July was about as warm a welcome that we could have asked for. We opened our maiden voyage into the PrvaLiga with an eye-opening 5-0 dismantling of Koper. In front of their fans. We followed that up with a come from behind win against Olimpija thanks to a Milko Kovac brace. Our dream run continued on with a late goal to earn a draw against Domzale. The man of the moment? It had to be Milko Kovac with a goal in the 84th minute!
Now let's not get carried away here. We're only three games into a 36 game season, so there will be plenty of time for things to normalize. I'm just hoping that we can continue this hot start a little longer to help offset any potential losing streaks that we may encounter down the road. Much like last season's goal was promotion, this season's only goal is to place higher than 10th.
When one of my starting center mids went down with damaged cruciate ligaments I started window shopping for a center mid. 10 months is a long time to survive without a key contributor on the team, and we have a relegation battle to win. A few days later, I lost my other starting center mid, so that window shopping ended up turning into a purchase with rush delivery.
Luka Lazanski illustrates the level of talent that I'm trying to stockpile at this point. While he's still lacking in a few key areas, he's quite well developed everywhere else. It's amazing what a successful run will do to boost your team's prestige! Last season guys like this didn't even want to play for us on loan.
Ok so maybe we aren't as in over our heads as everyone initially projected - myself included. We just put the final touches on the month of August, a month that saw us win all 4 league games. That is correct. We are 6-1-0 in league play and to be quite honest, we're playing like we didn't get promoted. Not that we weren't good enough to earn it, but rather that the level of competition isn't quite as fierce as I had expected it to be.
I will continue to mention the fact that we are only two months into a long season. We have 29 games remaining in which we will do our best to maintain our seat at the head of the table.
:o now that's something... I guess it shows either how pro you are or the fact that slovenian first league is ....crap
Edit: Mura actually promoted in real life too, and currently, 5 games into the season, they are 9th
with 4 points
# tomy :
:o now that's something... I guess it shows either how pro you are or the fact that slovenian first league is ....crap
Edit: Mura actually promoted in real life too, and currently, 5 games into the season, they are 9th with 4 points
The level of competition feels like maybe League 1 or League 2 competition in England. I really thought teams were going to be better because of the increased money flow at the top flight, especially with teams playing in the qualifying rounds of continental cups.
The next time I get asked who I think is going to win the league, I may just say that we will! Not really, though, as I play things a lot more conservatively when I'm being asked questions by the media. Will anyone believe me if I try to play humble at this point, though? September was another undefeated month for us, although we did have our share of close calls.
Milko Kovac bailed us out with a 72nd minute strike against Gorica to salvage a draw. Kovac also netted us a winner against Olimpija in the 81st minute. Then it was Dejan Bozicic slotting one home in the 92nd minute against Domzale to pull out a win there.
One third of the way through the season we've opened up a 6 point cushion at the top of the standings. Our red hot streak looks to continue and until we finally lose, I can't help but remain confident that we will keep finding ways to win or draw games.
The points keep coming and we keep avoiding that first loss. We went 3-1-0 in league play and also won our 3rd round matchup in the Slovenian Cup.
Our game vs Maribor was our toughest contest yet, one that went back and forth all the way to the end, with Maribor drawing level in the 80th minute for a 3-3 draw. We also left it late against Triglav which came as a bit of a surprise. We needed an 89th minute strike from Alen Bencak to pull out a win there.
Gorica also nearly had our number in the Slovenian Cup. We did ourselves no favors, however, as centerback Boris Bjelkanovic got his marching orders just shy of the halftime whistle. Our halftime lead vanished in the 61st minute but Milko Kovac was having none of it. Our leading scorer bagged a goal in the 67th minute and we played defensive football from there out to secure the win with only 10 men.
Speaking of being down a man... We just got word that we would be without our starting keeper for the next month. Ales Luk has achilles tendinitis so we have a new starting keeper between the sticks in Damjan Klemencic.
16 games in and we hold an 8 point lead. We still have 20 games to go, though, and a lot of those games will be without our starting keeper.
We got back to our winning ways in December before going off on our midseason break. We started our latest undefeated streak by being on the right end of a late minute goal; a header by Boris Janev that saw us beat Olympija 4-3. We gave up an 80th minute goal against Domzale to wind up with a 1-1 draw and that set up a big match against second place Maribor just before the break. I was delighted to secure a 2-1 win over our rivals that gave us some much needed breathing room at the top. Our defense came through in that game, shutting down Maribor for the entire second half after allowing a goal just before intermission.
Our lead is now at 5 points over Maribor with 14 games left on the schedule. The transfer window will be opening again soon so we may look to add a player or two to help ensure that our run continues in the back half of the season.
Jon,
Just wanted to say that I have been really loving your stories mate, although I have to admit that what you did with Newport was really enjoyable to read also because it's something I like to do as well: start with nothing and build something amazing.
I'm not a club hopper ;p If I build something I just can't leave it! I think I never left any club in FM..
Anyway in FM2012 I am going to follow you and also start with a blue square premier team I think a couple years ago I chose chesterfield (just because I liked the name ;p) but because there are already in league two or even in one.. it's much less of a challenge.
Keep up the good work and keep writing the amazingly fun and interesting stories. One last question though, when looking for a new league to manage in you never looked at 'my' league: the Dutch eredivisie. I was wondering why not? It's a pretty fun league, no weird restrictions, 2 champions league spots, 3 Europe league spots (I think) and some really fun clubs to build up. We also have a second league were there are some tiny clubs as well.. and hopefully in fm 2012 the semi-professional league (topklasse) that is comparable with the blue square premier, so if you choose a club from that league you would need to get to the top in 3 leagues ;p I would also think it is quite interesting what you could do with my club (Feyenoord) but because you can become champion in the highest league (quite easily) in the first season.. it is probably not enough a challenge for you!
# DoubleR :
Jon,
Just wanted to say that I have been really loving your stories mate, although I have to admit that what you did with Newport was really enjoyable to read also because it's something I like to do as well: start with nothing and build something amazing.
I'm not a club hopper ;p If I build something I just can't leave it! I think I never left any club in FM..
Anyway in FM2012 I am going to follow you and also start with a blue square premier team I think a couple years ago I chose chesterfield (just because I liked the name ;p) but because there are already in league two or even in one.. it's much less of a challenge.
Keep up the good work and keep writing the amazingly fun and interesting stories. One last question though, when looking for a new league to manage in you never looked at 'my' league: the Dutch eredivisie. I was wondering why not? It's a pretty fun league, no weird restrictions, 2 champions league spots, 3 Europe league spots (I think) and some really fun clubs to build up. We also have a second league were there are some tiny clubs as well.. and hopefully in fm 2012 the semi-professional league (topklasse) that is comparable with the blue square premier, so if you choose a club from that league you would need to get to the top in 3 leagues ;p I would also think it is quite interesting what you could do with my club (Feyenoord) but because you can become champion in the highest league (quite easily) in the first season.. it is probably not enough a challenge for you!
Any time I get responses like this, I am flattered and honored! Thank you for taking time to read my stories and finding inspiration in them.
With the ability to add/drop leagues at any time in FM12 I think my story there will truly be one for the ages. I will be sure to make a stop in the Eredivisie for you!
The restart of league play brought plenty of success but it came at a price. We lost our only league game in February to Primorje 1-2 which was not the kind of start I had hoped for after the layoff. We got back into the swing of things against Bela Krajina with a 4-1 victory, but then dropped the following game against Triglav in a game where we dug ourselves into a 3 goal deficit before storming back and narrowly coming up short in the end. Now we're on a 4 game winning streak that is helping us stay ahead of hard-charging Maribor.
The quartefinals of the Slovenian Cup got off to a good start for us as we managed a 2-2 draw in the away leg. The home leg featured a brace by Milko Kovac that propelled us into the semifinals where we will face Drava, who were relegated from the Second League last year.
Despite securing 15 points in the past 7 games, we are still just barely ahead of Maribor. We currently sit 4 points clear of them with 7 games remaining. One of those games will be away against Maribor and that could likely determine who's playing for the Champions Cup next season.
Our path to the league crown is going to be a tough one, however, because injuries are mounting. Both my starting and primary backup at left midfielder are out with injuries and we're finally going to get back our starting right fullback and a starting center mid.
# joannes3000 :
The level of competition feels like maybe League 1 or League 2 competition in England. I really thought teams were going to be better because of the increased money flow at the top flight, especially with teams playing in the qualifying rounds of continental cups.
lol mate u must be joking
slovenia league is like england's league 2 or lower
but how did u get idea to take slovenian team anyway?
# Aurelius :
lol mate u must be joking slovenia league is like england's league 2 or lower but how did u get idea to take slovenian team anyway?
League 1/2 in England all felt the same to me - a bunch of teams that are usually middle of the road. One or two are always stronger than the rest and one or two are always terribly weaker. That's exactly how this league feels.
I didn't expect to be one of the dominant teams, but it's been me and Maribor at the top for a while. The rest of the teams can't put up much of a fight.
As for why I chose the league, I was looking for the weakest league I could play that has Champions League spots.
I started a save with Wales but they want you to bring two U19s to every game.
We started April with a very damaging loss to Domzale that saw our lead at the top of the table dwindle. That would be the only loss for the month, however, as we surged onward toward European cup play. Our biggest win of the season could very well be our 2-0 victory at Maribor. It was an ugly defensive battle that gave us a huge lift in the standings. We had another tough win against Triglav in front of our home crowd before finishing the month with a more comfortable victory over Primorje.
Drava gave us a huge fight, but we also advanced to the finals of the Slovenian Cup. We took a slim 1-0 lead in the home leg and then were in for the fight of our lives during the away leg! Drava leveled the aggregate 2-2 to force extra time before we finally took control and won 4-3 in extra time. Our opponent in the final will be our good friends, Maribor. We haven't lost to them this season, but our 3-1-0 record is a bit deceiving. We have only outscored them by 4 goals in those games so each matchup is always hotly contested.
With 3 games to go, we only need 3 points to clinch the league and a spot in the Champions League next season. We have already guaranteed that we will at least play in the EURO Cup, but at this point we are gunning for two pieces of hardware - the PrvaLiga crown and the Slovenian Cup.
The team is healthy for the first time all season and it's showing with the results on the pitch. All of the extra bodies we've brought in when starters went down now provide ample depth.
# joannes3000 :
Any time I get responses like this, I am flattered and honored! Thank you for taking time to read my stories and finding inspiration in them.
With the ability to add/drop leagues at any time in FM12 I think my story there will truly be one for the ages. I will be sure to make a stop in the Eredivisie for you!
No problem! I guess these reactions are the ones that keep you going as well? :p
It's also awesome that you are thinking of making a stop in the Eredivisie! Can't wait to read THAT story or at least how it is going there.. already an idea if you want to build a club up again.. or just make a 'big' club even bigger?
On topic: it does suck that the level in the slovenian league is that low.. But I guess the farther you move to the west.. The better the league becomes :p so the further you go to the east the lower the level gets :p quite curious how you will do in the champions league
You are reading "You've been banished to Slovenia, joannes3000! And this time you're staying!".
