Hi everyone!!
I really hope you are enjoying all the European games on at the moment and well done to my team (Spain) for a nice 4-0 victory over Ireland. We watched the game in the pub and sat with some really nice Irish people who bought us drinks all night and refused when we offered to buy them some even at four zero down, very lovely people.
So back to my story and we are back to Belarus as my dynasty starts to take shape, ok not really we are a poor side and I except that having steered the team through two very tricky relegation battles with a level of player just not good enough at the moment.
However a new season always bring new optimism so lets have a look at how season three went.
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So a new contract with a one year extension and the same wages, my board are actually delighted with me as their confidence in me is full!
I guess any progress is good progress. :)
Wow!!
So I asked my board for a parent club mostly to help boost are finances and I was hoping to get a few free players on loan but I never expected anyone as good as this!
I cant tell you just how good he is compered to our team, in fact you have seen if you read my last post with Kononov that this player is just miles better and although he doesn’t posses much pace he will be a starter for my team, this season.
Club Information and Club Finances Start of the Season
So already Vadim Zhukuv has been removed from our favoured personal list seems our fans are quite demanding!
Instead they have deemed Artem Tarasenko our amazing center back to join that prestigious list!
Our overall value has dropped by almost £10k pounds which isnt great and once again we are predicted to finish bottom so am prepared for another long season. ;)
Confusing that our club’s value went down yet our finances actually went up from last year!
Almost £11k pounds was added into our account and am pretty pleased we are not fighting with our finances as that money can last for five or six seasons which is really good to know.
Transfers In and Out — First Window
So I managed to attract some players!!
In all honesty these players are far better than what we had but are still not up to this leagues level just yet, pretty much every name you see here will be first choice and as you can see I started to sell and release my former players who are far from good enough.
My biggest and best signing was Maxim Khlebnikov who is my only player that I would say can play at this level so here he is :
League Results — First Half of the Season
Hmmm…..
Well we started well enough with a draw then a very good win over Smorgon then this horrendous run of six straight defeats which I cant say was deserved, odd goal here and there and games we could have possibly won but well my team is so poor they turned to defeats until a fantastic victory over Granit!
Three penalties in that game and we managed to score two of them!
Then a decent run of wins where we started to play pretty well then we met Pinsk who really beat us, funny as we led that game by two goals to zero so a real shame.
Good reaction though winning our final two games though.
January Transfer Window — A Star Is Born!!
What a player!!! :)
His agent brought him to my attention and I couldn’t believe that he wanted to join us! In fact I actually had to smash our record transfer fee and pay a whopping £10k pounds for him which is pretty massive amount at this level.
Considering we only have £70k in the bank its a risk but he is young and his stats are amazing compared to my team, an obvious starter on our right hand side.
Final League Results and Table of the Season
What a season!
So much improved we actually went into some games with a view of actually winning it!
Admittedly set plays continued to be a huge weapon if you like for my team, in fact any goal by Khlebnikov was probably a result of a corner or free kick played into the box.
But eighth! I was delighted to be finally be out of a relegation battle and ensuring our best ever finish in the club’s history!
Final Player Ratings of the Season
So Khlebnikov was outstanding far and away our stand out player and Gerasimovich (Mr Set Pieces!) proved his quality of delivery time and time again.
Zhdanovich who looked average at best had a pretty impressive season in our left midfield and Kuznetsov playing just off the front man Savinsky was pretty impressive as well.
Koval’ had a decent start but struggled to gel with the team in so few games, so am hoping for a little better from him next season.
Star Man of the Season — Maxim Khlebnikov
End of Season Finances and Livadia Player and Team Records
So finances did take a hit of sorts after the signing of Koval’, but am still pretty pleased with how they look.
Most of the money lost was on Koval’ but I did get a very talented player and am finally be able to sign some players good enough for the league I am in!
Team Records
Player Records
So I will post my team records after each season to show you how we are progressing!
As you can see Kuznetsov is our record goal scorer with 74 goals and he is a one club player after coming through the ranks here at Livadia!
* Just a quick note I took these before the season actually ended! So they are not up to date as our best finish was this season of 8th not 13th and our fans player of the year was Maxim Khlebnikov not Artem Tarasenko.
End of Season Round-Up
So that’s that!
I see a really encouraging season and although my squad is still pretty poor at least I am able to sign players that are now good enough for the league I am in. Khlebnikov is a real star so reliable at the back and such a threat going forward for corners etc shame that the players around him are much poorer!
Midfield wise and still not that great although we have two decent enough wingers one of them being Koval’ who I hope will shine next season but going forward we need some new front men. Savinsky will be returning to his parent club so I dont think he will be coming back and Kuznetsov and Kononev dont fill me with much optimism so I will desperately looking for a goal scorer.
But we did make progress at least, for once we were not in a relegation battle just these desperate runs we can get into in losing time after time so am confident going into next season that we wont be relegated and another mid table finish is what I am aiming for.
Promotion still a few years away I feel but at least we are attracting a better quality standard of player now so like the title said slow and steady!
I really hope you have enjoyed this post and as always I look forward to reading your comments and thoughts as always, again thanks for taking time to read it and I hope that you are enjoying the European championships whoever you are supporting. :)
Next post will be a little longer I think due to a busy couple of weeks ahead but I will try and bring it you as soon as I can, so until then bye for now!
Gaurav Chaddah
16 июня, 2012 at 00:10
Hey Ana, really good stuff there and a very good season overall! ;) Well done! :D
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 18:33
Hi and thanks Gaurav. :)
Tegar Triemanudigdo
16 июня, 2012 at 00:15
Wow…a mid standing there! A great achievement there Anna! Looks like things are looking good here and I believe within the couple of years your team will get into top spot in no time. Keep up the good work!
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 18:35
Thanks Tegar. :)
I was surprised at how well we did this season but the new signings definitely made a difference and if I can keep attracting them then am sure we can start to climb the league table!
Ronan Donovan
16 июня, 2012 at 00:36
4-0 I’m so sad today :( wd spain though — great team!! :)
Another interesting update — Love that you improved the finishing position a lot to come 8th! Amazing work! And very good signings too. Really good players especially that guy you got for 10k only! Great business :)
As I said before, it’s a very interesting story and I’m following it closely whenever you report on it. Really hoping you can build a good team there. And I’m pleased you are making progress even if it is only slow and steady!
So well done anyway on a good season and I hope you can keep progressing next season. See you next time! Good luck in the next season! :)
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 18:41
Thanks Ronan. :)
Oh am sorry didn’t want to rub it in or anything! At least you can be very proud of the Irish people a real credit to your country.
Couldn’t believe it when I saw him! At first I didn’ think he would join when my offer was accepted was delighted when he did!
Am really glad you are enjoying it! Progress will be quite slow but am a lot more confident now that I can at least attract players good enough for this level.
Will get my new post up as soon as I can, am super busy the next two weeks. :)
TheZiggy
16 июня, 2012 at 01:09
Was sad in one way to see how Ireland were taken apart, but definitely a good performance from Spain. Happy enough with the England performances so far, although the Sweden match looked like it was going to be another disaster, that we’ve almost turned into an art form. Definitely showed more spirit than I can remember for a while to pull off the win. :)
Good to see you’ve made some progress grabbing a very creditable 8th, finally getting some decent players into the team at last. Having a parent club is definitely a good thing at this point. Hopefully they’ll send another decent player or two next season. Hopefully you’ll be able to keep up the steady progress and move even closer to the sharp end of the league.
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 18:46
Thanks Ziggy. :)
Typical English roller coaster ride! Watching my boyfriend’s reactions is always funny they are leading he talks about winning the competition then they are behind and its the worse day ever and England are the worst team ever then they win and suddenly they are the best team again!
Always makes me smile. :)
Agreed, getting players good enough was always going to be critical and am now starting to find a few and as a bonus they want to join us so we are making progress.
My main aim from my parent club was purely financial but having a few talented youngsters is very welcomed!
Hopefully we can finish in a similar position next season and then maybe a promotion push! ;)
Heresy
16 июня, 2012 at 01:23
Amazing progress and I’ve got to say, your transfers were top class! (well, at least for your rep ;) )Magnifficent progress made this season. With one or two classy signings, I’m pretty sure you can at least challenge for a promotion spot. Things are looking really well for your club!
Do you play an attacking tactic with your lads? If so (and I’ve read your previous stories, so I’m expecting a positive answer ;) ), the results are even more astonishing. I’d probably turtle up and hope for a counter with the two pacy players I have. And how do you manage to keep the players motivated? I always struggle with this, even when I set low expectations, the odds are against me and we’re in fact overachieving by quite a bit. My players never seem to take bad results too well which breeds further bad performances :( Maybe this is the curse of having an ambitious squad…
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 18:55
Thanks a lot Heresy. :)
I forgot to say that only one team wins automatic promotion the other plays a playoff game against the team that finished second bottom in the top league.
I will explain better if I ever get that far. ;)
Prepared to be disappointed! Normally I play very attacking but with this team its impossible so its a 4-4-1-1 with two defensive midfield players and only one striker relying on any set-play we can get!
Its not pretty but needs must I guess, in a weird way I have more appreciation for teams who go out to defend and rely on counter attacks as they just dont have the players to pass the ball!
Watching this team is horrible! Players cant even pass a few yards without giving the ball away but at least I am attracting a better level of player so hopefully I can start playing football again. :)
I tend to be very supportive to my players even on really bad runs, using team meetings works well after lots of defeats but sometimes saying nothing works wonders!
Their morale can stay the same by doing so and individual talks of having faith in a calm voice works well I have found also. Passionate is hit and miss I find as maybe my players think I am patronising them or something. :)
Malhar Bhadbhade
16 июня, 2012 at 03:54
hey Ana,
pretty amazing to see the progress you’ve already made. finishing 8th was just a fantastic achievement! and its really good that you can now finally sign players that are upto the level of the league…maybe you can compete for the title and promotion in 3-4 years’ time. i am enjoying this story immensely. and i have to say, you have amazing determination. just awesome. there is no way i would have been able to continue if i had lost 6 games on the trot. its something i need to learn still :) so i admire that a lot.
As for Spain, I am glad they won too, not because i have anything against Ireland, but because Torres scored a brace!!! I was delighted to see his name finally on the scoresheet and I hope he plays against Croatia. Spain are so ridiculously, funnily talented that Cesc Fabregas can’t get into that midfield. CESC FABREGAS! it’s just so funny. The Spanish B side could genuinely win this thing. Valdes as keeper, Mata would be in it, Llorente, Fabregas. Just wow.
sorry for the length of the post :) got a bit carried away :D
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:07
Hi Malhar and thanks. :)
Agreed, in a way its a relief to be able to sign players that are good enough for this level as I can start going into games thinking I can actually win. ;)
I guess losing is a mixed feeling, I mean I dont enjoy losing but its all about how we played I mean if my team gave everything and we lost I am quite happy and if the level of opposition is much higher (Pinsk for example) then I expect a defeat so am not too unhappy when we do lose.
Learning to lose is as important maybe even more important than learning how to win losses really don’t bother me that much I guess!
I said Torres would score if he was backed! He is far too good to not get chances just need confidence something I feel in England he does not get.
I mean in a poll recently of who should start between Spain’s forwards Torres topped the poll by miles the fans love him and he will reward them like he did, I still cant believe Del Bosque took him off though and on a hat-trick!
I said before that this squad is better than the world cup squad that won in 2010, so I have my fingers crossed for a Spain victory. :)
vaibhavc
16 июня, 2012 at 07:04
Thats a great place for your team! This season was so much of an improvement than last season. Maybe you can win the league or compete to win the league in about 2-3 years from now.
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:10
Thanks!
Hope your right! I feel in a few season we can maybe compete all depends on how good the regenerated Belarus players I can find. :)
karl deighton
16 июня, 2012 at 07:10
What a season for Lividia! Much improved and I hope you can keep climbing until you reach the top. The Jaunuary signing looks immense, great for your league!
good luck
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:12
Hi Karl and thanks. :)
Agreed he is amazing!
I just need to find a way of getting the best out of him as he will be a key player for Livadia if I can unlock his talent!
Thanks for the luck I need it. :)
saltwater
16 июня, 2012 at 12:08
I was really mesmorised of how Spain moved the ball against Ireland, I never knew they were as good, or maybe even better than Barca. Still backing a Germany to win it though!
Great season and the signings in my opinion were surely the changing point as some o them were real superstars.
I don’t know what went wrong during the 6 loss streak but you bounced back magnificently and produced an 8th placed finish! Promotion can’t be far away now…
Good Luck!
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:18
Thank you. :)
If Messi played for Spain they would be the greatest side ever in my opinion (I know most nations would say that!) but I feel this Spain side is amazing, its a joy to be a fan and witness these incredible players.
We should enjoy them as they wont be around forever. :)
During that losing streak we didn’t play too badly the real issue is mistakes and we pay for them time and time again. Its difficult as my defenders are slow so any quick forwards can catch them out and my defenders cant catch them so it leads to chances.
I hope your right! I still feel promotion is still a few seasons away but will give it my best try. ;)
Darren Smith
16 июня, 2012 at 13:13
Hey Ana, sounds like you met some great people in that pub. Not often strangers offer to buy you drinks let alone when they witness their nation being thrashed by the one you support. ;)
As for your game, I think you have made some great progress, the signings are good and a few were outstanding. That center back is vital and fingers crossed he won’t be poached from you. Just more of the same with extra additions and you’ll be pushing towards promotion contenders soon I’m sure.
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:22
Thanks Darren. :)
Agreed! It felt weird as they just wouldn’t accept any drinks from us! Even after Fabregas scored they were still cheering and buying us drinks always nice to meet really nice people.
That’s my main fear, getting these players was one thing keeping them is another especially on part-time contracts there is no real security as I cant offer them long term deals so fingers crossed they stay I guess. ;)
Kevin
16 июня, 2012 at 14:13
Hi Ana
Congrats on Spain beating Ireland and what a great way to watch the game — free drinks!!
Well you are definitely making progress with Livadia which should start to see you bring in some more talented players. It’s a struggle for sure but YOU are the right person for the job.
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:25
Thanks Kevin. :)
Yeah, cant complain I guess! ;)
I hope so! I really like this team its weird I guess as sometimes you get attached to teams and want to do well with them and this is one of those times.
A few better players and who knows, football is such an unpredictable game!
Ivo Knežević
16 июня, 2012 at 16:56
good going Ana ;)
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:26
Thanks Ivo. :)
Laxeyman
16 июня, 2012 at 17:48
Good improvement again Ana, you’re doing very well in Belarus, and the quality of the squad is always improving, which is the most important thing :) Keep up the good work!
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:26
Thanks Laxeyman. :)
Johnny Karp
16 июня, 2012 at 18:18
The second half of the season was excellent and that makes me say that next season you will be at the top of the table, or at least near that position. This season was a good step forward for this lovely club :)
Ana Garcia
17 июня, 2012 at 19:29
Thanks Johnny. :)
LoL! It is a lovely club! ;)
Not sure about topping the table but am just hoping to stay in this league! But thats just me am always pessimistic I guess.
You are right though a good step forward lets hope we don’t take a few back next season!
Charlie
17 июня, 2012 at 23:54
Hola Ana
All I can do is reiterate what the other have said! Well done, you have done pretty amazingly considering your team :)
On the Spain game, all I can say is TORRES :D so glad for him. The atmosphere in that game was intense! The Irish were incredibly good at singing :p but IMO Germany are going to win this year :p I can just see it ;)
Anyway well done again, and it will be a top four finish next season me thinks! :)
Ana Garcia
18 июня, 2012 at 21:55
Hola Charlie. ;)
Thanks, am hopeful that we can build upon this good finish and have a better next year but fingers crossed I can keep a hold of my players.
Game was fantastic better than tonight against Croatia but Spain did what they needed, so am still pleased. :)
Charlie
18 июня, 2012 at 22:18
Del Bosque got it all wrong to be fair! Where was Llorente?? If they dont get their act together, they might drop out against England :P Which would be hilarious :D
Ana Garcia
20 июня, 2012 at 21:13
I have said this before about Del Bosque he is far too cautious with a team like Spain that cant defend.
Instead play all the best forwards that they have and out score the opposition its the only way I think! ;)
Good to England btw. :)
CsAtlantis
19 июня, 2012 at 02:56
Great improvement Ana, finishing just inside the top half is brilliant for a team predicted dead last (you’re always predicted to be last though :P)
Some brilliant signings in Koval and Khlebnikov (Savinskiy did well in his loan spell finishing as top scorer :), and not to forget Gerasimovich, the player who was born to play dead balls
Good luck next season, hopefully you can get a good striker (Try and see if Savinskiy will join again just in case he wants to!)
Ana Garcia
20 июня, 2012 at 21:17
Thanks. :)
True, we are always predicted to finish bottom but I like to upset the odds a bit. ;)
Khlebnikov was the difference, I think he is a great defender at this level and am so much more confident with him him my team. Koval should be a star next season if I can find a way of getting the best out of him.
On Savinskiy I already tried and he didnt want to join us. :)
Sears
20 июня, 2012 at 16:11
Hey Ana!
Glad you met some nice Irish people, we can be great fun when we’re drinking! Really disappointed after our showing in the Euro’s, but no hard feelings eh? :P Sooo proud of our support though, when the Irish fans kept singing against Spain even after the final whistle I could have cried :D Nevertheless, would love it if Spain went on to win the trophy again! Big admirer of their team, unbelievably talented.
Back to you’re story, endured a terrific season, did excellent to improve so much in the second half of the campaign. With a few more players like Koval’ I’m sure you can clinch the title next season! :) Best of luck :)
Ana Garcia
20 июня, 2012 at 21:20
Thanks Sears. :)
I dont feel that Spain will win the competition with Del Bosque and his cautious nature!
Obviously I hope I’m wrong. ;)
I was very pleased the progress we have been making its slow but at least we are taking steps forward and am optimistic for next season. Koval was a terrific find have my fingers crossed for a few more like him!