All Aboard the Bulgarian Express...

  • Thread starter Thread starter AndySams10
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 84
  • Views Views 15K
DECEMBER 2013:

View attachment 360642


Transfer News:

View attachment 360640

Aleksander Dyulgerov to Al-Ittihad - 400k

View attachment 360635

Tom to Monterrey - 1.2 million

Matches:

View attachment 360631

Finances:

View attachment 360629

League Table:

View attachment 360627

Summary:

We end the year on top of the league following 2 wins out of 2 during this month and with the winter break upon us and two players leaving for hefty fees, I'll need to use this time off to look to invest the money brought in from the sale of Tom and Dyulgerov. The 1.9 million has improved our finances dramatically and though it's a risk losing two players who were regulars in my first team, it will hopefully go towards bigger budgets in the future.
​
 
JANUARY 2014:

View attachment 360623


Injury News:

View attachment 360620

Azrack Mahamat - Slipped Disc - Out for 3 to 4 months

Transfer News:

View attachment 360619

Ivalyo Ivanov to Pescara - 100k

View attachment 360617

Iskren Pisarov to Videoton - 65k

Injury News:

View attachment 360615

Marquinhos - Twisted Ankle - Out for 5 weeks

Friendlies:

View attachment 360614

Finances:

View attachment 360613

Summary:

With no league games during the month of January, we hosted 2 friendlies against Brazilian side Botafogo and Standard from Belgium. Both games though competitive and helped with our fitness levels, came at a cost as we lost Mahamat to a serious back injury and even more frustrating Marquinhos will miss the next 5 weeks through injury.
I have a nice transfer chest waiting for me to spend, but despite numerous scouting reports, I still haven't found the right replacements for the players that have left the club.
​
 
FEBRUARY 2014:

View attachment 360610


Transfer News:

View attachment 360609

Georgi Pashov from Slavia Sofia - 150k

View attachment 360608

Kalifa Traore from PSG - Season Loan

View attachment 360607

Gauthier Mahoto from USBCO - Season Loan

Injury News:

View attachment 360606

Georgi Pashov - Fractured Ribs - Out for 7 to 8 weeks

View attachment 360605

Bozhidar Mitrev - Calf Strain - Out for 4 weeks

Matches:

View attachment 360604

Finances:

View attachment 360603

League Table:

View attachment 360602

Summary:

After the winter break the league gets split in half, with the top seven teams playing each other twice in the race for title and European places, while at the bottom it's to steer clear of relegation.
I've brought in right back Georgi Pashov, who will become first choice, until he picked up an injury on his debut ruling him out for several weeks. We were dealt a huge blow, as Bozhidar Mitrev, our keeper who has been in superb form, injured his calf in training, meaning young Kristiyan Katsarev, who is only 18 years old, will be thrown into first team action over the coming weeks. With long term injuries to key midfielders, I also brought in Gauthier Mahoto on loan and shored up our defensive options by bringing in, again on loan, Kalifa Traore from French giants PSG, though he's never played for them.
So with 11 games left to play and the transfer window closed, I'm hoping that we don't receive anymore injuries and I can finally have a settled squad at my disposal as we remain in the hunt for a league and cup double.
​
 
MARCH 2014:

View attachment 360496


Youth Intake:

View attachment 360495

Youth Signings:

View attachment 360494

Vaselin Notev - CB

View attachment 360493

Stoyan Aleksov - AMC/STR

View attachment 360492

Martin Angelov - AML

View attachment 360491

Evgeni Bandalovski - AMC

Matches:

View attachment 360488

Finances:

View attachment 360487

League Table:

View attachment 360486

Summary:

Probably the best performances in a month since I took over so far, as we remained unbeaten in the league and also progressed through to the semi finals of the cup. Outsiders to the club may see it as boring one nil wins, but to us at the business end of the season, a wins a win and these victories have moved us four points clear at the top of the league, with a game in hand.
Finally I'm very excited with the four youth signings and have real high hopes for Vaselin Notev to become a key player in the next couple of years.
​
 
APRIL 2014:

View attachment 360315


Club News:

View attachment 360314

I approached the board about increasing our wage budget as currently we can only offer a maximum of £1k a week to any potential new signing, but as this request was rejected I decided to ask if we could work with a club of a bigger stature than ourselves currently to help us bring in better quality players on loan. Thankfully the request was accepted and the board came back with two options, Shakthar and Toulouse. Now although Shakthar have better players than Toulouse, the French club have a number of very good players outside the first team, so I decided we would have better chance of attracting more players from Toulouse, plus they offered nearly double what Shakthar did, so it was no-brainer to pick the side that finished 7th in Ligue 1.

Injury News:

View attachment 360313

Sebastian Pardo - Back Strain - Out for 4 to 5 weeks

Matches:

View attachment 360312

Finances:

View attachment 360311

League Table:

View attachment 360310

Summary:

A nerve wracking month, with our league form dipping against the sides around us, as we lost to CSKA and threw away the lead three times against Ludogorets, who are currently second in the table. To make matters worse, we crashed out of the cup at the semi final stages to Ludogorets as they beat us quite convincingly over the two legs.
The title is still in our hands as we enter the final three games of the season, but I've noticed that the players are looking very nervous with each performance, as we get ever so close to winning our fifth title in the clubs history. Let's hope we can hold our nerve and finish the job next month...........
​
 
MAY 2014:

View attachment 360309


Transfer News:

View attachment 360308

Dimitar Iliev to Al-Ittihad - 2 Million

Huge transfer news, as I've decided to cash in on our leading goal scorer Dimitar Iliev!!! It took me ages to decide whether or not to sell Dimitar, but when I though things through, I couldn't turn down a bid that high for a player that was worth £350k at the time. With three games to go and the league title up for grabs, I hope Souleymane Coulibaly can find his goal scoring form that has deserted him of late.

View attachment 360306

Diego joins from Lokomotiv Plodiv - 300k

The one area I need strengthening is in our full back positions and with current left back Rumen Trifinov being watched by five clubs, I decided to swoop for Diego, who at 22, has the attributes to push Trifinov for a regular starting position.

Matches:

View attachment 360305

Finances:

View attachment 360304

League Table:

View attachment 360303

Summary:

Well we did it, we are crowned CHAMPIONS in my first season at the club, but it wasn't without it's heart stopping moments, as it went down to the wire! With us drawing against Litex and Cherno More, it handed the advantage to Ludogorets who were playing the night before our final game against Botev Plovdiv. Amazingly Botev beat them, meaning we had to win our game against Slavia Sofia, as a draw would mean we'd finish second on goal difference. But a Marquinhos goal, his last for the club before he leaves to join Bologna, means we have qualified for the Champions League.

*** Up next - End of Season review ***
​
 
Safc-mad-scotty said:
Great first season mate, looking forward to the Champions League qualifiers!
Click to expand...

Cheers matey. Unbelievable 1st season, gutted I didn't win the cup, but priority was Europe first season and to get Champs League makes up for it. Just scouring the transfer market and re-vamping the squad where it needs improvement. 8-|
 
Nice read bud. inspiring me to start a story! hope you get a good crack at transfer market!
 
Yorkshirelad said:
Nice read bud. inspiring me to start a story! hope you get a good crack at transfer market!
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, pleased it's helped inspire you. Hmm I think the transfer market is going to be a difficult one for the time being, can only offer wages upto 1.8k a week at the mo, and the better players want that little bit more(to come to the Bulgarian league of course). But it makes it more challenging to improve squad. :)
 
End of Season 2013/14 Review:

View attachment 359429


Squad Stats:

View attachment 359428

Best Eleven:

View attachment 359423

Managers' Player of the Season:

Bozhidar Mitrev - I decided to hand Mitrev the award, as he kept us in numerous matches throughout the season, with save after save and he was the main catalyst behind our strong defence.

Fans' Player of the Season:

Marquinhos - Again, just like Mitrev, he was magnificent for us this season and came up with vital goals and assists when we needed them. Unfortunately Marquinhos felt we couldn't match his ambitions and has decided to leave the club once his contract ends this summer.

Bulgarian 'A' League Player Stats:

View attachment 359427

Bulgarian Players' Player of the Year Award:

View attachment 359426

Bulgarian Players' Manager of the Year Award:

View attachment 359425

Bulgarian Team of the Season:

View attachment 359424

Bulgarian Club Rep Rankings:

View attachment 359421

European Competition Rankings:

View attachment 359420

European Club Rankings:

View attachment 359419

Summary:

Overall there is still a lot of work to be done to help improve the countries league ranking and despite us winning the league we still dropped down places in the club rankings. My aim will be to hopefully keep winning at the domestic level and hope we can become the number one team in Bulgaria over the coming seasons.
​
 
Bulgarian National Team - 2013/14:

View attachment 359407


World Cup Qualification Table:

View attachment 359406

European Championship 2016 Qualifying Group:

View attachment 359405

Summary:

I'm not going to spend too much time with updates on the National Team until I become manager(hopefully)! They had a poor World Cup qualifying campaign finishing 2nd from bottom and still remain 62nd in the FIFA rankings.
I will post/report any major news or if any of my players get called up to senior squad, but at the moment unfortunately there's not much to report.
​
 
Close Season Transfer News 2013/14:

View attachment 359404


Players In:

View attachment 359403

Michael Tawiah from Lyubimets - Free Transfer

View attachment 359402

Iliyan Kapitanov from Lyubimets - 85k

View attachment 359400

Cheikh Bangre from Toulouse - Season Loan

View attachment 359399

Afonso Alves - Free Transfer

View attachment 359397

Lionel Zouma from FC Sochaux - Season Loan

Players Out:

View attachment 359395

Azrack Mahamat to Sion - 400k

View attachment 359393

Daniel Gadzhev to Lekhwiya - 100k

Summary:

With key players leaving the club and a Champions League campaign ahead of us, I needed to strengthen the squad, not only in personnel but with some quality too.
The main area I was keen on improving was my midfield options and with Mahamat and Gadzhev leaving, due to an injury hit season and their age, I wanted to replace them with hard working players, who would fit a possible new system I may introduce, or the current 451 formation that proved successful last season.
The two top signings we've made so far has to be Lionel Zouma and Afonso Alves. Lionel, who's younger brother is Kurt Zouma of Chelsea, was on the loan list and alongside Marko Randjelovic, I'm hoping will be a very important player for us at the heart of our defence. With our leading talisman Dimitar Iliev having left us and Souleymane Coulibaly returning to Tottenham, it meant we didn't have a forward in the squad. Though it's a risk signing Alves, who at 33 may have played his best football, his stats impressed me enough to give him a 1 year deal, with the option of extending it by a further year. I'm hoping to sign a young striker that Alves can mentor and help him develop into very good player, as long as the right option is available to us.
​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Back
Top