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Soviet Surge | Part 27 | FK Radnicki #1: Free-Scoring Start to Life in Serbia
A crazy conclusion to the Slovakian First Division saw Vladimir Latunov lift his eighth national title on his Soviet Surge with FC Nitra. That success meant he was back on the move with a tenth club in nine countries across Eastern Europe.
Trotters Talent | Part 37: Youth Development Hits New Heights
The good people of Bolton had yet more reason to celebrate in the summer of 2037 as their Bolton Wanderers heroes sealed the unlikely feat of defending their maiden Premier League title.
18 Teams I’m Eyeing Up for the Rest of FM 21
We’ve reached the mid-way point in the Football Manager 2021 cycle, which means there’s probably plenty of people keen for a new challenge and looking for a new save to take on for the next six months.
Soviet Surge | Part 26 | FC Nitra #4: Epic Title Battle
Newly promoted FC Nitra had taken the Slovakian First Division by storm in their first six months back in the league. The club sat pretty in second place and found themselves in an unlikely title battle with Slovak giants Zilina and Slovan Bratislava.
Improving the World’s Worst National Team | Part 4: Greatest Results in Sammarinese History
San Marino’s new-look young side had a somewhat chastening experience in World Cup Qualifying. But they had shown plenty of promise and there were several exciting youngsters establishing themselves in the national team.
Trotters Talent | Part 36: Bolton vs. Barcelona
A maiden Premier League title defence hadn’t started overly well but a strong end to 2036 saw Bolton Wanderers slash the gap to early pacesetters Arsenal and Tottenham.
Soviet Surge | Part 25 | FC Nitra #3: Into the Slovak First Division
FC Nitra won their fifth Slovak Second Division title with an unbeaten season in Vladimir Latunov’s first season in Slovakia. Now, heading into the 2032/33 campaign, the challenge was to strengthen the side and develop some exciting youngsters to step up to the top tier and move into European football.
Improving the World’s Worst National Team | Part 3: World Cup Qualifying
Andy Selva had led his new-look San Marino side to Nations League promotion with a ream of exciting new Sammarinese youngsters.
Trotters Talent | Part 35: FIFA Best Under 21 Men’s Player
Bolton Wanderers had become Champions of England for the first time in their history in the summer of 2036. This confirmed our turnaround in the club’s fortunes, rising from League 2 to the best team in the country in 16 years.
Soviet Surge | Part 24 | FC Nitra #2: Chasing An Unbeaten Season
Vladimir Latunov had made a great start to life in Slovakian side FC Nitra, the ninth club and eighth country in his Soviet Surge.
Improving the World’s Worst National Team | Part 2: Promotion Party
This Football Manager Challenge began as a YouTube save that, frankly, I didn’t have the time or dedication to continue recording. It came about in light of a BBC article that questioned how you could save improve the world’s worst national team, but didn’t answer the question.
Trotters Talent | Part 34: Premier League Title Challenge
Bolton Wanderers were challenging at the top of the Premier League after a great start to the 2035/36 campaign. Their strong form, with just two league defeats, had been inspired by exciting summer signing Germán Martínez, who already had nine assists, and star striker Guilherme, who had 14 goals in 21 games.
Soviet Surge | Part 23 | FC Nitra #1: A Different Kind of Challenge
After tasting success in more than half of the countries across Eastern Europe, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov, with all due respect, took a major step down in quality in the next leg of his Soviet Surge in the summer of 2031.
Trotters Talent | Part 33: Bolton Wanderers’ Best-Ever Signing?
Bolton Wanderers fans had a summer to remember in 2035 as their heroes lifted the club’s first-ever European trophy. The young Bolton side also upgraded to the second tier of continental competitions for the next season by finishing fifth in the Premier League.
Soviet Surge | Part 22 | Shakhtar Donetsk #2: Amine Gouiri Signing Aids Title Fight
An unbeaten start to the Ukrainian Premier League had Vladimir Latunov in prime position to win a seventh national title in his Soviet Surge – in which he was bidding to win all 13 leagues in Eastern Europe.
Trotters Talent | Part 32: 15 Year Reflection
After 15 years in-game at Bolton Wanderers, I thought it’d be good to reflect on our time at the club and have a look around the world of football in 2035. So read on for our best players, competition histories, manager updates, and the best regens in the world!
Trotters Talent | Part 31: Glorious Guilherme’s Goalscoring Exploits
Heading into 2035, Bolton Wanderers were absolutely flying in the Premier League. They found themselves in the top five, with the best defence, a 100% home record, and the league’s top goalscorer in the excellent Guilherme.
Soviet Surge Part 21 | Shakhtar Donetsk #1: A Jousse-y Start to Life in Ukraine
After success in winning the national title in six of the 13 target countries in his Soviet Surge journey, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov landed one of the biggest managerial roles in Eastern Europe in the summer of 2030.
Trotters Talent | Part 30: Guilherme Goes AWOL Then Goal-Crazy
We’ve hit the big three-oh mark on this blog save, which takes it to the joint-second longest series we’ve run on the FM Addict blog. And that longevity has seen Bolton Wanderers develop into a club heading in the right direction in the summer of 2034.
Soviet Surge | Part 20 | FCSB #1: Romanian Domination
Having led Rijeka to the Croatian title, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov continued his Soviet Surge across Eastern Europe by joining his seventh club in six countries. And that side was FCSB in Romania.
Improving San Marino Part 1 | Davide San Marino
In more than 160 matches – as of the start of the 2020/21 campaign – San Marino have only ever won one match, and that was a friendly against Liechtenstein in 2004. So that got me thinking – how do you go about improving San Marino?
Trotters Talent | Part 29: Walking In A Wonderkid Wonderland
There are few things in Football Manager that I love more than unearthing a talented Brazilian wonderkid midfielder. And the good news for Bolton Wanderers fans was that, in January 2034, I snapped up not one but two at the same time.
Soviet Surge | Part 19 | Rijeka #4: Record Breaking Handzic
HNK Rijeka were right in the mix for the Croatian title, just six points behind the almost unbeatable Dinamo Zagreb. Their efforts had once again been led by free-scoring striker Zijad Handzic, while the club’s owners were reportedly worried by manager Vladimir Latunov walking away at the end of his contract in the summer.
Trotters Talent | Part 28: Johnson & Johnston
Our focus on developing Bolton Wanderers’ academy products has continued to go well through to the 2033/34 campaign. Ten of our first-team squad came through the ranks and at least four are first-choice starters, but with that comes the inevitability that some players won’t quite make the first team.
Soviet Surge | Part 18 | Rijeka #3: Big Name Signings
A first season in Croatia ended without a trophy but offered glimpses of promise, including a potential superstar striker smashing goalscoring records. However, the HNK Rijeka board were unhappy with Vladimir Latunov not signing high-reputation players, which he immediately set about addressing in the summer of 2028.
Trotters Talent | Part 27: Navarro’s Dream Debut
A tough start to Bolton Wanderers’ second season back in the Premier League was long forgotten thanks to a solid defence leading a turnaround in form. As a result, our better players were being linked with some huge moves in January 2033.
Soviet Surge | Part 17 | Rijeka #2: Lethal Handzic
Life in Croatia had gotten off to a solid start but a worrying dip towards the last month or so of 2027 had Vladimir Latunov slightly concerned about the strength of his new HNK Rijeka side. With that in mind, he used a 50-day winter break to begin spending the £20 million or so transfer kitty available to him.
Trotters Talent | Part 26: Crazy Ten Goal Thriller
After 444 league appearances for Bolton Wanderers, it was time to bid farewell to true Trotters Talent hero Nigel Turner. The club captain and first player to step up from the successful Trotter Talents academy into the first team was, sadly, moving on at the end of his contract in 2032.
Soviet Surge | Part 16 | Rijeka #1: Rebuilding Rijeka
Having wrapped up the national title in Czech Republic, adding to those in Poland, Turkey and Hungary, it was time for Russian manager Vladimir Latunov to spread his wings once more. He’d resigned from Viktoria Plzen and eventually wrapped up a move to Croatia with HNK Rijeka.
Trotters Talent | Part 25: New Tactic Triumphs
Bolton Wanderers had made a confident start to life back in the Premier League for the first time in two decades. A series of solid but unspectacular had the Trotters sitting just outside the European places at the half-way mark.
Soviet Surge | Part 15 | Plzen #2: Czech-Mate
Life in the Czech Republic had gotten off to a flying, goal-filled start for Vladimir Latunov in his first six months with Viktoria Plzen. But he now faced a two-month winter break to explore his new country and assess some of the exciting youngsters his scouts had been busy discovering.
Trotters Talent | Part 24: Into the Premier League
After nine years in the Championship and 11 years in charge of Bolton Wanderers, we’d led the club back to the Premier League as Champions in 2031. Now we had a huge task on our hands to strengthen the squad for a relegation battle.
Soviet Surge | Part 14 | Plzen #1: Scoring Goals For Fun
Having wrapped up a title in Hungary, following previous success in Poland and Turkey, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov was swiftly on his way to the Czech Republic to join Viktoria Plzen in May 2026. He signed a two-year deal worth £4,200-per-week.
Trotters Talent | Part 23: Championship Title Battle!
A strong start to the 2030/31 campaign had Bolton Wanderers in the midst of a promotion battle at the mid-way point of the season. However, concerning defensive performances and an injury to star man – and, of course, Trotter Talent academy product – Solomon Suraka were causes for concern heading into 2031.
Trotters Talent | Part 22: Salter Forgets Which Team He Plays For!
A second loss at the final hurdle of the Playoff Final condemned Bolton Wanderers to a ninth season in the SkyBet Championship in the 2030/31 season. This was my 11th season in charge of Bolton and I’m relatively confident we’ve slowly but surely built our strongest squad so far.
Soviet Surge | Part 13 | Honvéd #4: Chasing the Hungarian Title
A swift rebuild of Honvéd FC was afoot as Vladimir Latunov had his side sitting pretty at the top of the Hungarian Division I heading into 2026, just two seasons after they flirted with relegation.
Trotters Talent | Part 21: Promotion Challenge!
The new era at Bolton Wanderers had seen the club remain unbeaten at their new Eddie Davies Arena home through the first half of the 2029/30 campaign. And they were right up in the mix for the promotion and playoff places despite selling off some of their most exciting Trotter Talents at the start of the season.
Trotters Talent | Part 20: Three Massive Sales Begin New Era
An exciting new era was afoot with Bolton Wanderers all set to move into brand new stadium, the Eddie Davies Arena, as the 2029/30 season began. But our 10th season in charge of Bolton began with a flurry of big money bids for our academy product talents.
Soviet Surge | Part 12 | Honvéd #3: Goal Hungary
The mission of lifting every league title in Eastern Europe meant there was no room for sentimental attachments for Vladimir Latunov. That was tested when, having succeeded in Poland and Turkey and performed a turnaround in Honvéd’s fortunes, the summer of 2025 saw him headhunted by admirers from afar.
Trotters Talent | Part 19: Final Match at ‘The Reebok’
Heading into 2029, Bolton Wanderers’ defensive approach was working nicely as they sat just outside the playoffs and into the fourth round of the FA Cup having knocked out a Premier League side.
Trotters Talent | Part 18: The New Alan Shearer
The final season at the University of Bolton Stadium – formerly the Reebok Stadium and Macron Stadium – saw Bolton Wanderers competing in the SkyBet Championship for the seventh successive season. That’s because the club is set to move to the brand new Eddie Davies Arena for the 2029/30 campaign.
Soviet Surge | Part 11 | Honvéd #2: Strike Sensation Sandro Luiz
Honvéd had enjoyed an immediate surge under the leadership of Russian manager Vladimir Latunov. At the half-way mark of the 2024/25 campaign, they were already just three points short of their tally in the entirety of the previous season. And they were sitting pretty in third in Hungarian Division I.
Trotters Talent | Part 17: Flourishing Academy Products
Bolton Wanderers’ young prospects were starting to respond to the faith we’d shown by throwing them into the first-team, in most cases extremely prematurely when they were still only considered to be playing at National League level.
Trotters Talent | Part 16: Bolton’s Second-Biggest Sale Ever
The key focus of this FM21 save is to focus on homegrown academy products, or Trotters Talents. So with that in mind, it’s pleasing to now have 12 academy products in the Bolton Wanderers first-team squad heading into the 2027/28 campsign.
Soviet Surge | Part 10 | Honvéd #1: Feeling Hungary
After a season of absolute domination with Turkey, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov decided it was time for a new challenge in his mission to surge his way across the Soviet football world. To do so, he ripped up his Galatasaray contract and headed for Hungary with Honvéd.
Trotters Talent | Part 15: Potential Chinese Superstar
The goals of Ryan Cassidy had singlehandedly inspired Bolton Wanderers into the upper reaches of the Championship in 2026/27, along with a pretty damn solid defence. But could they maintain their strong start to the campaign and push up into the playoffs?
Trotters Talent | Part 14: Goalscoring Hero
The steady growth of Bolton Wanderers was confirmed by the media finally deciding they were no longer favourites to be relegated in the 2026/27. However, the club’s financial concerns returned thanks to the new board’s strange decision to blow a non-existent £100 million on a new stadium.
Soviet Surge | Part 9 | Galatasaray #4: Turkish Delight
Season two in Turkey was proving to be somewhat of a breeze for Russian manager Vladimir Latunov, whose Galatasaray side had the Turkish Super League virtually wrapped up at the half-way mark with a 14 point lead.
Trotters Talent | Part 13: Bolton’s Exciting Future
Exciting times appeared to be on the horizon for Bolton Wanderers as new owners were installed on Christmas Day 2025. The new consortium, led by local investor Rick Harris, were able to quickly get acquainted with their new side as Bolton faced a ridiculous three games in four days over Christmas.