Starting from the bottom, and working up to glory. A geographical misadventure

[scousevasey]

7 minutes ago, dllu said:

For some reason I only just discovered this thread and read through it all today.

Loving it. As a Dane I would love to see you make it to Denmark eventually. And take SønderjyskE into Europe, should you get the chance... just saying...  

Part of the reason for the random geographical choice is that in FM17 I added a club to the database based in Skagen which was the northernmost town I could find in Denmark (via a quick Google maps search). I set them up with a decent rep so they would get promoted (as I didn’t know who to cut from the leagues), and decent facilities, then ran it as youth only.

 

I do want to go back, but I am growing my affiliations as Inplay, as I enjoyed Luxembourg last year, and am enjoying Switzerland currently.

Currently I have no preference over Danish teams, so there is a chance I end up with yours, but I can’t guarantee success if I get there

[dllu]

11 minutes ago, scousevasey said:

Part of the reason for the random geographical choice is that in FM17 I added a club to the database based in Skagen which was the northernmost town I could find in Denmark (via a quick Google maps search). I set them up with a decent rep so they would get promoted (as I didn’t know who to cut from the leagues), and decent facilities, then ran it as youth only.

I always enjoy seeing foreigners dabble in "my" league, no matter what team they end up going with.

Bonus info: It's actually a bit weird that Skagen aren't in the database to begin with. In 1987, as a tier 5 team, they knocked Brøndby out of the cup on penalties. Mind you, this was the same year that Brøndby played really well in Europe and reached the quarterfinal of the Champions Cup. People in Skagen are still talking about that game, but I guess the Danish FM researchers today are too young to remember...  

Edited August 13, 2020 by dllu

[scousevasey]

1 hour ago, dllu said:

I always enjoy seeing foreigners dabble in "my" league, no matter what team they end up going with.

Bonus info: It's actually a bit weird that Skagen aren't in the database to begin with. In 1987, as a tier 5 team, they knocked Brøndby out of the cup on penalties. Mind you, this was the same year that Brøndby played really well in Europe and reached the quarterfinal of the Champions Cup. People in Skagen are still talking about that game, but I guess the Danish FM researchers today are too young to remember...  

They may well be in the database, but I decided I wanted a new one from scratch, so they were the Skagen Lighthouse, as it seems like a northerly town near the sea would have a lighthouse.

Wanted to take over ‘my side’ as I didn’t have Danish team, but fancied a lessen seen league, and with the geographical links to Germany and Sweden it has decent potential in terms of growth

[dllu]

19 hours ago, scousevasey said:

They may well be in the database, but I decided I wanted a new one from scratch, so they were the Skagen Lighthouse, as it seems like a northerly town near the sea would have a lighthouse.

Wanted to take over ‘my side’ as I didn’t have Danish team, but fancied a lessen seen league, and with the geographical links to Germany and Sweden it has decent potential in terms of growth

I checked and they are indeed in the DB.

But I know what you mean. And it is the northernmost town in Denmark. It's our equivalent of John O'Groats. Except during the summer when all the celebrities from Copenhagen go there on holiday...

Edited August 14, 2020 by dllu

[scousevasey]

On 12/08/2020 at 14:37, scousevasey said:

The toughest game in March is Young Boys, which could end our fight for 2nd, although facing Zurich between European ties will be a challenge

Winning the group gave us safe passage to the 2nd round, and while it is a shame to lose out on any money for results in the first round, it is contested by the teams who finished 2nd and those that dropped from the Europa League, so it would not be an easy round.  Interestingly Hajduk lost out to us, and face Dynamo Kviv who came third in Sion's Europa group, so with different results it could have been an all Swiss tie.

For those tracking the other Swiss sides, Sion go the the 2nd Europa round automatically after topping their group, while Young Boys drop down to the Europa League and will face Galatasaray in the first round knockout

With us reaching the end of February (dual month update to come at the end of March), the draw for Europe took place

3rd highest ranked side left in the competition.

I would love the change to beat Vaduz

Instead we get a tough draw against 5th highest Wolfsburg, which could be the end of the line for us.  Vaduz have a good chance of going through a they face a similarly ranked side.

Elsewhere it will be tough to see Swiss representation in any European quarterfinals

Young Boys defeated Galatasaray and get Tottenham as their reward, while Sion face Austrian opposition

[scousevasey]

Youth Intake 2030

The preview excited me as I need depth at WB, especially on the right.

On first glance it doesn't look all that, but there is a slight caveat to be had in relation to the quality of our first team squad.

When sorted by CA these are our two best players.  And both are wanted.

 

Mansouri, as a striker should achieve more value, although is stated value is less that that of Merbah.  If we can sell to the Premier League that will come with a nice influx of cash, although as the league isn't loaded, I am not sure how valuable different add-ons will be.

Does anyone know if an appearance add-on in a league that isn't loaded gets counted as if they would play? @Jimbokav1971 maybe?

With Merbah, he is being watched by the France Manager on a regular basis, and is picking up attention from across the continent.  Out of those shown only Italy, Germany, and Switzerland are loaded, so they might be preferable for the sale, just in terms of achieving any add-ons we can negotiate.  What is particularly striking for Merbah is that all 11 (eleven) clubs interested have major interest.  After signing him as a replacement for Gourna Doath when he was wanted, he may well end up leaving the club first.

The point of mentioning these, is if they are the best at the club, and are wanted by some of the top teams across Europe, then all of the intake players are being measured against a high bar.

30c Gramazio is the player highlighted by the intake report, and could be reasonable, but needs some growth.  As our WBs provide most of the width, his crossing could be better, and his determination is poor along with his personality, which may hold him back.

In reality, 30b Bott is closer to the first team, mainly as he is more suited to the attacking elements of the WB role.

 

It is a bit of a mixed group, but we really need to bring some youth players on to help with the home grown requirements in Europe which is costing us a couple of squad places currently

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, scousevasey said:

Does anyone know if an appearance add-on in a league that isn't loaded gets counted as if they would play? @Jimbokav1971 maybe?

I'm 99.99% sure that it does count. 

The games aren't played but the appearances are still calculated as the season progresses.

[scousevasey]

6 minutes ago, scousevasey said:

With Merbah, he is being watched by the France Manager on a regular basis, and is picking up attention from across the continent.  Out of those shown only Italy, Germany, and Switzerland are loaded, so they might be preferable for the sale, just in terms of achieving any add-ons we can negotiate.  What is particularly striking for Merbah is that all 11 (eleven) clubs interested have major interest.  After signing him as a replacement for Gourna Doath when he was wanted, he may well end up leaving the club first.

Moving on slightly I have looked at the two contracts for the players garnering interest, and annoyingly Merbah has a £8.5M release clause.  I went to see if I could sort out a better deal, but his agent locked in a release clause, and wouldn't let it go above £10.5m, plus wanted to double his wages, which I wasn't going to agree to.

If I knew he would be going, then paying more for the next 4 months wouldn't be too bad, especially to get an extra £2m in transfer fee, but there is the risk that signing him removes the interest and we are stuck with the higher wage, which while there is room in the budget for it, we can't really afford as we are losing money each month, and need the prize money boost

[scousevasey]

February and March 2030

It feels like these two months took forever to complete, due to the 13 games played across them, but results have been strong

After suggesting that St Gallen and Basel were the toughest games of February, we end up winning both, but also lost to Lausanne, where we were poor throughout.  Similiarly against Thun, but we were able to come away with a draw in that game.

The Basel game is even more astounding when you see that we played 75 minutes down to 10 men, and were outshot, although we did control posession.  The AMC was sacrificed after the red, and it meant we still had our solid defensive structure, and Mansouri and McWilliams were able to utilise the counter attack for their goals.

The win against St Gallen in the cup sees us exceed our aim for the season, and although we left it late, it was a heavily rotated team, which is an added bonus

Young Boys and Sion faced a delay to their game, so we were happy to avoid the big two in the draw.  The team for the semi final will be rotated again, with a couple of new faces as we had to call a MC up from the U18s due to a spate of injuries, so he will get another chance to perform

March started off slowly, and after the draw with Thun to end the league games in February I was worried, but we bounced back against Young Boys, meaning we had beaten the top two in the space of four league games.  Probably best to ignore the drop off of two draws against the bottom two between them though.

The trip to Wolfsburg was interesting, going 3-0 up with the penalty by Amoah, but then conceding three straight goals, strangely with their 3rd also being a penalty.  McWilliams snatched the winner in the 90th minute which was a real bonus after we threw the lead away.  Four away goals was great, but it was only a one goal margin.  In the return leg, Wolfsburg scored early to tie it up on aggregate, and while we held the advantage, it was touch and go as they peppered the goal with shots.  The McWilliams goal eased the tension, and was enough.

I went through the information for Wolfsburg when they were dominating, and they played 4-2-3-1 with every player valued over £15m, and a front 4 that were all worth over £40m.  Our highest value is £4.6m, which shows why the bookies had us as underdogs despite a higher coefficient.

We go on to face Dinamo Kyiv, who were in the same Europa League group as Sion.  Kyiv lost to our Swiss rivals twice in that group stage on their way to 3rd in the group, so we have a chance but it won't be easy.  We also end up on the tougher side of the draw, with both Osasuna and Sparta being tough opposition for the semi final, and then the expectation of seeing Roma reach the final.  

7 hours ago, scousevasey said:

From the draw for the 2nd round you can see that Dinamo are higher ranked than ourselves, with Sparta 4th.  And Roma have drawn Slovacko who are the lowest rated team in the draw for this next round.

Young Boys lost out to Tottenham in the Europa League, so we are the only team continuing on in Europe.

Our ability to avoid losing has seen the gap to Basel and Young Boys close up.  At one point it was up at 10, and if we had beaten Servette to end March we would have continued to be level with Young Boys, albeit behind on goal difference.

There is one round of fixtures to go, so we face everyone once more.  We should have a clear gap to St Gallen in 4th, but need to avoid being too distracted by Europe, especially as 3rd is the final Champions League spot.  Young Boys dropping out of Europe will probably see them ease away from us in the league.

If worst comes to worst, then we are 19 points clear of Servette in 6th, so would have to throw away a huge lead to see them overtake us and miss out on European football next season.

Lausanne are in a bit of a lonely place, with a clear gap to the relegation fight, and then up to the European places.  Thun, Sion, and Luzern will be fighting to avoid the drop.

Handily we start the run in against St Gallen, meaning we can widen the gap to them with a win, although a loss would make the run in more challenging.  Facing Basel betwenn the Kyiv games will not be fun, and could cost us either the league match or the European tie.  Hopefully we can have a repeat of the first hour against Wolfsburg and secure a good win, allowing for a bit more rotation for the return leg.

[scousevasey]

22 hours ago, scousevasey said:

February and March 2030

 Young Boys dropping out of Europe will probably see them ease away from us in the league.

Facing Basel betwenn the Kyiv games will not be fun, and could cost us either the league match or the European tie.  Hopefully we can have a repeat of the first hour against Wolfsburg and secure a good win, allowing for a bit more rotation for the return leg.

We made it past Dinamo Kyiv, but then face a challenge with the scheduling again

That means that the quarter finals sandwiched a game against Basel, and the semi final does the same for Young Boys.  Both of the big two.  Both after travelling in Europe midweek.

 

It will be tough

[scousevasey]

April 2030

After updating every two months through the season, April was interesting enough, and leaves an enticing May, so I have split them up

From the quarter final games we have beaten our old record, and have at least two more games, if not three to improve this.

And we have reached the goal for the season, meaning we can turn our attention to improving the squad further.  Based on current injury issues, there is going to be a need at WBR and WBL, although one of these may be a depth youth option, as well as in getting a 5th midfielder.

The only other transfer moves will be looking to strengthen for the future with some of our players getting interest from bigger teams.  The interest in Merbah and Mansouri has dropped, but we now have Chelsea and Liverpool showing interest in Amoah in goal.

I have managed to secure a big signing for the year, who wants to play in midfield, but with solid tackling, dribbling, passing and decision making would be an ideal Libero if we lose either Merbah or Gourna Douath.

He is costing £2m up front, with £3m spread equally over three years, so it is a huge price in terms of what we have paid in the past, but minor compared to what Basel and Young Boys pay.  He had a minimum fee locked into the contract negotiations, and it is set at £16.5m for foreign clubs, so good performances in the Champions League will mean that we could treble our money early.

The squad is getting stretched with injuries and the odd suspension being picked up, highlighting the areas of need.  Part of the problem is that we are short on homegrown players, meaning the European squad is reduced in size, so certain players need to play in those games, and if they are forced to play in the games around them we seem to be picking up little niggles and knocks. 

A perfect example of this is Negrao, who had been rotating with Menga at WBR, but kept picking up knocks, and then complained that he wasn't playing often enough.  And Menga wasn't in the European squad due to the limits, with our loanee taking the place due to counting as HGN, but Negrao wasn't happy with all the European starts and then some league ones, but then would get small injuries

This is all of the injuries through the season, each coming with a recovery time and lack of fitness, but especially after he raised his concerns, there was a need to balance recovery and game time, which probably led to some of the niggles flaring up.

That meant we struggled against Basel, and did well to only lose 2-1, seeing us lose ground in the race for 2nd, but it was the only dropped points in the league at a busy period which was good.  The platoon changes at DC and MC have helped here because each mini team have built up understanding so are able to slot in relatively seamlessly despite the high number of changes that are made in a squad.

A huge amount of rotation took place for the Servette game, in the cup, with both 3rd string WBs, along with our youth 5th MC, 3rd choice AMC, and 4th choice ST all starting, with quite a few not quite being up to full match fitness.  A shame to lose in the semi final, but the board are happy that we have beaten the expectation, and as we have now reached their expectation in the league, and cleared it hugely in Europe it has been a successful season.

All of that leaves us three points behind Young Boys, with four games to go until the end of the season, including a game against Young Boys, which takes on more significance.

 

The difference between 2nd and 3rd is not huge financially, but is the difference between passage straight through to the group stage of the Champions League or having to qualify.  Basel suffered the qualifying rounds this year and faced Sparta Praha and then Ajax, so they are not easy fixtures, and avoiding them would be easier on the squad.

As well as the game against Young Boys, they have to face Basel, and it is close between them for the title.  The gap is currently 3 points, but also 7 goals in terms of goal difference.  So if we could beat them 3-0, then get Basel to beat them, we would clear the goal difference issue, and be able to open a gap up.  But that is an ideal world.  Young Boys also end their season against the bottom two, although they are scrapping for with only 1 point separating the bottom three sides.

In contrast we face the other of the bottom three, and then two sides who should be secure in the European spots by the time we face them.  But we also have the added challenge of the games against Sparta Praha to fit into the mix, with a place in the Conference League final on the table.

A close tie between Viktoria Plzen and Nordsjaelland, but every other tie was fairly one sided.  I would still expect Roma to reach the final.

 

[scousevasey]

May 2030

A mixed month of results, as the long season seems to have caught up with some tired legs

Two losses to start the month made things difficult.

The upside of the loss to Sparta was that we managed to get an away goal. But losing to Young Boys put paid to any attempt to finish 2nd, and helped them close up to Basel.

A nervy first half in the home leg against Sparta make things tough, but we grabbed a goal to tie it up on aggregate, with the away goal advantage early in the 2nd half.  It was still nervous as the next goal would still swing the tie, and even getting to 2-0 wouldn't put the tie away.  The second goal came very late, but the more important part was the clean sheet, meaning we made it through to the final.

A bit of a European hangover against Sion, although our 94th minute goal actually put us up 1-0, but Sion equalised in the same minute.  The game against Zurich was poor all round and I was worried we were drifting to the end of the season, but a strong first half in the final league game against Servette left a positive move going into the European final.

We come third by a way due to the poor run in, but the squad is not good enough to battle on two fronts through the whole season, and there are reinforcements on the way.

Basel only won the league on the final day which secured a domestic double, although they had a huge GD lead over Young Boys, who could only manage a draw with Luzern which was enough to help them claim 9th and the relegation playoff, dooming Thun to the drop.

This was a new one to me, with the board being excited, but the ominous phrase 'talks regarding future expectations' is interesting.  The obvious response is they are saying that the expectations for the next season won't be set until we finish playing games, a fairly sensible move, but the phrasing makes me think that if we lose the expectations will be too difficult, and if we win there will be a different type of pressure.  Time will tell.

Nice to see in a good season there is evidence to support it, with interestingly all of the top three scoring the same number of goals.

 

There is still the Conference League final to go.

[scousevasey]

Europa Conference League Final - May 2030

A nice trip to Glasgow is on the cards

We are guaranteed a new name on the trophy, with a combined 130 years of history, but it is the first time we both reach the final of the competition - obviously helped by the fact that it is a new trophy to fight over.

Roma came 7th in Serie A this season for comparison

The board only expected the group stage, and we have been underdogs throughout, but Roma are clear favourites going into the game

The first half was enough for Roma to assert their dominance, and while we pushed back against them, we could only manage one consolation goal.

  

While it is a shame to lose, the money flowing in is the real prize.

The prize money for the semi final was about £650k, so it is nearly £4m earned from Europe just in May

Turns out it was closer to £6.5m, plus the gate revenue, and TV revenue which is really nice.

All of which means the upgrades that were planned during the season have enough money to go ahead when the board look to begin construction, and we can continue to develop.

If we can make it through the two rounds of Champions League qualifiers, the increase in money from the group stage will be huge, and really help the club reach the next level.

 

Next up is a chance to review the squad we have, and the weaknesses, as well as possible transfers out, to plan the incoming transfers that will be needed

[scousevasey]

2029-2030 Awards and Squad Review

  

First the club awards, with a slight surprise that McWilliams was the player of the season, but that is probably due to Merbah claiming the young player award.

My favourite statistic is that there were 7 players joint top of the assist chart with 7, showing how well the squad moved the ball around, and also how well the rotation worked

In order we have WBR, MC, AMC, WBL, ST, AMC, WBL, showing that the left side is profitable, and both the first choice WBLs stayed fit and able to rotate in, as well as that goals came from across the pitch.  Pospisil was our main corner taker, and so a few assists will come from there, and Cisse who took them when Pospisil wasn't playing racked up 6 assists (one of three players, two MCs and a WBR who hit that number)

Mansouri shows why he was signing of the season, and why he is wanted across Europe setting a new team record in his first season.  Considering he was one of three main options who rotated through the season whereas Rodrigues was more of a fixture in the starting line up this is a real positive

 

Elsewhere

The facilities upgrades will go ahead and be ready in October, and hopefully we will be in the position to ask for the next round at that stage

The board have also tempered league expectations.  We would qualify for the Europa League in 4th (cup winner dependent), and all other years in the five year plan are now to reach the Champions League (top three currently), but clearly they expect a bit of a Champions League hangover this year.

Although they also don't expect us to progress from our first round, so everything we gain there will be a bonus.  If we do drop down to the Europa or Conference League then it will be interesting to see what the board expect in those competitions.

In terms of injuries, I don't tend to show this, but Negrao stands out.  He missed 19% of the season, but he suffered 12 injuries, showing that while he was listed as being fit and recovered, he never seemed to fully regain his fitness.

Three weeks was the longest one, but lots of these resulted in a drop in condition.  The run of then from September through to November was when he wanted more playing time, so I was trying to keep him in the lineup as often as possible which probably contributed to some of these.  He also plays at WB, where I tend to need to substitute regularly due to the amount of effort required for the role.

 

In terms of the squad review, there are a couple of transfers already arranged

Ferretti was the player mentioned above, wanted across Europe so I moved to sign him with an eye to make some money back on him later down the line.

Baresi, Simon and Benali provide depth and coverage for DC, Libero and MC in case of transfers, with Muhammed not happy about playing time earlier in the year, Merbah wanted by some bigger teams, and there being a need for an extra MC since letting Jovanovski leave last summer.

N'Doye will play at WBL, and offer an attacking thrust down that side.

There will be many more players offered a trial to see if we can get some quality on the cheap again.

This is everyone who played a first team game this season.

Amoah played in the league and Europe, with Searle given games in the cup, and the European group game that wasn't important.  Combined they played 60 games, showing our season total.  Searle is not happy about his drop in playing time, but is high up the hierarchy, so I need to be careful in moving him on.  We have depth options in the U21s, but I may see what is available, especially as Amoah is starting to attract attention from other clubs.

At DC Muhammed and Pribyl were the first choice pairing, but Muratoglu and Zakuani are pushing them hard for that distinction.  Merbah has become the number 1 Libero, but was paired with the 2nd choice DCs due to Gourna Douath having already built a relationship with the first pair over previous seasons. There is no need to change this unless we sell, and if there are no sales, the new players will be gently eased in, possibly as a 3rd grouping to help manage workload.

At WBR, Negrao was struggling with injuries, so Menga played a hugely important role and is pushing to be number one.  Negrao is 27, so no over the hill, but one of the older players, and with his injuries it may be worth moving on from him.  Domenech was a 'break glass in emergency' player who got most of his games in Europe if Negrao was injured due to be HGN, or the cup when we rotated.  WBR is a position where we need three good options, and we currently have one and a half, so we need to invest.

On the opposite flank, Suarez seems to have backed up Madsen, but a lot of that is a slow recovery from his ankle ligament injury, so he started on the bench a lot and came on for 30ish minutes to build up fitness.  Madsen is 28 (joint oldest with Searle) so I want to be careful with his workload next season.  Opoku was our cup WBL, but with new signing N'Doye coming in we are well set on the left

In the centre of the pitch the sale of Jovanovski meant we were running with 4 MCs, with Gourna Douath being able to cover if needed, but a spate of injuries and suspensions at the same time saw Morganti called up to play a few games where he performed well.  He will drop back down to the youth teams due to the incoming signings, but if we sell, he could well step back into the main squad.  I think the MC roles was the best example of balanced rotation through the squad, and there is very little drop off between the pairings.

AMC was interesting as Pospisil went down with a groin strain in September, meaning Shaqiri stepped up to rotate with Morf, and then outperformed him, dropping Morf to cup AMC.  As Morf is 27, with Pospisil 26, I may look to move Morf on, and run with the other two, leaving room for a new signing or youth product.

Up front I tried to ease Berete in, as he signed late and so missed pre-season, and he repaid that, forcing his way into the starting lineup regularly and producing goals.  The main front three scored 18, 19 and 23 goals, which is 60 goals in total, a solid return in total, and nicely balanced.  David played in the cup, and when injuries struck, and performed well, so I need to look to give him more minutes next season to push him on to the next level.

 

All told the squad is well set, and apart from continually looking to sign better players there is no need to spend.

I will be looking for

GK2 (or future GK1 if Amoah goes)

WBR (we need a 2nd and 3rd choice options to cover Negrao, so the 3rd choice would be young)

AMC (as a third option, so probably a youth option)

I do also need to make more use of the strong youth setup, and try and make a pathway, so will review the U21s and U18s to see if we have any suitable options, especially for WBR3 and AMC3 in those squads.

[scousevasey]

On 18/08/2020 at 20:22, scousevasey said:

All told the squad is well set, and apart from continually looking to sign better players there is no need to spend.

I will be looking for

GK2 (or future GK1 if Amoah goes)

WBR (we need a 2nd and 3rd choice options to cover Negrao, so the 3rd choice would be young)

AMC (as a third option, so probably a youth option)

I do also need to make more use of the strong youth setup, and try and make a pathway, so will review the U21s and U18s to see if we have any suitable options, especially for WBR3 and AMC3 in those squads.

Time to review the youth teams, and if anyone is able to step up this season.  Or who needs to be shipped out as they won't play for us.

First the U21s.

The first reaction is that the squad is too big.  So a few players will definitely need to go, although there are a few who will see their contracts expire at the end of June.

Skenderi in goal was back up to Searle, and could cover for Amoah as our GK2, but I really want a younger option.  If Searle and Amoah both go, then he would be a reasonable option until we can get a replacement, but I think Ferrari and Kovacic are better options as the third string.

Luckin has been out on loan and done well, but as he is both FGN and not HG he doesn't really help us with the squad issues.  Bosco could be a better option but is about to leave, and in terms of a 5th choice CB it is not really vital.  The aim is to find a HG option, and the best is probably Antonio.

Milic has performed well out on loan, and is getting close to pushing to be in the main squad.  It will be interesting to compare him and Frank Opoku at WBL for the 3rd choice option.  I may offer Opoku out on loan this year to see if he can play regularly and promote Milic.

Santini really needs to move up, but I have arranged a couple of MC signings, 

So instead I am going to set him to train at WBR, and will see what he can do there, especially as that is a position of need.  He could be WBR3, unless a purchase moves across, or someone else comes in.

Up front, Ransford Opoku and Gandolfi have some promise but are down the pecking order.  They really need to be playing, so I need to sort out loans or to get rid of them, freeing the U21 minutes for HG option.

So with the shopping list being

GK2, WBR, AMC there is a possible WBR in the U21s, but not much else for the coming season.

On to the U18s

There are no stand outs, although Carpentieri deserves another look as he is at the problematic WBR position.

Once the U21 clearout happens, then the higher PPA players will move up from the U18s to the U21s to give them a better quality of opposition.

[scousevasey]

European Developments

The league is improving, although not enough for more European spots.  It will be tough to reach that stage.

But more importantly, Lugano are in the European top 30, which is going to hugely help in terms of attracting top talent.  There needs to be a corresponding boost in reputation too, but it is a start.

This is the bunch of teams around us in Europe.  We are ahead of some big names like Dortmund, Dynamo Kyiv, Zenit, with some others withing reach.

That is helped by the fact that we are going to lose our last remaining 0.00 rating next season, so there is no drop - the only way is up, for one last time.  That will kind of show our ceiling, as it will be hard to continue to replicate the 14.00 and 22.00 scores.  Basel, one place above are a good example of this, with a 23.00 on the chopping block, but then 13, 12, 16 and 7 showing a decline.

Without any progress from the 2030-2031 season Lugano would be top 20.  But they need to perform to get that rating up, as many of the teams losing a decent number will replicate their scored that are going to drop away

Based on the outlook for next season, Lugano will be the top ranked Swiss side, as Young Boys are set to lose 15.00, and Basel 23.00.  If that happens, and we are no closer to winning the league, that might be a good time to move on.

For the first time in a long time, there are enough HG players in the main squad

Helped by this news, as Pribyl, Muratoglu and Cisse are all first team players.  Menga at WBR will qualify in October too which will also help.

[ashjm]

Just reading through this. I am at the start so bare with me but enjoying it so far 

[scousevasey]

2030-2031 Season Preview

The expectations are fair.

A slight drop in the league having finished 3rd and reaching the Champions League.  Although 4th doesn't guarantee the Europa as the cup takes preference for that spot.  In the Champions League the expectation is to win a round, while the Cup expectation is probably the hardest, especially if the rotation of the past few years continues.

Reaching the league goal should be comfortable, assuming the board want top 4.  Making sure it is top 4 could be tough, so the hope is St Gallen go deep into Europe and struggle due to that.

The draw for the Champions League game doesn't take place until after the league season starts, but this is the current situation.

Lugano are guaranteed to be seeded, so get one of the lower four teams.  Having beaten Slavia Praha last season, progress should be manageable.  Galatasaray have a 31 coefficient, so if they beat Dynamo Kyiv will be 5th ranked at minimum.  Aberdeen are lowest ranked team, but if they overcome Slavia, and Galatasaray win, then the Turkish side will manage to be seeded.

The playoff round is from these eight teams, and so we will be seeded for that draw if we make it through which will help.

Friendlies have been all about gaining fitness, and giving some of the new players time in the tactical setup to get up to speed, especially if they are going to be playing in an unfamiliar position.

This season throws up a tough situation, with Young Boys and Basel back to back.  Even worse is that they are the final two games of the season, so the pressure to secure the top 4 spot before then is on.  The one benefit from that, is if there is a chance of the title, or top two, then facing the two big clubs means that the players control their destiny.

No first team sales yet, but there is some interest.  Mansouri has had bids in from Chelsea, although they are not offering near his value, let alone the asking price, and I am working on selling Searle.

Quite a big transfer expenditure this season, but there is logic.  Ferretti is the player who was getting interest from across Europe, so the aim is to turn a profit in a couple of seasons if there is interest.  He is going to be training at Libero as a covering option if the interest in Merbah resurfaces.

Simon is another young player for the future who had some interest, and hopefully will help fill the shortage at MC that had opened up last season.

All of the others come in for free at the end of their contracts, and will fit into being rotation options to start with.

Next up is a squad preview by position, looking at the options available, and the depth that is available

[scousevasey]

Lugano Squad Depth - 2030-2031 Season

Firstly, the caveat that while the season is about to start, the transfer window is still open and there are bids for a couple of players, plus the option that some of the depth players can go out on loan.

Secondly, I have used the squad screen to order players in roughly the depth chart currently, but it is subject to change

Amoah is growing to be a really good GK, and I am expecting some reasonable bids to come in for him either close to deadline day, or for the start of next season.  The aim is to push his value as high as possible before then. Vlcek is one of the new signings, and the only one I didn't sign before their contract ended who comes in as the future cover for Amoah.  He is good enough to be the backup now, but I am considering trying to loan him out for the next 6 months (with the option to recall him if sales go through) so he doesn't miss out on some key development.

Searle can still do a decent job, but Amoah is better than him, and Vlcek has more growth potential, so the plan is to move him on mainly to remove his wage from the club.  He complained last year about not being the starter so if a decent bid comes in he should be gone.  Ferrari is a suitable option as cup/backup and would help us if the starter was injured.  He will drop to the U21s, and then come back up of Vlcek goes on loan and Searle leaves.

Last season the DCs played in pairs.  Muhammed and Pribyl had played together previously so stayed together due to their partnership, and Zakuani and Muratoglu developed nicely together too.  Zakuani and Muhammed are prone to become complaced or uninterested so I don't want to pair them together.  Baresi comes in to be the 5th DC option and to cover for a sale as Muhammed, Muratoglu and Zakuani have all had interest in them in recent times.

Antonio is our next cab of the rank and may go out on loan to get some playing time.

While there is no stand out starter, the equal quality means that when the team is rotated not a huge amount is lost, helping with consistency.

I have separated out the all important Libero role, and this is one where the order might not be accurate.  And it is quite odd in that Ferretti was signed to be cover in case Merbah is sold.  Merbah was originally signed as I expected Gourna Douath to have his head turned.  Ferretti could play at MC if there is not a sale.  I tended to keep the back threes as a set last season which may not work this time if I am rotating three through the position.

WBR is still a slight concern.  There was one possible option, Fresta, brought in on trial who could have been pushing for a first team place, but while he was happy with the £3k p/w wage I offered, he signed for Luzern for nearly twice the amount.  Fortunately Menga was a breakthrough star last season covering for Negrao who had lots of niggly injuries.  Carpentieri is suitable as a injury cover option, and due to the workload I tend to always have a WBR and WBL on the bench, so it is important to have options.

Gourna Douath played  WBR in a pinch last season, and there is the possibility that a MC is a candidate to retrain.

WBL is a much stronger option, with Suarez pushing Madsen for the first choice mantle.  Milic was on loan last season and has improved enough to be pushing Madsen.  Either Milic or Opoku will go out on loan, while N'Doye is a new signing who needs to retrain and develop his tackling ability.  N'Doye may not make it, but he is a fairly cheap option and may come good.

If there is any interest in Madsen I would happily sell him to allow Suarez and Milic to be the main pairing.

MC is another position where players played in pairings last year, but they got jumbled after the sale of Jovanovski, and I didn't realise until I was juggling injuries later in the season.

As we play a BWM-RPM pairing the starting options are Zamora-Betta and Jovanovic-Cisse.  Santini was called up from the U19s as emergency cover last season, as although Gourna Douath could step up to the middle of the park there was a need to have extra cover.  Morganti and Santini are home grown options, and will probably go out on loan to continue their development.  Simon cost us money from PSG but can play a role in multiple positions, while Benali comes from Wydad Casablanca, where we have found decent players previously, and is similar in that sense.  Benali is probably a better option to move to WBR, where his physical attributes can shine, although he may struggle to get playing time, so I will need to manage that carefully

No new options at AMC, but a change in ordering as Morf is overtaken by Shaqiri who is younger and developed nicely last season.  Shaqiri has only just moved from being U21 eligible so needs to be registered for the league, but as he is HGN there shouldn't be a problem, which makes a nice change.

Mansouri is wanted by Chelsea, and I expect them to come in for him again before the end of the transfer window.  As I didn't agree to  £3.5m offer there are a number of players upset, but I was looking for at least £10m, and hopefully more, along with a 50% of next sale clause. Ideally the strikers will play in pairings, of McWilliams and David, then Mansouri and Berete, with Groneng signed in case Mansouri goes.  If not, then Groneng will head out on loan if we can arrange it.

Luis is a player that will be joining at the end of his contract in December (actually joining in mid-January), and while he isn't necessarily needed now, he comes in as a young option to develop, and an move to WBL for the future if needed, as well as being a solid option at MC.

 

As it stand the squad is probably too big, although some of the players will move to the U21s regardless, and there are loan options which will thin the squad and avoid too many issues of upset players.

[scousevasey]

Champions League qualifying

The draw for the third round was made before the second round was played, so the coefficient possibilities went out of the window.  It did mean that Asambani was able to attend the games that would decide the opponents for Lugano and get an idea of what they are like.

Then the draw for the playoff was done before either leg of the third round, so the route to the group stage is mapped out

Slavia were held to a 0-0 draw in Scotland but were able to put two past them at home to progress.  If we make it past Slavia, then it is the lowest ranked higher team in Dynamo Kyiv, or Midtjylland.  This could be interesting as Denmark is a loaded league, whereas Ukraine isn't, so there could be an upset on the cards.

[scousevasey]

July and August 2030 (including the end of the transfer window)

A mixed run of games.

It started with a great run in the league, with four wins on the bounce, while Young Boys were labouring to draws, giving hope of a positive season.  The loss to Slavia Praha was a poor performance, made worse by it being the home leg, so we had gifted them two away goals, meaning we needed to score two in the return leg, and despite going up early struggled to break them down.

The cup game was a hugely rotated side, and they made easy work of the lower league opposition.  Then we slipped up slightly to end August as things off the pitch hotted up in the transfer window.  The final goal of the month from McWilliams secured a draw, but Servette had led early, then gone down to 10 men, before an equaliser and then a late lead for them.  Against both St Gallen and Servette the finishing was poor, and compared to the four clean sheets to open the season, the defence were poor too.

So having lost to Slavia Praha, we dropped to the Europa League group stage

Spoiler

Lazio are the big threat here, but we should have enough to be top two in the group.

In the league, our two slips see Basel open up a lead as they have a perfect record, and are still to concede.  Young Boys have started to bounce back after three draws then a loss to Basel to open the season.  It is too early to draw any conclusions, especially as we are yet to face the big two.

And they are not far away in terms of league fixtures, although they are the last games of the month.

Cham should not offer and problems in the cup and a rotated side will play here, including a couple of new young striking options who may need to step up soon.

Then it is a trip to Italy, for the hardest Europa game first up.  At least there is time to make up for a loss, but a third poor performance in a row for the first team players would be a worry.  The league games outside of the big two should be winnable, especially as we have already beaten all of the opponents in October, but the distraction of Europe adds a bit more of a challenge to things.

 

Transfers

Early in the window I bought players expecting some of the interest in the squad to result in some bids.  And as August went on, I was getting nervous that there would be no bids leaving a bloated squad.

So much so that I started to send a bunch of players out on loan, offering them out for interest, and trying to get a small fee in if possible.  Then if there was no interest I looked to our affiliates.

One of those loans has been cancelled, with Vlcek being recalled to cover for the sale of Amoah, who was one of three big sales at the end of the transfer window

Merbah came complaining about playing time, and I couldn't appease him, despite him not starting due to missing preseason with an injury and him not being fully match fit.  Bari had been making bids and I kept negotiating.  Another team came in with a bid at his release clause of £8.5m, so I offered him out for the deal that Bari took, managing to make more money on the deal than the release clause if he plays regularly, and getting the 50 of any future sale.

He is currently worth £7.25m.

Some big teams, including Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal had been sniffing around and making bids, but they wouldn't go near his value, let alone his asking price.  Mansouri got upset that I didn't sell him for £3.5m, and when I told him I wanted no less that £20m he couldn't see anyone paying that much for him.

Cremonese came in out of the blue, and the board accepted without it reaching my desk.  I looked into protesting, but could only protest to ask them to cancel it, not improve the terms, as I wanted to change the clause to be 'of next sale' and not profit.  Instead I offered him out for a deal starting at £7.5m up front with some installments, and totalling £17.5m, but there were no takers and he signed with Cremonese.

He is currently worth £14m, and will need to move for a big fee for us to see some decent money from the clause.  If his next sale is £50m, the profit is £31m, so 40% is around £12m, which does make it more palatable, but I would have preferred a full clause.

Amoah had a release fee of £4m, which was above his value of £2.7m, and locked in by his agent when he signed.  I wasn't able to get any other teams interested in a deal at £3m with 50% of the next deal, so he heads off to Stuttgart, and will probably return in October.

I had sent Searle and Vlcek out on loan, but was unable to recall the older keeper, so we will be going with youth again.  He will have a baptism of fire with Lazio, Basel and Young Boys in his first few games, especially as one of the starting Liberos, Merbah, has been sold.

In terms of big transfers, Mansouri is only the 2nd biggest, but most tellingly, all of the biggest deals are outgoing players, so despite losing three starters, we are not going to be losing too much ground.

 

And in sorting out those late deals, we set two new records, both single sale, and in season.  Hopefully the money in the bank from this means the board don't intervene next time, and allow us to continue to upgrade the facilities.

In terms of incoming transfers, the only one that was done was up front, as Wade came back in a scouting report as being out of contract.  The compensation was £400k, but with a value of £20k, Generation Foot were happy to take £60k, and he comes in to add to the striking picture.

While he isn't perfect, he is young and has French nationality, so may attract bids in a couple of years.

Up front after the sale of Mansouri, there are two main strikers in McWilliams and Berete, who will play together in the big games, then Mario David who will rotate in to allow them to rest, then Groneng and Wade as options to be the 4th striker, and they will probably get a chance through the season when injuries happen.  Hopefully one of the younger three will stake a claim to play more regularly.

Douglas is coming to join in January once his contract in Brazil expired, and he will bring a bit more experience, at the grand old age of 22.  He doesn't grade out as highly in the eyes of the scouts, but as he is a free deal there is not too much of a risk in this move, and he can move on in a couple of seasons if needed.

 

The bonus is that we weren't left scrambling for replacements on deadline day, as I had secured Wade before Mansouri technically left, and have managed to secure good long term replacements in Vlcek and Ferretti for the other two players who left.

[scousevasey]

September and October 2030

This run was going to make or break the season, giving us an idea of what we can do in Europe and in terms of closing up on the top two sides.

A rotated side mainly of 3rd stringers made it through the cup easily, with Wade making his mark early on which was nice.  We drew Luzern in the next round which will be tougher.

Lazio were just too much in terms of quality, but it was a close game

We should be able to come away with at least a point in the home tie, as long as the strikers are able to score.

The finishing against Luzern was poor in the league, but as the game was sandwiched between Lazio away and Young Boys away it was a heavily rotated side, so it was nice to get a point.  The rotation paid off with a late win against Young Boys who led after 15 minutes, and dominated early, but the rotation paid off as they tired late on.  It was nearly the same side against Basel and while a draw is a positive result, in the run of the game it was points dropped.

Throwing away a two goal lead, then claiming the lead once more in the 89th minute should be enough to win.  But it shows why Basel are so good, with the level of consistency.  Despite the way the game played out, I still think it is a point gained, and importantly it means that Basel don't open out any more of a lead on Lugano.

We lost our ability to score multiple goals in October, but in most of the games that was enough, so defensively we have been sound.

Stuttgart had beaten Vitesse first up, so this was an important game in the battle for 2nd in the group, before we settled into a run of easy wins in the league, although a 2nd goal would have made the last few minutes more comfortable each time.

Vitesse showed why the last minutes in the league were tense, and the extra quality of a European team were able to score meaning we gave them their first point in the group.  The worst part of this is that it was a home tie which we really should be winning if we want to finish 2nd in the group.

Slightly less rotation for the cup game, and an early own goal was enough to settle the tie, before a dodgy VAR decision where a goal for us was ruled out for offside, but from a player who was nowhere near the ball.  In the end it didn't matter, but it is still a shame not to break the run of single goal games.

In Europe we are holding onto 2nd narrowly, and the return game against Stuttgart will be important, although there also has to be a performance against Vitesse after Stuttgart managed to claim a point from Lazio

In the league we are still chasing Basel, and the gap closed slightly as they drew three times over the two month period, once more than us, meaning the gap is down to two points.

Seven clear of St Gallen in 3rd, although it can disappear quickly so the good run needs to continue.  Young Boys have started to recover, but are 16 points off the top of the table, although the gap to 4th is minimal, so they can put pressure on the other European spots.

Seven league games until the turn of the year, with two really interesting games back to back between European commitments.  Servette and St Gallen are our closest chasers at the minute, so we need to have good performances against them if we are going to continue to fight for 2nd place.  But at the same time we need a result against Vitesse, and will be hoping for one when Lazio visit.

December sees us repeat September in terms of league games, with the tough double run reversed this time.  The challenge will be that the schedule is weekend-midweek from the St Gallen game onwards, so the legs will be getting tired by the time we face Young Boys and Stuttgart.  Hopefully our rotation policy produces benefits, where higher levels of fitness pay off in the last quarter of the games.  Hopefully we will be safely through in Europe before the Stuttgart game, but I think the draw with Vitesse has scuppered that plan.

[scousevasey]

Club developments

I forgot to add this to the monthly update

Our previous set of facilities upgrades went through, and the board were willing to allow the next stage to go through too at a combined cost of just below £11m

After the record breaking sales in the transfer window the finances should be fine to cope with this, as the previous season saw a drop off each month, but only a loss of about £7m over the season so there should be more than enough to ensure the development work happens

The board won't offer a Junior Coaching or Youth Recruitment upgrade anymore, and as they are both listed as Exceptional, I am assuming they are maxed out.

The Training facilities are listed as Excellent, while the Youth ones are Superb, so there should still be another upgrade available once the current planned ones are completed.  The board didn't agree to a Data upgrade, as they feel that Swiss football is below our level, which is Poor, so weren't willing to splash the cash.

On previous occasions when I have enquired about the stadium they won't allow it to be expanded as we don't have the crowds for it.  The current capacity is a bit deceiving as in Europe we have to play elsewhere due to only having 4,873 seats in the stadium, but the board are thinking about the 14,873 capacity instead.

We borrow Thun's stadium for the Champions League, and St Gallen's for the Europa League.  Strangely the St Gallen ground is larger, so it would make sense to borrow that all the time, and they are also in the Europa League alongside us, so it gets double usage.

The challenge is that in the league the attendances are regularly between 4000 and 7000, which is only half of the possible capacity, so the board won't see any reason to expand until this gets to around 6000-9000 at a minimum.  And the only way that happens is by winning the league, possibly more than once.

This is all a shame as the club are spending £781k per year renting their stadium, so if they budgeted for 4 years then it is around £3m which would be a reasonably sized all seater stadium.

[scousevasey]

November and December 2030

A bit of a mixed run in towards the end of the year, highlighting a gap in the way the squad has been built

A relatively poor result against Sion, but they are picking up draws regularly and with an important European game there was some rotation.  A good win against Vitesse meant that the Europa group progress was still in our hands, but elsewhere things became more challenging

Stuttgart beat Lazio meaning it was becoming a three way battle at the top of the table, and after two league games that were important wins over the chasing pack, but continuing the run of single goal league games the lack of firepower up front showed as only one goal was managed against Lazio, and despite going up early it was not enough to secure any points.

That meant going into the final game the equation was simple.  Beat Stuttgart, because having beaten them once already we would hold the head to head.  And any win would mean the GD dropped to equal, so we would be ahead on goals scored if Vitesse manage to shock Lazio and cause a three way tie.

If not we would end up in our third different European competition of the season.

Starting with the obvious, the poor form up front cost the game against Stuttgart, and they absolutely dominated in the end to go through and force Lugano into the Conference League.

But in the league, things have been progressing nicely, with another draw against Basel, the second of the season, before demolishing Young Boys.  The calendar year ends with a poor result against Neuchatel, going down early, coming back to lead, then giving away a penalty late on.  The real positive of the month was that in three of four league games there was more than one goal scored, although the majority are not from the strikers.

Due to the win and draw against Lazio, Stuttgart top the group. Vitesse managed their only point against us, in what was a poor campaign.

But our solid form, and turning poor games into draws at worst has led to a narrow lead at the top of the table.  The result that led to Lugano topping the table was the win against Young Boys, as Basel had drawn the day before, leaving the gap open, and then they could only draw while Neuchatel were fighting back, preserving the two point gap going into the break.

Young Boys had recovered to third at one point but have allowed St Gallen to get past them again, while Servette are dropping off slightly.

Surprisingly both Lugano and Basel are undefeated in the league, with just less than half the season to go.

Outside of the fixtures, it seems the money spend on improving facilities has been wasted, with us getting lots of full backs, all of whom are useless, and nothing else positive about the group.

With the European group stages over it is a decent time to look at Swiss performances

 

Both Champions League teams come third in tough groups and drop to the Europa League

The other Europa League team, beside Lugano, manage to go through, so there will be three Swiss teams in the first knockout round

I would back Basel to get through, but the other two sides are facing teams from loaded leagues which may make it more challenging.

 

Neither Conference League team made the group stages, but Switzerland will be represented by Lugano in 2031

And it will be a trip to Ukraine for the tie.  Which will be a challenge in terms of fitness.

 

January is relatively quiet with two pre-arranged transfers coming in, and Douglas up front is sorely needed, as since selling Mansouri the lack of being able to consistently operate with two striking pairs has affected performance.  At the minute there are no partnerships developing, and too many chances going to waste.  If Douglas can settle early then it could help with the unexpected title challenge.

[scousevasey]

Our two new arrivals have turned up on the first day of the transfer window and the news messages amused me

The one to focus on is Leonardo Luis.  The fans are happy to have him, but believe the Ivan Soto deal to be better.  Who is Ivan Soto?

He plays for Basel, and to be fair to the fans is decent, racking up a 7+ rating in his 17 games this season.  So why are the fans more impressed with his purchase?

This is Luis for comparison.

Soto is more comfortable in a range of positions, and via the comparison page is better.  But he is also 6 years older.

There there is the finances

 

Basel paid £10.25m compared to our free deal, and are paying Soto an extra £30k per week.  That works out as an extra £1.5m per year in wages.

Looking at Luis he has only made three appearances for Flamengo, all in the 2030 season, but he has room to grow, and will play a role in our young squad.  And the financial situation is much better for Lugano, because they can't afford to splash out in the way Basel can.  A few more years of Champions League football, and maybe.

From the fans view, I can kind of see that getting a ready made player might be more inspiring, but the phrase was 'a better deal'.  Is Soto really worth £16m more than Luis (combining wages and fee)?  Surely it is too early to tell

[scousevasey]

Been struggling to find the time to play, and with odd snippets since the last post I have moved to the end of April, but as I am snatching short sessions of gaming, I haven't got the drive to post about it - I am keeping on with the save, and may come back to an update at some point, but for the minute it is going to be dormant

[bigmattb28]

On 04/10/2020 at 17:13, scousevasey said:

Been struggling to find the time to play, and with odd snippets since the last post I have moved to the end of April, but as I am snatching short sessions of gaming, I haven't got the drive to post about it - I am keeping on with the save, and may come back to an update at some point, but for the minute it is going to be dormant

Just do text updates dude

[scousevasey]

On 07/10/2020 at 08:12, bigmattb28 said:

Just do text updates dude

I may look at something different.

I have managed to get to the end of the season, so might do a half season update, and go less frequent, although I enjoy adding in the detail around my thoughts etc., and as the February games are nearly a month ago it becomes hard to add the detail in them

[scousevasey]

2030-2031 Season - 2031 update

After managing to piece together the rest of the season, it is worth an update

A near unbeaten run to start the year, but the high number of draws meant Basel were able to regain the lead in the league, despite Lugano claiming all three points against them, in a tricky game sandwiched between the Villarreal European games

April and May got even better, with the only blemishes on the record coming at the start and end of the run.  The key was that the rotation policy, and keeping the three DCs, the two MCs, and the two STCs as groupings, so if one changed they all changed, meant that there were positive relationships across the pitch.

The one takeaway was that the AMCs were building the same relationships with the STCs, but because of chopping and changing those it didn't develop the same, so next season there will be AMC-STC-STC groupings to develop these further.  That will mean the only players who won't build a relationship bond are the WBs

By the time we reached the Basel game, a couple of draws on the other side of the title race meant that the game was vital.  Lugano held a three point lead, but were behind on goal difference.  Meaning if Basel won, they would have the upper hand going into the final game 

Not the most dominant game, but enough to ease out a win, and a good comeback after being one goal down.

Having beaten Basel days before with a 2nd string team in the cup final, it meant the domestic double was won, with a game against Dortmund on the horizon, with the chance of European glory, but it didn't come to pass.

In the end, with the win against Basel opening up a six point gap, and Young Boys being well off the pace, it looks more comfortable than it was, with the strong run in April and May needed to overcome lots of draws early in the season

In preparation for the next season, Lugano are now the highest ranked Swiss club, and have a huge lead in the bank over Young Boys for the next season already

Top 20 in Europe, and in a slight quirk, now ranked above Dortmund, despite the loss in the Conference League final.  Without improvements it is pretty much the ceiling of the club, with consistent European results over the past five years meaning there is no easy gains.

To gain much more will require some bigger transfers, so the first move of the summer was to sign Ronaldinho for the grand fee of £60k

There are a couple more targets, but with the influx of Champions League money, teams want more in transfer fees, and players expect higher wages, so it is a balancing act finding players that are an improvement and will fit within the self imposed budget, which is to try and avoid financial issues if there is a return to earth in terms of results