Bullardinho AKA 'The Bully'

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New Prospects

Aleksander Paunovic - £525,000

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Despite not being able to obtain a work permit in this instance, I am sure Alek will still prove to be a good signing in the future. He was in sensational from for his previous employers Red Star and he will be sent straight out on loan to Italian club Bari where he will hopefully continue to impress.


Dzenis Osmancevic - £500,000

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Dzenis is another youngster from Serbian club Red Star and another player with a fair amount of talent. Dzenis has already made 2 appearances for his country, scoring on his debut. He isn’t necessarily my kind of player but I believe he could be a really good investment, he will spend the remainder of the season out on loan to Real Salt Lake in the MLS.


Jose Veloso – £140,000

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Jose was my third and last signing of the window and will be another one who will hopefully will be a sound financial investment. Like Osmancevic, I don’t plan to draught him into the first team but he will hopefully get some first team action elsewhere to improve and gather interest. No clubs are interested in the loan deal at this time.



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February Results

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We made things difficult for ourselves but we got there in the end against Gillingham in the FA Cup fourth round. I decided to rest most of the first team in preparation for some big league games coming up, but we still should have had this game put to bed much sooner, twice we threw away the lead before eventually giving ourselves a two goal cushion in the dying seconds.

The definition of a bore draw against Leicester, I literally have nothing to say. One positive was the clean sheet I suppose.

Andre Green was superb once again against Man City. Twice we took the lead through the young winger in the early part of the game but twice we was pegged back by Luciano Vietto, who went on the grab his hat trick and secure the win from them before half time. The second half was a lot more safe from both teams, City actually sat back and defended the last 45 and we just couldn’t break them down.

Really disappointed with the defeat to Bristol City, I did name another rotated side but we still should have had enough about us to win easily. We also received the news that Chuba Akpom will be out for up to 4 weeks with a groin strain, all in all it was a bad day at the office.

Not that it would have taken a genius to call it but Everton’s fortunes have improved drastically since the departure of McClaren, the Merseyside club were now among the most in-form in the league and it showed. I was bitterly disappointed with the result, even more so with the manner of the defeat, conceding in last minute of the match via an own goal. It’s now 1-1 in this newly created derby, all we need to do now is make sure we finish above them in the league.


February League

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After a poor run of results Sunderland are only 5 points behind us and Everton are now only 8 points away, two teams I have to finish above!


Young Player of the Month
Andre Green

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Andre picks up yet another award this season and he fully deserves it. He must now be the front runner for PFA Young Player of the Year?
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March Results

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We faced Newcastle for the third time this season and I am pleased we managed to keep our unbeaten record against them intact. The two halves couldn’t have been more polar opposite, with all 6 goals coming in the first and virtually no action to report in the second. This was another occasion where our attack was sensational and our defence abysmal, I am finding it hard to get the balance right at the moment.

I had almost zero confidence in getting a result against Arsenal at the Emirates, a feeling I did not enjoy. Yet again we got the first goal, something we manage in a high proportion of our games, especially against the top teams, but then it all falls apart shortly after. Morata was sublime, our defence had no idea how to deal with him at all. It was good to see Griffiths get on the scoresheet in consecutive games again.

We finally managed to break our run of six games without a win, but it wasn’t the most convincing of results against bottom of the league Wolves. Akpom opened the scoring within 15 minutes of his return, but once again we conceded shortly after through more shoddy defending. Antonio’s goal before half time sealed the win but the 3 points were never secure until the final whistle. As was the case at Kaiserslaurtern, my teams seem to struggle through the second half of the season and consistency seems to be very hard to come by.


March League

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Sunderland, Everton and Watford all now sit just 6 points away from us, all of which are in better form then we are. It is clear that our defensive record is what has let us down this season and this is something I want to rectify during the last 7 games of the campaign.


Young Player of the Month
Evander

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April Fixtures

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If we can secure a win at both Stoke and Bournemouth, then pick up a point or two at Chelsea and West Ham, that should be enough to keep our 8th place spot going into the final month.

​
 
Good to see you letting Newcastle have a point :p

Whose in charge of NUFC these days?
 
neavie pops23 said:
Good to see you letting Newcastle have a point :p

Whose in charge of NUFC these days?
Click to expand...

Well you know I thought it would only be fair.

Still Rafa in charge, he has been doing a great job. Although there have been stories linking him with Roma.
 
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April

I decided now would be the best time to implement a new set of tactics and a new philosophy, we were already safe from the drop and with 7 games left to go I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to test some new ideas in competitive matches. We still have my core philosophy of being a strong and hard hitting team, but I want to look more at the organisation of the team and the way we penetrate in attack.

Results

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Well our first test of my new strategy went down an absolute treat as we demolished Chelsea at home. Evander and Akpom were fantastic in our attack along with Andre Green who was being asked to play in an unfamiliar central attacking role. We broke down their attacks with ease and won every battle in the middle of the park, hats off to Kante though for his belter of a goal, a screamer from 30 yards. I am not going to get ahead of myself but so far the lads seems to have taken well to our new style, considering their lack of familiarity.

That is how poor our away form has been this year, going from a terrific win at home against a top side to a 1-0 loss away to struggling Stoke. The signs were still encouraging though, we managed 64% possession and registered twice as many shots on goal, it just so happens that ex-Villa keeper Gollini obviously wanted to prove a point, making a string of important saves. We should have won but there were signs of improvement so I won’t tear out the page of my tactics scrapbook just yet.

Bournemouth were another side languishing down the bottom but with the fixture being played at home we had no issue in finishing this game off. Our new ‘front three’ smashed it again, their intricate link up play up top has been a joy to behold, with each of them assisting each other as well as getting on the scoresheet, they were like my own ‘MSN’. We conceded yet again, which was frustrating as the goal come from nowhere, clearly our concentration is lacking at the back.

We rounded the month off with another superb win against West Ham, who were sitting just above us in the league. This victory meant we were now within touching distance of a possible European qualification place. Our front three were again on the score sheet, this time with Griffiths in in-place of Akpom. The hammers barely had a sniff of the ball throughout most of this game, our new tactics have really taken shape and the lads have clearly responded well to their new roles and instructions.


League Table

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Even if Liverpool win their game in hand, we still have 1 point over them, with a better goal difference and we are in much better form, oh and we still have to play them. Our victory over West Ham means we are just one point behind them, again with better goal difference. We actually have something to play for now, with the chance of European football a real possibility.


Awards

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Remaining Fixtures

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Not the easiest of fixtures for our final run in, I certainly don’t expect a win at Old Trafford, but I do feel we are in a good position to beat Liverpool and Sunderland at their ground. It would be a perfect way to end the season if we could secure European qualification on the final day at the home of my personal rivals.

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May Results

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Never at any point did we look like taking any points away from Old Trafford, Man Utd were almost unplayable at times, in particular Marcus Rashford was on another level. To our credit we did manage to get two goals in a much better second half, but the first 45 let us down and we just didn’t have enough in us to pull it back. Sirigu was in sensational form once again.

Although the score line might not depict it, we absolutely dominated Liverpool, we controlled every aspect of the game and limited them to just the one shot on target which Sirigu comfortably saved. Andre Green has been going from strength to strength this season and is relishing his new role through the middle, so much so his valuation has rocketed to £30m, with a contract clause of £24m to Champions League clubs, a new contract needs to be my top priority.

We were sitting in 6th​ place going into our last fixture against Sunderland, so a win was all we needed to guarantee our place in the Europa League next season. It was touch and go for a while but we were definitely the better side and getting the result away from home was important. I was extremely happy with the resilience and determination from the team in the last 10 minutes as we held on to the vital 3 points.


Final League Table

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What a season it has been. Originally touted as the joint favourites to go down, a huge squad overhaul, ups and downs and some strange results, but we have managed to make it into a European competition for the first time in a decade.

There was a surprise at the bottom with Souhampton being relegated after losing their final fixture, they do down with Wolves and Bournemouth.

Annoyingly Everton have still qualified for Europe after winning the FA Cup, I was hoping we could use European football as bait to lure some of their players over. At least we finished above them, phase one of my mission complete.


Next up.. Awards



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Been following from the start! That andre green just loves a goal don't he ! I'm currently enjoying my hansa Rostock save hoping for something similar to your story managed to get them promoted second season struggling just staying out the relegation zone. Keep it up mate deadly villa side
 
Cracking season mate, surely 6th was way beyond your expectations at the start of the season. Unlucky with Everton s FA Cup win, plenty time left to crush them!
 
Cacace8 said:
Been following from the start! That andre green just loves a goal don't he ! I'm currently enjoying my hansa Rostock save hoping for something similar to your story managed to get them promoted second season struggling just staying out the relegation zone. Keep it up mate deadly villa side
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Thanks for following. Green has been pretty deadly so far, I just hoped he can continue that into next season. Good luck with Rostock, the German leagues are really difficult to find consistency. Well I have played through pre-season and will be updating shortly, this Villa side is even more deadly now.


neavie pops23 said:
Cracking season mate, surely 6th was way beyond your expectations at the start of the season. Unlucky with Everton s FA Cup win, plenty time left to crush them!
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Cheers, I never ever contemplated European qualification, I thought that would be way beyond us. I know, very annoying, they now have a huge backing financially, a very very good squad and European football.. I will topple them!
 
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Pre-season 2020-21

I have been so busy during this year’s pre-season, not only have I been working tirelessly on a number of transfers, but we also had a pretty action packed match schedule. Before I had even had a chance to take a well needed holiday, I was made aware that several players were not happy about promises I had early made, most of whom were annoyed I had not strengthened our attack.. is that really such a problem, given how we finished the 5th​ highest scoring team in the league? Odd I thought, but they shortly dropped their concerns.
Then I had Chuba Akpom at my desk, he was also aggrieved I hadn’t kept an earlier promise, I said I would let him treat the club as a ‘stepping stone’, this was basically how the conversation went:


CA – Boss I am upset, you told me I could use my time hear as a way to showcase my talent and gain a move to a bigger club.

Me – Right?! But no-one has made an offer for you? How have I broken my promise?

CA - I don’t know, but I am upset anyway!

Me – Right, but there are no clubs even interested in you at this moment in time, I fail to see what I have done wrong!

CA – Well I am upset anyway, I am now going to have a *****-fit to the rest of the team and unsettle every one.

Me – F*ck off you tw*t!


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It is a shame to see him go but I am not going to stand for that nonsense. Not a bad return for a playing signed on a free less than 12 months ago.



Transfer Dealings

After that unsavoury event, I then got to work on improving our squad, despite our impressive finish last season, there was still a lot to be done if we were going to evolve. I decided I would make two types of signings, firstly those that fit my philosophy and bring something extra to the first team. Then there will be those that do not necessarily fit my criteria i.e. may not be determined, strong, aggressive etc. but they will hopefully grab us some profit. Money talks in modern day football and if we are ever to break the top four then we need some serious cash.

There were so many transfer deals in this window I thought I would just categorise our deals by those that are 'Key Signings' and those that are 'Money Makers'.


Key Transfers

Edoardo Goldaniga - £6,500,000

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He is a good defender. Will improve our defence for sure.


Tammy Abraham - £5,000,000

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Could be hit or miss, good English prospect.


Bradley Holdsworth - £15,500,000 (£17,000,000)

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Young English talent, shows a lot of potential. One to watch.


Kyriakos Papadopoulos - £9,000,000

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He does have some awful stats, but he is exactly what I look for in a defender.


Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - £13,250,000

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Superb all-round stats. He really is my kind of player.


Antonio Rudiger – Free

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Could be a great signing, if not a great profit.


Javier Mascherano – Free

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Still adds something to the team despite his age, good experience for our youngsters.


Money Maker

Boschilia – Free

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Should be an easy money spinner, will make the odd appearance.


Adam Armstrong - Free

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I like the lad, being a Newcastle fan. Will give him his chance but only from the bench.


Callum Gribbin - £1,000,000,

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Signed as a bargain, too light weight for me. Hopefully make some profit after a loan deal or two.


Ben Woodburn - Loan

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Strange one I know, I am hoping to make the deal permanent. Kid isn't my cup of tea but a serious talent.


Axel Tuanzebex - £4,000,000

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Missing a the edge I require. Will get game time and hopefully sold for profit.


Rafael Santos Borre - £800,000

View attachment 116140Profit will be made on this one. Loaned straight out to Osasuna for first team football.



Player Sales

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There was also 12 players sent out on loan. Most players leaving were either dead wood or unhappy. Most of them though were on ridiculously high wages and freed up the budget for new arrivals.




​
 
I had Kyriakos Papadopoulos in a Schalke Save in FM15. He should prove a good signing for your side. Good story mate keep it coming!
 
jmckenzie said:
I had Kyriakos Papadopoulos in a Schalke Save in FM15. He should prove a good signing for your side. Good story mate keep it coming!
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Cheers matey. I have always been a fan of Papadopoulos on FM, tends to be very consistent. I hope your right, we desperately need to improve our defence.
 
Some big transfers there and some good business. I must admit I'm always signing players that I don't think will take me to the "next level" but can and will be sold for a profit, think my best bit of business I ever did was a young Spanish regen I signed for free on FM14 in July 15 window and sold him 2 year later for £25m. I also doubled my money on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho on that save buying them for £15m (July 14) and £10m (July 15) and selling them for £28m (Jul 17) and £20m (Jan 18) respectively.
 
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Pre-Season Results

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I am delighted with the way the team has performed throughout the entirety of the summer, including our two solid results in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. Every single player has staked a claim for their place come the start of the new campaign, what’s more impressive is we did so without our star man Andre Green, who isn’t due back from injury until mid-August. I also like that the results against strong European opposition like Shakhtar, Young Boys and Dinamo prove we can definitely hold our own in the Europa League.

Choosing my starting front three is going to be extremely difficult with Evander, Griffiths, Abraham, Grealish, Boschilla, Woodburn and Armstrong all performing well above expectations, goal scoring has clearly not been an issue for us:

Evander – 5 Apps – 3 Goals – 5 Assists
Griffiths – 6 Apps – 6 Goals – 1 Assists
Abraham – 5 Apps – 2 Goals – 2 Assists
Grealish – 2 Apps – 1 Goal – 2 Assists
Boschilla – 2 Apps – 2 Goals – 1 Assist
Woodburn – 4 Apps – 4 Goals – 0 Assists
Armstrong – 4 Apps – 6 Goals – 0 Assists


Expectations

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Some reasonable targets set by the Board, although reaching the second knockout round of the Europa could be a challenge should we progress through the group stages and face a club exiting the Champions League at any stage.


Season Odds

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So the bookies seem to think a mid-table finish would be a decent season for us, with relegation being much more likely then winning the league, bit harsh but I prefer to be an under dog.


Europa Play-Off Draw

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A decent draw really, I am not too worried about our chances over both legs and I am very confident we will be in the hat for the league stage draw.


August Fixtures

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So we have 5 games in the space of 2 weeks in August, a sign of things to come with the introduction of European football in to our schedule. I strongly believe we are stronger as a squad then we were last season but I honestly do not know what to expect going in to this campaign.


​
 
neavie pops23 said:
Some big transfers there and some good business. I must admit I'm always signing players that I don't think will take me to the "next level" but can and will be sold for a profit, think my best bit of business I ever did was a young Spanish regen I signed for free on FM14 in July 15 window and sold him 2 year later for £25m. I also doubled my money on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho on that save buying them for £15m (July 14) and £10m (July 15) and selling them for £28m (Jul 17) and £20m (Jan 18) respectively.
Click to expand...


Cheers, I am very happy with the business performed this window, although it is very difficult finding players that fit my criteria on our budget, I refuse to spend £30-£40m+ on a player. The transfers that are going through on this save are ridiculous, there was a regen valued at £400k, I offered £10m and they refused, asking for £114m? Crazy. I always like buying players on the cheap and making a profit. As a club we have zero debt and a value of £450m, I want to get us into the top 10 richest.
 
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August Results

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We opened the new Premier League campaign with a superb win over Leicester in a game where victory was never in doubt. Our front three were once again responsible for getting on the scoresheet, although Woodburn was introduced from the bench in place of Tammy Abraham who was having a quiet afternoon. I couldn’t really pick any wholes in our performance, with several players performing well in what was their first official appearance for the club.

We despatched of Viking in the away leg with ease, with the Norwegian club only registering the one shot, which was off target. It was good to see all 3 of our new lads getting their first goals for the club, in particular Holdsworth put in a terrific performance on his debut. A place in the group stages was ours to throw away, after this professional performance I had no doubt we would secure our progression.

The victory at Palace was a hard fought but well deserved 3 points. We conceded early on and for a long period we struggled to break them down, often shooting from distance and missing the target. Griffiths was poor so I introduced youngster Woodburn at half time and he made the difference, assisting Armstrong and then finding the net himself shortly after. Our first half was the worst 45 minutes I have seen from the lads in a long time.

As if our 3-0 away win in the first leg wasn’t enough, we finished off Viking in the first third of the game we three well taken goals. It is hard to be disappointed when you have won a tie so easily but we really took our foot off the pedal in the second half and in truth it was equally as poor as our first 45 at Palace. I understand the result was all-but confirmed but that’s not the point, it was a very poor second half display, even for a rotated side.

The match against Arsenal is one that will haunt me for some time, they had lost their opening two games and I saw this as a perfect opportunity to take three points from them whilst their morale was poor. We was 2-0 up and coasting going into the break thanks to a superb early brace from Abraham, we were controlling the game and Arsenal were struggling to find any rhythm. Then 50 minutes in to the game, Wendell, our stand out player of the season so far, got himself sent off for an idiotic and ill-timed tackle, taking us down to 10 men with 40+ minutes to hold our lead. They were now spurred on, the impetus was with them and we unfortunately crumbled. Four goals in 28 minutes, including a hattrick from Morata, meant we had thrown away what should have been a superb win. There are often fine lines between a win and a loss in the Premier League and today I think the sending off was definitely pivotal in our collapse.


League Table

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Young Player of the Month
Ben Woodburn

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Originally brought in as a backup, Ben has started brightly and has scored in both his appearances from the bench. It’s a catch-22, if he performs well, Liverpool will continue to ask for silly money, if he performs poorly, his development may be effected and he wouldn’t necessarily be a worthwhile signing. For now I am happy for him to keep making an impact off the bench.


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I 've lost a little bit my friend ! I thought you were still in Germany ha ha !!! A good first season with Aston Villa and some very interesting transfer deals for the new season. I have the feeling though that a big transfer from you is just around the corner !
 
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