ChaosClive

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou February 2038 The Doxa game was tense after they got a goal back, but Geroskipou held off to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Sundstrom from the right wing. After Kedros were beaten 4-0 during the season break, Alki came and handed Geroskipou only their second defeat all season in a day to forget for Clive's men. They bounced back well though against AEL. A two goal performance from Blichfeldt helping secure a 2-1 win. Voigt was bought in to replace the ageing Boutsikos as DOF, as Clive hoped that his knowledge of Scandanavia would bring in some wonderkids like back in old school Championship Manager games all those years ago. Table With 8 games remaining, Geroskipou had a whopping 13 point lead at the top of the table. It was only theirs to lose now. Fixtures A massive run of fixtures lay ahead in March. The month opened up against Omonoia before the cup semi final between Alki sandwiched APOEL in the league in probably the biggest game in the club's history. After a short break, a trip to Nea Salamina would end the first half of matches of the post-split league.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou January 2038 It was the month of Blichfeldt, as he scored 11 goals in the 5 games he was part of. The month started with a 4-1 win against Apol. Limassol, with all 4 goals coming from Blichfeldt. A fully rotated side then drew 1-1 against Karmiotissa, which was enough to see them through to another cup semi final. Another draw followed this on in a bumper game against Omonoia that ended 3-3 despite Geroskipou dominating the game. AEL were then dispatched 3-1 before a third Blichfeldt brace in 3 games helped see Alki off 4-1. Goals were more equally shared in the final game of January, with Salgado, Eiriksson and Blichfeldt all scoring in a 3-0 win against Anorthosi. Clive also reached 700 games in management during the stretch of games. Transfers Despite trying to tie some players down to contracts, money talks, and Ambler was persuaded to leave the club at the end of his contract and move to Toulouse on a deal worth £8,250 p/w. Maybe the worst news was still to come, with lynchpin Leiva confirming his departure to go back to Argentina. After details of his contract came out, Clive knew that he would have been able to offer anything near the £12,000 p/w that he would now be moving onto. Table With 11 games to go, Geroskipou now had a 10 point lead at the top of the league, with a 12 point gap between themselves and APOEL, who had slipped down to 3rd. Fixtures Just one game before the split, against mid table Doxa. This could be the last chance to grab some easier victories for the season, so Geroskipou had to take advantage.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou December 2037 Paralimni were easily defeated 4-1 in the first game of the month. This was followed up by a 2-0 win against Othellos, which should have been more, but Geroskipou were wasteful with their chances. Geroskipou's unbeaten run ended at 14 games the next game against Nea Salamina though. Despite Mariano putting Geroskipou ahead after just 4 minutes and drawing level just before the hour, Clive's side could not hold onto the scoreline, losing 3-2. The final league game of the month against APOEL was one for the goalkeeper lovers. There were a total of 3 penalties in the game, and Clive thought that at least 1 of the APOEL ones were dubious at best. Lukic stood tall in the Geroskipou goal, and delivered justice both times, once in the 94th minute. Blichfeldt also saw his penalty saved, which would have seen Geroskipou go up by 2 goals after Mariano powered a shot away earlier in the first half. The final score ended at 1-0, but at the expense of Roux's right leg, which was snapped like a twig making the tackle that killed the game off. A rotated side beat Karmiotissa 4-2 in the first leg of the cup 4 days later, but this round always seemed like a walkover. Table At the halfway point of the season, Geroskipou had extended their lead over APOEL to 8 points (9 as Geroskipou had the better h2h record) Fixtures With the form that his side was in, Clive expected at least 5 wins from the next 6 games. The only question mark may be the Omonoia game.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou November 2037 3 league wins is what Clive asked for, and what he got. A 2-1 win against Anorthosi was followed by back to back 3-0 wins against Nea Salamina in the cup and Doxa in the league. Blichfeldt scored his only goal of the month in the 1-0 win against AEK Larnakas to start the second round of matches before the league split. Table The cherry on top was APOEL dropping points. Geroskipou were now 6 points clear with a better head to head record after 12 games. Fixtures Paralimni and Othellos were the perfect games to get tuned into Nea Salamina and APOEL in the league before playing 2nd division Karmiotissa in the QF of the cup.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou October 2037 The game that Clive thought would be the tightest was actually the loosest. Mariano grabbed 4 goals in a 7-3 rout of Omonoia to start the month with a bang. Blichfeldt took over from Mariano in the next match, scoring a brace in a 3-1 win against Apol. Limassol to extend the winning run to 7. The game against AEL put an end to this, although Geroskipou were still unbeaten, the 1-1 draw was a poor showing and dropped points allowed teams to start playing catch up. Blichfeldt was once again on the scoresheet with a hattrick against Nea Salamina in a 4-3 win in the first leg of the cup. But he could not continue his record of scoring in the game against Alki, as Geroskipou were unlucky to end the game at 0-0. Table The dropped points had allowed APOEL creep to just 1 point behind. Fixtures The 3 league games were all against teams in the bottom half of the table. These were must wins to start mounting another title challenge. Geroskipou would also have to try and negotiate themselves through to the quaters of the cup with at least a draw against Nea Salamina.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou September 2037 After a win in a friendly to try and instil some confidence into the team, Geroskipou beat Othellos 2-1 and then the gears started falling into place. They followed up with a 5-1 win over Paralimni before beating APOEL 1-0 in a tight game thanks to a Blichfeldt goal. He carried his scoring form into the next game, where a double from him saw Nea Salamina beaten 4-0. Table Unsuprisingly after 5 wins from 5, Geroskipou sat at the top of the table. Fixtures A big test against Omonoia was going to kick off October. Winnable games against Apol. Limassol and AEL followed before the first leg of the Cypriot Cup 2nd round against Nea Salamina. Big spenders Alki was the last game of the next month.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou August 2037 A 5-0 home win in the first leg of the Conference League against Dimano Minsk allowed Clive to rest some players for the second leg, which was also won narrowly 4-3 to take Geroskipou through to the 4th Qualifying Round 9-3 on aggregate. The draw in the next round was Dynamo Kyiv, a team which they had beaten 4-0 and 4-1 in last years Europa League group stage. But first it was the Super Cup, which for a 3rd time in a row featured Geroskipou and APOEL with the cup being won by both teams once. A slightly rotated side was put out due to European congestion, and APOEL dominated. It was only a 90th minute goal from Eiriksson that bought along extra time, and when Da Silva scored in the 2nd minute of extra time, Clive parked the bus. This only lasted for 11 minutes though, as APOEL got back on level terms before scoring the winning goal in the 116th minute to condemn Geroskipou to another cup loss to their new rivals. The poor form continued into the next round of European games, going behind 2-0 against Kyiv, but it could have been 4 if not for the linesman flag going up. Mariano grabbed a goal back in the 53rd to at least make the second leg interesting. The second leg started in the same fashion, Geroskipou were put under pressure early in the game, and conceeded in the 25th minute before Da Silva popped up from DR less than a minute later to slot home to make the score 3-2 on aggregate. Kyiv scored again and this time Clive pushed his men forward. Bohorquez scored in the 80th minute to make it 4-3 on aggregate, but in the 90th and 92nd minute, Kyiv scored to push the tie out of reach. There would be no more European football for the season for Geroskipou as they crashed out 6-3 on aggregate. After the disapointment of Europe, Geroskipou snatched a 1-0 win against AEK Larnakas to at least start the league campaign with a win. Fixtures September held Othellos, Paralimni, APOEL and Nea Salamina, a good way to start taking points off both lower half teams, and to try and get some breathing room near the top of the table.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou 2037/38 Pre-Season Thanks to another second place finish and Geroskipou's first Cypriot Cup final the previous season, Geroskipou were now rated as the 2nd most well known club in Cyprus. A far cry from even a few seasons before where only people in Pafos would have known that the club existed. Staff Updates If this was to be the season that Geroskipou finished above APOEL and really put pressure on winning the league, Clive decided it was time to revamp the non-playing staff members. This started with a rejig of the coaching staff. Coaches were pulled in from across Europe, but the main 3 that stood out in Clive's eyes were: Neil Critchley, former manager of Ipswich and Liverpool U23. Jon Ellis, a serial caretaker manager at Sunderland. And Alex Frei, one of Switzerland's top goalscorers, and an ex manager of Birmingham. Also, another change in a HoYD was needed, so Clive bought in Bobby Laing from England. Transfers On the 30th June, all Clive could do was put on a brave face. Despite trying to tie club legend van Looy down to one final contract, the Dutchman wanted to be guaranteed star player status, something that Clive could not promise in good faith to the man. Hoping that as there was no interest from other clubs that he would stay on as a non-contract player before terms could be ironed out, even if it meant he got a testimonial turned out to be useless. So it was a tough moment when van Looy said goodbye to his team and put out a statement on the club website that he would be leaving on a free. Another player that left without a proper goodbye in Clive's mind was Moiseev, an ever reliable centre half, who refused to budge on his wage demands after his contract at Shakhtar ran out. Over the previous 2 seasons he was used as a rotational option, but the pair had a good relationship despite never actually being contracted with the club. Clive knew that finding a replacement for 209 goals in 259 games would be nearly impossible, but trusted the players in his side enough. He did look to bring in another centre half though, and splashed out a club record fee £600,000 for Gonzalez from Penarol. Also bought in were: Goalkeepers Lukic from Serbia, who would be the starter, with Mendana coming in as his understudy/3rd choice. Djalovic who would return for another season on loan. Sundstrom, a Danish winger, who would compete with Carvalho and Andreou for a starting spot. Salgado, a cheap loan to provide cover on the left hand side. Radojicic on a free loan, but who was only going to be used ICE. After the signings were made and the reputation of the club boosted more, ticket sales had increased to over 2,000, big improvements were now showing for the club. Also with the leftover money from the previous season, Clive asked for some more training ground improvements, which were accepted after some bartering with the chairman. Results Another clean sweep of wins before European fixtures. Odds A 4th place finish was being predicted, but 4 consecutive 2nd place finishes could not be a fluke.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou 2036/37 Season Review After the dust had settled and the European season had finished, there was finally some good news that came across Clive's desk. His Geroskipou side were being touted as the overachievers of the Europa League, and rightly so. Along with his side bursting onto the scene, they were also the most improved side in the coefficient tables. The moved up from 354th to 147th in Europe. With the points that Geroskipou had earned, Cyprus were now given an extra place in the Champions League, 1 side would go into the qualification playoff, and another going into the 2nd qualifying round. Additionally, the First Division was now the 12th highest reputable league in Europe. Finances Just as Geroskipou were about to run out of money, UEFA had dumped a total of £3.1m into the clubs bank account. As Clive received the next email, he remembered what his dad had always told him "There are only two certainties in life, death and taxes" There was still some money left in the bank though, so Clive went to the chairman and asked for some more improvements in the clubs youth setup. Without hesitation, the junior coaching and recruitment were improved. New Stadium For the second time in Geroskipou's history, the board announced plans for a new stadium. This time, forward planning was implemented, and it would be able to be used in First Division games, as well as European football! The only downside to this new stadium was a massive £14.25m debt (£19.5m with interest), which would take 10 years to pay off with monthly payments of £160,000. This would mean that failure to qualify for a European competition could cause massive financial instability. Clive's Cuttings As expected, all revenue streams were improving, or in the case of the sponsorship, staying at the same level. For the first time since the 30/31 season, Geroskipou had a top scorer not named van Looy or Mariano. Although Mariano bagged 28, Eiriksson scored a massive 31 goals. Clive's two right wingers Andreou and Carvalho combined for an impressive 22 assists, and Leiva grabbed 13 for himself. In some sadder news, it looked like van Looy was no longer a starting player for Geroskipou, with him only getting 9 games all season, and scoring in 2 of them.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou May 2037 - Title Decider vs APOEL In a match this important, it was just Clive's luck that he would be without club captain Iosifidis, one half of his attacking combo Eiriksson due to injury, and starting ML Roux and dependable defensive midfielder Bohorquez after they were called up for international duty with France U20 and Columbia U20 respectively. The bookies had APOEL to win, and who would blame them. After all, they were reigning champions and had a lot better luck when it came to finances, injuries, and quality and depth of their squad. But the bookies didn't have Geroskipou beating Athletico Madrid on their bingo cards this season either. First Half The first half was a cagey affair for both sides. APOEL only needing a draw to win the league were cautious to any counter attacks from Geroskipou. In the 9th minute, Taniguchi had his penalty saved by Schatzle to keep the scores at 0-0. In the 34th minute, the ball was in the back of the net for APOEL, only for the linesman to rule the goal offside. It was a tight call, but one that Clive was more than happy to roll with. His side had not managed to create anything apart from a pop shot at goal, despite numerous oppertunities. Half Time APOEL 0 - 0 APOP Geroskipou Second Half After Clive had tried to drill the importance of the match into his boys a little more, they came out firing. Unfortunately, so did APOEL. The game had opened up, and it seemed like whenever Geroskipou failed to put a chance away, APOEL were on the attack straight away. Clive pushed his men forward, trying desperately to get a goal and moved into a 4-2-4 formation, just to try and get a foothold on the game. After this, Geroskipou carved out some real goalscoring oppertunities, but nothing came. When in the 91st minute, an APOEL counter attack led to Taniguchi slotting in a shot from close range to put both the game, and Geroskipou's title ambitions to bed. Clive was furious at the referee at the end of the game. Despite APOEL committing 31 fouls, only 3 of their players were booked. He saw this as gamesmanship from the new league champions as a way of slowing the game down and taking away any momentum that Geroskipou were building on, and yet the officials did nothing to stem. After the outburst, he could have sworn that he saw one of the linesman give a wink to the APOEL manager as he came over for the post match handshake. Full Time APOEL 1 - 0 APOP Geroskipou Final Table Another 2nd place finish. It was still above the media prediction at the start of the season, but this season hurt in particular. APOEL's Luck As Clive came into his office the next day, still enraged by the officiating, he noticed the number of late goals that APOEL had scored that season. After doing a count up, he noticed that they had gained an extraordinary 10 points over the course of the season with goals scored in the 87th minute and later, points that would have made the difference in the title race. There was nothing he could do about it now, but his new goal was not to win the First Division anymore. It was now just to finish above APOEL. If they finished 4th, Clive would be happy if his team finished 3rd.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou May 2037 A 0-0 draw against Nea Salamina was a bitterly disapointing result, especially as APOEL drew in their game, meaning a win would have seen Geroskipou go to the top of the table with 2 games to play. The next game went much better, going 3-0 up by half time against Omonoia, and to survive a late comeback scare to win 3-2. Unfortunately, APOEL also won, meaning the gap at the top of the table was still only 1 point. In the cup final, APOEL outplayed Geroskipou and despite Mariano bagging a late goal to try and mount a comeback, Clive and his teams first appearance in the cup final ended on a sour note in a 2-1 loss. Table With one game to play, it was a two horse race for the title. Next game APOEL. The biggest game of the season. If Geroskipou do anything other than win, they would finish 2nd for the 4th consecutive season. If they win, it will be the first time a side other than APOEL win the First Division since the 24/25 season.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou April 2037 Despite a good break in between the AEL game in March and the Alki game at the beginning of April, Geroskipou's morale did not seem to improve much, and Clive thought it had something to do with the eventual 3-1 defeat. The next 4 days of training was purely team building exercises, and it seemed to make the world of difference, as Omonoia were downed 7-3, with Eiriksson grabbing a hattrick in the rout. The final game of the month was the most crucial win of the season against APOEL. With the game looking like it was headed toward a 1-1 draw to keep APOEL comfortable at the top, Danish striker Blichfeldt nodded home from a corner in the 4th minute of stoppage time to make the score 2-1. All that was left to do was to defend a kick off, which Clive's team did to cut the gap at the top down to 1 point. Table The gap was now 1 point at the top with 3 to play. Mathematically all of the top 4 were still in the race, but Clive was hoping it would only be his side and APOEL come the end of the season. Fixtures 4 cup finals including an actual cup final closed off the season. Nea Salamina, who were only 1 point off Geroskipou themselves were first, then Omonoia, who were just about in the race sitting in 4th place came next. Then the Cypriot Cup Final against APOEL. Geroskipou's first ever appearance. The week after would see the top 2 teams do battle, possibly for an winner takes all match.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou March 2037 A 3-1 win against Aris Limassol in the first leg of the cup semi final allowed Clive to play a rotated squad in the second leg, that ended in a draw to see Geroskipou to their first ever Cypriot Cup Final. In the league, a tight 3-2 win against Nea Salamina was soured by a 3-1 loss against AEL in a game that they really should have won on paper. Table The gap was now at 4 points, although Geroskipou had a match in hand thanks to fixture congestion. A win would see them go within a point of top spot. Fixtures Alki was a winnable match. And if Geroskipou were serious about the title, Omonoia and APOEL were also must win games.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou Europa League - Round of 16 Special First Leg The first leg, played in Germany was one to forget for Geroskipou. Despite a decent start from both sides, it was the Germans who struck first in the 28th minute. Things began to crumble after that as they scored again in the 30th and 35th minute to take a 3-0 lead going into half time. Clive was not happy and shouted at his players in a Mike Bassett esc way to try and see some change. Early in the second half, Cedric Roux made a jinking run and slotted past the Dortmund keeper, but this was to be one of the last meaningful pieces of action in the game and it finished 3-1 to the German side. Second Leg There was hope going into the second leg thanks to the away goal in the first leg, although Geroskipou would have to be on top form for this to materialise. The game started exactly the same as the first leg though, with Dortmund leading 3-0 at half time, and 6-1 on aggregate. The dream was now dead for another season, Clive said to his players at half time. For some reason, this actually made a difference though, as Geroskipou dominated the second half of the night, scoring 2 through Eiriksson, but there was a Dortmund goal sandwiched between them. The final score on the night was 4-2 Dortmund, and 7-3 on aggregate. The prize money for losing at this stage was still massive in the grand scheme of things though, and would ease fixture congestion moving into the run in for the league campaign.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou February 2036 Before the post-split league got underway, Clive tried to instill some belief into his side by organising a friendly against St. Georges. They won the match 19-0, but did it work? No. Clive had wondered had they used up all their goals in the friendly, as in neither the game against AEL or Alki his team looked close to scoring. Luckily though the AEL attack looked just as weak so that ended in a 0-0 stalemate. The same could not have been said of the Alki front 4, who slotted 2 past the Geroskipou defence in a 2-0 win. Table APOEL were now ahead of Geroskipou despite dropping points. Clive was not now worried about the teams chasing Geroskipou, but now who APOEL would drop points against to allow them back into the race. Fixtures For the R16 draw, Dortmund were not Clive's first choice. Then again, the Cypriot minnows would have the oppertunity to play against the famous yellow wall and try and cause another upset. Only 2 league games were in March, Nea Salamina and a return trip to AEL. Also the cup semi finals against Aris Limassol, the worst side left in the competition.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou January 2037 (And final game pre-split) This was the first month of the season that Clive saw form starting to drop consistently. It started with a gutless 1-1 draw at home against Apol. Limassol. In the next game, a rotated side beat AEL 2-1 in the cup, seeing them through to their second SF in as many seasons. After this, Geroskipou's record was 3 wins and 2 losses. Omonoia got the better of the men in red 2-1. Then Geroskipou picked up their 2nd win of the month against AEL, dispite a lackluster performance going forward, and it was only a Leiva penalty that saved blushes. A week later, Geroskipou were outclassed by Nea Salamina 5-3, with Andreou picking up a goal in added time to make the scoreline look a bit better. Form then picked up over the next 2 matches, with a 3-0 win against Ypsonas following onto a tight 2-1 win against Alki, where Mariano was back from injury with an 89th minute winner. Table With 10 games remaining, APOEL had crept up to Geroskipou and overtaken them on account of the H2H record (3-2 APOEL). Fixtures With just 2 games left in February post split, Clive hoped to take full advantage of their early fixtures, with Geroskipou beating AEL twice in the last month, and Alki once.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou December 2036 After a slightly rotated side drew 1-1 against Omonoia in the first leg of the cup, a full strength side fell to a 3-0 loss against APOEL. 5 days later, it was the game against Athletico Madrid to see who would finish top of the Europa League group. In the biggest shock of the competition, and most certainly in Cypriot football, Geroskipou won the match 2-1 in a tense affair. Geroskipou had finished top of the EL group stage at the first attempt. With spirits high, Clive's side beat Aris Limassol 6-1, and followed it up with a desmond 2-2 in the second leg of the cup against Omonoia, where it should have been won in regulation but it was a shootout that decided on the result. 2 more wins in the league followed; 3-1 against Anorthosi, and 2-0 against AEK Larnakas. The month was rounded out with the first leg of the cup QF, where a heavily rotated side drew with AEL 3-3. News Some more important money coming into the club. Which was immediately spent on traning ground improvements. The one downside to the month was Mariano broke his wrist in the game against Athletico. Geroskipou would be without their key striker until at least February. Transfers Clive had been busy with his scouting team. A replacement for Bilbao was bought in in the form of Bohorquez. And DR Da Silva was also a transfer arranged from Urugauy. Tables Half way through the season, Geroskipou held onto a healthy lead at the top. Clive had it in the back of his mind that this could be the year. Fixtures The run in before the league split was looking semi-difficult, with games against Omonoia, Nea Salamina, Alki and 2 games against AEL. Apol.Limassol and Ypsonas were the easiest games they had.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou November 2036 Almost another perfect month for Geroskipou, granted, that both legs of the cup tie were replaced with friendlies due to the international break. The month started with the most frustrating game, a 1-1 draw against Nea Salamina. Geroskipou were the better side in all facets of the game, and were very unlucky not to come away with a win, but not even van Looy could inspire a win despite his goal putting the side ahead. The trend continued with a 4-2 win against Maccabi Haifa, as Clive believed that his side should have put more past the Israeli side, and should not have conceeded the only 2 shots on target that Geroskipou had against them. A routine 2-0 win against Ypsonas with a nearly fully rotated side saw Geroskipou enter the international break in good form which was continued after. A 3-1 win against Doxa was followed by a massive 4-0 win away against Dynamo Kyiv, and then the month was rounded out with a 4-0 battering against Alki at home. News With the win bonuses from the Europa League, the club was able to make some more upgrades, this time to the youth recuitment and junior coaches. Another Premier League club showed interest in Clive, this time it was Brighton, but this was an easy pass for Clive. Table After 12 games, Geroskipou were a massive 5 points clear of APOEL, and 9 clear of Omonoia in 5th place. Fixtures The re-arranged cup ties against Omonoia were pushed into December, sandwiched inbetween games against APOEL, Athletico Madrid, and Aris Limassol. League games against Anorthosi and AEK Larnakas rounded out the month.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou October 2036 A predictable 5-2 defeat against Athletico Madrid opened the first game up, and this was followed by Geroskipou's first league loss of the season against Apol. Limassol. But then another turn in form saw them beat Omonoia 4-1, thanks to braces from Mariano and Eiriksson. Another win in the Europa League followed with a 4-0 thrashing of Maccabi Haifa and then a slightly rotated side beat AEL 2-0 in the final match in October. Table APOEL had won the rest of their games, meaning the gap was now down to H2H record. The gap between 1st and 3rd was 6 points though. Fixtures A massive November was on the cards, with 4 league games, 2 in Europe, and 2 in the Cup.

Appreciate it mate. Glad to hear you are still enjoying!

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou September 2036 The month started with Blichfeldt scoring 15 minutes into his Geroskipou. The reserves/rotation side managed to squeeze past Doxa 3-2. The next result followed in the same fashion, with a 2-0 win over APOEL after a quick fire double from Clive's new strike partnership. The shock of the month was a massive 4-1 win over Kyiv, with Mariano bagging himself a hattrick after Eiriksson had put Geroskipou ahead in the first half. A rotated side was able to get past Aris Limassol 3-0, with van Looy getting his first league goal of the season, before more goals flooded in for the next 2 games, with a 5-0 win over Anorthosi and a 4-1 win over AEK Larnakas. Table After 5 games, Geroskipou were sitting top of the table, and the only unbeaten side in the league. They were also 6 points clear of APOEL, although they did have a game in hand. Fixtures The winning run was looking as if it would come to an end abruptly, with Geroskipou travelling to Madrid for their Europa League game against Athletico. Clive was hoping that normal service would resume with games against Apol. Limassol and Omonoia. It was then Maccabi Haifa and AEL to round out the month.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou 2036/37 Pre-Season After the confirmation of Geroskipou's entry into the group stages of the Europa League, the draw was made. It wasn't the hardest group in the draw, but almost certainly not the easiest, with big names such as Athletico Madrid and Dynamo Kyiv. Clive was hoping for at least 2 wins from this group, namely from Maccabi Haifa. Also with the money from the group stages, Clive was able to make even more upgrades to the clubs facilities. Transfers This window was the single most frustrating pre-season in Clive's career, because of their European success, there were bigger sharks circling around Bilbao, who had just been made club captain. First of all, Athletic Bilbao came in with a measly £550,000 bid, which nobody was upset about Clive turning down. Then came a slightly bigger bid for £650,000 plus add ons. And then Sunderland also came in with a bid, £700,000. Athletic Bilbao then came in with an offer for £1m. Clive thought about it but turned it down, but the board thought differently about this. Clive went into an emergency meeting with his head down low, but ready to fire his guns. Somehow, the board actually sided with their manager for the first time in a long time, and Bilbao would not be sold. This did not turn off Athletic Bilbao though, who made a final bid of £1.6m plus add ons. Clive did not even have a chance to turn this down, as the board went over his head, and sold one of Geroskipou's star players. This decision nearly made Clive resign from his post, as he and his side would be without their captain and midfield linchpin from now on. It was then obvious why Clive was worried when Genoa came in with an offer for Pikkuhookana, who Clive thought was nearly ready for first team action. Luckily, after Clive turned this bid down, there were no other offers coming in for the young Fin. Other players to leave where Bonde and Federico, neither of whom were in the running for a starting spot anymore. Ins Obviously with European games coming into the fixture schedule, more signings where needed. Roux came in on loan from Sporting to compete for the ML. Lawson, an England U21 international was bought in to be a star player at DL. Harnwell, an Australian youngster who could be a backup DC. Andreou, a Cypriot international was bought in to be a rotation option at MR. Blichfeldt, a Danish U21 international striker provided another option at ST. Wilkin, an up and coming German could play both DR and DL. Starostin was a panic purchase to replace the old club captain Bilbao. A youth player was also poached from Alki, Clive would keep an eye on him to see if he looked any good if he made it through the academy there. Geroskipou were also going to be paid their usual TV money Odds Finally, the bookies had Geroskipou in the top half of the table, although 50/1 still didn't give them a shot in chance for the league. Results Fixtures The season would start with the team rated worst in the league, so hopefully Geroskipou would be able to get some early momentum, even if they were forced to play a rotated side due to the Olympiakos game was 3 days previously.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou Champions League - Playoff Qualifying Round Geroskipou had drawn Olympiakos from their neighbours Greece for the final round of qualifying. On paper, a lot weaker than Benfica, but stronger than AIK. Just like in the previous rounds, Geroskipou had home advantage in the first leg. First Leg In the first Leg, Geroskipou started well early on, getting the better of the Greek side. It was midway through the first half that they finally got the breakthrough, Carvalho popping in a tight shot at the far post. 5 minutes later, it was Mariano's turn to get in on the goalscoring, this time from a counter attack from an Olympiakos corner. The match settled down for the next hour, when the Greeks took advantage of some poor defensive positioning, and poked home a crucial away goal. The final score was 2-1 to Geroskipou, and Clive was happy enough with a win. Second Leg The second leg started as well as any Geroskipou fan could have hoped for, with the Greek's picking up a yellow card in the first minute, a midfielder getting injured, but most importantly, no goals. The first half concluded with the score at 0-0, and Geroskipou on track to reach the group stages of the Champions League. The trend carried on into the second half, but just after the hour mark, things fell apart for Clive. A goal for Olympiakos threatened to derail the whole tie. Geroskipou pushed forward to try and get the goal that would see them through, but created nothing but 2 more goals for the Greeks. The match finished 3-0 on the night, 4-2 on aggregate. Geroskipou had fallen at the final hurdle. On the plus side, losing in the playoff round meant that Geroskipou qualified for the Europa League group stage. This also bought over £2.5m into the club's bank account, giving Clive some more money to wiggle with for the upcoming season.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou Champions League - 3rd Qualifying Round The draw had not been kind. Benfica were one of the teams that Clive was hoping to avoid, but his team had to go out and try and cause a massive upset. First Leg The first leg was a mixture of emotions for all involved on the Geroskipou sideline. First thing first, a massive 3-0 win over a much stronger side on paper, which Clive and his team could not believe. The second emotion was shock, due to the Benfica goalkeeper Paulo stopping the game becoming 7 or 8 nil. Just on xG, Geroskipou should have scored more than 4 goals, but Paulo made 16 saves in a Tim Howard in the World Cup esc perfomance and getting the Man of the Match award despite conceeding 3. Second Leg Going into the second leg, Clive was riding high on confidence, but his side barely tested out Paulo in the Benfica net to see if he could play like he did in the first leg. On the night Geroskipou were dominated, and it was a gritty performance to stop the tie from swinging. As Benfica scored their 2nd in the 89th minute, Geroskipou went full defensive, playing a back 4 and then their midfield almost on top of them in the lowest block anyone had ever witnessed. In the end, the score remained, and Geroskipou advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Surely with this scalp, nobody left in the qualifiers could beat them.

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou Champions League - 2nd Qualifying Round Geroskipou's first ever Champions League qualifying game was to be AIK from Sweeden. Geroksipou were the home side, and would be playing at Pafos' ground, Stelios Kyriakidis. Just before the match, Clive was given a fluff piece in the local paper, with the first leg being his 600th game of his Geroskipou career. First Leg Geroskipou dominated the first leg, with the breakthrough only coming in the 75th minute through a goal from Eiriksson. He doubled both his own personal tally and Geroskipou's lead 9 minutes later, and Clive was left hoping that a 2 goal lead going into the second leg would be enough, knowing that his side left a goal or two out on the pitch in Cyprus. Just to add insult to injury, just like the previous season, Leiva was injured in training in between the two legs, meaning that Karlsen would have to set up into the creative role for the rest of the campaign. Second Leg Despite the result on the night going AIK's way, Clive knew that his side deserved at least a draw. The only goal came from a penalty in the 77th minute that, in his humble opinion, was awarded despite a clear dive from the AIK winger. Geroskipou managed to hold on to the result, meaning that they would go through on aggregate 2-1.