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Career Tree in Ireland - 27 seasons, quit with LOI in 9th overall


Mr Tree
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Tough CL group who was the 3rd seed in that group, looks like Ireland can climb a couple more places then a big gap, to the next place.

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Thanks as always, @Paul186! Not played much this week because... well, life and work etc too, but you'll see, it wasn't a great season!!

 

Season Twenty Four

Despite feeling good about my UCD squad, we got smashed by Chelsea 4-1 in the first leg, and despite making it look respectable in the end, we were never really close :(

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So i left for pastures new, hoping to take another Irish team up...

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As you can see though, they were bottom at the time, outside the transfer window, and without much financial wiggle room (although i did end up selling Tootle for a mill so i can't complain really).

Also they'd qualified for Europe last year, hence the lofty goal! I signed about 20 players in the summer and won my first game in Europe 4-1 in Bosnia, before conceding two late goals in the first leg of the next round and unluckily losing a tough second leg...

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I thought we were going quite well...

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...but not long after...

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...because we just fell apart :(

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Cork and Harps were down there with me, so losing that penultimate game was brutal, before going 0-3 down in the Last Chance Saloon. Somehow we fought back, but not quite far enough, and relegation was confirmed (with two games to spare!!)

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So i was sacked!

So i needed another job. I declared my interest in Bohemians and Dundalk, so both sacked their managers. I went for Bohs, richer with better facilities, and my FOURTH Dublin club of the save. Also the best team i hadn't touched yet, apparently (see table above).

I didn't anticipate that they'd still be going in Europe, so i was thrown straight in the deep end and... we drowned:

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Bit unlucky though, played well in both and scored a late equaliser vs Sociedad before my keeper watched a long-range shot float past him in the dying seconds :(

You've seen how 2/5 of Ireland's representatives got on in Europe this season, what about the useless one? Same as Cab, one round passed and then out:

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But Ireland's two kings were still showing their quality:

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So overall, the emerald isle holding steady in 10th:

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Here's the overall season overview:

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No Player of the Season award this year!!

Hoping i can get back on track next year! 

Edited by Mr Tree
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Thanks as always @Paul186 - I'm still here, but a bit slowed by summer and work...

 

Season Twenty Five

We made some decent signings, with a reasonable budget and my great reputation. Not quite enough to topple Shels, who seem to have had a resurgence in the last couple of years, but we were able to pip UCD to 2nd - they had a rough season, sacking a manager halfway through...

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Added in a cup, too:

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Sadly, i think Shels and UCD both went out asap when the Champs League restarted, so we didn't make much progress with the rankings:

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As for the new european season, UCD fell apart in CL qualifiers, and then couldn't get anywhere in the Europa League either:

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No such problems for my new team, despite French and German opponents:

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Shelbourne showed their strength against difficult opposition:

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And, i think for the first time, we had FOUR teams playing until December at least, as Dundalk reached the Euro Cup II Group Stage:

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Even sexy wexy almost got there, too!

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So near but yet, so far...

 

Player of the Season

A quick squad overview first:

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Strikers Verdi and Gomez-Mancini were great pick-ups - getting both Verdi and Maniero from Juventus was a successful transfer window, I'd say! Former PM David Cameron did well in general (in the game)... Rybalka has already been sold, €14m for your reserve winger, why not...

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My three wingers taking the top three spots, very nice :)

But yes, Hoffmann was the stand-out - Luxembourg's greatest ever player? 

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Thanks for reading! 

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Many thanks @StuartM, and @Paul186, how right you were......

 

Season Twenty Six

It didn't look good, though, when we went 5-0 down in the first leg of the first knockout round, in Lyon 😮

We've got out of holes like this before though - i remember similar at Spurs with Lukaku dominating my Shelbourne team, before 3 late away goals set me up for a 2-0 home win. 

We made it a touch harder this time, only scoring twice in France, but we absolutely destroyed them in the first half of the second leg:

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...and we held on from there. 

After that, nothing could stop us, with Dortmund suffering a similar fate in the semi final second leg:

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And Marseille didn't scare us in the final - we'd already put 6 past them in the group stage:

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We celebrated by selling Gomez-Mancini - we had a hot Argentinian kid coming through, so G-M was only 4th choice. A decent profit:

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He got the silver medal here, behind our Portuguese winger who we signed for €11m in winter:

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The team was coming together nicely, so we were able to take top spot domestically:

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And we won our Champions League group fairly comfortably:

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It was a good time for Irish teams too, with Shelbourne actually reaching the Champs League Final while i was winning the Europa League, so two Irish League continental finalists - amazing! And into the next season, we had four teams again playing until December - and i think a record, the first time that three will be playing on in February:

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Bit of a pity that Shels fall into the Europa League, but maybe they can have a run there... I'll play P$G in the CL last 16, tough draw, but good memories of France :)

Derry let us all down btw:

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I'm not convinced by this points system at all, the numbers seem total random nonsense, but anyway we're in the top 10 - i think this is as high as we've been:

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So we're into the final straight now, maybe with a bit of luck we can get 8th. I'm thinking I'll try something similar next year, but with a league where top spot might be attainable, so starting a bit higher... More to come on that soon. 

End of season summary:

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Player of the Season

A quick look at the best of the bunch:

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O'Keefe was magnificent and would deserve the top spot usually - he's a 26yo limited striker who was at the club when i arrived, and didn't do much last year. Phenomenal season this time around.

Verdi keeps it going, Maniero fantastic again, long live the Juventus duo! Hoffmann not as good this year, Zaracho is the Argentinian wonderkid that i mentioned above, and Taylor has done incredibly since joining a couple of years ago - a loan spell away and then a huge breakthrough this year. Unexpected and very very welcome.

And all pales into insignificance when you see this fella:

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A cheeky teenage signing from Doncaster i think, wow wow wow this season, unbelievable. Words fail me. Extra bonus points for his name presumably being pronounced "Suhhhhhh-NOOpy!" :D

The Irish league voters went more conventional, rewarding the attackers:

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Thanks for reading! 

Edited by Mr Tree
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Great season for you and the other Irish teams, looks like they're starting to pull their weigh a bit more.
Two Irish teams in European finals will definitely have helped the standings.

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Great season! Is it all coming together in time or will it be too little too late? Nevertheless, this is a top effort!

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Well done on winning the Europa League, on to the Champions League next season. Ireland seem to be making progress, if you could repeat for 4 more seasons Ireland should be top or near top ranked Country.

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Many thanks @geordiekrispy, @StuartM and @Paul186 - alas, your optimism was misplaced, despite my best efforts!!

 

Season Twenty Seven

We set the tone by demolishing poor Shelbourne in the Irish season curtain-raiser:

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And they soon, rather pitifully, came crawling back offering a reunion:

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I told em to get stuffed cos we were rolling, stomping all-comers in Europe until a magnificent crescendo:

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Not the Theatre of Dreams for Citeh!

We kept it rolling through the league season, losing just once apiece to my former clubs:

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Didn't actually get any domestic silverware (aside from what's above), but still, a satisfactory season! 

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Unfortunately, Shels and UCD both went out in the Europa League last 16, and then in the new season, Dundalk and Derry both failed to reach the Euro Cup II group stage - i didn't even bother screenshotting them, pathetic. I secured top spot with the last kick, an injury-time winner against Dortmund (3-2 after being 0-2 down), but my reward is Man Utd next... Shels crashed out (tough group), while UCD bundled through unconvincingly. Doesn't look good for a rankings improvement...

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Pity, cos we almost had Holland within striking distance...

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I may try and make one last bid for improvement - I'll see how far i can go with Bohemians in this CL run, then hopefully jump in the summer. We're moving into the last 10% of the career here!

 

Player of the Season

Squad overview - loving all the assists too!

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Verdi impressed again, and Zaracho breaking through nicely as a 20-year-old. O'Keefe reverted to the norm but finished strongly... Quigley was very impressive considering he's not first-choice (Hoffmann is ahead of him)... Havertz took over set-pieces and delivered well!!

But the award actually goes to the last name on that list... Really?!

Yes, really...

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😮

I'm seriously considering giving him a pay-rise.

 

Thanks for reading!

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Unlucky on the other sides, and the gap to Holland looks big unless you win the CL it might be a bit too high for you to catch.

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Lads, i can't see me picking this up again - i think i got Bohemians back to the UCL semi before crashing out, and then i was gonna quit with one last desperate jump to St Pat's Athletic, try to save them from relegation and actually get them to 5th in the first season, giving me just enough time to squeeze some more points out and maybe get up a spot...

But i just can't be bothered now :)

It was good fun and i think I'll start FMM22 with something similar, but we'll see....

For "Goal A Mile" fans, this career ended up being very poor ;)

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(or for some perspective... couldn't even fit the whole of Ireland in here without making the route basically invisible!)

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Even adding St Pat's in wouldn't have helped! :D

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Thanks for all the support throughout, especially the legend @Paul186! Cheers

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