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

Real Sociedad News

Well as the readers of this blog will know by now i have a fairly healthy passion for all things Real Sociedad but trying to get up to date info on them in English is pretty much impossible - until now!! I have decided to take the matter into my own hands and have created Real Sociedad News. As with all new blogs its gonna take a while to build up a following of readers and just now i'm not sure how many Real Sociedad fans there are in the world but i'm sure i'll have fun updating it anyway. Any feedback or suggestions for it would be greatly appreciated.

Real Sociedad News

The Challenge Overview FM2009

Hi folks i have decided i'm going to use the same format as i used for the FM2008 Challenge as i feel it worked well. Last time out i managed to get 195 points with my 2 UEFA Cup wins making up the bulk of the points. I will be over the moon if i manage to do as well as that again on FM2009.

The aim of the challenge is to win Liga BBVA in 5 seasons. This is a very difficult challenge to do with Real Madrid and Barcelona being so strong so i have created a points system below so if all you managed in 5 seasons was a Spanish Cup at least you will have achieved something from the challenge.

Below is the points available for winning each trophy:-

2nd Division Champs = 20 points
1st Division Champs = 100 points
1st Division Runners Up = 50 points
1st Division 3rd Place = 25 points
Spanish cup = 50 points
Spanish Super Cup = 25 points
European cup = 150 points
UEFA cup = 75 points
European Super Cup = 25 points
World Club Championship = 50 points

Good luck to anyone who tries it - lets bring some glory to the mighty Real Sociedad!!

Sometimes You Just Fall In Love With FM

Is the name of a blog post on FM Style this month by the co-owner Jack Franklin. The reason its getting a mention on this blog is because of the part i'm currently playing in it. Now I had planned on not updating this again until the challenge starts but recently I started a network game with Jack. With season 1 just finished last night I couldnt believe how dramatic the finale was so felt it was my dutie to update here aswell!!

I am Aston Villa and Jack is Manchester City. With 3 games left before the end of the season he was top by 2 points with Arsenal in second place and I was in 4th chasing a Champions League place for next season. The next game was Aston Villa against Jacks City and with both us needing wins it was Villa that was victorious with a fantastic 3-1 victory although Jack is adamant 2 of the goals were offside!! It was all the sweeter after he beat me earlier in the season 3-2! The next game we both won so going into the final game Jack had Sunderland away and Arsenal had West Ham. To our amazement Arsenal lost so all Jack needed was a draw having superior goal difference. The result - Sunderland 1 Manchester City 0. I demolished Fulham 6 - 0 to consolidate 4th but my eyes were on msn as Jack let rip! Never before had i seen such a painful end to a season on a network game. It was all the more painfull since he had already lost the League Cup Final to Man Utd. To Jacks great relief he got Revenge on Man Utd by beating them in the FA Cup 3-1 so the night wasn't a total disaster.

League Table
Star Player Alvarez (wow!)
Season Summary

You can follow our exploits on Jacks blog he has set up on FM Style. As a member you get your own blog and can tell the world anything you like it doesn't even have to be about FM. The other co-owner Mal has a fantastic blog on his trials and tribulations being a season ticket holder with Stoke City in their debut Premiership season.

If Real Life Is Anything To Go By...

With FM2009 due to be released this month i am now looking forward to taking on The Real Sociedad Challenge again and getting this blog back on track and back to its original purpose. I was delighted by the amount of people that took on the challenge for FM2008 and hope to see many more doing it for FM2009.

If real life is anything to go by its gonna be very difficult and much harder than last time. Below are all the pre-season tranfers comings and goings.

Transfers in: Rivas (Cádiz - loan period ended), Sergio Rodríguez (Alavés), Marquitos (Villarreal - one year loan), Moha (Espanyol), Necati Ates (Galatasaray - one year loan), Boukary Dramé (Sochaux - one year loan), Zubikarai (junior teams).

Transfers out: Delibasic, Víctor (Mallorca - loan period ended), Fran Mérida (Arsenal - loan period ended), Martí (Sevilla - loan period ended), Nacho (Getafe - loan period ended), Garitano (Alavés), Uranga (Castellón), Vaughan (Blackpool), Riesgo (Recreativo - one year loan), Larrea (Levante), Mikel Balenziaga (Athletic Bilbao), Skoubo (Utrecht), Novo, Víctor López (contracts ended).

The signings that have stood out for me are midfielder Mohammed El Yaagoubi (Moha) signed from Espanyol and Turkish Striker Necati Ates who has been brought in from Galatasaray on a 1 year loan deal. Moha is a combative midfielder and Ates is a powerful striker.

Things haven't started well for Txuri-urdin though and after 9 games played they are in a very disappointing 14th place with only 2 victory's in the league so far. Their plight hasn't been helped by the fact their Turkish striker Ates has been injured and only played 1 game so far for the club. Hopefully now though he can form a lethal partnership with Iñigo Díaz de Cerio afer the latter managed a healthy 16 goals last season.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Kenan Kodro is on FM2009 and if he has improved since 2008. If he is half decent i will no doubt have another crack at trying to groom him into becoming a superstar.

Thanks for reading and i hope this has possibly wetted your appetite to take on the challenge for FM 2009. A few of the lads on FM Style including Vincent have already said they will be taking on the challenge so a thread will be started on there if you want to discuss signings, tactics etc and post your progress on there. I have decided i won't be starting the challenge on the demo thats released but will wait for the 14th November official verion instead however for anyone who is starting it on the demo feel free to update me as usual by posting comments on this blog or on FM Style. Adios for now amigos.

*Edit* Screenshots are from the latest FM2009 Demo and can be downloaded by visiting the News Of The Word Website.

FM Style Member Of The Month

Haven't updated this for a while so i thought i'd let you all know what i've been up to in the world of Football Manager. Firstly i'll explain the gold medal to the left. This is the actual (yes actual) gold medal i received from FM Style for winning the member of the month award - click here to see.
On a more disappointing note my attempts to take Newport County from the Blue Square South to the Premiership ended in misery when i was relegated back to the Blue Square South on the last game of the season. I had to beat Burton at home and lost the game 2-0 at home. I also suffered a heartbreaking defeat a few games earlier when i lost the Setanta Shield final 4-3 to Northwich so after the relegation i did the honourable thing and resigned. I have one more game in me before the return of The Real Sociedad Challenge on FM2009 and will fill the gap between now and then by going Fenerbahce. A recent holiday to Turkey for a week has got me in the mood for playing the Turkish league.

If you haven't already get yourself registered on FM Style and see if you can bag yourself the newcomer of the month award! Tell em Kovacevic sent ya! Adios amigos.

FM Style - The Best FM Site On The Scene

Of course that i just an opinion but its my opinion and i believe its true. Let me explain why. In my last post i said i was giving FM2008 a break as my motivation for the game was gone. That was until i stumbled across FM Style - a brand new site on the FM Scene. At first i thought i was gonna be like all the others out there at the moment, i would post a few times then lose interest. I couldn't be more wrong. The guys that run the site Jack and Mal are a great couple of guys and everyone who posts regular are friendly and easy going. My user name on it is Kovacevic after the legend of course.

I have re-kindled my love for the game after taking on a challenge set to take a Blue Square South team to the Premier League. I am Newport County as are a few of the other guys and it won't be long before the banter starts flying as it becomes more competetive. I have 2 games left to play of season one and have just won the league. Click here to see. You can follow me and the guys progress on the BSN/S Discussion Thread.

If you are fan of FM2008 then you owe it to yourself to head over now and get yourself registered. Start of by introducing yourself in the "welcome thread" and remember to post well. Lets make FM Style the most talked about and successful site on the scene and tell e'm Kovacevic sent ya! CLICK HERE to get started and i'll see you in there!