The Wanderer - FM 17

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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

Just a quick update on the domestic front as we had been concentrating on our European adventures.

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With all the European games we have had quite a number of domestic games called off. This has allowed Cork City, who have put together a great run, to knock us of top spot. Although we do have quite a few games in hand to claw this back.

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We have also managed to progress through to the League cup final against arch rivals Bohemians in what will be a massive occasion for both clubs.

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The summer transfer window has now closed and we have been very active during this window as it runs along side the end of the English league season, which presents a good opportunity to try and lure the players that have been released by the English sides.

Transfers In:
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We are delighted with the quality of player we have been able to attract to the club during this window. The fact that we have been able to lure ex West Ham midfielder Josh Cullen to the club shows the progress we have made.

Cullen:
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Transfers Out:
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The major out during this window was the sale of attacking midfielder Scougall. He had turned in some good performances since joining it the summer but when Hibernian offered 325k it was an offer we couldn't turn down. Some youngsters left on loan to gain some first team experience, while some of the older players where given free transfers as they where no longer needed at the club.​
 
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Good luck in the CL playoff. CL group stages would soon sort out the finances and probably take the club to a level above anything in Ireland.
 
Ralph2211 said:
Good luck in the CL playoff. CL group stages would soon sort out the finances and probably take the club to a level above anything in Ireland.
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Thanks. Yeah no Irish team has ever been to the CL group stages. Shelbourne lost a play off back in the early 2000's and IRL Dundalk narrowly lost i play off this year. And as you say the finances from this would be huge for a club in Ireland.
 
Shamrock Rovers Season 3

Its Champions League Play-Off time and we are off to Slovenia for the first leg as we take on NK Olimpija. We know very little about the Slovenian champions but we do head into the tie as underdogs according to the bookmakers. We are travelling in hope more than expectation that we can get some sort of result to take back to Dublin.

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Very much mixed emotions here after this game, we played brilliant throughout an even took an early lead through young northern Irish full back McCullough. We matched the hosts for the majority but they came on strong scoring two second half goals to take the lead in the tie at the half way stage. The away goal gives us confidence that we can get a positive at home and the tie is very much still alive as we will meet again at the Tallaght Stadium in a weeks time.​
 
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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

We are back at the Tallaght Stadium for the second leg, a full house here in Dublin hoping for history to be made.

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We are Champions League say we are Champions League. An incredible performance and occasion for the club as we will be in the draw for the Champions League group stage. The first Irish side to do so. This will be massive for the club in terms of a finical footing and for the reputation to attract bigger names. One of the most nervous highlights of my FM career when Olimpija hit the post in the 87th minute for what would have put them through on away goals. Unbelievable achievement bring on the draw.​
 
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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

We are starting to see the benefits of our great achievement already. The Champions League money has arrived.

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Getting back to the domestic results.

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We only had three league games since the last update and we sit joint top with Cork City but have 3 games in hand. Truth be told would rather have the points on the board than games in hand as i can already see am major back log of fixtures starting to pile up.

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Some of our players have been attracting interest for quite a while now and it is becoming a bit of a struggle to keep rejecting offers. The latest two have been Micheal Browne and McCullough. The offers at this point are still rather insulting so for now they stay.

Browne Bids:
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McCullough Bids:
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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

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Its here....the group stage draw

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There we have it. Benfica, Galastasry and CSKA Moscow. It is actually one of the kinder draws we could have got but at this stage there is never an easy draw for a club with our stature. We are just delighted to be this far and as the saying goes anything from here is a bonus. We will aim to be as competitive as we can but picking up any points is going to be a huge task.

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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

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That's right we are in Galatasaray for the clubs first ever Champions League game proper. We have no idea what to expect and are hoping to be competitive at the very least.

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We came up short in the end as the hosts quality became more evident as the game progressed but boy did he give it a right go. We can travel home with our heads held high and confident that going forward similar performances might see us catch someone on the hop. We have no time to feel sorry as we have the league cup final in 3 days time against rivals Bohemians.

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What a results given the circumstances. Travelling back from turkey after the effort that was put in to face a cup final against Bohemians was a massive ask. There was tired bodies all over the park but we dug deep when under pressure for most of the second half an hung on. The players cant be praised enough for the effort shown over the two games but we are beginning to get slightly worried looking at the fixture pile up that is building up.

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League we have struggled slightly after the cup final falling to win either of our league fixtures as it was mostly youngsters playing to try and give the first team a rest for the next CL group game. This is going to be a balancing act we are going to have to get to grips with as cork city have put together an incredible run and are now 7 points clear. It is still mathematically in our hands as we have 3 games in hand but anything other than a perfect run will but ball back in Cork City's hands as they have only 3 remaining fixtures.

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On a more postive note the board have agreed to upgrade both the training and youth facilities. Oh its good to have this Champions League money.

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Congrats on the Champions League place, even if you lost all 6 games the money you'll bring into the club will be fantastic and the achievement will not go unnoticed in the footballing world.
 
neavie pops23 said:
Congrats on the Champions League place, even if you lost all 6 games the money you'll bring into the club will be fantastic and the achievement will not go unnoticed in the footballing world.
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Thanks. Yeah we have already started to see the benefit of the champions league money within the club.
 
Shamrock Rovers Season 3

We welcome Benfica to the Tallaght Stadium. Its a great occasion for the club it is the first CL group game in Tallaght, in fact it is the first CL group game in Ireland.

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Another defeat but again we can leave with our heads held high as we produced a great battling performance that saw us go toe to toe with a team like Benfica and not be embarrassed. But the reality is with 2 defeats out of 2 we sit bottom of the group.

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As mentioned in the last update the fixture congestion is becoming a real struggle as we are massively under pressure from Cork City in the league. We managed to win 2 out of the last 3 league games with a very under strength team going down to big rivals Bohemians. With 3 games to go the league is no longer in our hands and what is more concerning is Cork City only have 2 game left to play and we must hope they drop points in one of these games and we get 3 wins to secure back to back titles.

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As you will also see from the results we did manage to get one over Cork City when we dumped them out of the Irish Senior Cup to reach the final. The Cup is the only one missing from my CV since i have joined Shamrock Rovers and with final against first division UCD we should have a very good chance of adding it to the collection.

In other massive news we have managed to secure the the signing of Tom Lawrence who we had been tracking for a while after he had refused to sign a new deal at Rangers. He instantly becomes the best player at the club and the league. We is on a massive contract for the Irish league and would only sign if he had a 800k release clause. This is not something we would ever do put the opportunity to sign someone with such quality was to hard to turn away. Welcome to Ireland Tom Lawrence.

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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

Champions League is back at the Tallaght and its table toppers CSKA Moscow who make the journey. It is a game that we really need to pick up something if we have any ambitions of continuing in Europe this year.

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Ahhh another morale victory for the lads but this one is probably the most frustrating as we where the better side throughout the contest. In the end it was the penalty after 11 mins that handed CSKA their 3rd win of the group.

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We are still pointless after 3 games put in truth the performances have been a lot better than many had predicted. Although with two results now needed i think the chances of getting 3rd in the group may be gone.

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League wise we have managed to win our last 2 games which included our game in the hand. The BIG news is that Dundalk have beaten Cork City to put the league back into our hands with one game to go. Massive disappointment for Cork City but a massive opportunity now for us to claim back to back titles.

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The final day of the season will look like this

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The task is clear, match Cork City's result and we are Champions again. Our task may be made harder that our opponents still have an outside chance of getting out of the automatic relegation spot and will be fighting for their survival.​
 
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Good luck with the decider mate, sure you'll make it back to back titles!
 
Shamrock Rovers Season 3

We headed into the last day knowing a win against bottom of the table Limerick would hand us back to back Irish titles. We where big favourites to do so. All we had to do was match Cork City's result who where at home to Derry City.

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Back to back Champions of Ireland. But in truth it is heartbreak for Cork City that is the real story of this final day. It was a 94th minute Derry City leveler that handed us the title as we struggled to break down Limerick. Our game had actually ended and we thought we had blown it until the news of the late goal in Cork. But it somehow makes the celebrations even better.

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Congrats on another title and the signing of Tom Lawrence. He will be a beast in the Irish League! More champs League next season!
 
Jammy git :P Deserved in truth given the number of fixtures you've had compared to others but still lucky with the last minute goal from Derry.

Onwards and upwards!
 
neavie pops23 said:
Jammy git :P Deserved in truth given the number of fixtures you've had compared to others but still lucky with the last minute goal from Derry.

Onwards and upwards!
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Thanks haha yeah big time i actually felt quite sorry for Cork City weirdly enough lol

Ralph2211 said:
Congrats on another title and the signing of Tom Lawrence. He will be a beast in the Irish League! More champs League next season!
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Yeah he looks like a serious player in the few games we have played so far but like all players at this level when they start playing to well you will lose them to bigger sides.
 
Shamrock Rovers Season 3

Irish Cup final day. The only one I have never got my hands on. In a bid to complete a famous Quintuple.

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A polished performance against the first division minnows. Goals from Drennan and Miele see us lift the Irish Senior Cup. In what was the final piece of a famous Quintuple for the club this year. Presidents Cup, Leinster Cup, League Cup, Irish Premier League and now the Irish Senior Cup all in 2018 which will go down as the greatest year in the clubs history.

We would normally now break for the off season in Ireland but as we are in a unique position of still being in the Champions League group stage the will be a much shortened off season for the Shamrock Rovers players and staff. As the rest of the league head off on their holidays we are back on the training field as we prepare for our remaining 3 Champions League games.

We have also signed a new 2 year contract with the club. At this moment in time we are happy to do so as it gives us that little bit of job security as well as protecting the club for if an when we decide to move to a different challenge. We now earn a very modest 1k a week.

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Shamrock Rovers Season 3

To finish the season we have our 3 remaining CL group games. If we have any ambitions to be playing knock out football in the new year we will need two results. Given the competitiveness of our first 3 games we do have confidence we can be competitive in these games and with more luck who knows.

CL Round 4
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Another tough defeat, 2-0 up at half time we where in dreamland and the change to a defensive set up for the second half looks to very foolish as CSKA came on strong in the second half to take all 3 points again and all but end our hopes of qualification.

CL Round 5
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Another landmark for the club as we pickup our first ever CL point. A great performance again in which we can feel unlucky not to collect all 3 points. However this does confirm that we will finish bottom of the group regards of the result in the last game.

CL Round 6
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Our European adventure comes to an end with what has been the story of this Champions League run. A great spirited performance and it looked for a long time that we would get out of Portugal with a draw but a great individual goal by Jonas very late took it away from us.

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The final group table doesn't do our performances justice. We can be immensely proud of our achievement to get this far and also are overall performance in the group stage. We have given the club some of the best moments in its history as well as taking CL football to Ireland for the first time. The club will also benefit from this run massively and will strive to get back to this level again. Its been a very enjoyable experience to manage at this level so early in this football management journey and one that has been a big learning curve for both the management staff and players.



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Glad to see you pick up a point in the CL groups mate. Sure your reputation will be increased! Any links with "bigger" clubs?
 
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