Gink Wolf - The Rise to Rockstar Status (or fall to local pub alchoholic?)

[Gink]

End of January transfer window:

Mid Season Transfer Update!

Had a fun transfer window this time around. With some reserve player sales, I ended up having around 550k to spend.
This wasn't going to land me any of my main targets, and when in addition none of my loan targets had any intention on joining me on loan (Hazard, Barazite, Naughton, Fabio, etc), it was time to get down and dirty, and scavenge the transfer lists, as well as the free transfers.

Having found Frederico Insua transfer listed at a very cheap price, my heart skipped a beat looking over his stats, amazing 30 year old argentinian that would've made a big impact on my team. I watched with great disappointment as he signed on with Sampdoria.

But we quickly forgot that whole ordeal as we got a 50k offer for Uruguay legend Alvaro Recoba accepted. At 33 years of age, and still with amazing stats I quickly offered him a one and a half year contract as a key player. Lets prey to the Footie God he gets a work permit! (Why he hasn't got italian citizenship after ten years in Inter is beyond me...).

I've also been sniffing out Jeffren, and I got a relatively cheap offer accepted, but after a drab negotiation over salaries, I ended up with my offers refused by this talented young winger.

Ok, so after having some problems having transfer offers and contract offers either rejected, or being outbid by bigger cubs, and after signing a couple reserve quality players, some good news came my way.
It cost me nearly my entire budget, but I got Rafa in the end, this 24 year old defensive midfielder from Spain has loads of quality and promise for my side, and I think he'll establish the consistency we so desperately need when we have the ball against us in midfield. Screen shot below.

The day after, I also got Recoba's work permit approved on appeal. Quality player that only cost me 50k. I think most FM players will remember this guy from his ten year stay at Inter. Screen shot below.

I chased Julio Cruz of Lazio around for a bit, but his contract demands were way out of my league, in spite of him being 35 year old. (Though he still is really good)

In the last two days of the transfer window, I got Antunes from Roma. 23 year old left back from portugal. He seems pretty decent, so it might create some competition for the left back spot, and I got him cheap.

I also ended up signing on a whole bunch of 16-17 year olds, if I'm lucky, one of them will turn out like Luis Gustavo.
As you can see below, he turned out quite profitable!
(If you don't remember Luis Gustavo from my pre season post, he's a kid I signed for free.)

My two main signings this window:

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I'll also add a quick league update to this.

In short, it's going horrible. I can luckily credit this to a lot of injury problems, so hopefully things will turn around when players start returning to training and matches.
As I'm typing this we're placed eight, with two points up to a qualification spot, and eight points up to direct promotion.

I've pretty much casted away all previous hopes of a direct promotion, and have my eyes set on qualification.

I'm starting to regret turning down that Cagliari job. They had some nice players, and they were placed sixth in Serie A at the time (12th now), and I could've made a lot of good loan deals with them. Dzagoev who was bought by Man Utd, is in the reserve team listed for loan, for example.

Oh well, we'll keep on trucking, and I guess sometime tomorrow evening, the first season should be done, and there's likely to be some updates then.
Until then, au revoir!

PS: Meanwhile I'll be using my status as manager to get with this little thing. Reading isn't so bad, mates.

 

[Joshh]

Doing good so far, hope you end up at a better club soon though

 

[Gink]

Thanks, even though Reading is starting to get to that almost non existent soft spot in my hart, I would love to move on to a decent dutch, german, or french club in the near future.
PSV, OM, Lyonnais. Porto or Benfica would also be great!

Oh, and by the way, I took some screenshots of some of my best prospects during the pre-season, to keep as a future reference.
In case anyone is interested, here they are:

Alex Pearce:

Matt Mills:

Jem Karacan:

Asmir Begovic:

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---------- Post added at 01:34 AM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 09:59 PM ----------

I know I said the next update would be at the end of the season, but **** has happened here.

First of all, I've been routinely checking job center, mostly because it's interesting to watch, partly because the Leverkusen and the At. Madrid managers jobs have been hanging in a thread lately.
Then I noticed this:

At this point, Reading was starting to get on my nerves. I get injuries every week, the players are underperforming, british chicks are ugly, the weather is ****, pretty much the only good thing about staying in England at the moment is the beer.
So what the ****.

But of course, it wouldn't be England without the press, oh the press. First they kill Lady Di, and now they snitch on me.

What else could I do but;

And now we're all friends again.

Oh well, I thought, life goes on. We'll see this season through at Reading, then something good might pop out over the summer. Maybe I'll achieve a promotion in my career after all?
But first I had to suffer through some journalists that wouldn't let this go just yet.

(I'm really just posting this because it was kind of cool seeing another question than the same old five questions you get over and over.)

But then look what happened. The Trabzanspor board didn't care about me apologizing for applying, and I thought that would seriously hurt my chances at getting the position.

Thank you very much!

Now I have Bristol City at home, and then I'm going to Turkey!

 

[Joshh]

Which league in Turkey are Trabonzor or whatever in?

 

[Gink]

Premier.

 

[Joshh]

Premier.

You're doing something right then to be offered a better job offer. Keep it up

 

[Gink]

I'll get another update in when I've moved clubs, and gotten a good look at the squad, all the info is incoming.

Edit:

Lost my last game with Reading, but I really couldn't care less. Haha!

 

[phatjord]

congrats on the new job gink

 

[Gink]

Thanks Stewie!

A little info about my new club for those who are interested:

I think I have my work cut out for me.
I'm an American Samoan, I speak english and spanish in game, and I'm supposed to turn this bunch around?
A bunch of very sad and depressed turks?

Next update sometime tomorrow afternoon or something. Got a bit of stuff to do tomorrow so, we'll see.

 

[Deano]

Really enjoying this mate. The style in the way you've done is good and makes it enjoyable. Hopefully Wolf likes Turkey better.

 

[Gink]

So I took the helm at Trab (Trabzonspor is too much work to type, so I'll call it Trab from now on), and I've had a little time to investigate the club.

The first thing I did was to fire every single one of their backroom staff (well, except for one physio, who was actually good).
No wonder morale was so low in this team, the boys hadn't had a decent training for god knows how long.
All the training categories was rated with one or two stars.

Exodus:

I had to rebuild the entire backroom from scratch, which wasn't easy. When I joined, the club was spending 7k over the wage budget.
But I got some decent people.
Ricardo Moniz is always a good pick for a coach, and he's coaching ball control for me at four stars.
Pat Bonner is an irish national team goalkeeper coach, and now he's also my assistant manager.

Finally the boys can get some decent training sessions, hopefully this alone will go along way to help their league form?

Holy jesus, it's 03:51 in the morning here. Got a bit carried away with the game! Going to bed, more updates on players and the club at a later time.

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---------- Post added at 03:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 AM ----------

Just had to post this, just too hilarious.

I stated I was not interested, but I should've waited a week to leave Reading.

 

[HarryinHD]

just glanced through this and it's a really good story mate the layout's quality & i think going to Trabonzspor added a bit of realism to the game rather than going for the biggest clubs without thinking
keep it up.

 

[Gink]

Thanks for the kind words.

Got woken up early by annoying cat, so figured I`d type out my team update post while making coffee and breakfast.

After rebuilding the backroom, it was time to check out the players, and I was generally happy with what I found, except for the fact that I only have two strikers that are remotely useable. If i get injury problems up front, I'm screwed.

This time around, I'll just be using a simple 4-4-2, no funny business.

Key players:

Egemen:
CB, 27 year old determined turk, regretfully not homegrown at club. He has very good mental skills for a defender, and is a natural choice for captain. Very strong physical presence, with great work rate and teamwork, and he's brave as few (20!). Could be better on the technical side, marking is very good, but his tackling and heading could be better, though I expect if they WERE better, he wouldn't be in the turkish league for long.

Hrvoje Cale:
25 year old croatian LB. Is all round good at most things, and very good at marking and tackling, completed with a high anticipation. Good pace, passing, crossing and positioning, and he can even head a ball. And lastly, the whole package is wrapped with good teamwork, stamina and work rate.
A resolute personality, and "will strive to help the club improve its league position".

Ruben Bustos:
28 year old colombian LB on loan from Intemacional. Another all round good type of back. Not as good as Cale, but in my experience, good backs aren't easy to find.
He has a very good free kicking ability, and he can shoot a ball from distance in a world class manner, which might prove useful.
Valued at only 1.5M, I'll be trying to make his stay permanent at the end of the season.

Alanzinho:
AM LC, 27 year old brazilian lad. He's your typical technical winger. Flair, dribbling and first touch is world class, and he's got very high acceleration. Decent passing, crossing and creativity as well. On the downside, he's very weak, and can't head for ****.

Other noteworthy players:

Ibrahima Yattara - Flamboyant right wing from Guinea, with seven of his 29 years alive at Trab. Flair, crossing, dribbing, passing and technique is excellent.
Ceyhun - 22 year old turkish midfielder, though born and raised in Munchen. He's developed under Bayern Munchen. Decent defensive stats. Class header.
Tony Silva - 34 year old experienced senegalese goalie, with 86 caps for his national team. Good for another year or two.
Rigobert Song - 33 year old cameroonian CB. National team captain with 130 caps, been around the block and gained lots of experience.

Need to find a very good striker, and a good midfielder of the Miguel Veloso type, who is strong defensive, but can also join the team forward.

I have no idea who to bring in as a striker yet, but I have some time to prepare.
Would be nice to get Jem Karacan, the young turkish midfielder I had at Reading, he's young and promising, and would help me with the rules of turkish premier division. (Max six foreign players on pitch)
I also want to bring in Alex Pearce, my young Reading captain, mostly as cover in defense, but also as a potential replacement for Rigobert Song.

2.1M Transfer budget. At least that's what I was promised, when I checked it was 1.4M something.
250k p/w (7k over budget)
Adjusted the budget so I can pay peoples wages, now I have around 800k to spend on transfers.
Lets hope the board gives me more than this to play with next season, but I doubt it, as it would take nothing short of a miracle to qualify for the EURO cup this late in the season.


Table at takeover:

Real life trivia:

Apparently Trab is building a new stadium in real life, which will be done in 2011, and it's looking quite classy.
I can't find any info on it in the game, but getting a new stadium next summer would be pretty cool. (If I'm still around, hah!)

I've played a game while making this post, and would you look at this.

That's interesting! With a club finance labeled as insecure, I have another incentive to win matches.

 

[phatjord]

Thats awesome that you actually win some money when winning matches, never seen that before in a league. hope you go on a long winning streak then to get loads of money in

 

[Gink]

Allrighty then, that wraps up the season, and all in all I'm very satisfied with how we did the last nine games since I took control of the club.

Six wins, two draws, and one loss. With the loss being away to the way superior Galatasaray side, and with a win over second placed Besiktas.
Good job boys! Seems all you needed was some better coaches after all!

Last game of the season was a real thriller, it really kept me at the edge of my seat.
Check out my horrific crossing.

Alanzinhos goal in the 92nd minute actually made me jump and scream!

As for player performances, Alanzinho was in a class of his own these last nine games with a rating of 7.54 and 4 goals in 5 matches.
The rest of the pack was lead on by a solid Rigobert Song, who contributed greatly in keeping the back tight.
Right midfielder Drago Gabric contributed with some solid passing and some nice assists.
My two backs were both decent and my defensive midfielder Colman also played very well.

In spite of a very good sequence of performances, nothing much happened to the table. We're still outside of EURO cup qualification, as the first five teams qualifies, and we ended up at sixth in the end. And it's not like Turkey is getting any fair play spots, right?

In spite of lack of EURO cup participation next season, there was still much rejoicing in the streets, and anticipation of things to come:

So the players are off to a well earned holiday, and I've got some digging for reinforcements to do.
Next update will probably be 31st August, as the transfer window closes.

 

[Joshh]

Great season mate, hopefully next season you'll push for the Champions League places

 

[Gink]

Thanks. If I can stay top five throughout the season and eventually end up placed third or better, and at least a semi final place in the cup, the I'll be very happy.

But basic goal is top five and EURO cup qualification.

 

[Joshh]

Thanks. If I can stay top five throughout the season and eventually end up placed third or better, and at least a semi final place in the cup, the I'll be very happy.

But basic goal is top five and EURO cup qualification.

I've just updated my story take a look if you want. I ended up in the EURO cup because I lost out in the CL.

 

[Gink]

The fair play spot was my last hope.

---------- Post added at 02:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------

Was checking out Reading and thought I'd let you know how they did.

Seems I didn't do a horrible job, as the new manager didn't even get them into qualification.
Even though I wish Reading all the best in the future, I can't help thinking that this is a good thing, as now it'll be a lot easier to get my midfielder prospect, Jem Karacan to join my side. I'm currently doing all I can to unsettle the lad.

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---------- Post added at 03:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:47 PM ----------

I know I said I'd update 31st August, but I want to avoid my posts being too big, so I'll do one now quickly.

The thing personally I look forward to the most in the pre-season was finally upon me.

Only to find that there was NO talent at all amongst these miserable bunch of a sorry excuse of junior players.
Ok, life goes on. With nothing good at all coming from the youth intake, I was looking to the pre-season, and the opening of the transfer window to lift my spirits, but I could only react with dread when the board gave me this message.

And that leaves me with current wages 10k ABOVE the wage budget. (and that's after I got a couple players to accept less wages in new contracts)
Even adjusting the budget so that all the cash goes to paychecks, leaves me over budget. ****.
So, it's time to start offering out some expensive players.

Umut, overpriced, over payed, turkish striker (which I have too few of by the way) is first to get offered up. (9.5k p/w, 8.5M value)
Second is Gustavo Colman, argentinian defensive midfielder, who is good, and was one of my better players last season. But he makes 15k a week, and is way to expensive. (15k p/w, 3.4M value)
Tony Silva, my best goalie. Takes up a valuable foreigner spot, and is very expensive to boot. (17k p/w, 2.8M value)
Tjikuzu, namibian DM. (8.25k p/w, 825k value)
Selcuk Inan, turkish overpayed DM, got to go. (15k p/v, 2.7M value)

Now lets hope I can get some offers for these players, or I'm royally screwed in the finance department.

Finally! (or so I thought) This was just another kick in the nuts.
All last season in Reading I kept handing in loan offers for players, and their clubs was expecting zero compensation. Now they're expecting 2M+ and 60-80% wage contribution.
My hope of bringing in any good reinforcements is crumbling into little pieces. I'm starting to think I should've seen the season through at Reading. My greed got the best of me.

If I can't sell some players quick, then I don't know, there won't be anything at all happening in this transfer window. I can't even sign free transfers, since I can't offer them any wages, hah!

 

[Joshh]

That happened to me, in a game as newcastle teams english teams wanted no cash to loan out a player, but they do now i'm Bordeaux.