Hi everyone!!
So here is my first official post on my brand new pentagon challenge and for those who didnt read my first post I am currently in South Africa as the new manager of the Black Aces.
I will post a history and my managerial C.V as I go but seeing as this is my first job I wont need to do that for now!
So here we go with how my first season went.
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So it was a chance for me to jog my own memory and one thing that surprised me the most was the sheer amount of teams!
Now last year I managed a team called FCAK, and in the first division were there were only 8 other teams so we played each team other a staggering four times a season. However they must have changed that madness an extended the league to 15 teams so we play each other twice like most European leagues a total of 30 games.
The promotion and relegation system is a bit weird but the top team from the first division automatically wins promotion and the bottom team from the premier league is also automatically relegated.
Then from 2nd-4th in the first division and the team finishing 14th in the premier league all go into a playoff with only one winning promotion or the team finishing 14th in the premier league remaining there. Got it?
LoL, am really not the best at explaining stuff but thats how it works. :)
Results At The Halfway Point
So as you can see we have had a brilliant start to the season but this team was relegated from the premier league last season so you could say we have a bigger advantage of having some players too good for this league.
We only tasted defeat once to Royal Zulu a team I struggled to beat last year at FCAK and then at the Moroko Swallows so they could be my rival team once again.
We lead the way by six points but beat second placed Carara Kicks by five goals to one with the on loan Lucky Nguzan getting a hat-trick, all in all a very strong start.
January Transfer Activity
So I made a few new additions to my squad with only one permanent signing of Themba for £16k. The Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are the three biggest and richest clubs in South Africa so my goal ideally will be to get to one of those.
I sold two players for a combined fees of just over £100k both were mostly fringe players anyway.
Pienaar Themba
A snapshot of my new signing, nothing to special but is rated to be a 4 and a half star player in the future so maybe one to keep an eye on.
Results Second Half Of The Season
Champions! In all honesty I didnt really expect to cruise so easily to the title and a promotion but we just had goals in our team. I did change my formation from the one I started to to one like I played at Cruzeiro on my last pentagon which is basically a 4-2-2-2.
It seemed to have the desired affect as we racked up a 102 goals with only 35 against and a difference of +67.
We suffered only two defeats the second coming against second placed Bay Utd and we failed to avenge our defeat to Royal Zulu by only getting a draw but I cant complain really.
I know the premier league will provide a tougher challenge so am prepared to accept that I wont be as free scoring as we are now but its so important we survive other wise I will be facing a long battle with our finances.
Player Ratings
So my successful squad and as you can see goals from everywhere, Shongwe lead the way and is an excellent striker with McCarthy doing pretty well for a 35 year old!
On loan Lucky Nguzan was fantastic but I wont be able to get him back next season and Lucky Baloyi was also impressive but another I wont be able to sign.
Mashishi was a brilliant signing scoring 15 times from wide on the left and Dlamini was also excellent from wide right scoring 20 times in our free scoring season.
Star Man Of The Season — Myron Shongwe
27 goals and about the same in assists his pace and power should stand him and our team well for next season. He will be critical for our survival bid, at 31 he will start to decline but he was so pivotal for us this season he had to be my player of the season!
Mini FA Cup Run
So the FA cup works the same as in England where all the teams play together and we made it to the semi finals! I had to highlight our amazing victory over the Orlando Pirates who cruised to the premier league title with ease yet were undone by our little team!
Did we make the final and maybe even win the tournament?
The Semi Final Vs Bloem Celtic
No! But what a game!
Considering we were away at a premier league club we did so well and even led 3-1 until a few moments of madness turned the game where we conceded three goals in four minutes but we pushed all the way but just couldnt find another goal.
But I was delighted with our effort.
Times Saved And End Of Season Finances
So someone emailed me last year asking if I would post how many times I saved the game, I thought this was an odd request but I have no problem with it.
Noticed how I saved it with Ana at the end to remind my boyfriend not to play it! I will continue to post my games saved at the end of every post and now I will show you my clubs end of season finances.
Club Finances
So not too bad I guess considering we had starting to slide into debt but were saved by our fantastic run in the FA cup.
We didnt get too much prize money for winning the league infact we actually lost it all in player bonus’s after I selected high at the start of the season!
I know we wont get any TV money next season so we are on our own and will have to do what we can to earn our money. Hopefully we can attract some extra fans to games and I may need to sell off a few players to help boost the finances abit but it will be a struggle.
And that’s that!
Am very pleased to have won a promotion but its paramount we survive next season otherwise we could spiral into an uncontrollable debt which I may never be able to get out of, I could leave of course but the main mistake I made last year was moving clubs too soon so I am here for a while.
That said I kind of like it, they have a pretty good squad and I have no real pressure on me to succeed so I can happily go about my business with no real fear of facing the sack, plus my reputation is so low I wont be able to get a job anywhere near as good as the Black Aces.
I must admit I really like South Africa! Dont ask me why I just really enjoy it here so am not too concerned about having to stay here a few years, building my reputation but hopefully the chance will be available to manage the Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs or the Orlando Pirates so I can work on winning my first champions league.
So thanks for reading, and farewell until next time! :)
Darren Smith
8 ноября, 2011 at 21:54
And shes officially back, congrats on winning promotion Ana, that was a great first season back :)
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 18:39
Thanks Darren!
I must admit I wasn’t expecting this team to be so strong and I can really see potential here.
Next comes the tricky part of trying to survive!
Alex
8 ноября, 2011 at 22:45
Wow, you completely destroyed the division. The tactic you’re using, 4-2-2-2, is the midfield arranged as 2 CDM, an AML and an AMR? It’s just that when I tried to design a similar tactic a had a problem with the attacking midfielders not tracking back. Last year’s experience with the pentagon challenge should stand you in good stead and with the ability to add and remove leagues you should be able to run the game a lot faster, cubetacular. One last thought, perhaps it might be an interesting twist on the challenge to call it ‘The Pentagon’ (as in the building) which is a pentagon shape with a smaller pentagon inside it. That way the vertices of the smaller pentagon would represent the five champions leagues whilst the vertices on the outer pentagon would represent winning the club world championship with each team that you won their respective champions league with?
ri916
9 ноября, 2011 at 16:29
orlando pirates v barcelona…… hmm i can see how that would go. nice idea but i imagine the winning each champions league will be difficult enough.
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 18:46
@ ri916 — Yeah that happened last time, I was Seoul against Bayern Munich and was beaten easily 6-2 then when at the Moroko Swallows I was beaten 5-1 by Cruzeiro.
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 18:44
Thanks Alex,
You are correct I will have a picture of it for my next post but I tweak it slightly I try to get into a 2-0 lead then I drop my AML and AMR to ML and MR and rely on fast counter attacks and so far I am very pleased with how it works.
My players track back better at ML and MR but also have the pace to get forward so its a case of getting a lead then counter attacking as the opposition pushes to get back into the game.
Its a good idea but like ri916 said it will be very difficult, last year I won the club world championship once with Cruzeiro beating Inter but I admit I was very lucky.
Most of the time I was knocked out in the first phase but I like a challenge so I will defiantly try my best! :)
Alex
11 ноября, 2011 at 17:29
Yeah I suppose if you made it part of the challenge you would have to spend a massive amount of time in South Africa in order to get the team to a standard that has any chance of competing. Based on your results your tactic looks very effective indeed. Looking forward to your next update.
TheZiggy
8 ноября, 2011 at 22:47
Gratz on winning the league and promotion, that was some season you had.
It’s funny about the saves number, because mine is reaching ludicrous proportions, just because I had an issue at one point where the game just went to a black screen as I started a match, and I couldn’t do anything. After that I’ve become paranoid about saving the game before I start a match, which means I end up saving the game way too many times than should be necessary. I probably shouldn’t run so many programs on this machine while playing the game. :D
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 18:54
Thanks!
Yeah we did really well, I did tinker with my tactic and went to the more simple settings but am very pleased with the outcome.
That what I was accused of, saving before a game and reloading to fabricate my success which did annoy me hence why I will post my save game status.
I have no problem with it as I have nothing to hide, I just hate being accused of anything without any proof.
I know that the premier league will provide a tougher test and am already struggling to sign the players I want as I just dont have the finances the other clubs have.
Am working on reducing my wage bill!!
David Wiggins
8 ноября, 2011 at 23:32
you continue to amaze me with how easy you make this game look! Your cup win against Orlando Pirates must give you great confidence going into the new season. I’m sure it won’t be long til you have completed this part of the challenge!
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:00
Thanks David!
Honestly I have learned a lot from the members on the site and from Johnny’s and Darren’s guides. But I also believe in one tactic and just making changes during a game to it.
I am no expert, far from it and I just try to stick to what I know and the football I like to see which of course is very attacking! :)
The win against the Orlando Pirates was very encouraging, but I would be lying if I said luck didnt play its part hopefully I havent used it all up!
Kevin
9 ноября, 2011 at 00:18
Hola Ana
Excellent first post and I see you haven’t lost your managerial touch whilst you have been away. Great job and well done!
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:02
Hola Kevin,
I just found a good team!
I see good potential here just need to sort my very worrying finances out!!
Lye
9 ноября, 2011 at 05:37
Hi Ana,
What a great start to your Pentagon challenge!! Fantastic run of results and you really blew all your rivals away with a convincing win on the title. Looking forward to more fantastic stuff next season.
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:06
Hi Lye,
Thank you!
We did have a fairly big head start on them with having several premier league players, and with the new team talk system it seems easier to keep them happy and motivated.
Am not sure how well my attacking style will fair in the premier league but I guess we will find out! :)
paine
9 ноября, 2011 at 08:59
A nice job and a good start for your challenge, you ruled the league and probably your team, with few adds, could be ready to play at the highest level in South-african football.
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:08
Thanks!
I agree but finding players is the easy bit, its getting them to join on lower wages than other teams can pay!
I may need to survive with a whole host of loaned players, which is quite concerning!
Johnny Karp
9 ноября, 2011 at 10:39
Excellent season Ana, almost perfect! Congratulations and good luck in the top flight!
P.S.: My suggestion is to save the game a lot more times than you currently do by turning on rolling autosave to multiple files is a good way to prevent losing a career if the save game file becomes corrupt.
ri916
9 ноября, 2011 at 16:32
sounds like a good idea, how do you do that? (im not great with computers)
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:14
Thanks Johnny!
We will need the luck I fear, as am not really sure what will happen! We will either surprise some teams with our attacking style or suffer some big defeats!
Hmm, not sure how to do that either! But I may do that as I dont want my save broken like with my Coruxo game from last year, so if you can tell me how that would great.
Martin Pickard
9 ноября, 2011 at 10:53
Brilliant first season Ana…your back with a trophy in your first season! I have to admit that the South African league is a fun league to manage in…stressful…but fun lol. Again congrats on the trophy and promotion and with a few additions…you should be able to stay in the Premier Division. Looking forward to your next post :)
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:20
Thanks Martin!
I agree but I really like it!
Additions are coming hard to get, nobody wants to join me (at least the better players I want) so I will need some loan players to help me out.
Should be up in a few days hopefully am getting quite addicted to this challenge! :)
Chris @ Chester
9 ноября, 2011 at 10:53
Excellent first season, I think you should be quite a force in the premier league next season. Somebody asked me how many times I save in a season, he said it was to see if I was cheating and saving before every game.
Very good season and good luck in the big time :-)
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:30
Thanks Chris,
Am not sure about a force! I would be very happy to just simply survive next season.
I think thats what I was accused off just showing that I dont save before every game.
Thanks for the luck I will need it! :)
Stromson
9 ноября, 2011 at 12:50
Woot, glad to have you back in earnest Ana! I must admit, I admire your tolerance of South Africa (and your persistent efforts to get me to join you there), and congrats on the promotion!
For some reason, people seem to associate save counts with cheating, I guess because a high save count would suggest you might be replaying loses? Personally, I save all the damn time (because I’m paranoid), so I wouldn’t worry too much about what people think there.
TheZiggy
9 ноября, 2011 at 16:30
I’m a software engineer and at one time worked for a data recovery company, so I’m paranoid about not losing data. The black screen I mentioned before, just pushed my paranoia on a scale to 10, from 10 all the way up about 12. I go beyond the Spinal Tap scale ;)
As we speak I’m making a copy of my save to a memory stick.
paine
9 ноября, 2011 at 16:57
The same here, I save often for the opposite reason, I’d be really disappointed if I had to play twice the same game…I wouldn’t care so much about what people say. :)
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 19:45
Thanks Stromson!
I just really like it here! Its probably my favourite place to manage in all honesty!
Usually I dont care too much what people think this just annoyed me for some reason that said I usually dont save my game too much anyways.
TheZiggy
9 ноября, 2011 at 22:33
I agree with paine, that the idea of replaying a match that has already gone, whatever the result is not something I’d want to do.
I would imagine if you’ve lost a match, and then you try again, there’s a good chance you’ll get the same happen, or possibly even worse. It’s frustrating enough the first time, without the chance of it happening again. I guess some people are of a highly suspicious nature. What next? They’ll accuse you of doctoring the image file? Some people need to calm down and take a good look at themselves.
Just take it as a backhanded compliment about how good you are at managing a team, and forget the idiots. :)
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 23:35
It only happened once to me during my last pentagon when at Seoul I played someone in the Asians champions league semi final winning 4-0 but my game crashed and when I replayed I drew 1-1.
I obviously lost the second leg which I should have won but it didnt annoy me that much. I can only provide the proof when people accuse me, most of the time I dont take much attention guess its my age!
For some reason this got to me. I simply play for fun, if I win great if I lose fine its a game at the end of the day. I would only be cheating myself and where’s the fun in that?
The sheer amount of playoff games I lost last time was freighting if I had cheated why wouldnt I simply replay them and win?
Just my nature LoL, when something gets to me I get annoyed and I should drop it but I cant, I blame my Dad! :)
Sears
9 ноября, 2011 at 22:08
Well done Ana, you’d a wonderful season and best of luck next season!
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 23:37
Thanks Sears! :)
CsAtlantis
9 ноября, 2011 at 23:01
Very nicely done Ana, your team scored bundles of goals, you just need to find some (hopefully) permanent recruits to fill in the holes the loanees left in your team, good luck!
Danny Kannemeyer (I assume he’s your left back) has really impressive ratings despite not scoring a goal! Did he get a lot of assists?
Ana Garcia
9 ноября, 2011 at 23:47
Thanks!
I agree, but its tricky with our finances and wage budget. A problem I have found is our team is quite old as in our best players are all over 30 but they are also all on high wages so its a catch 22.
If I sell them/let them go I dont know if I can replace them with players as good and if I keep them I have very little wage budget left over to recruit players.
Hopefully loans will save me this season!
You are correct, but he did play as our AML for a while when injury hit my team and got 18 assists so not too bad. I don’t know how many he got as our left back but he was very solid all season but another at 35 years old!
Valentino de Baar
10 ноября, 2011 at 02:38
Nice to see somebody using the South African teams. As a South African myself I am well impressed! As for Mr McCarthy, i cant believe a CD scored +10 goals in a single season, amazing tactics ! :) Great post
Ana Garcia
10 ноября, 2011 at 20:58
Thanks!
I managed in South Africa for a bit on last years game also and I really liked it.
Yeah, I was using Darren’s set piece guide with a few tweaks and it seemed to work quite well as my team is rather small!
Hopefully we can do just as well in the premier league. :)
vaibhavc
10 ноября, 2011 at 18:16
What a season Ana, you have marked your return with a promotion. Now you play Orlando Pirates and Kaiser Chiefs right? Or are you one league below them now?
Ana Garcia
10 ноября, 2011 at 21:02
Thanks!!
You are correct, the league structure is the same as last year but they have just extended the amount of teams. The premier league is the top division, this is like the championship in England.
So we won promotion and have to play all the bigger teams and try to survive against the Kaizer Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates etc
A really big ask but will do my best. :)