I have been feeling under the weather, so it is time to reach for the BeNeLux

[scousevasey]

Preseason 2020/2021

I played a range of teams from Belgium and Luxembourg, with some getting cancelled as Differdange progressed in Europe.  As always there was rotation, especially in the mini-leagues to ensure fitness, so we had some good results but with some poor ones

The team seems settled, and we haven't had too much turnover this summer

Transfers

We lost a couple of players, but nothing overly concerning

Devas was in the U19s and not looking to make a splash in the team.  Martins was our 2nd keeper, but could have developed to be one of our best players.  He didn't get much time on the pitch last season due to wanting to avoid relegation, but would have rotated in more this season.  An offer from the top team in the league was too much for him though.

I did lose Igor Stojadinovic to retirement, but he was a backup DC so again nothing major to worry about.

 

The big transfer worry was Marques putting in the transfer request, but there has been no interest in him so far, and as the window is shut we can take advantage of his presence until January.  With the worry about losing players and their age I did ask the DoF to try and sign some of my old intake players from Heur-Tongeren.  It is fair to say it didn't go too well, and if I clicked to offer a contract the prevailing message is they didn't want to move country at this time

 

The overall transfer changes both for ourselves and everyone else ended with our odds for the title becoming a little longer

Comparing the odds in from the previous update at the start of summer to the end a couple of things stand out

Dudelange have dropped back, which shows their period of domination may be over

Progres has made a jump from 40-1 to 25-1 while we slipped from 25-1 to 35-1 and predicted 10th.  We should still avoid relegation (2+1 playoff) places, and I am still aiming for top half, but it does seem to be more of a challenge.

The bottom three teams have all seen their odds lengthen meaning the gap is growing in the league

 

[scousevasey]

August 2020

Games against the teams predicted 1st, 5th, 7th and 6th gave us a challenge first up, especially with us expected to come 10th.

For the second half of the month I made a slight tactical tweak moving from Control to Attacking in the 4-4-2 AMR formation.  This was to try and give us a boost up front having not scored in the opening games.  Part of this was that Sonko had been out due to a concussion and wasn't fit to play Differdange, and just gaining fitness against Kaerjeng.

In the final three games we have share possession fairly equally, but have struggled to get shots, and make sure they are on target, apart from the 3-0 where we managed to match Jeunesse Esch.  This is clearly because we don't have the quality to compete against the top teams, so there may need to be tactical changes to provide the tightest defence combined with the best chance to secure goals

 

September brings three games against teams predicted 9th, 8th and 14th.  This should be a chance to collect points and prove our ability against teams of a similar level

 

[scousevasey]

September 2020

Solid results to the teams around us, where I kept the attacking formation, and it paid off in two of the three games.

October gives us another quiet month, due to the international window with three more games

Tough games bookend the month, with Racing (LUX) and Dudelange being predicted as top three teams.  Racing (LUX) away might be the hardest game of the month due to the fact we host Dudelange, which was originally in November but moved due to the draw for the cup

After hoping that the cup would be a chance for us to push for Europe, a match away to Dudelange isn't the idea draw.  While they seem to be slipping, it will still be tough, and interestingly comes straight after they visit us in the league.  This draw did also prompt a faintly amusing news item

Considering that they are predicted 2nd in the league ahead of our 10th, and are at home the phrase "With the draw pitting a semi-pro outfit at home to a bigger team in Rosport" I am beginning to question whether the press in Luxembourg are just children at a typewriter, or if they get very drunk on hospitality at any major event

 

[scousevasey]

October 2020

This season is going better than I thought, and I have been able to begin to rotate players too, instead of relying on the same starting 11 if they are all fit

An unbeaten month wasn't expected, as I fully expected to lose one game.

While I have been keeping the same 11 if I can, two things happened this month to induce changes, although I think the consistency in the team has strengthened the tactical familiarity and the squad morale in general.

Firstly one of our starting DCs picked up a knock.  Feltes is one of the stars of the team, and was replaced by (20e) Chanot who is less of a start currently, and won't reach the same potential.  This change was made for the US Esch game and kept for the Dudelange game, yet there has been no adverse effects so far.  I will keep it until Feltes is fully fit, but may need to consider rotating Chanot in regularly to allow him to develop (using IR means he would be subbed off around half time by my Assistant)

The other change this month was made for squad cohesion.  Marc Bisfield has been asking about playing time, and while he is not of the same quality of the starting MCs I can't afford to upset him too much while we have a small squad and limited potential.  He was given a run out against Esch, and added to the subs bench (he missed the start of the season due to injury and I forgot to add him back to the bench).  He did make it on for the final 9 minutes against Dudelange albeit as a DL.

We do have a 16yo (20a) Lombardelli who is the same PA as Binsfield, but is currently only a DM, while training as MC, and currently weaker.  Hopefully by the end of the season Binsfield will be surplus to requirements, but he may be important as the season progresses.

 

League Table

Out impressive run has led to a high position as we near the halfway point of the season.  While I was nervous about Racing (LUX) and Dudelange they are not performing yet this season.  Our loss against Differdange is clearly not unusual, with Fola Esch being the only team to take points off them so far (we managed a draw away to Fola Esch).  Hopefully the fact we still have to play them at home with our current form means that we can close the gap, although I can't really see them being caught

November brings us the immediate rematch at Dudelange in the cup, before we face some decent competition in the league

Kaerjeng defeated us at home earlier in the season, but that was only the second game of the season, after our loss to Differdange, so hopefully we can continue our good form in the run up to that game and reverse the result this time around

[scousevasey]

Cup Update

Last season the board expected us to do reasonably well in the cup, but this year have decided it was not important.  This was a nice bonus after getting the difficult away trip to Dudelange.

I kept the same team as for the league game, even though Feltes was back to training as I wanted to reward the play of (20e) Chanot.

Not the greatest result, or what we hoped for, but considering we were a man short for an hour it is not too bad.  Clearly some lapses at the end of each half, but I am not too disappointed after the red was shown.

It does mean that we will concentrate on the league (nothing else left),  with top 2 getting Europe (3rd dependant on the cup), so unless we rely on Differdange to win the cup, we have to aim for that 2nd spot minimum

[scousevasey]

November/December 2020

After only showing the November fixtures, as I started to prepare the November update I found there was only one December game, so have lumped the two months together

After the loss in the cup the aim was to solidify our position in the league to ensure our financial survival.  The results were not quite as planned

The loss to Kaerjeng was the most expected as they had beaten us previously, but still a shame, but Titus Petange were in 9th when we faced them, so to lose puts a downer on the month.  We were able to recover against Jeunesse Esch to go into the winter break positively

The loss against Titus means we slip to 4th, only two points off 2nd, but an unbeaten month would have left us 2nd with a 4 point cushion, and only six off the top due to Differdange dropping two points.  4th is nothing to complain about in the general scheme of things with 10th being our prediction and mid-table the focus of the board

 

I have arranged some friendlies for the end of the break so that hopefully we aren't too rusty when we get back to the league games

The first and last games are against non-league teams with the aim to get back into the swing of things, then finish the break positively.  In between I have arranged a mini league against the three best Luxembourg teams I could, which should give us competitive games and a chance to rotate for fitness.  These games then lead us into the remaining 11 games of the season

Fola Esch will be tough as they have performed well against the top teams.

Racing (LUX) then Jeunesse Canach back to back could be decisive in our season as they are just above us currently, with the Dudelange-Rumelange fixtures also being quite interesting.  With Differedange up last we need to hope for one of two things - that we secure 2nd in the league before this game, or that they rotate heavily to save legs for a potential cup final/because it is a dead rubber

[scousevasey]

Beginning the Winter (a Mid Season update)

Couple of things to note as we go into the winter break

Finances

We are steadily losing money as the season goes on.  We have managed to have a few televised games through the season that kept us close to the black but we are starting to lose money.  Without the cup fixtures we had last year, we are reliant on a good league finish to keep us solvent

Transfers (not really)

Having decided to follow some of my previous players, I looked back at the shortlist I had created during November

While a few of these had been scouted I didn't have the full budget to cover all of them, and everyone rejected my approaches.  The distance from the centre of Belgium to the German-Luxembourg border seems too far for these youngsters (that is the excuse I get, I think more of it is down to the quality of the league)

One thing I did notice (covered on the screenshot) is that Victor Atangana was a Free Agent having been released by Heur-Tongeren.  I have offered him a trial which he rejected (this has been repeated), as well as getting the DoF to try and sign him.  While it goes against only signing intake players, he was a star for my H-T team, and is only 19 so I don't want to see him retire. 

If I click to offer a contract myself I am unable to, and he is now getting interest from elsewhere, so I doubt I will be able to sign him, but I will keep offering trials, and sending the DoF back to try again.  Hopefully he gets desperate at the end of January when windows start to close

 

[scousevasey]

Winter Break Review

Friendlies went as planned, with lots of players getting a run out to boost fitness, so the results against the top teams are slightly irrelevant.  Did pick up a couple of knocks which is a shame, although nothing too serious

Anjos and (20a) Lombardelli have both held down a place on the subs bench but are not good enough to get into regular rotation.  The injury to (20a) Lobardelli is a slight worry for his development, especially due to the transfer news of January

Two left us, but Feller was sitting in the U19s and was never likely to play, and Conrad was a backup striker who played when a starter was suspended or picked up a knock means there is no great losses at the minute.  July will be another matter though

Marques had previously been upset and wanted to leave, handed in and then withdrew a transfer request, but as January started began to grumble again.  His contract is up in June, and rejected the offers from the DoF as the rest of the squad are not good enough.  So instead he is off to play with Dudelange next season.  There is a big drop in quality from him to Binsfield and (20a) Lombardelli in reserve which may affect us next season

 

Upcoming games

Five games in February and March, with the bookends of the month being the big matches.  The three in the middle are against teams expected to be around us in 10th at the end of the season, but all within 1 point of the relegation zone at best currently.  Racing (LUX) sit ahead of us in 2nd, while Fola Esch are 7th but took points from us last time round

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2021

It feels like I say this a lot, but I really need to get to Europe to get money for upgrades

Nothing much better than last year, with everyone being similarly poor right now, and growing to be average.  At least there is some players with reasonable determination, topped by (21b) Flick.  We keep getting Portuguese second nationalities but have no affiliates.  My Wikipedia search for the club turns up nothing of use.  Just a shame they don't come through top of the intake at the level of top Portuguese players...

Sorted by position at least we have cover across the pitch, even if they are not the best.  Based on the squad age when I took on the squad there will be a change in the next couple of seasons, and it does mean we won't be short of players.  A couple more DMs, and limited at MC is a slight shame especially as the HoYD has 4-4-2 as his preference (not including DMs)

The biggest issue that this intake caused was I made players available until fit, and one of our leading strikers Sonko picked up a fractured toe and will miss 5-6 weeks.  After losing our rotation option in January it leaves us slightly short and means that (21g) Amodio may be appearing earlier than imagined once he signs.

 

The three best players by PA show there is nothing worth writing home about

 

 

[scousevasey]

February/March 2020

A mixed bunch this month, with us needing to find a little more consistency to reach Europe

The two draws were a shame, but were the first two games without Sonko, after he picked up a knock testing out the youth intake.  Holtz and (20n) Curado have been rotating in for him, but both were short of fitness, which may explain the lack of firepower up front.

Half of our goals this month come from Schaab (GK) from the spot which has been invaluable

The loss to Racing (LUX)  is disappointing.  Sonko was back to orange injury rating, but not worth risking with the games coming up.  Going into the game we had the chance to overtake Racing (LUX) for 2nd in the table, so now we need them to slip up or to rely on the cup to be in the driving seat for Europe.

April fixtures

Only three games, with a short turn around due to Dudelange having a cup game on the 18th.  The key game will be against Jeunesse Canach who are 4 points behind us, with US Esch being down at the bottom of the league and Dudelange wallowing in 8th currently.

After April we only have three games in May, with the final one being Differdange, so we need to aim for 9 points this month and hope that Racing (LUX) and Kaerjeng slip up slightly, especially as we don't play them again

Of those two Kaerjeng have the tougher games remaining, and hopefully we can guarantee third after a good run. 

[scousevasey]

April 2020

Not a good enough return based on our aims.

Sonko wasn't fully fit for the Jeunesse Canach game, but game back into form against basement team US Esch.  The draw against Dudelange is one I would have taken before the season, but with them in 8th it feels like points dropped.

The Dudelange game seems to have been the end of our aspirations, not just because of the dropped points but in three regards

 

1) injuries

Both of these were starters, with Ibrahimovic being 3* and Feltes being 4.5*, about to be replaced with younger players with lower potentials, and silver level current ability.  This will be a massive impact, as it is too late to make a massive formational change, and we don't have the quality in our other formations that are trained.

 

2) The cup

The quarter finals meant that Differdange were facing Kaerjeng for a place in the final, and Racing (LUX) were already out.  As these are the teams above us, and Differdange wrapped up the title during April, we need them to win it all, to open up the European spot to the team in third in the league.

The semi finals were at the very end of the month. and Kaerjeng managed to defeat Differdange where they will face US Esch, with the winner taking the third European place.  That means that there will only be two places from the league

 

3) The looming end of the season

Differdange have already won the league but the next five places are tight, even though 12 points is a fairly wide range, the biggest gap is the five between 2nd and 3rd

With three games left, the only way we can overtake Racing (LUX) is by going unbeaten and them losing out which is unlikely.  In reality we are battling Kaerjeng at a disadvantage for third, while Titus Petange have made up ground recently and are hot on our heels for fourth.

When looking at the remaining fixtures this is the situation

Racing (LUX) (2nd)

Should be an easy six points to start off, with a win or draw in the final game to Jeunesse Canach.  This means they should tie up 2nd before the final game of the season

Kaerjeng (3rd)

Two tough games first up.  with an easier game to finish.  To have any chance of beating them we need to go into the final game with a 3 point advantage, and better goal difference.  Anything less than that will be tough as we face Differdange

Victoria Rosport (4th)

Rumelange is the easiest game, but a very similar end of season to Kaerjeng

Titus Petange (5th)

Tight games to start.  Ideally we want them to beat Kaerjeng and lose to ourselves but it will be a challenge based on their recent form

Jeunesse Canach (6th)

Two easy games to start and a tough final fixture.  If we are not careful the way the fixtures are could lead to use dropping to 6th to equal last season, which would be a shame based on some of the positives this year.

 

Our European chances rest on us being able to overtake Racing (LUX) in the league, and relying on Kaerjeng to implode and finish below us or beat US Esch in the cup to allow third to be good enough.  It looks like the season is gone, and next year will only be tougher due to losing Marques and Ibrahimovic

[scousevasey]

May 2020

Not the greatest end to the season, meaning all the ruminations previously were wasted

Losing to a team chasing us for 4th spot, meant the final game was nerve-wracking (as much as it can be under Instant Result) but we managed to hold on

Kaerjeng managed to win the cup against relegated US Esch, and both Jeunesse Canach and Titus Petange managed to screw up the run in too meaning we kept hold of fourth position, which was seen in a more positive mood when I found out we had never been that high

 

 

[scousevasey]

End of Season review

While the tail end of the season was a shame, managing to get 4th when predicted 10th is a real positive, but it will be a challenge to build on

Sonko is our star player, and his absence after the youth intake matched our first long blip this season

Ibrahimovic has decided to retire due to his age (33) and length of injury (9-11 months) and while it is a shame I don't blame him.  He won't make it back until January at the earliest, and won't be the same level of player.

Our young player of the season thinks he is too good for us and is off to Dudelange at the end of June.

 

[scousevasey]

Squad Update

A look at our team report at the end of the season, with an eye on formation changes over the summer.

I have shown all players by CA at this stage, 

Some quality (in relation to the league/squad, with our better players being seen as good options for the league, but not a lot of depth available.

GK - Schaab will stay the starter for a long time at this rate

Defence - Afoun may make his way into the rotation, but as he can cover DR and DC off the bench is a useful sub. Feltes is our only starter under 30, and (21i) Matias is the only other under 30 with a gold star rating

Midfield - Three players stand out, again all over 30 (Gaspar, dos Santos and Ribiero Alves) with little in the background to make a difference

Attack - When Ibrahimovic retires there is not much after Sonko.  I would look for a single striker formation, but we don't seem to have quality elsewhere to make a difference

 

When looked at by PA

GK - not much difference, but the younger of our backups could be the best and will get more chances if required.  I may ensure he is the only one in the U19s to make sure he gets the game time

Defence - Schnell was here before I arrived but doesn't offer much more than the intake players and will probably drop below them in the pecking order.  While Mota is the best PA DL Matias may be the better option, but we are short at DR

Midfield - Some potential quality here (relatively) with there being different names at DM and MC being interesting thinking of future formations.  4-3-3 Wide (DM) might be the best option for next season hopefully giving us some more control in the centre of the pitch, and a chance for a few youngsters to play a role before the older players drop off a cliff quality wise

Attack - (20c) Engel is split and not an out and out striker, but there is the possibility that we could develop.

 

I did go back to my shortlist of Heur-Tongeren players and ask the DoF to sign some, but he has been shut down continually, and Atangana is still rejecting the 180km journey due to it crossing borders

 

[scousevasey]

Pre-season 2021-2022

We found out some exciting news in the off season, although if it had come a year earlier I would be happier

It does mean that top 4 may be enough to get to Europe this season.

Fixture list

Slightly easier start and finish this year with Jeunesse Esch being in the bottom half of the table last year, although if you listen to the odds makers we have no chance

This was the start of the off season, with us being predicted to enter the relegation playoff.  This was just after the loss of Marques at the end of his contract.  These odds did shorten once the transfer window shut and our pre-season fixtures were nearly completed.

Better odds, but still not expected to make waves.  It looks like there is the top 8, then a trio which we are part of, and a trio for relegation.

Transfers

After losing Marques, and Ibrahimovic choosing to retire I was facing a shortage of players, so I asked the DoF to sign any youth player I had while at Heur-Tongeren.  While most wanted nothing to do with me, or Luxerbourg as a footballing nation, a few took their chance to chance scenery.  It does mean there are now some questions about my team to be answered

Ibrahimovic was a starter, and has led me to move to a single striker formation as he was the second of my top three striking options to leave within 6 months.

Binsfeld was a backup who didn't get a huge amount of game time, but was inline to replace Marques

Holtz was one of our remaining strikers, and his departure left us a little short.

10 in from H-T is a bit excessive, but the DoF went after all of the intake players, and I decided that if I was allowing it, I wasn't going to reject them.

Facilities

I decided to ask for a cheeky upgrades, even though finances were tight, and the adage of nothing ventured, nothing gained, paid off as we gained an improvement

We now have Fairly Basic Junior Coaching, but this is better than nothing, and may help with the next intake.

 

[scousevasey]

Squad Update

H-T graduate Casters (19g) comes in as 2nd best player, yet (21e) Matias has the possibility to be the best penalty taking keeper in history (rated 10 for penalties).  While Schaab is the best option currently and GKs last longest he is hitting 30 and so may need to be rotated

Beismans (19k) will take over from Clayton as starter, who may be eased out and replaced by (21c) Rodrigues as the backup due to his age

Feltes and Ramdedovic are still the best starting options in the middle, with (20e) Chanot our rotational option who may play instead of Ramdedovic to give him game time and rest the legs of the older man

Rodrigues is still the best on the left but faces the same issues as Clayton with aging, so will probably be replaced by Loos (18h) as the starter and Mota as the rotation option

As we are moving to a 4-3-3 Wide (DM) formation the DM role will be important.

Gaspar is the stand out, but may be needed at MC.  Ramdedovic is a better defender, leaving us with (20a) Lombadelli likely to start and (21h) Thill being an option if Gaspar is otherwise engaged

The focus here is MC, as the width will come from the AM strata.

Gaspar is the stand out and will run the midfield wherever he starts. Thomas (18m) and (21j) Bollendorf will fight it out to partner Gaspar, and provide an option off the bench, or if Gaspar needs to drop back to DM

Vos (18g) is our best ML and will be asked to spend time at AML in practice to become more comfortable there

Ribeiro Alves and dos Santos are our best options, along with Nulens (19h) but they are all better on the left.

On the right Aouameur (180) is the best naturally on the right, but may not oust one of the older players as the can both switch flanks

How Sonko goes, how we will go this season as he leads the line.

(21g) Amodio will be the first replacement for him based on potential, but losing two strikers in the off season has hit us hard

[scousevasey]

August 2021

Not the best start to the season

We played the first two games set at Control, and then moved to Attacking for the final two, but not a huge amount of positives to take from the month.  Due to the poor results, and the lack of shots that we are generating, I have moved the DM to AMC, to make our formation a 4-2-3-1 Wide, which will hopefully provided some extra support for Sonko up front.

September brings three games with Fola Esch being the difficult game this month, as they have started strongly

 

As a random aside for the month I am shocked/impressed by Loos (18h) who has started at DL in all four games so far has also picked up a yellow in each game, meaning he is suspended for the Rumelange game.

The first two games he played were friendlies.

[scousevasey]

September 2021

The change to formation is making a difference, along with an injury enforced change

I moved to the 4-2-3-1 and kept dos Santos and Ribeiro Alves as the wide players flanking Maes (19j) in the first game.  Maes (19j) then picked up a knock after the Rumelange game, so Nulens (19h) started on the left allowing Ribeiro Alves to play centrally.  This has had an effect with 6 goals in two games.

Unfortunately just as we were beginning to hit our stride a more serious injury struck with Sonko picking up a knock against Una Strassen.

5-6 weeks at 30 could have a huge effect, and the team will miss him while he is out as (21g) Amodio is a huge drop off in quality and is the best option we have

 

This leads us into October where we face last years top two sides alongside the challenge of Dudelange

Hopefully we can pick up a result against Hamm Benfica, and some form of points at home, although I am not hopeful without Sonko.

The cup game is against non-league opposition so should give me a chance to rotate a couple of players to preserve fitness, or to provide a boost in confidence after challenging month

Edited December 4, 2018 by scousevasey
Cup draw

[scousevasey]

October 2021

Three tough fixtures lead to three defeats, with us steadily getting worse as the month wore on.  The only saving graces are that we beat a team below us in the table, and beat lower league opposition in the cup to reach the board aim of the eight-final (last 16 in other words)

Again we face lower league opposition, and travel away due to a rule that says if there is a two division gap, the lower team gets the home draw.  Better than getting Differdange though so not worth complaining

With Dudelange falling to Differdange in the last round, and us drawing a lower division team there is hope for us in the cup this season.  Due to our poor performance in the league, it seems our best shot at Europe, as we may be fighting relegation this season.  With one all lower division tie (Junglinster vs Etzella Etterlbruck), we have a hope that there will be an easy tie for us in the quarters if we get there, and with Racing (LUX) and Differdange both facing top division sides there is a chance the cup could be blown wide open in this round.

 

We did get one piece of fortune this month

While (21g) Amodio picked up a knock in our win, Sonko was just leaving the treatment table otherwise we would have serious issues.

Aside from this we do seem to be struggling to perform and the tactical balance is not quite there this season.  I have switched from Attaching to Counter to see if we can fix some defensive woes, but we will have to see how this works in November

Reasonable fixtures, especially after last month, but with two of them being away it could be tough going

[scousevasey]

November 2021

A trying month, as Jeunesse Canach and Mondorf are near to us in the table, and a win, especially at home would have been key in our attempts to move away from a relegation battle and towards a mid table place.

The five point gap to Jeunesse Esch could have been closed to one if we had managed to pull out the winnable games, but instead we are hovering above the relegation playoff spot, and while 4 points is a cushion of more than one game, a record of 3-3-8 is not good enough.

December is a short month as always, and a game away to Titus Petange in 6th is one where a draw would be a good thing, with the cup game against Tricolore is a key winnable game going into the winter break.

 

While I have been fiddling with our mentality moving between Counter-Control and Attacking, we are not getting enough shots on goal, and so I am going to go back to the formation from last season that worked so well for us.  I moved away from it in the summer having lost two of our top three forwards, but I think that I need something else, and as the old formation has still been in our training rotation it is a risk I am willing to take.

This is how we will line up against Titus Petange, and hopefully the two games practice will lead to a good winter break where we can prepare for the run in

 

With us languishing in 10th position, I was getting nervous about my position, but the start of the month board update made me feel slightly more positive

The club finances look a mess as we are now £190,000 in the red, but as I am spending £3100 of a £7300 wage budget the board think I am amazing.  The atmosphere in the dressing room should improve with a few wins, and hopefully the change of tactic will boost that rating

[scousevasey]

December 2021

Not a good month with Ribeiro Alves picking up an injury in the Titus Petange game too, although with the winter break, it shouldn't harm us too much

The cup game was particularly galling, based on the fact that we dominated, and my latest intake GK, (21e) Matias missed a penalty having played well in the first cup game.   The reason for the fact a GK missing a pen is a worry

when sorting all the players at the club by their penalty taking, when able to choose penalty takers on the tactics screen, he has the best rating.

True he would be a nervous wreck due to his composure, and he can't finish a spoonful of food, but still...

Our star striker Sonko is half as good at penalties.

 

So we go into the winter break with the table looking like this

Differdange look to be well clear, with Racing (LUX), Dudelange and Progress fighting over the European spots.

We are on the edge of creating a battle with Rumelange and Mondorf for 9th, but the real focus is on not being as bad as Una Strassen and Jeunesse Canach.

 

[scousevasey]

Pre-winter review

A quick look at the team stats so far this season

Sorted by average rating, and our best player isn't even averaging a 7.00, which is a real worry.

Ignoring those who have only played bit parts at the lower end of the list, our worst four players are

Henid Ramdedovic (6.57)

David Loos (18h) (6.55)

(20e) Charly Chanot (6.50)

Harold Biesmans (19k) (6.44)

That is our starting DR, DL, one of our starting DCs and our first backup DC.

This may be a cause of our struggles, but as I have been choosing roles to suit them, this is a huge problem.  I would start to look forward to the Youth Intake but two things cause hesistance - firstly they are rubbish, and secondly we have to register a squad of 30, and last year I couldn't register any of the intake, although this may be because I had 30 registered.  

 

Unless we can tighten up the defence, there is no chance of us improving

[scousevasey]

January 2022

Not a huge amount happened with the winter break, but during the transfer window we did lose two players

Mota was a backup DL, who hadn't played this year

Biesmans (19k) had been starting at DR, but had been our worst performing player through the season so far.  Which makes it a surprise that Differdange would want him.  Although the last player they took off us was a backup GK, didn't make the grade and is now struggling to play for Fola Esch

 

Mid-season friendlies are up first, and we are off to tour the delights of Belgium, before playing a local team

 

[scousevasey]

End of Winter update

The friendlies did their job with players rotating in and out, but us picking up some wins, and starting to flow as a team, especially with two wins on Belgian soil.

 

Unfortunately we lost two more players

Rodrigues complained about playing time in December, and as my defence had been poor I said I would play him.  He then game to me the day before he left, and clearly couldn't comprehend the fact we had only played in friendlies, and he had played in those games, demanding to be released.  Due to our poor form the squad morale and dressing room atmosphere isn't the best so I allowed him to go.

Ribeiro Alves popped up in the inbox with a message saying his contract had ended and he was leaving.  I can only assume that such an obscure end date is due to him being on a rolling contract, or a non-contract player (I can't look it back up without going to an old save), but looking on his profile the scout report says he should only be a last resort.

That means we head into our February and March fixtures

The games start against 4th in the league, with Rumelange and Fola Esch hanging around the mid table positions.  Una Strassen are below us, with Dudelange being top three before we begin the games.

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2022

We have finally got some hope for the future

Not a lot of determination going on in parts of this intake, and six unambitious players is a worry, although I am not an expert on personalities, but we do have better potential than the last two intakes where we maxed out about 3*s and there is an improvement in CA too with (22a) Lehnen.

The CA of the rest is not worth considering, as usually there is a lot of 0.5* CA, which drops to silver stars upon signing

 

Best Players

(22a) Lehnen

(22b) Bossi

(22c) Osweiler

 

[scousevasey]

February/March 2022

The youth intake came on the very first day of March, but none of the players can be registered for the league until next season which is a shame.  And as predicted their CA has dropped to silver star level apart from the star of the intake (22a) Lehnen)

This may be down to the quality of the staff involved in this area

The HoYD is a better judge of ability and potential, which in some ways should make the intake message more accurate, but the Assistant Manager sees them more frequently even though we are Part Time.  While I have left staff signing to the DoF I may look for an upgrade in my Assistant Manager in the summer when his contract ends, by allowing it to run out and asking him to leave

 

I was surprised with the win against Progres, and thought this was a sign of progress, but the loss to Rumelange who were 9th at the time of the game undid all the good work.

I seem to struggle against Fola Esch every time, so a draw seems par for the course, as was the win against Una Strassen.

The Dudelange game provided no shocks, which leaves us with six games to go and the league is still tight

Differdange have a 13 point lead with only 18 to play for, so look to be nailed on for the title, while Dudelange are recovering from their poor season last year, while Racing (LUX) make it a solid top three that I am looking to challenge.

From Fola Esch in 4th to Progress in 7th there isn't a huge gap, and the fight for the new fourth European spot could be tense depending on the cup results

Jeunesse Esch and Rumelange, while not mathematically safe can relax a little, while ourselves and Mondorf are keeping the gap from the relegation playoff which is a positive

 

April and May could be tough though, and we are not yet out of the woods

Three games in April, with us playing the top and bottom teams.  We then get to May face a team fighting for Europe, with the final two games hopefully being meaningless for those involved.

The games against Differdange and Racing will be tough as they are both away.

This got me thinking about the previous seasons, and what is needed to avoid relegation, so going from 2017/2018 through this is the bottom four teams in the league

Only last season did the top division win the playoff, so we can't really leave it to chance.

Safety guaranteed with 22, 25, 30 and 22 points (average of 24.75)

Playoff places were 20, 22, 23, 18 (average 20.75)

Looking at the tables the closest parallel is the most worrying with the 2019/2020 (3rd season) table having two very poor teams getting nine points with our bottom two currently on eight.  This is also the season where the playoff team had the highest points, possibly due to how bad the bottom two were.

 

We currently have 19 points from 20 games.  To hit average safety of 25 points we need 6 from our remaining six games

Differdange - none

Hamm Benfica - should be three

Racing (LUX) - none

Kaerjeng - the game is at home, so we can hope for points, but one is most likely

Jeunesse Canach - should be three

Jeunesse Esch - should be a dead rubber match, with us at home I would expect to collect something

That gives us a 8-12 point aim for the next two months (2 wins against the bottom two, and 2 games where I would look to get something from them), which would put us at 27-31 points and so we should be safe.

If we don't pick up three points in the next month though, it will start to get tight, as while I don't think the bottom two will overtake us, the 5 point gap to the playoff would get tight at that point

[Johnny-Trotter]

I am enjoying this Benelux adventure, and the part in Luxembourg in particular. I have also tried managing in Luxembourg and the inconsistency was the biggest challenge. Player movement between clubs also seemed very fluid (probably as most players seem to be non-contract based), so if you got any decent players, they would likely get snapped up or move on quite easily.

Keep up the efforts and here's hoping for success to close out the season!

[scousevasey]

39 minutes ago, Johnny-Trotter said:

I am enjoying this Benelux adventure, and the part in Luxembourg in particular. I have also tried managing in Luxembourg and the inconsistency was the biggest challenge. Player movement between clubs also seemed very fluid (probably as most players seem to be non-contract based), so if you got any decent players, they would likely get snapped up or move on quite easily.

Keep up the efforts and here's hoping for success to close out the season!

Thanks for this.  After the good performance last season, this year has been a bit of a slog to get through.

The limits I have put on the save with the contract signings and Youth focus may well be helping with this, but I don't want to relax them and make it too easy to gain success.

 

I have never managed in the three countries loaded, but it is interesting to see the differences between them and the challenges that are cropping up

[scousevasey]

April/May 2021

Having built up to the two months together, I forgot an April update, so we have now reached the end of season...

April went as expected, with the demoralising score against Differdange being turned around against Hamm Benfica

Interestingly in the run in, it seemed that Mondorf were playing teams a game ahead of us, so tracking results as we battled for position was helpful

May came around and was more difficult that we originally thought

So after aiming for 8-12 points we managed to pick up five... not ideal, with the draw at Jeunesse Canach being the worst result of the run in, conceding in the 87th minute

 

This led to two news stories of note

Generally an awful season all round, but was our five point haul enough?

 

It turns out Mondorf were worse than us in the final weeks, and that the five point gap we took into the final six games was enough.

Differdange nearly went unbeaten falling in the last game, and they will play Kaerjeng in the cup final, meaning Kaerjeng will take the final European spot due to their 4th place even if they lose the cup final.

Finishing 5 points off Rumelange is a shame as they only picked up one point in the final five, and we could have climbed above them in the league.

 

Cup and relegation playoff update to come, as we enter the off season and start to prepare for a better year

[scousevasey]

An interesting development as we enter June

I was approached by a journalist who asked if I was interested in the vacancy at Titus Petange

They have better facilities than Rosport, but have been in similar finishing positions over the years.

I am not going to apply, but will attend an interview if approached, and if they allow a focus on youth development and offer the job I will take it, but will stay at Rosport otherwise

 

 

[scousevasey]

Summer 2022 update

Unsurprisingly our best player was favoured by the fans.

 

As the summer went on our DoF extended the contracts of all our staff, but the Chairman didn't extend the DoF who then left.  Hopefully our new DoF will provide some chance especially with the Assistant Manager who seems to hate all young players who join us.

Ramdedovic decided to retire as he wasn't getting game time, and as soon as the Chairman had the chance he signed him as the new DoF.  Makes me slightly nervous as I didn't play him due to age related decline.

Clearly he didn't spend his time working on being a better staff member either.  Glad that we are not signing anyone as he may as well fire darts at a list to judge players with those stats

 

 

As we head toward the new season we are predicted to finish were we finished last year

Using the odds as a guide, we should be comfortably safe from the playoff in 10th, with Rumelange and Mondorf around us.  To move up to 8th would require a leap.

If Titus Petange come in for me, their position looks much better.

 

In other news my contract is due to end, but the board won't allow my to upgrade anything related to youth.  If they come back I will try to get an affiliate for training or money purposes before I sign

[scousevasey]

Season 2022/2023

A fairly uneventful pre-season for Rosport, and on the verge of the new season Titus Petange have not approached about their role, nor appointed anyone else.  Rosport's board accepted a request for a senior affiliate, and although previous attempts have been fruitless, I have signed for two more seasons.

 

We played a limited schedule of friendlies, as I didn't bother to organise any leagues this year, mainly as the financial benefit is not there.  We were not approached for many games, so ended up arranging the last two ourselves in the aim to get our fitness anywhere near to ready for the season

The game against the U19s is a little misrepresented.  All of the players in the main squad could be made available for the U19s due to their low fitness, and so were.  Most of the U19s team turned out to be from the main squad, but my standard availability for a lower team has a 60 minute limit, which is where the game started to turn around.

 

We start the season with a month of mixed proportions

Hostert and Avenir Beggen were promoted teams and are expected to be at the bottom of the table.  Facing both at home should be six points

Racing (LUX) are predicted second, and Titus fifth, and we face both away from home.  How we do in these games will be telling for the type of season we will have.  Three or more points from those two games should see us looking toward Europe, or at least a battle at that end of the table.  Less than that with poor performances will mean another struggle

 

We lost three players in the transfer window, but of the three only Vos (18g) looked to play a role for us before injuries, so there is no great loss at the minute.  It gives the 2022 intake a chance to fill some space in the main squad and show there is some quality there

 

[scousevasey]

August 2022

A good start to the season, with some good goal scoring performances.

The loss to Racing (LUX) was expected, but it is still a shame, and clearly we still have a gap to the top teams.

Looking a little deeper it is nice to see we are drawing decent crowds, and more than our foes, with two games on TV adding a little more income.

Three games in September, against a spread of teams.

Rumelange are predicted to be around us in the league, and looking to avoid relegation.  We should be picking up three points especially at home.

Progres are predicted above us, and with the game being away it could be a challenge.  Win and we look good for the season with two away wins against teams that are predicted to be better than us (Titus Petange too), draw and I will be happy.  Lose and we could start to have issues, especially with Differdange next up

Away to DIfferdange in the final game of the month, and the hardest game of the season.  They made it to the 4th qualifying round of the Europa League, losing to BATE, but in the league have been dominant.

Considering that Differdange and Racing (LUX) are supposed to be their closest challengers and they won both easily, and destroyed two of the promoted teams, this won't be easy.  A point from this game would be amazing, and I cannot see us getting a win without something crazy happening

The aim for the month is to take 6 points from the first two games, giving us 15 from six games, which is a huge improvement on last year.

 

[scousevasey]

September 2022

Rumelange went as expected, but the Progres game was a bit of a challenge and a poor loss

The quicker we can move on from the Differdange game the better, although we did lead 1-0 at the break.  That became 3-1 rather quickly and it got worse as we went

Clearly we deserved nothing from this game, but if we could have finished after 45 minutes it would have been brilliant

 

The month ends with the cup draw

As with last year we face lower league opposition on the road, while the tie of the round is Differdange hosting Dudelange, which seems to be a regular occurrence in the cup.  this will round off October

Fola Esch are just above us in the league, and will hopefully be a win.  Jeunesse Esch are predicted to be around Fola Esch in the league, but are lower than us currently.  Because these are home games I am expecting 4-6 points from the games

Mondorf are a team we should be competing against according to the preview, and looking to win to cement our good start

Swift Hesperange are the final promoted team this season, and are near the bottom of the league.  Again this should be a win.

That means that I am aiming for 10-12 points this month which seems steep, but it is our 'easiest' month in terms of fixtures without one of the top three from last year.  We then finish the month with the cup game that is an expected win.

 

The October update will contain the first league table of the season as we will be 11 games in, giving it time to settle in

[scousevasey]

October 2022

I was aiming for 10 points and gained nine.  The opening game of the month was a shame, with the stats being fairly even, yet all the goals were done by the fourteenth minute so it wasn't an epic.

Some good wins against the weaker opposition, including in the cup where I rotated half the starting 11.

All of that leaves us just in fifth by virtue of conceding too many goals.  The 7-3 loss to Differdange could be a key point when we get to the crunch of the season, although our three goals in that game are half of the goals Differdange have conceded in their games so far.

Progres are level with us on points, and seem to be better at eking out results, as we are very binary so far.  Racing (LUX) are within reach, while Fola Esch are performing above expectations in 2nd, making our result both more understandable, and more frustrating that we couldn't pick up one point from the game.

Dudelange are still predicted to be one of the top two each year, but seem to be struggling again, while Avenir Beggen are performing above expectations too, having been tipped to go straight back down.

 

Our first two games of November complete the first games against everyone before we face the return fixtures, and on paper they are tough, but are against teams that are struggling so far this season in Dudelange and Kaerjeng.

We then start to come back with a tough game against Racing (LUX) and the harder that expected game against Avenir Beggen. 

As four league games that are difficult to judge I have no clear expectations of this month.  On paper we should be losing the first three, and winning the fourth.  On form we should be winning the first two, losing the third and winning the fourth.  That puts us somewhere between 3 and 9 points which basically means anything can happen.

Our final game before the winter break is going to Progres in the cup, in the only all top division tie of the round

The board only expect us to reach this round, which means we are not going to disappoint, but considering that there is a shortage of top division teams in the last 16, (7 out of 14 in the league) , it would have been nice to get lower league opposition again, or at least a weaker National division team as opposed to one we are tied with in the league who we have a poor record against.

 

[Minuy600]

As a Dutch person it's fun to follow the progress of this. How's the second tier going? I wonder what kind of shake ups have happened there the last couple of years.

[scousevasey]

13 hours ago, Minuy600 said:

As a Dutch person it's fun to follow the progress of this. How's the second tier going? I wonder what kind of shake ups have happened there the last couple of years.

When I am next on I will see what has happened over in the Netherlands (not looked too often, as my rep isn’t enough to get there apart from the Derde Divisions.

Are there any teams you want to see particularly?

[Minuy600]

Oh no, I actually mean the second division of Luxembourg. I only need to know the Dutch league results once you actually start managing there, haha.

[scousevasey]

1 hour ago, Minuy600 said:

Oh no, I actually mean the second division of Luxembourg. I only need to know the Dutch league results once you actually start managing there, haha.

Here is the current league table (2022/2023)

Relegations from previous seasons

2021/2022

2020/2021

2019/2020

2018/2019

2017/2018

If you want anything else around that league, or another, just shout

[scousevasey]

November/December 2022

Not the best of months as we go into the winter break

I would have expected to get something against Kaerjeng, and wanted to progress past Progres but it was not to be.

 

That leaves the table looking like this going into the break

It is still tight for the 4th place that may give European football,  but we will need to improve.

 

When we return from the break we have some easier games to begin, but then face the top three through March which will be tough again and could break our season

 

My aim is to do a breakdown of the squad improvements and form during the winter break and look for the improvements that we can make against the top sides

[scousevasey]

We seem to be having an issue against the bigger teams this season

Amazingly we still haven't drawn, and are one of two teams in this position alongside Swift Hesperange (one win and 14 losses)

Losses - Team, location, season prediction

Racing (LUX) - H and A - 3rd

Progres - A - 5th

Differdange - A - 1st

Fola Esch - H - 8th

Kaerjeng - H - 4th

Dudelange - A - 2nd

Looking at the league table these are the teams above us as we sit 7th at the winter break.  While we are outperforming our expectations, I would have hoped to challenge Fola Esch, Kaerjeng, and Progres, especially facing the first two at home.

So I have decided to reconsider formations, especially against the bigger teams (Differdange, Dudelange, Racing (LUX)), and away to the second tier teams (Progres, Fola Esch, Kaerjeng).

This is our main formation this season

The 4-4-2 attacking has worked well on the whole, and due to laziness I have left it for most of the games, especially after the 7-3 loss to Differdange, with the aim being that we could concede but would also score.  The one change I made was for the cup game away to Progres, and while we only lost 1-0 we were outplayed in this game having gone in with a Counter mentality, and rotated a couple of players

So I am looking at the squad in more detail with the aim of producing a formation that is tighter in defence against the top teams, while still allowing some form of attacking threat, as turning some of these losses into draws in the first instance would help us.

Goalkeeper

While I know that GKs progress later than outfield players I have started Caster (19g) this season, and he has performed well (4th best by rating), although this is helped by his five goals from the penalty spot.  I may consider going back to Schaab for our tough month of March as he does have better attributes

Defence

I have been trying to run with a small squad this season, partially as there is a limit on registration of 30, and partially to give players a chance in the U19s if they are not regulars, with those in the main squad who are not in the starting 11 being made available for the U19s using the instruction [60 minutes until fit].

Clayton dropped to back up last year, but having lost his replacement in the summer he has stepped back up.  The only issue is that he is now getting on at 34, and could become more vulnerable as the season goes on, but (21c) Rodrigues is not up to the challenge of replacing him yet

Feltes has been our focal point in defence, supported by (20e) Chanot in the league, with Kerkhofs (19p) playing in the cup.  While Kerkhofs (19p) is rated as better now, the board were worried last season that I wasn't developing our own youths enough as it is as focus.  This was mainly due to me bringing in some of the Heur-Tongeren youths, and them being better, so I have made an effort to play more of the Rosport products

On the left, Loos (18h) is clearly better than (21i) Matias so has held down the starting slot, and has managed to avoid the bans of last year that were so common.

Midfield

The preferred 4 can be seen from appearances, with dos Santos and Nulens (19h) out wide, and Gaspar supported by (22a) Lehnen in the middle.

The potential here is something positive as most of the players are young, with Gaspar and dos Santos being 32, but everyone else a youth intake player from either H-T or Rosport.

With possible tactical changes to solidify us, the best options are to drop one of the strikers into midfield, either as a DM, 3rd MC or AMC.  This will need more thought about who would be best where, and role availability for those games

Attack

Sonko is still our star man, but at 31 may start to drop off soon.  Hopefully he can keep going for a couple more seasons to give our youngsters chance to catch up.  His 14 in 17 shows his quality and in the league it is 12 in 15, yet is he is only the 4th highest scorer, with the charts being led by a player who seems to relish playing us

While (21g) Amodio is a better player currently he has been starting on the bench to allow (22c) Osweiler a chance to play, with them swapping in most games as the Assistant Manager values current ability when using Instant Result.

With the changes being considered it would leave Sonko to lead the line and would be a challenge to ensure that he is not isolated up front

 

Tactical ideas to follow as they formulate

[scousevasey]

Tactical changes

Before making any decisions, it is worth looking at any issues with our current tactic

Differdange 7-3 Rosport

Out possessed, out shot, and our central defenders are occupying a very similar space on the pitch.  While we have the slightly deeper team instruction our defence is fairly high and our midfield is very compact on top of them

Rosport 1-2 Fola Esch

Fairly even game, with a better spread of positional play, but some very clear lines in formation, meaning our front two seem isolated

Rosport 1-2 Kaerjeng

A similarly close game stats wise, but we seem very defensive despite our attacking aims - this may be down to role selections

Dudelange 2-1 Rosport

Again an even game, with our strikers being isolated again.  Most of our possession is out wide with our better players, but we are lacking the opportunity to play it into the middle

Rosport 0-2 Racing (LUX)

Even in regards to possession, but we were badly outshot, and our heat map shows our possession was mainly around halfway, with very little in the box.

 

Our current formation has the following midfield structure, with a Poacher and DLF up front.  The aim will be to keep Sonko up front but move him from Poacher to an Advanced Forward (Attacking) which should mean he is less isolated from the rest of the team

Having had success with a 4-4-1-1 at Heur-Tongeren this is the first idea I am going to look at, moving the DLF to AMC.  This will require a look at the best players for each position and the best roles to support Sonko up front and keep us tight at the back

Looking at our midfield and their best positions and roles gives us the following

Five players who are DM/MC, with four of them being better at DM means that another change may be an option to a 2DM formation instead of 2MCs.

Two MCs and one MC/AMC who is better in the centre due to his recent training to fit the 4-4-2

 

Looking at CA, Gaspar will be a key player as always, but at 32 cannot be relied on too far into the future.  Similar quality for four other players, which gives us scope for choice.

Enrico Maes (19j) is our only AMC option of any quality, and his training will be changed back to AMC (role to be decided).  (22b) Gilles Bossi hasn't got the quality at the minute, and is better out wide, but will train as AMC too so we have a rotational/back up option.

In the centre their is the choice between (22a) Lehnen, Thomas (18m) and (21j) Bollendorf who are looking to partner Gaspar.  Lehnen is better at DM, but we might end up running with a huge gap in central midfield by dropping to two DMs, and going DM-MC-AMC will probably lead to congestion in the middle.  As the other DMs haven't got the quality a standard 4-4-1-1 is probably better.

 

Player breakdown and roles

Gaspar is our most versatile player, and can provide a range of roles to help us out

(22a) Lehnen is a green BWM and DM, but not as comfortable having stepped up.

(21j) Bollendorf is better suited to the MC strata but similar roles to Gaspar.

Maes (19j) is now more comfortable in the MC position but is kind of suited three roles as an AMC

 

Having looked at it all, I have gone with the following set up

The defence keep the same roles as in the 4-4-2 as looking at the heat maps the seem well balanced.  With a standard mentality and a drop deeper instruction we should be able to defend reasonably well.

The MC pairing have been chosen to provide cover against the top teams, with the BWM-defend looking to support the defence, and the BBM-support trying to link up with the more advanced players.  The wide roles stay the same to take advantage of the strengths of dos Santos and Nulens (19h).

Putting the AMC as a AP-attack should allow Maes (19j) to bring the wide players into the game, and to support Sonko up front.  Having looked at the heat maps and there being very little in the attacking area, I have added the Work Ball into the Box, aiming to take the equal share of possession we seem to have and the craft the best chances we can.

 

I have arranged a range of friendlies for the start of February to rebuild our fitness, and will try out the 4-4-1-1 in these games

Dortmund II will be the tester of how well this works as every other team is picked to allow us to build confidence.  I am going to use the 4-4-1-1 formation in the first four games, and will go back to the 4-4-2 for the final game as our league games in February are against weaker opposition.

[scousevasey]

Winter 2022-2023

After fiddling with the tactics we had five friendlies

We couldn't convert chances against Yutz, but the 4-4-1-1 worked against the lower level opposition, before coming unstuck against a strong Dortmund II side

I went back to the 4-4-2 against lower league Grevenmacher but rotated most of the starting line up for this game which didn't work brilliantly

The rotation cost me too as we lost Clayton for up to 6 weeks in the final game

We should get him back for the Differdange game although he may not be fit enough to play, and our backup DR is nothing to write home about.  We did have a bigger injury during the break, as during a training session at the start of January we lost our best DC for the season

Fortunately the prognosis has dropped from 8 months at the specialist to 6 now, although again regaining fitness will be hard

That leaves us starting Kerkhofs (19p) and (20e) Chanot who were in the main squad, but I have moved our remaining DCs from the U19s to the main squad as there is not a great deal to separate them

(22e) Schiltz has first crack off the bench due to his role suitability, but (20d) Gens Luis will get rotated in if a change is required

 

We come back from the break, with two poor games in a row which is not great and facing three tough teams in March

We should pick up 6 point in the February fixtures, and then will be able to test our new formation properly in March, albeit without half our best defensive line up for most of the games

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2023

We have got two players who could step in when short, although GK is not a position we are short in, and (23a) Toussaint is of a similar standard to our MCs currently outside of Gaspar.  He will move straight into the main squad even though he cannot be registered yet, but so that he can benefit from the training

 

Looking at the positions we have a good balance again, but are missing strikers

All of the back five will fit in fairly seamlessly, with the three MCs needing to spend time on roles for the 4-4-1-1 (BWM and BBM)

We then have six players who can play on the wings, which with dos Santos getting old and (19h) Nulens wanted by other teams we may need the replacements soon.  The AM (RLC) will train in the centre to provide more cover for the 4-4-1-1, although all of the wider players are not of the highest quality

 

Looking at CA as they arrive, shows four players that are rated

With our previous intakes, the HoYD gives many players half a gold star, but this is lowered to silver stars by the assistant when they sign.  Giving us two 1.5* and two 1* players currently.  Unfortunately they cannot be registered until the summer, which means we won't get them on the pitch early.

 

Best player currently and potentially, with lots of gaps in quality for the role he is suited in.  Linked to the quality of the facilities and the country, but it is slowly becoming harder to reach the European slots, as our better (read older) players start to decline.  While this will mean that we get more development of our younger players, but they will start to be compared to players of lower quality

[scousevasey]

February/March 2023

Having gone into the winter break wanting to get 6 points in February, and look to pick up any points we could in March from three difficult games, there are mixed feelings about this run of games

February was poor, and the loss of half our starting defence was key.  The 4-4-2 didn't seem to click like it had in the first half of the season.

The win against Progres, and draw against Fola Esch show the merits of the 4-4-1-1, although I did drop from Standard to Counter for the final two games which may explain the draw against Fola Esch.  Picking up four points including one away from home is above my expectations, yet over the five games we only managed five points

That leaves us in 8th with six games to go.  We are 15 points clear of the relegation playoff, so I am working on the assumption that we are safe, ass for the four teams below us to overcome us will require a quirk of the fixture list and capitulation on our part.

We are two points off Jeunesse Esch in 7th, and while 3rd-6th are separated by 2 points we are 10 off the top of that group which seems a stretch too far with only 18 points on offer

April sees us play some of the weaker teams, with a win against Mondorf making it impossible for them to overtake us.

Hopefully we can pick something up against Jeunesse Esch, a win would be ideal to allow us to go past them in the league, and then anything less than a win against Swift Hesperange will be terrible.

If we can get nine points we would hopefully be closing in on that fourth position, that depending on the cup may lead to Europe.  The cup quarter finals are on the 16th April, so will give us an idea of what is available before we play Kaerjeng.

 

I am going to stick with the 4-4-1-1, playing on Control in the first two games, either Control or Attacking in the third, and Counter or Standard in the final game depending on how we have been playing and the look of the league table

[scousevasey]

April 2023

A good month on the whole with 10 points picked up, although dropping two at Kaerjeng is a shame as we chase them for league position

This is a game that goes down as being wasted, but Sonko picked up a knock against Mondorf and wasn't fit enough to start, and while (21g) Amodio had filled in well the gap it quality was on show against a better team.

So with two games to go, our season is pretty much gone, apart from fighting for the minor placings, despite picking up most of the points on offer

We are 7 points off Racing (LUX) in 4th, and that rules out our chances of Europe, even though Differdange will face Racing (LUX) in the cup final.

We cannot finish lower than 8th which is good, and could finish as high as 5th depending on other results

While we do face Dudelange who are fighting to stay in the European places, we are at home, so we should be looking to pick up at least a point.  The final game of the season is away to Hostert, who face Rumelange before us, and could well have confirmed their relegation.  The best case is that they are already down, instead of fighting to overhaul Mondorf, as that gives us the best chance of getting all the points

With us currently three points off the positions either side of us (42-39-36) we are pretty much tied to 6th-8th in the league but we will be doing everything we can to secure 6th position.  5th would be a complete pipe dream as it would require Kaerjeng and Progres to self destruct, and with Kaerjeng may due to facing Differdange and Fola Esch, Progres face off against Avenir Beggen and Jeunesse Esch which should give them 6 points

 

[scousevasey]

May 2023 (End of Season)

A predictable loss, despite our best hopes, and a predictable win. 

We played on Counter vs Dudelange, and while it set us up well early in the game for (21g) Amodio to strike early, it may have cost us later on as Dudelange piled on the pressure.  We moved to attacking against US Hostert and while it worked, conceding two against one of the worst teams in the league, who only managed 21 goals across the whole season, is a worry.

Apart from that I am happy with the 4-4-1-1 as a formation and feel it was a positive change for us, especially against the 2nd tier of teams (Progres, Kaerjeng etc), so will stick with it into 2023/2024.

 

The final table leads to mixed feelings

Better than last year, and our prediction, but our good start wasn't built on, and it is a shame not to be closer to the top of the league and fighting for Europe.

Racing (LUX) lost the cup final to Differdange, but will still claim the fourth European spot this season

Next year we will be joined at the top table by two familiar foes and one newcomer

In the end of season conversation I have told the players we are aiming for top half, as opposed to mid table, which is where we finished and we should be able to build on this further

[scousevasey]

End of Season review

A close vote for the best player, but tellingly none of them are graduates of the Rosport academy, although two graduates make it into the best team of the season which is slightly better.

Sonko and Nulens (19h) were the stars this season, and will continue to be key going forward, although I am nervous about Sonko as he is now 32 and will start to drop off soon.

Positive reviews of the seasons even though it could have been better.  Our attendance is 3rd best in the league where Jeunesse Esch lead the way somewhat surprisingly.

 

Going into the off season, I have asked the DoF to try and sign any Heur-Tongeren intake players who are coming to the end of their contracts, and to look at players who left who are now unattached and to see if they are interested in returning.  As the scouting reports on these are old and dropping away, the aim will be to invite some of them to have a trial before we make any key decisions

[scousevasey]

Managerial Merry-go-round

I was approached for an interview in June

While they don't have the best facilities currently (the same as Rosport), they did accept an increase in youth coaching as part of the interview

They were predicted 8th, and finished 8th this season, but their manager resigned

 

This was quickly followed by some news about Rosport

The board then approached me about saying, but were unwilling to increase our youth coaching, which I decided to stick by as we don't really have the money for them to allow the upgrade otherwise.

 

As the board may be going, and that may not work out for me, I looked at what else is available

Belgium                           Luxembourg

There are currently no jobs in the Netherlands.

Jeunesse Esch have interviewed me, and I was favourite for the Titus Petange job previously, but am not currently

 

Hopefully the Rosport board will change, sort out the finances, stick by me, and allow us to improve the facilities.  If they get rid of me there will be some other options out there which is positive

 

The dilemma will be if Jeunesse Esch come in for me before Rosport decide

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

EDIT

Progressing a couple of days there was a resolution at Rosport

New chairman with no wish to get rid of me

I have arranged a conversation about philosophies and will look to reinstate the youth development one

I also asked for improvements to youth facilities and coaching

One out of two isn't bad, and we now hit average Junior Coaching.  This along with reinstating the development philosophy may lead to me rejecting any advances

Edited December 18, 2018 by scousevasey
Update of information

[scousevasey]

Off-Season 2023/2024

After asking the DoF to make approaches to some players who had links to the club, or my old intakes, only one player showed any interest, a former Rosport DC who is worse than what we have, so after a trial he was allowed to walk away.

That means we haven't added to our squad at all, but have lost a couple of players.  Starting DR Clayton decided retiring was the best option for him, even though I asked him to stay due to our lack of depth.  We lost a backup player in (20c) Engel who had never made an appearance for us.  Caster (19g) (GK) was a Heur-Tongeren graduate who joined when I needed players.  While he did play the first half of the season last year in an attempt to reach his potential, Schaab (GK) as the previous incumbent became upset, and played the second half of the season.  This won't be a huge loss as we had a decent looking GK through the intake in 2023 who will step up to the main squad

 

There were a range of pre season fixtures arranged, some we sorted ourselves to challenge ourselves, some for fitness, and some where we were approached to play, and allowed me to rotate through the U19s to try and avoid injuries

We played strong teams in the first four games, then I made everyone available for the U19s game, meaning the main squad played an U19s team, and the U19s team was full of the main players, so the win is really a loss.

I then started to rotate the squads to raise fitness and avoid some of the niggles that were being picked up, until a full first team played the final game.  The best result came against Young Boys U21s due to the success of the 4-4-1-1 formation

We didn't have much of the game, but we made it count, and kept our formation well to nullify their threat.  Hopefully this bodes will for the season ahead

 

We also received news of our affiliation fee (only £21K) so I asked the board for a Youth Recruitment upgrade.  They originally said no, but I pestered them and they relented, meaning we now have facilities that look reasonable.

The Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment have been improved since the 2023 intake, so we should hopefully see the benefits of these in 2024.  I am particularly hopeful for the recruitment as Rosport is right on the German border, and if we can get some links into the German countryside we could start to get quality in the intake

 

 

Season preview to follow