A Non-Swede Traverses the Continent (or How Not to Title a Career Thread)

[Mongrel]

February/March 2025

Well not exactly the month I was after... We started off horribly against Manchester City in my home debut in a 0-4 drubbing, and then had to back it up against Spurs and Arsenal. The Arsenal result was easily our best as I earned my first point in charge of the side, and we came down from a goal down against Burnley on three times to earn another point in front of 17,434. After not disgracing ourselves in either fixture, we managed to put in a pair of shockers against similarly placed teams with losses to Portsmouth and West Ham. The Hammers loss was a disaster as we were completely hammered and deserved to lose by more.

Things looking a bit poorly at the moment, and unlikely to get much better judging by the quality of footballer our youth ranks is producing:

The team's morale is in the toilet, G. Peña is listed by request and Jan Engelmann is off on a free at the end of the season. Tough start to the Premier League.

[Mongrel]

April 2025

Another bad bad month, capped off by a horror loss to Swansea that could seal our fate. Fulham are a strong team who have finished in the top seven for the past five seasons with a high of 3rd in 2021-22. We were abysmal against them with a 0-3 drubbing, but gave ourselves a chance with a 75th minute strike from Peña against Chelsea that drew us within a goal. Unfortunately they scored their fourth in injury time on the break to secure the win.

Watford at home was a game we should have won, but we showed some good signs with 11 shots on goal to two. After going down early, who else but Peña bobbed up again in the 84th minute to secure a point in a match we really deserved to win. Probably our most impressive performance yet. Unfortunately we dropped the ball against Swansea despite having a mammoth 66 per cent possession - Gavrilovic giving away the match losing penalty in the first half.

The last three games showed promise, but I fear the team is coming together too late. We have three games in which we are a chance to come and probably need to win two:

Birmingham Home

Sheffield United Away

West Brom Away

Not looking too flash.

[Mongrel]

May 2025

EPL: Huddersfield 1-1 Birmingham

Time running out here as we went ahead early and gave away a late equaliser. Guillermo Peña continues to be a lone hand up forward with another goal, but we were really quite lucky to escape with a point having conceded 56 per cent possession and 19 shots on goal. We are leaving it very late, and need to probably win both of our games away from home to stay up.

EPL: Sheffield United 1-2 Huddersfield

Wahey! Finally a victory after 11 games without a win to start my managerial career. Yet again we gave away an early lead after Zeljko Kulic equalised for Sheffield in the 34th minute. Sheffield had 19 shots on goal to 9, but South African striker Gareth Borman kept our season alive in the 89th minute with a strike from inside the box to secure the three points. We still sit in real danger, but a victory for us could see us stay up ahead of either Portsmouth, Swansea or Sheffield.

EPL: West Brom 1-2 Huddersfield

Finally, after thirteen games in charge, a plan comes together and we not only dominate the match but escape with a victory. After being lucky to snatch the points off Sheffield United, Superman Peña put us ahead after 22 minutes to put our noses out of the relegation zone. Thankfully we looked over and saw Sheffield being pummeled at home to Aston Villa, which meant a win was all we needed to stay in the Premier League for Season 2025-26. I became increasingly frustrated as we struggled to find the net despite at least five clear cut chances before, in the 82nd minute, Peña made it 19 league goals for the season to put us ahead 2-0. Libor Simr made our sphincters tighten a little in the 84th, but we did enough to survive on the back of an amazing end to the season from the Colombian striker who, unfortunately, looks to be on his way out.

Ultimately we jump ahead of Portsmouth, too. The end to the season was great to ensure survival, but I can't help but thinking the game cheated a bit to get me there which would be a shame. We looked destined for Championship football, but played far better football than we had any right to against West Brom to stay up. The squad needs a lot of work over the off-season, but if Peña goes there'll be some money to invest.

[Mongrel]

Former Clubs

PEC Zwolle

Not getting any better and not even in sight of promotion at this point. They sacked Rudy Verkempinck in February, and new manager Alex Schalk at just 32 years of age won his first management job after 223 appearances with NAC Breda.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]League[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2011-12*[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2012-13*[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Promoted. KNVB Cup Winners. Qualified for Europa League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013-14*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014-15[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]16th[/TD]

[TD]Relegated.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2015-16[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]4th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016-17[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 3rd Round.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2017-18[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 2nd Round.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2018-19[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]10th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2019-20[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - Final.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]11th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]17th[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 1st Round.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24

[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie

[/TD]

[TD]15th

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25

[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie

[/TD]

[TD]16th

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Feyenoord

Dirk Heesen makes it five titles in six years at De Kuip as they won by eleven points over Vitesse and PSV. Still no luck in Europe as, for the second year running, Bayern Munich beat them in the semi-finals of the Europa League.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]League[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013-14*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]10th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014-15*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]KNVB Cup Winners. Qualified for the Europa League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2015-16*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. KNVB Cup Winners. Qualified for the Champions League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016-17*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]Champions League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2017-18[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2018-19[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2019-20[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. KNVB Cup Semi-finals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Champions League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23

[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. KNVB Cup Winners.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24

[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie

[/TD]

[TD]2nd

[/TD]

[TD]Europa League Semifinals.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25

[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie

[/TD]

[TD]1st

[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Europa League Semifinals.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Stuttgart

An unsuccessful season after failing to go deep in Europe or challenge for the title. Ricardo Moniz also failed to endear himself to the fans by declaring his interest in the Internazionale job.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]League[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2017-18*[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]6th[/TD]

[TD]Qualified for the Europa League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2018-19*[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2019-20*[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Europa League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]Europa League Winners.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners. Champions League Semifinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Champions League Quarterfinals.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24

[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga

[/TD]

[TD]2nd

[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners. Champions League Semifinals.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25

[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga

[/TD]

[TD]3rd

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Belgium National Football Team

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]Season

[/TD]

[TD]Notes

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21*

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22*

[/TD]

[TD]3rd in FIFA World Cup - Group H

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23*

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24*

[/TD]

[TD]3rd in European Championship - Group A

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25

[/TD]

[TD]After 6 games, 3rd in FIFA World Cup Qualifying - Group 4

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Mongrel]

2025-26 Season Preview

BOARD EXPECTATIONS:

Premier League - Mid-table finish (pretty tough having just avoided relegation, but I guess they feel they've invested in the team so...)

FA Cup - Fifth Round

League Cup - Fourth Round

FINANCES:

I feel the board might have overextended themselves last season, because the Chairman gave a £20M loan to be repaid over twenty years. Nevertheless I received a transfer budget of £11M and a generous wage budget of £900K a week. I don't think I'll need it all, but it is nice to have.

PRE-SEASON:

A mixed pre-season as we started slowly with losses to Feyenoord and, embarrassingly, Raith Rovers. Gordon Brown was no doubt pleased by that. We played well in the Friendly Cup to beat Toulouse in the final, while the goals were shared around against Chesterfield and Huddersfield U18s. A disappointing pre-season campaign ended with a 1-3 loss to Premiership new boys Bristol City who have bar far the lowest paid squad in the Premier League.

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]TRANSFERS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Ben Pritchard

[/TD]

[TD]£230K[/TD]

[TD]Manchester City[/TD]

[TD]The England U21 keeper. Not particularly great, but a handy back-up and does not count towards my squad of 25.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Gaetano Stangoni

[/TD]

[TD]£2.3M[/TD]

[TD]Manchester United[/TD]

[TD]After joining from Siena in 2021, he's spent the last two seasons on loan in the Superleague with AEK. Super quick with great finishing skills - I think he's a bargain.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Robert Burton

[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Manchester City[/TD]

[TD]Released from champions Manchester City, Burton brings extensive experience having played for Blackburn and City in the top flight, and Rangers in the SPL. His Premier League record isn't fantastic - 43 appearances for seven goals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Brian van Toorn

[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Borussia Dortmund[/TD]

[TD]A player for the future. He's not technically skilled, but could grow into a handy player with two Bundesliga games under his belt.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Luis Fernando Vásquez

[/TD]

[TD]£2.7M[/TD]

[TD]SK Rapid Wien[/TD]

[TD]With Engelmann out, the Mexican No. 2 will be our new first choice goalkeeper after four strong years in the Austrian Bundesliga. He's got some weaknesses for sure, but is deserving of the step up.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Erik Danko

[/TD]

[TD]£1.9M[/TD]

[TD]Banik Ostrava[/TD]

[TD]Best signing by far, I have to say. His physical statistics are insane for a 22 year old, and he's an international footballer who has performed well with Banik Ostrava.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Benjamin Masson

[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Paris Saint-Germain[/TD]

[TD]Don't think he'll amount to much, but provides decent depth.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Mehrdad Borjlou

[/TD]

[TD]£4.2M[/TD]

[TD]FK Austria Wien[/TD]

[TD]Maybe paid a bit over the odds, but we were desperate for a right back. All indications suggest that the Iranian player will be a success in the Premier League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Patrick Larsen

[/TD]

[TD]£1.6M[/TD]

[TD]FC København[/TD]

[TD]Not a great player, but provides cover for so many positions which is pretty valuable in a squad of 25.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]OUT:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Eric Dier[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Released[/TD]

[TD]45 appearances, 1 goal (2021-25).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jan Engelmann[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Sporting CP[/TD]

[TD]Didn't want to let him go, but he refused to sign a new contract. I've had a long journey with Engelmann having tried to sign him at Feyenoord, managing him at Stuttgart and again at Huddlesfield. 130 appearances (2021-25).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Edgar Salli[/TD]

[TD]£1.1M[/TD]

[TD]Bristol City[/TD]

[TD]172 appearances, 7 goals (2018-25).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Filip Zgela[/TD]

[TD]£1.7M[/TD]

[TD]Bristol City[/TD]

[TD]56 appearances (2017-25).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Aschwin Boldewijn[/TD]

[TD]£600K[/TD]

[TD]Middlesbrough[/TD]

[TD]6 appearances (2023-25).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]LOANS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Niwat Somboon[/TD]

[TD]£425K (£2M)[/TD]

[TD]Arsenal[/TD]

[TD]Arsenal signed him from Kaiserslautern in 2023 for £6.25M and he managed just six appearances. He won't be first choice ahead of Gordon, but he'll provide good cover on the right.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]OUT:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Tobias Hofmann[/TD]

[TD]£1.3M (£5M)[/TD]

[TD]Bayern Munich[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Panikos Mavromatis[/TD]

[TD]£575K (£3.6M)[/TD]

[TD]Hamburger SV[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Denis Horjak[/TD]

[TD]£375K (£2.6M)[/TD]

[TD]Deportivo[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

SQUAD:

By far the biggest news this window for us was keeping hold of Guilermo Peña. With Hofmann's departure to Bayern Munich, he's the new captain of the side and asked to be taken off the transfer list. A proven Premier League performer, he has scored 56 Premier League goals from 104 appearances and almost single handedly kept us up. Despite the loss of Engelmann, the side is clearly improved and should be able to finish back in the mid table after a poor year last year.

[Mongrel]

August 2025

A good start in the Premier League as we continued from where we left off last season with some decent performances. Starting the season at home to WBA, former Arsenal winger Dan Gordon got us off to the perfect start with a cool finish from a Guillermo Peña cross. Deep in the second half, Peña doubled the lead by converting from the spot while West Brom got a late consolation goal. My first game in charge of the Terriers was away to Manchester City, and it didn't go much better here as we were downed 0-3. We had two goals disallowed, but managed to concede 20 shots to just 5 in a total domination. One of my former Belgian lads, Koen De Groote, scored the second.

Newcastle's Mbaye Niang put five past Portsmouth in his side's 6-0 win earlier in the month, but we hammered them to the tune of 5-0 in front of 19,093 fans at John Smith's Stadium. Two debutants, Erik Danko and Robert Burton, scored their first goals for the club inside the first half, while Yanis Benali made it 4-0 with a peach of a strike from outside the box.

We started our League Cup campaign with an impressive 3-0 win at home to League One side Milwall. We went in with an understrength side, and that allowed Niwat Somboon and Gaetano Stangoni to score their first competitive goals for the club. Next up is Leicester City away.

A great start to the season, really, as we sit in sixth with a positive goal difference and six points on the board. Spurs are the only undefeated side having spent about £30M improving their squad - £22.5M of that went on an Ecuadorian midfielder who has produced some good football in the Serie A and MLS. Portsmouth, despite a positive net transfer spend, look set for a long season.

[Mongrel]

September 2025

The score against Brum is wrong - it was 1-0. Nevertheless, England international Dan Gordon put away his second goal for the club inside the first minute to secure the victory away from home. After escaping with the points against Birmingham, we managed just a point at home to Burnley after a really unimpressive performance. We certainly lifted against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to open up a 1-0 and then a 2-1 lead, but conceded two late goals to the former European champions to be robbed of a point we probably deserved.

With just four days before the Chelsea game, I played a weakened side against Leicester City in the League Cup third round. We were largely unimpressive against the Championship side, but nevertheless booked a place in the round of 16 after Gaetano Stangoni, the Manchester United signing, scored his first competitive goal for the club from the spot.

Nearly a sixth of the way through the season, and we are defying many expectations to sit in seventh with a boringly predictable top six (in 2025, no less!). The results against Burnley and Chelsea were disappointing for different reasons, but if you'd offered me 10 points through six at the start of the year I'd probably have taken it. Portsmouth's woes continue with six defeats on the trot in pretty horrible style.

[Mongrel]

October 2025

The month began with us hosting Liverpool in a Premier League fixture. Their Portuguese attack force combined to put them ahead 2-0 inside the first half, before we were all over them in the second. Despite that, only Miroslav Gavrilovic scored to earn a valiant 1-2 defeat. After the international break, we travelled to Norwich and produced a clinic with Yanis Benali, Zelimir Tadic and Guillermo Peña all getting on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win despite having fewer shots on goal.

Yet again, though, we were unable to make the most of some good chances against top drawer opposition as a first half strike from £19.5M valued Moroccan striker Azzedine Yilmaz was enough to give Arsenal a 1-0 win. Nevertheless, we completed a pair of wins over Norwich inside ten days to book a place in the Cadbury Cup quarters: 29-year old centre half Sandro Cano getting on the end of a corner.

November 2025

There was little rest as we started a hectic couple of weeks before the international break with a frustrating 0-1 loss away at Aston Villa on live television. Even worse than managing just 42 per cent possession was the sending off of Danish signing Patrick Larsen who received a three match ban for a bad tackle.

The disappointing of the Villa game was undone, though, by Gaetano Stangoni's coming of age in a 4-3 nailbiter against Manchester United. The £2.3M signing had not scored a league goal, but put a double on in the first seven minutes against his old side including the goal of the month. Despite United pulling one back, Stangoni completed his hat trick in the 31st minute and Dan Gordon produced a decisive fourth in the 57th.

Four days later, a 33rd minute strike from Slovenian signing Erik Danko gave us a well-deserved 1-0 win over Sunderland. Danko has stepped up in the absence of Cristian Morante who missed four months through a torn calf muscle. After the international break, we somehow managed to drop the three points at home to Watford 1-2 despite going ahead early through Robert Burton and only conceding two shots on target (both into the back of the net). Despite the loss, Guillermo Peña and Miroslav Gavrilovic scored important goals to secure a 2-1 win away at Stoke City in an important bounce back win.

December 2025

December was a busy month with six fixtures. We booked a League Cup semi finals spot as fifth choice striker Nicky Dodd scored a first half brace before going off injured in the second half in the 2-1 win over West Ham. Much like the barnstormer against Manchester United, John Smith's Stadium played host to our 5-3 win over Fulham. Despite the away side pulling back from 1-3 to 3-3, late goals to Robert Burton and Gaetano Stangoni completed their braces to secure a great victory.

We were lucky to escape another trip to The Boleyn Ground as Gaetano Stangoni's 86th minute strike was nearly cancelled out by a late penalty to West Ham. Carlos Oliveira, however, failed to beat Mexican stopped Luis Fernando Vázquez in the 90th minute as we secured a 1-0 win. The joy was short-lived as we dropped all the points away at Bristol City, before only managing a point at home to Portsmouth as Michael Frank scored his first goal four minutes into injury time. It could have been worse but for another spot kick save from Vázquez.

Our last game of 2025 came against title contenders Tottenham who managed 20 shots on goal to romp home 4-0.

So despite the losses to Bristol City and Watford, we are sitting in a pretty good position at the new year; five points outside of a possible European spot. We also look odds on favourites to make the League Cup final, too. The board have given me a £7M transfer budget for January, but unless we sell anyone (probably Borman) I don't think I'll use it on anything except maybe a backup left winger.

Half way through the season, and well priced Manchester United signing Gaetano Stagnoni leads the way with 9 goals in all competitions, while central defender Miroslav Gavrilovic has been consistently solid. The disappointments have been Alexis and Guillermo Peña; the latter has managed just four goals and has produced consistently poor performances. After a great few years at Huddlesfield, he's not replicated that form and has been relegated to third choice striker.

The first choice team has been (bearing in mind the Morante injury):

Vázquez

Borjlou - Gavrilovic - Tadic - Miljkovic

Gordon - Danko - A. Peña - Benali

Burton - Stangoni

[Mongrel]

January 2026

As expected, I did not delve too deep into my transfers funds and made just a couple of changes.

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]TRANSFERS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Yacouba Diomandé

[/TD]

[TD]Havre AC[/TD]

[TD]£1.5M[/TD]

[TD]Finally a bit of cover on the left and up front, and he came cheap after turning down an offer from Ajax. He's a bit older, but has been top notch in Ligue 1 with returns of 13, 18 and 12 goals in his past three years.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]OUT:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Gareth Borman[/TD]

[TD]Racing[/TD]

[TD]£5M[/TD]

[TD]Signed from Dynamo Kiev for £9.75M back in August 2024, Borman was a disastrous signing by my predecessor and fell out of favour this season. The £4.75M loss we suffered on him saw a return of three Premier League goals in 25 appearances. He'll hope to rekindle some of his Ukrainian form in the La Liga. He got off the mark on debut with a goal in his team's 1-3 loss to Elche: 2024-2027 (25 apps, 3 goals).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Matty Fry[/TD]

[TD]Released[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Never got a look in, and I was happy to mutually terminate the right-back's contract early: 2020-2027 (3 apps).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Giorgis Katidis[/TD]

[TD]Stoke City[/TD]

[TD]£2.1M[/TD]

[TD]Was in-and-out of the side this season as cover for the right wing and central midfield positions. I was happy to keep him, but at 32 years of age £2.1M was a great offer from a team who is unlikely to compete with us for positions. A good servant for the club: 2020-2027 (154 apps, 14 goals).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]LOANS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Karim Rekik[/TD]

[TD]Fiorentina[/TD]

[TD]£400K (£2.8M)[/TD]

[TD]A late injury meant that I needed another central defender, and Rekik is perfect because he's also a "home grown" player after spending about six years with Premier League teams Manchester City, Tottenham and West Brom.[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

That leaves me with a final squad that looks like this:

As to matches, we started the new year away at West Brom, and put in a good display with a 2-0 win. Miroslav Gavrilovic again got his head up to a corner to put us ahead, before former Man City man Robert Burton put us two goals to the good early in the second half. Against Tottenham in FA Cup Third Round action we went ahead 2-0 as Guillermo Peña scored his first two goals since our trip to Stoke in November. Unfortunately Spurs hit back with a pair of second half goals to force it to a replay. Despite that, we took the first leg of our Cadbury Cup semi final at hope against Blackpool 3-2 with Peña bobbing up again.

Back in the Premier League, Belgian player Koen De Groote did it all himself to score a ridiculous goal to hand Manchester City a 1-0 win at John Smith's Stadium, while we lost our FA Cup replay at Tottenham 0-1 despite having three more shots on goal. Stopping a two-match skid, Peña popped up in the nick of time at Sports Direct Arena to earn us three points against Newcastle. £1.5M signing Yacouba Diomandé made his debut as a 78th minute substitute. To end the month we were defending a 3-2 lead in the return leg at Blackpool, but Peña's 70th minute strike, and his fifth goal of the month, was enough to put us through to the final against Fulham 4-2 on aggregate.

Bad news, though, on the injury front as Peña strained his groin in the victory and will miss a month. Even worse, 23-year old central defender Miroslav Gavrilovic tore his ACL and will miss seven months of football. He's been so good at the back this year, and it prompted my eleventh hour loan signing of Karim Rekik.

LEAGUE

LEAGUE CUP

FA CUP

[Mongrel]

February 2026

The month commenced at home to Birmingham, and the Terriers did it in style by opening the scoring in the fifth minute. A brace from Nicky Dodd proved the difference as he continued his nice run of performances, but there was one downside as Alexis Peña pulled a hamstring that will keep him out until about March. A week later we hosted Chelsea and produced a memorable rearguard display to beat the former champions 1-0 as Robert Burton forced a save from Thibaut Courtois, and Erik Danko pounced on the rebound.

Riding high on a three-match Premier League run, a trip to lowly Burnley threatened to derail us after they equalised in the 28th minute. Resurgent Welsh 24-year old Nicky Dodd, however, had other ideas with a 57th minute strike to complete a brace and a 2-1 win. Ruud Gullit had Burnley playing aggressive football with six bookings, and just two weeks later was sacked. Our winning run came to an end in our last game of the month as we were held to a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Erik Danko again got things underway in the 42nd minute, before Irish striker Seán Geraghty equalised to continues his rich vein of form.

March 2026

Starting the month was our League Cup Final against Fulham in front of 90K at Wembley. The Cottagers got off to a great start with an eighth minute goal from 22-year old striker Florian Mathieu. We had to wait less than ten minutes for the equaliser as Nicky Dodd made it seven goals in his past seven appearances. Fellow frontman Guillermo Peña made it 2-1 in the 37th minute, before Erik Danko scored another important goal to secure the win 3-1. The victory puts us in Europe, which is a great turnaround after nearly being relegated last season.

After a long unbeaten run, one of my former Belgian lads, Bruno De Gaetano, scored the winner in Arsenal's 1-0 win over us. We bounced back well with a 3-1 win over Aston Villa (including Alexis Peña's first of the season) and a 2-0 win over Norwich City in which Josh Hill scored his first goal for the club deep into injury time. A trip to Old Trafford looked so promising as Zelimir Tadic and former Red Devil Gaetano Stangoni put us ahead 2-0 after 21 minutes. Manchester United pulled one back before the half, and then hammered us in the second to put another four through to secure a come-from-behind 5-2 win.

There were more goals in our final game of the month as Ben Pritchard made his league debut in goals. Sunderland went ahead early, but we put three past in eleven minutes thanks to two from Dan Gordon. Zelimir Tadic put it into our net just a minute later, and we had to wait until the 61st minute for Gaetano Stangoni to restore the two goal buffer in our 4-2 win.

LEAGUE

CADBURY CUP

Just three points behind Manchester City to automatically advance one round further in the Europa League, but it is an impressive effort to be the best placed team outside of the big six. It is very tight at the top with a possible three-way tie after Chelsea play the game they have in hand, while it is probably down to five teams in the relegation battle. Looks like it could be huge disappointment for Norwich City who will go straight back down after three seasons in the Championship. In 2020-21 they finished third, and then tumbled to 19th the next season and that was it for them.

The youth intake was unsurprisingly rubbish, but there was one gem: 15-year old Jeremy Snell.

[Mongrel]

April 2026

With little to win outside of a better place in the Europa League, we started the month with a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Stoke City. Guilermo Peña. who has finished the season in rampant form, scored a brace, while Fiorentina loan signing Karim Rekik continues to perform well at centre back and scored his first goal for the club in the 79th minute. Following that was an away trip to Watford where we were forced to come from a goal back with an 88th minute strike from Alexis Peña. In a tight game, we blew a real chance at the three points as Guillermo Peña missed a penalty just after the half. It was a much better performance away at Fulham as we had 16 shots to 10 and benefited from a late equaliser from Joel Burgess who put the ball into his own net.

In the final match of the month, Guilermo Peña received another chance to score from the spot and did so easily in the second minute at home to West Ham. 29-year old centre half Sam Eaton scored his second goal in three seasons in the 17th minute, and not even a strike from Romelu Lukaku could earn West Ham a point. Lukaku signed for West Ham on a free transfer in January after two good (and presumably highly paid) seasons with San Jose in the MLS.

A solid month with eight points won and seventh place all but sewn up. At the top of the table, Tottenham might have blown their title run while Chelsea have edged ahead of Arsenal on goal difference. The bigger news is Portsmouth - they started the season horribly and ended March in dead last. They managed to claim ten very important points in April, and earned Keith Hill the title of Manager of the Month.

[Mongrel]

May 2026

Very little to play for in the final month, but we were hoping to end the year on a positive note. Goals to Guillermo Peña and Patrick Larsen (his first for the club) earned us an undeserved 2-0 win over relegation battlers Portsmouth, while Peña scored twice more in a 4-1 win over Bristol City with Nicky Dodd also scoring a brace. Unfortunately Peña injured himself pretty badly and will miss the entire pre-season (and Colombia's World Cup campaign), but his finish to the season was typically absurd with seven from seven. Against perennial bogey men, we lost 0-2 to Tottenham in a disappointing end to a very successful season.

So after a horrible year last year, Huddlesfield bounce back to European football having really never move above or below seventh for the bulk of the year. Chelsea impressively bottled their title chances to hand Arsenal their first title in six years, while Portsmouth completed a dramatic turnaround to stay up.

[Mongrel]

2025-26 Season Review

COMPETITIONS

League: 7th. A fantastic bounce back after a horrible 2024-25 season from the team as we finished comfortably in seventh. We never challenged any higher or lower in a consistent season - the only upset was a win over Manchester United, while we generally won the ones we were expected to win and lost the ones we expected to lose.

FA Cup: 3rd Round. Disappointing to give up a 2-0 lead at home to Tottenham to be bounced out in the replay, but it probably helped us as the season went on to only be playing two competitions.

League Cup: Winners. Dream run to the final with only Fulham for stiff competition, and we won our way back into Europe with a comfortable 3-1 win. Really exciting stuff to get some silverware despite the fact the competition doesn't have a huge amount of prestige attached to it.

FINANCES

Secure. The prize money and TV rights are a great help, but we are still spending way above turnover on transfer and wages. As it stands, the stadium is too small although I'm not sure how much scope there is for expansion.

KEY PLAYERS

Nicky Dodd - Came into the side late in the season and provided the perfect combination up front with Guillermo Peña as he laid off some assists and hammered goals in for fun. Seven goals in the league and five in cup football was a testament to his improvement and importance.

Miroslav Gavrilovic - The centre half was the player of the season despite doing his knee after the Christmas break. Despite his season being derailed after 21 games, he was a rock at centre back and is such an important player for this team. Scores goals, too.

Luis Fernando Vázquez - After Jan Engelmann jumped ship, Vázquez had to fill some big shoes in goals. Cementing himself as Mexico's first choice keeper, Vázquez made 36 league appearances after a £2.7M transfer from SK Rapid Wien.

[Mongrel]

Former Clubs

PEC Zwolle

In manager Alex Schalk's first full season as manager, Zwolle had a far better year as they returned to play-offs for the first time in a few seasons only to tumble out to FC Dordrecht in the first round. In his second season at the club, Danish central midfielder David Beck led the way with 31 appearances, six goals and five assists with an average rating of 7.21.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]League[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2011-12*[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2012-13*[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Promoted. KNVB Cup Winners. Qualified for Europa League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013-14*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014-15[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]16th[/TD]

[TD]Relegated.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2015-16[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]4th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016-17[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 3rd Round.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2017-18[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 2nd Round.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2018-19[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]10th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2019-20[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - Final.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]11th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]17th[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 1st Round.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]15th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie[/TD]

[TD]16th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2025-26

[/TD]

[TD]Eerste Divisie

[/TD]

[TD]7th

[/TD]

[TD]Lost in Playoffs - 1st Round.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Feyenoord

The Dutch powerhouses made it six of the last seven titles, and barely missed a beat despite March 2026's controversy as long-time manager and club icon Dirk Heesen shockingly defected to Eredivisie rivals Vitesse. Veteran German manager Mike Büskens joined from Freiburg and gelled quickly enough as Feyenoord won the Eredivisie by a single point (beating SC Cambuur on the final day). It was disappointment in Europe as they fell in the 1st Knockout Round of the Champions League 2-5 to eventual champions Atletico Madrid. Latvian striker Aleksejs Vasiljevs was the star with 18 league goals and seven Champions League goals.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]League[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013-14*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]10th[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014-15*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]KNVB Cup Winners. Qualified for the Europa League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2015-16*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. KNVB Cup Winners. Qualified for the Champions League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2016-17*[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]Champions League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2017-18[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2018-19[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2019-20[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. KNVB Cup Semi-finals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Champions League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. KNVB Cup Winners.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]Europa League Semifinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Europa League Semifinals.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2025-26

[/TD]

[TD]Eredivisie

[/TD]

[TD]1st

[/TD]

[TD]Champions.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Stuttgart

After seven years without a title, Bayern Munich ensured that they are German football's powerhouse by running away with their second league title in a row by eleven points. With Ricardo Moniz accepting a job with Internazionale after five years at the club, former HSV and Vitesse manager Olof Thon was a surprise appointment. Stuttgart never threatened to win the title, but finished second with a other good season. A 2-0 win over Karlsruhe earned them the DFB-Pokal, while a 4-5 loss to Chelsea ended their European dreams in the 1st Knockout Round of the Champions League. Julian Petersen, who I signed from PSV for £7.5M back in 2018-29, won his second Fußballer des Jahres award after netting seven league goals and an average rating of 7.68 across all forms of the game.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]League[/TD]

[TD]Position[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2017-18*[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]6th[/TD]

[TD]Qualified for the Europa League.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2018-19*[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2019-20*[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Europa League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]Europa League Winners.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22[/TD]

[TD]1.Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners. Champions League Semifinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]1st[/TD]

[TD]Champions. Champions League Quarterfinals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]2nd[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners. Champions League Semifinals.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga[/TD]

[TD]3rd[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2025-26

[/TD]

[TD]1. Bundesliga

[/TD]

[TD]2nd

[/TD]

[TD]DFB-Pokal Winners.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Belgium National Football Team

Missed out on back-to-back World Cups by finishing third behind Italy and Latvia in their group. Disastrously, Germany finished fourth and missed their first World Cup since 1950 when they were banned. Unsurprisingly, Thomas Tuchel was sacked. Despite the lack of competitive fixtures until later this year, Belgium lost 0-1 in a friendly to Argentina and hammered Armenia 4-1. Their Euro 2028 qualifying group includes Italy, Denmark, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Macedonia.

[TABLE=class: cms_table]

[TR]

[TD]Season[/TD]

[TD]Notes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2020-21*[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2021-22*[/TD]

[TD]3rd in FIFA World Cup - Group H[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2022-23*[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2023-24*[/TD]

[TD]3rd in European Championship - Group A[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2024-25[/TD]

[TD]After 6 games, 3rd in FIFA World Cup Qualifying - Group 4

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2025-26

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Mongrel]

Japan win 2026 World Cup on penalties

MEXICO CITY, Mexico - Japan has become the first Asian team to win the FIFA World Cup after a 3-2 win on penalties against South Korea at the Esadio Azteca in Mexico City. In front of around 125,000 people, Borussia Dortmund defender Sosuke Ohtsuka beat Korean goalkeeper Kang Jae-Won to secure the 23rd title for the Asian nation.

A spirited match ended 0-0 in regular time with the Korean and Japanese teams evenly matched throughout but unable to get the decisive break. In extra time, though, the Korean side got stuck in and racked up a total match foul count of 23 to 13. That cost Deportivo centre half Kim Kwang-Min his place in the side as he was sent off for a second bookable offence in the first half of extra time having seen yellow already in the 93rd minute.

After the break, Marseille striker Yasushi Takigawa scored his fourth goal of the tournament as he turned his opponent out to finish with an excellent strike from inside the box. However, just two minutes later, Sunderland striker Yong Sang-Hyun broke free to punish the Japanese defence in a counterattack.

With the match down to penalties, Korea led 1-0 after Motoo Nagamine missed the first attempt for Japan. Sporting's Cho Hyun-Joon and Tomoki Kawasaki both missed to see the two teams level at 2-2 after four shots a piece, before Benfica's Cho Hyun-Joon went the way of his namesake to give Ohtsuka the chance to win the World Cup.

The right back, who joined Dortmund from Anji last year for £6,500,000, made no error to hand the Japanese their first World Cup title.

Yeah, weird World Cup. Hosts Mexico failed to make it out of Group A - finishing bottom with two points in a group also including Algeria, Italy and Chile. Defending champions Turkey failed to even qualify for the World Cup, while 2022 third placed finishers France only managed one point in a group that saw El Salvador finish second and make the quarterfinals.

Japan's run was amazing - they lost their opening match to Georgia before coming through the group stage with wins over Nigeria and Portugal. They started the tournament ranked in the 60s, but won the tournament anyway in the all-Asian final. In thirteen meetings since my save file began, Japan and South Korea have played 13 times. Japan have won 10, drawn 3, and lost... well.

Oh and England beat Greece 1-0.

[Mongrel]

BOARD EXPECTATIONS:

Premier League - Respectable league position

FA Cup - Fifth Round

League Cup - Fourth Round

Europa League - Second Knockout Round

The bar set pretty low.

FINANCES:

We finished last financial year in the black with about £9M in the bank, but are still paying back a loan of £99K/month. The board gave me a transfer budget of around £11M and a yearly wage budget of £47M. At the end of the transfer window we were using £40.5M of that, so that's nice for the budgeting. That salary makes us the 13th highest paying team in the EPL - Man City are top with £129M per annum as they look to return to European football, while new kids Blackburn spend more than £100M less at £26.64M a year.

PRE-SEASON:

Yet again, we produced poor form in the friendly fixtures. We had better luck in the Europa league as we won our first tie against Hibs 3-0 on aggregate. That puts us a win away from the group stage, and we play NK Zagreb in late-August in a very winnable fixture.

TRANSFERS:

Despite finishing seventh last year, there was some dead wood that needed to be trimmed. Unfortunately, through circumstances beyond my control, I was more active in the transfer market than I expected or wanted to be.

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]TRANSFERS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Austin Close

[/TD]

[TD]Tottenham[/TD]

[TD]£250K[/TD]

[TD]An OK player who will hopefully develop into something better. One league appearance with Spurs, and a lot of time on loan in League Two.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jeff Arthur

[/TD]

[TD]Manchester United[/TD]

[TD]£1.9M[/TD]

[TD]A cheap signing who will hopefully provide handy cover in central midfield. He also provides me with another home grown player, and will get better. A fringe player at Manchester United, he made 37 appearances across all competitions with Man Utd, but only two of those were starts.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Alessandro Capra

[/TD]

[TD]Lazio[/TD]

[TD]£2.1M[/TD]

[TD]Just 22 years of age, the Italian will hope to join his compatriot Gaetano Stangoni as a player to have success with the Terriers. Made 20 appearances in Serie A last season, and will only get better. As a limited defender, he's basically got all the attributes I'm looking for.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Martín Reynoso

[/TD]

[TD]Boca[/TD]

[TD]£6.75M[/TD]

[TD]My big money signing who was named FIFA World Cup Best Young Player. I think he's a magnificent signing - he has very few weaknesses except probably his technique. A great tackler, but he might get caught out by quicker players. He had a two year stint in Romania with Otelul between 2022-2024 before moving back to Boca and tearing it up.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Kemar Hill

[/TD]

[TD]Chelsea[/TD]

[TD]Free[/TD]

[TD]Just eighteen and was probably unlucky to be released by Chelsea.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Marek Spanek

[/TD]

[TD]Viktoria Žižkov[/TD]

[TD]£350K[/TD]

[TD]With my third choice goalkeeper out, he'll compete with Ben Pritchard for the No. 2 spot after four successful with Žižkov. Bargain signing.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Damir Jancar

[/TD]

[TD]Wolfsburg[/TD]

[TD]£4.3M[/TD]

[TD]Very speculative signing for the amount of money paid, but my coaching staff are confident. We beat out Arsenal to sign him to a four year deal after fourteen league appearances with Wolfsburg last season. His skills need to improve, but hopefully he'll be a worthy replacement for Benali.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Róger Duarte

[/TD]

[TD]Metalist Kharkiv[/TD]

[TD]£3.4M[/TD]

[TD]Saved the best transfer to last, I think, with little known Costa Rican midfielder Duarte joining from the Ukrainian league. Scored 7 from 19 league starts last season, and will probably displace Morante in central midfield. Moves the ball around very well, with his only real weakness being his passing. Has for some reason made just two appearances for Costa Rica.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]£19M[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]OUT:[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Mehrdad Borjlou[/TD]

[TD]Tottenham[/TD]

[TD]£7.75M[/TD]

[TD]A fine performer in his season at the club, but the offer from Spurs was good and he wanted to go. A cool £3M profit on the Iranian international: 2025-2026 (33 apps).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Gonzalo Valdivia[/TD]

[TD]Released[/TD]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]The Chilean international had just turned thirty and managed just two league appearances in three seasons with the club. Good use of £2.7M by my predecessor: 2024-2026 (5 apps).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Martin Kovac[/TD]

[TD]Released[/TD]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Had a decent spell for the club after joining from Norwich in 2021-22, but fell out of favour with the rise of Benali. Should find another home: 2022-2026 (49 apps, 4 goals).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Cristian Acedo[/TD]

[TD]Released[/TD]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]In another inspired signing by my predecessor, Acedo made one league appearance in three years at £3.6M a match! Money down the toilet! He quickly found another home with Monaco in Ligue 1: 2024-2026 (1 app).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Josh Hill[/TD]

[TD]Swansea[/TD]

[TD]£3M[/TD]

[TD]The promising young striker joined on a free from Chelsea as a teenager, but failed to find a spot in the first team and spent spells at Chesterfield and St. Johnstone. He was technically quite good, and Swansea will be hoping that he will score them some goals to stay up these season. A fair price: 2021-2026 (12 apps, 1 goal).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Erik Danko[/TD]

[TD]Sevilla[/TD]

[TD]£8.5M[/TD]

[TD]Really didn't want to let Danko go, but he had a minimum release clause and refused to sign a new contract. At 23 years of age, and a physical freak, Danko will definitely be missed as he embarks on a new journey with Sevilla in the Champions League. After spending just £1.9M on him, this is a good profit: 2025-2026 (38 apps, 5 goals).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Sandro Cano[/TD]

[TD]Portsmouth[/TD]

[TD]£2.7M[/TD]

[TD]At 30 years of age, the Argentine was likely to fall out of favour after four seasons at the club. He was a marquee £6.25M signing in the summer of 2022, but made just twelve league appearances last season. Interesting that he departs as another Argentine defender comes in for a similar price: 2022-2026 (111 apps, 2 goals).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Tobias Hofmann[/TD]

[TD]Torino[/TD]

[TD]£2M[/TD]

[TD]The fans did not like this one. The 30-year old former captain returned from making seven appearances in his year on loan with Bayern Munich, and was immediately shopped out to Italy. A great servant of the club, but back in the pecking order: 2019-2026 (217 apps, 70 goals).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Panikos Mavromatis[/TD]

[TD]Parma[/TD]

[TD]£2.6M[/TD]

[TD]A slight profit on this £2.4M transfer from AEL in January 2022. He's an OK player, but was not going to get a gig here. Of his 122 appearances for the club, he came off the bench 40 times. Spent last year on loan with HSV in the Bundesliga: 2022-2026 (122 apps, 1 goal).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Stanko Dzafic[/TD]

[TD]Valencia[/TD]

[TD]£800K[/TD]

[TD]Grossly overpaid and untalented - and a third choice goalkeeper to boot. Couldn't kick him last year, and accepted an offer way below his value. Will play second fiddle at Valencia: 2019-2026 (89 apps, 143 conc).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jeremy Snell[/TD]

[TD]Chelsea[/TD]

[TD]£1.8M[/TD]

[TD]So displeased with this transfer. The one attractive youth prospect, and I forgot to sign him to a professional deal. Goes to Chelsea for a deal that may rise to around £4M depending on appearances: 2026 (0 apps).[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]£29M[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

A heap of changes leaves me with a squad looking like this:

At full fitness, my first choice team will be:

Vázquez

Tadic - Reynoso - Gavrilovic - Miljkovic

Gordon - Duarte - A. Peña - Benali

Dodd - G. Peña

[Mongrel]

August 2026

We started our Premier League season at home to Birmingham and managed to show more composure in front of goals in a really tight fixture. Former Arsenal winger Dan Gordon and Sam Eaton scored within six minutes of each other to secure the 2-0 win. We returned to European football with a 3-0 win away over NK Zagreb thanks to the first goal from Argentinian signing Martin Reynoso. In the second leg at home, we held out 0-0 to advance to the group stages - drawn with:

Maccabi Irony Petach-Tikva

Marseille

Sheriff Tiraspol

Very winnable. Unfortunately we managed to blow our good form at home to Portsmouth in a shock 1-2 loss - Pompey's Japanese international scoring twice just before the half.

September 2026

September started with another routine hammering at Tottenham with their Ecuadorian midfielder Jorge Anaguano scoring the goal of the month. Our brief poor run came to an end away at Sheriff in the Europa League as second half goals to Guillermo Peña (back from injury) and Steve Colborne earned us three points. After back-to-back Premier League losses, Peña struck in the 70th minute to secure a well-deserved win at home to Sheffield United. Marek Spanik made his league debut in goals.

In our League Cup defence, we sent a second-string side to Burnley. In a blockbuster first half, five goals were scored - but the most important were the first two goals for the club by Ivorian striker/winger Yacouba Diomandé. The month finished with a 0-0 draw away at West Brom; the biggest news being the return from a torn ACL for Miroslav Gavrilovic who played 72 minutes. He played poorly (a rating of 5.9), but it is a massive step for the vice-captain.

[Mongrel]

October 2026

October started with a bang as we hosted - and defeated - two-time Champions League winners Marseille in our second fixture of the group stages of the Europa League. Despite their European successes, Marseille haven't won Ligue 1 since 2010 and have finished runners-up five times since. Despite going 1-0 up early, they were poor in front of 21,000 at John Smith's Stadium. Guillermo Peña equalised just before half time, while young Welsh striker Steve Colborne scored a rare goal four minutes into injury time with his first - and only - touch of the match.

We took that good form into the Premier League with a comfortable 3-1 win over Sunderland at home. In the sixteenth minute, Róger Duarte scored his first goal for the club after getting onto the end of a quality pass from Alexis Peña. We found it tougher to score in the next fixture at home to Blackburn Rovers as Guillermo Peña continued his recent good run with a 76th minute winner. Despite the 1-0 scoreline, Blackburn failed to get a single shot on goal as we had 68% possession and 18 shots to 0 in a complete shut out. Diomandé starred with his dynamic runs down the left and assist.

We made it three in a row as we picked up a 2-0 win over ten-man Israeli outfit M. Petach-Tikva. Despite having twenty more shots on goal, we relied on a pair of assists from Yacouba Diomandé to feed Róger Duarte and Robert Burton. The run of wins came to an end in a spirited display against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Despite Alan Kenny's 69th minute winner, we kept them out for nearly all of the match - largely helped by a missed penalty and a first half sending off. While our midfield created nothing, Miroslav Gavrilovic was important in his continued return from injury with a 9.0 rating and Man of the Match award.

In the final game of the month, Diomandé created another two goals as we hammered Championship side Bristol City away from home to book a place in the Cadbury Cup quarterfinals.

November 2026

Despite the big win over Bristol City, high-flyers Aston Villa proved far too good despite having four less shots on goal. Their goalkeeper was Man of the Match as the hope that Yacouba Diomandé's 65th minute strike created was almost immediately cancelled out by Luis López's 73rd minute winner. Things were even less impressive as we had 18 shots on goal away from home at M. Petach-Tivka, but failed to score with Dan Gordon being sent off after 44 minutes.

We finally broke the drought with a very impressive 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea. After being sent off in the Europa League, Dan Gordon made amends with a 61st minute winner as we managed just ten shots on goal to 19. Luis Fernando Vázquez, back in goals, was the star. Despite the upset against Chelsea, we drew 0-0 at home against Watford of all teams despite having 20 shots to just 4. That was compounded by another missed chance away at West Ham as Alexis Pena's sixth minute strike was cancelled out by Roberto Alva in the 52nd minute.

We saved the best to last, though, as we advanced to another League Cup semifinal with a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. With both teams understrength, Gaetano Stangoni scored the only goal just before the half in a 1-0 win where there were just twelve shots on goal between the two clubs in a poor match. £2.1M signing Alessandro Capra picked up his first Man of the Match award in central defence as he managed to deal with the attacking threat posed by second choice Spurs Polish striker Damian Tomasiewicz.

[Mongrel]

December 2026

With eight fixtures, December was a big month. We started in the Europa League at home to Sheriff all but assured of a place in the knockout stages. In one of the most one-sided fixtures I've been involved in, we only managed a 2-0 victory despite having 36 shots on goal. The only goal we actually scored came from Gaetano Stangoni who had ten shots on goal during the match. The other goal came from an own goal. Yanis Benali, who wants to leave the club, was prolific down the left-hand side and was named Man of the Match. After European success, we traveled to Fulham and managed to come away with a point in a tight and entertaining contest. Gustavo got Fulham off the mark, but four minutes later Guillermo Peña scored the goal that would ultimately earn us a point.

Back at John Smith's Stadium, Gaetano Stangoni's twelfth minute strike was enough to earn a 1-0 win over Liverpool in a fiery affair that saw eight yellow cards handed out. Argentinian centre half Martin Reynoso was a clear choice for Man of the Match as he dealt with the dangerous Reds attacking force. In what was basically a dead rubber, we somehow managed to turn around our form of drab matches to put three past Marseille at Stade Vélodrome. Marseille, who managed just seven shots on goal against our weakened side, only managed to snatch one goal thanks to a Reynoso own goal. With a goal and two assists, Gaetano Stangoni was a clear choice for Man of the Match honours.

A late winner from Alexis Aldea was enough to derail our winning run at home to Manchester City. I thought we'd hold on for a point, but Alexis Peña was sent off and Aldea scored the winner in the 88th minute. We bounced back immediately, though, with a 4-2 hammering of Newcastle at St James' Park. Guillermo Peña was the star with a brace and an assist against a team that was reduced to ten men after 66 minutes. Unfortunately, on Boxing Day, we somehow lost 0-1 to Bunley after their 87th minute winner. We were pretty poor for the most party.

In the final match of the year, Gaetano Stangoni scored from the spot in the 53rd minute to earn us a vital three points away at Birmingham in an uninspiring contest.

Still a game in hand, but European football next season looks already quite dependent on League Cup form. Our form is inconsistent, but hopefully a top half finish will still happen which must be considered a victory considering the changes I made to this squad. United and Spurs are nearly inseparable on top, with Villa close behind in what is shaping up to be a three-horse race. Chelsea, who went back to their manager from 2017-24 Zvonimir Soldo, continue to rue last season's failure as they sit tenth. Swansea look set to go back down.

[Mongrel]

HALF-WAY MARK REVIEW

As we can see, there have been some pretty good contributions from a number of players. The most disappointing have probably been Nicky Dodd (who has missed a bundle of football through injury) and Robert Burton (who hasn't scored enough considering how much football he's played). Clearly, though, there's been a number of great half-seasons from our bigger names, and it leaves us in good stead for the second half of 2026-27. Dan Gordon, though, has done it alone on the right and we need a backup for him considering Dodd has, on occasion, been forced to play as a winger.

TOP PERFORMERS

Yacouba Diomandé - After joining from Monaco for £1.8M in January of last season, Diomandé looked like a clunker signing as he looked consistently out of his depth in the Premier League. This season has been a massive turnaround for the 29-year old, though, who has spent most of his time on the left but has played equally as adeptly as a target man. With nine assists and five Man of the Match performances, he's been a key to our successes in Europe and the Premier League.

Yanis Benali - Benali and I had a falling out at the start of the season, but it hasn't stopped him producing some great performances. When Diomandé hasn't played or has played up front, he's been just as potent on the left wing with seven assists and four Man of the Match awards. He also seems to have been unstoppable for Morocco, and we will miss him for the Cup of Nations this January.

Martín Reynoso - We spent £6.75M on him at the start of the season, which seemed like a massive risk for a player who had been largely untested outside of Argentina. It is fair to say now, though, that the 22-year old has repaid the faith with a fantastic debut season to date that has seen him form a formidable partnership with Miroslav Gavrilovic at the back.

Guillermo Peña - As always, Peña has been moderately inconsistent but has still come up with the goods when needed. He and Stangoni have been potent up front, but Peña has produced the goods more often at more important times.

[Mongrel]

JANUARY 2027

TRANSFERS:

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]TRANSFERS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Mirko Wright[/TD]

[TD]Blackpool[/TD]

[TD]£6M[/TD]

[TD]The Australian forward spent six seasons with Championship side Blackpool, and had banged in eleven goals by January when we signed him. £6M may seem like a lot for a lad Ledley King doesn't rate, but he's got Premier League experience and will play the role I'm looking for as a target man well. In Australia's unsuccessful Asian Cup campaign in January, he scored three goals.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Diego Bergés[/TD]

[TD]Besiktas JK[/TD]

[TD]£6.75[/TD]

[TD]I've spent another chunk of money on an Argentinian, and after initially seeking a backup for Dan Gordon I've possibly found a replacement. I really wanted to sign him during the summer transfer window, but was beaten to it by Besiktas. In six months in Turkey, he scored four and created eleven after tearing things up in Argentina. A fantastic buy.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]OUT[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Robert Burton[/TD]

[TD]Liverpool[/TD]

[TD]£11M[/TD]

[TD]Why Liverpool wanted him, I don't know, but £11M is a massive price for a guy who came to us on a free. He did OK as a target man during his short stay, but failed to score enough: 2025-2027 (39 apps, 8 goals)[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]LOANS[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]IN[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Iwan Moore[/TD]

[TD]Manchester United[/TD]

[TD]£1.5M[/TD]

[TD]With Roger Duarte going down with a season-ending injury, I needed to find a replacement for the Costa Rican. A £1.5M loan fee is steep, but it comes with a first option fee if I want to buy him. He's not played a lot with United, so I was hesitant to spend a packet on an unproven player. I think he'll be good, but this will be a good tryout for him.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]OUT[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Benjamin Masson[/TD]

[TD]St. Johnston[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Denis Horjak[/TD]

[TD]Elche[/TD]

[TD]£160K[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

2027 began away at Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup Third Round. After falling to Spurs at the same stage last year, we played a fairly strong side and won 2-0 (picking up five bookings in the process). The match at home to Arsenal was always going to be tougher, and Robert Burton's 64th minute strike, in what would be his last match for the club, was cancelled out fourteen minutes later as we walked away with a point. Having topped Tottenham in the Cadbury Cup, we came into our match at John Smith's Stadium without Diomandé and Benali who were at the Cup of Nations. Nevertheless, despite having fifteen shots fewer than the North London side, we somehow came away with the three points as former Terrier Mehrdad Borljou hilarious put it into his own net. After being a big money signing, Borljou has barely featured for Spurs and provides very expensive backup for veteran Slovenian right back Aleksandar Sirk.

Speaking of the Cadbury Cup, our title defence continued in the first leg of the semi final at home to high-flying Aston Villa. We absolutely hammered them on the pitch, but not on the scoreboard as the match ended 0-0. Nicky Dodd, still yet to score this season, botched five shots on goal and would have been looking nervously at the impending signing of Aussie Mirko Wright. Thankfully for Dodd, he broke his season drought with a tenth minute strike to put us ahead 2-0 against Portsmouth. Veteran midfielder Cristian Morante made it 3-0 in the second half in an entertaining match. Nicky Dodd then showed that the monkey was off his back in grand style against Swansea as a four-minute double salvo completed his hat trick in a 4-1 romp (where Gaetano Stangoni also missed from the spot).

With Dodd flying high with four in two, he made it five in three in the second leg of the Cadbury Cup semifinal at Aston Villa. It remained 1-0 for nearly all the match, until strikes in the last ten minutes secured our place in the final against Chelsea 3-0 on aggregate. In the final game of the month, we ensured we were still in all three competitions with a 2-0 win at home to Swansea. With goals to Miroslav Gavrilovic and Gaetano Stangoni, we proved too good for the Welsh side. The big news was the debut of new No. 9 Mirko Wright who came on in the 59th minute.

A very successful month was perhaps marred by the injury to Roger Duarte on international duty that will keep him out for the season. That prompted the late, and perhaps panic, loan signing of Iwan Moore.

[Mongrel]

MANAGERIAL CHANGES