PaulHartman71 Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) 3 in a row for Fenerbache now, gone are the days of Galatasaray as the dominant force. Besiktas in 3rd to keep their place in the Champions League. No surprises in Ukraine as Shakhtar pick up their 18th title in a row. A good year for Dynamo who finish 2nd. A bit of an upset in Switzerland as St. Gallen win their first title for 55 years, with Basel having to settle for 2nd place. Vaduz of Liechtenstein fame came up but went down at the first time of asking. Edited March 12, 2020 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 No harm in Liege going out to a good St. Mirren side in the Champions League, they went on to outperform us in the Europa League by making it to the last 16. STVV went out of a group with Feyenoord, Dinamo Zagreb and Maribor, whilst Club Brugge finished bottom in a group with Tottenham, P. Ferreira and Bordeaux. KRC Genk had a very good run especially considering how average they were in the league. Only a Real Madrid side who eventually won the thing could knock them out in the end. We could possibly overtake Scotland next season, although I think we were actually above them last season and must've slipped down. Turkey looking very strong at the moment, whilst Switzerland and Ukraine linger in 17th and 18th, with Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Greece and Romania all currently rated higher than two of the leagues that I've actually got loaded, which somewhat dispels the myth that having leagues loaded makes them automatically stronger. I think it does to some extent but clearly that has never been the case with Ukraine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuy600 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 This just keeps being interesting to follow. Hope you won't give up on this! Also glad to see you busting that myth, that always makes me sweat whenever I make a new save. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 The board expanding the stadium again, good to see them being ambitious and making use of the money we're pocketing. £46M with the local council forking up for half of it, can't complain at all. 51K stadium by the end of it, big boy stuff for Belgium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 An unbelievable summer of upheaval. I'm not sure I've seen a summer window like this in the entire save. Arguably our 4 best players all left for pastures anew at bigger and better clubs. It was like that summer where Monaco ended up selling everyone. Toni Vidoli probably our best player last season in the heart of midfield was actually only sold late on. He had a release clause for £53M which I didn't think anyone would actually enact as that's a lot of money for a player from a Belgian side, but newly crowned kings of Europe RB Leipzig decided to do just that and got their man. Bernard Weiss is a great talent, only 20 and could be one of the best left wingers in the world if he carries on his development. Bayern were very interested and it was the German side who came in hard for him and at that price I couldn't really say no. They put in a bid of like £31M at first so to negotiate I added £20M thinking we'd meet in the middle, but they were so keen they accepted straight away. Should have asked for more Miguel Perosanz was a very solid CB and again a player I did not particularly want to leave, but any Spanish player is going to have their head turned when Real Madrid come in and at £39M possibly rising to £45M for a guy we got on a bosman we can't complain all that much. Cumhur Caliskan a very good defensive midfielder, he wasn't as good last season as the one before, but undeniable talent, which a whole host of top sides recognized and it was Sporting Lisbon he ultimately decided to join. Tanguy Wauters wasn't happy at being 3rd choice CB and despite being a HG talent at the club I had to sell with 1 year left on his deal and no renewal in sight. A few clubs were interested but he ended up going to Monte Carlo. Ulrich Kamdem, another HG talent of the club's youth academy and club captain came up with the dreaded I've achieved all I can here let me leave speech. At 33 with 1 year left on his contract I was happy to cash in and for some reason he decided to join Stoke. Not too sure why but they gave us a reasonable amount for him considering his age and 1 year left on deal. As you can imagine that left me with some very busy scout briefings and our transfer recruitment team were on overtime this summer, no holidays for them. Johann Caro joins us from Rennes to try to fill the void Weiss has left on the left wing. He looks pretty good, some very good stats in some things, some less impressive in others but ultimately still looks a talent for a club in our league. We might have lost Toni Vidoli in the heart of our midfield, but we've gained some booty! Transfer listed and unhappy at Man United having come through their youth system and not gotten a fair crack of the whip, we're here to give Vinny Booty the first team action he craves. What a character he seems to be be. Cracking name, probably the best since Fatjon Kastrati at Roma. Good stats and decent mentally once Vidoli did leave I had no hesitation in handing this guy the vice-captaincy (admittedly more due to a lack of other suitable characters, but still). He is probably a downgrade as Vidoli was excellent, but he has room to grow at 24. Emil Holm joins for a cool £18M from the FC Kobenhavn and he's probably the one position where we have definitely upgraded this summer. 23 and with lots of room to grow as a keeper he looks an exciting purchase compared to the man a decade his senior who left for a similar sum. Verleyne Reiter joins from Strasbourg in Ligue 1 for £17.5M. I hope he can fill the void left by Caliskan in midfield. He again looks quite talented but for the immediate future is probably a downgrade as Caliskan was so good. Mirco Ciaccioni hopes to fill the void left by the departing Perosanz. Again, not quite as good as the man he's replacing but he is young too and joins from fellow Belgian side Charleroi. 18 caps for Italy at a very young age, but that possibly says more about Italy's fall than how good he actually is. Time will tell. We lacked depth at CB so Hakki Yildiz also joins from Antalyaspor for £16M. I don't expect Mathias Wouters (18 year old LB signed from STVV) or Cyrille Devos (27 year old keeper from Zulte) to play an awful lot, but as HG players they represent important parts of the squad as we had no youth prospects coming through in those two positions to fill that gap. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 In the Champions League we will face Portimonense (again), last year's Europa League winners Real Madrid and perhaps most excitingly, a return to Paisley as we face my old St. Mirren side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Mid-Season Update Super Cup A nervy game which went to an even nervier shoot-out, but we got the win. Belgian Cup A good cup run sees us make the Semi Final, with Club Brugge up next. Belgian Pro League A reasonable start to the season, with 3 wins and 1 draw from our first 5. KRC Genk delivering a loss early on after we'd gone about 25 Pro League games unbeaten. It started to go downhill a bit in September as we won just 1 game, drawing the other 4 as we struggled to see out wins. Our run of draws continued for a crazy amount, we ended up with 8 draws from 9 consecutive matches, before finally getting another win against KV Mechelen. We picked up another couple of wins before another draw to Club Brugge and then two poor losses to Antwerp and KRC Genk. It's not been great by any means If you take away the 50 percent deduction we're only 3 points off of 1st, but we need to get Top 6 by match-day 30 to actually make the championship group. It would be hugely embarrassing if we didn't manage that. We have had some injuries and it is a transition season given the large-scale changes to the squad in the summer, but we need to push on and start turning some of these draws into wins. Champions League Similar to last season we picked up a huge win on the opening group stage match with a 2-0 victory over the much favoured Real Madrid. A return to Paisley saw two familiar faces cause some problems. Haukur Hauksson had a brilliant game at #10, with my former striker Marcel Aerts also causing all kinds of problems in a game which St. Mirren got the deserved win. We got the better of Portimonense last season, but they seem to have strengthened (or maybe we've regressed) as they were far the better side on the night in Portugal. We lost at home to, despite a second half equaliser from Per Overby we ultimately fell to the Portuguese side. An opening goal from Vinny Booty got us excited in Madrid, but they came back and defeated us in the end. A huge win on the last day against my old side, with a match winning performance from that man again, Vinny Booty, gave us all 3 points. Portimonense are surprise group winners, with Real Madrid joining them in the Last 16. Given the group I'm happy to make the Europa League again and commiserations to my former players and staff in Paisley. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 I can see you winning the Belgian league something like ten times before you win the Champions League. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 Winter Window Out A bit of a manic January. A few squad players left, but we also lost our first choice left back to Basel and first choice CAM to Shanggang in China. Heinrich and Samuel were both ageing though and not exactly playing brilliantly so I took the chance to cash in whilst I could and move on. A reasonably promising young CM Edouard Fontaine joins Man City. Bit of a weird one that as he hasn't really shown enough promise for me to think he could make it long term here, let alone at a much bigger side, but he was desperate to leave so he went. In We dipped into our funds to get a new central midfielder in 21 year old Norwegian Petter Dasnes from Marseille, as well as 23 year old Belgian right back Bilal Dehbi and also Swiss left back Maurice Billy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 Pre-Split Update Belgian Cup A two legged victory against Club Brugge sees us set up a final with Charleroi in May. Europa League A difficult tie against Marseille and one that we could not navigate our way through. Pro League A good run of form to start 2075 as we pick up 4 wins from 5, including some goal-fests. We remain unbeaten in the new year, with 2 wins and 3 draws from our next 5, including a big win against Standard Liege. Our good form sees us on top of the table, although it's very close as we go into the final stage of the season. A 6 horse race! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 End of Season Update Belgian Cup It has taken 4 seasons but we finally have a Belgian Cup trophy in the bag. It was nice to see the two winning goals coming from youth academy graduate Hendry Bertrand too. Belgian Pro League A strong start to the Championship Group saw us win 4 of our 5 games, including a big one away to title rivals Standard Liege. We picked up two losses in our last 5 games, winning the other 3, was it enough to secure a 4th consecutive title? It didn't wind up being all that close after all, with 8 points between 1st and 2nd. In a season where we were in transition following large scale upheaval in the summer we have to be very happy with that, especially considering our less than impressive start to the season. Johann Caro at left wing was nigh on unplayable when he was fit. He does get the odd injury which meant he only started 28 of our 40 league games, also missing 4 of the Champions League games too, but when he did play he was unreal. 14 goals and 8 assists in 28 league games saw him comfortably win Player of the Year for the league. Vinny Booty had a good year in midfield, with Sascha Muller and Emil Holm in goal also impressing. Holm has only been here one season and may well be off in the summer as he has Man United, Wolfsburg, Roma and Real Madrid all very interested in his services. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 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 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners 2072/73 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2073/74 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2074/75 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Belgian Cup & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x1 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Belgian Pro League x4 - 2071/72, 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75 (Anderlecht) Belgian Cup x1 - 2074/75 (Anderlecht) Belgian Super Cup x3 - 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75 (Anderlecht) 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 as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren 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 March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Turkey Belgium Czech Republic (+1) Denmark (+1) Austria Greece (+7) Romania (-1) Switzerland (+4) Ukraine (-2) Serbia Sweden (-3) Croatia (-1) Poland (-4) Bulgaria Iceland (+2) Norway (-1) Republic of Ireland (-1) Israel Slovenia Hungary Slovakia Finland Belarus Wales (+1) Northern Ireland (-1) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 It's a 2nd win in 3 years for Roma in what is an incredible turnaround both for Rome and Italy itself which is well and truly back as a serious contender after so long being down in the dumps. They beat a good Porto side in the final. There was a Red Bull derby in the 1st knockout round with Salzburg doing well to get that far. A huge result for Scotland as Celtic pull off a bit of an upset to win the Europa League. Basel doing well for the Swiss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Besiktas have their 2nd title in 5 years, as Galatasaray are now 6 without the crown. Normality resumes in Switzerland as Basel regain their crown, although St. Gallen come 2nd at least. Grasshoppers go down. Unbelievable scenes in the Ukraine as Dynamo Kyiv are relegated in unprecedented fashion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Club Brugge knocked out of the Champions League by a much stronger side in Celtic, they eventually got knocked out of the Europa League by Marseille who of course knocked us out too. STVV couldn't navigate their way out of a Europa group of Celta Vigo, Rapid Vienna and FC Metz, although they did at least come 3rd. Standard Liege couldn't get out of their group with Nurnberg, Boluspor and Inter Milan, although they did finish 3rd too. KRC Genk did well to reach the last 16 of Europa and went out to Chelsea. Italy back into the Top 10, whilst Turkey continue to look impressive as they go above France and are not too far off possibly challenging England for those much coveted 4 CL spots. We're getting closer to Scotland although that Europa League win for Celtic won't help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 We had another fairly hectic summer. Outs Man United went on an absolute raid of us this summer. We lost goalkeeper Emil Holm to them for £31M (he did have lots of other interest to be fair), they also met right back Joey Mavitidi Ito's release clause for £32M and then came in for star striker of the last 3 seasons Per Overby too, who had 74 goals in 144 games. Not ideal but certainly with Per Overby I think he can be replaced, we got a good fee for him and he did only have 24 goals in 54 games last season which is his poorest since signing. We also lost central midfielder Verleyne Reiter to RB Leipzig. That one happened very late in the window and wasn't one that I anticipated, but again we got a very good fee for him and he wasn't indispensable really. We managed to replace our goalkeeper with a bosman signing, as the Brazilian 25 year old Marcio Fernando was out of contract with the Austrian champions. They must've been pulling their hair out as he's a crazy good keeper. I could have spent £40M and not got anyone better. The biggest money signing saw German wonderkid CAM Kelvin Mohammed join from St Pauli in Germany. He looks a brilliant talent. Per Overby was the only player in the Pro League who scored more goals than the younger Baba Soumah last season, so I signed him from Charleroi for £31.5M to be our new striker. He looks a very good player who can develop even more in the limelight with us. Ahmed Fages is a very promising French right back who will replace the departing Ito. Finally, to replace the departing central midfielder we dipped into the South American market to sign Brazilian central midfielder Amparo, who I feel has a really cool name. Looks good on the pitch too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Stadium all done for the new season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 Another year, another Super Cup win as we beat Standard Liege 1-0 in the final with Caro scoring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 Mid-Season Update Belgian Cup A good run in the Cup so far sees us half-way there to retaining it. Pro League A good start to the season saw us win 4 of our first 5, with our new signings settling in quite well. We drew with Eupen and picked up our first loss of the season away to Liege, but smashed it in the other games, including a 6-1 at home to KV Mechelen and 5-0 win at home to Genk. 4 wins from our next 5, including a dramatic late win away to Oud-Huverlee. Not the best form in December as we drew 3 of our 4 games, but we did end the year with a 4-0 win. Liege sit on top thanks to that win over us and our recent habit of drawing. Level pegging though. Champions League As 4th seeds we were given another tricky group of champions Roma, Zenit St Petersburg and Galatasaray. Whilst a tough set of teams I don't think Zenit have been what they once were in recent years and Galatasaray haven't won the Turkish SL for a good few years now for a reason. It was always going to be a tough ask to beat the side who have won 2 of the last 3 tournaments, but we put up a good fight and on another day may have got a point. My return to Russia was victorious, with Baba Soumah's strike giving us all 3 points. A real tasty battle in Turkey. We took the lead in the second half and I thought maybe we'd get another cheeky 1-0 win, but they equalised from a corner in the 83rd minute. Incredibly from kick off we more or less went straight up the other end and scored which I thought for sure would give us the winner, but it wasn't to be as Galatasaray scored a sickening last minute equaliser. We did at least get the win at home. We were 2-0 up at half-time and we improved on that league in the second half after they got one back. Captain fantastic from Vinny Booty as his strike helped us get a crucial point at another of my old grounds against a tough Roma team. We had already qualified for the knockout stage so this match wasn't the be all and end all but it was still great to get a last gasp equaliser to avoid defeat. For the first time we are in the Round of 16. We will face Manchester City. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 January Window Out A few youth players left but the most notable departure saw central defender Mirco Ciaccioni poached by Porto on deadline day. In Our search to replace him saw us pick up Taimuraz Stepanov from Krasnodar in Russia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 Pre-Split Update Belgian Cup We made short work of KV Mechelen in the Semi Final, setting up a final with Club Brugge in April. Pro League A decent start to 2076 saw us win 3 of our first 5 games in the league, with Kelvin Mohammed in very good form. Our habit of drawing games came back to us as we drew 4 of our last 6 games, including all 3 of the last 3. Not much in it going into the last 10 games. In terms of not losing we're onto a winner this season as aside from the solitary loss to Liege we have avoided defeat in every other match, if we can keep as we are I think we should be alright as I think the other sides will take points off each other. Standard are still a very real threat though and all it would take is them beating us again to throw it all up in the air. Champions League A very solid performance in the first leg, we defended well and got the lead through Kelvin Mohammed from the penalty spot early in the second half. Unfortunately late on in the half we let them back in it as they got a crucial away goal. We put in a pretty good performance in Manchester but we just couldn't get that goal that would keep us in the tie and take it to extra-time. A good effort from the lads but unfortunately we're still not quite able to go toe to toe with the big boys and win when it matters most. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 End of Season Update Belgian Cup A lacklustre performance on the day sees us surrender the cup to Club Brugge. Pro League A strong start to the championship group saw us win 3 of our first 3, including a big game against Liege. We then drew two against Zulte and Brugge. Not the strongest end as we lose our last two games. Was it enough to hold on? Never in doubt! STVV are surprise 2nd place and will be in the Champions League next season. Johann Caro, Kelvin Mohammed and Sascha Muller the stars of the show. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 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 2069/70 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 3rd Champions League runners-up & League Cup winners 2070/71 St. Mirren Scottish Premiership 2nd Champions League & Scottish Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2071/72 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League winners 2072/73 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2073/74 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners 2074/75 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Belgian Cup & Super Cup winners 2075/76 Anderlecht Belgian Pro League 1st Belgian Pro League & Super Cup winners --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thierry's Trophy Cabinet Champions League x1 - 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish Premiership x1 - 2067/68 (St. Mirren) Scottish Cup x3 - 2061/62, 2067/68, 2070/71 (St. Mirren) Scottish League Cup x2 - 2067/67, 2069/70 (St. Mirren) Belgian Pro League x5 - 2071/72, 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75, 2075/76 (Anderlecht) Belgian Cup x1 - 2074/75 (Anderlecht) Belgian Super Cup x4 - 2072/73, 2073/74, 2074/75, 2075/76 (Anderlecht) 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 as Thierry: 9. Scotland - St. Mirren 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 March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Nations Remaining (based on nation coefficient ranking) Turkey Belgium Czech Republic Switzerland (+4) Austria Denmark (-2) Romania Ukraine (+1) Poland (+4) Croatia (+2) Greece (-5) Serbia (-2) Sweden (-2) Bulgaria Norway (+1) Iceland (-1) Republic of Ireland Israel Slovenia Slovakia (+1) Hungary (-1) Finland Wales (+1) Belarus (-1) Northern Ireland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Porto make their 2nd straight final and this time take home the trophy, beating Chelsea in something of a Mourinho derby. Porto have now won it 4 times. Celtic doing very well to get to the Semi Final and a surprising name in the last 16 as Sparta Prague manage to make it through the group stage. An all-Turkish final sees Besiktas beat Fenerbache on penalties. Fair play to both of them for getting through as they didn't have the easiest of runs to the final, knocking out Atletico and RB Leipzig respectively in the Semis. Ludogorets and Malmo interesting names to make it as far as they did. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Besiktas smashing it in Turkey as they not only win the Europa League but retain the Super League too. It's 20 in a row for Shakhtar and their dominant run doesn't look like ending any time soon. Basel retain the title, although St. Gallen did take them to the last day of the season. Vaduz the Liechtenstein side go down again at the first time of asking. It's still quite funny to see 80 percent of a league qualify for Europe in some capacity Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 You can't really begrudge anyone for going out to who they went out to really. Antwerp got knocked out of a group with Fenerbache, Koln and PAOK. Portugal absolutely smashing it and a shining example that just because I've left a country/removed the league it doesn't mean they'll fade out. Turkey still very close to toppling England but not quite there, that all Turkish Europa final will have no doubt helped though. We're pretty comfortable in 8th and don't really look like going up or down any time soon. We do have a monopoly on the league to some extent so that could explain why our coefficient hasn't risen a great deal, although still at the start of the game you wouldn't expect Belgian sides to regularly make the last 16 of Europa. Holland have had a bit of a slip and it does make sense really as aside from Vitesse occasionally in the latter stages of CL or Europa, you don't often see the likes of PSV, Feyenoord and AZ in the business end of those competitions in the same fashion you did 15/20 years ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Also just as a FYI I'm not going to be putting out full season updates every 48 hours I was playing just over a season ahead in the last week or so as I kept putting off updates, more or less up to date now although I'm still about half a season ahead of where I would usually be when posting updates. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Summer Transfers We managed to avoid losing any of our best players this summer. The main transfer at the start of the window saw rotation central defender Hakki Yildiz return to his native Turkey to the champions Besiktas for a good price of £20M. He wasn't playing that much and whilst I only made £4M profit on signing him the other year, it wasn't a player I was bothered about losing. Petter Dasnes was not someone I particularly wanted to lose, but the champions of Europe were interested so it was very hard to keep hold of him. We got a very good price for the Norwegian though so again it wasn't the end of the world, albeit it happened much later in the window than you'd have liked. We've made a lot of profit in the last two transfer windows but it was often pointless spending massive massive money as most of the players we could sign for big money were out of our league with wage demands. However with a fortune amassed, this summer was the window to be real protagonists and behave like the big club our bank account has dictated we are for a few years now. We broke our record transfer 3 times in a row this summer with consecutive transfers. Spyros Thymaras, a fairly modest signing at £20M is a good young Greek winger that I've actually had my eye on for a few seasons. It hadn't worked out in the last couple of windows, but with 1 year left on his contract we were finally able to prize him away from the Greek champions. Although we were losing our 3rd choice CB it made sense to buy in the best CB that we could get in the window once I knew the Turkish lad was leaving. Luc Leclere was that man and whilst it took a lot of haggling with Toulouse to get him I feel he was well worth the £42M spent to get our man. Matthias Bachmeier was seemingly unhappy with a bit-part role at Bayern. All I can say is that it's amazing they don't seem to be doing much in Europe these days (have reached 1 CL QF in the last 10 years) if this guy can only get 15 starts a season They wanted £72M up-front at first which seemed a bit steep, so we settled on £54M up-front with £15M in clauses, primarily centred around our reaching of a CL Semi Final. Noe Villar was actually nearly signed instead of Bachmeier, but I ended up going with the former because Bayern were happy to take less money upfront, with Getafe refusing to negotiate (the £67M was a release clause) so I left it as I thought £67M seemed a hell of a lot of money even if we could just about afford it. However, my hand was forced once Dasnes left for Porto and I required a replacement, so yes, we broke our record again and spent £67M on one player Madness for the Belgian league but there we go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 It is quite strange having bugger all in the bank after having hoarded so much for the last few years Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Club Brugge gave us no problems in the Super Cup final. With 5 straight Super Cups we're still nowhere near the record, set by Club Brugge themselves as they won 17 in a row stretching from 2034-2051. Fingers crossed I'm not in Belgium long enough to break that 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Incredible scenes in the Champions League as we see the first ever all-PH71 group. Roma, Atletico Madrid, Vitesse & Anderlecht. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Mid-Season Update Belgian Cup An avoidable loss at Oud-Huverlee sees us knocked out at the Quarter Final stage... Pro League A strong start to the season winning 4 of our first 5, but we inexplicably lost away to Charleroi in our fifth game. Good performances followed, but then we again lost away from home unexpectedly, this time to Cercle Brugge, before drawing at home to Lokeren. We picked up our 3rd loss of the season on the 1st November at home to Liege. We only lost 3 games all of last seaon, but then lost another one to KRC Genk just a few weeks later. We won our next two matches, but then lost another game away to Oud-Huverlee. I wish I could blame our losses on rotation for Champions League purposes, but I really can't, if anything in the games I rotate for CL we actually win them with weakened teams. It's very hard to explain the losses, perhaps it is complacency. Eupen came 1 point from going down in 15th last season, but incredibly are now top of the table. Champions League A huge win on the opening day as we beat a Roma side who have won 2 of the last 4 tournaments. Another massive win as we come from behind to beat Vitesse at the ground Paul Hart's old tycoon chairman named after himself. A solid 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid, with all 4 goals coming in the opening 24 minutes. We followed that up with another 2-2 draw, this time at home, with all the goals again coming in the first half. We came oh so close from having a famous win in Rome, but a point was still very much appreciated on the night. A rampant display at home sunk Vitesse. Given that was no easy group and also the first all-PH71 group I'm very pleased that we won it. Benfica await in the next round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) Winter Window Out Paupol Zakuani, a great servant of the club at 29 having come through the Academy and been a great fixture of the squad my entire time here and before that, leaves for a new challenge in Italy. A good player and great back-up player, but he was unhappy at not getting a look in ahead of Johann Caro. In We had to be savvy in the market as having spent so much in the summer we're now quite limited on funds, but I found American international Ethan Robbins plying his trade in Mexico and he looks a great pick-up for that price which was his release clause. A bit older than I would like to sign, but as a back-up player I'm happy with that. Edited March 29, 2020 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 Pre-Split Update Pro League 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss in our first foray into 2077. Stayed unbeaten with 4 wins and 1 draw as we ended it very strongly. Given we've lost 6 games this season we don't really deserve to win the title, but nobody else wants it! Eupen have fallen behind and I have to take some credit for this. I'd loaned them out about 3 of my youth players but when they didn't look like they were going to drop off I decided to withdraw them all Club Brugge, Eupen and Cercle Brugge (who have done the double on us this year ffs) are in with a shot. They just need to win their games and avoid defeat against us, but it seems to be easier said than done. Champions League A 1-0 win in Benfica in the first leg, with one of their defenders getting a second yellow in the second half taking a bit of pressure off us late on. A fantastic second leg performance at home. We kept them out and then slotted in two goals in the second half to kill them off, with new boy American Ethan Robbins getting a goal whilst filling in for the injured Johann Caro. We face Wolfsburg in the Quarter Final. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 You're halfway to the ten Belgian titles I predicted... but going very well in the Champions League this season. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 A big win in Germany as we beat Wolfsburg 1-0 at the Edin Dzeko Arena courtesy of a Spyros Thymaras goal. An unbelievable win at home, with Baba Soumah grabbing a hat-trick as we smashed them 4-1 to go through to the Semi Final 5-1 on aggregate. We face last season's Europa League winners and reigning Turkish champions Besiktas in the Semi Final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 End of Season Update Belgian Pro We lost 2 of the first 3 Championship games, winning 2 of them. We lost another to Genk, then won 3 of our last 4 alongside a goalless draw at Brugge. To be honest I was almost embarrassing to win the league this season. There were points where I really didn't think we'd do it and to lose 9 games and still win it is crazy. In the end we were 5 points clear ffs despite losing games all over the show I was happy to throw the league for the Champions League run but even with lots of rotation when we did slip up the other teams would all bottle it! Champions League A nervy Semi Final with both us and Besiktas desperately trying to navigate our way to our first final. We didn't get an away goal but we did keep a cleansheet which is always handy. Incredible scenes as the game in Belgium went the distance to penalties. We kept our nerve and have a final with Sporting Lisbon in Ukraine as a prize for it! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 Anderlecht's debut in the Champions League final. Coming soon... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 You join us here tonight in Kiev for at the NSC Olympiyskyi stadium where a capacity crowd of just under 75,000 people are here to witness Sporting Lisbon take on Anderlecht in the 2077 Champions League final. Sporting Lisbon undoubtedly the favorites tonight, having won this competition on two previous occasions, once 22 years ago and again just 5 years ago at Wembley, the side managed by 50 year old Dutchman Ben Post have already wrapped up the Portuguese Premeira Liga, their second consecutive title and they're looking to add the Champions League to cap off the season in incredible style. Ben Post is no stranger to the Champions League trophy as just 3 years ago he managed RB Leipzig as they pipped Atletico Madrid to the trophy. Their opposition tonight are the under-dogs but perhaps the dark horses for the trophy this season. Thierry, who himself won the Champions League trophy 6 years ago with that famous St. Mirren side has spent the last 6 seasons revolutionising football in Belgium and he has brought Anderlecht right to the top of the European game in the process. Not many fancied his side to ultimately win the Champions League trophy, but they've had a hell of a run and now are just 90 minutes from doing just that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 Anderlecht go into the final with more or less their first choice line-up, although they will be without first choice right back, Ahmed Fages, who suffered a serious blood clot in April which put him out for the rest of the season. They will also be without a few squad players. The Brazilian central midfielder Amparo misses out with a pulled groin, whilst second choice striker Guillaume Hendrickx was not quite ready for game-time following a sprained ankle ligaments injury he picked up 4 weeks ago. Mohammed Benali, a right winger who has just 8 appearances all season thanks to injury issues will also miss out after bruising his ankle in training last week. The side Thierry is expected to go with: Marcio Fernando, the 26 year old Brazilian starts in goal tonight, he joined the side at the start of last season on a bosman from RB Salzburg and what a piece of business that has been. Marcio Fernando saved 1 of the Besiktas Semi Final penalties that got his side here tonight and former keeper and Brazilian born-Thierry his manager would have loved that from the man who stated Thierry was his role-model growing up. 21 year old academy graduate Steve Bonneau starts as a make-shift right back tonight. He is a centre back by trade but is quite versatile and often fills in at left back or in recent times at right back. It will be a big ask for Bonneau to fill in there on the grandest stage of them all, but he is a very promising talent and has been preferred to second choice right back Bilal Dehbi. Taimuraz Stepanov starts at centre back, with the 22 year old Russian having impressed a lot this season. Much debate was centred around whether he or 29 year old Belgian centre back Sascha Muller would start, but it seems in recent weeks Thierry has preferred the younger Russian to the more experienced Belgian. Luc Leclere, 24 year old Frenchman signed for £42M in the summer starts alongside Stepanov at centre back. He has looked good value for the £42M and has been one of the first names on the team-sheet all season, he helped play a part in the two clean-sheets in the Semi Finals with Besiktas. At left back we have the 23 year old Belgian, Mathias Wouters, he's arguably one of the best in his position in Europe, signed a few years ago and developed with first team-action by Thierry, he's not been short of interest from bigger clubs in the last 6-12 months. Matthias Bachmeier, 24 year old German was Anderlecht's record signing when he signed in the summer for £54M from Bayern Munich, and he starts at centre mid alongside the man who eclipsed that record, 24 year old Spaniard, Noe Villar, who was signed for £67M. In recent weeks Bachmeier has actually re-taken his crown as record signing though, as a clause in his transfer dictacted that Bayern would receive an extra £15M upon a Semi Final appearance in the Champions League, which Anderlecht of course managed this year. The pair have been very effective in midfield as you would expect for that price and they will look to dominate the game with Sporting Lisbon. On the right wing we have the 23 year old Greek midfielder Spyros Thymaras. Another summer signing, he was signed for a more modest fee of £20M and he has done reasonably well this season, with 9 goals and 8 assists. On the left is 25 year old French winger Johann Caro. He tore his hamstring in December which has meant he's only started 21 games this season for Anderlecht, but his return of 9 goals and 8 assists shows he's very effective when he is fit. Kelvin Mohammed, the 21 year old German attacking midfielder has arguably been Anderlecht's best player this season, with 14 goals and 8 assists in 34 games when he plays he usually controls the game and brings the goals. Finally, up-front is the 22 year old Belgian striker Baba Soumah. He's an incredible season, he made his debut for Belgium at the start of the season and since has 10 goals in 8 caps. For Anderlecht thus far he has 34 goals and 5 assists in 46 games, but incredibly going into this final he's actually on somewhat of a goal drought. He hasn't scored in Anderlecht's last 7 matches in all competitions that he has featured in, which to his credit shows how lethal he was in the games that he played before that. Thierry would likely never have considered dropping him even with second choice Hendrickx fit, but with him out of the picture he really doesn't have much choice other than hoping Soumah, who has 10 goals in 12 Champions League games so far this season, comes up with the goods again tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 DJ: Good evening folks, David Johnson here commentating live on the 2077 Champions League final. You may remember me as the former left back at the famous St. Mirren side of the late 2060s and early 2070s. I didn't play much when we actually got to the Champions League final, but I was still part of the team at that point albeit as a squad player. And here I am tonight to watch the old gaffer, Thierry, as he looks to get a second Champions League medal, this time for Anderlecht. DJ: I'm sure you're all aware, especially by the opening song played, that here in the 2070's we're going through a 70's revival movement right now. And through the brilliance of modern technology I'm absolutely over the moon to welcome on commentary for tonight the one, the only, Alec McGuiness! DJ: Yes, you heard that right, in time for the 100 year anniversary of Star Wars, the original Star Wars movie, we've managed to bring Alec McGuiness back in electronic form to commentate on tonight's match. Star Wars is taking the globe my storm at the minute following the re-release of the original edition, which has now replaced the George Lucas hastily edited special edition released in the 1990s. Such is the disdain for those edited versions of the now classic original versions that the movie is no longer even referred to as A New Hope as it once was. DJ: But enough of that. Alec McGuiness, do you have anything to say to the fans watching at home? Alec: Hello there. DJ: Ha-ha! Very funny, Alec. Sticking in character as old Obi-Wan. Alec: Obi-Wan? Now there's a name I've not heard in a long, long time. A long time. I haven't gone by the name Obi-Wan since, oh, before you were born. DJ: Well I'm not too sure what you're on about, Alec. I was born in 2040, do you not remember the famous Disney remakes of the Original Trilogy in the mid to late 2040's? That was after I was born. They had Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan again but as an actual old man? Alec: You don't need to watch those movies without me in them. DJ: I don't need to watch those movies without you in them. Alec: Change the subject. DJ: I must admit I thought the idea of this was to bring back Alec McGuiness not Obi-Wan. Perhaps this technology is not quite as good as we thought. Well, Alec, or err, Obi-Wan, what do you make of my old boss Thierry's chances tonight with Anderlecht? Alec: I have a bad feeling about this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 DJ: We're about to kick-off tonight, but, before we do that we must go for a short advert break. Alec: You don't need to go to an advert break. DJ: We don't need to go to an advert break. Alec: You need to start the match now. DJ: We need to start the match now! DJ: And away we go! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 10 minutes: DJ: 10 minutes on the clock and you have to say Anderlecht, despite only having 35 percent of possession so far look the better side as Sporting Lisbon aren't doing too much with the ball when they do have it. Alec: Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 17th minute: DJ: Noe Villar with the ball in midfield for Anderlecht. He's looking for Spyros on the right wing, he's found him and the Greek winger is looking for a cross. There's 3 purple shirts in the Sporting Lisbon box... Spyros puts it in.... AND BABA SOUMAH IS THERE!!! DJ: But his header glances wide of the goal and he's got his head in his hands as he looks to the sky and all he can see is up into the Ukranian sky where the moon is watching on in disbelief that he's missed that. Alec: That's no moon. It's a space station. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 21st minute: DJ: Emanuel Ruida with the ball for Sporting Lisbon deep in the Anderlecht half. The young Argentine winger goes past Bonneau and now he must beat Luc Leclere the expensive Frenchman, he can't beat him though as Leclere puts a good tackle in. But the experienced German Jannik Embers is there and he has a shot from outside the box... DJ: Ohhh and that's a great save from the Brazilian keeper Marcio Fernando who parries it away from goal....BUT LUIZ HENRIQUE IS THERE TO SMASH THE REBOUND HOME!!! DJ: It's Luiz Henrique the 31 year old striker who actually scored a brace in the the final 5 years ago to see his side crowned champions of Europe and he's scored again tonight to put them one step closer to another win. DJ: It's SPORTING LISBON 1-0 ANDERLECHT DJ: And you have to say that Sporting Lisbon had a bit of luck there as Marcio Fernando made a brilliant save and- Alec: In my experience, there's no such thing as luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 42nd minute: DJ: Kelvin Mohammed looking to create something from this free-kick for Anderlecht. It's not really in shooting distance but he could put a teasing ball into the box, lots of purple shirts in there looking to cause a nuisance. DJ: It's Kelvin Mohammed's ball into the box, he has the big centre back Luc Leclere waiting in the middle... Alec: Use the force, Luc. DJ: The ball goes in and IT'S LUC LECLERE WITH THE HEADER....but the Sporting keeper pushes it over the crossbar! A big chance for Anderlecht! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 45th minute: DJ: It's half-time in Kiev and it's Sporting Lisbon 1-0 Anderlecht so far. A reasonably close game but the favorites are winning so far. DJ: Alex, is there any way back for Anderlecht as we give the viewers a lovely 70s sound of Funky Town! Alec: I'm getting too old for this sort of thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 46th minute: DJ: We're just about to get back underway with the drone referee ready to get things going again. Oh and look at that! The cameras have just spotted Thierry's old boss, Paul Hart, watching on in the stands here in Kiev. Paul Hart, at 92, thanks to the miracle of modern medicine he's still alive and kicking. He's had a few replacement organs and of course has robotic legs following his hip operations, but what a pleasure it is to see him supporting his old captain. Alec, any thoughts on good old Paul Hart? Alec: He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now