"Tails for Wales never fails.......so they say"

[jackripper]

So decided before i get back into writing careers with FM22 i thought i would have one last save on fm21 and what better than to start with my home country Wales.  Not the biggest nation in the world but recent years such as the semi final run in Euro 2016 that they can mix it with the big boys. Losing the semi final to eventual winners Portugal. Welsh football fans talking about the if's and but's with Ramsey missing etc. 5 years and here we are.......Together stronger...

Wales European International Group B Div 4

Im quite happy with the group we have been drawn as winning the group is achievable with a little bit of luck why shouldnt the welsh fans be optimistic.  If we can get off to a good start with the first two games then we have every chance but we have a tricky start and probably our hardest game on paper away to Finland. Like ourselves their a small nation looking to rub shoulders with the best teams in the world. Ireland could also be tricky as they are hard to beat and Bulgaria, well there not the team they once used to be but some could say neither are we..well on paper anyway.

Wales Squad vs Finland and Ireland

So here i am sat at my desk with my staff checking whos available and surprisingly we have a clean bill of health to choose from which if your Welsh you would know this is something that doesnt happen often if not at all. So how was I going to take Wales forward from there European success in 2016 with that semi final run? I always had it in my mind that as a small nation we are not blessed with millions of players to choose from so would have to use what we had available. Beggars cant be choosers and all that. I decided i would use this campaign for the players to get used to a new system and style of play. We needed a breath of fresh air maybe a change of thinking so we can prepare for the next 10/15 years. 

However we are here and not in the future so i had the tough decision of dropping a few Welsh legends from my first squad and bring in some youth. Out went the likes of Neil Taylor, Hal Robson Kanu and Andy King who i felt where not really good enough for the first team so why waste there positions when i could blood some Welsh youngsters through in there place.  In came the likes of Rabbi Matondo, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Dylan Levitt who were basically on the fringes of getting call ups but not in the squad when i took over.  Even if they dont get many or any minutes on the pitch they can learn by watching others such as Bale and Ramsey who have played at the top for a very long time and still doing it.

Finland Vs Wales Euro Intl League group B Div 4

Well well well here we are folks. My first ever game as Wales manager and with that after chats with my staff this is my first team to take on Finland away. First off i had the tough decision of goalkeeper. I decided to go with Danny Ward with him being younger as there wasnt much to choose from them but i need a good keeper who can play the next 5 years atleast. Davies and Roberts as my full backs with Rodon and Mepham as my centre back pairing. Ampadu who can also play at the back slots in as my  DLP as im hoping to build my midfield around the talented youngster. Joe Allen with that experience slots beside him. Out wide we have Daniel James with his pace and David Brooks with his skill to push up and attack the defenders especially as Finland are home and expected to win so will look to attack us. Ramsey behind Bale completes the attack and well they dont need to introduction to you.

Football ay one legend once said and well he was bloody right, i think i felt every emotion today and think we saw the good and well the not so good. Two teams who are not well renowned for high scoring certainly changed that today with a 3-6 scoreline to Wales respectively. I was expecting a tight game which probably could of gone either way with us or them maybe nicking it by the odd goal. How wrong was I?  The game was end to end which for the fan yes great but my heart rate its a no from me.  I am very happy we scored 6 goals but we conceded 3 which on another day that could of been a loss. However im looking to build here for the future and games like this will make my young centre backs Mepham and Rodon learn from this. We are not blessed with the greatest of defenders in Wales but with these two im hoping we can build a solid foundation from the back.  A great performance from everyone especially Ampadu playing a blinder of a game. As long as he gets regular football then he will be vital to my plans for Wales. David Brooks with two goals will boost his confidence after his recent long injury lay off. Bale and Ramsey well there just them. There talent and experience will be vital but eventually they will need replacing just like Joe Allen also. But at current do we have anyone that could step up? I dont think so but that is between me and you.

Wales Vs Ireland Euro Intl Group B Div 4

For some reason my first team pic didn't save or i forgot to save the screen shot however we decided to travel back from Finland straight after the match to give us more time to prepare for our home match against Ireland. A must win if we are going to win this group B. I decided to keep the same first 11 as i couldn't change a winning team and depending on the score i would be looking to freshen things up with Bale, Ramsey and Allen if possible. 

 

 What a tough match that was and tiring for my players after travelling from Finland producing a great performance at home to Ireland to set us up with two games played two games won. For some reason and call me mad but this result pleases me more than the 6 goals we scored away. I think its the fact we showed we can dig in when needed and grind out the result even if the game wasnt the greatest for the eye but hey i dont care we won end of. David Brooks with the goal to put him as our top scorer so far with 3 in 2, Bale one behind on 2. It just goes to show when we have a fully fit squad we are more than capable. The defence looked solid with our first clean sheet. Bale didnt have the best of games but his influence and experience helped massively to get this one over the line. Dylan Levitt came on for Joe Allen to earn his 1st cap for Wales. Hopefully the first of many.

European Intl Group B Div 4

Lovely to look at isnt it so far?  Wales sitting top of the group after 2 games played. Early days i know but hey ho we are there at the moment and looking good to win the group. Bulgaria up next. 

[code]man utd top [/code]

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by jackripper
mistake

[jackripper]

Euro Intl Group B Div 4 Squad Announcement

With the next two games at home and with the way we are playing i am expecting results and nothing less than 4 points just wont do.  As the squad announcement approached i had my fingers crossed we wouldnt have any of our superstars missing. Usually we end up with one or two of them missing for one thing or another. If it isnt Bale missing its Ramsey if it isnt Ramsey its Ampadu. 

Continuity is key in football and so to keep the momentum I made no changes to my next squad selection as again low and behold we had every one fit from the last 2 game break we had. The camp arrived and everyone seems to be in good spirits. With no changes made to the squad there isnt much else to say. We head to the team hotel with Bulgaria and 3 points on our mind. 

Wales Vs Bulgaria Euro Intl Group B Div 4

Call me boring but the team is unchanged for the 3rd time running which probably never happened in Welsh Football, anyway with the team virtually picking itself there will be a time when i will need to think about replacing the so called oldies of the squad but since there playing so well right now how can i? Sorry young guns you will have to wait a little longer but your time will come. 

Well that was easy...ish. Great result and 3 in 3 for us so far so cant complain however the 3 points may be in the bag but for the first time in my tenure I have to change my team as Rodon picked up another yellow and will miss the next game. A blow but with 3 wins out of 3 we should be okay without Joe. In regards to the game once again scored a flourish of goals. Is this really Wales or are we watching Brazil?............Okay maybe im taking it to far but so far i am loving how my team are playing. The same 3 scorers again for us with Brooks, Bale and Ramsey with 2. I managed to also take off Allen, Ramsey and Bale off to give them a much needed rest even with Ramsey on a hat trick which not sure if he was pleased about but my mind thinks forward and with this game won at 4-1 up i could afford to take them off. A late goal by them meant nothing. 

Wales Vs Finland Euro Group B Div 4

Finland at home and for the first time i have changed my first eleven with Joe Rodon suspended. I had a couple of options who could replace him but it was between Chesters and Lockyer to step in.  I decided to go with Lockyer as i feel he offers more at the back than James (Chester) and to be honest i will be looking to faze some more of the experienced players for more youth moving forward so he will probably be one of the ones who I will be looking to replace. We went into this game with not much pressure to be honest i told the guys to enjoy themselves.

Not only did i have to make my first change but we also witness a different scorer other than Bale, Ramsey or Brooks. Step up Connor Roberts with a rare goal from my flying right back. Lovely to see how much it meant to him specially as he didnt know how to celebrate it was that unexpected. The Red Wall once again proved to be the 12th man. I cant explain the feeling you get when the Red Wall sing its almost harmonic like a welsh choir. Another win and so far defeat isnt something i havent tasted. Joe Allen and Ramsey maybe didnt have the best of games but that could be due to fatigue so il let them off...just.

Euro Intl Group B Div 4 League table after 4 games

Loooooking good so far if i do say so myself. Yes it may not be the World Cup but to see Wales top of any league is special and the boys have done themselves proud. The players have taken to my tactics and style of play like butter to bread, like a duck to water like like well i dont know but you get the jist of it. 25 shots in this game backs our attacking intent if we could just be more clinical then maybe we can see us score 4 goals atleast once in a game...oh wait!!!  Anyway things are looking good.  

Wales News 

Sat in my office and Fifa have announced the latest ranking after the latest round of games and when i started Wales were ranked 22....

We have moved up 4 places in the rankings since i have taken over so top 10 we are slowly moving towards. Signs we are making the improvement required to build a future for Welsh football.  Next up we have two away games where we will fly off to Bulgaria next....

 

[jackripper]

My star players and future prospects

A week or so has passed with Wales sitting nicely at the top of their group. With the likes of Gareth Bale leading the line, Ramsey just behind we will always score or atleast offer some goal threat. I have compiled some reports below of the current and hopefully the future and my plans for Wales. The country may not be blessed with millions of players to choose from but theres always one or two superstars that seem to be in there team whether that be the likes of Giggs, Hughes and Vinnie Jones, okay maybe not Vinnie but you get the idea. To the current now with Bale and Ramsey but what next? Well lets take a look at what we have coming through the u21's hoping to replace my ageing stars.

Aaron Ramsey (Captain)

Starting with my chosen captain for my tenure it was a tough decision as to be honest we are not blessed with leaders in our current squad but i feel his influence on and off the pitch is essential. I do have my concern with his recent injury record but as long as he can stay fit i am sure we will benefit. Perfect for my attacking midfield role.  29 years old which these days a lot of people see as old but still has a good few years left depending on injury. Essential for my squad. 3 goals in 4 games for me shows he has an eye for goal to go along with his team work. To be honest he plays better for Wales than he does at Juventus for some reason so thats a bonus.

Gareth Bale

The superstar of the squad without a shadow of a doubt. Yes he is getting on and the drop in physical attributes suggest that but he is Gareth Bale. He still has that x factor about him, He may not terrorise the defences like he did in his younger days with his blistering pace but football is more than pace. Im glad he is out of Real Madrid for the upcoming season and hopefully he can like Ramsey stay fit.  Not an out and out striker but i feel confident with him spear heading our attack with James and Brooks providing the majority of the running. 

Ethan Ampadu

With Ethan he is clearly a footballer who could have the centre midfield position his own if he keeps developing as he currently has. He is someone who could one day potentially become my captain. Some say he needs to nail down a position as he can currently play as centre back or in centre midfield mainly defensive but i disagree i believe he could become a master of both positions and his ability to play in both positions will be great for us. My only one concern is his position at Chelsea, yes he is on loan to Sheff Utd which will suit him to a tee. A defence minded team slugging it out in a relegation battle will do him the world of good. But as i was saying my concern is will he be good enough to get into the Chelsea team. In my eyes of course but i manage Wales not Chelsea so next summer will be massive for him and his career. 

The future.

Of course Bale, Ramsey and Joe Allen cant go on forever and some say this could be Bales last campaign with Wales to concentrate on club football but these are just rumours. Im not worried in that respect however like i was saying what do we have for the future? Do we have the next Gareth Bale or Ramsey already or will we have to wait for a few more years. Well lets see what the very best Welsh youngsters i do have to keep an eye on.

Wales under 21's (sorted by potential ability according to my coaches/scouts

After meeting with my under 21s manager we had a chat about my vision of the future and what i am expecting from our young guns. We have a few good youngsters pushing through but only one or 2 stand out currently but im not to worried just yet as I have promoted the likes of Rabbi Matondo and Dylan Levitt and lets not forget Daniel James, Joe Rodon and David Brooks still have there best years ahead for the next 10 years potentially.

Robbie Burton 

The best of the bunch is former Arsenal youngster Robbie Burton. Playing in another country will be great for him and his development and shows the type of character he is with him deciding to leave Arsenal and move to another country also. Croatia of all places. 21 years old midfielder is someone who im going to hopefully replace Joe Allen with in the future but he needs to get into there team and play first team football so he can make that step up. Simliar to Ramsey has a great first touch and also works hard for the team. Something my team will always need to do it goes without saying. Big hopes for him but Il keep an eye over him this season and may give him his first call up in the future. 

Brennan Johnson

Next in line is 19 year old Brennan Johnson who again is another player on loan so will need to show not only me but also his parent club that he is good enough. He has good basics but maybe lacks that little spark but we will see. A season with Lincoln is not really the greatest if im being selfish here but if he cant get into that team then would he be good enough for Wales. Has time on his side but im hoping he can push on massively but hopefully could provide cover for Brooks who seems to get injured alot. 

 

[jackripper]

Euro Intl Group B Div 4 

Two away games on the bounce coming up sees us pack our suitcases and head off to Bulgaria and Ireland. Both games I know will be very tough and with both teams looking for revenge. Once again no changes have been made to the travelling squad but Mepham misses the first match due to suspension. So once again i cant put out my best eleven.

Bulgaria Vs Wales

With Mepham suspended in steps Lockyer who now has a chance to show me what he can do. No other changes made so boring news as usual. 

 

 

How this ended a draw i dont know. We could of even lost but a late goal by Bulgaria was disallowed. We had 21 shots at there goal but couldnt find the net at all. There goal was a mistake by Tom Lockyer who jumped to early for an header and misguided the ball for the Bulgarian player to score. We dug in and then equalised through Joe Allen as we attacked and kept on attacking we couldnt find the winner but also nearly got sucker punched ourselves. Overall a good point. We travel onto Ireland.

Ireland Vs Wales

With Mepham back i put him straight in after Tom Lockyer made the mistake that lead to the goal. I finally have my best eleven out and well...............

I tasted my first defeat as Wales manager and just like sushi it tasted disgusting. Maybe this was my fault though with not freshening things up and taking out the likes of Bale, Rodon and Brooks who were a little jaded. But we are Wales and we dont have the luxuries of having another Gareth Bale on the bench. The youngsters need more time and I paid the price but we move on.

Euro Intl Group B Div 4 Table

 

We went into the group knowing we had a chance to win it and we did so I am well happy especially with some fine performances as a team as a whole.  We were the highest scores in the group which is an added bonus. With the two recent sloppy performances we have also dropped back down in the rankings also. 

[jackripper]

Wales news

So with the two games now played another player has earned his first cap for me Rhys Norrington-Davies

With Ben Davies not getting much game time at Spurs he was one of the players who maybe shouldnt of started the game against Ireland as he isnt really up to speed at the moment and maybe 2 successive games was a little to much. This gave me the perfect opportunity to bring him off against Ireland and I know its not the best giving a debut to you a youngster when your losing but its experience none the less. The 21 year old left back is definately pushing for a starting position for his country. 

Job offer 

Well this came out of the blue but it was swiftly rejected as i am commited to my home country and feel we are on our way to becoming a permanent fixture mixing it with the big boys of International football.

 

European Championship 2020 Draw

Here we are my first and Wales second European Championship. We are seeded 4th in the draw meaning whatever group we get its going to be tough. With the last Euros no doubt still fresh in Welsh fans mind heres hoping we can maybe go one step further and reach the final and why not? Who would of thought Greece would of won it before? Who will be in our way as the draw is concluded below on SI Sports news below

 

Wow just wow, We have a very tough group especially with pre tournament favourites Italy drawn with us. We are going to have to be at out best against all 3 but Wales have beaten Italy before. I can still see Bellamy skipping past the goalie as he slots the ball home to record an infamous 2-1 win in Cardiff those many moons ago. The Czechs and Sweden will also be looking to fight to realistically finishing 2nd in the group.  

Other Home nations

England also have a tough group being placed alongside France, Kosovo and Ulkraine. A group they could get out of but will come down to who ever wins the France-England game.  Come on France. 

Scotland and Northern Ireland didnt qualify.

The Road to the World Cup Qualifying Draw 

Only a week or two has passed since the draw for the Euro's was made and now we have upcoming the World Cup Qualifying group stage draw. Wales have only ever made one World Cup and that was way back in 1958 so its been a long time coming but can we do it. If we can pull out a nice group now we could have a chance and we can end the hoodoo.  

Battle of the Celts with us being drawn with Bonnie Scotland in the same group which also has the mighty Germans who will be clear favourites. Us, Israel and Scotland will be all vying runners up with Kosovo you expect to be the whipping boys of the group. Looking at the group and comparing squads im confident we can beat Scotland and Israel i mean who exactly plays for them? They dont have Gareth Bale we do. They have Leigh bloody Griffiths, All jokes aside we are the 2nd strongest as long as we keep our best eleven fit we could be a match for the Germans...okay maybe not but wishful thinking. 

Other Home Nations

With Wales and Scotland in the same group we look at Northern Ireland and England who funnily enough are also in the same group.

[jackripper]

Wales World Cup Qualifying Group E

Wales Squad Vs Israel and Scotland Squad Reveal

So here is the squad i chose for the upcoming trip to Israel then the home game against Scotland. I only made one change to the squad with James Chesters being dropped while replacing him with Robbie Burton, who another youngster will gain some first team experience.  Going on recent results for us i am expecting two wins however the trip to  Israel may be a banana skin we could slip on but its down to me as manager to make sure we stay on our feet. My squad is slowly getting there with me bringing and using youngsters with only 4 players over the age of 30. Typically one is Ramsey and one is our superstar Gareth Bale. 

Israel Vs Wales

Good news as we have a fully fit first eleven out and this is most certainly my best eleven.

This is definately one of those scorelines that flatters the performance if im being totally honest with you. We didnt move the ball well we seemed to be stuck in first gear. Gareth Bale was poor and a double substitution taking my talisman off for Keifer Moore and replacing David Brooks for Harry Wilson set the game alight and after they come on we dominated the ball and scored 3 soon after. Tactical genuis aye!!

Wales Vs Scotland 

After the Israel result i was confident in beating our arch rivals Scotland,  Harry Wilson comes in for Brooks who performed poorly against Israel while Harry seemed to have changed the game for us so deserved his chance. Yes Bale was awful too but you dont drop Gareth Bale.

Awful, there is nothing else i can really say but the problem we have is that most of our players are not playing club football. Ramsey is on loan at Spurs and has managed 1 appearance, Ben Davies another at Spurs not playing. Joe Rodon isnt paying neither is Daniel James who cant break into the Man United first eleven. These guys need first team football otherwise it will hamper our chances big time. These are some of my best players but it isnt good for Wales or there careers. Eventually they will have to be dropped as they are not fit enough to play 2 games clearly after Scotland battered us all over the park. I wasnt expecting to lose never mind lose 3-0, I did however give a cap to Robbie Burton.

World Cup Qualifying Group E 

Sat here with mixed feelings with that table especially as i feel we should be sat 3 points ahead off Germany which would of given us a great chance and confidence when we do play the Germans who are expected to walk this group and no doubt about it they probably will. But it is what it is and 3 points on the board isnt all doom and gloom. Up next Euro 2020 and starting our group with a game against the favourites Italy.

[jackripper]

Euro 2020 Championship

 

Euro 2020 Group A

Together stronger is the motto and well we need to be if we are going to qualify from this group lets be honest here. This is a tough group with the pre tournament favourites Italy. Italy dont really need any talking about as we all know about them and with dangerous striker Isak upfront for Sweden they know how to put the ball in the net. Czech republic alongside us will probably fight it out for the wooden spoon (term used in 6 nations rugby to the team that finish bottom FYI). I have chosen my 23 man squad which is below. No major changes however youngster Robbie Burton keeps his place in the squad.

Wales Vs Italy

So here we are starting the Euros against the mighty Italians. No one has given us a chance against them but we have beaten them before regardless if it was many many years ago but us Welsh have little else to hold as good memories to be honest. Here we go.... 

When you go 2-0 down after 11 mins in your opening game against Italy you know your in trouble, and well this is what happened. We couldn't shake the nerves and it showed as we let in 2 goals straight away. We did then settle and managed to score 2 goals in 6 minutes to pull the game back and im here thinking to myself quietly can we beat them?..Well no we couldn't the difference in class clearly showed as Insigne's double ended our hopes of starting the tournament with 3 points. Realistically no one expected us to get anything and we didn't so onto Sweden next.

Sweden Vs Wales Group A

With the Italy game behind us we shifted our focus to Sweden who have world class striker A.Isak upfront for them. We will have to be focused for 90 minutes as he can punish you in a second. Same first eleven below as the Italian game.

So the game has been played and......................

Is our Euro 2020 dream over after this defeat? How do we bounce back? Yes we lost in a close free flowing game. I couldnt fault my players as they all gave everything but we just werent good enough.  Again we started with another early goal conceded but we managed to pull one back straight after through Rambo (Ramsey) but Isak showed why Real Madrid shelled out £46million to sign him and based on his performance they have a bargain. 2-1 down superstar Bale pulls back one for us but like the start of the game they scored the winner 2 minutes after we scored, we lose 3-2 with 0 points from 6.

Czech Republic Vs Wales

We still had a chance as long as we could win this game and other results go our way we could sneak through. Some players started to show signs of fatigue so made some changes to my midfield. Out go Ampadu and Levitt from midfield and they were replaced by Joe Allen and youngster Robbie Burton who must of thought he was in dream land. Not only making the squad but also getting a taste of the action, anyway before we get carried away. I also replaced Brooks with Wilson purely based on form.

Game..set..match

Euro 2020 Group A Final Table

Just finished packing my suitcase as we are heading home to sunny Wales as we lose every game after being thumped by the Czech's.  The only positive was the first cap for Nico Williams. We are out even though after 2 defeats i was confident we could win this one and sneak through to the 2nd round but how wrong was I? Was it poor management with tactics? Was it the fact my star players dont play for there clubs? Many questions asked and so this summer now I will dig deep to hopefully expand the national pool we have to choose from and see what youngsters are available. Hopefully we can find the next Gareth Bale as when do we start looking for a replacement for him and a few others also. 

Euro 2020 continued

Some major shocks in this tournament with Bosnia knocking out England in the 2nd round and Austria making the final to play against eventual winners Spain.  Russia beating Holland in the Quarter final was unexpected.  Belguim knocked out pre favourites Italy also. Well done Spain!!!

Manager thoughts/plans 

After our disappointing Euro's its time to go back to the drawing board. This is where the hard work starts in the summer where me and my staff will be looking at the next Gareth Bale, the next Ramsey and hopefully a good young goalkpeeper as we dont really have anything coming through the under 21's or 19's that seem capable to play international football. My problem well Wales problem is the lack of players available to us. We are a small country and not blessed with millions of players to choose from. It looks like im going to have to persuade players to switch allegiances to us if it mean strengthening not only the national team but the pool in which we can choose from. Doing all this while also trying to prepare for our upcoming game against Germany...oh boy!!

 

[jackripper]

[jackripper]

What next???????????? 

With me sacked I had to decide what to do next. I wanted to stay in International management so threw my hat in for the England, France, Italy and the Argentinian job however they were all laughed at.............

With those setbacks fresh in my mind i was pondering what my future would hold after been rejected for those 4 jobs. I still feel i have something to offer on the international stage. This is where I want to be however this opportunity came up and well I am undecided do I wait for another international opportunity or do i accept this?

[jackripper]

AC MIlan 2021/22 

After being rejected for a host of international jobs I was offered the chance to move to club management. This is new to me as Wales was my only job. I am an international manager but not blessed with the greatest reputation I decided to take the job at Milan just to build my reputation. My aim is to get right back into international management as soon as i can and i will leave whatever club job i am in even if its my supported club Manchester United.

Anyway on to Milan. 

They finished last season in 3rd position finishing 11 points behind champions Juventus so we have champions league football to look forward to. The aim is simple build my reputation at the club so i dont plan on being here long..hopefully

The board clearly want me to sustain a title challenge which isnt out of reach but we need a lot of hard work. 

So after speaking to my staff at Milan and the coaches they gave me an outline of our best team we could put out.  We have one of the best goalkeepers in world football so no issues there. Maybe i could look at a centre back as a position i think we could make better, Midfield is strong and we seem to have an abundance of defensive midfielders and well not really my style i will look to move some of them on and raise some cash as I have been given a transfer budget of only £16 million.

So this is my team report and based on them i believe we need a new right back, Centre back and potentially a right winger based on these. Zlatan is well Zlatan but he is 39 now so can he do it week in week out, who knows? 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by jackripper
m

[jackripper]

Serie A 2021/22

So the opening league fixture is here and with me choosing the same tactic i did with Wales it is a unfamiliar tactic we see in the Italian league with most teams playing 3 at the back. Ross Barkley starts today with the suspended Kessie suspended after being sent off against Barcelona in a pre season freindly which we drew 1-1. This otherwise is my strongest team based on my opinion. Zlatlan leads the line at 39 years old. Leao inside forward with youngster Sealemaekers right wing. Tonali starts as my deep lying playmaker but can also step into a more defensive role if needed. Bennacer will be my attacking midfielder but today hes in the Mezzala role. 

What a nail biter of a first game for me in club management we seemed to be cruising at 3-0 but two goals by Roma made sure it was squeeky bum time as we held on to take my first 3 points as a club manager. Zlatans performance worried me a bit as he was quite poor, Is his age catching up with him? who knows but we are not really blessed to replace him at current.

Juventus Vs Milan

Same eleven again as Kessie is still suspended as we face probably our hardest game of the league season as we travel to Turin to play league champions Juventus. 

We gave a good account of ourselves despite the loss. I was happy with how we played, i felt we could of atleast got a draw with Danilo was sent off for Juventus near the end but we didnt have enough time to find the equaliser. We move on but im happy with the way we played just not the result.

Champions League Draw

Not the easiest of draws with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, Lyon and Salzburg are drawn with us for my first Champions League.  We should go through as long as we can get something from the A.Madrid games. Potential banana slips with Lyon who currently in there league campaign are struggling with 0 wins in 3 games sees them near the bottom but we cant let that fool us. Salzburg I expect to beat twice.

 

[jackripper]

Transfer news

So the transfer window has closed and well this window was more about selling the dead wood, players like Mkhiltaryn, Rebic and a few others were placed for transfer and well nope they didnt leave. There high wages seemed to be an issue. We managed top sell some youngsters for pennies but it all adds up eventually. Onto the one signing I did make and that was.....

With Zlatan being 39 i felt we were a bit light upfront so decided to make a move for the former Celtic striker, I did have other targets in mind such as Cavani, Aubameyang and Belotti but with only £9 million transfer kitty and not much movement in the wage dept they were out of my depth. Cavani would of requested £205k per week and no way was I paying that. The transfer of Edouard had to be finalised by the board after a meeting we all agreed we could push this deal through and Im happy with my man. 

Juventus were the biggest spenders in Italy spending £76million most of that on striker Morata from Atletico Madrid so that will help us in the champs league. If we can raise more money a centre back is my next priority but at the moment we are broke so it depends on what we can do with shifting players.