chile_paul Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 World Footballing News Manchester United had a shocking start to the Premier League season, rapidly falling down into 12th place. Clearly this wasn't acceptable either to the fans or the board and before long manager Carlo Ancelotti was shown the door, with Alan Curbishley coming into the club from his position at Sunderland - a huge step up from the English manager, who whilst with plenty of experience has not previously managed a top level club competing in the major European competitions before. Ex Swiss international striker Alexander Frei was given the opportunity to lead at the highest level as he was appointed the new manager at the Reebok stadium. But the great experiment failed to pay off for either Bolton or Frei as he was sacked in March as Bolton were threatened with relegation. Bolton eventually turned to Glenn Roeder to steer them away from relegation. The managerial merry go round really whirled into action this season, as a number of other prominent managers were shown the door. Tottenham sacked McLeish, who had never really been forgiven by the Spurs fans for almost getting them relegated a couple of seasons ago, West Ham sacked Pulis and eventually Abramahovic lost patience with Andres Villas-Boas and sacked him, 3 years later than all the pundits had expected after he was heading towards a 4th consecutive season with no trophy for the Stamford Bridge faithful. Abramahovic may not have learnt his lesson though, as he went straight to failed Man Utd manager Carlo Ancelotti and installed him as the new head coach! Alan Shearer was poached from his position as Everton manager, where he had won last season's manager of the year award to fill the hot seat at White Hart Lane. Antonio Valencia has been offerred a protective bodyguard by the police as threats and messages of hatred pour in after he moved across Manchester to the Ettihad. He wasn't the only Manchester United player to risk the wrath of their fans either as Danny Wellbeck moved to Arsenal in a £6m move Long forgotten Aiden McGeady who has been playing out in the Russian Premier League for side Spartak Moscow made a surprise return to English football when he moved to Manchester United for a £22.5m fee Liverpool's big money signing Andriy Yarmalenko has been paying back the clubs investment in him well - as well as winning the UEFA Champions League golden boot, he was recognised as the star signing of the Premier League season after he scored 29 goals in all competitions. David Ngog was the surprise runner up of this award having scored 18 goals following his £2.6m move to Everton. In May, the footballing world was rocked at it's core as Manchester United threw away the FA Cup final to Championship side Sheffield United. Alan Curbishley has been accused of under-estimating the strength of Sheffield United and fielding a weakend squad, but defended his decision citing the importance of ensuring his team were fresh for the Champions League final against Man City later in the month. The criticism clearly hurt however and the team were unable to recover their form for the final, losing 3-1 against their City rivals! Sheffield United were back at Wembley a few weeks later in the Championship play-off final. In one of the most bitter playoff finals in recent memory they also went down 3-1 against their city neighbours and rivals Sheffield Wednesday. In one of the most exciting Premier League finishes of all time, 5 teams were all with a chance of lifting the title on the final day - in the end it was Liverpool who held their nerve to lift the title after a 3-0 victory against Norwich. Without a doubt though, it was Aston Villa who were the surprise package, having been in the running all season, Paul Lambert's men eventually had to settle for 4th place and a Champions League berth for next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Chile_Paul's Career - Season 5 Preview - Bamboutos de Mbouda Board Expectations: Elite One - Achieve a respectable position Cameroon Cup - Reach the Quarter finals CAF Champions League - Enjoy the experience Media Expectations: Media Prediction: 6th Title Odds: 5-1 My Expectations: Elite One - Retain the league title Cameroon Cup - Win the cup again, although I may rotate the squad more to freshen everybody up for the Champions League CAF Champions League - Qualify for the Group stages Squad: I've made very few changes to last season's title winning squad this season, and if anything it is slightly weakened with a number of the young squad players either leaving on loan or on permanent deals which were just too good to turn down - there is a risk that I'll have cut too far and not have the squad depth that I'm going to need for the Champions League. I have bought a number of new strikers in because they were available on free transfers, and I just hope that the rotation I'm going to need up front doesn't disrupt the rhythm of the team. Backroom Staff: At last I've managed to find an acceptable goalkeeping coach. Vincent Job only gets an 11 for goalkeeping coach, but this is 10 more than any other coach I've looked at before! Hopefully he will be able to support the development of my young goalie's as currently my first choice goalie is my only feasible choice to put between the sticks. Transfers: Once again a net income from my transfer sales, which will be needed to help avoid any losses this season - especially as my costs on junior coaching have gone up again. Pierre Mondounga: A young striker from Gabon, who appears to have plenty of talent. When I did the deal to sign him I expected him to get a good few games this season, but there is now far more competition up front and he may have to go out on loan in order to get regular football Tah Nivan: A local Cameroonian striker who had a good season with plenty of goals for a team who were eventually relegated. A £16k transfer split over 48 months seemed like a no brainer Conrad Azong: My third new striker to join the club, Conrad was a loan gift from my new parent club ES Setif, my coahces rate him highly as the 3rd best striker in the club, we'll have to wait and see if he meets their expectations Gianny Joinville: An experienced central defender who will bring vital experience and depth to my defensive line - my only concern is his lack of pace...... Finances: Wage Budget: £4,318 p/w (£3,884 p/w) +£432 p/w Wage Bill: £4,401 p/w (£4,189 p/w) +£222 p/w Transfer Budget: £5.3k (£5.3k) Bank Balance: -£101,638 (-£141,987) +£40,349 Average Ticket price: £1.00 (£1.00) Season Ticket Holders: 1,323 (1,225) +97 Season Ticket price: £2.00 (£2.00) Estimated club value: £190k (£120k) +£70k Reputation: Club Reputation: National Ranking within Cameroon: 7th (10th) Cameroonian world ranking: 18th (56th) Elite One competition ranking within Africa: 27th (22nd) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Nobody was expecting us to win the U-20 world cup and we were facing an incredibly tough draw with both Mexico and Brazil in the group, the propsect of Bulgaria however was a game I thought we had a chance to win. Unfortunately however we failed to break the Bulgarians down despite dominating throughout and only managed to pick up a point. The games against Brazil and Mexico were predictably not so good..........although to be fair the scoreline perhaps does not reflect the balance of play on the day, we just really struggled in front of goal. Ultimately, despite being proud of having qualified for the tournament in the first place, 3 games with 1 point and no goals scored was not an acceptable result and I did the honourable thing and fell on my sword. Elsewhere, the tournament continued and it was the youngsters of Italy who went on to lift the trophy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Back at home in the league, things have started extremely well with teams falling apart against us. Clearly we are still playing on the back of the confidence that being the league champions brings! One concern however is that I'm struggling to forge a partnership with the front 2 and the majority of our goals are coming from midfield; I need to make a clear decision on who my starting strikers are get them to start performing, otherwise things are going to get much tougher when the goals dry up from midfield. Elsewhere the good news is that Coton Sport are having a shocking start to the season, only picking up 5 points in the first 5 games, so already we have a gap of 10 points between ourselves and last years runner's up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 A comfortable win in the first round of the cup, but we've got a much tougher away draw in the second round. It shouldn't be a problem, but I won't be able to afford to rotate my squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 A much tougher month, mainly down to the fact that Djoumetcheu Tchapda, my captain and goalkeeper has been out injured for the entire month and Franck Kanga has also picked up an injury prior to the KSA game which rules him out for the next 7 weeks. Coming in for Tchapda was my reserve goalkeeper Jiofack Nguensi, who unfortunately is just not up to this level and a couple of mistakes really cost us. So, 8 games in and it is KSA who are making the early running, buoyed by their victory away to ourselves, incidentally the first time that we've failed to score in a league game since March 2014 - 38 games ago. I really need my strikers to start hitting the back of the net! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Doesn't look too bad on the scoring front. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Doesn't look too bad on the scoring front. No, in general I'm happy with the number of goals scored, I'd just prefer that my front two would get on a run of goals rather than rely on goals from midfield and defence. Maybe I'm just being greedy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 You're not, always want more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Very close league table. Just read through and must say I love your updates in the World Footballing News Nice addition! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raulzur Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 The best story that i've seen recentley. Good Luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatTraveler Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Good results, but KSA are doing just a little better Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Very close league table. Just read through and must say I love your updates in the World Footballing News Nice addition! Thanks, I'm aware that these are quite England focussed, so if anybody wants me to dive in somewhere else and let you know what is going on in your home country please let me know The best story that i've seen recentley. Good Luck! Wow, great praise - thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Good results, but KSA are doing just a little better I'll haul them in before the end of the season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Very excited by the prospect of this chap who I've just signed on a pre-contract agreement from League 2 Brasseries - I've had my eye on him for a couple of years, but this is the first time he's considered joining me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 A quiet month in November, with only 2 league fixtures. We started with a comfortable win against newly promoted, Esperance Guider who are doing much better than expected in 6th place. This was followed up by a fantastic away win against Coton Sport where we had to come from behind and then scored the winner in the 90th minute thanks to a debut goal from young substitute Pierre Moundounga after Coton Sport had failed to clear a cross into their box. Coton Sport are really having a shocking season and are languishing down in mid table - despite their poor form however they really put up a fight against me and I'm delighted to pick up these 3 points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 We've continued to progress well in the Cameroon Cup and show our consistency by reaching the quarter finals for a 4th season in a row. Mont Cameeroun provided tough opposition and the score line flatterred us after we picked up 2 late goals (including an own goal) in the last 7 minutes. We then had an easy tie against non league opposition in the 4th round in order to set up what should be a straight forward match against League Two Panthere du Nde. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Well, as we head into the second half of the season, we've hit a great run of goal scoring form and are smashing our way past everybody we come up against. The dominant win's against Tonnerre KC and Tiko Utd, both of whom are right up at the top of the table were particularly pleasing. We can't afford to be complacent though and we came close to coming unstuck against Sable who were on a 5 match losing streak. Having fallen behind to a first minute goal, we re-established our normal pattern of dominance and had overturned the defecit and built up a comfortable cushion to lead 4-1 by the 32nd minute. However we lost our focus in the 2nd half and they scored 2 goals in 5 minutes to set up a tense finale; in the end however we tightened up at the back and they just couldn't find a way through for the equaliser. As a result, we're now starting to build up a gap between us and the rest of the pack......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Looking very good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 A couple of months where we really went off the ball, but as they say the greatest teams manage to keep winning games even when they're playing badly - well we continued to win most of our games, so I'll read that as we're halfway to being a great team We started off well enough with a 3-1 away win to Union Douala, but the next game against PWD Bamenda we really struggled against their fairly basic 3-4-3 formation and whilst we had lots of the game on the flanks our front 2 couldn't find the room to get on the end of any of the crosses. We gave a goal away cheaply to a basic corner and only really started to threaten their goal when I went all out attack with a 4-2-4 formation, but we just ran out of time to pull it back. The game against Fovu was the perfect example of us playing poorly and winning, going down to 10 men after 50 minutes when Justice Wamfor was sent off for a second bookable offence, but we continued to have the run of lay and Claudio Jose Domingos scored the winner from an indirect free kick. Against Canon again we were very poor and lacked much threat up front. They however failed to finish off some glorious chances, 4 of which were rated as clear cut, and when they did score we got a lucky equaliser from our one and only clear opportunity. Things started to recover and get back to normal with a comfortable 2-0 away win against Mont Cameroun and a great 4-0 win against Astres - this was even more rewarding given that their front line was made up entirely of ex-Bamboutos players including Moussa Nassourou who had joined Astres on a free having left relegated Norwegian team Floy a few months earlier - and they didn't manage a single shot on target all game! With 6 games to go, things are starting to look more comfortable. I can't believe how badly Coton Sport are doing and their manager isn't even listed as being under threat! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Building up a strong lead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatTraveler Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 The tiltle shoud be yours again!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Another disappointing intake this year, considering that I'm now spending £20k per month on junior coaching, which is higher than my player wage bill! Given this level of expense, I'm going to have to cut back on junior coaching if I don't make it to the Champions league group stages, it just isn't giving any sign of a return on the investment.... Oumar Sodjinou - he has immediately gone to train as a right back, given that I never play with wing backs. He has some decent physical stats, but needs to work on his strength Georges Essomba - some ok stats for a striker, his high heading rating may make him a prime candidate for a target man, but again he needs to develop his strength Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 More good progress in the cup where we reach the final for the 3rd consecutive season, the question now is whether we can retain the trophy and compete on 3 fronts. It's worth point out that the scoreline against Panthere du Nde was very flattering, the put up an extremely tough fight only to concede 3 late goals after they were down to 10 men. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 So, this is the competition that really matters for me this year and will determine where my future lies next season. I've made it clear to the board that I'll only continue on in my post if I make it through to the group stages of one of the continental competions. In practical terms that means winning through the 3 qualifying rounds for the Champions League, or losing in the 3rd round of the Champions League and then winning in the final qualifying round of the Confederations Cup. The draw for the first round was once again lucky this year, drawing me against the minnows of FC Lazio from Madagascar; unsurprisingly they were no match for my team. The draw for the first round proper is much, much harder though against the Malian champions and last year's Champions League semi-finalists Djoliba.............. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 The tiltle shoud be yours again!! I've still got an away match against KSA to come and if they win this it opens the door for them to mount a challenge - the match is sandwiched in between the two Champions League matches against Djoliba as well so I'm going to have to rotate the squad to cope with the fixture congestion.............. We're still favourites, but we're not across the finishing line quite yet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Nice tohave a simple draw for the first round of the CAF Champions League. Hopefully its something to groww off of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 You can beat Djoliba. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well the first leg away to Djoliba was a really tough affair and I was on the back foot for long periods of the game, Djoumetchu Tchapda was brilliant between the sticks denying 3 clear cut chances with some brilliant saves. However we did threaten on the counter-attack. Weaka Wisseh in particular was giving their back four a tough time and in the 56th minute he was fouled in the box allowing Duplex Kamga to step up and blast in an away goal. We managed to hold on until full time to take a crucial 1-0 lead back to the Stade de la Mbouda. This tie is far from being over though, given how well Djoliba played I wouldn't put it past them to get a result at our place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Back in the league and we had a number of key games coming up, most notably a crunch tie with KSA sandwiched in between the two legs of the Champions league qualifier against Djoliba. Win against KSA and the title is all but ours. We started off with a convincing 4-0 win against Esperance Guider who have been doing really well in the league this season, spurred on by the goals of Georges Ngassam, but they were no match for my team who were on fire, most notably Robert Ntolla who came up from defence to score 2 great headed goals and then secured his hattrick from the penalty spot. The game against KSA was, as expected, much tighter - but we built an early cushion, taking a 2-0 lead with a goal just either side of the half time whistle. KSA fought back strongly and scored in the 77th minute, but despite dominating the later stages failed to pick up any points. As a result the title was mine, unless Tiko Utd could haul back a 9 point defecit and turn over a circa 25 goal defecit! The next game made a mathematical probability a certainty however, and it was great to do so in convincing fashion in front of our home fans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Back in the Champions League and another tight game against Djoliba, however we scraped through with a brilliant second half performance from my players. We had taken the lead building up a 2-0 cushion on aggregate in the 40th minute, however just before the half time whistle I had to tear up my notes as they poached the away goal which really put the tie in the balance. Coming out after half time, having only just conceded a goal is always a nervy affair, because it is difficult to judge how the players will have reacted to your team talk, but we powered out, completely dominating possession and the chances. Domingos scored another header from a set piece to ease the nerves in the 55th minute and then substitute winger Etienne Adjahouinou put the icing on the cake with a 3rd in the 87th minute. That win guarantee's us a place in the 3rd round and therefore some form of continental football next season, even if it is just the Confederations Cup - the draw for the 3rd round will be key to decide which competition we end up in, as there are 5 out of the 8 clubs in the 3rd round who I really, really want to avoid including Sundowns (who beat me convincingly last season), Orlando Pirates, ES Tunis and Al Ahly. The draw has been kind though and I've managed to avoid those giants and will instead be playing Vita Club, the perennial runners up to TP Mazembe in the DR Congo league. These guys will be tough to beat, but I'm happy that I'm in with a chance - there is also a surprising and interesting British connection to this tie, which is bound to increase the interest from back home..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 With the league title already wrapped up the final 3 league games of the season proved to be somewhat of a disappointment and an anti-climax as all the attention and focus moves onto the Champions League qualification battle and the Cameroon Cup. Squad rotation to ensure that the players stayed fresh in this busy run in played a part in the draw to Coton Sport and the defeat to Tonnerre KC, although conceeding 2 late sloppy goals to Coton Sport to throw away the three points was a real disappointment. The 4-0 win over Tiko Utd was a real delight however and was a great way to sign off the season in our final home game in front of a bumper crowd at the Stade de la Mbouda - it bodes very well for the cup final against Tiko in just over a weeks time as well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 The final knock out round before the Champions League group stages was a 2-legged affair against the runners-up of the DR Congo league, Vita Club. On paper it looked a very tough draw, but it could have been much, much worse. To add extra spice to the match up the local media had been making much of the extremely unusual match up between 2 British managers. My unlikely opponent was Chris O'Loughlin a young, Northern Irish manager who had been at Vita Club as Manager since 2009, having earlier been Assistant Mgr. O'Loughlin had travelled widely in his playing career, playing throughout the Irish leagues, in South Africa and also at Santos for Brazil before deciding to settle back in Africa as a manager. The tie was full of controversy after the first leg at home to Stade de la Mbouda had to be replayed because a floodlight failure (a.k.a crash dump) just seconds before the final whistle caused the match to be abandoned with Bamboutos clinging on to a tenuous 1-0 lead. In the replay however, Bamboutos really showed their class with better finishing and managed to over-turn an early 1-0 defecit to win 4-1. It meant we had the advantage of a comfortable cushion heading into the second leg, but we couldn't allow any complacency to set in with Vita Club holding the all important away goal. Nerves started to jangle in that away game when Vita Club took the lead from a freak own goal, but they were calmed just after half time as we punced on a chance to equalise and that away goal allowed us to relax for the remainder of the half knowing that Vita would need an unlikely 3 more goals to force the tie to extra time and penalties. So, we had done it and qualified for the Champions League group stages - a fantastic achievement for a club of our reputation offerring the prospect of some real financial windfall next season - it was also enough to entice me to stay at the club for 1 more season to see how well we could do. The only question is who would we be playing against. A very tough draw indeed - I think I'll have a chance to pick up some points against TP Mazembe given my performances against Vita Club, but Orlando Pirates and Al-Ahly are a different class - they will be very tough matches. The other group looks much more manageable and I would have fancied my chances of just sneaking 2nd place in that group. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 The question on everybody's lips over the last few days is can Bamboutos recover in time after their dramatic Champions league qualifier in the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to perform against Tiko Utd. Last time the 2 clubs met, only 7 days ago, Tiko Utd were trounced 4-0 by Bamboutos and they have been hoping that tiredness and fatigue will have a significant impact on Bamboutos. In reality I had been forced to rotate the squad and this coupled with a couple of absentee's (Kader Amadou and Weaka Wisseh) who have flown out early to represent their countries in the West African Cup does mean that I was fielding a weakened side. Despite this we had the majority of the game and things could have been sown up by half time if Franck Kanga had been hitting his shots on target, instead he managed to pepper the sides of the goal, the post, the crossbar, above the bar, everywhere apart from hitting the target! As a result, at the end of 90 minutes we hadn't managed to score and neither had they so we headed into extra time with the dreaded penalties threatening. My players were really starting to tread water after a punishing last few weeks and I was forced to make some substitutions bringing on more reserve players, worryingly I was having to replace some of my main penalty takers so I knew I was taking a risk. In the end I didn't need to worry as 2 of my substitutes combined and Rodrigue Wamfor (YP5) crossed early from the right back position and Emile Mbamba towered above their defence to head into the top left hand corner, just out of reach of the despairing goalkeeper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well done on the double and your African CL progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatTraveler Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Great season indeed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Chile_Paul's Career - Season Review - 2015/16 - Bamboutos FC Elite One League - Champions Really happy that we reatined our league title this season and di so convincingly, with out nearest rivals Coton Sport having a shocking season. Slightly disappointing that the 4 points we dropped in the last 3 games meant that we didn't surpass last seasons point total, but the gap between 1st and 2nd place was significantly larger. Also pleased that we continued to show our dominance in the cup, reaching our 3rd final in 3 years and lifting the trophy for the second occassion. This competition will become ever less important for us as we focus our attentions on the Champions League and I will be looking to give some of our younger players an opportunity in subsequent seasons. Without doubt though, the highlight of the season is our qualification for the Champions League group stages - which has the potential to set the club up financially for years to come. Just the run to qualify has brought the club into the black and with a guaranteed £250k for finishing 4th in the group on top of some potentially significant gate receipts we will have some serious cash to play with next season. Final League Table Transfers It was a very quiet season in terms of players arriving into the squad as I was relatively comfortable with the players at my disposal. Those players who did join therefore were mainly intended to strengthen the depth of the squad rather than coming directly into the first team. On the outgoing front, there were a number of high value offers for players who frankly were not guaranteed first team football. As a result my reserve left back Yannick Haman left for League Two Renaissance in a £50k deal and my reserve right back Taku Boumsong left on a season long loan for an indredibly generous loan fee of £45k Gianny Joinville - a towering centre back who I bought in for his power in the air, although his lack of pace left him seriously vulnerable against faster attacks. At 31 years of age, his pace was always going to get worse and therefore whilst he had some good performances he was never a first team choice and he will be leaving the club again on a free at the end of the season. Pierre Moundonga - a future prospect as a striker, he was never going to get regular football as the ranks of my strikers grew so he went out on loan where he had a season of mixed successes. Still to be proven whether he has the quality to make the first team, so he will probably go out on loan again next season Conrad Azong - an unexpected addition to my strikers, as a loan from my new parent club, he got more games than I initially expected him to due to the continual injuries to Franck Kanga. A useful, albeit not spectacular loan spell - I probably won't make an attempt to bring him back on loan next season. Tah Nivan - Tah was the one player I spent any money on, a £16k purchase from Renaissance. He struggled to establish a regular place in the first team, mainly due to the fact that his injuries always seemed to coincide with the times that my other top two strikers were also injured. However when he did get a chance he played well and scored a few key goals at key moments. Star Signing - difficult to award this anybody this season as none of the new players really blew me away, but if I'm pushed then I'll hand it to Tah Nivan (who also was awarded the Signing of the Season award in the Cameroon end of seasons award, so he must of done alright! Finances A very nice profit thanks to the extended run in the Champions League has brought the club into the black, looking very promising for the next season, where I hope to be able to re-invest some money back into the club. Squad Player of the Season - Justice Wamfor - a very tough choice because so many players did so well. Manuel Cabit has to be mentioned for his rampgaing performances on the left wing, picking up 4 goals, 7 assists and a rating of 7.50, as does Djoumetcheu Tchapda for holding the defence tightly together, but Wamfor, my midfield dynamo was brilliant this season and was the heart of the team! Fan's Player of the Season - Justice Wamfor Team of the Year - surprised that Tah Nivan was awarded one of the striker places ahead of Franck Kanga, but Kanga had a lot of time out with injuries during the season Season Summary Next Season? Bring on the Champions League campaign, then expect to see a change of scenery!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Confirmation that I am to stay for one additional year..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Already we have evidence of the impact of the increased revenues from the Champions League as the board increase the clubs scouting range (quite a jump, from Central Africa only to the whole of the world) and the board announce plans to buy the stadium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 The increase to both the club and my reputation by playing in the Champions League coupled with my insistence to only sign a 1 year contract extension has started to increase press speculation linking me with other jobs in Africa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Congrats on a great season! The CL should be interesting as well with the prize money helping your stadium purchase. Also nice to see your name attached to jobs Those are some pretty highly respected South African clubs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 World Footballing News Manchester City set about re-building their midfield following the retirement of Gareth Barry and the departure of Nigel de Jong on a free transfer to Lille, splashing out £34.5m on Mauorane Fellaini, £33.5m on Eden Hazard and a surprisingly large £14.25m on aging midfield general Javer Mascherano In a similar vein, clubs across Europe show their willingness to invest huge sums in order to capture players for the final swansong of their career with a 34 year old Nemanja Vidic moving to Barcelona for £21m The Arab peninsular continues to prove a popular retirement home for some of the Premiership's older players to play out their remaining years as a footballer, With Stepane Sessegnon moving to UAE move from Wolves Liverpool were sad to see club legend Jamie Carragher depart as he retired from professional football to undertake his coaching badges - in to replace him is £11m rated Kyle Walker from Tottenham Another club legend returned to the club where they made their name though, as Ruud van Nistelrooy returned to Manchester United as a youth coach, joining from Juventus. Huub Stevens departed Arsenal after only 18 months in charge to take the managers position for the Netherlands as they prepared to challenge for the European Championships. In to replace him was Quiqe Flores, who had been sacked earlier in the season by Malaga, who's owners clearly were not satisfied with the progression from 5th to 4th to 3rd that he's achieved in La Liga - we'll have to wait to see whether the Arsenal board will be any more patient! Elsewhere the Aston Villa board showed a lack of patience as despite a stunning performance in the previous season when Villa finished 4th, they sacked Paul Lambert early in the season with the Villans sitting in 16th place. Steve Clarke was bought in to replace Lambert but failed to improve the clubs position by the end of the season Following a great season in 2014/15 which included a stunning FA Cup final victory against Man Utd, but ultimately ended in heartbreak with playoff final defeat against fierce rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United weren't leaving anything to chance this season and stormed to the top of the Championship table. It will be the first season in a long time that both Sheffield clubs will be in the top division after Wednesday had a great season in the Premiership. Not only did they finish comfortably outside the relegation places in 14th place, but 8 games in they were in second place and they were 5th in the table at the halfway stage Liverpool continue to get good value for their investment in Yarmilenko who is awarded Europe's golden boot award after his haul of 33 goals helped lead Liverpool to the Premier League title for the second consecutive season England and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard decided to call it a day at the age of 36. After 108 caps for his country and 470 league appearances for Liverpool he truly is regarded as a legend by fans of both club and country. Having completed his UEFA coaching badges Gerrard is now looking for employment as a coach. Feared German defensive general Lothar Matthaus has announced his retirement from football management at the tender age of 54 following his sacking as coach of the Bulgarian national team. Matthaus had always harboured a desire to manage the German team and lead them to European and World glory, but having failed to deliver with Bulgaria recognised his chances of getting the German top job as slim. Many of his old foes including Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have paid tribute to Matthaus but will now be resting easier knowing that he is no longer involved in football. Another German great, Jurgen Klinsmann similarly retired after leaving the USA managers position Martin O'Neill also announced his retirement from football management following a successful spell in charge of Bayern Munich. O'Neill will rightly be remembered for a long time as one of the all time great managers, ranked second amongst all managers ever to have come from Northern Ireland. Ashley Cole announced his retirement from football. At one time, thought of as the best left back in the world, resulting in a runner-up award in the FIFA Ballon d'Or award, Cole has had a great career, notching up a total of 110 caps for his country and a staggering 12 competition wins to his name. Cole has announced that he won't be pursuing any further opportunities with football, instead preferring to establish himself as a committed husband, father and family man with partner Cheryl! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Congrats on a great season! The CL should be interesting as well with the prize money helping your stadium purchase. Also nice to see your name attached to jobs Those are some pretty highly respected South African clubs! I was chuffed with the Kaizer Chiefs link, would love to manage them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatTraveler Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 What would you do if the Chiefs offered you the job? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 What would you do if the Chiefs offered you the job? They didn't offer it to me, so we'll never know. It would have been very tempting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Looks like you're facing a year of temptation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Man City going crazy on transfers still. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Well done on another successful season. Good news on the stadium too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Chile_Paul's Career - Season 6 Preview - Bamboutos de Mbouda Board Expectations: Elite One - Win the league (I was quite surprised at this, I know I won the last 2 seasons, but previously expectations have always lagged so much!) Cameroon Cup - Not important CAF Champions League - Learn from the experience Media Expectations: Media Prediction: 4th Title Odds: 3-1 My Expectations: Elite One - Retain the league title (easily!) Cameroon Cup - Winning the cup again would be nice, although is becoming less important CAF Champions League - I've already met my expectations for the current competition by making the group stages. I'll enjoy the groups without any expectation of qualifying then look to repeat the qualification towards the end of the domestic season Squad: The ability to scout worldwide has made a big difference to my transfer dealings in the pre-season, more details of which below, but as a result I do have a slightly more continental squad with less domestically based players. This will start to bring in it's own challenges as the team beds down and I start having to manage ego's as I rotate the squad. On a domestic front though, this squad should annihalate any other team in the Elite One over the course of a season. Backroom Staff: Some significant changes to my scouting set up to ensure that I'm able to benefit from the ability to scout worldwide. I now have 4 scouts which means that I have scouts regularly visiting every major footballing nation in Africa to look for talent for my team. Incidentally one of those scouts to join is Alain Ngwompo Nono, who had been one of my key players in my first 2 seasons with the club. It's great that I've been able to welcome him back into the fold (although I'd still prefer him to be my goalkeeping coach ) Transfers: For the first time in a good few seasons, I've spent some money on transfers this season, but with some income coming in the other way for loan signing's going out I've still made a net profit on my transfer dealings. No big names leaving, but plenty of vultures circling! Theodule Maffon: A very exciting prospect on the right side of midfield who can also play as a striker. I've been after this guy for a while and am delighted that he has joined me on a free transfer. Fred Kasule: A regular in the Ugandan national team, Fred will provide not only some decent back-up in goal but will also seriously push Tchapda for the number 1 jersey. I've always found it difficult in the past to juggle two equally good goalkeepers in the same team and keep them both happy (especially given Tchapda is club captain), so it will be interesting to see how long they both stay with the club Charles Sikanda: A very exciting young Kenyan striker who should pick up plenty of goals this season. He will immediately line up alongside Franck Kanga and the rest of my strikers will hopefully be left fighting for the scraps Hassan Haj-Omar: Yet another foreigner to join the team. This 20 yr old left defender has already been capped 16 times by his country and is a very exciting prospect Finances: Wage Budget: £5,733 p/w (£4,318 p/w) +£1,415 p/w Wage Bill: £5,307 p/w (£4,401 p/w) +£994 p/w Transfer Budget: £23.58k (£5.3k) +£18.28k Bank Balance: £227,427 (-£101,638) +£329,065 Average Ticket price: £1.00 (£1.00) Season Ticket Holders: 1,386 (1,323) +65 Season Ticket price: £2.00 (£2.00) Estimated club value: £600k (£190k) +£410k Reputation: Club Reputation: National Ranking within Cameroon: 6th (7th) Cameroonian world ranking: 20th (18th) Elite One competition ranking within Africa: 27th (27th) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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