The Ultimate World Football Manager Game

  A couple of days after our stunning but ultimately futile 7-2 victory over Phnom Penh Crown I arrived at the training ground to tie up some loose ends with the players for the season, following a light session to keep them going and a fun kick around.  As I pulled into the car park at Prey Veng I looked over to the training field and noticed a bunch of kids having a game of football. I did not recognise them as my Under 21 squad, or my reserves. There seemed to also be a coach with them, who was joining in the game. Puzzled I parked up and approached them. "Who are these kids, they can't just come in here and start playing football, we have a first team training session today!" The game stopped and the adult walked over and smiled, clutching a football. "Morning boss, lovely day!" he smiled. "And who on earth are you?" I enquired. "Mr Rudd, my name is Chan Vannak. I'm your Head of Youth Development." By this time the kids were sitting o...

                                  Prime Minister of  Cambodia Hun Sen Picture Credit: Roman Kubansky wikipedia There is an old saying, 'Never mix sport and politics.' It seems though this saying never crossed the Gulf of Thailand into Cambodia, as their principle cup competition is named after their Prime Minister, Hun Sen. This guy has been in office since 1985 and is one of the longest serving leaders in the world. Naming your major cup competition after your Prime Minister got me thinking, what if they did this back in England? Currently the FA cup would be known as The Boris Johnson Cup and I can imagine that Liverpool and Everton fans would be horrified at the thoughts of their teams winning the Margaret Thatcher Cup back in the 1980s. Anyway Hun Sen apparently will be there at the Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium to present the trophy to the winners, either us or Nagaworld. Match 30: Hun Sen Cup Fi...

                                Picture Credit: Photo Dharma wikipedia creative commons                        The C-League Table with 2/3 Games to go The Run In We have the hardest last two games of the league season, with trips to rivals, Nagaworld and Phnom Penh Crown, who are in 5 th  and certainly no pushovers. Therefore we must beat Nagaworld as they have relegated Kirivong at home on the last game, which as we found won’t be a gimme, but someone they should beat. Boeung Ket also face the bottom side and the unpredictable National Defence. It seems as if Kirivong will also have a big say in the destination of the C-League title. EDC 16 th  October: Nagaworld (a) 18th October Nagaworld (a) (Prime Minister's Cup Final) 31 st  October: Phnom Penh Crown (a) Beoung Ket 23 rd  October: Kirivong (a) 31 st  October: National D...

"If EDC win the C-League it would be the biggest footballing shock since Leicester City won the 2015/16 Premier League season in Rudd's home country of England and there are certain elements in the C-League who would want a similar thing to happen here in Cambodia, to put it on the footballing map. It is obvious to me and to other managers in the league that some teams are not trying hard enough to beat them in order to make this dream a reality." - Sam Chanvirak - Nagaworld Manager My season so far with EDC has been in some ways amazing and in some ways frustrating that a slight run of bad league form has enabled the chasing pack to catch up with us. We do have a game in hand on those against bottom of the table Kirivong, who have been useless all season and have just sacked their manager. While there is sure to be high drama on the pitch, the off the field battle has also commenced. Printed in the Phnom Penh Gazette was an article by Nagaworld manager, Sam Chanvirak. I ...

             Picture Credit: Noah Saltzman wikipedia creative commons Currently EDC are together in electric dreams, over halfway through the season, eight points clear and favourites one would think to easily do the unthinkable and win the Cambodian C-League at a canter. Football though is a cruel game and Football Manager can be even crueller when the inner gods which lurk inside the game suddenly turn against you... Add to that complacency and tiredness and suddenly what seemed so simple can become very difficult indeed...  Match 21: EDC v National Defence – Prime Minister’s Cup Quarter Final Pre-Match Thoughts After a great run in the league we now turn our attentions to The Prime Minister’s Cup Quarter final against National Defence. I really wanted a good cup run this season and thought at the start this would be our best chance of silverware because there was no way we could win the league. As things have turned out there is a chance we...

My little fancied team. Electricitié Du Cambodge have lit up the C-League with some impressive results and performances, as we find ourselves five points clear at the top of the C-League, halfway through the season. Can we continue our amazing start to the season, starting with a home game against familiar foes, Vishaka? Suon Makara Announces Retirement I start with some sad news. My versatile D/MC, Suon Makara has announced he will not be renewing his contract and will seek to wind down his career. Makara put in some steady performances during our survival season last year, but has been on the fringes this term, apart from a few appearances in the Prime Minister’s Cup. We wish him all the best in his future career. His professionalism in the squad will be missed. Match 17 EDC v Vishaka 04/07/21 Vishaka are familiar foes and yes the North Koreans are still going strong. They lie in 7 th place, but this belies their ability. Mihalevic is still up front and we will have to watch he ...