Walking In a Wanless Wonderland (Hopefully not Winless)

[smp20]

A great performance again from us in Europe and we really could have got the win as shown by their keeper getting man of the match. Teams really don't like coming to Norther Ireland. Bring on the second leg!

[smp20]

In opposite fashion to the first leg, this game was full of excitement! We were 2-0 down at half time but 3 goals in 8 minutes put us into the lead. However, Schalke's quality shined through in the end, Goretzka got the equaliser and Alcacer got a late brace to send the German through. Our European adventure comes to an end, but what a run.

[smp20]

Portadown 2018/19 Season

We managed to retain the title, gaining the same points tally (91) as last season, drawing more games but losing just one. As you can see by the 26 players fielded, there was plenty of rotation particularly around our European games. For the second year running we lost in the Semis of the Mid Ulster Cup on penalties and this year we went out early in the Northern Irish Cup to Linfield, but we did win the league cup for the double. Overall, a great season domestically, but our European campaign was a dream.

This year we played an incredible 62 games, Lydon Kane was the player most involved with 59 appearances to his name. Robbie Weir and Ryan Brobbel added a lot more quality to the team and I've already snapped up a lot of Northern Irish internationals on frees ready to come in July to further strengthen the team.

The club turn pro, the facilities are being upgraded and Paul Wanless has become a club legend in just two seasons. The team is set up to do well and I think I want to leave the club on a high. An excellent European campaign and my last game in charge was a 3-0 away win at Linfield. With the new players coming in already, I hope I have set the team up for future success, but I will be letting my contract run down and actively seeking new jobs.

 

 

[smp20]

Old Club Watch

In 2017, the season after I left with the team being relegated from the top flight, the club won the 2nd tier with a dramatic spell of great form towards the end of the season. The following 2018 season they again got relegated from the Swedish Premier, this time rock bottom. They are currently sitting 3rd after 12 games in 2019, Tokelo Rantie proving to be a prolific goalscorer for them.

After finishing 23rd in the Conference (whilst managerless they beat Bishop Stortford to finish off the bottom which was where I left them). The manager of Bishop Stortford, Shaun Reid, took over and managed to get them promoted again through the playoffs after finishing third. However, City struggled back in the conference and sacked Reid in January and replaced him with Harry Kewell. It was looking bleak, but 4 wins out of the last 5 and they managed to beat the drop, finishing 19th with 49 points and just 1 point from the last relegation spot. Congrats Harry!

[smp20]

Maccabi in the Middle East

After two successful years with Portadown it was time for a new challenge and after several unsuccessful job interviews finally a club offered Wanless the job. We will stepping into new territory in the Middle East with Israeli heavyweights Maccabi Tel Aviv.

General Club Info

Maccabi Tel Aviv are one of the best supported clubs in Israel and are expected to do well. Last season they were predicted to win the league, further on you will see how they actually got on. Our fierce rivals are Hapoel Tel Aviv, whilst we have competitive rivals in Haifa and Jerusalem.

Our facilities are the best in the country.

Past Seasons

Despite being predicted the win the league, the side finished 4th 12 points off top spot. However, I am sure that the worst thing about it is that bitter rivals Hapoel were the side that ended up winning the league to claim that they are the best team from Tel Aviv.

Prior to the game start, Maccabi had won the league three times in a row. However, 5th, 2nd, 4th and 4th are simply not good enough for an ambitious side. I am aiming to win the title and I will be very disappointed if we are unable to do so. If I enjoy my time here in Israel, I will look to build a side capable of competing in the Champions League.

Key Players

Zahavi is the best player in the Israeli league and he fits the way I like to play perfectly. He will be our shadow striker for sure.

Danino is one of, if not the, best Israeli centre back there is. I will be looking for him to contribute heavily to many clean sheets.

Dasa is a fantastic all rounder and he will shine at left back.

Malka is only 17 and will already be a regular starter. He could go on to be one of the best Israeli's of all time, let's hope we can keep hold of him.

We are allowed 5 foreigners slots and currently we have 3. One of these can become an Israeli national in about a month, whilst the other two I will be looking to sell in order to make the most of these foreigner slots and sign some stars.

 

[smp20]

12th March 2020: U's Icon Returns

After three-quarters of a season in Israel, winning a cup, making some good signings (including Alberto Cerri and Ryan Gauld) and being involved in a title race I just wasn't really feeling much of a connection with Maccabi Haifa. When I saw that the Cambridge job had become available, I immediately resign from my role in Israel and applied for it. So here we are, Wanless is back at Cambridge after nearly 20 years away from the club.

I'm pretty sure that junior coaching and/or youth recruitment have been improved.

Two seasons with Shaun Derry at the helm saw United lose in the play-off final and finish one spot outside the play-offs. Derry moved on to manage Burton while Man City youth coach Gareth Taylor took over at United. A fantastic first season under Taylor saw Cambridge clinch the last automatic promotion spot and they were able to consolidate in League One the following season. Come February 2020, Taylor has moved on, but how are Cambridge doing?

Thankfully looking comfortable in the top half of the table! With 10 games to go we are 16 points clear of relegation and just 5 points off the play-offs. These 10 games will enable me to get a good feel for the squad. It has changed a lot with just a handful of the original players, although my favourite is still there:

Luke Berry is the best player at the club and is also our captain. I'm hoping he can perform well for us.

 

[oriole01]

Wow, this was your plan all along wasn't it?  You've got your dream job, Wanless. Now don't screw up!

[smp20]

33 minutes ago, oriole01 said:

Wow, this was your plan all along wasn't it?  You've got your dream job, Wanless. Now don't screw up!

I didn't think it was at the beginning of the save, but since rejection from the job in 2017 I've always wanted it! Let's see how far I can take them.

[Bedese]

How on earth did you get Liam Feeney - a good player in the Championship - to come to Northern Ireland on £650 a week? Usually he'd want about 6k from my past experience...

[smp20]

March 2020 Update

.

A brilliant start, topped off with an outstanding spectacle away to Wigan. We went 2-0 down, 3-1 down and 4-2 down but roared back to a 5-4 victory in added time

We've soared up the league into the play-off positions, but it's very tight and we've played one more game than most. 5 games left, I hope we can keep up the momentum.

[smp20]

14 minutes ago, Jupjamie said:

How on earth did you get Liam Feeney - a good player in the Championship - to come to Northern Ireland on £650 a week? Usually he'd want about 6k from my past experience...

He wanted to be 'closer to his roots' in Northern Ireland. Seems to be a pretty persuasive reason, I've brought an old Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to Malmo on a previous FM (think 2014) for this reason also.

[Bedese]

44 minutes ago, smp20 said:

He wanted to be 'closer to his roots' in Northern Ireland. Seems to be a pretty persuasive reason, I've brought an old Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to Malmo on a previous FM (think 2014) for this reason also.

I get his reasoning, but that's a huge paycut and a massive drop down in level. Really surprised he did that when he's only 31 and still had a lot left in him. (Also, that regen striker is ridiculous for that level).

[smp20]

45 minutes ago, Jupjamie said:

I get his reasoning, but that's a huge paycut and a massive drop down in level. Really surprised he did that when he's only 31 and still had a lot left in him. (Also, that regen striker is ridiculous for that level).

I also think that him playing in the NIR trial day played a part as well, many other players that weren't interested before were willing to sign just after it. Edit: Sean O'Connor is still tearing it up for Portadown and since I left they've spent quite a lot of money on a decent side.

[smp20]

Last Five Games

We continued in fine form in April and May. The last three games saw us face 3 of the top sides around us and achieving 7 points from that shows that we can really compete with the best in the division.

To confirm we did make the play-offs! We climbed up further as well to 4th. A great chance to get to the 2nd tier and on current form we are the dark horses of the division.

Play-offs

A narrow 1-0 win away to Chesterfield set us up nicely for the home tie. Samizadeh, who had recently signed a new contract, scored an early hat-trick to put us into the final with ease. A drab first half from both sides was met by a Wanless rollocking at half time. The 2nd half performance was outstanding and we secured a place in the Championship! From 11th in League 1 to Championship in just 13 games. A brilliant start with Cambridge.

Onwards and upwards to next season. We will need to built a completely new squad, with just a handful of players good enough to make the step up. I will do a post once I have built my squad for the Championship season, a league not seen by the U's since 1993!

 

[oriole01]

Good job on the promotion. Too bad that Wolves couldn't have joined you. I'm sure you know that the Championship will be much harder, so stock up!

[smp20]

On 8/22/2016 at 20:25, oriole01 said:

Good job on the promotion. Too bad that Wolves couldn't have joined you. I'm sure you know that the Championship will be much harder, so stock up!

Cheers @oriole01 - I certainly did stock up. Been away for a few days on holiday but got half a season to update.

[smp20]

Meet The Squad - September 2020/21

Here is an overview of the transfers, as you can see I have been busy! Most of the squad had been pre-signed in June. On deadline day I decided to spend the rest of the budget on a good young centre-back. There were a lot of players released and we also made about £700k from outgoings. You will also see that I decided to bring in a familiar player - Sean O'Connor. I have a squad of 22 players, with 2 players for every position and a lot of versatile players.

Goalkeepers

I was delighted to be able to bring back home-grown John Ruddy to the club, particularly in his prime at 33 years old. His career had stagnated a bit, so it's now time to get him back on track.

Aidan is an Aussie born in Milton Keynes and he looks like a cracking prospect. He has already had a taste of first team football in August.

Right Backs

Juraj is already considered first choice right back at a very young age and I am keen to see how he develops.

Stefan is a very versatile player - one a manager loves to have. He will primarily be competition at right back, however he can cover left back, defensive mid and right wing and also centre back in a crisis.

Left Backs

Tyrone signed from Sunderland on loan for no wages, thanks to them being our parent club (since cancelled). Fast forward a couple of months and he's done his ligaments for 9 months .

Connor is one of a few players from the original squad and is now going into his 4th season at the club after being snapped up on a free transfer. Interestingly, he started his career in Spain.

Centre Backs

Semi was signed for just under quarter million and he is exactly the kind of centre back I look for - we play a high line so pace is needed!

After a successful loan spell with us last season I decided to sign John permanently.

Reece is in his 3rd season at the Abbey and was offered a new contract after some good performances in League 1. Probably not good enough for this level, but okay as a backup.

Our deadline day signing, Ro-Shaun has lots of potential and is already a key player in the squad.

Defensive Midfielders

Luke Berry is home-grown and bar one season (2014-15 at Barnsley) has spent his entire career with Cambridge. He's my favourite player IRL so expect to see some sentiment towards him going forward! An excellent roaming playmaker.

Marcus is a great young player and he will start in our DM(S) role.

David is a no-nonsense defensive mid who will act as a great squad player, particularly because he's only on £2k per week.

Stephen was offered a new contract after some fantastic performances, helping us get promoted. He will act as cover for DM, AMC & ML.

Wide Midfielders

Che will be our first choice right mid and I expect him to cause havoc with his pace.

Josh is another player with a lot of pace and with him and Che on either wing I can see us being very effective on the counter.

Lloyd was one of our early signings who I thought was going to be a first-teamer, but now he will provide cover for Adams and Sims.

Another player who starred in our promotion season, Ben is a more defensive option for either wing and he can even cover left back.

Attacking Midfielders

Jake is a game-changing player for us, I expect him to excel as a shadow striker, feeding the striker and getting into the box to score himself. He's in on loan from Southampton view a view to a permanent signing.

Siebe Schrijvers is a name known amongst many FMers - but unlike FM14 he's far from a world beater here. He's had a torrid career - 8 appearances, no goals or assists in 4 seaosns for Genk - but he is still young enough to develop and will provide good competition for Hesketh and cover both wings and up front if necessary.

Strikers

Alex is a target man type striker who was our top scorer last season with 21 league goals. He's still young and although the championship might be a bit too much of a step up for him, I have faith in him to score goals and give competition for our new signing...

He's back! Sean was snapped up for his £500k release clause from Portadown. Pace, finishing ability, work rate and aggression - everything I want in my lone striker. He will be our first choice striker, it will be interesting to see how his career pans out.

 

Overall, I am very happy with the squad that I've built. End of December update to follow!

[smp20]

2020/21 Mid-Season Update

Results: August - October

We had a fantastic first month in the Championship, winning 4, drawing 1 and unbeaten with just one goal conceded. We were knocked out of the cup by Premier League opposition on penalties which was a shame. September didn't get off to the best of starts with back-to-back loses but we found our way again and went on to loan lose one more game throughout the whole of September and October. However, our run of clean sheets went out the window and they didn't seem in sight.

Results: November - December

November started with a home loss against title hopefuls Brentford but this was followed by 5 straight victories and our defence had managed 4 clean sheets in that streak. A blip of bad form away in Yorkshire followed, but we finished the year with two victories at The Abbey.

League Table

So after 25 games played we've won 15, drawn 4, lost 6 and we are in a title race! I'm not sure if we will be able to sustain it, but we are 1 point behind Brentford and 1 point ahead of Leeds. I expect the likes of West Brom and Southampton to climb up the league in the new year. What a great first half of the season!

Player Stats

This is our best 11, however there has been plenty of rotation so far due to injuries. Tyrone Mings will miss the rest of the season so we will need to bring in a good left back in January. In defence, Halabrin is the standout player and at just 18 he is looking like a class act. McGuane and Berry have formed a great partnership in midfield, Luke has the highest rating in the league by far. Both first choice wingers have performed exceptionally well while Hesketh and O'Connor have both got into double figures already.

Our second 11 have also had a lot of opportunities in the side. Barboianu has played at right back, left back (regularly), defensive mid and right mid proving how crucial it is to have versatile players at the ready. Due to O'Connor's form, Samizadeh has mostly been limited to appearances from the bench but has still grabbed 5 goals while Schrijvers has been in and out of the side. Ben Pringle has been the preferred cover choice for the wing over Isgrove, who is likely to be leaving soon.

I don't have any wage or transfer budget left, so it will likely be one out, one in, unless I can get loans in for no wages. Edit: I've changed our expectations from avoid relegation to mid-table, with the board agreeing another £9k in wages and £200k in transfers so we do have some wiggle room now.

[smp20]

2020/21 End of Season

Transfers

First I'd like to introduce you to our two new signings in January. First, we needed a first choice left back and Josh was a perfect loan option.

Our second signing was more of a surprise one. Alex Samizadeh was complaining about a lack of football and was sold to rivals Luton of L1 for £600k, under his value but if I'm honest he wasn't the kind of striker I'd normally go for. A quick search around the transfer listed players brought up Senne, up for sale for £500k after wanting first team football at Genk, but they had two class strikers. I think that he is a real find for the price and wages and I hope he continues to develop. Lloyd Isgrove also left the club for £150k to drop down a division.

Results: January - February

We crashed out of the FA Cup to lower league opposition and our form was up and down throughout January & February.

Results: March - April

March was the month Senne announced himself. He managed to score 4 goals in a game not once, but twice. After a loss against Burnley we went on a great unbeaten run of 9 games. The late winner against Forest was crucial, it meant we went into the final game top, 1 point ahead of West Brom and 2 points ahead of Leeds, the latter we were about to play at home.

Champions!

What a way to finish the season! We were terrible in the first half but a kick up the backside spurred us on to a historic victory. Incredibly we scored two direct free kicks after going the rest of the season without scoring one. Barboianu had filled in for the injured Che Adams for the last few games and his late winner against Forest and equaliser against Leeds will be very memorable in an exciting season.

League Table

Our run of form at the end of the season made the difference for us. After Leeds lost to us their season crumbled and they lost in the play-offs to Derby. Brentford picked up the final Premier League spot by beating Derby 2-1 in the final.

Player Stats

Our two January signings entered our first 11, O'Connor lost his place as main striker due to inconsistency and a few niggling injuries. Luke Berry was the player of the season in what was clearly his best year of his career. Interestingly Josh Sims was named Championship POTY instead, and our midfield 4 of Sims, Berry, McGuane and Adams was named in the Team of the Year, with Ro-Shaun Williams also featuring. Senne Van Hove has made a great impact since signing. Overall, performances were at a very good level.

We really only had a squad of 21 as Mings spent the rest of the season out injured. Barboianu, Schrijvers and O'Connor were the pick of the Second 11, with O'Connor finishing as top goalscorer despite losing his place in the first 11.

Stadium Plans

At first I was a little bit disappointed when I saw the first message, but then I saw that we will be getting a new 33k-seater stadium . That's a lot of debt, but it's spread out over 25 years at £250k a month. If we are able to maintain our position in the Premier League then we will be able to afford it. Relegation and it could end up messy long term!

New Budget

Wow, we've been given plenty of money to play with. Our wage budget has been tripled and a very tidy transfer budget. We need to build a squad good enough to maintain a position in the Premier League, however I am reluctant to make lots of changes. We have around 5/6 players who will be leaving at the end of their contracts and our left back loans will be leaving too. I will be signing Hesketh permanently and will look for 5/6 additions that will really strengthen us and re-assess in January.

CAMBRIDGE UNITED IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE!!! 

 

 

 

[oriole01]

Big congrats! Maybe this should be a fully Cambridge-oriented save now as it looks like you'll be here for a long time. Looks like another stockup is required to be competitive in the PL.

[smp20]

14 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Big congrats! Maybe this should be a fully Cambridge-oriented save now as it looks like you'll be here for a long time. Looks like another stockup is required to be competitive in the PL.

Thank you . Yes I think I will be at Cambridge for a while, though I won't rule out moving on. Yes I will need to strengthen, but I also want to see what this crop of players are capable of at a higher level. Update to come shortly. 

[smp20]

Transfers 2021/22

Okay, I made a few more signings than expected, but we were still under budget

The first signings was Jake Hesketh (somehow cropped his name off). He was excellent for us on loan last season so it seemed sensible to bring him in permanently.

I wanted an experienced Premier League centre back and Phil Jones ticked all the boxes. He found himself transfer listed after Blackburn were relegated.

Narsingh comes in as backup for both wings - an injection of pace and skill when needed.

Another freebie, Chidozie is a very physical defensive mid, the type I feel we will need in the Premier League!

Alessandro is a good young full back who spent time on loan at Stoke last season. He hasn't enjoyed the best of starts but I'm hoping he can improve.

De Laet came in as a cover man but unfortunately picked up Knee Tendonitis and is out for 5 months. I can't see him recovering.

Our first real big name signing, Vardy took a big pay cut but is still the clubs highest earner. He is the perfect forward for my system, but he's not performing so far. I think the drop in pace, although he's still pretty quick, has made all the difference. I hope he improves soon.

Zelalem is a great signing, I see him as our long term Roaming Playmaker from DM. He was signed by Inter from Arsenal for around £10m 4 seasons ago and spent two years as a regular. However his last season with Inter was terrible making just one sub appearance and this was followed by a really poor season with Leicester forcing them to sell him a season later for nearly half what they paid. I'm confident he will do well for us though.

Signed to offer competition for right back.

Another cover player brought in on the cheap.

Wilshere was a player on my radar from early on but his agent wanted £90k a week wages.  However, fast forward a couple of months and an agent-less, club-less Wilshere was willing to sign for us. I just missed the deadline to get him in and I was worried he wouldn't be able to register, but we had empty slots so it was all good

August - September 2021 

As far as opening fixtures go we got about as tough as you could get! I was happy with the draw against Everton and the losses away to Spurs, Liverpool and City were expected. I didn't however expect to beat Man Utd and Chelsea, fantastic results! The loss against QPR was disappointing as we conceded in injury time. We've got through to the 4th round of the C1C, where we will face Man Utd at home.

Lower-mid table, lets hope we can keep it that way.