Down to the Riverside

[Jake89]

Still doing ok and in with a shout though, thats the main thing. When writing out your results try colour co-ordinating so wins in blue losses in red draws in black for example, will make it easier to read

 

[sass101]

Wow just read it first time and Some Transfers there ! Nice job and good luck

 

[Helli]

April Update


Game 41: Middlesbrough vs. Crystal Palace 2:0 (Lewandowski,Lita)
Lewandowski. Another great game by the lad, he's been really on fire. Also nice to finally keep a clean sheet against a team. Wins for Bristol and Newcastle so still 2/6 Points back.





Game 42: Plymouth vs. Middlesbrough 0:3 (Harewood (2x),Marveaux)
Another clean sheet and another important win. Harewood has been really solid. He hasn't been playing much because i really like the Wood/Lewandowski duo up front but when he's playing he really does well. Still 2 Points behind Bristol but just a tie for the Magpies to give us more hope.






Game 43: Middlesbrough vs. Sheffield Wednesday 2:0 (Lewandowski (2x))
3rd straight clean sheet. Addison's return has really helped this team a lot defensively. Harewood missed a penalty late in the game.Huge blow as Marveaux injured himself and will miss the rest of the season with a twisted ankle. Can Vladimir Weiss replace him? No changes in the race for Promotion.




Game 44: West Brom vs. Middlesbrough 1:3 (Weiss (2x),Lewandowski)
Fantastic game by Weiss. He had a huge gap to fill and he did an amazing job. Really important win against one of our possible Playoff opponents. Bristol still winning but Newcastle with just another draw. Still everything possible for 3 teams. One team will be disappointed for sure...





Game 45: Middlesbrough vs. Coventry 3:1 (Weiss,Wood,Johnson)
Great win by the lads. Weiss again looked really good as a replacement for Marveaux. Looking at the table right now with just 1 game to go we've got a great chance to win now. We simply need a win against Leicester in our last game and everything is fine.



Player of the Month

Robert Lewandowski with another good month, scoring 4 goals in 5 games



​

---------- Post added at 03:43 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 11:35 PM ----------

Gameday 46 - Battle for Promotion
Newcastle, Bristol, Middlesbrough fight for 2 automatic spots in EPL

The initial situation

Gameday:


The games:
Blackpool vs. Bristol
Bristol with the easiest challenge on paper against Blackpool. Blackpool with just 13 Points out of 45 games. Bristol just needs to win and they are pretty much guaranteed a permanent spot because of the way better goal differential than Newcastle. Can Blackpool complete one of the biggest upsets of the season and destroy the promotion hopes from a team that held the top slot for (almost) the whole season?

QPR vs. Newcastle
The magpies face a tough challenge. They need to win against QPR and also need to rely on Blackpool or Leicester to help them out. Certainly the worst initial situation from those 3 teams.

Leicester vs. Middlesbrough
Boro's win against Coventry has put them in a great position. They have by far the best goal differential so a win secures them the Promotion spot. They also beat Leicester in the first leg pretty easily 6:2. Is Middlesbrough ready for the direct return to the Premier League? Sylvain Marveaux, who scored 4 goals in the first leg, could surprisingly return from his injury too.



​

 

[Smogatetz]

Good luck mate, hope you get them back where they belong

 

[Jake89]

Finally at the top Lets hope you stay there now by beating Leicester!

 

[Helli]

Gameday 46











We've done it!!! Middlesbrough win the Coca Cola Championship.
We're back baby!!!

Absolutely fantastic way to end the season. After the struggles lately i never expected to come back and win it. I feel sorry for the Bristol fans. They we're first for the whole season and now will have to go to the Playoffs. Football can be really cruel sometimes. I'm really proud. Even though we had some bad stints (especially the first months) it was a fantastic season. The offensive potential of this team is immense. The capture of Lewandowski was huge and Marveaux was possible (when thinking about the price) the best signing of the season.





​

 

[Jake89]

Great news How many of your players do you think are up to Premier League quality? Will there be another squad overhaul ?

 

[Helli]

Great news How many of your players do you think are up to Premier League quality? Will there be another squad overhaul ?

Good question. I really like this team and i believe that there is enough talent to compete for a mid table finish in the Premier League if we can find a solution for some of these defensive woes. I'm just afraid that guys like Lewandowski or Marveaux might leave, i highly doubt that i would be able to replace both of them. As I said i really like this squad, i'm not planning on making to many changes, there's still some serious talent coming up (Eriksen,Helan...) and they might get their chance already next year. As for new players there are some spots on the team that need improvement:

AML: Backup for Johnson
AMC: Eriksen as a replacement for Marveaux? Nainggolan? I dunno but with the interest Marveaux has gotten from french clubs in the winter already I believe that i might need somebody here.
DMC: Someone that can compete with Addison. When Addison was out we had some serious D problems because of our lack of depth. Jonsson (fantastic sign) played okay but i rather see him as a RB...
RB/LB: Smith didnt really play on loan and i doubt he will do well as a backup in the EPL now. Are Helan/Briggs ready for backup duties? I'll need to look at this.
CB: I'm not sold on the Wheater/St.Ledger/Pogatetz trio. I have Duffy coming up but i guess you can't count on a 18 year old. Right now i tend towards selling Pogatetz or St.Ledger and bring in a new partner for Wheater.
Striker: Buy Harewood? Keep Lita? I got two nice prospects with Franks and Roushias but I doubt they are ready.

So if you guys have any recommendations feel free to post them. I guess we'll have arround 15 Million € to work with (no budget yet).

 

[Jake89]

You should try to add some experience definitely as you have a really young squad. A good place for an old head is at DMC, maybe playing the anchorman role. Gavin McCann may seem like an odd choice, but he done superbly for me in the past mopping up stray passes and making well timed challenges. Should be some good free transfers around who can add some depth and experience all over the pitch.

 

[Helli]

You should try to add some experience definitely as you have a really young squad. A good place for an old head is at DMC, maybe playing the anchorman role. Gavin McCann may seem like an odd choice, but he done superbly for me in the past mopping up stray passes and making well timed challenges. Should be some good free transfers around who can add some depth and experience all over the pitch.

i completely agree. My oldest player is Danny Coyne (36) as a backup goaltender, then Harewood with 30 and then Pogatetz with 27...
I was thinking about Grella from Blackburn maybe if they are willing to sell (they got relegated) as a DMC. Solid and still some years left in the tank.
As for CB i was thinking about Khizianishvilli or Nelsen (also both from Blackburn). Samba, another guy i had in mind, already is joining Fenerbahce...
Would you buy Harewood for 1.7 Million €? He scored 7 goals in 14 Games for me but he's asking for some serious cash for a backup (27k per week) as I really plan going into the season with Lewandowski and Wood up front. Lita on the other hand earns just the half but could bring in some serious cash (he's worth over 5 Million € right now).

 

[Jake89]

Harewood is not good enough for the Premiership, save the money and the wage budget and get some1 else in. I would probably sell Lita too as he isn't a Premier league goalscorer, especially for that cash. Try getting Michael Owen maybe if United aren't playing him, as a poacher always has a goal in him. I think Nelsen would be a great signing, some influence and experience to guide your youngsters. See who played well for the relegated clubs, sort by average rating, thats what I always do

 

[Helli]

Season Review
Just some quick notes from what happened in the other competitions

Coca Cola Championship Playoffs

Really happy that Bristol was able to win it. After this season they deserved to go up without a doubt.

Premier League


League Cup


FA Cup


Europa League


Champions League

Juventus? What?


Middlesbrough Season Round up:

Player of the Season:

Robert Lewandowski

Honorable Mention:

Sylvain Marveaux


Stats



Parker named Manager of the Year
Middlesbrough's Steven Parker has won the Coca Cola Championship Manager of the Year award. Gary Johnson of Bristol City was the runner-up, while Newcastle's Chris Hughton completed the top three.

Team of the Year

​

 

[burkeyoa]

First time reading this story. U have done great to get promoted after the amount of transfers. I would try and add a couple of experienced heads to the squad and maybe Andy Carrol n a loan to buy contract. Keep it up.

 

[Helli]

Parker given new budget
The minimum expectation is that the team achieves a safe mid-table position within the EPL.
Parker has been given a budget of 12.5 Million € and a wage budget of 425k p/w in order to achieve this task. The club is currently spending 243,080k p/w.



---------------------------------------------------------------
Not really happy 12.5 Million AND a mid table finish? They certainly trust this current squad....any tips? I should have Mido and Jones coming back, so that might create some more room.
​

---------- Post added at 11:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 PM ----------

First time reading this story. U have done great to get promoted after the amount of transfers. I would try and add a couple of experienced heads to the squad and maybe Andy Carrol n a loan to buy contract. Keep it up.

thanks mate.

Harewood is not good enough for the Premiership, save the money and the wage budget and get some1 else in. I would probably sell Lita too as he isn't a Premier league goalscorer, especially for that cash. Try getting Michael Owen maybe if United aren't playing him, as a poacher always has a goal in him. I think Nelsen would be a great signing, some influence and experience to guide your youngsters. See who played well for the relegated clubs, sort by average rating, thats what I always do

thanks again, will take a look at Owen

 

[Roonaldo]

Well done on winning the championship

 

[Jake89]

Not a great budget at all! Usually get at least 20 when getting promoted to Prem, interesting to see what you can do in the loans and free transfer markets.

 

[sass101]

Very nice still following good luck and once again very nice story !

 

[PaddyK94]

Sell some un-needed/un-wanted players. And don't do what I did and rejected every bid that was made for one of my players as, 80% of the time, you can usually buy a better player for the same or less money you got from the transfer. Also, if you need a new player for a certain position, do not under-estimate home grown players. My best players are home grown and they don't have the skill my others do, but they consistently put in good in performances as they have more drive and determination for the club they love than foreign or outside players.

 

[Helli]

Not a great budget at all! Usually get at least 20 when getting promoted to Prem, interesting to see what you can do in the loans and free transfer markets.

i'm shocked. Actually i don't really know why. My worst budget with Boro before was 16 Million just to avoid relegation. My finances weren't that bad either, just a small profit but still a profit. Greedy chairman? Mido,Jones and Lita could create a bit more (maybe 3-4 Million as i just get 40%) so still not really great. That will be really tough.

---------- Post added at 11:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:32 PM ----------

Well done on winning the championship

thank you

Very nice still following good luck and once again very nice story !

thanks buddy

Sell some un-needed/un-wanted players. And don't do what I did and rejected every bid that was made for one of my players as, 80% of the time, you can usually buy a better player for the same or less money you got from the transfer. Also, if you need a new player for a certain position, do not under-estimate home grown players. My best players are home grown and they don't have the skill my others do, but they consistently put in good in performances as they have more drive and determination for the club they love than foreign or outside players.

I'll have 2 HG players coming in with that budget. Porritt (AML) and Franks (AMR/Striker) and maybe even Richard Smallwood (MC)

 

[Jake89]

Get rid of players on high wages like Mido and Pogatetz if you don't play him you can adjust the budget a bit hopefully