Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 January 2019 I don't usually do individual posts for player transfers but I thought this warranted one. Geronimo Rulli has left the club after only 6 months at the club after a horrendous time here. He has great stats as a keeper but for one reason or another, it just didn't work out for him here. In only 13 appearances for us he conceded 31 goals which is terrible. Since he was dropped for Sergio Alvarez, who was our keeper the past 2 seasons, we have improved dramatically. As Rulli has left the club, I have recalled Ruben Blanco from Juventus to become our new back up keeper. He actually did really well at Juve, keeping 7 clean sheets in 12 matches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 January 2019 The worst has happened. Juventus have placed a bid of £55 million which unfortunately for me is his release clause. Hopefully he will reject the move but I highly doubt it. I am absolutely gutted as he's my favourite player in this side so I will be gutted to lose him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 January 2019 As expected, Pione Sisto has agreed terms with Italian giants Juventus and left the club for £55 million. He was absolutely fantastic for me and he's a player that I am really going to miss. Just look at those average ratings below... what a player. The only positive that we can have is that he didn't stay in Spain. I will be monitoring this guys career closely and hopefully one day I will be able to manage him again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 January 2019 What a month. We've had big players leave the club, new players come in and some great results on the pitch. Oh yeah, and we beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp. We also are through to the semi final of the Copa Del Rey where we will be facing Barcelona. We looked to be out of the cup after a disappointing loss to Sevilla but we fought back thanks to a fantastic hat trick by the departed Pione Sisto in what was his last game for the club. We then went on to beat Bilbao with a few goals from our new signings who I will talk about later. After losing Sisto, I was quite pessimistic for the rest of the season but now, after the players that have come into the club, I am very confident we can get that 4th Champions League spot. I think we're going to be in for an exciting end to the season now the transfer window is out of the way. Transfers - Outgoings Starting with the outgoings. The major two bits of business were the sales of Geronimo Rulli and Pione Sisto. A few youngsters left the club on loan and Jese also left to join Espanyol after finding himself out of favour here this season. It's a shame for Jese as he is a really good player but there is just no place for him here. I will look to move him on when he returns in the summer. Transfers- Incomings I am absolutely over the moon with the players that we have brought into the club. All of them have bags of potential and are fantastic additions to the side. When I first took over at the club, I would of had no chance of bringing in players of this stature to the club so I am very happy. Somehow managed to snap this guy up on a free. He is a perfect long-term replacement for Diaz or Hernandez in CM when either of them retire. I am going to try and sign him up to a longer term deal in a few months time. At 20 years old, this guy can go to the very top, I am sure of it. Meet Frane Karoglan, the next big thing to come out of Croatia. He actually joined before Pione Sisto left the club and has settled into the side brilliantly since joining. Yes, he cost us a lot of money but I am confident that he will be worth every penny. At only 18 years old, his stats are out of this world. I am very very excited about this guy and he fits into my system perfectly. Direct replacement for the departed Pione Sisto. After a disappointing few seasons at Manchester United, as I am sure you all know about, he has had a brilliant few seasons at French side Lyon. He grabbed 10 goals for them last season and joins us as our highest paid player on £115k a week. Despite feeling like he's been around forever, he is still only 24 years old and I am expecting a big few years for the Dutchman. I am really shocked that we were able to bring him in and to be fair, he may even be an upgrade on Sisto. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 February 2018 One part of our Chilean duo in centre midfield and a key player for us. He has managed 12 goals so far from CM and has been one of our best players this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 February 2019 A good month all in all as we were unbeaten in the league and got through to the next round in the Europa League. We face Bournemouth in the last 16 which should be a tough tie. They are currently sitting 8th in the Premier League but we're on good form so it should be interesting. Barcelona battered us in the cup but I am happy that we got as far as we did. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 March 2019 Our first choice goalkeeper has been ruled out for 2 months. Time for Ruben Blanco, our second choice keeper, to make the step up. We didn't have a sub keeper and went on to lose 4-1... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Fantastic offer you got for Sisto I think you overpaid on Depay I hope he proves me wrong. Good to see things have improved since selling Rulli Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 March 2019 - Youth Intake Only 3 players worth keeping on. No stand out player for me. Excited about Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 March 2019 Been a key player for me since joining in January. I have whacked a £120 million release clause on him as well as an optional contract extension which means we have him pretty much signed up for the next 7 seasons... I genuinely believe that this guy can turn into one of the best players in this league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 March 2019 Our form in the league has been nowhere good enough as we have dropped out of the Champions League spot. With 8 matches to go, our league form needs to improve if we are to qualify to Europe. Like I showed previously, our starting GK Sergio Alvarez dislocated his shoulder against Bilbao and it's all gone downhill from there. One positive is that be scraped through to the Europa League Quarters after beating Bournemouth. We face Portuguese giants Porto in the next round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 April 2019 It will be interesting to see if he gets a Spain call up. He's a great player- find it very weird that Brazil aren't interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 April 2019 - Europa League Quarter Final FIrst Leg Massive first leg win. Just hope we can hold on when we go to Portugal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 April 2019 - Europa League Quarter Final Second Leg Bottlejobs. Worst performance of our season so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 April 2019 - May 2019 The season is over and thankfully, despite some poor form near the end of the season, we have qualified for the Europa League. I would have loved to qualify for the Champions League but it just wasn't to be. The Champions League would obviously be a major pull in the transfer market but hopefully the Europa League will be enough. In terms of the league, Real Madrid won their first La Liga title since the 2011/12 season. On a side note, we managed the domestic double over Barcelona which is pleasing. Also, quite shockingly, Valencia have been relegated. They have some very good players still- so I may have a look there and see who I can bring in. In terms of this summer, I doubt I will be making drastic changes. We've been given a transfer budget of £7 million so unfortunately there will be no big money signings this summer unless some players are sold. It's a shame because if we had gained Champions League qualification, our budget would be much larger right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 May 2019 He had a great season for us and it's a shame that he will be heading back to Madrid this summer. I will try and bring him back on loan but I doubt Madrid will let him re-join us- he'll probably be in and around the first team next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 Season 2018/19 - Squad Overview Goalkeepers The goalkeeper position was quite a strange one for us this season. We had Geronimo Rulli as our number 1 goalkeeper but it didn't really work out for him and we sold him on to West Ham. Sergio Alvarez came in and regained his number 1 spot but come the end of the season, he was making quite a few high profile mistakes. I will look to bring in a new keeper in the summer. Ruben Blanco did OK when he played but he's not really developed as much as I would of hoped- especially if he wants to be my starting keeper. Pablo Peris 17B played a few matches but he's a long way off being good enough. He's got good potential but he's not ready yet, Defenders Marcos Andreu spent the season out on loan and did OK. He's only 18 years old and he will be loaned out again next season. Hugo Mallo had another strong season for me. He can play CB, LWB or RWB so his versatility for me is great. He always performs and he's a player I warmed to massively this season. Manchester City showed interest in him so hopefully his head won't be turned. Sergi Gomez played every match for me at CB and had another good season. David Costas hasn't developed the way I would of liked and will probably be let go this summer. Oscar Duarte did well alongside Sergi Gomez and is a solid defender for me. Andreu Fontas started the season well but messed his knee up and still has about 3 months until he's fully recovered- good player though. David Babangida spent the season at Vallecano who play in the league below and he did well. Daniel Wass was once again a key player for me. He's my starting RWB and did really well. Zeca was my starting LWB and did really well. Tyrone Mings spent the season out on loan at Levante in the league below. He will be brought back as back up for next season. Midfielders/Strikers Jamie Spader settled in well since joining from DC United in January. I am hoping for big things from this guy. Jesper Pederson played a few times but he is another one who hasn't developed as much as I would of hoped. I will look to loan him out for next season. Nemanja Radoja was once again my starting CDM. He did state that he wanted to move on if we didn't qualify for the Champions League but thankfully he has backtracked on that. Javier Eraso didn't play at all and will be sold this summer. Marcelo Diaz, despite now being 32, he was still a key player for us. Grabbed a few important goals and assists too. Pablo Hernandez is another one who is the wrong side of 30 but seems to be getting better and better. He got 14 goals and 10 assists from CM which is fantastic, especially at this level. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was purely back up and will be returning to Chelsea. Same goes with Marko Grujic as he goes back to Liverpool. Pape Cheikh spent the season out on loan at Eibar in the La Liga and did OK- not 100% decided on what to do with him. Peter Jepson spent the last 6 months out on loan Heracles and did really well. He may have a part to play here next season. Martin Odegaard had a great season and was named the La Liga YPOTY. Adnan Januzaj managed 15 goals which is a very good return- still cannot believe we got him for so cheap. Theo Bongonda was another one who got 15 goals for us. He's been a bit of a nightmare the past few seasons due to his moaning about wanting to leave. However, that interest seems to have died down now so hopefully he can still be a key player for us for years to come. Jese was on loan at Espanyol and didn't really set the world alight. I will look to move him on. Borja Lasso did really well on loan at Besiktas and may have a part to play here next season. Shinji Kagawa did OK for us but wants more first team football and has asked to leave. I have accepted his request but I am hoping that he will make a u-turn over that. Frane Karoglan did really well since joining in January. I am hoping he can be a key player for me next season. Daniel Angeriz 17A made a few sub appearances and will be loaned out next season. Iago Aspas showed glimpses of his best and did well when called upon. Memphis Depay did really well since his big money move in January. I am hoping that with a full pre season here, he can really kick on and do well for us. Roberto Vargas spent the season out on loan in the league below and did really well. I will probably give him a chance here next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 May 2019 Not a clue how Aspas won this... He's still got great stats. I am hoping he can find his form of a few seasons back. I will be giving him chances again next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Such a shame, you couldn't repeat last season success Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 10 hours ago, john1 said: Such a shame, you couldn't repeat last season success I am certain if we'd of kept Sisto we would of made the Champions League Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 May 2019 I would of preferred if if they weren't called up. They are both 32 years old now and both played a lot of games for me last season. They need a long rest this summer, but unfortunately, they won't be getting that now. Hopefully they can both stay injury free. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 June 2019 Diaz has retired from international duty after Chile failed to get out of the Copa America Group Stage. Hopefully Hernandez will do the same. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 July 2019 He's moaning again about wanting to leave. I have decided this time that if we can get £35 million for him, then he can leave. Sick of him throwing up a hissy fit every summer. He's a good player but I want players who actually want to be here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 August 2019 The season is about to start and I will do a transfer breakdown shortly. However, we have just had some terrible news. Andreu Fontas has messed up his knee AGAIN, only 1 week after returning from a knee injury which ruled him out for a year. What makes it even more frustrating is that I turned down a bid of £4 million from AC Milan only a few days before. Wouldn't be too surprised if he was forced to retire after this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 August 2019 - Transfers We have made quite a few changes this summer, but overall I am happy with my squad going into the new season. With a week until the transfer window closes, there could be a bit more movement to come this upcoming week. Lets start with the outgoings. Brais Mendez was in the B side and was never going to make it so was let go. Javier Eraso joined Real Sociedad on a free transfer. He joined the club in my first season here and did well but was out of the first team picture last season. My 2 Danish youngsters Jesper Pederson and Peter Jepson have returned to Denmark on loan. I am hoping regular first team football will do them well. Jese left the club on a free transfer as he joined Fenerbache alongside Borja Lasso who will be spending his third season away on loan from the club. Daniel Angeriz 17A will be plying his trade in Serie A next season with Fiorentina- I just hope he will get regular football. Arber Viken moved to a side in the league below after a successful loan spell away last season. Marcos Andreu also stayed in Spain and dropped down a division- hopefully first team football will be good for him. Roberto Vargas had a good season out on loan last season and has moved to Torino on loan- quite a step up for him. I'm very interested to see how he does. Pablo Peris 17B is another one of my talented youngsters to move on on loan as he has joins OM. Wilfrid Kaptoum left the club after failing to make an appearance. Shinji Kagawa was a player that I didn't want to lose but he wanted to move on. He's joined Anderlecht on loan for the season but I am hoping he will return here next season. The rest were just youngsters who left on loan. Now onto the incomings... Quality player. Has great stats and his style of play should work perfectly in this league. Delighted that I have managed to bring him in. Was starting to stagnate at Bilbao and wanted to leave. Still in his 20's and has his best years ahead of him. Hoping that regular football and new environment will give him the push he needs. Not the best stats at the moment but I am confident that he can make it here. He will be given a bit of first team football this year. I am hoping with the right tutoring and gametime that he will be able to make it here. Immediate replacement for Andreu Fontas. Great wealth of experience and a good tutor too. Backup goalkeeper to replace the departed Pablo Peris 17B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 August 2019 After quite a few outgoings, I have trim-lined the squad and this is the side that I will have for this season. If anybody wants any specific screenshots of any players then please let me know. And here our our finances... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 August 2019 Very happy with this. He had a successful loan spell out on loan last season and I've given him a few games already this season. One for the future and a player I am very excited about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 August 2019 - September 2019 After 2 worrying defeats in the first two matches, we have seemingly found our feet and are doing well. The goals have been flowing and hopefully we can keep the wins coming too. In the Europa League we have quite a tough group but got a good win against Lazio. The board strangely have stated that their minimum requirement for the Europa is the semi final which could be tough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Decent start to the season Brought in decent players to strengthen the team, especially Dembele and Muniain Getting bored of seeing Bongonda, kicking up a fuss Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 October 2019 What a great month. We started off with battering Heerenveen in the Europa League and then went on to win every game in the La Liga. 10 matches in and we are sitting in 2nd- I don't expect to stay in this position but it's pleasing to see us doing so well. I just hope we can keep this up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 November 2019 Hmmmmmm. That is worrying. **** the financial fairplay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 November 2019 Worth a try hey? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 November 2019 Probably one of the most talented players to come up through the youth team in my time here. I haven't given him much of a shot in our first team but he's doing quite well for Fiorentina in Serie A. Excited about how this lad develops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 He is looking decent Good to see he signed new contract with the club Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 November 2019 - December 2019 Another good few months as we go into the new year sitting in third position. We finished top of our group in the Europa and face a tough test against Turkish side Galatasaray. Happy with how things are going, just hope we can keep it up going into the new year. Undecided really on whether I will look to strengthen the squad in January- depends really if any players leave the club. I have no doubt that Theo Bongonda will once again kick up a fuss and want to leave... watch this space. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 January 2020 I did wonder when this would happen but I didn't expect it so soon. Listen, Karoglan is obviously going to be an absolute superstar and will outgrow the club but I don't want him to leave. He's only 19 and is a key player for me. There's still plenty of improvement and in my opinion, he still doesn't have a good enough end product. It'll be interesting to see if Liverpool lodge a bid. He joined us for £31.5 million last January. I'd be wanting at least £80 million for him to leave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 January 2020 Knew this was going to happen. We'll see if any bids come in for him... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Oh my god not again Bongonda Would be very hard to keep hold of Karoglan, If you can get a decent offer for him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 30, 2017 Author Share Posted September 30, 2017 January 2020 What a stressful month. Transfer windows are always stressful for me as a number of clubs are after my best players. I can see that as a positive or a negative but to be fair, I don't enjoy it. A number of my players get their feathers ruffled by bigger clubs and it's hard to keep them all happy. All in all it has been quite a successful transfer window (which I will show further down this post). In terms of on the field, we've had a great month, really happy with how we've done- especially the with against Barca. Outgoings In terms of outgoing three players left the club. The first was Pape Cheikh. He's spent the past few seasons out on loan and unfortunately he's just not good enough. The second player to leave was Iker Muniain. He joined the club in the summer and started well but found himslef forced out by Karoglan and Aspas. It's a shame for him but he's re-joined the side where he loves so I hope he does well for the rest of the season at Bilbao. He will re-join us in the summer. The next is a transfer that really took me by surprise. At the start of the season I has promised Nemaja Radoja that we would qualify for the champions league and to be fair (without tempting fait) we seem to be on track for that. However, Bayern bombarded me with bids this January and I rejected them all. However, unknown to me Radoja had a release clause of £16.5 million which they triggered and unfortunately the Serbian left the club. Not going to lie, pretty gutted about this. He's been such a good player for me and it's annoying to lose another key player. Incomings I wasn't planning on bringing any players into the squad but with Bayern activating Radoja's release clause, I had no choice. I went on search for a new CDM and found this man. He's not as good as Radoja but he's definitely a good replacement. Year younger than Radoja and a player that I hope will be able to fill the gap. He featured a lot for Monaco in previous seasons but has only played 6 times this season has has been allowed to leave. I hope at £10 million that this guy can be a steal. Hopefully we can secure a Champions League spot this season- I will update soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted September 30, 2017 Author Share Posted September 30, 2017 February 2020 Great month apart from a slight blip against Almeria. We are through to the last 16 of the Europa where we face Dutch side Ajax. Ajax are currently sitting top of their league so it will be a tough test. We also will be playing in my first cup final after demolishing Malaga over two legs. We face Barcelona so it's obviously going to be tough but it's one I am looking forward to. We are in really good form at the moment, I just hope we can keep it up for the final few months of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Brilliant 2 months! Nice to get one over Barca Such a shame Radoja left the club on cheap (16.25M for him is a bargain!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 March 2020 - Europa League Last 16 First Leg Dominated the play and came away with the win but really disappointed to concede the away goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fola Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Bottlejobs. Same old story. Out of the Europa League. Can't believe it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 Really unlucky Fola Maybe tweak team instructions for away games? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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