Cracking the top 4

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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Alli, Insigne, Ozil, Sanchez, Martial.

An easy win against a fairly poor Wolves side to complete the perfect month we were after. I rewarded Insigne for his substitute performance in the last match by giving him a start and he didnt disappoint, netting our opener. Martial then popped up for his obligatory goal before Sanchez rounded things off nicely.
 
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March Review​

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Perfect. 3 games, 3 wins, 11 scored, 1 conceded. Doesnt make for bad reading as we consolidate our position as one of the most dangerous teams in the league and continue our fight for Europe.
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Catching up with United is always a good thing but City are long gone and are surely going to win the title. If we win our game in hand we can move four points clear of Stoke in 5th which takes some of the pressure off our Champions League chase. Down at the bottom Middlesbrough and West Brom are surely gone and Leicester are going to need something special to survive.

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We are also off to Wembley for our FA Cup Semi Final where we have been drawn against Chelsea in what will be a really tough match.
Player of the Month​
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Lorenzo Insigne has very patiently waited for his chance in the first team and has really delivered when handed the opportunity, picking up three goals in his last two appearances. This award shows that loyalty and dedication do pay off.
April Preview​
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Its crunch time as we take on Chelsea and Tottenham in the league and Chelsea again in the FA Cup in what is a vitally important match if we have ambitions of silverware this season.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Alli, Insigne, Ozil, Sanchez, Martial.

A bit of a mixed result in all but overall I think we have to be happy with a point against Chelsea. It was a match that was played out by two extremely stubborn defences. While it is a point gained for us, it is also two points lost for Chelsea who are in the race for the top 4.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Slattery, Bale, Hesketh, Lucas, Martial.

That, was not a good point. A disappointing result against Derby sees us lose ground in the European race. Despite dominating the game we fell behind early in the 2nd half and it took a fantastic header from Tah for us to even scrape a point.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Slattery, Bale, Ozil, Lucas, Martial.

We were extremely lucky to get away with this one. An awful first half performance saw us go two goals down within the first 10 minutes. Luckily we had enough fight in the team to claw back a draw with Gareth Bale scoring against his former club to help us on our way.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Maia, Ozil, Bale, Lucas, Martial.

Another bitterly disappointing result as we slump to a 4th draw in a row with a tame performance against West Ham. Gareth Bale once again showed his undeniable talent as he hit a worldy to put us in front, but unfortunately we couldnt hang on to that lead, even against 10 men.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Maia, Bale, Hesketh, Sanchez, Martial.

This is getting silly now and is crippling our chances of qualifying for the Champions League. An infuriating match against Norwich saw us hit the woodwork twice and miss some absolute sitters as they held on for a point. something needs to change.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Van Dijk, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Maia, Bale, Ozil, Hesketh, Martial.

Wow we had to work for that one! A fantastic win over Chelsea sees us into the final of the FA Cup, booking a return trip to Wembley. Costa ensured we got off to the worst possible start but Thiago Maia and an Anthony Martial penalty saw us come back and grab the win.
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Dier, Tah, Chambers, Maia, Ozil, Alli, Bale, Lucas, Martial.

Finally a win in the Premiership! and a big one at that as we squeezed past Blackburn away from home. Martial and Bale scored the goals in a match that we dominated and could and should have won by more. I have been really impressed by Bale in the last couple of matches, he could turn out to be more than a trophy signing yet.
 

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Overran again slightly but not to worry! an awful month for us, which is amazing as we went undefeated. Five draws in a row were perhaps my most frustrating experience on football manager to date but the blow was softened slightly by the win at Blackburn and the victory over Chelsea meaning we get an FA Cup final trip.
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Somehow we are still in the race for fourth with everything to play for. Also incredibly Leicester have gone on a massive winning streak and have dragged themselves out of the relegation zone.

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We also found out that our FA Cup final opponents will be Manchester City.
Player of the Month
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In a month where we really struggled offensively, Jonathan Tah has been an absolute rock at the back and thoroughly deserves this award.

May Preview​
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This is it. Can we stop Leicesters run? Can we secure Champions League football? Can we win the FA Cup?
 
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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Dier, Tah, Chambers, Maia, Ozil, Alli, Bale, Lucas, Martial.

A comfortable win over Leicester keeps us in with a shot. Martial got us off to a great start by neatly tucking away a penalty which was carelessly given away by Henley. We then controlled the game until Lucas Moura was put through on goal and slotted away precisely to wrap up the win.

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Starting XI - Horn, Digne, Dier, Tah, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Alli, Bale, Ozil, Lucas, Martial.

What a performance to end the season with. We defended like daemons for the whole 90 minutes and got what we came for when substitute Alexis Sanchez made himself the hero with a scrambled goal that proved enough for the win, but was it enough?

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You bet it was! with Arsenal collapsing at Norwich, our win was enough to squeak us into the top four to qualify for the Champions League for the 2nd season in a row! a massive achievement.
 
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FA CUP FINAL 2020!

SOUTHAMPTON FC Vs MANCHESTER CITY

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KICK OFF!
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7 mins - Gareth Bale sets Anthony Martial free down the left hand side with a lovely lofted through ball. Martial runs directly at the defence, using his pace to intimidate them. He makes it to the corner of the box.. cuts it back! Dele Alli runs onto it!!!!! and slots it just wide of the post.. heads in hands for Southampton supporters who know what a massive chance that was.

18 mins - Bentacur picks out the overlapping run of Joe Gomez on the right hand side.. he is unmarked.. gets his head up and has all the time in the world to pick his cross.. in it goes.. ALVARO MORATA!!!

GOAL FOR MANCHESTER CITY! MORATA HAS THE SIMPLEST OF TAP INS WITH TIMO HORN STRANDED IN THE SAINTS GOAL..

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Southampton 0 - 1 Manchester City


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28 mins - Ozil stands over the corner on the right hand side. Its whipped in low into the penalty area, Ozil lays it off with his first touch into the path of Martial on the penalty spot! MARTIAL!! GREAT SAVE!! Joe Hart scrambles down to his right hand side and turns it around the post.. Southampton cannot afford to be missing these chances.


HALF TIME
Southampton 0 - 1 Manchester City

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69 mins - Southampton work the ball into the box, Bale holds it up and is clattered from behind! that is surely a penalty! the referee waves play on and Gomez fluffs his clearance! its landed straight at the feet of Martial who shoots! its wide again! agonizing for Saints fan, who are starting to get the feeling this just isnt their day.

72 mins - Renato Sanches lines up this Man City free kick, 35 yards out and fairly central. He whips it towards goal with plenty of swerve and dip! and it just touches the bar on the way over! what an effort!

93 mins - OH THAT HAS TO BE A PENALTY! STEVEN BERGWIJN HAS BUNDLED OVER DELE ALLI IN THE BOX IN THE LAST SECOND OF ADDED ON TIME! WHAT A MOMENT THIS COULD BE FOR SOUTHAMPTON! Anthony Martial.. picks the ball up and places it on the spot.. he stands with his hands on his hips, waiting for the referee. there goes the whistle! he runs up....

SAVED BY JOE HART!!! MARTIAL TRIES TO GO DOWN THE MIDDLE AND HART STANDS HIS GROUND! JOE HART IS THE HERO OF WEMBLEY! THERE GOES THE FINAL WHISTLE! MANCHESTER CITY HAVE WON THE FA CUP!!!! ​

Anthony Martial sits with his head in his hands as his team mates gather around him to console him.. final score here at Wembley...

Southampton 0 - 1 Manchester City

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Season Review​

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An amazing up and down season for a lot of clubs as Manchester City walk to their fourth Premier League title in the last five years to complete a treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. They are truly the best club in the world at the moment. Fourth place is a satisfactory result and gives us another crack at the Champions League at the expense of Arsenal. Despite their best efforts, Leicester were relegated on the final day of the season thanks to Norwich beating Arsenal.

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Anthony Martial rightfully claims our player of the year award as well as the FWA award and the golden boot for the 2nd year in succession.
 
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Summer Transfers​


Overall I was extremely happy with how the squad was looking. This transfer window was merely going to be a case of fine tuning and replacing certain players with upgrades.

Out


Timo Horn - Schalke - £24 million​

An eye watering amount of money for our goalkeeper. Timo certainly had quality and had some storming games but they were mixed with some shocking performances. With this in mind we snatched Schalke's hand off, that amount of money can really help us afford a world class goalkeeper.

Calum Slattery - Sheffield Wednesday - £19.25 million​

A wonderful product of our academy, Calum has had several wonderful seasons with us but becomes the latest home grown talent to leave the club. While he is superb player, he doesnt overly fit into any of the midfield roles that our tactic requires. Once again Sheffield Wednesday offered us almost £20 million for a player with a value of £8 million. A no brainer.

Alexis Sanchez - AC Milan - £17.5 million​

At 31 years old an on wages of £200k a week, Sanchez wasnt putting in the kind of performances to justify that enormous wage. With this in mind, and other players such as Bale and Insigne wanting game time, it was the logical choice to ship him out. Chelsea matched Milans offer but I felt it was wiser to let him move abroad.


IN

Thibaut Courtois - Chelsea - £42 million​

A new record transfer for the club, topping the £33.5 million we spent on Lucas Moura. The deal isnt as enormous as it looks financially speaking as only 20 million of it is up front and the rest is over 48 months. Still only 28 years of age and with 95 caps for his country already, Thibaut will be our first choice for a long time to come and is truly one of the best goalkeepers in the world. I cant wait to work with him.

Ross Barkley - Everton - £18 million​

With the departure of Slattery we were after a new central midfielder that was able to attack with the ball at his feet. Who better to fill that void than one of Englands most promising starlets. At 26 years of age, Barkley has failed to live up to his reputation, not having a single season at Everton with an average ofm ore than 7.0. I am hoping that this fresh start at Southampton surrounded by quality players is going to help him show what he can really do.


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#SaintThibaut​

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#SaintRoss​
 
Awh man, too bad in the final!!

I was about to harshly judge your transfer 'OUT's...until I saw your 'IN's....I think I'll keep quiet now! :p haha.

You'll definitely be stronger next season!
 
Disclaimer89 said:
Awh man, too bad in the final!!

I was about to harshly judge your transfer 'OUT's...until I saw your 'IN's....I think I'll keep quiet now! :p haha.

You'll definitely be stronger next season!
Click to expand...

Heres hoping! would seriously love a good run at a Premier League title!
 
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Pre Season​

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As you can see we routed pretty much everybody in a packed pre-season schedule. Martial and Bale are getting into the habit of banging in goals which is good and Lucas as usual is full of assists. With a bit of forward planning we were able to schedule some matches against opposition like Sporting and Schalke to better prepare us for the Champions League this season. Hopefully these results are a sign of things to come.
One more transfer in to tell you about and that is a loan deal for PSG winger Hector Villalba for the season. While I am not expecting him to set the world on fire, he will offer depth and back up to Lucas Moura on the right wing.

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One other tiny piece of news to tell you about...

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I am the new England manager! Roberto Martinez managed to win the Euros in 2020 with England and decided to go in a blaze of glory, leaving the position vacant. Apparently I was their first choice for the role and it took me all of about 3 seconds to accept. I will try and include International updates along with my Southampton commitments.
 
Congrats on the top 4 finish.
Those transfers WOW! You got some great money in for those guys but the two you brought in..
And now England manager. :-)
 
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Starting XI - Courtois, Digne, Tah, Dier, Chambers, Schneiderlin, Ozil, Alli, Bale, Lucas, Martial.

Our first game of the season and what a start it was. Gareth Bale produced a mesmerising performance as he netted a hatrick to see us comfortably past Swansea. This was really the first time that Bale has showed just how good he is and long may it continue. Lucas Moura grabbed the fourth goal of the game for us to get himself up and running for the season as well. The only negative was an injury to Anthony Martial who will miss our European qualifiers.

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