[FM22] The Ballad of Benjani - Phase 4 - The emotional high point has been reached - How far long will he keep this up?

[GIMN]

8 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Jesus - the lines on that pass map are almost too wide!  Sensational result, and what a fitting end to the career.  Congratulations!

[haier_fm]

Congratulations on the CL win! Had a blast reading through this adventure with the Pompey, thank you for sharing it with us.  

[13th Man]

Four Years Later

As I start my FM23 career (Born to Run), I had a moment of wondering about Portsmouth.  I was curious how a few of the young players that had made the core of the side would fare, especially The Price is Right James Price, but also fellow strike partner Enrique and a few others.  I retired Benjani and simmed four years into the future.  The first thing that caught my eye when I checked in on Portsmouth?

Pep Guardiola took over just after Benjani’s departure and remained there all four years after leaving Liverpool.  It should be said that he did not live up to his predecessor's accomplishments, despite spending in the £100s of millions.  In the four years following Benjani’s departure, Guardiola could only manage 6th and 7th place finishes.

What about the players?  As you can see from the above screenshot Price stayed loyal to the club that shot him into the spotlight, but he never was able to reach anywhere near the heights of the first title wining season when he scored 29 league goals.  The closest he got was 15.  He was still a phenomenal player, though, and spearheaded led Guardiola’s 4-3-3.

Kind of a shame really, I would have liked to see him kick on a bit more?  Still an incredible player and while I kept playing on for a bit after my last write up, wanting to take him to greater heights but I hit a rough spot at work and just didn’t have the energy. Guardiola didn't quite know how to get the best of him then.

Other names still at the club included Nathan Collins who remained as a rock in the back.  The rest of the former back three were also still there in Franco Moran and Bright Arrey-Mbi, though both were considered more as squad players.

As for the rest of the strike force - Enrique was sold off to Napoli for £40m, and the even younger youngsters Casariego (Aston Villa £35m) and Fuentes (free) also departed.  All of whom had their best years under Benjani, though Enrique was continuing to enjoy himself in Italy.

With that Guardiola fellow ruining Benjani’s legacy at Portsmouth, undoing all the good work he’d done, let’s just pretend I didn’t do that and Benjani rode off into the sunset, winning more silverware and creating a Total Footballing empire at Portsmouth.

Onwards and upwards, and hopefully those who have enjoyed this ride will enjoy my next adventure…