Season 1 Finished and Promotion Secured

Well here is my long awaited update for the end of season 1 and what a finish to the season it was! I came 2nd in the league but finished on the same amount of points as Real Zaragoza only losing the Liga Adelante Championship on goal difference. This final push came as i managed to win 7 out of my final 8 league games but i was left to reflect on some very poor defeats which cost me dear. In my final game i knew a victory for me would mean Zaragoza would have to beat Xerez away from home but they did 2-0. I beat Castellon also by 2 goals to nil but wasnt enough to win. In reflection though my disappointment has gone and i'm now just delighted i got promoted!

My top scorer for the season was Darko Kovacevic and had a fitting send off scoring in his farewell game. I haven't renewed his contract as i feel at his age now he wouldn't make the required impact needed in the Liga BBVA. The player with the highest rating over the season was Xabi Prieto and will be trying to keep him with interest already from other clubs.

One thing i am absolutely delighted about is one of the players thats been promoted from the youth team - Iker Zelaia. At 16 years of age he looks like he will be a superb player so will be looking to play him next season to give him experience.

On the Kenan Kodro front i forgot to register him in the January window so he never played a first team game but next season i will definitely be giving him some chances.

I will update again once pre-season is over as i am planning to have a mass-clearout as most of my squad are not up to standard. Don't forget you can post your progress on the official Real Sociedad Thread over on FM Style. At the last count it has 569 posts and many people taking part so head over and get yourself registered.

Thanks for reading and adios for now.

Halfway Through Season 1 Update

Well folks thats me up to January 1st 2009 in the game so time for an update on my progress. I'm 3rd in the league and quite chuffed with this considering i know a few people were in a similar position at this stage.

My best win so far came in the 4th round of the Spanish Cup against Liga BBVA side Recreativo where i won 4-0! I managed to draw the 2nd leg 2-2 so now face another Liga BBVA team in the 5th round - Racing Santander. My worst defeat came against Albacete away from home. Not only did i lose 3-0 but my team played awful!

My top scorer so far is Necati Ates but despite this i think i will terminate his contract and bring another loan signing in to replace him. He misses too many chances for my liking and his wages are much higher than anyone elses.

Darko Kovacevic has been fantastic for me so far and every time he scores is a "punch the air moment" however unlike on older versions of Football Manager where i would keep him till he retired i think i will release him at the end of his contract in the summer. With so many people doing the challenge this time, (especially on FM Style) i'm getting quite competetive and there is little room for sentiment now.

Another player i am over the moon with is my 34 year old right back Gerardo. He has a very impressive 6 goals already (5 have been penalties) and has the highest rating in the squad.

I still can't decide on a settled tactic but i'm having fun trying to create one. Hopefully if i get promoted i will have a good home and away tactic in my locker for Liga BBVA.

Results so far

Adios for now folks and thanks for reading.

Season 1 With Real Sociedad Started!!

Yesterday i officially started the FM2009 Real Sociedad Challenge so here is an update on how i got on.

After being really disappointed by the demo that was released i was more than a little nervous about how the main game would be but i have to admit - I LOVE IT!!!
I considered having a game first with another team to get used to it but then thought "what the hell" and jumped straight into the hotseat of Real Sociedad.

The first thing i checked before anything else was the transfer budget - 80k!! Not good so i immediately analysed the squad to see who i could sell for a quick buck as my assistant said the squad needed strengthened if we were to challenge for the title. I was then thrust into my first press conference which was much more enjoyable than i thought it would be.

I immediatley established i was lacking in the left back department so brought in a loan signing - Ravzan Rat from Shaktar. Next target was a striker as i felt if any of my current strikers got an injury, the backup was very poor and not ready for the big time yet. Out of curiosity i typed "Kovacevic" in the search box not really expecting Darko to be available from Olympiakos. To my amazement he was and for a knockdown 300k! Having sold one of my deadwood Markel to Reading for 1.4 million i snapped up Darko Kovacevic and had my first punch the air moment on FM2009! He has been by far my favourite player on the Football Manager/Championship Manager series of games and to have him again will make the game even more enjoyable - especially since he is still really good!! We have already had a minor disagreement however when i suggested he should try and place his shots in future (just wanted to see what he would say).

For my first friendly i chose to watch the 3D action and was really impressed! We won 7-0 and every goal was completely different. It did slow my computer down slightly so will watch in 2D from now on but watch the goal replays in 3D i think. The highlight of the friendlies was an 11-0 victory!

I played the first league game of the season at home to Huelga and managed a 1-0 victory although we created plenty chances and should have scored more.

As usual i will be trying my hardest to turn (the now 16 year old) Kenan Kodro into a superstar and will post my progress on that throughout the challenge.

Overall i'm quietly confident i can steer the club to promotion and i've decided i'm not gonna play any elaborate tactics, just a simple 4-4-2 just now.

Results
Transfers