Jump to content

This Saint Gonna Be Easy: Ch. V - Endgame


Fer Fuchs Ake
 Share

Recommended Posts

5a15f3d43d9f0_HalfMonth5.thumb.png.efae93511bd3b31ae7b420fc534e3e8f.png

Bournemouth (H): G. Shani Tarashaj, Charlie Austin   A. Dusan Tadic, Shani Tarashaj

After having my job threatened by that **** Kreuger, I really needed to win this one. And thankfully, we managed to get all 3 points. In what was a very dominant performance which limited Bournemouth to just two shots on target it was two first half goals which got us the win. Tadic, the player with the most assists set up Shani Tarashaj on 21' and Austin killed the game off on 35' after a cross from Tarashaj. A truly pleasing performance.

Liverpool (A):

Well, no one likes to lose but I can't have too many complaints about this. A 1-0 loss at Anfield is nothing to be ashamed of and we created some good chances of our own. Like in the home match, we could've levelled but we didn't take our chance. And what a chance it was. A penalty no less! But, Austin smashed it off the post on 40' and so we lost. Their goal came after just four minutes with Firmino scoring it. I was worried it might be a cricket score after conceding so early but we held out well. Not a bad performance and we can certainly take some positives.

Chelsea (H): G. James Ward-Prowse, Shani Tarashaj   A. Mario Lemina, Dusan Tadic

Well, well, well. This was quite the surprise. We managed a victory over a Chelsea side who were in second at the time. I had this down for a loss before we even played but the boys defied all my expectations with a clinical performance. Ward-Prowse got the first on 20' with a long-range effort into the bottom corner. Tarashaj made it two on 25' with a neat finish from a brilliant Lemina through ball. We caught them on the counter for that second goal, having cleared their corner. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! On 50' I took @DavidBeckham's advice (this was the match I was referencing in my reply) and began to go the counter attack. They scored on 55' with Willian tapping home from a corner. I went to Defensive and Sit Much Deeper immediately after. My heart was in my mouth for most of the second half. I dreaded seeing any highlights! We went Contain on 80' and held out. An extremely valiant performance from the lads and a very valuable three points earned.

 

Key Points:

  • Tarashaj is incredible.
  • When Tadic is good, he's very good. Needs to work on his consistency though.
  • OneGoalo Crappiadini can still **** off.
  • The ones we got against Chelsea.
  • Dolberg's back :)
  • Got a 6.6 in his first game back :(
  • He had barely any match sharpness and it was against Chelsea.
  • I need to learn to play anti-football in the later stages of matches that we're winning narrowly in as it worked so well against such a good team (Chelsea). I'll see if I have Jose's number saved.
Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 869
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

January Transfer Window:

Outs:

Manolo Gabbiadini

Yup, Mr, One-Goal-And-One-Assist-In-14-Appearances is gone. Thank God. Unfortunately, we have to pay 36k p/w of his wage but that's better than paying 80k p/w for someone who barely starts and does **** all when he comes on. As you can see, he's off to West Ham where he'll have to compete with Chicharito for the starting spot. If by some strange miracle he actually performs well for them and they sell him for more than that £15.5m sum then we'll get 20% of the profit. £15.5m is pretty good money for him too. Especially considering how cheap his replacement was...

5a1963721e4c1_BackstabbiadiniSale.thumb.png.050ac820c5329a55b3be54b6304c2c79.png

Nathan Redmond

Rafa has been coveting a lot of my players since the start, having declared interest in Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Cedric and Redmond throughout the course of the campaign. And while we've told him where to go whenever he's made a bid for the first three, we decided to give him Redmond. Redmond constantly whined about game time. Even when I played wingers, he was a backup and once I switched to the narrow formation it was curtains for him here. I had promised to sell him and he was very much surplus to requirements. We got about £14m for him too which I'm happy enough with.

5a19636cb5515_RedmondSale.thumb.png.6b893bbec44ecb23a07c94412f7e02e9.png

Jeremy Pied

Pied, like Redmond, was simply surplus to requirements and I told him to leave. Transfer listed him early and hoped for the best. And we were able to ship him off to Italy where he'll ply his trade with Lazio. For a poor enough 28 year old player who never would've got a game, I can be happy enough with £6.75m The one caveat is, like with Crappiadini, we have to pay a portion of his wage. Not much though thankfully.

5a19637eb2151_PiedSale.thumb.png.fb785cb258c6e96b9292c520a26b2721.png

Ins:

Luciano Vietto

Well this is a transfer that I'm excited about. The replacement for Gabbiadini, Vietto comes in at just £6m following his transfer listing at Atletico Madrid. Vietto has all the makings of a great striker for us with 17 Off The Ball, 16 Dribbling, 16 Acceleration and 15 Finishing just to name a few of his better attributes. At just 24 years old, we can get a long time out of him too. A really good signing for the club and he will partner Dolberg up front.

Vietto.thumb.png.d6ac3b5e15d7fd1cf1cf49a8dfbee16e.png

Morgan Sanson

With the money raised from Pied and Redmond, it was time to bring in a midfielder who could rotate well with Tadic and also with Lemina. Morgan Sanson is that player. Bought from Olympique de Marseille for about £14m, Sanson is a quality player who can be relied upon as a rotation option or an impact sub late in the game. Of course, if he performs quite well, he may usurp Lemina or Tadic. Some of best attributes include 15 Passing, 15 Vision, 15 First Touch and 16 Teamwork. At just 23, he can improve his attributes a little bit as well.

Sanson.thumb.png.7ccf9a7f3f8b9a1ed7af373a4f116e53.png

Jose Mauri

Brought in on loan, Mauri is, quite simply, a panic buy. I promised Vietto that I would strengthen the midfield and I completely forgot. Mauri came in on loan on Deadline Day when I remembered this promise. He may come off the bench if we get hit hard by injuries. I also brought in Sinkgraven on loan for the same reason, Sinkgraven will be so far away from the first team, it's not really worth showing his attributes. The ploy didn't work either as Vietto was pissed off at me anyway for not improving the midfield enough. I got Davis to talk to him and, while that has worked for every other unhappy player, it didn't work here. I was beginning to worry until I got Vice Captain Tadic to step in and talk to him, Tadic resolved the issue and Vietto is happy again. I also had to promise him that I'd win silverware next year. Gulp.

5a19637d34a12_PanicBuy.thumb.jpg.0ae9e7f2bb9900a14b95997679e09332.jpg

All in all, it's a transfer window I can be very happy with. We sold who we needed to sell and we signed two great players in Vietto and Sanson. Let's hope it works out for us.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BoxToBox said:

Really like all three signings, to be honest. You've mugged Atletico and all, no idea why they'd list him so cheaply.

Thanks mate. 

As for Vietto, I can kind of understand why Atletico transfer listed him given their attacking options. But to list him at £6m? Poor move from them but I'm certainly not complaining. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

5a19c9928aaae_Month6.thumb.png.97fe105d90fbc0268b391e5617a51efa.png

Huddersfield (A): G. Dusan Tadic   A. Kasper Dolberg

We started the new year with... dropped points. In an away game against a Huddersfield side in the relegation zone, we really needed to win this one. Unfortunately, we were just really poor in that game. Maybe the players were tired/hungover from the New Year's Eve parties they had had. Either way there were no excuses for our attack in that game. We created barely anything and missed most of what we created. Austin finally broke the deadlock on 60' and I planned to park the bus on 70'. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance as Van La Parra equalised on 66'. We couldn't find the winner even as I got them to attack more and more. Two points dropped rather than a point gained.

Wigan (A): G. Charlie Austin

Maybe I should care more about the FA Cup, especially as the board do. But, quite frankly, I couldn't give two ****s about it. And that showed in the team I played with many second string players getting a run. A really poor performance saw us concede on 26' and again on 51'. Austin pulled one back on 52' but it wasn't enough. I don't care about getting knocked out of the FA Cup but I do care about losing to League 1 opposition. Just poor.

Brighton (H): G. Luciano Vietto, Kasper Dolberg   A. Luciano Vietto, James Ward-Prowse

Well, well, well. Look at that for a debut! What took Gabbiadini 14 games to achieve, his replacement has achieved in just one bagging a goal and an assist in a Man of the Match performance. A great run and neat cross from Vietto found Dolberg on 40' to give us the lead. A very well worked counter attack on 65' resulted in Ward-Prowse sliding a through ball to Vietto who coolly slotted home from inside the box. Hemed pulled one back on 74' but we parked the bus and held out. Unfortunately, Dolberg got injured though this time for only 2-3 weeks. This means he has gotten injured in every game he's scored in.

West Ham (H):

*Yawn* A snoozefest of a match saw us drop points to a 16th placed West Ham side at home. The only really standout thing about this game was Crappiadini going up against his old club, albeit from the bench. True to form, he did **** all. We completely dominated the game with 22 shots to their 7, 12 on target to their 1. But, due to some poor finishing, we could only muster a draw. Sanson made his debut and earned a 7.1 with 3 key chances created. The one bright side in the face of two dropped points.

Man City (A):

Against a Man City side who were first at the time, this was to be expected. I obviously don't like to lose but when you're at the Emptyhad against a side with Aguero, KDB, Sterling, Sane etc you do kind of expect to come away with nothing. To be fair,we kept it respectable. Jesus scored on 40' after Bertrand foolishly gave it away to Sterling. Stephens was on the wrong side of Jesus and he knocked it in. Some suicidal defending resulted in Hojbjerg giving away a penalty on 73' which new signing Piatti tucked away. Not a bad performance but not a good one either.

Tottenham (A): G. James Ward-Prowse, Charlie Austin, Luciano Vietto  A. Charlie Austin, Luciano Vietto, James Ward-Prowse

Well, this was quite the rollercoaster. I certainly didn't expect anything from a trip to Wembley but we snatched a point. Ward-Prowse scored on 4' after a pass from Charlie Austin. Alli was quick to pull one back on 7' with a tidy finish from inside our box. I forgot to sort out our set pieces and... well... we conceded from two corners in 7 minutes with Alli blasting home a volley on 16' and Lamela flicking one in on 23'. We looked set for defeat but we pushed for more goals in the second half and it worked wonders. Austin scored on 71' following a neat pass from Vietto. After that, Vietto himself equalised on 72' following a beautiful through ball from Ward-Prowse. We, perhaps ballsily, pushed for a winner but none came. Still, away to Spurs, I'm thrilled with a draw. Especially one which Vietto was so involved in. I'll leave the bottlejob jokes up to you...

 

Key Points:

  • Vietto is ******* amazing. :)
  • Dolberg can't seem to score without getting injured. :(
  • We need to create more against teams that park the bus.
  • We're surprisingly good at drawing against the big teams having drawn twice against Spurs, once vs Liverpool and once against Chelsea.
  • Tarashaj has been excellent but he's probably lost his place to Vietto.
  • We've already played 4 of the Big Six and we're 11th. We'll face United next (and probably lose) but we should get a few wins after that.
  • Even though  I've only seen them play together once, the Vietto/Dolberg partnership looks promising.
Link to post
Share on other sites

31st January 2017, Midnight.

Michael sat in his office, staring at the screensaver on his laptop. The transfer deadline had passed an hour ago and he was pleased with how it had gone. Redmond, Pied and Gabbiadini out and Vietto, Sanson and Mauri the panic signing to appease Vietto in.  As for the footballing month, he wasn't so happy. He had dropped points against both Huddersfield and West Ham, lost against City and the board got pissy about the FA Cup result. There were some positives to take though. They had won against Brighton and drawn against Spurs. After all the jokes made by Spuds fans about his team having bottled it at St. Mary's, they were able to get their revenge. Apparently, the Spurs Twitter account had had to block 250+ Southampton fans. Well done lads. Speaking of social media, he was getting a bit more support than at the start of the season. #DethroneTheKing was only 7th most trending in Southampton, which was the lowest it had been since he started. Only 38% wanted him gone compared to the 40% at Christmas. Encouraging stuff.

It was nice to see Gabbiadini come on in the West Ham game, he felt. Not because he wished him well or anything, just because it allowed the fans to unfurl their 'Backstabbiadini' banners. It was ****ing beautiful. The entire Northam stand was plastered with these banners. Really threw him off too. Also, because of how good Vietto's debut was, they got to chant "You're just a **** Luciano Vietto" at Manolo. Perfect. He had ordered his assistant manager, Orlando Trustfull, to see if he can get a witch doctor to help Dolberg stay fit when he scores. It may sound ludicrous, he was well aware of that but he was getting desperate. And besides, it worked when Southampton first moved to St. Mary's and needed to get their first win so why wouldn't it work now? Orlando said that what he intended to do was crazy. Maybe he was right. Still though, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Up next, they would face Man United, Crystal Palace and West Brom. The United game would be a heavy loss probably. Crystal Palace and West Brom should both be three-pointers. As long as they could cut out the defensive errors and continue creating chances for Vietto and Dolberg to score. Basically, they needed all-round consistency. Maybe witch doctors could help cure inconsistency...

"Orlando! Can you get that shaman on the phone again?"

Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Grammar
Link to post
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

I also had to promise him that I'd win silverware next year. Gulp.

Looks like it's time to plug the U23's with your starters and battle for that Paint Trophy!

That'll work, right Luciano...? Luciano? Why are you walking towards the paper shredder with your contract, Luciano? Luciano! Noooo!

6 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

He had ordered his assistant manager, Orlando Trustfull, to see if he can get a witch doctor to help Dolberg stay fit when he scores. It may sound ludicrous, he was well aware of that but he was getting desperate. And besides, it worked when Southampton first moved to St. Mary's and needed to get their first win so why wouldn't it work now? Orlando said that what he intended to do was crazy. Maybe he was right. Still though, nothing ventured nothing gained.

I like this :D.

Edited by oriole01
Link to post
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, oriole01 said:

Looks like it's time to plug the U23's with your starters and battle for that Paint Trophy!

That'll work, right Luciano...? Luciano? Why are you walking towards the paper shredder with your contract, Luciano? Luciano! Noooo!

“Well Luciano, technically we've won a trophy. Oh, what do you mean you're transfer listing yourself?! This is a prestigious trophy, I swear. I mean think about it. How many times have Barca or PSG won the Paint Trophy?”

7 hours ago, oriole01 said:

I like this :D.

Thanks mate :thup:

Link to post
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

“Well Luciano, technically we've won a trophy. Oh, what do you mean you're transfer listing yourself?! This is a prestigious trophy, I swear. I mean think about it. How many times have Barca or PSG won the Paint Trophy?”

Luciano, dude..... have I ever told you about the Wolf Cup?!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Youth Intake Day:

5a1b2a77ab89c_YouthIntake.thumb.png.a5f27786b1b5e770c7cfc1cc464b932c.png

For a team with such good youth facilities, this intake was largely disappointing. There's only three players who are even worth mentioning. However, one of them does look like he'll become quite good.

Jake Rodber:

5a1b2a38d55a1_YouthIntake3.thumb.png.1da5a8c13ced39a664540b4d1654835a.png

Jake Rodber is rated the highest out of the bunch and he certainly has some great physicals. He'll certainly need to improve his crossing and dribbling but, at the young age of 15, he'll have a good bit of time to do so. His personality is awful and as for that determination... Let's just say he'll need tutoring. There's certainly some hope for the lad though.

James Ball:

5a1b2a3abc543_YouthIntake2.thumb.png.0546132aea9f8c41f00b45b6079c947f.png

Ball, like Rodber, will need tutoring to up that determination but he doesn't need it as drastically. As I'm playing a narrow formation, it's great to get a playmaker in the side and Ball certainly has room to grow into a decent player. He'll need to improve on his passing and first touch but his acceleration, pace and vision are all encouraging at his age. The low work rate and decisions are annoying though.

Euclid Parillon:

5a1b2a3d74eac_YouthIntake1.thumb.png.38a73e05f1ef53b901b223967963f4c0.png

The pick of the bunch, in my opinion, Parillon has some great attributes to start with. His acceleration and pace are quite high for his age and his crossing will certainly go up as he gets older. His personality is also shocking and I may need a new HOYD. His dribbling needs work too. With the right tutoring though, he may develop into a handy enough player. Hopefully, anyway.

Link to post
Share on other sites

5a1c3e477aa7c_Month8.thumb.png.6ff462cd5c1fab870678fe3d619ee4fd.png

Red, green and orange. A loss, a win and a draw. The very definition of a mixed month.

Michael was slightly dissatisfied with how things had gone. The loss to United was fine, the win against Palace was to be expected given their form, he just hadn't expected it to be by that much but the draw against an out of form West Brom at home was disappointing. Getting 20 shots and only one goal had really irked him. And even the Palace result was not one he could be fully happy with. They had been drawing until Palace got reduced to ten men. It was a clear red card, but still. When you're against the team in 20th, you shouldn't need them to have a handicap in order for you to get a result. Still, though his side were 9th after February and he could be happy with that.

The highlight of the month was getting the bragging rights over Orlando. Orlando had called his idea to get a witch doctor in "ludicrous", "crazy" and "absolutely stupid". He had refused at first and so they were without his services for the United game. But then he relented and, lo and behold, Dolberg scores two against Palace and stays fit for the entire game. "It's not crazy if it works, Orlando" Michael had said. Orlando remained obstinate, claiming that it was "a fluke". She said that we need to do it before every game to "ward off the spirits" for £150 each time. Michael, of course, accepted. If it works, it works. Anything to keep Kasper fit when he scores. Orlando was incredulous. He'd been trying to convince Michael all week that it was a scam.

"Well, if it's a scam how come Dolberg won Young Player of the Month, Orlando?", Michael had pointed out yesterday.

"BECAUSE, HE'S GOOD! HE'S A WONDERKID. JESUS, MICHAEL, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY BELIEVE THIS WITCHCRAFT **** DO YOU?", Orlando had yelled at him.

But Michael did. He was sold on it. It may be unconventional, he could admit that. But hey, all good managers have their quirks.

 

5a1c471b852c3_DolbergYPOTM.thumb.png.0845f82cc09238b03625ed25d8f5c602.png

Link to post
Share on other sites

5a1c867de3ecc_Month8.thumb.png.8870039a4131d1bc0b5136af1126fb5e.png

Man Utd (H):

The scoreline here actually doesn't really reflect the match. It was quite an even game with both of us having ten shots and us enjoying more possession. However, United were far more clinical and took the lead on 26' with Lukaku getting the goal. We tried to fight back and the game was back and forth for a long while until the 81 st minute where Lukaku made it 2-0. There was no way back at that point. To be fair, I expected a loss from this game so I'm not too unhappy.

Crystal Palace (A): G. Luciano Vietto (2), Kasper Dolberg (2)    A. Kasper Dolberg, Luciano Vietto, Pierre-Emile Holbjerg, Morgan Sanson

In a game against a struggling Palace side, I expected us to roll them over. And, technically, we did. However, it took them going down to ten men before we actually took the lead. Cabaye put them in front on 13' before Vietto equalised on 27'. The game was dull for a good while with both sides cancelling each other out. The turning point was Loftus-Cheek's red card on 50'. After that, we ran rampant. Dolberg put us ahead on 60' and Vietto sealed the win on 78'. We weren't done yet though as though as Dolberg got our fourth and final goal on 82'. A great performance from the two new strikers. Sanson got his first attacking return with an assist which was also great news.

West Brom (H): G. Dusan Tadic   A. Luciano Vietto

Dropped points. No two ways about it. We had no excuses not to win against an out of form West Brom but we let them escape with a point. We dominated with 20 shots and 11 on target compared to their 9 and 6, respectively. We just were not clinical enough and Foster, to be fair, had a brilliant game and denied us on multiple occasions. We took the lead on 24' with Tadic burying it from close range, following a Vietto cross. They pulled one back immediately with Kieran ****ing Gibbs of all people scoring on 26' from a free kick which bounced around the box. We huffed and puffed but, alas, it was to no avail. Not. Good. Enough.

 

Key Points:

  • We're decent against the big teams.
  • We're not good enough against smaller teams.
  • This probably shows that we do better when attacked more and not when we have to break down a defence.
  • Vietto and Dolberg complement each other very well. Vietto has been, quite simply, a revelation.
  • The table is very tight. If we're to finish in the top half, we'll have to be very consistent.
  • That's not really our strong point though...

 

League Table:

5a1c868367ec7_Table2.thumb.png.cd1da7b3d0bca02c7bedbceb20304306.png

We sit 9th, fulfilling board expectations so far but we're 4 points off 8th and 11 off 7th so 9th is probably the highest we'll finish. Stoke have fallen away fro their bright start but are still defying expectations. Liverpool are the surprise package though, finding themselves in 10th. New manager Sean Dyche hasn't been able to steady the ship that Klopp left for him. A tycoon-led Newcastle (who have a net spend of £110m :eek:) are struggling in mid-table. @oriole01 will probably like where Huddersfield are. Lastly, United lead the chasing pack by just a point. With anyone in the top 4 in with a decent shout at the title, it's all to play for at the top.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd say that despite the inconsistencies, you're staying true to classic Southampton form. 9th is not a bad place to be in at all. Also, unlucky against West Brom. FM should have given you that one.

I know I was only joking before, but how did your U23's do in the Paint Trophy? Vietto's got to get satisfied somehow.

Link to post
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, oriole01 said:

I'd say that despite the inconsistencies, you're staying true to classic Southampton form.

Not quite yet, we haven't sold anyone to Liverpool.

17 hours ago, oriole01 said:

9th is not a bad place to be in at all. 

If it keeps the board happy, I'm happy.

 

17 hours ago, oriole01 said:

 

I know I was only joking before, but how did your U23's do in the Paint Trophy? Vietto's got to get satisfied somehow.

I'm away from my laptop but I'll tell you when I get the chance to check.

As for Vietto, I could just set up a preseason tournament between us and some semi-pro teams and just fob him off with that.

 “You never stated in your contract how important this silverware has to be, Luciano...” 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, tajj7 said:

Solid, you should be able to kick on next year.

Shame about the youth intake, but I've only had one decent player in 3 intakes so far for Southampton on my save as well. 

Cheers, if we can keep Dolberg and Vietto fit for the remainder of this season and for most of next season, then I have high enough hopes for us.

As for the intake, yeah I was pretty disappointed. I'll hope for something better next year. 

Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Bitner said:

Solid, if unspetacular. Hope our clueless friend makes some improvements to reach Europa League :p

Cheers,
Bitner 

I just can't see that happening this season. However, with us playing a lot better than we were at the start and creating a lot more chances, I think we're in with a good shout next season.

As for our clueless friend, he has an announcement to make...

Link to post
Share on other sites

This might not be looking like a glamorous first season, but it seems to me you're putting the building blocks here for the future, an attacking duo of Dolberg-Vietto is quite exciting.

Are you using the diamond or the initial tactics now? (Or both?) What raised my attention in the initial tactics is that you were using 2 wingers to feed just a lone striker with not much else near the area, doesn't mean it can't work but you could perhaps add something different in one of the flanks to make it a more varied approach, or try to get a 2nd attacking threat closer to the striker.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Michael sat before Southampton FC owner Gao Jisheng and Chairman Ralph Kreuger. Gao was smiling warmly while Ralph glared at Michael. Michael, meanwhile, just sat calmly with a slight smirk. He knew what was coming. And for it to happen in front of Kreuger made it all the sweeter.

"Michael, I'm sure you know why you're here. Your performance in the league has been solid though not amazing. Your adherence to club philosophies has impressed me greatly, however. For that reason, we-"

"You mean you and one or two other board members", interrupted Ralph

"WE", said Gao pointedly, "would like to discuss the possibility of you extending your contract at this club. Should you accept, you can expect negotiations to occur within the next hour or so unless, of course, you have any changes you would like to see implemented in which case it may take slightly longer."

Michael grinned "I have no changes about how this fine club is run to propose", he said, just really milking it in front of Ralph. Ralph looked like he wanted to strangle him. "Thank you Gao. I would be delighted to accept your offer.", Michael added. 

"OK, perfect. I'm delighted you accepted. This club really needs some stability after all the managerial turnover we've had recently. I'll have the necessary paperwork sent your way, we'll get some photos for the PR side of things and you will be given a two year extension to your contract. That concludes this meeting. I'll get the paperwork from my office.", Gao replied before standing from his chair and leaving. Ralph dawdled with some paper until Gao had gone.

"Alright Michael, listen here you little ****. You might have conned your way into a two year extension but I want you to know it was by the skin of your ****ing teeth. "You won by 4 votes to 3. And 2 of those who voted for your extension were pretty ****ing hesitant. The fans see through you, I see through you and Gao will eventually see through you. And when he does, you're gone. Fired. Sacked until you plague some other chairman with your blackmail and some other club with your ludicrous schemes. ****ing witch doctors for God's sake. You better believe we've been taking the **** out of you for that one. It's only a matter of time before Gao realises just exactly what kind of mistake he's made.", Ralph hissed through gritted teeth.

"Well, you're just gonna have to get used to it Ralph. Because I'm here for the next two years", Michael replied with a victorious smirk. He patted Ralph on the shoulder, turned and walked to his office to wait for his contract to be finalised.

 

5a1d931d61a39_NewContract.thumb.png.b9e014cc6ddfbebaf755089d31e4f57a.png

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, noikeee said:

This might not be looking like a glamorous first season, but it seems to me you're putting the building blocks here for the future, an attacking duo of Dolberg-Vietto is quite exciting.

Are you using the diamond or the initial tactics now? (Or both?) What raised my attention in the initial tactics is that you were using 2 wingers to feed just a lone striker with not much else near the area, doesn't mean it can't work but you could perhaps add something different in one of the flanks to make it a more varied approach, or try to get a 2nd attacking threat closer to the striker.

5a0dbe14cdaa2_Tactic1.thumb.png.ec8235261fe87891bddb3834215a03e4.png

This is close to what we use but I've tinkered slightly.

These are the following changes I've been using for the past few months.

Flexible is now fluid.

Full backs are on a defend duty and are inverted wing backs.

Ward-Prowse is a CM (Attack)

Lemina is a RPM.

Tadic is an AP (Support)

Shorter passing to Mixed.

Added 'Close Down Much More'.

As for my first season, we started off poorly and so we've had to play catch up a little bit. We certainly do have the building blocks in place and I won't have to do too much surgery next summer. Maybe just some signings to boost squad depth (permanent 4th striker as opposed to a loanee, better backup LB than Targett and maybe a better backup GK). Given that we have a consistent strike partnership for the first time now, I think that we're set for quite a good season next season provided injuries don't hit us as badly. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great news as you renew your contract! And Ralph... poor man, let's hope Micheal learn quick... or both will be in trouble hahahahha!

And i liked your tactic, but playing with an AMC and 2 AC aren't too risky against the big sides, especially away?

Cheers,
Bitner 

Link to post
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Bitner said:

Great news as you renew your contract! And Ralph... poor man, let's hope Micheal learn quick... or both will be in trouble hahahahha!

And i liked your tactic, but playing with an AMC and 2 AC aren't too risky against the big sides, especially away?

Cheers,
Bitner 

I suppose I'll use Tactic 2 away to the bigger sides or even at home if they're really strong. In general for defence, I feel having a DM sitting in front of two central defenders and two full backs who are on defend duties should be enough. Especially as Romeu and Besic are both very solid DMs. 

I had tinkered with making Ward-Prowse or Lemina a bit more defensive earlier in the save (i.e going box to box, being a DLP etc) but I found it made us struggle to create many chances.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Interesting you are using inverted wingbacks for your full backs in a narrow formation, what does that look like on the pitch? 

BTW on my save JWP has become a magic button, if you haven't made him your captain or vice captain, do it, because every time someone comes to ask for a new contract or wants to leave, 9/10 JWP is able to talk them out of it. 

Also how is Van Dijk doing? He was moaning to leave by about the same stage in my save. 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, tajj7 said:

Interesting you are using inverted wingbacks for your full backs in a narrow formation, what does that look like on the pitch? 

BTW on my save JWP has become a magic button, if you haven't made him your captain or vice captain, do it, because every time someone comes to ask for a new contract or wants to leave, 9/10 JWP is able to talk them out of it. 

Also how is Van Dijk doing? He was moaning to leave by about the same stage in my save. 

 

I made a mistake there. I used IWBs for a short while but I've actually been using regular full backs for most of the time.

I have Davis as captain and out of about 8-10 cases of players being unhappy, he's only been unable to get one to drop their issues. He's my version of a magic button. JWP deserves credit for what he does on the pitch for me. His average ratings and pass accuracy are brilliant.

Van Dijk moaned about wanting to join a bigger club and I agreed to sell for £50m. No one offered that amount so I haven't sold him. He's been quite poor in general and makes quite a few mistakes. Averages around a 6.8 I think.

 

Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Link to post
Share on other sites

5a1f312fbda25_Month9.thumb.png.0a7f1387aca897ee1cfe87345ed3c305.png

Well, it had been a good month. Michael had renewed his contract, followed up that renewal with an away win and had gotten 7 points from a maximum 12. It started off great with an away win to a ridiculously out of form Everton side. In the reverse fixture, they had suffered due to not being able to play Tarashaj but this time they had Vietto and Dolberg. Both of whom have been scoring and developing a great partnership. Then there was the game against a free-spending Newcastle. Holy ****. Talk about an entertaining game. Nathan Redmond ran the show of course. ****er. Then a loss against Stoke. Blegh. And finally, an away win to Burnley just 6 days after his contract renewal. It was definitely a month Michael could be happy with.

There was one blip, however. Dolberg scored in the Everton game. Great, right? Well no because he also got injured. Michael tried to insist that it didn't count because it only kept him out for three days and he didn't miss any matches but Orlando was having none of it. He'd been taking the **** out of Michael all month saying that it proved him right, the whole witch doctor thing didn't work etc. "Well, he didn't miss any matches so it doesn't count. It's working." Michael had tried to retort but to no avail. Worse still, the actual squad and staff were getting in on the joke. The fitness coaches had put cones out in the shape of a pentagram, the players muttered 'Hocus Pocus'-y stuff when his back was turned. In a huff, he cancelled the remaining sessions with the Shaman. But not before seeing if he could get her to put a curse on the players and staff. She refused, saying it was "unethical" and that it "goes against her principles".  The deposit for the remaining weeks, as luck would have it, was non-refundable...

First person to laugh got fined a week's wages.

Unlucky, Orlando.

 

5a1f312c7e6b6_DolbergCurse.thumb.png.402840aa7d7adcf1d3f3cf5214b7362a.png

Link to post
Share on other sites

5a20320ce1305_Month9.thumb.png.76cad72ac45cfbfed3531dd7f0f20675.png

Everton (A): G. Kasper Dolberg (2)   A. James Ward-Prowse

Against a very out of form Everton side, I came into this match with confidence. And rightly so as we dominated the game and came out 2-1 winners. Dolberg scored a penalty on 18' and got his second shortly after, with a goal on 26'. The game was pretty back and forth from then on. They pulled one back on 54' with substitute Ross Barkley getting their goal. We just sat back after that and absorbed the pressure. A very pleasing win and an important three points.

Newcastle (H) G. Luciano Vietto (2), James Ward-Prowse   A. Shani Tarashaj, Kasper Dolberg

Well, this was quite the rollercoaster. Nathan Redmond, the ****ing snake, scored first on 29' to give Newcastle the lead. We levelled shortly after with Luciano Vietto poking home a Dolberg cross on 32'. Then, on 34', we took the lead. Vietto ran onto a great through ball from deep but hit his effort straight at the keeper. Fortunately, Darlow parried it and Vietto smashed it in to put us 2-1 up. We held out for a while until Milik equalised on 59' from a Redmond cross. Redmond well and truly ran the show. We had a chance to take the lead after earning a penalty on 70' but Dolberg's weak effort was saved easily. Van Dijk was smart enough to divert the ball into his own net on 77' and it looked like we were set to come away with a loss. Thankfully, JWP scored on 89' to earn us a draw. Annoyingly, they only had 4 SOT compared to our 10. They were just a lot more clinical.

Stoke (A):

Against a high-flying, 7th place Stoke side who we lost against to at home, I didn't expect much out of this. In a dull game, it was Saido Berahino's strike on 37' which earned them the win. We dominated the game but couldn't get any points out of it which seems to be a recurring theme. 17 shots compared to their 7, 9 SOT to their 6 but we couldn't make it count. A loss but not the end of the world as I didn't expect much else.

Burnley: (A): G. Morgan Sanson  A. Charlie Austin

In what was a very, very even game, we managed to come out on top. We shared a similar amount of shots, SOT and possession but, for once, it was us who were more clinical on the day. Sanson got his first goal for the club and what a time to get it! An 86' winner from a low Charlie Austin cross which he stroked home into the back of the net. Essentially, two super subs combined to get us the win. A handy 3 points for us to get as we battle for the top half.

So, that was a pleasing month. Could we carry it through to April and May? Not quite...

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, oriole01 said:

When's the parade?

End of the season. Given it's the only silverware we'll be getting anywhere near for the next few seasons, we'll go all out. Fireworks, floaters, a procession of people dressed as saints and an open-top bus with the Under 23s showing off the trophy. The whole shebang.

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, tajj7 said:

My under 23s got relegated, but that is probably because between it and the U18 squad there are only about 8 outfield players available! 

One of the main reasons for my Under 23s' success was because I didn't use wingers in the first team. So I just demoted Nkoudou, Boufal and Rafa Silva to the Under 23s for about half the season. I don't actually know how my Under 18s did.

Link to post
Share on other sites

August Update:

Despression.png

So, you're probably looking at this and wondering what the **** happened. To be honest, so am I. I can't quite comprehend this collapse. But I'll give you the sorry details below:

Watford (H): G. James Ward-Prowse, Luciano Vietto (2)   A. Kasper Dolberg (2)

I was really disappointed with this. I expected a certain win or at worst a draw but we got well beaten. James Ward-Prowse got us off to a flyer with a goal on 3'. However, we threw it away very quickly. Chalobah leveled on 31'. Deeney then gave them the lead on 36' before Cleverley smashed one in on 38'. Deeney then got another on 43', sending us into the dressing room 4-1 down. Vietto got one back on 48' to give us a glimmer of hope. I began to believe we could get a draw when he got another on 59'. We couldn't get that elusive equaliser though and we ended up with a loss to start the month.

Swansea (H): G. Kasper Dolberg   A. Luciano Vietto

This was easily the worst football I've seen us play all season. We misplaced nearly every pass and if we didn't misplace them, someone would take an awful first touch and lose it. I think all of their goals came from counter attacks because of this. Abraham got the first on 11' before Bony fired in another on 17'. Bony put them 3-0 up on 49' and defeat looked certain. And it was with only Dolberg getting a consolation goal on 60'. I had high hopes for a win here and they really let me down with that performance. Morale plummeted after this by the way.

Leicester (A):

Not much to say about this. A very boring game which, given our form, I expected to lose. Vietto picked up a minor knock and missed the game which didn't help us at all. Mahrez scored on 64' to consign us to defeat. So that meant three losses on the bounce, a top half finish looking very uncertain with two to play and terrible morale. What a depressing month.

You might be wondering why I didn't hold a team meeting at any point here. It's because I already held one before the Watford game, saying they were in decent form and encouraging them to kick on and finish in the top half. That worked. I was advised to hold another after the Swansea result but they just said "Great. Another meeting." or something to that effect. A really awful month.

Month 11.png

Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Link to post
Share on other sites

Bournemouth (A): G. Luciano Vietto (2)   A. James Ward-Prowse

We continued our shocking form into our penultimate game of the season. This one hurt a bit more because it was against rivals and ones who were struggling at the time. Defoe gave them the lead on 9' with a close range tap in. Vietto equalised on 35' and it was all OK... For about two minutes until Pugh put Bournemouth ahead on 37'. Defoe got their third just after half time, blasting home from 20 yards on 46'. Vietto got another on 51' but we couldn't find that all important equaliser. This is just getting depressing. And who do we have on the final day of the season? Arsenal. Oh God.

Arsenal (H): G. Kasper Dolberg, Luciano Vietto   A. Mario Lemina, Dusan Tadic

Poor form? Check. Low morale? Check. Top 4 opposition? Check. So, of course... we win. I don't know what the **** happened but I'll certainly take it. We changed tactics slightly after bearing this in mind:

On 11/28/2017 at 18:06, Bitner said:

And i liked your tactic, but playing with an AMC and 2 AC aren't too risky against the big sides, especially away?

Our RPM became a BBM and our CM (A) became a Mezzala (S). We sat back and countered and it worked perfectly. Dolberg got the first after running onto a through ball from deep by Lemina on 21'. I didn't dare get my hopes up but we held out well and, for the second half, I decided to set even deeper but still play on the counter. We doubled our lead when Vietto slotted home from a Tadic pass and I began to really believe. I unabashedly parked the bus and went on Contain and we held out to claim a very important (and completely unexpected) three points. I will admit to you now though that they were missing both their top goalscorer (GIroud though he did come on after 64 minutes) and top assister (Ozil) through injury. Still, we beat a third placed Arsenal who had Sanchez, Bellerin, Xhaka, Lacazette etc. I cannot emphasise enough how important this win was. I was really in danger of the sack if we had lost.

Month 11.png

Key Points: Season

  • Consistency is a big issue.
  • Dolberg and Vietto are the way forward. If they stay fit, we'll do well next season.
  • Ward-Prowse was our best player. Consistent, determined and usually fit, he was key to our campaign. We need to keep him at all costs.
  • There's a lot of potential in this team but we just need to stop with the bull**** Sunday League level mistakes.
  • Dolberg gets injured. A lot. We need quality backup.
  • We were surprisingly good against the big teams.
  • We struggled against smaller teams. Perhaps this needs to be looked into further over preseason.
  • There's good reason for optimism for next season.

Final Standings:

5a21d5db11eb6_FinalStandingsSeason1.thumb.png.8427dfac008e4d70378d2560063cfb9a.png

Man United run out clear victors while Liverpool are the surprise story of the season for the wrong reasons. Sparky's stoke side were surprisingly good and will be playing Europa League football next season. Two of the newly promoted teams are back into the Championship. Despite their ridiculous net spend, Newcastle finished in only 13th. Next season, we will be joined by Ipswich, Norwich and Middlesbrough.

As for us, we finished 10th, as you can see. This meant that I secured a top half finish and satisfied the board.

Michael King survives for another season...

Despression.png

Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Link to post
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, john1 said:

Not bad season tbh :thup: If you can get Dolberg and Vietto, firing next season, surely you'll get Europa League spot ;) 

Yeah, thanks I'm happy with how it's gone. :thup: I'm hoping for a Europa League spot this time around as we have the ability for it. I need to make sure I get in a quality striker who can rotate with Dolberg so we can manage his minutes and avoid injuries.

If Dolberg and Vietto do as well next season as they did for the latter half of this season, I'd consider us good contenders for 6th/7th place.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Mediocre.

That one word summed up their season, from their erratic form to their 10th place finish. But mediocre was good. Mediocre kept Michael in a job. When you're new to management and are in your first job, you'd bite someone's hand off if they offered you a decent season. The board were happy enough too. He hadn't over-performed so they weren't thrilled but they were satisfied. And that was definitely good enough for Michael, for his his first season at least. He hadn't even imagined himself getting this far. He wanted to step it up for next season though. Defy expectations. Push for the Europa League spots. The board told him they expected a top half finish and he agreed but secretly he was hoping for more. He had taken this job partly for the money but also in an attempt to turn Southampton into one of the greats. And getting into Europe, albeit the Europe League, would go a long way towards that.

After a decent first season, he'd expected the fans to like him. That was naive. As far as most of them were concerned, that dodgy run in April had "exposed" him as a manager even though they still finished in the top half. For that reason, they weren't really on his side, the ungrateful ****s. But he didn't care about them. He was still employed. He hadn't been found out, at least not by the board. And that was all that mattered. As for what happened in April, he didn't believe he had been "found out" or any of that nonsense. He had a different theory. Not one that he could prove. Not one that he'd say out loud because people would take the ****. But one that he had a sneaky feeling about. He felt that it was someone else's fault. A spurned witch doctor perhaps...

 

End of season poll:

Poll.thumb.png.29499fe59105522332982034453d5fa7.png

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Bitner said:

Our clueless friend are under pressure? Well, time to show what he's made of :p

Cheers,
Bitner 

He might be unless @BoxToBox's theory is correct. But, as you said, it's time to show everyone what we're made of.

Hopefully, anyway.

 

Edited by Fer Fuchs Ake
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...