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R.W.S Bruxelles


argento

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Mostly loans on people out so far.  The first three I already shared earlier.  The other players leaving permanently are John Orozco who I signed a year ago on a free from Westerlo but he was only a bit part player so I decided to cash in, Bex was a youth prospect that has done well out on loan but isn't good enough to compete in the middle of the park for us so I let him go as he way well still be able to develop into a potential player for the national side.  Carlos Andre was very ineffectual for us and was attracting a bit of interest and with Abdel Gawad and Andreasen to come back end of the season I thought I would cash in now rather than him drop any more value sitting in the reserves.

 

I has been quite a frustrating window so far a few big players were on the move and I went in for all of them but they all turned me down frustratingly. Here are the 3 nearly men as I looked for the big marquee signing.

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Yeah that's right 3 Belgian sides in the Champions League group  phase.  RB Leipzig are a decent team but I should have no problems with that group and we do not want a repeat of last year!  Genk should be nailed on for finishing 3rd past Malmo but to qualify over Real Madrid or Man Utd would be really tough.  Poor Anderlecht have it worst as they are drawn in Group B which I can only see them struggling in.

 

Things went from bad to worse for our noisy neighbours after we smashed them 6-0 in the league but the game will always be remembered for the introduction of Nenad Dosen to the RWS fans.  I signed him for £1M a year ago and he spent last season on loan at Willem II, with Vanneste joining Real Madrid and my inability to sign and big names I decided rather than send him back out on loan to give him a shot.  Instant pay off

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Back to International duty, first up a pointless friendly v Malta which is exactly what it was, sadly unless I agree to a first team friendly it seems the U'21 sides do not get one either.

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Back to World Cup qualifying as we take on the unbeaten Ukraine

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Cruised past them and with Portugal dropping points again we stay top. Our remaining games are Georgia (H), Portugal (H) and Ukraine (A) providing we don't get beat in the last two games I am confident we will qualify as group leaders

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Won the game comfortably as expected, Banza has really settled well into this lone striker system for Belgium and has netted 20 times for me since I took over as manager of the national side.

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Disappointing to lose to Portugal it has thrown the group wide open.  We had plenty of shots but just couldn't finish it.

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So all to play for with one game to go, Portugal still have to play Ukraine and then we go to Ukraine for the last game.  

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Portugal and Ukraine drew 0-0 so it is a three team shoot out for qualification.  Whoever finishes 2nd will not qualify either as they will not meet the criteria of having at least 17 points to break the top 3 2nd placed teams.  A draw should see us through as if level on points it is decided on goal difference so unless Portugal beat Georgia 14-0 just a point will do.  

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After a poor first half with no real chances the game comes alive in the 2nd half and we draw first blood as Matumbo heads in from Kayembe's cross.  Portugal are winning as well as it stands, we top the group

 

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We are going to Japan 34!

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Here is all the qualifiers for the World Cup

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Qatar bounce back from having the world cup taken away from them in 26 to qualify 8 years later and Syria are probably the biggest surprise.  Germany nearly missed out the scraped in as the 3rd best 2nd placed team.

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On 13/5/2017 at 00:14, argento said:

Kano who finally took the mantle from Gonzalez as our top striker last season returned just in time for the Super Cup after being away at the East Asian Cup with Japan, I reckon he will end up being the most capped player ever.  Over 100 caps at just 23.  Such a class player and a bargain at just £2M

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I'm dying to see Yano's octagon. Please please please! 

Billedresultat for pls pls pls gif

Edit: Add Francis Taylor as well. :D 

On 13/5/2017 at 12:52, argento said:

 

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Oh, and good trip to Japan '34!

 

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We have dropped a few points in the league drawing a few games and losing to Genk but none of the other sides have really challenged us, Club Brugge have made a solid start and after a few struggling years Gent are back in the top 6 and it is good to see the more traditional bigger names at the top end of the table

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We qualified from the group stage of the Champions League with a game to spare, was disappointed to lose to RB Leipzig but we topped the group so I hoped we would avoid some of the top teams.  We ended up getting Real Madrid but we have a great record against them so hopefully that run will continue, pick of the round is Barcelona v Chelsea a repeat of last years final

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We had 3 players make the team of the year, Baggerman played half of the year for us before joining Chelsea in the summer.  

 

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De Witte has been around a while now but with Gargano my preferred AMC I decided to let him go as I figured it would be best for him and the Belgian national side if he is playing regularly.  He will be a key player for us at the world cup.  I hope he does well at Bayern

 

 

 

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Just one player arriving as Andersson joins from Malmo for his minimum release of £3.1M, promptly goes to Standard Liege on loan till the end of the season

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Thankfully a 6-2 demolition at the Bernabeau was enough to see us through as we held Madrid at home in a rather lacklustre second leg.  We take on Mourinho's mob in the quarters in what will be a very tough game

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The rest of the draw looks like this

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From our youth intake the coaches think this is the best player of the bunch, I am not overly excited but he has decent determination so if he knuckles down and gets tutored he might end up becoming a player who has a big future here

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We have remained unbeaten so fat in 2034 and only dropped points in the league when we laboured to a draw against Cercle Brugge in the penultimate game of the regular season, all the big boys have qualified for the Championship group. Club Brugge are just 6 points behind us and it is still pretty open as any of the top 6 could take the 3rd spot and a shot at Champions League qualification

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We picked up the Croky Cup again after Genk crumbled, Gonzalez may be 34 but he can still do a job as he grabbed a brace in the final 

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We also look good to qualify for the semi finals as we take a 2 goal advantage going into the return leg at Old Trafford.

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When we went 1-0 up I thought the tie was done and dusted but we bottled it in the second half conceding three times with them levelling the tie in the last minute, with away goals not separating the sides we headed into penalties.  Fearing the worst matters only got worse when we missed our first two pens but thankfully Mourinho's boys were equally inept at penalties missing their first two as well.  When Slogar missed Gobbi stepped up and held hid nerve to send us into the semi finals.

We have the toughest draw in the semi finals as we were drawn out against PSG.  Arsenal knocked out reigning champions Barcelona to meet Bayern Munich in the other semi final.  

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Probably the longest career I have had on FM for a while now, my Peruvian save could of been this had it not been ruined by bugs, still proud of this achievement.

 

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We managed to keep things tight in Paris then blow them away in Brussels, pleased to have got into my third European final in a row albeit last years being the Europa League.  Bayern are going to be tough opposition and it sees me take on Willy De Witte who left in January.  Tickets to Madrid booked

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With injuries hitting us quote hard in the Championship round we dropped a fair few points losing 4 of our last 6 games, I also rested a few players but still not exactly golden form going into the final.  Still we wrapped up the title with more than a few games to go so the games were of little importance

Anderlecht ovetake Club Brugge to take the Champions League group spot so Brugge will have to navigate through the qualifiers, Genk had a season to forget finishing out of the top 3 for the first time in a long while, they will be hoping to bounce back soon.  Genk and Club Brugge both got the 2nd knockout round of the Europa League before faltering and Liverpool beat Dortmund in the final.

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3 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Absolutely great stuff. Where does Belgium sit in the European coefficients these days?

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We have been 6th for a few years now, we did lose our 2nd guaranteed group slot a few years back but last 3 years we have managed to maintain it.  To be fair unless the other clubs can get some more success in Europe this is about as good as it is going to get.  Will be extremely hard to get any higher I feel.

 

So it is time for the big final in Madrid as you can see from the line ups I have been decimated by injuries, Gargano who has scored in both our European successes is injured as is Gauthier so N'Diaye drops to left back. Stromberg and Gobbi are both injured long term and back up DMC Staropoli is on International duty with the Argentine U'20 side.  De Witte and Skornyakov also line up against me after their big money moves to Bayern.

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Bayern take the lead in Madrid and Willy De Witte is the architect as his clever ball over the top lands perfectly for Romero who out paces our entire defence and he slots it past our keeper.

 

 

HT Bayern 1 WS Bruxelles 0

We are struggling big time so I take off Gonzalez and move Banza up front and slot in Nuno Costa as my AMC he isn't completely fit but he will have to do, N'Diaye is struggling at left back and is at 51% so Tuck comes in to replace him as we try and turn this around

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The corner is chucked in the mixer but Bayern scramble it away Banza floats it back in and Clodaldo nods it in from 2 years its an equaliser in the 86th minute!!!  No wait he is offside, heartbreak in Madrid

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Somehow we have done it with seconds remaining we have levelled it up, Banza runs at the defence and manages to thread the needle as he slips in substitute Costa who slots it in from close range.  Unbelievable scenes in Madrid as we enter extra time!!  Now lets find a winner!

 

FT 1-1

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Absolute scenes in Madrid as the boys from Brussels attempt to steal the cup.  Another poor clearance from the Bayern boss see's ex-Dortmund youngster Eckl take a touch before slotting in Yano and the Japanese man does not miss from that distance as he curls the ball past the keeper!  

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Game over with what the commentators called a stupendous finish from Yano, the striker nets his 46th goal of the season and his 2nd in extra time with a magnificent strike from the edge of the box.  Tuck with a nose bleed he's so far forward as the makeshift full back squares it to Yano who doesn't even need a touch to hammer it past the helpless keeper.  We have turned this round completely.  Bayern were seconds from victory 30 minutes ago but it looks like their 15 year wait to bring the trophy home is going to be a little longer!

 

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Champions of Europe again.

 

Now can we finally win the European Super Cup at the 4th time of asking?

First things first its time to leave Darren Fletcher running things in Brussels as I take the Red Devils to Tokyo for Japan 34!  World Cup is here.

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1 minute ago, ManUtd1 said:

Nicely done! Willy de Witte remains one of my favorite regen names of all time.

What's your long-term plan? Continue pillaging Europe?

I need that European Super Cup.  I would like to win back to back Champions League titles as then I feel that there is no debate that we are the best side in Europe.  Gonzalez is 34 now and his contract expires end of next season and that could be a good send off for the save if we could capture the cup again.  Maybe stay on as just Belgium manager or look for a new challenge in this save.  I am kind of interested to see what would happen to the club after my departure.

As for Willy De Witte he will always be one of my favourites on this save, I only sold him as now I am Belgium manager I felt I needed him playing every week.

 

As for Japan 34 here is the groups

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Its a group we should get out of, Brazil is a tough draw but I look at Group G and there is some decent tams but no one that I feel we need to avoid.  The FA expect me to reach the quarter finals that is my aim as well to get at least to the last 8.  Considering when I took over 2 years ago we were ranked 68th in the World I still think they are being ambitious with their expectations.  I was hoping for less pressure

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All those talents we nurtured over the years, Itto Bul is one name that stands out he signed on a free in our first season in the top division banged a shed load of goals and spent over a decade at Schalke he has over 160 caps and 130 goals and is now at the end of his career and still scoring goals for Monaco, a great one season wonder for us.  Lot of big names on this list which just shows how far the club has come as we were lucky to have just a few names on this list before, also shows we struggle to hold onto big names.

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A fair few Brussels players on show in Japan.  Lot of our youngsters getting time to shine on the big stage. Shout out to our ever growing Egyptian contingent.  Lorenzo Gargano is my tip for player of the tournament he is world class and been European Golden Boy twice and the Germans are favourite, my boy Banza for golden boot!

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Our pre-tournament friendlies went without a hitch with two wins.  Gauthier is still out and will probably miss the first two games but will be back for the latter stages should we qualify.  Pretty much a clean bill of health so looking forward to starting the tournament tomorrow!

 

Also after getting promoted from the 2nd tier of the International league we have a shot of winning the whole thing and are drawn out against Portugal who beat us twice in qualifying for the World Cup but failed to qualify for the tournament and Turkey who were runner ups at the Euros 2 years ago, tough group.  The main aim is not get relegated again, it is a winnable group though so I guess we do have a shot at this thing

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Perfect start to the tournament, big win so we will have superior goal difference should it come to it and Banza getting a brace, De Witte did pick up a knock though and will miss the rest of the group games.

 

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Banza with the winner, we laboured in this game I dropped N'Diaye as he was booked against Qatar and I wanted him available for the crunch game with Brazil.  The last game is now just to decide who tops the group as we both qualify.  Would rather avoid Colombia if I can and a draw v Brazil would be enough for us to win the group.  Would like South Africa to qualify as we have a strong contingent in Brussels and a fair ex Bafana Bafana players still in their ranks. 

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Wow was very surprised to nick this but we just took our chances better, Banza scoring again!  Perfect start for us and despite a few set backs we managed to hold on, N'Diaye got booked again and will miss the 2nd round match up but will be back for the quarters should we make it. Lets see who else made it through

 

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So the hosts crash out with a 1-0 win in the last game unable to prevent them from falling at the first hurdle.  England continue to struggle with losses to Egypt and France failing to qualify and the biggest surprise has to be the Germans out already despite being pre-tournament favourites.  Lets have a look at our possible route to glory

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South Africa are a decent side winning the African Nations 3 years ago and they were runner ups last year. With 3 Brussels players in the squad and 4 ex-players as well a lot of familiar faces.  Joseph Pienaar our hero from the European League final a year ago is the key man for them and the 27 uear old has made 105 caps for them.  Should we navigate past them we face either Serbia or Mexico.  Mexico beat both Holland and Germany in the groups and are clearly a good side, Serbia are no pushovers either. 

 

 

After netting his 4th goal of the tournament Banza also achieved another milestone as he become the nations top scorer bagging his 57th International goal, lets hope he can add a few more yet and at 27 he is now coming into his peak.

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EDIT

Game just crashed the last time I saved was just after the Guinea Bissau game so this last post is now probably completely irrelevant.  Gutted to have to do the Brazil game again

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It took 120 minutes but we managed to squeeze past France to take Belgium to their first World Cup Final.  All that stands in our way now are reigning Champions Argentina who will look to be the side to retain the trophy since neighbours Brazil achieved the feat back up in 1962 in Chile.

Argentina are host to some familiar players for me as ex players Gustavo Freitas, Hernan Moreno, Ramiro Lemmo, Ernesto Alaniz and Ramiro Rolon Martinez are in the squad as well as current Brussels stars Carlos Gobbi and Javier Vega.

 

We have a clean bill of health into the final and no suspensions and thus no excuses just going against the best team in the world for the biggest trophy in the game, lets do this

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Not the start we wanted as Llama breaks down the left and whips it into the near post where Rolon Martinez gets between the defenders and heads home in the 9th minute, 1-0 to the reigning champions

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Half time sees Argentina hold onto their lead and I make 2 changes Pelletier is off at the back for Tuck and Vanneste comes off for Madani who will play alongside N'Diaye as a DMC as we match the Argentinean formation.

 

It has an instant reaction 

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Yes we are back in it, just 3 minutes after the break a ball over the top from Kayembe meets Banza who takes a touch steadies himself and slots it past the keeper who is in no mans land as he attempts to close the angle off.  Game on 1-1

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Gauthier swings the ball in and as Mutombo tries to reach the ball he is brought down and the ref points to the spot, penalty for Belgium!

Madani the young 20 year old at PSV picks up the ball to take the penalty after coming off the bench at half time in only his 6th cap, what a way to introduce yourself to the world on the grandest stage of them all

 

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He's seen it saved!  Still 2-1 Argentina.  The Red Devil fans can't believe it, Cajon the hero in the Argentinean goal.

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Unable to find another goal, Argentina retained their trophy in Yokohama.  Great display from the boys to get this far considering their recent exploits have been shocking to say the least.  With that being said I was finding it hard to manage both Belgium and  Brussels so

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I may well return to International management again if the job becomes available but I feel I've laid some foundations down for the next gaffer and bedded in a few more players into the set up and have taken them from 68th in the World Rankings and leave them in 5th.

For now it is time to focus on what may well be my final season in Brussels.

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With World Cup heartbreak pushed to the back it is time to go back to the day job, once again I released a fair few youth players who weren't up to scratch and a load of prospects have left on loan.  Daniel Kuchar departs the keeper was on loan at Genk a few years ago and did little to impress and with his contract winding down he departs for a small fee to Oostende.  Kim Andreasen the Danish striker leaves permanently he has spent time on loan at Inter Milan and Club Brugge so when Atletico chucked money at him I decided to let him go. 

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Now who is joining our ranks?

 

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Made his International bow at the recent World Cup and joins for £375,000 as a potential long term successor to Gauthier, in the mean time he heads to Mechelen on loan to gain some valuable experience

 

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Been looking at this guy for 18 months and with the constant interest in Farrell I need another option at RB, he signed on a bosman from Wolfsburg and would be a class act for any side in our league.

 

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He may have missed the penalty in the World Cup final but he is still a class act and is very talented I spent £24M luring this guy from PSV.  Will compete with Gobbi in the middle of the park.

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Another player I brought through at International level, he signs from Club Brugge for £28.5M.  I only have Gargano as a natural AMC at the club and this guy is a huge talent.  Will mainly feature off the bench but will start in Croky Cup games.

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If you fail, try again.

We have done it at the 4th time of asking, it did rely on new boy Madani scoring a 90th minute equaliser and then John Campbell performing penalty heroics but we have done it.  I have now won every trophy I possibly can with Brussels.  I am seriously contemplating calling time with this team at the end of the season.  But where to go? I guess I have a while to figure that out.  Few more aims for this season if it could be my last.  We have never gone a league season unbeaten can we become the invincibles?  Also to retain the Champions League.  No Pressure hey

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A load more departures and a few of the first team squad left this summer.  Clodoaldo joined Real Madrid he is a very talented defender and spent 6 years here but he spent most of his time on the bench last season so I let him go.  Justin Tuck signed on a free and after a solid World Cup for Belgium joins Tottenham, not a bad fee either for a back up player.  The other players to leave permanently were players with a year left on their deals and either weren't too happy or were not going to make my first team squad so I cashed in on them.

Both Galad and Kano picked up injuries leaving them out for 3 months a piece leaving just Banza and a 34 year old Gonzalez.  I decided I needed a reinforcement.  Cotrim arrives from Palmeiras for £33M potential rising to £42.5M, I spent maybe more than I needed but with Spurs also showing interest I didn't want to get pipped.

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We might be reigning Champions of Europe but why join us when you can go and play for Bournemouth.....  Doesn't matter how much our reputation has improved or how much the leagues reputation has grown we can't compete for any players signature so we have to always get their first before anyone else goes after them.  This is getting harder and harder especially since Premier League clubs keep stealing away my scouts.

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The Champions League draw, a few tough groups there.  Ajax are decent but we should still progress without a hitch

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5 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Congrats on the Super Cup win, which hopefully is a salve of sorts for the Belgium result. Overall, tremendous stuff per usual!

Yeah the holy grail, have to admit my interest in staying in Brussels is seriously waning.  As you can see from below we had an epic start in the league winning 13 games on the bounce until we lost to Zulte thus ending our hopes of an unbeaten season.  Shockingly we lost to Tigres in the semi finals of the World Club Cup, they would go onto win  the whole thing beating Sao Paulo in the final.

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Champions League went quite well but this time we were the on the wrong side of goal difference in the group meaning we went into the draw unseeded and we are drawn out against Barcelona who I would of preferred to have avoided at this stage

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Transfer Window

 

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Costa leaves for his minimum release fee to PSG.  I have good depth in my CM's although I do lose Pienaar for a month as well to the African Nations Cup

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Gonzalez has been wanting to go home for a while now and he is barely featuring so I let him go to Real Socidedad till the end of the season.  Felt he had earned that.

 

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2 hours ago, DazRTaylor said:

Still loving your save.  :thup:

Glad your still enjoying it!!

 

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Don't care if it is away goal or not at least we are through!  We head into the last 8 and we have a repeat of last years final as we take on Bayern Munich.  No Spanish sides make it through and Italian teams continue to disappoint 

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Croky Cup winners again and in some style

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Just the one loss in the league in the regular season so still not managed to pull off an invincible's.

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The bid to retain our trophy ended as Bayern got some revenge after last years final.  Losing 1-0 at home put us on the back foot but I still had high hopes.  When we went 2-1 up in the 84th minute in Munich I thought we had pulled it off but Marc Funes scored in the last minute to see them advance to the final 4.

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I have to admit my interest was shot after crashing out the Champions League and I played mostly a second string side in the Championship Round, we still managed to clinch the title with ease even though we picked up just 2 points in our last 4 games.

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I didn't want to end my time with Brussels after this distinctly average season, I know we done a domestic double and finally picked up the European Super Cup but losing in the World Cup Club was bitterly disappointing. 

One more season, Gonzalez also has one more season by having his contract automatically extended after featuring in 10 games before he joined Sociedad on loan where he has increasingly showed his age scoring just 4 times in 16 matches.

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Our all time best 11, Gonzalez only 2 goals away from hitting 600 goals for the clubs, speaking of which he has signed a new deal as we begin his transition with the old famous player/director of football dual role.  Had to get rid of Andreas Christensen but Gonzalez is a bonafide legend even though the club only rates him as an icon.

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Decided to splash the Nuno Costa cash on expanding the stadium again as the Argento Arena will finally reach capacity.  We averaged over 39,000 last year a long way from the crowds of yesteryear. 

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Let a fair few players leave a lot of them fringe players who have spent a lot of years out on loan and for one reason or another never made it.  Fathy I had high hopes for but refused a new deal so I sold him rather than lose him the rest I am not too worried about.

 

I like to think I laid the foundations down for this triumph of the National Side, I got them promoted to the top division of the International League and have coached 8/11 of the starting line up at one point or another.  Happy to see they haven't shipped Banza out wide again and continue to use him a forward.  Fonseca is in charge it's his 3rd job in International football after stints with Portugal and Italy.  Before that he was at Shakhtar and Southampton for 6 years a piece.  I can potentially see myself returning to the National set up in the future

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Didn't want to sell Gobbi and had been fending off bids all summer but United met his minimum release fee so off he goes, Abdel Gawad also went for good money he has spent various loan spells out but failed to impress last season so when Man City came in for him I jumped at it.

I haven't actually brought in any new faces yet I was usurped a few times by various clubs so I decided to promote some of the younger players who have been getting loaned out so I will post a screenshot of them as a refresher of sorts.

 

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Dosen infamously scored a hatrick on debut but as 3rd string he wasn't being utilised so he spent some time in France with Montpellier and was with AC Milan last year.  This is going to be his last chance to shine for us

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With Gobbi leaving Madani will become my main DMC so it opened up a spot in the squad.  Signed 2 years ago from Nigeria for £400,000 he has spent time at Strasbourg and then Willem II where he improved a lot and thus has been given this shot.

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We only had Gauthier as a natural left back so I decided to keep Kipre at the club and feel he may well improve more with our training facilities and exposure to football here than another loan move.

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Probably the most impressive of the 4, a classy centre half he has already repaid his transfer fee with spells at Nancy and Sampdoria netting the club £5mill. We have a lot of options at the back but I will try and use him regularly.

 

This will be the last update for a while as I am off for a week travelling around Eastern Europe.

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A couple of early defeats kept things tight at the table and Genk and Brugge both had good starts but the gap is still a fair size at this point, Anderlecht made a horrible start and actually recently sacked their manager as they look to play themselves back into the Championship round.

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Navigated ourselves safely out o the group winning all our games, Milan have improved recently and Madrid topped our group last year so it was good for us to get one over them.  Leverkusen are a decent side and have a better head to head record against us but I am still confident.  Couple of big draws in this round Barcelona v Chelsea, PSG v Man Utd and Atletico v Bayern all big draws at this stage

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