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

[scousevasey]

Season Preview

Our odds are similar to last year, but we have dropped a place based on the odds.  Based on last year, Avenir Beggen will be better than 12th, and Rummelange will be worse than 9th.

Again the league seems to be split into four groups, 1st-3rd, 4th-8th, 9th-11th and 12-14th, so based on our odds we should be aiming for 9th at best, with the gap to 8th being huge.  The board have again allowed me to aim for mid-table, but in the player conversations I have suggested top half is the aim.  Ideally we would be looking to hit the 5th to 6th range of the league comfortably, with an outside shot at 4th if all goes well.

The media cannot see past Differdange as they fill all 11 spots in the preseason team.  Which begs the question, why are they only 2-1 on to win the league?

Fixtures

Tough game to start away to Racing (LUX), but then we have five winnable games, with Progres away being the hardest of those.  After Dudelange visit we have  Fola Esch who performed well last year sandwiched by the three promoted teams, before a difficult finish to the first half of fixtures.

The fixtures repeat in the same order, apart from the first game of the season reverting to the end.  That means we have Progres to open the spring fixtures, before a couple of easier games.  The challenge will be Differdange, Kaerjeng (away), and Racing (LUX) to end the season.  We can't really rely on too many points from the final nine, so will be looking to have secured our league position by the Jeunesse Canach game

Squad

The league has a 30 player registration limit, and for the first time we are having to make decisions about who to register.  Not because we have too much quality, but that we have so many players of a similar level, that is needed as the 2nd player in a position, or as a rotation option

Schaab (GK) got upset last year, and so will start this season, but (23b) Ferron will get games against some of the weaker teams, and in the cup too with the aim of him improving to replace Schaab next season

The retirement of Clayton means our right side is weak with (23c) Scholten becoming the starter at the first opportunity.  On the left Loos (18h) has become one of our best players, with reasonable depth in (21i) Matias and (23d) Bijelic.  In the centre it is the same three as last year, where hopefully we won't have such a severe injury to Feltes this year.  The DCs in the U19s have no quality at all, so I am looking at the wealth of DMs I have to retrain one as DC to be the 4th option if we have injuries.

Gaspar still leads the way in the middle, but both he and dos Santos are dropping stars in their ratings.  As Sonko is starting to drop off too this is a worry, but with Loos (18h) and Nulens (19h) we have  couple of younger players at the higher level of quality so we shouldn't have too much inflation of stars as the older players drop off.

(20a) Lombardelli is able to play DC at a stretch, but I will look to train (22a) Lehnen at DC too, as his place in the midfield is under pressure from (21j) Bollendorf, (23e) Binsfield, and (23a) Toussaint.  That does give hope that when Gaspar falls off a cliff ability wise we have depth to cover him.  Out wide there is not a huge amount on the right, with (23h) Wilmes currently training to back up Maes (19j).  Nulens (19h) is backed up by (21f) Teixeira who can provide a useful stop gap if required.

Up front there is not much to separate the three back ups to Sonko, so I will look to train at least one to AMC to back up Maes (19j), allowing (23h) Wilmes to back up dos Santos on the right.

 

There is still a lot of potential around, but we don't seem to be improving much despite game time.  I assume this is a mix of facilities and being part time limiting growth.

 

 

Two games in August, where we should get three points, and four would be great

[scousevasey]

August 2023

A mixed month, as expected but two games that were very contrasting

Clearly the counter instruction didn't have the desired effect against Racing (LUX) and it would be interesting to see how the game would change if the early penalty was scored, although we failed to create much in the remaining 70+ minutes.  The response against Avenir Beggen was astounding, setting both club and league records for goals in a game (overtaking our 7-3 loss to Differdange last season).  We went down early, but responded well going up 6-1 before Avenir could muster anything else, and while the game was close in possession and total shots, the fact we managed to get them on target made the difference.

September brings three games, with the first being the toughest.  After the failure of playing with a Counter mentality, we are going to stick with Attacking, and hopefully we can win, although I would prefer that it wasn't as high scoring.  We should pick up 6 points in the latter part of the month, so will be looking for at least 7 points this month ideally.

[scousevasey]

September 2023

Six points from the month as expected, with the result against Progres being a bit of a shame although the final result flatters us slightly after being 5-0 down.  Rather impressively this leaves us with the joint most goals scored (16), and joint second most conceded (15 beaten out by 18 given up by Union Mertert), through five games

Schaab (GK) has missed some penalties this season, and while it has not cost us any points yet, it is a little infuriating to see.  I might rotate GKs for the Union Mertert game to give (23b) Ferron a chance to play before the cup match that will be drawn on the 2nd October.

October gives us a mixed month, with us facing Dudelange and Fola Esch at home where we will be hoping to pick up points, as well as Jeunesse Esch and Union Mertert away which should be two wins.

That would give us a minimum of 6 points, and an aim of 8-9 from the four games, which would leave us with 15 (to a possible 18) from 9 games

[scousevasey]

October 2023

A tough month that didn't work out as hoped for

We should be beating Jeunesse Esch but just didn't turn up for the game.  We hit a point this month where little knocks were coinciding with the games and we had to rotate players into the starting 11, which may have lead to some of the problems

We didn't even record a shot against Jeunesse Esch, and were outplayed against Dudelange as expected, but just couldn't convert our dominance against Fola Esch with the early goal sinking us.

The poor month puts us in the third group in the table after nine games

I can't see anyone challenging Differdange for the title, with their goal difference being huge at this stage.  Four teams fighting it out for the second spot, all of them cause us problems in games  Ourselves, Fola Esch, Jeunesse Esch and Titus Petange seem to be making up the chasing pack, and hopefully will pull away from Rumelange who will be looking over their shoulders with the relegation spots only being three points away.  If we can close the gap on the top five, then in March and April we can try to force our way into their battle

Four games in November, where we should be looking to win the first three.  The month ends with the most difficult game of the season travelling to Differdange.  Again we will be aiming to beat the weaker teams, and cause problems for Differdange, by trying to catch them off guard.

We should be beating Union 05 in the cup, which would get us to the board expectations for the cup, but it will give a chance to rest a couple of key players hopefully

[scousevasey]

November 2023

The month went very much as predicted

Safely through in the cup, with a partially rotated team, and easy wins against the weaker opposition in the league.  Big loss to Differdange is a shame, but expected.  I stuck with the attacking mentality as dropping to control or counter in other matches hasn't seemed to work.  Half of me wants to spend the winter break tinkering with the tactics again, but I think it is a difference in quality of player more than anything else at this stage.  With the updates to Youth Recruitment and Junior Coaching, we can just hope to get some quality through the intake to beef up the squad.

That leaves us in 6th still, but we are keeping pace with the teams directly above us.  This was similar last season and we dropped off in the second half of the year, so we cannot relax too much.

There does seem to be a gap opening up between 3rd and 4th, with small gaps all the way to 10th even if it totals an eight point gap.  If the league carries on like this it will be very difficult to catch up ti to the European spots, but a strong run could lead to 4th which would be amazing.

The strange results in the league continue as highlighted by the goal difference column.

Differdange 31

Dudelange 21

Racing (LUX), Progres, Kaerjeng 14

These five clearly lead the way, and there is a very small middle group of Jeunesse Esch (5), ourselves (0) and Titus Petange (-3) before teams that have been soundly beaten.  We are joint third top scorers, and third worst defensively which shows that we are consistent.

 

December brings a key game against Kaerjeng where we could catch them on points, or leave ourselves a lot to do in the battle for fourth before facing bottom team Avenir Beggen in the first of the reverse fixtures.  The cup is the final game before the break, where we host Titus Petange.  Not the best draw available to us, but certainly not the worst considering Differdange, Kaerjeng, Racing (LUX), Progres, Fola Esch and Dudelange are all still in the cup.

 

[scousevasey]

December 2023 and starting winter

A poor run into the break means that we are in reality just playing out the string and hoping to finish as strongly as possible

All three games this month were fairly evenly matched, but we just couldn't covert any chances.  One point at the bottom team in the league who had only managed to get points off the team directly above them is not good enough.  The cup game was tight with Titus Petange attempting more shots, but us hitting the target more frequently. Our record from the spot this season is awful, and we are poor in shoot outs, with Titus only having to attempt three penalties to win

We go into the break in 7th, which is still the top half, but we are starting to slow down again.

Two points behind Fola Esch and five behind Progres, still manageable gas, but the eight to Kaerjeng for the possibility of Europe is probably too far in 12 games.  Looking the other way, we are ten clear of 11th which was our media prediction, but it is only three points to 10th so we will have to be wary of being caught in the spring.

 

As always I am going to give the players time to recover through January, and then play a mixture of friendlies in February to boost fitness and match sharpness going into the league matches

[scousevasey]

The winter break (January 2024)

The transfer window went well, as we only lost one player, a backup left back who had arranged to go during the season.  He wasn't getting games, and was unlikely to as we went forward so it is not an issue for us

That led us to the friendlies I arranged in February

A mixed bag of results, but we only played strong teams against BMG II, Neunkirchen, Green Boys and Berdenia Berbourg, with the other games allowing some of the lesser used players and U19s to play.  Unfortunately we didn't make it out of these games unscathed

As with last year we have lost someone for a long time, this time round Sonko for three months.  At 32 this could be the end of him as a quality player and leaves us short of decent options up front

Feltes picked up his knock in training, and it isn't as bad but still leaves us a little short as we start the league fixtures again

Only one real game in February so I have combined it for the preview and review purposes.

The games at the end of each month are the most challenging, with the three in the middle being easier.  We need to be picking up points in all three of those games, ideally wins in all of them to keep on track, and anything we can get in the other games will be a bonus based on our squad situation currently

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2024

Unfortunately our upgraded facilities haven't had a great impact on the quality of the players as they arrive, but there is a greater level of potential than in recent years.  Three players who will probably move up the the main squad in the summer with 1* rating coming in, mainly to get them to train with the first team and hopefully improve.

Looking to the summer we will have some difficult decisions to make as the main squad is currently 29 (after one left in January), with only 30 being allowed to be registered.  I will be looking to clear out some of the players in the U19s who are not going to make the grade, to avoid having too many players to play in the U19s too and them stagnating.

A much better better spread of positions with at least one player for all roles apart from AMC.  But with a defensive forward in the intake there may be the opportunity to retrain.  Having our three best players currently (a, b, and e) in positions of need, or where we have an older player who will drop off soon (DC, ML, and ST) is important, especially with Sonko's latest injury

[scousevasey]

Intake update

As expected the CA ratings dropped on signing a contract.  I have moved a, b, d, e, g, m to the main squad.  These are the three 1* players and three players with 3.5 silver stars, so currently the best players.  While they can't be registered to play until the summer, I want to give them the head start of training with the main squad to see if they can improve before they start playing.  All six will be eligible to play for the U19s but might not get game time as I am not choosing the side (although typing this makes me think if I pick a side, will they play - test of this to follow with the next update

[scousevasey]

March 2024

After managing to beat Progres I felt really positive about the next few games, thinking we could pick up 12 points from 15, and possibly challenge Dudelange for some points.  It turns out that Sonko is more valuable that (21g) Amodio, and that we have lacked goals this month, Progres match aside.

So after thinking that these five games would produce 9 points guaranteed with the hope of something against Progres and Dudelange, instead we get only 8 points.

As we go into April that leaves us in a difficult position

There is no chance of us catching Kaerjeng for 4th as we need to gain 12 points in seven games.  The four points to Progres might be manageable, but we now have Fola Esch and Rumelange on our tails.  I can't see us falling all the way down to 9th with Titus Petange being five points behind us, but we have to perform in April as May is a nightmare of fixtures

We face three of the bottom four during April, and our nearest challengers who we often struggle with.  We should pick up nine points from the games against the weaker teams, and hopefully can keep up our solid defence against Fola Esch to eke out a draw away from home.

The points will be key as we end the season against the teams in 1st, 3rd and 4th, and while two of those are at home, even at our best we will not be picking up huge amounts of points.  That means we need to build our cushion on Fola Esch and Rumelange this month, and hope that they struggle in their remaining games.

 

In positive news, the U19s team I picked have been getting game time, focusing on PA stars to try and prompt some progress.  While there have been a couple of changes due to injuries this means that the better players from the latest intake are getting a run out, and hopefully we will reap the benefits next season.

 

 

Busy couple of days with family visiting, so it is unlikely that the season will end before NYE.  

[scousevasey]

April 2024

An awful month, continuing a poor run after the winter break, which seems to be becoming a theme

Both Union Mertert and Jeunesse Canach were bottom when we faced them, and we failed to beat both of them with poor displays.  While we have still been without Sonko, which may excuse some of the flaws in scoring, it doesn't look good going forward as Sonko ages

The poor month drops us to 8th, and while we are only two points off of 6th, we are also only two points clear of 10th.  And with our upcoming fixtures we are going to be looking down instead of up.

Facing three of the top four to end the season, with Kaerjeng and Racing (LUX) still fighting for the top three, although Differdange and Dudelange will contest the cup finnal, so they will both get Europe (not sure the AI managers will be aware of that as the cup final comes after the league season, means picking up points will be hard.  One positive is the cup semi final was on May 1st, so Differdange may have some tired legs.

I have tweaked the formation to Counter and structured with more direct passing hoping to catch these three on the break, or to minimise the damage against them.

[scousevasey]

May 2024 (end of season)

A poor run of fixtures as expected, but with a couple of positives

The formation tweaks meant we scored in all three games, and that is not always the case against the top teams.  In addition the transfer window opened on the 25th May, so I was able to register the better youth intake players for the final game, and rotated to give them a debut as the chance of us improving our league position was fairly small.

While a win against Racing (LUX) would have moved us up to 9th, the experience for the youth may well be more beneficial in the long term

 

This leads us to the summer where expectations will be the same across the board

Board - mid table

Squad - top half

Personal - be in the fight for Europe (4th place depending on the cup)

 

To do this there will be a bit of a clear out, especially in the U19s where we have just over 3 screens of players (roughly 80 players), although some are main squad players available for the games.  I will do a full squad breakdown by position, looking at who will be in the main squad (I will aim to run with 20-25 players registered due to the short bench), who will stay in the U19s and who will be released to give those in the U19s a chance of improving

 

[scousevasey]

Squad Review

We currently have around 100 players on the books, which is a few too many, and it means that we are limiting the development of lots of players who cannot get game time.  This is down to the 30 man squad limit, and 16 player matchday squad, supported by only one other team in the U19s.  The aim will be to build a main squad that is a maximum of 25, but hopefully smaller as otherwise there will need to be lots of rotation.  I have no idea limit for the U19s, but will be looking for a combination of determination and potential, as well as looking to release some of the older players who aren't going to make the grade but have been sitting in the reserves.  While this won't have huge financial gains due to most players being on non-contract agreements, but it will make things slightly easier.

Goalkeepers

A clear gap in potential, and a clear gap in current ability means this is fairly easy to trim down.  We never carry a GK on the bench as the 5 man limit means it is a real waste.

Arnaud Schaab has not changed in rating since I took over, and at 33 should be in his pomp, but I will be looking to move him aside this year.  Last time I tried this, it was a complete move and he got upset, but we didn't have the depth, so I will look to rotate, with Schaab playing against the mid-tier teams.

(23b) Jonathan Ferron is the future of the club, and will be getting increased game time this year.  I am going to play him against the bottom teams, and the top teams.  These are games that we either should win easily, or that we would usually lose but the higher quality of player will be useful for his development.

(24i) Laurent Vaz is the only other player with decent potential so will stick in the U19s.  (23b) Ferron will be available for the U19s when he isn't playing, but (24i) Vaz should get most of the U19s games and a chance to move towards a gold star rating.

Both (23b) Ferron and (24i) Vaz have higher determination and positive personalities that should allow for high levels of development.

The remaining players will be released.

Defenders

Right Backs

A clear starter, with an equal grouping behind.  Unfortunately I don't trust the judgement of my assistant fully, but the DoF keeps extending him, so deciding who to keep will need a little though.

(23c) Albert Scholten will start as the only DR in the squad having made the starting spot his own during the season.

As the off season progresses I will delve into the positional battle behind him for who will stay, but the low levels of determination and poor personalities doesn't bode too well

Left Backs

A lot more players for the left hand side, with a couple who are versatile with their positioning in Pierre Kerkhofs (19p), (22l) Ruben Teixeira, (22f) Steve Tinelli and (22m) Tim Payal.  The flexibility of (22l) Teixeira may be what keeps him at the club.

David Loos (18h) is the clear starter, and at only 21 should keep the role for a long time. (23d) Paolo Bijelic and (24m) Roland Dahike will fight out for the back up role, and I will look at retraining one of the two to DR to solve the depth issue on that side.

(24j) Theo Huss, and (20b) Marc Hinsberger will be kept in the U19s, with some of the others being let go partially for their low determination, and partially for their low levels of ability

Central Defenders

Gilles Feltes is the stand out here, but as he hits 28 will need to be eased out over the next two seasons.

Behind him there is four players who will fill the main squad, with the aim of rotating them to partner Feltes, and allow him to rest against some of the weaker teams.  They are (24b) Pit Hilbert, (24g) Paolo Dervisevic, Pierre Kerhofs (19p) and (20a) David Lombardelli.

Of the remaining players the following will fill the U19s, although those in the main squad who are not playing will be made available for the U19s.  (23g) Arno Menster, (20e) Charly Chanot, and (23l) Markus May, as they have the reasonable balance of potential and determination.  That gives us 8 DCs at the club which should be more than enough for the next season.

Midfielders

I have looked at all the different midfield stratas here, but without width breakdowns for DM and AM as they contain fewer relevant players for our formations currently

Defensive midfielders

(24c) Carlos Nobrega is a slight oddity in that he can play at WB and AM but not inbetween comfortably, but will train at ML with the aim of him progressing to challenge there despite not showing on that screen.

Most players with a hope of playing can play at DM and MC with only two players being DM specific who have very little chance of playing and will therefor be released.  Apart from that I won't make any decisions until the MC list

Right sided midfielders

While Pedro dos Santos is still the best player currently at 33 he is starting to drop away, so will be rotated this season similar to Schaab in goal.  (24d) Marc Plein will get the first shot to replace him, with Christian Anjos being third choice overall.

(23o) Samuel Osweiler will be kept for his determination, as hopefully some tutoring can change his determination.  (23j) Afonso Oliveira and (21b) Yann Flick will fill out the U19 side

Left sided midfielders

William Nulens (19h) has become the star on this side and will be hard to shift

(21f) Rui Teixeira), (24a) Paulo Caraballo, and (22b) Gilles Bossi will fight out for the space in the main squad with the other two going to the U19s.  (24a) Caraballo has the best potential and determination/personality combination so holds the inside track here.

dos Santos will stay for his role on the right, and hopefully can transition to a bench role, although with the Instant Result feature it will result in him coming on in every game which will be a pain.  The others aside from (23o) Osweiler (right hand side) will be released

Central Midfield

Possibly the most difficult decisions fall in the centre of the pitch due to numbers, and the range of reasonable prospects.

(23a) Marc Toussaint, (22a) Chris Lehnen, Enrico Maes (19j), (23e) Igor Binsfield, Bilal Thomas (18m), (21j) Marc Bollendorf, (20a) David Lombardelli, and Gabriel Gaspar will fight it out for the main squad, but eight is too many to carry there.  If we stick with the 4-4-1-1 then will will be playing three from the list each game, but a reversion to 4-4-2 will be a challenge.

Maes (19j) is the stand out currently and won player of the year from AMC but prefers to play at MC.  Gaspar is starting to drop off at 33, so may well be moved on gently, while (20a) Lombardelli is the perfect man off the bench as he is very versatile.

(22d) Mathieu Siebenaler and (21h) Luca Thill will stick with the U19s but the other players will be released.  The central battle will probably be solved in the preseason

Attacking Midfield

Lots of players who can play in the attacking strata, but the wide roles are not used.  Those mentioned above will be kept, as will (23m) Joe Vogel due to current ability and Determination levels, but the rest will be released to avoid a drain on training and taking away U19 game opportunities

Attackers

Sonko is still our star here, but is ageing and will be rotated along with the rest of the old guard.  This need for rotation is what may prompt the move back to 4-4-2 as last season showed we don't have the strength in reserve for a lone striker.

(24k) Albert Clement, (24h) Laurent Bastos, (20k) Tom Engel, and (20n) David Curado will drop to the U19s, but I will pick the younger players for the U19s to get them game time.  I may reconsider as we move into the season and release (20k) Engel and (20m) Curado due to their limited ability to improve.

The remaining players will rotate round to support Sonko in a 4-4-2 to provide chances to improve

 

 

All of these moves will hopefully reduce our wage budget a little, although we are well below the limit.  As we get through the preseason friendlies I will go back through the two squads as they remain.

 

[scousevasey]

Pre-Season 2024-2025

A lot of turnover based on the squad review which left the two squads looking like this

Main Squad

Slightly larger than what I wanted, but I kept a couple of players up in the main squad to control their training slightly easier.

Under 19s

This looks smaller than I outlined, but this is because I have hidden anyone out on loan (not everyone offered wanted to go), and means that most players will get the chance to play for ourselves, the U19s or another team

Transfers

Nothing in this season, as all of my ex- players decided they didn't want to give up unemployment in Belgium to make the long journey to Luxembourg

Two players signed elsewhere, and missed the final game of last season.  The rest have gone to affiliate clubs for game time.  Most notable here is that I managed to persuade Gabriel Gaspar that a loan was a good idea, and it means I can drop him without any arguments as he is an influential player in the squad.

Improvements

As we hit the first of August, our financial outlook was positively rosy, albeit still £233 in the red.  So I went to the board cap in hand and managed to get what I asked for

Three boosts, as the coaching course will help us improve in training, and hopefully allow us to attract a higher class of ex-player if we are looking for stop-gap replacements.  The facilities improvements leave the club looking fairly well positioned

With the improvements coming at the bottom and making us middle of the road, which is quite good for Luxembourg.

Pre-season

The usual mixture of results as we rotated regularly to pick up fitness, and relearn the 4-4-2.  It has been set us as Control and Structured to try and give a balance against all teams, but doesn't seem to have clicked fully yet, so we may go back to the Attacking/Counter of last year depending on the opposition, although based on our pre-season prediction Counter all the time may be a solid option as teams will be expecting to beat us

We are still predicted in the lower reaches of the league, in the 3rd of 4 tiers by odds (1-3, 4-8, 9-11, 12-14).  Our aim from the board is mid table again.  I would expect to be better than Erpeldange, although they brought in the most players during the transfer window so may have improved.  All of them were on a free, as Differdange were the only team to lay out cash for a player, the grand total of £56000.  According to the odds we will struggle to get into the top 8, but if we can start strong there is not much separating the teams from 4th-8th meaning we could have a hope.

The whole media team is Differdange players again, and out two 'key players' in the preview have changed this year.  Out goes Sonko who is ageing, with two of our stars stepping in. 

Fixtures

The season follows the same fixture structure, nearly identical but with Mamer bookending the season.  Facing Dudelange and Differdange early means we may have a tough start, but it should have a soft middle.  When we come to the turn around, while it will split the winter break we will face Racing (LUX), Fola Esch, Dudelange, Differdange and bogey team Progres in five out of six games which could break our season.  The run from Jeunesse Esch in September to Norden at the start of November is favourable with Kaerjeng the most difficult game in that run of fixtures.

In August we face two teams we should be beating, and one of the top teams around, so we should be able to make a decent start to the season

[scousevasey]

August 2024

An odd month all told, with results not as expected

A shame to drop points against Mamer and Rumelange, but both of them have started well, Mamer with six points from nine, and Rumelange with seven from nine.

We have had a reasonable share of possession in all three games, but have not managed to take our chances apart from against Dudelange, where we were prolific (relatively).

I had stuck with the 4-4-2 on counter, but am going to move to attacking against the teams around us.  The two tactics are slightly tweaked with a BBM and BWM in the Counter formation, and a CM and DLP in the attacking one.  Hopefully that will allow us to push the results

September brings four games, where we will play on Counter for the first two as Differdange should trounce us based on previous seasons, and we always struggle against Progres.  The games against Jeunesse Esch and Titus Petange are going to be played on the attack with the hope that home advantage will help us secure the wins

[scousevasey]

September 2024

This is starting to look like an odd season, where nothing goes as planned, but we still end up in the middle of the table safe from relegation but not fighting for Europe.

We played on Counter in the first two games, and while the Differdange loss was expected it was a shame to lose so badly.  We managed to beat Progres but it took until the 87th minute, and they played a man down from the 15th minute, so we should have sown it up before then.

Jeunesse Esch were bottom of the league when we played them so I moved to the Attacking formation before the game, although the pre-match report from my assistant made me think about this and I changed it to Control.  Clearly this didn't work, so I went back to Counter against Titus Petange, where we managed to secure a draw but I would have expected to win.

Due to this I am unsure how to feel about the month.  I would have expected six points on paper, and after the Progres game I would have expected to get to nine, and while we haven't reached that I think we are making improvements with tactics, although I don't think this is fully sorted yet.

October brings fixtures I would expect to do well in, but I am now a bit wary

With the quirks of the early season these are the bottom four teams, and although we usually struggle against Kaerjeng, this should be a month for us to dominate.  While the Counter formation seems to be getting results against the top teams, we don't seem to be able to break the weaker teams down, but we are not having any luck with the Attacking mentality which would be the first port of call in this situation.

I think that if we were playing Kaerjeng away the Counter option would work best, but that due to the mix of fixtures we will probably start with Attacking and see how it goes.  The month ends with a nice quirk, with the game against Norden having moved from the start of November due to the cup draw, where we will travel to Norden.  This will be a nice chance to rotate some squad players, but we will be expected to win it, and depending on the results in October we may be scraping around for a positive result

[scousevasey]

October 2024

Another odd month, this one is clearly worse than the last though

Four teams that were the bottom four at the start of the month, and we only picked up four points.  Possibly worse is that we only scored two goals in four games.  As we are predicted 10th we should really be beating these teams, and if our form continues this way we will be relegation fodder, and I will probably be looking for employment.

The poor month leaves us in a precarious position, although a closer look at the table does hint at a couple of signs of hope.

There is a five point gap between us and 12th so we have a small cushion.  We are only two points behind 7th position, although our goal difference makes that the equivalent of three points.

Going into November, we have a chance to turn things around before the winter break

Having seen some success from the 4-4-2 Counter against the bigger teams, I will continue that against Racing (LUX) and Dudelange.  For the other games I am going back to the 4-4-1-1 from last season, to see if we can be slightly more positive.

The five games shown lead us to the winter break, and while there are tough games in there, we should be looking to pick up between 4-7 points, aiming to get a win at Rumelange, and something against Fola Esch, with the outside hope of something from the other games.  I would usually expect a win in the cup, but having lost 4-1 at home to Norden in the last game I am not overly hopeful.  We need the win to match expectations, so this will be the first outing of the 4-4-1-1 this season.

[scousevasey]

November/December 2024

This season is not the best for Rosport, and I am starting to get slightly nervous as we enter the winter break

We managed to perform better against Norden with the chance back to the 4-4-1-1, although most of the improvement was defensive.  Picking up a point against Rumelange and Fola Esch is something, but I was aiming to win at least one of those games, so that stings slightly.

As we hit the break that leaves us 11th as before, but the gap to safety has shrunk to two points, with us now being 5 points away from a major move up the league.  Unless we can turn this around fairly soon we will start to hit problems, opening us to the risk of relegation and the sack.

As the calendar turns over to 2025, this is the how the board currently view my tenure

The philosophy we have signed up to is to develop our youth, and we are way under our wage budget despite the club being in the red, which causes those two to be maxed out.

Delving further tells me the club are satisfied with the league position, although I imagine that would change quickly, and while the dressing room atmosphere is poor due to the losing streak, the players are fans of me, which helps boost my security.

Tactically the board and fans have the same issues I do, with the poor results being a huge issue.

[scousevasey]

January 2025

Not really a massive amount of news this month, and I usually skip over January, but I am debating some changes, so thought I would break them down a little.

Coaching

Despite the poor finances, I have been trying to boost my qualifications, and this month was rewarded with completing the Continental B licence, which leaves me looking like this

Media handling is low, as while I usually like to get involved I made a decision to be picky, and there seems to only be one member of the press in Luxembourg who doesn't hate or despise me, and they rarely ask questions in my little outpost.  Being a vindictive manager, and no commenting, or sending the assistant means that the relationships won't improve, but I do have good relationships with some other journalists from my time in Belgium

I am not entirely sure about the journalists from Singapore and Greece.

Some reasonable skills now, but it seems that my fitness and goalkeeping is lagging behind which is a shame.  I am not sure what I can do to boost the Working with Youngsters which is fairly important in a Youth save.  Mentally I am doing well, although I am undisciplined and unable to adapt which is a shame.

Transfers

As January ends, we hit the end of the transfer window, having lost one player this month

Avenir Beggen are currently 9th in the Promotion division (2nd tier), and (21g) Amodio was getting games for us, athough I do prefer a couple of our younger players as none of them are overly consistent.  He managed to play 60 games for us, so clearly wants to move to be the star

Friendlies

In an attempt to improve our fitness and morale going into the second half of the season I have arranged the following fixtures

All of them are away, and I clearly wasn't tracking the opponents with us seeing Jagersburg twice in succession.  All of these come from the Smaller rep (foreign) lists, with the aim of playing different teams so our league opponents don't get too used to us, and that with them having smaller reputations we should be able to pick up some decent results, as our first league game back is against Differdange who haven't dropped a point yet.

 

Changes

At the start of the save, one of the regulation I set out was to allow the chairman to appoint the DoF, and the DoF to appoint all other staff, but we seem to be in a rut where our staff just get renewed with very few changes, and no other teams are interested in my staff which tells me they are not very good.  So I am going to advertise for a new DoF and see if I can get someone markedly better, and allow them to take charge of staff hirings, although if they don't change my Assistant Manager when his contract ends I will advertise for someone better and appoint them, before allowing the DoF to take back over.  Hopefully this will give me a higher quality of coaching as I feel players are not improving against their PA.  Part of that will be that we are part time, and part of that will be the fact the staff are poor judges of quality, alongside the poor coaching but I am looking to improve our chances of progressing and my league performance is slipping since 4th in my first half season.  This seems the easiest way (apart from changing to a 5-2-3 formation), without watering down my save too much.

[scousevasey]

February 2025 Friendlies

The results looks like the rest of our fixtures so far, but we have managed to score some goals which is more than we had previously managed

The league restarts with us travelling to Differdange in the only fixture in February, and as the intake tends to be at the very start of March it seems odd to build up to February and March with only one game

We played in the 4-4-1-1 formation as I forgot to change after the friendlies, and we managed a better result than at home, but were unable to create anything, and it could well have been more lopsided

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2025

Unfortunately this came after the first game in March, and the result, or lack of it, led to a board meeting about my performance.  While I haven't been sacked yet, it is clearly a possibility, and we are unable to register any of the intake to help make a difference

A massive improvement in both PA and importantly CA. Nine players with 5*s for PA, and one with with 4.5* means this could actually be a golden generation.

When sorted by CA (down to 2*CA)

These players are better than most of my starting 11 (below) and gives hope for the future.  Two top GKs is a shame although it gives us a solid backup and allows Schaab to move on as he gets grumpy at his declining playing time.  I really like the Half Back DM role, so will look at the suitability of (25h) Lars Turpel for this, while we get a range of attacking options giving us the possibility of moving to a 4-3-3 DM wide formation, or even risking a 4-3-3-0 DM and going strikerless

By position

Two starter quality GKs

An improvement on our current DR, but a lack of other quality at the back unless (25h) Turpel plays there.

Lots of DM depth with little in the MC positions, which will require a little retraining to suit, although they are some of the weakest players in the intake

All of the wide players can play in the AM strata, which will prompt a look at changing formation especially as they are highly ranked by the HoYD, although (25b) Manuel Flick will have to overcome Nulens to get a game

While (25f) Rodolfo Costa comes in as possibly our best striker, it would be a shame to play without (25a) Jeff Bozic and Maes in the AMC positions

 

Now all I have to do is not get sacked to be able to utilise these players

March contains four games, where we need to pick up points

Jeunesse Esch and Erpeldange are near the bottom of the table so we will be targeting those games for points.

 

I have also replaced my DoF with the following

While he doesn't look great, and his JPA and JPA stats are similar to the previous DoF his mental stats are much higher, which should help with the structure in the club

[scousevasey]

March 2025

There have been improvements, which should hopefully continue, and see me keep my job

The loss to Differdange was expected, and I stuck with the 4-4-1-1 for the Progres game instead of reverting to the 4-4-2 Counter formation, which resulted in a loss.

Two wins against the teams in the relegation fight is key, and we picked up an important point away to Titus Petange who were 5th at the time.

That sees us hit the heady heights of 10th, although it is only a three point gap back to Norden who we will meet in April

Kaerjeng are the only team to have taken points away from Differdange this season, so that will be tough.  As we have started to hit our stride with the 4-4-1-1 I am going to stick with the formation for this game even though it is a risk.

With Swift Hesperange all but down (12 points from safety, 11 from the playoff with 18 to play for), we should be getting three points, and then we face Norden for the third time this season, and a win could open a gap to them and begin to ensure safety.

 

Interestingly while the board are not my biggest fans at the minute, other teams are offering interviews, with a couple coming from Belgium (Second Amateur) along with Jeunesse Esch and Fola Esch.  I am attending interviews to see what is around, but everyone seems to be set against developing their own youth, so while there is hope if I get the sack, it might be difficult to keep the same philosophy

[scousevasey]

April 2025

We have finally started to hit some form, which seems to have been our best run after a youth intake so far, although we had a worse start than previous years

A good draw against Kaerjeng along with us relegating Swift Hesperange means we met our aim for the month.  Our position is now down to the other results around the league

We are now hitting the heights of 9th, and are only two points off reaching 7th, with a seven point cushion from the relegation playoff.

Differdange won the title after 22 games, with Swift Hesperange being relegated in the same round of fixtures.  To celebrate this they then went to face Erpeldange in the 23rd fixture and picked up a draw to consign them to relegation.

The game against Racing (LUX) will be a challenge, but if Norden drop points we will guarantee our position in the league.  Norden will face Erpeldange, Kaerjeng and then Swift Hesperange, so we are relying on them dropping points to Kaerjeng, or us picking up something in our matches to put us out of sight.  Fola Esch are underperforming this season so that game will still be tough, but we should be able to pick something up.  Mamer are overperforming their pre season prediction, possibly being underestimated after their promotion, but are on a poor run recently, and we should be looking to capitalise.

[scousevasey]

May 2025

Our safety was confirmed even before we kicked off in May, as Norden dropped points in the early kickoff.

While we then went on to pick up a solid four points from the month, the Mamer game was a bit of an experiment.  As had happened the previous season the transfer window opened on the day of the final fixtures, meaning the squad registration window opened again, so I was able to add in some of our better intake players, which led to all sorts of high jinks and records being set

A first goal on debut for (25f) Costa our new striking hope, and a sending off (albeit by double yellow) for (25h) Turpel who is our DC/DM/MC hope.  Who knows he may go on to be the Danny Gormley of Luxembourg (for those of you who followed Wavelberry last year

(25f) Costa now holds both club an league records by the small margin of 14 days, and if we had managed a GK goal we could have put the record out of sight

His appearance in the final game of the season along with spending time out of the squad has led Schaab (GK) to ask for his release, and been told he can go due to age and the appearance of better options.

This may not seem overly impressive but in previous years we have been rather binary in our results, and it gives us eight points where we might not have gained them previously

This led us to a tidy 8th placed finish after a prediction of 10th and us flirting with relegation earlier in the season.  With us ending up ten points clear of the playoff (won by Norden) and 19 away from relegation it was a great turnaround.

With Kaerjeng losing the cup final to Dudelange it means we missed out on Europe by 14 points we are pretty much right in the middle of the league this season., although we will need to improve out goal difference for next season

 

[scousevasey]

End of Season (2024/2025)

Most of the awards are now youth graduates, which is pleasing, with only Sonko and Enrico Maes (19j) not part of the Rosport intakes.  Particularly proud of the fact that the red card for (25h) Turpel was the first of the season, but slightly worried that our highest rating was 7.09, and the most MoM awards for any individual was two showing how poor our performances were this year.

Team of the year is mainly Rosport graduates, but importantly is all newgens meaning we have a solid young core to build around

 

Looking towards next year there are some important changes ahead

As well as Schaab (GK) asking for his release the old guard will all be leaving.  All three have dropped from being our best performers when I joined to being fringe players who will be replaced by younger performers.  Gaspar had been out on loan due to his drop off, while dos Santos was a bench option in most games due to being able to play on both flanks, and Sonko has been picking up long term injuries so I have been wanting to replace him for a while.

With these four players leaving that means we are left with Gilles Feltes (29) and Christian Anjos (22) in the main squad who were here before I took the role.  Anjos has struggled to get games and may well be moved on when I look at the squad breakdown over the summer break as he only made it to the squad this year as injury cover.  Feltes is one of our better defenders, but I spent most of the season with him on the bench to allow some of the younger players to get game time.  His position at the club will be assessed too, but he is unlikely to be released and instead will stay as the bench option or be loaned out.

This will shake up our player hierarchy as the top will be thinned out.  It will be interesting who steps up in their absence, especially as if Feltes is going on loan we will have a new captaincy pairing, although trying to avoid too much upheaval may be what keeps him around

[scousevasey]

Squad Overview (briefly)

Not as detailed as last season as I am using this as a way to work out my thinking tactically for the season, so that the formations can be trained.  Currently we have a 4-4-1-1 and two different forms of 4-4-2 trained, and I will keep the 4-4-1-1 as a reserve formation for when things go wrong, but want to utilise some of the quality coming through.

While these are not the first call ups we have had, usually we only have players in the U19s, and once they age they stop being picked, so to have some of our most recent intake step up to the U21s is a positive sign, as well as us moving from two players in the U19s to a group of five.

The whole squad by PA

We wouldn't be looking to play a sweeper, and the lack of WBR depth kind of hints at sticking with a back four.

Excitingly the improvements in facilities at youth level are paying off as we have at least one 5* PA player at all of the positions apart from SW, and WBL, which we are not going to use.  The potential means nothing without the improvements, and our part time nature along with our senior facilities means it is harder to reach that potential

So how do we look by CA?

Deciding who will be the starting GK may be a tough decision, but having two top options at such a young age is great.

Defensively there is improvement over the recent seasons, with the beginnings of depth (at a reasonable quality)

(25h) Lars Turpel is stronger at DM than his other options, which opens up the possibility of 4-3-3 formations as mentioned when the intake arrived.  Having started with a 4-1-4-1 at Heur-Tongeren I want to avoid this due to the lack of support for the striker, but the DM gives a bit more solidarity at the back to allow other players to freedom to push on and create.

Looking on the wings our better players are stronger in the midfield as opposed to the AM strata which may limit us slightly if we look to play to strengths.

In the centre the top two players are our first choice DM and AMC which waters down the strength slightly, although those shown have still performed reasonably well when selected

Up front we don't really have the depth to play two strikers (as one thought was a 4-4-2 diamond with DM, ML-MR, AMC), until we get some development

 

My current thoughts (game date 6th June so lots of time to change), are to train the following

4-4-1-1 - solid formation as a fall back

4-3-3 wide - with a DM and AMR/AML supporting the striker

4-5-1 - Instead of a flat central midfield this would take advantage of our stronger players and go DM, MR/ML, and two AMCs.  It would be risky and require work but could be viable

4-3-3-0 - strikerless formation with a DM, MC-MC axis then a AML-AMC-AMR up top.  Not a huge difference to the 4-3-3 but removes our weaker strikers and adds in more strength in midfield.

 

In deciding the best team, one thing that struck me on intake day deserves a closer look

We have two players in the same position with the same name.  Unfortunately it would be nice to swap the determination and personalities around but it a good reason to use the intake reference numbers, although in more happenstance they are both tagged 'd'

25 is better than 24, although needs to grow a little to be ready for the rigours of top level (for Luxembourg) football.

[scousevasey]

Pre-season 2025-2026

We head into the new season with the same board expectations as the past few seasons of mid-table and the last 16 of the cup, but as always we are hoping for more, and in the squad conversation I have mentioned the top half.  I have no idea if 7th classes as mid-table or not as it is technically the top half, but we are aiming in increments for 4th (hopefully Europe), top 6 (improvement), 9th (prediction)

During the summer I managed to get the board to spring for my Continental A qualification, and while it is only ongoing currently I was approached for more interviews than usual including Racing (LUX).  As the invite gave the full club name (RFC Union Lëtzebuerg) I assumed they were Belgian, mainly as lots of interviews were Belgian clubs, and passed it up.  If I had realised it would have been a difficult decision to leave the latest intake after the work done to boost the youth level at Rosport, but getting to top three odds would have shortened the journey to overthrow Dudelange and Differdange by a few seasons.  As it is we are having to close the pronounced gap to 8th position, although both Fola Esch and Jeunesse Esch have underperformed in recent seasons.

Pre-season was spent getting used to our two new formations, that will still need to be tweaked but are getting there as solid options

We spend most of the games in this formation, with my preferred 11 shown.  In a development over the summer (25b) Flick has overtaken Nulens (19h) in star ratings at AML so will start the season, with the older man being a good option if we don't start well

If we revert to two AMCs Nulens (19h) comes back into the team due to the dropping back of the wide men, but I think there isn't the balance we want in this formation.

Trying to get used to two new formations led to lots of games during the summer, mainly against foreign opposition to try to challenge ourselves

The results aren't massively representative as due to me putting in two league competitions, and then us being invited to three games after arranging ten fixtures we faced some short gaps between the games, so there were games that a reserve 11 or U19 group played.  We were able to play some good games at times, and the fact that only one game had a blank scoresheet on our side is a positive especially as we struggled so much last season for goals.

The fixtures take their same path again, with a repetition apart from the first game dropping to the end of the season.  This gives us an odd mix of fixtures, and a tough end of the season in April and May

Looking at the preview our games will go against teams predicted (all in order, but grouped by similar difficulty)

2nd

13th, 14th, 11th, 12th

8th

3rd

10th,

5th, 6th, 4th,

1st

7th

A tough first game, followed by the four easiest games on paper, before one of the underachievers.  We then get a tough game against Racing (LUX), a slightly easier game, before four challenging fixtures in a row with Fola Esch who are hit and miss against us to end.

Worse is for the second half of the fixtures, where we get two of the easy games before the break, but end the season facing all of the predicted top half apart from Racing (LUX) and the top two make up two of our final three games.

Based on this we need to be looking to get points early on, and ride the boost in morale to get something as we hit the fixtures against Progres, Titus Petange, and Kaerjeng.  Hopefully the easy start after the break can mean that we are riding high by the end of March, as April and May is that tough run in and we won't be picking up many points at that point

 

 

 

[scousevasey]

August 2025

We needed to start strongly and we have

Nine points as expected, and we played over half of the Dudelange game down to ten men after (25e) Minelli managed to collect two bookings at right back.  That gave the 2025 intake the impressive stats of two games since being able to be registered, and two players being sent off.  This was followed by a late red in the Mamer game, although it wasn't a debut card in this case.

It is good to see the impact of the youth players in games, with (25f) Costa having played three of the games and picked up four goals, and (15b) Flick is repaying the faith in starting him over Nulens (19h) by bagging two goals

Everyone so far has dropped points which means we could have an interesting season, with Progres holding Differdange, and Jeunesse Esch holding Dudelange.

September brings one more easy game against Norden, followed by a game I would usually expect to be competitive in against Jeunesse Esch, although they have started strongly so we cannot assume going into the game.  We end with Racing (LUX) who are always tough, and is going to be a good test for our new formation and the 2025 intake players, with the early scheduling of the Dudelange game meaning the team were still gelling together.

[scousevasey]

September 2025

Another positive month, although not exactly as planned

We managed to get our third red of the season against Jeunesse Esch, after only picking one up in the final game of the season last campaign.  All three have been fullbacks, so I think I need to consider our tactics slightly, with two coming on the right [(25e) Minelli for both] and one on the left [Loos (18h)].  The dismissal came later in the game this time, in the 65th minute, after we had made all our substitutions so we were slightly undone by this.  The one positive is that Jeunesse have only dropped two points in their seven games, the aforementioned draw with Dudelange so it is nothing to be ashamed of.

The fact that we managed a win against Racing (LUX) is a real boost, as it means we get the expected points for the month despite the blip away to Jeunesse, and we show that we can mix it with the bigger teams.

One concern coming out of the month is the ability for us to handle the schedule.  One game a week isn't too demanding, but both wide attackers [(25d) Plein and (25b) Flick] having to be rested for a game.  (25b) Flick is backed up by Nulens (19h)  so there isn't a big issue here but (25d) is backed up by his older namesake (24d) and there is a distinct drop in quality, as evidenced by the fact that (25d) picked up a goal in each game he played this month.

Normally October would be a tough month, but the start to the league means there is hope of another month with over 50% points gained.  Progres are performing well as usual, and Rumelange and Titus Petange are in the middle of the field but slightly below our early form.  Kaerjeng have struggled so far, picking up a solitary win against Rumelange.  The thing we have to be wary of is that this is a midweek game due to the cup opening up our fixtures in November.  Considering the fitness of some of the youngsters will be key here, although lower division opposition in the cup allows for a little rotation and resting as we enter November

[scousevasey]

October 2025

The dip in form came earlier than expected and it came hard

Progres are a bogey team so the loss there isn't too unexpected, and Kaerjeng had an upturn in form going into our game so salvaging a draw after our run is a positive, but one point from 12 after hoping for at least seven is a real poor return.  The difficult part this month is the lack of goals, especially as we hadn't been kept scoreless until this point, and that it was an issue last season.

We have had to continue our rotation of youngsters which may have affected some results, but we don't yet have the depth to field two quality teams, and our age profile is skewed young with only 29 starts and 16 sub appearances being made by players in their 20s (none in their 30s) out of a possible 121 starts and 33 replacements

This lack of quality and maturity/experience could well be our downfall, but hopefully the lessons we learn this season will benefit us in 2026-2027 and beyond.

This all leaves us in the top half, only a point away from 5th, but it looks like a push for Europe is gone by now with at least 10 points to catch up.  Looking the other way we are only three points from 9th, but are eight clear of any relegation trouble, where it looks like Sandweiler may set a new record low.

Our drop off in form came earlier than expected with the Differdange game still to come and our next game in the league.  Fortunately after a strong performance last year Fola Esch have dropped off  a little this time around so we should look to collect points against them.  As we end November and play our only league game in December against the bottom two we should be looking to get nine points from the four league games and hopefully boost our goal difference a little.

In the cup Jeunesse Canach currently sit mid table in the Promotion Division so we should be able to get a win, despite the need to rotate a few players.

[scousevasey]

November/December 2025

First up came the cup game against Jeunesse Canach which we expected to win due to them residing in the league below

While we dominated the possession and shot count it was a tight game, and playing with a man advantage for 30 minutes didn't help us settle the tie.  Fortunately an extra 30 down a man meant we were able to break Jeunesse Canach down and reach our minimum expectations.

This led to the eighth-final, better known as the last 16, which came at the end of our December league fixtures

A better team on paper, although struggling in the league.  a fairly tight game apart from the fact that Norden didn't manage to put any pressure on our goal

 

In the league we continued our poor form to start with, the extra time in the cup meaning we had to rotate a few tired legs during the month

An expected loss at Differdange, while the dropped points against Fola Esch and Sandweiler are a shame.  Fortunately we are not the first team to drop points to Sandweiler who managed to pick up a win against Norden.  Back to form against Mamer, which was followed with the cup to leave us going into the winter in a positive frame of mind.

Comfortable in 8th, with a gap below us to Kaerjeng and Rumelange, and close to Racing (LUX) in 5th.  Jeunesse Esch continue their strong start to the season and look to push for Europe.

A mild shock in the cup where Jeunesse Esch continue their form to knock out Dudelange, and unfortunately we drew them next up, with the Quarter finals in April.  From the remaining teams only Differdange will be secure in the European spots in the league, with Jeunesse Esch and Racing (LUX) looking to get to Europe through the cup or 4th in the league.  Ourselves and Kaerjeng can push for a cup run with us probably being safe from the drop, while Sandweiler may use it as a distraction from their relegation.  Swift Hesperange and Mondorf have done well to make it through but will struggle to claim the trophy, although if we could face them in the semi final it would be great.

 

Next comes the winter break, where as usual we will try not to lost anyone valuable.  During the summer I did offer part time contracts to our top intake players, so we have a say in keeping hold of them as opposed to them just leaving.  Hopefully that means when the DoF renews them, he will look to renew the part time contract and not go to an amateur deal.  There was interest in our top players in the summer but we were able to suggest sums that put off those looking.

[scousevasey]

Winter Review

We lost three players in January, but no major players.  All three were on the cusp of the main squad and U19s, but with better quality in the 2024 and 2025 they had not made any progress into the first team.

As we hit February we returned to the pitch to prepare for the league and cup fixtures that approach

Rotations and fitness as is the habit with some good chances to find the back of the which had been an issue at time as we progressed into the league

One league game to come in February, and probably two games before the intake (which will form the next update in all likelihood)

Three of these are should win (US Esch, Norden and Rumelange).  The other two I would usually expect to pick up one win out of the two, losing to Racing (LUX)  but this season Jeunesse Esch are performing above expectations and we managed to beat Racing (LUX) at home.  At a minimum I would be looking for two draws in these games, but hopefully getting 4.  Not sure how I would view a win and a loss to give three, it might depend on the balance of the games

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2026

The new players have arrived and once again I am left to rue the fact we have to register our squad before the intake happens, but we have hope for the cup and next season looks bright

A 5* CA player is a rarity when we have decent players, so this is a real positive.  I know that in the real world he isn't the best, but for a 16 year old in Luxembourg...

With another player coming in at 3.5*CA, and 8(eight) players knocking on the door of the first team as they walk in, this is our second good intake in a row

(26a) Payal plays the same position as (25h) Turpel, so we may need to capitalise on (25h) Turpel's versatility to move to DC or MC.  The other option is to go to a 4-2-3-1 2DM formation to utilise our best players

Another good AMR gives us depth on the wings, and another striker who is rated at 2*s just muddies the selection waters a little.

A good balance of positions, with yet another versatile DC/DM/MC player.  Depth in the Midfield, although we need to develop someone better in the centre of the park, with lots of options on the right where we are strong already.

It looks like there will be a few tough decisions in the summer where previous intake players are shown to the exit to allow these players to grow together in the U19s.  I think I need to institute a rule that if there are two younger players who are better at the same position, then you go.  Especially as my coaching reports are filled with suggestions to move players to the Main squad as they are too old for the U19s

[scousevasey]

March 2026 (with a bit of February thrown in)

Not as intended, is probably the best way to sum up the month

Dropped points against US Esch which is a real shame as we should be beating them easily.  Infuriatingly  we went down to ten men against both Jeunesse Esch and Racing (LUX) which probably cost us at least two points.  After a great disciplinary record last year, we seem to be racking up the cards this season.

We finish the month in seventh, with six games to go there is not much hope of us catching Jeunesse Esch for 4th, or even Racing (LUX) for 5th.  We will be aiming to overhaul Fola Esch while holding of the challenge of Titus Petange, and hoping that Rumelange are too far back to mount a serious challenge.  In positive news we are 16 clear of the drop with 18 to play for, so unless there is a major turnaround we don't have to worry about looking too far down the table.

This year we also have the distraction of the cup

Not the easiest draw, but not the hardest yet.  In a perfect world the semi finalists would be ourselves, Mondorf, Kaerjeng and either Swift Heseperange or Sandweiler, with us getting one of the lower division teams.  The worst draw would see us getting Racing (LUX) and Differdange in the other games if we made it that far.

Progres will be tough as they currently sit 2nd in the league, but we will be looking to beat Titus and Kaerjeng.

The fact we drew with Jeunesse Esch when down to ten men gives me hope for the cup game, and depending on the first two games of the month, we may rest some key players for the midweek trip to Kaerjeng to give us the best chance to progress

[scousevasey]

Apri 2026 (not a spelling error, we just haven't finished the month)

The month is unfinished as we progressed in the cup, with the semi final being arranged on the 29th of April

The loss against Progres was not a surprise, and we managed a good win against Titus Petange.  Due to us being in a safe mid table position I rotated for the Kaerjeng game, and we held them fairly close, so a full strength team may have done better.

Having promoted the stars of the youth intake, they were eligible for the cup game, so we needn't have rotated as much as we did, instead handing debuts to three of the class of 2026.

The cup required extra time, with us conceding early and late, then early again in the extra period, but being able to respond quickly in the extra period.  A late winner from (25a) Bozic sent us through, and the best possible results and draw nearly happened

We can't underestimate Mondorf, who sit top of the Promotion Division and overcame Racing (LUX), and I would have preferred Swift Hesperange, but we did manage to avoid Differdange.

 

With only one game to go in April, it makes sense to look forward to May at the same time

Mondorf is our nicest game left, with the chance to reach the cup final.  Differdange and Dudelange will be tough, and probably losses although I will be looking to salvage a draw from the Dudelange game.  Fola Esch could be the game to finalise our league place as we are only four points behind them.  That will require them to lose the remaining games, and us to get some form of result in the other games which will be tough.  A win should cement 7th as it will mean that Titus Petange need to win all their remaining games to overcome us.

 

[scousevasey]

Wem-ber-lee...Wem-ber-lee, we're going to Wem...

The extra game in April was another win, with the youngsters again making a difference, with two of our three goals.  Differdange overcame Swift Hesperange easily to continue a devastating run of form.

The month of April included five games, two goals against and 26 goals for.  Hopefully they have run out of goals in May when we get to face them twice...

It also turns out the Luxembourg cup doesn't travel to London for the final, but instead to the huge capacity of the Stade Josy Barthel

And we face Differdange twice in the month, the final sentence doesn't bring much hope.  Two draws and 17 losses so far.  Hopefully the youngsters ruled out of the league can spring a shock to get us to Europe

[scousevasey]

May 2026

A good run in the league, with an expected loss, and a surprising win which bodes well for next season

Which led us to the cup final, with the memory of facing Differdange fresh in the minds. 

We lost 4-1 early in the season, then 3-2 late on. Not a huge amount was expected this time around...

We didn't really deserve to win, and did well to keep it to a one goal game.  Unfortunately we therefore miss out on Europe, but the gap between us and the top is closing bit by bit.

 

As we hit the end of the season, another job interview popped into the inbox, one that I had rejected last season as I didn't read it fully.  I went to the interview, and the discussions were positive.  If I get offered the job it will be interesting as after the interview I looked at the facilities in comparison to those of Rosport

I had managed to persuade the board to upgrade Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment when we made the cup final, getting us to Excellent and Established respectively.  (If anyone knows an easy way to compare facilities across the league, on one screen, give me a shout so I can see where the club stands currently.

If I stay at Rosport, these upgrades should give us the quality to push into Europe, which will be the only way to become Professional, and improve the training facilities.

Racing (LUX) are is a worse position facilities wise, but came 4th in the league, so profit from our loss in the cup to gain the final European spot.  At the interview they preferred me to develop our own youth, which I hastily agreed to, and they were open to improving the Junior Coaching and Youth Facilities, but didn't want to boost the Youth Recruitment.  I didn't push this, but now have a little dilemma if they approach me.

Stick with Rosport and continue to build what has started to develop

Jump to Racing (LUX) get a headstart on the money side of the development, and work to catch up on the facilities...

[scousevasey]

Job Update

With pretty much the next click of continue, the Rosport board summoned me

I went along to see what I could get from them, but they refused upgrades in Youth Recruitment and Junior Coaching.  I asked for a new contract which I got, running until 2029 which gives me more security, and did manage one improvement, contingent on me agreeing to remove myself from consideration for the Racing (LUX) role.

I am not sure these will go through, as our finances aren't the best, but it shows that the board want to improve the facilities, it is just down to me to get the money for it

 

Having signed up to stay at Rosport, next up comes the review of the season, and beginning to look forward to 2026-2027

[scousevasey]

Season Review (2025-2026)

Cup

In all of my time at Rosport the aim has been to make the last 16, and only once we have made it to the last 8, so this season was the best run we had, and only the second final for the club in their history.

It is fair to say we had our share of luck this season facing two lower division teams in the two Jeunesse's, one team fighting relegation in Norden, and going to extra time twice.  But we took the luck we got in the draw, and in the extra period and played well in the other two wins to make the final.

Next year hopefully the board won't upgrade our expectations too much, and I will be aiming for the quarter finals to keep up our recent progress.

League

Too many games lost in the first half of the season (seven of our eleven losses) cost us in the end.

Looking a little deeper, we lost both against Differdange and Progres, who were top of the table.

Next worst came the results against Jeunesse Esch and Kaerjeng where we only picked up one point from six.  In a twist Jeunesse Esch were near the top of the league early on while Kaerjeng struggled more than usual, but I would expect to get a better return from both of these teams

The only teams we collected all the points against were Mamer (relegated in the playoff) and Norden (escaped the playoff on the final day by beating Mamer).

Out of the the remaining teams, we shouldn't have dropped points to Sandweiler or US Esch, but it was a positive to get all three points at home to both Racing (LUX) and Dudelange

So our mixed results (11-11 with four draws) put us right in the middle of the pack, and just in the top half, with the board wanting us to get mid table.

Next season I will be expecting to see improvements from Kaerjeng and Titus Petange, with Progres, Jeunesse Esch and Fola Esch falling away from their performance this year.  For us to improve we will need to build our consistency, looking to get six points from the bottom 4, four or more from those up to fifth, aiming for two draws or one win for the top four teams outside of Differdange, and looking to get a point against the strongest team, who have won the league every season since 2017-2018 (the first of the save).

We are still a way off entering a title fight, much less upending the order and beating them consistently, but the gap is slowly closing, as evidenced by Racing (LUX), Dudelange and Differdange all making offers for players in the 2025 and 2026 intakes.

Awards

7

Still lead by Maes (19j) in midfield, who played mainly at MC this year in the 4-1-2-3 DM, dropping back from AMC last year.  The two runners up for fans player of the year played in the AMR and AML slots, and it is good to see the faith in the youth paid off with their performances, especially with (25b) Flick leading the way scoring wise

As usual not too much rotation and this is the strongest team we had, apart from the big question mark up front.  As we got deeper in the season the stamina and fitness of the younger players improved meaning we didn't have to rotate as much, which may help explain some of the improvements we made in the second part of the season

[scousevasey]

Squad Review

As mentioned earlier the squad is becoming bloated again, and we have a few players sitting in the U19s who are too old, and seem to be ineligible for those games.  So I am going to go through the squad position by position looking to review my main squad and who will be there, and who misses out.  If someone misses out and is over 19 they will be added to the transfer list although values are so low we will mainly be looking to move them on and make space for the younger players to develop.

This process will hopefully highlight a couple of things,

1) how useful a B/reserve team would be, to allow players who are not quite good enough a place to play, and allow players to get back to fitness in a competitive environment

2) the development of the club in relation to both PA and CA.  My aim is that of the 2027 intake there will be a maximum of one breaking into the first team straight away as we have reasonable depth, allowing the team to grow slightly older together as we have a very young core.  This will also mean some players get the chance to develop either at the club or on loan and competition for places becomes challenging

The squad registration rules allows us to name 30 players, and I usually like to leave a couple of spaces open for the winter window if I need to promote anyone in an area of weakness.  This is mainly to avoid players getting upset at being removed.  Depending on how the squad looks I will be aiming to get to 24-28 players, but will use full 30 if we have the depth.

As seems to be usual in this save there will be a slight tactical tweak going into the season.  Our base formation will be the 4-1-2-3 DM Wide from last year.  The reserve formation will become a 4-1-2-3-0 DM Wide, where the SC drops to AMC.  The reason for the change has no more depth than that we seem to have a surplus of AMCs who have been playing at MC and they are better than some of the striking options.  I will look to finalise the roles and add it to a post, but the thinking is that if this strikerless formation works, it may help against Differdange, Dudelange, Racing (LUX) and Progres by manipulating their backline a little more.

The third formation will be a 4-2-3-1 DM which gets most of our best players on in the midfield positions, and will hopefully provide a solid defensive platform if we need it.

Goalkeeper

(25i) Bettmer was our starter last year, mainly as his determination and personality were better than that of (25g) Loureiro.  That showed as he developed into a stronger player over the season.  Both of the 25 intake players will stick in the main squad, with the other two filling the U19s as neither is overage, although (24i) Vaz is only hanging around as long term injury cover in case of emergency.  I imagine the 2027 intake option will be better and that (24i) Vaz will be moving on at the end of the season

Main squad total - 2/30

Defender

Right

(25e) Minelli made the starting spot his own during the season.

The decision is between (23c) Scholten and (26n) Zaritskiy.  If (26n) Zaritskiy [GREEN] goes into the main squad, it will be the end of (23c) Scholten [BLUE]

Very similar octagons, as would be expected with the similar CA ratings.  (23c) Scholten is stronger physically, aerially and technically while (26n) Zaritskiy is better defensively, mentally and in determination.

Based on this and the desire not to leave myself too short, I will keep (23c) Scholten in the main squad and review it during the Winter transfer/registration window to see how (26n) Zaritskiy has developed.  (24n) Valente will stick around for extra depth in the U19s but is close to being released

Main squad total - 4/30

Left

Loos (18h) is the clear starter, with a logjam behind him.

(23d) Bijelic has performed well as a backup, and will be too old for the U19s soon.  None of the other players stand out with their personality or determination meaning that reaching their PA while on the bench, or in the U19s will be hard.

(24m) Dahike has a value of £1.1k which seems out of proportion due to his quality and PA so I will ask the DoF to cash in on him to thin the herd a little in the U19s.

Main squad total - 6/30

Central

The first position where we need to have a clear out.

The versatility of players makes this looks deeper than it is, as all of the DC/DM/MC players are stronger in midfield, so we will be looking to have a solid rotation of DCs without relying on a DM to drop back unless there is an injury crisis.

Feltes leads the way, although the discussion about his future will need to be had soon.  He has two years left on his contract and hit 30 during the season, so it could be the final run for him.  This is tempered by the fact he is the club captain, the quality behind him is not astounding, and that we play in Luxembourg so he should be able to play on into his early thirties.

(24g) Dervisevic, (26f) Holtz and (26k) Todorovic are the best DCs when sorted by CA.  I don't want more than 4 DCs in the main squad regularly, although I may look to register a fifth in case of an injury crisis.  This will depend on space.

That means the following players will be moved on due to their age and lack of quality - Kerkhofs (19p), (20e) Chanot, (23l) May

Main squad total -10(+1)/30

Midfield

Defensive

With the planned formations I will be looking to register three DMs, with two residing in the main squad and the third in the U19s most of the season, unless we move to the 4-2-3-1 DM formation where we will need a bench option.

(26a) Payal and (25h) Turpel lead the way and will be the main two.  Both suit the BWM role, so I may switch from using the Half Back role there to allow them to shine.

The third role becomes an issue here where (20a) Lombardelli and (22a) Lehnen are better than the other options, but too old for the U19s.  I don't want them in the main squad and getting grumpy, so instead will look to move both of them on, and instead register (26o) Vaz due to the potential he has.  Racing (LUX) approached to take him on trial which I allowed, and if they offer a reasonable sum I would allow him to go, and register (25l) Joachim as the third option.

That will leave (25o) Schiltz and (25p) Holtz in the U19s guaranteed with (21h0 Thill and (22d) Siebenaller being moved on too

Main squad total - 13(+1)/30

Edited January 19, 2019 by scousevasey
Update of information

[scousevasey]

Squad Review (Part II)

Midfield

Central

The top seven players shown here have already been dealt with.

Maes (19j) and (25a) Bozic played the MC positions last season with lots of extra training, and will be favourites to again, but if we move to the 4-1-2-3-0 DM Wide formation we will need someone to step in as one of those moves forward.  We will also need a rotation option for injuries.

Sorting by CA puts (26m) Huss and (26p) Thill as the top pure MCs with (23a) Toussaint third, but (26o) Vaz is rated above them and he is already being registered.

That leaves me looking to register (23a) Toussaint as the main bench option, along with one of (26m) Huss and (26p) Thill, although the two younger players will start in the U19s.  If there is space I may register both of them.

That means I will be looking to move (21j) Bollendorf and (23e) Binsfield on to pastures new

Main squad total - 17(+2)/30

Attacking Central

Maes (19j) and (25a) Bozic are already in, and (25b) Flick will mainly be playing out wide and will be considered there.

(26j) Feltes will continue in the U19s but may be an option as a flier to be registered for the 4-1-2-3-0 formation

Main squad total - 17(+3)/30

Right sided

I have grouped MR and AMR here as we will only be playing with AMRs in our formations so all players will be training to develop in that position

Depth here, which is what we are looking to build

(26h) Bossi and (25d) Plein will be the main options.

(26e) Krecke, (24d) Plein, (26d) Hilbert and (26g) Hall will be in the U19s and may be trained on the left if there is a lack of depth there.

(21b) Flick and (23o) Osweiler will go as there is no space for them, and (23j0 Oliveira and (25n) Sacras would have been offered for loan to allow them to stay at the club, but their non-contract status means they will join the exodus from the club

Main squad total - 19(+3)/30

Left sided

Nulens (19h) has been a key player, and is one of our best, but was usurped by (25b) Flick last season as (25b) Flick is more comfortable in the AM position.  (25c) Collette will be registered too, as Nulens (19h) may get grumpy about not playing as often as he would like, and as (25b) Flick can move to AMC it gives a bit more cover.

(26e) Krecke provides U19s cover on both sides, and will be joined by (26c) Borner.

(24c) Nobrega, (21f) Teixeira and (24a) Caraballo will be shown the door

Main squad total - 22(+3)/30

Strikers

As has been the issue over the past few seasons, lots of similar ability, but no stand outs.

(26b) Dervisevic could be the future but the personality is a worry.  (25f) Costa and (24k) Clement will enter the main squad, with (24e) Huss, and (24h) Bastos sticking around in the U19s to give some depth.  At least one of the main squad strikers will be available for the U19s each week.

That sees the release of (20n) Curado, (20k) Engel and (22c) Osweiler

Main Squad total - 25(+3)/30

 

This gives us a registered squad of 28, with a much smaller U19s, where those left are of the correct age, and get the chance to develop.  Those in the main squad who are not part of the core, and may miss out on the bench will be made available for the U19s to avoid them wasting away

[scousevasey]

Season Preview 2026-2027

As usual a lot of games to allow us to build our fitness, with the first few being given over to developing some form of tactical understanding of the 4-1-2-3-0 DM wide strikerless formation and the 4-2-3-1 2DM wide formations that are new this season

A mixed bag, with perfectly symmetrical results (4-4-4).  The strikerless formation is not getting the goals but is tight defensively.  It may work better against stronger teams who are looking to attack us more, but there is something not quite right about it.

The board still want mid-table in the league, but want us to push onto the last 8 in the cup which is a step up based on our strong run last season.  The odds are narrowing as we have previously been up around 100-1 similar to Rumelange, so we are making progress in perception at least.  Now we just need the results on the pitch.

As in previous years a top three set apart slightly, then a close grouping behind them that this year stretches down to 8th.  We are fairly isolated, as are Rumelange, Erpeldange and Mondorf, with there not being much hope for Norden and Mertzig.

If I was judging personally Progres would be closer to the top three.  Kaerjeng have been dropping off in previous seasons, and hopefully Jeunesse Esch will regress this season.

A tough start against Dudelange, although we did get all three points against them at home in the final game of last season.  We need to get a win against Mondorf, and the remainder of August will be tough, as we face all of the top three from the previous season.  Obviously the fixtures get easier after that, with a nice mix.

As always the first game drops to be the final game of the season, but it is worth noting that we face Progres in the final game of 2026, and restart the season away to DIfferdange.

[scousevasey]

August 2026

We were top of the league!*

*There is always one game on a Saturday with the other six fixtures on a Sunday.  Our opening game against Dudelange took the Saturday slot, and with the win we were top.  It didn't last the weekend due to goal difference

And this season seems to be a little topsy turvy elsewhere already

That is correct.  9 points from 12 after facing the top three from last year.  The loss against Progres was in the 95th minute too, so we were close to 10 points early on.  We are not dominant, far from it in some games, but this is a really good start for us

We have been outshot in two of the games, although the shots on target were closer in the Dudelange game.  We have won the possession battle each game which is rare.  Differdange didn't seem to show up fully with only two shots on target and this is not the first points they have dropped this year.

Although their Euro Cup run may explain some of those results.  Kaerjeng have started to consistently take points from Differdange, but we were able to take advantage of their game against Red Star, although we were not at our strongest due to call-ups for the U19s that started the day of the league games (stupid in my opinion)

These were the unpicked players in the squad for the Differdange game, and all six of those had to be taken out of the matchday squad of 16, although only two were starting.

 

A much better start than expected (I was expecting the three points from Mondorf, and hoping for something from Dudelange.  Progres is always tough, and then Differdange are a pain.

September looks rosier by the minute

Fola Esch have two wins and a draw

Rumelange have one draw

Mertzig have one win and a draw.

Apart from any key injuries from the international break (we have 12 players away all in age group teams), or complacency we should not be dropping any points this month, with the toughest game first up

(25b) Flick has picked up a knock early in the season, and then a second for our U19s when trying to regain fitness, so I am nervous there, but it is good to see six players in the U21s from the last two intakes so they are only 17 years old or younger.

[scousevasey]

September 2026

At the end of the month we had more international call ups, and are growing stronger, as evidenced by the news about the leading producers of footballers that dropped into the inbox around the same time.

(25g) Loureiro (GK) is the new addition this month

Second in the production stakes, and this should only improve as we grow stronger.

 

The month was slightly disappointing results wise, but it is still a strong start to the season

I predicted that Fola Esch would be the toughest game, and so it proved, but we should have managed to pick up something from the game

Yes we were outshot by Fola Esch, but their winner came in the 97th minute.  After seven games we have now dropped points in the 95th and 97th minutes, both times letting draws slip to losses.  Those two points could be key at the end of the season, and I know it is the byproduct of a young team, in games we struggled in, but still....

 

I don't usually post the league table until after 10 games minimum, as I don't think it is truly reflective that early in the season, but this year we have faced the top three from last year so we have not faced the minnows only, and I am going to break with convention (albeit hidden if you don't want it ruined)

Spoiler

 

October brings further challenges, both in fixtures and in the timing of games

Racing (LUX) are always strong, but our developments me we go into the game expecting at least a point (mainly due to being at home).

Norden are performing above expectations, but we should be able to get the win, likewise in the other fixtures.

Erpeldange will include the added challenge of being the first midweek game of the season due to the cup as we enter November.  We have been drawn against Norden, so should be looking to progress through to the last 16 fairly easily

[scousevasey]

October 2026

This is the first moment in the save where I have felt the trials of the youth movement is paying off (as outlined earlier I struggle to stick with saves long term.  This is my second longest save ever)

Unbeaten this month, with a good win against Racing (LUX).  A shame to drop points against Titus Petange, but three key players were flagged as needing a rest for that game and the gap in quality to their replacement showed slightly.

The sending off against Racing (LUX) made things tight, but a solid response from the team meant we held onto our advantage.  The game against Norden was sealed before they had a man sent off.

Titus Petange was as dull game with both teams struggling to even attempt a shot.  I am unsure how two teams can average a shot every 10 minutes between them, and only have two hit the target.

Until the Titus Petange game we had been keeping pace with Differdange, having put a dent in Racing (LUX)'s position ourselves.  The dropped points meant I was thinking this was the point where we drop away, until Norden did something amazing and beat Differdange in the final game of the month.

Top of the league! And nearly halfway though the season too

We are in no way safe at the top, or safe in the European spots but we are definitely in the better position than in previous seasons.

First up in November is the cup game against Norden.  Based on their league position and our result against them we should win, but they have just beaten Differdange 4-1 so we have to be wary.

Jeunesse Esch have dropped away after their unusual run last year, whereas Kaerjeng seem to have permanently dropped back after being in the top four when I took over.  The month finishes with Mondorf in the first of the return fixtures, where we should be claiming all the points easily

[scousevasey]

November (and December) 2026

The month started with the cup game against Norden, and due to the short week there was some rotation

While we had the best of the game, we couldn't grab a goal and paid for it.  One the one hand this means we don't have to worry about the cup, but we did well last season and the board expected the quarters so we are way below target with the cup.  If we drop off in the league after the winter break this could come back to bite

Due to being knocked out of the cup there was no second game in December, so I am tagging on our result against Progres to this review instead of giving them their own

An unbeaten month in the league, but we have hit some struggles which doesn't bode well.  Fortunately we now have nearly three months to get back to form, and iron out the creases in our performances

Annoyed not to get the win against Jeunesse Esch, and the lack of quality up front is clear. None of our options are better that 1.5* currently with the three options struggling to develop as I try to balance games for each of them with the quest for points.  At the same time that fact we were able to get all of the points against Kaerjeng and Progres balances out the result against Jeunesse Esch.  The positive of this is the strength of our defence which seems to be working well in the current formation. This led to me looking at some of the stats as we entered the winter break.

While we don't register on the most clean sheets we are conceding the least, meaning we are in the best position to win games

We had nobody at the top of the goal scoring charts but three of the top five for assists.  While this points to the lack of quality up front, it also shows how the formation works to support our lone striker with the top two for assists coming from our wide players, but (25h) Turpel is joining in centrally.  Attacks coming from all sides makes it difficult to shut us down and allows a variety of chances to be created

Three of the top ten performers in the league, matched only by Differdange is a real positive as it shows we are not a one man team, and again allows us to overcome the lack of quality up front

 

As we enter the break this is the league table

Differdange lost to Dudelange in the last game before the break giving us the chance to overtake them.  The three of us are starting to create a gap back to Racing (LUX) although six points is not huge.  If we can extend that a bit it would be great.  We are ten clear of fifth place which should mean we have a good chance of top four due to the drop off by Progres.  While the top three are guaranteed the European places, fourth depends on the cup result, so seeing who is left in at the quarter final stage gives an idea of the chance of getting into Europe in the league

The rest of the top four are still in the cup, and won't face off until the semi finals at least, which keeps the possibility of us getting into Europe going strong

Looking forward to the rest of the season

January - Avoid losing anyone key to the team during the transfer window

February - Get fit again and face some difficult teams to get use to a challenge without getting demoralised

Remaining fixtures

Bookended with tough games, with Racing (LUX) sandwiched in the middle.  All three of those are away so will be tough, although our nine points from nine at home will help cushion any losses.  Fola Esch are the next highest team remaining so the games in February will be a good marker for the remainder of the season.

We should get points going into the Racing (LUX) game, and the other side of that, leading to the Dudelange game.

Having dropped points in four games so far (3 against Progres and Fola Esch, 2 against Titus Petange and Jeunesse Esch) we need to be wary in those games too.

[scousevasey]

January (and parts of February) 2027

Fairly quiet month really.  One youth player went on loan to Hamm Benfica, one of our affiliates.  There were some offers to trial a few of our youngsters but they were rejected.  Differdange wanted to loan (26a) Payal but didn't want to pay us to steal our best player so they walked away

Four games to get a run out, where we managed to continue our form from 2026 which bodes well.  A loss in the toughest game, but good wins in the others.

Two games in February and three in March, which I will lump together in one update.  Not much build up as I did this before the break.  Youth intake will probably happen between the Fola Esch and Rumelange games so will come first

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2027

This feels more like a depth and U19 intake than previous years.  That shows the team is stronger than before, but there is still room to grow as evidenced by the five players who have a max 5* PA.

Best player at the minute is a GK who will struggle to break into the team, as we now have three good keepers.  I will be looking to get one out on loan for next season to aid development.

Positionally we have a good variety of positions which will help with depth, although the lack of a striking option is a shame.

Looking at who is most likely to make an immediate impact there are six players rated as better than 1* CA on intake

Five of these are top when sorted by PA, which shows that those who are the best now should continue to be the best.  Unfortunately the positions don't match the positions of need, but instead fall in positions of relative strength, with (27a) Bianchini not fitting our current formations and his lack of determination means he is unlikely to be motivated to retrain to play further up the pitch.  I will look to sign him, but he may not last too long if there is no improvement in his suitability for the formation.

 

We are not yet at the position where we can reject players due to poor personalities, although there is a negative effect on a couple of players in the training reports.  As most of the squad is below 20 it would be a risk to run with a very small squad even if there are benefits to losing a few, and there is the hope things would change.

[scousevasey]

March 2027

We settled back into the league this month and things are still looking rosy

The only dropped points come against two of the top teams in the league, away from home.  And in a chance to previous seasons we also managed to defeat the weaker teams easily

We did well to draw against Differdange, but they failed to cash in on their shots with nearly 75% missing the target.  We dominated against Fola Esch, and as they were in 5th at the start of the month this improves our chances of gaining the European places

Our dominance continued against Rumelange and Mertzig who are at the bottom of the league.  As mentioned we usually slip up in at least one game of this type, but we are managing not to currently which is a real positive.  Five of the goals against Mertzig came in the first 25 minutes, after which the game settled down.

A shame to lose against Racing (LUX) but not a surprise really

Disclaimer - I forgot to screenshot at the end of the month so this contains the result of Racing (LUX) - Progres at the start of April and moves them closer to us in the table

The top four are starting to open a gap on the rest, meaning we are definitely fighting for Europe, a real change from previous seasons

Games against 12th, 6th and 10th should provide nine points and keep the pressure on Dudelange, Differdange and Racing (LUX) at the top.  The season is starting to build to the final game against Dudelange which could be vital.

The cup quarter finals take place on the 18th April, with the semi finals usually coming at the end of the month, which will give us a clue to how close we are to the promised land of Europe

The financial picture shows why I am so fixated on Europe.  Part of the debt has come from a facilities upgrade given by the board to persuade me to reject the advances of Racing (LUX) in the summer, and totals roughly £100,000 of the total.  But the payday from a couple of European games (whisper it quietly, a couple of rounds) would give us a cushion to turn professional and secure our future, meaning one big hurdle on the quest to create a new dominant team in the country

[scousevasey]

Title Race

Slight spoiler for the first game of April but we got news of there being a title race (unusual in Luxembourg over the past few seasons)

Personally I would disagree with the most eye catching fixture, and suggest the Rosport-Dudelange final day thriller (not played it yet...) but having all of the top 4 face another titan is enticing.

If Differdange win their game, it should be a three way race for the title, and us nearly guaranteed Europe.  If Racing (LUX) win their game it will be a tighter race, but gives ourselves and Dudelange the chance to control our destiny at the top of the table...tough call over what is preferable