Shalabi's Career (Starting Unemployed Sunday League)

[shalabi]

Hey guys, let me preface all of this with a little background: I don't know the wonderkids, tricks of the trade as far as training and whom to buy. I do understand Football culture and how it all works so I assume I will be able to weather some early concepts and then inevitably become frustrated as I fall behind in young talent and random goals. I'm not wholly green. I played 2011 for a bit but I didn't really get deep into the strategies and was a Premiere League team so overall it was pretty automatic. I decided to start this game unemployed and thus with no notoriety.


View attachment 233908View attachment 233910
I gained a job at Gangneung City in the Korea N-League (second tier). They placed last in the previous session with a 2-1-12 and losing it's last five matches. It was pretty quick to note why as they have missing positions and an overloaded in particular spots. Five of the six Defenders are (C) and there are no M(R). Meanwhile there are four AMs and three goalies. I immediately purchased a M(R) and a D(L) but I will not have them until the start of the second session.

National League Cup: I'm immediately facing a league cup wherein I was stationed in Group B with pretty much no chance of advancing. My remaining two matches are again the 2nd and 7th seeded League Clubs. So I utilized my players as best they could and used the opportunity to learn about my players tendencies.

NCup vs Kimhae: The first match was against Kimhae, in which my team came out early with a goal by Choo Sang-Chul (11min). I had only three center defenders holding the center and giving up the wings. The club dodged about 11 bullets as shots hit of the bar and curved wide until the half range. Fifteen minutes in Kim Tae-Jin (60min). However, I decided to take the wind out of my own sales and some bad substitutions and another 10 shots on goal saw Kimae score two goals in ten minutes. I escaped with a draw and was positioned in second place with one group leg to go.

NCup vs Goyang Kookmin Bank: GKB was the second-place League club and my boys were well outmatched coming in at 10-1, 5-1 for a Draw. I switched my strategy to the scheme above and used a Rigid-Counter attack, hoping for the best. Again, the Gangeung boys came out quickly with a Km Chang-Hee goal at 14mins. The defense was holding up but still giving up shots (albeit outside-the-box shots). Then a great goal at 29 minutes by Park Jong-Chul off a cross-and-header to his feet by Na Il-Kyoon. Sadly, there wasn't much time to enjoy the 2-0 lead as GKB scored in the 31st. I made it through the half and then switched to a 5-1-3-1 and instructed to retain the ball and utilize long passes up the pitch. In a father shockingly coherent and skilled play, Na Il-Kyoon took a one-timer from a long cross to the back of the net, giving us a 3-1. The rest was actualy a coasting job and we beat the odds makers.

The NCup Draw will but it's rather clear I've already surpassed expectations. Now it is figuring out how to keep the team consistent and help the team grow. And like so many games I've played, while I consistently see Na Il-Kyoon consistently doing well (has been part of 3-of-5 goals thus far) Park Jong-Chul is consistently pointed out as having the most praise (likely due to his 85% passing and two goals).



Anyway, that's the start. I'll update as I go. May be a slow go of it at first as I learn the game, but it will pick up.

 

[shalabi]

So after a rather worthy start, taking Gangeung City to the Quarter Finals, my inexperience as a manager was exposed. I dropped four straight. Two, to #1 Busan TC both in the Cup and then in league (Outscored 0-5). I did, however, schedule a friendly in the off-week wherein I won 4-2 to keep morale up.

I had begun to learn how to utilize my man D(C) and AMs but had to pick up a handful of positional players. Luckily in the N-League of Korea there are some good players to pick up. (Again, I don't use the Wonderkid cheat so I just do as much research as I can handle and make the best pick up I can). I began running my "All-Smiles" system which is a 5-2-2-1. It certainly was not an immediate turn-around however, as I then dropped three consecutive, worse my team was unable to find the back of the net. and was outdone 0-7.

I was able to finally grab a leg up and work a 0-0 Draw against #9 Chungju Hummel. But unfortunately dropped the next two two top-5 clubs in GKB and Daejeon (0-2 in each). However, while both were typical scoreless losses, the team had begun to gel and against top teams it was understandable scorelines. Most importantly I was able to keep my teams morale up during the losses, though I'm still unsure how given I didn't speak Korean yet... perhaps my body language was just superb.


I was due for a turnaround and finally got one at home Kimhae (#7 in the League) with a 2-1 victory. My transfer pickup Cho Jae-Hyun and veteran AMC Kim Chan-Hee found the net and my veteran Goalie (and goalie coach) Kim Tae-Soon was able to keep the opposing goals below two.

If one win was good, then two really lifted the weight off my shoulders and bolstered the team with a 2-1 win away against Changwon. Kim Chang-Hee again found the net while my team-leader and long-time veteran Na Il-Kyoon scored a penalty at 83 minutes for the win. Most importantly, the club was now tied for 13th (second-to-last place) for the first time since the season began.

After another friendly win (4-0) the team was perhaps too confident in a 3-3 tie that we should have won. It was, however, a marvelous match, at least for one man. Na Il-Kyoon scored a hat-trick, scoring in the 1st, 23rd, and 72nd minute. Sadly, the keeper allowed a goal in the 90th minute. Still, it was a marvelous back-and-forth. Cho Jae-Hyun really started playing well once moved to the Tre-Forward position. He was able to pull the defense toward him and create plays for everyone else... which continued thorugh the last two games.

After then dropping an away game and falling back to last place with a 0-1 defeat to Mokpo, the team rallied with yet another 2-1 victory with Kim Chang-Hee being back on his game and Kim Jae-Chung nabbed his first career goal.

The club ended in 13th (Not last!) and finished with the least amount of yellow/red cards of the year. Most pleasing, the I had been able to lead the club to the second-highest form in the last five matches with a WWDLW. Alot of this due to Jae-Hyun, Il-Kyun, Chang-Hee, and a total effort by the D to keep opponnent scores below 2 goals per match.


updates for the off-season coming soon.

 

[kenrry10]

Looks good so far, im following

 

[shalabi]

Nobody said being a manager would be easy, but man-oh-man! Being the manager of a Semi-Professional Korean club (one of
the worst in the league) is even more ridiculous. With an average of 1.2k attendance in a 33k capacity stadium, a weekly salary expenditure of around 8k, and a transfer budget of 10k for the new year... there's a lot of banking on old-man talent or young-gun hope. Because the board, in it's infinite wisdom, understood my plight, they bestowed upon me a whopping $1.5k per week. That's right fellas, the Korean League Manager job is a noble one. You take the job for the love of rebuilding and charcterizing broken teams with terrible prior management, knowing full well you can crash and burn.

Coming to Terms with Reality
The first thing I looked to do was remove unnecessary talent that I could. Against the wishes of the board, I removed a 34yr old Defender, two backups, and a GK turned GK-Coach which opened around 1.3k per week (16.25% of the total p/w) and +$6k in transfer fees. The difficulty is that 90% of Gangeung City is less than 1-star worth of talent. Furthermore, the Reserves are almost wholly 1/2 star and the U18s are nonexistent 15yrolds with zero facility (in fact, no facility has a single star). I did my very best researching, with little help from my inept scouts.

Finding a Balance in Formations
If there is one thing I learned with scouting for myself with no help or much knowledge of my area... it is write down EXACTLY what positions I must have to fulfill basic formations. For my squad, I need at least 5 D(C) but needed to make sure I had at least 2 D or M that could play DL or DR, each. It was the same for Mids. Even though my primary formation of All-Smiles 5-2-2-1 needed CMx2 and ACMx2, I had to make sure I had L & R Ms as well. I also utilize WBs to complete the formation. So as you can see, there's a lot of players moving around and filling positions that are needed. Unfortunately, I DID NOT write down exactly what I needed and we'll talk about those ramifications later.

Transfer Activity Gives Hope to New Season. Wide Shortcomings Loom.
Still, the search was not without limited success. I was able to pick up Lee Cha-Hyan (29yr D&WBL/DC, 250p/w), Park Jun-Young (26 DC, 365p/w), Park Dong-Suk (30yr GK, 180p/w), Baek Jun-Hyan (28yr WBL&R/ML 275 p/w). The additions each rated a 3-star+ ranking, but more importantly fit specific needs for a defense that was second-to-last the previous season (conceding 48 goals in league play). What was somewhat lacking was Gangneug's wide positions. 30yr-old Yoon Kyng-Soo is the only fully adepted DR or MR on the squad, while Baek Ju-Hyun is the only other WBR beside Kyung-Soo. This causes a dilemma when trying to switch from the 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 to the All-Smiles. To boot, Fan Favorite and Heart of the team Na Il-Kyoon also sustained an injury (at 36, this was no surprise) which put him our for 6 months and left the AML filled by a half-star backup. His absence will leave considerable pressure on Striker Cho Jae-Hyun and Kim Chan-Hee to produce goals through the middle.

Despite the set-backs the team as a whole as progressed in skill. There were only five players at 2.5 stars or above. At the start of the friendly's scheduled start dates, only three starters are below 2.5 stars while only four total sit below 2 stars. All of this, while lowering the overall per-week cost from last year and still holding onto 8k in transfer fees if needed and over 800 p/w salary room.

 

[shalabi]

The Friendlies Begin

It was a slow start with four new players including a GK and two Defenders who were not use to the All-Smiles system. The initial friendly had The Gang (as I know call them) a bit unsure of themselves with a 0-0 finish against Icheon Kail. The one bright spot was Park Dong-Suk, who blocked/saved seven shots. An impressive first day to say the least.

If friendly #1 had me scratching my head then friendly #2 officially gave me something to worry about. The Gang fell 0-2 again Icheon. To be fair, Icheon was a mid-tier K-League club, but the loss was simply lackluster. Still it was too early to worry too much and I knew it was going to take time for the boys to gel.

Friendly #3 gave me, and quite literally the entire team, the confidence boost needed with a 7-0 smashing of Korea University. Jan Sun-Ho, Han Kyung-Sung, Choo Sang-Chul, Cho Jae-Hyun, and Kim Jae-Chun all found the net. Park Jong-Chul came in late in the match to score two. The only downside was the injury to Kim Tae-Jin. He is a needed component of the midfield, especially with Na Il-Kyoon out.

Friendly #4 continued that mile-high feeling as The Gang defeated Yonsei University 6-0. Park Jong-Chul racked up a hat-trick by the half. Kim Chang-Hee gathered up two before being subbed in the 70th. Cho Jae Hyun continued to provide evidence he should be a first-team player with a 90th minute goal with his second of the preseason.

Friendly #5 pitted The Gang against their toughest challenge yet; Seoul, who had placed in the top half of the League for the past seven seasons and was two year removed from the top spot. Cho Jae-Hyun again made a compelling case for first-team position as he scored in the 6th minute to tie the match after the Defense conceded a mind-dumbingly simple goal in the 2nd minute. From there the match was a back-and-forth battle. The Gang had 18 shots, while Seoul drilled 11 at our net. In the end, however, Seoul proved to simply be able to outlast us and scored in the 84th minute. The team held out great however and it was, overall, a positive that we showed so strongly against a quality league opponent. We also pulled out a crowd of 7,261, far more than the year's average of 1,200.

Friendly #6 had us defeating another University. It's not a stretch to say if we could just play the College League then we'd do just fine for ourselves. Still, after a hard-earned loss it was just what the doctor ordered to get us back on the positive track. The team was finally flowing together and 80% of the starting team was now match-fit meaning that I could more readily prepare the backups. In the end the line was 3-0. Choo Sang-Chul score early while Yoon Kyng-Soo scored in the 12th and 54th minute in his second opportunity to play midfield (his secondary position).

Friendly #7 pitted The Gang against Shandong, a top 3rd Chinese Super-League Club. Park Dong-Suk again showed his ability to fly parallel to the line with five fantastic saves. Kim Chang-Hee put The Gang up in the 22nd minute and the usual feeling of a possible late meltdown immediately hit. The Gang fell into a particularly usual bad habit of shooting from just outside the box even when holding a line to the goal. All but two of the eight shots were misses, while six of Shandong's 14 were on target. The defense did it's best to hold but a ricochet and clean-up goal in the 72nd minute leveled it. To the boys' credit, they held tight after that and only allowed two more shots on goal. Perhaps it was Shandong playing it safe, but we'll take it. The obvious downside was two late injuried to Kim Jae-Chun and Kim Chang-Hee. Both of whom are out until early in the season. This essentially dilapatates the attacking midfield. It's a good thing the backups are primed to at least hold off until the boys return.

The last two Friendlies place the team against the Reserves and the U-18s to let the Back-up and rarely-played individuals get some match-fitness in. We'll hope to avoid any more injury.

Goals
Park Jong-Chul 5
Kim Chang-Hee 3
Cho Jae-Hyun 3
Choo Sang-Chul 2
Jan Sun-Ho 1
Han Hyung-Sung 1
Kim Jae-Chun 1

Assists
Kim Jae-Chun 4
Lee Dong-Hyun 2
Yoon Kyung-Soo 2
Kim Chang-Hee 2
Kim Sung-Hwan 1
Kim Tae-Jin 1
Yung Kyung-Soo 1
Hang Kyung-Sung 1
Choo Sang-Chul 1
Ui Hyo-Jun 1

 

[bluebirdboi]

Im following this. Might i ask you to consider loaning lucas/luis cabezas from A'erbin(china)he starts off on loan at dongya for 2 seasons and he is a real monster up front

 

[shalabi]

End of Preseason: An Exciting New Member of The Gang
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Gangneung City picked up former Real Salt Lake midfielder Collen Warner after he was released from the MLS squad. I was more than happy to spend 90% of our weekly salary cap (at $700 p/w) to ****** up this world-class midfielder who is competent at seven different positions.

While Warner has both a language barrier and a fitness mountain to climb, there's no doubt he will be a useful power at the midfield position, particularly at my much needed M (R) position. The only mistake I made in picking up this titanic talent is that I was so excited I failed to move for a multi-year deal. However, with a good season and a quality attendance at the Gang's turf, I assume we'll be able to hold the 24yr old on a new contract soon. Still, there's no secret that Gangneung City is a Semi-Pro club, and if Warner wants to leave, I won't make too much of a fuss. But screw the future, right? Right now, it's about getting a strong start to the season. I made a lot of moves and I can only hope it pans out the way I plan it to.

 

[shalabi]

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No matter how much one is sure one must have a consistent season, there is no doubt that a quality start is paramount to avoid headaches early on. I had told the board that we would simply stay afloat this season; however, I was not simply going to stroll through the season with no attempt. If nothing else my transfer activity exposed such an endeavor. With seven off-season matches in the books and a team that was well-practiced together, I just wanted to stay mid-tier up to the half-way mark.


My very last move of the preseason, was to sign a M/AM Kim Chang-Hee to a three-year deal. I wanted to secure a Franchise Player and the 24 yr old seemed like a good name to put forward. Players like Na Il-Kyoon (who holds just about every club record) were soon to be retired, and so I needed a new poster boy. This was going to be considerable pressure on him, but I needed to take that chance. I think we all know how scary that can be with a young player. The stats may say one thing, but you never know how it's going to turn out.

With that final move, I was fully prepared for my first match against perpetual mid-tier Mokpo. Weighing on the clubs chances of early success was injuries to Na Il-Kyoon and Kim Jae-Tin who were the anchors of our AM/M(C)-focused All-Smiles scheme. Also injured was Baek Ju-Hyun, who I had purchased as an all-important WB(L). The American Warner was also out do to lack of match fitness. I was thus forced to play backups.

Still, I practiced what starting line-up I could, making sure the practice focus was on defensive positioning and teamwork. Sun-Ho, Hung-Gon, and Kyung-Soo were all backups, while Cha-Hun was playing WB instead of D(L), but I felt both could handle the challenge.

Opening day Lineup:
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GK: Seok Hyung-Gon
DC: Jan Sun-Ho, Park Joon-Young, Kim Sung-Hwan
WB: Lee Cha-Hyun, Yoon Kyung-Soo,
MC: Kim Chul-Bae, Han Kyung-Sung
AM: Kim Jae-Chun, Kim Chang-Hee
Fwd: Cho Jae-Hyun​

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Match #1 vs. Mokpo
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[video=youtube_share;t5F_nV6JhZw]http://youtu.be/t5F_nV6JhZw[/video]
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There are moments as a manger you simply can't forget. For me, one such memory will be Kim Chang-Hee's goal in the 84th​ minute to give us the 3-1 lead over Mokpo and secure our first victory of the season. It was not only that he scored, after being touted as an obvious up-and-coming focus of the team. It was also how he did it. It was creative, inspired, and composed. It was, quite simply beautiful.




Chang-Hee had also scored in the 7th​ minute to put us ahead early. Backup Han Kyung-Sung scored in the 35th​ to give us breathing room, but Mokpo had pulled within one at the 78th​. Luckily for The Gang, Hee showed he was ready and willing to be a top man for us, even at the age of 24.



With our first game a solid victory, I was happy I did not have to burden the throws of a manager who must continually explain to his team that they'll be alright if only they keep their heads up. Instead, I was about to congratulate them and tell them we can move forward and be proud of what he had accomplished.

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Match #2 vs. Cheonan City
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[video=youtube_share;m0jLWNnKWpc]http://youtu.be/m0jLWNnKWpc[/video]
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Facing another mid-tier team but this time on the road. I was a little concerned entering play. My fears were realized early as we went down 0-1 in under five minutes. The Gang had troubled being inspired and I was still missing three key players due to fitness and injury issues. However, in the 85th​ minute a moment of veteran strength and determination as Kim Jae-Chun was able to fight off a defender to nab a rebound in front of the net and slam a shot home, saving the club from an early away loss. Play ended with a 1-1 tie we were lucky to get away with.

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Match #3 Vs Busan TC
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[video=youtube_share;Xsic5YJ2KbY]http://youtu.be/Xsic5YJ2KbY[/video]
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We hosted Busan with a chip on our shoulder. The club had been bullied last season by the Transportation Corporation and we wanted revenge. Busan had not had a quality off-season as they were unable to expand the way they needed to in order to perform well in both the league and in “extra-cirriculars.” While we were not able to wholly trounce the side, Kim Jae-Chun's jaw-dropping goal in the 16th​ minute was all we needed to establish we were the better side.


More important than the win, was the fact we had gone through the first three without losing. 2-0-1 and darn proud of it. The only downside was my unfortunate and ill-advised attempt to give Collen Warner some playing time, leading to an injury. I now had four key players sitting out including my only formitable striker, my international 5-star midfielder, my juggernaut AM, and my long-time heart of the team.... and somehow we were managing wins through a slow-paced heavy-control game. I could not have been more proud of my boys.

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After Three Matches

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There is a long way to go in the season and I know this, but I have to feel good about the start. There can be no shame in acknowledging that a club that is a 33-1 in winning the league, and in all honesty ought be aiming for a top-10 finish at BEST, is about to start so well. The competition will be tougher in the future, and the season is quite long, but as a manager I have to be both pleased that the All-Smiles formation is finally working as it should, my backups and rotation men are holding form, and overall The Gang is fighting hard to show they can be a contending club. Hopefully the entering of the larger talent won't mess too much with the mojo that is being built with the current on-field side.






Next up, Step 4: Matches 4-10

 

[shalabi]

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We all know staying in form is difficult to maintain as a manager. It is doubly difficult when you have a semi-pro club and can't ask any more than part-time work from your best players. Such is life with Gangneung City FC. Still, the strong start of 7 points in the first three games gave me hope we could at least make the middle of the table if we could simply stay within the top 10 through to the mid-season break.

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Match 4 vs Yogin:
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[video=youtube_share;GkwMjb8AOiM]http://youtu.be/GkwMjb8AOiM[/video]
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Probably one of the most difficult things to do as a manager is just let things work when they're working out. With the exceedingly poor striker Park Jong-Chul at the attack, it was tempting to rush my three-and-a-half star striker in; but, I stayed strong and kept the man in who had been overachieving. I was almost immediately rewarded for the move as Park Jong-Chul scored in the 10th​ and 37th​ minute. The team never looked back as Kim Chul-Bae scored in the 47th​ minute. The game finished 3-1 and we moved into first place in the league.

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Match 5 vs Suwon
[video=youtube_share;pC3BlmEdn7k]http://youtu.be/pC3BlmEdn7k[/video]​

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When facing a likely league winner the best thing you can do is instil hope in your boys. That's what I did... as well as throwing in my last-minute U.S. Midfielder, who was finally ready to play. Park Jon-Young scored in the first but the totality of play was dicey. With a little encouragement and a switch to a more attacking mentality, Warner found the back of the net at the 57th​ minute to provide me with ammo for the “I told you so” to the board who initially did not want to spend the money on him. Veteran Kim Jae-Chun, who had done so well in the preseason added the icing on the cake with a injury time goal and the match finished 3-1.

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Match 6 vs Icheon
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Icheon was a last-place club and so I know that we'd lose. Don't ask me how, I just knew it. With nine shots all unbelievably inept, and the defense constantly not keeping their mark we were destined to lose and finally did in the second half. 0-2 the final. I couldn't have been more upset. Not by the loss, but by how we simply looked stupid out there, even after I demanded a win and demanded a stay away from complacency.

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Korea FA Round 2:
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The Gang was up against some podunk University... again I had fear in my heart. I demanded the win from the boys as it was at home and even told them to do it for the fans... and nothing. The whole match was botched opportunities and close calls. The match went to extra time and finally the first goal came at the 109th​ minute... for the University. I was horrified. The board was not going to like this... that's when back-up defender Jan Sun-Ho, who had come in during the 105th​ minute scored for the first time in god knows how long at the 114th​. The match went to a shootout where backup GK Seok Hung-Gon blocked three-of-four Pks and we escaped with a win.

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Match 7 vs Goyang KB
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[video=youtube_share;JLjUz9LdmX0]http://youtu.be/JLjUz9LdmX0[/video]
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Goyan was ranked at number two in the league behind The Gang, so I felt confident. The boys seemed to pick it up during the big matches. It was a hard-fought first half but we went down 0-1 off a majestic goal from 40-yards out. I pumped up the boys for the second half, telling them to go out and pick one up for the fans. And that was when the heart of the team, recently back from injury, Na Il-Kyoon scored his first goal of the season at 81 minutes. It was typical Na fashion as it was wholly unorthadox, as he literally took the ball from the defender two feet from the goal line and tapped the ball home. At 1-1 I was pleased with the possible result... except it was not meant to be, as Kim Jae-Chun stepped up yet again with another tapper at two minutes into injury time. The Gang celebrated another fantastic win and the first place position.

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Match 8 vs Kimhae:
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The Gangs big rival was hosting and we needed to make a strong stand and avoid a loss. Unfortunately, the defense was slow out of the gate. Il-Kyoon picked up the pieces, scoring in the 84th​ minute and gave The Gang a 1-1 tie. In a whole the match was two heavily defense squads.

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Match 9 vs Ulsan
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[video=youtube_share;Fq3hVWAIsEc]http://youtu.be/Fq3hVWAIsEc[/video]
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A penalty for Il-Kyoon in the 9th​ minute started us off right and we never looked back. Warner added in the 17th​ minute that utilized strength, composure, and finishing. Defender Lee Cha-Hyun added one for good measure at the 91st​ minute. While Il-Kyoon was officially on fire, scoring in three consecutive matches, the strikers had been wholly inept and we were still unable to shut out the opposition. This, along with continued injury to my midfield, which causes clubs to get out of sync, worried me for our future. Still, when you have a 3-1 victory, you need to at least enjoy it for the day.

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Match 10 vs Hummel
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Hummel had only scored two goals in all season. I knew we'd lose no matter what I did. Not only did we lose, but we allowed Hummel to double their goal total, five members were given yellows, and Kim Tae-Jin was sent off. It was a miserable match, with only Lee Cha-Hyun making a positive move with a goal in the 13th​ minute.

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Manager's Thoughts
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We playing far above our ability and I'm amazed by the ability of the team to meet the tough matches and best difficult opponents. Conversely I'm perplexed by how a team 33-1 to win the league can become so complacent against low-rank teams. But I have to take a moment and enjoy first place with 21 points. Soon I must face my concerns, however.... I felt like there was a lurking storm. The offense isn't clicking, the deep midfield is injured and thrown, and the defense is consistently so-so. The clouds are gathering and I just had to hope we can keep up what we have going despite the obvious signs of trouble.

Warner was a good sign, no doubt about it, but I've already reverted back to my back-up goalie. Park, whom I bought off a free transfer is simply playing below his ability whilst Seok Hong-Gon is playing above his own. Hong-Gon has the only shut-outs on the season thus far. Still, I should be happy I have the options rather than scrambling to find anyone of proper quality. It's been an interesting start to the full year. 1/3rd the way through and I have hope we can meet the goal of a mid-tier finish on our way toward that single-team promotion into the K-League and professional soccer.

 

[maltefb]

Enjoying this very much! KIU!