Started a journey in Ukraine with the target of winning European honours with Dynamo Kyiv, so i've plumped to start with FC Obolon Kyiv, aka The Brewers in the Ukrainian 2nd tier. They've spent a handful of years in the top tier in their relatively short existence and play at the 5k capacity Obolon Arena. I've loaded up the leagues of neighbouring countries Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, and have also made Moldovan players available. Have relied on loans from Dynamo Kyiv for a few other players as the squad was severly lacking depth (and any wingers), the backroom staff numbers are very light also. Wage budget is 3k and we're already slightly above that having signed a Moldovan international winger on a free transfer. Mr Chairman told me where to shove it when I asked for a parent club on my first day and has done so ever since.
The league system here is fairly straight forward. 2nd tier holds 16 teams play each other twice home and away, the bottom four go down, the top 2 go up and 3rd/4th go into a play off with 13th/14th in the Premier League. Whoever wins that two legged tie secures their place in the top division next season. Went unbeaten in my five friendlies despite being unspectacular, and had a solid start to my league season, winning 10 and drawing 3 of my first 13. Won in two preliminary rounds of the Ukraine Cup before being unfortunate in defeat at home to top division side Dnipro-1 in the 1st round proper. The injuries started creeping in here, numberous long term too including my star RM breaking his leg. I had a 7pt lead over 3rd place Metalist, and 11pt lead over 5th place. At this point the top five were starting to break away from the rest, and my form started to dip dramatically. I head into the winter break (after 21 games) still in top spot but only 3pts ahead of 5th. My bad form continues after the winter break and with four games left, I am 6pts off 5th place having completely fell off the cliff. I sneak a 1-0 win away to a mid-table side which kickstarts my season, going on to win my next two, including a spectacular 4-1 victory at eventual champions Polissia. Head into the last match at home to a side already relegated, while 4th place Ahrobiznes (1pt ahead of me) are at home to Polissia. I win 4-2 and they lose 0-3, meaning I sneak back into the top 4 at the death.
The draw for the play offs puts me up against Rukh Lviv, who finished 13th in the top tier. The first leg is away and i'm able to come away with a 1-0 win in an even match, before beating them 2-1 in the home leg to secure promotion at the first time of asking. 3rd placed Metalist being 14th placed Mariupol in the other play-off meaning four new sides will be in the Premier League next season. A few of my star players have already agreed moves elsewhere, so a major rebuild is needed before I head into what should be an incredibly difficult 2nd season. Wage budget has shot up to 32k p/w and i've been given 50k to spend, first and foremost I need to invest in some backroom staff. I'm still open to moving on to another club, even staying in the 2nd tier if the right, decent sized club becomes available. I had my eye on Metalist not going up who I assume would have sacked their manager if they didn't win in their play off match. Ironically the only job that has came up in the off-season is Dynamo Kyiv, but i'm not ready for that. More than happy to try my hand at 2 or 3 Ukranian clubs before moving on to them
The league system here is fairly straight forward. 2nd tier holds 16 teams play each other twice home and away, the bottom four go down, the top 2 go up and 3rd/4th go into a play off with 13th/14th in the Premier League. Whoever wins that two legged tie secures their place in the top division next season. Went unbeaten in my five friendlies despite being unspectacular, and had a solid start to my league season, winning 10 and drawing 3 of my first 13. Won in two preliminary rounds of the Ukraine Cup before being unfortunate in defeat at home to top division side Dnipro-1 in the 1st round proper. The injuries started creeping in here, numberous long term too including my star RM breaking his leg. I had a 7pt lead over 3rd place Metalist, and 11pt lead over 5th place. At this point the top five were starting to break away from the rest, and my form started to dip dramatically. I head into the winter break (after 21 games) still in top spot but only 3pts ahead of 5th. My bad form continues after the winter break and with four games left, I am 6pts off 5th place having completely fell off the cliff. I sneak a 1-0 win away to a mid-table side which kickstarts my season, going on to win my next two, including a spectacular 4-1 victory at eventual champions Polissia. Head into the last match at home to a side already relegated, while 4th place Ahrobiznes (1pt ahead of me) are at home to Polissia. I win 4-2 and they lose 0-3, meaning I sneak back into the top 4 at the death.
The draw for the play offs puts me up against Rukh Lviv, who finished 13th in the top tier. The first leg is away and i'm able to come away with a 1-0 win in an even match, before beating them 2-1 in the home leg to secure promotion at the first time of asking. 3rd placed Metalist being 14th placed Mariupol in the other play-off meaning four new sides will be in the Premier League next season. A few of my star players have already agreed moves elsewhere, so a major rebuild is needed before I head into what should be an incredibly difficult 2nd season. Wage budget has shot up to 32k p/w and i've been given 50k to spend, first and foremost I need to invest in some backroom staff. I'm still open to moving on to another club, even staying in the 2nd tier if the right, decent sized club becomes available. I had my eye on Metalist not going up who I assume would have sacked their manager if they didn't win in their play off match. Ironically the only job that has came up in the off-season is Dynamo Kyiv, but i'm not ready for that. More than happy to try my hand at 2 or 3 Ukranian clubs before moving on to them