goals for either side after that and an away point is a good result. Shows how far we've come to say I was disappointed with the draw (Dortmund II were 17th at the time of kick-off). No complaints though as they have a quality side. This league is ruthless!

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Unremarkable? Well our recent form has been brilliant and it balances out the shocking start. Keep it up and we'll be in the top half in no time.

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One-nil up, two-one down, late winner. Top result vs one of the top teams in the league.

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Twelfth in the league and level on points with eighth. A little concerned over our lack of clean sheets this month but unbeaten in seven games so very happy!

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POM goes to Christian Stuff once again who was solid at the back.


Winter break time now. Hope to offload a couple of players and maybe make a signing or two in the January window. Would like to strengthen the AMC position in particular as we are a bit lacking in depth there. Stay tuned for a hopefully equally positive month in the New (FM) Year.

​
 
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