PaulHartman71 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 An all-PH71 final sees Wolfsburg win their 2nd Champions League in 6 seasons, which now takes them to a total of 4 overall. Proud to be the only Scottish side in the Last 16 and of course very happy to see Real Madrid dump Genclerbirligi out. The big dogs were back in the Europa League this time, with an Anglo-German final which saw Schalke defeat Man United. Very exciting stuff in the Round of 16 with an Old Firm Derby, with Celtic somewhat making up for their poor league campaign by dumping Rangers out and reaching the Semi Final before going out to Man United. A good showing from Galatasaray who reach the Semi Final, with impressive showings also from Dinamo Zagreb and KRC Genk to reach the Last 16. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 Galatasaray reassert their dominance in Turkey, as they make it 4 titles in 5 years after their blip last season. Kayserispor back in Europe as Genclerbirligi drop to 4th. Standard Liege are champions in Belgium, just pipping KRC Genk who have established themselves as one of the stronger sides there. A bit of an upset as perennial mid-table side KV Mechelen make it to the championship group, although ultimately miss out on Europe next season all the same. 11 in a row for Shakhtar now and it will take some doing to end their reign of terror. Desna Chernigiv again look like the only side capable of doing that at the minute. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 A big shout out to our striker Marcel Aerts who incredibly won the Golden Boot and made Team of the Season despite us going out in the Round of 16. 7 goals in 9 games in the Champions League is brilliant, especially since he only got 12 in 33 in the Scottish Premiership Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 Can't begrudge Hamilton for going out to an English side too much, as they just miss out on the Group Stage of the Europa. Celtic had a group of PSG, Valencia and Lech so finishing 3rd was probably all you could hope for from that. Aberdeen did well to reach the knockout stages and went out to a good Arsenal side. Rangers of course were then knocked out by Celtic who went onto reach the Semi Final. Some very very good news though... From next season Scotland will have 3 teams in the Champions League, with the Top 2 automatically qualifying for the Group Stage. A huge boost to us in the league and a huge boost to Scottish football in general as we overtake the Dutch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 Kieran Tierney unsurprisingly lost his job and Celtic were back in for me. Yet again they were rejected. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 This one was slightly more difficult to say no to, but ultimately I've not spent 8 seasons at St. Mirren to jump ship now a the pivotal moment when we finally start getting in that Champions League money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 No big departures as the only outgoings are squad players being let go. The most notable being experienced Welshman Michael Grist who joins Swansea for £2.2M A decent window as with the Champions League money we can now spend a reasonable amount on wages/players. Jim McCart is the most exciting signing and most expensive, The 19 year old was poached from Motherwell and should slot in nicely in central and attacking midfield. Juan Cruz Pacheco is a young defender who comes from Argentina via Belgium. He couldn't fix down a regular starter slot for Oud-Huverlee, which is strange as he's now the 2nd best central defender we have on our books. They must have some good defenders over there in Belgium. Callum McGregor is a bright young prospect for right back poached from Aberdeen, he should be great defensive cover this season. Stephen O'Hara joins on a freebie after failing to negotiate a new deal with Motherwell in the summer. If I'm honest we're in real trouble if this guy sees any serious minutes this season, but he's decent enough to fill the role of emergency 3rd choice striker for HG purposes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 A solid first leg against the Danish side, with Orlando Kwasie and the Danish born Jonas Lauridsen getting on the score-sheet as we keep them out. The score-line perhaps flattered the home side a bit, as once Charlie Ross got an away goal in the 32nd minute it pretty much killed the tie. Kobenhavn did still try to get back into it, but even after making it 1-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate, they never looked likely to score the 3 goals it would have taken them to make it through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 Interestingly enough we were again drawn against KRC Genk of Belgium. They gave us a real scare in the home leg as they took an early lead, which we pegged back through Belgian striker Marcel Aerts, but then they got a penalty just minutes later to go in at half-time 2-1 up. We got the win on the night thanks to two goals from two Danes, but I was still quite worried about them having picked up 2 away goals. Luckily KRC Genk managed to give us a bit of an easy ride, as they had a midfielder sent off for a second yellow less than half hour into the game. It was still a bit nervy as they still only needed a 1-0 win on the night to get through, but Marcel Aerts made it 1-0 on the hour mark and they were never getting the two goals without reply that they needed with 10 men. A slight scare but we're through to the cash-cow of the Group Stage. This season we have my old side Portimonense, last season's Europa League winners Schalke and Turkish champions Galatasaray. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Another crack at the Champions League coming up... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 Mid-Season Update League Cup It wasn't an easy run to the final, with a penalty-shootout and an extra-time penalty winner against Queen of the South, but we made it to another final. A fantastic day out at Hampden Park, helped along the way by Motherwell getting a man sent off early into the second half, but a triumphant win and Thierry's second ever trophy. Champions League We got the group off to a brilliant start with a 2-0 win against my old side Portimonense. I wasn't sure what to expect from them but it was a tough game, so to come away with a clean-sheet and reasonably solid win I was well pleased. Galatasaray are probably on the same kind of level as us, maybe even a bit stronger, so going to Turkey was always going to be tough but we came away with what felt like a good point on the night. We followed that up with a trip to Germany and again, since they won the Europa League last season I was pretty content to come away with a point from that one. It was another tough game with Schalke at home, with a draw again being a fair result. Portimonense took a really early lead, but we equalised very quickly after through Ryan Maguire standing in for the injured Marcel Aerts upfront. After that the home side dominated us a bit and were good value for their win. On paper this was the hardest game of the group so to come away with a defeat is no real shame for me. The home match with Galatasaray was a must win game for us to progress and unfortunately we couldn't quite do it. A tough group really as I think all 4 of us are very much at a similar level, with no real favorite or whipping boy. I'm not too gutted as we only lost to Portimonense and didn't really play badly in any of the games. A shame to go out but at least we have a crack at the Europa League. Although we've drawn the hardest possible side of the Last 32 by getting my old side Vitesse who are usually in the business end of the Champions League, but also went out in the group stage this time Thanks for that Rangers... Premiership A storming start to the season with 3 wins from our first 3, before two draws on the road to Motherwell and Rangers. We beat relegation battling Ayr, before drawing away to Aberdeen and then losing to a good Celtic side. We drew with St Johnstone before an absolute goal fest win in Kilmarnock. We scored a fair few more on the road against Queen of the South and then Ross County, with back to back hat-tricks for Marcel Aerts, before a draw at home to Motherwell, a win at Dundee and then a loss to Rangers. 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the festive period, which is pretty good, especially with a big 2-1 win at Celtic. Ryan Maguire getting a hat-trick of his own against Ayr. We've got a game in hand on Celtic and Rangers and it's safe to say at the half-way stage we're well in the title picture, even Hibs are too who are just 1 point behind us also with a game in hand. It's all to play for, especially with 3 CL spots up for grabs this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andychar Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Shout out to Hibs for keeping up with the 3 of you! I can feel the first title coming up. Fingers crossed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Happy to report no transfers in or out in January. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Pre-Split Update Scottish Cup A solid run in the cup sees us reach the final, with Hibs awaiting us at Hampden Park. Europa League An incredible return to Arnhem for me. It was a capacity crowd at the Jean-Pierre Cathala Stadium which our old chairman named after himself all those years ago. It was an incredibly close game and it looked like we would have to settle for a draw and no away goal, but Jim McCart smashed home from 25 yards in the last minute of extra-time to give us an unbelievable late win. The return leg in Paisley saw Vitesse grab two big away goals early on and they went into half-time 2-1 up on the night, with us needing two goals to find a way back into the game. I thought we may well be out, but Marcel Aerts headed one home from a free-kick in the 80th minute, then Jonas Lauridsen the substitute scored a cracker 5 minutes later to put us level on the night and ahead on aggregate. Vitesse threw everything forward to try and get another goal, but we actually managed to break and get another one, with Marcel Aerts rounding out a tremendous second half-performance from the boys. It was another tough tie in the Round of 16 as I returned to another of Paul Hart's old stomping grounds. Zenit took the lead in the 65th minute, but a late away goal from Matija Tufegdzic meant that we came away the happier side on the night. Matija Tufgedzic was on hand to grab another goal in the return tie, with his goal just before half-time putting us ahead on the night and on aggregate. Alex Delgado got a second in the 72nd minute, which meant Zenit needed two goals to go through. They did get one of them, but we kept them out from getting the 2nd which would have knocked us out and into the Quarter Final we were. We got West Ham United in the Quarter Final and after a fairly drab first half they got a penalty on the stroke of half-time, to get an away goal and cut our spirit a bit. Marcel Aerts got us a goal just after the hour mark to make it 1-1 on the night ahead of our trip to the London stadium. I have fond memories of the London Stadium in this save as it was at that very stadium where Paul Hart won the Champions League with Vitesse 11 seasons ago. Paul Hart won that game at the London Stadium against Manchester United 4-0. This wasn't quite as cosy of a ride, as despite Marcel Aerts first half-strike putting us ahead, it got pegged back and the game eventually went to penalties. 19 year old Academy graduate Ryan Ross (not that good really, only playing due to a few injuries in central midfield) missed our first penalty and I thought that was it, but their lad blazed his penalty over the bar and then we scored every one of ours remaining. A Semi Final tie with Standard Liege of Belgium awaits, with Shakhtar and Celtic in the other Semi. Premiership An absolutely brilliant start to the new year as we stormed past five teams, with 5 wins from 5, 15 goals, 0 conceded with Marcel Aerts getting 7 of them. We lost away to Rangers in a big game for the title, but quite frankly we were utterly screwed over. The first leg of the Vitesse game kicked off at 8pm in Holland on Thursday 09/02/68, so would have finished about 10pm, then just 41 hours later we have to go and play Rangers at The Ibrox ffs, no wonder we didn't win We did manage to beat Ayr tough and got a decent draw at home to Celtic. We ended the pre-split in strong form, with 3 wins from 4, with a draw at home to St Johnstone the only game we dropped some points in, keeping clean-sheets in 3 of them. Despite that loss at Rangers partially through stupid fixture lists, we are remarkably 3 points clear of them going into the final 5 matches of the season. The first of those 5 matches sees us play Rangers at home in a 6 pointer for the title. If we can avoid defeat in that game we'd be in a solid position, but we of course still have to play both Celtic and Hibs who have looked good this season, with Aberdeen no mugs either as as they actually beat us at home in one of the four losses we've taken so far this season. A great position to be in going into the split though, with the League Cup in the bag already we're actually incredibly in a decent position to pick up a domestic treble if we play our cards right. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carninho Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Great career , just smashed through it in the last couple of days. Its up there with your classic A-Z career You still have some great leagues left to add/move onto. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuy600 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Phwoar, I finally caught up with this and I can say the same as what the others are saying. What an incredible career and I applaud you for keeping at it for that long. Hopefully you'll be finished with Scotland soon, it seems as if we're gonna get real far into the future if you don't end up cancelling it. I mean we already are, but think of the records, ya know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 Thanks guys. Definitely no plans to stop any time soon. I'm just taking each nation one season at a time, so far it stays refreshing as I manage in a different league each time. A lot of the leagues I either haven't managed in for a very long time or haven't managed in before, which helps it say mixed up a bit. 50 years or so into the save and whilst the landscape of things isn't as random as if I had the laptop capacity to have every league loaded the entire time, even now it does feel like the state of the Champions League Group Stages is very different now. At the start of the save at Arsenal or PSG if I got a side from Russia, Holland, Scotland, Turkey, Belgium etc in the group they'd usually be whipping boys or certainly not competing to go through, but now a lot of those sides are good enough to beat anyone on their night and go far. Portuguese sides were never that weak, but also never threatened to win the thing, whereas now a Portuguese side winning it is just standard really and not even a surprise. Italy on the other hand have interestingly dropped off massively (you'll see even further in the next update) so it will be interesting to see how things like that continue as the save goes on and each league gets elevated in turn. The big surprise things off the top of my head so far are probably Juventus getting made irrelevant in Europe as a result of dropping off in Italy, Ajax getting relegated in Holland and Liverpool going into administration and banned from Europe about 4 times due to FFP. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 End of Season Update Scottish Cup A great performance at Hampden Park, with Matija Tufegdzic getting the only goal in game that secured a Cup double for us this season. Europa League A very tight match in Belgium against Standard Liege, which looked like it would go to a goal-less draw, but the home side snatched a late winner late on. Another tight game at home and unfortunately we just couldn't get the goal that would've taken it to extra-time and helped maybe put us into the final. A shame as it was a winnable game and theoretically we beat "easier" sides to get this far, but it was a long season and we just couldn't beat them over the two legs. A deserved final for the Belgian side. Premiership We beat Rangers at home after a close game to put us in the clear for the title and we won 3 of our remaining 4 matches after that to put it within any doubt. 6 points clear of Rangers in the end as St Mirren win their first ever Scottish title and do the domestic treble in the same season! Marcel Aerts has gone from strength to strength after winning the golden boot in the Champions League last season. He only managed 12 in 33 league games last season, but this season he managed 19 showing real improvement and the sort of goal-scoring form I questioned if he could ever achieve at the club after signing him 3 years ago. Good seasons from Markus Christensson in defence and Boris Stankovic in midfield also. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of this save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x2 - 2061/62, 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x1 - 2067/67 (St. Mirren) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Scotland Turkey Belgium Ukraine Switzerland Czech Republic Croatia (+6) Greece (+4) Denmark (-2) Austria Sweden (-3) Serbia (+2) Romania (-4) Norway (-3) Poland (+3) Iceland (+3) Israel Slovenia (-3) Bulgaria (-3) Slovakia (+1) Republic of Ireland (-1) Hungary Belarus Finland Wales Northern Ireland Croatia and Greece are big risers, with Romania the biggest losers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 PSG win their Champions League for 28 years, a long draught for them, as they take their CL haul up to 7 in total. Celtic become the first ever Scottish winners of the Europa League/UEFA Cup, as they beat Liege in the final. An interesting tournament that saw Partizan of Serbia in the Quarter Final, an all Belgian quarter final between Liege and Sint-Truidense VV who did very considering they're hardly a Belgian heavyweight. Malmo and Slavia Prague also interesting names in the last 16. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 Galatasaray make it 6 titles from the last 8 seasons in Turkey and they're clearly a dominant force over there at the moment. KRC Genk finally get their hands back on the Belgian title after 38 years of near misses. Standard Liege managed to juggle the Europa League with the league to still finish 2nd and get Champions League football for next season, whilst Lokeren do very well to get 3rd. Eupen and Club Brugge grab the remaining spots in Europe, with the likes of Anderlecht, STVV and Oud-Huverlee Leuven all missing out. 12 in a row for Shakhtar, as surprise package Zorya Lugansk come the closest to stopping them and get a spot in the Champions League for their troubles. Another poor year for Dynamo Kyiv but they make it into Europa either way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 A poor show from Hibs and Aberdeen who go out to Lech Poznan and Red Star Belgrade respectively. We of course made the Semi Final of the Europa League, with Celtic winning the thing, as Rangers make the Last 16 of the Champions League. Incredible scenes as we actually overtake France to get 6th. It doesn't change too much for us this season, more just helps the sides in the Europa League, but look at that trajectory, if we keep it up we could overtake Portugal and take 4th position, which would guarantee us 4 spots in the Champions League each season, huge for us and The Old Firm, but also a massive opportunity for another club too. Also just look at Italy. They are absolutely finished If you look at the trajectory for them they could drop another 2 spots to 19th next year, which would give them just 1 team in the Champions League who would have to start in the 1st qualifying round This shows you how moving ahead of France has helped the other sides, as it means we get an extra side guaranteed Europa group stage. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 A fairly eventful summer. A Saudi side were hell bent on signing our first choice keeper and he was hell bent on taking that sweet sweet money, so we eventually sold him a week after the Scottish Cup final, as the original date they would've signed him was the day before it and I wasn't losing him before it. A few back-up players went off to various sides, most notably Jonas Lauridsen who did well last season but was getting older and wanted to start every week which I couldn't offer him. Our right back Xabier Calderon was snapped up by Galatasaray for £10M. I didn't go out of my way to sell him but he was on higher wages than I would've liked and at 26 it wasn't a bad time to cash out on him with a £7M profit. Chancel joins us as our new first choice keeper, poached from Aberdeen he also has the benefit of counting as HG in Scotland due to them signing him so young. Kelvin Mensah is a good centre back, who we poached from Ayr and he actually has Scottish as a second nationality so I'm really pleased to have picked him up. Great mental stats and possible future captain material as well. Iain Hunter is a very good winger who we have poached from Rangers at a very good price, almost unbelievable really that they'd let us have him. It looks like for whatever reason he's never gotten a look in there and wanted to leave, so with 1 year left and no interest in re-signing they took the money rather than lose him for nothing. Not got the greatest goals/assist ratio but to be fair to him he rarely started more than 1 game a season anyway, with the rest all being sub appearances. He's certainly worth a punt and has no real track record of injuries. We now move onto the bosman signings, which is a market I've noticed can be quite good to tap into. There wasn't a lot going last year, but now we have CL football and can pay reasonable wages a lot of the squad players from the top sides that get released seem to find us an appealing prospect due to CL and being able to start every week. Sergio joins from Real Madrid after moving to them for £11M three seasons ago and not playing a single senior match for them. Mike Bauenerfield is probably the best of the bunch and joins from a very good Wolfsburg side after spending 7 years there with little to no chances in their first team. He has experience in Scotland as he was part of the Rangers title winning side a few years back where he seems to have done quite well. Jesus Maria Sanchez is our new right back who joins from Valencia after a total of 3 senior appearances in 4 seasons. He seems to have done well for Valencia B in that time, but never got the chance, which seems mad as he looks a good player and is a bargain for nothing. Only time will tell how our army of new recruits poached from smaller clubs or misfits and outcasts taken from the bigger sides will prevail. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Valencia, Zenit and Liverpool await us in the Group Stage. Based on the coefficient rankings Valencia are favorites, regularly making the knockout stages since the 2064 season, with the 2063 season previously seeing them win the Europa League. Zenit are still a very dangerous side, making the Semi Final 2 seasons ago and the Quarter Final the year before that, although of course we did knock them out of the Europa League last season as I'm sure you may recall. Liverpool are a wildcard due to their regular financial woes and administration problems. They actually only went back into administration last summer briefly. They have not made it past the Champions League group stage in 34 years, so are the underdogs in the group. In recent years they have been knocked out by Desna and Genclerbirligi in the Europa League knockout stages, whilst we of course knocked them out in the qualifying stages of the Europa League all those years ago back in 2062. It should certainly be interesting. I would not be surprised to see us back in the Europa League again such as is the quality of the group even though we were first seeds. Elsewhere, Rangers face a group of PSG, Portimonense and Roma, whilst Celtic have Man United, Schalke and KRC Genk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Well done winning the Scottish League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 Mid-Season Update League Cup A good win against Ayr away from home, but we fall in the Quarter Finals to Celtic. Premiership A fairly inconsistent start to the season, with 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss away to Celtic. We were lucky to get anything at home to Dundee. A poor loss away to Aberdeen before a bore-draw at Rangers. We did win 3 on the bounce following this though. Jim McCart was in fine form as we drew with Celtic and away to Hibs, with wins against St Johnstone, Killie and Motherwell. A strong end to the year with 3 wins from 5, with draws against Rangers and Hamilton. Celtic have started extremely well this season, as we trail 9 points in our first title defence at Christmas. Aberdeen have been bloody good too, as they're 5 points ahead of us ffs We're about level with Rangers at the moment. I'm hoping Aberdeen's form will drop going into the new year as Hibs often did when they were chasing the top spots. Celtic's form has been poor in the festive period too, although only in the sense that their previous form was so good. They were having a Liverpool-like season where they won 12 from 12, our draw with them was actually the first time they dropped points all season. Champions League An exciting trip to the Mestalla saw us draw 0-0 with Valencia in what was a good performance. A return to my old stomping ground in Russia saw us unfortunately lose 1-0. It was a close game, but they took the lead in the first half and we just couldn't get the goal to get us back in the game. Another close game with Zenit, but thankfully Iain Hunter's curled effort gave us a massively important 3 points in the race to qualify. Valencia gave us a good fight at home, but much like the away leg both defences seemed to cancel each other out in the end. The final group stage match saw 1,773 of our lot head for a huge night at Anfield. Liverpool were 1-0 up at half-time, which was a result that would've seen them through and us go out. Iain Hunter pegged it back to 1-1, which at the time I think put us, Zenit and Liverpool all on 7 points and we were going out of the CL still. But a Liverpool defender picked up a second yellow card in the 64th minute and from then on out the momentum was all with us. It still didn't look like we would get that vital winning goal, but it came late on when Mike Bauernfeind smashed home from just outside the box to give us a huge win and all 3 points. As close as these groups can get, but that late goal at Anfield sees us through to the Last 16. Wolfsburg await us in the 1st Knockout Round. Rangers go out of Europe completely. But a good performance from Celtic sees the league leaders join us in the knockout round. They face our group winners Valencia. Meanwhile in the Europa League... Strong campaigns from Aberdeen and Hibs sees them get knockout matches with Bournemouth and Club Brugge respectively. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 January Window Matija Tufegdzic wanted first team-football which we couldn't offer him, so off he went to Bordeaux. Long-time midfielder Rares Olteanu had also fallen out of favour in recent years as he aged and better players came in, he also wanted to leave so went to Rostov in Russia. We needed a new rotation midfielder to field the void so we have picked up a talented youngster from Serbia in Mladen Ivancvevic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Pre-Split Update Scottish Cup A quarter final exit after a fun run which saw us smash up Cowdenbeath in the opening round. Premiership We started 2069 in decent form with 2 wins, but then lost to Celtic in a game which more or less killed any hope of catching them. We followed it up with wins over Killie and Motherwell, with a last gasp winner in the latter. Our winning run continued with wins against Dundee, then on the road against Rangers and Aberdeen, before Aberdeen smashed us at home just a week later. We did beat Queen of the South after that though. 2 wins and a draw to end the pre-split campaign. Celtic haven't been in great form in the last few months which has meant the title is still up for grabs, although it's very unlikely we manage to make up that deficit. Aberdeen still pushing for 3rd place, with Rangers probably out of the picture. Champions League A hard fought first leg saw us come away with a big clean-sheet, which gave us something to take into the away leg where I returned to my old ground. A huge result as I returned to the Edin Dzeko Arena, with Mike Bauernfeind, unwanted and unused by Wolfsburg and snapped up by us on a bosman this summer pops up to give us the goal that sends us through. You couldn't write it. What a moment for him and for us as we reach the Quarter Final stage for the very first time. We face Real Madrid. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 End of Season Update Premiership We weren't in the best of form to end the season, with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses to end the campaign and to be honest we were quite fortunate to beat Rangers. We still managed to finish 2nd though, with Celtic having a 10 point lead to be crowned champions in the end. A fantastic season from Aberdeen who have a spot in the Champions League Group Stage next season for their troubles, unlucky Rangers. Champions League Not the worst first leg in Madrid, as we took an early lead that we surrendered just before half-time. I was happy to get an away goal and still be within the tie as we went back to Scotland though. The game-plan was to keep it tight and nick a goal on the break. In the end we kept it tight but just couldn't nick the goal, we had a few chances where a 1-0 win would have taken us through, but Madrid defended well to keep themselves in-front. Not a season where anyone massively stood-out. Bauernfiend probably the highlight overall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Paul Hart's Career History This covers the first 40 seasons of the save, from 2018-2058 Spoiler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Arsenal Premier League 4th Europa League winners 2019/20 Arsenal Premier League 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1 & Coupe de la Ligue winners 2021/22 Paris SG Ligue 1 1st Ligue 1, Champions League & Trophee Des Champions winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 AS Roma Serie A 3rd Italian Cup runners-up 2023/24 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Cup winners 2024/25 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A winners 2025/26 AS Roma Serie A 2nd Italian Super Cup winners & Champions League runners-up 2026/27 AS Roma Serie A 1st Serie A, Italian Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027/28 Atletico Madrid La Liga 3rd N/A 2028/29 Atletico Madrid La Liga 2nd N/A 2029/30 Altetico Madrid La Liga 2nd Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 6th N/A 2031/32 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5th Europa League winners 2032/33 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2033/34 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd N/A 2034/35 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1st Bundesliga winners 2035/36 VFL Wolfsburg Bundesliga 2nd German Super Cup & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2036/37 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2037/38 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2038/39 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League & Super Cup winners 2039/40 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Russian Premier League, Russian Cup & Super Cup winners 2040/41 Zenit St Petersburg Russian PL 1st Champions League & Domestic Treble winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2041/42 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd N/A 2042/43 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Taca de Portugal runners-up 2043/44 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th N/A 2044/45 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 6th Europa League winners 2045/46 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 3rd European Super Cup winners 2046/47 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th N/A 2047/48 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 4th Portuguese League Cup winners 2048/49 Portimonense SC Primeira Liga 1st Primiera Liga & Champions League winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2049/50 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2050/51 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd N/A 2051/52 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2052/53 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2053/54 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2054/55 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 2nd Dutch Cup winners 2055/56 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Dutch Cup & Super Cup winners 2056/57 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Champions League & Super Cup winners 2057/58 Vitesse Arnhem Eredivisie 1st Eredivisie, Club World Cup, Euro Super Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hart's Trophy Cabinet Spoiler Champions League x8 - 2019/20 (Arsenal), 2021/22 (Paris SG), 2026/27 (AS Roma), 2029/30 (Atletico Madrid), 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg), 2048/49 (Portimonense SC), 2056/57 (Vitesse Arnhem) Europa League x3 - 2018/19 (Arsenal), 2031/32 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2044/45 (Portimonense SC) Club World Cup x1 - 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) European Super Cup x3 - 2032/33 (VFL Wolfsburg), 2045/46 (Portimonense SC), 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Bundesliga x1 - 2034/35 (VFL Wolfsburg) German Super Cup x1 - 2035/36 (VFL Wolfsburg) Serie A x2 - 2024/25, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Cup x2 - 2023/24, 2026/27 (AS Roma) Italian Super Cup x1 - 2025/26 (AS Roma) Ligue 1 x2 - 2020/21, 2021/22 (Paris SG) Coupe de la Ligue x1 - 2020/21 (Paris SG) Trophee Des Champions x1 - 2021/22 (Paris SG) Primeira Liga x1 - 2048/49 (Portimonense SC) Portuguese League Cup x1 - 2047/48 (Portimonense SC) Russian Premier League x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Cup x4 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Russian Super Cup x5 - 2036/37, 2037/38, 2038/39, 2039/40, 2040/41 (Zenit St Petersburg) Eredivisie x3 - 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Cup x5 - 2051/52, 2052/53, 2053/54, 2054/55, 2055/56 (Vitesse Arnhem) Dutch Super Cup x4 - 2052/53, 2055/56, 2056/57, 2057/58 (Vitesse Arnhem) Thierry's Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club League Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2058/59 Genclerbirligi SK Turkish Super Lig 5th Turkish Super Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2059/60 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 5th N/A 2060/61 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd N/A 2061/62 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup winners 2062/63 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2063/64 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish Cup runners-up 2064/65 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2065/66 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Scottish League Cup runners-up 2066/67 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A 2067/68 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 1st Scottish Premiership, Cup & League Cup winners 2068/69 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd N/A --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x2 - 2061/62, 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x1 - 2067/67 (St. Mirren) Nations Completed Nations completed as Paul Hart: 1. England - Arsenal 2. France - Paris SG 3. Italy - AS Roma 4. Spain - Atletico Madrid 5. Germany - VFL Wolfsburg 6. Russia - Zenit St Petersburg 7. Portugal - Portimonense SC 8. Holland - Vitesse Arnhem Nations completed by the AI: 1. England - Manchester City 2. Germany - RB Leipzig 3. Spain - Valencia CF 4. Portugal - Sporting Lisbon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Scotland Turkey Belgium Ukraine Croatia (+2) Switzerland (-1) Austria (+3) Czech Republic (-2) Denmark Sweden (+1) Serbia (+1) Greece (-4) Poland (+2) Norway Romania (-2) Iceland Israel Slovenia Slovakia (+1) Bulgaria (-1) Republic of Ireland Hungary Belarus Finland Wales Northern Ireland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 One hell of a season for the AI as they take Galatasaray to the Champions League final, a first for a Turkish side of any description in the entire history of the tournament. Valencia beat them in the final though, winning their 2nd ever Champions League, adding to the one they won 16 years previously after dumping out Real Madrid in the Semi. Pretty mad when you consider we played them twice and were unbeaten Marseille are champions of the Europa League. A boost for the Italian coefficient as Roma, albeit their only Champions League team at the start of the season, wind up in the Semi Final. A quarter final for Genclerbirligi, Fenerbache and Clubg Brugge, with Legia Warsaw doing well to reach the knockout stages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Galatasaray didn't let their Champions League form impact them in the league, as they won their 3rd straight title, with 7 of the last 10 going their way. Besiktas the only side anywhere near them. A comfortable win for Standard Liege, as Anderlecht sneak in front of KRC Genk for the second Champions League spot. Charleroi are a pretty surprising 4th place side, with Oud-Huverlee Leuven having a horrific year. 12 straight wins for Shakhtar, with no end in sight of their domination. No Europe for Dynamo Kyiv next season. Bottom place and relegation for Chornomorets who not that long ago were regularly picking up 2nd and 3rd place finishes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Shout out to Celtic for winning the European Super Cup against PSG. We can't moan too much about them going out to the eventual winners of the Champions League in Valencia. Not a good look for Killie to go out to a side who finished bottom of the Ukrainian league, whilst Aberdeen and Club Brugge have more respectable departures to Bournemouth and Club Brugge in the Europa. Rangers of course finished bottom of a tough Champions League group. I was surprised we managed to overtake France and Portugal, but I show it's a testament to how well we've all done in recent years. 3 sides in the Top 20 is always going to be a good look for a nation like Scotland looking to rise up, although France of course have two very successful sides in PSG and Marseille and when you think Portugal have got Benfica, Porto and Portimonense it's a surprise we've taken over them too but the numbers and seedings don't lie! A huge rise for the nation of Scotland and will be great for the coming season, especially with Aberdeen looking half decent too now. Let's hope we can keep it up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Keep plugging away Paul. St Mirren's Champions League glory will come. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Summer Transfers The most notable departures see long-term players Dean McLoughlin leave for Leeds and Orlando Kwasie for Sassuolo. It was a bit of a changing of the guard as long-time winger Alex Delgado also left, him for Queen of the South, with Andreas Larsen joining Hibs for £2.5M. They were all players either already in or fast approaching their early 30's, so with contracts running up and injuries increasing it was a good time to sell all of them really. Francois Naud is a talented left winger who will add great competition to that side of the pitch. The Hawk, Haukur Hauksson is a good young attacking midfielder from Iceland who will be an astute signing for that part of the midfield. Adrian Gorecki is a strong looking centre back who for at that price we couldn't pass up on, great to poach him from a fellow Scottish side in Killie. Alexe joins from Romania to add a bit of depth up-front. These two young lads will both be good squad players, signed from lesser sides to help with our depth and HG purposes. Champions League groups have been drawn and we will face last year's Europa League winners Marseille, my old side Vitesse and FC Basel of Switzerland. It will be a tough group but I'm hoping we can get through it. Aberdeen will face the holder's Valencia, Wolfsburg and Shakhtar of Ukraine, which will be a big test for them, whilst Celtic face the side who knocked us out last year, Real Madrid, as well as Portimonense and Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 MId-Season League Cup It took extra-time against Ross County in the Quarter Final, but we played well against Rangers in the Semi Final to set up a final with Killie. Not an easy game, but an injury-time strike from Marcel Aerts sealed another trophy for Thierry's St Mirren side. Premiership We almost lost on the opening day with Hibs, but pegged them back for a point, before going on a good run of 4 wins from our next 4 matches to end game-day 5 on top of the table. We picked up another win against Hamilton, before hitting some bad form as we drew twice in a row with Queen of the South and Rangers, before a loss to champions Celtic and then an unexpected home loss to Killie. We beat Aberdeen thanks to a late second half penalty, but then couldn't seal a win against St Johnstone or Hibs. We did manage to get back to winning ways against Dundee United and Ross County though. 3 draws and 3 wins in the busy festive period. Considering two of the draws were against Celtic and Rangers we have to be happy with that run of form, especially with the win away to Aberdeen at the end. It's very tight at the top with everything still to play for. Champions League The Swiss champions Basel gave us more problems than I imagined we would have after Sergio gave us a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. They pegged it back to 1-1 in the second half and it was only a dubious penalty converted by Mike Bauernfeind that gave us the win in the end. A Bauernfeind penalty was the only goal in our impressive home win against last year's Europa League winner's Marseille. It was a close game and we were perhaps somewhat fortunate to come away with the win, but it was a huge 3 points for us. A decent draw to start our double header with my old side Vitesse. Can't argue with the result too much as we lost 2-0 in my return to my old ground. We put up a decent fight and it looked like it might go to another 0-0, but they got the better of us in the second half unfortunately. Basel put up less of a fight in the return home tie and they didn't much trouble us. A crucial hard fought point in the South of France to help see us through to the knockout stage. Top of the group is a nice bonus, although we don't have much to show for it with Man United to play in the next round. Aberdeen wind up bottom but you can let them off with that group of death they ended up with. Celtic meanwhile make it through. A poor showing for Portimonense to finish below Dinamo Zagreb and go out completely. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 A few departures in the winter window, as back-up left back, Tom White, joins for Championship side Swansea to get regular football. We also lose back-up keeper Connor McNeil who wanted first team football, as well was Markus Christensson, a central defender who has also not been too happy at not starting, with him we got a very nice fee from Europa League side Stoke City. I've signed a new first choice keeper, who we actually got from Hibs before they bought our former #2, as our #1 keeper broke his leg in December and will miss most the rest of the season. Meziu is a talented Scottish/Kosovan keeper who will be a good pick-up to play for the rest of the season. Ross Jardine is a new back-up left back, who is a decent looking prospect signed from Hamilton. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 Pre-Split Update Scottish Cup A good run sees us set-up a Hampden Park showdown with Rangers later in the season. Premiership We had several away games to start to the new decade, unfortunately we lost to Killie, but we did win 3 of our other 4 games. 3 wins from 4 in our next run of fixtures, including a big win at home to Rangers. A decent draw away to Celtic, before wins against Motherwell and Aberdeen. It couldn't be much tighter between the top three as we head into the post-split... Champions League A solid result at Old Trafford. We held our nerve and defended very well, could not quite get the away goal but still a decent result on the night. A fantastic 2-0 home win sets up a Quarter Final with Porto. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 A nervy first leg with Porto, but one where we once again held our ground defensively and kept a clean-sheet to take to Portugal. Another 0-0 in normal time, which meant we went to extra-time and it was none other than Marcel Aerts who popped up with a huge winning goal to put St. Mirren into their first ever Champions League Semi Final! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Come on Paul... this is your year... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidthekid Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 incredible run in the UCL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 Our defence was in fine form in the home leg, keeping a clean-sheet against the strong attack of City, thankfully Marcel Aerts had his shooting boots on and his brace gave us a huge 2-0 win and a foot in the final. City weren't at the races early on and a quick-fire double from Sergio and Marcel Aerts made it 4-0 on aggregate after just 11 minutes, meaning City needed 5 to get through. They were never getting that, but we made it 3-0 just before half-time for good measure. They did get one back, but incredibly we ended the tie 5-1 aggregate winners. The final sees a reunion of the group stage as we face off against Marseille. We know we can beat them as we beat them in the group stage and drew the other game, but who knows what might happen in the final itself... 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 End of Season Update Scottish Cup A disappointing result in the end of what was a close game. A few silly yellow cards from Stankovic meant he got himself sent off, which turned the tide for Rangers who out-manned and outplayed us in the final half hour. Premiership A fairly awful end to the season with 3 draws and 2 losses from our post-split games, certainly not title winning form. In fairness for both the Celtic and Kilmarnock game I did put out weakened sides to rest our best players for the mid-week Champions League Semi Finals against City, but no excuse for the loss to Hibs and failing to beat Aberdeen on the last day. We were a bit unlucky against Rangers, but still frustrating to lose as we were 2-1 up at half-time. Not the end to the season that we wanted really. Best defence in the league once again though. Hibs are the 4th side into the Champions League, with Killie, Aberdeen and Dundee United getting the Europa League next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 A plucky St. Mirren side lineup in their first ever Champions League final against last year's Europa League winner Marseille. The Kosovan born Scottish international keeper signed in January, Yll Meziu starts in goal, with experienced central defenders Kelvin Mensah and Adrian Gorecki in the middle of what is a makeshift defence, with both first choice full backs out with fitness concerns. Juan Cruz Pachecho, a central defender by trade, fills in at left back whilst second choice right back, Jesus Maria Sanchez starts on the other side. Mike Bauernfiend and Jim McCart start in the heart of midfield, with the Icelandic play-maker Haukur Hauksson playing in the central attacking role, with Sergio and Iain Hunter on either side of him. One time Champions League golden boot winner Marcel Aerts starts up-front. The Belgian striker has 6 goals in 11 games so far this term and could take another golden boot victory if he scores a brace tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 1st minute You join us live on Amazon Prime here in Austria for the 2070 UEFA Champions League final, sponsored by Uber-Solo, the world's premier driver-less electric car provider. Thierry's St Mirren side kick off the match tonight and look to win their first Champions League trophy in history. Scottish football has been revived in recent decades, but this would be the deep-fried icing on the deep-fried cake for a nation who have long wallowed in the shadow of their English cousins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 9th minute: A throw in for St. Mirren on the right flank deep into Marseille's half. It's Sanchez to take it. He finds Hunter in a little bit of space, but he can't get down the channel so he passes to Bauernfeind in the middle, he's got Sergio out on the left... it's Sergio driving towards the byline and he's gonna cross it into the box... AND MARCEL AERTS IS THERE!!! HE FOUND THE BALL AT HIS FEET AND HE BLASTED IT PAST THE HAPLESS KEEPER!!! ST. MIRREN 1-0 MARSEILLE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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