Lost Aussie!

[madmat23]

This is the first story i have done on FM-Base and the first i've done for over a year. I don't usually stick saved out very long but the longest ones i have had are the ones i write stories on so i thought i'd start another in the hope of finding the motivation to keep going. In the past i have tried taking teams from lowest English League to the top but fail miserably each and every time. The best saves i have had in the past 2 years have been in Holland and Portugal but i have chosen somewhere i have never managed in before, hence the thread name as i may be somewhat lost for a while.

The goals for this save are pretty straight forward. As i have little success as far as winning trophies are concerned i'm just going to play the game without any rules as such and whatever happens, happens. If i get sacked i'll look to find another job in the game rather then start a fresh. I will be trying to lean more so to bringing youth through but i am not going to turn down a 30 year old if i think he will improve the team. I want to keep a close eye on the finances of the club as tend to run clubs into the ground financially.

So i've decided to give the Austrian Leagues a try and i've gone to the Austrian First Division with Sportverein Horn.

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**Sorry guys looks like ive got to work on typing this stuff up properly and adding pictures in **

 

[madmat23]

So i have taken the reigns of SV Horn in Austria. As i mentioned in my above post i have never managed here so it's a whole new experience.

Why SV Horn?
I did a lot of looking around and i this club caught my attention because whilst they have had success in the past, its been lower leagues though they did win a trophy in the season just gone. I wanted to take over a club with not alot of trophies and SV Horn are just that. There are no one in the clubs history who are considered legends, icons or favoured personnel so i have a blank canvas in that regards to write history which i feel is good. The some what shorter season aswell drew me to Austria.

Club History

FINANCES

As i mentioned in my first post, i want to keep this clubs finances in good order so its not great when i immediately see we are over our wage budget. I will have to evaluate the squad and try to offload any deadwood so i'm not wasting money. I suppose i'm happy enough with the overall balance, i wasn't too sure of what to expect to be honest though the projection shows that we will be broke by August 2020. I'm confident i can take action to ensure that doest happen between now and then. I will be looking to utilise free transfers and loans as much as i can particulalrly early on, not that i have much choice anyway.

The Plan
So my plan is to gain promotion within the first 2 seasons. I'm not sure about if i'll do it first season because i have alot to learn about the club, players and league but i will hopefully have it sorted for a good push in the second season and once thats achieved just take it easy and improve and eventually knock off the top clubs and enter Europe and so on.

Immediate Action Required
The squad looks rather poor for my liking and the team report comparisons says pretty well the same. I am going to have to identify key players and build a tactic around them and utilise the friendly games to see how it all clicks. Which brings me to my first problem.

What the **** is going on here? I have a friendly 3 days before a cup game, 2 days after my first league game and then another after my second league game. I'll be cancelling all these. Though the money from the Atletico Madrid friendly could potentially be great i am not willing to risk the condition of my players. Dissapointingly i will only have 3 friendly games and my assistant manager is already in my bad books and i am considering whether sack him now or not. Not just because of this but his stats look absolute **** but i am not sure baout sacking him because of the financial side of things.

I want hire a few scouts so i can find out who is off contract from other clubs. Personally i want 3, one to indentify off contract players, one to identify loan players and a free one to throughly scout those found players but i'm only advised to have 2 so the third may not come to fruition, which isn't a major deal.

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So i'll go and evaluate everything and sort out my backroom staff and play the friendly games and i'll report back before i play my first competitive game and share with you my plan on taking on the Austrian First Division.

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[madmat23]

Pre Season Results

At the end of the day i couldn't cancel our friendly vs SV Oberwart as thy are an affiliate club and it had to be played. I just fielded a weakened team. Anyway we went through undefeated which i thought was great considering we came up against 2 Bundesliga teams. To put 3 past Hoffenheim and keep Schalke scoreless were big plusses.

Tactics

This is how ive decided to set up. Though it isn't without its issue. I dont really have a suitable player to fit into the CM(D) position so i've trying to see if i can get someone on loan. I have alot of strikers though, poachers to be exact, and considering i don't plan to use any i've sent a few out on loan. This is just a base thing i will alter certain things throughout the season. I would like to be a bit more aggresive defensively but i don't think i have the players capable of that but i may try it if i feel the need to.

Pre Season Odds

We are one of the favourites for the drop and i suppose it would e expected seeing as we are a newly promoted team. The media do have us just surviving though and at will be the absolute minimum goal for the season. The board just want us to avoid relegation and i'll be happy enough with that aswell but i will be hoping to do better than that and not be involved in a relegation dog fight come the end of the season.

Standout Preseason Player

Marko Keca is a 19 year old Serbian who i, at the moment, plan on using as my backup/second option shadow striker. However he has been the guy who has most impressed me throughout preseason and he scored 2 cracking goals so i wouldn't rule him out of him starting alot of games throughout the season. Major downside to him is his determination but i'll set up a mentor group and hopefully it improves drastically.

Season Opening Fixtures
July/August

I expect to win our cup games as its against a lower division side and our preseason results certainly gives me confidence. With the remaining fixtures we'll see how we go. I will certainly be aiming to win our home games and try and pick up some points on the road. The early games will really be a feeling out period and hopefully i can do some deals in the loan market and ease some of my concerns.


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[madmat23]

July/August Results

I have to admit, i'm happy with that. Undefeated after our first 6 league games and also have a cup victory chucked in aswell and it's a better start then i think anyone expected. Personally i was hoping for one or two victories and to ****** a few draws to start so i'm over the moon with the start. Two 90th minute goals in our last two games gives me an indication my side might be in it for the whole 90 minutes which is a positive sign though i'd like to have games wrapped up well before then especially when we are favourites like we were against FC Juniors.

Miroslav Milosevic scored a screamer in our first game from a free kick and Marko Keca pulled out a screamer to level against FC Juniors so we are capable of entertaining which i can't wait to see more of.

League Table - Austrian First Division

Early days but over the moon to be so high. I won't be getting carried away however, i still have a lot to learn about my team. Overall i'm happy with my defense as i tend to fail miserably in that department. I'm thinking my somewhat simple tactic has helped this along. As far as achieving expectations goes we are certainly meeting them and hopefully we don't take a backwards step and keep the momentum going.

Standout Player

Everyone meet Marcel Toth. Toth has started all competitive games this season. With 1 goal and 2 assists in the league and 1 goal in the Austrian FA Cup he has been my best player. He has clearly shown that he is first choice in the central midfield positon and long may his good form continue.

Board Confidence

I wouldn't have to give you any hints for you to guess that overall the board are happy so far. Still very early days but a positive start surely hurts no one.

Monthly Finance Update

As i mentioned in an earlier post i'm terrible at managing finances so this is basically just something that i can look back on and evaluate at a later date. I want to see where my money is being spent and see where the club is bringing its money in and see if i can do anything to improve it.

We have had one game make it onto tv viewings vs SC Wiener Neustadt which we won 2-0 and we also have an upcoming game vs SKU Amstetten which will be televised so thats a nice little boost to the coffers.

September Fixtures

Two home and two away fixtures in the next month so hopefully i can ****** a draw in my two away games and take the three points at home. The Austrian Fa Cup though has thrown me a tough home game against Premier League side SV Mattersburg. All i'm hoping for in this game is a solid performance as we have met the boards expectation of reaching the second round. In saying that, i look at the Premier Division table and SV Mattersburg are rock bottom with 2 points from 6 games which tells me they are low on confidence and could very well be vulnerable. This could be an interesting tie and i could be selling my own team short by just hoping for a solid performance. Time will tell.
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