[FM24] Southampton

[smplfc123]

Just caught up on this @warlock having ventured into the career threads myself. Excellent achievements with the Saints so far. Fer Nino was excellent for me in FM23.

[warlock]

Just now, smplfc123 said:

having ventured into the career threads myself

I had spotted your new thread. Good luck in Germany 

[Jogo Bonito]

Very strong form and top of the tree, great stuff @warlock.

[AlfieLucas]

You've done superbly well with Soton. Long may it continue.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

January 2027

The winter transfer window is always an odd one. It's always a risk bringing in new signings halfway through the season, even if their clubs are willing to let them go (and most aren't). While I had concerns over some of our players, I didn't feel any sense of panic or an urgent need to improve. After all, we were top of the Premier League, had reached the latter stages of the Carabao Cup, were close to the top of the Europa League, and going well in the FA Cup. As I noted last time, any business we did would be driven by incoming offers.

In the event, there was very little action. We batted away a couple of lowball bids for GK Seimen from Hoffenheim (he wasn't interested anyway), the rumoured interest in LWB Josh Doig never materialised, and the other media fluff didn't amount to much. The one transfer that did go through was my fault - DM Will Smallbone signed for Nice on an end-of-contract deal. Smallbone is an odd case... he was good in the Championship but I wasn't convinced he could perform in the Premier League. In the event, he turned out to be one of our most reliable DM options:

He doesn't look like much but he's been Mr Dependable this season. I'd say he gives the lie to the current nonsense about attributes being irrelevant in FM. He's a long way from the "meta" physical beast, and his standout attributes are the passing and vision. But if you look at the requirements for a DLP, he's pretty good all round - first touch and technique, composure and decisions, teamwork and workrate... they're all pretty good, and that's reflected in his stats for the season:

So while I was dithering over a new contract, Nice nipped in and made him the offer. A big mistake on my part.

The only other business was done on deadline day. That huge transfer budget was burning a hole in my pocket but I'd managed to resist the temptation until the last minute. Then my scouts flagged the availability of this guy:

With lingering doubts about Edozie on the left, and Armstrong and Bardghji on the right, he looked like an ideal signing since he's adept on either side, and at all roles - winger, inverted winger, and inside forward. He has good attributes in all the right places and potential to develop considerably. And his £35.5m release clause looked like excellent value.

So that was our transfer window. In the meantime, there was football to be done:

On the whole, we did the football rather well. The Forest game was one of those... they presented us with an early goal and then we sat on our hands for 85 minutes. My pleading, cajoling and threatening made no difference and we succumbed to defeat for the first time in ages.

Luckily, we followed that with an easy game against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup and we duly took advantage. Then came Bournemouth, the team who had beaten us on the opening day of the season. I wanted revenge and we just about  managed it. We then picked up another league win, made further progress in the FA Cup, and look to have secured another Carabao Cup final appearance, assuming we can do a professional job in the away leg.

In the Europa League we had already qualified for the Round of 16 while Fiorentina were fighting for their place, but we showed good resilience in securing the draw with a very late equaliser. And finally, the match against Arsenal was an odd one. The loss to Forest had allowed Man City to slip ahead of us to take top spot, we were in second, Arsenal were in third. The Gunners subjected us to the usual onslaught, peppering our goal and pinning us in our own half - we didn't muster a single on target. But wasteful finishing on their part, and a stellar performance by Carnesecchi in our goal, meant we secured a point to keep us in the title challenge.

Looking ahead to February, it's another ridiculous month. After 8 games in December and 9 in January, we will play another 9 games in the shortest month of the year. We'll face Man City, Newcastle and Spurs in the league, and either Arsenal or City in the Carabao Cup final. Almost certainly a season-defining month.

[Stuniverse]

9 hours ago, warlock said:

On the whole, we did the football rather well.

Yes you did, @warlock 

[Shrewnaldo]

On 25/02/2024 at 16:57, warlock said:

 

 

Four teams finishing on 77 points is amazing. Absolutely love it. 

[smplfc123]

I've never signed him myself, but Nusa always seems to reach impressive heights on my saves, so at that price, I reckon you've got yourself a bargain!

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Four teams finishing on 77 points is amazing

Do you know, I hadn't even spotted that. A laser-like focus on my own team 

[Jogo Bonito]

Continuing the impressive form, on all fronts. Where does that leave you in the league at the start of February?

[Houdini777]

Been away for a few days with a bug, very happy to see your lot still going strong!

[warlock]

3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

where does that leave you in the league

Glad you asked 

We just beat Everton, City lost to Wolves . It's basically Top Three and then everyone else (still a long way to go, though).

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Houdini777 said:

away for a few days with a bug

Hope you're recovered 

[oakesypvfc]

Have just caught up with this after not looking for a couple of months. Great job you are doing, I especially like it how you are going for a pretty realistic Southampton like approach aswell. Solid team you have built and you have a great shot of winning the league this season, best of luck!

[Houdini777]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Hope you're recovered 

Doing much better now cheers mate, the Mrs had me staying in bed and getting lots of rest to my dismay. It did work though!

Glad to be back into FM, I'd love to start my own story but not sure how a novel/traditional story approach as opposed to being focused on me actually playing the game would go down? If anyone has any thoughts on that, please let me know.

[warlock]

25 minutes ago, oakesypvfc said:

Have just caught up with this

Cheers mate. Nice to have a few of the old EFL thread stalwarts around.

[warlock]

2 minutes ago, Houdini777 said:

I'd love to start my own story

Just dive in! There's room for all sorts. I prefer a straightforward, FM-focussed story but that's just me. There are plenty of 'careers' I enjoy reading, from the in-depth analytical types to the fantasy-biographies. Someone around here posted the other day - and I apologise that this old man can't remember who - that the best approach is to write for your own entertainment and your 'audience' will find you. I'd go along with that.

[oakesypvfc]

10 minutes ago, warlock said:

Cheers mate. Nice to have a few of the old EFL thread stalwarts around.

I'll be back in there soon. Waited for the new patch for a Vale save. They usually don't last very long when I realise how bad they are

[warlock]

Just now, oakesypvfc said:

They usually don't last very long when I realise how bad they are

Another chance to rewrite history 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

February 2027

Our opening game of the  month was the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. Taking a 3-1 lead from the home leg proved crucial as the Hammers made it tough for us at their place, even if after they went down to 10 men on the stroke of halftime. That set up a Wembley appearance where we'd face Arsenal in the final. But for most of the month it was all-eyes on the league as we battled to hold on to our narrow lead at the top of the table:

The draw against Leicester was disappointing, the draw against Man City rather more impressive, especially as we so very nearly claimed all three points:

It was another of our smash-and-grab performances. They were wasteful in attack, we were clinical when we had the chance, and the officials denied us the win. We were in the fifth of four added minutes (no added-time goals, injuries or substitutions) but the referee allowed the clock to run and run until City had one final corner and Haaland eventually poked it home to equalise. Mad? I was furious.

We followed that with a handsome win against Norwich (now managed by Mauricio Pochettino) before that Carabao Cup final. Still smarting from the City result, I decided to unleash the team and go toe-to-toe with the Gunners and may the best team win:

We were the best team - the consolation goal from Saliba was their first shot on target - and we won comfortably:

The month also saw us progress in the FA Cup, edging past a determined Forest Green Rovers, before heading to north London and a trip to Spurs. I was happy enough to come away with a point; my analysts saw things differently:

Most of that difference in xG came down to a 12th minute penalty that Abraham passed straight to the Spurs 'keeper, the start of a downward spiral that saw him hauled off at halftime. It took Spurs until the 70th minute to take the lead, but Abraham's replacement Fer Nino bagged a share of the points 10 minutes later.

With our first trophy in the bag, we go into the business end of the season with everything else still to play for:

Arsenal still have that annoying game in hand, while City are on a terrible run - just one win and three defeats in their last 5 games - but we're far from consistent ourselves. Our March schedule includes games against all three of the 'best of the rest' contenders in Man Utd, Newcastle and Liverpool, plus both legs of the R16 tie against SK Rapid of Vienna in the Europa League. And we face Brentford in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Quadruple, anyone? 

[SixPointer]

Catching up. Making great progress bud! What’s the end game? Champions league winners cause the EPL looks a good shout this year 

[warlock]

8 hours ago, SixPointer said:

What’s the end game?

That's a good question. Really, this was only a save to fill the time until the winter update but it turned into quite the adventure.

On one hand, we're doing very well, consistently overperforming. On the other, there's very much the same feel as my Brentford save last year... running to stand still. I think it will depend on how the remainder of the season shapes up. I'm not convinced we can win the PL - Arsenal, managed by Pep now, are on a charge while we're running out of steam. We've played 51 games so far this season with at least another 10 to play . 

If we did win the title I might call it done; if we fall short, I'll probably give another season. But my mind constantly turns to unfinished business in Malaga after my hard drive failure brought that one to an untimely end.

Anyway, update incoming...

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

March 2027

At the beginning of March we were unbeaten in all competitions since New Year's Day. But league wins were harder to come by - in February we'd drawn 3 of 5 games. Could we hope to do better this month, or fear the worst?

In the event, it was more of the same - wins in the FA Cup and Europa League, more draws in the Premier League. It's hard to be disappointed by our league performances, facing three of the top teams, but given that we'd beaten all of our opponents in previous encounters I was hoping for more.

Against Rapid Vienna we did just about enough in the away leg before edging them at St Mary's to set up a quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao. In the FA Cup we faced a Brentford side who, despite regularly fighting relegation in recent years, always seem to turn up against us, and it was the same story again. We went into the interval with a comfortable 2-0 lead but the Bees refused to give up. Their formidable strike partnership of Evan Ferguson and Ivan Toney combined to give them hope late on and we were somewhat lucky to hang on to our lead.

We put Liverpool to the sword at Anfield back in November and I was hoping for a repeat performance at home, and it looked likely when Abraham gave us the lead after 17 minutes. But Gakpo levelled the scores 10 minutes later and we were hanging on for the draw until full-time. Against Man Utd, who we hammered in November, it was the opposite as they led through a Rashford strike after 14 minutes and it took us until the 4th minute of added time for Nino to claim the latest possible equaliser.

We ended the month with a visit from Newcastle, another side we'd beaten in the reverse fixture:

The stats suggest we should have won; that list of Notable Events tells a different story. The two sides nullified each other and a draw was unarguably a fair result.

But while we were failing to win, our closest rivals - Arsenal and City - hadn't been able to overtake us:

We are still - just! - hanging on to first place but Arsenal have that game in hand and - unless we can start finding winning form again - it seems inevitable that they will topple us. On a positive note, we've now played all of the Top Ten except West Ham and most of our run-in is against teams in the bottom third of the table. Arsenal, however, face Man City midway through April and still have to face Chelsea, Newcastle, Spurs, Liverpool and Man Utd.

If we can do our bit, we could still pull off an unlikely season.

[Houdini777]

Fantastic cup win! This does seem like the start of a great dynasty. If it was me in your situation, I'd be happy with top 4 and a cup but kicking myself for not grabbing the title. Let's hope your lads push on and do it!

[warlock]

9 minutes ago, Houdini777 said:

If it was me

And you're right... whatever happens from here (we've just secured Champions League football for next season) it's been a great year. We snuck past Athletic Bilbao so we have a Europa League semi-final, and we're about to face Man City in the FA Cup semi-final, and we're still in with a good chance of clinching the Premier League title. We could end up with a quadruple... or just the Carabao Cup .

I know I'm the problem - I tend to get frustrated if we're not making concrete progress year on year, and I'm also guilty of "greener grass" syndrome where other clubs look more appealing.

I shall sit down and have a stern conversation with myself 

(But if you'll forgive a teeny, tiny whinge... after 56 games played so far this season, a two-legged FA Cup semi-final is a breach of my human rights!)

[oakesypvfc]

3 hours ago, warlock said:

a two-legged FA Cup semi-final is a breach of my human rights!)

I thought the FA Cup semi was at Wembley no?

Great progress and it sounds like it maybe in your hands, although you haven't been getting 3 points regularly enough to be title challengers, must be a poor points year? Ah well, take the success where you can!

Best of luck and get that update in soon

[warlock]

56 minutes ago, oakesypvfc said:

I thought the FA Cup semi was at Wembley no?

You're absolutely right. I'm an idiot 

[Houdini777]

5 hours ago, warlock said:

And you're right... whatever happens from here (we've just secured Champions League football for next season) it's been a great year. We snuck past Athletic Bilbao so we have a Europa League semi-final, and we're about to face Man City in the FA Cup semi-final, and we're still in with a good chance of clinching the Premier League title. We could end up with a quadruple... or just the Carabao Cup .

I know I'm the problem - I tend to get frustrated if we're not making concrete progress year on year, and I'm also guilty of "greener grass" syndrome where other clubs look more appealing.

I shall sit down and have a stern conversation with myself 

(But if you'll forgive a teeny, tiny whinge... after 56 games played so far this season, a two-legged FA Cup semi-final is a breach of my human rights!)

I get the same way with saves. I dream up all these long term goals and a tactic I want to stick to, plan storylines in my head even... And then completely lose interest when I get bad results or find a save idea that I deem to be "better".  I'm sort of losing interest in FM24 because I fancy playing direct/long ball this year and it never seems to work.

Onwards and upwards for you though, mate! Try and stay motivated, even if you miss out on those other trophies, you're doing an amazing job in-game and with creating an engaging story.

[Stuniverse]

5 hours ago, warlock said:

a two-legged FA Cup semi-final

Really? A what?

I thought it was the League Cup Semi-Final that was two legs, not the FA Cup. Have I missed something?

[warlock]

43 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Have I missed something?

No  See earlier post.

Edit to add: I've figured out my confusion - Chelsea were in the other half of the FA Cup draw (and will play City in the final); because we had a two-legged semi to play against Chelsea in the Europa League, I got confused. Sorry!

Edited March 7 by warlock

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

April 2027

Thanks all for the support and encouragement... the stern conversation has been had, and I'm in this for the long haul now. Despite what happened in April...

Let's deal with the easy stuff first. We're still fighting in the Europa League - a convincing home leg was enough to see us past Athletic of Bilbao, setting up the semi-final against Chelsea. Away at Stamford Bridge we were less than convincing but kept the deficit to a single goal and we're optimistic about overturning that at St Mary's.

The FA Cup semi-final was a heartbreaker. City dominated throughout but thanks to a heroic defensive effort and a stellar performance from Carnesecchi in goal, we took the game to extra time. Sadly, we were just minutes into the first period when Barghji was forced to leave the field injured, leaving us to play the remaining 25 minutes with just 10 men. It took another ten minutes before City found the breakthrough but it was enough to claim the victory.

And so to the ups and downs of the Premier League, and what a rollercoaster it has been, and continues to be. We lost our hold on top spot in the opening game of the month... a draw against Brentford wasn't good enough and allowed City to overtake us. But wins against Norwich and Sheffield United were enough to lift us back to the top, although Arsenal still had a game in hand. So the trip to Chelsea, again!, was something of a must-win game and we fell just short:

Chelsea took the lead on 33 minutes, but we battled back and took a 2-1 lead into the interval. Some 20 minutes into the second half, Chelsea found an equaliser before, with time running out and a draw looking likely, young substitute Deivid Washington found a yard of space on the edge of the area and fired home for the victory.

Doom and disaster, then? Well, no! There were more twists in the tale. Although City beat Palace to go top, Arsenal could only achieve a draw against Spurs. So it was City first, Saints second, and Arsenal third. So bonus content: the next fixture, the first in May:

The Hammers were pushing for European competition and lurking in 8th place, so no pushovers, but the lads rose to the  occasion and secured a vital win. It was always a nervy match but we were good value for the victory. And - another twist - it meant this:

City were held to a draw by Newcastle, and Arsenal could only draw with Liverpool so even their obligatory game-in-hand won't be enough to topple us. It's all going down to the wire 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

May 2027: Europa League semi-final

Having recovered a touch of good form in our opening game of the month, could we overturn a single goal deficit in the Europa League semi?

Why yes, we could:

A fantastic performance by the team, with Abraham in a rich vein of scoring form and Gonzalez, playing at AMR, setting up the two goals - the first a driven cross from wide for Abraham to tap in, and the second a corner that beat the Chelsea defenders allowing all 5'8" of Will Smallbone to head home - probably the first headed goal of his career.

In the other semi-final, Porto beat Fenerbahce to set up our season finale at the Parc de Princes in Paris.

The remainder of the schedule for the month includes an away trip to Wolves, safely in mid-table with only pride to play for, and a visit from Crystal Palace, mired in the relegation zone and badly needing wins for survival. Our inability to match the fight and determination of relegation battlers has been a theme of the save so I hope we're up for this one.

[john1]

Decent season so far, and good to see you overturned the first leg defeat against Chelsea

[smplfc123]

Excellent season so far @warlock 

Hopefully you can get it over the line in the league and in the Europa League against Porto. I understand why if you do, it may feel like the end, but a perfect way to end it if you did.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

May 2027: the Premier League

Well...

Penultimate game of the season, everything to play for:

A bit of an anti-climax, to be honest. I was convinced it was going to the last day. Arsenal and us played on the Sunday, City had played the previous day and made their task impossible by losing 2-4 to Spurs.

We got off to a poor start when Sforza gave away an 8th minute penalty but the midfielder redeemed himself by scoring the equaliser shortly before halftime. In the second half, things were pretty even but I sent Missori on as a substitute after the hour mark and it took him just 6 minutes to set up Abraham for the winner.

It was only after the game that I realised Arsenal had been playing at the same time and lost away to Man Utd. So really, we owe much of this success to our Top 6 rivals - Arsenal and City for a late-season collapse, United and Spurs for denying vital points to our closest challengers this month.

Our final game against Palace at St Mary's is not quite a dead rubber since we'll want to finish on a high in front of our own fans and Palace are still trying to avoid the drop. We'll almost certainly have to play a rotated squad, though - the Europa League final is just three days later.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

May 2027: Europa League Final

Ah, what could have been...

It was a very  close match with very little to separate the two teams:

Ultimately, it was a game of two goalkeepers who were by far the best players on the pitch. You could argue we should have won in normal time - we had the better xG but couldn't find a goal. Porto 'keeper Vicario did a great job of keeping us out. We had the best chance in extra-time when Nino managed to put the ball in the net but it was ruled out for the narrowest of offsides. And we could have won it in the penalty shootout when they missed two of their first three penalties. But we then went on a run of misses - eventually it took 12 penalties on each side to determine the winner - Armstrong, having scored his first spot kick, missed. Mitrovic, having missed his first, scored:

A disappointing finish to an otherwise fantastic season.

[Stuniverse]

Congratulations on winning the Premier League, @warlock 

Shame about the UEFA Europa League but well done on making the final 

Edited March 7 by Stuniverse

[smplfc123]

14 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Congratulations on winning the Premier League, @warlock 

Shame about the UEFA Europa League but well done on making the final 

I echo Stuniverse here @warlock

Excellent season overall, just an unfortunate ending in Europe.

[Carambau]

Great season! Congratulations

Penalty shootouts are always a lottery, so don´t think too much of it. Next time its Champions League!

[Houdini777]

Congrats on the league win, knew you'd do it.

[Jogo Bonito]

A fantastic title triumph, very unlucky in the Europa League and FA Cup finals but a season any Saints fan could only dream of!

Well done mate 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

August 2027

Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, upvoted and encouraged this save. You've inspired me to do another year here at St Mary's, a year that will see us defend our Premier League title, and compete at the top level of European competition.

Transfer window

I indicated that our business would be driven by incoming offers for our players. That turned out to be largely true, although I instigated rather more of that business than I expected. The problem was unrealistic expectations on the part of a number of players - players who weren't performing as well as some of their teammates but who wanted more playing time, more money or both. I'm not above handing out pay rises to players who've earned it on the pitch - especially as some of our recent signings have pushed our wage structure ever upwards.

First among the outbound players were CBs Buongiorno and Doyle. The former had been a pain for months so as we approached the end of the season he was offered out and Leeds duly paid £45m to take him off our hands. Doyle I'd have liked to keep and have him compete for time, but he declined the option and requested a transfer. Eventually he went to Valencia for £24m (a £9M profit). 

DM Joris Chotard had spent the previous season out on loan but was eventually sold to Leicester for £33.5m, while DM Reis had his head turned by the Saudis and moved on for £44.5m. One I was reluctant to lose was AML Stefan Mitrovic, one of my favourite players of the save, but another who hadn't performed this season yet demanded a new contract that would treble his wages and make him the highest-paid player at the club. Which was simply out of the question, so he joined Fiorentina for a fee that should reach £30m.

We're also at a stage where a lot of talented prospects are not quite at first-team level but need regular football. Some 15 of them were sent out on loan, often for very good fees. In total we received more than £175m in transfer income.

To cover the outgoing centrebacks we signed two Nathans. The first is natural left-footer and replaces Doyle:

Zeze is pretty agile for a big fella and still has room to improve. He cost us £25m from FC Nantes.

The second Nathan joins us from relegated Brentford for £22.5m:

He'll compete with Omobamidele on the right side and helps us out with homegrown registration requirements.

One of the changes I made this summer was to extend our scouting range from Europe to worldwide for the first time, and one of the first names to come up in scout reports was this guy:

Even at 19 he's our best LB and one of the best players at the club. We didn't need a leftback but for just £11.75m from Argentinian outfit Estudiantes, he could be the bargain of the century if he develops as the coaches expect him to.

With DM Reis departing, we needed cover and - ideally - another homegrown player. I settled on this fella:

We paid Aston Villa £50m for his services, but I think it will be money well spent and he will surely strengthen us in the middle.

Finally, I had an issue at AMR as an ageing Adam Armstrong had struggled to perform over the last six months of the season. After considering our options I decided to move Franco Gonzalez out wide and brought in a new player for central midfield duties:

Veloso can play CM or AMC, either as a playmaker or a more direct attacking threat, and I was delighted that we could do a deal with Benfica that cost us £22m.

In all, we spent around £130m, which represents a good profit on our business for the window and still leaves me with a rather embarrassing transfer budget going forward:

Early form

We've looked very good in our first month of the season:

In the Community Shield we gained a modicum of revenge on City for our FA Cup semi-final victory in May, and then produced an unbeaten start to our league campaign. New boys Veloso and Collins opened their scoring accounts, and - the mad gunslinging exhibition against Villa aside - have looked pretty good at both ends of the pitch. For what it's worth, we're top of the league with the best attack and second-best defence.

Couldn't be happier 

[Stuniverse]

7 hours ago, warlock said:

Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, upvoted and encouraged this save. You've inspired me to do another year here at St Mary's, a year that will see us defend our Premier League title, and compete at the top level of European competition.

Hurray!

[Carambau]

Glad to hear you give the save more time   

[john1]

Gutted about the final against Porto However, beautiful start to the season

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

October 2027

Somehow I seem too have played through two months without an update... we might be having too much fun 

In September we carried on our good form, with only the Norwich result to blot our record. Although, with the exception of Man City in the Community Shield, we have yet to play any of our strongest rivals and Norwich, who were in second place when we met them, were no pushovers. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier with the way we're playing and the results we're getting. And we opened our Champions League campaign with another two wins.

And there was more of the same in October:

The draw at Bournemouth was irritating but the rest of the month went to plan. It took penalties to edge us past City in the Carabao Cup but given that we were 2-0 down at halftime it was a storming comeback from the lads. Carnesecchi was the hero, saving two spot kicks to give us a 4-3 advantage in the shootout.

Our schedule looks to be a little more difficult in November where we'll play Arsenal twice (in the Champions League and PL), and then league matches against Chelsea and City (again!). We'll have a better idea of how good (or otherwise) we really are. For now, we're still top of the heap:

 

[Stuniverse]

22 minutes ago, warlock said:

Somehow I seem too have played through two months without an update... we might be having too much fun 

 That's great you're having fun, @warlock 

Going very well 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

November 2027

Last time I said that after a tough-looking November we'd have a better idea of how good we are... well, it looks like we're pretty good!

We faced top opposition in Arsenal (twice!), Chelsea and Man City (again!) and won all three games. You couldn't say we dominated, but we were good value for all three victories. On the other hand, we did struggle to draws against a lowly Everton side and a Rangers outfit who were in the bottom three of the Champions League table, so maybe we're not that good.

I have questions about City's goal in the last game of the month:

Haaland put his shot against the post and it rebounded to Kvaratskhelia who scored. VAR ruled he was in an onside position!? Luckily, Abraham pulled us level midway through the second half before Omobamidele grabbed a late winner and we held on to take the points.

Having dropped points against Everton, we started the match level with City but in second place because of goal difference. The win put us back on top.

There are clouds on my horizon, though. Having been relatively injury-free so far in the save, the law of averages is catching up with us now and we're currently without CM Patrick Berg and AML Antonio Nusa, although they'll be back in the next couple of weeks. Not so first-choice WBR Elias Jelert, who tore a calf muscle against Everton and will be missing for 2-3 months.

I also have a problem at WBL where first-choice Josh Doig is demanding a new contract, despite the fact he has more than two years to run on his current deal and is already one of our highest-paid players on £80k a week. He wanted a 50% pay rise to £120k a week. I offered him £100k a week, and he cancelled negotiations and demanded a transfer. With Saudi clubs sniffing around, if we can get an offer at his value of £50m he'll be leaving in January.

In terms of individual performances, Abraham is our leading scorer with 18 goals from 15 starts and 4 sub appearances - a fantastic goal return. Backup striker Fer Nino has done well when called on, with 6 goals from 7 starts. Backup RB Filippo Missori and CM Juan Sforza have provided the most assists with 8 apiece. 

Looking ahead, December will be the usual trial, with a total of 8 games to play in four weeks, and opposition including the remainder of the top teams including Spurs, Liverpool and Man Utd. There's also a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brighton, and a tough Champions League tie away in Monaco.

[warlock]

The job offers keep rolling in...

I think, so far, I've been offered Liverpool, Spurs, PSG, Roma and Inter. But it's always a No.

[Stuniverse]

7 hours ago, warlock said:

Last time I said that after a tough-looking November we'd have a better idea of how good we are... well, it looks like we're pretty good!

Your Southampton are looking very good, @warlock

6 hours ago, warlock said:

I think, so far, I've been offered Liverpool, Spurs, PSG, Roma and Inter. But it's always a No.

And now Bayern Munich. It shows how well you are doing 

Are you not even a little bit tempted?