BrnwsBucksFanNC

July 2029 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts The off-season started with some great results, then we seemed to not be able to score. Granted, San Antonio and OC set up with 8 players in defense but we couldnt break them down. I kept changing the squad around as I continued to evaluate different players. I really thought we should have won those last 2. So, I dont take this as a good sign for the upcoming season. Hopefully things turn around soon. TV Matches Thoughts Some of that free TV money!! Nice to see that for sure. Season Ticket Sales Thoughts Our current capacity is 26,387 so to see that we there are only a little over 3K tickets that are not sold, yea, that is pretty cool. Vutsov Being Sold....Maybe Thoughts I am not sure who brought it to my attention, but I confirmed with his agent that Vutsov had no plans to resign with us and was going to be walking at the end of his contract. I decided to put him on the Transfer List with a price of $30M. This is what I got as soon as he hit the list. Looks like I hit his valuation on target. Matchday Income Thoughts I really wish we could make more, but with the size of our stadium, this is the best we can do. So I need to spend the money wisely. Petrovic Signed Thoughts After I got a firm offer on Vustov I put a condition on the deal that I sign his replacement. Petrovic actually is a better player. I was able to get him for a bargain price and he is excited to be a part of the squad. Vustov Finds a New Home Thoughts I thought it was interesting that I didnt get any other offers for him. They started out with a $14M offer, which wasnt going to happen. I probably could have gotten more, but to see that it will be $34.5M, I cant complain at all. New Signings Tom Bischof Thoughts Even though I seem to be signing quite a few midfielders, I dont seem to have gotten the right one yet. Hopefully Bischof changes that for us. I paid $5M for him. He wanted to leave TSG Hoffenheim and I was more than happy to bring him to Bristol City. I think he has the combination of youth and drive to help us become a better team. Dorde Petrovic Thoughts He was never a consideration until Vutsov said he wanted to leave. I do think I got the better end of the deal to be honest. I hope it turns out that way. But as soon as I got him signed, sealed and delivered I saw that he had gotten injured. He has a broken finger and will be out for 2-3 weeks...so we wont have him between the posts for the start of the season. Yea, that sucks... August Matches Thoughts I hope we can get back on the winning ways before the season starts. With our starting GK out for the Bournemouth match, that one will probably be a loss. I dont know the other match opponents yet, so who knows about that. Brentford, based on the return of Petrovic, that one should be a W...but who knows this season? Looking Ahead.....Thoughts and Considerations Sorry for the break in updates....life got crazy. But we are back at it again.... Its funny how player demands can change all of your plans. Vutsov demanding to leave caused some disruptions, but I hope things settle down now. I do think this season will be tough. I hope we are able to stay up for another season. I am really concerned that if we hit a rough patch that I will be sacked. If...and when that happens, we will see what comes next. But until then....onward and upward we go....and where we stop...who the heck knows!

June 2029 - Preparing for The 2030 Season Head Coach of the Month......Almost.... Thoughts Looks like that one was a coin flip. Well, at least I made it to 3rd place. Premier League Signing of The Season Thoughts If you are going to have a player come in 2nd for Signing of the Season, well, at least it is against someone like Sanchez. I think Ramsey will be even better this upcoming season. Premier League Season Review Thoughts I guess that is fair, for us to be the Overachievers. We hit a good run and was able to ride it to the end of the season. A strong start and a strong finish definitely helped us. I hope we can have a similar strong start to next season. New Average Attendance for Bristol City Thoughts I guess we are trending in the right direction. Hopefully once the expansion is finished we can increase this! European Club Rankings Thoughts I thought this was worth sharing because of the increase of Apol. They were one of my opponents in Cyprus. It is nice to see them with such a massive increase. Bristol City Small Reputation Boost Thoughts Well, baby steps I guess. A gain is a move in the right direction, no matter how small it is. UCL Coefficient Spots Thoughts Looks like Man United benefited from this. Still not sure how this is calculated, but England ran away with it. Youth Recruitment Setup Improvement Thoughts The board approached me about increasing the available salary for the Loan Manager. I decided that I would suggest we spend the money on something else. Based on our last couple of Youth Intakes, I wanted to see some improvement there. The board agreed and I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Financial Fair Play Reports Thoughts I still am learning about this. But it is green, so I take that as a good thing. Another Season of That TV Money Thoughts The TV money last season gave us a huge boost. I am glad to know that we will have another season of that. 2029/30 Season Fixtures Released Thoughts We start this season and end it at home, which I really like to see. I think we can start with a win...and I am unsure after that. Defender (Center)/DL Guilherme Gaspar Thoughts This has been my only signing. I didnt see the need to spend money to bring in players who are similar to the ones I have. I think he is going to develop well and I will probably send him out on loan. We actually got him on a free transfer from AEL in Cyprus. I guess I cant keep away from there. July Matches - Friendlies Thoughts I decided to send the squad to the western US for the Training Camp. Hence all of the American friendlies. I did schedule the one against Bermondsey as a chance to get a look at the squad...then we jump on the jets and head out west. Looking Ahead....Thoughts and Considerations There are quite a few factors that are going to impact things this season. I spent quite a few hours going through the players that we could afford, both on transfer fee and expected salary demands, and didnt find anyone that I felt would be worth spending the money on. I did make one knee-jerk extension that I instantly regretted as soon as he agreed to it. Sean McGurk is an okay player, but not one I should have kept. There was interest in him and I should have pulled the trigger and sold him. These things show my biggest flaw, I dont like to let go of players. I need to keep working on this as my career progresses. I know the board gave me $66M in Transfer money and I have not spent any of it yet so that is just money in the bank for the club. Which I dont think can hurt anything. I dont feel good about this season. Last season I think it was my arrogance, I mean, we went on one hell of a run to get promoted. But now after the past season, I know what we are up against and I think we are going to struggle, very badly. I dont know if I will be able to survive a bad stretch. The supporters were not angry when we hid a short skid last December against the top teams in the league. I will deal with that when it happens, but I am already starting to watch other jobs to see what may be open once I get sacked. I know that can come across as very negative, but I think it is more realistic given the fact I didnt make any improvements in the squad and we had more than our fair share of luck last season. Well onward and upward we go....and where we stop nobody knows!

End of 2028 - 2029 Season Board Feedback Thoughts It is good to see the board are pleased with the how things are going and that we continue to ensure that we are operating within the payroll budget. Supporter Feedback Thoughts There are 3 things that stand out to me on this. Firstly, the shift towards casual, fair weather and family supporters and away from our core supporter groups. Secondly, the loss of over 115K followers on social media. Lastly, the moderate influence the supporters have on the board. I dont know why we would lose followers when we are doing great, that really baffles me. I am also really concerned about this level of influence, there but for a few results to see me out the door. The End of the Season Presentation How It All Unfolded Thoughts Jota has been the picture of versatility. He started out the season on the left, but with the improvement in Anderson's play I shifted him to the right. He can easily play the attacking midfielder from either side. I was shocked to see that we sold out every home match....more to come later on that one! Season To Remember Thoughts I am never sure of how they come up with these ones, but more power to them! The New Arrivals Thoughts The new players made an impact on our success and I was really pleased with every signing I made this past season. Ramsey and McArthur quickly worked their way into a starting role and I am excited for what they can do next season. The Starting 11 Thoughts This was pretty much my "go-to" all season and they rose to the occasion. I hate to admit that we will probably see some pretty big changes, but I want us to be even better next season. Accolades Thoughts Some of the nice things that were said about the squad over the past season. Financial Fair Play Update Thoughts I know that Everton was hit with a pretty big point reduction (I think it was 10 and then reduced to 5 or 6) for violating these rules. So I am glad to see that we are safely in compliance. Commercial Success Thoughts That Broadcast Revenue blows my mind! I am really pleased to see everything increasing....except ironically matchday commercial and retail income. EPL Payroll to Turnover Thoughts This is another huge number for us....we are making more than we are spending. On top of that, we are only spending about 30% of what we make...so the rest is money in the bank! Season Finances Thoughts These across-the-board increases will set us up for the future. A good cushion in case we do get relegated. Tax Bill Thoughts And of course, since we made a profit...we have to pay taxes on it....oh well. Upcoming Season Payroll and Transfer Budget Thoughts The payroll is about the same, but that is a pretty hefty transfer budget. I think I am going to be spending some of it for sure, I just hope I dont spend it all. Planned Stadium Expansion Thoughts When I was going through all of the season ending stuff I saw that we had sold out every home match. I decided to take the plunge and ask the board to expand the stadium. There is no reason to build a new one since the current one was rebuilt in 2016. Ashton Gate has a very long history (it was originally built in 1887) and I think it is important to hold on to that history if possible. This expansion will increase us a little over 3000 seats. Hopefully we are able to sell out the new capacity and we are still in the EPL to take full advantage of it. Financial Picture Thoughts I havent shared one of these in a while, but holy shoot! That is a huge swing in the balance of the bank account! If it wasnt for the tax bill we would be sitting even prettier. To know that I have this added cushion to cover the expenses for the upcoming season is a good feeling. One less thing to worry about. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations Another season in the books and, as of yet, we have not had a bad season. I know I am probably jinxing myself by saying that. We have had really good luck though and luck can swing to be as bad as it has been good. I know that will happen.....I just hope I survive it. I also realize that I am going to have to make some improvements in the team. Mateta seems to have lost a step and that 13 match dry spell he had could have been a disaster if we didnt have a strong midfield to pick up the slack. I think that I am going to need to upgrade some of the defenders as well. I just havent found someone who is a dramatic enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. Lots of players to go through and tough decisions to make..... Thanks for sticking through this with me and I hope you enjoy reading along.....Onward and Upward we go!! Well, not sure how far up...but I think you get it!

May 2029 Monthly Report Team of the Week Thoughts I thought this was a really great recognition for the youngster. Well, he is 21, so I guess not a youngster per se, but I guess it is all relative, haha. This was for the Southampton match where he, not only started, but he got onto the score sheet as well. In that match he got not only the goal, but an assist as well. I think this bodes well for his development. EPL Young Player of the Month Thoughts Another great honor for Foster-Vigors. I hope he develops well enough to feature more with the starting 11 next season. Match Results Thoughts The Everton match saw us play our last home match of the season....and what a season it has been! I considered playing a much weaker side, but decided the sold-out stadium deserved better than that. I did rotate some of the regulars starters, but for the most part this was a full strength squad. Ramsey got us off to a flying start after getting a lovely cross into the box from Bukari before slamming the ball into the back of the net in the 2nd minute. I thought, here we go, off to the races. But we seemed to go to sleep at that point. Jota scored from the spot in the 37th minute after.....I am not sure, there were too many bodies in the box for me to figure out what happened. We let them get back into the match in the 40th minute, but that concluded the scoring as Everton did everything they could to unsettle us. We gave the home supporters a win to end their season. We traveled to Fulham, where if things went their way and they were able to beat us, they would be able to avoid being relegated. As the match went on and we had only taken 3 shots through 55+ minutes, I felt like we could get broken at any moment. I changed the mentality to Attacking and it must have lit a fire under them, okay, for just a few minutes. But it turned out that was enough as Knight scored after getting a lovely pass from Anderson in the 65th minute. Neither side scored after that, but it was not due to a lack of trying on their part. Thy ended up taking 14 shots to our 7 and committed 20 fouls to our 15. It was an ugly match, but once again, we headed home with all 3 points. I felt bad about Fulham losing because of their relegation fight. However, when I saw the rest of the results, they could not beat the drop as they ended up 4 points down into the drop zone. League Table Thoughts I never ever thought we could have this good of a season. I know it is going to take work next season to repeat our success, but we are going to give it a shot! Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month Thoughts Shout-out to Tommy Conway. He has been out on loan since January 2028 and his contract is up in June 2029. I wish him well as he moves on to bigger and better things. He just doesnt have the quality to be a factor in my plans going forward. Transfer Spending Thoughts We spent more than some, but not as much as others. I know that I will need to keep an eye on this as I continue at the club. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations One thing before I continue on. I am going to make the images on here smaller. People can click on them and it will enlarge it. I think it will keep my posts shorter. Hopefully they are not too small to see. Please let me know if I make them too small to be read. I know I considered wrapping this up, but I am too invested into it to do so. Looking back over my career, I have had some really good luck when it comes to match results. That makes me really concerned because I know that things can collapse as fast as they go well. I dont know if I will be able to survive that happening since they were ready to throw me under the bus because we had lost some matches in December. This season is coming to a close and then we will move on to the next one.... Here we go, Onward and Upward!! Thanks for following along!

I have found that I have enjoyed it, just wasnt sure that anyone was following along so was the effort needed to put it here worth it. So thanks for letting me know that you have. I am going to continue it and will post it. I have had too much success to be honest, so at some point the wheels will come off and I will plummet like a rock, lol The Cyprus data base I have used is the Riddler's Basic Version, Cyprus (4). I got it through the Steam Workshop, but I am sure it is available other places. I have contemplated resigning from Bristol and heading back to there, haha. If you do start a save there, I would love to see how you are doing, I had alot of fun there. It will be a challenge to unseat the top couple of teams there. If Elia had offered me a salary I probably would have stayed there to be honest. I would love to see someone taking them down.

As I come to the end of this season I am considering retiring this save, or at least stop sharing the updates. There does not seem to be any interest in how this is going and it takes time to post the updates. However, if anyone is following along I dont mind at all continuing to post the updates. But it feels like they are just disappearing into the cyberverse....

April 2029 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I had a really good feeling as we headed into that first match against Crystal Palace. The team had been playing well and even with minor changes for each match they didnt seem to lose any of their focus. Things went better than I had even guessed they would for us as we were able to only drop 2 points during the whole month. The Crystal Palace match started with a very frustrating first half that saw neither of us being able to score. Even though we seemed to have more of the ball (which was confirmed as I saw our possession was over 60%) we just couldnt seem to beat their keeper. That is until the 69th minute when Maeta finally broke his 13 match goalless streak with a beautifully placed shot into the back of the net. McArthur added to our tally with a lovely header from a corner 10 minutes later. Mateta slotted his 2nd of the match away in the 81st to put the match out of reach. But then we seemed to lose focus and allowed them to break through on a counterattack to get back into the match in the 85th minute. We then headed over to Brentford for our 2nd away match of the month. Everyone expected us to get a draw and we didnt fail to provide one. They opened up the scoring in the 4th minute before we seemed to find our footing and Ramsey leveled it all up in the 35th minute and Anderson gave us the lead in the 44th minute as we headed into the half. We allowed them to level the match up again in the 58th. Knight gave us the lead again in the 73rd minute as Mateta ave him a lovely pass across the front of the goal. But we were not able to hold onto the lead for long until they tied it all up for the last time just 4 short minutes later. In all honesty, the result was a fair one when all of the stats were evaluated so I was pleased to head home with 4 points. I tried not to look at the other results since we had played the last match of the previous week, but I realized how close we were to ensuring we would not drop any more spots...all we had to do was beat Nottingham. No pressure, huh? I played it down to the team as we prepared for the match, but can I admit I was very nervous as I watched that initial kickoff. I guess my nerves were impacting the squad as they didnt seem to be able to get the ball into the net. The first 16 minutes were not kind to us as we quickly went down 0-2. But then they finally decided it was time to start playing. Who knows, maybe me berating them from the touch line had something to do with it? They responded by Mateta scoring in the 25th, Baptiste slotting another one home in the 32nd and Bukari cementing his Player of the Match performance by adding a goal in the 45th minute to his earlier 2 assists. So we headed into the LR leading 3-2. I wasnt sure I could handle another half like the 1st one, but that was the end of the scoring. We tried to hold onto that slim single goal lead and they worked to break us down....luckily we were the one to be successful. With that result, well....you can read the rest below. Southampton came to Ashton Gate with us riding high and they quicky put is in our place as they opened the scoring in the 10th minute. I guess that is what it takes to wake the team up as we once again scored 3 goals in 15 minutes with Mateta (16th), Anderson (29th) and even Foster-Vigors getting in on the action in the 31st. But of course we have to make things interesting and allow them to score in the 49th minute as we tried to control the rest of the match and keep them from scoring anymore. I felt 9 points would be a great month for us...and we got 11. Maybe I need to start playing the lottery? Accolades! Player of the Week Thoughts It was awesome to see that Mateta was awarded the Player of the Week after the Crystal Palace match. He finally broke out of his slump in a grand fashion. Wonderful to see! Team of the Week.....X3 Thoughts Not a bad week at all....4 players in the Team of the Week. I guess they really liked the Crystal Palace result! Thoughts After the Brentford draw, we had 2 more players recognized. Personally, I feel like we should have had more on this list! Thoughts For the 3rd week in a row there was a member of the Bristol City squad in the Team of the Week. Bukari rightly deserved his spot here and in my opinion, should have been the Player of the Week! Race for the Coefficient Spot Thoughts I am still trying to wrap my mind around all of this stuff, but I think this is good news for English teams! League Table Thoughts I think this has been one hell of a season for us. Even if we do nothing else, we, not only got promoted, but we stayed up in a grand fashion! No matter what, we will finish the season in 7th place. Not bad, not bad at all.... UEFA Conference League Bound!! Thoughts Next season we will have European football!! Who knows, we might even win a match or 2? May Matches Thoughts Just Everton (10th) and Fulham (18th) left this season. These matches mean nothing to our final standing, but I think they mean everything to the supporters. I am tempted to play a weakened squad and not risk any major injuries, but that goes against my nature. I will put a full-strength squad out for the Everton match since it is our last home match. For the Fulham match, I may give some of the backups a run out. I havent made up my mind yet. I will go conservative and just say 3 points this month....but lets hope for all 6! Premier League Profit....or Loss Thoughts This has been a GREAT by-product of our being in the EPL. With the money we will get for our league position, if my calculations are correct, we will make over $50M this season. What a great bankroll to have now! I am really confused how those other teams stay afloat when they lose soo much money....I hope we never have to find out. Some Great News for Bath City Thoughts I saw this pop up in my social media feed and I decided to check their remaining schedule. They had 1 match left...the playoff to enter the promotion playoff, my schedule allowed it so I decided to attend the match. What a wonderful match to attend! A back-and-forth match that saw the opposition level the match up with less than 5 minutes left in regular time. Bath had to score in the 2nd half of the extra time to draw the match level and send it to a penalty kick shootout. The Bath keeper blocked the 2nd shot and the Romans made all 5 of theirs and went through 5-4 on penalty kicks. Off to the next round! Thoughts I couldnt believe my luck as we were not playing on the day the promotion playoff match was being played against Dulwich. So, I decided to attend this one as well. In this one, Dulwich scored in the last 10 minutes to draw it level and the extra time saw no one being able to score so once again we went to penalties. This one saw the first 5 takers from both sides slot the ball into the net. The 6th Dulwich player approached the spot and took his shot and it slammed into the post before careening into the stands. The 6th Bath City player slowly took his place behind the ball and with ice in his veins calmly sent the keeper to the right as he slammed the ball into the bottom left open corner of the net. I was able to attend 2 matches....both went to extra time and Bath won both....what a wonderful surprise! I saw they also decided to expand the stadium to hold another 500 supporters. Hopefully I can attend some matches next season as well. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations This has been one hell of a season...and we still have 2 matches left! But what a ride!! I dont know if my heart can take another season like this though. I keep waiting for this to come crashing down on us but we have been able to win when we were supposed to....and that is what matters the most I guess. I know I am going to have to make some changes in the squad though. Even though I dont show a bias towards my players....I actually do have that. I dont like getting rid of players, especially when they have played well. But we got lucky more times than I want to admit to myself and I know that at some point our luck will run out. I will need better players to make up for the lack of luck when they does happen. It is going to be a long off-season for sure. But we need to get through this one first! Then I can start dealing with next season.... Thanks for following along....I welcome any comments.....if anyone cares to make any.... But even if you dont....thanks for reading along and watching how things have transpired for this humble football fan..... Onward and Upward we go, where we end up, who knows? There's only one way to find out....here we go!

March 2029 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I felt like we could win both of these, but I know how my team seems to play so up and down. It depended on which Robins squad showed up. I knew how important the Newcastle match was and Ramsey rose to the occasion. Jota sent in a lovely ball from a free kick and Ramsey slotted it home in the 25th minute to give us the lead. Newcastle's Zaniolo was sent off in the 39th minute for a harsh tackle and they responded by scoring in the 43rd minute. I have been sticking with Mateta but I dont know if he is trying to hard or is not trying hard enough. Once he hit a 6.4 rating I sent in Simms to try to give us a spark. Simms took a pass from Lindsay and scored in the 64th to give us the lead. Ramsey played a lovely pass to Bukari in the 77th minute that he beat the keeper with to put the game out of reach. The rest of the match saw us getting nonstop attacks but they were unable to break us down and we headed back to Bristol with all 3 points. I saw that even with a week between the matches that some of the players were tired so I swapped some of the regular starters out. I cant seem to get quality starts out of either of my strikers right now and this is something I will need to take a hard look at. West Ham seemed to want to let us take the game to them. They only attempted 4 shots with only 1 on target. McGurk got a long pass from McArthur and was able to beat the keeper for the match's only score in the 23rd minute. Every time I saw us passing the ball I was concerned that we would make a silly pass and turn the ball over to allow them back into the match. Even though they had more of the ball than we did they were never able to translate their possession into a goal. We were able to keep our 1 goal lead and end the month with all 6 points. A Great month for us! Team of the Week...X2 Again Thoughts Ramsey rightly deserved this recognition after his performance in the Newcastle match. He has developed into one of our go-to players and really orchestrates things in the middle of the pitch. With every match he has increased his stature in the league. I just hope that doesnt mean I will need to fend off non-stop suitors for him this summer. Thoughts It looks like the pundits were impressed with McArthur and McGurk as well. I think it is wonderful to see both of the players recognized like this. I am really proud of them. League Table Thoughts I know we wont break into the top 6, but to be sitting in control in 7th place with only 6 matches to go. This is just crazy. It has been a wonderful season for us. I think the remaining matches put us in a strong position to retain this league position and with it, the possibility of European football. Not bad for a newly promoted side! April Matches Thoughts We start out with Crystal Palace (20th) and then have Brentford (12th). We head home to welcome Forest (16th) and the head to Southampton (15th). We should win every match, but I know that is a huge ask. I feel like 9 points is a good goal for us as we head into the end of the season. Monthly Accolades Young Player of the Month Thoughts Turk is one of the players I am keeping an eye on. I think he has the potential to turn into a good one, if he continues to develop. I think this is a testament to his ability and speaks highly of how well he is developing. Goal of the Month Thoughts I like Sabiri, but he is so inconsistent. I am glad to see him getting this recognition and I hope it bodes well for his career. He is under contract until 2030 but I hope I can sell him during the summer. Hopefully this will encourage other teams to meet my asking price. Most Recent Signing Midfield (Center)/AM (C) Shandon Baptiste Thoughts This was a free transfer of a player who had been released by Brentford during the transfer window. He agreed to a team-friendly $491K salary for 2 years. He has been coming off of the bench since his signing and has provided the depth I felt we needed in the midfield. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations I have really enjoyed this save, in spite of the times I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window and my wife had to remind me that the windows are open. The challenge with a team like this is to try to make sure they win the matches they should while sneaking in the occasional victory in the matches we should lose. We are playing well and there is no reason that I can see that will cause that to drop off. As I look towards next season, I know there are positions that we need to improve. While I like Busanello, I feel like we could improve our left Wing Back. I think Manu will be ready to take over as the right Wing Back. I hate to admit it, but I feel like it is time to consider selling Mateta and bringing in a player with more speed and better finishing. We just are not putting ourselves in the best position to score goals. We are relying too much on the midfield to win matches for us. I want to see more production out of our strikers and Mateta just hasnt performed well this season. Maybe a new home would benefit him....and us. There are just 6 matches left in the season and we are sitting in a strong position to stay in that 7th position. I dont know yet if it will mean anything, but to finish that high is pretty awesome. The most nerve-wracking thing is every time I start a match I get this sinking feeling we are going to lose. But the squad has found a way to prove me wrong more times than not. I have learned one thing though, dont play a match right going to bed. Either I end the match all excited about how we were able to win, or stressed out about how we figured out a way to lose. Either way I immediately start thinking about the next match, trying to figure out what changes to make in the squad, tactics and training. The end result is that it takes quite a while for me to be able to go to sleep. I will admit I hate transfers and contracts. Transfers are a never-ending series of second guesses about whether a player will actually improve the side or not. Contracts are arguing over salaries that 9 times out of 10 are higher than the agents said the player would want. Once the negotiations are over then it becomes a question of their production matching their salary. I really dont like the prima donna attitude of some players....demanding to be played in their "favorite position", which I learned years ago was a perfect way to make them angry when you have to play them somewhere else.....their demand that I improve a position or the coaching staff....which I never agree to...it is my organization and a player doesnt have the right to demand who I hire or sign. But almost every contract starts with something like that and when you reject those demands it seems to send some of the negotiations downhill. The joys of managing in the top-tiers of football I guess. Thanks for reading along....this has been one hell of a journey....Onwards and Upwards we go!

Youth Intake Overall Rating Thoughts Not our strongest bunch of youngsters. We will see how they do in the evaluation match. Top Talent Good Talent Decent Talent Thoughts I doubt we sign many of these players. I have been disappointed in the 2 Youth Intakes that I have had here at Bristol. Hopefully we can get better ones in the future.

February 2029 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I knew this would be a tough month, and it was. Even though we were able to snag 2 points in the Brighton and Man City matches (I still cant believe that Man City result) so for us to get 5 points this month, I am very pleased. The Chelsea match was as bad as I thought it was going to be. I changed us to a Cautious mentality and I guess they thought I meant for them not to shoot. After they had taken 20 shots and we didnt take any, I changed the mentality to Balanced, but I dont think it mattered much. We took 2 whole shots, well, at least both were on target. When compared to their 31 shots, 14 on target, well, we should be lucky it wasnt any worse. Ironically all of the goals were in the 2nd half. After we went down 0-1 in the 72nd and I changed our mentality, Bukari got a lovely pass from Ramsey and drew us level in the 74th. I changed to wasting as much time as we could and they retaliated by scoring 2 more goals in 2 minutes. That was a 1st class butt whooping and I am glad they didnt score more. We headed home to face Brighton. I felt we could beat them. But they took the lead in the 1st half. Mateta has been struggling so I started Simms. He repaid that trust by scoring a scorcher in the 49th minute after a lovely pass from Jota. We kept the pressure up but were not able to break through. They are a team I have really struggled to get a handle on them. 4 days later we welcomed high-riding Manchester City and I felt this would be another match on the scale of the Chelsea match. But I decided that the Cautious mentality didnt do me any favors, so I put us on a Balanced one. I think it through them off of their game plan. Neither side acted like they wanted to win the match. We both had 8 shots, with us getting 4 on target and them getting 2. We had more of the possession and sadly committed more fouls, but the end result was neither of us were able to score in that match so we shared the points. We then traveled to London to take on Spurs. Statistically this was a level match, but they were able to carve us up twice in the 1st half and we faced a 0-2 deficit for most of the 2nd half. Surprisingly we did get one back when Busanello was able to see a gap in the defense and slot the ball away in the 81st minute. But it was too little too late and we fell to another defeat. As we headed home for the Sunderland match, the board and supporters both expected us to get a draw. Damn, playing the team at the bottom of the table and they expect a draw? Wow. Ramsey took control of this game as he scored in the 23rd and 67th minutes to ensure we earned all 3 points. We controlled the match to the point that Sunderland did not even get a shot on target (they did take 4, but I never saw them on the in-match highlights) so I was proud to look back at the board and supporters knowing that we had disappointed them and not get the draw....we got the victory instead. I expected 3 points...we got 5. So I would say it was a good month. Team of the Week....X2 Thoughts I think this was a great recognition for Busanello and the game he played. Yes, we lost, but he put in a top-level shift and rightly earned the recognition. Thoughts Ramsey has become a vital player for the side. He pulls the strings in the midfield for us. It always presents this in a 4-4-2 formation, which we do not play. Ramsey plays as a midfielder as an Advanced Playmaker with the Attack mentality. He is definitely our best player right now....except for Vutsov (who I still cant figure out why he isnt recognized, oh well) but a well-deserved honor for Ramsey. League Table Thoughts I still am dumbstruck by the fact we are in the top half of the table. It looks like Bournemouth and Newcastle are in a fight with us for that 7th spot. It looks like position could possibly be in the European Conference League Playoff, based off of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup winners. I know there is still 8 matches left to see where everything ends up. But to even be a part of this conversation is mind-boggling. There are a total of 24 points left for us.....and 24 points to Fulham. We are really close to being safe from relegation, no matter what the rest of the season match results are. This is a nice position to be in for sure. March Matches Thoughts Only 2 matches, I guess there is an international break, I havent checked yet. But that Newcastle match is HUGE. Whoever wins that will be in the driver's seat for that 7th spot. I think that is a 50-50 match, we can win it as easily as we can lose it. I will split the difference and say a draw. The West Ham match is at Ashton Gate and I feel we can win this one. Lets hope I am right! Some More Of That TV Money.... Thoughts We are making money every month and have wiped out the deficit I had created during the first transfer window. So every penny we earn is money in the bank. Oh, I know that when I type a currency amount I use the dollar sign instead of the pound sign, which is what the currency is. I know this sounds crazy, but I dont know how to put the pound sign. I guess I could research how to do it. But tbh, it never crossed my mind, haha. I will try to figure that out before the next update. And Now About That Manager.... Thoughts This was pretty cool to see. Now onto the next 200! Thoughts I now have earned all of them. I havent done that in many years of FM, so I am really proud of that. I checked my Reputation is up to 65%. I am really pleased with that. It is good to know the kind of impact I can have on the squad. Thoughts Wow, this really shocked me. I know we had hit a bad patch, but it was what? 7 or 8 matches, at most. Boy, they have short memories. Yea, we won the next match. But I am really worried about their expectations going forward and if I will be able to keep my job if we hit another bad stretch. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations It was great to be able to Transfer Window behind us. I actually did sign another player, a midfielder. I will share his info with the next update. I wanted to get a player in who is already playing at our level and not another development player. I was asked again about the number of players I have out on loan, but I feel like it gives them great playing time which is what is needed to help them develop. I know our roster will go through some more changes at the end of the season. I want to be judicious in the signing of players, not just to spend the transfer money they have given me. I transferred some of the extra Transfer Budget into our Scouting Budget to allow us to scout the whole world for the rest of the season, not just Europe. I also am trying to bring in 3 more scouts to give us better coverage in northern and eastern Europe as well as Central America. Hopefully they get signed soon. They had to get work permits. This season has went very well. I hope it continues! Thanks to anyone who has followed along. This has been alot of fun. Onward and Upward we go!! To where, who in the world knows?

January 2029 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts We started the new year hosting Man United and were able to steal all 3 points in a match I honestly thought we would lose. Shackelton didnt score, but he showed his value by getting 2 assists. He really looks good coming forward and playing the ball to the midfield players. I feel like him being able to play as a midfielder does impact his ability to see how the play can develop. Knight started the scoring for us in the 25th minute and Jota slotted one away in the 34th from the spot to give us a 2-1 lead going into the half. Mateta gave us our 3rd in the 47th and I changed things to start to slow the match down and get ready for the ensuing attacks. Rashford had one hell of a game as he was able to get 2 past Vustov, but we held on and sent them home with a loss. Wolves came to Ashton Gate and we were able to once again earn all 3 points. Moder (who we sold last January) put them on the board first. But Anderson got a beautiful setup pass from Mateta and grabbed us a goal in the 37th. Jota once again found the net from the spot in the 69th minute and Simms got on the scoresheet in 2nd half stoppage time to put this one out of reach. Peterborough came to town for the FA Cup and I decided to play youngsters mixed in with a few of the rotational players and allow the starting 11 to get some rest. I got really worried when our only score of the 1st half was from Clark in the 29th minute to get us back in the match after going down 0-2. The 2nd half the team responded really well to the halftime talk as Ramsey scored a braced (67th and 82nd minutes) and Armstrong scored a header from a corner in the 75th for his first Bristol City goal. We conceded goals from corners in both halves of the match and know that our backup goalie situation will need to be looked at to make sure we can cover corners. We then traveled to Leeds and on paper at least, this match should have been a draw. All of the stats were pretty much the same with the Ramsey goal in the 34th minute the only goal in the match. We then traveled to Brighton for the 3rd Round of the FA Cup and once again, the match was pretty even on paper. McGurk started the scoring in the 59th minute and I thought we would be able to hold them off, but were scored on twice in consecutive corners and lost a really close match. So needless to say, I decided to start looking for a new set piece coach. We then headed to Bournemouth. This was an ugly match. I set us on a cautious mentality and I guess they took that as permission to commit fouls at will. We had 17 fouls and 4 yellow cards in this match and even though we had the majority of the possession, we didnt take any shots. Our only goal was in the 52nd when McGurk scored with a beautiful pass from Martin. They drew it level in the 82nd and there was nothing I could do to get the team fired up enough to go and try to win this one. I was really disappointed with our intensity in this one and really felt we should have won it (if we had taken any damn shots). We finished the month hosting Liverpool. This is another match where we ended up with the same stats as each other and the score reflected it. They set up for a corner in the 4th minute and somehow Knight, while attempting to clear the ball from the near post, scored an own goal to give them the lead. Ramsey got us level in 1st half stoppage time with a solo effort where he moved the ball through their defense before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. Knight got 2 assists in the 2nd half as Jota got us level again in the 55th minute after they had taken the lead with a goal in the 51st. Simms, playing the part of the supersub, cut between the central defenders and got a lovely pass from Knight before he beat the keeper to give us the lead in the 60th minute. I knew 30 minutes was too long to hold on to a 1 goal lead and I knew there was 1 more goal in the match. Either it would secure the victory for us, or it would allow them to draw level. They scored that last goal in the 81st minute and we split the points. I thought we would win that one so to drop those points was tough. But looking back over the month, I could not really complain at all. I said last month that 6 points would be a good month....so 11 is freakin amazing!! Accolades Team of The Week Thoughts It is nice to see Mateta getting some accolades. He does a great job when presented with the ball. I hate to say it though, but I think he is losing a step, so it is nice to see him still being recognized for his contributions to the side. Youngest Bristol City Scorer Thoughts Another nice thing to come out of the Peterborough match. Im not sure he will make it to the starting 11, but that cant hurt when he tries to find a new club. League Table Thoughts At the beginning of the season, I was asked about the points needed to stay up. The reporter shared that he thought 40 points would be enough. So, for us to have 42 points at the end of January, yea, that is pretty damn cool. If someone had offered me this scenario back in August, I would have jumped at it! I think things are going very well. Leeds are struggling after a strong start and Wolves seem to have some fight in them and with that 7 point cushion, I think they stand a good chance of staying up. Financial Stuff More TV Matches Thoughts More free money, yea, cant complain about that at all. Loan Repayments Starting Thoughts I knew we would start to repay this at some point. I am glad we are in a strong financial position to do so. EPL Payroll Information - After Close of the Transfer Window Thoughts This just blows my mind. Forget about the $416M we are behind Man City.....we are $131M behind the league average!! Leeds is going to be in a tough spot if they do get relegated. Im not sure they can sustain that level of salary if they drop down. Be interesting to see. February Matches Thoughts We are going into a tough month for sure. Chelsea, Spurs and Man City are all above us in the table. Brighton is a team that we just cant seem to beat and then we close out the month hosting Sunderland. I think 3 points is realistic, 6 would be great. But unless we can snatch a match somewhere, I just cant see where it will come from. New Signings Defender (Central) Dean Huijsen Thoughts This is one I brought in from Juventus. I think we got a steal in him since he only cost us $125K. I signed him the 1st day of the transfer window and he has already gotten some time on the pitch. Williams was my only depth for central defenders and Huijsen provides us another player in case we need him. The added bonus of him being young and hopefully can still develop. I liked this one quite a bit. Striker Adama Bojang Thoughts This was our only signing for the rest of the transfer window and it was on the last day. I guess I used the rest of the window to just watch the frantic movements of teams. I really liked what I saw from this 24 year old and his price of $1.5M from Reims I felt was more than reasonable. I signed him and immediately sent him out on loan since I have Mateta and Simms. Mateta just seems like he has went as far as he can and I really want someone who can stretch the defense and take advantage of gaps with pace and acceleration. I think Bojang can get even faster....at least I hope he can, haha. But he gives us some really good depth. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations I always get to the Transfer Window with dread and apprehension. But this one wasnt too bad. I did have some come after Lindsay, but their offer bordered on the ridiculous so it was a no-brainer to reject it. I actually was looking at an upgrade for left defender. But the asking price was asinine. So, even though he was interested, Koln just wanted more than I was willing to pay. I will keep an eye on him and may try to unsettle him to see if I can sign him at the end of the season, but there is still alot of football to be played for sure. I cant help myself, I have continued to check in on Elia Lythondria. But it is a team I dont even recognize. At the end of last season, with the squad I left them, they got 19 points and were able to stay up. They proceeded to sell or release all of the players, except 4. They sent everyone except Alic out on loan and proceeded to increase the payroll to $90K per year above the budget. This season, with the new squad and the massive payroll, they have gotten 9 points throughout the season. I understand that a new manager wants to have players they want, but to see the total turnaround in the club is just sad to see. I wont be able to follow them next season since I have dropped the rest of the leagues in Cyprus. I just hoped they would do better. Bristol City has had a remarkable season so far. We have won the matches we should have and been able to snatch points from other matches to put us in a very safe place. I know I will need to make some improvements in the squad to give us a better opportunity to be a stable club in the EPL and not be worried about getting embroiled in a relegation battle at any point in the future. I hope those of you who are following along with the save have enjoyed it so far. I know I have! Onward and Upward we go.....and where we stop....who even knows!

December 2028 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I was setting myself up to take 9 points and be happy with it. But the team continues to surprise me. The Brentford match made me start the question what my Assistant has been recommending. He wanted us to go in hard on the tackles and it made us come completely undone. They scored 2 quick goals in the 1st half and I decided to change the tactic to what I had wanted and Jota scored a beautiful goal in the 36th for us to go into the half down 1-2. I decided to ignore him completely after that and McArthur scored on a header from a corner in the 62nd to draw us level. I really felt we would be able to find the winner in the last 20 minutes, but all we ended up doing is drawing 2 more yellow cards. We headed to Nottingham and dont think we got off of the coach for the 1st half. They scored out of the gate in the 3rd minute and started a series of non-stop attacks. I decided to pull us back to a cautious mentality to handle what they were throwing at us. They scored again in the 58th and looked like they would cruise to a victory. But then McGurk (60th) and Mateta (62nd) drew us level and we put our foot on the gas in an attempt to find that elusive late winner. But their tactic of tackling my players hard (3 yellow cards for them in the last 20 minutes) kept us from getting anything going and we headed back to Bristol no worse for wear with another point to add to our tally. The Southampton match is one that just about caused me to resign. They scored 2 quick goals in the first 8 minutes and I started to berate and, well, try anything to get their mind back into the game. Anderson got us on the scoreboard in the 9th minute and Ramsey made it level in the 43rd minute and we headed into the half level 2-2. The 2nd half saw us come out playing on a different level and we took the lead on a Shackleton strike (I think this is his 1st goal) and Mateta put the game officially out of reach in stoppage time after a beautiful setup pass from Ramsey. The Everton match saw us come out of the gate, playing too aggressive and not paying attention. This was made apparent when McArthur scored an OG in the 17th minute. I watched the replay 4 or 5 times and am still not sure how he put the ball in the net. But then Jota became laser-focused and scored from the spot in the 23rd, got his 2nd in 1st half stoppage time from a lovely Anderson cross and his 3rd in the 48th after Ramsey played a beautiful through ball. We had a chance to pile on more after Branthwaite got an early shower in the 81st minute after a harsh tackle which resulted in his 2nd yellow card. The Fulham match had "trap" written all over it. We were on a roll and spirits were high. I approached this one with some apprehension, but the squad showed they were focused and ready. McArthur got us started in the 1st half stoppage time before Mateta added our 2nd in the 51st, Ramsey brought the score to 3-0 and Foster-Vigors completed our scoring in the 75th. I tried to slow things down and park the bus after that. But they successfully carved us apart in the 81st to pull a goal back. As I approached the Arsenal match, I saw a completely worn out side that would be facing another heavy schedule in January. So I decided to rotate the squad and give our backups a match. I knew we would be pushing our luck to be able to beat them and the concern of an injury to me just wasnt worth it. So I set us up much more defensive and hoped we could handle what I knew would be thrown at us. Bukari gave me a smile when he opened the scoring in the 29th. But they only let us hold the lead for 8 minutes before drawing us level and then in stoppage time for the 1st half got the lead. I still think he was offsides, but anyway. We held them off until the 69th and 81st where they put the match out of reach. Martin did give us another score in the 83rd as we just sat back and absorbed their attacks until the final whistle. Team of the Week....X3 Thoughts Jota got recognized for his contributions on the pitch along with McArthur, Ramsey and Anderson. A nice representation of the squad and the overall quality we have. Player of the Week Thoughts Jota was a one man wrecking crew in the Everton match. I feel like he deserved this recognition and then some. It is hard to believe that I only signed him last January and he has secured his place in the starting 11. I originally signed him to play left winger, but with the signing of Anderson I have moved him to the right. Bukari is a great player to rotate in, but it is nice to have some options in those 2 vital positions. League Table Thoughts After that wonderful December, I think we have a really good chance of staying up. At the beginning of the season, I didnt rate our chances very high. It is a testament to how well the side have played. Financial Fair Play and Another TV Match Thoughts I am still learning about the Financial Fair Play rules. But to know that we are okay, yea, that is all I need to know, haha. We have another TV match and more money....which is always a good thing. New Expectations....and Budget Thoughts As we approach the January transfer window the board reached out and asked me if I wanted to change the expectations. My first reaction was "sure! lets got for the top option" that is, until I looked at January and the matches we have there. Then I came crashing back to reality and settled for the middle option. It still gives me more transfer funds and payroll. Its nice to know I have those if I need them. January 2029 Matches Thoughts Man, what a month! Peterborough, yea, we should win that one. But otherwise, 6 points will be a good month. I hope we beat Wolves and Leeds, but even then, I am not 100% sure about those. I am not going to put myself out there on a limb, but I will say 6 points will be a good month for us. Criticism....for 1 Loss? Thoughts As I said above, I rotated the squad and changed the tactic for the Arsenal match. I needed to rest most of the squad and I felt the tactic suited who we put on the pitch. So they complain that a weakened squad only lost to the best team in the league by 2? Damn, they dont have much patience do they? Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations Before I discuss this past month, I wanted to share what has happened with Elia over the last year. They sacked the manager who replaced me after 2 months. His replacement came in and they played enough at the end of the season to stay in the top-tier of Cypriot football. But this past off-season, he replaced all of the players except 3. So far this season they have not won a match. The last time I checked, they had drawn 4 or 5, but that is it. I hate to see what has happened in such a short time. But he wanted his players and it looks like they just were not good enough. Now back to Bristol. I have quite a few of the players who I know will never make the starting 11 on the transfer market. I figure why not sell them if I can? Our Youth Intake is supposed to be excellent, so it will be good to make sure the new signees have the opportunity to get time on the pitch. I also have gotten interest in my backup goalie going out on loan. I am not sure about this and need to really think about it. I guess the argument that I can recall him if needed will help him develop, but I dont like the idea of going into a match without a backup goalie in the bench. So yea, I need to consider this. I dont like the Transfer Window, I dont want to lose players, but it is the reality of it. Hopefully we can get through the next 30 days without too much change...but who knows? Well here we go......Onward and Upward!! Thanks for following along!!

November 2028 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I approached this month thinking that 6 points would be a good month, so us getting 7 was even better. Sunderland is at the bottom of the table for a reason. I decided to rest some of the starters and give some of our other players a run out. Bukari started off the scoring in the 8th minute by grabbing an errant throw-in on their end of the pitch and weaving his way through the defense and beat the keeper on a sweet little move to slot it away in the bottom far corner of the net. He continued his good day by feeding Jota a beautiful cross-field pass that he fired into the top corner of the net. Jota scored from the spot after a very harsh tackle in the box (personally I felt it was a red, but I didnt want to say that in the presser, I dont need a fine) in the 41st to give us a comfortable 3-0 lead heading into the half. Sunderland was able to catch us sleeping on a sweet counter in the 66th minute before Simms rewarded the supporters for their loud cheering when he started the match when he slotted a shot into the net in the 89th minute to secure us all 3 points. We headed home to welcome Newcastle, the team we cant seem to play well against. This match was no different. Jota started off the scoring after a setup pass from Mateta in the 6th minute and what followed was a never-ending series of fouls by both sides that kept either side from being able to settle into any kind of rhythm. The woodwork punished and aided us as both sides were robbed by hitting the posts and crossbars. The succession of fouls finally led to Newcastle being awarded a kick from the penalty spot and beat Vutsov as this one ended with the points being shared. We headed to London to take on West Ham where our luck seemed to run out. Despite having more shots (13 to 10) we just couldnt break down their defense. They caught us sleeping and were able to score 1 of their own and send us packing with all 3 points in their back pocket. Just 3 days later we welcomed Crystal Palace and I had rested the players to make sure they were match fit for this one. This match was the same as the Newcastle one, but this one saw us come out on top as McGurk set Jota up in the 40th minute on a lovely cross that saw Jota slot it safely into the back of the net. These matches were a real struggle at times as the side didnt seem to be bothered one way or another about how we did. That is going to be something I need to figure out as we move into the middle part of the season. Team of the Week...X2 Thoughts Jota was selected for Team of the Week twice last month. I still cant believe the bargain price I paid for him last January. He has repaid me and then some. I like to see the recognition of the players being spread around. It proves that we win....and lose as a team. League Table Thoughts I remember one of the questions I was asked earlier in the season was about the number of points needed to stay up. I believe the reporter said it was 40. To know we are halfway there with 24 more matches to play helps my heart some. Every point is important and to have this cushion is very reassuring. I think it is easy to see who the top-tier sides are, the 2nd-tier and the pretenders. December Matches Thoughts So not only do we have a flurry of matches at the end of the month, but our last one just has to be against league leading Arsenal. We start the month against Brentford (7th) and then travel to Nottingham (13th) and a week later we welcome Southampton (17th). Then the fun begins as we head to Everton (16th), then 3 days later, on Boxing Day, a home fixture against Fulham (19th) and another 3-day break before we travel to take on Arsenal (1st). Brentford and Arsenal, I dont think we can win those 2. But the other 4, I think we have a good chance of getting 9 points from those 3. That would put us in a good place when we hit the new year. Wanting to Discuss A New Contract Thoughts I was actually concerned that the board and supporters were not too happy with me. I know we have had some good results, but I dont always play the type of football they want. As I say all of the time in the pressers....I am paid to win and I use whatever tactic I think will help us to do that. This Guy Is Getting Paid! Thoughts They offered me a 3-year deal at $464K a year. I countered with $507K for 5 years. But they didnt like that. So, I kept the years at 3 and responded with the figure we agreed on. I normally dont ask for a pay raise, but we have now erased all of the deficits and are making money every month, so why not? Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations This is going to be a busy month for sure, but then we hit the month I cant stand during the season....the dreaded Transfer Window. I still see that Mateta is on the radar of different teams and I am not sure how long I can hold on to him. That is part of the reason I brought Simms in. I think the more time he gets the more comfortable he will be...just in case Mateta does leave. Who knows who else might go? But we have to get through December first! I think the woodwork hated me this past month (okay, it saved me a couple of times as well) but we couldnt even get a beneficial rebound to make up for the miss by just inches! I know how frustrating that can be...and how risky it is because eventually one team or another is going to have some good luck. I have also realized that I dont need a match-by-match report on all of the players we have out on loan. That can be alot of emails! But I have seen the players we sent on loan because of their unreasonable playing time demands have struggled to perform against lesser competition. That validation of their ability was nice because of the reaction to me sending them out. As we head into December, thanks for following along.... Onward and Upward we go for sure!!

October 2028 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I knew this would be a tough month and it proved to be. The Chelsea match, we were lucky to only lose by 1. It was like we were afraid to take any shots. Then the 2nd half they came alive, but we just couldnt catch a break as we hit the crossbar and the left post to deny us a chance to get a point from the match. We then headed to Manchester to face another tough match against Man City. Maybe we enjoyed the TV exposure, but I think it was one of the best counterattacking matches we have ever played. I knew they would be relentless in their attacks, and they were. But in the 1st half stoppage time, Anderson got a beautiful pass into the box from McGurk that he slotted into the corner of the net to give us the 1-0 lead. Silva drew us level in the 2nd half but McGurk played another beautiful setup pass to Mateta who gave us the lead in the 68th minute. The last 20 minutes we sat back and absorbed their attempt to get something out of the match, but we were able to head home with all 3 points. The cup match against Newcastle saw us field a younger squad. I liked the idea of making a deeper cup run, but I also was concerned with the fatigue level of my starters. The quality between the 2 sides was apparent as they moved on in the competition as we were not really a threat to even score in that match. The home match against Spurs, I felt really good about. We had played well in the Man City match and I didnt see any reason for us not to do so with the Spurs match. But the 1st half was a disaster for us. Busanello made a harsh tackle in the box which set them up to score from the spot and they never looked back. They doubled their lead in the 55th and I was trying everything to get the team fired up about the match. Knight delivered a beautiful pass from a set-piece and McGurk headed it into the net to give us a respectable 1-2 loss. So to get 3 points, I wont complain. League Table Thoughts We are roughly 1/3 of the way through the season and we are sitting in 10th place. I am very pleased with that. If someone had offered me that at the start of the season, I would have taken it. This looks even better to me because the manager of Wolves said we would be going down. So, to be above him in the table, that is even better. I dont know if it will end this way, us being above him. But for now, it feels really good. Team of The Week Thoughts It was great to see McGurk getting recognized for his work in the Man City match. He came to me and asked for a new contract, which I gave him. One thing he did want was a promise to play him in his favorite position. I removed it. I dont like to make that promise since I dont know what the future holds and I dont want that hanging over my head. But it was nice to see him honored here. Come and Get Me Plea Thoughts This is the 2nd one of these I have gotten. I checked out Kawabe and there is always a possibility of me signing him. But I think it would require me selling some of my central midfielders. I have a good group of them now and I dont want to put myself into a selection dilemma as I try to give them all match time. TV Matches Thoughts Extra money is always good. Plus, seeing how we performed in the Man City match, it may give us an extra incentive! November Matches Thoughts Sunderland is bottom of the table and Crystal Palace is currently 18th, so I think those 2 are very winnable. The West Ham match, it is according to which Bristol City team shows up. We can win it just as easily as we can lose it. The Newcastle match is the one I think we will struggle with. So, anything over 6 points, this will be a good month. Time to hit the pitch! Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations I knew we would have a tough month and we did. I am pleased to know that the LR is still behind me. I havent seem how the board and supporters feel. I hope they give me at least a B. If we dont have a good month in November, I can see me losing the board, supporters and the LR, which will not be good. I sent us into the red with the transfers I made, but things are much better this month. We are making about $5M per month, so we should be in solid shape by 1 January. I think I am going to consider selling some of the younger players I have as well. We currently have about 20 players out on loan and that is alot of money tied up in "potential" to not have a good balance of youth and income. I actually was questioned at one point during a press conference about the large number of players we have on loan. I think this is something I will need to keep an eye on. As I look at the schedule, December is brutal. The last week of the month, we have 3 matches scheduled. I will need to keep an eye on the fatigue levels of the squad. Simms and Anderson are cup locked, so I need to keep that in mind as I am rotating the players in and out of the starting 11. We are holding our own...and that is all I can hope for. Thanks for reading along and see how we fight to stay in the Premier League! Onward and Upward we go!! Time to see what happens next!

September 2028 Monthly Report Match Results Thoughts I entered this week wondering how we would be able to get any points. I guess someone forgot to tell the squad. We actually had the Brighton match in the bag. McArthur scored on a header in the 67th and we were just sitting back and absorbing the non-stop barrage from them. I just about threw my computer out the window when they scored in the 94th minute....out of 4 minutes of stoppage time. They carved us apart on the final counterattack of the match. Yea, I was pretty deflated that one. I know our focus had taken a hit due to the changes in the squad so I decided to go more defensive on this one. I wanted us to live or die by the counterattack. Luckily for us, we lived through it. We were outshot 18 to 5. But we outscored them 2-0. I decided to rotate the squad some and put Simms into the starting 11. He repaid me by scoring in stoppage time to give us the lead heading into the half. He seemed to be exhausted so I subbed Mateta on for him in the 75th minute. Mateta showed the skills in his fresh legs as he got a beautiful long ball from Anderson and just schooled the keeper in the 85th minute as he just doinked the ball over his prostate body. We then headed to Liverpool to take on the legend Jurgen Klopp and his highly skilled squad. I actually felt like it was a win for us to only lose by 1. Unbelievably we went into the half up 2-1. They scored an own-goal in the 13th and Jota took a beautiful long pass from Shackleton and sent the keeper the wrong way in the 16th. They were able to get one back in the 19th on a wonderful series of passes that sent Vutsov the wrong way. The second half was pretty much nothing but attacks from Liverpool. We gave up the leveler in the 62nd. We then started to give as good as we got and I felt we were going to head home with the points level. But Nunez was subbed on in the 67th minute and just flat out beat Vutsov in the 70th for what proved to be the game winner. But a 2-3 loss to Liverpool is something to be proud of for us. Nice Praise Thoughts I was kind of surprised to see him still here since he has announced in real life that he is leaving at the end of this season (2024). But that is a really nice compliment for the whole sqaud. Another Team of the Week Thoughts The scouts dont rate Vutsov as high as he plays. Which I think is pretty damn awesome! I hope he keeps it up! League Table Thoughts So here we are, 7 matches into the season and we sit in 9th (probably 10th with Forest's match in hand). But that is AWESOME!! We are currently 6 points above the drop zone. So I am not going to complain at all. I know reality will kick in soon, but I am going to ride this as long as we can. October Matches Thoughts Really? Can I have an easy month sometime? I hope this means we get the teams in the bottom of the table later in the season. Chelsea (1st), Man City (5th) and Spurs (3rd) with Newcastle (17th) at home in the EFL Cup. Maybe we can win the Newcastle match? Beyond that? I will be happy if we can somehow find a point. Yea, they are coming at us tough so far this season. Looking Ahead - Thoughts and Considerations I am glad we are on the international break. As soon as the run of matches ended in September I had 2 players get injured in training and go out for 2-3 weeks. So the break couldnt have come at a better time for us. I also lost one of my scouts to Aston Villa. I decided to bring in some more U-21 and U-18 coaches as well as 3 new scouts. I am waiting for the scouts to get work permits, which hopefully wont be a problem. But if they are able to join us, we will have coverage for: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and Slovenia. We should find out about the WPs any day now. I cannot complain, except for the injuries...oh, I decided to hire a better physio and sport scientist as well. Hopefully they help cut down on those things. But yea, I am really pleased. My spending spree sent us into the red again, but that should turn around now that I am not spending money on transfers. Every month is one more month we increase our chances of staying up....and that is what matters the most....oh....and making money....oh....and winning matches! Onward and Upward we go! Thanks for joining along as we travel this wacky journey....