(Discontinued)

[Michael Onwuegbu]

Welcome to a new story! In this story I will be attempting Dr.Benjy's Gloryhunter challenge. Unlike Dr.Benjy I'm not limiting myself to 20 years and I'll be doing this as long as it takes. I'll also be giving myself the challenge of only using tactics I make myself. I'll be documenting this from the POV of former pundit Okezie Onwuegbu (Look it's me!) who has been given a chance to continue in the world of football after an early retirement at the age of 31. This is all fictional and all that. Let's get into this.

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25th June 2019, Lyon

"Breaking News here from Lyon who have announced the appointment of former pundit Okezie Onwuegbu as their new manager. He has come under public criticism for his vocal distaste against certain teams and managers including his now league rivals PSG. For his own sake, we will hope he keeps his opinion to himself and focuses on his job-" I turn off the TV not very interested in what the French news have to say about me. Tomorrow, the real work begins.

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[Michael Onwuegbu]

1st July 2019. Lyon​

"Clear!" I shouted at my new centre-back signing Thilo Kehrer as he missed a tackle and got beaten by Memphis Depay.`

We had just begun pre-season training after playing a friendly against our B team. After going through the squad and determining how I wanted to play, I knew I needed to improve the defence particularly at left-back as the club sold Ferland Mendy without signing a quality replacement. Speaking of Left-back, former Manchester United man Rafael has made it clear to me he would like to leave and I won't stand in his way as I have found some possible replacements I intend to look at.
I plan to finish all my business early and be done so I can review August games alone. More to follow

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

Pre-Season Transfer review/ August

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Aside from signing Kehrer, I also strengthened the left back position with the signing of Matias Vina on loan with option to buy for 5 million pounds at the end of the season.

He comes in as a direct replacement to Ferland and I would argue that as an all-rounder he's even better. All the other signings had happened before I arrived so the focus behind the rest of our summer is to avoid losing Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembele.

August​

After playing pre-season I discussed with the board and the players my plans for this season. The board just want me to develop young players and qualify for the Champions League. I discussed with my players that I REFUSE to allow PSG to dominate the league and be a thousand miles ahead. I want to take PSG into a proper title race this year and I believe we don't need heavy investment to do it. As Johan Cruyff once said A bag of money has never scored a goal, and I am going to make the French believers.
The media asked me a few questions about the season, who I thought would lead the title race and so on. I answered all their questions but when asked about the title race I said that I want to win the league within 3 years. I've arrived in Lyon with a promise and that is to deliver a domestic treble to the people of Lyon. Enough propaganda, now to the results

A perfect month to start off my managerial career, made even sweeter by the fact we are yet to concede a goal in the league while the next best is PSG, who have shipped 4 so far.

Say we are top of the league, say we are top of the league. The perfect league start sees us end august 2 points ahead of PSG. This doesn't mean anything but it's a good sign. We were able to maintain all our big players which is nice, now consistency is key.

UCL DRAW 19/20

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And now in the UCL we got quite possibly one of the hardest groups we could have gotten. I couldn't help but laugh as all the other third seed managers breathed sighs of relief as they didn't get our group. It will be very difficult to progress but we will have to give it our best go.

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

For anyone wondering this is the chosen tactics I built based on this team. Lyon spent a lot of money while gaining money from sales of key players like Ndombele and Fekir. I was worried about replacing them but I believe the squad at the club is more than good enough to compete. In September we have big matches such as PSG at home and our group opener against Leipzig. Into the games we've played. a

It's another perfect month in the league and the key fixture is how we absolutely TROUNCED PSG. It was an individual masterclass from Moussa Dembele who scored 3 and assisted Depay for the fourth. We've been freely scoring in all comps, most shown when we had to come back from 2 goals down against Leipzig. Atletico Madrid were a lot harder to break down just stereotypically as a Diego Simeone team. In the press I've retained my confidence and now I believe we can do it. It's clear to me now, something special is happening here.

We're now 7 points clear of PSG being the only team to beat them. No team has taken points off us yet and we even smashed the League Champions. It's looking up.

Finally this is how our UCL group looks after the first 2 games. I new this group was difficult to get out of but it's gone much better than I thought. Looking ahead I would hope to get as many points as possible and extend a bigger lead against PSG.

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

MID-SEASON REVIEW
Halfway through the league season and we've been slogging it out with PSG. I'll go through results, transfers and looking ahead.
RESULTS

Firstly I'll go over the Champions League where we have finished second and been drawn against Ajax. We were knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue in the semi finals by Nice. It's dissapointing as it means I won't be able to do a treble this year. But we HAVE gotten into the Quarter Finals of the French Cup. In the league our next game is huge as it's PSG away. Win and we go 17 points clear. Lose and the gap is reduced to 11 points. But before that let's look at the 2 transfers I've made aside from selling deadwood.
Firstly I made the loan of Matias Vina permanent. And secondly, I loaned in a certain man named Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain!

Now it's time for us to go. Title decider(Although we'll still probably win the league regardless of the result.)

In the end the star power on PSG's team was too much for us to overcome with Neymar scoring a perfect hattrick against us.

PSG beating us now means that we can't afford to drop too many points during the remainder of the season. I got into media trouble for calling Tuchel a tinpot manager being carried by a Mega-Rich squad. Well he shut me up even if we're still 11 points ahead.​

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

SEASON 1 FINALE, LYON

It's been a long old season, but I'm pleased to say I have completed France! I came with a mission and I've completed it much sooner than I thought I would. We couldn't get past PSG in the UCL quater-finals but we had more than enough to end their reign as Champions of France.

With such success I had a few things on my mind. Do I stay to win the other cup competition or even try and go further? That was the initial plan, until I got a call from a Mr. Mansour about taking over a certain 2nd place club. That's right I'm wanted at Man City. Or at least I was given an interview. After speaking to him I decided to do some digging and I found some um, interesting jobs.

Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich are also looking for a manager. I've applied for both of them and I await a response. Dr.Benjy's challenge never included League cups or Community cup type trophies. So I HAVE finished France and I'm free to leave. I normally would resign but I have the fear of not getting any of the jobs.
In other news Moussa Dembele broke the club record for most goals in a single season in all comps with 45. Needless to say he also won the golden boot. I will process further and inform you of what occurs so we can plan what I need to do for the summer​

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

NEW CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

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It's been a pretty weird 3 weeks since the end of last season. First I got the call from Sheik Mansour, then I applied to multiple European powerhouses who all went with different managers. However, one of these clubs decided to choose Carlo Ancelotti who had just finished 6th with Everton, leaving his job open. I saw this as the perfect oppurtunity to get into England and either win the FA Cup or maybe even Europa.

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"I am very excited to be here in Everton. This is a great historic club that I am proud has been entrusted to me." I said during my reveal press conference.
"I plan to improve upon the sixth placed finish made last term." I continue. "What made you decide to leave your job at Lyon and take a step down to a club like Everton?"
"I think it says more about the project here at Goodison Park, and even though Carlo is no longer here I'm the manager that has been chosen to take the club forward" I responded.
"Last season Everton finished higher than expected what are your expectations for the club this year?" Another Journalist asked.
"Of course for me European Football has to be the objective, but I would like to make the Toffee fans proud after they've had to sit through Liverpool winning the League and defending their European crowd, so I'd say I want to knock them off their perch." I said.
The journalists kept asking me questions but I passed through it all as I await my new responsibilities.

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

SEASON 2 REVIEW
TRANSFERS

Troost-Ekong was agreed before I arrived, I assume to keep Alex Iwobi happy. I signed Diego Lainez but I had to loan him out to work towards getting his work permit. As a result I had to sign Wonderkid Adam Hlozek halfway through the season. I didn't spend much because as a manager I don't believe in overspending. And besides, now I get to talk about net spend.
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In terms of tactics I intend to play the same way I played at Lyon. On paper my squad from Lyon is better than the one here, but I think there's enough quality to get it done.
CUP REVIEW

In terms of cup competitions it's a bit of a mixed bag as we won the Carabao Cup while getting knocked out in the FA Cup 4th Round. Obviously it's nice to win a trophy albeit one that doesn't count for the Challenge. It goes to show that the process is real.
EUROPA LEAGUE

Losing all our first three games meant we had a monumental task ahead of us, and given the circumstances I'm not too dissapointed. However I do feel scammed as Sparta Prague LOST their last three games and just got through on goal difference.
LEAGUE REVIEW

It's a sad time for us as we finished exactly where they did last season under Carlo despite getting 4 more points. Some positives include the fact DCL won the golden boot and we finished over Manuel Pellegrini's Tottenham (Jose got sacked halfway through. So did Lampard)
Looking forward I have a few deals in the pipeline that I think can strengthen us to do better. My goals for next season are either Top 4 or ticking off Europa League. It's going to be difficult but I think we can manage that.
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