PaulHartman71 Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 Another big summer for the tycoon-backed Xamax, who spent £65M, albeit with £27M in sales, but that's still almost £40M net spend which is mad for a Swiss club in the Champions League, let alone one that's never been in it. At some point they have to spend their way into a title challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted July 27, 2020 Author Share Posted July 27, 2020 Mid-Season Update Swiss Cup A solid start to the Swiss Cup, we face Servette in the Quarter Final. Champions League A bad start as we take the loss away to my old side Besiktas. We took the lead against another old side in Roma, but they came back from 1-0 down to get the 3 points. We took the lead in Manchester too, but City came back to get a point, which for us was probably a pretty good one. We were in the home game, but they just had too much for us. It looked for long spells like we may hold onto a point at home to Besiktas, but former star striker for me Santiago Pastrana got them the all important late winner. Another 1-0 loss, this time in Rome. Not great but pretty much what I expected. We didn't really get outclassed or annihilated in any of the games, only losing 1 of them by 2 goals or more, but disappointing nonetheless. Super League We got the new season off to an amazing start, with a 7-1 thrashing of FC Thun. We then beat St. Gallen, before dropping points in Lichtenstein and then losing away to Basel. A big win against Xamax, but we then lost to Lugano away from home to lose some momentum. We did at least win our next two games 3-1, including a Bruno Perreira hat-trick against Servette which was nice. Thun got some revenge on the 7-1 by beating us 2-1 away, before we beat St. Gallen and Vaduz. A solid point against Basel, although we then lost away to Xamax in a big boost for the tycoon-backed side. Not the greatest form going into Christmas, as 2 more draws meant we won just 1 of our last 5 games. A poor festive period sees us down to 3rd, with Basel on top and Xamax right up there competing this season as you'd expect with the money they've been spending. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Well done winning the Swiss League. Work to do to match the best in the Champions League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Winter Window A few good looking loan deals for my youngsters, whilst we also let 2nd choice right back El Mehdi Omari go to Stutgart, with 2nd choice Jamie Thomas returning to his native England to Premier League side Norwich. The big departure saw striker flop Juan Pedro Flores leave for La Liga side Zaragoza. It just didn't work out with him which is unfortunate, but we move on. We signed the 17 year old prospect from Czech Republic for just over £10M, due to the weird glitch on transfer window he arrived in November but couldn't play until January. My scouts were mad about him and think he could be a real star, hopefully he will be, he is showing as a Wonderkid which is good. He has a year of first team football under his belt already in the Czech League at such a young age. We've gambled on another striker. Markfoged hasn't been super prolific, so I'm hoping this young Algerian lad, also a Wonderkid might be the answer to our problems. He's got a brilliant record for the Algerian national team and had a decent record for Rosenborg in the Norwegian league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share Posted July 30, 2020 Probably the best intake we've had in terms of quality overall. Another very promising keeper. And these two left wingers both look pretty good, a bit of a shame as we already have a decent left wing prospect, but you can't complain when they may become first team talents. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 End of Season Update Swiss Cup We fell at the Semi Final stage to Basel in a tough tie. Super League An early loss to St. Gallen, but other than that a very good start to the new year, with 4 wins from 5, including a big win against Basel. A big 3 points against Xamax, before we lost to Lugano, before 2 more wins on the bounce. A very solid looking April, although we did suffer a slight set-back in our title bid as we lost to Basel. Xamax also beat us, before we won our last 3 games of the season. I didn't actually think we were going to do it, but we were quite fortunate that Basel dropped quite a few points in the last few months of the season too. To lose 8 games and still win the league is mental We only lost 3 all of last season! Basel lost all 3 times against Xamax, so in some ways them becoming more of a force actually helped us in that regard as it meant they dropped points they otherwise probably wouldn't have. Bruno Perreira the stand-out once more, 19 goals and 9 assists in 41 games and he always looks a threat. No idea how Switzerland haven't capped him yet ffs Begonja very good on the other wing too, with 10 goals and 12 assists in 32 games, as he missed parts of the season with a twisted ankle and pulled knee ligaments. Pablo Rodriguez had another very solid year in goal. We have Real Madrid interested in him, with a £32M release clause we may have no choice but to sell, but to be honest I'd probably take £25-30M anyway as it's a good time to sell now he's 30. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners 2072/73 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2073/74 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2074/75 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Belgian Cup & Super Cup winners 2075/76 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2076/77 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Champions League runners-up & League & Super Cup winners 2077/78 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League, Belgian Cup & Super Cup winners 2078/79 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Champions League, Pro League, Cup & Super Cup winners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2079/80 Antalyaspor Turkish Super Lig 7th N/A. Resigned. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2080/81 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners. EL runners-up. 2081/82 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig, Cup & Super Cup winners 2082/83 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners 2083/84 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners 2084/85 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners. CL runners-up. 2085/86 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Champions League, Super Lig and Super Cup winners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2086/87 Young Boys Swiss Super League 4th Swiss Cup runners-up 2087/88 Young Boys Swiss Super League 2nd Swiss Cup winners 2088/89 Young Boys Swiss Super League 3rd Swiss Cup winners 2089/90 Young Boys Swiss Super League 2nd N/A 2090/91 Young Boys Swiss Super League 1st Swiss Super League winners 2091/92 Young Boys Swiss Super League 1st Swiss Super League winners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x3 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren), 2078/79 (Anderlecht), 2085/86 (Besiktas) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Turkish Super Lig x6 - 2080/81, 2081/82, 2082/83, 2083/84, 2084/85, 2085/86 (Besiktas) Turkish Cup x1 - 2081/82 (Besiktas) Turkish Super Cup x6 - 2080/81, 2081/82, 2082/83, 2083/84, 2084/85, 2085/86 (Besiktas) Belgian Pro League x8 - 2071/72, 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75, 2075/76, 2076/77, 2077/78, 2078/79 (Anderlecht) Belgian Cup x3 - 2074/75, 2077/78, 2078/79 (Anderlecht) Belgian Super Cup x7 - 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75, 2075/76, 2076/77, 2077/78, 2078/79 (Anderlecht) Swiss Super League x2 - 2090/91, 2091/92 (Young Boys) Swiss Cup x2 - 2087/88, 2088/89 (Young Boys) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren 10. Belgium - Anderlecht 11. Turkey - Besiktas Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon 5. Austria - RB Salzburg 6. Turkey - Galatasaray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Austria Switzerland Croatia (+2) Czech Republic (-1) Ukraine (-1) Serbia (+1) Denmark (-1) Bulgaria Romania (+4) Poland (-1) Sweden Iceland (-2) Slovenia (+2) Israel Norway (-3) Republic of Ireland Greece Hungary Slovakia Finland Belarus Northern Ireland Wales Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 A huge year for the AI and Turkey, as the AI pick up their 6th nation win of the save, with Galatasaray winning the Champions League for the first time in their history, giving Turkey two winners now. Galatasaray were the first Turkish side to make the final, but lost 23 years ago to Valencia, before Genclerbirligi also came up short in 2079 to Thierry's Anderlecht side, but they're now proud champions, besting Red Bull Salzburg, who could have had their 2nd European crown. St Mirren were a surprise semi-finalist given they haven't made a final for 22 years, but of course very welcome to see them doing well and a nice all-Scottish quarter final of course. A nice win for Red Bull Leipzig after going out in the group stage of the Champions League, in what could have very nearly been a Red Bull clean sweep if Salzburg had won their final. A big performance from Austrian side SKN St Polten saw them reach a Semi Final, before bowing out to Man City, another big side knocked out of the group stage of the CL. Rosenborg having a bit of a madness for Norway making the last 8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Rapid Vienna gave Salzburg much more of a run for it than they've had over the years, but the Red Bull outfit still held firm to win the title. SKN St Polten only 10 points off the title in the end too to be fair to them. Karpaty came extremely close to ending Shakhtar's reign, but in the end just couldn't quite match up to them, meaning it's 5 in a row for Shakhtar. Karpaty get another season in the CL for their troubles. Unbelievable scenes in Croatia, as Hajduk come just a point away from breaking Dinamo Zagreb's 67 reign of terror. They must be gutted, but it's at least a sign that they're catching up and ready to compete with them properly now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Youth Update Ney spent the season on loan at relegation battling Austrian PL side SV Grodig, who eventually stayed up. He played 23 times, with 29 conceded and 7 clean sheets. Great to get him some first team action and I'm hoping he can go out again next season as he seems to have finally improved a bit with the game time he's been desperate for the last couple of years. I couldn't find much game-time for Hemmi this season, as Bruno Perreira is so good on that right wing and stays so fit all the time there's no need to rotate or sub him off. I think Hemmi could do with a loan move next year. Petreski went out to Austria Vienna in January, although he only featured in 4 games for them in the end. A decent season for him in the U21s before that, could do with a loan move where he actually plays next season though. Chevalier is improving and had a nice loan spell to SCR Altach in Austria, where he played 12 games, with 3 goals and 3 assists. I think another loan move next year could really put him on the right track towards being a good quad player for us. A solid season for the young Belgian left back in our youth team, getting a load of U21 international caps, as well as playing in 13 U21 games for our U21 side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Xamax again go out really early in Europe given how much they've spent. Dynamo Kyiv aren't the side they once were in Ukraine and are mid-table relegation battlers more than anything else, they very rarely even qualify for Europe, so they should've won that really. Basel surprisingly also go out to Ukranian opposition in the CL, with Karpaty knocking them out. Vaduz went out to Lech Poznan of Poland, not sure how good Lech are but Vaduz aren't amazing so I'd say that's probably fair. Servette going out to Antalyaspor. Not sure what to make of that really as Servette aren't amazing, but Antalya very rarely qualify for Europe. Probably fair as a 50/50 tie I guess. Sion, who were the side who got relegated but won the cup last year, were in the group stage automatically, so I didn't expect huge things from them and we didn't get anything really. They finished bottom of a group with Malmo, Maribor and the semi finalists SKN St Polten. Basel did alright in the Europa League, making it past Boluspor before crashing out to a strong Sporting Lisbon side. England back in the Top 4 after a small absence, with Turkey dropping down to 7th which is a blow for them despite just winning the Champions League. Our bad year this season will cost us for a good couple of years as I can't see us rising much further than 10th any time soon now. A quiet few seasons for Portugal could see them soon in freefall down the table after being a Top 4 nation for quite some time in the last few decades or so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Also it could well be an interesting summer for us... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number seven Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Really hope this takeover goes through. Hope that run from Rosenborg was a one time thing, I know it's not real life, but it stung seeing them go that far in the Champions League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 On 01/08/2020 at 14:13, Number seven said: Really hope this takeover goes through. Hope that run from Rosenborg was a one time thing, I know it's not real life, but it stung seeing them go that far in the Champions League. I'm just glad it got sacked off quickly so it didn't impact the window too much. We're in a decent financial position with CL football atm anyway so it's all good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Summer Transfers The main departure saw goalkeeper Pablo Rodriguez sold to Real Madrid after they matched his release clause. We also sold midfielder Martin Hansen in what was a pretty good deal for us really. Also got some squad players gone and some decent loan moves for the young lads. Branislav is a good CAM who joins from Norwegian side Rosenborg. Simon Benoit will be our new goalkeeper. Didier Noukeu is a very exciting talent signed from Union Berlin of the 2nd tier in Germany who my scouts were raving about. Finally, we needed another CB so I went back to the Danish market to get one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Another tough group in the Champions League with Wolfsburg, Valencia and Lyon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Xamax seemed to have calm down the spending a bit, with a net spend of just £18M this summer after winning the Swiss Cup last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Noukeu looks amazing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number seven Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Love that you buy Rosenborgs good players! I second Rikulec's opinion on Noukeu! Potential world beater! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 You've got the domestic league nailed again. Now for progress in Europe. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 On 03/08/2020 at 20:23, Rikulec said: Noukeu looks amazing! 22 hours ago, Number seven said: Love that you buy Rosenborgs good players! I second Rikulec's opinion on Noukeu! Potential world beater! I love the Nordic market, seem to get a lot of bargains Noukeu looks great, one of those where I was surprised nobody else was in for him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 Looks like our chairman must be quite keen to sell as we're being floated about on the market once again just before the Winter Window. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number seven Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 A tycoon won't be wrong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Another one off Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Mid-Season Update Swiss Cup A pretty casual stroll to the Quarter Final, where we will play St. Gallen. Super League A relatively decent start to the season, with 4 wins from our first 6 games, which did include a slight hiccup against Sion. Better form after that, including a couple of rampant victories. A terrible October which saw two straight defeats, with the only positive being we turned it round to win 4-2 away to Basel. We picked up another loss in November, this time to Servette, although we did follow it up by tonking Thun. A decent enough end to the year. Top of the league with 4 points behind us. Have to be happy with that considering our inconsistent form. Champions League A big win on opening day as we come from behind to defeat Lyon away from home. Wolfsburg were too strong for us though in our next game. Valencia beat us too. We looked like we might hang on for a point in the away game, but unfortunately not. A great result as we smashed Lyon in the penultimate match. A crazy game saw us somehow come away from the Edin Dzeko Arena with all 3 points! Was it enough to see us through...? No! So close, but so far, as we bow out, but at least get the Europa League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Dinamo Zagreb, the kings of Croatia in the First Knockout Round. Should be an interesting game and a close one as I think they've often made the Last 16 of the Europa League in recent years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 January Window Out Quite a busy one, with 4 players out. Most notable was the brilliant young right back Libor Loksa, who we only signed last January, but he had a £30M release clause which Celtic have activated already. I also sold back-up CAM and AML options, Hendrick Thomas and Flavio Kryeziu, both good players, but wanted first team and we got decent money for them. Similar story with Daniel Fogh the midfielder. To replace Kryeziu and Thomas I just recalled Petreski and Chevalier from their loans, as their both talented young kids who I think are probably good enough to fill that role in the squad now. In We've had Del Boy and Rodney, now we've got Malcolm in the Middle-Ton in the Midfield The weird thing about this guy is that he was playing for Coventry in the Championship on a rolling month to month contract, so I just had to offer him a contract and pay £1M in compensation What a steal! Also had to sign a right back which is where this guy came into the picture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Oh and erm a new guy got linked to take over and he wants to bring a new manager in Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 In case this happens you should got to Xamax and buy everyone half-decent from Young Boys Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 It's happening. Interesting times ahead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 1 hour ago, nie jem frytek said: In case this happens you should got to Xamax and buy everyone half-decent from Young Boys That would be pretty interesting swerve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Squeaky bum time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 But just how did we get to this point.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 Well the initial start of 2093 started well, with 2 wins from 2, but then we lost away to Zurich. We picked ourselves up to beat Basel, in a big game, but then we lost to Xamax and surprise title rivals Servette. This meant we (white) slumped to 2nd, with Lugano (blue) moving up to 1st, with Servette (green) in 3rd. February also saw us bow out of the Swiss Cup at the Quarter Final stage to St. Gallen on penalties in a frustrating match. The one main positive in February saw us get past Dinamo Zagreb after a very exciting two legged affair jam packed with goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 March in the league was another frustrating month, with a loss at home to Vaduz, before a poor 2-2 draw away to Thun. We did have some injuries but it was still a really bad time to start dropping points given the looming takeover and rise of Servette and Lugano. Thankfully, in a huge 6 pointer game for the title, we managed to go to Lugano and pick up a massive 1-0 win in my bid to keep the title and my job. The win against Lugano saw us (white) back in top position, with Lugano (blue) dropping off, however Servette (green) had been in good form and capitalised on our poor form throughout March. A continued positive however was our Europa League campaign, as we narrowly defeated Arsenal on aggregate to make the Quarter Final. We were drawn against PSG, which some may remember we also played in the Quarter Final stage two years ago, where we went out on penalties. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 April was around when the takeover happened, we scrambled to a draw against Sion, dropping more crucial points, before picking up 3 big wins on the round to St Gallen and Basel. Servette (green) had now been 1st for 3 match-days, we were only 1 point behind them, but we just couldn't make that point up. For some reason the danger of losing out on the title had my job in jeopardy, to the extent I got that message that if I lost our very next match, against Zurich, that I may be sacked! The other snag was that we'd also just been eliminated from the Europa League. The big snag though was the Zurich game came just 2 days (46 hours) after our match in Paris. As we only lost the first leg 3-1, with a 2-0 win in Paris we could have gone through, so I refused to rest anyone as European glory in the Europa was too good to pass up on. But it meant I had to play a really 2nd string side against Zurich based on who was actually fit to play less than 48 hours later. We could only manage a 1-1 draw. Was it enough to keep my job? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 Well the short answer, is yes, yes it was. Servette actually lost their game on the same match day to 6th place Sion, which meant, despite only drawing, we went level on points with them to go top on goal difference. As you can see though Lugano and Servette were both right up there still with just games to go, with our very next match being away to Servette themselves, before we had to play Xamaz, as well as bottom place Thun, Vaduz, and then a potential title decider against Lugano at home on the last day. Luckily at this point some common sense seemed to prevail and the chairman realised, actually, I've done quite a good job here and maybe sacking me in the middle of a massive title run in probably isn't the best move? Xamax had actually sacked their manager a month prior, so that job was always out of the question, but Basel's manager was on the brink, so in the strange event that I had been sacked I think I could have at least had that as a solid back-up option to get back at Young Boys and come back to haunt the chairman. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 Around this time I was also given a new 2 year deal, with my current one due to expire in the summer. We had quite a few players return from injury and without the distraction of Europe or the sack looming over me we finally started to return to the kind of form we've seen in previous seasons, winning all 5 of our final games in style, with only Xamax almost taking points off us and Lugano nearly holding us to a 0-0 on the final day, but by that point the title was already in the bag. A fairly unexpectedly stressful end to the season, but thankfully we picked up the title in the end for the 3rd year in a row. A pretty mad year overall though, with both Basel and tycoon-backed Xamax missing out on Europe next season, with Lugano and Servette having strong seasons - and Sion too doing very well, whilst St Gallen picked up a deserved Swiss Cup after knocking us out in the Quarter Final, beating Xamax in the Semi, then Basel in the final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 End of Season Update Our two wingers had a great campaign, both with over 28 goal contributions in all competitions. 28 goals in all competitions for Markfoged, a much better season for him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophey Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners 2072/73 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2073/74 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2074/75 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Belgian Cup & Super Cup winners 2075/76 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2076/77 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Champions League runners-up & League & Super Cup winners 2077/78 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League, Belgian Cup & Super Cup winners 2078/79 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Champions League, Pro League, Cup & Super Cup winners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2079/80 Antalyaspor Turkish Super Lig 7th N/A. Resigned. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2080/81 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners. EL runners-up. 2081/82 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig, Cup & Super Cup winners 2082/83 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners 2083/84 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners 2084/85 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Turkish Super Lig & Super Cup winners. CL runners-up. 2085/86 Besiktas Turkish Super Lig 1st Champions League, Super Lig and Super Cup winners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2086/87 Young Boys Swiss Super League 4th Swiss Cup runners-up 2087/88 Young Boys Swiss Super League 2nd Swiss Cup winners 2088/89 Young Boys Swiss Super League 3rd Swiss Cup winners 2089/90 Young Boys Swiss Super League 2nd N/A 2090/91 Young Boys Swiss Super League 1st Swiss Super League winners 2091/92 Young Boys Swiss Super League 1st Swiss Super League winners 2092/93 Young Boys Swiss Super League 1st Swiss Super League winners ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x3 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren), 2078/79 (Anderlecht), 2085/86 (Besiktas) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Turkish Super Lig x6 - 2080/81, 2081/82, 2082/83, 2083/84, 2084/85, 2085/86 (Besiktas) Turkish Cup x1 - 2081/82 (Besiktas) Turkish Super Cup x6 - 2080/81, 2081/82, 2082/83, 2083/84, 2084/85, 2085/86 (Besiktas) Belgian Pro League x8 - 2071/72, 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75, 2075/76, 2076/77, 2077/78, 2078/79 (Anderlecht) Belgian Cup x3 - 2074/75, 2077/78, 2078/79 (Anderlecht) Belgian Super Cup x7 - 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75, 2075/76, 2076/77, 2077/78, 2078/79 (Anderlecht) Swiss Super League x3 - 2090/91, 2091/92, 2092/93 (Young Boys) Swiss Cup x2 - 2087/88, 2088/89 (Young Boys) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren 10. Belgium - Anderlecht 11. Turkey - Besiktas Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon 5. Austria - RB Salzburg 6. Turkey - Galatasaray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Austria Switzerland Croatia Czech Republic Ukraine Serbia Norway (+8) Sweden (+3) Bulgaria (-1) Denmark (-3) Poland (-1) Slovenia (+1) Romania (-4) Israel Iceland (-3) Greece (+1) Republic of Ireland (-1) Slovakia (+1) Hungary (-1) Finland Belarus Northern Ireland Wales Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 An all-British final, which saw Man United smash Celtic to pick up their 8th ever European crown, which sees them go ahead of Man City and PSG now in terms of overall title wins, with only the two Madrid sides ahead of them. A 2nd straight Europa League for Red Bull, after Leipzig won it last year, it was the turn of Salzburg to do it this year, beating PSG in the final. A good run from Sparta Prague who made the Quarter Final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 A fantastic effort from SKN St Polten, but they fall just short of winning a relatively shocking title victory over Salzburg. They're at least rewarded with the CL next year for their efforts if they can get through the qualifying rounds. Karpaty came very close, but they couldn't stop Shakhtar making it 6 in a row. Hajduk don't come as close to an upset as they did last year, with Dinamo Zagreb having a bit more breathing space this time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 Youth Update Hemmi spent the first half of the season on loan at eventually relegated Austrian side Admira Wacker Modling, but we recalled him in January, after which he he featured 7 times in the league with 2 goals and 1 assist. Petreski spent the first half of the season on loan at St Gallen where he did okay mainly as an impact sub player with 16 appearances (just 4 starts) for them. We brought him back in January and he got 6 starts, with 2 assists. Chevalier looked quite promising for Vaduz in the first half of the season, with 4 goals and 1 assist in 18 appearances for them, but again, we recalled him in January after which he played 3 times and got 1 goal for us. More to come from him next season I feel. Ney got 3 cup starts for us and that was it really as he continued as our #2 keeper. No loan interest in him which makes it hard for him to develop really. Lemmens has progressed a lot playing U21 and U18 football this season. I may jump start his career by promoting him to 2nd choice left back next season as he's probably better than Ivan Schmid my ageing Swiss back-up at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 Servette dumped out by Club Brugge. Probably a 50/50 tie so can't begrudge them too much. Vaduz going out to Slavia Prague makes sense, although obviously doesn't affect our coefficient anyway. Rapid Vienna are a pretty decent side who won the Europa League not that long ago, so you can't really moan too much about Basel going out to them as they've not been as strong in recent years after we started winning the title. Lugano going out to St Pauli isn't great though as I don't think St Pauli often qualify for Europe at all, whereas Lugano looked a half decent side for large stretches of this season. Basel went out of their Europa League group of Tottenham, Braga and Maccabi Tel-Aviv. They came 3rd and only narrowly went out, but I would've really hoped they'd have got through that. Xamax finally actually did quite well given how much they've spent. Got out of a group of Shakhtar, Liverpool and Toulouse before beating Krasnodar and falling to PSG much like we did in the next round. Scotland into the Top 4 at Germany's expense. We're more or less neck and neck with Russia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 Seems like a hell of a lot of money for the sake of another 8,500 seats, but I'm sure it will pay off eventually. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 A decent summer of deals. Laid Harada wanted to move on as 2nd choice striker and despite only 10 goals in 2 years we doubled our money on him, which was pretty good. A few other squad players were sold, most notably English centre back Connor Rogers to the old enemy Genclerbirligi, as well as midfielder Juan Jose Azcona to Galatasaray. I wanted a new CB and Bounas was the best on the market, we paid Hajduk £20M to take him which was a pretty good deal I think although make sure you look at his personality trait. As you will shortly see I think that may have been an understatement... Needed a new option at striker with Harada leaving, so we dipped into the Bulgarian market to pick up Milev who is quite decent really. Bellino is signed as a HG back-up RB option. Finally, this guy is a young French CM prospect signed to give more depth at CM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 Xamax's chairman is back at it again! They didn't even make Europe but they're spending £34M net ffs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 And as I alluded to... State of this clown ffs This was September. Yes, in September, he had already failed to report for training on 3 separate occasions because he was in a nightclub the night before. Fined him 2 weeks wages every time, which he accepted each time at least. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now