Update on my overall season:-

League - miserable 11th place finish, could have been 10th but for defeat from team just below me in last game! Record W10 D12 L12 GF 55 GA 41 Pts 42.

Knockout out of German Cup in Q/final by Bayern, and KO'd from UEFA in 1st knockout phase by Valencia.

Star player - Vasilis Tsartas (free transfer) Ave Rating 7.69 over 35 matches.

League finish: 8th
League Cup out 1st game
German Cup - 3rd round
Europe: knock out stages 4th in group of 5 behind Middlesburgh, Parma +2)

Kuranyi stopped scoring with 15 games to go. Very odd.
About a third of my signings are not settling so will need to be sold on (Balde already after a month unsettled and Alairdaire to go too).

Board want Europe place in season 2. Should be easy enough and I'm going for top 6 in season 2 with my starting season line-up as follows:-

1. Klos
2. Hinkel
3. Lahm
4. Zivkovic
5. Babbel
6. Tiffert
7. Basturk
8. Janczyk
9. Kuranyi
10. Heinz
11. Adu

Superkid Denis Berger AML remains in demand and will alternate with Adu.
Anyone else found any gems in youth ranks?

Berger is most definitely a good player.

Centurion is a decent left winger and i think he's a youth?

As for your side Mark:

I sent Lahm back to wherever he came from
Babbel has taken over from Hinkel at right back
Why is Hleb not in there?

Just played my first 3 league games with VFB. Haven't bought anyone yet, and the transfer dealine has passed, so i'll have to wait untill January to get someone if I need it. I lost to Nurnburg, and some other team, but just beat Hertha Berlin 2-0 Scraped past a non-league side 1-0 in the 1st round of the cup.

Kevin Kuranyi shined for me in pre-season, but has done bugger all in the league and cup. I've has Szabics sitting on the bench for a while, and in the two games that i've brought him on, he has scored on both occasions. I gave him his first start against Berlin and he got one of the 2 goals there, so he may replace Kuranyi unless Kevin gets his act together soon!

Mark:- How did you bring in all these players with such a small budget? Did you get rid of many players to be able to pay for it?

Commish did you buy Lahm? I only had him on loan till summer 05 I think...

Basturk and Heinz look like 2 good signings.

Think your DC is a little weak though, I have sold Zivkovic and I am trying to punt Babbel too. In fact need to sort out my defence once my players which are moving on in the summer have gone, and I see what transfer budget I have.

I thought the youths looked pretty poor, signed a couple of Scandinavian youngsters on my scouts recommendations, so hopefully in S2 or S3 they will be breaking into the first team.

Gone mad with new signings (12) - mostly free Bosmans - only two costing real cash.
Free's include...
Zenden (doing ok)
Batistuta (scoring goals for fun despite coaches advice not to sign him) (Kuranyi was injured - out for three months!)
Toledo (real rock in defence so far)
Reinke (1st choice GK - sold the other guy!)
Sousa (squad?)
Luft (squad player)
Coulibaly (squad player?)
Beinlich (squad player-but has very high ratings-bit old)
Moreno (struggling to settle in Germany and wants to leave!!!)
Richardson (from Man U on advice of scouting reports - and v hopeful for this youngster to progress)
Two players laid money out on were;
Mascherano (from River Plate) looking like a real superstar (£5M)
Viana (£2.5m) from Newcastle - slightly disappointing so far!
Tiffert my real star from start. Others from original squad doing well for me include Soldo, Kuranyi, Cacau and Babbel.

Update from me. Still in S1, and only 9 games into the season. My records are:-

9th W2 D5 L2 GF 10 GA 9 GD+1 Pts 11

Kuranyi started scoring again, Cacau starting to kick in a little too, Szabics put in some dire performances and rarely gets sub appearances now. Tiffert and Berger are absolutely on fire, my best players alongside Kuranyi by far. Got to group stages of UEFA, Heerenveen, Udinese, Steau Bucharest and Aigaleo. Played 1 game from that so far, beating Heerenveen 3-0 at home (Kuranyi Hat-Trick). Got knocked out of German Cup 2nd round away against Unterhaching (2-1 AET). Still not brought anyone else on board, as we're still in the Transfer Deadline.

Nilis - yes, I sold big players to fund new arrivals.
Yakin went to Bayern for 5M+
Hleb sold for similar fee.
Just keep offering players to clubs until someone bites.
Or pester Board to give you more funds.

Kev said he sent Lahm back to wherever he came from - there seems no other decent DL so I signed Lahm from Bayern after his loan deal for 2.3M. They wanted nearer 5M but I startig bidding at 1m.

I am trying to get Thomas Buffel to Stuttgart just now.....

Well, i've been sacked!

Dunno what happened. One minute we're beating teams like Werder Bremen 4-0, then without changing anything we dropped to bottom of the table?

Oh well, i'll just have to take them over again!

I thought I was doing badly! Well, I suppose mid-table is okay, especially for a total n00b like myself!

Not too surprised that you went though Kev, I mean, bottom of the table!!??? How many games were you into the season?

4-0 against Weder Bremen!!!!???? The beat me 4-0 when we met on my game!! Or was it 3-0?

...and there's me thinking I wasn't doing too good.
Just finished 4th in Season 3!

Well Kev, I am under pressure too from Stuttgart Board. Say my wages are far too high and I need to sort it out. Leaking goals all the time, but still winning more than losing.

Les - season 3? You need to start a new thread and summarise your season 3 update for us,
remember to note key signings for us

WHAT!? You're having a chuckle aren't you! I'm not even halfway through my first season yet, and my mum and dad are moaning at me for 'being on there too long'. They're just jealous because they didn't have this kind of technology in their day! And even if they did they don't have the brain capacity to be able to work it!

Well, i got myself back into the hotseat straight away. Continued playing the same tactics as i did before i got sacked, and guess what, i was practically unbeatable!

Finished Season one now and finished 8th:

P34 W13 D8 L13 F43 A48 Points 47

Line up:

GK Rensing (signed from FC Bayern - Recommended)
DR Babbel
DL Zivkovic
DC Soldo
DC Stranzl
AML Centurion
AMR Cerci (free transfer)/Tiffert
MC Vranjes/Berger
MC Hleb (Now worth £13.75m)
FC Cacau
FC Streller/Mokoena(Orlando Pirates)

Kuranyi requested a move. If anyone doesn't want to play for me then they go immediately, so he went to Monaco for £10.75m

Bought Anthony Vanden Borre on a free. Immediately hated Germany. Sold for £1m.

Sold that right back (Hinkel????) and the fans hated me. Sold Meira too.

Onto Season 2 we go!

I signed Mokoena in season 1, play him central midfield with an arrow going forward (when Hleb is out), and he scores a barrowload from midfield, was my top scorer in season 1, dwarfing Kuranyi's contribution to the team!