Today we are venturing very much into the unknown.
I was invited to take part in this crazy joint save that includes DP-FM, FirstEmperorLee, Off The Bar FM, FMAdvancedPlaymaker and Jed & Keaty (Please go and check out these awesome creators)
In this save we will be taking charge of Indonesian Minnows, Tiga Naga and we will be doing so as South Korean footballing legend Cha Bum-Kun.
The save started way back with DP-FM (Scott) so before reading on, here is Episode 1 of this journey.
To summarise there are three simple rules of the save.
A trophy must be won at the current club before moving on to a new club or league.
To keep the next player guessing, no direct updates regarding results or moves can be given outside of each players chosen way of broadcast.
When you take over on your turn, you can do whatever you want with the squad. Buy/sell who you want, change the tactics, the staff…treat it like your personal save!
We jump aboard the Express in season 5 and we have some big shoes to fill. DP-FM (Louis) managed to miraculously get this team of part timers promoted from League two, and possibly an even bigger achievement, Off The Bar FM kept us there.
Rule 3 of this save is the most interesting one for me because the team has been successful over the last few seasons but I am a creature of habit and like to play the game in a certain way.
I have never managed at such a low level and I am sure I will have to evolve and adjust as the season goes on.
So lets start with a quick round up of what happened after I loaded up the save through to the transfer window and pre season.
First of all, our expectations for the season.
As expected we are only looking to fight bravely against relegation. The board haven't changed their ambition after a fantastic season last time around.
This sits pretty well with the Season preview that sees us predicted to finish bottom with league title odds of 2000-1. Put that in comparison, the team one place above us has odds of 200-1.
We were dealt a backroom staff blow as our trusty right hand man was poached by league 2 side Cilegon United. We wish Bento all the success at his new club.
We were offered the chance to leave ourselves, but as rule one of the save has not been achieved, I politely declined.
A shame as Persebaya are a top League One team. Hopefully an opportunity like this will come around again.
The off field personnel changes continue as our owner has decided to retire and step back from "Hands - on Roles" what ever that means.....
Thanks to the last few seasons of success we also received a small reputation boost
Transfers
This will be the first chance I will have to impose my style on the club and recruit players I believe will fit the way I like to play.
So lots of free signings coming in with two loans and a sale of up to 2.2k too.
Jimmy Sudarma is going to be our first choice right back as we were lacking in that area.
Dico adds some Brazilian flair to the Indonesian First division (Well hopefully). He is an attacking midfielder with great technique and a good first touch.
David Taufik is a strong option at left back and will offer good competition for the starting spot.
Akbar Rambe is a strong option up front, especially as a poacher role.
M. Awang Kechik will be a squad player in the centre of a park.
Pre Season
The other contributors warned me about pre seasons in this league as there not many options available so I put the calls out to everyone i could and assembled as competitive a pre season as possible.
Strong wins in the first 3 games with a disappointing loss to PSPS who are newly promoted to League 1. Another strong victory and a weird 2-2 draw with the development squad ended pre season.
Tactics
Now I have found a lot of success with the first tactic on other saves, especially my Wycombe Wanderers Journey where we are the perennial underdogs.
It requires the Full backs to bomb forward with both wide attackers cutting inside off of the wings to allow overlaps.
The two central midfielders are on DLP and BBM with the DLP being asked to stay deep.
This second tactic I have created for this save. Now it doesn't look very adventurous but the plan is simple. Get the ball to the front three as quickly as possible.
The front three players are our best three players so i need them to be involved as much as possible.
The wide midfilders will offer support and the Defensive midfielder will barely move from covering the back 4.
So lets get to it. The season begins now.
April 2025
Match 1 - PSPS (A) 2-2
Our first game of the season started with us giving away a 1st minute penalty which was easily converted. We recovered well as Joko Riyanto got his first goal of the season 5 minutes later. We conceded again but were in the game and got our reward in the 89th minute as Riyanto got his second of the game in the 89th minute.
Riyanto's first goal was an absolute rocket off of his left foot from 35 yards into the top corner. Goal of the season contender in the 6th minute of the season.
Match 2 - Bali United (H) 0-1
Our first home game ended in defeat as we lost 1-0 to a 46th minute goal.
Poor performance but no need to panic just yet.
Match 3 - Tira Persikabo (A) 0-2
Another loss without troubling the scoreboard.
We were completely outplayed and deserved the loss. I will be switching to tactic number 2 in the next game to try and find some goals.
Match 4 - Madura United (H) 2-0
Cha Bum-Kun isnt known as a tinkerman, yet. However if we keep performing like this after a tactic change then who knows.
We reverted to the 4-1-2-1-2 formation and Dico, Riyanto and Rambe ran the show just as i had hoped.
Rambe scored his first for the club in the first half and Ulhaq got his first for the club in League 1 after not registering a goal all of last season.
All in all not a bad start to the season. A couple of poor games but I am exited to see how these three attackers perform together in this new formation.
The league table is below.
Next episode will cover a lot more of the on field action after a bit of an introduction/recap today.
If you are a regular reader i hope you have enjoyed this new save. Please give all the fellow creators who linked at the top a follow on twitter and check out their progress with this save and their solo ones too. There are some fantastic stories out there!
Cheers
Panda
Please check out our main save, The Wycombe Wanderers Journey from its inception below.
We also have an fascinating International save going as we attempt to take Jamaica to Gold Cup and World Cup glory after acquiring some new recruits who have been ignored repeatedly by England