noikeee Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Just got to read this. Well done in finally reaching the top with Ipswich, Champions of Europe. Good luck with the next step which is just as hard - making them the genuinely best team in Europe consistently over a period. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 Just got to read this. Well done in finally reaching the top with Ipswich, Champions of Europe. Good luck with the next step which is just as hard - making them the genuinely best team in Europe consistently over a period. Thanks. Hopefully we can but we're clearly struggling to keep it up right now. The clock is also ticking as even though I'm going to finish this on my own terms rather than simply when FM16 is out, there aren't many seasons left to get back up to the top and stay there this time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 Oct 2025 Ipswich 2-1 (aet) Fulham (LC R3) Ivankov, Viola Things didn’t look any better in the league cup against Fulham as Shoretire knocked the ball straight back to one of their forwards who took advantage of his generosity to give them the lead in the first minute. Our shooting wasn’t too bad accuracy-wise this time but it was weak and otherwise it was more like watching pinball. Finally in the 73rd minute, Ivankov got himself into a position where he could take a clear shot and fired home expertly. We went all out and while we couldn’t avoid extra-time, the ball was soon played right up the field to Viola who rushed past the defence and gave us a winner. It’s a pity it wasn’t Golden Goal or we’d have saved ourselves about 25 minutes we didn’t need right now. Ipswich 0-3 Newcastle (PRM) With team selection once more turning into ‘who’s fit?’ we had another defensive disaster against Newcastle as they had what you’d imagine was an impossible amount of space against a 5-man defence to take the lead after 13 minutes. Tupazinho had a header disallowed shortly before they whipped in a cross to head another. It got from bad to worse as they soon got a 3rd in the second-half, followed by a red card for Estrella. Honduras 0-3 Mexico (WCQ) Medina, Pineiro (2) For once I welcomed Mexico duty as a relief rather than something that was getting in the way. We went to Honduras hoping to make amends for the draw in Mexico City in June, but the first half was marred by Stormtrooper-level inaccuracy and they even threatened late on. With Fierro unusually poor, Medina came on and had a header disallowed but he soon ‘ran in’ a Barragan cross to give us the lead in the 55th minute. Pineiro made it safer in the 72nd minute and turned in a 3rd with 5 minutes left. Jamaica 0-1 Mexico (WCQ) Medina Medina was given a start in Jamaica and gave us the lead after 25 minutes. It was much like the Gold Cup final in that they were able to keep it close but rarely threatened to deny us the win. Ipswich 2-0 Fulham (PRM) Linias, Tupazinho I decided to turn up the attacking heat a little and it seemed to work at Fulham, with Linias seemingly back to his old self, penetrating their defence and firing us ahead in the 22nd minute. Tupazinho ran clear early in the second-half for another goal and it was great to see us back to our old selves again. Inter Milan 0-3 Ipswich (CL) Tupazinho, Linias (2) We went to an Inter side who looked a lot tougher than I expected given how easily we beat them in the Europa League a few years ago but Tupazinho’s header gave us the lead near the end of a mostly quiet first-half. The Brazilian’s head proved effective again later on as he found Linias who extended the lead at point-blank range and the latter sealed a 3-0 win. Liverpool 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Yilmaz A few issues up front re-emerged at Liverpool and we paid the price when they threatened after the break and one player made a great solo run before slotting home past Colin. Yilmaz found himself with all the space in the world and equalized just 5 minutes later but it was still a missed opportunity to climb back up the table. Ipswich 0-1 Man Utd (LC R4) The more attacking approach was helping revitalise us a little but the flaws were exposed against Man Utd in the League Cup when they got in behind the defence to take the lead after just 20 seconds. Gandarillas went off injured (the 4th in just 2 games though like Docherty last time he was ok afterwards, Fanti and Leon not being so lucky) forcing an early return for Moroni after a bit of a reshuffle and we couldn’t gather an equalizer but I admit that an early League Cup exit wasn’t a bad thing in the wider scheme of things. Nov 2025 Ipswich 3-0 Tottenham (PRM) Linias (2), Fabiano Tottenham had been a spent force for a couple of years but were threatening a revival this season. The replacement at half-time of an underperforming Viola for Andronov (even if the latter wasn’t at full fitness yet) helped breathe life into our game and Linias soon found the ball bouncing to him in the penalty area, making no mistake. Fabiano headed in a Docherty corner in the 82nd minute and Linias sealed it 5 minutes later. Ipswich 5-2 Inter Milan (CL) Yilmaz (2), Linias (2), Fabiano Inter started strongly at Portman Road and took the lead in the 10th minute but Linias found Yilmaz to equalize just 2 minutes later. Linias soon got one of his own and more goals from Yilmaz and Fabiano gave us a 4-1 lead at the break. Linias made it 5 while they got a late second. Our aggregate score against them in just 4 meetings was now 15-3! Ipswich 3-1 Man Utd (PRM) Yilmaz (2), Linias We had a rematch with Man Utd after our League Cup exit and took the lead when a Leon free-kick met Yilmaz’s head. Later in the first-half, Viola sent Linias clear and once again the 35yr old De Gea stood no chance. We decided to sit on it but they pulled one back from pouncing on a back-pass just 10 minutes after the break but Yilmaz eventually sealed it with a 3rd. West Ham 1-3 Ipswich (PRM) Viola, Yilmaz (2) Viola gave us the lead early on at West Ham but after Linias wasted a hatful of chances to get another, they caught us on the hop with an equalizer in the 78th minute. Thankfully Yilmaz quickly restored the lead with his 100th league goal and he even had time to add another. Ipswich 4-0 Sparta Prague (CL) Linias, Yilmaz (3) We were already through in the CL with 2 games left and hoped to seal top spot against Sparta. Linias ran through to give us the lead after 12 minutes and Yilmaz scored another before the break. Yilmaz scored twice more and Linias had a 5th disallowed as we were always going to be comfortable. Hull 0-4 Ipswich (PRM) 700th Ipswich match!!! Linias (3), Yilmaz We were under pressure early at Hull and we were lucky they missed a sitter after a few minutes but Linias headed us into the lead in the 18th minute. Yilmaz soon followed that up with another header and Linias grabbed 2 more in a more conventional fashion, marking my 700th Ipswich game in style. Dec 2025 Zenit 3-5 Ipswich (CL) Linias (2), Yilmaz (2), Viola We went to Zenit in the last CL group game which was a dead rubber for us, just as well as we went behind early on. Linias ran through to equalize in the 4th minute but they retook the lead in the 9th. It seemed like an eternity before Yilmaz equalized again after 25 minutes and Linias gave us the lead before the break. Yilmaz scored again early in the second-half but they scored a 3rd, in off the post and it took a Viola goal to finally clinch an incredible 5-3 win. Ipswich 2-1 Huddersfield (PRM) Viola, Yilmaz Viola and Yilmaz comfortably gave us a 2-0 lead in the first-half against Huddersfield. They eventually pulled one back as we failed to get a 3rd in all manner of ways but it was a minor setback. Ipswich 4-0 ES Tunis (CWC SF) Leon, Linias (2), Yilmaz It was time for the CWC and the traditional ‘walkover’ semi was against ES Tunis. We didn’t actually pile on the goals like I hoped and it took over half an hour for Leon to give us the lead from a free-kick. Linias was just the sort of player I’d expect to rule games like these and he did manage to score either side of half-time, with Yilmaz finishing off a decent 4-0 win. Ipswich 1-0 Sao Paulo (CWC Final) The final was against a strong Sao Paulo side but despite having most of the chances we just couldn’t score. We only just managed to avoid extra-time through a Tupazinho penalty. Nottingham Forest 1-0 Ipswich (PRM) We returned to league action at Forest and once again found it hard to make a breakthrough. This time we were punished as they headed in a free-kick in the 69th minute, shockingly ending a 10-match winning run. Derby 0-1 Ipswich (PRM) Tupazinho From Nottingham to Derby a few days later which again wasn’t one of our better games, but Tupazinho gave us a lead we managed to hold. Ipswich 2-1 Chelsea (PRM) Tupazinho (2) The Forest defeat seemed like a mere blip as Linias set up Tupazinho twice in the first-half against Chelsea. We couldn’t keep them out entirely as they eventually got a goal back but we had held out long enough that we secured the win. Arsenal 3-1 Ipswich (PRM) Linias The trip to Arsenal was set to be tough but we went for it and it very nearly paid dividends with some close chances in the first-half. Unfortunately they had a devastating strike pairing which the defence was far too easy on allowing them to take the lead before the break. The weak defensive display continued as they score two goals in quick succession in the second-half. We at least got a great goal from Linias later on after a super run but it was too late to change anything. Ipswich 2-0 Stoke (PRM) Fabiano, Tupazinho Fabiano gave us a 5th minute lead against Stoke but we regularly found ourselves in trouble as we couldn’t build on it, Linias being the main offender. Thankfully a Tupazinho penalty finally gave us a 2nd goal and we could relax. Much better! The first couple of months of the season made for rather depressing viewing. We've had worse of course in the early seasons of the career but not so much since I've been watching the games in more detail (which is probably what helped us improve and rise up to the top within a few years in the first place) but it was the Fulham game in the league that saw us burst into life again. In fact our run since then is probably the best we've been in the league since the start of last season. It did look like we were starting narrow the gap to the top a bit for a while but the Forest and (especially) Arsenal defeats has undone that for the time being. However if we can keep on going the way we otherwise have been (especially if we can beat Man City at home, which should be coming up soon) then there's still time to get close, even though we left ourselves with a massive amount of catching up to do early on to the point that I wasn't really thinking about it, and even now any sort of a challenge is a 'would be nice' rather than something I'm seriously expecting us to manage. At least in Europe there's no 'falling behind' in the same way so as long as you can stay in it doesn't damage your chances. For once I forgot to capture the knockout round draw but I can tell you that we got Porto, which is a relief because there was a very strong selection of runner-up teams we could have faced instead, especially Barcelona! Much like with the title challenge, a repeat of last year's triumph (or even getting close) is very much 'well, we just might' rather than 'we should be aiming to do it' given we've clearly got a bit more to do in the short-term to establish ourselves as consistently strong challengers both at home and abroad, though we've very much been 'there or thereabouts' at least for a while. I do intend to wrap up the career with a CL win but that's with the intention of it happening after the next few years rather than if we do it again this season or next. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 Mexico Update I took the Mexico job with the intention of that being a long term thing but now I'm focussing more on cracking on though the final seasons until I feel the right time to end comes, it feels like an unnecessary distraction. It doesn't help that Mexico is probably one of the most boring national teams to manage (which explains why I haven't done so for years and why I don't often feel like taking on an international role at all) with lots of matches that are so routine they're barely worth bothering with, and we haven't even had the USA to make things a little more interesting. The Honduras draw remains the only blip in a perfect record. The other problem is that while they're generally far too good for North America, they're rarely good enough to do much on the global stage so either way there's little to inspire much interest. I will go on through to the World Cup but not after that, and the fact that some of the better players in the squad are getting on a bit makes it a good point to leave things anyway World Cup Draw I must admit I was pretty happy with the draw. Italy will be very difficult but we should be able to overcome Japan and Belgium (though they're both decent enough that we can't take anything for granted), even if it means finishing second and probably facing the usual second-round exit but you never know. The draw itself isn't particularly notable. Arguably Group E is the 'weak' one and Group H the 'strong' one but otherwise nothing really stands out either way, with most groups looking pretty well mixed and even across the board. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 World Champions, recovering steadily in the league (if reclaiming the title looks a little difficult), nailing the Champions League comfortably, and meanwhile winning absolutely everything with Mexico. That looks like a pretty happy few months! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 World Champions, recovering steadily in the league (if reclaiming the title looks a little difficult), nailing the Champions League comfortably, and meanwhile winning absolutely everything with Mexico. That looks like a pretty happy few months! Aside from a tendency to go out in Semi-finals we've looked consistently strong in Europe for about 5 years now, and we've won our CL group all 3 times despite facing a few tough teams. I had hoped the CWC would be easier but Sao Paulo do seem to be very strong a lot of the time (last career included) so I guess it's no surprise we had more of a challenge than usual as the European champions in the competition. December seemed to be a bit of a slowdown anyway with such a busy schedule but we do have a small break at the start of January (not playing until the 10th) and don't have the League Cup semi-finals to worry about. It's a pity that we couldn't afford to drop even the relatively small number of points that we did when it came to trying to chase the top after the poor start to the season but as you say there's plenty to be happy about otherwise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Jan 2026 Ipswich 3-1 Colchester (FA R3) Tupazinho, Fabiano, Linias We had a rare 10-day rest (it’s unusual to even have a midweek in recent seasons) before facing Colchester in the FA cup. Tupazinho gave us the lead after 38 minutes but soon went off injured. Docherty had a goal disallowed early in the second-half which seemed to matter when they equalized. They kept intercepting our crosses but we managed to deliver effectively to Fabiano and Linias who gave us a 3-1 win. Unfortunately Tupazinho would be out for 7-9 months! Everton 2-1 Ipswich (PRM) Andronov We were caught out early on at Everton, going behind. We equalized in fine style as Linias ran through with the clearest break you’ll ever see, playing it to Andronov who went on a great solo run on his own before slotting home. Just as I was considering dialing back the attacking approach that had triggered our revival (but was now looking much too wasteful) they got a winner. Ipswich 0-0 Man City (PRM) We couldn’t afford another defeat against Man City so it was worrying when they got a disputed penalty but Colin managed to save. We perhaps felt we had enough about ourselves to get a winner but a draw wasn’t terrible. Ipswich 4-0 Swansea (FA R4) Linias (2), Andronov, Ivankov Swansea were our next FA Cup opponents and took the lead after 25 minutes from a Linias header, which he scores from surprisingly often for a ‘specialist’ poacher. Andronov had been hit and miss since his return but he got another. Linias set up Ivankov for a 3rd and sealed a 4-0 win at the end. Blackpool 1-2 Ipswich (PRM) Leon, Fabiano We went to Blackpool and took the lead when Leon headed in a Gandarillas corner. Linias was constantly being denied by his former team-mate Carrion in the Blackpool goal but another Gandarillas corner gave us another through Fabiano. They pulled one back but we still got a much-needed win. Ipswich 7-0 Reading (PRM) Andronov (3), Ivankov (3), Viola We had no trouble against Reading, starting with Andronov converting a free-kick in the 9th minute. Viola whipped the ball in for Ivankov to give us another, and the veteran Argentine got one of his own in between 2 more Andronov goals. Ivankov didn’t want to get left behind and gave us a 6th goal just before the break, the Ukrainian rounding off the win and a personal hat-trick in the second-half. Just a mini-update this evening as this has been one of those weeks where haven't been able to get anything done due to being ill (it seems to alternate weeks recently, I wish it would just hit me properly and get it over with!) The Everton defeat put paid to our chances of closing in on the top unless things really go our way for the rest of the season, though otherwise we did well enough and having scraped 4th on the final day last season, 3rd would be an improvement especially if it's reasonably comfortable. The FA cup has been pretty routine with 2 home wins against lower league opposition and Bristol City in the next round means we should make the quarter-finals at least without much trouble. Off the pitch there are a couple of big bits of news. I'm used to seeing Portman Road eventually expand by 10,000 (taking us over 40,000) or even more in these games (and we had a 60,000 new stadium last time around) so it's disappointing that only now have we been filling the ground enough for the board to consider it worth buying outright with a view to a possible expansion (it seems to take a few goes before I get requests granted if at all) so hopefully we can see a bit of that before the game is through. The second bit of news involves the fact that there'll be a big-name departure in the summer, with considerable regret. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 19, 2015 Author Share Posted October 19, 2015 I just thought I show something interesting (for a change). I mentioned in the past (mainly before last year's CL final) that we have a whole squad of very good players and exciting young talent but the big stars are pretty much all elsewhere, so here is a comparision between Man City's attacking 6 and our 'first choice' attacking 5. Man City Ipswich Admittedly when looking through the players at greater depth there isn't quite as big a gap as I'd previously thought but there is still a bit of a difference between a few counterparts, both at how incredible they are at the things they need to be good at and how many high attributes they have across the board even when we match them at the essentials. It's a similar situation with a handful of other clubs (though Man City are probably one of the strongest few) which does partly explain why we're struggling to seriously compete at top of the table, though we've done it before so we're at least capable of doing so if things go our way. What's especially annoying is that Erdogan was very much on my radar for a while when he was a teenager at Fenerbahce but I didn't go for him, I think mainly due to a high asking price but I might just have gone for it if I realized how good he was going to be (which I think I slightly underestimated as well). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Feb 2026 Southampton 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Viola Viola gave us the lead early on at Southampton and we looked set for a comfortable win as both he and Ivankov had plenty of chances for another. They looked stronger late on and we resisted well enough but a stoppage time header broke through. Newcastle 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Viola The trip to Newcastle was similar with Viola lobbing us ahead in the 25th minute. Again we should have finished it, especially as they played the second-half with just 10 men but they caught us off guard late on to equalize. Bristol City 2-1 Ipswich (FA R5) Andronov Our away-day blues continued a Bristol City in the cup as we went behind after 25 minutes. They slipped another past Colin later on and despite a lot of chances to come back, a late Andronov goal was all we managed. Ipswich 3-0 Aston Villa (PRM) Leon, Andronov, Ivankov We thankfully got our act together back at home against Aston Villa with Leon giving us a 9th minute lead. Andronov and Ivankov followed up as we sealed a 3-0 win just after half-an-hour. Porto 4-3 Ipswich (CL KO) Andronov, Linias (2) We went to Porto as the CL returned and exchanged chances in a goal-less first-half, little knowing what was in store in the second. Andronov ran through and gave us a 50th minute lead but they immediately equalized and soon went ahead when a Porto free-kick found one of their players who dribbled past the last defender and Colin and slotted home. Linias then broke free and danced around their defence before equalizing in the 69th minute but again our defence was found wanting and they were able to slip through to immediately regain the lead. Linias pounced on a defensive error at the other end to equalize again but our soft underbelly gave them a 4th. It wasn’t too bad though as we had a few away goals to our name and a simple win at Portman Road (which I felt we could easily get) would do it. Ipswich 1-2 Fulham (PRM) Ivankov We struggled to break through back in the league against Fulham and found ourselves going behind in the 54th minute. Ivankov managed to equalize after 70 minutes but it didn’t last long. Mar 2026 Ipswich 3-0 Liverpool (PRM) Viola, Yilmaz, Fabiano At least there was always Liverpool to pile more misery on and Viola gave us the lead in the 12th minute. We were able to build on it this time with Yilmaz and Fabiano getting a quick pair of goals after the break. Tottenham 5-2 Ipswich (PRM) Yilmaz (2) We went to Spurs for a critical match in the top 4 race but it was a disaster. They scrambled home after 15 minutes and while we had a few chances afterwards they piled on with another couple of goals. Yilmaz got one back just before half-time and as I decided to stop being cautious (since we had little to lose) he got another in the 58th minute, giving us a chance for a point. Unfortunately that was as good as it got and they sealed it with 2 more goals with 10 minutes left. Ipswich 2-0 (5-4) Porto (CL KO) Yilmaz, Linias We needed a far better defence if we were going to beat Porto and we took the game to them from the start, and I was relieved when Yilmaz headed in a Gandarillas corner after 20 minutes. We muddled through a lot of chances but Andronov finally got into the penalty area and passed to Linias who slotted home as calm as you please. Ipswich 3-0 West Ham (PRM) Moroni, Linias, Ivankov Moroni converted a free-kick after 10 minutes against West Ham as we looked comfortable for a change. Linias got another right after half-time and an Ivankov penalty settled it by the hour mark. Ipswich 0-1 Man City (CL QF) Man City were one of a couple of sides I really didn’t want to face in the CL Quarter-finals but we had to make the best of it. From the start we had some very close calls at the back and they headed in a free-kick late in the half. We managed to push forward on occasion and Linias had a couple of headers go agonizingly close but his deadly touch was severely lacking. I also got news that my first-choice Mexico keeper would miss the World Cup after an injury. It never rains, but it pours. Apr 2026 Stoke 0-0 Ipswich (PRM) We went to Stoke before the second-leg and started brightly but didn’t make the most of it. They then threatened for a while but Shoretire was thankfully on the ball and the match ended much like it began. Man City 5-2 (6-2) Ipswich (CL QF) Pinera, Yilmaz The early stages of the second-leg against Man City were pretty even but they broke through and extended their aggregate lead in the 17th minute. We emerged from our shell and Pinera scored in the 25th minute, putting us a goal away from going through. Unfortunately Nasta got sent off and they scored again so it looked bleak. Yilmaz scored a few minutes before the break but there was still time for them to get a 3rd. They piled on the pressure in the second-half and got 2 more and we were ruing yet another match where the defence severely let the side down. Ipswich 3-1 Hull (PRM) Yilmaz, Linias, Andronov We had a few more midfield injuries before facing Hull but Yilmaz gave us 19th minute lead. They equalized but Linias whipped in an Andronov cross at the start of the second-half. The Russian had assisted both goals so far and continued to probe how much we missed him earlier in the season by sealing a 3-1 win. Man Utd 2-0 Ipswich (PRM) The Manchester sides were clearly superior at the moment and we went behind at Old Trafford, through their Swiss forward’s 30th goal of the season. We had a case for a penalty before they got another and that was that. Huddersfield 0-1 Ipswich (PRM) Fanti We had difficulties at Huddersfield but Fanti managed to give us a vital win early in the second-half, though not without a few scares later on. Ipswich 5-1 Derby (PRM) Linias (2), Ivankov (2), Andronov We got off to a blistering start against Derby with Linias and Ivankov giving us a 2-0 lead after just 2 minutes. Andronov then got his 10th goal of the season for 3-0 and Linias made it 4-0 just before the half-hour mark. They got a goal back at the start of the second-half but Ivankov sealed a 5-1 win, our best performance for a while. May 2026 Chelsea 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Andronov We were looking good in the top 4 hunt but had a tricky end of the season including a trip to Chelsea (who were actually reigning champions). The first-half was uneventful but they took the lead in the 54th minute. Andronov equalized after a long run, having held onto the ball for a surprisingly long time before shooting, and a draw seemed reasonable. Ipswich 2-0 Nottingham Forest (PRM) Andronov, Viola We could potentially seal a top 4 finish against Nottingham Forest. Linias had an early goal disallowed and contrived to mess up in all sorts of fashions leaving it to Andronov to give us the expected lead after 40 minutes. Viola was making his last ever appearance at Portman Road and managed to mark it with a goal. Ipswich 6-1 Arsenal (PRM) Linias (3), Leon, Ivankov (2) We had Arsenal as our final game of the season with 3rd still in the balance and Linias gave us a 5th minute lead. They immediately equalized but Leon and Linias soon gave us a 3-1 lead and Ivankov extended it further in the second-half. Linias completed a hat-trick and an Ivankov penalty gave us a far bigger win than I could have imagined. Sometimes you get seasons where everything just seems to click (like when we won the title a couple of years ago) and sometimes things just keep going wrong, and we had various issues at different points in the season. First we had the players we could least afford to lose injured early in the season, then we managed to bounce back for a bit with a more attacking approach which left us exposed (see Arsenal away), then we were wasteful again for a bit and finally the defence turned into a joke, especially away from home, though we did manage to get 3rd relatively convincingly for all that with a much stronger finish, albeit with the bar being a bit lower than in recent seasons. The gap between being 'there or thereabouts' and actually being champions has always a tough one to bridge in the Premier League on FM and having thought I'd avoided that struggle when we won that title, it appears we haven't, though the Arsenal win does show that we can do it against the best teams after a couple of seasons where we really haven't which means another title is achievable before too long. Having had an influx of younger players recently a couple did show considerable promise from limited appearances, mainly Sobejano and Gallart and hopefully they won't be the exceptions. I did plan to end on a CL win but I didn't want to make it so short-term so maybe I'll aim to bow out on a title-winning season, though I hope to get another CL win as well. One of the things that stood out in the above post when comparing ourselves to Man City was the wage gap. I took a look at the wage bill table for the first time in ages and we were 6th. I actually wondered if we might be even lower than that it's still half that of the Manchester teams and we're very much at our limit as far as what we can sustain. The player search filter has a cap of 50kpw for wages because I don't think we could easily afford anyone who is already earning more. Not to say we're impoverished or have little to work with or anything but that's why we go for younger players (though it's not as much of a cast-iron rule as I expected to make it, partly because it doesn't need to be in practice), as it happens I plan to trim the squad again this summer (hopefully more successfully than last time) to give us a little more financial room. I've also managed to secure an instant stadium expansion (right after the club's purchase of Portman Road was completed) but it was a rather small one, and it'll still be less than 35k in total, compared to being used to getting a 10k expansion to go over 40k. Still you take what you can get. Match of the Season: Reading have been a bit of a 'best of the rest' team for a while and beat us early in the season to it was great to hammer them at home for the second year in a row. Star Player: Linias looked like he'd be stuck in Viola's shadow for a long time but he's really come into his own in the past few years, and relished his first season ahead of his compatriot in the official pecking order, retiring his sempai for good. Could be a real star at the World Cup. Squad Stats Finally, it was good to have a decent contingent of players at a major international tournament at last. No Moroni in the Italy squad I'm about to face interestingly enough (Fanti was always going to be a long shot), Pinera being the other surprise omission. No Scotland or Russia means Docherty and Andronov miss (Cotter making it with Slovenia was never likely) out while Tupazinho falls victim to the cruciate ligament injury he sustained in January which rules him out until the start of next season at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 It is with great regret that announce the impending departure of Viola. He's been at the club for 11 years, second only to Shoretire (though Pinera arrived the following January) and is easily the top scorer of the career with 248 goals in 431 appearances. He was one of the first players (along with Pedrinho) to become a properly developed star and he was invaluable for that reason (and highly sought after) but that also made him one of the first high-earners at around 80kpw (massive at the time, still no small beer now) and as time went on and the team developed (Linias especially) he looked less like he was worth it, and if it hadn't been for a fantastic season last year I could well have sold him last summer. I might have kept him around on similar terms but a contract extension would have meant taking him up to around 120kpw and given what I said above about being roughly at our sustainable limit, there was no way I could justify that. This could actually be the end of his career. In my past FM13 career I had a similarly legendary Dutch forward who I decided to release for the same set of reasons and he retired that autumn because no one came in for him, backing up my judgement that he just wasn't worth such high wage demands. No one has given Viola a pre-contract deal so I think the same will happen now but if he becomes a staff member I'll be sure to give him a quick return, even if he isn't very good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Season Round-Up: 2025/26 Championship League 1 League 2 BSP BSN BSS FA LC CL EL Interesting that Barcelona won the Champions League on penalties after 1-1 draw given we beat them in last year's final, also after a 1-1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 World Cup 2026 We had a very tricky test in the World Cup with Italy as incredibly difficult first opponents, followed by Belgium and Japan sides we couldn’t be too complacent against. It didn’t help that we would be without our first-choice keeper with a few other injuries that didn’t rule anyone else out of the tournament completely but still meant that we started without our best side available otherwise. Squad Mexico 0-0 Italy (WC) Facing Italy first, I really wasn’t used to being anything other than overwhelming favourites with Mexico but we gave a good account of ourselves in an even game. It was a pity Fierro was off-form given this was a rare game it would actually make a difference but I was feeling a lot better after a 0-0 draw as it showed that despite my fears, we weren’t necessarily lambs to the slaughter against the big nations, continuing a run of 36 games unbeaten. Mexico 2-0 Belgium (WC) Barragan, Pineiro We were able to be more open against Belgium, and despite the Belgians having a header disallowed we deservedly took the lead from Barragan after 25 minutes. He set up Pineiro with a cross just before half-time and we could easily have had at least one more with could really have helped in trying to top the group ahead of Italy (and potentially avoiding a scary-looking France side). As it happened Italy only beat Japan by a single goal which took the pressure off a little. Mexico 4-0 Japan (WC) Garza (2), Pineiro, Rodriguez We faced Japan knowing we would top the group if we matched Italy’s result against Belgium (though we hadn’t actually sealed passage to the next round yet). Fierro was out with food poisoning but his understudy Garza (who was actually an accidental selection due to my not remembering the player I actually wanted to pick) gave us a 5th minute lead. Italy actually went behind against Belgium which was both good and bad news. Good news was that if we won the margin of victory was irrelevant. Bad news was that if we conceded an equalizer, we’d lose top spot to the Belgians. Barragan had another disallowed and we were denied a penalty which made me very worried as they threatened a bit but an Italy equalizer kept the pressure off for now. Garza and Pineiro gave us the goals we were after in the second-half and I knew were now safe. Rodriguez sealed a 4-0 win at the end. I was worried that we’d get France anyway in the second-round after they lost to Tunisia but they ended up being shockingly eliminated completely and we’d face the North Africans. Mexico 3-1 Tunisia (WC R2) Pineiro (2), Rojina Our injury list was up to 5 with a few others a little unfit and we went behind from a free-kick just a few minutes in. Thankfully it took just 10 minutes for Pineiro to equalize, pouncing on a rebound from his previous attempt and he gave us the lead after half-an-hour. They had a top quality forward and a few other decent attacking players, and they pushed hard after the break but Rojina sealed it with our 3rd goal. Mexico 1-0 Argentina (WC QF) Fierro Argentina were the side I was perhaps most worried about facing and sods law dictated that they were our Quarter-final opponents. They were one of 2 teams who had scored more goals than we had with 10 (Turkey oddly enough being top with 11) and their Man City forward Diadone (not someone I’m ever pleased to face) was joint second-top scorer (with Pineiro being one of a few other players on 4). As if that wasn’t scary enough, their attack was spearheaded by Ramiro Linias! They also had Nasta at left-back as expected and I must admit I found the idea of facing my own Ipswich players (for the first, and probably only time) to be fascinating. Obviously the priority was to keep it tight and not give Linias the space to burst through the defence (which he’s awfully good at, trust me) so it was a nice surprise to see Fierro break instead to give us a 6th minute lead. Pineiro (who unfortunately later went off injured) had a chance to get another before they started pushing. They even brought on Viola who made a chance that could generously be described as ‘optimistic’ but having held out we made a few late forays that could have led to another. Mexico 3-0 Spain (WC SF) Luna, Fierro, Rodriguez We played Spain in the Semi-finals, and again took a surprise lead when we managed to get a few early chances, leading to a Barragan corner which was headed in by Luna. Fierro managed to get another before they could start applying the pressure and it was much like the Argentina game in that we hung on by our fingertips before going on the offensive again late on. Fierro missed a penalty but Rodriguez converted another to send us through to the final. Mexico 2-1 Turkey (WC Final) Castellanos Our opponents would be… Turkey. That actually had arguably the best central midfielder in the world (the one that got away) and even though he was thankfully injured for the final, they still had a strong side so it wasn’t that unlikely. It was unsurprisingly much tougher than all the other games as they kept up the pressure and we hardly had any opportunity to break. ‘Supply’ keeper Vega had done a great job all tournament long but he was finally beaten from open play before half-time. We finally managed to do something after the break and after 2 years of failing to deliver on his promise, Castellanos finally came good to give us an excellent equalizer in the 57th minute. Talk about good timing! The match then quietened down almost completely until the end when they had a couple of chances, followed by a Barragan cross which was deflected in by the Turkey goalkeeper for 2-1 with just a couple of minutes left! What the flip just happened! I've often found international tournaments to be incredibly difficult and have only really done very well with major nations. I certainly wasn't expecting to win with a limited Mexico side, without my first-choice keeper, our best defender only being fit at the end, only one of our 2 main forwards available at any one time and all manner of injuries besides! Oh and one of the forwards was only selected because I mistook him for somebody else. My prediction was to lose to Italy, finish 2nd in the group and probably face a side far too strong for us in the last 16, certainly before we faced Argentina I thought 'this it it, and it could be rather painful'. It was very much a squad effort with every single outfielder playing at one point or another, as well as being able to hold out when we needed to, and in fact the Belgium and Japan group games were the only ones we set out to control. I really thought that having had a couple of years of being flat-track bullies (and not necessarily convincing ones at that) we'd be brutally exposed on the global stage. I'd long wanted another World Cup trumph as it had been literally years. That said I'm not much of an international manager anyway and was already planning to end this stint because of all the reasons I only occasionally dip my toe into it, so I was very rarely even competing in it all that time. This probably has to rank among one of my greatest ever FM achievements and after the various disappointments of last season with Ipswich it feels incredible to suddenly get such a massive success so soon. In case anyone was wondering 'The World's gone mad!', England went out on penalties in the Quarter-final so the game isn't completely broken If a lot of you guys are ever going to comment, I think now is the time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Bloody hell, that's a fantastic achievement. Well done! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 If a lot of you guys are ever going to comment, I think now is the time I'll comment! This reminds me of a save I had once (also on FM13). Took over South Korea after the 2026 World Cup and ended up winning the thing in 2030 - also completely out of the blue and also one of my all-time greatest and most unexpected triumphs... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Bloody hell, that's a fantastic achievement. Well done! I'll comment! This reminds me of a save I had once (also on FM13). Took over South Korea after the 2026 World Cup and ended up winning the thing in 2030 - also completely out of the blue and also one of my all-time greatest and most unexpected triumphs... I remember the entire way through I wasn't so much excited at the prospect of winning as shocked that we were somehow continuing to progress, and there's also the fact that I was planning to ditch the international scene and went into the tournament wanting to get it over with more than anything else. As I said I've only really done well at international tournament with big nations (and even then only some of the time) so it really was that completely unexpected. I'll probably post my side later so you can judge the extent of the achievement for yourselves. You've got to feel really sorry for the Turkish keeper though. A late own-goal to condemn your team to defeat is bad enough under any circumstances but to do it in a World Cup Final... My final Mexico record is: Played 35; Won 32 ; Drew 3; Lost 0; Scored 105; Conceded 12. Not to mention having won both international tournaments in just 2 years. That record didn't seem to mean a lot before this summer given the opponents but now I can look back on a job legitimately well done. In fact I'll probably retire from international management for good because it's so often been a frustration and a struggle (even in this stint) and I don't think it can get any better than a surprise World Cup win with my second country. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeresdaKicker Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 In fact I'll probably retire from international management for good because it's so often been a frustration and a struggle (even in this stint) and I don't think it can get any better than a surprise World Cup win with my second country. Nah-- You should try to take over a dark horse international team and try to win the next WC as well. What do you think? Chile, Costa Rica, Serbia? A team with potential but that needs some building? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Definitely not. I already had my fill of international football for a while and a lack of leagues (England only until I eventually added Mexico) leaves only a handful of viable national teams unless I add more. I was only ever out to be in charge of Mexico in this career anyway. I also think it was very much a one-off with that sort of team and it would take years (in real life) to get anywhere near repeating it. I did actually win back-to-back World Cups with different nations once but that was on FM06 and the nations involved were Spain and Brazil! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Here are the Mexico heroes, all 13 players who appeared in the final... It's admittedly not a terrible bunch of players and looking pretty good in central defence especially but at the same time it's not a side that screams 'world champions' and only a few players are likely to have any other major successes other than this. However if you're going to have one major triumph in your career, you can't beat winning the World Cup! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Summer 2026 The first major news of the season was about Viola. Having expected him to fade into retirement he ended up at Man City of all teams. There was a time where I regularly had to reject bids from them (and occasionally other clubs) for the younger Viola but that had stopped a while ago and I really didn't expect any major sides to be interested. As it happened I already got a coach report on him suggesting he had started to decline just before the end of last season and given how dangerous Man City's attacking line-up is I don't think it'll come back to haunt me much. Viola was far from the only player out of the door this summer as I set out to trim a squad that was far too large. A few of the departures were straightforward but there were also a few gambles in selling the aging Cotter, then Coulibaly (until last year the only viable backup full-back), and finally Gandarillas as I decided one defender had to go. I felt we could easily afford to sell players in this way because last year had helped give us a very strong influx of raw talent in defence (even for 16/17yr olds) and I wanted to make good use of it, alongside the one new arrival this summer. We also had a squad of 25 players now which was much more sensible while still giving us plenty of cover. Huddersfield certainly have reason to be thankful as they've now bought 4 players off us in the last 2 years. Certainly we were in a better financial situation as while we still had a bit of money in the bank, we roughly breaking even for the past few years (depending on transfer activity) so I wanted to raise a bit more and cut a decent amount of the wage bill while I was at it. That was also why there was just the one signing as while there were some tempting options (mostly from Germany at last) we had a squad that was a mix of estabished and reliable stars and great potential that needed to get its chance and no one else was quite enough of a no-brainer to be worth spending quite a bit of money on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Ha ha, his name is Butt. I'll comment! This reminds me of a save I had once (also on FM13). Took over South Korea after the 2026 World Cup and ended up winning the thing in 2030 - also completely out of the blue and also one of my all-time greatest and most unexpected triumphs... The last time I won the World Cup it was similar too. Took over my country Portugal before they were going to host the 2030 cup. Friendlies were absolutely underwhelming, entered the tournament with no confidence at all. Ended up winning the whole thing beating Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Italy. Conspiracy theory: Maybe this whole storyline is scripted by SI into FM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 CL Draw This is probably the easiest draw we've had so far, though Lyon could still be tricky. We're 3rd in the European club rankings so while we will lose good points from our Europa League campaigns, we can hopefully make up for it by continuing our consistency (last season was the first time in ages that we failed to make a European semi-final) and see if we can get top spot. The league table also looks like this... I wouldn't normally show it so early but I should just point out that we've already faced Chelsea (who were champions just over a year ago, and still very much look it) and gone to Arsenal, winning for just the second time ever. We've often failed to win the big games, which was the main issue a couple of seasons ago (last year we messed up quite a bit in other games so it didn't matter as much) this is a very positive sign that we can be a lot more competitive at the top of the table after 2 seasons of being a very distant and disappointing 3rd (and only just managing to grab that late on). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneronaldo Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 So the Mexicans are world champions, their manager does that despite selecting a striker by mistake, worlds gone mad basically. But England still goes out on penalties, glad to know some things will never change:lol: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 So the Mexicans are world champions, their manager does that despite selecting a striker by mistake, worlds gone mad basically. But England still goes out on penalties, glad to know some things will never change:lol: Indeed. Last year's Gold Cup (and autumn qualifers) saw a forward called Medina do very well and he was the one I meant to select over Garza after I struggled to find him in the national pool (and I couldn't quite remember the name of the guy I was specifically looking for anyway). It didn't help that a) I was feeling the effects of having drunk quite a bit earlier and b) wanted to get it all over with as quickly as possible so I could get back to focussing on club management, so I wasn't exactly giving it my full attention and effort anyway. There is also the fact that they play for Atlas and Genoa respectively with very similar shields so maybe that added to the misconception. I only realized after a warm-up friendly after getting a message about Garza being grateful for his first cap. There is also Castellanos who showed his promise with an early goal but otherwise spent the past 2 years being a disappointing back-up to Pineiro (and I got really worried the Benfica man got injured because I was to used to thinking 'well he's not going to score' every time Castellanos was on the attack) but he only goes and gets the equalizer in the World Cup final with only his second international goal! That's the sort of thing that would have people on GD complaining about the game making sure they lost No wonder my reaction afterwards (and in general throughout the latter stages) was less 'Yay, we've done it!' and more 'How on earth did we manage that!' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 Aug 2026 Ipswich 1-0 Chelsea (PRM) Yilmaz The league season started against Chelsea, arguably just as tough on paper as Man City. We started brightly and deservedly took the lead when Yilmaz played the ball to Andronov, who ran out wide before giving the ball back to the Frenchman (and I was really glad he’d chosen France over Turkey or that World Cup final would have been even tougher) to score. They started to take control of the game but we held firm and even had more than enough counter-attacking surges that we could have had a second and Yilmaz was denied by the post at least once. Arsenal 2-4 Ipswich (PRM) Yilmaz (3), Unal A tough set of early fixtures continued at the Emirates, a stadium where we’ve only ever won once, at that was 4 ½ years ago. However we tore them apart early on with Yilmaz giving is a 5th minute goal after heading in a free-kick. That was followed by a headed corner from Sercan Unal, making his first start for the club. Yilmaz broke free to give us a 3-0 lead after just 18 minutes. They got a goal back either side of half-time as they started to threaten but we caught them on the break and Yilmaz completed a hat-trick to put it beyond them. Ipswich 3-0 West Brom (PRM) Linias, Nasta, Andronov West Brom had made a good start to the season but that counted for nothing as Linias gave is the lead with a fantastic diagonal shot. Nasta then rounded off a great team move and Yilmaz, in one of his strong supporting performances, played that ball for Andronov to finish off a 3-0 win, leaving us as the only side with a 100% record after 3 games. Sept 2026 Liverpool 0-0 Ipswich (PRM) The trip to Liverpool was an exhibition in all the ways you can come close to scoring without managing it. They had a goal disallowed after the break which served as a warning sign that it could cost us but while it was a case of 2 points dropped, at least it wasn’t 3. Shakhtar 1-2 Ipswich (CL) Linias, Yilmaz The CL campaign started in Ukraine/Russia (delete as appropriate). We were without both senior full-backs and relied on the young Spaniards Estrella and Sobejano but still took the lead in the 27th minute in cheeky style, Linias running all the way up to the keeper before finally tapping home. This was soon followed by the Argentine hitting the post but Yilmaz was free to knock in the rebound but they soon got a goal back and we barely held on in the end as they also had a potential equalizer disallowed. Ipswich 2-0 Newcastle (PRM) Linias, Ivankov Newcastle had been very strong in recent years (and had beaten us 3-0 at PR last season, even if it was after 2 midweek games, the second of which went to extra-time). Linias gave us the lead and even though Tupazinho was rusty in his first appearance since his January injury, Ivankov came on instead and made it 2-0 before half-time. We were under more pressure in the second-half and decided to keep it tight to bring home the win. Ipswich 0-2 Southampton (LC R3) We struggled against Southampton in the League Cup and went behind before half-time. Oddly given we had been playing the young Spaniards recently, it was the supposedly reliable Nasta who was at fault. We came close a number of times but I didn’t mind this time as in truth I preferred an early exit to equalizing and potentially needing extra-time. Indeed they got a second at the end. Hull 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Linias We were very much on the back foot at Hull and went behind in the 69th minute. We threw everything forward and got a late Linias equalizer but were denied a stoppage time winner when a Belaid foul got a Nasta effort disallowed. Ipswich 3-0 Partizan (CL) Tupazinho, Linias, Mol Partizan at home was expected to be the easiest CL group game and Tupazinho finally got back on the scoresheet after 25 minutes, with Linias getting another. Linias and Ivankov had goals disallowed but Mol finally gave us a deserved 3rd. Oct 2026 Ipswich 2-0 West Ham (PRM) Leon, Tupazinho We played West Ham and took a 2-0 lead after just 4 minutes. Leon headed in a Tupazinho cross before the Brazilian fired home himself. We kept threatening to get a 3rd, especially from Linias, but thankfully it didn’t matter too much that we failed. Ipswich 2-1 Man Utd (PRM) Tupazinho (2) Man Utd was our next major test and it didn’t look good when they went ahead from free-kick in the 22nd minute. We upped the pressure after the break and a Tupazinho brace eventually allowed us to turn it around and get a crucial win. Ipswich 3-0 Lyon (CL) Linias (2), Yilmaz We were at home in the first of the matches against Lyon which would determine who topped the group and kept helping ourselves to a sea of wasted chances. They had superior goal-difference which put the pressure on us to grab the head-to-head advantage and Yilmaz finally broke and set up Linias in the 53rd minute. I wanted more as the bigger winning margin we got here, the bigger the mountain they had to climb in France and we got 2 more late on from Yilmaz and Linias, though they could have pulled one back in the same period. Reading 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Linias Reading had started really well and were tough to break down so I was relieved when Linias managed to give us a 27th minute lead. Unfortunately they headed in a cross right after the re-start and once again I felt that was an away draw that should have been a win. So far so good. It is a little disappointing that we've had a few away draws, one or two of which arguably should have been wins but if that's the thing I'm most annoyed about, we're doing pretty well indeed. We're certainly still a lot more consistent than our potential title rivals, Man City proving the point nicely having just lost to West Ham. There is some debate over whether Tottenham could be considered potential title rivals (up to a few years ago they certainly would, not so much recently) but otherwise we can boast a decent 4 point lead over Man City and 6 over Man Utd. The Manchester derby is up next and any result other than Man City win will help us potentially open up the bigger gap I feel should look to be getting. Still before this season we hadn't been top for almost 2 years (and hardly ever been close) so this is still a considerable improvement even with the away draws. The main success this season has been that we've already overcome a few big tests (and aside from the obvious, arguably Newcastle and/or Reading could potentially qualify as tricker games) and while no doubt everyone else has had at least a couple of tough games as well, that still means we're very much top on merit. What's also important is that aside from when we last won the league (which is telling), we've only occasionally managed to beat any of the big 4-5 teams (Tottenham were the 5th for years, not quite so much now) which amounts to a lot of dropped points we haven't been able to afford so getting the wins we've done already against Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd helps give us a potentially big boost to our title hopes already. Lyon could also count as a European test easily overcome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Been a while since I caught up with this, but the World Cup!! Wow!! Congratulations! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Been a while since I caught up with this, but the World Cup!! Wow!! Congratulations! That was quite something I can tell you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Nov 2026 Fulham 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Leon I was rather annoyed at Linias early on when we went to Fulham when he got booked for a dive (again) while putting the ball in the net, however Leon headed in a corner to give us the lead after 10 minutes. They managed to snatch an equalizer before the break and despite upping the pressure on occasion after that, they managed to otherwise close the game down for yet another unnecessary away draw. Lyon 1-0 Ipswich (CL) We looked better at Lyon and had an early Pedrinho header disallowed, otherwise looking firmly on top. A 3-0 win at Portman Road meant we just needed to avoid a heavy defeat so the pressure was off but we did lose late on when Colin received the ball from a back-pass, then slipped leaving the ball to roll to a forward! Ipswich 3-1 Tottenham (PRM) Andronov, Linias, Mol We had a top of the table clash against Tottenham and in a close first-half managed to take the lead when a long Nasta cross was converted by Andronov. They equalized in similar fashion at the start of the second-half and cross after corner rained in as we pushed for a winner, eventually retaking the lead when Linias broke and finally found the net after numerous chances in the past few matches. There were a few late scares but Mol headed in a stoppage time corner. Ipswich 2-0 Everton (PRM) Linias, Tupazinho A lot of changes needed to be made to rest players against Everton and once again we spent ages failing to score but Linias delivered in the 70th minute, followed a few minutes later by Tupazinho scoring straight from a free-kick, making up for hitting the post from close range earlier. Wolves 1-3 Ipswich (PRM) Linias (2), Andronov We went behind at Wolves with a goal from Nikolas Kyriakou of all people. For those who don’t remember the name (and there’s little reason why you should), he was a post-promotion signing who didn’t amount to much. Linias equalized before the break and eventually gave us the lead at the end of a run that can only be described as ‘mazy’. Andronov soon fired home a 3rd. Southampton 0-0 Ipswich (PRM) Our away draw form returned at Southampton but only because a Tupazinho foul on a keeper denied Belaid an early goal. However there wasn’t much excuse for not getting a legit goal anyway. We still had a decent 4-point lead though. Ipswich 6-2 Shakhtar (CL) Yilmaz (3), Moroni, Linias (2) We could seal progress in the CL with a win against Shakhtar and Yilmaz converted the rebound off a Moroni free-kick in the 8th minute. They equalized but Yilmaz fired us back in front and we pushed on after the break with a Moroni free-kick and a Linias header. They got a second goal but Linias and a Yilmaz penalty gave us a 6-2 win and we just needed a win in Belgrade to top the group regardless of what Lyon did. Ipswich 3-0 Stoke (PRM) Andronov (2), Linias We hoped to take advantage of a pair of league home games and Andronov gave us the lead in the 25th minute against Stoke. They pushed hard for a bit after half-time but Linias and Andronov again quickly struck to make it comfortable. Dec 2026 Ipswich 2-0 Huddersfield (PRM) Yilmaz gave us the lead in the 3rd minute against Huddersfield but we struggled to build on it. The game was very hectic at both ends and I was relieved when Yilmaz scored again. Partizan 1-4 Ipswich (CL) Linias (3), Unal We looked like cruising to victory at Partizan when Linias and Unal gave us a 2-0 lead after 17 minutes. They actually pulled one back but with Lyon losing in Ukraine (though they fought back to draw) it didn’t matter and Linias scored two more goals in the final minute. Derby 3-3 Ipswich (PRM) Estrella, Linias (2) That trip was the first of a long run of away games with Derby next. We had only won 2 out of 9 away games in the league so far but looked good for a 3rd when Estrella (with a fluke long-range effort) and Linias gave us a 2-0 lead after just 2 minutes. They got one back but Linias was able to make it 3-1 with his 20th goal of the season. Unfortunately they scored a second goal and Gallart’s sending off allowed them to equalize but Chelsea lost the following day so we actually extended the lead to 5 points. Leeds 1-3 Ipswich (PRM) Yilmaz (3) It didn’t look great at Leeds as we somehow found ourselves behind after 20 minutes. Ivankov (Linias was suspended) and Yilmaz played the ball between each other until the latter equalized after half-an-hour but after they went down to 10 men, we struggled to really push. Finally Ivankov gave the ball to Yilmaz again to give us the lead with a few minutes left and the Frenchman even got a 3rd in stoppage time from an Andronov cross. Man City 1-3 Ipswich (PRM) Pinera We had a very tough end to the year starting at Man City but Pinera headed in a corner in the 3rd minute. The rest of the game was sadly once-sided as they were able to turn it around before the break and later got a 3rd. Chelsea 0-3 Ipswich (PRM) Yilmaz (2), Andronov We managed a lot better at Chelsea on Boxing Day with Linias making a massive run all the way to the line before whipping in for Yilmaz to convert in the 25th minute. A defensive error allowed Linias to pick up the ball again and set up Yilmaz before the break, and Andronov pretty much sealed it early in the second-half and we were delighted to see Man City drop points at Leeds. Ipswich 3-0 Arsenal (PRM) Tupazinho (2), Linias Tupazinho fired us ahead after 10 minutes against Arsenal, and we managed to make it comfortable later in the half when Linias received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, burst past the defence and made it 2-0. Tupazinho marked his return to a team with a late second goal. A draw between Chelsea and Man City opened the gap up to both teams further, though Tottenham were still on our tail. If it wasn't for Tottenham being so close behind (and they're easily dangerous enough on paper to be serious rivals) I'd say the league was ours to lose given how comfortably ahead we are of everyone else. Plus we've already had the nightmare trip to Man City and have gotten both matches against Chelsea and Arsenal (despite how much the latter are under achieving) out of the way. Having only won 2 away league games out of 9 before December, adding 2 more (as well as all the draws we were picking up) actually gives us the best away record in the league and we have a 100% record at a seriously under-sized Portman Road, with only the League Cup defeat against Southampton preventing it from applying to all competitions. I think we've got a decent balance in this squad, as the team hasn't changed that much from our previous title victory a few years ago but there's been a bit more influx of young talent where there wasn't quite so much qualiity, especaially in defence. The main changes to the core of regulars both then and now are Linias (who was still a decent part of the side before) completely replacing Viola, Unal for Gandarillas (who was only a 'rotation' player anyway) and at full-back where Nasta is the only one of the old main 3 remaining with the aging Cotter and limited Coulibaly being replaced by the fantastic young Spaniards Estrella and Sobejano (just 19 and 17 respectively). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Jan 2027 Ipswich 2-0 Shrewsbury (FA R3) Shrewsbury were our FA Cup 3rd round opponents and Tupazinho fired us ahead early on. He was set up by Fanti who was finally having a good game and the Brazilian repaid the favour late in the half. They didn’t even have a single shot. West Brom 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Linias (2) We seemed to be getting better at winning away games and Linias scored a quick brace after half-an-hour at West Brom. He then got a knock and had to be taken off to be on the safe side but we had easily done enough. Ipswich 3-0 Liverpool (PRM) Linias (3) Linias also proved too deadly for Liverpool to handle. He gave us the lead in the first minute and had a hat-trick before half-time. Newcastle 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Linias, Tupazinho Our run continued at Newcastle, with Linias pouncing on a defensive error at the start of the second-half and Tupazinho was set up by Fanti 10 minutes later. Huddersfield 2-1 Ipswich (FA R4) Tupazinho We played Huddersfield in the FA Cup and actually went behind in the 15th minute. Tupazinho equalized but they restored the lead and a disallowed Linias goal meant we were out of both cups early, which admittedly wasn’t the worst of setbacks. Ipswich 2-0 Hull (PRM) Fanti, Pedrinho Hull seemed like one of our trickier home games but Fanti gave us the breakthrough in the 54th minute. Pedrinho bundled in from a corner later on but Tottenham’s run of 10 league wins in a row (and counting) meant they were still stuck on our tail. West Ham 0-3 Ipswich (PRM) Linias, Andronov, Yilmaz Tupazinho missed an open goal early on at West Ham but things improved considerably once he was taken off. Linias (of course) managed to give us the lead at last at the start of the second half with Andronov (back after an injury) making it 2-0 after an hour and Yilmaz showing his Brazilian rival how it’s done with a 3rd. Still Tottenham kept winning though. Feb 2027 Ipswich 3-1 Reading (PRM) Linias (2), Andronov February also started in busy fashion with Reading first and we really cemented our place as title favourites. Linias was very much showing this season why we really didn’t need Viola anymore and he gave us the lead after 20 minutes. Andronov extended it before the break and Linias struck again to seal it in the 82nd minute, though a late Reading goal ended a run of 7 league games without conceding. What was really good was Tottenham’s winning run finally came to an end. Ipswich 1-3 Fulham (PRM) Yilmaz Our 100% home record came crashing down in surprising fashion against Fulham and we found ourselves 2-0 down at half-time on what was very much an off-day. They even got a 3rd after the break and Yilmaz got a goal back far too late and our lead over Tottenham was slashed to a point. Milan 2-3 Ipswich (CL KO) Linias, Yilmaz (2) We had a tricky little run starting at Milan in the CL but despite setting up cautiously from the start, we still had the better of things and took a 14th minute lead from Linias, followed by a Yilmaz penalty. Docherty and Estrella had to go off injured and they clawed it back to 2-2 but Yilmaz headed in a Linias cross at close range keeping us in a dominant position in the tie. Tottenham 0-3 Ipswich (PRM) Linias, Moroni, Yilmaz A trip to Tottenham was a key title clash but it was easier than expected. They fielded a weaker team than in the first game and we were fresher, having only had the Milan trip in the past few weeks while they had played an extra league round among other things and lost so we now had a game in hand while still being a point ahead. Yilmaz executed a complicated turn before assisting Linias for a deserved lead in the 32nd minute but for a while holding on to it looked a lot more difficult. Finally on a break, the ball rolled freely for Moroni to extend the lead and he soon played Yilmaz with acres of space to advance on goal and seal a 3-0 win! Mar 2027 Man Utd 3-0 Ipswich (PRM) We had a midweek trip to Man Utd (whose League Cup final appearance was why we didn’t play when Tottenham and many others did that weekend) and unfortunately they had little trouble taking a 2-0 lead. Colin saved a penalty early in the second-half but they still got a 3rd eventually but at least we could take comfort in a 4-point lead over Tottenham (and 9 over 3rd placed Chelsea) with just 8 games left and Man City at home being the only ‘tough’ match remaining. Ipswich 3-0 (6-2) Milan (CL KO) Linias (2), Mol We just needed to avoid a 2-goal defeat at home to Milan so the pressure was mostly off and we looked in an even better position when Linias headed in a Nasta cross from close-range after 25 minutes, and Mol extended the lead on the night before the break. Linias provided the final nail in the coffin near the end. Ipswich 5-0 Wolves (PRM) Mol, Yilmaz (3), Linias We took another major step towards the title against Wolves, with Mol heading in a corner in the 14th minute soon followed by Yilmaz tapping in from a rebound. Linias ran at their defence before sliding home a diagonal shot past a few defenders to give us a 3rd just before half-time and we looked firmly on our way to another win. Yilmaz scored a second-half penalty then completed a hat-trick as we moved 7 points clear at the top of the table. Apr 2027 Ipswich 3-2 Southampton (PRM) Pedrinho, Yilmaz, Ivankov We had another long rest before playing Southampton and after a messy start to the game, Pedrinho headed in a Yilmaz corner followed by the latter converting an Andronov cross. They got a goal back early in the second-half which wasn’t really a problem as the traffic mostly flowed our way and Ivankov finally gave us a 3rd, which was just as well as they got another goal back and really burst into life at the end but we held on and our lead was now 9 points. Man City 3-2 Ipswich (CL QF) Linias (2) For the second year in a row we drew the really short straw in the CL Quarter-final draw and got Man City. We had lost our last 5 matches at the City of Manchester Stadium and 12 of the last 13 so I wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence that we could survive the first-leg. We actually got off to a good start when a Moroni free-kick found Linias who gave us a potentially useful goal but it was just a few minutes before they were 2-1 up. We still had a decent chance if we could keep it close and we gave a much better account of ourselves than we normally did in this fixture but after coming close to equalizing a couple of times they got a 3rd early in the second-half and looked capable of getting another to potentially finish the tie but we weren’t finished yet and a long Shoretire clearance send Linias completely clear and he slotted home past the advancing keeper. The rest of the game was very hectic at both ends (but especially ours as ‘desperation’ defending became key) as an equalizer for us would potentially give us the edge while a 4th Man City goal would give us a much higher mountain to climb, though the score stayed the same. Everton 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Ivankov, Yilmaz We went to Everton before the second-leg and let loose all sorts of shots before Yilmaz gave us the lead in the 37th minute. They eventually started pushing but Ivankov still made it reasonably safe with his 50th goal got the club, not bad as a) he’s just 21 and b) he’s previously been competing with Yilmaz and Tupazinho for the same slot and has spent this year as Linias’ backup. Yilmaz got one more that put us one step closer to securing the title. Ipswich 0-1 (2-4) Man City (CL QF) A 1-0 or 2-1 win would suffice against Man City but for that we needed to score and the first-half saw plenty of agonizingly close chances. The second-half started in a similar manner but they then managed to score an absolute screamer, which dealt a heavy blow and we couldn’t even get a goal back. Stoke 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Ivankov (2) We were at least looking like we’d clinch the title and started well at Stoke when Ivankov gave us a 15th minute lead. After a lot of waiting, Moroni played a simple, short pass for the Ukrainian to score again. Ipswich 1-0 Derby (PRM) Fabiano We hoped to clinch the title against Derby. A draw would be enough but I was hoping to seal it style so I was delighted when Fabiano powered home a header in the 37th minute. Surprisingly it was the only goal of the game as there could easily have been a couple more at either end but at least we were confirmed as champions on our own terms this time as our last title was won by someone else playing first and losing rather than after our own match. May 2027 Huddersfield 2-1 Ipswich (PRM) Fabiano We went to Huddersfield for the last trip and took the lead in the 29th minute when Morini powered in a free-kick that was headed in at point-blank range by Fabiano. Unfortunately we were under a lot more pressure when the Italian got sent off for a second yellow card and they eventually equalized when a corner was knocked in by Dario Gandarillas of all people, his first goal for the Terriers since I sold him last summer. It just got worse as he then gave them the lead and Leon went off injured. We’re still league champions and you’re not, so there. Ipswich 3-1 Man City (PRM) Linias, Andronov (2) The penultimate game of the season was against Man City and we managed to do what we should have done in the CL a month before when Linias headed in an Andronov (it’s always strange writing that) free-kick, with the Russian firing home a second goal shortly after half-time. It was never going to that simple as they got a goal back but the rest of the game was mostly ours and after an Andronov shot bounced back off the keeper in stoppage he made no mistake the second-time. Ipswich 1-1 Leeds (PRM) Ivankov We finished the season against Leeds and actually went down early on. It looked like we were heading to defeat but Ivankov rescued a bit of pride eventually. What a difference a year makes. This time last year I was worried after a season filled with all sorts of issues and couldn’t wait to leave the international scene behind. Now I can boast a World Cup title (though ‘how’ will always remain one of the great mysteries of the universe) and after barely snatching 3rd two years running, it was such a joy to comfortably claim the league title again, especially as aside from all those away draws in the early months of the season, we were pretty much the best team from start to finish and once Tottenham finally dropped off the pace it seemed like a case of when we’d win it, not if. As mentioned before the team seemed to have a nice balance to it with a squad of proven winners who had been here for ages (and still have years left) with the new stars. There were a few gambles regarding the players I sold but it’s worked out nicely. Hopefully that blend will allow us to continue to be competitive and maybe retain our title this time. It was a pity that we couldn’t do better in Europe, especially since early cup exits meant our schedule was a little lighter than usual (and while I’m on the subject, maybe winning one of those cups would be nice as well) but once again Man City (easily our arch-nemesis by now) got in the way. At least we managed a better showing and the second leg was one of those that could easily have gone our way on another day. I hope to get another CL win before the career is up but they and a few other teams will make for very difficult obstacles indeed. Still the end-of-season win over Man City in the league shows that if we can pull our socks up, we can get those decisive home wins over anyone. In other news, Norwich are back up to the Premier League for the first time in a while which will be great fun. The last time they were in the top division we hadn’t broken into the top 4 yet! The board have announced a stadium expansion before the current on is technically complete but at least we’ll have the 40k or so capacity I was looking for in the first place. Oh and when doing the renewal of staff contracts at the end of the season, I noticed that one of my coaches is Tim Sherwood! Zenden’s also been my Ass Man for a while. Match of the Season: I think there was only 1 win by more than 3 goals but Tottenham was easily the most important, as it went far better than I expected and it also heralded the start of Tottenham dropping off the pace and our stroll to the title. Squad Stats Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Season Round-up: 2026/27 CH L1 L2 BSP BSN BSS FA LC CL EL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Squad Overview: Keepers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Squad Overview: Full-backs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Squad Overview: Central Defenders Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Squad Overview: Defender/Midfielders Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Squad Overview: Midfielders/Wingers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Squad Overview: Forwards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Summer 2027 Last year ws very quiet, with the only signing being a young defender who hardly played and has already been sold (more on that later) but there were still weaknesses to be covered and I ploughed headlong into the transfer market to try and solve a few issues. The main thing on my mind was that Belaid and Fanti seemed inadequate alternatives to Moroni and Andronov respectively. While Fanti had his moments in January I otherwise still dreaded every time Andronov needed a rest because the Italian rarely made the sort of decisive contribution that the Russian managed to keep on delivering (the early stages of the season before last being an excellent case in point). As it happened in January I was able so sort out a transfer for a Nigerian who could hopefully be stronger backup in both positions, along with an Italian forward who ended up falling foul of the risk of all such signings made in advance like this, being pretty much obsolete just after arrival. I decided to push the boat out a bit more financially, helped by a good starting transfer budget. I started off breaking the transfer record (just) for one of the hottest young forwards in the league, then came the big one. Palermo was a winger I had declined to sign last season, partly for cost reasons and partly because Fanti still had a little more borrowed time left to run but I pounced this time, even if he smashed the record (which interestingly enough had before this season been held by Fanti, the player he was replacing, who then became our record sale), became the highest-paid player in the club's history and was by far the most expensive signing in terms of wages as well. I needed a work permit appeal so his Lyon colleague Pascal actually arrived first, and by that point I had sold enough (to be on the safe side) that I could do what I liked. In terms of sales, the first thing was that I had to make a few of them, having only slashed the squad back down to 25 players last season (and sent 2 of them on loan), with the main headline loss being Pinera. He was the longest-serving signing (which excludes Shoretire) in the history of the career at 11 1/2 seasons (beating last year's major departure Viola by 6 months) but was almost 32, not a first-teamer and on 75kpw so with relatively little wage budget for Palermo's impending signing so he was the clear candidate to help make the space. In the end we easily raised enough money to put into the wage budget instead that we didn't need to sell Pinera for that reason after all but it was too late. I did a couple of things that were unusual for me in terms of selling. The first was that I sold players to other big clubs (usually a sign that I should definitely keep a player) with Fanti being a rare sale with a decent chance for biting us in the backside occasionally, ditto with Belaid (though he 'only' went to Hull) as reflected in the 20M I got for him. Given I felt I needed to get a few sales in somehow (especially in defence) I decided to get rid of a few younger players who hadn't had much chance to develop or establish themselves, so out went Buttregeit already (with Amato coming this close to joining him), Papa, and Belaid arguably still counted as a younger player even if he had more of an opportunity. Usually I'd get rid of older (and higher-earning) players instead in this situation, especially if they hadn't been appearing as much as some others which in this case meant Fabiano and/or Mol in defence and maybe Tupezinho up front but their performances when they did play meant that it wasn't hard deciding to keep the faith with the tried and trusted veterans this time. In the end we managed to have a squad that only had one more player than last season, with a 'net spend' of just 2M and while we didn't really improve the first team (Palermo aside) for all that money spent, last season's title win showed the value of having more talent (or at least more potential) in your 'second-choice' options and while we no longer had 'limited' alternatives, we still had underdeveloped or underperforming players that we needed to call on who we either managed to get rid of or bump down the pecking order, including direct replacements like Pierce for Belaid. To put it in simple terms, I think we have better alternatives to our more important players than last season which could make a decent difference when it matters as we hope to defend our title (and maybe even get a run of consecutive league wins going) and maybe win in Europe again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Congratulations on reclaiming the Premiership back to Ipswich. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBeckham Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Class as usual legend Are you moving into FM16? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Congratulations on reclaiming the Premiership back to Ipswich. Cheers. The previous couple of seasons made me worry that we'd have a mugh longer and tougher struggle to claim a second league title (and we've probably still got that in Europe) so I didn't expect to breeze to it again. Oddly enough we've never actually been in a proper title fight as we've either won comfortably or been way off the pace. I wouldn't mind if we get more easy league wins but it would be nice to have at least once exciting battle. Class as usual legend Are you moving into FM16? Not yet, though I do have a major FM16 project planned. I've waited until release day in the past even when the Beta became available and I still want to do a little more on this career. I haven't got a fixed end-point but I'd say maybe 3-4 more seasons. I definitely want to end with a title-winning season (which is looking a lot easier to manage now) and perhaps having won the CL again at some point. Given I don't actually want to start my FM16 career at the start of the game (wanting to get at least a few years out of the way first with a holiday manager) it actually works out quite nicely this way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I'm right with you in being choosy who I sell to. I don't mind selling good players to big clubs, but usually I'll never sell to other clubs in my country. In Norway I found Rosenborg would always put good offers in, but I'd only sell inferior players to them, and I'll try and do the same now I'm in England. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 Aug 2027 Ipswich 1-1p Hull (CS) Leon The season started with the Community Shield against Hull, and after a slow start we finally took the lead after 35 minutes when Leon headed in a Palermo corner. We thought we had another late on when Linias pounced on the ball in the penalty area but he was too hasty and was ruled off-side. That mattered when they threatened late on and a foul from Pedrinho (which led to a sending off for a second yellow card) led to a free-kick which allowed them to equalize right at the death and bring on penalties. I felt rather smug when Belaid took their first shot and saw it saved by Shoretire and with Yilmaz having already scored, Linias and Francis made it 3-2 after 3 rounds. Unfortunately Docherty then missed and their 4th taker scored to level it. Shoretire hadn’t taken a penalty (even in a shootout) for a long time but made no mistake with our 5th, though they scored to take it to sudden death. The pressure mounted as both teams kept scoring, Palermo, Nasta, Estrella, Unal and Leon hitting the net for us. I hoped Pedrinho’s sending off would actually be an advantage as it was Yilmaz stepping up again in the 11th round but their keeper also scored. The cycle continued with everyone scoring (and Docherty making up for his earlier miss) until the 16th round where Palermo hit the crossbar, and their taker scored almost right through Shoretire to win it for them, dealing a very rare shootout defeat. It was disappointing but not the end of the world. Newcastle 0-0 Ipswich (PRM) Our title defence started at Newcastle and it was a very slow start indeed. We were under a lot of pressure and were lucky they had a goal disallowed early in the second-half, a sign of how much I was just glad to ‘survive’. Ipswich 2-1 Southampton (PRM) Yilmaz (2) We struggled again for a while against Southampton and went behind, but late in the first-half, Linias was tackled and the ball rolled to Yilmaz to equalize. He then gave us the lead after the break and we looked a lot more deserving after that. Blackpool 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Yilmaz, Linias We looked more effective from the start at Blackpool and Yilmaz gave us the lead, almost seemingly waiting patiently in the penalty area before firing home. Linias got his head to a Docherty cross for 2-0 before the break. Both forwards then went off injured however and while Linias would be back after a week, Yilmaz was out for the whole Autumn. Sept 2027 Ipswich 3-1 Everton (PRM) Linias, Tupazinho, Andronov It seemed like an eternity before Linias gave us the lead against Everton, though it was only in the 14th minute. It was the Argentines 100th league goal for the club. Tupazinho and Andronov made it 3-0 pretty comfortably. The game wasn’t completely one-sided and they got a goal back before half-time and continued to threaten occasionally, but if anything we could feel we should have had a 4th in a goal-less second-half. Legia 2-3 Ipswich (CL) Tupazinho (2), Linias We had been given a tough CL group again with Atletico Madrid and Dortmund but our CL campaign started off at Legia, the expected whipping boys. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way as they started off with a lot of pressure and took the lead in the 22nd minute. Linias set up Tupazinho to equalize and the Brazilian soon gave us the lead and that seemed to be that as we just pounded away looking for more. They actually broke to equalize in the 78th minute but Linias quickly gave us a winner at last. Ipswich 0-2 Chelsea (PRM) We were completely on the back foot against Chelsea, not helped by Docherty needing a rest. We resisted for a while but the defence collapsed and we soon found ourselves 2-0 behind. We managed to improve after the break but Andronov got a goal back far too late. Wycombe 2-1 Ipswich LC R3) After Legia we had another shock when we went behind after 20 minutes at Wycombe in the League Cup, with Nasta having had a goal disallowed for a Linias push. A Tupazinho penalty levelled it but they somehow retook the lead before the break. We had benefited from early League Cup exits before so I didn’t care too much that we didn’t come back to equalize again. Tottenham 0-1 Ipswich (CL) Linias We probably weren’t in the best shape for a trip to Tottenham so I was surprised when Linias gave us the lead after 10 minutes. The rest of the game was all about defending and riding our luck, including when they had a goal disallowed with 10 minutes left, and we managed to do it to get a potentially vital win, as they were looking like really dangerous potential title rivals once more and after the Chelsea defeat we really couldn’t have afforded to lose a second big game. Ipswich 3-1 Dortmund (CL) Linias (2), Mol Dortmund were next in the CL and since they lost their opening game, we could take the front foot in the qualification with a win. It ended up being easier than expected as Tupazinho and Linias linked up well leading to the latter giving us the lead after just a minute, and he gave us a another in the 6th minute. Mol headed in a corner giving us a 3-goal margin before the first quarter-hour was up. They only got a goal back very late on. It was also our first home game since the stadium expansion to 40,000 was completed and it was a great show for the increased sell-out crowd. Oct 2027 Ipswich 2-0 West Brom (PRM) Moroni, Tupazinho Moroni gave us the lead after 12 minutes against West Brom but we didn’t finish them off as effectively as I hoped. Once again we benefited from a late goal disallowed but Tupazinho finally sealed it just afterwards. Derby 2-2 Ipswich (PRM) Ivankov (2) We went to a strong Derby side after the international break and went behind after just a few minute. At the start of the second-half, Francis crossed to Ivankov who powered through the defence to equalize. They beat the defence to go ahead again but a powerful Ivankov headed rescued a decent point. Ipswich 3-0 Atletico Madrid (CL) Ivankov (2), Linias Boniperti set up Ivankov early on against Atletico and when the Italian was later flattened in the penalty area, the Ukrainian scored again from the spot. Linias sealed another comfortable European home win. Leeds 1-0 Ipswich (PRM) We surprisingly struggled at Leeds and went behind at the start of the second-half. Even trying to throw everything forward didn’t really allow us to spark much. Ipswich 4-1 Man City (PRM) Linias (2), Leon, Francis We got off to a terrible start against Man City when we conceded from a controversial penalty and Andronov went off injured, but Linias and Leon managed to turn it around before the break. They had a goal disallowed after half-time but Francis headed in a Palermo corner to give us a 3rd and Linias even managed another despite having a goal ruled out. It was a far more comfortable victory that I ever thought was possible over Man City. Nov 2027 Atletico Madrid 1-1 Ipswich (CL) Moroni We got off to a good start in Madrid with Moroni giving us the lead. They soon pegged us back and we suffered a little from injuries, especially with Francis being anonymous for large parts and no Palermo or Andronov, but a draw still suited us. Ipswich 2-1 Reading (PRM) Linias, Ivankov We had the best of it early on against Reading and just as I thought ‘we should be ahead by now’, they snatched the lead. We equalized in controversial fashion early in the second-half when Linias and Carrion (now the Reading keeper) collided when going for the ball, Linias recovered first and managed to get to the free-rolling ball to put it in the net. Ivankov gave us the win after a great display of passing football among the team but we only just held on to it. Ipswch 1-0 Liverpool (PRM) Moroni The match against Liverpool was a quiet one but Moroni struck home with a 25-yard free-kick after an hour. The game at least liven up a little near the end as we vaguely looked like we could get another. Ipswich 7-0 Legia (CL) Ivankov, Linias (4), Palermo (2) I expected us to secure top spot in the CL group with a win against Legia and unlike the first game, the outcome wasn’t in doubt when Ivankov gave us an 8th minute lead. Linias scored another in the 15th minute after showing off by dribbling all over the place, and Palermo tapped in a 3rd after half-an-hour. Linias headed in a Sobejano cross early in the second-half and Palermo added a 5th, slotting home a straight shot perfectly through the defence. The Argentine rout continued as Nasta set up Linias to complete the latter’s hat-trick and Linias even managed a 4th, running almost all the way to the line before tapping home. Arsenal 1-1 Ipswich (PRM) Linias Arsenal had dropped to being more of a mid-table team so for once I had decent hopes of beating them in London. Linias appeared to set us on our way after half-an-hour but they soon won a penalty and we couldn’t go on to get all 3 points. As expected we faced a far tougher challenge this season, as other sides have stepped up their game and we haven't managed to be quite as imperious as we were at home last last year (or eventually were away for that matter). From pretty early on it was clear we couldn't afford to drop many points for a while and we've delivered for the most part with Tottenham the only side with a clear advantage at this point, though if Chelsea keep on going they will be really tough after a home defeat and with the return being unlikely to go in our favour. Even most of our good results have been a matter of getting the job done rather than being convincing and mid-September was rather a low point with the scare in Warsaw, the Chelsea capitulaton and Wycombe. The latter doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things but it was still a bit embarassing. Thankfully our European form is as good as ever. We've won our CL group every year despite constantly facing one or two tough opponents (including this time) and we've managed to seal it again with one round of matches left (we have a head-to-head advantage over Atletico so even if we lose in Germany and end up level on points we'll be fine). It has also been where our convincing wins have generally come from. Obviously it's rather early to assess our chances but if we can avoid getting Man City for the 3rd year in a row, that would help a lot. I must admit that I'd probably take retaining the title over a CL win, at least this year, not that it matters because one only has a limited bearing on the other anyway and I think it's a load of nonsense talking about it as if it was a choice that meant anything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Good start to the new campaign. Fingers crossed you can keep it up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Good start to the new campaign. Fingers crossed you can keep it up Well it could be better, but we at least got the important Tottenham and Man City wins (the sort of results that really helped make the difference last season) and the Derby and Arsenal draws weren't too bad so ther are only really 2-3 disappointing league results. Also Chelsea lost to Liverpool in a midweek game after the screenshot was taken but before I saved which is why I said Tottenham were the only side that were properly ahead of us as we can overtake the blues with a game in hand. I've just checked on our penalty shootout record because Hull seemed like a rare defeat. It was actually out first shootout since the CL final over 2 years before (probably because of our regular early domestic cup exits) and our winning run was 'only' 3 but after losing the very first one (to Arsenal in the League Cup in the early Premier League days) we had won 6 out of 7 after that before Hull. Tottenham in the FA Cup semi in 2023 in case you were wondering. Also going back to the CL final, that season also started with a penalty victory in the Community Shield making for a nice set of bookends. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Dec 2027 Ipswich 2-1 Fulham (PRM) Linias (2) We went behind in the first minute against Fulham but Linias equalized after a great run in the 18th minute. We pushed for a winner throughout the second-half and Linias delivered again with 5 minutes left, showing once again why I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else. Dortmund 1-1 Ipswich (CL) Linias We went to Dortmund in the last CL game, which was a dead rubber, and took the lead when Ivankov set up Linias with a perfect sideways pass. The Argentine unfortunately went off injured (and would be out for 6-7 busy weeks) and they snatched an equalizer with 10 minutes left. Ipswich 0-1 Chesterfield (PRM) I expected an easy time against bottom club Chesterfield but we found ourselves going behind in the 8th minute. We had a goal disallowed (admittedly rightly) soon afterwards and had plenty of time to get at least an equalizer which we failed to make the most of. Norwich 1-3 Ipswich (PRM) Obradovic (2), Ivankov We needed to do a lot better in an away derby I was no longer quite so confident about. Obradovic had struggled so far, which was a problem with Linias out for a while, but he finally broke his duck to give us the lead. They thought they had an immediate equalizer only to see it disallowed and while they kept pushing, the young Serbian struck again before the break. They eventually got a goal back but Obradovic set up Ivankov who set off an utter rocket of a shot to seal our first win at Carrow Road for almost 22 years. Hull 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Obradovic, Ivankov Hull was a potentially tough trip and it was stalemate for the most part but Obradovic delivered once, more, setting off completely alone on a run which ended up with him slotting home in the 72nd minute. Ivankov soon caught them off-guard and the win actually took us to 3 points off top, despite the Chesterfield loss. Man Utd 5-0 Ipswich (PRM) We went to Man Utd next and any chance of getting anything went down the drain when Unal got a straight red card after just 20 minutes and we went 3-0 down at the break. Nasta also got his marching orders after they got a 4th and it was a 5-0 rout in the end. At least we’re getting a lot of pain over with in one go I guess. Ipswich 1-0 Huddersfield (PRM) Palermo We needed more festive cheer against Huddersfield and Palermo gave us the lead after 13 minutes. They soon had a player sent off which seemed to help cement out position though Gallart also received his marching orders after going in heavily on his compatriot an former Ipswich colleague Perez. It was pleasing that despite having added the Man Utd defeat to Chesterfield, the win was enough to take us to 3 points of top again at the half-way stage. Jan 2028 Southampton 1-2 Ipswich (PRM) Boniperti, Tupazinho We started the year at Southampton and took the lead from Boniperti in the 19th minute. They were in the European places so we were never likely to be comfortable and the equalized but reapplying the pressure paid off as Tupazinho restored the lead and we just about hung on after that. Ipswich 0-1 Liverpool (FA R3) We played Liverpool in the FA Cup and soon found ourselves behind, with another disallowed. The team had mostly cottoned on to the fact that I didn’t care too much and that was that. Ipswich 1-1 Newcastle (PRM) Tupazinho Newcastle was the first of back-to-back home games we needed to make the most of but we conceded early on again. Tupazinho levelled it before the break but an Obradovic foul denied Nasta the chance to give us the lead and Tupazinho missed a late penalty. Ipswich 5-1 Blackpool (PRM) Docherty, Boniperti (2), Palermo, Yilmaz We needed to do better against Blackpool, especially with Tottenham and Chelsea dropping points and sure enough, Docherty headed in a Palermo corner to give us the lead in the 12th minute, with Boniperti soon following up. They got a goal back in the 35th minute but Palermo restored the 2-goal advantage immediately afterwards and we never looked like losing it. Boniperti added another with 20 minutes left with Yilmaz (making his first appearance since his August injury) finishing off a 5-1 win. Everton 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Boniperti, Yilmaz The trip to Everton was relatively lifeless despite the return of Linias, who was subdued enough to be subbed off in preparation for tougher games ahead. That proved to be a good choice as Boniperti (who came on instead) gave us the lead late on as the game livened up considerably, and set up Yilmaz just after that. Ipswich 4-0 Tottenham (PRM) Yilmaz (3), Linias We had both our main title rivals next with Tottenham at home. Linias was looking rather more threatening but it was a Yilmaz penalty that gave us the lead after almost half-an-hour. Yilmaz slotted home another in the 56th minute soon followed by Linias finally getting his goal. I knew we were safe after that and Linias set up Yilmaz to complete the latter’s hat-trick with 15 minutes left. Feb 2028 Chelsea 0-1 Ipswich (PRM) Ivankov The trip to Chelsea was potentially the most important league game of the season, especially as we had a home defeat to avenge. There was no doubt that this was a game we were out mostly to survive, wanting to stay level with them for now as opposed to trying to take the initiative and risk up falling behind. We managed that beautifully in the first-half and even won a stoppage time penalty which Ivankov converted. The game livened up a little at both ends but we still held on for the win, and actually I’d have still taken a 1-1 draw for most if it. The cautious counter-attacking approach hadn’t served us that well for a while in these sorts of games (though the Mexican World Cup win was made of it) but it was good to see it pay off once more, and we now topped the table for what I think is the first time this season. West Brom 2-1 Ipswich (PRM) Ivankov The triumph of Chelsea was followed by the shock of West Brom, who took the lead in the 25th minute. They actually extended it through a second-half penalty to sink us even further. Ivankov got a goal back but we didn’t really push until the end which was too late. Thankfully everyone else drew which limited the damage. Juventus 1-0 Ipswich (CL KO) After a few favourable CL knockout ties, we drew the short straw this time around and faced Juventus. Setting up to defend against heavy pressure can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy and so it proved this time. Shoretire was mostly equal to the task but he was overwhelmed on one late attack and they were eventually able to slip one past him. Ipswich 7-0 Derby (PRM) Docherty, Francis, Linias (3), Ivankov, Estrella We had an easy time back in the league against Derby, starting off with Docherty scoring a direct free-kick in the 9th minute, and Francis getting another 5 minutes later. Linias kept raiding and was rewarded before half-time. We piled on the misery later on with 2 more Linias goals, one from Ivankov in between and Estrella finishing it off. Mar 2028 Ipswich 1-0 Leeds (PRM) Ivankov Andronov had been out for a long time through injury but made his return against Leeds and set up Ivankov to give us the lead in the 7th minute. We looked good value for another goal but at least managed to avoid too many scares at the other end. Ipswich 2-3 (2-4) Juventus (CL KO) Linias, Fabiano We needed a big performance against Juventus but we found ourselves going another goal behind after just a few minutes. Then there was the fact that Francis went off injured in the second minute and Andronov (who replaced him having not started due to tiredness) followed in the 16th. Linias got one back (in aggregate terms) after half-an-hour but they retook the lead on the night immediately. We needed 3 goals now and they very much buried us when they scored after 50 minutes. Madness. Madness and stupidity. Fabiano headed in a corner with 5 minutes left but I’m not sure even the coaches and subs were still around to watch. Man City 1-0 Ipswich (PRM) We needed to do rather better in our next big game at Man City, which wouldn’t be helped by the fact that we had all 3 wingers out injured. We beat them surprisingly comfortably at Portman Road earlier in the season after going behind early on but unfortunately only that last part was true this time and trying to chase the game after the break didn’t get us anywhere. Reading 1-0 Ipswich (PRM) Moroni and Linias were more injuries we really didn’t need before going to Reading and we struggled badly. I rolled the dice to try and push for the win which did see an improvement in performance but also left us open to concede a late goal, and as they had an early goal disallowed I couldn’t complain too much. Estrella and Unal joined the injury list. Ipswich 1-0 Hull (PRM) Boniperti We couldn’t afford another blow against Hull so I was relieved when Boniperti gave us the lead early in the second-half. He nearly got another but we just about did enough. Well, I did mention at the end of last season that it was about time we were in a proper title race and this year we're in an abolutely epic one. For a lot of the season it looked like being a 3-way race between ourselves, Chelsea and Tottenham. The latter were excellent for over half of last season before fading away badly and finishing 4th and after we hammered them with the decline already looking like setting in, I thought that was that for their challenge this year as well yet they've managed to keep their nose in front. Then there are the Manchester sides who have been added to the mix even though Man Utd don't look quite close enough. Given the rest of us keep dropping points I still consider them in the race (though only just) and they could still gain a couple of places. We've been able to cover for key absentees rather better than in the past which is just as well given the injuries we've had to various players who before we'd really struggle without (including Linias twice). That unfortunately hasn't been enough to avoid too many avoidable dropped points and it's just as well we've gotten a few wins where it mattered or we'de be staring upwards at the top back once again and thinking we should be a part of it. I must admit that despite all that, when we edged ahead at the start of March I thought we could probably just about stay there but for the most part that month saw the problems pile up both on and off the pitch and thankfully we didn't lose too much ground. The remaining fixtures for all the challengers look like this... Ipswich Tottenham Chelsea Man City Man Utd It's incredible how similar they are. I've had situations in the past where title rivals have had pretty much the same fixture list (though a week ahead/behind obviously) but not between a few different teams. It won't be fun for our opponents that's for sure, especially not Norwich. It's rather hard to call how we'll do since 2 of the remaining 3 home games are against Arsenal and Man Utd (which they'd probably be dreading more admittedly) with a decent amount of potential to drop too many points away to beatable teams. However in so much as you can say one or 2 teams have potentially easiest run-in we probably be one of those teams, especially without the European commitments of a few other sides, but essentially the fixture list is just as even as the league table is so it's remains a completely open contest (well aside from Man Utd). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Apr 2028 Ipswich 1-0 Arsenal (PRM) Linias We thankfully had various players back to face Arsenal, Linias very much being top of that list. It was strange feeling the need to beat them but they weren’t quite the threat they once were and Linias delivered a deserved win in the 63rd minute. Unfortunately on a break shortly after scoring he received a second yellow card for diving, which is something like the 7th or 8th time I’ve seen that happen with him! He’s brilliant but he’s such a yellow card magnet, having actually reached double-figures last season. Liverpool 1-2 Ipswich (PRM) Obradovic, Fabiano We went behind in the 8th minute at Liverpool but Obradovic soon equalized. The way things stood with other results, we wouldn’t lose any ground with a draw but I wanted to go for it and a Fabiano header sent us level to Chelsea at the top, with Tottenham and Man City just a point behind with 5 games left. Fulham 2-5 Ipswich (PRM) Linias (3), Mol, Moroni Next we had to go to a Fulham side who had just conquered Tottenham which was rather a scary thought but we had Linias back from suspension and he fired us ahead in the 7th minute. Estrella soon conceded a penalty but thankfully their taker hit the post and we survived the ensuing scramble. We looked comfortable in the first-half but they snatched an equalizer right before the half-time whistle and threatened early in the second half. Mol bundled in a Palermo corner on the hour mark and that was followed a few minutes later by Moroni going on a break and crossing for Linias to convert. They scored a second goal from a corner and things looked tense but Linias set up Moroni at the end of a great team move to make it safe. Palermo even set up Linias for 5-2 with a couple of minutes left. As the only challengers to win we had a 2-point lead once more. Ipswich 6-0 Norwich (PRM) Yilmaz (2), Linias (3), Leon We had the chance to relegate Norwich at Portman Road, which would be all the sweeter given Shane Long (who is their manager) was questioning our title credentials which gave me the chance put him in his place off the pitch as well as potentially on it. Their only hope was to frustrate us and grab a goal on the break but while it took us time to break through, eventually a Norwich clearance reached Estrella who whacked it right into the area for Yilmaz to head home in the 24th minute. That was soon followed by the Frenchman setting up Linias twice, the second of those hilariously casual as he walked towards the bye-line at minimum speed before softly tapping home at point-blank range. Linias struck again after walking all over the penalty area (again amusing as he’s usually an aggressive and direct speed-merchant but he knows this time he doesn’t need to be too bothered) before slotting home, completing a hat-trick and reaching 30-goals for the season. Leon headed in a Docherty corner in the 70th minute and with 5 minutes left, Linias dispossessed a defender and laid it on for Yilmaz to give us a 6th, sealing a win as sweet as I hoped it would be. Chelsea somehow drew at home to Chesterfield (who we admittedly lost to ourselves) so we were 4 points clear at the top, while Norwich were adrift at the bottom by the same margin. Ipswich 2-0 Man Utd (PRM) Linias, Gallart We weren’t done yet as Tottenham and Chelsea both fired warning shots by winning before we had to face Man Utd so if we failed they’d be on our tail again. Thankfully Man Utd had failed miserably as potential dark horse title-contenders and we were comfortably superior but getting a goal was another matter entirely. Eventually Linias burst through and gave us the lead, followed by a corner being knocked to Gallart who made it safe. May 2028 Chesterfield 0-7 Ipswich (PRM) Linias (5), Palermo, Yilmaz We had a final pair of away games to finish the season off with, with Chesterfield first. Their famous Portman Road win in December hadn’t saved them from relegation, which was already confirmed. A win would seal the title and we took the lead when the ball rolled to Linias after a heavy challenge and he gave us a 4th minute lead. After 25 minutes it was 4-0 as Linias completed a hat-trick with a penalty (Palermo having got the other). He gave us a 5th after a long run before the break. Early in the second-half, Moroni played a long free-kick for Yilmaz to head home his 200th goal for the club. Linias scored his 5th and our 7th and we could easily have taken it to 9 or 10. Huddersfield 0-2 Ipswich (PRM) Linias (2) The final match was at Huddersfield and saw Linias comfortably give us a 2-0 lead in the first-half. We didn’t really have anything left to play for and cruised through the second-half in low gear, ending up with a 5 point winning margin. I didn’t expect that! Things were so tight that I never thought that it would be decided before the final day, and certainly not that it would be sealed in our favour! Our quest to retain our title was a struggle from the start, as we had very strong competitors to deal with and we were dropping a few too many points. We edged ahead briefly a few times earlier in the year but only really surged to the title late on. In the end what sealed it for us was precisely what I was so worried about in the last update, a fixture list that had a lot of potential pitfalls but was mostly shared by everyone, and they were the ones who kept stumbling while we cruised to glory! I knew we could play like that, I just hadn't really seen it much in the rest of the season so hadn't held out much hope beforehand. Even sweeter was relegating Norwich (which I think is the second time in a row we’ve sealed their doom). We’re top, they’re bottom, which is how it should be. The focus is going to shift a little from now on. Having regained our title then retained it over the past couple of seasons we’ve very much done what we set out to do in the league so after seemingly losing our European touch a little (and getting nowhere in the cups), the CL is going to matter a little more again for the final couple of seasons of the career. I hope to win again before finishing but it wouldn’t be the end of the world and it could be a long wait so I’ve pretty much decided to finish in 2 years time (unless we don’t win the title that year in which case it’ll be when we do) and see if we can do it, otherwise there’s not much left to really aim for in this career. Star Player: One of the main reasons I was ok releasing Viola (even though he went to Man City) was that I knew it was easily time for Linias to make him obsolete, and boy has he proven me right on that one! In the two seasons since he's notched 76 goals (38 in each season) in 84 games, 52 of those coming in the league. Last season we didn't even have a like-for-like backup and didn't need one, and while we did this year as he was out injured twice for a while, I was thinking in March 'If he was fit, we'd win the title rather than have this mountain to climb', and he proved my point with 15 goals in that final run-in when he returned the second time, despite missing the Liverpool game. Admittedly he was racking them up against the weaker teams but he still makes a real difference in a lot of game and even when he does do a bit of flat-track bullying, it helps us be more comfortable against the sort of opponents we were really having to fight to beat (and not always successfully) for the most part otherwise. He has now been at the club for 10 years having joined for just 3.2M from Boca Juniors (even given you have to wait, amazing 16yr old South Americans can be really cheap!) and he's got a goalscoring record of 212 goals in 295 matches, with a decent 71 assists as well. I don't know about you guys but I think that was a pretty decent deal Squad Stats Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Season Round-up: 2027/28 CH L1 L2 BSP BSN BSS FA LC CL EL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Euro 2028 Turkey seem to be perenial 'nearly men' on FM these days it seems. This is the second tournament in a row where they've been losing finalists to a late goal (after my Mexico WC triumph of course) and they were also runners up in the first Euros over on forameuss' thread as well. Meanwhile France make up for their group stage exit 2 years ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Summer 2028 This was a pretty quiet summer but not completely by choice. Obviously I don't really need to make many changes each year any more bu there is always room for improvement and there were a few different signings that I shied away from because of cost, knowing that we don't make enough money to be able to afford to spend big just to get our man when he just isn't worth it (Palermo's 25M signing last year broke our record by almost 10M), and with money from sales (and a trimmed down wage bill) making a decent difference. These included a very young Turkish playmaker, a great Colombian at Liverpool (who I could have got at a managable price last summer if I'd been quick but then signed a new contract and he'd be really expensive now) and a Brazilian winger since Andronov was surprisingly close to the top of the list of vulnerable players. As for the moves we did make, all involved forwards going to/from Italy. Boniperti was surplus to requirements when Obradovic signed just a short time afterwards as well as getting limited opportunities in what is very much Linias' position so he was always going to go after one season (where we at least got a bit of use out of him with Linias' injuries and Obradovic struggling to get going), and his frustration at a lack of action only helped that. Tupazinho is potentially more surprising as I rate him rather highly but he's always been unfortunate in that for years he's been engaged in a 3-way battle for the same spot and never really been on top, competing with Yilmaz (tough by itself) and the bright young star of Ivankov. When he finally did claim the No.10 shirt, injuries (including a 7-8 month layoff a year and a half ago) just helped reinforce why Yilmaz kept it for so long and quickly took it back. Unsurprisingly he'd been unhappy for a long time and with just a year left on his contract and little chance of a new deal I decided the time was right to go. I still felt a 5th forward was useful though so made a move for an excellent Colombian who would also do well on the wing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I think all you're missing now is to claim the Premiership and the Champions League in the same season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 15, 2015 Author Share Posted November 15, 2015 I think all you're missing now is to claim the Premiership and the Champions League in the same season. That's going to be seriously tough to achieve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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