Return of the Mack: Final Episode!

With everyone raving about the new FM21, I still had to finish my current series.
So, after an incredible first season at the helm of the Superliga Team from "my town", the second season syndrome was looming over us.
Could we follow up our absolutely insane Superliga Title?
Would we crumble and turn into a relegation candidate?
Only time would tell!
But with a team flying high and a fanbase believing in miracles again, nothing seemed impossible!
So, let us get into the second season of my time in charge at Silkeborg IF.

July & the Undesirable Threesome:
There are generally 3 clubs in Denmark, that you don't want to face, because they are the 3 biggest clubs, both based on the fanbase, player material and finances.
FC København, Brøndy and Midtjylland.
So we started against Midtjylland, one of our biggest rivals based on location and I expected a tight game.
But I was very surprised! We smashed them 3-1 and I was a little shocked actually.
We played amazing and bossed them, from start to finish.
It was a good start to the season. 3 points and the bragging rights over FCM.
Next up was Brøndby and that was as expected. A boring draw, but right onto the next game. Yup, you guessed it.^
Bloody København.
Because why not start with the 3 biggest clubs!
Well, at least we had them at home. So that was good.
And boy was it good! Another absolute stunner! 2-0 and we sent the Lions back in the cage!
SIF are called The Otters and our mascot are these guys:

Big guy is Theis & then the little one, his son, Theisson. (I know! Creative!)

BUT. Three games down, 7 points and a top spot for SIF. Not bad at all!
I'm very impressed with that.

August & the Stairway to Heaven:

August brought our fist BIG challenge. The Champions League Qualification, 3 round!
We had been drawn against Harpoel and I honestly expected an easy job.
Alas. 'Twas not!
Here you go!

Now, the fast reader can see that we made it through to face Young Boys and that we pulled this out of our arses!
It was nerve-wracking!
But we made it through the Qualification and were now facing... "The Draw!"
I wonder who we would get. Hopefully an easy group. :)
Oh. Yeah, You are right! In the Superliga, we went through the month with all victories!!!
That's 7 games in and NO defeats. And we've even beaten the top teams.
Could this possibly be... Dare I say it... An Invincibles in the making??? Surely not. 
I hope I haven't jinxed it!
But let us get to the next month and find out who we're playing in the Champions League.

Oh FUCK OFF WILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What pish is this?!
This is ridiculous...
Our first time in the Champions League and we get Bloody Barca, Milan and Bayer... Surely that is not fair!?
I'm going to get absolutely whipped.
I'm not looking forward to this. I mean, maybe, just maybe, we can get a point against Bayer, but if we can keep Barca and Milan under 10, then I'll be very very happy.

Right, Enough. Let's get to the matches!

September & the First Taste of the Nectar:

Our first game in the Champions League was away at Milan.
A massive club and a Club that I have always had a little thing for. Basically because of Maldini, because. I mean. It's Maldini!!
Also, Thomas Helveg who had a great stint there. A Danish legend in his own right. 
Was it because his hair was always in place and perfect regardless of the weather?
Was it because he was just such a gentleman?
Or was it because he was a good, solid defender?
It was a perfect mix of all three. Like the perfect Dark'N'Stormy. Mmm... Yummy. I need one of those I think.
Right, onwards.
We, obviously, got thrashed!
But 6-0 was actually acceptable to me. I feared a lot worse, so to keep them in the single digits was approved.
So let us focus on something more interesting. The fact that we had gone another month, with only wins in the league and the cup.
11 games in, SIF were undefeated and there was this buzz around the ground.
Not so much about the Invincibles, but the smell of another Championship had started to fill the air.
A back to back in the Lake District would be utterly amazing. But, It is the hope that kills you, as they say.

October & the Reality Check:

Can you see it?
It is a goal against Barca! How amazing is that!
Oh, and it gets better.
A DRAW AGAINST BAYER LEVERKUSEN!!!!!!!
We actually got a point in the Champions League. That is, amazing.
I don't know how to describe this. But I am elated.
This was way beyond my hopes.
And, we can also chalk up another month without defeat in the league and Cup. 
Surely this is not right?
Am I missing something? Have I forgotten something?
I must have.

November & Dream Come True:

WE DID IT!!! We actually did it?! I can't believe this.
We won against Leverkusen and it wasn't a game that we were being bullied in. Not at all. It was a close and entertaining match. And, might I say. It was a deserved win!
We now have 4 points in the Champions League group and if Leverkusen doesn't beat one of the big guys, then we'll take 3rd and enter the Europa League.
Which is, I mean, above any and all expectation.
Oh. And also. ANOTHER MONTH WITH NOTHING BUT VICTORIES IN THE LEAGUE!
I can't believe this.
This season is already amazing.
2 victories over the "biggest club in Denmark" and once again the Lions was sent packing by the pack of Otters.
We might be small. We might be cute. But we will rip your face off mate!

December & the Dream that could be:

Right. Let us forget this CL for a second and look at the league.
We are now at the winter break and we are STILL undefeated.
We are solidly sitting on the top spot and are brushing every single contender away like flies.
I am no longer doubting that we will win the league. The only question for me now was if we could do it undefeated. That would be the pinnacle of everything.
Screw that we lost to Barca, I expected that.
The winter break just had to be done, so that we could move this on!
(yeah, I actually forgot to arrange training matches, because I was sorting tactics, players and scouting for the next big thing. Whoops)

February & the wibble wobble:

So, somehow managing to drag our arses into the K.O phase in the Europa League, the new year started with a bit of a hiccough.
We got AZ Alkmaar (who had another danish legend back in the day. Look up: Kenneth Perez.) and we had a chance. But we only JUST managed to take it.
2 draws, luckily with us scoring more goals away, sent us through to the next round.
Very, VERY good!
And, thought we coughed and spluttered in the league, we still managed to make it through with points in every game.
This could be a season for the history books, in more than one way!

March & the March Towards History:

In the next round of the EL, we got yet ANOTHER Dutch team.
PSV and a bigger challenge.
The first match was at home and we scored early and then just packed our own half.
A risky 1-0 victory and one step closer to the next round.
And back home in the Superliga, things had returned to normal.
1 draw against SønderjyskE, but the rest all victories, put even MORE space between me and number 2.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "But Simon, doesn't this league get decided by playoffs, like some shit American sport?"
And you are right.
The amount of points has absolutely NO FUC*ING RELEVANCE!!!!!!!!!
You can win every single game and then lose once in the Championship Playoff and lose the title.
I mean, that is an incredibly fuc*ed up and stupid way to decide anything.
I honestly think that it should be decided by the ones WHO HAS THE MOST POINTS!!
Yeah, sure. We only won it last year because of that, but now the situation is different and I am outraged that I can go undefeated and still lose the title because of one bad game.
Terrible.
Well, on to better things.
We got a lucky draw against PSV and made it through to the next round. 

Please, give me a terrible team.

April & the Fall from Grace:

What the... Ajax? Are you being serious right now? 3 Dutch teams, in three games... That is suspicious!
Oh well. From a lesser team to the biggest team.
I guess we'll take this as a challenge.

Because it was.
We obviously lost both games, but we did put up a fight. They were just the far, far, far better team. They passed the ball and waited and struck when we showed our bellies. Just like a top team does. The results really do not show the full picture, because they should have won with 4 and 5 easy.
Oh well. I still made it to the quarter-finals! That is some achievement for a little team like ours.
And all the while, we just KEPT on grinding out hard-earned points in the league.
Nearing the end of the season as undefeated, everybody wants to be the ones to beat to, so the games had become a lot harder and victories much smaller. But. A victory is a victory! And a point is a point.
We had a massive gap down to nr 2 and in any normal circumstance, we would have been named champions already. But, as you know, we don't work that way. 
Bollocks to it. We just have to keep on keeping on then!

May & the Close Call:
May arrived. The spring was glorious as it always is in Denmark and in the middle of Jutland, a little whisper could be heard... Let's move closer and see if we can hear what they are chanting...
"And now you gotta believe us, and now you gotta believe us...
AND NOW YOU GOTTA BELIEEEEEEVE UUUUUUUUUSSS!!!!
WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!!"

The Last game of the regular season, was against København and haven beaten them senseless every single time this season, their manager was out for blood.
Unfortunately for him. It ended up being his own blood!
We were now just 4 playoff games away from being undefeated.
Let me say that again.
Un... Defeated... UNDEFEATED! I can't believe that I am actually writing this. It blows my mind completely.
But, it's 4 games with maximum pressure. With the entire world watching. Waiting to see if a small team from Denmark, can emulate the mighty Arsenal and go undefeated an entire season.
I can't wait!!!
Let's go!

June & the Entry into the History Books:

Can you see it?
Take another look.
Please.
And then tell me that dreams don't come true and that its the hope that kills you.
This has been an absolutely insane season.

Let us look at some of the highlights!

To do this has been... A dream. What a way to say goodbye to FM20 and the incredible journey I have been on.
And, though I hated him when he joined, he became the first name on the team sheet, every week.
Ladies and gents... Jared "Bloody" Toyne!

Look at those attributes!
He has developed at a sensational speed at SIF and I take full responsibility for him, becoming an absolute world-beater.
This is what he looked like, when he first arrived.

Hold on a minute...
He's actually gotten worse!?!? :O Damn. What the Fluct. Well then. I guess that means I'm pretty shit.
Whoops... I guess...
Let us move on...
Please...

This is the overview and it is actually pretty bloody good! Least goals conceded, most goals scored, Most clean sheets & player of the match awards, all to my guys.
Toyne (Bloody Jared!!!) scored an incredible 33 goals across all competitions.
Anthony Swolfs kept a clean sheet in 27!!! matches... Twentyseven. That is so crazy, I had to spell that mofo out... Damn! That is a solid keeper.
Toyne, (honestly, BLOODY JARED!!!) got votes MoM a record 11 times.
And, Nedim Bajrami (Who plays for Northern Macedonia) made 11 assists. Not too much, but hey. Still more than Pogba the last 2 seasons! (I don't actually know if that's true, so don't hold it against me.)
And to top it all off.
Bloody Jared did this:

What a kiss-arse!
I can't wait to get away from him!!! Bloody Jared Toyne...

But yeah. That's it. That is the last update on FM20 for me.
What a rush. What a ride!
I can't belive the journey that I have been through and I absolutely cannot believe that you guys have been following me.
That really does mean a lot to me. :)

I'm still undecided on the new FM21 save, but I'll give you all a chance to decide.
Until then.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you for reading
& Thank you for your support.

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