It's Daejeon (FM 2014)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Daejeon, South Korea

The nation's fifth-largest city with a population of more than 1.5 million.

Centrally located, the city grew rapidly when a dozen government functions were relocated from Seoul in the 80's.

18 universities and over 100 research facilities has led to the area being known as "The Silicon Valley of South Korea"

The Daejeon World Cup Stadium was completed in 2002, in time for the event, and is now the home of 3 lower division clubs as well as K-League member Daejeon Citizen.

That's where I come in.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Daejeon Citizen was founded in 1997, the first "community club" in the nation.

In simple terms (although it was never quite so simple) that means that Daejeon was the first professional club that wasn't owned by one of the "chaebols", what we'd call conglomerates like Samsung or LG or Hyundai.

Instead, four corporate groups shared control of the club, with the eventual intent to issue shares to private citizens. And then 1998 came, three of those groups collapsed during what is locally referred to as "the IMF Crisis". Companies like those that were on the Daejeon board -- and many larger -- went bankrupt, unemployment & uncertainty were widespread. Underfunded, Daejeon Citizen languished in the lower reaches of the K-League, even as it expanded to take in more clubs.

Then came 2001, a new manager and the first piece of silver in club history, an FA Cup win and qualification for the AFC Champions League. Despite the success on that stage, the club still remained in the bottom of the K-League table through the next season.

Then came "The Miracle of 2003", led by yet another manager. Daejeon native Choi Yun-Gyeom returned home after his playing career had ended and a brief stint leading Bucheon SK (now Jeju United), leading the club to a 6th place finish and the Group Stage of the AFC Champions League. Sadly, the club would revert to form in the decade that followed, finishing only as high as sixth one other time -- earning them their only playoff qualification in the yet-again restructured K-League -- eventually being relegated to the 2nd tier K-League Challenge division at the end of 2013.

Changes were in order. It's time, once and for all, for Daejeon to not only rise but to flourish. The infrastructure is in place: a great home, a thriving metropolis that continues to grow, a city that expects achievement.

It's time for the club that belongs to the city to have football success worthy of the civic success.

It's time.

It's Daejeon.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 27, 2014

I'm a 46 year old American, with a national reputation that's probably built more than anything on the novelty of me being in charge.
The board pays me $3,500/wk and gives me a contract through the end of 2015.

Time to see what's actually here, or what "here" consists of anyway.

In addition to the senior club, there's also a reserve team that doesn't play regularly and a U18 system that's basically Chungnam MT High School. We have a salary budget of $53,734/wk ($53,007 already spent) and a $0 transfer budget.

---------
In addition to the President and Managing Director above me, my staff consists of an outspoke, volatile, confrontational disciplinarian Assistant Coach Cho Jin-Ho. He's also fairly professional and has been quite helpful in my first 24 hours.

Below him are a GK coach, 2 regular coaches, a Head Physio and a Chief Scout.

Unfortunately for me, they aren't very good at much of anything.

Fortunately for me, the board has given me tremendous leeway in assembling a staff. They actually "advise" up to 23 staff members instead of the current 6.

Let's work on that, maybe not all of it. I'm too hands-on to want a Director of Football just yet.

1) Who the hell hired a Chief Physio with Physio of 7?
2) Who the hell hired a Chief Scout with JAbility and JPotential of 8 each?
3) Who the hell paid these rubbish more than virtually any player on the roster?

I don't like the scouting situation but with a buyout that would cost the club $160,000, I'll try to live with it for a while.

The physio situation on the other hand, that's not good at all.
I'll pay $70k to send Lee Kyoo Seong on his way.
Replacements are being negotiated.
As are additions to other areas of the staff.

------------

I've been through the files, the reports, I've seen the stats.
Now I suppose it's time to meet the players.

First, according to my Assistant, I need to settle on the captain & vice-captain. I'll trust his judgement, leaving 25 y/o DMC Kim Tae-Yeon at Captain and assigning 29 y/o DC Kim Young-Bin as his deputy. I figure the players have been shaken up enough by my hiring, let's not rush anything here.

And then off to the team meeting, this ought to be ... interesting.

----------

The captain welcomes me to the club.
Cautiously I'm positive about our chances and think we could win promotion.
The captain assertively wants to worry about one game at a time.
The vice-captain assertively urges his fellow toward promotion.

I cautiously disagree with the captain, saying that if everyone performs at their best then the goal is reachable.

The captain assertively says maybe I'm right and those expectations are fine.
I'm close by saying that's exactly the reaction I was after.

13 players reacted well.
8 players reacted badly.

Well, hmm.
I feel kind of like Cleavon Little at the moment.

[BYU 14]

Nice start

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Nice start

Thanks.

I'm really REALLY almost overwhelmed right now. The enormity of dealing with 60 someodd names that defy English convention is a challenge by itself. And then to discover how different the roster is from any that I've had before -- totally dictated by their past formation(s) apparently -- never had one that was this far off from anything I try to do tactically, never had one that felt this limited, despite being above the usual quality of players I start with overall.

I also didn't necessarily intend a dynasty per se, but I wanted to use a league that had more than one level (in vanilla) and one that hadn't been done here before just in case I later shared it (I didn't find any SK usage when searching the dynasty thread) and then when trying to pick a team I was reading about both the K-League & a lot of the teams. And then, well, the possible motivation & goals started to form in my head and ... well, every dynasty writer here knows how that goes

And, just FTR, I don't intend to abandon my FM12 run with Blyth that I recently resumed. I just really wanted to get a look at the changes in FM14 and what better way to do that than by playing it?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 27, 2014 (continued)

Now then, about all those players in the room a little while ago.

There were 61 players in all, plus 1 player injured & away from training, plus 5 away on loan. That accounts for the 68 players currently under contract to the club.

Of that 68, 5 are indeed away on loan, costing us $8,625/wk
Of the 63 remaining, 17 are on youth contracts of $110/wk ($1,870/wk total)
Of the 46 remaining, 1 is on loan to us, costing us $0
Of the 45 remaining, 22 are Reserves, costing us $11,200/wk
The 23 remaining are currently 1st Team, costing us $25,350/wk

Salaries range from $4,800/wk for DC Yoon Weon-II to several reserves making $275/wk

The good news is that all of the Senior & Reserve players (except our 1 loan-in) are contracted through the end of 2015; i.e. next season.

The bad news is that all of the Senior & Reserve players (except our 1 loan-in) are contracted through the end of 2015; i.e. next season.

---------

See, here's the thing: I want to play a 4-4-1-1 ... except the roster I inherited has virtually no one on the first team that has ever played at ML or MR.

That means that, at least until I can shape the roster, we'll likely spend a lot of time playing the narrow 4-1-3-2 that my Ass't recommends.

There were 24 players assigned to the first team when I arrived.
10 of our 11 projected starters are veterans of the club.

7 of the 13 of the non-starters have not played a league match for us.
8 of the senior squad are listed as "wanted" by another club, but only one projected starter.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 27, 2014 (con't)
Some of the squad decisions and some of the transfer decisions just make no sense at all, at least not with what I plan on doing.

24 y/o AMC Hwang Myung-Gyu is de-listed and promoted to Senior squad
22 y/o MC/DR/DMC Lee Kwang-Jin promoted to Senior squad
27 y/o DC Kim Song-Joo sent to Reserves, listed to sell at whatever price
31 y/o WR Kim Han-Sup sent to Reserves, listed to sell at half price

Kim Han-Sup wants to talk to me. Interestingly, he's not upset (apparently) about being sent to the Reserves or being transfer listed, he just doesn't want to go out on loan. Okay, that's cool, no loan list then.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 28, 2014

At this point, as a new day arrives, I should probably let you in on what I'm thinking about the season ahead.

It's 40 days until the regular season begins, and it isn't an easy schedule. 45 games, 5 against each of the other 9 teams in K-Challenge. The fixture list is basically Sat + Wed matches most weeks between mid-March and the end of November. Of course that doesn't include the various Cup matches and any other what not.

I really envision, at this point at least, a very rotation oriented roster. Not from squad to squad perhaps but more of a rolling lineup based on fitness & availability. Projected starters, as of today, in bold

There are currently 3 clear standouts here
DR/DC Rim Chang-Woo, 4.0 star loanee
MC Kim Jong-Gook, 4.0 star with 24 matches for us
DC/DR/DL Yoon Weon-II, 4.0 with 34 matches for us

Then come 5 players that look like obvious starters
ST Lee Dong-Hyun, 3.5 star with 52 matches
MC Hwang Jin-San, 3.5 star with 80 matches
DMC/MC Kim Tae-Yeon, 3.5 star with 185 matches, captain
DC/DL Lee Jung-Yeol, 3.5 star with 93 matches
DC/DR/DMC Kim Young-Bin, 3.5 star with 64 matches

Then come 7 players that seem capable or starting or playing regularly
DC/DMC/MC Ahn Young-Gyu, 3.0 star with 14 matches
DC/DR Park Tae-Su, 3.0 star with 17 matches
MC Ji Kyeong-Duk, 3.0 star with 51 matches
GK Kim Sun-Kyu, 3.0 star with 57 matches
MC Kim Sung-Soo, 2.5 star with 11 matches
MC Kim Pyung-Jin, 2.5 star with 2 matches
AMC/MC Hwang Myung-gyu, 2.5 star with 28 matches

Then comes the rest of the senior squad
ST/AMC Seo Myung-Won, 2.0 star (4.5 potential) with 0 matches
MC Kwon Soon-Gyu, 2.0 star with 0 matches
ST Lee Kook-Ho, 2.0 star with 0 matches
DC Kim Dong-Hyeok, 2.0 star with 0 matches
MR Kim Min-Joong, 2.0 star with 0 matches
MC/DMC/DR Lee Kwang-Jin, 2.0 star (4.0 potential) with 17 matches
DC Jeong Hwuy, 2.0 star with 0 matches
MC/DMC/DC Jeong Seok-Min, 2.0 star with 36 matches
GK Park Joo-Woon, 1.0 star with 0 matches

To my eye, the most obvious need is probably at GK and another solid ST, in addition to acquiring/developing players comfortable playing a true ML/MR wide midfield role.

Problem is, or among the problems anyway, that we're very tight on payroll budget, only enough room to add a low/mid level player right now. I'm hopeful that we can move at least a few players that are surplus to requirements, free up some space for at least one upgrade.

There's not a ton of help likely from the Reserve squad as it currently stands.
6 players rated 2.0 stars for current ability
6 players rated 1.5 stars for current ability
2 1.0 star current, 4 0.5 star current, 3 0.0 star current
No player with potential rated above 2.5 star

The players we have out on loan at the moment are certainly an issue.
All 6 are serving their compulsory military committment, 5 at Police and 1 at Sangju. Half are 3.0 star current, half are 2.5 star current, all would either star or see significant action. A bigger issue is that we're paying 100% of their salaries, some $8,600/wk, which is more than 20% of our current spending on players.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tue Jan 28, 2014 (continued)

Oh goody, I start the day by meeting the press. I sort of forgot that I agreed to do that when I met with the board a few days ago.

I praise the chairman's commitment to the club, explain that I'm happy with the direction we're heading.

Interesting question about the language barrier, I point out that soccer is a universal language.

I deflect a question about possible upheaval and changes.

They give me a great question about the downward trend for the club, I hit passionately hit one of my key points: that this club deserves to be doing much better and if I can play a part in moving it that way then I'll be happy.

I give the wily reporter from the SK Soccer Post nothing to his question about whether I'm hands-on or hands-off.

I calmly admit that things are in place to make an immediate challenge for promotion.

And no, devious Mr. SK Soccer Express dude, I'm not prepared to discuss transfer policy here today.

I'm caught a bit off guard when asked (by (devious SK Soccer Express guy again) about the expectations that Hwang Jin-San will be leaving the club. I cautiously say I want him here & will do what I can to ensure that.

And, finally, the grilling ends.

------------

We've made our first few additions to the club:

Scout Park Jong-Sung, $500/wk through next season. He's a 12a/11p 38 y/o. Hopefully he'll step up our scouting efforts immediately.

Head Physio Adam Rotchstein, $1,100/wk through next season. Language barrier my ass, He's 13 Physio / 14 Motivation / 12 Discipline. A major upgrade from the band-aid and aspirin dispenser we had.

U18s Coach Eddie Johnson, $900/wk through next season. A well-rounded coach that recently ended his playing career with Portland of the MLS after spending most of a decade playing in the U.K.

Physio Lee Kyung-Tae, $600/wk through next season. A decent doc, couldn't motivate starving dogs to fresh meat however. He's here to support Rotchstein.

-------------
And thus ends a long day on the job

[JonInMiddleGA]

Fri Jan 31, 2014

42 y/o veteran Canadian striker Carlo Corazzin has agreed to terms ... as a scout. At just $400/wk through next season he seems like a good risk despite his lack of knowledge in the region.

---------
Sat Feb 1, 2014
We have made our first player acquisition. Coming to the club on loan through the end of the season is 21 y/o DL Park Sun-Joo, from Pohang. Our supporters are pleased to have acquired a player of his caliber and hope his experience (3 whole matches) with bigger clubs will serve us well.

He projects to be our starting DL, allowing Lee Jung-Youl to rotate time as both his backup and at DC.

------------

Mon Feb 3, 2014
Congratulations are in order for Seoul head coach Choi Yong-Soo, named today as the new boss of the SK National Team. After a 17 year playing career that saw him play nearly 250 matches and score 128 league goals in addition to 67 caps with 27 goals in international competition, he coached Seoul to the K-League Classic title in 2012 while still just 38 years old.

At the advice of Coach Eddie Johnson we've asked Yoon Weon-II to tutor Kim Yung-Seung. Both players were agreeable to the suggestion.

28 y/o Argentinian MC Cristian Sanchez Prette has joined the club on trial. Not sure that we could find the budget to afford him but he's likely a top member of the roster if things happened to work out.

Looking at our various status reports I noticed that our payroll budget has suddenly increased (without notice) to $54,656. That's about $900 higher than it was when we were hired, not sure where that came from but it's good to know.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Feb 5, 2014

Our first match of the pre-season, a friendly at home against K-Classic side Jeonbuk. This might get ugly. We haven't played yet while they've got a 4-0 friendly win over a lower division side under their belt already. We're not match fit, we don't know even the more comfortable 4-1-3-2 very well yet.

90 minutes later, we've managed a 1-1 draw. Player of the Match DC Kim Young-Bin scored with a header off a nice corner feed from Prette just 3 minutes into the match, the favorites leveled at 55'. We mostly held our own, outshot them 15-12 but struggled to finish in spite of having 9 shots on target and 4 clear cut chances.

While Young-Bin (7.7) and Prette (7.6) stood out on the plus side, strike Lee Dong-Hyng (6.1) and DC Yoon Weon-II (6.3) didn't have the best of days.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thu Feb 6, 2014
While our Reserves play a friendly for fitness purposes, I attend Trial Day at Chungju Stadium. A rather dull 1-0 affair decided by a goal at 90+1, despite one side being a man short after a red card at 40'. Just 13 shots all day, only 5 on target.

Upon returning I'm told that DC Kim Young-Bin (he of the only goal in yesterday's friendly) wants to talk to me. Turns out he wants a bigger club, I point out that we will BE a bigger club soon as we win promotion, surely by the end of next season at the latest. That's not fast enough for him, I point out that he's being disrespectful and he backs off, promising to focus on his play.

Our Reserves beat Seoul Martyrs FC 2-0 in that fitness friendly. Goals by Soo-Min (61') and Ik-Seong (65') highlighted a fairly dominant outing. The win did exact a price, backup striker Yoo Sung-Gi suffered a broken ankle & will be out for three months.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sat Feb 8, 2014
The media around here sure is nosy. SK Soccer Express journalist wants to know if we would move Young-Bin to Busan, I give him nothing. Then he wants to know about whether we would move Hwang Jin-San to Incheon, I decide to admit that I'd consider it ... but only for the right price. MC is one of our stronger areas and if I got the right middle six-figure offer (which would then create a transfer budget for me to use), sure I'd think about it.

Meanwhile, DC Kim Dong-Hyeok has a virus. Damn doc, send him home, two weeks or whatever. Don't need that going around.

------------

Mon Feb 10, 2014

Well, in for a penny ... 26 y/o striker Kim Seong-Min is pleased to have agreed to terms with Daejeon. He'll get $725/wk plus usual incentives. He's an unusual combination on the pitch, capable of playing both striker and DMC (but awkward at the spots in between). He's a product of Honam University, playing briefly for Gwangju FC back in 2011.

Our staff immediate recommends him as the highest rated striker on the roster.

And of course, there's an apparently obligatory press conference (did I mention how nosy these SOBs are?) Not once, not twice but thrice did I have to insist that I would not be discussing tactical plans with the media today.

-----------
Wed Feb 12, 2014

Sometimes you miss out. Sanchez Prette played one trial match for us, signed with K-Classic side Chunnam just days later. But hey, we couldn't pay him over $8k/week like they just did, so good for him I guess.

Out goes one trialist, in comes another. 35 y/o Elbekay Bouchiba comes in on trial. Yes, I said 35 years old, hush. He's a Dutch veteran who has played in Holland, Qatar and briefly in the U.S.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Feb 12, 2014 (con't)
Another friendly against another K-Classic side, this time Gyeongnam comes to call. And it's another 1-1 draw, with a goal at 29' from the just-signed Seong-Min (7.2), assisted by PotM Dong-Hyng (7.3). They leveled things at 40'. A little disturbed that we were outshot 10-3 but nothing terrible overall.


Thu Feb 13, 2014
Oddsmakers pick Gangwon as 1:2 favorites to win promotion from K-Challenge this year ... with us next at 4:6. Other contenders are expected to include Anyang, Gwangju, Goyang and Daegu.

Fri Feb 14, 2014
We decline an out of the blue loan offer from Red Star Belgrade. They wanted DC Lee Jung-Youl for the upcoming season. Right now he's my top reserve at both DL and DC, hard to see giving him up unless he comes to me and asks for it or something.

Aaaaand about 15 minutes later, guess who knocks on my door. Sigh. Hey, if you don't want to be here, I'll see what I can do.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sat Feb 15, 2014
Anotehr friendly, hosting K-Classic side Incheon today. We'll use more of the backups today as most of the projected starters are still a bit tired from Thursday's match. We'll also break out a different formation, the basic 4-4-2.
Probably get our clocks cleaned.

Instead of a beatdown, we manage a 2-2 draw on the heroics of PotM Seo Myung-Won who scored twice in a 7 minute span of the 2nd half to give us a lead that disappeared at 81'. We were outshot & outpossessed but came away level. Not awful really.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Feb 19, 2014
Another friendly, hosting K-Classic side Seongnam. Mostly starters back in the lineup today, we'll let them try the 4-4-2 and see how it fits.

A 1-1 draw thanks to Kim Seong-Min's goal at 18' that drew us even after going down at 6'. We controlled possession (62-38) but got outshot 12-5. Mixed bag, not much that was really bad but not enough offense either.
We just have to hope that the scoring will improve when we're playing K-Challenge clubs for real instead of K-Classic clubs in friendlies.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Fri Feb 21, 2014
We make a move to address an area of concern, signing 21 y/o GK Kim Se-Joon to a deal through next season ($325/wk). While he's not a star, nor even a serious threat to regular GK Kim Sun-Kyu, at 2.0 star current he represents an upgrade over our previous backup Park Joo-Woon who will now be assigned to the Reserves.

Tue Feb 25, 2014
Tough news from the medical staff as MC Ji Kyeong-Deuk sustained a slipped disc during weight training today. He'll miss 3 months while being treated by a specialist. Hard to lose a starter before the season even begins :/

Wed Feb 26, 2014
It's another friendly as the post-season begins to wind down, this time hosting fellow K-Challenge side Gangju. Back to the 4-1-3-2 today.

We come away with a 2-1 win thanks to a timely goal by sub Lee Dong-Hyun. Hwang Jin-San put us up at 19' but Gwnagju leveled with a freak play at 69'. Just one minute after entering the pitch Hyun neatly buried a rebound for the game-winner. Hwang Jin-San (7.8) is PotM, joined above 7.0 by 5 players including newly acquired backup GK Kim Se-Joon (7.1). Once again, not seriously bad outings for anyone.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thu Feb 27, 2014
Two of our players have been called up for international duty for March 4th matches. Kwon Soon-Gyu will be with the SK U21s while Seo Myung-Won will join the SK U19s.

Our Reserves beat Goyang's Reserves 2-1 on the road, winning in the 90th minute on a goal from Joo Ik-Seong, his second straight match with a goal.
DC Kim Yung-Seung twisted his ankle during the match & will miss the next 4-5 weeks. MC Cho Gyu-Seung will miss 3-4 weeks due to a pulled hamstring also suffered during the match.

[SplitPersonality1]

Good stuff Jon. Good luck in the upcoming season.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sun Mar 1, 2014
A friendly at lower division side Yongin City today.

Right on cue, we get embarrassed, losing 2-0. New keeper Se-Joon was bad (6.2), several players were in the 6.2 - 6.4 range and today it was nobody really doing anything particularly well. Maybe it'll be a wakeup call but I'm not sure.

Sun Mar 2, 2014
Our U18s played their first friendly, drawing our Reserves 0-0. 16 y/o DL Kang Sang-Gi was PotM in a quiet affair. The match was not without incident however as 15 y/o DC Won Jin-Ho suffered broken ribs in a collision with Jang Soo-Min and will miss 4-5 weeks. Lackluster reserve DC Jeong Hwuy sprained his ankle after falling awkwardly, he's out 5-7 weeks.

We bring on board 24 y/o DC Ha In-Ho for a trial.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tue Mar 4, 2014
SK U21s lost to Slovakia 3-2. Our Kwon Soon-Gyu played 45 minutes but had a disappointing (6.2) day.

SK U19s beat Kuwait 1-0. Our Seo Myung-Won played 58 minutes as a starter, doign okay (6.6)

------------

Wed Mar 5, 2014

Our U18s managed a 1-1 draw at Seoul Univ. thanks to an 83rd minute goal by Hwang Hu-Han.

Our Reserves lost to the Police senior squad 3-2. Sloppy match, each side giving up an own goal. GK Park Joo-Woon made several quality saves despite allowing three gaosl. Ko Byung-Soo (5.8) was one of several players who had bad outings. Promising AMC Jang Soo-Min (7.3) was our real star, with a goal at 63'.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SplitPersonality1

Good stuff Jon. Good luck in the upcoming season.

Thanks SP, I'm hopeful ... ish.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sun Mar 9, 2014
A final pre-season friendly for the senior squad,at lower division side Goyang FC.
4-4-1-1, let's see how it works.

We win 2-1, giving up a late goal. We played more fluid, more attacking, faster ... Pyung-Jin socred at 23', Jong-Gook made it 2-0 at 86' but we let one in at 88' to make it closer than it should have been. We point out afterwards that we'll have to play better when it counts ... and then have to go around & smooth all sorts of ruffled feathers afterwards.

We also learn that we've lost AMC Hwang Myung-Gyu for up to a month with a pulled hamstring.

--------
Also today our U18s played a friendly at HongChun, losing 2-0. Not an especially good outing frankly.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Mar 12, 2014

Elbekay Bouchiba has completed his trial and leaves Daejeon

[JonInMiddleGA]

And finally, match day -- one that counts -- officially arrives. We are not what I thought we'd be, we are not what I want to be, but the journey officially begins today.

Sat Mar 15 , 2014
Daejeon (0-0-0) vs Suwon FC (0-0-0)
Suwon is a newcomer to K-League play but have a history of success in their decade of existence, having won both the National league and the National League Cup in the past few years.

We open the season in a 4-1-3-2 Control.
Yoon Weon-II 35' ... header from a corner (1-0)
Carbon copy for Suwon 41' ... (1-1)
Stupid foul leads to PK at 48' ... (1-2)
Hwang Jin-San 59' ... nice right footer on the counter (2-2)

Full time: Daejeon 2 - Suwon FC 2

We outshot them, just couldn't finish often enough. 2 goals with 7 shots on target is how you get a draw instead of a win.

Good:
ML Hwang Jin-San 1g/7.3, ST Kim Seong-Min 1a/7.3, DC Yoon Weon-II 1g/7.3
Bad:
DR Rim Chang-Woo 6.2, DC Park Sun-Joo 6.2, ST Lee Dong-Hyun 6.5

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Mar 19 , 2014
Daejeon (0-1-0, 4th) at Daegu (0-0-1, 8th)
Recently relegated Daegu provides the next opponent
We'll try 4-4-2 Control to open

Own goal puts us in front 42' ... Kim Seong-Min was threatening (1-0)

Full time - Daejeon 1 - Daegu 0

Got outshot, outplayed really, got lucky too.

Good:
DC Park Tae-Su PotM 7.3, GK Kim Sun-Kyu 7.3, DL Kim Young-Bing 6.9
Bad:
ST Kim Seong-Min 6.3, MR Hwang Jin-San 6.4, MC Kim Tae-Yeon 6.5

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thu Mar 20, 2014
Physio Rochstein reports that ST Seo Myung-Won injured his elbow in a fall during the match against Daegu. He'll be out 2 weeks.

Sat Mar 22, 2014
Daejeon (1-1-0, 3rd) vs Chungju Hummel (0-2-0, 7th)
Back home against one of the more interestingly named clubs in the K-League. Hummel is the Danish sportswear company that has sponsored the team since it's inception in 1999. In that time they have had no less than 5 names and 3 homes: Hummel Korea, Uijeongbu Hummel, Icheon Hummel, Nowon Hummel and, since 2010, Chungju Hummel

We'll go 4-4-2 Standard to open, with quite a few different faces in the lineup today due to fitness concerns

Lee Dong-Hyun slips behind the defense 50' ... 1-0
Near carbon copy goal ties it 66' ... 1-1

Full time: Daejeong 1 - Chungju 1

Another one that sort of feels like it got away. Despite the fact that we were outshot 11-4.

Good:
ST Lee Dong-Hyun 1g 7.2, GK Kim Sun-Kyu 7.0, DL Lee Jung-Youl 6.8
Bad:
ST Kim Seong-Min 6.4, ML Kim Pyung-Jin 6.4, MR Kim Min-Joong 6.5

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sun Mar 23, 2014
Fans are said to be "devastated" by the performance of the team against Chungju. Then again folks we ARE unbeaten (for now) and in 3rd place.

Tue Mar 25, 2014
Our Reserves played a friendly at Gwangju, drawing 1-1. Jun Sang-Won scored at 59' to give us the equalizer.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Mar 26, 2014
Daejeon (1-2-0, 3rd) at Gwangju (2-1-0, 1st)
Newcomers to the K-League, the club was only founded two seasons ago and was quickly relegated to K-Challenge. They've been strong in the early going with 6 goals in 3 games from their Brazilian duo up front.

We'll go 4-1-3-2 Counter to open
Yellow card for Hwang Jin-San at 9'
Red card for Gwangju WB at 11'
Yellow card for Kim Jong-Gook at 26'
Yellow card for Yoon Weon-II at 33'
Yellow card for Kim Tae-Yeon at 41'
Yellow card for Gwangju at 44'
Lee Kook-Ho slips past a defender & shoots 45+ 1-0
Lee Kook-Ho on the counter 46' 2-0
Lee Jung-Youl volleys from a corner 67' 3-0
Gwangju pulls one back with a corner header 70' 3-1

Full time: Daejeon 3 - Gwangju 1

Having a man sent off combined with the goal just before halftime to deflate the explosive league leaders. We capitalized on the opportunity. The player sent off, btw, was a starter for Daejeon last year.


Good:
ST Lee Kook-Ho 2g/PotM/8.8,MC Hwang Jin-San 1a/7.6,MC Kim Sung-Soo 1a/ 7.6
Bad:
None really, low was 6.6 for subs

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sat Mar 29, 2014
A rare Saturday off as our match against Anyang was moved to Monday for television. (A tidy $16k bonus to the club)

Sun Mar 30, 2014
Our Reserves played a friendly at Goyang Reserves, drawing 1-1. Jang Soo-Min put us in front at 29' but an own goal by sub GK Park Joo-Woon at 68' cost us the win. Reserve MC Lee Bo-Hwi will miss 5-7 weeks with an ankle sprain suffered during the match.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Mon Mar 31, 2014
Daejeon (2-2-0, 3rd) at Anyang (3-0-1, 2nd)
We're somehow the last unbeaten team in K-Challenge.

We'll go 4-1-3-2 Counter to open

Lee Kook-Ho goal disallowed offside 9'
Anyang yellow card 22'
Lee Dong-Hyung from Lee Kook-Ho 31' 1-0
Namgung Do gets his 5th of the season 45+ 1-1
Anyang MC gets his second yellow 48' ...
Namgung Do gets behind our defense 58' 1-2
Anyang yellow card 61'
Park Sun-Joo yellow card 71'
Anyang yellow card 78'
Hwang Jin-San yellow card 84'

Full time: Anyang 2 - Daejeon 1

We couldn't muster enough offense, rather we couldn't find enough finishes, outshooting them 14-6 with 5 on target. Not a good loss. And after a harsher than expected post-match talk from the AssMan, not a happy locker room either. And the more I tried to fix that with individuals the worse it got.

Good:
ST Lee Dong-Hyun 1g 7.1, MC Kim Tae-Yeon 6.8, MC Kim Sung-Soo 6.8
Bad:
DC Lee Jung-Youl 6.2, DR Park Sun-Joo 6.2, DC Yoon Weon-II 6.3

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tue Apr 1, 2014
I wish it were just a joke but Physio Rochstein is sincere: DC Kim Young-
Bin pulled a hamstring yesterday and will be out 3-4 weeks.

The board is satisifed. High point is the win over Gwangju, low point is the draw against Chungju Hummel. We lost $180k last month but did sell 796 jerseys.

AMC Hwang Myung-Gyu resumes full training after his hamstring pull. ST/AMC Seo Myung-Won resumes full training after his elbow injury.

Our Reserves played a friendly at Gyeongju and lost 2-0.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sun Apr 6, 2014
Daejeon (2-2-1, 4th) vs Gangwon (1-1-3, 2nd)
Need to win this one and reassert ourselves. Against the 2nd lowest scoring team in the league we'll give backup GK Kim Se-Joon his first start of the year.

We'll go 4-4-2 Standard to open, hoping to work the flanks against their unusual 4-2-2-2 formation

Kim Se-Joon makes two point blank saves 4'
Jeong Seok-Min yellow card 6'

Gangwon pushes hard and scores 75' 0-1
Lee Dong-Hyun levels at the tip of the 4-4-1-1 1-1

Full time: Daejeon 1 - Gangwon 1
We were lucky to get away with even a point, outshot 11-8.

Good:
ST Lee Dong-Hyun 1g/7.1,DC Jeong Seok-Min 6.9,AMC Hwang Myung-Gu 1a 6.8
Bad:
ST Lee Kook-Ho 6.2, MC Hwang Jin-San 6.3, DL Lee Jung-Youl 6.5

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Apr 9, 2014
Daejeon (2-3-1, 5th) vs Police (3-2-1, 3rd)
The surprise package of K-Challenge thus far -- pre-season odds against them were 5000:1 -- Ansan Police are a club comprised of mostly loaned players serving their compulsory military service. We've certainly given our all for the good of the nation, they have five of our players on the roster (over 20% of our total wage spending). They're also one of the oldest clubs in the nation, founded in 1961.

We'll go 4-4-2 Control to open

We let 'em get away from us for an easy goal 13' 0-1
Long ball downfield, our keeper is caught too far out 31' 0-2
They move around us like we aren't even there 33' 0-3
We foul in the box, they bury the PK 49' 0-4
Lee Dong-Hyun misses an empty net 76'

Full time: Police 4 - Daejeon 0

Manhandle by the most skilled team I've seen yet, we'll be seeing one touch passes in our sleep for days. We looked like small children playing grown men, too small, too slow, too clumsy, too everything. They're like a super team or something.

Good:
You're kidding, right? Our only player above 6.4 was sub Kim Sung-Soo (6.6)
Bad:
DL Park Sun-Joo 5.4, DC Yoon Weon-II 5.7, DR Rim Chang-Woo 5.9

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thu Apr 10, 2014
Hwang Jin-San has reached the limit of 3 yellow cards and now serves an automatic one match suspension.

We have a quiet talk with Park Sun-Joo, expressing confidence but also the need to pick up his play.

Our Reserves played a friendly against Bucheon Reserves, winning 2-0. Goals by Kim Jon-Soo (46') and Kim Han-Sup (71') were the margin.

ML Joo Ik-Seong suffered a torn hamstring during the match & will be out for 3 months. Cho Gyu-Seung came away with a dead leg but will only miss 3-4 days.


Sat April 12, 2014
Our U18s played a 2-2 draw against Yongun HS. At 0-3-1 they currently sit 10th among 17 teams in the SK U18 League.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Apr 16, 2014
Daejeon (2-3-2, 5th) at Goyang (2-1-4, 8th)
We're on the road in need of a win to stop the bleeding. We face a club that traces its origins back to the early 80s as Immanuel FC, a unified Christian team, an identity that was not without controversy (about a decade ago they were the subject of protests by radical Buddhists that actually prevented them from playing in the second stage of the National League) Were recently based in Ansan before moving to Goyang last season.

We'll go 4-4-2 Control to open, simplified instructions to start (only "Stay on feet")

Yellow card on Goyang for a hard tackle, Kim Seong-Min is shaken up 45'
Yellow card on Kim Pyung-Jin 47'
Yellow card on Park Sun-Joo 48'
Patient passing produces a goal 79' 0-1

Full time: Goyang 1 - Daejeon 0

How do you play 94 minutes without taking a single shot? Even with "shoot on sight" instructions? In this instance I didn't mind the assertive tone of the AssMan when he expressed his disappointment.


Good:
DC Rim Chang-Woo 7.2, MC Park Sun-Joo 6.9,
Bad:
sub ST Lee Kook-Ho 6.2, ST Lee Dong-Hyun 6.4, ST Kim Seong-Min 6.4

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thu Apr 17, 2014
More injury issues, this time it's a twisted knee suffered by DC Yoon Weon-II. He'll miss 3 weeks.

DL Park Sun-Joo will also miss a match now, thanks to his third yellow card & the automatic suspension that brings.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Apr 16, 2014
Daejeon (2-3-3, 5th) at Suwon (5-2-1, 3rd)
We see our first repeat opponent of the season, having opened the season with a 2-2 draw against them at home (Our next match will be at Bucheon 1995, the remaining team we haven't played yet).

We'll go 4-4-2 Control

Nice cross leads to easy goal 16' 0-1 .... switch to Standard
Sung-Soo cross onto the head of Kook-Ho 39' 1-1
Suwon comes right back with a blast 41' 1-2
Suwon defender gets his second yellow card & is off 67' ... now Attacking
Lee Hook-Ho takes another tumble, sub out 69'
Sung-Soo with a rocket from the left side 69' 2-2
Unbelievably Suwon run right down the middle and lob 71' 2-3
Hwang Jin-San makes up for a miss minutes earlier 86' 3-3

Full time: Daejeon 3 Suwon 3

On the one hand it's great not to lose another match. On the other hand we enjoyed a man advantage for nearly 30 minutes and had to really to survive.

Good:
ML Kim Sung Soo 1g/1a/8.1, MR Hwang Jin-San 1g/7.4. ST Lee Kook-Ho 1g 7.2
Bad:
MC Kim Tae-Yon 6.1, DR Park Tae-Soo 6.6, MC Jeong Seok-Min 6.6

[korme]

I like the idea of old school Jon smoking a cigarette on the pitch yelling at referees

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by korme

I like the idea of old school Jon smoking a cigarette on the pitch yelling at referees

Hmm ... I wonder if I could get away with that. At least some parts of the world aren't the whole anti-smoking bastion the U.S. has become. Suddenly this career decision makes a lot more sense

edit to add: On a side note, I sort of picture 40 y/o Assistant Coach Cho Jin-Ho as being played by a young Mako (the actor who was always the North Korean on M*A*S*H). His halftime & post-game talks are just brutal, the roster usually somewhat shattered by his chosen approach. We'd certainly make an interesting pair to play for

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tue Apr 22, 2014
Well crap. Pyhsio Adam Rotchstein comes running down the hallway to my office and that's NEVER a good sign. It's never because, I dunno, he's just gotten a good deal on car insurance or something. Nope.

DL Park Sun-Joo has sustained a fractured arm after landing heavily during a training session. He will be out for 4 to 5 weeks.

That news certainly took the fun out of learning our Reserves beat Seoul Utd Reserves 2-1 in a friendly.

-------------------

Wed Apr 23, 2014
Daejeon (2-4-3, 7th) at Bucehon 1995 (1-1-7, 10th)
Surely we'll win THIS one, right? RIGHT? We'll go 4-4-2 Attacking

Lee Dong-Hyun is denied 0'20"
Rim Chang-Woo is denied on a free kick 5'
Lee Dong-Hyun squibs an open shot 13'
Lee Dong-Hyun finds the third time the charm 31' 1-0
Lee Dong-Hyun gets his 2nd, another left-footer 55' 2-0
Kim Sung-Soo from a cross by Chang-Woo ... but offside 58'

Full time: Daejeon 2 - Bucheon 0

Good enough, well done.

Good:
ST Lee Dong-Hyun 2g/8.8/PotM,MR Jwang Jin-San 1a/7.8,DL Lee Jung-Youl 7.4
Bad:
No one below 6.6

[JonInMiddleGA]

Fri Apr 25, 2014

So here we are, ten games into the 45 game regular season. I had believed we were genuinely promotion caliber, instead we sit 6th.

Gwangju 22 pts, +13 GD
Suwon 21, +9
Anyan 18, +1
Police 15, +5
Goyant 14, 0
Daejeon 13, -1
Daegu 11, -5
Gangwon 10, -1
Chungju 10, -5
Bucheon 4, -16

We're 5th in Goals Scored, 5th in Goals Allowed, we've played better on the road (3-2-1) than at home (0-2-2)

Only player to appear in every match is ST Lee Dong-Hyun 9(1) with 5 goals to also lead the club. GK Kim Sun-Kyu has started 9, MC Hwang Jin-San has played in 8(1), DCR Park Tae-Su in 8.

We're a bit brittle, seems there's always a player or two I'd like to have available that's missing due to injury. It also seems to be a fairly passive group, specifically on offense. You have to stay on them constantly just to remind them to shoot the ball at all, otherwise they're content to pass it around until they turn it over. Defensively we're probably a little too aggressive at times, we're the only team that's had two players already reach the yellow card limit. Emotionally they aren't a particularly responsive group, very all or nothing in their reactions, takes big bold strokes to impact them either way. Otherwise they often appear "deep in thought".

Ideally, when the transfer window reopens in July, I'd like to move several pieces out of here, mostly to free up salary & try to use it to improve the roster. There's hardly anyone I'd deem untouchable for the right offer, just to be honest. We need to get more out of players that are here on loan, we're among the few teams that doesn't have a foreign player (or 2 or 3) contributing. There's not much sign of help coming from our Reserves,few players if any on the youth squad that are anywhere near ready for K-Challenge play. Improvements will either have to come from better play from the people already seeing action or else we'll have to go out & find people who will perform at a higher level from outside the organization.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sat Apr 26, 2014
Daejeon (3-4-3, 6th) vs Daegu (3-2-5, 7th)
First time we met this season we got a 1-0 win thanks to an own goal. Hopefully our offense will be more productive today. Several lineup changes due to tired players, also changed back to the 4-1-3-2 for the same reason.

Alex Araujo found just enough space to put a header on net 0-1
Yellow card for Lee Jung-Youl 22'
Indirect free kick leads to Kim Seong-Min shot from the wing 50' 1-1
Incisive breakway for Daegu 65' 1-2
Daegu goal disallowed for offside 68'
Kim Seong-Min yellow card 69'
Kim Seong-Min from a beautiful pass by Lee Dong-Hyun 80' 2-2
Ahn Young-Gyu yellow card 81'
Waning moments, an unlikely try is juggled ... Kim Seong-Min is there for the rebound and a hat trick ... GOAL ! 90+1 3-2

Full time: Daejeon 3 - Daegu 2

Kim Song-Gook was trying to cross on the final goal, instead the Daegu keeper intercepted it, but bobbled it and Kim Seong-Min pounced. Stirring finish and the second time this season we've beaten them on an error by their keeper.

Good:
ST Kim Seong-Min 3g/9.4/PotM, MC Kim Jong-Gook 1a/8.0,
DC Kim Dong-Hyeok 6.9
Bad:
GK Kim Sun-Kyu 6.2, ST Seo Myung-Won 6.3, DCR Rim Chang-Woo 6.5

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sun Apr 27, 2014

Our Reserves beat Jeonbuk Maeil Reserves 2-0 in a friendly. MC Lee Kwang-Jin had a fine match, an 8.3 with a goal and PotM honors.

[Brian Swartz]

Good grief, 45 matches in a season? That's a bit crazy.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Good grief, 45 matches in a season? That's a bit crazy.

Yeah, I suspect it'll get kind of tiresome since we play each team in the K-Challenge 5 times. It's heavy scheduling for a league with just 10 teams.

If/when we promote then things will surely be more interesting as the K-Classic schedule is unlike any I've ever played. Up at the highest/next level, there are 12 teams that play a total of 32 games. But the season is split into two legs.


First, everybody plays everybody else 2x each. That's 22 games. At that point the Classic league is split in Group A (top six) and Group B (bottom six) and you play just the teams in your group 2x more each to account for the other 10 games, for the total of 32.

The bottom team in Group B is relegated.
The 11th place team has a relegation playoff against the Challenge 2nd place

Meanwhile the Top 4 teams from Group A advance to the Asian Champions League Group Stage (or top 3 if some team outside that group happens to win the South Korea FA Cup BS which has an auto-bid to ACL)

Sooo ... not only do we place 45 matches in Challenge each year but if we don't promote then either 7 or 8 of those opponents will be the same clubs for 5x more matches each the following season.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wed Apr 30, 2014
Daejeon (4-4-3, 6th) vs Chungju Hummel (2-4-5, 9th)
First time we met this season a 1-1 draw when both sides managed a 2nd half goal. Chungju is missing three starters including the dangerous Alessandro Lopes. Stick with the 4-1-3-2 since we played them with a 4-4-2 previously.


Chungju yellow card 2'
An absurdly long ball finds an attacker in stride ... 0-1
Lee Jung-Youl yellow card 36'
Jeong Seok-Min volleys home a dropped save 60' 1-1
Kim Dong-Hyeok yellow card 72'
Seo Myung-Won attacks, catches keeper out of position, misses high 90+3

Full time: Daejeon 1 - Chungju 1

We outshot them 13-2, no excuse for not winning other than lousy finishing.
Okay, that and maybe spotty shooting in the first place.

Good:
MC Hwang Jin-San 1a/7.5/PotM, Jeong Seok-Min 1g/7.4, DCR Rim Chang-Woo 7.0
Bad:
MC Kim Jong-Gook 6.1, ST Lee Dong-Hyn 6.2, DC Kim Dong-Hyeok 6.4

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thu May 1, 2014

I'm going to start hiding from Physio Rotchstein. MC Hwang Jin-San sustained a gashed leg during the match and will be out 11-14 days.

The board now feels that I should be performing slightly better in my role as head coach. Board & fans alike are still upset about the blowout loss to Police. One positive: the 3-1 win over Gwangju. The club lost $318k last month ... but sold another 608 jerseys.

----------
Tue May 2, 2014
Park Tae-Su told a local newpaper that the club and the supporters must be patient with the new coach and not make a rash decision in scrambling to appoint a replacement. That's nice but, umm, damn that's quick to need that sort of vote of confidence.

[StLee]

I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I do live in Korea, so I'll follow this dynasty, maybe learn a thing or two about the league. I have been invited to check out some Daegu FC games before, but I never went.

Oh, and about the smoking, Korea is starting to put the hook on public smoking due to cancer being the number one killer of Koreans.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by StLee

Oh, and about the smoking, Korea is starting to put the hook on public smoking due to cancer being the number one killer of Koreans.

Well harumph.

Of course if I don't manage to turn the club around soon it looks like it may not matter all that much :/