All Aboard! - The Managerial Rollercoaster

[Werrett]

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Finishing November (At Last)...

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Serie A

A shaky performance against Empoli but in the end we came out on top. Overall we dominated the game but got caught on the counter-attack twice, a downside to playing such an attack minded formation I suppose!

Nothing special in the goals department, two penalties and a Belmonte 20 yard curler, we got the 3 points and that's the most important thing here.

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UEFA Champions League

A brilliant first half display here in the Champions League saw us be 5-1 up at half-time with 4 goals from Kenneth de Jager, a player who I've not really thought much of in my time at the Bianconeri so far but this performance was fantastic from the Dutchman!

I have to admit though we were disgraceful in the second half, we allowed Zenit to come from 5-1 down to almost salvage a draw..All I can think is that the complacency had kicked in, especially knowing we had already qualified and near enough won the group but it's something I won't accept.

If we are to win the Champions League or make progress as a club we need to ensure that we perform at our best for the full ninety in every match.
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[Werrett]

November Summary​

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Results

A 100% month as we won all of our 5 matches in November, the two wins in the Champions' League have secured our qualification as the top team and the wins in the league are keeping us at the top of the table. I'm extremely pleased with our winning mentality but in recent weeks our defence has taken a hit, something I'll be looking to improve on.​

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Table(s)​

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Almost half way through the season and we're sitting 2 points above Sampdoria at the top of the table, hopefully we can maintain this winning form and bring home my first trophy in management.

Still one game to play but we've won our group with relative ease, we'll be looking to finish with a 100% record and we'll certainly be looking forward to our draw for the knockout stages.​

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[xJamieWilliams]

Great results mate but the goals are leaking in arnt they! haha

 

[Werrett]

Great results mate but the goals are leaking in arnt they! haha

They sure are, which is worrying! Gotta fix that while I can.

 

[Werrett]

Juande Ramos Sacked by Newcastle United

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Newcastle United have today confirmed the dismissal of Juande Ramos as Manager of the club. The 65 year old Spaniard who formerly managed the likes of Granada, Tottenham and Real Madrid took over at Newcastle back in March but after only 8 months in charge of the Magpies he has been dismissed from his position. His final game resulted in a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

The reason behind the sacking is believed to be down to Newcastle United's poor position in the Premier League table with the Magpies currently sitting in 15th place, 10 places below where they were sitting only a few years ago during the Paul Clement era.

Newcastle's recent form has certainly been poor with the club losing 4 of their last 5 league matches, there won't be too many surprised faces in the wake of the Spaniard's dismissal.

Having only won 4 of their opening 13 matches it's no wonder the North-Eastern club are sitting so low in the table, a European finish is looking increasingly unlikely but a new change of direction may save the club a bit of face.

Newcastle United will now be looking for a new manager with Paul Lambert, Frank Rijkaard and Huub Stevens among the favourites.

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[Werrett]

Juventus Collapse Again...

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Disappointing performance here against Chievo, we had plenty of chances but failed to keep the ball for periods of time and towards the end ONCE AGAIN we collapsed defensively. The loss now means Sampdoria are level with us at the top and with tough fixtures to come that's not a good sign at all...But the unbeaten season continues! ...For now.

With the January window coming soon nobody is safe in the team at the moment, especially the defensive players...​

 

[Werrett]

View attachment 299959

Coppa Italia First Round Draw

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We have been drawn against Serie B side Parma F.C. in the First Round of the Coppa Italia, the game will be played on Wednesday 15th January at 20:00. Juventus last won the cup back in 2017 so hopefully we can reclaim it here, I'd love to get my hands on a trophy!

Here's a look at the recent winners of the cup.
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[Werrett]

View attachment 299953

Things could be beginning to get interesting back in England, Everton are the latest club to be taken over by a business tycoon. Will Liverpool remain the biggest club on merseyside?

Along with Everton and Sunderland there are now a few clubs who could soon be fighting for the title, it almost makes me upset to have left England but one things for sure, it'll be far more interesting when I return there!

Bill Kenwright has been a member of the Everton board since 1989, a boyhood supporter of the Toffees Kenwright has stopped at nothing to do the very best he can for his beloved club, he became the largest shareholder of the club back in 2004 and will be very upset that his reign has come to an end. But a new adventure is on the horizon, a younger, richer future for the side he dreamed of lifting silverware with.​

 

[xJamieWilliams]

Everton having money? I thought FM was realistic :/

 

[Werrett]

Just a little follow up on the Ramos departure but Newcastle have indeed hired Paul Lambert as their new manager, is he the man to fix the rut Newcastle find themselves in? I'll keep you all updated over time.

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[Werrett]

Juventus Win at the Olimpico
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Juventus climbed back up to the top of the Serie A table after a vintage performance against a struggling Roma side at the Olimpico on Saturday Night. Having struggled defensively in previous weeks it was vitally important that the Bianconeri return to their usual self, something they didn't fail to do.

Juventus opened the scoring after 18 minutes when former Benfica man Kenneth de Jager found the net with a well timed finish from close range, a beautiful goal from the Dutchman as he picked up the ball from Kevin De Bruyne before curling it into the bottom left hand corner, a great way to start the match!

Ricardo Rodriguez doubled the advantage and sealed the fate of the points after 69 minutes when the Swiss International picked up the ball from Paul Pogba before firing into the top left hand corner from 13 yards, a strikers finish from the full-back!

A fantastic performance and a deserved victory.

Juventus were clearly deserved winners with the visitors dominating much of the possession while creating multiple chances on the Roma goal, 14 shots on target in total. They'll be wondering how they only scored two!

The Olimpico is never an easy place to play so the Bianconeri will be delighted with the victory...And the clean sheet!​

 

[Werrett]

All aboard the Juventus bandwagon!

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[Werrett]

A 3-0 win away in Belarus means it's the end of our Champions League group stage, and having won all 6 of our matches we can comfortably boast a 100% record in the competition so far this season. Balde Keita, Lacazette and Rafinha all helped to secure the win against BATE Borisov as we put out a rotated side in a bid to raise morale and maintain fitness.

As you can see we ended up winning the group by 9 points, a fantastic way to start the competition and with the knockout stage draw in a weeks time we'll certainly be eager to see who we'll be facing!

Possible teams we can face include: Atletico Madrid, Roma, AS Monaco, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk or Borussia Dortmund.

To think, those are the teams who finished as runners-up...Coming 2nd in our group might have been a better thing!

Just to show the strangeness of the competition so far, Basque side Athletic Bilbao beat Serie A champions Sampdoria and German Giants Bayern Munich to the top spot, a monumental achievement! KLIPPYBO would be happy with that!

(Check his Athletic Bilbao save here: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2015-manager-stories/256532-athletic-bilbao.html)

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[Werrett]

Juventus Secure 3 Massive Points
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Paul Clement's Juventus side today secured a 2-1 victory against Serie A Champions Sampdoria in what was dubbed a top of the table clash, the game was played in front of 40,000 fans at the Juventus Stadium with the Bianconeri faithful hoping for that big victory.

They weren't left in the dark for long as French midfielder Paul Pogba put Juventus ahead after only 5 minutes when his 25 yard shot flew past Emiliano Viviano into the top left hand corner, a beautiful goal from the former Manchester United prodigy as he managed to gain a yard of space before rifling the ball into the back of the net, the stadium erupted with noise as the net rippled!

The lead was short lived however as former Gunner Olivier Giroud seized on a defensive error from Marcos Rojo to put Sampdoria back on level terms, a misjudged header from the Argentinian fell straight to the feet of the Frenchman who guided the ball under Keylor Navas in the Juventus goal, back to square one!

Dutch striker Kenneth de Jager restored the hosts lead after 30 minutes when the former Benfica striker rose high to head home Paul Pogba's corner from the left hand side, a lovely timed glancing header from the powerful striker saw the ball glide into the inside of the side netting, the Bianconeri were back in front!

A quiet second half meant the game finished 2-1, a win that was very much overshadowed by the possible injury to playmaker Paul Pogba who was inspirational in getting the result today, it's believed that there is no long term damage but a muscle strain always leaves the risk of future injury. He looks all but certain to miss next weeks big fixture against Inter Milan at the San Siro.

Manager Paul Clement wasted no time in heaping praise on the French midfielder after the Final whistle.

The boy was fantastic today, not only the goal but the way he moved the ball around. He was a danger to Sampdoria straight from the first whistle and he's vital to the way we play, and the way we want to develop. I can't tell you much about the injury right now but he told the physio as he went off that he felt a bit of a 'ping' in his right hamstring, so hopefully it's nothing more than a tweak. But as I said, fantastic performance and a massive win for us here today.

Well it looks certain that Paul will miss our tie against Inter Milan next Saturday, but he'll be back by the time we face Torino and Sassuolo at the start of January so that's a huge positive for us, Rafinha, Reynoso and Marchisio all have a chance to impress me, but we'll wait and see.

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[SamPeters]

You're having a brilliant time at Juventus so far! keep up the great work mate!

 

[Werrett]

UCL - The First Knockout Draw...​

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Juventus have been drawn against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the First Round of the Knockout stages in the UEFA Champions League, having won their group the Bianconeri went into the draw as the seeded side but were not spared a tough challenge as Los Colchoneros were picked out of the hat.

Juventus have not faced Atletico Madrid since the 2014/15 Champions League where they met in the group stages, both teams ended up progressing but neither went on to win the competition. But both sides will certainly feel they have a point to prove as they look to once again battle it out in Europe's biggest Club Competition.

The first-leg will take place at the Estadio de Madrid on the 26th February, 2020.

Along with this tie there were also some other big fixtures with record holding Real Madrid being drawn against Manchester United. Elsewhere Bayern Munich have been drawn against José Mourinho's Chelsea in what could be one of the biggest match-ups in the competition so far, here is a look at the draw in full:

Which of these 32 teams will make it to the Final at the Millennium Stadium?


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[Werrett]

You're having a brilliant time at Juventus so far! keep up the great work mate!

Things have started off brilliantly! With the implementation of some 'different' formations I wasn't sure how things would work out but so far I'm extremely pleased. Got a couple of big name players I'd like to bring in during the transfer window too so keep an eye out for that! Appreciate the feedback, buddy.

 

[Werrett]

The Unbeaten Run is Over...

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The unbeaten season is over..Despite taking a 2-0 lead into half-time we fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Inter Milan. I can't say it hasn't been coming, we've collapsed a few times this season and it was only a matter of time before we got punished for our complacency. Hats off to Inter, they kept their heads up and believed they could get something from the game and in the end their fighting spirit came out on top. I'm not disappointed that we're no longer unbeaten, I'm just disappointed we let things slip like that, just before the Winter break. Definitely got some changes to make during the Winter transfer window.

Going into the break we still sit top with a two point gap thanks to dropped points from all of the top 5. But with Torino and Sassuolo coming up next we need to concentrate, we can't afford to keep dropping points like this.​

 

[SamPeters]

Unlucky against Inter Milan, cant win them all but hopefully get your revenge the next time you play them

 

[Dobbi]

Hey mate, great story love it. How are Gillingham doing?