10. C-League Season 2- Pre Season
Happy British New Year!
01/01/21
Happy British new year everybody! The first day of 2021 and it's about 32 degrees out there in sunny Cambodia! I am reliably told by my players and staff that the Cambodian New Year is actually in mid-April and is a time of great celebration, so today is just a normal day in Phnom Penh. The players are still a month away from coming back from their holibobs to start the pre-season in earnest. Therefore it's a good time for me to tell you about the new leagues I have introduced onto the game. As you remember at the very start of the Ultimate World Football Manager Game I drew ten random countries from a random country generator on t'interweb, well many of these such as Namibia, Bolivia and Lithuania for example are thousands of miles away from Cambodia and therefore of no real use in the game. These outlying countries were replaced with Asian Countries which neighbour Cambodia using the 'Add/Remove Leagues function on FM21.
Out of the original ten I have retained Hong Kong and The Maldives, due to their relative proximity to Cambodia. I have added neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Viet Nam, Laos, China, The Philipines, Malaysia and got rid of El Salvador, Namibia, Bolivia, Gibraltar, North Korea (close by but don't really want to go there), Lithuania and Fiji. This I hope will make it a more realistic game and eventually when I am allowed to scout outside of Cambodia I can tap into the footballing talent of these countries and even manage in one of them in the future. As you probably know they don't happen instantly, but they will be added and deleted over the course of the next year or so, starting from today, as I set the wheels in motion for this a few months earlier. Although this transition will take a year or so the Thai, Philipino, and Laotion leagues will be available from now, the 1st Jan 2021.
EDC’s Reputation in Cambodia
In light of
EDC’s survival in the C-League, our reputation has taken a small boost and we
have become the 20th best known team in Cambodia and with half a star.. Whoppety
doo! As there are only 13 other teams in the C-League this means there must be
6 Second Division teams with a higher reputation than us.
Pre-Season Friendlies
Although I am one of those FM players who places a high importance on pre-season friendlies I will breeze through each one with a brief match report.
Friendly 1: EDC 8-3 EDC Reserves 03/02/21
OK lets not
get too excited here, it was only against our reserves packed full of kids and
fringe players. Yes we looked good going forward, Chanraksmey scored a 1st
half hat trick, while new signing Keo Udom chipped in with three goals himself.
Substitutes Rotha and Tum Saray completed the rout, while Hem Chetra (just
before he left the club) scored twice for them in an impressive display on the
left wing, which gave me food for thought. We looked good, but we can only beat
what is in front of us. Let’s see what the next friendly brings!
Friendly 2: EDC 5-1 Kep – 08/02/21
A resounding
win against 2nd league opposition in Kep, although the scoreline
flattered us a little. Suon Veasna volleyed us into the lead but then we were
pegged back by Vannak’s close range effort. Keo Udom continued his good form
with a header, followed by Chanramsky. Young midfielder Ouch Udom scored from
the 6 yard box and Rotha completed the rout with a tap in. Good going forward,
but 12 shots to them shows a slight weakness still in defence.
Friendly 3 – CMAC 3-2 EDC – 12/02/21
That was
painful being turned over by a Second Division team, albeit one of the better ones.
My experimental 4-3-3 system initially blew up in my face as we looked clueless
both in attack and defence and conceded two soft goals, the first from a missed
header from a corner, the second god knows. A switch to the diamond formation
brought about a better performance in the second half. Sung Rot reduced the
deficit, before they broke away and scored again. Keo Udom made it 3-2 near the
end when he ran through on goal. Must do better.
Friendly 4 – EDC 2-1 Tay Ninh (VIE)
That’s better! A good solid win
against some decent Vietnamese opposition in the shape of Tay Ninh. We attacked
well, looked solid in defence for a change and thoroughly deserved to win the
game. I switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Chanraksmy the lone striker. He
put us in the lead when on loan DMC Yun Raksa played a hopeful ball forward in
which Chakramsky flicked the ball on. This seemed to confuse their keeper who
misjudged the bounce and dived over the ball which trickled into the net, much
to the surprise of everyone including Sok himself. The second was a thing of
beauty. Sub Tum Suray ran at the heart of the defence before unleashing a
ferocious 30 yard shot which thumped into the top corner! A well deserved 2-0
lead. Tay Ninh pulled one back late on, but a good performance and win
which bodes well for the season.
Friendly 5: Kampot 4-4 EDC
Now that was
exciting! I confess I put the kids out for this one, so we were far from full
strength. I paired young strikers Matt Voeun and Sam Chameroun together and
they were brilliant, bagging two goals each. Mol did well on the left wing and
Ramsakey on the right hand side. Not as bad as the score sounds, albeit against
a 2nd League outfit in Kampot. We would have thrashed them had I put
my full strength team out and we showed character from being 3-1 down in the 1st
half.
Board Confidence Update
They are pleased with my performace and the fans are happy with the transfers I have made, which is nice.
Friendly 6 – EDC 5-1 Kampong Cham
We were good, very good today. Starting in our improving 4-2-3-1 formation, against recently relegated Kampong Cham in which we could only muster a draw against in the final game of last season. New signing Keo Udom scored a 1st half hat trick and Tum Saray added two others to round off a top performance. However there is no use being flat track bullies and we have to do it when it really matters, starting with our first C-League match against Vishaka.
Friendly 7 – EDC 4-2 Tre Phanh Po Ho (VIE) 10/03/21
This was a good solid win against good Vietnamese opposition. We lined up again in a 4-2-3-1 formation which we have been working hard on in training. We did really well and controlled the game. From a throw in Veasna crossed in for Udom to sidefoot in the opener and only goal of the 1st half. Second half saw more of the same. Substiute Math Fasal crossed in for Veasna to sidefoot home, then Chanraksmy went on a delightful solo run which ended with him powering in number 3. The same player rounded off our scoring by poking in at the near post after good work from substiutue Ramasky. Just when I’d hoped we may keep a clean sheet they scored two consoloation goals at the end, but all in all a pleasing performance. Bring on the C-League, starting with Vishaka and the escaped North Koreans.
Pre-Season Betting Odds
EDC are 100-1 outsiders to win the C-League this season, making us the 8th most likely behind favorites, Beoung Ket and Vishaka. This is an improvement on the odds of 450-1 of last season. I think we can finish higher than last season in the top half of the table.
Pre Season Thoughts
As we
approach our first competitive game of the new season, 2021 I think we have a
stronger squad than last season, having strengthened in many problem positions
such as central defence, right back and midfield. Keo Udom our new striker
looks good, as does Sung Rot and Math Fasal on the left wing. The friendlies
have been in the main against teams we should beat and with only one defeat we
should take heart.
I think we
can finish mid-table this season and hopefully have a run in the Hun Sen (Prime
Ministers) Cup too.
EDC kick off their 2021 C-League Campaign against old foes Vishaka. How will we start the new season and are things all that they seem? Find out next time on the Ultimate World Football Manager Game!
Read the next part of the story: The Start of Season 2 but what's going on here
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