EricPye28 Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thanks deltablue, it's a big ask but I hope I can do it. I've already realized the reason they're doing so poorly; with relegation comes an exodus. And the former manager didn't replace them with anyone. There are few solid players (David Stockdale of Fulham fame, Alan Judge), but a number of reinforcements would be good news. I'm searching for free transfers who could come in and I hope to find some nice cheap transfers or loans in January. We just have to improve performances and get within striking distance of the top. BTW, I saw your good start with Arsenal, keep it up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 End of January Transfer Window 2020 Transfers In I mentioned earlier the lack of depth in the squad. For the most part, I couldn't do much squad rotation in the early days as we didn't have the depth to make many changes. I think I now have the ability to make changes and we've brought in some good players for the future. Granger (M), Yildirim (CB), and Connett (ST) are 20 yr olds with potential. Jankowski (RB) has already stepped in with some good results. Kabir (AMR/L), Szewczyk (AMC/ST), and Katsavakis (DM/M) are very good players for the money and hopefully can get us up to the Championship. Transfers Out Not much to get rid of. Alan Judge wanted out when I showed up, but he has since rescinded that request (He says he's still leaving at the end of the season). There wasn't much to sell off the roster. Kirk is a good young prospect who needs games and Pearson is a future prospect that West Ham decided to make a bid on. With our future clauses involved, I'm happy with the sale. Fixtures I would say a pretty good three-and-a-half months. A good October slipped with a tough November, but two solid months in December and January. Michael Ngoo, Benik Afobe, Gareth Wilson, and Alan Judge have been great up front, with a number of nice goals all season. A couple of blips along the way, but just like any other team. Table We've gone from 21st to 9th in 18 games. A massive improvement. But as my board says..... I'm still under the gun. We've got to keep it up and get promoted, either through the playoff or automatically. Otherwise, my stay in Blackburn will be short lived. So with that knowledge, I'll still have another (temporary) job to fall back on.... But I don't want to worry about that. I'm here to help us get up and I think we can do it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Interesting progression so far, will be following. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Thanks for following Tyler16, I hope to make the next update a successful one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 End of Season 2020 What a tough way to end the year...... Fixtures A great run with only a few blips in the schedule. We clawed our way up the table, with a chance to finish 2nd on the final day. Unfortunately, we decided we couldn't play defense. A combination of poor marking and poor decisions was our demise and we finished 5th. But starting in 21st place and finishing 5th in 35 games was a great accomplishment. As the season wore down, the depth issue reared its ugly head. We had no natural left back for the final 6 or so games, and I was stuck using high potential/low ability midfielders while our better players were hurt as well. I would have liked to bring in more loanees, but I found out that you only get 4 long-term players and the past manager wasted two of them on 17 year old scrubs. Also on this was our Johnstone's Paint Trophy victory, the first one in our club's history. A good win against Northampton, surviving with 10 men in the final ten minutes. Tables As said, a decent finish to the season. I would have liked to somehow achieve 1st or 2nd, but our wins were mostly cancelled out by the top clubs and our losses were just too many. Starting the season with 2 wins, 3 draws, and 6 losses was just too far a gap to overcome. But a chance to still reach the Championship was in our grasp..... League 1 Playoff But just too far out of reach. A good draw at hope was stifled by a close finish away. Their first goal in extra time was inexperience by our 17 LB playing sort of our position and their third was a rebound that no one decided to mark a Charlton player. Unfortunate that we didn't tie it; a crossbar with 2 minutes to go was our last gasp. The loss meant..... I now have to achieve 9 points in my first 5 games next season or I'm out. I plan on winning League 1 next year, so we better win three of our first five or I don't deserve to be here. Squad Summary Goalkeepers Stockdale had played one game by the time I showed up. Why the previous manager didn't play him, I'll never know. He was a great leader who will be sorely missed next year. I promised promotion and I failed, so he's not resigning. So a new keeper to play with one of the other three will need to be found. Defenders I think we have the right backline in McDonagh, the combination of Yildrim, Gethings, and Lavelle, and Passley and Jankowski at RB. But I need reinforcements for when the form dips, as it did for all six of them over the season. Schimpelsberger is needed more at midfield than at RB. Midfielders/Attacking Midfielders Where to start, where to start? Alan Judge, I wish you'd stay. Yeoman's work trying to get us back up. Gareth Wilson, I really really want to buy from Southampton. Katsavakis was great in the midfield, but his injury with three weeks to go was a back-breaker. A number of good runs of form from everyone else as well from Kabir up. But the problem comes with Louis Granger and Gareth Fitton. Too many games for those two, especially considering their form. An improvement in the midfield will be the backbone for us next year. Strikers The only player of mention not talked about before was Afobe. Bought for $375,000, valued at 2.2 million, and was consistent all season. A good striker for next year, and the depth around him (Szewczyk, Ngoo, and Connett) should be enough for next year. Season Summary 21st to 5th. A great achievement. But Blackburn is a bigger club than League One. It's Championship or bust next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 The board were a bit ungrateful I feel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Yeah, I think everyone was pretty ungrateful. Almost every press conference last season was "Blackburn are underachieving" or "Do you worry for your job?". But that's soccer. If we start well, nobody will remember the conversations last year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Canada Under 23 Manager Results -2020 For the North American Qualifiers, we were put in a group with the USA, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. I wasn't sure how we'd fare, but some promising results occurred. A surprise if you ask me. Olazabal was great in his two games, cashing in for a few nice goals. The Americans had won the last qualifier in 2016 against us in the finals, so a great revenge victory was on the cards and we delivered. The 1st place finish set us up for a date against Honduras, which turned into.... A sucker punch in the final. The semi was a cakewalk and the final looked that way too, up 2-0 at halftime. But Mexico's leading scorer, 20 yr Sergio Filizola scored a natural hat-trick with 25 minutes of the restart. A great individual effort by Olazabal got us to extra-time, but Filizola scored again for his fourth, resigning me to another finals loss. But second place, just like in 2016, got us into the 2020 Olympics! So I hoped to replicate a quarter-finals appearance we achieved in 2016.... But it wasn't meant to be. I felt a little robbed and did not feel this was a fair result. In each game we scored first, only to have it disallowed due to offside or a foul, which was unlucky. I felt we deserved more out of the Cameroon and South Korea games, but we couldn't cash in our chances. I also was missing some key players who were called up to the National team, and therefore, considered ineligible for play in this tournament. The results leave me a little disappointed, but for a first time international manager, getting to the Olympics is a great result. Now, the Canadian National job would be nice......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 End of August Transfer Window 2020 Transfers In A pretty good window, overall. All of our signings and loanees are under 24, which has been my strategy for the most part. Youth and potential over experience. I usually try to get all my signings in before the season starts, which was also mostly achieved. Molyneaux (AMC) and Nicholson (ST) were signed before the end of the last season. Rossbach (GK) was signed to be our number one keeper, replacing David Stockdale. My four main full-season loans were Dobbs (AML/ST), Galbiati (CB), Cortesi (LB), and Angloma (MID), helping with depth. Other signings include Kingo (CB/RB), Tingiridis (DM/MID), Kolak (AMC), Toivonen (AMR), Varga (AMC), and Aubert (DM). Throughout our first seven games, Dobbs, Varga, and Rossbach have impressed. Transfers OUT A busy window out, but not as big as it looks. The biggest leavings (besides Stockdale and Judge), were 18 yr old Oliver Smith (really good price for him), 24 yr old Tariqe Fosu (selling high + coming off 4 month injury) and 27 yr old Michael Ngoo (felt there was no room for him). Gary Kellett was mad nobody wanted him on loan, so he wanted out and I obliged. I think we can get by without these players, but as I've mentioned before, I do wish we could have kept Alan Judge. He is the reigning Sky Bet League 1 Player of the Year, after all (forgot to mention that last year!). But a good transfer window, by my estimation. Fixtures Even if I had a bad transfer window, this start would have made up for it. Afobe has continued his great form from last season, Connett has started strong, and everyone has pulled their weight. Wins over (at the time) 2nd place Portsmouth, (at the time) 3rd place Swindon, and Premier League team Nottingham Forest were lovely to watch. I think I exceeded the board's expectations of 9 pts in 5 games, right? Table The relegation drop has hurt the three Championship teams (like us last year); Leicester, Middlesbrough, and Torquay are under the gun to start the season. But I said Championship or bust, and this is the start I was looking for. We can't expect to continue our 100% record, but I'll take 99% Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevhamster Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I'd say the board's appraisal of the previous season was very harsh, espcially with the improvement you made. Good luck for the next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Thanks kevhamster! I know they were harsh, but they have ambitions to be better. This year has been much better from them, although they should be thanking me for my loyalty..... We're only in November! Two Serie B, one Ekstraklasa, one PTT 1., and two Championship teams, all looking for me as their next manager. I'm flattered, but I didn't go to any interviews. I am enjoying the season in Blackburn and I'll need a stunning offer to get me out of here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Did Lechia accidentally click 'send' twice? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Well, deltablue, they were very interested But, as mentioned before, a good job offer would have to come my way. I can definitely say I was interested by this one.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 I took the job (with a pay increase of $750/wk!). I felt that a top-league job was coming after that flood of offers and this was one I should jump on. Bursaspor is a club without a lot of history and I'd like to change that. They have some great facilities, a widespread youth recruitment field, and some quality in the ranks that I'd like to develop. The table below doesn't look too appetizing, but it's very tight together. The board has requested Euro qualification, so 5th place or higher is the goal. I think we can do it. I'll have seven games to find out who's useful and who's not, and a $3 million dollar budget to bring in anyone I think can help. My history to date: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Wow, great move there. Turkish league should be a lot different than League One, that's for sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 Yeah for sure, tyler16. The biggest difference I've already seen, just from looking around, is the foreign restriction of no more than 8 foreign players allowed to be registered, and only 5 foreign players in the squad per match. That is a huge difference than any other league I've been in so far and that means I have to be very sure who I'm going to sign will work with the squad or I've wasted a slot. I'll have 1 or 2 slots available come January, so those signings or transfers will need to be dead-on if we're going to achieve our goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 End of January 2021 Transfer Window Update Transfers Out A busy window, with a number of loans, releases, and sales. With only 8 foreign players able to be registered and different areas of the squad to be reinforced, some moves had to be made. Bruno Mendes (ST) was on his way out before I got here, but Ovenstad (only signed in the summer, but surplus to requirements), Causic, and Alcivar needed to be moved around. Otherwise, youngsters were either loaned out or released. Transfers In The foreigners brought in to replace the others included 19 yr old Cortes (MC/AMC), Henrique (DR), and Mihaly Varga (AMC). Blackburn decided not to renew Varga's loan deal and I jumped on him for a steal of a price. Konak can play both AML/R and is Turkish, so he can fit in without restrictions. Fixtures A great start, followed by a nightmare Christmas clash, and seven games in 18 days becoming a killer for depth and fitness. We started great, scoring goals and playing decent defense, albeit no clean sheets. Then the away disaster at Besiktas, probably my worst loss ever. An injury 5 minutes in, a red card in the 20th minute, another injury in the 55th minute (after my three subs at halftime), and that's the formula for a devastating loss. Our match with them three weeks later was a much more respectable showing. But the games in January were no easy feat. Injuries to top players Enes Unal, captain Serdar Aziz, and Leonal Miranda have let us without some our best players in January, testing the squad for depth. We performed admirably, but losses to Konyaspor and Genclerbirligi have hurt our ascent up the standings. Turkish Cup Group Stage A great round robin so far. We are almost guaranteed a spot in the next round, just probably at least a point will do. I hope to have it clinched before our final game against Besiktas. A spot in the Semi is within our grasp, I can't wait. Spor Toto Super League We were in 13th once I joined up, so a minor improvement to 10th. The table is starting to open up, 7 pts away from Europe. But once our players come back from injury and international duties (Ryad Boudebouz is Algerian), we should be able to make a good run up the table. Exciting times in Turkey! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgunn Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Ah, it's in the bag! My prediction is that Bursaspor finishes 5th. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Thanks for your prediction, bbgunn. I hope we can finish 5th as well, as it would be a good jumping off point for next season. We've played well in stretches, just have to cross the finish line! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'll raise you 4th Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 I like the optimism! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgunn Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'll raise you 4th You're on! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 End of Season Update 2021 Fixtures What more to say? Incredible? Outstanding? Amazing? Any superlative would do. We found ways to win or draw every game the rest of the season expect a meaningless group stage game against Besiktas, and we managed to avenge that loss by beating them in the Turkish Cup finals and the last game of the season! What a run of form! Some highlights include Varga's late masterclass against Adana D.S, Some great draws against top teams Galatasaray and Fenerbache, and the Colin Richards show down the stretch. He's been with the club since 2013, and he set a season record for goals in the Turkish Cup with 8 and led the team with goals for the season. A proper send-off. The Turkish Cup win ended a run of cup final appearances with a loss as well. Since winning our first Turkish Cup in 1986, we've lost 5 straight finals! With four coming in the 2010s (2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017!) Table We finished 3rd, our highest finish since 2010 when we won the league. Maybe we didn't have enough optimism? My second go around for the Europa League as well, exciting to be back in Europe. We've made some end-of-contract signings that should help us maintain, if not improve, this position. I'd really love to challenge for the top spot, but we might be a year away. But time will tell. Player Ratings Goalkeepers Renan was great. And one of my end-of-contract signings is a Turkish goalie, so another steady keeper will be great to have. Defenders Henrique proved to be a great signing, helping to solidify the Right Back position. Everyone else did their role from good-to-great. Another year for the youngster will be a great help to them, bringing in some much needed experience. Midfielders/Attackers As you can see, Leonel Miranda is a stud. He's in the running for Foreign Player of the Year. Varga was a great understudy as well. Next year I hope to get both on the field, firing on all cylinders (or at least one firing at all times). You can Richards contributions' as well, I'll miss him but not his salary. We have some really promising young talent here (Karabacak, Cay, Kasimoglu, Sahin, Koca, Cortes, Varga, Bilge.....) that can only get better with experience. Even Enes Unal is only 24 with over 150 league games! This squad, with the right additions, and proper growth, can become a top-Turkish side. This is the most excited I've ever been for my team going forward, and my former Blackburn won League 1 handily! Can't wait for next year! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgunn Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Well, I'm glad to be wrong with my prediction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Me too, bbgunn. But it was a surprising finish to the season, to say the least. Our formation clicked and we stood strong when needed to pick up some big results. I'm looking to tweak the back end a bit, just to try and earn some more clean sheets. But a great finish gives me hope for what we can accomplish next year! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I partly told you so Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Loving this thread, what a finish to the season. Keep it up mate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Thanks deltablue and tyler16 for the comment, I'm really enjoying this career. Can't wait to see what's next! Just for something different, checking in on my past clubs to see where they have ended up. Nyva Ternopli After some moderate success, Nyva took a step back in 2019 and haven't been able to make it out of the First League. At least they made some money off selling some of the players I brought in. Simone Ganz sold for $3.2 pounds, helping solidifying the finances. Belenenses A great half-season without me, finishing 3rd for the first time since 1988. Unfortunately, UEFA League Co-Efficients dropped the Portuguese League, meaning a 3rd place finish doesn't officially qualify you for the Europa League. Manager Edgar Davids left in the off-season and new manager Jose Gomez couldn't get out of the Euro Playoff and was fired when the team was 14th at one point. With some of the talent I brought in leaving, Belenenses might struggle to get back to my/Davids' glory. Blackburn Darren Ferguson might have gotten a pretty sweet gig, eh? Cruised to the title. Now to see who can be brought in to make the team Championship-Worthy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Former club watch is very interesting, nice touch. Looks like you made the right decision leaving Nyva when you did, then. Could argue the other two had a future but so far so good at Bursaspor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thanks Tyler16, I think it's all worked out so far. I don't think I'd ever get Nyva up to the top levels in Ukraine, but Belenenses and Blackburn could have been long reigns for sure. End of August 2021 Update Transfers In I'm very happy with the window. We made some great end-of-contract signings from our competitors. Keskin will help our midfield, Taskiran and Tukel as top goalies, and depth players in Gezgin, Ozturk, and Orhan. My biggest signings, busting the wage bill, was Joao Cruz. A former Benfica and Dortmund player, I've wanted him since January. He is a future world-class midfielder and I hope he can do it here. Also, Angel di Maria on a one-year deal. It's not 65 million pounds, but he'll be a good veteran leader for the club. Transfers Out I didn't include one other loanee out of the club just as an fyi. With our new foreign players coming in, we had to move out foreign players as well. Renan demanded a transfer and I decided it was a good move to agree. Boudebouz is a good player who I'd keep under relaxed transfer policies, but not one I can hold a spot for. Selimoglu demanded his transfer months ago. The rest was just cleaning house on dead weight. Fixtures A great win in the Super Cup, our first ever in club history with Rafa scored a beautiful free kick. A nice draw with Atletico gave me more reasons to be hopeful for our upcoming season. The draws against Eskisehirspor and Elazigspor weren't ideal, but hard-fought points. The Europa League draw of Greece's OFI was fortunate. We were down 2-1 at halftime in the first leg, but I made a formation change and we scored 3 goals in the first seven minutes, blowing the tie open. Two quick goals on the road sealed the deal, giving us our first Europa League group stage since 2018. And a nice win against Kayserispor to end out the month, pushing our unbeaten streak to 21 games, the longest in club history. Table Sitting with 5 points is a great start. Hopefully we can keep up these performances and keep moving up the table. Europa League A tough group stage. The Arsenal games may be too far out of our reach, so we will need top performances against Slaven and Granada. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Wow, Di Maria?! Tremendous start to the campaign. What's the goal for the season, UCL qualification? (top-2, I'm assuming?) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Yep for sure. Top-2 is Champions League, as Turkey have slipped to 11th in the League Rankings. We have the youngest team in the league, but our potential is huge. My next update should be here soon, but with our improvement and a couple of teams slumping, I'm very happy with things so far. And Di Maria has been......well.....less than Di Maria. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 End of January 2022 Transfer Window Update Transfers In I've gotten into the habit of buying up cheaper youngsters and hoping to make a profit on them in the future. You won't see much of it in this transfer window, but I think buying a few talented youngster at $100-$400K and hoping they hit $3-5M is a valuable process. Uyaroglu and Jensen are the first players in that strategy. Tanoh and Joon are center-back replacements for players sold below, as is Erdogan. Erdogan is a special, last second signing, as...... Transfers Out Selling Enes Unal was. Unal had just played his 265th game in all competitions for the club, but Fenerbahce had made a number of advances for him over the month. I was happy to get the fee we did for him, and his replacement Erdogan has very similar skills, so I'm hoping I made a steal. As mentioned before, we needed new centerbacks in the clubs. Mangulu was poor and I was happy to move him out once a decent offer came. Ozturk wasn't a great signing and Aziz wanted a new challenge, then didn't, then did at the deadline. We moved our captain and vice-captain out on the same day. Let's hope the players can rally around their new teammates and continue their form. Fixtures Because the form has been excellent. Just strong performances when needed by different players. Varga has been a revelation; picking up Man of the Match 8 times overall. But scoring has come from everywhere, defending has been strong when needed, and squad rotation has kept everyone fresh. We started slowly in Europe, but three wins and a draw in our last four games, including an unbelievable 3-3 draw against Granada in which we were up 3-1 and a stout 1-0 win against Arsenal made our dreams happen! Tables Spor Toto 5 points up (probably 2 after Besiktas win their game in hand) with some of the bigger players slumping. Our former manager has taken over in Galatasaray. I feel like the club made a good swap (EDIT: Galatasaray literally sacked the guy the day afterwards this table was posted. So definitely a better move for us!) Europa League Quite unbelievable. In the knockout round on the final day. I felt a tiny bit bad for Gary Bowyer and Arsenal. A year ago, they were in the Champions League final, needing a win to stay in the competition for next season. They lost to 5th place Chelsea, who stayed in the Champions League instead! Now, in Bowyer 1st match in charge, they were out of Europe. Astonishing. Zaraat Turkish Cup I screwed up and played Fenerbahce before putting up this table, so with two games to go, we control our own destiny and have a shot at another Cup Semi Final at least. Europa League Draw The draw was incredibly kind. With seven teams to go after our name came out of the pot, Genk was one of the two teams I wanted to see (the other being Mons). We have a chance to go the 2nd Knockout Round, unlike our chances if Juventus, SLB, Shakhtar, or Roma came out of the pot. Incredible stuff. And I don't want to jinx it, because I've never came close at anything like this before, but who cares! We have a shot, a shot, at a treble. This might be the closest I've ever been to one, in any save, ever. So I'm going to savor it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Good stuff, don't count your chickens before they've hatched though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 I know I shouldn't Bilbo, but I've never come close in any save game I've ever had before. So to be here with three months to go is a pretty great feeling for me. Let's hope I didn't jinx the club with my declarations however. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Some season so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thanks tyler16, hope this update shows how great it was! End of Season 2022 Update Fixtures What a year! We accomplished so much. We almost started giving away points in the end due to injuries, but we held it together with some clutch performances. Some memorable wins against Besiktas, Ferenbache, and the Turkish Cup semi-final against Galatasaray. Our 2nd Europa League round blip against Udinese was the only disappointing moment this season, but that's water under the bridge. A memorable season. Table Some new blood at the top of the table, with Galatasaray and Fenerbache missing out on Europe. Besiktas are the main competitors for this upcoming season, hopefully we can match up to them for another year with some smart signings. Player Ratings Goalkeeper I was really happy with both keepers this year. Youth and experience were great to have. Defenders For the most part, i was very happy with our defending. I just wish our centerbacks put up the performance the wider players. I know they don't score or assists as much as the wider players will, but we need to help them improve on their marking. Attacking Midfielders/Midfielders We put in a good year in the midfield, exactly what I wanted. Varga is a stud, setting a Europa League Average Rating record of 8.00 in his ten appearances. Cruz was a project, not in terms of skill, but in terms of getting the best out of him. I want him to be one of our best players next year. Di Maria.... well at least he didn't cost too much. Strikers Erdogan slowed down by the end of the season, but he was great, 11 goals in 21 games is an unbelievable start to his career here. Cay dropped, but Fettahoglu picked up his slack. Which player will be better going forward? It may not have been the treble I said we were getting, but a treble is a treble! Not a lot of competition in Canada it seems After my Hall of Fame nomination, I also found out that my name is getting out there, though. I turned down these interviews, but I'm intrigued the big league have noticed me. Maybe in a few years Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Fantastic title win! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevhamster Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Excellent season. Well done! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Congratulations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thank you for the comments. I was really happy how we held it together. We have some new blood coming in that should help push these guys even further forward. And after 9 years, I've made the Champions League. Let's hope we can make another mark in Europe! My only upcoming issue is some foreign talent coming in, which makes it hard to decide who will play? I want to stay strong on two fronts, but some players might not be happy about only playing in Europe for the first half of the season....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Whoa. Here I am, working on the squad for the upcoming season, when this bombshell of a phone call came through. Roma are the back-to-back Serie A winners. Their manager, Vincenzo Montella took the Italy position post-2022 World Cup. And they picked my name for an interview. I'm pretty stunned. I think I'm going to take the interview and see what happens. This job offer doesn't happen every day. Edit: Bursaspor want me to stay. Choices to make..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Get a bit of money out of the board if you intend to stay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I personally wouldn't go to a team who are already title winners but it's a great opportunity otherwise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 Why wouldn't you go, deltablue? Too high expectations? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Why wouldn't you go, deltablue? Too high expectations? Partly that, but there's also a sense of there being nothing much to really achieve if I join a club that are already regular title-winners or at least challengers. Any success is expected and doesn't feel like I've earned it as much, and anything less is failure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Fair enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Goooooo! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPye28 Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Deltablue, I understand what you're saying. High expectations like that can take down a manager's career. As soon as you change anything on a championship team, it would be scrutinized if it fails at all. In the end, I didn't get the Roma job. I had a good interview, but they decided to hire Jurgen Klopp as their new boss. End of August 2022 Transfer Update Transfers In Some really incredible work here. Getting Rezart Duka to play with Varga would have been a great summer for me. But getting John-Ross Powell from Man Utd and Sergio Filizola from Monaco, the man who ruined my Canada Under 23s Final, are two of the best players to play in Bursaspor history. We've also picked up some depth around the rest of the field in Kaya, Scali, Gul, Tuncel, and Yuce. A very good summer. Transfers Out We needed one after some sad departures. Losing Kasimgolu really hurt, as he was the lynch pin of our defense. He went to rivals Galatasaray. Selling Cortes, Hyun-Joon, and Orhan were needed to free up money. But the big one was Miranda. I couldn't fit him in with a new contract and decided that I should try to get full value for him this summer before he left on a free like Kasimgolu. It is a loss, but one we can survive. Fixtures And survive we have so far. Another Super Cup win in pretty low-key fashion. But three blockbuster games. The opener against Besiktas was amazing. Up 2-0 8 minutes in, down 4-2 with 30 minutes to go, and to tie in it glorious fashion in the last minute of stoppage time. Then two great wins against smaller league competition. A great start to the season. Table But our defense will not be easy. Galatasaray and Fenerbache look reloaded and Besiktas will not be easy competition. Anyone of us for can win the title, who will survive the longest? Champions League Group A tough group, but most groups would be for us. At least we will be able to use all our foreign reinforcements to put up good tests against these three teams. But just at the end of the transfer deadline, another offer comes in. One I am very interested in..... Let's see how this plays out..... Edit: Former Liverpool Legend Sami Hyypia was chosen to take the job after I asked for a bigger transfer budget. I thought $5 million wasn't really enough, but they thought otherwise. Oh well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Only a matter of time until you land a top job. Great transfer period in the meantime. The two players from United and Monaco look fantastic for the Turkish league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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