SR Colmar - A French Journey

[Jxck]

SR Colmar
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I haven't really done a save where I have tried to take a team from a lower league all the way to the highest league before so with FM15 not far away hopefully this will carry me to then.

I've set myself the usual goals of getting into the first division before dominating continental competitions, however there will be some more achievable challenges that can be done quickly, for instance hopefully I can gain professional operating status.

An overview
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As you can see Colmar have never been past the National division and have only played in the league for a few years. Our predicted finish for the season is 8th place however with a good season we could hopefully push further than that and spring some surprises.

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As you can see the facilities are clearly nothing to shout about and something that will definitely have to be improved if we are to progress and produce some good youngsters.

Season Goals
My main goal for the season is to come in the top 6 and place above our media prediction, this will be realistic for the first season as I have no transfer budget or wage budget to work with so players will need to leave before I can buy.

Key Players
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Looking at this it does worry me that two of our three best players are on loan, the main problem with this squad is the lack of depth, I have looked through the squad and there is plenty of talent mixed in there.

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[Jxck]

SR Colmar
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July

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We announced a link with Nimes to get some loan players, none of them ended up joining but could still be useful later on.

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As you can see we are 14-1 to win the league so it will still take a special season to achieve promotion this year.

Transfers
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Not much to shout about, 3 free players to add depth to the squad however Haddadji has good potential. I signed one on loan as I have a shortage of right midfielders. Selling Haabay alone covered the wages of all 4 of these players.

Pre-Season
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A few ups and downs in this pre-season, the problem being semi professional is less training time so we are struggling to understand the tactics well. Draws with Swiss super league side Aarau and Serie A Livorno were high points, however losing to our own reserve side was a concern.

Next month brings the start of the National season in which we play four games, how will we fare?​

 

[Jxck]

SR Colmar
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August
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A very poor month that started with so much promise, a 2-0 win against title favorites Alsace set the tone for a good month. Pont du Gard was one of those games when I left bewildered as to how we lost, they just took their chances well. Ajaccio was due to a sending off for Crillion the left back, Pape Sane's screamer was a highlight but 3-1 down with 10 men we had no chance. Against Carquefou we just looked flat, they didn't have to play well to beat us and we barely threatened.

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We sit in the bottom 4 after the first month due to three straight losses, we just need a bit more flair up top and I believe the foundation to press on is there, we showed quality against Alsace and once the tactics are understood better I do believe this team can achieve a top 6 finish.

Player of the month
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Best of a bad bunch really this month, he showed real quality against Ajaccio and will be a key player this season, if I can find a working combination up front and he gets more service it could be a strong season for our loan star.

Next month brings four more games in the National, can we achieve more than 3 points and finally find some form?​

 

[Jxck]

SR Colmar
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September
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Another disappointing month! A draw against Paris in a game we really should have won. We then scraped past Frejus although they dominated for large periods. A bore draw with Bourg where we had our keeper Verger to thank for keeping us in it. To finish the month a 4-0 stuffing at the hands of Loiret really highlights to me how s**t this team really is.
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A climb of one place out the bottom four however top six is not happening this year. The team is so much poorer than I thought they were. I've realised now that with the majority of our better players up front the solid defensive stance will not work, therefore next month I will adopt a new tactic with the mentality of you score 6 we score 7. This may backfire however if we can't score many then we just need to go for it.

Player of the month
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Controversial picking the keeper when we conceded five this month but he really did stand out. They say the keeper is only as good as his defence and I saw that. He won us the game against Frejus and was spectacular against Bourg. Against Loiret he wasn't great but he kept it from being a cricket score at times.

Next month see's four more National games and our first appearance in the french cup, will the more attacking style fare any better?

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