Road To The World Cup: A 6 Tier Challenge

[Nomadic]

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June + July

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Our impressive League form continued as we move within striking distance of the title. Dundalk have hit a rough patch in their season, which includes our 1-0 victory over them and a victory in our game in hand would move us to within a point. After our poor start to the season I didnt think we had a chance at retaining the League title, but with 13 games still to go it's anybodies to win!

[FONT=&quot]We also kicked off our Champions League Qualifying campaign, which started with a comfortable 5-1 aggregate win over Azerbaijani side, Qarabag. I had anticipated a much tougher[/FONT][FONT=&quot] tie, but we managed to breeze through the 2 legs in the end. We followed it up with a tight 1-1 draw away in Poland to Lech Poznan and will now have the chance on home soil to secure a place in the Champions League playoffs! [/FONT]

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Shane Long was released by Crystal Palace at the end of the season and much to my delight he agreed to sign a 2 year deal with St Pat's. At the age of 33 he still has plenty to offer at this level of football and will be hoping his addition can help me complete Tier 2 of my challenge.

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4 more job offers came in over the past couple of months as my reputation continues to grow in the footballing world. Landing a top club in one of the Tier 3 Nations is starting to seem like a likely possibility when the time arises.

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So we have 8 matches to be played across 3 different competitions in August, which will be a big test on the squads fitness and depth. Although the Senior Challenge Cup is seemingly the least desirable competition, it will still be my mane priority.

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[Nomadic]

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August

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The squad was pretty stretched throughout August as we ended up playing 9 matches across all competitions, which is a lot for a semi-professional side! Inevitably the results didn't all go our way as I was constantly altering the lineup to combat fatigue, whilst prioritising certain matches. Despite all this we are still sat in 3rd place, 9 points behind leaders Dundalk with 2 games in hand, so we are still very much in the title race.

We also failed to make our dominance count in the Senior Challenge Cup against Limerick and will now have to play a home replay in September.


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We had a very kind draw right the way through the Champions League Qualifying and very nearly got past Ludogorets at the final hurdle, but will instead have to settle for Europa League after a goal in extra time. I don't really expect to much in the Euopa League Group stages, but will be targeting a home win over Maritimo and anything else would be considered a bonus.

A few more job interviews rolled in...

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The money brought in through European football has finally enabled the board to fund my Continental C License.

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7 games to come in September as we near the closing stages of the domestic season and I will be looking to continue our Senior Challenge Cup run all the way to the end.

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[Nomadic]

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September

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We are well and truly in top gear now as we have stormed to the top of the table after another unbeaten month. Yet again Dundalk appear to be choking at the back end of the season following a run of 3 games without a win. The title is now in our hands, as we need 9 points from the remaining 12 to retain the the Premiership.


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The Senior Challenge Cup is still going to plan as we go up against Shamrock Rovers in the Semi-Finals. Ideally, I would have preferred an easier opponent but with home advantage and our recent head to head matches, I am confident we can make it to the Final.

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The home game against Maritimo was possibly the only match I thought we had a shot at winning, so with that out the window I will be looking to ensure we get at least a result from the remaining 5 fixtures.

Unsurprisingly an unbeaten run in the League earns me the Manager of the Month Award as only the solitary job interview from Livingston reached my inbox.

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October sees the conclusion of the Premier League, including fixtures against both Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers. We also have the Senior Challenge Cup Semi-Final and the Europa Group Stages, which includes a fixture against me favourite team, Leicester City!

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[Nomadic]

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October

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Although we didn't finish the season quite as emphatically as I would have liked, the away victory over Dundalk secured us the Premier League Title for a second consecutive season! We never looked like winning the title for much of the season, but similarly to last year, Dundalk choked at the back end which essentially gifted us the trophy.

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We also managed our first Europa League Group victory, with a surprise 3-1 away win over BMG! Looking at the table at the half way stage, we are still very much in the race for a top 2 finish. I know it is extremely unlikely that we will get more than another point in the competition, but you never know!

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After completing a last ditch comeback against Cork City I have officially completed Tier 2 of my challenge! Ronan scored a last minute equaliser to send us to extra time, before Kelly poked in the winner to avoid a nerve-racking shootout. So with that I can actively start applying for Tier 3 jobs in; [FONT=&quot]Austria, Scotland, Sweden, USA, Argentina and South Korea.[/FONT]

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To top off another incredible season I was awarded the Irish Manger of the Year Award to add to my growing list of trophies and accolades!

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[Nomadic]

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Manager Profile 2020

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The search for a suitable Tier 3 job is now officially underway following our victory in the Senior Challenge Cup. I have been approached my numerous teams this season and am confident that I will be able to land a decent job pretty quickly. My CV is starting to look pretty impressive, along with my growing reputation in World football, which now sits on 50%.

My first look at the vacant jobs list isn't the greatest site. Not many teams stand out at all in my opinion, the best being New York Red Bulls (predicted 5th), Colombus (predicted 4th) and IFK Goteburg (predicted 3rd). Holding out for a potentially better job is an option but I quite fancy the challenge of the USA so will likely apply to both MLS jobs and see what happens....

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[Nomadic]

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SK Rapid Wien

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So i immediately managed to land myself job with Austrian side, SK Rapid Wien. After 5 years of managing I have finally started to earn some proper footballing money, signing a 3 year deal on £260,000 a year!

The club are currently struggling in the Austrian Premier Division, sitting down in 8th place despite their pre-season prediction of 3rd. We are exactly halfway through the season and trailing the leaders by a 12 point margin, as well as being knocked out of the Austrian Cup.

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I am inheriting a very capable squad that is clearly underperforming in the League. So with the right additions and tactics, I'm sure we will be in with a good shot at a top 4 finish.

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Souleymane Diarra - An international Mali playmaker, who will hopefully have the ability to unlock the oppositions defence. He had been transfer listed by the previous manager, but have since removed him.

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Stefan Nutz - Another midfield maestro who has earned a couple of International Caps for Austria. He has impressibe mental attributes, as well as wicked left foot on set-pieces. He is another player that has been removed from the transfer list.

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My first game in charge will be in just 4 days, before we begin the winter break. Hopefully this should give me plenty of time to get a look at the squad and find the right formation to utilise my key players.

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