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Lower Leagues Rule

FM12 Big Euro Nation: Small Club to Big Club Challenge

5,234 posts in this topic

Congrats on Promotion Danger Mouse

Welcome aboard Flashman and good luck...

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AS Cannes End of Season Report 2014/2015

We survived which was the main aim. Our form was patchy and we never put together more than two wins in a row. We were really poor at the back, which has prompted a change of tactics for next season. I am going to focus on improving our defence in the off-season. I am also going to bring in good quality young back ups to increase the depth of the squad. I don't want to change the starting line-up too much. So I will look to bring in a high quality centre back and then concentrate on developing the players signed this season.

Aim for next season concede less and a top half finish (hoping for European qualification).

Year   Div           Pos        Cups                     Achieved
2013  National     1st                             Promotion to Ligue 2
2014  Ligue 2      1st        Qtr of French Cup    Promotion to Ligue 1
2015  Ligue 1      12th       Semi of league cup   Survived

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End of Season Report - Novese - 2021/22 (Season 10) - Serie C1A

Serie C1A -

This was my tenth year in charge, over 400 games stewarded and our 8th in this godforesaken division. The closest we'd come was back to back runner-up finishes and a couple of playoff final defeats. It's any wonder we still managed to cram fans through the gates. Speaking of the gates, the board opted to add an extra 2,500 seats to the Pastorino Stadium in anticipation of the new campaign.

As predicted, wholesale changes were required. I let go of my entire midfield in the summer, confident that I could snap up a similar quality for lower wages. I was right. By the time the season began, I'd assembled a squad that I felt was stronger than at any other time at Novese. Sometimes, change is good.

We began the campaign strongly, going unbeaten in our first 5 before suffering two defeats in three games to remind us of the difficulties the division posed. However following that loss to Treviso we embarked on a stunning 14 game unbeaten league run which included 11 consecutive league clean sheets. I'd always vaunted our defence and it finally appeared to be coming together in this crucial season.

With that run behind us, it seemed certain automatic promotion would be ours but Pro Vercelli had just about kept pace, sitting 7 points behind us with about 9 games to go. A defeat at Pro Vercelli threatened to derail our promotion bid and although we won our next three league games, we came unstuck losing three consecutive league fixtures (two in the last minute) to Venezia, Perugia and Pro Patria. The league tightened up but a stern team meeting and a win in all our final three games meant the league was ours. To ENORMOUS relief. Progress showed we deserved it.

We also won the Serie C1 Super Cup defeating Foggia over two legs.

Results 1 | Results 2

The Cups:

TIM Cup - still pointless. Serie C Cup - even though it's pointless we progressed all the way to the final. Somehow though, we managed to lose to Gubbio from the division below us! Oh well. We've won it twice before and that will hopefully be the last we ever see of the competition!

Key Men

Riccardo Tantardini (DC/MC) - completed his tenth season with us by leading the line superbly. Amazing to think he's been with me since it all began. I hadn't realised. At 29 though, and with the step up to Serie B to come, I'm unsure if he can cut it. Willing to give him the chance though, he's the record appearance holder for Novese with 344 games.

Luca Funari (SW/DLC) - has been with us for 6 years now but really came into his own this year, displacing Cemil Ayaz at the heart of defence.

Robert Stroh (D/WBL) - continued where he left off last year. Our German left back was solid and dependable all year; a vital cog in a steadfast defence.

Lorenzo Bianchi (DM/MC) - signed on loan from Parma and swiftly became a fan favourite. He was our best CM all year, scored a few goals and provided plenty of assists through his expert set-pieces.

Simone Pellegrini (AMLC) - the former loanee was snapped up on a free after being released by Atalanta. He played in the hole to great effect. 10 goals and 14 assists. Marvellous.

Dennis Fischer (AMRL/ST) - new young German prospect. He partnered Saponaro and provided a good haul of 18 goals in 34 games. His pace offered a good balance to the forward line. Was surprisingly named Fans Player of the Year.

Pietro Saponaro (AMC/ST) - as ever, led the line superbly. 20 goals in all competitions made him the go-to man for goals.

Squad Stats

Club Information

Objectives Complete?

  • Promotion

Success! FINALLY we've done it! We're out of C1A and I'm pleased to say we won the title too, adding another trophy to the cabinet

  • Continue financial prudence

Success. Just about. With prize money and new sponsorship deals we'll be in the black going into Serie B.

  • Rebuild the squad

Success. It took 7 players to leave and 10 to come in but it worked out just fine.

New Objectives:

  • Avoid relegation
  • Continue financial prudence
  • Take advantage of new scouting areas

Obviously the target is to ensure we never wind up in C1A again! But aside from that we have a much healthier wage budget - £10k p/w to play with - and a decent transfer budget. The lift in reputation seems to have given us a larger base of players to chose from and there are a couple of 5 star players recommended by scouts that now know who Novese are. If I juggle the budgets and potential signings well, we could end up with a very strong squad. Only two players left the club in the summer as their contract's expired. Both weren't good enough for Serie B. Let the new adventure commence!

Overall Best Eleven

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The Journey Continues - 2021/22 - Season 10(jimbowmanuk)

Although I have completed the challenge I have decided to stick with the save and take advantage of the Add leagues feature. I left Elgin and took the USA job(update will follow on them later) where qualification for the World Cup has given me a tough group against England, Portugal and Peru.

In January I was offered the Athletic Bilbao job, which I accepted. Their rule of Basque only players limits my movement in the transfer market but some really promising youngsters are coming through the youth system. I took over aftrer 20 league games had already been played and Athletic were sitting 19th. The 1st couple of games were learning curves to work out what kind of squad I had and once I'd settled on 1 striker things seemed to click into place. Winning the games were expected to win and some draws and losses against better opposition meant we survived in 15th place. Next season looks like European qualification will be a realistic goal for me to attain.

Athletic League Graph

Elgin City Watch

Elgin City under their new manager, Gary Speed, had a bad start to the season and resulted in them only finishing 5th in the league. My legacy of losing Scottish Cup finals continued also. This time First Division Hamilton the winners. So Elgin City will not be playing in Europe next season. This season they did finish 3rd in their Champions Cup group, meaning the Euro Cup to contend with but they went out in the 2nd knock-out round to Man City 4-3 on aggregate.

Scottish Premier League

Scottish Cup Final

Everyone still going with their challenges keep up the good work, and don't give up. If Elgin City can do it, then so can every other small team in Europe's big leagues.

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Congrats Randy on avoiding relegation

WOOOHOOOO GOOOO Iacovone, finally escaped the hell of Serie C1A, now to take Serie B by storm.

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The Journey continues - USA - World Cup 2022(jimbowmanuk)

Taking over the USA days before the Gold Cup, I felt there might be pressure as I was attempting to retain the Cup for the US. Our Group pitted us against El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago and Panama. We struggled to a 1-0 win in the 1st game before comfortable 4-1 and 5-0 victories to put us through. The quarter-finals had us matched against Curacao, and my former Elgin player Burrows was still leading the line for them. They were no match as we posted a 5-0 win to set up a semi-final against Costa Rica. A 4-0 victory put us through to the final, where we would meet our first real challenging opponents, Mexico. A close game with both sides matching each other in the first half, but some inspiring words at half-time and the USA won the Gold Cup with a 4-2 victory.

Next up was the qualifying for the World Cup, and the previous coach had put the team in a good position by winning the first 5 matches, leaving me only needing 2 victories to qualify. We won all the matches 3-0(Costa Rica), 5-1(Curacao), 5-1(Panama), 5-0(El Salvador) and 4-3(Mexico). We played 5 friendlies before the World Cup, scoring 23 goals without reply the biggest being a 3-0 win against Denmark.

The World Cup

Group B vs. England 0-5

England were really clinical in finishing even though we were evenly balanced on attempts, The 13 game winning streak coming to an end.

Group B vs. Portugal 2-1

We were going to need a lot of luck to try and qualify, and we got it. Almeida bringing down Joseph in the box on 8 minutes resulted in a penalty for the US and a red card for Portugal. The spot kick was dispatched, followed by another 7 minutes later and despite an own goal we were never really troubled.

Group B vs. Peru 4-0

I was expecting this game to be a victory when the draw was made and it was, putting the US through to a second round encounter against Algeria

Second Round vs. Algeria 3-0

Dan Joseph scored a hat-trick enroute to a routine victory in a match we dominated

Quarter-final vs. Argentina 4-1

Argentina were by far the better team but set pieces made the difference, with them being 1-0 up Javier Pastore put the ball into his own net. the scores remained this way until the 72nd minute when Garcia scored a curling freekick to give us the advantage, before Pastore went off injured and with it the heart of Argentina as they crumbled defensively to ship two more goals.

Semi-final vs. Denmark 4-2

Confidence was high in the camp going into this match as we had just recorded a famous victory aswell as having the upperhand as we had beaten our opponents 3-0 in a pre-world cup friendly. We dominated the match but the defence was suspect on a couple of occasions, but the 4 we scored were enough to put us in the final.

Final vs. England 1-6

I didn't have high hopes for the final as we had already lost 5-0 in the groups to England. This was a very one-sided match in which I was happy to score a consolation goal. Tom Gardner finished the World cup as top scorer with 15 goals, 8 of which were scored against us.

2021 Fixtures

2022 Fixtures

I am still undecided whether to stay with the USA or to apply for a European nation to manage, as there are sure to be a few casualties following the World Cup.

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Jimbowmanuk - What an awesome effort with USA, making it to the final, disappointing to lose by 5 goals to England, especially as it seems they are the only team that seems capable of beating you. Good Luck wherever you decide to ply your wares after that game.

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Jimbowmanuk - What an awesome effort with USA, making it to the final, disappointing to lose by 5 goals to England, especially as it seems they are the only team that seems capable of beating you. Good Luck wherever you decide to ply your wares after that game.

Cheers LLR, I've taken the Turkish job, as it reunites me with some of my old Elgin Players, Roberto Mancini stepped down as England manager after winning the World Cup

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SV Wilhelmshaven Season Report 2021-2022

After a really poor season last time out that saw the club take a step backwards, this was a season for the talented youngsters of Wilhelmshaven to show if they were capable of breaking into the elite of the Bundesliga

League|Graph: This was the season that finally saw Wilhelmshaven establish itself as one of the top clubs in Germany, even managing to lead the Bundesliga into the Winter break. However Bayern's amazing form and our slight drop in form due to competing in Europe saw Bayern claim their 5th! consecutive Domestic crown. Bayern lost only once and conceeded only 14 goals, and look to be just as dominant in the years to come.

Europe: Made it to the Euro Cup group stage and then walked through the group stage winning all 6 games. We dispatched Lorient, Feyenoord and Zenit in the knockout phase and met Udinese in the semi final. However we left our goal scoring boots at home and they squeaked out a 1-0 aggregate win. Udinese went on to win the Euro Cup

German Cup: Went out in the 3nd round to 1860 Munchen, who are in the 2nd division. I played a strong squad but they actually outplayed us and claimed the victory in extra time

Farkas- The undisputed top keeper at the club, now being recognized for his exploits as he won German Goalkeeper of the year.

Covelli- The Canadian-Italian backup was brought in January as I let the previous backup leave. He's unhappy but whatever. Farkas is the clear number one.

Andersen- Our Danish attacking left back did not have a great season as a backup and may not be of a class needed to compete in the Champions League

Balan- Has emerged as a tower of power in the back line. Form fell off near the end of the season which is worrying

Dembele- 3rd choice defender is reliable when called upon

Ivanildo- The club captain has really regressed at an early age. I'm loathe to part with a player that has been with us for so long, but he's not up to the standard anymore

Jansen- There is probably a way to get more out of the Norwegian though I don't know how, decent enough as is.

Martinovic- Our 'German' right back appears to have reached the end of his line here, as I have a talented youth player that I think can be equally as good

Musil- The long time left back is the epitome of solid and reliable

Oldani- Touted as the next Philippe Senderos, Oldani was our best defender this season and looks to have the world at his feet

Perrone- Star right back struggled a bit with injuries this season

Falah- The Swede is integral when fit, which has been his problem the last few seasons

Fofana- Malian right winger alternates between brilliant and invisible

Huertas- The hero of our Euro Cup triumph of a few years ago has been really average since that moment, may be time to move him on

Loose- A summer purchase to get the team some more Germans, Loose has been a nice little addition, though he is injury prone

Schussler- A nice player to have, a nice combination of a combative midfielder and a deep lying playmaker

Urbanek- Brilliant Czech winger

Uzun- A pure backup that will be moved on when one of our homegrown players develops to a point that he can play regularly, still Uzun can do a job when called upon

Vieira- Our Brazilian/German international continues to struggle with injuries and a crowded midfield

Worn- The Austrian star only gets better as he matures

Zoidze- Much better at setting people up than scoring himself, his partnership with Kyung-Ho will be key to our fortunes.

Kyung-Ho- Showed why I had stuck with him by lighting the league up in the first half of the season, though his season was eventually derailed by injuries, and thats when the season fell apart for us. Integral to the team.

Daniel- Way off his form that saw 13 league goals last year, though scored at a decent rate in other competitions

Oumaya- I'm not sold on the Tunisian though my assistant manager thinks he's the next big thing, good scoring record in Europe to be fair.

Finances: Never been a problem while I've been at the club

Facilities: The stadium is being expanded by 5k, as well as the youth facilities improved, which is a step in the right direction.

Transfers: Only a few signings and the only major player to leave was Wagner who was never going to displace Farkas from the keeper jersey

First season in the Champions league is coming up, however domestically Bayern look to be a hard team to topple as they are loaded with talent.

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Every single year...

Well, its tradition. I gave in. I bought the new FM. "Even if I dont play it as much, SI deserve my £30". And as usual, I'll be looking to rock up here way after everyone else is done. Woo!

Well, about me... its an interesting story. Since the switch from CM to FM, every year I've given far, FAR too many of my hours to each iteration, and not entirely for the best of reasons. For most of my teenage and adult life my health has left me housebound with hundreds of empty blank hours to fill, an ideal scenario for devoting time to getting Badajoz, San Marino, SVM Mannheim, Merthyr Tydfil or Torpedo Moscow up the leagues. This time though, after a massive year of recovery and progress, I'm playing along from my own flat, in between part time jobs working with disabled youngsters and heading to the pub. I don't expect anyone will particularly remember me sporadically being around from that long to appreciate how big a change it is, but it still felt worth mentioning as I start things off - for 8 years, FM was occasionally quite literally the sole thing worth getting out of bed for. I look forward to it actually functioning as an addition to instead of the sole pillar of my life!

Onto the pitch then... and I have unfinished business in France. I've run the gauntlet in England, Spain, Italy and Germany, but I've never quite cracked the very top of the French leagues - my personal favourite for their loose restrictions. And AS Cannes are available? I think I know where I'll be heading in a couple of hours once Steam has finished the download!

Until then, I'll be combing through this thread and some of the tactics forum to see whats changed - hopefully I'm not too out of touch with all these newfangled controls and concepts! A rigid 4-5-1 and youth development/foreign market profile expansion awaits...

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Welcome Oktober, good luck in France, looking forward to it. AS Cannes are most definitely usable for this challenge in 2012. Youth Develop + 4-1-3-2 for me, but I get the plan, not too many new concepts, just a bit of a better layout and somethings now seem to work better. Save game below includes Cannes if you like ;)

France - 18th June - Save (Veendee, Raon-I'Etape, Cannes & Romorantin)

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iacovone - WOOHOO!!!!!!! About time mate... ;) let's hope you don't get relegated next season.

jimbowmanuk - great job with the US there - good luck with Turkey and a first full season with Bilbao. not surprised Elgin are beginning to sink now.

Oktober - welcome to FM12!! good luck in France mate...

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Well Parla are battling for Promotion this season, but its been a weird one, unbeaten through 10, then 4 straight losses and now 4 straight draws...who knows.

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iacovone - Congratulations! Finally! Hopefully now you're in Serie B your progress will speed up. I'm not sure we can take the tension otherwise!

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iacovone - Congrats on finally getting that promotion, I know I couldn't take any more tension of you just missing out again.

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I managed to get Athletic Bilbao to finish 5th in La Liga and qualify for the Euro Cup, but then the big teams came calling. I was offered the Chelsea job but turned it down as they hadn't qualified for Europe, instead taking charge at Aston Villa who finished 4th in the Prem. Elgin City improved this season to finish 2nd and qualify for the Champions Cup, but again they lost the Scottish Cup final, this time to Aberdeen. by my reckoning thats 5 finals lost in a row. I have Turkey on course for qualifying for the 2024 Euro Champs

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i dont know if there is already one of these threads but i was thinking and after seeing barca wipe the floor with santos if we all would do a FM12 Big SAM Nation Small Club to Big Club Challenge and only time you say you have a completion is if you beat the Reigning Champions league winners what do you all think

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I think you are looking for Razers's Thread - There used to be a few competitors, but it seems to be quite unfollowed this year, though that is similar to the state this thread was in FM08.

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i was just wondering thats all becaue i really hate barca shock shock gasp haha so would just love to batter them in the World Club Championship with some little Chile team :D

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as LLR says there is a thread for it - check the CSE front page...

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Peña Sport FC season review 2023/24

League, Past Positions, Finances, transfers

We took the League at a canter really as once we hit the top we stayed there and not even losses to teams we should have beat let the other teams in. The biggest shock is the fact that Real finished eighth.

Champions League

Group Stage

@ Zenit, vs F.C. Bayern, @ PSV

vs Zenit, @ F.C. Bayern, vs PSV

Got a favourable draw in the group due to us being seeded second meaning that the hardest team in the group was Bayern.

1st KO Round vs Basel - 3-1 aggregate win Scorers: (H) Own Goal, Lopez, Renato

Quarter Final vs AS Saint Etienne - 3-2 aggregate win Scorers: (A) Lopez (H) Millán, Jones

Semi Final vs Man Utd - 4-2 aggregate win Scorers: (A) Uran, Alvarez (H) Uran, Lopez

Final vs Inter - 3-2 win after extra time Dumont, Uran, Curbelo

We did it, after the disappointment of last season losing in the final to win it this season is the opposite end of the spectrum. The fact that the game was also my 600th in management made the game even more special.

4th Round vs Orihuela - 3-0 aggregate win Scorers: (A) Curbelo(2), Cruz

5th Round vs Cartagena - 7-3 aggregate win Scorers: (A) Fusaro, Del Rio, Cruz (H) Uran, Aizpura (youth player), Cruz(2)

Quarter Final vs Almeria - 5-3 aggregate win Scorers: (A) Uran(2) (H) Morán, Millán, Jones

Semi Final vs Sevilla - 4-3 aggregate win Scorers: Fusaro, Alvarez(2), Olsen

Final vs Málaga - 5-2 Win Scorers: Uran, Lopez(3), Dumont

Spanish super cup

vs Barcelona

5-2 aggregate win Scorers: (A) Morán (H) Amara, Curbelo, Renato, Alvarez

Well after last seasons loss in the super cup against the same opposition we managed to get the win and by the same scoreline as last season.

Legros - A return to form for the Frenchman after last season.

Salz - Showed some glimpses of being a good keeper but won't dislodge Legros.

Manangu - Another decent year from the right back although he did spend some time injured.

Renato - Another good year for the young Brazillian especially when paired with Jones

Jones - A good year from the England captain.

Drachmann - Played well but Mustafaraj is catching him.

Del Sol - Was okay when he played but unfortunately he spent a fair amount of time injured.

Fusaro - Played well when he got into games.

Miguel - Played okay but wasn't the best.

Mustafaraj - Is getting to be as good as Drachmann and played better in a few games.

Dumont - Has split time with Alvarez but showed he was better than him towards the end.

Amara - Played extremely well in the centre of the park.

Del Rio - Was okay ddown the left vut to be honest he won't be able to dislodge Millán.

Millán - Was great down the left hand side. Caused so many problems for the opposition.

Olsen - Wanted him last season and he showed why I bought him with some great performances in the middle.

Lasa - The third Central midfielder has played fairly well when he got into games through injuries or suspensions.

Alvarez - Played as well as Dumont but wasn't as good towards the end of the season.

Bird - Not lot of playing time but was still good when he played.

Cruz - Not too many games but he was okay when he played.

López - Once again the team's top scorer, played really well.

Moran - Not as good as last season but he still managed to play well and get some assists.

Uran - Has been called a wonderkid and his performances have shown why. Has partnered well with both Lopez and Morán.

Curbelo - Played fairly well when he was on the pitch.

Season     |  Division           | League Position  |   Copa Del Rey  |       Europe       |    Achievements
2012/13    | 2nd Division B2     |      12th        |      N/A        |        N/A         |      Stayed up
2013/14    | 2nd Division B2     |      1st         |      N/A        |        N/A         |Champions and Promotion
2014/15    | Liga Adelante       |      12th        |     2nd RD      |        N/A         |      Stayed up
2015/16    | Liga Adelante       |      4th         |     4th RD      |        N/A         |      Playoffs
2016/17    | Liga Adelante       |      1st         |     5th RD      |        N/A         |Champions and Promotion
2017/18    |   Liga BBVA         |      11th        |  Quarter Final  |        N/A         |      Stayed up
2018/19    |   Liga BBVA         |      5th         |    Winners      |        N/A         |Cup winners and European qualification
2019/20    |   Liga BBVA         |      3rd         |     5th RD      |Europa league 1st KO|Champions League Qualification
2020/21    |   Liga BBVA         |      1st         |  Quarter Final  |     CL 1st KO      |      [b]Champions[/b]
2021/22    |   Liga BBVA         |      2nd         |    Winners      |     EL Winners     |Cup and Europa League winners
2022/23    |   Liga BBVA         |      1st         |     5th RD      |   CL Runners Up    |      Champions
2023/24    |   Liga BBVA         |      1st         |    Winners      |     CL Winners     |  [b]*Challenge Complete*[/b], treble

The 100 Club

This section will be for those player who gain over 100 appearances and/or goals for the club while under my management. this is League and cup competitions.

Player               |   Apps   |     Goals     | Seasons between |     Note
Javi Jimenez         |   101    |       3       |   2012-2015     |    Retired
Dolly Menga          |   135    |      60       |   2012-2016     |  sold by board
Igotz Garde          |   143    |      13       |  2012-Present   |    Retired
Kurt Weuts           |   270    |     101       |   2013-2021     |    Retired
Txitxo               |   108    |       2       |   2012-2016     |    Retired
Bidari               |   206    |      24       |  2013-Present   | Released on a free
Yeray Soto           |   108    |       0       |   2012-2016     |    Retired
Juanma               |   165    |       7       |   2012-2018     | Retired now a scout
Carlos Garde         |   152    |      10       |   2012-2017     |Wouldn't sign new contract
Jorgito              |   119    |      12       |   2014-2017     |Wouldn't sign new contract
Felipe               |   212    |       1       |   2014-2022     | Released on a free
Nacho Gómez          |   119    |      13       |   2013-2017     |Wouldn't sign new contract
Alejo Diego Puente   |   167    |      15       |   2013-2024     |Left at end of Contract
Nenê                 |   137    |      17       |   2014-2018     |Sold to Zenit for £6.25 million
Carl Allen           |   296    |      47       |  2015-2022      |Sold to Osasuna for £500k
Sten Drachmann       |   370    |       1       |  2015-Present   |
Óscar Kortina        |   115    |      12       |   2012-2019     | Released on a free
Jérémy Roland        |   236    |      22       |   2015-2024     |Left at end of contract
Mathias Legros       |   405    |       0       |  2016-Present   |
Jean-Jacques Dumont  |   296    |      56       |  2016-Present   |
Ignacio Etxebarria   |   170    |       3       |   2012-2024     |Sold to Athletic for £675k
Antonio Pérez Postigo|   119    |      26       |   2016-2021     | Released on a free
Solomon Kverkvelia   |   161    |       9       |   2018-2022     | Went to Espanyol for £0
Francisco Manuel Cruz|   229    |      74       |  2018-Present   |
Nicolás López        |   253    |     138       |  2018-Present   |
Koke                 |   107    |       0       |  2018-Present   |Went to Recreativo for £0
Tiago Duque          |   114    |       5       |   2017-2022     |Accepted mutual termination
Pablo Alvarez        |   147    |      33       |  2018-Present   |
Miguel               |   187    |      13       |  2019-Present   |
Diego Fusaro         |   213    |      15       |  2018-Present   |
Vivaldy Manangu      |   224    |       2       |  2019-Present   |
Pablo Alvarez        |   196    |      37       |  2018-Present   |
Aitor Del Rio        |   156    |      11       |  2016-Present   |
Fernando Millán      |   167    |      50       |  2020-Present   |
Hichem Amara         |   154    |       9       |  2021-Present   |
Marco Uran           |   108    |      39       |  2021-Present   |
Renato               |   103    |       9       |  2022-Present   |
Rigels Mustafaraj    |   108    |       0       |  2020-Present   |

Previous Years

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Congratulations on the completion Almondo :applause: Just finished my season. Update coming tomorrow or the day after that.

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Well done Almondo; great news. Extra time must have been a bit nerve wracking after your guy was sent off. Usual question; what next?

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The extra time was nerve wracking with only 10 men and I really didn't want penalties so when Curbelo scored to make it 3-2 it was a sweet moment. What next? well I'll be sticking with La Peña for the next season as I want to win the CWC and then maybe go for some international management.

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Congrats Almondo, awesome to see the completions rolling through again, going to be a few more years for me yet.

Good Luck in the Club World Champs and then internationally.

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Congratulations Almondo. Glad to see you didn't have to wait too long after last season's near miss.

In Lusitania Acores news, I am still plodding along. I've not been playing much recently as I've had other commitments but I'm steadily improving (I think/hope).

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Congratulations almondo, well done on completing!

I've had a torrid start to Serie B, 4 games in and 4 losses. Scored 4, conceded 13. In my latest loss I went 2-0 down, switched to 4411 and went overload and attack mental and got it back to 2-2 with 5 mins left. Thought I was on for my first point, only for my left back to hack their striker down in the box and lose to a penalty in the 90th minute. Heartbroken doesn't describe it. :(

EDIT: Finally got my first win in Serie B. And what a win. :D

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Almondo - congratulations mate - great stuff. i can imaging how good it must feel after the previous season. good luck with the CWC next season and then landing a good international job.

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Маршевый наш путь в Европу

Finances £-5Million

Media Prediction 14th

Finished 6th

To be honest i am really surprised in what happened at the second part of the season i went 13 games unbeaten but the first part of the season was really well dreadful i just win a game so in january i went about my buisness buying player i brought in two Argentine DMs and changed my team formation to this http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n524/toonbalmy87/Vityaz/2013/VityazPodolskTactics_Overview.png and i brought in Argentine striker and he is awesome he couldn't stop scoring

Champions hammering Rubin & CSKA Moscow in the Final

Key players

Sidibie - Pure class this i hope noone comes in for him of dodgy chairman will sell him

Villordo -paid 1.9million for him still on youth contract and he has gone up to 8Million this guy will be the best DM Midfielder on the game i think

Lavallen - got him on the cheap he going to be out of contract so he was getting sold for 950k or sumet like that

Cocco this guy just cant stop scoring he is immense with Sidibie he was meant to be back up for Matavz but he got injured for 5 weeks and never got his spot back

i am not sure how the youth think work but here is my player

Next Season Expectations Push for champions league Qualification and win Europa League

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RasenBallsport Leipzig

Season 2013/2014 - Second Division

We started pretty solid in the league but the form fell down. Highest position we got was 2nd for one game after that we pretty much rocked from 10th and 5th, eventually finishing 7th which was our media prediction. We could have had a real change of promotion if we didn't draw SO many of our games. The German Cup was pretty much over when it started but we won Neumunster 4-0 in the 1st round and lost 0-3 to Freiburg in the 2nd round.

Table - Graph - Club Information

GK: David Yelldell - Was bad, he's the main reason I'm conceding so much goals. Too bad I don't have any money to replace him.

DR: Christian Muller - He did alright nothing magnificent but he's getting older and needs to be replaced.

DC: Soren Gönther - Played well. Avarage rating above 7.

DC: Jagos Vukovic - Brought him in on free transfer in the Pre-Season. He's been a rock in the defense this season with an avg. rating of 7.12.

DL: Nico Hamman - He replaced our maine LB Pierré Womé in the latter stages of the season and he did better so he's here.

MR: Marco Padalino - Brought him in on free transfer from Sampdoria. 18 assists this season. Our very own speed demon.

MC: Bastian Schulz - Solid season from a solid player. Nice return of 10 goals and 7 assists.

MC: Timo Rost - At 35 years old he's declining but he was alright this season. Retiring after next season.

ML: Marek Strestik - The Czech winger was solid this season. Avg. rating of 7.06

ST: Wellington - Ahh this guy blows my mind. Signed him on free transfer in the Pre-Season. He scores some beautiful goals and was the Second Division top scorer with 27 goals.

ST: Carsten Kammlot - Didn't play much due to injuries but was the second best striker.

Youth Watch

Sven Noguera - Didn't play very well in the chances I gave him but I think he might become a good First Division forward in the future so I will keep playing him.

Promotion might well be on the cards if we strengthen some positions. Planning to get some youngsters on loan from the big clubs but the wage budget isn't exactly in a good stand so that might be hard. The finances are not good, sitting at -5 million pounds.

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AS Cannes End of Season Report 2015/2016

League Table

Given how limited our budgets are in comparison to the big clubs we have massively over-achieved this season. We qualified for teh Champions League on the last day at the expense of PSG. We improved our defence in the off-season and it has paid dividends. We did well in both the cups but lost out in the quarter finals, probably due to lack of squad depth.

I have only been given a transfer budget of £2.5mil and wage budget of £300k. It is going to be tough to consolidate. We need a better keeper, two wingers and bettrer depth at many positions. I would be chuffed with consolidation in the league and Uefa Cup qualification through the Champions League. I do think that too many changes has a negative impact so I am hoping consistency of selection is the way forward. :)

Year   Div           Pos        Cups                     Achieved
2013  National     1st                             Promotion to Ligue 2
2014  Ligue 2      1st        Qtr of French Cup    Promotion to Ligue 1
2015  Ligue 1      12th       Semi of league cup   Survived
2016  Ligue 1      3rd        Qtrs both cups       Qualified for Champions League

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how do you get your links just to come up in one single word ??
I write the report, then highlight the words I want to be links, click on the hyperlink icon and paste in the image URL. I find it the quickest and most painless way.

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I write the report, then highlight the words I want to be links, click on the hyperlink icon and paste in the image URL. I find it the quickest and most painless way.

Definitely this. I did it the other way and typed everything out for a good three or four years until I realised there was an easier way :o

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Thank you very much because i have been looking at it for ages and racking my brain how to do it but never figured it out haha!!

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I've lost interest in my Dafuge's challenge game and fancy giving this a go. Just wondering if it would be ok to continue from my Dafuge's challenge save which is currently in 2027. I'd follow all the rules otherwise, just seems a shame to start over back in 2011!

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bjoggi33 - congrats on a 7th place finish. i'd definately persevere with Noguera. developing into a decent striker on my game. not quite sure how you are £5 million in the red though... your wage budget must be huge??

Randy Palmer - well done on the 3rd place finish - you are making some good progress there. what are your aims for next season? the title?

Gypsum - from my point of view, i think you would be fine starting the challenge in 2027 keeping in with the rules of the challenge. i am sure LLR will confirm one way or another but i don't have any problems. i am assuming you can cancel the english league once you start a new league? not tried myself...

And as for me, my Mannheim season is complete. will try and get the review up this weekend.

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Right, another season finished. Is it a first completion in Portugal, well, you'll just have to wait and see...

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I am having a wail of a time in Serie B. I've beaten Empoli and Reggina so far (amongst oters, obviously) and sit mid table around halfway through the season. The forum curse seemed to work in reverse for me, after my five straight defeats to start the year I've been on fire, going on multiple 4 game unbeaten runs. Sold a load of chaff and getting in a new batch of players to replace them.

I am loving my new stadium too, I've more than doubled my average attendance and I'm on course to make a profit without the boards help.

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Hey Gypsum, I think that is fine, given that you follow the rules by removing the English league and then holiday a season in your nation of choice.

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Lusitânia Açores - Season Summary - 2023/24

Key figure - £19,680,331 | Summary

A nice profit this season as a result of a few sales and Champions League money.

Transfers | 15 in (£3.9m), 9 out (£10.5m)

The majority of the transfers coming in this season were youngsters or back-up and there were no significant exits either. The majority were players who'd not quite made it with me who left for nice profits.

League | Predicted - 3rd

Table | Graph

A far calmer season this time round than we've had for a long time. No great crises. We were always challenging at the right end of the table and hit the top spot halfway through the season and didn't look back.

Supertaça | Winners

In the first cup of the season we came up against the shock winners of last year's Taça de Portugal, Uniao Madeira of the Second Division - South. We came out 3-0 winners.

Taça de Portugal | Winners

The only Portuguese cup that had eluded us so far. We came up against Porto in the final and in our third final appearance we came out on top with a very comfortable 3-0 victory.

League Cup | Beaten Finallists

The only cup to escape us domestically this season. In the final against Braga we were 2-1 up until the 93rd minute when Descazals conceded a penalty. They scored and went on to win on penalties.

Europe | 1st Knockout Round

Group Stage - Drawn in a tricky looking group alongside Real Madrid, Juventus and Zenit I wasn't hopeful of qualification. Fortunately however I played generally pretty well, only losing one game in the group stage (admittedly it was a 7-0 trouncing at the hands of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu) to qualify second behind Real Madrid and make it out of the group.

Knockout Stages - Another tricky draw saw me put up against AC Milan in the 1st Knockout Round. First they visited the Azores beating us 2-0. We went to Italy needing a surprising result, unfortunately we didn't pull it off only managing a 1-1 draw to go out 3-1 on aggregate.

Squad | Overview

Salvador Soto - Starting to get a bit edgy this season, has mentioned wanting to move on, I've placated him so far but I may have to let him go soon. It'll be a pity because he is rapidly turning into one of the best keepers in the world.

Jean-Philippe Moreau - A fairly awful player if I'm honest. Brought in because there was nothing better out there. Fortunately he wasn't required very often. He's not a good enough back up for a team of this calibre.

Matej Suchy - His career is stuttering. I will be looking to get rid this summer, he just doesn't look like developing into a good enough player.

Karel Dragoun - Brought in as back up for Favreau, performed adequately when called upon.

Julián García - A very good start to the season, stalled somewhat, then got injured and then for the final third of the season he was always with the Honduras Under-23s, even when they didn't have a fixture. A pity, if the bug (I'm assuming that's what it is) doesn't sort itself out I'll have to sell him.

John Hvilsom - Brought in on a free and performed well when García was away from the squad.

Stijn Hermans - Very excited for this young Belgian's future. He could well be the guy who replaces Descazals should he ever leave.

Meranah Descazals - I'm shocked I considered not signing this guy. He has developed into one of the world's finest centre-halves. Even by his own high standards he had a great season this year.

Mathieu Favreau - A solid performer for us. He is someone I feel could be replaced if the right player becomes available.

Ange Diaby - A very decent back up for Osses. I have a feeling I'm holding him back and if he were given a run in the first team he'd develop into a very good player.

Christian Osses - Has the position pretty well sewn up here. Unless he leaves I can't see anyone replacing him for a long time. Not until I've established myself as a continental power anyway.

John Agu - Looks like he should be first choice, but for some reason doesn't perform as he looks like he ought. For that reason he is leaving the team over the summer.

Philippe Derrien - He performs adequately but this is a position I am looking to strengthen if possible. I have pinpointed by desired replacement (a Bolivian) but it's going to be tough to convince him he wants to join.

Vadym Gai - Starting to play as well as he looks he should. Cemented his place in the first team before an injury ended his season early.

Joffrey Fontaine - Starting to fulfil his undoubted potential. This is one player I may face a struggle to keep hold of.

Andreas Jensen - The gamble of entrusting him with the first team position last season is really starting to pay off. He really seems to have taken to his training schedule and is improving quickly and significantly.

Emmanuel Dumas - Unfortunate not to play more after arriving from Clairefontaine. His stay will be brief as he is off to Kobenhavn at the end of the season.

Walter Zangger - Very decent back up for Jensen. Scored a blistering goal in the game that secured us the title.

Michael Mouritzen - A player who has stalled significantly. Someone I may look to move on this summer depending on how the team-building works over the summer.

Diego Fernández - Progress has stalled this season but he is still a decent back up to Gai.

Erik Jakus - Never reached the standards I hoped he would when I signed him as a 17-year-old. I'd have liked to have kept him around but he has decided he wants to move on at the end of the season in search of first team football.

Florent Marti - Another exciting Belgian at the club. If he can build up his pace and progress at a decent rate, then I can see him being a great winger.

Jorge Muñoz - Never going to be a world class player, but he is a very good back up for the moderately injury prone Poljak.

Ivan Poljak - A fairly poor season for the big man this time out, but still found himself as first choice until an injury took out a chunk of his mid-season.

Ararat Vardazaryan - A very handy impact sub to have around. He is strong quick and good in the air - chipped in with an uncanny number of late goals.

Labros Pavlou - A second Cypriot striker at the club. He has a very decent future at the club.

Torben Larsen - Another interesting young striker. Danish this time. Got his first goal for the club on the final day of the season.

Venizelos Chrysanthou - Broke Henrique's (a memory test for you here) record for most league goals this season as he reached 90 for the club. Continues to be the first name on the team sheet.

Allan Tranberg - Very, VERY excited about this guy. He needs to pick up his pace, but he has spectacular technical abilities for a 16-year-old.

Blaise Coubadja - Needs a breakthrough season soon, otherwise he may have to head elsewhere to fulfil his potential.

Aims for this season were...

1/ Get first win in Champions League. - Yes

2/ Strengthen midfield. - Yes

3/ Maintain place in Portugal's top two. - Yes

Aims for next season are...

1/ Progress further in the Champions League.

2/ Retain a place in the top two.

Story So Far...

Season		League			Position		Achievements
2012/13		Second Division - South	12th			Avoided Relegation (just)
2013/14		Second Division - South 1st			Promoted!
2014/15		Second League		14th			Avoided Relegation
2015/16		Second League		2nd			Promoted!
2016/17		Premier League		13th			Avoided Relegation
2017/18		Premier League		3rd			Qualified for Europa League
2018/19		Premier League		4th			Europa League again
2019/20		Premier League		5th			Europa League again
2020/21		Premier League		1st			Champions!
2021/22		Premier League		2nd			CL Qualification again
2022/23		Premier League		1st			Champions!
2023/24		Premier League		1st			CL 1st Knockout Round

Previous Updates

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Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Type: response

text:
Arabic Unicode ASCII(201) & ASCII(202) - by A.Ghazal

Status :

  By Design

		The product team believes this item works according to its intended design.

		A more detailed explanation for the resolution of this particular item may have been provided in the comments section.

Sign in
to vote
ID 542810 Comments
Status Closed Workarounds
Type Bug Repros 0
Opened 3/17/2010 11:24:10 PM
Access Restriction Public

There's a problem in replacing characters that contains (ة) character and (ت) - The SQL Server doesn't differentiate between those two characters! is spite of each character has different ascii code 201, 202 respectively.
For example:
DECLARE @strWord AS nvarchar(50)
SET @strWord = 'تفعيلة'
SET @strWord = Replace(@strWord, CHAR(201), 'ه')
SELECT @strWord
The result:
Notice that the function 'Replace' did actually replaced both different characters whith different ascii codes!
Sign in to post a comment.
Posted by Umachandar [MSFT] on 3/24/2010 at 11:22 AM
Closing the request. Steve explained the issue clearly.

Umachandar, SQL Programmability Team
Posted by A.Ghazal on 3/19/2010 at 7:38 AM
Thanks for the reply.
I changed the database collation to Arabic_100_CI_AI, and the REPLACE function differentiated between the teh and teh marbutah, in which solved my problem. I don't know if that affects anything when manipulating English data, but so far it's working perfectly.
Posted by Steve Kass on 3/18/2010 at 1:32 PM
I think this is the correct behavior. When you collate ("alphabetize") words in Arabic, the characters teh and teh marbuta are considered the same. The REPLACE function will obey the collation, so it will replace anything the collation treats as the same.

Here's the identical situation in English:

DECLARE @strWord AS nvarchar(50)
SET @strWord = 'Arabia'
SET @strWord = Replace(@strWord, 'A', '*')
SELECT @strWord

If the collation in use is case-insensitive, it will consider 'a' and 'A' to be equal. Even though these characters have different ASCII codes, they will both be replaced. If the collation in use is case-sensitive, on the other hand (or binary), 'a' will not be considered equal to 'A', and only 'A' will be replaced.

If it's important for you to distinguish between teh and teh marbuta, you must use a collation that doesn't follow the linguistic rule that these letters are equal for sorting purposes.

Here's an explanation of the difference between "equal as strings" and "equal as data" regarding these exact two letters in .NET:

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software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-09
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for February 2017
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
Great, My Acer Laptop Battery Exploded

Did you think that the laptop battery explosion epidemic was over? No, it’s not just in the Boeing Dreamliner. Bill’s Acer laptop battery exploded not long ago: of course, he bought it in 2011 and the computer is now out of warranty. Acer is happy to take the computer back, but only to look at it for a “safety evaluation” and maybe to not send it back to Bill. He doesn’t think that this is fair. He sent the relevant exploded parts back to Acer, but doesn’t want to send back his hard drive or the rest of the computer. He wants replacement parts so he can get it working again.

Bill filed a report with the Consumer Products safety Commission, and remains in a repair standoff of sorts with Acer.

Just wanted to let you know that batteries in laptops are still exploding.

This time, it was the battery cell in my Acer 8951G laptop’s wireless trackpad that blew up and bulged out.

I have been in contact with Acer Executive customer service with RMA / service ticket [redacted].
But since the laptop was bought in 2011 and the warranty is expired it would be for a “safety evaluation” only.

That means it they can tear apart the laptop and erase my data, but I get no guarantee of a repair!

I simply would like a replacement trackpad sent to me from Acer. I did send the defective, exploded trackpad that was in my laptop back to the Acer repair depot in Texas.

I understand I am out of warranty, but this is a safety concern, and you can’t count on having an external mouse all the time with a laptop.

I saw these were last going for about $20 on eBay but missed out on the last auction 😦

Here is the story from another user with the exact same problem who Acer actually did help at no charge.


text:
Information skills

This series of information skills guides provides an introduction to basic literature searching and advanced database searching.

Further resources

  • Google Guide
    Google Guide is an online interactive tutorial and reference for experienced users, novices, and everyone in between.
  • Internet detective
    "Sure, you use the Internet all the time, but you need to wise up to the web when you use it for your university or college work."
    Free Internet tutorial to learn to discern the good, the bad and the ugly for your online research.
  • Mind mapping
    Mapping what we already know we know. A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the centre, to which associated ideas, words and concepts are added.


text:
127 Pictures Of Luxurious Custom Kitchens

How do you like the subtle coordination between the countertop color and the wood used in the cabinets? It doesn't match or contrast. It actually does both at the same time.

There are literally thousands of kitchen design ideas for you on this page. So many in fact that we had to break this resource up into three pages because all these pictures were straining our server. At the bottom of each page you’ll find a link to the next page.

What do these custom kitchens have in common?

You’ll see lot’s of:

  • granite countertops
  • rich hardwoods like mahogany and cherry
  • marble
  • large gas ranges with even larger hoods
  • pendant lighting fixtures
  • lot’s of storage space
  • islands
  • contrasting color palettes
  • as well as coordinating ones
  • faux beams and other ceiling details
  • casual eating areas
  • decorative tile backsplashes

127-pinitEvery layout is represented as well. You’ve got your u-shapes with and without islands, open concepts, the essential work triangle, zone, galley and even an octagon.

Oh there’s one that’s designed to look like it’s in the clouds as well. It’s not as gaudy as you’d think, however. I think you’ll appreciate it’s creativity like I did.

People Are Also Reading

Alright, so let’s get to it shall well. Welcome to the Countertop Investigator‘s kitchen design gallery. You’re going to find lot’s of kitchen design ideas that inspire and intrigue you.

A simple but beautiful design by Cadoux architects out of Connecticut.

A simple but beautiful design by Cadoux architects out of Connecticut.

The wood looks much warmer and richer against all that white.

The pendant light fixtures add depth to the room.

Decorative trusses dress up an otherwise plain cathedral ceiling.

I can’t picture those chandeliers in any other room but this one.

How do you feel about the half round transom windows?

Functional casual eating directly across from the food prep area.

The shape of the island makes the entire room more interesting.

What would you do to have all this storage space?

Stainless steel and dark stained wood make an awesome combination.

The amount of detail in the cabinets is mind blowing.

The humongous island in this kitchen is great for gathering around while you’re entertaining.

Great use of light. It’s an important thing to consider that’s often overlooked.

The cooktop looks out of place to me but nobody will be bored by this design.

Whites and dark woods work very well together.

Even the staircase is colored to help with the contrast.

Love this stone countertop.

Why didn’t they wrap the columns in wood?

Carefully placing two different colored cabinets creates an incredible look.

Looks like something out of a fairy tale.

I like lot’s things about this. The butcher block, pendants, and loft above catch my interest immediately.

The wood beams turn this from ho-hum to out of sight.

Take a closer look at how all the colors and textures compliment one another.

I’m enjoying this creative kitchen floor.

Wonderful work surface.

Too much white for my taste.

That’s a bit better. Tip: Only use dark floors in large rooms.

Seems odd to me to place the range in front of a window.

Careful thought was give to this kitchen from the ceiling to the floor.

Camera trickery makes this room look bigger than it actually is.

What’s not to love about the rock wall.

There was plenty of space for an island.

A good use of dark cabinets.

I like the cats more than the design.

That’s a lot of fun but would probably work better as an accent.

I do love marble.

Blending a number of different style here and doing it well.

You’re going to need a ladder to reach some of those uppers.

I usually don’t like matching the countertops to the cabinets but the combo on the right works well for me.

I’m searching a a picture of the rest of this kitchen because I enjoy what I see here so much.

Is that a steel toe kick?

Very elegant. We could push the table out of the way and have a formal ball.

This homeowner likes stainless a little too much if you ask me.

{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Anonymous September 22, 2016, 8:54 pm

    only one comtemporary design.

  • mike December 14, 2015, 10:34 am

    We purchased a man made quartz and is very hard work marking all the time how do I clean I am very fussy when I clean it we just use suddy water please help !!!!!!!!!!!!! We would have gotten the cheaper one if we new about this

    • William June 24, 2016, 12:11 am

      Use soft scrub soap and the magic erasers to clean smudges and metal marks

  • Sheryl October 23, 2015, 4:56 pm

    Love your kitchen just bought a house and renovating so i am glad for your beautiful ideas.

    • Buddy February 9, 2016, 7:35 pm

      This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for wrgiint!

  • Cheryl October 18, 2015, 3:46 pm

    I work in kitchen design and some of the stuff people pick… It doesn’t always work just because you like it.

  • nene October 4, 2015, 2:12 am

    Very nice

  • Roma Khaira October 1, 2015, 2:33 pm

    I would like to see new and different ideas of kitchens because in coming weeks I am putting in a new kitchen!

Join The Discussion


text:
I. Introduction to First Aid

  • Orientation to First Aid
  • Definition of First Aid
  • Aims of First Aid
  • Legalities

II. First Aid Kit

  • Contents of a first aid kit
  • How to check, care and use the things found in the kit

III. Accident and Incident Reporting

  • When and wehre to report the injuries, diseases, etc…

IV. Primary Survey to the Victim

  • Dr.’s ABC approach
  • How to call the ambulance services
  • How to check for the signs of life

V. Proper Response to the Victim

  • Think TRIAGE
  • Recovery position

VI. Heart Attack and Shock

  • How to care for the casualty

VII. Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation

  • Rescue Breaths
  • Chest Compression

VIII. Automated External Defibrillator

  • The Chain of Survival
  • When and how to use AED or AED Demo

IX. Choking

  • Back blows and abdominal Thrust

X. Burns

  • Types of burns

XI. Bleeding

  • Types of Bleeding

XII. Wounds

  • Types of Wounds
  • Bandaging Techniques

Strategically located in Dubai Knowledge Village, rmk-the experts is one of the leading training and consultancy providers in the Middle East we are committed to providing highly customized learning solutions and effective food safety systems to our clients.

Our team of experts continuously supports organizations and professionals from private, government and civil sectors to enhance their operations and to develop better business opportunities.

Drawing on several decades of professional expertise, scientific knowledge and experiences, rmk-the expers had established a long-term partnership with its clients. We ensure to provide the best-practice and cutting-edge solutions that are expertly customized to fit each client’s needs. Apart from fruitful experiences of our consultants and well-strategized services, our company also gives to all levels of our clients from Top managerial levels to junior staff as well. We speak nine languages (English, Arabic, Filipino,Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, and Nepali).

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text:
Corwin Hiebert

As business manager to freelancers, digital artists, and entrepreneurs, Corwin cares about the ”why” and the ”how” of making a life, and a living, from one’s creativity. He manages talent such as world-renowned photographer, publisher, and best-selling author David duChemin. Corwin is the author of Living the Dream: Putting Your Creativity to Work [and Getting Paid] (Peachpit Press, 2013) and has had eBooks published by Craft & Vision and Flatbooks. Corwin presents business and marketing lectures / workshops at photography and design conferences throughout Canada and the Unites States; he is also a guest lecturer at Vancouver Media Arts Institute, Langara College, and Capilano University (IDEA Program). Connect with him through his website where he doesn’t blog, he delivers at or follow Corwin on Facebook or Instagram.

Looking for business and marketing tools / resources? Check out his Business Action Planner Toolkit for Photographers

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text:
2014 Tip of the Day #21: Cosplay Etiquette

1005188_283632565110612_1915481095_nOne of the most celebrated and defining aspects of the San Diego Comic-Con has been the emergence of cosplay. As one of the most identifying characteristics of SDCC, cosplay has been celebrated, satirized, misunderstood and embraced over the past 4 decades as the community has grown with the show. With this year’s ‘cosplay is not consent’ controversy, it has even become a heated topic of debate. But before we dive into it, let’s be reminded of the interesting origin of the our beloved cosplay term:

“The term cosplay is a portmanteau of the English words costume and play. The term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of the Japanese studio Studio Hard while attending the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Los Angeles. He was impressed by the hall and the costumed fans and reported on both in Japanese science fiction magazines. The coinage reflects a common Japanese method of abbreviation in which the first two moras of a pair of words are used to form an independent compound. Costume becomes kosu (コス), and play becomes pure (プレ).” (From Wiki)

995110_282518211888714_1201610529_nBesides proving that Asians are just awesome, it’s clear that after 30 years, cosplay is here to stay. However, as much as cosplay has evolved over the decades, so has the etiquette surrounding it. Around 2007-8 when Comic-Con shot up to meteoric status, I think some of the ‘growing pains’ was felt most by the cosplay community. I remember seeing a wave of YouTube videos of guys making snarky and lewd comments to as many sexy cosplayers as they could find. Ogling cosplayers was part of the unfortunately norm during those explosive years but that is starting to change. Over the past year, many cosplayers like Meagan Marie, have spoken out about the theme that “cosplay is not consent”. Cosplay may be funny at times but sexual harassment is not. I remember in 2008 feeling pretty disturbed by the objectification of these cosplayers at the hands (and eyes) of so called YouTube ‘journalists’. I’m glad to see it has diminished quite a bit and to see that cosplay is being embraced for the art, not the boobs. We still have a long way to go but I think Comic-Con is the environment to lead that change. Like any important issue, it’s a complex one which takes a lot of dialogue. So as we continue to elevate the discussion, here are some tips to cosplay etiquette at Comic-Con:

  • Respect: A cosplayer’s desire is to enhance the Comic-Con experience, inspire through their art, and express their fandom. They may come in all shapes and sizes, but they want to be treated with respect. Just like any public place, there is a difference between appreciating beauty and ogling something sexually. Regardless of costume, treat a cosplayer as the respected artist that they are. Maintaining eye contact is a good habit to form.
  • Permission: Always ask to take a picture. A cosplayer wants to give you the best photo as possible, which usually means striking a pose, position, or facial expression. Just clicking a pic without warning diminishes their year round hard work and preparation. I know you many not want to interrupt a cosplayer, but they would rather stop for a good photo than have a bad one floating around on the interweb.
  • TIming: Good timing = common sense. Don’t approach a cosplayer when they’re eating lunch, dismantled and resting, in the bathroom, sitting in panel, etc. Wait till they are ‘on the job’ to ask to take their pics.
  • Rules of Engagement:  Look with your eyes not your hands. Many costumes are made with delicate materials and 1000 oily hands are going to ruin it. Even when you take a pic with a cosplayer make sure it’s ok to put your arm around them. It goes without saying, but keep all contact brief and appropriate. Again, cosplay is not consent.
  • Keep it Brief: A cosplayers commitment is to the overall fans- not to any one person. It’s not a great time to try to start up a lengthy conversation, unless they are encouraging it. Just be mindful of others around you and not dominating a cosplayers time.
  • Wonder Twins: Some of cosplayers are open to pairing up with other cosplayers for a short while if you have a costume of matching theme and skill level. However, don’t take offense if they would rather go solo. It doesn’t matter what their reason is, just be cool and cosplay on.
  • Safe Space: Do your part to create a ‘safe space’ for cosplayers at Comic-Con. That means if you see inappropriate behavior from a fan or journalist, report it to a staff member. This means sexual harassment of any kind- verbal or physical. Even making comments of body type (“Your too big for that character…”) is considered inappropriate. The worst thing in the world would be if Comic-Con got a reputation for not being safe to the cosplay community. Remember, Comic-Con is about celebrating heroes- so you can be a hero by protecting our beloved cosplayers.

1000223_285279281612607_528742476_nRemember, it DOES NOT MATTER how a cosplayer is dressed- respect always comes first. Overall, cosplayers are at Comic-Con to not only have a great time but to make sure YOU have a great time. Where would we be without them? Many cosplayers plan, save up, invest countless hours, and obsess over the smallest details to make sure their costumes are perfect for you. Make sure to make them feel appreciated and respected. We want Comic-Con to be the premier platform for the world’s finest costumes- and we as fans have control over that. As long as we value and encourage our cosplayers, they will bring their very best to the show. Thanks for letting me rant and thanks for all of you who have championed this cause before me. If you ever had a negative experience as a cosplayer share a comment about how it made you feel below.

Cosplay photos by Joits Photography
Check out my past Tip of the Day posts.

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Carnival Pride Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Contributor Level: Purser

4-6 cruises

Helpful Votes

2 out of 5

Hurricane Matthew

Sail Date: October 02, 2016

Reviewed: 4 months ago

Traveled As: Couple

Room Type: Balcony

The best part of our cruise was our state room which was very roomy and we found the shower to be spacious and comfortable.  Our steward, Made, was excellent!!  Our dining room experience was great because we had Elvis and Dorel serving us.  They were courteous and made sure we were happy.  However, we found the food on the ship not up to par.  Food was usually lukewarm when served.  The fact that you could not find a trash can anywhere other than the restrooms was frustrating.  We felt that the onboard credits were not enough based on where we were told we were going and what we ultimately received by staying in New York for 2 days.  As Maryland residents it would cost us a lot less money to visit the New York than over $2000.00.  I understand the cruise lines with keeping passengers safe but felt the cruise should have cancelled and our money returned.  We only chose to stay on the cruise because we thought we would be visiting St. John.

Cabin / Stateroom
Our steward, Made, was wonderful. He was always there asking if there was anything we needed and kept our cabin impeccable. We appreciate all his hard work!
Embarkation and Disembarkation
Ship Quality
Destinations and Excursions
Onboard Activities
Service and Staff
Food and Dining

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Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

2-3 cruises

Helpful Votes

4 out of 5

a nice vacation

Sail Date: April 01, 2012

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Traveled As: Family (young children)

Room Type: Inside

the services are good, the shows are great!

Pros: all services are wonderful, shows are good, the islands are worth to visit

Cons: food can be better and more different; the Lincoln dinning management need to improve to avoid guest waiting each night

Recommends Carnival Valor? Yes!

Food and Dining
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
very good
Service and Staff
Children's Programs

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    Thanks, exactly what I needed. :)

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Pasta with ricotta

Pasta e ricotta. This is a very simple dish, but delicious all the same. The quality of the ricotta is very important. You can of course make this dish with ordinary supermarket ricotta and the results will be perfectly acceptable, but it will be much better with the fresh version. If you can find sheep’s milk ricotta, even better. This being Bari, I made it with it with orecchiette, but it goes with just about any type of pasta. There are lots of things you can add that change the character of the dish drastically. Serves 6.

pasta with ricotta ingredients

pasta with ricotta ingredients

  • 500 g pasta (any type)
  • 500 g ricotta – the best you can find, preferably sheep’s milk.
  • Optional ingredients:-
  • Add parmesan for a stronger cheese taste.
  • Add paprika to make the dish a little bit spicy.
  • Add fresh basil and mint for an aromatic version.
  • There is even a sweet version which includes a good pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of sugar
  1. Cook the pasta until it is al dente.
  2. Add a little of the pasta cooking water to the ricotta and beat well until it is smooth.
  3. Dress the pasta with the ricotta and serve immediately.
pasta with ricotta finished dish

pasta with ricotta finished dish

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Last Minute Valentines Day Gift Ideas, Suggestions, Cards and of course a giveaway

Congrats its less then 48 hours till valentine’s day and what do you have to to show for it? Maybe you picked up a card? hopefully right? cause if your card stores are anything like mine there is nothing left starting tomorrow.  So for you last minute people we’ve got printable cards from Pocoyo [Elly, Pato, Loula, and Pocoyo]. There you go great for kids and ok for your significant others.

Now need those last minute treats? Starters Candy – my wife certainly has a sweet tooth for dark chocolate and I’m sure many others out there do too… she’s not a fancy $40 box of chocolate type of girl, which is good cause I’m sooooo not a spending $40 on chocolate type of guy.  She loves a good old fashion russell stover, willy wonka, hershey’s type of girl (WIN!). For me I’m totally a red licorice dude, and if you’re taking notes I love australian red licorice and dried strawberries.

How about physical gifts that’ll last? Well there is always photos and photo albums with tons of 1 hour labs its a fairly easy task.  Next idea you can pick up a nail or hair gift card, geez have you looked at the prices of those things?! so picking up the tab is a super gift.

For those techies out there you can always walk into any Verizon store and pickup a new bluetooth headset… I’ve always been a big fan of Jabra so the Jabra WAVE in red headset features the most comfortable and stable wearing-style.  Featuring innovative new wind-noise reduction technology and Voice Guidance, the Jabra WAVE is available in three designs exclusively at Verizon Wireless. The WAVE offers even greater comfort than behind-the-ear legacy products, but with a thinner, sleeker design.  The WAVE is available in black and red – and has a corded version in black. $59.99

Which leads us to the giveaway… Yes, its going to end after valentine’s day so you better not count this as the gift.

How to win it… Contest ends 11:59pm EST. February 22nd, 2011.

You get 1 entry for placing a comment what your gift idea or desire is and please use some method for us to contact you in the comment (twitter or email)

You get 1 extra entry for following us on twitter –

You get 1 extra entry for following Jabra on twitter –

You get 1 extra entry for tweeting about this contest (you can do this daily). Must contain the following information:
@Jabra_US @dadarocks –  and you must also leave a comment with the link to your twitter message.

Example: I want to win a @Jabra_US Wave in RED from @dadarocks –

You get 1 extra entry for becoming a FAN on facebook – you must a comment that you’re a fan

You get 1 extra entry for suggesting to your friends to become fans of DaDa Rocks  (and leave a little note on the wall) — under the logo of DaDa Rocks is Suggest to Friends name

You get 1 extra entry for becoming a Fan on facebook of Jabra – you must a comment that you’re a fan

You get 1 extra entry for subscribing to our Feedburner digest mailing (right side subscribe by email) – you must also comment that you’ve subscribed

You will have 12 hours to reply before we pick another winner!

Disclaimer: Jabra is providing these devices for the raffle.

Author: DaDa Rocks!

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  1. I want to win a @Jabra_US Wave in RED from @dadarocks –

  2. want to win this head set

  3. I would love to get a Canon or Nikon DSLR for V-Day, but do not think it will happen!

  4. Following you on Twitter!

  5. Follow Jabra on Twitter!

  6. My gift for V-day would just be a nice dinner at home with the whole family..doesn’t happen much anymore
    [email protected] dot net

  7. I follow you on twitter

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  9. I subscribe to you by email
    [email protected] dot net

  10. I would love to go out for dinner. Not having to cook, or clean up is a great gift!

  11. I’m following Jabra on twitter as @bmom76.

  12. i would love to win an IPOD for Valentines Day

  13. I would love to spend the evening going out to dinner, not having to cook, and getting a movie to come back and relax and watch it. Chocolate and flowers are nice too 🙂

  14. I am following you on Twitter: @BNTVosburgh

  15. I am following Jabra on Twitter: @BNTVosburgh

  16. I am a facebook fan: Mama-Nikki Vosburgh

  17. I fanned Jabra on facebook: Mama-Nikki Vosburgh

  18. I am an email subscriber.

  19. All I desire for V-Day is a box of Lindt dark chocolate truffles! Mmmmmm, <3 them!!! @VectoringMomma

  20. I follow @dadarocks on twitter! @VectoringMomma

  21. I follow @Jabra_US! @VectoringMomma

  22. I’m a fan on Facebook! Toni Moore, @VectoringMomma

  23. Didn’t see suggest to friends so I shared on Facebook! @VectoringMomma

  24. I like Jabra on Facebook and wrote on their wall! @VectoringMomma

  25. I usually make my husband a nice meal, steak are always a hit. Pretty low key with two little one and few babysitting options. but I could sweeten the deal with the promise of a new bluetooth headset 🙂 @Slappy2001

  26. Following dadarocks on twitter @Slappy2001

  27. Fan of Dadarocks on facebook as Diana B Vincent

  28. Subscribed to Feedburner digest mailing at this email

  29. My gift idea is to get him a nice laptop. @purplelaptop2

  30. I am a fan on facebook @purplelaptop2

  31. I am Fan on facebook of Jabra @purplelaptop2

  32. I subscribed via email @purplelaptop2

  33. I think an awesome Valentine’s day would be a picnic and a hot air ballon ride! That would be very nice.

  34. I follow you on Twitter: @lifeonprint

  35. I follow Jabra on Twitter: @lifeonprint

  36. I am a FB fan! Lifeonprint Cindy H

  37. I am a FB fan of Jabra

  38. My favorite Valentines would be a picnic with my husband then to go flying! at gmail dot com

  39. I follow you on Twitter: @HedgeHogi at gmail dot com

  40. I am a FB fan of Jabra (Tearsa Keith) at gmail dot com

  41. I already subscribe to you by email at gmail dot com

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The secret to enjoying your vocation is very simple

  • Go with the hope that you are going to get right on top of the day
  • Focus, reply your email
  • Plan, send your email
  • Delegate
  • Bum around on creative stuff the rest of the day
  • Keep telephone calls to less than 2 minutes
  • Don’t forget to smile


text:
Phone Pitch Tips for Young PR Pros

Last month, Jeremy Pepper wrote a blog post saying PR pros have become too dependent on things like email to pitch reporters. In the comments section, Jeremy says the post was mainly a primer for entry-level PR people not to use technology as a crutch.

That reminded me about the many times I’ve heard people point to junior-level PR types as the major culprits when it comes to not picking up the phone to pitch. That may be true, but only because they’re usually the ones doing all the pitching. Too many senior-level PR people don’t actually pitch stories.

Yes, that’s one of the main responsibilities for junior-level people. But it’s our responsibility to make sure we’re not throwing them to the wolves. I have a friend who was told to pitch The Wall Street Journal on her first day at her first agency job out of college. She stumbled through the phone call, annoyed the reporter and felt like a tool.

I think one reason younger PR folks avoid the phone is because they are petrified of getting yelled at or becoming the subject of a pissed off reporter’s new blog post. That’s why we need to be purposeful and persistent in sharing media relations best practices with them from day one

Jeremy shares a couple tips for them on his post in regards to picking up the phone to pitch. Here are a few more that I’ve found helpful:

  • Encapsulate the story in one brief sentence for your opening. For example, “Bob, my name is David Mullen. I have a story about a high-profile family overcoming personal tragedy to found a camp for sick kids. Do you have a minute?” Bob will know right away if he’s interested enough to hear more or not.
  • Don’t launch into your pitch without asking if he “has a minute.” That annoys most people, not just journalists.
  • Capitalize on a “no.” If he hears you out, but isn’t interested, take a second to ask what topics he is interested in for future reference.
  • Keep it in perspective. My first boss said, “if you call 10 reporters and seven say ‘no,’ that can seem like a bad media relations outing. BUT keep it in perspective. Batting .300 will get you in the Hall of Fame.”

Your turn to help. What tidbits would you add to help young pros approach media relations with more confidence and better results?

*Image by Alexander O’Neill.

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17 responses to “Phone Pitch Tips for Young PR Pros

  1. I would add that you should know your stuff. Be prepared to answer any questions a journalist might have about what you are pitching and the company your work for or are representing. The added benefit is that if you know your stuff, you are less likely to sound like a robot who has pitched the idea a million times.

  2. Thanks for the good advice. I’m currently a senior PR student and have heard several horror stories similar to the example you gave in the the post.

    I couldn’t agree more that the power of your voice can be so much greater than that of the written word. I’ll pass this along to others!

  3. Your hello is the equivalent to your handshake. Use a warm tone, smile, avoid a high pitched voice. Don’t say things like “I feel, I think, sort of, only, you know and like;” they are credibility killers and make you sound young & inexperienced.

  4. All good points. It’s also worth noting that reporters are people, too. Talk with them, not at them or to them. The best thing is to build a relationship with a reporter and phone calls help.
    If they say no to your pitch, thank them and ask if it would be ok, in the future, to send whatever news your client has.
    Also it doesn’t hurt to show the reporter that you have read their articles. I always like connecting what they’ve written in the past and connecting why they should write about my client, either now or later.
    The last bullet about perspective is spot on. There should never be the feeling that if you didn’t get the interview that you’ll be fired. If you build the relationship now, it will reap rewards in the future.

  5. This is good advice not just for calling reporters, but anybody you are pitching something to! Thanks, David, as I am getting ready to call the assistant of Angelina Jolie’s Manager again to see if he got my email, I will use these tips and let you know how it goes. The only thing I wish I had done the first time I called the assistant is to ask for his name. Duh.

  6. To the “capitalizing on a no” point, ask why. It could be a bad pitch that isn’t tailored correctly or it could just be a bad time.

    If it’s a bad time, ask if there’s a better time to call. Some may never admit it, but there are days and times when reporters are more open to talking on the phone. All depends on the person. I’ve done it in the past, had great pitching experiences, once it worked their schedule.

  7. It’s all about confidence. Patrick pointed out you need to know your stuff — that’s key to feeling confident going in. One of my first bosses told me early in my agency career that it’s your job as an agency PR rep to know your client’s business better than they do. This is great advice when it comes to building confidence for phone pitching.

    Also, practice out loud! Sit down with a peer, a more senior person on your team, your mentor – even the office receptionist or an intern – and practice saying the key points of your pitch out loud.

    It’s true we spend so much time isolated at our desks, silently tapping at the keyboard, writing out our pitch angles to send out in email. Sharing the pitch with a peer or other colleague can also help you fine-tune it and get you ready to breeze through a great conversation with the reporter.

  8. Totally agree with DM’s comment re: Encapsulating. Nice one!

    To the ‘No’ point, I’d add to ask why. Ultimately clients are going to want to know that. (plus if you’re getting the same answer from several people you’ve got a good sign that something needs to be changed!)

    As for my 2 cents (which used to be worth 2.1 cents US, but now are only about 1.2 cents US)…
    There are really two key things for any pitch
    1. Know your target.
    2. Know your subject.

    1. understanding who you are going to be talking to is so very important. Have you reviewed the journo’s most recent pieces? Is there a trend in tone? style? focus? (And don’t underestimate the power of telling a journo that you enjoyed an article of theirs – as long as you’re not being false and sappy.) If you’re angle and their beat don’t meet head-on, have you figured out how to facilitate the connection? Do you understand the overall mandate of the media outlet? And though it’s tough to do, there are times when you can contact a journo and say, I’m not pitching you, but I want to better understand what kind of info you want and how you want it. Sure some will turn that down, but from those that don’t you can reap an immense amount of knowledge and info.

    2. think about the best presentations you’ve ever given. Chances are that one of the common elements for all the really good ones is that you were confident with the material you were presenting. Same goes for a pitch because it’s a lot like a presentation – but it’s also like a dance (or a duel!). The more you know about what is beyond and behind the story you are pitching, the more flexible you can be in your discussion. And when you are flexible you can engage a journo in a conversation rather than just trying to get coverage. Remember, you are often going to be both adapting your client’s story to fit the journo’s need and trying to convince the journo that your story addresses their need. You can only do that if you have the knowledge to be flexible. If nothing else, that act alone will raise your worth in the journo’s books and you’re not likely to have as tough a time in the future.

    And now, because I like David, I give you PRJack’s Pitch Fist! (I actually use this descriptor and our agency is considering making up t-shirts with a stylized karate fist and the phrases ‘Strike First’ ‘Strike Hard’ ‘No Mercy’ around it. LOL but no stealing my idea!!)
    1. ensure that the story is newsworthy, relevant and timely – and that these link to the media person you are talking to
    2. have a competent spokesperson who can answer questions or is suitable and pertinent as a contributed piece author.
    3. have 3rd party corroboration – user, customer, analyst, industry expert, etc – who is not overtly connected with the client
    4. have images. whether that’s graphs, diagrams or photos. Even if you’re pitching radio, the images can help the producer better understand what your talking about. And know how the media you’re dealing with want images – ftp? Lo res samples? high res right away? and who do images go to?
    5. backing info – stats, reports, surveys, etc

    if you have all that put together… you should enjoy a modicum of success! (more than Mullen’s paltry 30%, that’s for sure! Kidding David!! LOL)

  9. oh, as if I didn’t babble long enough… the great thing about a phone pitch is that it is actually a better vehicle for doing what I said above than email. I find that if I need to facilitate, I use the phone. If the pitch is really simple, I’ll email. I also keep track of which contacts don’t want to be called.

  10. great tips everyone!

    @PRJack – thanks for the laugh. i will note that he was making a baseball analogy and threw out numbers for easy math, not referring to my personal pitching success rate. I’m a media beast! 🙂

    Seriously, though, your “pitch fist” reminded me of something I lived by starting out. I still do today, but it’s so ingrained that I don’t even really give it thought.

    At my first agency, our national media relations director always talked about serving up your story on a “silver platter.” What he meant was along the lines of what you’re talking about. Bring all the possible pieces to complete a story to the reporter. If they’re interested, it helps push them into a “yes.” And it tells them that you’re a good resource and that you’ve put thought and planning into the pitch.

  11. 1. Relate your pitch in some way to the reporter’s past coverage. Let them know you’re calling them for a reason (if you haven’t worked together before).

    2. Believe in what you’re pitching. Nothing is worse than calling (or receiving a call) about a product/service/event that you see no value in.

  12. What a great collection of tips here. Trying to add something new… one of my favorite “secret weapons” for media relations is to bundle stories. Include several angles for a pitch and provide anecdotes/examples/sources for each, all of which should go well beyond just your client. We’ve had great success with this and on the recent HARO “how to pitch” teleseminar, top reporters echoed that this approach tends to get their interest.

  13. Thanks for a great collection of tips! I just printed out this post and all the comments and highlighted key points so I can hang it up in my cubicle, right by the phone.

    You’re absolutely right about young PR folks being petrified of getting yelled at or becoming the subject of an angrily-written blog post. As comfortable as I am meeting and talking to people, phone-pitching is one of my least-favorite tasks. Fortunately my colleagues are helping me ease into it by giving me lists of “nicer” reporters!

  14. susan and lara – great tips. thanks for adding them to the mix!

    libby – glad you found the post and tips from me and others helpful. that was my hope.

  15. Thanks for extending the conversation, and helping people go through the baptism of fire – because, well, that IS what it’s like most of the time.

    We throw you in the water, and you gotta swim.

    And, well, it gets easier. 🙂

  16. Thanks so much! just went from an in-house position in a very specific market to an agency position with multiple clients in various areas…this helps a lot 🙂

  17. Esther Steinfeld

    Great list. And to the point of your piece overall, PR pros rely so much on email pitching these days because journalists prefer them. If you have access to Cision or Vocus, you’ll see that lots of reporters choose email over phone call as their preferred method of being contacted.

    All that said, we can’t lose the art of the phone pitch (and it IS an art). It’s also much easier to establish a relationship with a reporter or journalist if you’ve actually spoken to him/her. Email can be easily forgotten.

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Is There a Second Tier Audience?

We’ve all done it. Opened the previous deck. Tweaked a few slides. Updated the numbers on the corresponding leave-behind, then scrambled off to the next presentation, meeting or coffee.

Most of the time, it works. The new client or contact gets the bulk of the information you wanted to share, next steps are established, and it all works fine.

Occasionally, though, we lose a major opportunity.

If you haven’t seen it in the headlines lately, that’s exactly how Nike lost its partnership with Steph Curry. They didn’t plan to say sayonara to the future MVP or face of the NBA. At the time, Steph was just another budding young player who was seeking a better deal. And Nike had already locked in its top tier basketball athletes.

The story shares how simple mistakes led to a situation we’d all like to avoid. Yet, it happened. This is not meant to be an Under Armour promotion. In fact, it could have been a Nike promotion. The point here is not to call out the mistakes, but to recognize what we can learn from them. How many little meetings or presentations do we not take seriously enough? How many “could have been” or “what if” opportunities have passed you by? They may not have been $14 billion “mistakes,” but we bet they were important.

Here are three keys to landing the next MVP:

  1. One size never fits all. Know your listener, know your listener, know your listener. It’s amazing how many things shift when you really know them. What should you discuss? What should you show? Where should you go? Every audience is different. Know their names – even (especially) when they’re hard to pronounce. I used to struggle with names, and one of the best lessons I learned from the pros at Second City is to start with an attitude adjustment. Commit to getting it right, and you will.
  2. Never treat someone like they’re in Tier 2. Of course we have to prioritize our top producers, clients, contacts. But who appreciates feeling like second best? The communication experience you create depends on the way you make them feel. This comes from showing care, interest and respect through both behavior and content. Channel Bill Clinton who makes those he meets feel like they are the most important people in the room. Curry didn’t need to know that he was in the second tier of Nike athletes. Remember, the audience only gets what you give them – don’t ever let them know that they are in Tier 2.
  3. Clean your tray table. Every email, attachment and slide in the deck is an extension of you and your brand. One simple slip-up can ruin your chances at creating a deal in the future. At Decker, we say, “the angels are in the details.” Don’t sacrifice that polish.

Take the time to tweak and adjust your presentation every time.

We’re excited for Under Armour. We feel sad for Nike. Bottom line – it didn’t have to end up this way.