For one reason or another, my story writing has broken down. I have lots of stuff on at the moment and I don't quite feel up to writing in my usual manner. Therefore, I am going back to basics with very primitive updates. These will not be masterpieces, or amazing graphically. This will just be me sharing with you how I'm going on Football Manager 13. Please enjoy!

Hi. I'm fzemdegs, and I'll be bringing you my career in my adopted country, Australia! The reason I've chosen Newcastle is because I love working with Emile Heskey and he always makes an impact in the A-League due to his presence and aerial prowess. You join me having just finished my first season, and I'll probably continue to update in this manner. Ok, let's get started with the transfers and pre-season.


Pre-season I determined there were some deficiencies in defense and goal, so I brought in a couple of players to fill it in.

In central defense, the first player I brought in was former Australian international Chris Coyne.

please note that all screenshots are taken at season's end.


Coyne will be used as a back up in central defense and will be a mentor to my promising young centre backs in Connor Chapman and Ben Kantarovski.

Alongside Coyne I also bought another ex-international in Ljubo Milicevic.


Milicevic will be a rotation option, swapping with the likes of Josh Mitchell, Tiago, Coyne and Taylor Regan.

With 2 very average goalkeepers, I went head-hunting for one of the best Aussie goalies, Nathan Coe , and managed to take him from under the noses of the likes of Toulouse FC and Dusseldorf.


Coe will be my starting No.1, but he is on Australian duty a bit so I need to hang on to some of my lesser keepers for back up.

Alongside Emile Heskey, I decided to bring in a good poacher who could snag goals from Emile's head. Vinicius was that poacher.


Depending on what formation I use, he may be used as a poacher next to Heskey or a winger on either of the flanks.

Lastly, I brought in some class from South Korea to bolster midfield in Han Tae-You , who joined the club on loan.


Meanwhile, 3 left the club. Even though it says just 1, two were unregistered and therefore were not transferred out. The unlucky 2 to get cut were Bernardo and Michael Bridges . Young winger James Virgili was sent for a season long loan at Sydney club Marconi.

Nice start, good luck with this - hope you can stick to it :).

Nice choice of team there mate!
Good luck!

We were predicted to finish 8th, so we proved everyone wrong with an amazing first half to the year. A 6 game winning streak saw us move top of the table, but a barren spell immediately pulled us back down. One thing we do need to work on is our consistency.






Just the style of play in general. Heskey hasn’t kicked many goals but he’s been an amazing influence on the game, unbeatable in the air! James Brown is just phenomenal at the moment, he’s everywhere whether scoring goals or assisting. And Vinicius has kicked some extraordinary goals from the wing, including a couple from a tight angle outside the box.


The inconsistency. We had an average start, then dominated for 4-5 weeks and then all of a sudden we were lackluster again. We have had some problems with injury, but we should be doing better than this. Hopefully we can rekindle some form in the second half of the season.

Next up is the end of season review!

You're doing really well, keep it up.

SO CLOSE! We were 1 minute away from securing the championship when we conceded a late goal in the Grand Final, and subsequently lost the ensuing shoot out. But before we go into that, let’s have a look at the 2nd half of the season proper.

To start the new year, we didn’t win for 4 games and I watched as our hard earnt position to date was overtaken as we fell to fourth. A loss to rivals and league leaders Central Coast seemed to rejuvenate the squad and we went on a 5 game winning streak which saw us momentarily take top spot on the ladder. We essentially needed to win the remaining 5 games to secure top spot and the premiership, but sadly we faltered at the final hurdle. Luckily we picked up 2 wins in the last 2 games to cement 2nd and give us some morale going into the finals.

In the A-League, the top 6 teams qualify for the Finals. In the first week, 3rd and 6th play against eachother as do 4th and 5th. The winners of these games play 1st and 2nd in the semi final.

Brisbane Roar advanced to the semis by smashing Melbourne Heart 5-0, and to be honest I was a little scared of the game. They were in form and boasted stars such as Thomas Broich, Erik Paartalu and Besart Berisha. Meanwhile, Heskey was struggling for form and I was reliant on a good performance from everyone for a win. Let’s see how the match unfolded.


Cometh the moment, cometh the man. Who else but Emile Heskey would have gotten us home? He was incredible and pulled us over the line. Meanwhile, Central Coast had unfortunately beaten Melbourne Victory 3-1 in extra time so we would battling for the title with our arch rivals at Gosford. Over the summer transfer window in which we did nothing, the Mariners recruited 2 more Aussie internationals I Richard Garcia and Joel Griffiths and looked very potent. Here’s how the fateful game panned out.


Even as the losing manager, I have to admit this was an amazing game. First, the controversial penalty early on slotted in by James Brown. Then some great defending and goalkeeping for 80 minutes. And in the dying seconds, with us playing 5 at the back and the Mariners throwing everyone forward, Oliver Bozanic got a lucky toepoke and extra time wielded nothing. 1 penalty missed was the difference, but I don’t blame Craig Goodwin, the Mariners deserved to win it.







I thought Brown was hands down the best player at the club if not the league, so I wasn’t surprised to see him voted as Player of the Year.



Although he’d been a great player for the club, Scott Neville left as I couldn’t turn down the £1.5 million offered by Aston Villa. Hopefully I can find a replacement in the coming window. On the out as well is James Virgili who will return to Marconi on loan.
Also, Han Tae-You went back to Seoul and Ryan Griffiths, Ruben Zadkovich and Jack Duncan were released.




Join me again for the pre-season review of 2013/14!!

Tough loss to take but a good season overall!

Ooo! By the skin of your teeth there! A good first season I'd say, especially considering your predicted finishing spot.

So unlucky not to win that final - but nevertheless you've secured continental football! Keep it up

Welcome back guys! It’s now time for me to embark on my second campaign, and hope to better last year in which we finished 2nd in the league and lost the Grand Final on penalties to our arch rivals Central Coast. Without further ado, let’s get into to the Pre-Season Review.



Another quiet window for me, although I did make my first major blunder. I signed South Korean defensive midfielder Han Deok-Hee as he was cheap and reliable. In doing so I wasted a foreign spot so just 4 months later he was released.

I brought in 2 great players, who will be key to my plans.

First was Dino Djulbic .



An amazing player at this level, Djulbic will add to my centre back collection but will most likely be used as a right back to replace Scott Neville.

My second signing was another Bosnian in Zlatan Muslimovic.



Zlatan will vie with Emile Heskey for the role of Target Man and is sure to provide a few more goals.

As I mentioned in the last update, Scott Neville was sold to Aston Villa whilst Ruben Zadkovich, Ryan Griffiths and Jack Duncan were released. James Virgili went on loan to Marconi again and Han Deok-Hee , well, let’s not bring that up again.



Yet again I delegated my task to the assistant but this time I didn’t even care about results, didn’t even look. All my players are fit and the tactic is familiar, which is all that matters.



I have decided to keep the same tactic this year, which I know called the “Lock and Key”, with the Advanced Playmaker the key.





With Heskey on the decline, the mantle of our best player has been passed to James Brown. Last year he was absolutely blinding, with blistering goals outside the box and beautiful passes to a waiting Heskey or Vinicius. His determination means he is just going to get better and better and as the ‘Key’, he is the most influential player on the team.




Last season, he was a great player off the wings, drifting in and receiving passes to score and on a couple of occasions even kicking them from outside the box! This year Vinicius will get more of a run in a central role and hopefully he can kick as many as he did out wide.




This guy is no longer the wonderkid, the future of the side, the future captain. He is now one of the best players of the team and the captain. He is the here and now, he is everything Newcastle.





This kid is the standout of my youth intake, a pacey young striker who can become anything he wants with a wide variety of skills. His determination worries me a little, but I’m hoping his natural talent makes him progress.




My prodigious centre back has become even better over the past year, and will soon be vying for a regular spot on the bench and then first team. His tackling still needs some work though.




The oldest of my original youths, Pepper had a quiet year last year but this time around he will probably start in the middle with Ben Kantarovski. His passing is phenomenal and just what I need for a DLP at this level.



I also have the Champions League group stages later on in the year.

Next will be the October review!

I hope Chapman becomes a high quality player for you!

Great update Feliks, hopefully you're fully prepared for another great season!

It was an alright start I suppose. Mariners and Roar are the front runners for the title alongside me and I lost to them in unfortunate circumstances. Here’s a rundown of each match.


A really disappointing start to the year. Mitchell Cooper was brilliant filling in for the injured James Brown and although we had a lot of injuries, we should have hung on.


For all intents and purposes, this should have been over by half time. We were 3-0 up, cruising towards a huge win over a good team. But we fell asleep after half time and conceded 2 but clung on for our maiden win and a good way to start at home. Luke Remington was amazing in just his 2nd career game.


We went over to Melbourne and got a good win which will be vital come the end of the season I hope. Vinicius seems to have a knack with scoring early goals and Djulbic was solid from right back.


Words cannot describe my frustration. Two reds! I had to ‘contain’ for 40 minutes, and then, with 3 added minutes, Massimo Murdocca scored on 92:59. Wow. Just wow Sports Interactive.


We sit in the playoff zone, although the season is still very young and we should be able to climb in the coming months.

Moderate start, I am sure you can build on it!