withnail316 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 1 hour ago, BoxToBox said: Won't fit in as one of your CM's? Not with a tackling of 3 he won't.... I might retrain him into a left-sided midfielder. It'll make use of his flair, and it's a position I could do with some cover in, too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 April/May Two really good home performances in the final month ensure that we qualify for the Europa League next season, and by a comfortable distance. It was disappointing to lose at Feyenoord on the final day (and the fans weren't happy), but looking at the bigger picture, I'm sure they would have taken 4th at the start of the season. Summary to follow later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 6t FC Utrecht - season review 2018/19 League (Eredivisie) Media prediction: 10th Finished: 4th (qualified for the Europa League) Cups Lost in the 4th round Europe: N/A Top scorers Aleksander Bjelica: 20 goals in 33 appearances (17 in the league) Lars Veldwijk: 20 goals in 35 appearances (19 in the league) Leon de Kogel: 12 goals in 26 appearances (11 in the league) Positives A lot to be happy about after my first season in the Netherlands. We've been excellent in the league, especially at home, and finishing in 4th is more than I could have asked for in my first season. I'm happy I've been able to add to the squad with so many Bosman deals this season too, so I'm hopeful we can press on next year, too. Then we're also upgrading the youth facilities too, so I'm hopeful that the current batch of youngsters who are on the fringes of the first team will be joined by a few more in the next few years. Concerns Other than our away form, not very many. We do seem to be a little low on cash as the season ends, but I'm not sure whether we'll see any prize money or additional TV money pile in when the season ends. Anyway, with 17,000 season tickets, we shouldn't be too skint for too long! Ambitions My target next year will be a similar finish, although I'd like to think we can go a little deeper in the cup next time. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a decent draw in Europe, too. Player of the season Manager's choice: Ismo Vorstermans Fan's choice: TBC Attendances Lowest attendance: 19,684 (v Sparta, Eredivisie) Highest attendance: 24,426 (sell-out, v Feyenoord, Eredivisie) (4 sell-outs in total) Average attendance: 22,173 (6th highest in the league) Finances €679,000 in credit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 That's a really good first season in charge of a new club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 14 hours ago, Rikulec said: That's a really good first season in charge of a new club. Cheers, man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 15, 2016 Author Share Posted September 15, 2016 Hmm, looks like we'll be in for a fun start to the season. The board have hacked my provisional budget, and seem to have forgotten we have half a dozen players arriving on Bosman deals in a few weeks! Lovely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Exciting times ahead, if perhaps for the wrong reasons... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 3 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: Exciting times ahead, if perhaps for the wrong reasons... It left me scratching my head for a while, but we'll get by.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 FM boards, don't you just love them... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 3 hours ago, noikeee said: FM boards, don't you just love them... I wouldn't mind if we were massively in debt, or if they had reassessed before I was able to bring in the Bosman signings, but to cut the wage bill by a quarter when we have six new arrivals already signed was a bit much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 LOL, Dutch boards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 FC Utrecht Season preview 2019/20 Media expectation: 7th Board expectation: finish in the top half Transfer budget (remaining): €1.7m Wage budget: €186,214p/w (€22,500p/w under budget) Well I certainly wasn't expecting a summer of upheaval after a solid campaign last year, but that's exactly what we got. As I mentioned previously, the board decided that we were spending too much on wages, and despite us having agreed Bosman deals for six players, they hacked nearly €40,000p/w off our wage budget. This meant that on the day the 6 new players arrived, we were the best part of €30,000 a week over budget. A big problem potentially, then. I should point out that at that time, we only had around €1m in the bank, and part of the reason for this was the board had previously agreed to pump money into a youth facility upgrade, so they certainly aren't all bad! I also appreciate that they haven't demanded a European finish again this year, although I'd be lying if I didn't say that was my target regardless. I'm also quite hopeful of squeezing into the Europa League group stage, especially because (I believe anyway) that we enter at the play off round. My finances have been the main issue to resolve this summer then, and thankfully I've been able to sort them relatively comfortably. My options were to sell one of three players for a big sum, with Lars Veldwijk, Tommy Oar and Leon de Kogel all valued at more than €6m. The player who I thought we'd miss the least was striker de Kogel, who I offered out for his buy-out clause (€13.5m), and I was delighted to receive an offer from Borussia Monchengladbach for €11m, 25% of his next sale AND a pre-season friendly. De Kogel was more than happy to make his way to Germany, and that one deal transformed our financial situation. However, more deals were to follow. Takagi joined Beerschot AC in Belgium for €170,000, Michael Zullo went to Hertha Berlin for €500,000, and Morgan Poggi joined STVV for €300,000. With nearly a month to go before the window shuts, I may yet let a few more players leave, too. The additional cash at the club meant I had a bit of room to work with in the transfer market, and so six more players were signed, bringing us to 12 new arrivals this summer. The most notable arrival was a free transfer, as Roger Koning was signed from rivals Ajax to fill the boots of de Kogel. We did spend some money though, with Brazilian winger Hercilo joining for €1,1m, and young full-back Nic Cordray joined from LA Galaxy for €160,000. Goalkeeper Thorsten Fetch had been released by Stuttgart, but at 18 has bags of potential, and so I was pleased to see my DoF bring him in. I also struggled to find an upgrade in centre backs this summer, but both Rini de Ruiter and Anthony Semenkono have arrived on year-long loans from PSV and Lyon respectively, which will allow youngster Gerry Vissers another year to develop before he steps up into the first team next year. I still have my eye on two more deals, for a right-back (Gervero Markiet has been in my ear about moving, but I missed out on both potential replacements I'd identified as I was waiting for the de Kogel deal to go through) and for a striker, but so far I've not had any joy in finding suitable options. I shall keep trying though, and if I'm stuck with what I have, I think we've had a decent summer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Stealing Koning off of Ajax on a free must feel good! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 10 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Stealing Koning off of Ajax on a free must feel good! I was really pleased to get him, but he couldn't even get on Ajax's bench! It shows how far we've got to go in squad-building terms... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 1 hour ago, withnail316 said: I was really pleased to get him, but he couldn't even get on Ajax's bench! It shows how far we've got to go in squad-building terms... How good are Ajax?! Geez..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 55 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: How good are Ajax?! Geez..... Yep, most of their reserves would get in my team, similar with Feyenoord, PSV and the champions AZ. We'll get there, though... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 14 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Stealing Koning off of Ajax on a free must feel good! Although he'll miss the first seven weeks of the season.... wonderful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 So I said I was looking for another striker, and with Koning's 7 week injury I decided I needed to act immediately. Long term, I know that Bjelica isn't good enough if we are to progress, so I've made a double signing. Jiri Masek joins for €650,000 from Tromsø, and he will go straight into my starting XI. The other signing is a familiar face, I took Ahmed Onuh to Örebro 18 months ago, and he joins us for his buy-out of €825,000. He is really a signing for the future, but he may be needed this year. As a result, I will look to loan out strikers Sekou Angban and Roel Lagendijk, while defender Kai Heerings is likely to leave after we received three bids of €325,000 for his services. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 Remember me saying I was hopeful of qualifying for the Europa League group stage? Well, that hope may have been extinguished by the draw - we'll play Sporting Clube de Portugal in the play off, with the first leg in Lisbon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 Europa League Play Off 1st Leg: Sporting Clube de Portugal 3-4 FC Utrecht An absolutely remarkable game of football, in a tie I thought we stood very little chance in. I was a little alarned after losing our keeper to injury the day before the game, but we were outstanding. Sporting took the lead 10 minutes before half time when Masek was caught in possession deep in our half, but Veldwijk smashed us level just 5 minutes later. Bjelica took advantage of a slip in the Sporting box to put us in front just after the hour, before Sporting quickly levelled. Two blistering efforts from Thiriet (his first goals for the club) in the final 10 minutes put us in command, and although Sporting pulled one back in stoppage time, I'm feeling very optimistic about our chances next week. 2nd Leg: FC Utrecht 5-0 Sporting Clube de Portugal Wow. Just wow. Utterly blown away by this performance, which sees us into the group stages of the Europa League. Veldwijk drilled us in front after 14 minutes, and he could have had a second two minutes later, but he smashed a penalty off the post. Two Jiri Masek headers in the last 6 minutes of the half put the tie well out the Portuguese club's reach, and Kali added two rockets in the second half to add the cherry on top of the cake. Wonderful stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 August A fantastic start to the season results-wise, although a couple of the performances weren't brilliant (de Graafschap and ADO Den Haag especially). Still, we're top of the league and in the group stages of the Europa, so I can't complain too much! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 I've seen worse starts to a season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Fantastic win against Sporting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 1 hour ago, deltablue said: Fantastic win against Sporting! It was a huge surprise, but I'll take it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 We've drawn Roma, Dynamo Kyiv and BATE in the Europa League. I'm quite chuffed with that tbh, and I see no reason why we can't progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 September Another solid month, although the finish of it was a bit of a shock. We've been excellent bar the last half an hour in the NEC game, All in all though there is very little to complain about at the start of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 I see a title challenge in the horizon this year already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 3 minutes ago, noikeee said: I see a title challenge in the horizon this year already. It would be amazing if that was right, but I suspect it is a year too soon for us to challenge for the title. Another couple of solid transfer windows, and we might just be able to push on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Great start to the season. Looks quite sustainable too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 3 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Great start to the season. Looks quite sustainable too! I shall keep my fingers crossed about the sustainability of it, but yeah, delighted with how we've started! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 October Another really good month, I was delighted with a draw in Kyiv and the victory in Rome was simply glorious (if very lucky). We got a very iffy penalty, but at the half way stage of the group we have every chance of progressing. Domestically I'm very pleased too, but our performance in the cup was pretty dismal. Thankfully, the board have no interest in the competition this year, but I'll need to improve in that area in the coming years. We also have a bit of an injury crisis at right back, with both recognised full backs missing all of November - and one of them is out until February. It's a good job I have a habit of picking up versatile defenders... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Oof. Groan-ingen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 2 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Oof. Groan-ingen I'm looking at the positives of fewer games this year. Most unlike me, but then I've not even been at the club 18 months yet, so still lots of work to do with the squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 I may be a bit of **** here, but I'm getting annoyed by the press asking me questions about "AZ Alkmaar". Considering the 'A' in AZ stands for Alkmaar, it seems preposterous for them to be called 'Alkmaar Zaanstreek Alkmaar' to me, but there you go. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 24, 2016 Author Share Posted September 24, 2016 Flattered, but no thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 24, 2016 Author Share Posted September 24, 2016 Pondering whether to smash my career-record transfer in a deal for this young winger: We've agreed a fee of €1.8m for him, and he's a player I've been tracking for some time. He's had a fairly mediocre year in Norway (average of 6.9 from 23 games) and I can't help but feel I'm rushing in to the deal as Gregory Nelson is out of contract in the summer and doesn't want to sign a new deal. Still, he has bags of potential, and I'm sure we could make a profit on him in 18 months or so if I decided to move him on - but if I do confirm this deal, we'll have no room in the budget for me to agree any Bosman deals this winter. Still after the little bit of financial difficulty we had this summer, that may not be a bad thing... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 I'd go for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 8 hours ago, deltablue said: I'd go for it. I'm leaning towards that decision, too. My scouts haven't identified many Bosman deals for this summer yet anyway, so hanging on "just in case" seems silly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 Just catching up in here - I'd go for Fernando, as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I'd be wary of low average rating players, I've learned many of them are because of inconsistency trait which leads to underperformance, sometimes even average rating in inactive leagues indicates this. However 1.8M€ is definitely a good price for him, worst case scenario you're pretty much guaranteed to get a profit. I'd go for it too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 45 minutes ago, noikeee said: I'd be wary of low average rating players, I've learned many of them are because of inconsistency trait which leads to underperformance, sometimes even average rating in inactive leagues indicates this. However 1.8M€ is definitely a good price for him, worst case scenario you're pretty much guaranteed to get a profit. I'd go for it too. Sound advice. The low rating isn't awful though (6.9), and can probably be explained by a combination of his age and it being his first year outside Brazil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 November We keep grinding out league wins when not playing well, and that's the main story of November. Three Eredivise wins, but of course the stand-out result is the hammering of Roma. I didn't think we had a great deal of chance of achieving much in Europe this year, but we're now well set to qualify for the knock-outs, and who knows how we'll go from there? I also confirmed the deal for Fernando, and so he'll arrive in January. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Holy Mary, mother of God. That Roma result is a SPICY meat-a-ball! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 1 hour ago, Deisler26 said: Holy Mary, mother of God. That Roma result is a SPICY meat-a-ball! Up there with my best ever results, along with all the wins over Tromsø... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 December Another excellent month, and the league table is looking absolutely delightful at the winter break. I have my doubts as to whether we'll be able to maintain this kind of form into the second half of the season, but it's very nice to see us at the top at this stage. The big success of the season so far though has been our European form. I thought we'd got a pretty tough group when the draw was made, but quite frankly we've been excellent. I'm now targeting a quarter final spot, and from there, anything is possible... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Pretty spectacular form all around in both the league and Europe, looks like this could be a big breakthrough season for Utrecht. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 On 29/09/2016 at 11:05, noikeee said: Pretty spectacular form all around in both the league and Europe, looks like this could be a big breakthrough season for Utrecht. It has certainly been a decent first half of the season, I'll keep my fingers crossed that we can push on into the spring. I'm not convinced we'll have enough to win the league at this stage, but I'm beginning to fancy our chances at really pushing on in the Europa League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 A bit of transfer news for you. We were a little top-heavy in strikers, and with young Roel Lagendijk knocking on the door of the first team, I decided to use this window to thin the herd up top. Aleksander Bjelica had slipped down the pecking order to our fifth-choice front man, so he was the obvious player to try and let go. Sure enough, an offer from Anderlecht for €1.7m came in and I was delighted to accept it. Full-back Gevero Markiet had been pestering me for a new challenge almost since my arrival, and this time I relented and transfer listed him. He's also gone to Belgium, joining Genk for €750,000. The reason I let him go was quite simple - my scouts had advised me of the availability of Edward Utaka: I'd tried to sign Utaka in the summer when was put on the market by Rosenborg for €675,000, but we simply didn't have the money and Rapid Wien nipped in. I'd monitored him since then, especially because he had a buy-out clause for €1.3m, which I was able to take advantage of this January. You may also remember me saying I was unlikely to sign any players on Bosman deals for next season following the signing of Fernando, but the sale of Bjelica changed that. These two will join us in July: Mirco's arrival means I'm likely to try and cash in on Tommy Oar in the summer. He's had a great season, but he only has 18 months on his contract and he doesn't want to renew, and he is currently valued at around €5m. It would probably make sense to let him go. As for Haye, I had no plans on signing a central midfielder as we are pretty strong in that area, but he will definitely improve us so I thought it was a good deal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Haye looks fantastic! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 47 minutes ago, deltablue said: Haye looks fantastic! Yep, he really does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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