This Saint Gonna Be Easy: Ch. V - Endgame

[ManUtd1]

My only piece of advice would be to maintain the narrative, and only make a move if it makes sense -- e.g., a job that couldn't be turned down.  Certainly no harm in staying and basking in the success!

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

13 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

My only piece of advice would be to maintain the narrative, and only make a move if it makes sense -- e.g., a job that couldn't be turned down.  Certainly no harm in staying and basking in the success!

That's true. I wouldn't want to just go to any club. It would have to be good reputation wise. I think I'll decide that over the next day or two.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

An FA Cup last season and a league and Champions League double this season and I'm still only favoured personnel. 

At least my reputation has shot up. 80% now.

[kidthekid]

Fantastic result. It's amazing how Michael King has developed from a timid unsure manager to the best in the world.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

6 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Fantastic result. It's amazing how Michael King has developed from a timid unsure manager to the best in the world.

Cheers! 

He's certainly had some character arc. He didn't even know what squad depth was at the start! 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

I probably would've picked either of the two Spurs games for match of the season but the Watford one was great too. That Newcastle match was certainly a low point. All because Tuanzebe couldn't stay on his feet...

No complaints about the Team of the Season. All deserved placings. Maicon was easily both Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season as well. Signing of the season couldn't have been any of Pozo, Horvath or Shaw. Horvath certainly is a worthy winner though.

 

Meanwhile, the board are making a convincing case for staying...

If I stay, I'll need to sign a striker, winger, playmaker, defender and goalkeeper. Striker because Hernandez is leaving, winger because Antonio's declined sharply since his injury, playmaker because there's no way in hell United will allow Nyman to return, defender because Veltman will be let go and goalkeeper because Olsen is past it.

[oneronaldo]

15 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

That's true. The narrative might suffer if I move which is something that I need to consider. If Southampton are going to stay as mediocre and irrelevant as they are currently in this save, then I can affect them from abroad.

Stay and poach one of their best youth prospects every season, make them your new feeder club.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

20 minutes ago, oneronaldo said:

Stay and poach one of their best youth prospects every season, make them your new feeder club.

Now that's not a half bad idea. They do have some quality regens. One who came through the academy while I was there and the other a striker who I had my eye on before they signed him last season.

[noikeee]

Only just caught up, wow, your team certainly doesn't buckle under the pressure! Spurs and Atlético still don't know what hit them! Great end to the season.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

7 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Only just caught up, wow, your team certainly doesn't buckle under the pressure! Spurs and Atlético still don't know what hit them!

For a side that hadn't played in the Champions League before/competed for the Premier League title, I'm surprised they coped so well. I think the Atletico game was heavily influenced by morale. We scored early, their heads dropped, we got another and they just gave up entirely. 

10 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Great end to the season.

Thanks!

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Meanwhile on Twitter...

 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Michael King had spent the two weeks following his Champions League victory pondering the question that was on everyone's lips. Would he try and build a legacy with the Hammers or go to a fancier club with a more lucrative contract? Michael had received that question phrased in many different ways from many different journalists. He hadn't answered them because, truth be told, he didn't know the answer himself.

He'd debated it over and over in his head and sought advice from Andries, his family, Katie and had even looked at what others were saying online. If he stayed, he could build a legacy and become a legend. But he could also not be able to replicate that success and end up disappointed and bitter. If he went to a new club, he'd earn more money, increase his reputation and have a bigger budget. But he could also struggle to adapt, he'd have to leave everything and everyone behind him and he mightn't succeed in a new league. Eventually, he'd reached a decision.

Michael's friends were in London. Michael's family had moved to London. The players Michael had grown so close to were in London. His best friend, confidante and assistant manager was in London. His girlfriend was in London. But most importantly, his heart was still in London. He couldn't bring himself to leave. He'd come to really love West Ham. He wanted to replicate his success. To prove it wasn't just a one-time thing. And on the 6th of June, 2023, Michael announced to the players, fans and the media that he was staying at West Ham.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At the start of the previous season, I changed the chapter to “CH. III- Dropping The Hammer”. I said to @ManUtd1 that this was because we were beginning to “drop the hammer” on the teams around us. However, after a league and Champions League double, I think it's fair to say we've dropped the hammer. So now we move to Chapter 4 of Michael King's story...

CH. IV - Using The Hammers To Build A Legacy (Or Get Sacked Trying)

Edited March 27, 2018 by Fer Fuchs Ake

[oriole01]

My prediction for Chapter IV:

Los! Los! Los!
Hammers! Hammers! Hammers!

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

1 hour ago, oriole01 said:

My prediction for Chapter IV:

Los! Los! Los!
Hammers! Hammers! Hammers!

Devouring entire worlds? I don't know if we're capable of that just yet but anything is possible if you follow Jonker's methods.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

They won't allow him out on loan. 

I'll try to unsettle him but I don't think anything will come of it.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

From: Warden Gentles

To: Staff of HMP Wakefield

Subject: I have received further news on the gang that Inmates 03744 (GRIFFITHS) and 58008 (SAVAGE) appear to be setting up. They have added another recruit to join on top of Inmates 53704 (VINE), 77345 (FRANCIS) and 53504 (PEMBERTON). This inmate is Inmate 27301 (WILDE). They appear to be trying to run the prison through fear and intimidation. Savage and Wilde are the main thugs, Vine, Francis and Griffiths are the brains behind the whole thing while Pemberton's role is unclear as of yet. Their attempts to gain power amongst their fellow jailbirds are proving fruitless so far. You may think there is nothing worrying there however, there still is cause for concern. Warden Buck could have sworn he overhead the word “escape” being used by Savage when he was talking to Griffiths in the showers. His hearing isn't great though so don't get too troubled over this. They could've said something different. He's not a particularly reliable employee. Anyway, like I said last time, keep an eye on it and report anything concerning back to me.

Cheers,

Warden Gentles

[ManUtd1]

On 3/21/2018 at 10:57, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

From: Warden Gentles

To: Staff of HMP Wakefield

Subject: The Welsh Connection

[...]

Cheers,

Warden Gentles

 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

From: Warden Buck

To: Warden Gentles

Subject: Your Memo

“His hearing isn't great though”

“He's not a particularly reliable employee.”

You do know I get these messages too, right? I know what I heard, a***ole. My hearing is just fine. They're definitely planning an escape.

Cheers,

Warden Buck

 

 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

“3...2...1 annnnnd LIVE!”, came a voice from off camera.

Gary rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. Months of working with Mourinho had done this to him. He was just not a fun commentator to work with. With strained enthusiasm, he began his usual introduction.

“Hello and welcome to BT Sport's live coverage of the Community Shield between West Ham and Liverpool. I'm Gary Lineker and with me is my co-commentator José Mourinho. Who's your favourite for this one, José?”

“Look uh... I do not want to have favourites. I do not want bias. People will complain. I get complaints from viewers. Maybe fined. So I do not want to speak about favourites.”

Gary sighed heavily and dug his fingernails into his palms. 

“Alright then. I'd personally mark West Ham as favourites given their results last season. We know your thoughts on Michael King but what about James Collins?”

“The Liverpool manager? I sink he is good.”

Gary paused, waiting for Mourinho to elaborate on that. When it was clear that he wasn't going to expand on that, Gary spoke up again.

“Ok, you don't want to call a winner or talk much about Collins. Has your opinion on Michael King changed after his emphatic Champions League win? You called him a specialist in fraudulence last time out and had that changed at all?”

“No, he is fraud. Very fraud. I still sink he will be found out. He is carried by Maicon. What happens when Maicon gets injured? They will begin to fail.”

Gary smiled slightly, pleased to have finally gotten an opinion out of Mourinho.

“Speaking of Maicon, he's obviously West Ham's starlet striker but what about Liverpool's Josh Phillips? He's an extremely talented young striker. Who would you rate higher?”

“I cannot say. I do not want to compare. They are both talent, both young. Both good players. I do not want to seem like I have bias. I will not pick.”

Gary sighed deeply. He was almost beginning to miss Robbie Savage. 

“Alright then, let's go straight to the match without any further ado. The teams are just lining up to shake hands.”, said Gary without any real passion in his voice.  

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

1'- GL: “West Ham are kicking us off here for the 2023 Community Shield. Can they retain the trophy? Worth noting they've not beaten Liverpool in the past TEN matches.”

2'- JM: “West Ham throw in, deep within Liverpool's half. Adjapong takes. He finds Winks. Winks to Jacquin (new signing who you'll find out about tomorrow). Jacquin locks it to Pozo. I don't like this short passing style King plays. Pozo to OBIANNNNNGGG!!! ONE-NIL TO THE HAMMERS ALREADY! WHAT A BRIGHT START FOR THEM! A beautiful rocket of a shot from Pedro Obiang.

16'- GL: “West Ham have won the ball off Liverpool and they come forward on the break. Winks now. To Pozo. Nice ball to Tavares. Tavares into JACQUIN! OH, THAT'S A TERRIBLE MISS! He's got to hit the target from there.

35'- JM: “Bad news for Liverpool. Star striker Josh Phillips is hobbling off injured. He'll have to come off. He'll be replaced by Ben Woodburn.

45'- GL: “Half time here. West Ham have utterly dominated so far. Liverpool just haven't got near them.

52'- JM: “Liverpool with a throw in. Elyounoussi receives the ball. Adjapong wins it off him with a great challenge! Adjapong plays a beautiful long ball to Maicon. That's what we want to see! Maicon makes a great run, lovely dribbling! He cuts inside and fires it but it's saved! Great reflexes from Meret!

53'- GL: “West Ham in the attack. Winks now to Adjapong. Adjapong plays it short to Obiang. Obiang shoots but it's a good block by Joe Gomez! Obiang picks up on the loose ball. He find Maicon. Maicon turn his man AND MAKES IT TWO!!! BEAUTIFUL STRIKE FROM MAICON! WEST HAM ARE CRUISING HERE!”

56'- JM: “Liverpool win the ball from West Ham. Beautiful hoofed ball down to Sam Price. He finds Woodburn ahead of him. Woodburn takes it on further. He plays a lovely ball to Price! Price drifts out wide and crosses for WOODBURRRRRRNN!!! LIVERPOOL HAVE ONE BACK! WITH THEIR FIRST SHOT ON TARGET! IS THAT GOING TO BR THE TURNING POINT?!”

69'- GL: “Obiang nicks the hall of Price and plays it short to Tavares. Tavares out wide to Bailey. Bailey with a brilliant run! He skips past Pickering! Beautiful pass to Maicon. Maicon swivels his man AND IT'S MAICOOOOOONNN!!! THREE-ONE! WEST HAM WILL SURELY END THEIR DISMAL RUN AGAINST LIVERPOOL TODAY! Beautiful, beautiful finish!”

75'- JM: “Nice move here from Liverpool. Elyounoussi finds Price. Price comes forward. Lovely pass to Woodburn! Woodburn has turned Tuanzebe inside out and he shoots!!! OVER! POOR FINISH!”

90+4'- GL: “FULL TIME!!! WEST HAM HAVE RETAINED THE COMMUNITY SHIELD! A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE WHICH LIMITED LIVERPOOL TO JUST TWO SHOTS ON TARGET! WHAT A MATCH THAT WAS!”

[john1]

Superb win over Liverpool  

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

18 minutes ago, john1 said:

Superb win over Liverpool  

Cheers! 

Great way to start the season.

[oriole01]

Two Community Shields? To think the Champions League was the most important trophy you've won... you've passed the real test of champions now!

Mourinho is hilarious by the way .

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

8 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Two Community Shields? To think the Champions League was the most important trophy you've won... you've passed the real test of champions now!

I've always aspired for King to be mentioned in the same breath as Moyesy. Champions Leagues fontatter when you get those Community Shields!

9 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Mourinho is hilarious by the way .

Cheers!

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

There was a bit of Twitter activity on Transfer Deadline Day...

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Summer Transfer Window

We've good great squad depth going into this season. Not many sales and a decent few signings including the unexpected return of one familiar face.

Two sales to tell you about. Both were to be expected as both players have well passed their peaks. Robin Olsen has been sold as we've found a better backup goalkeeper in Branko Jedvaj. Hernandez also needed to go as he was on high wages whilst barely playing any matches for us. I'll always be grateful for that first season and a half but it's time for him to go. We also bought a quality replacement for him.

 

The Signings:

Cristian Salerno

The first signing of the transfer window, Salerno comes in after being transfer listed by Bayer Leverkusen. He's a relatively young striker with a bit of potential who's extremely well-rounded. He's fast, brilliant off the ball, is a great dribbler, a good finisher and has a decent first touch. He's like a slightly worse version of Maicon so he's pretty good. His debut was a friendly against Galatasary in which he scored a hat trick. I'm very excited for him.

 

Branko Jedvaj:

Introducing our new backup GK! Jedvaj is a player I've had my eye in for a while. He's got great reflexes and handling which is also good news for a keeper. Like Salerno, he's relatively young and the price is decent. I also like the look of his jumping reach and one-on-ones. It's unlikely but he could potentially usurp Horvath.

 

Patrik Nyman/Back-trik Nyman/Hat-Trik Nyman:

Whatever you want to call him, he's back! How? I unsettled the living **** out of him for the whole window. Sent scouts to watch him, declared interest, made bids, the works. Eventually, he got pissed, they loan listed him and we snapped him up on Transfer Deadline Day. Glad to have him back!

 

Jean-Claude Jacquin:

A player who I had my eye in back when he was in Belgium last summer. I signed Pozo instead and City snapped this fella up. He's a quality backup option now that Antonio is pretty much past it. He's pacy, good at dribbling, he's got fairly decent crossing and he'll battle with Bailey for that AMR spot. On loan til next season.

 

Santiago Caseres:

I didn't think I'd get Nyman, so I signed this lad in mid-July. He's nothing special but he's just good all-round. No glaring weak points and he'll be a decent backup for Winks. Tidy passing, vision and first touch on him as well as a decent work rate which I always value in a player.

 

Adilson:

We let Veltman leave on a free as he's gotten too old and his wages were ridiculous. Adilson is his wonderkid replacement. A defensive mid by trade, Adilson will be retrained as a central defender (probably a ball-playing defender). His tackling is great, he's a beast physically and I'll try to get him some game time off the bench and in the cups. 

 

Thoughts:

Just thought I'd add this to look back on it at the end of the season and see how right/wrong I was about these players.

Salerno: Probably won't completely oust Maicon but will be a quality option from off the bench. Will start ahead of Maicon sometimes when the fixtures are congested. I think he'll be an important player and will return a lot of goals. 

B. Jedvaj: Will be good for us but won't be able to nail down the No. 1 spot in goal. 

Nyman: Will be as good as he ever was for us. Not a particularly bold prediction here as he's a player I know well.

Jacquin: Will not be able to usurp Bailey for that spot on the right wing. Won't be bad but won't be incredible. Probably about average with an average rating of around 6.9.

Cesares: Will see little game time with Nyman, Winks and Tavares in the side. Will probably get pissed and transfer list himself before the season's over. Hopefully that's wrong. Will be a solid player but won't give me reasons to put him in the first XI when I do start him.

Adilson: Will develop well but won't be part of the regular first XI this season. Will probably become a rotational player as he's quite talented. I can just see him as a very up-and-down type of player. Will swing from a 7.something to a 6.2 and back again. I don't know why I think that, my scouts haven't marked him as inconsistent. I just find young players can be like that. Hopefully that's not the case though.

[oriole01]

Great signings, pretty impressive how you've been able to build this squad well without splashing big money on anyone. They all look quality, especially Salerno and Jedvaj (you've got two guys named Jedvaj in the team now? ) Jacquin also looks good, but he needs to improve that finishing.

6 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

There was a bit of Twitter activity on Transfer Deadline Day...

Since when is August 9 deadline day?

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

1 hour ago, oriole01 said:

Great signings, pretty impressive how you've been able to build this squad well without splashing big money on anyone. They all look quality, especially Salerno and Jedvaj (you've got two guys named Jedvaj in the team now? ) Jacquin also looks good, but he needs to improve that finishing.

Cheers mate! Yeah we've got two Jedvajes and also two Tavareses since last season! I'm mostly excited about Salerno but yeah, B. Jedvaj looks decent too. I don't mind Jacquin's finishing so much because he'll be playing as a winger so he'll be creating chances mainly. But it would be nice for it be a bit higher I suppose. He did miss a big chance in the Community Shield for example.

2 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Since when is August 9 deadline day?

It's not. It was 17th August in 2023. I made the bid for Nyman on the 9th so I just had that date in my head when making those tweets. Slightly careless mistake from me. Well spotted!

[oriole01]

Even that's kinda unusual, I thought it was always the 31st!

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

8 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Even that's kinda unusual, I thought it was always the 31st!

It is in real life I think. I've no idea why it was the 17th. 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

August Update:

We were unlucky in the Super Cup but it was all good other than that. Always nice to beat the former employers as well.

Arsenal: G. José Tavares, Leon Bailey  A. Harry Winks, Maicon (3-0 on penalties)

Shortly after our FA Cup win, we contested the Super Cup against Arsenal. José Tavares gave us the lead from 20 yards after Winks found him with a short pass on 12'. Their Romanian wonderkid Antonio De Matteis equalised quickly, burying it just two minutes later. The game was fairly quiet after that with both sides having many shots but very few good chances. We eventually restored our lead on 53' when Maicon played a great ball into Leon Bailey and he buried it from close range. Arsenal did very little after that and I thought we'd won it. Unfortunately, they scored in the second minute of added time when Dominik Szoboszlai latched onto a through ball from an Arsenal counter attack and slotted home. 

Nothing happened in extra time and we were dreadful on penalties. Maicon, Caseres and Bailey all missed theirs. They scored three if theirs and one saved by Jedvaj who made his debut. He had a shocker and got a 6.2, cementing Horvath as No. 1 in goal. Adilson also made his debut and he was fairly solid.

West Brom: G. Maicon (2), Pedro Obiang, Harry Winks (Pen)  A. Alejandro Pozo (2), Maicon

We kick-started the season with a convincing win over West Bromwich Albion. We started very well and scored after just 6 minutes when Pozo crossed for Maicon who smashed it in. Our second came on 22' when Maicon returned a cleared corner back into the box for Obiang to blast home. We made it three on the stroke of half time when Winks converted from the spot. They scored just after half time to give themselves a glimmer of hope with Roland Sallai getting the goal. We added some gloss to the scoreline when Pozo once again teed up Maicon who tapped home from a few yards out in the 94th minute. Great start to the season.

Southampton: G. Alejandro Pozo, Jack Stephens OG   A. Alejandro Pozo, Leon Bailey

We always beat Southampton! They didn't come close to us in this match and we rode out to an easy 2-0 win. Alejandro Pozo got the first on 16' after a lovely cross from Leon Bailey who's been killing it on the right wing. We proceeded to control the rest of the game without being able to find the net for the rest of the half. We got our second on 55' when Alejandro Pozo's shot from the edge of the box was diverted into Southampton's net by Jack Stephens. We held out for the rest of the game and got a comfortable 2-0 win.

 

Key Points:

• Leon Bailey has been incredible in that AMR spot since the end of last season. He's made it his own.

• Maicon continues to shine for us. I think he'll be able to reproduce last season's sensational form.

• Due to the success of last season's squad, (and the fact that I've been able to keep that squad together) we've not been given many opportunities to the new arrivals. I'll try to change that if I get the chance but I don't want to mess with a winning formula.

• I didn't screenshot the table because it's too early for it to be relevant. I'll screenshot it from next month on though.

 

 

 

[ManUtd1]

On 3/30/2018 at 06:06, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Bitter, party of one?

Your table is ready.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Not even being a first seed could spare us from getting another tough group. I don't think it's as though as the one we got last season but I think we'll find this one hard. I'm confident we have the quality to get through though. Dortmund will be the biggest challenge, followed closely by Juve. Basel should prove to be an easy 6 points.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

2 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Bitter, party of one?

Your table is ready.

He can't even come up with an original insult. All the King haters have been bandwagoning the specialist in fraudulence hashtag ever since Mourinho said it in the Champions League final.

[BoxToBox]

10 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

It is in real life I think. I've no idea why it was the 17th. 

From next season the PL(and a few European leagues) are closing the window the day before the first game of the season.

[ManUtd1]

1 hour ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

He can't even come up with an original insult. All the King haters have been bandwagoning the specialist in fraudulence hashtag ever since Mourinho said it in the Champions League final.

Even Rony stole it.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

13 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

From next season the PL(and a few European leagues) are closing the window the day before the first game of the season.

Ah, ok. That makes sense because it was right before our first game, the one against West Brom.

13 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Even Rony stole it.

He'll have to pay royalties to Mourinho.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Lord Vogel has risen again... in a different form this time.

He tore our U-18's apart. Nothing stops Vogel.

[ManUtd1]

Just now, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Lord Vogel has risen again... in a different form this time.

He tore our U-18's apart. Nothing stops Vogel.

#HeHasRisen #Needs20JumpingAbility

#DarthVogel #TheRuleOf2

 

[oriole01]

1 minute ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Lord Vogel has risen again... in a different form this time.

He tore our U-18's apart. Nothing stops Vogel.

God damn it, if only he were on my Dortmund team... Vogel would become the world's most famous bald player.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

5 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

#HeHasRisen #Needs20JumpingAbility

#DarthVogel #TheRuleOf2

 

#Needs20LeadershipToo

#InVogue-l

#I'veConvertedToVogelism

7 minutes ago, oriole01 said:

God damn it, if only he were on my Dortmund team... Vogel would become the world's most famous bald player.

You wouldn't need the Talent Men when you have Vogel.

[ManUtd1]

1 hour ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

#I'veConvertedToVogelism

Our Vogel, who art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy in-game data editor.

Exploit tactics, thy will be done,

On Earth as it is in Blue Manchester.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

57 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Our Vogel, who art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy in-game data editor.

Exploit tactics, thy will be done,

On Earth as it is in Blue Manchester.

Give us this day our daily thread,

And forgive us our fraudulence.

As we forgive those who exploit against us,

And lead us not into relegation battles.

But deliver us from obviously edited players.

Amen.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

So I've made a slight change to the tactic following last season. We won the Premier League last season but we didn't win convincingly. We were basically like a successful version of Liverpool - good against the top teams but dropping far too many points against the weaker ones. We had a decent few draws that's should've been wins and a few games where they took an early lead, parked the bus and we couldn't break them down. Why? Because we'd established ourselves and teams were more cautious against us.

So from now on, I'm playing on Control against the smaller clubs, at home and away. We'll just play with a little more urgency and be able to break down teams more. At home to the big clubs (Man United, Man City, Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle, Spurs and Chelsea) we'll play Standard. Away to those teams, we'll play Counter. This also applies for the big teams in Europe. The formation will remain the same (4-2-3-1) unless I feel we're really coming under pressure, in which case we'll use the 4-4-1-1. 

Lastly, from seeing the monthly updates, you'll have some idea of who we play regularly. Maicon, Pozo, Winks, Jedvaj etc. But I don't think I've given a clear picture as to who the first XI are. The starting XI you see there is what I play in every PL and CL game I can, barring fatigue and/or injuries. In the case of either, I'll obviously make changes. For example, Tuanzebe is injured for five weeks so Adilson will replace him. The only exceptions are the AMC spot and the wings where I may occasionally rotate. Martins might get the nod ahead of Pozo, Jacquin ahead of Bailey or Tavares/Miranchuk ahead of Nyman. The majority of the time though, it's Pozo on the left, Bailey on the right and Nyman in behind.

I also try to name the same bench for every PL and CL game, again barring fatigue and/or injuries. This would be:

1. Branko Jedvaj

2. Adilson (It's Tarkowski now that Tuanzebe's injured)

3. Fabricio Bustos

4. Jefferson Lerma

5. José Tavares

6. Fabio Martins

7. Cristian Salerno

I would rotate very heavily for the domestic cups, usually playing the entire second string. I may play a stronger team if I'm against one of the bigger clubs in the FA Cup. It's always the second string in the Carabao Cup regardless of opposition given how little I care for the competition.

 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Michael was happy with his decision to stay on as West Ham manager. He was getting on very well with the players, he'd started the season well and the fans loved him. Unfortunately, one fan loved him too much. That was the one caveat of being in charge of West Ham. Joel. Michael was easily the most successful manager of West Ham in Joel's lifetime and so Joel was freakishly obsessed. Well he was freakishly obsessed with every West Ham manager but even more so with Michael. This had ramped up a season ago which had led to Michael hiring his bodyguard, Zoran.

Since winning the Premier League and Champions League, it had increased even more. He was at every bar, restaurant, cinema or nightclub Michael went to, always clad in the Michael King face mask and wig. He'd been pretty much cyber stalking him on social media. He'd even shown up outside Michael's house once or twice. Michael was beginning to find the whole thing thoroughly creepy. He was tempted to increase his security but Zoran assured him “I have situation under the control.”

In better news, he'd managed to get one over on Southampton again. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up to Ralph when he'd seen him in the stands. Ralph had looked livid, his mood was already bad enough having lost once again to Michael's side. But this time Michael might've pushed it a bit too far for his own good. He'd overdone it on the celebratory champagne and sent a string of boastful drunk texts to Ralph. For example;

“Ytou'ree a s*** chairrmann.” 

“F***ingf fraud specciqlist specialist in fraudingg medioxre frauuuudd.”

And of course “Bad cluxb worsse chaitman. Bet you regerat firng me bnow youuu p****.”

The messages were barely legible but Michael knew Ralph would get the gist of it. He'd completely regretted sending them but it was too late to do anything about them now. He just had to hope Ralph would be able to shrug it off. But he knew that wasn't going to happen...

 

[ManUtd1]

I'd be "beginning" to find Joel creepy, too 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

1 hour ago, ManUtd1 said:

I'd be "beginning" to find Joel creepy, too 

Not just any kind of creepy.

Thoroughly creepy.

By the way, our prayer to Vogel seems to have gone down well. We've converted people.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Fer Fuchs Ake

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

September Update:

An extremely good month. Couldn't have asked for much more. We were poor against Newcastle but we got a draw which is better than what we got away to them last season.

Newcastle: G. Maicon (2)   A. Leon Bailey, Patrik Nyman

We started the month with a somewhat unconvincing draw against Newcastle. They took the lead just 6 minutes in when new signing Alexander Isak buried it from close range. Maicon got us out equaliser on 19' after a lovely through ball from Nyman. They controlled most of the game after that and pulled ahead on 67' through Christian Pulisic. We were quick to equalise when Maicon tapped in Bailey's cross. A draw is a decent result but the manner of it wasn't great.

Man United: G. Maicon  A. Harry Winks

This was a very quiet game which saw us have only 3 SOT and them have just the one. Jedvaj was the start of the show here with a stepper defensive performance. We got what turned out to be the winner on 19' through Maicon when he latched onto a great pass from Winks. Pozo was forced off injured on 32' and missed 3 matched afterwards. They got reduced to 10 men on 86' when Almany Toure got sent off but it didn't really matter, they were never coming back into it. Great win to get.

Dortmund: G. Harry Winks (2)  A. Patrik Nyman (2)

Not the player you expected to see scoring a brace, is he? But he scored two beautiful goals from distance. The first came on 28' when a corner got worked to Nyman who was just inside the box. He pulled it back for Winks who smashed it into the bottom left corner. They were very poor and managed just one shot all game and it wasn't even on target! The second came on 74 when Nyman took a short corner to Winks who blasted it into the top corner from about 25 yards. Stunning strike and a great start to out CL campaign.

Brighton: G. Patrik Nyman, Tin Jedvaj, Fabio Martins  A. Fabio Martins (2), Jean-Claude Jacquin

We continued our fine form against a Brighton side who'd started the season surprisingly well. They'd even got a win against City. We scored our first just two minutes in when Nyman tapped in Martins' cross. They leveled soon after when Jordan Rossiter smashed home from a right angle on 10'. Jedvaj gave us the lead again on 26' nodded in Martins' corner. Lastly, Martins himself got on the scoresheet when he slotted in Jacquin's cross at the back post.

Bolton: G. Cristian Salerno, Moussa Dembele, Jean-Claude Jacquin  A. Jefferson Lerma, Jean-Claude Jacquin, Cristian Salerno

It was a good day for the new signings as we played the second string in the Carabao Cup. Cristian Salerno got his first competitive West Ham goal on 31' after a lovely cross from Jacquin. Dembele got the second on 40' when he got on the end of Lerma's short but incisive pass and we were cruising. Jacquin's goal came on 56' after Salerno flicked a header into his path. A comprehensive win and we'll face Liverpool in the next round.

Middlesbrough: G. Jean-Claude Jacquin, Maicon  A. Maicon

We could've won by more but once we went two up, I dropped back to Standard to save their legs for the Juventus game next month. A brilliant pass from Maicon was buried by Jacquin on 3' to give us an early lead. We got our second and final goal on 18' when Jacquin pounced on a poorly cleared cross to slot home from a few yards out. We eased off after that and the rest of the game was very uneventful. It capped off a very pleasing month with a win though.

Key Points:

• Patrik Nyman has been great and looks set to continue last season's form.

• Leon Bailey has been really consistent on right wing and is definitely first choice. Maicon is also definitely first choice up front.

• With the way the current first XI are playing, the only way the new signings will play is off the bench and in the cups.

• Playing on Control is resulting in slightly more injuries than last season I think. It's manageable though so it's fine.

League Table:

Solid start but it's very early days. Stoke have started surprisingly well, they keep having either very good or better bad seasons. Liverpool are the main surprise, they've started very poorly. Meanwhile, Brighton have returned to the PL with a bang and are currently in the top half

 

 

 

 

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Manager of the Month! 😎 

Interesting that Simeone is in charge of Chelsea. I'm sure he'll be out for revenge...

[john1]

Epic start to the season