End Of Season Review 2011/12
Liga Adelante: Finished 14th, dissapointing really
Spanish Cup: Knocked out in 4th round by Athletic Bilbao
I write this as Holland have beaten Italy on penalties to be crowned the 2012 European Champions. England were knocked out in the group stages, shock! The worlds media were not so interested in the results in Leon as we stumbled through the season to a very dissapointing 14th place finish. A cracking start had me dreaming of promotion to the big time, but a serious slump in form before christmas put an end to any hope of going up. We never recovered from this slump and struggled for the remainder of the campaign. I lost all faith in Dudek and decided to give Colombi regular games. He wasnt much better, although he would often concede an unlucky tap in after a stunning save, but at least he is young and still learning.
Macheda was again head and shoulders above the other players in this division and finished the season with 26 goals from 32 starts, at an average rating of 7.24. Captain fantastic; Alejandro Rocamora continues to astound me, his stats are pretty average but he keeps on banging the goals in and he lays on plenty of chances for others too; 36 games, 17 goals, 18 assists. Little Ruben Jimenez is progressig well; 18 starts (13 sub apps) 11 goals, 8 assists. Pernia contributed 9 goals this season, all free kicks, a very welcome return.
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My relatively fruitless tactics remained pretty similar all season, as i dont have the depth to tinker too much. Soriano impressed somewhat, but my central midfield has been pretty ramshackle all season. Next year i plan to have a revamp in that department if i can, adding mroe creativity to support Rocamora and co. Once again without the consistent quality of Macheda up front Cultural Leonesa may have gone close to relegation. In terms of the league there were no real surprises, with all the early season favourites contesting the title. Racing were crowned champions, followed back up to Liga BBVA by Mallorca and Elche. Osasuna missed out on a return to the big time for a second consecutive season, and financial crisis surely beckons. Adelante whipping boys Ecija were down with plenty of games to spare and were closely follwed back to the murky backwaters of 2B football by Ferrol, Alicante and Cadiz. Fierce rivals Valladolid were so close to an instant return to the top flight, but as a now lifelong Cultural fan im glad they missed out, and even more glad that we get the chance to dish out some revenge after home and away league defeats this year.
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Towards the end of the season i was approached by fellow Adelante mid table team Celta, i of course re-affirmed my desire to bring glory to the Reino De Leon, the fans and board were once again delighted.
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So after a dissapointing campaign, where the little club from Leon failed to set the world alight, i must now prepare for a new season, i fear it may be our last chance as club finances are beginning to look dodgy after a 3 seasons of high wages. The transfer window has re-opened, but once again i have not received my new budget. Im expecting zero funds anyway so i will be concentrating on free agents and loans. I have already secured a couple of promising players on pre contract agreements, and shelled out the remains of last seasons cash on 17 year old whizzkid Javier Irigoyen. He should add more creativity in the final third (its not hard, Rocamora is the only AMC on the books) and should progress into a top player. Theres also an update on Jimenez.
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My USA managerial career is going ok, we have just thrashed Barbados 7-1 on aggregate to qualify for the 2nd phase of North American qualifying for the World Cup.
I really need to hit the ground running and maintain good form for the entire season, becasue not gaining promotion will probably mean administration and my empire will lay in ruins as clubs poach my whizzkids on the cheap.
So not a season to remember, but onwards and upwards for Los Culturalistas eh?
Viva La Cultu!