Nacional da Madeira - Portuguese Power

[zacram]

The first key result in our next spell of fixtures was a shock 3-0 hammering to fierce rivals, Maritimo. We didn't play particularly well, but certainly didn't deserve to lose the game by such a large margin. Put it down to a bad day at the office.

We did manage to make amends a few games later by beating high flyers, Braga. They have been performing incredibly well in the League this season and so is a massive 3 points for us and may dent Braga's title winning chances

Unfortunately Sporting continued to dominate our head-to-head fixtures and have now beaten us 3 times this season across all competitions. It wasn't a terrible performance but just reiterates the gulf in quality we still have to make up on some of the top Portuguese sides.

We managed to get our revenge on Maritimo, smashing them 6-1 in the reverse fixture. The 3-0 defeat a few weeks earlier really hadn't sat well with the players or the fans and they were really amped up for this one. Clinical finishing in front of goal was a joy to behold.

It's been a busy spell of football for us over the past couple of months and have done pretty well on the whole. The defeats to Chaves and Maritimo were obviously the low points but generally we have picked up decent points and are right back in to the title contention.

The Top 6 looks pretty set now but with a massive imbalance in the games played i'm expecting a lot more twists and turns before the end of the season. Hopefully we can match last season and grab a Top 3 spot.

Unfortunately our final fixture against Chaves, dealt us a cruel blow as both Camacho and Gauld are essentially ruled out for the season. Both have been key players in my starting XI and Gauld in particular is going to be a massive loss for the season conclusion - He may feature in the last few games but will have to wait and see.

So we have 9 games left to play, 5 of which are against opposition in the Top 6. It's going to be a very tricky end to the season for us, but if we can get some results against our rivals then who knows where we could finish.

The latest youth prospects look fairly decent.

Fabio Baptista looks to be the pick of the bunch and his attributes are shown below.

 

[zacram]

And what the **** is happen to benfica and sporting do they have an bad luck and sacked the managers this season

Both have kept their managers and have started to climb back up the table - I think they are just behind on the fixtures due to playing in other competitions so even now have a few games in hand on the rest so should they win those will be right up in the title race.

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

Both have kept their managers and have started to climb back up the table - I think they are just behind on the fixtures due to playing in other competitions so even now have a few games in hand on the rest so should they win those will be right up in the title race.

do you think braga could win the title and break the porto and benfica domiannce in primeira liga

 

[zacram]

We started the season run-in with another close loss away to Porto. On paper they still have a far superior side to us, so were always going to be underdogs, so the main positive is that we are really competing with them, just need that extra bit of luck.

We then managed to put together 3 wins on the spin against our 'easier' opposition, which included a couple of late goals to keep are title challenge alive. Braga are continuing to hang on to the top spot but, the chasing pack are still closing in.

We then managed to secure 4 points from 6 in our double header against Top 6 opposition, Vit. Guimares. A very decent return for us, but at the same time Braga lose back to back games as Porto overtake them in the League and Sporting also have the opportunity should they win their 2 games in hand.

Our final 3 games include both Benfica and Porto...

It's becoming an all to frequent event as Gonçalo Ramos once again scores us the winner against his parent club! If they hadn't loaned him to us we may not have won any fixtures against them over the past 2 seasons! As it happens its another 3 points for us in the League.

We then put in one of best performances of the season, thrashing Vilafranquense 4-0 in our penultimate game of the season. We absolutely battered them for the full 90 minutes and really should have scored more than the 4 goals.

Unfortunately despite the 2 wins, we will be unable to win the League title in our final game as Sporting open up a 4 point gap on us.

Despite this their is a lot to play for on the final day of the season. Sporting need a point to secure a first League title since 2002, whilst Porto have to beat us to have a shot at retaining the League. If Braga win then we will have to beat Porto to qualify for the CL next season. So really we need to beat Porto in our final game as I',m anticipating Braga to get 3 points.

At half-time, Sporting have all but won the League. Braga are in the CL places and we are battling with Porto to try and get a win to put us in the CL for next season...

Unfortunately, despite a really good performance we come up empty handed against Porto. We had more possession, a better xG and generally looked the more threatening side but once again they have that extra bit of quality in front of goal to get them the win.

Braga also hung on to win, whilst Benfica ended up winning the PT Cup, which means that we wont be in the expected Europa League and instead are back in the Europa Conference for next season! It's been another really promising season and have to say i'm a little disappointed to only be in the Europa Conference. The plus side is we have an opportunity to potentially go deep in the competition and challenge for the trophy.

Sporting manage to break the strangle hold that Benfica and Porto have had on the Portuguese Primeira Liga. It has been 21 years since another side last lifted the Trophy (that being Sporting), so is great to see and hopefully next season will be Nacional da Madeira.

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

We started the season run-in with another close loss away to Porto. On paper they still have a far superior side to us, so were always going to be underdogs, so the main positive is that we are really competing with them, just need that extra bit of luck.

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We then managed to put together 3 wins on the spin against our 'easier' opposition, which included a couple of late goals to keep are title challenge alive. Braga are continuing to hang on to the top spot but, the chasing pack are still closing in.


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We then managed to secure 4 points from 6 in our double header against Top 6 opposition, Vit. Guimares. A very decent return for us, but at the same time Braga lose back to back games as Porto overtake them in the League and Sporting also have the opportunity should they win their 2 games in hand.


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Our final 3 games include both Benfica and Porto...

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It's becoming an all to frequent event as Gonçalo Ramos once again scores us the winner against his parent club! If they hadn't loaned him to us we may not have won any fixtures against them over the past 2 seasons! As it happens its another 3 points for us in the League.

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We then put in one of best performances of the season, thrashing Vilafranquense 4-0 in our penultimate game of the season. We absolutely battered them for the full 90 minutes and really should have scored more than the 4 goals.

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Unfortunately despite the 2 wins, we will be unable to win the League title in our final game as Sporting open up a 4 point gap on us.

Despite this their is a lot to play for on the final day of the season. Sporting need a point to secure a first League title since 2002, whilst Porto have to beat us to have a shot at retaining the League. If Braga win then we will have to beat Porto to qualify for the CL next season. So really we need to beat Porto in our final game as I',m anticipating Braga to get 3 points.


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At half-time, Sporting have all but won the League. Braga are in the CL places and we are battling with Porto to try and get a win to put us in the CL for next season...


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Unfortunately, despite a really good performance we come up empty handed against Porto. We had more possession, a better xG and generally looked the more threatening side but once again they have that extra bit of quality in front of goal to get them the win.

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Braga also hung on to win, whilst Benfica ended up winning the PT Cup, which means that we wont be in the expected Europa League and instead are back in the Europa Conference for next season! It's been another really promising season and have to say i'm a little disappointed to only be in the Europa Conference. The plus side is we have an opportunity to potentially go deep in the competition and challenge for the trophy.


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Sporting manage to break the strangle hold that Benfica and Porto have had on the Portuguese Primeira Liga. It has been 21 years since another side last lifted the Trophy (that being Sporting), so is great to see and hopefully next season will be Nacional da Madeira.

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wow what an plot twist Sporting won the league in 21 years they went 7th place to champions of primeira liga

 

[zacram]

wow what an plot twist Sporting won the league in 21 years they went 7th place to champions of primeira liga

They won their last 12 League games of the season! Glad the Porto/Benfica reign has been broken

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

They won their last 12 League games of the season! Glad the Porto/Benfica reign has been broken

**** Braga really bottle it this up on that one and failed to win the primeira liga title

 

[zacram]

Following another largely successful season in which we made the CL group stages alongside another top 4 league finish, we are now officially part of the Portuguese 'Big 6'. We have over taken Rio Ave in reputation and can now start going after the like of Porto and Benfica.

Our on loan Benfica striker, Gonçalo Ramos tops the goalscoring with 26 for the season. Despite him signing a new £30,000 p/w contract with Benfica we have somehow managed to secure a loan deal for him again next season and will only pay 10% of his wages. I really don't understand their logic but am looking forward to a 3rd season with Ramos whilst i'm struggling to find a permanent solution.

Despite numerous little injuries disrupting his season, Ryan Gauld sets a new highest average record for the club. I'm hoping he remains fit next season as he really is a class player for us.

Our U19s managed to win the league, which is very promising for our future. We have pumped a lot of money into developing the club and is great to see the youth programme starting to pull through.

Following last seasons expansion, we recorded a new record attendance and the board have therefore decided to bang another 1,678 seats in. I was a little surprised as we haven't had many sellout crowds, but we now boast the 11th largest stadium in the League.

So we do need to overcome one qualifying round to reach the Europa Conference Group Stages and will go up against Belgian opposition, Standard Liège. They finished 4th in the League last season and will fancy our chances against them, but will need to make our opening home game count.

​

 

[zacram]

The transfer window has just closed and here is a quick overview of the dealings done, which has included the further clear-out of some non Portuguese players. Although we did also bring a number of new faces into the club as we look to re-qualify for the Champions League this season.

Gedson Fernandes was probably the biggest name we brought in to the club. He had a rather unsuccessful loan spell with Spurs, but has managed to get 2 international caps to his name. Although his attributes are a little underwhelming, he is very versatile and will primarily be deployed as a box to box midfielder.

Francisco Geraldes is fantastic addition to the squad, especially as he was a free transfer after refusing to renew his contract with Rio Ave. He is a technical playmaker and will be useful to share the workload with Gauld.

I've been looking out for a striker since the start of the save rather than simply relying on our loan signing and Pedro Mendes provides a somewhat solution to the problem. He is a way off the quality of Ramos but is a useful deputy and will get chances to impress this season.

So here is a quick look at this seasons senior squad, which is now fully Portuguese. That is with the exception of Ryan Gauld, who hadn't played for Scotland when I signed him and had Portuguese nationality as well as Yougem, who came through our youth academy, so again has Portuguese nationality.

Our first big game of the season was against Standard Liège and we comprehensively dismantled them in front of our home fans. We had to bounce back from an early goal but scoring 4 unanswered goals has put us in a terrific position for the return fixture.

Just 3 days later and I witnessed our worst ever performance, as Porto thrashed us 5-0. I really don't know what happened but they just seemed to cut through us at every opportunity and we just failed to do anything with the ball despite having more possession. An abysmal performance and quite rightly a refund for our travelling supporters!

In the wake of our trashing in Porto, we bounced back to beat Standard in Belgium and secure a comfortable 6-2 aggregate victory.

We were a 3rd seed for the draw and will have to contend with Valencia in the Europa Conference League group stage. They will prove difficult to beat but am confident we can at least secure 2nd place and with it progression to the knockout stages.

We did secure a couple of decent League victories before our European clash so sit on 6 points as the transfer window closes.

We are predicted to finish 5th this season, although my target will be Top 3.

Benfica have been the big spenders in the League, although is once again another season of more outgoings than incomings.

​

 

[zacram]

We started the next run of games with an impressive victory over the reigning Champions, Sporting. It was a pretty close game and they dominated possession, but we took our chances and is a strong League response to that thrashing from Porto earlier in the season.

We then managed to grind out a gritty draw against the highly impressive, Braga. They fully deserved the 3 points but a combination of missing chances and our keeper having a blinder meant we managed to hold on for a hard fought point.

With the exception of a defeat in one of our League Cup group games we have put together another 5 victories, including 2 in the Europa Conference League. As always much of the focus is on Cup competitions at this stage of the year and the League seems to play second fiddle a bit.

The worst news to emerge was the horrendous leg break in training to our captain and central defensive rock, Fábio Cardosa. It's a position we are a little short in and probably going to have to delve into the transfer market in January to find a replacement.

So after another 3 games in the League we are right on the tails of Sporting and Porto at the top. Benfica and Vit. Guimaraes are both having some early season struggles but am expecting them to be up around the Top 6 very soon.

We then faced Valencia to complete the halfway stage of our Europa Conference League group games and managed to pull off an incredible result. The scoreline was a little flattering in the end thanks to a couple of late goals but we full deserved the 3 points/

So after 3 wins out of 3 we sit top of the table and are all but through to the knockout stages. We are in a pretty commanding position, especially as Valencia somehow lost to Ferencvaros at home and should really be aiming to top the group and in theory get an easier draw in the next round.

 

[zacram]

We started the next run of fixtures with 3 comfortable wins on the spin in the League.

We then had the return trip to Valencia in what was always anticipated to be our toughest Group match. I was really playing for a draw, trying to keep things compact and hopefully nab a winner, which worked to good effect for most of the game until they managed to score a rare half chance to win the game. Whilst we remain top it does add a little added pressure for the final 2 games.

We managed to win our next Europa Conference League game and that actually secured us qualification through to the knockout stage as Top seed, with a game in hand. We did drop a couple of points in the League, but are still looking strong.

Our final group game saw me field a heavily rotated side, and was good to see us still get the job done in Denmark. It was far from our best performance but is another victory on the scoreboard.

So here is confirmation of the final table.

Valencia lost again to Ferencváros and so amazingly miss out on the knockout stages.

Back to business domestically and we have been drawn against Sporting for the 6th round of the PT Cup following our dramatic extra time victory over Chaves with the last kick of the game.

We then ended the year with a very disappointing result at home to Rio Ave, in which we threw away a 2 goal lead. I fully expected us to be getting all 3 points and we really cannot afford to drop points, especially at home in these games.

So Rio Ave are now just 3 points behind us (we do have a game in hand), but looks like Porto are running away with the title this year. We are now 6 points behind them, but are in a very strong position to secure a top 3 spot this season and get back into the CL and the much needed extra revenue.

We fail to get past the groups for the first time in my career in the League Cup. I usually play a 'B' team so am not overly fussed as we have bigger fish to fry but we had an easy group and a second division side have actually progressed to the Semi-Finals!

On another note our Youth Facilities have been upgraded which concludes the final piece of the puzzle. We now have State of the Art Facilities and exceptional Youth Recruitment and Junior Coaching. It's been financially draining but should be worth it in the long run and I can now try and focus on spending our money on improving the squad.

 

[zacram]

We started the new with a victory over Benfica at the Estádio da Luz. Once again Gonçalo Ramos was on the scoresheet against his parent club, a player that they are paying £27,000 p/w to play for us, whilst we pay just £3,000p/w!

When then recorded a couple more easy victories in the League

That was before Sporting knocked us out of the PT Cup on penalties. It's not the first time Sporting have done this to us and is always such a cruel way to get knocked out after 120 gruelling minutes of football. Having said that they were the better side on the day.

3 days later and Sporting were beating us yet again, this time in the League. I've only managed a couple of victories over them in this save and they really seem to have the beating of us. I mean they do have a better squad on paper, but seem to always be the ones knocking us out of domestic Cups as well.

Despite conceding a goal in the first minute we rallied and really should have beaten Braga. They haven't played as well as last season, but are still a good side, however, we couldn't turn our dominance into goals on the day and I see it as a couple of points dropped.

The final game to round off an extremely challenging January was a home draw against Porto. It was a cagey game and a much better performance than that 5-0 hammering we received earlier in the season, and if not for a late Batshuayi goal we could have had all 3 points from the game.

So having played 4 of the so called 'Big 6' in January we remain in second place. Porto are still out ahead and Rio Ave are still looking very strong at securing a European Spot for next season. The good news is we have now played Porto and Sporting twice, so have a better season run in that previous seasons and am hopeful we can clinch a Top 3 spot.

Here is a quick overview of the January Transfer Window....

As we have been haemorrhaging money I was reluctant to sign any players this January. I have a few on the radar and with no club developments set for summer and good end to the season could give us the financial resources to land some big names for next season!

​

 

[zacram]

Following the draw with Porto, we have been on a 6 game unbeaten run in the league, conceding no goals in the process. It hasn't been the most entertaining football at times, but we are getting the job done.

As we finished Top of our group we actually enter the knockout stage in the second round, against Swiss side, BSC Young Boys. So it's a trip to Switzerland for us first, against a side that finished 3rd in their domestic League last season.

We conceded a goal deep into stoppage time to prevent us coming away with a very respectable draw. We had managed to equalise twice in the game already but a goal so late gives them a big advantage going into the return fixture. A game we now have to win.

Before the return leg we had another comfortable 2-0 victory in the League, despite resting a few key players.

So that leaves us hot on the heels of Porto at the top of the table, whilst Rio Ave continue to surpass expectations and may even deny Sporting a Top 3 finish. I think we have nearly all but secured a CL spot for next season, but could we pull off our fist domestic title with just 5 games left to play?

The media are billing it as a 3 horse race, although cannot see Rio Ave having any chance of winning the title.

Unfortunately Porto actually have the easiest remaining fixtures and I cant really see them dropping any points in the remaining 5 games. Ours are a bit more challenging and will likely need to win them all to even have a chance of winning the League.

We then returned our attentions to the Europa Conference League, where despite us throwing the kitchen sink at Young Boys, just couldn't get the result we needed. After they scored their 3rd goal we needed to win by 2 and despite creating numerous opportunities, we just couldn't convert. It was an exciting game and a lot of positives in the performance but am a little gutted we didn't manage to get deeper into the tournament.

The latest youth prospects have joined the academy and despite our exceptional recruitment, haven't managed to produce the most exciting crop of players. Guilherme Ramos may get a few first team appearances but cant envisage him being a regular starter in the future.

​

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

Following the draw with Porto, we have been on a 6 game unbeaten run in the league, conceding no goals in the process. It hasn't been the most entertaining football at times, but we are getting the job done.

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As we finished Top of our group we actually enter the knockout stage in the second round, against Swiss side, BSC Young Boys. So it's a trip to Switzerland for us first, against a side that finished 3rd in their domestic League last season.

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We conceded a goal deep into stoppage time to prevent us coming away with a very respectable draw. We had managed to equalise twice in the game already but a goal so late gives them a big advantage going into the return fixture. A game we now have to win.


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Before the return leg we had another comfortable 2-0 victory in the League, despite resting a few key players.

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So that leaves us hot on the heels of Porto at the top of the table, whilst Rio Ave continue to surpass expectations and may even deny Sporting a Top 3 finish. I think we have nearly all but secured a CL spot for next season, but could we pull off our fist domestic title with just 5 games left to play?


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The media are billing it as a 3 horse race, although cannot see Rio Ave having any chance of winning the title.

Unfortunately Porto actually have the easiest remaining fixtures and I cant really see them dropping any points in the remaining 5 games. Ours are a bit more challenging and will likely need to win them all to even have a chance of winning the League.

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We then returned our attentions to the Europa Conference League, where despite us throwing the kitchen sink at Young Boys, just couldn't get the result we needed. After they scored their 3rd goal we needed to win by 2 and despite creating numerous opportunities, we just couldn't convert. It was an exciting game and a lot of positives in the performance but am a little gutted we didn't manage to get deeper into the tournament.

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The latest youth prospects have joined the academy and despite our exceptional recruitment, haven't managed to produce the most exciting crop of players. Guilherme Ramos may get a few first team appearances but cant envisage him being a regular starter in the future.


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wow you doing pretty well job hope you can win the title with nacional and hope porto will bottle it up

 

[zacram]

We started our final 5 games by hammering Benfica in front of a sellout crowd. It could have been more had Mendes not missed a penalty, but either way it is a huge result against one of the giants of Portuguese football.

We then had to dig deep to overcome a late rally from Vit. Guimarães. I really thought we were going to choke it at the end, but managed to maintain our composure and see the game out for 3 more important points.

The 3 points actually clinched us a minimum of second place and a Champions League place for next season. Unfortunately we haven't gained on Porto but re-qualifying for the CL was the main objective this season and is now achieved with 3 games spare.

Porto then drew with Vilafranquense, which opened the door for us to draw level the following day against Tondela.

However, we failed to make our dominance count and remain 2 points behind....

We both recorded comfortable victories in our penultimate games, sending the title race down to the wire.

As Porto have a better head-to-head record with us, we will have to win our final game, whilst needing them to lose. If we end up on level points they will still win the League.

Porto have an easy home fixture against Boavista, whilst we travel to high flyers, Rio Ave...

Unfortunately we end the season with defeat, losing to Rio Ave for the second time this season. As it happens, Porto won their game regardless, so even if we had got the 3 points we still would have finished runners up.

Here is conformation of the final table...

To make us feel even better about ourselves, we apparently had the highest points total in a season without winning the title..... Great!

Despite some disappointment at getting so close to the title, it is worth remembering that we are competing with the 13th highest wage budget in the League! Porto are spending x20 more per year that ourselves, so isn't exactly a level playing field just yet.

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

We started our final 5 games by hammering Benfica in front of a sellout crowd. It could have been more had Mendes not missed a penalty, but either way it is a huge result against one of the giants of Portuguese football.


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We then had to dig deep to overcome a late rally from Vit. Guimarães. I really thought we were going to choke it at the end, but managed to maintain our composure and see the game out for 3 more important points.

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The 3 points actually clinched us a minimum of second place and a Champions League place for next season. Unfortunately we haven't gained on Porto but re-qualifying for the CL was the main objective this season and is now achieved with 3 games spare.


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Porto then drew with Vilafranquense, which opened the door for us to draw level the following day against Tondela.


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However, we failed to make our dominance count and remain 2 points behind....

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We both recorded comfortable victories in our penultimate games, sending the title race down to the wire.

As Porto have a better head-to-head record with us, we will have to win our final game, whilst needing them to lose. If we end up on level points they will still win the League.


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Porto have an easy home fixture against Boavista, whilst we travel to high flyers, Rio Ave...

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Unfortunately we end the season with defeat, losing to Rio Ave for the second time this season. As it happens, Porto won their game regardless, so even if we had got the 3 points we still would have finished runners up.


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Here is conformation of the final table...

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To make us feel even better about ourselves, we apparently had the highest points total in a season without winning the title..... Great!

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Despite some disappointment at getting so close to the title, it is worth remembering that we are competing with the 13th highest wage budget in the League! Porto are spending x20 more per year that ourselves, so isn't exactly a level playing field just yet.


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so shamed that Nacional bottle it just not winning primeira liga but parabens from an amazing season how you will win the title next season

 

[zacram]

With Champions League revenue arriving once again, I decided to splash the cash on a young central defender, Diogo Gonçalves. Unsurprisingly the £6.5M spent on him (some in instalments) smashes the club record transfer.

He has really strong attributes and on paper is our best defender at the club, and at just 18 years old has plenty of years left to improve.

Gonçalves was the only major transfer news of note. I'm at the point now where we have quite good depth and only really want to bring players in that will make a big difference.

So here is a look at the squad for the forthcoming season...

Contract renewals and new arrivals have pushed us up to 9th in salary spending in the league - Still light years behind Porto and Benfica.

We started the new season pretty well, picking up 10 points from 12. The away trip to Braga was always going to be tricky and am happy to at least get a point. Porto and Sporting have also already dropped some early points.

For the first time we didn't have to do any qualifying for the Europe and stroll straight through to the CL Group stages.

We actually have a very good draw all things considered. Shaktar aren't the strongest and we beat PSV in qualifying 2 seasons ago, so am hopeful we can get more than the 1 point in our last CL appearance.

​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

That centre back was definitely worth the money! Did he come through the Juve academy or did they sign him from another Portuguese club?

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

With Champions League revenue arriving once again, I decided to splash the cash on a young central defender, Diogo Gonçalves. Unsurprisingly the £6.5M spent on him (some in instalments) smashes the club record transfer.

He has really strong attributes and on paper is our best defender at the club, and at just 18 years old has plenty of years left to improve.

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Gonçalves was the only major transfer news of note. I'm at the point now where we have quite good depth and only really want to bring players in that will make a big difference.

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So here is a look at the squad for the forthcoming season...

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Contract renewals and new arrivals have pushed us up to 9th in salary spending in the league - Still light years behind Porto and Benfica.

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We started the new season pretty well, picking up 10 points from 12. The away trip to Braga was always going to be tricky and am happy to at least get a point. Porto and Sporting have also already dropped some early points.

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For the first time we didn't have to do any qualifying for the Europe and stroll straight through to the CL Group stages.

We actually have a very good draw all things considered. Shaktar aren't the strongest and we beat PSV in qualifying 2 seasons ago, so am hopeful we can get more than the 1 point in our last CL appearance.

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very good group from nacional and hope they can make it to europa league or knockout rounds of champions league

 

[zacram]

That centre back was definitely worth the money! Did he come through the Juve academy or did they sign him from another Portuguese club?

He actually came through the Braga academy, but Juventus snapped him up pretty quickly - Hopefully will develop into a worldclass CB for us.