letissierandhenryaregreat Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 The Media prediction is a bit harsh...7th! I reckon you could get automatic promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Autumn 2019 Update We started the season in fairly good form, even though our performances have been no better than average. The 3-0 win at Millwall was definitely our best performance so far, however, the players don't seem to be clicking as a team yet and we don't look particularly threatening in attacks. That being said, we're still in the playoff places after 16 games but are now in a sloppy run of form with only two wins in our last nine. I think Peterborough look the real deal for promotion this year, they absolutely battered us at St. Mary's and have the best defensive record in the league so far. We did what was expected of us and reached the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup even after a big scare against Crawley in the 1st Round. They gave us a good run for our money, and we needed penalties to see them off. We came unstuck against West Ham, the same team that knocked us out in the FA Cup last season. It was a pretty one-sided affair as the 0-2 scoreline suggested, and since then we have struggled in most games. Both my former clubs have started well this season. Nottm Forest are only a couple of points off the playoffs having made a solid start to their Championship campaign, whereas Thurrock are flying high in League 1 and currently sit 4th! In the Premier League, defending champions Arsenal have started poorly, sitting 10th and 13 points off leaders Man City. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 The Media prediction is a bit harsh...7th! I reckon you could get automatic promotion. Thanks for your optimism, however I think playoffs are more likely due to our poor run of form at the moment Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Winter 2019/20 Update Our poor form continued into November and we found ourselves down in 8th place at one stage with only 3 wins out of 11 matches. After the defeat to Burnley, I found myself worrying about my position at the club and knew the sack was coming if I could not turn the tide over the next couple of matches. Fortunately for me, December was a much better month. We tightened up at the back and grinded out three 1-0 wins over MK Dons, Leicester and South-Coast rivals Portsmouth. These results acted as a catalyst to build the confidence of the team and we followed these up with great performances over Middlesbrough and Swansea to put us back into the top six. This good run of form was enough to win me Manager of the Month for December, and we managed to maintain this good run into the New Year period, except for a minor blip against QPR. FA Cup wins against Notts County and Premier League side Bolton has set up a tasty 5th Round tie at home to Birmingham. Peterborough are still dominating the Championship and look a shoe-in for automatic promotion, however the rest of the top 10 looks quite close and feasibly anyone who can string a decent run together will have a good chance of reaching the playoffs. It could possibly be a great season for teams along the South Coast of England with Brighton and Portsmouth in contention too. Note we now have the best defensive record in the league Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Spring 2020 Update Draw after draw after bleedin' draw. So many opportunities to secure automatic promotion but we just couldn't get enough wins on the board. I can't put my finger on the reason for our sloppy displays, morale was good, I think my teamtalks were right for most matches, and I tried to reduce the pressure in the press conferences. I suppose that's why this time of the season is referred to as 'squeaky bum time', the pressure probably got too much for the team and couldn't finish teams off even when we had the better chances. It wasn't just us who lost the plot, QPR and Leicester both did their best to avoid automatic promotion, losing form in the run-in. Going into the final day, it was possible that anyone of us, QPR and Leicester could have been promoted depending on the results. At half time, we were in the box seat, leading against MK Dons with the other two both drawing. There were still plenty of twists and turns to play out, which eventually saw us draw our match and the other two teams winning with last-gasp goals. We will now have to battle it out in the playoffs. As predicted, Peterborough went up as champions, having sown it all up with two games to play. In other news, Jose Mourinho's Sampdoria side have just had a dominant season, doing a Serie A and Champions League double. They won the league by a 16 point margin and defeated his former club Inter Milan in the final of the Champions League. The 'Special One' certainly hasn't lost it, that's 4 Champions League trophies with four different clubs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luton Town Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 After the 2nd update of the season i thought you would be going up automatically but it wasn't to be. Good luck for the play-offs though. Please beat Watford at least Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 After the 2nd update of the season i thought you would be going up automatically but it wasn't to be. Good luck for the play-offs though. Please beat Watford at least To be honest, so did I. We were on such a great run of form until we lost to Peterborough and then it all started to unravel You'll be pleased to know, I've just beaten Watford in the semi's 1-0 on agg. Next up, Blackburn in the final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raware Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Like Luton Town, I thought you were certs to go up after the run you were on. Ugh...play-offs though. I hate the play-offs. Good luck against Blackburn in the final...I won't mention the stat about the team in 6th place... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Playoffs 2020 Update Phew, we did it! Courtesy of a very late goal in extra-time, we avoided the dreaded penalty shootout. We played well throughout the match, creating loads of good chances that my attackers could not finish, in fact, they only got two on target the whole match including the goal. I had consigned myself to the conclusion that it was going to be 'one of those days' when nothing was going to break the deadlock. With ten minutes left in extra-time I went for broke, sh*t or bust! I thought I'd rather get knocked out having a go, rather than taking the lottery of penalties. To my amazement, it worked! Joel Acosta glided into the Blackburn box unmarked, Iniesta-esque, received a through-ball from the midfield and slid the ball into the back of the net. Just like in the 2010 World Cup final, there was no way back for Blackburn after this late, late goal. To my delight, the Saints will be in the Premier League next season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Like Luton Town, I thought you were certs to go up after the run you were on. Ugh...play-offs though. I hate the play-offs. Good luck against Blackburn in the final...I won't mention the stat about the team in 6th place... Cheers, I hate the playoffs too. That was my 7th playoff appearance in this save, but we did it though 4 promotions out of 7 from the playoffs is quite a good win percentage I suppose. Well, better than Leeds The 6th place team always seem to do well in the playoffs, I suppose they normally have the momentum to carry their form forward. That, and the fact that the 3rd/4th place teams might be disheartened that they missed out on automatic promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raware Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Congrats on acheiving Premiership football next season! Hopefully, (without sounding too pessimistic) you avoid relegation! The 6th place team always seem to do well in the playoffs, I suppose they normally have the momentum to carry their form forward. That, and the fact that the 3rd/4th place teams might be disheartened that they missed out on automatic promotion. I hope you're right...as i'm a Forest fan! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luton Town Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Well done on reaching the premiership Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Well done on reaching the premiership Congrats on acheiving Premiership football next season! Hopefully, (without sounding too pessimistic) you avoid relegation! I hope you're right...as i'm a Forest fan! Thanks chaps Looking forward to the challenge. I hope Forest do well in the playoffs, I'd like to see them back in the top division again and I think Billy Davies deserves another crack at the top division. That being said, the Championship's been so open this season, it's impossible to call who'll go up. Just glad it won't be Leeds (unless something freakish happens on the final day!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luton Town Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 How did Thurrock do last season? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 How did Thurrock do last season? They got promoted too. Finished 2nd in League 1, 17 points behind winners Coventry. Only a handful of my players left but really happy to see them do well I can't see them having a good time in the Championship though, unless something miraculous occurs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luton Town Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 neither can i really could be a bottom of the table job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Season 2019/20 Review npower Championship - 4th (Promoted via playoffs) League Table Position Graph Season Summary FA Cup - 5th Round Carling Cup - 3rd Round Finances - The chairman pumped in £12m worth of cash over the season to ensure we kept our head above water. A year in the Premier League will help no end. Average Attendance - 25290 (up 1799) Transfer Summary - No changes since the summer. Key Players Jan Lecjaks - Our left-back who also took our corners made 11 assists and was consistent across the season. Made the PFA Championship Team of the Year. Nathan Redmond - Pacey right-sided midfield but with fairly little skill, 12 assists. Doubt he has the quality to play Premier League football. Felix Schumacher - We struggled for goals this season, this chap was our topscorer with 14. Apparently he enjoyed his loan spell with us but it's unlikely I'll be re-signing him for next season. Alan Hill - (No screenshot, sorry!) Did a fantastic job in goal for us, well worth the £25k a week I'm paying him. 25 cleansheets ensured we had the tightest defence in the league. Also in PFA Team of the Year. Team of the Year - Mouyokolo and McAllister were first choice but find themselves on the bench!?! Overall Best XI - 442 appearances for Jose Fonte, but there we be no more as he retires at the end of the season. Fans Player of the Year - Jan Lecjaks Review of Season Objectives - Reach the playoffs. This is the minimum we should be achieving with the squad I've got here. The chairman has backed me with a bit of money and a large wage budget, so it will be curtains if we're not in contention throughout the season. Achieved. We reached the playoffs with only a couple of minor scares, I think I would have been extremely disappointed if we had finished outside the top six. That being said, we only scored one more point this season than last year, so there hasn't been much improvement over the 46 game period. Still, delighted to be promoted! - Continue the backroom reorganisation. All the staff are on long term contracts so I'm a bit reluctant to pay their compensation. I have, however, sacked my old Ass Man and brought in ex-Saints player Kevin Phillips as my new assistant. A few more scouts have also joined as I now have no scouting restrictions. Achieved. Not much of an objective, and still a work in progress, but another scout and coach have gone. Should attract some better quality now we're in the Premier League. Previous club watch: Thurrock - Had a superb season finishing 2nd in League 1 so Championship football will be played at Ship Lane next season. Big congratulations to them. Nottm Forest - Started the season well but faded after Christmas. Should be slightly disappointed with their 15th position in the Championship. Chairman's looking to leave now. Season Team League Finish Cups --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2010/11 Thurrock F.C. BSS 15th N/A 2011/12 Thurrock F.C. BSS 2nd FA Cup 2nd Rd, FA Trophy 1st Rd 2012/13 Thurrock F.C. BSP 1st FA Cup 1st Rd, FA Trophy 3rd Rd 2013/14 Thurrock F.C. League 2 5th FA Cup 1st Rd, Carling Cup 2nd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2014/15 Thurrock F.C League 2 6th FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2015/16 Thurrock F.C League 2 6th FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup 4th Rd, JPT 1st Rd 2016/17 Nottm Forest League 1 3rd FA Cup 3rd Rd 2017/18 Nottm Forest League 1 1st FA Cup 2nd Rd, Carling Cup 2nd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2018/19 Southampton Ch'ship 5th FA Cup 3rd Rd 2019/20 Southampton Ch'ship 4th FA Cup 5th Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycar Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Congrats on getting promoted! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Very well done AK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Congrats on getting promoted! Very well done AK. Thanks guys It's harder than I imagined trying to build a squad capable of Premier League survival, especially when the greedy bastard agents want a fee of at least £250k for each transfer. Begrudgingly, I am having to pay it too, otherwise I'm never going to sign anyone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Euro 2020 Update Hosts: Spain Holders: France Germany did what Germany does best (apart from '66 ), and beat England in the final of Euro 2020. They had a great tournament, knocking out the hosts in the semi-final and then steamrolling the English to win the tournament for the 4th time in history (including West Germany's victories). England were lucky to get to the final, considering they only finished 3rd in their group behind The Netherlands and Russia, however, they did knock out the holders, France, in the first knockout round The Germans scored 20 goals in the tournament, which was a competition record, and wasn't that surprising considering they had two world-class strikers leading the line. Classy-striker 1 Classy-striker 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Pre Season 2020/21 Board Expectations Barclays Premier League - Attempt to avoid relegation Media Prediction - 19th Title Odds - 2000-1 FA Cup - Fourth Round Carling Cup - Third Round Transfer Budget: £23.5m Wage Budget: £450k p/w (currently £345177 p/w) Facilities - No improvements Season Ticket Sales - 16772 (up 1057) Youth Intake - Not a lot, but the best by far is Jamie Edge, who might turn out half-decent. Transfer Summary - A major squad overhaul. Out went all the players over 34, contracts weren't renewed and a couple of retirements meant no compensation was paid either. 13 players have joined us, 12 have left, net spend of £16.7m. I could have spent more, but I nearly got a nosebleed spending £5m on a centre-back. Over half of my signings have played for a British club previously so I will be looking for them to hit the ground running, whereas some of the overseas signing will probably need a bit of time to settle to life in Southampton. Notable Transfers Milan Djuric - He was my first signing and cost me £4.5m off of Leicester. Should hold the ball up nicely in my tactics as the lone striker. Lots of experience having played for Stoke, Catania and AC Milan previously. Martin Kelly - Released by Liverpool after 15 seasons having amassed only 136 league appearances. Can play right back or in the centre of defence so will provide good cover. Uros Cosic - This Serb centre-back broke the club transfer record when I signed him from Rangers for £5m. His stats don't look amazing, but he was the best value for money available at the time. Brice Ntambwe - I think he'll turn out to be a bargain, £425k from Toulouse. Good strength and natural fitness proves he's got a good engine on him. Yuri Donkov - Another cheap signing, £725k from Reading. Can play either side of midfield, so I'm hoping he will be a threat from wide positions. Erman Aksu - My last signing of the window, £2.4m from Sion in Switzerland. Has decent pace and good crossing ability so I'm going to re-train him as a winger. Probably won't be first choice this season but I think he'll develop well in time for the next few seasons. My objectives for the season: - Consolidate in the Premier League. The board only want us to attempt to avoid relegation but I think we should be able to do better, I'm really pleased with signings I have made and have good strength in depth. Peterborough and QPR, the other teams promoted with us, have only spent a fraction of the amount I have spent on new players. Due to this, I think they will struggle more than us. Wigan look pretty poor too, as do Norwich and West Ham, so I reckon around 15th would be a realistic target with about 45 points. - Develop some of the youth academy products. I've got a handful of players in my under-18's/reserves who could turn out to be good homegrown players for our club with the right guidance. 1 or 2 might get a couple of games with us this season from the bench, the rest will be sent on loan to get some experience. I've also signed a new contract over the summer on £18250 p/w (!) which is due to expire 30/06/22. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luton Town Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 23.5 Million the same as what i got in my 1st season in the premiership but your title odds are much better than my 5000-1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 23.5 Million the same as what i got in my 1st season in the premiership but your title odds are much better than my 5000-1 5000-1? I thought mine were bad! I suppose £23m is about right for a transfer budget when you consider the TV revenue is £40m. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Autumn 2020 Update Well, we've settled quite well into life in the Premier League. All the games we've lost were matches that I didn't expect to get anything out of, even though the 5-2 defeat against Man City was quite painful to watch. The stand-out performance so far has to be the gritty 1-0 win at St. Mary's against Chelsea where we kept it tight at the back and scored via a set-piece. The goalfests against Wolves and Stoke would have been edge-of-seat stuff for the fans I'm sure, but the end-to-end attacking nature of both matches was a nightmare for the tactician in me. No matter what I did, the goals flowed! 20 points so far, and I'm feeling confident of survival. I'm in no doubt that things will get more difficult in the winter, and that we will do well to continue this form once the other teams in the league have worked out our tactics. We've exceeded expectations in the Carling Cup too, even though losing to Championship opposition did nark me slightly. The biggest side left in the competition is Sunderland, all the rest are from the Championship, so we could have had a chance of a sneaky cup win if we hadn't been so complacent. Poor little Thurrock have yet to win a match in their debut Championship season, and only have 6 points so far from their 17 games played. They need to find the 'New Jesus' if they're going to stay up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luton Town Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Great start to life in the prem. Also a good little run starting with a win against Notts County but it all came crashing down following a defeat against Leeds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Great start to life in the prem. Also a good little run starting with a win against Notts County but it all came crashing down following a defeat against Leeds. Thanks Luton Town, things going well and that win against Notts County really improved morale and helped to string a few wins together Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Winter 2020/21 Update I shouldn't complain but I think we're doing too well! Sitting in 6th place after 27 games, we've got enough points on the board to guarantee Premier League survival and may have a sneaky chance of an Europa League place. That being said, as good as it is to overachieve, I don't want expectations raised too much next season, midtable is still a fantastic position for the club to be in. We still have the knack of getting a run of results at the right time. The finest run of this nature was the one that started with the 5-0 win at Wolves, 4 games, 4 wins, 14 goals scored, 0 conceded! Great times for the club, definitely my finest hour at Southampton so far One thing I had forgotten about is how tough the English domestic Christmas period is. Not having played in the Premier League on this carnation of the game, I totally forgot about the 4 games in 8 days until it got to Boxing Day and then got the mailbox message saying my next game was on the 28th December. Due to my lapse-mindedness, I neglected the fact that I would need to nurture the fitness of my players over this period so had to play the kids in the match against Fulham. A 3-2 defeat really was a good result! One new signing in January too, Jorge Olivares joined us from Chelsea for £2.3m. His arrival has put a couple of player's noses out of joint, they confronted me saying there was too much competition for places. I told them to do one, and both find themselves on the transfer-list and getting overly-familiar with the reserve team manager. On a side note, my future-England-star-goalkeeper, Alan Hill, has been called up by the England boss. No appearances yet, but it's only a matter of time until he replaces Joe Hart as number 1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Below is the 5-0 win at Wolves, As you can see, Behnam Bahrami scored all five goals in what was a fantastic performance (his rating was 9.8, what does he need to do to get a 10.0?!?!). He joined us for £2.8m but this Iran international is now worth £4m and still rising. My big concern is that he has a £5.5m release clause in his contract which Sevilla have an eye on. Obviously with the window closed, we'll keep hold of him until the summer, but would love to tie him down with a new contract. However, the little bugger won't sign!! Bahrami isn't the only one being touted by overseas clubs either... I'm definitely not going anywhere at the moment, as much as I would like to manage at the Big Bird Stadium! Life is very good at St. Mary's and I'm getting the infrastructure in place to build on for the future. However, it's good to know that my reputation is building and that foreign clubs are starting to take notice of what I'm doing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Spring 2021 Update We finished the season in mediocre form but still managed to secure 7th in the Premier League, above the more reputable teams of Chelsea and Everton. One thing I will need to look at for next season is how we defend in aways matches. We conceded three or more goals in nine of our away games, including some very poor recent efforts against West Ham and Everton where the matches were all over by half time. 7th place is often good enough for a Europa League place, however as Championship side Burnley won the Carling Cup, and Birmingham are competing the FA Cup final against Spurs, we will not be having a European adventure next season. I'm not bothered about this anyway, it would be too much of a distraction, where the focus will be consolidating on this season and establishing the Saints as a decent mid-table Premier League team. I'm quite surprised about the lack of 'big teams' in the latter stages of the domestic cups. The last four in the FA Cup were Leicester, West Ham, Birmingham and Spurs, whereas in the Carling Cup, the final four were Leeds, Ipswich, Sunderland and Burnley. There will be a good opportunity for us to win a bit of silverware next season if the big teams continue to drop out at the early stages. Overall though, a great start to life back in the Premier League. Next season we will have to remain focused and not get complacent. I want to avoid the 'second season syndrome' at all costs, and I would like to think we can maintain our good home record next season too. This year we only lost three league games at home, against Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City, picking up 40 points and conceding 16 goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Season 2020/21 Review Barclays Premier League - 7th League Table Position Graph Season Summary FA Cup - 6th Round Carling Cup - 4th Round Finances - Fairly healthy, but I don't expect any increase in the budgets next year, especially now as we've had to install 7250 more seats and undersoil heating at a cost of £11.25m. Average Attendance - 30611 (up 5321). Selling-out most matches. Transfer Summary - Only 1 new player joined us in January, a couple left us on loan too. Key Players Behnam Bahrami - An absolutely snip of a bargain, Premier League signing of the season. 16 league goals in his debut season in the Premier League makes a mockery of the £2.8m I paid for him. More than likely that a big team will come in for him over the summer as he's a proven goalscorer. 74 goals in 147 appearances for all clubs so far. Jan Lecjaks - Not the best defensive fullback in the world, but has a decent left foot and knocks plenty of crosses and set-pieces into the box. 11 assists over the season. Uros Cosic - Ever-present in the league, my strongest defender by far. Will need to find him someone better to play alongside next year. Joel Acosta - Missed a few games due to injury but pretty consistent when he plays. 7 goals and 5 assists. Team of the Year - Spot on, my first choice eleven in my 4-4-1-1 formation. Overall Best XI - No changes in personnel, a few more appearances for Lallana though. Fans Player of the Year - Jan Lecjaks Review of Season Objectives - Consolidate in the Premier League. The board only want us to attempt to avoid relegation but I think we should be able to do better, I'm really pleased with signings I have made and have good strength in depth. Peterborough and QPR, the other teams promoted with us, have only spent a fraction of the amount I have spent on new players. Due to this, I think they will struggle more than us. Wigan look pretty poor too, as do Norwich and West Ham, so I reckon around 15th would be a realistic target with about 45 points. Achieved. I'm ecstatic about finishing 7th, but I was always confident that we would be better than at least 5/6 of the other lesser teams in this league. Our performance in the league was enough to earn me Manager of the Year and a contract offer from Villarrael. It's unlikely I will be leaving St. Mary's at the moment, so we will need to continue our good work into next season and aim for a safe mid-table position. - Develop some of the youth academy products. I've got a handful of players in my under-18's/reserves who could turn out to be good homegrown players for our club with the right guidance. 1 or 2 might get a couple of games with us this season from the bench, the rest will be sent on loan to get some experience. Achieved. Six of my youngsters went out on loan to gain first team experience. There's a possibility of one or two of them making the first team squad next season now. Previous club watch: Thurrock - As expected, their debut season in the Championship was more than difficult. They finished rock-bottom with 30 points and 19 points away from safety. I'm sure they enjoyed the experience though. Nottm Forest - A disappointing season for Forest, finishing 19th in the Championship and only 6 points clear of the relegation zone. They now have a new chairman and a lot of debt, times may be bleak for the near future. Season Team League Finish Cups --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2010/11 Thurrock F.C. BSS 15th N/A 2011/12 Thurrock F.C. BSS 2nd FA Cup 2nd Rd, FA Trophy 1st Rd 2012/13 Thurrock F.C. BSP 1st FA Cup 1st Rd, FA Trophy 3rd Rd 2013/14 Thurrock F.C. League 2 5th FA Cup 1st Rd, Carling Cup 2nd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2014/15 Thurrock F.C League 2 6th FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2015/16 Thurrock F.C League 2 6th FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup 4th Rd, JPT 1st Rd 2016/17 Nottm Forest League 1 3rd FA Cup 3rd Rd 2017/18 Nottm Forest League 1 1st FA Cup 2nd Rd, Carling Cup 2nd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2018/19 Southampton Ch'ship 5th FA Cup 3rd Rd 2019/20 Southampton Ch'ship 4th FA Cup 5th Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd 2020/21 Southampton Prem Lg 7th FA Cup 6th Rd, Carling Cup 4th Rd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raware Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Great debut season in the Prem AK {pedantic mode} Just to let you know that the League table link is Acostas profile Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 What Raware said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Great debut season in the Prem AK {pedantic mode} Just to let you know that the League table link is Acostas profile What Raware said. Thanks guys, we certainly did a lot better than I expected. Fixed the link too, I'm grateful for your pedantry. My attention to detail is normally pretty good! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikal Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Solid first season in the Prem! Expecting Euro qualification next season!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Solid first season in the Prem! Expecting Euro qualification next season!! Thanks Mikal. Euro qualification might be a bit optimistic but I suppose we've got a decent chance of a cup win. I'll be happy with mid-table again though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Pre Season 2021/22 Board Expectations Barclays Premier League - Safe Mid-table Media Prediction - 12th Title Odds - 300-1 FA Cup - Fifth Round Carling Cup - Fourth Round Transfer Budget: £26.5m Wage Budget: £450k p/w (currently £377807 p/w) Facilities - 7250 seats (will take capacity to 39939) & Under-Soil Heating being installed Season Ticket Sales - 17177 (up 405) Youth Intake - No-one of significant calibre to warrant highlighting. Transfer Summary - Further big changes this summer. I'm sorry to see the departure of our outstanding 'keeper Alan Hill, where Man City met the £10m release clause in his contract and triggered his transfer. I couldn't compete contractually as he's signed on at Eastlands on wages of £115k p/w (my highest earner was on £29k). Nine new players joined us for £19.5m, this amount covered by the transfer fees we received. I've also replaced my assistant manager with this guy, Andrey Tikhonov, who's got skills in all the right places. Notable Transfers Roberto Cardenas - My £3m bid triggered his foreign club release clause. A pacy right winger who ticks all the boxes, however, he's Columbian so will be interesting to see if he settles in England. Alberto Gutierrez - He was going 'cheap' at Man City, I think with his good bravery and determination he will do a solid job at putting out the fires in midfield. Ronald Boer - May have slightly overpaid for this centre-back. However, I'm desperate and he was the best one going in the sub-£10m category I was looking at. Roberto Garcia - After Hill's departure, I had to get in a new goalkeeper. This guy fits the bill, even though I did have to break the wage structure to sign him on £50k p/w. Mossoro - A decent left-back who might get into the first team if he impresses. Luis Paulo - Highly rated by my scouts and only cost £2m, so worth a punt on. Will play as a support striker, his good teamwork should link the play up well. My objectives for the season: - Consolidate in the Premier League. Same as last year really. I suspect last year's 7th place was a bit of a 'false position', so I'll be satisfied to finish 15th or above. The board have cranked the expectations up a bit now too, expecting us to go a round further in both the cups and to be comfortably clear of relegation. - Tighten up the defence away from home. Last season we conceded far too many on the road. I'm hoping the signing of Boer will improve matters and I may favour a more cautious approach, especially against the Top Four sides who all spanked our arses last year. - Tie up Behnam Bahrami's contract. He has a minimum release fee of £5.5m and is worth more than this based on his goalscoring form. He wants a unrealistic amount in wages to sign a new contract (his current contract has 3 years left to run), so we can't afford to do anything about it at the moment. It would severely peeve me if he left us in the lurch mid-season! Another contract extension signed this summer too, another year for £22k p/w (it's cos I'm worth it ) taking me up to the end of June 2023. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Autumn 2021 Update We started the new season in encouraging form with wins at Chelsea and a draw at Tottenham, so I was feeling confident that we could maintain this good form over the coming weeks. However, since then, we have only added another eight points to our total and find ourselves in a very compromising position near the foot of the table. Defensively, we're not too bad, reasonably solid at the back, it's scoring goals that causing me great concern. Last season's topscorer Bahrami has missed six weeks due to injury, and the rest of the strikers don't look like threatening even the weakest of defences. I'm also struggling to find a formation that works well for us and keep flipping between two. Last season's 4-4-1-1 is just not creating enough chances, whereas 4-4-2 leaves us quite susceptible to the counter-attack. It may be back to the drawing board if won't do see a change in fortunes over the month of December. I'm just thankful that there is a lot of teams at the bottom end of the table that have started worse than us! In other news, England have successfully qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, topping their fairly easy group containing Austria, Wales, Albania, Israel and Malta. Guess what? My former goalkeeper Alan Hill is now first-choice. I don't like to say 'I told you so' but... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackripper Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 nice to see you with the saints...good luck the club seems well run behind closed doors aswell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 nice to see you with the saints...good luck the club seems well run behind closed doors aswell. Very true. Cortese is still there as chairman and seems quite content to let me get on with things. There's no debt, and they've expanded the stadium a bit too so the infrastructure is good. I would like to establish them as a comfortable mid-table team (like what Pulis has done with Stoke IRL) before moving on in a season or two. I fancy a crack at managing an overseas club as my next venture Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo Willenté Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 This is my favourite journeyman thread at the moment! Very well written, and an easy to follow format. KUTGW! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 This is my favourite journeyman thread at the moment! Very well written, and an easy to follow format.KUTGW! Thanks Paolo you're too kind :o Glad you're enjoying reading it. I try to balance the updates with a mixture of relevant screenshots alongside some meaningful summary paragraphs. Hopefully, there's something for everyone then! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Winter 2021/22 Update Results didn't improve much, even the win against Leicester was a dismal display in which we somehow stole three points. The defeat against Norwich was the final straw, so as expected, a change in tactics was required. We went to 4-4-2 with a wide-diamond in midfield, a more gung-ho approach. This formation will get 5 players into attacking positions and should create more chances for the strikers to attempt to score from. Since then, results have gone on a significant upturn, with us winning six of the next ten league matches. This has pushed us comfortably back into mid-table, well away from the relegation zone. Realistically, we probably only need five more points to guarantee Premier League football for another season. Even if we continue our good form over the remaining eleven games, it's unlikely we will match the 7th position we achieved last season. But then there's still the FA Cup to look forward to. We managed to scrape into the 5th Round draw after earning a replay against Everton with a gutsy performance on Merseyside, the winner of the replay will play Wigan in the next round. In other news, my striker Behnam Bahrami won AFC Player of the Year, highlighting his great scoring record for Iran (60 caps/32 goals). My scouts have unearthed another gem of a goalkeeper too. Lurking in the squad of Paraguayan team C Sportivo Luqueno, was this young Ivorian, Patrice Bamba. £1.3m later and he's now a Southampton player, having joined us at the end of January. He's going to be a great player in a couple of years time, mark my words! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Spring 2022 Update Wow, what a great final third of the season we had. The way the team is playing at the moment is completely unrecognisable from the way we were playing back in the Autumn. A 13-match unbeaten record was the highlight, culminating with a 8-1 win at Birmingham. This game was truly a jaw-dropping spectacle which saw nine goals and both teams reduced to ten men, Bahrami continued his good form with four goals in the match. The defeats against Arsenal and Man City were just small blips in a terrific run which saw us climb up to (and maintain) 8th position, one place lower than last season but with one more point. The change in formation and tactics really saved our bacon, and was a pivotal point in our season. Without this, I'm sure we would have continued to struggle for goals and probably would have at least 20 points less (which would have put us 13th, 32 points was enough to stay up this season). In the FA Cup, we drew Premier League opposition from the 4th Round onwards. After another couple of top-rate performances against Wigan and Leeds, we were off to Wembley to face Sunderland in the Semi-Finals. We played well, equalling their attempts at goal and shading possession too. However, their 'keeper had a great day, earning him Man of the Match, and Sunderland a place in the final after beating us 2-1. A 'Top European Side' sacked their manager in March, and made me the number one candidate for the vacant job. They soon submitted a contract offer, which I've delayed to the end of the season. I'm enjoying life at Southampton, but I can't see us breaking into the top five within three seasons as City, Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs are very dominant. Whereas, the 'Top European Side' have finished second in their respective league three times in the last four season, so by moving, it could be my big chance to win a major trophy. Decisions decisions... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lankylars Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Great job so far. I'm really rooting for you to one day manage Liverpool and make us an all-conquering force! I like the formats of your updates, too - just the right balance of info, screens, and explanations. Keep up the good work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Chapter 3 - Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen... Go To Southampton Season 2021/22 Review Barclays Premier League - 8th League Table Position Graph Season Summary FA Cup - Semi-Final Carling Cup - 3rd Round Finances - Made a £10m profit this season. Could do with a bigger sponsorship deal when the current one expires though. Average Attendance - 29171 (down 1440!). Transfer Summary - Two players came in January, including the previously mentioned Bamba. Key Players Behnam Bahrami - Still our best player. Missed seven games with injury back in the autumn but still banged in 24 goals over the season. With him scoring a third of all our goals, it's vital to our success that he stays fit and plays every week. Jan Lecjaks - His stats are pretty average but this guy is Mr Southampton (also our captain). Normally a left back, he got pushed forward to left midfield in the new system and revelled in it. Uros Cosic - Strong as always in the back four. Only missed one league game due to suspension, starting to attract attention from Dortmund and Fiorentina who will need to bid £10m to activate his release clause. Joel Acosta - 10 assists this season. Wasn't always first choice, and now at 31, so won't have too many seasons left at this level. Roberto Garcia - The best 'keeper in the league according to the PFA. He's got a big future ahead of him, and at 27, is just coming into his peak. Only nine clean sheets, last season we got 19, so something to improve on. Roberto Cardenas - As with the rest of the squad, he started poorly. He found his feet after Christmas, turning in some quality performances and making 13 assists from the right side of midfield. Jorge Olivares - Becoming a quality defensive midfielder now. Played as the anchor man in the new system, but has great passing and creativity so can build-up play from the back too. Team of the Year - I'm pleased to see our new formation made it here, however, I never played Ronald Boer at left back ever! The rest is near enough my preferred starting eleven. Overall Best XI - Acosta has now made it on to the bench. It's unlikely Lallana will add to his appearances as his contract's up at the end of the season, he's no longer first choice and he's now 34. Fans Player of the Year - Jan Lecjaks for the third season in a row. Review of Season Objectives - Consolidate in the Premier League. Same as last year really. I suspect last year's 7th place was a bit of a 'false position', so I'll be satisfied to finish 15th or above. The board have cranked the expectations up a bit now too, expecting us to go a round further in both the cups and to be comfortably clear of relegation. Achieved. We started very poorly, devoid of confidence, but recovered well to 8th position. This enforces Southampton as a reputable Premier League team who should be achieving mid-table as a minimum over the next couple of seasons. Not too far off a push for the European spots either, which is possibility for next season if we can bring in a couple of decent players over the summer. - Tighten up the defence away from home. Last season we conceded far too many on the road. I'm hoping the signing of Boer will improve matters and I may favour a more cautious approach, especially against the Top Four sides who all spanked our arses last year. Achieved. We had the 5th best away record this season, winning 35 points and conceding only 24 goals in the process. A big improvement on last season where we conceded 42. In fact, it was our impressive away record that pushed us up the league. We only won six games at home this year, so improvements are needed next season for games at St. Mary's. - Tie up Behnam Bahrami's contract. He has a minimum release fee of £5.5m and is worth more than this based on his goalscoring form. He wants a unrealistic amount in wages to sign a new contract (his current contract has 3 years left to run), so we can't afford to do anything about it at the moment. It would severely peeve me if he left us in the lurch mid-season! Not achieved. No matter what I do, we cannot agree terms. He wants a minimum of £80k p/w and the most I can offer is £60k, we can't even meet in the middle. He also put in a transfer request in frustration, which he quickly withdrew. I'm sure he likes its at Southampton, we just can't fulfil his wage expectations. Previous club watch: Thurrock - Finished 6th in League 1 but missed out on promotion by losing in the semis of the playoffs. Still playing at Ship Lane with it's 4500 capacity! Nottm Forest - Solid mid-table, finishing 11th in the Championship. The debt is still crippling them by the looks of it though. Season Team League Finish Cups --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2010/11 Thurrock F.C. BSS 15th N/A 2011/12 Thurrock F.C. BSS 2nd FA Cup 2nd Rd, FA Trophy 1st Rd 2012/13 Thurrock F.C. BSP 1st FA Cup 1st Rd, FA Trophy 3rd Rd 2013/14 Thurrock F.C. League 2 5th FA Cup 1st Rd, Carling Cup 2nd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2014/15 Thurrock F.C League 2 6th FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2015/16 Thurrock F.C League 2 6th FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup 4th Rd, JPT 1st Rd 2016/17 Nottm Forest League 1 3rd FA Cup 3rd Rd 2017/18 Nottm Forest League 1 1st FA Cup 2nd Rd, Carling Cup 2nd Rd, JPT 2nd Rd 2018/19 Southampton Ch'ship 5th FA Cup 3rd Rd 2019/20 Southampton Ch'ship 4th FA Cup 5th Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd 2020/21 Southampton Prem Lg 7th FA Cup 6th Rd, Carling Cup 4th Rd 2021/22 Southampton Prem Lg 8th FA Cup Semi-Final, Carling Cup 3rd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Great job so far. I'm really rooting for you to one day manage Liverpool and make us an all-conquering force! I like the formats of your updates, too - just the right balance of info, screens, and explanations. Keep up the good work. Thanks Lankylars The aim is to become Liverpool manager one day and take us back to the very top of English and European football. Man Utd have now won 23 titles, and that's becoming a bitter pill to swallow for me. However, when I do get the top job at Anfield (yes, we're still there in 2022!), it would be almost impossible for me to leave. Because of this, it's not top of the list, priorities wise, at the moment, I would like the experience of managing in some of the other leagues I have loaded first before destroying Utd's legacy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 And here's that job offer from the 'Top European Side'... They've just finished 5th in Serie A this season (they were down in 7th when they sacked Joachim Low back in March), and they've also won the TIM Cup (Coppa Italia) which guarantees European football next season. It's a big opportunity for me to experience life in Italian football and, hopefully, win some major silverware. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Another good season with Southampton. I'm presuming you're off to Rome? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Another good season with Southampton.I'm presuming you're off to Rome? Thanks Nobby You're correct, I'm off to Italy to manage 'Biancocelesti'. Full write up and explanations tonight Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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