The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 This is a pair of firsts for me. Not only is it my first Career Update, after long-time lurking, but it is also the first career I have had with an end result in mind and not just pick a club, play and see how it goes. I will start at the very bottom of Dutch football and attempt to work my way up to the top in the quickest possible time. This might mean no club loyalty and it might also mean a very long career as I’m not very successful at any version of FM. So here is Sebastian Schneider. He was born in England to a Dutch father and English mother and grew up spending time in both countries (hence English as a second nationality). In terms of a playing career, think of him as the Dutch Steve Bruce…a lifetime established as a decent Eredivisie defender but somehow never capped by his country. However, Sebastian will attempt right that wrong by managing the Dutch national team to glory. The only problem is he is currently an unemployed ex-footballer with no experience and only a handful of coaching badges. I have loaded only the Dutch leagues but playable down to level six (Eerste Klasse). The file I downloaded was from the Steam community and has only one obvious issue - namely that it features no relegation from the bottom division in to the unplayable hell of the seventh tier of Dutch football. I also loaded all current international players and will add some extra leagues from foreign nations once I get to a professional club and I can start to buy players in from abroad. I started off unemployed and applied for literally every job going (which was a lot due to having very few managers at this level in the database). To cut a long story short, the first club lucky enough to approach me with a firm offer was DTS Ede. http://www.dtsede.nl/ Ede (whose name means Strength Through Training) are, like all clubs in the lower leagues, completely amateur and with a tiny squad supplemented by the youths (who are actually some of my best players). The town of Ede is an hour’s train ride from Amsterdam Schipol and lies East of Utrecht. Both the club and the town have very little remarkable to comment on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 As you can see my squad is bulked out by the youth team, some of who are good enough to warrant inclusion on merit. The age column tells you a lot about the sort of side we are. Star men are probably Van Der Wal, who managed half a dozed seasons at Go Ahead Eagles, and Pesulima, the Indonesian wing back, who played at third tier football briefly. I joined after a couple of pre-season friendlies had already taken place. We played three under my watch, narrowly beating two lower league sides and losing 2-0 to Jong Utrecht after a reasonable performance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 The chairman set us the modest target of avoiding finishing bottom of the league, which I actually feel might be the first opening season target in an FM career I have a chance of exceeding. Some other good news is that the season is only 26 games long (I love Sweden and Iceland for short seasons - especially when the Swedish 4th tier used to be just 22 games). August The season opened with two very similar games. We went behind just before half time to a goal from a set-piece but equalised not long after the break. We then scored a late winner in both through Jillert Krikke (the 92nd minute strike against De Merino’s being a highlight). We cruised past a hapless SVL before a victory over Woudenberg where we always looked comfortable. Overall, August has been an amazing month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Oh awesome. Another Dutch career! Looking forward to this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 Thanks Deisler. I i loved your Waalwijk save last year; its one of the inspirations for this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 September September started with our first dropped points of the season against Zuidvogels. We were disappointed to conceded a 72nd minute penalty equaliser. This was followed by a draw against mid-table Geinoord after our least impressive performance so far. It looked like a bad run continuing when we went one down inside five minutes to Montfoort but Krikke scored what would have been a hat-trick (one was deflected) to ease us past them. The month ended with first choice keeper Yilmaz missing meaning that we relied teenager Enzo Smits in goal. Thankfully he kept a clean sheet as we cruised past RKAV Volendam thanks to our deadly duo up front. Seriously we are screwed if Rence Van Der Wal or Jillert Krikke get injured. October begins with a top of the table clash against Aalsmeer. Then we can see what sort of season we are shaping up for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 October Aalsmeer held us to a draw in a fairly dull match for such a big clash. We were behind briefly before Krikke hit back and we couldn’t snatch a winner after a late Aalsmeer red card. We found it easy at home to Roda 46 thanks to a hat-trick of great finishes by Krikke (who also provided the assist for Van Der Wal’s late goal. An early set piece goal by AFC Reserves condemned us to our first defeat of the season. We created nothing for 80 minutes when Van Der Wal picked up an injury. The late subs made an impact as one had a shot cleared off the line before Krikke was denied an equaliser by a great save. It was sad to see our unbeaten run end. It seems like I was tempting fate last month - Rence van Der Wal has gone down with a knee ligament injury for the next 2-3 months. It looks like Vojkan Veljovic might get some more game time. The good news is that due to the Winter break and a couple of free weekends between matches we will likely only miss Van Der Wal for four games. A simple 3-1 victory against Nieuwegein, where Krikke made light of Van Der Wal’s absence by scoring another hat-trick, ended the month positively. The only downsides were a late red card for Pesulima and another injury to our already thin squad. The other big positive to end the month was that the board agreed to pay for my Continental C license. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 November and December November began with the visit of struggling VVZ 49. We took an early lead thanks to own goal (caused by the presence of that man Krikke). He then scored our second two minutes later before adding another straight after half time. I’m sure when the VVZ central defenders turn the light off they must expect to see him waiting to dive in to bed ahead of them. It was scond placed Kampong up next and Krikke hit post in opening minute. He did score a minute later and by half time he had yet another hat trick. In a quieter second half he won and converted a penalty before I took him off and wrapped him in protective material. I can honestly say I have never had a player as prolific as Jillert Krikke ever. We followed a quiet month with just one fixture in December, a game against De Merino’s in ninth place. The returning Van Der Wal was only fit enough for the bench for the return match of our home season opener, where we only secured the points with a later winner. Again we went behind to De Merino’s before Veljovic equalised (the first goal of the season not scored by our dynamic duo (not counting own goals). We threw everything at them in the second half but couldn’t find the winner. We finished the calendar year by agreeing a deal for Rodney Van Der Horn from fellow sixth tier side FVC. He will give us another body in the centre of midfield, where we lack any depth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Awesome to see another Dutch save - you're doing well so far, good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 1 hour ago, MarcxD said: Awesome to see another Dutch save - you're doing well so far, good luck! Thanks. Always nice to know someone is reading. After a few years of not really getting hooked on any particular save I can feel this one might already be one of my all time favourites. I'm rekindling the feeling I had for my Cremonese save in CMItalia or my twelve years on a budget at Hassleholm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 January and February Our transfer window began positively with the addition of Van Der Horn but then our reserve goalkeeper, Smits, left for another outfit at the same level. This was followed by right wing back Van Der Ent also leaving for a struggling side in group F. He was our first choice but, luckily Dan Van Der Wal (who filled in at left back for Pesulima) can possibly play right back. On to the game against SVL, where a set piece opener early in the game calmed our nerves. Krikke got back in to the routine with a couple before half time and we eventually cruised to a four goal victory. Bottom of the table Woudenberg were up next and Krikke scored early before we conceded two goals from set pieces. Our hot shot equalised only for Woudenberg to nick a winner. only positive was that RKAV Volendam also lost to keep our lead at the top of the table. Arguably the worst news of the transfer window was the departure of Rence Van Der Wal to another Eerste Klasse side on top of group B, Leonidas Rotterdam. Luckily Krikke flourished when Van Der Wal was injured so we can manage without him. Against Zuidvogels we again scored early through that man Krikke, before going on to win the match comfortably 4-1. There was some media speculationlinking me with available De Graafschaap job, They are 11th in the Jupiler League and I admitted to the press I would have to be interested in a Jupiler League post if the chance came to leap four levels up the pyramid. De Graafschaap’s fans admitted I could be a good appointment but nothing came of it so it was on to a match against Geinoord, who are sat in third place. This contest was a very tight game without either side looking like they would pick up all three points until we nicked a winner from a free kick quite late in the game to end the Winter on a positive note. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 March and April Against Montfort we had no Krikke due to a virus young. Luckily young midfielder Stef Laamers stepped up to add a couple of goals as well as winning the midfield battle. Young attacker Ferdi N’Gutra made the most of the opportunity to add two goals. Our youth intake added nearly a full team of players with none good enough to break in to the fist team this season except in an emergency. Next was the biggest game of the season away at second placed RKAV Volendam. Sadly a deflected clearance fell nicely to an RKAV player for the opener after half an hour. We then gave away a soft second goal straight after half time before being reduced to ten men, which killed our chances. Against Aalsmeer our hangover was evident. We barely had a kick with no shots on goal. I stayed calm and reassuring at half time then went ballistic at full time when the second half performance was even worse. With four games to go we were four point behind RKAV but all of our players were fired up after a frank appraisal of their performance. We were uninspiring against Roda 46 but a second half change prompted a spell of dominance when we scored one and threatened a few more. The AFC reserves game was a tepid display with neither side looking like scoring. Krikke’s goals have dried up at an unfortunate moment for us as our promotion charge looks dead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 May We began the final month of the season against Nieuwegein. A poor performance was disappointing even though we knew we had very little chance of overhauling RKAV who only needed one point from last two. We did snatch a draw but all that did was confirm we are a sixth tier side next season again. Finally we slipped to third win against VVZ. It was 0-0 going into injury time when a winner would take us second. We pushed up, conceded on the counter and finished the season in third. I applied for job at NAC Breda , who had finished 16th in Jupiler League and was offered an interview. While I was waiting to hear back, DTS Ede came to me offering a one year deal on mammoth £35 per week. More exciting was the chance to go part time with a £3k wage budget (which is ridiculous for this level). Our current income is £1k per month! NAC turned me down so I signed the one year deal but with only 10% compensation required so that any club can afford to hire me. I celebrated my staying for now by adding Andy Van Der Meyde (the former Ajax and Everton midfielder) as a youth coach. I had to pay a whopping £65 per week from my new budget. Summer A bit gutted to still be in the sixth tier after such a promising start to last season. I am going to keep looking for jobs at a higher level but in the mean time I can be happy with a board who love me and a wage budget I love. Didn't bother applying for a couple of relegation threatened teams in the fifth tier so it was on to recruitment. Transfers were a mixed bag. We lost inconsistent but talented young midfielder Stef Laamers but added a better replacement in Abbas Al-Taminy (the first player I have paid as a part-timer). This was followed by snapping up a new right back in Ferry Mulder. Left winger Tjeerd Korf drop down one division to become veteran presence and part time youth coach (experience of life at PEC Zwolle for six seasons). Bas Bosma released by Lisse in fourth tier to be our new reserve goalkeeper with some future potential board asked to be around the top of the table. Gillian Davids (my favourite young centre back) chose to move on. Young full back Dan Van Der Wal also chose to move on but we were able to secure another striker option in Elzou Braafheid. Youth team centre back Stef Jochumsen ( who could have replaced Davids) also moved on but I was able to secure Stan Ypenburg as my first choice replacement as I had been tracking him for about six months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 14, 2016 Author Share Posted November 14, 2016 Here is teh squad that will challenge for promotion this season. Again note teh relience on some young lads. August We couldn’t start any the season any better. Roda 46 were brushed aside as Al-Taminy scored two on his debut, Krikke looked back to his best with two goals and Ypenburg looked a dominant centre half. Next up were Leeuwarder Zwaluwen where Krikke scored from a long punt upfield. A quiet chat with Braafheid at half time paid dividends when he smashed one in 20 seconds after the restart. Krikke added another to seal the deal. Next we were away at relegated Urk. Krikke scored from a gorgeous Pesulima cross before the wingback repeated the trick for Braafheid five minutes later and we were on the way to a comfortable win. Finally we had Kampong, a game in which we were uninspiring but sneaked one goal to be top of table at end of month without having conceded a single goal. We have got to be happy with that start and look to avoid fading away later in the campaign as we did last year Indeed the only bad news this month was Rodney Van Der Horn left in the final hour of the transfer window with no time for us to secure a replacement except Hans Ter Have who we gave a trial to early in pre-season but decided against signing at the time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 September We started the month with Nieuwegein and a steady 2-0 win. Against VVZ, we were level at the break after finally conceding first goal of the season but scored three late goals to ease away. Geinoord was a top versus second clash when we had the worst performance of season so far and deservedly lost to a late goal in the only real chance of note in whole match. It was another tough game next against third placed AFC reserves, who we struggled against last year. We edged the game but couldn’t hold on to a lead and ended up all square. As a result Geinoord leap-frogged us to go top. Aalsmeer nullified us completely after a tactical gamble failed we lost 2-0 without ever really challenging October and November Against De Merino’s we were desperate to win to end and our wobble as well as get revenge over two of our ex-players including talented youngster Laamers. Luckily one goal from Al-Taminy bursting forward was all it took. S’Gravenzande scored against us very early from a set piece then sat back. We made a second half change bringing on Veljovic for Braafheid and he immediately supplied an equaliser for Krikke before setting him up for a late winner with a great cross. At this point the press linked me with the Den Bosch job - they are bottom of the Jupiler League so it would be a massive step up. Of course I said I was flattered by the link. The press had me as the favourite so I popped in an application. That was the last thing I did before I lost keeper Yilmaz for two months thanks to a training injury and had to cope with teenage between the sticks. We went behind away at SVL behind to contentious penalty but Krikke had a cross deflected in to drag us level and secure a point. At this point Den Bosch then offered me the interview for the big gig of saving them from the third tier. Hmmn...what to do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Sorry for the long delay and leaving anybody reading with a cliffhanger. I couldn't turn down such a big opportunity to leap up four levels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Den_Bosch I moved an hour South West to the city S-Hertogenbosch for a shot at the big time. The first thing I needed to do was to talk to vice captain Bieleman and reassure him he could have his dream move to Belgium. I then added Korf and Van Der Meyde from Ede to help out on the coaching staff. Though the squad is a little light in certain areas for my preferred three at the back, I feel quite optimistic. My predecessor was sacked for drawing too many and there is scope for moving up the table. I also have a little money to play with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 November and December On the pitch, we opened with a 1-1 draw salvaged against Fortuna Sittard. Then I heard the news from Ede that Krikke broke his leg in training and will be out for a year! I immediately asked to do my continental B license badge and was given the green light. Our main striker Bilate was keen to move to Almere and nagged me about it. As he has only scored one goal all year despite leading the attack, I will take any money for him that I can use to buy a replacement I have chosen. Against Den Bosch we scored then conceded an equaliser within a minute. We scored another set-piece header shortly after and held on for the first win of the new era before a point away at Jong Ajax. At 4th place Emmen we nearly caused an upset when want-a-way striker Bilate smashed a shot off the inside of the post. Still a scoreless draw is another positive step. Next was a cup game against NAC Breda where I looked at a few of the players that had not yet played for me didn’t work out as we lost by a single goal but at least we can focus on league. Back in the Eerste Divisie, we led Jong AZ for a while after superb long range effort from Brouwers but were pegged back late as our strikers again failed to score from open play. We have not had a front player score from open play yet while I have been here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Great move up! You should do well there. I'm just glad that RKC aren't bottom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 2 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Great move up! You should do well there. I'm just glad that RKC aren't bottom So you would think but I describe the next part of the season as a bit meh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 January We started our transfer business by adding promising young midfielder Tommie De Looi and cheap attacking option Mytidis. This was financed by miserable striker Bilate, who went out for £220k. I also followed this up by but adding three young depth replacements on loan from Juventus to cover for our spate of injuries. On the pitch we played 4th place MVV and Mytidis supplied an assist inside two minutes on debut. He built an instant rapport with Schet. MVV drew level and the game stayed that way until tiring Mytidis was replaced with our Juventus target man loanee Mastropietro, who set Schet up for a winner with his first touch. Then we played NAC with Mytidis again a handful but he took a groin injury that will limit him severely. We controlled possession and made a 1-0 look fairly comfortable. Off the pitch I was able to add Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist, a young Swedish attacker from PSV, to complement Mytidis in the future. I was desperate to acquire Danish defender Nicolaisen but he wouldn’t discuss terms despite us agreeing to a hefty £400k deal with Ikast. Achilles was a disappointing first league defeat under me when Mytidis was unable to provide any threat playing with an injection. Now he will miss several games. The good news is my unbeaten run at the club coincided with the start of a playoff period. With two games left against local rivals Oss and in-form Go Ahead, two wins will guarantee a play-off spot. One last minute business involved letting go of a youth striker with promise for £40k plus future clauses but purchasing veteran Eerste Divise defender Van Der Kooy from Den Haag and young French star centre back Severin from Juventus for £135k. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 February and March An awful derby performance against Oss meant we comfortably lost 2-0. We led against Go Ahead for 76 minutes but still only took one point and any remaining optimism for the season disappeared after a deeply disappointing loss to Jong PSV, who were previously below us in the table. We snatched a point against Telstar before a narrow defeat to De Graafschaap. The game against struggling FC Eindhoven swung back and forth and ended with the scores level. The worst news was that Dordrecht have suddenly started winning and now we are bottom with the relegation trapdoor looming wide open beneath us. We then lost to in-form Groningen, after which I had to reassure the board we could survive, before facing top of the table Heracles. They finally broke us down after 75 minutes and added a second on the counter as we pushed forward. RKC we battled to a 1-1 draw. mid-table Helmond on a long unbeaten run but Mytidis rocketed one in from outside the box. We hung on fairly comfortably, though they rattled the bar very late on. I forgot to screenshot the table but we are joint bottom with Dordrecht, who we play in our final game of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Boo with your late draw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 17 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Boo with your late draw At this stage every point is a godsend. Three games to go and joint bottom...every training session is defending now and I'm a little fearful of the drop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 April First up in the relegation dogfight was Fortuna Sittard. They hit the bar in the first minute and we went the length of the field on the counter. Sadly, we couldn’t maintain it for ninety minutes and lost 4-3 to a late goal. Every point is priceless and that one would have kept us off the bottom. We played well against mid-table Volendam and won a point. This, along with the result for Jong AZ meant that we face a massive last say of the season. We were going into the final game against bottom club Dordrecht knowing that a draw would guarantee survival for us and the loser would definitely go down. Mytidis hit the inside of the post after twenty minutes and I was worried it was not going to be our day. However, unbelievably that was pretty much the only penalty area action in the entire game and I have never been so delighted to secure a 0-0 draw. Onwards to next season and a massive clear out of deadwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Congrats on surviving. Onwards and upwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 4 hours ago, Deisler26 said: Congrats on surviving. Onwards and upwards. Thanks. Do you get the feeling only you and I are reading this thread? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willigenburg Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 @The Silence Of The Allams I'm also here.. Lurking! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 Very stealthy ? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted November 30, 2016 Author Share Posted November 30, 2016 The Summer began with the promotion of Andy Van Der Meyde to be my assistant manager. In the transfer market we signed our Juventus former loan striker Mastropietro on a free transfer as a back-up to Mytidis before adding young Willem II goalkeeper Mattijs Branderhorst for £50k. I was linked with the vacant Telstar job link but I had no interest. The big moment came when Eredivisie side Roda JC came in with a derisory offer for captain Niek Vossebelt. Of course I said no so Vossebelt came to me asking why I wouldn’t allow him to move to an Eredivise club. Now he’s in a sulk, I found a Polish replacement valued at £20k but his club quoted me £6m. Worse was the Danish club who quoted me £30m for their right back who was valued at 1/60 of that. Ultimately, Roda came back with a non-negotiable offer a little higher than their original so I accepted and started to look for a replacement. I found several five star players but they all are either out of our budget or won’t discuss terms. I will keep hunting but for now Luuk Brouwers will have to take on a more defensive role. A final piece of business involved loaning a Juventus wing back named Favre, who may win a starting place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 August and September The season began against NAC and a solid 1-1 draw away from home. Against Jong Utrecht, Mytidis went down injured but his replacement bagged the only goal of the game. PEC Zwolle ended in a clear defeat followed by the game with Jong Ajax that was a drab goalless draw. A single goal was enough to edge past bottom Achilles 29. Mastropietro, who was still standing in for Mytidis, scored a hat-trick in a rout of FC Eindhoven. Then away at Cambuur, we took the only chance of the match with a long ball that fell nicely to Mastropietro. The big game of the month was against Oss in a heated local derby. Some unkind pre-match comments from my opposite number made the single goal early from Mastropietro very satisfying. This was before we just strangled the game. Apparently the Oss manager said he would put out tinpot club in its place next time! In the cup we drew Eredivisie Roda JC, they of the very short arms and deep pockets. I rotated the squad making five changes and fit-again Mytidis came back in and set up two first half goals to settle the tie in our favour. Our former captain Vossebelt was not in the team and I smiled quietly to myself. The final league game of the month against Volendam was also the final game of the first phase. If we won, we would likely top the table and be guaranteed a play-off spot. Despite two early serious injuries to Favre and Brouwers, we did win 1-0 only to find that Helmond scored a 87th minute winner to win 4-3 and finish above us on goals scored! To add injury to insult, Both Favre and Brouwers will be out for six weeks or more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 October The game against Telstar was a challenge due to injuries in training as well as the hangover from the previous match and missing a play-off spot. We were disappointing and deserved to come away with nothing. Next was Fortuna Sittard with both Mytidis and Lundqvist away on international duty meant we had several empty spots on the bench. It didn’t matter as we cruised to a comfortable two goal win. That man Mastropietro stayed hot against De Graafschap. We played tight and scored the only goal from a Mastropietro screamer. Then the game with MVV featured Mastropietro magic again with a header taht started the rout. He is keeping Mytidis out of the team that cruised to a 4-0 win. The disappointment was that Van De Looi made our task next week harder by getting a needless second yellow card. The month finished with a cup game against Utrecht from the Eredivisie. I rotated six players and went three goals down before rallying and almost forcing extra time..perhaps my squad is a little deeper than I thought. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 November We started the month against struggling Go Ahead Eagles where a single goal victory after Havar was sent off after half-time was enough. We were fortunate a very late equaliser was ruled out for offside. We played RKC and secured yet another 1-0 victory to make it now five clean sheets on the bounce. Sadly our biggest game of the season so far against Helmond was less positive. We didn’t play well away at our nearest rivals and lost. We got back to form against Jong PSV with another dull 1-0 win. A single point against Jong AZ should secure top spot at the end of the stage and a play-off place and we duly managed to achieve that despite throwing away a two goal lead. Still, that single point secured our play-off spot. Now it is about whether we can win the title and secure automatic promotion or not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 December For the game with Emmen, I made some personnel changes which didn’t really work out and we were held to a draw. Next was NAC Breda, who are at the bottom of the table. We missed several easy chances but a horrendous goalkeeping error helped us take the lead. We looked in trouble when we conceded a soft late equaliser but then nicked an even later winner to secure the points. For the game with PEC Zwolle we secured another draw despite an unconvincing performance. Twice we led but gave away some poor goals to take away a single point from the final match of the month against Jong Utrecht. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 January and February As the transfer windown opened we added Martin van Maastrigt from the Groningen reserve team to bolster the midfield for £165k. he is defintely one for the future but gives us depth now. The year started poorly against Jong Ajax when we defended set-pieces badly by our standards. We pulled one back but the game ended in defeat. This game was followed up by a chanceless 0-0 draw with struggling Achilles 29. We are somehow still top but this result was a major disappointment. I turned down a 100k bid for Mytidis, even though he is no longer first choice. I can’t rely on one striker for all my goals. Injuries and suspensions hit at the end of the window so I panicked and added two more Juventus loanees (defender Almeider and midfielder Thiam). If we are to go up this year I want to channel resources at the title bid. We lost from a winning position at Eindhoven before we got a win against Cambuur. We finally played well this calendar year after a lot disappointments and won comfortably. A freak own goal against bitter local rivals Oss sent them bottom and us top. The sweetest moment of this success was that the Oss manager, who called us a tinpot club, got sacked after that defeat. Back to top form, we finished off February with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Telstar to extend our advantage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the--dud Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Nicely done! I imagine if you get promoted you'd probably get some offers to manage other clubs... Tough decision if you want to build upon what you've done with this team in the top division or take over a completely unknown team... I suppose if you got offered the Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV job you'd jump at the chance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 5 hours ago, the--dud said: Nicely done! I imagine if you get promoted you'd probably get some offers to manage other clubs... Tough decision if you want to build upon what you've done with this team in the top division or take over a completely unknown team... I suppose if you got offered the Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV job you'd jump at the chance Definitely. I'm so close to promotion and my squad is fit for what I want to do. I know my players pretty well now. Taking a mid-table job is not likely to be a big step up and keeping Den Bosch up would build the cv nicely. I would love one of the big three jobs if they became available (my first choice would be Feyenoord). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 March We brushed aside Volendam after Mastropietro and Lundqvist combined brilliantly to set each other up. We faced 18th placed Fortuna and went behind inside a minute. Uncharacteristically it took only another two minutes to lose a second goal and finish the match as a spectacle. We then played De Graafschap and a mis-hit cross helped us to take the lead, which we never relinquished. At home to Go Ahead Eagles, we played a solid game and won 1-0. We finished such a key month against RKC Waalwijk at fortress Mandemakers, when we had a depleted squad due to injuries, suspensions and under-21 call-ups. Lundqvist rifled in a first half goal before one of the centre backs scored from a direct free-kick in stoppage time at the break to secure the victory. This is now four clean sheets in a row and a maximum of seven points from the final four games will secure the title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Congratulations!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the--dud Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Congrats Will be interesting to see next season how you'll do against Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord! I suspect they will be a completely different league... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torminator Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Wow congratulations! i'm also lurking this thread but will comment once in a while to let you know this thread is being enjoyed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silence Of The Allams Posted December 18, 2016 Author Share Posted December 18, 2016 Thanks for your kind words. I have not played for nearly a week because real life keeps getting in the way but hopefully I can post an update because Christmas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.