Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 6 minutes ago, Ceching You Out said: Title challenge then, eh? Anything less than first is a disappointment, to be honest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Preseason: I accidentely left the assistant in charge for the first two games, but then it was off to France to smash some weak teams before a superb 5-1 hammering over Leeds. A narrow loss to a rotated Chelsea team before two wins over weaker opposition for morale. Transfers: Smallwood and Moscati went for decent money because we bought in better replacements, three youngsters who weren't going to make the grade here were sold, and then a whole host of youngsters were loaned out. We signed 17 players... that's quite a lot. Interestingly, we didn't pay more than 3m for anyone. That's not a strategy a lot of Premiership teams employ, but we've decided to spread the wealth this year. I'll have a squad review up next, showing off all the new faces. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpillBlood Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Wow that's a steal on Burke. I tried to buy him my first season in the prem but they wouldn't have it. How did you get him so much? Not gonna lie, I have no idea who most of those players are :D. You got some silly money for Richie! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LATB Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Burke looks a great buy at that price. Scouts have been busy in Germany! I don't know hardly any of them but you won't stay up if you don't score goals so looking forward to seeing who that falls upon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 4 minutes ago, SpillBlood said: Wow that's a steal on Burke. I tried to buy him my first season in the prem but they wouldn't have it. How did you get him so much? Not gonna lie, I have no idea who most of those players are :D. You got some silly money for Richie! Aye, we've gone with a fair few unknowns, it's fair to say . Heavy emphasis on youth. I couldn't believe Burke was so cheap. Leipzig weren't using him and had loaned him out the last two years. His contract was up soon and they just wanted shot of him. We were happy to oblige Swansea paid well over the odds for Smallwood - but how good was he yesterday against Norwich! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Just now, LATB said: Burke looks a great buy at that price. Scouts have been busy in Germany! I don't know hardly any of them but you won't stay up if you don't score goals so looking forward to seeing who that falls upon The scouts have been very busy in Germany We do have two new strikers, one of whom I'm expecting big things from this year... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
argento Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Wow what a bargain for Burke on all of my saves he's gone for big money! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Squad Preview! Goalkeepers: Nunez finally has his Work Permit, and he's going to be our first choice keeper when he gets back from his injury. Is he one of the better keepers in the league? No, he's not, but I'm hoping that he'll improve as the season goes on. He's only just turned 20, so the Argentinian has a bright future. Jakupovic is possibly a slightly better keeper, but at 35 I'd rather go with Nunez, who's 15 years his younger. Jakupovic should provide a good backup option this year and may well see playing time if Nunez doesn't cut the mustard. Rightbacks: Our first choice RB (Moscati) just wasn't going to cut it, so he's been sold for pretty decent money. In comes the Serbian Ignjovski from Freiberg for 1.6m. Unfortunately he's gone and got injured just like Nunez, but when he's back he'll be our first choice RB. Looks like a very tidy defender. The only loan player in the squad, Bellanova is here from the year from A.C. Milan as a backup option. I like his physicality, but I have to be honest, I'm bricking the thought of him defending against Arsenal on the opening day. That's a real baptism of fire for the 20 year old. Leftbacks: Garcia is a veteran presence, but the 32 year old still has the legs to do a job for us in the Prem. He'll be our first choice LB to start the season, here on a free from Mainz. He's not spectacular, but he's hopefully solid enough. Mavinga was a solid player for us in the Championship, but I don't think he's good enough to make the step up. Hopefully Garcia plays well enough that we don't need to find out. Henke is one of the many youth players to be signed and then loaned out. He joins us on a free from German Regional Division side, Aachen (our scouts deserve a raise for that one!), but he needs gametime and so he's going to spend the year at Nottingham Forest. They plan to use him as a starter, and Championship football should do the 19 year old the world of good. He's a very talented player. Centrebacks: I feel like I may have just signed Sol Bamba 2.0 here - but Bamba did great for us, so f*** you all! Diagne joins us from Greuther Furth (isn't Germany great?) for 325k. I wish his PPMs were different, and his positioning, concentration and decision making leave a lot to be desired, but he brings pace to a backline that needed it. He also has good technicals, and he's not going to be afraid of going in for a tackle. I'm confident this will work out. I think. Dominic Ball deserves the chance to start alongside Diagne. He took a while to break into our starting lineup in the Championship, but when he did he was a crucial part of our promotion winning side. He's going to be good enough to make the jump. I hope. If Ball lets us down, new man Halim Ammoura will be right over his shoulder to take his place. An Algerian international, Ammoura joins us from second division French side Red Star FC for £1.5m. He's got a lot of potential - the question is, is he ready to start? Oh yeah. Joel Lynch is still here too. Right Midfielders: I'm absolutely buzzing to have Burke here. RBL's loss is our gain (what does that stupid franchise know about football, anyway?). He's going to be a big player for us, I feel. Jon Taylor was superb for us last season, but for now, he's going to have to backup Burke - although I could easily be tempted to move Burke over to LM and start Taylor on the right. Left Midfielders: Stupidly, Norwich couldn't find a use for Josh Murphy, and he's come to us on a free instead. I'm not complaining. Murphy is rapid, and he's not too bad technically, either. LuaLua was too much of a loose cannon for me in the Championship, and that was when we were the best attacking side in the country. He sure as hell isn't going to feature much now that we're small fish in a big pond. The club's record signing, I'm over the moon to have Masudi here. He cost us £2.9m to pry him away from Bochum in Germany, and he's gone back there for the year because I don't think he's quite ready for the Premiership yet. He's 19 years old, and he's going to go far. Defensive CMs: The experienced Maniatis comes in to do the Smallwood job. He's pretty much everything I want in a BWM. If there's a 50/50 challenge, he's diving in, winning the ball, breaking your leg and then swearing at the referee for booking him. Tunnicliffe is the same, just a worse version. Injuries have made his stats decline slightly, but he'll bounce back. Hopefully Maniatis doesn't get sent off enough so that Tunnicliffe becomes important, though. The prospect we have at the BWM position, Ian joined us on a free from AEK Athens a couple years ago. He's on loan at Forest along with Henke for some first team football this year, and if he develops nicely, he could find himself in the starting lineup for us next year. Creative/Attacking Midfielders: Before I show you who we have here now - I had an absolute nightmare here. I had a shortlist of four players that would fit the bill, and then narrowed that down to two. We put in bids for Ravel Morrison and Stefano Sensi, but were turned down by both. Morrison went to Sporting Gijon in Spain, while Sensi chose to stay in Italy with Fiorentina. I was racking my brain, trying to think of what to do with our AP spot when my scouts told me about this 19 year old Swedish kid with 4* CA. I told them to go take a closer look, and it turns out he was just as good as their initial report - and a release clause in his Malmo contract meant he was ours for just 1.9m. It took less than two weeks to first hear his name to having him signed and in training with the first team, and he's going to get the nod as our creative CM. His passing isn't the best, but we've got him on an intensive training regime to fix that, and he'll hopefully be able to learn on the job. My assistant reckons he's the best player at the club - and while I disagree, it won't be long before he is. He needs to play well to keep his place, though - I can't sacrifice survival for the development of players. Joe Newell has been here from the start, and played superbly as our starting creative midfielder for four seasons in a row in the Championship - I just worry that the Premiership is a step too far. Pereira is another young talent, who's been here a few years having joined on a free from Quilmes in Argentina. He finally has a work permit, which means he's going to be in and around the first team squad. I'm not sure how much gametime we'll be able to give him, though - he definitely looks more like one for the future than right now. I'm absolutely buzzing to have Imrie on board. He's only 18, and he needs a lot of refining, so he's gone back on loan for the year to Falkirk (who we bought him from for 1.1m), but he looks to have a bright future ahead of him. Another young Scottish talent, Hamilton has been here since season two, but I'm not sure whether he'll ever be good enough. He's on loan at Ipswich for the year. Strikers: I know I'm taking a risk here, but Buso is the man I'm looking at to be our main striker this year. The 20 year old joins on a free from Cesena in Italy, and I think he's good enough to play alongside Will Keane and knock Pietro Iemmello down to the bench. We'll soon find out. Here is Will Keane. He might have scored 31 goals in 46 league games last year, but that doesn't mean he was clinical. He missed a lot of chances, and we can't afford to have him repeat that in the big leagues. For now, Iemmello is going to have to make do with a spot on the bench. Selzis is a proper talent. He joins for 300k from Stuttgarter Kickers in the Third Division of Germany, and that's an absolute steal, if you ask me. The 17 year old isn't ready yet, but it won't be long. He had an excellent preseason. Gonzalez is everything I look for in a striker. The only thing he's missing is a work permit. He needs to spend another year in Spain to get one, so he's on loan at Granada, where he should develop nicely, at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 18 minutes ago, argento said: Wow what a bargain for Burke on all of my saves he's gone for big money! We got very lucky Leipzig didn't want him! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Having the third youngest squad is great, but I am concerned with how few international quality players we have in relation to the rest of the league. Oh dear. That's mixed, to say the least. Positioning aside, that's very pleasing. A lot better than I expected. Our midfield may definitely need to be upgraded. Not too shabby at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 That's one way to open the season, Bournemouth... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Oh boy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Great overview...those are some bleak stats, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 3 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said: Great overview...those are some bleak stats, though. It's going to be a fight, that's for sure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Gloryhunters Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Rate Ignjovski, handy versatile player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 That's a lot of money! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 So's that... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 August: Pretty good! Arsenal, as expected, dominated us, although we did carve out a few chances of our own. We then turned the tables on Hull, with Dominic Ball heading home for our first ever Premiership goal before Will Keane made it 2 just before HT. Assombalonga pulled one back for Hull late, but it was a comfortable first win for us. We saw off Gillingham in the cup, going 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes from an own goal and a Giannis Seizis tidy finish when he completely burnt past the defence (watch out for his name, he's going to be special). Seizis missed a penalty, but this was easy enough. We then absolutely dominated Brighton. Absolutely dominated. Our finishing was woeful, and it took a goal just before HT from Pietro Iemmello and a late one from Joe Newell off the bench to secure the win. Still, a job well done. Will Keane is injured for a couple of weeks, as is Markus Lindholm. Ignjovski is back soon, but Bellanova has been playing too well recently at RB to drop. So far, so good! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Nice start to the season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 22 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: Nice start to the season! Cheers B2B! Important to pick up points before the fixtures start getting harder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 2 minutes ago, Jupjamie said: Cheers B2B! Important to pick up points before the fixtures start getting harder. Absolutely, and a bit of form and morale might have your boys up for causing the odd upset. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 But I don't want you here... Of course, I then hit the wrong button and told him he's not worth as much as his teammates. He's not happy. Oops. Man management at it's finest there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneronaldo Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 6 hours ago, Jupjamie said: But I don't want you here... Of course, I then hit the wrong button and told him he's not worth as much as his teammates. He's not happy. Oops. Man management at it's finest there. Truth hurts. Like the look of Henke, think he might turn to be the best of lot you signed this transfer window. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I wouldn't be concerned about having such low wages compared to everyone else, means you're not wasting money. Great start with those wins over Hull and Brighton. Might be some of the easiest opposition you'll face all season, though. But at least that's some good points on board already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnstonpickle Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Been awesome catching up on this and seeing the progress made. So much better than your first attempt Even if you do go down the squad has been strengthened nicely! Hoping I can follow suit soon with a promotion with my own Millers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitner Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 15 hours ago, Jupjamie said: August: Pretty good! Arsenal, as expected, dominated us, although we did carve out a few chances of our own. We then turned the tables on Hull, with Dominic Ball heading home for our first ever Premiership goal before Will Keane made it 2 just before HT. Assombalonga pulled one back for Hull late, but it was a comfortable first win for us. We saw off Gillingham in the cup, going 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes from an own goal and a Giannis Seizis tidy finish when he completely burnt past the defence (watch out for his name, he's going to be special). Seizis missed a penalty, but this was easy enough. We then absolutely dominated Brighton. Absolutely dominated. Our finishing was woeful, and it took a goal just before HT from Pietro Iemmello and a late one from Joe Newell off the bench to secure the win. Still, a job well done. Will Keane is injured for a couple of weeks, as is Markus Lindholm. Ignjovski is back soon, but Bellanova has been playing too well recently at RB to drop. So far, so good! Gianni surely seizes the opportunity... Cheers, Bitner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Great start to the season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 10 hours ago, oneronaldo said: Truth hurts. Like the look of Henke, think he might turn to be the best of lot you signed this transfer window. Interesting you've picked Henke out from the crowd. I like him, but I'm more excited about a couple of the others, personally. 5 hours ago, noikeee said: I wouldn't be concerned about having such low wages compared to everyone else, means you're not wasting money. Great start with those wins over Hull and Brighton. Might be some of the easiest opposition you'll face all season, though. But at least that's some good points on board already. Cheers Noikeee! Good point about not wasting money 3 hours ago, johnstonpickle said: Been awesome catching up on this and seeing the progress made. So much better than your first attempt Even if you do go down the squad has been strengthened nicely! Hoping I can follow suit soon with a promotion with my own Millers! Lets not even mention the second attempt... 2 hours ago, Bitner said: Gianni surely seizes the opportunity... Cheers, Bitner Indeed... big things planned for him! 27 minutes ago, Deisler26 said: Great start to the season Cheers Deisler! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneronaldo Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 13 hours ago, Jupjamie said: Interesting you've picked Henke out from the crowd. I like him, but I'm more excited about a couple of the others, personally. He's 19, defensive attributes all on point, physically well-developed and has high potential. I'd argue he's better than Chris Mavinga already Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 5 minutes ago, Jupjamie said: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Excellent news and start to life in the PL. With any luck, my threadbare Leeds can get started in the same fashion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 36 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said: Excellent news and start to life in the PL. With any luck, my threadbare Leeds can get started in the same fashion. You wouldn't happen to have any grapefruit lying around, would you? Our form may have dropped off slightly... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitner Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 16 minutes ago, Jupjamie said: You wouldn't happen to have any grapefruit lying around, would you? Our form may have dropped off slightly... Well. i just count like 9/40 to avoi relegation, then you're still in a good path, i guess. Cheers, Bitner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 September + October: Back to earth with a bang, then... We never got going against Newcastle or Fulham, and a rout over Swindon changed nothing when Watford put 3 past us. We did show a bit more fight against Liverpool, but then threw away a 1-0 lead with two stupid goals against West Brom, including a 92nd minute Mario Balotelli free kick to win it. United were as dominant as expected, but we kept things close in the cup against a slightly weaker team. At least we ended October on a good note, holding onto a 0-0 draw at Spurs for the best result in the club's history thus far. On the player front, I can only start by slagging off one. Nicolo Buso, the 20 year old striker we signed to be the main man upfront? 7 league starts, 0 goals. He's getting golden chances and squandering every single one. He did put one past Swindon, at least? The thing is, this is a really young team. If we can stay up this year, we'll be absolutely fine - it's just a question of survival. Our starting lineup reads like this in terms of age: 20 20 (loan) - 25 - 21 - 32 23 - 20 - 34 - 25 20 - 27 Nunez (20) hasn't been superb in goal, but I'd rather let him learn through experience than stick the potentially slightly better, 35 year old Eldin Jakupovic in goal. We've had a few injuries to deal with (Oliver Burke and Will Keane, mainly), but we're getting back to full fitness. Onwards and upwards, I suppose. Just three games in November - Palace, Burnley and Bournemouth. Absolutely huge month for us, this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 There are worse times for your first league goal... Also: Ignjovski: 3 starts, 2 red cards. Uh uh. You aren't getting back in the team. F***ing liability. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Brexit! Seems like a pretty light one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitner Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 2 minutes ago, Jupjamie said: Brexit! Seems like a pretty light one. Same as mine, i'd call a medium Brexit. Cheers, Bitner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Just now, Bitner said: Same as mine, i'd call a medium Brexit. Cheers, Bitner Sounds about right. It's definitely not the harshest one out there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Damn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 November: Now that's more like it! Alright, we only scored two goals in the month (Nicolo Buso scored both!), but 7/9 points is huge for a team in a relegation battle. Here's the tactic I'm using right now: We're tight at the back for the most part. When we have the ball, the WBs head inside, and the front four are basically told to roam wherever, just find space and get the ball. We might not be as good technically as the other team, but we're going to drag them out of position and use our movement to try and open up lanes instead. I like it so far, but we'll see how it does against some of the bigger teams. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Love the look of the tactic! I've read that IWBs are very effective in this ME, but haven't played with them yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 15 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said: Love the look of the tactic! I've read that IWBs are very effective in this ME, but haven't played with them yet. Cheers! I decided that we're not going to open teams up with dribbling or passing, so it's going to have to be done by pulling them all over the pitch and taking advantage of the space. I originally planned for a F9 and 3 shadow strikers in behind so that any of them could theoretically be a striker at anytime, but seeing as we didn't have the players for that, I've used two raumdeuter's who can just wander around and find space. Because the BWMs are there just to be extra cover in defence and not venture forward, the WBs are playing as IWBs to provide support through the middle. Likewise, I'd heard that they were very effective, but I'm not really noticing it so far. Seems to be pretty standard, just that they're taking up very different positions to a normal WB/FB. I'd guess that they'd be very effective in the right system (maybe one designed to isolate space in the middle for them to attack?), but they're more there for cover than anything else in this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 That's something we could do without, although we'll be losing a lot fewer players than some other teams. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 December: Arsenal, City and Chelsea in the same month is brutal - if you take them out of the equation, it wasn't a terrible month. A win against Southampton, a point against Leicester (with a 90th minute Will Keane penalty) and a loss to Everton isn't the end of the world. That FA Cup game, though... awful. We just got taken to the cleaners at home to a relegation rival. At least it wasn't the league! We could obviously do with reinforcements, but we may not be bringing anybody in. I haven't really spotted anyone that I think would make a massive difference so far, although that may change as we move through January. It's tight! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hmm.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
majesticeternity Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hey, just wanted to say I've been following this career, and enjoying it the whole way! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedese Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 3 minutes ago, majesticeternity said: Hey, just wanted to say I've been following this career, and enjoying it the whole way! That's really appreciated bud, thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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