[FM18] - I've had one Gap Year, yes, but what about second Gap Year?

[noikeee]

In Bruges is a great movie!

[ManUtd1]

14 minutes ago, noikeee said:

In Bruges is a great movie!

Tremendous movie.  In my last thread, I used quotes from it to title every mini/season update during my time at Club Brugge.

[VillaSmith]

 

Pfft, as if they'd be interested in joining anyone else...

 

 

 

[VillaSmith]

Just finished the season, and the board are already expanding the stadium and our facilities again, putting that Champions League money to good use!

[VillaSmith]

I knew I should've confiscated phones before kickoff against Oostende. That video of me breaking a tooth on a Coconut has been doing the rounds on TV and the internet all week. Even when I came home for a bit of a holiday, I flicked on some Sky Sports and there was Gary Neville, giggling like a schoolgirl, my mug blown up to 20 times its size behind him. Twitter has been having a field day, and it must have been top of r/soccer about 10 times already. And all the clickbait articles, "You wouldn't believe what this manager did to celebrate the double!!!!!!"...

It must have been Dusko that took the video, he was plying me with his cheap, Serbian Rakija all through the celebrations that night, he seemed to want to see the "Coconut Off" the most. What a night it was though, two in a row, a cup win, dancing to South American samba music all night. I'm still hungover from it, and Pre-Season starts next week. I did get a phone call the next day though, the cleaners were not happy with all the sauces sprayed around Eduardo's locker.

It was a celebration that made me realise what a great bunch I have here, and as Peter and I retreated to have a glass of Whisky in my office as it got a bit wilder, we agreed that there was something special here, with perhaps more to come in yet. We even managed to sign one of the brightest prospects in world football, an Argentinian by the name of Leandro Gómez, this was after the freak injury though. You'd have thought that after being touted as Messi's replacement and then tearing your cruciate ligaments in both legs getting tackled by a stray dog on your debut would be enough to make you quit football altogether, but as soon as Leandro retired at 18, he got his coaching badges and was right back in the game, and with the level of discipline only a dictator could possess. A bright future on the pitch and on the sidelines.

I thought Gent might be a stop-gap on the way to bigger and better things, but why not bring the bigger and better things to Belgium?

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

April - June 2021  |  KAA Gent

 

Jupiler Pro League Championship Group

Whilst it was some fantastic form to end the season, getting only 22 points from a possible 30 is I think my worst run of league form all season, but also the best with some of the romping wins we got! It was a brilliant way to end the season, confirming the title with the 4-0 home win against Standard Liege and with three games to go, no last day drama this time around.  It was frustrating to lose both games against Genk, not just losing to the team that was our closest challengers but also with the way we lost, we were very poor in both games, it's perhaps something I need to watch out for next season. What was nice, was not having to rely on my front three, despite scoring a bucket load of goals, and having my midfield chip in too. I think it shows that the tactic is coming together.

Next season I'll aim to make it three in the row, but now I think I need to turn my attention to Europe. I was starting to think it was too easy and that perhaps I should move on to a tougher challenge, but with the team I've got now, I think it would be a failure if I couldn't win something in Europe before moving on.

 

 

Cofidis Cup

After two delays, I finally got to play the Cofidis Cup final with my full team available, and we blew Standard Liege away  We dominated the first half, passing rings around the Standard midfield, but we couldn't quite make a breakthrough before half-time. My heart sank when we conceded from kick-off in the second-half, I thought it would be one of those games where we would pay for not taking advantage of the control we had on the game, much like the 2nd Leg against PSG. But within 5 minutes we had taken the lead! My first Cup win and I'm absolutely delighted, especially since we made it a double too! And it's only Gent's 4th ever Cup win, which I'm surprised at considering they've seemingly been a Jupiler Pro League fixture since the early 20th Century.

 

Squad and Season Review

 

 

Awards

 

 

 

 

Not as many awards this season, and I was criminally overlooked for the Manager of the Season award. I suppose the lack of awards is more of a testament to the lack of reliance on individual players this season. I did enter the Belgian Hall of Fame this season though

 

Notable Players

 

5. Roberto Díaz - An absolute rock at the back for me this season and nearly a permanent fixture in my team this season. He formed a great partnership with Mitrovic early on in the season, and then an even better partnership with compatriot Villa in the second half of the season. He is absolutely brilliant, and fortunately, no big teams seem to be circling yet, but I may have to tie him down soon.

4. João Félix - Another brilliant season from the Benfica loanee. He had to contend with Sander Berge for his midfield spot, and despite some early rotation he managed to nail his place down by the time the Championship Group rolled around. He just suits the way I play so perfectly and he even scored quite a few crackers this season too. I want to keep him again, but once again Benfica want to try him in the first team. Hopefully, he'll get loan-listed again, or perhaps I can stump up the cash to buy him outright.

3. Peter Olayinka - Not quite as ridiculous as last season, but Olayinka was once again magnificent. It is so good having a goal threat from the wing, some who can just ghost into the back post to tap in a cross as well as providing for others. He now has 46 League goals for the club, just 11 behind the record, and even if he plays a bit part next season, he should easily beat it. A great player, but I may need a slight upgrade for Europe.

2. Dusko Jankovic - Top Goalscorer and Most Assists this season with 23 and 16 respectively, and he's still only 20. Jankovic was unstoppable in the league, and if he can just transfer that form to Europe, he could be one of the best strikers in Europe, maybe the world. He would perhaps need to develop a bit more to get there, but I don't see why he can't. I have retrained him to play on the left and may experiment with him there and someone else up front, but I think if I want to do anything in Europe, Jankovic will be key to that.

1. Giorgi Chakvetadze - He is currently attracting interest from Tottenham, Man City, Man Utd and Barcelona, and I think that should say everything about how good this guy is. He was unreal for me, getting 14 goals and 11 assists from CM, he was the heartbeat of my midfield and was just superb at arriving in the box late, he just has the knack of being in the right place. Not only is he technically very good and well rounded, he can put a shift in physically too and reads the game very well, I want to hold onto him, but it's going to be incredibly hard to do.

[ManUtd1]

3 hours ago, VillaSmith said:

Just finished the season, and the board are already expanding the stadium and our facilities again, putting that Champions League money to good use!

Excellent news.  Expanding the stadium is huge in my mind, in Belgium.  So little prize money, increasing your gate is huge.  I can't wait to get into a bigger stadium in my save, as I can't expand at Zulte.

[VillaSmith]

2 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Excellent news.  Expanding the stadium is huge in my mind, in Belgium.  So little prize money, increasing your gate is huge.  I can't wait to get into a bigger stadium in my save, as I can't expand at Zulte.

Yeah, it's great, especially since it was only expanded last summer. Plus I've been losing so much money, I'm lucky I made a profit on transfers as well as getting to the knockout rounds of the Champions League, so the extra income will be more than welcome.

[VillaSmith]

He's my best player and I can reject it, but that is a hell of a lot of money...

[noikeee]

Can you replace him with someone similar?

Sometimes when managing a club like this, it's worth taking one in the chin and using the money to develop far beyond. No point in doing that if you don't see opportunities to invest the money, though.

[VillaSmith]

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

Can you replace him with someone similar?

Sometimes when managing a club like this, it's worth taking one in the chin and using the money to develop far beyond. No point in doing that if you don't see opportunities to invest the money, though.

It depends, if I could've held on to Félix, then it wouldn't be such a difficult decision, but losing both in the same window will be devastating. I have lined up a 35-year-old Luka Modric, but that was just to play in the league occasionally, I'm not sure he'd be able to cope with 50-ish games a season. There is a young midfielder at Schalke I've had my eye on, I'm just not sure whether Schalke would sell, or if he'd want to come.

The other issue is that he's homegrown at the club, and I haven't got many homegrown players at all.

[VillaSmith]

July - September 2021  |  KAA Gent

 

Transfers

In

 

Vincent Kompany - Free Transfer from Roma. I looked at Kompany last season, but I couldn't compete with teams like Roma in terms of wages, but not many teams seemed interested this season. Whilst I like having young squads, it's always good to have some experience around and some good tutors, which Kompany is brilliant for. He may be slow which could expose him in my high line, but he's still a phenomenal CB. I'm planning on primarily using him in the league between Champions League games so that Díaz and my other CB can be fully rested, as well as having him tutor a couple of my younger backups. Plus he adds to my Homegrown quotas.

Borja Mayoral - Free Transfer from Real Madrid. To be honest, I'm not too sure how I got Mayoral. He's a brilliant striker that's just hitting his prime, yet no-one was interested. And whilst I paid a bit more in wages than I would on other players, he seems to be a massive coup for me. He fits my tactic really well and can play on either wing, and I reckon he'll be hugely important for my European ambitions over the next couple of seasons. He's probably the best player in the league by a long, long way.

Claus Lander - Free Transfer from Hull. A signing for the future, Lander looks a decent striker with some good potential, and being able to play multiple positions is always a plus for me. He is a bit of a punt as I would perhaps like him to be a bit closer to his potential at 19, but he still has plenty of time to improve, but he's been shipped out on loan for now.

Callum Gribbin - £350k from Man Utd. A cheap backup option with decent potential, I've been tracking him for a while and in the summer Utd were willing to let him go. He's a bit of a Chakvetadze-lite type of player with his main weakness being the mental side of the game, but I reckon with those technical attributes he should still be able to be a very good Jupiler Pro League player.

Pierre Seguin - £60k from Orleans. Another player for the future, this guy was suggested by my scout and I thought it was worth it at that price. He looks to be very good actually and has a good amount of potential, and I've loaned him down the leagues for now for the experience.

Hassan Ajah - £500k from Aalen. Suggested by my scout, this guy is another cheap backup option with the added bonuses that he could become Homegrown at the club and he has a fair bit of potential to fulfil. He's going to stay around my first team for now and I'll look to play him in cup games and against weaker league sides, but he looks like he could become a good player.

Tolga Işık - £3.5m from Fenerbache. Signed to be my backup RB for this season and my future starter. Bags of potential and a decent looking RB already, he was transfer listed at Fenerbache, it was a no-brainer to get him. Annoyingly he should have cost me £1.7m, but I couldn't get him to agree to a contract and by the time he was willing to talk again, Fenerbache had doubled the price 

Luka Modric - Free Transfer. As I mentioned in an earlier post I was looking at Modric to bolster my midfield and ended up going through with it. It's pretty much the same reasoning as Kompany, he may be past it physically but he is still a phenomenal player and will be invaluable in terms of experience and tutoring. Just like Kompany, he'll probably play in the league games to keep players like Berge fresh for the Champions League.

Jaroslav Sedlacek - £1.3m from Sparta Prague.  A CB I've had my eye on for a while but Prague were never willing to sell, then in the summer my scouts informed me he could be got at a reasonable price, and I thought he'd make a good addition as a 4th/5th choice CB. Lots of potential too and he looks a decent player already, I'm starting to look pretty stacked at CB now. This signing probably spells an end to Rendulic's time here too unfortunately, I just don't think he'll make the step up from Virton like I'd hoped.

Abel Ruiz - Loan from Barcelona. After suring up my defence, I realised that I could probably do with an extra body upfront/on the wings for the league. Ruiz is a tidy looking player that should certainly be able to do a job for me, and maybe even see if I can get him permanently if he does well. He seems to have a fairly high potential though, so Barca may be unwilling to sell.

Eray Çörtlen - £8.75m from Galatasaray. I am so happy I got this guy, especially at that price. Last season he was starting for Galatasaray and Turkey at 17, and it's easy to see why, he's a brilliant CB, with huge potential on top of that. This guy is going to be a star, and I'm glad Galatasaray had such a low release clause. I had to make him my second highest earner though as Newcastle and Stoke were interested, so I had to compete with those Premier League wages, plus a load of clauses and bonuses helped. Easily my starting CB with Díaz.

Valerios Athanasopoulos - £9m from Panionios. Another splurge on a young defender, but this time on a player that will most likely be a backup, for now. My scouts had alerted me to him back when I was at Virton, but Panionios had never wanted to sell up, and he's been consistently been playing in the Greek Superleague for the last 3 seasons. But this summer I noticed that some big teams in the Premier League like Liverpool and Chelsea were interested and that he now had a release clause, so I felt I had to buy him now or never get him at all. Luckily, no-one else bid and I managed to land him. I'm not sure if he's better than Teixeira yet, but it's great having two such promising LBs competing for the first team.

 

It's not just players I've brought in, I also signed a certain Dutch striker to replace my Assistant Manager at the end of his contract. He's a decent Assistant and I'm really happy I got him.

 

Out

Quite a lot of outgoings this summer as I used a lot of fringe players to fund my window. A couple of fan and dressing room favourites left such as Foket and Mitrovic, but they would have hardly played this season and I felt I had to get a decent price whilst I could. I was a bit hesitant about letting Foket go, but I do have a quite a few Homegrown at club players now, so I felt £15m was a good price. A lot of loans out too, with a few bringing in decent fees as well. A notable absence from this list is Chakvetadze. I rejected Utd's offer and then no-one else bid for him and he didn't kick up a fuss. All the other teams seemed to just move on. Man Utd got Dele Alli instead, Man City bought the other half of my midfield pairing, Félix (  ), Barcelona lost interest and Tottenham didn't qualify for Europe. In the end, this summer was nowhere near as difficult as I'd envisaged.

 

Expectations

 

Belgian Super Cup

Another trophy added to the pile! I don't know if we just took this game more seriously than Genk, or if it's a sign of my improvement, but we absolutely battered them! Genk didn't get a sniff and I thoroughly controlled the game. A brilliant way to start the season.

 

Jupiler Pro League

A slightly odd start. We started off brilliantly whilst not playing a full strength side, but then we were utterly useless against Anderlecht, then briefly looked back at the races against Lokeren before throwing away a 3-1 lead away to Standard Liege. They were away games against top teams in the league, but even the Eupen game was a bit of a struggle, so away form is a bit of a worry already. One factor could be those two games came between Champions League ties, so perhaps tired legs played a factor, but it's something to keep an eye on. At home, however, we've been phenomenal, scoring for fun and dismantling defences at will. Mayoral has been sublime and the other front three players like Jankovic, Lozano, Olayinka and Svendsen have been great as well. Despite these grumblings though, that is great form to start the season, I'm unfortunate to be 3rd I think, but perhaps with the way Antwerp and Genk have started, I may have a more exciting title race on my hands.

 

Cofidis Cup

I've decided that I'm not going to focus too much on the cup this season, let my backups get some games whilst I focus on the League and Europe. My board do want me to win this competition, but I doubt I'll lose my job over unless I fail miserably everywhere else. That being said, this was not a good performance, relying on a late goal from an injured Ruiz to limp past a Derde Klasse team. We were very poor and it certainly didn't help the case for any fringe players that played in this game.

 

Champions League

Thanks to Belgium falling in the Coefficients, the league lost it's Group Stage spot for this season, so I had to qualify via the Champions Playoff this season. A somewhat favourable draw against AEK, but we had to fight hard to win in Athens. We went behind thanks to Eray's first (own) goal for the club, and it was tough getting back into the game. Lozano ended up getting the away goal and I was happy to see it out as Teixeira got himself sent off (just before I subbed him  ). But then Eray made up for his own goal as he hoofed it up to Mayoral who sent us into the 2nd leg with a massive advantage. Also, the scoreboard may say I had a man advantage, but that's because AEK got 2 players sent off in injury time, one of which was literally the last event of the game. The second leg was a routine win after the disappointment v Anderlecht. A good win and performance to send me through to the groups.

 

 Another result of not having an automatic Group spot was the tougher draw. Perhaps not the toughest, but tougher than I'd have liked. Despite that, I fancy my chances, Dortmund and Milan are the obvious challenges, but challenges I wouldn't count myself out of.

 

And of course I wouldn't count myself out after I've won at the San Siro  A brilliant start with a great win away to Milan and then a quite tough win against Kobenhavn leaves me top after two games. Next up is Dortmund at home, so I could feasibly have won my first three games and have 9/10 points after four. I'm liking my chances as that away tie to Milan was probably my second biggest challenge in this group, and now I can't help but think I have to secure that top spot.

[noikeee]

Great start in the Champions League! Looks like Kompany, Modric and Mayoral brought in some European experience that's paying off.

[VillaSmith]

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

Great start in the Champions League! Looks like Kompany, Modric and Mayoral brought in some European experience that's paying off.

Thanks, we've been great in Europe so far, although the league has been shaky at times. Mayoral, in particular, has been outstanding. Kompany and Modric have been more League players, but they've been great at coming off the bench to see out games like against Milan.

[ManUtd1]

Wow. Fantastic start to the CL Group Stage! Nicely done!

[VillaSmith]

49 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Wow. Fantastic start to the CL Group Stage! Nicely done!

Thanks, but I'm not sure if it's just us doing well or part of the Champions League being a bit weird this season. For instance, Stoke are 2nd in their group after beating Juventus and Marseille at home, and Shakhtar have just beaten Bayern twice in a row with one of the wins being 4-0 in Ukraine. PSG have also lost to Benfica and Salzburg whilst Roma are behind Celtic and Besiktas in their group. Apparently, the Champions League norms are being torn up all over the place.

 

 

There's always one isn't there? I mean, I'm only the most successful manager in the club's history, why are so many fans getting hyped about that?

[VillaSmith]

Bloody international football  Luckily it's not for too long, but it sucks as he's been my best player so far this season.

[VillaSmith]

The best part is they aren't even that good! It's only a recent run of good form that has moved them away from the relegation fight in England, it's bonkers they've gotten through at Madrid's expense.

[VillaSmith]

Well, October was a real Jekyll and Hyde month. We were outstanding in Europe, really showing ourselves as a potential force on the Continental stage. Yet we couldn't make up ground on Genk and Standard Liege. A couple good wins but with two infuriating draws that stalled any progression I was making.

After qualification was secured with the draw in Germany though, wow! It was like a huge weight was lifted off the side. The football was beautiful and we brushed past every side we faced. It was a huge relief for me too, as the press were beginning to have a field day with my pre-season comments about our title chances, questioning our chances and how long I had to get the title challenge back on track. One reporter had the cheek to suggest there was no chance we could get back in the race, just after beating then-top-Antwerp 5-0. I swear I've seen him appear on Roberto Mancini's "Football Wars" YouTube channel...

I'm not sure what Ruud has been doing with Eduardo on the training ground though, but he's been unreal so far! Boris is panicking that his Guava supplies are going to run low. It's been a real godsend considering Dusko and Borja have both been out injured for a while, and Eduardo has stepped up to the plate brilliantly, a bit too brilliantly perhaps. And talking of injuries, none we've had this season have dealt a bigger blow than Issaka Ayew's. With 10 minutes to go in our final match before the winter break, and Issaka jumps for the ball, only to break his leg as he lands. He's out for the season, and at such a crucial stage in his development, it could set back his flourishing career before it really started. Awful luck.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October - December 2021  |  KAA Gent

 

Jupiler Pro League

Been playing catchup all season, and with that amazing form in the last couple months, we finally managed to overhaul Genk and Standard with a couple games to go before the break. It's starting to look like this won't be the walk in the park that last season was, as it's becoming clear that it'll be a title race between that Top 3. Some real commanding wins in there against some good teams too. Wins like Antwerp, Gent, Oostende and Anderlecht have been real highlights so far. Hopefully, I can get a decent replacement for Ayew in and hold on to my key players that are attracting attention so that I can see this through to the end, and perhaps challenge in Europe too.

 

Cofidis Cup

Two great wins for my backups, especially demolishing my old side Virton with my CB getting a hat-trick  A repeat of last years Semi-Final against Antwerp awaits in the new year, and a strong likelihood of repeating last years final too if I can get past Antwerp, as Standard face Mechelen in the other Semi.

 

Champions League

A brilliant group stage that I was never expecting! We demolished Dortmund at home for the highlight of the season so far, and we secured qualification with a late equaliser in the return game against Dortmund. From then it was fairly routine to secure the top spot, all I needed was to match Milan's results at the least, but beating them secured it early on. With how I've played in Europe so far, I'm starting to really believe I could do something with this side.

 

Probably one of the better draws I could have got, but the away leg is going to be difficult. I avoided Barcelona though which is a big plus. I reckon we should be able to get past Shakhtar, but it's by no means a given, we'll have to be at our best.

 

Awards

[VillaSmith]

January - March 2022  |  KAA Gent

 

Transfers

In

 

Ilirjan Berisha - £400k from Padova. With Ayew out for the season, I needed a new DM to at least cover for Sunjic, if not replace Ayew. My original plan had been to get this 19-year-old Russian DM playing for Spartak, but he was out of my price range so I went for Berisha. A bit young, but a good player with tons of potential, and at £400k, not much of a risk. Not sure I'll be able to rely on him for the Champions League, but I'll have to see I guess.

Ramón Arce - Loan from San Lorenzo (Option to Buy - £6.25m). Another signing to replace Ayew, but a more defensively minded one. He was transfer listed at £6.25m, but I wasn't sure I'd want to spend that much on him when he may not be 1st or even 2nd choice, so I loaned him for now to get a better look at him. He's a good defensive player with a lot of potential, so I may get him permanently, but I will want to see how he does over the next few months first.

Weverton - £235k (£750k) from Nautico Capibaribe. Signed by my DoF, he looks a decent player with some good potential. WIll probably go into my U21s for now, but I reckon I could make a decent Inside Forward out of him.

 

Out

Just some loans out. A couple players I recalled to loan back out as they weren't getting enough game time, but nothing major this window.

 

 

Jupiler Pro League

A brilliant way to end the regular season, we were fantastic with perhaps the exception of the two draws and have set ourselves in a great position for the Championship Group. Genk have been pushing me all season and have really made a title race out of this season, which made the 4-0 win against them all the more important, if they'd won that game, they'd be ahead of me by a point. Whilst it's good to win the league at a jog, it's also interesting to have to actually fight for the title. And I kind of feel sorry for Genk, if it wasn't for us doing so well, they'd be running away with the league   Big wins against Liege and Brugge were definitely high points, as was Olayinka breaking the club's goals record in style against Kortrijk, a true club legend I think!

 

A bit tighter than I would have liked, but with Genk up first I have an opportunity to put a bit of space between us straight away, or maybe open the door for them...

 

 

Cofidis Cup

Fairly straightforward in the Semi-Finals, Antwerp didn't really put up much of a fight, whilst Liege got past Mechelen to give us a repeat of last years final. I also stopped my players going on international duty so I could play the final when it's scheduled for this season.

Another Cup win! Liege gave me a couple of scares, but I managed to hold them off in the end and my quality saw me through. A good game and a brilliant performance from us, I'm happy to add even more to my trophy cabinet.

 

 

Champions League

We came from behind in Ukraine after giving away an early penalty to get the important away goal and set up a great platform for the second leg. In the home game, we were brilliant, we didn't give Shakhtar a sniff and ran away comfortable 2-0 winners. It puts us in the Quarter Final for the first time in Gent's history!

 

A tough draw, but is probably the best draw I could get actually. The three English teams have to be the favourites as they're a cut above the rest (which makes me glad there's a Manchester Derby in this round), then PSG, Monaco and Atléti are probably in the next tier of clubs, then Juventus, then us. Italian football isn't in a great shape at the minute, so Juventus isn't as bad as it seems. Still tough, but I reckon they're about the same level as Dortmund and I could get past them with a bit of luck. I also reckon I could beat any of Atléti, Monaco or PSG in a one off game, so if the English clubs could get knocked out and I find myself in the final, who knows what could happen!

 

 

Youth Intake

After all the investment into the youth facilities at the club and all the recruitment side of it, it's a bit of a disappointing intake, to be honest, but a couple of decent players. Moens is meant to be the standout, but I really don't like the look of him, unambitious and determination is 1, I doubt he'll ever make it, but Leroy looks as if he could be a decent player with the right training. Not a world beater, but a decent Jupiler Pro League player. Not much else there sadly.

 

[VillaSmith]

Great first leg, now to hold on in Turin...

 

Pictured Above: Sam Smith leads his team out at the Juventus Stadium.

[VillaSmith]

And into the Semis!!! Dunno how we did it, maybe Juve were confused by our away kits in this game...

 

 

Tough draw for the Semi-Final. I would've prefered Monaco to have knocked them out, but who knows how it'll turn out  

[VillaSmith]

[VillaSmith]

Well, I wasn't expecting that. The fans are certainly happy with their first Semi-Final appearance. Now to find out how much it will cost to get the Gent Bus through the Channel Tunnel.

 

Actual footage of the second goal.

[VillaSmith]

Through to Gent's first final and the first Belgian side in the final since Club Brugge 44 years ago in 1978. A repeat of last years Round of 16 in the final, as it's PSG that await me at Old Trafford!

[VillaSmith]

April - June 2022 / Season Review  |  KAA Gent

 

Jupiler Pro League Championship Group

It was looking like it might be an interesting title race, but Genk shat the bed royally, only getting 4 points from their first 5 games and leaving me to just waltz to the title unopposed. Liege put up a half-hearted challenge, but they fell away from the title race as quickly as they entered it. In the end, we won it in the second Club Brugge game, the second time I've won the title at the home of my fierce rivals! The most impressive part of this end to the season was the number of changes I was making between each game as I tried to keep my first team fit for the Champions League, so it was mostly a backup XI that saw me through to the title. 

 

Jupiler Pro League - European Qualification

 

Champions League

I've already posted these but thought I'd still include them. Four brilliant performances, we really took it to both Juve and Chelsea in the home legs and then we shut up shop for the away games. Wasn't sure how to approach the final, or how I should go about posting it. I'll give it a separate post, but still trying to figure out what to do with it.

 

Squad and Season Review

 

 

Awards

 

 

 

 

Notable Players

 

5. Giorgi Chakvetadze - Not quite as important for me this season, but still a brilliant season for the young Georgian. A scoring threat from deep and the man that fluidly connected my midfield and my front three. So happy I didn't sell him in the summer as I'm not sure there's many I could have replaced him with or that we'd have been half as good without him this year. Locked him down to a new contract already so hopefully there are no transfer worries this summer.

4. Borja Mayoral - Probably would be higher on my list if it wasn't for his injury on international duty as he wasn't the same after. But before that, he was phenomenal, providing some real quality to my front three from any of the positions. Even after the injury, he was good, but not quite the high standards he set for himself in the first few months. An even more brilliant signing considering he was on a free transfer. He also provided some vital Champions League experience to my squad.

3. Roberto Díaz - A rock in my defence this season, he formed a brilliant partnership at the back with Eray exemplified by the two of them getting 1st and 2nd in the European Defender of the Season. I'm probably going to be making him my captain next season, that's if I can hold on to him. He's a brilliant CB and a big part of my success this season, it's just a shame he got injured in training a couple of weeks before the Champions League Final.

2. Eray Çörtlen - The European Defender of the Season, and with good reason. Eray has been amazing for me, being the rock at the back with Díaz and then also being a goal threat too. Not to mention the long through balls to the striker that would often get assists. He even managed to get a hat-trick against Genk! Eray was a fantastic signing, and still only 18 he has a lot more to come, and I can see him becoming Turkey's most capped player as he already has 14 caps and I can't see him losing that starting spot.

1. Eduardo Lozano - Poor Boris. He must be close to bankruptcy with all the Guava's he's had to give away this season. Lozano was superb for me this season, not only scoring 37 goals, but he got some pretty big and important goals too. I could always count on him to get me out of tough situations, especially with Jankovic being a bit more hit and miss this season. He's a phenomenal player, and it's gonna be tough to hold onto him, Utd have already offered £88m for him and he's said he wants to join Monaco next season. I want to hold on to him, but he may just be too good to stay for long.

[john1]

Just superb!! Hopefully you can win the Champions League!

[VillaSmith]

15 hours ago, john1 said:

Just superb!! Hopefully you can win the Champions League!

Thanks! Luckily I got the easier draw, but still won't be easy.

[VillaSmith]

Final 2022

 

Line-ups

 

 

1st Minute: Teixeira clears from down in his own corner, but only goes as far as Rabiot. Rabiot with a short pass to Neymar. Through ball for Mbappe. He has to score! Straight at Kalinic! The rebound falls to Neymar but his cross is headed behind by Jankovic. Neymar lofts the corner to Zivkovic on the edge of the box, but he fires the shot wide for a Gent goal kick. PSG on top from the off here in Manchester.

 

4th Minute: Gent with some sustained possession here and looking to make PSG pay. Berge takes the ball down the right. He's got no options as Neymar jockeys him down the wing, but he manages to get a cross in. Chakvetadze rises! But he only glances the ball into Jankovic's path. Wide open, JANKOVIC!!!!! With a deflected volley, the young Serbian fires Gent into the lead in their first Champions League final! And the replays are showing it was actually Eduardo Lozano who deflected the ball into the net with a deft header. The Gent fans won't care who scored it, but they're leading in the Champions League final! PSG 0 - Gent 1.

 

8th Minute: Neat passing here from Gent as Chakvetadze plays a pinpoint ball out to Jankovic on the left. Jankovic cuts inside and lays the ball off to Lozano. Lozano turns and flicks the ball through for Mayoral. Surely! No! Mayoral shoots first time on the volley and Alisson tips the ball over the bar. Gent Corner. Ayew whips it in but Alisson claims and it comes to nothing.

 

14th Minute: PSG don't have much to do to get back in this game, but they need to move quickly otherwise they could lose a grasp on this game. Saúl looks to bring it out from the back for PSG and plays out wide to Neymar. Neymar is held up by Castagne so he looks for Mbappe on the halfway line. Mbappe turns and plays a great ball over the top for Jesus. Jesus has the beating of Villa for pace. But a poor touch allows Díaz to catch up. He still manages to dribble into the righthand side of the box and create space for a shot! And Kalinic turns it around the post for a corner. A reminder of PSG's quality here as they create a good chance virtually out of nothing. Neymar puts the corner in, but the referee gives a free kick to Gent. Saúl handballed as the went to head the ball.

 

15th Minute: And Kalinic plays this free-kick out from the back to Eray. Out wide to Teixeira whos finds Berge in the centre circle. Berge is pressured by Rabiot and lays it off quickly to Chakvetadze. Beautiful ball into the corner for Jankovic to chase. Jankovic cuts past Otto into the box near the byline and drills across goal. And it's LOZANO TO TURN IT HOME!!!! From just a metre in front of goal, Alisson could do nothing as Lozano calmy put the ball in the net to double Gent's lead. The fans are in dreamland, as is their manager! It's PSG 0 - Gent 2!

 

 

32nd Minute: 2-0 is perhaps an unfair reflection of this game, as whilst Gent deserve the lead, it's been a good contest so far with both teams creating chances. And can PSG create anything from this as Neymar dribbles inside from the left wing and sprays the ball over to Jesus in the centre circle? He's held up by Ayew and gives the ball to Zivkovic. But Zivkovic's cross is cut out by Villa and cleared to Lozano, but it's Saúl that wins the header. Neymar picks up the second ball and dribbles inside but Ayew pokes the ball free from him just outside the D. But it falls to Mbappe who quickly plays through JESUS! Jesus fires back across goal and beats Kalinic to give PSG a life-line in this game! A brilliant finish after some brilliant quick-thinking from Mbappe. We have a contest here at Old Trafford! PSG 1 - Gent 2!

 

40th Minute: PSG are really looking for the equaliser here and have Gent penned back in their own box. Saúl receives a throw-in from Otto and immediately plays it back. Otto finds Rabiot in space. He turns and tries to find Mbappe on the edge of the box, but Villa intercepts and clears to Lozano. Gent are looking to break no as Lozano turns into the PSG half. It's three on two and he has Jankovic and Mayoral in support. He plays it down the right wing for Mayoral, but was it too slow? PSG manage to get a few bodies back as Mayoral crosses to the back post. But Otto has left his marker, and it's JANKOVIC!! No doubt over who scored this one! Totally unmarked, Jankovic ghosts to the back post and fires a volley past Alisson and restores Gent's 2 goal lead! Scintillating stuff from the Belgians! PSG 1 - Gent 3!

 

Half Time: And Kovacs blows up for halftime. A tremendous match so far, we can only hope we get just as much excitement in the second half. But against all expectations, Gent have taken a deserved 3-1 lead here in Manchester over the French giants PSG.

 

Second Half: Not much to talk about for PSG as they come back out, but it does seem as if Gent are lining up differently in this half. They look to be going for the "Low Block" tactic that earned them a 2-0 win in Turin and a 0-0 at Chelsea. They seem to want to hold on to this lead at all costs, but can you blame them? We'll have to see if it pays off for them. Berge and Ayew drop into the DM positions whilst Chakvetadze moves to LM and Mayoral to RM, with Jankovic and Lozano filling the two striker roles. We wanted an exciting second half, but it seems Sam Smith doesn't want us to see one!

 

63rd Minute: And PSG have the ball, again. Gent have sat deep here all half and completely suffocated PSG's attack. It may not be pretty to watch, but it's working well for them. Veratti receives the throw from Otto. Short pass back and then otto finds Saúl in the middle. Saúl finds Veratti's run back inside, but Veratti has no options so he fires it into the box and Villa heads it away with ease. You can hear the PSG fans get restless as they struggle to break down this resilient defence. It falls to Saúl who is immediately pounced upon by Berge and Mayoral. But the ball wriggles free to Zivkovic, who crosses for Mbappe but Castagne beats him in the air. The interception falls for Zivkovic but his second cross is cleared by Villa this time. The frustration is clear on the faces of the players and fans of PSG alike. Veratti picks up the loose ball, assesses his options and plays a short ball to Neymar. Neymar with a touch inside and shoots on the turn! GOOALLL! A deflection off of Eray as Neymar fires towards goal sends Kalinic flying the wrong way, and PSG have a lifeline again. They've struggled to break down this Gent defence, but as they rush to get the ball back for kick off, is there a belief they can do it again? Or will Gent hold on? A possibly exciting end to this dull second half. It's PSG 2 - Gent 3!

 

95th Minute: It's one last throw of the dice here for PSG as Meunier takes the throw in near the Gent corner flag. Alisson has joined the attack too! PSG are throwing everything at this. It's a short throw to Veratti, who turns and sends the ball back to Grimaldo on the edge of the box. Grimaldo on the volley! But it cannons off Saúl to Mayoral, now Gent have a chance to counter whilst PSG have no goalkeeper! Mayoral launches it down the wing for Lozano to chase. But the referee says that is enough!!! The final whistle goes and Gent have beaten PSG!!! A brilliant first half which gave the Belgians a two-goal cushion, and then some fantastic defensive displays saw out the second half, and Gent have been crowned Champions of Europe in their first ever final! The final score is PSG 2 - Gent 3!

 

 

 

[john1]

Super, super win  PSG line up was insane, but good to see you beaten them.

[VillaSmith]

5 Year Review

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

If anyone wants to see anything specific that's happened so far, just let me know and I'll post some screenshots.

[VillaSmith]

In the shadow of the Ghelamco arena, the big, blue bus turns the corner as it enters the final stretch of the victory parade. Thousands of drunk Gent fans cheering as Kalinic lifts Big Ears high for all to see. The league and cup trophies were around here somewhere too, but I think Dusko managed to sneak them downstairs for his drinking games. I’ve not poked my head down there in while, the samba music is blaring, the lager and rakija is flowing and I don’t want to know what they were planning with those sauce crates.

Looking down to the end of the parade as the sun sets behind the Ghelamco, I can’t help but think, is the sun setting on my Gent career? We’re Champions of Europe and I should be celebrating that fact, but I keep asking myself, what else is there to accomplish here? Perhaps I could stay to improve the Belgian game? A huge task, and that’s without considering that other Belgian teams can’t even make the Champions League group stage. Maybe go for another Champions League title? Considering the luck we had on the route to this final, that’s another massive ask.

But what next if not staying at Gent? Rumours are that the Bayern and Barcelona managers are insecure currently, and it’s a world cup year, so International teams are guaranteed to let managers go. But there’s nothing concrete, no big team massively underperformed and no big names are retiring, it would be a gamble to just walk out. And am I ready for the international stage? I was hoping for a bit more experience under my belt before making that leap.

Maybe I should just see out my last 2 seasons here at Gent, let my contract run down. Either way, I need a holiday away from the festivities to get my head right, I'll see if Isabella can find me any flights to some tropical island.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Took a couple of weeks away from this save as I wasn't sure what to do next. Unfortunately, I couldn't actually go anywhere nice but I'm back into the save and sort of have an idea of what I want to do know.

[VillaSmith]

On 4/6/2018 at 16:52, john1 said:

Super, super win  PSG line up was insane, but good to see you beaten them.

Thanks  They've got a great team, but fortunately for me, they don't really play in a way that suits them. Plus, I knew from last season that I could beat them if I got at them, any other team I might've been more cautious and lost.

[VillaSmith]

Former Club Watch

Not as many clubs to keep an eye on this time, but wanted to do a quick update on how Virton are getting on.

 

After I left, Virton ended the 2019/2020 season finishing 7th in the Second Phase of the Proximus League and 2nd in the overall table, and as I've already mentioned, they then got promoted through the Champions Playoff, beating Roeselare 4-0 on aggregate. In their first season in the Jupiler Pro League, they finished in 12th, comfortably avoiding relegation, but then finished rock bottom of their European Playoff Group. In the 2021/22 season, Virton managed to move up the table to further cement their place in the Jupiler Pro League by finishing 9th (one place above Anderlecht) and then followed it up by winning their European Playoff Group. Unfortunately, they went on to lose 3-1 to Anderlecht in the Playoff Semi-Final. The 21/22 season also saw the club make their furthest cup progression ever (I think) by reaching the Croky Cup Quarter Final but were soundly beaten 6-0 by my Gent side. The club has also managed to stabilise financially too, in part due to the sale of players. I've already mentioned signing Emeka Ashton (£1.3m), Stéphane Laurent (£1.9m) and Jurica Rendulic (£1.2m) for Gent, but Virton also sold Tibe Lambert to Everton for £325k (£650k) and Carlos Dimitriou to Roma for £1.2m (£4m) in 2020 Summer window, and then sold Max Hollis to Trabzonspor for £7.25m in July 2021. It also looks like one of my signings is close to becoming the clubs all-time top scorer, the record currently standing at 43, whilst Prince Eze has 41 league goals for the club.

[VillaSmith]

July - September 2022  |  KAA Gent

 

 

Transfers

In

 

Benito Sonck - Free Transfer from Sheff Wed. I've been tracking him since Sheff Wed nabbed him from me at Virton and he's progressed quite nicely too. Scored 11 goals when loaned out to Lyngby in Denmark and has gotten 22 goals in 61 games in the Championship which isn't a bad return for a teenager. His contract was up in the summer so I decided to bring him back to his home country. A good Belgian striker with loads of potential, Sonck is one for the future and I'll look to loan him out for now.

Dennis van Zanten - Free Transfer from Groningen. Van Zanten's contract was expiring at Groningen, and despite him not particularly fitting my tactics, he has a lot of potential so I thought I'd take a chance on him. Plus, a pacey winger that can cross and dribble is always nice to have as an option. Like Sonck, he's one for the future so I'll loan him out this season.

Jure Jakovljevic - £525k from Hajduk Split. Signed by my DoF, and he looks a decent midfielder. Not sure if he'll be good enough to displace any of my current team, but he's got some decent potential and could be useful.

Bryan Limbombe - £11.75m from Genk. With 16 goals and 20 assists last season, Limbombe was one of the best players in the division, and with a fairly low release clause, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to sign a young, homegrown player to add some better quality depth to the squad. With bags of pace and good dribbling/finishing, I reckon he'd make a great Inside Forward with some training.

Óscar Treviño - £12.5m from Club America. Whilst Kalinic is a great keeper, I was on the lookout for possibly upgrading him, and Treviño was a GK I'd had my eye on for a while. He had a relatively low release clause and is probably one of the best keepers in the world, or at the very least, potentially one of the best. Treviño is also really good with the ball at his feet, which has allowed me to incorporate a proper sweeper keeper into my tactics, something I've wanted for a while but not had the right personnel. I'm delighted to have gotten this guy as I reckon he'll be close to the best GK in the world at some point if he isn't already.

Martin Ødegaard - Loan from Real Madrid. I was a bit light on quality in midfield, and with Ødegaard listed for loan at Madrid, I thought I'd bring him in as a backup/rotational player. I might look to sign him permanently, but he has massive wages that I'm not sure I'll want to try and match.

 

Out

Main transfers out are Rendulic and Bowen who just weren't up to scratch for this standard and Sunjic who I sold to try and balance the books a little as he was way down the pecking order. Other than that just loans out.

 

Expectations

 

Belgian Super Cup

A repeat of last season's Super Cup! This year though I decided to delegate the domestic cups to van Nistelrooij, and he didn't disappoint. I'm sorry Ruud, you can't count that as your competition win, I'm the manager so I won it.

 

Jupiler Pro League

A brilliant start to the season, a couple dodgy performances at the back, but nothing to really worry about. We managed to ease past two of our biggest challenges for this season, Standard Liege and Genk. Unlike last season, we've managed to already create a bit of a buffer with second which is great, hopefully we can maintain that gap, which considering who we've played already, it doesn't seem unreasonable. Without Champions League playoff games this season we seem to have been able to hit the ground running a bit better this season and put ourselves in a great position for the title.

 

Croky Cup

As I said for the Super Cup, I've delegated the domestic cups to can Nistelrooij for this season. I pick the starting lineup then go on holiday nd leave it to Ruud. A comfortable win with a young backup side, it's looking good so far.

 

UEFA Super Cup

A good couple of minutes put me into a comfortable 2-0 lead early on, and I controlled much of the rest of the game. Tottenham managed to get one back early on in the second half, but we managed to hold them out for the rest of the game. Not only was it great to win another Cup, but it was good practice as well...

 

Champions League

A tough group, but since I know I can beat Tottenham, I reckon I should be able to navigate this group, but it'll be tough.

 

Not a great start, but not a bad one either. Two tough games, so I'm happy I got something from both of them but it's disappointing to have not beaten Tottenham again, especially since it was at home. The Atléti game was frustrating as I was 3-1 up, and then at 3-3 I missed a penalty to win the game. As I say, it's not bad, but it's frustrating. Hopefully, I can bounce back in the next two games against Bratislava to put myself in a good position for the rest of the group stage.

[VillaSmith]

Tactics and Squad - October 2022  |  KAA Gent

 

Thought I'd do a quick update on my tactics as I've never really said how I'm playing too much, as well as a quick squad update.

 

Main Tactic - The Gent Boa

This is my primary 4-3-3 tactic. The skeleton of the tactic is based on a thread from the tactics forum called the Handbook on Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, that has been tweaked using Cleon's The Art of Possession Football, as well as some minor tweaks here and there to suit my players and how I want to play. The point of this tactic is to essentially suffocate the opposition into submission, hence the name, as well as utilising my wing backs and wide players drilling crosses into the box with the CM(A) arriving late in the box to cause trouble. I'll usually go for counter away at good teams or at home against better sides, which isn't often anymore  The rest of the time I go for Control to try and put pressure on the opposition. Using this I regularly get 60%+ possession in games and average around the upper end of 55-60% over a season, as well as carving out at least 5-10 good chances per game against most teams.

 

Secondary Tactic - The Gent Jet

A bit of an evolving tactic this one. It started out as a 5-3-2 WB formation that I used on another save as well as against 3 striker formations at Virton. From there it morphed into a 5-2-3, but it didn't really create a whole lot which caused me to shift it to this 3-4-2-1. It's a bit of a combination of my 4-3-3 and the tactics this had morphed from with a very similar style to the 4-3-3. The main difference in this tactic is that the wing-backs are the main wide-outlet and the focus on possession isn't as important whilst the main goal threat's are the CF And SS. The BPD also acts as a kind of "quarterback" who brings the ball out from the defence to launch attacks as well as closing down much like a DM in defence.

 

Third Tactic - The Low Block

A rarely used tactic that I for bigger teams that I don't want to lose to. Based somewhat on how Burnley play in real life, it's designed to completely restrict the opposition of any decent chances in the centre of the goal and causing them to resort to pot shots. To be honest, when using this tactic I essentially concede from the start that I won't create many chances and I'm happy to just soak up the pressure and get a draw. It does get the occasional goal, but it's mainly focused on keeping the opposition out.

 

 

Squad

Goalkeepers

  

 

 

Defenders

  

  

  

 

Midfielders

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Attackers

  

 

  

[noikeee]

****ing hell, everyone's winning the Champions League around here!  Top job man, congrats. I was scrolling down, looked at that PSG starting 11, and thought "you're toast". But nope, Gent prevailed. Remarkable with such a gulf in talent. 

[warlocc]

lol the championship league win didnt suprise me because i when i was reading the squad review i saw championship  league winners there so i already knew the result 

first time catching up to one of your gap year threads loved both of them and great manager 

i literally created an account just to say this