[FM22] Conquering a new era - climbing to the top of the World Super League

[chile_paul]

The announcement of the European Super League in April 2021 received widespread opposition from fans, players, managers, politicians. It also received opposition from UEFA, FIFA, and some national governments due to concerns about elitism and the lack of competitiveness as it would have consisted of only high-ranking teams from a few European countries.

Whilst the clubs behind the European Super League rapidly started to announce their intention to withdraw in the face of the criticism, a new consensus was starting to form driven by FIFA that in order to prevent further attempts to launch splinter competitions they needed to create a new competitive structure to enhance competition between clubs from all nations and increase the number of games between elite clubs.

Within weeks, whispers started to emerge of a new global footballing structure, backed by the financial power of some of the world's largest brands, that would knock aside the traditional concept of national leagues. By the start of July at a global conference held in London, more than 500 clubs worldwide signed up to the launch of the new World Super League........

I've always wanted to attempt a long term save based on a custom database for a World Super League but have always found that the leagues hit problems over the longer term. However, by using Fenech's World Super League with a few additional customisations outlined below I think I've been able to build a parallel footballing universe that is stable over a long time.

As my save progresses I'll give more details of the league structure, but in short, over 500 teams from across the globe have been organised into a pyramid of 19 leagues below which are a group of 7 'gateway' leagues who compete to progress into the World Super League structure proper.

I've made the following additional tweaks to the database to increase playability and stability of the save in the long term:

- Increased reputation for all of the levels in the World Super League structure and decreased the reputation for the 'traditional' leagues that will not be playable

- Levelled out the youth rating for all nations - to increase the chances of all clubs getting good quality regen players

- Levelled out all clubs in each league structure to have the same starting player budget

I will be starting the save with my own team, Newcastle United, in the 3rd tier of the pyramid, the FIFA Ladbrokes World Championship. I'll have the financial support of our tycoon backer to help in the transfer market, but the significantly heightened expectations in an incredibly challenging structure may mean that I don't reach my aim of getting to the top of the pyramid - in which case fate will lead me across the globe in search of my fortune. 

Edited September 26, 2022 by chile_paul
editting

[chile_paul]

 

In a shock move, new Newcastle United Director Amanda Staveley has rejected many of the most well renowned names in football management to appoint ex-player and Newcastle United icon Jonas Gutierrez into his first managerial post at St. James' Park.

In the inaugaral season of the new global footballing structure this has been seen as a massive risk, but whilst fans are shocked and surprised at the news they appear to be pleased to welcome back a well loved player and willing to give Gutierrez a chance to prove what qualities he can bring to the job.

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Like all clubs at this level we start with a £50m transfer budget to strengthen the team - as I'm playing with the 22.4.0 Winter transfer update I'll also benefit from the fact that the squad has already been strengthened with the likes of Bruno Guimares and Kieran Trippier.

The media are preciting a 10th placed finish, but the board have much higher expectations.......

 

I'm expected to get automatic promotion into the 2nd tier (the Coca-Cola Premiership) by winning the league at the first attempt - and then within 2 years get promoted to the Super League - this won't be easy. The board also want me to sign high reputation players which will be a challenge (nobody deemed to be high enough reputation wants to join!) and make really strong progress in both cup competitions.

The World Champions Cup follows a similar format to the old Champions League, taking all of the teams in the Top 4 tiers of the structure into a group stage with each Group having a team from each of the 4 tiers. I've been drawn in a really tough group with Real Madrid (Tier 1), Arsenal (Tier 2) and Sampdoria (Tier 4) - so meeting the boards expectations of progressing beyond the group stage and then through the first knock out stage to the 2nd round will be a real ask. 

The World FA Cup is a straight knock out competition with no seeding; progression to the 6th round might be possible if the draw is kind to me, but there will be a lot of luck involved.

 

The team is strong, but in order to make it to the top it will need strengthening - defence needs a lot more work still despite the additions of Trippier, Burn and Targett. Callum Wilson should be strong enough up front if he stays fit and Saint-Maximin is quality, but a back up striker and some more attacking midfielders will also be a priority.

Edited September 26, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

I'm not going to go through the full league structure, but thought it would help to share the structure of the top 3 tiers.

In each league the teams play each other twice home and away with 3 automatic promotion and relegation places and a relegation play-off between the 4th top and 4th bottom teams.

Other rules are fairly standard, I've made one amendment to the database to change the substitution rules to allow 5 subs from 9 (max of 3 stoppages) in line with the recent change to the Premier League rules.

There is a lot of prize money on offer across the structure and it's heavily weighted to the winners of leagues - as a result across the long term practice holiday saves that I've run you often get a boost effect with clubs shooting up through the league structures. However parachute payments prevent clubs from falling like a stone - all in all it makes an interesting dynamic over time. 

FIFA World Super League

FIFA Coca-Cola Premiership

FIFA Ladbrokes World Championship

Edited September 24, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Pre-season Update - Season 1

We had a busy pre-season as we worked to get everybody to a decent level of fitness and allowed the new players (let's face it we had at least half a brand new team who had never met each other before) got to know each other.

The start wasn't brilliant as Kieran Trippier picked up a thigh strain in the second game that would rule him out for the rest of pre-season and the first 6 weeks of the new campaign.

The next game, we had a little wobble away to Union Berlin where despite dominating they managed to catch us on the break, other than that though we were convincing throughout and will go into the new season full of confidence.

If you believe the bookies we're going to walk the league this season. I very much doubt it's going to be that easy, especially when I'm not expected to have either the top goalscorer or the top player in the league. Some of our opponents have some class players and I think they are going to give us a tough run for our money.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Transfer Summary - Season 1

The Saudi oil money is certainly flowing well and despite being limited to a £50m transfer budget, by offloading some players and then re-investing money over installments I was able to make some significant changes to the squad.

 

Pascal Struijk - my main objective at the start of the transfer window was to strengthen central defence and whilst there were cheaper options available with Chancel Mbemba and Daniel Rugani serious considerations at <£10m, I couldn't turn down the chance to sign a really decent young player with plenty of potential still to grow, whilst also weakening one of my rivals at the same time.

Gavi - on loan from Barcelona at circa £3k per week, what's not to like at this deal even if he will start on the bench in most games

Giorgian De Arrascaeta - I struggled to get my first choice attacker Karim Adeyemi at <£70m, which in my opinion was too much to pay even for a talented youngster so I started to look around for alternatives. Ismaila Sarr was available at a much more affordable price, but in the event I opted to pick up this Urugayuan who plays on the left or in the centre which will lead to Saint-Maximin moving to the right hand side

Goncalo Ramos - a great prospect up front and my main back up for when Callum Wilson inevitably get's injured. With a model citizen personality I'm excited to see how he develops

Nahitan Nendez - I hadn't been planning to strengthen at right back, but when Kieran Trippier picked up his injury and having already sold Emil Krafth I wasn't happy with the prospect of Javi Manquillo being my only right back so I bought my second Uruguayan. The fact that Nandez is truly versatile and can play further up the park and in midfield is also a massive help

Vitinha - maybe one signing too many in midfield? Vitinha looks a real talent though and if he develops as well as I hope could be a snip even at this price?

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - August update

A start of a brand new era, a completely new footballing structure with games against teams from around the world, so much excitement....... and the fixture computer draws us at home to Leeds in the first game, typical!

Once the fans got over the disappointment of not facing one of the more exotic teams in the league, the excitement of a home derby kicked in and we flew off to the best start possible as new boy Pascal Struijk scored against his old team within the first 4 minutes. What a way to mark your debut! The excitement for the home fans didn't end their as we played Leeds off the park cantering through to a 4-0 victory.

Next up we had another English team and this time I was pleased to escape from a hard fought game with a 0-0 draw and a clean sheet. Finally in the last game in the month we played our first European competitors and helped by a long range effort for his first goal for the club from Bruno Guimares, swiftly followed by Callum Wilson's first of the season we secured our second win and a third clean sheet.

7 points out of 9 - not a bad start but there is a very long way to go

 

In a very busy end to the transfer window I dipped back in to pick up 2 youth prospects:

Max Bird - this young English midfielder joins for a fairly hefty price tag of £10m and will stay on loan at Derby for 6 months to continue his development

Theo - my scouts alerted me to the fact that Real Madrid youngster Theo had a £5.5m release clause in his contract which I quickly activated. He will swiftly be sent out on loan to continue his development

Isco - a last minute loan signing to give me some depth in my attacking options

 

Elsewhere there were some really interesting transfer moves. Raul Jimenez had already been to most expensive move of the window as he moved from Wolves to Man Utd for £54m, closely followed by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's transfer to Man City. The real eyebrow raisers were two English midfielders moving to Spanish clubs in big money moves as Curtis Jones moved to Atletico Madrid and Oliver Skipp to Real Madrid - it will be interesting to see if they get any game time in those squads.

 

 

There was certainly a lot of money moving around in the market - most of it Saudi!

Edited September 28, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - September update

 

September got off to a damp squib as we failed to break down a Hertha Berlin side that we utterly dominated, yet got caught on the counter attack on one of their only forays up the field to lose 1-0.

We picked ourselves up though with a dominant win against Celta Vigo in the cup, before Callum Wilson single-handledly fired us into a 3-0 lead against Betis before they hit back with 2 goals in the 92nd and 94th minute to cause a last minute panic.

Callum then was the star performer again, picking up a 92nd minute winner in a really tough game away to Fiorentina.

The defeat to Hertha Berlin has hurt us as we drop down to 3rd place. Leeds who we destroyed in the first game of the season have won every game since.

 

In the World Super League, Bayern Munich have been in sparkling form with 6 wins in a row leaving them 6 points clear at the top of the table. Napoli and Atletico Madrid are propping up the table with 4 points each, Man Utd are hovering just above the relegation zone.

Leicester are leading the way in the FIFA Coca-Cola Premiership, closely followed by Borussia Dortmund and AS Roma. Arsenal are the surprise strugglers, having been one of the favourites for the title with 4 losses in the first 6 games.

Below us in the Fly Emirates Division, the fourth tier of the new league, Brighton and Burnley are in touch of the promotion spots behind early leaders Getafe, PSV and Sassuolo with Lille, Sampdoria and Flamengo propping up the table.

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Not a surprise given how much cash we have in the offer, but it's always nice to see the chairman on board with improving the infrastructure of the club.

 

Along with a focus on finding and developing the very best young players - something that Newcastle were appalling at under the ownership of Mike Ashley.

 

 

We also announced a new affiliate partner in the US

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - October update

Having scored 5 goals in his last 2 games, Callum Wilson continued his red hot form into October and broke records at the same time, becoming the first player to score 4 goals in a game in the new World Super League structure. We needed his contribution though as otherwise we were disappointing away to a weak UD Almeria side, conceeding 2 goals. The game may well have had a different result if Callum hadn't been on form.

That's exactly what happened in the next game away to Marseille - again this was a game we should have won against a weak side but we created little and couldn't convert any of the chances we did have. They then hit on the break to steal all of the points.

After 4 away games travelling across France, Spain and Italy on the bounce we were then pleased to return home to St. James Park for the visits of Shakhtar and Sporting, running out 3-1 winners each time.

 

We're well positioned in the table - just where we need to be on the coat-tails of Leeds. A small gap is starting to open up between the top 4 and the rest.

 

In the World Super League, Bayern Munich are flying at the top of the league with 10 straight wins - it looks like they may have wrapped up the title already. Mikel Arteta's future as Arsenal boss is hanging in the balance in the Coca-Cola Championship as they sit in the relegation zone with only 2 wins in their first 10 games. In the Fly Emirates 4th division PSV have moved into the lead, Brighton are holding on in the automatic promotion spaces.

In the Champions Cup, we started up winning at home to Sampdoria in a really comfortable game - this was the fixture we absolutely had to win with them struggling in the 4th tier. In the second game against Real Madrid we pushed them all away and were unfortunate that goal line technology ruled that Ryan Fraser's rasping drive hadn't crossed the line before being clawed away by their keeper. Ultimately though they were too good and picked up the 3 points. Arsenal and Real Madrid shared the points in their tie and Arsenal beat Sampdoria, so we lie in 3rd place after 2 games with 3 points. Both Arsenal and Real Madrid have 4 points.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - November update

International fixtures ensured that we didn't have many league games in November - and when we did eventually get to play we got off to a bad start away to West Ham as summer signing Moussa Dembele terrorised our defence picking up 2 goals. Joelinton scored our only consolation goal.

We rebounded in a real goal fest against Wolfsburg as we really dominated, running out to a 6-3 win with Isco in particularly stunning form with 2 goals from freekicks. The only concern was how easily they managed to pick up their 3 goals from only a handful of chances.

We remain in touching distance of Leeds, but it's very tight at the top

Chairmen of clubs are beginning to lose patience at the bottom of the table - Shakhtar, Almeria, Wolfsburg and Olympiacos have all dispensed of the services of their managers.

In the Champions Cup we fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Arsenal, with a 4 point gap to both Arsenal and Real Madrid. It's now going to be hard to get out of the group, I absolutely have to beat Sampdoria next time out to keep my chances alive.

A comfortable win against Lecce in the World FA Cup see's us into the Fourth Round - at home again versus Burnley

 

In the World Super League, Bayern Munich continue to run away with it - they have now won 12 straight with Manuel Neuer the stand out performer. Paris SG have dispensed of the services of Mauricio Pochettino, with Diego Simeone also leaving Atletico Madrid and Sevilla looking for a new manager as well.

Arsenal fired Mikel Arteta as they remain in the relegation zone of the Coca-Cola Premiership with Wolves, Porto and Villareal also looking for new managers, whilst Borussia Dortmund lead the way at the top of the table.

Brighton have moved into the lead of the Fly Emirates Division 4.

Edited October 4, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - December update

4 league games in December, which began with a good away win against Olympiacos followed by 3 successive draws. At home to 3rd placed Athletic Bilbao and away to 1st place Leeds who outplayed us in large parts were credible results. The 3-3 at Celta Vigo was really disappointing though where a Joelinton hat-trick was spoilt by a really poor goalkeeping display from Martin Dubravka. That convinced me that I need to strengthen in goal and when the Transfer Window re-opened on Christmas Eve I made the decision to pounce and steal Illian Meslier from our direct rivals the day before we played them - and it was Meslier's stand out performance that earnt us a point with multiple stunning saves.

 

There is little change at the top - albeit Leeds have widened the gap to 6 points

 

Two comfortable wins in the FA World Cup have ensured that we will meet the board's minimum expectations. With Athletic Mineiro in the next round we should exceed those expectations in what is becoming an incredibly open draw. There are only a handful of World Super League teams left in the final 16........

 

In the Champions Cup, we ensured that we stay in the fight with a win against Sampdoria....

....but with Arsenal and Real Madrid drawing I'm 2 points off the qualification places and will need to find a win against one of the top two from somewhere.

In the World Super League, Bayern Munich finally slipped up and lost to Lazio - and, just like buses as soon as they'd lost once along came another straight defeat. With an 11 point cushion however, it's unthinkable that anyone else can catch them in the second half of the season surely?

There is little change in the Coca-Cola Premiership with Borussia Dortmund continuing to lead the way. Leicester are looking like a good bet to go up as well with only 6 points separating 3rd to 13th for the 3rd promotion place.

There is little change in the Fly Emirates 4th division. Flamengo, as the highest ranked South American team in the league structure have widely disappointed, failing to win any of their games in the first half of the season.

Big Joe is flying in the last few games!

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

January Transfer Window

The January transfer window was as hectic as the summer window had been with a significant number of major transfers. Surprisingly Southampton in the Fly Emirates Division 4 were the biggest spenders after also seeing some significant outgoings. After Che Adams left for Sevilla in a £45m deal, he was followed out the door by 2 defenders also leaving for Super League teams - Mohammed Salisu joined Real Madrid whilst Jan Bednarek joined Atletico. They then spent all of that money on 3 big name strikers - Gabriel Barbosa from Flamengo, Patrick Bamford stepped down a division from high flying Leeds and Sebastian Haller joined from Ajax. Ralph Hassenhuttl is going to have a job on his hands to keep them all happy.

 

Elsewhere in the World Super League, Liverpool made the biggest capture picking up long term target Declan Rice from West Ham for £54m, whilst Tottenham splashed out on Darwin Nunez in a deal which could be worth £62m.

In the Coca-Cola Premiership title chasers Real Sociedad added to their front line, supplementing Alexander Isak with Patrick Schick joining from struggling Bayer Leverkusen, whilst title rivals Leicester picked up midfield maestro Nuno Santos from Sporting CP. Bukayo Saka tried to force through a move from Arsenal to Real Madrid but new manager Ernesto Valverde held firm and Saka will have to at the very least play out the season at the Emirates.

In the Ladbrokes World Championship the story was mainly about outgoings with several big names leaving clubs - Tomas Soucek, Matheus Nunes and Dodo all moved to clubs in the Super League, but Joe Rodon was the big arrival moving from Tottenham to Celta Vigo for £38m

Having spent heavily in pre-season I had limited funds available, so couldn't splash the cash as much as some teams and had to plan my moves more carefully. Defence was my main priority though as we had been leaking goals in recent weeks. Right wing was also a priority.

Ilian Meslier - Ilian was the big ticket purchase, but for only £21m I think he could turn out to be a bargain. Not only has he strengthened us in goal now, he will grow much stronger, as well as instantly weakening a direct rival at the same time.

Mykola Matvienko - Mykola joined from strugglers Shakhtar for a fee that could increase to £11.75m. With Matt Targett only with us on loan for the season, this signing is thinking ahead to next season as much as this. Able to play in centre defence as well as left wing back he also offers good versatility and is a Model Professional to top it all off.

Axel Disasi - Axel joined from Monaco for £8.5m and whilst he's never going to be world class, he is a step up from Fabian Schar or Jamaal Lascelles and play a large part in our run in

Youssoufa Moukoko - Youssoufa is only a loan signing from Borussia Dortmund and at 17 years old is still very raw, but his pace is electric. I would love to make him a permanent signing in the future if I could afford him

We had no signficant outgoings, but a lot of the old guard have left on loan looking to get some game time before they inevitably look for a new club next season.

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - January update

January was a busy month with 5 league games, interspersed with cup competitions. In the league we were in devestating form at home, with 14 goals scored and only one conceeded - Joelinton picked up his second hat-trick at home to Betis and new boy Youssoufa Moukoko picked up his own hat-trick at home to Almeria.

Away from home was a different matter though and we had to accept 2 points from a possible 6. Away to Borussia Mochengladbach I could have no complaints in a tough, even match against one of our title rivals a point was a fair result. We'd fallen behind and we were reliant on Moukouko picking up a goal on the break in the 82nd minute to ensure we got something from the game. It was Moukouko again away to Hertha Berlin, but we really should have picked up all 3 points in this game against a team much lower down in the league.

 

Leeds remain at the top of the table, but we are catching them and closing the gap! The top is still tight though and we're certainly not comfortable in the top 3 automatic promotion spots, all it will take is a poor run of form for us to drop back down.

In the FA World Cup, as expected, we comfortably progressed passed the Brazilian's of Atletico Mineiro and have a home tie against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals....

....and in the Champions Cup we will again face a decisive game against Real Madrid to see if we qualify for the second round after a wonderful result in the penultimate group game against Arsenal.

We've moved into second place in the table, but Arsenal have much the easier fixture in the final round of group matches away to Sampdoria, whilst we will be away in Madrid.

Elsewhere in the leagues, Bayern Munich have finally hit a poor run of form in the World Super League - they surely can't throw away a 14 point lead can they. Liverpool have cut that lead to 7 points now and will be looking to keep up the pressure over the next few months to challenge them. AC Milan are now propping up the table and may be cut adrift, whilst 10th to 15th place are separated by only 3 points.

In the Coca-Cola Premiership Borussia Dortmund are still in the lead and the top 3, along with Leicester and Real Sociedad are pulling away from the rest. At the bottom Wolves and Porto appear to be as good as down.

In the Fly Emirates Division 4, the top four teams are separated by just one point, with everything still to play for with 9 games left to play.

Back at home we did a clean sweep of all of the monthly awards, with the big man Joelinton picking up Player of the Month for the second month in a row.

Edited October 10, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

It's good news that Mouokouko is in such good form, as otherwise this news would have been even more of a blow....

 

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - February update

 

February got under way with a brilliant home win against Fiorentina - they had given us a pretty torrid time earlier in the season, but this was the complete opposite and thanks to goals from across the team we ran out to a comfortable win. We followed up with a rarity - an away win, before we threw away all of our good work with our first defeat in 12 games against strugglers Shakhtar. 

Luckily the defeat didn't impact our confidence and we rebounded to a win against Marseille.

The defeat against Shakhtar has cost us the opportunity to take the lead in the league - but we remain only 2 points behind Leeds - with 5 games left in the season it's going to go down to the wire!

In the Champions Cup, we managed a credible away draw against Real Madrid - we would have won the game had Miltao not pick up 2 headed goals from corners! That was unlikely to be enough as a win for Arsenal at Sampdoria would see them overtake us - but they couldn't manage it. They failed to breakdown a resolute Sampdoria defence over 90 minutes and as a result we were through!

A favourable draw pitted us against Espanyol and the 1st leg was really comfortable - after a 4-0 win, we'll be able to rest some increasingly tired legs in the follow up.

 

We played Real Madrid for the 3rd time in the quarter-finals of the World FA Cup at home and stunned the Super League team! After Trippier scored from a free kick, they hit back with Militao scoring his 3rd against us in 2 games - just before half time Saint-Maximin broke through their defence to score, before he picked up his hamstring tear in the second half. Real Madrid threw everything against us, but in the closing minutes Militao turned from hero to villain as he hacked down Joelinton in the area and Callum Wilson stepped up to send us through to the semi-finals.

We couldn't have asked for a better draw in the semi's after 7th tier RB Leipzig knocked out Man City in the quarter's - we will play them at Wembley before the victors go on to play either Bayern Munich or PSG.

In the World Super League, Bayern Munich remain in front with a 7 point cushion - with only 5 games left to play, that should be enough to secure the title.

Leceister have taken the lead from Borussia Dortmund in the Coca-Cola Premiership and Brighton have re-taken the lead of the Fly Emirates Division 4 - but it is so tight with 6 teams separated by 2 points.

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Another massive blow as one of our top players is ruled out for a key part of our run-in.

[chile_paul]

Youth Intake

Our Youth Intake has been announced and we have one exciting possibility in the ranks.

Raul Burcea has a terrific leap on him and get head a ball well - he needs to work on his finishing and composure. Interesting to see a Romanian coming through the ranks, I don't think the club has any Romanian staff or links, so not too sure how that has come about, but if they come through as good as this lad I won't be complaining.

Jack Burke and Benjamin Paintsil are the other notable youth team arrivals

Edited October 11, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - March update

Just the one league game this month as international fictures and the latter stages of the cup took precedent. It ended up being an eventful fixture though - we ran out to a very comfortable 5-0 win against West Hame, but the 3 points fired us above Leeds to the top of the table for the first time.

With 4 games left to play, can we keep top spot as our own?

In the Champions Cup we had a stunning run of 4 games. We put out a weakened side for our second leg at Espanyol which we still managed to win comfortably.

We were then drawn against World Super League team Inter in the second round. We picked up a vital away goal in the dying minutes of a tight game in the first leg thanks to Joe Willock and then raced into a 3 goal aggregate lead in the first 15 minutes of the second leg. Inter fought back with 2 goals of their own - but before they could snatch the game from us, Callum Wilson scored our third goal to make the tie safe.

In the quarter-final we've been handed the toughest possible draw against Bayern Munich but we've put in a brilliant performance at home thanks to an early goal from Moukouko followed by a brilliant back to the wall display.

Edited October 14, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Yossoufa Moukoko made it into 17th place, but I'm really surprised that Gavi didn't register in the Top 50?

[chile_paul]

This is disastrous news as we head into the season finale still in all 3 competitions.....arguably our 2 best players are now out injured for most of the rest of the season

....and it just keeps getting worse. We're now going to need to rely on Chris Wood to step up to the plate.

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - April & May update

 

After what has been overall a really good season, April & May came around with a sting in the tail as we fell just short in all 3 competitions.

Starting in the World FA Cup, we had an absolutely brilliant opportunity to make it through to the final with a really favourable draw against RB Salzburg, however their youngsters, many of whom I covet to bring into my team had a brilliant day. They took the lead in the 28th minute after Pascal Struijk brought down Benjamin Sesko in the box and Karim Adeyemi stepped up to convert from the penalty spot. I then made a school boy error in the second half by using all 3 sub's around the 60th minute in an attempt to turn the game around - only for Kieran Trippier to pick up an injury that left him unable to continue and then Joelinton picked up a knock, leaving us down to 9 and a half players.

Joelinton fought on though and in the 95th minute set up an equaliser for Moukouko to tuck away to take the game into extra time. However by that point the players were on their knee's with exhaustion and couldn't match the energy of Salzburg who broke free in the 94th minute to score a golden goal winner.

 

In the Champion's Cup we had done so, so well to beat Bayern Munich in the 1st leg and when Matvienko scored a free kick just as the second half kicked off to give us a 2-0 lead on aggregate I thought we were going to make it through. However Lewandowski who had barely had a touch in a game and a half suddenly came to life and was all over our defence scoring in the 59th and 74th minutes -  and then was heavily involved in the build up to the sucker punch of a decisive goal eventually put away by Kingsley Coman to elminate us from the competition. I can't really be too upset as we've massively over-achieved in the competition, but it was a harsh way to be knocked out.

 

In the league it was another case of so near and yet so far. The month started well as we won a tricky game away to Wolfsburg which secured our promotion. We scored an early goal but Wolfsburg then hit back twice to take the lead and there were clearly some nerves in the team. Joelinton managed to equalise in the 76th minute and Vitinha then scored a vital winner in the 95th minute to secure promotion and importantly keep us in the lead in the table.

We then absolutely demolished Olympiacos - but at the same time Leeds were also winning away in a 5-0 demolition of promotion chasing Borussia Mochengladbach - it was clear they were not going to take their foot off the pedal in the chase for the title which we were only winning on goal difference and in the next game we slipped up.....

It was a tight match at home to Celta Vigo, but one in which we were dominating until Nahitan Nandez was sent off in the 61st minute for a second bookable offence. Caught between a rock and a hard place, knowing that we needed a win we kept attacking and it paid off only a few minutes later as we took the lead thanks to Moukouko again! He's popped up with so many critical goals since joining on loan in January. It wasn't to last though as Celta Vigo equalised only 4 minutes and later and despite pushing we couldn't find another goal.

Leeds went on to win their fixture and with both teams winning the final fixture, Leeds ended up crowned as champions.

Edited October 20, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

End of Season Competition Update

World FA Cup - RB Salzburg were no match for Bayern Munich in the final, collapsing to a 3-0 defeat

World Champions Cup - Man Utd overcame PSG in the final with a penalty shoot deciding the tie following a thrilling 2-2 draw 

World Super League - Bayern Munich's incredible winning run at the start of the season was more than enough to secure the league title, finishing with an 11 point margin to second placed Liverpool. Juventus, Sevilla and AC Milan were relegated.

Coca-Cola Premiership - Borussia Dortmund were champions, with Leicester and Valencia promoted to the Super League. Villareal, Wolves and Porto were relegated.

Ladbrokes World Championship - it was an English 1-2-3 with Leeds, Newcastle and Aston Villa getting promoted. Almeria, Marseille and Olympiacos were relegated

Fly Emirates Division 4 - Another great result for the English teams with Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton being promoted. Besiktas, Flamengo and Sampdoria were relegated with Eintracht Frankfurt also going down after losing the relegation play-off

Samsung Division 5 - OGC Nice were the dominant team almost 20 points ahead of 2nd placed Brentford who were automatically promoted along with Torino. Braga join them in promotion after winning the promotion play-off against Frankfurt.

Etihad Airways Division 6 - Everton won the league, 17 points clear of SC Freiburg with River the third team to be promoted - one of the few South American teams to have had a successful first campaign in the new league structure.

Edited October 14, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

The upgrades keep flowing....

[chile_paul]

Competition prize money in this league format is really high, so the fact that I did well in 3 competitions has massively swelled my coffers.

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 1 - End of Season Summary

[chile_paul]

World League Hall of Fame

Each season I'll be keeping track of a "Hall of Fame" for the best players and managers in the league structure based on competitions won.

I had tried to work out how to clear the entire history of the Hall of Fame within the main game but couldn't work out how to clear the history - and given that we've moved to a new league structure I didn't want managers with a history of winning in the old, traditional league structure to get in the way.

Clearly as time passes the Hall of Fame will hopefully start to add more interest, but in the first season 2 managers have earnt a place in the inaugaral managerial hall of fame.

 

Whilst it is the Bayern Munich squad who sit at the top of the players Hall of Fame with their two title wins.

[chile_paul]

Oh, am I about to have a falling out with the board here??

[chile_paul]

Pre-season Update - Season 2

We had the normal pre-season fare as the team regained fitness, re-established familiarity with our tactics and welcomed new team members into the fold as well as building some confidence prior to the start of the new season.

Very few of the opponents gave us any sort of challenge, although Westerlo at least put up a bit of a fight. By the time we played Sturm Graz and Le Havre we were comfortably in our groove and completely outplayed our opponents.

Despite only just being promoted, we're comfortable favourites for the Coca-Cola Championship title, even considered above some of the big hitters who have been relegated from the Super League including Juventus. Lyon fans won't be at all happy to see that they are widely expected to be relegated.

I'll update on transfers shortly, but our marquee signing of the summer Gabriel Jesus is in the running to be the leagues top goalscorer and loanee Gavi is in the running for the young player of the year award. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Summer Transfer Window

We had been given a very hefty war chest to strengthen and get ready for the Coca-Cola Premiership campaign and I had a few priorities on my mind - the board had been unhappy with my failure to bring in a big marquee signing to kick off their ownership of the club last season and whilst I wasn't going to have my hand forced for a player that may end up becoming a prima-donna and unsettle my other players, I was open to the possibility for a player that would fit into our system.

I also wanted to focus yet again on our defence - I stil felt that I was lacking a second strong centre back to partner Pascal Struijk.

However my plans were somwhat thrown up in the air when Valencia came in for Allan Saint-Maximin, my initial reaction was to reject the offer out of hand - but Allan wanted to listen to their offer, so I negotiated and when they came back with an offer of £90m it was too good to turn down. World Super League champions Bayern Munich also made offers for both Vitinha and Pascal Struijk, but I managed to ward off the interest with big money contract renewals; I just couldn't afford to lose these 2 from the spine of my team.

New arrivals:

Gabriel Jesus - My main marquee striker, I opted for Gabriel partly to keep the board happy - but the fact that swung hit was his versatility, happy to play as a striker and able to operate as an inside forwward on both right and left hand side.

Lorenzo Lucca - A young striker joining from Pisa. He looks a really exciting prospect and as a result of his arrival Goncalo Ramos who was a little unhappy with the amount of playing time he got last season will get the opportunity to go on loan.

Adrian Corral - Very much a future prospect, but my scouts identified that he had a £2.9m release clause which I very quickly activated to snatch him from Atletico Madrid

Joe Gomez - I looked at Joe a couple of times last season when he was unhappy about the amount of playing time he was getting at Liverpool, his versatility swung the deal for me though as he is equally happy at left and right back as he is through the centre. 

Ryan Gravenberch - I hadn't particularly been looking for anybody in central midfield as I was quite happy with the combination of Joelinton and Vitinha; but then Ajax offered me £15m plus Ryan in part exchange for Nahitan Nandez and I just couldn't turn the deal down. Nandez was a good member of my squad and a great deputy for Kieran Trippier but I hadn't forgotten his red card in a critical game last season and with Joe Gomez able to deputise for Trippier it was a sacrifice I was happy to make.

Rafael Leao - Rafeal is the direct replacement for Allan Saint-Maximin and only half his price.

Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa - Brought in as back-up for Bruno Guimares from Fulham as Nahitan Nadez also deputised here - but no matter how much Bruno is loved by the Newcastle faithful, his place may be under pressure now.

Karim Konate - My final arrival is Karim Konate, very much a striker for the future, he will be going straight out on loan

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - August update

Life in the Coca-Cola Premiership got off to an almost perfect start with 3 wins out of 4 as the season kicked off. Ralf Leao had a perfect debut with 2 goals as we ran out 4-1 winners against Aston Villa and the goals flowed in our second game as well with a comprehensive win against RB Leipzig. Our first away game at Real Sociedad was a much tougher prospect though - even though they had lost their first 2 games of the season with both Aleksander Isak and Patrick Schick in their front line this was going to be a tough ask. Indeed it was Isak who struck to send them into the lead in the first half and we had to wait until the final few minutes to secure an equaliser.

We finished the month with another home victory against Benfica.

In the first round of the World FA Cup, we were drawn against another Coca-Cola Premiership side, but in the 4th home game of the month, Ryan Gravenberch hit back at his ex-employers with 2 brilliant goals to give us the win and send us through to the second round.

 

We're very nicely placed at the top of the league, level with Juventus

 

Elsewhere in the World Super League, Barcelona have won four in a row to sit at the top of the early season table. Newly promoted Leicester have found it tough with 2 draws in 4 games.

In the Ladbrokes World Championship have made a fantastic start to life in a higher league and are sitting at the top of the table.

Recently relegated Olympiacos have struggled in Fly Emirates Division 4 and are back at the bottom of the table

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - September update

September was a stunning month in which we steam-rollered every team that was put out in front of us! In the league we started off away to Lyon, where Gabriel Jesus got us an early goal in the 2nd minute and Ryan Gravenberch got yet another tidy finish to secure the points early in the second half.

Next up we faced Juventus who were on paper at least our main rivals in the league and an in form Dusan Vlahahovic who had scored in every game in the league so far - but our defence kept him under lock and key and we dismantled their game running off with a dominant 4-0 victory at St. James Park

Finally, after the international break we had a tough tie away to AC Milan where Gabriel jesus was the deciding factor, sneaking a decisive goal just after half time.

 

In the World FA Cup we had a favourable tie against 8th tier Saint-Etienne and we showed the gulf in class, scoring 6 goals in the first 30 minutes including a Giorgian De Arrasceata hat-trick. We took our foot off the pedal after the break but an 8-0 win is a competition and club record. 

We're top of the league with last season's rivals Leeds just behind us. The real surprise is Real Sociedad, bottom of the table with no wins despite arguably the strongest strike force in the league.

 

Barcelona are maintaining the pace at the top of the World Super League, although have dropped 4 points in the last month. Liverpool are sniffing just behind them.

In the Coca-Cola Championship, despite losing star player Federico Chiesa, Fiorentina have suddenly found some form and are leading the way closely followed by West Ham

Levante UD are the last team in the Fly Emirates Division 4 and top the table with 19 points, followed by recently promoted Zenit.

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - October update

We continued to fly along in the league with very few bumps in the road, plenty of goals scored and only 2 conceeded in 5 games. Monaco was the exception to the rule as they gave us a really hard time and could easily have won the game in the last few minutes save for a goal line clearance.

We now have a comfortable 11 point margin to Arsenal in 2nd place who I play in the first game of November and can already start dreaming of the World Super League next season.

RB Leipzig have been the first club in the league to dispence of their manager Domenico Todesco, but AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen are surely going to be looking to make a change shortly to try and recover their seasons.

In the World FA Cup we had been drawn against a familiar face - Eddie Howe's Lazio! Howe had a point to prove after I had displaced him from his dream job at Newcastle and after a brief successful stint at Brentford which resulted in their promotion last season he had been poached by Lazio. Despite struggling towards the bottom of the World Super League this season, they managed to raise their levels in this game and knock us out in a high scoring contest thanks to a Ciro Immobile hat-trick

 

In the Champions Cup we had been drawn against Real Madrid for the second season in a row, along with Brentford and Athletic Bilbao. We continued our good run of games against Real Madrid and in a tight game ran out to a comfortable 3-0 victory thanks to a poor performance from Thibaut Courtois. In the second fixture we slipped up though against a strong Athletic Bilbao side, only managing to pick up a point.

We remain well positioned in the group with 2 ties against Brentford to follow.

 

In the World Super League, Liverpool have pulled out a narrow 4 point gap at the top of the league ahead of last season's champions Bayern Munich.

3 points separate the top 4 in the Championship with West Ham just about holding on to the top spot. Recently promoted Crystal Palace and Southampton are finding life tougher in the higher league.

Levante UD have eeked out a 4 point lead in the Fly Emirates Division 4. Olympiacos continue to plummet like a stone and will be looking for their 3rd new manager in 2 seasons having sacked Jardim.

 

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - November & December update

November was a short month with only 2 games before the league broke for the World Cup, but we powered past Arsenal and then Ajax, scoring 7 goals with none conceeeded.

A number of players than headed off to Qatar, and on their return we had a slight slip up away to struggling Aston Villa as we threw away the 3 points when Giorgian De Arrascaeta conceeded a 91st minute own goal. That was only a minor hiccough though and we returned to winning ways with comfortable wins in the remaining fixtures in December.

 

We're miles clear at the top of the league, but the battle for the remaining 2 automatic promotion places is hotting up

 

Straight forward wins in the Champions Cup along with a shock defeat for Real Madrid away to Brentford guarantee my progression to the first knock out round after only 4 fixtures.

 

 

Liverpool continue to lead the way in the World Super League, with last seasons champions Bayern Munich 5 points behind.

Wolves are putting up a challenge to catch Fiorentina at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship, hoping to return to the Premiership at the first time of asking.

Levante UD continue to extend their lead at the top of the Fly Emirates Division 4.

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

I had desperately wanted to keep Moukouko this season - but he's been flying in the World Super League with Borussia Dortmund this season and that, combined with his performances for us last season mean this award is absolutely deserved.

 

[chile_paul]

Our dominance in the league has meant that I've started to be able to give some of my youngsters some game time - which in the final game of the month resulted in this record being broken.

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - January update

We continue to have the occasional slip up on the road, but are yet to be beaten. At home we are utterly dominant and every opponent gets hammered. We were particularly dominant against AC Milan. Simon Kjaer was so bamboozled he was stationary, with no other player near him when a corner richocheted off his back and straight into the goal.

Promotion confirmed and we're still only in January - with a 23 point gap to second place!

 

In the Champions Cup we humiliated Real Madrid in the Bernabeu to extend our winning run against the champions of Madrid

That results confirms that we will win the group and raises the possibility of Real Madrid failing to qualify if Athletic Bilbao beat them or should Brentford beat us in the final game. I will undoubtedly field a weakened side, but other than the FA Cup defeat to Lazio, we haven't yet lost a game all season, so this seems unlikely.

 

Liverpool continue to dominate the World Super League and with an 8 point lead over Bayern Munich are surely going to be champions.

It's a little tighter in the Championship. Fiorentina are leading the way, but both Wolves and West Ham are on their tails just 4 points behind. Crystal Palace look like they are down, with Brighton fighting hard to stay up, but honestly anybody in 8th or below could be down.

Levante, Brentford and Nice look to be favourites to go up from the Fly Emirates Division 4 and are opening up a gap to the teams from 5th placed down. Almeria, Olympiacos and Torino at the bottom may have a chance to earn a play off chance to stay in the league, but the gap to the safe league places looks unsurmountable

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

January Transfer Window

Given our position in the league, I didn't feel that I needed to strengthen significantly in the January transfer window and instead turned my attention to looking for future youth prospects. Of course if there was an option too good to turn down I would be there!

The big news in the transfer market though was the record breaking move of Matthias de Ligt from Juventus to Man City. de Ligt was reportedly unhappy at Juventus's relegation from the Super League last season and their failure to be challenging for promotion, but his departure will be a risk for Juventus boss Zinedine Zidane as he looks to avoid falling further down the league. With Weston McKennie also leaving Juve to league rivals Ajax, you have to wonder whether Zidane is under pressure to balance the books?

Jules Kounde was another notable departure to Man Utd from a Sevilla side who are also fighting to avoid relegation down to the World Championship. 

It was a real surprise to see Sheffield United as the 3rd highest spending club in the world! The Etihad Airways division 6 side were clearly making a major investment to stabilise their position in the league following promotion last season with 4 big money arrivals.

 

As expected, I ended up with no major incomings and I fought off advances from Bayern Munich and Barcelona for both Pascal Struijk and Vitinha. I did pick up 3 youngsters who I hope will have bright futures with us.

 

Leon King - my scouts have been absolutely raving about Leon King's potential - so I stumped up the cash, with a large element of the fee dependant on performances from Rangers. He only played once for the Ranger's first team and his stats aren't amazing, so I'm putting a lot of faith in my scouts view here!

Matheus Goncalves - Goncalves is another slight unknown, having not featured for the Flamengo first team but his ability is a little more clear cut here with pace in abundance. With a Tackling attribute of 1 though, I won't be relying on him to track back and perform any defensive duties!

Chaka Traore - Traore was not rated highly by my scouts and therefore is a major gamble, but when Man City and Man Utd both put bids in for him, I thought it would be worth a gamble for a relatively small fee. What's the worst that can happen?

Edited November 11, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - February update

 

With promotion and the league title in the bag, I had half a season to start blooding some younger players within the squad - having said that I didn't want to weaken the team too far as I wanted to maintain confidence for the Champions Cup and was aiming for a full invincibles season.

At home we saw no signs of slipping up with comfortable wins against Roma and Atalanta - which included goals for Jamaal Lewis who had been recalled from loan as well as youngster Raul Burcea who becomes our youngest ever goalscorer. It was a lot tighter in the away game and we came close to slipping up in Seville holding out for a 0-0 draw.

 

In the Champions Cup we did suffer a shock defeat against Brentford - yes, I had some youngsters on the teamsheet but Brentford played really well and deserved the conving win. That did indeed secure their progression in the competition at the expense of Real Madrid.

In the First Konckout round we had a tough draw against Super League team Tottenham. We won the home game, and the 4th minute goal from Callum Wilson to give us a 2 goal advantage meant the nerves were never jangling too much in the away leg at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Edited November 13, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

I'm hoping that this is a really decent youth intake for us and whilst they are all defenders, they could end up being an entire future back line! Darren Henderson has some really good mental attributes and looks like future captain material if his physical and technical capabilities can mature. 

Im most hopeful about Malaki Phipps though, he has some real potential.

 

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

Newcastle United - Season 2 - March, April and May update

With nothing really left to play for, our home away from home really started to drop off and we finally lost our unbeaten run in a 1-0 defeat at 2nd placed Arsenal - really frustrating to throw away our invincible season after 27 games with only 3 games left. At home we continued to fly with Lorenzo Lucca starring in particular against 3rd placed AS Monaco.

Very proud of our overall performance, I imagine our 73 point haul will be a record for a long time. Arsenal went on a great run in the second half of the season following the signing of Tammy Abraham and they clinched second place with a 6 point gap to Monaco who lost out in the promotion play-off.

Aston Villa had a really disappointing season and have gone straight back down to the Championship, along with Leverkusen and despite plenty of goals from Aleksander Isak Real Sociedad took the 3rd relegation spot.

 

In the Champions League, we played really well to knock out Super League team Atletico Madrid before progressing comfortably through a quarter final against Leeds. In the semi-final though we then faced a really tough draw against Bayern Munich who for a second year in a row knocked us out in a narrow contest.

In the 1st leg Bayern flew out of the trap and took an 18th minute lead thanks to Serge Gnabry, but we slowly fought back and thought we'd equalised in the 78th minute thanks to Callum Wilson. We did finally get a deserving equaliser in the 89th minute as Wilson got his revenge.

In the 2nd leg Bayern again took an early lead this time through Leroy Sane. Ryan Gravenberch got us back into the game and levelled the tie at 2-2 in the 29th minute and we then started to dominate the game with a number of clear cut chances just before half time which came at just the wrong time for us. Bayern used the interval to reset and 2 goals in 4 minutes from Lewandowski and Sane again ended our adventure in the competition

Edited November 14, 2022 by chile_paul

[chile_paul]

End of Season Competition Update

World Cup - In a huge shock the USA had made it into the final, where they faced England (World UK). The US team refused to surrender against the higher ranked team and put up a strong performance but ultimately the England team were more clinical in their finishing and ran out 4-1 winners through goals from Timori, Ben White, Sterling and Rashford.

World FA Cup - Borussia Dortmund and Mayern Munich were finalists in both the FA Cup and the Champions Cup. In the first encounter Bayern Munich took the lead through top scorer Robert Lewanodowski before Borussia Dortmund produced a stunning come back led by Erling Haaland who picked up 2 goals and an assist as they ran out 4-1 winners

World Champions Cup - In the second encounter within a week, Haaland was again the hero as Borussia Dortmund did the double over their fierce rivals. Haaland scored in the 33nd second to score the fastest ever Champions Cup goal - and indeed could have scored even faster having seen an earlier shot hit the post and rebound out before he eventually scored. Haaland picked up a second goal through a penalty just before half time. Bayern Munich only really started to post a threat on the Dortmund goal after the 80th minute but when they got one goal back in the 87th minute there was a very real chance of taking the match to extra time, but the whistle came just too soon for them.

World Super League - Bayern Munich ended up second in all three major competitions, with Liverpool taking the title by 6 clear points. Leicester went straight back down after their promotion last season along with Napoli and Eddie Howe's Lazio side; Howe was sacked after relegation was confirmed. Tottenham survived after winning the relegation / promotion play off against Monaco.

Coca-Cola Premiership - Newcastle won the league with Arsenal and AS Roma promoted. Real Socidad, Leverkusen and Aston Villa are relegated. Sevilla hammered Wolves in the promotion / relegation play-off to retain their Premiership place for another season.

Ladbrokes World Championship - Fiorentina were comfortable champions with an 11 point gap to West Ham and Hertha Berlin who secured 3rd place by just 2 points on the final day from Wolves. Crystal Palace were relegated in bottom place following their promotion last season along with Wolfsburg and Shakhtar and Villareal made it back to back relegations after losing out in the promotion / relegation play off.

Fly Emirates Division 4 - Levante UD had led the way for most of the season and ended up as champions with a 5 point gap to Nice who are promoted along with Sassuolo and Brentford. Zenit, Torino and Almeria are relegated along with Olympiacos after losing the relegation play-off. Almeria and Olympiacos both suffer back to back relegations.

Samsung Division 5 - Everton dominated the league from start to finish to make it consecutive league titles and back to back promotions and will be joined in Division 4 next season by SC Freiburg and the 2 most successful South American teams in River of Argentina and Gremio of Brazil - the same top 3 as last season's top 3 from Division 6. AEK, Monterrey and Watford were relegated.

Etihad Airways Division 6 - Stuttgart, Strasbourg and Spezia were promoted with Bordeaux, Feyenoord, Alaves and Jeonbuk relegated.

 

[chile_paul]

We're not exactly poor, but our bank balance has dropped off the highs from last year as our continued investment in players, spread over multiple installments eats away at funds.