Back to Spurs - Under New Zealand Management

[undertheray]

OCTOBER


Our opening game of the month was against the bottom-dwellers in our Champions League Group H, away against Bohemians. It turned out they were not that easy - all be it against none of my usual first team - and managed to score 2 goals. Fortunately, a superb hat trick from Jonathas enabled us to claim a 3-2 victory and our second win in as many matches of Champions League football this season.
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Up next was back in the La Liga, with our match away at Espanyol. Yacouba Keita opened the scoring after just 4 minutes, but the resilient home side managed to claw back an equalizer in the 58th minute. Despite us dominating the game and laying siege to the Espanyol goal, we failed to net a winner, finishing with a 1-1 draw.
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Hoping to rebound with a win, we hosted Real Sociedad in the La Liga at Neuvo Mestalla. Once again, despite laying siege to the opposition goal, and controlling possession, we failed to get the required number of goals for a win - this time no goals - as we slumped to a disappointing 0-0 draw.
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The next La Liga game on our fixture list was at home against Murcia. This time, boosted by the return of Giovani dos Santos, we had a much better goal scoring effort. Keita opened the scoring in the 34th minute. In the second half, Ian Adam volleyed home a beautiful goal from the edge of the six yard box, and just four minutes later dos Santos announced his return with a fantastic goal to cap the scoring and give us a 3-0 victory.
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Our third Champions League Group H game was in the Ukraine, as we traveled to take on Dinamo Kiev. The hosts opened the scoring and led at halftime, before Jonathas equalized in the 68th minute. The game seemed destined for a draw, until Yohan Cabaye's powerful shot deflected off the head of Jonathas and into the path of young Paraguayan winger Julio Cesar Yegros, who netted the winner with his head in stoppage time. A thrilling end to a 2-1 win, and gives us three wins in our group.
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Back to Spain, and back in La Liga as we traveled to Valladolid to hammer them with a dominant performance. dos Santos opened the scoring, before Keita scored a sublime four goals to sink our hosts, with dos Santos having a penalty well saved that could have been his second. A very solid game, showing the finishing class of Keita in a 5-0 win.
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Last match of the month was against Rayo in the Spanish Cup, and our reserves had no trouble dispatching them away in the first leg, with Adeleye and Altidore netting within two minutes of each other in the first half to send us into the second leg comfortably sitting on a 2-0 advantage.
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[undertheray]

NOVEMBER


First match of November was in the La Liga against Osasuna at Neuvo Mestalla. A spectacular header from Jonathas in the 90th minute proved the vital moment, as we took the late winner and the three points that went with it in a 2-1 win, thanks to a terrific impact substitute appearance from the Brazilian.
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Our next match was in the Champions League, at home in our Group H match with Dinamo Kiev. The Ukranian side were resolute in their performance, and stout at the back - once Jonathas scored after 6 minutes, we had no further goals. A Kiev equalizer in the 23rd minute was the final goal, as we played out a 1-1 draw, disappointed not to get all three points in the group.
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Next up was back in the La Liga, we traveled to surprise league leaders Zaragoza, where we put in a solid effort, but ultimately failed in the attacking third. Yago's goal in the 10th minute was enough, as we fell to a 1-0 defeat, when maybe a draw would have been a fairer result.
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Our Spanish Cup Fourth Round second leg was at home, as we looked to capitalize on our two goal advantage and eliminate Rayo from the competition. Our reserves looked assured in defense, but failed in the attacking half, until Lago Junior and Jonathas broke the defenses late for a 2-0, and we advance to the Fifth Round (4-0) on aggregate.
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Back to the La Liga, as we took on surprising favourites for our clash, Las Palmas away. Bakary Sago put the hosts in front, before Keita grabbed a equalizer just before halftime. Right after the halftime kickoff, Giovani dos Santos netted our second goal, and what proved to be the winner in a 2-1 victory.
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Our next fixture was also in La Liga, as we took on Racing at home. After a scoreless first half, Damien Marcq put us in front in the 69th minute. It looked like we could hold onto this result, but unfortunately some lax defending saw Bakary Kone net an equalizer for a 1-1 draw, and we were extremely disappointed to drop the points in this one.
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Our fifth Champions League Group H match was next, and it didn't go anything close to plan, with a defensive collapse seeing them net five goals, to our zero. Hulk scored four, with Tiago Luis getting one - including one after Renan dropped a simple long ball for Hulk to easily tap in. Renan seems to shatter in confidence after a goal or two goes in and is prone to mistakes. I thought he was alright this season, but I am severely concerned about my stability at the goalkeeper position.
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In the transfer market, I secured the signatures of a few solid veterans to help with depth down the road and give us stability in Europe. All scheduled to arrive on the 02/01/2020, first is 35 year old Wesley Sneijder, for €750k from Wigan. He will add much needed depth to our attacking midfield position and should help carry the load if a key player goes down.
Also arriving is 33 year old Vedran Corluka from Manchester City for €400k. This is a perfect buy, as he still has his legs left and is a good player, and will definitely contribute defensively before the end of the season. My relationship with Jose Mourinho was instrumental with completing this deal well under the asking price.
Two other youth prospects are scheduled to arrive, for a combined amount of €1.95m, and I will detail their abilities and big potential later.

Hopefully I will be able to sign Ibrahim Afellay from Tottenham as well to boost my attacking quality. He was an exceptional player for me at Spurs, and I think their asking price (€4.9m) can be worked down to my expectant price (€3m) before the January window closes. I have also been sniffing around other potentials - such as Manuel Neuer currently at Shakhtar. Neuer is in his goalkeeping prime, and is valued at €2.9m, although Shakhtar want more than triple that at present. Hopefully, by building some relationships and working the press, I can get these prices down and get some good value deals.

 

[undertheray]

DECEMBER


First match of December was against Celta in La Liga away action. Keita opened the scoring, followed by Balenziaga, with Keita then adding another, before dos Santos netted before halftime to make it four-zip at the break. Celta managed to net the only goal of the second period, but we managed to hold our comfortable advantage with ease for a 4-1 win.
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Another La Liga match followed, this time at home verse Betis. A superb Giovani dos Santos hat trick before halftime had the match wrapped up, with both sides trading a goal each in the second half - ours courtesy of Jozy Altidore - as we ran out comfortable 4-1 winners for the second straight game.
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Our final Champions League group stage match was next, with the match against Bohemians at home as we fought for qualification. Porto had already qualified with 12 points, and were just playing to confirm first place. Meanwhile, we sat on 10points with Dinamo Kiev trailing on 7 points. A loss would put us in jeopardy due to our inferior goal differential, so we wanted a solid win to see us through. And did we ever get that! A superb hat trick from young 19 year old Paraguay international Julio Cesar Yegros was the highlight, as we thumped the Irish side for a 7-0 win and advancement to the knockout stages with a second place group finish.
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Final Group G standings

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Next up we had the daunting La Liga task of traveling to the Nou Camp to play Barcelona. Despite being rank underdogs, we came out looking fired up and very positive, and were rewarded for the efforts with a goal in the 35th minute from Yacouba Keita. We had surprisingly been dominating the possession, and were looking very calm and controlled with the football. The halftime lead was more than we had hoped for, but it soon got even better, as Keita's absolutely outstanding run was perfectly finished with his lethal right foot, and we had ourselves what proved to be an unassailable 2-0 lead, as we held onto the clean sheet for a fantastic win. These points might prove invaluable later in the season.
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Final match of 2019 was at home in the La Liga against Villarreal. A dominant performance, we pulled all the strings in midfield and laid siege to the opposition goal, and we were rewarded with three good goals, although it should have been a few more, had the linesman not made some questionable call. No complaints with the final scoreline, and the fans were more than happy, as we ran out solid 3-0 winners to end the year on a high.
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A great end to the year, and hopefully we can continue the run into 2010 and pick up some trophies! Yacouba Keita had already won some individual trophies, picking up some well deserved accolades.

European Footballer of the Year
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European Striker of the Year
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World Footballer of the Year
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World Player of the Year
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World Team of the Year

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​

 

[TheRealMourinho]

holy ****,
edin dzeko won everything at tottenham.
never knew he was that good.

 

[undertheray]

holy ****,
edin dzeko won everything at tottenham.
never knew he was that good.

Yeah he carved up, a true complete forward, with tremendous skill on the ball and his best moments came when setting up others to score. A+ player for sure, a must buy.

 

[undertheray]

JANUARY


2020 opened with a bang, as Arda Turan scored in the first minute of the first game, at Neuvo Mestalla against Athletic in La Liga. Keita added another 5 minutes later, and Damien Marc got one of his own in the 43rd minute as we had the game comfortably wrapped up by halftime, and despite conceding a late goal, we can be pleased with a 3-1 victory and vital La Liga points.
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Our next match was in the Spanish Cup Fifth Round, against Osasuna, with Los Ches traveling to play in the first leg. Argentine midfielder Cesar Silva scored the opening goal, with Diego Perotti adding from the penalty spot and 19 year old Paraguayan sensation Julio Cesar Yegros scoring the third in a solid 3-1 win.
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We went into our next fixture with high hopes, but tough opposition, as we took on the might of Atletico Madrid at the Estadio de Madrid. The scoreline doesn't accurately reflect the performance, as we held the balance of play in the early stages, with dos Santos being denied by superb goalkeeping from Sergio Asenjo, while we were extremely unfortunate to concede first with Jovetic netting the home sides first shot of the match on 29 minutes and shaking us up. Just 3 minutes later, he had the ball in the net again, as Renan failed to match the outstanding quality Asenjo was producing in the other net. As we pushed for the win late on, we conceded two more - as the Atletico keeper stood solid and denied any chance of consolation. A disappointing result, and a slightly better performance from Renan and we could have got a better result.
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24 year old English goalkeeper Jonathan McAuley was in goal for out second leg in the Spanish Cup against Osasuna, and he put in a good performance to secure the desired 0-0 result and ensure we advance 3-1 on aggregate to play Villarreal.
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Back in the La Liga, and we were at Neuvo Mestalla to play against Las Palmas in La Liga. The home fans were in for a treat, as German striker Yacouba Keita turned on the sublime class to score a fantastic five goals, including two absolute beauty's, where he ran from inside our own half, beat the defenders and finished perfectly. An excellent game, and Keita's performance reflected in the scoreline, a 6-1 victory.
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Our Spanish Cup Quarterfinal first leg was away at Villarreal, and we came into the match with full confidence of achieving a good advantage. 19 year old Paraguayan international Julio Cesar Yegros netting a brace, and quickly announcing himself as a top class player. His quality performances have already earned him a place in the 25 man squad for the La Liga and Champions League competitions, and hopefully he continues his rise to stardom. A late goal from Villarreal saw us slump to a 2-2 draw, but ultimately this a good result for us away from home.
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A tougher-than-expected game against Numancia in La Liga followed, as despite controlling possession, we failed to score many goals. It took a late thunderbolt from Keita, who hit a lightning snap shot that whistled into the top corner from all of 30 yards, a strike well deserving of a winner in a 1-0 victory.
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The second leg of our Spanish Cup Quarterfinal against Villarreal was at home, and once again it was a tight game, only separated by a late Keita strike, again in the 88th minute, as we put the tie beyond doubt with a 1-0 win, advancing 3-2 on aggregate. Jonathan McAuley performed superbly in goal, and has likely earned a starting spot into the near future.
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In the transfer market, we picked up some youth players - notably Turkish forward Faith Zeybek who should develop into a good player. Vedran Corluka arrived from Manchester City, along with Wesley Sneijder from Wigan, and both should immediately add veteran stability to a sometimes shaky team, and give us that extra resolve in the big games against the big teams.

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Very pleased with the work done so far, and I am hoping we can cap this season with a trophy. Our tough Champions League match against Arsenal is coming up, and we have been drawn in the Spanish Cup Semi Final against Real Madrid, while chasing Atletico Madrid in La Liga. A tough couple of months coming up, with next month in particular difficult, featuring three games out of six agianst Real Madrid .
​

 

[undertheray]

FEBRUARY


The opening match of February was a home encounter with Getafe in La Liga. A quickfire double salvo from Soldado inside the opening 6 minutes put us in a two goal hole, but dos Santos managed to pull one back before halftime with a great run into the box followed by a fantastic finish. He had the ball in the net just before halftime, but was outrageously ruled offside when it was a clear goal. We were fired up since this, and absolutely barraged the Getafe goal with shots and threatening balls, but we agonizingly just could NOT break down the fantastic keeping of Riou. A very disappointing match, with shocking refereeing unfortunately deciding the outcome.
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Our imposing Spanish Cup First Leg against Real Madrid was at home, and we got a good start, with young Julio Cesar Yegros making a nice move to create space, then finishing superbly to take the lead. Just 10 minutes later Yohan Cabaye powered in from range, and we found ourselves two goals up and dominating possession. We proceeded to control the game, but superb keeping from Casillas prevented us from taking further advantage. While pushing forward late in the game, Carlos Vela broke away to score a spectacular goal, and make our position look a bit more unsteady with a 2-1 win.
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In between the Cup fixtures was a trip to Recreativo for our La Liga match. Wesley Sneijder scored a good effort from decent range, and dos Santos added two well converted penalties in the final 9 minutes to secure a 3-1 win over opposition we deserved to beat.
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The second leg of our Spanish Cup tie with Real Madrid was held at Santiago Bernabeu. A scoreless first half gave us confidence, but we found ourselves on the back foot when Gonzalo Higuain slotted the opening goal for Madrid in the 63rd minute. A goalmouth scramble 10 minutes later saw the ball deflect off John Obi Mikel and into the net, as his own goal put us level in the match and back on top on aggregate. It was a tight match from there, with us just trying to control possession and waste some time. In stoppage time we put the game beyond all doubt, with Keita scoring a fantastic effort that is typical of the German striker, to give us a 2-1 win and a trip to the final against Sevilla with a 4-2 aggregate victory.
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Our third game against Real Madrid this month, and we were at home in La Liga after eliminating them from the Cup competition. Higuain was not too happy about being eliminated, and came out fired up - scoring admittedly good finishes just two minutes apart and putting us in a real difficult situation. However, once again it was dos Santos leading the fightback, and his superb run ended with him being taken down in the box for a penatly. He confidently stepped up to slot the spotkick, and pull one back. Just five minutes later, he was at the penalty spot to score again, as Keita was dragged down in the box after a clumsy challenge from Jorgensen. Going in all square at the half was a massive boost, and we pushed on in the second half looking for a winner. We almost had one, when Jorgensen earned his second yellow card and a sending off after giving away another penalty, but it was third time lucky for Casillas, who dived superbly to his right to keep out dos Santos' effort. Despite the advertised 3 minutes of stoppage time, in the 6th extra minute, Higuain caught Cahais too far up the pitch and raced in on McAuley. The Argentines' superb chip nestled in the back of the net, to give us a devastating 3-2 defeat at the very last moment.
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After another disappointing Liga defeat, we hoped to make continue our Cup form, this time in the Champions League 1st Knockout round first leg against Arsenal, who had made the trip to Neuvo Mestalla to challenge us. An even game in terms of chances, with us controlling most of the possession, and we were unlucky not to score more than Keita's sole superbly placed effort due to terrific goalkeeper from Ruffier. A 1-0 result leaves us with still some hard work to do in the second leg.
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The final match of the month was in La Liga against Sevilla, with us traveling to Sevilla Stadium. The match got off to a great start, with Diego Perotti making a great assist to dos Santos' goal in the 3rd minute, and then Giovani dos Santos made a great assist to Perotti's goal in the 8th minute. We enjoyed this lead and a better slice of possession for most of the match, although we were hit hard by the broken leg injury to Keita in the the 14th minute - who will miss 4-5months - and then crushingly a broken toe injury to dos Santos, out for 6-8 weeks. Both are heavy blows to the team in the short to medium term, but in the immediate situation, we still had to deal with Sevilla. It looked like we had them sorted, until incredibly in stoppage time, Graeme Blair broke McAuley's resistance in goal with a powerful effort at the top corner to pull one back, and then incredibly in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Blair played in Fernandez in the box, who was brought down by Cahais for a penalty! Blair converted the spot kick with a powerful strike, and we found ourselves missing our 2 best attacking players and watching a two goal lead evaporate in an instant. A heavily disappointing 2-2 draw.
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We have been hit hard by the injury to Keita ruling him out for the rest of the season, and dos Santos is slated to miss the next 6-8 weeks with his broken toe. Crushing injuries to the team, and we really will need dos Santos back asap to continue our challenge in Europe.
Hopefully we can rally and remain strong despite these absences, and will be focusing all-out on the Champions League.

 

[TheRealMourinho]

lol Wesley Sneijder at wigan,
i would like to see that!

 

[undertheray]

lol Wesley Sneijder at wigan,
i would like to see that!

Yeah definitely got a surprise to see him there, although quite a few big names have ventured to Wigan as their careers enter the later stages...



MARCH


The first match of March found us at home in La Liga, as we took on Espanyol. A disappointing performance saw us fall two goals behind, although immediately after the second goal, our young Paraguay international Julio Cesar Yegros found the net to pull one back, but ultimately we couldn't get another, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat.
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Next up was away in La Liga against Real Sociedad, where we played a very negative, defensive tactic, trying to practice our prevention strategy for when we play Arsenal in midweek. Despite two red cards in the second half to Yohan Cabaye and Wesley Sneijder, we managed to keep it scoreless to hold on for a 0-0 draw and hopefully a valuable point.
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The big second leg against Arsenal was to follow, and we traveled to the Emirates Stadium to try and hold our one-nil advantage. We came out defending well, but in the 38th minute a Miralem Pjanic somehow snuck between the wall and post, and the goalkeeper got a hand but it wasn't enough to keep it out. With the match tied on aggregate, we knew we were still in with a shout, but it was Arsenal who struck next, a Jack Wilshere wonder strike curling into the top corner in the minute to put us behind in the match. We tried to throw it all forward, but an injury to Cesar Silva left us with 10 men, and we were eliminated with a 2-0 defeat (2-1 on aggregate) and are bitterly disappointed.
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We played host to Valladoid in the La Liga shortly after our Champions League exit, and we were determined to make amends, dominating the game and peppering the opposing goal with shots. Arda Turan, Mauel Lopez and Jozy Altidore all scored, as we kept a good clean sheet in a 3-0 victory.
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We were not as lucky in our next La Liga match, away at Osasuna, as Jorge Galan's second half goal canceled out Jonathas' first half opener, as we dropped what could prove to be vital points in a 1-1 draw. We are really missing the quality of Keita and dos Santos up front to finish our chances, and cannot wait for their return.
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Last match of the month was away against Murcia, and we were desperately unlucky not to win, falling victim to missed chances and made to rue some poor defending as Murcia's three goals overcame Tinga and Arda Turan's earlier strikes, as we felt the sting of what could prove to be a painful 3-2 defeat.
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We are desperate for the return of Giovani dos Santos, and hopefully he can return before what could prove to be the crucial game of the season at home against Barcelona. We lack the quality up front, and at the moment are desperately hunting just for a fourth place spot and Champions League qualification, at the moment we sit in fifth behind Barcelona and Real Madrid in third and fourth respectively.

 

[The Shots]

Nice to see this is still going on

 

[undertheray]

Nice to see this is still going on

Still going on, but not exactly going strong thanks to injuries!


APRIL


April began the same way March ended, with a crushing defeat in La Liga. Admittedly against much better opposition, Zaragoza are in second place pushing real hard for the title, and the two goals in the first half were too much for our thin team to overcome, as we fell to a 2-0 defeat and put our Champions League qualification hopes into serious jeopardy.
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We responded with a good result from a trip to Racing in La Liga, with the team catching fire in the second half after going into halftime lucky to be tied at one apiece. A brace from Perotti helped us to a 4-1 victory, as we fought to keep slim hopes alive.
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A tough fixture at home against Barcelona loomed, and they came out strong, looking to take the advantage and pepper Renan in our goal with quality shots. The game looked destined for a draw, until late in the second half, where the return of Giovani dos Santos from injury sparked the offense, and the influential Mexican had a hand in the build up play to see Altidore clean through on goal, where a powerful finish into the top corner gave us a shock 1-0 win and re-energize our chase for fourth place.
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With the win over Barcelona inspiring us, we came out firing against Celta in La Liga. dos Santos had a masterful hat trick and was threatening all game, and we have really missed his skill and silky running since his injury. Altidore and Turan added goals either side of dos Santos' sublime hat trick, as we ran out comfortable 5-1 winners in a morale-boosting victory.
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Our next game in La Liga was against Betis away, and our hopes of fourth place were dealt a crushing blow, with a late goal from Hector Seco canceling Altidore's first half opener, in controversial circumstances, as the Betis forward was clearly offside. Another poor refereeing decision that cost us the game, and we were immensely disappointed with a 1-1 draw.
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The return of dos Santos has inspired us, but we have extremely slim hopes of making the Champions League next season, needing to beat the powerful Atletico Madrid and hoping that Barcelona slip up in one of their two easy remaining games against bottom-feeder teams.

 

[undertheray]

MAY


The last month of the season would be crucial, and I needed some seriously good results if I was to have any chance of another season with Valencia.
The opening match was away in La Liga against Athletic, and in what proved to be a fairly even game, we managed to edge the scoreline with a goal each from Jozy Altidore and Cesar Silva to give us a 2-0 win, and keeps our extremely slim hopes of fourth place alive.
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These hopes would all rest on a home match with Atletico Madrid, but the sheer class of Sergio Aguero, Gourcuff and Federico Macheda proved irresistible, as they had a goal each in the net by the 66th minute. We never game up, and in the 72nd minute, Giovani dos Santos made a great solo run and unleashed a fantastic solo effort from the edge of the area to score, and drag a goal back - but ultimately we just couldn't muster another goal and fell to a crushing 3-1 defeat that locks us into fifth place.
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The last match of the La Liga season was away to Villarreal, and we were playing for pride as we tried to make something of a tattered season. Unfortunately it didn't get much better, as we were humiliated with four goals against us, and we just looked like a team with nothing more to give in resistance to our opposition. Our squad had taken too severe a hammering over the season, and it showed in this 4-0 defeat.
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This disappointing end to the season saw us locked into fifth place, and the board are disappointed with my management of the team.

2019/20 La Liga: Fifth Place

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Spanish Player of the Year
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La Liga Team of the Season
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La Liga Top Goalscorer
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Champions League Top Goalscorer
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World Results:
​

___________________________________________
La Liga: Atletico Madrid
Spanish Cup: Sevilla
Spanish Super Cup: Atletico Madrid
_________

Club World Championship: Inter Milan
Euro Cup: Real Madrid
Champions League: Chelsea
​

___________________________________________

____________________________



​

FINAL
27.05.2020

​

Valencia C.F. vs Sevilla C.F.
​

​

Played at the 76,000 capacity Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain.

​

Match Report

The match kicked of with both teams looking fired up - both managers have come under fire for poor performances in the La Liga, and the loser here may just lose his job.

The first chance came in the sixth minute, with Giovani dos Santos looking lively to skip past his defender and test Fernandez in the Sevilla goal with a good early shot on target.

Just a few minutes later, dos Santos was looking threatening again, testing the marking skills of the defenders with silky running, and had a dangerous looking ball cleared at the last moment by Radomir Kocic in the Sevilla defense.

The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute, when Arias sprinted past Vedran Corluka on the left wing and curled a ball into the area. Graeme Blair rose above Taras Yurchuk to head into the top corner out of Renan's reach to give Sevilla a 1-0 lead in the match.

Immediately, Sevill hit back, with a great flowing move only stopped with a foul deserving of a yellow card, but the free kick from long range was headed clear by the Sevilla defenders.

Halftime score: 0-1

The second half started with controversy, as Graeme Blair had a penalty shout turned down after a challenge from Matias Cahais, and the action moved right down the other end, with an effort from Jozy Altidore saved by Fernandez as he managed to get a hand to it to turn it behind for a corner.

Then in the 63rd minute, Valencia had a penalty shout of their own turned down, as Fazio rose above Altidore to clear the ball, and Vedran Corluka was clearly unhappy with the decision to wave play on.

However, it was soon all square, as in the 68th minute some nice midfield play culminated with Cesar Silva knocking it back to Ian Adam, who spotted the run of Diego Perotti and played a ball through. Perotti was clean through on goal after beating the offside trap, and slotted home the equalizer, beating Fernandez on the near post.

The match turned into a grinding midfield contest, with the odd chance at either end, but nothing overly threatening. This continued until great movement by Graeme Blair saw him all alone and with a clear sight on goal, but Brazilian goalkeeper Renan did brilliantly to turn the ball away.

End of 90 minutes: 1-1

No more goals after four minutes of stoppage time meant it was time for extra time, and both teams looked wary in the opening half of the extra period, not wanting to push forward and content to move the ball around the midfield and defensive area of the pitch. The best chance of the half came when Ian Adam unleashed a half-volley from the edge of the area, but it flew well wide of the goal and left Fernandez untroubled.

Halftime in Extra Time: 1-1


The second period was more energetic, as the teams sought to burn the final energy reserves in pursuit of a winning goal.
Valencia looked to be controlling the ball, and moving towards goal through dos Santos, but it was a Graeme Blair header that proved the highlight, with the Scottish forward connecting with Medel's perfect cross, only for Renan to make a fantastic save.

No more goals in extra time meant that this Copa del Rey final would be decided on penalties.

1-0 O Graeme Blair SCORES
1-0 X Giovani dos Santos MISSED hit the post
2-0 O Palacios SCORES
2-0 X Ansaldi MISSED saved
3-0 O Hernandez SCORES
3-1 O Cesar Silva SCORES
4-1 O Fazio SCORES

SEVILLA WIN 4-1 on Penalties
​

FINAL SCORE
Valencia C.F. (1) 1-1p (4) Sevilla C.F.
Diego Perotti ('68) - Graeme Blair ('32)

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Man of the Match
Ian Adam (Valencia)
​

A very disappointing result, and will probably not see my contract not renewed.
​

 

[undertheray]

TIME'S UP: VALENCIA BOARD REFUSE TO OFFER EXTENSION
Los Ches will search for new manager

As expected today, the Valencia board of directors have agreed to pursue a different option in terms of management structure, after two trophy-less seasons despite high expectations under the world class manager from New Zealand.


In a hastily arranged press conference, Chairman Juan Soler declared that the New Zealand manager's contract was allowed to expire, and they would not be considering him for renewal.
"We feel what was promised has not been delivered, we expected at least re-qualification for Champions League football, but the squad appeared to become disillusioned with the management and failed to perform up to the required level."

​

The New Zealand manager is said to have been unhappy with the board's decision to allow the contract to expire, but fully understands the decision.
"I came in with big dreams of turning the club into a giant of world football. We tried to build the club a specific way, not relying on big spending transactions and trying to build the team wealth with performances on the pitch. Unfortunately we have been desperately unlucky with big injuries to key players in my two seasons here, and will definitely have dreams of returning to conquer Spain."


He has declared interest in the Sevilla job, where manager Xavi has come under some fire from poor league position, but will hope his Cup win saves his job. Also possible landing spots are Wolfsburg, AC Milan, Juventus, Manchester United and a return to Tottenham may be on the cards with the board said to be less-than-impressed with consecutive second place finishes to London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League.

___________
​

 

[Tommo43]

Unlucky about Valencia mate. Man U, Juventus or AC Milan would be a good step in ur career. After reading this i signed Dos Santos and i love him now

 

[undertheray]

WHITE HART LANE WELCOMES LEGEND RETURN
New Zealand manager returns to Spurs

Just one day after announcing they had sacked manager Ciro Ferrera, Tottenham Hotspur chairman David Taylor announced that they were delighted that Spurs legend Andre Dowman had accepted a contract offer and was set to rejoin the English club.

The New Zealand manager was at White Hart Lane for an extremely successful nine years, before having a two season stint with La Liga outfit Valencia in Spain. It didn't work out according to plan, as two trophy-less seasons saw his contract not renewed, and his availability prompted the dismissal of Ferrera, who had failed to guide Spurs past London rivals Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.

Two Spurs legends will be reunited
​

Although linked with Wolfsburg, AC Milan, Sevilla, Juventus and Manchester United, no offers were forthcoming - so the New Zealand manager has moved back to his former club.
An press release from Manchester United chairman Micah Hyde had acknowledged interest in the New Zealand managers skills, but had decided to stick with Ernesto Valverde to maintain continuity.

Manchester City manager Jose Mourinho has welcomed his friend back to the Premier League, and is looking forward to facing the New Zealand-managed Tottenham team once again.
In response, the New Zealand manager was full of praise, calling matches against Mourinho a true test of a managers ability and he looked forward in anticipation to every match.

Pako Ayesteran named Assistant Manager
​

____________________________________________

SPURS ANNOUNCE NEW SIGNINGS

The first signings of my second term as Spurs manager:

Giovani Dos Santos
View attachment 85058
Of course I have to bring my star playing back home with me, and the fee of €26.5m is deceiving, because a transfer clause of 50% of the total transfer (implemented when I bought him for Valencia) means I get half of that money back 8-|. He will be named Spurs captain for the 2020/21 season and will have a very, very strong team with him.


Tom Halmes
View attachment 85059
The Belgium attacking midfield is truly one of footballs superstars, and has been named World Player of the Year, World Footballer of the Year, European Footballer of the Year. The price of €5.25m from Sevilla is unbelievable, and I can't work out why they needed the money so bad to value him so poor.


Job Delfosse
View attachment 85057
A young keeper I discovered at Valencia, decided to bring him to Spurs as he is the future, and with Begovic and Ochoa in the mid-30's, a replacement needs to be groomed. Cost me €450k (when I paid €90k just 6 months ago with Los Ches)

---Will update with preseason friendly results soon ----
​

 

[toddzy]

Shame about Valencia, looks like we're both doing Tottenham stories now good luck, not that you need it tbh

 

[SwineFluGotYou]

This is getting better and better.

 

[TheMjt]

Guess who's back, back again
Andre Dowman, tell a friend

 

[undertheray]

This is getting better and better.

Thank you

Guess who's back, back again
Andre Dowman, tell a friend

Back home!

Meet The Squad

View attachment 85409
View attachment 85410
​

AUGUST & summer summary


My first preseason in my second stint at Spurs, and it was very successful, getting some good
results.


At Queen of Sth 5-0 WIN
At San Jose 2-0 WIN
At Vit. Guimaraes 5-1 WIN
At Naval 6-0 WIN
At Belenenses 5-0 WIN
Vs Inter Milan 1-1 DRAW


A very good start to the season, with solid wins and promising moments of football magic on the pitch. We are predicted a third place finish, and should easily be able to top that!


We opened the Premier League season at White Hart Lane against Wigan, with high hopes in my return to the storied London stadium. Tom Halmes got his debut underway with a fantastic goal, capping a typically lethal run from deep with a crisp finish into the corner of the net for his first Premier League goal. We continued to dominate possession in the midfield, but seemed to toy with the Wigan defenders, rather than send shots on net. It proved to be a strategy that paid off, as Pato split the steadily tiring defensive line to double our lead with a great goal. Just 6 minutes later, we had out third, as Giovani dos Santos announced his return to Tottenham with a great goal after a silky run that lost his marker completely, and allowed Halmes to play a perfect pass in. 3-0 win to start the season.
View attachment 85401


Our next game was also at home in the Premier League, and we played Bristol City. An early mistake from John Barret lead to Maurico converting a penalty after 4 minutes to give Bristol a shock league. Pato managed to find an equalizer in the 23rd minute, but despite dominating possession and attacking the opposing goal, we were struggling to find the winning goal. The Bristol City goalkeeper, a former product of my u18 squad, was proving almost impossible to beat, until in the 5th minute of stoppage time, when Pato's shot from close range was excellently parried by the keeper, only for Armand Traore to pounce on the rebound coming from the left wing, and slot inside the near post to give us a deserved 2-1 win.
View attachment 85402


Our first away match of the season was a trip to Anfield, as we took on Liverpool. Nathan Douglas got us off to a flyer, with a great shot blasted into the far post with his left foot inside the first minute, and would set the tone for the rest of the game as we dominated them. Rafael Morales headed in the second goal of the match on 14 minutes, and dos Santos made it three by beating Reina in the 28th minute. It got worse for Liverpool in the 37th minute, as James Saunders was sent off for a sloppy second yellow card. We didn't take advantage until the 66th minute, when Jack Rodwell scored a nice goal from outside the area, and replacement Lee Goodwin made it a five star victory in the 70th minute heading home inside the six yard box. A fantastic 5-0 win over Liverpool!
View attachment 85403


The European Champions League group stage draw was very favorable to us, as we found ourselves in a relatively easier group than some of the other competition!

View attachment 85404

The final match of August was in the Premier League at Rosler Arena, as we took on a very tough opponent in Jose Mourinho's Manchester City. A very tight game, as we found ourselves in front after 32 minutes with a fine goal from Pato capitalizing in a lapse in concentration from the City defenders. In the 73rd minute, Steffen Groskreutz had a glorious chance to salvage a point for Manchester City, as Jack Rodwell conceded a penalty. However, Ochoa dived superbly to his left to keep out the effort, and preserve the 1-0 win.
View attachment 85405


And a summary of the summer transfer window:

View attachment 85406

The arrivals have been mentioned, and Leigh Burgess was sold to Newcastle after it developed his feud with Pato had caused some locker room problems.
​

 

[undertheray]

SEPTEMBER


Our winning ways continued into September, as we hosted West Brom at White Hart Lane in the Premier League. We can be pleased with the performance, controlling position and having absolute control over the flow of the game. After a scoreless first half, it took Tom Halmes absolute screamer on a half-volley to break the deadlock, hit from all of 30 yards. A truly memorable goal to cap some sensational passing and movement from my Tottenham players. We never looked like losing, and were content to hold the ball and move it fancily around the midfield, leaving West Brom defenders chasing shadows. The the 3rd minute of stoppage time dos Santos added a penalty goal to beef the final scoreline, a 2-0 win.
View attachment 85816


Our next game was a trip to Brussels in Belgium, as we took on Anderlecht in our first Champions League Group G match of the year. In the opening minute our hosts took a shock lead through Fabien Lemoine, but our response was immediate, with American midfielder Nick Dickson equalising in the 5th minute. After two goals in the opening 5 minutes, there were none for the remainder of the match, as we were unfortunate to only get a single point in a 1-1 draw.
View attachment 85817


After our midweek trip to Belgium, we were back in England for our Premier League fixture against West Ham United away. Tottenham captain Giovani dos Santos opened the scoring on 10 minutes, before Wayne Kempster equalized in the 37th minute for the Hammers. Going in tied at halftime, we came out fired up, and a low, driven shot found the back of the net with Diogo celebrating what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 result in Spurs favour.
View attachment 85818


Back to our fortress at White Hart Lane, and we had to repel the challenge of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. We took the lead in the 21st minute through Kroos, but they fired right back with Nelson Guerra equalizing in the 23rd minute. We took another lead through Adrian just before halftime, but just after halftime Wolves hit back to equalize again with Jon Smith scoring. The visitors were putting up a good fight, but it wasn't long until our quality took over the match, with Lee Goodwin getting us back on top in the 53rd minute, and with no Wolves response, Toni Kroos sealed a deserved win in the 82nd minute with his second of the match. A well deserved 4-2 win over resilient opponents.
View attachment 85819


Our next Premier League fixture saw us traveling to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa. We came out looking strong, but it took half an hour for the first goal, with dos Santos streaking in from the right to latch onto a through pass and dispatch the ball into the back of the net under Joe Hart. Just 7 minutes later, Pato had doubled our lead, and with us controlling possession, our position never looked under threat, and we further added to the score with Tom Halmes scoring a trademark screaming effort from range, and dos Santos adding his second of the match in stoppage time. A dominant 4-0 win.
View attachment 85820


Final match of September was in the Champions League, as we hosted FC Twente in our Champions League Group G match. Nick Dickson went in horribly late in the 7th minute to earn himself an early bath, and this hampered our second-string side for much of the match, as we just couldn't finish moves, Adrian up front spurning a great chance towards the end of the match as we picked up a valuable point in a 0-0 draw.
View attachment 85821


A solid month, and I can be pleased that we are in red hot form in the Premier League. Our Champions League Group results so far are deceiving, as I am resting the entire usual first team line up to provide for some game time to the back ups. I am pleased to have two points from two games, putting us in second position, and hopefully we can get a couple of wins as the back-ups get used to this arrangement and score some more goals.
A look at the Premier League table and we are building a dominant position.

View attachment 85822
​