Recent content by Chonky Panda Tactics

Part Thirty-Eight... sort of... Series Links Hey, everyone! Real-world Nicole here - the one whose plans mean she’s set alarms for much earlier than is reasonable at the weekend to post her final pre-planned post on the thread to make sure every single one is on a Sunday, not the...

As the summer sun hangs over the Südtribüne, I have a chance to be alone and really savour my surroundings at Borussia-Park. Forever my home - I’ve loved it here. I take a few steps forward and, once on the pitch, crouch down to touch the turf with my fingers. It feels different from when I...

I said last season that I felt we had the best pair of goalkeepers in the Bundesliga, and I will stand by that statement, even though both Gregor Kobel and Oliver Christensen have seen their save percentages drop this season. Having dug into the matter, it seems that the period that two of the...

“We need to take a blooming shot already, I desperately want to win tonight,” Kevin says, shortly after Jürgen Klopp’s PSG manage the first shot of the game in the 30th minute. “We all do,” I reply, a little confused. “I know, but you’ll both get other chances to be winners, wherever you end...

Part Thirty-Seven The 2029 Champions League Final Welcome back to Foal From Grace! My last game as Borussia Mönchengladbach manager is here - can I go out as a treble-treble winner? This part is spread across multiple posts, so make sure to catch the whole piece! Series Links It’s eerily...

The Olympiastadion is a cauldron of noise as we take to the pitch, with not a single person silent out of the near-75,000 in attendance, and perhaps it’s this atmosphere that brings about the cagey start from both sides with neither team wanting to give an inch. On the quarter-hour mark...

Part Thirty-Six The 2029 DFB-Pokal Final Welcome back to Foal From Grace! As the clock winds down on my career with Die Fohlen, the first of two finals pits me against Bayern Munich one last time. This part is spread across multiple posts, so make sure to catch the whole piece! Series Links...

Even by Borussia-Park’s usual impressive standards, the atmosphere being produced is on a scale I’ve never seen before, and I can barely fight off the emotions that rise up inside me the moment I emerge from the tunnel. It’s such an explosive atmosphere, in fact, that my boys start the game...

Part Thirty-Five The Final Home Game Welcome back to Foal From Grace! History is at stake as I bid farewell to Borussia-Park. This part is spread across multiple posts, so make sure to catch the whole piece! Series Links As the team coach makes its final turn through the large crowd...

By happy coincidence, Tresoldi’s goal and our clean sheet mean that, having beaten Ajax in last year’s final, we’ll be in back-to-back Champions League finals that feature Amsterdam as we book our ticket to the Johan Cruyff ArenA. Slightly less enjoyable news, however, is that we’ll be joined...

I often wonder if Stefano Pioli regrets taking the Birmingham job after I left. Taking over the reigning European Champions, a team that’d just gone a whole season unbeaten, must not have been an easy task, seeing as there was little direction for him to go but down. Still, he set Blues up for...

Part Thirty-Four Welcome back to Foal From Grace! There's a chance at beating last season's records, an attempt at making my assistants happy, and the small matter of the Champions League semi-finals in this final multi-game episode. This part is spread across multiple posts, so make sure to...

So, the scenario is simple when mid-table Wolfsburg come to town on Sunday: win, and we’re Champions. With Arsenal’s visit on Tuesday and Dortmund again on Wednesday, this time in the DFB-Pokal, a few changes are in order as Kobel returns in goal and Izet Kullaj, Cardo Makengo, Liam Heywood...

It‘s baffling to me that, despite moving to Germany, I’ll have faced Arsenal as many times in my three years at Die Fohlen as I did over the course of my first three years at Birmingham City. Having faced The Gunners at the same stage of the Champions League last season, I’m optimistic of...

Part Thirty-Three Welcome back to Foal From Grace! Three derbies, two Champions League matches, and a surprisingly important match against Wolfsburg - they're all big this week. This part is spread across multiple posts, so make sure to catch all six games! Series Links “I can’t believe it...